Your Wish is My Command

My sister in law Martha sent a message asking me to please begin posting again on this blog.  I’ve been writing in so many other places lately and with business finally picking back up, I just haven’t given this site my time and attention. 

I wrote my first post today for Banks.com.  I hope the link works.  So now I have two paid writing jobs (the other is for Shak & Jill) that will help supplement our income enough each month to make a car payment and one week’s worth of gas.  Every little bit helps, I suppose.  I’m very nervous about the Banks.com gig because I have to write a minimum number of words on every post and I worry about finding enough to say. 

I’ve also been writing a lot on This Is LaVergne … that site has really taken off lately.  I wrote what my friend described as a throwaway post about the crane flies that have invaded this area.  The post took off causing the single biggest day of visits (850′ish).  Plus the local news picked up the story and it was the top rated story in the segment, rated by Nielsen Ratings.  It kinda made me happy!

In other news, Hillary got her ACT scores this week.  First go-round, she got a 31.  I’d like her to take the test once more (studying the math) to try to bring it up one more point which woud actually make her eligible for more scholarships.  Hillary also landed her first job today!  She was hired at Arby’s and has orientation scheduled on Tuesday.  She’s pretty excited about both, but it’s taken her longer to get excited about the ACT.  We started looking at college costs and that the scholarships could pay for most.  Sooooo… she’s on the same page as me to retake the test.

Melissa has herself yet another boyfriend.  She’ll be getting her braces off in July, so I expect there will be many more after that!

I am just so tired that I can’t think of anything else to say.  My eyeballs are burning and this is the second 13-hour day in a row, so I’m going to end it here.

PS - I just checked my blog stats for the first time in a month and discovered that I had nearly 1000 hits yesterday from Te Papa site.  It was an auto link thing that WordPress does now.  If you’re here from there, WELCOME!

 

Indian Food and Friends

I had dinner tonight with Sharon Cobb and was tickled that my family decided to come along (even the husband!) and we sure enjoyed talking with her.  I’m trying to talk Sharon into coming to LaV and helping me set up a vegetable garden for the summer.  The girls promised to weed for us!

This weekend has been mostly fun. We went to Buffalo Wild Wings on Saturday evening and had a good time, though I couldn’t hear very well.  Too loud for this deaf girl, so I didn’t get to talk with Malia, ‘Coma, SQ, or John like I would’ve liked.  But I did get to visit with Mr. Ivy, Ivy and Christian, and briefly saw Shauna and Mark.  It was my first time there and I was shocked how big it was inside. 

It’s been a really busy weekend and the coming week promises to keep my hopping, too.  It looks like real estate is finally picking up again… just in time!  I guess this is a throwaway post like my giant mosquito post on This is LaVergne.  No excitement or brilliant insight from Kathy T. today.

I took a “what kind of dog are you” quiz but didn’t get teh link to work.  I was a golden retriever.

 

Prom Night

Tonight is Hillary’s junior prom.  The prom is in a ballroom at the Opryland Hotel and at midnight they’re riding the General Jackson down the Tennessee Cumberland* River.  After, they may go bowling or something.  Hillary went with her boyfriend and a group of friends.  They’re in a limo because the Dad of one of her friend’s is a limo driver.  So yay for parental supervision!

Anyway, Richard met Justin (Hillary’s boyfriend) for the first time today.  He was courteous, but not overly friendly.  Her boyfriend will stay the night at another of my friend’s houses after prom is over because we didn’t feel too comfortable about the idea of him staying on our couch.  I know they’re both good kids, but … well … you know… Anyway, thanks so much for letting him stay over, Chip!  :::HEARTS:::

Here are some photos!  Enjoy!

 *I never took the Tenessee geography or history class. Fail!

 

Just Another Manic Mon..

Here we are another Monday.  I worked from home today because, frankly, the cost of gas it too high for me to justify driving to the office when I can accomplish the same thing from home.  So I’ve knocked out quite a bit of work, PLUS cleaned the upstairs bathroom.  Bonus!

This weekend was really nice.  Enjoyed some company on Saturday afternoon after working all morning picking up litter on the road leading up to the Youth Incorporated Camp.  We filled up 10 bags of garbage, plus found about 10 or 12 paint cans that had been dumped.  Fortunately, we didn’t unearth any human bones (I was a little worried), but did find a couple of sets of animal bones.  Canine, I think, given the jaw and teeth.

