musings from a lost beachgirl

What a guy really wants

2007-08-01T14:54:00.000-07:00

So lately I have discovered what a guy really wants from a girl like me..and it's not what you think...

He wants my business contacts...but he is usually sly about it, using dirty tactics like, "let's get together for drinks sometime" ... leading you to believe that he might be interested...oh but he is interested, just not in the way I want... he wants me for my business contacts..

Case in point, and this is no lie..
I meet a guy a couple of months ago. He was 30 kinds of good looking, I gave him my card, well he finally calls me and asks me out for lunch. I am totally pumped about it. So I wear my best dress, put on my lipstick and even shave my legs.. Turns out, he's engaged. He met a girl like the day after he met me, now they're engaged... But he wanted me to help him network.. I'm a glutten for punishment, so of course I'll help him..

If it weren't so funny, it would be sad...

Plugging back in for a while

2007-06-29T08:00:00.001-07:00

I'm not even sure if anyone will ready this, but I just needed some get some things out and blogging is so much cheaper than therapy. Things at work are great, I finished my largest fundraiser in May and we raise almost $270k. I feel really good about it considering it was my first really large event.

I just got back from my Mecca- also know as the beach. I just love it there but I don't think I would want to live there. I think if I lived there it wouldn't be as special and perhaps I would take it for granted. I love the life I have created for myself here in Nashville. God has truly blessed me with amazing friends. My mom is moving here this weekend and I could not be more excited!

As far as the love life goes, it's still crazy. I am just coming out of an extremely dysfunctional relationship. I have been on and off with this guy since January. What I am learning (and what seems like common sense of course) is that I deserve better, so much better than him. To be quite honest, he doesn't deserve me. I have said this so many times I feel like a broken record. I certainly hope Mr.Right is on his way, but I have had my share of Mr.Wrongs!!!

So I am going to take a deep breath and let the loving light of Christ fill my heart. I am truly blessed... I hope all is well out there in blogland...

Here's a funny tidbit... I have started this world religion class at church.. so I'm sitting there just listening, and this guy comes and sits next to me... I get a glimpse of him and I am like "oh my heavens, thank you Jesus for putting this most beautiful (and what I thought to be single) man next to me. He is a company commander with the 101st Airborne Division and was in the everyday camo gear... I could have just died right there on the spot... I mean we are talking 30 kinds of beautiful! So we kind of chat after class and I'm still thinking to myself, "serisously, I think I am in love" ... Then he says to me "this is my fiancee" and over walks the skinniest and somewhat odd looking girl... oh and they are getting marriend this weekend... It's like that Alanis Morrisette song "Ironic"... I think that should be the theme song of my life. I find it extremely hysterical at this point!!!

Much love and Many Blessings!
BG

Let the breeze blow up your dress!!

2007-01-18T09:30:00.000-08:00

So I found this picture today and I just love it!! It reminds me of some of the stupid stuff I do with my best friend Kari... Even during the most hectic or saddest times, we always make each other laugh...

Right now I am going full tilt with the new job.. I have three events April though June.. One of the events is our foundation's largest fundraiser, no pressure though, really...

I am trying to keep my head screwed on and not be overwhelmed but the spring social season has begun and to beat it all, I am now on the other side... I have to plan everything, not just show up as a patron. But it's all good...

No, there are no new guys, but I am ok with that..I am just really happy right now. That's not to say that I don't have my bad days, believe me, I do.. but they are just few and far between right now.. My prayer is that I will remain focused on what is important, God, family and friends... In that order.. So that is my advice to you, don't let the little things get to you, take a minute to let the breeze blow up your dress!!

Much love,

Merry Christmas...

2006-12-20T11:36:00.000-08:00

So I have been getting so many cute Christmas cards from my friends... Most of the pics are of their children!! Oh they are sooooooo cute... Especially Molly Kate (see the pic, isn't she precious!!). That little thing is a picture posing diva (much like her aunty beachgirl) !!!

Of course I am still single and I have no pets, so what kind of Christmas card should I send out? How's this for my Christmas letter:

"Hey Friends and family!, I'm still single, the house is great, plants are fine... Well actually we almost lost one this year but she's battling to hang in there..Mom is still crying herself to sleep at night b/c I am not dating and there is no prospect for a husband in sight, so really, everything is normal...Hope everything is great with you and yours Merry Christmas!!"

I think it's pretty funny... Seriously, everything is good, the job is great and I have much to be thankful for!! I for one am wiping the slate clean in 2007, and I mean CLEAN!! No longer will I tolerate "friends" that take advantage of me, my friendship is a gift and it is not something to be wasted!! I deserve better... as do we all!!

Much love to you all and MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

I just can't believe it!!

2006-11-28T13:38:00.000-08:00

First, Brittany and k-fed, then Reese and Ryan, now Pam and Kid Rock!!! I just don't know if I will be able to go on!! I mean of all of those couples, I really thought Pam and Kid rock would last, I mean they had 3 weddings!! How sad!!

Ok, so at times I can be a bit dramatic..but really, are we shocked that these marriages didn't last? Or are we to the point that we don't even really care? I'm almost there, to the point where I just roll my eyes and so oh well... It's not going to effect my life either way..

So the holidays are upon us and I am getting pretty excited. I'm not nearly as stressed out as I was last year. I am feeling a bit melancholy though. I just remember last year when I was buying fun stuff for the Christmas care packages I sent overseas to RG, Eunuch, and Chairborne. Out of those 3 I am still friends with eunuch, which I am thankful for. But I am not friends with RG any longer and I guess I thought I was friends with Chairborne but clearly we were not... I still wish them both the best but I had really high hopes for our friendships.. Oh well, moving on.. I am going to enjoy the holiday this year!!

I have a lunch date tomorrow with an old friend from college tomorrow.. I am kind of excited about it, he's a really nice guy and I am looking forward to catching up with him... oh and I have a date for our Junior League Gala friday night, I think that might be a friend thing but I'm not sure yet, we'll see...

Things are going well, I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!!

Much love,
BG

Just catchin' up

2006-11-20T10:05:00.000-08:00

Hey y'all!! I was brought to task over the weekend by Ray-ray (mother of Carter, the boy genius) for updating my site... I won't bore you with everything but here are some highlights:

- Still haven't heard from RG. It's been 2 months and I am still really sad about it... But God has me on this path for a reason..

-LOVING the new job!! I love the people I work with and the foundation I work for!!

- I made the society page, and it was a pretty good pic.

- Family is doing well...

Oh and yestrday I went over to Ray-ray's house for a hen-fest. The Bunco Girls (we quit playing Bunco about two years ago) got together to see Jen and her little girl Molly Kate!!! It was so good to see everyone, and 2 of the girls are preggers!! Yeah!! More babies!! I am so happy for all of them!! At this point I am just looking to start dating again!!I bought little Molly Kate some fab accessories, some pink (faux)UGG boots, headbands (b/c they are all the rage right now), and some fab pink sunglasses...Jen took pics so I'll post them as soon as I get them!!

Hope all is well with everyone and have a great Thanksgiving!!

How 'Bout them Vols

2006-10-23T07:37:00.000-07:00

It was the 3rd Saturday in October...That day has very special meaning for Vold fans everywhere. It is the weekend we ALWAYS play Alabama... I got up early Saturday to drive home (only b/c I had event the night before). The leaves were spectacular.. it was a little cool but it was perfect fall weather...

The game was great!! And contrary to what Eunuch thinks, we do know how to play football in the SEC... again Eunuch, let me know when Air Force wins a National Championship... That's a little jab back to Eunuch for making a very unsavory comment about my Vols not knowing how to play "a real game" of football...

I love this time of year and I love it even more that my Vols are doing great this year!!

Things are really good with me right now... My job is rockin' !!! I had an event last weekend and I have another one this weekend! I'm a busy little bee but the Lord give me the strength to face each day with grace...

Love y'all!!!

Letting go and moving on

2006-10-03T16:00:00.000-07:00

I know I have written about this many times but this time I have let go of something I have been hanging on to for about 2 years. I have written about my friend RG a number of times and I have always said that we are friends... and that is true, but deep down in my heart my feelings for him were very strong, and I had hoped that while he was deployed his feelings for me would change, but it was not to be. I finally got to see him Sunday evening.. It was like looking at an answered prayer when he walked out of his house to greet me. We had fun catching up, but as the night went on, I knew I had to find the closure I so deparately needed. Well, I got it. There were no harsh words spoken at all, and I still care for him very much but right now we are not meant to be, but we will always be friends.

I prayed to God for clarity on my relationship with RG and I got it. God answers our prayers, but it may not always be the way WE want them to be answered...

So yes, I cried all the way home (about 45 minutes).. I cried for what could have been, what we could have had together. But all the while I knew I was going to be ok.. My best good friend Kari talked to me on my drive home, we cried to together and she lifted me up in only the way a true Christian sister could. I don't know what I would do without her...

I was still a bit sad Monday morning, so I emailed my best friend Dave, I told him what had happened and this is what he said:

Hey sweetie,

I am very sorry to hear about you and RG. It breaks my heart to think that someone else does not know the unbelievably beautiful, intellegent, witty, and awesome woman that I know and love to death. You are the one of the greatest single people I have ever known along with my Grandad and Parents. You can do anything that you want, people have this need to be around you in a crowd, and there is that smile that can light up a room in a second. My heart is full of wonderful memories of the things we have done. Believe me when I tell you this, this is RG's loss. This is not a Heather thing, this is a guy who obviously has no idea what he is passing on thing. Bret still loves you, I still love you, and that will never change with the passing of time. Just know if you need me then I am here for you every second of every day. You are wonderful.

I love Ya,

Dave

I cried like a baby when I read that... Who could ask for a better friend? What Kari, Dave and Bret did for me, that's what friendship truly is, and for that I give thanks to God above!

Today has been awesome, I feel like I am back to my old self. I am about to take a trip to NOLA to help with a Junior League rebuilding effort... I am so excited!! We will be staying in a condo that is in the French Quarter!! How great is that??!!

So again, I am letting go, moving on and travelling on this wonderful crazy path that the Lord has me on...I have no idea what is around the bend but I do know that I am beautiful child of God and He will lead me to what is good and right...

I hope you all are doing great!!

Much love,
BG

Galatians 6:9
Joshua 1:9

The Belle of the Ball

2006-09-27T07:23:00.002-07:00

Apparently when you head up north, southern girls become the belle of the ball...actually I wasn't really that far north, I was in Bethesda, Maryland...but I was the belle of the ball and my dance card filled up fast!

So I had to go to our national office for a couple of days last week, it's in Bethesda.. I was sad that I didn't have any spare time to catch up with my blog friends in the area, but I had a good time nonetheless...

Lately my self esteem has been in the toilet. I'm not really dating anyone and I have put a few of the pounds back on, so yeah, it has been pity party-ville for me lately. But apparently going on a trip to, of all places, Maryland, can really work wonders for one's self esteem...

So after our first day of a all day meeting, my colleagues and I went to a local watering hole for some drinks... Well we get there and we were having a great time... The bartender, Pete started talking to me and literally one of the girls with us had to tell me he was flirting with me... It's gotten so bad that I have to be TOLD when someone is flirting with me!! Then this other guy, Mike, hears that we are talking about football, so he jumps in to the conversation...so I now have the attention of two men, why not add a third? Seriously, this guy named Ryan decided to join the conversation... he was a total hottie, beautiful blue eyes and smile that could stop traffic! Literally, I felt like Scarlett O'Hara at the Wilkes bar-b-que with all those suitors around me... It was wonderful!!

I finally realize that I am actually very pretty, charming, smart and quite funny... I am not bragging, please don't get me wrong.. But the self realization that I am a beautiful child of God with so much to offer someone is a very good feeling. And if someone chooses not to be part of my life then it truly is their loss... and I refuse to let someone else's choices effect my demeanor/mood...

Eleanor Roosevelt said, No one can make you feel inferior without your permission... well for too long I have been giving that power to someone, I let him make me feel bad about myself, and I'm just not going to do it anymore...

Life is good, I am blessed beyond words... I hope everyone else is doing well, I miss you all...

Much love and many blessings!!

BG

I'm still here...

2006-09-13T10:08:00.000-07:00

Hey y'all..

Just wanted to let you know that I am still here... The job is amazing, but I've been busier than a one legged man in a butt kickin contest!! I'm just feeling a little melancholy today... All my friends are home from Iraq (thank God!!), with the exception of my good friend RG. He was supposed to fly out of Baghdad on Sept.9 but I don't know if it actually happened and I haven't heard from him. And I feel awful b/c one of my friend's friend got home before RG, and I was actually jealous. I was jealous b/c he went over there long after RG and came home before him. My first reaction should have been pure joy that my friend will be reunited with her friend very soon... and really I am so happy for her and give thanks to God that her nightmare is over. I think I owe her a big fat apology....But my nightmare seems prolonged, and it is starting to really get to me. I just want to know that he is home, that's all... however, it would be nice to see him and hang out with him for a while but I don't want to ask for too much.

I think of it this way, when you give, you should do it with a pure heart, and not expect anything in return. But I realize we are human and sometimes when someone doesn't react the way we think they should, we are disappointed. So I am a smidge sad today... But it will be alright, I have faith that God's Will will be done...

So I hope that you will forgive me that I didn't really post anything witty, funny or just plain silly. But it is what's on my heart today... I miss you all terribly and thanks to those of you who have emailed to check on me... The encouragement has been amazing!!

Much Love!!

Saying Goodbye...

2006-08-30T07:20:00.000-07:00

It's never easy to say goodbye...but it's something I have been saying a lot lately. Leaving my job after I have been here 6 years, it's a little harder than I thought. These people became family to me. I didn't really know anyone when I moved here from Knoxville. I joke that I have about a dozen mothers here as well as brothers/father figures that look out for me... I know, I'll be back, and we'll keep in touch but I will miss the small things... Like taking those breaks and wandering over to a friend's cubicle to discuss the latest drama in her life or mine for that matter. Saying hello to Miss Tina as I come in and out of the building. Or just sitting at my computer trying to look busy...

I am so very excited about my new job... I cannot wait to get started in this new chapter of my life...But that brings me to another sad point.... I'm afraid with my new job I won't be able to update this site as much as I have in the past. I want to stay in touch with y'all so, if you want to say hey or find out what's up with me and my life (as if it were really that exciting..) feel free to email me... my email address is tngovgirl@hotmail.com

I want to thank each one of you for your love and support, I have enjoyed getting to know you through this blog. I will still be around, just not as much...

I will leave you with this verse that means so much to me...
"let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time, we will reap a harvest if we do not give up" Galatians 6:9

Much love,

Beachgirl

Some Exciting news

2006-08-23T09:32:00.000-07:00

So I have been hesistant to share this bit of news with everyone...Mainly b/c it's a very important thing that has come up, I have been talking to my family, best friend Kari and some church folk about it... Most importantly I have been in much prayer about it.. What is it you ask??

An awesome job opportunity... It is the Special Events Director for a large non-profit agency. The job just sort of fell into my lap last Wednesday when I was having lunch with my friend, Angie... She is the executive director of this non-profit and were there to discuss volunteer opportunities for next year, she had asked me to chair an event this year but I had to decline b/c of all my other obligations... The conversation was just rolling along and I began to tell her that I was thinking of changing careers. I wanted to move towards development/fundraising within a healthcare field, non-profit, etc... She kind of looked at me with a funny look on her face, and said she had an opening... I was like hmmmm. As we began to talk more about the position I became more excited, she was totally serious... As we left she asked me to send her my resume when I got back to my office and she would have the HR person call me...I sent her my resume, and the HR person called to set an appointment so we could talk the next day (Thursday).

So, this was really happening....My dream job, being a Special Events Director...I would actually get paid for things I do already, plan parties and events... I had a brief phone interview with the HR person on Thursday, I really liked her, and I think she liked me...

The following day, Friday, I had a formal interview with Angie, she showed me around the office and introduced me to the staff... Then she showed me what would be my office, it's so cute... After I left Angie's office, I had a brief phone interview with her boss... After I hung up with her, Angie called me and asked me how I thought it went, I told her I thought it went fine...Angie informed me that her boss had already emailed her and said she thought I was a perfect fit for the job!! Angie told me that we would start the paper work and I should know something by the following week (this week)......

After a glowing reference from my current boss (she's amazing), I got the offer yesterday and I accepted... I will be the Special Events Director for a major non-profit agency.... I give all thanks to God, I put this in his hands, I did not worry and I prayed that His will would be done.... Praise the Lord!!

So here we are, closing a chapter on my life... I have been with the state for 6 years, I started here just out of college. I grew up here, my co-workers became like family to me. It was a little hard to tell some folks that I was leaving, but they were all so happy for me... and I'm happy for me too...

So there you have it, my big news...a new life born in Christ, a new job, and an amazing new adventure!!!

Totally Random Thoughts

2006-08-21T08:55:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I can't put together a coherent post so I just thought I would post some random thoughts...

1. I may be changing careers, but won't know more until tomorrow... (Prayers please, that I am able to accept God's will)..If I change careers I may not have a lot of time for blogging, not like I do now... So I think it will come down to, if you want to keep in touch, you may just have to email me... But I don't know yet, let's just wait and see..

2. I hate it when my best friend is in pain, I just want to take it from her... I have seen her cry more in the past week than I have seen her cry in the almost 10 years we have known each other... It breaks my heart and I just pray things get better for her..

3. Chairborne Stranger, Rolligun and Eunuch are home!! My good friend RG is expected home the first week in September, please keep him and the rest of the guys in your prayers... I ask especially that you continue to pray for the guys that are home... sometimes adjusting back to civilian life can be, well, not the easiest thing in the world...

4. It is overcast and yucky here today, a perfect day for curling up with a good Audrey Hepburn movie while sipping on some hot chocolate..then taking a long cat nap...

5. Why is 40 below in my office??!! I mean it is 90 some odd degrees outside and it's like the frozen tundra in here... I keep a sweater, socks, and a blanket at my desk just so I can make it through the day...it's not right I tell ya! Just not right...

6. I think my mom is great... my sister and I dump a lot of crap on her...I just hope she knows how much we love her and appreciate her...

7. I have lots of furry things on my desk, furry pens, a furry lamp, a pink boa...hey, if I am going to work in the frozen tundra, I am going to surround myself with fun furry things!!

That's about it...things are actually pretty ok with me right now... Thank the good Lord above...

Much love to you all!!

~beachgirl

A little more pudge please...

2006-08-15T10:01:00.000-07:00

There was a great story on the Today Show this morning. It was all about how more women are attracted to men with a little more meat on their bones, or what I like to call "a little more pudge".... The story began with a report of the death of the dreaded Metro Sexual... So long Jude Law, and those like you! I for one was never attracted to the metro sexuals.. I simply do not want to date a guy that is prettier than me or uses more hair products than me...

I mean I like a guy that knows "sort of" how to dress, but absolutely hates to shop... Take my friend RG for example, he knows how to dress and knows of important designers (especially Ralph Lauren), but he still makes fashion mistakes... I remember one time when a group of us got together, he wore a pair of carpenter jeans, they were heinous and did NOTHING for him... I told him if he ever had hope for finding a decent girl, he should go home and burn those jeans... I wasn't ugly about it, and I think he appreciated my honesty... I think...

I also like a guy that can take direction... I will use RG as an example again. I was at his place for his birthday last year, for some reason, he wanted to show me his closet... WAIT!! I KNOW, I was thinking the same thing.... was this his attempt to get me into his room and make some sort of grand daytime soap opera move on me??! I'll tell you, at that point, I was really hoping for it, but to no avail, he really just wanted me to see his closet... and NO HE'S NOT GAY!!!

So we are in the closet (Jake, don't even go there!!) and it's immaculate... I mean for heaven's sake he's in the military and everything had it's place...I mean, I wanted to pay him to come organize my closet.... so I was going through his wardrobe, it was pretty good. LOTS of Ralph Lauren..Nice, very nice... My birthday party was the following week, so he pulled out the shirt he thought he would wear, I told him it was nice but I preferred that he wear another one.... and you know what?? He did... He can follow direction... that's a good man.... but he's not a wimp...

There's a fine line between a man that can follow direction (but still be strong) and one that is just a door mat.. The door mat guy is usually the one that only knows how to say "yes dear"... That's NOT the kind of guy I want.....

I like guys like Vince Vaughn, and Will Ferrell. A guy that is cute and FUNNY!! But of course guys like Matthew McConaughey, and Josh Lucas could eat cookies in my bed ANYTIME... HOORAY!! The REAL men are back!! So long you sissy metro sexuals!!!

I for one am putting my faith in God that he will lead me to the man He has in mind for me... and NO, I don't expect God to deliver him to my door (however that would be great!!)... But through good works and activities, I believe I will find him, better yet, he will find me...

Much love y'all!!

~Beachgirl

Welcome Molly Kate!!

2006-08-10T08:16:00.000-07:00

With a very thankful heart I am proud to announce that my good friends Jennifer and Eric have been blessed with the birth of their daughter, Molly Kathryn. Molly Kate and mom are doing great. Dad says Molly Kate has a head full of hair and is absolutely beautiful. I have no doubt that she is ...

Molly Kate was born at 12:15 am, August10 weighing 7 lb 9 oz. She is 20 1/4 in long.

I am so thankful to God above for such a wonderful blessing like Molly Kate. This child is going to grow up surrounded by people that love her so much...Especially her parents, they are two of the most wonderful people I have ever encountered...

I can't wait to see this little blessing, to hug and kiss her, and tell her how much her Aunty Beachgirl loves her... I think Aunty Ray-Ray and I are going to have to make a trip out to see her soon!!!

Molly Kate, welcome to the world sweet girl...

Much love....

~Beachgirl

Breakfast at Tiffany's

2006-08-08T09:39:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite movies of all time...and as Holly Golightly said "I'm crazy about Tiffany's" for me, that cannot be a more true statement... I Love Tiffany's and everything from Tiffany's... I have actaully been to the Tiffany's on 5th Avenue in New York.. It was a magical experience, my mother bought me my first piece of Tiffany's jewlery while we were there, a pair of silver starfish earrings...Quite appropriate, don't you think?? Kind of goes along with the whole "Beachgirl" theme...

Now Nashville has it's own Tiffany's store in Green Hills Mall.. at first I was really excited to have the store here...They had an invitation only opening last Monday, I assume my invitation was lost in the mail...A woman was interviewed outside the store, apparently she was one of the invited guests (I'm thinking she stole my invitation).. When the reporter asked her why she thought everyone loved Tiffany's as they do, she spewed out this comment in a trashy country accent (I mean we're talking East Tennessee, straight out of the trailer park, white trash accent), "Well I guess everyone just loves that aqua box!!".... Aqua Box??!!! Excuse me?? It is NOT aqua, it is its OWN color, called TIFFANY BLUE (or simply the little blue box with the little white bow)... See that's what you get with new money, no class..... It made me want to vomit, and I hoped no one from the Tiffany's Company was watching for fear they may close the doors of our new Nashville store immediately...

So Kari and I popped into the Tiffany's Saturday. It was very beautiful, there was a guard at the door, it was like a magical moment just walking through the doors... But then the magic died as we tried to dodge the strollers filled with screaming children, and people oohing and ahhing over "that purty ring" and asking how much it was...I wanted to say, honey, if you have to ask, you can't afford it.. I know, I wasn't being very Christian like, and I will pray about it... but come on!!! It's TIFFANY'S!!!

I mean it was beautiful, and I even tried on a couple of bobbles..but it was just different. When I expressed my concern to Kari, she hit the nail on the head... She said it was kind of like the lottery..We did not have one in Tennessee for a number of years, but all of our neighboring states had them... so anytime you would travel to Georgia, Kentucky or Virginia, it would be a big deal to get a lottery ticket.. But when the lottery finally came to Tennessee, it just wasn't as fun...

