Someone Actually Thought This Was A Good Idea

Just click on the cotton-pickin' link.

Rambling....

I'm sitting here watching "Apprentice" from my DVR. How does anything in business ever get done? Are these people for real? Have they ever had a real job? Sorry, but hopefully I'm not the only one that thinks they are a bunch of idiots.

Ok, so it's about 2 1/2 hours since I started this post. Got a little side tracked by dinner and American Idol. It was just ok tonight. I've got a strong feeling that Bucky is going to be the next to go. Guess Rockingham is going to have to wait for their next big star. I really wish it was Ace though, he's ruined two of my favorite songs so far.

Many of you have asked how the job hunt is going. The best news I have is that it's still going. I had 3 interviews last week. One was for an account executive and I haven't heard anything. Another one was for a credit manager job, and honestly I wasn't qualified for it. Yesterday I went and met with a national recruiting company who wanted me to come work for them. They spend 90% of their time on the phone at a tiny cubicle with a headset on. I just can't do that again, I'd go insane. I had a really good meeting with a local headhunter today and I'm playing phone tag with a company in Davidson. Keep your fingers crossed for me. We're dropping people like flies at work and I'd really like to be out of there in the next month.

Nothing else too exciting going on in our world. Congratulations to Andrew and Kathryn on their new place!!! I don't know about all of ya'll, but I'm ready for some more pictures. Last weekend we had another going away party for someone at work. Mike spent most of the weekend scanning old pictures for me....i'll have to share later, blogspot is having some "technical difficulties"....and I just straightened up and tried to "chill" a little bit. I've been told I don't do that enough......wonder where I get that from? Oh, Flip and I did go order the cake for Izzy's 1st birthday. She's growing up too fast and her aunt doesn't get to see her enough. Only the best for her.

Well, time to get ready for tomorrow. Hopefully I can post some pictures tomorrow.

Night, ya'll.

Borrowing from Mary Newsom

Mary Newsom writes for the Charlotte Observer, and I ran across her blog while surfing Charlotte.com today. If you click on her name above, you'll see a nifty post about what Mary calls "House Bloat" in Myers Park.

The cool thing about this post is the picture of what my friends and I affectionately call "The Hotel". This house took forever to construct... indoor pool, immaculate landscaping, attention to every detail... the whole nine yards. I run right by this house a lot. And I must say that Mary is dead-on. I mean, who needs to buy two lots in Myers Park, tear down both houses, and built a "starter castle" that spans both parcels? An orphanage could have been built on less acreage. But who am I to judge? What would I build or buy for myself if I could afford as much house as I wanted? And where would I put it? What about you? What would you build/buy? And where?

Hope

For a while now I've been wanting to share my favorite poem with all of you. I stumbled across it a couple of years ago and fell in love with it. I keep it on my desk as at work so that i will have a constant reminder, that as long as we have hope, anything is possible.

"Hope" is the thing with feathers-

That perches in the soul-

And sings the tune without the words-

And never stops-at all-

And sweetest-in the Gale-is heard-

And sore must be the storm-

That could abash the little Bird

That kept so many warm-

I've heard it in the chillest land-

And on the strongest Sea-

Yet, never, in Extremity,

It asked a crumb-of Me.

Emily Dickinson

Just remember that when you think you've hit a dead end and nothing is possible, there's always hope. Never give up on hope, it'll never give up on you.

Here's hoping all of you are enjoying this gorgeous chilly Saturday.

Blues Ain't Nothing but a Good Soul Feeling Bad

Once several members of a Hasidic congregation had become helplessly lost in a dense forest. They were delighted when unexpectedly they came upon their rabbi who was also wandering through the woods. They implored, "Master, we are lost! Please show us the way out of the forest."

The rabbi replied, "I do not know the way out either, but I do know which paths lead nowhere. I will show you the ways that won't work, and then perhaps together we can discover the ones that do."

- Sheldon Kopp
in Blues Ain't Nothing but a Good Soul Feeling Bad

What does this excerpt tell me about myself? Sometimes I'm the congregation, sometimes I'm the rabbi.

