Guess Who's Hanging Around My House This Weekend

I live near an Air Force base and the Blue Angels and friends have been flying over my house all weekend. It sounds like I'm in a war zone, but the visuals are cool! Wish I weren't so busy this weekend so I could stop to watch the show.

You Look Like a Monkey, And You Smell Like One Too

I'm off to my cousin's 4th birthday party today. We all know how much fun I have at these...

I don't even know what 4 year olds want. I usually stalk little kids in the toy section of Target on days like today to do small focus groups. Guess that's just the marketer in me.

Honeysuckle Mornings

The honeysuckles have started to bloom and the whole right side of the fence in my backyard is covered. Yes, I know they're technically a weed, and somewhat unsightly as the bush grows wildly on the railing, intertwining branches reaching out to find the sun's rays. But I have to tell you, there's nothing in my world lately that smells sweeter then the bursting of fragrance I'm greeted with first thing in the mornings when I take Darby out. In that brief moment that I inhale, everything's right in the world.

Who's The Lucky Guy?

I was out running errands yesterday, and one of my stops was the grocery store. I hadn't really taken time that morning to fix up, had no make up on, didn't fix my hair after my shower, and just threw on a tshirt, jeans, and tennis shoes. I was standing in the laundry aisle when a man starting talking to me. He gave me a compliment that put me on cloud 9 all day. He walked over to me and said, "tell your husband he's got a good thing going on." At first I didn't hear what he said (honestly, I didn't), and asked him to repeat. Then he said, "tell your husband, I'm sure a girl like you is married, that he's got a good thing going on. He's a lucky man." I blushed a bit, realized it was a complete line, and responded, "I'm not married" then quickly added "but I'll tell the guy that I am seeing." I didn't want to leave the guy an opportunity to ask me out if he found out I was single. As sweet as his compliment was, he wasn't someone I'd be interested in dating. I typically go for guys with a few more teeth. But still, I was very flattered.

The Reduction

My mom called this evening...crying. My first thought was, oh my goodness, who died? Then I realized they were tears of joy. My mom, who's not a large lady - a mere 5'2 on a petite frame - has a rather large bust. Ok, more than rather large...HUGE. I didn't inherit her petite frame with my 5'7 height, but I do come by my, um, "endowment" honestly. Anyway, her upper body size has been something she's hated, and been self-conscious about, for YEARS. And rightfully so, it was just too much for her frame, creating serious neck and back problems. Recently, she went to see a plastic surgeon about her situation, who in turn wrote a letter to her insurance company indicating a medical necessity for a reduction surgery to be performed. She got her letter from the insurance company today agreeing to pay for her surgery in full! I couldn't be happier for her, as I know it's a huge weight, literally off her chest.

Speaking of Fire

My home computer got fried by lightning...or something. It won't turn on. It's weird because it's plugged into a surge protector that my monitor and printer are plugged into, too, and those are both ok. It's just my hard drive that won't do anything. No sputtering, no lights, no nothing. I guess I'll have to take it into Best Buy to find out what's wrong. It's not even 2 years old yet. Sucks. At least I have my work laptop!

C'mon Baby Light My Fire

Lit the pilot light to my gas water heater all by myself last night. Yep, sure did. Still have my eyebrows, too! Scared? You bet. But when faced with the option of a cold shower in the morning, I made it happen. Took me 45 minutes to figure it out and get up the nerve to stick a fire source into an opening you know is being pumped with natural gas, but I did it. And you know what? I had a hot shower this morning, thank you very much.

Insomnia

It's almost 4am and I haven't slept at all. The worst part is, I'm not even tired, so sleep for me is no where in sight. I had a horribly stressful night, so I'm sure that's the cause. I came home from my Easter weekend staying with my parents to a house full of black flies. I have no idea where they came from; I can only assume the attic since my house has been vacant and closed up since Saturday morning. I have heard squirrels up there, so the only guess I can think of is that the flies have congregated because of something the squirrels have up there. Walking into my home was like a scene out of a sci-fi movie. I'm thoroughly disgusted and have disinfected just about everything in the house. It took me 2 hours to kill the 30+ flies with wasp and hornet poison. And as if the thought of flies in my home isn't bad enough, my dog is deathly afraid of anything that flies, so he was going crazy. I was worried that he'd step in poison and lick it off his paw, so I had to put him in my car parked in the driveway while I went through my house. He's still pretty unsettled, which is probably another reason I can't seem to get any sleep. Work's going to be a blast tomorrow. I'll go check to see what's on tv and let those of you lucky enough to be sound asleep know what comes on at 4am. Probably Cheaters or Blind Date.

Taxes

Just finished doing mine. Who the heck knows how to figure out a cost basis for selling stocks from your ESPP stock plan? Various purchase dates, reinvested dividends, first in first out - I probably didn't do it right, but whatever. Remind me next year to go to H&R Block. Either that or marry a CPA between now and 4/15/07.

