I woke up this morning and thought, "I totally have to blog this!"

Let me tell you about my dream. Apparently I'm having Thanksgiving-day jitters or something... you see, my family-in-law is coming in, and I couldn't be more excited! (YAY!) The more memorable parts of my dream include Martha Stewart giving me tips on how to fold dinner napkins into animals, and Dr. Derek Shepherd offering to cook me dinner because Meredith was still at the hospital and Gerald was out flying in his airplane. After those 2 helping me out, how could I be bothered to remember the other details?!?

Welcome, Evelyn Rae Smith. You are so loved! (and I sleep-texted your mommy last night when she sent out the info about your birthday! Apparently my reaction was "Wahoo." No exclamation point. I promise I'm excited. I just can't punctuate while folding dinner-napkin animals with Martha.)

Update, Y'all!

So, the video below.... AWESOME! I don't know who put it together, because KUDOS!
The wedding was amazing. Sheri and John make such a beautiful couple, don't they?

Mama and Daddy picked me up at the airport right at 3:30 or so.... just in time to hear kickoff on the radio. Traffic wasn't terrible, and it was easy to find the hotel. Beautiful place, too! I'm a Hampton Inn Believer, now! We got ready and headed to the church down St. Charles. Nothing beats New Orleans for beauty in the Garden District! Wedding at a beautiful Catholic Church, and I don't know if I'm the first to notice, but I think all Catholic churches smell the same! Something about wooden pews and candle wax. Perhaps it's the Old English Furniture Polish all those nuns work into the wood! (am I the only one that remembers that commercial?)

Anyway.... I have to confess.... I had my dear lovely non-football-fan husband send me text messages, updating us on the game. By the time they were pronounced as Mr. and Mrs. John Flatt, LSU tied Bama 24-24. No shame, though.... a guy across the aisle from us was checking the game status all throughout the ceremony, too. :-)

As soon as we got to the ceremony, Mama scoped out a live-feed laptop and hunkered down with the rest of the band (yes, the entertainment for the evening) to watch the rest of the game.
I'm sure if they would've practiced, the band (The Nobles) they would've played the LSU fight song! They were still awesome! The food was amazing, and we all had a blast!!! We escorted the new couple out with a very enthusiastic Second Line. Such a wonderful time.

Sunday, we spent tooling around the French Quarter. I went on a search for a pretty sterling silver fleur-de-lis ring, and found one in the market. SWEET! Lots of pigeons and tourists around. The Saints played that afternoon, so we saw lots of black and gold. We didn't stay on Bourbon St. very long! We ate a yummy lunch - muffelatas - and did some touristy-shops. That's what the french quarter is all about! We tried Cafe du Monde, but MAN was it packed! The most memorable moment, however, was a comment I heard as we walked down Decatur... a very redneck mama made an observation to her child, "I just saw a penguin walk into that bar!" (really!?!) I'm sure it was just a normal, run-of-the-mill pigeon, but someone needs to give that woman a ticket to the Audubon Zoo, STAT!

Anyway, it's time for me to eat....'MUNGRY!

LAMY. :)

Can you feel it?!?

I'm heading to a LOUISIANA wedding in New Orleans on Nov. 3rd.
You can bet that the Bride has arranged for a wide-screen TV to be positioned just as prominently as the bleedin' armadilla groom's cake.

At least I hope so!

Geaux Tigers!

I love my church family!

http://www.jonathanbow.com/
(He's our pastor)

Here's the link to the church, who just celebrated their collective 10th birthday. WOW~!
http://www.crosspointe.org/ On Sunday nights, I'm leading a group of 8 sixth-grade girls in a study of what it means to be a Christian in a Middle Schooler's body. It is awesome. God has blessed me to be able to minister to these girls, and they are more of a blessing to me than I could ever hope to be to them. What's great is that I'll be able to track up with them; next year, I'll be the 7th grade girls' leader, then 8th the next. I'm committed to the group of girls through high school!!! That is a genius idea, don' t you think? Our Youth Pastor, Eddie Mullins is a great (young) man, on fire for God. Eddie does make me feel old, however. And he and his wife Tracy are 'noles and Gator fans... I can forgive them.

