Seasons of Autumn

Estes Park, CO

2011-09-23T13:09:00.001-05:00

When we were driving into town there were Elk crossing the road. The police had cars stopped.

Our Cabin complete with firepit for s'mores

Casey was thrilled when we learned that Estes Park was the setting for Aspen, CO from Dumb & Dumber

Sweetest little boy with his football. Awwwww

Praline Truffle from the ice cream shop

Jonathan & Sapphira's wedding

2011-09-23T12:48:00.002-05:00

Casey and I traveled to Estes Park, CO last week for his brother Jonathan's wedding. I had never met Jonathan or his wife Sapphira. Casey had only met her once and briefly. I also got to meet his sister Joy, brother-in-law Danny, niece Beckah and nephew Luke. Oh, and his 90 year old grandpa!

We had a wonderful trip! Everything was beautiful.

This is Danny grilling burgers for the rehearsal dinner.

Here is Kristin decorating the tables. We used wildflowers from the mountain and tulle.

Casey and Luke!

This is what we put on the tables. It turned out really pretty. I promise. Bad lighting.

Pearce family at the wedding.

The wedding. Note the ring bearer. Sapphira's two year old son Graham tossed that pillow on the ground and plopped down on it for a front row seat.

Centerpieces at the rehearsal

The photographers had a wall for funny photos

The bride arm wrestling her grandpa!

County Fair

2011-09-23T12:32:00.001-05:00

The Northeast Arkansas District Fair is this week. The fairgrounds are being moved to Farrville so it is the last year here in the middle of town. I went with my parents and sister on Monday night. I was exhausted as I had just gotten back from Colorado the day before. We met up with my aunt & uncle, their daughters and grandchildren. We had a blast! My dad bought corndogs, tickets & carnival games for the kids. He loved it! My sister and I can easily tell our children will be Spoiled at grandma & grandpa's.

Dad & Justice on the Ferris Wheel

Grey and Justice with dad at a carnival game.

Grey fishing! They both got a toy sword as a prize.

Me, Ila Beth & Hannah at the David Nail concert!

Book update

2011-09-23T12:21:00.001-05:00

I last posted about the books I was reading over the summer. Today is the first day of Autumn :)
I am still working on The Great Mortality: An Intimate History of the Black Death. It has become my go-to book. I read it before I fall asleep. It's non-fiction, so it's not like there's a story line to keep up with.

I am also working on New York: the Novel by Edward Rutherford. It's just the kind of book I like to read - historical fiction. I've discovered there are two types of books I prefer. Thrillers like Dan Brown, David Baldacci or John Grisham; and historical fiction like anything by Beverly Swerling.

In addition I am listening to the audio book of My Name is Mary Sutter by Robin Oliveira. It is about about midwife in Albany during the Civil War. I checked this book out from the library a few weeks ago and didn't finish it, so I got the audio book yesterday. I don't know why, but I've always had an interest in ancient midwifery. I like to read about medical practices before modern medicine. Kinda gory.

Reading

2011-07-06T14:10:00.009-05:00

I've been in summer reading mode lately and finished two books over the 4th.

One was The Virgin Blue by Tracy Chevalier. I started it on audiobook and got to the second to last disc when it messed up. So, I got the book from the library and finished it. It was good, but best in audio form because there were lots of french words that I cannot pronounce.

The other was, not surprising, a David Baldacci thriller. He's one of my favorite authors. Hell's Corner. I had been working on this one for a while so I was very glad to finish. It was good too. Fifth in the Camel Club series.

I "read" another of Baldacci's books via audiobook. I've found these to be a great way to keep my sanity on my drive from Jonesboro to St Louis. Makes the time go much faster. This one was titled First Family, but was not part of the Camel Club series.

I've also done a little non-fiction reading. The Great Mortality is about the Black Death, the plague that wiped out 1/3 of the population of Europe in the 1300's. I haven't finished it yet. Who knows if I ever will.

And last night I picked up a few things at the library including The Making of a Royal Romance. Obviously about Will & Kate.

If it's just a collection of everything I heard on the news leading up to April 29, I'll take it out and pop in the other: Cleopatra by Stacy Schiff.

happiness

2011-03-04T14:19:00.001-06:00

"for me, there is no other way to happiness in this life, but to spend it loving you."

Best. Letter. Ever.

2011-02-03T14:17:00.000-06:00

I found this on a blog I got sucked into today at work. Shame. http://kendilea.blogspot.com/2009/09/bestletterever.html

This is an actual letter from an Austin woman sent to Americancompany Proctor and Gamble regarding their feminine products. It was PCMagazine's 2007 editors' choice for best webmail-award-winning letter.

I feel like I've written this letter so many times before.

Dear Mr. Thatcher:

I have been a loyal user of your 'Always' maxi pads for over 20years and I appreciate many of their features. Why, without the LeakGuard Core or Dri-Weave absorbency, I'd probably never go horseback riding or salsa dancing, and I'd certainly steer clear of running up anddown the beach in tight, white shorts.

But my favorite feature has to be your revolutionaryFlexi-Wings. Kudos on being the only company smart enough to realize howcrucial it is that maxi pads be aerodynamic. I can't tell you how safe and secure I feel each month knowing there's a little F-16 in my pants.

Have you ever had a menstrual period, Mr. Thatcher? I'm guessing you haven't. Well, my time of the month is starting right now. As I type, I can already feel hormonal forces violently surging through my body. Just a few minutes from now, my body will adjust and I'll be transformed into what my husband likes to call 'an inbred hillbilly with knife skills.' Isn't the human body amazing?

As Brand Manager in the Feminine-Hygiene Division, you've no doubt seen quite a bit of research on what exactly happens during your customer's monthly visits from 'Aunt Flo'. Therefore, you must know about the bloating, puffiness, and cramping we endure, and about our intense mood swings, crying jags, and out-of-control behavior. You surely realize it's a tough time for most women.

The point is, sir, you of all people must realize that America is just crawling with homicidal maniacs in Capri pants. Which brings me to the reason for my letter. Last month, while in the throes of cramping so painful I wanted to reach inside my body and yank out my uterus, I opened an Always maxi-pad, and there, printed on the adhesive backing, were these words:

'Have a Happy Period.'

Are you kidding me? What I mean is, does any part ofyour tiny middle-manager brain really think happiness - actual smiling,laughing happiness, is possible during a menstrual period? Did anythingmentioned above sound the least bit pleasurable? Well, did it, James?

FYI, unless you're some kind of sick S&M freak, there will never be anything 'happy' about a day in which you have to jack yourself up on Motrin and Kahlua and lock yourself in your house just so you don't march down to the local Walgreen's armed with a hunting rifle and a sketchy plan to end your life in a blaze of glory.

For the love of God, pull your head out, man! If you have to slap a moronic message on a maxi pad, wouldn't it make more sense tosay something that's actually pertinent, like 'Put down the Hammer' or 'Vehicular Manslaughter is Wrong'?

Sir, please inform your Accounting Department that, effective immediately, there will be an $8 drop in monthly profits, for I hae chosen to take my maxi-pad business elsewhere. And though I will certainly miss your Flex-Wings, I will not for one minute miss your brand of condescending bull. And that's a promise I will keep.
Always. . .
Best,
Wendi Aarons

3,500 miles

2011-01-11T15:01:00.003-06:00

The last post I made on this blog was June 25, 2010. On June 26, 2010 I had a date with a guy that I sort of knew in college. My freshman year. And now, six months later, we're still dating. Is that why I haven't blogged? Hmm maybe. He lives in St. Louis and I still live in Jonesboro, so we have both carved out quite a bit of time in our days to talk. on. the. phone.

Casey and I have had some great times. We've done some fun things like Six Flags, the Arch, meeting each others' family, going to a wedding and we got to be together on Christmas morning!! This was one of the Best times. Unfortunately I have no pictures of us at Christmas. Slipped my mind. Here is a picture of us at his Christmas party for work.

I calculate that approximately 3,500 miles have been put on my old 2005 Altima traveling to see my fella. But it's been worth it!

