Animals Really Are Amazing

The following is from an email I received from my friend Jenny in Atlanta that recently was diagnosed with cervical cancer. She's home and recovering and we're (the girls) are trying to plan a trip to go see her this weekend. Honey is Jenny's golden retriever that she's had as long as I've known her. I just had to share this story.

"Did I tell you about Honey? Well around September or October of last year, she started loosing her hair. All of it. It was so weird. She was real itchy and her skin turned a grayish color and it was awful. But she never acted sick which was good but I still took her to the vet (so many times) and they didn't know what was wrong with her so I took her to a specialist (a doggie dermatologist) and they didn't know what was wrong with her! , they said she was probably allergic to something environmental and wanted to do a skin test and biopsy her which was going to cost $1200!! So needless to say we were putting that off (mostly because she wasn't acting sick, she was eating and playing normal, she just looked awful). Well then all this cancer stuff happened. While I was in the hospital, her hair started to grow back. My mom and my sister came up with this theory that she could smell the cancer and she was so stressed out about it that her body was doing that. Losing her hair or whatever. And do you know that ever since I have been home and she has been cuddling with me resting... her hair is growing back! It is the weirdest thing. I talked to the doggie dermatologist about it and she said dogs can definitely smell cancer and that researchers are doing tests to use dogs to detect cancer before it can be detected medically. Pretty cool, huh? So Honey girl is doing good. She has a brother now, Coal, he is good too."

It's My Thing

Thinking About Thinking

• What makes us want to crawl inside someone else's head and try to figure out what they're thinking? Do we want to know what they think of us? Is it because we're interested to hear what's weighing the most heavily on others' minds? Is it that we'd like to have the upper hand in negotioations? Are we looking for clues to help us interact with one another? It's all of those reasons and more, I'm quite sure. So what if there were no secrets... no veiled thoughts? What if we all wore little cartoon bubbles on top of our heads that constantly scrolled our thoughts across a continuosly updated ticker? (In full-color HD for the brightest, clearest thoughts you've ever read.) Would the world be a better place? Or worse? I think we'd get used to it eventually. I could just look at your ticker and know what you're thinking. But I'd better be careful, because you'd be reading my ticker, too.
  
  
• Jess and I were at this little burger joint called Snoop's tonight, and we were noticing all of the clues that pointed to the building's former life. A well-worn and uneven tile floor... unused recessed lighting above the front windows... those charming old tin ceiling tiles... everything pointed to a time when this place wasn't a burger joint. So I told Jess to make up a past for the building, and I'd do the same. She laughed it off, but I'll bet she has an idea. As for me... at first I said drug store, but now I'm guessing hardware. There was the footprint of an old counter area up front, the lighting could have been used for window displays, and it was a long way up to those tin ceiling tiles. I can just picture row upon row of little bins along one wall, with an old rolling ladder for easy access.
  
  
• I think grocery store checkout clerks have probably the best insight into our daily lives. For one, they see us all the time. They know how and when we come and go... whether we stop by after work or we're always showing up in sweats and a baseball cap. They know what we eat. They know if we have kids... and they can probably tell how well we're raising those kids. In most cases, they know if we're married. If they load our groceries for us, then they see what kind of car we drive. And if they're astute enough, they'll make an educated guess as to how much money we make. I wonder how many checkout clerks read the clues... and what they can infer from single (or, in most cases, multiple) encounters with their customers. How much do they know about each one of us? And wasn't there a time when we expected them to?

Ford Credit knows how to party

If you haven't been able to tell from my previous posts, my co-workers and I get together from time to time outside of the office......or more like all of the time. Even though we still have a few months until our branch closes, I'm torn between seeing my friends daily and moving on to a new opportunity. So I decided to post a few pictures of the gang. These first two are from mine and Flip's first party after moving into the apartment. This was also the night Mike and I "met" again. I can't believe I don't have a picture of us from that night. He showed up with Godiva and the rest was history. The first picture is of the two roomies, me and Flip. The second picture is me, Chris, Ashley, and Mauer (another one of the Jennifers). Ashley and I shared a cubicle when I first started at Ford. I don't miss those 10 hour days, but Ashley made and still makes every day brighter with her sparkling personality. Chris is a fellow analyst and we share many eye rolls every day regarding the craziness that surrounds us...."Welcome to the Jungle". Mauer is a fellow cat fanatic who inherited my old admin. dept. I'm sorry, really....but someone has to supervise that bunch. There's also a video from that night on my computer that Chris didn't realize he was taking. It is HILARIOUS. Thank god we have nice neighbors, we were really loud that night.


