it's the little things...

It seems like today warrants a post that sums it all up. Some of you (I know, I've received e-mails) would just like a post of any kind to know I'm still alive and postin'. I went over to Bubba's Sis' blog and she had a neat little entry that I tried to apply to my blog but mine didn't work out so well. It seems like the most important things in my life this year haven't happened near the beginning of each month. Instead, I thought I'd elaborate on the insert I sent with my Christmas card this year. 0: Job changes This one is shocking. It seems like all I do is change jobs. I'm happy here and am not ready to start looking. It's a nice feeling. 1: Great new boyfriend Yea for this one! Yea for someone who has stuck around through my holiday crazies. Who am I kidding? Yea for someone who has stuck around through my everyday crazies. 1: Cruise Ah, relaxation and fun. A vacation where I really didn't do any work at all. 1: Engaged brother Also ...

When we were little, we would open presents on Christmas Eve. I wonder how things would have worked out if I hadn't had a brother who was five years my senior. It was fairly easy to be distracted while Santa came when we were wide awake. I'm not sure why we did it then instead of Christmas proper. I think part of it was because Mom couldn't wait for us to open presents. We surely couldn't wait. In fact, we still could convince her to give us one early present even though technically all were early. After Mom died, The Brother forced us to wait until Christmas morning. It's because he hates me. Actually, I have no idea why because he can't stand to wait to open presents. In the days leading up to Christmas he's all "What? We're waiting till Christmas. No, no early present." Then on Christmas morning I act like nothing special is happening that day. This really gets his goat, and he'll break down and ask when we can open them. We're in ou...

...will a mid-40s self-proclaimed backwoods country boy who works at a hotel get cast in not one but two movies. Interesting life to observe...you gotta give this city that.

Will a person get called a pagan for buying these: (from http://www.usps.com/ )

10 on Tuesday is about Resolutions. I'm just not up for that so I'm skipping it again this week. Things have been so busy lately, but I know all of you could say the same thing. I can't bear to think of a whole list of more things for me to do... So with December came my first cruise. Yea! It was a much needed vacation that went too quickly and brought me back to a little too much reality. But, oh, the during. There was great food. All. The. Time. The first day we snacked so much that I couldn't even eat all three courses at dinner. And I felt a little barfy with the rocking. I apparently acclimated fairly quickly. We had pretty rough seas most of the time but I could eat three courses every time I was given the option after that. And then some. We left from San Diego and had three days in port bookended by two days at sea. I thought it would be too much time with too little to do but it was very relaxing. It forced us to actually vacation a few days. ...

Words to come later... Things are still frantic over here but slightly better due to me making the executive decision to postpone today's trip. Too bad there's one tomorrow. And the day after that. And the day after that...

Could there be any more emails in my inboxes? Could I feel any more behind on Christmas-related activities? Back from vacation (which was fantastic...more later). Leaving again tomorrow. Lots to do today.

See you when I get back!

So I previously alluded to poultry. Sunday before last I convinced The Brother to help me with my never-ending yard work . We finished the first phase of the bed on the side of the driveway. Such a big accomplishment! We were hurriedly bagging up weeds before the sun went down (you know, at noon), and we looked up to see a chicken at the end of the bed flick, flick, flicking mulch out of the bed and onto my pristine driveway. Sigh... I asked it if it would at least turn around while hunting so that the mulch stayed off my driveway. It complied. Seriously. A chicken. I went inside and was sitting at my computer and saw it walking around my front yard. My FSIL came by a little later to bring me a little gift and we were standing outside chatting. The chicken apparently made its way to the narrow alley side of my garage and was trying to propel itself through the tiny slats in the picket fence. Hello, chicken, you don't fit. Didn't stop it from trying. About 30 times. We gave u...

10 Best Games The prompt said we could pick any types of games. I'm being diverse. Sort of... Phase 10 : Card game introduced to me by one of my adoptive families. I've bought it since then and have spread it around a bit myself. We played a rousing game on Sunday. Area 51 : Video game. Shootin ' up aliens. We played this A LOT in college. If I were a freaky millionaire you could probably find this game in one of the many rooms of my mansion. Boggle : Love Boggle. The Brother bought it for me after we watched an episode of "King of the Hill" where Peggy won the championship with " acquaintanceship ." Dominoes : Good ol ' bones. It's a Texas thang . Domain : I bet no one has heard of this game. I don't even know where it came from but I could always beat The Brother at it. Life : Too bad no one ever wanted to play it with me when I was growing up... Taboo : Why don't I own this? Scattergories : Or this? Wii : This is new to me. Normally I...

