Hello

Greetings my faithful friends. I'm sorry I have not yet blogged about my fantabulous (yes I'm authorized to make up words because I am often told I remind people of Rachael Ray, and she does) trip to New York/New Jersey. Trust me, it was amazing.  If you've seen me in the last week, you've heard the stories, some of you multiple times. (I know, they get better every time).

I apologize, however, because I am just exhausted and trying to get caught back up on life, that is my reason for not writing a Pulitzer-award-winning blog about my trip. **It's coming, I promise.

Here are the visual highlights: (there are amazingly entertaining stories to go along with each of these photos, but, for now, the visual aids will have to do)  

Looks like we had a blast, right?  We did. TRUST ME.  Memories, for sure. I've seriously had the best month ever.

Right now, I'm having a hard time believing there is enough coffee a) on the planet b) that I can consume without getting sick..... to get me through tonight at work.  I'M SO TIRED!!  I secretly wish I could wear yoga pants and a T-shirt to work but we have a congressman coming in, so I'm guessing I'm going to have to iron.  I think I'll talk to the congressman about introducing legislation to do away with Mondays. Petition, anyone?

Here I Come!

Did you see Harry Connick Jr.'s face when he heard I am making the trip to New York to see him?  Too bad I've been Tivo-ing his 100 Biggest Weather Moments all week on The Weather Channel and Comcast has had the audio all screwed up!! Good thing Harry is nice just to look at.  I am so excited for New York Weekend with two of my favorite girls on the planet, Courtney and Gretchen.  We will likely break the record for laughs in a 3 day period. Seriously.  And, we're going behind the scenes at GMA. My nerdy news room better standby for more pictures!

Sweet Escape

I am getting ready for my Nacogdoches blog-a-thon. Buckle up.

I’m on my 2^nd cup of coffee right now. By the end of this, I will likely be on the 3^rd. The great thing about that 3^rd cup of coffee is that’s when my fingers really start to move at the pace of my mind, which, when I’m writing, can feel like the speed of light.  After three cups of coffee, I feel like I have special spelling powers. After three cups of coffee, I can spell words like Nacogdoches or Roethlisberger, with no backspacing, and that, my friends, feels great!

My trip to see Michael in Texas was the trip that felt like it would never come.  Perhaps that’s because of my incredible, unfortunate mathematic inabilities which caused me to think the trip was two weeks away, when it was really three weeks away, so I spent two weeks in “two weeks from now” mode. Get me?

After all of the nervousness and anticipation, it was finally here.  5 days.  My sweet escape. The trip that at least part of me thought would never grow from the nucleus of an idea into a real, living, breathing experience.  But, I’m so glad I did it. Flying half way across the country to see someone is so often one of those things I say I’m going to do, but I never actually do.

As these experiences often go, once I was there, I found out all that time I spent worrying and wondering was nonsense.  I love it when that happens. (she says, sarcastically) When will I learn not to worry and anticipate?

Clearly, never.

Nacogdoches is such a sweet little town.  It’s the kind of place where you can walk into an antique shop and spend 20 minutes talking with the owner, and walk out with some homemade pumpkin butter.  Walking around downtown, I seriously felt like I was in Stars Hollow.  We ate a hearty soup in a place called the General Store.  We went up a cool elevator in an old hotel turned into a fabric store/makeshift museum.  The way the rooms were set up, it reminded me of “A League Of Their Own.” I love the 40’s.  Nacogdoches is the kind of town where there is history on every corner and every little thing is dedicated to someone. Little plaques are on the benches. The lightposts. Everywhere.

It was like being transported back in time. And forward. We took a mini-trip within my trip… to Dallas.  Now, if you’re a responsible, logically thinking adult, you might think a road trip of that distance would be CRAZY. Be that as it may, it was a great ‘getting to know you trip’ and the Galleria was FABULOUS.  Incredible. Seriously, the coolest mall I have ever stepped foot into.  It’s not every day I get to touch a $2,000 handbag!  Or see people ice skating in a MALL. The details were cool… down to the design of the chairs and the guy playing piano in Nordstrom.

