Friday Feast - 3/30/07

Appetizer
What are you proud of?

My parents, for doing a great job raising six kids, my husband, for putting up with me since 1989 and being a great friend and amazing spouse (seriously, he could give classes), and my ability to whistle through my teeth.

Soup
What is the best thing you’ve ever won as a prize?

When I was in the seventh grade, I won a first place award in the regional Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science competition and got to take off from school for a few days to go and study ocean wildlife with a few other contest finalists. We traveled to Stone Harbor, New Jersey and I just remember how excited I was at the time. I hadn't ever traveled without a family member before, so it was quite an adventure for me as a seventh grader. I remember having so much fun and I was so proud of that award. I also got to compete at the state level out near Pittsburgh which was a great experience.

Salad
Name something you do that is a waste of time.

Blogging and checking my Myspace account are probably not activities that are the best use of my time, but both are a little bit addictive.

Main Course
In what year of your life did you change the most?

1996 was a big year. I quit my job in PA, got married, moved to TN and started a new job all within about a two month window. In 2001, we had to sell a house in TN, buy a house in PA, move across the country again and I had to change jobs again. In 2004, I got to do one more time (sold a house in PA, bought a house in TN and changed jobs AGAIN). Did I mention that I am ready to stay in one place for a while?

Dessert
Where is a place you consider to be very tranquil?

The top of a mountain when it is snowing. I consider downhill skiing to be very tranquil. Sometimes, when you are lucky, you can ski down a trail when no one else is around and you feel like you are the only person on earth.

Ya Mo Be at Target

The husband and I just came back from Target. We ran in there tonight at about 9:30 for one thing for the yard. A gentleman with thick, white hair was at the customer service desk when we got there. His back was to us, but I pointed and joked to my husband, "There's Michael McDonald".

We did our shopping and got into line. We looked up and who was in the checkout line in front of us? Michael McDonald.

Two Hundred Bags Of Gravel and Eighty Bags of Sand Later...

With a lot of hard work, and some very tolerant and hard-working friends and family, we went from this....

to this....

We now have a patio instead of pallets of supplies in our backyard.

I think my muscles will ache for the next year or so.

Friday Feast - 3/23/07

Appetizer

Who is your favorite news anchor/reporter? Why?

I like Charlie Gibson. He's just been around so long and he's so likable. He seems like a down to earth kind of guy. I sort of feel like I've grown up watching him.

Soup

Name 3 foods that are currently in your freezer.

Boxes of Lean Pockets, boxes Lean Cuisine and a bottle of vanilla vodka. (On a side note, did you know if you mix equal parts vanilla vodka and Frangelico you can create the most delicious shot of a drink that tastes like chocolate cake? It's truly divine, and strangely enough...it really does taste like chocolate cake!)

Salad

If you were to have the opportunity to name a new town or city, what would you call it?

I would call it "Onajetplane" so everyone could sing every time they were departing..."I'm leaving Onajetplane". I think that would bring so many people such incredible satisfaction. Okay, maybe only me...

Main Course

What will most likely be the next book you read?

I am not sure. It is usually a spontaneous decision on book I will read from cover to cover. However, the next book I will reference (probably later today, in fact) will be our Home Depot book on Patios and Walkways.

Dessert

What's the first thing you notice about the opposite gender?

I hate to be negative, but I will immediately notice if a guy wears too much cologne. I like a subtle, nice smell on a guy, but if it's overpowering, it's never good. I think I have a sensitive nose. Although, I have to say, it's a pretty equal opportunity for offending me. I don't like strong perfume on women either.

Biting Off More Than We Can Chew?

Today, we are getting a delivery from Lowe's. The delivery will consist of two pallets of paver stones, sand and gravel. Why? Because I am convinced that my husband and I can somehow install a stone patio ourselves even though we've never done anything remotely close to this before in our lives.

It doesn't sound all that intimidating. Our plans are for a 16' x 16' square patio. The way we will lay it out won't require us to cut any of the stones. All we have to do (notice how I say that with no real experience to back this up) is dig up the area and level it, put in the stones, level them, put down the sand and start laying down the paver stones. Sounds simple enough, right?

The reality is that I realize this will be a lot of work. However, I have visions in my head of the future enjoyment. It will be another place for people to gather at parties. A place to cuddle by the fire on chilly evenings (did I mention we want to put in a firepit too?). A little place to escape to with a glass of wine or a magazine when life is stressful.

