the thin line between optimism and delusion…

I had a great long post and my stupid computer deleted it.  Ugh.  It was so interesting too, all about Jack London and Briscoe.

I think the best part of living in the South East is that you can believe, in mid January, that Spring is here.  After weeks and weeks of unbearable cold (I know that other parts of the country were much colder, but we don’t know how to deal with it down here), today is absolutely beautiful.  The sun is shining and the temperature is in the high 60s.  It will get colder tonight, but right now, I can hear the grass growing. 

And the sun doesn’t set until 5:47 tonight.  Sigh.  I love it when the days get longer.  Autumn is an amazing time of year, but Spring holds such an ensured promise of warmth, that it is impossible to not feel lighter as the days get longer.

Aggh, I love this movie.  And this dog.  Maggie posted this video and I had to share. 

I’m in a great mood this morning.  I feel like today is one of those days where anything could happen.  I’ve got work to do, and birthday cards to send, and hot coffee to drink.  And it’s not QUITE as cold as it has been.  Now if only my car would drive to the mechanic and get her oil changed without me.

I keep saying Two Thousand and Ten.  Which, is apparently WRONG.  I also keep writing 200, only to catch myself and go back and insert a 1 before the last 0.  I’m still thinking about lists I want to make of things that happened in the last decade. 

Do you think there is something wrong with me that I’d rather make lists of things that have already happen than to make lists of things I think should happen?  Like resolutions?  I’ve never been much for resolutions, but I do think the new year is cause for introspection.

Right now, my goal for the future is to make it through this horrible, horrible cold spell.  I’ve never been so cold for so long in all my life.  My heart is slowly turning to ice and stone.  I’m sick of it.  My ferns are dying (or dead, depending on who you talk to), my knuckles are dry and chapped, and I’m all out of warm socks.  I live in Georgia for a damn good reason, and it’s not to have the temperatures hang out in the 20s for weeks at a time.  Briscoe says she is sick of it too.  She wants to go swimming and get her hair cut.

I want to write a long New Year post, and talk about the events of the past decade, and the past year and what I’ve learned and how I’m different and how I’m the same.  But I just haven’t done it, and I’m not going to do it right now either.  I did get all my Christmas decorations put up, and I even found a novel place to put them all, which was exciting. 

Remember last summer when I decided I was going to play tennis and relearn this sport of my childhood?  Well, this past weekend I decided that I was going to relearn how to swim, another sport of my childhood.  I’m still trying to figure out exactly how to not drown, what time I should swim, and how I can get comfortable being at the pool and how to get from the pool home – change clothes, not change clothes, etc. 

Which is difficult right this second because it’s cold as…as…wait, how come all the terms I want to use to describe cold are actually hot?  Like cold as hell, etc.  Hmm.  Whatev, it’s extremely cold outside. 

Catherine gave me a new Frosty card last night.  My old one expired, and she works for MCG, so she knew it had expired and that I really liked them so she gave me one.  You should go buy your own Frosty card before they sell out.  They are only $1 and they benefit the Children’s Medical Center!

Something about swimming makes me also want to do hot yoga.  I wish there was a good hot yoga place around here. 

I had a dream last night that I was skiing, but I had a hard time getting to the lift platform.  Then I had another dream that it was summer time and it was so hot I was able to wear my favorite patagonia tank dresses late into the night without ever even having a chill.  The second dream was much better than the first.

Happy Christmas!  I know it’s not Christmas yet (thank the infant baby Jesus, because I am not ready), and I still have a good bit of work left this week at real work and at home.  But this morning felt like Christmas.  It’s  a beautiful day here in the AGS, sunny, cold, crisp, but with a strong amount of humidity (75%). 

I don’t like Christmas music when the radio station starts playing it nonstop at Thanksgiving, and it sort of puts me out of sorts for Christmas music in general.  But I love the Sufjan Stevens Christmas Album and I love the John Denver Muppets Christmas too.  I really love Muppets.  Do you remember Emmitt Otter’s Jug Band Christmas?  I cry when I think about putting a hole in the washtub. 

I have on my swishy red felt skirt, that kicks when I walk, which makes me wish I was on a runway.

Speaking of runways, my parents are having my bathroom in their house redone.  After 27 years, the heart covered wall paper will be a thing of the past.  Sigh.  One wall (small wall, small bathroom) of the bathroom is floor to ceiling cabinets.  You might could call it a closet, but that would be a real stretch.  Well, there was stuff up in the top of those cabinets that hadn’t seen the light of day in ten years.  Kate pulled it all out.  It is kind of scary.  Hello, Attic Sale. 

Kate wanted me to go through the piles.  The first thing I found was my Richard Carouso Molecular Hair Setter.  Remember?  With the steam and the foam rollers? 

Sunday, before the Nalley’s Christmas party, I got the bright idea that I would curl my hair with my hairsetter.  I haven’t curled my hair in probably ten years, and I guess I sort of forgot how much my hair likes to curl.  Like, wow.  I looked like I had just walked off stage at a beauty pageant in South Georgia.  And not in a good way.  I tried to brush it out, but it just got bigger.  Finally I had to pin it up on my head in order to hid the aggressive ringlets that would not be brushed away.   

That was two days ago and my hair is still curly, but finally in an appropriate manner.  I wonder when curls like that were ever acceptable in every day life.

