The Chronicles of Nat

Four For Friday

2012-02-17T05:20:00.001-06:00

It's Friday - which means that some of you will be getting two posts for the price of one today because I posted on Thursday night and scheduled this post to go up on Friday morning. I wanted to make sure Erika had plenty of reading material to kick off her Friday morning.

Here's a list of nothing in particular to end the work week.

1. I really love music; this probably comes as no surprise to those of you who know me. I downloaded the Adele 21 album this past week and love it. If you haven't checked it out (and you probably have because I'm the last to know about new music that is actually worth listening to) then you should. I am also, as you probably know, a lover of Harry Connick, Jr. and his music always lifts my spirits. He is just so lovely!

2. The flooring I had repaired back in the late summer needs some repair. Some of the seams are coming apart at the entrance to that room. The guy who put the flooring down is supposed to come over Friday afternoon and take a look. Here's to hoping he shows up and comes up with a solution that doesn't involve weeks of labor; and in case you were wondering, no I don't plan on paying him anything because it shouldn't be coming apart. That's all I have to say about that.

3. This spring quarter (March - May) on Sunday mornings I will be co-teaching the Ladies' Class at church with my dear friend Janet. We would love to have you stop by (well, if you're a gal anyway). The subject matter is I and II Timothy. I checked out my teacher notebook last night and much to my delight, my dad had checked out the very same notebook four years ago. I thought that was rather interesting/neat.

4. When it comes to vanilla (for baking), I'm a bit of a snob. Two years ago I won a gift certificate to The Spice House and in addition to other things, I ordered some pure vanilla from Mexico and have been ordering it from there ever since. I always get the eight ounce bottle which surprisingly lasts me about a year. They keep a record of what you order and it would appear that I've ordered once eight ounce bottle each year for the past three years (including this year). I just got a new bottle in this week which is very exciting. This time I also ordered some vanilla bean paste which is basically the inside of the vanilla bean in a paste form. It can be used instead of buying a vanilla bean and scraping out the insides. I'm excited to use this as I've never tried it before.

A Television List

2012-02-16T18:50:00.001-06:00

Yes, I know, there was no post last night. I do apologize. I had not written anything prior to leaving for church and then when I got home from church, I wasn't really up to turning on the computer and writing so I just let it be. I do hope you understand. I'm going to make it up to you by posting tonight (Thursday) and in the morning (Friday).

So, today, I'm going to chat with you a bit about television shows. I don't know about you but it seems like every day I'm a little less impressed with the shows the networks are picking up these days. Glee, for example, was really great during season one, now every storyline is about a gay couple and it's more than a little overdone. The only reason I still watch is because I do really love the songs; but if I couldn't watch it anymore I really wouldn't be crushed.

So, I thought I would share with you the shows that I really do like a lot and hopefully you can let us know in the comments what shows you really love - even those of you without cable!

1. You probably guessed it, Downton Abbey. This is the best show that has been on television maybe ever. I seriously cannot wait until the next episode airs. Set in the early 1900s in Britain, this show is prim and proper and full of intrigue and sometimes scandal. Will Lady Mary and Matthew Crawley end up together? Will Sybil run off with the chauffeur? Will the Countess give up her title of #1 flower grower in the county? Will Lord Grantham have an affair with a maid? There is no foul language, no cleavage in your face, none of the lewdness that is so common among the shows of today. If you haven't seen it yet, you must check it out. Season one is available through Netflix and iTunes and season two can be seen on PBS.com. Both seasons can be purchased from the PBS Store. However you go about it, please try to find a way to watch it - you will be so glad you did!

2. Parenthood - This show comes on NBC and is in the third season I think. I've watched it from the beginning and every season is better than the last. The show is about the Braverman family and they are every bit as dysfunctional as your own. The shows deals with all sorts of problems that are common to you and me and I find it very relate-able - people get laid off, some are dealing with trying to have a baby, some are dealing with adopting, others are surprised by a later in life pregnancy, the patriarch has heart problems, the teenagers dabble in drugs and forbidden relationships, one father is an alcoholic, one child has Asberger's. There is a truly eclectic mix of people and problems. Just like Downton, when this show ends, I cannot wait to see the next episode. It seems like there is a cliffhanger each week. It's well cast, well written and an overall joy.

3. Smash - Another NBC show, this one just started on February 6. It stars Katherine McPhee (you may remember her form American Idol - did you have the McPhever?) as well as Debra Messing (from Will and Grace), Angelica Houston (I will always think of her as Morticia Addams from The Addams Family movie) and a guy that was in Pirates of the Caribbean (too lazy to look that up). Anyway, I watched the first episode and loved it. Best I can tell it's going to go from the beginning to the end of writing, developing, casting and making a Broadway musical. I haven't watched this week's episode yet but I'm sure it is just as lovely as the first. I love a good musical and this show has all the makings of one; so all you fellow Broadway lovers out there take a look. You can catch up on the first two episodes on NBC.com

4. Who Do You Think You Are - Yet another NBC show. I have a love of NBC! This show is GREAT and very interesting! This is the third season for this show which was created and is executive produced by Lisa Kudrow (you know, Phoebe from Friends). Each season a different set of celebrities traces their family roots and researches their family tree and let me tell you, these people have found some very interesting things. I am fascinated by genealogy and would love to do this for my paternal side (someone else already researched my maternal side). If they ever make this show with regular people, I'm going to petition to be on it each year until they finally choose me. If you have any interest in this sort of thing you will find it just as fascinating as I do.

So, if I had to choose only four shows a week to watch those would be the three. Some others I really like are:

Revenge - it's a new show this year and is quite a surprise. Jackie told me about this one and I had also read about it on another blog. I had to catch up on the first seven or so episodes online but am now all caught up and each week brings another vengeful act by the main character. My heart has raced on more than one occasion during this show.

CSI - This one doesn't need any explanation and is always rather interesting. I've been watching this show for about 10 years now and still really like it which says a great deal about the writers and actors.

NCIS and NCIS LA - I've watched NCIS for a long while and NCIS LA since the beginning and love both of them. I think if I had to choose one over the other I would probably choose LA because I do love that Hettie Lang; but Jethro Gibbs is also a great character. Both shows are quite good and well worth the watch.

There are a few others I watch, Blue Bloods, Unforgettable, Person of Interest, Survivor and The Amazing Race. I seriously watch way too much TV which is why I don't get in nearly as much reading as I should or would like. I'm actually looking forward to the summer when the TV schedules dies down and I can have more non-TV time. Well, I guess technically I could have more non-TV time now, but well, that's probably not going to happen.

So, that's my television list - what about you - what are your favorites right now?

Movie Experience and Review: The Descendants

2012-02-14T19:08:00.004-06:00

Last Friday night I went to see The Descendants with George Clooney. Well, I didn't go to the movies with George Clooney, he was in the movie, The Descendants; but, how cool would it be to go with George Clooney? He would probably be a fun person to hang out with. Anyway...

The movie started at 6:40 and so about 10 minutes after 6:00, I left home and instead of going my regular route, I headed towards the interstate to the Parkway. I was apparently in la la land because once on the ramp, I realized I didn't need to go that way and prepared to exit to go my regular route. In the process, I was almost run over by a work van of some sort who was merging into my lane in the same spot I was driving. I had to slam on the brakes to prevent from falling of the interstate. Have I ever mentioned how much I loathe driving?

I finally made it to the movie theater in one piece and pulled into the parking lot. There was a lady standing in the middle of the row I was driving down talking on her cell phone and she had to move out of the way, then she proceeded to stand in front of the parking place I decided to take and she had to move again. When I got out of the car, she was again standing in the middle of the row. It was freezing cold out and I mean, really, what idiot just stands in the middle of a parking lot row talking on the phone? Have the common sense to at least stand to the side so you don't get run over. Not everyone is going to be as polite as me!

I made my way inside the theater and got in line to purchase a ticket. There were two old women in front of me and a third rushed passed me to join them. As we were walking in line, one of the first two slung her scarf back over her shoulder and proceeded to hit me in the face. I let out a little scream as I was not expecting to be mauled at the movie theater, but the old woman didn't seem to notice, or perhaps she didn't care that she had just struck an innocent bystander with her orange weapon. A man in line behind me noticed it and he and I had a chuckle about it. He told his wife what happened and she joined in our laughter as well.

I finally managed to get a ticket once the old women were out of my way and headed towards the inside. Unfortunately, they only had one line open to get in and needless to say, there was a bottleneck of people trying to make their way inside. One of the managers, thankfully, had enough sense to open a second line to take tickets and it wasn't long after that I was safely inside. I headed straight to the concession stand and found a spot that had no line and promptly ordered a medium popcorn.

After getting my bag of popcorn, I made my way to the theater and had to walk through a sea of people who were posing for a photo with some characters from Star Wars. Look, I like Star Wars as much as the next person, maybe more so in some cases, but on this particular evening, these characters were basically just a nuisance, an obstacle to my getting to my seat. In case you are wondering why the Star Wars folks were there, well, in an effort to make George Lucas even richer, Star Wars Episode One was released in 3D over the weekend. I just don't get the whole fascination with 3D. It does absolutely nothing for me and I am not going to pay money to go see a movie in 3D that I've already seen in the theater and have at home on DVD or Blu Ray. Seriously, everything is coming out in 3D now. Even Titanic! It's ridiculous. I think I'll pass and use the extra $3 for popcorn. Not to mention the fact that it makes me kind of nauseous.

Moving on...

I finally reached the theater and when I walked in, I was overcome with the fact that I was the only person under the age of 60 in the room. I am not even kidding when I say that 95% of the people in the room had grey or white hair. Who knew older people were so keen to watch a movie about a women dying and how it effects her family? I found a set on the next to the last row and got all settled in. I was afraid I would be late, but the previews had not yet started. As is always the case, just when you think the theater can't get much fuller, more and more people trickled in, including a couple who looked to be in their 80s who came in as the movie was starting and sat behind me. The man coughed on and off through the movie and it was a deep cough. I thought he might lose a lung a time or two. Thankfully, he walked out on his own accord once the movie credits rolled.

As for the movie itself... absolute perfection! Let's face it, pretty much everything that George Clooney does is perfection these days. The man chooses really great scripts. The film is set in Hawaii and is about a family dealing with what will soon be the loss of the wife/mother, who was in a boating accident and is in a coma. It basically shows how the family copes with it and there is a twist or two along the way. As deep as the subject matter is, there were many laughs for me along the way. I laughed loudly a lot! I also laughed loudly a few times when no one else did; not sure what that says about me. I saw a lot of my own family in this family and I guess that's why I was able to find humor in places where others didn't. I also cried at the end so obviously this movie will take you on an emotional roller coaster so be prepared.

There is a lot of foul language in this movie so be prepared for that as well. Despite that, I would highly recommend this movie to anyone looking for something to watch this weekend. I'm not sure how much longer it will be out. I think it was re-released since it's up for so many Academy awards; so it may not be at the theater much longer. So, if you miss it on the big screen definitely check it out via Netflix, Redbox, or whatever else it is you kids use these days. FYI, my parents also saw this movie last Friday and my dad really liked it too; not sure about my mom.

Check It Out

2012-02-13T21:32:00.001-06:00

Hope your week is off to a good start! Tomorrow I plan to have a movie experience and review for you that may be longer than you bargained for. I took notes at the theater because there were so many things going on that I didn't want to forget. None of which included the fact that I was having a difficult time getting my car out of park.

Over the weekend, I stopped by my parents' house to help my dad set up a new blog. As you may already know, my mom, Deb, has Multiple Sclerosis, and I think it probably goes without saying that this terrible disease has given us more than our fair share of trial and tribulation. So, my dad decided he wanted to start a blog in an effort to get rid of some of the anger that MS has put in his heart. I wanted to encourage you all to stop by and read what he has to say. He plans to update two or three times a week. Leave him a comment to encourage him to keep up his posts because I think this is going to be a good outlet for him and any time I get comments it encourages me to keep on writing and hopefully it will do the same for him.

So, check out Dear Multiple Sclerosis when you've got a few minutes and come back tomorrow for an interesting tale from the movies. Oh yes, and Happy Valentine's Day!

My Ghetto Car

2012-02-12T21:38:00.002-06:00

So, as you probably know, I often have more than my fair share of problems with my car, Blue. It seems that just when one problem is repaired another one pops up.

Lately I have had a lot of problems with getting my car out of park. As most of you probably have to do with your car, I have to place my foot on the brake and shift from park to reverse or to drive or whatever. You know what I’m talking about I’m sure. Back in December I had the oil changed and also had a headlight and reverse light replaced. During that process while the car engine was off, I had to put my foot on the brake and put the car in reverse so the guys could see if the bulb was replaced correctly. It was after this little adventure that I started having the problem with moving the car from park.

The problem got better for a while and I figured out some tricks to help the process along. For whatever reason, late this past week the problem got worse and I had a really difficult time getting the car out of park. The problem is the lever on the gear shift would not push in, it gets stuck and won’t budge. Friday was a real pain and Saturday morning it became much worse.

I managed to get it in drive and go to my haircut appointment; but, when I was ready to leave, I couldn’t get it to budge. Finally about 10 minutes or so later I was able to put it in drive and head to Publix. After my grocery trip, I had the same problem and finally managed to get it in drive and head over the mountain to Mr. Donut. There, I left the car in drive and put on the emergency brake and discovered that I could move it in to park to turn on the ignition and as long as I didn’t take my finger off the lever, I could move it back into drive, reverse, etc. (Is this story making any sense?)

Anyway, I went to my parents house and then to the Publix in Hampton Cove to get some bread (my first stop I didn’t’ get any bread because it wasn’t baked yet) and I had to take the keys out and put it in park. Well, when I got back to the car, I couldn’t get it to budge out of park. I had to call my dad and as he was on his way, I finally got it out of park – 22 minutes after my first try. I ended up duct taping the lever and so far it has worked in allowing the car to go from park to reverse or park to drive. Hopefully it will work for a good long while because I really don’t have the funds to have this little problem repaired.

So, that’s the latest story about Blue, my ghetto car. Maybe one day I’ll have the Volvo station wagon I’ve always dreamed of and it will work without fail. Here’s to hoping!

Let's Make It Eight

2012-02-09T19:54:00.001-06:00

This is all I got, feel free to move on to some other more informative corner of the interenets.

1. Do any of you watch Glee? If so, did you see this week's episode with Ricky Martin? Sweet Mercy! He may be gay, but he has some major sex appeal! He makes me want to be livin' la vida loca!

2. The gal I share a cube with is an interesting person. When I first moved in to her cube, she never cursed, apparently she was trying to quit but I never heard one swear word out of her mouth. For the past two weeks, however, it's been another story. She's been cursing a lot and I really don't understand why because we are under less pressure now than we were two months ago.

3. Philadelphia Brand (you know, Philadelphia Cream Cheese) has a new product that is out of this world! It's called Indulgence and it comes in three flavors, milk chocolate, dark chocolate and white chocolate. I bought the milk chocolate because I had a $1.50 off coupon and folks, it is so good. You are supposed to dip pretzels, fruit, etc in it, but I just eat it with a spoon because that, my friends, is how I roll.

4. After lunch today my stomach became upset. I suppose that was my punishment for not eating the sandwich I brought and instead eating food from our cafeteria. I guess I was just looking for a chance of pace, but ended up with an upset stomach. Tomorrow, I will definitely be eating the lunch I brought today and may never grace the doors of the cafeteria again. Thankfully, my cursing cubemate had some Rolaids she shared with me and those were able to somewhat calm the rocky waters in my belly.

5. It's almost the weekend, for which I am very thankful. I live for the weekend, don't we all? I don't really have any big plans. I do intend to go see a movie on Friday night and then will be getting a haircut on Saturday as well as making my weekly stop at Publix and no doubt will detour to Mr. Donut for my weekly dose of deliciousness - that is assuming my stomach is feeling better by then. I also plan to clean, and clear out the DVR and go to church. Then Sunday evening Erika will be stopping by for a marathon of The Pioneer Woman's cooking show. Should be a good weekend. AND - it's going to be cold! Finally a winter weather weekend!

6. As mentioned I'm getting a haircut on Saturday and I don't think I've ever been so anxious to get my hair trimmed as I am this go around. I get a cut every eight weeks and this time I need it so desperately! I'm going to have some layers put in as well because it's starting to look just dull and boring. Man, I can't wait! I wish I could pamper myself with a massage and a mani and pedi as well, but sadly, it's not in the budget this week.

7. I wish the Department of Education would send out a certificate when you pay off your student loans. I would probably have it framed and hang it on the wall beside my diploma!

8. It seems like every time I put an earbud in my ear to listen to my iPod at work, someone calls or comes over or needs something from me. Just once I'd like to be able to listen to one song without it taking 30 minutes from start to finish.

And So It Continues

2012-02-08T20:28:00.000-06:00

I don’t have much to write about this week. I was planning on putting together another list of seven tonight but I’ve just got home from church and I want to be a lazy bum and watch television shows from the DVR (I love you, DVR!).

Anyway, you’re probably wondering what me having nothing to write about has to do with the title of this post. Well, if you’ve followed along for any length of time here then you probably know that my Jim Brickman post gets the most hits every day, week, month and year – no kidding. Apparently there are a lot of Jim Brickman fans out there – who knew? I, however, do not count myself among them.

Occasionally I’ll still get a comment on that post; in fact, it’s the most commented on post. Well, it’s been a while since I’ve gotten a comment until today! And y’all, it is the best Jim Brickman comment ever! I loved it. Here is what it said, “Hi Nat, I haven't been to a Jim Brickman show in several years but I have attended a number of them in the past because I used to work for Jim and I can vouch for what you said about Jim being full of himself. That's actually putting it mildly. I'd be willing to bet that most of the people who described Jim as "warm," "a sweetheart" or whatever haven't actually known him personally. As is the case with many entertainers, what Jim shows the public is VERY different from what he shows you in private. In fact, they're pretty much polar opposites. Most of us who worked for Jim when I did were not fans of his (or fans of his music, for that matter). The phrase "drama queen" is probably the first one that comes to mind when I think of Jim. For what it's worth, I've worked with other musicians since Jim and most of them have been very nice people -- even the ones who are more famous than he is. So it's not a matter of fame. I think that there are well-known people who are nice and well-known people who aren't nice, as with pretty much any category of people.”

BEST. COMMENT. EVER.

Whoever left it did so anonymously, but anonymous is my new friend – I love you, former worker of Jim Brickman! Seriously, this comment made my day. Hopefully you will get a kick out of it as well!

The 35th Birthday Weekend Part Two

2012-02-06T20:37:00.001-06:00

Yesterday I began the tale of my weekend and today, the tale continues..

After checking with my dad, I discovered that he had not picked up enough of the enchilada mix and so when I drove over the mountain into Hampton Cove, my first stop was Publix. It was still pouring rain out and when I got in the store and checked the shelves, I discovered there was no enchilada mix. Apparently not a lot of people make enchiladas at home because this is often a problem and I suppose I should have stopped at Wal-Mart to begin with, but I really loathe going to Wal-Mart and was trying to avoid it at all costs. However, when Publix had no enchilada mix, I headed back across the highway to Wal-Mart and finally found what I needed. Third time was the charm I guess. All the while it's still raining like mad, my feet are soaked and The Tide is in the back seat. I wonder what was going through her head. she was probably tired of making stops every five minutes.

After the successful trip to Wal-Mart, I made a stop at Mr. Donut because let's face it, they have the best doughnuts in town and I personally love to eat doughnuts on Sunday morning before church. I also wanted to pick up some doughnut holes for Erika since she was kind enough to wrap my birthday presents for my parents. When I got to Mr. Donut, I parked and got out of the car, leaving my keys in the ignition. I thought about going and getting them out but figured no one would steal a car with a large dog in the backseat and I guess I was right. Actually, I doubt anyone was casing the place to steal a car but I guess you never know. Anyway, I got the doughnuts and the doughnut holes and finally, FINALLY, made my way to my parents' house.

When I pulled in the driveway, the garage door was down so I called my dad and asked him to open it. We then proceeded to let The Tide out and unload the car. By the time I had finished unloading things and handing them off to my dad or bringing them in myself, I was soaked. So, I borrowed a shirt from my mom and some socks and put my things in the dryer.

My dad and I then proceeded to start the making of the enchiladas. We made 28 enchiladas for nine people. We also made yellow rice and I brought along homemade salsa and a seven layer dip that I had made earlier that morning. A little before 4:30 I put the enchiladas in the oven and soon after folks started arriving.In attendance were my three grandparents, my parents, Jackie, Erika and Naaman who was without his wife Cheryl. She had family visiting from out of town and was visiting with them. Before the meal, we had a toast to my paying off my student loans. I love to make toasts, so it was just something I wanted to do. We then ate, opened gifts and spent the rest of the evening talking, or listening I should sy to some hilarious stories from my dad's youth. After everyone left, we got the kitchen cleaned up and The Tide ad I headed home as well. It was a fun night with family and friends.

On Sunday, I didn't do much of anything other than go to church and watch the Super Bowl and of course watch this week's episode of Downtown Abbey. BEST! SHOW! EVER! Once again the weekend wasn't long enough, but that's how it goes I guess. Hope you all had a nice weekend as well.

The 35th Birthday Weekend Part One

2012-02-05T19:36:00.003-06:00

Friday after work, I met my parents for my postponed birthday dinner. We ate at Red Lobster which is where I always wanted to go on my birthday when I was a kid. I had not been there in a long while and had a hankering for it so that’s where we went. It was a good meal and a good time visiting with each other as well. When I was younger, they would put a foam lobster on your head and sing “Happy Birthday”, now there’s no lobster hat, just the song. Somewhere in the photo archives is a photo of me with the lobster hat; I can see it plain as day, but have no idea where it is. If I come across it, I’ll be sure to share it with you. Remember when they had the hushpuppies instead of the garlic cheese biscuits? I realize a lot of folks love those garlic cheese biscuits, but I miss the hushpuppies!

On Saturday, my parents hosted a small gathering of family and friends for my birthday. The party was to start at 5:00 and my dad and I were to do the cooking so I left my house at 1:30 with The Tide in tow to run some errands and then head over to my parents’ house. As soon as I pulled out on to the road, it started raining and I was wearing my beloved browns with the crack in the sole and it was raining quite hard and of course when I got out of the car my feet got soaked.

The first stop was to pick up my birthday cookie at the mall. Thankfully, I was able to park downstairs and out of the rain. I had a coupon from the cookie place to get six free cookies with a pre-ordered cookie cake. Since my mom can’t have chocolate, I decided to use the coupon to get some chocolate-free cookies for her. The person that waited on me had to ask the manager who said I could not use the coupon because it was for Valentine’s Day. Now, in the email were pictures of heart shaped cookie cakes, but all the email said, was six free cookies with your pre-ordered cake. I talked to the manager, who then got upset and said to the woman helping me, “Just give her some cookies!” in a harsh voice. Please ask me to do the impression for you if you see me out and about – you will not be disappointed.

The next stop was to PetSmart to get The Tide’s nails trimmed. I had brought along her rabies vaccination form with me because I had a feeling they would ask for it – they don’t always but the little voice inside my head said to be sure and grab it. It was pouring rain at this point. The Tide, who loves to go to PetSmart almost as much as she loves to go to the vet was so excited she came into the front seat, stepping on the cookie cake and ended up in my lap as I was trying to get the umbrella. We finally managed to get out of the car and inside the store where indeed they asked for the rabies vaccination… and I had left it in the car. Despite the fact it was pouring out and I told the girl I left it in the car, she told me to go get it. Needless to say, I was less than thrilled. Water was leaking into my shoe and my feet were soaked but I went and got it and when I got inside realized I had grabbed the one from 2010, not 2011. Thankfully, one of the girls working there went ahead and entered the information for me. Thank you nice girl!

I paid for The Tide’s nail trim and managed to get her back in the car and then went over to Target to pick up a prescription. I was also going to pick up some more enchilada sauce mix (we were having enchiladas for dinner) because I didn’t think my dad had picked up the right amount. Target didn’t have any enchilada sauce mix packets so I went over to the pharmacy to get my medicine. I have a discount card on file for the medicine I was picking up and the pharmacist had not run it and therefore the price was wrong. I asked them to change it and 10 minutes later when they still hadn’t managed to get corrected, I told them I would just come back later. Plus the girl who waited on me always has a bit of an attitude. In fact the one time she was polite to me, I almost fell over from shock – I think that was last month.

I went back to the car and called my dad to confirm that more enchilada sauce mix was needed and indeed it was and so the adventure continued…

My Beloved Brown Shoes

2012-02-02T21:09:00.001-06:00

About 100 years ago, or at least 12 years ago anyway, I bought a pair of brown shoes made by Steve Madden. I remember the day I bought these shoes as if it were yesterday. I couldn’t tell you how much they were, but probably around $50 if I had to guess. I remember there were a dark brown pair and a light brown pair of the same style and I opted for the light brown, or camel colored pair. I guess you could say it was one of the best purchases I have ever made because to this day, I still wear these shoes – at least once a week, often more than once. They w ere even the shoe of choice in my 2011 Christmas card.

Needless to say, after wearing these shoes for at the very least 12 years, quite possibly longer, my beloved brown Steve Madden shoes are about to meet their demise. Parts of the tip of the shoe have chipped off and now the top of the sole in the right shoe has cracked and basically, I have got to break down and get a new pair at some point. The problem is that I’ve had these beauties for so long that every other brown shoe on the market pales in comparison. Why can’t Steve Madden just make me a new pair of these? After all, most of the Steve Madden shoes on the market now are just atrocious! I think good ole Steve ought to bring back this classic pair that goes with everything!

I may take these to the cobbler to see if he/she (I’ve never known a female cobbler) can do something with them , like resole them and give them a good polishing or whatever it is you do to these type of shoes. I don’t think polishing is the right word but they need some sort of sprucing up, the cobbler may not be able to help my cause, but it’s worth a try I suppose. Perhaps if the cobbler can help these shoes will last another 12 years and by then, Steve Madden will come out with a retro line that will have these shoes in it. A girl can only hope.

Here are some photos of my beloved browns:

My 35th

2012-02-01T20:37:00.002-06:00

As far as birthday weeks go, this one has been rather low-key. Erika kicked off my birthday festivities on Tuesday night when she hosted a group of friends at her house for taco soup and delicious birthday cake. We had a lovely time and actually called it an early night compared to most nights we get together. I think I was home by 9:15 but I was tired and hopefully didn't appear to be ungracious.

