Christmas Trivia

• California, Oregon, Michigan, Washington, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and North Carolina are the top Christmas tree producing states. Oregon is the leading producer of Christmas trees - 8.6 million in 1998.
• Christmas is not widely celebrated in Scotland. Some historians believe that Christmas is downplayed in Scotland because of the influence of the Presbyterian Church (or Kirk), which considered Christmas a "Papist," or Catholic event. As a result, Christmas in Scotland tends to be somber.
• Christmas trees are edible. Many parts of pines, spruces, and firs can be eaten. The needles are a good source of vitamin C. Pine nuts, or pine cones, are also a good source of nutrition.
• Cultured Christmas trees must be shaped as they grow to produce fuller foliage. To slow the upward growth and to encourage branching, they are hand-clipped in each spring. Trees grown in the wild have sparser branches, and are known in the industry as "Charlie Brown" trees.
• For every real Christmas tree harvested, 2 to 3 seedlings are planted in its place.
• Dr. Seuss' "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" is narrated by none other than Frankenstein himself, Boris Karloff. Thurl Ravenscroft, famous as the voice of Tony "They're Great!" the Tiger, sings the trademark song, "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch." And June Forray, best known as the voice of Bulwinkle's sidekick, Rocky the Squirrel, makes an uncredited appearance as the voice of the adorable Cindy Lou Who, the tiniest Who in Who-ville. (from http://www.rambles.net/grinch_xmas.html)
• It is estimated that 400,000 people become sick each year from eating tainted Christmas leftovers.
• New York City's Empire State Building's world famous tower lights are turned off every night at midnight with the exception of New Year's Eve, New Year's Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and St. Patrick's Day, when they are illuminated until 3 a.m.
• More diamonds are purchased at Christmas -time (31 percent) than during any other holiday or occasion during the year.

from http://www.corsinet.com/braincandy

tee hee....

Found this online.... SO TRUE! :-)

http://www.corsinet.com/braincandy/hdogx3.html

Wrapping Presents with Dogs

1. Gather presents, boxes, paper, etc. in middle of living room floor. 2. Get tape back from puppy. 3. Remove scissors from older dog's mouth. 4. Open box. 5. Take puppy out of box. 6. Remove tape from older dog's mouth. 7. Take scissors away from puppy. 8. Put present in box. 9. Remove present from puppy's mouth. 10. Put back in box after removing puppy from box. 11. Take scissors from older dog and sit on them. 12. Remove puppy from box and put on lid. 13. Take tape away from older dog. 14. Unroll paper. 15. Take puppy OFF box. 16. Cut paper being careful not to cut puppy's foot or nose that is getting in the way as he "helps." 17. Let puppy tear remaining paper. 18. Take puppy off box. 19. Wrap paper around box. 20. Remove puppy from box & take wrapping paper from its mouth. 21. Tell older dog to fetch the tape so he will stop stealing it. 22. Take scissors away from puppy. 23. Take tape older dog is holding. 24. Quickly tape one spot before taking scissors from older dog & sitting on them again. 25. Fend off puppy trying to steal tape & tape another spot. 26. Take bow from older dog. 27. Go get roll of wrapping paper puppy ran off with. 28. Take scissors from older dog who took them when you got up. 29. Give pen to older dog to hold so he stops licking your face. 30. Remove puppy from present & hurriedly slap tape on to hold the paper on. 31. Take now soggy bow from puppy & tape on since the sticky stuff no longer sticks. 32. Take pen from older dog, address tag & affix while puppy tries to eat pen. 33. Grab present before puppy opens it & put it away. 34. Clean up mess puppy & older dog made playing tug-of-war with remnants of wrapping paper. 35. Put away rest of wrapping supplies & tell dogs what good helpers they are.

Warning... stream of consciousness ahead may get choppy.

-watching Polar Express...
-I've been in the Christmas spirit for a while now.
-work's going well
-We drew "secret Santas" today, and I'm glad I got who I got. She'll be easy to buy for.
-I have already bought Gerald 2 presents, and my MIL 2. So far, that's it.
-I need to get on the shopping train! :-) (and we come full circle to Polar Express.) "Caribou!?!"
-My dog is the cutest in the world. He needs to go potty now.

Ok... that's it for tonight. I've got doggie-induced ADD
L8R!

 

F.R.I.E.N.D.S

I wrote this as a "comment" (read: dissertation) on my SIL's blog.
I haven't thought this deep in quite some time. I miss my peoples.
Anyway, on with the "show"

Friendship...
It's never been easy for me to "lose" a friend (voluntarily or otherwise) because I think I make friends easily. Even though it is a little hard for me to open up to new people, it doesn't take long for me to make a connection with someone once I have made that connection. Then, it sticks. Can't get rid of me. At least I can't get rid of you.

