Welcome to Crazytown

WTF?

2007-09-25T14:29:00.000-05:00

I know this happens to everyone (at least I hope its not me)....but when I am sitting in my office talking on the phone, please do not stand in my doorway just staring at me waiting to get off. Go down the hall or do something else, or even just stand in the hall but please for heaven's sakes do not just stand there staring at me.
I don't do it to you.....because its rude.
Thank you.

My new addiction....

2007-09-18T13:48:00.000-05:00

First let me just say that I moved 5 weeks ago and have unpacked 5 boxes. I'm not kidding. Part of it is due to sheer laziness, part of it is due to the fact that I get home from work and frankly don't feel like unpacking, part of it is that it is too overwhelming, and part of it is my new obsession----
Heroes.
I never got into it last season- I think it must have come up against another show I watch but I felt like it might be right up my alley. (I've been looking for a good thriller kinda show to fill the hole that Alias left...) I finally rented the first season on DVD the other week and since then it is ALL I have watched. It is SO GOOD...not to mention the fact I am totally in love now with Milo Ventimiglia and the guy who plays Mohinder- I should figure out his name if I am to be his wife I guess.
Its so good, but slightly scary at times too. My boyfriend and I have had 2 HUGE fights this week and one of them was because he would not drive to my house at 1:20 am when I called him freaking out after a particularly scary Heroes. (The other one involved him wanting to teach me a lesson about how hard sanding is...whatever.)
Anyhoo, I have 12 more episodes to go before the season 2 premiere Monday- wish me luck. I see no unpacking getting done in my future.
(As an aside- my boss is doing the same thing oddly enough and today came to me and said- "So how far along are you?" When I told him he says, "Oh, I am a little ahead of you. You are going to freak out when blah blah blah happens" and then proceeds to tell me what happens. Thanks.)

I've become that lady....

2007-09-17T13:29:00.000-05:00

First you must understand I did not grow up with dogs. We had a couple of cats growing up but none that I remember missing too much when they "ran away". We never had a dog and I grew up with the idea that people who had dogs in their houses were not normal....(stay with me).
In college I even remember saying once that if I ever had a dog it would live in the backyard to which my friend yelled, "You're one of THOSE people?" And, at that time I was. Somewhere in the last 5 years or so I have become a dog person. A sleep on the bed with me dog person. Whenever I see a dog I have to pet it, or talk to it, or start crying if I pass it on the road. I love them.
As you know I received a puppy as a Christmas present this year. It took a few months for me to be ok with it, but now I have become that lady who talks to her dog like it was a person.
My dog has recently become obsessed with playing catch with the frisbee. I mean OBSESSED. If we are inside she brings me the frisbee and puts it at my feet and then backs up and just stares at me. Today I went home for lunch and she sat by the door just waiting. I finally looked at her and said, just like I was talking to a person, "I'm sorry. No. I am eating." And thats when I knew- I'm that lady. Like it or not.

I am old........

2007-08-23T17:29:00.000-05:00

So, I was watching Reba (I know, for years I thought- who would watch that? But, then reallyimamom got me watching it and it is quite good....) and there was a man playing a preacher. I kept thinking I knew him and decided he reminded me of the guy who played Professor Lasky on Saved by the Bell: The College Years, but this guy was too old, so I decided maybe it was his Dad. I get out the ole laptop and look up the actor on IMDB.com and guess what- it was Prof. Lasky (who I had a huge crush on!!)- turns out Saved by the Bell: The College Years was on in 1993!!!! 14 years ago! Is that possible? Prof. Lasky is now playing 50 yr old preachers on Reba. I never thought I'd see the day Prof. Lasky dated Reba McEntire.
I feel real old.

I HEART JT

2007-08-08T08:46:00.000-05:00

All I have to say is this: Justin Timberlake (and yes I can only say his voice in my head like the girl on Saturday Night Live) is the sexiest thing out there. Bossy, ReallyI'maMother and I went to the JT concert last night and all we could really do besides drink our beer was stare and drool. He just stands there and is sexy. I really can't say enough how sexy he is. Very hot. As was said last night- we now understand why Cameron Diaz was so pissed when they broke up. I would have kicked Biel's butt as well.
The best part, besides JT, was realizing how old we were. It wasn't because we were the oldest people at the concert, because we weren't- it was how much we sweated walking from our car to the arena (although to be fair to us there was a heat advisory and we did have to walk a mile or so...at least), the fact we wanted to question the concessions guy about when they cut off drunk girls because we were worried about the drunk girl in front of us, and our main concern at the concert was when the balcony was going to fall because of all the shaking and dancing. Yes, we are old, but much much fun was had. (And yes we left before the encore to beat traffic....I am officially my mother)

Finally- Maine pictures!

2007-07-15T20:11:00.001-05:00

It only took me a month, but I finally found the gadget I needed to download my pictures from my old camera to my computer- so here are some pictures from our trip to Maine....

Here is the Portland Head Light- what we saw in our first 15 minutes there- great way to start the trip!

This is the view from our cottage's porch.

On our sailing trip.....

A lighthouse we saw on our sail...

This boat looked almost exactly like the one we were on.

And a view of the town and harbor when we reached the top of the mountain on our hike.
Sorry for all of the pictures- I wish I could show them all, but I'm pretty sure you wouldn't be interested in all 150!

me, myself, and stupid

2007-07-10T11:50:00.000-05:00

SO- here is the situation. I find myself reading blogs way too much of my day. Some of them I read because I enjoy and some of them I read- well, I don't really know why. Sometimes I get mad at them, but then I think- its their blog, you have no right to get mad, so stop reading- and I do. All this to say I think the blog world affected me on the 4th of July.
Most of the blogs I read seem to be of the preppy variety. And while I love anything pink and green and flip flops, etc sometimes I find myself wondering why things matter. Why do we get so obsessed with finding the perfect napkin for a party? Why does it matter if the invitation is the right color? Why did I spend money I don't have to my stationery could be pink monogram when there are so many things really wrong with the world?
Well, I found out on the 4th that I might need to stop reading all blogs because they are affecting me. After Boyfriend and I went to two other BBQs on the 4th we went to one of his best friends place to watch fireworks. We figured it would be the best firework viewing place because the friend lives in the penthouse right smack downtown and has a balcony the size of my house. Unfortunately a skyscraper was in the way of the biggest fireworks display but since you could see the entire area for miles and miles and miles in every direction we were able to see approximately 25 town's fireworks in the distances.
Here is where I turn crazy. We were all standing around trying to figure out what fireworks were what areas when I say, (after a day of Bud Light drinking) "Well, I mean, if this were MY party I would have cards on the balcony pointing to what city you were looking at and include a pictre of the city on it with how many miles away it is. And it would also probably involve some sort of ribbon." Boyfriend I think actually walked away from me at that point, but I will say the girl next to me said it was a great idea.
In the scheme of life, not that important, but at the time I thought it was VERY important for the success of that party.

Maine....

2007-06-26T16:08:00.001-05:00

Maine is fun! Boyfriend and I had a great time. As soon as I find the thing I need to upload my pictures I will post more, but here are some highlights:
1) Camden, where we stayed and pictured above, is the perfect Maine town- it is exactly what I pictured!
2) We went sailing and met a really fun couple we went to dinner with.
3) At this dinner Boyfriend gave me a $100 bill for eating half an oyster, something I said I would NEVER do.
4) We went hiking to the top of a mountain where there was a great place to look down over the town, harbor, and Penobscot Bay.
5) I had A LOT of really good lobster.
6) I got to see some lighthouses- one you get to by walking 7/8 of a mile on granite rocks into the middle of the harbor: (pictured below)

7) Our cottage was secluded but directly on the water.

All in all we had a great time and I highly recommend Maine to visit! I tried to convince Boyfriend that we should move there in the summers but he reminded me we have jobs that don't have a Maine outpost...what does he know.

Bad news Bear

2007-06-19T08:58:00.000-05:00

I will admit I am not the best housekeeper in the world. Its not because I don't like things neat, its just when I am at home I'd rather be lying on the couch than cleaning. All this to say that sometimes my housekeeping habits have a price.
This past week that price was my digital camera. Last year for my birthday I got a really nice digital camera from my Dad- and now I'm hoping I get a new one for Christmas. Apparently Izzy(the dog) or I stepped on it and now the screen is shattered to the point you can't see a thing! Oops.
Luckily I gave my old one to Boyfriend so we will be able to take pictures in Maine and then I can dazzle you next week with all the sites I saw....

