Broken Glass

In the last month I have had some major bad luck with glass. A few weeks ago I knocked over a vase of glass flowers I have had since college. Shattered on the floor...Tonight, this happened:

My picture above the fireplace fell and shattered this evening. It actually landed like this and I watched the whole thing happen. Stuff like this just makes me sick. If it is ok, I am going to whine a little bit. It stinks when things like this happen to a single woman, even though it will be easily repaired by replacing the glass. When things go wrong in the home, I always have this initial feeling of loneliness. Isn't that ridiculous? It does sort of pour salt in the wound when things happen and you have no one to help you out. I'm not even going to clean it up tonight....or tomorrow. Perhaps I should consider all things plastic and leave glass out of my life.

Looks like I'm making a trip to Michael's on New Year's Day...

A funny little thing happened in Columbia, SC...

Ok, I know you ATL girls probably see this sort of thing all the time, but this was a first for me. My folks and I did a little shopping in Columbia, SC over the Christmas weekend and made a stop for a jolt of caffeine. I walked over to the condiment bar with my father, looked up at the Starbucks "happenings" bulletin board and saw this:

If you did not go to Lee University, then you probably have no idea what this picture is about.

During my time at Lee, I had a friend named Steve Fee. I met him because he dated my next door neighbor, Melissa Dodson (Does anyone remember that?!?). When he graduated from school he started making music on the main stream Christian music scene. A few months ago I was listening to the local Christian station and heard a strangely familiar voice giving an interview. Then I realized, it was Steve Fee! I had no idea he had released a CD. So, being the supportive friend that I am, I purchased it at Pathway bookstore in Cleveland, TN (of course!). Well, when I saw his poster up in Columbia I almost fell out! I was laughing so hard I had to take this picture. Way to go, Mr. Fee!

Father/Daughter Time

During my recent trip to SC for the holiday, my father and I changed my oil. Ok, my father changed my oil and I "supervised." I thought it would be a good time for me to become more intimately acquainted with "the ole' girl" not to mention quality time with Pops.

And next time, I intend to get a little more dirty with the actual oil job.

CAUTION: Interaction Required

So, Mur did this on her blog and I thought it would be fun too. Post comments to guess. Come on, it could be fun!

Movie Quotes
I have picked 20 of my favorite movies in no particular order and posted a quote from each. Try to guess the movie but NO GOOGLING/using IMDb search or other search functions.

1. "There's a lotta things about me you don't know anything about, Dottie. Things you wouldn't understand. Things you couldn't understand. Things you shouldn't understand."

2. "My nails, I bit them all because of you! And my hair! Look at my hair! I cut it off just for you! Of all the pigheaded fathers!"

3. " You'll be wearing rubber gloves. Do you own rubber gloves?" "I rent 'em. I have a lease with an option to buy."

4. "I gotta go to college." "You don't have to go to college. This isn't Russia. Is this Russia? This isn't Russia."

5. "My orders came through. My squadron ships out tomorrow. We're bombing the storage depots at Daiquiri at 1800 hours. We're coming in from the north, below their radar." "When will you be back?" "I can't tell you that. It's classified."

6. "Brad, no chocolate! Your acne! Sarah. It is time for your cough syrup...Daryl, fasten your seat belt." "She's definitely losing it." "I am not losing anything, I am still in control here! Got it?"

7. "I been saving' this money for a divorce, if ever I got a husband."

8. "I just like to smile, smiling's my favorite."

9. "Can I refill your eggnog for you? Get you something to eat? Drive you out to the middle of nowhere and leave you for dead?"

10. "In this house, it's hard to survive. Some'll be dead, who are now alive. Mr. Uwatsum is gone, cause he knew too much. Bye for now, but rest assured we'll keep in constant contact with each other."

11. "Fraulein, is it to be at every meal, or merely at dinnertime, that you intend on leading us all through this rare and wonderful new world of... indigestion? "

12. "Now, I had heard that word at least ten times a day from my old man. He worked in profanity the way other artists might work in oils or clay. It was his true medium; a master. But, I chickened out and said the first name that came to mind."

13. "No wonder you're late. Why, this watch is exactly two days slow."