On Wednesday, my actual birthday, there wasn't much activity. I went to work (I think everyone should get their birthday as a day off from work, don't you?) and had a pretty busy morning and a very slow afternoon. Thankfully Jackie had a slow afternoon as well and we emailed back and forth on all manner of subject including how when we are living next to each other in the retirement home we will drink hot tea in the afternoons like the Brits. All the other old folks will probably be jealous of how awesome we are. Sadly, because it was the end of January, I went pack to parking in the lot with all the other peons. You may recall that I won one of the close up parking spots for January for our United Way campaign. I'll get to park there again in March, but it was just kind of a bummer that I had to give it up on my birthday of all days.

After work, I was supposed to meet my parents for an early bird dinner at Red Lobster, but because my dad has bronchitis and didn't want to get out in the yucky weather (yes, it's raining again!) we postponed until Friday. So, instead, I stopped by I Love Sushi and treated myself to a delightful dinner. Before I went there though, I stopped by Schlotsky's and picked up my free small original sandwich which was one of the birthday coupons I received via email. No, I didn't eat that as well. The coupon was set to expire on Saturday and so I went ahead and picked it up for my lunch on Thursday. Not having to pack a lunch in the morning is an added bonus.

Wednesday night I went to church and along with my friends Lisa and Candy, taught the toddlers about the animals God made. I'm changing up the lesson next quarter to families because quite frankly, I've had enough of animals. That was it - pretty uneventful.

This weekend, my parents are having a little birthday soiree for some friends and family. My dad and I are making enchiladas - yum! I'm sure it will be a lot of fun. Thanks to everyone who called, tweeted, emailed, sent a text, or left a birthday comment. Here's to hoping years #35 will be a memorable one!

The cake Erika made for my birthday!

Me and my cake!

The Best Birthday Gift

2012-01-31T18:12:00.000-06:00

I don’t normally give myself a birthday gift and I don’t suppose you can really qualify this as a gift, but in my opinion it’s the best gift I could have ever given myself. As of February 1, my birthday, my student loans, accumulated over five years of college, are officially paid off. I am not kidding when I say that tears are forming in my eyes as I type this. Twelve years removed from receiving a degree, I am finally out of debt to the Department of Education. I could not be more overjoyed!

My parents did me a solid on two accounts: first, they made me pay for my own education and second, they helped me procure loans in my own name through the Department of Education. For those who may not know, the interest rates for the government loans are a whole heck of a lot cheaper than those you may get from a bank or credit union.

I’d like to address that first point a little further. My dad paid for his own college education by working and perhaps securing loans, I honestly don’t know if he got a loan or not but I do know he paid for it all on his own. He also paid for his high school education at a private school. As a result, I suppose he felt like his kids needed to pay for their own education as well

So, when I headed off to Tuscaloosa in the fall of 1995 as a wild eyed freshman, I went in knowing that I would be paying the way. I did earn a small scholarship or two that first year and my last and fifth year was paid for by my GA position in the athletic department. I can’t remember for sure, but I think my parents may have paid for my place to stay freshman and sophomore years and I did receive the occasional spending money from them and other family members; but, for the most part I was on my own. I worked at the library at University for spending money during the school year and in the summers, I held down at least two part-times jobs and sometimes additional babysitting or whatnot to pay for my sorority, books, and additional spending money.

Now, here I am 12 years after graduation and I am finally paying off those pesky student loans. To me, having to pay my way through school definitely made me appreciate my education a lot more than I think I would if someone had just written a check on my behalf. I’m so proud of myself for doing it on my own; I wouldn’t want it any other way… now. At the time, I probably thought it was unfair. I went through periods of deferment because I was unemployed, or really poor, but in the end, it’s all paid off and it’s the best gift I could have ever given myself.

I really get annoyed when I hear about or see storylines in shows about parents who go into an immense amount of debt to pay for their child’s education. If you have the money, well, that’s one thing, but if the parent has to take out a loan that’s another. I don’t think any parent should go into debt for their child’s education. The parents have earned the right to kick the kid out and enjoy their lives without going into debt while their kid is boozing it up at State U. I just personally think that the child should find a way to pay and if that means loans, so be it. If all goes according to plan, the child can spend the next 12 years paying off the loan rather than the mom and dad. I could go on, but this is kind of a soap box issue with me and I think I’ll shut up for now. I may get some hateful comments on the subject, but this is my blog and this is how I feel – make your kid pay for their own education.

All this to say, thanks Mother and Daddy for making me get my own loans and thanks Mother for filling out all the paperwork to get those loans while I was off boozing it up in Tuscaloosa (I don’t think this comment has really come as a shock to anyone). Without your having made me pay my own way, I don’t think I would appreciate my education as much as I do and I just really couldn’t be more grateful!

It Seems the Weekend Revolved Around Eating

2012-01-30T21:20:00.001-06:00

Hope you all had a nice weekend, even those of you who didn’t win a cookbook. Sorry, wish I could give everyone a copy, but you know, money doesn’t grow on trees and all that jazz. My weekend was busy and not all that exciting all wrapped into one. Here are all the gory details:

On Friday after work, I stopped by the mall (a place I really loathe to visit). The reason for stopping by was to go to Buckle and get some jeans hemmed. I recently bought a new pair of jeans from Gap and they are always too long and I always take them to Buckle where they pin them up and send them off to their wonderful seamstress who does an amazing job! Well, I went into a dressing room, tried on my pants, had them pinned, took them to the register to pay the $8 that they charge for the hemming of the jean only to be told that they don’t do jeans unless they were bought at Buckle – HUH?! I guess this is some sort of ridiculous new policy they have because I’ve had jeans hemmed there as recently as last year. Needless to say, I was ticked because, well, it was the only reason I stopped by the dreaded mall. I have since gotten the name of my friend Candy’s seamstress and I plan to give her a call and a try otherwise my jeans will be dragging the ground.

Since I was at the mall, I decided to go ahead and peruse the shoe section at Belk, a store I am not a fan of by the way; I figured they would probably have some shoes on sale and y’all I am in DESPERATE need of some new brown shoes. I will probably devote a whole post to this problem of mine. Anyway, on the way down to Belk, I passed Kay Jewelers and realized I had a watch in my purse that needed a new battery. This particular watch battery can’t be replaced in the store because of how the band is made; instead, it has to be sent out for a couple of weeks. (Update – as I was typing this I got a call that it was ready – that was fast!) So, I dropped it off and went on down to Belk. No big surprise here – I found no brown shoes that I liked.

I then went down to Great American cookie and got a free slice, which was one of the coupons I got for my birthday. I mentioned this last week. If you like free stuff on your birthday, check out this list and sign up. You will eat free for a week at least. After the mall, I went to Publix and did my weekly grocery shopping and then stopped in at Jason’s Deli for a soup and salad combo for $5 with…wait for it… my birthday coupon!

The rest of Friday evening was spent cleaning, eating, watching TV and generally doing nothing of great importance. I did put together a breakfast casserole for the next day because on Saturday morning I attended my sorority alumnae founder’s day brunch. The brunch was slated to start at 10:00. I got there a few minutes before and it was 10:30 before everyone arrived and we got started. Now, listen, if there’s one thing I hate, it is people who are not on time. I cannot stand to be late – it makes me a ball of nerves! Plus, if you are supposed to be at an event that starts at 10:00 then why in heaven’s name are you going to show up at 10:30? I don’t get it. I could go on, but I will stop.

Anyway, at 10:30 or 10:40 whenever it finally was, we got started… with our founder’s day program… not with eating as one might expect. I seriously thought we were going to eat first because that was the order of events last year, eat and then meet; therefore, I did not eat anything before I left the house that morning and I think it goes without saying that I was more than hungry by the time we finally did eat … at noon! I hate to be a complainer because it’s a great group, but no matter what group this had been I would be writing about my complaints because I was more than a little perturbed with the situation. I also had other things to do on Saturday and didn’t want to be late in getting those things accomplished. Plus my lower back was in some crazy immense pain on Saturday. I thought I might burst into tears while I was standing around talking with people. Thankfully I didn’t.

After the brunch, I made a run by Target to pick up some paper plates, etc. for a gathering of folks on Sunday night. I then went by Mr. Donut, because it goes without saying Mr. Donut is the best EVER and who wouldn’t want to stop by there? Then I dropped off the paper goods at my parents’ house because the gathering was at their homestead. I had grand plans to go to the Bob Jones at Lee basketball game on Saturday at 5:00 but I didn’t have anyone to go with me and I also took a nap and didn’t wake up until 4:30 so that was scratched from the agenda. Instead, I made some food for Sunday night.

Sunday morning was church and afterwards I went to Moe’s to get my free birthday entrée. Y’all seriously have to sign up for the birthday foods! Then I stopped by Publix to get some fruit because one of the families for the Sunday night shin dig backed out and I am always paranoid that there will never be enough food for the masses. I napped on Sunday afternoon, went to church again Sunday night and then headed to my parents’ hacienda for the gathering of friends. It was a good time.

I got home at close to 10:00, posted the winner of the cookbook and went to bed; and that, folks, was my weekend in a little over 1,000 words. Man, I’m long winded! Hope you are still awake after reading all of that. It was a nice weekend, just not long enough as they never are. Whoever invented the weekend should have made it three days.

And the Winner Is…

2012-01-29T22:20:00.002-06:00

Thanks to all who entered the third blogiversary giveaway! There were a total of eight comments – one was thrown out because Jackie commented twice; so only her first one counted. Also, Candy said not to enter her since she had won a few things as well plus according to her time stamp she was past the deadline of 9:00 p.m. but then I don’t know if the time stamp may actually be Eastern Time. At any rate, I honored her request and didn’t enter her – so that left six.

So, I used random.org and the random generator came up with #4…Alison! Congrats girlfriend! I will arrange to get your new cookbook to you when it arrives in March! I had grand plans of putting up proof that is was #4, but I cannot seem to get that whole process to work correctly. I always seem to have problems with that and it’s late and I’m ready to go to bed, so, y’all will just have to trust me.

Thanks again for checking in each day/week/month or however often you stop by and here’s to hoping life will bring a lot of interesting things to tell you about in the years to come! Congrats again Alison!

My Third Blogiversary...And A Giveaway - Woot!

2012-01-26T19:42:00.002-06:00

~~ This Giveaway Is Now Closed ~~

We've reached that time of year once again - it's my Blogiversary! Or rather it will be on Sunday, January 29! Can you believe that this is my third Blogiversary? I certainly can't. I would say I didn't know I had so many things to say, but I'm a Parker and Parkers talk... a lot... so I guess I can believe it. What I can't believe is that people actually read this stuff. Well, at least 10 people or so do. So thanks to the 10 of you who stop by at least once a week to catch up on the sometimes interesting and sometimes not so interesting life of me... and The Tide (we can't forget her).

The blog has actually been a good outlet for me and when I am 90 years old and living beside Jackie and Erika at the retirement home, we will be able to look back on ye ole Internet and remember all the interesting adventures I had... and they had because they are often a part of said adventures. Anyway, it's been fun and I'm glad I did it and I thank you for reading because let's face it, I don't always have the most interesting things to say.

On the occasion of this third blogiversary, I am having a giveaway (try to refrain from screaming out in excitement). I've hosted a giveaway on my blogiversary each year and each year the giveaway has been some sort of book by The Pioneer Woman (y'all know I love her!). Well, this year is no exception in that regard. In honor of my third blogiversary, I am giving away a copy of The Pioneer Woman's new cookbook which comes out in March. Let me emphasize this point once more...the book comes out in March. So, whoever the winner is will have to wait for about six weeks before they reap the rewards of their winnings. The book is set to be released on March 13 (voting day here in Alabama) and I have pre-ordered a copy for the winner. So, once the book arrives at my home, I will promptly ship it or deliver it to the winner. Remember, this will be in March. I only emphasize this over and over again because I don't want the winner to be disappointed when he/she doesn't receive a gift right away.

So, here are the rules - leave a comment! That's pretty simple, huh? As always for the blogiversary giveaway, just leave a comment letting me know what type of posts you would like to see this year or what type of posts you have enjoyed, or what you hate about my random ramblings, or you know, just something. By leaving a comment you will be entered for the contest. This contest will run through the weekend and I will announce the winner on Sunday night. No entries after 9:00 p.m. Central time on Sunday evening, At that time, I'll collect all the names/numbers and use random.org to determine the winner; then I will announce the winner on ye old blog and then in March I will ship the winner his/her winnings. OK, any questions? Good luck everyone and thank you a million times over for stopping by!

In Keeping With This Week's Theme‏

2012-01-25T17:28:00.004-06:00

1. You may know that my birthday is next week and you may also know that I love coupons and freebies. Well, starting today, I have gotten a plethora of emails for free sandwiches, burgers, ice cream and various and sundry other birthday treats. Basically, I won't have to cook for myself next week because I will be eating for free thanks to my turning another year older. If you have any interest in receiving free and discounted treats on your birthday, then you must check out this link from Hey It's Free and you too can eat for free the week of your birthday.

2. I have an unexplained pain in my back. (This originally said pan, thanks to my college roomie for helping me see the mistake!) It's been there for a couple of days now and it if doesn't go away soon, I may have to seek some expert advice. It's not normal back pain either. I assure you, I know about normal back pain. I have that all the time and go to the chiropractor once a week for my normal back pain. This is on the left side and is sharp pain; so strange. I have the oddest ailments.

3. Speaking of ailments, have I mentioned that I'm really sick of the rain - just kidding, I know I did. Seriously though, if we don't get a break soon I may not be able to walk much longer. These fronts that have been moving through have been causing the arthritis in my knees to flare up and they have been quite painful, especially my left knee which pops everytime I straighten it out. Getting older is awesome, people; just awesome! That is as long as you keep a jumbo size Bio Freeze in your medicine cabinet.

4. I wore a new pair of sandals to work today. Well, actually I wore my rain boots to work, but I brought along a pair of sandals to wear inside the building; it was after all 67 degrees outside today. I bought these shoes a few weeks ago from Joe's New Balance Outlet. New Balance makes a brand of sandals called Aravon and they are better for your feet than the average sandal, or so says the doctor. The Aravon shoes and sandals are all $100 or more. This pair had been reduced to $17.95 and I got another 20% off of that; they had originally been about $130 so I'd say it was a pretty good deal. I like them. They are comfortable and look nice. They do, however remind me of something I would see my grandmother, Opal wearing. What do you think?

5. When someone comes over and sits in "The Tide's chair", they get the stink eye. Case in point:

6. I have fat calves. I can thank my mother for this; it is from her that I inherited these monstrous legs. Actually, I wouldn't really call them fat, they are rather muscular; but, the problem with having large calves is that I cannot find boots to wear. I had this conversation with Erika on Monday night. She brought over a pair of boots that the cobbler had stretched out for her; but, alas, they were not stretched out enough for me. I measured my calves last year - they are a circumference of 18.5 inches. Most boots come in a 16 inch circumference; so, you can see how I have a problem finding boots. Erika, God bless her, found a web site and sent it to me, where you can order boots based on your foot size and the circumference of your calves. I was so excited I might cry and then I saw the price and I did shed a tear. Suffice it to say, I will be saving up some monies so that I can buy myself a pair of these boots before next winter and when they arrive, those boots may be the only thing that adorn my feet for the next six months.

7. Without giving away any details, you will probably want to stop back by tomorrow.

Seven More Notes of Interest...Or Not

2012-01-24T21:17:00.001-06:00

1. There's a new doughnut shop in Hampton Cove and I cannot believe I didn't mention this yesterday. It's called Mr. Donut and it is located behind the Exxon station where (for those of you who live in the area) Cafe Domain used to be. My dad stopped in not long after they opened and bought eight doughnuts (a weird number, I know). From what he told me, my mom ate two and he ate the other six, even though she asked him to save another one for her. He has been back a time or two since that first visit as well. I went over to my parents' house for breakfast on Saturday morning after going to the gym and there were some of these doughnuts out on the counter in a box. I tasted one and I am here to tell you, these are the best doughnuts I have ever put in my mouth! After I left my parents' house on Saturday morning, I made a detour by Mr. Donut to get a few of these for myself. If you live out that way, or are visiting out that way, stop by and pick some up. They are open from 4:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. They serves sandwiches as well and a friend of mother's said they were good. The doughnuts, I'm here to tell you, are to die for!

2. I'm getting a Kindle for my birthday. I feel like I've already told you about this but perhaps not. If so, and this is a repeat, move on to number three. I love to read, but have run out of nooks and crannies to store my books. So, I've decided to join the 21st century, so to speak, and therefore asked for a Kindle. I have a love hate relationship with this modern technology we use to read books. While it's great in that it allows us to buy books at a lower cost, gives us a world of books at the touch of a button, and even provides us with a number of free books, I'm afraid that these new fangled gadgets will eventually make bookstores a thing of the past and that makes me quite sad. I've loved to peruse the shelves of the bookstore ever since I was a wee lass and cannot imagine not being able to do so or have my (hopefully someday) children enjoy going to the bookstore. Hopefully, the Kindle, Nook, iPad, whatever else they come up with won't make bookstores extinct; if it does, I guess you can say I contributed to the downfall of the bookstore.

3.I like to drink hot tea in the afternoons. When I was a kid my mom made this tea concoction called Russian Tea, Why it's called that I have no idea because the ingredients (Tang, Instant Tea, Lemonade, Cinnamon and Cloves) are anything but Russian, but nonetheless, it was dubbed Russian Tea. I made a batch at Christmas time (it's a powder form) and have been drinking a class in the afternoons. It's a delightful pick me up; only it would be much better if it was cold outside.

4. Tonight (Tuesday) is fish night for dinner. As mentioned yesterday, I eat fish twice a week for dinner - that happens on Tuesdays and Thursdays in case you were wondering. Tonight, I plan to stop by the Schnitzel Ranch and get a cucumber salad to accompany the fish. I usually eat rice and maybe steamed squash with it, but tonight, I'm going for the cucumber salad. The Schnitzel Ranch is on the way home from the gym and the cucumber salads are good and inexpensive. So, that's the plan.

5. I recently ordered le Tour de France 2011 on Blu-Ray. Why, you may ask? Well, I figured since I actually went to le Tour 2011 that it would be a good keepsake to have. Plus, I have two stages hogging up space on the DVR and I can maybe delete those once the Blu-Ray arrives...or not. I am anxious to see how these discs are. It's 12 hours of footage, so clearly not every minute of the race. I can only hope that Phil and Paul are doing the commentating on the discs because if not, well, I might be crushed.

6. I love playing Words With Friends, which is rather odd considering I hate Scrabble (probably because of a guy I once knew who loved to play it all the time; well, actually I wasn't a fan before him but definitely not after). I have never been a strong speller, numbers have always been my strong suit, which is why Scrabble isn't one of my favorite games, but I do love playing Words With Friends. I am not very good and lose most of the time, but it's still fun to play. If you play words with friends, leave your user name in the comments or invite me to play a game. I won't turn you down! I play with a lot of my friends from church and have been playing some random person for a long while. Each time that random person beats me, we always start up another game. I was also playing another random opponent and then forgot to start up another game with them and can't remember all of his/her username to start another game, which makes me sad because we used to chat while playing also. I feel like I've lost a friend. So, if your user name has daddyish in it and you are from Massachusetts, leave your user name in the comments because I miss playing with you!

7. It's supposed to rain again on Wednesday, which is why I will be wearing these:

Seven Unrelated Bullet Points

2012-01-23T22:27:00.002-06:00

My Aunt Linda emailed me today and asked me if I was sick – she thought that was my reasoning for not blogging when actually the reason is that January has proven to be a rather boring month as far as my life is concerned and I seriously doubt you all want to read about how I cleaned my house and napped over the weekend… again. So, instead I’m going to tell you about some things you need to know, or something like that.

1. Downton Abbey – HAVE YOU SEEN THIS SHOW? Yes, that’s in all caps because people, this is the best show on television right now…maybe ever! It comes on Masterpiece Classic on PBS each Sunday night. The show is British and airs in England a year ahead of the airing here in the States. In other words, season two is airing on PBS right now while season three will be seen in England sometime later this year. I heard about this show on Twitter and from some other blogs I read and decided I must check it out so I bought season one on iTunes and watched the entire season (only seven episodes) all last week. I had recorded on the DVR the episodes of season two that had aired thus far and Saturday I had a marathon, watching four episodes of season one and two of season two. Y’all, this show is just amazing. It follows the life of Lord Crawley and his family and also the lives of the servants that live and work in the Crawley home. The Crawley’s live at Downtown Abbey. The show starts out in April 1912 and currently the year is 1917. There’s love, scandal, secrets, and many other wonderful storylines in this show. There are evil people, nice people, conniving people, you name it, this show has it. I told Jackie about it and I am not exaggerating when I tell you she watched the first episode one night and the other six the next day. In fact, she’s probably staying up tonight to catch up on the season two episodes on the PBS website. Jackie watched hers through Netflix so if you have Netflix, or iTunes, you can definitely watch this show and I would encourage you to do so. It is incredible! The best thing I’ve seen in a long, long time! I’ve been dreaming about this show at night, which as I’ve mentioned before is a sure sign that I love something. I even catch myself thinking about it during the day – so good people – please go watch it!

2. I’m sick of rain

3. My parents are going to Florida in April and I am joining them the second week of April for a trip to Disney (three days) and Universal Studios (AKA Harry Potter Land for one day). I wasn’t planning on taking a vacation this year since I have no money but I am going to be saving between now and then to make it happen. My parents are renting a condo or house and so they will have plenty of room and are not charging me for a bed, which is nice. I’ll be flying down on Friday, April 6 and then riding back home in the van with my dad on the 13th/14th. My mom is flying to and fro, but my dad is driving so they will have the handicap accessible van while they are there. I haven’t been to Disney since I was 12 so I am looking forward to it and we will hopefully have a lovely time.

4. My birthday is coming up – Number 35 – Terrifying! I will now have to move to the age 35-44 check box on surveys. I’d really rather stay put. Moving up to a new age group is never fun.

5. The circus is coming in April – looks like April will be a fun month. You know my dad and I love the circus and we force my mom to come along with us! I can’t wait!

6. I’ve been eating fish twice a week for dinner this year. I love Old Bay seasoning.

7. I’ve got some clothes in the dryer that I need to fold and it’s late so I’m going to wrap it up here. Hope you have a great Monday evening or Tuesday morning or whatever day it is you are reading this.

The Olive Garden Experience

2012-01-19T21:12:00.003-06:00

I had written a completely different post for today, but it will have to be saved for later because tonight I went out with some girlfriends to the Olive Garden and boy was it quite an experience.

We met up at the restaurant at around 6:30p.m. to get the party started so to speak. Our friend Shawna was in town and we had not had an opportunity to spend time with her in a long while and so she arranged our little soiree. Shawna, Lisa and I were the first ones to arrive and be seated and our waitress said she would be over in a few minutes and by the time she finally did come over (10 minutes or more later) everyone had arrived. Listen, people, I waited tables for a good five years or more in my college and post-college days and I know what good service is and isn’t. Now, our waitress, bless her heart, was pregnant and no doubt tired and running the gamut of emotions.

We were served salad and drinks but our waitress was MIA for a long while and when she finally did return, it was with our dinner. We asked for more salad and extra dressing but she didn’t acknowledge that she heard the extra dressing bit and so Amy told her again and she finally acknowledged that she heard us.

We ate our dinner and talked and talked some more and once about every 15 minutes or so our waitress would show up and refill a drink or ask us if we needed anything. About 20 minutes or more after we had finished eating, she finally brought our checks to us. She then collected all of our cards and dinner checks on her tray. Lisa commented to me that all those cards and checks on the tray was going to be a disaster and sure enough it ended up being just that.

Lisa and I saw her tray tilt over and the money on the tray fell in the floor and some of the cards got mixed up. I noticed she kept looking on the ground for something and figured she probably was missing some money or a card. When she came back to the table, she tried to give me my check with Amy’s card. I told her that wasn’t my card and gave it back to her. She passed out some other cards and took Shawna’s and then came back and gave everyone their card but me. She then asked me to look in my wallet for my card, which was the ceiling for me. This whole time I had been watching her and knew my card was lost and for her to come over and ask me to look in my wallet, well, that was the final straw. I said, “I saw you drop your tray, I know you lost my card, you’d better find it.” She went back over and got assistance from another waitress and they moved chairs and other various and sundry objects looking for it. She finally found it, I think it ended up being on her tray the whole time, under something.

I then asked to speak with a manager and when the manager came over I told him that the waitress had not been very friendly and that she only checked on us every 15 minutes or so and that losing my card was unacceptable. He then said he was going to take care of my meal for me, which he did. We then discovered that the waitress had originally charged my meal on Amy’s card but then credited it back and charged her for the correct meal.

The manager then showed me where he credited my meal and he gave each of us a $5 gift card. The waitress then came over and apologized and she started crying and y’all, I just couldn’t take it. My guilty conscience took over and I felt so bad. By no means did I intend to upset her. I’m sure she was just having a bad night. I mean, she’s pregnant and I’m sure she is doing the best she can to make a living for herself and her child and I just felt terrible for causing her to cry.

We sat around and talked for a while longer and when we got ready to leave, the waitress was sitting at a table with one of the waiters rolling silverware for the next day. I went over to her and apologized to her. I told her I was sorry if I was rude and certainly didn’t mean to hurt her feelings. She apologized as well and I apologized again and told her not to worry about it. I hope she won’t get in trouble over the situation and hopefully she will have a better shift the next time. In short, it was a great night with the girls and I’m glad I went over and talked to her before I left; I certainly hope it made her feel a little better about the situation.

Movie Experience and Review: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

2012-01-17T20:38:00.001-06:00

As mentioned earlier in the week, I went to see a movie on Saturday afternoon. I took in the 4:30 showing of "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy", a British flick starring Gary Oldman (a genius!) and a Colin Firth (LOVE him) and a bunch of other cute and also not so cute British men. The film was released overseas in September of last year but for whatever reason was released in the States just this month. All the reviews said it was a flawless and (insert other flattering adjectives here) performance by Oldman so I thought, well, I'll go check this out.

Once again I went by myself. Jackie has her kids this past weekend and I really didn't think anyone else I know would want to see this particular film so I opted to just go by myself, mostly to get out of the house before I forever became a permanent fixture on the couch.

I got to the theater about 15 minutes before the movie started, bought my ticket and a medium popcorn. I had my contraband Diet Coke in my purse. I found a seat at the end of an aisle where there were five empty seats together. I put my coat and purse in the seat at the aisle and sat next to them. People started flowing into the theater and there were a few times when I thought that someone was going to plop down beside me, but thankfully that didn't happen and I was able to enjoy the luxury of elbow room and moving around freely without disturbing anyone next to me.

