'She Likes to Feel the Sand Beneath Her Feet'

I'm just waiting to Exhale. I'm heading down to St. George Island tomorrow afternoon for a long weekend vacation at the beach. A long needed long weekend vacation. An 8 hour trip from Atlanta, I should be there by 11pm tomorrow, and by 11:05pm my toes will be in the sand, guaranteed. The way work's been lately, thinking about a few days on the water is the only thing keeping my sanity. I can almost hear the crash of the waves now...or is that just a hallucination from lack of sleep and too much stress?

The great thing about St. George is that it's very dog-friendly, so of course Darby's going with me! Dogs are allowed on the beaches, and even at the local restaurants if you sit out on the patio area. I even have a doggy Hawaiian shirt for him to sport around the island. He's going to love it just as much as me, I'm sure! An animal shelter adoptee, he fell into the lap of luxury, and has been spoiled rotten since the day I picked him out...or did he choose me?

So my friends, if you don't hear from me this weekend, you'll know where I am. I'll be working on my base tan before my trip to Greece in 2 weeks. Which, by the way, my passport renewal arrived today, thank goodness! It only took them a week to send back to me, but of course, it cost me an additional $100 to have it expedited. That's what I get for my procrastination. And on that same subject, it's midnight and I'm still doing laundry to pack for tomorrow...

A Little Down Home Humor

Got this forwarded email yesterday and it made me laugh:

Due to the popularity of the Survivor TV shows, several southern TV stations are joining together and are planning to do their own, entitled "Survivor: Southern Style."

The contestants will start in Alabama, travel over to Georgia and on to South Carolina. From there they will head up to North Carolina and over to Tennessee. They will then proceed down to Mississippi and Louisiana. Finally ending up back over in Alabama.

Each will be driving a pink Volvo with New Jersey license plates and large bumper stickers that read:

• I'm a Vegetarian
• Al-Quida Has Been Misunderstood
• NASCAR Sucks
• Go Yankees (or any other hockey team or non-SEC/ACC college football team)
• Hillary 2008
• Hunting is Murder
• I'm Here to Confiscate Your Guns

The first one that makes it back to Montgomery alive, wins.

Simply Decadent and Sinful

She was 25, he was 31. She was the essential girl next door from Georgia. He was...well he was romantic, successful, and from Venezuela. He approached her at a party, tried to give her his business card, and asked her to call. She politely returned the card, indicating her interest in him, but her lack of interest in her pursuing him, and offered him her number instead. Right on schedule, she heard from him 3 days later, and they made plans for a date.

He picked her up that August Friday night and had a rose waiting on the grey leather passenger seat of his silver Jeep Cherokee as he opened the door for her to get in. She was impressed at his thoughtfulness and manners, and couldn't help but notice the rush of butterflies in her stomach. A slight smile turned the corners of her lips upward towards her eyes with the anticipation of what was to come. They had a fabulous dinner, with equally fabulous dinner conversation. He spoke to her in Spanish, with phrases such as, "my beautiful," falling off of his tongue like sweet cream. He had deep, rich brown eyes and jet black hair. He definitely qualified as the cliche: tall, dark, and handsome. Nothing like any other boy she had dated before, he was a man - exciting and new (come aboard, we're expecting you...). How could she help but be smitten?

They dated for the better part of 4 months. The relationship was somewhere just beyond casual, yet not quite developed into serious. She enjoyed the small but sweet "just because" gifts he'd pick up for her when he was thinking of her. He enjoyed her sincere interest in his culture. They both enjoyed learning about each other. And the attraction was undeniable.

As the relationship grew more intimate one night after coming back to his upscale condo from a few drinks out with his friends, a romantic conversation while sitting on the black leather sofa in the soft candle light in the living room quickly turned from a verbal conversation into a more passionate physical conversation. The location of this conversation between two bodies moved from the living room and into his bedroom. The two became lost in the intensity of the moment. Everything was perfect, euphoric if you will allow, up until the point where she opened her eyes with some clarity and saw something similar to this:

Apparently there is nothing that can kill a romantic, intimate moment as quickly as that of a crucifix hanging from a chain and swinging towards your face.

