Coffee Time

This morning, I was mad at Barack Obama for making me wait forever for that text that was just full of antissapointment... so I didn't watch the news at all. I played with iMovie... trying to build my editing skills. Here's my first attempt. The song is "Love" by the Matt White Band.

On my mind...

My mouth is on fire from pizza pepper. Ouch. But, that's a good thing. Free food at work at 3am is never a bad thing. I seriously need some water...

I don't think I can check my blackberry any more than I have been. The re-fresh button is getting a serious workout. I feel like waiting to hear Barack Obama's VP pick is like waiting for a baby to be born... Or waiting for a guy to call you back...

Ouch. Pizza mouth, still hurts.

I am on the laminator black list. Isn't that funny?

Yesterday, I went to Rite Aid to buy a new battery for my watch. My usual solution to this problem is to buy a new watch. But I was trying to be economical, practical, you know, because of my personal recession and all... Well, here's my question: How do you get the back off of the watch to insert said new battery? I was at a loss. I was defeated. I think I'm going to have to buy a new watch... Again. Then, I'll have three watches that I don't usually wear.

Curtains, Cannons & Shark Bites

Did I lure you in with my super clever headline?  I should be an award-winning journalist... WAIT, I already am! Muahahahahaha.

A couple of great developments in my life:

Curtains!  Yes, curtains! Courtesy of my mama.  (shout out for the Target gift card!)

I'm hoping these lead to better sleeping during the day time.

And I got to see G Money this weekend!

I've never called her that before, don't know where that came from, but I'm going to go with it.

The Baums have a fabulous rowhouse with a rooftop deck and an awesome view!

I will definitely be back!

It was also great to see this guy - the amazing, always smiling Doc.

I wasn't as happy to see him as Brokaw, I mean, I didn't pee or poop anywhere, but still, I was pretty psyched.

Gretchen got bitten by a shark.  You have to watch out for these things.

Didn't even see it coming!

She's expected to make a full recovery.

And, yes, we straddled a cannon.

Of course we did!

The teenage boys who were watching this... unfortunately... may not recover for years.

I hope you are all well!  Praise God for me, I RENTED MY HOUSE!!

Creative Accounting

I remember a few very specific times growing up when my mom had the calculator, piles of bills and money on the kitchen table.  My mom can work a calculator faster than it's even designed to calculate.  Seriously.  The sound of her fingers whacking the calculator keys mirrored the sound of a horse galloping toward a Kentucky Derby finish!

I like to think I can type fast enough now to compete with her calculating skills, but probably not.

When money would get tight, my mom would say. "I'm doing some creative accounting."  We knew to stay away.  Creative accounting was never a good thing.  I never worried about it then, because even though my mom was always saying we didn't have any money, that everything would be okay.  Somehow, it always was.  I used to think she was bluffing.

Fast forward 20 years.  Swimming in a sea of envelopes - mortgage, rent, car, insurance, utilities, unexpected things like replacing SUV tires... I get it.

July 2008 is going down as my most expensive month, ever.  Now, until October, it looks like I'll be doing some "creative accounting."

I hate that I have a new understanding of that term.  But I'm thankful it's an option. 

This is just a test...

Yeah, so this is pretty embarassing... but I'm testing out a flip cam I'll be using for work at the GOP Convention in a couple of weeks... I am embarassed for myself about looking so rough, but whatever. The point is this is a test. Don't comment if you're going to be mean, I can't handle it! (Plus, I'll delete you! muahahahah)

Awake at 5:30pm...

That's usually a problem.  But, it's okay.  Later, I'll probably be a complaining beast, but for now, I'm awake, I'm not leaving the bed.

I'll Facebook.

Snuggle with Brokaw.

Talk on the phone to my favorite.

Listen to a podcast.

Journal...

Celebrate a very important anniversary!  

This and That

So, there is this tradition at the Washington Bureau called "Fridge Friday."  If you have anything in the fridge you care to keep, you better take it home!  Because if not, it's almost always destined for the trash can.

Since I'm in at least a personal recession (I'll let the economists, lawmakers and presidential candidates debate the status of the nation), and I'm paying a mortgage and my own crazy high rent right now, I'm trying to be frugal.

That means eating cereal.  Lots of it.  At home.  At work.  So, I have some milk in my water bottle in the work fridge.

