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- On Sunday, I was really worried about this work week. Mostly because it was going to be a full five days for me. You see, the last three weeks, I have only worked 3 or 4 days because of vacation and holidays. Thankfully, it didn’t go by as slowly as I thought it was going to.
- Last night I went the the monthly business meeting for the volunteer FD. These meetings can be kind of entertaining when the discussions get heated. There is lots of drama and things wrong in this department. Really. Men always say that women have drama, but we’ve got nothing on these (mostly) guys. The main problem is that they make rules and don’t stick to them. I have mentioned this time and time again. Last night was the perfect example. They created a new weapons policy – in a nutshell, no weapons allowed on FD property unless you’re a police officer, etc. This all came about because someone had their gun in the station the other day just messing around with it (cleaning or something, I mean). This made come people uncomfortable because there are a few members that have a history of physical violence and are quick to fly off the handle. Therefore, having a weapon accessible is not really a good idea. You must remember that we live in the South and our town does have it’s own “back woods.” A lot of the people got all upset saying they couldn’t prohibit that if they have a concealed carry permit – it can be prohibited if signs are posted. They were mostly concerned with the fact that a lot of them keep guns in their car. One guy even said that he probably had three in his truck last night. So, the Board of Directors and the chief said, ‘just don’t bring them in the building. I”m telling your right now, i”m not going to check your cars.” Someone questioned that saying that the parking lot was FD property though, they again repeated, “As long as you don’t bring it in the building, I’m not going to check your truck. It’s fine if it’s in your truck.” If that’s how it is going to be, fine. Just don’t say it as part of a formal meeting. While the entire meeting is being recorded. The rules need to be followed. This is just one example.
- Shep has something wrong with his paw. He has been limping ever since we picked him up from camp two weekends ago. We thought it would go away, because he often limps after he plays a lot, but it hasn’t. We’ve determined that it is his paw, one toe in particular, and not his leg. I mean, he limps really bad. But he still plays with Dixie. I almost wonder if he does it for sympathy. Just kidding. He won’t let L even go near one of his toes. I’ve been giving him some children’s Tylenol, but I don’t know if it’s helping. I just wish he could talk. L might take him to the vet next week if he doesn’t show any improvement. I almost wonder if it is a broken toe, and like a human, there’s not much you can do about it. But we’ll see. Our poor little Shep-dog.
-Speaking of Shep, we’ve got about half of the money for his eye surgery saved. I think we’re going to try and save a little bit more and then move forward and put the balance on a credit card. That was the original plan, at least.
- I’ve recently been thinking about selling three of my Lilly Pulitzer dresses online. They have been sitting in my closet for two years and each of them has only been worn one time for a few hours to a couple different bridal showers. They don’t fit anymore because I bought them in my skinny days. I know that I could get at least $100 each on ebay for them – and that would be $300 I could put toward shep’s surgery, or my credit card, or in savings. But then I think, they would be so pretty to wear to a bridal shower of my own. And there’s no way I”m letting my self stay this size for our wedding and that once I sell them, I don’t have the money to replace them – so maybe I should wait. I’m just not sure. I’m still throwing the idea around.
- My coworker returns from maternity leave on Wednesday. I am SO. EXCITED. It would probably be inappropriate of me to fill her office with balloons, right? Because I’m assuming that she’ll be sad about dropping her little one off at daycare for the first time, but I am definitely excited.
Happy Weekend!
This weekend turned out to be really nice. Our office suprisingly closed at 3 on Thursday, which was very nice! I headed home and continued to work on the banners I was doing for the Volunteer FD’s 4th of July parade “float.” L and I had a quick dinner and then he headed to training while I went and purchased MORE blue glitter for the signs. I then worked on them until midnight and was still not done.
We had plans to actually put fence posts in the ground Friday, but I had to get these posters done since we were decorating the float at 2. I finally finished at 1:45. Spent a couple hours decorating and hanging out and then went home to shower and change and then headed to LM’s housewarming party.
I was sad about not getting to put the fence posts in. You know, since L cleared the land last AUGUST. Oh well, hopefully we’ll be able to do them next weekend.
LM’s party was fun and we stayed till about 1, which made getting up early the next morning for the parade tough.