A day late... No time for blogging yesterday. 10 Things for Which I'm Thankful My family. The one I was born into. The ones who have taken me in. All my friends. The ones near and far. The ones I see and talk to on a regular basis. The ones who linger in my background as I linger in theirs until we're needed. The Boyfriend. The one who has come to mean so much to me in so short a time. My health. My house (despite it being welcoming to all sorts of mammals and poultry--more on this later). My job. House shoes (hey, it's cold in here). My mind. Even though it seems like lately I misplace it a bunch. Having only a week until vacation. That my life is so full right now that my biggest complaint is how to juggle it all. Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

From Bubba's Sis' blog... I figure it goes with all of the other cooking and baking we'll be doing over the next few days. cjh - a pound of cuteness - a dash of friendliness - 2 teaspoons of beauty Season and serve. 'What is your personality recipe?' at QuizGalaxy.com

10 Reasons Why It's Great to Be a Woman We get to wear make-up. When you have a bad skin day, you can hide it to some degree. Poor boys. So socially unacceptable. We have tons of clothing options. Have you ever noticed that men have maybe 4 shirt options? Go to a men's department--long-sleeved button downs, short-sleeved button downs, polos , t-shirts. It's acceptable (in many jobs) for us to wear open-toed shoes to work. One of my old co-workers (the only male) was very disturbed by this. Why couldn't he wear sandals? We have fantastic relationships with other women. We can have good relationships with men, too, but it's something special with girlfriends. Whatever we're going through, there's always someone there who understands. Or doesn't. But she's there anyway. We can have babies. When we have those babies, we can either choose to work or stay home (if we're lucky). Society frowns upon the SAHD much more than the SAHM . We can cry. Without...

When you've been gone so much that you just realized yesterday that you can't work in the yard after you get off at 5:00 (since, duh, the time changed), you can mix up your schedule today. Work work can get done when it's dark outside. This stuff can't. It's called "progress" people. Just a tiny bit of it this morning... (Yes, that's a gate...where was it before?)

10 Songs that Bring Back Memories Fall by Clay Walker --Does it matter that the memories are recent ones? This song makes me think of my brother and his fiance. Drops of Jupiter by Train --Ah, easier period of my life during grad school. I had responsibilities but, still, fewer than now. And an easier schedule. And a cute German. I also think of another college friend because it says the word "atmosphere." I Loved Her First by Heartland --Takes me to my cousin's wedding. Makes me freakishly emotional. That was the first time I had heard that song. My cousin's wife (who also lost her father at a young age) was standing across the dancefloor from me. I was tearing up anyway but when I looked across and saw her already really crying, I lost it as well. I'll Be There for You by Bon Jovi --Jr. High dances. The "super couple" from the grade ahead of me whom everyone wanted to be. Kokomo by The Beach Boys --The movie Cocktail . That my best friend from kinderg...

I'm feeling a little puny today. I don't think it has anything to do with the fact that this is what my side-of-the-driveway bed looks like (and that it should totally be my project for today): Do you think this looks good? Well, it doesn't. It looks crazy and overgrown and like a third of my driveway is missing. Oh, and like it's getting difficult to get into and out of cars. This picture is from maybe two weeks ago. Today? Because it's fall and all? Full of blooming hibiscus. At least that and the bees and butterflies may distract one from the horrible amount of work that needs to be done. Yeah, it doesn't distract me either. So the week before last when it actually was feeling like fall and I wasn't sitting here in the office in shorts and a tank, this was the view from my window. Yeah, those are blooming pink flowers and a white picket fence and a freshly mow n yard. This is pretty. I'm ok with you thinking that. It also contributed to my totally ...

It seems like I haven't shared any travel stories in awhile. I guess for the most part things have run smoothly. Lots of delayed flights over the summer but other than that... Monday night's agenda held yet another trip to Shreveport. I boarded the plane with my book in hand. When the flight attendant turned off the lights, my little personal light wouldn't come on. I was forced to just rest. And, you know, eavesdrop. The guy behind me was slightly obnoxious. He chatted with the guy next to him, and I found out that he was a cinematographer. He was on his way to Shreveport to do some pre-production work for a new movie called Comeback . It's apparently a feel-good, family film that oddly enough stars Ice Cube and is being directed by Fred Durst (of Limp Bizkit fame). I thought that was odd but apparently Fred's already directed one movie. Who knew? When we landed and everyone was getting ready to deplane, I noticed that Fred himself was three rows in front of me (...