Anyway, just wanted to share that awesomeness with you. Hope all is well in your neck of the woods.

I have SIADD: Sudden Internet ADD

Follow the bouncing bullet points:

• The post below is (sideways) the gas-leak from last Wednesday. About a block away from where I work. Flames be FROOFING from the pipes. Hey, I had to. If anyone knows how to rotate a digital video 90 degrees clockwise without getting all techie-nerdy on me, let me know.
• So, I'm sitting here, listening to the Contemporary Christian station on my satellite, when I hear the unmistakable opening bars of "Love Shack." My brain skurrked around, thinking Love Shack? On this station? Well, no Love Shack.... yes MESHACH. Apparently, there's a parody band called Apologetix who does fantastic Christian covers of very good songs. Check it out.
  
• Every time I type "Christian" it comes out Christina... even that time! Sheesh.
  
• I'm hosting a Pampered Chef party... wanna come? Seriously. If you'd like to order something, let me know, and I can deliver it to you when I come home for Christmas.
• Okay, so let me rave for a minute. This website has given me such a mental awakening when it comes to prioritizing my time and resources lately. I've never been the "neatest" of people, house-wise. Remember my apt. on Finks Hideaway? Yeah, didn't think so because not many people came over. It was just too messy. Nottanymoore! I've been flywashed... and my laundry and dishes haven't been THIS done ever. It's a beautiful thing. Let me know what you think. Can't wait for the mad rush of the holidays~!
  

Love yous!

What's up, doc?

So much for the cool-snap!
It's been REDONKULOUSLY hot here.
Lots going on... first off, we can now re-start sharing our lives, virtually.
BOUGHT ANOTHER CAMERA, since we lost ours somewhere between LR and Cary back in May. Anybody who was at Angella's Graduation find it? :-) I guess we should've put out an APB sooner.

Anyway, photos forthcoming! New Dining Room Table! We've had the inaugural jigsaw puzzle and scrabble game already. Brindle seems to appreciate the new hiding place we've bought him. It's a much larger fort than his old one. ;-)

Gerald and I have enrolled in Financial Peace University through our church. We're very excited to see the changes we can make to our finances in the coming months. At the very least, I'd like to have a better grasp of what goes on in our checking account and feel more comfortable about scary words like "investments" and "Mutual Funds" and the like...

We're hanging out now, watching Back to the Future. What are you doing? :-)

What a relief!

We've had a bit of a cool snap here. After all, it'll only be in the 90's tomorrow.
I should whip up a pot of gumbo to celebrate.
I've been in a very cooking mood lately. In the past seven days, we've had boiled shrimp and fresh corn THREE times. It's the little Jimmy Buffett in me. :-)

I'm watching Sense and Sensibility and drinking authentic Darjeeling Tea from India!

How GIRLY can I get? :-)

So, what have Wii been doing?

:-)
I forgot to mention that about a month ago, Gerald and I bought a Wii. Woo! There are several games we bought, but the coolest and most un-nerdy *ahem* of them is the Order of the Phoenix game. I've already like totally defeated Voldemort, and now I'm just hanging around Hogwarts trying to score more game-points. At least I don't say "Lumos" when turning on the lights in the room. Anymore.

I'll stop now.

Hey, thanks for praying for us the past few weeks. The dr. said something to the effect of if we hadn't been looking for the pregnancy, we wouldn't have noticed it. (Does that make me un-pregnant?) Anyway, thank you for your prayers and support. God has truly let me rest safely in His arms with a definite hope for our future family.

I love you all too much for words.
:-)

Fold up yer prayin' hands, people...

It's time to get down to business....
I visited my dr. this morning to find out why I was spotting... sorry fellas, TMI.
Looks like it could be anything; a HPT at the dr's gave a very faint positive pregnancy sign, so that's good. The blood tests she took today (and will again Monday afternoon) can help us determine what's going on.

