Crazed is me
It is only Tuesday! I feel like it might be Thursday with a mix of the craziness that Monday brings. I am not organized, I did hardly a thing with the house last night, but I did get through the base work for a painting I started. Hmm.... that was the right side of my brain being productive. The left side of my brain stayed stuck in trying to work through some new things at work. My role at work just changed yesterday and I am very excited about that in many ways. It will put me back to traveling some, which is fine as long as it is not all of the time and it has given me more responsibility, but it is something that I have asked for.

Right now, I have a pile of things on my desk and a long, long list of things to do. My marathon of meetings begins tomorrow so here I go becoming MIA again, hopefully it will not be long.

Hoorah! To work, and to the hopes of getting myself mentally together.
TTFN
NRC

The thing about boundaries
Almost daily is seems that I am learning more about handling my boundaries and trying to respect others. This weekend I learned more then I do in a typical day.

Friday evening I went out with some of my girlfriends and we had a wonderful time. The one thing I find very comforting about going out with a group of girls is that in a group like ours, girls are pretty intimidating and it is not often that you are approached by any guys. Especially where we were. There were three straight guys at the bar we went to Friday night. One was with his wife, one was out without his wife and the third I am not sure what his deal was. Well, the guy who was out, without his wife latched on to our group before we could realize it. We were sure he had the hots for one of our girlfriends because he made sure to keep her company while we were on stage singing or off getting drinks. She was a good sport about, but she got a little creeped out because he kept standing real close to her and just looking at her even when they were not talking. Weird.... very weird.

But yesterday really got me. Greg is interested in getting a truck so we went to a dealership to look at them. We left all checkbooks and important documentation at home because all we wanted to do was look, just look.

We drove my car since it is not the one we want to replace. When we pulled into the parking lot we were first happy to see that we were not being pounced on. Well, that was because they get you when you walk in the door. As soon as you walk in, you are greeted and assigned a "tour guide" as I called him. Our "tour guide" seemed nice enough, but right off he wanted information. This immediately made me think we were already being looked at as a quota for the month. I was not impressed, but I was thinking that could be good leverage later. So, our tour guide showed some trucks to us and from the very beginning we said, "We are not buying today. JUST looking." That translated to the tour guide as "Blah, blah, blah, blah....." So, we looked at more trucks and even took the one Greg wants for a test drive. We were obviously going into this together, but we have learned from some of our friends that car salesmen will play the two of against each other. So, I was playing that dutiful wife, there to see the car first hand and not to negotiate with him or influence his decision. The tour guide suggested that I drive the truck as well and I asked Greg if he would like for me to. Which of course he said yes. I immediately knew what this meant. See, ladies like shiny, new things and if I drove the truck and was just dazzled, then it was sold. So, I drove it, said it was nice and went right back to the lot. No giggles, no squealing. Truck not sold. We parked and got out, talked more about the features, asked about warranties and then the dreaded question came. "So Greg, what were you planning to spend?" Argh... Wife's head snaps. More questions about down payment, etc. Greg politely reminds the tour guide that we are not buying today, we need to talk about, look at some other vehicles..... Wife exits the conversation and starts walking back to dealership......

