The Reunion

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

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

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

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

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

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

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