So, this is where you come in. I waffled back and forth letting everyone in on our baby-news so early for a good long while, but I had to tell my family and friends back home because you ARE back home. I had to connect with you all. Now that you've shared in the joy, I hope you can share in our prayers at this time. Knowing that God's arms are around me, not only because He loves and cares for me, but also on YOUR behalf, means the world to me. I need my strong people! Gerald is a ROCK here for me, and I'm so grateful. He's most likely heading to Oshkosh, Wisconsin on Wednesday with a friend to visit an Air Show/Convention for aviation enthusiasts (ask him about the plane he wants to buy...), so he'll be out of commission for a while. Pray that God gives me peace of mind next week. Also, pray that Monday's dr. visit will be productive and positive.

Thank you all for loving me so much. A girl doesn't deserve such a wonderful family!
~gin :-)

Wow!

So I know yall are about as surprised as I am excited, right? My first appointment will be on August 7th, so I'll have more info then. I'll appreciate all your prayers. Just wanted to say Hi to everyone who have stopped by to give their well wishes. Thank you, and we love you!!!

LOTS going on...

Hi there,
Thanks for stopping by... :-) Work has been going well. We're leveling off from the super-busy-ness of end of school, and that's both good and bad. Good for sanity, bad for business. Well, not bad so much as making us work harder for future months. What's a job without hard work, though?

Gerald's studying for his private pilot's license. He's got a mentor-friend-neighbor (when it's not parentheses, it's dashes, apparently.) we met thru church who is helping him learn the ropes... or wingflaps or whatever. We're excited because it can allow us to travel a little easier. I love to fly, anyway. :-)

Some very early breaking news for you... I'm pregnant. (it felt very weird typing those words just now.) Very early. I want people to know so we can have a community of believers praying for us. We told our family, and many of our friends tonight, and we'll have to make more calls tomorrow morning. My first dr. visit will be August 3rd, so I'll have more info after that. That's about all I know. This is definitely an answer to our prayers, and we know God is faithful to hear our prayers. Thank you all from DEEP down, for lifting us up to God in prayer. We are so ridiculously excited, that we just had to share right away!

Love and Miss all of you!
~gin

hey there :)

• had a training in Charlotte today. 3 hours there, 4 hour training (for a program that takes 12 hours total), and 3 hours back. sooooo sleepys.
• new favorite show: The Biggest Loser!!! We're loving watching reruns. A bit inspirational! :-)
• also, So You Think You Can Dance. I mean really? What's more to love? "I, I am a dancer. That's who I am; What I do!" It was good to see last year's competitors in the audience Wed. nite.
  
• ummmm. I think that's it.
• oh! I bout some new ann taylor loft pants. WAH-HOO! I went down a pants size w/o trying. :)
  

Hoo-Ray

(has that been a post title before?)

leave it to me to open up with a parentheses!

capitalsbedammed! my pinky shift keys are tired.

i went to the dentist on monday. SCARY (see, that was caps-lock and not shift-shift-shift-shift-shift) but i made it. the hygenist said i had pretty teeth. yay! they better be pretty after all the craziness they've endured. and NOOOOO CAVITIES!!!!! that may've been tmi for some people, but for a denta-phobe like me, it's wonderful news.

i'm importing some cds into my itunes (and my ipod has crapped out on me twice and has already had a vacation to apple-land in california once). wanna know what i'm listening to? (or planning on?) AHOY, BULLETPOINTS (again the capslock)

• dave matthews band: central park concert
• gaither vocal band: God is good. (there's 2 contrasting music styles if i've ever heard 'em)
• mary mary: thankful
• crystal lewis: hymns-my life
• martina mcbride: martina
• harry connick jr.: to see you
• pfr: goldie's last day (one of the cd's i've owned the longest)
• center stage soundtrack
• point of grace: rarities and remixes (i originally typed "pint" of grace, and toyed with the notion of keeping it that way. i'm goofy, remember? that's why you love me.)
• "the all time greatest movie songs" yes it's a cd, and i have it.