Back, by popular demand, 10 on Tuesday. Wait, maybe it's back because the person who directs us on these has finally overcome her computer woes. Yea for that. 10 Words that Describe Me Smart Sarcastic Loyal Busy Hard-working Goal-driven Quietly (sometimes) emotional Happy Fortunate Crafty

Last night was my first Halloween in the house. I made it back in town in time to grab some candy for what I hoped would be many trick-or-treaters. There are lots of children in the neighborhood although my view may be skewed somewhat due to the after-school daycare that is down the street. We grew up in the country. There was no walking out the front door to the neighbor's house. We were driven the few miles into town and mostly trick-or-treated at homes of people we (meaning our parents) knew. Dad would drive us wearing this burlap bag he turned into a crude, creepy mask. It really startled people. And we'd wear our old-school plastic costumes and plastic masks (that would surely be deemed unsafe these days due to the threat of suffocating or melting to skin if set ablaze). We did not take our candy to have it x-rayed. We did not stay out late. Instead, we went back home to revel in the glory of our loot. In some ways, this Halloween was similar. I've grown accustomed to ...

Could we be having better weather? And our 10-day forecast? Ten good days. How miraculous is that? Sigh... Are there places where the daily high is a sunny 77 and the low is a crisp 55 all year long? If so, could I live there? Lately? You get to wear tall boots and sweaters. You can work in the yard without heatstroke. You can eat things like soup and chili without feeling ridiculous (or turning down the air). You can open the doors and windows and air out the house. You can be enveloped by the cool, dry breeze. It makes me happy. In other news, I'm painting my bedroom. It's my biggest room and has lots of weird angles. Been a bit slow going. I've been a little torn about the color but when I walked in this morning I was pleased. It seems so fresh and airy. You'll just have to wait for the finished product. I have pretty much made it through October. What a hellacious travel month. So now I'm also giddy that I'll be home a bit more through the...

Last night was one of the big, local singles events. I did not go. I had no need to go. This could not make me happier.

There's this organization I've been wanting to volunteer with for years. I'm talking maybe 7 years. It's a non-profit that helps kids (and their parent(s)) who have lost a sibling or parent. They help them deal with grief and realize they're not alone in this. Obviously, this is something to which I have personal connection. Many things have kept me from volunteering before--not knowing if I've dealt with my own stuff enough to help others' deal with theirs, working two jobs, transitioning into this whole travel lifestyle thing. But I guess since I was working with children and/or had many other goals I was working toward, I could keep putting it off. It's not like I've been sitting around reveling in all my free time. Lately, though, I've felt a little goal-less. In the best possible way. Things are good in so many areas of my life. No balls are waiting to be thrown in the air; they just need a little maintenance to keep them there. My...

10 Favorite Halloween Candies Candy corn! That's it. Who needs anything else besides candy corn?! The sad thing is, I haven't had any yet this season. My other favorite Halloween/fall food items are popcorn balls and caramel apples. Oooh, there's a place here (on the road) that makes some fantastic caramel apples. Maybe I'll get me one this week. And, I don't know if you've noticed, but it's slightly cooler outside. Yea!

Do you ever make jokes that people don't get? How about jokes that people don't even realize are jokes? How about you're doing a presentation and you make a joke and then move on and then later the audience giggles just realizing you're joking? Yeah, me neither. We've had a gathering of sorts of our business unit. Over 1,000 people. Small, intimate little affair. The main presentations felt like those giant mega-churches. Lots of music and special effects lighting. It's been very surreal. Just need to make it through until noon tomorrow. Then it's a leisurely remainder of my time here, soaking up some sun. Oooh, ahhh...

Is it me or is it actually not humid here today?! Could this be the beginning of fall? I've realized that my summer is just coming later. Remember how all we had was rain during the weeks that we should have been able to play outside? Now we should be in sweaters but could instead play outside? Over the next two weekends I'll be in Orlando and South Padre. Yea for summer, delayed though it may be. The Boy is now officially The Boyfriend. Did you squeal just a little right then? Me, too. And? And! I just found out I passed my certification exam! Woohoo!