Got this forwarded to me today and decided to post it. I'll probably make some people mad with this, and I'm not really looking to get into any political debates, but I totally feel where this guy is coming from, whoever wrote this:

Dear President Bush:
I'm about to plan a little trip with my family and extended family, and I would like to ask you to assist me. I'm going to walk across the border from the U.S. into Mexico, and I need to make a few arrangements. I know you can help with this. I plan to skip all the legal stuff like visas, passports, immigration quotas and laws. So, would you mind telling your buddy, President Vicente Fox, that I'm on my way over? I don’t want to be arrested and charged with a felony for going over the border into Mexico illegally like they would most people, oh and to be sure to alert their border patrol that I’m coming, so that they won’t shoot us. And while you are at it, also let him know that I will be expecting the following:

1. Free medical care for my entire family.
2. English-speaking government bureaucrats for all services I might need, whether I use them or not.
3. All government forms be printed in English.
4. I want my kids to be taught by native English-speaking teachers.
5. Schools should include classes on American culture and history.
6. I want my kids to see the American flag flying on the top of the flag pole at their school with the Mexican flag flying lower down.
7. Please plan to feed my kids at school for both breakfast and lunch.
8. I will need a local Mexican driver's license so I can get easy access to government services.
9. I do not plan to have any car insurance, and I won't make any effort to learn local traffic laws.
10. In case one of the Mexican police officers does not get the memo from Pres. Fox to leave me alone, please be sure that all police officers speak English.
11. I plan to fly the U.S. flag from my house top, put flag decals on my car, and have a gigantic celebration on July 4th. I do not want any complaints or negative comments from the locals. I also expect fresh turkeys in the market during the last week of November.
12. I would also like to have a job without paying any taxes, and don't enforce any labor laws or tax laws.
13. Please tell all the people in the country to be nice and never say a critical word about me, or about the strain I might place on the economy.

I know this is an easy request because you already do all these things for all the people who come to the U.S. from Mexico. I am sure that Pres. Fox won't mind returning the favor if you ask him nicely. Please also advise him that if the above demands are not met, I will get together with my extended family and friends and plan a huge demonstration that will be sure to disrupt traffic- people trying to get to work, to the airport, to school, etc.

Thank you so much for your kind help.

Tornado Warning

Living in the deep South, tornados along with their warnings are just another part of spring. I'm sure Midwesterners can relate. We were taught at a very young age the "duck and cover" position, and in fact, held drills at school where we'd line the walls of our halls in the duck and cover position, much like a school would have fire drills. I can only remember one time being in school and having to actually do the duck and cover for fear of a real tornado. Most of the time we just giggled during drills as most wiggled their butts in the air goofing off. However, the reality is, when faced with the prospect of a tornado, it's really scary.

Yesterday was a glorious day. Skies were blue, sun was shining, temperatures reached 80 degrees, the sun doesn't set until 8 - 8:30pm these days, and after work, I was enjoying a margarita (or 3) with friends on the patio of a local mexican place in town. When I got home around 1am and crashed in the bed, I didn't realize I'd be faced with the possibility of a tornado 3 hours into my slumber. But at 4am, my cell phone rings with a call from my mother: "Kara, there's a tornado warning for our county, you need to get in the hallway and be ready to take cover." Sleepy, and a bit relaxed still from the after effects of the tequila, I didn't really want to get out of bed, but the tornado warning sirens blaring off in the distance compelled me to get up. So I grabbed my pillow, a blanket, some shoes, a flashlight, and my furry "kids", and got in the safest part of my 1 level home - my hallway. I closed off all the doors to rooms to help protect from broken glass in the event of windows breaking, turned on the tv in the other room with the volume up loud enough to hear, and sat there on the hardwood floors waiting for the storm to pass. The lights flickered frequently, and the thunder boomed, but the wind didn't sound like it was that bad. It was still scary to sit alone in the hallway, praying that the Lord would keep me safe. My biggest worry was having some of the large trees around my property tumble onto my roof. I wasn't really in the mood to be crushed by a tree last night. I heard the weatherman say the warning expired at 4:30am, and thankful to have escaped the brunt of the storm, I decided all was clear and got back in my bed to finish my night's sleep.

Waking up this morning, I turned on the tv and happened to catch the news, still oblivious to the damage the storm created. Oblivous that is, until I saw my neighborhood on the news and the newswoman report, "the hardest hit by the storm were Sherwood Lane and Mossy Creek Drive. Let's go live to the scene..." My mouth dropped open, and sure enough, they were reporting just 2 streets over from my house. People's homes were destoyed. Trees had crushed roofs, cars, toppled across the streets, and roofs were blown away. As a blessing, I'm not even missing a single shingle from my roof. It's like it completely skipped over my street.

