Ode to the Secret Spot

O Secret Spot O Secret Spot

Your elusiveness is charming.

You hide behind the building

the fact you even exist is alarming.

Everytime I drive down the row

I drive by you ever so slow.

Most of the time, o spot, you are filled,

but tonight I looked and my heart stilled.

You were empty, o spot, with no car insight

You were empty, o spot, much to my delight.

So now, o spot, my little blue car

is in your warm embrace so I don't have to walk far.

So thank you secret spot for your very existence

finding you empty took lots of persistence.

A few fun websites to distract you...

http://www.starbucksloveproject.com/

---Create a love drawing

http://www.eatingalabama.org/

---Cool blog to follow-- these people went an entire year eating only Alabama locally grown foods. Now they work to advocate eating/shopping locally and cooking your own meals.

www.mysterygoogle.com

---No matter what you type in, the results from the previous person's search appear. Crazy results!!

http://www.instyle.com/instyle/makeover/

---Get a new look from hair to make-up!

Thoughts by M.A.

I admit I stole this idea from the chain e-mail that has been going around...but these random thoughts are completely original.

Whenever I am driving through a school zone and pass the traffic director, I always look back in my rear view mirror just to check that that neon vest is still standing. Alarming?

The other day someone was telling me about her twin sister. When I asked if they were identical, she looked confused and stated, "No she's not my twin." Oh...right.

Why is it that we insist on getting the parking spot that is two spaces closer to the building? Do those five extra feet really make much of a difference in the long run?

If I ever catch someone staring at me, I prefer one of two approaches to reciprocate the gesture. 1) Stare back at them until they feel as uncomfortable as they have made me feel (who's the starer now??). 2) Begin laughing to myself while staring contemplatively at the ceiling...all the while seeing how long it takes them to look away. Might as well give them a little show, right?

At weddings, as the doors open and the bride enters the church, I like to be the one to turn around and catch the face of the groom. Oh wait, that idea was already in a movie. (I've now noticed more people doing that since that movie came out, by the way).

Though I am now 20 years old, I still never fail to avoid stepping on the sidewalk cracks. Mom has just had too many back issues to mess around.

Why is it that if I see a penny on the ground, then I will dodge traffic, risk contracting a bacterial disease and bend over in front of everyone behind me in order to pick it up? A dime on the other hand? Nah.

I always feel like the communion plates passed around at church serve as some form of competition. OK we have Bill handing it in from the left...Martha grabs it too quickly and I miss the opportunity to place my offering in it...panic...if I act fast, I can hand my money to the guy behind me to deposit once he is handed the plate...mild hysteria...pass-off occurs...dabbles of sweat break out across my temple...he lands it in the bowl...breathe.

Every once in a blue moon I get the sudden urge to yell out a word or phrase in some absolutely inappropriate place (class, church, etc.). I then pause and think about how this one spontaneous blurt could possibly alter the path my life then takes. I could become a complete social outcast by this mere mutter...I could ruin my grade in the class...I could simply dismiss the outburst as a misinterpretation of some other word phrase (My dog has fleas!!! What? No, I said the answer was B) and move on with my life. Should I really have to contemplate to that extent before making said decision?

I absolutely loathe when I am shopping and making my way down a rack of clothes and someone on the other end, making their way towards me, seems to think I need to move out of the way as they peruse my half. OH friend. I beg to differ.

Elevator buttons remain, to this day, one of the most exhilarating sources of enjoyment.

I simply don't understand when there is a toilet left unflushed. I mean, do you plumb forget? Pretty sure you should have learned that one by now.

There have been many a days when the free samples at Sam's Club have served as my buffet-style lunch.

Speaking of free samples, my life would be incomplete without them.

Why is it that I have a massive test in the morning, an article to critique, a basketball game that I could be attending, a weekly schedule to plan, a body to exercise, a pair of eyes to sleep, a parent to call, a to-do list to stress over, a life to live, a husband to marry, a child to birth, an itch to scratch, a memory to reminisce, and a tale to tell yet I am sitting here writing this blog? Just a thought...