We left the fire station at 8:30 to go get in line and hung out till 10 when it started. The parade route is really small, but it was fun nonetheless. We had great weather – sunny and warm, but not too warm.
I would show you pictures of my signs, but I would have to black out a huge portion of it that includes our town’s name (although, I’m sure I’ve slipped up and left it in some picture on this blog at some point) and I just don’t feel like doing that.
After the parade, L and I just hung around the house and then headed back up to the fire station around 6 for an impromtu cookout before the fireworks in town.
Yesterday, L worked so I took the opportunity to sleep in way later than I have slept in a long time, cleaned the house and took the puppies to the dog park. Ever since Shep came back from camp last weekend he has been limping. He always limps after he plays a lot, and I just chalked it up to him getting hurt when he was younger and it just getting sore. He was limping a lot at the dog park and I wonder if he injured himself at camp. I gave him to children’s tylenol – although I have no idea if it helped or not since he obviously can’t talk! I guess we’ll just keep an eye on it.
Hope everyone else had a nice 4th too!
The long awaited Thanksgiving holiday break has come and gone and now it’s back to work. I headed up to CT Wednesday afternoon and the whole trip started off on a good foot.
I left work a few minutes earlier than I needed to so I could stop and see L at work for a couple minutes before I left. He and the rest of his colleagues were just sitting down at a chinese restaurant in their area, so I was just going to pop in. When he came to meet me me outside, so did his Captain who told him to take me to the airport so I didn’t have to leave my car there. His captain can be a real ass sometimes, but it was very nice of him to let L leave during a shift in the middle of the day… and it also saved me about $30 in parking fees. L dropped me off and then returned to the station and left my car there for the remainder of the weekend.
The airport was only mildly crowded and things seemed to be going smoothly. Then, 10 minutes before we were scheduled to board they said the incoming flight was late. Ugh. I thought this was the beginning of the end. Sure, it starts out with a 20 minute delay which would spiral into hours.
But. I was wrong. The 20 minute delay only ended up being 10 minutes. We go on the plane and were off without a hitch. It was a small plane, only two seats on each side of the aisle. And I got an exit row all to myself. Score!
We stopped in Norfolk, VA, but were continuing on the same plane. I didn’t even have to get off the plane for the 30 minute layover.
I landed in NYC 15 minutes early and my parents were there and off we were to CT.
Unfortunately, my dad was being annoying and difficult before I ever got in the car and my mom was being overbearing. I pretty much only go home for holidays. And she misses me. But it’s just too much sometimes.
We got take out from one of my favorite local restaurants and I went to bed pretty early.
Every year for the last 10 years or so, my mom has done Thanksgiving dinner. And before that, for as long as I could remember it was my grandma. Well, this year. This year was different. My cousin and his wife (who I am not particularly fond of) were hosting dinner. The thing that gets me is that they didn’t even ask my mom if she minded or even offer to do it. The wife just matter of factly stated she was doing it.
We got there around 1:30 as requested and didn’t eat until 3. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Hands down. But there was a problem. As I began to eat, nothing was right. It wasn’t just because they weren’t my mom’s recipes. But nothing had any flavor. And the stuffing. Oh, the stuffing. It was a gummy mess that was stuck together.
It turns out that the entire meal was
Trans fat free.
Yes, you read that correctly.
Seriously. This is Thanksgiving people. It’s not supposed to be good for you. I like butter. And salt – because there was a lack of that too.
The pies for dessert were good, I’ll give her that. But otherwise, it was a huge disappointment. We didn’t head home till 8:30 that night – which was entirely too long if you ask me.
Thankfully, my mom had bought a small turkey and made a mini Thanksgiving dinner – complete with butter, fat and flavor – on Friday.
Her and I headed out for breakfast at a diner around 9am on Friday and then hit the mall and a few other stores. I didn’t really have a whole lot left to buy, nor did I have much money to spend. We did get a few deals and my mom got some big items knocked off her list, so all in all, it was a productive day. We went home and ate the delicious Thanksgiving dinner.
Then two of my Flavas and some other friends headed out to a mexican place for drinks to catch up. Unfortunately, they started kareoke about 15 minutes after we got there and it was so incredibly loud that my throat hurt the next day from talking so loud in order to be heard. It was a good time, but we could have done without the kareoke since it’s not often we are able to get together.
