Joie de vivre

I love flying down back roads in the dark grooving to the music. 

And thinking about good memories of movies and wine and delicious Mom's Ham Stuff and wonderful company.  (savetheolives, clothofdreams, and sicilianocalvo- thank you again.)

I'm now the proud owner of The Godfather and The Godfather II. *happyhappy* (Danke, Hannah!)

And after the latest news from relatives (can it get worser? Evidently!) I am more content and happy than ever to belong to the immediate family that I do.  Especially when my dad says he's glad I belong to them, too. As a woman, it's wonderful to be loved by a mother, but there is something especially meaningful to being loved by a daddy. 

(Two days until my family leaves for their vacation - which probably means Godfather every NIGHT! Woohoo!)

This turned out longer than I intended. It was going to be a pithy one-liner....ha.  I'm just not that good at pithy.

Sarah--shooless, that means you--you really, really, really need to post. Yes. Take five minutes and inaugurate your new journal. =)

I bought a milk frother today. It makes me ridiculously happy.

Five inches in one week: nothing like a drought to make you properly appreciate rain! I love it. More is predicted.

Sunday I was snubbed at a party by several people I used to go to church with. I don't care that much anymore, but it's an odd experience. I'm not that used to flat-out blatant rudeness and I'm always a little shocked (and later, amused) by it. Also, I ran into my former pastor at the pharmacy and he did deign to say hello, but called me by the wrong name. As the British would say, "typical!"

It appears I wasn't that far off the mark, though, when Quinton asked me what the main difference between my former church and my current church was and I blurted out before I thought, "They like me here."

But I came home and drank three cups of Mexican coffee (thanks again for the beans, Sarah-girl!), and so all was well.

Sometimes I wonder why anybody would hate little old me and sometimes I wonder why anybody wouldn't.

I will now proceed to mention several people.

To another Sarah: pansyprincess, you were in my dream Saturday night! I dreamed that I went to my favorite coffee shop and you had just started to work there. You made me an excellent latte, and then I realized your sister was also there (she was taller and blonder than you, but her face looked just like yours...probably because I don't know your real sister's faces well enough). We three sat around and talked and I was almost late getting back to work because of you. =)

aftondays's photography contest grows near, but there's still time to submit a picture or two!

savetheolives and I have been having a grand time planning for the end of May. I think Hollywood conspired not to release any good movies when we could see them together, though. It currently looks like we'll have our pick between MI:II and The Da Vinci Code. ....or not.

I will now venture into politics, which I find interesting that I rarely talk about here. I am actually a very political person....believe it or not.

I'm getting really sick of the whole illegal immigration thing, especially the marches and demonstrations and strikes. I have all the sympathy in the world, but you're breaking the law. I don't see the big deal.

And I heard the gentleman who started the whole translate-the-national-anthem-into-Spanish thing quoted today as saying he did it "to honor all the immigrants who came to this country speaking Spanish." My thought, and my dad concurs, is that we should also translate it into French and German and Polish and Dutch and Chinese and a bunch of obscure African dialects and heck, Gaelic too; and then when Americans gather to sing the national anthem it will sound like the tower of Babel and maybe God will strike us dead.

Thursday was good because it contained, in large proportions, rain, cemetaries, and savetheolives; also coffee and an excellent and amazing performance by clothofdreams. (I heard so many comments from people around me about how special it was to see three members of the same family performing with such high quality together.)

Today is good because when I leave tonight, I will be facing my first significant time at home in two weeks. And that is very good.

I am afflicted, mind and spirit, with wanderlust. I want to see mountains again, mountains, Gandalf! I want time to sit in some remote place and enjoy a book and coffee. I want to finish writing my book. I want time to play an entire game of chess, and I want to learn Latin again and Italian for the first time and read all the books in the world and study more ancient history and philosophy and do something amazing with my life.

The wedding was lovely. I have now met violetvale who is beautiful (don't listen to anything she might say to the contrary!). And I got to see elveneyes38 again...very wonderful...CA seems to have agreed with her; she's even more glowing and beautiful than usual. =)

I got myself navigated around downtown Fayetteville, rescued the missing tie for the best man, and even got myself on the proper expressway to get home. So what if I did miss the turnpike exit and have to take the scenic way home. But don't tell anyone.

blackswans sent me the most amazing card/Christmas letter. You are so talented, Danielle!

Sandra surprised me with a tin of chocolate covered espresso beans this morning. Not only is she sweet (although possibily hinting that I've seemed tired lately?), but the timing was perfect. I am so exhausted today, and got up this morning twenty minutes before I had to leave, a Bad Thing. No breakfast, no packed lunch...gah. savetheolives, please don't worry, I'm not wasting away, I'm sure. The cheesecake last night surely had enough calories to last me a week. o_O

I got my new work computer today! It's a beauty...all black, flat panel monitor, sleek and wonderful. I love it. Unfortunantly the tech guys lots a few of my files in the transfer, but I'm pretty sure they are all replaceable. I hope. *cringes* I should have made my own backup on my flash drive just in case and I didn't take the time because it all happened so suddenly. =\

Lots of things are happening. I can't keep up. Too much to know and do and see and learn and think about. I need time. I can't think, or I think too much. Something!

I think there was more to say, but I can't remember enough to form words.

Accessories make the outfit, ladies. Today I am carrying a bright blue straw purse with bamboo handles, and it has totally changed the way I feel about life.

In an hour and a half I get to leave this building until Tuesday, pick up meat, cheese, grapes, a juice at the supercenter, and drive to C_______ to pick up Sarah and steal her away for an evening of picnicing and playing in the park. (I feel like a kid again..."Make sure you bring your playclothes!")

And then on my way home again I get to go buy more paint. The color I had them mix up Wednesday is just too light...so I'm picking a darker one, which will probably be too dark. I have horrible luck getting paint colors right. =P

Maybe I can just combine the two? Now there's an idea.

Edit: Scratch what I said about not being back here until Tuesday...I just realized it's my Saturday to work. Joy joy joy. I guess I'd better not make it too late of a night...

I am a lazy girl. I have let savetheolives do all the work, while I reap all the benefits.

Behold,here be pictures!

I have the best friends in the whole world. And I don't deserve them. At all.

I read three books in three days: 1,584 pages exactly. I haven't done that much reading so quickly in years. Maybe never, since back when I routinelyy read a book a day, they weren't as large as the books I read now. And all because the college library (mistakenly?) gave me a due date of only four days after the day I checked them out, when it was supposed to be three weeks. Not sure what happened there. It was fun to see if I could do it, and I did, and now I feel slightly guilty for having spent the whole weekend reading, but I can catch up on everything else on my next days off. I think.

I'm starting to feel Gift Stress. I want to find fantastic and marvelous Christmas presents for my friends, and I usually end up short of time...and no matter what I find, I'm always a little nervous that they won't like it as much as I did, or it wasn't exactly what they wanted. Silly, I know. My friends aren't that materialistic.