After, I took my sore legs home and put on some barbeque pork ribs, made deviled eggs, corn on the cob, and french fries.  Then I settled on the front lawn and watched the Blue Angels.  Here’s my money shot…

I’m off to a Girl Scout meeting… have to stop by Kroger on the way so I can pick up cheese and tortillas. We’re making quesidillas tonight.

 

Fun Weekend, I Hope

This weekend is shaping up to be very busy, yet pretty fantastic.  In the morning, my Girl Scout troop will be doing a clean-up project at the YI Camp.  While I’m not keen about free labor, I believe the exercise will be a good thing… fresh air, exercise… ahhhh… that’s the life.

Hillary is taking the ACT test tomorrow.  She doesn’t seem to be nervous about it at all.  I hope she does well.  She and a couple of friends are in the office right now supposedly reviewing.  Instead they’re talking about Latin class, eating popcorn, eating poptarts, and laughing.  We’ll be heading back to the high school around 5:30 pm to watch Annie *free*.  I like free!

The Blue Angels are performing in the Smyrna Air Show this weekend.  When we moved here in 2003, I was psyched when we saw we could watch then from our front yard.  The last two days, they’ve been practicing and we can still watch from the front yard.  So I think my friend Michelle and her family are coming to hang out and watch too.  Here’s a couple of pictures from practice today - taken from the front yard.

At one point a five formation flew right over the top of the house, but I didn’t have my camera ready.  So here are more pics!

Have a great weekend!

 

 

I *will* Find Inspiration Again

You may - or may not - have noticed that I’ve not written here a lot lately.  I don’t really know why because life has been fairly busy. I suppose it’s because much of what I’d write is of the ordinary. My oldest daughter has been in her school play, Young Frankenstein.  Her role was “angry villager” and she had one line “YEAH!”  It did get laughs.  It was a lot of fun.

I learned something interesting about my youngest daughter this week.  She hates it when you repeat her.  She was talking trash to me earlier this week, so I repeated what she said back to her. Oh did she get mightily angry. 

Work has been keeping me very busy, though I haven’t had a closing since January. I do have three listings right now with another one possibly coming up.  One hasn’t shown at all but the others are.  The one not showing is overpriced and not in the best condition to boot.   What I’d really like to do is find some buyers who are qualified and motivated.  We had a car wash yesterday for the Relay for Life - proceeds going to to the American Cancer Society.  We’ve raised about $1000 through car washes so far.

I had a new crown put on a tooth last week. Coming back from the dentist I got my first EVER speeding ticket. I was PISSED because the cop said I was going 60 in a 45 zone.  I might have been going 48 or 49 (cruise control was set).  I asked if possibly another car was passing me and he tagged me instead, but nope.  Got the fricking ticket. I’m still not happy about it… $95 and I *can* go to traffic school if I’d like. That sucks.  I’m getting mad again thinking about it here.

In other news, I’ve been invited to come and talk to an American Government class at the high school.  I’m working on a slide presentation so I won’t just be some fat old woman standing in front of them lecturing. I’ll be talking about the growth this part of our county has experienced in the past five years.  I’m kind of excited about it - the class is this Thursday - wish me luck!  My friend Michelle came over yesterday to help convert the slides into a movie using Movie Maker. She almost had it done, but hadn’t saved it.  She got the blue screen of death and lost it.  She emailed me this morning where she rescued some of the sound, but I felt so bad for her.  She worked on it four or six hours… I kept assuring her I could just talk instead of recording.

I did get another blog writing offer for banks.com.  They wanted me to write for their real estate section, but they needed a LOT of words each week (1750 min. - 350 x five times p/week) and I don’t think I honestly have time for that much writing. If they can do with less (150 to 300 p/day possibly) then I’d consider it.

All that said, I’m done.

 

Heading Out of Town (Briefly)

Melissa and I are heading to Lexington, Tennessee tonight.  She has a big baton twirling thingie tomorrow: the Jamison Baskett Memorial Open.  She’s competing in Basic Strut, Dance Twirl, and something else.  She has a nice red and black twirling outfit at the ready thanks to Amber and her Mom, Colette.  Wish her luck!  Be back tomorrow night!

