How Well Do You Know Me?

Some of you already got this by email today. I found one of these online and thought it'd be fun. Feel free to answer the questions in the comments section......no anonymous posts please.....we'd like to know who you are. You can answer them about Mike or myself. Enjoy!

1. Where did we meet?
2. How long have you known me?
3. Do I smoke?
4. When you first saw me, what was your impression?
5. How old am I?
6. What is my birthday?
7. Do I watch football?
8. What animal do I remind you of?
9. Am I shy or outgoing?
10.Am I a rebel or do I follow all the rules?
11. Can I sing?
12. If there were one good nickname for me, what would it be?
13. Am I right or left handed?
14. Do I make my bed in the morning?
15. Have I ever been in love?
16. My middle name?
17. Do I cry at sad movies?
18. Am I a religious person?
19. What's one of my favorite things to do?
20. Do you remember one of the first things I said 2 you?
21. What's my favorite type of music?
22. Do I have any special talents?
23. What do you think my biggest weakness is?

24. Do you think I'll ever get married again?
a.Yes
b.No
c.Maybe
d.When the devil starts selling ice cream
e.Ha! Marriage??? If he shows you a ring….RUN!

25. What do you think makes me happy?
26. What do you think makes me sad?
27. Is there anything in your life that reminds you of me?
28. Who do you think would play me in a movie?
29. If I were a color, what color would I be?
30. Describe me in one word.

Deep Stuff

I'm always here.
I'm never there.
I'm never, ever anywhere
Excepting here, 'cause here is where I'm in.
But when I go from here to there,
My here comes with me everywhere,
'Til there is here, and here is where I've been.

How Can It Already Be Over?

Merry Day after Christmas everybody! Only 364 shopping days until Christmas 2007!!

We've been two busy little elves, so I thought I'd catch everybody up on our Christmas happenings. Our Christmas started last Wednesday night. Flip came over for dinner and to exchange presents. I think she just wanted to come visit her nephews and niece. They miss their "Aunt Flip". I had the brilliant idea to try a new recipe. It was good....but it made two 9x13 pans for enchiladas and there were only 3 of us. Mike ended up with tomatillo sauce all over him and the kitchen too. It was hilarious....now. Hot liquid + blender = explosion. I'm still finding tomato seeds. Thanks again to Flip for all the great C & B stuff....and the microplane....she knows how much we both love cheese....we've already put it to good use.

Thursday night we just cleaned up around the house and hung out. Nothing exciting. Mike had Friday off and I got off a little early so we took advantage of some rare nap time and then headed out for the evening. We started out at Ann and Harold's for dinner and so we could see the Davis clan (and so I could meet Linville and Scamp). Scott and Lanier---hope you're having a great time in Belize! Then it was off to Dorian's to see the old Ford gang and my old boss who was in town from NH. It was great to see everyone! Thanks again to Dorian for hosting us all.

Saturday we had my entire family come to see the house for the first time. We hung out with them, got some lunch (stupid Lupie's had to be closed) and then they headed back home. It was GORGEOUS here on Saturday, so we took advantage and walked to get Moa at the groomer. Had some veg time, went and grabbed some dinner (Japanese, yummmm) and packed up for Christmas Eve.

Christmas Eve was Christmas morning at our house. All of the "children" were happy with their stockings. Moa is so cute....he thinks everything in a stocking is for him. The cats got a catnip mat that we're only able to give them for short amounts of time....they went nuts. I was able to surprise Mike with his ladder golf set (how I kept it from him that long is a miracle). Santa was very good to both of us. Then it was off to church and lunch with the DeBerry's. I headed to Lenoir, hung out with Mom, went to church with Dad, and then back to Dad's for a ton of food and our annual National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation viewing. Mike hung out at his parents, went to the Christmas Eve service, had the annual Christmas Eve lasagna, Christmas with Harold and Ann, played an elf at the Schaen's, and then back to the DeBerry's in time to get in bed before Santa came.