One couple that came in looked perilously close to sitting next to me but instead chose the two seats directly across the aisle from me. Let me tell you, if they had sat next to me, I probably would have gotten up and asked for a refund because it was bad enough having them across the aisle. The man constantly snorted and sniffed and it wasn't discreet in the least. Each time he snorted, he then sounded as though he was about to choke on whatever he snorted up and would cough and clear his throat. Clearly he has issues. I don't know if he was sick or if this is his normal behavior but if I was his wife or whoever that woman was with him, I would not have put up with that. It was disturbing. Once the movie got started, he didn't do it quite as often. My guess is because the movie was very quiet. At one point he got up and to be honest, I was so engrossed in the movie that I didn't even notice. I did, however, notice when he came back and it started all over again. I tried to give him the stink eye when I left, but the theater was dark so I doubt it did any good. But, seriously, it was probably the worst movie experience I've had as far as weirdos in the crowd.

On to the movie portion of this story - I had no idea what this movie was going to be about, just that the previews were intriguing enough to get me down to the theater. Turns out it was about a British government agency (they never said, but my guess was MI-6) who was tracking a mole within the group, well, Gary Oldman was tracking the mole. The film is based on the book of the same name, which was written in the 1970s and no, I haven't read it so I can't give you a comparison. In fact, this movie is not one that's easy to write about because the plot was quite complicated. You had to follow along real closely, blocking out as best you could, any snorting that was taking place to your left. The scenes flash back to the past and then to the present and everyone is trying to find the elusive Karla and who is leaking information to Karla. In other words, if you are looking for an easy breezy movie, this one isn't it. The film is very quiet and there are sometimes scenes where no one at all is talking, just thinking or reminiscing. It's a different sort of film, but it was quite good. In fact, it's a little over two hours long and when it was over, I could hardly believe that much time had passed. For me, I got really engrossed in what was going on and who was Karla's spy and would they ever catch him. Which one was it? Tinker? Tailor? Soldier? Or Spy? Code names, you see.

I'll let you go see if for yourself if you want to find out all the gory details. It was quite a good film, but not one that everyone in your group will enjoy.

Guest Post: Jackie's National Championship Experience

2012-01-16T20:04:00.002-06:00

As per Natasha’s request I am writing a guest blog; so, bear with me because I am nowhere near the writer she is (Natasha’s note: She’s really too complimentary).The road to the National Championship game has been a rocky one, but I am glad to say that I was able to witness one of the best defensive games in the history of my love for Alabama football. I would like to say thanks to my wonderful boss who provided me with the tickets.

I headed out of Huntsville on Sunday around lunch time and made a quick stop in Birmingham to pick up one of my oldest and dearest friends, Tina, and her wonderful husband Chad. Chad is a lover of all things Alabama so needless to say he was more excited than a 5 year old hopped up on sugar who just found out they were going to Disney when I called to say I got the tickets! They were gracious enough to get us a really nice room at the Beau Rivage in Biloxi which is about an hour outside of New Orleans. The drive down went by super fast because we had a lot of catching up to do; so poor Chad had to endure endless yapping from me and Tina. The Beau Rivage is a beautiful hotel and I would recommend it to anyone who is headed down to Biloxi.

We got to “The Big Easy” around 11:30 on Monday morning. We slept in a little because people watching was way too much fun down in the Casino the night before. We valet parked my car at the Hilton and took off on foot to see all the sights. It took us a little bit to get our bearings but before I knew we were crossing the threshold onto Bourbon street and suddenly my nose was filled with an odor that words couldn’t possible do justice. In the great words of Zack Galifinakis, “if a foot could fart” that’s what it would smell like. Bourbon Street is one of the most interesting things I have ever witnessed in my entire life. It is definitely NOT a family friendly environment considering there is a new bar every 10 feet not to mention more Gentlemen Clubs than any street should ever possess and yet I was amazed at the amount of people walking with their children on this street of debauchery.

We then headed over to Jackson Square which was quite lovely and took in all the sights. While standing in front of Andrew Jackson’s statue I was harassed by a boy who couldn’t have been more than 8 or 9 years old. He was wearing a LSU jersey and had a Alabama Elephant hanging by a noose wrapped around his belt loop dragging it on the ground behind him and started screaming “Tiger Bait, Tiger Bait” at me. His dad finally jumped to my rescue and told the boy to calm down that the game hadn’t started yet. I found this very funny but also a little unnerving since I had seen this same boy on Bourbon Street earlier that day. I guess those LSU fans start them out young.

Per Natasha’s recommendations we went to Café Du Monde and ate some beignets and had an iced café au lait. It was absolutely scrumptious!! There were horse drawn carriages, sidewalk artists, people dancing and musicians trying to make a penny all around us. It was all very entertaining. After having dessert we decided to eat an actual meal so we went to Muriel’s and I had the best seafood gumbo I have ever eaten. I will say this, people in NOLA don’t joke around when it comes to food.

We finally headed over to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome and that’s when the crowds became almost too much for this girl to handle. I felt like a Crimson fish swimming upstream in a sea of gold and purple. LSU fans are rabid! Not only are they obnoxious they wear the most ridiculous outfits. I thought overalls, toilet paper and a Tide soap box were bad but these people take it to a whole new level. We got some beads thrown our way and no we didn’t have to show our “tickets” as my nieces used to call them when they were little.

Here is where the real fun begins...totally being sarcastic! We finally get in line to enter the superdome and make our way in rather quickly. I am so excited that I can’t see straight and I immediately reach into my purse to get cash for a program only to find my wallet is GONE! Yes that’s right GONE! I panicked for all of 2 minutes and then maintained composure that Janice Bell (mom) would have been very proud of. I was determined this would not ruin my experience and it didn’t. After a few quick calls to cancel credit cards, bank accounts and so on I was back to “fun time” Jackie again. (Natasha's note: for those of you wondering a nice LSU fan found Jackie's wallet, got in touch with her and sent it back. Jackie got it this past Saturday and was planning to send the lady a thank you reward, but there was no return address.)

Unfortunately Tina & Chad were sitting a section over from me but this too didn’t deter me from having the time of my life. I ended up sitting with my boss’s son and became fast friends with the girl to my right. We were high fiving, screaming and hugging each other before the game was over. I have heard from some people who watched the game from home that is was boring to them. Well it’s a whole different story in person. I was terrified it was going to be a kicking game like last time and even though it somewhat started out that way our players played with such heart and soul it brought a tear to my eye. The boys were pumping the crowd up every chance they got and for there to be so few Alabama fans compared to LSU fans it was absolutely amazing how loud we were. When Mosley went down the Alabama section started chanting CJ. When Maze pulled up because of a pulled hamstring you could see concern on all of us Alabama fans. We later watched the replay of the game & it was heartbreaking to see Maze crying on the sidelines knowing this is his last game & he can’t even finish it.

The game was a nonstop adrenaline rush that I will never forget and I am very lucky to have gotten the chance to experience it. We stayed throughout the ceremony and interviews. The streets were full of crimson and white and everyone was in great spirits! This would have been the time to head back to Bourbon Street to celebrate but my feet were killing me and Tina & Chad were ready to get back to the room. I heard more “Roll Tides” during those 2 days than I have ever heard in my life and I have never been more exhausted! It was well worth all the craziness and sleep deprivation. I would do it again in a heartbeat! ROLLLLLLL TIDE ROLL!!

Jackie and Tina

Jackie and Chad

Beignets and Cafe Au Lait

As seen on Bourbon Street

LSU fans on Bourbon Street

My Glamorous Weekend Life

2012-01-15T21:53:00.001-06:00

Well, we’ve reached the end of another weekend/the beginning of another week. Why is it the weekends seem to go by so quickly?

I didn’t do much of anything this weekend. Friday I did some cleaning and some catching up on the DVR. On Saturday morning, I went to the gym and then came home and did some more cleaning and finally managed to put away the outdoor Christmas lights. The sun showed up on Saturday which was a nice surprise; sadly I think the rain is returning again this week. Saturday afternoon I went to see a movie (review coming later) and then made my weekly Publix stop.

After stopping by Publix, I popped in to Tommy’s Pizza for slice. The last time I had a slice of Tommy’s Pizza was in 2008. That particular evening I ended up having an attack of the gallbladder and then had surgery just a month or so later. So, I really didn’t know what to expect this time when I ate a slice. When I went to bed, I started having a little stomach pain, but gratefully didn’t have any sort of attacks or anything of the sort. So, I may give it another go again soon because it is quite good.

Sunday I went to church and really didn’t do much else than that. See how much fun the life of a single gal is! Please don’t be envious! I’ve spent some of the evening watching The Golden Globe Awards and I must say that Ricky Gervais never ceases to make me laugh. A lot of the other actors and actresses have been quite humorous as well. At this precise moment I am watching the Morgan Freeman montage as he is about to receive the lifetime achievement award or something like that. Let me state for the record that he makes some mighty fine movies! I’d also like to say why couldn’t I have ran into Channing Tatum down in Cullman before he made it big in Hollywood. He is handsome. I didn’t realize they grew men like that down in Cullman.

I haven’t seen many of the Golden Globe nominated movies so I’ve got quite a bit of catching up to do before the Academy Awards. Thankfully a lot of the movies are available through DirecTV so I hope to take some time to order a few over the next few weeks. I think last year was the year I saw the least amount of movies; not sure why that was.

I don’t suppose I have much else to say at this time. I should really stop writing when I don’t have anything much to talk about because I’m sure you’ve all got better things to do.; but at the same time, I know Erika needs something to read at work every day. So, this one’s for you, Erika! Hope your Monday is great!

People Are Strange

2012-01-12T21:36:00.002-06:00

Well, I've been basically staring at a blank screen for the past 10 minutes or so trying to think of something hilarious and entertaining to write about and sadly, I've come up with nothing. It's been a slow week for me; nothing much going on other than work, and church and going to the gym, none of which really provide a great deal of interesting things to write about. Although I guess I could write about the odd things I see at the gym because believe you me, there are quite a few and it's doubtful I can even remember them all for this post. I will give it a shot though. See, apparently all I have to do sometimes is start typing and a subject will flow from my fingertips!

If you've ever gone to a gym just once or on a regular basis then you probably know there are all type of people who frequent the gym. I've been going to my gym for almost two years now and sometimes I am still in a state of shock and awe at the things I see. When I first started going to the gym, I went to a class that involved weights. There was a lady who came to the class that wore a white wife beater tank top. She had a large derriere and she pulled the tank top down over the derriere but it was not pulled down in the front. On her head she wore a clear shower cap. It seriously looked like her hair was being set for a perm. I still see her occasionally and always want to ask her why the shower cap but I never do because she talks like she's from the streets and could beat me up.

Last week there was a girl in spin class who wore one of those box shaped caps and she tied her t-shirt in a knot at the front. Due to her t-shirt being tied up in the front, it was raised up in the back, thus revealing her rather large tramp stamp, also known as a tattoo on the small of her back for those of you unfamiliar with the terminology. This wasn't the first time I've had someones back tattoo glaring at me in class and I have no doubt it won't be the last.

Speaking of tattoos, there used to be a girl that came that literally had tattoos on almost every inch of her body. The only thing that wasn't covered in tattoos was her face, neck and hands. Both of her arms had sleeve tattoos and she always wore a tank top and best I could tell, her back was covered as well. I haven't seen this particular girl in a while, but she has been replaced by a woman who was changing in the locker room this past week who had a tattoo as large as her back. I thought it might take wings and fly off. This particular woman, who looked to be in her 50s, also has been known to have bright pink hair.

Then there are the group of girls who don't necessarily look weird, but they are only there because they think they are hot stuff and they love to flirt with the male instructors and basically think they are God's gift to the human race. they also talk in those high pitched voices that many girls with lack of brain power think is attractive - it's not. These are probably the people that get on my nerves the most.

You can also always spot the guys who want to try and lift the most weight even if they might not be able to walk when they get home in the evenings. There are people who don't wear deodorant or at least needed a refresher before they started sweating. I don't know if they are oblivious to their stink or what but sometimes it's more than a girl can bare.

Seems like there are more intersting people I wanted to mention but at the moment I can't think of who they might be. Needless to say, it's ever a dull moment at the gym, people. It apparently takes all kinds to make the gym go round and that's okay because if you're a people watcher like me then there's a lot to see. You should stop in some time.

Regarding Rain and the Lawn

2012-01-11T21:50:00.001-06:00

Sadly, I have nothing very exciting or even interesting to write about today, which means this is the first still of what will most likely be many posts in 2012 of me rambling on about nothing in particular. I can feel your enthusiasm beaming through the interwebs!

So, yeah, I still have my outdoor Christmas lights up. As you may remember, they are while lights and the cord actually blends in with my porch railing so I doubt you can really tell it. I haven't turned them on because I get really annoyed with Christmas lights shining bright after about January 1. I planned to put them away last weekend, but it was apparently the start of the monsoon season in Huntsville and hanging out in the rain wasn't at the top of my agenda believe it or not. So, with any luck, the rains will disperse this weekend and I'll be able to wrap those lights up and stash them away for another 10 months or so.

Speaking of the monsoon season, I can't believe how much rain we have been getting lately. I'm really sick of it, and I'm a person who actually likes rain from time to time; I mean, it is kind of essential to the circle of life, but good grief, I've practically forgotten what the sun looks like. Today in Huntsville, there are a lot of flooded roads, including the one I live on; one end of my street is apparently closed. I haven't seen it with my own eyes, but I did see it listed on a couple of websites after my aunt emailed me to tell me about it. Then my mom called and wanted me to leave work early - um, no, I have to make that time up; so, that's not going to happen.

Anyway, I was pretty excited to get home and see what all the fuss was about. Sadly, the street was not closed or flooded; I suppose the water had all receded by the time I got home. However, there were no barricades on the side of the road either which was peculiar. When I got home, my front yard was basically a mudslide. My house is elevated from the road so I suppose all the water ran down to the street and since my front yard never seems to get much grass (which I found out is because I didn’t rake my leaves – who knew?), it’s just all mud at this point with some smooshed leaves and a few random blades of grass. I think if I wanted I could easily slide down to the road without much effort. It’s pretty gross out there.

Also, I saw where all the manhole covers on California Street between Governors and Bob Wallace were gone because flood water had washed them away? Now, that's some serious water people. I hope it brings lush green lawns this spring.

Speaking of which, I hope to put down some grass seed at some point. I've got to consult my resident expert (also known as my dad) as to what kind of seed to put down and when to put it down, but I am tired of having an ugly front yard. I was planning to sod my front yard this spring but I don't have the money to do that. So, if you happen to know of someone or hear of someone who is giving away free sod (don't laugh, I've known it to happen in my parent's neighborhood), then please pass the word along because a nice lush front yard is a goal of mine, I'm concerned it may never happen.

I guess that’s really all I have to ramble on about for now; but don’t you worry, it will only be a matter of time before I write another post about nothing in particular. In the meantime, stay dry and warm – it’s supposed to get cold out there tonight!

There Was More Than One Trophy Presentation Monday Night

2012-01-10T21:12:00.002-06:00

Was everyone else as tired as I was on Tuesday? Needless to say, I stayed up late on Monday night watching the National Championship game and even some of the post game coverage and got into bed much later than my normal 10:00 p.m. bed time.

After work, I had an appointment at the chiropractor and then went to the gym for spin class. I came home, showered, grabbed the king cake I had made the night before, rounded up The Tide and headed over to my parents’ house to watch the big game and arrived just a few minutes before kickoff. My dad had picked up some barbeque earlier in the day and we had that for dinner and it was quite good. I love me some barbeque!

We settled in and had an enjoyable time watching the game together. I figured I might fall asleep since it started so late and I’ve been known to fall asleep a time or two watching a game, but I guess my adrenaline was pumping and I sat up and watched from start to finish and enjoyed every minute of it.

At half time we enjoyed some king cake and we also got a few laughs out of The Tide and Scout chasing each other and playing with a sock. The Tide had a hold of one end and my dad would give Scout the other end. Scout would hold on for a few seconds as The Tide pulled him across the room. It was quite humorous! I tried to get a photo but was unsuccessful in getting a really good shot.

The second half of the game was just as good as the first and we were all elated that Alabama won their 14th National Championship and second in three years. Three years in a row for the state of Alabama and six years in a row for the SEC! That’s pretty amazing!

After the game was over, we had a trophy presentation of our own. As you may recall, my family has a football bowl challenge each year and last year I purchased a trophy for the reigning champion to keep for the year. At the beginning of the bowl season, the champion returns the trophy until the next winner is determined. Well, folks, this year’s winner was none other than…wait for it…. me!

I beat out both my dad and brother to be the 2011 bowl season champion! My record was 28-7. Justin finished second with a 25-10 finish and my dad ended up 22-13. Yes, the master, my dad, finished last. In his trophy presentation, my dad congratulated me and told me he was proud he taught me to love sports. We stood there shaking hands for what felt like 15 minutes while my mother, God bless her, tried to operate the camera. She finally managed to take a picture or two and then my dad took a few. They aren’t the most glamorous pictures considering I’m in my PJs and have on no make-up and my hair is kind of crazy and I’m wearing my glasses in some shots, but that’s okay. I’m not really here to impress anyone and I had a good time taking these.

It was a fun Monday night and worth the sleep deprivation. Thanks, mother and daddy for hosting me and The Tide! There’s only 233 days until the 2012 college football season starts!

P.S. Jackie was lucky enough to be able to attend the game on Monday night in New Orleans. I’ve asked her to write a guest post about her experience. So, look for that to (hopefully) be coming soon!

I was trying to take a picture of The Tide and Scout lying on the couch beside me but was at an odd angle. This photo still cracked me up.

Entertainment by The Tide and Scout

My dad would hold on to the sock and then let Scout grab the other end.

I wasn't quick enough with the camera.

The trophy presentation

The Victor

Doesn't every winner kiss their trophy?

Roll Tide, Y'all!

2012-01-09T21:45:00.002-06:00

In case you haven't heard, there's a football game on tonight. So, there's not going to be any elaborate post. I'm over at my parents' house watching the game and enjoying it as well as the entertainment of two dogs. I'll be back tomorrow with something more lengthy. So, until then, Roll Tide, y'all!

From earlier in the season - Roll Tide siblings!

Yogurt Woes

2012-01-08T21:34:00.002-06:00

I’ve been a yogurt lover for a long time. I don’t know how long, but for about as long as I can remember. I’ve tried all different kinds of yogurt and for about the past year or so, I’ve bought the Publix low fat yogurt because it’s at a good price and also tastes pretty good and has a variety of flavors. I know a lot of folks are all into this Greek yogurt craze, but I’m here to tell you, I am not one of those. I think the Greek yogurt tastes awful!

When I was in France this past summer, yogurt was always served at breakfast; but, the yogurt in France tasted a whole heck of a lot better than it did here in the States. One of the guides that is American but lives in Paris said it was because there weren’t all the preservatives we have here in the States and I have no doubt that is indeed the case.

Recently, I was in Publix looking at the yogurt and something caught my eye. It was Dannon Activia French Yogurt. It was more expensive that the Publix yogurt I had been buying, but I was curious and wanted to give it a try to see if it was similar to the yogurt I had while in France. I bought a couple of them and tried it the next morning. Y’all, it was so good. I was transported back to the summer and could hardly believe the taste on my tongue. I’m sure there are more preservatives in this French yogurt than there were in the yogurt I had while in France but it was the closest I was going to come to have that delightful yogurt from the summer of 2011.

Since that first purchase, I have only bought the Dannon French Yogurt and have enjoyed every single cup. This past Saturday, I went in to Publix for my weekly shopping trip and went over to where the yogurt was and much to my chagrin, the Dannon Activia French Yogurt was on clearance! It won’t be available again after this month! I’m not sure if this is only at Publix or if it’s everywhere. I asked the guy stocking the shelf about it and he said he didn’t know if it was being discontinued only that they couldn’t get it anymore. I’m so sad, people; so, sad! If you happen to see it at your store, pick up a cup and give it a try before it’s all gone.

Movie Experience and Review: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

2012-01-05T20:43:00.001-06:00

While I was out for vacation last week, I managed to make it to the movie theater to see "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" on the big screen. As you know, I read the books last year and enjoyed each of them immensely - once I was able to get into it that is. So, I was looking forward to seeing what Hollywood was going to do with these books that have been read and loved by so many.

I went last Friday night and after running a couple of errands, arrived at the theater, bought my ticket and then a large - yes, a large, popcorn. After having the stomach virus a couple of days before and eating cautiously on Thursday, my hunger had caught up to me and I was ready for some eating, people. I didn't eat the whole bucket, but came pretty darn close. I ran into two couples from church in the hallway when I first arrived and chatted with them for a while before making my way to the theater.

I settled into a seat ca couple of rows from the top and was hoping the theater wouldn't fill up. I should have known better because it was showing in one of the smaller theaters and there were already quite a few people in the "stands". I was really amazed at the number of couples in the crowd because call me crazy but I wouldn't want to watch this movie with a boyfriend or husband. Something about seeing rape on the big screen doesn't say, "I love you sweetie," to me. But, hey, what do I know? I guess I sat down about 10 minutes before the movie started and in those 10 minutes , the place became rather full. Two girls came in and sat right next to me which I was less than thrilled about but thankfully they didn't talk or fart or anything like that. (I have no idea what inspired me to write fart, but I'm keeping it. Sorry, Aunt Linda!)

Once the movie began, they showed a wide array of previews, none of which really struck my fancy. I mean, Ghostrider 2? Really, wasn't the first one bad enough? Nicolas Cage, how you have fallen. Of course, I have never enjoyed his acting, but that's a post for another day.

OK, on to the movie review - this movie was quite well done considering the vast amount of material the screenwriters, directors, etc. had to work with. You would think they would have had to leave something out, but in reality there wasn't much missing at all. Impressive. I have watched many a movie based on books I have read but this is the first time I have ever watched one where I felt like someone had literally taken the scenes from my head and placed them on the screen in front of me. I give all the credit to Stieg Larsson and his immaculate attention to detail. He described things so very to the point that it would have been hard to mess it up; but, seriously, y'all - right out of my head. It was quite mind blowing. The whole movie wasn't like that mind you, but many of the scenes, especially from the parade Harriet was at before she went missing and the wreck of the gas freighter on the bridge. It was quite surreal.

I wasn't sure how I would like Daniel Craig in the role of Mikael Blomkvist, I mean, he's quite lovely as James Bond but I always pictured Mikael to be a little pudgier and less handsome than Daniel Craig, but he did quite a good job. He was actually believable in the role, which is obviously important. Christopher Plummer was quite wonderful as Henrik Vanger but I mean when is he not wonderful - hello, Captain Von Trapp! Rooney Mara - amazing as Salander. She did a phenomenal job as this very reclusive and troubled yet remarkable girl. She played the role beautifully.

There were a few things that were changed to make the movie flow better into the second film, such as Palmgren being in the nursing home, which doesn't happen until the second book. The ending was a little different as well, but worked out just fine and didn't take away from the plot at all. I closed my eyes during the rape scene because I did not care to see that on the big screen, or any screen for that matter. There were a couple of other disturbing scenes (those in the basement of Martin's house and another one or two) in which I also closed my eyes because really I wanted to be able to sleep peacefully once I got home that evening. The movie was 2 hours and 40 minutes long but it kept my attention the whole time and I didn't look at my watch once - a modern day miracle. In all, I would give this movie an A plus. If you loved the book, then I think you will love the movie as well. I'm anxiously awaiting the release of the second, assuming there will be a second. Here's to hoping so!

Side Note: I decided to name these posts movie experience and review since I seem to write more about what happens at the theater than the actual movie and honestly I don't think I'm that good at reviewing. Thanks for listening!

Rev It Up

2012-01-04T22:21:00.001-06:00

You may remember that when my dad and I went to the Christmas parade last month, there was a woman across the way that kept yelling "Rev it up!" at all the cars that passed by. This unknown lady has been the subject of many laughs between my friends and I, especially my friend Candy who often asks for a demonstration of the woman and her motions and the way she said, "Rev it up!" Y'all - it never ceases to make us laugh!

So, this past weekend, as my mother and I were leaving the hospital, I noticed a stand of flyers and they caught my attention because in large letters the flyer said, "Rev It Up!" Apparently Crestwood Hospital is starting a new program for the the New Year which deals with weight loss and healthy living and all that jazz. I grabbed a flyer and took it home with me to show Candy, knowing we would get a good laugh out of it and indeed we did. She told me I needed to scan it in and post in on the blog and so I have done just that. It actually looks like it might be a good program, although it's rather expensive for my taste. Here's the link if you want to check it out.

I scanned the flyer in hopes of posting it here on the blog, but our scanner at work only scans into PDF format and apparently that format won't work here on the blog. I'm so disappointed! But, at least we got a good laugh out of the flyer.

Back to the Grind

2012-01-03T19:04:00.001-06:00

Well, I wrapped up the final couple of days of my Christmas vacation and went back to work on Tuesday. I was ready to be back on a normal schedule, but also dreaded getting up early after sleeping in (until 7:00 - I'm such a rebel!) and taking lots of naps while I was off.

On Sunday, my dad came home from the hospital and we were able to enjoy the nice dinner we had originally planned for New Year's Eve. The food was excellent if I do say so myself. I tried this new potato recipe and also this recipe for Egg Nog Pie. If you like Egg Nog, then you will definitely like this pie, which is very light and goes well with a heavy meal when you don't want a heavy dessert. After dinner, we visited with our friends Naaman and Cheryl and then The Tide and I headed home for a night of good rest.

Monday morning I went to the gym and then came home and finally cleaned my bathroom. I say finally because it seems like ti had been on the to do list for about a week before I was finally able to get to it on Monday morning. That afternoon, I took a break from watching football (much to the surprise of my dad) to go have a late lunch with my Aunt Linda. We went to Jason's Deli and the food was, as expected, great. I love their salad bar! We visited for an hour and a half or so and then I came back home and watched more football and perused the internets for nothing in particular.

All of my Christmas decorations were put away last Friday with the exception of my outside lights and I suppose I will get around to doing that this coming weekend. I did manage to take the wreaths down as they are stored in the same bag as my tree. I've got some lingering dish towels and whatnot to put away still but am waiting on some of them to still be laundered so I can take them all out at once. I haven't got in much of a hurry with the laundry as of late.

As mentioned I started back to work today and I was kind of excited because back in early November, I won a sweet parking spot in our annual United Way campaign. I won the spot for two months, which then turned into four months when they doubled the number of spots available on the side where I park. You see, we have a huge parking lot and it is quite a trek from where us minions usually park to the inside of the building and the spot I won (for January, March, July and September) is quite close to the entrance. Seeing as how today is the coldest day of the winter thus far, that made the spot even better.

Well, when I arrived this morning, everyone was parked up close because they have started doing some repair work on the paring lot and I kid you not, over half of the parking lot was blocked off; and now, since it's so cold out, no one knows when the work will resume. So, my parking spot, is less than shiny right now since everyone is parking up close. I hope they get those parking lot repairs completed soon so that I can enjoy my winnings while everyone else (except those who have worked here for 25 years or longer) have to park out in Timbuktu.