Saturday, my mom and I went to one more store and then left for the airport at 12:30. After stopping to get a coffee for the road, my mom noticed that the battery light in her car came on. Since the airport is more than an hour from our house, we decided it wasn’t a good idea to drive that far. So we waited for my dad to come meet us and take us. He is so. slow. By the time he got there, we had cut into the cushion of time I allowed for traffic or lines. And traffic we hit.
I really didn’t think I was going to make my flight. But somehow, I did. The airport was absolutely empty and I made it through security (with my container of gravy that was more than 3.4 oz) and to the gate with 10 minutes to spare. The flights were good and before I knew it, L was picking me up.
I was so happy to see him. I missed him so much. And I missed our puppies too. We spend Sunday running errands and cuddling on the couch – and it was exactly where I wanted to be. I used to hate leaving home after the holidays, but this time I couldn’t wait.
And now we’re back at work. Only 3 more weeks till Christmas – and I have that whole week off. Heck yeah!
It is one of my all time favorite Broadway shows. RENT, that is. The Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winning show closed earlier this month after more than a 10 year run. This was a show that defined my highschool years. It’s not that I could identify with any of the characters, but the music. and the message. They were all so great.
I first found out about the show the summer before my freshman year of highschool – so, I guess 1997, a year after it had won some of the big awards. I was in a summer production with a local youth recreation organization of Jesus Christ Superstar. The director and some of the main cast had seen it and become obsessed with it. We used “Will I?” to warm up before practices. Used the choreoghraphy from “La Vie Bohemme” for one of our numbers. And slowly I learned more of the music and really enjoyed it.
Soon, I bought the two-disc soundtrack. In no time, I knew the words to every song. Every. single. song. Before I had even seen the show.
Eventually, I saw it. And saw it again, and again and again. In total, I think I’ve seen it at least 11 times. Possibly more.
The show was scheduled to close in June. My best friend R and I were going to try to make it back to see it one last time. Then it was extended to September. Unfortunately, I just wasn’t able to make it. It closed a few weeks ago after a fabulous run.
I was online one day when, what’s this? An ad for RENT in theaters? I wondered why they were re-releasing the (awful) movie version that came out about three years ago. And then. I realized what it was. They had filmed the final performance of the show and would be featuring it for four days.
I was going.
Tickets were $20. But I was willing to shell out the cash. I asked L if he would go with me. To experience something that I truly loved. He agreed, although he had no idea what it was about.
So that’s what we did Sunday.
I was unsure of whether or not I should tell him what it’s about. Although he likes going to shows and has gone with me before. This one is a bit, um, edgier than his usual selection. I decided to let him go in with no information.
Although I wanted to get there early to ensure we got a good seat, we got there just 5 minutes before it started. But no worries, it was less than half full. I can’t say I’m surprised. The show has a great following, but we’re no where near NY. And then there is the edgi-ness factor. Perhaps something a lot of the conservatives down here in the south wouldn’t like. (Although, I do nothing to hide how conservative I really am) There was a small group of high school kids behind us. They were real RENT followers. It reminded me of me and my friends.
About 10 or 15 minutes into the show, L turned to me and asked, “What have you brought me to?”
I chuckled, I can’t say I was really surprised by his reaction. Just before Angel came out in his/her cross-dressing outfit, I told him I didn’t think he would be prepared for what was happening next.
When he/she came out in the Santa-suit looking coat/jacket with a black bob wig, lots of bright makeup, zebra-stripped tights and 4″ black paten-leather platform heels, he looked at me and said “Oh God.”
During intermission (yes, they had intermission. And even kept the screen up showing the stage hands cleaning up and preparing for the second act), I asked him what he thought.
“It’s pretty liberal. I’m surprised you like this so much.”
But me? I loved every second of it. I have to admit. It was weird to see it up on the screen. If you’ve seen the show, you know how during some songs groups of characters are all singing at the same time, but about different things. The camera would zoom in on the different groups, and for someone who had never seen the show before, it made it easier for them to differentiate the lyrics and more easily understand what was going on.