Maine

2007-06-16T11:04:00.000-05:00

Ok, Boyfriend and I are going to Maine this week for a very quick three day vacation. SO, if anyone has been to the greater Portland, Maine area and knows of somewhere yummy to eat or something we must do, please let me know. We are actually staying in Camden and have already booked a 2 hour boat trip but am looking for anything else we need to do. All Boyfriend wants to do is eat lobsters off boats- I'm hoping I get a good restaurant recommendation so i can at least sit down!

Last week.........

2007-06-16T11:00:00.000-05:00

As Bossybarwife reports in her post, we had a pretty good time together at our conference last week. Luckily we think each other is funny, but the more I meet people the more I tend to think no one else thinks we are funny which I think makes us even funnier. Ha.
We each had our really dumb moments as she reports but I will say I might have topped it off with realizing I left all my bras and underwear at the hotel. So, next time someone checks into our room, instead of a Gideon Bible they will find some nice Victorias Secret underwear.
The good news is I wrote a lot of thank you notes during the week and got a lot of Sudoku done to keep me from being bored to death.

Hmmm...

2007-06-16T10:58:00.000-05:00

As an update. I finally got an e-mail from Limetree. (I deleted the last two entries about them since it seems they are trying to make amends- although I do have to wonder if they ever google themselves and saw this bad press....although that would require someone other than bossy, me, and snakenation reading this so I am going to go with no on that) It was quite apologetic and they are supposedly sending me a gift certificate...we shall see.

Why bother?

2007-05-17T13:47:00.000-05:00

An example of why you shouldn't ask boys for fashion help:
(This scene takes place yesterday as I was about to leave for work)

me: Hey, does this shirt look ok tucked in?
Boyfriend: Huh?
me: Does this shirt look ok tucked in?
Boyfriend: Yes.
me: Are you sure?
Boyfriend: I don't know, can I see it tucked in?
me: It is tucked in you freak. Nevermind.

How can you not know a shirt is tucked in?

I am officially old

2007-05-09T13:43:00.000-05:00

So, Saturday I got a new car. I'm very excited because I have never owned a car that was built in the same decade I was driving it, much less one that has new car smell. But, I am the proud new owner of an '07 Jeep Patriot. But, thats not the story.
I was sitting in the car dealership with my Dad, stepmom and sister when the car saleslady says, "This one really has every option available." To which I turn to my sister (who is 20) and say, very seriously, "Is that what they call tricked out?" All she could say was, "Ummm...I'm sorry, are you 85?" I of course immediately realized how dumb I sounded and for the next five minutes laughed hysterically. The car people thought I was real cool and defnintely mature enough to own a new car.
A few minutes later the car person asked for my title to which my response was, "My title at work?" When they explained the title to my car I had to ask them what it looked like.
No worries though, next time I am going to look real smart.

Good things

2007-05-02T21:03:00.000-05:00

Here are some things I like at this very moment:

1) The beach. I always forget how much I love the beach. I mean, I remember I love it, but I forget I need it. Even though I was sick for some of our beach trip, it was still fabulous. Here are some pictures:

The view from my beach chair.

The view from our balcony.

Our living room area

my bedroom

2) My Sephora eyeliner- and its only $4! (You might remember from a previous post my search for an eyeliner that doesn't smudge and this is the best)

3) my Braves jersey bottle koozie. It turns your beer into a little person- love it.

You Give Love a Bad Name

2007-05-02T08:24:00.000-05:00

Dear Blake Lewis from American Idol,
Why Why Why? Why did you die your hair black? It hurt me.
Don't worry, I still love you.

Mayor

Awake to see another day...

2007-04-26T12:49:00.000-05:00

Good news: I'm alive. Apparently it was not an infection that spread to my brain. Still don't know what it is but I am choosing to blame my new Sonicare toothbrush.
That or it is an infection spreading to my brain but being by the pool and ocean are strong enough to combat it.
Yesterday was a fabulous beach day which consisted of lying by the pool, walking on the beach, and reading my book. In fact I had to go to the bookstore to stock up on books for today.
Today I am feeling even better so I'm venturing back out to the beach- right after I slather myself with enough SPF 30 to block any ray of sun within a 45 mile radius.

Not so pretty...

2007-04-25T09:46:00.000-05:00

Back in November I decided I was going to go to a Conference for work that just happened to be held at my favorite beach ever. I talked my mom into taking a vacation so we could rent a beachfront condo together and turn it into a vacation. The thought of this week has literally been keeping me going since November.
We were all set to leave this past Sunday when out of nowhere at 6:00pm the night before I come down with a nasty stomach virus. I'm not going to go into the nasty details but lets just say I could have had 4 gallons of Jim Beam and not thrown up as much as I did.
However, by 3:30 the next day I had had enough pepto to be able to sit in a car moaning while Mom drove the 5 hours to the beach. The first day was spent entirely in bed, but I couldn't complain because my death bed was now facing the ocean. (As an aside I will say I have lost no weight even though I had 3 crescent rolls and 4 saltines to eat in 48 hours- which if you know me you know the significance of this. I am the only person to have gained weight when I had mono. I tend to eat a lot of chicken pot pies when sick.)
Yesterday I felt even better and even ventured to the pool for an hour. Last night I was feeling so good I jumped at and down when my mom did something completely dumb/funny. Things were on track for today to be my day to shine at the beach when....
I wake up this morning with one side of my face swollen. huh??? What? Apparently something is wrong with my tooth and thus I can't eat or swallow. And being the hypochondriac that I am, I am somewhat convinced it is an infection that is now going to go untreated and spread to my brain and I will be dead by days end. (At least I think that can happen.)
Maybe I'll venture to the pool so I can at least die in a lounge chair. And no one will be looking at my face I'm hoping. I figure everyone is so absorbed with their bathing suit or the ocean they will skip over elephant girl.
Hopefully I will be alive later to update you....

Darn you Al Roker

2007-04-19T08:54:00.000-05:00

I was so proud of myself this morning taking a shower and doing my make up in record time.......and then Al Roker happened. I watch the Today Show every morning as I get ready and today Al was in Nashville giving truckloads of supplies to a charity. Today it was a charity for inner city kids who couldn't afford music lessons. This place gave music lessons for 50 cents! So they open the truck and it was tons of new guitars, pianos, etc.
I don't know if I've mentioned before I'm a crier, but needless to say I had to redo my eye makeup and my record breaking time was totally lost.

Mint Juleps anyone?

2007-04-15T22:22:00.000-05:00

As I previously posted, the Boyfriend is going to the Derby again this year. He has been going every year for about 10 years and is somewhat obsessed with it. I, on the other hand have never been, mainly because it is his time to hang out with his best friend, but more than that I have learned over five years that if he has ANY inkling of drinking whiskey I should not be involved. Its not pretty and I am a firm believer in not putting yourself in ugly situations.
Anyhoo, his best friend's family has a box at Churchill Downs they will be going to this year and somehow my poor fashion-challenged boyfriend realized he needed a new suit (In previous years I have tried not to imagine what he wore but I am quite confident there was more than one Southern lady with a big hat looking him over and thinking "Bless his heart") and much to my excitement he told me I was in charge of putting together his look. (This is BIG as he is so afraid of shopping he literally will not accompany me to a mall- no matter what it is for. I think in five years we have been to a mall less than five times together.)
Well, I am proud to announce that today we had a fight free shopping experience and he is now the proud owner of a VERY CUTE Derby outfit. He will be wearing- a blue and white seersucker suit, white shirt, green or pink tie (we are still negotiating that one), adorable new white bucs, and a straw hat. And the best news is not only did he willingly buy these things, but he actually liked them- especially the shoes. He has fallen in love with them which may be the most bizarre thing I've ever seen from him, but I like it.
Of course (bless his heart), I'm not sure he quite understands he is in what I think of as the uniform for the Derby - he is from California orignally. As we were driving home from the store he looks at me and says (seriously), "You don't think anyone else will be wearing my suit do you?" To which I could only respond, "Babe, I think more people will be wearing your suit than not. But, not to worry it is the Southern male equivalent of the little black dress." In my opinion there can never be too much seersucker- that is one thing my small, private, southern, too conservative, liberal arts education taught me.
So, shopping success. However, check back after the first weekend in May for my post on how the outfit returned home.....I'm a little worried.