Christmas morning started at Dad's for me, then Mom's, Grandma Dot's, back to Mom's, then to Mooresville, and eventually back home. Mike spent the day at his parents with all of his family. Thank you to everyone for everything! You really did too much. It was cold and rainy here so we made some of my Mom's Christmas tea after unloading the cars, had some "talk" time on the couch, and then broke out Mike's "Fraggle Rock" DVD's he got. Santa (aka Mom and Dad D.) did well!

Now I'm at work and Mike's at home getting ready for the all of the DeBerry, Coates, and Deal clan who are coming over for dinner tonight. I hope y'all are hungry!

It always seems that you blink and Christmas is gone. It really is my favorite time of year, even if we do have to rush around to get everything done. I'm glad that we both were able to spend some time together, time with our loved ones, be reminded of the reason for the season, and cherish every moment. Thanks again for making it a great Christmas!!

We write for us... you read for you.

"Writing gives you the illusion of control, and then you realize it's just an illusion, that people are going to bring their own stuff into it."

~ David Sedaris

So... whether you know it or not, we write a lot about our lives on this here blog all the time. (And lately, it's mostly been Jess writing on this here blog. Sorry. I should be better about it.) The specific contents - or abstract thoughts - that we put in writing here are derived specifically from events, thoughts, and feelings that we experience day-to-day.

Funny thing is this: you don't always know exactly how we're feeling or what we're expressing when we write. So you read our posts and make them your own... within the context of your little corner of the world. I absolutely agree with David Sedaris in that we think we're in control of what a reader is gleaning from our writing, when in fact the reader is indeed in complete control. So we write for us... and you read for you.

Anyway... I really just want to wish all of my loved-ones out there the Merriest Christmas possible. If you're traveling, I wish you mercy. If something's on your mind, peace be with you. If you're with your family, feel the love. If you're far away from the ones you love, keep the faith. I'm truly fortunate that each of you is in my life. Much love to you all.

Christmas Quiz

What you want for Christmas... if your friends were millionaires: all my bills paid, houses for all us right together….that way no one would ever have to DD, another house just so I can get all the animals I ever wanted.

What you want for Christmas... for real: really didn't ask for anything this year, stuff for the house I guess…and clothes, you can never have enough clothes.

What you want for Christmas... in abstract: for those that I love to not be hurting….physically or emotionally.

Year of the first Christmas you can remember: that's hard. I do remember being about 4 or 5 and my uncles got a pool table. We all waited downstairs to surprise them.

Ever in a holiday play? When? I remember being a Christmas tree one year, but don't remember when. Is that right Mom?

An early Christmas memory? More like an every Christmas memory. My Mom would read the Christmas story from Luke and my Grandpa would read "Twas the night before Christmas". Then every Christmas morning, Mike (uncle) and I would have to wait for Mom to come get us to go see what Santa had brought.

Favorite holiday ornament (Past and present): Past: My Green Angel…I've had her forever. Present: Our Christmas Hearts and my butterflies.

Classic Christmas song you never get tired of: Oh Holy Night

Classic Christmas song you loathe: Little Drummer Boy….little ironic don't you think?

Modern Christmas song you never get tired of: River by Robert Downey Jr. on the Ally McBeal Christmas CD

Modern Christmas song you loathe: Hmmm….this is a hard one. Santa Claus is Coming to town by Bruce Springsteen…..I don't know why, but I've never liked that version…..even though I like Bruce.

How many languages can you say "Merry Christmas" in? English, Spanish, Hawaiian.

Naughty or Nice? Nice. (my family reads these things, what other answer do you think I'd put).

Favorite Christmas Ghost: Casper with a Santa Claus hat on.

Favorite Misfit Toy: One of those chickens that the egg pops out of. Disgusts me, but I think it's hilarious.

Can you wrap presents well? "My name is Jessica and I'm here to say….I'm going to wrap presents for Christmas Day"…..sorry sweetie, I couldn't resist (sorry to everyone else for the inside joke). Of course I'm good at wrapping presents….and I love it too. Spent 5 hours doing it Monday.

What tops your tree? The newest addition to our plethora of Christmas stuff….a red ceramic star.

If you were a Christmas elf, what would your name be? I can't wait to see Mike or Ashley's answers for this one. I'm going to be sentimental…."Hope", because it's my favorite word.

Feel free to put your own answers in the comments section.

