Caught in the Webb

I just returned from the student center of the college I work for where I purchased two tickets to a concert I've been looking forward to for about two months.

Sure the tickets only cost me $5 a piece and the concert is here on campus, so you wouldn't think this was anyone special. And to most of you, it's not. But to me, he frickin' AWESOME!

His name is Derek Webb, and he's pretty much my favorite songwriter of all time.

My introduction to this man's work began while I was a senior in high school. Chris had ventured away from our little hometown and started his college years in Rome. One weekend while visiting, he introduced me to some music that his roommate, Chris Mason, had put under his nose for listening pleasure. The band was Caedmon's Call, and the music was out of this world!

Now Caedmon's Call is actually a Christian band. (Some of you, please refrain from the temptation to stop reading this post at this point. It gets better.) Their songs, though Christian, focused more on the struggles of everyday life, of being young and wanting to serve, and best of all, of having the ability to look at something for what it really is. Their style is considered folk rock. They use so many different instruments, which is something I really respect in a band. The guitar sound is acoustic, but they use instruments such as a tack piano (sounds like an old saloon piano), bongos, trash cans, a bass, trumpets, etc. in many of their songs.

At the forefront of this group was Derek Webb. His voice is pretty unique, but if I had to compare it to someone, it might be Michael Stipe from REM. On the first sort-of main stream album the group put out and the first I owned, Webb wrote seven of the 12 songs. I was enamored with all of them (except one about going to a funeral of a friend's sister who had killed herself - a little too down for me). My favorite on this album is "I Just Don't Want Coffee" (I love coffee; that's not really what the song is about). Here are a few of the lyrics:

Though I am small I've seen things far beyond these city walls
The land is flat and it rolls for miles
I don't know much I know I've many places yet to see
I know I've been here for a while
Wouldn't you know just when I thought I had this figured out
I'm back at my first day at school
Trying not to think too loud I raise my hand to scratch my head
I've no ideas of what to do
'Cause something's changed today
And what it is I just can't say
And if I don't seem okay, well I'm okay
(Chorus)
So sue me, sue me, if I just don't want coffee tonight

Also on this album is a very unusual tune that Chris loves called "Bus Driver." Webb penned this tune, revealing the importance of each individual in this world, even if they seem insignificant. He ends it with the line "We're all just bus drivers." Caedmon's Call's pianist really showcases his talent in this tune by using the tack piano I mentioned. Here are a few lyrics to this one:

Well, I'm always there by five fifteen
and lately I've been early
'cause Judith likes to be in early to the bank.
And she gives me conversation and a token good for riding.
And she's happy all alone

And then there's Charles in retail sales;
and I hope they pay him well
for the work that young man does
Cause I've never seen the inside
of a custom refrigerator
but I know he's the first and last one there

(chorus)
What would you say if I told you that I won't be by today?
Would you say that I'm just a bus driver
and what do I know,
just a bus driver
and what do I know,
just a bus driver
and what do I know?

I wonder what they do all day,
and their respective works.
Suppose they give money and take money away.
Still, I'm just orbiting this town
with the post office my sun.
And I'm circling again.

And I wonder how this world would be
if I was never here to drive this bus around from Ashbury to Main.
Suppose this town would be the same
but with one bus' less exhaust.
But that bank and retail stores,
they just wouldn't be the same.

I mean, it's poetry really!

Their next album, called Forty Acres, also had some great tunes, but not as many written by Webb. The second track on the album, called "Thankful" uses the trash cans as percussion and reveals Webb's Calvinistic views on Christianity. My favorite tune on this album was actually recorded by Shawn Colvin and John Loventhal and was previously recorded by Colvin. Caedmon's grabbed the song, called "Climb On," and let their only female band member, Danielle Young, perform it.

Back on to Webb... another song on this album, called "Table for Two," is great for anyone who has felt like everyone else has somebody and they don't. Here are some lyrics:

Danny and I spent another late night over pancakes,
Talkin' 'bout soccer
And how every man's just the same
We made speculation
On the who's and the when's of our futures
And how everyone's lonely
But still we just couldn't complain

And how we just hate being alone
Could I have missed my only chance
And now I'm just wasting my time
By looking around

Are you getting the idea of how normal yet creative his work is?