Laugh till you cry

2007-04-11T21:03:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite things in life is when somthing happens (that usually isn't all that funny) but for some reason you find it so funny you do that laugh so hard you are crying/can't talk thing? Tonight I went out to dinner with two of my favorite people, Bossybarwife and Really I'm a Mother and for some reason I started telling this story that isn't that funny but I started laughing so hard I was crying and could only get a couple of words out at a time. Bossy and Really I'm a Mother at first were just staring at me trying to figure out what I was trying to say but then they started laughing at how dumb I am.
The story goes like this: about 4 years ago when I started my current job I got really really sick about a month after I started. I am talking out of work for a week, think you are going to die sick. I couldn't seem to get better and finally someone suggested that I go see a nutritionist since my new job required me being around lots of children so I probably just needed the right vitamins to build up my immune system.
Long story short I went to the nutritionist and after going through my life history I ended up on about 14 different vitamins a day (which actually helped- I haven't been that sick since!- although I only stayed on them for a few months- did you know vitamins are more expensive than food???!!!) Well, one of the things she gave me a vitamin for was nightmares. I usually had (up until a few months ago) horrible, horrible nightmares at least 4 times a week. I'm talking the kind you wake up from where someone is trying to kill you convinced someone is really trying to kill you so you turn on Nick at Nite and all the lights in the house and pray that DJ Tanner can make it all go away. Well, oddly enough the nutritionist gave me something for my nightmares---------YAM JUICE! I had to put two drops of yam juice in orange juice every night before I went to bed and believe me when I tell you it was the foulest thing I have ever tasted in my life. I actually think only used it for a couple of weeks it was so awful, but it did help my nightmares for awhile. (Later I realized the source of the nightmares was me taking my Wellbutrin at night- who knew?)
(As an aside- another vitamin the nutritionist gave me was Cats Claw- which for some reason one day I decided that is why I had a scratch on my arm- from the cats claw)
It may not be that funny of a story now, but believe you me it was HYsterical after 3 Dos Equis and way too much cheese dip.

PS

2007-04-11T08:51:00.000-05:00

I think the time has come for me to confess publicly my love for Blake on American Idol.

Am I really supposed to be happy for this?

2007-04-11T08:22:00.000-05:00

Ok. I think I need some help. I am in a situation where my boyfriend thinks I should be happy for him and frankly I'm not and its causing us some tension. Here is the situation:
As you may or may not know I am one of those people who is fascinated with celebrity- as many of us are. I realize its dumb and a part of society that is a problem, but I get REALLY excited at seeing famous people. Once I saw our local news anchor at the mall and I got so excited I embarassed my entire family. My favorite part of the week is usually buying People a US Weeky and sitting on the couch and reading them without having to think of anything important.
On the other hand, Boyfriend is not like this. He could care less- which I actually like in a boy........until this situation arises.
Boyfriend goes to the Kentucky Derby every year and lucky for him his best friend's family is fairly prominent in Kentucky- they have owned horses in the races, get to sit on Millionaire's Row, etc. So, the other day Boyfriend calls me and says his best friend called and got them tickets to this party over Derby weekend. He wasn't at this point telling me to brag but was asking where he should get a tux because its black tie only. He then casually mentions Bill Maher and Pam Anderson will be there (odd mix I know). I of course freak out a little because- well, celebrity is celebrity- that and in 5 years he has never put on a tux in MY presence, but whatever.
Fast forward to five minutes ago. I get to work and get a call from Boyfriend who says, "Peyton Manning AND Eli Manning are going to be at this party." (Another thing you must know about me is I am in LOVE with Tennessee football and more particularly Peyton Manning. I currently sleep in the cutest pink gingham pajama pants with the Colts horseshoe on one leg and a Colts t shirt. The COlts are the only NFL team I will watch. I love the Manning Dynasty.) Then he says, "And Outkast, Kid Rock, Cuba Gooding, Jr, Travis Tritt, Brooks and Dunn, Tom Brady, and who knows who else."
Apparently I didn't sound excited enough and he said, "Aren't you excited?" to which I replied, "No because I'm not going."
Long story short he said that was selfish. And maybe it is, but all's fair in love and celebrity I say. I mean, seriously- he doesn't even know who Brooks and Dunn are nor does he realize the importance of being at a party with a red carpet.
Maybe one day I will find it in my heart to be happy for him.

Things I like Today

2007-03-27T16:04:00.000-05:00

Ok, I know I totally stole this idea from That's Sew Sally (thanks, PAL) but I have been struggling for things to write about and she did such a great job with hers, here are things I like today:

1) Ginger Ale! I am newly obsessed with Ginger Ale lately for some reason. I can't seem to get enough of it. Unfortunately for me I haven't quite grown to love the diet ginger ale, but I hope to force myself one day. I've also noticed that it is SO hard to find. A lot of convenience stores, etc don't have it- which I think is weird.

2) I went to visit my sister and brother-in-law and niece and nephew this weekend (they live about5 states away) and it was very fun. The best parts- the weather being nice enough to sit outside and have a beer with sister and Mom (who only drinks white zin- and only half a cup every three months) while niece and nephew played in the backyard.....and having my 5 year old nephew introduce me to his friend at church by saying, "Oh yeah, this is my stupid aunt." I thought it was super funny, but I told my sister I reprimanded him so she wouldn't think I was encouraging words like stupid.

3) Daylights Savings Time! I hate the first night and the loss of sleep, but few things in life make me as happy as having it sunny until 8 or 9 at night.

4) America's Next Top Model. SOrry, Snake Nation, but I really do love it. This season of girls aren't as fun as past ones, but it is just fun, no thinking, tv.

5) Rereading Tom Wolfe's I am Charlotte Simmons. If you are looking for a great book that goes really fast, this is for you.

6) Having a job where I can interpret Business Casual as nice shorts with a nice shirt and cute shoes.

Chitown

2007-03-20T09:17:00.000-05:00

So, last week I went to Chicago for the first time. Unfortunately I was going for a Conference so I was staying in a suburb about 25 miles outside the city. I have always wanted to go to Chicago ever since the movie "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" (because that's where they make Dance TV)- my favorite movie as a fifth grader that I made my mom rent at least once a week at the Movie Stop. But, there were other reasons as well- I hear the Art Institute is fabulous, Lake Michigan, the Magnificent Mile, Wrigley Field, the list goes on and on.
So, after one day at the Conference I decided I could skip a half day and ride the El into downtown for some sightseeing. I finally made it to my stop (my first goal was the Art Institute) and the woman told me to walk East on Adams and I would run right into the Art Institute. Well, I was slightly confused how I was supposed to figure out which way was east, but felt like maybe I was supposed to know, so I decided I could figure it out. After all, on my map I noticed it was right next to the lake so I would just walk towards the way where all the buildings stopped. As I got out of the underground subway I looked around and finally decided the obvious way. However, 7 blocks later- still not Art Institute. I finally asked someone and luckily instead of compass directions they used left and rights so I returned to where I had come from and then hung a right- apparently that was East. Four short blocks later I had arrived at the Art Institute. I ran up the steps and had finally made it! And, it did not disappoint. There was even a special exhibition on Voillard- the art critic's- collection From Cezanne to Picasso. As an Art History major I was totally excited to be seeing so many famous pieces and I literally ran through it. (To me museums are like buffets. I can hardly appreciate what I am looking at because I can't wait to see whats next). Unfortunately after an hour my back was hurting so bad I could hardly walk so I had to stop my tour short- I think I missed some of my favorite pieces, but that just insures I will have to return!
After I left the museum I was determined to walk down to see Lake Michigan and then do some more sightseeing. I made my way down to the lake, but between my back and the 15 degree windchill I decided my death was not worth the Lake. So I took a picture from a block away and made my way back. I was feeling like somewhat of a tourist failure when all of a sudden I looked up- and there it was! It was like the heavens parted and God smiled upon me. There was the building I have equated with Chicago since I was 10 years old. I don't know the name, but I'm sure you will all know it as the "Adventures in Babysitting" building. You know the one with the slanty top that Sarah climbs out onto the ledge to escape the bad guys and they have to pull her up by a rope- the building where her parent's party was??!!! I was so excited. I snapped a picture and found my blue line el train and returned to the suburbs feeling like not such a tourist failure.

**As a weird aside to this story- I asked four separate people how to get to the Art Institute and each time (no lie) they said, "The Art Institute of Chicago?" Keep in mind I was in Chicago.

