Monday, February 23: Cabins WV to Liberty SC.
Still more miles than I can count!
We awoke Monday morning to an inch of snow on the ground and some serious flurrying. It was just gorgeous!!! Amy and I sat and just looked out the cabin windows for what seemed like hours. We watched the Today show for the local weather (okay, as local as you could get -- it was coming from Hagerstown MD). We also got online to see the WVDOT and VADOT road conditions. West of us was not as bad as the news made it out the night before -- I know, surprise, right? But it was still going to be dicey for me. And as much as I wanted to try the other route, there's always the summer for that. So..... we decided my best bet was to go back WV-55 to the Interstate.
Time for check-out drew nearer, so we got the cabin ready according to the directions in the guidebook. We loaded up the vehicles and hugged and said our goodbyes. Russell & Amy headed west for their various rendezvous on the rest of their vacation, and I headed east. It flurried a little toward Petersburg.
I had planned to stop at a gift shop in Petersburg, but then I saw the one for Smoke Hole Cabins/Motel. I thought, "The heck with it, I will stop here, surely to God they have a WVU hat here!" (for my brother, who collects college caps). Oh yeah, they had plenty of them. I got him a navy one with big gold stripe and the logo and words "West Virginia Mountaineers." I got a pink WVU logo one with little rhinestone sparklies on it. Hey, I figured, "Why not?" It's cute and I can wear it for Race for the Cure this year (if nothing else!). I got my dad one with "Dolly Sods Wilderness" on it. Mom .... no, she's not the hat type, so I found a beautiful purple stone bracelet for her. Gifties purchased, on I went to Petersburg to gas up and go on.
By the time I got to Petersburg -- keep in mind, 10 miles from us -- it was sunny. No more flurrying, no grey skies, just cold wind and a Sheetz waiting for my money. A word about Sheetz: OMG. I was amazed at how nice and well-organized the stores are. But even nicer was the selection of cut fruit, cut veggies, healthy yogurt and all that .... right near the checkout! Let me tell you, I think every convenience store chain ought to have something like that. In Georgia, I stop at QT's and Flying J's because I know they have apples and bananas near the registers. But this topped that. I was majorly impressed.
Also, I'm more a fan of "truck stop coffee" than I am of coffee shop drinks. Starbucks isn't my thing, and I like just plain coffee if I go in Panera or Atlanta Bread. No lattes and cappucinos for me, primarily because they're so calorie-laden. All I want is coffee, Splenda or Equal and a little bit of creamer -- one of the International Delight mini-tubs works just fine (and only costs one point). To that point, the Sheetz coffee was very good!!!
From Petersburg, I stayed on WV-55 to Moorefield. From there, I planned to stay on 55 to I-81.... but Daddy's GPS had another plan. You know, I'm starting to wonder sometimes about GPS's. But the day was still young and I thought, "Well, why not?" So I went down WV-259 into Virginia toward Broadway, VA. And when I got on I-81, I realized I was about 40 miles south of where I thought I would come out. SWEET! It was a lovely drive, too -- a very agriculturally driven area, mostly animal farming (cattle, poultry, etc.). Very pretty, and I found another WV State Park to visit (Lost River State Park).
I came out on I-81 just north of Harrisonburg ..... which when I originally planned my trip, was where I thought I would exit to get on US-33. That was when Melissa warned me that US-33 could be somewhat tricky and to look for an alternate route. Alternate routes... story of my weekend! Anyway, I got to see James Madison University -- right there next to the I. WOW! I continued down I-81, just in pure awe of how beautiful it was. If I ever moved to Virginia, any place along I-81 is fine by me. It is just so pretty. I thought of several places I wanted to pull over and just take pictures of the rolling hills and valleys .... wondering how quickly I could cross the two lanes of I-81S to get to the big hill in the median and take pictures on what was my left. Instead, I put the camera to the driver's window and took some shots. They're not the greatest shots, and don't do justice to how gorgeous it truly is there.
One of my favorite mind-wanderings is "If I won the lottery......" well, I always know my answer. I'd build a home right here near my hometown. This is home, and my heart is always here. I'd get a home at the beach -- probably Edisto these days. And I would SO have a home somewhere in West Virginia or else somewhere along I-81 between Harrisonburg and Christiansburg-Blacksburg (closer to a town, mind you; I am a townie at heart). In a heartbeat. And considering I had family that originally lived in that area before moving to Carolina.... it feels a little like home anyway. Passing through Botetourt County (where my Gillespie ancestors lived before moving to NC), I couldn't help but smile. And as beautiful as Transylvania County is, I thought, "How could you leave THIS?" I stopped for lunch near Troutville, and continued on my way home.
I spoke to Daddy as I passed around Roanoke, and we realized one pretty important fact that I'd overlooked in my stops and starts..... at this pace, I'd be hitting Charlotte traffic right around 5:30 or 6:00. Hey, I listen to Primetime with the Packman each day. I hear the Wilburn Auto Body Traffic Report, as well as the actual traffic on the 'Net broadcast straight from Charlotte (not just the local drops). Let me tell you, I had no intention of getting caught in that web. I got to just north of Statesville and was barely able to pick them up -- but I caught a traffic report that mentioned a tangled mess around Gastonia -- in my direction. Oh no. Daddy's suggestion suddenly looked better and better: Take I-40 West in Statesville toward Asheville, get on US-221S at Marion, and end up in Spartanburg. The GPS once again thought I'd messed up and suggested I turn around. After about 2 miles it dawned on the machine, "Oh, she WANTS to go this way!" It then suggested I take US-321S..... right into Gastonia. No, I had no intention of getting anywhere near Gastonia. It took it ten miles to figure out that I had every plan to stay on I-40.
The further west I got, the more I toyed with the idea of driving on to Asheville instead and taking US-25S to Travelers Rest (my usual route home from Asheville). But I was getting tired and cranky. Asheville was really only another 30 miles or so west, but part of the rationale behind me taking US-221 was so that I wouldn't have to drive down the mountain at night. And besides, I just wanted to get back home as soon as possible.
I came down US-221. It had been a few years since I'd gone down the road, but it was a pretty smooth trip. I finally crossed over into South Carolina at Chesnee, and stopped at a Hot Spot for "drinks and drainage." I needed some coffee, badly, at that point -- not just for the caffeine, but for the warmth. Did I mention earlier that the heater in my car has stopped working? Yeah, it was starting to get cold and I just wanted to get home. It took about another 10 miles but I got to I-85, and ..... well, color me happy. I could finally travel again at a decent rate of speed!! Leadfoot Rides Again!