 

Hey… Hey… Come and Get Your Love

My husband told me a story from work tonight which he said I can’t “blahg” about (yes he always says “blahhg”). His story made us both go to YouTube at the same time to play this.  I loved this song.

By the way, like Malia I’m always asking him to co-blog with me but he always claims to be too busy.

 

*kiss*

Last Friday my husband and I took my mother-in-law Velma out to eat at the yummy hibachi restaurant: Tokyo Japanese Steakhouse.  We really enjoyed it because it didn’t cost as much as usual to go because we somehow managed to ditch both daughters.  The oldest went to Chattanooga with Michelle and her daughter Keira, while the youngest went to a birthday sleepover with her friend Erica.

So I ordered my typical “steak - medium” dish.  The husband sitting next to me got steak and shrimp.  Velma ordered chicken.  There were others at the table as well who ordered variations of the same.  But what really intimidated me was the little paper that showed our orders for the hibachi chef to follow.  It was so intimidating that I took it with me when we left … just for this picture.

See the asterisk right above?  That was my seat.  I asked my husband what he thought it meant… and I suggested it meant they did the asterisk because I’m a “special” customer who they like.  He thought the asterisk looked more like an as*hole.

:( 

 

Pancake Puff -meet- Bakers Edge

First I fell in love with the Bakers Edge and suggested anyone could get it for me for my birthday. Incidentally no one did.  Now I’ve found another baking dish that looks pretty awesome.  It’s called the Pancake Puff.  Add that to my birthday list.  You have several months to save up for both!

I’m home feeling kind of under the weather today. I was up most of the night with a bucket sitting in my lap. Fortunately it went unused, but I still feel pretty pukey.  I’ll spare you more detailed info.

And now the idea of pancakes and brownies is making me want to hurl.  Bah.

 

Happy Easter

So I’ve completely fallen off the old photo of the day wagon.  Had I kept up with it ilke I wanted, I was going to post these pictures during Easter week.  Instead I’ll just post them all now.

That’s me in the pink. I loved those dresses and we always loved wearing hats for Easter.

I think this one is my favorite.

And the Easter egg hunt.  We always hid the “real” eggs instead of plastic. I think Dad once discovered a boiled egg we hadn’t found that spring while he was mowing the lawn. It was pretty ripe by then.  Anyway, it looks like we’re just standing around and not looking for eggs.  Maybe someone said, “Hold still for a minute while we take your picture!”  Ha. I don’t know why we’re just standing there.

Okay, now for more photo goodness!  I took this picture of my kitty on my camera phone last night. I think it’s the best phone kitty picture ever.  Who wants to help me write an LOLCat caption?

Hope you have a beautiful Easter!

 

Thinking About MP3

My almost 74-year old mother-in-law and I must be the only two people on the planet without an MP3 player. I’ve been thinking about one although the idea of operating one makes me nervous.  I can’t even figure out the little roll-around button on my Blackjack phone so the round button on the MP3s could be beyond my abilities.

The reason I’m considering the pruchase, however, is American Idol.   I started sort of watching it last season, but this season has really captured my interest.  It was the performance of Jason Castro when he did Hallelujah, previously a number one hit for Jeff Buckley, that caught my attention.  I hadn’t heard the song before and fell instantly in love with it and have been thinking about it.  Tonight went to iTunes and previewed the Buckley version.  The 15 second (ish) that I heard were captivating, so now I want an MP3 player to download the entire song.  But you know, I might be able to download it directly on my comptuer and listen to it, huh?  Oh wait.  I just found it on YouTube, too.  Just skip over the stupid “embarrassing moment” junk.

I am blown away by David Cook on AI… I loved his version of Lionel Richie’s Hello.  I know nothing about the music industry, I just know what I like when I hear it.  This David kid with the funny eyes is enormously talented.

Well I suppose I’ll stop writing now.  I’m tired.  I did this for my brother Jim who said “get back to your blog!” or words to that effect.  I guess I’ve not been feeling too creative these days or like I have nothing to say.  This post is a true testament to that.  Outta.