Not long ago, I had an epiphany about friendship, and very recently (last Tuesday, in fact) I had a confirmation about that epiphany. There are those in our lives who are not in our daily comings-and-goings, but can be called great friends. I've called them forever-friends. Ms. Green's story will call them "lifetime" friends. In my life, I know that I go on living and doing my daily thing without great ponderings of the goings-on in their lives. But there are some times that I'll get so consumed with a friend's daily life. For example: I wonder what Angel had for lunch; if she got to work on time; is she having a good day; does she feel like studying; what was her favorite book as a child; does she have wacky socks on today; does she remember the time when we did VBS at that church in Pineville and the storyteller who could cure insomnia... things that I would feel petty and insignificant just calling and asking... almost like I was fishing for attention and conversation. Sometimes I think I'm that desperate for the conversation. Anyway, my point and the lesson I learned: If your heart brings up someone to speak to; if you have a strong urge to call that friend, don't be afraid to call them. Because of that friendship bond, if you have the urge, the other person will also feel that same need.

If there were requirements for friendship, I think the only things I could bring to the table would be caring, a little wacky humor, and loyalty. I'm not so great with the proactive part of friendship, and I know this. I berate myself regularly for not "following through" with contacts to friends. I feel like I'm not "holding up my part of the bargain." Enough with the business-jargon. Friendship is not a business contract to be upheld. Friendship IS just a pair (or group) of flawed individuals with empty holes in the same places where others' offerings can fill those holes. (and I'm not talking about the cross-shaped hole)

The definition from webster.com is more specific than dictionary.com
1 a : one attached to another by affection or esteem b : ACQUAINTANCE
2 a : one that is not hostile b : one that is of the same nation, party, or group
3 : one that favors or promotes something (as a charity)
4 : a favored companion

Definitions 1 and 4 are the working definitions for our discussion. 1a. and 4 most closely resemble the folks I surround myself with. Def. 1b. includes those "old friends" who are truly acquaintances. (a person whom one knows but who is not a particularly close friend) This could spin off a discussion of acquaintances, but that's for another day...

A few words pop out in my mind. Affection (tender attatchment). Esteem (value). Favored (preferred) Companion. "Affection (from Latin ad, and facere, meaning "to do something to") is an emotion that derives from the recognition of one's own values in the character of another." (from wikipedia) WOW! I recognize ____ in you that I posess myself. And that's where I draw your value/esteem from. Because I recognize that same-ness in you, I prefer to be in your company above others (esteem).

That's where a friend comes from, I guess.

I guess as for the not-doing-anything approach, even inaction constitutes an action. (Omission rather than commision.) I always read in magazine articles the Q&A about the friendship that has just fallen off the table. "Should I leave it alone or pursue it further." I never understood it when the "expert" says to slowly stop efforts to continue the relationship. I begin to agree with Mike: "I don't think you can write off a friend. If you could, wouldn't you wonder after if you could truly have been friends to begin with?"

I went to my 10-year HS reunion recently. It was the first time I'd spoken to the majority of those folks in that long time. Among the group were a few of my tried-and-true best friends from that season of my life. Because of who-knows-what, there had been a major opportunity for a write-off situation during the 10-year lapse. My forgiving and loyal nature never allowed it, however, in spite of evidence that the friendship would never revive. *the still small heart continued a faint tremble* I was pleasantly surprised at how easily we slipped back into our best-friend rhythm that weekend. The friendship will never be as strong as it was, but I'm glad I didn't write off my friend and give up. During the weekend, I was reaffirmed, however, about those "preferred companionships" stemming from "high regard" that have come to light in recent years...

It's gettin' deep. Gotta step out of this place before I suffocate. :-)
LAMY

Just a bunch of pictures you might like to see...

I'm a lemming

Find me on MySpace and be my friend!

Should we include states we've passed thru?
If that's the case, I'll include West VA and New Mexico!


create your own visited states map
or check out these Google Hacks.

Hi, all! I've missed you. I've had a great couple of weeks, though.
We visited w/ the "Joneseseses of Bryant*" (not to be confused with Miss Jones of West Lil' Rock) in Knoxville last weekend, and it was a blast. I'd never been there before, and the trip over there was not bad at all: about 5 1/2 hours, not including stops. We ate hibachi Friday night, then took off to see the underground cave with the underwater lake. Yes, you read it right. I said it wrong. But I was saying it wrong all weekend! I'm goofy that way, I guess. The cave was pretty cool, except for the fact that I was a lil freaked out a couple of times. I guess I have bad luck in caves. The first time was in a coal mine in PA, where a mild "demonstration" of a cave-in had me squealing over a mechanical hand. GAH! Gerald loves to tell that story. Ask him.