Our tour guide walked ahead and said, "Here, come through this way, we will get in where it is cool faster." That is a ploy if I have ever hear one. We walked inside and he says, "What is it going to take to get you guys to work with us?" At this point, it is around lunch time and the last thing I want to do is think about spending a lot of money when I am hungry. I have really stopped saying much of anything, because I assume if one of us talks it will be better then both of us. Our tour guide asks us if he can get a little information, which we give and then he says he will be right back. I immediately think, "Great, I know where this is going." Sure enough a couple of minutes later, our tour guide, turned full fledged salesmen comes back with his SALES MANAGER. This is where I start to get hot. But, in the end I am glad that we at least heard him out since we got to hear some prices. The sales manager gives us a price, we chat about interest rates, etc and he says, "Wait, I will be right back." Sales Manager walks away and we are left with our salesman. I start thumbing through the brochure, trying to make light conversation about Greg adding ground affects and the salesman excuses himself. I turn to Greg and say, "They are not listening to a word we have said." Greg, of course agrees and is looking a little annoyed himself when the salesman and manager return. They give us another price, which we both had to admit was nice. We are still not buying today. The manager asks a few more questions and then asks us, "Why not buy today?" Between Greg and I, he is always much more clam about things then I am. Greg handels things very calmly too. He is always level headed and never talks with his hands, like I sometimes do. However, at this point he leans back in his chair and crossing both arms back and forth he says, "We are not buying today. We are still looking and we need to go home and talk it over." Case closed. I was very proud of him. They told us they could offer that deal to us until the end of the month and we asked that they write it down, you know so the wife does not forget. We thanked them and then almost ran out of there.

I have now been in three different car buying situations. The first car I bought, I took my dad with me, the second was alone and now the thrid with Greg. The first two were probably one of the better situations you could have because I bought from someone I knew. But, with Greg we are walking into a situation where we are just a number. We have both learned enough from previous situations to be able to handle ourselves though. The way we look at it, this is our money and we will not be talked into spending it unwisely.

I always appreciate some help, but never intrusion. It seems that boundaries can get so muddled sometimes and both parties become confused and irritated. It is just something that you learn over time, which is making your boundaries clear. That is sometimes difficult to do. So, Greg and I hopefully kept a clear line of where our boundaries were and when we walk back into that dealership and decide to buy a truck, hopefully they will realize it was not their smooth tactics that talked us into it, but a team effort and agreement on our part.

FRUIT

From the outside it looked so smooth and perfect. It was firm and shiny, not a scratch or bruise could be found. It was round and you could tell by looking at it that the inside was juicy and sweet. It looked so tempting and pleasant that it made your mouth water just to think about it. But, that was from the outside. The core was turning brown and soft. The seeds were surrounded by the beginnings of something dark and unpleasant. It still looked like beautiful, tasty fruit, but it was turning to mush. Without being harvested or preserved, this fruit would soon become a handful of fermenting trash.

Was it bumped around, neglected or never watered? Probably not, but by its own existence decay and germs that are carried on the wind, have found their way into this fruit by their own nature and temptation. Without knowing what their roles in this world are, they have captured the sweetness and perfection of this fruit and have begun to work their way through. In time, what is left of it will be what you see captured in a painting and enjoyed no more.

Your Low Maintenance Friend.... Always
I read a blog the other day by a young woman who I think would be an awesome friend. She talked about the group of friends she had and it sounds like these ladies are all peas in a pod. She made a comment about how she and her girlfriends are so low maintenance and I thought it was brilliant! Then, I got an email today from one of my oldest and dearest friends who I credit as being very low maintenance. We have been friends for fifteen years now. All of these years she has been one of those people that you can really call a true friend. I do not see her as much as I once did and that never seems to have an affect on our friendship. We always pick up right where we left off. She is like a breath of fresh air. She is full of spirit, loves to laugh, backs me up, cheers me on, and encourages me in every way. Being friends with her is without limits or restrictions. She never tries to out do any of her friends by having the most fabulous outfit, hosting the best party, or hearing the latest band first. She is remarkably creative and it seems to be without effort. She delights in all of her friends joys and when the wind changes direction, she goes right along with it. She never demands more than just your own trueness and loyalty. She can keep your secrets and she remembers your birthday. It sounds completely unreal, I know, yet it is all true. She is as human as we all are. We have had our share of disagreements, but we always worked through them. Some of her best characteristics are in the friend that she is. She makes me feel special and she reminds me of what a true friend does. They love you, laugh with you and support you. I am so blessed to have even one friend like this.