thoughts

• Proud of Jordin Sparks... she's such a cutie-pie, curlie-girl AmericanIdol. :-)
• New obsession: So You Think You Can Dance. WOO HOOOOOO!!!
• Brindle-pup's birthday is this Friday. I'll hafta, erm, FIND the camera, then take pics of his burfday special-ness!!!
• we had a BLAST in Arkansas for the graduation. It was so great to see all of our family, and the Joneseseseses and the Smiths... wish we could've had the whole Fun-roe contingent, though. We would've DEFINITELY livened up the "legal procedings" with duck calls and cowbells. :-)
• on the way to AR, we stopped in Nashville to do dinner with my former college roomie and head-turner, Ms. Wright, who will be Mrs. Flatt in November. We had a WONDERFUL time catching up (and eating, of course). Her fiance' John is such a great guy, and he makes her quite thrilled, which is ANYTHING a girl can ask for her friend... (and just fyi, P.F. Changs has a killer Key Lime Pie Martini!)
• hmm. what else?
• Oh! We have rabbits in the backyard. Brindle wants to play. If we had a fence, he could.
• I'm happy to see Studio 60 back on the air, at least for a little bit.

Okay, I think that's it for now. Wanna know more? Email me. :-)
~LAMY

Hmmm... What's up?
My pup is curled up at my feet, snoring away. He's such a stinker! :-)
We're headed to LR next week because you-know-who seems to think she wants to become a lawyer or something. (we're both so proud of her!) I'm so excited because I'll get to see family and friends that I haven't seen in quite a while, and it'll be a nice, long visit. For those who are wondering, we'll be in LR sometime that Thursday, and we plan to drive out that Sunday sometime.

Had to take my volvo in for many reasons today: oil change, battery/sluggish start, and squishy brakes. With a bunch of warranty hoo-hah, I have this to say: MY CAR IS A SPOILED DIVA! Nothing but the best for that Swedish Beauty.... I wonder if Ikea sells cars. ;-) No, really... she's a good car. Let me not type too loud for fear of her breaking down on us on the trip. But parts are really a pain, and the warranty doesn't cover a lot of it.

We had a few visits since I last posted. Mom and Joey came up for Easter, and it was such a fun time. It even "snowed-ish" on Easter Morning. It was the first time since high school that I had spent more than a day or so with my brother. We played "catch-up" for much of the time. I've been in a very reminiscent mood lately... I wonder why. Anyway, great food, great times! A&J's visit was a whole lotta fun, too. They got to visit our church with us. We decided to become members of Crosspointe, and we're really enjoying meeting new people. Gerald has already found a place to serve: soundboard for the Middle and High School services! Now all we need is for me to get plugged in with the youth somewhere, and we'll be set! :-) The messages have been really fantastic and exactly what I've needed to hear. Isn't God great like that?

Alicia and Chris (my neighbors) are getting married in September, and they've asked me to be a bridesmaid. I'm very much looking forward to the trip to the beach that weekend... imagine a wedding on the beach at sunset. How pretty! This is a pic of Gerald and Me taken on the night of their engagement party. Yes, my hair is straight... it took nearly 2 hours to get it that way, and that's why you never see my hair straight. And I'm growing it out. I'm tired of it being short. Anyway, this is a pic that I took in the bridal shop the day we got Alicia's dress. I found the ULTIMATE Bridesmaid's Dress.....Tangerine Chiffon. Ain't it purty? No, it's not our Bridesmaid's dress, thank the lord! Ours is a simple white linen mossimo dress from target, twenty bucks, can I get an amen!














Work is going really well. I've become closer friends with our "new" director, and we hang out about once a month. She's new to the area, and I know the lonely feelings she's going through... without family and just starting out. We've really had a chance to bond, without sounding too cheesy, and I count her as one of my closest friends here. There are going to be some big changes coming about at our center in the next several months. With JP on maternity leave (if you're not sure if a person's coming back after that period of time, do you call it "maternity left"?) and TR starting her master's internship in the spring, we're bringing in a director from another local center to help share the load. (Sorry, but every time I hear/say that phrase, I can't help but hear Samwise Gamgee saying, "Share The Load" re: the ring. I'm a dork. You know that. That's why you love me.) Kathryn is going to be such an asset to our center, if we don't go out of our heads trying to deal with Kathleen, Kathryn, and Kaitlyn. SHEESH!