Reader's Choice

I've been racking my brain all night trying to find something to post about. I haven't been able to come up with anything all that compelling. I considered posting about my longest and worst date ever, complete with a toothbrush consolation prize and detailed description of every flower/shrub/tree planted at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens. I also considered posting a funny story about an intimate situation I had with a Venezuelan guy and his gold chain. Even the story of my 5 minute worldwind "marriage proposal" from the French stranger in Paris came to mind. But then I thought, hey, why not let the 3 people that read my blog tell me what they want to hear about? So my friends, it's up to you. Reader's choice. If any of the above sound like something you'd like to hear, let me know. Or, if you have another subject you'd like to hear from me on, tell me what it is and I'll see what I can come up with. Now mind you, I'm not making any promises that any of it will be good, so I don't want any of you coming to me afterwards demanding your wasted time back for reading it, but at least it'll give me something to write about.

Back At It

Don't you wish you could subscribe to a wake-up call service, much like you get at hotels? That'd be great, especially for those of us that HATE mornings and have a hard time getting up. Have a meeting this morning at the office at 7am. People, I don't usually get up until 7am or after, let alone have to be dressed, ready, at work, and on my toes for a meeting by 7am. Ugh. So far work's kicking my butt this week. The score is now officially Work 4, Kara 0. Actually, I may be more like -0.

Thank goodness for coworkers that are friends. I enlisted my friend Dana to call and wake me up this morning since she has to be in the meeting, too. It's better knowing you're not the only one up at the crack of dawn.

Have a good day everyone!

Overtired

Ever get to the point where you're so tired, you're over tired? Where your eyes are so heavy you can hardly keep them open, but your mind won't rest long enough to get you into a deep sleep? Know it? That's me tonight. I'm having a hard time relaxing. In taking on the extra work and thinking of everything I have to get done before my trip in 3 weeks, my body's all tense (I can feel the muscles in my mid-back, neck, and shoulders just engulfing the stress, clinched tight) and my brain is on overdrive. I tossed and turned and woke up 3 times last night thinking about work. How sad is that? It's time for extreme measures. I'll be investing in a bottle of wine on my way home tomorrow night. After a self-medicating liquid dinner*, I should be all relaxed and ready for bed at about 9pm.

*Self-medicating liquid dinners may not be suitable for everyone. Please check with your physician to see if a self-medicating liquid dinner is right for you. Just a heads up, it probably isn't. And as always, please drink responsibly. You know, don't spill any; that's wasteful.

IM In

So now what? I've had AOL for over 10 years, and the same email address for just as long. Now that I have DSL, all of what I've known is now changed. Not good for someone that doesn't really have the patience to figure out computer stuff. My email is new, and now I've had to sign up with AIM and Yahoo messenger for communication. AIM I kind of "get" because I was used to using AOL IM capabilities. Yahoo, I totally don't just yet. But hey, I have it. If you have some time and want to explain it to me, or even say hi, you can find me at Kara0303 on AIM and Kara_0303 on Yahoo. But, don't get your feelings hurt if I don't respond, it may just be that I don't know how!

It' Snot That Impressive

Allergies. I have 'em. Breathing in all of the grass and whatnot after yesterday's yard work excursion didn't help me with my allergy situation. I woke up with a dull headache and then developed around mid-morning a stuffy nose that runs. Yea, that's fun. You can't breath and you can't sniffle. And of course, the stuffy/runny nose develops just at the time that I begin my 10 am to 4pm back to back, no time to eat lunch, no time to go to the bathroom meeting bonanza. You see, one of our marketing managers took another position in the company, and I'm the one (un)lucky enough to get to do her job and my job until we find her replacement. Today was my first day doing both and it about killed me. To top it off, one of my back to back meetings was the first with the VP and department members that I'll be working with until we replace her. Yes, my first impression with these people is one of waded up kleenex and sneezing. I'm sitting in the meeting, trying to hold my own because I know they're judging me as the "new girl," and sizing me up to see if I can meet their aggressive departmental marketing objectives. Meanwhile, I can't breath or keep a tissue away from my face longer than 5 minutes. It's kind of hard to sell yourself as someone that will keep a department on strategy during their biggest time of year when you sound like you're talking from the inside of a barrel.