What do you do with it?
It may be more then one bad day, it may be more then one bad situation. So, what do you do with it? Are you making lemonade, are you seeing silver linings? Or, are you a pressure cooker, or a heated tea pot? Are you kindly and firmly taking care of yourself, or experiencing fight or flight?

There is always someone that you know who can be worked on or worn down. There is always someone who takes care of others rather then themselves. There is the door mat, the wall flower, and we each know one.

Now consider the person in your life who is firm in their standings on issues without being in your face. They say no when they need to, but yes when you need them to. They present their point without a fight, a struggle or a throw down. You may have hurt them and they can tell you that without cutting you down. They are calm and even kind in the face of conflict. They go about life and business with no hang ups and little conflict. They are often peace makers in a board room. They are cool when it counts and they always give you a window to jump out of.

When I think of true leaders and emerging leaders, these are the things that I think of. The people who do not confuse their emotions with professional issues. The people who can compromise and do not get their way by being eggshell droppers or pouting brats. They adjust well to changes in plans and can be honest without tearing you down.

When I find myself fouling up, I do not start beating myself up, I just starting asking myself, what do I do with it?

Melts in your mouth... not in your hand
I like candy a lot. I mean, I am a real sucker for sweet stuff. I guess this is becoming obvious because I am eyeing what is left of my Easter candy and running google on M&M and Starburst Jellybeans? Why? Well, because since I started thinking about how candy is wrapped in shiny colored wrappers, I have started wondering about things like, How is the "m" placed on M&Ms and why they are not all crushed by the pressure of a candy ink press? Better yet, what about that "Starburst" on Starburst Jellybeans? Is the cost and the effort worth it? Don't you know you are eating an M&M? Is it over kill to have the "m" placed on the candy? These are the things that keep me up at night when I am not obsessed with house matters. I think about my second obsession- chocolate.

So, I went to the source and found out some things I did not know about M&Ms. I even took a short survey to win $500. That would buy a lot of paint. But, I digress. I looked up M&Ms and I got a new education on one of my favorite candies. I found out how they put the "m" on M&Ms, but not why they put it there, so I have sent an email that may or may not ever get answered, to ask about that. Now, the "m" is place on the candy with a machine designed especially for M&Ms. It is specially calibrated so the candy shell is not crushed during the process. Even better, for those who remember this one, in 1954 the imprinted "m" was changed from black to white. And I now know where the phrase "melts in your mouth, not in your hand" came from. This was not a mere marketing ply, no, no... As legend has it, Forrest Mars, Sr. while on a trip to Spain encountered soldiers eating pellets of chocolate encased in a hard sugary coating. The coating was to prevent the chocolate pellets from melting. So when Mars developed his plain M&M candies, this characteristic was used to entice the public to give these little candies to their children and to enjoy these candies themselves because it would not produce the unwelcome effect that a messy chocolate bar would.

M&Ms were first distributed to American GI's during the second world war and by the late 1940's they were widely found in the public. As a chocolate and a history lover, it is a joy to find that two of my favorite things go hand and hand.

Hopefully, I will have an answer soon to the rest of my burning questions. Now, next time I will address the wasted effort of the design of a beer can label (especially cheap beer). You know what I am talking about. Like we would not buy Busch Light if it was only a silver can with "Beer" on it. Beer is not like books at all.... Don't get me started, I could go for hours...

Just Like Prince....You Got The Look

Here comes the evolution! I was really just going to add comments and then I thought, "What the heck, just make some more changes." So, I did and there they are. I have spent my lunch playing around with a few things and this is what fits for now. So, my blog is taking on some new changes and I like them. To go along with it, I am learning more things along the way thanks to some new friends and some great suggestions. Hope you enjoy this.

What fun! What fun!

Ever thought about wrappers?????

I just finished my lunch and I am having a terrible sweet craving. Pasta seems to do that me. Yikes..... Starch, sugar.... I better run a million miles this afternoon or starve myself for a week. I am going to blow up.

