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Monday, January 31, 2011
# 31 Just like old times...
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Sunday, January 30, 2011
# 30 finally home....
I'm finally home after a long but fun weekend in Nashville! More to come on that later, but for now I'm curled up on the bed with Parker and am ready to go to sleep! Parkers not happy with me cause I left her all weekend with dad so she's punishing me by sleeping on the end of the bed instead of right beside me. I hope she will forgive me soon!
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Saturday, January 29, 2011
# 29 My breakfast!
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# 28 Its already tomorrow...
So its already tomorrow, so technically I've missed # 28, but I'm posting anyway! I'm sure many of you are super concerned and worried about me posting so late, but have no fear! I'm fine!! I'm in Nashville, and having a great time!
Mom, Betsy and I had a great time today exploring Brentwood. We ate at Puffy Muffin, which might be my new favorite place. I had the bacon quiche and poppyseed bread. I also bought a cookbook and a cookie (which I've yet to eat!)
Puffy Muffin:
A picture of a super cute cake they made:
Then we did lots of fun shopping (shhh, don't tell Dad!) and we ate dinner at Chuys, a cool, eclectic Mexican place that my Aunt loves. Peter is my sister Betsy's boyfriend and he joined us for dinner and we love him! He's so great!
Emilee and I are finally back at the hotel, after a super long night. Mom and Aunt Ju had some issues about the hotel rooms this afternoon, but I'm glad to report Em and I are finally settled in the much smaller hotel room. We have a big day planned tomorrow. Hopefully I'll post some pictures!
Good night!!
Mom, Betsy and I had a great time today exploring Brentwood. We ate at Puffy Muffin, which might be my new favorite place. I had the bacon quiche and poppyseed bread. I also bought a cookbook and a cookie (which I've yet to eat!)
Puffy Muffin:
A picture of a super cute cake they made:
Then we did lots of fun shopping (shhh, don't tell Dad!) and we ate dinner at Chuys, a cool, eclectic Mexican place that my Aunt loves. Peter is my sister Betsy's boyfriend and he joined us for dinner and we love him! He's so great!
Emilee and I are finally back at the hotel, after a super long night. Mom and Aunt Ju had some issues about the hotel rooms this afternoon, but I'm glad to report Em and I are finally settled in the much smaller hotel room. We have a big day planned tomorrow. Hopefully I'll post some pictures!
Good night!!
Thursday, January 27, 2011
# 27 Going to the car wash....
Today, I'm heading out on a big road trip. I'm heading to the town where country dreams are made and broken, Nashville. I'm going to see my Betsy! Yay!
My Aunt Ju's birthday is coming up soon-- the Big 50! Me, Mom, Em, and Aunt Ju are headed up to visit Betsy for the weekend and I'm really looking forward to it! We've been planning this for a while and this will be the firs time we've been able to go visit Betsy since she moved up there over the summer! Plus, we are staying at a place with an indoor pool and my inner kid is getting super excited. Unfortunately, Parker is not joining us this weekend and I met Dad today at the Bayless in Bay Springs (best coconut pie in America, according to the menu. I don't know for sure because I don't like coconut [white food] so I didn't try it) and it was super sad leaving her with him. We stared at each other through the window as she was driving away, me with tears in my eyes, fear in hers. Even now, hours later, I feel as though my left arm is missing. Or at least a small, white, sometimes stinky ball of fur that usually lays near my head when we are sleeping.
To distract myself from the pain of separation and to prepare for the drive tonight with Deb, I cleaned my car out! For those of you who've been so lucky as to get to ride with me, you know that doesn't happen very often. I live out of my car, sometimes quite literally, and there are all sorts of random things that find their way into my car and never leave. For example, I found:
Some Disney memorabilia that I brought home as gifts for friends and their kids but never delivered, a nutcracker, 7 (!) jackets, one dirty red blanket that I think came from the Grove at some game, 47 cents, mardi gras beads, 6 books on CD, 6 books, a small container of qtips and a small cylinder of toothpicks, one shoe, various pens and even more ponytail holders, an earring, and 3 parts of 3 different sunglasses.
My car is now super clean and I'm obsessed with this fancy new car wash that Laurel's gotten-- I got a cheap car wash and my car looks super fabulous plus you get free vacuuming which is good for slowpokes and/or people with dirty cars, both of which pertain to me.
Its a bit scary going into a car wash, especially this one-- its super dark in there.
However, I was excited by the different color soaps-- yellow, pink, white and blue!! So pretty!
And look how bright and shiny my car is now!!!
Look at that floorboard-- you could eat off that thang! Actually, you could have eaten off it prior to the vacuuming because there was actually food, but that's just nasty!
My Aunt Ju's birthday is coming up soon-- the Big 50! Me, Mom, Em, and Aunt Ju are headed up to visit Betsy for the weekend and I'm really looking forward to it! We've been planning this for a while and this will be the firs time we've been able to go visit Betsy since she moved up there over the summer! Plus, we are staying at a place with an indoor pool and my inner kid is getting super excited. Unfortunately, Parker is not joining us this weekend and I met Dad today at the Bayless in Bay Springs (best coconut pie in America, according to the menu. I don't know for sure because I don't like coconut [white food] so I didn't try it) and it was super sad leaving her with him. We stared at each other through the window as she was driving away, me with tears in my eyes, fear in hers. Even now, hours later, I feel as though my left arm is missing. Or at least a small, white, sometimes stinky ball of fur that usually lays near my head when we are sleeping.
To distract myself from the pain of separation and to prepare for the drive tonight with Deb, I cleaned my car out! For those of you who've been so lucky as to get to ride with me, you know that doesn't happen very often. I live out of my car, sometimes quite literally, and there are all sorts of random things that find their way into my car and never leave. For example, I found:
Some Disney memorabilia that I brought home as gifts for friends and their kids but never delivered, a nutcracker, 7 (!) jackets, one dirty red blanket that I think came from the Grove at some game, 47 cents, mardi gras beads, 6 books on CD, 6 books, a small container of qtips and a small cylinder of toothpicks, one shoe, various pens and even more ponytail holders, an earring, and 3 parts of 3 different sunglasses.
My car is now super clean and I'm obsessed with this fancy new car wash that Laurel's gotten-- I got a cheap car wash and my car looks super fabulous plus you get free vacuuming which is good for slowpokes and/or people with dirty cars, both of which pertain to me.
Its a bit scary going into a car wash, especially this one-- its super dark in there.
However, I was excited by the different color soaps-- yellow, pink, white and blue!! So pretty!
And look how bright and shiny my car is now!!!
Look at that floorboard-- you could eat off that thang! Actually, you could have eaten off it prior to the vacuuming because there was actually food, but that's just nasty!
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
# 26 Going to the chapel and ...
I'm going to write a bunch of invitations for my friend Mallory's wedding shower. Longtime readers will remember our family friend, Lori, who lives in the Village nearby me and is a fantastic cook, especially breakfast foods! Mallory is Lori's daughter, and I love her! She just eloped and married Brandon Giovengo, and now we are planning not only a big wedding reception for them at the end of February, but also a wedding shower in a couple weeks.
We considered doing a 24 hour shower-- where each guest is assigned an hour of the day and you buy things to correspond with that hour-- i.e., 8:00 a.m. a waffle maker or specialty coffee or bath towels, 6:00 p.m. cookware, 9:00 p.m. glassware for nightcaps or board games for a particularly wild night, 3:00 a.m. sheets and bedding. However, Aunt Ju and I are apparently not smart enough to figure out the logistics of this-- how to assign on a small invitation, whether to assign to everyone via invitations or just those who RSVP, etc. Its very tough work throwing a bridal shower. We decided to scrap the entire idea and just let people buy whatever the heck they want.
I've been assigned the fun job of writing out the invitations and the envelopes-- its not that bad but there are a lot of them and the paper is that weird, shiny stuff on which ink smears easily so its kinda annoying.
Here are the invites themselves-- isn't my handwriting average??!!
Here are a bunch of the invitations spread out so they won't smear!
We considered doing a 24 hour shower-- where each guest is assigned an hour of the day and you buy things to correspond with that hour-- i.e., 8:00 a.m. a waffle maker or specialty coffee or bath towels, 6:00 p.m. cookware, 9:00 p.m. glassware for nightcaps or board games for a particularly wild night, 3:00 a.m. sheets and bedding. However, Aunt Ju and I are apparently not smart enough to figure out the logistics of this-- how to assign on a small invitation, whether to assign to everyone via invitations or just those who RSVP, etc. Its very tough work throwing a bridal shower. We decided to scrap the entire idea and just let people buy whatever the heck they want.
I've been assigned the fun job of writing out the invitations and the envelopes-- its not that bad but there are a lot of them and the paper is that weird, shiny stuff on which ink smears easily so its kinda annoying.
