A Coffee To Go

New Year, New (Virtual) Home

2009-01-01T16:12:00.006-05:00

If among your New Year's resolutions is to start reading A Coffee To Go, then you are in luck. The New Year is the perfect day for me to debut my new home online:

A Coffee To Go

My genius husband has essentially moved this blog on Blogger to a new home on Wordpress and the result is very cool. He took an already fun layout and tricked it out with cool personalized features. I will be posting under the new location from now on. I hope that you will enjoy the new, fun layout and as always, I welcome your comments on my blog!

Cheers, and Happy New Year!

D is for Durock

2008-12-31T08:50:00.011-05:00

Our new tile guys started yesterday and put in a full day's work, and it shows! They are back again this morning, and we're hoping that a good bit will get done on through the weekend. Check out the progress so far - and this is just after one day!

Cement board is installed anywhere you plan to tile. In our case, 1/2 inch Durock is installed on the floor and 1/2 Hardi Backer (a different type of cement board) is installed five feet up the walls where we plan to tile behind the tub and sinks.

Hardi Backer cement board up the walls of our shower. The shower membrane was secured down and goes up under the cement board to prevent any water leakage behind the walls.

Hardi Backer behind the tub, where the wall tile will be installed

More Hardi Backer on the walls behind where the new vanities will go

Our toilet has a new home beside the bed, for now...

Dust! Needless to say, I've scheduled a huge cleaning party in the bedroom after the remodel has been completed

The Never Ending (Bathroom) Story

2008-12-29T21:57:00.015-05:00

We're moving along with our bathroom remodel, and have made some good progress the past week and a half. My dad came down to help us last weekend with some electrical work. We bought two light fixtures that will hang above two recessed vanities, so we needed our current single junction box to disappear and become two. Dad also installed another outlet near the second sink.

In the midst of this progress, we had a setback with our tiling. We hired a tile guy, who subsequently disappeared after we gave him a deposit. After trying to stop the payment on our check (the check had been cashed before the stop payment went through) and calling the girlfriend of the tile guy numerous times, in addition to calling our tile guy over 100 times during the week he was MIA, we finally had to take matters into our own hands by the end of the week. After several heated telephone conversations with the tile guy, we went to the Cary Police Department and had the officer in the fraud department contact our tile guy. To make a long story short, our money was returned to us in the form of a certified bank check on Christmas Eve.

Now with that episode behind us, we are focused on doing as much as we feel comfortable with. Obviously we can't do plumbing work, so we had a plumber come on Christmas Eve to replace some pipes and stub in the water main lines to the sink and shower. Afterwards, we replaced some moldy installation and framed in where the two recessed vanities will go in between the studs in the wall. Luckily, we've found another tile guy - a man who does business with my father-in-law who has provided us with his tile guy for the week. Our tile is our (fingers crossed) last major hurdle. After we get the tile installed, we'll paint the ceiling and walls, bring the plumber back in to finish up the plumbing and begin installing the fun stuff - faucets, mirrors, lights and decorations. And oh yeah, being able to take a shower again in the master bathroom and putting our clothes back in the closet (that is, after we get our closet system installed).

Old insulation down

Old wires and junction box location

And then there were two...

Dad consulting the home improvement book

Our plumber's tools

New shower membrane

New drywall in the closet

New insulation and vapor barrier

The new tub filler, waiting to be unveiled

More to come!

'Twas The Day Before Christmas

2008-12-24T10:18:00.016-05:00

'Twas the day before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a doggie was stirring, not even a mouse.
The fixtures were waiting by the bathroom with care,
In hopes that the plumber soon would be there.

The doggies were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of Milkbones danced in their heads.
And Husband in his ball cap, and I with pulled back hair,
Had just opened our wallets for a long bathroom repair.

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the couch to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the front door, readied our cash

The sun on the breast of the plumber's work van
Gave the lustre of reality to I and my man.
When, what to our wondering eyes should appear,
But another contractor's estimate, more bills to fear.

With a young plumbing expert, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment our water line soon would be nixed.
More rapid than eagles his tools and supplies came
And he measured, and studied, our exposed shower drain!

"Now Mister! now, Misses! This job I can do!
The only problem is, you can't use the loo!
For the main water line, you will have to shut off!
So I can work quickly, you won't even scoff.

As dry bank accounts dwindle with each home improvement,
The Husband and I were anxious to stop the money movement.
So up to the bathroom our plumber ascended,
With a box full of tools, and pipes soon to be mended.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard from upstairs
The sawing and hammering from our bathroom repair.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Out the pipe valves and wrenches came with a bound.

The plumber was surrounded from his head to his foot,
With new pipes, hammers, sockets and soot.
The bundle of tools he had resting on the floor,
And he looked ready to work, and so much more.

His tools-how they twinkled! his work boots how merry!
The new pipes were the color of roses, the washers like a cherry!
We unpackaged our fixtures, tied up in a bow,
And the silcone caulk was white as the snow.

The plumber spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And sawed the old pipes, then turned with a jerk.
And laying his finger aside of his tools,
And giving a nod, out the invoice he pulls.

He sprang to his van, all his tools packed away,
And up the street he drove, without any dismay.
But I heard him exclaim, ‘ere he drove out of sight,
"Pay the bill within 30 days, and have a good night!"

Prep Work

2008-12-13T22:01:00.010-05:00

This week we made more progress on our bathroom. We have subfloor back in the closet area and we've purchased all of our tile and some supplies. Because our vision was more than we could take on ourselves, we hired a tile guy to tile the shower, around the tub, the floor and portions of the wall. Tonight the tile guy did some prep work, removed the old shower base and scraped the popcorn off the ceiling. We're looking forward to getting tile in the bathroom and to start putting our house back together again.

Sydney exploring the new subfloor in the closet

Bare bones shower

The shower base removed

Buh-bye popcorn ceiling!

Major shopping trip to Home Depot for tile and supplies

Choice porcelain tile for the floor

Fancy tumble stone tile for a decorative inset on the walls

All the things that will eventually end up in our bathroom

The Demo Continues

2008-12-02T21:57:00.002-05:00

So...you thought we were making progress? Well, we are! During our initial demo this past weekend, we found wet subfloor in the closet. Turns out there was no leak from the adjacent tub in the guest bathroom, nor was there a leak from the roof. The wet subfloor was due to...pet stains...trapped for almost 20 years. Yeah, um...you can only imagine how THAT smelled. So, in order to get rid of the smell, we had to get rid of all the subfloor in the closet. We're also removing some subfloor that was under the vanity. Fortunately, we are not tackling this project alone. We have reinforcements. One of my wonderful co-workers offered up her wonderful husband to help us out. He has years of experience doing this kind of work, so we know we are in great hands. Check out our continued demo:

Stack 'o drywall and subfloor

Our closet wall that we had to tear out to get to rotten subfloor below.

The corner of our closet.

The exposed side of our tub in the guest bathroom.

Stack 'o tools.

The fun continues...

Bathroom Remodel

2008-11-28T19:40:00.010-05:00

You know when you sit back on the couch and snuggle up under a blanket and turn on HGTV? And you know how cute those little hosts are in their designer jeans, fitted vintage T-shirts over long-sleeve white fitted T-shirts and perfectly unscratched toolbelts? Oh, and you know how they edit the program to show only the fun parts, and almost none of the homes they work on have surprise water damage, mold, leaks or termite damage? And the homeowners who are doing it all "DIY" actually have licensed contractors with them guiding them along the way? Well, move over HGTV, we're rockin' DIY the real way.

We're remodeling our master bathroom after we discovered a leak under the shower last year. Armed with Home Depot gift cards and a chunk of time thanks to the Thanksgiving holiday, we started demo on Wednesday. We discovered some rotten wood not only near the shower base but near the vanity and in the closet. We pulled out some drywall, pulled out the vanity and ripped up the vinyl floor. The smell is terrible (um...water damage plus possible cat or dog urine stains on the subfloor does makes you really question why you didn't buy new construction. Dear previous homeowner, if you are reading this, you are gross). We have the windows wide open and the bedroom and bathroom shut off from use. We have a couple of handymen coming out on Monday to give us an estimate on replacing the subfloor and pulling out the heavy shower base. Check out our most awesome demo pictures:

Our closet

Where our giant mirror use to be

View from the tub

View of the tub

Where we use to shower

Where our toilet use to be (yes, that is purple paint on the wall. Again, we seriously question the judgement of the former homeowner)

View from the closet

Inside our closet, where we discovered wet subfloor

More demo in the closet

The vanity we pulled out

Where I sleep because our bedroom is off limits (and apparently where River sleeps too)

Our guest bedroom is now our new walk in closet!

What happens to your bedroom when you are remodeling your master bathroom

A Morning Walk

2008-11-14T21:13:00.005-05:00

Walking Sydney and River is one of my favorite activities. I jokingly refer to the dogs as my personal trainers. Last weekend my mom came to visit and we took the dogs on a walk on Sunday morning. Lake Crabtree is within walking distance of our house, and we just hop on the Cary greenway to get to the lake. The sky was clear, the air was crisp and the dogs were happy. Below are some great pictures my mom took along the way.

Just your typical walk with two 80 pound dogs

Trying to keep them out of Lake Crabtree

Walking ahead...

Beautiful sight.

We're Doomed

2008-11-04T21:59:00.003-05:00

Not all of the polls have closed yet, but it looks pretty clear that Barack Obama will become our nation's 44th president, and the first African-American president in our nation's history. This is quite an accomplishment, and on that fact and that fact alone, I congratulate Mr. Obama and take pride in the fact at how far our country has come in a relatively short period of time. Could anyone my parent's age imagined this 30 years ago?

However, we are doomed.

Barack Obama is a socialist. He is a brilliant politician who ran his campaign towards center political ideology in order to dupe about half of Americans in to voting for him. Don't like feeling duped? Yeah, neither do I, which is why I voted for John McCain and Sarah Palin. I, in fact, like being told the truth by my politicians.

But, let me get back to Mr. Obama. As if his questionable associations weren't enough - Bill Ayers, Reverend Wright, Tony Rezko, Rashid Khalidi, ACORN and who knows what other leftist organization or radical crazed loon he chooses to spend time with - we have NO IDEA HOW HE WILL GOVERN. Let me state this again: we have no idea how he will govern.

But wait, he has been an Illinois state senator and a US state senator. We too can get an idea from his senate record on how he will govern!

Yeah, right. Mr. Obama is famous for the "present" vote as both a state and US senator. He started campaigning for the presidency, like, 115 days after he reached the US senate. He's known for being late to many senate hearings. We're not really sure how he will govern as president. All the American public has are snippets of his record as an elected official. And those snippets do not exactly fall towards moderate political ideology. They are far left, more radical than any decision most Americans would chose. But, as I mentioned earlier, Mr. Obama is a brilliant politician who obviously knows how to campaign in order to win.

Combine his questionable associations with his limited liberal voting record, and you have to wonder what the future holds. His character is questionable - he's on record saying that rural Americans cling bitterly to guns and religion. He wants to bankrupt the coal industry. He sat in the church of Reverend Wright for over 20 years. Reverent Wright married Barack and Michelle and baptized his two daughters. He straight up lied to us during the presidential debates about ACORN and Bill Ayers. There is strong evidence that he does not have Israel's best interest at heart. And we all know that he wants to spread our wealth. Um...I didn't vote for you, so could you please keep your hands out of my wallet, as I work hard for my money and at the end of the day I really don't have much left over to "spread" around to other folks.

I love this country. I question what we have just done. I worry who the American voter has chosen to be the 44th president. Just over 50% of our country is choosing a man to run our country who will most likely turn it in to a socialist society. So he gives a good speech. Big hooey. We don't elect speech writers into the Oval Office. We elect a leader, a role model, a person who will serve this country to the best of their ability, who will fight for our nation, our security against foreign threats and will protect our citizens at home and abroad.

Mmm...kind of sounds like the man I voted for.

Today, America has chosen to elect someone else. Who that someone is, we won't know until well after January 20. We can't know because we don't know what Mr. Obama will do in the White House. And with a Democratic stronghold in the Senate and House, I fear dark days lay ahead for our country.

"Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country..."

Our country has chosen to elect a man who wants the government to do everything for them. How far we have wandered as a people from that shining sentiment spoken by John Kennedy some 40 years ago...

God bless America, keep it safe in the years to come.

Free Stuff on Election Day? Bring It

2008-11-03T18:52:00.003-05:00

As if election day isn't exciting enough, I learned over the weekend that Starbucks will be handing out free tall cups of regular coffee to everyone who votes on Tuesday and that Ben & Jerry's is providing voters a free scoop of ice cream. Free coffee and ice cream? Hello? Did these companies poll me exclusively to ask what will get me to the polls? Of course I would vote anyway, but the fact that Starbucks and Ben & Jerry's want to reward me with caffeine and sweet ice creamy goodness...bonus!

And, a quick Google search of freebies on election day returns a couple more freebies! Score again!

Participating Krispy Kreme stores will offer one free star-shaped doughnut with red, white and blue sprinkles to each customer wearing an "I Voted" sticker.

Free tatoo removal! (North Texas only, darn it.)

Eight Below

2008-11-02T22:44:00.003-05:00

Today we bought some movies at Best Buy, including "Eight Below" which we watched tonight. This was a great movie, although if you haven't seen it yet, make sure you have a few tissues within reach. It has a happy ending, but there are definitely some tear-jerking moments as these eight huskies fight for survival in the Antarctic. If you are a dog owner, this movie will make you want to hug your dogs after the movie (which I did for several minutes with each of my dogs, both of whom gave me a "just let me go back to sleep" look. But I didn't care - I'm there momma and I can hug them whenever I want to).

But back to the movie. Paul Walker was the main actor in the movie but the huskies were the real stars. They are so cute, so amazing to watch in action. After the movie we watched the making-of-the-film on the special features and learned that each dog had two doubles so they could rotate out the dogs for wide shot scenes and scenes that involved a lot of running. How wonderful must it have been to work with dogs on a movie! The actors looked like they were having a blast, and the dogs seemed to have a lot of fun too. Definitely check out this movie or just give us a holler and we'll let you borrow our DVD.

Sick Daze

2008-10-31T12:54:00.004-04:00

Head colds are not fun. Neither is the flu. I'm not sure which one I have but I am definitely sick. Wrapped up in a blanket and resting on the couch, I took a sick day today to recover and avoid infecting my co-workers. And being sick on Halloween is so not fun! We're weren't planning to go out, but I was planning to dress up and reprise my role as Princess Leia. Perhaps if I feel a little better this afternoon I can get myself geared up for the big night of handing out candy and trying to control our dogs from running out into the street to join the trick-or-treaters (or as my grandmother liked to say, "spooks"). We'll hand out candy regardless, and it will be a fun night. Let's just hope my cold/flu goes away soon so that I can get back to walking the dogs (did I mention they are about to go crazy because we haven't walked since Tuesday night), going to work, and being more than just a lump on the couch. Fortunately my sweet husband has been taking care of me and pumping full of chicken noodle soup and Alka-seltzer.

Top Ten Reasons Why John McCain Can Pull Off The Upset

2008-10-19T20:14:00.011-04:00

10. Joe Biden enters the Scripps National Spelling Bee, and loses by misspelling the word "football".

9. Bill Clinton plays a sax solo during "Drill Here, Drill Now" with Aaron Tippin on Huckabee.

8. Sarah Palin and Colin Powell compete on So, You Think You Can Dance, and only Sarah gets on board the Mary Murphy hot tamale train.

7. John McCain is offered a guest hosting gig on The Tonight Show based on his speech at the Al Smith dinner.

6. Hillary Clinton is discovered at a McCain-Palin rally in Ohio disguised as Joe the Plumber.

5. Oprah has Sarah Palin's glasses in her Favorite Things show.

4. High School Musical 4 is released November 3rd. The storyline revolves around a young man doing drugs, but who dreams of one day becoming president. He votes "present" during elections for homecoming king and queen.

3. Barack Obama tells Warren Buffet that he will spread his wealth around.

2. ACORN is successful in securing more votes for Ronald McDonald in Ohio, thus losing the state for Barack Obama.

1. Michelle Obama slips and says that she has never been proud...of her husband.

Raise The Roof: Sarah Palin In The House

2008-10-19T09:37:00.002-04:00

Mad props to Sarah Palin for appearing on SNL last night.

You gotta give up to Palin for appearing on a show that has completely trashed her the past few weeks. She did a great job, and the cast members seemed to have a good time joking with her. Let's hope she'll be raising the roof at One Conservatory Circle come January 20.

Just Because You Are A Professor Doesn't Make You Smart

2008-10-15T20:04:00.015-04:00

I always knew that my beloved college Alma mater was a relatively liberal university located in an extremely liberal town. It wasn't so uncommon for me to see two young women engaged in a lip lock on my way to class, or to see fliers posted in the Pit about the upcoming Young Democrats meeting (funny, I never really saw any Young Republican fliers). My senior year we had an anti-abortion organization display over sized pictures of aborted fetuses in the lower quad (you can image the rebel rousing that caused, and on both sides too, because there is a time and a place for everything and seeing these images on the way to Lenior to grab a turkey sandwich before 1pm English Lit was not one of them). The campus and school, it seems, are game for anything.

So when I ran across this story posted on Michelle Malkin's website, I was intrigued, but ultimately not that surprised:

More schools to avoid: UNC-Chapel Hill. They heart The Unrepentant Terrorist.

The line refers to an article published in the News and Observer about professors from UNC signing an online petition in support of William Ayers, of most recent fame for his relationship with Barack Obama and the fact that Ayers bombed several Federal buildings back in the '60's and '70's and has absolutely no remorse for doing so.

CHAPEL HILL - Bill Ayers, the radical militant-turned-university professor whose ties to Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama are under scrutiny, is getting some support from faculty members across the country.

Professors from UNC-Chapel Hill are among the more than 3,200 educators who have signed an online petition in support of Ayers. More than a dozen signatories are from local universities here in the Triangle.

Lawrence Grossberg, a UNC communications studies professor, said he signed the petition because he believes Ayers should not be demonized for his actions 40 years ago. He said he also respects the work Ayers does now as an education professor at the University of Illinois-Chicago. Ayers is a school reform advocate who has written or edited more than a dozen books.

"He did break the law, and he was punished and he moved on," Grossberg said. "He built an extraordinary life. He has become one of the leading scholars in the field of education. [People are] excoriating him for things he did 40 years ago and misrepresenting what he has done since, in order to make someone else suffer. That doesn't seem very American to me."

Most local signers were from UNC-Chapel Hill, though others were from Duke, N.C. State and UNC Greensboro.

Honestly, this comes as no shock to me. It's not like UNC doesn't already have the reputation for being a fairly liberal teaching institution. Sure, I absolutely love the university and loved my four years being there. It's just a little frightening to think back on some of my classes and wonder, "Gee, were my professors teaching me true academia, or academia with a slight personal/political agenda." In general, I would hazard to say that most professors and education professionals lean towards the liberal side. In fact, I had one Religion professor who was absolutely adored by students. He was a great instructor, cared about his students, and an agnostic. He had a common law marriage, did not believe in government and probably skirted around paying his taxes. For all intents and purposes, he'd rather have nothing to do with the state and Federal government at all. Interesting that he choose to teach at a public university for over 20 years, in which his salary was paid by...yup, you guessed it...tax payer money. Probably shouldn't criticize the 'ole government so much, right?