I went to the beach

2010-06-25T13:36:00.003-05:00

Lori and I at the beach. I went in May. Before the oil got to the shore. I went with about 11 of my "closest" friends. Needless to say, the next I go I will be staying in a Much bigger house, or w/ fewer people. All in all, it was a relaxing trip. Nothing exciting, just shopping at the outlet malls and listening to the waves.

My Sister Got Married

2010-06-18T10:11:00.010-05:00

My sister got married last weekend. It was a beautiful wedding. Everything went perfectly. Here are a few pictures I took with my little camera. Most of them were blurry, but a few turned out good.

My mom and the flower girl getting ready. You can see me in the mirror taking the picture. This is the only picture I have of the dress I wore in the wedding. I changed for the reception.

Matt and the groom cheesing at the reception.

My good friend Amanda. Her parents and mine are friends. They helped clean up at the church before the reception. Wow! Weddings take a crew!

A picture of a bunch of the girls. I wanted a picture like this. Took some effort, but I corralled everyone.

The videographer & my BFF Andy. We finally sat down and ate. The BEST hotel food I've ever had in Jonesboro for sure!

My cousin's son Sadler.

Bachelorette Party and The Bachelorette on ABC

2010-06-08T15:17:00.011-05:00

We had my sister's bachelorette shin-dig a couple of weekends ago. She's getting married this weekend. We had dinner, then saw Sex and the City 2, then back to my house for a lingerie shower. We didn't get crazy, but she had fun. Here are some pics...

Engagement Ring cookies and bra & pantie cookies that Amanda made. Soooo cute and yummy!

This is my "dressing room", aka the master bedroom in my new place. I put my bed in the 2nd bedroom and use this room as dressing area. It's worked out really well so far. It's a big room and the master closet doubles as the laundry room. This way all of my clothes stay on one end of the house.

I bought those plates and punch cups at a living estate sale for my friend Molli's grandparents.

On another note: Is anyone else watching this season of The Bachelorette on ABC? I've been watching these shows for the past couple of years. Some seasons just don't have the entertainment value as others. This may be one of those seasons. Bachelorette Ali doesn't really seem very "into" any of the men. Except maybe Roberto. I have a feeling he'll be in it to the end.

Have a sit.

2010-04-12T11:10:00.002-05:00

I would seriously redecorate my entire house for this chair.

Eat, Pray, Love

2010-03-12T16:43:00.002-06:00

I am currently reading Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.

I'm really enjoying it so far. I recommend it.

before and after

2010-03-01T20:34:00.004-06:00

I bought a house, er condo, in December. I've been working on in since then and I have some before and after pictures.

My Birthday

2010-03-01T20:03:00.008-06:00

Well, I had another birthday. This time it was #26. I'm not even going to go into the whole getting older think, but I will share about the good times and gifts!

My friend Amanda and her husband Matt were oh-so-gracious hosts, as always. We had build-your-own pizzas. AND Matt built a bonfire outside for smores. That's right! it's getting just warm enough to be outdoors at night.

Dear John

2010-01-28T08:57:00.003-06:00

I'm currently reading "Dear John" by Nicholas Sparks. The movie comes out soon and I wanted to read the book first. It's cute. A very easy read. I have a feeling it's going to get sad though...

Battle Studies

2009-11-18T14:02:00.002-06:00

John Mayer's new CD came out yesterday. I picked it up at Barnes & Noble on my lunch break. It's excellent. I think my favorite so far is the first track - Heartbreak Warfare. It's not as good as the Grammy winning Continuum, but still great. Check it out!

2009-10-22T10:44:00.002-05:00

I'm currently reading "An Irish Country Doctor". It seems to be set in the 1970's. A story of a fresh-out-of-med-school young man that finds himself in need of employment and ends up paired with a cantankerous country doctor in rural Ireland.

I picked it up at the recommendation of the B&N store manager. I figured she knew her stuff. Also, I like to read fiction mixed with a little medicine. All the gory situations in medicine make me cringe, but it can be educational. After all, I worked in healthcare for three years and was clueless about the field most of the time. My default was just smile and nod... I hadn't a clue. The jargon, the matter-of-fact way doctors discussed patients.

Books like this tell and story and make it real. I'm enjoying it so far and there's also a love interest!

Michael Buble

2009-10-15T08:51:00.002-05:00

Pronounced [boo - blay]. I bought Michael Buble's new CD Monday night. It's excellent. He's like a modern crooner. I saw him in concert about 3 years ago in Little Rock. It was excellent. He's like a mix of Elvis and Frank Sinatra. Check it out.

I have arrived

2009-10-14T16:19:00.010-05:00

It's official. Autumn is here. It's been raining for what seems like 3 weeks straight in NEA. I haven't blogged in a while. I guess I've been busy enjoying the fall festivities.

Hannah, friend Amanda & myself at a football game. Go Red Wolves! After the game Hannah and I had a little birthday party for our friend

Brittney. Oh, and before the game I went with my sis & mom to look at wedding dresses. Hannah

's getting married!!! in June. I'm going to be maid of honor. Very exciting. She was able to narrow it down to the type of dress she's wanting, but we did not make a purchase that weekend. We're going to Memphis for a girls' weekend in a few weeks and we'll go to David's. They've already decided to have the wedding at church, then have the reception at the new Hilton Garden Inn in Jonesboro. It just opened and it's a wonderful alternative to The Holidome. You J-town folks know what I mean. :) It's new and modern and hip.

The next weekend was Pumpkin Hollow, a place in Piggott, AR for families and people of all ages. This is a picture of my assistant, Kelsey. She grew up in Piggott and has worked at Pumpkin Hollow since she was old enough to pick up a pumpkin!

We went at night and went through the 3 haunts - Forest of Freight, Mad Skull Mine & Bubba's Butcher Barn. We went for my friend John's birthday and the poor guy... he probably had bruises from me gripping his arm in terror. I do not do well with scary things. However, this was a really cool get-out-of-town-for-the-evening trip. The folks at Pumpkin Hollow do an excellent job. It wasn't cheesy or cheap. Believably scary.. and here's a picture of the full moon.

And last weekend I went to my friend Amanda's for chili and scrapbooking. It was supposed to be an all-night craft-fest, but we were tired. But I did get my spread for Little Women finished. Hard to believe this time last year I was playing "Marmee" in Little Women. Oh, that was so much fun, but so much work! The Jonesboro Foundation of Arts, of which I am now a board member, is doing "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" this weekend. I'll be in Little Rock for Race for the Cure, but I'm going on Sunday when I get home. I've never been to Race for the Cure, but I'm very excited!!

The Lost Symbol

2009-10-05T11:42:00.003-05:00

I'm currently reading "The Lost Symbol" by Dan Brown. If you've been to Barnes & Noble at all in the last 6 months, you've seen the posters for this book... or Kroger or Wal-Mart. Dan Brown also wrote the suspenseful "Angles & Demons" and "DaVinci Code". I had been looking forward to this book for several months. I'm about 3/4 through it and so far it's suspenseful, but not as intellectually stimulating as "DaVinci Code". Quite frankly the book makes Brown seem a little crazy in my opinion. What with his fixation on the Masons.

The book reads well. Brown is a gifted author. It's entertaining and I enjoy reading it. I'm just hoping for some kind of curveball in the end to really spice it up!

"Time of My Life"

2009-09-16T08:51:00.003-05:00

I just finished reading "Time of My Life" last night. It was a book that I literally grabbed from the shelf at Books-a-Million one Sunday afternoon. They say don't judge a book by it's cover, but that's exactly what I did with this one and I'm glad I did.

It's about a young woman that's in an unhappy marriage. Living in the suburbs of NYC in the year 2007. She has a toddler and an immaculate home.

Then one morning she wakes up in 2001. In her apartment in the city. She's still with her former boyfriend. An interesting turn of events leads her back to 2007 where she reaps the benefits of her second chance and better decisions & choices.

I recommend it!

Country Bumpkins

2009-09-09T20:47:00.008-05:00

I spent Labor Day at my grandmother's house with my aunts, uncles & cousins. We hadn't all been together since Christmas I guess. So, it was a good day. I took these pictures at the garden the oldest two girls have as their 4-H project. They had okra and eggplant left. The picture above (which took about 15 minutes to capture) is Abby in the green, Emily on top and Rileigh in front.