Work actually went by rather quickly today as we are doing inventory and spent a good portion of the day auditing counts. I suppose it's a nice way to ease back into the daily routine of coming to work each day and actually wearing clothes other than pajamas. Hope your week is off to a good start as well!

I Am the Master of Uno

2012-01-02T15:55:00.001-06:00

The continuation of my New Year’s Eve (read part one here)

After the adventurous day with my dad and getting my mother home, I went over to Jackie’s to visit with her and the kids a bit before heading back home to an unruly kitchen and a pie that still needed to be made.

When I headed out, there was a truck blocking the road I needed to get on. The truck finally moved up the road and as it was going up to the highway, I noticed what looked like a piece of car flying towards my car. As it turns out, that truck it a SUV coming down the mountain and the side view mirror was what came flying towards me. I stopped and talked to the people in the SUV and then drove off to get the license plate number of the truck; but thankfully the truck turned around to go back to the scene of the crime. I think those folks had already hit the bottle.

Jackie had made a spread of finger foods but I wasn’t hungry thanks to the hospital beef stroganoff. I did have a couple of brownies before I left for the night and they were delectable. Our friend Maria was there as well as her dog Ally. The kids were wound up in anticipation of the New Year, complete with noise makers. They were loud and rambunctious and hyped up on life. It was quite entertaining.

Troy showed me some of his new Lego sets and then he brought out his new Harry Potter Uno game and it was Game On! We played probably 10 rounds or so and I won… wait for it… two! He beat my butt and even made up a little song about it! He declared himself the Master of Uno! And indeed, he was. I got beat by a nine year old – many times, people; many times!

Jackie then got out a couple of decks of cards and we set in for a few rounds of Nertz, which is a game we played when we were kids. I think we each won three games. I really can’t remember the exact count, but we were in full on concentration mode and were having to push the kids out of the way and tell them to hush so we could concentrate.

Around 8:30 I had to call it a night because The Tide had not been out for a bathroom break since I left the house a little after noon. I would have loved to stay longer so that I could become the Master of Uno; but, alas it was not meant to be. My dog needed some attention. We popped open the sparkling grape juice before I left to celebrate the New Year and the taste brought Jackie and I back to our youth when we were quarantined to a bedroom with a set of rented VHS tapes and only summoned out a few minutes before midnight to toast in the New Year. I then headed home and was thankful to avoid any drunks on the road.

It wasn’t the New Year’s celebration we had planned, but it was good nonetheless. We were blessed that nothing major was wrong with my dad and it was fun and enjoyable to spend some time with the kids beating my butt at Uno. Hope your New Year’s was really great! All the best to you and yours in 2012!

My New Year's Eve

2012-01-01T22:37:00.001-06:00

I don’t know about you, but my New Year’s Eve certainly didn’t turn out a thing like expected. For the past couple of years, my dad and I have cooked a nice dinner for our family and a few close friends and it was decided that we would do the same this year. My dad was going to cook prime rib and I was in charge of everything else, which was to be a green salad, potatoes Romanoff, steamed shredded brussel sprouts and lemon pound cake and egg nog cream pie.

I woke up around 7:00 on Saturday morning and immediately started to work in the kitchen. I first made the pound cake and then started on the potatoes which had to be shredded – that food processor is a dream come true for this lover of cooking. I got the brussel sprouts shredded and the salad made and cooked some bacon for the salad and thought I was doing pretty well. Around 11:00 I left the house to pick up a pizza I had ordered from Sam and Greg’s because I didn’t want to make myself lunch when I was already making myself dinner – or something like that.

On the way back from the pizzeria, my mom called. My dad had taken himself to the hospital because he was having chest pains. The doctor didn’t like the first EKG and so was going to wait a bit and do another one. My dad had tried to call me so I called him and asked what was going on. He told me the same and that he didn’t want anyone coming down there. A nurse came in to draw blood which cut our conversation short. I ate my pizza and mom my called back. I told her that we were cancelling the dinner and postponing it to either Sunday or Monday.

Not long after talking to her she called a couple of more times with updates and then called to say that the doctor thought my dad was trying to have a heart attack and that they were going to do a heart cath. I took a quick shower, called Jackie to meet me at my parents’ house and drove over there myself to help my mom get dressed and take her down to the hospital.

I was the first to arrive then a couple of ladies from the church my parents attend and then Jackie. We all managed to get mother dressed. A husband of one of the ladies put mother in her wheelchair and Jackie and I packed a small bag with some snacks and sodas. Mother and I were then on our way.

By the time we finally got to the hospital, the heart cath was over and the arteries were really clean – great news! No heart attack! Even better news! Apparently the chest pains had something to do with upper GI problems. My dad has ulcerative colitis and that probably has something to do with it. It may also be ulcers. He will have to have an endoscopy sometime soon.

They moved my dad to a room and soon after visitors trickled in. Thanks to all of you friends who stopped by and all you family too! I would name everyone but then might forget someone and I would feel bad so a BIG thanks to all who came – your love and support did not go unnoticed! Also a BIG thanks to all who prayed or called to check in. We really appreciate it all!

My mom and I headed back to the house around 4:30 but first stopped in the hospital café to have some dinner of beef stroganoff and green beans and you know what, it wasn’t bad at all. I got mother home and her nightgown on her and some friends were going to stop by and help her get in the bed. I do not have the strength to lift her one iota. I can maybe lift one leg. My granddad, her dad, came over to spend the night with her and I left to do a little celebrating with Jackie and the kids.

To be continued...

Happy New Year's Eve 2011!

2011-12-31T10:41:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year's Eve, Y'all! I hope everyone has a wonderful, fun and safe New Year's Celebration with your friends and loved ones! Thanks for coming back each week to read about what's going on in my world. Here's to a great 2012 for each and every one of you! All the best!

Nat

My Christmas Vacation

2011-12-29T21:22:00.001-06:00

I’ve been on vacation this week, which has been a nice break from the day to day activities of work. Our plant shut down this week and so there’s not anything going on that I’m missing which is also nice because there won’t be a lot of missed work to catch up on when I go back on Tuesday, January 3.

On Monday, I went to the gym and had big plans to go to the grocery store, but decided to wait until later in the week because I wasn’t quite sure what all I needed yet. I did manage to stop by Wal-Mart and pick up some baking supplies which they had marked down as well as some red bows for my wreaths. I get new bows for the wreaths each year and so it’s always nice to get that half off. After coming home and showering, Willie and Jackie stopped by with Willie’s dog Zoey. Willie wanted a play date with The Tide even though I wasn’t quite sure about it because The Tide doesn’t really get along with other dogs. They stayed for about an hour or so and we were able to chat while Zoey slept in the chair with Jackie and The Tide stayed on the couch with me. The Tide wasn’t very thrilled with Zoey invading her territory but thankfully no blood was drawn.

Not long after they left, I got a wind of motivation and decided to finally start the kitchen project that has been in the work for months now. I painted the wall where my cabinets are a turquoise color. I got three coats on the bottom before calling it a night. On Tuesday morning, I painted the wall above the cabinets. That evening, my dad and I went to the Huntsville Times Classic and watched a couple of basketball games. When I got home, I decided the cabinets needed a new coat of paint and I started on that.

Wednesday morning I woke up not feeling too great. My stomach was upset; it had actually started not feeling so great on Tuesday night. I went on to the gym and when I got home finished painting the cabinets, all the while dealing with my upset stomach. About midday is when I started hugging the toilet for the rest of the day. Thankfully I had the foresight not to eat anything or it could have been a lot worse than it was. Some friends from church brought me some Gingerale after church on Wednesday night and it was such a blessing because when I am sick that is usually the one thing I want the most and there was no way I could have gone out and gotten it myself.

Today (Thursday) I have felt a lot better and have drank a lot of Gingerale and eaten a lot of Saltine Crackers. I also braved the waters and ate some rice and cream of chicken soup as well as some pineapple. So far, so good. I also managed to get the kitchen back in order. It’s always a sure sign that I’m feeling better when my out of order house is driving me bonkers. On Wednesday I didn’t care how out of order things were.

Friday I have big plans of putting away the Christmas decorations, taking a trip to the gym, visiting my brother, finally going to the grocery store and getting the house in order. I may also go to the movies to see The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. It depends on how worn out I am by the time evening rolls around. Saturday I’ll be preparing for the New Year’s Eve dinner my dad and I are cooking for family and friends. So, hopefully I will be feeling much better the remainder of my vacation.

I hope you and your family have a happy and safe new year’s celebration!

The kitchen before

The kitchen after

Christmas 2011

2011-12-29T08:20:00.000-06:00

I don’t know about you, but it already seems like Christmas was a long time ago when really it was just four days ago. I went to church on Sunday morning and afterwards came home to load up my car with all the food and presents for the day’s celebration. I also cooked some sausage balls as I was told we would be eating finger foods after church. Turns out we only had sandwiches and sausage balls. Not sure where all the other finger foods were.

After eating we opened presents. I got the 10-cup food processor I asked Santa for and I am looking forward to using it soon. I also got a new purse and a few other surprises and a new piece to my Grinch Christmas set. My parents got all sorts of good gifts as well. I think everyone had a nice Christmas.

We finished unwrapping our gifts about 3:00 and my dad’s side of the family was scheduled to arrive around 4:00. I was planning to lie down for a few minutes, but my uncle arrived early and then everyone else started trickling in and so a nap was out of the question.

Jackie also came over for our Christmas dinner and we played dirty Santa where I ended up with $20 and Jackie ended up with a scarf, some texting gloves, a hat and an umbrella. She was pretty fired up about those texting gloves. We began dinner around 5:30, or maybe 6:00. I honestly don’t know what time it was. My cousin’s daughter Sydney, who is three apparently didn’t like any of the food I cooked. She tried the red velvet cake and said, “I don’t like it,” which gave us all a good laugh She also didn’t like my rice krispy treats or the cookies I made. I guess you can’t please everyone.

The party started breaking up about 7:30 or 8:00 after which I went home and crashed. After cooking for three straight days and not sleeping well, I was ready for some rest. Hope your Christmas 2011 was as good as ours!

Christmas Eve 2011

2011-12-27T17:31:00.003-06:00

As is tradition, my parents hosted a Christmas Eve breakfast which began at 9:00 a.m. on Christmas Eve morning. I don’t know what year this little soiree started, but they’ve had it pretty much ever since I can remember.

My granddad Bill was in attendance as were lifelong friends Naaman and Cheryl (who brought yummy monkey bread); also there were some other friends of my parents’ and of course my parents and me. My dad cooked bacon, sausage, country ham, biscuits and gravy and scrambled eggs. It was a good meal and it makes me hungry just thinking about it. My stomach is growling right now at the thought of biscuits and gravy! Yum!

After the breakfast, I came home to begin cooking Christmas Eve dinner and also start on Christmas Day dinner. I had made two loaves of cornbread that morning before the breakfast and that afternoon I mixed up the dressing as well as coleslaw and made the potato soup we were going to have for dinner on Christmas Eve. I made some molasses cookies for our dessert. These are some of my most favorite cookies; they are so good!!

My parents and granddad Bill came over for dinner on Christmas Eve and after dinner, we headed out on the town to look at Christmas lights. My dad had mapped out a route of sorts for us and we hit a lot of the more popular Christmas lights displays in Huntsville. Some friends of ours live next door to one of the houses we went to see and our friends had a sign in their yard that said “Ditto” and pointed to the house with the lights. We laughed and laughed about that sign. It truly made the night.

I got back to my house a little after 9:00 or so and mixed up and baked a red velvet cake and also mixed up sausage balls. I finally got into bed about 11:00 but had a hard time sleeping in anticipation of Santa’s visit. It was a low-key yet enjoyable Christmas Eve.

The Start of the Christmas Weekend

2011-12-26T18:23:00.001-06:00

I certainly hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! I sure did. I’ve spent most of today just resting and trying to recover from what I’m calling the Christmas hangover. I’ll begin a recap of the past few days and continue it over the next couple of days.

Friday night (Christmas Eve Eve) was the beginning of the Christmas weekend and I spent it with Jackie and her family. Before heading over there, I wanted to get some baking done in order to have some treats to pass out to folks over the next few days. I got home from work about 4:30 and managed to make a homemade batch of brownies, peanut butter fudge and caramel rice kripsy treats all before heading over to the Bells a little before 6:00.

When I arrived, we all gathered in the kitchen for a prayer and then began fixing our plates for dinner. Jan had made a pulled pork dish that was served over rice with salsa, queso, chips, etc. It was really quite good. She also made some bodacious brownies for dessert but by the time I was done with dinner there was no room for dessert. After we started eating, mine and Jackie’s friend Willie stopped by to spend some time with us as well. He lives in Colorado now and we only get to see him about once a year.

Jan’s birthday is this week so her girls got her some cupcakes from Gigi’s to celebrate since they all won’t be here this week on her actual birthday. She got some lovely framed photos of her family and a gift card from Chico’s.

After dinner and Jan’s min-birthday celebration, we got to the gift opening. Ashlyn opened first. I gave her a framed photo of her and two of her friends which was taken at her birthday party this year and also a Fancy Nancy Christmas book. Troy received a small Harry Potter Forbidden Forrest Lego set and a Griffyndor scarf. He jumped up and gave me a big hug when he opened it which reminded me of my brother when he was little. He would always jump up and give people big hugs after each gift he opened. I received the Alabama football door decoration I mentioned seeing a month or two ago. It is awesome and will be going up on the door in time for the National Championship game. Jackie, Tim and Jan opened their gifts and I think everyone liked what they got. Tim and Jan gave me a Vera Bradley purse and a gift card to Rave movie theater which I plan to make good use of this week while I’m on vacation. (I forgot to take my camera so no photos to share.)

Willie and I left around 8:30 so that the family could exchange gifts and enjoy their Christmas together. When I got home I bagged up all of the treats I had made earlier in the day so that I could give them out over the weekend. Then I went to bed to get some rest which didn’t turn out too well as I slept terribly on the 23rd and 24th. Guess I was excited about Santa coming to town.

It was a wonderful night as always. I certainly enjoy spending time with Jackie’s family as they are my extended family and each hold a special place in my heart. It was a great way to kick off the Christmas weekend.

Mery Christmas 2011!

2011-12-24T17:12:00.002-06:00

Merry Christmas from Nat and The Tide!

Hope Santa brings you everything you asked for!

The King James Bible Tour

2011-12-23T15:07:00.001-06:00

Sorry for the late posting today - 'tis the season -

Last night I was able to participate in a tour of the history of the King James Bible. Did you know the King James Bible is 400 years old this year? Clearly the Bible itself is much much older than that but the King James version is now 400 years old. The tour took place at Mayfair Church of Christ and was conducted by Ron Wicks who guided the tour which was of his personal collection of Bibles, cuneiform stones, Dead Sea Scroll fragments and the like. This man has an amazing collection.

His tour of the King James version of the Bible is sponsored by Thomas Nelson publishers and was quite interesting and fascinating. The history of how the bible came from stone tablets to the form we have today is explained in the tour. He gives an in depth insight into each era of the Bible's transformation and the people who helped to translate it from Greek and Hebrew to Latin, French, German and eventually English.
The books and articles in the cases were facimilies of the real thing, but Mr. Wicks had his personal collection there last night and we were able to see the actual stones from 4,000 years ago and an original "He" King James version of the Bible from 1611. It's called a "He" version because these first copies had misprints in various places, including in the book of Ruth, particularly Ruth 3:15 where it refers to Ruth as "he".

Mr. Wicks explained how the Bible came to be in the hands of the common people and how it came to be in the form people could carry around rather than just in a large format, more commonly known as a pulpit Bible. He also explained the difficulties various writers had in translating the Bible into English, many of whom lost their lives as a result. It definitely gives you a greater sense of appreciation for how we came to have the Bible we now use.

My dad organized the tour for a group of us (he has seen it previously and found it to be quite informative) and Erika and her mom also attended. I think they enjoyed it as much as I did. I'm not sure how much longer the display will be at Mayfair or how much longer Mr. Wicks will be giving tours, but you can probably call the Mayfair church office for more information. A link to their web site is here and you can get the phone number off the bottom of the page if you are interested in learning more.

Letters to Santa: 2011 Edition

2011-12-21T19:55:00.001-06:00

Dear Santa,

It's been about a year since I last wrote you and I want you to know that I've done my best to be really good since then. It's been a year of ups and downs for me, Santa and I know you can't really deliver good health and happiness but if perhaps you can and I don't know about those special powers, then please send some my way. These last couple of months have made me really tired of being sick. I'm ready to feel better!

I don't really want much for Christmas this year. For one, I don't need that much and two, I don't have room for it in my small but wonderful home; not to mention that the economy is in the crapper and I know you can't afford to pay the elves the premium salaries you paid back in the 1980s when you brought Barbie Dream Houses and Go-Karts and Trampolines on Christmas morning. Ah, those were the days. So, really there's just one thing I want this year Santa, and that's a Cuisinart Food Processor - 10 Cup Capacity if you please. I'm making a special place for it on my kitchen counter and it will look really great there! It will also come in quite handy throughout the year when the only thing people want me to bring to gatherings is coleslaw. Just think, I'll be able to make coleslaw in half the time which means more time for napping!

As always, Santa, you are welcome to bring some surprises, which I realize you don't always like to do, but seeing as how you've known me for 34 years, surely you can think of something special to place in my stocking. Thanks for the early surprise of the Christmas apron! It was nice of you to special deliver it before Christmas. Hope the reindeer didn't get tired making that extra trip down south. I will put it to good use and wear it while I'm cooking over the next few days.

I will be sure and leave some milk and cookies for you Santa. Hopefully The Tide won't eat them before you arrive, but if she does, just remember it's the thought that counts! Be careful while you are out making your deliveries!

XOXO,
Natasha Jo

Dear Santa,

If you could please just bring me some treats for Christmas this year, I sure would appreciate it. I've done my best to be a good dog this year. I haven't done anything too bad like I did when I was a puppy. I've grown up and fled the errors of my puppy youth. I do occasionally rip a hole in the sheets on the bed but really that's my mom's fault because she doesn't get my nails trimmed as often as she should. Hey, it's not like I can drive.

I would really like a squeaky toy but those get on my mom's nerves so maybe you shouldn't bring that after all. I realize my mom has a stockpile of treats, but you can never have too many, especially those of the bacon variety so feel free to add to our pile.

I will try not to eat your cookies before you arrive Santa, but they are so tempting just sitting there on the edge of the table and I know my mom makes good treats. So, if the cookies happen not to be there when you arrive, well, I'm pretty sure it was the cat from next door who took them.

I'll leave a treat for the reindeer because I know they work hard on Christmas Eve and we animals like to take care of each other. Be careful out there Santa and watch out for the hooligans!

Love,
The Tide

Movie Review: Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

2011-12-20T21:40:00.003-06:00

This past Friday, believe it or not, I went to the movies to see Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. I have been to so few movies this year one would think I didn’t enjoy going to the movies. For whatever reason I just haven’t made much time for one of my favorite things to do; but somehow in the midst of this season of hustle and bustle, I managed to take a little time out for myself.

The first Sherlock Holmes movie which came out two years ago was fabulous I thought and so I was very much looking forward to seeing this sequel, once again starring the ever so entertaining Robert Downey, Jr. and the always adorable Jude Law. I was expecting to be just as entertained as I was the first go around and while this sequel was good, I think the first one was better.

There was an interesting plot in this movie which at times was not as easy as you might expect to follow, or it could have been the sinus medicine causing my brain to be foggy. Downey, Jr. and Law provided laughter throughout and once again made a wonderful pair as Holmes and Watson. Rachel McAdams made a brief appearance as Irene Adler, but I was sad to see she wasn’t as big a part of this film as she was the first go around.

There were lots of twists and turns and a lot of action as well. Many times I caught myself holding my breath while waiting to see what was going to happen next. There were, as expected, situations where you wondered how in the heck this duo would make it out alive, but fear not, dear friends, this is the movies and the main characters mustn’t be killed off.

This movie was rather delightful and served as a nice escape from the pressures this season of the year tends to bring. So, if you are looking for a good film to watch either by yourself or with your family this holiday season, check out this latest Sherlock Holmes movie. I think you will find it quite fun and entertaining.

13 Going On 35

2011-12-19T22:20:00.003-06:00

This past Saturday was quite an eventful day. No, I didn't spend it shopping as many of you probably did, but in fact, it was my dear friend Erika's 35th birthday party, and it was quite a lot of fun if I do say so myself.

Erika wanted to have a roller skating party for her birthday complete with 1980s themed music. Jackie and I were pretty excited and had grand plans of wearing leg warmers and side pony tails, although when push came to shove, neither of us went through with it. Erika has always wanted to have a birthday party at the roller rink with the roller rink all to her self (she's an only child and doesn't like to share!), and so Mamma Kay (Erika's Mamma) made her dream a reality for the big 3-5.

The party was from 2-5 and both Jackie and I arrived there a few minutes after 2:00. Surprisingly, or maybe not, we drove separately and arrived at the exact same time. When we walked in, Mamma Kay and Erika and some others were already out skating. Erika's college roommate was there with her husband and four children, and Erika's cousin and her husband and children were there as well as some other relatives of Erika's and her new man, Charles. Mostly the kids were skating. I wasn't feeling well not to mention my leg is finally on the mend and so I didn't plan to do any skating, but Jackie finally twisted my arm just enough that I got up to go get a pair of skates.

I skated around twice and then decided to give it a rest because I didn't have a good feeling about my leg, not to mention it was hurting a bit. So, Jackie told me to go over and request some New Kids on the Block and as I went to step up on to the carpet, I wiped out and fell backwards on my large behind. Thankfully there is a lot of cushioning back there! Thus ended my skating for the day. Jackie skated a bit more throughout our time there.

About 3:00, the pizza arrived. It was from Jet's Pizza which I had never had before. It was deep dish pizza and it was quite good. Mamma Kay made some birthday cake cupcakes and they were quite delicious! I'm not ashamed to admit I had two.

After lunch, there was more skating to do so Erika and Jackie headed out to the floor while I went to turn in my skates. When I tuned in my skates, The Bangles song, Walk Like An Egyptian was playing and the girl working there asked me, and I quote, "How do you walk like an Egyptian?" At which point I knew I was old; but, I graciously showed her how to do it and now she will be the coolest of all her friends. There was a guy there who was doing the music. He apparently grew up on 80s music and did a good job picking out some good songs. Except after my New Kids on the Block request and he started to play "Step by Step" and I yelled at him that that wasn't a good New Kids song and he needed to play Hangin' Tough. Yes, I yelled at the DJ. What can I say, "Step by Step" was crap - it was after the New Kids were awesome.

Erika had a blast at her birthday party. she drank a suicide with her lunch - I didn't know or remember what a suicide was - it's when you get a little of each of the drinks from the fountain - and she said it was the best birthday party she had ever had. You could definitely tell too. She had a smile on her face the whole day and looked like she was as happy as a 13 year old. It was a really fun time, I just wish I had felt like skating more.

Happy Birthday, sweet Erika! I hope we're friends for the next 35 years and more!

The Tale of the Little Smokies

2011-12-18T17:43:00.000-06:00

Last Thursday, as mentioned, I got together with some girlfriends for our annual Christmas party. I would have written about it that night but didn’t get home until close to 10:30 and was ready for bed at that point; so, I’m a little late in telling this tale.

I picked up Erika at 5:15ish so we could head over the mountain towards Jackie’s house. The plan was to first make a stop at my parents’ house to pick up my dad. My dad and I would then drop Erika off at Jackie’s house so that she and Jackie could warm up the little smokies I brought (we all brought a snack food). After dropping off Erika, my dad and I were going to pick up Blue, which had been at the repairman for the past few days getting the passenger side window repaired. The plan, however, went awry.

When we arrived at my parents’ house, my dad was MIA. He had been in Nashville that day, taking my granddad up to the doctor and had not yet arrived home. So, Erika and I visited with my mom while we waited on my dad to arrive. The party was slated to start at 6:30 and a few minutes after 6:00, I decided that Erika and I would drop off the little smokies at Jackie’s house and then she and I would go pick up Blue and then drop off my parents’ car after the party. Just as we were getting ready to go, my dad arrived. He was driving my grandparents’ car and it needed to be dropped off at their house (my granddad ended up staying in the hospital).

Erika and I got in my parent’s car, my dad in my grandparents; car and off we went. As I was trying to pull out onto the highway, I basically tried to kill Erika and me as I pulled out in front of a car I didn’t see. Poor Erika will probably never again ride with me. Luckily the car changed lanes to avoid hitting us. It was less than pleasant to say the least.

We finally made it to my grandparents’ house and my dad couldn’t remember the code to the alarm so we had to call my aunt to find out what it was. At this point, it was 6:25 and the party was five minutes from starting and the little smokies were still in the wrapper.

Once my grandparents’ car was securely in their garage, we headed towards Jackie’s house where we dropped off Erika and the little smokies. We went to retrieve Blue and I headed to Jackie’s and my dad headed home.

When I got to Jackie’s the little smokies were warm but no one else had yet arrived at our party. I guess everyone was having a difficult time getting there on time and funny enough, we all arrived at Jackie’s about he same time – 7:00p.m.

We had a wonderful time catching up and chatting the night away. We had a dish towel exchange and everyone brought the cutest towels. I ended up with some towels with snowmen on them that I have hung in my bathroom. It was great way to enjoy the Christmas season – spending it with good friends – you just can’t beat that!

Christmas on McKinley

2011-12-14T21:42:00.000-06:00

My new Christmas dish towel

These are available at Bloom on Pratt Ave.

They also have one that says Christmas is Always Merry in Huntsville.

Christmastime has reached McKinley Avenue – how about your street? A lot of people have lights out and it looks quite festive as you drive down my street once the sun has set. Some folks that haven’t put out lights in the past put out lights this year. Next door, even Charlie has a tree up – it has all blue lights, same as last year. Who knew Charlie would be such a lover of Christmas?

Tomorrow night I’m getting together with my girlfriends for our annual Christmas party. We used to get together once a week during American Idol season, but once Paula and then Simon left the show, so did we and now we get together once every other month or so to catch up. I’m looking forward to seeing everyone and enjoying a little Christmas spirit. Jackie will be our gracious host this year and I’m sure we will have a lovely time.

Blue has been in the shop having some repair work. As you may recall, Blue’s front passenger window stopped working and wouldn’t stay up, except with the help of Duct Tape. My parents have been out of town the past few days and so I was able to drive their car while Blue’s window was getting repaired. Blue and I will be reunited (and it feels so good) tomorrow night.

Tomorrow at work, we are having a snack day, which basically means we will be eating all day long. Hopefully there are some good cooks in the group. I’m bringing sausage balls and Rice Krispy treats, and I think a couple of guys are bringing a Boston Butt – that sounds good.