But at the same time, they were sometimes zoomed in too close and I didn’t get the full affect. For instance, there is a scene where Mimi dances on a thin metal railing, about 15 feet in the air. I was always scared she would fall off. But in the film version they zoomed in so far, you couldn’t see how high up she was.
Overall though, I loved it. It didn’t come across as powerful to me. Maybe because I couldn’t feel the music vibrating in my chest. But I’m still glad I went. I just wish I could have been there in person.
At the end, after the curtain call, the cast, plus members of the cast from over the years came out and sang “Seasons of Love” one last time. Now that. That was amazing. It was also cool to see how many I recognized from the shows that I had seen.
In the end, L said that although it was different and a little weird, he enjoyed it. I told him he wouldn’t hurt my feelings if he said he didn’t like it, but he insisted he enjoyed himself.
Always remember:
No Day But Today
Fluff. Of the marshmallow variety that is.
I have come across many differences between the north and south during my time living here the last few years. This is nothing shocking. Of course grits are more popular here than in CT, among many, many other things. But what I’ve noticed is that there is something that I always thought was a genuine all-American treat that many Southeners haven’t experienced.
Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you:
And more specifically:
That’s right. The Fluffernutter.
This was a staple choice in my elementary school lunch box. Ah, who am I kidding, I eat a Fluffernutter to this day. In fact, I had one yesterday.
Not only was this a common find in my lunch box, but in the lunch box of all of my friends.
My junior year of college was the first time I realized that not everyone in the great nation has experienced the joy of a Fluffernutter. Not even Fluff itself, for that matter.
One of my roommates (who had lived in CT through middle school until her dad’s job brought them to NC) and I were at the grocery store and decided to buy some Fluff and make a Fluffernutter for lunch.
We happily added a loaf of bread and some peanut butter to our basket and set off to make a glorious meal.
Back at our apartment, we were in the middle of making our sandwiches when our third roommate, a true Southener through and through, walked in and asked us what in God’s name we were putting on that bread with the peanut butter.
We explained, and not only had she never heard of it, but she found it repulsive.
For any others who may not know, a Fluffernutter is basically the same as peanut butter and jelly, but you replace the jelly with Fluff.
I couldn’t believe that she had never heard of it. I asked a few other friends after this, and they too had never heard of it.
L has never heard of it either. I remember asking him one time when we first started dating if he like them or not. He had no idea what I was talking about. So I made him one. He doesn’t remember if he liked it or not.
It’s just surprising to me. Because it was seriously a part of my childhood. In fact, just the other day I was on the phone with one of the Flavas (high school buds), R. R and I have known each other since third grade. We hadn’t talked in a long, long while and as we were catching up, she asked if L was “the one.” As I answered the question affirmitively, I said that at the rate we’re going, our wedding will be on our front lawn and we are going to serve peanut butter & jelly sandwiches.
Her immediate reply?
“Well, I’ll bring the Fluff then.”
I kid you not.
So, tell me. In this great blogging world. Where people are from all over. Have you experienced a Fluffernutter? Or Fluff in general? Perhaps you topped your hot chocolate with it instead of marshmallows or whipped cream?
I will say, that I can’t seem to find the Fluff brand here. I had to settle for Jet-Puffed Marshmallow Cream. 
So, I haven’t been writing much and I still don’t know why. I miss you guys. Although, I do keep up with all my reading, even if I haven’t been commenting. Since I do most of my blogging at work (tsk, tsk, I know) and I’ve been so fed up with work lately, I just haven’t bothered. It’s like whenever I am here, I’m miserable.
But I’m going to try to get back to doing this regularly. For real this time. Here’s a quick update from the last month.
- At the beginning of the month the department that L volunteers/works part-time at had a training fire. They burned a 30,000 square foot house that otherwise would have been torn down. He asked me to stop by for a little while if I wanted to. Before I got there, he called to tell me that I would have to take care of him that night because he burned his ear pretty bad. Apparently, the fire got bigger and hotter than they had intended and they were actually fighting to save the house for awhile, rather than just doing some training exercises and controlling it as it burned to the ground like normal. Good thing there were like 3 other departments there training as well.
Part of the house as they were letting it burn to the ground
Nasty blister from the burn – and it got even bigger than this
After it popped – ewwww – glad it’s back to normal these days!
