Winter Wonderland

So I’m in East Tennessee at my parents’ place for Christmas. We got about an inch of snow on Christmas Day, which was nice. Then we woke up to more (!) snow.

I may not be going back to Nashville as planned today. We’ll see….

Snow!

Something Crashed, Something New

Last Sunday night, after spending a great evening out with my friend Tiffany seeing Blue Man Group at TPAC, I was in an accident. The result:

That would be my 2002 Isuzu Rodeo after the crash.

I had a green light and was going south on Rosa Parks Boulevard through the intersection of Jefferson Street when the Taurus, which headed northbound, turned left onto Jefferson Street in front of me. According to the police report, that driver was going around a person (later described as intoxicated) who was standing in the street. I didn’t see that. All I saw was someone turning into me and no time to stop. I hit the Taurus on the front passenger side, and came to rest against the first car sitting at the red light on Jefferson Street.

Not only was my car totaled in the accident, but I also fractured the radius bone (the one between the thumb and elbow) in my left arm. Yep, my dominant arm, and the same arm that I broke at the shoulder earlier this year. My left arm joints have not had a good year.

My body is still a little sore from it all, and I’m supposed to wear a sling on my left arm for a few weeks. Not fun.

The upside, if there is one, is that I need a new car. I wasn’t exactly ready for car payments again, but luckily I am at a place that I can do it. So I did some research, took some test drives, and Friday (my 37th birthday!) I brought home this, a 2010 Subaru Forester:

I’m happy with it, and the deal I got. Now I just have to break it in… 🙂

At the Zoo

I recently took some vacation time and spent a few days visiting my brother, who now lives in Orlando, FL. One of the many things we did (yes, including the Harry Potter thing at Universal) was visit the Central Florida Zoo and Botanical Gardens where he volunteers.

I saw really cool things, some of which I cannot share because I got the special “know somebody behind the scenes” tour that isn’t officially offered. Ahem. 🙂

That said, I took lots of pictures with my brother’s camera (that I envy so much I’m a nice shade of green). Lots. Most of which suck. Here are a few that I like and feel are decent enough to post:

Yes, I Did Forget I Had a Blog

Partly because I was on vacation for 1 week, partly because I’ve been slammed with work / life stuff, and partly because I’ve tried not to use my computer at home. Shocking, I know.

More to come. Promise.

Boone in the Backyard

Very hectic weekend trying to catch up on life and various errands. Good thing I have such a helpful helper. 😉

Attacked from Above

So the other night I had fallen asleep during a re-watch of Zoolander (one of my favorite guilty pleasures) from a full tummy of Mas Tacos (OMG, I cannot even begin to tell you how good that stuff is — I may have a new food addiction. Thanks, Megan!).

The Boone dog had to go out. I was so groggy I barely could figure out how to open the door. It was drizzling a little, so thankfully Boone was all business. All I had to do was stand out on the patio just at the edge of the awning and wait for him to finish before crashing for the night.

That’s when something touched my hair.

I was still so sleepy, I didn’t even think much other than, oh, the awning is touching my hair or wow the rain is picking up. I even had a brief thought that maybe one of the bats flew a little too close and I felt it.

That’s when something clawed at my hair and face.

Holy crap, adrenaline works fast, my friends. Instant heart pounding, full alert status, regardless of sleepiness. I raised my hands up for protection, hit something furry and soft but sharp, and panicked even more.

Was it ninjas sent to assassin me for knowing too much? Zombies – the thinking, fast kind of course, to get above me? Possums on a rampage? Squirrels from the gutter?

Yes, I actually thought those things, and in that order. Hey, I’d just been asleep and dreaming and while the adrenaline woke up my body, I think my brain was still working at the reptile / early brain level.

Turns out, Mac the cat was just hanging ON TOP OF THE AWNING and had pawed me over the edge. As cats are wont to do, I suppose.

What. The. Hell.

