GLEE

Watch Glee Tonight!

Fox 9/8c

Its the best thing on TV (thus far) this fall. I'm in love with those show. And I'm tired of the ridiculous tv shows that everyone else seems to love. TV should be fun, interesting, and enjoyable. It should NOT be about watching some twenty-something living in the big city, with a fake job and fake friends and fake drama. It should NOT be about a bunch of skanky girls throwing themselves at whatever man is the subject of that particular show, claiming to be so in love. And it should NOT be about a bunch of people stuck in a house. I mean really? Don't we have better things to do? I admit that I am not discriminatory in my tv-watching, and that tivo has opened up a lot of shows, some great, some otherwise, and that I probably watch more tv that you do. But, I try to at least pick shows that are uplifting, interesting and good for mankind. And Glee is all of these things. Its fun, its different, its positive. Watch it!

Others tailgate, we GROVE!

Its finally fall! I love love love the fall season and its finally here! I know its finally here because I've begun waking up with a sore throat in the mornings. This is the best time of year, and it leads right up to Christmas time!

Of course, for most people, fall is synonymous with football! As all the faithful blog readers know, I've been tailgating at Ole Miss in the Grove for nearly all my life. As a young whippersnapper (fun word!), we mostly just went to the game and visited other people's tents, but as I got older, specifically, in high school, my family began setting up our own tents and tailgating our own way. We've had several incarnations of the tent, several different locations (still mad we gave up our great location at the Crossroads), and many different people with whom we've set up. However, these past couple years, since law school, I've not gone to as many game, and not really been in the spirit of things at the Grove. And when I do go to the Grove, I rarely make it to the game.



Its hard to admit, but there was something missing for me these last couple football seasons. Perhaps its because I have such GREAT, wonderful memories of the Grove, throughout high school, certainly in college, and in law school. And then, boom, I graduate, I leave Oxford, and nothing is the same. It was actually hard for me to return. My sister didn't understand my hesitation about coming back, but for some reason, returning to Oxford for Game Day was much harder than anticipated, and a bit sad. Made me wish I was still up there so much I couldn't hardly stand it. Not to mention it was a heck of a lot more effort-- getting up early, making the 4 hour drive, rarely having a place to stay. Exhausting.

Luckily for me, this feeling has finally passed. Maybe its something all alumni go through-- you must get a bit of time between you and your great memories in order to truly enjoy going back. I don't know. But I do know that I am ready for football season again!

Its really exciting to get ready for the football games, and get to see old friends again! I cannot wait!!! This link is to a website with a really good video from a news show about the Grove-- I cannot figure out how to be all fancy and link it directly to my site (that's way too much for me at this early stage), but its a good watch and got me all fired up for football! I especially like the guy at the end who talks about why the Grove is so special to Ole Miss Rebels-- basically, everyone has special memories from the Grove-- when they were in college, graduations, weddings, game days, etc. And going back to the Grove brings back those great memories. He put it much better than I did!!

Enjoy!

money, money, money, money...MONEY

Money. I don't have enough of it. Not nearly enough. And, I admit, I don't have good money habits (not from lack of trying of the part of my dad, however).

Lately, though I have been working on better money habits. For months now, I have kept a notebook (a really nice black moleskin notebook-- see where my money problems come?!) with all my bills-- one bill for each page. I write down the date I made a payment, the amount, check number, etc., and the new balance on the bill. I am proud to announce to you, my faithful blog readers, that yesterday I was able to pay the final amount for not one, but TWO bills! Granted, they were smaller bills, but you gotta start somewhere!! I was tempted to go out and celebrate by buying this new black leather with zipper detailing purse I saw recently at TJ Maxx! Its so cute and would totally look great this fall. However, in trying to learn from previous mistakes, I suppressed this desire. Instead, I celebrated by writing in huge RED letters, "PAID IN FULL!!!" in my cute little notebook!

I choose not to dwell on the fact that these were very small bills, and, honestly, should have been paid off quite some time ago. Instead, I will be proud of my small accomplishments, and look forward to paying off more bills in the future! Aren't you proud of my, blog-o-spherers?

Power bill nightmares

So today I opened my power bill and got a terrible surprise-- it was WAY more than in previous months-- nearly twice as much as this time last year. Needless to say, I don't have that much money budgeted in to pay for something like this. Of course, I know part of it is that energy costs have risen in the last few months, and its very hot outside, and I live in an old two-story house. But, the energy prices rose several months ago, and though my bill rose at that time, its the highest its ever been this particular month. Similarly, its been hot outside for a while now; its nothing new. For some reason the bill this month seems to really reflect all these changes a lot more than I've noticed in the past.