I had a thought as I was eating my Easter candy... How clean is this? Who wrapped it? Where were these pieces of chocolate sitting before they were in these shiny, colored wrappers? Am I going to fall ill to some disease? Should I throw all of this out????

Who wraps candy? Think of all of the Hershey kisses you have eaten in your life. Someone wrapped those right? Or, am I so far behind the times that there are now candy wrapping machines?

Yup- I sound pretty obsessive compulsive, don't I? I guess I should not think about the inside of the water cooler then.

Surrounding The Water Cooler ~ Foot Massaging

Names have been changed to protect the innocent and the guilty

I am sure if more people in the office drank coffee then these conversations would take place over coffee breaks. Seeing how everyone is becoming so health conscience these days, fun tidbits surround the water cooler rather then the coffee maker.

There is a lot of talk about what things are appropriate at certain levels in dating. There are people who have lots of levels and rules and they are not going to kiss you, much less shack up with you on the first date. Then, you have people who go by less rules and what they do just depends on how they are feeling about you. I guess people who adhere to different levels have probably made life more complicated for themselves and the people they date. And I guess this is really not a topic you discuss on a first date. Could you image saying to your date " That is level 6 and we are still on level 2." and then what if your date does not have levels, but bases and we all know there are three bases and then home plate. That could cause some real problems.

So, Ashley is "casually" seeing someone. Well, it sounds like he is trying to make this a little more then casual and she is basically trying to get back into dating after being in a relationship for a long time. They have not held hands or even kissed for that matter, so it seems that this solution should be pretty easy since no boundaries have been dissolved yet.

After their last date, Dave took Ashley home and walked her to her apartment and came in for a while. They sat around and chatted a bit and finally he asked if he could massage her feet. Ashley has set all of these levels for kissing, holding hands, etc, but foot massaging is not a level so this seems to have thrown her off. The fact that she is not really interested in taking this to any of her levels above a handshake is not helping either. I am not sure if Ashley found the smoothest way out of this, but she claimed that her feet were very sensitive and she would never be able to sit still. Not that a foot massage would have been bad, but she feared having to put a stop to anymore of Dave's ideas. From everything I know about the guy, he is well educated, respectful and very nice. The problem seems to be a serious lack of physical chemistry on her part.

Ashley made the mistake of telling two guys who were way too interested in teasing her about going out with guys who had weird fetishes or were just a little off. They added Dave the foot fellow to the list with guys like Joey, who scanned a bunch of pictures of Ashley on his computer (no telling what his plans were for those), and Drunken Darren who would show up outside her building late at night, three sheets to the wind and relieving himself in front of her neighbor's door.... Classy.....

Poor Dave.. I do not think he stands a chance.

Always holding him in my soul
I stand amazed at what love and time can do. I have looked at things differently from the moment I saw Greg standing at the alter, waiting for me.

In committing my life to him, I accepted that all of the roads I had taken in my lifetime had led me to him. The hard roads and the easy roads. I was letting the past be my lessons learned and moving on to this new life, consumed by partnership and void of just myself. I was the woman who walked down the aisle as a blushing bride, in awe of the man who was standing before me with the smile on his face that I loved so much. And I walked up that same aisle as a new wife to a man she loves, respects, admires and adores. I could not imagine spending a day without him. The man who knows all of my weaknesses and never uses them against me. He knows all of my strengths and encourages every single one of them.