10 Things that Worry Me I'm not really feeling it with these topics lately. Is it just me or do they seem a little on the negative side? I guess last week's TV topic was ok but this one is going to stress me out. I worry about hurricane season. Thankfully, this year has been pretty good so far. Lots of named storms but nothing that has impacted us. I knew that living so close to the coast in a house I actually own (as much as one owns a house with a 30-year mortgage...make that 29.5 year...) would cause me a little more concern. I know it's "just a house" but so much hard work has gone into it, both to get me here and to whip it into shape. Lately I've been worrying a bit about flying. You'd think that since I fly so much I wouldn't get freaked out by that at all. Not so. I'm usually fine and what thoughts I have to the contrary are generally fleeting. I think part of this is because I've had two delayed flights recently due to mechanical iss...

Instead of sleeping in for the cure (which you can do by just donating money), my friend and I woke up dark and early this morning to walk the Susan G. Komen 5k. The Boy ran it because, let's face it, he's good like that. It was really amazing to see so many people out for the cause. To see so many survivors. Bubba's Fam, totally thinking of you all. The rest of the day has been spent getting a little R&R including catching up on Grey's and crossing some things off lists. I have been in desperate need of this time... I also jotted down a few things in my old-fashioned, bound, paper journal. I re-read the last entry (or two) whenever I write in there since it's so infrequently. It is amazing to see how far you can come. I've also been thinking today about how easily one can fall back into one's old habits. I wish it were the good ones but it seems the bad ones are easier to fall into. Can people change? Sure. How could my answer be otherwise h...

I've been thinking about the blog lately. Things have been really busy around here with work and traveling (a bit more than normal) and adjusting to having a man friend all without neglecting the other people in my life. Sort of. Yeah, still not feeling balanced. Feeling happy just not balanced. So with all this, the blog gets neglected. I've been doing well to keep up with Tuesdays and maybe one post in between. Perhaps you've noticed? It's not like I don't have things going on in my head. It's often very loud in here. It's just that I'm not sure what I want to share. I know I've mentioned before that I've kept journals for most of my life. Since I started blogging, I've made maybe one or two entries in a private journal. I either feel comfortable enough to share with everyone or I don't write it down at all. Seems like I'm missing things there... How about y'all? Do any of you (bloggers or no) keep a private journal? ----- And s...

10 Television Shows I'd Like to Have on DVD The topic could also include DVDs I already own. I don't own any TV DVDs. Gift ideas, anybody? Sex and the City --Because who wouldn't want it? Friends --Like I need to quote it any more often. Grey's Anatomy --Still going but I really enjoyed the first few seasons. The X Files --For old (college) time's sake. Dawson's Creek --I know; I'm sorry. Please don't stop reading my blog. My So-Called Life --Because I loved it and was very sad when it was over. Gilmore Girls --Since it's over now. How sad... Northern Exposure --Again, reminds me of college. Six Feet Under --I never saw any of this series but wanted to... Twin Peaks --I'd like to see it again as an adult. I'm sure I'm missing something. What would you pick?

Last Sunday, The Brother and my future sister-in-law ( FSIL ...could there be a worse acronym?) met The Boy. Since The Brother is like a sibling (duh) but also two parents rolled into one, this made me slightly nervous. And, you know, I'm thinking the FSIL will be around for awhile so that's kind of important, too. For the most part, I think everything went well. I guess now I just feel relieved. Mark that "first" off the list. That just leaves all the friends... On Friday, I'm meeting his parents. This makes me simultaneously excited and nauseous. Do I think I'm the kind of girl someone would feel comfortable taking home? Yes. Still, it feels like a big deal. I can't see how they could be anything short of amazing given the kind of son they've raised. Hopefully the microscope I'll be under will be very forgiving. I know I haven't talked very much about any of the recent developments in this area. It just seems too private to share in such a p...

10 Things I've Been Putting Off Weeding. It's a jungle out there even though I've gotten a little bit done the last two weekends. Buying stamps. I may try to do this while on the road. They're small; they pack easily. Ordering airline tickets for our December trip. Why would I possibly put this off? I have no idea. Introducing The Boy to my friends. I haven't been ready to share just yet. My regular ol' annual check-up. I did make it to the dentist, though. Re-staining my dresser. Painting my bedroom. Tiling the sunroom. Basically anything that has to do with the house it seems. Transfering the remainder of my CDs to my iPod. Apparently the big things like marriage and children.