14. "I woke up when I heard our dog barking, and I thought Chadwick was coming in then. But then I realized that it couldn't be, 'cause we don't have a dog. "

15. " I'm sure that in 1985 plutonium is available in every corner drugstore, but in 1955 it's a little hard to come by."

16. "Kay, hold still right there. Now, just imagine you're weightless, in the middle of the ocean, surrounded by tiny little seahorses."

17. " Invention, my dear friends, is 93% perspiration, 6% electricity, 4% evaporation, and 2% butterscotch ripple. "

18. "Leapin' lizards!"

19. "I already know an awful lot of people and until one of them dies I couldn't possibly meet anyone else. "

20. "How do you feel?" "I use to use my hands."

Lesson Learned: Great lyrics never leave you

This morning I made the trek south to Florence. As I found myself closer to the equator, the weather completely changed and by Fayetteville, NC I had my windows cracked and the sunroof open. I also found myself half undressing in the car so I wasn't so stinkin' hot! Well, I removed my scarf...Anyways, I listened to the Christmas station until it went away and then transistioned to my "Christmas Songs that don't suck" CD from Kirsten. Once that was complete, I started surfing the radio for other Christmas stations. Needless to say, the first 4 1/2 hours of the trip was strictly Season's songs. I was done at that point and started to surf the radio for ANYTHING else. And then I found it...the tune was familiar and before I knew it I was singing along and even dancing a little bit. I don't care if they were lip syncing, I loved Milli Vanilli! "Blame it on the Rain" was playing and I realized that even after 20 years, I still knew the words. I truly believe regardless of the time in between, great lyrics will never leave you.

My Christmas Blessing

On Friday night, a public utilities worker pounded on my door insisting that I stop using any water due to a meter leak outside. In order to isolate the situation, he was going to shut the main water valve to everyone in my complex. To make a very long story short, it was my meter that was leaking. The condo association sent a plumber on Saturday to make the appropriate fix but unfortunately was unable to complete the job. I thought I was going to be without water all weekend but the plumber was a quick thinker. He asks, "Do you know any of your neighbors well enough to ask them if you can borrow water until Monday?" Unfortunately, I only knew one neighbor and she wasn't home. His response? "Well, now's as good a time as any to introduce yourself." He showed me the house that would be the easiest to borrow, so I went to the door. I recognized the gentleman. A few years ago, this family moved in and he had TN plates on his truck. Well, if you know me at all, I always chat with people from TN and he was no different. I made small talk with him then about being from TN then and when we see each other, we normally say hello. He agreed to open his water up to me while I offered to pay for the 36 hours worth of resources. He insisted that wouldn't be necessary. (This is another confirmation that Tennesseans take care of each other!) So, I got water for the weekend! Today the plumber came back, made the fix, and I am back in business. This evening I had already planned to make cookies for my family and decided to send some over there, too. Fortunately, I have many small food/gift bags for Christmas goodies and filled it up with some homemade cookies and an assortment of Hershey's Kisses from my candy jar. I walked over and knocked on the door to make delivery. He answered the door saw the bag and insisted that he couldn't take it. He says, "That's what neighbors do." I have to admit, I teared up and told him that I really appreciated it and wanted to just bring over some cookies and candy. We exchanged "Merry Christmas" and I left praying that the Lord would pour out His blessing on this family. They had surely blessed me.

Gossip Magazines

So, I don't think I would be making a wrong assumption if I said we all take a peeksy at the gossip magazines at the Grocery store register. Today was a rather classic moment. This woman in front of me was probably in her 40s or 50s. She put all of her items on the belt waited until all of them were put in bags and then she took a quick look around, grabbed OK magazine, and threw it on the belt. The way she did it was so funny because you could tell she was embarrassed to purchase. I just laughed...inside...well mostly inside.

The Cookie Exchange

Last week I went to a cookie exchange with some girlfriends from work. It was really a lot of fun! Everyone brought great treats and our hostess with the mostess fed us all kinds of snacky savory foods. Of course, ever since I have eaten cookies at every meal: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner. What's worse? I have eaten unashamedly. Good thing I'm training for a race or I would be in even more trouble!!!

Thanks, Debbie Meyer!

