marley and me

so on christmas night, my cousin, dena and her boyfriend, scottie, and i went to see marley and me. if anyone has heard of the book, you know that the movie cannot possibly end on a happy note. i mean, don't be shocked or mad if i ruin something for you, you should already know this, but the dog does die at the end of the movie - just like in the book. well, this couple behind us... clearly missed the memo. the man got so mad when the movie clearly changed directions from funny to sad, he started using every word in the book (profanity, cussing, you name it) he was pissed. he kept saying, "this was supposed to be a d@&# comedy!" his girlfriend was crying, and when he saw that, that about sent him through the roof. it was mildly uncomfortable for me, as i was the closest person in the theater to this idiot, but i kept thinking, hopefully he'll get over it. well he didn't get over it, in fact, not so much, that he told his girlfriend to get up and leave with him... he wasn't having it....

i personally believe that he was afraid of getting choked up, so that was his coping mechanism, but to each their own - he peaced out.

so, this is a advance warning, please do not go and see it without knowing the outcome. prepare to cry, as i don't know of one person in that theater that didn't at least shed a tear hear and there. it is such a good movie though.

i cannot wait to see confessions of a shopaholic, he's just not that into you, and some others but those are the two that popped in my head right now.

Merry Christmas everyone!

so, i just wanted to take the time to say merry christmas to everyone. i hope each and everyone of you have a wonderful day. remember the reason for the season - we wouldn't have christmas if it weren't for birth of our savior.

so i have a great story about how special my christmas gifts have been in recent years. two very special things have gotten misplaced or given away over the years - Big Bird's Big Red Book and Mall Madness. Big Bird's Big Red Book was my all time favorite book as a child, and my mother would read it to me all the time, every night. somehow, this book was misplaced over the years, and two years ago, moma had it ordered off of ebay and wrapped up for me for christmas. i have it on my bookshelf in my office at my townhouse. when i have children, i will so read it to him or her - i cannot wait. the other thing was mall madness. when my parent's moved in 2006 to the new house, i did not come home to help with the move. my dad was in my room, and thought he would give away some of my games that were in the top of my closet. when i got home, i realized that he had given away mall madness and dream phone - i was heart broken, crushed to say the least. those were my two favorite games of all time.... i mean, we had changed all the names of the guys in dream phone to guys in our class, how cool would it be to go back and look at that in years to come, just for fun. mall madness however, was the best. i am a shopaholic - that game was the best. i mean, hearing, "there is a sale at the 'chtichen' store" was the best. the recorded was the best. or here is another one, "bank closed." well, this morning, one of my parents under the tree was the original mall madness - my mom ordered it for me off of ebay- i was really excited!!! i cannot wait to make them all play again. the thought that my mom put into this gift means everything to me.

as for giving gifts, i got to give my mom the one thing she wanted this year - with help from my dad - we got to give her a trip to the spa with the ladies from the church. i was stressing thinking that it wasn't going to work out, but in the end, it all did, so she gets to go enjoy her day.

i gave my sister a mug i painted myself, i thought she would really appreciate it a little more, but i'm not so sure she did. i hope she enjoys it while drinking her endless cups of coffee a day. my parents got her a coffee maker, since kevin doesn't have one, and she was so thrilled.... so i think we have her covered.

my friend crystal just called and said that she got her boyfriend dusty a bible with his name on it. he had never gotten a bible before, and he loved it. i think that was such an amazing gift that she could give him - he said he was going to sit there in his new chair massage thing and read his bible - he was so excited!!! i think God has great things in store for them.

i also got a bible cover, an ornament, two books, a 1st home ornament, a stocking full of goodies, and some cash!!! i am so blessed.

something that was very special to me that i got this year was a gift from my cousin austin. i got two painted wood panels from him - he painted them all on his own. i cannot wait to hang them up in my house. i absolutely love special, sentimental, meaningful gifts - they are the best. i have put a picture of the two panels.

boxers or briefs

so my mom has been procrastinating telling me what to get my dad for christmas, as she said she didn't know of anything he needed, and then finally she remembers that he needs underwear - well boxers. she says, he likes the soft, cotton kind - he won't wear any other kind. so i go to the store, and go the men's underwear aisle, and wow at the choices. we all know i would have no experience buying such a thing, so i was a little overwhelmed at all the choices, i mean, does he want the new microfiber feel, boxer briefs that are cotton, or what... not to mention,in the back of my head i am thinking, this is for my dad, weird. i would prefer to not know what kind of underwear he chooses and why, haha. i have never seen so many choices in my life - have no fear, i decided with plain cotton boxers that my mom recommended.

i guess women have a lot of choices too, but i feel it is less comical or complicated.

alright, gotta run catch a flight in nashville so i'll be home for christmas eve and christmas day!!!

