Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Who took off my shirt??

This morning I woke up without my shirt on. I went to sleep with one. Got up in the middle of the night for a glass of water...still wearing one.

But awoke this morning without one.

Who is responsible??

Sure, I have had my bouts with sleep walking but that was a long time ago. I haven't done this in years. Seriously! You can ask Mr. Darcy. He'll vouch for me.

Also, let it be known that I have never had an incidence of sleep stripping. Never.

So, I'll ask nicely once more. Who is responsible for my indecent exposure??

That is all.

Monday, January 29, 2007

New Monday - New Year

So, generally Mondays are pretty awful...and really for no reason at all but because of its unfortunate placement in the week. I've had a great weekend and now what? I have to go back to work. Thanks a lot Monday. You're a real swell friend, yes you are.

Let's make Monday better, how about it?!

Every Monday I am going to write three things that I am thankful for. There are no qualifications for this list. Just things that I am thankful for at the moment. I think that three is an incredibly reasonable number. Seriously, if I can't think of three things that I am thankful for...someone needs to come over here and ensure I am still living.

This Monday I am thankful for the following things:

1. My family - Oh, God. So contrite, I know. But it's true. I am so, so thankful for my family. I would be nothing without their love and support and really, when it comes down to it, family is all we have. Sure, they can be overbearing and overprotective but it's all out of love.

2. Michael Jackson - Phew, that man can sing. He makes me want to do a happy dance every time I hear one of his songs come around in my shuffle. And people, if someone can make me want to dance, they have to pretty spectacular. I don't dance. I just don't. Okay, that's a lie. I do and have. And there was that time on the bar in Atlanta. But there is no picture evidence and alcohol was involved so I can not be blamed. Back to Michael. He might have a penchant for the wee ones...but sick perversion aside...no one can deny his talent...or his groove thang.

3. Cold days - It was 17 degrees outside when I left for work this morning and I wore this great pink scarf. Ladies, you know what I'm talking about...the scarf that automatically dresses up your outfit just by being there. Oh, those are the great finds. It's soft to the touch and smells of perfume and shampoo. And what's more...is that it keeps me warm! It's multi-talented. And really, it's a triple threat. It's trendy, dressy and warm! What more could a girl want, really?

So, that is my first list. It wasn't that hard. I chose to make the list of things that I was thankful for today...it seemed a little less daunting and serious. I wanted to make that clear before people were talking about what a shallow person I was. That in my entire life, two-thirds of the things that I had to be thankful for were a scarf and Michael Jackson. Yeah, I am a tad more introspective than that. I promise.

But only just a little.

What are you thankful for?

Friday, January 26, 2007

Frigid Frosties




Salmon Pants is the best co-worker ever! He bought me a Frosty today.

GoodSearch


Donate to your favorite while you search (stalk) your friends online...come on, I'm sure we have all done it.

GoodSearch is a search engine which donates 50-percent of its revenue to the charities and schools designated by its users. The money GoodSearch donates to your cause comes from its advertisers — the users and the organizations do not spend a dime!Type in your charity of choice in the blank provided on GoodSearch.com, click verify and begin searching! It's that easy.

So start seaching today... there's no reason not to!

Cute Overload? Oh Yeah...

Cute Overload

Apparently, this person scours the internet looking for all things cute. I think she/he has succeeded, don't you? Go on there, peruse...make your teeth ache from all the sweetness...

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Marriage, Education and the Happiness Correlation

Why are there so many single Americans?? This article delves deeper into that question.