Ok, people. Laugh if you must, but this banana was purchased last Sunday, December 7. Thanks to Debbie Meyer and her infamous green bags, it has barely ripened and isn't mushy. This is a wonderful investment and I must encourage you to purchase. Your grocery shopping will never be the same.

Christmas Music At Work

My officemate has graciously let me listen to the All Christmas All the Time radio station since returning from the T-Day holiday. I have made some discoveries:

• Debbie Gibson sings "Sleigh Ride" and I L-O-V-E it. This just continues to support the fact that "Electric Youth" was not her last great hit! Unfortunately, they don't play it enough for me.
• EVERYONE and their mother sings "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." Fun Fact: Originally written for Judy Garland in "Meet Me in St. Louis". Notice that some versions say "...muddle through somehow..." and others say "...hang a shining star on the highest bough..." or something like that. The latter was introduced by Frank Sinatra.
• Jimmy Eat World should never have covered "Last Christmas." This song is sacred only to Wham!

Just a thought...

Kenny Loggins is terribly underplayed on the radio.

Paperwhites stink

I'm probably not your average girl when it comes to flowers. If a suitor wanted to bring me flowers, roses would not excite me. I prefer flowers that are simple with clean colors of green and white. So, a few years ago I started growing Paperwhites for the Holiday season. Well, the other night I was sitting at the dining table working on schoolwork and noticed this horrible smell. I had no idea what it was. Did I have rotten potatoes or something? Negative. I discovered something that has absolutely broken my heart. Paperwhites stink!

My Visit to TN

I made a very quick trip to the homeland, Cleve-Vegas, TN for Thanksgiving. It's always nice to go back and see where I grew up and essentially spent most of my life. Other than the few folks I ran into at the Cracker Barrel, I didn't really do much visiting. However, I did have an opportunity to meet up with the Hutchins family and Sara Murphy. Here is a picture of Mur and I with William. Eleanor was not in the mood for pictures and I didn't even think of getting a pic of Johnny (sorry, dude). It was so awesome to be able to spend some time with these folks. This is an example of worlds colliding. Johnny was one of my best buds in my high school years and Mur (her real name is Mary but we call her Mur, very funny story) became one of my bestest friends in college. Funny thing is the two didn't meet until I moved here. Now they are married and reproducing. I love these guys and Mur, I'm still waiting for my bottle of whiskey/Grandma's cough syrup circa 2001. I also met up with Murph. It's funny how she lives in DC now and we traveled about 10 hours to see each other. I think next time we will take the short route and just meet up in NoVA! She is training for Shamrock, so that will be cool to have her down for that. Unfortunately, I didn't get a pic with Murph. I should have but am horrible about remembering to bring this camera around...

Keri bought a house!!

So, my baby sister purchased her first home. I am so proud of her. She is a permanent resident of Cleveland, TN now. I guess there's no chance of convincing her to move to the East Coast.

Daddy Long Legs

My officemate recently loaned me a book, Daddy Long Legs by Jean Webster. I immediately fell in love with it and jotted down a few noteworthy quotes:

"It isn't the big troubles in life that require character. Anybody can rise to a crisis and face a crushing tragedy with courage, but to meet the petty hazards of the day with a laugh - I really think that requires spirit."

"Oh, I'm developing a beautiful character! It droops a bit under cold and frost, but it does grow fast when the sun shines."

"To bring a man into line, there are just two methods: one must either coax or be disagreeable."

"...a woman, whether she is interested in babies or microbes or husbands or poetry or servants or parallelograms or gardens or Plato or bridge - is fundamentally and always interested in clothes."

Christmas Party Rule

As you know, I love to cook. Almost as much as I love to cook, I love to share recipes. I have found a few ladies at work that enjoy the same thing. During a recent sugar discussion, we decided to have a cookie exchange. One of the girls just recently remodeled her kitchen and, anxious to share, offered to host. We set next week as the date and began finalizing the details. Well, you will never believe what happened. One of the invited guests insisted that we have the party at work after hours because she didn't want to drive anywhere and then she began to push her "rules" for the cookie exchange. If this is not appalling to you, let me share a little secret. When invited to attend a party, do not insist on changes to the party's agenda or location. Be thankful you were included...

I'm Legal

You will be happy to know that I am listening to Christmas music in its appropriate context, between Black Friday and Christmas Day.