On the third album, called Long Line of Leavers, Webb wrote seven of the 13 songs, one of which is one of my favorite tunes of all time: "Love is Different." Lyrics below:

Well, it looks like five thousand miles broke the camel's back
But it's not as though i had a plan to win you back
Because i don't know what i want
But at least i know that much
Now I'm afraid love came right up
And it slapped me in the face, but i did not know

'Cause love is different than you'd think
It's never in a song or on a TV screen
And love is harder than a word
Said at the right time and everything's alright
Love is different than you think

The next couple of albums by the group were a little more praise and worshipy, which is cool if you like that music. But I can only take so much (that sounds really bad, but I just like stuff that's real). And those albums also did not have many, if any, songs by Webb. At this point, he had begun his solo album.

Now, he went from having a record label to being an independent artist, so I didn't hear anything about him for years. But now, he has really started showing up again. He wrote a few songs for Caedmon's new album, Overdressed (the best song on the album is the title track and is *surprise, surprise* written by Webb), and he has his own album with a song that was recently featured on "Grey's Anatomy." The song is called "Name," and you can hear it here.

There are some other songs on there you all may like.

So, Derek Webb is coming to little Rome, Georgia, on Friday. He's going to host a question and answer period earlier that day, and I may go. But what do I say? "I'm your biggest fan!" Yeah, I'm going to say the most cliche, stupid thing to someone who puts poetry to music. I may just go and keep my mouth shut...

Oh, and one more thing about Derek... he looks like Jacob and Kim's little Evan (maybe it's the bald head):





So there's a possibility that Kim knows ALL about DW!

Meat Market

(side note: I meant to write this earlier but life has been a bit busy lately!)

I joined some friends at the meat market about a week ago. Meat market you say? Yes. Well, the social meat market that is.

Let me explain.

My best friend (I previously mentioned) celebrated her birthday this month, so to continue the festivities, two other friends of hers wanted to take her out in downtown Chattanooga. I asked if I could tag along cause well, I don't get out as much as I used to for one, and I knew it would be loads of fun with this group (see below).



After dolling up and downing a little rum and Coke, we headed to our destination, a nightclub called Electric Cowboy. Now, the name alone should give you a bit of insight into the crowd that filled this joint, but one of the reasons this particular spot was chosen was for the potential making-fun that would surely be involved. And boy were the choosers of EC correct!

We got there about 9:45 p.m., early enough to get a table but late enough to be considered “going out” time. Our table was located along the west wall of the place. A huge wooden dance floor was in the middle, and an electric bull occupied the east wall (no, I did not ride the bull). Pool tables and restrooms were in the back, and of course, the bar was in the front.

As you can imagine, a place called Electric Cowboy boomed with country tunes, anything from “Chattahoochee” to “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy” (cringe) to any slow ballad from George Strait. But, thankfully, they also played some dance music.

But you know what happens when rednecks hear dance music… Let’s just say there was lots of humping going on, and I’m sorry to say I didn’t get any photos of the best duo. A youngish? woman in white pants and a red shirt (showcasing her sagging boobs) and a young guy with dark hair and a striped shirt were possibly swapping genital fluids as the music went on. He picked her up (barely) and pretty much all you saw were two white lets on either side of him and some fake blonde hair bouncing up and down. The same girl was seen later on in the evening doing some humping with a different fella, and even though she was seen making out heavily with both of them, I think she probably went home with the latter. Lucky guy!

Other people-watching highlights included a tall, thicker guy dancing by himself on the floor with some super-tight, possibly women’s jeans on. We nicknamed him Camel Toe or CT for short. We were appalled when later in the evening he came over and tried to dance with us. An older couple sitting next to us seemed to have rehearsed every song with some choreographed line-dancing. They were showing off all night. I later realized they only knew about four different dances and used them all on different songs. See CT below:



This guy and the lady behind him were also fun to watch. He was wearing the tightest white shirt you could find, and she was wearing that vest with none other than her 1972 Cross Your Heart bra shining through the open sleeves. Awesome!





Fairly early in the night, a short bald guy came up to our table with shots for all of us. After we toasted and drank, he asked us all to dance with him. I think someone said, “Well, I guess since he bought us a shot we have to.” No. I don’t think we HAVE to do anything… But we hadn’t been out on the dance floor all night, so what the hell. I stayed as far away from him as I could get, but he was a persistent little booger. After that, anytime we got on the dance floor, here came his short little bald head weezling through the crowd. This didn’t last too long. He came up to my friend and I and asked, flat out, “Are you good in bed?”

What the…?