But, back to the issue at hand. It saddens me that many of the UNC professors feel the need to sign this ridiculous online petition supporting Ayers. Do they even know the guy? Doubtful. Are they just falling in line with the liberal mindset and showing support for Ayers because it is the Liberal PC thing to do? Highly probable. Futher, I find it extremely interesting that anyone would support Ayers because his actions killed 7 people. Who cares if it was 40+ years ago? People died. And yet Ayers lives a cozy little life with his wife up in Chicago "teaching" (read: ingraining) students to be radical themselves.

Back in 2006, a fanatic drove his SUV into the crowded Pit on UNC's campus during the middle of the day. He claims he mowed down students in the Pit in response to the US government's treatment of Muslims around the world. Domestic terrorist? Yup, I think he earned that title. And he did this horrible act (no one was killed but at least 3 were injured) for his own purpose because he believed in something, you could even say that he believed in a cause greater than himself...just as Ayers believed in a cause greater than himself (hey, I didn't say the greater cause was good or anything. But you don't see professors at UNC lining up to sign an online petition in support of Mohammed Taheri-azar. Why should they sign a petition in support of Ayers?

Seems like earning your Ph.D doesn't necessarily mean that you will also earn common sense and a mind of your own.

McCain-Palin, XOXO

2008-10-14T21:48:00.002-04:00

As you know, Gossip Girl is one of the shows I watch and (yes) like...a lot. Sure, it's about a bunch of uber wealthy prep school kids who rule Manhattan, a lifestyle I know absolutely nothing about, but I watch GG still. Guilty pleasure? Absolutely. Mental escape? Definitely. Political messages? What?...

You can imagine my surprise and delight when I came across this ad from MoveOn.org featuring two of the characters from the show. Penn Badgley (who plays Dan Humphrey) and Blake Lively (who plays Serena van der Woodsen on GG, and also of Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants fame) are featured in the ad. Now, it is an anti-McCain ad, but check out the hat that Penn finds in his parent's closet...

The hat is none other than a hat designed by American Elephant! How cool is that? Sure, I totally disagree with the message, but the fact that MoveOn.org and Gossip Girl have used an American Elephant design to show just how much they loathe John McCain, well, American Elephant must be doing something right.

XOXO, A Coffee To Go

Dog Party!

2008-10-09T10:06:00.006-04:00

In honor of one of my favorite books as a child, Go Dogs, Go!, in which there was a huge dog party in a tree at the end of the story, I title this post.

Below are some pictures of Sydney, River and their friend Indy (our neighbor and friend's dog who lives up the street). We use to live next door to Indy, so Sydney has known Indy for a long time (they use to greet each other through an opening in the fence separating our two backyards). Sydney has long since outgrown Indy, but they still love to play with each other and are good friends. River, our calm dog, is usually the silent observer.

Resting for a bit.

Nothing like a good old fashion game of tug-o-war!

Looks like someone needs a bath!

Thanks Krissi for the photos!

Where's River?

2008-10-05T14:02:00.002-04:00

OK, so I don't have this whole "hide-n-seek" game down quite yet...

Sarah Barracuda is Back!

2008-10-03T07:25:00.002-04:00

Shh...I'm sneaking in a blog post at work...don't tell anyone...but I couldn't wait to comment on last night's debate, and also it's before 7:30 a.m. and I'm the only one here in the office, so the early bird gets to blog.

Last night's Vice-Presidential debate was the highlight of my week, as for many political news junkies. I was actually quite anxious the hour or so leading up to the debate as I sat watching Fox News analyze what both sides needed to accomplish during the debate. But the stakes were clearly higher for Sarah Palin. She had a lot to prove, a lot to overcome, a lot at stake for her and John McCain. The press has been absolutely brutal to her the past few weeks. And the Katie Couric interview? Well, let's just say that was definitely not her best moments. But I think some of her best moments happened last night, and I was cheering along the way and couldn't wait to hear what she had to say next.

Sarah was solid and concise. She delivered crisp answers to tough and detailed questions. She knew her foreign policy. She knew her economic policy. And she knows where the average American is coming from because she herself is an average American. She and Todd are middle class. Her family is diverse, complicated and faces the same tough issues that we all face. That is not to say the Joe Biden doesn't know the middle class. That he doesn't know hardship. But I would argue to say that he is far removed from his roots in Scranton because he has been in Washington for over 30 years. He's inside the Beltway, and actually, one of the main reasons I believe Barack Obama picked him for VP. He is politics as usual, and that is not what this country needs.

But Sarah...man...what a charmer she is. She even charmed Mr. Biden, and I really felt like last night's exchange was a political debate at it's best. There weren't any gaffes on either side, any "gottcha" moments from the Gwen Ifill (who, consequently, I thought did a really good job despite the book controversy). The questions and topics addressed a wide range of issues, and Sarah Palin held her own against Mr. Biden. She defended John McCain, outlined her beliefs on numerous issues, and told the American public how a McCain-Palin administration was going to work for the American people. I think Sarah is the breath of fresh air that Washington needs - that we all need - and I for one couldn't be happier on how the debate went last night.

The Barracuda is back!

I Heart TV

2008-09-26T09:08:00.004-04:00

As you may know, one of my most favorite shows is Grey's Anatomy, and last night was the season five premiere. It was two-hours of indulgence as I watched my favorite characters play out their story lines in the confines of Seattle Grace Hospital. Meredith and Derek are finally headed in the right direction. Christina had eyes for the bad-ass army trauma surgeon who literally pulled a large icicle from her side abdomen (and then they kissed!). Izzie dreamed about Denny (again) and Alex was...well...Alex. I love this show. It is totally my guilty pleasure for the week (that and Gossip Girl).

I love television. Some people really love movies, but I really love television. If it's a good TV year, there may be a show on almost every night of the week that I look forward to watching. This year, there is Gossip Girl on Mondays, House on Tuesdays, and Grey's Anatomy and The Office on Thursdays (although I am totally torn on Thursdays because Grey's and The Office come on at the same time. Thank goodness for the Internet where I can watch the missed episode for free).

So, I'm pretty happy this year. Maybe that makes me lame, but I really do look forward to a watching my favorite shows on TV at night. Probably the best - and worst - thing that ever happened to me is when TV shows started appearing on DVD. Ohmygoodness - you mean I could start watching my favorite shows back-to-back whenever I wanted? Heaven! I'll never forget how excited I was to get Felicity on DVD a few years ago (love that show). And of course I have all of Grey's, The Girls Next Door, the entire series of Friends, and the entire series of Sex and the City. I'll probably buy The Office at some point, and I did download the entire season of Gossip Girl on iTunes.

So there you have it - the television viewing habits of A Coffee To Go. What are yours?

Bob's Out To Get You

2008-09-19T21:11:00.006-04:00

I like to think of myself as a somewhat health conscious person. I walk the dogs almost every single day for an hour. I try to eat well (however, anyone who knows me knows that chocolate and ice cream are my downfall). If I was independently wealthy and didn't have to work, I would eat all organic foods and go to the gym every day, and walk my dogs at night. Then I would paint in the mornings and blog in the evenings. I would volunteer on a weekly basis and cook dinner every night. And laundry would never be out of control. And the bathrooms would always be clean..

Wait, this post is suppose to be about health and fitness, not my fantasy life.

So being that I am somewhat health conscious, I couldn't help but laugh when I saw this article on Yahoo!
listing the worst breakfast foods in America. And the kicker of them all really made me laugh.

The Worst Breakfast In America
Bob Evans Stacked and Stuffed Caramel Banana Pecan Hotcakes
1,543 calories
77 g fat (26 g saturated; 9 g trans)
2,259 mg sodium
198 g carbs
109 g sugars

It’s not a good sign when it takes you nearly five seconds to spit out the name of your breakfast. This bad boy packs in more than 75 percent of your calories for the day, along with more sugar and fat than nine glazed Dunkin’ Donuts, and nearly as much sodium as five Bloody Marys.

Yikes! 1,543 calories! That is more than what I eat in a day (or what I strive to eat less than in a day). And 77 grams of fat? Are you kidding me? Wow. The sad thing about this is that the breakfast probably costs something like $4.99 while a healthy breakfast is much more expensive. (I won't go into how the media and all the experts complain and complain and complain about how obese America is when healthy food is extremely expensive and the crap you can buy at any fast food place is on the dollar menu. )

My breakfast of choice these days is plain Shredded Wheat with sliced banana and skim milk. Fiber! Fruit! Dairy! A true breakfast champion.

So, the lesson here kids? Stay away from Bob's place. He's clearly out to get you with his banana pancakes.

The Gloves Are Off...Way Off...

2008-09-18T22:12:00.004-04:00

It's gettin' nasty out there folks.

Just in the past several days, we've had...

SNL portray Sarah Palin as dumb and clueless.

Hackers got into Sarah's Yahoo! email account and splashed her personal email and photos all over the Web.

Barack Obama told Iraqi officials during his visit overseas this past summer to delay negotiations with the Bush administration and keep the war going until after the election.

Joe Bidin said paying more taxes is patriotic.

Michelle Obama told a crowd of supporters in Charlotte, NC not to vote for someone just because they were "cute." She was referring to herself, of course...not Sarah Palin.

Barack Obama is running attack ads on John McCain claiming that he doesn't even send his own email. McCain doesn't email because sitting at a computer and typing on a keyboard is extremely painful because of the severe injuries he suffered during his time as a POW in Vietnam.

Barack Obama has told supports to just argue with people and get in the faces of people who do not agree with Obama's ideals.

So, who's ready for the election to be over?

Today, We Nest

2008-09-13T10:38:00.003-04:00

This year has been a transition year. My husband has been in the mortgage business for over eight years. Well, you can probably imagine how that has gone this year. So after many long, hard months, he has made the transition from being a small business owner of a mortgage company to another small online business owner. And now he will start working from home. And thus, our house has been in a transition too, as we rearrange rooms, move in furniture we need and sell furniture we don't need. Some rooms are clean and straight, others are in complete disarray.

But today, today we nest.

Last night we went to Home Depot and purchased two gallons of paint and a new ceiling fan (thanks to a Home Depot gift card...our saving grace). We are painting the "old office" and creating a second guest room/sitting area (we're moving another desk into this room to for additional work/blogging space). The "new office" - our bonus room - will be my husband's home base, literally.

But back to the "old office" for a minute. (Side bar: is it just us, or do you too have trouble figuring out what to call the rooms in your house? I think it has a lot to do with how you grow up, and what your parents chose to call certain rooms. And then you bring two people together, and suddenly it's "what do we call this room" and "can you put this in the den? the what? you mean the family room? no, the den!" Now, throw in the fact that you decide to switch up a room - how hard is it to start calling it something different! Sheesh. One should not have to think this much at home.)

But back to the story at hand. We're painting the room a nice khaki green color. We've moved a day bed into the room that we got from my husband brother, who in turn got it from his mom. We've moved out a bunch of things and (hopefully) won't move too much back in, as to keep the clutter to a minimum. We'll install the ceiling fan to replace the old, hideous one that hangs in there currently (seriously, the previous owner of this house had the worst taste in ceiling fans and well, pretty much everything). We'll clean and organize, and hopefully by the end of the weekend (or the end of next weekend), we'll have a nice second guest room/sitting area.

During these times of transition, it will be nice to have another room in order. I'll post some before and after pictures in a few weeks.

Is This Really The Best Idea?

2008-09-12T22:54:00.004-04:00

Good Morning America Whistle-Stop Tour '08

Two months. Fifty states. A completely re-hauled train. And three helicopters following the train as a backup in case the satellite feed goes out.

I hope they aren't planning to do a story on the energy crisis. Or wasteful government spending.

Where Were You?

2008-09-11T19:29:00.006-04:00

On this, the seventh anniversary of the terrorist attacks in New York City, Washington DC and Shanksville, PA, I can't help but to think back on where I was on this day seven years ago on Tuesday, September 11, 2001.

I was a senior in college, living in a small apartment near campus with three of my closest friends. It was a regular morning; I was getting ready to leave for my first class and we had The Today Show on in the background.

R: "Hey, looks like a plane hit one of the World Trade Center buildings."

Me: "Really? Oh wow...look at that. What a horrible accident."

As I watched fire consume the top of one tower, as I listened to Matt Lauer narrate the scene on TV in front of me...the second plane hit.

This was not a horrible accident.

Not knowing what to do, I did what I had been doing for the past three years - I went on my way to class. As I rode the bus to campus - and the memory of this moment is somewhat of a blur - I wondered what the hec was going on. To be honest, I don't remember if others sitting on the bus around me were talking about what had just happened. I don't really remember the walk to the journalism school to attend my censorship class. What I do remember is opening the doors to the lobby of the J school and seeing a huge crowd of students standing in front of the four television screens that formed a giant square in the middle of the lobby. On one screen, the Twin Towers, burning. On another the Pentagon, on fire. Another was a news reporter frantically reporting every update that came in, and the other screen another news reporter reporting just as frantically.

As I looked around me, I was stunned. People were crying. As I turned back to the screens, I couldn't help but wonder what I would see next. The arch in St. Louis in ruins? The Space Needle in Seattle on fire? The Statue of Liberty smoking? What was next? What could possibly be next?

I made my way to class, which was only half full. Our professor briefly mentioned what was going on and then cancelled the rest of class.

What to do now?

I headed back home. Again, the events of the day are blurry. But I remembered that it was one of my roommate's birthday...A's 21st...and had planned to go to Franklin Street to a few bars that night. Those plans were scrapped. I think we just went to dinner as a group, a local place...I don't even remember where. We prayed. We prayed for our country, those lost, those missing, our President, our government, our American citizens, ourselves. We prayed for understanding. Why did this happen? What did it mean? How could someone do this?

It was an event that even to this day I don't fully understand. How people can be so heartless, so cruel, so calculating, filled with so much hatred for America. How someone can get on a plane, knowing they would die, and that they would kill others, and bring with it so much despair to our country. Who becomes that person?

That night, we ventured to the Student Union to watch the President address the nation. We sat in silence as our President spoke about the events of the day. A grave sense of reality washed over me...today meant war. Today meant that tomorrow and the next day and the day after that would never be the same. We were changed. We were all changed. And now seven years later, we are still changed.

They say we live in a "post 9/11 world." We do. We always will. And while I hope the events of September 11, 2001 will never happen again, I hope that we will always remember the events of the day, and that we never forget the 3,000 plus lives that were lost that terrible day. Thousands of families were broken that day, and they are rebuilding their lives. But they are changed forever.

Just as we all are.

Pit bulls, Lipstick, Pigs...Oh My!

2008-09-10T21:16:00.009-04:00

Unless you have been living under a rock the past couple of days, you are fully aware of the controversy surrounding Barack Obama's comment at a political rally on Tuesday. Just Google the single word "lipstick" and you'll see.

You can put lipstick on a pig. It's still a pig. - Barack Obama

About a week ago at the Republican National Convention, Sarah Palin made her now famous joke saying that the only difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull is lipstick.

Now, the Right is saying this was a direct attack on Gov. Palin by Obama. The Left is saying that in no way was this an attack on Gov. Palin. In fact, the pig/lipstick joke has been used by politicians in the past, including John McCain. So, says the Left, how can this be an attack on Palin when McCain himself used the joke last year?

Ah...key words there, Left: last year.

The Left is forgetting the all too important factor of context. You remember context, right? Oh wait...that's right...it's all too easy to take things out of context so that it fits your political agenda (after all, you do it all the time in your campaign ads).

John McCain did use the lipstick/pig joke back in 2007, when he was referring to Hillary Clinton's health care plan. This was way before he had chosen Sarah Palin as his running mate and certainly way before he was considered even close to being the front runner for the GOP ticket.

Since the RNC, Palin's quip about pit bulls and hockey moms has become famous. And now suddenly Obama uses this joke at a rally...yet he says it wasn't directed at her, he wasn't calling her a pig, and this is just another fictional controversy cooked up by the GOP. Well, I find it hard to believe that Obama's joke wasn't about Palin. If you watch the video on YouTube, you'll notice the immediate laughter, hoots and hollars from the crowd as soon as he mentions the word "lipstick." They knew who the joke was directed towards. Why doesn't Obama?

The "Lipstick Bungle" at it has been called will surely die down soon and give way to another scandal. There's bound to be at least a few more before November. I just hope that in the meantime, a lipstick color comes out in honor of Palin. I'm thinking "Barracuda Burgundy" or "Pretty In Pink Palin."

Right Around the Corner

2008-09-09T20:16:00.007-04:00

I love this time of year.

More specifically, I love the fall.

I love when the weather turns crisp at night, and the sky is a sharp shade of blue unmatched during any other time of year. Kids are back in school, waiting for the bus in the morning, with backpacks and lunch boxes in tow. I always looked forward to the first day of school. It was an event I never dreaded. In fact, I saw it as an opportunity - new clothes to wear, new Keds to break in, a new backpack filled with mechanical pencils, erasers, folders, notebooks and other goodies. Fall was just the beginning.

Spring may hold claim to new beginnings and rebirth, but I've always seen fall as a beginning as well (old school routines die hard I suppose). Falls brings with it a return to routine, to school, to football games and tailgate parties, yard sales on the weekend and pulling out the sweaters from the back of the closet. Fall means the end of a long, hot summer, and is the predecessor to the holiday season (another favorite time of year). Weekends are filled with raking leaves and putting extra blankets on the bed. Pumpkin pies are baked. Fireplaces are lit. Football games are watched.

I absolutely love this time of year.

So we wait out the final 90 degree days in North Carolina during September. We longingly look at our sweaters and hope for a crisp morning. We drink our steaming cups of coffee in the morning and anxiously await for the days when we need it to warm up, and not just for it's caffeine content.

Fall is right around the corner, and I for one cannot wait to welcome it to North Carolina.

Inhalater

2008-09-07T16:12:00.005-04:00

Lunch at Johnny J's Diner in Casper, Wyoming - $6.79
One tank of gas for campaign tour bus - $360
Hotel room for the night while campaigning in Dillonvale, OH - $159

The Great One without his teleprompter - priceless.

(While I can appreciate the man is probably sleep deprived (like every politician that has ever run for office), don't rail Bush for his "Bush-isms" when Obama pulls one out in this priceless clip.)

Classes I Missed During College

2008-09-04T19:56:00.028-04:00

Just over six years ago, I graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I earned my BA in journalism and mass communication. As one of the most popular majors for students at the university, the School of Journalism was home to some of the best professors at UNC, talented and promising students (I see one of my former classmates as a reporter on our local news all the time) and some of the most interesting classes offered at the university. One my classes - Censorship - was a coveted class that typically only seniors were able to enroll in (seniors got first dibs during semester registration). I took classes in advertising (my concentration), editorial writing, media law, women in advertising, first amendment issues, and copy writing. I loved my major, and wouldn't have opted to graduate with any other degree. Between the coursework and the professors, I couldn't have asked for a better educational experience than the one I received at Carolina.

However, on thinking back on my degree and college experience, I'm afraid that I might have missed some critical coursework on my way to becoming a journalist. After all, I don't currently work in the field of journalism. Did my class selections more than six years ago prevent me from becoming a reporter or a high-powered ad executive? Did I shut myself out of journalism so many years ago and did not even realize it? Perhaps if I had taken the following classes, I would be a news commentator right this very moment.