Sadler Cole almost 2 years old.

Rileigh and Jay

Abby & Rileigh

The chickens. Also part of the 4-H projects.

ASU v. Mississippi Valley

2009-09-09T20:18:00.009-05:00

Ok. So, I lost my camera. BUT I Found my old camera a couple of months ago. I had given it to my dad. Call me an Indian Giver, but I took it back. I'll spare you the camera story, but I haven't been boring since my last post. I just don't have the pictures to prove it, so I'll move on.

Saturday was the first home football game for the Red Wolves, formerly the Indians, at Arkansas State. I went to the tailgate festivities with my friend Amanda. Pictured at left. I wore a Michael Kors top that I bought last winter. I bought it marked down and specifically for a football game. Mission accomplished. :-)

Pictured at left is junk food I ate from the concession stand. Oh, to have my college metabolism back. I drank a Mt. Dew everyday in college... However, I woke up sick in the middle of the night Saturday. ...as a result of this indulgence.

Ok, I sat behind this fella. The guy that had the nerve to wear a Razorback cap to an Arkansas State game. Big pet peeve of mine. I have nothing against the University of Arkansas. Why would I right? But my thought is this: If you are a huge fan of the Hogs; Then why didn't you go to school there???

Oh, and apparently I also sat behind a girl named Candace. Either that or she got taken for by a tatoo artist. Tramp Stamp on a Very large white girl. Lovely...

Oh, and we killed 'em. 61 - 0. Followed up by a casual evening at Amanda's. The Bishops were in town for Labor Day.

Mount Vernon colors

2009-08-27T09:07:00.004-05:00

This morning I found this on a blog I follow. Right up my alley since I love history & houses. Paint colors found at Mount Vernon, President George Washington's home. Check it out here.

A Question of Character

2009-08-27T09:01:00.003-05:00

Yesterday I received a package in the mail. Which is always exciting. It's a book written by a father-son team in Jonesboro. The son is an acquaintance of mine - John Abernathy. He lives out west now.

Here's a link to the book. I'll let you know how it goes. It's a political thriller, which is right up my alley. I like to read books by David Baldacci, so I'm hoping this will be a good one.

My Aunt Jackie's

2009-08-25T21:20:00.008-05:00

On Monday night this week I went with my parents to visit my Aunt Jackie and Uncle Tommy. Tommy had worked on an antique ice chest my mom bought in

Nashville a few weeks ago. Mom and Dad went for their anniversary. As long as I can remember, my mom

has wanted one of these ice boxes -- just like her grandmother had. And she finally got it!

I got to visit with Jackie & Tommy out on their deck for a while before my mom and dad showed up. It was a gorgeous day. We've been fortunate to have some unseasonably pleasant weather this August. Then we walked down to Tommy's shop to see the ice box. He's got a really nice set-up.

I took this picture of my mom and (obviously her sister) Jackie. They sound almost just alike now that they're older. My grandmother, their mother died in May this year.

This is just a flower I thought was pretty. :-)

My Weekend

2009-08-25T20:51:00.011-05:00

The weather was beautiful this weekend! I slept in Saturday and caught up on things around the house. Then I went to my grandmother's house. My little cousins Chance & Cody were there with their little friend Zach. They were into everything and my dad was hanging out with them.

This is a trellis with grapevines in my grandmother's back yard. We set here for a while.

My grandmother's house is about 100 years old. My dad's parents bought it in the 60's and did some modernization. It's where he grew up. This is the living room. Not to be confused with the "den". This is where we all gather on Christmas Eve to open presents & sing. I took a picture because she had someone come out and do some decorating. It looked really nice.

This is a VERY funny, but cute picture I found in one of her albums. She's trying to get organized so they were laying out on the sofa. This is at Christmas when I was probably in the 2nd grade. My mom made us matching Christmas sweat shirts. You can't really tell, but those are holly leaves & packages painted on there with fabric paint. OH yeah! I thought it was sooooo cool. Jen, you know you probably helped make this.

And speaking of family, I was looking through some of those albums and found one called Cole Family History. Cole is my great-great grandmother's maiden name. I never knew her. There's still a plot of land in our family called Cole Hill. Anywho, I was looking through it and it's really cool because it traced the name/family back to the 1400s in England. There was even a family crest. I'll have to look through it better some other time.

After grandma's I went to Andy's house. His dad made ribs. This is for Richard & Laura.

Saturday Morning

2009-08-23T07:12:00.001-05:00

Saturday Morning

I made homemade blueberry pancakes Saturday morning. Delicious! Recipe here.

Hot Tamales!!!

2009-08-23T07:02:00.004-05:00

The Hispanic Community Center in Jonesboro had a fund raiser recently and sold homemade tamales. 9$ for a dozen in chicken or pork. Wrapped in corn husks and everything.

So, I had the Hurdles over and Hannah and her boyfriend ate too. It was yummy! Amanda helped us clean up. Awesome!

We will definitely be ordering more in the future.

Take me out to the Baaaaallll Game! Take me out to the Crowd!

2009-08-17T20:06:00.008-05:00

So, I don't know if I mentioned this in the previous few posts, but the main event while visiting Molli & Marty was to attend a Texas Rangers v. Boston Red Sox baseball game. This is a picture of Molli, Amanda and me Saturday before leaving the house.

It was so nice having their nice new house to spread out and enjoy. Here are "the kids" watching TV and playing games.

We went shopping in Arlington before the game. It was incredibly crowded.

And here we are at the stadium. It was a good time. Our seats included an all you can eat buffet. Hot dogs, chicken sandwiches, nachos, peanuts, hot dogs, soda. None of it was all that great, but it didn't cost anything. That was nice.

Me & my good friend Shaun - the ultimate Red Sox fan.

Visiting the Bishops

2009-08-14T22:22:00.006-05:00

Well, I made it to Texas! All by my little self. :) I drove from Jonesboro to OkCity to Aubrey, TX without getting lost really. Thanks to my sis's trusty GPS. I met up with my friend Molli and got a tour of her new house in Aubrey, TX. I love it! Here is a picture of her and her husband Marty. She cooked brownies and served it with ice cream. Yummy!

We had dinner at Mr. Chopsticks. It's a delicious hole in the wall place near the the University of North Texas campus in Denton where Marty is in the the PhD program. I love that place. I had a Philadelphia Roll & some fried rice.

About to hit the sack and wait for the rest of the crew to arrive. They'll be in late tonight. So glad I was able to drive down from OKcity today.

Blue Skies

2009-08-14T08:22:00.015-05:00

Here we are cooking fish for the Oklahoma Sheriffs at a park. Chris, Chad (my boss), Dean, Todd {a.k.a. Ladies Man and the guy that heroically removed the snake skin from the bathroom} and me.

Cookin'!!! I helped cut up the raw catfish. Yuck! I don't really even like catfish, but I pretend I do for these events. Just stay busy cooking and cleaning so I don't really have time to eat.

Buffet! Also pictured here in the background is a poster I made. It is a county map of OK with our client counties hi-lited in yellow. I missed several counties because I got some incorrect information. We bought come Crayola markers and fixed it.

On Thursday I went down to our booth, but it

was slow because the sheriffs were in class.

Here is a picture of our booth.

One of the nicest there.

Since it was slow I decided to go with the sheriffs' wives on a short field trip to The Oklahoma History Center. What a wonderful tribute to the history and people of Oklahoma! Here is a picture in the foyer. A view of the state capitol.

This was one of, if not the, most valuable exhibits in the museum. And my favorite. What can I say? I am my father's daughter. It is a decree/certificate of sorts from President Thomas Jefferson to some Indian tribe. {and yes, they call them Indians in Oklahoma, not Native Americans} The two silk ribbon & wax seals at the bottom are the seals of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. This document was signed by all three infamous men. Jefferson, Lewis & Clark. Very cool. Can't wait to show my dad.

Ok, this exhibit made me feel old. Displayed in a glass case along with all of the artifacts was this Nokia Phone and Doc Marten boots. I hope all of you Gen Y-ers out there can appreciate this. I thought I was sooooo cool with my new Docs and my cell phone that was just like everyone else's.