Hopefully, when all is said and done, we will have a cool patio to step onto from our deck--and hopefully, if this project is a lot more difficult than anticipated, my husband will not remember that I suggested that we do this.

Feeling Misled

Since it is sunny and about 77 degrees today, I decided to venture out to a store at lunchtime. I figured, a) I have a wedding to go to on Saturday and b) Easter is coming and c) it might be fun to see if I can find a fabulous dress at a fabulous price.

I came back empty handed. Why, you ask? Because I feel as though SteinMart misrepresents themselves.

I have to admit, I get sucked in about once every 6 months by their clever advertising. Younger women in cute clothes trying to tell me that "once I go....I'll get it".

First of all, trust me, I am not a snobby shopper. In fact, for the photo shoot I wrote about in my last blog, both the dress and the shoes came from Target. As long as I like something and it fits me well, I really don't care where I buy it or who makes it.

I ventured in and looked around.

The first thing that struck me was the fact that most of the shoppers were senior citizens. Then I looked around for dresses. I hunted and hunted. The only thing I could find were things that looked like mother-of-the-bride (or grandmother-of-the-bride) dresses. I saw a rack from the distance that looked like it might have skirts and tops hanging together on it, but as I walked closer, two very "grandmotherly" women started to select items from the rack and I just couldn't bring myself to even look.

SteinMart may be great at selling housewares. They may have great men's items. They might even be more gifted in the pants and tops category. All I know is that after two loops through the store, I really felt like I was in the wrong place and I was kind of disappointed that I wasted my time there looking for a spring dress suitable for a 36 year old. Their commercials really made me believe it that I would find what I needed, but that was simply not the case.

Maybe it's all for the best and I'll just dig through my closet and find something I completely forgot about and save myself some cash--but the next time I want to browse, I am heading to Kohl's, TJ Maxx or my old stand-by...Target.

I might have some gray hair, but I'm not ready to start shopping like I do.

It Only Took One Martini

Ever wonder what it would feel like if you were actually completely comfortable in your own skin? I wonder that same thing all of the time.

However, I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to do an experiment and step into a world where you have to pretend to be comfortable in your own skin. I had a professional photographer friend do a photo shoot.

So, there I was, the non-supermodel, non-anorexic, inexperienced, curvy, over 35 year old woman stepping into a studio with backdrops, lights, fans and other equipment that I knew nothing about. Just the initial sight of it all set up for me was a little intimidating. Okay. A LOT intimidating.

On went the 70's music--and I posed. And posed. And posed. I propped myself up on my elbows until it hurt. I smiled into the blowing fan until my eyes watered. I swung my hair around while trying to stay balanced on high heels. And I laughed at myself a lot.

In the end, I am glad that I did it. I mean who are we kidding? We are all flawed. I am very aware of all of my imperfections. I get to see those imperfections and groan at them in the mirror every day. But it was really nice to have someone gifted in photography find my strengths and make those the main focus. Yes, at first I did feel like a giant dork. But in the end, I have photos that I can share with my husband and friends and look back at when I'm 80 and smile.

Who knows...maybe when I'm 80, I'll be ready to pose for the camera again. I may not swing my hair around as much though. I might throw out my back.

Friday Feast - 3/16/07

Appetizer

Name two things that made you smile this week.

1 - My husband and I walking through Kmart and hearing a page for someone to come to Customer Service. I could have sworn that they paged "Naked Carl". I didn't say anything because I thought, "Surely they didn't just say that." Then my husband said, "Did someone just page Naked Carl?" I didn't just smile, I laughed and laughed.

2 - The fact that the guy who is giving us a price on staining our deck is named "Sparky".


Soup

Fill in the blank: Don't you hate it when ________?

...people don't use turn signals. It drives me crazy. Why do people think that they are exempt from letting the rest of us know what their driving plans are? They might know what their plans are, but I sure as heck do not.


Salad

When you can't go to sleep, what is your personal remedy to help yourself drift into
Lullabyland?

Sleep is very seldom a problem for me. A glass of wine or a shot of vanilla vodka is usually sufficient if it looks like I might have a problem winding down. The occasional Ambien is fun just for those nights when you want to force yourself to sleep by a certain time. It doesn't really give you a choice. Once you swallow, the clock starts ticking and you had better get ready for bed or soon you won't have the ability to do so (at least that is how it affects me).


Main Course

What is something about which you've always wondered but have not yet found a good answer?