Birthdays are always celebrated in our group, sometimes more than once. Both of these pictures are from 30th parties. The first picture is from Ashley's 30th back in November...she's on the left with Kim in the middle and Dorian (aka Koko) on the right. They surprised Ashley by taking her to Libby Lu's at the mall to get all gussied up and then it was off to uptown. Don't they look just like rockstars? Kim and Dorian are both two of the strongest women I know. Dorian has the cutest three year old, Grace....and smart too. She loves when we all go over to their house to hang out...but remember, Grace, "Boys are bad". ha. The second picture is of Julie and me at Mike's 30th b'day party at Tyber Creek. We started one month apart at Ford Credit and became fast friends. I hope she knows how important she is to me. It's nice to know I have a fellow smarta** at work always ready to help me out.

I'm sure in the next few months we'll be having many good-bye parties. Our first is planned for next month when my manager leaves for the great white north, otherwise known as New Hampshire. Joe is one of the best bosses I've ever had and we're really going to miss him. Everyone's already making big plans for his last bash with us. Today there was talk about a quarters contest off of each other's noses. I don't know what that's all about, but I'm sure it will be interesting.

Ok, that's enough about work. At least it's all good stuff. I really do work with a good group of people and will miss them terribly.....well, most of them at least.

Hmmm...what to write

I'm sitting here watching the "dog pound" perform on American Idol and for once I'm at a loss for words on what to write about it. Now don't fall out of your chair....I know I'm not at a loss for words very often. It just wasn't that exciting of a day.

Oh, we didn't have time to post last night so I need to catch ya'll up on what happened to me and the girls yesterday. Brad was able to get Julie and three of her friends (me, Flip, and Meredith) in for the private concert of INXS at the radio station yesterday. It was awesome!! At first we were like, "sure, we'll go", but got much more excited after we got there and saw them in person. It was just Andrew, Kirk, and of course J.D. and they were really nice and personable. For some reason the station had hay in the music studio and J.D. is very allergic, so he had the whole watery eyes, scratchy throat thing going on.....aka being in NC. He was a champ and made it through the interview and two songs. Afterwards they lined us all up, handed out signed photos, and we got to meet each one of them and shake hands. I'll give it up to three women that were there. They just showed up at the radio station and begged their way in. I wish I was that brazen. And ladies, I didn't think much of JD on the show, but he is hot, hot, hot in person....I'm always a sucker for a guy with a good smile and funny personality.....good thing Mike has both of those things too :-). Wish I had some pictures, but they weren't allowed. Thanks to Brad again for getting us in!

Time to go get ready for the Pack/Heels game. Go Heels!

Feline Fascination

Alright, alright. Last cat... I promise. This one's name is Charlotte, and she lives in the warehouse at work. My colleague, Pete, is her unofficial caretaker, and he does an awesome job. Pete even comes out to the office on weekends to make sure Charlotte's fed and watered. She was supposedly discovered in the old Asheville warehouse and brought back to the home office, where she excelled as a mouser until retiring to the warmth of the cardboard box on the desk. There's a gas heater hanging from the ceiling that blows on the spot where this box sits, so... where would you curl up if you were a cold, arthritic, ex-mouser of a cat? (If you couldn't get to the front office and commandeer someone's lap, that is.) I love Charlotte... the city and the cat.

"Cheeseburger, Cheeseburger, Cheeseburger"

It's kind of ironic that I decided to write this post tonight since I can't taste much of anything, but I think it's time to list my top 10 restaurants....in no particular order. I've been fighting the crud aka the common cold all weekend and am losing the battle. I think I've forgotten how to breathe out of my nose it's so stopped up. Oh well, enough self-pity, on to better topics like cheeseburgers.