I still need to do some Christmas baking for a few gifts for the postman, friends, etc. I would like to get some of it done this weekend, but I have a busy schedule planned this weekend so I’m not sure that there will be a lot of baking going on. It might be put on hold until next week.

I suppose this is all the random rambling I have for tonight. I’m off to make some sausage balls and watch CSI.

I’m Happy to Report there are No Breaks

2011-12-13T18:12:00.002-06:00

My leg is still bothering me a week and a half after I fell into what was once known as the furnace of my house. On a normal day, I would be in a spin class right now, sweating it out and loving the burn in my legs. Today, however, I am at home in pain – not fun.

I went back to the gym last Thursday and have been twice more since then and clearly it was not the right decision as my leg has gotten worse from the little improvement I experienced last week. Today I’m having trouble putting pressure on it and as far as crossing the left leg over the right – you can forget it.

This afternoon I went for my weekly chiropractor visit and Dr. Ross was kind enough to take some x-rays for me. There are no breaks or fractures, which is a good thing. He said I most likely just jammed it since I landed on it when it was straightened out. So, basically I just have to stay off it for a while longer and ice it down; also soaking in Epsom salts will probably be in my near future. I’m really grateful to Dr. Ross for taking a look at my leg for me because goodness knows I don’t have the time to wait around for hours on end at The Orthopedic Center.

Ya’ll getting old sucks! I guess it just gets harder and harder to bounce back from things the older you get; but, again at least there are no breaks. That’s all the news from my little corner of the world. Until next time, I’ll be hobbling along!

USPS Online Redeemed

2011-12-12T20:21:00.001-06:00

I know, I know, I haven’t had a new post in a few days; but, I have nothing of great interest to write about and I didn’t want to bore you to tears but unfortunately, that’s probably going to happen anyway with my post today. Here’s what’s been happening.

As you may recall, I bought a new printer on Black Friday; a laser printer in fact. I feel so fancy. It only prints black and white but that’s all I need for coupon printing and what not. I finally set it up over the weekend and it works perfectly. I even set up the Wi-Fi portion without having to call any of my techie friends. I’m cool like that.

After setting up the printer, I used it to go online and print some postage for a pair of shoes I needed to return. I went on a rant a year or two ago about how terrible USPS online was but I have since changed my mind. Well, I would never order stamps from the site again, but I would definitely use it to print postage for a package as I did last night. It saves you from having to wait in line at the post office, which is a huge blessing this time of year.

This afternoon I took my package to the post office just to drop it off but some person had stuffed the mail bins so full that you couldn’t even open them. I didn’t want to wait in line to turn in a package with postage so I decided to leave and as I was leaving a man came out to collect the mail from the outside drop boxes and he took my package for me. It worked out quite well.

I finally got all of my presents wrapped and under the tree. Most of them I finished wrapping the weekend before last but finished up the last two or three this past weekend. So, I suppose I am now officially ready for Christmas.

Other than that, there’s not much else going on. I had a rather uneventful weekend, which was quite nice in my book since this coming up weekend, and of course the next will be all a bustle with various activities.

I guess that’s about it for now. I’ll try to be back tomorrow with something else boring to tell you about. In the meantime if you know of any good books out there, please leave a comment as I am looking for the next good read.

A Diet Coke Moment

2011-12-07T16:52:00.001-06:00

Diet Coke atop my Christmas Tree

(Thanks, Candy!)

Well, I’ve run out of fun and interesting events to write about. That’s just how it goes some weeks. I didn’t do anything exciting on Tuesday night and Wednesday was church and no one streaked through the church building, so nothing to write about there.

My leg is doing much better and in fact my plan is to finally return to the gym tomorrow (Thursday) night. I absolutely cannot wait because people, the pants are getting tight and I am in desperate need of some physical activity. I know I will feel better after the first day back and am looking forward to shedding some of these lbs I’ve put on in my four week absence from the bike.

I did want to tell you about something exciting that happened recently. Well, you may not find it so exciting, but I sure as heck did. As you probably know, I love Diet Coke. In fact, I wrote an Ode to Diet Coke in the early days of ye old blog. There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t have a Diet Coke, well, rarely a day anyway.

Last week on Twitter, Diet Coke (yes, I’m a follower of Diet Coke on Twitter) tweeted “Final exams are coming up. You know, we make a pretty good study buddy.”

To which I replied, “Amen to that. I became a Diet Coke addict during college finals over 10 years ago and love it still.”

It’s true people; when I was in school at The University of Alabama, I put a dollar in the coke machine in Bidgood Hall and much to my chagrin the machine was out of Coca-Cola and I had to settle for a Diet Coke, probably because I was in immediate need of caffeine; either that or I couldn’t get my dollar back. At any rate, it was the first Diet Coke of my life and I never turned back – I’ve been a DC drinker ever since.

So, back to the Twitter – Diet Coke responded, people! Diet Coke responded to my tweet by saying, “That’s extraordinary. Here’s a Diet coke toast to 10 more years with you by our side.”

Needless to say, it was a defining moment in my life; well, my Twitter life anyway. Diet Coke responded, to little ole me! I could hardly believe it. I think a tear formed in the corner of my eye! Oh, Diet Coke, you do not have to worry. I’ll probably die holding you in my grasp!

Holiday Concert - The Heritage Bell Ringers

2011-12-06T19:18:00.001-06:00

On Monday night, my mother hosted the Ladies’ Night Out for the gals at the church she attends. Clearly my dad is not a lady and so therefore couldn’t participate in the evening’s activities so he and I went to Trinity United Methodist Church for the Heritage Bell Ringers holiday concert.

This event takes place each year usually on the first Monday in December and is free to the public and in my opinion is one of the best Christmas events the city has to offer. Not only is the music delightful but watching the bell ringers is absolutely fascinating.

The concert started at 7:00 and we arrived about 15 minutes before. The sanctuary was filling up but we made our way to the front row and sat next to some other folks. The seats were great because we were able to see the bell ringers up close.

The show started a few minutes after 7:00 as the bell ringers made their way down the aisle for the processional. There were two conductors for the show (one at a time) and each gave a little introduction to each of the songs the ringers played. The concert lasted about an hour and was fantastic, just as expected. We gave the ringers a standing ovation and while standing we noticed the church was pretty packed. Clearly we are not the only people in town who love the Heritage Bell Ringers holiday concert.

The Heritage Bell Ringers’ next concert is on Monday, May 07, 2012 at Trinity. You can find more about them at their web site here. If you’ve never seen these people in action, then you should definitely try to go to their next concert or their 2012 holiday concert.

Here’s a list of the songs they played on Monday night:

Processional and Joyful Dance
Overture from The Nutcracker
Anitra’s Dance
Carol of the Bells
Christmas Meditation
God with Us
On Christmas Day
March of the Kings (My dad liked this one a lot)
Frosty the Snowman
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Rui, Rui Chiu (This was liked by both me and my dad)

A Trip to the Vet and Then a Parade

2011-12-05T20:43:00.000-06:00

Saturday morning was time for The Tide’s annual appointment at the vet’s office for shots and a check-up. I scheduled the appointment a couple of months ago to insure that we would have the first appointment of the day, otherwise, we would end up waiting for who knows how long. A vet’s office is just like a doctor’s office; the later in the day you go, the longer you have to wait.

We arrived about 15 minutes early for our 8:00 a.m. appointment. I planned to just sit in the car, but The Tide would have none of that. The Tide, you see, loves to go to the vet’s office. I’m almost certain she’s the only dog in the world that looks forward to her annual visit. The only thing I can think is that she remembers fondly the days she lived there after her hip surgeries. Who knows; but at any rate she always gets excited when we turn into the parking lot.

As we were sitting in the parking lot, The Tide started whining and pacing in the back set and nudging my shoulder with her nose. She couldn’t wait to get out. I was a little slow to get out of the car thanks to my fall the night before and my impatient dog kept nudging me and nudging me until I finally got out of the car. She ran over to the door wanting to go inside but not realizing that she was still going to have a bit of a wait.

The Tide, anxiously awaiting the opening of the vet's office.

Once they finally opened, she ran inside as if she might not ever get to go again; even the guy working there said to her, “You sure are glad to be here.” We were finally called back and The Tide was weighed (64.2 pounds) and tested for heartworms (negative) and also had her nails trimmed. Then she got her yearly shots, a year’s supply of heartworm medicine, and some ointment for a sore she has on her belly and a lot of money later we were on our way out the door.

We made it home a little before 9:00 and I did some cleaning and then a few minutes after 11:00, my dad came and picked me up for the parade. My mother didn’t feel like going and I made the decision not to take The Tide along as she can sometimes be unruly when she’s out in public.

We found a spot down close to the front of the route near Church Street and snacked on sunflower seeds until the parade began. The Rocket City Rednecks were the Grand Marshalls of the parade; an odd choice in my opinion but no one asked me I guess.

The Alabama A&M band was the first band to come through and one of the first groups as well. I always enjoy seeing them

Mayor Tommy Battle came through on an old fire engine.

There were search dogs from HEMSI.

The downtown trolley made an appearance as well.

There were clowns from the Huntsville Hospital Klown Club.

Lots of horses made the parade, even ones with Christmas painted hoofs.

Mary and Joseph even showed up!

There were old cars.

And my favorite car – the Volkswagen Carmengia.

The J.O. Johnson band as well as Grissom and Huntsville and Lee marched by too! The Grissom drummers decorated their drums with tinsel.

And of course, it wouldn’t be a parade without Santa at the end!

In all, it was a pretty good parade. Oh, and there was a lady across the street from us who cracked me up the whole time. Each time a car would go by she would yell, “Rev it up!” and she also yelled at all the dancers that came by which was hilarious! It was a lot better than we thought it was going to be. Maybe we had really low expectations because Candy didn’t think it was that good. My dad wore a crazy Santa hat and got lots of compliments on it. I wore an Alabama sweatshirt and got lots of “Roll Tides!” The parade last a little less than two hours but it was an enjoyable time if I do say so myself.

My dad and his Santa hat

Ready for the parade!

I would like to go to the parade of boats at Ditto Landing but haven’t been able to find any information on it. Does anyone know if they do that anymore? It’s the time of year for lots of fun activities. What have you all got going on?

Just Call Me Grace

2011-12-04T19:48:00.001-06:00

Friday afternoon when I got home from work, I used what little daylight was left and then some to pull my outdoor Christmas lights out of the shed and decorate the outside of the house. It took me about an hour or so to put up the lights and the two wreaths and get the storage bins back in the shed. I wanted to get the outside stuff up before the rains came this weekend, which as I type it still hasn’t started raining.

Christmas lights are up and shining!

After putting everything away, I went to the spare bedroom to gather up some Christmas presents to wrap and as I was walking back I noticed that there was a cave cricket in my return air vent. I get cave crickets in my house all the time. I don’t know if that’s the correct term for them or not, but that’s what I call them as does Jackie. They are the brown crickets with long spider legs.

A little background - my return air vent is in the middle of my “hallway”; actually, it pretty much is the whole hallway. It was once the furnace for my house but back in the late 80s or early 90s when my grandparents had central air put in the house for my great-grandmother, the furnace became the return air vent.

Back to the story, I pulled up the grate to get the cave cricket out and instead of me being quick enough to pick the little critter up, it jumped out. After attempting to stomp it a few times, I finally managed to get it under the paper towel I had in hand and stomp him and scoop him up. I turned to go to the kitchen to dispose of the critter in the garbage and clearly didn’t remember that the grate was not down and I stepped and fell into the return air vent; probably a three foot drop. I managed to pull myself out and wallowed in pain on the kitchen floor for a few minutes before I managed to get myself up.

Needless to say, I was in a lot of pain. I’m still hobbling around today, but not quite as badly. I’m pretty sure I pulled a muscle in my left leg as it is in an immense amount of pain especially when I turn my leg certain ways. So, if you hear me cry out like I’m in pain, it’s because my leg went in some direction that I didn’t need it to go. I also have a big bruise on my left thigh and my right knee is bruised in three places, once from my tumble in Tuscaloosa on Thursday and two from falling into the return air vent.

So, here’s to hoping I don’t take any more falls over the coming days because I’m not sure my beaten and bruised body can take much more.

Front Door Decoration

Stadium Dogs Were Served

2011-12-01T18:38:00.001-06:00

Well, it's been a long and exciting day for me today (Thursday). This morning, I got up at my normal time, but instead of getting ready for work, I got ready for a football game. Madison Academy played in the state finals in Tuscaloosa and my dad and I headed south about 7:15 this morning to go watch the game.
We first made our obligatory stop at the Hardees at the Decatur exit. Anytime we head south in the early morning hours, we stop at the same Hardees and this time I was prepared with some coupons. After getting some breakfast we got back on the road and made really good time as we missed the Birmingham rush hour and there were no accidents along the way.

We took the Coaling exit to get to Tuscaloosa; I think I’ve mentioned before that this is the exit I used in college and like to use to this day because it takes an indirect route into the city and therefore you miss all the crazy traffic on McFarland Boulevard. When Justin and I went to Tuscaloosa in May, we took this exit and were not able to get through because the roads were still blocked from all the tornado debris. Now, seven months later, most of the debris is gone, but the landscape along the road is practically bare.

This was my dad’s first trip to Tuscaloosa since the tornado and he was amazed and the vast emptiness that the tornado left behind and said he was glad to have not seen it when it was full of debris. After driving through Alberta City and down 15th street, we then had the challenge of making it over to the stadium and finding a place to park. Since classes are still in session, there are student cars on campus and finding a spot to park was not as easy as one might expect. The Baptist church was charging $20 to park in their lot; but finally we found a spot and didn’t have to pay anything, which was our goal in a parking spot.

We made our way to the stadium and headed towards the coach statues as my dad also has not seen the Nick Saban statue and wanted to take a look at it. As we were walking towards it, in a moment Jackie probably wishes she had on video, I somehow missed a step off the sidewalk and fell over, landing on my knees and hands which were subsequently scraped up. There was a cop sitting in the car right where I fell and he got out and asked if I was okay. My dad asked too and asked again after I just sat there for a minute. My eyes teared up and I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. I chose laughing. It’s typically the best medicine.

Outside the stadium, folks were passing out free megaphones and pens and even Elsie the Bordon Cow was there serving up some samples of chocolate milk and eggnog and passing out free cups and notepads. I don’t even think we have Bordon dairy products in Huntsville, do we? If so, I don’t know where they are sold.

Elsie!

My dad and Elsie

My dad had got out tickets online so we made our way inside and found a seat on the Madison Academy side and in the sun which kept us warm. Before the game got started, I made a concession stand run. I saw a lot of people eating stadium dogs and I just couldn’t hold out any longer! The dog was good, but not up to par as the bun was old and my guess is it was left over from the last home Bama game two weeks ago.

Stadium Dog!

MA got off to a good start and was up 7-0 and the game was 7-7 at the half. At the half, I got another stadium dog from a different stand hoping I would have better luck with the bun – I was wrong; but, at least I got one more stadium dog for 2011. MA went up 14-7 in the second half and then late in the last quarter, Handley scored. They went for two but didn’t make it and it looked like MA had the championship in the bag – for all of about five seconds. Handley kicked the onside kick and recovered it, drove the ball down and scored, making it 20-14. MA had 44 seconds to drive the ball down the field, which is what they did. With five seconds left, from less than 20 yards a pass was thrown to the end zone and caught… but the receiver was out of bounds and the game came to an end. It was definitely a game of ups and downs. One of the best games I have seen in a long while, if only MA had won it would have been perfect!

My nervous dad!

After the game, I was handed the keys for driving and thanks to my mad knowledge of the campus, we were able to avoid all the traffic on University Drive, which was crazy. Actually, they have a built a ton of buildings since I was in school there and I did take one wrong turn where there was once a road that went down to the river but now is just a turnabout; but I got us out of town after that one mishap and we got on the road a lot quicker than other folks, I would venture to say.

We made a stop at The Fish Market in Birmingham which is one of our favorite places to eat. The food was just as wonderful as expected. Then we got a dozen Dunkin’ Donuts, 2 for me and 20 for my parents because Deb loves some donuts, don’tcha Deb?

We made it to my house at about 5:30 and our day of adventure came to an end. It was a fun and exciting day. Despite the loss, we had a great time. Here’s to a championship for MA in 2012.

Randomology

2011-11-30T21:55:00.001-06:00

Well, as I’m writing this, it's the last day of November, but most likely you are reading on the first day of December since I think most of you read this blog during the day. Either way, we have only one month left in 2011 and I don't know about you, but I find that extremely hard to believe. I'm sure I've said it on here before, but I'll take this time to say it again. When I was a kid I thought people were crazy when they said time flies because for me, it seemed like an eternity until the next Christmas or birthday or school year or what have you, but now that I'm older, I am saying the same thing, time really does fly by and it seems to go faster and faster with each passing year.

Are ya'll ready for Christmas? I have all of my presents bought with the exception of a few gift cards which I will most likely get at the last minute because that's when I will have the funds for said gift cards. I do so well to budget for Christmas each year but this year with all the other unexpected expenses and cut in salary, those funds seemed to disappear a lot quicker. Once I get through Christmas and January, I will be able to start building back up my savings account, thank the good Lord. I'd theoretically like to go to France again in 2013 but not sure if that will happen or not. Yes, I have officially been bit by the European bug and can't wait for my next trip overseas.

So, anyway, back to Christmas, which was my original question. I have my tree up and my Grinch figurines out and that's all I put out this year, which I think is all I put out last year too. Practically all of my guest bedroom is loaded down with Christmas presents, none of which have been wrapped and I have absolutely no motivation to start wrapping, much to my chagrin. Hopefully I will get started soon or I may be handing folks unwrapped boxes with Merry Christmas written across the top, with my address label "X"ed out. Maybe this weekend I will be able to get in the Christmas spirit, here's to hoping anyway. I'm thinking about going to the Christmas parade on Saturday. I haven't been in years but we used to go every year when I was a kid. I might take The Tide with me too, which should make for a good story or two. I've asked my parents to come along too so maybe the three humans and two dogs will load up and head downtown for some parade-fun - I will let you know.

Tomorrow (or today if you are reading on Thursday) my dad, granddad (supposed to be) and I are heading to Tuscaloosa for the state high school football finals - otherwise known as the Super Six. It's been a sweet forever since I've been to the finals. We used to go down for the day when it was in Birmingham to watch no one in particular; but this year is a special year because Madison Academy made it to the final game and they are playing Thursday morning at 11:00. Last week's game was the best atmosphere of a high school game that I have seen in years. The final game is being played at Bryant Denny Stadium and I personally cannot wait to eat about three Bryant Denny dogs. In other words, I'll be taking out a small loan to hit the concession stand. Keep your fingers crossed for me that the Bryant Denny dog will be served because if it's not, I will be so sad as I will have to wait all winter, spring, and summer before I will be able to eat that delicacy again next football season.

Ladies' Night Christmas Party

2011-11-28T20:57:00.003-06:00

Monday night was our annual Ladies’ Night Out Christmas ornament exchange and as always, it was a lot of fun. The past year or two Erika has gone with me; but this year she couldn’t make it so I went solo (we are making up for it by going out to dinner Tuesday night). Despite the bad weather, there was still a good turnout (26 people). I was a little concerned because with predictions of a wintery mix, you never know who might back out.

The menu for the evening was salads and desserts and there was plenty of good food as always. We played a game of dirty Santa for the ornament exchange as we always do and as expected it provided a lot of laughs. By the way, who came up with the name dirty Santa? I’m too lazy to look it up, but if you know, please feel free to share in the comments.

As my ornament I brought a spoon with “merry and bright” engraved on it. I thought it was quite cute and wouldn’t have minded taking it home with me, but Sandra ended up with it. She licked it to try to keep it in her possession but it was stolen and obviously she eventually got it back. I bought it from GroopDealz, which if you haven’t checked out you should because it’s a great site for discounted hand crafted items. I’ve bought quite a few things from there as gifts and whatnot.

I brought home an ornament that is glass and oval and inside is Santa and his sleigh. I actually had two stuffed snowmen ornaments but traded with someone who liked them. I have a few stuffed snowmen already and really liked the glass Santa scene so the trade worked out well for both of us. I found a spot for it on my tree when I got home. I didn’t put all my ornaments on the tree this year. A lot of the ornaments I have are just cheap ones I have bought over the years and so this year I only put up ornaments that people made, or gave me or have special meaning so there was room on the tree for this one, no problem.

It was a fun night with the ladies and our last event of the year. I always take December off since we all have a lot of things to do with family and friends and it gives me a break from having to plan anything before the New Year starts.

Hope you all had a nice Monday evening as well. Stay warm!

Thanksgiving Weekend

2011-11-27T21:39:00.003-06:00

I hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving. Ours was rather low key this year with a whopping seven people in attendance. The food was good and ended up being almost all gone by the time people took home leftovers and my dad took some plates down to the hospital to some friends.

Friday morning, my dad picked me up at 4:15 and we headed out for our annual Black Friday shopping. We first went to the mall and received $10 gift cards that the mall gave away. From there we went to Office Depot and each bought printers and jump drives. I also bought some paper and my dad got some ink cartridges. After Office Depot, we made stops at Dick’s, Shoe Carnival, Bed, Bath and Beyond and Kohl’s. We bought a few things along the way and ended the morning at Gibson’s where we had breakfast and ran into many people we knew.

Friday night my dad and I headed over to Greenhill (close to Florence) for the Madison Academy game against Rogers. The Mustangs won and are headed to the state finals in Tuscaloosa on Thursday and we plan to make the trek down south with them.

Saturday I did some decorating at church for a shower as well as some house cleaning and set up the Christmas tree. I watched the Alabama-Auburn game at my parents’ house and we grilled burgers. Then I came home and did a little more cleaning and watched some more football.

Sunday was church and a wedding shower at church and I made a batch of Erika’s white chicken chili. Now it’s Sunday evening and after four days off from work, I’m wishing for just one more.

I’m feeling a lot better from the pneumonia but the medicine I took for it has left me in a lot of pain so I’m anxious for it to leave my system so I will hopefully be feeling better. The medicine has a tendency to tear tendons and has attacked my body like nobody’s business. I pretty much ache from head to toe and am still exhausted on top of that. So, while my lungs are feeling better, my body still isn’t at 100%. Hopefully I will be back to normal within the next week because I am anxious to get back to the gym and to a normal routine.

So, that’s all the news from my corner of the world. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and are well on your way to putting a dent in your Christmas shopping.

Happy Thanksgiving 2011!

2011-11-24T07:28:00.002-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving! Hope you all have a wonderful day!

Book Review: The Hunger Games Series

2011-11-23T01:52:00.001-06:00

It’s a short work week this week, which is a blessing and a curse. A blessing because, well, I only have to work three days and a curse because all short work weeks seem to last longer than a regular five day work week. Why is that? At any rate, it will be Thanksgiving tomorrow and I don’t know about you, but I’m looking forward to some good food and some good deals at the store on Friday.

Today’s post is a book review in case some of you are looking for a good book to buy a family member or two. Have any of you heard of The Hunger Games by Susanne Collins? Well, if not, today is your lucky day because I’m going to tell you all about it. It seems like a handful of people mentioned this book series to me over the past few months and I don’t know if it didn’t sink in or what because I never got around to ordering or borrowing these books from anyone. I think it was at the Rainbow Omega dinner when we were talking about books that Jan mentioned The Hunger Games. She had borrowed the book from her grandson, Dalton. I made a mental note and a week or two later ordered the set for myself.

A few days after my books arrived, I got an email from Jackie that said I must immediately go get the books and start reading them. She had borrowed them from Jan and started reading and basically couldn’t put it down. Jackie sent her email on Friday (11th) and on Sunday (13th) I started reading and pretty much didn’t stop reading for the rest of the week. I am now on the third book in the series which is taking me a little longer only because I got side tracked catching up on a TV show everyone is raving about. Jackie read the first book in one day, it took me three. She’s a faster reader and has some free time at her job to read whereas I only have 30 minutes to read while I’m at work and I’m addicted to television. I will say, though I let the DVR take over and didn’t watch as much TV as I normally do so that I could get more reading time in – that’s saying something, people!

I don’t know how Ms. Collins came up with her idea for the book but it is truly unlike anything I’ve ever read. In a way, I suppose you could compare the events in her book to the events that took place when gladiators performed in an arena and maybe that’s what originally gave her the idea; but there’s so much more to it than that.

The premise of the book is this: It’s the future and what was once known as North America is now known as Panem, a country divided into 13 districts. As a result of an uprising against the Capitol 74 years before, the districts send one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18 to fight in The Hunger Games. The names of the children are placed in a bowl and one name is drawn at random. The names drawn are called tributes and they are thrown into an arena of unknown elements and must fight to the death until only one remains.

As you can imagine, there is a lot of drama in this book. You will turn every page with anticipation reading as fast as you can to find out what happens next. The story is told from the perspective of one of the tributes. Does she survive? Well, you will have to find out for yourself when you read the book. The characters are very relatable and well-developed and the story telling is so incredible you will be left wanting more.

Jackie mentioned that it has been a long time since she got this lost in a book before and I would have to agree. While I loved the Steig Larrson series, this trilogy was even better. I think I’ve mentioned before that I know I’m in love with a book when I dream about it and that was certainly the case with this series as well. I have dreamt about and thought about these books for more than what one would call normal. You’d think these things were actually going on right now and I was in the middle of it all.

The second book (Catching Fire) was just as wonderful as the first and as mentioned I am still reading the third (Mockingjay). These books are geared towards teenagers, but I seriously don’t know why because it was enough to make this grown gal cry and sigh and even get enraged at times. Seriously, go get these books for the book reader on your list or splurge and get them for yourself. They are so good and you will be glad you did!

2011: The Year of Spending

2011-11-22T01:25:00.002-06:00

As if my savings account was obliterated enough, it has taken yet another hit. This time it’s the heating and air unit. Yes, folks, renting has it privileges. I love being a homeowner, I don’t, however, always love the expenses that come with it.

As you probably know, we’ve had some cold weather recently; for some reason it’s usually on the weekend, starting on Friday night which probably is the main contributor to my current illness. I had noticed that on those cold nights, my heat would stay on constantly and that the unit itself would rev up for all of about two seconds (yes, I counted) and then cut off. Finally on Saturday morning, I called the HVAC guy we use and Monday he got back with me. After chatting with him for a few minutes he said it probably just needed some Freon. That sounded good to me, couldn’t be more than $50 or so – wrong!