Here are the invites themselves-- isn't my handwriting average??!!
Here are a bunch of the invitations spread out so they won't smear!
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
I'm someone's favorite person...
Sometimes when life gets you down, you just want to be reminded that you are important to someone, anyone. Preferably not some crazy person, or some creepy client in the jail, but someone who is good and nice and does care about you. Luckily, I usually feel that I'm important to a lot of really great people. But its still nice to hear it occasionally from someone else. Earlier today, I ordered something on-line as a gift for someone for a family member. That giftee is an avid reader of this blog, so I will redact the information that might give away the surprise, but I received this rather pleasant email mere seconds after clicking "Order". I love it! I want to work with these people!!
Dear new favorite person:
YOU ARE AWESOME. If it wasn't creepy for businesses to do so, We would totally friend you on Facebook! Your order is currently flying through the interwebs, landing comfortably in the largest [REDACTED] Superstore on the internet!
If you chose to place a rush on your new item, your order will leave our facility by the selected day. However, If you have some things rushed and some that are not, they will wait to leave together like one big happy family. UPS will like everyone a lot more if we do this.
If you see anything incorrect with this invoice, (wrong item, missing item, spelling / grammar error, etc.) please contact us immediately. This is the only invoice that we will hassle you with, but we will send you a tracking order once the order ships.
Here is an example of how much we like you:
We think you are so cool for shopping at [REDACTED].com, we are giving you & your friends 10% off your next purchase of any of the other Wicked Sweet products we offer if you order again in the next 14 days! Just type in the coupon code “Repeat” during checkout and enjoy 10% off your favorite [REDACTED].com items.
I want to go order lots of stuff now! And with my mom's card information, I can! Gifts for everyone!!!
Dear new favorite person:
YOU ARE AWESOME. If it wasn't creepy for businesses to do so, We would totally friend you on Facebook! Your order is currently flying through the interwebs, landing comfortably in the largest [REDACTED] Superstore on the internet!
If you chose to place a rush on your new item, your order will leave our facility by the selected day. However, If you have some things rushed and some that are not, they will wait to leave together like one big happy family. UPS will like everyone a lot more if we do this.
If you see anything incorrect with this invoice, (wrong item, missing item, spelling / grammar error, etc.) please contact us immediately. This is the only invoice that we will hassle you with, but we will send you a tracking order once the order ships.
Here is an example of how much we like you:
We think you are so cool for shopping at [REDACTED].com, we are giving you & your friends 10% off your next purchase of any of the other Wicked Sweet products we offer if you order again in the next 14 days! Just type in the coupon code “Repeat” during checkout and enjoy 10% off your favorite [REDACTED].com items.
I want to go order lots of stuff now! And with my mom's card information, I can! Gifts for everyone!!!
# 25 I'm the King of the World...
I've not had much access to a computer the last couple days and have been relegated to blogging via my phone so my posts have been a bit lacking. I can say that, but if any of you complain, I'm cutting you off. Regardless, I was proud of myself for figuring out how to attach a photograph (in this case, of my mom's hand and the little Cracker Barrel game) via email for my post. I'm really getting the hang of this blogging thing. My next goal is to figure out how to embed a video. And I've found just the video to do it.
I'm super proud of myself for doing this, if it works, although to be honest, I shouldn't be that proud-- 3 year olds have better computer skills than me and all I really did was cut and paste from another website where it said "Embed" and even I can read, you know. Despite my intelligence, I am proud of myself and hope you enjoy this video. I rarely actually play videos because they are loud and then it really looks like I'm not doing any work, but I'm alone at the office and came across this one. Its specifically dedicated to my friend Jeremy (who is the only person who ever comments on my blog anymore-- where are all my friends?!?)-- he loves Seinfeld and everytime I see anything Seinfeld related, I think of him. I'm particularly fond of the clip at 1.29 where Jerry's sitting in the window with binoculars wearing a pretty fabulous teal turtleneck. Its very flattering and its absolutely what all the guys on my Christmas list are getting this year.
What if Seinfeld was a dramatic movie about world takeover???
I'm super proud of myself for doing this, if it works, although to be honest, I shouldn't be that proud-- 3 year olds have better computer skills than me and all I really did was cut and paste from another website where it said "Embed" and even I can read, you know. Despite my intelligence, I am proud of myself and hope you enjoy this video. I rarely actually play videos because they are loud and then it really looks like I'm not doing any work, but I'm alone at the office and came across this one. Its specifically dedicated to my friend Jeremy (who is the only person who ever comments on my blog anymore-- where are all my friends?!?)-- he loves Seinfeld and everytime I see anything Seinfeld related, I think of him. I'm particularly fond of the clip at 1.29 where Jerry's sitting in the window with binoculars wearing a pretty fabulous teal turtleneck. Its very flattering and its absolutely what all the guys on my Christmas list are getting this year.
What if Seinfeld was a dramatic movie about world takeover???
Monday, January 24, 2011
# 24 dinner with dave...
I'm staying tonight in Newton so its been a pretty wild night, as most nights up here are. Dave and I went walking after work to get some exercise and I was able to see the new water purifier plant which really is nice, and had a good time talking with my dad. He did confess that sometimes my blog is a bit chuckle and maybe even a bit confusing, so I decided to make this post something he would like! Dads the best! He always takes care of me and loves me- I couldn't ask for a better daddy. He even adores Parker, although tonight he fussed at her because 1) she stinks and 2) she kept laying on the couch with me and ignoring his offers to rub her belly. Usually dad and Parker are pretty chummy so I thought it was funny. He also cooked spaghetti with garlic bread for dinner and it was very good! Thanks dad!
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Sunday, January 23, 2011
# 23 Dancing Queen
Taking a cue from Katie, we (my mom, my aunt and Lori and I) cooked homemade pizzas tonight with loads of toppings- pepperoni, turkey sausage, onions, artichokes, tomatoes, cheese, olives, mushrooms, etc. It was yummy! This might be my new favorite meal to cook! Then we watched Mamma Mia on my aunt's super tiny, very green-tinted television. It was a good night!
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Saturday, January 22, 2011
# 22 Actual Evidence
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Friday, January 21, 2011
Oops
This is what happens when you try to do a blog via email!!!
5. My grandaddy
6. Ziva David
7. Lindy Rounsaville Oswalt from college
8. Myself
Don't be hurt if I didn't invite you- of course I'd love to invite everyone I love but this had to be limited and I decided not to invite people I typically have dinner with! Emilee suggested Winston Churchill and aunt ju proffered CoCo Chanel after we laughed at her previous suggestions above. I'd rather discuss fashion with CoCo than worry someone will bomb my party to take out those other two!
Readers, who are your picks! Comments!!!
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5. My grandaddy
6. Ziva David
7. Lindy Rounsaville Oswalt from college
8. Myself
Don't be hurt if I didn't invite you- of course I'd love to invite everyone I love but this had to be limited and I decided not to invite people I typically have dinner with! Emilee suggested Winston Churchill and aunt ju proffered CoCo Chanel after we laughed at her previous suggestions above. I'd rather discuss fashion with CoCo than worry someone will bomb my party to take out those other two!
Readers, who are your picks! Comments!!!
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# 21 an 8 course dinner party for 8
Tonight my aunt and Em and I got to talking about our ideal dinner party guests- no restrictions on time, space, reasonableness or feasability. My aunt suggested Hitler and Stalin, but I preferred not to invite hardened killers to mine and instead focused on guests who made me happy.
1. Anne Shirley of Green Gables
2. Lorelai Gilmore
3. John Czarnetsky, a law professor
4. Tim Gunn
5.
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1. Anne Shirley of Green Gables
2. Lorelai Gilmore
3. John Czarnetsky, a law professor
4. Tim Gunn
5.
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Thursday, January 20, 2011
# 20 Good times on the telly...
So, my hearing this morning went well (as well as it possibly could) and my dear friend Allison, who is a part of this case, told me later that she wasn't surprised it went well because she had a prayer wall going up-- she had tons of people praying for this situation and for me in particular and my role. It was kind and wonderful and touching and meant a lot to me-- its nice to be protected by prayer sometimes!!! I know prayer really does change things!!
I know my posts lately have been lacking, um, imagination, but bear with me folks and I'll get back to my usual, gregarious blogging soon! Life's full of ups and downs and this has been a down but I think I'm feeling better!!!
Tonight on NBC at 7:30 is a new show, Perfect Couples. It stars Mary Elizabeth Ellis, a friend of mine growing up in Laurel. She has a recurring role on "Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia", which is a hilarious, albeit politically incorrect, show on FX. In real life she's married to Charlie Day (who stars on Its Always Sunny) and she's a totally sweet, talented, fabulous girl and I'm super excited to see her getting her "Big Break"! So, watch the show!
