Honey Boo Boo Encounter

Many of you know about this already because I was texting you furiously while it was happening. But only Jeff and I know the whole story. Last week was my Spring Break. Did I do anything fun? Not really. I stayed in town and worked on my practicum secondary site visits. Meaning, I went to an elementary and high school in Milledgeville on 4 separate days. Anyway, the most exciting thing to happen that week was going out to eat at Chili's in Milledgeville. It was Tuesday evening and hardly anyone was at the restaurant. Jeff and I were being led to our table and I recognized a man sitting with his family. I looked at all the daughters and I couldn't figure out why I recognized them so I just assumed they were students at my school. I started to smile and say "hey" and then my "hey" turned into about 6 syllables long because I finally realized who they all were. My smile got bigger and I just kind of stood there next to their table. One of the daughters (I think it's the one called Chubbs, or maybe Pumpkin--they look very similar) rolled her eyes at me and I'm pretty sure I asked how they were doing.  June said something about something or other and I heard the word "picture". So I asked if they would mind if I took their picture. She very kindly said they don't take pictures during family time and then Miss Honey Boo Boo herself handed me this.

She was playing with her niece at the table when she handed me the card. In case you can't see it very well it's a picture of the whole family (minus the new baby) with their names in gold writing. It's just a mass produced promotional item but I thought it was nice of her to give it to me nonetheless. Anyway, our table was next to theirs and I sat with my back to them the whole night. They were kind of loud but they weren't farting (at least not audibly) or anything gross like you see on their show. Alana (Honey Boo Boo) did spill her drink on the table and all over the seat but that was it. Oh, and they did not have their film crew with them, just a bodyguard.  At one point during the meal I turned my head and saw the bodyguard telling a woman to move on. He even got up and started to pull on her arm. When they were done with their meal (which took 3 different waiters bringing like 12 different dishes) their bodyguard took photos of them with the waitstaff.Other diners ran up in hopes of getting a picture but were told only the waitstaff would get a picture--two of which actually were GMC students. So, while the bodyguard took pictures, I did as well.

Jeff (you can see his arm in all the pictures) kept telling me to put my phone down but what does he know? I needed evidence of the encounter. I figured I would run into them at some point because they've been filmed all over town. The pictures are very bad, I know, but I took what I could get--on the sly. I chatted with the GMC students/waitstaff after the family left about what a jerk I was smiling like a crazed fan and asking for a picture. The Honey Boo Boo clan left a baby bottle behind. Jeff told the waitress to sell it on eBay.

One Year Ago Today

My hubby and I tied the knot. It does not seem like a year at all. We don't have any special plans because we will be celebrating in July when I am done with school. We're going to Kauai for a week. We are both very excited about this trip and I keep trying to remember that the day after I'm done with school we will be on a plane to paradise. We honeymooned in a different paradise along with at least a dozen other newlywed couples. So, Happy Anniversary to us and Happy Easter to everyone.

Coffee = Motivation

I remember the first time I had good coffee. It was over 20 years ago and mom took the whole family to one of those gourmet grocery stores. They had a coffee bar/station where you could grind any flavor of coffee beans and then add any combination of ingredients. Michanne made me a cup and I remember the light caramel color and the dreamy, velvet taste. It was mostly heavy cream, sugar, and honey with a splash of coffee. I never have been able to make my coffee taste the same way again. I never drank coffee while earning my undergrad but I did drink coffee every day when I worked at Geico.

I abstained for many years after those horrible 16 months. Many of you are aware that I've had bladder and ulcer issues over the years (sorry for the clinical content but like I said, most of you already know) and coffee isn't the best thing for those kind of problems. I generally stay clear of caffeine. I did get on a daily latte kick over a year ago at work but it led to bladder problems again so I stopped cold turkey. Now I drink coffee every Saturday and Sunday. Honestly, I have no idea how I would complete any of my school work without coffee. Does it hurt my stomach? Yes. Does it cause acid reflux that feels like I have a huge lump in my throat and like I'm about to throw up? Yes. Is it worth it? Yes. Oddly enough I don't have any bladder problems and I do not drink caffeine at any other time except one 8oz cup of coffee on Saturday and Sunday. I'm partial to Green Mountain Hazelnut which I buy in K-cups so I can enjoy my still very cool Keurig. It's amazing how one cup of coffee will provide hours and hours of motivation. I add fat free original flavor Coffee-Mate and about 4 teaspoons of sugar so that might contribute to my energy levels as well. I don't need it to get ready for work in the morning and I don't want it in the afternoon but coffee will be my study-buddy until I finish school. I can give it up anytime I want, really I can, I just don't want to, yet. 