Spinning 101. The objectives of the course are to equip students with the artful tactics of spinning a news story to meet either 1) your personal agenda or 2) the agenda of the news outlet you work for. Students are expected to master spinning techniques such as editorializing, miss-characterization, and politicizing news stories. This course has Math For Journalists as a prerequisite.

Rewriting History 141. In this course, students will learn how to take an otherwise reliable source for a news story, throw it out the window, and write the story you really want to write, regardless of the factual information at hand.

Smear Writing 132. Students will learn the art of smearing a political candidate, regardless from what party, to fit the agenda of 1) you or 2) the news outlet you work for. In this course, you will learn the ever popular method of smear writing in the blogging world.

Math for Journalists 165. This course teaches students how to skew statistics, recalculate figures, adjust political poll numbers, alter dates and times, and in some instances, eliminate important numbers all together.

Reporting From the Pedestal 212. This graduate-level course will teach students how to elevate themselves to "elite journalist" status. During this course, students will learn how to look down on the common man, look up to admired politicians, avoid criticizing these admired politicians, and associate strictly with other elite journalists. Students will also learn the importance of incorporating The New Yorker, The Economist, the New York Times and MSNBC into everyday news media intake.

Maybe I did shoot myself in the foot all these years ago. After all, most of the "journalists" I see on television embody the above principles. Most articles that appear in mainstream newspapers and news websites are written with an agenda (usually a liberal agenda). Journalists are not journalists any more. Gone are the days of Walter Cronkite, Edward R. Murrow and Katharine Graham. Gone are the days when what you heard on the nightly news was actually...gasp!...factual and not dripping with a political agenda. What's left today is a glut of information that consumers have to wade through in order to get to the real truth. That is, if consumers take the time to actually research what they hear on television or read about online.

Now, I admit, that a lot of my posts center on politics and conservative ideals. I'm a proud member of the GOP. I am pro-life, a Christian and a proud wife to a God-fearing, Christian man. I have strong views about the world and society, and opinions on everything from the Olympics to the economy to UNC football games.

But I don't claim to be a journalist. We all have our own opinions and ideas about the world, but journalists are suppose to leave their opinions at the door and deliver unbiased stories to the public. But all too often, journalism students are educated at increasingly liberal universities (and I don't exclude my own Alma mater here) and then join liberal media outlets upon graduation. Perhaps it would behoove everyone - journalists and consumers alike - to cancel classes such as Spinning 101 and Reporting From The Pedestal 212 so that, finally, consumers can decide for themselves, and not have to wade through biased stories from mainstream news "journalists."

UPDATE: Check out this gem from Michelle Malkin. The perfect punctuation for this post.

An Issue Too Important To Vote "Present" On

2008-09-03T21:51:00.008-04:00

Last month I mentioned the story of Jill Stanek, a former registered nurse at Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn, IL. Ms. Stanek is a pro-life advocate who helped bring up the Born Alive Infants Protection Act that was signed into law by President Bush in 2002.

And guess who opposed the bill not once, but two years in a row?

Interesting how opposing this important bill wasn't above his pay grade back then. Barack Obama clearly had an opinion back then on when life begins. In fact, he had such an opinion that he didn't even vote "present" on this bill. He voted "no."

Jill Stanek's experience holding the precious little boy with Downs Syndrome who lived for a mere 45 minutes because his parents did not want him profoundly changed Stanek's life mission. She is a crusader for pro-life. She is an advocate for the unborn. She is a maverick.

And in stark contrast to the couple Stanek mentions in the video, the parents who did not want to love and care for a little boy with Downs Syndrome, the parents who threw out the identity of "mom" and "dad" along with their baby, you have Todd and Sarah Palin, parents to a four-month old Downs Syndrome little boy. A precious life, a loved son, a member of the family. Trig Palin's life was never in jeopardy, but so many unborn babies' lives are in jeopardy because their parents are deciding whether or not they should live.

How I wish this was never a question that ran through the mind of an expectant mother. How I wish that every life was seen as precious and valuable, not expendable or optional.

But Barack Obama thinks otherwise. He does believe life is optional. He does believe that parents should have the right to choose whether or not their baby lives. And he believes that babies who survive an early labor abortion should not receive medical attention.

Barack Obama has a strong voting record - it includes a lot of votes cast as "present." But his voting record against the Born Alive Infants Protection Act is strong too - it includes a lot of votes casts as "no."

Well, I have one vote to cast against you, Barack Obama...

NO

Thanks To Palin

2008-09-03T21:14:00.004-04:00

Just this past week I've become a blog contributor to a new conservative website, Thanks To Palin. My first post can be found here.

The website is dedicated to promoting political and socially conservative ideals, and praises John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin as his running mate for Vice President. Stop by often to see what's going on. I'll be posting about once a week.

Deadly, Like A Poisonous Mushroom

2008-09-02T17:10:00.004-04:00

LONDON - The author of the best-selling novel "The Horse Whisperer" is recovering in a hospital after eating poisonous mushrooms during a holiday in Scotland, his agent said Tuesday.

Nicholas Evans' agent said the writer, his wife, her sister and the sister's husband became sick after cooking and eating mushrooms they had picked in the woods Aug. 23.

The A.P. Watt literary agency said tests established that the mushrooms included the highly toxic variety Cortinarius speciosissimus, which attacks the kidneys.

The agency said in a statement that all four had received dialysis treatment at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary and responded well. It they were "walking about and were in a cheerful and positive frame of mind.

Maybe that's what you get for picking...and eating...mushrooms found in the woods...

Family First, No Matter What

2008-09-01T14:23:00.008-04:00

Bristol Palin, the 17-year-old daughter of Republican VP candidate Sarah Palin, is pregnant. And unmarried. And keeping the baby. And marrying the father. Life doesn't get more real than this, and the Palins know this. And they are prepared. And supportive of their daughter.

We have been blessed with five wonderful children who we love with all our heart and mean everything to us,” the Palins said in the statement. “Our beautiful daughter Bristol came to us with news that as parents we knew would make her grow up faster than we had ever planned. We’re proud of Bristol’s decision to have her baby and even prouder to become grandparents. As Bristol faces the responsibilities of adulthood, she knows she has our unconditional love and support." The Palins asked the media to respect their family’s privacy.

The situation is messy. The circumstances far from ideal. But the Palins are a real family, facing real issues that affect millions of families. Except now they are doing it in the public spotlight. It will be hard for Bristol these next few months. It will be hard for Sarah, and her entire family. But they seem to have a strong family, one that doesn't get going when the going gets tough. They put their family first, no matter what, and hold strong to one another. They are a family that sticks together, that presses on during the hard times. Sarah and Todd are parents that set a great example of how important it is to love and support your children, even when they make a bad choice or fall into trouble. Barack Obama on the other hand, has a different idea of family support should one of their daughters "make a mistake".

I am going to teach them first of all about values and morals. But if they make a mistake, I don’t want them punished with a baby. - Barack Obama

And I couldn't have said it better myself.

Oh, You're Just Jealous

2008-08-31T22:48:00.014-04:00

The buzz about Sarah Palin has been non-stop the past couple of days. Political blogs are alive with the sound of Republican music - lyrics such as "lifetime member of the National Rifle Association" and "a conservative, pro-life politician" and "more experience than Barack Obama" and "willing to stand up to corruption, even within her own party." She's a maverick in her own right (she's even a member of the Feminist for Life organization!), and a wonderful compliment to John McCain. The Republican ticket is solid, formidable, and the Dems are running around like chickens with their heads cut off because they're scared, and a little jealous.

Jealous, you ask? Oh, sure. Just like how my dog Sydney gets jealous when I pet my other dog River. Sydney runs over to us and head-butts River and tries to take her out. And not so much to gain the attention for herself, but to take it away from River. This is what the Dems are trying to do to Sarah Palin. They are head-butting her not so much to take the spotlight off of them (they are still on their post-convention high), but they certainly do not want it on...gasp!...a Republican (and certainly not someone as cool as Sarah Palin. Boy, I bet Hillary is just spitting nails right now. Wasn't she suppose to be staring in the new Will Smith movie I Am Feminist this year?).

If you've been keeping up with the news the past few days and reading the political news blogs, you know what I'm talking about. You'll see that liberals are grasping at straws trying to find something, anything, to catch Palin on. I'm sure you've heard the crazy talk by now: that her infant son Trig is not really her baby, but the illegitimate son of her 17 year old daughter Bristol, but...if it is really her own son, then she did not take advice from doctors to follow proper pre-natal care for the baby. Please.

Oh, and the Dems are trying to say that she has no experience. Hmmm...if by "no experience" you mean serving in elected office since 1992, then yes, she has "no experience." Hey Dems - what was YOUR chosen candidate doing in 1992? (Answer: working on his personal memoir, Dreams From My Father, which he finished up in Bali with Michelle so that he could have a "peaceful sanctuary" in which to write. Must be nice.). And while Barack was sunning himself in Bali and penning his memoir (which was originally suppose to be a book about race relations in America), Sarah Palin was serving on the Wasilla City Council, making decisions everyday that affected the lives of her constituents. There's absolutely no question who has more experience here. Keep trying, liberal lovers of Barack Obama. Keep trying to bring her down. It's actually quite amusing to see you fumbling and flailing about, trying to find dirt on Sarah Palin.

So, the next couple of months will be pretty interesting. I can't wait for the first Palin-Biden debate. And I hope that when McCain and Palin win, that Palin will decorate the VP house in a snow cabin/ski lodge/Pottery Barn kind of way. And I hope that she proudly hangs her membership certificate to the Feminists for Life organization in the foyer of the house at Number One Observatory Circle.

You know the Dems would be so jealous.

McCain-Palin: A Winning Ticket

2008-08-29T13:53:00.008-04:00

It's the talk of the political town today as John McCain chooses Alaska governor Sarah Palin as his running mate. McCain officially announced his choice just a few hours ago in Dayton, OH. In his introduction, McCain profiled the woman who may be the first woman vice president - she is a mother of five, married to her high school sweetheart, she rose from being involved with the PTA at her children's school to being elected to the Wasilla City Council in 1992. She became mayor at age 32 and in 2006 was elected as Alaska's governor. She has a history of experience, of shaking up the status quo, bringing down the corruption of Senator Ted Stevens, and serving as a strong advocate for her fellow Alaskans. John McCain said that she is "exactly what I need" in a running mate. And she is exactly who America needs in a leadership position the next four years.

And if her strong political background wasn't enough, the fact that's she's just cool seals the deal for me. In 1984 she was crowned Miss Wasilla and was a runner-up in the Miss Alaska pageant. She eloped with her high school sweetheart Todd to avoid a pricey wedding. She gave her kids cool names: her sons are Track, 19 and Trig, 4 months, and her daughters are Bristol, 17, Willow 13, and Piper 7. Her husband is the defending four-time winner of the Iron Dog (a daunting snowmobiling competition) and Sarah herself is a moose hunter. She has coached basketball, led her high school's FCA group and is a self-proclaimed "hockey mom." In essence, Sarah Palin is a cool chick, a maverick in her own right, and a strong conservative leader that this country needs. McCain already had my vote, but his choice of Sarah Palin as the VP candidate gets me excited about this ticket and even more pumped about the November election.

Learn more about Sarah Palin here.

Remote Control

2008-08-28T21:07:00.001-04:00

This ad pretty much sums up Barack Obama.

Rewind Moments, Olympics Edition

2008-08-28T11:49:00.005-04:00

In college my friends and I use to talk about how we wish life had "rewind moments" where you could say anything you wanted to anyone, and then take it back as if you had never said it. You know, when you really want to chew someone out, but you bite your tongue. Or you just want to say something totally off the wall just to see the look on the other person's face. That would be awesome!

Sent to me today in an email forward, and in honor of the recent games, below are the top nine comments made by NBC sports commentators during the Summer Olympics that they would like to take back:

1. Weightlifting commentator: "This is Gregoriava from Bulgaria. I saw her snatch this morning during her warm up and it was amazing."

2. Dressage commentator: "This is really a lovely horse and I speak from personal experience since I once mounted her mother."

3. Paul Hamm, Gymnast: "I owe a lot to my parents, especially my mother and father."

4. Boxing Analyst: "Sure there have been injuries, and even some deaths in boxing, but none of them really that serious."

5. Softball announcer: "If history repeats itself, I should think we can expect the same thing again."

6. Basketball analyst: "He dribbles a lot and the opposition doesn't like it. In fact you can see it all over their faces."

7. At the rowing medal ceremony: "Ah, isn't that nice, the wife of the IOC president is hugging the cox of the British crew."

8. Soccer commentator: "Julian Dicks is everywhere. It's like they've got eleven Dicks on the field."

9. Tennis commentator: "One of the reasons Andy is playing so well is that, before the final round, his wife takes out his balls and kisses
them... Oh my God, what have I just said?"

Awesome.

Gold Medal goes to comment #2

Pre-Season Is Over, Baby

2008-08-27T21:04:00.014-04:00

Being dutiful American citizens, the husband and I have been watching (really tolerating) the Democratic National Convention this week on NBC. Sure, our living room between the hours of 10 and 11 pm is reminiscent of a severe case of 5 o'clock road rage as the husband and I yell back at the TV (I know you can hear us!), but we feel that watching the DNC is important this political season as we grow closer and closer to November. I mean, we gotta hear what the other guys (and gals) are saying, right?

And as I have watched the DNC the past couple of nights (which has only served to solidify the many reasons why I am a registered Republican), I'm amused at how much of a love-fest the DNC is for the Dems. People started crying before Michelle Obama could get her first few lines out. Hillary said last night that Obama was her man, when clearly her face showed that all she wanted to do was bitch-slap the dude and send him back to Chicago. And Ted Kennedy...well, God bless the man for his recent battle with brain cancer...but he really stole the show the other night, and by the media coverage, you would have thought he had been the only speaker on Monday. It's amazing how being immersed in a week-long liberal bubble can really short circuit the memories of the candidates, their supporters and the general public.

For instance, didn't Ted Kennedy kill a young woman back in the 60's because he was driving drunk? And I don't recall him ever serving any jail time. I guess being a Kennedy is a great get-out-of-jail card.

And I think I remember Michelle Obama stating back in February that she was proud of her country for the very first time (interesting...I would say America has treated you very well, Michelle, with your Princeton undergrad and Harvard law educations).

And Joe Biden, I hear you have a whole host of incriminating statements you've made in the past against Barack Obama. How did you wind up as the running mate for Obama? Short memories, I guess...

Hey Hillary, you've pulled a Joe Biden too many times to count during the primary season. It's a wonder you could even stomach your own speech last night. But you pulled through it, and I guess we'll see you in four years when you try to run again for president (oh yeah, it's going to happen folks...you'll see).

So, the DNC and the RNC are the kick-off games for the wild political season we're all about to experience the next couple of months.

Start, you say? Haven't we already been subjected to a wild political season for quite some time now?

Yes. And it's only going to get worse. Pre-season is indeed over, and the regular season is in full swing. So grab your beer and bucket of KFC, because the Superbowl of American politics is right around the corner.

I just hope there's not a wardrobe malfunction during the half time show.

From Beijing With Love

2008-08-25T20:46:00.014-04:00

Dear London 2012,

Thank you for coming to visit my Closing Ceremonies on Sunday night. As you will find out in four years, hosting the games is a huge undertaking, and I wish you all the best. But as a fellow host city, I must be honest with you.

Your debut sucked.

While your choice to use the red double-decker bus at the beginning of your performance was well suited (if not a little obvious), your choice in everything else, well...let's just say you didn't get off to a great start by having your mayor parade out onto stage with his shaggy hair and unbuttoned coat.

As I said, the choice of the double-decker bus was okay, but the "street" dancers that accompanied the bus as it made its way to the middle of the Bird's Nest seemed reminiscent of some drug-induced group orgy of British bobbies and characters from the Sgt. Pepper's album. The way they climbed all over each other, and then crawled over to the bus, and then crawled back to the ground made me want to collect them all and detain them in one of my Olympic protest parks.

I see that you also chose to have the token physically handicapped "dancer," whom I later saw jump from her wheelchair onto the bus, flail around a bit, and then dance back over to her wheelchair. Not so handicapped, are we? (But really, who am I kidding. I had a little Chinese girl lip sync during the Opening Ceremonies because the real singer, well...you know...not so cute).

But I digress.

After the dancers calmed down a bit, we then had another cute little Chinese girl symbolically pass a soccer ball to your cute little British girl. The cute little British girl then proceeded to walk on the backs of the dancers all the way to the bus. So, I'll give you that, because we're all about some symbolism here in China.

Now, I can't let you get away with the musical entertainment you picked, which in my opinion (and granted, we really like techno over here), sucked the most. While your choice in Jimmy Page and Leona Lewis - separately - would have a been a great thing, combining the two singers to create some weird rendition of "Whole Lotta Love" was just awkward and painful to listen to. And don't even get me started on why you thought it was so genius to have Leona Lewis rise from the top of the bus and tower over Jimmy Page by 15 or so feet. She looked scared and confused. Luckily, she was lowered with out incident, and the song ended soon there after.

And then (to follow up on the symbolic passing of the soccer ball I suppose) you brought out David Beckham, which I really wasn't surprised you did. What I did consider odd was the fact that he was standing next to two other musicians, one of whom was rocking out on a cello. But I guess Becks served a purpose, as he symbolically kicked the soccer ball into the crowd. I was almost waiting for Harry, Ron and Hermione to come flying out of the top of the bus to engage us all in a game of Quidditch, the new Olympic sport to take the place of softball.

I guess our display of fireworks and dancers lit by tiny LCD bulbs made you envious, because in the end you busted out umbrellas that had blue and red colored lights, and your dancers then held them up all around the bus as it drove out of the Bird's Nest. But really, you should have left the lights out of your performance, because this is where we really kicked your ass - we've had over 2,000 years to perfect the fireworks and we're pretty savvy with technology. I'll go ahead and give you a tip now - don't waste your money on fireworks. Just work on rounding up a bunch of Mini Coopers to dazzle the crowd during the Opening Ceremonies, ala "The Italian Job" style.

So London 2012, I hope that I didn't hurt your feelings too much. You know I don't want to hate on another host city. I'm just trying to give you some sisterly advice so you don't fall flat on your arse come 2012. I know you have a lot to live up to (we did spend $40 billion dollars in preparation for the games), but I believe in you. Just get the mayor a stylist, find a better director for your Opening Ceremonies and for god sake....have Becks take his shirt off! That will certainly guarantee your glory in Olympic history.

XOXO,

Beijing 2008

2008 Puppy Games

2008-08-25T14:01:00.004-04:00

Puppies Go For the Gold! @ Yahoo! Video

Combining two of my loves: The Olympics and dogs

When The Smokehouse Is A Rockin...

2008-08-24T17:08:00.005-04:00

For those of you who keep up with this blog, you probably know that last night was the big event I've made reference to in earlier blog posts - my ten year high school reunion.

Last night's festivities got under way at 7:00 pm at the Marshall Street Smokehouse in downtown Winston-Salem (at first, "Smokehouse" really through me as to what to wear and what to expect, but it turns out that the restaurant was neither filled with smoke nor was a house and was actually pretty cool). The husband and I showed up fashionably late at 7:15, but apparently we could have arrived an hour later as we were only among twenty or so others in attendance at that time. The party steadily swelled as the hours past, and by ten we were in full swing.