*(city has been edited. thx, angel)

Anyway, the cave was pretty neat, but Angel says the cave formations in Arkansas are prettier. Well, I guess we'll just hafta go over and visit one day. How's May-ish sound for you, Angel? Is that a good time? ;-)

After the cave we PIGGED at the Dinner Bell then drove to the OTHER side of Knoxville for Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg where we visited the Ripley's Aquarium. Hey... I've got a "believe it or not" for ya..... "Believe it or not, RIPLEYS must OWN Gatlinburg." HAHA. Seriously. I'm surprised we didn't see Ripley's Post Office or Ripley's Pizza or Ripley's McDonalds. (Am I hungry?) The aquarium was neat. I've been to others that had more "different" fish to see, but the coolest part of this one was the 300-something-foot TUNNEL UNDER WATER that let you move through the huge tank and have the fish swim around you. I got a couple of good pics of sharks and such. (Yes, Angel and I had to recite the "nice shark" motto: ... Fish are Friends. Not Food!) Also, there was a HUGE coral-reef tank just teeming with the most beautiful fish I've ever seen. It was floor-to-ceiling and at least 20-30 feet long. I'd love to have an aquarium like that in my house!

Then, it was off to the outlets in Pigeon Forge, which reminded me of Fort Walton or Destin without all that sand and ocean stuff. There was even a store like Wings with more of a "mountain" theme, obviously. When I say we shopped @ the outlets, I mean we skuuurrrrrked into the parking lot at 8:40 and spotted Eddie Bauer Outlet (next to K-B Toys for Angel) and ran in to find all the things we didn't know we needed. We both got pants. woo hoo. We ate at a Chop House Restaurant and I had a YUM Steak Ceasar Salad. Holey Moley it was good! Then, back to Knoxville to sleep. We got up the next day and ate the worst hotel breakfast ever. When in doubt, don't do the buffet. Not worth the $$

So... Pup-Date... Brindle stayed with his foster family over the weekend and they had a great time. I'm glad they were able to hang with him some more. He had fun, too! We started Puppy Preschool last Monday; I need to learn so much more about him, and this is one of the best ways. The other puppy (and his mommy) live in our neighborhood! Now Brindle and Sam (Sam Smith, actually!) can play together after school. Brindle can almost always sit on command, and I know he knows his name. He's quiet in his crate after only a minute of sad "where's my people" whining. This will get better with time. We've got to start using the crate SO MUCH MORE because it'll help us w/ potty training which isn't going as well as I'd hoped, but he IS still a puppy. (whew! Run-on sentence!)

Today we have the remnants of Hurricane Ernesto (gotta say it w/ the accent!) parked over the house, so walking the puppy in his FIRST storm is not fun. I'm not exactly sure how it's going to work out, but I'll be heavily relying on the crate to help me. It's supposed to pour all weekend. Yippee. So much for a blowout for Labor Day. More like a washout!

Wow. I'm chatty. No caffeine. Just quiet puppy, which is nice.
I'll go take him out again, then we'll both turn in for the night. SLEEP TIGHT!

Milestone #1

We bought the crate and an exercise pen yesterday. The little blond lump is Baxter - he looks alot like Brindle's littermate Saffron. (Remember, Brindle was Basil initially; their mama is Rosemary. Get it?)

Gerald and I got out a little today. We ate @ Chilis, got a water bottle for his x-pen for daytime, and an additional baby crate (cuz the lil' houdini can climb!), and did a lil grocery shopping. When we got back - as expected- he was whining for our attention, but we wouldn't acknowledge him until he settled down, which was about 5 minutes. It broke my hear to hear it, but I know it's teaching him that his crying isn't what brings us back to him. Tonight should be "fun." :-)

Anyway, we're working to get Brindle to go into the crate. We put Baxter in, pet him and give him lots of "good boy's" while Brindle looks on. Then, Mr. Jealousy wants in on the action, so he jumps into the crate, so he can get his own "good boy's." I'm about to wake him up from his nap so he doesn't sleep too much this afternoon. It's just him and me tonight. WHEEEE!

I'm so much in love with him. He makes me smile in so many ways. :-)

pup-date

Brindle's taking his time getting used to our world. He and my "old" puppy Baxter are BFF now! (Baxter made his pup-lic debut on the (1) Train in Manhattan on the way home from Toys-backward R-Us. ) Anyway, we're working on "outside" being the bathroom. I'll put him on the Flexi-Lead and we'll do laps around the house. He likes that. He's learning his name, and he's getting TONS of "good boy's" when he runs toward me. We've only had MINOR potty-carpet setbacks, and we've discovered the cause. US! We're having a hard time learning Doglish, but we're learning. Brindle's a good trainer. ;-)

Brindle's napping at my feet now. We set up his bed-crate, and we also got an exercise pen (X-pen) for when it's awake time and we're around. It gives him a little more stretch room. He hasn't really done much other than walk in and out of them. Gerald will work on keeping him in the crate tonight to sleep. I'm so glad he's on nights, and he's off tonight. Tomorrow night it'll be just me and Brindle. Gerald's waking up around 10 tonight, and I haven't eaten dinner yet, so I'm gonna boil water for ravioli.


