Wondering...

There is this house that I drive by almost every day. And on most of those days there is a woman who sits in a rocking chair on the front porch. The odd thing is that she sits there facing the house, her back to the road. I have no idea of how old she is, as I have never actually seen her face. Her hair is medium/short in length, and looks to be fairly gray. My guess is that she is an older woman, but then again, some people go gray really young. Some days it looks like she is doing something with her hands. I've seen her with a bowl on her lap and got the impression that she was shelling peas, or something like that. Maybe she is doing some kind of needlework sometimes, too...? I don't know. But every time that I see her out there, facing the house with her back to the road, I have to take a moment to wonder. Whats her story?

Handbags and Weddings

So this weekend in Danville, Erica and I ran out to shop briefly. Mainly because she wanted to pick up some of that yummy chicken salad from the Mid-town Market to take home for lunch this week (um, we got really lost and had a most excellent adventure through out the streets of Danville. And she had like NO sense of humor about it, but I thought it was hilarious good fun...).

But we ran into a few other places along the way. I have been shopping around a little bit for a handbag to go with my dress for THE wedding. The only evening bag that I own is black. And my dress is brown/copper and my shoes are gold. Black wasn't going to cut it. But I didn't find anything acceptable. So when we finally got back to the house (after seeing a whole lot of the town on our crazy roadtrip) Dad and Barb mentioned that there were several evening bags packed away somewhere in the house. And I got this one pictured above. It belonged (if I am remembering correctly, which I may NOT be, so feel free to correct me) to my hubby's Dad's mother, and might actually have been used in the 1920's...? Anyway, whether that information is right or not, I happen to think that its really pretty. The metal work at the top of the bag is pretty enough to feel like jewelry instead of a purse frame. And the body of the purse, the part that looks like gold sequins, is actually tiny little gold-colored metal disks. All of them intact. And worked together so finely that it feels almost silky. Its hard to describe. You would have to feel it. Anyway, its vintage and unusual and it makes me happy. So, thanks Dad and Barb. I can't wait to use it. The weird looking orbs at the top are really just a candle holder that I used to prop the purse up so I could take a picture. They aren't actually attached to the bag...haha.

So, the wedding grows closer. Hannia stopped by this afternoon to drop off Erica's dress. Its really pretty, and the length of it (more knee-length) will make this a dress she could probably wear again to some other special occasion, so that makes it even better. But one of the things that I have been meaning to say about the wedding is the fact that my daughter is going to be The Best Man!!! How cool is that? And Hannia's brother is going to be a bridesmaid....haha. I LOVE how they are breaking convention like that. It makes me smile. Everything seems to be coming together nicely, so.....we have a lot to look forward to this spring!!!

I'm Alive!!!

Really, seriously, I am alive. I haven't written much mainly because things have been insanely busy. We had Greg, Lori and the girls up for a visit the weekend before last. This past weekend we were visiting Dad and Barb in Danville. Besides all the visitation, work has kept me hopping like a one-legged Easter Bunny. Whew...I am tired. Last night, for instance, I went to bed at 7 pm. I totally meant to take a quick nap and get up in an hour. Well, the REAL story is that I said something kind of snarky that got on my husband's nerves (I honestly can NOT remember what I said, but I am pretty sure it wasn't altogether sweet and loving). So he started to blatantly IGNORE me. He was refusing to answer me, or acknowledge my existence. Not like a serious fight or argument. I think we were both just tired and feeling a little snippy. But since he was artfully ignoring me, I decided that I would just go ahead and deprive him of my glorious presence all together, and I went to bed. Hahahaha. Like I said, I meant to get up again in a little while, but I slept through until the alarm went off this morning. Yikes! I must have needed the sleep. I don't know if the deprivation of my presence taught hubby a lesson or not, but he seems to be behaving a bit better today, so maybe? I got some good sleep either way.

