Monday Miscellaneous

• I did take pictures at lunch Friday. Some were even deleted, but I'm not sure how. Thanks to my not-so-trusty-camera, I will have to wait and download them at home. They should be up tomorrow.
• Spent the weekend talking about and singing the praises of Lee University. Two girls from my mother's church came up this weekend with their parents, and I say, with confidence, they'll both be back in the fall.
• Being on campus as much as I was, something that I haven't done in a long time, was very weird. Almost as though my experience and memories were surreal. It was kinda crazy.
• I went to Life at Lee and, after hearing one of the main guys talk, realized how much "Lee-eese" he speaks. I remember VERY MUCH being just like that, and wondered if I had just outgrown that, become a little hard-hearted, or if I was just a conformist/zombie?
• I found the most wonderful lotion at B&BW this weekend. It's called Hello Sugar: A whole lotta lemon going on, and reminds me very much of Limoncello from Anthropologie (in case you are a fan).
• A friend of mine brought around a HOTTIE yesterday. And he once held a part-time job at the company I work for. PTL for common ground.
• Plus, he winked at me. Yay!
• I did have the misfortune/privilege interesting front row seat to watch my friend fawn over a girl like a puppy dog. It was disheartening and hilarious all at the same time.

Lunch plans

This is a brief post, but in light of my last post, I thought I would share that this is turning into a bit of a bloggy weekend, if you will.

Last night, after taking the picture with MinSoFab, I remembered that I am having lunch with Butterbean (formerly of Watercolor Ponies) and Bloggin' Bits today.

So, I remembered my camera.

There will be photos shortly.

And any of you coming to Lee Day this weekend, I want a pic with you too.

A fellow blogger...

Back in July of last year, I got to hang out with two real life people whose blogs I still read everyday. (That's right y'all... EVERYDAY.)

Well... today I got to meet MinistrysoFabulous in person!! She came to the bible study at my house, and then we were able to sit and swap stories (and ask questions) about the blogs we read, etc. She leads an exciting life y'all. Don't let her diminish the opportunities that God is giving her. She rocks.

And, please know that as I blog this, she's sitting at my house, sharing her heart.

I also decided that we needed a blog picture. Behold:

They’re B-A-A-AACK!!!!

Working in Dalton has (for the most part) always been a lot of fun for me. It’s a very unique town. My favorite fun fact ala Wikipedia is:

Before the Silicon Valley boom, Dalton, Georgia had more millionaires per capita than any city in the U.S.

Seriously? Wow.

Dalton is also the hometown of Deborah Norville (Inside Edition) and Marla Maples (former wife of Donald Trump). Pretty nifty, huh?

Back to the topic at hand. When I first started working down here, I worked with a lovely lady named Emily who was originally from Dalton and knew the eccentricities of this town. Much in need of a guide, she graciously showed me many of Dalton’s unique attractions, including a lovely once-a-month-sale called Avis. I don’t know the story behind Avis, and for fear that I would get sucked into the backroom of that little place, I don’t ask. Once a month, this group of people filled this little store full of goodies that are inexpensive (and sometimes poorly made). The beauty of Avis and the diversity of Dalton provide a nice marriage of necessity for Avis. It really is lovely. Avis is only in Dalton ten times a year, the first weekend of every month, excluding February and November. They’re open from Thursday until Sunday.

What I love about them is the front room which is usually packed with a lot of inexpensive jewelry and accessories. The middle room usually has purses and shoes and the backroom has lots of clothes. I don’t venture into the backroom, well ever, simply because I’m a picky shopper anyway. The thought of digging through racks to maybe find something is also the same reason I stear fairly clear of TJMaxx and Ross. I am confident that I will feel differently when I have children.

Fortunately for me, today is not that day.

Again with the jewelry – most of it is $1.00. I’ve found some really cute bracelets and necklaces. With last year’s ear piercing and my drive to make up for 20 years without earrings, it’s paradise.

But today… today was the day. I spotted them shortly after I walked in. I haven’t seen them, these particular kind, in about ten years. They were in a multi-pack. They were colorful. They suddenly through my mind back to 1989.

What are they, might you ask?

Is the suspense killing you yet?

Before I tell you what they are, you must know that I bought a pack, and as soon as I returned to work, I modeled them for my co-workers, who were equally through pack to the 80’s, with shoulder pads, stirrup pants, acid wash, and all things neon-colored.

And we all laughed. A LOT.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you….

The Banana Clip.

Or a back-fauxhawk in a instant.

Whichever you prefer.

Please note that on the packaging, above my manicured finger, it says:

Style Transformer.

Oh, if only I were kidding.

Or it were 1989, and I could be jamming out in Keds listening to Debbie Gibson and Belinda Carlisle. And some Def Leppard. All while wearing the banana clip.

I’ll gladly perm my hair to enhance the funtionality of the banana clip. But only if you ask. And pay for the perm.

