My favorite things

1. My new favorite blog: Margaret and Helen Helen speaks the truth, better even than my own grandmother, but my Maw Maw doesn't know how to use a computer.

2. My favorite sign at the fair -- I meant to post it earlier. How ridiculously obese are we in this country that we now need signs to warn us that we might get stuck on the Tilt-a-Whirl INDEFINITELY?

3. Getting together with old friends. I got to see some very good friends this past weekend, many of which used to live here but have gone far, far away. It was really really great to catch up, and it felt almost like we were never apart. AWWW!

4. This little lady. She is getting closer to being 2, and it amazes me how much of a blabbermouth she has become in the last few months! She knows my name and talks my head off every time I see her! We are best buddies. And I get to see her on Halloween for what is becoming our annual tradition of drinking beer (me and her mama, the baby's got a few years to go yet!) and handing out candy to the neighborhood kids. I don't have a costume, but I'm thinking of just cutting many holes in a sheet like Charlie Brown.

5. Election Day. It's not always my favorite day of the year, but this year I'm excited about it and ready for it to be over all at the same time. Then maybe do you think we can put all the nonsense behind us and act like civilized Americans again?

BOO!

Doubt that I scared ya. Nonetheless, I am back, at least for a few minutes! My one reader told me I needed to update, so here you go -- lo siento, senorita! I have been extremely busy.

I have always been of the mind that work is just an 8-5, pay-the-bills kind of thing. Not something to take home with me. But in the last month or two, I have really been living and breathing my job. I think the difference is that I really love my job, where in the past it really was just something to help me pay the bills.

In the last month, we had two big fundraisers (a fancy schmancy dinner and a bike tour that almost killed me) and I have had 4 or 5 big programs. Not to mention all the other stuff I do that takes up all my time. And then there's church, and ARF (go vote for them on this site pretty please), and xBF who is doing really awesome right now and therefore I want to spend a lot of time with him, and my friends, and my niece who knows my name now and is my favorite person on earth!

Seriously, I don't want kids of my own right now, but I would keep my niece for quite some time if necessary. She is the best kid. She knows who I am now and is talking so much more. I get to see her this weekend and I cannot wait! She always asks where Sally is, so she associates me with my dog. Which is either a good or a bad thing.

I am dieting now, as best as I can without succumbing to the Weight Watchers meetings. I've been doing okay with the diet, but I need to exercise more. Since I've been so busy and the weather and sunlight has changed, Sally and I have not been getting up to run in the mornings. I need to reevaluate my schedule and figure out when I can fit in physical activity along with everydamnthing else. I wouldn't care as much if I am a few pounds overweight if I could still fit into my pants. But the fact is, I can't. The sad thing is, I've only put on a little over 10 pounds. But those 10 pounds are all hanging out around my mid-section, laughing at me as I try to squeeze into last winter's dress pants.

My friend R. is working on this 101 goals in 1001 days thing. I am planning to do the same, but I haven't finished the list yet. I'm such a slacker! Next post I will have it done, I promise.

I leave you with this video (prepare to laugh your ass off)

Home is Where Good Food Is

I have been a "road warrior" the last week and a half, and I don't use that term often because I hate it almost as much as I hate the word "synergy." But since I was traveling for business, it seems appropriate.

I drove to Tupelo last Thursday, drove back Friday, had a nice weekend at home, then got up Monday and drove to Philadelphia*, MS, and was there for a few days. THEN I got to spend one night at home before hopping in another rental and driving to Gulfport! For those of you unfamiliar with Mississippi geography, check a map -- that's a shitload of driving! I don't see how truckers do it, really.

It was my own fault, all this travel. I scheduled too many things all squished up next to one another. Next time I will know better. But I do feel like I got a lot accomplished, a lot of butts kicked and names taken.

*Speaking of Philadelphia, while I was out of town I caught the new FX show "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" -- HILARIOUS. My new favorite show. Apparently it's already into its 3rd or 4th season, I don't know where I have been. But that show cracks me up. Danny DeVito's character is like Carl from Aqua Teen Hunger Force come to life. ATHF being one of my other all-time favorite shows. My sense of humor will never grow up!

