I Can't... But I Can't Not

Should I be flattered or disturbed that my dentist hugged me as I was leaving his office today? He said something like "give an old man a hug". So, I guess there was an option... but there never really is when you're a nice Southern girl. Anyway, so that was weird. But, I do like him more & more as I get to know him. Although... I'm freakin' tired of getting to know him. I blame my mom for my too-susceptible-to-cavities teeth... and my wearing-out silver fillings. Although, I guess technically that's not her fault. But I'm annoyed that every time I tell her about my wearing-out fillings, she tells me that she still has fillings she got as a child that are still perfectly good. So, I'm gonna blame her for the wearing-out silver fillings too. Sorry, Mom. But that's how it goes, right? Mom always gets blamed for everything.

So... here are the pics I promised weeks ago of the backyard. Okay, so it's a little outdated now... there's actually grass growing now!... but it'll do. Pay particular attention to the dead tree... it came from FUTURE TREES... and I'll erase that as soon as they replace it with a living one!!





And a new pic of my lovely Forsythe:


And finally, a couple of Kona from today. I thought you'd like to see some "recents".

Lesson for the Day: Bikes & Cars Do Not Mix

Good ole' Breen-dane used to keep us in stitches @ Apt. 44 with his stories about the near-misses he'd had on his bike. I KNOW it wasn't really all that funny... especially to him when it was happening. But, he just had a way of telling the anecdotes that just always made me laugh and laugh and laugh. There was even this one time that he flew over the handlebars. And when he told that story, I KNEW I needed to stop laughing. It just wasn't that funny to think about sweet little Brendan flying across the handlebars. And now it's really not funny. Poor Lis had an extra traumatic day today... although, not nearly as traumatic as the Brendan-wannabe she watched flip over his handlebars, get dragged up a parking lot ramp, and get run over by an oblivious woman driver (and no, that DOES NOT mean I think women can't drive). So, Lis... I'm sorry for your traumatic viewing experience today. And Brendan (and Brendan's imitator from today), I do not think what you went through is at all funny.

So... moving on to happier topics... have you guys noticed my shiny new toy at the bottom of my page? I know some of you have (since you've told me!). I was just curious how many of you there were out there, and since none of you post comments (except Lis, MJM, and mom, of course -- it's okay, I'm not mad), I found another way to make you answer when your name is called (you know, when roll is called) instead of running away to hide. So, hello, you 65 unique visitors! (Yes, I KNOW some of you may use multiple computers to drop in on me... heck, I even do it myself... but I'm going to pretend like there really are 65 of you. Maybe someday soon, there will be.) Anyway, feel free to check out the stats if you'd like. Bravenet's freebie counter doesn't let me hide it from you anyway. But that's okay... I've nothing to hide. An open book. If you'd just read my blog. Because here, I reveal all... as long as you have the secret decoder ring. My boss always makes fun of me b/c (even though she really does think I'm a good writer) people need the secret decoder ring to understand me sometimes. LOL... perhaps that's the point, Mary!!!

Anyway, I'm tired... and tired of writing for now. I'll be back, though. Promise. Have a good one... and another one for me.

In the meantime, here are a couple more old photos (especially for you, Lis). Of course, both of the first ones are of Haley & me. And I just couldn't resist throwing in a classic one of Mom & Dad. Enjoy!

The Sunday Special

I know I usually don't post on Sunday nights, but I've found a new reason to love John Mayer. He's so in my head. I don't care if you think it's weird.

Let's bypass the bull*&@%
And move on because the minute hand moves faster than you think it does
And by no fault of yours, and by no fault of mine
The bottom line is laying in the bed that we've been playing in tonight
...
It's not about you now, it's what we are

The Nickel (or Quarter) Tour... As Promised

Well, I find myself scanning yet again tonight... between working and thinking and watching Herbie: Fully Loaded and thinking some more. Yes, I said Herbie. I know... but I LIKE silly little movies. Even ones with Lindsay Lohan in 'em. And I gotta tell you... I DID notice the reduction work they did when she had the racing suit on! What's up with that? Lindsay's curvy... give her a break! And she had the guts to give old Jessica Simpson a "catfight" (according to the US Weekly I bought @ Food Lion a week and a half ago).