Look at the congregation first. What I immediately notice about them is their reliance on the rabbi, which reminds me that I can sometimes be too trusting... almost to a fault. The congregation in this story expected their rabbi to provide them with a way out of their predicament, even though he was in the same situation! I am like that congregation -- even though I'm smart enough to help myself solve a problem, sometimes I defer to a "wiser" person to tell me how to get out of that jam. What do I learn from that? That someone else will always bail me out when times get rough or when decisions become difficult? Surely not. But perhaps I should respect my elders more and not expect that they have all the answers.

Which brings us to the rabbi. What must he have felt? In this situation, he was expected to lead his congregation out of the forest. The rabbi was a leader in this story, but it's important to note that he did not know the answer to his congregation's problem. He could only help them work through finding a way out of the forest after he had shared his experience with them. When I think back on the times when I've been in a position of leadership, I realize how petrifying it was when answers weren't clear... especially when others were counting on me to have an answer. But I read this story and I realize that maybe good leadership is more about possessing a keen understanding of the problem than it is about having all the answers. And a good leader becomes a great one when he shares what he knows and simply points his followers in the right direction... toward a solution.

Community: it's the point where the rabbi and the congregation meet. And only through respect for one another, a sharing of knowledge, and the recognition of their quest for a common goal do the rabbi and his followers make progress towards a solution to their problem.

Got Another One

Good News, Good News! I got another interview next week! It's an Account Executive position for a company right down the street from the office. I'll get more details at the interview next Tuesday. Everyone keep their fingers crossed that this is the one. If it's not, anyone know someone who's hiring? Just kidding. Flip had a good interview this week too and is waiting for her 2nd one. Good Luck Flip!

I am LOVING my new car. I promise we'll have some pictures on here soon. I keep forgetting until it's dark outside. I think my favorite part of the car is the color....brown in the sun, gray in the shade. I am so happy to have a sunroof again, now I just need summer to hurry up and get here to use it more and more. Welcome Beulah!

Not much else going on that we haven't told you about. We're already starting to lose a few people at work, getting our bonus I think had something to do with it. We're working on our internal audit at work right now....can I just say that whoever Sarbanes and Oxley are, they made public companies miserable. I know Heidi will know what I'm talking about. For about 15 questions I used 1000 sheets of paper for back-up, ridiculous.

Tomorrow night is our monthly third thursday dinner club. This month we're going to Boudreaux's in NoDa. We're really looking forward to it, especially Mike. I finally remembered to invite a friend from college and his girlfriend too. It'll be nice to catch up with them.

Sorry for the boring post, but we've been neglecting our blog and it was feeling lonely. Here's to bright sunny skies tomorrow, good Cajun food, and college basketball......what could be better?

P.S. Anybody got any good party food ideas. I need to take something to my manager's going away shin-dig on Sat. Nothing fancy, just munchies. Just ready to try something new.

Return of tha' Mikey

Hey, peeps. What's it been, like... seventy and a half days since the last time I posted?

Anyway... so, thanks to the magic of DVR, I watched Knight School tonight. Who here thinks that Bob Knight is really just an evil man who can't control his temper or his behavior? It's hard to believe that after watching this show. I know, I know... some of you are thinking that he must be putting on an act for the cameras. (After all, what better recruiting video than to have your very own show on ESPN??) But it's obvious that there are many facets of Bob Knight's life that are never seen by the public. Maybe I should read Feinstein's A Season on the Brink for a more balanced perspective. Oh, and I'm not happy that Knight is only 10 wins away from Dean Smith's all-time record in case anyone wondered.

Once more (after the fact), I want to wish a happy birthday to my mom. She turned 39 again on Sunday, and Jess and I had a great time going to church and then having lunch with mom, dad, and my aunt and uncle. I love you, mom. :-)

Alright... sorry 'bout the boring post, but it was a long day. Gonna go watch TV or read for a minute and then hit the sack. Hope you're all resting comfortably in your grey sweatpants. I'll see you again soon... because it always comes around... back to you.

I know, I know

I know, I know....it's been a week since our last post, but it's been crazy the past couple of days. I know it's not a good excuse, but it's the best one I've got. So I guess it's time to get ya'll caught up on the craziness which is our lives. I wish I could remember everything since last Wednesday, but most of it is a blur....here we go.