We were first greeted by the planners of the event who quickly labeled us with name tags, complete with my senior high school picture on mine (my husband's name tag was graced with a picture of our mascot, the Spartan). Who knew that seeing yourself with bushy eyebrows and sporting a black top and white pearl necklace could bring back so many memories! The journey down memory lane had just begun.

We immediately found our way to the bar, opened a tab, and began scouting out the room ("we" being mostly me, as the husband didn't know a single soul. Such a good sport). We chatted with some folks around us as I waited to see if any of my close friends from high school would show up soon.

For the most part, people looked the same. While ten years is certainly a good length of time, no one seemed to have changed too dramatically (there were a few folks who looked completely different of course, but I wonder if it was that I just didn't really know them during high school, and thus I just thought they looked different). Finally, after about an hour or so, some of my good friends starting shuffling into the bar and the real fun began.

It was great to catch up with everyone. There were a lot of laughs as we reminisced about classmates, places and events. We had the senior class video playing on a continual loop on the televisions at the bar, which was certainly fun to watch (I never made the video - obviously I didn't know the editors that well. It's all about who you know in high school and who you're friends with. Actually, that pretty much applies to life after high school as well).

I found out who had kids and who was recently married. I found out what people did for a living, and in what part of the country they did it in. I found out that our senior class president was black-listed from the invite list because of "troubles with the law" and I found out that one of my classmates had been on Fear Factor (hey, we all have our own goals and ambitions. Mine clearly did not involve eating bugs for money).

It's amazing how quickly you fall back into the high school scene. I noticed that social circles last night pretty much mirrored the social cliques from high school. But I also noticed it was easier to talk with everyone, even the elusive popular crowd, because really that stuff just kind of fades away over time, and you now all have one thing in common - your high school Alma mater.

The night was great, and I have to give mad props to my wonderful husband for sticking it out for four hours while I socialized with my friends. I'm sure ten years down the road I will eagerly look forward to my twenty year reunion. By then I'm sure my senior class picture will seem even more hilarious than it did last night.

Thanks to Erica, Lundon, Laura, Michael, Justin, Julie, Lauren and Sarah - it was great to see you!

A Horse Is A Horse, Of Course

2008-08-21T13:11:00.012-04:00

EAs you know, I have been pretty much glued to our television since the Opening Ceremonies last Friday night. What can I say? I love the Olympics and this year it's nice to have a break from presidential politics. However, I have a sneaking suspicion that my Olympic game viewing habits for the past two weeks are driving my husband nuts (he very vocally declared his unhappiness with me Saturday night when I refused to turn the channel from the women's marathon coverage. He said that he would rather watch grass grow than watch "scary thin women with weird stomach muscles run for two hours"). So there you have it - I pretty much watch any Olympic sport that happens to be on TV with great zeal and interest.

But there is one sport I have watched and don't really get: Equestrian

Oh, sure. I can appreciate the nobility and the rich history of the sport, and I even really like the way the athletes (the people, not the horses) look during competition with their Prince Charles-inspired jackets and pants. Even the horses get all dolled up, complete with little riding helmets and a braided mane. But after watching the gold medal show jumping event just moments ago on TV, I clicked off the television in a state of slight confusion and sadness. Let me explain.

First, is it really a sport for the rider? I mean, who does all the work? The horse or the rider?

Second, the gold medalist from show jumping - Canada's Eric Lamaze - was banned from the 1996 and 2000 Olympic games for substance abuse. Apparently cocaine was found in his system both times. Now, call me crazy, but the terms "equestrian" and "crack addict" don't really seem to go together. It doesn't seem to fall in line with the whole Ralph Lauren image that the equestrian world has going on. Now if we start to see Amy Winehouse riding horses, I'll then start to examine the link between equestrian and crack use more closely.

Third, I feel really bad for the horses when they miss a jump or knock over a rail or the blocks. You can just see it in the horses' eyes how sad they are to have let their rider down! All they want to do is work hard, perform well, earn their horse treats at the end of the run (a carrot, perhaps?). The last thing they want is the obligatory "good boy but better luck next time" pat on the neck from their disappointed rider following a bad ride. They don't know a gold medal is at stake, or do they? (Maybe the smart horse is just getting back at their rider for smoking dope?).

Fourth, the horses didn't just magically appear at the Beijing games. They had to fly the horses to Beijing, some from as far as way as Canada. In my opinion, I would think that would be somewhat traumatic for a horse (or any animal for that matter). I know what I feel like after I step off the plane - a little queasy, slightly bloated and with a mild headache. I wonder how a horse feels after a 16 hour plane ride half way across the world? It's a wonder they can compete at all.

So, I may not fully understand the equestrian sport, and I may feel kind of bad for the horses, but I'm sure the horses are well taken care of and provided for, and I'm sure the riders, just like all the other Olympic athletes, have a real love and passion for their sport. And that is what the Olympics are all about.

But I still don't get the sport.

Guitar Hero? Really?

2008-08-20T20:29:00.012-04:00

There once was a time when parents who made the decision to home school their children did so because they wanted to provide a more tailored education to their child, or they were concerned that their child was not being challenged enough at school.

There once was a time when kids were home schooled because at young age they excelled at a particular sport and decided to focus on the dream of being a future Olympian, or they wanted to purse an acting career and - gasp! - they actually made it in Hollywood and had to have a tutor.

Well, move over Shawn Johnson and Dakota Fanning, you aren't so special anymore. It now seems there are other reasons to remove your child from school other than just sports, acting ability, or some academic gift that makes you far superior to the other kids in your class memorizing math flash cards and practicing their cursive handwriting.

The new gift? Guitar Hero (I swear you cannot make this stuff up).

A Raleigh family of five has one less child in school because their child has decided his future is in competitive video gaming, specifically Guitar Hero. The parents of 16 year old Blake Peebles bowed to his pleas to be taken out of the private Christian school he had been attending so that he could devote more time to playing - and apparently mastering - Guitar Hero.

Blake is the middle child of Mike and Hunter Peebles. Tucker is 18, an honor-roll student who plays football for North Raleigh Christian Academy. Caramy is 13, a dancer with a congenital disorder that causes developmental disabilities. Mike and Hunter do not believe in one-size-fits-all parenting. That is not to say that it was an easy decision for them to let Blake leave school last September. They would have preferred that he stay in high school with his brother. But he bugged them until they let him quit.

"We couldn't take the complaining anymore," says Hunter. "He always told me that he thought school was a waste of time."

You couldn't take the complaining anymore? Really? I mean, I could maybe understand if the complaining was something like, "Come on, Mom! All I want to do is volunteer for the Peace Corps. If you won't let me do that, at least let me drop out of school to devote my entire life's passion and resources to the homeless."

But Guitar Hero? Really? Someone give Amy Polar and Seth Myers a call because I have the perfect "Really" segment for the next Weekend Update on SNL.

Apparently Blake was not too thrilled to be a school (I know, quite the shocker. A 16 year old boy doesn't want to be at school? You're kidding me). And apparently Blake excels at Guitar Hero. Fast forward to this year and you have yourself a young man being tutored at home (an all expenses paid schooling by mom and dad of course) and pursing a career as a competitive gamer. In fact, he and his Dad traveled to California this month (they might even be there now!) so Blake could compete at the World Cyber Games. Wow. That is quite the field trip. The most exotic field trip I ever went on was in third grade to the RJ Reynolds Tobacco factory in Winston-Salem. They actually showed us how cigarettes were made! (That is totally another post for another time).

To date, Blake has raked in about $1,000 in prize winnings for his talent. He even won a year's supply of Chick-fil-a chicken sandwiches during a tournament. Now what teenager wouldn't give up school for that!

I wonder if chicken sandwiches were in Mom and Dad's vision of greatness for Blake when they said yes to Guitar Hero and no to schooling. Maybe. I just wonder what they are going to do when young Blake starts complaining about eating too many chicken sandwiches...

A Return To The Canvas

2008-08-19T22:35:00.006-04:00

This evening I attended art class for the first time in almost a year and a half. I have been oil painting for over five years and taking an art class through Wake Technical Community College. But for the past year and half I haven't done much painting because of work, life, being busy. Life's little distractions seemed to pull me away from painting.

About a month ago, I woke up one morning after having dreamed about painting. I was in my art class and painting just as I had done dozens of times the past several years. Though it had just been a dream, I woke up with a real sense of missing not painting and creating art on a regular basis; I signed up for the next art class within a couple of days. And tonight was the first of eight art classes.

It was great to be back in class. There were some familiar faces and some new ones, but the feeling of settling back into class was nothing new. The smell of the oil paint and turpentine. The feel of your brush hitting the fresh linen canvas. The way oil paint gleams in the light, showing every brush stroke, revealing nothing but brilliant colors. Colors such as cadmium red, french ultramarine, burnt umber and yellow ochre.

Tonight I worked on a piece that I started during my last art class. I hope to finish it up within the next couple of classes. I'll be sure to post the final result.

Plucked and Ready To Go

2008-08-18T11:24:00.013-04:00

One of the things that I love about blogging is that I can go from writing about politics, religion and other important social issues to eyebrow waxing (that's right - I made that leap. Don't judge me).

We are now T minus five days until my ten-year high school reunion and Operation Reunion Ready is in full swing. Move over Tyra Banks, this chic is getting ready for the ultimate runway: walking into a room full of people that you knew ten years ago when you were ten pounds thinnner and ten gray hairs fewer. Fortunately, I dress a little better than I did in high school, but I blame that on the decade (darn you cut off jean shorts and scrunchies! Why were you ever in style?)

In my continuing effort to prepare for the reunion, I have a laundry list of items I need to take care of this week. The first to be crossed off my list is the eyebrow waxing, as seen below.

(Ow! A little painful, and the skin is pretty red, but man...check out those arches, courtsey of Jolie the Day Spa. Fabulous.)

Melanie, why in the world would you post a picture of your face, without makeup, showing off your recent waxing? Don't you realize that the very people you are planning to see on Saturday will read this and know all about said eye brow waxing?

Ah, yes, my dear Watson, but your arguement rests on the presumption that, in fact, people actually read this blog.

Now that my eyebrows has been properly waxed and plucked, the next thing to do is pick out the outfit. I've already crossed this off my list, as I am wearing a dress my mother-in-law gave me (free!) and a pair of Calvin Klein black high heels (I reserve the right to make a wardrobe change at the last minute).

With the outfit carefully selected, it is time to ready the body by eating only this for an entire week:

Being a woman is fun!

And of course no big night out on the town would be complete without a fresh pedicure (I'll spare you the before picture of this, as I do not want to lose my only readership of three). I'm planning to do the pedicure at the Bostic Day Spa, where I can save money and watch the Olympics whilst scrubbing my feet with a pumice stone.

So, there you have it. The plans for the week. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone and catching up with old friends. I have fresh batteries for my camera, and I'll be taking lots of mental notes so I can come back to my blog and tell you endless stories about people you don't know.

Stay tuned!

A Critical Issue During A Critical Time

2008-08-17T23:08:00.017-04:00

On Friday night as my husband and I were driving to the post office to drop off a package, we happened to catch Sean Hannity's radio show. One of Sean's guest was Jill Stanek, a former registered nurse at Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn, IL, who is now a pro-life leader and advocate for the unborn. Her story and experience is heart-wrenching to listen to and at the same time incredibly powerful.

Her basic experience is this: she was a registered nurse at Christ Hospital when she discovered that the hospital was preforming abortions on live children, leaving them to die alone in the soiled utility room. She discovered this hush-hush practice one day when another nurse could not "tend" to a down syndrome baby who had just survived an attempted abortion by doctors. Jill took the little baby to a quiet room and held it for 45 minutes until it finally died.

In the case of these abortions, doctors induce the mother early (in this case 21 weeks), with a good guarantee that the baby will not survive during labor. Most don't. Jill Stanek said that approximately 10% of babies survived the labor, but then are left to die alone in the soiled utility room.

Jill went to hospital leaders, asking them to stop this practice. When they told her no, she went public. In 2000 and 2001 she was asked to testify before a U.S. House committee for the Born Alive Infants Protection Act. In 2002 the act was signed into law by President Bush.

Jill was conveniently fired by Christ Hospital because of her outspokenness. She now is an activist in the pro-life movement, a popular blogger and a frequent guest on talk radio shows, such as Sean Hannity's.

My husband and I sat stunned in the car as we listened to Jill and Sean discuss this horrible practice. How could this practice be happening in America? How could people do this to innocent lives? It is unimaginable. Debate all you want about whether life begins at conception - these babies clearly are babies, regardless of whether or not the mom wanted them to exist. They exist, they survived the mother and doctor's attempt to terminate their life, and the fact that they received absolutely no medical attention and were left to die is horrendous.

Jill Stanek is very outspoken about her pro-life beliefs, and she is particularly outspoken this year because of the presidential election. Why? Jill was from Illinois, and guess who else is from Illinois?

Barack Obama was a state senator during the time Jill discovered the abortion practices of Christ Hospital. During state level committee hearings about this practice and Jill's testimony about her experience, she recalled to Sean that Obama seemed distant, not particularly interested in what Jill had to say. And really, why should he? Barack Obama was against the IL Born Alive Infants Protection Act. He was the only state senator to speak out against the federal act that was later signed into law in 2002. Not even Hillary Clinton or Ted Kennedy spoke out against this act. And pro-choice organizations took neutral positions. But Barack Obama stood alone, and publicly declared that infants who survive abortions have no right to life, that they should be left to die...alone...in the comfort of no one...their life almost an after thought. Yet this is the presidential candidate who wants universal health care for everyone. That is, if you can make it out of your mother's womb alive and in one piece, and oh yeah - if your mom wanted you born in the first place.

This chills me to the core. I don't care where you stand on politics, on religion, on abortion, on right-to-life, on anything. How could anyone allow a baby to die in a trashcan? If that's legal, then why would a teenage mom who gives birth to an unwanted child and tosses that baby into the high school dumpster be charged with murder? It's the same thing.

Abortion is such a sensitive subject, and I seriously debated even posting about this subject because it's such a hot button issue that I think is used a lot of times to get people riled up. But hearing Jill Stanek's story on Friday chilled me to the core. Her experience was truly life changing for her, and a story that I won't soon forget. What also causes me great fear and anxiety is that our country is on the verge of electing a man who doesn't support the rights of babies who survive an abortion (let alone babies in the womb). In fact, Barack Obama referred to unwanted babies as a "punishment" to the mother. Is this really the man that needs to be our country's leader? I fear that our country is so blinded by his celebrity that we're not examining the nitty-gritty issues that make the man. If Obama is trying to court evangelical Christians, he's going to have a hard time if Jill's story hits the mainstream media. And I hope it does. Because this issue is too important, to critical, to be glossed over by the liberal talking heads on MSNBC.

There were many reasons before Friday evening why I did not support Barack Obama. But after Friday evening, all the other reasons seemed to fade to a distant second, as I realized that this issue on abortion and a person's right to life - from the moment of conception on -was the main issue for me and the most outstanding reason why Barack Obama should never hold an office of any authority ever again, especially that of President.

After all, he said it himself - it's out of his pay grade.

Go Team USA!

2008-08-15T22:25:00.008-04:00

It's seven heaven for Michael Phelps - he has just now matched Mark Spitz's record of winning 7 Olympic gold medals in a single Olympic games. Go Phelpsy! With one more race to go, Phelps could even beat Spitz's record by winning 8 Olympic gold medals in one games. Amazing.

Phelps, you are a machine!

And speaking of amazing, these two girls made our country just as proud.

And of course my boy Lopez Lomong who qualified in the 1500 meter semi-final to move on to the next round.

Go USA!

In The End, We're Not That Different

2008-08-13T20:43:00.009-04:00

This morning before work and after my walk with the dogs, I was sitting down with my cup of coffee to take in some of The Today Show as I do every morning. The crew is broadcasting from Beijing during the Olympics, and most of what they have been discussing in the morning (evening for them) has been on the Olympics, the athletes, and the country and people of China.

The story I caught in full this morning was on the Chinese "award girls" that have been in training for weeks. These girls are from the Beijing Foreign Affairs School, a state-run college who's mission is to produce camera-friendly girls for various award ceremonies, including the Olympics.

If you've been watching the Olympics, you've probably seen these girls during the medal ceremonies. They are wearing white dresses and are carefully handling the medals as they bestow them upon the necks of the winning athletes. They are all beautiful, and all the same, and all uniform in dress and posture. And this is by no accident.

The girls are all between 5'6" and 5'8", weighing between 110 and 120 pounds. They have been through extensive training on how to walk, talk, stand, greet visitors, and handle the medals. They have learned basic English, French and Spanish. And they have been groomed by the Chinese government for this very moment, in the same way that the little girl in the red dress was chosen to sing at the Opening Ceremonies, when the voice that we all heard was not her own. These women and girls were chosen for their beauty, grace, and pleasant look. The Olympics are a window into the world of China, and China wanted to put their best face forward, literally.

As I sat listening to The Today Show story about these woman, it struck me how unapologetic the Chinese government is about their image. They have a certain agenda in mind and a certain image they want the world to have of their country, and they are unapologetic about it. It's like the Chinese government has said, "Sure, we admit that little girl was lip sinking on Friday, but the other girl didn't have the look we needed. Let's move on. Yes, our award girls all look the same and are beautiful and we have trained them to be that way. So what? It's our country and this is what we want to do."

At first I thought to myself, "How backwards is this country? How prosaic? To actually go out of your way to choose people based on looks and manner; to be so determined that this is the image they are going to give the world, regardless of what reporter broke the lip sinking story or how many cameras followed the training of the award girls." I began thinking about our country, and what "award girls" we would choose should the Olympics ever come back to the States. Surely we wouldn't take the same course as China in selecting the "award girls."

Or would we?

It suddenly dawned on me - we would, we would absolutely do the exact same thing as China, but only in the extreme opposite. We would choose people not because they looked the same, but because they all looked different. We would not just have girls, but boys as well. We would choose people of different races, different religions, different ages, heights, weights, perhaps even sexual orientations. Our entire focus would be to make sure that the "award girls" for America would look anything but "American". After all, that seems to be quite the focus of our country these days - we pride ourselves on diversity, on tolerance, and on acceptance. In fact, to look and act traditionally "American" is almost seen as a bad thing in our society. Are you white? Are you male? Are you Christian? Are you a Republican? Forget it - you are the America of old, for today's American is a person of color, a person of a different religion, a person who does not look like you or your neighbor. And this is the exact image our country would want to give to the rest of the world - the idea that America is a progressive and sophisticated society, a global citizen of the world that is so far above choosing people that look the same. And what I fear would be the worst part would be our pride. We would be so proud of our diversity, on the fact that we are so progressive, that it would come across as so smug, so annoyingly pompous. It's no wonder why some countries don't like us so much. Are we just that proud to tick off other countries? I fear the answer may be yes...

But, in this instance, aren't we just the same as China? Isn't the sentiment, the purpose behind the our selection of American "award girls" just the same? It is. China has chosen women with the specific purpose of showing uniformity and tradition. And we would chose people with the specific purpose of showing diversity and openness. And when you really think about it, we're not that much different from China in this way. America has an image to protect, just as China does. We just have a different images that we want to give off. And this image is not one that is likely to disappear for either country anytime soon.