And this was my view at approximately 7pm last night. Hanging at the hotel pool with a book.

Terrifying bathroom break

2009-08-13T21:48:00.005-05:00

Ok, so Day two of my Oklahoma business trip: I get all dressed up Wednesday morning and go to the booth at the exhibit hall. Then, my boss calls and says we've gotta go cook. My company hosted/sponsored a fish fry at a park. In other words... outdoors. No kitchen. No sink.

There was however indoor bathrooms. I was thrilled because I had to pee as soon as we arrived. So, I slowly creeped into the bathroom of this pavilion. It smelled ok and the actual toilets were clean. But, I've watched enough Discovery channel to raise the seat with my foot and make sure there are no spiders under the rim. Whew. I'm good. So, I commence to take care of business and sit to pee.

I didn't close the stall door because it was already fairly dark in the bathroom and no other girls were within about a mile radius. As I'm sitting I look over to the sink and low and behold I see something that appears to be a thick hose of sorts. As my eyes adjust to the dark room and focus in and realize it is not a hose. At all. But rather a 4 foot long snake skin. SNAKE SKIN!!! It was sticking out of the wall where the sink plumbing went into the wall. {My skin is ccrrraaaawwllllinggg as I type}

So, I am Freaked OUT beyond any regular heart rate. But, what do I do? I can't jump up and run out. I'm peeing. I can't just stop right? So, I finish my business all the while feeling hallucinating creepy crawlies all over me and breathing lightly. I hurry and run out without washing my hands. Which I felt guilty about since I was going to be cooking, but the sink had two spiders in it. *shrug* The least of my worries at this point. When I walked out I told my boss and new co-worker I'd just met and they didn't Even CARE! ugh! men.

Clearly, this snake used the tight space where the plumbing and wall didn't quite meet to help slither out of it's skin. Clever, yes. But why oh why me???? The skin was fresh too. Which means the snake was out there somewhere!!

A while later I got a flirtatious vendor, whom I call "Lady's Man", to go in and get the skin out. He was pretty afraid too. So, I was glad I wasn't freaking out for no reason. This is just a small segment of the snake. I reeeeeally wanted to take a picture of the skin while in it's original place, but I literally could not bring myself to go back in there the rest of the night. So, I got there about 3pm and left and 9pm. That's a long time without a potty break. I was absolutely shaken. Still pretty shook up just writing this. Eek!!!

But, I survived.

Ooooooooklahoma

2009-08-12T09:29:00.005-05:00

Well, I made it to Oklahoma City last night. All by myself. :-) This is a picture of the Welcome to Oklahoma sign. It was a nice drive. From Jonesboro I went south through Conway, then back up through the Ozarks. Very pretty state I live in.

I got to my hotel and checked in and it was terrible. I tried to "rough it", but I thought it was ridiculous to have to suffer the way I did in Hot Springs. And let me tell you this one was much worse. It was a non-smoking room, but still smelled like smoke. And quite frankly I didn't feel safe. There was an exterior door and an interior corridor door. I could literally see daylight through the exterior door. So, I went driving around looking for a new hotel and found a Hampton Inn for us. Much better. I felt bad to leave because the young man at the front desk had been very polite and kind. Oh well!

So, I've just eaten the continental breakfast here at the Hampton and I'm ready for the day.

This Land is Your Land

2009-08-09T20:39:00.008-05:00

So, this weekend I went to Tunica, MS for a Counting Crows concert. I'm a big fan, so I jumped at the opportunity to see them live. It was a wonderful show. I don't have any pics of the show because I've been having some technological hi-cups, but I'm all better now. Long December was my class song in high school so it was cool to hear them sing it in person. My favorite part of the evening was the very end. It was as if Adam Duritz knew I was going to be there because he closed with a big push to get people to register to vote and encouraged them to get to the polls. Most everyone at the concert was my age-ish. So then the finale was This Land is Your Land, This Land is My Land. I am one of the most patriotic people you'll ever meet and this was sooooo cool! He sang all the verses and chorus. Most people, myself included, had never heard the verses. We all sang the chorus together. Ahhh I am proud to be an American.

Now, the Tunica part. I'd never been to Tunica before and for those of you that don't know, Tunica, MS is a casino or rather a cluster of casinos a few miles south of Memphis. You have to drive through a southern ghetto of sorts to get there from Memphis. I was raised in a very conservative Southern Baptist home and church. Tunica is like a dirty word. Now, I have a masters degree in business. I know my chances at gambling. They aren't good. So, I didn't gamble. I watched a couple of my girl friends play the slot machines and they lost. Quickly. Did not interest me in the least.

I wished I'd enjoyed the tourist spot more, but it was a disappointment. Our hotel was pretty nice and new. Two things that really stuck out to me from my experience were smoke and gluttony. Smoking was allowed indoors there. I do not have a problem with people smoking. Not at all. But being around smoke is not enjoyable for me because I do not smoke. It smells and makes it difficult to breathe. But like I told my friend Amanda, if you're a smoker this is the place to be.

I think almost every place to eat there is a buffet. Lots of waste. I got like 7 desserts and just "tried" each one. I felt guilty for wasting food. :(

Don't think I'll go back to Tunica, but I did enjoy the concert. Here are some pictures of my breakfast this morning at Paul Deen's breakfast... you guessed it... buffet.

New Office at Tiger

2009-08-09T20:11:00.006-05:00

So, I changed jobs at the beginning of June and I've finally gotten my new office fixed the way it should be. It is a very nice office. The company I work for is located on the outskirts of town in two plain jane -on the outside- warehouses, but the building I am in is a new addition for the company and the front part of the building

was remodeled for offices just before I came there. The girl that had the office before me picked out the paint color.

I don't know that you can tell in these pictures, but it's a dark blue/gray. Very cool. I never would have picked it myself, but I love it.

The first picture here is my favorite part of the room. My mom came and helped me put it all together, so she gets full credit for this credenza area. I had the starburst

mirror in my office at the clinic. I knew wher

e I wanted everything in this office, but I always need my mother's help with these things. The vase there looks like a tiger and the name of the co

mpany I work for is Tiger Correctional Services. A mere coincidence? --I think not. It too was left in my offi

ce and it's solid glass so I didn't do anything with it because I was afraid it would break, but my mom is not afraid. She fixed it right up!

This cool shelf pictured on the right is awesome. It's from IKEA and it's perfect for this office. i can put stuff on the shelves and see it all. At my old job I was really bad about putting things away to work on later and then completely forgetting about them because well, "outta sight, outta mind". The two red vases on top were left as well.

Here's the story behind my office fu

rniture. The girl that worked

there before me ordered all new office furniture from IKEA. Which so

unds like a splendid idea. However, IKEA furniture is not durable enough for everyday office use and the desk she chose was much too small, short and had no drawers. It just wouldn't do. So, after getting my feel for the place I ordered my desk from Office Max.

I think it looks great!

The last corner of the office is by the huge window. :) This is a work table and where my assistant, a.k.a. a college student that works a few hours a week and helps me out if needed

or anyone else that needs help, sits. The stuffed tiger on the table is one of our give-a-ways. Cute.

And finally the inside of my very organized drawer. It's so nice to be organized. Starting a job has been a very good experience so far. I'm glad I did it. It's been stressful for sure, but I'm really enjoying it. Starting fresh is a good thing.

The Johnson's new Casa

2009-08-03T09:37:00.007-05:00

My friends Brittney & Michael Johnson got married in March and just bought their first home in July. They had us over for homemade ice cream Saturday night. Here is a pic of her cute! kitchen. Also, she had the ever-so-clever idea to use a shoe storage door hanger for all of her kitchen utensils that wouldn't fit other places. I'm so happy for them!

Fryin' to Flyin'

2009-07-31T08:53:00.007-05:00

I recently went to Hot Springs for work for the Arkansas Sheriff's Association Summer Convention. I was very nervous about the trip because, although two male co-workers went as well, I felt like I was going it alone. Plus, I had to stay at The Austin hotel, not The Embassy Suites. The Austin was terrible. That did not help the trip at all. But I survived and I'm here to tell about it. Through the process though I realized I might just be high maintenance. Who knew.