Ahh, such is life. It's just a job - only meant to pay the bills. In all honesty, it's really just a game to me. Because it's the only thing I have to focus on at the moment, I kind of view my job as a race. It's a race to find out how far up the ladder I can get before I get the job that I *really* want: having a family. Those are the people I want to impress the most, anyway.

Blister in the Sun

For those of you that get the pun in my title, it's not what you think. I have a blister on the palm of my right hand. It's about the size of a dime, and I got it today while performing yard work in the scorching Georgia sun and heat. My parents came over this morning to help me get my yard in order. I'm not a yard work kind of girl, in fact, I hate it, and it shows. Which is why they volunteered to come help me get the front yard back to a presentable state. It's so much easier to accomplish some things when you have help. All day long we mowed, we weeded, we pressure-washed, we laid pave stones, we edged, we trimmed bushes, we swept, and we even put up a new mailbox post. We were exhausted.

As I type this, my lower back killing me and drinking gallons of water to replace what I sweated out today, I reflect on a few ways to look at what the blister on my hand represents:

• A job well-done. An accomplishment. A sense of pride in my home.
• Team-work. Family support. Lending a hand when things become too overwhelming.
• Damn shovel. Soft hands not meant for manual labor. Yardwork sucks.

Renewed Philosophy

Sorry guys, another "deep blog" by Kara. I can't help it, deep-thinking is just the pisces in me.

So after several "deep breaths" lately now that I'm getting off the roller coaster I've just ridden through the month of July - ex's wedding all over the media, sister's engagement, and an attempt at a new dating venture (the first in a long time that I was actually *hopeful* about) - the chaos has subsided and my head's clear again. I've run a brush through my wind blown hair, straightened up my clothes, and the weird feeling in my stomach that you usually get on a roller coaster has subsided. With the new found clarify, I'm now refocused. I've been stressed, I've felt an insurmountable weight of pressure from within and from external sources, and I just haven't been myself. I haven't been my fun-loving, c'est la vie, que sara sara, (insert your own cliche here) natural self. I feel like the more out of control I felt personally, the more control I tried to exert on my personal life, and it didn't work. And it sucks. But, I can't go back and change any of it no matter how much I wish I could. So, instead of song lyrics, which is what I usually relate to, today I found some movie quotes to live by.

"Stop trying to control everything and just let go."--- Fight Club

"Why should I live up to other people's expectations rather than my own?"--- Kat, 10 Things I Hate About You

"Don't go looking for Mr. Right. Look for Mr. Right Now, and eventually, if he's worthy, one day that Now part will just drop away naturally."--- The Sweetest Thing

My renewed philosophy is just to relax and have fun. I'll just be along for the ride with a smile instead of trying to drive and control where the ride is taking me. And I look forward to and am open for whatever's around the bend - past, present, and future.

Some Nerve

An acquaintance called me up Thursday and wanted to see if I wanted to grab a drink with him after work yesterday. Me not having any Friday plans set up just yet because after checking in with people, I was finding that some friends had to work, others were out of town, I thought, why not? Let me preface this by saying that I don't know this guy very well. We've hung out with others once before at a party, but that was back in the spring, and and we've maintained an acquaintance friendship at best since then. So, he calls me on my way home from work and says he's on his way over. I tell him that it's not convenient just yet, that I wasn't even home myself. So he "graciously" gives me 30 more minutes. I get home, change out of my work clothes, feed my babies, let them outside for a few minutes, and he shows up. He walks in with a bottle of Captain Morgan, a 2 liter of Coke, and a movie. Puzzled, I tell him that I thought we were going out for a drink. He says, "ohhh, dude. I realized I only had $25 so I thought we could just hang here tonight." Ummm? Now, don't get me wrong, I'm all for changing plans, I'm extremely adaptable and flexible and even like spontaneity, but since I don't know him very well, it kind of aggravated me that he just assumed it'd be ok for him to hang out at my house, the first time he's ever over. And in all honesty, it made me a bit uncomfortable. But, I'm a go with the flow girl to a certain degree, so...