- After the fire we hung out with a bunch of other people at one of his friend’s houses. We swam and ate. It was a lot of fun. And I’m glad that we’re actually hanging out with his friends now. I know he says that they’re a lot older than us (most of them in their 30s with kids), but they still have a good time. I feel a lot better these days that I’m actually meeting these people and they know who I am. It’s not like he was hiding me from them or anything, we just never did anything socially with them.
- We went to a Toby Keith concert with some friends. We got there at like 4 so we could tailgate for longer and cook out. It was a lot of fun. Until I went crazy that night (but we’re all good now).
At the concert
- Shep and Dixie have finally started obedience training. They are 6 1/2 months old – can you believe it?! They have gotten so big, but they’re probably only about half of their full-grown size. They are getting private lessons and the trainer comes to our house. We practice with them a lot, they’ve only had two sessions (out of 5 or 6) so far, but the trainer said they’re doing very well. Although, he did mention that he thinks Dixie is going to be a challenge and that Shep is more submissive and already knows that we are the boss. Haha. I’m excited that they’re doing well and it’s even kind of fun to work with them. Pretty soon I’ll be able to take them on walks by myself again. Right now, they are too strong for me to take both at once on my own.
They had just gotten a bath two weeks before. Then they decided to dig a hole next to the A/C unit where it was muddy and this is what happened. Gotta love Carolina red clay! Shep was dirty too. They got another bath. Immediately. Because I was not letting them in the house like this.
Shep
- This past weekend was my friend, KO’s, wedding. She looked absolutely stunning. They had to cut some extra things out of the ceremony at the last minute because it was outside and a thunderstorm was on it’s way, but everything was beautiful and they are MARRIED!
My friend A, from California, took this picture. I think it belongs in a bridal magazine!
We danced and had a grand ‘ol time, but there was no liquor at the open bar and no beer that the boys liked – so they spent a lot of time at the hotel bar and every now and then we would go out for a drink, to visit and to pull them in for a dance!
- And just when I thought wedding season was over. Tuesday I check my personal email and see that N, one of the FLAVA high school friends sent me a message on Facebook, so I went to read it. Shadylady that she is chose Facebook to tell me that she just got ENGAGED! Woohoo! I’m very excited for her. So sometime next year, we’ll have another wedding to attend. She’s the first of my close HS friends to get married.
- And then I get jealous because I want it to be me. But I know it will happen, becaue L and I talk about it constantly and the only reason it hasn’t is because he needs to save his money to buy some sparkly. I just can’t wait to start my new life with him.
- We don’t have any big plans for this weekend. L is working today and Saturday. Tomorrow is the 4th of July parade in the town we live in and he’ll likely be driving one of the fire trucks which means I will likely be riding along. I went with him last year and had a good time. I think I’ll enjoy it more this year that I actually know some people. Oh and last year, the photographer snapped this totally candid shot of us. I love it.
After the parade, one of his friends is having people over for a BBQ, so we’ll go there. He apparently has $600 worth of fireworks he is going to set off too. Yikes! Should be a festive night.
Hope everyone has a safe and Happy 4th of July! Hopefully we’ll be back to regularly scheduled programming. 
The Flavas and I have been exchanging emails the past couple days to distract us from boredom and lack of motivation and, just because.
N, told us about a Web site a colleague told her about. Freerice.com.
You take vocabulary tests, and for each word you get correct, 20 grains of rice is donated through the UN Food World program to help fight hunger.
Something to do when you’re bored – and it’s for a good cause. Check it out.
I don’t stick to one station on my way to work in the morning. I used to. I used to be loyal to one and only station. When I still lived in CT. But not anymore. I toggle between presets 1, 3 and 4 on my radio. 3 and 4 are the local country stations, 1 is the syndicated morning talk show on the top 40 (I guess) station. It’s home market is Charlotte though.
I used to like the morning talk, but a lot of times I would rather listen to music. So, swith between country stations for music, then when their annoying DJs start talking, go back to the other talk show.
It’s a good show. They’re funny and do some typical crazy radio stunts and contests. But my favorite day is Friday morning at 7:40 am. This is one of the only good things about Friday morning. The other being that it’s the last day I have to get up and go to work for a couple days.