When I arrived Sunday afternoon, my company, Tiger Correctional Services, hosted a Fish Fry for the Sheriffs and their families at what was called the Arc Isle party house on Lake Hamilton. For those of you that are familiar with Jonesboro, it was similar to The Pavilion at ASU, but about 30 years older and more... "open air". That was hard work too let me tell ya! Running back and forth getting fish, onion rings, hush puppies, cole slaw, potato salad, etc. I was exhausted, but it was a great event. We planned for about 100 and 200 showed up. Probably more actually.

The next few days were good. We made good contacts with Pulaski County and I plan to follow up with them today. We took a large group out to Bella Arti for dinner Monday evening. Interesting to be on the vendor side of a conference. I've been on the attendee side when I worked at the clinic. It was nice being catered to, but this time I had to do the catering. It was still fun though. The most fun part of the conference was Tuesday night. They had a dance & a band. I love to dance. Then I played poker til 2am with some Sheriffs and one of our competitors. Ha! I lost though....

On the way home, and let me tell I couldn't get home quick enough, I stopped in Little Rock at the River Market to have lunch with my old college friend Paul. I don't think I had seen Paul since Christmas 2007 when Richard & Laura stopped in Jonesboro to visit. We had lunch at The Flying Fish. My first experience of fish tacos. It was good. But I was mostly thrilled I was able to find the place & park without getting lost. Gotta love the Garmin! Paul and I had a nice visit. Then I hopped in the car and drove home. In the pouring down rain. Scary rain. But I was in such a hurry to get home that I didn't want to pull over, so I trudged through. :)

A Cold Day in July

2009-07-21T20:05:00.009-05:00

My mom, sister and I had a small garage sale on Saturday. It was unseasonably cool on Saturday in Jonesboro. I wore a sweatshirt until noon. I had been wanting to get rid of some books so I won't have to move them ever again. They're so heavy. An once I've read a book, there's no need to keep it unless it's something I'll look at again. So, now when I buy & read a book I pass it off to someone else that might like it.

We made about $80 total on the sale, which I didn't think was bad considering we didn't put an ad in the paper and didn't really have anything of any value. The most expensive items we had were two chairs -- sold for $10/ea. I came away with $25. Again, not bad considering nothing I had sold for more than $1. Most things were a quarter. The goal was to get rid of some things and hopefully make a little money at the same

time. I don't like messing with getting a receipt at Goodwill. Plus, it was just a good day spent with family outdoors.

Saturday afternoon I helped my new boss prepare food for his 30 year class reunion. Kinda fun actually.

Then I came home and made cookies. Cranberry & Walnut. Made from a chocolate chip recipe of my Aunt Jackie's. Sooo yummy. I made them for my movie guests. I made the chocolate chip recipe on Sunday to take to work. I promised the guys at work I'd make cookies for them when they put my new desk together. More on that soon. A bunch of friends came over that night to watch "Election" and eat watermelon. Good day.

Last minute Salad Experiment

2009-07-17T17:43:00.003-05:00

"Necessity is indeed the mother of invention"~quoted by Jo March at the beginning of the movie "Little Women". I have seen that movie so many times...

Anyway, I thought of this quote because I "invented" a new salad last night. It's similar to the Quesadilla Explosion at Chili's. I was home last night not wanting to eat left-over chicken pot pie so I decided to make a quesadilla. I do this sometimes when there's nothing else to eat but I want something besides cereal or cheese & crackers. I looked in the fridge and found some baked chicken my sister had left over from a meal earlier this week. I heated it and cut it up. I put it on a tortilla along with grated cheese (most of it fat free), taco sauce and fresh ripe tomatoes. My best friend from childhood, RandiJo, dropped them off at my house this week. She and I grew a garden together one summer in college so it brought back some memories. Then I had some lettuce left over from my July 4th party so I threw that on there with some low fat Ranch dressing.

Voila! A delicious salad! It was good and somewhat healthy. I'm getting better at this cooking thing. :)

My Cup Runneth Over

2009-07-14T21:10:00.006-05:00

This summer I have had the blessing of witnessing three of my young cousins get baptized. Abby, Justice and Emily. Abby was saved at church camp, Justice probably prayed at home I am not sure, and Emily was with her grandma Margaret (my aunt) and Abby at the 4-H camp at Ferndale. My cup runneth over. These baptisms have been extra special to me and I'm very glad I was able to be there for all of them. Another of my young cousins, Tyler, passed away in May. I was able to witness his baptism a few years ago and that has given me a great deal of comfort as I still grieved.

Tyler, Emily and

Abby were all baptized at Oak Grove Baptist Church near my grandmother's house. I love going there. It's where my parents were married. Where my grandpa's funeral was. It has that smell that brings back memories. I must have gone there as a child for VBS or something. I think all old country churches smell the same. Like glue and panelling.

Oak Grove services are interesting. The sermons are short, thank goodness (ha!), but the singing is the BEST. They have Heavenly Highway Hymnals. They have regular hymnals too, which they call "the white book". Singing in that church feels different than my church. I go to a big church in a nice modern building. This church was built decades ago. It's had some face-lifts you can tell. There's nice wainscoting up to the chair rail and then they put paneling above that. Turquoise is the color of fabric covering the pews, the carpet and the hip vertical blinds. I was there on Father's Day for Abby's baptism

and Sunday night for Emily's. This week they observed the Lord's Supper. They have closed communion which is when only the actual church members can take communion. There were Lots of visitors Sunday because of the baptisms. So, the preacher had the bright idea to have all the members gather in the aisle so it would be easier to pass out the crackers & juice. A few years ago I would've thought Oak Grove was stuck in a rut and old fashioned, but as I get older I realize that just because it's a small church doesn't mean it's a dead church. Their baptismal waters are stirring and they have a mission field right in the community. I'm glad Oak Grove is there.

My dad and I took Abby, Emily, Chance & Cody to Memphis one Saturday this summer. Here are some pics.

Chicken Pot Pie

2009-07-14T21:01:00.004-05:00

I made Chicken Pot Pie tonight. A recipe I got from hungry-girl.com a site with low fat recipes for yummy things. Here is the recipe. It was good.

I rarely cook anything this involved for just myself. And now I know why. By the time I get home, cook and get ready to eat I'm not hungry anymore and it's late and I don't really want to cook for just myself. Seems kinda silly.

I honestly think tonight might have been the first Chicken Pot Pie I've ever eaten. My mom never made it... Also, I think they are just sneaky ways to get you to eat your veggies.

Watching The Bachelorette

2009-07-13T20:18:00.003-05:00

Oh the drama on The Bachelorette.

I didn't make it to the gym tonight. I was invited to eat at Hiro, a new Japanese restaurant, and I was waaaay too full to work out. Then I painted my toenails, which I desperately needed to do, and now I can't put my tennis shoes on anyway. I'm going to bed early.

I can't figure out Jillian on The Bachelorette. I hope she finds love though. :)

Night in Memphis

2009-07-12T08:17:00.005-05:00

Last night I went to Memphis with some of my closest friends: Matt & Amanda Hurdle, Michael & Brittney Johnson, Andy & Lori. We saw Wicked at the Orpheum then went out to the Wolfchase area to eat at The Melting Pot. The show was stupendous, as expected, and dinner was fabulous as well. Oh, I have to tell about our waiter! So, my friend Matt is from a town called Weiner, AR. Yes that's right. That alone is funny. His wife Amanda mentioned something to him about going to Weiner soon or something and the waiter overheard this. One the led to another and our waiter, Zach, admitted to having a tatoo of a hotdog with wings on his torso. This was funny, but I really didn't believe him. I mean, seriously. Then he had a fairly believable story about helping out a tatoo artist buddy right before the guy went into the army. So, he ended with this tatoo. As the night went on, it was a joke, but I still felt like he was putting on to get a good tip. So after he brought the main course, I said, "This is all wonderful, but you know what I'd really like to have right now? A hot dog!" hahahaha So he puts his pitcher of water on the floor and lifted his shirt right there at the table and showed us! Sure enough. There was a hotdog with intricate wings tatooed on his ribs. Ha! Made for an interesting evening.