Anyway, nothing else is new. We have had days on end of cloudy, misty, rainy days. It feels like forever since I saw any sunlight. That in and of itself is somewhat depressing. It makes me sleepy. And it appears as though there is no real sunshine in the forecast around here for the rest of this week. Blah. Oh well, we needed the rain, I guess. I read somewhere that we are finally back up into the "normal" rainfall range again after the serious drought of last summer.
I keep wondering about Atlanta. We heard lots of urgent news reports that Atlanta was running out of water, with only a month or so supply left. Have they gotten back up to normal levels yet? Has anyone heard? Apparently only the bad stuff gets reported. Noone tells you when things are going well......Why is that?

Random things...

Barb pointed out that I haven't blogged in a few days. Things just got a little busy. Plus, my all week-end shopping trip this past week followed by having to rush directly back to work kind of wore me out a little. Not bad...but I confess to having come home after work and taken a nap a few times. Hehe. Or maybe its just spring fever, because it has been sort of warm here for the past few days. Who knows? But the point is that everything is just fine and dandy, I've just been lazy. And napping. And napping makes me happy, so its all good.

Anyway, Greg, Lori and the girls on are the way for a quickie visit today. They are driving down from Williamsburg. The last we heard they were going to be taking the route that goes by ferry.
And that is actually kind of fun and pretty, but.....its really chilly, cloudy and threatening rain around here right now. I have frozen my body parts off on that ferry before. So....I hope they are all bundled up.

One other thing that I meant to say: I have this friend at work. One that I love dearly and one that I talk to, text message, etc. several times a day. Every day. She has this saying that makes me laugh every single time that she says it. Just like I'm hearing it for the first time. I dunno, I'm blonde and I guess that makes me easily amused...? But everytime our hateful and incompetent management (there is a collective group of evil) starts to get on her nerves (which would seriously be like every 6.4 seconds), and she feels her blood starting to boil (we all are taking blood pressure meds around that place) she says, "They are getting ready to see a show!"
Hahaha....Ok, so in all honesty, I have never seen this "show" that she is always threatening. She is generally well-behaved and professional. But the thought of her pulling out all the stops and putting on this "show" just makes me laugh. If the day comes that she gives them the show that they all deserve, I just hope I am there to see it. Its going to be spectacular.

I'm Home Again

I'm back home. I had a good time with Erica. Our shopping trip wasn't quite what I envisioned, but it was fun. I had somehow imagined being surrounded by so much stuff to choose from that we would spend enormous amounts of time just trying to decide what to purchase. And that just didn't happen. It was way more like enormous amounts of time just trying to find something that fit or wasn't ugly or whore-like or whatever. We both tried on a million dresses in Richmond in Nordstroms, Macys, Dillards...you name it. And we both ended up finding something that we liked at the Belk in Charlottesville at about 8:30 last night. We shopped from 10:30 am until almost 9 pm. Whew....



Anyway, we found what we really needed, but didn't come home with the armloads of stuff that I wanted. I don't know what it was, but so much of the stuff just didn't suit us. There were alot of busy, loud 60's inspired prints that really turned us off. Or dresses with old lady jackets over them. There was some really ugly stuff out there. Maybe it was just our mood? We were happy to be shopping, but we even found a huge DSW shoe warehouse, and we wandered those aisles up and down just trying to want something. Anything. But we walked out with nothing.
Everything was either ugly, or I already owned something similar. Weird. Oh well.



There was one high point for me though. We set out on a quest to find an Olive Garden for lunch. Erica doesn't have one in Charlottesville, so.....she wanted to find one. Which we did.
And the Chicken Fontina that I had was excellent. But our waiter....he was the REAL treasure.
When we were done, he asked if that would be on separate checks. Erica said "NO!" so quickly that it made me laugh, and I felt the need to explain to the guy that I was the Mom, so of course I would be paying. He looked at me and said with sincerity (ok, its possible that this was fake sincerity, but its MY story dammit....), "Oh, I really thought you were sisters." Hahaha....let me state for the record that Mr. Sincere Waiter Guy got a nice tip. I think I love him.