Mary Elizabeth with her husband and other cast members of Sunny:
Perfect Couples poster:
I know my posts lately have been lacking, um, imagination, but bear with me folks and I'll get back to my usual, gregarious blogging soon! Life's full of ups and downs and this has been a down but I think I'm feeling better!!!
Tonight on NBC at 7:30 is a new show, Perfect Couples. It stars Mary Elizabeth Ellis, a friend of mine growing up in Laurel. She has a recurring role on "Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia", which is a hilarious, albeit politically incorrect, show on FX. In real life she's married to Charlie Day (who stars on Its Always Sunny) and she's a totally sweet, talented, fabulous girl and I'm super excited to see her getting her "Big Break"! So, watch the show!
Mary Elizabeth with her husband and other cast members of Sunny:
Perfect Couples poster:
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
# 19 Some days...
Some days the only good thing is that the day is over. Today is one of those and I don't anticipate tomorrow being much better. Here's hoping its not worse! But the good thing is, after tomorrow, I anticipate it getting better. Slowly, but surely. Good night all!!
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# 18 Anne of Green Gables
Anne of Green Gables is my most favorite book- I'm rereading it right now. I wish I lived on Prince Edwards Island. Actually I'm considering a move up there right now! Its on my short list!
This blog is short, uninteresting and late. Forgive me. I spent all day in Leake County on a sentencing hearing that didn't go well. Thank goodness its over. The better news is that Betsy came home and we had an Arbonne party last night- it went well and she did a great job. More to come on that later!
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This blog is short, uninteresting and late. Forgive me. I spent all day in Leake County on a sentencing hearing that didn't go well. Thank goodness its over. The better news is that Betsy came home and we had an Arbonne party last night- it went well and she did a great job. More to come on that later!
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Monday, January 17, 2011
# 17 Today...
I am thankful for my mom and my dad. They are the best and I could be nothing without them. That's all!
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Sunday, January 16, 2011
# 16 I'm thankful for...
1. Being able to spend the day with some of the people I love and laughing till it hurt.
2. A clean house.
3. Being able to go to bed. Parker and I are snuggling and about to hit the sack! Night night!
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2. A clean house.
3. Being able to go to bed. Parker and I are snuggling and about to hit the sack! Night night!
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Saturday, January 15, 2011
# 15 There she is, Miss America...
Tonight was the Miss America Pageant and, more importantly, the Miss America Pageant Party at my house! We had a great time and lots of great good. My favorite part of the night is using ping pong balls to throw at the television when there is something we don't like or think is ridiculous. There was a lot of ping pong ball throwing tonight-- I'll be finding those things for months!
Miss Nebraska won and apparently, she is only 17 years old, which is pretty amazing. I personally really like Hawaii and a lot of people really liked Arkansas, despite her rather, um, unique talent of ventriloquism. However, as a friend of mine pointed out on facebook, most Southern girls know how to smile and mutter under their breath, so I guess its not that impressive.
Here is the winner:
And the top 5-- Hawaii is on the left and Arkansas is on the right.
Its been a long day of cooking and cleaning, so I'm finishing up this blog, getting into bed with my Parker and watching Stargate Atlantis. I'll leave you with some of my favorite introductions from tonight!
From the state that touches more than any others, but *never* inappropriately.
- Miss Wyoming
Tonight, 53 women share a dream, not as husband. - Miss Utah
The only oil you'll find on our beaches is on the hot bods of our sunbathers.
- Miss Florida
Miss Nebraska won and apparently, she is only 17 years old, which is pretty amazing. I personally really like Hawaii and a lot of people really liked Arkansas, despite her rather, um, unique talent of ventriloquism. However, as a friend of mine pointed out on facebook, most Southern girls know how to smile and mutter under their breath, so I guess its not that impressive.
Here is the winner:
And the top 5-- Hawaii is on the left and Arkansas is on the right.
Its been a long day of cooking and cleaning, so I'm finishing up this blog, getting into bed with my Parker and watching Stargate Atlantis. I'll leave you with some of my favorite introductions from tonight!
From the state that touches more than any others, but *never* inappropriately.
- Miss Wyoming
Tonight, 53 women share a dream, not as husband. - Miss Utah
The only oil you'll find on our beaches is on the hot bods of our sunbathers.
- Miss Florida
Friday, January 14, 2011
# 14 BBQ, Christmas trees and Waffle House...
I took today off. Well, I actually had to do a bunch of work and take a few phone calls this afternoon, but most of the day was spent cleaning up the house and getting ready for the Miss America Pageant Party at my house tomorrow night. Its sneaked up on me this year and I've not put a whole lot of time/effort into planning the party this year. I'm sorry! But its going to be a fun night and consider this blog your official invitation and come on!
My super sweet Aunt Ju was a fabulous help today-- we started off at Waffle House where we discussed life issues and career changes and all sorts of stuff and even got some advice from Verdie and Dale, two of Waffle House's finest. Aunt Ju was kind enough to come over to my house and help me clean up pretty much all day! We finally put up the Christmas tree and the rest of the Christmas decorations in the attic, and I've been cleaning and dusting and throwing away all day while Aunt Ju scrubbed the kitchen and cleaned out the fridge! She's the best!
Tonight we went with mom and Em to Dickey's BBQ for dinner. We attempted to go to the Smokehouse, which is actually better, but they were out of a bunch of stuff so we left and went to Dickeys. Tomorrow I'll be finishing up all the cleaning and doing some cooking. Don't expect any pictures, though, because despite cleaning up the entire house, I've still not found my camera battery charger. I'm beginning to get worried.
My super sweet Aunt Ju was a fabulous help today-- we started off at Waffle House where we discussed life issues and career changes and all sorts of stuff and even got some advice from Verdie and Dale, two of Waffle House's finest. Aunt Ju was kind enough to come over to my house and help me clean up pretty much all day! We finally put up the Christmas tree and the rest of the Christmas decorations in the attic, and I've been cleaning and dusting and throwing away all day while Aunt Ju scrubbed the kitchen and cleaned out the fridge! She's the best!
Tonight we went with mom and Em to Dickey's BBQ for dinner. We attempted to go to the Smokehouse, which is actually better, but they were out of a bunch of stuff so we left and went to Dickeys. Tomorrow I'll be finishing up all the cleaning and doing some cooking. Don't expect any pictures, though, because despite cleaning up the entire house, I've still not found my camera battery charger. I'm beginning to get worried.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
# 13 Who do you call when 911 won't answer?
I'm working today in Decatur and we've had a bit of excitement here already. First off, we went wild and crazy at lunch and Carol went to the Chinese Buffet in Newton and got us all food (I had the egg drop soup-- my throats a little scratchy). Carol is so fabulous about making soup or something in the crockpot for us to eat at lunch, and often, she gets us a plate lunch at the IGA three doors down or Ednas across the intersection. But today the Chinese food was a nice departure.
We've also some trouble getting in touch with the 911 office. Now, dear readers, relax-- we didn't have an emergency; rather we were calling the actual phone number (635-4031) to the 911 office so we could ask Kim a question. Don't you love small towns? I know everyone, and Kim is the office worker across the street in the courthouse at the 911 office. She's also super good about finding us addresses when we need them. Also? She fixes our computers-- she's a total renaissance woman. Anyway, Carol tried and tried to call the office, and the phone kept just giving her a dialtone. Then she asked me to try, just in case it was her that was the problem. I tried-- same thing. So, we called over to Chrissy in the Clerk's office across the street, and asked her to call. We thought it might be different-- both the Clerk's office and the 911 office are in the same building. No change. So, Carol decides to call Betty at the telephone company to see if there is something wrong with the telephone line there. The telephone company is right next door (looking out my little window!). Lo and behold, we've forgotten. Telephone company, like most places in Decatur, closes at noon on Thursdays. Guess we will just have to wait till tomorrow to get the 911 phone fixed. Hope there are no emergencies.
Anyway, its been a good, fairly cleansing day-- I've gotten a lot of tasks out of the way that I've been dreading for a while. I've still got a bunch more to do, but already I feel somewhat better. Carol just went and bought us a drink at Wards, so that's helped my day as well!!
Ok, readers. You've fussed and whined about me not blogging enough and even now that I've made my decision to blog daily, I still get harassing text messages from people (ahem *Nick*) about my blogs. Its HARD to come up with something clever and witty every day. So, dear readers, help me out. Give me some ideas. Give me some comments. I LOVE reading your comments. I check the comment page at least a couple times a day and there are never any new comments. You guys are failing me. Give me new ideas on what you want to see on this blog. If I'm going to do this every day, I've got to have some ideas!!!