There is so much about marriage I have yet to learn, but if I know anything at this point it is that I have married an amazing man who warms my heart and stirs my soul. He loves me and all that I am and he has never asked me to be something I am not. He shares in my dreams and supports me in everything that I do. He is firm in his values, loves his family and friends, and he works hard at everything that he does. I have tried many times to put into words what grows in my heart, but Sarah McLachlan puts what my heart says into words much better then I ever could;

Every time I look at you
The world just melts away
All my troubles all my fears
Dissolve in your affections
You've seen me at my weakest
But you take me as I am
When I fall you offer me a softer place to land

You stay the course you hold the line you keep it all together
You're the one true thing I know I can believe in
You're all the things that I desire
You save me, you complete me
You're the one true thing I know I can believe

I get mad so easy but you give me room to breathe
No matter what I say or do
'Cause you're too good to fight about it
Even when I have to push
Just to see how far you'll go
You won't stoop down to battle
But you never turn to go

Love is just the antidote
When nothing else can cure me
There are times I can't decide
When I can't tell up from down
You make me feel less crazy
Otherwise I'd drown
But you pick me up and brush me off
and tell me I'm okay
Sometimes that's just what we need to get us through the day


I could search the rest of my life for words like this and I could not say it the same. I also know that in time these words will change. They will be deeper and more full of emotion then they are today. They will have seen more hard and sad days along with happiness and celebrations and my lyrics may then include, "Even though you thought about it, I am glad you did not leave." "With all my love, all these years, you are still the sunshine in my day and strength when I have lost my own." For now my soul is part of his and where he goes, so do I. At least my heart, that is.

I married a wonderful man a month ago today. I can see how quickly a month will become 50 years. Right now, our happy home is full of our laughter and our puppy's bark. In years to come I hope that it will be filled with babies laughter, children playing, birthday parties and afternoons of a happy family just being together. I look at Greg and see all of the things I value in life; love, integrity, happiness, honesty, persistence, sense of self and a spiritual nature. In one person, I found all the things I could ever love in anyone and want for myself.

I remain forever-
Natalie Culpepper

Tired Today
I can not really tell you what happened on Must See TV Thursday because my girlfriends and I talked through most of it. I am also not sure how good-bye at 10 PM turned into "Holy Cow, it is 11:30! I have to go home now!" But it was a great night.

Nights like last night remind me of why I love my girlfriends. We catch up on the week, what the guys are up to, how work is going and remain intertwined in each other's lives. We are a group of newly weds, not yet weds, and women making their way in the world today. We are building welcoming homes, developing careers, and doing the things that make us happy. I laugh louder and longer with my dearest girlfriends and I walk away from a night of watching TV, with new stories and new things to be excited about.

This is why I love my girlfriends.....

Cheers to the girls who kept me up late last night, but made every moment count. You feel my life with so much joy!

Take Me Out To The Ball Game... But please do not remind me of what I missed.....

I know opening day has passed, but for me it was yesterday. Greg and a group of his buddies have had season tickets to Braves baseball games for a number of years now, so we go to several games a year. I have been a Braves fan for as long as I can remember. I go back to the days of Dale Murphy and the baby blues. So, one of the things Greg and I have always shared is our love for the Braves. But if you make us go toe to toe in trivia, he will beat me every time. The man is like a human Braves Trivia database.

After work last night we made our way through lighter Atlanta traffic then I expected and found our seats. It was a great night for baseball. In fact, it was a perfect night for baseball. No clouds had rolled in yet, low humidity and a light enough breeze to keep you comfortable. These are days that I live for.

The game did not start off strong, but I will save the play by play and say that the Braves came out strong. They won 10 to 18. Almost sounds like the score of a football game. They were playing the Mets, who I have never cared much for and care even less for because they now have Tom Glavine, who WAS once one of my favorite Braves starting pitchers.

I feel that as a Braves fan, I have only faltered one time and that was many years ago. If anyone knows the Cinderella story of the Braves going to the World Series in 1992 then you may know where you were when "Sid Slid". ESPN has listed this as the fourth great defining moment in Baseball history. And this is something that Greg takes great pleasure in teasing me about at least once a year and I do pray that no one ever asks me on "Braves Vision" where I was when Sid Slid. Very unfortunate for me, I was asleep on my couch when Sid Slid. I had been watching the game with my dad and I was still in high school at the time. It was very late and way past my bedtime. So, Sid Slid and my dad went nuts and I woke up to the Braves celebration. I did see the instant reply though. Yes, I know that is not the same thing. But I think I can be forgiven for that, seeing as I was a fan back in the day when people only went to games to see Dale Murphy play.