Mmmm... Dinner! :-)

Introducing... Brindle Basil Coon

And they call it.....

PUPPY LOVE!!!

We're gonna bring this angel-baby home on Friday. His foster name is Basil, but we're dubbing him Brindle... obviously. Mama is a 35lb terrier mix; dad unknown. I'm thinking the proud papa is a border terrier/boxer mix, based on his coloring and cute little swagger.

Thoughts???

I figured I'd update yall since all I've been posting is quizzes, really. I guess I've got writer's block.

Mom and dad are coming up TOMORROW!!!!! I'm so excited I can hardly stand it. I'll be off work for a few days, and we'll get to hang out. They're very excited to see the house (and us of course). We haven't seen them since March, and that was only for a couple of hours when we went to visit friends. Before that, it was Christmas. I miss my mommy!

So, the SoundPet Animal Rescue group are coming Thursday for a "home visit" before allowing us to adopt an adorable doggie. We wanted either Saffron or Basil (said w/ British accent, not like the herb - get it right!) but I found out this morning that Saffron was adopted last night. He was Gerald's favorite. BUMMER. I think all the puppies are precious. I'd take any one of them. Maybe Lovie?

Anyway, I've got a long day of work ahead of me. I'll chat at you later! :-D
LAMY!!! (and if you don't know what that means, I don't LAMY!)

quiz-a-rama

I guess I'm addicted:

[Marital Status]	married
[Shoe size]	7 1/2
[Parents still together]	yes
[Siblings]	1 brother
[Pets]	none (yet)
FAVORITES
[Color]	blue
[Number]	2
[Animal]	dog
[Drinks]	margarita
[Soda]	diet coke
[Book]	Gone With The Wind
[Flower]	sterling rose
DO YOU
[Color your hair?]	no
[Twirl your hair?]	hmm, no.
[Have tattoos?]	no
[Have Piercings?]	earrings
[Cheat on tests/homework?]	no/no
[Drink/Smoke?]	sometimes/no
[Like roller coasters?]	yes
[Wish you could live somewhere else?]	no
[Want more piercings?]	no
[Like cleaning?]	no
[Write in cursive or print?]	cursive
[Own a web cam?]	yes, several
[Know how to drive?]	yes
[Own a cell phone?]	yes
[Ever get off the damn computer?]	sometimes
HAVE U EVER
[Been in a fist fight?]	no
[Considered a life of crime?]	no
[Considered being a hooker?]	no
[Lied to someone?]	yes
[Been in love?]	yes
[Made out with JUST a friend?]	yes
[Been in lust?]	yes
[Used someone]	yes
[Been used?]	yes
[Been cheated on?]	yes
[Kicked someone in the nuts?]	no
[Stolen anything?]	no
[Held a gun]	yes
CURRENTS
Jeans and T-shirt	yoga pants and a t-shirt
[Current mood]	content (and a little hungry)
[Current taste]	peppermint
[What you currently smell like]	me, only a little sweaty
[Current hair]	short, curly, in a headband
[Current thing I ought to be doing]	cooking dinner or laundry
[Current cd in stereo]	HP Goblet of Fire soundtrack
[Last book you read]	The Mermaid Chair
[Last movie you saw]	The Breakup
[Last thing you ate]	spicy chicken combo: Wendy's
[Last person you talked to on the phone]	Casey
[Do drugs?]	no
[Believe there is life on other planets?]	no
Remember your first love?]	yes
[Still love him/her?]	no
[Read the newspaper?]	sometimes
[Have any gay or lesbian friends?]	several
[Believe in miracles?]	yes
[Do well in school?]	yes
[Wear hats]	yes
[Hate yourself?]	no
[Have an obsession?]	no
[Collect anything?]	no
[Have a best friend?]	yes
[Close friends?]	yes
[Like your handwriting?]	yes
[Care about looks]	yes
LOVE LIFE
[First crush]	Dustin Thompson 1st-6th grade
[First kiss]	Billy Connella 9th grade
[Do you believe in love at first sight?]	yes
[Do you believe in "the one?"]	yes
[Are you a tease?]	I don't think so
[Too shy to make the first move?]	yeah
ARE U A
[Daydreamer]	yes
[Bitch/Asshole]	no
[sarcastic]	NOOOOO!!!!
[Angel]	I guess
[Devil]	not at all
[Shy]	sometimes
[Talkative]	the other (non shy) times
CREATE YOUR OWN! - or - GET PAID TO TAKE SURVEYS!