We've also some trouble getting in touch with the 911 office. Now, dear readers, relax-- we didn't have an emergency; rather we were calling the actual phone number (635-4031) to the 911 office so we could ask Kim a question. Don't you love small towns? I know everyone, and Kim is the office worker across the street in the courthouse at the 911 office. She's also super good about finding us addresses when we need them. Also? She fixes our computers-- she's a total renaissance woman. Anyway, Carol tried and tried to call the office, and the phone kept just giving her a dialtone. Then she asked me to try, just in case it was her that was the problem. I tried-- same thing. So, we called over to Chrissy in the Clerk's office across the street, and asked her to call. We thought it might be different-- both the Clerk's office and the 911 office are in the same building. No change. So, Carol decides to call Betty at the telephone company to see if there is something wrong with the telephone line there. The telephone company is right next door (looking out my little window!). Lo and behold, we've forgotten. Telephone company, like most places in Decatur, closes at noon on Thursdays. Guess we will just have to wait till tomorrow to get the 911 phone fixed. Hope there are no emergencies.
Anyway, its been a good, fairly cleansing day-- I've gotten a lot of tasks out of the way that I've been dreading for a while. I've still got a bunch more to do, but already I feel somewhat better. Carol just went and bought us a drink at Wards, so that's helped my day as well!!
Ok, readers. You've fussed and whined about me not blogging enough and even now that I've made my decision to blog daily, I still get harassing text messages from people (ahem *Nick*) about my blogs. Its HARD to come up with something clever and witty every day. So, dear readers, help me out. Give me some ideas. Give me some comments. I LOVE reading your comments. I check the comment page at least a couple times a day and there are never any new comments. You guys are failing me. Give me new ideas on what you want to see on this blog. If I'm going to do this every day, I've got to have some ideas!!!
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
# 12 Dance your cares away...
Worrys for another day. Let the music play. Down at Fraggle Rock.
This is my new theme song. Today was, professionally at least, rough. So tonights post is short and sweet (and via my phone since its too cold to go outside and get my computer. Plus I've already taken a tylenol pm!).
Three things I'm thankful for today:
1. A funny email from a dear friend that literally made me laugh out loud, as they always do!
2. A good night at church- we cooked tuna melts (the Laboene tribe are fishermen and they catch tuna and our missionary, Cal, is working with them!) and groundnut soup (which is peanut butter and milk over rice- a staple there! Sounds nasty but not that bad!). Everyone had a good time and I got a lot of good feedback from the kids and adults that I did a good job! I love teaching those kids but sometimes, my ideas fall short, especially when the boys and girls groups are together- the boys tend to be much harder to control and keep focused. So its nice to have a really good night when all cylinders are firing.
3. Fraggle Rock- I caught a couple episodes this morning when I couldn't sleep and I was reminded how much I love that show! I wish I was a fraggle! Or at least a Doozer.
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone
This is my new theme song. Today was, professionally at least, rough. So tonights post is short and sweet (and via my phone since its too cold to go outside and get my computer. Plus I've already taken a tylenol pm!).
Three things I'm thankful for today:
1. A funny email from a dear friend that literally made me laugh out loud, as they always do!
2. A good night at church- we cooked tuna melts (the Laboene tribe are fishermen and they catch tuna and our missionary, Cal, is working with them!) and groundnut soup (which is peanut butter and milk over rice- a staple there! Sounds nasty but not that bad!). Everyone had a good time and I got a lot of good feedback from the kids and adults that I did a good job! I love teaching those kids but sometimes, my ideas fall short, especially when the boys and girls groups are together- the boys tend to be much harder to control and keep focused. So its nice to have a really good night when all cylinders are firing.
3. Fraggle Rock- I caught a couple episodes this morning when I couldn't sleep and I was reminded how much I love that show! I wish I was a fraggle! Or at least a Doozer.
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
# 11 Oh, so they have the internet on computers now?
I work super hard. Ha ha ha, I cannot really type that entire sentence without laughing. I do sometimes work really hard. But other times, like now, I use my time at work to peruse the internet. I find that working hard for a while usually necessitates a break and then I can sit in front of the computer and check out some of my favorite websites. When I used to work for Judge Gordon, right after law school, I had a lot of time on my hands. A lot. Literally, there were hours most days where I had nothing to do. So, I got into the habit of checking out different websites, usually celebrity gossip websites, and then I'd see another interesting article and and follow it to another website and so on and so on. I amassed quite a large number of websites that I read faithfully and, as a result, I was up to date on a whole lot of useless knowledge, mostly celebrity related. Unfortunately, and perhaps, to some of you, unbelievably, I don't check out many of those sites anymore or as often. But there are a few websites to which I'm pretty loyal and read daily. Here are a few of my favorite websites and why:
Laineygossip
This is my alltime favorite website and if I could only ever check out one website again for the rest of my life, this would be it. Lainey (Elaine Lu) is a tv journalist in Vancouver, Canada, and this website started out as a weekly email newsletter about her stories of interviewing celebs and her take on the actual gossip of Hollywood. I love it. I love her. This website is now a massive celebrity gossip site and Lainey does an internet celebrity gossip talk show as well as a lot of television celebrity news-- she goes to all the major awards shows and press junket stuff and always gives a lot of interesting behind the scenes-type gossip-- who's nice, who's not, who's got issues, etc. I find myself agreeing with a lot of what she says-- she's very knowledgeable and very honest. She's also really good at giving "behind the scenes" gossip-- like how celebs treat journalists and other crew members, how celebs manipulate the media and publicity, how celebs have patterns of behavior, etc. Its an interesting world. For example, yesterday, she just had an article, written by her friend Sarah (Lainey does most of the writing, but has a couple friends pop in every so often with different areas of expertise-- Sarah's is movies-- she has her own blog, CineSnark) about how movie companies, directors, actors and show business types "campaign" for the Oscars even though the Oscars as supposed to be for the "best movies", but for who campaigned the hardest or spent the most money. Its going to be a week-long series and its so interesting. Lainey deserves a whole blog devoted to her, so I will stop gushing now.
Tvtattle
This website is a roundup of all television-related news (hence the rather obvious name!). It links to other websites and I love it because it always has a ton of stuff and its updated all the time. I love my television shows! It also is really good about posting articles about old television shows or actors and what they are up to now, so that's fun.
Gawker
I love gawker. Its hilarious. Its a similar, news round-up type website, but its really funny and it has hysterical recaps of lots of shows. Shows I love (like Top Chef) or rarely watch (like Real Housewives) are even funnier when you read the recap.
Designspongeonline
This is a super cool design website-- its full of really beautiful design inspiration. The writers showcase fabulous homes, gardens, parties, and cool things to buy. They have a really cool column called "Living In..." where they pick something, usually a movie, and gather all types of clothes, jewelry, furniture, household accessories, etc., to match the "theme". For example, a recent one was "Living in Marie Antoinette" with a beautiful white chaise lounge, black bow flats, pink macrons, vintage playing cards, a white marble bust, cashmere knee socks, and many beautiful stills of the movie. Its very inspiring and they've done the movies Big, Pretty in Pink, Last of the Mohicans, Charlie Brown Christmas, and all sorts of other stuff. They also have super cool City Guides with lots of cool places to check out-- shop, eat, see, stay. Everytime I plan on visiting a new city, I always check out the City Guides, just in case. Unfortunately, they haven't added Bay Springs, Rolling Fork, Wiggins, Pelahatchie or Petal yet. I'm sure they will get around to it soon though.
Some other pretty design blogs I like to check out:
The Inspired Room
La Dolce Vita
I also love Televisionwithoutpity--
I've previously discussed my fondness for watching random television shows over and over-- its relaxing-- I put them on and since I've seen them a million times, I can just have the noise in the background and its comforting. I also like to make sure I've watched all the shows in a series and, if I really like the show, I like to read recaps, particularly funny ones. I love this website-- they make fun of every single show you can imagine and lots of shows no longer on tv. Their recaps of Angel are particularly hysterical.
And finally, I love reading my friends blogs but most people I know don't update often enough for me (that's a pointed remark to some of you). So, start a blog and then update a lot and I'll read it! Now, get back to work and quit reading my blog.