Moving right along... I thought maybe a few of you would enjoy a nickel tour of the house (since very few of you have actually been to meet Forsythe yourself -- yes, my house's name is Forsythe). Let's start with the JoRun plat. Forsythe sits comfortably (and permanently, since he's on a big ole slab o' concrete) on Lot #80. This is a marked-up version of the plat with the first few lots built-on labeled with the builders' names (thus, the No. 80 label of "St. Andrew's" -- yay Jamey & Co.!).

So, once you zoom in to Lot 80 (using your Google Earth program, y'know... although, unfortunately, Google Earth's sat-photos are a little (or a lot) obsolete... can't really tell if they still show the peanut fields or what!), you may see the top of the house. And if you remove the top (otherwise known as the roof), you may see the floorplan as such:

But, of course, the B&W line drawings just don't do it justice... so I'll try to give you more of an idea of how each of the rooms look lived-in... well, okay, maybe not "lived-in" since we really haven't done much with any of the rooms. But, at least with shortbread paint and floating floors, cherry cabinets and a little bit of furniture. I'll try to keep 'em in order with the floorplan above (clockwise, beginning -- of course -- with the screened-in porch). Sorry for the messy rooms... but I don't even clean for guests like some of y'all do. See if you recognize anything (or anypuppy... Coop and Kona thought I was crazy wandering around with that flashy thing again... but they're not shy to be in pics, that's for sure!).

Happy Thursday... please deposit your nickel on the way out the door.

The Unoriginal Dum Dum Away Messages

I wrote an away message for myself a few months back and used it a couple of times when things were... well, interesting... at work. I would like to share that with you now: "Doesn't it just make you crazy when you KNOW you could be doing a better job than someone else but you have to back off & let them fail?? Hope you're having fun after-hours!" Yes, well, that was originally about Colleague P. Today, it's about Colleague K. I won't tell too many details... but we had a situation this morning (and yesterday afternoon, really) that just ended up ticking me off. Turns out I really do have to do something myself if I want it done correctly.

Anyway... I'm spending more time with Mom tonight going through pics to include in a photo presentation for Me-Maw's birthday. I thought you guys might like to see a few pages from my "This is My Life" photo album:

Okay, so except for the very last one (obviously), these are all from waaaaay back when. However, I didn't figure I could post anything from "This is My Life" without putting a band pic in... this is the most generic I had at my fingertips. Didn't know if it would be okay to show actual faces (from the not-so-ancient past). I'll try to gather the photo release forms & get back to posting pages soon.

Love Wednesdays. Have I mentioned that lately? Have a GREAT one!

Friendly Advice for Your Neighborhood Speller

Does anyone else out there feel just the slightest bit sorry for Kaavya Viswanathan? I mean, all the poor girl did was write a little novel. And, seriously, it was chick-lit... CHICK-LIT IS ALL THE SAME. So, until every other chick-lit novelist out there is blasted for plagiarism (would anyone else had had a hard time spelling that word? c'mon, not all of us are spelling nazis... is it bad to use the word "nazis" in a flippant comment like that?... anyway), I want everyone to just get off sweet little Kaavya's back. So she read a few chick-lit novels in her day. Who among us hasn't? And so she liked them well enough to remember bits and pieces of them. Who among us doesn't? And so she has a convenient photographic memory. Well, okay, I won't even pretend to have any film in mine (see? I just plagiarized that myself! So sue me... take my novel off the shelves... have me tried & convicted in the court of public opinion and the blasted New York Times). Anyway, I think the backlash of criticism is a little overkill. I mean, seriously, Candace Bushnell & Darren Star would be suing everyone in sight if it was a crime to steal a clever SATC-ism (helloooo... Sex and the City... didn't I already tell you that once?). Every single chick-lit author since 1998 (did you know that was the first SATC year?) has swiped a piece of that. And beyond the world of chick-lit (into the realm of rambling, bumbling, & disjointed), I bet if every author out there went through and read my entries on this here blog, several of them would find "questionable passages" where they might think I had plagiarized them. I HAVEN'T. Believe me, it's hard enough to come up with topic ideas and original/semi-funny (I know... I try too hard to be funny) paragraphs without having to worry about the plagiarism police. Although... having said that, I do understand, Honor Court Chairpeople (did you know there were two at Carolina? -- one for undergrad, one for grad), that plagiarism is a reprehensible action... punishable by very bad things.