Merry Christmas everyone!!!!!!!!!!

sNoW

so, today, after a visit to fargo, north dakota and bend, oregon with no snow, i finally got to see some snow, woohoo. it snowed like crazy in newark, new jersey. my first flight got cancelled, and my next flight was delayed. i had to wait on the plane to be de-iced, that was a first. i wish i was still there, playing in the snow, but i am not. here is my snowball i made, of the snow that formed off my rental car. ok, so it is a baby snowball, i was in a hurry to get to the airport, haha. now, i am in richmond, virginia, all rain here, bummer.

there are some strange people out there

so, i've been kind of absent lately on posting things, but i'm back to traveling lots, so i'll be back to updating this thing. so today, i left out at 9AM for conyers, georgia for a visit. i get to the site, and the coordinator informs me that he has already been trained on the system i am there to train him on, so he basically cuts me off. i tried, but it was hopeless. i pack up my stuff after about 45 minutes, and head back to the airport to fly to newark, new jersey for my visit tomorrow morning. so this is where i encounter some very strange people. while i am sitting in the airport terminal, i smell this foul smell. it is this couple sitting close by me. i had to get up and move. i'm sure many of you are already laughing, as you know how i am about dirty people... i don't do "dirty smells" or body odor. so as the flight is delayed, i thought i'd seen the last of the smelly couple, but you guessed it, i had not.

i am boarding the plane, and looking for my seat, and see the smelly couple sitting on row 20 (they have the middle seat and aisle seat) and yours truly has the window seat. i thought i was going to die. i forgot to mention in the above paragraph that both the man and woman were also very large, so there was no way i was escaping the fumes. so, i get to my little seat, and the lady didn't have the arm rest down, i put it down, and she acts like that is a problem. well, basically it just makes us all uncomfortable... she is spilling out all over the place. i am so crowded, and did i mention the smell is overpowering... i tried to put my coat over my mouth and nose to cover it, but that wasn't helping. the bottom line is, they should have purchased that third seat, as they were almost too big for the two seats - and they should be considerate enough to shower or take a bath before getting on a plane. you know, if someone can afford a plane ticket, they can probably afford soap - so i don't think i am being rude. i pray that doesn't happen to any of you.

another lady i encountered today was an elderly lady who was mad that she had to fly a connection. apparently she is used to direct flights to her destinations with continental. first they booked her in a window seat, which she wasn't having, then she finally got an aisle seat, and it was near the bathroom - well you should have heard this woman and her choice of words in line. she was so mad. she kept saying, this is horrible, this is the worst trip ever... all because they put her in an aisle seat near the bathroom. she was cussing and everything - she was totally pissed, it almost made me laugh.

random story: i parallel parked my rental car tonight in a downtown area. i was going to eat at qdoba. so i was backing the car up, trying to get in the parking space, and i tapped the car behind me, oops... no worries though, no damage to my car or the car behind me. in my defense, i was not in my car (i was in an impala) and it was raining and dark.

alright, more stories tomorrow, probably - i travel to richmond, virginia. have a great tuesday everyone.

random stories

so i love kids, most people who know me, know that i could get married tomorrow and have kids like the next day and be ok with that, but i haven't quite found mr. right... haha. anyway, tonight i had a very unpleasant experience at target. i can handle throw up - for people i know and kids i know - but tonight as i am walking out of target, this poor little girl is so sick in the store. so had just thrown up, and then as i am walking by (probably 5-6 feet away) she "goes" again... she just leans over the shopping cart and goes all over the floor. it was horribly disgusting. i mean, i know there was nothing the parents could do, but it was not pleasant, eww.

my car. so many of you may remember the blown out tire story a few months back. i had gotten a new tire from a discount tire store in the charlotte area, but it was pulling so i took it to a mechanic a few weeks afterwards to get that problem fixed. well tonight, after a month or so of my car making lots of noises, i realized that the "mechanic" i took it to was an idiot. basically they forgot to put all the lug nuts on the wheels, so my tire is going to fall off, so annoying. so, tomorrow i will wake up and take it back to the "mechanic" and have him correct this problem.

my foot. i got the walking boot off yesterday. i don't think my foot is all that strong, but i am trying to be extremely careful. today, i was putting a purse up in the closet, and hand to be on my tip toes, and i turned my ankle over...the bad one...i cried like a baby. i bought a small ankle brace at target tonight, so pray that it continues to heal and that the physical therapy i start soon will help.

tomorrow is my birthday, my favorite day of the year. i am going to my favorite place to eat in the world - texas roadhouse with my family and crystal and holly, woohoo!!! i love all the cards i have already gotten - it is the one day out of the year that i get cards - it is amazing!!!

have a great day!