I didn't want it to get thrown away before it expires.... So, I took action, and Nikole documented it. (Gosh... I look awful!  I really need to step it up more for work... maybe if I slept more than 4 hours at a time... maybe.)

I was laughing my bed head off... but this is serious business.

Too bad in my sleepless stuper I left the "a" out of "away".....

Please don't throw me away.

I seriously can't afford more milk and I will cry.

Fridge Friday is no joke!

This weekend I have to hit the road again... because EXACTLY what I want to do - spend 8 hours inside my SUV.  It's starting to feel like a prison cell.

But I have to be a responsible adult (sigh).  I have to go clean my house and fix up the yard so I can RENT IT OUT ASAP!  Shout out to my mom who is driving up from the OBX to help!

Where I really want to be is on my balcony... my new perch.

I got a papisan chair off of Craigslist, wahoo!

And yes, that's Brokaw chewing on an empty water bottle.

He likes chewing on empty plastic bottles almost as much as I like chewing on brownies.

Wish I had one right now... I even have milk to wash it down with.

Happy weekend to all of you.

Soldier Boy

Okay, so maybe my little brother Chris wasn't exactly "my first love" - that would be a little freaky, eh?

But I'm with the Shirelles:

"Wherever you go My heart will follow
... Take my love with you
To any port or foreign shore
Darling you must feel for sure
I'll be true to you"

My family ventured to Columbus, GA last week for Chris's boot camp graduation at Fort Benning.

Doesn't he look amazing?

Look at those other cats he's between... looking all slack and slouchy and their clothes are all bunched up.

Not my little bro.  He's so got it together.

When they first ran out, I couldn't find him - they do a great job of making everyone look exactly the same!

Chris found me in the crowd though, and smiled and stuck out his toungue.

I teared up and mouthed the words, "I love you."

I even surprised myself at how PROUD I was in that moment.

My dad did the honors in the "Turning Blue" ceremony.

I know this was super special for him because he was a soldier and a Vietnam Vet.

I was slightly concerned about him wearing the hat with all of the Vietnam bling but it didn't end up being that bad.... I saw some other people there decked out in Army garb, too.

 

It was SO GREAT to see him.

I hope the sister sandwich felt as good to Chris as it did to us.

Note: Tracy is sporting my shirt.  Boo on Granny for saying it looked better on her!

We all went out to lunch at Chili's.

LOVE Chili's.

Makes me want to sing, "I want my baby back, baby back, baby back..."

 

Chris had a beer.

Don't tell my mom.

HAHA.

 

And a steak.  A far cry from an MRE he had to scarf down in 7 minutes.

He earned every bite!

 

Chillin' in the hotel room...

My mutha and my sista...

 

I seriously want to be more like Dave.

He's so laid back and finds a way to make every day a vacation.

I admire that, really, I do. 

Graduation day!

Tracy and I posed with the tank striker.

And with the soldier holding his gun weapon.

 

The show the Demo Squad put on was cooler than anything I've ever seen - even at Universal Studios!

 

 

They were playing "Bad to the Bone" on a loudspeaker --

It was HOT!

The secret weapon of the United States Army -

The warrior!

Presenting the colors...

I was feeling SO patriotic watching this!!

I have a whole new appreciation for our men and women in uniform.

Look how tall he stands now!

Chris, Dave, Mom & Granny

Nancy, Chris & Dad

Your favorite (humble) blogger and G.I. Little Brother.

One funny thing to end on.  Chris's squad lined back up after family time and this one guy lost his name tag somewhere.

The Drill Sergeant got in his face and asked him where it was (they velcro on and off) and the guy felt for it... "uh... I don't know."

I felt for him. Scary!  I'm so incredibly proud of Chris for all that he has already accomplished - and I know the best is still yet to come!  Go Army!

Birthday Girl

Happy 88th Birthday to Helen Thomas!

25 Things About Me

I'm back from another trip including planes, trains and automobiles.  And I'm too exhausted to walk to the kitchen(that's right!  I can no longer roll out of the bed and be in the kitchen - gotta love having a ONE BEDROOM apartment - wahoo!!) to get my pictures so I can update the blog... so I'm stalling. 