So now that we have our own Tiffany's, some of the magic is gone..Not all of the magic, but some of it... However,I will NEVER refuse a little blue box, with a little white bow...

Much love y'all!!!

~Beachgirl

Tax Free Weekend

2006-08-04T09:13:00.000-07:00

Tennessee is having it's first ever tax free weekend beginning today. This is supposed to help parents get supplies for their kids without having to pay state and local taxes on purchases.
But it's really for all Tennesseans, not just parents and families...

This should be very helpful since Tennessee has one of the highest sales taxes in the nation. The sales tax is 9.25%, that really adds up, especially on big ticket items like computers. We do not have a state income tax here, which would alleviate the high sales tax and would have eliminated the tax on food. The tax is also 9.25% on food items, which really hurts the working poor. But a couple of years ago, there was a "Income tax revolution" when an income tax was proposed in the state legislature. People went nuts!! You would have thought state government was trying to revert from democracy to communism... All of this rhetoric was fueled by two nimrod radio hosts, both of whom spouted horrible personal insults on lawmakers.. In the end, b/c of death threats lawmakers were recieving, and the general lack of courage, lawmakers let the bill die, but raised the sales tax another quarter %. It was some of the darkest times Tennessee has ever faced... I for one will never forget it... I was a lobbyist on the Hill at that time..We had the national guard surrounding the capitol b/c of small riots and ongoing protests. We were encouraged to take our state badges off when we went out for lunch downtown, b/c state workers were being harrassed. We working almost around the clock on the budget, I had to be escorted to my car each night by a TBI agent, not b/c I was like in super duper danger, but it was always dark when we left the capitol, and besides that, I think he had a crush on me.... But if the income tax had passed, there would be no tax on food, and the poorest of the poor would recieve a state income tax break...Instead we now have one of the highest sales taxes in the nation... yeah, it has worked out well...

But I digress... so now we have a tax free weekend..I really feel like I should go out and buy some some stuff. It's not in my budget but hey, there's no taxes... I really feel like I should seize this opprotunity... right?

Hope everyone has a great weekend!! I know I will!!

Much love
~Beachgirl

A little more appropriate

2006-08-02T10:45:00.000-07:00

Ok, Not sure if anyone read my site earlier today, but I had posted something that was not very positive. I was griping about something really silly... so I just decided to take it down..it reallyw asn't that important to begin with...so I decided to post something a little more appropriate...

It's a Christian Song that means a great deal to me, especially now as I follow my calling... It's a beautiful song that always puts me at ease... It's by Ginny Owens...

If You Want Me To
The pathway is broken
And the signs are unclear
And I don't know the reason why you brought me here
But just because you love me the way that you doI'm gonna walk through the valley
If you want me to

Cuz I'm not who I was
When I took my first step
And I'm clinging to the promise you're not through with me yet
So if all of these trials bring me closer to you
Then I will go through the fire
If you want me to

It may not be the way I would have chosen
When you lead me through a world that's not my home
But you never said it would be easy
You only said I'll never go alone
So when the whole world turns against me
And I'm all by myself
And I can't hear you answer my cries for help
I'll remember the suffering your love put you through
And I will go through the valley
If you want me to

Martyrdom

2006-07-31T11:32:00.000-07:00

Historically, a martyr is a person who dies for their convictions or religious faith, such as during the persecution of early Christians in the Roman Empire. NOT someone that has to set up for a church luncheon by herself... But you wouldn't have known that by the tone, and anger inflected in my friend's voice yesterday at church.

A friend of ours, we'll call her RL is working on this project at church, and there was supposed to be a big luncheon Sunday (yesterday) after church for its kick-off.. well our friend RL is not the over achieving planner like some of us are, so on her way out of town RL asks our Bible study class to help with food, that she has nothing planned. Keep in mind that this past weekend was the one year anniversary of her fiancee's death. So I shifted into planning mode, I was actually glad to do it for my friend RL... I got the food organized and the troops bring the food, but my other friend we will call BH, wanted to whine and complain about it the whole time... I kept reminding her that we were doing this as a favor to our friend and we should rejoice in it.. (see I'm really trying to have the Christian spirit here...) But BH would not let it go, and complained about it to everyone that would pretend to listen.... It started to get on my nerves, but I just kept praying about it....

So Sunday morning I go to Sunday School, actually the Sunday School Hour was all of us watching the Music Camp's production of Jonah...the kids were soooooo cute... Then I went on to the 11:00 service...BH normally sits with me but she wasn't there. I figured something had happened, I was actually a little worried.. But I enjoyed the service and slipped out just before the benediction, to set up the food. No biggie, right? Wrong... I walk up the stairs, and say good morning to BH, she snaps at me and says "Where have you been?", I tell her I was in church... she starts going on and on how she had to set up all by herself, and there was no one there to help, and that RL's committee wasn't there, yada,yada,yada... I was furious.. I am griped at like that all the time and I wasn't about to be griped at like that in church!! I reminded her that she DID NOT have to take this on, and that it would have gotten handled one way or the other...also we needed to remember that this was a labor of love for our friend, who needed our help... she poubted and kind of just left when no one would listen to her gripe any longer...

This is what people don't like organized religion..b/c people like BH lose sight of what is important...helping a friend in need... Jesus would have helped without any question or complaint...

That is the nice thing to say, but what I really wanted to say (Lord forgive me) was "Honey, get down off your cross, cuz someone else needs the wood!"... Last time I checked you couldn't be considered a martyr for setting up a luncheon by yourself...

If you want to do something nice for someone, do it because you feel compelled to do it, not b/c you want the accolades...

Ready for more sex?

2006-07-28T13:43:00.000-07:00

That was the subject line of an email I got from my minister last night. Ok, before y'all start flipping out, I have been asked to be a co-leader in a sexual education class at my church as part of our college ministries. Sex is a subject that a lot of Christians find taboo, but it is a real issue facing kids in college that are away from home... I like the fact that my (very conservative high methodist) church is willing to tackle issues like this. So the email was all about the class and getting it started, but I just thought it was too funny not to share...

I had met with our college ministries team last night for the first time. They are a great group of people and hyper-organized, which I totally love!! I am going to be the Social/Hospitality Chair (what a surprise!)... I feel like my social skills are God given talents so why shouldn't I use those talents to serve God Himself?? Seems like a no brainer..

Things are really good right now.. but there is something that is on my heart. With the the strife in the Middle East right now, our troops in Iraq have sort of been put on the backburner. Recently it was announced that some 3,500 members of the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team. The unit, which has been serving in northern Iraq, was scheduled to be leaving now, but instead, most of its 3,900 troops will serve for up to four more months. It was unclear whether the unit would go to Baghdad. This absolutelybreaks my heart. All those soldiers that were preparing to come home, and their families waiting for them for a year now... I for one am waiting for my friend RG, with the 101st Airborne to come the first week of September. If I found out he was going to have to stay another 4 months, which include the holidays, I would be devastated... So I ask that you pray for our military service men and women as well as their families... I don't want this to turn into a political debate, it is what it is... Let's all just pray for their safe return... soon...

So what else is going on??

2006-07-27T10:11:00.000-07:00

A common phrase that is used in conversation to move onto the next subject... I'll get back to that in a minute....

Many of you read my post about the calling I have.. It's very amazing, I feel like a brand new person. God is at work in my life..but it's kind of like the first hour or two of a roadtrip with friends...everyone's all pumped up and jammin to roadtrip CD someone has made, you're on the second bag of Doritos and chuggin a cherry coke (a col' beer if you don't have open container laws like we do here, of course the driver is sober and NOT drinkin the col' beer)...Everyone is excited about getting to the awesome destination... then around hour 3, with 3 more hours to go, everyone kind of deflates, your best friend has her head on your shoulder, sawin' logs like it is her job, and some drool just dripped on your shirt, ew gross... Then you think, is this what it is going to be like for the next 3 hours?? You just want to get there already... and you become impatient.. I think that's what a walk with God is like, you get all pumped up and filled with the Holy Spirit, then life gets in the way. Better yet, we let it get in the way... No, not everyday is going to be like those first few days when everything changed for you, but as long as we look at everyday as an opportunity from God to do something for Him, whether it's just being there for a friend, smiling at someone on the subway and saying good-morning, it doesn't have to be huge, but just something.

So back to my original statement, "so what else is going on with you".... So I'm on the phone with my sweet momma Tuesday night, I'm telling her all about my calling and all the AMAZING things that were happening..I mean I could feel God working through me, I'm like a new woman born in Christ's Love!!! (and those of you with southern mother's will so understand this... )she says.."Honey that's great, (pause) so what else is going on with you??" I just started laughing and told her that was such a "momma thing" to say, I've just told her that I have renewed my faith and have an amazing calling to serve God, as if there was anything more important... and she's like, "honey that's nice"... She got a laugh out of it too... Of course she told me she was so very proud me...she's a character.... but I love her!!

Make it a great day y'all!!

~Beachgirl

The Calling....

2006-07-25T10:33:00.000-07:00

No this is not the title of the latest scary movie. It's what I feel. I didn't even know if I should post this or not. Maybe I'm a little nervous of what you all will think, I know I shouldn't care, but I do. It has been said that a good southern lady should never bring up politics or religion in polite conversation. While I do consider myself to be a good southern lady, I consider myself to be a good Christian first and formost. So I will be talking about religion today, you've been warned, if you don't want to read about the amazing things that have been happening in my life, then stop here... But for those of you that are still tuned in, here you go...This is all about my calling.

I have always been a Christian. My mother and grandmother established in me a wonderful foundation for Christian growth. But as I became a teenager and young adult in my 20's I drifted from God, I always believed but I did things that I wasn't very proud of, I mean I didn't become a drug addict, prostitute or anything horrible like that... but I partied a lot... But all the while I was still searching for God's love. He was there the whole time, it was me that wasn't.

The year I turned 30, I knew I needed to change, I knew I needed more, so I joined a church... It's a wonderful Methodist church where I felt so much love and have grown in my Christian faith... I even did a 34 week Bible study, for two reasons... the first being, I felt a calling to do this, the second reason (and one I am ashamed to admit) was to impress a boy. He is a super strong Christian and I thought if he knew I had made this committment, he would magically fall in love with me...So at first it was all about impressing him, but then as the Bible study went on, it became less and less about the boy and more and more about my relationship with HIM... My heart began to change. I began reading God's Word, I began to crave it. I wanted to know more.
Then I started working with the young adult worship team that started an amazing new worship service. It's a Sunday evening service, where we come as we are, sing praise & worship music and worship God. It's amazing, and it's part of my calling. I thought that was it, but God kept calling me to do more. I talked to my pastoral staff and told them I felt called to work with college kids. So they asked me to teach their college Sunday School class. I haven't had a single student show up, but I am there each Sunday, waiting and loving these kids that I don't even know uncondtionally.... I remember what Sunday's were like for me as a college student. Sunday School was the last thing on my mind, but usually I was praying..Praying that God would help through the hangover I had from the night before... I'm certain that's not what God had in mind when he said to worship on the sabbath...

But I am still feeling God calling me to do more. I just had to be still enough to hear Him...but I'm not quite sure what he has in mind, I think it has something to do with ministry. I am going to work again with my pastoral staff to figure out what this calling means.

I know that talking about religion makes some people feel uncomfortable, and I have never been an evangelical Bible Beater (the kind of person that hits you over the head with religion and judges you if you don't believe what they believe), I'm more of a... here's what's going on with me and it's amazing. I answer questions about my faith, but I don't shove it down people's throat. I say all this to tell you that I will be posting more about my faith and this Calling. I have refrained from it in the past b/c I thought no one would read my blog after that, that everyone just wanted to read funny things... of course walks with faith can be funny at times, and my sense of humor always finds it's way out. Why don't you stick around to see what happens...

Much love~BG

Confession is good for the soul

2006-07-20T09:37:00.000-07:00

So is living within your means... As some of you may or may not know, I bought a new car back in April, a 2005 Jeep Liberty. I have always wanted an SUV, now I've got it and I have become a slave to it...It's so cute but it's a big ole gas guzzling SUV, I confess, I acted impulsively when I bought and now I'm stuck with it... Well maybe not, if you all will bear with me for a moment, as the title suggests, confession is good for the sould... So here's how mine went....

Lately, I have been saying my prayers during my morning commute, I think it starts the day off right and it keeps me from killing all of the stupid drivers I encounter on the way in to work... So as I am saying my prayers I ask God for guidance on my car and what I should do, I confessed that I bought the car to impress my friends, I thought it would make me happy.. But you know what they say about the odds of a rich man getting into heaven...I needed to humble myself before God and admit that I was living outside of my means.. I did it and it felt good. So I got to work, checked on a few things and took a few minutes to make some calls about the Jeep.

Carmax Guy- uh, we probably can't help you but bring it in anyway and we'll give you an estimate...
Wait a dern minute, I thought the Carmax people we SUPPOSED to be nice!! This guy couldn't have cared less so I said thanks and hung up...

Hansen Jeep Dealership Guy- pretty much the same thing, except he practically hanging up on me...
Tears are welling up now..When I'm mad, I usually cry, I hate that... so then I email my mom and tell her I think I'm stuck with the Jeep...

But then something inside of me wouldn't let me give up... So I looked at the list of Jeep Dealerships listed and there it was, Miracle Chrysler/Jeep. NO LIE!! Their slogan was something like, "do you need a miracle"... I was like Yep, I do! So before I dialed the phone I said a quick prayer. I knew it was going to be a good call when the lady that answered the phone was as nice as nice could be.... Then I talked with Jack... Nice guy, he put me at ease immediately, (at this point I knew he was BS-ing me but I didn't care, I needed someone to be nice to me)... He actually said I had some options and that he realized he wasn't going to make a lot of money on this but he was looking for good referrals... Again, realizing that he was probably BS-ing me, but I again, I didn't care...I just needed some help getting rid of the Jeep. I told him that I was in the Junior League and that I run in some really good social circles and if he did right by me, I'd make sure to refer ALL of my friends... He got my drift and I am headed out there today for them to look at my Jeep.

I am taking my best good friend Kari with me to the dealership. Her husband used to sell cars when he was in college, and yes, I would love for him to help me right now, but he is preparing to take the Bar Exam next week, so I certainly won't bother him with this pettiness right now... But Kari has learned some of the old car salesmen tricks...and she doesn't take crap from anyone...

So here I am humbled, confessing that I am living outside of my means. I am trying to remedy the situation and will do better... I expect you all, my friends to help me be accountable!! Confession is good for the soul, anybody else want to fess up, about, well...anything??

Much love y'all!!
~BG

Great Weekend....

2006-07-17T08:45:00.000-07:00

Hey y'all, I had a great weekend... Hope you all did too!! This may turn out to be a rather long post so grab a snack and your favorite beverage and enjoy!!

Friday
My best friend Dave and 2 of his buddies were in town for the night... I met them over at the humongo outlet mall and we shopped til we dropped... Now, before you add their names to the Gay Directory, these guys are NOT gay... no, I'm not in denial, it's true... they are as straight as they come.. I know this simply b/c one of the guys, Ryan bought many shirts just b/c they were on sale..they were heinous shirts and on sale for a reason...No one else wanted them!!! So the 3 of us had dinner together and again, shopped til we dropped... Dave is the greatest friend a girl could ever ask for... so Friday was great!!

Saturday
Got up, threw on my swim suit and realized I had blown up (maybe it's all the crap I have been shoveling in, but are cheeseburgers and fries REALLY that fattening??) but anyway, I got my stuff ready for the pool... I was going to a party later and I needed that sunkissed look... so I get in the car and realize it's VERY cloudy, like the skies may open up at any minute and wash the heat away for just a brief moment... So I went to Hardees and got a pork chop biscuit and a DIET coke.. yeah, I said it, a PORK CHOP biscuit...could that be the reason I have put on 10 pounds in 2 months?? I'm sure it's not...
So I decided I would go back to my house and wait for the morning clouds to burn off... They did, for the most part, so at about 11:00 I head over to my friend KH's apartment complex pool... She was out of town but I used it anyway...whatever.. It was nice at first, there were like 4 people there... very peaceful... then about 12:00 the guys start showing up..I'm not talking good looking guys, I'm talking guys in their late 30's early 40's trying to recapture their youth.. They all gather around a table and start hem hawing like a bunch of old ladies...then it's time for the GAME!! You would think, by the way the talk about it, it was the sporting event of the year... Like they wonder why ESPN and Dan Patrick aren't there to cover it.... it's water volleyball... I had to gather my things and go at that point... you know when some guys take off their shirts and they really shouldn't? Well this was one of those moments multiplied by like a hundred... So I left and headed back to my house to start getting ready for my friend SC's party...

Saturday evening
My BFF NP and I had a bite to eat before we headed over to SC's party... We got there a little early so we could help her with party prep... It's a good thing we showed up when we did.... She was desparate for our help, and being the good Junior Leaguers that we are, we were more than happy to help... **Note to self SC is desperate for some serving dishes
So her new beau (we'll call him JW) was there and we were excited to meet him, they had been out a few times but I think she really likes him (if she doesn't I will be more than delighted to take this beautiful hunk of a man off her hands)... So as the party progresses, this guy I met at a football party (we'll call him Calvin) walks in with JW, apparently they are friends... I'm a little freaked out b/c this guy looks EXACTLY like my friend RG... it breaks my heart to be reminded of RG b/c he's a world away in Iraq... so JW begins to introduce Calvin and me... We realize that we know each other and it's like, hey, what a small world... as it turns out my world continues to get a little smaller... JW is good friends with the same friends that introduced me to Calvin at the football party... so JW and I start talking about them, he moves to the couch so we can talk to each other without yelling(the music was a smidge loud) JW begins to tell me that he used to attend my church (he recently moved from Nashville to West TN), I was like "really, you must of have gone to early service, b/c I'm certain I would have noticed you" he said nope, that he always went to late service..... hmmmmm, so then I said "well you must have been sitting in the front of the church or on the right side" again, he said no, he sat in the back on the left side... FOR THE LOVE OF MAN!! That's where I sit, EVERY WEEK... so at this point in my mind, I am having a very frank conversation with God... here's how it went:

Me: What's up with this God?? Here' s a beautiful specimen of a man and you couldn't have brought us together in YOUR HOUSE??
God: ..............................
Me: I have to meet him NOW, now that he is dating one of my friends?? One of my GOOD friends??
GOD:..............................
Me: ok, whatever, I am going to assume you know the plan and I am just going to go with it, but I am a little bitter at this point...
God: hehehehe..... I've got something REALLY BIG planned for you...

Ok, so maybe He didn't say that directly to me but I could feel it....

Actually SC and JW showed up in church the next morning... Hello, open wound, pouring salt in...
No, I should just be happy for my friend that she found a great guy... I'm really trying...

Oh and it's final, my brother finally proposed to his longtime girlfriend... I am so excited for them.....really, I am...

Sunday
Ok, I know some of you have been waiting for this... so I was supposed to have my neighbors over for drinks last night... Well two of them bailed and it ended up being the (what I thought was) cute neighbor John and me... Perfect, right? Eh, not so much... he was nice but there were NO sparks....But like I said, he was a nice fella...oh well, moving on....

Hope y'all have a great week...

Much Love~BG

My Wish

2006-07-14T13:13:00.000-07:00

For those of you that know me, you know I love music and I often use music to express myself or what I am feeling. Recently I think I have really hurt a friend of mine on so many different levels, he and I are trying to work it out, so that's progress. He asked me to take the weekend to think about things and not to contact him until Monday. But I know he reads my site and so this is for him, my friend, always... It's from Rascal Flatts new album..

My Wish
I hope that days come easy and moments pass slow,
And each road leads you where you want to go,
And if you're faced with a choice, and you have to choose,
I hope you choose the one that means the most to you.
And if one door opens to another door closed,
I hope you keep on walkin' till you find the window,
If it's cold outside, show the world the warmth of your smile,
But more than anything, more than anything,

My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish.

I hope you never look back, but ya never forget,
All the ones who love you, in the place you left,
I hope you always forgive, and you never regret,
And you help somebody every chance you get,
Oh, you find God's grace, in every mistake,
And you always give more than you take.
But more than anything, yeah, and more than anything,

My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish.

The Summer Social Scene

2006-07-12T13:13:00.000-07:00

As most of y'all have figured out by now, I have a very active social life, for the most part... I am in the Junior League which leads to all kinds of social events... Now I have this fab new BFF(best friends forever) I have talked about her in previous posts, NP... Love,love, love her... she knows more about the single Nashville social scene than I ever did!! I call her my social coordinator... Seriously, I will email her at the beginning of the week and ask her what's on tap for the week and usually she's got some stuff lined up...

Normally my Spring Social season madness kicks into gear at the end ofDecember, early January, but this year, thanks to NP and the fact that the Junior League's biggest fundraiser is in December this year, my social season pretty much starts next month... You can look through my archives for the spring social season updates from last year for a refresher, but this year is going to abfab (absolutely fabulous)....

Most of the parties are fundraisers for various charities, so the money does go to good causes.. There are only going to be (I think) 2 formal affairs for me this year, the rest are fun and casual.

The Picture of me above (yes that is me) is from the "unofficial" kick off party to last year's social season... Last year was good, but this year I think will be EVEN better... Here's hopin' y'all!!

Much love!!

Meeting the neighbors..

2006-07-10T11:25:00.000-07:00

Ok, I have lived in my house for almost 2 years now... and for someone as social as I am, I don't know many of my neighbors, nor do I make a point to socialize with them. It's not that they are bad people, it's just by the end of the day, I sometimes don't want to be social.. I just want to go home and be still... Y'all know I have a very active social calendar and there are many times when I don't even get home 'til late at night... so socializing with the neighbors, I don't think so...

But I do speak to my neighbors when they are outside, I may not socialize with them, but I'm not rude! So last night I get home from Knoxville, it's almost 9:00 and I see two of my neighbors outside talking... I have often thought they are dating, but haven't really inquired (for the reasons listed above).... so there they are, Chris and Kristi (we are going to call her Kristi b/c she looks like a girl I know named Kristi, but the truth is I have forgotten her name and am too embarrassed to ask her what it is now, for heaven's sake it's been almost 2 years) chatting it up as I pull into my parking spot (we have these fabulous row townhouses so they were practically standing at my front door)... I get out and we all start chatting... then our other neighbor pulls up...here's where the story takes an interesting turn....

The other neighbor's name is John.. I've seen him before (obviously), he's kind of cute, but I thought he was married..I never got close enough to check for a ring but then again he could be like those sneaky married guys that doesn't wear a ring.. Also, there has been a woman with multiple children there quite often. So I just figured he was married... But come to find out... He's NOT! There's more about that below....

So there we are, all 4 of us talking about staining our decks, y'all know this has been an ongoing project for me so I need as much feedback on this as possible.. John says he sprayed his down with a bug sprayer, he said it was super easy and quick!! Those were the magic words for me... I said I would have to try it and he offered me his sprayer... I gladly accepted..

Then we started talking about painting inside our townhouses... John says "oh my brother in law did mine for me, come look" so we all went in to his house and marvelled at the awesome painting job.. I got a glimpse of some of his pictures that were sitting around.. all of them were of him with kids... I asked him "oh are these your children?" he said "no, those are my nieces and nephews, I don't have any kids" ..... So my mind starts racing....this guy is cute, single, and apprently he owns his home, the furniture is still late frat house/waiting for a woman to come along to change everything style, in other words, NOT GAY...hmmmm... I could work with this..

So we all go back outside and I say "you know we should all get together for cocktails" b/c kristi walks her dog and knows the neighborhood gossip... So we all agreed that we would get together at my place Sunday evening... I am actually kind of excited to be meeting my neighbors.. this could turn out to be a good summer after all...