He came by around 4:30 to take a look at the unit. It had a small leak which would probably be fixable by using a syringe of some special stuff (don’t you love these technical terms). I said that would be fine. The special stuff, Freon and the service fee added up to $200 – so much for that $50 I was thinking of earlier in the day. Then when he went to put the Freon in, discovered some damage to some other part which he is going to replace tomorrow, thankfully at his cost, which he guesses to be between $60 and $80. Bless his heart, the look on my face must have made him take pity on me. I would be terrible at poker – I always reveal what I’m thinking on my face whether I realize it or not.

I wrote the check for $200 and quickly got online and transferred the rest of my Christmas spending money to my main account to pay for it. I have never been more grateful for the 3.5 hours of overtime I managed to accumulate for my upcoming paycheck. Somehow I’ve managed to get in an overtime hour here and there and have yet to get reprimanded for it. I’m sure it’s just a matter of time but until that time comes I’m going to try and get another hour or two in so some folks I know can have a Merry Christmas.

When it comes down to it, I really am grateful and blessed to be able to pay for the repairs that need to be made to the unit. Some people don’t have that ability and I’m also blessed and grateful to have a job while so many other people don’t. So, in the grand scheme of things it’s really not that big of a deal, but, man, it would be so nice to not have to spend a few hundred dollars on my car or house or teeth for a while. Here’s to hoping 2012 will be a year of saving as opposed to a year of spending.

The Twighlight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part I

2011-11-21T02:44:00.001-06:00

On Saturday, Jackie, Maria and I went to see Breaking Dawn Part I and I must admit it was rather good. It’s been quite a while since I’ve read the Twilight books so all the specific details were not fresh on my mind to compare with the movie but from what I can remember, the filmmakers did quite a nice job.

We went to the 1:30 showing and arrived at the theater about 30 minutes or so before the movie started. The theater was already filling up, but we managed to find some good seats about midway up. Luckily I was on the aisle. We had gone for sushi before and I had water to drink along with hot tea and some soup and I felt for sure I would have to make multiple trips to the bathroom. I actually only had to get up once, when Edward and Bella were on their honeymoon and it wasn’t for a bathroom break, it was because I started coughing and wasn’t sure I was going to be able to stop and didn’t want to be one of those annoying people at the movies. So, I got up and it’s a good thing I did because the coughing also made me a little sick if you know what I mean and so I darted into the bathroom to clean myself up. Thankfully no one noticed my shirt being wet when I came back in and I had a sweatshirt to pull on as well.

I guess you’re probably not reading this for all the gory details of my trip out of the movie though, so let’s continue shall we? The movie was just wonderful. I’ve come to love these actors as the characters from the book over the years. Admittedly, I wasn’t thrilled with them in the first movie, but they have grown on me and each movie I think I love them even more. The wedding scene was really beautiful and quite realistic, not cheesy like so many wedding scenes can be. The special effects were once again great, especially when Jacob and the others transformed into the wolf pack. There were a lot of sentimental moments as well and you may have even spotted a tear or two amongst the three of us. Clearly we are teenagers at heart.

The scenes of Bella’s pregnancy were also quite good. They made her to look quite terrible, perhaps even more terrible than I pictured in the book. The delivery scene was riveting and had me on the edge of my seat even though I knew what was going to happen. I figured the movie would end when Edward transformed Bella into a vampire and in a way it did as the very last scene had Bella opening her eyes and her eyes being blood red.

Part II doesn’t come out until November 16, 2012! 2012! That’s a whole year from now. Whatever will we do? Wait, I guess. I hate waiting. If you are a lover of these books or movies then you will not be disappointed when you go see this one. It was a real pleaser and was enjoyed by all three of us.

Yet Another Update

2011-11-20T19:50:00.002-06:00

It seems as though every time I post an update about Justin, something else happens to change the update I just posted. The day I posted that he was going to rehab, he managed to open that smart mouth of his and his chance of going rehab was revoked and now it seems as though he will be going to prison after all. He will have a court date and a sentencing date, etc. etc. So, it will be a while yet before we know what his exact fate will be. At any rate, just please keep him in your prayers because no matter what happens, he clearly needs all the prayers he can get.

As for me, I have walking pneumonia, as opposed to sitting pneumonia I guess. I went to the clinic on Saturday and got some medication and am already feeling some better. Hopefully I will be even better as the week goes on as I have some dishes to make for Thanksgiving, not to mention Black Friday shopping and a football game on Friday night.

Hope you all had a great weekend. Movie review coming up tomorrow (Monday) morning!

Updates

2011-11-18T01:44:00.004-06:00

Happy Friday ya’ll! Can you believe Thanksgiving is next week? I don’t know about you, but 2011 has flown by for me! Christmas will be here before you know it! I hope you’ve all got a big jump on your Christmas shopping. I’ve got most of mine done but still have a few things yet to buy and some gifts to get which I have no idea yet what the gift will be – yikes! Hopefully I will come up with something good. I need to get started on wrapping and with any luck will get some of that knocked out this weekend.

I wanted to give everyone an update on Justin’s situation. I’m happy to report that Justin was given an opportunity to go to a rehab facility rather than straight to prison. Every time I think he’s used his last chance, he seems to get another one. I’m glad he was given this opportunity and pray that he will use it to his advantage. I hope you will also remember him in your prayers as every day is a battle for him against his addiction. He will be back in time for Christmas, which is great because I am most excited about the gifts I got for him. I think he will really like them. Here’s to wishing for a drama free Christmas!

The Black Lung has improved somewhat over the course of the past couple of days thanks to high dosages of nighttime cold medicine and Nyquil. I take it around 5:00 so that I’ll have a good 12 ½ hours to sleep it off before I have to go to work. So far it’s working out well. I sure hope it continues!

I thought there would be another thing or two to update everyone on, but I really can’t think of anything at the moment. Next week I should have some book reviews and most likely a movie review of Breaking Dawn. Jackie and I have already bought our tickets! Hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

RAIN: A Tribute to The Beatles

2011-11-16T20:14:00.001-06:00

So, on Tuesday night, Jackie and I went out for a night on the town to see RAIN, A Tribute to the Beatles. I had seen RAIN a couple of years ago when they were last in Huntsville. Tony and I had tickets and enjoyed the show immensely. So, when I heard they were coming again, I emailed Jackie and asked her if she would be interested in going. She said yes and so when the tickets went on sale, I rushed down to be one of the first people in line, which paid off as we ended up being on the third row.

Jackie picked me up around 7:00 and we went to the VBC where we parked and quickly made our way in, it was raining after all. My parents were at the show as well and were the first people we saw as we made our way into the seating area of the concert hall. As we made our way to our seats, we saw another couple we know, Randal and Janice, who are both lovers of The Beatles.

When we sat down I immediately put a cough drop in my mouth which helped a little but the black lung prevailed and I did a lot of coughing too, which unfortunately prevented me from singing along to a lot of the songs. My fellow concert goers were probably happy about that fact. The lady next to me probably thought she was going to catch some kind of terrible disease from me.

When Tony and I went to the show a couple of years ago, there was a man on the front row who wrote down the set list from the concert. Each time the group started up a new song, he would pump his fist, slam his hand on the stage, bring out his pen and write down the name of the song. We got such a kick out of watching this guy. I had emailed Tony earlier in the day and we both wondered as to whether or not Set List Guy would be there. Sure enough, when Jackie and I sat down, I looked to the front and there he was, Set List Guy. I was thrilled as I knew he would provide me with a night full of laughs. He did not disappoint.

The show started a few minutes after 7:30 and it was every bit as wonderful as I knew it would be. As a lover of The Beatles, this is as close as someone my age, or any age at this point in time, can get to a Beatles concert experience. They played a wonderful line up of Beatles songs and I wanted to sing along to each one. A few times during the show, they panned the audience with a camera and put the images on the screens at the front. I looked to see if I spotted anyone I knew. The only face I recognized was the mayor, Tommy Battle. I did not see him waving a copy of his battle plan, but he was clapping and maybe singing along. When Tony and I used to go to a lot of shows and what have you, we would always see my favorite Huntsville mayor, Loretta. Jackie said maybe being the mayor means you get tickets to all the big shows and events in Huntsville. Nice perk.

Set List Guy and his crew of crazy drunk friends did not write down the set list this year, but you could tell from the expression on his face that he was completely mesmerized by the guys on stage. He kept pointing at them or giving them spirit fingers and when he wasn’t doing that, he was just starring at them ands rubbing his beard. I wish ya’ll could have seen the expression on his face. I told Jackie that his expression made him look like a stalker as if those guys on stage were going to be his or else. I have never seen an adult so mesmerized by anything like that before. During the second act, I started pointing at the stage too and it gave me and Jackie a good laugh. We cracked up each time I did it. I would point and she would do the spirit fingers. If only we had someone with us to stare and rub his beard.

The show lasted about two hours I guess, including intermission. I think it might have even been better than the last show. It seems like they had some different props this time. Jackie enjoyed the show as well. I’m so glad she went along and got to see the show. We had a nice time – it’s always nice to get away from the realities of life for a while and just immerse yourself in music for a couple of hours, especially music by The Beatles. If you’ve never seen the show, be sure and catch it the next time they are in town. It seems like they are usually in Huntsville every couple of years. So, be sure and get your tickets early. You may end up next to Set List Guy!

The Black Lung

2011-11-15T22:06:00.000-06:00

I didn’t do much this past weekend, which seems to be kind of the norm right now. That’s how it goes during college football season. I may not enjoy hearing about it all day long at work, but I sure do enjoy watching it all day on Saturday. I’m just one of those folks who, by the time Monday rolls around, am done talking about last Saturday’s game and am looking ahead to the next game. Call me crazy.

Last Friday after work, I stopped by the hospital and visited with my friend Amy and her newborn baby Aubrey. Lucky for me when I got there, Amy and Aubrey were all by themselves – probably hoping for a moment or two of complete quiet – and I got to hold the little gal uninterrupted for nearly an hour before some other people showed up. It was so nice. Of course, Amy may have rather had the time to herself, but hopefully she also enjoyed our visit.

After I left the hospital, I broke out the high school alma mater sweat shirt (Hoover Bucs) and my dad and I went out to Madison for the Bob Jones vs. Hoover playoff game. We both expected Bob Jones to get trampled, but surprisingly, it was a very good game, full of unexpected turnovers and a Bob Jones lead for much of the game. Hoover ended up winning, which I didn’t care one way or the other, but I always enjoy a good excuse to break out some high school clothing.

Saturday morning, The Tide and I met my cousin Alexandra and her precious baby Indigo at Hayes Nature Preserve. Alexandra took some photos of me and The Tide for our 2011 Christmas card. No offense to the ones Jackie took the weekend before, but A is great with a camera and I was hoping she would be able to get some better shots in the soft morning light as opposed to the bright afternoon light we were working with the previous weekend. She got some pretty good shots. I think the very last one we took is my favorite and is probably the one I’m going to use on this year’s card.

When we were done with the photo session, I stopped by the grocery store and then Little Rosie’s where I got some grub for my belly. Once home, I unloaded the groceries, put away the cold things, ate the yummy food from Little Rosie’s and then proceeded to sleep for the next three hours or so. In fact, Erika even stopped by while I was sleeping and I didn’t have a clue she was even standing on the front porch. I thought The Tide was barking at a squirrel or something and didn’t budge from my comfy position on the sofa. I basically spent the remainder of the weekend in a sinus medicine haze, sleeping on an off for many hours at a time. I’ve had this sinus cough and congestion for two straight weeks. Finally, after drugging myself and resting this past weekend, I am feeling some better. Although the coughing is a wee bit out of control, especially at night when I am trying to sleep and end up in terrible coughing fits. I am beginning to think I’ve got the Black Lung, or TB. I don’t know which but I’m sure the folks at work are tired of hearing me cough and I’m sure The Tide is as well. I know my body is tired of coughing because at times it feels like my ribs are bruised and my brain is tired of bouncing back and forth in my thick skull each time I cough. I think I’m going to have to make another trip to the doctor, unfortunately.

That’s it for today. Come back for tomorrow’s post about mine and Jackie’s night out on the town. It will be well worth the read I hope. Have a lovely day!

In The Cubicle Next Door

2011-11-14T21:54:00.003-06:00

I changed cubicles about a week and a half ago. When I first started my job, I was in a cubicle all by myself and it was quite lovely. Then, about a week and a half ago, my supervisor decided that I should sit in the same cubicle as the girl who manages the program on which I am working in order to learn more quickly, have better access to her, what have you. I wasn’t thrilled about the prospect of sharing a cubicle. It’s not that I’m bad at sharing. It’s not that I don’t like the girl I’m now sitting with. It’s just that, well, I’m kind of a loner and always have been and like to just kind of keep to myself and not have to worry about talking to someone sitting next to me. Plus you never really know if the person will annoy you or eat loud or bring in smelly food or any number of unruly things.

Regardless of my silent objections (you can’t really say no to your boss), I’m now sharing and so far, so good. There haven’t been any quarrels or smelly foods or any other such thing. So far, G and I have gotten along just fine and things are running smoothly. Here’s to hoping the smooth sailing continues along.

Since I’ve moved to the new cubicle, it’s been like moving into a new neighborhood and getting to know the folks on your street. In the cubicle next door is a man, A, who has got to be one of the loudest talkers I have ever encountered. From what I gather, he’s worked here a long time and therefore has a lot of vacation time stored up because he takes off about once a week to look after his elderly mother who lives in Birmingham. I long for these days because it’s so much quieter when he’s not around. A spends most of the day on the phone, for his job, and talks so loud it’s as though he was sitting right next to me. What time he isn’t on the phone, he’s talking to M, a guy who sits across the wall from him.

A and M talk about college football – ALL DAY LONG! Now, don’t get me wrong, if you’re a reader of this blog or know me personally, then you know that I love college football. These two, however talk about college football so much it’s like they’re beating a dead horse. It’s as though there is nothing else in the world but college football. While I, too, love to chat about college football from time to time, often, in fact, I’m proud to say that I can also have a conversation that doesn’t involve college football. Some of the time their information is wrong too which drives me a little nuts because if you’re gonna talk it, then at least get your facts straight. It takes a lot of control not to holler over to these two and set them right. I’m beginning to wonder what they talk about when it’s not football season. Probably spring training or something dreadful like that.

Ya’ll I can’t even really put into words how much I dislike listening to A talk. I long for the lull in the day when this man doesn’t have a thing to say, which is not often. I’m sure he is a lovely man, and I hope he has a lovely family but to hear him talk you would think he wouldn’t be in existence if it were not for Alabama football. Yes, this loud next door neighbor at work talks about Alabama football ALL DAY LONG. As a lover of Alabama football myself, it seems strange that all I want is for this man to shut up, but tis true, my friends, tis true. I never thought I would wish that someone would stop talking about college football but alas, I have found the one person in the world that I wish would put the brakes on all the football talk. Wonders never cease!

Everyone else around us is pretty quiet, keeping to themselves and only talking in a normal tone of voice when they are on the phone or what not. This area I now work in is so different than where I was in my old job because over here you can pretty much hear everyone’s conversations unless they are whispering as quiet as a church mouse which doesn’t happen too often.

So, that’s the environment in which I’m working. Really, it’s not too bad at all. It’s just that sometimes, I wish A would just take a breather from his football talk and just keep his mouth shut every now and then. I doubt this will ever happen, but a girl can always dream.

Something Yummy

2011-11-13T22:12:00.000-06:00

It’s been a while, or at least I think it’s been a while, since I posted some of my favorite things as of late. So, without further ado, I give you, somethingI like right now – because I could only think of one.
Run, don’t walk, to the nearest Williams-Sonoma and pick up some of their Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate Mix. I’m a big fan of Williams-Sonoma hot chocolate. It is the best I have ever tasted. It’s made from real chocolate shavings, not powdered chocolate, which helps. The directions on the back of the can are for one cup of milk and five Tablespoons of Hot Chocolate mix, but I use ¾ cup of milk and ¼ cup of heavy cream because I’m crazy like that.

Each year the Williams-Sonoma hot chocolate mixes come out the day after Halloween. For years they have had the original mix and the peppermint mix, but this is the first year they’ve had salted caramel. I don’t buy these mixes often because they retail for $19.98, which can be a little steep for an indulgence. After Christmas they go on sale and that’s typically when I try to buy; but this year I went on November 1 and took the full price plunge. I bought one original and one salted caramel and I’m here to tell you the salted caramel is absolutely delightful. I’m pretty sure I’ll be buying another canister of two before the hot chocolate selling season is over. If you have an extra $20 lying around, be sure and pick some up, you’ll be glad you did!

A Senior Dog

2011-11-09T20:26:00.001-06:00

I got a magazine in the mail this past week. It was from my vet’s office. While it’s not that unusual – they do come in the mail about every six months – this one caught me a little off guard. There was a coupon on the front that said I could save 45% on my dog’s senior health package. Huh? Since when is The Tide a senior dog?

The Tide is now nine years old. I don’t know how old a dog has to be to be called a senior dog, but apparently nine years old falls within the senior dog ranks. Who knew? Certainly not me. I’ve never even thought of The Tide as a senior dog.

The Tide once had jowls that were black as night, now they are practically white as snow, or grey, depending on how you look at it. She’s got some signs of being senior, but to me she’s just the same loveable pup I brought home with me nine years ago. The old gal still has quite a spring in her step and can be just as mischievous as she was when she weighed only five pounds. She’s young at heart, I would say, which is what matters the most.

I don’t know how many more years this old senior dog of mine has left to be a senior dog, but I certainly hope it’s quite a few more.

Does this look like a senior dog to you?

Over The Weekend

2011-11-08T21:48:00.001-06:00

Before we begin, I would like to thank everyone for your kind comments regarding yesterday's post. It really meant a lot!

Back to your regularly scheduled blog posts… this past weekend was rather uneventful yet eventful at the same time, if that’s possible. Now that high school football playoffs have started, I no longer have assignments. Not necessarily because my writing is bad, but because not a lot of teams in the Huntsville area make it which means less assignments to go around.

So, instead of working for the newspaper, I got to enjoy a game as a spectator alongside my dad. We went to see Madison Academy play and it was quite a good game. It went into overtime thanks to a 3-yard MA field goal. MA ended up winning due to a blocked extra point – quite the finish!

On Saturday I went to the grocery store and then over to my parents’ house for a pancake breakfast cooked by my dad – he’s a maker of fine pancakes, people! We watched College Gameday live from Tuscaloosa and I’m convinced that this change in routine is what caused Alabama to lose – ok, maybe not.

After an hour and a half or so of watching, I decided to leave because my dad was snoozing and I was on the verge of sleep myself. So, I went home and put away the groceries and napped for almost two hours. I then did a little cleaning and straightening and quickly realized I shouldn’t have napped so long because there was much to do but the nap was also much needed because I was extremely tired and emotionally exhausted.

Jackie came over about 3:00 and I was not close to ready when she arrived. I finally put my face on, as the old southern ladies like to say, and she snapped a few photos of me and The Tide as potential Christmas card pictures – turns out I don’t really like any of them. This has nothing to do with Jackie’s photography and probably has more to do with an uncooperative dog and what I think is a chunky face (mine) – I blame the steroids I’ve been on for the past two weeks. Anyway, I’m hoping to have some more photos taken soon. I also since have discovered that the sweater I wore has small holes in it. I am convinced I have moths because all of my good clothes end up with small holes so I will soon be buying some moth balls and smelling like an old person. Don’t hate, people!

We finally wrapped up the photo session and went to Randolph’s Under the Christmas Tree. I bought some dips and a gumbo mix and also a large door decoration that looks like a Christmas ornament. I also got a dish towel that says “Christmas Is Always Merry In Five Points” – let’s hope it rings true. I thought it was cute and unique to my area of town so I went ahead and got it. Jackie bought some cider mix and a small tin Christmas tree and seems like something else, but I can’t remember. A lot of vendors had some adorable door decorations that we think were made of burlap – they were shaped like footballs and had an A and Roll Tide on it. Hazel Green Pharmacy had a booth there and was selling these for $40 – this is a hint for those of you wanting an idea for something to get me for Christmas. I’m trying to help you folks out.

When we got through getting our Christmas spirit on, or something like that, we came back to casa de McKinley and grilled some burgers. Maria came over as well and we all stuffed ourselves with burgers and corn dip while watching the Alabama-LSU game. Things obviously didn’t turn out to our liking, but we still had a good time being together, which is really the most important thing of all. Maria left sometime after the half and Jackie left when the game was over. I went to bed and thoroughly enjoyed my extra hour of sleep. I know most people don’t like the time change, but this “regular” time is when I feel most rested and I love it. I spend the whole spring and summer trying get back my hour from springing forward.

Sunday was spent going to church and napping and watching TV, which is as low-key as it gets around my house. As I said, kind of eventful, kind of not, but now you know all the gory details of my weekend. I wish I could say you were all the better for it, but I’m not so sure that’s the case. At any rate, I do wish you a delightful day and thanks for stopping by.

One of the photos from the Saturday photo shoot

Life's Ups and Downs

2011-11-07T21:53:00.002-06:00

I apologize for the absence over the past few days. Things have been rather crazy on a personal level and I have been busy dealing with all of that. While I try to keep things lighthearted on this blog and leave all the heavy stuff out of cyber space, today I’m making an exception to the rule and am going to let you all know what’s been going on.

Last Thursday my paternal grandfather, Ben, had a bone marrow procedure; after which he stopped breathing and was put on a ventilator and placed in a drug-induced coma to keep his body from having to work too hard. My dad, aunt and I rode up to Nashville together and the situation looked grave at best. My dad and I came back home later that evening not knowing whether or not my grandfather would survive the night. It was frightening to say the least.

On Friday morning, my granddad was doing much better – off of the ventilator and out of the coma and was sitting up in a chair and talking. He was still a little foggy when it came to details and whatnot but for the most part it was nothing short of what to us seemed to be a miraculous recovery. God answers prayer, people! My dad went up on Friday by himself and came back again that evening and said he wouldn’t have believed it if he had not seen it with his own eyes.

As it turns out, my grandfather has a bacterial infection, and has had for some time that caused his heart to stop and for him to stop breathing. It’s the same bacterial infection that my cousin, Bennett, had a while ago and caused him a great deal of pain and misery. Something in the Parker gene pool perhaps? The doctors are now treating the bacterial infection (no, I can’t remember the name; in fact, I’m not sure I was told) and with any luck, my granddad will be back to bossing my grandmother around as if nothing ever happened.

The other event that affected our family also happened on Friday and has to do with my brother. Many of you who read this blog (oh, who am I kidding only people I know read this blog), know me personally and know the struggles my brother has had with addiction over the years. This past August, he moved in with my parents as a last ditch effort to help him overcome his addiction and get on the right path.

As far as anyone knew, he was doing really well. You have probably seen on this blog where he and I spent a lot of time together over the past few months and it was really great to have a sober, functioning and reliable sibling for a change. For the first time in what feels like an eternity I allowed myself to hope – to hope that Justin would overcome his addiction and find the willpower within him to continue to turn his back on the daily temptations in his life. Hope – it’s a dangerous emotion.

On Friday, Justin went to see his probation office and failed a drug test because earlier in the week he had stolen two pain pills and taken them. Once again, hope was shattered. He is now in jail, awaiting sentencing for violation of his parole. He will be headed back to prison for as many as six years, more likely three with good behavior. It’s a crushing blow and one that is very hard to put into words. I told Jackie this weekend that I think I should write a book about being the sibling of an addict – it wouldn’t be an easy breezy read, that’s for sure.

As I said, I usually don’t write about this sort of thing on the blog, because who wants to stop by here and get all depressed, plus everyone else has problems of their own and really don’t want to hear about the problems my family is dealing with; but this time, I wanted to share for a couple of reasons. One, I would like you to remember my brother in your prayers. Pray for his safety while in prison and pray that he might one day be able to truly overcome his addiction and live a sober and full life. Secondly, I ask that you pray for my parents as well because those two have suffered more heartbreak than should be possible in this world. Each time my brother screws up, I see both of them age because it literally takes the life out of them and either he doesn’t realize or doesn’t care; either way it’s sad. We will now have to spend another set of Thanksgivings, Christmases, New Years, and birthdays without Justin around. It’s a heavy load for our hearts to bear. I know the Lord will not give us a burden that is too large to bear but at the same time, it doesn’t necessarily make things easier. We will all get through this time, but it won’t be without some difficulty and tears and I just ask that when you say a prayer, remember us Parkers from time to time. And while you’re at it, go ahead and lift one up for my granddad as well. He is already doing so much better but a little prayer goes a long way.

Again, I’m sorry for all the seriousness on here today. I figured some of you might be wondering why it was that Justin was around a lot and then not at all. I’ve pledged to be nothing but honest in life and that goes for the things I say on here too. Thanks for stopping by and I promise to be back tomorrow with something a lot lighter and more cheerful.

Book Review: The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest

2011-11-02T21:05:00.001-05:00

A couple of weeks ago I finished the third book in the Stieg Larsson trilogy, The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest and it did not disappoint. I reviewed book one and book two here and The Chronicles of Nat and am now going to give you a brief rundown of how much I loved book number three.

The first two books, as mentioned were hard for me to really get into at first. In fact, it took multiple chapters with each one before I was really hooked; but that was not the case with book number three. Book two ends with a cliffhanger and book three picks up immediately where book two leaves off so you’ve still got adrenaline pumping through your reading veins when you start book three which makes it much easier to get into and not want to put down.

As with the first two books, there is a tremendous amount of detail involved in the narrative, which at times can be a bit much but at other times can really help set the scene in your mind and if you are anything like me then when you read it’s like a movie playing in your head and so the more detail the better the scene.

The books is full of twists and turns and breath taking moments that will make your heart race fast just as was the case with the first two. Because of the amount of detail involved in the book, it may take longer for you to read this book than others books to which you are accustomed to reading, or at least that was the case for me. While I finished this third one in record time compared to the first two, it was still a typically longer reader time than I normally take.

I really cannot say enough wonderful things about this trilogy. I’ve got some of the ladies from church reading these and they are all also finding these books interesting and captivating. As mentioned before though, these books are not for the faint of heart as there is a lot of cursing, sex, drugs, and violence in the books so if that’s not really your genre, then I wouldn’t recommend it. If you can overlook all of that and really delve into the story, then I honestly think you will love this series as much as I did.

The movie for book one is coming out in December and I am really anxious to see how it plays out. There is no way it will be as wonderful as these books are, but I’ll probably show up anyway and see how it plays out on the big screen. Happy Reading!

A couple of weeks ago I finished the third book in the Stieg Larsson trilogy, The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest and it did not disappoint. I reviewed book one and book two here and The Chronicles of Nat and am now going to give you a brief rundown of how much I loved book number three.

Fall Festival and More Fun!

2011-11-01T22:45:00.003-05:00

This should be the last post regarding Halloween related activities. When you cram everything into a day or so, you end up with a lot of posts, or at least a handful.