At that point, everything was familiar again and the rest of the trip home seemed to pass by fairly quickly. It was actually about 45 minutes, but it didn't seem to be so long. I finally got home around 8:20 PM, and I got a very warm reception from my sweet boy and my brother. I got everything out of the car, and started some dinner (I was hungry!). I was so glad to be home and happy.
***
West Virginia really is almost heaven. It is just gorgeous and I understand now why everyone I know who visits raves about it. I'm one of their ranks now!
I read a great article this week in Newsweek online about Governor Manchin's plan to try to rid WV of the toothless inbred hillbilly image. I'm sure it's out there somewhere, but everyone I met in West Virginia was nothing short of genuine and generous. The campus minister at my parish and I were talking about West Virginia -- his old parish in New Jersey does summer ministry in WV, helping to rebuild and renovate houses, and so forth. He noted that it was extremely ironic that there's such natural beauty in the state, and people so warm and kind hearted and real .... and such poverty. And he's right -- I don't know if the poverty is due to the isolation by nature .... after all, it's hard to get to a lot of places because of the rugged terrain and winding roads. I would love to see more industry in some of those areas, especially high-tech stuff which wouldn't destroy the natural beauty. But then you'd lose some of the charm that just seems to come naturally.
I admit that I am spoiled. I can't sling a dead cat without hitting bookoos of varied retail establishments and I'm so spoiled by that. Stocking up on things is as simple as running to the local grocery store -- one that for my small hometown (~4200 people) is surprisingly large and well-stocked at almost all times. To go to a Wal-Mart is five minutes one way, about ten another. At my job, I am within 3 miles of a monster retail area -- more stores and restaurants and whatever than you could believe.
But I don't feel such a sense of community in my hometown anymore. I saw real community in WV. In so many of those small towns, even in Elkins (twice the size of Liberty), there seemed to be a real sense of people knowing each other, supporting each other. Maybe their lack of easy access to resources makes them more creative, better bonded. I wish there were a way to have the best of both worlds.
And it's amazing how in just 72 hours or so, West Virginia stole my heart. I will be back. It's too pretty not to visit time and time again!
Saturday, February 28, 2009
A quiet day in....
Sunday, February 22; Day 3 Travelogue
Nowhere but Petersburg -- 20 miles RT
This morning, I awoke much later than yesterday -- almost a quarter to nine. I rarely get the opportunity to sleep so late. Others were up and stirring before I was, but that was fine by me. I started on the Saturday travelogue and had some breakfast. No coffee this morning for me, which is a bit unusual.
The morning brought partly cloudy skies and occasional flurries. I just sat and marveled at it for a while. Snow is so rare, even in the mountains of SC, and it's been a fairly normal winter for us -- probably on the warmer end of normal. Except for a couple of really chilly weeks, we've had average to slightly-above-average temperatures. What precipitation we have had (and for which we are grateful!) has been liquid. But we've had nothing even smacking of a real chance at snow this year. In fact, the last good snowfall we got was the March Blizzard of 1993 (on my brother's 18th birthday, no less).
So to watch snow falling and flurrying around has been a treat. As you all are well aware, I love the beach almost as much as life itself. There has always been something about being at the ocean that balms my mind and soul. But this place is also in the running.
When I got out of the shower, Melissa had gone on the Top of the Rocks hiking trail. I'd gone up the first 5 feet or so yesterday, but it was fairly steep in that section, and I didn't get very far up the trail without hiking or all-terrain shoes. Melissa read some information in our cabin guidebook that said the terrain leveled off and it was around 20 minutes to the top. When she returned, she talked Russell into hiking it and she would go again -- we stayed behind and watched them when they got to the top. Before they left, Susan had gotten a smooth small stone, and we all wrote our names or initials in marker on the stone. They took it with them to the top and put it there as a monument to our weekend. They returned within the hour, and according to both of them, the West Virginia mountain/highland definition of "level off" must be very different from the definition used by us lowlanders. Apparently "level off" means "slightly less steep incline."
I really would have enjoyed hiking it myself, in better weather and if I weren't so wiped out from the upper respiratory thing I've been battling all week. But there's always next time, and I will be up for the challenge -- and in the meantime, I will manually adjust the incline on the treadmill to mimic the WV "level off"!
After their return, preparations for the Great Fondue Fest began in earnest. Yesterday in Helvetia, Susan bought a cookbook that had been published by one of the civic organizations (the garden club, maybe?). There was a really good cheese fondue recipe in there, so we used that. The guys decided that the fondue fest was a little more frou-frou than they liked, so they went into Petersburg for some manly fare...... and we girls were more than happy to let them have their man-food. More fondue for us!!!! Russell & Mike left and we began on the cheese fondue with bread cubes and cut veggies. Oh. My. Was it good!!! Very tasty, and I will have to ask Susan for the recipe to use myself. I have a little mini crockpot that it would work well in.
Then Amy made the chocolate fondue and we used cubed angel food cake, marshmallows, strawberries and bananas for that. Oh dear, it was divine too. It was my big indulgence meal of the weekend, and I totally enjoyed every bite! YUM!!!!!!!!
After Mike and Russell returned, the DC gang had to leave us -- they all had work on Monday :( and needed to get back. We said our goodbyes and wished them a safe and easy return home. After they got on the road, we decided to go out to Dolly Sods to see what we might see. The turnoff to the Dolly Sods Wilderness was only about a quarter-mile from the cabins, and it wasn't much further off that to the Forest Road 19. About a quarter-mile in on that road, we found the signs that said "NO SNOW REMOVAL BEYOND THIS POINT" and the sign lettered by hardware-store lettering: "IMPASSABLE IN WINTER."
I should also mention that according to Rupert's temperature gauge, the exterior temperature at the cabin read 31F. When we got to the Forest Road signage, it was 28F. So on we drove just to see what we could and how far we could go. Nothing but uphill and hairpin turns, and we probably drove on for about a mile at most. As we drove on and up, the temperature dropped to a lovely 23F. Yep, an 8-degree drop in just that short time and distance. We decided (wisely, I think) that the ever-whitening road in front of us meant that we maybe oughta turn around and SOON.
Once we got back to the cabin, we sat and relaxed for a while, then decided to go into Petersburg for some dinner. Russell brought along a rather interesting CD -- it was an elderly gentleman who was doing a medley of every song he knew (whether he knew the lyrics or not) and singing it at top speed. Right as we pulled into the parking lot for the Chinese restaurant in Petersburg, the old man on CD was singing "Jingle Bells" ...... I broke out in a howl of laughter. I explained by singing "Jingle Bells" the way the waiters did in "A Christmas Story" (yes, the fa-ra-ra-ra-ra scene). We all realized the hilarious irony..... and went in for our food. Much to Russell's great disappointment, they were all out of cashews for cashew chicken. So he drove off to get something else while Amy and I waited for our orders. We came back to the cabin afterwards for a late dinner, and the TV newsflash that western Grant County was in a winter storm warning!!! WHAT???????