After making this list I noticed a common theme at most of these restaurants-the cheeseburger. All of you that know me well know that I'll take a cheeseburger over pretty much anything. And if I'm craving something, it's usually a cheeseburger...just ask Mike....he's been sent on many a cheeseburger run the past year and a half.

Drumroll please...here are my top 10 favorite restaurants....or the first 10 I thought of.

Portillo's: Hands down my favorite restaurant on the face of the earth. I've been going through withdrawal ever since I moved back to NC. Thanks to Andrea for introducing it to me. I ate there at least two times a week for lunch while in sunny warm IL. ha.

Clara's: Another Chicago favorite. This place didn't look like much from the outside, but had the best Italian food I've ever had (except in Italy). Rudy Jr's Shrimp Special was to die for. I could stop and get take out on the way home from work which was a extra bonus. They also introduced me to my favorite wine, Santa Margherita (spelling?) pinot grigio. Good Stuff.

Old Stone Cafe: This little cafe is in the small town of Lockport, IL along the original canal leading to Lake Michigan. There was no other place to go on a bitter cold IL day than to Old Stone for either chicken and dumpling soup or french toast, read the paper, and admire the quilts displayed on the walls.

Hannah's: Anyone that has ever been home to visit with me has been to Hannah's Barbeque. It's western style, none of that vinegar based stuff, yuck. So if you're ever in Lenoir (for what reason I don't know why), stop at Hannah's on Hwy. 321. You won't be disappointed....and they have some of the best sweet tea in the state.

Sutton's: Now we start with the first of many hamburger joints. All of you fellow Heels know what Sutton's is. Sutton's is a drugstore on Franklin Street in Chapel Hill that still has a lunch counter in the back. There are pictures everywhere including one of the entire drumline from 1995. It's still proudly on the wall above the magazines at the front of the store. We visit it every time we're back in the Southern tip of Heaven. Hard to believe that was 11 years ago. Shh....don't tell anyone, but we're not in college anymore. When did that happen? Go Heels!

Hamburger Joe's: Starting to see the theme here? Everytime we go to the beach, a trip to Hamburger Joe's is made. It was just a hole in the wall, but they have recently moved to a brand spankin new building. Just leave the credit cards at home please, cash only.

El Cancun: I wouldn't say this is my favorite Mexican restaurant ever, but the company of Flip and Chad on many a Wednesday night puts it into the top ten. I don't know how this tradition started, but after I moved back to Charlotte, the three of us started meeting there for dinner on Wednesdays. Flip...remember when Chad would hardly talk because he didn't know me......now the three of us just chat away. Holla!

Penguin: Hands down the best overall Hamburger joint in Charlotte. It has been on the corner of Thomas Street and Commonwealth forever. This is a perfect example of not judging a book by it's cover. It is tiny and turns into a bar later in the night. All the servers are covered in tattoes and piercings, but they have the best hamburgers and service in town. You might have to wait up to an hour for a table, but they somehow keep everyone straight just by sight and seat you as quickly as possible.

Zach's: I know, I know....another hamburger place...at least I can admit when I have a problem. Although Julie would probably agree with me when I say a cheeseburger addiction is not a problem, it's a necessity. Zach's is another long time Charlotte institution that I was introduced to after moving back to NC. It's at the corner of South and Scaleybark and nothing has changed since it opened in the 70s. It's also the sight of Mike's and my annual day before Thanksgiving lunch. We've not been able to figure out the whole family thing the past two years (especially with the 20 sides to my family), so we make sure to have lunch the day I leave to head to Hickory.

And finally....

Antoine's: I had to include one of the restaurants we ate at while in New Orleans. Although there were many favorites, including the Lucky Dog stands and Cafe Du Monde, Antoine's took the cake. The service was superb and the food was divine. I still remember the roquefort wedge salad I had and the filet they served with a butter knife that you didn't even need to use. It was the best steak I've ever had in my life. I'll never forget enjoying a great meal in one of New Orleans oldest and most famous restaurants and then strolling back through the French Quarter.