On Sunday afternoon, I met up with Jackie and the kids for the annual Fall Festival at Mayfair. The kids were dressed in their costumes and there were all sorts of games and fun activities for the kids to participate in. There was a large crowd on hand as well, which was really great not only for the Mayfair family, but also for the people in the community.

Ashlyn was dressed as a bumble bee complete with a stinger on her backside, and Troy went as Doby from Harry Potter and it was quite a wonderful costume constructed by none other than his own dear mother, my bestie, Jackie. Way to go girl!

After we had been there a little while, Maria and her kids showed up. Regan was dressed as a lady bug and Jacob was dressed as an old ninja. You may recall Jacob’s outfit from last year which was an old man. Apparently he’s all about being something old for Halloween. Jordan’s costume this year was Freddy Kruger, but thankfully, Maria was wise beyond her young years and told him he couldn’t wear it around the little kids for fear or frightening them (or me for that matter).

Some of the kids’ other friends came too and fun was had by all. I left around 4:15 in order to get back to Chase Park for our fifth Sunday singing and after church was our annual trunk or treat; but this year I decided not to participate. Last year there was a ton of folks from the community that came, which is a really great thing, but I wasn’t in much of a mood for a large crowd of strange children mooching candy off of me so I decided not to stick around although I now have a ton of candy leftover from low trick-or-treater turnout and I wish I had unloaded some of it on Sunday night. I did manage to snap a few photos before I left.

It was a fun day as it always is when spent with friends. I love this time of year and all the activities are so much fun and remind me of being a kid. I’m grateful to Jackie for letting me experience these times with her kids because Lord only knows if I’ll ever have any of my own. I certainly hope your Halloween and fall festivities have been just as magical and as fun as mine have been. Here’s to many more!

Doby and The Bumble Bee

Fishing for a prize

Spinning the Wheel of Fortune!

Painting a Pumpkin

The Old Ninja and The Lady Bug

Jordan - doing the cake walk

Grayson at Trunk or Treat - Nice Costume!

The Lamica Kids - Buzz Lightyear, Woody and Jessie from Toy Story

The Lamica Parents - Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head

Halloween On McKinley 2011

2011-10-31T22:27:00.001-05:00

How was your Halloween? I hope it was good. Mine wasn’t too bad; not too exciting but also not too boring. At work yesterday, we had a costume contest, of which I was the organizer. Yesterday started our annual United Way campaign and I had the honor of putting together and emceeing the costume contest. I think we ended up with about 15 contestants and raised almost $400. So, it was a pretty successful event. My favorite costume was of a girl who dressed as Flo from the Progressive Insurance commercials. She was spot on and really looked amazing. Her costume raised the most money too and so she was the grand prize winner.

After work, I went to the gym and got a spin class in before coming home to dole out candy to the trick-or-treaters. I managed to eat some dinner and bake a cake for tomorrow’s cake contest as well. This year, sadly, I only had around 10, probably less, trick-or-treaters. I’m afraid some of them may have come out earlier while I was still huffing and puffing on the bike. I didn’t get home until about 6:45; so, I’m guessing that’s maybe what happened considering the last couple of years I’ve had around 30 or so. Needless to say, I’m stuck with a ton of candy which I will be taking to work to force down the throats of my co-workers.

At one point during the night, I sat out a half bar of cream cheese to make some icing for the cake. A little later, I went outside to take a photo of my jack-o-lantern and also bring in the trashcan. When I wrapped up outside, I came in to discover that the cream cheese was MIA. After looking around for a bit I thought to myself that I bet The Tide had snatched it up and sure enough, she had. I found the Ziploc bag on the bed and the cream cheese along with the aluminum wrapper were gone – eaten by a guilty dog. Of course, not surprisingly, The Tide got sick an hour or so later and I managed to run in with a towel before she threw up all over the bed, which seems to be her favorite vomiting spot. (Sorry for the gory details.)

Finally things settled down and then at five minutes until 9:00 the doorbell rang and it was two more trick-or-treaters; young ones too with a parent, of course. I thought I had turned out the porch light, but apparently I had just blown out the pumpkin and not turned out the porch light. Those two were the last visitors we had, that is, of course, unless someone comes up and steals the jack-o-lantern and smashes it in the street, which has happened before. Maybe I should run outside real quick and bring it in. At any rate, I hope your Halloween was great and full of treats, not tricks!

My 2011 Jack-O-Lantern!

Little Mickey's Birthday

2011-10-30T21:01:00.002-05:00

Is everyone ready for Halloween? It was a busy weekend for me as it almost always is around this time of year. The most important event of the weekend was Little Mickey’s birthday party, which was held this past Saturday night at El Omeca Restaurant in Hampton Cove.

Little Mickey turned 46 this year and it is always so much fun to get together with everyone to celebrate. We met up at the restaurant at 5:30 and partied til they kicked us out, okay maybe just an hour and a half or so but it was still a lot of fun. Uncle Mickey and Aunt Nina and Scott were there along with Jackie and the kids, Tim and Jan, Jason and Christa and me; well, and of course, the guest of honor, Little Mickey.

We ate chips and salsa and cheese dip, our dinners and then birthday cake, of which Uncle Mickey had two pieces! Needless to say; I was more than stuffed by the time I left, as I think everyone was. The night even had a food dight of sorts between Scott, Troy and Ashlyn who proceeded to throw Chips and the occasional spit ball and eventually Ashlyn was able to get Scott in the face with some icing from the cake. There's never a dull moment, people! Little Mickey got all kinds of great gifts including an Alabama shirt, lots of books and a CD. I’m sure there were other things but I can’t remember. The most important thing was that he had a good time and I think he did. Here are some photos from the night.

We had some fun with those birthday party blow things - what are those called?

Right after Little Mickey blew out the candles

Jackie got hiim this Halloween mask

Ashlyn and Scott - rocking out

Scott, me and Little Mickey

Me and Little Mickey

The birthday boy!

Nine Years With The Tide

2011-10-28T03:20:00.004-05:00

I didn't post on Thursday night and instead am posting on Friday morning because today, Friday, is a very special day - it's mine and The Tide's Dogiversary! That's right folks, as of today, October 28, The Tide and I have been mother and dog for nine years!

The Tide sure has been a good dog, friend, and loyal companion over these past nine years and although she has cost me more money than I ever intended for her to, she's been worth every penny and I can't imagine the last nine years without her.

The Tide continues to bring me lots of laughs and hours of joy and I'm so thankful that on Monday, October 28, 2002, I decided to drive down to the Pitt County Animal Shelter and purchase the cute little pup, despite the speeding ticket I got en route. She may have ended up weighing more than the 20 pounds the shelter folks promised but I wouldn't have it any other way.

So, thanks, The Tide for letting me be your mamma even though I said I would only be called owner. You softened this old gal's heart and taught me to love dogs more than I ever realized was possible. Here's to many more fun and happy years together as mother and dog!

The Tide Haiku

The Tide is a dog
The best friend I've ever had
She makes me laugh loud

Dogiversary
Today is mine and The Tide's
Nine years together

The Tide gives love, joy
A loyal friend for nine years
Here's to many more

Rainbow Omega Dinner 2011

2011-10-26T22:03:00.002-05:00

Last night was the third annual Rainbow Omega benefit dinner, held once again at the Davidson Center at the Space and Rocket Center. As mentioned in yesterday’s post, there was no dinner held in Huntsville last year; so, this was the first event in town in two years time. As expected, it was a successful evening with lots of folks present. My count had 64 tables of eight people each, which is 512 people, a pretty good turnout. I don’t know what the number has been in the past, but I suspect this was Huntsville’s most successful turnout.

I wasn’t feeling very well last night, but went anyway because this is always a special night for Jackie’s family, which is also my family, and I love Little Mickey dearly so I like to go and show my support for him. Little M is a resident at Rainbow Omega, which you may remember from the past two benefit dinners (I wasn't blogging in 2008, but here is 2009). I somehow managed to not get a photo of me and Little M with my camera, but I think his dad, Uncle Mickey got one so perhaps he will send me a copy.

I got to the Davidson Center about 6:45 or so and found my peoples and we got settled in at our table. This year at our table was Jackie’s mom and stepdad, Ms. Kathy, me, Jackie, Jackie’s dad and Jackie’s half-sister Lindsey and Lindsey’s friend Katie. The dinner was quite good this year. As always, we started with a salad and the main course was a Rosemary chicken with some potatoes on the side; and not just any potatoes, there were purple potatoes too! I’ve seen these in the store but never bought them and they taste just like regular potatoes but certainly doesn’t look like them. Dessert was cheesecake and was really quite good. Of course, I’m on a sweets kick as of late, so that could have had something to do with it. Who knows?

After we ate, I started feeling even worse; you know how it is when you have a chest cold, it’s always worse at night. I seriously wanted to go home right then and there, but also didn’t want to be rude and leave. Plus, a lot of folks were really excited about the speaker, Andy Andrews. I personally had never heard of this Andy Andrews fella, and kind of wanted to see what he was all about. He has written some books and is also a motivational speaker so I was really prepared to be uplifted into going out and conquering the world; only it didn’t really work like that for me.

Andy (sure, we’re on a first name basis) was all over the place with his thoughts. I mean he would jump from one subject to the next without any warning and my foggy congested head had a hard time keeping up to the point that it was annoying to me to listen to him talk. I felt the same way about his speech that I do about movies like The Hangover, I just want you to get to the point already. Don’t get me wrong, he was funny at times and at other times had a good thing or two to say, but for the most part, I had a hard time following along and would have much preferred a speech with a better flow to it. I asked Jackie what she thought and she agreed that he was all over the place but she thought he was a good speaker; and I mean he did speak to both Alabama and the Barners before they each won the national championship. So, perhaps it was just me and my longing to be in the bed and the fact that I felt like there was a ton of bricks sitting on my chest and my attention span of a gnat (thank you prednisone) that made me dislike the speaker. That’s what I’m going with anyway.

Needless to say, after Andy’s one hour speech (yes, one hour; I still can’t believe I made it through the whole thing) I decided to leave. There was only one more thing on the program that night which was the plea for donations. So, I left my donation with Jackie and headed for the car. I got home at 9:36 and was in bed with the lights out and Vicks Vapo Rub on my chest and feet before the stroke of 10:00. The Tide must have known something was wrong with me because usually when I’m gone at night she will pounce on me or find something to rub in my face and generally be quite irritating (I still love her though!) but last night she was a perfect dog and just lay down beside me and went to sleep. Of course it could have been the loud wheezing that scared her into submission.

At any rate, despite feeling terrible, it still turned out to be a good night. Next Tuesday will be Little M’s birthday and we will be celebrating this Saturday night by chowing down on some Mexican food – can’t beat that! I’m sure it will be an event worthy of a post because there’s always something crazy that happens, like Little M’s brother Scott dropping the birthday cake, for example.

If you want to learn more about or make a donation to Rainbow Omega, check out their web site here. It really is a great cause.

Our table

Jackie and her dad - doesn't she look lovely folks?

The purple potato!

No photos of me from the night - one I had my eyes closed and the other I had crazy eyes. I also forgot to mention that Christa made corsages for all of us to support Little M. So, we were all matching with our lovely corsages.

A Little of This, A Little of That

2011-10-25T17:59:00.001-05:00

I’ve been feeling a little under the weather the past few days and a trip to the doctor on Tuesday afternoon confirmed that I have a sinus infection. It's actually the first one I've had in a long while, although I did have bronchitis once earlier in the year. At any rate, I’m sick, again and anxiously awaiting feeling better.

After a year or more of rather good health, this year I’ve been beaten by the germs more than I would like to admit. This time I think it has to do with a combination of the ridiculous amount of ragweed pollen we’ve got going on here in Northern Alabama and the fact that the weather won’t stabilize. It’s 30 degrees one day and 77 the next or it will be 40 degrees in the morning and 81 in the afternoon and it’s just ridiculous trying to figure out what to wear and when to wear it. So, with any luck, the temperatures will stabilize and get to where they should be and the pollen will go away until springtime and I will be on the road to recovery in no time.

Tonight is the annual Rainbow Omega benefit dinner and I will once again be going and sitting with Jackie and her family. It’s always a great event. This year the dinner returns to Huntsville after a one-year hiatus due to the fact that last year’s dinner was a statewide dinner with Sarah Palin as the speaker. I have no idea who tonight’s speaker is going to be, but undoubtedly, he or she will be inspirational. If all goes according to plan, I’ll have a post up tomorrow night about how it went.

You may have noticed a change in the posting times around here lately. I’ve been posting in the evenings starting on Sunday nights, rather than in the mornings as I have been doing for as long as I’ve had the blog. The reasoning behind that is that I’m not logging on at work and instead, logging on from home and posting there. I don’t think it makes much difference to most of you who probably check things out midday anyway, but just in case you noticed and were wondering why the change, now you know.

As if you needed a reminder, there are only 61 shopping days left until Christmas. I have thankfully gotten most of my shopping completed, but still have a few things to buy and still have no clue as to what to get some folks. Some years the gift giving comes easily to me, and this year it’s just not happening. The best gifts I’ve gotten so far are for my brother. I think he will be quite pleased with his bounty, but as for the rest of you who normally get gifts from me, don’t expect anything that will knock you off your rocker.

I bought some prints while in Paris this summer and recently had them framed. When my hanging photos on the wall buddy, Lisa has some time, she is going to come over and help with the hanging and then I’ll post a photo on the blog because at that point, the bedroom renovation will be officially complete. We’ve also got something up our sleeve for the kitchen. I could do it on my own, but what fun is that? So, I think Lisa will be helping with that as well, Stay tuned for the all the excitement.

For those of your wondering, the new job is going well. I’m doing the same thing I was doing a couple of years ago before I was promoted. The new division I’m in does things a wee bit differently than to how I’m used to things being done; so, there’s a bit of a learning curve but it’s all going well. The new folks I work with are very nice and I don’t feel like I’m someone’s going to be sweet to me one minute and stab me in the back the next which is a welcome relief. There are still a lot of folks out there looking for work so remember to keep them in your prayers from time to time as they probably need all the help they can get.

I would like to take this opportunity to talk to you about blinker. Yes, the blinkers that are used while driving a car, or at least the ones that are supposed to be used while driving a car. In reality I should probably save this for my next things that annoy me post, but I’m going to go ahead and put it here because, well, why not? I guess the correct term is turn signal, but I’m southern, so blinker it is. Here’s the issue I have – no one uses them! It’s not like it take a lot of effort or energy to move your arm and turn the blinker on rather than whipping over in front of someone (me) without any warning. Seriously, people, it takes like five seconds at the most to turn on a blinker. What’s five seconds when it could potentially save a life? I cannot even tell you how many times someone whips over in front of me without signaling – at least 85-90% of the time and it makes me furious. Talk about road rage – you’re gonna get it from me when you don’t use your blinker. I think I’m going to start a campaign - Use Your Blinker- It Could Save a Life!

I suppose that’s all the randomness I can come up with for now. I’m sure if I sat here long enough I would be able to come up with a lot more thing to say, but I’ve already wasted enough of your time for one day. Hope you have a great day, and come back tomorrow for all the skinny on the Rainbow Omega Dinner.

Annual Ladies' Night Out Costume Party

2011-10-24T20:42:00.010-05:00

Tonight was the annual Ladies' Night Out Costume Contest for our church. This year, instead of having it at the home of our annual hostess, Janice, we had it at the church building and Janice was the hostess. I don't know why, but all of a sudden it seems like everyone wants to host at the church building and it makes me miss the good ole days when we went to folks' houses each month.

Anyway, this year, you may have noticed, I didn't put a poll up as to what type of costume I should wear. The reason being is that I thought I would be recuperating from foot surgery and didn't plan to dress up as anything. Then, when my foot surgery was canceled, I had to come up with something quick and decided on a football player. I borrowed my dad's high school jersey and bought some football pants for $7 off of eBay and voila - I'm a football player.

We had a pretty good turnout this year, including quite a few new faces which is always nice but some of our regulars couldn’t make it, which was sad, but hopefully they will be back next month when we have our annual Christmas ornament exchange. We voted on the costumes and while I was tallying the votes, the girls played Halloween BINGO for a chance at a door prize.

The winners of the costume contest were

Pam Almo – as a really old vampire – apparently she was bitten while she was living in a nursing home, thus the sign, Why Now?

Mrs. Irma – as Rosie the Riveter from all the WWII posters

Janice Jennings finished in third place but since she was the hostess she graciously let the next person take the third place prize, which was Christina Johnston as a cookie.

Janice - the hostess with the mostess

Christina - the cookie

I'm striking the Heisman pose in my dad's high school jersey

Honey - she was a little girl and looked really cute

Sassy Sandra -always dressed up well!

Shelia - A train conductor

Strange Sights

2011-10-23T21:54:00.003-05:00

Over the past few days, I have seen a few strange sights and wanted to share them with you today, primarily because, well, they were strange, and secondly because there’s not much else to write about today.

Friday night, I worked for The Times covering a game at Goldsmith Schiffman (the bathrooms were still locked – my tax dollars at work). During the second quarter, the referee threw the penalty flag for holding in the backfield, which isn’t all that unusual. What was unusual about this particular flag throwing incident was that the flag, rather than landing on the field, landed in the facemask of a player. That’s right, as the kid was running the flag became lodged in his facemask, which was hilarious to me but probably quite shocking to him. I’ve never seen hat happen before and the ref probably couldn’t have hit him in the facemask if his life depended on it. It certainly made for a good laugh.

On Saturday, there were two strange sights at my house. The first came midday on Saturday. I have some bamboo stalks out behind my shed which I use for my tomato plants in the summer. I usually store them in the shed after use, but because I am lazy, I haven’t bothered to put them away yet. I noticed earlier Saturday morning or it may have even been Friday that one of the bamboo stalks was lying in the grass beside the shed. I figured the wind blew it over and made a mental note that I needed to go store them away for the winter. Then Saturday afternoon when I went to let The Tide out, I saw a squirrel in the backyard, carrying the bamboo stick. Well, carrying may be an exaggeration because I’m sure the squirrel was using its teeth, but nonetheless, the bamboo stick was halfway across the yard thanks to the squirrel who I guess was planning to build a jumbo squirrel house for the winter. The Tide obviously rant he squirrel off and I’ve left the bamboo in the yard in hopes of catching the squirrel in action once more. These are not small sticks either as they are probably about three or four feet high.

The final strange sight from Saturday was from across the street at a neighbor’s house. I heard what sounded like a group of people and looked outside to see about 10 people come from the backyard of a girl who lives across the street. They were taking photos (I could see the flash) and laughing and talking and wearing running shorts with knee high socks. The group left and then two more guys came out and ran off to catch up with the group. I assume they were playing a prank on the girl who I hope is their friend. I really wanted to go over and check out her backyard, but didn’t want any evidence of my being there in case a crime had been committed. Yes, I watch too much CSI.

Those, dear friends are the strange sights from the weekend. What about you? Did you witness anything strange this weekend? It’s getting closer to Halloween so perhaps more strange sights are around the corner.

Arthur and The Magic Sword

2011-10-19T20:07:00.001-05:00

Sunday evening, my mom and I went to see the Fantasy Playhouse edition of Arthur and the Magic Sword. If you’ve ever seen The Sword in the Stone or know the story, then you obviously know what the play is about. It was a cute production and the actors did a really great job. Jackie took her kids the week before my mom and I went and they enjoyed it as well.

We got to the Playhouse a few minutes before it started and found our seats which were on the floor. There was a man sitting in the seat beside ours but when the show started, he scooted down a couple of seats. There was lots of sword fighting and the kid that played Kay did a great job because he was the penultimate little snot and I wanted to punch him in the face; but I refrained. I think of all the characters, Merlin was my favorite. Of course, I think I like Merlin in every rendition of a King Arthur story. Maybe deep down inside I want to be a sorcerer.

The first act was about an hour and 15 minutes and when the second act started, and Fantasy and Fantasy Jr. came out to talk to the audience, they asked a question and some kid from the audience yelled out his answer which got everyone laughing. One of my favorite things about going to Fantasy shows is listening to the kids’ reactions and various things that happen during the show. It’s usually good for a laugh or two.

After the show was over I took my mom back home and left her in the capable hands of my dad and brother. I wish something hilarious had happened because it usually does when mother and I go on an outing, but sadly, nothing crazy or out of the ordinary took place on this particular evening. Perhaps next time we will be up to our crazy old antics.

Fantasy has two more regular season shows and also their annual production of A Christmas Carol, which is always quite wonderful. Check out their upcoming shows on their website. All their shows are held at the Playhouse at the VBC, which is a great place to see a show. Check it out!

8th Annual Liz Hurley Ribbon Run

2011-10-18T19:02:00.001-05:00

Saturday was the 8th Annual Liz Hurley Ribbon Run and once again, Jackie, Jan, and I participated. For the second year in a row, we were on Team Christina, along with Ms. Kathy and Christa and a slew of other folks, most of whom I probably do not even know. Christina goes to church at Twickenham Church of Christ and has breast cancer. I met her last year at the spaghetti dinner; but from what I understand she is much worse this year and may not have much longer here on earth. She has a husband and five or more kids if I remember correctly; so, we were happy to be able to support her and her family at this difficult time in their lives.

This year the run maxed out at 5,500 runners. I’m not sure why that was the cut off, but this has by far become the biggest race in Huntsville each year. A lot people walk the race, which is what we did, because these feet of mine are not in running shape these days. Speaking of which (yes, this is a side note) my foot surgery which had been scheduled for this Wednesday has been postponed because my doctor had a heart attack. I have to call back in a couple of weeks to reschedule. OK, back to the story now…

I left my house at 8:30. The women’s race started at 9:00 and I knew it would be a nightmare trying to find a parking space. I was going to ride my bike, but then would have to carry my helmet or risk it getting stolen; so, I drove Blue down to the Huntsville Middle School area of town and eventually found a parking spot a couple of streets over.

I brought my phone and keys and Chap Stick with me – yes, all the essentials. I knew I wouldn’t be running at all so carrying these items wasn’t much of a burden for me. I sent Jackie a text telling her I would meet them in front of the HMS sign; but when it was about five minutes until time for the race to start, I went on up to the start line and sent Jackie a text telling her so. Another friend who wasn’t racing stood with me for a while and then saw Jackie and Jan when they came up and pointed them in my direction, Long story short, we found each other just before the race started.

We all walked the race and had a good time talking and enjoying the view. We even came across a pair of gay dads downtown that had the cutest bouncy seat I have ever seen – it was an old Chevrolet car. We also came across a lamppost in a front yard that had a lot of pink bras wrapped around it. Some folks had music playing for us and others were just cheering us all on. It was really a great atmosphere. Once we reached Adams, the final street of the race, I asked Jackie is she wanted to run and we took off. We got maybe half way down the street before I had to put a halt to all that fun. Not only was the ole foot bothering me, but also my knees. Folks, it sucks getting old, but as my dad says, it’s better than the alternative. Once I get my foot repaired and back to where I can walk, my plan is to start training for a half-marathon. Jackie said she would do it with me, even though I’ve also heard her say she will never do a half-marathon again. So, don’t hold us to it, it’s just our plan – for now. We may decide to sit back and eat a bunch of cupcakes instead.

We finished with our worst time ever, just a few seconds under an hour, which also is not entirely accurate considering we started at the end of the pack and didn’t even cross the start line when the timer started counting. So, you’re welcome to shave off a good five minutes or more off of that time. We don’t mind.

Regardless of what our actual time was, we did have a good time and it was for a good cause as well. After it was all over, we went to Blue Plate Café for a filling and delicious lunch (thanks, Jan!) and then went our separate ways. It was a really fun day and I look forward to doing it all over again next year – only with a better finish time (I’m talking to you, feet!).

Me, Jan, Ms. Kathy, Jackie and Christa

The start of the race

Lamppost with pink bras

Empty pizza boxes after the race

Bananas after the race

Friday Night Fun With Justin

2011-10-17T21:10:00.001-05:00

Friday night, because there were very few local games in the Huntsville area, I had the night off from The Times. I was originally planning on going home and being a couch potato, but my brother had some things on his agenda and I agreed to tag along/provide him with transportation – it’s what we big sisters do.

After work, I went by our friend Michael’s house and picked Justin up. We then ran an errand to Target and then headed over to Huntsville Middle School for the Spaghetti dinner for the Liz Hurley Ribbon Run. When we arrived, we saw Jan, Troy and Ms. Kathy in the parking lot and parked beside them. As Justin got out of the car, he discovered gum on his pants, which was also on my car seat. Apparently he had sat in some gum on a bench outside of Target and smooshed it into his jeans and my car seat. Poor Blue, the passenger window doesn’t work, one windshield wiper only works part of the time, one reverse light is out, and now she has gum smooshed into her front passenger seat; but still she drives on.

Technically, Justin was supposed to pay $5 for his meal since he was a non-runner, but he just scooted on through the line, as did others. The meal was once again catered by Carrabba’s and was quite yummy. I don’t think it was enough food for Justin though seeing as how his appetite never seems to subside.

After we scarfed down our food, we left to go downtown for the Huntsville ghost walk. This was Justin’s first ghost walk and my third. Since I had done the Twickenham and Old Town ghost walks, we decided to do the downtown ghost walk, which was just as interesting as the other two. I took a few pictures but I don’t think I captured any spirits this year. Justin enjoyed the ghost walk for which I was glad. If you’ve never been, it’s a great way to learn quite a bit about the history of Huntsville. There are a lot of interesting stories. The ghost walks continue this weekend and next. Friday nights the walks start at 6:00 and on Saturdays they are held at 6:00 and 8:30. Each walk lasts about two hours. If you have an iPhone (I do not), there is an app that will detect the spirits and will even tell you the name of the spirit. Each time a name came up it was accurate to the name our guide was telling a story about. Our guide this time was once again Robert Reeves. He is really great.

When the walk was over, I drove Justin home where he was picked up by Jackie. He, Jackie and Troy went to the Haunted Corn Maze. You may recall that the Haunted Corn Maze is not something I’m really fond of and so since I knew Jackie and Troy were going, I asked her if she would mind letting Justin tag along and she graciously agreed. I think they had a fun/interesting time.

October has once again shaped up to be a non-stop month of activities. Come back tomorrow to hear about our experience at the 8th Annual Liz Hurley Ribbon Run.

Two Murders took place in this upstairs room at Halsey Grocery and the ghosts are still here.

Justin listening to stories at Big Spring Park

There are two ghosts at the Russell Erskine, one is named Jeffrey

I had some other photos to share, but I can't get them to load in the correct position. None of them had ghosts though. Guess it wasn't a good night for capturing orbs on film.

UNA vs. Delta State

2011-10-16T21:26:00.001-05:00

Sorry for the lack of posts at the end of last week. It was a busy week for me, not only because of work, but because I had something going on every night as well. So, I’ll pick up where I left off and let you know the rest of the events from the week, starting with s trip to Florence last Thursday night.