Yep. Russell did a little further research at the NWS site and we were not in the warning zone -- it was on the further western slopes of the county, but not all that far from us, either. They were going to be heading west in the morning, but given the weather conditions, I might have to change my mind about traveling west (and going home down I-79 to I-64 to I-77 and home). We would see how things developed in the morning, but my backup plan -- to return home via WV-55 out to I-81) might end up being the route out.
Amy went on to sleep after the 11:00 news, and I flipped it over to the end of the Oscars, in time to see Sean Penn win and "Slumdog Millionaire." You know, really...... I don't go to the movies. Why should I spend $7 to watch a movie in a darkened theater where I have to worry about missing something if I have to leave to pee; where I have to wonder if the people behind me or in front of me are EVER going to shut up and let the rest of us actually SEE the movie; and what if I get sick (yes, I have gotten motion-sick in a theater .... a few times, actually)? I'd rather wait until DVD or PPV, watch it in the comfort of my home, pause it if I need to pee or have a popcorn urge, and I can stop it and come back later if need be! And it's way cheaper!
Before going to bed, I started putting away everything but the essentials for the next morning. All too soon, this wonderful getaway would become just a happy memory..... BIG sigh. More to come........
Nowhere but Petersburg -- 20 miles RT
This morning, I awoke much later than yesterday -- almost a quarter to nine. I rarely get the opportunity to sleep so late. Others were up and stirring before I was, but that was fine by me. I started on the Saturday travelogue and had some breakfast. No coffee this morning for me, which is a bit unusual.
The morning brought partly cloudy skies and occasional flurries. I just sat and marveled at it for a while. Snow is so rare, even in the mountains of SC, and it's been a fairly normal winter for us -- probably on the warmer end of normal. Except for a couple of really chilly weeks, we've had average to slightly-above-average temperatures. What precipitation we have had (and for which we are grateful!) has been liquid. But we've had nothing even smacking of a real chance at snow this year. In fact, the last good snowfall we got was the March Blizzard of 1993 (on my brother's 18th birthday, no less).
So to watch snow falling and flurrying around has been a treat. As you all are well aware, I love the beach almost as much as life itself. There has always been something about being at the ocean that balms my mind and soul. But this place is also in the running.
When I got out of the shower, Melissa had gone on the Top of the Rocks hiking trail. I'd gone up the first 5 feet or so yesterday, but it was fairly steep in that section, and I didn't get very far up the trail without hiking or all-terrain shoes. Melissa read some information in our cabin guidebook that said the terrain leveled off and it was around 20 minutes to the top. When she returned, she talked Russell into hiking it and she would go again -- we stayed behind and watched them when they got to the top. Before they left, Susan had gotten a smooth small stone, and we all wrote our names or initials in marker on the stone. They took it with them to the top and put it there as a monument to our weekend. They returned within the hour, and according to both of them, the West Virginia mountain/highland definition of "level off" must be very different from the definition used by us lowlanders. Apparently "level off" means "slightly less steep incline."
I really would have enjoyed hiking it myself, in better weather and if I weren't so wiped out from the upper respiratory thing I've been battling all week. But there's always next time, and I will be up for the challenge -- and in the meantime, I will manually adjust the incline on the treadmill to mimic the WV "level off"!
After their return, preparations for the Great Fondue Fest began in earnest. Yesterday in Helvetia, Susan bought a cookbook that had been published by one of the civic organizations (the garden club, maybe?). There was a really good cheese fondue recipe in there, so we used that. The guys decided that the fondue fest was a little more frou-frou than they liked, so they went into Petersburg for some manly fare...... and we girls were more than happy to let them have their man-food. More fondue for us!!!! Russell & Mike left and we began on the cheese fondue with bread cubes and cut veggies. Oh. My. Was it good!!! Very tasty, and I will have to ask Susan for the recipe to use myself. I have a little mini crockpot that it would work well in.
Then Amy made the chocolate fondue and we used cubed angel food cake, marshmallows, strawberries and bananas for that. Oh dear, it was divine too. It was my big indulgence meal of the weekend, and I totally enjoyed every bite! YUM!!!!!!!!
After Mike and Russell returned, the DC gang had to leave us -- they all had work on Monday :( and needed to get back. We said our goodbyes and wished them a safe and easy return home. After they got on the road, we decided to go out to Dolly Sods to see what we might see. The turnoff to the Dolly Sods Wilderness was only about a quarter-mile from the cabins, and it wasn't much further off that to the Forest Road 19. About a quarter-mile in on that road, we found the signs that said "NO SNOW REMOVAL BEYOND THIS POINT" and the sign lettered by hardware-store lettering: "IMPASSABLE IN WINTER."
I should also mention that according to Rupert's temperature gauge, the exterior temperature at the cabin read 31F. When we got to the Forest Road signage, it was 28F. So on we drove just to see what we could and how far we could go. Nothing but uphill and hairpin turns, and we probably drove on for about a mile at most. As we drove on and up, the temperature dropped to a lovely 23F. Yep, an 8-degree drop in just that short time and distance. We decided (wisely, I think) that the ever-whitening road in front of us meant that we maybe oughta turn around and SOON.
Once we got back to the cabin, we sat and relaxed for a while, then decided to go into Petersburg for some dinner. Russell brought along a rather interesting CD -- it was an elderly gentleman who was doing a medley of every song he knew (whether he knew the lyrics or not) and singing it at top speed. Right as we pulled into the parking lot for the Chinese restaurant in Petersburg, the old man on CD was singing "Jingle Bells" ...... I broke out in a howl of laughter. I explained by singing "Jingle Bells" the way the waiters did in "A Christmas Story" (yes, the fa-ra-ra-ra-ra scene). We all realized the hilarious irony..... and went in for our food. Much to Russell's great disappointment, they were all out of cashews for cashew chicken. So he drove off to get something else while Amy and I waited for our orders. We came back to the cabin afterwards for a late dinner, and the TV newsflash that western Grant County was in a winter storm warning!!! WHAT???????
Yep. Russell did a little further research at the NWS site and we were not in the warning zone -- it was on the further western slopes of the county, but not all that far from us, either. They were going to be heading west in the morning, but given the weather conditions, I might have to change my mind about traveling west (and going home down I-79 to I-64 to I-77 and home). We would see how things developed in the morning, but my backup plan -- to return home via WV-55 out to I-81) might end up being the route out.