I am feeling a lot of uncertainty in my life right now. I am finding that the best way to deal with it is to ignore it and keep busy as much as possible. But I have a feeling that it will eventually come crashing down on me, so I'm just trying to figure out how I will deal with it once that happens. The basic run-down is this: I'm confused about my relationship with xBF, depressed that it isn't working out the way I wanted it to, I'm unhappy with my living situation but don't have the means by which to lift myself out of it. I'm at least 15 lbs. overweight and getting pudgier by the minute, and I feel a bit lost in space because a large number of my friends have moved away over the last few years, leaving my support system looking like a piece of Havarti Swiss. I am finding that I don't have as much in common with some friends as I used to, while others that I do have things in common with keep moving away. There are still many cool people here in Jackson, I am glad to say, but I just feel like I'm having to start all over in a way. I don't have that comfort zone I once had with my group of 10-15 girls. Now it's like I have these friends over here, and those couple of friends over there, but it's hard to bring them all together.

Maybe I need to throw a party? Oh but wait, I live in a tiny apartment. Wahh. Oh well -- better go find something to do so I don't have to deal with any of this!

Granny's snoring

I feel like I talk about my dog a whole lot, but dammit, she's a pretty interesting creature. Sally is still just a puppy -- 7 months old -- but she has the sleeping habits of an old lady. She goes to bed early, like 9:00 sometimes. And when I say "goes to bed," that often means curling up on the floor here in the living room to sleep, but more often than not she literally clop-clop-clops back to the bedroom and gets into her bed to sleep. By the time I go to bed, usually an hour or two later, she is wayy deep into Level 4 REM sleep, stretched out with her head under my bed and snoring loudly. It's hilarious.

I am just happy she doesn't keep me awake all night with whining or anything. She really is a good dog most of the time. I have to be away from her this week while I'm out of town for work, and I really think I'm going to miss her!

Before I get ahead of myself, I wanted to do a little self-back-patting. I have a new column with the local alt weekly, a monthly deal, and I am pretty proud of it. My first entry is here, and I got a great deal of feedback on it! A few comments on the actual story, and a couple of emails too, including one from someone who had submitted a mix tape to http://www.cassettefrommyex.com/. She encouraged me to submit a tape of my own, and I may just do that if I can find any of the good ones. At the moment I have no idea where all my tapes are. I blame that on moving no less than 8 times in 8 years.

I just finished up this month's column, and I'm pretty happy with it. I'll wait until it's published to post a link and give away the topic. I will say that I have been on a sort of nostalgia kick lately, so that explains a lot. I don't know if it's being in my 30s or what, but the nostalgia just happens. I know people say this all the time, but time really does go by faster the older you get. I look back over the last 10 years, and I'm really not sure where all that time went.

This week is going to be so busy for me. Actually, the next month or so is going to be nonstop madness... even the weekends will be full. I see a massage or two in my future!

Lastly, I have to say that I hope this is the last of the hurricanes for a while. It was sort of fun the first go-round with Gustav, but after Ike I am tired of people freaking out about gas prices, I'm tired of rain, and I'm tired of worrying about where the next one will hit. That's enough for this year mmkay?

White people clapping

So I couldn't stomach much of the Republican National Convention this week, but no matter, because it still got shoved down my throat anyway. I didn't watch Sarah Palin's speech the other night, but I read it. After hearing her voice later on, I have decided to put my closed captioning to good use the next time she gives a speech. That nasally voice has got. to. go.

I keep hearing people say they are scared about the election, and most of the time the people I'm hearing are saying they are scared of Obama being president. But to me, this hockey mom thing is a lot scarier. I could go into a diatribe, but I won't -- suffice to say that I'm not voting for her or McSame. I'm happy to see that a female can get recognition for a slot such as VP, but I am still waiting for the day that a progressive, reliable female candidate becomes President.