Can you get extra points if you're CURRENTLY watching T2T while taking the Geek Test??? If so, then I'm a "total geek" because I was only 4 percentage points away from that qualification.

We're doing "theme weeks" @ work for the kiddos to participate in. (Backwards Week, Wacky Hair week, Baby Picture week, etc.) Next week is "Dress as your Favorite Book Character" week. I'm trying to figure out the best way to dress as Hermione Granger. Dressing as Harry would be just too obvious, and I don't have a Scarlett O'Hara hoop skirt. Any ideas?

wassup?

Hey yall!
We had a blast in DC! I've definitely got to post some of our pics, based on some not so thinly veiled requests, of course! ;-) Don't worry! You'll see them shortly.

Work's going really well. We've been interviewing for a new center director b/c Stella is going back to school full-time. Some pretty good prospects, too!

The house is coming along. We're really spending alot of time with our neighbor, Alicia. We did sushi last night and it was mega-yum!

Mama and daddy are coming up in 3 weeks. WOOHOO! I can't wait. I've been really homesick lately. I miss all my peoples. I was reading up on my friends' blogs, and I really miss my friends. I'm sorry to hear about Sunny's passing. I know Daniel was "up there" flipping his fins, happy to meeting his one-time sister Sunny. :-)

I love you all, and I miss you all like crazy! Stop by when you can! :-D

ARRRRRGGGGHHH!!!!!!

Okay, super-frustrated. Mozilla crashed mid-blog. And I was on a roll, too. It was funny and witty (very Gin-like) and I even had a bit about a word I made up: "grumpkin." Now doesn't that sound cool? Yeah I thought so. I would give you the rundown on how I came up with the word (meaning "a person who is grumpy because they stayed up past bedtime and turned into a pumpkin") but the moment's gone.

Or is it?
*sigh*

We'll be heading to Washington DC this year for our anniversary and to celebrate the 4th of July. So far we've done the 4th in 2 "patriotic" cities already: Philly and NYC. Now all we have to do is plan for Boston next year, huh? I'm really excited to visit DC. It'll be our first "new place" vacation since, well, North Carolina! Since we'll be there for 4 full days, I'm sure we'll have plenty to do. Any suggestions? I know I'd love to see a couple of Smithsonian museums, the zoo (which is also a Smithsonian establishment), and all the monuments of course. I also want to visit the White House. We'll be staying in Arlington, VA, and that's where the Pentagon and (duh) Arlington Cemetery are located. (yes I had to look up 'cemetery' to make sure I'd spelled it correctly. I did.) As soon as we get back, I'll work on posting pics.

Carolina Hurricanes lost tonight. ARGH! Not that I've become a raging "Caniac" but it's nice to root for the home team. Especially since we had the 1st named storm of the season blow through today. TORRENTIAL rains for most of the morning. Many parents cancelled their sessions for tonight. Funny: Did you know that rain makes kids smarter?!?! Yeah. Apparently when forecasters predict a cloud in the sky, kids' reading problems don't seem all that critical anymore. And I know it's "difficult to drive in the rain" but it had pretty much cleared up by 1:30 this afternoon.

Man, I'm chatty tonight! I cooked my hunny bunny enchiladas (yum) and read more of The Devil Wears Prada. (FUNNY!) Gerald's into getting me hooked on websites lately. www.cuteoverload.com
I dare you not to say "awwww" or squeak with joy.

Love yas!
(and LAMY to those who know it!)

Don't listen to me. "Pay no attention to the moody lady behind the curtain. I am the great and powerful Oz...." You just caught me on an off day. Not to say that those weren't my true sentiments though. I know I could have described my "funk" in a less depressing way. Lo Siento!

Hi everyone! Didja miss me?

Man, it's been a long time! I miss you all. I suppose I could come out of my funk for a little while and let you in on my life.

The visit with the in-laws was great. (Granted it was almost a month ago...) It was nice to have family here and spend time with them. Gerald's mom and I went to the Farmer's Market, and I found some yum honey and I rekindled my love for fresh pineapple. I'll never eat the canned junk again! We ate at a Brasilian Steakhouse where they cart around meat-on-a-stick and let you stuff your gills with a carnivore's delight. Lamb is my new favorite fancy-meat! We may attempt to grill some for Monday. We'll see...

Hmm, what else? My cousin's coming in town next week. She's going through training w/ Glaxo in RTP to be a drug rep. She'll be here for almost a month. It'll be great seeing her, even if she's going to be super busy when she's here.