Why straight women "date" gay men...

2006-07-07T08:25:00.000-07:00

So it has been brought to my attention again by that ever curious Rolligun that he doesn't understand why I have had many "dates" with gay men. So I thought I would use this as an opportunity to explain...

I have a lot of gay friends, mainly men. I love the gays. They are like my brothers. I enjoy the company of men even if they are gay. When I go out with them, it's not a real date but a faux date. It gives the appearance to others that the hot man with a particular girl is just that, a hot man... This only works if your gays are butch, if they are flaming queens then, not so much...

Gay men can still give a straight girl fabulous dating advice, especially when it comes to men. This only works if they are not very nelly, if they are nelly, then you're better off asking one of your girlfriends. Sometimes it's just great to get a hug from a big gay man then not to get a hug from a man at all.. It's really the best of both worlds... Straight men do not like to talk about relationships, and if they do, they something like, "I don't know, dump him" or "go ahead and sleep with him if you want to"... yeah something brilliant like that..

I don't make a habbit of dating my gays, but they are fun to go to dinner with, go to movies with and best of all, to shop with...

So that, Rolligun is why straight women "date" gay men...any other questions??

Y'all have a great weekend!!

~BG

Happy Birthday Momma

2006-07-05T14:52:00.000-07:00

So today is not my mother's official birthday, but it is the one year anniversary of her open heart surgery. Many of you already know the story, but here's the Reader's Digest version... We were on vacation in Charleston this time last year, and my mom had a heart attack, the next day she had open heart surgery. I remember the moment the doctor told me she would have to have open heart surgery. I looked at him and said, "but you don't understand doctor, we are on vacation"... I know he thought I was a complete moron. It was very late at this point and I sat in the Cardiac Care waiting room, by myself, it just hadn't hit me yet that my mother was about to have major surgery. There was no one there to hold my hand, or hug me and tell me it was going to be ok. But it's like I didn't want those people there anyway, b/c that would make all of it so very real. I was able to tell my mother goodnight, I'm pretty sure she was sedated and didn't realize I was there. I drove back to the hotel and left the car in front for it to be valet'd. I walked into the hotel room and fell to the floor. For the first time all night, I cried, the pain came from a place I didn't know I had. I begged God NOT to take my momma from me. At that moment, peace washed over me and I knew it would be alright. That night, I wrapped myself in mother's robe, it smelled pretty like she always does, and I slept for about two hours before I had to get up and start making phone calls..

I made the necessary phone calls and I remember one call specifically, it's actually kind of funny... I called my Aunt Libby (my mother's sister in law), I told her what happened, then I told her NOT to call my mother's sister Patsy. That woman is as crazy as a Sh*t House rat and I didn't need her anywhere near me at this point... What was even funnier, Aunt Libby totally agreed. Eventually I called her, but not until after the surgery and I had everything well in hand..

The recovery was the worst part... Momma is not exactly the most gracious patient... It got to the point I had to tell momma to zip her lip b/c if she complained anymore to the hospital staff that they were going to put a pillow over her face, or I was going to do it, one or the other!!!! Looking back there were some really funny moments. She and I can talk about them now without fussing. It's very healing for the both of us..

So today July 6, I say to my momma, happy birthday.. Today is the day you were given a second lease on life and I was given a second chance to be a better daughter. Momma's are very special and I don't think there is any other momma that is as wonderful as mine!!!Thanks be to God...

summer misc.musings

2006-07-03T08:12:00.000-07:00

So these are just a few summer misc. musings from yours truly..

My Rockin' Dating life
Yes it's true, my dating life is rockin' right now.... I have been on 3 dates in the past week.. but here's the catch, these guys are all gay! That's right apparently my dating life has spiraled down to this point. I am now dating gay men... ... Now I am NOT repeat, NOT fairy dust for these guys... they are are all "out" and proud of who they are, as they should be... as my momma says, you're born gay and God does NOT make mistakes...I for one think she is right...

I love the gays, there is always pleasant conversation, and these men are handsome, so it gives the impression to the outside world that I am in a relationship, with the handsome guy I am with... but in the end, well these men are are batting for the other team...

Without the wonderful gay men in my life, my house would not be decorated, nor would I have any furniture (b/c my gays are very handy, they move furniture and put furniture together for me!!)... I simply prefer to date straight men!!

A Booze Hound
So I am finding more out about AJ, the guy I just stopped dating not long ago... upon further investigation by my friend EG (that sort of introduced us)has discovered through one of her friends that AJ is a TOTAL booze hound and a total lush... There are two AJ's in this group of friends (aka the gaggle of sports writers) the one I met and went out with apparenly is a total booze hound (yeah, I figured that one out all on my own thankyouverymuch), the other AJ in the group, who by the way was uber hot, (and I was actually talking to FIRST the night I met booze hound AJ, think tall dark and handsome) is the ACTUAL nice guy... Can you imagine my frustration?? Why couldn't I have had this info prior to me going out with the booze hound?? URGHH!!!

Home Improvement Queen (by default)
Ok, so my deck needs to be stained. So I went to the Home Depot this weekend.. I threw on a baseball cap, tank top, and a cute army green pair of shorts, I thought this outfit was sure to make me look tough and not prissy at all... B/c when you look prissy in the Home Depot, I am convinced the employees make fun of you... But I think the Tiffanys jewlery and the perfectly manicured finger nails and matching color on my toes probably gave me away that I am in fact prissy... thankfully this nice young girl helped me out with my selection of deck stain... I got my stuff, and headed home I sprayed the deck down, got it good and clean and then the skies opened up and it rained for about 30 minutes, so my plan to stain the deck went out the window... I really do love afternoon thundershowers... I say that I am the queen of home improvement by default, b/c I would have loved nothing more than to have assigned this task to a man... Now, if I just had a man to do it for me... I guess I better call one of gays since there aren't any straight men to step up to the plate....bunch of wussies!

That's about it.. I am actually at work today, there is no one here, literally, it's like a ghost town.. tomorrow state offices will be closed. A day off during the week will be nice... I have lots of house work to do, I will probably grill out and have some friends over for some cold beers and burgers on the 4th...

GOD BLESS AMERICA!!! (and while He's in the process of blessing America, I wonder if could possibly find the time to bless me with straight man, that's nice, handsome, funny with a good job, great future... oh who am I kidding!!) Hope everyone has a great 4th of July!!

Kisses y'all!!

The Good Ole College Days Part 2

2006-06-30T08:13:00.000-07:00

My good friend, and sweet boy Rolligun commented on my last post that he thought I was this sweet, conservative, church goin' girl and he was confused by my "party girl" college days... Now a lady never kisses and tells nor does she brag about her, let's say free spirited college youth, but here are a few funny stories from the past...

I did not drink when I was in high school, I was all about some Jesus and just having a good time with my friends. But then I went to college and I told Jesus I would be partying for the next couple of years and He and I could hook up maybe before a big test, or while I was praying to die when I had a horrible hangover... Not the best decision I ever made, but God did give us free will to make decisions, and boy did I use that pass!!

Fire Water... it is a cinnamon flavored liquor that you are supposed to drink as a shot... for normal people, they would have taken one or two shots and been done with it.. but not me... Oh no, I drank it and chased it with beer... I later woke up in the bathroom floor of the KA House, with my boyfriend just shaking his head, not one of my finer moments..To this day I still have a hard time eating anything with a cinnamon taste...

Where everybody knows your name- it's great when it's the librarian, or the attendant at the old folks home where you volunteer knows who you are and greets you by name... but when the bartenders ar O'Charleys know your name and holler out, "Beachgirl's here, let's get the party started, somebody get her a jello shot"... yeah, that's something every parent should be proud of and can brag about to all of their friends...

Jello shots- oh these were soooo popular when I was in school... the shooter girls (the girls that brought the jello shots around), knew us and would seek us out... I could suck those bad boys down like they were candy... and I NEVER used my finger to get them out of the little cup... use your imagination... another talent to put on a resume...

The #1 Party School in the Nation- the year I graduated, the University of Tennessee was given that honorable distinction, I am fairly certain that it was soley due to my behavior and activities... again, my parents were so proud...

So there you have it, a glimpse into Beachgirl's wild child, partying days.. I realize now that all of that had to happen, it was part of the path God put me on, but at the time, I am certain my mother did NOT see it that way... but she loved me regardless...

I am much more responsible and my faith guides me today... My God, my family, my friends and service to the community is what brings me the most joy..... I hope that clears it up for you Rolligun, any other questions??

Much love y'all!

~Beachgirl

The Good Ole College days

2006-06-29T07:35:00.000-07:00

Do y'all remember the good ole college days? I know it's hard for Pk b/c he's like a dinosaur (just kidding Pk, just wanted to see if you're reading).. but anyway, the good ole college days, when you're only worry was where you were going to party that night or weekend. Going to the KA Panda House* jumping up on a table and shakin' your money maker to the Beastie Boys... Ok, so maybe not everyone had that experience**,but I know that at least we all drunk dialed at one point in time...

You know those calls you made when you were absolutely tanked and HAD to talk to that ex about all the wrongs he committed against you, b/c I am sure he would love to hear from you at 2 am while you scream into the phone and slur your words together about what a butthead he is and how much better off you are now... Yep, that's a really good call... and oh so productive..

What about the one you made to the cute guy in your political science class, you know the one that JUST gave you his number yesterday...and again, you place your call after 2 am when you have been severly over served at the local college bar.. You ask him what he's doing, and b/c he cares about his future and wants to get out of school in 4 years instead of the 7 year path you are on (due to nights like these), he says he's asleep... and after he hangs up you, you still don't realize how awkward class with him just became... But even when you get to class he's kind of cracking on you about it and everyone laughs about it... Good times.. it's college, this is what is supposed to happen...

Fast Forward.... you are now in your 30's the drunk dialing thing has pretty much fallen by the way side and even if you did try to call someone when you were drunk, it's usually only about 11:30 pm b/c "you just can't hang like you used to"... and you place the call to someone you know very well and it becomes a running joke...

But here's the thing, when you have only been out with someone twice, maybe three times and you screwed up all of those dates and have had to apologize profusely... DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT call them at 3am 5 times in a row!! Oh and it's probably best NOT to leave a drunken message that says in an angry tone that "WE NEED TO TALK AND I'M ON MY WAY TO YOUR HOUSE"... As you can probably guess all of this happened to me... It was the sportswriter guy, AJ.... It was right before I left for vacation. I didn't check the messages until the next day and no, he never showed up at my house. If he had, I think I would have called the cops... I actually did call him the next day to make sure he was alright... he didn't take my call and I haven't heard from him since... Dude has got some issues... For someone that claimed to be a southern gentleman from Virginia, he certainly was not... Can I pick 'em or what!!Oh well, moving on...

So what are your funny drunk dialing stories??

*They called it the KA Panda House b/c a bunch of the KA's lived there... it used to be a daycare and they had left a huge painting of a cute panda on the front of th house and the KA's just left it there... the house has since been torn down and I think they built a parking lot on the site... good times...
**Which explains why I am at church everytime the doors are open, I have a lot of making up to do for the college years!!

What I did on my Summer Vacation

2006-06-27T10:04:00.000-07:00

I am happy to report that this beachgirl enjoyed her journey back to her homeland: THE BEACH!! Mother and I had a great time and enjoyed really good food... the best part was that there were no trips to the emergency room/and or/ hospital... I didn't even get a sunburn.. Praise the Lord.

But I did get some news from my little brother (he's 7 years younger)... He's getting married. I absolutely love his girlfriend, she's the sister-in-law every sister dreams of... But brother broke the golden rule, and don't mean that crap about doing unto others,blah,blah,blah... NO! I mean the one that says you cannot get married before your big sister! OK, here comes a really self centered and pity party of one.... I feel like the biggest loser... All of my cousins are married and having kids (of course that's nothing new, we are a southern family) and now THIS??!! I told brother to tell his betrothed NOT to ask me to be in the wedding.. How pathetic would that be, "oh look, poor pitiful Heather, can't find a husband, and has to be a bridesmaid in her little brother's wedding" .... It just bites...My friend NP and I were talking the other night and both wondered where we missed our "window" of opportunity. Maybe I just haven't found my window yet... and I know everyone says, "it will happen when you least expect it" and "just be patient" .... I know all of this and I also know that it will happen in God's Time, not my time, but it doesn't hurt any less.
One guy that broke my heart, said I was aggressive and that I came on too strong. That really shocked me. But maybe it was true, but I cannot change who I am. He was the first guy I had "let in" in a very long time and he really crushed me... But that was my fault for letting him in in the first place. I simply won't make the same mistake again.

I walk by faith everyday, and sometimes I falter.. On this issue, it seems as if I am CONSTANTLY falling down in my faith. I just don't know how to remedy the situation and trust God completely. I guess as long as I keep getting up and asking for help....

Sorry, I didn't mean for this to get so sappy...

We did have a great vacation and I promise to post some happier memories later!!

Love y'all!

A little R&R...

2006-06-16T08:42:00.000-07:00

Well folks, I'm preparing for my annual beach trip or as my military buddies would call it, R&R or leave..... We leave on Sunday, when I say we, I mean my momma and me. No, I don't think it is strange that I am 31 years old and still go on vacation with my momma... I think it's a southern thing, b/c most of my friends still do it. We may want to kill our mommas sometime but that doesn't mean we don't love 'em...

I have had plenty of time to get my clothes ready, get the suitcase out of the attic and pack so that I am ready togo Sunday morning...And no, I am not going to church Sunday morning, I think Jesus will understand, b/c if I don't go on vacation soon I am going to lose my ever-lovin mind.... But I digress, so I have not packed one thing for the trip yet. I am always one of those last minute packers, I think it adds to the excitement of the trip!!

I cannot wait to get to the beach, put my toes in the sand, whip out my book and just enjoy the sunshine... oh and you know what, I may even have a cold beer.. that's right, I said a cold beer (in the south we call it a cold beer, no matter what, I know beer is always supposed to be cold, but I guess we just want to make sure everyone knows we prefer COLD beer..).. The only time I ever drink in front of my mother is during football season, or when she asks if I want a cocktail with dinner. But this year, I think I am going to take a cold beer to the beach, put it in my Talladega Super Speedway Koozie and savor every sip... I know it's a little white trash, but you know what, it's vacation...

So I hope everyone has a great weekend and a fabulous week!! I think I am going to go ahead and start listening to some Jimmy Buffett to get me in the vacation mood!

Kisses Y'all!!

~Beachgirl

Gaggle of sport writers.. continued

2006-06-14T12:55:00.000-07:00

Sorry this has taken me so long to write about but I seriously have been sooooo busy with work and other stuff.. Ok so we left off with me and my friend EG going honky tonkin and meeting up with some sports writers she knows.. yep, beachgirl was in heaven not only b/c these guys could talk about sports, but b/c they were cute! So the guy I end up talking to the most is not the typical guy I am normally drawn to... I mean, he was cute but you wouldn't look at him and think "dang he's hot!"... but he and I got to talkin' and he was a darn good dancer... The more I talked to him, the more I began to enjoy his company, although one of his other friends was FINE and I really could have just stared at him all night b/c he was just that FINE... but anyway the guy I ended up talkin to (we'll call him AJ) was very nice and he asked for my number.. I gave it to him and he called me that night... I thought it was sweet, we have been talking on a regular basis... It's fine really, but here's the thing, he doesn't make my toes curl nor does he give me butterflies... In fact, I just don't think I am attracted to him. I for one don't think it is something you can force... Then I have to ask myself, am I just being shallow? I mean he's a pretty good guy... But there is just something that is holding me back, I'm pretty sure I know what it is, but I'm just going to have to get over that and move forward....

So in the meantime I get an email from my good friend NP, she and I hang out all the time. I have mentioned her in previous posts, great girl! Anyway she was at some lawyer conference today and ran into a mutual friend of ours, a hottie who I will call JH... I used to work with him back in the day, oh and we used to flirt like crazy, but we were always good friends....I just never took him seriously b/c he was a total player, but he was a good friend to me... so NP and JH get to talkin' and my name came up... NP said he totally asked about me, and wanted my email address and phone number, etc. When she told me about it I have to admit I was a little excited. Like I said, he's a TOTAL hottie!! If nothing else, he is going to be so much fun to hang out with this summer!

So that's it... the saga that is my life continues, but all is well. Oh and this lost beachgirl is making her way back to her homeland, Folly Beach next week! I cannot wait!!

Kisses Y'all!!

~Beachgirl

I love you this much...

2006-06-12T13:47:00.000-07:00

Ok- I know I said I would give an update to my nite out with the sports writers last week, but it's just going to have to wait one more day... I have to write about the newest love of my life, Molly Kate... She is the unborn daughter of my dear friends Eric and Jen. They have an amazing website documenting Jen's pregnancy, they even played a little game where they would put up letters of her name slowly, and we would all have to guess... her name was revealed last week. Molly Kathryn, but in true southern style she is going to be called Molly Kate, or at least that's what here aunty beachgirl is going to call her.
Over the weekend Jen and Eric posted 4-D pictures of her... They are amazing, and I am in love! How is it that you can love something so much not even be able to hold her or kiss her yet...
So this is my lame attempt to explain to Molly Kate how much her aunty loves her and has loved her since before she was born...

Dear Molly Kate,
Hello there precious girl. I am your Aunty Heather and I live in Tennessee. I have loved you since you were in your mommy's tummy. In fact I probably loved you before that because I love your mommy and daddy so much. They are wonderful people, and you should listen to everything they say...
There is so much I want to teach you, so much I want to show you. You are so very loved, always remember that... Even though a lot of your aunties and uncles aren't there everyday to hug you and kiss you, just know that we think of you every single day.
So here's what you need to know, everything from Tiffany's is wonderful, the Tennessee Vols are the best in the world (don't listen to your old Uncle Bo, he thinks Alabama is the best, but he's delusional), never stop learning... Learn about things that people wouldn't expect you to know. Your Mommy is good about learning new things, she will always help you with that. Your Daddy is one of the smartest guys I know, he knows EVERYTHING about technical things, you are going to be totally hooked up with all kinds of electronic gadgets, trust me...

I cannot express to you how much I love you precious girl. You could not have better parents.. and a family that loves you so much.. that includes me. One thing you should always remember, it was something my grandmother always told me.. "pretty is as pretty does"... That means if you act pretty then you will be pretty. I know this to be true, you will be the prettiest little girl there is not only because you will be pretty on the outside, but I know how pretty you will be on the inside.

I am always here for you...
All my love and many blessings,
Aunty Heather

George, Muddin, and a Gaggle of Sports Writers

2006-06-07T07:47:00.000-07:00

What do all of these things have in common? I encountered all of them Friday night. What was supposed to just be me getting together with my good friend EG after work, turned into a night of honky tonkin....
We started at Sambuca (the place with the famous $10 martinis), I got there before she did and went to the upstairs bar, I was the only guest up there... I ordered a martini and noticed the flat screen TV above the bar, so I asked my waitress if she wouldn't mind to turn it on for me... She asked me what channel, I said ESPN please, I need to watch some sports center. So there I was, kicked back, drinking a martini and watching sports center, does it get any better?? Apparently for me, it would...
EG shows up and we have a fab time catching up... I love her to pieces, and she has to be one of the funniest people I know... She then tells me that her guy friends wanted her to meet them out later in the evening. I ask what they do for a living, she tells me that they are sports writers for a rather large sports website... I was like, we've been sitting here for over an hour and you are just now telling me this??!!! So I told her we needed to rally and meet them out!! If nothing else, I knew these guys would be fun and I could talk sports with them all night... At this point I was a little excited... I'm talking 'Tiffany's Blue Box' excited... So EG calls one of the guys and he tells her they proabaly won't go out until 9:30... Well, by that time, I would probably be on my way and going to bed... I just can't hang like I used to! EG and I talk about it and we both agree that we need to RALLY! So what were we going to do for like 3 hours, it was about 7:00 by this point... Being the genius that EG is, she came up with a brilliant plan... Let's go get mani's and pedi's (that's manicures and pedicures for those of you that don't know)!!! Perfect!

So we are leaving Sambuca and waiting for the valet to bring my truck (i.e. my Jeep Liberty) around and who pulls up in a big black Mercedes? None other than George Stephanopolis!!! Yes, he is about 4 ft nothing tall but he is GOOD LOOKING!!! I whisper to EG that I think that is George Stephanopolis, she agrees and as he is walking by EG totally flirts with him!! She gives him the nod, the wink and the sexy little "hey"... and he toatlly reciprocated... I followed suit with my own little wave, wink and "hey"... He was totally digging us!!

Then the valets bring my truck around and no lie, it was covered in mud! It was as if they had taken it Muddin' !!! I literally yelled "What the heck, did you freakin take my truck muddin?"

Ok, muddin is what country folk do, it usually occurs in a big open field shortly after it rains, just drivin around in a 4WD vehicle through the wet, muddy field... Hence the name muddin...

Apparently the valet lot is gravel and it had rained that day... but I am convinced if those boys had been going slower and were paying attention to where they were driving, my truck would not be covered in mud...

So after the mani's and pedi's we head out to meet the gaggle of sports writers... I think I am going to wait and write about that tomorrow... It's a story all its own...

Maybe later

2006-06-05T08:10:00.000-07:00

Hey y'all....

There was actually some pretty funny stuff that happened to me over the weekend, and I will post it all later. But today I'm just a little sad in my heart. My good friend B's grandmother passed away this weekend. She was extremely close with her and it just breaks my heart b/c I know and understand the pain she is going through. I went through it when my sweet Mammaw passed away 4 years ago. I hope that I will be strong enough to help her through this time. Many of you know how much my faith means to me and that I have to call on that faith everyday to help and guide me, today and the coming days will be no different. I would appreciate your prayers or even just good thoughts depending on your beliefs, for B and her family...

So maybe later I will tell you about the other stuff, but today I'm just a little sad in my heart for my good friend B and her family....

Thanks nice Starbucks Guy...

2006-06-02T11:38:00.000-07:00

Often times our good friend lizzie will talk about hateful baristas at Starbucks.... But I did NOT have that experience last night...Maybe it's b/c I live further south or maybe the guy was drunk, but the Starbucks Guy was so nice last night!!

There is a drive-thru Starbucks that I always stop at on my way to grocery shopping at the Publix.. For some reason I feel the need for caffeine to grocery shop, go figure. Anyway, I pull up and order my grande non-fat mocha... He asks if I want whip cream and I tell him no, it defeats the purpose, right? Nice Starbucks Guy then says, "you'd be surprised at how many people order the non-fat stuff w/ whip cream" .... keep in mind I am still in my car ordering at the speaker... Nice Starbucks Guy then says, "so you want a chocolate chip cookie, right" I actually giggled like a little kid and said, noooooo..... . He gave me my total and told me to pull around...he took my money, gave me my latte and told me to have a great day... and you know what,
I DID!! Lizzie, I know you are green with envy right now, which is why I felt the need to share with the group... See, there are nice Starbucks people out there, when you come back home, you should tell your scary, hateful Starbucks barista all about this!!

After the I picked up the latte, I went to my friendly Publix to pick up a few groceries... everyone is so nice there too!! Upon pulling up in the parking lot, I ran into one of my
co-workers, one I actually like. I stopped and said hey, it was like something out of the Andy Griffith show. Just like if Aunt Bea would see someone she knew on the way from the courthouse/jail on her way to the beauty parlor and stopped to chat... It was lovely..

After I found my whole wheat tortillas (yippee, I don't have to make my own anymore!!) and some other things, I went home and vegged out on the couch... I went to bed a little early, 9:30, read my book, dozed off and then turned off the light. I thought I was down for the count, but apparently not... an hour later, I was up and at the computer... Not sure why, but there I was at about 12:30... I had an email from my new friend, it was so nice to hear from her, so I replied to her email and went back to bed...