Okay, pup is now pleading with me to take him upstairs to his so-comfterbuhls bed, so I'll just post these couple of pics and be off.

LAMY!!!
ps.... Melinda Doolittle ROCKS! (see post below)

American Idol Top 12

Thoughts on Idol Contestants...

Brandon Rogers: I hoped he would be a front runner, but it looks like he was having some trouble tonight with his lyrics. I like his smile.

Melinda Doolittle: Man, she can SING, but it looks like she has no neck! I hope she makes it through to the top two, and I am pretty sure she will.

Chris Sligh: Keep the glasses, man! I did not like the arrangement of his song tonight, and I know it really does affect the overall presentation of the song. He has done better and I hope he does well in the future.

Gina Glocksen: I like her! I think she did justice to the song tonight. Very Kelly Clarkson... I'd buy a CD of hers!

Sanjaya Malakar: Oh, Sanjaya.... he is like a little cotton ball. Soft and harmless. And I'd vote his hair off immediately.

Haley Scarnato: Better than previous weeks. She sounds like a pageant contestant... Beautiful voice. Diana Ross said it best: She has a Recording Studio voice, not necessarily a Stage Voice.

Phil Stacey: Mama votes for him every week. Powerful voice, but yes, Simon, he yells. He looks a little like Voldemort, too, when I think about it. :-)

Lakisha Jones. Oh, Lakisha! She IS THE ONE!!! And that dress was absolutely stunning on her!
Randy was right: SENSATIONAL! She's a star.

***updating as I watch the episode tonight***

Blake Lewis: ehn.... I was expecting a little more beat-boxing with the techno-version of the song. I liked it a bit. I like the quality of his voice... He might just be one of the top guys for tonight.

Stephanie Edwards: Haven't really been a Stephanie fan. (I liked Sabrina more, but she left last week.) I think it's because I haven't liked the genre of songs she has chosen in the past: more R&B really.... I really liked her singing tonight.

Chris Richardson: I haven't really seen how he's been so FANTASTIC through the competition thus far, but he's good. (Judges say he's been the guy to beat, etc....) Like Randy woud say... a little pitchy, but that could've been nerves. One thing.... he's a good stage performer, and that'll get him votes.

Jordin Sparks: She's precious! I want her to keep the curly hair... Please don't Kimberly Locke-her! (Season 2) She looks a little like America Ferrera, don't you think? It may just have been the song, but I don't think this was her best performance. I think she is very good. Young, but good. Woah.... Randy says it's a 3-girl race Between Melinda-Lakisha and now Jordan. We'll see tomorrow night!


So..... who else LOVES the fact that America is voting off the skinny-minnies!?! I'm glad to see curves on that stage. :-) Fluffy Chicks Power!

Okay.... Idol's off, I have a headache and I have to put pup to bed and go to bed myself....
awaiting your thoughts!

LAMY!!!

The Very Blustery Day

I wonder if a tigger will show up on my doorstep tonight. It seems as if the east wind has turned around (or whatever). I honestly hope that winter is just blowing right on by. I'm ready for spring, and I'm glad I'm not the only one.

Gerald and I have found a church. HALLELUJAH!! It's not far from the house, and it's very close to what we had in NYC. I'm looking forward to next Sunday night; that's when our "Gel Group" (read: Sunday School during pm) begins. In the service this morning, I caught myself telling God, "I'm back." And it felt so good. It's been too long, really. The current teaching series is called "Themareus" which sounds like a great Biblical name, right? We're gonna learn about a righteous guy named Themareus... no. It's Them-Are-Us. As in, those 'bad guys' of the Bible (Esau, Cain, Judas, Herod) have things in their lives that are just like us. Esau gave everything up for an impulsive desire, and one that wasn't so great. Cain had anger issues, but they weren't with his brother, like we usually remember. They were with God. I don't feel like I've been ANGRY with God, per se, but I know I sometimes put stipulations and try to make deals with God. Well, it's more like putting my old legalistic, works-based salvation aside. It's hard not to think, "If I just do this ONE thing right, this way, then that means I will be blessed in this way." God doesn't work like that. He's not a fairy godmother, er, father... whatever. It's not a tit-for-tat thing. I will say this one thing. It was WONDERFUL sitting next to my husband in church this morning. Even when we were at the Journey, I was usually downstairs w/ kids or backstage, and Gerald was almost always running sound. We sat together and held hands. I haven't felt that spiritually close to my husband in ages.