Merry Christmas y'all!

Long Barenaked Weekend

And we're back. We both had yesterday off, so we're back in "normal" mode after a busy, somewhat productive weekend.

Friday night we didn't do much. Just cooked dinner and hung out around the house....at one point without the tv on....can you believe it? Ha.

Saturday morning....got up. Mike got ready for his gig and headed to Stanley County. I worked around the house all day and went to dinner with Nikki and Ethan. We went to Eez Asian Fusion restaurant at Birkdale. I highly recommend it. GREAT Sangria! Mike got home late, we hung out for a little while, ate some wedding cake and hit the sack.

Sunday...slept late. Mike watched the game (we won't discuss the Panthers, it hurts too much) and I did a grocery store run. It only took 4 grocery stores, but we finally found an ingredient for a recipe I'm cooking this week when Flip comes over. We had a quick dinner (tried a recipe out of the cookbook Kathryn gave me a couple of years ago for Christmas) and headed to Charlotte for the Barenaked Ladies concert. Had to stand outside for a little bit (it was general admission), then made our way inside....waited for Julie and Brad and then met up with them for the show. As Lee Nash was finishing up, we hooked up with Mark and Beth from college. Mark and Mike were like two little girls....just chatted away. Check out some pictures at http://www.1079thelink.com/internal/bnl/. If you look close enough, you can see Julie, Mike and Mark in a few pictures. We had a great time even if Edwin McCain didn't open like we thought he was (kind of makes my post from Friday out of place). It was great to see old friends, spend time with Julie and Brad, and see a great show! Thanks to Julie and Brad again for the tickets. Afterwards we hit Jack In the Box for some late night munchies and headed home. The Pumpkin pie shake tasted good.....but man did it look disgusting.

Yesterday I wrapped presents ALL DAY LONG and Mike finished up some last minute Christmas shopping.

That's all the exciting news from this past weekend. Oh....instead of a hole in our backyard we now have a man hole cover at ground level. Fun stuff.

In honor of the Barenaked Ladies (you have to see them if they come to your area!):

It's the perfect time of day

To throw all your cares away

Put the sprinkler on the lawn

And run through with my gym shorts on.

Take a drink right from the hose

And change into some drier clothes

Climb the stairs up to my room

Sleep away the afternoon.

Here's to a great Christmas Week!

Christmas Memo to all Employees

To: All Employees
From: Management
Subject: Office conduct during the Christmas season

Effective immediately, employees should keep in mind the following guidelines in compliance with FROLIC (the Federal Revelry Office and Leisure Industry Council).
1. Running aluminum foil through the paper shredder to make tinsel is discouraged.
2. Playing Jingle Bells on the push-button phone is forbidden (it runs up an incredible long distance bill)
3. Work requests are not to be filed under "Bah humbug."
4. Company cars are not to be used to go over the river and through the woods to Grandma's house.
5. All fruitcake is to be eaten BEFORE July 25.
6. Egg nog will NOT be dispensed in vending machines.

In spite of all this, the staff is encouraged to have a Happy Holiday.

With the 70+ degree weather outside (and all weekend!!!!), I thought we all needed something to make us get in the Christmas spirit. I looooooooooooooooooooooooooooove Christmas!!!!!!

And in anticpation for Sunday night:

"I could not ask for more than this time together

I could not ask for more than this time with you

Every prayer has been answered

Every dream I have's come true

And right here in this moment is right where I'm meant to be

Here with you here with me "

In case we don't have time to post over the weekend....have a great one! Get out and enjoy this weather!!!!

Who are your heroes for 2006?

On Matt and Ramona yesterday they had a segment where listeners called in and told them their heroes and zeros for 2006. I think this is my 2nd post I got from 107.9.....maybe I should hit Brad up for promotion money.. .just kidding....sort of. What can I say, I'm addicted to popular talk radio. They were mainly focusing on celebrities which is disturbing all on it's on. What's more disturbing is that one teenage girl called in and said her hero was Paris Hilton!!!! That's wrong on so many different levels. So anyway...their discussion made me think about who my heroes were in 2006. I'm not going to even bother with zero's (the real life ones anyway)....if they're a zero....are they really worth the time.?