My dad, brother and I went over to the UNA vs. Delta State game on Thursday. UNA usually has one home Thursday night game each season and for the past few years, I’ve tried to make it over there but for one reason or another it has never worked out. So, this year, finally, all the stars aligned and I was able to go. UNA is where my dad went to school and Florence is where my mom’s family is from so needless to say, Florence holds a special place in all of our hearts.

We left Huntsville about 3:30 and headed west. After a stop for gas in Rogersville, we met an old friend of my dad’s at Demo’s and had a delicious dinner. Demo’s only has locations in Tennessee and Florence and they have the best homemade salad dressings. Justin and I felt like we were small kids again when at dinner because my dad and Keith were engrossed in conversation and Justin and I just sat there. The only difference between now and 20 years ago was that we had phones and sent texts to each other.

After dinner, we made our way to the stadium to get tickets and make our way inside. Keith had one extra ticket and so we only had to buy two. We ended up buying two off a guy who had two extras and paid only $5 each for them, a good deal if I do say so myself.

Justin and I sat with my dad and Keith for a little while before making our way over to our seats. We ended up next to a lady who talked non-stop and was kind of on the crazy side. She told us she hollered a lot and that was not an exaggeration and even when Justin and I were trying to have a conversation she would talk over us and expect us to answer her. It was kind of strange to say the least.

A few minutes after the game started, my dad sent us a text and said there were seats open next to him and Keith; so, we left the crazy lady and went up to sit with them. As we walked off, the crazy lady said something to us. I didn’t hear what it was, but Justin said she was insulted that we had left her.

Once we got up to where my dad and Keith were, we ended up sitting behind a lady who did a lot of complaining. This was quite funny to us because she had on a shirt that said something about the attitude of Christ. I told my dad and Justin if she had the attitude of Christ, then I must be doing pretty well.

The game was really good, despite the fact that UNA lost in overtime. UNA, my dad’s alma mater was ranked number one and Delta State was ranked number two. After the game, we made our way to the car and back to Huntsville. I was dropped off about midnight, which made for an exhausting Friday. Hopefully we can do it again next year, only with a UNA win.

The Rat Pack: A Review

2011-10-12T17:46:00.001-05:00

Sorry for the late post today. I started writing this morning but then had to stop in order to get ready for work and I haven't been posting at work this week since I'm on a new job. So, today's post is late, which means many of you will be reading it on Thursday. At any rate, let's begin...

Last night Jackie and I went out to Merrimack Hall to see a performance of Sandy Hackett's Rat Pack Show. About three years ago, Broadway Theater League hosted a performance of he Rat Pack Show and I loved it and was anxious to see how this one compared. I met Jackie out front at 7:15 and we soon found our seats and settled in for the show which was supposed to start at 7:30 but actually started a few minutes after.

The guys came out singing, as expected, and they were quite good. The first act of the night was by the guy who played Joey Bishop. He told a lot of jokes, all of which were quite funny. Jackie and I laughed quite a bit during his performance. My face actually hurt a little bit from laughing so much.

After Joey, was Dean Martin, who looked a lot like Will Ferrell, a fact that Jackie pointed out.Once she noticed the resemblance, it was obvious and made us laugh almost every time we looked at him.He was quite tall, like Will Ferrell and also a lot of his motions were similar to Will's (yes, we are on a first name basis). He had a good voice but didn't look much like Dean Martin (clearly since he looked like Will Ferrell).

Sammy Davis, Jr. came out next and the guy had the glasses and some of the moves and even the voice was pretty spot on, but overall, I thought he looked more like an Asian Sammy Davis, Jr. than a black Jewish Sammy Davis, Jr. I think the man just had light colored skin, but his eyes had an Asian flare about them. Plus he was a little pudgy around the middle and call me crazy, but I've never seen the real Sammy Davis, Jr. with any pudge.

After a brief intermission, the guy playing old Blue yes came out to sing. He had a good voice but his mouth made some weird motions which was kind of distracting if you looked too closely. He also didn't look much like Frank, but as I said he had a good voice, which I guess is the point.

The foursome came out on stage again and had a few more jokes and a few more songs. Overall the show was really great. As I said, we laughed quite a bit and the singing was good and as a result, we were quite entertained. The show was similar to the one BTL did a few years back, except that show had actors that looked much more like the folks they were playing on stage. In fact, the Frank in that show looked so much like the real Frank it was scary and his voice was also so spot on you probably wouldn't have known the difference if you had closed your eyes.

Merrimack Hall is a great place to watch shows. If you've never been before, be sure and check out the other shows they've got in the line-up for the rest of the season. You might find something to your liking.

First Day Back

2011-10-11T06:45:00.001-05:00

Yesterday was my first week back to work after having been laid off and out of work for one week. One week is a blessing, some folks are out of work for months or even years; so, I’m definitely not complaining.

I was actually a little nervous/excited about going back. I’m working in the dame building, but with a completely different group of people so in reality it’s not much different than going to a completely new place except in this case I know where all the toilets are located. I got in at 8:00 and called a friend (Brenda) to help me carry in all of my junk. As you may recall from my cubicle posts (one and two), I like to have a lot of personal items around. I didn’t bring back everything; in fact, I threw some things out and just kept the items I liked the best or that meant the most.

After getting a new badge with the same terrible photo as before (I was really hoping for a new photo), my new boss was called to come collect me and show me where I would be sitting. I was most nervous about my new office location because in all my years of working, I’ve never had to share a spot with anyone. Well, now that I think about it, when I was a GA and intern I did, but since then I have not and I really prefer it that way. However, in the new division for which I’m working, I know a lot of people share cubicles and that had me worried. Thankfully, luckily, however you want to look at it, I was blessed to be placed in an empty cubicle and do not have to share with anyone. I sure hope it stays that way for a long, long time.

I spent the first hour or so cleaning up the cubicle which apparently has been empty for a while because it was quite dusty. Brenda brought my box ‘o things over and I set it all up and it looks quite like a home away from home. The rest of the morning was spent meeting people, asking a few questions, and having IT come and set me up with a temporary computer, which wouldn’t accept my password late in the day, let’s hope it works when I get in this morning. The rest of my time I spent reading through less than interesting procedures and processes and trying to stay awake. A lot of what I read I was familiar with, but this division does things a lot differently than what I am used to so there will be a bit of a learning curve.

Overall, it was a good day and I feel truly blessed to have been given this opportunity when so many people are still without work. Keep those folks in your prayers. Hope everyone has a really great Tuesday!

Alabama Homecoming 2011

2011-10-10T01:03:00.003-05:00

Me and Justin on the porch of the Theta house,

where we have spent many hours of our life.

This past Saturday my brother Justin and I went to the Alabama vs. Vanderbilt game and we had a really good time if I do say so myself.

We left Huntsville at noon and headed south to Tuscaloosa, arriving about 2:45. We parked in a free parking spot which is at least one mile, maybe two from the stadium and started walking. On our walk, we stopped off at a convenient store so I could get some Tylenol for a headache that I felt coming on, and with the heat, I knew it wouldn’t subside any time soon. In fact, I still have a remnant of it now as I type (on Sunday night).

We then made a beeline for the Kappa Alpha Theta house and a lunch. On the way down, I told Justin how much I hoped they would be serving what we know as the Theta Meal, fried chicken, green beans, mashed potatoes and rolls. Since it was homecoming weekend, I had a pretty good feeling that the Theta Meal would indeed me the menu for the day and when we walked in the door and smelled the fried chicken, I could have burst in to tears from excitement. It was my favorite meal in college and no doubt the reason I gained some weight. I loaded up my plate and took in all the deliciousness that Terry and the rest of the kitchen staff had prepared and ate way too much, but it was so darn good.

The Theta Meal - So Good!

Justin enjoying a glass of sweet tea!

Speaking of Terry, he has worked at the Theta house since I was in school and is such a nice guy! He always remembers my name and has gone from being a skinny young boy to a grown man. His house was destroyed in the Tuscaloosa tornado back in April but all of his family is safe and I am so thankful for that. As he told Justin and I on Saturday, they build houses everyday but you can’t rebuild a life.

After stuffing our faces, we lingered on the front porch until the band came by on their way to the stadium, after which, we made our way inside. I took a bathroom break (imagine that) before the game got started and made it to my seat in time for the teams to come out on the field.

The band coming by the Theta house

The game was good, of course, as Alabama won and we had a nice time together. In the third quarter I got a stadium dog and Justin tracked down a guy to get me a bottled Diet Coke, which after taking the first sip I realized was expired. I have really got to start looking at the date first.

After the game was over, we made the trek back to the car which took us about 30 minutes to walk. We got back to Huntsville around 12:30 a.m. or so and I made it home by 1:00 a.m. A big thanks to my granddad, Bill, for giving us the tickets and for letting The Tide out for a bathroom break while we were gone, and a big thank you to my baby brother for letting me join him on a fun day.

Before Kick Off

Justin, enjoying the game

Justin on the porch of the Theta house

Sister and Brother at the game

Last Day of Leisure

2011-10-07T07:42:00.002-05:00

Happy Friday, folks! Today is my last day of living in the lap of luxury. I will be starting my new job on Monday and I am really looking forward to it as I am about to go stir crazy here at home. I’ve been out to lunch with my Aunt Linda and Jackie and today am going to lunch with my friend Pat but other than that and going to the gym, I haven’t gotten out much and there’s only so much laying around a girl can do. So, I’m looking forward to Monday and getting back into a daily routine. Thanks once again for your prayers, I feel truly blessed to have been awarded a new job so quickly.

I wish I had something really exciting to tell you about, but as I said, there hasn’t been much going on this week in the form of excitement. I’ve spent the week reading the third book in the Stieg Larssen series and still have quite a way to go (it’s the longest one), watching TV, and that’s really about it.

Tonight I head out to Randolph for their game against Plainview which will most likely be a massacre. I’m praying that it will be a running game so the game will go by somewhat quickly. I thought their concession stand wasn't the greatest, you may remember from last year, but I did remember that I changed my mind a bit on the second trip there because they have Five Guys burgers and so I’ll be munching on one of those for dinner.

Tomorrow Justin and I are headed to Tuscaloosa for Alabama’s game against Vanderbilt. It’s homecoming so undoubtedly I will run into someone I have no desire to speak with but will grin and bear it. The temperature for Saturday is predicted to be 86, which means closer to 100 with a heat index of 127. I swear, Tuscaloosa is the hottest city on earth. I hope to not get as hot and close to passing out as I did at the Penn State game last year, but I’m not making any promises. Thankfully, the game starts at 6:00 so once the sun goes down the heat index will probably break to a cool 97. I’m not even joking here people, Tuscaloosa is always so stinkin’ hot. I don’t get it. I’m sure we will have a good time and my mouth is already watering just thinking about one of those Bryant Denny dogs! Love ‘em.

Well, that’s about it for today I guess. Sorry it wasn’t more interesting. I’m about to head out for morning spin class and then I’m going to hose down my car which has so much sap on it right now that one of my windshield wipers won’t work. I will be so glad when that Hackberry tree in my front yard sheds its leaves and stops sapping everywhere. A word to the wise, do not ever plant a Hackberry tree. I hope everyone has a great weekend, and I’ll be back on Monday.

Happy Tummy – A Review

2011-10-06T07:22:00.001-05:00

Have you Huntsvillians heard of Happy Tummy? It’s a restaurant/sandwich shop located inside Lowe Mill (or Lowell Mill if you are Jackie and her cousin Scott). A while back Living Social had a Happy Tummy offer and I took them up on it and grabbed some food from there one Saturday afternoon. The food was great and then Groupon had an offer for Happy Tummy a month or so ago and I bought one of those. Jackie and I ate there yesterday using my Groupon and I wanted to tell you a little bit about it in case you are interested in stopping by sometime.

Jackie came by a little before 11:30 and we headed out to Happy Tummy only to discover they don’t open until noon and considering I live about seven minutes from Lowe Mill, we had a little time on our hands and so we decided to stop by Ayers Market and check out the pumpkins and other items. We each made a purchase and then drove back on over to Happy Tummy. There were quite a few people waiting for the doors to open, which is always a good sign that a place is well liked.

Jackie opted for the Salmon Burger which she had had once before and I got the Diablito sandwich which had turkey, lettuce, tomato, onion, jalapeno cream cheese and was on toasted jalapeno cheddar Fred Bread. Fred Bread is made in Huntsville and sold and various places in town in case you didn’t know.

Both of our sandwiches were really great as was the one I had gotten the first time I went which was a wrap of some sort. The sandwiches come with chips as well and there are a variety of drinks available to quench your thirst. Jackie and I got a bottled water, a Diet Coke, two sandwiches and two bags of chips and our total was $13.50. My Groupon was for $12 so we had to fork over $1.50; we both thought the prices were quite reasonable and well worth the money as everything at Happy Tummy is made with fresh ingredients and very yummy – it makes for a happy tummy indeed.

The next time you are around the Lowe Mill area at lunch time, give Happy Tummy a try. They are open from 12-6 Wednesday – Thursday, 12-8 Friday, and 12-6 on Saturday. To find out more about them, click here.

Party Time at Pump It Up

2011-10-05T07:24:00.001-05:00

This past Sunday was Troy and Ashlyn’s birthday party. He turned nine and she eight the last week of September. Jackie arranged for their birthday party to be at Pump It Up, which is a place that has large inflatables for the kids and adults to bounce around on and it was a lot of fun.

The party started at 2:30 and I got there a little bit after. I wasn’t exactly sure where it was and drove like a granny down Leeman Ferry until I found it. There were kids running around everywhere, but it wasn’t total chaos as one might expect. There was a large inflatable slide, obstacle course type thing and two bounce houses that had basketball goals in them. One of these deflated during the party. I think one of the kids unplugged it when they were running behind it. Needless to say it was kind of strange, but surprisingly didn’t cause a lot of panic as you might expect.

I climbed up and went down the slide a few times and after that someone got the great idea that we should start racing in the obstacle course (there were two sides). So, we spent most of the rest of the afternoon racing kids and adults through the obstacle course. I think we each thought we had injured ourselves at one point or another. Inflatable obstacle courses should be left to children. Those things are tough – in other words, don’t expect to see me on Survivor any time soon.

After the fun with the inflatables, it was time for birthday cake and presents. Troy had a chocolate cake with Harry Potter on it and Ashlyn’s cake was a flower and was white. The chocolate cake was the better of the two this year I think. The kids opened their presents and got lots of nice gifts.

After the opening of the presents, it was time for the party to end. All the children were handed over to their parents and we all went our separate ways. It was a fun afternoon.

Ashlyn's Cake

Troy's Cake

The deflating bounce house

Tim and Dalton playing air hockey

Jackie and Jan about to race the obstacle course.

The birthday girl

The birthday boy

Back In The Saddle

2011-10-04T08:00:00.008-05:00

I know some of you are probably wondering how things went yesterday and so today I’ll give you another update and then tomorrow we will move on to a fun topic – Troy and Ashlyn’s birthday party.

Yesterday morning I had my interview with the other division at the company from which I was laid off. The interview lasted only about 15 minutes and was basically just a brief formality as I was offered the job during the interview. HR got in touch with me later in the day to give me all the details and I formally accepted the job. HR and I are in the process of completing all the paperwork and what have you and once that is all complete, I will be able to start work. It may be as soon as Thursday or it may be next week depending on how long it takes everything to work out.

So, today and tomorrow I’m going to enjoy a few days off. I’m having lunch with my Aunt Linda today and afterwards plan to come home and decorate for Halloween. That was actually my plan for yesterday but I was lazy and didn’t get it done. Tomorrow I am having lunch with my dad. I plan to clear out the DVR and do some reading as well. Basically, I’m just going to do a lot of nothing in particular without the stress of worrying about a job.

I wanted to send a big THANK YOU to all of you who remembered me in your prayers during the past few days. It really meant a lot to me to know you were praying on my behalf. Thanks also for your kind comments. The Lord really does work in mysterious ways and I am very pleased with how things have worked out in this situation. The economy in our great country continues to decline and I feel very blessed and fortunate to have been awarded this opportunity. Thanks again for everything !

Monday Morning Update

2011-10-03T06:36:00.000-05:00

Hi readers! Hope everyone is doing well this Monday morning and enjoyed the weekend of cool fall weather. I thought I would give you all an update on the events from Friday and let you know how I am doing.

Layoffs had been rumored for a couple of weeks and I felt pretty confident that I would be one of the people to be let go this time. Work has been really slow for a while and while I always get paranoid that I will be let go during a layoff, this time I had an overwhelming feeling that it would be me and obviously I was right.

I got into work around 7:15 and by 7:45 I was given the news, packed up my things and was out the door by 8:15; a quick morning to say the least. I spent the rest of the day emailing people about being a reference for me, applying for jobs and talking to recruiters. For some strange reason I am not yet worried, although maybe I should be.

I have been praying for a long time that the Lord would bless me with the privilege of keeping my job for as long as I need it and the way I see, the Lord is telling me I don’t need that particular job anymore. Obviously, I need a job, just not that one. So, I feel like my faith has given me a sense of calm that I haven’t had in the past when I’ve been in this situation.

On a positive note, the company from which I was laid off has given me an opportunity to interview for another position in a different division. The position is a lower one than the position I was just in, but if I am offered the position, I will definitely take it because unfortunately my bills don’t stop just because I am without employment, and as I’m sure you may have guessed, with my trip to France, repairs on my car, dental work, and a home repair all in this calendar year, my savings account has been drained.

I’ve also been asked about doing some baking by a friend of Jackie’s mom Jan. (Thanks, Christa!) I hope to take her up on the offer and hopefully I can make a little money doing that. I’m still writing for the newspaper as well, which is not much, but still something.

So, I ask for your continued prayers as I go for my interview this morning and if that’s not what God has in mind for me, then I ask for your prayers that the Lord will bless me with new employment quickly because I think we all know there are few jobs out there and a lot of people who need them.

Matthew 6:25-34 tell us, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

Very comforting verses in this time of uncertainty. I know that I am more valuable than the birds of the air and as long as I put my trust in God, everything will turn out okay.

Thanks for your continued prayers and I will keep you posted on how things are going. Have a great Monday!

It's Friday

2011-09-30T08:47:00.000-05:00

No long post today. Just wanted to let everyone know that I was laid off from work this morning. Please keep me in your prayers as I head into the next chapter of my life. Have a great Friday!

My Newest Obsession

2011-09-29T01:00:00.001-05:00

As you may well know, I like to share with you all my latest food findings so that you too will know about all the latest delicacies the junk food aisle has to offer. Today, I’m going to chat with you about ice cream, which doesn’t happen very often as I am not really an ice cream eater, but I have found a flavor that may have changed me forever.

Last Saturday morning, I went to Publix to do my weekly grocery shopping. I saw a few signs for the Publix limited edition holiday ice cream flavors and thought about buying the pumpkin pie flavor, but didn’t want to get a whole half gallon. Last year I bought the half gallon and only ate two or three scoops out of it. The ice cream was good, but not good enough for me to eat the whole half gallon. I’m just not big on ice cream.

Anyway, I thought to myself that the ice cream companies should make pints of their limited edition flavors because sometimes that’s all we non-ice cream loving folks need to satisfy what we think is a craving for some pumpkin flavored ice cream. I looked through most of the major ice cream brand section and didn’t find any small size containers with pumpkin. Then I reached the Ben and Jerry’s section and was pleasantly surprised to find a pint of Pumpkin Cheesecake Ice Cream. It looked promising and so I threw it in the cart, despite the price. When I was checking out, one of the cashiers saw the ice cream and told me it was really good and she had to make herself stop eating it. Even more promising I thought.

I didn’t give the ice cream a try until Saturday evening and oh my word, I’m not really sure I can describe how amazing it was. It is one of the best ice cream’s I have ever had. The ice cream was very creamy, not icy, and had the most wonderful taste. It was like a spoonful of heaven straight out of the freezer. The ice cream has a pumpkin cheesecake taste meaning it’s not overpowered by the pumpkin but has a cheesecake-ness about it as well. It has swirls of graham cracker in it and when you get a bite of that graham cracker in your spoon, there’s nothing better.

The Pumpkin Cheesecake Ice Cream from Ben and Jerry’s is a limited edition flavor and will only be available, well, for a limited time. I don’t know how long that limited time it, but it is definitely worth buying a pint. I will probably buy another one or two when I hit the grocery store this weekend; in the meantime, I’ve got to figure out how to keep from eating all of the pint that’s in my freezer right now.

My Night at Louis Crews Stadium

2011-09-28T01:56:00.001-05:00

Last Friday night, I ventured out to a new athletic venue – Louis Crews Stadium at Alabama A&M University. The venue itself is not new, having been built in 1996 (seriously, ya’ll, I had no idea the stadium had been built that long ago. I seriously thought it had just been constructed in the last five to eight years. Clearly I was wrong.), but it was new to me in regard to the fact that this was my first trip to the stadium. It was a rather lovely experience if I do say so myself.

I left my house about 6:15, even though the stadium is less than five miles from my house. Since I had never been before, I wanted to make sure I arrived in time to find my viewing location and get set up okay, and also buy some snacks at the concession stand, of course. I got Blue parked in a good spot, gathered my belongings and headed into the stadium. Once inside, I went straight to the concession stand and got a hot dog and popcorn. I had brought a Gatorade from home and since pretty much everything on the menu was $3, decided to stick with the Gatorade rather than buy a nice cold refreshing Diet Coke, which I really wanted.

After my trip to the concession stand (I assume the prices were higher since this was a college stadium), I found my way to the entrance to the press box area and rode the elevator up with the referees who would be running the game clocks. I was going to sit in the large area where the press usually sits for A&M games, but instead moved into the small room with the PA announcer because I left my binoculars at home and needed all the help I could get in determining who was making the play.

I took a few minutes to get set up and then ate my treasures from the concession stand. The hot dog was okay and the popcorn was better. While waiting for the game to start, I listened intently to the Johnson drum line. I seriously think I could listen to those guys play for hours on end. They are very entertaining to watch and it’s just a joy to listen to them play.

Not long after, the PA announcer arrived with his daughter, Aubrey, who is 12 years old. She brought along a Nancy Drew book as she is not a football fan. She does, however, go to football games with her dad every Friday night which reminded me of when I was a wee lass and went to games with my dad.

The game got started soon after and was actually a pretty good game. There was one point where there were three touchdowns scored in a four minute period so needless to say I was doing a lot of typing. Aubrey would occasionally ask her dad about a word she came across in her reading and then later in the night she wanted to push the button on the microphone, all of which I thought was cute. She was well-behaved and polite too, which is a rarity more often than not these days.

At halftime, I got up to stretch and walked down the hall to the restroom which was much nicer than having to stand in line with spectators, cheerleaders and the like. I think it was the most relaxing halftime I have ever had. I took some time to look around the press box and it brought back fond memories of when I worked in sports information and spent every Saturday in a press box. I miss the hustle and bustle of those days but I do not miss the lousy paycheck. I have nothing but fond memories though, which is more than I can say for other experiences in my life. Also, I've got to tell you, this press box was nicer than the one we had at East Carolina, although I think they may have renovated a few years back.

After the game was over, I stuck around to write my story and send it in; since the A&M Wi-Fi password was listed in the press box, I just used their internet rather than having to go home and send in my story. The Tide isn’t always the most patient dog when I’ve been gone for long periods of time.

After I sent in my story, I gathered up my belongings and headed out. The Johnson drum line was playing outside and I really wished my brother had been there with me because we love to move our white bodies to the beat of a drum line. It might not be the prettiest thing you’ve ever seen, but we always manage to have some fun.

It was a really good night of high school football and a really great experience. I wish I covered more games there. I actually don’t know that the stadium is used for that many high school games. In fact, I’m pretty sure that the only reason Johnson’s game was scheduled there was because it was their homecoming game.

As I mentioned, it is a really nice stadium and I honestly don’t know why the city of Huntsville and Alabama A&M haven’t put in a bid to host the high school championship games there. Maybe they have and lost the bid but in my opinion, it would be a great venue to host the Super Six and it would also mean I could just drive 4.1 miles from my house to watch some great football – it’s a win-win if you ask me.

Can you see my reflection in the window?

Web Site Review: CouponChief.com

2011-09-27T07:33:00.001-05:00

I was recently approached by the folks at Coupon Chief about writing a review for their web site. After taking a look around their site, I decided I would do just that and tell you, my dear readers all about their site.

Before being contacted, I had never heard of Coupon Chief and, as I’m sure you may know, I am a lover of coupons and all things bargain and so I was really anxious to see what their web site was all about. Basically, Coupon Chief has the largest source of online coupons and store discounts for apparel, electronics, travel, entertainment and more and is a coupon sharing web site. That probably doesn’t make a lot of sense, so allow me to elaborate.

People from all across the World Wide Web can post coupons on the web site to various stores and shopping sites; then, when someone uses the posted coupon, the person who posted it receives 2% cash back of the total sale. Check out this page for more detail and for a quick video tutorial, click here. Coupon Chief calls this program their Pays-2-Share Program. Any time you want to see how much money you’ve earned through coupons you’ve posted, you can check your account page.

For example, let’s say I post a coupon code for Land’s End on the web site and Jane Doe sees the coupon and decided to use. If Jane Doe places an order for $100 with Land’s End and uses the coupon I posted on Coupon Chief, then I will receive $2 from Coupon Chief because my coupon code was used. Pretty simple, huh?

Even if you don’t want to post coupons, you can still use the coupons posted on the site. There is search bar at the top of the page and you can just type in the name of a store where you want to shop or the item for which you want to shop. For example you can type Amazon to see if there are any coupons for Amazon.com or you can type in Pink Bunny Slippers if you are looking to buy some pink bunny slippers. You get the idea.

You can also use Coupon Chief to search for coupons that will help causes that you care about. Instead of searching for Pink Bunny Slippers, you can search for Breast Cancer or Alzheimer’s disease and if there is a coupon available that will help your cause then it will pop up. Once you use the coupon, then Coupon Chief will donate 20% of your purchase to that cause. It’s a great way to help out your favorite charities. You can search for a list of Coupons-4-Causes by going here.
However you decide to use Coupon Chief, it’s a really great time to start what with all the Christmas shopping on the horizon. I’m sure everyone out there is looking for as many bargains as you can find when it comes to your Christmas shopping and what better way to start than by searching for coupons and discount codes on Coupon Chief. Go here to get started.

Coupon Chief is a reputable company and has been mentioned in the Wall Street Journal. Before you start your Christmas shopping, or any shopping for that matter, be sure and stop by Coupon Chief first – you may just save yourself enough money to buy a little something extra for yourself. Happy Shopping!

I was compensated for my review of Coupon Chief, all opinions are my own.