Amy went on to sleep after the 11:00 news, and I flipped it over to the end of the Oscars, in time to see Sean Penn win and "Slumdog Millionaire." You know, really...... I don't go to the movies. Why should I spend $7 to watch a movie in a darkened theater where I have to worry about missing something if I have to leave to pee; where I have to wonder if the people behind me or in front of me are EVER going to shut up and let the rest of us actually SEE the movie; and what if I get sick (yes, I have gotten motion-sick in a theater .... a few times, actually)? I'd rather wait until DVD or PPV, watch it in the comfort of my home, pause it if I need to pee or have a popcorn urge, and I can stop it and come back later if need be! And it's way cheaper!
Before going to bed, I started putting away everything but the essentials for the next morning. All too soon, this wonderful getaway would become just a happy memory..... BIG sigh. More to come........
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Deep in the wilds....
Saturday, February 21: Day 2 Travelogue
Cabins WV to Helvetia WV & back; around 140 miles (RT)
After going to bed around 1:15 or so, I awoke at 7:15 AM. I am not now, nor have I ever been, a morning person. But if I see light, then that is it. Gone. I must get up or risk going back to sleep for another 3 hours -- today, that was not really an option.
So I awoke and began writing the Day 1 travelogue. It was a lovely, quiet, still morning, and I intended to keep the peace. Susan awoke about 30 minutes later and decided to go for a walk. She came back with some great pictures, so I knew a morning walk would eventually make its way into my day.
Eventually we all arose, had coffee and some level of breakfast, and began getting ready for the day. I went on a quick walk after my shower .... and worked up a sweat. Great, right? I got some great photos of the cabins and surrounding scenery. This place is tremendously beautiful and peaceful, and the vistas and views are amazing. Between the river and the mountains, it's hard to know where to start with the "best" features. By far, I think the biggest selling point is the quiet majesty of the area. It's so amazingly serene here!
Around 11:30 we headed out for Helvetia. During last night's trek to Harman (and back from Harman), I missed a lot because (a) it was way too dark to see any scenery and (b) I was too busy concentrating on the road. Today, as a passenger, I was amazed. There was some heavy snow in the area between Seneca Rocks (air guitar WAAAAAH!) and Harman -- OMG beautiful. I also discovered there were a few other things in Harman besides just the DOT shed ... just not a whole lot. We traveled on to Elkins for lunch.
Lunch was at Bob Evans, and it was pretty good. Near meal's end, I excused myself and found the cutest sign at the restroom sink: "WASH UP AND SING." It's a reminder to take enough time when washing your hands to assure that you're as hygienic as possible. They suggest a verse of "Old McDonald" ... so I both oinked and mooed (2 verses) just to make sure. I came out to find five worried faces. I had forgotten that the last time Susan and Mike and I were together, it was in Savannah at Johnny Harris .... I had excused myself to the restroom and never came out because I was so sick. Today, I sheepishly explained that I had really gotten into the singing at the sink.....
We continued on to Helvetia. The roads were tiny but the scenery was gorgeous. At Mill Creek, we turned onto the County Road to turn to Helvetia. On that road, there were 3 facilities associated with coal mining, and one Marathon convenience store that is the only place to purchase anything between Helvetia and Mill Creek. We stopped in for some quick drinks and on the road we continued.
We got to Helvetia and parked the cars at the Cheese Haus. Unfortunately for us, both the Cheese Haus and the Healing Honey Shop were closed. We walked over to Blue House Gifts, where I bought a very beautiful, hand-knit wool scarf. The owner was incredibly friendly, warm and generous; a delightful person with whom to chat! From there, we went to the library/museum area ... also both closed. We went to the Star Band Hall, where for a nominal cover charge, you could come on in, have a beer & brat (or brat & lemonade for the non-drinkers), and hear musicians at the open mic. Nice, but we were waiting for the buffet later at The Hutte restaurant. We went into the small general store next.
This little general store reminded me so much of the original Mast General Store in Valle Crucis NC -- only on a far smaller scale. MGS in Valle Crucis is the provisioner for the Valle Crucis residents and the smaller towns to the west, but still.... they're a little closer to larger retail centers (such as Boone) than Helvetia is to their nearest town. A trip to Boone or even over to TN for a Wally run isn't a whole day's adventure. Anyway, this store reminded me a lot of MGS in how they provide for the area. Honestly, I was amazed by the prices -- $1.40 for a box of Kleenex? You betcha!
After the store, it was still 20 minutes until the restaurant opened, so we just waited outside, watching the early Fasnacht activities. Fasnacht is the pre-Lenten revelry of the Swiss-German area that the Helvetian ancestors came from. It is very different from the revelry of the Gulf Coast Mardi Gras parties, or of Brazil's Carnivale. They all have masks and parades, but in Fasnacht in Helvetia, they have a huge bonfire and burn Ol' Man Winter (instead of throwing beads, dressing provocatively or flashing strangers!). Well, I can promise you, Ol' Man Winter did not die in the Saturday bonfire. The flurries on Sunday morning told me a different tale!
At 5:00 PM sharp, the door opened to the restaurant. Unfortunately, no one told us we needed reservations (and in none of the Fasnacht stuff did we ever see anything about reservations!). Still, the hostess agreed to seat us if we could eat in one hour. Well, yeah! A few minutes later, in came a couple who drove over from Buckhannon -- and who also didn't have reservations! The eight of us had a very delightful conversation for the hour -- lovely people!
Speaking of food, oh my stars, what a feast! Hutte chicken, home sausage, carrots, parsley potatoes, green beans, sauerkraut (which I could have just taken the crock back with me!), homemade applesauce (OH yum!), onion pie (similar to a quiche), tossed salad, Helvetia cheese (from the Cheese Haus), pickles, pickled beets, and so much more. Dessert was a peach cobbler that was more like a cake. I couldn't eat any of it -- Melissa and Susan split a piece and said it was good. I, on the other hand, was full as a tick.
On the way out, we stopped again at the Marathon store for drinks and drainage. The owners had a black Lab/Newfie mix named Bear, who was the most loving, affectionate creature ever. He was as jet black as Maddox is oatmeal/white, and they are kindred souls as far as being affectionate. Russell and I were both ready to smuggle Bear back with us and then later fight over who got to keep him. Bear was a precious, sweet dog who made me miss my own Sweet-Boy all the more.
And with that, a brief word on dogs: pets aren't allowed at the cottages, and I am sure that it is due to too many irresponsible pet owners. You know the kind: they refuse to control their animals through proper training, discipline and affection. They are the ones who want a dog and yet won't take the time to exercise him or even play with him indoors. They're the ones who turn their dogs loose and let them poop in everyone else's yards and refuse to clean it up. I try my hardest to be a more responsible pet owner. The sad thing is that Maddox would SO love these cabins and this area -- I hardly know where to start with what he'd enjoy. And sadly, he isn't allowed to be there.