Please visit The 12 Bands of Christmas website and buy a ticket to the show this Friday night and the CD!  It’s going to be awesome and benefits Pediatric Cancer research and honors seven year old Brennan Simkins who is currently battling cancer.  Brennan is an amazing kid and has a wonderful family who deserve all the support in the world!  See you there!

(I can’t get the flyer to post to the blog, I apologize, but follow the link above!  Thanks!

I am in my bed, listening to the rain pour outside my window. 

I have things to say tonight.  I think some pandora radio will help me think and write. 

Guess what the first song Pandora wants to play for me tonight?

Rain – Patty Griffin.  I wish I could start it over and play it again.  I love this song. 

My room is basically in the attic part of my house.  When I bought the house the upstairs wasn’t exactly finished.  The upstairs bathroom had to be almost completely redone, and the floors had to be fixed and there was a lot of painting.  The upstairs isn’t connected to the central heating and air.  I have a window unit for a/c, which has been strangely enjoyable.  I like the noise it makes.  But I haven’t done anything about the heat.   It gets sort of cold, but if I leave the stairwell door open during the day, it’s not bad.  Or it hasn’t been so far. 

 I guess last night was sort of cold.  I woke up with the fluffy headed dog snuggled up all along the lower part of my body.  And let me tell you, she puts off a shocking amount of heat for such a small animal.  I woke up because I was sweating.  How do you tell your sweet dog that you are really sorry she is cold, but that underneath the cozy quilt you are quiet warm and that her body heat is actually throwing off the whole balance of the situation?  Y’all wouldn’t believe how much room she takes up on the bed.  It is incredible. 

Loren and I went to see the Blind Side last week.  There is nothing better than a good movie friend.  We both agreed that it was a wonderful, enjoyable, real, encouraging and overall excellent movie.  We would both like to be Sandra Bullock’s character one day, or at least have her marriage.  We laughed, we cried, we left uplifted.  Go see it. 

Life can be complicated sometimes.  Sometimes it’s like the string in a favorite sweater that you shouldn’t pull, but you can’t help it and you pull it anyway, and things are never the same again.  Sometimes it’s a tangled necklace, that you are sure you can get untangled with the right tools in the right light without someone looking over your shoulder trying to help.  Sometimes, it’s the cupcakes that you didn’t watch, and now the bottoms are black, and you try to cut the bottom off and ice them anyway, but the scorched taste is still there, somewhere, even if you are the only person who notices it. 

And sometimes it’s your grandmother’s recipe that you’ve never made before that you wait until Thanksgiving morning to actually cook, knowing that your whole family knows what it is suppose to taste like and that you definitely don’t have time to fix if it is wrong and there is nowhere to hid if it sucks.  But it doesn’t suck, it is perfect, and even your most critical relatives want seconds. 

It is hard to know how things are going to turn out, even the simple things.  Especially the simple things. 

So I’m all for complicated.  It keeps things interesting.

Can you believe Thanksgiving is next week?  It has really snuck up on me!  I’m so excited!  Then after Thanksgiving comes Christmas!  I can’t wait to decorate my house for the first time.  It’s going to be really awesome and exciting, once I come up with an awesome decoration scheme.  All I’m sure about is that I want a big tree in my front window with lots of lights.  Lots. 

You know how sometimes your birthday or Christmas rolls around and everyone says, what do you want this year?  And you really can’t think of a single thing you really want? 

Yeah, me neither.  Especially this year.  I can think of lots of things I would like to get into my hot little hands.  Some of them are things I really need (in ivory, king size, please), some of them are things I think I need (size medium, thanks) and some of them are things I’m fairly sure I don’t really need but might die if I can’t have (size ten, if you are in the market), and some things that I just think are downright pretty and might want to come live at my house, with me (I’m a libra in case you were wondering). 

Speaking of things I want and like, I want to amend my statement that Lie to Me is the best show on television.  It’s good, don’t get me wrong, but I’ve decided I like Castle the best.  Partially because I love it when ridiculously good looking people do mundane every day jobs on television shows, but MOSTLY because I love every single article of clothing worn by Detective Kate Beckett.  Her clothes are obviously not in the average salary range of a new york city cop, good thing her back story includes her being a park ave princess in her earlier life, you know, before tragedy struck and her mother was killed and she swore to avenge her by joining the Force.  It makes it all so much more believable, especially the part where she wears spike heels while chasing criminals through the streets.  The unbelievable part is how completely obsessed I am with all the different leather jackets she sports. I love all her coats, and her shoes.  Sigh.  So, sorry Lie to Me, until you can beef up the wardrobe, Castle is in the lead.  And a quick search of the internet leads me to believe I am not the only one who is obsessed with this aspect of the show.   

I hope you have all enjoyed this installment of “I’m a materialistic fashion whore who watches too much television.”  Tune in next week for “I like to complain about things that don’t matter to anyone but me to everyone I can corner and make my captive audience against their will.”  Actually, next week might be more along the lines of “Listen to the nutty, crazy, ridiculous and embarrassing things that were said and done by my family on Thanksgiving after a few bottles of wine.”  Who knows, you just can’t ever tell.  (Note to family:  I’d never really report such things on the blog, I keep them all written down somewhere else for the expose novel I’m going to write one day about everyone I know and love). 

 Man, I’m cracking myself up with the jokes this afternoon.