So, it was Spring Break, right? Right.  Tell that to the snow! Yes, the snow. Now, I’m not quite sure why the snow likes me so.  It seems to follow me wherever I go.  I am generally over it.  But it was fun in Nacogdoches.  It brought excitement because it’s been so long since it snowed there, especially in April!  I was feeling the magic of the moment. White stuff and all. It didn’t hurt that I was wearing flip-flops.  I made a promise to my feet.  Happy feet, they are.

Okay, how’s that for flavor? Got my drift? Does this adequately express how GREAT of a time I had?  It was nice to slow down from the big city pace, go to a new place. Laugh. Sing. Dance. Eat. Drive. Watch movies. Shop. Smile. Smell wonderful scents. See things I’ve never seen before. Worship. Shake hands. Hug.

I seriously ate the best meal I’ve had since Christmas.

Oh, driving through Texas felt like I was driving straight through Dillon, with the town signs that said things like “Population 1,021” and water towers that read “Home of the Brewers.”  I was waiting to see Coach Taylor and Tami at the Sonic where I got my chocolate cream pie shake.

If it weren’t for losing my voice and sounding like Rita Cosby for 3 days, setting off Michael’s smoke alarm, and almost running us into the back of a U-Haul, I’d say it was perfect.  We should definitely do it again, only this time, take more pictures, and not wait as long!

Friends, let me share with you what I learned from this trip -- you should do it. Go for it. Take the trip. Don’t just think about it. Or talk about it.

Take your sweet escape.

       

Horror and Disbelief

I simply cannot believe what happened on the campus at Virginia Tech today. That is a place that is familiar to me and my heart breaks for those lives lost and the students and faculty members who are injured. I cannot imagine what parents and members of that community are going through right now.  Please pray for the people of Blacksburg, and those connected to the Virginia Tech family.

Catching Up...

My apologies to those of you who have been waiting on my spiritual enlightenment about myspace. Sorry. This will certainly not live up to any type of anticipation, that's for sure. Please forgive me. I forgot to put this out there, but in the spirit of getting caught up - here you go:

Sometimes I see random spiritual applications in everyday things. Now, some people would consider this a breath from the Holy Spirit or whatever, this is not that, I assure you. It's just one of my quirks.  It doesn't happen on a regular enough basis to depend on it, sometimes I get little droplets that are semi-wise... and applicable in life, however, mostly, they're amusing, at best, and at that, sometimes, only to myself.

Deep thoughts about myspace.com... I think myspace is, in a way, a microcosm of life. The life, or image would really be a better word, that we create for ourselves. It's perfect for the human condition. We have complete control of what people get to know about us. How much they get, when, and in what setting.  Every little thing, from what we're interested in, to how we look in pictures, the background, the song, it's all handpicked, by us.  We can create a feeling with this space. Let people believe this represents who we are. But, really? Seriously? Myspace does no better job of keeping us safe in ourselves and people at a distance of only knowing so much... than we can do for ourselves in "real life."  Some things are easier on myspace than they are in real life though. You can literally choose who you want to be your friend, and who you will deny. You can completely block some people out.  Some people keep score, just like life. Look at my friends, I have so many! They are all this type of people, etc., etc., etc. How does your space measure up to someone else's space?

See what I'm saying? I thought of this because my church is going thru a series called "myjesus.com" and one by one, it has challenged us to look at ourselves, who we are in relation to who God really is. How we relate to him and how we relate to others.  It's hard to do at all really if we are so concerned with portraying our image of ourselves a certain way.  If you spend all your time controlling what is going in/out/all the transactions of self, you will completely miss the point. The people that are around you. The community. The economy of God.

I don't want to miss a thing.  And yet, I hope you like my space. What a conundrum, huh? This is the human condition. Welcome, it's a place for friends. :)

Birthday Boy!!

Today Brokaw is a year old, I can't believe it. I could go on and on about how getting this puppy changed my life... but, seriously. Do I have to? Just check out the archives.  I'm pretty sure I love this dog more than any human should ever love an animal. That's a lot of pressure on a guy, but for someone who's about a foot tall and about 25 pounds, he can handle it. I love you Brokaw puppy!

Back to Life, Back to Reality

Somebody call Soul II Soul. I can't get the song out of my head! "However do you need me, however do you want me..."

