Friday, October 31, 2008

Happy Halloween!!!


In case you were wondering,... yes. I am wearing my costume all day. I wore it to play games with my Seminary kids this morning, I'm wearing it in the campaign office all day (I figure the volunteers sitting at phones for 5 hours could use a little entertainment), and I'm wearing it to two parties tonight.
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I only wish I had the abilities of simply singing a song to have my apartment magically clean itself up and commuting by umbrella. I made a giant tapestry bag and have an umbrella on hand just in case.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

How Rude!

I hate to make another departure from my usual attempt to find things "virtuous, lovely, of good report or praiseworthy" to post about. This one will instead consist of two instances in the last 2 days that were bizarre to me. Rude, if you will.


1. The siren of perfect fall weather called my name on Sunday afternoon. I spent a good two hours walking and taking in the sights of fiery red and golden yellow leaves and the smells of fireplaces and damp earth. I went through my neighborhood and to a nearby park. Many other locals were at the park, getting the most out of the day. I saw numerous families, couples, joggers, walkers, dog-walkers and strollers.

Maybe I'm alone in this, but I share sidewalks like I do the road. I stay to the right. I've never really made a conscious decision to do this, it's just natural, I suppose. Well.. about 1/2 way through my walk a man and his dog were coming toward me as we were rounding a side of the pond. I was staying in the same location, hugging the right side of the sidewalk. He, on the other hand, began dodging from side to side the closer he got to me. He started to huff and grumble.

When he got about 10 feet in front of me, he yells, "Hey! Get on the OTHER side! I have to be between you and the DOG!". I was so perplexed that he was yelling at me that I didn't move. I've been a dog lover my whole life. Even big or agressive breeds don't generally make me nervous. This man's spaniel certainly wasn't agitated. The owner, oddly enough, held tightly to the leash and gritted his teeth at me. After passing, I looked over my shoulder in time to lock eyes with the guy one more time. He was still visibly upset with me.

I didn't say it out loud, but I was thinking, "What just happened? Ummm... buddy, you had the ability to put your dog on the other side." I'm all about walking your dog. I get it. But, when did dogs start getting the right of way?

2. (Please don't judge me for a fast food run in the midst of my "get in shape" efforts). Last night, between leaving the office and arriving at the evening event I was attending, I drove through the Arby's window. I needed something small. When it was my turn to order, the conversation went like this:

Me: Hi, can I please have an Arby Melt (from the 5 for $6.95 menu)?
Voice: Do you have a coupon?
Me: No.
Voice: Ok, so you want a Beef and Cheddar. ($4.40 comes up on the screen)
Me: No, I'd like a Melt. (knowing they are smaller (and cheaper))
Voice: You can't get just a melt without a coupon.
Me: So, I can get 5 items for $6.95, but I can't order just one item?
Voice: Right.
Me: Ok... (puzzled).... Can I please have just a Jr. Roast Beef then?
Voice: One Regular Roast Beef Sandwich.
Me: No, a Jr.
Voice: Ok. One Kids Meal.
Me: No, just a Jr. Roast Beef Sandwich.
Voice: You can't get the sandwich without the kids meal.
Me: Ok, nevermind, I'll go somewhere else. Have a good night.

I mean... they WANT people to buy things there, right?

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

8 Years Ago Today

I'm sure I finally had this memorized. This is dedicated to Shelly.

These are a Few of my Favorite Things (II)

Things I have used in the last week to celebrate fall.
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Williams Sonoma Pumpkin Spice Lotion - (description from their own website) Subtle notes of orange and clove mingle with nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla for a warm, spicy fragrance inspired by favorite holiday foods. Ahhh.... it's sitting on my desk at work and provides me a little piece of scent heaven each day. I fell in love with their Winter Forest scent 3 years ago, and predict this new one will be an annual necessity too.
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Chewy Gingerbread Cookies - I took the cheater way out and used a cake mix I had on hand for pumpkin gingerbread trifle. Instead of following the cake instructions, I added only 1/4 cup hot water and 2 tablespoons of melted butter. I rolled into balls and in sugar before baking. They were perfect and simple.

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Mugs of herbal mint tea

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Yankee Candle's "Autumn Wreath" scent in the car.

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London Bridge is Falling Brown" nail polish by OPI. I thought this color was discontinued (much to my dismay), but found it at the nail salon I went to on Saturday (much to my delight!).
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I didn't mean for this post to be a commercial, but since I rarely get to be outside to enjoy the gorgeous changing of the leaves, I'm apparently compensating.
What are YOU using to help remind you of fall?

Monday, October 20, 2008

Who Says Cats Can't be Girl's Best Friend?


For the last 10 days or so, I've begun an earnest effort to get back into great shape. I'm eating my fruits and veggies, skipping fast food and got a gym membership.

Marilyn is a very supportive friend. She's even watching her own weight too. See?

(I didn't even stage this. I walked around the corner and saw her sitting there)

Friday, October 10, 2008

Since You've Been Gone

Great apologies for my lapse in posts. I've been traveling a little more with work, going to bed earlier because of Seminary and battling back the onslaught of fleas that is rampant in my neighborhood (not fun).


In the interim, I do have a couple human behaviors to uncharacteristically whine about. I suppose they could be newly found pet peeves. And, I ask forgiveness prematurely if you fall in one of these categories.

1. I noticed this in Lynchburg and now in Richmond, and suspect it is part of a larger parking lot conspiracy - - - people who park in reverse so they can pull out in "drive" when they exit. This takes far more time to get into a parking spot (usually frustrating a line of people waiting behind while the driver navigates a 7 point turn into the spot). If they are worried about backing out of the spot into blind areas, I send a proverbial question into the wind, "Wouldn't you rather back into a much wider area than the spot you just backed into with your reverse lights on the back of your vehicle then pull out blindly forward with no extra exterior signal on your car?".

2. I've been against most local and state ordinances pertaining to the use of cell phones while driving because I think they are a. nearly impossible to enforce and b. impratical. But, as citizens, we can still make the decision to focus on the road. I am SO tired of coming upon a driver on the freeway that is either going 20 mph below the speed limit in one of the left lanes and causing a back up and people try to get around them or slowly drifting into my lane going 60 mph. WITHOUT FAIL when I look over at them to give them my "I don't appreciate you" glare, they are on their phone.

True story, and not an isolated case in my life - I was driving from Lynchburg to Charlottesville sometime earlier this year. Through my rearview mirror, I noticed the car behind me was closer to my rear bumper than I was comfortable with. I had been using cruise control for a good 20 miles already, but sped up slightly to increase the distance between us. The other car stayed right behind me. (I should interject at this point that we are both in the right lane and the passing lane is wide open). I then tried flashing my brakes a couple times. No change. I sped up again. No change. I slowed down from 60 mph to 30 mph! , figuring they would finally pass me. But, no. By this point, we had driven about 8 miles or so with our cars about 6 ft. apart. I was fuming. I finally slowed to a stop in the middle of 29, with the other car stopping with me. As I prepared to step out of my car the girl looked in her rearview mirror and pulled out around me to pass. She was, of course, on her phone. Turns out she off in la-la land on her phone and spacing out staring at my bumper apparently. She never noticed I had fluctuated my speeds from 70 mph to a stop. Argh.