Therefore, I am making it my new life's goal to lower this bill as much as possible (that and sell plasma for the money to pay for the actual bill!). I am typically pretty tough about turning out lights, raising the thermostat, etc. It comes from being David Carr's daughter. David, as anyone whose ever gone into his house knows, keeps the air on 80 in the summer and 60 in the winter. Its nearly always ridiculously uncomfortable there!

However, my feeble attempts are not cutting it anymore. So, I am on the lookout for ways to lower my electricity bill. I will share all of my knowledge on this blog, of course. Kinda like a John Tesh: Intelligence for Your Life. Instead it will be J. Dawn: Intelligence for MY Life.

Anyone have any helpful hints? Readers? Readers? Anyone?

Catching up...

Wow, its been a long time since I've updated. Course, not as long as my previous spell over more than one year! But, I am trying to do better, so I hope to update more frequently. You know, for all your readers who cannot get enough of my blog. Yeah, you know who you are.

Last night I went to the Buffalo Wild Wings in Laurel for my cousin's birthday. Well, actually, Brandon is my cousin's husband, but its a lot easier to just say cousin. Furthermore, he's been a part of this family for literally more than a decade so I know him as well as any other part of the family! Happy Birthday, Brandon! Brandon's a cool guy with a great repertoire of imitations of minor, often annoying celebrities. His best is the Gotti boys. He also likes golf, Family Guy, hanging out, but he spends most of his time these days working! He's starting nursing school at William Carey in a few days, so Congrats! While many in the family often feel sorry for Brandon because he has to put up with Emilee, Aunt Ju, me, mom, and all the rest of us, I don't. Not only are we entirely wonderful, fabulous people who are joys to be around all the time, but he also had a good long courtship of my sweet cousin Em, so he has absolutely no excuses. He knew how this family was and still married into it! Happy Birthday, B! You are that much closer to 30!

Buffalo Wild Wings (or BWW as my family refers to it) was ok last night. Its only recently opened, and its opening has coincided with the Dixie Youth World Series in Laurel this week. It was a bit busy and there is no counter at which to place your order, so you have to wait for a waitress. But, its good. My family, especially the boys, really like BWW. In fact, I have several good stories about the boys that involve BWW. Another post, perhaps.

Being Thankful...

Today I am trying to remember to be thankful, and I recall an article a long time ago (probably in a Reader's Digest-- my dad gets two gift subscriptions with his subscription each year-- me and my Aunt Ju!) about a woman who took an entire year of her life and each night, before bed, she wrote down 5 things she was thankful for during the day. According to my recollection of the story, she said it changed her life and allowed her to focus on the good things in her life, and not the bad things. So, here is my mini-version:

5 things I am thankful for today:

1. A good parking space at the post office. My post office has three areas to park-- one is excellent-- all the parking spots are close to the door, but unfortunately are parallel to the post office and you have to be coming from the other direction than I usually am! The other area is a bit further away but it nicely shaded. And the last one is the worst-- its across a very busy 4 lane street and I nearly get killed each time I have to park there. Obviously, this area is typically empty! Today I got a very close parking spot, in the shade. Sometimes I will make the block a couple times to get such a good park!

2. Sarah, the little girl in the convertible jeep-like vehicle next to me at the red light. She waved at me, smiled, then asked my name. I rolled down my window and had a delightful conversation with this delightful little girl. In my mind she was going swimming or something equally as fun, and she sure made my trip to pay my power bill much more enjoyable.

3. The ladies at the bank here in Decatur. I had to open an account and spent a long time in there today. Most of these ladies I know from growing up, but they were all so nice about my family, telling me stories about my grandfather, and pleased about my dad's new job, and were so great and encouraging about me working up here as a lawyer. It made me feel really good.

4. Boiled peanuts at Spankys-- love boiled peanuts. Reminds me of the time I tried to make them myself. It seems like an easy thing to do, right? Nah. Easier to buy them.

5. Bunko tonight at my friend Sonji's house! As all three of my readers know, I am in TWO bunko groups. That's right, I really like rolling the dice! One in Newton and one in Laurel. Last night I had the Laurel bunko group and had a good time, as always. And tonight, continuing the theme, is Bunko in Newton. And its at my friend Sonji's house, and I always love going there. She's fantastic! Hopefully i will continue my winning streak that I started last night and win a prize! I love both my bunko groups and all the girls are so wonderful! Its so nice to get to see them each week!!! (Note: I tried to find a picture of dice for this post and bunko, and all my searches came up with mostly pictures of Andrew Dice Clay! Ha! That guy's still around??