Olympic Fever

2008-08-12T09:25:00.005-04:00

How exciting are the Olympics?

If you are like me, you have been watching the Olympics pretty much straight since the Opening Ceremonies on Friday night. We're only about four days into the games and already Team USA has produced some amazing moments: the men's swimming freestyle relay with that awesome gold medal finish over the trash-talking French, the men's gymnastic team pulling out their best and earning the bronze when know expected them to medal at all, the USA vs. China basketball game watched by over an estimated 1 billion people and of course Kerri Walsh and Misty May dominating in beach volleyball.

I love the Olympics. I remember being obsessed with the 1992 games in Barcelona. I remember wearing a Barcelona Olympics T-shirt and matching shorts all the time. I have sports bras from the 1996 Atlanta games (I should have probably long thrown those away but I still have them and wear them). I remember in college making sure I was in front of the TV when Apolo Anton Ohno was speed skating during the 2002 Winter games in Salt Lake City. And now I find the games just as exciting as ever. For the past four nights I have fallen asleep to the TV while watching the athletes compete. I've had my husband wake me up when an important race is about to go on. Every night I say out loud, "I can't believe what these athletes can do. They are amazing." And they are. And the spirit of the games is amazing too. For a few weeks every couple of years, the best athletes come together to compete and show the world what they're made of. And every couple of years, America pulls together to root for team USA. Because no matter what political party you're a member of, no matter what church you go to, whether you live in a big city or small town, every American can come together and cheer on our athletes. It's a special time for our country, and the world. It's more than Olympic fever, it's a pride in our country and our most talented athletes. And I for one, am hooked for life.

Go Team USA!

Saving the Green, Shopping at ALDI

2008-08-10T19:49:00.018-04:00

When the going gets tough, the tough go grocery shopping! Today we ventured to the new ALDI that opened up the street a few months ago. For those of you who have not heard of ALDI, it is a discount supermarket chain based in Germany. According to Wikipedia, ALDI stands for "ALbrecht DIscount."

The chain is made up of two separate groups, ALDI Nord (North - operating as ALDI MARKT) and ALDI Süd (South - operating as ALDI SÜD), which operate independently from each other in specific market boundaries. The individual groups were originally owned and managed by brothers Karl Albrecht and Theo Albrecht; both have since retired. However, they are still Germany's richest men, earning an estimated €1.5 billion per year.

I wonder if the Albrecht's shop at ALDI?

Back in North Carolina, when we first arrived at ALDI earlier this afternoon, we learned that they do not accept credit cards - only cash or debit. Sigh. I had my debit card, but didn't know my PIN number. My husband knew his PIN number but had left his wallet at home. We turned right around and went back home to grab the wallet and head back for our second attempt. After we finally figured out how to extract a shopping cart (you have to put a quarter into a slot to release the cart from the row), we were on our way to shopping savings! Feast your eyes on some of our bounty of ALDI goodness...

Mmm...lovin' those L'oven Fresh Hot dog buns

And 3 pounds of smoked saugage to accompany the buns!

Because 3 pounds of smoked sausage makes you feel fit and active...

Screamin' Dill Pickle Pringles (you know, very few foods are labeled by the word "screamin'")

A general assortment of other goodies

In addition to what is pictured above, we also bought pasta sauce, salsa, cereal, more yogurt, deli ham, honey mustard, BBQ sauce, flat bread wraps, ice cream sandwiches, and tuna. We had a pretty good first trip to ALDI, and I'm sure that we'll be back. With gas and the price of groceries going up on a weekly, sometimes daily basis, it only makes sense to try and find cheaper shopping options. At ALDI, we spent a little over $28. At Harris Teeter, this probably would have been close to $40. That's quite a savings in my book. And if you really want to save some money and eat good, you make your own bread...

Why I Hate Craigslist

2008-08-09T19:34:00.009-04:00

In an effort to clear clutter from the house (and the added benefit of making a little extra cash), the husband and I decided a couple weeks ago to put some stuff up on Craigslist. We've purchased a few items from Craigslist in the past, including a very nice coffee table and end table. We had a good buying experience so I was excited to get my Craigslisting on and see what happened.

What happened was complete and utter lunacy and irration. I've always had the sneaking suspicion that people in general were crazy. Craigslist only served to prove my suspicion. The interactions I've had with people (mostly via email) ranged from outrageous to weird to annoying. Below are some of my correspondence with Craigslist crazies...

Trying to sell my bridal crinoline, for $35...

Hi again, I haven't heard from you and I am starting to get nervous because, as I stated earlier, I am getting married on Sunday and I have to have something by then. I am willing to pay the full $35 if you do not want to negotiate. I will also even come to your house to pick it up if need be. Just please let me know if the Crinoline is still available and if you will sell it to me.

This girl first emailed me on a Sunday, and I responded to her immediately. Obviously she didn't get my email, and I love how she got a little testy with me. Bridezilla anyone? Turns out, the girl I had been emailing was in fact not the bride, but the maid-of-honor. She told me on the phone that she thought it would be easier to email with me in the first person as the bride...wow...talk about completely weird. I ended up asking $25 for the crinoline, but sold it to the bride for $33 (sucks when you don't bring exact change and I don't carry cash!).

Trying to sell 4 IKEA wine racks, each for $10...

great...i know this is crazy, but i am in greensboro...so i can meet you anywhere but if you are willing to come this way at all, anywhere off 40 just so that i don't have to come into raleigh, that would be great...but if not, that's fine too. i can't believe the luck of finding one of these local. you can call me to arrange a time/place. anytime today before 6 would be best, if not, then maybe tomorrow.

WTF? Like I am going to DRIVE to Greensboro to sell a $10 wine rack (she only wanted to buy one). I would loose money in this transaction because of current gas prices. But, she did give me the option of meeting her that day, before six, as if I didn't have full time job during the day. I emailed her back and told her that I would not drive to meet her, and that we could meet in Cary. I never heard back from her.

Trying to sell 4 IKEA wine racks...again...still for $10 each...

Hi Melanie. I've had something come up and am not going to be able to buy the wine racks from you. I'm terribly sorry. Good luck.

I had planned to meet this woman at the mall, but like she said, something came up.

Trying to sell a brand new vessel sink that we can't use, for $100...

Melanie,My brother just called - I am so bummed out - we are not going to Cary Saturday. They just have too much to do and not enough fun stuff going on! I don't know as I can convince my boyfriend with the price of gas to just go without making it a "visit my brother's family" kind of trip. If the color is right, this would be perfect for our bathroom - just the right pop of color!! Let me see what I can work out - if we don't come this Saturday, possibly next Saturday. I'm sorry for letting you know I was interested and then changing our plans. Have you had lots of other interest? Maybe if I can convince my boyfriend that this is PERFECT, we'll come anyway! I'll let you know for sure...thanks!

Again, we had made plans to meet in Cary and then I received this email. Wonderful. I even gave her my cell phone number just in case she were to come to town today. My phone has not rung once today.

The only transaction I had that went fairly smoothly was selling our dog crate that we bought for River that she only used once. I sold it to a nice man who was getting a puppy for his sons. I posted it for $100, and he ended up giving me $80. I was glad to sell it because it was definitely taking up a lot of room.

So, after all this, I'm $113 richer (not really - all the money has been spent on dog food and groceries). However, I have no future plans to post ANYTHING on Craigslist. Selling stuff is fine, but dealing with crazy people is way too much. I'll save that fun for the yard sale we are planning.

Tragedy During the Games

2008-08-09T10:10:00.005-04:00

Why are people crazy?

A Chinese man stabbed to death and American man and wounded an American woman, before taking his own life on Saturday during the Olympic Games. The two Americans were family members of a coach for the US Men's indoor volleyball team. The attacker, 47, leaped to his death after killing the American man.

What is wrong with people? Especially now, during the Olympics, when guns are suppose to put down for awhile, and the only battles to speak of are the ones between the athletes on the field, court or ring. But what do I know? Russia decided to pull out the tanks and bombs this past week and storm Georgia. I guess the hope for a little peace these upcoming weeks was just a fleeting thought from the IOC. Hopefully the rest of the games will proceed without incident.

Flip-Flops For All!

2008-08-08T10:53:00.004-04:00

Move over Rainbows, there's a new flip-flop in town, and it ain't your rival the Reefs. It's Barack Obama - flip-flopping on issues left and right (or should I say left and more left?). In any case, I ran across this image on American Elephant and thought I would share. I couldn't help but laugh and agree at the same time. Actual flip-flops aren't available, but cool T-shirts are. I like the added benefit of someone perhaps thinking that you are an Obama supporter by sporting a flip-flop T-shirt, until they quickly realize that you are not, and are only calling him out on his wishy-washy stance on everything.

Enjoy!

So You Think You Can Dance?

2008-08-06T21:09:00.003-04:00

I know I can't dance but I love this show! Tonight the final four dancers (Joshua, Twitch, Courtney and Katee) are performing and tomorrow night is the results show! My faves: Katee and Joshua. They have been partners for most of the season, and they are awesome together. Unfortunately, there will only be ONE dancer who is crowned the champion, so I am pulling for Katee ultimately. Like American Idol, the results are based on viewer call-ins. I've never voted after the shows, but I think tonight I might have to make a few phone calls for my girl Katee.

If you've never watched the show, I would suggest setting your TiVo for next year's season. With all the crapola on TV, this show just makes you feel good and it's family friendly. And you seriously want to get up and dance afterwards! And if you ask my neighbors, I'm sure they'd tell you they see a crazy person every Wednesday jumping around in her living room.

Forget Paris...Or Not...

2008-08-04T21:35:00.004-04:00

I'm sure you've seen this political ad on television.

And you know that Barack Obama and his camp are all up in arms about this ad. But why should Obama be so upset about the comparison between him and Paris Hilton when in 2005, he made the same exact comparison.

I'm not the only person who is intruiged by this story.

Thanks Michelle Malkin and Drudge Report for each posting about this story. Let's hope that Obama's 15 minutes of fame are up soon.

Move On, Please...Again!

2008-08-03T21:09:00.002-04:00

In a previous post about MoveOn.org, I commented on the organization's campaign to give away one million Obama '08 bumper stickers. Tonight, I noticed that in addition to giving away the bumper stickers (new name suggestion: "Obumper" stickers? yes? no?), MoveOn is now giving away one million "Vote Obama '08" buttons. Remember kids, MoveOn "is a 501(c)(4) organization which primarily focuses on nonpartisan education and advocacy on important national issues." Yet, after a quick skim of the homepage, you'll notice a prominent anti-McCain advertisement and a news story about the raciest evil FOX news outlet. They must have their own definition of "nonpartisan." Perhaps their definition can be found here.

The Real Dirt on the Real Truth

2008-08-01T19:56:00.006-04:00

This political ad against North Carolina Republican gubernatorial candidate Pat McCrory is generating quite the buzz in North Carolina. The ad, funded by the Democratic group Alliance for North Carolina (itself funded by the National Education Association), makes three claims against Pat McCrory:

1. He opposes a raise in minimum wage
2. He supports pay increases for politicians, including his own salary
3. He opposes free community college tuition for high school seniors

Alrighty, folks. If you are a Conservative, you'll know right off the bat why McCrory opposes a raise in minimum wage and free college tuition: these are handouts (which the Dems so dearly love) that create an unnecessary burden on North Carolina government and tax payers. Nothing is free. If community college tuition is made "free" to high school graduates, then Mr. and Mrs. Joe Citizen are picking up the tab. And a raise in minimum wage may put a little more money in the pockets of hourly employees, but it takes more money away from the business owners that employ these people, thereby causing a greater financial strain on the business. And what's one of the ways a strapped company cuts down on expenses? By letting go some of the workforce. Never mind that fact that unless you raise minimum wage to $15 an hour, employees working at a higher minimum wage will still make less than the poverty line.

And speaking of wages, McCrory didn't exactly support a pay increase, and certainly did not support a raise in his own salary. The real story?

As mayor of Charlotte since 1996, McCrory's salary and expenses have risen from $24,800 to $39,900. That's about a 60-percent increase. Adjusted for inflation, however, it's more like a 20 percent raise. The Charlotte mayor does not typically vote on the city budget, which includes pay raises, but he can veto it. If he does, it takes seven out of 11 votes from the City Council to override his veto. In 1998, McCrory broke a tie, voting with the City Council's Republicans to overturn a pay raise for city leaders that would have boosted his own salary by several thousand dollars. This year, the City Council narrowly approved a pay raise for members and the mayor. McCrory did not make any public statements on the raise and did not veto the budget, but his campaign staff said Thursday that he opposed it. -News & Observer, August 1, 2008

Gasp! How dare the mayor of Charlotte make more than $40,000 a year! The fact that the mayor of Charlotte makes less than I do is surprising in and of itself. The fact that Alliance for North Carolina skews the truth so terrifically is repulsive. The ad conveniently omits the fact that McCrory voted with the Council members to overturn a pay raise in 1998, which would have increased his own salary (by a mere several thousand dollars). And of course the ad skews the fact that most recently, the Council narrowly approved a pay increase, which McCrory did not veto, even though he stated that he did oppose it.

The N&O article does a fairly good job analyzing this ad and its claims, but I don't think the newspaper hits the attackers hard enough. Alliance for North Carolina should be blasted for their biased and untruthful ad attacking the Charlotte mayor. It just shows that politics is still the same, money talks, and that the dirt will continue to fly into the face of the truth. Democratic candidate Bev Purdue may have stated a few months ago that she was going to run a clean campaign, but her cronies sure didn't follow suit. Purdue has the teachers, sheriffs and Andy Griffith in her back pocket. And if you have those organizations and supporters doing your dirty work for you, I guess you can wipe your hands and give the impression that you are running a clean campaign. And that's the truth that Perdue keeps hidden under the dirt slung by her supporters. Some "clean" campaign, Ms. Perdue.

Political Watch Dogs

2008-07-28T21:25:00.002-04:00

The other night, my husband and I were relaxing after dinner and quietly watching television. Suddenly, River and Sydney began howling, growling and otherwise barking their cute little heads off. Thinking this didn't sound like the usual growl when one of them spies a squirrel or rabbit in the front yard, we hopped up to see what all the commotion was about.

Approaching our front door was a young man holding a clip board and sporting an Obama '08 T-shirt. My husband went out to speak with the man as I held the dogs back and tried to quiet them down. I could hear Jason saying that we didn't support Obama or the Democratic party (his actual words were "I believe Obama is a socialist"), but then he shook hands with the guy and thanked him for what he was doing and being a part of the political process. As the guy moved on to the next house and Jason came back inside, I had finally gotten the dogs to calm down. Smiling, I patted each of them on the head and said, "Good girls. Barking at Democrats is good." I promptly rewarded them each with a Milkbone.

Oh Times They Have A Changed

2008-07-27T14:58:00.006-04:00

One of my very good girlfriends emailed me this article a few days ago. Life, it seems, is not without irony: I only thought to blog about this just today, as I was baking bread in the kitchen, barefoot. How could have I let this perfect gem of blog material lay dormant for days in my email inbox? Perhaps the reason is answered in tip number six:

Eleven Tips on Getting More Efficiency Out of Women Employees: There's no longer any question whether transit companies should hire women for jobs formerly held by men. The draft and manpower shortage has settled that point. The important things now are to select the most efficient women available and how to use them to the best advantage.

Here are eleven helpful tips on the subject from Western Properties:

1. Pick young married women. They usually have more of a sense of responsibility than their unmarried sisters, they're less likely to be flirtatious, they need the work or they wouldn't be doing it, they still have the pep and interest to work hard and to deal with the public efficiently.

2. When you have to use older women, try to get ones who have worked outside the home at some time in their lives. Older women who have never contacted the public have a hard time adapting themselves and are inclined to be cantankerous and fussy. It's always well to impress upon older women the importance of friendliness and courtesy.

3. General experience indicates that "husky" girls - those who are just a little on the heavy side - are more even tempered and efficient than their underweight sisters.

4. Retain a physician to give each woman you hire a special physical examination - one covering female conditions. This step not only protects the property against the possibilities of lawsuit, but reveals whether the employee-to-be has any female weaknesses which would make her mentally or physically unfit for the job.

5. Stress at the outset the importance of time the fact that a minute or two lost here and there makes serious inroads on schedules. Until this point is gotten across, service is likely to be slowed up.

6. Give the female employee a definite day-long schedule of duties so that they'll keep busy without bothering the management for instructions every few minutes. Numerous properties say that women make excellent workers when they have their jobs cut out for them, but that they lack initiative in finding work themselves.

7. Whenever possible, let the inside employee change from one job to another at some time during the day. Women are inclined to be less nervous and happier with change.

8. Give every girl an adequate number of rest periods during the day. You have to make some allowances for feminine psychology. A girl has more confidence and is more efficient if she can keep her hair tidied, apply fresh lipstick and wash her hands several times a day.

9. Be tactful when issuing instructions or in making criticisms. Women are often sensitive; they can't shrug off harsh words the way men do. Never ridicule a woman - it breaks her spirit and cuts off her efficiency.

10. Be reasonably considerate about using strong language around women. Even though a girl's husband or father may swear vociferously, she'll grow to dislike a place of business where she hears too much of this.

11. Get enough size variety in operator's uniforms so that each girl can have a proper fit. This point can't be stressed too much in keeping women happy.

In addition to tip six, I especially enjoy tip number eight. After reading tip number eight, one would think all women are red-lipped hypochondriacs, with one finger on the trigger of a can of aerosol hairspray. Ever wonder why the standard of beauty for a woman is typically measured by the size of her jeans? Consider the suggestion of tip number 3. And thank God I'm married, because according to tip number 1, if I weren't married, I'd be hitting on every guy at work! But at least I have the "pep" to work hard at the office, (because after all, I "need to work" or I "wouldn't be doing it").

A lot has changed since 1943. Some things are a lot better, other things are a lot worse. This article gave me a good chuckle, and made me even more thankful I live in a time where women are respected at work and valued for everything they bring to the table, in the workplace and at home.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go tidy my hair and wash my hands.

Move On...Please

2008-07-26T19:24:00.005-04:00

This post shall be filed in the "I'm rolling my eyes at this very second" file:

MoveOn.org is planning to give away 1 million "Obama '08" bumper stickers this week as part of their campaign to get this manipulating Dem into the oval office come November and set into motion the downfall of our country as we know it. You think our current crisis with the economy, global relations, energy and health care is bad now? Elect Barack Obama as president, let him marinate a few years in Washington, and THEN get back to me on the status of our country and our relationship with other countries.

I stomached the MoveOn.org website to do some research, and I notice the following at the bottom of their home page:

MoveOn.org Civic Action is a 501(c)(4) organization which primarily focuses on nonpartisan education and advocacy on important national issues.

Nonpartisan? Are you freakin' kidding me? Visit their website now, and you'll notice a nice big picture of every Dem's favorite bleeding heart liberal, Al Gore. Apparently MoveOn.org has moved on so completely out of the atmosphere that they consider themselves nonpartisan. Now, they may have started off thinking they were nonpartisan (the founders of MoveOn started their lovely website with an online campaign to censure President Bill Clinton and "move on" to more important political issues). Give it up, MoveOn.org. The gig is up. Move on to your next liberal agenda item and quit purporting yourself to be nonpartisan.