If you don't have time to read the whole article, here are some major take aways:

*51 percent of all women live without a spouse. Half of all men are in the same situation.
*The career girls aren't on the losing end; rather, it is their less educated manicurists or housekeepers, women who might arguably be less able to live on their own.
*College educated women are more likely to marry than non-college educated women — although they marry, on average, two years later.
*Women with more education are less likely to divorce than those with less education. They are even less likely to be widowed all in all, less likely to end up alone.
*Commitment-averse men in their 20’s and 30’s look the same with or without a college degree. They fit depressingly well into the old stereotypes: they fear marriage means a loss of liberty; they worry a wife will want to change them. They don’t trust women to tell the truth about past relationships, or they are waiting for the soul mate who hasn’t appeared. With the rising frequency of cohabitation, they can get sex without marriage, so what’s the rush? With no biological or sociological clock ticking, “boys can remain boys indefinitely.”
*While marriage used to be something you did before launching a life or career, now it is seen as something you do after you’re financially stable.
*Women are saying, "I’m not ready, I want to work for a while, the guys I hang around with don’t make enough money and they don’t want a commitment.”
*People who are high school dropouts probably have a higher propensity to drop out of marriage.
*Three decades ago, about 30 percent of women who had graduated from college said it should be harder to get a divorce - now, about 65 percent say so. For less educated women and for men, the numbers have not changed; only 40 percent say it should be harder to get a divorce.
*The percentage of spouses who rate their marriage as “very happy” has dropped among those without a college education, while it has risen or held steady among those better educated.

Monday, January 22, 2007

Sarah's Creek - My Life...With a Soundtrack

If your life were a movie, what would the soundtrack be?

Here's how it works:
1. Open your library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every question, type the song that's playing
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button
6. Don't lie and try to pretend you're cool...


Opening Credits: Start Me Up - The Rolling Stones
Waking Up: Don't Stop Till You Get Enough - Michael Jackson
First Day of College: On A Day Like Today - Bryan Adams
Falling in Love: Don't Know Why - Norah Jones
Fight Song: Cherry Pie - Warrant
Breaking Up: Funky Shit - The Prodigy
Graduating College: Loose Ends - Imogen Heap
My Big Break: Want To - Sugarland
Mental Break Down: This CD is in Stores - Mitch Hedburg (Does this count?)
Driving Song: Don't Fear the Reaper - Blue Oyster Cult
Flashback: Heaven Forbid - The Fray
Getting Back Together: You and I Both - Jason Mraz
Wedding: Set the Mood Right - Justin Timberlake (yeah...that's right...)
Birth of Child: Bang Bang - Dispatch (nice...)
Paying the Dues: Low - Coldplay
Moment of Triumph: La Vie Boheme - RENT Soundtrack
Final Battle: Stay - Lisa Loeb (okay, it was the karaoke version...I can't lie...and I can't make myself look cool)
Death Scene: The Waiting - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Funeral Scene: Must be Dreaming - Frou Frou
End Credits: Baby One More Time - Britney Spears (Hilarious)

Sunday, January 21, 2007

Old Love or Lack Thereof


Yesterday, I pulled out some old Cds that had lost their place in my frequent rotation. Among them was Nickel Creek. Seriously, I had forgotten about the love affair that I had with this group. Every song speaks to some monumental moment in my life.

The song "When You Come Back Down" spoke to my heart when I needed space from an ex-boyfriend. I wanted him to feel as secure in my need for space as the lyrics in the song suggested...

You got to leave me now, you got to go alone
You got to chase a dream, one that's all your own
Before it slips away
When you're flyin' high, take my heart along
I'll be the harmony to every lonely song
That you learn to play

When you're soarin' through the air
I'll be your solid ground
Take every chance you dare
I'll still be there
When you come back down
When you come back down

I'll keep lookin' up, awaitin' your return
My greatest fear will be that you will crash and burn
And I won't feel your fire
I'll be the other hand that always holds the line
Connectin' in between your sweet heart and mine
I'm strung out on that wire

And I'll be on the other end, To hear you when you call
Angel, you were born to fly, If you get too high
I'll catch you when you fall
I'll catch you when you fall

Your memory's the sunshine every new day brings
I know the sky is calling
Angel, let me help you with your wings

"Reasons Why" was there for me during this same period.