Way to go me

2007-02-28T21:09:00.000-05:00

So yesterday was my 5th anniversary with Boyfriend. There are a few things to note about this milestone:
1) I was always the girl who said if you were still dating someone after 3 years and not engaged yet you were stupid. But, look at me now. For some reason marriage just isn't as important at this minute as I thought it was when I was 24. Although if I'm back in 4 years saying the same thing- hit me.
2) Last night we went to a very fancy restaurant. It is Zagat's #1 in our city and Boyfriend was VERY excited as he is totally obsessed with cooking. I myself prefer some nice chicken fingers or fish so I had an eggroll before we went, just in case.
The experience was very fun. I had risotto for the first time and am newly obsessed with it and we had some truffles which were good. Needless to say this was a VERY expensive meal so you can imagine how well the night ended when after desert I innocently asked "Do you want to give me my present now?"
Apparently expensive dinners are the present.
Who knew.
I was kinda kidding.
Kinda.

iPod Game

2007-02-21T22:05:00.000-05:00

I was complaining to Bossy about not having anything to blog and she said, "Well, you can always do the iPod game." In honor of her birthday, here it is:

Opening Credits: Superstition- Stevie Wonder
First Day of School: I'll Cover You- Rent Soundtrack
Falling in Love: Become You- Indigo Girls
Fight Song: X & Y- Coldplay
Breaking Up: Where is the Love- Blackeyed Peas
Prom: Space Cowboy- NSync
Life: Mrs. Potter's Lullaby- Counting Crows
Driving: Tough Guy- Beastie Boys
Flashback: Andy, You're a Star- The Killers
Getting Back Together: Least Complicated- Indigo Girls
Wedding: Friends in Low Places- Garth Brooks
Party: Seasons of Love- Rent Soundtrack
Birth of a child: Sweet Caroline- Neil Diamond
Death Scene: If I could- Jack Johnson
Funeral Song: Root Down- Beastie Boys
Ending Credits: Smile Like you Mean It

I thought most of these were good- especially my wedding song....and now I might have to name my first born Caroline, because if God wants me to name a child after a Neil Diamond song, I cannot argue.

How old am I?

2007-02-05T17:54:00.000-05:00

Ok, I am sure we all remember those days in college or right after where you went to parties and felt it was ok to take beer from wherever you saw it. Didn't bring any beer? Thats ok- someone brought a 12 pack. Go get one. Thats the way it went down in my head.
However, now that I am 30 I thought I had entered the realm of going to parties that are BYOB and you DYOB- drink your own beer. Apparently I haven't. I went to a Super Bowl party (GO COLTS!!) last night and luckily (since I never remember to buy beer) my boyfriend had bought me a 12 pack to take. I was very excited because I knew I would have plenty to bring home to last me awhile. Well, our friend just moved to this penthouse apartment downtown with a patio seriously the size of my whole house. Since it was negative 45 degrees outside everyone put their beer on the patio and used it as a makeshift refrigerator.
Long boring party story short- at half time I thought, "I've only had two beers. I'll have one more and then switch to Diet Coke." So, I send boyfriend out into nature's refrigerator and he comes back to let me know ALL THE BEERS ARE GONE. Apparently the people at the party who were our friend's roommate's friends didn't remember to buy beer so they helped themselves to ours...or more specifically mine. 10 beers gone by halftime. Geez louise people. We are 30- give or take a couple of years. We all have jobs. Buy your own beer. Its Bud Light. It'll only set you back $10, if that.
There. Sorry, but I feel better.

Pretty in Pink

2007-02-02T16:33:00.000-05:00

So it has been PRETY COLD where I live these past few days so I decided that the puppy needed a coat, because if I'm cold then surely this 10 week old puppy without much fur is cold. So, off to Petsmart I went. An hour later I emerged with treats, toys, and the most beautiful pink dog coat I have ever seen.

Now, for those of you "I hate dogs dressed as people" people- its a coat, not a shirt, and dogs get cold, too. And for those of you who are like "Hey, weren't you just posting about Hondurans starving to death and now you bought a dog a pink coat", well, I hear ya. I said that myself. But, don't worry. I've already raised $2500 to "sponsor" the village and have other plans to send things down as well. And, the coat was on sale for $6.
That, and the pretty pink coat makes the peeing and pooping in the house a little easier to take.

Dog Watch '07

2007-01-29T13:52:00.000-05:00

So, you may remember a few posts back I told what my Dad gave me for Christmas- a miniature schnauzer puppy. Now, you may also remember that I did not ask for this gift, nor expressed interest in it. (I have always loved dogs and always wanted one, but I don't have a fenced in back yard and I also have enough self-awareness to know I am selfish with my time and I like to sleep). ANYHOO- they (Dad and stepmom) picked up the puppy the day I left for Honduras and kept it while I was away, and then kept it another week while I slept and recovered from the trip.
All this to say: the inevitable happened and I got the dog Friday. Her name is Izzy (Isabel Bristow) because I love Grey's Anatomy and my favorite show of all time is Alias.......and I will admit she is pretty cute- sometimes.
Our bathroom tally for the first 24 hours was
Outside- 2 times
Inside- 8 times
The kid seriously peed or pooped in every room of my house. My boyfriend kept telling me she's just a baby, blah blah blah but I just kept thinking "Happy Birthday Baby Jesus" as I got out the mop and glow and mop to mop up urine again....and again....and again.

Coming Home.....

2007-01-24T16:12:00.000-05:00

So, last week I was in Honduras. If you read the entry preceeding this you will remember I was SO NOT excited about this trip, but now that I am safely home I can tell you it was the BEST trip ever. Apparently I like third world countries.
But really it was just a life-changing experience. I have done this trip three times before, but for some reason this is the one where I "got it". Our group was working in a village of an indigenous Indian tribe. Ony a few of them had ever seen a white person! This was poverty like I've never seen it before. Our guide said that they literally die of starvation in the summer and most of the time they only have a quarter cup of coffee a day for any sort of food!
Their houses were mud huts- most smaller than my bedroom (which isn't that big) with up to 10 people living in each one. They have no beds, pillows, change of clothes, etc. Most of the houses don't have chimneys so they are filled with smoke from their fire/kitchen.
I won't bore you with all the details but it has been really hard coming back to a life where I'm not satisfied with what I have. I couldn't even get excited about my new stationery that had arrived while I was gone that I have been so looking forward to (initials in pink script). I have been having a hard time at work listen to people complain about things that are so insignificant when I think about the people I spent a week with who are starving. And what is so maddening is is how cheap it would be to feed them. Each person in our group gave $7 (there were 10 of us) and were able to give each family enough food to eat on for months- $7!! I spent that much on my Kroger sub today.
So, now I'm back trying to figure out what I can personally change to help these people, and how I can change the situations around me to help these people.
Here are some pictures of the trip!

This is the Kindergarten in the village!

This is a typical house in the village.

New friends!

Did I mention Honduras is gorgeous?

Ok, all for now. Thanks for indulging me.

OK, OK

2007-01-12T09:52:00.002-05:00

Excellent work, Bossy giving us an idea of what to blog about. I too have found my life incredibly boring lately and thus un-blogworthy. So, here are things going on in my life/bugging me---
1) Tomorrow at 5:30 am I leave for a week long trip to Honduras. I think we are repairing a water line in some village? Before you ask, no- I don't know anything about water lines- but I do know I will be using the term agua a lot (I don't even think thats how you spell it). It will be good once I get there, but I am totally freaking out about my lack of food intake for the next 8 days and the LONG bus ride over non-paved roads in conjunction with my motion sickness. Should be a blast. Oh, did I mention I don't really know any of the other 9 people going? Ok, I'll stop complaining and get in my "third world country" work mode.

2)Beauty and the Geek- Ok, the reason this is bugging me is becuase I just happened upon the first episode last week and much to my horror I am TOTALLY obsessed with it. Those geeks are so cute I have a crush on three of them. I mean that Star Wars band guy- c'mon.

3) Trump- shut up. Seriously. It is never ok to call a woman a fat slob in public, no matter how much money you have.

4) Did I mention my Dad bought me a dog for Christmas? Yeah, they pick it up today. Apparently they heard me say I wantd it, but I don't remember saying that.

5) There is one thing you need to know about me and Bossy. The biggest difference (and really one of the only ones besides her love of peas and my hatred for them) is that she loves Brenday Walsh from 90210 and I hate her. I'm sorry, I think she is mean. Maybe I'm correlating her too much with Shannon Doherty, but I had to let everyone know.
I feel better.

Tagged.

2007-01-06T00:43:00.000-05:00

Bossy Tagged me so here you go:

A-Available or single? Single

B-Best Friend? Bossy Bar Wife

C- Cake or Pie? Yellow Cake with chocolate icing

D-Drink of choice? Either Diet Coke, Bud Light, or red wine

E-Essential item I use every day: lipstick

F-Favorite color? pink

G-Gummy Bears or Gummy worms? Hmmmm....I love them both, but bear i think

H-Hometown? Atlanta

I-Indulgence: cheese dip and America's next top model

J-January or February? February- Bossy's birthday and january is such a let down after December

K-Kids and names: n/a

L-Life is incomplete without? naps

M-Marriage date: sometime in the future

N-Number of siblings: 2

O-Oranges or apples? Hmmm....I love fuji apples but I also love oranges....