All is well!

**the wind is STILL whipping along like crazy!**

We rearranged our bedroom furniture today, and I'm starting the procedures to get the guest bedroom in order. Angel has mentioned a possible visit at the end of March, and mom and Joey are coming up Easter weekend. Which reminds me.... Joey called and wanted to know if we had crawfish at a good price up here. I haven't seen any, but from what my research tells me, the season doesn't peak until May/June. Crazy, huh? Anyway, we may do crawfish in April, and that means my coworkers can get a little more of a taste of Crazy Louisiana Ginny. WOO HOO!!!

So, my next-door neighbor is getting married to a really great guy. They went to the beach this weekend to see about setting up the ceremony, reception, etc. I've never been to a beach wedding before! And she asked me to be a bridesmaid, too. It was out of the blue and I wasn't expecting the honor, but I'm glad. I'll also be wearing a pink strapless cocktail dress on the beach, so I've got some serious work to do until September! Those of you who know me, STOP LAUGHING at the picture. I know it's not pretty, and I'm gonna hafta work on it. Be Patient! (I don't wanna look like the beached whale covered in pepto.) :-)

Okay, enough rambling. I have a task for you guys... (and it's not to search for a Grail, MP, so no funnies!) We've got this plant-shelf thing in our room, and we're not too sure what to do with it. I'll attach a picture soon, but I want your input. What can we do with this area? HELP!!!

LAMY!!!

Raindrops on Roses...

I really love my job. Even though nothing majorly-fantastic is going on there, I'm very happy there. One of my co-workers is pregnant.... with TWINS! Woah! She's excited and anxious, naturally. Twins are running rampant this year. The baby Yarbroughs, my cousin's kiddos, it's an epedimic, apparently. :-)

My pup's doing well, too. He's looking at me type this as we speak. He thinks I'm weird, and I usually don't disagree with him. It's just about time for him to go back to school and learn some new big-boy tricks. He's so adorable! :-)

Mama and Daddy are coming up at Easter, and SO IS MY BROTHER!!!!! I'm so happy he's coming to visit. WOO HOO. Also, a NYC friend will be coming down for a visit next month. Can't wait to see her. Who else wants to visit???

So, back to this post title:
What are some of your favorite things? I know when I get in a funk (as I was... if you hadn't noticed...) thinking about those things -really dwelling or meditating on those- is really the best way out. Allow me to elaborate (and brag a lil'):
I have a beautiful home in a wonderful area.
I got to see SNOW last week. Even though it wasn't what I was used to in NYC, it was really pretty.
I didn't have to LIVE with the snow for a month! It melted LITERALLY by noon!
My husband is fantastic.... he programmed GarageBand (on the mac) to sound like a rainstorm, and now he plays it for background noise to go to sleep with. I turned it on last night and it rocked. I love rainy weather to sleep!
I'm headed next door to discuss American Idol w/ my neighbor...
nite! :-)

no news is good news, right?

Isn't that the basic understanding?

I'm not a sad person. I'm just a very family-oriented person who has not found her roots here. Not so good with the words lately. Please forgive me.

Where do I go when I don't show up at blogger?

I'm playing tug with my dog.
I'm trying out new recipes to share with my husband.
I'm watching reruns of favorite TV episodes.
I'm reading very familiar books.
I'm working until very late.
I'm helping my neighbor's daughter with her math homework.