He proceeds to mix drinks and we start watching the Falcons vs. Titans game. During the first 3 quarters of the game, he mixes himself 4 very strong drinks to my one very weak drink that I was nursing, and I start to get a little concerned. In the meantime, he's put in the movie, The Aviator, and we start watching. Ok, first of all, who knew that this movie had a running time of like 3 days!? Geez, I thought it would NEVER end. And I wasn't digging my company, and it was a bit slow on top of that, so it truly felt like an eternity had passed me by last night. Like I was in some sort of a slow motion warp zone. Seriously, I have to check what year it is now, but I may very well have aged 10 years and am now 38 - which sucks because I'm still single, but considering my current alternative (him), that's ok with me. Anyway, the movie's over around 1am and I'm SOOOOO ready for him to leave.

He gets up and goes down the hall and I assume he's going to the bathroom before he takes off. So I go clean up the kitchen. Several minutes pass, and I'm thinking, where is he and why's he taking so long and more importantly when's he leaving? I look down the hall and the bathroom door is open, lights off. Confused, I walk further into the hallway and see him laying on MY bed! Oh heyell no (for those of you unaware, that's southern for "hell" - you know we have to draw out one syllable words into two, especially when we're pissed)! I go into my bedroom and shake him to wake him. I tell him he's got to get up and go home. He gets into a sitting position on the side of my bed and mumbles/slurs that he can't drive because he's drunk and he doesn't have keys to his apartment anyway(apparently he took his car in for some work and left his whole set of keys at the dealership while he was given a loaner), and neither roommate is home tonight. I think my head was going to explode, I was so mad. The nerve of him knowing that he couldn't get into his apartment last night, just assuming he could hang out at my house, get drunk, and crash at my house!? Ugh, I'm still fuming as I type. If we were better friends, fine, no problem. But really, we aren't good friends, and even the word "friends" might even be a bit of a strong word to define our "relationship." But what am I going to do? I can't send him off to drive drunk, and he can't even get into his apartment anyway if I send him home in a cab. So, I make him get up and go to the guest room - basically shuffling him in the door to the room and then closing him in there as soon as he gets through the doorway. I go to my room, shut my door, and go to bed mad as a wet cat.

This morning around 6am, I awaken to feeling him sit down on my bed. Trying to get my bearings after just being woken up, I feel him grab one of my breasts! I shoot upright, throw back the comforter and start telling him he has to leave immediately!! I storm towards the door and he trails behind me apologizing. I open the door and firmly say, "good - bye!" He walks outside, I slam the door behind him, lock it, and go get back in my bed.

Unfreakinbelievable.

Cell Phone Number Clean Up / Round Up

Ok, so I was going through my contact names in my cell phone the other night and deleted quite a few during my cell phone clean up. K, S, and S were deleted because I don't like talking to any of them. K is somewhat of a stalker-type and doesn't make me laugh when we talk, S smokes like a chimney, drives me crazy, talks during movies, and acts a little too feminine for my taste, and the other S is just a "good-time" guy only looking for a good-time, which isn't exactly in line with what I'm looking for. Besides, I hate to say this, but he's just not good-looking enough to be a "good-time" kind of guy. Girls, you know what I mean. I like talking to G, but deleted that one just as a natural progression of things. I also enjoyed talking to J, but deleted that one because I got really tired of my calls being screened. I gave that one my best effort of all but the interest isn't returned. And as of late, I've only added D. So, by my calculations, I've really got 4 new open spots in my contact list to add new people. With the freed up space now in my cell phone, I need to do a cell phone number round up. If you think your number is cell phone worthy, let me know and I'll consider it, but please pay close attention as to why the others were deleted out of my phone and if you fit into any of those categories, your fate in the phone will be doomed as well. Otherwise, I've got a party on Saturday night, maybe I can add a few there. It's actually the "Betty Ford Center Bash at Steve and Joe's" with a really cute invite:

Know When To Hold 'Em

Y'all I've had the BEST night tonight! I just got home from a function put on by one of our agency partners. They held a Texas Hold 'Em poker night at Brio Tuscan Grille down in Buckhead and it was so much fun. Free food, free alcohol, raffle prizes, and poker. First of all, I won one of the raffle drawings and you know what it was? An IPOD shuffle! I was SO excited because I've actually been considering buying one, and now I don't have to! But, my luck didn't stop there my friends! I, Kara, came in 5th at the winner's table in the poker tournament! Can you believe it? Out of about 50 people, I came in 5th! I don't even know how to play poker! My friend D that I'm going to Greece with won the tournament! She's never played a day in her life! It was just so - much - fun! I'm not sure why I came home, I should have stayed out...seems I'm a bit lucky tonight and maybe I should have used that to my benefit with a night out on the town...

Dream a Little Dream

Had a crazy dream last night. Before I went to bed, I told myself I wanted to remember my dream, so when I woke up, I did. I dreamt that me, my director, and a coworker were on a plane heading to Ireland for a wedding. Before we took off, I kept trying to get off the plane to get my blackberry and some tylonol pm for the flight, but the flight attendants wouldn't let me off. While waiting on the plane, I gave my director a gift to open. He opened it and it was an ironing board, and when he unfolded it, I was embarrassed that it was the small kind that just sat on the bed as opposed to the larger one that stands on it's own. Just before take-off, the flight attendants announced that the wedding had been called off, but the bride's parents were still going to pay for our trip while in Ireland since we had all purchased the tickets over. So, instead of a wedding, it was going to be like a mini vacation. All of the sudden, I am standing in Ireland with my director and coworker in a dress and heading to dinner. I don't remember getting to Ireland, doing anything during the day there, or how I got dressed for dinner. When I questioned my coworker, she said that I got really drunk that day and must have blacked out during the day tour we had taken.

Then I woke up. No earthly idea how or why I dreamt that. Weird, huh?

They All Want Me

And I can't say that I could blame them.

Had a conversation with my director yesterday and found out that I'm on the short list, the very short list, for a promotion. Not bad after being in my current position, of which I was promoted to, for just at a year now. Needless to say, I was pretty excited yesterday. More $$, more to put on my resume! Another rung in the ol' corporate ladder my friends.

Well today, it just keeps getting better. I received a call this afternoon from a director of another department asking if I'd be interested in taking a new position he's creating in his group. Always interested in what other opportunities are out there, I, of course told him I'd like to at least hear what he has in mind for the new position. So, we're meeting on Friday to discuss. I like options, especially when they're to my benefit AND can be used in negotiations.

In other news, only because I'm too lazy to create a new post and really didn't think y'all would care if I just combined everything into one, I have the following to report (I'm just going to type whatever comes up):

DSL modem arrived yesterday. Yes, I know, I know, I'm like the last person on the planet that was still using dial-up. But my world's changed and I'm a renewed woman. I spent 45 minutes installing the modem last night, step by step with their "installation for idiots" CD because when it comes to technology, I'm a certified idiot (aren't men supposed to install stuff and know what cords are needed for what?). I got close to the end and I kept getting error messages during the testing step. So I called the 888 number they flashed up. I was on hold for 20 minutes of course, and finally got some man with an Indian accent, most likely because my call was routed to the call center in India, and found out that my service wouldn't be set up until today. Now please tell me why they'd send out the modem, let it arrive, and not have the service established yet? Stupid. Anyway, I have it working now and can I tell you how much I love it?

Let's see, what else? Oh, my trip to Greece is a month away and I still haven't sent in for my passport renewal. I'm such a procrastinator. Now I have to pay the extra $60 to have it expedited in 2 weeks. But first, I have to go have some 2" headshots made to send in with the paperwork. But I can't wait. I met some guys when I was out having a beer on Friday night after the concert who went to Greece in June and they have me all jazzed up with stories they told. Ahhh, 12 days of bliss are coming soon...

But do you know what I'm even MORE excited about? The start of football season. I. can't. freakin'. wait! Recently on Saturday mornings there's a show that comes on called "Football Saturdays in the South" that I watch when I get up. It's all about coaches, players, teams, and traditions from SEC and ACC teams. It's a good enough fix until the real deal starts on Sept. 3rd.
"Alabama coach Mike Shula prepares his team during the first fall football practice Tuesday afternoon, Aug. 9, 2005, in Tuscaloosa."
Roll Tide!