I promise that I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid on this paper... I mean, blog posting. And, furthermore, any resemblance to the plot, structure, writing style, phrasing, and even character names within the works of anyone else in the world (published, unpublished, or merely glimmer of idea in future author's brain) is purely coincidental and completely unintentional.

Of course, maybe I don't know enough about it. Maybe she did plagiarize (I'm getting better at spelling that word the more I type it). Maybe I was just desperate for a blog topic and couldn't come up with one on my own... and I feel that I have to stick together with my girl who also merely borrowed someone else's idea(s). What do you think? Guilty? Not guilty?

In my life, the answer's always guilty. Life revolves around guilt. I'd make a good Catholic. And yes, every one of you out there who's saying... hey, I told her that... you did. All of you. And you're all right.

Things to feel guilty for:
1) going to the pool during work hours... technically, it could've been considered my lunch break, so get off my back;
2) wait... WHY am I listing out the things that I have to feel guilty for? Geez... that was almost really, really dumb. I guess you'll just have to make do with your own lists... or those things on my list that you happen to know.

I will tell you one thing Cooper has to feel guilty for... and that's BITING ME. He does feel lots and lots of remorse... but he has promised that if I ever help pull anything else from his rear end again, he'll do it again. Well, Cooper, little buddy... how about we just stop playing with tennis balls and other such toys with yellow fuzz that you can pull off with your teeth and swallow? Good plan?

Well, I've worn a place in the carpet sitting here thinking about/typing this entry (I promise... you can even feel it if you do a cursory swipe of your hand), so I guess I better be heading off to bed. Tonight's a little dissimilar from last night in that I let Jon take the dogs out for the last time. Last night's starry sky was just breath-taking -- definitely that backlit canopy with holes punched in it. Well... maybe I'll get to see tonight's sky after all... or maybe if I just ignore her whining, she'll decide to settle down & go to sleep. Tune in to find out...

Hope your Wednesday morning is fantabulous!

199:23

Tonight, I'm being lazy (yes, again). So, the only thing I'm revealing about myself in my blog this beautiful Monday night is the color of my heart:

Your Heart Is Blue

Love is a doing word for you. You know it's love when you treat each other well.You are a giving lover, but you don't give too much. You expect something in return. Your flirting style: Friendly Your lucky first date: Lunch at an outdoor cafe Your dream lover: Is both generous and selfish What you bring to relationships: Loyalty

What Color Heart Do You Have?

Friends of Convenience

Dreams are funny things. Sometimes they really throw you for a loop.

Have you ever wondered whether your friends are truly your friends or if they're just "friends of convenience"? Of course, you have to be at the same place as someone (at least for a while... or virtually) to establish the relationship. But then... what makes you friends later in life? How do you continue a real friendship when you're no longer in the same place... and when you really don't talk a whole lot? I think that's a big fear for me... that the people who've been my "friends" in life just consider me as an "acquaintance of convenience". So, to anyone in my life who I've ever called a friend, I love you. And I still consider you a true friend... even if we're not close at the moment.