“Excuse me!” was my reply and he repeated the question. I kindly yelled at the top of my lungs, “I’m married!” And he said, “Then you’re good in bed.” Wow… “I guess I am,” I said. My friend replied over and over with a, “That’s none of your business,” and basically told him to fuck off.

I’m pretty sure that was the best pickup line ever! Feel free to use it in the future.



As the night went on, the craziness/humorous events continued. Also while dancing, a guy approached my friends and danced/humped with them one at a time. When he grabbed my arm and tried to get me to join him for the next song, I told him no and pulled away. Son-of-a-bitch grabbed my arm again and some biker dude behind me grabbed him arm and pulled it away, telling him to leave me alone. I told biker dude thanks and he said, “I saw your ring.” It really was nice of him. I would have hated to have to take out Son-of-a-bitch right there on the dance floor.

Close to the end of the night and many drinks later, guys were showing up at the table left and right asking for us girls to dance. Our response was simple: Married. Married. Taken. Lesbian. It speaks for itself. I think about five or six guys asked for me to dance, and by asked I mean grabbed my arm. What is up with the grabbing? When I refused, the last one that asked said, “What’s up with you and dancing?” What the hell? Had it gotten around that I was some kind of stick-in-the-mud? GOOD! “I’m married,” I tell him, with a nice attitude. “Oh, nice ring,” he says looking down.

So, we really had a good time, but like I said, it was like going to the meat market. Or maybe you could liken it to some Wild Kingdom show on Animal Planet where the males are on the chase for a female, any female, to lay with. I guess you aren’t really welcome at these clubs unless you too are on the prowl for a good lay.

Also worth noting:

1. I’m pretty sure my friends and I were the classiest dressed girls there.
2. These girls definitely know how to party!
3. If you are 40 and over, maybe you shouldn’t go to Electric Cowboy. Or wait, maybe EC is just the right place for you!
4. I couldn’t breath well for three days due to cigarette smoke inhalation.
5. Apparently the smaller and browner you are, the better. Partner that with a short school-girl skirt, a midriff-bearing shirt and LOTS of eyeliner and you too could be a server at EC (or possibly Severo at Halloween! HA!).
6. Even though I drank it over the course of about five hours, a rum and Coke, tropical orgasm, two Smirnoffs and some kind of shot didn’t make me feel any different. I guess five hours is a long time…
7. Why must you play that song so many times? Sure it’s got a good beat, but there are others. Here are the lyrics (proceed with caution: best lyrics ever written):

Shawty had them Apple Bottom Jeans
Boots with the fur
The whole club was lookin at her
She hit the flo
Next thing you know
Shawty got low low low low low low low low

(a tear falls… beautiful! And haven’t we already addressed the boots with the fur?)

8. Photo with random hot guy was a nice gift for the best friend (Maybe I was a little tipsy. I don’t seem to know what’s going on in this photo.):



9. If you’re a Jello-shot server at a place called Electric Cowboy, you should not, I repeat, should NOT get on the counter and act like you work at Coyote Ugly!
10. If you don’t know how to walk in heels, please refrain from wearing them.
11. I’m pretty sure a lot of people were too drunk to be driving but did anyway. I was DD for my group (stopped about an hour and a half before getting behind the wheel), but there were definitely some staggerers.
12. I think I’m getting old. 4 a.m. is really late for getting to bed…

And No.1 lesson learned: I’m really grateful for my gentleman of a husband!

What Do You Want?

Chris and I decided to dine out for dinner tonight at a local Italian and Greek spot called Bella Roma. If you like Italian and you haven't been there, you need to visit us and we'll take you. It's absolutely delish!

Now, we haven't been to this spot in quite a while, so I had almost forgotten about the waitress we seem to always get when eating there. To put it simply, she's a bitch, but she's one of the best servers I have ever had. How, you say?

Well, hear me out on this one. Having worked in the restaurant business as a server, both Chris and I know that a friendly face and good service usually go hand-in-hand. But this girl has changed our perspectives completely!

She approaches the table with a matter-of-fact face while saying, "Hey, how are ya'll tonight?" in a clearly monotone voice. Tonight, she gave us a little treat by forcing a fake smile on her face after asking the question. Then she says, "What'll you have to drink?" At this point, you feel like any moment she's just going to ask, "What do you want?" But she keeps it textbook.