Adventures in Home Ownership

Greg and I have started on a new project at home. We have decided to replace the interior doors. We believe the ones in the house now are the original doors. They are the flat, hollow, painted a dozen times doors. One door in particular has been a thorn in our side and that is the office door. We have come to realize that the frame is not completely straight. And to make matters worse, it was peeling from the bottom and our dear sweet dog was bored one day and decided to all but destroy it. Greg came home from work to find shreds of the door all over the hall floor. So, that door just has to go.

When we were looking for a house, we did a lot of research on the financial side and we got a lot of good advice, so we felt that we knew what we were doing on that end of things. Since neither of us know a lot about home repairs or remodeling, we decided we would learn all of that later. Besides, how hard could removing wallpaper really be? Thankfully, we bought a structurally sound house, because the cosmetics are what is killing us.

All along the way we have been coming to stumbling blocks. We went right to work after closing on the house. We started pulling up carpet to reveal the beautiful hardwoods, just to find that two of the most important rooms in the house do not have hardwoods under the carpet; the dining room and living room. So, we are going to pick out our own. We also thought we could take all of the wallpaper off in a couple of days. We were wrong about that too. It took about two months to have it all down, smooth and prime the walls, but now all of the walls are beautifully painted and we are very happy with them. So, now we are replacing doors. Did you know that in the 1960's a standard interior door was 29 3/4 in. wide? And that standard has now changed to 30 in? Yes, we now have doors that do not fit. So, we are taking a step back and we are going to do more research and ask more questions.

I love to read Better Homes and Gardens especially now that I own a home. I am always so amazed at what people do with their homes. The creativity and ambition is inspiring. There are some very talented people out there. I see some of the things they start with and I can not believe the vision they have. So many times I think, "Wow! How did they ever do that? Is that really the same house?" And then I realize they took the opportunity to make that house their own. So, that is the outlook I want to have with our house. I want to look at every obstacle as an opportunity to do something great. And fortunately for me, I heard on the radio while I was on my way into work that "The Money Pit" was coming on TV tonight on the WE network. That is great! I can see how Tom Hanks gets out of his jams.

I have not laughed that hard in a long time

Last night I met with my book club and we had a great time! We always talk about the book and decide on the next book, but like most girlfriends do, we slip into so many other topics. The book we are reading this month is, Babyville by Jane Green. Of course it was selected by our current mother to be. She is one of my dearest friends and an amazing woman. Getting married wasn't stressful for her at all. In fact she had so much fun that when I was getting married I told her she was welcome to plan my wedding as well. And now, pregnancy has been the same way for her. She looks just like she did before she was pregnant, she just has a little pouch now. And she has felt great- the whole time. She walks her enormous dogs every day and acts as though she is in a constant state of bliss. She is such a good example to me on how things just do not have to be that difficult in life.

Well, since baby is always on the brain now, we must talk about it for hours at a time. And since the rest of our group has not had a baby yet, we ask tons of questions. Last night had to be one the single most entertaining nights we have spent together. We talked about the best position to deliver in, birthing classes and how pregnancy can affect your husband. We were asking our dear mother to be if people were offering as much advice about pregnancy and babies as they did weddings. All you married or engaged women know what I am talking about..... Apparently with babies it is worse. Much worse. The first question seems to be, "Are you going to breast feed?" Which is then followed up with "Are you going to stay home after the baby is born?" These questions seem as personal to me as someone asking you before you are married, "Are you still going to use condoms after you are married?" Or, "Is your husband going to be in control of the check book, or you?" I am amazed I guess. I just could not imagine asking people these questions. First, if you wanted to breast feed and you could not, you really do not want people asking you about it and then reminding you of how awful it is that you can not. And what if you wanted to stay home after you had a baby and you and your husband really could not afford it? I know what people say, you find a way to make it work, but what if you don't? And besides, what if you want to go back to work? Do you really want people telling you that you are a terrible and selfish mother if you do go back to work? No, I do not want to hear any of that. I am not sure how I will handle those questions when the time comes for me, but hopefully I won't have that many people asking. Dream on, I know.