Ahh. The bliss of vacation.  The sweet escape. (shout out Gwen S.) The lack of everyday-ness. The sleeping when it's dark outside.  The no working out and not even feeling guilty about it.  Aaahh. Isn't it so refreshing?  The thing about vacation that really stinks is when it's over. I  had 200 e-mails to sift through at work, most of them junk or things that were simply irrelevant by the time I got to them. Back to life, back to reality... back to the cold. Back to Pennsylvania, where I'm pretty sure they actually learn how NOT to drive.  Back to traffic, and people who brake in the middle of the parkway, for fun.  After 5 days of fun in Texas, and only 2 back here in Pennsylvania, I was so sad, so lonely.

Enter Gretchen, the wonder-friend. Seriously, how's this for a pick-me-up? A yummy Mediterranean meal, complete from appetizer to smoothie, a Steeler-spotting: Legendary player Franco Harris (wiki Steel Curtain or fly out of Pittsburgh International Airport, and you'll know who he is), A trip through a has-been mall that has an Old Navy with NO LINE, and a Pedicure!! Aaaah, Gretchen, nicely done!

 

I was all ready to have pity-party Saturday, feeling all lonely, and now, the party's canceled.

Plus, after that, I hit the bookstore and stumbled upon a great sale! And I stopped by Starbucks, where I made a new friend: "Dulce de Leche" It's hard to say, but worth the education from your local Barista, it was simply awesome. And there are little crunchy bits of goodness the latte stops by and picks up on its way to your mouth - a perfect 10!

And, get this: you know the "The Way I See It's" on the Starbucks cups? Well, friends, they are not only quoting well noted people and books and movies, but apparently now they are letting customers have their say. My The Way I See It tonight was from some guy named John Adamski, a Starbucks customer from Corvallis, Oregon.  Now, I'm just guessing that if this guy has been quoted on a Starbucks cup, he's likely googled himself, so I won't say anything too mean about his quote, but I just hope that one day the Starbucks quote-gatherers are in Pittsburgh and I can have my say!  I'll have to start working on something brilliant.  And I hope I end up on a Venti cup of something wonderful and not on someone's tall cup that's just being used for extra insulation or something.

Standby for my Texas blog. I'm waiting until I'm inspired and highly caffeinated, so that my blog will adequately express how wonderful the trip was!

Until then...

Potluck Anyone?

Okay, so I totally forgot my camera today (it was at home, charging up for the big trip) so I had to steal these pictures from Andrew's blog, but it was a bloggable occasion, so I just have to share! This morning at work, we had our first Potluck Thursday. Breakfast! It was an ongoing event, from about 4:00am - 9:00am. Lots of good stuff! Shout out to Demetrius for having a great idea, Ralph for an incredible breakfast casserole, and everyone I work with - these people are so great, it makes coming in "dark and early" not such a bad thing at all.  Poor Kelly, she was not feeling the 4:00am no make-up picture.  We had it all. McDonalds. Bacon. Doughnuts. Muffins. OJ. Starbucks. Fruit and Yougart. Mmmmmm. I think I'll be full until tomorrow!

 

Ouch!

So, check out this excerpt from the Louisville Courier-Journal:

"... If you're on the downside of a trend, you just can't sit there slip-sliding away. So you fire the executive producer and bring in someone new who is an old hand in the business and has undoubtedly been fired two or three times somewhere else. It amounts to changing uniforms for the football team. Everybody gets excited, but it doesn't mean much. The executive producer can and will change some things, if for no other reason than to establish his or her reign and to make a mark. But it's like trimming the hedges to make the house look different. It works around the edges but doesn't really affect the main structure..."

OUCH! How's THAT for downplaying the importance of MY JOB? That hurts! Well, not really MY job... same title, but in the game of evening network news, it's a whole different ballgame, I know. Major leagues, I am so farm team... scrimmaging, in spring training.

I'm struggling to stay awake this morning. Thank god Kelly brought in some gourmet jelly beans. I don't think I'd make it if it weren't for the party mix: sour apple, popcorn, coffee, tangerine and grape jelly beans. Mmmmm. Actually, it sounds kind of gross, but I'm game for the sugar, that's for sure.

I had a triple venti non-fat toffee nut latte' on my way in last night. Seriously, they should card you at STBX. It's THAT good and has THAT much of an impact on me!