After leaving Marathon and Bear (awwww....) we headed back to Elkins for a fill-up and a stop by Kroger for items for Sunday's Fondue Fest. By this time, it was dark, so no more scenery to see until the dawn. Back to the cabin for the evening's fun. We chatted a little, but it had been a long, fun-filled day for everyone. We instead watched a little Robot Chicken and traded off all our pictures with each other from the day's adventures.
What will Sunday bring? Stay tuned to most of these CBS stations........
Cabins WV to Helvetia WV & back; around 140 miles (RT)
After going to bed around 1:15 or so, I awoke at 7:15 AM. I am not now, nor have I ever been, a morning person. But if I see light, then that is it. Gone. I must get up or risk going back to sleep for another 3 hours -- today, that was not really an option.
So I awoke and began writing the Day 1 travelogue. It was a lovely, quiet, still morning, and I intended to keep the peace. Susan awoke about 30 minutes later and decided to go for a walk. She came back with some great pictures, so I knew a morning walk would eventually make its way into my day.
Eventually we all arose, had coffee and some level of breakfast, and began getting ready for the day. I went on a quick walk after my shower .... and worked up a sweat. Great, right? I got some great photos of the cabins and surrounding scenery. This place is tremendously beautiful and peaceful, and the vistas and views are amazing. Between the river and the mountains, it's hard to know where to start with the "best" features. By far, I think the biggest selling point is the quiet majesty of the area. It's so amazingly serene here!
Around 11:30 we headed out for Helvetia. During last night's trek to Harman (and back from Harman), I missed a lot because (a) it was way too dark to see any scenery and (b) I was too busy concentrating on the road. Today, as a passenger, I was amazed. There was some heavy snow in the area between Seneca Rocks (air guitar WAAAAAH!) and Harman -- OMG beautiful. I also discovered there were a few other things in Harman besides just the DOT shed ... just not a whole lot. We traveled on to Elkins for lunch.
Lunch was at Bob Evans, and it was pretty good. Near meal's end, I excused myself and found the cutest sign at the restroom sink: "WASH UP AND SING." It's a reminder to take enough time when washing your hands to assure that you're as hygienic as possible. They suggest a verse of "Old McDonald" ... so I both oinked and mooed (2 verses) just to make sure. I came out to find five worried faces. I had forgotten that the last time Susan and Mike and I were together, it was in Savannah at Johnny Harris .... I had excused myself to the restroom and never came out because I was so sick. Today, I sheepishly explained that I had really gotten into the singing at the sink.....
We continued on to Helvetia. The roads were tiny but the scenery was gorgeous. At Mill Creek, we turned onto the County Road to turn to Helvetia. On that road, there were 3 facilities associated with coal mining, and one Marathon convenience store that is the only place to purchase anything between Helvetia and Mill Creek. We stopped in for some quick drinks and on the road we continued.
We got to Helvetia and parked the cars at the Cheese Haus. Unfortunately for us, both the Cheese Haus and the Healing Honey Shop were closed. We walked over to Blue House Gifts, where I bought a very beautiful, hand-knit wool scarf. The owner was incredibly friendly, warm and generous; a delightful person with whom to chat! From there, we went to the library/museum area ... also both closed. We went to the Star Band Hall, where for a nominal cover charge, you could come on in, have a beer & brat (or brat & lemonade for the non-drinkers), and hear musicians at the open mic. Nice, but we were waiting for the buffet later at The Hutte restaurant. We went into the small general store next.
This little general store reminded me so much of the original Mast General Store in Valle Crucis NC -- only on a far smaller scale. MGS in Valle Crucis is the provisioner for the Valle Crucis residents and the smaller towns to the west, but still.... they're a little closer to larger retail centers (such as Boone) than Helvetia is to their nearest town. A trip to Boone or even over to TN for a Wally run isn't a whole day's adventure. Anyway, this store reminded me a lot of MGS in how they provide for the area. Honestly, I was amazed by the prices -- $1.40 for a box of Kleenex? You betcha!
After the store, it was still 20 minutes until the restaurant opened, so we just waited outside, watching the early Fasnacht activities. Fasnacht is the pre-Lenten revelry of the Swiss-German area that the Helvetian ancestors came from. It is very different from the revelry of the Gulf Coast Mardi Gras parties, or of Brazil's Carnivale. They all have masks and parades, but in Fasnacht in Helvetia, they have a huge bonfire and burn Ol' Man Winter (instead of throwing beads, dressing provocatively or flashing strangers!). Well, I can promise you, Ol' Man Winter did not die in the Saturday bonfire. The flurries on Sunday morning told me a different tale!
At 5:00 PM sharp, the door opened to the restaurant. Unfortunately, no one told us we needed reservations (and in none of the Fasnacht stuff did we ever see anything about reservations!). Still, the hostess agreed to seat us if we could eat in one hour. Well, yeah! A few minutes later, in came a couple who drove over from Buckhannon -- and who also didn't have reservations! The eight of us had a very delightful conversation for the hour -- lovely people!
Speaking of food, oh my stars, what a feast! Hutte chicken, home sausage, carrots, parsley potatoes, green beans, sauerkraut (which I could have just taken the crock back with me!), homemade applesauce (OH yum!), onion pie (similar to a quiche), tossed salad, Helvetia cheese (from the Cheese Haus), pickles, pickled beets, and so much more. Dessert was a peach cobbler that was more like a cake. I couldn't eat any of it -- Melissa and Susan split a piece and said it was good. I, on the other hand, was full as a tick.
On the way out, we stopped again at the Marathon store for drinks and drainage. The owners had a black Lab/Newfie mix named Bear, who was the most loving, affectionate creature ever. He was as jet black as Maddox is oatmeal/white, and they are kindred souls as far as being affectionate. Russell and I were both ready to smuggle Bear back with us and then later fight over who got to keep him. Bear was a precious, sweet dog who made me miss my own Sweet-Boy all the more.
And with that, a brief word on dogs: pets aren't allowed at the cottages, and I am sure that it is due to too many irresponsible pet owners. You know the kind: they refuse to control their animals through proper training, discipline and affection. They are the ones who want a dog and yet won't take the time to exercise him or even play with him indoors. They're the ones who turn their dogs loose and let them poop in everyone else's yards and refuse to clean it up. I try my hardest to be a more responsible pet owner. The sad thing is that Maddox would SO love these cabins and this area -- I hardly know where to start with what he'd enjoy. And sadly, he isn't allowed to be there.