Overall it was a really good Thursday, I mean really good.. and it all started with the nice guy at Starbucks... Good times y'all, good times!!

I hope everyone has a fab weekend.. I'm going out for some yummy martinis...

Kisses y'all!
~Beachgirl

Walkin on Sunshine

2006-05-31T07:57:00.000-07:00

Y'all remember that song, don't ya? By Katrina and the Waves? Well I LOVE that song and that's how I feel today... I think one of the last times I heard that song, I was with my friend RG before he was deployed, we were in his SWEET BMW with the windows down, moon roof open (his words, not mine, I call it a sun roof..) and driving really fast, singing at the top of our lungs... It was just one of those moments that I will always remember.

I had a great weekend with my mom. It wasn't that she took me shopping or paid for my haircut, it was just being with her. Sometimes it just kind of hits me that she almost died last summer. As I mentioned in my previous post, my mom and I commemorate Memorial Day together.. over the weekend, I imagined doing that without her and it broke my heart. So I give thanks that she is still with me... we are about to go back to Charleston (where she had the heartattack and open heart surgery) for vacation. I am feeling very anxious about it. Not because I think it will happen again, but because it brings back so many memories.
I remember how I just fussed at her for being too slow or complaining about her being tired, she just kept pushing herself and I think part of that is my fault. I am so thankful I have another vacation and the rest of my life to make it up to her.

Also, I have have a new friend and I am able to help her with a similar situation I went through last year. She's a great girl and she thanks me profusely for my advice and insight. But really, it is I that should thank her. Helping others always makes me feel better and I think of her as a blessing...

I think it's just one of those days where I am realizing how blessed I truly am. I hope to remember days like this one... It's nothing really special, just life being really good... Thank the Lord!! "I'm walkin on sunshine, yeah, yeah, I'm walkin on sunshine and don't it feel good!!"

Y'all have a great day!!

~Beachgirl

Memorial Day

2006-05-26T10:32:00.000-07:00

Memorial Day Weekend is upon us. A lot of people are going on fun family trips, most of us have Monday off as a holiday.. Everyone loves a three day weekend, including me... But sometimes I think the meaning of Memorial day gets lost in the hustle and bustle. Here's what Memorial Day means to me, and here's how my family and I observe it....

Ever since I was a little girl, my mother and I have driven up to Morristown, TN on Memorial Day to pick up my great Uncle Harve. He was gruff old man, a little harsh but still very loving (in his own way). We would then go to the cemetaries where his brothers are buried and place red,white and blue wreaths on their graves. It was very important to Uncle Harve to remember his brothers, Greye (US Army) and Wayne (US Navy) on Memorial Day. Uncle Harve was a Navy man as well. Uncle Harve went on to Glory a couple of years ago (we buried him in his naval uniform), but he made me promise that I would carry on with the Memorial Day tradition.... and I will. So I will be making the trek back to East Tennessee this weekend to place wreaths on the graves of three of my greatest heroes...

I encourage each of you to find a way to honor our fallen heroes. Here are few ways that I found at http://www.usmemorialday.org/observe.htm

The "Memorial" in Memorial Day has been ignored by too many of us who are beneficiaries of those who have given the ultimate sacrifice. Often we do not observe the day as it should be, a day where we actively remember our ancestors, our family members, our loved ones, our neighbors, and our friends who have given the ultimate sacrifice:

-by visiting cemeteries and placing flags or flowers on the graves of our fallen heroes.
-by visiting memorials.
-by flying the U.S. Flag at half-staff until noon.
-by flying the 'POW/MIA Flag' as well (Section 1082 of the 1998 Defense Authorization Act).
-by participating in a "National Moment of Remembrance": at 3 p.m. to pause and think upon the true meaning of the day, and for Taps to be played.
-by renewing a pledge to aid the widows, widowers, and orphans of our falled dead, and to aid the disabled veterans.

God Bless America!!

I found my wedding cake!!

2006-05-24T14:14:00.000-07:00

First... no I'm not engaged. Let's all wait a minute for my mother to pull herself up off the floor.... I probably shouldn't tease my, heart patient, mother like that.. I have had to search for wedding cakes all day today. We are having a cake decorating contest here at work and my friend B and I are in charge of the marketing for the contest. So I found all of these really cool wedding cakes to use in our marketing campaign... Some of which I have included in this post.... I love this cake, mainly b/c it is Tiffany Blue and ANYTHING Tiffany's makes me VERY happy!!

The Yankee Stadium cake is a shout out to my girl lizzie!! Can you believe that is a cake?? I love it!!
Check out this cake!! How hysterical is this?? It's a groom's cake of course... Kind of reminds me of the armadillo cake that was in Steel Magnolias....

So yes, it was a cruel twist of fate that I was chosen for the task of searching wedding cakes, but it turned out to be fun... My social calendar is filling slowly but surely... Let the Boys of Summer, 2006 begin!! Now, who wants cake!!??

Kisses y'all!!

~Beachgirl

You know you're a Tennesseean if...

2006-05-23T08:49:00.000-07:00

My friend Jennifer sent this to me and said that I was SO #12... and she's right!

1. You can properly pronounce Ooltewah, LaVergne, Etowah and Maryville.
>
> 2. You think people who complain about the heat in their states are
sissies.
>
> 3. A tornado warning siren is your signal to go out in the yard and look
for a funnel. I have actually done this!
>
> 4. You know that the true value of a parking space is not determined by
the distance to the door, but by the availability of shade.
>
> 5. Stores don't have bags or shopping carts, they have sacks and buggies.
>
> 6. You've seen people wear bib overalls at weddings and funerals. without a doubt, I have seen this!
>
> 7. You think everyone from a bigger city has an accent.
>
> 8. You measure distance in minutes. yep, to get to Knoxville from Nashville is about 2.5 hours
>
> 9. You go to the lake because you think it is like going to the ocean. Yeah, but I still love the ocean
>
> 10. You listen to the weather forecast before picking out an outfit. Well duh!!
>
> 11. You know cowpies are not made of beef.
>
> 12. Someone you know has used a football schedule to plan their wedding
date. My mother missed a good friend's wedding b/c I think it was the UT v. Bama game, true story!
>
> 13. You know someone who has a belt buckle bigger than your fist.
>
> 14. You aren't surprised to find movie rental, ammunition, beer, and bait
all in the same store.
>
> 15. A Mercedes Benz isn't a status symbol. A Chevy Silverado Extended Bed
Crew Cab is.
>
> 16. You know everything goes better with Ranch dressing. Yep
>
> 17. You learned how to shoot a gun before you learned how to multiply. Don't know how to fire a weapon, but I LOVE the NRA!
>
> 18. You actually get these jokes and are "fixin'" to send them to your
friends.
>
> And finally:
>
> 19. You are 100% Tennessean if you have ever had this conversation:
>
> "You wanna coke?"
>
> "Yeah."
>
> "What kind?"
>
> "Dr Pepper"
>

Y'all have a fab Tennessee kind of day!!

Kisses Y'all!

~Beachgirl

Sorry but I gotta rant for a bit

2006-05-22T10:27:00.000-07:00

I had a marvelous weekend with my family, truly it was...But I start reading some of the headlines today and it leads me to rant...

Natalie Maines and the Dixie Chicks headline: Dixie Chicks' Maines Says U.S. President Owed 'No Respect Whatsoever'
I used to be the BIGGEST fan of the Chicks, I had all of their CD's and went to their shows, but when Natalie ran her mouth and disrespected our president, I said ENOUGH... Now, I'm all for free speech, really I am, but have some commone sense.. She is welcome to speak freely and I, in turn can stop listening to her music.... Freedom, it's a great thing...
After her outburst in 2003 she apologized for he comments, now she is saying, "I take it back" and that the President is owed "no respect whatsoever".... Wrong Natalie, YOU deserve no respect. I remember back to the Clinton Years, I did NOT agree with a lot that the President did, but I respected the him, b/c of the office he held.
So I'm still NOT going to buy the Chicks CD, and FYI, their new single topped out on the charts at 36, and a lot of country music stations refuse to play their music. That's one thing about country music fans, they believe in God, Country and Family, in that order.... The Chicks have ticked off their main fan base and I do not think they are going to win them back... This is what one the band members had to say about that:

"I'd rather have a small following of really cool people who get it, who will grow with us as we grow and are fans for life, than people that have us in their five-disc changer with Reba McEntire and Toby Keith," Maguire said. "We don't want those kinds of fans. They limit what you can do"

Yeah sweetheart, they limit what you can do, like pay your bills!! Oh and btw, insulting country music stars like Toby and Reba, yeah, way to win friends and influence people... and trust me on this, "those kind of fans (the ones that buy albums and go to shows) " don't want you either!

Ok sorry, I had to get that off my chest.....

Here's some other headlines that just made me laugh:

1970's Cultural Icon Evel Knievel Living in Constant Pain- Well duh!!!

Tommy Hilfiger Fights Axl Rose at New York Club- Are you kidding me??

Dickinson: Britney a ‘hick,’ should dump Kevin- "You know your hubby lacks class if even Janice Dickinson thinks he’s trashy."

I do hope y'all have a perfect day... I feel sooooo much better now...

Kisses!!

~Beachgirl

An oldie but a goodie..

2006-05-19T08:59:00.000-07:00

I have probably posted this before but it's my blog so if I want to post it again, so be it! This is what Southerners and Southern Women are all about... well maybe not ALL...

Southernness
> >
> > Only a Southerner knows the difference between a hissie fit and a
> > conniption fit, and that you don't "HAVE" them, you "PITCH" them.
> >
> > _____
> >
> > Only a Southerner knows how many fish, collard greens, turnip greens,
> > peas, beans, etc., make up "a mess."
> >
> > _____
> >
> > Only a Southerner can show or point out to you the general direction of
> > "yonder."
> >
> > _____
> >
> > Only a Southerner knows exactly how long "directly" is, ... as in:
> > "Going to town, be back directly."
> >
> > _____
> >
> > Even Southern babies know that "Gimme some sugar" is not a request for
> > the white, granular sweet substance that sits in a pretty little bowl in
> > the middle of the table.
> >
> > _____
> >
> > All Southerners know exactly when "by and by" is. They might not use
> > the term, but they know the concept well.
> >
> > _____
> >
> > Only a Southerner knows instinctively that the best gesture of solace
> > for a neighbor who's got trouble is a plate of hot fried chicken and a
> > big bowl of cold potato salad. If the neighbor's trouble is a real
> > crisis, they also know to add a large banana puddin!
> >
> > _____
> >
> > Only Southerners grow up knowing the difference between "right near"
> > and "a right far piece." They also know that "just down the road" can
> > be 1 mile or 20.
> >
> > _____
> >
> > Only a Southerner, both knows and understands, the difference between a
> > redneck, a good ol' boy, and po' white trash.
> >
> > _____
> >
> > No true Southerner would ever assume that the car with the flashing turn
> > signal is actually going to make a turn.
> >
> > _____
> >
> > A Southerner knows that "fixin" can be used as a noun, a verb, or an
> > adverb.
> >
> > _____
> >
> > Only Southerners make friends while standing in lines, ... and when
> > we're "in line," ... we talk to everybody!
> >
> > _____
> >
> > Put 100 Southerners in a room and half of them will discover they're
> > related, even if only by marriage.
> >
> > _____
> >
> > In the South, y'all is singular, .... all y'all is plural.
> >
> > _____
> >
> > Southerners know grits come from corn and how to eat them.
> >
> > _____
> >
> > Every Southerner knows tomatoes with eggs, bacon, grits, and coffee are
> > perfectly wonderful; that red eye gravy is also a breakfast food; and
> > that fried green tomatoes are not a breakfast food.
> >
> > _____
> >
> > When you hear someone say, "Well, I caught myself lookin'," you know you
> > are in the presence of a genuine Southerner!
> >
> > _____
> >
> > Only true Southerners say "sweet tea" and "sweet milk." Sweet tea
> > indicates the need for sugar and lots of it -- we do not like our tea
> > unsweetened. "Sweet milk" means you don't want buttermilk.
> >
> > _____
> >
> > And a true Southerner knows you don't scream obscenities at little old
> > ladies who drive 30 MPH on the freeway. You just say,"Bless her heart"
> > ... and go your own way.
> >
> > _____
> >
> > To those of you who are still a little embarrassed by your Southerness:
> > Take two tent revivals and a dose of sausage gravy and call me in the
> > morning. Bless your heart!
> >
> > _____
> >
> > And to those of you who are still having a hard time understanding all
> > this Southern stuff, .. bless your hearts, I hear they are fixin' to
> > have classes on Southernness as a second language!
> >
> > _____
> >
> > And for those that are not from the South but have lived here for a
> > long time, all y'all need a sign to hang on y'alls fron t porch that
> > reads "I ain't from the South, but I got here as fast as I could."
> >
> > ____
> >
> > SOUTHERN WOMEN
> >
> > Southern women appreciate their natural assets:
> >
> > Clean skin.
> > A winning smile.
> > That unforgettable Southern drawl.
> >
> > Southern women know their manners:
> >
> > "Yes, ma'am."
> > "Yes, sir."
> > "Why, no, Billy!"
> >
> > Southern women have a distinct way with fond expressions:
> >
> > "Y'all come back!"
> > "Well, bless your heart."
> > "Drop by when you can."
> > "How's your Momma?"
> >
> >
> >
> > Southern women know their summer weather report:
> >
> > Humidity
> > Humidity
> > Humidity
> >
> > Southern women know their vacation spots:
> >
> > The beach
> > The beach
> > The beach
> >
> > Southern women know the joys of June, July, and August:
> >
> > Colorful hi-heel sandals
> > Strapless sun dresses
> > Iced sweet tea with mint
> >
> > Southern women know everybody's first name:
> >
> > Honey
> > Darlin'
> > Shugah
> >
> > Southern women know the movies that speak to their hearts:
> >
> > Fried Green Tomatoes
> > Driving Miss Daisy
> > Steel Magnolias
> > Gone With The Wind
> >
> > Southern women know their religions:
> >
> > Baptist
> > Methodist
> > Football
> >
> > Southern women know their country breakfasts:
> >
> > Red-eye gravy
> > Grits
> > Eggs
> > Country ham
> > Mouth-watering homemade biscuits with momma's homemade jelly
> >
> > Southern women know their cities dripping with Southern charm:
> >
> > Charleston (Chawl'stn)
> > Savannah (S'vanah)
> > Fort Worth (Foat Wuth)
> > New Orleans (N'awlins)
> > Atlanta (Addlanna)
> >
> > Southern women know their elegant gentlemen:
> >
> > Men in uniform.
> > Men in tuxedos
> > Rhett Butler, of course!
> >
> > Southern girls know their prime real estate:
> >
> > The Mall
> > The Country Club
> > The Beauty Salon
> >
> > Southern girls know the four deadly sins:
> >
> > Having bad hair and nails
> > Having bad manners
> > Cooking bad food
> > Wearing too much makeup in the summer
> >
> > Southern girls know men may come and go,but friends are fahevah!
> >
If you're a Northern transplant, Bless your little heart, fake it.
> >
> > We know you got here as fast as you could.....!!!
> >
> >

> > Bless your hearts, ... y'all have a blessed day.

Kisses Y'all!!

~Beachgirl

A new post

2006-05-18T07:03:00.000-07:00

So my friend Jen emails me and tells me it's time for a new post. I'm not sure I have anything clever or witty to write about currently.... Things are moving along just fine so here's my grocery list if anyone is interested..

1. Bread (sourdough)
2. Frozen Harvest Wheat Crust Pizza
3. Chicken
4. Roast Beef
5. Cheddar Cheese
6. Sundried Tomato & basil Wheat Thins
7. Diet Mountain Dew
8. Skim Milk
9. Dishwasher detergent
10. South Beach Cinnamon Raisin Breakfast bars
11. Sugar Free Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies
12. People Magazine

and if I go to the Super (Duper) Wal-Mart, all of this should cost me approx. $44.10, but the people watching is simply priceless....

Hope y'all have a wonderful day!!

Kisses!
~Beachgirl

It's a Breakfast at Tiffany's kind of day..

2006-05-12T10:41:00.000-07:00

I love the movie, Breakfast at Tiffany's. The main character, Holly Golightly, played by Audrey Hepburn, just floats through life, going to party after party (in all actuality, she is running from her life and the drama associated with it) and living in the moment... So today is a Breakfast at Tiffany's kind of day for me (and this is a shout out to my new friend jake, a BaT lover as well). I have no real problems, I went to lunch at PF Changs with some friends ( and there was some yummy eye candy sitting at the table in front of us), and I'm going out tonight with some other friends... Last night I had to buy the medium in a shirt, b/c the large was TOO BIG, and I have found a fab pair of jeans that look really good on me... Life is good... So dare I say it, I am happy today...

Other reasons to be happy today

1.The Dan Patrick Radio show on ESPN radio
I Love Dan Patrick, always have and listening to his radio show at my desk in cubicle land makes me happy. By the way, he's a hottie and soooooo smart about sports, not to mention, he's funny... Those are some qualities I look for in guy.. Mainly the sports and humorous knowledge is really what gets me... YEAH BABY!!

2. The sun's out, need I say more....

3. I made reservations for my vacation with my mom this summer. We are going back to Charleston for a week. I told her if she even thought about having another heart attack* while we were there, she was on her own this time... Been there, done that, was awful for all involved..

4. I'm having a really good hair and make-up day... ladies, you all understand this and will rejoice with me for days like these.

5. Mother's Day weekend.. Yep, it's upon us, however, I will not be going home** this weekend b/c I have to go home next weekend for a my baby girl's*** high school graduation. But I am so thankful that I have my mother to celebrate on this day she so richly deserves...

So overall, it's a great day.. It's days like these I want to save up for one of those not so good days...

I hope y'all have a FAB weekend!!

Kisses!

~Beachgirl

*Last year she had a heart attack while we were in Charleston on vacation and had to have open heart surgery while we were there- Good times...
**Home is Knoxville
***My baby girl is actually my cousin's (commonly referred to as my sister, b/c we're so close) oldest daughter..

What's in your freezer and other musings...

2006-05-10T10:20:00.000-07:00

Ok- so I listen to a Christian radio station via internet at work... It's a great station and I do enjoy contemporary Christian music, but the DJ's I could totally do without!! They are so dorky! The daytime DJ is especially dorky and plays this game called, "What's in your freezer" ... Someone will call in and she has to guess what is in their freezer... These were the clues today:
it's in cubes and it's clear. Yeah, it's that lame.. and what's more lame?? When the DJ pretends to be thinking REALLY hard about what it could be....

Just once, I would love for someone to call in and give clues like this:

-it's sort of oval shaped, it has two eyes, a nose, a mouth and brown hair... hahhahaha you guessed it!!! It's my husband's head! I chopped it off b/c he refused to put the seat down on the toilet!

Ok so that's really sick and twisted but it's just such a stupid thing anyway...

Other musings

Brittany Spears- preggers again, God help us all...

Howard Stern says he's not coming back to regular radio...... thank God!

Tom Cruise- Straight up crazy, poor Katie has been seduced by fame, fortune and those crazy Scientology peeps...I'm pretty sure this has all the makings of a great Lifetime movie...

President of Iran- almost as scary as Tom Cruise...

Back to my original thought

So I'm curious, what's in your freezer??

For the love of man!!

2006-05-09T09:01:00.000-07:00

Sometimes things irritate me to the point that I have to just grind my teeth and say "Oh for the love of man!" .... Now normally I am even tempered but you know there are just those times such as the one listed below that get under my skin...

1. Cell phones ringing at work... Now, I work in cubicle land and I get along fine with my
co-workers and even consider at least one of them a very close friend. But I think it is rude to have your cell phone ring at work. I always put mine on vibrate before I go into the building. Now there is always that moment when I might forget and ACDC's 'Back in Black' will start blaring (I know what y'all are thinking... you thought I would have something sweet as my ringtone, but I LOVE ACDC!!) and I will lurch for the phone and apologize to my co-workers for the interruption. But there are some that just don't care, and will let their phone RING with some annoying ringtone blaring... FOR THE LOVE OF MAN!!

2. People that call and don't leave messages... This annoys me beyond all reason. They will call and call then gripe at you for not being available... I'm like, if you needed to speak with me that badly, you should have left a message! I have a policy, if someone calls, and doesn't leave a message, I WILL NOT call them back!

3. That wierd smell as I get closer to my office. If any of you have lived near the marshes on the coast, you know that smell of sulfur well... Think rotten eggs that have been sitting in the sun for a couple of days... Yeah, it's GROSS!! I usually have one of my windows cracked as drive into work, unless of course it's raining... For the past few days as I get closer to my office, which is near the Cumberland River ( or as we like to call it, the Scumberland River), there is that odor!! It sneaks up on me everytime! We have those new highway signs that tell us drivers when there is a delay up ahead or God forbid an Amber alert... I think we should use those handy highway signs to warn of offensive odors up ahead... That way, I would roll up my windows and not be subjected to the harshness of STANK that early in the morning...

4. Barry Bonds- Cheater, cheater rotten apple eater!! Baseball should kick that guy out on his steriod pumped ear. And NO baseball should not celebrate his breaking of Babe Ruth's homerun record!! B/c Bonds CHEATED!!! And the latest which really gets my goat, he would not sign an autograph for an active duty airman, serving our country!! Who does this guy think he is!?? I think he's a punk and should be kicked out of baseball!

5. David Blaine- Oh for the love of man! It's not like he's saving humanity, he swam around in a fishbowl for like 10 days or something... Just pure stupidity... He says he wanted to break the record of holding his breath so he wouldn't let everyone down... Who's everyone??!! The poor people of Darfur?? or our service men and women currently serving our country?? NO!! It was a self serving stunt and it was just plain stupid...

Whew! I feel so much better now!

That's only a few things right now that make me grind my teeth and say 'oh for the love of man'!! Otherwise, I'm having a pretty good day..Hope you are as well!!

Kisses!!
~Beachgirl

A $10 martini

2006-05-05T10:35:00.000-07:00

Yep, a $10 martini, I had two last night and they were fab!! It was something like champagne and rasberry vodka, sooooo yummy!!! I went out with my friend NP, we went for drinks to this kind of shee-shee place in the *Gulch. I loved it!! There was live jazz music, the atmosphere was wonderful and there were people my age, all dressed very nicely.. This may be my new favorite place. I had really gotten out of the swing of meeting friends for drinks and just being among other people outside of Junior League and Church.. This became evident to me last weekend as I went from Junior League meeting to church meeting and had NO really fun weekend plans... So I decided I need to make a change. My friend NP, who is a fantastic lady, has been telling me what seems like forever we need to go out for drinks.. She is an attorney, she's my age and she's so sweet. So we made plans to go out last night and I am so glad we did... No sooner did we get to the resturant that we ran into one of her rather handsome single guy friends. He practically demanded when we were available, b/c he wanted to get his guys together to hang out with us.. It was like a miracle from GOD!! I had just been telling NP that I wanted to meet some fun boys this summer, just guys that I could hang out with, not necessarily date (but if that were to transpire, who am I to fight fate??)..

NP has already sent me two emails for fun outings coming up.... Yep, looks like beachgirl is out of her slump and ready to meet the world (and maybe some cute boys) head on... It may shape up to be a good summer after all, praise the LORD!!

Hope y'all have a fab weekend!!

