Moving on out

Check me out at my new home and please bookmark the new site! I will no longer be updating at this address.

www.the8thgirl.com

Excuses not to exercise

#1 - Blame it on the iPod

I had a dream the other night that I hired a personal assistant. Her first day on the job I asked her to organize my iTunes library. She was so not feeling me at that moment. She looked at me as if I thought I was the female version of Sean Combs. I don't remember if she actually completed the task. I think I woke up before I could find out. Maybe I was frightened by those daggers she was staring into me.

Hubby often comments on my eclectic taste in music. He just doesn't "get" me where music is concerned. I try to explain that I'm just an avid music lover. Plain and simple. I can appreciate all genres; everything from punk rock to classical.

Sometimes this presents a problem for me. Those times when I want to blast my music through the house, like when I'm cleaning or cooking a big meal, I often find myself in a quandry as to what I should listen to. At first I'll be in the mood for some smooth jazz. A few songs later I find myself wanting to dance. Then I have to interrupt whatever it is I'm doing to go scroll and click through until I get to some disco. By this time all I can hope is that the A.D.D. hasn't kicked in and I haven't forgotten what it is I wanted to listen to in the first place.

When it really irks me is on the rare occasions that I decide to exercise. Nothing is more aggrivating than to have to constantly flip through hundreds of songs to get to the one song I feel will keep me motivated to keep going.

I'm convinced my iPod is evil. I'm not saying all iPods are evil. Lord knows I do not have the cash to fight Apple for dissing their product (like my little opinion even counts--it's not like I'm Oprah). I'm saying my iPod is evil. I cannot for the life of me figure out how to organize the darn thing. Yeah, I know I can put every song into neat little playlists, but who has time for that? I tried at first but that evil thing wouldn't cooperate. I'm so far gone now I cannot imagine how I would even begin. I'm sure this is a good "problem" to have, but still.

So there you have it. If I didn't have to constantly look down to skip over Cold Play to get to Prince I would probably be on that elliptical a whole lot more often. Until T.O. becomes my personal trainer - in which case all excuses are out the window - I'll be battling between the forces of good and the evil iPod.

Happy Birthday Baby

My mom finally decided to have "the talk" with me a few days before I left for college. She told me I would be meeting boys who were very different from the kind of boys I was used to dealing with. After all I had basically grown up with the boys I dated in high school, but this would be different. I would not know a thing about them.

I'll never forget how she ended the conversation in which I sat there in sheer embarrassment, melting in my chair like the wicked witch from The Wizard of Oz. She said to especially stay away from those big city boys from places like Detroit, Chicago and New York.

This is one time I'm glad I didn't listen to my mom. Where would I be if I had not given the Yankee a chance?

Hey Friend!

I've recently connected with some old friends from high school via Facebook. This has been one of the most thrilling things for me in recent memory. Yeah, I lead an exciting life.

Every time I think about how long it's been since I graduated high school, I almost want to cry. Where did the time go? Even sadder is the fact that I haven't seen some of my former classmates since graduation night. It's not that I haven't wanted to keep in touch. Our lives just seemed to move in completely different directions. Most of them went to colleges close to our hometown. I wanted to get as far away as possible. I didn't get as far as I would have liked, but I was one of only 2 from my class (that I know of) who came up to the "big city." I wanted to meet new people and have new experiences. Most of us in my graduating class had been together since kindergarten. I felt as if I would never broaden my horizons if I continued to ride along with them into the next phase of our lives.

When I got to the city I met people from all over the country, as well as other parts of the world. I guess I got so caught up with the "newness", I let myself forget about the friends I had always known and who really knew me. I got married, made even more friends and got even more caught up.

I've made some great new friends along the way, but nothing beats having people around you who've been there with you through all the crazy phases of your life. From kicking each other out of the sand box on the playground to the awkward adolescent stage to the wild and crazy teen years. We were always there for each other and always had each others backs. We promised to stay friends and keep in touch after graduation. Next thing you know we're about to celebrate a 20 year reunion and it will likely be the first time some of us have seen each other since that last crazy night when we turned our tassels and threw our caps up in the air.