I asked her about the special (spinach tortellini), which she said was "real good" with about as much enthusiasm as she could muster up. When she came back for the order, she grabbed up the menus like we had taken them from her to begin with. And that is what her motions are like throughout the entire dining experience, very harsh and fast, but her timing is perfect. I said to Chris at one point, "I'm going to need some more Dr Pepper soon," and a minute later she came over and grabbed my glass to refill. I don't know if she has ESP or could read my lips or what. Chris thinks our table was bugged. But she is always like this. You always have drinks when you need them. You always have bread and napkins. It's just great.

And even though the place was pretty full, we got in and out of there in less than an hour. If we had gone to Applebee's, we'd still be sitting there waiting on some half-ass cooked pasta with no flavor and I wouldn't be able to share that experience with you until who knows when!

Bella Roma is the business of a sort-of friend of mine. I did a story about his family when I worked for the paper, and he was always trying to get me to do stories after that. But he was still always nice. When he first opened the place, I think he was trying to hire the cute little girls as waitresses but even verbally expressed to me that he was frustrated to not find good service. I guess he wised up and went for not-so-attractive-but-damn-good servers. Homegirl is a little hefty and doesn't have the most beautiful face. Partner that with the lack of friendliness and she comes off pretty drab. But if you need that soda refilled, look out! Cause she's on her way over! I know I'm no horny guy, but when I go out to eat, I just want good service.

Now, if your appearance makes me want to vomit up what I just ate, that's a different story. But such is not the case here.

Moral of the story: she may not be friendly or that pretty but man she can serve! Plus, we got a free dessert to go since we knew the owner. How sweet is that!?!

Meet Jewels

Sorry for the lag in posts for the those of you that regularly read my blog! I've been super busy at work and pretty busy at home as well. I meant to post this Monday when I had the day off but the day was spent cleaning and getting adjusted to the new dog - which brings me to the point of this post. (Chill out Mickey, I'm getting to it. Some of us have work to do...sometimes anyway!)

So as you can tell from the title, we did not get Sherwood. When we brought Sadie to PetSmart to meet her, things didn't go over so well. Let's just say Sherwood's description of being good with other dogs was apparently a fib. Sadie is great with all things living, but the minute she approached Sherwood, the big black Shepherd-mix growled, snarled and barked at my baby. We tried walking them around the store together. At one point they were almost friendly, but then more barking and growling and Sadie creeping behind Chris' legs. We took them into the training area to see how they would be without distractions, but that proved even worse. When Sherwood started her usual "I'm the dominant one!" Sadie replied this time with a nice "back off bitch." The trainer observed them and said that in another five minutes, a fight would most likely ensue and one of them would be hurt (I'm guessing Sadie since she's pretty much a sweet little wuss). So that was that.

Well, the lady helping us said they had another dog who was a sweetheart but no one had adopted her yet because she isn't really pretty. So she brought her in and the tension in the room lowered. Sadie and Jewel (who everyone was calling Jewels) played great together. So we watched them for a while, learned a little more about Jewels' medical background and decided to take her home. She had had the mange but is on medication. The lady assured us that mange is not contagious, and she really has recovered quite a bit - before we got her of course. She's pretty much a puppy. She's 8 months old and still as spastic as a puppy.

So far, we've only had one accident in the house. She needs quite a bit of obedience training though. She jumps a lot, especially on people and onto our bed. Chris REALLY doesn't like the jumping on our bed thing, understandably. So we have our work cut out for us.

At first on Monday, we were wondering if we made the right choice. Sadie wasn't too sure about sharing her territory with another dog. Just today for lunch I put the little one (she's 35 pounds and Sadie is 55) in the crate because Chris and I would both be gone and reassured Sadie that I would never love that dog more than her. She's such a sweet girl! She put her face on my face and we cuddled for a while before I headed back to work. But she really does like the new dog. They play so much it wears them out. She isn't liking the sharing of attention too much, and the other dog is having to learn she can't jump on Sadie or take her bed. It's kind of nice seeing Sadie as a take-charge kind of dog, even if it's only for a minute or two.

Oh, so here are some photos of the new addition, along with her big sis.







So, she's not the most beautiful dog in the world, but at least she doesn't look like this dog:



Right?

New Addition to the Family

I love freaking people out! No, I'm not pregnant (that I know of), but we are, in fact, adding another member to our clan. Her name, for now, is Sherwood, and she's a one-year-old black German Shepherd mix!