I put up some pics of the evening.

Saturday morning walk

2009-07-11T07:39:00.006-05:00

I just got back from a Saturday morning walk and, after spilling my first breakfast, I'm now eating the second on my patio with my unsoiled peanut butter & crackers & Diet Coke. Healthy I know. But, it's what I wanted and I'm a grown-up. So there.

My sister woke me up too early this morning with her banging around & TV turned on. She has real estate class today. So I went ahead and got up and decided to go for a walk around my neighborhood since it was early & cool. I live in an older neighborhood. Est. in the 1950's. It' so cute! There are sidewalks even. :) It was not an uber calorie burning walk, but I did sweat. I just wanted to take a relaxing walk in the neighborhood to see the houses up close. It's completely different than driving by in the car. Even with the windows rolled down.

Let's see... I found 3 quarters in someone's driveway/on the sidewalk so I took it. I mean, they wouldn't have noticed it there. Quarters are silver and the concrete driveway was gray, so really... Now I'm 75 cents richer. I consider it my reward for getting up and doing something productive instead of just watching trash on TV.

I also saw a racoon! I have a feeling it was going back into the bushes after a night of scavenging. So I try to figure out what people are like by looking at their house. Probably most of these folks are old. I spotted a few wheelchair ramps. Oh, and I saw some storm shelters. My grandparents had one. There were the tacky yard ornaments as well. Oh and the most telling of features: the add-on. This is when old men decide to take in the carport to make a "den". Or they take in the patio to make a sun room. The exterior never matches the original exterior of the house. But oddly enough it's usually where a family likes to spend most of their leisure time - in the New Room. Ha ha Enough of my over analyzation of my neighbors.

The air is till today. No wind as I'm looking out on my own backyard. I've been jamming to my iPod since I walked out of the house to walk. Playing a variety ranging from Celine Dion to Elvis to Counting Crows to Michael Buble.

I love this country!

I'm going to see "Wicked" this afternoon at The Orpheum in Memphis. So excited!

Signing off,

Autumn

Keeping Up

2009-07-09T20:27:00.004-05:00

I have decided to blog a few things that I need a great deal of discipline to actually follow through with each day/week. I thought if I wrote them out I'd have a better chance of doing them. We'll see how it goes.

I've been to the gym each night this week. I really need to lose some weight. Went to spin on Tues & Thurs. Both times we had a teacher I'd never had before. On Monday night I went to the gym and watched The Bachelorette (my guilty pleasure) for 2 straight hours while working out. And Wednesday night I went to church, then went to the gym after. I meant to weigh tonight but I do it next time. I also bought some healthier choices for food. Er... I tried. I'm still trying to get used to preparing my meals. At Clopton we had breakfast & lunch provided so actually having to give thought to the fact that I'll have to each each morning and noon has been an adjustment. I got some lean cuisines or whatever. I had one today at lunch. Not bad. And one of my fave lunch foods is strawberries & cottage cheese. Yummy. :) I also got some english muffins for breakfast. I'd been doing the bagel thing, but that's too much.

I'd been eating way too much fast food since starting at Tiger. I was feeling it big time. These frozen dinners are really easy & don't like preparing a lunch.

I'm also reading my Bible as part of a girls Bible study at church. Praying for the Lord to bless me and for a positive attitude.

25 Random things about me

2009-02-06T10:33:00.000-06:00

1. RandiJo & I were best friends from 1st grade all the way through school & college. We are total opposites, but it worked. I've some I my best life moments with RJ.

2. The single greatest regret of my life was not being at Tiffany & Brian's wedding. I should've been there.

3. My friends are exTREMEly important to me. I consider them family. They're what I look forward to all week long. I used to worry about not having many close friends, and now i feel very blessed.

4. I love reading about American History.

5. I love museums. I think this comes from my family vacations growing up. My dad made us stop at every historical marker. Oddly, my sister & mom don't really get into history the way my dad & I do.

6. I usually studied at the library in college. I cannot concentrate at home where the TV and such are a distraction.

7. Scary movies really scare me. Even the previews.

8. Previews are my favorite part of going to the movie theater. If I arrive late and miss the previews, I have buyers remorse. Like I didn't completely get my money's worth.

9. I want to get married in 2010. I figure it will always be easy calculate how long I've been married.

10. #9 comes from the fact that I finished kindergarten in 1990, therefore I was able to remember that in 1994, for example, I was in the 4th grade. This is very handy I promise.

11. My favorite song is Uptown Girl by Billy Joel.

12. I LOVE karaoke. I know I don't sing well, but microphones are very fun.

13. I day dream a lot. Sometimes I'm taken back to like 3rd grade and I'm on the school bus reading a baby sitters club book or American Girl book. Those were the days.

14. My mom made me ride the bus to school even though she didn't start working outside the home until I was in 7th grade.

15. I like antiques.

16. I have to wear a mouth guard at night because I grit my teeth. yeah. It's sexy.

17. Pizza is my favorite food.

18. I'm currently reading "The Hemingses of Monticello". It's the story of a mixed race slave family that lived at Thomas Jefferson's plantation. Jefferson had "relations" with one of the women. Scandalous. My family visited Monticello on the way home from Colonial Williamsburg.

19. When I was a kid my dad did a Bible object lesson with me & my sis every morning before school.

20. My favorite place to be is at my family's farm.

21. Since living in a 50 year old house, I'm overly impressed by modern faucets in other people's homes.

22. I love to dance!

23. July 4th is my favorite holiday. New Year's Eve comes in 2nd.

24. Dating stresses me out! I wish I could just skip it and get married. My theory is always: why risk having a dull time when I know I can spend the evening with my fabulous friends? thus, I am still single.

25. I am skeptical when people try to sell me things. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Icy

2009-01-27T09:51:00.003-06:00

It is icy today. All of the schools are closed in Jonesboro. I had to come to work. Over the past few years, Clopton Clinic closed when the weather was snowy and/or icy. However, we've had a policy change. We now do not close for the weather. If people choose not to come to work, they will be able to use their PTO time. It's been a big hoopla at the CC.

So, last night Hannah and I just stayed at home because the weather was rough. We watched new episodes of The Bachelor (my guilty pleasure) and John & Kate Plus 8. The Bachelor is narrowing it down quickly. He even opted not to disperse one of the roses last night because he knew the final three weren't for him. I love it! It's getting good now.

Amanda is throwing a Mardis Gras party for me for my birthday. Yay! I'm so excited! But not excited about turning 25... Sad day. I'm getting older. Not nearly as cute as I used to be. Haha!
Oh well.. I have AMAZING friends with which to share my special day and I'm looking forward to it.

Mr. President

2009-01-23T12:45:00.003-06:00

I took off work on Tuesday to watch the inauguration of President Barak Obama. I'm so glad I did. It was very eventful. The Mall in DC was a sea of people. They estimated 1.5 mm. I was reminded of being there for July 4th, 2002. It hadn't been a full year since the attacks on Sept 11 and it was a very patriotic atmosphere.
It was about 20 degrees in DC on Monday, but that didn't stop people from coming out. The event overshadowed all other occaisions that day. ABC had great coverage of the White House exchange. President and First Lady Laura Bush gracefully welcomed Barak & Michelle Obama to their new home. Cameras were at the portico were they went in and out.
At the ceremony, Aretha Franklin sang and Rick Warren, author of The Purpose Driven Life, said a beautiful prayer. I teared up. It was a day to be very proud to be an American... as all days are.
That night there was a "Neighborhood Ball" in addition to the traditional inaugural ball. There lots of celebrities there performing, but the BEST part.. and the hi-light of my year so far.. was when Beyonce Knowles sang "At Last" while the President and his wife danced. I teared up then too.

Sure as I'm Sittin' Here

2008-11-25T15:51:00.004-06:00

I found a radio station in Memphis, The River, that plays Christmas music all the time... until Christmas of course.

We took mom to see Mama Mia on Sunday and she loved it. It was a great show. Then we went shopping at Macy's. It was a good time.