Ten Years or Ten Minutes?

2008-07-22T20:06:00.010-04:00

My ten year high school reunion is coming up in four weeks in Winston-Salem, NC and I am really looking forward to the event. A flyer in my email inbox listed the weekend festivities, beginning with tailgating before a home football game on Friday night, the actual reunion in downtown Winston on Satuday night and a brunch on Sunday morning. We haven't decided what events we'll be going to, but I've already been considering the important decisions that have to be made before then: what to wear, how to do my hair, how to lose 8 pounds by August 19, how to properly exfoliate my face to give me that healthy glow, and how to turn my skin from pale to tan. You know, the really important stuff.

And after considering all these extremely imporant decisions to make pre-high school reunion, I began to wonder - after ten years, have I really changed all that much? The past ten years have flown by like it's been ten minutes. Are these the things I'm really worried about...at age 28? Alarmed by this realization, I began to examine my life and daily routine and discovered that though I am ten years removed from high school, I still have frighteningly similiar taste to a 17 year old girl...

I recently became obsessed with the television show Gossip Girl. How do I know this is an obsession as opposed to a mere liking of the show? I "became a fan" of the show on Facebook. Which leads me to my next point...

I'm on Facebook. Sure, there are a TON of people of all ages on Facebook, but wasn't it originally intended as a online social network for students?

The book I am currently reading? Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld. It's the story of a girl from the midwest who goes off to a prep high school in Massachusetts. It's really well written and I'm thoroughly enjoying the story.

I have Miley Cyrus on my iPod...twice. Shut up. I like her songs, especially when I'm out for a run.

Shopping malls excite me. I love to shop. I love looking at clothes and trying them on. I like looking at all the jewelry, the shoes, the handbags and oh yes, the shoes. It's a wonder I hadn't made it up to Mall of America sooner.

Pink is my favorite color. Purple and blue are a close second.

So, some of my tastes aren't as "refined" as I would like them to be. They may even be down right immature. But then I realized, it doesn't matter what other people think of me. These things in my life make me happy; they put a smile on my face. And life is too short to worry about what other people think about you. So maybe I have come a long way since high school. I'm confident in who I am as a person, my life and the choices I have made. It may have felt like ten minutes, but the past ten years have taught me a lifetime of lessons, and that makes me feel a million years removed from high school.

Mall of America

2008-07-16T20:43:00.008-04:00

This past weekend I had the opportunity to visit Mall of America, located just a few minutes outside of Minneapolis, MN. My mother-in-law currently lives in Eden Praire, MN and we took a long weekend trip to visit with her. She had never been to Mall of America either, so it seemed like the perfect destination for two women to spend an afternoon together. And there is just one word you can use to describe Mall of America...

Massive

Think of all the malls you have ever been to in your life. Then combine all the stores you've ever seen at these malls. Now place them all together in one huge indoor arena, throw in an amusement park in the middle, add FOUR levels, a never ending parking lot, and an IKEA next door to boot, and you have Mall of America.

And really, when you think about it, the name is absolutely perfect. What could be more American than the indoor shopping mall? The most American of institutions. A place where young and old can gather together, where parents and children can share quality family time together (but oh-my-god-not-REALLY-together-because-I-will-absolutely-die-if-I-am-seen-within-a-mile-of-my-parents-at-the-mall-in-front-of-my-friends-and-especially-my-oh-my-god-there-HE-IS-the-guy-I-like!!!), where you could quite literally do ALL of your Christmas shopping in one enclosed venue and if you find yourself in a situation like Natalie Portman did in the Where The Heart Is, you could eat, sleep and live in Mall of America for a good two years (which, I will admit, probably would not be the worst thing in the world to happen to me, assuming that I had my husband and dogs with me).

And speaking of dogs, Mall of America has it all...

Lego Fido!

Melanie and Mall Shark!

After several hours of shopping and lunch at Rainforest Cafe (do NOT eat here unless you have several kids with you or you happen to enjoy the smell of aquarium with your lunch salad), we returned back home tired and happy. Mall of America was definitely an experience worth having. Even if you think you've seen every store there is, it's quite the sight to see them all under one roof.

Happy shopping!

Free Kibble

2008-07-11T20:44:00.006-04:00

This is a very cool website started by 12 year old Mimi Ausland of Bend, OR. Mimi got her idea from www.freerice.com and adapted it as a way to help her local animal shelter feed hungry dogs. FreeKibble's mission is "to provide good, healthy food to dogs and cats to those shelters who are working so hard to see that none of them go hungry." Every time you visit the website and play Bow Wow Trivia, 20 pieces of kibble are donated to animal shelters. Check out this website often to help our furry friends across the country.

32 Days

2008-07-06T20:09:00.006-04:00

In 32 days, the 2008 Summer Olympics will open in Beijing, China. On August 8th, the world will gather for the Opening Ceremonies, and I for one, cannot wait! So, for those like me who cannot wait, I hope that you are enjoying the final night of the Olympic trials on NBC. Tonight is track and field and swimming. While my husband is probably going to scream if he hears the name Micheal Phelps again, I'm soaking in every minute (get it? soaking...swimming...the pool...water...ok, whatever). Bring on Bob Costas and that wonderful Olympic theme song (John Tesh, you get such a bad wrap). It's time for the Olympics! And those Visa commercials with Morgan Freeman? Come one...how could you not love a commerical narrated by Morgan Freeman and promoting the Olympics? Seriously!

While it's just the trials now, I find it exciting and interesting nonetheless. I love seeing athletes compete in their best events. They have sacrificed everything for the chance to make team America and try for gold at the Olympics. It's inspiring and exciting, and it's something I look forwarded to every four years. And in 32 days, I'll have 2 1/2 weeks of competition and excitement.

Go America!

Happy Birthday Sydney!

2008-07-05T18:19:00.006-04:00

Today Sydney is 2 years old! She got a bath outside on the deck to celebrate. Probably not the best birthday present in her opinion, but much needed nonetheless.

Sydney came into our lives in September 2006. My husband got a speeding ticket on his way to work and ended up with 19 hours of community service as punishment. I agreed to do the community service along with him. One of my friends at work who is active with the Franklin County Humane Society suggested we work an adopt-a-thon at a Petsmart one weekend. So we did.

We volunteered on a Saturday and Sunday, handing out pamphlets to shoppers. A litter of puppies was "on display" during the weekend - seven lab mixes. The mom was rescued from the animal shelter and gave birth to her litter a week later. We noticed the cute pups on Saturday, but on Sunday we couldn't keep our eyes off the little ones. I was done in when I first held a curious little pup with a white chest - she looked like she was wearing a tuxedo. In the pin with her brothers and sisters, this one seemed to be the most alert, the most inquisitive.

The next thing we knew we were filling out the adoption paper work and were trying to think of a name for a new little daughter. We bought a leash, a harness, a toy and some food and made our way back to Cary. And our lives have never been the same since (you may think I'm exaggerating but dog owners get this feeling). We came home with our little bundle of joy and Jason turned to the Internet so we could begin brainstorming dog names. When Jason said the name "Sydney" I knew we had discovered the perfect name. And so Sydney it was. While Jason had grown up with dogs, Sydney was my first one, and she certainly has taught me a lot. She has so much personality, so much love for people and other dogs. She's still very curious, and mischievous, but I wouldn't have it any other way. She's one of my best friends, and I love being her dog mom.

Sydney, I love you so much! Happy 2nd Birthday! Love, your Momma

Always ready for a picture.

Sydney and her cousin Tucker.

Sydney and her big sister River.

Sydney is so sleepy!

Sydney is pooped after a game of soccer.

Sydney and her Momma.

Happy Birthday America!

2008-07-04T19:47:00.002-04:00

Today is a day to celebrate our nation with friends and family. Today is a day to remember those who have died to ensure and protect our freedom. Today is a day to think about all the many blessing we have, simply because we are Americans. Our life in America is easy to take for granted. These stories remind me that we are truly blessed, and that we should never take anything for granted.

In Honor of Jesse Helms

Lopez Lomong

A deserving gift to animals

Final Salute

Coffee, Cars and the Consumer

2008-07-01T19:23:00.006-04:00

Your morning cup of joe may be a little harder to find now.

Starbucks announced to day that it is closing 500 stores nationwide, a sign of the times of the current economic turn down. This seemingly unstoppable company that couldn't open new stores fast enough ten years ago, is now realizing that people have come to their breaking point. Gas prices are now edging out the coffee drinks that made Starbucks so popular. No longer does a $4 latte taste as good when it takes $4 in gas to go get it.

It's estimated that about 12,000 people, or 7% of the Starbucks workforce, will be out of a job. That's a whole hec of a lot of barristas roaming the streets trying to find another job. And they're just one more group to join the masses faced with unemployment or a serious threat in their industry - mortgage brokers and loan officers are basically all unemployed, automobile workers and car dealers are seeing fewer sales and slower manufacturing output, restaurants are seeing almost a 25% drop in patronage and the list goes on. It seems that our economy has switched over to decaf during the past six months, and there's no caffeine in sight.

The consumer faces tough choices these days. No longer can we be flippant about extraneous items we use to purchase without much thought (think Frappacinos). When it takes almost $80 to fill up my car, I think twice about the places I really need to go. I'm much more price sensitive at the grocery store than I use to be. A year ago, a ten cent price difference between coffee creamer brands wouldn't even catch my eye. Now, I reach for the cheapest item on the shelf. My brother's company is cutting back on the air conditioning circulated in the office (no kidding - he actually said it's warmer in the office)! And he works at a billion dollar company in Research Triangle Park!

Is there a light at the end of the tunnel? I hope so. But I fear this economy is going to get much worse before it gets better. I fear more jobs will be lost. I fear the wrong person will win the presidency in November. I fear that gas prices will be $5 per gallon by the end of the summer. Everything is going up (except our salaries) and I fear that it's only going to get worse before it gets better. And more companies like Starbucks will start to close stores and lay off people just to survive, as consumers are forced to adapt to the new, decaffeinated economic climate.

A Fourth To Remember

2008-06-30T11:24:00.003-04:00

At the end of this week, Americans across the country will gather with friends and family to celebrate our nation's birthday. The Fourth of July is America at it's best - I love this time of year. It's the time when we come together for backyard cookouts, pool parties with the neighbors, local parades featuring the fire department and high school band and to wave sparklers back and forth once the sun has gone down. Sure it's hot and humid, and there are bugs everywhere, but the outdoors and the 4th just seem to go together. Whether you watch fireworks at the local park or from the cooler comforts of your TV in the living room, there's just something about celebrating our country once a year that reminds you how proud you are to be an American.

Every night I watch the news, and I see all the terrible things that happen at home and abroad. But I still say to myself every night, "I'm so blessed to live in this country." We have our problems, we have our fears and we have our shortcomings. But we have freedom. We have life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We have family and friends to share out lives with. And this is something we have every day, not just on the Fourth of July. So, break open that cold beer this Friday, and roast up another hot dog while the kids and the dogs run around in the back yard. And as you take a drink to cool off from the heat of summer, remember that nothing tastes as good as life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Happy Birthday America!

Race for the Cure

2008-06-14T19:00:00.004-04:00

Today I participated in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure at Meredith College in Raleigh, NC. A group from the office gathered for the race, and we had a great time.

Race for the Cure is an event I look forward to every year. This is my fifth time walking in the 5K.

We had a great time (it's always a little hot though) and it's neat to see all the people that come out to race and volunteer their time to help find a cure for breast cancer. And, as I saw written on racer's T-shirt: "A breast is a terrible thing to waste."

:)

One Hour Away

2008-06-07T20:03:00.002-04:00

We're on vacation.

A much needed break from the daily routine of work, taking care of the house, the dogs, and chores.

We're a million miles away, except that we are only one hour away.

We're at the O.Henry Hotel in Greensboro, NC for a long weekend. And I'm loving every minute. A much needed break, during a much needed time, should help restore the sanity of my husband and I.

In fact, we're off to dinner in just a few minutes. I'm dressed up (well, a little)! I went shopping today! I went to the pool this morning! Last night, we had the best pizza and went for ice cream. And we thoroughly enjoyed our cable TV and 65 degree air conditioning in the room. Hello, relaxation. I have forgotten what you looked like, but I do love you so very much.

Tomorrow's agenda: breakfast, pool, nap, lunch, movie, dinner, TV, sleep.

If only EVERY day had such an agenda...

Redemption

2008-06-01T10:56:00.004-04:00

I hate people. Pretty strong statement, right?

"Melanie, how could you hate people? I mean, you have family, right? A husband? Friends? How could you say that? You're so mean, so thoughtless - maybe you say that you hate people because people really hate YOU!"

OK. I don't really hate people, but I do get really frustrated with the general public from time to time. You know what I'm talking about - you're driving to the mall and some teen cuts you off in her Lexis (I'm sure it is her parent's Lexis and yes, this did happen to me yesterday). You're in the check-out line at PetSmart and some woman puts all her items on the counter while you're still trying to finish your transaction (yes, this happened to me a couple weeks ago - she even backed into me and didn't even realize it). You walk into the common kitchen at work and realize that someone left the counter a complete mess-napkins and crumbs everywhere (I have witnessed this several times). I could go on and on with countless other incidents that happen on an almost daily basis that make me say to myself "I hate people."

But yesterday, I found myself reconsidering this phrase that I say to myself so often lately. After I finished loading my car with my groceries in the grocery store parking lot, I turned to walk the cart back to the front of the store (I was parked closer to the store than to one of the parking lot cart returns). As I was walking with my cart, a nice man smiled to me and said "I'll take that from you, I need one anyway." I smiled and said "thanks!" There was something about the nice way he offered to take my cart that made me smile and think, "gee, that was nice. He was pretty friendly." By taking my cart, he not only saved me the time from wheeling it to the front, but he of course got the cart for himself.

Later in the afternoon, I was at another grocery store (another story all together). All I wanted was ice cream (my downfall). I picked out two cartons (caramel for my husband, chocolate for me). Of course there were only two lines open (despite a lot of people in each line - I hate when stores don't open up more lines!) and I got behind a couple that had a week's worth of groceries in their cart. The woman happened to look back at me and said, "oh, you should go in front of us since you only have a couple of things. Your hands will freeze if you hold that ice cream for too long!" How nice of her! I thanked her twice and moved ahead in line. I had forgotten my very important customer card, and asked the cashier if she could look it up by my phone number. The same couple behind me overheard me asking this of the cashier and offered their very important customer card to me so that I could use it. How nice again! I thanked them again, paid for my ice cream and left the store.

"Redemption" I thought to myself as I drove home. Of all the jerks in the world, all the selfish people I run into on a daily basis that make me cringe, groan, yell and shake my head, I had two very pleasant interactions today with complete strangers.

If only it was like this ALL the time. If people actually came out of their bubble and cared about their neighbor, the stranger at the grocery store, the driver next to them or their co-worker. What if people actually...gasp!...were not rude, but kind to one another? I think you'd find a lot more happy people in the world, and I think you'd find a much better world altogether. The daily routine of life just might not be so bad. And you wouldn't find me uttering the phrase, "I hate people" at all. Forget going green - I know how you can change the world: be nice to one another.

The Reunion

2008-05-21T18:58:00.002-04:00

A reunion of sorts...I haven't posted in two months (bad blogger...bad!) and I just learned that my 10 year high school reunion will be this August in Winston-Salem. Please forgive me for the following cliched statement: I can't believe it's been 10 years! I can't believe it's been six years since I graduated college.

I'm looking forward to the reunion. Not that I have kept up with anyone really well, but technology certainly has helped! Between the blogsphere and sites like Facebook and MySpace, you can literally find anyone. But again, I haven't really kept up with anyone but I am looking forward to meeting up with old friends.

Reunions are the type of thing that you can really look forward to or really dread. I guess it depends on where you are in life 10 years after the tossing of the cap and the hanging up of the gown. I'm feel as though I am pretty much where I am suppose to be in life and I'm proud of the things I have accomplished. I'm married to the man I love and live in a great house in a great town. I have two furry children that I love to play with and walk. I have a nice job, involved with a nice church and I have great family and friends. Overall, when I really sit down to think about it, I don't have much to complain about. I probably take most of the things I have in my life for granted, which is something I need to work on.

Although I have my ups and downs - my husband's profession is taking a beating because of the economy - for the most part, there are more ups than downs. So, I'll be proud to walk into my reunion with my husband and talk with my old friends and hopefully talk with people I didn't really know in high school. I mean, a lot changes in 10 years, especially during this time in a person's life. When I think about all the crazy things I probably said and worried during ages 14-18, I shake my head. I'm sure I'll say the same thing about myself ten years from now (27? She thought she had it all together and was so grown-up! ha!).

Well, I hope that my unintentional two month hiatus from blogging ends today and I'll keep you posted on the reunion. I'll sure I have some great pictures and some even better stories.

A New Addition

2008-03-23T17:37:00.005-04:00

Hello! My name is River.

On Wednesday night, Jason and I adopted a new dog into our family. River. She is a 3-year old Lab mix who found herself lost in Franklin County. She showed up on the doorstep of a friendly school teacher who tried to find her owner. She then sent out an email to the Franklin County Humane Society listserv to see if anyone would like to adopt her.

Jason and I had been thinking about adopting another dog for a couple months. I felt bad leaving Sydney alone during the day, and we thought another dog around the house would be the perfect friend for our little Sydney.

We met River (she was only known as "Dog" at her foster home) about a week and a half ago. She was so sweet to us, and Sydney seemed to sniff her with approval. We picked up River just this past Wednesday.

To say that the past four days have been a breeze would be a lie. I naively thought Sydney and River would instantly be best friends and would lay around together, nap together, play together and be by each other side 24/7. But it's taking some adjustment. River has just been through a big change. She was out of sorts when we brought her home on Wednesday, and Sydney's hyper nature didn't help. But fortunately Jason and I have had four days off from work to be at home with the dogs and help River get settled in. Sydney and River have had a couple spats. But with each passing day, River seems to get a little more comfortable in her new home. And Sydney is learning that everyone - including dogs - need a little personal space :)

River was obviously owned by someone and lived in a house or apartment. She knows how to sit and shake, and is pretty well behaved. We took her walking this afternoon around a nearby lake, and she wanted to get out in the water, prompting Jason to mentioned that she has been swimming before. We're not sure if River got lost on her own, or her owners abandoned her. But the fact that her foster mom couldn't find the owner leads me to believe that her owners abandoned her, which makes me very sad. She is a sweet dog, and I hate to think that she had a tough life.

As time goes by, I'm sure that River and Sydney will become best friends and that River will become more comfortable in her "forever home." I can already tell that Sydney kind of looks up to her older (and calmer) sister already. In fact, I'd say that Sydney is pretty happy to have River in our house...

Ratatouille

2008-03-01T18:38:00.002-05:00

For the past few days, I have been in Charlotte, NC for work. Lucky for me my husband was able to come along so I wasn't sitting in the hotel room at night bored and lonely. We had a good time (even though I had to work) and it was a nice break to get away from Cary. But we did really miss our dog Sydney.

However, we had another little furry friend to keep us company. We went to Target on Friday night and bought the Disney Pixar movie Ratatouille and watched it that evening. I must say, I am in love with this movie. It is so cute, and who knew that a little rat could be so endearing.

