When the HR department sent out an email about their fundraiser of Ghoul-a-grams I had a flashback to high school. They did these in high school at different holidays. Being a new girl I didn't know what to do. I thought it was pretty lame but what if most people did this and would be offended if I didn't send them one? What if nobody did this and I look like a weirdo awkward stalker to send them a dorky note like this?!? I decided to send them to a lot of the people that I felt went out of their way to make me feel welcome there at work. I wrote a note on each one saying: "Thanks for being so friendly and welcoming!" A few people sent me ghoul-a-grams so I wasn't the only one to send them and that made me feel like less of a dork and it was just like in high school where you feel just a teeny bit popular because somebody send you a card.
I almost feel asleep on the way to work Tuesday morning. I was just so tired. Once I got there I realized that I was about to turn around and go to training. I was having a hard time trying to figure out how I was going to stay awake for the training so I left a little bit early so I could go through a drive thru for caffeine. I see a Burger King and I turn in. I have already eaten breakfast but I see that they are now serving Cinnabon cinnamon rolls. Hello diabetes! I swear it is like I want to utilize my pancreas to the max. Hey, if you don't use it, you lose it! So I order one of those and then I look at what coffee drinks they have. I don't drink coffee. I have toyed with trying to drink it in the past and that has led me to have like a cup a month but most of my experimentation has been with my Keurig and hazelnut creamer and I have no idea what to order at an actual restaurant. I see the word caramel and I think I should be able to handle that since I like caramel so much so I ordered a caramel frape or something strange sounding like that. Now it has been a good bit chilly in the area. This morning it was a nippy 45 degrees out. When I get to the window and see that in my ignorance I have ordered an iced coffee. Good thing I was wearing gloves. The caffeine kept me awake for the first training session but in the second session I was bobble heading it something fierce.
On the way home from the training I see a Sonic and I quickly pulled over because this girl loves her some cherry slush and cherry lime aid. I'm not a giant fan of their food and I get overwhelmed by all of the choices they have and the fact that they all equalling appeal and repeal me. I got a footlong chili cheese dog and onion rings. I'm so healthy. Little known fact about me: I don't like chili dogs. I like chili buns. I don't have an issue with hot dogs, I like them by themselves but when chili is an option I feel the hot dog ruins the taste and I would rather use the precious little space in the bun for chili. Restaurants don't understand this. It is always an ordeal so I typically order it like normal and just take the dog out myself. I think that this footlong chili cheese dog had a good helping of cheese and maybe, just maybe, a teaspoon of chili. So it was a failure of a meal but I'm getting away from the purpose of this little story. I paid for the meal of the person behind me. I couldn't see if it was a man or a woman. It was either a shaggy haired man or a short haired woman. I wanted to pay and get out of there and this Sonic is on a busy street so I was worried that this (wo)man would be able to catch up with me if I sat there waiting to be able to turn on the road. I didn't want their gratitude. I'm not doing this for gratitude. It is awkward and strange and I just prefer to throw my good deed at people and run. So I take this random side road from the Sonic and end up in a sketchy neighborhood. I kept thinking I was going to get mugged all because of my weirdness about a stranger thanking me. Thankfully I made it back to work safely and went to the break room to eat. My onion rings had already soaked clear through the bag. The guy that I sit with at lunch kept making comments about my oh-so-healthy meal.
I have selective amnesia when it comes to a specific recipe of mine. It is only when I am hours into making these caramel apple cookies that I remember what a pain in the rump these things are to make. They are just so delicious. These cookies are filled with an apple/walnut/sugar/evaporated milk filling and after you bake them you dip them in caramel and then add walnuts. They taste so good but they take too much effort. They give prizes for the desserts at this work party and I didn't even win. Lame.