That's right boys and girls, the dog population in our home is growing. Here's how it happened:

Saturday, I took by BFF to Atlanta to see "Annie" at the Fabulous Fox Theatre. She's an elementary school teacher that loves theater, thus the classic children's production. On the way down, we had to stop and pee, so we stopped at the Barrett Parkway exit. You know, the one with all the restaurants and shops. We pulled into a gas station on the right, and she was all like "You don't want to pee in this place. I have before and it's gross." So I continued through the parking lot to a row of shops. I knew there was a PetSmart in the row, so I suggested we stop there. I don't know why I thought peeing in PetSmart would be grand, but whatever.

What we didn't realize is that PetSmart has adoptions out front every weekend. So we, of course, got out and had to see all the pretty pooches. All the dogs seemed sweet, but there was one in particular that grabbed my attention. She was pretty laid back and when people would come up to her little fenced-in spot, she would get up and let them pet her. When I went up to do some petting, she got up and then jumped up. She started teething a little on my hand, and I began reading her information. She was found is some not-so-great conditions by a person with the last name Sherwood (so they named her that). It said she gets along with kids and loves dogs but does not like cats. Considering this could also be a description of myself, I got a little excited! I spoke with one of the ladies there who said I would have to fill out an application. I called Chris and told him about her and asked if he thought I could just call Monday and see if she had been adopted, and if not, go back down and let him see her. He agreed.

Well, this morning, I called. The lady said Sherwood had not been adopted and said she wasn't sure why. "We've had her a while, and she's a great dog. We can't figure out why anyone hasn't adopted her yet." So I told her I was interested. She had me fill out an extensive application online, complete with references, and e-mail it to her. So I did. She wrote back and said she had talked with one of my references (thanks again Sevy!) and said she was going ahead and approving my application. They only do the adoption thing on Saturdays and Sundays at that PetSmart, so we'll be going there this Saturday to pick up our new kid!

Chris and I have been talking about getting a companion for Sadie for a while. She loves hanging out with us, but she will spend an hour staring Chris down every morning, waiting for him to play with her. She does it in the evening sometimes, too, even though we take her on frequent walks. She just needs someone to play tug and to chase her, so we really hope it works out. We have reservations, of course. We'll have to train this dog not to pee and poop in the house and to stay with us like Sadie does (if that's even possible). But she's about the same size as Sadie, so not too big and not a yipper!

This group, called Mostly Mutts by the way, has already taken care of her being spayed, her shots, heartworm meds and even a microchip! We have to pay a fee, but it's way better than having to do all of those vet costs on our own. I'm pretty pumped, and Chris seems as pumped as he gets, with a little more reservation than I have. Here is a photo of her from the group's Web site, although it's not a very good one:



Don't worry, there's still going to be room for anyone to spend the night if they need to!

The Need to Read

I've been visiting goodreads.com lately, surfing through what other people have read and listing a few more books I have read, and have realized a truly amazing sadness. I don't read enough.

And why don't I read enough? Because I'm too distracted by my house or TV and obviously don't realize how much more I would love to just get away from reality and be completely engulfed by someone else's imagination, with a little kick from my own. I come home and sometimes grab a book while waiting on Chris to finish up work, but usually, I grab the remote. And I should know better than to grab the plastic contraption that leads a wasteland of nothingness. Since this writer's strike, our $10 cable package has been a little less than lacking. To get channels that might actually have some value, like the Discovery Channel, HGTV, TLC, the History Channel, etc., we'd have to dish out another $35 a month. And even though we can probably afford it, it's the principle of the matter and the fear that even more laziness would ensue that causes us to reject this idea.

But I digress.

I believe my love for the written word began at an early age. My mom is an avid reader. Now, she doesn't read the things you and I read so much as those awful, pulsating-member induced romance novels. But the woman goes through about three or four a week, if not more. But nonetheless, she always encouraged us to read and actually taught my siblings and I how to read before we ever stepped foot into a kindergarten class. I distinctly remember one other girl and I reading from the Weekly Reader aloud while sitting "Indian-style" on the rug in class. When I got to first grade, we had one of those read-a-thon things where you see who can read the most books in a certain number of weeks. I won, out of the whole school actually. But then again, how complicated is "see Jane run?" Ha! Well, some of them were a little more complicated, but you get my drift.