For those of you who haven't seen the movie, I won't give away the entire plot. It's about a headstrong young rat named Remy who lives in Paris and wants to become a chef. He's got a great sense of smell and a knack for pairing ingredients to create marvelous dishes, much to the surprise of the humans who are around him. With the help of a boy named Linguini, Remy is able to cook and fulfill his life long dream.

The graphics are amazing, the story is wonderful and the music has a French flare that fits perfectly with the movie. If you are looking for a great movie to watch that will keep you smiling until the end, I highly recommend watching (and purchasing) Ratatouille.

Things I Wish I Knew How To Do

2008-02-19T19:37:00.002-05:00

On my walks with my dog Sydney, I frequently let my mind wander as we go up and down the greenway and throughout our neighborhood. The area I walk Sydney is so nice that I find our hour long walks go by in the blink of an eye.

As Sydney and I hit the trail the other day, I began to think about the things I wish I knew how to do. You know, the things that you wish you had learned growing up, or had time for as an adult, but somehow don't make it into your busy schedule. There are many things I can do, but here are some things I wish I knew how to do:

Play the guitar. That would be awesome! I have often thought how fun it would be to sit outside on my back deck and strum a guitar.

Play the piano. Again, that would be awesome. I've always thought that the piano creates some of the most beautiful music.

Speak another language. Not even something fancy like Russian or Japanese. Spanish would be find. I took French in high school and college, but I can't really speak it (I can read French better than I can speak it).

Do cartwheels. How cool would it be to just be going along your merry way and suddenly bust out a cartwheel? Don't you think that is cool? No? Just me? Ok.

Photographic memory. Now, I realize of all the things I wish I knew how to do, this one I probably cannot learn. It is probably a gift from birth. Oh well. I still wish I had it.

Create recipes. Sure, I can follow a recipe and make dinner, but I would love to have the knowledge to create a recipe or meal from scratch. I guess I need to watch more of The Food Network.

Those are some things that I think would be cool to learn or know how to do. I think there are some other things, but I can't remember them right now. There is one though...

I wish I knew how to get Sydney out of sleeping in my bed at night.

And Then There Were Two

2008-02-07T19:12:00.000-05:00

Today at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, DC, Mitt Romney took his hat out of the ring and halted his race for the presidency. In this stunning turn of events, Romney graciously told his fellow conservatives that he felt it was his duty to bow out now for the sake of the Republican party.

"If I fight on in my campaign, all the way to the convention, I would forestall the launch of a national campaign and make it more likely that Senator Clinton or Obama would win. And in this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign, be a part of aiding a surrender to terror," Romney told the crowd.

I recently threw my support behind Romney after Fred Thompson dropped out of the race last month. Romney was the only true conservative left running for the Republican nomination, and while I didn't support him initially, it became clear to me that I had no other choice but support him, for fear of having John McCain wind up at the nominee. And as I learned more about Romney, I started to really like him and what he stood for.

Now, it seems that McCain will secure the Republican nomination.

I found out that Romney had dropped out of the race when I turned on the news after I got home from work. My first words upon hearing this news (and I'll be completely honest here): "Sh*t. Our country is really screwed now. Who am I suppose to vote for?" I asked my husband. He shook his head in response, as if to echo my very same feelings.

I am not comfortable supporting McCain. And I am certainly not comfortable with the idea of Hillary Clinton or Barak Obama becoming the President of the United States. I'm at a loss. Who the hec am I suppose to vote for?

I don't support McCain because I don't believe he has as his foundation true conservative principles for making political decisions. He is soft on border control, all about global warming, doesn't want to cut taxes and is a career politician. And I don't need to go into the reason why I don't support Clinton or Obama.

I guess I could vote for Ron Paul, but he's a little nutty. I do agree with some of the things he stands for though.

I might write in Fred Thompson. If enough Fred supporters wrote him in on the ballot, that would be a pretty big statement from the true conservatives. Do I see a modern day Federalist party in our future?

As November draws near, I'm sure I'll figure out what the best decision for me is in terms of voting. Every vote matters, and I certainly want mine to count for something. Stay tuned.

State of the Blog Address

2008-02-06T21:09:00.000-05:00

Tonight I shall put forth my first State of the Blog Address. To my readers (all three of you) I appreciate your time in reading my blog. To my fellow bloggers, I applaud the dialogue you initate every day, and I am proud to be a part of the collective blogging voice.

The State of A Coffee To Go is strong. Though I have yet to faithly make a post every single day, I am striving towards this goal!

There is a good variety of content posted on A Coffee To Go. I make no atempt at hiding the fact that I am a Conservative, and thus my views are from the Conservative view point. But I believe if you regularly read my blog, you'll discover the variety of topics that I like to cover: politics, current events, Hollywood gossip, on-going daily events and activities, personal stories and anecdotes about myself, my husband and my dog, and occassionally a fun picture or two!

A Coffee To Go needs more comments. C'mon folks! I know you're out there! Make a comment! I'll love you for it...

A Coffee To Go is on the go indeed! Since beginning this blog back in September, I have traveled several times to Charlotte for a wedding and for work, accepted a new position at my current place of employement that will allow for even more travel, and I recently returned from Las Vegas, NV where I attended a conference for work. Next week I am traveling to Greensboro for work, and then I head off to Charlotte again at the end of the month for yet another work program (I'm in program planning now. What type of programs you ask? They are of the legal nature).

A Coffee To Go is routinely caffinated at the appropriate level. I start every day with a cup of joe (either from casa de Melanie or casa de Starbucks). This has been especially crucial since accepting my new position last month and I have been going into work earlier.

Overall, things are well in A Coffee To Go world. I hope that you will choose to continue reading this blog and I welcome your feedback and comments.

This State of the Blog Address was brought to you in part by Starbucks.

Super Tuesday, Super Right

2008-02-05T21:11:00.000-05:00

Since North Carolina is not part of the Super Tuesday primaries (ours is May 6), I have the luxury of kicking back on my couch and watching Fox News digest the results of the primaries. I'm continually amazed by how every aspect of the presidential race is analyzed under the media microscope. I'm almost waiting for the news to report the blood type of each candidate and the name of their sixth grade teacher. It's facsinating to watch - I dare say that I am becoming a news and political junkie. And I'm sure my addiction will only grow as we draw nearer to November.

And speaking of sixth grade teachers, indulge me if you will by dreadging up in your mind your sixth grade history class. Women were given the right to vote in this county by the 19th Ammendment which was ratified on August 18, 1920 (remember when we studied the Constitution?). The above picture shows three women voting - a momumental occurance in our country's history. Can you imagine the passion these women had? To picket in the streets, to rally behind their cause, to fight for what they believed in.

If only people today had that same passion to vote. If only people today realized the weight of their decision, and that in fact, every vote does matter. The right to vote is powerful, yet the realization of this power seems to fade in the minds of Americans when the political races come to an end. We select our candidate, they are sworn in, and we go back to our every day routines. But if you think the picture above is a powerful one, consider the picture below:

Pretty amazing, don't you think?

“Iraqis are taking control of their country. They are building a free nation that can govern itself, sustain itself, and defend itself.”
President George W. Bush

Oops, She Did It Again

2008-02-04T21:47:00.000-05:00

Today, Hillary Clinton made a campaign stop at her law school alma mater, Yale University in New Haven, CT, to participate in a round table discussion with a select group of women. It didn't take her too long to turn on the water works, conveniently one day before Super Tuesday.

I have no idea what caused her to "tear up" as she put it. And frankly, I could care less. All I know is that she pulled the very same stunt the day before the New Hampshire primary. And guess what? The water works worked. She won the primary. Now, with the biggest day yet of the presidential race looming - Super Tuesday - Clinton is pulling her stunt yet again. Will crying in public get her sympathy votes? Maybe. Will it change her public perception of being cold and calculating? Perhaps. But not if you are a voter who sees her for what she is - a manipulator in every sense of the word.

The Clintons are a machine. I've even stated before on this blog that I believe that if it were Bill running for president, he would win hands down. But the Clintons are a dangerous machine, one that will wreck havoc on our county and its future. Hillary wants to put in place universal healthcare (read: socialized medicine). If Hillary could abolish the Second Ammendment, she would (taking away American's constitutional rights is NEVER a good thing). Hillary wants amnesty for illegal immigrants (read: she wants to make our borders and country LESS secure and reward people who have broken the law). Hillary will raise taxes to attempt to pay for a multitude of unnecessary goverment programs. Somehow, I seriously doubt that our money will be spent wisely by the government. Hillary will try to turn America into a socialist country, and there are no tears big enough to cover up that fact.

For those of you who read this post, please consider the weight of your vote. Every vote matters. If you have somehow stumbled upon this blog, I beg you, please consider with a heavy heart your decision on November 4th. The future of our country depends on it. Hillary may attempt to cry her way all the way to the top, but it is up to us, the American voter, to stop her.

What Happens In Vegas...

2008-02-03T22:02:00.000-05:00

...are work conferences.

Wait, that's not the saying, is it?

Well, it may not be the saying but that is what happened in Vegas for me. Last week, the husband and I jetted off to Las Vegas. I attended a work conference at the Green Valley Ranch in Henderson, NV. Henderson is about 20 minutes outside of Las Vegas. The hotel/casino was absolutly beautiful, and the view from our room was amazing. The conference that I attended went well. I met a lot of people, learned a lot of things that I'll be able to apply back at my new job, and I came away from it feeling more informed and better able to tackle things back at the office.

But you didn't come here to read about my conference. You came to see pictures from the Vegas. And I must say, I do love the Vegas...

The sitting area of our luxury suite

Our bed

Our amazing view of the Las Vegas strip from our room

The Bellagio
The fountain show is amazing, especially at night!

Paris

New York New York

Excalabur

Luxor

MGM Grand
We ate at Emeril's and saw KA, one of the Cirque du Soleil shows.

Jason playing the Star Wars slot machine!

One Degree of Separation

2008-01-23T20:56:00.000-05:00

It's the time of the season...for singing!

Hey Idol fans! Season 7 is in full swing!

But I'm not here to talk about Randy, Paula and Simon. I'm not here to talk about the singing talent, or lack thereof.

I'm here to talk about the one degree of separation that exists between a washer, a dryer and a couple that auditioned for Idol in Charleston, SC.

If you watched tonight's audition show, you may remember a special couple that auditioned together. Unfortunately, they didn't make it to Hollywood but they do have my washer and dryer! The young lady who auditioned works at my office, and one day mentioned to me that she needed a washer and dryer. I happened to have a used set sitting in my brother-in-law's garage. I sold the washer and dryer to her on January 1st, and the rest is history! My washer and dryer currently resides at the residence of an American Idol couple! It might be weird to say, but I feel a little proud. From modest beginnings in a home in Winston, the old washer and dryer has found a new home with the American Idol couple. My single connection to Hollywood. I may never look at a washer and dryer the same way again.

A Life Unfinished

2008-01-22T21:16:00.000-05:00

Heath Ledger
1979-2008

I've always thought Heath Ledger was a pretty good actor. I've seen several of his movies, the latest one being Brokeback Mountain. This was a difficult movie for me to watch, but nonetheless, I was completely astounded by the acting ability of Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal. I don't think there was any doubt in the minds of the American movie consumer that Heath was bound for even greater stardom than he already possessed. And Hollywood seemed to embrace the talent of Heath and place him in really good films. His was a career that seemed to have no ending, no limit. A life that was bound to be good, plentiful, and creative.

A life unfinished.

Celebrities die every year. What resonates with me about Heath's death is how completely unexpected it was. We all thought Britney or Lindsay would be found face down in an apartment with pills strewn about the floor. Not someone seemingly as solid as Heath Ledger. What strikes me even more about this tragedy is that Heath died at age 28. I'm 27 and my husband is 28. I can't imagine life being over now, after only 28 short years of living. How quickly time passes and how abruptly life can end.

Reports are floating back and forth on the Internet detailing the day's events and whether or not Heath's death was a suicide or accidental overdose. Whatever the cause, it's such a sad story, with the same tragic ending. There was so much more life left to live. And all that remains is a daughter without a dad, a family without a son, and a stunned community of fans and supporters without any answers.

“I'm not good at future planning. I don't plan at all. I don't know what I'm doing tomorrow. I don't have a day planner and I don't have a diary. I completely live in the now, not in the past, not in the future.” - Heath Ledger

Battle For The Party

2008-01-20T18:40:00.000-05:00

Hey South Carolina: Vote for Fred!

2008-01-19T16:47:00.000-05:00

With Nevada already decided (Hillary and Mitt), the South Carolina primary is next up to bat. Voting ends in about two hours, and I'm pulling for Fred! He needs this win to really boost his standing as a presidential candidate. Having been declared the winner of the most recent Republican debate, Fred can use a win in South Carolina to even further push him towards the Republican Party nomination. It's a close race no matter which way you slice it, but I hope that South Carolinians will brave the cold, rainy weather and head to the polls. The future of our country depends on it!

Showdown in New Hampshire

2008-01-08T21:01:00.000-05:00

I just tuned in to the results of the New Hampshire primary and was surprised to learn that Hillary Clinton is leading Barack Obama. They have called the Republican primary for John McCain, but haven't called it for Hillary yet. It will be quite a story if Hillary wins, since all the polls showed her coming in second or third place (shows how much polls really matter, right?).

The race to the White House continues to prove to be very interesting. Nothing is set in stone. No poll results are for certain. It is still anyone's game. It will be a wild wide until November!

Showdown in Iowa

2008-01-03T20:32:00.000-05:00

Tonight is the night that our presidential candidates have been waiting for! They have been campaigning hard, with many sleepless nights, and the media has been playing up the Iowa Caucuses for many many months.

We've got Fox News tuned in, and I'll be notating some interesting factoids that I hear as the night progresses.

8:39pm

Republican results (2% reporting)
1. Huckabee
2. Romney
3. Thompson
4. McCain

Democratic results (11% reporting)
1. Edwards
2. Clinton
3. Obama
4. Richardson

*46% of Huckabee supporters also state that they are evangelical Christians.

*Poll questions: Top quality that you look for in a presidential candidate? A candidate who shares my same values.

*As of 8am this morning, Edwards had been campaigning for 36 hours straight.

8:56pm
Iowa Caucuses already reporting that Mike Huckabee is the winner for the Republicans.

9:01pm
Ron Paul is ahead of Giuliani - Ron Paul at 11%, Rudy Giuliani at 4%

9:03pm
Obama has taken the lead away from Edwards

*Blogs are a strong force now in politics!

*Voting swapping and deal making is occurring on the Democratic side. Iowapolitics.com and Realclearblogs.com has picked up this story. All campaigns have denied vote swapping story; although campaign workers who may have been encouraging vote swapping among Iowa voters more than likely already have a seat in the candidate's presidential office should that candidate win the presidency.

*There is a strong segment in the Obama and Edwards camp that is an anti-Clinton vote.

*Ed Rollins is Huckabee's campaign chairman. Rollins ran Ronald Reagan's campaign and was very involved with Reagan's White House.

*Ed Rollins use to be a boxer! Look out!

9:24pm
Obama is still in the lead at 35% with 72% reporting.

9:28pm
Iowa Caucuses are reporting Obama as the Democratic winner.

9:28pm
Iowa Caucuses still declaring Huckabee as the Republican winner.

Santa Baby

2007-12-29T19:20:00.000-05:00

After a whirlwind Christmas "break", the husband and I are now finally settling back into reality. We visited friends and family over the holidays, and Santa was very good to us indeed. One of my gifts was a brand new digital camera given to me by my husband! Look below to view some of my handywork over the holidays.

Jason's grandmother and her Peek-A-Poo dog Maggie.

Maggie enjoying the Christmas rawhide bone we gave her for Christmas (she was very protective of her new bone).

Our 2007 Christmas tree.

Sydney enjoying her Christmas rawhide bone.

Time Disappoints

2007-12-19T20:00:00.000-05:00

Sigh...If you read this blog on a regular basis, you probably know how I felt when I saw the cover of Time magazine.

I was literally stunned when I saw that Time had chosen Vladimir Putin as man of the year. Our relations are not really good with Russia at the moment and Time - an AMERICAN magazine - chose to put Putin on its cover and declare him man of the year.

Time states that Putin has stabilized the Russian government and taken strides to make it a strong country. Of course the magazine doesn't go into exactly how Putin accomplished all this - by imprisoning and poisoning dissenters of the Russian government and Putin's policies. And Russia is against sanctions against Iran that would disclose their nuclear weapons program. And on that note, there is no way that I believe for one second that Iran does not have a nuclear weapons program. So, lets see...Putin's tactics would get him arrested in America AND his government is in cahoots with Iran. Yes, I think that is the absolute most perfect reason to name him man of the year. Thanks, Time, for showcasing this upstanding world leader. Maybe next year you can choose Hugo Chavez as man of the year.

What about a true man of the year? One that has actually done some good? What about Moses Mathis of Fayetteville, NC who gave away 700 bicycles today to children of need in Cumberland County, NC. And he has been doing this for the past 16 years. What about LaDainian Tomlinson of the San Diego Chargers, who is 28 and spends his time off the field coaching youth football camps, handing out toys to inner city children and telling kids to work hard - it pays off. What about honoring Dustin Jerome Lee and his German Shepperd Lex, the 20 year old Marine who was killed in Iraq, and Lex (himself injured) stayed by Lee's side as he lay dying. Lex today was adopted by Lee's family even though Lex still had two years left of service. What about a school teacher, an animal rescue worker or a nurse? What about one of the Virginia Tech student who tried to save other students during April's massacre.

There are so many OTHER men and women of the year that Time could have chosen. So many other real, and deserving people that could have been on the cover, or at least named in the magazine. But these are the unsung heroes, the ones that you don't hear about because Time is too busy profiling people like Putin. While I am thoroughly disappointed in the magazine's choice, I'm not surprised. A runner up was Al Gore. And the other week Barbara Walters declared Hugo Chavez as one of the most fascinating people. It's the way our liberal media runs these days - highlighting and idolizing people that should not deserve their accolades. Maybe next year Time will actually profile a deserving person.

Christmas Frazzle

2007-12-17T21:51:00.000-05:00

It's the most wonderful time of the year.

And the busiest time of year. And the coldest (depending on where you live - tonight the temperatures are suppose to get down into the 20's). My husband told me that today was the busiest shipping day of the year for the post office, and Wednesday is suppose to be the busiest delivery day of the year. I'm glad I'm not out driving a brown or white truck in 30 degree weather.

Side note - I just heard on TV that Jessica Simpson may be to blame for Tony Romo's poor performance in yesterday's Eagles v. Cowboys game. Damn you Jessica Simpson and your over sized sunglasses in an indoor stadium and your bleach blond hair! How dare you distract Tony from his game!

We just finished writing, addressing and labeling all of our Christmas cards. We have only done a little Christmas shopping, and we still have no idea where we are going to spend Christmas day. We know that Christmas comes the same time each year, yet every year it's a rush to get everything done! But, that is part of the charm of the season (in my opinion). I do love the holiday hustle and bustle.

Speaking of bustle, my husband picked up my wedding dress the other day from being preserved. It's in a box, with one side of the box having a clear plastic window so that one can gaze upon the dress. Except the dress is stuffed and formed in such a way that the bodice of the dress looks like it is being worn by someone. So, it's kind of creepy looking. Kind of like looking at a body. My husband and I only looked at the dress briefly, because it kind of weirded us out.