As I was creating this list I thought of two more places as honorable mentions..and of course they're hamburger joints.

1. Dot's Cafe-I am such a bad granddaughter. How could I make a favorite restaurant list and not include my Grandma Dot's cafe in Happy Valley. She really does make a mean hamburger and will make me biscuits and gravy even if breakfast is over. Isn't it great being the only grandchild?.....except when they start asking about great-grandchildren.....such pressure....j/k.

2. Snoop's-Another Hamburger place in Charlotte. It's very small and mainly a lunch place, but my favorite Hamburger so far....and if you can't tell, I'm an expert when it comes to these things. You order your burger and then they have a build your own burger bar....kind of like a salad bar. I found this little treasure on Hawthorne when I was out shopping for Christmas and just fell in love.

Well, I'm hungry again after talking about all this food. Now if the cold gods would just be so kind to give me my taste buds back. And to those of you who were wondering how we did in the nursery today.....it didn't happen :-(. I blew my nose all day/night long and didn't want to pass it on. It's too bad cause we were really looking forward to it. Oh well, I'll have to learn how to change a diaper another day....I've held out for this long.

Lo and Behold...

Do you ever wonder what happens when blogs collide? It'll be interesting to find out what Heidi writes in her next entry, considering the fact that she was just here barely 24 hours ago. [sarcasm] Seems the good folks at US Airways came through for her at the last minute yesterday when she wasn't going to be able to make the last leg (the Charlotte - Savannah part) of her flight from State College. [/sarcasm] So Jess provided a place for Heidi to rest her weary head overnight. We picked Ms. Pawpads up at the airport at around 10:15, came back to the apartment, talked for a while, and then I headed home and everyone hit the hay. This morning, we headed to Pike's Old Fashioned Soda Shop for an omelette (or in Jess' case... french toast) before dropping Heidi off at the airport. It was definitely good to see Cooper's/Kona's mom and catch up just a bit. Let's just hope she didn't have any more surprises on the way home today.

For all you North Carolinians out there... how about this weather, huh? Thursday and Friday, everyone was grilling, walking their dogs, riding their bikes... and you could actually smell Spring in the air (although it was more like a faint whiff from a distance). Today, it's FREAKIN' cold and rainy, and everyone's bundled up for protection from the wet and the wind. Mother Nature... she's so moody this time of year.

Speaking of mothers... tomorrow, J and I are headed up to Mooresville to help my mom mind the nursery at church. Should be fun considering that neither of us has any diaper-changing experience. We just hold 'em for a little bit, wave colorful toys in their faces, then give 'em back to their parents. Fine with us. We're kind of like the guys who come in off the bench to give the starters a rest -- just trying not to screw anything up while we're in there. We'll be sure and let you know how that turns out.

Anywho... G'night, peeps... hope you're all safely tucked into your own comfortable beds this evening. See you again soon.

Count Your Blessings

Happy Day after Valentine's. I hope it was a good one for everyone. If nothing else Valentine's Day reminds us to tell those close to us that we love them and appreciate them. On that note, I promised everyone an update on our friends that are having a hard time right now.

On a positive note, Jenny, who had a cancerous tumor last week is out of ICU and recovering well. She's still in the hospital so they can make sure everything's working the way it's supposed to. She seems to be on the road to recovery and is ready to get home to her two "children"....the four legged kind.

I wish I had good news about Alexa also. We have more details now about the accident. They hit a patch of ice over the weekend, the car flipped...and then hit a tree. Her little body was fine because of the car seat, but suffered severe head trauma when the roof caved in. As a result she was deemed brain dead and the family made the difficult decision to have her organs donated and let her go. My mom sent me a valentine about angels yesterday....I guess God needed one more. They say everything happens for a reason, but it's sometimes very hard to understand. A couple of the girls from work went over and helped straighten up the family's home yesterday so they would have a clean house to come home to and we collected $$ at work and bought enough groceries for an army. I know some of you at work read this blog and I just want you all to know how much I love and appreciate you. It's really not going to be the same after we all move on. It's nice to know that you have co-workers that will really step up when you need them.