Besides all of the burning questions that were swirling around in my head, I learned a lot about pregnancy last night and I laughed until my stomach hurt. The stories that my girlfriend has been told by other mothers are so funny. She has learned some of the most intimate details about other women's pregnancies and she has handled it with grace. I would have the look of total shock and awe if someone were telling me about their sex life during pregnancy and showing full frontal pictures of birth. I could not imagine it. I think I will just have to wait and go through it on my own. Hopefully I can handle it just as gracefully.

Loving where I live

I always imagined when I married, that I would have the sweet house, with a dog, a yard, flowers and cookouts with my neighbors. Well, we are almost there. Greg and I spent much of the weekend doing house work and some much needed yard work. Of, course all worked stopped so that Greg could see Georgia Tech win Saturday night. My dear Greg went to Tech and against my better judgment, I married him anyway...... Just kidding. I cheer for Tech too, just not when they play Georgia.:)

Greg has been wanting to get rid of some irises in the front yard. There is no rhyme or reason to their placement. It was just a half circle and it has been over grown by weeds. I wanted to pot some of them for the deck, and give some away, so I started what began as a very daunting task. We have not purchased a lot of the necessary gardening tools yet, but I do have a hand shovel and hand rank. So, I started to work.

I was taking as much care as possible with the irises and preparing the new pots for them, when I realized that I had been working for an hour and a half and I had barely put a dent in the tasks. I just knew this was going to take me more then that afternoon to complete. And I did not have all afternoon any, since we were cooking out with some friends that night and I still needed to marinate the steaks. Lots to do......

Thankfully, my neighbors across the street saw what I was up to. The wife came over and offered to let me use some of her gardening tools. she also let me know how hard it is to kill irises, so I took a lot less care with them after that. She totally made my day! What would have take me another good day, took one more hour with the tools she gave me and the help from Greg. I have determined that I have the best neighbors in the world! I even got to catch up with what was going on with a couple of more of neighbors which was good too. I have not ventured out yet to meet everyone, which is something I really plan to do. We still have a lot we are trying to do to the house and I am afraid that everyone will want to see it. They will have to see that I have turned the dining room into my office/storage room. The real office is just an extension of storage and that I have not done a thing to decorate the kitchen. It is painted, so it does look good, it just needs some flare. We are just not ready to enter into Southern Living- not yet at least.

So, our front yard is iris free and I am getting to know my neighbors a little more. I can also say that I have the cute house that goes along with the handsome husband and perfect puppy.... Well, that is when she is not barking at the neighbors..... I love where I live.

Offensive Mini van drivers

Like a lot of people, I will be the first to say that I do not want to drive a mini van. I am just not the soccer mom type. Wish I was, but I am not.

So, I noticed today that mini van drivers are on the offensive now. When I was on my way to work this morning a mini van passed me with a sticker on the front that read "Don't laugh, it's paid for". I thought, well.... that would have been a nice sticker to have when I was driving the scort. That was the pet name I gave to my blue, 1988 Ford Escort that I adored until it died in rush hour traffic one afternoon.

Later today as I was on my way to a meeting, I passed another mini van. This one had dark tinted windows and yellow letters in the back window that read "Don't laugh, your girlfriend may be in here." I was not really sure how the author really meant that, but I thought it was funny anyway. So, I have decided that if my husband comes home one day with a mini van for me to drive, that I will drive it only one condition. It must have a sun roof, automatic open and close back door, tinted windows and a sign on the back window that reads, "Don't laugh, my husband bought it for me."