7:40 is the Friday Morning Weekend Blastoff. Before L and I started dating, I never got to hear it because I was still getting ready for work. Then when we did start dating and spending the night together, I always got excited on Friday morning if we spent Thursday night at his house. I had to leave earlier then and got to hear it.
The weekend blast off is a montage of songs that is different every week. Usually big hits from the 80s and 90s, sometimes a little remix from the 70s. It’s great. It’s that “oh yes! I love this song” feeling to get you through the last day of the week.
Well, now that I moved in with L, I get to hear it all the time.
So anyway, the first beats of the first song started today and immediately I knew what song it was. And just as soon as I knew what song it was, this started playing in my head.
Boyz II Men’s MoTown Philly will forever remind me of Full House. It’s just one of those songs that I immediately associate with something.
I think everyone’s life has a soundtrack. Whether it’s songs that describe your life at this moment, or a moment in the past, or songs that remind you of a time in your life. There are some songs that come on that I can tell you exactly what summer during college they were popular. I just remember always hearing them driving around with the Flavas (I still have to tell the story of the Flavas), my best friends from high school, going to various places and singing along.
Or the fact that Closing Time and Bittersweet Symphony remind me of the musicals from highschool because they were played for the seniors backstage before the final performance.
Check Yes or No reminds me of the first time that L and I hung out all day. Because the silly boy actually ripped off a piece of scrap paper on the coffee table, wrote on it and then handed it to me. “Do you like me? ___ Yes ____ No” (He still has that paper, with a nice check mark next to ‘yes’).
I think this happens for everyone. What are some songs that are memorable for you?
I check my personal email account and I see something in my inbox from one of my best friends from high school, she’s a Flava (a story for a whole other time). We don’t get to talk as often as I wish we did, so immediately I’m excited.
Then I read the subject line and am puzzled: “It’s the end of an era… Can we plan a trip for old time’s sake?”
I open the message and all there is is a link to an article in the NY Times. You would think that since neither of us lives in the Tri-State area anymore that we would give up those papers, but we don’t.
I never thought that the headline I would read when I clicked on that link would be so meaningful.
“Nearly 12 Years Old, ‘RENT’ is to Close”
RENT, the rock opera story of a group of young New Yorkers just trying to survive. All with their unique situations. I just couldn’t believe that the show will actually be closing – and I recognize that for many, this probably seems like an overreaction.
But RENT was a major part of my high school years. I have seen it 11 times, possibly 12, but definitely 11. I could sing every word to every song on the entire soundtrack. I knew each character’s lines in between song. I knew the movements and even some of the personal spins that an actor would their lines – Manley Pope’s unforgettable: “you do have a niiiice, I mean…”
But it wasn’t just me. RENT had a following and some of my best friends were a part of that group. There was even Mrs. Spillane, a favorite English teacher, who took a group of us in on a Saturday – not as a school sponsored field trip, but just because she loved the show as much as we did.
I was first introduced to the show while I was in a summer community production of Jesus Christ Superstar. Those running the rehearsals had seen the show that went on to be a phenomenon and used its songs to warm up with. I knew the lyrics before I saw the show.
Then I saw the show. With Rachel and her mom and another friend. And it blew me away. It was everything I thought it was going to be and more. Much more. It’s one of those things that we just couldn’t get enough of. And Manley Pope, who played Roger for quite some time, wasn’t too bad to look at either – especially from the front row.
Yes, I’ve even had front row seats. All thanks to the raffle they held a few hours before each show. Drop your name in and if they pick it out, you’ve got yourself two front row seats for $20 each! Not bad, not bad at all.
My mom and I have won that raffle several times. It’s one of those things we would do when we had already been in the City for most of the day and were tired, but we played anyways. And there was a couple times when we won, and my mom really didn’t want to kill the two more hours before the show started, but I begged and she eventually gave in.
I love that show. I really do. And for those of you who only saw the movie… it doesn’t even come close to doing it justice.
I texted L and told him my world was coming to an end. He immediately called me, concerned with what I could possibly mean. And when I told him, his response was, “pshh, oh geez.”
He’s one of them that just doesn’t understand.
But Rachel does, and so many others. And we’ve already been planning our trip back home to see it one last time.
Forget regret, or life is yours to miss.