Here are a few photos I took when I went for a walk with my dog Darby this afternoon. I wasn't allowed in some of the harder hit areas of my neighborhood as it was blocked off with yellow caution tape and police. Pictures just don't do the damage of mother nature justice. I'm thankful to have been under the radar of the fury from the storm.

Ammendment to Post

Please let me ammend my post from 4/2/06.

First of all, "hate" is a strong word for me to have used in response to the time change. I mean, what did the time change ever do to me? I think I must have just been irritable for lack of sleep during that 1 hour I was cheated out of. So, please allow me to say this:

I love the time change. The weather's gorgeous, I can work all night as usual, come home by 7pm and STILL have daylight time to take my dog for a 45 minute walk around the neighborhood.

Please forgive my harsh words. Time change and I are friends again.

Thank you.

What Hurts The Most by Rascal Flatts

Cool song from Rascal Flatts. Thought I'd post it so I'd remember it.

I can take the rain on the roof of this empty house,
that don't bother me
I can take a few tears now and then
and just let them out
I'm not afraid to cry
Every once in a while even though goin on with you gone still upsets me
There are days
Every now and again i pretend i'm okay but that's not what gets me

What hurts the most, was being so close
And having so much to say
And watchin you walk away
Never knowing, what could have been
And not seein that lovin you
Is what i was tryin to do

It's hard to deal with the pain of losing you everywhere i go
But i'm doin it
It's hard to force that smile when i see our old friends and i'm alone
Still harder gettin up, gettin dressed, livin with this regret
But i know if i could do it overI would trade, give away all the words that i saved in my heart that i left unspoken

What hurts the most, is being so close
And having so much to say
And watchin you walk away
Never knowing, what could have been
And not seein that lovin you
Is what i was tryin to do

What hurts the most, was being so close
And having so much to say
And watchin you walk away
And never knowing, what could have been
And not seein that lovin you
Is what i was tryin to do

not seein that lovin you
that's what I was tryin to do

From the Weekend

I cheated on my normal hairstylist yesterday and went to a new man. I liked him better because he doesn't talk while he's highlighting/cutting my hair, rather wears headphones and bounces to the music. And, my highlights look better than usual.

I hate springing forward in time. I feel cheated. I feel tired.

Failure to Launch was a cute movie. Matthew McConoughey goes topless on several occasions so you really can't go wrong going to see it.

It's hot here and I'm suffering from spring allergies.

I don't want to vacuum and mop my floors yet they are in desperate need.

One of my good friends is a self-admitted, bonefide psycho when it comes to men and she still complains about being single.

I'm a bit uninspired to write lately.

Now With Added Protein

Dear bakery company that rhymes with Fara Fee,

As a marketer myself, I can certainly appreciate the fact that you are trying to jump on the healthy trend bandwagon on the heels of the Atkins craze, by attempting to incorporate more protein into your products. I am a bit concerned, however, of the means in which you are adding the additional protein. I purchased your Honey Wheat bread last weekend and went home to make a turkey sandwich for dinner. This is when I noticed this new addition to your bread. Just as I began to spread the mustard on a slice, I noticed a dark "something" in the slice, and thinking it may just be a burnt grain, decided to pull it out of my bread. It was then that I realized that it was not a burnt grain, rather what appears to be a piece of rodent defecation. Well you can imagine my horror and utter disgust in this realization! Might I suggest you go back to the product research with this product and instead try a soy protein or maybe even a nice walnut in the future as I don't know many consumers that will be thrilled with this form of protein instead. I'm sure the FDA isn't on board, but look forward to hearing back from them on their approval.

Best,
Kara

My Luck's Looking Up!

That's because it HAS to after everything I've been through this week! I wont go into great detail tonight because, well, I'm tired. But here's a list of a few things that have happened this week:

• Rat poop found in some wheat bread I bought from the grocery store
• Blisters on toes
• Car accident where I was hit by a commercial truck
• 3 hours spent waiting for cops in DC to show up
• Missed my reception
• Hotel room was not ready by the time I got to the hotel at 10:30 PM

More to come on these issues in the next few days...

Kara Goes to Washington

I'm off to DC for business. Y'all try to behave until I get back...

Dinner with Grandmother

As I told everyone already, my grandmother just celebrated her 80th birthday the day before mine. As my gift to her, I decided she'd much rather have my time then something to sit around her apartment collecting dust, so I told her I'd take her to dinner. Tonight was the birthday dinner night.

I made it over to her apartment around 5pm as we discussed. Of course, she was already all dolled up, had probably been ready to go since noon. When I got to her apartment, I went in and she offered me something to drink. We sat in the living room drinking a coke, talking, and going through a few old pictures before dinner. She was THRILLED to have my company. So thrilled in fact, that she ended up buying ME a gift - a beautiful necklace and earring set that I loved so much that I took off the jewelry I had on to wear hers instead. That's just like my grandmother. Always thinking of others.