We've both talked about him multiple times on the blog.....but it's worth repeating. My first hero this year is Uncle Harold. His determination and faith this year has been an example everyone should strive to. We visited with Aunt Ann and Uncle Harold last night and I was reminded once again of his strength. Even though the cancer is still not all gone....he continues to have a great attitude, while admitting that he has faltered from time to time. I think that's the part that makes him a hero to me. He doesn't just say he's strong.....he proves it....and admits his faults. I wish I could be more like that.

Another one of my heroes for 2006 is Flip. She has too many good qualities to list....but she is one of the most patient and giving people I know. Thank you for always being there for me, stepping up when no normal person would, and having one of the most rational shoulders to lean on. I couldn't ask for a better friend and the animals couldn't ask for a better "aunt". We miss you (are you sure you don't want the front bedroom?)!

I know it's completely selfish, but the last "hero" is a group. Thank you to everyone who helped us move. I don't think that we realized how big of a project it would be or how much stuff we owned!!! How do two people fill up a 24 foot truck, a trailer, and several car loads? As Dave said...."y'all have too much stuff!". So thank you to Phil, Nancy, Flip, Dave, April, Brian, Harold, Ann, Nikki, Tera, and my Dad (for the Wendy's run). I think that's everyone. If I forgot someone.....well then I just suck. Ha. Extra thanks to Phil and Nancy for helping us out all weekend so that we could start Monday at least with some degree of normalcy. We're still getting settled in, but we're getting there. Maybe if we were at home more.....think that might help?

And just because it's fun....my celebrity heroes and zeros for 2006:

Heroes: Emmitt Smith, Sandra Bullock (how does she never get any bad press.....because there isn't any!!), Sara Evans

Zeroes: Nicole Richie, Paris Hilton, Linday Lohan....fill in the blank with pretty much any other airhead celebrity. Rolemodels.....what a crock.

That's just a short list....but you get the picture.

Who were your heroes this past year?

Carolina Blue with Envy

I had just left for work this morning in the pea soup we woke up to in Mecklenburg County when my cell phone rang. My first thought was....I must have forgotten something at the house. My second thought was....how in the world am I going to get my cell phone out of my purse (in the floor), and not wreck in the 10 foot visiblity I was driving in. I finally get to my phone and it was my Dad. And yes Dad, I have to leave for work at 7. That's one of the joys of living 18 miles from the office now. Man I miss that mile commute I used to have.....right Flip? Made it to work safe and sound though. For once my fellow commuters slowed down due to the fog.....what a concept. Ha.

Anyway.....my point. My Dad was like a kid on Christmas morning. He was on his way to Chapel Thrill for a Tar Heel Sports network lunch at the Dean Dome (on the floor of the Dean Dome to be exact) with Roy Williams. One of his buddies got invited and could bring a guest, so naturally he thought of Dad. Thanks to Merle for giving my Dad an early Christmas gift!

It makes me realize how much I really miss getting to go to campus more than I do. We try to get up there a couple of times a year, but it still isn't enough. There's truly something special about that place. This year we spent a few days there for the Furman game and visited some of the old haunts. Even though Mike and I knew each other in college, it's nice to go back together and share it together. I'll never forget our first Homecoming there together. No sleep, early morning, great company (Kathryn and Andrew), and a win over Miami!!!...doesn't get much better than that. I really miss Sutton's hamburgers, sitting in the pit between classes with Jay and whatever other drumline member we ran into, reading the Daily Tar Heel in class, and just being in the Southern Tip of Heaven daily. I could make a list of a 1000 things I love about that place.....I hope Kristen gets the same chance to fall in love with Chapel Hill that I did. Keep your fingers crossed for her, she should hear by the end of January. It's really where I grew up and became an adult. I wonder where I would be today if I had gone somewhere else. That's pretty hard to imagine.

That's enough of going down memory lane. I really need to do a better job of keeping in touch with everyone though. Hopefully posting to the blog more often will help.

Dad....I know you won't see this until afterwards, but have a great day in Chapel Hill! Everyone else....just have a great day and remember that through all this fog (still hanging around)...the sky is Carolina Blue.