And then today, right before I left, we went out for lunch at a local Mexican restaurant. We had trouble finding something open on Easter, actually. This place was not serving their usual menu, but were having a brunch buffet. Oh My God!!! It was excellent. The best part was the dessert. They had a caramel flan. I have never had flan. But it was the yummiest creamy goodness that I have ever tasted. I have to try to learn to make this. Seriously! There was also some kind of mexican omlette that was really good, too. But honestly? If I had known how much I was going to love the flan, I might have foregone all of the "real" food and just had dessert. hahaha. Its kind of funny really, because "Flan" doesn't really sound all that appetizing.
I probably would never order it just based on the way the word sounds. Its way too close to "phlegm" somehow. It really should be called something else. Something more like....I dunno....
"euphoria", or "rapture" or something.


This is one of Nordstrom's spring offerings. Please for the love of God, JUST SAY NO!!!! And whats up with that model's hair??????

Actual Letter...

This is an actual letter from an Austin woman sent to American company Proctor and Gamble regarding their feminine products. She really gets rolling after the first paragraph. It's PC Magazine's 2007 editors' choice for best webmail-award-winning letter.


"Dear Mr. Thatcher,

I have been a loyal user of your 'Always' maxi pads for over 20 years And I appreciate many of their features. Why, without the LeakGuard Core or Dri-Weave absorbency, I'd probably never go horseback riding or salsa dancing, and I'd certainly steer clear of running up and down the beach in tight, white shorts. But my favorite feature has to be your revolutionary Flexi-Wings. Kudos on being the only company smart enough to realize how crucial it is that maxi pads be aerodynamic. I can't tell you how safe and secure I feel each month knowing there's a little F-16 in my pants.

Have you ever had a menstrual period, Mr. Thatcher? Ever suffered from the curse'? I'm guessing you haven't. Well, my time of the month is starting right now. As I type, I can already feel hormonal forces violently surging through my body. Just a few minutes from now, my body will adjust and I'll be transformed into what my husband likes to call 'an inbred hillbilly with knife skills.' Isn't the human body amazing?

As Brand Manager in the Feminine-Hygiene Division, you've no doubt seen quite a bit of research on what exactly happens during your customer's monthly visits from 'Aunt Flo'. Therefore, you must know about the bloating, puffiness, and cramping we endure, and about our intense mood swings, crying jags, and out-of-control behavior. You surely realize it's a tough time for most women. In fact, only last week, my friend Jennifer fought the violent urge to shove her boyfriend's testicles into a George Foreman Grill just because he told her he thought Grey's Anatomy was written by drunken chimps. Crazy!

The point is, sir, you of all people must realize that America is just crawling with homicidal maniacs in Capri pants... Which brings me to the reason for my letter. Last month, while in the throes of cramping so painful I wanted to reach inside my body and yank out my uterus, I opened an Always maxi-pad, and there, printed on the adhesive backing, were these words:

'Have a Happy Period.'

Are you f------ kidding me? What I mean is, does any part of your tiny middle-manager brain really think happiness - actual smiling, laughing happiness, is possible during a menstrual period? Did anything mentioned above sound the least bit pleasurable? Well, did it, James?

FYI, unless you're some kind of sick S&M freak, there will never be Anything 'happy' about a day in which you have to jack yourself up on Motrin and Kahlua and lock yourself in your house just so you don't march down to the local Walgreen's armed with a hunting rifle and a sketchy plan to end your life in a blaze of glory.

For the love of God, pull your head out, man! If you have to slap a Moronic message on a maxi pad, wouldn't it make more sense to say something that's actually pertinent, like 'Put down the Hammer' or 'Vehicular Manslaughter is Wrong', or are you just picking on us? Sir, please inform your Accounting Department that, effective immediately, there will be an $8 drop in monthly profits, for I have chosen to take my maxi-pad business elsewhere. And though I will certainly miss your Flex-Wings, I will not for one minute miss your brand of condescending b.s. And that's a promise I will keep.

Always. . .
Wendi Aarons
Austin , TX"

Who are your REAL friends?

A simple test.......

Who is your real friend?

This really works…!

If you don't believe it, just try this experiment:

Put your dog and your wife or husband in the trunk of the car for an hour. When you open the trunk, who is really happy to see you?