And finally, a quick note -
Dear guy who's cube I pass everyday on my way to the elevator,
Do me one of two favors: 1) either increase the percentage of your document size (if you're not sure how to do this, I advise asking a fellow coworker or you'll need to make plans to be on hold with the help desk for 3 days) or 2) get glasses. There's no need for your nose to be 6 inches away from your computer screen. Your work couldn't possibly be that interesting, or that secretive. Besides that, you look like a moron all hunched over and squinting at your monitor. The "Quasimoto" look really isn't working for you.
Your pal,
Kara

Wanted It To Be

God, thank you for the creation of music. I love it. Any and all of it. Last night I had free tickets to go see Sister Hazel perform with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra at my favorite outdoor concert venue here in Atlanta, Chastain Amphitheater. And it was simply nothing short of an amazing musical experience.

First, a few friends and I met up after work at the Taco Stand for a margarita and some Mexican before the concert. You can take food into Chastain, but it was raining and we didn't feel like dealing with trying to drag food from the car to the concert, so we went ahead and ate beforehand. Luckily, it stopped raining as we headed out of Taco Stand. As usual, other concert goers at Chastain brought in their tv tables and fancy food, wine with wine glasses, flowers for the table, and a candle. That place has the best atmosphere - it's so laid back and romantic. So, we find our seats, center section/center row, and open our bottle of wine and all enjoy a glass as the orchestra warmed up. Then the band came out and started the show.

I've pulled a few important lyrics to me right now in my life into a mini compilation from a few of their songs they sang last night. Many times, lyrics say exactly what I feel:

It's your world
And I was just someone in it
I never wanted to be your problem
And it's your life
And I just wanted to see you live it
Be the one to help you solve 'em
I wanted--I wanted it to be
I wanted--I wanted it to be-yeah yeah
Never claimed to be no savior
I never claimed to be no saint
I'm just another tool who tried to love you
from Wanted It To Be

A grand empty canvas creating my life
A strange situation - there’s no wrong or right
And I’m learning - along the way
From the first time I met you, what could I do
But pray for the strength to see this one through
And I’m tryin’ it slips away
A hopeless romantic but nothing feels right
A ship full of lovers that sails out of sight
I wait for the answers to fall from the sky
from Hopeless

I won't be your winter
I won't be anyone's excuse to cry
We can be forgiven
I will be here
from Your Winter

If you've had enough
Of all your tryin'
Just give up
The state of mind you're in:
If you want to be somebody else,
If you're tired of fighting battles with yourself
If you want to be somebody else
Change your mind...
from Change Your Mind

Throughout the show, as if having back up music performed by the orchestra wasn't enough, they'd bring out a choir of singers to sing back up. Some of the songs performed with both orchestra and choir were Champagne High, All For You, and Happy. It was incredible - even sitting in a poncho in a drizzle of rain, which really only complemented the experience. I had a great time.

Let's Get It On

People, there is a reason why on ramps are on a downward slant. Yea, it's so you can pick up speed faster. Your car really is supposed to be moving at a faster speed by the time you get to the bottom. You know why this would be important? Because you, at the end of the "on ramp," will need to merge into traffic going at least 70 mph. Tough to do if you're only going 35mph - they're not going to stop to let you on the ride! So QUIT HITTING YOUR BRAKES* AND DRIVE.

thank you.

*updated 8/11/05. School Marm's on the prowl. Heaven help us.

Next Stop, Communication Gap

Sounds like he was a very attentive husband, and a good listener! Just don't find 'em like that these days!

Man forgets wife at gas station

ROME, Italy (Reuters) -- A Macedonian man left his wife at an Italian service station and only realized he had driven off without her six hours later, news agency Ansa said.
The couple, who were travelling with their 4-year-old daughter, pulled over for petrol in the coastal city of Pesaro as they were heading back to their home to Germany.
After filling the tank, the husband drove away -- without noticing that his 30-year-old wife, originally from Georgia, had got out of the car to go to the toilet.
The woman, who had no money or documents with her, contacted the police who eventually traced her husband to Milan, some 340 km (210 miles) north of Pesaro, Ansa said.
The husband told police he had not missed his wife because she always sat in the back of the car with their daughter.