After leaving Marathon and Bear (awwww....) we headed back to Elkins for a fill-up and a stop by Kroger for items for Sunday's Fondue Fest. By this time, it was dark, so no more scenery to see until the dawn. Back to the cabin for the evening's fun. We chatted a little, but it had been a long, fun-filled day for everyone. We instead watched a little Robot Chicken and traded off all our pictures with each other from the day's adventures.
What will Sunday bring? Stay tuned to most of these CBS stations........
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Heading to "Almost Heaven"....
Friday, February 20: Day 1 Travelogue
Liberty SC to Cabins WV; more miles than expected!
I left Liberty around 7:50 AM, as I had to stop by work for an unspecified amount of time. I had Mapquested everything (more on that in just a moment) and Dad -- my wonderful, kindhearted, generous Dad -- allowed me to use his GPS. His almost-brand-new one that hadn't yet been used on a road trip. What a road trip to break it in on! The boss had me do some things at work for about 30 minutes, and then, I was free to go!
I stopped along the way to get a new tote bag; the one I'd lovingly packed and planned to use..... well, the zipper died a rather unkind death. But I found a really good one that I can use as a duffel for workouts or what have you. It works much better! SO.... with that in hand, newly-full gas tank, and GPS plugged in and at the ready, I got onto the Interstate. A mere 10 miles up the road, I realized that I was going to need some coffee post-haste, as well as water for the road. So a quick pulloff for that, and then back on the road at last.
Remember when I said I had the GPS at the ready? Well I forgot to actually put in my destination.... DUH! So I hurriedly did so. Mistake #1: typing in the wrong destination. Our reservations were for Harman's North Fork Cottages in Cabins WV; in my stress-addled state of late, I typed in Harman WV. Worse, that is what I had Mapquested as well the night before. Amazingly, the GPS and the Mapquest agreed on the best route, except for a little minor detail near the end, but no biggie, right?
Mistake #2: pooh-poohing the estimated time given on the GPS. I always marvel when Mapquest says "travel distance: 37 miles. Estimated Travel Time: 50 minutes." They obviously are not aware that I have a leadfoot, and truly nothing on the interstate takes that long. No way. Ain't happening. This time, the GPS and Mapquest were both pretty darn close, and would have been spot on had I not made mistake #1.
Anyway, the trip over to Charlotte was uneventful, as expected. From I-85, I took the 485 connector over to I-77 north -- not what the GPS mapped out, but I knew it well enough to be comfortable with the change. On I-77 leaving Charlotte, you will get to the Lake Norman area. As I crossed Lake Norman, I was stricken by this thought: rain's been rather scarce in my neck of the woods, but Lake Norman is surprisingly full. It almost looks overflowing. Por que? Has Charlotte really gotten that much more rain, a mere 2 hours northeast of us? I'm thinking there's a story there, and I for one am very interested in the whys and wherefores of their lusciously bountiful lake and our extremely sad looking ones. Lake Norman needs to share its secrets and soon.
As I traveled further up I-77, I noticed the connector for I-74E to Winston-Salem, and part of I-74 West with I-77 North. Any signage for I-74 promptly stopped at the state line. The whole I-73 and I-74 story is something else I want to look into. I know that I-73 is supposed to be part of a Detroit-to-Myrtle Beach corridor. Quite frankly, I wasn't aware that Michiganders were clamoring for an easier snowbird route to the northernmost point of the Redneck Riviera. But hey, I'm all for infrastructure jobs -- and would especially appreciate any that extend I-20 to Myrtle Beach as well.
I was also amazed to learn that this particular section of North Carolina is winery country. Now, when I pulled over for a pit stop during this part of the trip, I was amazed at how chilly it was. This is the Piedmont plain just east of the "Northern Mountains" (Boone, Blowing Rock, etc.). And while they're not the highest elevations in NC, it is ski country. I don't know that much about grape growing, but it seemed almost too cool a climate for grapes. Again, what do I know? Yet another thing to look into........
Oh yeah, one minor aside. I have long enjoyed 95.7 The Ride out of Hickory and Charlotte NC. When I crank my car at home in Liberty, I can just faintly pick them up. Heading east each morning, I could pick up a better signal. A couple of years ago, a church in Spartanburg started broadcasting "Hangar Z: Positive Alternative" (yeah, I'm calling their station out by name!) and co-opted the 95.7 signal for the Greer/Greenville area. I have yet to forgive them, and I am being dead serious. I lose a great radio station every single day because someone had the bright idea that kids need Christian rap and metal. It is the flippin' crappiest excuse for music I have ever heard, and I'd feel that way regardless of content. If they were really smart, they'd have done "Hangar Z" as podcasts; let's face it, not a lot of truly savvy kids are into radio anymore. Imagine how upset I was to know that here I was -- some 90 miles north of Charlotte, some 80 miles NE (as the crow flies) from Hickory, and crossing into Virginia -- and still picking up The Ride, and unable to do so at my own home.
Okay, back to the Travelogue: As I was on I-77 N, suddenly, there was this large looming mountain in front of me. It was just gorgeous against the blue afternoon sky. There is no other way to describe it. I continued on I-77, and after a quick lunch stop, got on I-81 north toward Roanoke. I-81 is an even more beautiful drive. I fell in love instantly and more deeply the more I drove. When I was a kid, we took a trip to Charlottesville VA. We took I-85, then picked up US 29 somewhere around Greensboro, driving into Danville VA and then on to Lynchburg. We spent the next few days around that general area between Lynchburg and Charlottesville. We came back via the Blue Ridge Parkway.... it was the closest I'd been before to the Shenandoah area. Were it not going to be the freezing depths of cold this weekend, I would consider coming back via the Blue Ridge Parkway, but maybe another time.
I pulled off at Christiansburg/Blacksburg for gas and to look for a drugstore. I'd been battling an upper respiratory infection all week, and I was out of Kleenex and my nose was rubbed raw. And I was almost out of cough drops. Once I was in Christiansburg, I gassed up, and drove in search of the pharmacy. I was utterly amazed by the 2 Dollar Generals, the Family Dollar, the Food Lion, and the complete lack of a CVS, Walgreen's, Rite Aid, Kerr Drug, Osco, or any other major chain pharmacy. I didn't even see a local pharmacy. Nothing at all. Tired and cranky, I sallied forth, thinking I'd stop in Elkins WV (along my route) .... surely they would have a Wally, if nothing else.