You Know It's Spring...

When Tractor Supply Company has baby chicks for sale. After a marathon session at work yesterday (7 hours working on my digital video project) Jeff met me at TSC so I could see the baby chicks. There's not much to do in this town. We went a few years ago and they had bunnies and ducks. No bunnies this time but they did have sweet little ducks.

There's just something about their little bills that I find adorable. They keep all the little fluff balls in tubs with warming lamps. You used to be able to walk around and pick them up but they were fenced off and to hold them you had to ask an employee. We saw three different kinds of chickens.

This last group are called bantam chickens. They had really unique coloring and were smaller than the other two. Jeff bought this new toy for the dogs.

Remy really likes the monkey and growled at me when I tried play with it this morning. He's growls at everything though. In other non-school news I saw the movie Butter on Friday night and watched Saturday night's DVRd Too Cute this morning. I was smiling the whole hour. I'm making progress on all my school stuff but I still haven't done my taxes. I may need some help this time around since I'm in school again. Anybody else still working on their taxes? I'm actually afraid I'll forget entirely this year because I'm so distracted with school stuff. Ordinarily I would have been done a month ago. And already received my money!

Eye Twitch

When I was in college I had a nemesis professor. I had him three times in as many years at Georgia Southern University. The third class I took with him was an upper-level course called Media Criticism. I earned a big fat C in that class. And his other class. And a low B in the first one. Sigh. I wasn't the best student at Southern but I did make the Dean's List a few times. Anyway, I remember  my left eyelid started twitching constantly during the Media Criticism semester. It stopped when the semester was over. Well, it's started again. My eye twitches all the time. I cannot express how stressed I am these days. It seems I have constant headaches and dizziness and my dentist informed me that I'm grinding my teeth. There is at least one moment each day where I am on the verge of tears. I go to work every Saturday and Sunday for at least 4 hours to work on school stuff. Staying at home is pointless because I just want to watch TV and play with the dogs. Or play the mystery games I love so much on my iPad. I'm getting a lot done but this semester does not end until May 9th (my eye started twitching as I typed that date just now). I can get through this but I hope my husband, friends, and family don't feel neglected. My co-workers are probably fed up with my on-edge behavior but they're being very tolerant. I keep telling myself it will all be over soon and then I look at my to-do list and feel so defeated. I have one more class after this semester and then I will be done. I have to pass my GACE exam but once I earn this certification I am never going back to school again. Never. Ever.

Dear Downton Abbey Writers

HOW COULD YOU?!?!?!?

Happy/Sad

This is the story of two sisters attending a book signing. It's no secret I'm a huge fan of the blog Young House Love. My sister Michanne is also a fan. John and Sherry Petersik are the DIY couple behind the blog and they published a DIY book last year. I pre-ordered my copy (duh) and impatiently awaited it's arrival. When it did finally arrive I was excited but I'll admit the content was not exactly what I expected but I loved flipping through every page. I'm unbelievably proud and impressed by their book writing and publishing journey. Their journey also included a book signing tour! Sadly, Atlanta (nor anywhere near Atlanta) was included in their tour. It seems they changed their minds because Michanne texted me about new tour dates late last year and Atlanta was going to be the last one. Huzzah! Micahnne registerd us immediately and we made plans for the February visit. Fast forward to Thursday, February 7th, 6pm and Michanne and I are waiting in line to meet the Petersiks! We stood in line for over 2 hours. in the cold. windy. rainy. weather. outside. Catching a glimpse of the couple just before 6:30pm and seeing them through the storefront window around 8pm lifted our spirits. Not to mention the freebie snacks the book signing hosts passed around outside the storefront. I had a mini cheesecake brownie and it was delicious. Michanne and I were not dressed properly for a two-hour session outdoors. Their previous book signings appeared to take place in large stores and sometimes they even gave speeches before the signing started. Not in Atlanta--apparently the only place in America that does not have a suitable book signing facility. The inside of the store, Flor, was teeny-tiny. Only about 50 or 60 people could fit in there and still form a line. Except the line for John and Sherry inside was about 10 people deep. Michanne forgot her book (oops!) so bought a new one in the store. A second line formed after their signing table and I'll explain that later. Here's a picture of my ecstatic self once we got inside. John and Sherry are right behind me!!!