Various and unsundries... Part Siete

AJAM has been temporarily postponed due to: Abscessed Appendix. I write with confidence that I have never used that phrase before in my life. I guess there is always room for a first, right?

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My friend B. called me last night to tell me that two girls (twins) from my mom’s church are coming up to C-Veg this weekend for Lee Day. Hopefully I’ll get to show them around town. They’ll be in as much shock as I was! Cleveland may seem small to some, but you haven’t seen small until you’ve been to West Point. :)

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Totally unrelated to all of that, can I just say that God never ceases to Amaze me? I am a firm believer from experience that God will move us when He knows we don’t have the strength to move ourselves. We may see it temporarily as bad, or uncomfortable, but in a very short time, we are able to see clarity that God is in control. My experiences came through an apartment and a job. First the job, I was miserable, and God knew that He had to move me because I was too wrapped up in me to step out. It was scary. But God proved His love for me with a trip I fondly refer to as my “Trip to Ninevah” aka Nashville. I still get misty-eyed telling that story about God’s grace. To tell you how God has exponentially blessed me since them… it’s just UNREAL. MIND-BOGGLING. CRAZY. DIVINELY ORCHESTRATED. Eight months later, my second experience with God moving me came through my apartment. Two years ago in May, I was unexpectedly evicted since I didn’t have a lease anymore (I’d gone month-to-month). Within four hours, I had a place to live.

Four hours, y’all. FOUR HOURS.

God knew that I had some serious memories tied to where I was living. Trust me when I write that, that kind of emotional bondage, bondage to memories, can be crippling. And even after the move, it took several months to even come clean to my closest friends with all that had happened. I have tried to use those experiences to really make changes in my life. I have more to go, that’s for sure, but having a starting point is key!

I write all this in light of something that God is doing in the lives of one of my family members. The situation was devastating and hurtful, lies were told, the list goes on. But three weeks after the situation occurred, God is moving and working beyond what we could have ever imagined.

God rocks. I heart God. For-evah.

“You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.” Genesis 50:20

Open Mouth, Insert Foot. Promptly gnaw on foot.

I really hate when I leave comments before I think!!!!!

UGH!!!!

"We're gonna need a Clean-Up in Housewares"

Since my mini-meltdown over A COLOR yesterday, I started thinking about really funny things in my life to try and overcome my temporarily bad attitude.

My friend K. got tickled as I was relaying the Color story to her on the phone yesterday. As I was getting ready to tell her the story, she interrupted me and asked, “Is this worse than the wash cloth story?” We both cracked up. I could only respond by telling her that if it didn’t take 1st place, it would definitely take a close 2nd. Brace yourselves!

When I left home to come to college, I had only lived with my family – mostly my mom and my brother. I’ve never been a super-foofooey girly girl, so I kinda knew that college would be an adjustment, but I was truly unprepared to live with any other women besides my mother. My first year, living in the dorm, God showed significant mercy by moving heaven and earth so that I had my own room. Mind you, a lot of people spent the night as it were, but I didn’t have an actual roommate until my third semester. My friend K. had spent many nights with me, and we believed that getting an apartment together off-campus would be easy and fun.

Oh, we were so foolish.

I’m a bit of a control freak, many times about things that are just ridiculous. I’m a nazi with the thermostat, but two decades of bad allergies and one nasal surgery later, it must always be some condition of cool in my house. So basically, I froze K. out, (and nearly every other roommate that I had). Even now when friends come to my house, most will go get a sweatshirt out of my closet.

I’m a bit notorious. Just a bit.

Let me add a much needed detail to this story. I didn’t date anyone until I was 21 years old. I also got my very first kiss on that first date. (It was magical!) This all transpired the summer between my first and second year at Lee. I fell in love and had my heart crushed and to call me an emotional basket case is very nice.

But really, I just was crazy.

Poor K. and I moved into this apartment three days after my first, and very UNWELCOME, break-up. She had no idea what she was in for. I spent a lot of the following three months crying and rehashing my entire relationship with BWW. B-Dub and I talked a lot, and I got my hopes up a lot (they were dashed), resulting in the most ridiculous pendulum of emotions ever. The pinnacle (and the whole point of this little post) occurred somewhere in late October/early November. I had come home from class and Kristen had cleaned the house.

This should not be a big deal, right?

Well, she wiped down our shower with the wash cloth I had used that morning, and threw it in the laundry basket.

Again… this should not be a big deal?

WRONG. I got on the phone with my mom and went into some tyrade about how she didn’t care about me, and didn’t care about my stuff, blah blah blah.

That’s right, a meldown over a cotton-blend 14” square.

Can we say “Code Blue clean up in Housewares”??

K. found spiritual wisdom and promptly moved out six weeks later. We managed to salvage our friendship in light of my maturity, but barely.

Nearly eight years later, we both have the time to laugh about it, but never forget it.