Now, remember Mistake #1? Yeah, that little bugaboo. Well, that little thing instructed me (both by MapQuest and GPS) to get off I-81 at Staunton for US-250 over into West Virginia. No biggie. I'm an adventurous girl. MQ suggested US-250 to US-219 to Elkins and then come into Harman via US-33 from the west. I dutifully followed instructions and took the roads. O.M.G. More twist and turns than a cheap curly straw, hairpin turns like mad, butt-cold temperatures as you ascended the mountains and few signs of anything resembling towns as I know them. They are lovely little mountain villages; please do not misunderstand at all. But trust me when I saw that these folks along Route 250 are the ones you likely see at Wal-Mart with 4 or 5 shopping carts full of every possible provision and you think, "Are they stockpiling for Armageddon?" No, I assure you, it's probably a once-monthly trip to stock up on essentials because it's an all-day affair just to get there and back around the mountain. I remember that they have to do the same in Colorado for the people who man Pike's Peak. Anyway, it made me glad that I had stopped for gas when I did. Around 6:00 PM, with dark quickly approaching, I made it to Monterey, Virginia -- about 7 miles from the border.
Oh yeah, one slight detour. There was an overlook where I had to stop for a pitstop and picture. It was labeled "Confederate Breastworks, 1862" right at the border of Augusta County and Highland County, VA. I knew my brother's inner-12-year-old-boy would appreciate it (and quite frankly, my own inner Beavis & Butthead snickered too). I was far more appreciative in that moment for the restroom. I went in and ..... well, basically, it was a portajohn style, with a VERY deep hole. I thought, "Good God, I am peeing straight into the mountain." Yeah, I probably was going into a deep holding tank buried somewhere in the mountain. Due to the extremely bitter wind at the overlook, I didn't stay longer than I had to. (Note: I have since researched and I want to go back; they say the view from the overlook shows a huge part of the Shenandoah. Dang, I hate I missed it!)
Okay, on to Monterey. I had planned to stop in Elkins for a few provisions, but I was getting a little tired by this point. So I stopped at the Dollar General in Monterey -- the lone store (besides a convenience store). I found cough drops, milk, Vicks rub, and a few other things I needed. The only thing I didn't find was a thicker scarf (I had a thin one but it wasn't keeping the cold at bay on stops). I found coffee and a MegaMillions ticket at the convenience store, and back into the car.
Remember my planned route to Harman? Well, the GPS and MQ differed here, and the GPS was directing me onto US-220 North. DO WHAT? It's getting dark, the GPS is throwing me for a loop, but you know, what the hell, you only live once. So I headed north onto 220, then....... once I crossed the state line into WV, the GPS directed me to turn left onto County Road 17: Snowy Mountain Road. I shrugged and turned down this road. I was immediately creeped out and every horror slasher killer flick I'd ever seen came to mind. Halfway down the road, I began to seriously reconsider my options. I programmed in how it would be if I turned around and took US-250: an extra hour. No. Not an option. So I just decided to take my chances on this little road, and prayed that no one wondered what I was doing there and take a shot at me. That's not intended as a slam on the fine citizens of West Virginia; but this is a road you take if you know where you are, not one you just casually choose.
So at the end of this road, I was instructed to turn right onto WV 28. My cell rang -- WAHOO! It was voicemail from Daddy and a missed call from my friends (probably already at the cabin, dammit!) I tried calling Daddy and ...... I tried again, and ......... dead silence. I looked at the screen: "No Service." Yep. I was in a dead zone! I drove on to find a little meat-and-three in the middle of nowhere (okay, the nearest town was Riverton), and I was starving. I got a to-go order, and noticed that the local high school was doing a fundraiser. My high school was the smallest school in the county, and fundraising was just a way of life for nearly every team or activity. So when the waitress brought my order, I gave her a $5 for the kids. I know it wasn't much, but I wanted to do something. And on to Harman I went....
At the split at Seneca Rocks (insert air guitar WAAAAAAAAAH here and a "devil sign" with your hands couldn't hurt either), I took US-33 W/WV-55 over to Harman. More mountains and lots of climbing, and a very sanded-down road. This wasn't just snow but some packy ice in places. They don't plow the roads, just sand/dirt them. I guess they get so much snow that it's futile to plow so often..... I mean, it does make sense. Anyhow, I crested the top of Allegheny Mountain to the sign pointing out the Eastern Continental Divide -- which is something I am used to seeing in North Carolina not all that far from home. Amazing. It meant I was pretty much due north of home, but had to go around Robin Hood's barn to get here. I made it to Harman eventually -- and no sign of the cabins.
The only -- and I do mean only -- thing in Harman, besides the WV-32 split to the Canaan Valley ski areas, is the WVDOT shed. The gentlemen in there helped me tremendously, by letting me know I was definitely in the wrong place. One of them said, "Are you maybe looking for Cabins, WV instead?" DING DING!!! Something in the brain said, "Oh crap; that was it." Guess what? I was going to have to turn around and go back the exact way I came in, back over Allegheny Mountain and to turn left at Seneca Rocks (air guitar: WAAAAH!). When I informed them that I had just come that way..... well, I can't decide if their look at me was one of admiration, shock or, "Is this girl that crazy?" Yep. To every last one of those.
Anyway, I drove back over the mountain -- massively steep grade. 10% in quite a number of places. I'm so glad I have good brakes. But I got to Seneca Rocks (air guitar: WAAAAH!) and made the turn. WV-28/Wv-55 was the exact opposite of the other. Not only not as icy/snowy, but hardly what you'd call treacherous. I found the cabins right on the road at a little place just south of Cabins called "Hopeville" -- I MADE IT!!!! 11 hours later, but I MADE IT!
Stay tuned for additional adventures from Wild, Wonderful West Virginia!
Liberty SC to Cabins WV; more miles than expected!
I left Liberty around 7:50 AM, as I had to stop by work for an unspecified amount of time. I had Mapquested everything (more on that in just a moment) and Dad -- my wonderful, kindhearted, generous Dad -- allowed me to use his GPS. His almost-brand-new one that hadn't yet been used on a road trip. What a road trip to break it in on! The boss had me do some things at work for about 30 minutes, and then, I was free to go!
I stopped along the way to get a new tote bag; the one I'd lovingly packed and planned to use..... well, the zipper died a rather unkind death. But I found a really good one that I can use as a duffel for workouts or what have you. It works much better! SO.... with that in hand, newly-full gas tank, and GPS plugged in and at the ready, I got onto the Interstate. A mere 10 miles up the road, I realized that I was going to need some coffee post-haste, as well as water for the road. So a quick pulloff for that, and then back on the road at last.
Remember when I said I had the GPS at the ready? Well I forgot to actually put in my destination.... DUH! So I hurriedly did so. Mistake #1: typing in the wrong destination. Our reservations were for Harman's North Fork Cottages in Cabins WV; in my stress-addled state of late, I typed in Harman WV. Worse, that is what I had Mapquested as well the night before. Amazingly, the GPS and the Mapquest agreed on the best route, except for a little minor detail near the end, but no biggie, right?