Thankfully Facebook is bringing us back together and hopefully we can reconnect in real life soon. While I'm truly grateful for the wonderful new friends I've made, I'm equally grateful that after all this time I can send a request to a long lost buddy and have her embrace me with all the enthusiasm she had 18 years ago she when wrote "you'll always be my girl" in my memory book.

Country Bumpkin

I took a "How country are you" quiz on Facebook today. According to the results, I'm 75% country. I have to say, I'm somewhat shocked and maybe even a little disappointed in that score. To be honest, I thought I was way more country than that. Or at least I can relate to being more country.

I know to some it might seem a little strange that I aspire to be associated with the barefoot, overalls wearing, watermelon eating, beer cans stacked up on the front porch crew. Well, that would be strange. Mind you, I'm not saying anything is wrong with that at all. It's just that I'm more in tune with the everybody knows everybody, leave your doors unlocked, sit in the rocker on the front porch and wave at everyone who drives by the house crew. Hey, I still do that last part now. I guess that makes me country chic?

I love being from a town with only one traffic light and where every major store and every point of interest sits in an exact circle. Living in the big city has it merits, but nothing compares to being able to walk outside and literally smell the fragrance from the trees instead of car exhaust. It's a wonderful thing to be able to actually hear the birds chirping without them being drowned out by police and ambulance sirens.

My mom complained to me a while back that her water bill was too high because she had been watering her flowers every day. I was puzzled because my bill never gets higher than about $40. I asked her why would her bill was so high just because she was using a little more water? As she went on and on I thought something had to be wrong. How could the little small town I hold so true to my heart be jerking my mom on her water bill? Finally, it dawned on me to ask her the amount of her bill. She said it was $17. I digress.

Bite Me

I'm a scaredy cat. I'm probably one of the scariest people I know. I quickly flip the channel every time a commercial for a scary movie comes on. I don't like pulling up next to white vans. I wouldn't leave the house on Halloween if I could help it. I would beat Usain Bolt running from a dog. Hey, it is what it is. I don't ask much of my loved ones. Just respect my fear.

With all that being said, why am I so inexplicably addicted to a TV series about vampires? True Blood is truly in my blood now. Sunday night is a complete waste if I haven't watched the latest episode. Sometimes I watch it twice; just because I think I might have missed something the first time around.

I blame one of my dearest friends (thanks Fred) for getting me hooked in the first place. He was after me for months to watch it. I finally caved in and sat down to watch a recap episode of the first series. Thanks to On Demand, I finally pried myself off the couch about 4 hours and 3 episodes later. It took me less than a week to watch the whole first season. Of course I did dream about Bill that first night. I still do occasionally. Scary guy when he gets upset. Otherwise he's a cream puff.

True Blood is unequivocally the best show on TV right now. It's not really "all that scary" (sure Fred). It might have you looking over your shoulder occasionally though. It's just about the most well-written, impeccably directed and incredibly thought provoking show on television. True Blood is also pure entertainment. So those who don't believe in vampires need not worry. You won't feel like your faith is in jeopardy by watching.

If you haven't checked it out, you absolutely must. There are only 3 episodes left--which I'm completely depressed about. Go rent or buy the first season ASAP. All of the episodes from the second season so far are On Demand. If you don't have On Demand, well, that sucks. No pun intended.

NO kidding

"When are you going to have kids?"

"Why don't you have kids?"

"What are you waiting on to have kids?"

Either hubby or myself is asked at least one of these questions every time we meet someone for the first time or talk to someone we haven't seen or spoken to in a long time. What's the deal? Why is everyone obsessed with us having kids? Do we not fit into some kind of ideal family unit?

Personally, I'd like to think my mother already took care of my part in populating this great planet of ours. After all, she had 12. Thanks, mom! I haven't ruled it out yet. I just haven't grown up enough. Or more like, mother nature isn't convinced that I have.

Anyone who knows me knows I do things at my own pace in my own way. Never been a follower. I hate taking directions and I HATE to be told what to do. So either I'll pull a Octomom or hubby and I will be admitting each other into the nursing home when there's no one else around to take care of us.