I promise to have better news the next time I post, but wanted to update everyone that's been asking. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.

Has anyone decided they need a cat yet? Isn't TC just gorgeous? She looks just like my old cat Sinatra. She's really loving too...will come right up to you and force you to pet her.

Have a good one!

TC

How about another picture of a cat, y'all? This is the furry gray one that lives outside the building I live in... she's been here for about a year and a half. The boy across the street has claimed her on a couple different occasions, but I've never seen her anywhere except in our parking lot. J and I call her "TC" because she used to have a tag on that said she had been vaccinated at the Tega Cay animal hospital. She's pretty well taken care of by the residents here, considering we're not allowed to have pets in the building... but somehow she manages by bedding down in the pine straw or curling up on the warm hood of a recently driven car. TC is very dear to J and me - I tend to think of her as "our" cat. (And she probably would be if Jess could find a way to take her in.) If any aspiring pet owners in the Charlotte area are looking for a loving feline companion, this is your cat. I'm sure she'd love a good home. And although we'd be sad to see her go, we'd be more than happy to know that she's with a great new owner or family.

More bad news

When I got to work this morning we found out that my immediate supervisor's niece and sister's boyfriend were in a really bad accident over the weekend. The father had a concussion and they're checking on some internal injuries, but seems to be on the road to recovery. I wish I could say the same of little Alexa. She was air-lifted to Chapel Hill and is not expected to live. From what we know they hit a patch of ice over the weekend and flipped the car. Alexa is only 18 months old and the apple of her entire family's eye. Please keep this family in your prayers as they all are traveling, many from the northeast, to be with each other. The grandmother drove from Boston to Philly in the snowstorm last night to get on a flight. I can't not even imagine what this family is going through. Please pray for them so they will have the strength to get through this difficult time.

Weee're Baaaaaaaaaack!

Home Sweet Home! We're back from our weekend trip to home (mine). I've unpacked, done by daily job-hunting, and thought I'd catch ya'll up on our too short weekend and share a few pictures.

I took Friday as a vacation day. I needed a "catch-up" day....so I did some stuff around the house, went and got Mike's Valentine's Day gift, and got packed for the trek to Hickory. How is it already time for Valentine's Day? This year is really flying by. We did find out on Friday that my manager is leaving for our NH office in April. He's the best boss I've ever had and will really miss him. I've really got to start preparing myself for all the good-byes I'll have to say the next couple of months :-(.

For those of you that have asked,we have not received any updates on our friend that had surgery last week since Thursday. As of Thursday she was still in ICU because she was not reproducing blood at an acceptable rate. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers. The "girls" are planning a trip to go see her as soon as she's home and ready to have visitors. If this teaches us girls anything it is to GET YOUR YEARLY CHECK-UP!!!....and that's an order. I love ya'll way too much to see any of us to go through something like this.

On a happier note, my friend in Chicago, Andrea had a baby boy on Friday. I just talked to her and they're both doing well. His name is Jacob and he was 6 lbs 11 ounces...20 inches long. She's due to get out of the hospital on Tuesday and is bored to tears but doing well. Only bad news is that now there is another White Sox and Packers fan in the world. Heaven help us. Just kidding. Go Cubs!


Now....back to this weekend. I picked up Mike after he got off work and we took off like a bat out of you know where to get to Hickory. No lie...we hit every red light on the way there. Luckily, traffic was not too bad so we dropped Moa off at my Dad's and cut across the country to get to Kristen's ballgame. It was the West Caldwell/Hibriten cross town game and it was PACKED! The girl's lost right at the buzzer and the boys got trampled, but I finally got to see her cheer this year. I've posted a picture of their halftime routine. It was really hard to get good pictures with so many people there. She's the fourth one back on the right side. After that we stopped by Debbie's and then headed back to Hickory and got a bite to eat at the Tavern.