Laineygossip
This is my alltime favorite website and if I could only ever check out one website again for the rest of my life, this would be it. Lainey (Elaine Lu) is a tv journalist in Vancouver, Canada, and this website started out as a weekly email newsletter about her stories of interviewing celebs and her take on the actual gossip of Hollywood. I love it. I love her. This website is now a massive celebrity gossip site and Lainey does an internet celebrity gossip talk show as well as a lot of television celebrity news-- she goes to all the major awards shows and press junket stuff and always gives a lot of interesting behind the scenes-type gossip-- who's nice, who's not, who's got issues, etc. I find myself agreeing with a lot of what she says-- she's very knowledgeable and very honest. She's also really good at giving "behind the scenes" gossip-- like how celebs treat journalists and other crew members, how celebs manipulate the media and publicity, how celebs have patterns of behavior, etc. Its an interesting world. For example, yesterday, she just had an article, written by her friend Sarah (Lainey does most of the writing, but has a couple friends pop in every so often with different areas of expertise-- Sarah's is movies-- she has her own blog, CineSnark) about how movie companies, directors, actors and show business types "campaign" for the Oscars even though the Oscars as supposed to be for the "best movies", but for who campaigned the hardest or spent the most money. Its going to be a week-long series and its so interesting. Lainey deserves a whole blog devoted to her, so I will stop gushing now.
Tvtattle
This website is a roundup of all television-related news (hence the rather obvious name!). It links to other websites and I love it because it always has a ton of stuff and its updated all the time. I love my television shows! It also is really good about posting articles about old television shows or actors and what they are up to now, so that's fun.
Gawker
I love gawker. Its hilarious. Its a similar, news round-up type website, but its really funny and it has hysterical recaps of lots of shows. Shows I love (like Top Chef) or rarely watch (like Real Housewives) are even funnier when you read the recap.
Designspongeonline
This is a super cool design website-- its full of really beautiful design inspiration. The writers showcase fabulous homes, gardens, parties, and cool things to buy. They have a really cool column called "Living In..." where they pick something, usually a movie, and gather all types of clothes, jewelry, furniture, household accessories, etc., to match the "theme". For example, a recent one was "Living in Marie Antoinette" with a beautiful white chaise lounge, black bow flats, pink macrons, vintage playing cards, a white marble bust, cashmere knee socks, and many beautiful stills of the movie. Its very inspiring and they've done the movies Big, Pretty in Pink, Last of the Mohicans, Charlie Brown Christmas, and all sorts of other stuff. They also have super cool City Guides with lots of cool places to check out-- shop, eat, see, stay. Everytime I plan on visiting a new city, I always check out the City Guides, just in case. Unfortunately, they haven't added Bay Springs, Rolling Fork, Wiggins, Pelahatchie or Petal yet. I'm sure they will get around to it soon though.
Some other pretty design blogs I like to check out:
The Inspired Room
I also love Televisionwithoutpity--
I've previously discussed my fondness for watching random television shows over and over-- its relaxing-- I put them on and since I've seen them a million times, I can just have the noise in the background and its comforting. I also like to make sure I've watched all the shows in a series and, if I really like the show, I like to read recaps, particularly funny ones. I love this website-- they make fun of every single show you can imagine and lots of shows no longer on tv. Their recaps of Angel are particularly hysterical.
And finally, I love reading my friends blogs but most people I know don't update often enough for me (that's a pointed remark to some of you). So, start a blog and then update a lot and I'll read it! Now, get back to work and quit reading my blog.
Monday, January 10, 2011
This is a test...
to see if I can update my blog via email. If it is successful, this will rank at the near top of my "proudest technology moments" right up there with the time I rewired a lamp for my sister and the time I installed Sirius radio in my car. By myself.
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone
# 10 Isn't she lovely?
My cousin Emilee is a fabulous girl. She's tall (that matters to short people like me), she's got a super cute house, a fabulous cousin (me!), patience to spare, understanding and kindness to boot. She's always been known as the "nicest" one in the family, which, to be fair, isn't that much of an honor since some people (ahem, Ju) in our family aren't very nice at all. Em's a great listener and she's never judgmental-- even when she totally disapproves of what you are doing, she will get her point across without being ugly about it! She's also proven here recently that she's stronger than anyone ever knew, she's more confident than ever before, and she's wiser than most people give her credit for. In short, she's fabulous.
Yesterday, Emilee earned a couple more jewels in her crown when she accompanied me, on a Sunday afternoon, to the Urgent Care Clinic. Its about as fun as you can imagine but we had a pretty great time just catching up on things and laughing at the absurdity of the situation. Em's headed to nursing school at William Carey in a few short weeks, so she's all about medical stuff. (She's also super into creepy, gory true life murder books and tv shows, but we cannot all be perfect.) Luckily for Em, one of my ailments yesterday was a pretty stopped up ear canal, and the remedy was a good, old fashioned ear cleaning. The nice nurse let Em check out the before and after of my ear canals (YUCK!) and Em was overly excited for such a gross reason, but it made her happy, so I was glad I could provide some form of entertainment, as humiliating, and, rather painful, as it may have been for me personally.
I'm super lucky to have Em in my life, and these past few months, we've grown even closer for a variety of reasons (most not so good), but I think God knew what He was doing to throw us both into these circumstances-- where we could lean on each other and grow much closer!
I'm blessed to have a family that I'm very close with (as my friend Courtney says, its cute how I actually LIKE being with my family) and some of the best times in my life have been sitting around my house or Em's house or Ju's house or Waffle House (see previous post) and laughing till my stomach hurt about nothing at all. We just all get each other and there is nothing I like more than to see something funny or hear something funny and look at my brother or sister or Em or whoever in my family and just KNOW that they saw the exact same thing and they are thinking the same thing as me, without saying a word. It makes me feel close to them even when they aren't near.
Emilee and I totally get each other and I love love love laughing with her! We've had a great time together-- I've gone to visit her a couple times when she lived in Fayetteville (my second favorite SEC town!), we gone to the mountains for Christmas this year and in years past, New Orleans, beach trips, Oxford weekends-- its always fun!
Emilee makes a mean hamburger steak, listens to the strangest variety of music I've ever seen (Chopin or T-Pain, anyone?), and loves Gilmore Girls almost as much as I do! She's a bit OCD and takes a really long time to get ready, but she's beautiful and funny and strong and I'm lucky to have her in my life! Here are some recent pictures of us:
All dressed up with somewhere to go-- Commander's Palace in New Orleans!
Christmas caroling
At the pumpkin patch this past fall.
With Betsy in August-- for their birthdays.
With Aunt Ju in the Grove last football season!
Sunday, January 9, 2011
# 9 Breakfast is the most important meal of the day...
"I'm a simple man, I like pretty dark-haired women and breakfast foods."
Ron Swanson, Parks and Recreation
I love Parks and Recreation-- its one of the funniest tv shows right now and I'm super excited because it comes back on with new episodes in the next week or so! My favorite character is Ron Swanson (played by Nick Offerman, who, in real life, is married to Megan Mullaly, Karen from "Will and Grace" whom I also love). Anyway, I love Ron Swanson and Ron Swanson loves breakfast food. He even has a portrait of a breakfast food plate in his office behind the desk!
Much like Ron, I LOVE breakfast foods as well. I've spent many a fun meal at Waffle House, and love seeing my friends on the weekends when we either cook breakfast (they cook, not me!) or go eat brunch before we all head back to our homes. This morning, I had another fabulously unexpected breakfast memory. I woke up late this morning as I'd been up for a good portion of the night not being able to sleep, and I took Parker out first thing, as usual. We decided to walk towards our friend Lori's house. Lori lives across the street and down about three houses. The front of her house has a perfect view of my backyard and driveway. She's a total stalker, really. Additionally, my cousin lives down the road the opposite way, about 2 blocks and across the street diagonally from her, is my Aunt Ju. So we are all close neighbors in what we like to call "the Village".
Lori is a fabulous cook and has been inducted as part of the family-- I love hanging out with her and she's one of the most generous people I know. She also has a really cute house which we got to decorate for Christmas and that was a lot of fun! So, this morning, I'm walking Parker and I look up and my Aunt Ju is peering out Lori's window with her little pet Willie. We head on up and totally lucked out-- Lori had cooked breakfast for Ju and Emilee, but Em had decided to sleep late and I was able to step up and take her place. Yummy fried eggs (my fav!), grits, sausage and biscuits with jelly. It was fabulous. Lori's such a good cook and we had a great time sitting around watching random tv shows and laughing. Its always fun at her house!
Unfortunately, my day went downhill from there, but I did get further evidence that my cousin Em is the best cousin in the world, and managed to take down all the ornaments and lights from the Christmas tree as well as doing a few loads of laundry. Now, the whole town is hunkered down, ready for the big ice storm that's supposed to be hitting, well, now. So far, so good, and, more importantly, we still have power. I'm headed to bed. Hope everyone had a great day and a great breakfast!!
Ron Swanson, Parks and Recreation
I love Parks and Recreation-- its one of the funniest tv shows right now and I'm super excited because it comes back on with new episodes in the next week or so! My favorite character is Ron Swanson (played by Nick Offerman, who, in real life, is married to Megan Mullaly, Karen from "Will and Grace" whom I also love). Anyway, I love Ron Swanson and Ron Swanson loves breakfast food. He even has a portrait of a breakfast food plate in his office behind the desk!