In the meantime, I have plenty of nieces, nephews, godchildren and friends' kids to practice on.

Are you ready for this jelly?

I've discovered a new product. It's jelly. Or as we say in the south, grease. But not just any old jelly. It's petroleum free jelly. Apparently there are some theories out there that would have you to believe petroleum causes cancer. In my small amount of research (I Googled a little), I have yet to come up with any valid evidence. However, I let the nice saleslady at Carol's Daughter convince me that I really, really needed this $13 jar of jelly. Never mind that I've been using the good ole Vaseline kind my whole life. Nope, I should throw that stuff out and start using this 100%, all-natural good stuff.

So far, so good. The jury is still out. I'll run through this jar and see if the big bucks (compared to only a couple for the other stuff) is worth it.

Back on the block

Wow. Really? I can't believe it's been so long since I've posted. I've always thought it to sound so cliche when others say it, but life really does get in the way.

That one post is hilarious now looking back. For one, I did not buy those sandals. Once I saw them in the store, I was less than thrilled. I did receive the purse, after 30 days of it being on backorder. When it finally arrived, it looked to be more suitable for a carry on bag for a long weekend trip than an everyday handbag. I've always been a big purse kind of girl, but after years of doing damage to my back and shoulders trying to carry my whole life around with me, I've had to scale it down. So in less than 5 minutes it was back in the box and on it's way to the post office. I had to literally go off on the customer service lady at the company to get my money back but that's a whole other story. Another day, another time.

Spring came and went, the summer is here and almost over and I'm anticipating Fall. With Fall will come one major change in my life, career wise, but I'm looking forward to it. It's way past time for me to get out of customer service hell.

This involuntary career change has prompted me to really start writing the book I've always known I should be writing. For real. As in, actually typing the words instead of just thinking them in my head. I know it seems kind of strange that I would start back blogging at the same time that I'm starting to write my book, but there is a method to my madness. And only it's only clear to moi.

So I'm back on the block and trying to stay here. I'm hoping to keep the A.D.D. at bay and make it my biz to get on here and let my voice be heard. Or seen. Whatevs. So stick around, come back and feel free to share. I promise it will be worth your while.

Happy Friday!

My favorite day of the week is here--FINALLY! Let's see, what's on the agenda. Hmmm....absolutely nothing! Just going to enjoy the beautiful weather we're expecting. Hopefully we can put the heater on the much anticipated OFF position.

Ready for Spring

After a snow-filled beginning of the month, it's finally starting to feel like Spring! That beautiful, white stuff is a distant memory as the temps are finally starting to climb into spring-like numbers. Now all I want to do is sport a cute top, sandals and capri pants.

I've got my eye on this cute little number here at Macy's. I would really like to get out of my basic black and brown this year.

I think it would go quite nicely with my new purse that should be arriving around the end of the month.



As long as we don't get any more of the white stuff, I'm good!

Welcome to my world!

I was 6 years old in this pic and could not be told that I wasn't already a fully grown woman with my own ideas and opinions. Too bad digi cameras were not around during this time--hence the really bad picture quality. No matter. I still loving looking at it. Things were so, so simple then and I didn't even know it. As the saying goes, "youth is wasted on the young."

When I look at this picture I think of all the names I've been called by my family over the years. Baby girl. Lil’ girl. Baby. Little sister. Those are some of the more endearing ones. Back then I was also called hot mama, spoiled brat and so on. I always observed when certain names were used and by whom.

Actually, I’ve always been an observer. Being the youngest of 12, one can imagine there has been much subject matter at my disposal. I could blog for years about my family alone. Fortunately for them, however, I have many other interests and experiences to share.

As if there aren’t already enough folks out here sharing their lives online, I’ve decided I might as well join the fray. I figure, why not? I’ve become pretty accustomed to being caught up in the masses anyway.

I'm hoping this little blog entertains, informs, inspires, educates...all those things and everything in between. So come on in and as we say in the south, sit and stay for a spell.