But then it happened. My mom's obsession with reading went too far when she made my brother and I read every one of Laura Ingalls Wilder's tales of the prairie. Oh my freakin' gosh! For some reason, I LOATHED these books. I think if I had read them as a teen or was just not forced to read them, things would have been different. But such was not the case. After that series, I didn't pick up another book for probably about a year. Then I got into my mom's almost complete collection of the Nancy Drew series. I only seemed to find the time to read about three of them, but the series has been passed down to me and I plan to complete the reading - even though the level is probably about middle school at best. Of the few I read, I absolutely loved! I love anything having to do with solving a case. This, and the fact that my writing skills are far from any John Grishom, is why if I ever wrote a book, it would probably be a middle school-level mystery.

I, like any of you, had to read plenty books in school, many of which I enjoyed. I even included some of these in my list on goodreads.com, but only ones I thought adults would enjoy as well. I mean "To Kill A Mockingbird" is a great book, but I read it when I was in elementary school or early middle school. So I figured I'd leave that off the list. Who hasn't read that? But my friend Kari, who invited me to the site in the first place, has about 170 books listed - most of which she has read in the past three years. Now that's a reader! And Kari is just as busy as I am. Granted, she didn't spend every spare moment for a year and a half renovating an old house, but if I know Kari, she was plenty busy with other things!

So now that I have a job that allows me to lead a fairly normal life (as opposed to 60-hour weeks, most of them spent reading), I vow to pick up those hard- or soft-back bundles of wonder, excitement, intrigue and intellect and put down the black box of iniquity! I'm looking forward to reading my mystery that includes dogs (mentioned earlier as a Christmas present from my hubby). I also vow to try to read it as just a reader and not an editor - I tell ya, once you've been trained to do that, it's tough shaking it! And I won't wait until vacation to finish the book!

Now if I could just get motivated to work out... or find a way to read and work out at the same time...

Do books on CD count?

Oh Christopher!

Over the past few months of blogging, I have noticed a pattern in the friends my husband acquired in college who now keep up with him through the blogosphere. I believe they may all want to bed him.

Now hear me out on this one. I absolutely love my husband more than anyone else on earth and know, more than anyone, just how special, wonderful, kind, intelligent, handsome and hard-working he truly is. But I’m a little concerned that many of his friends are on the brink of obsession and are possibly blinded by their affections.

Many of you have penned a need for more material from Chris on his blog, which I completely agree with. He truly is a great writer. He doesn’t ramble on just to show how much he knows or use big words just to show the array of his vocabulary, but people, he’s not frickin’ William Shakespeare. And he's not Zeus or something. He’s human, just like you. I know, it’s a shock. Maybe you should read that sentence one more time. Here, I’ll write it again: He’s human, just like you.

Like I said, if anyone knows how great he is, it’s me. Some of you may not think I’m good enough for him, and you know what, I don’t think I am either. But he’s mine! You can’t have him… let go! It’s OK, I’ll get myself together here…

The even better thing about Chris is that when we all compliment him, his head doesn’t grow to the size of Mount Rushmore (or the heads that are on it). But I’m concerned that if this behavior continues, it may start growing. And frankly, Chris’ head is already huge (literally speaking – have you ever noticed? Another reason I’m concerned about childbirth!).

Also, I am actually really sweet and nice to him because he’s my favorite person in the world, but if you guys continue to dote on my husband, I may be forced to my regular evil ways in an attempt to keep him grounded. Capeesh?

Oh, and reality check. You think I’m mean? I am just more verbal about it. He’s just as mean. He tells me a lot of the mean things he’s thinking. Don’t worry, they usually aren’t about you, so there again, he may continue to sit on the pedestal you have all created for him. Bring him down, I say!

OK, OK, in all reality, I didn’t get to dote on him myself during the whole December Dedications thing, so I’ll just say this in seriousness: Chris is the best friend I have ever had and think I will ever have. (I love you, Shannon and Steph, but you girls understand, right?) He knows me inside and out (stop thinking dirty things…), and he loves me anyway. I say anyway, because my faults are pretty obvious.

He is someone I can talk to about anything, and I enjoy being that for him as well. Though we have many of the same interests, it’s some of our differences that allow us work well together. When I can’t think of how the gutter system will work, he can. When he can’t think of how the kitchen sink plumbing will fit together, I can (you think I cuss like a sailor?!). Where I think creatively, he thinks more technically. He is not ultra masculine and I’m not ultra feminine. When one of us is pessimistic, the other is optimistic. He’s a great supporter and a great kisser (had to throw that in)!