The Big One That Got Inside

While opening the door to let my dog back inside tonight from his last outing before a 1 am bedtime, he bolted inside as usual, and running full speed inside right behind him came a HUGE, black, cockroach. Ugh, I just had a full body shiver just recounting this incident! I mean, this thing was so big, you could saddle it and sell rides at the county fair! Well, great. You know what this means. Kara's not going to bed until I find this thing and kill it. Another key moment in my life when I wish someone else were around. I HATE bugs, especially large, disgusting bugs, and especially when my peace of mind depends on me to kill it! But, with the option of leaving it and going to bed, only to wake up with it ON me somewhere and doing creepy crawly things to me, I was going to track this sucker down and get rid of it before I came anywhere close to shutting my eyes. So, I've spent the last hour tracking it through my house, in my pajamas with bug spray in hand, as if I was on some hunt with the Crocodile Hunter. I came close a few times to killing it, but this thing was so fast it'd give any NASCAR driver a run for his money! And then the unthinkable happened...I saw it run into my room and under my bed. As if it merely being in my house weren't bad enough, but now the monster is under my bed!! I grab a flashlight so I can see where to aim the bug spray, kneel on the hardwoods, slowly lift up the bedskirt and suddenly I'm eye to beety eye with scariest creature on earth under 3 inches. I gasp, my heart beating through my chest, and spray at least half of the bottle of bug spray beneath my bed within a 2 foot radius of where I spotted it. As luck would have it, I succeeded in it's demise. I went to my bathroom, unrolled 3/4 of the roll of toilet paper to pick it up with, and flushed it down the toilet, with an extra flush just for good measure. Whew. I can now go to bed without hesitation knowing that I found and killed it, only the adrenaline's pumping through my body so I'm not even sleepy. He may have been the big one that got inside, but he wasn't the big one that got away!

A Little Patchwork

One hour, one drill bit, and 2 extra holes in my wall later, I finally got the picture hung over my bed that I've been meaning to do for about 4 months. Aren't you impressed at my handy skills? It's level and everything, which is quite a task when you're balancing on top of the bed and doing it all by yourself.

As for the extra holes in my wall, well, I figure if I can renovate this bathroom (yes, it's actually my bathroom during my renovation...jealous at how nice it was, aren't you?), I can patch a little extra hole in my wall!

The Abyss

Today’s outfit: A cute black dress with a scoop neckline and a flower embroidery detail at the hemline. The dress is important to this story. Ok, maybe not the fact that it’s cute or that is has a flower embroidery, but whatever.

So, I’m sitting in a meeting this afternoon and my friend/coworker sitting next to me discretely slides me a piece of gum, the kind you pop out of the plastic bubble as opposed to a stick you unwrap. I take it, trying hard to ensure that the meeting presenter isn’t distracted by the exchange and that I continue pretending to be ever so “enthralled” in the meeting subject. I look at her and give her a “thank you” eye raise and half smile. I go to put the piece of gum in my mouth and somehow miss my mouth. The gum drops down inside the front of my dress and sticks in my cleavage below the scooped neckline – way out of reach for any kind of appropriate search and rescue attempt while in the middle of a full conference room! My friend sees this and her shoulders begin to shake as she stifles her laughter. Then my shoulders begin to shake in response to her laughing at me. You know this kind of laughter – the kind you did as a kid in church trying to keep quiet so your mom doesn’t get mad? Then my face turns bright red with the knowledge that a) she saw this happen and is laughing at me, causing me to silently laugh uncontrollably while trying to maintain any decorum and b) that I now have a piece of gum down in my cleavage that I can’t do anything about. So I think, maybe if I move around just right, that the gum will shake free and fall down the rest of the way of my dress and to the floor. So every so often I would lean forward a little, then I’d cross my left leg over my right, then change and cross my right over my left, then I’d lean back, just trying different positions to see if it’d budge. I think the only thing I accomplished is wedging it even further down between the speed bumps in my dress. At last the meeting was over and everyone got up to leave. As I stood up, I felt the piece of gum fall free and down my body. It came out of the bottom of my dress and bounced on the floor. Another coworker that didn’t see the previous incident go down to know where it came from leans over to pick up the fallen piece of gum just as he says, “hey Kara, you dropped something.” I take it and thank him as my face again turns the color of a beet. My friend that had given me the gum breaks out into a roar of laughter. He smiles and walks away confused. If only this guy knew, if only he knew.