I find it very difficult to meet and mingle with people. Yes, I love my neighbor. She and I have become quite good friends. Our timing usually doesn't match up and it's hard to catch even a moment with her. My co-workers are great people, and we get along very well. I think Gerald even enjoys hanging out with them, the couple of times we've all gone out together.

I'm grateful for Gerald's salary on mids-shift, but I'm looking forward to the time we'll have together when he goes back to days. That way, we can be a couple again, and hang out with other couples. It's alot easier for me to make friends when there are other people involved.... that sounds weird, but that's how it is in my head, so let's just roll with it.

Talking with Gerald I realize a great truth. Making friends (and in essence, digging our roots a little deeper) should NOT be easy at all, if we're doing it right. When I say easy I mean effortless. Hehe... I'm reminded of a great Dolly Parton line in Steel Magnolias.... you KNEW I was going to go there... here it is, "There is no such thing as Natural Beauty... why... It takes some effort to look like this..." And I know it was BLATANTLY off-topic, but it's the whole effort thing. And that paragraph is just SO ME, that it should make you smile. It makes me!!!

So anyway, Thank you for worrying about me. I love you! I'm looking forward to letting you know how this whole effort thing pans out. Don't picture me weeping into my bathrobe and a box of kleenex on the sofa. I'm fine. :-) Sleepy, because it's past my bedtime, and a little hungry, but fine. :-)

Hello All! Christmas was good. We got to spend time with the W's and their new baby in SC. It was the first time I met the little angel, and she's just so adorable! During the week between Christmas and New Years, I did pretty much nothing. I cooked a lot. Gerald and I drove to SC for the day, that was pretty much it. He had to work Christmas Eve/Day and New Year's Eve/Day. I spent New Year's Eve online, getting lost in the iTunes store. It sucks you in. Happy 2007.

I've been a little blue lately. Well, that's an understatement, but if I were to come all out with it, it would depress everyone. So let's just say I've been blue. I know exactly why that is, but I'm having trouble distinguishing my reasons from my excuses. You see, they're very similar... I hate that. Just when I think there's a good reason, POOF it turns into an excuse before my very eyes.

reason: 2.a statement presented in justification or explanation of a belief or action.
excuse: 8.an explanation offered as a reason for being excused; (v) to offer an apology for; seek to remove the blame of

From my understanding, an excuse comes when there's blame to be placed, and it's generally intended to deflect the blame away from one's self. (Did I sound british there? 'Cause I did in my head.)

I find myself trying to "justify" my actions to WAY too many people lately. (In a "but, but, but...," whiney kind of way.") If living in NYC taught me one thing, it's that so many people really just don't care what you do or how you do it. If they're not directly affected, your actions don't matter to them! The thing is, though, when I begin "justifying" my actions that DO affect others, they come across as excuses. This hit home just the other day. And of course, like any good learning experience, it's raising more questions than answering them. So many, in fact, that they're all jumbled around in my head and I can't sort through them. I hate that!

Anyway, that's what's been on my mind lately. And I guess I found some time to blog after all. Past my bedtime, but it's okay. I needed the brain-dump. Gnite!

In Honor of my Best Furry Friend

from this website, I give you.... Neutered Dog Haikus

My… my manhood, it’ gone.
Oh my Dog! It’s frickin’ gone!
No longer a dog.

My two sweet playthings,
taken, without my consent,
nothing to lick now.
- Snikt

First you picked me up
I licked your nose, we were friends
Then you took my balls
- scherrah

So young and naieve
You helped to instill in me
Safe sex awareness
- kathryn

what was is no more
flaccid skin hanging from
minimalist crotch
- Mymble

They gave me a shot
Then they cut off my being
I'm NOT man's best friend
- Scottro

Ride in truck to vet,
Smell like anesthesia;
No nookie for me.
- Mike Perry

I dozed off a pup
I awoke feeling listless
Am I now a man?
- lj

They call it humane
They don't do it to humans
I think they tell lies
- andy

do not fret my pet
a stitch in time can save nine
you'll get over it
-angela

Okay, that's enough doggie-neuter humor. He's resting fine but still a little groggy from the anesthesia. He's such a big boy!..... er...umm... yeah.