I have no idea how he got up there. Had he been on the roof, too? No idea. Once I realized he was up there, I tried to get him down, and he didn’t seem like he was stuck or all that interested in coming down. Mac was thrilled with taunting me over the edge of the awning and through a seam that has apparently come apart.

I finally had to stand on a chair and grab him down.

Mac the cat seemed quite pleased with himself, and spent the rest of the night cuddled up with me on the bed. His every movement woke me up at high alert.

Needless to say, I didn’t sleep well the rest of the night.

This photo of the awning above the doors going out to my patio will provide some background to the story. When I stand just under the edge of the awning, it’s about a hands width / kitty paw length above my head.

Saturday at Target

I love Target. I haven’t been to a Wal-Mart in years. Literally. The last time I remember stepping into a Wal-Mart was my sophomore year of college. And this year is my 15th (!) college graduation reunion. So, yeah, been a while since I’ve done WallyWorld.

Anywho, I’m a Target gal. Well today I went to a different Target, just to keep it interesting, and have the challenge of shopping with a new store layout. Two things happened.

The first is not good — why do they insist on putting the womens size clothing next to maternity? Has no one ever noticed how insulting that is? Yes, I’m fat. Yes, my clothing requirements mean I have to get larger sizes. Yes, “they” insist on putting odd sizing (2X? Really? Like 2X is somehow better than 20? Big is still big.) and separating it from the “normal” clothes. But do they have to put it next to maternity? Fat does not equal pregnant except for the baby-on-board part. And don’t get me started on womens versus misses and that whole mess.

I tried to work up some righteous indignation and anger for activism on behalf of fat acceptance. Instead, I couldn’t seem to do more than sigh in weary resignation.

I hate that I’ve already been worn down by the system.

But then something kind of cute and funny happened later — at least I think so, not quite sure anymore — so I feel a little better about the whole womens / maternity thing.

While in Target, I grabbed up Lost Season 6 DVD, and was happily on my way out, when a nice looking guy with a little girl, probably around 4, stopped me and said, “hey, is that really the last season of Lost?”

I was all, “yes! So exciting!” and we got chatting about not being able to wait for the DVD on Netflix, the extra episode with Hurley, his wife will be so excited to know it is out, maybe he should go back and pick it up to surprise her, blah blah blah. Nothing flirty, just a nice little interaction with a stranger.

I start to walk away, and the little girl, who was listening the whole time, says “daddy, why are you talking to that lady? Who is she? Why are you talking to her? What are you talking about?” and just goes off about him talking to me. The kicker: “Daddy, you tell me I shouldn’t talk to strangers, so you shouldn’t be talking to strangers!”

Ha! 🙂

It was only later when I was putting my purchases on the belt thing to check out that I thought, “dude was totally checking out my cart to notice the DVD under my other stuff” and got a little bothered by it all.

I don’t think I’ve completely gotten used to the casual friendliness and sometimes nosiness that is inherent to the South after my 2-year sojourn in New York.

My, It Has Been a While

So I’ve had some comments made about my lack of posting. Honestly, I didn’t think anyone but me would notice. I’ll work on writing more soon.

Yeah, I could start now, but I’m enjoying a lazy Sunday, have some scones in the oven, and a puppy running around half-crazed from lack of exercise and teething symptoms.

But at least it’s a new post, right? 😉

Internet Goodness

Between a new puppy and the usual stuff of life and work, I haven’t had much free time to do things like read, blog, or watch tv. However, I have found time to watch all the Old Spice commercials and internet marketing goodness.

If you don’t know what I’m talking about, check out the Old Spice YouTube channel and be prepared to waste a good amount of time smiling and laughing your butt off.

(Also, Isaiah Mustafa can be my man any old time, whatever he smells like. Yum!)

This morning, my buddy Megan sent me this:

Spoofing the Old Spice guy with a library theme? Y’all, that is pure internet goodness, and made my Friday morning. 🙂