The Countdown

If I think about it too much, I have a physical reaction from my excitement!

R.T.R!

If I Build It, Will They Come?

It's stupid! It's cheesy! It's the least fun you'll have all day!

Take my Quiz on QuizYourFriends.com!

Sleepless Word for the Night No. 2

frus·tra·tion
Pronunciation: (")fr&s-'trA-sh&n
Function: noun1 : the act of frustrating
2 a : the state or an instance of being frustrated
b : a deep chronic sense or state of insecurity and dissatisfaction arising from unresolved problems or unfulfilled needs
3 : something that frustrates

Breathe, Just Breathe

I got a call on Saturday from my younger sister while in my car on my way out of town. She broke the news that she’s officially engaged with ring and all. She informed us earlier this spring that this was a possibility, but assured my parents that he’d talk to them before if was going to happen. Well, it’s completely official now. Wow. This news created high drama amongst my family. We’ve only met this guy once, and I don’t even know his last name. He also didn’t bother to ask my dad before he proposed, which I feel shows a sincere lack of respect. Their relationship has been far from blessed by my parents. At this point, my mother’s less than excited about the news, for a number of reasons I won’t go into, and my dad’s trying to be a trooper. He’s recognized that it’s happened, and although it may not be how he’d prefer or who he’d prefer, he’s being supportive of his daughter and putting faith in her ability as a 23-year-old adult to make the right decisions for her life. I, too, was upset at the news, for several reasons:

- I was upset because I don’t know him. Not that I have to marry him, but really, in my opinion marriage is supposed to be a union between two families, so technically he’s to be my “brother” and I’ve spent all of 8 hours with him? I don't even know his last name! Being the older sister and feeling a sense of responsibility for her, I want to know that he’s a good man – that he will treat her well - that he will be able to provide for her and support her. I don’t know that any of this is true.
- I was upset because she’s upset that the family’s not overly excited about this. This is supposed to be her joyous news, and yet the reactions are really not all that favorable. This is not the way I’d ever imagined this major life event to go down for her, and by her own admission, it’s not the way she’d have preferred either. This should be perfect for her. It should be a time to celebrate, and instead it’s been a time for tension. The tears should be of joy and happiness, and instead they’re tears of hurt feelings and disappointment on both sides. I can’t begin to describe my sadness at the whole situation.
- I was upset because he didn’t have the courtesy to talk to my father. She made excuses for him saying that he knew how my parents felt, so he decided to by-pass them altogether. I told her that that was all the more reason he should have talked to them about it, to make sure that he started off on a good foundation, or at least gained a little respect from them. Her family’s very important to her, and if he loves her, in my opinion, her family should be important to him, too. Apparently it’s not, and that bothers me.
- I’m upset because I feel like when it’s the right person, things will just work naturally. Maybe I’m too much of a romantic, but I don’t think that something like this should be a struggle, or should create such angst for a family. The fact that this has caused so much heartache concerns me that this may not be the right person for her.

In the end, fighting through my tears, I told her how I felt about everything I listed above, but made sure to congratulate her and made sure she didn’t feel so alienated. As disappointed as I am at how this all happened, I do, after all, love her very much, and I want her to be happy. She deserves to be happy. We all do.

So yesterday I'm over at my parents' house and my grandaddy calls. I answer the phone and he starts talking about the engagement. Do you know what he says to me? He says, "well, Kara, now that you see how your little sister's done it (get engaged), maybe you can go out and do it, too." Yes, grandaddy, as if it's just that simple.