Everyday at work I get to take the books/DVDs that people request to be sent to other branches down to a shipping room where they have bins lining the wall with labels for each branch. I get to see various materials and some of these makes me shake my head. I once told Darryl, one of the mail/shipping/book sorting guys that some covers of books and movies were so scandalous that they make me blush. So there's no telling what is going to be in the bins to be sent out. On this day there was a Michael Jackson album. Darryl and I got to talking about MJ and all of his songs and what not. I said that I was at a wedding reception recently where the groom's sister was breaking out some impressive MJ moves and I was impressed. I then did an imitation and almost popped my hip out of joint. We all had a good laugh although I'm pretty sure they were laughing AT me and not WITH me.
One great thing that has happened since moving to Nashville is that I've been able to reconnect with some friends that I knew in college but had moved to Nashville. I've been able to get together with one girl a few times since I have been here and this weekend we went out for brunch at an adorable restaurant on the east side of the city. I got the croissant french toast and bacon and it was delicious. Amy got a crepe with pork in a mushroom ragu sauce. I'm finding that Nashville has a lot of restaurants with unique menus. I wish that I was braver in terms of experimentation with food. If I ever get brave I'll make sure to be a hipster and take an instragram picture of it and blog about it here so you can be with me for the experience.
Okay, so I'm kinda cheating with counting this one. I wasn't technically the one that did the calling. My mom is in town and we were visiting with some friends here in town when I got a call. I see that I have a voicemail and thanks to Google Voice I can check it super fast and I hear the message that my friend has something to tell me. I have known Laura since I was a toddler. Our parents met in Texas when they were both pregnant with their first children. Fast forward 7 or so years and my dad looks down the soccer field sideline and says, "Tommy?" Ends up our brothers were on the same team. It also ends up that both families have had 3 kids, all at the same ages and grades in school, both families have 2 boys and a girl with the girl being the youngest and both girls have the same name: Laura. Talk about coincidence! Laura and I were fast friends. We were actually cheerleaders for our brother's soccer team and we had some awesomely amazing cheers. "Pork chops, pork chops, greasy, greasy, we can beat your team, easy, easy!!!" Laura and I have stayed friends through the years. We might only talk once or twice a year but we are both there for each other when it counts. She has been with a guy for a while now and this weekend he finally popped the question!!! I'm so excited for her and I wish her and her man a very happy life together in happy marital bliss.
Last year I decided to do a Thankful status for each day of November leading up to Thanksgiving. I decided to do the same thing this year. Here have been some of my statuses so far:
Today I'm thankful for a powerful God that is in control of things. I may not always understand or agree with things that happen but they always bring glory to Him in the end. I'm thankful He's a healer, father, savior, forgiver and sustainer.
Today I'm grateful for my mother. She's an angel here on earth and has been a great spiritual example for our family. She says things in her own goofy way and has many Charleneisms but they make us laugh. She's a goofball and I love her.
Today I am thankful for new friends, fabric stores, sun roofs, Dyson vacuum cleaners, delicious breakfast food to be eaten at all times of the day, fruit snacks (aka healthy gummy bears), old friends, the sunshine, Pinterest and having an extra hour of sleep because I certainly need it! Can I get an amen?!?
It takes me entirely too long to decide where to eat for any given meal. Today I decided on a bakery and got myself a 4-cheese sandwich and tomato basil soup. The guy on the register had a lot of tattoos but was very nice. I asked him how his day was and he replied that "It was the best day of his life." I'm thinking that this dude must have gotten engaged this morning or something to make a statement like that so I asked for him to expand his comment and he replied with "Every day that you wake up alive is the best day ever." Well if you can't tell by now I'm a teensy weensy little bit of a pessimist. I call myself a realist but my more honest friends would laugh at that and say I should just own my pessimistic title. My immediate thought was "B.S.!" I just smiled at him and said something like, "That's a great perspective to have!" It might be his perspective but really, how can you think that every day is the best ever?!? Let's be real... that day when you had the stomach virus was not the best day ever. The day that you were dumped, or realized that your dreams were crushed, or heck the day that you spent watching Derrick Dooley lead the Vols to another loss was not the best day ever!! I don't think having a positive attitude means that the day goes to the top of the charts. I prefer to call a day like I see it. Today was a mediocre day. Not great, nothing to complain about, nothing to shout out to the rooftops about. It was an average day. Let's have a range on how great the day is.
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