Go Heels!

Of Thoughts and Slinkies

Well, I finished my book this morning. So I thought I'd share a few more quotes from it with you.

From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy:

"Anything's possible in Human Nature.........Love. Madness. Hope. Infinite Joy."

"Two thoughts he thought were these:
(a) Anything can happen to Anyone.
(b) It's best to be prepared."

And now a quote and a joke from our friend Koko.

"things happen, pasts happen, life happens but you have what it takes to get through it. take your time, be true and kind to each other and you will be just fine."

Koko....your strength over the past two years has been truly inspiring. I couldn't have said it better.

And now the joke (just because I think it's hilarious and so true in her case).

Some men are like Slinkies... Not really good for anything, but they still bring a smile to your face when you push them down a flight of stairs!

Now on to the next book. I'm so proud of myself this year. I actually stuck to my New Year's Resolution. I think I've averaged about a book a week.

Wishing you a great hump day. Girls...have one for me tonight. I promise I'll try to make it soon.

I like this guy's blog.

"the bleached bones of a story"

The following passage is from the book I'm reading right now, "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy.

"Perhaps it's true that things can change in a day. That a few dozen hours can affect the outcome of whole lifetimes. And that when they do, those few dozen hours, like the salvaged remains of a burned house-the charred clock, the singed photograph, the scorched furniture-must be resurrected from the ruins and examined. Preserved. Accounted for.

Little events, ordinary things, smashed and reconstituted. Imbued with new meaning. Suddenly they become the bleached bones of a story."

I guess I needed to be reminded that every action I take, however small, can affect the outcome of other people's lives. Sometimes we can feel like we're just a tiny part of this great big world...that is until we start to look at how our everyday actions are important to the ones we love and love us.

During this holiday season and all the time for that matter, remember that our actions produce results. That result could be positive or negative. I know we don't like to admit it...but sometimes the negative results are the right answer. So be kind to those around you, tell your loved ones what they mean to you, and embrace every day for the miracle that it is. If we support one another, we'll be able to stand up to any negative result that comes our way.

What will be the bleached bones of your story? How has one moment or circumstance affected your life?

How Much Have You Changed In 10 Years?

I found this on my high school's alumni website. Looks like fun.

How Much Have You Changed In 10 Years?

How old were you? 19

Kids? nope

Where did you work? Lowes Foods at home on break

Where did you live? Chapel Hill, NC

Where did you hang out? Dorm rooms, Caribou Coffee, Tri Sigma House

How was your hair style? shoulder length and straight

Did you wear glasses? sometimes, contacts most of the time

Who was your best friend? Not important anymore

Who was your regular-person crush? My ex…we had just started dating. What was I thinking?

How many tattoos did you have? none

How many piercing did you have? 2, ears

What car did you drive? 93 Nissan Sentra

What was your worst fear? failing

Had you smoked a cigarette yet? yep

Had you been arrested? nope

Had your heart broken? yes

Single/Taken/Married/Divorced/Bitter? taken

**LETS SEE WHERE YOU ARE NOW!!!!!**


December 2006

How old are you? 29

Where do you work? BB&T Equipment Finance

Kids? Just the four legged kind

Where do you live? Huntersville, NC

Where do you hang out? Julie's, Flip's,....whatever bar we end up at

What is your hairstyle? shoulder length and layered...new color to be determined tomorrow after work.

Do you wear glasses? nope, lasik surgery!!!!....best thing since sliced bread

Who is your best friend? Flip

Who is your regular-person crush? Mike, of course.

How many tattoos? none, I don't do pain.

How many piercing do you have? 2

What kind of car do you have? 2006 Ford Fusion

What is your biggest fear? Failing (some things never change)

Have you been arrested since? nope

Has your heart been broken? yes

Single/Taken/Married/Divorced/Bitter/Shopping? Divorced....now taken.

In 4 words

One of the local radio shows, Candy & Potter on 107.9, has listeners call in on Monday and sum up their weekend in 4 words. Sometimes the stories are obvious, sometimes hilarious, and sometimes just plain weird. I thought I'd try it today since I'm too chicken to call into the station.

