it's official

Yep, it is now completely official...my parents have hit the mid-life crisis stage. The term "mid-life crisis" is often used to describe a person, usually in his 40's or 50's, who suddenly engages in uncharacteristic behavior that seems like an attempt to reclaim some of his youth. Examples of such behavior might be: leaving one's family for a fling, quitting one's job and running off to the islands, buying a fancy sports car or boat, or undergoing extensive plastic surgery.

So why do I think my parents have hit this stage? Well, they just emailed me pictures of their most recent purchase:





So, Mom and Bob, all I can say is, if you decide to run off to the islands next, please take me with you!

4 x 4

So I got one of those forwarded e-mail surveys from a friend today, but rather than filling in my answers and sending it along, I thought I would post it here instead. Why? Well, a) because it is lunch time and I am taking a break from work as I am chowing on my Calypso tuna salad, b) I haven't been inspired to write about anything in over a week, so the blog has been looking a little stale, and c) a lot of my friends hate receiving forwarded e-mails.

The "4 things you may or may not have known about me" survey:

Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. HR assistant at the bus company in Chattanooga (CARTA)
2. waitressing at Olive Garden (which is why I never eat there anymore)
3. copy editing intern at Miller Freeman Publishing in NYC--for Insurance & Technology magazine (riveting stuff to read, I tell ya)
4. sales clerk at Brookstone--and yes, we totally played with all of the gadgets after closing

Four movies I've watched more than once:
1. Princess Bride (anybody wanna peanut?)
2. Life is Beautiful
3. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
4. Breakfast at Tiffany's

Four places I have lived:
1. Chattanooga, TN
2. Franklin, TN
3. NYC
4. Nashville, TN
wow...maybe I should aim for moving out of TN next...

Four TV Shows I watch
1. How I Met Your Mother
2. Hell's Kitchen
3. House
4. Dexter

Four places I have been:
1. Italy
2. France
3. Australia
4. Jamaica

Four of my favorite foods
1. Sushi
2. Thai
3. Potatoes
4. Hummus
(ok, so I realize that 2 of those are foods and 2 are types of food...but whatever, it's my list)

Four Places I love to shop:
1. TJ Maxx
2. Katwalk Shoes
3. Fabu
4. Woodland Wine Merchant

Four places I would rather be right now:
1. At a beach
2. Out west visiting friends (either in CO or CA)
3. Backpacking through Europe
4. On a boat

And now, my salad is done, and it's time for me to get back to event-planning. Hopefully, I can come up with something a tad more original for my next post...

recipe for fun

Ingredients of the weekend: girlfriends, laughter, wine, bright red shoes with 4-inch heels, the greatest cab ride ever, jello shots, Elvis sunglasses, honky-tonks, funny pictures with statues on 2nd Avenue, dancing, a blinking red necklace, 2 a.m. french onion dip, facials, Nashville's Most Wanted Pizza, pajamas and funky footwear, sparkle nail polish, a slightly modified version of pin the tail on the donkey, a pink caboodle, quizzes from a teen magazine, a documentary on a certain type of body puppetry that was disturbing on so many levels, make-your-own sundaes, a scary cactus, a dvd trivia game with a surprise video appearance by Todd, Pop Rocks, staying up late, sleeping in, mimosas, porch-sitting, and incredible amounts of food.

Put them all together, and what do you get? One of the best weekends ever, with some of the most fabulous friends a girl could ever ask for. Thank you, Mary V., for the extraordinary amount of time and heart you put into making it such a special weekend, and thank you to all of my friends who contributed to the celebration. You all, quite simply, rock my world.

sometimes

Sometimes, life throws you a curve ball.

And then sometimes, life throws 100-mile-per-hour fast pitch straight at your head.

What a game.

what's left

Every now and then, I go through periods where I contemplate my place in life. I think about the things I have already accomplished, and I think about the goals and dreams that I would like to realize before I leave this earth. The questions that most often siege my soul are: "What have I contributed? Have I had a positive effect on the lives of those around me? How have I improved the community, and the world, that I live in? And what have I given or accomplished that will remain after I am gone?"

At 31, I hope to have many more years to answer these questions, but the reality is that we never know how many years, or days, we have left in this life. It is a slightly morbid consideration, but it's something that I think about--perhaps because I work in development, and we talk a lot about "leaving a legacy." In that context, we are generally referring to a financial gift/bequest, but since I know that I will likely never have the ability to leave a monetary legacy, I ponder the other ways of leaving behind something meaningful.

During these times of contemplation, I enjoy reading verses and quotations that inspire me in my endeavors to make a positive mark on the world. One such piece follows:

To laugh often and much;
to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;
to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;
to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others;
to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition;
to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded.
-(often attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson, but originally penned by Bessie Stanley)

bitten

Sometimes, I think WebMD can read my mind.

I receive their weekly e-mail newsletters, and every now and then, the email title seems to be specifically directed at me. For example, I recently opened my inbox to find the title "Are you a mosquito magnet?", and I immediately had to click through to read the featured article. You see, I have been pondering that exact same question quite a lot lately.

Mosquitos love me. They long to be near me. Sometimes I think that I can see them staring in my windows, just waiting for me to come outside. I'm not sure, but I think that there must have been a write-up in the Mosquito World News that said something like, "If you're ever in Nashville, TN, be sure to stop by TT's for a quick bite to eat. Ask for a seat on the back or upper arms--those are the best spots. It can get a little crowded at times, but it's worth it."

If I played connect-the-dots with all of the bites I currently have, it would look like a full-body tattoo gone horribly awry. There are so many that I actually asked Todd yesterday if he thought it could be chicken pox instead of mosquito bites. He just looked at me like I was crazy. He does that a lot.

When I was little, my mom used to tell me that the mosquitos liked me because I was "so sweet." What I found out from the article is that some people truly are more attractive to mosquitos than others--specifically, people who have more cholesterol or steroids on their skin surface, or people who give off larger amounts of certain acids or carbon dioxide tend to attract more mosquitos. Lovely. I think I liked mom's theory better.

Since I can't alter my body chemistry very easily, I guess I'll just have to start bathing in a mixture of Cutter and Off, and buy a little stock in Calamine lotion. At least then I can amuse the small children in the mall, as they tug at their mom's shirts and say, "Look, mom, there goes a pink polka-dotted lady!"

you shall not pass

I just saw this slideshow of the Top 10 Most Commonly Used Online Passwords, according to PC Magazine. The top four:

1. password
2. 123456
3. qwerty
4. abc123

Um, really? No wonder it's so incredibly easy for hackers to break into online accounts. Are we really that un-creative, or are our memories just so bad that we can't handle anything more complicated? And honestly, why don't more people use antidisestablishmentarianism? I figured that would at least be #8.

Reason #27 why I will not be going vegan...

Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory.



I'm not generally a big cheerleader for chain restaurants or their food, but holy crap. This little piece of chocolatey goodness made my day yesterday.