Much like Ron, I LOVE breakfast foods as well. I've spent many a fun meal at Waffle House, and love seeing my friends on the weekends when we either cook breakfast (they cook, not me!) or go eat brunch before we all head back to our homes. This morning, I had another fabulously unexpected breakfast memory. I woke up late this morning as I'd been up for a good portion of the night not being able to sleep, and I took Parker out first thing, as usual. We decided to walk towards our friend Lori's house. Lori lives across the street and down about three houses. The front of her house has a perfect view of my backyard and driveway. She's a total stalker, really. Additionally, my cousin lives down the road the opposite way, about 2 blocks and across the street diagonally from her, is my Aunt Ju. So we are all close neighbors in what we like to call "the Village".
Lori is a fabulous cook and has been inducted as part of the family-- I love hanging out with her and she's one of the most generous people I know. She also has a really cute house which we got to decorate for Christmas and that was a lot of fun! So, this morning, I'm walking Parker and I look up and my Aunt Ju is peering out Lori's window with her little pet Willie. We head on up and totally lucked out-- Lori had cooked breakfast for Ju and Emilee, but Em had decided to sleep late and I was able to step up and take her place. Yummy fried eggs (my fav!), grits, sausage and biscuits with jelly. It was fabulous. Lori's such a good cook and we had a great time sitting around watching random tv shows and laughing. Its always fun at her house!
Unfortunately, my day went downhill from there, but I did get further evidence that my cousin Em is the best cousin in the world, and managed to take down all the ornaments and lights from the Christmas tree as well as doing a few loads of laundry. Now, the whole town is hunkered down, ready for the big ice storm that's supposed to be hitting, well, now. So far, so good, and, more importantly, we still have power. I'm headed to bed. Hope everyone had a great day and a great breakfast!!
Friday, January 7, 2011
# 8 EVAN ALEERT... the court date's been set...
[Bloggers Note: Apparently I've already broken my promise to you guys and didn't post yesterday. I'm truly sorry; however, its totally not my fault. I finished writing this yesterday morning and THOUGHT I'd worked it to where the blog would post this automatically last night. Obviously, I thought wrong. It was brought to my attention by alert reader Nick who said "it literally took you less than 24 hours not to blog!" I was so devastated that I got up in the middle of the night to re-post this. Not really, I just couldn't go back to sleep. Irregardless. So, hopefully you guys will forgive me when you see that this post is an EVAN ALERT!!)
All Evan Alerts are blog favorites, and for good reason. I've not seen a whole lot of Evan in the past few weeks and months (in fact, I've only seen him once or twice since my Disney trip!)-- those of you in my inner circle will know that the last few weeks and months have been some tough ones for me, and I've battled my own version of depression. Now, add two and two together and you get the picture-- the less Evan in my life, the less happiness!
Lucky for us all, Evan's been around a lot lately-- driving past me wearing a black ski cap pulled over his eyes (twice), speeding down our dead end street and jerking into the driveway so he can turn his vehicle around and park (now I see how he managed to hit his neighbors vehicles not once, but twice.) and on New Years Day, returning to the house after a visit with his mom. Parker and I happened to be outside for this last event, on Saturday afternoon.
Evan: Hey Jess! Hey Parker!
ME: Hey Evan! Happy New Year!
Evan: Happy New Year! Just getting home from visiting my mom-- she sent me home with lots of food (holds up the 6 or so clear containers he's carrying)-- cabbage, black-eyed-peas, cornbread, corn, regular peas and turnips! All the New Years Food!!
ME: Oh, looks yummy. Did you have a good New Years Eve?
Evan: Yes, I did. I stayed in with my girlfriend and we just hung out.
ME: (Heart sinking. Tears welling up in my eyes. Devastation in my voice. Girlfriend?) Oh, that's nice.
Evan: Yes, it was ok. But we got good news, so that was nice.
ME: Oh, what kind of news?
Evan: Well, we got a courtdate, finally, so that is good.
ME: A courtdate? For what?
Evan: For the fight. Haven't I told you about this already?
ME: No. What fight?
Evan: My girlfriend's ex boyfriend beat the heck out of me the other day. It was in front of Homewood (points in the direction of a very nice neighborhood about a block away). He totally slammed me on the forehead (lifts up his hair and points to a rather large red cut from his eyebrow to his hairline. Its super red and his eyebrow has been shaved off.)
ME: Oh my gosh, Evan, that's awful, when did this happen? Whats the courtdate for?
Evan: It happened November 23. We had him arrested, obviously, but I wasn't arrested or anything, so don't worry. He's crazy.
ME: Yeah, apparently.
Evan: Want to come upstairs and see the pictures we took of it when it happened?
ME: Oh, gosh, Evan, yeah, sure, but, um, no, I cannot come right now. (thinking it might be better to have a witness go with me if I ever entered his apartment). I'm getting ready to go somewhere and we need to get back to the house.
Evan: Ok, some other time. (notices my Junior Auxiliary t-shirt). Are you in JA?
ME: Um, yes.
Evan: Oh, do you know *name redacted for purposes of this blog*?
ME: Well, I know the name, but I don't know her personally or anything.
Evan: Well, it was her ex-husband who hit me. He's nuts. He used to date my girlfriend. Well, she's my girlfriend now and has been for a while, but we aren't really telling anyone. You know how it is.
ME: Yeah, ok.
Evan: Well, okay, better go inside and get to eating! Have fun!
ME: Bye.
I immediately went straight home and got on the phone to find out some information about this woman from JA and her husband. I cannot help but be curious that there is someone that was in LJA who has an ex-husband who dated a girl who now dates the strangest guy I've ever met. Its intriguing.
All Evan Alerts are blog favorites, and for good reason. I've not seen a whole lot of Evan in the past few weeks and months (in fact, I've only seen him once or twice since my Disney trip!)-- those of you in my inner circle will know that the last few weeks and months have been some tough ones for me, and I've battled my own version of depression. Now, add two and two together and you get the picture-- the less Evan in my life, the less happiness!
Lucky for us all, Evan's been around a lot lately-- driving past me wearing a black ski cap pulled over his eyes (twice), speeding down our dead end street and jerking into the driveway so he can turn his vehicle around and park (now I see how he managed to hit his neighbors vehicles not once, but twice.) and on New Years Day, returning to the house after a visit with his mom. Parker and I happened to be outside for this last event, on Saturday afternoon.
Evan: Hey Jess! Hey Parker!
ME: Hey Evan! Happy New Year!
Evan: Happy New Year! Just getting home from visiting my mom-- she sent me home with lots of food (holds up the 6 or so clear containers he's carrying)-- cabbage, black-eyed-peas, cornbread, corn, regular peas and turnips! All the New Years Food!!
ME: Oh, looks yummy. Did you have a good New Years Eve?
Evan: Yes, I did. I stayed in with my girlfriend and we just hung out.
ME: (Heart sinking. Tears welling up in my eyes. Devastation in my voice. Girlfriend?) Oh, that's nice.
Evan: Yes, it was ok. But we got good news, so that was nice.
ME: Oh, what kind of news?
Evan: Well, we got a courtdate, finally, so that is good.
ME: A courtdate? For what?
Evan: For the fight. Haven't I told you about this already?
ME: No. What fight?
Evan: My girlfriend's ex boyfriend beat the heck out of me the other day. It was in front of Homewood (points in the direction of a very nice neighborhood about a block away). He totally slammed me on the forehead (lifts up his hair and points to a rather large red cut from his eyebrow to his hairline. Its super red and his eyebrow has been shaved off.)
ME: Oh my gosh, Evan, that's awful, when did this happen? Whats the courtdate for?
Evan: It happened November 23. We had him arrested, obviously, but I wasn't arrested or anything, so don't worry. He's crazy.
ME: Yeah, apparently.
Evan: Want to come upstairs and see the pictures we took of it when it happened?
ME: Oh, gosh, Evan, yeah, sure, but, um, no, I cannot come right now. (thinking it might be better to have a witness go with me if I ever entered his apartment). I'm getting ready to go somewhere and we need to get back to the house.
Evan: Ok, some other time. (notices my Junior Auxiliary t-shirt). Are you in JA?
ME: Um, yes.
Evan: Oh, do you know *name redacted for purposes of this blog*?
ME: Well, I know the name, but I don't know her personally or anything.
Evan: Well, it was her ex-husband who hit me. He's nuts. He used to date my girlfriend. Well, she's my girlfriend now and has been for a while, but we aren't really telling anyone. You know how it is.
ME: Yeah, ok.
Evan: Well, okay, better go inside and get to eating! Have fun!