I know that I haven’t mentioned my beliefs much on here, but I truly believe Chris is a gift from God. I guess he’s a gift to you all as well!

I could go on, but the head might be enlarging at this point, so I'll stop!

(Sorry this ended up sounding sappy. I could only carry on the sarcasm for so long!)

Update

We now have back-up gas heat! It's really warm when it's on, not quite so much when it's not on. But that's OK! Oh, and I said the F-word accidentally while on the phone with my mom last night. She didn't say anything and I'm not sure she really cared. (shrugs shoulders) Eh! I really need to work on the trash talk...

Buuurrrrr!!!!!

I could have sworn I lived in Georgia. You know, the state directly above the Sunshine State! There's just no other way to say it. It's fucking cold outside, my friends.

This all began around Monday. We took Sadie and Chris' mom to the park for a walk. Though sunny, the wind was biting my ass off as I strolled along in my big Stay Puft Marshmallow coat, hood over my head. Sadie ran along, every breath visible. Chris' mom even commented that she looked like a smoker.

It's times like these when I realize just how drafty our house is. The poor thing was so ignored by the previous owners that we have spent more time fixing bigger things and leaving the cracks as they are. Additional insulation needs to be added to the attic and possibly under the floor in the crawl space (if that's possible and OK to do... hmm, note to self). And both doors have a gush of air coming in around them. But the big kicker is our heating unit. Now, the unit is working but it also has a furnace that has a gas back-up for when it gets really cold (aka right now). Said back-up has not been providing any back-up all winter. Until now, it hasn't been a big deal, but with the temperature outside at about 12 degrees, it's kind of a big deal. So here we go, calling the heat and air guys again. They got lots of money from us this summer when the AC gave us problems (first the blower, then the coolant leaking out). I think it's a conspiracy. I think they clipped some wire or did something to the unit the last time they visited in the summer in order to be able to come back out in the winter. I hate being at the mercy of repairmen. I may have to become an air conditioning and heating specialist... yeah right!

This morning, when I pulled my arm out from under our down comforter to turn the alarm clock off, I was immediately hit with about a 15- to 20- degree difference. "Yeah, like I'm getting out of bed," I thought. After calling Sadie up to cuddle (poor dog, her ears were cold!), I hurried out of bed and to the shower. Tile floors are beautiful, but they are like ice in times like these. Maybe this is really all Chris' doing. It has been a lot more nipply around the house lately! Ha! Just had to throw that in there!

Then I had the bright idea to walk down to the Bean'ry for some coffee at work this morning and convinced my boss to come. I'm surprised I still have a job, to be honest with you. I thought our faces were going to fall off!

Now, I know what you're thinking. It could be worse, and that's true... for Colorado! But that's why I live in Georgia! While all you mofos are complaining about the heat in July, I'm a little bit uncomfortable. Blame it on my days in Florida or my low blood pressure, but frankly, I just HATE BEING COLD!!!

And thus concludes the bitching...

Recap of the Last 10 days

Because of my new awesome job, I was off for the holidays from Dec. 22 through Jan. 1, which is why there were no blog entries through that time period. I wanted to count this week and a half as a vacation of sorts, and so going with my philosophy of leaving anything work-related behind, I got on the Internet a total of about five minutes. I like having days and days where I don’t even look at a computer screen. Many of you might think that’s weird, and that’s fine. After all, we’re all weird in our own little ways, now aren’t we?

So on to the recap:

Dec. 22
Slept in and then got ready and drove an hour and a half to have Christmas with my family at my brother’s. We had finger foods. My oldest brother showed up after being in Florida for a few months, and my sister-in-law announced she was pregnant with their second and last child. Now, I am in full support of this because my brother and his wife have been the BEST parents EVER to my little niece. Honestly, if I knew my kid would be just like Kylee, I wouldn’t be so scared about having a baby! Sadie was invited to this gathering because Kylee LOVES “cousin Sadie.” We then drove an hour and a half back to Rome.