.
Saturday we slept in and then went and spent the day with my mom and watched it snow!! We didn't get much, but it was pretty while it lasted. Of course, we had lunch at Hannah's Barbeque. Sometime on a future blog I'll need to post a list of my favorite restaurants....and there's many. rofl. We went back to the house and Mom and I went through old pictures while Mike camped out in front of ESPN. He was such a trouper. We found some great old pictures, so I'm going to scan them and return them....I promise Mom...nothing will happen to the picture of Mike (my uncle) and me when I was about 2. I didn't know it existed and I LOVE IT! Once we get all of them scanned, I'm sure ya'll will be sick of pictures of me when I was little. Then we stopped by my brothers to see Izzy for a minute and got some more pictures. She's the biggest camera hound....case in point above. She loves Moa and my purse....I'm teaching her early. And then.....we did dinner with Dad since Debbie, the kids, and my grandmother all had the flu. There's nothing better than good Italian food on a cold snowy night

This morning we got up, went to church with dad, grabbed some lunch and then headed back to Charlotte. Now it's time for dinner and then the Carolina/Miami game. Go Heels!

I NEED a favor from someone that doesn't live in Charlotte. My roommate and I are addicted to Gilmore Girls and it's being preempted on Tuesday night by the Duke/Wake Forest game. Can someone tell me if it's the Valentine's Day episode that's airing in your area? We looked to see if it's playing later and can't find it. Skipping a Gilmore Girls episode is just not acceptable! Now I have even more of a reason to hate Duke and Wake. Ha!

Looking Like The Bobbsey Twins

It's one of those things you say without even thinking about it: "We look like the Bobbsey Twins" or "They're dressed like the Bobbsey Twins". You older folks who read this blog will probably scoff at my naivete... but finally, last night, it occurred to me that I had not the first clue about who these Bobbsey Twins were exactly. (Or how to spell the name.)

So I looked it up.

Seems the Bobbsey Twins were central to a popular series of childrens' novels that were published from the early 1900's clear up until 1979 or so. You can read all about it here. And don't say our blog never taught you anything.

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow

That's right....Charlotte saw three snowflakes today and everyone still had to go to work. They're calling for more this weekend! I'm usually a summer girl through and through, but it would be nice to at least see the ground covered in snow one time this year.

Here are the pictures I promised y'all last night. The first two I took at the Super Bowl party. Mazzie is standing at the door wanting to go outside and celebrate with the boys. The last two are of Patches and Moa being their normal lazy selves. Patches favorite place to lay is on top of my DVR, I'd hate to see how much hair is down in there....shhhh, don't tell Time Warner.





Tonight was pretty quiet. Flip and I went to Manzetti's for dinner and then watched "Dancing with the Stars".....she's finally sucked me into it. Stacy Keebler has the longest legs ever. It's just not fair.

We're heading to Hickory/Lenoir this weekend to visit with the family, see Izzy, and watch Kristen cheer. Go Panthers!...Hibriten that is. So see you guys after the weekend and stay warm.

The Size of a Grapefruit

I don't know about ya'll....but it seems like the the more I try to get done, the further behind I seem to get. So tonight I'm sitting here attempting to mult-task and failing miserably. I'm pretty good at it too usually. Currently I'm trying to watch the grammy's, make a mental packing list for this weekend, job hunt, and now write my first blog entry in a week. So I decided to slow down for a minute, catch ya'll up with what's been going on in our lives and post some more pictures.

As I sit here writing this blog I'm reminded by how much we really do take life for granted. One of the biggest pieces of "news" in my world the past couple of days has been finding out that a former co-worker has been diagnosed with cervical cancer at 30 years old. It's all happened very quickly and she had surgery yesterday to reomove all of her "female parts". From the last report we got she was put in ICU due to a high fever, but was expected to be back in a regular room tonight and was sore, but recovering well. When they removed the tumor it was the size of a GRAPEFRUIT.....that's just ridiculous and hard to understand. Jenny is one of the nicest, most outgoing people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing, and have been reminded of many memories of her the past couple of days. She lives in Atlanta now....but I'll always remember our training trip in Dearborn, many a night out uptown, and parties at her and Leslie's house. Times like this just remind us how important it is to keep friends close to us and in our hearts. Please keep Jenny and her husband in your prayers, and we all hope for her speedy recovery.