ME: Bye.
I immediately went straight home and got on the phone to find out some information about this woman from JA and her husband. I cannot help but be curious that there is someone that was in LJA who has an ex-husband who dated a girl who now dates the strangest guy I've ever met. Its intriguing.
A new leaf for a new year...
So, I've been blogging, on and off for more than a year now. Usually more off than on. I love blogging. It makes me happy to think of funny things I can share on this blog and it makes me even happier when someone tells me they love reading my blog-- I don't even mind when someone fusses at me for not blogging enough! I enjoy blogging, but I'm not consistent. Last spring, I ran across a blog of a girl from Laurel, whom I barely know, and she made a resolution to blog every single day for an entire year-- to blog about the best thing that happened to her that day. I've been a bit of a voyeur and really enjoyed reading her blog this year.
Now, its January 7, so I'm really over the whole New Years Resolution thing-- I don't generally make them and I didn't make any this year. However, I'm all about improvement and happiness and trying to make my life what I want it to be (gosh, I sound like Oprah). But, I've decided I'm going to make a similar decision for this year. I'm expecting a whole lot of changes in the coming year, and most of you know how badly I detest change-- its one of the reasons I'm in this situation right now-- I'm so afraid of changing anything that I wait till things get absolutely awful and I have no other options but to change. Anyway, all this to say that I'm going to be blogging every single day from now on-- come rain, sleet, snow or shine. Or, in MS, humidity, heat, sweat and more heat. Its my promise to you, dear readers. I cannot promise that it will be interesting, or even slightly witty, but it will be something. I will do the very best I can to make sure I blog about something, preferably, something fun and funny and interesting and good that happened that day.
So, in an effort to start things off right, and to begin at the beginning, and since its January 7, I will do 7 mini-blogs here and now to "catch up".
1. I love ANGEL. Its one of my favorite tv shows and I'm watching an episode right now. I love love love David Boreanaz. I tend to get on a tv show kick and watch all the episodes and read on-line recaps of each episode in order, etc., until I am sick of a show. Right now, I've been totally into NCIS-- I LOVE that show. However, for various reasons, I'm a bit sick of the whole military/Marine/Navy/damaged soldier/PTSD/hide your feelings/etc. aspect of the show. So, I'm taking a bit of a break from it for now. So, I've been tivoing Angel episodes to watch when I need something mindless in the background. I like that-- having a show I've watched a thousand times on in the background while I work, read, clean, get ready for bed, etc. At various points in my life I've watched CSI:Miami, NCIS, Angel, Stargate Atlantis, Judging Amy, Stargate: SG1, Saved by the Bell, Boy Meets World, Gilmore Girls and Trading Spaces. I've literally seen every single episode of each of those shows a dozen times. I'm back on Angel now. Any other suggestions for mindless tv entertainment?
2. Next week is my Miss America Pageant Party. I think its somewhere along my 8th Annual or something. It gets a bit confusing because a couple times I've had a Miss Mississippi party in addition to the Miss America party and at least once, I didn't have the party, I just went over to Jackson and watched it with Katherine and Courtney, but I still count that as a party, even if I didn't host it. This years party has snuck up on me and I'm beginning to panic that I cannot get everything done, but I'm sure it will all come together. At this point, I'll just be thankful to wake up in the morning and watch the show that night-- decorations, party favors, and food aren't even priorities.
3. I've lost my camera charger so I'm unable to download my pictures from the last few weeks. Its really frustrating-- I keep thinking I'll find it when I finally clean my room up, but still no luck!!!
4. Parker has fleas. Its ridiculously annoying-- I'm attempting to wash all the bed sheets and comforters, pillows and blankets, as well as spray that stinky stuff everywhere she tends to hang out (which is to say, all over the house) and I've got two houses to do this-- mine and the Newton house. Its overwhelming.
5. My Christmas tree is, as of now, still up. I'm hoping to get it all up this weekend. Its overwhelming as well, and I didn't even put up as many decorations as last year!!!
6. I got the following books for Christmas and I'm super excited to start reading them:
7. I'm really nervous about making this commitment-- I tend to be very bad a long-time commitments and right now in my life, a week or so of good decisions is all I'm truly capable of. But I think its time to focus on all the really good things in my life and change the bad things, and this might be the best way I know to do that. So, avid readers, keep me encouraged and let me know if you like this idea or what you'd like me to write about, etc. I've always relied on the kindness of strangers, or in this case, friends.
Now, its January 7, so I'm really over the whole New Years Resolution thing-- I don't generally make them and I didn't make any this year. However, I'm all about improvement and happiness and trying to make my life what I want it to be (gosh, I sound like Oprah). But, I've decided I'm going to make a similar decision for this year. I'm expecting a whole lot of changes in the coming year, and most of you know how badly I detest change-- its one of the reasons I'm in this situation right now-- I'm so afraid of changing anything that I wait till things get absolutely awful and I have no other options but to change. Anyway, all this to say that I'm going to be blogging every single day from now on-- come rain, sleet, snow or shine. Or, in MS, humidity, heat, sweat and more heat. Its my promise to you, dear readers. I cannot promise that it will be interesting, or even slightly witty, but it will be something. I will do the very best I can to make sure I blog about something, preferably, something fun and funny and interesting and good that happened that day.
So, in an effort to start things off right, and to begin at the beginning, and since its January 7, I will do 7 mini-blogs here and now to "catch up".
1. I love ANGEL. Its one of my favorite tv shows and I'm watching an episode right now. I love love love David Boreanaz. I tend to get on a tv show kick and watch all the episodes and read on-line recaps of each episode in order, etc., until I am sick of a show. Right now, I've been totally into NCIS-- I LOVE that show. However, for various reasons, I'm a bit sick of the whole military/Marine/Navy/damaged soldier/PTSD/hide your feelings/etc. aspect of the show. So, I'm taking a bit of a break from it for now. So, I've been tivoing Angel episodes to watch when I need something mindless in the background. I like that-- having a show I've watched a thousand times on in the background while I work, read, clean, get ready for bed, etc. At various points in my life I've watched CSI:Miami, NCIS, Angel, Stargate Atlantis, Judging Amy, Stargate: SG1, Saved by the Bell, Boy Meets World, Gilmore Girls and Trading Spaces. I've literally seen every single episode of each of those shows a dozen times. I'm back on Angel now. Any other suggestions for mindless tv entertainment?
2. Next week is my Miss America Pageant Party. I think its somewhere along my 8th Annual or something. It gets a bit confusing because a couple times I've had a Miss Mississippi party in addition to the Miss America party and at least once, I didn't have the party, I just went over to Jackson and watched it with Katherine and Courtney, but I still count that as a party, even if I didn't host it. This years party has snuck up on me and I'm beginning to panic that I cannot get everything done, but I'm sure it will all come together. At this point, I'll just be thankful to wake up in the morning and watch the show that night-- decorations, party favors, and food aren't even priorities.
3. I've lost my camera charger so I'm unable to download my pictures from the last few weeks. Its really frustrating-- I keep thinking I'll find it when I finally clean my room up, but still no luck!!!
4. Parker has fleas. Its ridiculously annoying-- I'm attempting to wash all the bed sheets and comforters, pillows and blankets, as well as spray that stinky stuff everywhere she tends to hang out (which is to say, all over the house) and I've got two houses to do this-- mine and the Newton house. Its overwhelming.
5. My Christmas tree is, as of now, still up. I'm hoping to get it all up this weekend. Its overwhelming as well, and I didn't even put up as many decorations as last year!!!
6. I got the following books for Christmas and I'm super excited to start reading them:
7. I'm really nervous about making this commitment-- I tend to be very bad a long-time commitments and right now in my life, a week or so of good decisions is all I'm truly capable of. But I think its time to focus on all the really good things in my life and change the bad things, and this might be the best way I know to do that. So, avid readers, keep me encouraged and let me know if you like this idea or what you'd like me to write about, etc. I've always relied on the kindness of strangers, or in this case, friends.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Delta, Delta, Delta, Can I Help Ya, Help Ya, Help Ya?
I've been unable to download the pictures from our Christmas Wonderland Family Vacation, so as soon as I can, I'll do that and also update you guys on all the fun we had. You'll be glad to know that all family members returned unharmed, although another inch or so of snow and another hour or two might have left us stranded and I doubt I'd be able to say that then.
In an effort to do some winter cleaning and find some tax receipts, I've been cleaning out my desk drawers at my office in Decatur. I came across some old emails that I've printed off from previous email addresses, most of all which were when I was living in Washington. I've had my yahoo email account for a really long time, but I did once have a hotmail account as well as my old ole miss account, and at some point, I printed out some of my favorite emails before I quit using those accounts.