Kisses!!
~Beachgirl

* The Gulch, a crappy industrial area the city is trying "revitalize" to be the new "it" spot for the city... I think it's Nashville's Chamber of Commerce attempt to to provide Nashvillians refuge from the heinous tourist bars on 2nd Ave and Broadway... So to Nashville Chamber, THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

Taking Allergy Medicine at work

2006-05-04T08:38:00.000-07:00

Not a good thing... I have taken this over the counter allergy medicine before and it was great, no drunk feeling at all.. But this morning I took some, I had my breakfast bar and my diet mountian dew, so I had something in my stomach... however, I am about three sheets to the wind and my tongue feels a little funny... taking allergy medicine at work, not such a good thing for me... Good times...

Spring fashion advice for MEN..

2006-05-03T07:41:00.000-07:00

So a comment that pk left on my last post got me to thinkin' I guess men DO need fashion advice so here goes..Keep in mind that most of the fashion mistakes were secretly planted in the minds of men that had done a woman wrong... It's a little known secret, but it is true, the powers of women are like the DaVinci Code.. Where you find yourself asking, could it really be true???

1. Tank Tops- NO! Tanktops, wifebeaters of any kind are NOT acceptable in any situation.. They are tacky and they usually look awful, unless you are built amazing well. Most men I know intead of having a "six pack" they have a 12 or 24 pack..Bless their hearts...

2. Cut off shorts of any kind- NO! I say this b/c there are actually still men in rural areas of Tennessee that have NOT gotten the message and are walking around proudly in their acid washed cut offs (of course they are wearing a wife beater and have a mullet, don't even get me started on the mullets!!)

3. Man Sandals- this is a quandry for me.. I'm really not in favor of them, men should wear flip flops, get a good pair of Bows (Rainbows), they are a little pricey, but worth it!

4. Dark socks with shorts- NO!! Who started this trend anyway? Obviously it was some woman that wanted revenge on some mad that had done her wrong...

5. Fanny pack- OMG!! NO and NO!! Get a backpack or buy your wife/girlfriend a really big purse, but DO NOT carry a fanny pack, again something created by a woman to get back at a man for doing her wrong...

I think I could probably go on for days but instead I will offer this most important piece of advice, if you are a fashion challenged man, find a good woman or fantastic gay man (don't worry, they don't like you're kind and they won't try to "convert" you) to help you... make sure that this woman or gay man knows what they are talking about when it comes to fashion... here are a few tips that they might not have a clue about good fashion:
- If they say let's go to any place with the word "MART" in the title, run, don't walk away from them..
- If they suggest garage sales are great places to find bargains, that's a BIG RED FLAG...
- If they suggest any of the fashion no-no's I mentioned above, yep, you guessed it, they have NO CLUE!!!

I do hope this is helpful.... Y'all enjoy the sunshine and if you are somewhere where you can pop open a cold beer right now, please do it for me, and most importantly, just enjoy life!!!

Kisses Y'all!

~Beachgirl

Some spring fashion advice

2006-05-02T09:13:00.000-07:00

Hey Y'all, so spring is upon us and I for one could not be happier! It means cropped pants, cute skirts & dresses and open toed shoes!! I love it! But it has come to my attention that some people do not know how to transition from Winter to Spring as far as wardrobe choices are concerned so I am going to give a few tips that I hope will help...

1. Put all boots away!! Especially tall leather boots! It is now May, I do not care how chilly it might be in the morning, put your slides on and suffer, we are women, it's what we do to look good. Besides it will be a warm 70 degrees by the time happy hour rolls around and you want to look you're ready for spring, not the frozen tundra!

If you are going to wear open toed shoes, please make sure you have had a pedicure and your toenails are PAINTED!! There is nothing more unattractive than scaley feet and chipped nail polish.. I always go with a bright pink or red, I loathe french manicure on the toes!!
If you have ugly toes like my sister, please wear closed toe shoes... what's worse than unpolished, unpedicured toes?? Knarled ones!! Blech..

2. Suede- put it away, along with your wool sweaters and slacks... It's time for cotton, linen and other natural fabrics..

3. Trends- beware, sometimes trends just don't go with your personality.. Take the bohemian craze, I hate it and realize that the untailored flowy, gauzy, and wrinkled style is just not me.. So I will just stick with my classic look. You can find this look if you look hard enough, Talbots, JCrew, Brooks Brothers, and anything Ralph Lauren... Stick with what looks good on you, do not fall for trends, b/c they may not go with your personality, or your body type.

Gauchos- they don't look good on everyone, especially average or larger size girls, like myself... Wear them around the house, to the store, but not to anything of any importance.
Short skirts- be sensible, just b/c they make them that short and in your size doesn't mean you have to buy it and wear it! Here's a tip, if you have to worry what undergarments to wear, b/c they might show when or if you have to bend over, DO NOT WEAR IT! It's just tacky..

4. Makeup- time to switch it out, the dark lipsticks and eyeshadows, PUT THEM AWAY! I saw a girl in church the other morning and she looked like dracula's bride, her lipstick was a dark brown.. Great for fall and winter but NOT for spring! We need fresh looks, lighter colors, to brighten our faces!!

5. Watch out for fake tans!! I know it's the "safe" thing to do, but be careful of that orange glow some self tanners leave behind.. Spend the extra money and get a spray tan from a professional, it's worth it. But DO NOT GO OVERBOARD! I saw this girl that I used to hang out with (we don't hang out anymore b/c she is straight up CRAZY, and not in a good southern way) who looked like she had been locked in the spray tan booth for about 24 hours! I had to do a double take when she came up to me, literally, she looked dirty she was so spray tanned... Blech!!

I think that's about it for now.. please let me know if you have any questions... hahahaha..

And if it is a pretty spring day where you are, stop what you are doing and immediately go to the nearest watering hole with a patio and order your favorite adult beverage!! Just enjoy life!!

Kisses Y'all!!

~beachgirl

A big fat lay out day

2006-05-01T10:42:00.000-07:00

Ok just as a warning this may present itself as a political post but it's really just me griping about the big fat immigrant lay out day..

So it's the big fat immigrant lay out day.. What a freakin great way to get people to support your cause, by saying "if you don't think the same way I do, I just won't come to work".. In that case I think their boss should FIRE THEM!

Another thing, learn to speak ENGLISH! Oh and another thing, businesses should stop enabling these people by putting things in their native language....Why should they have to learn our language if they don't have to??! We live in AMERICA and we SPEAK ENGLISH....

I want people to come to America to have a better life, but I want them to do it the right way. I understand that coming to America and getting a green card is a bureaucratic nightmare, and yes that process does need to be improved. But don't come here illegally, then demand that we change things to suit you... That's not the way it works. If illegals break our laws, I am more than happy to pay for their bus ticket back to where ever they came from.
Oh and they are ILLEGAL ALIENS, not undocumented workers as the politically correct peeps like to call them... Illegal means it is against the law!
The illegals that are here are putting a strain on our economy already, especially in the healthcare industry. If someone goes into an emergency room, they have to be treated whether they have medical insurance or not. The illegals are going to the ER's for primary care. Our education system is suffering.
These kids are going to school with no idea how to speak english or how to learn in english. This is putting a strain on the already overworked and underpaid teachers.
The insurance industry, especially automobile insurance. It is a law here in Tennessee that you must have a insurance to drive a car, but to check your insurance coverage, you must be pulled over before you are penalized for it. So when an illegal rams into your car and DOESN'T have insurance, you are just plain out of luck!
The Star Spangled Banner should ALWAYS be sung in ENGLISH.. and don't EVEN THINK about changing the words to suit you.... that just makes me nuts!!

Like I said, I am ALL FOR people coming here for a better life, but do it right the right way... hey, if you want to move here and become a taxpayer just like me, that's great!! Oh and we expect you to come to work, not layout!!

Things that are really bothering me..

2006-04-27T13:53:00.000-07:00

Ok, there is so much going on right now that is bothering me and really on my last nerve...

1. Hey Brittany, if you and your white trash, no talent husband weren't always out boozin it up, you wouldn't have to fire the nanny that let your child fall out of his high chair... DCS should have been called the day this child was born... reason, having STUPID PARENTS... Some people should be forced to jump out of the gene pool!

2. Denise Richards.. you're a slut and a back stabber... She told her good friend Heather Locklear to divorce Richie Sambora, then we see Denise and Richie canoodling at some trashy hideaway... That's soooooo not cool..

3. Gas prices and politicians... FOR THE LOVE OF MAN!! If I have to hear one more politician whine about the rising gas prices, I am going to lose my freakin mind... Hey, politicians, quit writing letters to the President and pass some freakin legislation that will keep gas prices low and keep those oil baron fat cats from lining their pockets.. oh and another thing, if there is oil in my back yard that will reduce gas prices, DRILL AWAY, that goes for Anwar too...

4. My Super Sweet Sixteen on MTV.... Should have been called spoiled little brats that need to have their butts kicked into next week!

5. Tori Spelling- Tori, you're a no talent hack, get off my TV!!

6. Lady behind me in traffic the other day... "hey trash, the upside triangle that reads YIELD, means just that! So don't freakin honk your whimpy little Honda Civic horn at me just b/c you almost rear-ended me b/c YOU weren't paying attention!"

7. Ken Lay- Let me cry you a river! I hope you fry for what you did to those people, stealing their money so you could throw lavish parties, shame on you!

8. headline: "South Carolina Senate Passes Death Penalty for Repeat Child Rapists"... REPEAT??!! You're going to let them REPEAT before you give them the death penalty??!!

9. MySpace should be called MyPlace for pervs!!!

10. WHOOAAA NELLIE!! So sad that Keith Jackson is retiring, the Rose Bowl will never be the same without him!

I think that's about it... It's been a bad week all around, here's hoping next week will be better..

~Cheers

Learning more

2006-04-25T08:17:00.000-07:00

After talking with my dad this morning, I am learning more about how Little Neil died. Neither he nor Jimmy were wearing their seatbelts and were thrown from the truck. The truck rolled over on Little Neil. Jimmy is doing much better. He was up and walking for a bit yesterday, so that is certainly a blessing. Jimmy will get to go to his father's funeral.

Little Neil will be buried in a western shirt, and blue jeans.. all guests are encouraged to come as they are. Little Neil did not like suits, and he did NOT like ties.. I can understand that b/c Neil's neck was the size of a manhole! Although they live in Illinois, and many of our family members are spread throughout the country, we all consider Charleston to be home.. and in keping with that theme, the family has asked that we make donations in lieu of flowers to the Charleston Aquarium. I think that is a wonderful idea, flowers will fade but a donation to a charity, museum, or an aquarium will go on and on..

I wanted to thank everyone who has commented, expressing your condolences, and prayers for my family.. that means a great deal to me. I ask for your continued prayers as my family travels to the funeral of a dear, sweet man.

What?

2006-04-23T12:12:00.000-07:00

Was all I kept saying as my dad kept repeating that Little Neil was dead. Little Neil, my cousin, we called him little Neil b/c he was a Jr. and it was funny b/c there was nothing little about him. He was a gentle giant, standing at about 6'5, he seemed he was 7' tall to me. He was the oldest cousin on my dad's side of the family. He had a wife and 2 beautiful children, Jenni and Jimmy. Jimmy was in the car with his dad, when at some point Little Neil lost control of the car and crashed. Neil is dead and Jimmy is on life support.

My dad gave me the news as I was going to church this morning. My heart just broke and the tears just started coming but I went on to church and sat next to a friend. Who let me cry in her arms for a minute.. I felt a little better...

There are so many random thoughts that are flying through my head so I hope you'll forgive my ramblings. My thoughts went to Neil's parents who are not in good health. My grandmother who has had to bury a son, a husband, and now 2 grandchildren, and possibly a great-grandchild. Something a grandmother should never have to do. The sadness I feel for Neil's wife, Bev who always has a smile on her face. Having to make arrangements for her husband's funeral and trying to keep hope alive for her son. Her son, Jimmy who is married with two children. My prayer is that God will let him live so that his kids will know how great he is and how great thier grandaddy Neil was.

I wish I could tell you that I was extremely close to Neil and his family, that we visited each other, called each other all the time, but that wasn't the case. I usually saw them at Family Reunions, but when we did see each other it was if no time had passed between us. That's just the way my dad's family is, there are no expectations, just love that stretches across the miles...

So even though the tears fall for us down here, I know that Neil is in abeautiful place, where there is no pain. I just want to remember little Neil, climbing out of his truck, and swaggering towards only to give me a huge bear hug with arms that were just huge. Even standing on my tippy toes, he still towered above me.and I can just see him bending down to hug our grandmother who stands at mere 4'10 tall. He was so proud of his family and we were so proud of him.

So I say goodbye to this gentle giant and pray for strength for my family. A family that has seen it's share of tragedy. But if there is anything that remains and keeps us strong it is the love of Jesus. I know He will give us the peace we need to get through this.. Amen..

Things aunty beachgirl will teach the youngins*

2006-04-21T07:25:00.000-07:00

So one of my dearest friends Jennifer is preggers. She and I met a couple years ago and became like instant BFF (best friends forever, I know it's a little 3rd grade but it works for us). She is as country as the come but I LOVE HER!! We started referring to each other as white trash about the time we got tickets to THE DEGA (that's Talladega Superspeedway for those of y'all without any Nascar knowledge) ... It was so funny b/c here we were, two prissy Junior Leaguers going to our first Nascar race, we even went to Wal-Mart and bought Jordache (that's right, I said Jordache) skorts and tank tops to "fit in" with the white trash at the Dega... We had the best time at the race! Jen and her husband E are the most wonderful couple I have ever met... I loved hanging out with them but E got an amazing job offer in Missouri so within a month, they moved and I was so sad!!

Jen and E come back to visit and it's great, the last time they were here, they were talking about having kids.. Now Jen is preggers!! I could not be happier, she is having a girl no no less, which works out perfectly b/c our friends ray-ray and scar have a little boy.. You see where I'm going with this, they are going to meet, fall in love and get married, we will make sure of it...

So I have been thinking of all the things I want to teach Jen & E's little girl....

1. Love of sports, there is no reason girls can't love sports and STILL be ladies.. However when Jeff Gordon steals the race from Jr at the Dega, she should NOT throw her beer can onto the track..

2. Good hygeine.. she should always have her nails painted and her hair fixed... Now, if it's the third day without a hair washing and she's still having a good hair day, I will teach her to throw some baby powder in her hair to absorb the excess oil..

3. How to critique someone without being ugly...So when someone walks in the room weraing a neon green jumpsuit and white platform shoes, and it's NOT halloween, instead of saying, HOLY MOTHER OF PEARL WAS KC AND SUNSHINE BAND HAVING A GARAGE SALE!!!?? she should say, wow, that outfit is so YOU... then lean over to her friend and say "bless her heart, she just doesn't know any better"...

Oh there are so many more things I am going to teach Jen & E's little girl..I'm sure these are the days when I know they are glad they live in another state!

* YOUNGIN's- a southern term for children

Hope everyone has a great weekend!!

~Beachgirl

I know I'm going to regret this...

2006-04-19T13:18:00.000-07:00

I know I am going to regret saying this but I am so freakin bored... I am in a huge lull right now at work and it makes the day drag out like taking a band aid off slowly (instead of ripping it off all at once)... and no sooner did I write that last statement when the jackass attorney I work with presents me with 4 new cases he's been sitting on for a week! He's such a freakin micro-manager and here's the kicker, I don't even work for him! He and I work for the same person, the big dog attorney (who by the way, I love, she is the best boss I have ever had), but he thinks I work for him... Delusional!!

I guess I better get off this blog and actually get back to work, now that I am no longer in a lull...

I hope everyone else is having a great day!

The Guy's Rules

2006-04-18T10:32:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine sent this to me and I could not resist posting it... I'm anxious to see what y'all think about this.. Personally I think it is all true and HYSTERICAL!!

The Guys' Rules
---------------------------
At last a guy has taken the time to write this all down Finally, the
guys' side of the story.
(I must admit, it's pretty good.)
We always hear "the rules"
From the female side.Now here are the rules from the male side.
These are our rules!
Please note.. these are all numbered "1"
ON PURPOSE!
1. Men ARE not mind readers.
1. Learn to work the toilet seat.
You're a big girl. If it's up, put it down.
We need it up, you need it down.
You don't hear us complaining about you leaving it down.
1. Sunday sports. It's like the full moon
or the changing of the tides.
Let it be.
1. Shopping is NOT a sport.
And no, we are never going to think of it that way.
1. Crying is blackmail.
1. Ask for what you want.
Let us be clear on this one:
Subtle hints do not work!
Strong hints do not work!
Obvious hints do not work!
Just say it!
1. Yes and No are perfectly Acceptable answers to almost every
question.
1. Come to us with a problem only If you want help solving it. That's
what we do.
Sympathy is what your girlfriends are for.
1. A headache that lasts for 17 months is a problem. See a doctor.
1. Anything we said 6 months ago is inadmissible in an argument.
In fact, all comments become null and void after 7 Days.
1. If you won't dress like the Victoria's Secret girls, don't Expect
us
to act like soap opera guys.
1. If you think you're fat, you probably are.
Don't ask us.
1. If something we said can be interpreted two ways and one of the
ways
makes you sad or angry, we meant the other one .
1. You can either ask us to do something
Or tell us how you want it done.
Not both.
If you already know best how to do it, just do it yourself.
1. Whenever possible, Please say whatever you have to say during
commercials.
1. Christopher Columbus did NOT need directions and neither do we.
1. ALL men see in only 16 colors, like Windows default settings.
Peach, for example, is a fruit, not! A color. Pumpkin is also a fruit.
We have no idea what mauve is.
1. If it itches, it will Be scratched.
We do that.
1. If we ask what is wrong and you say "nothing," We will act like
nothing's wrong.
We know you are lying, but it is just not worth the hassle.
1. If you ask a question you don't want an answer to, Expect an answer
you don't want to hear.
1. When we have to go somewhere, absolutely anything you wear Is
fine...Really.
1. Don't ask us what we're thinking about unless you are prepared to
discuss such topics as baseball, the shotgun INformation,
or golf.
1. You have enough clothes.
1. You have too many shoes.
1. I am in shape. Round IS a shape!
1. Thank you for reading this.
Yes, I know, I have to sleep on the couch tonight;

But did you know men really don't mind that? It's like camping.

Fantastic Weekend

2006-04-17T08:06:00.000-07:00

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter. Mine was filled with many blesssings, too many to count really. Of course one of the most wonderful blessings was having my mom here; here visiting and just here as in being alive. After what we went through last summer I could have easily have spent the Easter weekend mourning the loss of my mother, but b/c of God's Grace and the wonderful doctors that saved my mom's life, we celebrated Easter together. She is truly a blessing.

As I mentioned in my last post, my house did not pass the white glove test. But for the love of man, how could ANYONE pass her test?? I know I said I would be working like a Hebrew Slave, but I'm sorry to say it was the other way around. It's not that I just sat there and watched her work, but she is like a cleaning maniac.. Seriously, she's like OCD about it.. She cooked Sunday lunch for me and some of our other friends. It was de-lish... We had ham, green beans, cream potatoes, cole slaw, yeast rolls and some kind of strawberry dessert. It was so great having her here..

Another blessing to count is my friend from the 101st, I have mentioned him in previous posts, we'll call him RG came home a day early for his R&R. I was so surprised when the phone rang and it was him!! I had been worried that I might not get to see him while he was home, just b/c he has so many friends and family to catch up with.. But he wanted to hang out, so he drove down to Nashville last night and we went to dinner... It was a little wierd at first b/c I just didn't know what to say (I know, me at loss for words?? but it was so true).. We went to a little mexican place near my house and had a pitcher of margaritas, once we sat down we were back to normal and we talked about everything, just like we used to do... We left the resturant and went driving.. He has a SWEET BMW, we listened to music, and sang out loud to all the songs... It's like my favorite thing we do together. It seems so simple but sometimes it's the simple things that mean so much. We drove around for like 45 min or something like that, then we went back to my house. He showed me all of the pictures from his deployment. All of it was very interesting.. I just enjoyed hanging out with my good friend, realizing how much I really have missed him... It was almost 1:00 when he left. I gave him a big hug and thanked him for a wonderful evening... He will be home until the 1st, I'm not sure if I will get to see him before he goes back but it's fine, he will be home for good in about 4 months, then we will have all the time in the world to hang out and continue with our amazing friendship that is truly a blessing from God..

As I said before I have so much to be thankful for, and to an amazing God above I give thanks!!

Love y'all
~Beachgirl

"In Your Easter Bonnet"

2006-04-13T08:46:00.000-07:00

"With all the frills upon it, you'll be the grandest lady in the easter parade"... An Irving Berlin song made famous for the 1948 movie titled Easter Parade starring Judy Garland and Fred Astaire. I love this song and the movie and of course I always think of at this time of year, Easter (duh, like I would be thinking of this movie at Christmas??)... My mom is here and we are having a wonderful visit. We are going shopping for my easter bonnet today, momma doesn't wear hats, they just don't look good on her (her words not mine, but it is true). I am so excited. A new hat, a new dress, new shoes... All of these things for Easter, things that symbolize new life. I don't know what the weather looks like where you are, but it is BEAUTIFUL day here and the weekend is supposed to be even better!!

Easter means so much to me, it signifies new life (as I said above), the flowers are blooming, it's warmer (thank heavens) and of course it means so much to my faith. I won't bore you with all of the details, but this Easter is a testament to the growth in faith I have experienced over the last year. I am more filled with peace than ever before and God's blessings are abundant in my life.

One of the best traditions of Easter whether you are religious or not is the hiding of easter eggs... I used to love dying the eggs and decorating them.. My mom would hide them for me, my cousins and my friends.. Especially with my family it was like war trying to find the most easter eggs.. Especially with my cousin CF, he's 5 years older than me and he was more like a big brother to me rather than just a cousin.. Seriously, it was so funny, we would like fight over eggs!! Picking on each other is an art form in my family.. Something the younger generation just doesn't get. CF's sister TE, is a person I mention fequently in my writings. She is my cousin (obviously) but she more like my sister. In fact we call each other sisters b/c in our hearts, that's exactly what we are (ahhhh, I know, it makes you want to barf!).. So as we have gotten older and TE's girls have gotten older (with the exception of little man H, he's 2) my mom has started a new tradition. An easter egg hunt with plastic eggs filled with money!! It's genius! Pure genius I tell you! She will fill eggs with quarters, one dollar bills, five dollar bills and one twenty dollar prize egg!! So as I have said before, the younger generation is not used to our competitive and often times down right mean way of easter egg hunting... Last year, when TE, her two teenage girls and I were given our baskets and momma said go, I think I knocked down one of the girls to get out of the house and into the yard. Little man H who was one at the time, had no idea what was going on, but he was giggling and chasing after his mother (who by the way used to run track and is still pretty quick in her old age)... I think at one point she was like, "NOT NOW LITTLE MAN, MOMMY'S BUSY" she kind of yelled and he shrank back.. I know she felt a little bad afterwards but hey we were in the middle of a war, I mean an easter egg hunt...

I of course ended up with the most money!! But I won't be there this year, b/c obviously momma came here for Easter.. So I know she will probably still hide the eggs, maybe this year one of the kids might actualy toughen up and win... but my money is on their mother...

I hope you all have a happy and very blessed easter weekend!!

~Beachgirl

I am Woman, hear me roar!!

2006-04-11T06:26:00.000-07:00

Last night after I attended a Junior League function at the Capitol and schmoozing with all my old legislator pals, I came home, went for a brisk walk, y'all know I don't run (unless of course I'm being chased), got back home, did some yoga and went back to the task of getting ready for my momma's visit.. In the guest room I had this beautiful wooden antique day bed that was in my great-grandmother's house. It looked so cute in there but was simply not practical for overnight guests. My momma, b/c she is tiny is about the only person that can sleep in that bed comfortably.. So anyone over 110 pounds and over 5'5 is just stuck with the couch downstairs... The bed is in 4 pieces the, two rails, headboard and footboard, it's acually very easy to put together and take apart...