I have been wanting to do this because several of my blogging friends have listed things about themselves, and I've enjoyed reading them/learning more about my friends.  So, here goes:

1.  I'm skipping church today.  Guess I just feel like I should come clean about that.  I did watch Thomas Road on TV - I still stop for anything "Liberty" or TRBC when I'm flipping channels.  I still kind of have a crush on Charles Billingsley, is that okay?

2.  I'm short and overweight.  I blame the second on the first.  However, I have mastered the art of looking fabulous in pictures.  I often think I look better in photographs than I do in person.

3.  I say "y'all" and "use to could."  Don't hate.  I realized when I lived in Pittsburgh that I am a little bit "southern."  I realized when I went to college that "use to could" was not a phrase that everyone a) said or b) understood.

4.  I don't like to be hot inside or cold outside.  I like summer, I don't like winter.  I always use A/C but almost never use heat.  I drive with the air conditioning on and the sunroof open!

5.  No matter how poor I am at any given moment, there are two things I never buy on the cheap:  Toilet paper and Paper Towels... I have to have Cottonelle and Viva!

6.  The reason I have to have super soft paper towels is because I use them to blow my nose.  I inherited a nose that blows incredibly hard.  It sounds like a tuba and has force like a hurricane wind tunnel.  Tissues just don't cut it.

7.  If I blow my nose in front of you, consider yourself among the elite circle of my friends (or family) ... not everyone gets in that far! :)

8.  I almost never watch television.  I watch movies even less frequently.  This is mostly because if I sit anywhere watching one thing for more than 20 minutes, I'll be asleep!

9.  I'm impossible to watch the news with.  I'm constantly commenting and critiquing and I think I know it all.  It's annoying - I can even tell myself.

10.  I love to read and at any given time, I'm usually in the middle of three books.... usually a combination of something about God, something about News and something written by Nicholas Sparks.

11.  I could never live in a place where Target is more than 15 minutes away.

12.  I never get sick of Chick-Fil-A.  Ever.

13.  I'm addicted to Facebook.

14.  When I was a kid, I was a major liar.  Not to get myself out of trouble... like normal kids.  I would come up with elaborate fantasies and tell people they were true.  My brother did this, too. I have no idea why... but now it's hilarious, looking back.

15.  I was head captain of the cheerleaders at Indian River High School in Chesapeake, VA.  This is one of those things that was a huge deal at the time, but it makes me laugh when I think back on it.  I took it so seriously!  Now, when I go to football games, I realize people are watching the FOOTBALL players, not the cheerleaders, hahahahaha!  

16.  In fairness, though, I can step back and see that I learned some major life lessons from my experience in cheerleading.  Seriously.  I'm not mocking here.  I learned a lot about motivating people, getting people to work as a team, executing a vision, how to lead, how to pick battles, and how to play the political games that we all do in life.

17.  I think I will always look up to my sister, Tracy.  In so many ways, I still hope I can be "as cool as she is."  When I was little, and she was out with her friends, I used to go sit on her bed and look at the stuff in her room, thinking "when I'm a teenager, I'm going to have exactly all of this stuff."

18.  I miss being involved in Youth Ministry.  I know I will be again one day, when my schedule changes and allows me to.  It's close to my heart because I became a Christian when I was 16.  What a turning point in my life!  That was 12 years ago this summer - and I think about it every July 21st.

19.  The last thing I think of before I fall asleep is my boyfriend.  Usually it's something about how I miss him, or dreaming of the next time I will see him.  But sometimes I get really sappy and thankful for how we came together.  I'm humbled and honored.

20.  The first thing I do when I get up is get the coffee maker going.  I usually drink about 3 cups of coffee. (which is really more like 5 cups, probably)

21.  I can't work out without my ipod.  No exceptions.  

22.  I organize for fun.  Seriously.  I love it.  It's a hobby.  My closet is color-coded and I hang pictures in closets.  

23.  The most I've ever paid to get into an event is $200.  It was a Virginia Tech football game, against Miami.  They lost and I froze.  I'd like to say I wouldn't do it again, but I probably would.  I tend to get very caught up in the moment!

24.  My favorite color is currently Green.  But in the past, I have also loved Pink, Blue, Teal and Red.  This is always changing.

25.  So is my favorite food.  But I won't ever turn down steak, blackened tuna, pot roast, or my Aunt Clara's blueberry yum-yum.