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This week I played hostess for a couple of nights. I had some guests on their way back to NOLA after Gustav on Wednesday, and Thursday one of my good buddies who now lives in Portland came to crash before she flew back the next morning. I don't mind having company at all, but I have to admit it's kind of nice to have the place to myself tonight. Sally is crashed out on the floor next to me, I'm drinking some good but inexpensive red wine, I had a nice steak dinner, and Comedy Central loves me. Daily Show--Colbert Report--Chapelle Showx2-- just what I needed after a ridiculously long/short week.

Sally's latest thing (that annoys me) is to dart out the door before I can catch her, and then she runs around the parking lot, eating garbage or whatever. When I get close enough to catch her, she takes off. It's fun for her, embarrassing for me. I see a weekend of obedience training in our future... or I may have to call that doggy dominatrix -- I hear she's living in the US now. She kinda scares me a little.

Comfy and cozy

I know that this hurricane is terrible for so many people. I am glad that it hasn't had quite the same impact as Katrina, and that everyone was so much better prepared. But I have to say that I have enjoyed the comfyness of holing up in the den with the xBF and the dog, watching the Weather Channel, eating and napping. Yes, I said I'm staying with the x-BF, but it's all good, we are friends and sometimes even with benefits. Stone me for that, I don't care... people need people.

Sally and I decided to come crash here yesterday when the weather started looking like it would get worse. We brought all the necessities and then some, but you can never be too prepared, right? It looks rough on the coast, but not total chaos and destruction like 3 years ago. For that I am thankful and glad.

Here we are just getting some rain and wind -- technically Sally and I could probably go on home. But it's not any fun riding out a storm alone, and we're making a mean pot roast tonight, so we're staying put!!

Some highlights from this weekend:

1. I have some friends who think Jim Cantore is hot. I think he is slowly morphing into Beaker from the Muppets. Soon we will tune in to Jim on the coast, clinging to a palm tree, and all he can say is "Meee Meee Meee!! Mememememeeee!!" See?

2. Went to One-to-One studios on Saturday night, for a benefit show so that they can keep on keepin' on. I have to say, I was really impressed! Millsaps Avenue has been an arts center for a while, but only recently has it begun a real revival. It was nice to see the diverse crowd, young (some VERY young, like not finished growing young) and old, white, black, Asian and whatever. Seven*Studioz was bumping as usual just down the street, and other than the sweltering heat, it was a good time. I especially enjoyed Johnny Bertram and Dent May (and his magnficent ukulele was indeed magnificent). I am happy to see Jackson's nightlife continue to grow.

3. Why is it that all the TV marathons on during Labor Day weekend are all my least favorite shows? I don't need to see that many episodes of Star Trek or Project Runway. I'm not sure anyone does.

I think that's about it for now. Back to more of doing nothing for the rest of the day!

Homestawww... Wunnnawwww...

One of my all time, top five favorite cartoons on earth is Homestar Runner. The lovable armless, lisping fellow gets me every time. You should go check him out, and really you need to just watch everything on that site. I have, and I still can't get enough.

I am trying to be like Homestar and become a "Wunnaww" myself. (That's "runner" for you lazy people who won't go hear him say it that way.) I have decided to try this couch-to-5K thing. Allegedly, I can be ready for a 5K in 2 months. I'd like to do the WellsFest 5K, but that's only a month or so from now, so that may not work. But fall is 5K season, so I'm sure there will be another one just around the bend.

Sally has been my running partner since she came to live with me a month or so ago. She has a lot of energy, so it helps for us to get up early (6am, YIKES, Iamnotamorningperson) and walk/run about a mile every day. Unfortunately for Sally, she had to have her lady bits removed last week, so that meant a week of rest time. The first few days were fine, she was out of it anyway, but by the 3rd day or so she was bouncing around the house and looking at me as if to say, "What's the deal? Why aren't we running?"

Finally, she got her stitches out today and we will hit the road in the morning. I have enjoyed sleeping in these last few days -- especially with the wetness from Hurricane Fay -- but my midsection is expanding rapidly, so it's up at 6am and lace up the shoes time again. It is good for me. It will make me skinny and hot. I will keep telling myself this.