Needless to say, we are on the go everyday and Christmas is only getting closer with every passing minute! I'm hoping that come January, North Carolina will see some snow and we'll have a couple snow days to relax in the comfort of our home.

BFFs: Presidential Candidates and Hollywood Stars

2007-12-09T10:24:00.000-05:00

If you have been keeping up with the news at all regarding the presidential race, you'll notice that most of the presidential candidates have some heavy hitters backing them up. And these heavy hitters aren't just other politicians; they are Hollywood heavy weights who are putting their money and their name behind the candidate they believe in.

Since the days of Frank Sinatra and John Kennedy, Hollywood and Washington have been close friends despite the geographic distance. Money, power and fame go hand-in-hand with being a movie star and a political star. Hollywood actors and actresses who become stars want more influence, credibility and name recognition outside of the movie business. Political figures are drawn to the glitz and glam of Hollywood and the sex appeal of being associated with a hot actor or actress. It is only natural that these two worlds have collided on so many occasions.

Barack Obama has Oprah Winfrey. Oprah has been supporting Barack for quite some time now, having Barack and his wife Michelle on her show at least a couple times. Oprah has even hit the campaign trail with Barack, giving speeches on why she believes that Barack is good for our country. I find it not surprising that Oprah chose to support a Democrat and the only candidate that is African American. It almost makes me tune this duo out completely. Now, if she had chosen to back Edwards or Richardson, I might have said to myself, "What? Interesting. I wonder why" and then I probably would have tuned in to her show. To me, she chose the obvious candidate to support, and thus I really don't give any credibility to her decision.

Hillary has Barbara Streisand. And Bill Clinton. Let me first address Bill, who is a political rock star in his own right. As much as I am NOT a Democrat and don't support Bill or Hillary, I can't deny the fact that Bill is the "come-back kid" and is a super star in American politics. I am convinced that Bill could run for president now and destroy all the other candidates, including his wife. The public loves Bill, and this bodes well for Hillary. And Barbara Streisand has been longtime friends of the Clintons for years. Babs is an icon in American music, and she is going to belt out her support of Hillary all the way until November.

Mike Huckabee has Chuck Norris. Now, I like me some Mike Huckabee. He is a good, Christian man who I think has the best interest of the American people at heart. Although the more I learn about his political stances on important issues, I'm not quite so sure his politics are in line with true conservative principles. But that is another post for another day. Mike has Chuck. If you are a YouTube connoisseur, you'll see the ads featuring the duo, and I think they are great! And Mike is smart. Chuck is a super star on the Internet, and we all know what group is savvy with the Internet - the coveted 18-34 year olds, the group who doesn't have a very high voting percentage but a group who is desirable nonetheless.

Check out other Hollywood heavy weights supporting presidential candidates. You'll instantly notice that the Dems have a lot of stars backing them up. Not surprising. Hollywood is so liberal and out of touch with reality, it makes sense that they throw their weight to the Democratic party. (list courtesy of TheHill.com):

Clinton
Candice Bergen
Christie Brinkley
Chevy Chase
Hugh Hefner
Christine Lahti
Barry Manilow
Marla Maples
Rosie O’Donnell
Jerry Springer
Barbra Streisand

Obama
Jennifer Aniston
Jackson Browne
Morgan Freeman
Tom Hanks
Dennis Haysbert
Tobey Maguire
Barry Manilow
Branford Marsalis
Eddie Murphy
Ed Norton
Ben Stiller
Gene Wilder
Edie Brickell
Michael Douglas
Steve Martin
Lorne Michaels
Paul Newman
Elisabeth Shue
Paul Simon
Joanne Woodward
Edwards
Larry David
Seth Green
Don Henley

Kucinich
Mark Ruffalo

Richardson
Michael Douglas
Rosie O’Donnell
Rob Reiner

Giuliani
Kelsey Grammer
John O’Hurley
Adam Sandler
Ben Stein

Who Are You Like?

2007-12-05T10:53:00.000-05:00

Take this quiz to see which presidential candidate your views are most aligned with.

Candidate Quiz

My result? Tom Tancredo

Hollywood Writers Beware

2007-11-30T10:07:00.000-05:00

Last night as I was laying in bed trying to keep warm and trying to fall asleep, my husband and I flipped on The Tonight Show. With the Writer's Guild strike in full swing, we expected yet another re-run. What we didn't expect was a re-run from 1995. Jay Leno's hair was black. The jokes of choice were about the OJ Simpson trial...remember, the one about the murder, not about breaking into the Las Vegas casino. And the first guest was Jennifer Anniston from the "hot new NBC series Friends."

Wow. I expected a re-run, but NBC really out did themselves. I mean, they didn't just run re-run, they ran a "I can't believe Jay Leno ever had any other hair color other than gray and wow Jennifer Anniston's nose looks big and I can't believe we ever thought that outfit she was wearing was in style - cool scrunchie - and man the economy is great - go President Clinton!"

I wonder what will appear next on the air? Could this be the beginning of a new era in television - classic TV all day, every day? Could prime time showings of Saved by the Bell and Hanging With Mr. Cooper be next? Will Johnny Carson be hosting The Tonight Show this evening? Will I be able to watch classic episodes of Law & Order on regular network television and who the hec shot JR?!

Maybe the writers should be worried. Maybe American television viewers will say "good riddance to all your new hot shows, you spoiled Hollywood writers!" and hold out for Perfect Strangers, LA Law and Life Goes On to appear in prime time. Hollywood writer, I'd watch your back if I were you. You may be withholding your wit and quips right now, but DJ Tanner, Zack Morris, Doogie Howser and Paul Buchman might just have the last laugh.

Merry Christmas and God Bless Us All

2007-11-29T22:44:00.000-05:00

The Christmas season is upon us, and I for one could not be happier. I love this time of year. It's cold, there is a hustle and bustle in the air that I thrive off of and friends and family come together again. I always hope for a white Christmas, though I am usually disappointed in that regard. Holiday parties are almost every weekend and all the stores are decorated for the season.

However there is one thing I don't really like about this time of year. The fact that we feel that we can no longer say "Merry Christmas." Rather, we have given way to saying "Happy Holidays" and "Seasons Greetings." These two terms are used so often, found in so many greeting cards, that I fear most people don't even give it a second thought. I fear that Christmas, the time to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, has become another commercialized holiday.

Now, I'm not going to get into a discussion about how Toys-R-Us and Hallmark have captured this holiday (and honestly, Hallmark really holds captive Valentine's Day more than Christmas anyway). People forget. Or they are of a different mind set or belief to think about or understand the real meaning of Christmas. "Christ's mass", as I once heard a minister break down the word, is the time when Christians remember the greatest gift ever given to man - the birth of a Savior that would take on all the sin of man, would die on a cross, so that we might have life everlasting.

Life everlasting. Yeah, that is a pretty long time. If you think about the average age of any man or woman, that seems like a long time. Seventy to eighty years of life on this Earth is a long time. But when you consider 70 to 80 years in the span of eternity, it's hardly even a blip on the time line. So, the fact that God sent his only son to Earth for a mere three decades so that we might live forever...wow. That has to make you stop and think about the real meaning of Christmas.

Forget all the political correctness that plagues our society today. Forget all the different political and world views. Forget religion. Yes, that is what I said. Forget religion. Because it's not about having a religion, it's about having a belief, one in God and in Jesus, and walking that faith every day, even when it's hard. Even when life sucks. Because you know what? Your most terrible day here on Earth cannot in anyway compare to the worst day for Jesus. He died on a cross, perhaps one of the most painful and terrible ways to die. And he did it willingly (although not without agony and pleading for mercy) for us so that we could live forever, if only a blip of that time was here on Earth.

Remember the real meaning of Christmas. A Savior was born. Hope was established. Grace was given. All you need to do is just ask for it.

Merry Christmas, and God Bless Us All!

Thanksgiving 2007 - A Success!

2007-11-26T16:43:00.000-05:00

The husband and I made it through our first Thanksgiving as the host, and I must say that everything turned out really well! We had more than enough food and plenty of conversation. As always, I learned a few things this past Thanksgiving that I believe helped make our holiday a successful one.

I learned that five burners is better than four when cooking a Thanksgiving meal:

A fried turkey tastes really good AND doesn't take up valuable oven space:

A nicely decorated table makes the food taste better (but costs a small fortune at Bed Bath and Beyond):

Prep work is KEY to planning a Thanksgiving meal (beginning the night before and continuing early the next morning):

We were pretty happy with how our meal turned out. We planned accordingly, and didn't skip a beat on Turkey Day. With our first Thanksgiving meal under our belt, I think we are just about ready to handle Christmas.

Oh, I also learned that my dog is very shiny in pictures:

For The Holidays You Can't Beat Home Sweet Home

2007-11-19T12:46:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving is almost here, and the husband and I are preparing to have family come to our home for the holiday. This will be our second Thanksgiving together as man and wife, and our first time hosting the holiday. I am really excited about preparing a traditional Thanksgiving meal. We have a full menu that will ensure plenty of leftovers. We have folks traveling in from out of town. We have a brand new stove and microwave that is (almost) ready to be used (we're still in the process of installing the new stove).

Our to-do list is long. Last night I worked on perfecting the guest bed, having bought a new bedspread, shams and bed skirt to accompany my new snow flake sheets. Actually, I HAD to buy a new bedspread, shams and bed skirt because last week Sydney decided to eat my old bedspread and bed skirt. Jason worked on installing our new microwave, hooking the stove up to the gas line and working on a bunch of stuff in our office. I bought new table linens and made name cards, and tonight we will venture out to the grocery store to purchase all the food needed for the big day. I'm taking Wednesday off so I can clean the house and make pies. And while my whole family can't join us on Thursday, I'm looking forward to spending time with the in-laws and my brother, and celebrating Thanksgiving in our home.

Things I've Gained My First Year Of Marriage

2007-11-16T10:52:00.000-05:00

Now that Jason and I have successfully made it through our freshman year of marriage, I feel as though I have learned a lot these past 12 plus months. With marriage comes many things - happiness, joy, companionship, comfort. Below are some things I have gained since becoming a "wife creature":

Patience
Living with another person can test your patience. It is hard, don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Of course I wouldn't trade being married for anything in the world, but I have had to learn to become more patient (as I know Jason has too). Someone taking too long in the bathroom? Just shrug it off and let them be. Are there clothes strewn about in an otherwise clean bedroom? Pick them up, hang them in the closet, and move on. Does it take a little longer to decide on how to decorate a room, or what dishes to buy because you have to discuss the issue? You're discussing it so that you will both agree and be happy. Trust me, a little patience can go a long way.

Wisdom
In addition to learning patience, I really believe marriage makes you smarter. After all, you always have someone there to talk with about the issues of the day, what's going on in the news, and can you explain what a first down in football means again? Of course, I wonder if you actually have to marry someone smart to become smarter yourself as a married person? I mean, I see stupid people all the time who are married, usually driving recklessly through the Wal-Mart parking lot, only to emerge from their beat-up van with four dirty kids and a pack of Virginia Slims in hand. But that is neither here nor there. I definitely know that marrying Jason has made me more aware of this world, if not smarter about it.

Stuff
Oh my God. Your stuff, his stuff, the stuff you get from the wedding and the stuff that is handed down to you. It's freakin' everywhere! You bring your boxes and boxes and boxes of books, he brings his boxes and boxes and boxes of computer accessories. You have a lot of shoes? He has a lot of ties. And shirts. And shorts. You have little knick-knacks and decorations, and pictures of your college gal pals? He has the xbox, the Nintendo, the game cube and the Wii. And then there is all the stuff you registered for. And didn't register for. Like the silver tray you received...twice. And the strange candy dishes that relatives gave you (that I have actually come to love and really enjoy, especially with Dove mini chocolates in them). All this stuff leads me directly into the next thing you gain your first year of marriage...

A New House
To contain all the aforementioned stuff, the married couple must purchase a new, preferably bigger, home. We did. We bought our current home in January, and filled it quickly with all of our stuff. We were bursting at the seams in our old house (which I loved) and now we have room to breathe and enjoy all the stuff we brought into the marriage and acquired from our wedding.

Weight
Yes...weight. I can't speak for my husband, but I am victim to the marriage freshman fifteen. I realized this a couple months ago when my fat jeans no longer fit me. After stepping on a scale for the first time during my freshman year of marriage, I discovered that I had gained about 11 pounds. Argh! I'm currently doing something about it, and please to report that the 11 pounds are gone (and then some).

I have several theories as to why a married person gains weight. Married people don't eat cereal for dinner, as singletons do. Married people have less time to go to the gym. Married people are comfortable, and thus less likely to try and maintain the elusive abs of steel because they have already secured their mate. (Although I still try to look good for my husband, and I know my husband tries to look good for me. I think that is something we'll always strive to do).

Understanding
Standing right up there with patience, I have gained understanding whilst being a wife. You know the old saying, "You don't know someone until you live with them"? Well, you don't know someone until you are married to them. Being married to Jason, I've come to understand him more as a man and as a husband. I'm even amazed when I learn something new about him, even after all this time of dating, engagement and marriage. I think this processes is continual. As the years go on, Jason and I will only learn more about each other, become more understanding of one another, and ultimately our love will grow even deeper.

So there you have it. Lessons in life and love that I have gained by taking the plunge and moving into the "married" category on my tax forms. I love marriage and I highly recommend it. Just watch what you eat, have a few extra clothes hangers on hand, and by all means, don't be afraid to return doubles of items you receive from your wedding (lest you want to end up buying a bigger house).

Move Over Courier and Ives...

2007-11-13T20:52:00.000-05:00

...Christmas comes to Cary! This past Saturday morning, I got up early and ventured out to Target to run some errands. Most Saturday mornings I sleep in. But I decided to take advantage of the crisp fall air and go out and about in the morning.

On my way to Target, I stopped by my local Starbucks and picked up my grande soy latte. Christmas was in full swing at the 'Bucks, and I was quickly overcome with the intoxicating mix of "The Christmas Song" by Nat King Cole and caffinated coffee aromas wafting from the coffee bar. Mmmm...I should work there.

When I hopped back in the car to continue on to Target, I discovered that one of the local radio stations is playing Christmas music too! Now, I am ALL about some Christmas and holiday cheer, but thought to myself that it was a little too early to hear "Please Come Home For Christmas" by the Eagles. However, already high on Christmas from Starbucks, I shrugged this "it's too early" nonsense off and decided to embrace the Christmas music. After all, Thanksgiving is next week and that is the real kickoff to Christmas.

By the time I arrived at Target, I was fully caffinated and singing right along with Burl Ives on the radio. Burl! You're a classic! When I pulled into the parking lot, I found myself surrounded by two dozen geese! There is a pond near the shopping center next to Target, and I guess the geese were making their way over to it! I had to proceed cautiously to my parking space, as many of the geese were walking right into the road. The geese were so cute, and I couldn't help but feel as though I were in a Courier and Ives Christmas card (minus the snow, the Christmas tree, the ornaments, and more. Oh well. I was still in my Starbucks induced Christmas stupor).

I ran my errands quickly (it's amazing how quiet Target is at 9:30 am). I did make one indulgent purchase (which I completely blame on the intoxicated state I found myself in at Starbucks): brown flannel sheets with light blue snowflakes! Not only are the cute snowflake sheets the colors of our wedding, but they are cute snowflake sheets! Knowing that we were having overnight guests for Thanksgiving, I couldn't help but buy some fun sheets for the guest bed.

After loading up the car with my goodies from Target (yay, sheets!), I made my way back home. I was still in a great holiday mood, although I was quickly brought back to my senses when I heard John Mellencamp's "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" on the radio. That song should NEVER be played on the radio. In fact, I would go so far as to say that the Cougar should have never made a Christmas album in the first place. I guess when they start playing all the crappy Christmas songs on the radio, you know Christmas can't be too far away. Happy Holidays everyone!

Cheers!

Sonny

2007-11-13T12:02:00.000-05:00

Yesterday Sonny left our family. He was a wonderful pet. I miss him terribly. He was always a faithful friend, and constant companion and a very loving animal. I remember bringing home Sonny from the pet store with my mom and brother the summer before I started fifth grade. I was so happy! We finally had a pet! We named him Sonny because of the color of his fur, golden yellow, like the sun (although we probably should have spelled his name "Sunny").

Mom was with Sonny and the vet yesterday when they put him down. It was his time. It's hard for me to believe that he is gone. I've had Sonny the majority of my life. Sonny taught me how to love a pet, and I will always remember that. He was one of my best friends growing up. Although he got into his fair share of trouble - like the year he climbed up the Christmas tree and knocked it down, breaking many ornaments - he was always a good pet.

Sonny, I love you. I know you are in a better place now. I'll never forget you!

Jack Will Not Be Back

2007-11-08T09:45:00.000-05:00

This morning I learned that Fox's "24" will NOT return in January for Day 7 because of the strike by the Writers Guild of America. OK. Now I'm really mad. Take away Desperate Housewives and Dave Letterman. I don't care. But do not take away Jack Bauer. Keifer Sutherland should don his Jack Bauer bullet-proof vest, bomber sunglasses and canvas nap sack, storm the offices of the Writers Guild and demand that they start writing scripts again. After all, he would tell them, the future of the world rests on their shoulders and, dammit, if they don't start writing, the life of the President may be in jeopardy!

Maybe I'm a little too into "24", but with good reason. It is an awesome show. Just when you think the concept of real-time television might get stale, the writers (now former writers) always came up with an awesome plot twist. Now, the twist is that there is no Day 7 awaiting me in January. I understand that especially for a show like 24, (that starts in January and ends in May so that there will be no repeats) it is imperative to have a full season written out before filming starts. And this is why they went ahead and postponed Day 7. But that still does not sit well with me.

I heard somewhere on the radio that television writers have a starting salary of about $200,000. And as my husband pointed out, they are not paid on commission. They are paid for their product, the script, and once they are done writing, then that is the end of that. After all, writers aren't punished monetarily if they write for a television show that doesn't make it. The studio absorbs the costs of sucky shows, not the writers. The worst that happens to a writer is he or she moves on to another show. And if they happen upon a hit show, then kudos to them.

I just hope it ends soon. I don't pretend to understand all the details of the dispute between the writers and the studios. They just better not cancel Grey's Anatomy, or I might have to don the Jack Bauer bullet-proof vest and storm my way into Hollywood and change some minds. After all, the future of the world depends on it.

My First Pet

2007-11-07T11:58:00.000-05:00

This is a close up shot of my first pet, Sonny. Sonny is a yellow tabby cat who is going on 17 plus years. He has been a wonderful pet, and I love him dearly even though he lives in Winston-Salem with my parents.

Sonny is sick. Last night, my mom found him on the couch on his back whithering in pain. She scooped him up, placed him in a laundry basket with towels and drove him to the emergency vet. The doctor said that Sonny had suffered the human equivalent of a stroke. They checked his other vitals, and they were all strong. Sonny is back at home today, and Mom is taking him to the vet later this afternoon. While I am praying for the best, I know that Sonny has lived a long and happy life. Mom is suppose to call me later today to let me know what his regular vet determines about Sonny's condition. Until then, I'm just hoping for the best. I love you Sonny!