Besides that unexpected news, life has been pretty uneventful. Last weekend it was my Saturday to work. Have you ever been in an office building completely alone? It has got to be one of the spookiest feelings? Luckily it was pretty busy, so I wasn't "spooked" too much. Oh, and Friday night we tried a new recipe and it was AWESOME. I know it as Chicken Vesuvio from "Rosebud" in Chicago, but it's basically chicken and potatoes in a lemon wine sauce. It took forever to make, but was well worth it. Sunday Mike and I went to church for the 3rd Sunday in a room (I'm so proud of us), got some lunch, and then I went to do some shopping before the Super Bowl. We went over to the Witers (I work with Julie)...and her husband Brad is a HUGE Steelers fan. We watched it on not one, but two 50 inch plasmas that he "borrowed" from the radio station, where he works in promtions. The boys played ladder golf before the game and then had a great time watching the game, meeting Matt and Amy's little one, playing with Mazzie, being thoroughly entertained my Ramona's mom, and cheering the Steelers on to a victory. "Here we Go, The Steelers are going to the super bowl".....was played over and over and over and over....much to Julie's chagrin (she's a Browns fan).

The rest of the week has been the same as any other. Monday I went to my first aerobics class in forever. I'm still sore, but I really enjoyed it. Watched Gilmore Girls and the UNC/Dook game last night. Flip and Mike get mad at me because I read the GG spoilers....what can i say, i'm addicted. And even though we lost last night, our boys still looked pretty good for such a young team. The best is yet to come. I just really can't stay JJ Reddick. I don't know what it is about him that makes me want to snap him in half. anyhoo....Moa went to the groomer today and is all nice and clean. They finally got his cut right!

Flip and I are still job hunting like crazy, so please help us pray that we'll be led to the right opportunity and we don't get discouraged. She got a lead today with Wachovia....so keep your fingers crossed for her.

Mike's gone to basketball like every Wed., but I'm sure he'll be back with another great post....I wish I had his gift. He'll be the philsopher and I'll be the historian.

Well, there must be a link between me trying to upload pictures right after I just transfered pictures from my camera. They won't link unless I reboot so I guess you'll have to wait until next time for more pictures. Remember the time constraints,.....just kidding.

oh and p.s...i have a book suggestion..... one of my new year's resolutions was to read as many of the "classics" this year instead of chick lit. Right now I'm reading Anna Karenina" by Tolstoy and I'm really enjoying it. Don't let the 800+ pages intimidate you.

Good Night and God Bless.

To Everything... Turn, Turn, Turn...

My old college roomie, Brendan, once mentioned that he thought all of the world's problems were caused by people who didn't use turn signals. So now every time someone doesn't use a turn signal, I get frustrated... then I think of Brendan. And I don't know if we can place the burden of all the world's woes squarely on the shoulders of the non-signalers, but maybe Brendan was onto something. Maybe there's at least a six-degrees-of-separation type of association to be made there...

• There's a hole in the ozone layer. Who's to blame? Probably "Those Who Don't Signal". They cause the rest of us to delay with uncertainty while we wait for the blinker-less to signal their intentions... meaning we run our engines longer, sending more harmful CO2 into the air than is really necessary. Or consider this... we might not be buying all these gas-guzzling SUV behemoths to feel "safe" in if we didn't have to worry about whether a lane-changer was one day going to come over unannounced.
  
• Your kids are getting bad grades in school? Talk to the signal-averse among you. I'm sure you'll find that they're slovenly, lazy folk who are setting a bad example for your young 'uns. No wonder Junior thinks he doesn't have to use his brain. To him, it's just like a turn signal: there for no apparent reason.
  
• Did work suck today? Ask your boss if, while on the way to the office, he/she got cut off by someone who didn't use a turn signal. The answer will be something like, "Where did you get those psychic powers, and why aren't you at your desk?!"
  