We've got a new director at work now. That brings our count up to 3 DE's with a kid-count of about 160. I'm in charge of switching our Study Skills students over to the updated program, and I've done a little of it so far; just hafta do the rest on Monday (maybe tomorrow afternoon?). I'll be the one to train new teachers on the program, etc. I'm excited for it. We've all been looking forward to this program since the early part of last year.

I've started pilates classes! The exercises look alot easier to execute than they really are. I suppose if I were smaller (less mass; take up less space) it would be much easier to move my body through space. I'll get there eventually. So far I've had 2 classes; one tower and one mat, and both of them KICKED MY BUTT. Well, my abs and back really. I'm enjoying the work and I know I'm doing something good for my body. EVERYONE should do pilates!

I've been really blue lately. Today marked yet another day I stayed inside my house watching Trading Spaces. I don't know why, but I'm VERY reluctant to reach out to anyone in our neighborhood. There are plenty of people to meet and make friends with. I really don't think I've been this shy before. I know when we first moved to NYC I was petrified of going out of the apartment because it felt like people were looking at me thinking "She doesn't belong here. She's new to this." I guess I don't want to feel that way in my own neighborhood. I tried making friends with our next-door neighbor (the one we bought the house from), and I like her. It's difficult to connect with her though because she's a single mom who's super-duper busy! Then there's the young almost-married couple across the street. Gerald chatted with him one day and we've both spoken to the girl; it's rumored that they give great parties in the summer, so I'm hoping for an invite there.

I guess I just hafta get off my tushie and do some work to this house, then invite people over. But what are we going to say, "Hi, I don't know you, but please come to our house and be our friends..." I don't think that works, really. I don't know.

*sigh*

So if I can't have my back-home friends (and that includes NYC), I can always count on my Friends, right? Chandler just got new glasses, even though nobody noticed, and Phoebe and Monica are trying to figure out Phoebe's grandmother's recipe for chocolate chip cookies. (It's an old FRENCH recipe.... tee hee!) I haven't seen Rachel or Joey recently. They must be out on Joey's Mr. Beaumont.

I'm a sick person.

Some pics of my family

Mama's birthday was a hit!
Cheryl, Mama, Missy, David, and Granny


Mama, Joey, and Cheryl

Chris, Mawmaw Kitty, Aunt Sherry, Daddy, and Nanny
(Dad, his mom, and his sisters) day-before-Easter

A couple of pics

The clematis vine growing at my mailbox. It's beautiful!

It's a FROG on a BLOG!

A visitor was peeping thru my front-door window. I was on the phone with Casey and I told her I'd post the pic for her. I just now gave her my blog address; I don't know why I hadn't before. Sheesh! I'm a goofball.

I've pulled up pictures from our Arkansas trip. All of them are from the trip to the Old Mill. In my case it was TRULY a trip. 2 steps into the place and I fall flat on my bum. It made a very nasty bruise, and the outline of it is still there now. Almost like a little coffee-table ring. I need a coaster for my tushie! ;-) (tuchie, tushey, tooshie?)

I miss my people! All of them! Mama's Surprise 50th birthday was this weekend, and I couldn't go, airline tickets being what they are. I only found out about the party 2nd week in April. It would've been nice to know sooner so I could plan for it. Coulda, woulda, shoulda. I'll see her in August. YIPPEEE!

I'm looking forward to our first set of company coming in next week. The in-laws will be in town for a seminar, and they're extending their trip to spend time with us. They'll be the first to see our new home, and I'm really excited. Nobody but the neighbors (slash-former-residents) have seen the house, and, even though it's not nearly "ready" to show, I'm eager for company, if you can't tell! ;-)

I need to play with those pics more. I'll post them soon. I promise.

We got furniture! Well, we have the promise of furniture to come. 8-10 weeks is a long way to wait, but I figure since we've survived since 2/28 without it, what's a couple more months?

We were just out and about this Friday, hitting Big Lots, Bed Bath and Beyond, etc. when we decided to just "pop in" and see what Thomasville had. Apparently both of our stars were in alignment or something because Gerald and I, for the first time, wholly agreed on a sofa and chairs. We walked out about 2 hours later, a little poorer but much happier! :-D

The sofa is a sage-y, moss-y green color, and the chairs are a chocolate brown leather. At first I was skeptical that we could fit a sofa and 2 chairs in our living room, but now I'm pretty sure we can do it. I've also started plugging our dimensions into my cad program, so pretty soon you all *might* be able to see a 3-D image of what our house looks like. Granted, it might be AFTER everyone winds up visiting and seeing the real-live house. It'll be nice to see a virtual mock-up of a room with our furniture. Lots easier than physically moving the furniture.