Some of them where really funny, random forwards from college-- 25 Ways to Write a Paper, 30 Fun Things to do in Wal-Mart, etc. Those kind of emails make me laugh as I remember how many things on those lists I've actually done in college. Another post for another day.
I also found some from my family and friends after September 11, 2001, when I was living in Washington-- it brought back some tears and some panic when I was reading those emails. It was such a terrifying, unknowing time-- we can look back now and know exactly what happened, but in the minutes, hours, days and weeks after the attacks, there was so much uncertainty-- reports of bombs and other attacks all over the country, but especially in NYC and Washington. Sirens went off for months, and troops with guns and tanks filled the streets for quite some time. For a Mississippi girl who'd literally just moved to the Big City, it was quite terrifying and I still wake up in cold sweat if I hear a siren in the middle of the night and I still hate talking about September 11, and ignore most of the anniversary coverage each year. Too many bad feelings.
I also found a lot of really funny emails from some co-workers at the United States Chamber of Commerce-- I had several really fun people that I worked with, all of whom I've lost touch with. I keep thinking that Facebook will help me find them, but, at least with the girls, they've moved and probably married and I've had no luck. One girl I really need to return her copy of Katherine Graham's biography!
I really enjoyed working at the US Chamber-- DC is a cool, interesting town filled with cool, interesting people, most of whom have made their career, and not getting married, a priority, so you can see how I related there. But, it was the first, and only time I've worked in a large office filled with all sorts of different people from different places and been exposed to lots of different cultures and ideas. Its also the only time I've been surrounded by people who were like me-- and who were stuck in a cubicle all the time and were desperate for a little fun in the office. We had a great time, and lots of the things we did, I've already forgotten. We had a great time with each other!
I've entirely forgotten these emails until just now, but apparently, we had a weeks long discussion about different celebrities we would let into our sorority. It was intense, passionate, carefully argued, and, well, pointless. We got into deep arguments wherein we championed our favorite celebrities and destroyed girls we hated. I imagine its a lot like what being in a real sorority is like. My closest friends, Meredith and Elisabeth, went to a school in Virginia and were Delta Gamma's there. I'm sure you all know that Ole Miss is where the sorority DG actually started-- there is a small sign between campus and the Square and everything! Anyway, the fact that I attended Ole Miss was very interesting to them, despite the fact that I was not a Delta Gamma, nor the fact that I was only an AOPi for about 17 minutes. It didn't matter-- they thought it was so cool, and I was so cool, by extension. In that aspect, they were right!
Here are some of the opinions we had about specific celebrities at the time (remember, this is circa 2002-- some of these celebrities haven't been popular since then!)
We cut Katie Couric (her ties to Tri-Delt as well as her being "FULL of retarded questions" forced us to not give her a bid but we all dis agree she was better than Kathie Lee), but we agreed on Julia Roberts (my choice-- shes "kinda quirky but she's funny and would probably be a good candidate for 'going to SPE'. [ I have no idea what SPE means!!!]).
Oprah had us divided-- I hate her, but others pointed out that "her money could buy us a rocking good formal" but also that "those big satin dresses she likes to wear probably wouldn't fit through the bus door." Harsh.
Alanis Morisette got a huge NO, as she is too "weird and granola" for us. Christina Aguilera was another big no ("a grade A first class total ho-bag), but we did like another Christina-- Applegate.
Cameron Diaz was another no, but we did really like Charlize Theron, who is "dumb but probably cool at parties" and "is from Africa, so she could be our token diverse sister."
Elizabeth Hurley was denied, as she was also a "HO" and has never been in a decent movie. Also, there was some discussion about the fact that she didn't know who her baby daddy was at the time [sidenote- I don't recall this? I don't really recall much about Elizabeth Hurley except every single dress she wears and has worn is the same]. The most interesting part of the LLiz Hurley discussion is that the girls got off onto a side discussion about a girl from their college named Erin Leddy and the identity of her "dentheaded" baby daddy. I don't know if the baby or the baby daddy is dentheaded, and now I'll never know.
So, dear readers, who would be in your sorority? I'm offering bids to Julia Roberts, Emma Stone, Rachel McAdams, Guliana Rancic, Carey Mulligan and Zoe Saldana. Thoughts?
In an effort to do some winter cleaning and find some tax receipts, I've been cleaning out my desk drawers at my office in Decatur. I came across some old emails that I've printed off from previous email addresses, most of all which were when I was living in Washington. I've had my yahoo email account for a really long time, but I did once have a hotmail account as well as my old ole miss account, and at some point, I printed out some of my favorite emails before I quit using those accounts.
Some of them where really funny, random forwards from college-- 25 Ways to Write a Paper, 30 Fun Things to do in Wal-Mart, etc. Those kind of emails make me laugh as I remember how many things on those lists I've actually done in college. Another post for another day.
I also found some from my family and friends after September 11, 2001, when I was living in Washington-- it brought back some tears and some panic when I was reading those emails. It was such a terrifying, unknowing time-- we can look back now and know exactly what happened, but in the minutes, hours, days and weeks after the attacks, there was so much uncertainty-- reports of bombs and other attacks all over the country, but especially in NYC and Washington. Sirens went off for months, and troops with guns and tanks filled the streets for quite some time. For a Mississippi girl who'd literally just moved to the Big City, it was quite terrifying and I still wake up in cold sweat if I hear a siren in the middle of the night and I still hate talking about September 11, and ignore most of the anniversary coverage each year. Too many bad feelings.
I also found a lot of really funny emails from some co-workers at the United States Chamber of Commerce-- I had several really fun people that I worked with, all of whom I've lost touch with. I keep thinking that Facebook will help me find them, but, at least with the girls, they've moved and probably married and I've had no luck. One girl I really need to return her copy of Katherine Graham's biography!
I really enjoyed working at the US Chamber-- DC is a cool, interesting town filled with cool, interesting people, most of whom have made their career, and not getting married, a priority, so you can see how I related there. But, it was the first, and only time I've worked in a large office filled with all sorts of different people from different places and been exposed to lots of different cultures and ideas. Its also the only time I've been surrounded by people who were like me-- and who were stuck in a cubicle all the time and were desperate for a little fun in the office. We had a great time, and lots of the things we did, I've already forgotten. We had a great time with each other!
I've entirely forgotten these emails until just now, but apparently, we had a weeks long discussion about different celebrities we would let into our sorority. It was intense, passionate, carefully argued, and, well, pointless. We got into deep arguments wherein we championed our favorite celebrities and destroyed girls we hated. I imagine its a lot like what being in a real sorority is like. My closest friends, Meredith and Elisabeth, went to a school in Virginia and were Delta Gamma's there. I'm sure you all know that Ole Miss is where the sorority DG actually started-- there is a small sign between campus and the Square and everything! Anyway, the fact that I attended Ole Miss was very interesting to them, despite the fact that I was not a Delta Gamma, nor the fact that I was only an AOPi for about 17 minutes. It didn't matter-- they thought it was so cool, and I was so cool, by extension. In that aspect, they were right!
Here are some of the opinions we had about specific celebrities at the time (remember, this is circa 2002-- some of these celebrities haven't been popular since then!)
We cut Katie Couric (her ties to Tri-Delt as well as her being "FULL of retarded questions" forced us to not give her a bid but we all dis agree she was better than Kathie Lee), but we agreed on Julia Roberts (my choice-- shes "kinda quirky but she's funny and would probably be a good candidate for 'going to SPE'. [ I have no idea what SPE means!!!]).
Oprah had us divided-- I hate her, but others pointed out that "her money could buy us a rocking good formal" but also that "those big satin dresses she likes to wear probably wouldn't fit through the bus door." Harsh.
Alanis Morisette got a huge NO, as she is too "weird and granola" for us. Christina Aguilera was another big no ("a grade A first class total ho-bag), but we did like another Christina-- Applegate.
Cameron Diaz was another no, but we did really like Charlize Theron, who is "dumb but probably cool at parties" and "is from Africa, so she could be our token diverse sister."
Elizabeth Hurley was denied, as she was also a "HO" and has never been in a decent movie. Also, there was some discussion about the fact that she didn't know who her baby daddy was at the time [sidenote- I don't recall this? I don't really recall much about Elizabeth Hurley except every single dress she wears and has worn is the same]. The most interesting part of the LLiz Hurley discussion is that the girls got off onto a side discussion about a girl from their college named Erin Leddy and the identity of her "dentheaded" baby daddy. I don't know if the baby or the baby daddy is dentheaded, and now I'll never know.
So, dear readers, who would be in your sorority? I'm offering bids to Julia Roberts, Emma Stone, Rachel McAdams, Guliana Rancic, Carey Mulligan and Zoe Saldana. Thoughts?
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