I had decided that I wanted to put my futon in the guest room, to make it more user friendly. The futon was up in my attic, it had been taken apart and lovingly put up there by my main gay D. This gay man can do it all, shop with me, help me paint and fix things!! That's why he's my "main gay"... Well I had been putting off getting the futon out of the attic b/c there was so much work to be done in the guest room. Essentially that room had been designated the "junk room" for about a year now, so I had to do a lot of cleaning out before I could do anything... So finally I got the room cleaned out, and I couldn't call my main gay D b/c it was too late last night, so I decided to take the day bed apart myself, put it in the attic and get the futon out of the attic myself. AND I DID IT!! The day bed is tucked away nicely in the attic and the futon is in the guest room.. Now putting it back together is another thing but it's in there nonetheless. I had such a feeling of accomplishment!! I did it all on my own without the help of a man!! Now don't get me wrong, I'm not a femi-nazi or anything like that, I would have much rather a man been there to help me or just do it for me instead... I'm independent but I'm not stupid!

Another funny tidbit... I mentioned earlier my Junior League event at the capitol last night and schmoozing with all my old politico buddies, well there was one guy in particular I was visiting with that really got my attention. We'll call him C.. C and I worked together a couple of years ago, he was an intern, really sweet and SOOOOO cute!! I guess he's about 3 or 4 years younger than me.. Anyway, he went to work for another department and we kind of lost touch.. no biggie really.. Butlast night I run into him and he chatted for about 15 minutes, I asked him what was new, his response, nothing really... He kept telling me how great I looked (yes, I have slimmed down, and my hair is a lot longer) and kept on and on about it.. Ok, I get it, I look different, thanks.. So we parted ways, I went to talk to someone else, C was still about 6-7 feet from me, I kept looking over my shoulder at him and he was still looking at me.. This happened about 5-6 more times, so I know it wasn't my imagination.. C was totally giving me the eye and checking me out!! SWEET! So I asked my friend M who knows everything about everyone on the hill about him... I told her I had forgotten how cute C was, she smiled and said yeah, you should probably forget that b/c he's engaged!! WHAT!!! We talked, I asked him what was new, and his response, nothing much?!! WHATEVER!! When I get engaged, I want the first words out of my fiancee's mouth to be, I'M ENGAGED- especially when greeting a woman he hasn't seen in about two years... Just thought that was funny...

Love y'all more than my luggage!!
~Beachgirl

It's almost too much to take

2006-04-10T09:04:00.000-07:00

Gallatin, Sumner County, Warren County, places you all had probably never heard of before last Friday. That's when Mother Nature's wrath came down upon these beautiful Middle Tennessee areas.. Gallatin and Sumner Counties are to the Northeast of Nashville, Warren County is to the south of Nashville. Friday was a very scary day for all of us here in Nashville. The storms started moving through at about 1:00. A lot of people I work with live in Sumner County, and Gallatin because the property taxes are a lot better there and these places are not that far from Nashville. I remember standing next to a co-worker Friday afternoon when he was trying to locate his daughter, they live in Sumner County... He was frantic but trying to calm his wife who was on the other end of the line.. My heart broke for him, but he then said to his wife, "it's only it's a house, that's why we have insurance" ... His voice cracked for a minute but he pulled it together in order to be strong for his wife... I was scared, the radio reports were just awful... all fo the destruction. Then the news came, fatalities. By Saturday, 12 people had died as a result of the tornadoes. My heart aches for those family members left behind.

The reporting has continued since Friday and I am so proud of my fellow Tennesseeans... We are called the Volunteer state for a reason. For the most part, people were extremely positive and appreciative of the help they were recieving. The overwhelming, theme was, it's just stuff, as long as I have my family and everyone is ok, that is really all that matters. But some people lost family members and I ask for special prayers for them.

I have lived in Tennessee for most of my life and I can never recall such devastation in one week. First West Tennessee, then Middle Tennessee, it's just awful. But my faith teaches me to lay our burdens upon the Lord, that brings me comfort and I hope that it brings comfort to those who have lost so much.

If you would like to help those effected please contact the Nashville Red Cross at www.nashvilleredcross.org or Second Harvest Food Bank at www.secondharvestnashville.org...

But most importantly, please pray for my fellow Tennesseans, even if you are not a Believer, please just think good and positive thoughts for these people.

Great conversation pieces

2006-04-07T09:02:00.000-07:00

So there is more bad weather moving in to Tennessee today, we are already under a tornado watch.. Y'all know I take this stuff very seriously, to the point that I keep a portable(battery powered) TV/radio and small flashlight in my downstairs powder room at all times.. They are great conversation pieces.. When guests come over and use the powder room their first reaction is why in the world do I have those two obscure items in there?? Well allow me to explain..

I am all about planning for things in advance.. so if there is a threat of severe weather much like there was the other night, I am going to be ready for it! So before I went to bed Sunday night, I got my safe room (aka the powder room) ready.. It is under the stairs and it's supposed to be the safest place in my house in case of a tornado.. By ready, I mean I put pillows, a blanket, a little cooler with a diet mountain dew (b/c I cannot live without caffeine), a bottled water, and some yummy string cheese, oh yeah and another roll of toilet paper.. Remember that the TV/Radio and falashlight are already in there.. So it looks like I'm ready for the storm.. then I got to thinking, what if I'm stuck in here for a long period of time and the TV/Radio dies, I'll need something to read.. Well, if I'm stuck in there and my house has fallen down around me and I have to wait for rescuers, I'm going to use that time to get closer to Jesus, so I put the Bible in there as well.. seems like the practical thing to do. If I have in fact survived the storm of the century, I ought to be thanking someone, right?? Who better to thank than Jesus himself.. I'm pretty sure my minister would give me props for that last statement... I also remember to put my handbag, along with my car keys, cell phone and shoes in the safe room before I go to bed... I'm not kidding!!

Oh and I make sure to wear matching pj's to bed, not just a t-shirt or be neked (that's how we say it down here ne-kid).. God forbid.. If I am going to survive for a couple of days in that safe room, I'm going to look good.. There is no need to sacrifice good looks in the face of a tragedy... Who knows, it might be a good lookin single firefighter that comes my rescue... but my luck it would be some guy named Bubba with only two teeth, telling me how purty I was...

So when the sirens go off alerting me to a tornado touchdown, all I have to do is run like my pants are fire to my safe room (aka the powder room) and just wait it out... and maybe have a snack...

Love y'all!!

~Beachgirl

P.S. In all seriousness, if you all would like to help the recent tornado victims in West Tennessee, please contact The Red Cross at 1-800-HELP-NOW or by contacting the United Methodist Committe on Relief (UMCOR) http://gbgm-umc.org/umcor/news/20060405.cfm

My Momma's coming for a vist...

2006-04-06T09:58:00.000-07:00

Lord help me....my momma is comming for a visit. Now I know what most of you are thinking, that should be fun... Well not in the south!! When you're momma is coming for a visit your house better be white glove clean... For someone like me with a very active social life, that can be a chore, no pun intended... Now, my house is NOT dirty, it's just a little messy... There is a difference...

My momma used to say things like, "oh don't clean on my account" and I believed her until she finally had enough of coming to my house for a visit and working like a Hebrew Slave to get it well, the way she liked it. That was a HUGE mistake on my part.. It was a trap!

WARNING: DO NOT EVER BELIEVE YOUR MOMMA WHEN SHE SAYS NOT TO DO ANYTHING SPECIAL FOR HER VISIT... INSTEAD YOU MUST STOP WHAT ARE DOING IMMEDIATELY, GO TO THE GROCERY TO STOCK THE FIRDGE WITH ALL OF HER FAVORITES (including the little mini-bottles of chocolate liqueur she says she "only drinks on cold nights in her coffee at the tailgate parties")...

Side note: My momma's house is always clean and immaculate and it makes me nuts... I did not inherit her love of cleaning... When she is nervous or upset, she cleans... I look for the nearest pint of Ben and Jerry's and a sofa to crawl up on... This is really all her fault if you think about it.. when I was little, I never cleaned my room, she always did it for me.. It's one of the benefits of being an only child from a "broken home" i.e. my parents were divorced: GUILT.. Both of my parents carried it with them and I milked it for all it was worth, for YEARS!! That is until they caught on to my plan, well momma caught on, daddy is still clueless!!

Ok back to the story, so the last time she was here and worked like a Hebrew Slave, she pretty much told me that this was much like the Exodus and she was done being a slave... For fear she might bring down 7 deadly plagues upon me, I got the picture and am now working like a Hebrew Slave myself in order to make things perfect for her visit...

Now even if everything is clean, she will still come in and re-arrange my kitchen and other rooms to get it like she likes it... I don't fuss at her, because I'll just change it back when she's gone...It's a right of passage for all southern women to hope for the approval of their mommas. I'm pretty sure I have my momma's approval on many fronts, but it's a cross southern daughters carry, trying to please their mommas, it's a life long journey...

I am looking forward to her visit mainly b/c I'm drunk right now, and plan to remain drunk for the entire time she is here...I'M SO JUST KIDDING!! She will be here for Holy Week and Easter and I couldn't be more excited...

A bed of roses

2006-04-05T08:22:00.000-07:00

So I have been obssessing over the fact that no one commented on my last post. I talked to my mom about it and her response, "honey, it's just too sad, people want to read about happy or funny things".... I thought about that statement for a while and then became a little irritated. No, life is not always a bed of roses and I wish I could always write about happy things because in general my life is great... But there are some issues and events that need to be talked about. Like the coal miner's in West Virginia, or the victims of Hurricanes, and especially my fellow Tennesseans, I have great concern when tragedy strikes... and asking for prayer is the one thing I can do to help...

I am not going to apologize for anything I write on this blog and from here on out I don't really care if anyone comments... I am writing this for me, no one else. We've all talked about how the blogs sometimes take over our lives, a good friend even deleted his blog b/c he said it was interferring with his everyday life... I totally get that. Just yesterday I deleted my comments from a friend's page because I felt like he didn't want me to comment there anymore. Simply because he has been responding to another bloggers comments and not mine... It's so completely ludacris and silly on my part, but he always used to respond to my comments but stopped recently and it hurt my feelings. Why did it hurt my feelings? I don't know, blame it on hormones, or the fact that I consider this person my friend and when a friend stops talking to you, it hurts a little... I'm sure he didn't do it to hurt me, and I'm sure he's not mad at me, but like I said, blogs make you lose your mind for a minute...

So if you want to leave me a comment, great, if not, that's fine... But just remember, life's not always a bed of roses and when a tragedy occurs you better know that beachgirl is probably going to write about it. Things like coal mining accidents, hurricanes, tornadoes or other unexpected events that occur break my heart because people's lives are turned upside down and they deserve our thoughts and prayers..

Devastation

2006-04-04T08:14:00.000-07:00

The Governor has asked for Gibson and Dyer Counties to be declared federal disaster areas and he will tour the area today, but that is of little or no consolation to those who have lost their homes, and family members. The following article is lengthy but it must be read in its entirety to even begin to grasp the utter devastation that is left behind by mother nature's wrath.
I think the saddest part of the article was how a father was going to have to bury his son, his daughter in law and his two grandsons. He will make sure to get oversized caskets so that the young parents can each have one son burried with them. A horrific task for any parent. My heart just breaks as stories like this one continue to pour out of West Tennessee. I continue to ask for your prayers during this horrific time in Tennessee's history.

'It took my life away'
By BRAD SCHRADE and LEON ALLIGOODStaff Writers

Trail of terror 25 miles long, 1 mile wide

BRADFORD, Tenn. — There is little in Larry Taylor's 43 years of tending to the dead in this small northwest Tennessee town to prepare him for the heartbreaking task ahead.
Sunday night's storm cut through the north side of town, ripping up trees and rooftops, but sparing his funeral home on East Main Street, before pushing onward across the cotton and cornfields that drive the economy in this part of Gibson County.

Taylor's youngest son, Brad, 28, lived with his wife, Tanya, and two young boys, Tyce, 5, and Kyle, 3, in a home on a beautiful bluff overlooking those fields. The brutal twister ripped apart their home, destroying it and tossing the family members hundreds of feet into the surrounding fields and brush, killing them all.

Now, Larry Taylor must prepare to dress their bodies and place his son and daughter-in-law each in separate oversized caskets. He must leave room in the coffins to bury each parent with one of the sons. The boys were Taylor's only two grandchildren — and he lived for them.
"It basically took my life away," Taylor said of the thief-like storm that came and left under the cover of darkness. "If you want to know the truth, I don't care if I see daylight tomorrow."
The emotions, raw and torn, yesterday lay open like the rubble of the homes crushed by tornadoes that cut through eight states Sunday night.

The furious funnel of wind hit Tennessee the hardest, with 24 deaths in Gibson and Dyer counties and 2,000 damaged buildings counted along the 25-mile path carved by the "supercell" of storms. More than 82 people were injured, including 17 critically, state officials said yesterday.

The death toll may yet rise as authorities continue to comb the rubble today with specially trained search dogs. The revelations of the deaths fell on the anniversary of the 1974 "super outbreak" of tornadoes that killed 50 people in Tennessee and more than 300 across the nation.The latest victim was found late Monday in the rubble of a home in the Dyer County community of Millsfield, officials said.

Among the dead were a couple babysitting their infant grandson, a young married couple who worked in Dyersburg and two sisters-in-law in Gibson County. But the identities of most of the dead had not been made public last night.
The Taylor family accounts for four of the six who were killed in Bradford, Mayor Ernest Pounds said.
Also dead in Bradford is a woman, identified as Patsy Cooper Lewis, and a sixth person who moved to town just recently, Pounds said.
The mayor said he did not have any information on the unidentified Bradford death, but said the person lived in a mobile home in the area. Larry Taylor said he expected to also handle funeral arrangements for Lewis, whom a commercial database service last night listed as 53 years of age and most recently of an address on U.S. 45-S.

'You feel everything'
First came the blackness, a sky that looked as dark as outer space. Then came the roaring, a malevolent rumble that grew in volume exponentially, louder with each second as it drew a bead on the small town of Newbern in Dyer County.
Betty Barham said her brother and sister-in-law, Eddie and Vicky Sherron, no doubt knew the Sunday night twister was headed their way.
She believes her little brother, 56, took care to protect himself, his wife and the couple's not quite 1-year-old grandson, Luke, whom they were babysitting. Probably they huddled in a closet or bathroom, Barham conjectured, tear droplets tracing the contours of her cheeks.
"But it just wasn't enough,'' she lamented.
"The house is gone. They're gone. Their son found all three of them. They were lying out here in the yard, lying side by side in the mud. It just breaks our heart."
Broken hearts and broken bones, there are plenty of both in Dyer County, where 16 people lost their lives and about 60 others were injured Sunday night in a tornado whose wildly twisting funnel followed the lay of the land for about 10 miles through the county.
Every person, tree, cow, home, business, church and car that was within the twister's one-quarter to one-half mile corridor became matter for the howling winds to hurl about at will.
"The homes where the victims were found were totally destroyed. There's nothing left but the foundations. The power of this storm was something to see,'' said a tired Sheriff Jeffrey Holt yesterday afternoon.
All were accounted for at 1607 Biffle Road, home of Billy and Betty Sisk, and their two children, Erica, 13, and Brandon, 10.
Accounted for. Betty Sisk said she didn't fully understand the expression until Sunday night's storm plucked her and her two children from the closet of their home, where they had prayed and linked arms as the tornado came closer.
"You could feel the walls start popping and hear the glass breaking and you could actually feel it when it took us up. You could feel everything just falling apart,'' she said yesterday afternoon as family and friends sorted through the remains of their three-bedroom, two-bath home for mementoes and valuables.
Mother and children sailed through the air, landing about 50 feet from the front door, on what used to be the front door, she said.
"Everything just falls apart in front of you. You can feel stuff hitting you, flying by you, you just feel everything, the dirt slapping you in the face, you feel everything."
As the tornado moved the trio outside, the brute force wind wedged Erica from the mother's frantic armlock.
"I thought I had lost her. It pulled her away from me. She had to crawl back to us, and finally, I was able to grab her hand and pull her to me. I didn't let go,'' Betty Sisk said.
"The storm took 20 years of stuff, but my most precious possessions are still here — that's my kids."
After the tornado passed over them, she said she rose from the mud and called for the Sherrons, her next-door neighbors.
"Eddie," she shouted. "Eddie."
There was no reply.

Searching until daylight
Larry Taylor held back tears as he stood in his driveway in Bradford yesterday, describing the horrific night before. Over his shoulder lay a large pecan tree that once shaded his back yard. It had been ripped by its roots from the ground.
Taylor said his wife spoke to their son by telephone 10 minutes before the storm hit Sunday night. Golf-ball-sized hail had been pelting the family's home and beating down on Brad Taylor's truck.
Larry Taylor said his wife told their son to be careful and "watch himself." She huddled inside their home, which is about three miles away, while Larry Taylor stood in the carport to see the storm through.
After the storm passed, he couldn't get through to his son on the phone. He tried to drive to the son's house, but trees and power lines blocked the way. It took him three hours to get there on back roads — and when he got there, the house was gone.
"If it hits right, it doesn't matter where you are," Larry Taylor said. "You can be in a bathtub or closet, it doesn't matter. I ain't found their bathtubs. I ain't found anything. It's bare lot."
Larry Taylor's other son, Tim, also lost his home. He is the fire chief for the city fire department — a volunteer force of about 30. The chief was out at his brother's home, along with other rescuers searching for the family Sunday night.
They couldn't find them and were about to give up until daylight, Larry Taylor said, when they found Brad's body. He was hundreds of yards away, the father said. They then found Brad's wife and the two grandchildren.
Larry Taylor said his son, the fire chief, would not let him see the bodies. They were sent to a funeral home in Jackson for initial burial preparations, but Taylor said yesterday that he expected to see them soon.
"I'll see them tomorrow," he said. "I'm gonna dress them. I have to. It's peace of mind."

'Like that'
A few miles away from the Sisks' home, in the hard-hit community of Millsfield, Mary McQuarters rode out the storm at her brother's home next door to her own. His was heavily damaged. Hers was gone.
"It's just vanished. It's somewhere out there,'' she said, pointing across the road from her house, toward a stand of hardwoods twisted and bent.
"It's just so unreal that this happened. If you could have heard the roaring you would have thought, 'Well, this is it. This is the last thing I'm going to do.' If I had been home eating supper, instead of eating supper with my brother, that might have been my story,'' McQuarters said.
The Wal-Mart employee said she counted the deaths of seven friends in the storm. "This just hurt us so hard. A number of good people just taken away, like that," she said.
As the sun was going down yesterday, McQuarters and other family members were searching through the rubble of her home for anything of value. A friend called Mary's name.
"Lookee here,'' he said, holding a .22-caliber lever-action rifle.
"Oh, Lord, that's Daddy's gun that he won at the coon hunting club,'' said McQuarters, her voice choking.
She had never been attached to the gun, the woman said, until the storm hid it under 4 feet of broken two-by-fours and insulation and wallboard. For some reason she had thought of it several times yesterday. When it was found, emotion got the best of her.
"I'm going to rebuild. Hard as that's going to be, I'm going to rebuild right here. This is family land. That's the church, Christ United Methodist Church, that I go to right over there,'' she said, pointing down the street to a building whose walls have collapsed.
"We'll rebuild there, too. This is home. You don't just leave home."

This is not funny anymore..

2006-04-03T07:01:00.000-07:00

Last night as was having dinner with friends and watching Desparate Housewives and my fave, Grey's Anatomy, the weather folk kept breaking in to programming to tell us about these "super cells" in West Tennessee. We all started cracking jokes about the excitement we could hear in their voices... You know how weather folk can reach almost orgasmic heights when it comes to severe weather of any kind... Because DH and Grey's are such popular shows, commercials were used to break in to update us on the severe weather... but that seemed petty after the next report came in.

Fatal, I hate that word... I don't really guess anyone likes it. But when that word was used last night to describe one of these "super cells" that ended up producing a tornado, I said, this is not funny anymore.

Twelve, the number of people reported killed by tornadoes in Dyer County Tennessee, Five the number reported killed in Gibson County Tennessee... The number is expected to rise as search and rescue teams go out today.. Sometimes daylight brings joy and happiness, today it was just an extension of the sadness and horror of last night's storms...

I ask for your prayers today for my fellow Tennesseans as they pick up the pieces of their tattered lives. Be thankful for your homes, your children, your family and your own lives because in an instant, they can all be gone...

A Soldier's Diary

2006-03-30T11:02:00.000-08:00

Ok so I found this on the Fox News website, now before my liberal brethren move on, I just thought it was interesting. It's an online diary written by Captain Dan Sukman with the 101st Airborne Division based at Ft.Campbell Kentucky.. Two things struck me when I saw this for the first time..
1. Captain Dan- of Forrest Gump.. "Look, Captain Dan has Magic Legs"
2. I am sucker for my boys in the 101st!!

Another thing that kind of touched my heart about Captain Dan was in one of his entries he said this: "My parents asked me what I miss most when I'm in Iraq. My answer to that is being able to go to a bar and chat it up with a pretty woman." That just kind of broke my heart... I'm sure there are other things he misses but that was the first thing that came to mind...

Anyway, I am going to post his entries here on my site. Now of course his entries will not be as informative as Chairborne Stranger's site, but I like this guy and it's my site so I can do what I want... So there!

Luck o' the Irish
Thursday, March 30, 2006
By Capt. Dan Sukman

Meet Capt. Dan Sukman
BAGHDAD — Editor's note: U.S. Army Capt. Dan Sukman is serving a one-year deployment to Iraq. For previous entries and his bio, see the Soldier's Diary archives.

March 29, 20061600 hours
Before I begin this entry, I need to address a fact that was brought to my attention. I once mentioned how Tuesdays have always bothered me. A fellow officer recently reminded me about Fat Tuesday. He is absolutely correct, which just goes to prove that there is an exception to every rule.
I caught some of the news on TV in the chow hall this morning. We really don’t watch much TV here, and as I said in the last entry we mostly watch movies via DVD. TVs are located in the chow hall and the gym, and for most of us, the few minutes we spend in the chow hall is about all the TV we see. I think most of us prefer it that way.
Anyone who has lived overseas is probably familiar with AFN, the Armed Forces Network, although a good many of us refer to it as A Lot of Freakin' Nothing. (Some use a stronger word.) AFN has three stations: sports, news and movies. The shows are up to date, and thanks to the commercials AFN broadcasts I have memorized every Medal of Honor winner since the Civil War and numerous obscure facts about all 50 states.
(While watching the news at breakfast, I was joined by a couple other officers on our staff. One of the topics of conversation was another dreaded meeting we have scheduled today. It’s a planning meeting to go over some of the operations we will be conducting over the next few months. I will not discuss the operations, but I want to talk about the soldier who leads most of our planning meetings.
Maj. Graham Shannon is our brigade planner. He is responsible for planning all future operations. It is an incredibly detail-oriented and tedious job, often requiring long hours in the office thinking up different courses of action or ensuring his Power Point slides are just right. With all due respect to those I work for and with, he is without a doubt the best officer I have ever served with. And by the way, he’s a British officer from the Royal Irish Regiment of the British Army.
Graham has been with our brigade for about a year-and-a-half and with us on the deployment since Day One. He played a large role in planning all the training conducted prior to deployment, during the deployment to Baghdad, the operations here and he has even started planning our deployment home.
Throughout, he has brought to the fight all of his knowledge gained from the British Army. When you think about all the places the British have been, it’s easy to see how well he understands counterinsurgency operations. I guess that’s why British food is so bad; they've been too busy learning how to combat terrorism over the years.
Graham is with our brigade because of a unique relationship our unit has with the British Army. He is actually from Ireland, and as I stated earlier, a member of the Royal Irish Regiment of the British Army. When he finishes his tour with us, he will be replaced by another British soldier. The only frustrating part about working with him is when I read his e-mails, the little voice inside my head reads them with an Irish accent.
Soldiers, no matter where they are from, are alike in many ways. Just because Graham's a Brit does not mean he misses his family less than any other American soldier. Just like Rob, whom I talked about in a previous column, Graham has a young daughter, plus a lovely wife who is nine months pregnant. And just like all U.S. servicemembers here, you will never hear one complaint come from him.
Just like friends in any other profession, we all anxiously await pictures of a soon-to-be born son.