P-Phobias or fears? THUNDERSTORMS

Q-Favorite quote? ??

R-Reasons to smile: Friends reruns, friends in general

S-Season: Fall for college football, summer for long days and drinking on restaurant patios, Spring for green and my birthday, Winter for hmmm....

T-Tag 3 or 4 people: I think Bossy tagged everyone I know..... Sew Sally?

U-Unknown fact about me: I am newly obsessed with 24. I have only seen the first 8 hours of Season One, but I am totally hooked.

V-Vegetable you don't like: brussel sprouts.

W-Worst habit: eating when i'm not hungry

Y-Your favorite food? anything potato

Z-Zodiac? Gemini

Christmas Time..........

2006-12-27T17:28:00.000-05:00

Here are things to note about my Christmas:
1) My boyfriend gave me a pair of Seven jeans which is good for three reasons: 1- I've been wanting them for 2 years because I am a firm believer that good jeans make your butt look better and you skinnier, 2- he has been telling me for two years I am crazy for wanting jeans that cost that much and him buying them shows he does really care about what I really want, and 3- when I tell people who don't know what Seven jeans are what he got me for Christmas they think I'm saying he bought me a size seven jean, which is not a size I wear.

2) My Dad got me a dog for Christmas, a 5 week old miniature Schnauzer. This is interesting on several levels, including but not limited to- I didn't ask for a dog; I have never made it unclear to anyone I know that if I ever got a dog it would be a pug named tator tot; did I mention I didn't ask for one? I told them I would have to think about it, but I will admit it is quite cute- I'll post a picture later.

3) Apparently my Dad was going to buy me a plasma flat screen tv, but decided to buy me a dog instead.

4) Yesterday while shopping at a furniture store I realized I was shopping right next to Jeff Francouer, who is the right fielder for the Braves for all you non-Braves fans!! It was quite exciting. I unfortuantely didn't get a picture because apparently I am really dumb and kept taking pictures of my hand with my phone...

5) It was a very nice day- hope yours was, too!!

Salted Meats

2006-12-20T14:43:00.000-05:00

So, the first thing that you need to know is that my boyfriend is loud. When he talks, he can be quite loud. Goodness forbid you ever go to a movie that has a poop joke in it, because I guarantee he will be the one laughing the loudest and longest. It can get quite embarassing for me who doesn't necessarily like people looking at her for the sole reason she is with loudy. The times that can be really embarassing are any sort of sports function, or anywhere in public with his friends as I have noticed that his loudness increases by 500% when we are around his friends. Never watch football with him- just a tip. The good part of this behavior is that when we are at a bar or a party, I can usually find him. Which brings us to Saturday night:

Saturday night we stopped by one of his friends' annual Christmas party. It was a fairly small house so people were inside and outside hanging out since there were a lot of people there. Due to the fact that I had on my high heeled boots (very cute, but not so comfy) and the fact I hadn't been to the chiropractor in a month, I found the most comfortable chair and parked myself in it. It was the perfect situation because I could see the tv with the football game and everyone I knew there was standing or sitting near me. We hung out for awhile and enjoyed the baby quiches and small talk and I finally talked him into leaving a few hours later. By then it was past my bedtime and the quiches were gone, the game was over, I had started the water drinking process, so to me the night was over.

So, we head inside and I squeeze past the girls who had not started the water drinking portion of the night and were instead dancing to Fergalicious with all the left over food on trays in their hands (think ham, carrots, celery, dips, etc- but mostly ham). I finally got past them and made my way to the front door only to turn around and boyfriend was nowhere to be found. I looked in bathroom, the room with the coats, the kitchen and he was nowhere......then I stuck my head into the "dancing room" and find him still standing at the door staring with his mouth open and eyes dancing. I looked at him and gave him the "we were leaving, my feet hurt" glare to which he yells (especially loud so I could hear him over fergie), "BABY, I'M SORRY BUT THERE IS NOTHING BETTER THAN DRUNK GIRLS DANCING WITH SALTED MEATS." We finally left but I am still hearing about girls dancing with salted meats......and I don't even like ham.

Keep the Home Fires Burning...

2006-12-13T11:50:00.000-05:00

So, I recently moved for the second time in 3 months........but its a good thing- once I get all my boxes unpacked. One of the things I love about my new place is that it has a fireplace that works! The previous tenant even left a lot of firewood by the back door. The only thing I was told about this fireplace was that sometimes if the fire got too big you had to crack the living room window so smoke wouldn't build up. (Now, I've never had a non-gas fireplace but I thought the point of a chimney was to allow the smoke to go outside and not "build up" inside, but what do I know).

The other week my boyfriend decided to test out the fireplace and got some firewood and built a fire. It was really fun but I did learn something that night (and by watching Survivor) and that is that it is a lot of work to build a fire from scratch. I decided then and there I might need those logs you can get where you light the paper and it lasts for 3 hours. The next day I went and got some.

So, last night I got home from work late and thought, "Hey, I'll turn on the Christmas tree lights, start a fire and prop my feet up." It sounded like a great plan. I put the log in the fireplace and lit "at the arrows" as instructed and in 2 minutes had a great fire. I went into the kitchen to start cooking dinner. After about 15 minutes it was time to drain the pasta. I poured the pasta into the colander in the sink and as the steam started rising up my smoke alarm went off. Now, this was the first time I had cooked in my kitchen so I thought, "Wow, that is one serious smoke alarm." I went and got a broom and waved it in front of the smoke alarm and it went right off. One minute later it went off again- but this time my brain started functioning and I realized it was my beautiful fire in the fireplace. I waved the broom again and this time cracked my living room window. Two minutes later- beep beep beep beep beep. I wave the broom and crack the window a little further this time. I then prop my feet up, sit back and get ready to enjoy my pasta, my tree, and my beautiful fire.

Now, I'm sure you can guess what happened two minutes later- smoke alarm. I waved the broom in front of the smoke alarm and this time open my living room window as high as it will go. (Keep in mind my couch is directly in front of this window, so the chilly night air is starting to blow right onto me- yes, totally defeating the purpose of my beautiful fire.) I felt satisfied this would work and it did- for about ten minutes. It went off again. This time I waved the broom, and then turned on the ceiling fan in the sunroom. This seemed to work pretty well, albeit I was freezing. So, for the next hour and a half the smoke alarm only went off about ten times.

Around this time my boyfriend calls to check in and I fill him in on my night with my now not-so-beautiful-but- more -liked- a- damned fire. To which he says (in not the most supportive of tones), "Why didn't you just take the battery out of the smoke alarm and put it back in before you go to bed?"

Duh. Why didn't I think of that? The good news is I got a great arm work out by fanning the broom.

Its a small, small, world

2006-12-12T10:42:00.000-05:00

Ok, I know we all have our "Its a small world" stories, but here are two that have happened recently at my job that have somewhat freaked me out.
1) The receptionist at my office the other day (she is a volunteer and in her 70's) stopped me and asked me what my address was. I told her and her response was, "I thought I saw that in the rolodex. Is it a brick house on a hill?" She asked me a few more questions about it and after I told her all of that was true she said, "Yeah, I lived in that house 57 years ago." How weird is that? And my work is not in the same part of town as where I live which makes it doubly crazy.

2) A woman at the office stopped me the other day and asked, "Did your family live anywhere before they came here? Like Tennessee?" Well, I thought she meant my ancestors so I go into a long diatribe about how my father's family was from South Carolina and my mother's family were from Atlanta, etc etc. Finally she says, "Well, this woman saw you the other day and said she swore she knew your parents in Tennessee." Finally my brain started working and I yell, "OH yeah, my parents did live in Tennessee before I was born." But, that was 35 years ago so I was not convinced this woman talking to me knew what she was talking about.
Later, I called my mom to ask her if she knew the people who had asked about her. And her response was, "Oh yeah! We were friends with them before you were born!" Now what especially weirded me out was that the woman had not talked to my mom in over 35 years, had no idea I was ever born, but she just saw me and knew I was their daughter. It finally occurred to me that I am only a few years older than my mom would have been when they had known each other so apparently I look ALOT like my parents.

Its a SMALL world.

Holiday Idea....