We headed out to the restaurant around 6:30pm. During dinner, we were talking a bit about me and my career, and she started telling me a bit about hers - more than I'd ever realized. My grandmother is from a very small town in Alabama. She didn't exactly have the same opportunities that I had living in Atlanta, so my success in my career, although I'm very proud of my accomplishments, don't quite hold the same weight as her success in her younger years. Essentially, she is a very ambitious and strong woman, and made herself into a big fish in a little pond. In small town Alabama, she was the Vice President of an independent bank. Everyone knew and loved her. In the 1950s-1980s, a woman in banking outside of a clerk or teller was unusual, let alone a woman that was a VP. She said she was the only woman at the state banking conventions. Out of her small town, she got to know the governor, George Wallace, on a first name basis. She went to Washington DC to meet with congressman and senators. She was on the Housing Authority and State Marketing Committee. She was a very successful business woman. Out of determination, a self-made successful business woman from a tiny Alabama town.

As a girl growing up, I didn't realize the influence she had on me. But at the dinner table tonight, it clicked. I am a fortunate woman to have come from a family of strong women. Ambitious women. Smart women. Generous women. Loving women. I get my ambition, my drive to succeed, from the examples that were set for me. From the inspiration in the path that was laid before. And just as I was feeling that my career was trivial, that it was a substitute for my lack of family of my own, I realized tonight that it's not. My career is a continuation of the strength passed down. The courage, the intelligence, the hardwork and dedication. I come by my ambition honestly, continuing to lay the path of success and strength, in the hopes that I may pass on these family attributes to the next generation of leaders in my family. What better way could I honor my grandmother, even long after she's gone, then that?

Ding Dong the Fly is Dead!

And peace has been restored to my home once again!

I had a fly in my house yesterday and my dog is deathly afraid of flies for some weird reason. I had to kill it in order to get him to calm down.

No Way!

So I met my new neighbor this past weekend. From I could tell as I stalked him any time I saw movement out of that house, he was young, like me (hey, 29's still young!). He moved in a few weeks ago and I've been curious ever since. Nosey neighbor syndrome I guess. Anyway, he had a ton of friends over on Saturday, drinking beer and playing frisbee and horseshoes in the backyard. Well, it just so happened that Darby had to go out, so I opened the door and he "ran away" over into the neighbor's yard (and by "ran away" I mean that I walked him to the side of my house so he'd be sure to notice the people and want to go over there). So, with Darby as my ice-breaker, I met my neighbor and neighbor's friends that afternoon. They were all very nice (except they were Georgia Bulldog grads), and I found out they're all about 4-5 years younger than me. They offered me a beer, and we chit-chatted for a few minutes, but I was actually on my way out to meet a friend, so I didn't stay to hang out.

Fast-forward several hours. I've returned from my not-so-outing with my friend (long story, but she stood me up for another glass of wine or 10 with her match.com date). As I get out of my car, my neighbor and friends are all out on his porch, still drinking from the keg. Here's a summary of the conversation:

Neighbor: Hey, Kara! Come have a beer!
Me: Hey there, sounds good, thanks!
Neighbor's friend: We're playing beer pong, wanna play? (this is essentially, as I found out, a game that's a cross between drunken ping pong and that Bozo the Clown throw the ball in the popcorn looking buckets for prizes game that was on TV when I was a kid).
Me: Sure...

Fast-forward some chit-chat. However, something important to note is that during the conversation, I found out they all went to my high school.

Me: No Way! I went to SHS!
Neighbor and friends: No Way! (laughter by all)
Me: Does Ms. Lynn still teach? She used to live in my neighborhood.
Neighbor: She lived in MY neighborhood. Wait, where did you live?
Me: Holly Springs
Neighbor: No Way! Me too!
Me: No Way!
Neighbor: Wait, did you have a younger sister named K?
Me: YES!
Neighbor: I went to elementary school with your sister! We used to play at the pool!
Me: No Way! So you went to my elementary school where you knew and played with my sister, my middle school, my high school, you lived in my old neighborhood, and now you live next to me here?
Neighbor: Yep!
Me: You're like my shadow! I'm not telling you where I'm moving next because I think you're stalking me!

It's the craziest coincidence EVER! What are the chances of something like this happening? In talking to some of his friends, I also found out that one of his friends is the younger brother of a guy I graduated high school with, and the older brother I knew married a girl I was good friends with in middle school! Just uncanny all of the people we had in common once we all started talking!

Of course, my mom's happy that there's a guy living next to me that can keep an eye out for me in case of emergencies. I'm happy because I now have help moving heavy things and *maybe* can bribe him to cut my lawn for beer or money.

I guess

afterall...