UPDATE:

We (meaning I) gave up searching for the current coffee pot. I broke down and bought a new one. I'm a sick, sad individual.... We still have boxes everywhere, but now we've got our bookcases upstairs, and we'll haul a load of books at a time up the stairs to the guest room. Still haven't finished painting the computer room.

my workplace, in the news!

http://www.nbc17.com/trianglewishes/8190281/detail.html

I've had trouble pulling up the video in mozilla and IE, so maybe my resident geeks will figure it out and let the world know.
Trevonna, the girl in the story, is one of my students. COOL!!

are we addicted or crazy?

the search for the coffee pot continues...
We've been moved in here almost 4 full weeks, and we still haven't found the darn thing! There are still plenty of boxes yet to be unpacked, but we're un-taping them, rifling through them, and searching for the elusive machine! Unpacking, un-schmacking! Priorities, folks! Most people are surprised we haven't just gone out and bought a new maker. We would, but we don't want a quick $12 jobbie. We like the automatic timer on ours. :-D

Update: painting that stupid ol' room has killed my back! (said in old lady voice: "my sciatica is actin' up!") I don't know how I'll make it on that bajillion-hour drive to LR this weekend. WOO HOO THIS WEEKEND! :-D Better living thru chemistry??? Anyway, I've primed everything and painted around the baseboards and door/window frames. All I have left is to paint around the top moulding, then paint the rest. Maybe Wednesday I'll feel better and I can take pics once I'm done.

my current project....

I'm painting it a light blue. The paint chip says "subtle blue" and it's pretty accurate. More pics when I'm done. Gotta go start on the 2nd coat now.

one more pic...

we're drowning in boxes.

The house is coming together quite well. We're in desperate need of furniture, though. We're going for the "Joey and Chandler's Place when their stuff was stolen" look. All we need is a canoe, a duck, and an etch-a-sketch on the door.

I like our neighbor and her family. She and I went to Tar-jay this weekend. FUN!! She said she's glad now that she has a neighbor to hang out with. YAY! I have a friend! :-)

Sooo excited. Next weekend (not THIS weekend) we're headed to Little Rock to visit the fam. It'll be our first chance to see their house since they moved in in what, August? Everybody in the whole world has seen their house, I think, but us. Granted, it's much easier to drive from Cary than from NYC. I can't wait! It'll be a whole week away from work. WHEEEE! :-)

yeah, i'm tired of seeing that skinny heffer in her purple bra, so it's time to blog some more.

we're settling quite well into the house. one blessing in disguise i guess would be that we don't have tons of furniture because all the boxes are where furniture would likely be (breakfast nook, dining area, etc.)

i haven't met any neighbors yet, but i have been hanging out in the house... not outside. i'm looking forward to this weekend... highs in the high 70's! spring, here we come.

i just had to go to target tonight to pick up HP Goblet of Fire. good movie...better book!

work's going quite well right now, really. we're hiring for a 3rd DE because our student population is soaring. my student count hovers between 70 and 80, which 70 is the max of what a DE can competently operate. 4 of our saturday teachers have put in their notice, so we're very short on teachers for the weekends... granted, why am i telling YOU people... you don't live here!

thanks for putting up with my lower caps and such. you're a great friend!

Your Passion is Purple!

You've got a ton of passion, but you don't always wear it on your sleeve. If something truly excites you, you let your inner intensity shine through. But otherwise, your passion tends to morph into energy ... which you never lack. You're a balanced woman, knowing when to turn on the fire in your heart.

What Color is Your Passion?

We're homeowners... woo hoooo! Closing went very well. And what's the deal with everyone saying that you'll be signing for hours on end. It was only an hour and that's including the chatty-chat with the lawyer.

I met our neighbor yesterday. She is super nice! She's got 2 kiddos, and her mom "Nana" lives with them, too. They're very friendly and I'm really looking forward to being in a neighborhood. Kids all OVER that cul-de-sac. So much fun!

We bought our fridge and our washer/dryer today, too. I'm such a grownup. I can't wait until the weather warms up. My neighbor said she'd help me plant some flowers. Hurry up, spring!

Closing is less than a week. I really don't know how I'm feeling right now... maybe a little nervous, definitely excited... I wonder if it's a small fear of the unknown. What's strange is that I've only seen the house just once. I really feel like I know I'm getting a big present soon, but I don't know what it is really. It's a big surprise! :-D

We've pretty much picked out the fridge and w/d that we're going to buy. We're getting an estimate for putting in a hardwood floor sometime next week. We've looked at living room furniture too. There's a Drexel/Heritage store within the Thomasville store. Lots of nice pieces.

Anyway, my mind is rambling...
LAMY YALL!

Is it just me, or do people have too much time on their hands?
http://www.designerdoggies.com/RecognizedHybrids.html

How much is that doggie in the window?