My new ride

2006-03-28T14:18:00.000-08:00

So I am getting a new ride... It's a 2005 Jeep Liberty (see pic)... I LOVE it, and it fits my personality very well... My momma wanted me to get something a little more prissy, I told her nope, I want the JEEP!! And to Eunuch's disappoint, it's NOT a hybrid...

But I have been a little sad today thinking about saying goodby to the Black Beauty , aka my 1999 Black Nissan Altima. She's been a good car and has served me very well, but it was time to move on...

My cousin Tracy and drove it all weekend... We took up on the highway and let her go...

It's got a V-6, which I've never had before, so I am going to have to be careful...

I really haven't had anything witty or charming to report lately... Things are fine, in fact they are better than fine but I have been in a blogger funk lately... So if my entries are less frequent I hope y'all won't mind...

This weekend should be a good one.. I'll have my new Jeep and it's supposed to be beautiful!! AS pk would say, perfect beer drinkin weather...

and remember, I love y'all more than my luggage!!

~Beachgirl

You can't always get what you want...

2006-03-21T13:47:00.000-08:00

You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometimes you just might find
You just might find
You get what you need

I love this song... and it's chorus has become sort of my anthem. I was watching some mindless show last night and it's "theme" was to just go out and get what you want, and of course in TV land, the girl goes up to the guy she's in love with and says, "you're what I want" and they fall into each other's arms and they live happily ever after. Then the cold reality that is life kicks in, "that's a bunch of crap" is the thought that crosses my mind. If I could just go out and get what I wanted, the man of dreams (who is an actual person and a good friend) would be mine and I would be his. But that's not the way life works, I wish it was, but it's not.

This man is the most amazing man I have met thus far in my life. He's kind, funny, a little goofy, he loves music, and sports. Oh and handsome, did I mention handsome?? But the thing is, he doesn't "know" he's handsome... We have been friends for almost 2 years now. I know he cares for me but as far as dating goes, we're just not there yet and we might not ever really get there. We are still great friends, which is wonderful, with the exception that he is in a freakin warzone, so I don't even have him here to hang out with... That was the great thing about being with him, no matter what we were doing we always had fun. I found that I could just be myself with him, he just had a way of putting me at ease... I miss that more than anything...

Now I know what some people will say, don't wait around on him, and I have dated others, but honestly none of them compare to him... The right guy is out there, I know that and I look forward to meeting him.. but for right now, I would just settle for someone fun that I could hang out with, maybe watch some basketball with, something along those lines... I have always gotten along better with guys than I have with girls...

So the song says you can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you just might get what you need... So I guess that's what I need, my friend, nothing more nothing less...

A Great Weekend

2006-03-20T07:46:00.000-08:00

I had a fantastic weekend. After my birthday illness weekend I think I deserved a good one and I GOT IT!! I didn't really go anywhere exciting nor did I do anything extraordinary but I just simply enjoyed life.... Here's how it went:

Friday:
My friend Stef and I went out Friday night, it was St.Patty's Day and college basketball was going strong so we went to a sports bar. I for one was in heaven b/c it's the kind of bar that has like 4 games going at once on big screen TV's across an entire wall...I was literally in heaven.. I have to give props to my friend Stef b/c she's not that big of sports fan but she hung in there with me... We left that bar and headed to another one just down the street to meet my friend Scot. Now, he could be a potential dating partner but I'm pretty sure I ruined that..However the Kentucky game was really good and I ended up standing at the bar with a bunch of guys watching the game instead of talking to Scot.. Next thing I hear is Scot telling me he's headed to the East Side for a pub crawl. Not, hey come with us, but just basically saying "hey- I'm outta here".... I felt bad but the game was on... I sent him a text mail later and I'm sure everything is fine, I think.. I had such a great time though just being out among the peeps...

Saturday:
I slept until 10:00 am, which is EXTREMELY late for me, but it was so nice. Then I downshifted into super cleaning mode. The upstairs of my house was desparate for some attention, so I stripped the bed, turned the mattress, by myself (which is actually quite funny to watch).... all the while watching the UT men's basketball game (no need to hate on my team, b/c I will go completely postal on you if you do). It was a good hard fought game and really came down to a few key plays at the end. I am so freakin proud of that team for getting as far as they did, no one expected it from this program and surely not from a new coach... I hope that a men's basketball dynasty is in the works, considering the women have had one for YEARS!!! WORD!
So Saturday night I went to a St.Patty's Day dinner with my J and her mom at a Catholic Church in Franklin. It was nice, they had a buffett, a band and an OPEN BAR, IN THE CHURCH... I'm not kidding.. I am Methodist and we just don't do stuff like that, I mean we enjoy the cocktails but not IN THE CHURCH... I have to hand it to the Catholics, they know how to have a good time... even IN THE CHURCH....

Sunday:
I went to church, our Senior Minister is on vacation and I really did not care for the sermon given by one of our associate pastors, mainly b/c she ripped it off of a guest speaker we had the previous Wednesday night...I thought it was in EXTREMELY poor taste. Simply b/c it was not original thought, and I had just heard it Wednesday night, I felt a little cheated... It was like watching a re-run on TV...
Sunday night was Compline. It's a service that dates back to the Midevil times, where the monks would chant their prayers. In our church, the service starts about 9:00 in the evening (it only lasts for 30 minutes), the sanctuary (which is gothic in nature) is lit by candlelight. There aren't many people there, so you are encouraged to lie down in the pews or just find a way to make yourself comfortable in order to calm your mind and just be at peace as the men's choir chants their prayers. It's a great way to sort of clear your mind of its cobwebs and focus on prayer, which is what I did... I devoted most of the time to uplifting of my mother who is going through an extremely hard time at work. You would think after having a heart attack at 56, it would be smooth sailing from there. But it has been just the opposite and it breaks my heart. But I know God is with us and it is comforting... I also lifted up my friend that is in the 101st, his brigade has been involved with Operation Swarmer, I prayed for his safety and the safety of all of our service men and women...
But mostly, I thought about my sweet grandmother. Yesterday was the anniversary of her death. I cried silently for a little while but then my heart began to swell as I realized that death, as we learn during the season of lent, is not the end but simply a new beginning. I miss her so much but she is where she is supposed to be, with God, at peace living her eternal life that was promised through her belief in Jesus Christ.. for that reason I rejoice and celebrate her life.

Ok so it got a little heavy there at the end but it was simply a great way to end a great weekend.

March Madness Baby!!

2006-03-15T11:53:00.000-08:00

So many of you all already know, I love college sports!! Especially football and basketball..The college level is where sports are still pure and fun! My mighty Vols finally made it to the big dance. After years of a floundering men's basketball program, I am hoping that Coach Bruce Pearl is our saving grace. He was named coach of the year by Sporting News, an accolade that I feel is well deserved. Not only because he has brought the team to the big dance but he has also restored the fan base of the men's basketball program at UT..and after such a poor football season, we deserve this!

I have filled out my bracket and I have picked Duke to win it all.. No I didn't pick UT, I'm a fan, but I'm not stupid...Now, who do you think will win it all?? AND who do you think will be the cinderalla team?? Between the tourney, NASCAR, and spring practice starting for football, I am sports heaven!!

It's march madness baby!!

Goody Bags..

2006-03-13T13:56:00.000-08:00

So a comment from Dr.Ken got me to thinkin' about a topic, Goody Bags... he asked if I gave those out at my party over the weekend or maybe that was just a Chicago thing (b/c that's where he lives)... I told him,
a.) there was no party b/c I was as sick as dog that just went through last week's trash.. a bout with the stomach flu will get you everytime
b.) the goody bags are not a "chicago" thing...

Let me explain..

The Goody Bag is something that is usually handed out at children's brithday parties at the end to thank everyone for attending said child's birthday party. It usually follows the theme of the aforementioned party an example being Thomas the Train... The bag is filled with candy and little trinkets that children will enjoy...

I explained to Dr.Ken that there are varying degrees of goody bags here in the south... There is the child's birthday goody bag, but here in the south we give out goody bags for other things..

The Bachelorette Goody Bag:
Filled with everything the bachlorette will need for her raucus night out... the items in this goody bag can get very raunchy so I will not dare to mention them in the daylight hours.. But just use your imagination..

The Bridesmaid Goody Bag:
This is a goody bag given by brides filled with little gifts to thank bridesmaids for being in the wedding..Now, this is of little consolation because the bridesmaids have spent enormous amounts of money on a heinous dress, and shoes that they will never wear again...

as a caveat to this, I must say my best friend paid for my dress and I have worn it again... but this was a one time event!!

This goody bag usually contains, a trinket of some kind, usually the heinous jewlery the bride wants you to wear with the heinous dress and shoes she has picked for you and YOU have paid for...

The Baby shower/ bridal shower goody bag:
This usually goes to the hostess of the party.. It is usually a smelly candle or smelly lotion of somekind, you know something that goes directly into the re-gift closet (a little secret that all southern women have, when you get a gift you do not like, it goes into the re-gift closet so you can give the heinous thing or things to someone else.. b/c after all one person's trash is another's treasure)..

and Finally....

The Funeral Goody bag
Now as tasteless as this sounds, let me explain... In the south, when someone passes on, people bring food to a central location for the family of the lost loved one... Because in the south, that is one thing we never lose... our capacity to eat! For instance, when my mammaw died we had more food than we knew what to do with, so when well wishers would stop by the house we would send them away with a plate of food i.e. the funeral goody bag... Now, after the funeral, everyone goes back to the house (it's never really quite clear whose house everyone should migrate towards, but somehow, everyone just knows where "the house" is, it's a southern thing I guess).. That's when people will bring plants and flowers back to the said "house" from the funeral home.... Sometimes people will send the most awful arrangements, they mean well, bless their hearts but heavens, those things can be bad.. So send that ugly plant or arrangement along with the extra food home with the well wisher.. Tell he/she would have wanted them to have it... because heaven knows you sure don't!

I hope that has cleared up the goody bag question, b/c I know y'all were dying to know!!

Remember, I love y'all more than my luggage!!
~Beachgirl

It's my birthday!! Well almost...

2006-03-09T14:52:00.000-08:00

So as many of you already know, my 31st birthday is Saturday. I have always loved my birthday because I didn't have to share that day with anyone else, people celebrated that day b/c I was born!! It was all about me, most things are, but this day is seriously all about me... My parents always made a big deal about it, even after my parents divorced, there was always something from daddy on my birthday. But as I get older and people have come and gone from life I start getting a little more emotional about the b-day...

For instance, my sweet Mammaw always sent me a card for my special day, it was always signed "Love, mammaw and granddaddy" and the year was always written in the lower right hand corner. She passed away a few years ago and since then I always miss her around this time of year, especially b/c she died about a week after my birthday. A year after her death my aunt (her daughter, and my mother's sister) died suddenly and was buried on the anniversary of Mammaw's death. So March is really no longer a happy time for my family and that's ok... They really try to put on brave faces for my birthday and as the years have passed it has gotten a little easier, but the pain is still there.... I actually expect to go to my mailbox and find a card from Mammaw, but I know it won't be there. I've said it before but it bears repeating, I still miss her and would give everything I own, to hear her sweet voice tell me she loves me...

Also, my dear friend that helped me celebrate last year (the one who sent me the flowers for Valentine's day) is deployed in Iraq, and I really miss him, especially b/c he LOVES a good party!! He actually made me 2 CD's for my birthday last year, he called them my Booty Shakin 30th birthday Cd's... I have been listening to them all week to get pumped for the big day... But I would give just about anything to have him home and know that he is safe... That would be a marvelous, marvelous gift...

But we will celebrate!! My friends are taking me out so it should be very fun, I am really looking forward to it... With the exception of the Junior League event I have to work the day of my birthday, yep I have to be there at 6:30 am... I know, I should have just said, nope, I'm not going to be there, it's my birthday but I have started a new tradition. It started last year when I turned 30, I felt I had everything I needed and was more than blessed so what was I going to do with useless gifts?? You know those gifts that usually consist of some awful smelling bath salts or lotion and you have to pretend to like, all the while knowing it was going in the re-gift closet at home...So I asked my party guests to make a donation to my favorite charity, which was Nashville Cares (and HIV/AIDS awarness group). So this year I thought I would actually give back to the community and work a charitable event on my actual birthday... I am also asking my party guests this year should they choose to give me a gift to make it in the form of a donation to the House of Mercy, where I am a Board Member... No, I'm not Mother Teresa and I am not looking for praise... I just want to give back... The Lord has truly blessed me, and He teaches us to help the "least of these" so that's all I'm doing, just what the Lord says...

Besides, I gotta lot of making up to do for my college years!! Whew!! Jesus saw fit to get me through those days alive and pretty much intact, so I fell I owe it to him to do some good now..

So happy birthday to me, happy brithday to all of us... Birthdays are a celebration of the life God has given us. Let us rejoice and give thanks!

Doh! I got tagged!!

2006-03-07T14:45:00.000-08:00

So Laurie aka buggy tagged me... sorry it has taken me so long to post it... I'm not going to tag anyone because I'm too lazy...

What were you doing ten years ago?
I was 21 and still in college, not focused on school but where were we going to party that weekend.. Wait, I don’t think much has changed! Just kidding!! I’m not in school anymore! WHATEVER!

What were you doing one year ago?
Getting ready to celebrate my 30th and most fabulous birthday… I had moved into my new house, and I had just re-joined the church and felt like my life was really on track for the first time… Then I got off track, then I got back on, then I got off again….. well, you get the point. But for the most part right now, I’m back on…

Five snacks you enjoy:Before South Beach: plain potato chips, french fries, peanut m&m’s, nachos, salt & vinegar potato chips
After South Beach: baked whole wheat tortilla chips (that I make myself), fruit, peanuts, jello, sugar free chocolate ice cream

Five songs to which you know all the lyrics:
1. It Takes Two (Rob Base)
2. Rocky Top
3. Amazing Grace
4. Humpty Dance
5. Sweet Home Alabama (or as we like to sing it in Tennessee F#@! You Alabama, Florida kiss my a$$ too)

Five things you would do if you were a millionaire:
1. Take care of my momma
2. pay off my house
3. give back to the church
4. start a foundation of somekind
5. buy a new car

Five bad habits:
1. worrying about things that are out of my control
2. falling in love with the wrong people (or the people that won’t love me back)
3. tanning
4. not doing my chores
5. procrastinating

Five things you like doing:
1. reading
2. volunteering
3. sleeping
4. sitting on the beach
5. hanging out with the Steel Magnolias (a group of my most southern friends, you know the kind that say if you can’t say something nice about someone come sit next to me)

Five things you would never wear, buy or get new again:
1. Anything with shoulder pads
2. jeans that zip at the ankle
3. parachute pants
4. jellie shoes
5. reeboks princess tennis shoes

Diets do wierd things to you....

2006-03-03T10:52:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I am back on the South Beach Diet... I decided to go on the diet last year when I weighed in at a whopping 200 pounds, which, for me was devastating... I was extremely uncomfortable, I was snoring at night and my dating life had all but come to an abrupt halt... So the first week of January of 2005, I started the South Beach Diet, by week 2 I had lost 13 pounds... and the diet wasn't that hard... It became a way of life for me, lots of whole grains, nothing white, no sugar, no fried foods, and basically no fast food. I felt great.. By the time July rolled around I had lost about 35 pounds... I felt wonderful and I looked pretty darn good. I was proud of myself...

But when my mom had her heart attack July 5, I fell off the wagon and stayed off the wagon until a few weeks ago when I went back on the diet... My spare tire is back, I only gained about 10 pounds , but I feel every bit of it, and it feels awful!!! So here's where the craziness begins. One of the ladies I work with, we'll call her Toni, is obese. She's getting ready to have gastric banding done... Which is fine, but it drives me nuts, b/c she still eats everything fried, burgers, french fries, real cokes, and dessert, lots of desserts... I wonder how much weight she would lose if she just stopped eating all of that crap.. Now I'm being hypocritical, b/c up until a few weeks ago I still eating that crap too... People that complain about their weight while eating twinkies, that's what drives me nuts... I have committee to a lifestyle change, to be healthier, and to eat better... No, it's not easy but it's worth it in the end....

So now that I cannot have certain foods, I am keenly aware of those who can.... It almost grosses me out to see people eating fast food now... That's what I mean, diets do wierd things to you...

You would think he'd get the hint....

2006-02-27T11:55:00.000-08:00

Ok, as some of you know, I was dating a fella for a few weeks. At first I was blinded by his good looks, I should have known someone that handsome would not have the sense God gave a brick, but I gave him the benefit of the doubt. Not one of the bigger mistakes I've ever made but a mistake nonetheless. So as I might have mentioned on other blogs, Valentine's Day was a complete nightmare. At first I was really excited, I've never, NEVER been a relationship on Valentine's Day but as the day grew closer I new that my fella was going to let me down and I was right... He had made no plans whatsoever, had not even gotten me a card. So I took matters into my own hands and made plans for Valentine's Day, I spent it with the girls having mexican and margaritas... We had a great time by the way!

So he calls me Valentine's Day at 1:00, I sent him to voice mail, at this point I was fed up with his stupid excuses and he had already had to say "I'm sorry" one too many times, I was fed up. So he calls me back around 5, I answer this time. He tells me, Happy Valentine's Day, I say, back at ya... He asks me what I'm doing, I tell him I'm about to go out with the girls since I hadn't received any other invitations... again I hear the famous "I'm sorry", I'm like whatever. So we talk for another minute and I begin to feel sorry for him.... why?? but I tell him I will call him after I leave dinner with the girls. So I call him after dinner and I ask him to meet me for a drink at a little place near my house... He says ok.. so I decide to stop by my house before I have to meet him and that's when I saw the flowers... I run inside like a mad woman praying they are not from the new fella b/c I was pretty sure I was going to dump him anyway... The flowers were actually from a wonderful guy friend who knows how much I hate Valentine's Day...He's with the 101st Airborne currently deployed in Iraq. I immediately start crying, for a number reasons, first b/c I miss him terribly, second it was the first time I had EVER gotten flowers on Valentine's Day... Then I realized I had to meet doofus as planned. He shows up in a T-shirt, jeans, and a visor, yeah thanks for dressing up for me.. Nice touch. I tell him I got flowers, he actually said, "you're welcome" I nearly came across the table to smack the crap out of him... He said he was glad I got flowers... What kind of response is that?!! Then he says, Valentine's Day "snuck up on him"..... How can that be? Valentine's Day is the most commercialized holiday next to the celebration of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ!! Whatever... I was done with this guy.. As we were walking out, he had the audacity to ask if he could stay over at my house, I actually laughed and said I don't think so... That was pretty much the last time I talked to him...

He called a couple of times (I did not answer the phone when he called), including the Saturday after Valentine's Day and asked me to a movie (better yet he left me a voicemail inviting me to a movie)... I never called him back.. so I thought he got the hint that I was done with him... Until today, he actually called and left me another voicemail... He was like, "hey beachgirl, I haven't talked to you in a while, hope you doing well, call me" ...... You would think he would get the hint but I guess he's just a glutten for punishment... I feel sort of bad, but then again I don't. There are guys you break up with and remain friends with, I have quite a few of those, but new fella is not one of those people... Conversation between us was painful, it was like talking to a brick..I can see that now.. It hit me when I was writing my friend in Iraq (the one mentioned above)... I told him that I think he would have been disappointed in me for putting up with new fella's nonsense for as long as I did... I don't have to put up with that kind of crap, no woman has to "put up" with anything....

I would rather be alone for the rest of my life than have to settle for a guy that doesn't make my toes curl, or make my stomach do flips when he calls or just looks at me. I will not settle for less... True love, that's what I want, it's what I deserve, it's what we all deserve... But in God's time, not our own...

Heroes

2006-02-23T08:21:00.000-08:00

Enough said...

http://www.iwo.com/heroes.htm

An ode to pk

2006-02-17T10:34:00.000-08:00

So our good friend pk has decided to leave the blogging world (we hope only for a while)... This is a little sad for many of us, especially me. I enjoyed his site because it was funny, insightful and somewhat informative, ha,ha.. Pk is a guy that LOVES his kids and is madly in love with his wife, and I find that truly heart warming... Those kind of guys are few and far between in this day and age. Although I have never met pk, or many of you for that matter, face to face it is hard to ignore the bonds that are made out here in the blogosphere. I consider many of you my friends, and I consider pk to be among that group. But blogging is addictive. Notice all of the time I spend here during the day when I should actually be working. I admire him for taking such drastic measures to dedicate more of his time to work (freakin' overachiever)...

So here's to pk, (picture a martini in my hand with my glass raised) one of the great ones... Not because he cured cancer or would rather release a spider back into the wild rather than step on it (ok, so that one was a stretch) but simply because he's a great father, husband, and friend. Pk once wrote about honor, and he worried that in this day and age would he be able to teach his kids to be honorable. My response to him then and still remains, that he IS an honorable man and his children will see that and be just as honorable as he. Thanks for everything pk, especially all the great advice, Dr.Phil doesn't have anything on you (well maybe a successful TV show, millions of dollars in the bank, and uh well never mind, you know what I mean)!!!

CHEERS Pk!!

A kiss is just a kiss, or is it?

2006-02-14T13:05:00.000-08:00

So today is Valentine's Day, all about love and romance. As much as I hate this "holiday" it got me to thinking about kissing. The picture to the left is one of my favorite on screen kisses... It's from the movie "From Here to Eternity" if you've never seen it, make a point to try and watch it!!
So I was thinking about kissing. One of Meg's ( and my) favorite lines from a movie is from Gone with the Wind, Rhett Butler says to Scarlett, "you should be kissed and kissed often"... That is a true statement if ever I heard one... So as I was reflecting back on some of the kisses I have shared, there is one that stands out among the rest. So here goes...

It was last summer, I was looking good. My hair was curled and it was up in a high ponytail. My guy and I had been friends for over a year. I was wildly attracted to him and he was attracted to me but we agreed to remain friends... But there was this one night... We had a little wine, we went to hear some live music, we had a little more wine when we got back to his place. He lived almost an hour away from Nashville so I was staying at his place, I had done this before and always stayed in the guest room, no sweat really. But tonight was different, I was going to make it different, and so was he... When we got back to his house, after hearing the live music in the horribly smokey bar I told him I was going to go ahead and get into my pjs. He told me to wait a moment, he walked into his room and came out with a button down polo shirt. He handed it to me and told me to put it on... That's when I knew it would be different. I put it on and debated on coming out of the bedroom, but I did... He told me I looked good ( and I did), he poured me another glass of wine and lit some candles, Diana Krall was playing in the background. We sat there for a moment and then he asked me to dance. We danced in the middle of the living room. He was holding me close, he pulled away from me ever so slowly and asked me to take my hair down. I did as he asked and my curled hair fell across my shoulders and he gently swept it off of my face. We looked at each other for a moment, I was looking up at him because he was almost a foot taller than me. He leaned down and kissed me like I had NEVER been kissed in my life. It was a kiss I had waited for, for almost a year. It was the most magical kiss- EVER...