I am. I'm smitten. I like The Boy. So of the million and one things swirling around in my head, one of them is this: I think at some point a girl goes from being attracted to someone who would be a good fling to wanting someone who would be good for a real relationship. The bad boy vs. good guy thing. If you think celebrities (or perhaps pseudo-celebrities), one of my Fling picks is Ty Pennington. Sexy, a little crazy, high energy, and knows he's all those things... Conversely, (also from Trading Spaces carpenter world) my Keeper guy would be Carter Oosterhouse. Still super attractive but seems very Midwest, humble, the super hot guy next door (that no one ever has in real life). Who are your celebrity Flings and Keepers? Photo of Ty courtesy of: http://www.flickr.com/photos/recklessbeauty/11267790/ Photo of Carter courtesy of: http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A9G_Rq_gTvFGucIAT0WjzbkF/SIG=123euqsql/EXP=1190305888/**http://www.classictvhits.com/cast.php?id=4857

After a brief hiatus, I'm back. 10 Things I Do When I Have Nothing Else to Do Read (fiction or trashy celebrity magazines) Shop or browse Veg out in front of the television Hang out with friends Blog Get around to those tasks that are way down at the bottom of the list Nap Play frisbee golf (although we're in desperate need for some time for this) Plan various house projects Daydream But I don't want to mislead you. I also do these things when I have about a million and one other things I should be doing. Sometimes a girl needs a break.

Today there is time to breathe... My oldest friend and I went on vacation over Labor Day. We hit 4 states in 6 days. Here are the highlights. 1. Day 1: Travel. This is what happens when you fly anywhere using Southwest. I heart Southwest, I really do, but if you're traveling across the country you can be hard-pressed to get a direct flight. And then? When you land? You're often not at the major airport. In my everyday life, this is a huge positive. On vacation in a new place full of strangers (Yankees, no less) and where one is using one's own money, this poses a bit of a challenge. Our flights were smooth but slightly delayed. We had decided to take the Amtrak from Providence to Boston. The problem was we needed to get from the airport to the train station. There was a cheap, on-the-hour bus service that we hoped to take. We arrived at approximately 5 minutes after the hour. We took a cab. The cabbie (surprise, surprise) was a crazy driver. We did get to take the scenic ro...

I'm just plugging away over here. Nothing new, which is good considering the new things as of late haven't made me want to get up a do a jig. The good news is that I'm going home tomorrow. The not-so-good news is that there's a tropical storm coming in over there. Wanna take bets on whether or not my flight is delayed tomorrow?

I have no idea where the last 3 or so weeks have gone. Things have been nuts. I know things in my life are often nuts but this has reached a whole new level. Since vacation was coming up, there were lots of things to plan and lots of last-minute things to figure out. I thought that once last Thursday came I'd be able to just enjoy it and feel relieved that the planning part was over. I did, thank goodness...for a bit anyway. Vacation was good and I'll have to wait until maybe Friday to post pictures (currently on the road and traveling with two laptops is ridiculous even for me). The thing is, while I was on vacation, my friend's daughter went into the hospital, then ICU, then was gone. I don't even know what to say. She was only 26 and is leaving a 4-year-old son behind. It's so terrible and so sudden. I felt so bad for not being in town and couldn't wait to get back. It's just all so surreal. I'm having a hard time grasping it. So the services are goin...

And I can't even begin to write a real post. My vacation itself was great. Now that I'm back there's a lot to deal with so there's no time for blogging. Hopefully after my exam on Saturday I'll be able to fill y'all in...and show you some pictures, too.

Yesterday? Crappy work day (as I laugh to myself at having just typed "crappy" in regards to the poo study). But it was followed by an opposite of crappy evening. Things with The Boy appear to be going well. That's all I have to say about that. So, woohoo! Tomorrow I leave for vacation. (Obligatory note to criminals: Don't bother, Bubba's Sis will have already taken the good stuff.) Things have been so crazy busy lately that I haven't had time to anticipate it. This morning, though, I woke up excited that I'm leaving tomorrow. Here's to a fun time in Beantown. (Photo courtesy of Boston Online .)

Do you remember the purple room ? From way back when? From way back when I was actually posting about the progress going on around here? Well, a little over a month ago I finally tackled it (for the most part). Here it is: A lot of the things in it are things from my childhood bedroom (either from my actual childhood or later when I was trying to make it The Brother's guest bedroom). It is oddly comforting in that way. I still need to finish that nightstand on the right. And the one on the left is getting painted brown, too. And I need new blinds or something. I also have one other little project I'm in the middle of right now. I'll show you that later (perhaps in September). I'm still excited that it's like a real room now. People can sleep in it and everything. With only 2 lingering boxes. Oh, yeah. And it's not purple.