So, I'm watching the Westminster Kennel Club show... I'm falling in love again. We've been talking about getting a dog for quite some time. Once we close on the house next week (eek!) it'll be time for ust to find us a furry little friend. Watching the dog shows is a great way to see the dogs and hear some good commentary about the breed standards.

So far, I like the golden retriever (America's favorite) and the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel (saw a puppy at the store the other day and almost LOST it!). http://www.akc.org/breeds/cavalier_king_charles_spaniel/photos.cfm

I'd probably prefer a smaller dog, just so I can get used to having a dog at all. I've never had a dog, unless you count the year I lived with Becca and our dearly departed Suli!

Ah... the herding dogs are on now. I've got to go watch!

Because you can never take enough online quizzes!

Oh, don't MAKE ME pull up e-mode! I haven't been there in a while... I've got to get to bed... no lollygagging... time to saw some logs!

Of course I'm kinda cool... I need to find a pointless trivia quiz score.... I'm pretty sure I'm a total looser there!

Mary Kay Calling!

Two things...
I'm just now dealing with acne... adult acne. It's not fun. I went to the Dermatologist last week, and he put me on a regimen of Differen and a topical antibiotic. My skin will get worse before it gets better because the cleansers will be working out all the yuck from inside.

Secondly, I just went to a friend's Mary Kay "Debut" party. She just started as a consultant, and she did before/after shots and we did a basic skincare routine. I'm half-considering being a consultant, too! I've been thinking about it for years, on and off. I'm SO not a sales-y person, but I think it's something I might like to do. We'll see. I'll let ya know when you can place your orders. (haha!)

Okay, I'm going to post a couple more pics of the house. I hope I didn't bomb everybody's mailboxes when I sent the uber-mail.


I'm signing off now!

just a quick one...

"I thought it'd be great, you know? have some time alone with my thoughts... turns out, I don't have as many thoughts as you'd think.”
-Joey, from Friends

That's what my yesterday was like. When I'm off on a weekend and Gerald sleeps to prepare for working that night, that's how I feel. Hmm... I read some Harry Potter (I'm on HBP again), some Celia Rivenbark (She wrote "Bless Your Heart, Tramp" and "We're Just Like You, Only Prettier" both are hilarious southern ya-ya books!), watched several episodes ofThat 70's Show and What Not To Wear, and I surfed for quite a while, reading up on (yes, I'm a bit of an obsessive nerd) HP on mugglenet.com.

So I'll repeat, "turns out, I don't have as many thoughts as you'd think."

Our Newest Addition...

When did I become a grownup? Was it this afternoon when Gerald and I signed our mortgage application? Yep. You heard me. Our offer on the house was accepted. We close February 15th. Happy Valentines Day, eh? Here's a photo of the house. (pardon me if it doesn't work. it's my first blog-photo-posting. if it works, expect shameless displays of pics from here on out.)

Specs on the house:
4 bedrooms (yes, you'll have your own bedroom when you come visit, and we won't make you sleep on the futon or the air-bed again!), 2 and a half baths, gas fireplace, formal living/dining area, very nice kitchen, back family room area that'll probably be a den/study area, deck, alarm system. SQFT is 1950. It's very nice!!!

God is amazing in how he worked with this situation. Since mid-November, we'd already made 2 offers and both were declined. We saw a nice house this past Sunday afternoon on yet another round of viewings. We thought we might make an offer, but weren't too sure of it. We were becoming a bit weary of the process of finding/buying a house. It looked like we weren't going to find "the one" this time around... we started to lower our expectations, and by that I mean we dropped our price range and started searching with less specs in mind (no garage, no fireplace, possibly dodgy neighborhoods). Gerald scheduled some viewings with Barbara this Monday-past. It so happened that a house had just come onto the market THAT MORNING that was in the same neighborhood as the Sunday-viewing house was (nice 'hood, by the way. not dodgy at all). Apparently, it struck Gerald so much that he called me to see if I could spare an hour from work to see the house. I drove out there and was wowed. Not in a spectacularly blown-away feeling, but in a "I feel like I already live here" kind of way. It's amazing how God can work! We put an offer together that day. They accepted that night. That was Monday. The seller didn't even have time to post pictures of the house. Otherwise, I'd have sent out the link ages ago! (tee hee!)

We have our inspection scheduled for Monday morning, and Gerald will be taking the digital camera along. You can expect some photos soon after, I'm sure.

Anyway, so that's what we've been up to. After a not-so-subtle hint from our Resident Martha, I decided to update my blog and let you in on my little life. I guess I could be doing it a little more often then. I'm a slacker. :-P. Okay. Now I'm going to save this, then read all of YOUR little blogs!