• Food taste bad? It's because the economy went in the toilet when all those non-signalers caused a nationwide spike in the frequency of road rage, meaning the number of tickets written for traffic violations increased dramatically across the country, resulting in a high percentage of fines and/or court costs being paid out of pocket, leading to a "save more, spend less" mentality in middle-class America. And when that happens, restaurants cut corners to keep their profit margins high.
  

I'm off my soap box. Just please use your blinkers, people.

---

And here's a picture for those of you who are more visually stimulated and have been lamenting the lack of imagery in this here blog lately. It was taken from my living room (yes, I was safely indoors) and it should be pretty self-explanatory... but I'm going to try and explain it anyway: the lightning bolt originated in the clouds and terminated on the ground, probably striking the vehicle of someone who had just turned without signaling. Now you thunderstorm fans out there can't say I never gave you anything.

Food For Thought

"I am still determined to be cheerful and happy, in whatever situation I may be; for I have also learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions, and not upon our circumstances."

--Martha Washington, former U.S. first lady

Dad's Dad's Sketch

My dad wrote this article in his church newsletter this week, and it reminds me that even the little things in life can be enjoyed - even savored - when we view those things with greater curiosity and deeper meaning. When I graduated from college (lo, those many years ago), Dad also gave me a book called Spiritual Literacy, which touches on the same concept: that our ordinary, everyday objects, rituals, places, and thoughts can take on a spiritual role in our lives when we consider how much they truly mean to us. So just stop - STOP - whatever you're doing tomorrow and think about who and what are really the most important people, places, things, and thoughts in your life.

Maybe I'll end up with a framed copy of that newsletter article on the mantle in my living room someday.

Oh, and for any of you out there who are new to the concept of blogs, feel free to leave us a comment if you'd like. There's a link at the end of each post for you to do just that.

Must be in the water

Did anybody else see the girl from UNC on American Idol just now? Like most Carolina girls she was cute, personable, and a total smarta**. It must be something in the water there. I know I perfected my one-liner abilites while at Carolina. Ford Credit brings it out more and more every day. Maybe by the time I finish with this entry we'll know whether or not she makes it. They're letting her come back for a second chance because she was so nervous.

Like most offices we try the best we can to make the day as entertaining as possible. Our current "game" is picking out the one-liner of the day. I'd tell you some of them......but we never write them down and most of them are inside jokes. Nothing is worse than trying to re-tell one of these and getting blank stares. Guess you had to be there. Julie is our resident "judge" and since she's the smarta** queen, I think she's qualified. Too bad we can't find jobs getting paid for one-liners. rofl. They must have the same water we had in Chapel Hill in Richmond, KY where she went to school. Go Colonels!

As most of you know (or are a fellow co-worker), our office is closing at the end of July......5 months and 27 days, but who's counting. I think we have to find humor in the situation, because if we didn't, we'd all blow our tops. Like this week for example.....we're closing, and most of us don't plan to move with the company.....but we were all signed up for training time. Can anybody explain to me what the point is? And if I get one more email from Mark Fields about the "Way Forward" plan, I think I'll scream. You can hear a collective groan in our office when we get another email. Ok, ok, I know....enough about work.

Here we go....Looks like our UNC girl is going in for her second chance.......uh oh....doesn't look like she's headed to Hollywood. At least she got some tv time and put Simon in his place.

I realized today that Mike and I started this blog and have failed to post a picture of ourselves on here. For those of you that know me well....finding a picture of me with my eyes open is a chore. I AM getting better, but not quite there yet....and when you put me and Mike's mom together it takes his dad forever to get a picture with both of our eyes open. We're improving though, this time at Christmas it didn't take nearly as long...now did it? This is a picture of us that Andrew took when the three of us toured the Miller Brewing Company this past July. You can see the Plankroad Brewery behind us. I promise my eyes are open behind those sunglasses.

Well kids, I think that's enough for tonight. Let's hope tonight is an injury free night at b'ball for Turtle...aka Mike....whoever thought playing on carpet was a good idea? I'll explain the Turtle reference in a future blog.....Good Night Ya'll.