Didn't your momma teach you better?

To the known readers of my blog, this post is not directed to you. There may be others that read but never comment, so I can't vouch for you. (Side note: I like comments on my blog.) At lunch today, I encountered what happens from time to time for me. And, every time, I want to reach out and slap the person. That would not be appropriate even though it would make me feel great.

"What happened to your face?" NOTHING HAPPENED TO MY FACE YOU DIM-WIT! I would love to verbalize that previous statement but being a good person, I don't. It's called a birthmark, ever heard of it? And didn't your mother teach you better? Really people.

There are questions I would like to ask to many people I pass throughout the course of a day. Do I? No. Why? Because it would be rude or insensitive or just plain awkward. I don't mind people asking about my birthmark, really I don't. It's the way in which you ask about it that makes the difference to me. Instead of "What happened to your face?", ask "Can I ask about the red mark on your face?" See the difference in delivery? It's called tact, our society needs more of it.

Cheesy smile, huh? :)

Fun in the sun

On Saturday, Wendi, Mandy, and I went to Holiday World. FUN! Wendi had spoken of this place many times and said we needed to go someday. Well, about a month ago we decided that July 26 would be the day we travel to southern Indiana, to the middle of a cornfield and act like a kid all day. After yesterday, I highly recommend this park to anyone!

You get an amusement park and a water park for one price, but that's not all. There are sunscreen stations all over the park, for free. There are drinks stations all over the park...for free! Yes, for free! Pepsi products, lemonades and water for free, as much as you can drink throughout the day. That makes the low admission price even more amazing. The food was good and cheap, too. You don't have to pay an arm and a leg to eat a meal.

The rides were great! All the roller coasters are wooden, which I love to ride. One scared me big time, I was clinging to the bar for dear life! The water park is phenomenal, rides all over the place and plenty of places to relax. The roller coaster rides had a house attached, letting you wait inside while in line. That is ingenious!

With the water park came the need for fashion police. It down right floors me by what some people wear in public just because they are at a water park! That all I'll say about that.

By the end of the day, we were spent. Wendi was knocked out in the back seat so you don't get to see her in the pictures.

It's called a thesaurus

It's not a type of dinosaur or dreaded disease, you don't have to fear it. A thesaurus can be your friend and make you appear much smarter to your friends and coworkers. This wonderful little treasure of a book is a gift I would love to give to my coworker who shall remain nameless. It might scare her! (If you know the person to whom I'm referring, that last statement will make you laugh.) Mandy - did I use the correct who/whom?

Following the path of my friend Mandy, I give you a mixture of two posts she has written lately. Mandy is in the process of teaching some basic grammar lessons. Yesterday she wrote on words that make her queasy inside, or at the least get on her nerves. I submit for your reading pleasure a list of words my nameless coworker needs to use, but she inserts the word scare(d)(s)(y) for most applications:

concerned
confused
alarmed
anxious
dreading
apprehensive
horrified
embarrassed
mortified
terrified
freaked-out
nervous
frightened
worried
panicked
troubled

It's really funny to a three year old

My boss has her three-year-old daughter in the office this morning. Lauren is telling us jokes while we work. Right now, her favorite joke is "Why does the cow jump over the moon? Because it's a lawnmower!" She proceeds to laugh and laugh. We have heard about multiple animals going over the moon because they are a lawnmower. Lauren laughs every time because she thinks it is funny; we are laughing because she keeps them coming.

Isn't it funny how a toddler gets a line in their head and every joke afterward gets that statement as the punchline?

Welcome to Monday

Why do we despise Mondays so? It's not their fault they are the first day of the work week. Friday is the beloved work-week day.

Taking the advice of a friend, I bought a new cat litter last night. Feline Pine looks very different from most litters, but even with just one night of use, and the mixture half new and half old litter, I am very satisfied with the product! Slowly the old litter will go away as they use the litter box, which means I will soon have a litter-free bathroom floor! Yea! :) This may seem a small or silly thing to blog about, but if you have cats or frequent a house with them, you know what a great thing this is.

I made a quick trip home to see the family on Saturday, came back Sunday evening. My oldest brother Bryan lives on my way into Somerset so I stopped and visited for a while, meaning I got to see the whole family since the rest live in Somerset. My youngest brother Steve had a birthday on Saturday, very old man of 37 ;) Bryan will be 40 next April, we are getting old!

Taking the lead from Crystal again and her recent post on movies (go read the post before continuing), what band or song do you just not get that everyone else seems to love? I find myself scratching my head at many popular singers/bands of today. I just don't see the talent.

Total randomness, I know. Off to work...

What a long week!