Where am I today? I wish that I knew
'Cause looking around there's no sign of you
I don't remember one jump or one leap
Just quiet steps away from your lead

I'm holding my heart out but clutching it too
Feeling this short of a love that we once knew
I'm calling this home when it's not even close
Playing the role with nerves left exposed

Standing on a darkened stage, stumbling through the lines
Others have excuses, but I have my reasons why

We get distracted by dreams of our own
But nobody's happy while feeling alone
And knowing how hard it hurts when we fall
We lean another ladder against the wrong wall

And climb high to the highest rung, to shake fists at the sky
While others have excuses, I have my reasons why

And recently, "Doubting Thomas" has spoken what I am not able to put into words in regards to the struggle I have with my faith. I have always and will always believe in God and will always be a Christian but sometimes it's hard to feel the power that I once felt.

What will be left when I've drawn my last breath
Besides the folks I've met and the folks who've known me
Will I discover a soul-saving love
Or just the dirt above and below me

I'm a doubting Thomas
I took a promise
But I do not feel safe
Oh me of little faith

Sometimes I pray for a slap in the face
Then I beg to be spared cause I'm a coward
If there's a master of death
I bet he's holding his breath
As I show the blind and tell the deaf about his power

Can I be used to help others find truth
When I'm scared I'll find proof that it's a lie
Can I be led down a trail dropping bread crumbs
That prove I'm not ready to die

Please give me time to decipher the signs
Please forgive me for time that I've wasted


What are some of the songs that have distinct memories attached to them for you?

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

New Year - New Love Languages...

Nope! A little different, but for the most part, it's the same thing...only this time around, it's more pronounced!

Score Love Language
2 Acts of Service
3 Quality Time
7 Receiving of Gifts
7 Words of Affirmation
11 Physical Touch

How to interpret your Profile Score: Your highest score indicates your primary love language. Your second highest score indicates your secondary love language. If two scores are identical, you are bilingual (you have two primary love languages). If the scores of your primary and your secondary language are close (for example, 10 & 9 respectfully), it indicates both are important to you. Whatever a significant other does to express love in either of these languages will get emotional points with you. The highest possible score for any language is 12. Having a clear picture of your primary & secondary love languages will explain much of your past behavior Think back over the past and ask yourself "What have I most often requested from significant others?" Chances are your answer will lie within the scope of your primary and secondary love languages. You have been requesting that which would meet your deepest need for emotional love.

Find yours here.

Update:
I'm looking at this in the light of day and I realize that my scores, while accurate, may not be the best reflection of me in a relationship. I do enjoy spending quality time with a significant other. I do! I don't know why that ranked so low... I think my scores should rank more like this:

Score Love Language
2 Acts of Service
3 Receiving of Gifts
7 Words of Affirmation
7 Quality Time
11 Physical Touch

My Celebrity Look-alikes? Really?

Tuesday, January 09, 2007

Shock more powerful than the bark...

Guy takes repeated shocks from an anti-bark dog collar...

Hilarious!!!

How do you measure your past year?

Seems appropriate with the starting of a new year...


Friday, January 05, 2007

Brit!? What happened?!


Brit!? I have been standing up for you...saying that you're gonna get your grove back...and then I see this?! Brit...come on! Prove me right...

Remember what you used to be...


Can't we just go back to how it used to be??

Go Belmont!


The Nashville Scene announced their annual Best of Nashville 2006 a little bit ago - and Belmont scored! Go Bruins!

Best Place for Continuing Education
1. Nashville State Community College (interesting...)
2. Vanderbilt University
3. Belmont University

Best MBA Program
1. Belmont University
2. Vanderbilt University
3. Middle Tennessee State University

And let us not forget the U.S. News and World Report rise recently!


Designing Spaces for Education

A Building with a Mission

St. Coletta School, unveiled September 2006 in Washington, DC, aims to "teach life and job skills to students with the most severe cognitive disabilities, including autism and mental retardation."

Houses are where students will work with teachers and therapists over the course of several years. "Each house is painted a different color, with a transitional color between them. The idea, says Robert Miller, the project architect, is for students to be able to identify a defined space and feel at home in it."