Now, that's all I'm going to tell you, because I have already said too much but I'm curious, what was your favorite kiss??

A couple of things

2006-02-08T08:23:00.000-08:00

So my good friend meg is always doing these lists so I thought I would give it a shot....

1. Social Season update
Things are going well but I have never in my life encountered so many women that don't have the common sense God gave a rock. These are educated women!! But they have no common sense... Maybe it's b/c I am a project manager by trade and trying to apply those qualities to the social world is apparently all in vain... I have 3 events this month, March will be a little bit of a rest but then April and May come full force... There are galas, parties and golf tourneys that will hopefully be very successful... granted I don't kill a socialite in the process...

2. All this over a cartoon??
Ok, I try to leave the politics to lizzie, kate, pk and yoss but I will just comment briefly on this whole Danish political cartoon depicting the prophet Mohammad (sp?) with a bomb shaped like a turban on his head... Yes it was horribly offensive to Muslims as a whole, but to burn down churches and riot in the streets over a cartoon?? I thought the Muslim faith preaches peace and love? But I guess there are nuts in every religion, right? I mean the Christians had Jim Jones...nuff said about that...

3. The little black dress
Every girl needs one. I have a summer little black dress but not one for the winter. So my mother decided to take me shopping over the weekend. I tried on a number of dresses. Mother kept picking out these dresses with a 1920's influence, the boxy shape and drop waste... These dresses do not, I repeat DO NOT look good on a woman with a shape like mine. I have curves, and yes that means I have hips, not big hips but my hips don't look good in a drop waste dress. Now, understand that my momma is precious and has really good taste. But there was this dress she made me wear when I I was about 14 to my cousin's wedding. I hated the dress but she loved it and I wore it. You've seen that part in Gone with the Wind when Scarlett pulls the drapes down from the windows and tells Mammy to make her a dress? Well the dress my momma picked out for me to wear to my cousins wedding looked like she had taken the drapes from some Mammaw's bedroom in the old folks home. It had a flower print and it came off of my right shoulder, and on my left shoulder was a big ole bow... I have never, NEVER let her forget that dress and how heinous it was... including last Sunday. So after we got past the 1920's dresses, we both picked out some more dresses. The one we decided on was a short straight black velvet number with pink satin at the top and pink spaghetti straps. She liked it b/c it made me look skinny and it showed off my best asset (in her opinion), my bosom... That's what she calls my breasts....my bosom...

4. Showin your bosom in the daylight hours
God forbid you should show your bosom in the daylight hours. Momma all but called this lady out in the Bi-Lo for showing her bosom in the daylight hours.. I did have to agree, the woman was trying to recapture her youth (she was pushing 50) by wearing one of those velour joggin outfits that says something on the butt like Juicy.. should have said WIDE LOAD across her butt... and she was painted up like she was gettin ready to work the corner of Chapman and Moody (the hooker's corner in K-town). Her jacket was unzipped down to her navel and she was wearing a tank top, that showed off her droopy (worst kind in my opinion) bosom... She had also been in the tanning bed so much I questioned her caucasion status... But the worst thing of all, she had her little girl with her!!! Bad fashion and horrible make-up application, is like child abuse to me.. Just trash, nothin but trash...

Well kids I guess that's it for now... Hope all is well with everyone in the blogosphere!!

Kisses!!

~Beachgirl

P.S. I am thinking of planning a bloggers beach trip, anyone interested??

Here it is...

2006-01-26T08:37:00.000-08:00

Ok so I'm a little nervous about this... What if this is not how people pictured me? Yep, I'm a little thick, but there's just more of me to love and it won't be there for long... But this is the essence of me, a total diva that would rather be on the dance floor with her friends having a good time than scanning the bar for guys... So here I am... in all my glory...

Tales from the Spring Social Season

2006-01-24T11:28:00.000-08:00

So Friday kicked off the Spring Social Season for me.... It started with a fabulous Junior League event... The alcohol was flowing, the band was getting cranked up- my girls and I made a GRAND entrance!! I actually have a picture of me coming in the door but I'm not sure if I should post it or not, I'll have to think on it for a while... But we immediately went to the bar and were served hurricanes, the party had a Mardi Gras theme.. and to answer your question, no, I didn't have to "earn" any beads...

I'm not one to stand on the edge of the dance floor and wait for more people to get out on there before I will go... No sir! I got my drink, went immediately to the dance floor, took off my jacket, and commenced to shakin my groove thang... It wasn't long before the dance floor was full, but I was still right up front with the band. I had the best time, but drinks kept appearing in my hand all night... which lead to the heinous act of being over served, I became a bit wobbly, but I did NOTHING (in public) that would have made my mammaw ashamed of me... I don't think being pulled up on stage to sing with band is necessarily a bad thing, nor is dancing to Donna Summer's #1 hit Bad Girl all the while smackin my butt, and saying, this is my theme song!! No I don't think it was bad at all...

Now this party was different from what the others will be, they are formal affairs, this was very casual... But a good time was had by all, however the good time ended when I spent Saturday in bed with a terrible hangover... I just can't party like I used to, but then again, I don't think I ever want to party like I used to for fear it would now cause death or some sort of brain damage...

Cheers Y'all!!

Not another one...

2006-01-20T08:59:00.000-08:00

Ok- so I am coming out of my self-imposed break for a short time to post this story and ask for your prayers.

MELVILLE, W.Va. — Heavy smoke slowed the progress of five rescue teams Friday as they trekked more than 10,000 feet inside a West Virginia mine in search of two miners who have been missing for more than 16 hours.
The two miners didn't make it out of the mine after a conveyer belt caught fire. Nineteen other miners had reached the surface safely, state officials said.

Gov. Joe Manchin was at the mine Friday morning, and miners' families gathered at the nearby Brightstar Freewill Baptist Church to wait for news.
"It's just unbelievable to the families. They're strong … they're hanging right in there. Their prayers and hopes are very high and we hope to have some good news for them," Manchin said of the families.
"Our little state's been through a lot of tragedy in a short period of time but if you know West Virginia families, we're strong and we're going to get through this," he said later during the morning press conference.
Asked how the families are holding up, Manchin said: "These are mining families who understand what we're dealing with and they're very prayerful and they're very strong."

This breaks my heart and I hope that these men are rescued. I pray that God gives the families of these men the peace that only He can give... As all eyes focus back on this little state I hope this situation has a happier ending than the last.

Taking a break

2006-01-13T12:19:00.000-08:00

Ok kids, it's official, I am obsessed with the blogs... and I need to kick the habit. I check them all day at work and my working is suffering. Also, I've got a ton of stuff going on with Junior League and the Spring Social Season is starting, I know it's still winter, but it's like the pre-game warm events to the bigger events in the spring... So real life calls. I will probably still check stuff out, but as far as posting anything here, I am going to take a break. And no, I don't feel the need to have "guest" bloggers... I really don't think what I have to say is THAT important. It's not that I am putting myself or this site down, I just don't think the abscense of my postings are going to effect mankind as a whole... LOL....

So have fun and I'll see ya around!

Well Duh!!!

2006-01-11T11:41:00.000-08:00

Guys, if you can dance without looking like you're writhing in pain, you're aces in my book. There is nothing sexier than a guy that can dance, whether it's the two step, the waltz, or just dancing at a club. I once dated a guy that could dance oh so well... I should have married him! If a guy can dance to "Let's get it on" properly with his lady, whew, the sky's the limit... But now there's a study that confirms what I have thought all along.

Women Find Symmetrical Dancing Men Attractive
Women find men who are good dancers attractive because they are more symmetrical, according to a new US survey.
Women were asked to rate men after watching them dance. Men who danced in a lop-sided manner were not found to be attractive.
However, men also found women who dance symmetrically attractive, although they are not as fussy, according to researchers at Rutgers University in New Jersey.

I'm anxious to hear what y'all have to say about this...

Tagged...

2006-01-10T11:58:00.000-08:00

Thanks for the tag Meg!!

Two Parts of Your Heritage
1. Scottish
2. Irish
Two Things That Scare You
1. Roller Coasters
2. Carni people (you know those creepy people that travel with carnivals)
Two fears you overcame
1. eating healthy
2. getting to really know myself as a true Christian
Two of Your Everyday Essentials
1. a diet coke
2. my fabulous red handbag
Two things you are Wearing Right Now
1. tall black stilleto boots
2. my Tiffany Bracelet
Two things you wore too much this year
1. silver hoop earrings
2. flip flops
This year's Favorite Bands or Musical Artists
1. Kelly Clarkson (I admit it, I like her stuff)
2. Gwen Stefani
Two Things You Want in a Relationship
1. Friendship
2. laughter
Two of your favorite Movies of the Year
1. In Good Company
2. Flightplan
Best movies of all time
1. Breakfast at Tiffany's
2. Gone with the Wind
Two things You hate
1. Stupid people
2. arrogant people
Two of Your Favorite Hobbies
1. shopping
2. volunteering
Two things you learned this year
1. That I am really good at organizing fundraisers
2. that I really do cherish my mother
Two Accomplishments You are Proud of
1. Not killing my mother after her heart attack
2. Buying my house
Two Things You Want Really Badly
1. Love
2. my mother to be truly happy
Two place you went this year.
1. Charleston,SC
2. Memphis (Love that Animal House BBQ)
Two Places You Want to go on Vacation
1. Ireland
2. The Bahamas
Two Things You Want to Do Before You Die
1. Go to Europe
2. Fall hopelessly, madly in love (oh yeah, and have it reciprocated)
Two Ways that you are a Stereotypical Example of your Gender
1. I cry easily
2. I over analyze everything
Two things that make you stand out.
1. My sense of humor
2. My love of Nascar
Two Things You Normally Wouldn't Admit
1. I would rather sleep all day than do anything else...
2. I wish I had gone to law school
Two Goals for the New Year
1. Get down to my goal weight
2. Pay off credit cards.

That's it... for me now, I tag..
Pk
Teacherdude
kate
Laurie (aka buggy)
Stonewall

So what do guys REALLY want??

2006-01-09T12:22:00.000-08:00

Ok, what do you guys really want?? In a relationship I mean... You all say girls are complicated, well back at ya babe!

Do you all want the traditional girl like me?? A girl that wants the husband, kids, PTA, Junior League, and to spend her days drinking at the club while the kids are supervised by the hot little lifeguard that is home from college for the summer, oops... Strike that last comment, I was distracted for a moment.. Seriously, I want to be the cool soccer mom, stay home, cook dinners for my family, and be a fulltime Junior League volunteer. Is that NOT ATTRACTIVE? Seriously, I want to know...

OR

Do you want the girl that never really wants to be married and would be satisfied living with someone and never having children??
Seriously, I want to know

I'm anxious to read your responses, because the male species is beyond me... With the big 31 looming my mother is going to start wearing all black and go into mourning b/c she thinks I'm never going to get married and it's getting later and later to have kids... before you start railing on mother, it's what southern mothers do until their daughters get married....

Lovin the Low Country

2006-01-07T07:45:00.000-08:00

So y'all know I am originally from the Low Country, more specifically Charleston, SC. I spent many of my summers there. So I thought I would make a few suggestions if you ever plan to visit or live there for that matter.
Geography
First, there are terms you need to know...
West Ashley- this is a suburb of Charleston the is West of the Ashley River, hence the name West Ashley. There are the typical stores like Wal-Mart, Supermarkets, etc out that way...
North Charleston- it's not just another part of the city, it's a whole other town. Can be confusing so just remember that... There is NEVER a reason to go to North Charleston
Kiawah- This is where the rich folk (usually tourists) vacation...
Folly Beach- This is the beach you'll want to find... it's about 10 minutes from downtown Charleston. Not a lot of toursists have found Folly yet and it's great... You can get to Folly from downtown by using the "Connector" it's just a big bridge, but the locals call it the "Connector"...When you get to Folly, take a left at the Holiday Inn (you'll know it when you see it) go down a couple of blocks, maybe like 2 or 3, and park your car near Berts. Berts is a landmark on Folly. It's a grocery store that also sells hot dogs, and other livations that are necessary for the beach.. No need for shoes here, it's a beach hangout...

Oh and when you hear someone say something is SOB- they mean it is South of Broad (Street).... on the other hand when someone says that is SNOB- they mean slightly north of Broad (street)...

Places to frequent
For Mexican- Juanita Greenbergs on King St. the best Nachos in town!!
For Seafood- the Crabshack on Folly.. It's owned by the Condon Family so it's awesome!!
If you are a tourist- head to the market place but if you want to hang with the locals, head to King Street and all the little side streets in the vicinity..

Shopping-
KING STREET!!! They have all of the typical stores plus so many specialty shops. But if you are a gentleman and you are looking for that Charleston Low Country Look, go to Dumas on King Street.. It looks like a dump but it has what you need... Seersucker suits, bowties, topsiders and Rainbow flip flops ('bows are essential for Charleston living)

Oh and you may hear people talking about the Cooper River bridge, well it no longer exists as of last summer and was replaced by the Arthur Ravenel Bridge... It's a huge gaudy eye sore....

Ok- I think that's your complete guide.. if I think of anything else, I'll post... Charleston is a beautiful City. Rich in history and steeped in southern charm.... If you ever go, it will always call your name to come back soon..Hence the reason I will always be a lost beachgirl, trying to find my way back to the Low Country...

Not Much Here

2006-01-05T20:30:00.000-08:00

So I've been reading and checking out everyone's blogs and I'm starting to realize something... Maybe I'm not very smart. While everyone talks about Ayn Rand and other pieces of literature that I've never thought of reading, I feel as though I have nothing to conrtribute. I'm starting to think that when people look at me or meet whether it be in the blogosphere or in person they just think I'm this pretty little southern Junior Leaguer trying to save the world one tea party at a time..While that is part of who I am, I am so much more. I find myself asking this question as I type, why do I care what people think about me? Why am I allowing other peoples thoughts or feelings make me feel inferior? I feel like that stupid character from Saturday Night Live-you know the one that always looked in a mirror and said: I'm good enough, I'm smart enough and doggone it people like me....

Nope, I haven't read half the books most of you all talk about and I probably never will, they just don't interest me. But that doesn't mean I'm not smart. I wonder if any of you have written laws that are actually part of the Tennessee Code Annotated? I have... I wonder if any of you have testified on numerous occasions before house or senate committees? I have... I wonder how many Tennessee Governors have you met? I've met 5.
Does anyone want to discuss healthcare in America? B/c I know the ins and the outs of it...
There now I've bragged about some of my achivements, do I feel better about things? Not really... I've never mentioned them before b/c it just seemed like bragging, which to me, is a very unattractive feature... They are just things that I have done...

What do I want people to think about me?
Hmmmmmm.

That I'm just a good person... a good person that cares about others... it's just that simple.

So to say there's not much here... I think that would be a mistake.... a mistake I commonly make, but battling one's own demons seems to be an ongoing process...

We need a miracle right now...

2006-01-03T20:30:00.000-08:00

Those were the words of the Governor of West Virginia in reference to the 13 miners that trapped in one of the mines. The only thing I know about coal mines is what I've seen in the movie "A Coalminers Daughter" . I just didn't grow up in or around coal mining communities. But something that Yoss said really hit me today.. He and his friends grew up near the community where the miners are trapped. I don't know why it bothered me when Yoss said it, but it was like it almost became personal at that point. It wasn't just some place in West Virginia, it's a place where families live, it's a place where kids play and go to school and crack on each other like Chairborne, Yoss and Jonnycakes do all the time.
The cameras are focused on a white wooden church where people have gathered to pray and wait. They wait for news that they pray will never come. The news that their loved ones are gone. The weather there seems to reflect the saddness everyone feels. It is gray, rainy and cold. Hope is surely fading.
My prayer tonight is that God will comfort those families as only He can. My heart breaks for that entire community. They do in fact need a miracle. I hope they get it....

and now ladies and gentlemen... herrrreee's

2006-01-01T23:54:00.000-08:00

Teacher dude!! You can find him at http://theteachersapple.blogspot.com

He's my best guy friend in the whole world... we've been this way for about 6 years... he knows all of my dirty little secrets... The strangest things happen to this guy... he has many stories to tell and he's just getting warmed up.... so check him out kids... It's bound to be a pretty good ride...

Reporting Live from...Conway??!!

2006-01-01T13:34:00.000-08:00

Ok so most of y'all know that I came to Conway to party the nite away and ring in the new year with meg... There are probably too many stories to get into but I commissioned meg to write "our" story... It's all true, I kid you not... She wrote the day away while I took my many naps.. It's what old folks do on New Year's day...We also eat greens, black eyed peas, and cornbread... It's a southern thing...

Ok so now for the re-cap... head on over to http://thinkingsilentlyaloud.blogspot.com for all of the details...and please feel free to ask any questions after...

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!!!

New Year's Eve

2005-12-29T10:30:00.000-08:00

So Christmas is over and now we are on to the New Year's Eve celebration... As many of you know by now, I am travelling to Arkansas to hang with Meg for the big day (I know, some of you are bitterly jealous). But I will make in stop in Memphis to hang with my best friend Dave. He is the absolute best guy friend I have ever had!! Most of his friends have some anger directed towards me b/c Dave turned the poker room at his place into Heather's room... I can't blame them really...

So on to the big weekend! I'm a little worried b/c my tolerance is VERY low right now.... Mainly b/c I have spent like the past 5 weekends at my mom's house and I am jonesing for a good party and some adult beverages... No offense to the fam of course, I love spending time with them but sometimes a girl has got to cut loose!!

So I'm wondering what you all think I will do on New Year's Eve, how crazy will I really get??
Will I :
1. Dance on table (very likely)
2. Drink until my southern accent sounds as if I just walked off the set of Steel Magnolias
3. Start taking off my clothes in the middle of the bar (fyi, not likely, even during my CRAZY college years, I ALWAYS kept my clothes on while at the bar)
4. Let men put $5 bills in my G-String (that was for you CS)
5. OTHER ( This one is for y'all to fill in the blank)

Since I won't have anyone to kiss at midnight (STUPID WAR) I guess I'll have to kiss Meg full on the mouth when the clock strikes midnight... (That was defintely for CS and Eunuch aka Sparky)...

Happy New Year to you all.. Here's hoping for a wonderful and blessed 2006!!

"I dropped my basket"

2005-12-24T12:49:00.000-08:00

That's one of my favorite lines from the Ya-Ya Sisterhood...It was the main character's way of describing her complete mental breakdown to her soon to be son-in-law... A complete mentla breakdown that almost resulted in her killing her children then running away from home.. Well, that kind of explains what happened to me yesterday... I dropped my basket.. but I did not attempt to kill any children nor did I run away from home..

I am now at my mom's house enjoying time with family. I've already eaten 3 plates of food (they were small plates!) and I'm about to take a nap.. The Colts Game comes on in a minute so I will probably lie down and fall asleep...Ahhhhh sounds so nice...

I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas!! I feel so blessed to have you all in my life..

And if anyone wants to get me that last minute Christmas gift, try page 25 of the Tiffany's Holiday Catalog... the ring or earings would be fab!! Hugs and kisses all!!

SO Tired

2005-12-23T13:59:00.000-08:00

So tired of being disappointed.
So tired of expecting things from people that just don't care.
So tired of men saying they are going to do one thing and end up doing another.
So tired of promises that are never kept.
So tired of being the good girl.
So tired of doing what is "expected" of me.
So tired of feeling worthless.

That's it, I'm just so damned tired...

But I guess I'll just suck it up put on my happy face b/c there are presents to wrap and Christmas events I must attend...Time to put my big girl panties on and get on with it.

Merry Christmas Everyone....

Letting go and moving on

2005-12-21T06:48:00.000-08:00

Lately I've been letting go of a lot of stuff I've been carrying around with me for far too long... Music means so much to me and usually can express exactly what I am thinking and feeling... So thanks to Keith Urban for putting this song out there for folks like me.... Letting go and moving on feels wonderful especially when you are moving on to something and someone amazing....

You'll Think of Me
I woke up early this morning around 4am
With the moon shining bright as headlights on the interstate
I pulled the covers over my head and tried to catch some sleep
But thoughts of us kept keeping me awake
Ever since you found yourself in someone else's arms
I've been tryin' my best to get along
But that's OK
There's nothing left to say,

butTake your records, take your freedom
Take your memories I don't need'em
Take your space and take your reasons
But you'll think of me
And take your cat and leave my sweater
'Cause we have nothing left to weather
In fact I'll feel a whole lot better
But you'll think of me, you'll think of me
I went out driving trying to clear my head
I tried to sweep out all the ruins that my emotions left
I guess I'm feeling just a little tired of this
And all the baggage that seems to still exist
It seems the only blessing I have left to my name
Is not knowing what we could have been
What we should have been

SoTake your records, take your freedom
Take your memories I don't need'em
Take your space and take your reasons
But you'll think of me
And take your cat and leave my sweater
'Cause we have nothing left to weather
In fact I'll feel a whole lot better
But you'll think of me

Someday I'm gonna run across your mind
Don't worry, I'll be fineI'm gonna be alright
While you're sleeping with your pride
Wishing I could hold you tight
I'll be over youAnd on with my life

So take your records, take your freedom
Take your memories I don't need'em
And take your cat and leave my sweater
'Cause we have nothing left to weather
In fact I'll feel a whole lot better
But you'll think of me
So take your records, take your freedom
Take your memories I don't need'em
Take your space and all your reasons
But you'll think of me
And take your cat and leave my sweater
'Cause we got nothing left to weather
In fact I'll feel a whole lot better
But you'll think of me, you'll think of me, yeah
And you're gonna think of me
Oh someday baby, someday

She was hinting about it...

2005-12-20T13:15:00.000-08:00

Ok, so meg calls me today..
Meg: remind me not to punch my father out...
(there she goes again, wanting to beat up men!!)
Me: why would you want to do that?
Meg: Cuz he wants me to buy mom a pair of 2 carat diamond stud earings (b/c she's been hinting about it) and he's willing to chip in a couple hundred bucks... How much do they cost anyway??

NOW THAT'S A LOADED QUESTION, how much do they cost??

So I get to work and start researching b/c apparently no one is at work today and I refuse to do anything that remotely resembles work...

So here it is just in case you were wondering...

From Tiffany's (my most favorite store in the whole wide world)
Tiffany diamond studs, for pierced ears. Round brilliant diamonds, carat total weight .90, color grade E, clarity grade IF. Set in platinum. This item comes with a Tiffany Diamond Certificate.
$12,000..

From Zales (ewwwww)
1-1/2 CT. T.W. Round Diamond Solitaire Stud Earrings in 14K White Gold
Reg. $4285.00
Now $2999.99
Each earring has one round diamond in a 14K white gold 4-prong setting. The earrings include a screw back to insure a secure fit..

Meg- I'm thinking the $500 handbag is sounding better all the time... If your daddy is anything like mine, who called me Sunday evening with an urgent message to call him... Yeah, I'm thinking someone is DEAD, but no, he just wants me to find EVERYTHING UT for my worthless stepsister's kid. So I should stop what I am doing and find everything now! Well you know what, he has the same internet access that I do. But what am I doing instead of telling him to do it himself?? The same thing Meg is doing for her daddy, doing it for him...Does that make us very good daughters or just extremely stupid??

Oh yeah and my dad doesn't pick up on the hints I dropping... Like, "daddy, I'm using the same computer from college, it's awful... I would really like to have a laptop, but I just can't afford it" . His response, "yeah, I was thinking of getting one myself".... ARGHHHH!!! MEN!!! Sometimes they can be so dense...

So ladies, quit dropping hints and drop a brick on their head with a note attached telling them EXACTLY what you want (where to get it and how much it's going to cost them)...