How to save a life

Today I did a good deed. I don't mean to brag but I saved a life.... I donated blood. You see we have the beat auburn blood donation event going on and hating everything auburn as I do I decided to participate. I tried to round up some of the other bookends but Kathy replied with a resounding No and Mary Alice went on to describe the trauma her arm had received of late- lunch lady injuries, TB test ,etc. I do not blame MA for backing down.... if I had been injured in the lunch line of duty I probably would have said no too. Anyways.... I traveled outside the AGD house and to the LifeLine bus which was conveniently located down the row. I stepped inside and waited to go in the little room which I have dubbed the room of inquiry. You sit down with a lady you don't even know and she asks you a series of very interesting and sometimes incredibly personal questions. I wonder if she has gotten any good stories from people saying yes? After I was all cleared I went to the middle of the bus and sat down in a donation chair- right arm please. They pumped my blood and when I was "100% myself" I was cleared to leave. I am now proud of pink wrap of honor. Yes my arm hurts and I will probably bruise like crazy... its my amazing talent, but it was worth it. Life saved today? Check!

Fro Yo from Yo Mo

Last night, my friends and I climbed the mountain. The Yogurt Mountain. Let me tell you, it was epic. This place made me feel like a kid again. First, we grabbed a monstrous cup for the frozen yogurt. There were several types of frozen yogurt to choose from. I personally recommend the Cake Batter, although my friends who got the Cookies n' Cream said it was wonderful. Next, we proceeded to the "topping bar" where there were countless amounts of delicious toppings available to us. There was everything from fruit to cereal, which I never really thought of putting cereal on top of ice cream, but hey, some people might like it. After loading my Cake Batter frozen yogurt down with cookie dough bits, Reese's cups, Twix pieces, and yes, a few pieces of cinnamon rolls, I was set. Now, $0.45 an ounce does not seem too bad. Oh, but it can be. Those little ounces add up so fast that before you know it, you'll be eating a whole pound of frozen yogurt and toppings. Beware: an ounce is MUCH less than you think it is! For me, I will probably never go there unless I have a coupon. I did have a 50% off coupon last night, which definitely came in handy after purchasing my 10.7 ounces and only paying for half. All in all, Yogurt Mountain (or the "YM" as I will now refer to it) it a pretty cool experience. Go climb that mountain.

So, I am sitting next to Kathy and she is forcing me to write on this "awesome" blog. I am not much of a blogger, but I do not want to study for my test, so here i am. Ok Kathy....This is for you. Hi. This is my blog.

Down Came the Rain

Today, Ida hit campus! I'm sorry, I did not realize I needed a canoe to get to Shelby Hall! I set out for genetics class at 9 am in shorts, a t-shirt, my new rainjacket and my every trusty chacos. By the time I reached Shelby I was soaking wet. The kind of drenched where you have to dry off your legs with paper towels in the bathroom. Where your worried you may catch hypothermia in class because your shirt is wet. We were given four questions in genetics- two of which I got wrong so I should not even have braved the weather anyways. Also, the new rainjacket- epic fail!!! So for now I will put on my Target rainboots and brave the lake that was formerly known as the quad. Happy Sailing!

A Word to the Wise

Recently my laptop decided to laugh at me.

As I was browsing the sales of my RueLaLa account on a pleasant Friday afternoon, my computer screen suddenly froze. A mysterious noise, resembling that of a dying cat combined with someone banging on a metal trash can lid, then began to scream out from somewhere--not sure where--inside the computer. After turning it off and then turning it back on, a blank, grey screen appeared with a question mark blinking in the center (reminiscent of a scene from a film where planet earth then proceeds to explode).

Long story short, after multiple attempts to self-diagnose/self-fix the problem, numerous phone calls to my new friend Shannon at Apple, and a trip to Tuscom (major shout-out, btw, as they were so incredibly helpful and sweet), I am now starting from a clean slate with all of my pictures, music, word docs, power points, downloads, programs, etc. from the past three years gone forever in cyber world.

My reasons for telling you this exhausting story? No-- not to make you feel sorry for me (although I will gladly accept the sympathy). In actuality I would REALLY REALLY REALLY like to prevent this from happening to anyone else. Not only is it a headache but it also is frustrating and downright sad to lose all of those little things you have collected over the years. It may sound petty, but even the little things (such as my to-do lists, of course) lost sadden me.