All pictures were taken with my iPhone so don't expect anything spectacular. After this spastic moment we signed their guestbook and then waited for the stupid girls in front of us to ooh and aah over John and Sherry and proffer their idiotic packets about their home. Yadda, yadda, yadda. That song, "Move bit$h, get out the way!" by Luda kept running through my head.

Seconds later our magical moment arrived. I remember saying something stupid about a letter I wrote to them last year about my wedding, blah, blah, blah. They didn't remember even though Sherry sent a very nice reply back to me. They've met thousands of fans on this book tour so that's hardly surprising (but it still hurt). Michanne was so cool, as usual, especially compared to my overly enthusiastic self. I told them we were sisters, they looked at us, paused for a second, and then I said, "well, step sisters," and then Michanne says, "no, we're twins." They laughed and signed our books and we took a group picture.

Then came my you-will-remember-me-moment. I produced this gem for them to sign!

Anyone who reads their blog knows how much Sherry adores white, ceramic animals--well, white, ceramic anything. They also have a white rhino which they love and is part of their blog banner. Sherry looked so happy and they asked where I got it (Z Gallerie) and we talked about how it looked different from their rhino. Michanne took pictures while they signed my rhino's belly. I turned to look at all the people in line and they were smiling but I could tell they coveted my rhino something fierce! Michanne said everyone was staring hard and looked so jealous. That's how you make an impact people--make em' jealous with ceramics. That was it, that was my not-quite-five-minutes with John and Sherry Petersik. The second line I mentioned earlier led to none other than Katie Bower. She is another blogger and is BFFs with Sherry. She and her family also happen to live in Atlanta. I wanted to meet her but the line was long and I needed a proper meal so I snapped her picture with my phone. She didn't look very pleased and Michanne laughed her butt off.

This whole encounter was such a blur. Michanne said when we were taking the group picture all she remembered was staring at the back of John's head and thinking he had a nice thick head-of-hair. We gathered our things and headed to the parking garage elevator to get back in Michanne's car (and turn on the heater!). I held my rhino and book in a large recycle bag over my shoulder. As I exited the elevator I heard rather than felt a distinct CLINK noise. Michanne and I both gasped and she said be careful (after the fact I might add). We opened the bag and sure enough the large horn was broken, but it was mostly a clean break. I won't lie, I wanted to cry right then and there in the parking garage. In a matter of seconds I went from super excited to feeling so sorry for myself. Michanne said not to worry and that it could be repaired easily since it was such a clean break. I tried to forget about it for the rest of the trip but it was the first thing I showed Jeff when I got home.

Jeff has since fixed my little rhino and was very sweet about the whole thing. If you look very closely you can see the crack but you wouldn't notice just passing by. The thing is, the second I took it off my dresser to get ready for the trip I just knew something was going to happen to it. This trip included the worst experiences I've ever had dealing with elevators. All that aside, it was a great trip and it was nice visiting with Michanne and meeting a couple I admire.

New Experiences

Last Thursday my sister and I took a trip to Atlanta. The main purpose was to attend the Young House Love book signing event at Flor. I'll post about the specifics on that later. We both arrived in Atlanta just before 4pm. Our first stop was Ikea. I know I've been to Ikea many, many times, and blogged about it, but I've never eaten there. Michanne and I decided to split a plate of their famous meatballs with mashed potatoes and lingonberry jam.

It was surprisingly good. I think we walked around Ikea for about an hour and then headed over to the book signing location. The book signing started at 6:30pm and we planned on getting in line at 6pm and would grab dinner afterwords. The line was very long and it just got longer and longer as time passed. It was very cold and windy and it sprinkled off and on. 

This line wrapped around to the front of the store and employees opened up an unused space in the building to snake the line further in the back. We caught a glimpse of John and Sherry just before 6:30pm. I wasn't fast enough with my iPhone to take a proper picture so I'll share what I did get. 

Can you see them? They had already made it around the corner by the time I took this award winning photo. My next post will highlight our magical five minutes with John and Sherry. This was my very first book signing. The next morning Michanne and I got in the elevator to go to breakfast in the hotel. When the elevator got to the first floor it would not open. It jumped back up to the second floor, then back down to the first and still wouldn't open. So, we were stuck in an elevator. With a pregnant woman. She was freaking out slightly which freaked me out. I tried to use the elevator phone but no one answered on the other end. The elevator jumped back to the second floor and finally opened. We quickly exited and took the stairs.