Huntingdon, TN

I am finally here! Huntingdon, Tennessee! I have motion hearings in a case tomorrow at the courthouse! Staying in the Heritage Inn, which is apparently a Best Western. Such an exciting life! I borrowed a tom tom GPS from a friend and it seemed like it was really going well. The Tom Tom, named Tomasina by my friend Courtney, was doing well for a while. I was really enjoying not having to stop and look at a map all the time. And, of course, Tomasina does NOT like it when you get off course, as I did to get a Sonic Creamslush and to go to the worst Target ever. Tomasina continued to make sure here voice was heard,"Turn left in 100 yards", "Turn left in 500 yards", "TURN LEFT IN 1 MILE!!!!!" Tomasina was stressing.

And then, it seemed as I was getting closer, and that my long journey was coming to an end. And finally, Tomasina proudly said "Arrived at Destination!" She was really excited and kept repeating the phrase. Unfortunately, I was NOT at my destination, unless somehow my destination was in the middle of a gas station (that was closed) in McLemoreville, Tennessee, approximately 15 miles from Huntingdon. I'm still not entirely sure if Tomasina took me to the wrong destination on purpose or just out of stupidity. I'll give her another chance on the way home before I pass judgment. Lucky for everyone, I was able to figure out where I was going without her help and continued on with Tomasina on silent.

Now I am watching the Fashion Show (the poor man's Project Runway), and about to paint my toenails. Its actually not a bad night! I will soon be arriving at my final destination: bed! Good night!

As many of you know, I have always had a fondness for most things sci-fi. As my friend Adam says, I'm kinda like a geeky teenage boy. Thanks, Adam.

Stargate is my newest obsession. Its about a group of scientist and military people who travel through a "stargate" to other planets and other worlds. It stars Richard Dean Anderson, who, of course, is of "Macguyver" fame. I love him! Its a really interesting show, and I don't have to tell you (but I will), that it is my belief that I personally would make a good addition to a team like this. Just like I think that I'd be an excellent captain of a starship, should I ever join the Federation.

The picture above is my collection of the first five seasons of Stargate SG-1 (there are 10 seasons in all). I am particularly proud of purchasing them at such a good price. I had previously checked on Amazon where the seasons ranged from $22.99 to $44.95. Lucky for me, my lack of funds forced me to shop around, and I found seasons 1-6 at Wal-Mart for only $14.98! And yes, if you are counting, that means I am one season short of the seasons available. I need Season 6.
I've politely asked several family members for the money to buy the remaining season, but thus far, no one has been very kind. My cousin Em actually told me that my obsession was causing problems and she was "no longer going to tolerate my behavior." Whatever. Should anyone want to donate to a person in need, please contact me.

So, my newest blogging experiment is, you guessed it... loading pictures! Many of you might think, "oh how sweet, she posted a picture of her favorite brother and her sweet little dog, Parker!" And you are partially right! I did post a picture of, in my opinion, the best little dog, ever!! Parker! Its unbelievable how much I love her! I will need another post one day about how great she is!!

I did post a picture of my favorite brother. He's my favorite by default since he's the only one! I do, however, love him lots and lots! The only reason I really posted this picture was because I was trying to figure out how to do it, and this was the only picture I had! Seriously!! I've gotten a new computer and this picture is one that my mom sent me on email a few weeks ago. So, hopefully, I'll get my pictures transferred and start saving news ones, so you won't always have to see Nick!

I'm not sure when this picture was taken, but it was taken in my living room in the chair that Nicholas likes to sit in the most. Unfortunately for me, its also my favorite chair to sit in. My other favorite chair has been taken over by my mom. So, I wind up sitting on the couch instead of either of the two chairs that are MINE! I guess mom took this to send to me and make me jealous.

Nicholas and I do that a lot-- snap pictures of each other with Parker, or of Parker alone and send it to the other one. Mom and Nick especially like to take pictures to show how much Parker is NOT missing me!! But, I know that's not true!!! Well, this was a long post for me just trying to upload a picture! Must get back to work!

Ok, wow! Its been forever and ever since I updated this blog and lots have happened since then! I'll save that information for another day and just let all my many fans out there know that I am back to blogging! I finally figured out my password and have a renewed interest since I now have a new computer.

I've also borrowed a Blogging for Dummies book from my friend Molly and so perhaps I'll learn a few new tricks. She has a fabulous blog thats really well done, so I would like to be more like her!!! more to come....