You may thing it will never happen to you, but that's the same thing I thought and look what happened. BACK-UP anything and everything that you would not want lost in such a situation. It may be a bit of a pain, but trust me-- you will be so glad you did!! And don't put it off, either, like I did, or you will never do it. In fact, save everything right this very minute. Here are a few tips for ways to do so:

dropbox.com (I thankfully saved a couple of important docs to here before the crash. It is free for a little space but then costs after that. Totally worth it-- check out the video tutorial.)

a good ole jump drive (easy though kinda expensive)

Itunes has an option where you can select which music to back up. You usually save selected songs to a cd, I believe.

E-mail important docs to yourself.

Because I'm bored...

So, I am sitting here waiting on my virus scan to finish so I can shut down my computer and I just thought I would do a little blogging. Obviously, I'm new to this, so I'll bore everyone with a synopsis of my day. I woke up around 9:45 this morning because I didn't have class (yes, Jodes, be jealous), but I had to take an online quiz. After the quiz (which, by the way, Kaila and I scored a 100 on), I was starving so I got some yummy lunch. Now, at the good ole' AGD house, we have Fried Fridays, and boy are they amazing. I proceeded to pile some fried chicken fingers and a pizza stick onto my plate then head back upstairs. After I consumed this heavenly meal, it was nap time for Kathy. The sleeping porch was calling my name. After about 3 hours, I decided I needed to be productive. I had a module I had to do for one of my nursing classes, so I decided to make myself sit down and do it. I then had to get dressed for what turned out to be an AMAZING dinner at Desperado's Steakhouse in Northport. We had our Executive Council dinner there tonight. After a salad (yes, Jodes, I ate a salad!), 10 oz. Steer Butt (that was a fun one to order), loaded mashed potatoes, several Sprites, and one humongous piece of Butterfinger Cake (and a few, ok maybe lots, of bites of white chocolate cheesecake), I had to force myself to stop. I do not think I have ever eaten so much in my life. I greatly exceeded my maximum caloric intake for the day. After dinner, we all went to "The Cave", as it is known, to celebrate Courtney's 21st birthday. Pretty fun night overall. Now it is 4:08 a.m. and I have to be up in approximately 5 and 1/2 hours for some ALABAMA FOOTBALL!!! Gosh, I hope we win. Well, that's all for now. Hopefully my next post will be much more entertaining, although I highly doubt it. Until next time!

-Kathy

Hello Blogdom!

Hello World!!! I apologize for diving into blogdom without properly introducing ourselves to the blogging world. Collectively, Lolly, Kathy, Mary Alice and I make up the "bookends" of the back hall on the 2nd floor in squirrel world. We hope this blog can be a place where we share our stories and give you a little peak into what it is like to be a bookend. I am sure we will have our fair share of tales from the sleeping porch (night terrors perhaps?), stories form the weekend and more often than not just general shenanigans. We hope you will enjoy reading it as much as we will enjoy writing it. So for now we wish you a glorious day and I leave you with a story from my favorite website mylifeisaverage.com

Today, I saw a commercial for the Snuggie. I thought it was stupid idea but I couldn't change the channel because I was under a blanket and I didn't want my arms to get cold. MLIA

-Jodes

Thoughts by M.A.: The finer things

Whilst making my tri-weekly Starbucks run the other day, I came across a true jewel. Walkers Artisan Shortbread cookies are a simple delight that are now even better. To accompany my chai tea latte I selected a duo of the cookies shaped in owl and cat forms. Not only were they a delicious accompaniment to my afternoon coffee but they also were not a huge blow to the calorie intake at about 200 calories for the package of two (much improvement from the oh-so-tempting pumpkin scone coming in at a half billion calories).
I highly recommend this pick-me-up on your next visit to the 'bucks.

Tip: Be sure to grab the "I*tunes Pick of the Week" cards by the register in Starbucks-- always great music and, in the words of a great philosopher named Lash, 'fo free.

Stay tuned for more Thoughts by M.A.: The finer things