2006-12-05T13:35:00.000-05:00

Ok, everyone might already know this, but this is a great Holiday decorating idea: If you need a festive runner or table covering- use holiday wrapping paper. Its easy, cheap, and really fun. I used this at an event I did with kids the other day where they were doing crafts and the tables needed to be covered and we used fun paper instead of the usual white or brown paper. We also used nice red wrapping paper for a runner under the punch, etc and it looked really cute!
Just my idea for the day.

A Lesson in IM'ing

2006-11-30T10:56:00.000-05:00

The other day my boss left for lunch and of course immediately I had a question I had to have answered. I kept waiting and waiting for Boss to return, but nothing. The secretary and I kept IM'ing back and forth about how long Boss had been gone, etc etc. Finally after about 4 hours I IM'ed the secreatary and said, "He's not back? YET????" When secretary didn't respond after a minute or so I wondered what was up and realized to my horror, I had sent Boss my IM!!! Luckily quick thinking me jumped into action and send Secretary outside to keep watch while I let myself into Boss's office and broke into the computer and erased the IM.
Close call. And the lesson is: if you are going to IM about your Boss, make sure you check the address before you press send.

Thanksgiving Detox

2006-11-26T10:44:00.000-05:00

If you are like me you have just eaten more food than any human should consume the past few days. I swear dressing gets better and better each year. If I could eat just a huge plate of dressing everyday I would...........however I noticed this morning my pants are much tighter and I think I now have to go on food detox. I'm not sure what that means, but I see a lot of Lean Pockets and Lean Cuisines in my future, even though I can only think of Taco Bell right now....
Adding to this, my scale played a cruel trick on me. I got on the scare yesterday to see how bad the damage was and to my amazement I weighed 15 pounds less than I did a week ago. Now not only is that fairly impossible even if I was dieting, I knew it was a complete impossibility considering how much dressing and casseroles I had just had! Sometimes my scale can be weird depending on where it is, so I moved it across the bathroom- and again, 15 pounds lighter. Moved it again, still 15 pounds lighter. I did this at least five times all with the same result. And just as I was about to accept the miracle, I moved it again, and no longer did I weigh 15 pounds lighter, I actually weighed 3 pounds heavier than I had a week ago. Next time, I take what it says the first time.

my mailbox

2006-11-16T14:45:00.000-05:00

This is why I hate my mailbox- Yesterday is POURED rain where I live for literally over 12 hours. As I am running onto my porch I open my mailbox and I was filled with complete happiness and then immediate horror. Waiting for me was my December issue of Martha Stewart Living. I have been anxiously waiting this particular issue because I love decorating for Christmas, and I just love looking at all the pictures. However, come to find out, my mailbox isn't weather-proofed and my long awaited present was soaked to the core. I dried it out as best I could and put it next to the oven and under lights and it is still usable, but it definitely won't fit in with my stack of other Livings........
Oh well. On to figure out weather-proofing tactics.

A Child's View

2006-11-16T10:42:00.000-05:00

If there is one thing I love in life it is stories about my niece and nephew. I have a 9 year old niece and a five year old nephew and my sister usually has a good story for me when I call. The story from yesterday was pretty good, so I thought I'd share it:
Both my sister and brother-in-law are ministers who work at different churches so their time together is limited, but when they are together they are oftentimes discussing their church or something related to religion. Apparently my niece is getting tired of it. My sister said a few months ago my niece finally screamed, "Can we please find something else to talk about besides God? I am so tired of hearing about God!" Thus, for awhile whenever my sister and brother-in-law were discussing God they instead said the word pickle to give the 9 year old a break, and because it was completely ridiculous. Apparently she began to find this frustrating as well because yesterday she said, "Oh geez. Lets just call God what God is- the big holy It in the sky."
So now in our family God is referred to as The Big Holy It in the Sky.
I also love that a 9 year old didn't refer to God as Him or even her- It. Apparenlty my 9 year old niece is smarter than me.

Holiday Cards

2006-11-15T17:16:00.000-05:00

Ok, I'm just going to put it out there. I realize I am in the minority in this line of thinking, but I'm going to say it anyway, and maybe someone can help me see the error of my ways in the comments section. BUT, honestly I really don't like holiday cards with family pictures on them. Now, I totally get sending those to relatives or friends who don't live near you, etc, but otherwise I just don't get it. And here is why: To me, you send Christmas cards or Holiday cards to tell people you are thinking of them. Its nice to get a card from someone and realize they took the time to think of you and send you a card. But when you put the picture on there I think it turns into "look at our family" and it looses the meaning of thinking of you, it no longer becomes about the receiver, it becomes about the sender.
SO, if you like these cards and can give me a new way to think of them, please let me know. (And remember, I said it was ok for people who don't see you often, etc).

I second that emotion....

2006-11-14T13:28:00.000-05:00

Ok, I just have to say it- Snake Nation was right- The three cheese chicken quesadilla Lean Pocket is SO GOOD!!! I was hesitant at first because usually frozen chicken on entrees such as these do not appeal to me- but dear lordy- yummers. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes cheese- and its only 6 WW points....so good. I might dream about it tonight.
If you are always on the hunt for low-cal frozen options for lunchtime at work- here are some other favorites-
I also love the Spinach mushroom pizza by Lean cuisine- again only 6 points- and instead of marinara it has an "alfredo" sauce. (usually I am not an alfredo fan, but this is really good- and you feel like you've eaten something bad)
As far as WW frozen entrees- my friend recommended the Three Cheese Ziti and again- GOOD!
As you can tell, I like cheese. I don't usually like frozen low cal meals because I wish I were eating the real thing- but these three products I highly recommend and actually look forward to eating!

Britney, red states, and friends

2006-11-10T14:38:00.000-05:00

So, if you are a democrat and live in a red state, Election day can be quite depressing. You go through all of the emotions- waking up thinking this time will be different and feeling hopeful, to seeing results come in and wondering if you need to move, to down right in the dumps depression. But, alas, this election day, the sun broke through the red state of mine's clouds and TADA the best news ever- Britney filed for divorce from Kfed. Now I know a lot of people may be tired of hearing about this, but I'm not. I really should write Brit brit a thank you note for making an otherwise bad day into the best day ever. You see, I had pretty much given up on Brit brit. I had filed her away into the Whitney Houston file of biggest talent wastes ever (although luckily that file name might have to be replaced soon..yeah). I'm not saying Britney is the most talented person out there, but I'm not going to lie, the music can be fun. Who doesn't like Hit me Baby One more time? No one. The golden years of her and Justin were just downright fun......and then Kfed happened. Our little golden Britney turned into trash slut mom Brit right before our very eyes. It was sad. It was depressing. Perez Hilton was aghast. I wasn't sure if we would ever get her back, but Tuesday she made the first step back towards stardom and it couldn't have come on a better day for this democrat living in a red state.
And to make things even better, I was reminded about what great friends I have who were just as excited as I about the news. Unfortunately my boyfriend didn't seem to care, but thats what friends are for, I guess. To share in any excitement, even if it is as petty as Britney filing for divorce.
.