Haley's MySpace Page Says She Thinks It's Sexy

Okay, so there was a tractor in my backyard today. Dad, you & CJ would've had LOTS to talk about if the low country boil had been tonight! Although, CJ's friend's tractor is blue... and mine was green. Green's better. Speaking of CJ's tractor, the man mowed the empty lots across Johnson Drive (around the lake). They look really nice. As does our new backyard. Maybe pics later? Maybe not... as I seem to promise a lot of pics and never deliver on them. What's with me and promises?

Anyway, I just wanted to share these pics... too funny. I was a little embarassed to actually take 'em, but I think I got away with it when no one was looking. Of course, I got mine, though. I decided to run at about 12:45 or 1. The guys came back from lunch at about 1:15. Maybe I had the blinds angled so that they couldn't see in. Maybe not. Anyway, Juan & Co. were throwing pine straw around about a foot from where I was running in my sports bra and shortie shorts. Greeeaaaaat. Oh well. Only distracted me off my pace a little bit. I still had another personal best today! Yay me!




And while I'm on the pic kick, here are a few recents of the kids:

Crazy is the Forecast

You know, I've racked my brain and just can't come up with a good topic for tonight. I just can't seem to reach up and grab any of the thoughts that are speeding through my noggin'. I know I usually write about nothing anyway, but tonight... it looks like that's going to be especially so. So, I won't keep you... just wanted to say a quick hello and tell you that I luv u. Hope y'all are having a great end-of-the-week. Enjoy the weekend!

The STORM Ahead

The landscapers finally came to work on our backyard today. I had been trying to get ahold of the main guy, let's call him Hal, for months and months. Finally, two days after my dad puts new pine straw in the front beds, he returns my call! (Perhaps a coincidence?) Anyway, so, he was in the driveway when I got home yesterday. He told us that his crew was going to be in JoRun for several days anyway and he'd be glad to send 'em over to finish out our back yard (sprinkler system, creating back yard beds, etc. ... you know, all the stuff Dad wasn't here long enough to do). Hallelujah! Yes! Absolutely! Can you do it today? So... they came today.

Funny story about them... Al (oops, I mean Hal) said the crew members' names yesterday in the conversation because he was specifically asking us to cage the hellions when they were here. Evidently, he's afraid of dogs. Anyway, so, we were saying that yes, our dogs are a little aggressive, but that they really do need to start getting used to people coming into the yard (hello... are we never going to be able to have friends stop by?). He said, well, they don't have to get used to me; but they do have to get to know Juan, Alejandro, Eduardo, Guillermo, and Miguel. So... all those guys are in my back yard this morning, and I think... huh, well, I hope Hal remembered to tell them about the underground fence. So, I decided I would go out and remind them. I go up to the group of four guys digging a hole right where the doggie charge would be running, and I say "Did Hal tell you about the underground fence?" All four of them look up and me with completely blank faces. Then one guy says "Hal? Hal will be here soon." OK. Got it. Thanks. How do you say "Watch out for the doggie fence?" in Spanish?

Anyway... so, the landscapers did end up cutting the fence. But they spliced it back together. (I'm assuming it works!) And about 30 minutes after they rolled out, this mess rolled in:

Dad, not sure if you can tell by the pics, but a great deal of your work did not make it through the HEAVY, HEAVY wind that preceded the rain. Can you see that beautiful pine straw strewn across the yard??? So disappointing! But, I spent a long while out in the yard after the storm raking it up (with my hands, mind you). I probably salvaged a couple of bales, but there are still holes where I'll need to refill. Luckily, we've still got the Sentra crew cab (or as some of you may know it best... the hot car) to haul the new bales in. Also notice in the pics (especially the first two and the fifth one)... the blowing sand/dirt from Jamey's new house. No, that's not just rain or low-lying clouds. It's those people's back yard flying toward Lisa. Speaking of Lisa, she had called and left me a message on my home phone (that I moved into the office for Haley when she was here and haven't yet moved back to the easier-to-notice-it-there kitchen). Oops... it's been, like, five days since she called!

Okay, well... I'm going back to listening to Mr. A-Z and my chocolate cake. Y'all have a fun Wednesday night and very successful Thursday.