The one on the far right is the 'elevator of death'. We alerted the hotel staff about the incident. I think the whole thing lasted about 5 minutes. That was my first time being stuck in an elevator. After breakfast we went to Trader Joe's.  It's an interesting place and I swear I could smell pot in the produce section. It made my eyes sting. I bought some soups and dog treats. This is an interesting name for ale.

Can you see the name? Arrogant Bastard Ale. Michanne was on a mission to find a small dresser/chest for her house. The first stop on this mission was The Dump. 

I've never been but Barbara has mentioned it a few times. It's a showroom of surplus furniture but it was all still pretty expensive. Apparently the new style is to have the top drawers empty for baskets or books. 

I don't like it at all and we must have seen at least 5 different dressers in this style. Our last stop of the day was Atlanta Expo South. This place was crazy. They had a little bit of everything: furniture, rugs, antiques, keepsakes, clothing, artwork, pottery, and even a food court. It was just gigantic. We didn't find anything to purchase but I did snap a photo of this beauty.

Wouldn't you love to have giant mummy in your living room? I was on the lookout for a card catalog but no luck. I didn't have any cash to purchase anything but I still searched. All in all, I tried some Ikea meatballs, went to a book signing, got stuck in an elevator, visited Trader Joe's, The Dump, and Atlanta Expo South. All new things. None of which are on my bucket list because I don't have a bucket list but I did have fun.

Microcar Museum

Jeff and I had a fun visit to the Microcar Museum in Madison. It houses the world's largest collection of microcars.

We've always passed the museum but never stopped because of other plans. I finally decided to check the museum hours and we made the decision to visit this past Saturday. The place was packed. The website talks about an auction in February but for some reason I didn't realize that the museum would be closing. This coming Friday and Saturday are their last days open to the public. Here are some uber cutie cars.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It took us about an hour to walk through the whole place. It might have taken a little longer if there hadn't been so many people, it seemed like half our time was spent just trying to get out of the way of other people. There were so many different collectibles there. He also had a nice variety of vending machines. These were some of my favorites. My grandpa would have loved this MoonPie one.

There's nothing like hot soup out of a vending machine to beat the chills!



I really wanted the Twinkies in this hostess vending machine. I didn't see anyone actually try to use any of the vending machines and some were unplugged (like the popcorn machine) for obvious reasons.

It's an extremely large and interesting place. There were so many cars from all over the world and you can tell that the owner took great care of them.

The crowd was pretty eclectic. There were a ton of bikers, families speaking different languages, persons with gigantic cameras, the young and old. I don't think taking kids to the museum is the best idea because the temptation to jump into cars that appear to be just their size was just too great. All in all it was a fun place to visit close to the house.

Holiday Highlights

And some low-lights. So, I'm back at work now after being off for nearly a month. You might be asking yourself what I did with close to four weeks of unadulterated freedom. Most years during this joyous time I visit friends and family, mom and I usually do something cultural in Atlanta (visit a museum, etc.), I go to the movies, clean my house, read, and watch TV. I did some of that usual stuff but here are the highlights and low-lights:

Highlights

• The world didn't end
• Holiday movies on Hallmark and Lifetime (my favorites include The Road to Christmas, The Most Wonderful Time of the Year, Trading Christmas, and The Christmas Card)
• Reading multiple books guilt free
• Esther Price chocolates
• Finally watching The Big Bang Theory (super funny!)
• Working out a minimum of 4 days a week
• Cheese grits on Christmas morning
• Visiting Kelly, Frances, Lindsey, Whitney, Jennifer, Barbara and my family
• No school work

Low-lights

• Attempting a 3-day cleanse (I lasted a day and a half)
• Weight lost: negative 2 pounds (think about it)
• Completing bodypump for the first time in a year (I couldn't walk for 2 days after)
• Seeing Les Miserables (did you know the entire movie is all singing, no talking?)
• Two weeks of restless nights due to lack of a schedule requiring that I get up at a certain time each day (when working I usually wake up between 5 and 6am)
• Gloomy weather

New Year's Resolutions

• Don't make any New Year's resolutions--I didn't succeed in any last year so I'm going to skip that bit of disappointment all together.

I did enjoy the break but I did not "make the most" of it. I think school sucked all the energy and joy out of the season for me. I will hopefully complete school this July so Christmas 2013 will be totally different (this is not a New Year's resolution).