I made the mistake of going shopping on Saturday. The traffic was terrible in Jonesboro. I think Hannah & I are going to go together to buy mom some perfume. I can't figure out what to get dad. I already bought him a CD, but I need something else. I also thought about getting him a Sonic card...

I found the necklace Hannah wants, but it's $150. I looked for something similar but haven't found anything yet.

Going to the Theatre

2008-11-21T10:41:00.004-06:00

It's Friday and I'm going to see Charlotte's Web at JHS tonight with Mom, Ila Beth, Justice & Hannah. Two of the guys that were in Little Women with me are going to be in it.

Then on Sunday Hannah, Mom and I are going to Memphis to see Mama Mia at the Orpheum. It's for mom's birthday. The movie came out this year and she loved it -- saw it 3 times!

Looks like it's gonna be a wonderful weekend. And Saturday is free to clean the house and just take it easy. :)

freezing

2008-11-18T11:47:00.003-06:00

It's cold today. It was below freezing this morning. Officially winter weather.

I went to see Grandma in the hospital last night. She was sleepy and drugged and in pain. I feel so sorry for her. :(

I'm going to spin class tonight. The first time since my surgery. I'm kinda nervous about it. I think I will go home at lunch today and pack a bag for the gym so I can go directly from work.

Grandma got runned over by a Reindeer

2008-11-17T10:43:00.006-06:00

My Grandma Tubbs broke her ankle last night at home. It was a really bad break. The bone came out of the skin. :( Dr. Schrantz did surgery last night and she'll be in the hospital for a few days. She was upset because she messed up her birthday and Thanksgiving and Christmas.

I decorated my house for Christmas on Saturday. It looks good. I made a table runner out of some fabric left over from Hannah's Madrigal dress in 2004. It's green taffeta and I put two red tassels on the end of it. I also put my new nativity on top of the armoire with a small Christmas tree. I re-arranged the living room and made a place for the tree. I moved the fig tree into the den and put lights on it. My friends are coming to help me put up the tree.

Amanda and I went to see Aida at Valley View high school Saturday night. It was excellent. That is a huge production for a high school and they did a fabulous job. Crystal Stormes is doing her teaching internship there this semester and got to help with the show.

It's the weekend

2008-11-14T22:20:00.003-06:00

So, I'm sitting on the couch at 10:20 on Friday night watching Will & Grace. This is really the "right" place to be blogging instead of on company time... hee hee.

I just got home from Amanda's. Matt's deer hunting and so I went over to help her hang some pictures on the walls. The house is really coming together. It's amazing how much cozier a home can feel w/ pictures on the wall. It was funny. I felt like my mother because I was all making decision for her. If the situation were reversed, I'd NEVER the the stuff on the walls. She was glad I came to help.

We're going to Aida tomorrow night at Valley View high school.

It's cold and rainy this weekend. D-Now is in action at church. Hannah is doing that & Andy, Lori & Shaun are in Florida for a small vaca to see the Blue Angels. Andy's bro-in-law, Dustin, has a bro-in-law that's an Angel. Very cool thing. I would've gone too, but really couldn't afford it plus I'd been off for two week for surgery and i didn't need to take off two days this week.

I bought Life insurance today from Northwestern Mutual via Gene McIlvoy. Gene called on me about a month ago and I finally decided to purchase $35,000 of whole life ins and $100,000 of term. It's $40/mo. and the whole life builds cash value. I'm glad I did this. Even though it is very odd because I can't imagine dying and needing to have life ins. It's really just for a type of savings.

I'm loving my new Christmas CD. I may get my xmas decorations out tomorrow. It depends on if I get the house clean first.

I went back to see Dr. Haughey today for my foot. He basically dismissed me. Everything looks good. :)

I haven't talked to Tiffany since Brian's funeral. I called her on Wed. night and left a message, but she hasn't called back. I bought her a massage from Roman touch. thought it'd be a good way to relax. I mailed it today with a card.

signing off

And the cheese stands alone

2008-11-13T10:00:00.003-06:00

So, my cousin Jeffrey proposed to Crystal. I'm definitely going to be the last of my cousins to marry. Which I do not mind, but I always feel weird at family events. Like I'm the odd one. I usually just spend time with the younger ones because it makes me feel like a kid again and I like going back and seeing things through a child's eye.

I spent time with my grandmother a couple of nights ago and it was good. I picked out an Angel of the Garden for my Willow Tree Angel collection. It was from Granpda Moore & Eural for my graduation. We'd just now gotten around to picking one out because of business and grandpa was sick and then passed on in Sept. He was a gardener which is why I picked it. He always had a big garden. Even into his nineties.

I need to decide what to do with my life. It's like I'm hanging in the balance between childhood and adulthood, but I'm not in college anymore. Although, I have to say that I've LOVING all of my free time now. I never knew what it was like exept for the couple of summers when I wasn't taking classes. I go to a job all day now (which I don't enjoy, but about 15% of the day) and get off about 4:30pm which is nice and one reason I've stayed here as long as I have. I get here about 8:20am and leave at 4:30pm. Any other job I'd be expected to be there at 8am and stay until 5pm.

So... it looks like my options are to move away and work for a bigger company and not have my amazing friends, whom I cherish as family and that give me something look forward to always, close by. Or... I stay here and wait. I've thought about the mission field time and time again, but I don't know how to approach this as a single woman. I do NOT want to go to seminary and be a full-time student. I've spent enough time in the class room. Bottom line: I need to pray about this. I do not pray like I should at all. But It's so frustrating because I used to pray for a husband and a very sincere prayer that the Lord would be making me into a Godly wife, but I've not been blessed with a romantic relationship in a very long time. I'm trying to figure out what I'm doing wrong, but at the same time I think, "Why should I start praying again if I did for years and nothing happened?" Oh sure, there were dates, but none amounted to anything.

sickly

2008-11-11T13:12:00.003-06:00

I'm at work and feeling sickly today. It's been going around the office -- the stomach sickness or something...
I just left a board meeting at the Chamber and we're getting things lined up for a Conference in the spring. It should be great! I'm glad to be a part of it.
We've decided to do a few parties the weekend of Thanksgiving while the Bishops are in town. We're putting up my tree on Friday night and then doing Friends Thanksgiving on Sat night. Can't wait!

Listening to Christmas Music

2008-11-06T16:17:00.003-06:00

It's Thursday, 4:19pm. I'm at work and ready to head home. I've recovered very well from surgery. I can walk very normal now and I wore my Born boots yesterday without much complaint. I've come a loooong way in three weeks.

Barak Obama was elected the 44th President of the United States Tuesday. I didn't vote for him, but I'm OK with this. I voted for John McCain/Sarah Palin. However, overall, I do think it is a major step for the United States to have elected a man of color. While Obama is not an African American like most black people are African American, I still see it as if we've elected a black man. His wife is an African American. His father is Kenyan and his mother is apparently Hawaiian or something. It's interesting to see the media starting to switch gears and find things to attack him. It's not bad yet, but it's coming.

Paul McKinney said something in class last night that was enlightening. He said although we may not have voted for Barak Obama and may wish that he was not in this position, he's still the president (or will be) and we, as Christians, still have a biblical responsibility to pray for him. God is all-powerful. He put Mr. Obama in this place for this time and our faith in God should recognize this. If it doesn't, then we have a small faith and aren't realizing the supremecy of our God. Our God holds this world in His hands.

I am listening to Christmas music today. I'm trying to get into the mood. This is the first Christmas in a looong time that I won't be worrying about finals or projects. This year I can just relax and enjoy the Holidays. I usually don't enjoy the Holidays because I'm the only one of my cousins not married or in a relationship. It's a little depressing... But, I'm trying to have a better attitude.

Tonight is Lori's movie night. She's living in Harrisburg in her dad's workshop that they renovated for her to live in. We're eating at some new Mexican place before the movie. I'm excited.

David Baldacci released a new book in the Camel Club series on Tuesday. I may buy it this weekend. I have a 15% coupon for B&N.

Signing off.

Back in the swing of things

2008-11-04T10:03:00.005-06:00

I'm back at work as of yesterday. It wasn't bad... I managed to get up and get here on time surprisingly. I'm so out of shape and I dream crazy stuff so when I wake up in the mornings I'm very sore. I'm walking much better now, so I will be able to hit the gym soon I think... at least for weights.