Our weekend in four words.....hole, shopping, food, Church.

I know....seems pretty obvious, but I'll explain anyway.

We woke up Saturday morning to a mysterious hole in our backyard. I noticed Friday afternoon when I got home that there was a new stake in the middle of our yard. We woke up the next morning to about a 2 foot hole that revealed a man hole cover where the stake was. There's a couple issues with this.....who dug the hole, when did they dig the hole, and was the man hole cover already there....or did they uncover it. We're assuming it's part of the drainage easement on our property....the mystery continues. Good thing we haven't done much to the yard yet or we'd be a little more concerned about it.

It seems like all we did this weekend was shop. We were at Lowe's Friday and Sunday. I Christmas shopped most of the day on Saturday and then did the routine stuff yesterday (Target and HT). The good news is that we're almost done with our Christmas shopping. It's hard to believe it's only two weeks away! Due to the Lowe's trip, Mike spent most of the weekend working around the house. We now have blinds everywhere (but that pesky really high foyer window), hooks in the bathroom (I'm rejoicing on the inside!...no more towels in the floor), rocking chairs on both porches, a garage door opener, a new vacuum (ours kicked the bucket on Saturday night), a wreath on the front door....and I'm sure a ton of other things I can't even remember. The house is slowly, but surely getting there. Does anyone know how to add more hours to the day?

I put food as one of the words because we tried a restaurant in downtown Huntersville for the first time. "Lupie's" is only a mile from the house and is sure to become one of our "regular" places. It's a meat and two veggies kind of place.....and cheap!! Mike had chili and I had the bbq plate. For you Charlotte people think of a place kind of between "Dish" and "Penguin". I also met Flip for lunch at "Manzetti's" while I was out shopping on Satuday. I just LOVE that place. I'm going through withdrawal since we don't live across the street from it anymore. I'm also going through withdrawal from Flip, so it was great to be able to just sit and talk. Flip and I both know how Mike misses trying to watch tv with us, when all we would do is talk instead. Ha. Last night we tried a new marinade with pork and it was excellent! The best part was I didn't have to cook!

Yesterday we continued our tour of the local churches in our area. A couple of weeks ago we tried Huntersville UMC and yesterday we tried Mt. Zion UMC. Right now Huntersville is leading the pack (it helps it's 1/2 mile away). I think we both just felt more comfortable there. There's one more we want to try on the west side of town. We both know we need to get better at going more regularly.

I promise to have a more interesting post later in the week. We weren't that exciting this weekend (although the new vacuum was pretty exciting, only Julie will understand that).

Please keep Mike's Uncle Harold in your thoughts and prayers. He had a fever Friday night, which led to emergency surgery because he had an infection from the previous surgery. As of yesterday he was still in the hospital. Everyone who has met him knows how much he appreciates all of your well wishes. Keep them coming!

The computer at home is still not working, so no pictures. We have some really cute ones of the "children" too. Keep your fingers crossed that we can find time to get it fixed this week.

And Mike.....feel free to correct my errors. What would I do without you? ;-).

I love Strawberry-Kiwi Jell-o.

The quote of the day on my Google start page:

Typos are very important to all written form. It gives the reader something to look for so they aren't distracted by the total lack of content in your writing.

- Randy K. Milholland

Fitting, huh? Maybe I'm known as a grammar freak by a lot of you. Heaven only knows that I drive my loved ones crazy with little-known or oft-misused rules of grammar or spelling. I just have a problem with folks who don't want to take the time to learn their native tongue and then convert that knowledge to execution.

Certain excuses baffle me. How about the common, "That's not the way we learned to say it where I come from"? Fine. But the rules of mathematics were applied correctly where you come from. Why not those of the English language, too?

Anyway... the point of my sharing the quote with you: I get distracted by incorrect grammar. I'm sometimes so lost in the thought that someone just ended their sentence with a preposition or used the wrong spelling of a word (their - there - they're, for example) that I totally miss the message they're trying to convey in their speech or writing. I'll admit it. I sometimes don't really know what you just said, but I know how to correct it.