100 things? Ok

2006-11-06T14:51:00.000-05:00

It seems you are supposed to do this so here goes:
1. I was born in Columbus, GA but moved to the ATL before I was 2 months old.
2. I have an older sister and a younger half-sister.
3. I love the beach more than anything.
4. I would live at the beach if I had any money.
5. I got mono and missed the last month of my first semester of grad school- somehow I passed all my classes anyway.
6. I have a Master's Degree and when my student loans are more under control I want to back to school.
7. TiVo might be my favorite possession.
8. I love red wine, and hate white wine.
9. I went to Italy and fell in love (with the country, not an Italian- although that would have been nice).
10. I was in Florence, Italy when the Pope died.
11. I would be really skinny if they took mexican food and pasta out of my life.
12. I am somewhat obsessed with PopIce.
13. My favorite flowers are hydrangeas and if I ever get married that will be my bouquet.
14. If I'm not married by 35 I am going to carry around a bouquet of hydrangeas for a year- maybe.
15. I'm a democrat.
16. I'm somewhat of a hypochondriac, anytime I'm sick I'm pretty sure its cancer or a tumor.
17. I didn't like pink in high school but now it is my favorite color.
18. I majored in Art History.
19. I love dogs.
20. I love BudLight.
21. I love SEC football, especially the Tennessee Vols.
22. My grandmother is my hero.
23. I never knew either of my grandfathers.
24. I go to a chiropractor.
25. I've had the same two best friends my entire life.
26. I love daylight savings time.
27. I love to read- The Poisonwood Bible is my current favorite book.
28. For two years I collected the most money from alumni for my college. I won a savings bond, but have no idea what happened to it.
29. I really like playing Bridge, although I don't know anyone else who does.
30. I love Vegas.
31. One of my favorite childhood memories is Mom playing kickball with me in the front yard.
32. I cried more than my sister at her wedding.
33. I cry a lot- especially at commercials or The Biggest Loser ( I know, I know).
34. I visit Perezhilton.com literally over 54 times a day.
35. In 2nd grade I discussed who the Salem Strangler was on Days of Our Lives with my teacher (my mom and sister watched it).
36. My checkbook was always balanced to the penny until I got mono and it hasn't been balanced since.
37. I really love hot tea.
38. I have had pneumonia twice in my life- in 1st and 3rd grade and I sent myself a get well card.
39. As a junior in high school I broke my ankle skiing but the EMT guy said it was sprained so I had to walk on it for over 2 weeks.
40. I have a tattoo that I got with four other people. It hurt more than my broken ankle
41. I don't leave the house without lipstick on.
42. I sleep with the TV on.
43. I was once broken up with over e-mail.
44. If I won the lottery I would pay off my student loans and then hire someone to do my hair everyday.
45. I pretty much have to have a potato product at each meal (add that to my I'd be skinny if list)
46. I can talk to crowds of over 400 people with no problem, but want to cry if I am asked to walk into a room without a close friend and talk to people.
47. My parents divorced when I was 7.
48. My dad remarried when I was 8.
49. My mother should be nominated for sainthood.
50. I have a goddaughter.
51. I love America's Next Top Model (come one Snake Nation! :) )
52. I have a niece and a nephew who I probably talk about too much.
53. I am deathly afraid of lightning and tornadoes.
54. I am fairly messy although it drives me crazy.
55. I am obsessed with purses and shoes because they don't make me feel fat, and I truly believe they can make or break an outfit.
56. I don't wear much jewelry because I either forget to put it on, or I lose it all.
57. I really love the show Entourage and think Johnny Drama is the funniest part of the show.
58. I have a really small family but have always wanted a big one.
59. I have a really bad memory and sometimes have to call my best friend to ask her things.
60. I am always able to take a nap.
61. I made the plans for a Kindergarten system in Honduras.
62. I was never carsick until I went to Honduras and now I can hardly dial my cellphone in the car without getting sick.
63. I took my 85 year old blind grandmother to a Clay Aiken concert, at her request.
64. I have really big feet for my height.
65. I have a bunion on my right foot I call Paul.
66. I really like to paint, but get so frustrated with not being as good as I want that I don't do it a lot.
67. I really love babies.
68. I don't understand people who don't watch TV and are proud of it.
69. I was a math major in college for a week.
70. One of my proudest moments in college was getting an A in calculus.
71. I think I would make an excellent meteorologist.
72. I love going to Braves games.
73. I am a good typer.
74. Sometimes I have to turn the View off because of Elizabeth Hasselbeck.
75. I have had 3 wrecks and they were all my fault.
76. I love fried okra and squash (not fried).
77. I am highly allergic to real Christmas trees.
78. I watch the Today Show every morning.
79. I love pens from hotels, and I only used Holiday Inn Express pens in Grad school.
80. I prefer veggie burgers (gardenburgers, not black bean) to real hamburgers.
81. I don't like cartoons.
82. I love the movie What about Bob?
83. I also love Shawshank Redemption.
84. I also love anything with Will Ferrell in it.
85. I love getting pedicures.
86. I am named after my great-grandmother.
87. I don't get embarrassed. Well, it takes a lot.
88. I really love blueberry donuts from Dunkin Donuts and allow myself like 3 a year.
89. I love roller coasters.
90. I recently realized I am scared of heights.
91. A 6th grader dressed up as me for Halloween last year and I didn't know it but when I arrived at our Halloween Carnival, we were dressed exactly the same. Apparently I wear black shirts and jeans a lot.
92. I hate ham.
93. I really like fish (eating, not aquariums).
94. I wish my sister who lives in Indiana lived here so we could see each other all the time.
95. I have been told I look like everything from Lauren Graham from Gilmore Girls (good) to Falcor from the Neverending Story (bad), and others in between.
96. The news that Britney filed for divorce is the best news I've heard all week.
97. One of my pet peeves is people sneezing. For some reason it drives me crazy.
98. Another pet peeve is when people say they are staying in the marriage for the children. If you loved your children you would realize children are smart and know when things aren't good.
99. I wore braces for 3 and a half years.
100. I have freckles and I hate them.

Whew.

Martha Stewart, here we come

2006-11-06T13:40:00.000-05:00

Can you call yourself crafty if it takes you about 8 hours to make a bulletin board? I think so. My best friend, the bossy barwife, and I decided to make bulletin boards this weekend and lets just say it took two and a half football games to complete the project instead of the half of one we had planned. Luckily for me, bossy's husband bought enough food to include me in their dinner plans because I was there through mid-afternoon snack, appetizers, and dinner. Go to Bossy's blog to read the full story- she does a great job of telling it, but let me just reiterate a few things:
1) we really were covered in some very itchy building material and yes, I did break out into hives because of it.
2) apparently everyone in Home Depot Saturday knew what they were doing and didn't want to be bothered with two funny cool girls, because they were not impressed with us, especially when I dropped the contents of my purse the second time.
3) We are now bulletin board experts so tune in to see when you can order yours!

Open Letter to Parents on Halloween

2006-11-01T10:02:00.000-05:00

Dear Parents- I love Halloween (well, I love candy) and I love watching children trick or treat on Halloween. However, Halloween is not an open invitation to walk your kids down the middle of the street and not move until you get to your destination, even when cars are coming. This is not only dangerous, as their are crazy drivers out there, but also not a good lesson to teach your children.
Thank you.
Mayor

Guilty Pleasures

2006-10-31T15:03:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I have a new obsession. Judge me or love me, but here it is: I am newly obsessed with the tv show Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader: Making the Team. I know what you are thinking, I thought it to when my sister turned it on this weekend, but it is so addictive its great. It follows the tryouts of becoming a Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader which is over a 3 month process and very intense. Its like heaven and a train wreck all at the same time. They focus on a few girls so you get to like them and worry about whether they are going to be cut at any second and its so great. For instance, (don't worry, I'm not giving anything away) in one episode the "director" of the cheerleaders doesn't like a girls attitude and decides she needs to be polished so her homework assignment is: not stretching or working on the dance routines, but to read a biography of Jackie Kennedy Onassis! AND she makes the girl give an oral report at practice. Classic. There are parts that do enrage me- like making these girls feel fat when I can see their ribcage, but look beyond that to the beauty of the show. It comes on CMT- don't know times, but search for it. You won't regret it. (Trivia fact: Their tv movie Dallas Cowboy CHeerleaders is the second highest rated tv movie of all time)
My other new obsession is playing Shop Til You Drop on my cellphone. I highly encourage you Verizon customers to download it.

Not a good start.......

2006-10-30T11:05:00.000-05:00

Two things occurred in the past 24 hours which made me think this week is not off to a good start:
1) I forgot to "fall back". As everyone else was getting an extra hour of sleep, I was instead unknowingly getting up at 5:30 am so I was ready for work at 6:30, only to figure out I had a full hour to sit......luckily there is a Starbucks nearby. And to add insult to injury, I hate (and yes, mom I know hate is a very strong word), but I hate daylight savings time ending. I love it when it is still light outside at 8:00. I don't like it when I arrive at the gym at 5:30 and it is dark. I basically stay depressed until March, or whenever the sun comes again....although good Christmas presents can sometimes brighten the day.... :)
2) This morning as I was beginning the hair drying ritual, I realized I had just saturated my hair with, not my leave-in detangler spray, but with hairspray, which you may know does not detangle, it actually sets the tangles in. Thus, me having the worst hair day ever which just happens to fall on the day of my yearly review. Thanks.