The craziness started Friday afternoon when I was trying to find a car for me and got a call back on a job. We were busy at work, and with all the distractions, it made for a hectic afternoon. The short version of a long story is that as of today or tomorrow I'll be the proud driver a new 2006 Charcoal Beige Ford Fusion. I can't wait. I love Belle (my mustang), but there's just not enough room in it. I figured I needed to get at least one more car out of Ford before we're kicked to the curb in July. It's strange, but I name all of my cars....so if anyone can think of a female name that starts with a B let me know. Don't ask me why B, I don't know, but they've all been B's before.

There was some progress on the job front. I had an interview at Financial Federal Credit on Monday, and got the job! That's the good news.....the other news is that I decided not to take it. It was 20 miles from the house, the benefits weren't great (not bad, but not good either), and it wasn't a job I was jumping for joy over. They basically do big equipment financing. The commute, having to get some of my own healthcare, and it being pretty much the same thing I do now did not even out with the minimal increase in pay. Let's pray I made the right decision. I feel good about it. I talked it over with several people, prayed about it, and talked to someone who used to work there, so I think I made the right decision.

So that covers Friday, part of Saturday, and Monday. Let me feel in the rest. Saturday, Flip headed to Winston-Salem for her high school's b'ball tournament, so Mike came over, cooked dinner for me (i'm a lucky girl), and we watched the game. Go Heels! It was nice after a hectic day of car shopping and haggling. Sunday morning, I slept through the alarm clock (didn't even hear it), and we tried to go to brunch, but everything was packed since it was gorgeous outside, so we went and got Starbucks and something from the bakery at HT and it was just as good! Then I went to Carmax to get my car appraised I HIGHLY recommend this to anyone. They offered me $1400 more than the dealership and there are no fees. Flip and I hit Off Broadway shoes later in the day and went a little shoe crazy.....i won't even tell you how many pairs of shoes I bought last week, it's a little extreme....but they fit....ya'll really don't have any idea how hard it is to fit my foot.

The rest of the week has been pretty normal. Aerobics on Monday, hanging out at home last night, and who knows what today will bring.

Well that should catch everyone up. Here's to a good rest of the week and a great weekend of College Basketball. Maybe our boys will take it all the way!!! Oh and good luck to North Stokes on Saturday in Chapel Hill. They're in the State Championships for the first time ever. Flip and Chad, have a good time and say hello to Chapel Hill for me. Wish I could go.

High School Friends

Today I got two emails from fellow high school classmates. One was a forward from a friend I keep in touch with, but not good enough-we are getting better. Check out her blog at www.iluvgab.blogspot.com. The second email was totally random and was about our student body president hitting the big time.

If you're at home tomorrow night and have nothing to watch, watch the Top Twenty on cmt.com. Granite Falls' own Eric Church will have his new video for "How 'Bout You" debuted. Isn't that exciting? If you want to cheat and watch it early just check out the Top Twenty section of cmt.com and click on the video section. He sure has changed since high school, but good for him! Finally, Caldwell County might have a famous person.

The following is just for fun. Just take your name and attach the appropriate same. Ya'll are smart, you'll figure it out.

A :You have trouble trusting people.
B : You're wild and crazy.
C : You are always fun when it comes to meeting new people.
D : You are popular with all types of people.
E : You love foreplay.
F : People totally adore you.
G : You are very friendly and understanding.
H : You have good looks and a very good personality
I : You are loved by most, hated by many, yet wanted by plenty
J : Everyone loves you.
K : You like to try new things.
L: When you smile you make other people smile.
M : Success comes easily to you.
N :You're great in bed.
O : You love life.
P : You are very friendly and understanding.
Q : You are a hypocrite.
R : You're really laid back and like to have fun.
S : People think you are so sexy.
T : You are one of the best in bed.
U : You are beautiful and sexy.
V : You are not judgmental.
W : You are very broad-minded.
X : You never let people tell you what to do.
Y : You make every experience great.
Z : You're super cool.

For Example:
J: Everyone loves you.
E: You love foreplay.
S: People think you are so sexy.
S: People think you are so sexy.
I: You are loved by most, hated by many, yet wanted by plenty
C: You are always fun when it comes to meeting new people.
A: You have trouble trusting people.

I don't know how much of this is true....or maybe I don't want to share (my mom does read this), but I thought everyone would get a kick out of it.

Gotta go. Missing the game. Go Heels!