So what about the regional idiosyncracies in our language that make us who we are? Our accents, our dialects, our euphemisms? Aren't these things to be preserved? Passed down from one generation to the next, in order to give each of us a sense of place... belonging... home? I believe we should hang on to these things. But I don't believe we should forfeit our knowledge of the English language in the process.

Enough of my rambling. I'm not sure what I just said, and I probably made several grammatical errors (sure to be pointed out by those of you looking to "one-up" me). But all I'm really trying to convey in all of this is that I love strawberry-kiwi Jell-o.

Good night, all. Here's to the best week possible.

Just because I felt like sharing it again....

This one's for you baby....


"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

Here's hoping everyone has a great Friday!

"Find Out Who Your Friends Are"

I heard this song on XM on the way to work for the first time and just thought I'd share it with all of you. It's a VERY country song, so just seeing the lyrics is kind of strange....but ya'll will get the point.

Run your car off the side of the road
Get stuck in a ditch way out in the middle of nowhere
Or get yourself in a bind,
Lose the shirt off your back,
Need a floor, need a couch, need a bus fare…

This is where the rubber meets the road
This is where the cream is gonna rise
This is where this is what you really didn’t know
This is where the truth don’t lie

Find out who your friends are
Somebody’s gonna drop everything
Run out and crank up their car
Hit the gas, get there fast
Never stop to think “what’s in it for me?”
Or “it’s way too far”
They just show on up
With their big ol’ heart
Yeah find out who your friends are.


Everybody wants to slap your back
Wants to shake your hand
When you’re up on top of that mountain
Then one of those rocks will get wet
And you slide back down
Look up and see who’s around then

This is where the road comes to an end
This is where the band wagon stops
This is just one of those times when
A lotta folks jump off.

Yeah find out who your friends are
Somebody’s gonna drop everything
Run out and crank up their car
Hit the gas, get there fast
Never stop to think “what’s in it for me?”
Or “it’s way too far”
They just show on up
With their big ol’ heart
Yeah find out who your friends are.

When the water’s high
When the weather’s not so fair
When the well runs dry
Who’s gonna be there?

Yeah find out who your friends are
Somebody’s gonna drop everything
Run out and crank up their car
Hit the gas, get there fast
Never stop to think “what’s in it for me?”
Or “it’s way too far”
They just show on up
With their big ol’ heart
Yeah find out who your friends are.

Yeah find out who your friends are.

Run your car off the side of the road
Get stuck in a ditch way out in the middle of nowhere
Man I been there
Or get yourself in a bind
Lose the shirt off your back
Need a floor, need a couch
Need a bus fare…
Man I been there
Man I been there…

Thank you to my friends for just being you. I don't know if it's just getting older or experiences that make us appreciate our friends more....especially you Flip. And I promise to only call in the middle of the night if it's an emergency :-).

And I forgot yesterday....Congrats to Mauer on the new job! Does this mean you have to drive a Honda now? Hate I couldn't celebrate with you last night.

Update on Harold

As many of you already know, Mike's Uncle Harold was diagnosed with breast cancer earlier this year. We found out last week that all of the cancer is not gone. We waited to post so that the family could be told first (that and the past couple of days have been busy-not a good excuse, i know).

From what we know...they went to take his stint out last week and when they did, they found more cancer. He'll have a few weeks to recover from the surgery and then he'll start radiation treatments again.

Please keep Harold in your thoughts and prayers. I have never seen someone have such a good outlook during such a difficult time. I've said it before and I'll say it again.....I hope I have half the strength he has when it comes to dealing with the tough times in life. He's a true inspiration.

If you would like to send Harold your well wishes, put a comment on this post and we'll forward them to him.

On a different note, I promise to have pictures back on the blog ASAP. My desktop computer decided to go dead on me the other night, so I have access to NONE of my pictures. We'll see if the geek squad can get it fixed.

Thanks to the gang for a great time Saturday night. I can't believe how many people were in Julie's house. I'm very lucky to have ya'll in my life....I hope you all know it.

And lastly, Good Luck to Julie tomorrow! I'll be thinking about you all morning. Just remember to take as many of the good drugs as they'll give you :-). You need to hurry up and get better....we have the Pottery Barn outlet and the BNL/Edwin McCain concert in our near future!