The atrium runs "like a spine through the center of the building. It is free of nooks and crannies autistic children like to hide in."

I read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time a while ago and was intrigued by autism. Christopher suffers from Ausperger's Syndrome, a form of autism. He is a mathematical savant with a photographic memory and is extremely observant, though he has difficulty understanding human emotions and facial expressions.

Miracle Run, a Lifetime movie (yes I know...Lifetime), is also very accurate in its portrayal of life with autistic children. If you've ever wanted to know more about autism, I suggest reading and/or watching both of the above.

Thursday, January 04, 2007

Battle of the Boulevard!


It's that time again! Battle of the Boulevard time!

From Nashville and don't know what the Battle is about? Well, you're really missing out!

The Battle is an intense collegiate basketball game between Belmont and Lipscomb Universities...and it's happening January 12.

Get your tickets today...before they're all gone!

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

Celebrities and Royals use the loo, too





Intrigued?

So was I.

Find the Queen and more here and at ABC News.

Monday, January 01, 2007

Ditch the Dish...

And I'm not talking about satellite television here people...

I'm talking about your microwaveable dinners and whatnot. After reading this, you might reconsider quick and easy.

Ten Reasons to Throw Out Your Microwave Oven

by Anthony Wayne and Lawrence Newell

From the conclusions of the Swiss, Russian and German scientific clinical studies, we can no longer ignore the microwave oven sitting in our kitchens. Based on this research, we will conclude this article with the following:

1). Continually eating food processed from a microwave oven causes long term - permanent - brain damage by "shorting out" electrical impulses in the brain [de- polarizing or de-magnetizing the brain tissue].

2). The human body cannot metabolize [break down] the unknown by-products created in microwaved food.

3). Male and female hormone production is shut down and/or altered by continually eating microwaved foods.

4). The effects of microwaved food by-products are residual [long term, permanent] within the human body.

5). Minerals, vitamins, and nutrients of all microwaved food is reduced or altered so that the human body gets little or no benefit, or the human body absorbs altered compounds that cannot be broken down.

6). The minerals in vegetables are altered into cancerous free radicals when cooked in microwave ovens.

7). Microwaved foods cause stomach and intestinal cancerous growths [tumors]. This may explain the rapidly increased rate of colon cancer in America.

8). The prolonged eating of microwaved foods causes cancerous cells to increase in human blood.

9). Continual ingestion of microwaved food causes immune system deficiencies through lymph gland and blood serum alterations.

10). Eating microwaved food causes loss of memory, concentration, emotional instability, and a decrease of intelligence.

And so begins a new year...


Happy New Year everyone! I hope that y'all were safe in everything you did last night, as well as throughout the entire Christmas season. Hopefully, there are good stories to tell...but not too good, if you know what I mean...and I think you do... :)

Tell me, what are your New Year's resolutions? How do y'all plan on "bettering" yourselves in this new year? Are you going for the routine, but ever appropriate "lose weight/get fit"? Or instead, are you getting more creative and personal? Of course, not at all saying that getting fit and losing weight are not personal...not by any means.

I haven't got all of mine down yet, but I know two thus far. I will keep you updated and I expect you to keep me in check.

First off, I want to go to church more often. This year I have come up with some pretty lame excuses as to why I haven't been able to go to church...when this year, above all others, I have had more reasons to be thankful and to be in church. I always start off with the best intentions but they quickly give way as life gets in the way. What is the saying? Ohh, that's right, "The road to Hell is paved with good intentions." Riiight.

The second is that I want to volunteer more. I give money when I can...but it's hard to for me to give money when I don't have that much to begin with. But this doesn't mean that I can't give with my time. Or just think of this, if I decided cut one eat-out dinner per month from my budget, that would be $180 that I could give annually. $180! Just for cutting one meal out per month.

So, those are my two resolutions thus far. If you feel like sharing yours, please feel free! If not, I'm sure they are great anyway!

I hope you all have a blessed 2007!