Rest must have eluded my sleep last night because I am so tired right now. My mind won't wrap around the task at hand. It's been a slow start to this Wednesday.

Anyone else tired of stupid summer shows? I'm ready for my regular television addictions to come back! One of them starts tonight!!!! I'm very excited!!!! The multiple exclamations marks should be a clue ;) Project Runway returns for its fifth season and I am uber-happy!

I'm also kind of excited to see the new X-Files movie that comes out at the end of the month. I know, I'm a dork and nerd to like that show but I always have enjoyed it.

For all my cat-loving, cat-owning friends out there:

Fun time with friends

I never posted the following photos from a night at the movies. So, here you go.

I can't remember what movie we watched this night, but we had a great time while walking into the theater. As you can see, Mandy was ready for whatever the movie handed her with that big-momma pot of popcorn and the thirst-quenching extra large soda. Of course, we all enjoyed some of that buttery popcorn goodness. You can't go to the movies without eating popcorn which costs way too much!

Janice also enjoyed the walk into the movie theater. She sat down with the Zohan to trim her hair. The clothing assemble which Adam Sandler had on was a little icky but we'll just overlook that part :)

A beginning

I have two brothers, both older than me. Bryan is eight years older, Steve is six years older. I grew up with Steve but not Bryan. He left the house at sixteen, meaning I was only eight at the time. I don't have many memories of us together before he moved out.

Suffice to say, we haven't had a lot of time together over the years. Bryan is in town for a visit. He came in yesterday and will be around probably until tomorrow morning. We toured the Opryland Hotel last night because everyone needs to see that place at least once. Bryan loved it. Tonight we are attending a Nashville Sounds game with some of my friends. This is only the second time in my life where I've spent time like this with Bryan. Weird huh? To have not spent time with your brother! But that is our history.

It seems as though we are beginning a friendship after 30 years of life. We talk occasionally on the phone, unlike ten years ago when we would never have called each other on the phone. I'm glad this friendship has started. I hear friends talk of their siblings with such love and closeness. I want that.

What might have been

One of my favorite country songs gave me the title to this post, What might have been by Lonestar. The lyrics of that song could supply multiple posts for me, but I'll focus on one.

Depression has been a thorn in my side since my early twenties. I've never been clinically depressed but I suffer with moments (sometimes weeks or months) of just a downcast spirit. There is never a prominent circumstance which leads to this state. I think life in general does it :) So I find myself in another of those moments right now. There is an anxiety inside of me at the moment that I can't put a finger on. Very frustrating.

Lately, my mind has thought about how I'm a couple steps behind most of my peers. I went to college after high school but did not finish right away. I left college and traveled with Life Action Ministries for three years. After that, I moved home to Somerset, Kentucky for two years. After seven years of being out of high school, I went back to college. When my ten-year high school reunion came up I had just finished undergraduate work.

Most of my high school classmates had been finished with that part of life and been in a job for a good four plus years. That meant they were already paying on their student loans, buying a house instead of renting, and possibly married with children. I was just starting that part of life. Now, don't get me wrong, I know God had plans for me to travel with Life Action Ministries and not finish my degree for a while. But, from those decisions has come a present frustration.

As a thirty-year-old woman living in Nashville, I am extremely tied down to some financial obligations that most of my classmates have moved past. They are free to explore a career they would enjoy, not just have a job that pays bills. Since I didn't know what I wanted to spend my life doing for a career at the age of seventeen, I don't have the education to back career paths I would love to venture down. And to start now with the educational training is nearly impossible. The money simply isn't there. If someone wants to cover my bills for a couple of years, I would be very willing to pursue the degree I want.

Where the song title comes into play is this: What might have been, what would be in my life right now if I'd known what college major to have right out of high school? Where would I be financially, relationally, vocationally?

OK, enough melancholy Mindy.

Why that dress?

If I was standing next to Colin Firth, I would definitely feel inside what her dress depicts outside. BUT if I was standing next to Colin Firth, I would NOT, repeat would not, have that dress on! What was she thinking? What kind of fashion sense tells you that dress is OK?

Battle of the ice creamery

Last night my dear friend Christina and her boyfriend were in town. We grilled out and enjoyed the lovely evening air. It is rather strange to have a low eighties temp and low humidity for July...but I'll take it!

After supper, we decided ice cream was in order. That's a no-brainer. We went to Maggie Moo's since it is very close to my house. Yum! I got the better batter ice cream with you guessed it, Reese's peanut butter cups! Yummy!!!!!!

I think I prefer Maggie Moo's over Coldstone and Marble Slab. Their ice cream is creamier, smoother, not as sugary.

What is your favorite ice cream joint?