Dec. 23
Got up a bit earlier than normal for a Sunday to go with our Sunday school class (well, we’ve never actually attended a class – they’re just in our age group) to sing Christmas carols at a local nursing home then came back for church. This was a bit strange. I felt really bad for all those people in there. We just kind of sang and left. I made a mental note to get more serious about finding a way to bring Sadie to the nursing home to cheer them up. Chris and I celebrated 10 years as a couple (that’s right, the poor guy has put up with me for this long!) by eating a meal at Red Lobster. (Hey, it’s no Grammercy Tavern in New York, but it’s about the best thing Rome has, plus, I had a gift card.) After getting home, I saw a story in the paper about a local group of people and their pets doing a program just like I would like to do with Sadie (jackpot!). Chris and I decided that the rest of the week was going to be really crazy, especially Christmas day, so we opened our gifts to each other. These included:

For Chris
Willy Nelson CD (I REALLY love my husband)
Paul Simon (so I bought him some REAL music, too)
Express dress pants
Neon Bible (but he’s already read it!)
The North Face jacket (yeah, I’m awesome)

For me
Chris Daughtry CD
Two shirts from H&M in New York
Another shirt
Starbucks coffee (yum!) and a mug
The Darkest Evening of the Year by Dean Koontz (mystery + dogs = me with a smile)
Record Player - awesome but my dad’s records are mostly all scratched up so we may have to take this one back :(


Dec. 24
Went to Chris’ mamaw’s house on his dad’s side (Did I spell mamaw right? Whatever happened to grandma?) We ate, watched kids open presents, watched older kids who are in show choir sing and dance (wow…) and played Chinese Christmas (I know it’s wrong, but that’s what they call it). So, another three hours in the car…

Dec. 25
Merry Christmas! We picked up Chris’ mom and drove back to Cleveland for lunch with Chris’ other mamaw at Golden Choral. Yep, that’s right! She had fallen and broken her hip, so she couldn’t cook. I suppose no one else in the family can cook or maybe they just don’t cause that’s her thing, but either way, we ended up at Golden Choral. Then we went to her house and opened presents. It was a great visit for his mom – progress, yay! Then we drove his mom back and went home. Another three and a half hours in the car.

Dec. 26
The day I’ve been waiting for! Chris and I dropped off Sadie at my BFF’s house and headed to Amicalola Falls in the Blue Ridge Mountains. We first stopped in Dawsonville to shop a bit at the biggest outlet mall ever (I’m talking more than 100 stores). He got some shoes. I bought a few shirts at my favorite store (White House Black Market – and no, it’s not THE black market, they pretty much just sell black and/or white clothing that is really classy looking. It’s usually pretty expensive, so the outlet part is key here!) We met up with Chris’ brother and his family because they were vacationing nearby as well. During lunch, I was asked by my sister-in-law if she should keep her maternity clothes for me… Sure, I mean, if it happens, it happens and I’ll need clothes… Then we traveled up the mountain and saw the BEAUTIFUL lodge where we stayed. The place was super nice and they gave us a room with a view of about 8 to 10 other mountains in the distance!

Dec. 27
Took a short trek down to the top of the falls. Beautiful! Took a long trek down 450 steps to the “bottom” of the falls, then another 150+ steps to the real bottom of the falls. Trekked up 600+ steps back to the lodge. Legs. Hurt. Jello. Sweat. I’m. Out. Of. Shape! We drove back down to the Dawsonville area to eat lunch at a local Italian/sandwich shop. Spent the rest of the day chillin’ and watching cool shows on the Discovery Channel (which we don’t get at home). We also did other things you don’t want to know about. Then we ate salad and soup in the lodge restaurant.

Dec. 28
Woke up with pain in the legs. I knew that was coming. Got ready and packed and headed to Calhoun to pick up Sadie. We stopped in another little town and ate breakfast at Waffle House, which is always fun (and that may be another post). Went home and repacked and headed out again, this time to Huntsville to see Chris’ dad for the weekend. Weekend in a nutshell: babies, three-year-olds, screaming, hugs, Sadie looking at me like “where the hell did you bring me,” no sleep on an air mattress, cooking, cleaning, Scrabble, laughing with Bryan and Stephanie, more food, family photos and Chris singing “On the Road Again” when we got back in the car (Oh, Willy…). Total weekend hours in the car: NINE!

Dec. 31
I am a vegetable! I must sleep! Chris cleaned the gutters and checked a leak in our porch (great, more home improvements to make!). I did about five loads of laundry. More sleep. Made dinner, watched "SNL in the 90s" show and then watched the ball drop. No party this year. Back to bed.

Jan. 1
We took Chris’ mom to the park to walk. Sadie came and provided the entertainment. It was frickin’ freezing. Then we went home and did more house stuff. Oh, and we watched “Waking Ned Divine” before heading to bed. Good movie!

Jan. 2
Back to work…