Welcome to my crazy, busy, fabulous life!

While I realize I need to update this thing more, and I have the best intentions of doing so, it never seems to happen. Although my life is going swimmingly, my marathon to-do list never seems to get down to "update blog."

I miss the days when preparing for vacation meant shopping for swimsuits and stocking up on film. These days I work like a mad woman to get as much done as possible prior to vacation so that I can actually enjoy my time off and not spend it working. The blessing and the curse of technology is that I'm always accessible, so vacation is relative I suppose. I may be two states away, but email gets delivered in Texas just like it does in Arkansas.

This week the fabulous Amanda has been staying with me and commuting to her new job in Rogers. I love it when she's here because she'll eat almost anything, so I get the chance to try out new recipes and dazzle her with my culinary skills when she stays here. Monday night we had three cheese pizza with atomic salad, Tuesday night we had brie pasta with fresh green beans, and Wednesday night we had grilled salmon and asparagus salad. And now my pants are too tight.

Tonight we had a going away party for my friend/sorority sister, Valerie, who's getting ready to leave for a two-year mission trip. We all met at Bonefish for bang bang shrimp and girl time. I never thought when I pledged a sorority that I'd make so many lifelong friends. All for the bargain price of $28 a month.



Tomorrow night I'm meeting my friend D in Tulsa to see Rascal Flatts. I had plans to go to a toga party at my friend Lela's, but when D called and said, "Hey, I have VIP/meet and greet tickets..." I blew off the toga party for the special treatment at the BOK Center. Luckily, Lela is a good enough friend that she's given me a free pass on skipping her party because I had a better offer. I've known D for over 20 years. He has a really cool job and has had the opportunity to meet a lot of amazing people, so my goal tomorrow night is to be as blase as he is about the experience. I swear, he's one of the least pretentious people I know, but when he randomly throws out phrases like, "One time when I was at the White House correspondents' dinner..." I find it hard to retain my dignity.

Did I tell you Usher was on my flight from Atlanta?

Saturday I'm picking up birthday cake for Memaw and Taylor and partying with the fam. Then on Sunday Chance and I are caravanning back to Texas with Lonnie and the boys.

Tuesday it's a tour of Cowboys Stadium, then Jen is taking two days off on Thursday and Friday, so we're all going to the beach.

Whew! I don't know when I'm going to work in a pedicure or a tanning appointment, but this diva is overbooked the next few days. Yes, it's crazy and busy, but very, very, cool.

Arkansas, not Australia

I spent the past four days driving across northern Arkansas. I had a great time in Mountain Home, relaxing and cooking. Melbourne was a different story. The Hornets made it to the state semifinals yesterday before getting beat in OT by the home team. There were some bad calls, but we had our chances and didn't take advantage of them. Taylor played great, and I'm really proud of him. The great news is that they are a team of juniors who are now hungry to come back next year and win the whole thing. All in all, 33-2 isn't a bad year.

On Friday morning I had a massage, followed by a nap, lunch, and shopping. Friday evening we met some of Chris and Estella's friends at the country club for a three-hour meal of prime rib, tiramisu and lots of talking. Yesterday Estella taught me how to make eggs benedict florentine for brunch, then I went to the game. Last night we made shrimp and grits for dinner, then saw "Taken" at the theatre (four stars... intense, but very good).

Now I'm back in Siloam, doing laundry and getting ready for a busy week. And still feeling smitten, but that's another story.

Ice, snow, milk and bread

Do you ever wonder if there's some sort of conspiracy between the weather guys and the grocery stores? Evidently sales tax receipts are down for the month, so presto... let's predict an ice storm... Wal-Mart will be packed! Ka-ching. 10% of milk and bread for everyone in the county!

As I lazily logged onto weather.com this evening and checked out the forecast, I realized my empty cupboards were good for my diet, but not-so-good for a hypothetical iced-in situation. So I braved WM with all the other crazies, most of whom were buying sugar-laced snacks and not bread. I bought both. And stuff to make both tomato basil soup and stew.

So now I'm prepared for the three flakes of snow we'll probably get. I'm not expecting any weather but bitter, bitter cold. I'm so ready for spring!

New Year's Resolutions

For the past two years I've confessed my NY Resolutions on this blog and for the past two years, I've broken every single one of them. So, instead of resolving to do anything, here's a list of things I'd like to accomplish in '09:

• Walk/jog at least 25 miles a week
• Run a 5K race (and not just a few steps, like in '08)
• Be more open minded about meeting "the one" (so LB wasn't Mr. Right, or even Mr. Right Now, but he did remind me that there are still good guys out there, so I guess he served his purpose)
• Bake no cookies nor agree to lunches with any cute boys unless they ask me out on a real date
• Travel to Europe
• Spend more quality time with my friends
• Learn to say "no" to things that don't improve my life or someone else's
• Listen more

I'm closing on my house on Friday, so I suppose "becoming a home owner" should be on the list. And I made my last credit card payment this week, so getting out of debt (save mortgage, car and student loans) is a very real possibility in '09.

Here's to the new year, kids. Hope yours is great.

Oh, and leave me comments with your resolutions or, at the very list, things you'd like to accomplish in '09.

Leftovers

I have leftovers from dinner last night. I have leftovers from lunch today. I have food on all possible kitchen surfaces. So much for the diet!

The work party went pretty well. I made baked brie, guacamole, monterey jack salsa, and bleu cheese dip for appetizers; chicken tortilla and tomato/basil soup; and chocolate covered pretzels, peppermint bark, peanut butter kiss cookies and brownies for dessert. And leftover cheesecake from last night. I threw away the extra guac, but I still have some of everything else.

This morning, while chopping cilantro, I had a little medical incident when I gave myself a manicure with a sharp knife. I managed to not bleed on any of the food, but I have a kitchen towel that will never be the same. One of my coworkers thought it would be hilarious to bring me a first aid kit this afternoon.

We played dirty Santa with white elephant gifts and I ended up with some lovely Christmas lights. I've also discovered several "gifts" dispersed throughout my house, like the fabulous pine-smelling air freshener that LiLar was supposed to take home.

Now I'm watching the last game at Texas Stadium. The Cowboys look terrible, but hopefully they'll figure out a way to win in the next four minutes.