Today is election day in the USA. I'm very nervous. Barak Obama v. John McCain. I voted for McCain. I miss Paul & Richard at times like this. None of my friends here really get into politics. Oh, how things have changed since the election 4 years ago. I spent countless hours at the local Republican hdqtrs. Good times. Paul & Richard voted for Bob Barr, the Libertarian hopeful. It's looking like Obama will win, according to the polls. I will watch the numbers come in tonight. I want to watch it with them, but they're in Little Rock...

So, Halloween was last weekend. I dressed as Sarah Palin. It was a good time. I had a party at my house and made baked potatoes and sweet potatoes. Everything went well. I tried to put a pic in here, but I don't think it worked...

Baby, it's cold outside

2008-10-27T16:21:00.004-05:00

I'm wrapped up on the couch. It's really cold today. I don't think it even hit 50 degrees. Luckily I'm at home. I'm going to see Carrie Underwood tonight at the Convo. My first real event post-toe surgery. I'm a little nervous. I keep having these cringing moments of fear that someone may step on my toe.

Grandma came by today to visit. She stayed for about an hour.

Amanda called earlier. She was upset about Circle of Friends. That organization is very unorganized and neither of us really care to stay involved after Christmas. The president isn't organized and we have our meetings that the 501, so noone is really focused on the important stuff.

I scrapbooked a little today -- did my graduation page. I will hopefully work on it more this week.

Hannah and I are hosting a Halloween party Friday night too. So I'll be getting the house ready for that.

Cozy

2008-10-24T14:15:00.003-05:00

Cooler weather is here! It's that wonderful time of year again -- Autumn :)

I'm cozily wrapped up on the sofa in the living room watching Sleepless in Seattle. I couldn't wait to get here. Mom took me back to Dr. Haughey today. They were running late and I was extremely nervous. All of my dreaded pain came to reality when he finally saw me. He took my bandage off again and took my stitches out. It was terribly painful, but I'm OK now thank goodness. Just chillin' out here. Hannah went to Chad's hometown this weekend, so I've got her laptop and it's just plummy!

I think I'll look online for some job postings.

Signing off

Ow my toe.

2008-10-23T15:47:00.004-05:00

So, I'm at home from work still because of my toe surgery. It's doing much better. In fact, I read my last post and it didn't make much sense because of my medication. I went to the doctor on Tuesday and almost passed out, but I made it. I'm going back tomorrow.

We're hosting movie night here tonight. It's MJ's movie, but it's just more convenient to do it here. Hannah is going to meet Chad's parents this weekend at his brother's wedding. They've been dating for a year now... well, not publicly for a year.

I got my scrapbooking stuff out today. I laid out the page for graduation.

I got out of the house for the first time last night. Andy picked me up and we went to church then out to Matt & Amanda's new house. They were painting. It's looking good. I'm so excited for them. I felt all grown up. I was feeling sorry for myself yesterday. It seemed like everyone was moving on and was kinda left behind. The Hurdles bought a house, Andy's going through some very exciting changes at work, MJ and Britt are getting married... But, I need to just focus on getting better right now.

On another note -- I think we're hosting Thanksgiving here this year. I'm very nervous about it though. All the little kids running around and will there be enough room? yada yada yada...

I'm going out to grandma's Sat. for Sadler's first birthday and hanging with the family. Looking forward to it for sure. It'll be nice this time of year.

Signing off.

Dizzy

2008-10-20T13:17:00.003-05:00

I'm home from work on this Monday. I'm sitting here on the couch with my right foot elevated listening to a song called "Autumn Leaves" by Paula Cole on this channel I found. If you go down past channel 2 there are these music channels and I'm using them to mellow out. I think this channel is called Easy Listening.

I had surgery on my right big toe on Friday morning. Dr. Haughey removed a bone spur. Mom stayed with me all weekend, but I'm on my own today. It's not too bad. I'm very sleepy. Probably from the pain medicine. Saturday night I was in excruciating pain. I'm glad mom was here.

People have given me movies and magazines.

Kennieth Goodwin's last day at Clopton Clinic was Friday. He was the network administrator. He's started a cable company north of Paragould and he's just pursuing that now. We actually hired Brian Reed. I went to school with Brian.

I'm not really with it right now...

signing off

Getting ready to be off work

2008-10-13T09:39:00.003-05:00

It's Monday morning. I'm needing to get lots done this week because I'm having surgery on my toe Friday morning and I'll be off work for two weeks. I'm so excited about that part! I have plans to read and scrapbook and possibly get my office organized and also possibly apply for jobs/send my resume out.
This weekend was all about Little Women. Tonight is my last performance. It's bitter sweet... I've enjoyed it so much. In fact, I didn't dislike anything about it. Everyone in the cast was wonderful. I'm going to miss them.

Matt & Amanda Hurdle are closing on their first house this week. I'm so excited for them! They bought a house in Hunter's Glen out toward Harrisburg (about 3 miles out of town). It's so nice. I'm going to be out of commission this weekend so I won't be able to help them paint. I feel kinda bad about this because I've been telling them for two year that I'd help them paint. Oh well. I'm hosting a Halloween part on the 31st. So they can relax and be happy they're in their house. She's giving me her Halloween decorations to use since they won't be using them this year. I still have some of their boxes in my attic from when I moved.

I'm going to be Sarah Palin for Halloween this year. I got an Alaska sweat shirt from Carole Rupard and I'm going to get some glasses & wear Hannah's wooly boots. hee hee. :)
Hannah and I are hosting the party and we're having a baked potato bar. Everyone can just build their own. I think it'll be fun.

I'm excited about fall this year. My house is very reflective of the seasons. In the morning the kitchen is so bright. I love being at home in the morning. I wish I was home more in fact, but I've gotta pay the bills.

My first entry

2008-10-06T11:31:00.000-05:00

I decided to start an online journal. I haven't written in a journal for probably a year plus. But I do not like hand writing my journal. And thanks to spell check I am now aware that journal-ing is not a word even though people use it all them time.

I am at work. Most of my time spent on the Internet is from 8a-5p. I do not like to be on the computer while I'm at home because I stare at a computer screen a majority of my work days, so when I'm at home I want to do anything but.

Well, I guess I will just write about my life. Today is Wednesday and our final dress rehearsal for Little Women is tonight @ 5:15pm. This is my first time in a serious play and I've really enjoyed it. Most of the cast is in high school and it's great being around kids that age again. I'm rarely around people much younger than myself. They're all great and well behaved and take the play seriously. I graduated with my MBA on Aug 1, 2008 (this year) and I wanted to do something creative to take a break from the boredom of class. I wanted to expand my experiences and meet new people -- which worked because I didn't know anyone in the play. I heard about it through Sam Hiser that I work with. He's the assistant director and has made me feel very welcome at the Foundation of Arts. The play is this weekend at the Forum. There's an ASU home football game on Sat night that I will have to miss. :(

We're performing for a group of students at 9am tomorrow. I don't know if I will come into work after that or not. I haven't decided. I guess it will depend on what I get accomplished today. Thursday night I'm having coffee with Derek Osborn. I met him through my friend Matt Hurdle. They went to high school together in Weiner. hee hee. sorry... I always think it's funny. Anyway, we've been emailing back & forth for a while so it'll be fun to hang out together. I haven't been to The Edge since college. It's a cool place near campus. My friend Lori Block had some art work on display there for a while, but I don't think it's there anymore. I think she moved it to Hastings' cafe. After coffee is Movie Night which is one of my favorite parts of each week. Matt created a Movie Club for friends. We each have a turn and get to bring a movie of our choice that we'd like to share. This week is Hannah's turn so everyone will be at our house. I brought Guess Who's Coming to Dinner when it was my turn. It was a hit.

I'm going to get back to work now. I have several things that need to get finished because starting next Friday I'm going to be off work for 2 weeks. I can barely contain my EXCITEMent!! I'm having surgery on my toe. blah. But, it will be nice to not have to work for 2 weeks.

Signing off