So I spent all day in Clarksville, Tennessee at a twirling event.  That was loads of fun.  My pink eye is back, too, so when I wasn’t sitting uncomfortably on a bleacher or working the concession stand, I was dripping eyedrops in my eyeball.  The really fun part, though, was I got to meet my sister and two of her daughters for dinner.  Although our 35 minute wait for a table at Olive Garden turned into almost an hour and a half, it was a wonderful visit!  After we ate, my sister was moaning about how her stomach hurt.  I snapped my waist band and said, “That’s why I LOVE elastic!”  It was funny.  Stupid, but funny.  I’m so middle aged.

Tomorrow is the big Parade of Homes day.  I don’t know what our turnout will be, but I’m hoping we’ll do okay.  I have to run a couple of errands before the open house begins - pick up the balloons and $75 gas gift card. 

I am so excited about I Am Legend coming to DVD.  I wanted to watch it at the theater, but time got away from me.  I’m also looking forward to Cloverfield coming to DVD - another wannawatchattheater movie that got away.

 

Oh Dear… Has it Been Another Week?

If I could save time in a bottle, I still wouldn’t have time for everything.  I’ve always loved that song.  I’m feeling somewhat melancholy today.  I feel like I’m chasing my tail with work, my mouth hurts from going to dentist, I’m squinting a lot and always reaching for my bifocals.  I’m nervous about the economy and how it’s going to affect my own family - especially since we depend on my income in real estate to make ends meet (and we all know what the real estate market is like right now, though I’m working hard to stay optimistic about it).  I’m PO’d about gas prices… really I’ve been mad about them for about three or five years. 

I’m also severely disappointed in Eliot Spitzer.   For years I’ve admired his gumption as New York’s Attorney General.  He took on corporations for fraudulent practices.  I had really hoped he could someday be a reform candidate for president, but I guess that won’t happen now.

I guess I’ll watch the new Top Chef show and it’ll make me happy.  I’ll be happy when I win the $250 million Powerball tonight, too.  I do get to have lunch tomorrow with two of my favorite Girl Scout chicks and am REALLY looking forward to spending time with these smart, funny women.

My palms are burning.  Why do they do that? 

 

Oh Dear… It’s Been a Week, Hasn’t It?

I cannot friggin’ believe it’s been a week since I’ve posted here.  The year of blogging started out strong, but man oh man this week = FAIL.  I adore the new Fail blog even with pictures that look contrived and/or photoshopped.  Still like.

I’ve been swamped at work.  I took a listing a few weeks ago in a neighborhood that’s proving to be a tough sell, so I contacted a bunch of other listing agents and we’re putting together a Parade of Homes for next week.  I’ve been building slide shows, a tab on the LaVergne blog about the POH, writing an ad for the Tennessean, writing letters to other homeowners in the ‘hood, and more.

Our office is also in the middle of fundraising efforts for the Relay for Life.  There are lots of dates that could be easy to forget, so I’ve built an OFFICE blog.  I know I’m already messing up on it a little because I haven’t developed a mission and objectives.  I’ll definitely have to get on that soon so it’ll be professional, readable, and informative.  Meanwhile, if anyone wants to participate in a March Madness online pool, it’ll cost a mere $20 and all proceeds will go to the Relay for Life.  What would you win?  Bragging rights.  Plus knowing you’ve donated to a good cause.

On the tubes… I just saw a commercial for Ogre on Sci Fi channel.  It looks vewwwy tempting.  I’ve also caught up on American Idol.  I’m kind of with Busy Mom’s Journal who said she didn’t start watching until last season.  Me too.  And I agree with her that although Jason Castro is definitely young enough to be my … well she coughed and said nephew … but in my case he’s young enough to be my son, holy cow is he charming.  My oldest daughter thinks he looks like a girl when he pulls back his dreadlocks though.  I’m still addicted to Survivor - I admit it.  And still disappointed that Caveman is gone.  I guess Richard and I are one of about 10 people in the country who loved that show.  Of course we also loved Get a Life with Chris Elliott.

I see the new Nashville is Talking has launched.  I had looked at it a couple of months ago and do like it - even the red.  Casey had started Tennessee Blog Watch last summer and the new NiT reminds me a lot of that.  I’ll be looking forward to seeing what it can grow into… from more than just an aggregator site if it does take off. 

On a more personal note, I have my first dentist appointment [in six'ish years] tomorrow morning at 9:00.  I broke my tooth last week and it must be looked at.  I’ll probably have about a hundred cavities to top it off.  Woot me.  All-righty, say goo’nite.