What was God's purpose for dinosaurs? Also, which came first, the chicken or the egg?

Dessert

What is your favorite pasta dish?

I am a big fan of angel hair pasta with meat sauce if prepared properly. Any type of pasta with vodka sauce is also at the top of my list.

Easter Egg Hunt

According to Wikipedia, the official definition of a virtual Easter egg is as follows:

"A virtual Easter egg is a hidden message or feature in an object such as a movie, book, CD, DVD, computer program, or video game. The term draws a parallel with the custom of the Easter egg hunt observed in many western nations."

I have recently found out that I am part of a virtual Easter egg on my company's latest DVD release. I have not seen it yet, but this is what I have been told. Somewhere, on all of the copies of that particular DVD, I am there, hidden, giving a small presentation on our crazy departmental Christmas tree contest that we had.

I think it is normal for us all to want to leave our mark on the world in some small way. I guess I just never expected to do it while discussing ornaments constructed out of Twinkies and Ho Ho's.

Has Spring Sprung?

Having grown up in the northeast, Spring in the south just never seems to get old to me. Spring is not officially here, but this week, it feels like there is definitely something new in the air.

A) I wore flip flops for the first time this season.

B) We had a departmental meeting today--and we had it outside on the front lawn. (It's 75 degrees outside)

C) We changed the clocks over the weekend so we will now have more daylight.

D) I went to an evening beer festival over the weekend and didn't even need a jacket.

To celebrate, I e-mailed my sister to announce that things were warming up down here. Her response? "Things are warming up here too. It's in the 50's and the snow is finally starting to melt!"

Hee hee! We didn't even have enough snow down here to even throw a snowball.

It may be difficult to get a good slice of pizza down here, but they sure do have this warm weather thing down to a science!

Friday Feast - 3/2/07

Appetizer

What does the color pink make you think of?

Cosmopolitans, Victoria's Secret, Pepto-Bismol, cans of Tab soda and Anna Nicole Smith (may she rest in peace).


Soup

Name something you thought you had lost, but later found.

During one of my trips to New York City, my husband and I had done some shopping and we left our packages underneath the dinner table at a restaurant in Little Italy. We were in a cab on our way back to the Port Authority to catch a bus when we realized what we had done. I never in a million years thought our packages would still be there for us when we returned to the restaurant, but they were.

Salad

In 3 words, describe this past week.

Snot filled tissues.

Main Course

What are you obsessed with?

Keeping my glass top stove clean. Any time we cook on it and get anything on it, I must clean it immediately. It's one of those weird things I can't let go.


Dessert

What kind of perfume or cologne do you like to wear?

Sarah Jessica Parker's "Lovely" perfume. I've been wearing it daily for over a year. It's my favorite.

Snot Funny Until it Happens to You

I have a head cold. It is nothing serious. It is nothing to make me call in sick to work. It is just something that is causing me to be stuffy, sneezy and go through so many tissues that I had to go out and buy the special soft ones with lotion so my nose doesn't fall off. My work trash can is filled with crumpled up Kleenex--and snot. I wonder how much all that snot weighs? Anyway...I digress...

Last night, I stopped by my local grocery store to purchase a decongestant. I didn't want a "wussy" decongestant. I wanted a 12 hour, serious, kick-butt decongestant. I grabbed the little tag for the product I was needing and made my way to the pharmacy counter.

This was my first time purchasing a non-prescription item that contained whatever controversial ingredient it is that people are using to make crystal meth (or whatever it is that they are doing with it). I have to say, I felt a little odd.

I had to present my driver's license. They had to type on the computer for a while and stare at me. I had to sign some paperwork. I had to pay for it right there instead of taking it up and paying for it with the rest of my groceries and then it was stapled closed inside of a bag.

When it was all said and done and I took my safely stapled package to the drink mixer aisle (nothing like a spicy bloody mary with horseradish to open up your sinuses and help you forget your troubles) and I wondered if all of the fuss was really helping to slow down the world of illegal drugs or if people were still able to get them since the ingredients can still be legally purchased. How many boxes of Mucinex-D would I have to buy before people would question me?

In any case, I just have to wonder if a) anyone else feels as weird as I do buying decongestant from behind the counter, b) if the sales at these drug companies have dramatically dropped due to the weirdness involved in purchasing, c) if I didn't drive, whether or not they would sell me the product, and finally and most importantly, d) whether or not a combination decongestant and bloody mary mix would be marketable to anyone else but me.

Just wondering.