Guilty Pleasures

2006-10-25T09:28:00.000-05:00

I just need to get a few things off my chest so I don't have to keep thinking I need to be a smart blogger. I finally realized (even though I think I said I had already but apparently I was lying) that my friends who read this already know me and the rest of you don't know who I am so even if I impressed you with my knowledge of china and fine linens you wouldn't think any more of me on the street, so why bother. Don't get me wrong I do like good sheets and am fairly knowledgeable about some smart stuff- art and shoes (and if you don't think shoes are smart you are sorely mistaken) but I have found that I am most knowledgeable about things that have no significance in the world, but are my guilty pleasures and make me happy anyway....so here are some:
1- I am an expert at pop culture trivia, excluding Simpsons, South Park and other adult cartoons. People magazine was my favorite magazine as a pre-teen and still is. If I visit perezhilton.com once a day I visit it 400. I'm not one of those people that is obsessed with stardom and want to be like them, I just find the whole phenomenon fascinating. (I also understand though that I can't complain about the Paris Hilton/Lindsay Lohans of the world because I pay for those magazines, but I can think they are ridiculous and get mad at myself for perpetuating it. I gave up People magazine for Lent one year and although hard, I did save lots of money).
2- I watch America's Next Top Model and Project Runway religiously. I used to be a complete reality tv whore, but I have given a lot of tv up. I can say with certainty I may never give those two shows up though. Alias is my favorite show of all time, but when JJ Abrams took that from me, I was forced to put these at the top, next to Grey's Anatomy.
3- I love a great meal like the next person, but I also love Taco Bell, really love it.
4- In grad school I became obsessed with a computer game called Snood and have recently reconnected with it, much to the detriment of my work load. I also found this game online which is quick and fun: http://www.nbc.com/Deal_or_No_Deal/game/dond.swf
5- I love Regis Philbin and once sent him a Christmas card....although I never got one in return.
6- I love all things Friends and Sex and the City.
7- My favorite thing to do on Saturday mornings is to stay in bed read and book and have College Gameday on in the background ( I love SEC football, but what good southern girl doesn't?)

I'm sure there are other things I need to confess to, but I guess I do need to do some work, so they will come later.....

Helpful Hints

2006-10-20T13:52:00.000-05:00

As someone who lives in a house that was built in the 1920's and who spills things a lot, I am always looking for clever ways to get stains out, etc. I got this e-mail today and thought I would share some of the fun things it taught me:
-A sealed envelope - Put in the freezer for a few hours, then slide a knife under the flap. The envelope can then be resealed. (this doesn't really help you clean, but it could come in handy...)
-Use Empty toilet paper rolls to store appliance cords. It keeps them neat and you can write on the roll what appliance it belongs to.
-For icy door steps in freezing temperatures: Get warm water and put Dawn dish washing liquid in it. Pour it all over the steps. They won'tRefreeze.
-To remove old wax from a glass candle holder, put it in the freezer for a few hours. Then take the candle holder out and turn it upside down. The wax will fall out.
-Crayon marks on walls? This worked wonderfully! A damp rag, dipped in baking soda. Comes off with little effort (elbow grease that is!).
-Permanent marker on appliances/counte r tops (like store receipt BLUE!) rubbing alcohol on paper towel.
-Blood stains on clothes? Not to worry! Just pour a little hydrogen Peroxide on a cloth and proceed to wipe off every drop of blood. Works Every time!
-Use vertical strokes when washing windows outside and horizontal for inside windows. This way you can tell which side has the streaks. Straight vinegar will get outside windows really clean. Don't wash windows on a sunny day. They will dry too quickly and will probably streak
-Place fabric softener sheets in dresser drawers and your clothes will smell freshly washed for weeks to come. You can also do this with towels and linen.
-Candles will last a lot longer if placed in the freezer for at least 3Hours prior to burning.
-To easily remove burnt on food from your skillet, simply add a drop or two of dish soap and enough water to cover bottom of pan, and bring to a boil on stove top.
-Spray your TUPPERWARE with nonstick cooking spray before pouring in tomato-based sauces and there won't be any stains.
-Don't throw out all that leftover wine: Freeze into ice cubes for future use in casseroles and sau ces. Left over wine? What's that? :)
-Clean a vase. To remove a stain from the bottom of a glass vase or cruet, fill with water and drop in two Alka Seltzer tablets
-Clean a thermos bottle. Fill the bottle with water, drop in four Alka Seltzer tablets, and let soak for an hour

Now, I have not personally tried any of these so I can't verify their effectiveness, but I can't wait to try them out!!

This may not seem important....

2006-10-17T08:18:00.000-05:00

This may not seem important, but trust me it is. I hvae been having serious problems finding an eyeliner that doesn't make you look like a racoon by the end of the day. I've tried cheap, I've tried expensive, and they are all the same. If any of the three people who read this have any suggestions, please let me know. I know this isn't a really interesting post, but desperate times call for desperate measures. (I've tried Mary Kay, Aveda, and Cover Girl, etc....)

Kids are mean

2006-10-16T10:09:00.000-05:00

So, driving into work today I passed a school bus stop. I noticed this adorable little boy and thought to myself, "That may be the cutest kid I've ever seen." Believe it or not, as I was thinking this, the kid looked at me, picked up a rock and threw it at my car! Yes, he threw a rock at my car- and then laughed. I had to remind myself I wasn't his mother because I almost turned the car around to go track him down, until I also realized I am an adult and didn't want to be the crazy lady who yells at 6 year olds on the street. Although if I see him again.....

Cold

2006-10-13T09:41:00.001-05:00

Sometimes I think things happen to me because God likes to laugh at me. Take this morning for instance. Im getting out of bed to take the dog outside so I turn on trusty Flip Spiceland the weatherman (who isn't always so trusty) and discover its in the 50's, so I do what any normal person would do and put on jeans, a sweater, and a coat. We start around the block and the wind is blowing and its getting really cool so I decide to zip up my jacket. Safe enough, right? Wrong. In the next 5 minutes it must jump 20 degrees because all of a sudden I am sweating. I go to unzip my jacket when it occurs to me that this is the coat thats zipper is a little tempermental. Needless to say I am standing in the middle of the street with my dog's leash in between my knees and pulling at this zipper. Others in the neighborhood have realized its not quite the Artic and are passing by in short sleeves shirts and some even had on shorts.....and there I am sweating in a red parka people are probably currently wearing at the North Pole. Needless to say I looked like Santa Claus walking the rest of the way, but I just pretended the others were crazy and not me.
Of course now as I sit on my back deck to write this it has cooled off again and my fingers are about to fall off they are so cold.....but I am not putting that coat on again. (which I had to take off like a sweater when I got back home). Laugh, God, laugh.

Huh?

2006-10-12T13:21:00.000-05:00

So, this morning I stopped by Panera (which I once thought was called Pantera) to get a bagel. I do this once maybe every 5 months because I am usually running late for work. Today for some reason I decided being late for work was no big deal so I went for it. While I was waiting in line this older woman comes up and asks the people working if they have anymore free bread samples. Now, my first thought is- free bread samples are a gift from the gods. When they are gone, you don't ask for more, you just curse the fact that you missed them (or ate them all). SOL lady. And as if this wasn't bad enough, she then goes (with a big smile on her face like we should join her) "Yeah, my dog is in the car and I wanted to give her some." I just stared at her because now not only has she gone against free bread sample etiquette she has kinda just said their food is only good for dogs. I mean, I love my dog, but I wouldn't ask for free food from a bakery for it. Bones from chik-fil-a drive thru, yes, bakery, no. And she just kept standing there waiting. Luckily, the workers understood free bread etiquette and they ignored her.
Unfortunately for me, turns out I was the crazy one because when I got back in my car I quickly realized I had forgotten to throw away my dog's "crap bag", for lack of a better word. So, my car smelled like dog crap. Maybe I'll skip my bagel idea next time.

You would think....

2006-10-08T17:08:00.000-05:00

So, before I started this damn blog I swear crazy stuff happenend to me! And now I can't figure out if the craziness has stopped or if I am just putting so much pressure on events to be "blog worthy" that nothing is measuring up.
Then I realized, who is putting this pressure on me? The zero people (except Bossy barwife and reallyi'mamom) who are reading this non-advertised, tucked into cyberspace blog? So, pressure is gone. From now on I'm just going to write. And if you think its boring, then go read perezhilton.com, because that's what I do when I read boring stuff.
I WILL SAY that I am at a stupid Conference and I swear the people here are somewhat crazy. I was sitting next to this girl who (I kid you not) was telling me she used to be a clown but was now starting a new career and she said, "Yeah, its really hard. Now that I've put my red nose aside I am figuring out the next steps." Now, if it were me, I would have said that because well, its funny. Really funny. Unfortunately for us all, she was dead serious and actually says things like "now that I've put my red nose aside". Oh well. Crazytown . (sorry to any clowns out there, but you're scary anyway so this shouldn't hurt you too much)

The Beginning....

2006-10-04T17:24:00.000-05:00

So, here it is. I still don't quite understand blogging, but I have been told I might be the only person without one, so here it is. I named it Welcome to Crazytown because most of the time I feel like that is where I live: Crazytown. In fact, I might be Mayor of Crazytown. If its not my stepmother forgetting she was supposed to call me for dinner (I don't take not eating lightly) or someone asking me if I could tune their organ, I promise you it is something crazy happening.... so I thought I would document crazytown happenings here. Hope you like 'em.