Mistake #2: pooh-poohing the estimated time given on the GPS. I always marvel when Mapquest says "travel distance: 37 miles. Estimated Travel Time: 50 minutes." They obviously are not aware that I have a leadfoot, and truly nothing on the interstate takes that long. No way. Ain't happening. This time, the GPS and Mapquest were both pretty darn close, and would have been spot on had I not made mistake #1.
Anyway, the trip over to Charlotte was uneventful, as expected. From I-85, I took the 485 connector over to I-77 north -- not what the GPS mapped out, but I knew it well enough to be comfortable with the change. On I-77 leaving Charlotte, you will get to the Lake Norman area. As I crossed Lake Norman, I was stricken by this thought: rain's been rather scarce in my neck of the woods, but Lake Norman is surprisingly full. It almost looks overflowing. Por que? Has Charlotte really gotten that much more rain, a mere 2 hours northeast of us? I'm thinking there's a story there, and I for one am very interested in the whys and wherefores of their lusciously bountiful lake and our extremely sad looking ones. Lake Norman needs to share its secrets and soon.
As I traveled further up I-77, I noticed the connector for I-74E to Winston-Salem, and part of I-74 West with I-77 North. Any signage for I-74 promptly stopped at the state line. The whole I-73 and I-74 story is something else I want to look into. I know that I-73 is supposed to be part of a Detroit-to-Myrtle Beach corridor. Quite frankly, I wasn't aware that Michiganders were clamoring for an easier snowbird route to the northernmost point of the Redneck Riviera. But hey, I'm all for infrastructure jobs -- and would especially appreciate any that extend I-20 to Myrtle Beach as well.
I was also amazed to learn that this particular section of North Carolina is winery country. Now, when I pulled over for a pit stop during this part of the trip, I was amazed at how chilly it was. This is the Piedmont plain just east of the "Northern Mountains" (Boone, Blowing Rock, etc.). And while they're not the highest elevations in NC, it is ski country. I don't know that much about grape growing, but it seemed almost too cool a climate for grapes. Again, what do I know? Yet another thing to look into........
Oh yeah, one minor aside. I have long enjoyed 95.7 The Ride out of Hickory and Charlotte NC. When I crank my car at home in Liberty, I can just faintly pick them up. Heading east each morning, I could pick up a better signal. A couple of years ago, a church in Spartanburg started broadcasting "Hangar Z: Positive Alternative" (yeah, I'm calling their station out by name!) and co-opted the 95.7 signal for the Greer/Greenville area. I have yet to forgive them, and I am being dead serious. I lose a great radio station every single day because someone had the bright idea that kids need Christian rap and metal. It is the flippin' crappiest excuse for music I have ever heard, and I'd feel that way regardless of content. If they were really smart, they'd have done "Hangar Z" as podcasts; let's face it, not a lot of truly savvy kids are into radio anymore. Imagine how upset I was to know that here I was -- some 90 miles north of Charlotte, some 80 miles NE (as the crow flies) from Hickory, and crossing into Virginia -- and still picking up The Ride, and unable to do so at my own home.
Okay, back to the Travelogue: As I was on I-77 N, suddenly, there was this large looming mountain in front of me. It was just gorgeous against the blue afternoon sky. There is no other way to describe it. I continued on I-77, and after a quick lunch stop, got on I-81 north toward Roanoke. I-81 is an even more beautiful drive. I fell in love instantly and more deeply the more I drove. When I was a kid, we took a trip to Charlottesville VA. We took I-85, then picked up US 29 somewhere around Greensboro, driving into Danville VA and then on to Lynchburg. We spent the next few days around that general area between Lynchburg and Charlottesville. We came back via the Blue Ridge Parkway.... it was the closest I'd been before to the Shenandoah area. Were it not going to be the freezing depths of cold this weekend, I would consider coming back via the Blue Ridge Parkway, but maybe another time.
I pulled off at Christiansburg/Blacksburg for gas and to look for a drugstore. I'd been battling an upper respiratory infection all week, and I was out of Kleenex and my nose was rubbed raw. And I was almost out of cough drops. Once I was in Christiansburg, I gassed up, and drove in search of the pharmacy. I was utterly amazed by the 2 Dollar Generals, the Family Dollar, the Food Lion, and the complete lack of a CVS, Walgreen's, Rite Aid, Kerr Drug, Osco, or any other major chain pharmacy. I didn't even see a local pharmacy. Nothing at all. Tired and cranky, I sallied forth, thinking I'd stop in Elkins WV (along my route) .... surely they would have a Wally, if nothing else.
Now, remember Mistake #1? Yeah, that little bugaboo. Well, that little thing instructed me (both by MapQuest and GPS) to get off I-81 at Staunton for US-250 over into West Virginia. No biggie. I'm an adventurous girl. MQ suggested US-250 to US-219 to Elkins and then come into Harman via US-33 from the west. I dutifully followed instructions and took the roads. O.M.G. More twist and turns than a cheap curly straw, hairpin turns like mad, butt-cold temperatures as you ascended the mountains and few signs of anything resembling towns as I know them. They are lovely little mountain villages; please do not misunderstand at all. But trust me when I saw that these folks along Route 250 are the ones you likely see at Wal-Mart with 4 or 5 shopping carts full of every possible provision and you think, "Are they stockpiling for Armageddon?" No, I assure you, it's probably a once-monthly trip to stock up on essentials because it's an all-day affair just to get there and back around the mountain. I remember that they have to do the same in Colorado for the people who man Pike's Peak. Anyway, it made me glad that I had stopped for gas when I did. Around 6:00 PM, with dark quickly approaching, I made it to Monterey, Virginia -- about 7 miles from the border.
Oh yeah, one slight detour. There was an overlook where I had to stop for a pitstop and picture. It was labeled "Confederate Breastworks, 1862" right at the border of Augusta County and Highland County, VA. I knew my brother's inner-12-year-old-boy would appreciate it (and quite frankly, my own inner Beavis & Butthead snickered too). I was far more appreciative in that moment for the restroom. I went in and ..... well, basically, it was a portajohn style, with a VERY deep hole. I thought, "Good God, I am peeing straight into the mountain." Yeah, I probably was going into a deep holding tank buried somewhere in the mountain. Due to the extremely bitter wind at the overlook, I didn't stay longer than I had to. (Note: I have since researched and I want to go back; they say the view from the overlook shows a huge part of the Shenandoah. Dang, I hate I missed it!)
Okay, on to Monterey. I had planned to stop in Elkins for a few provisions, but I was getting a little tired by this point. So I stopped at the Dollar General in Monterey -- the lone store (besides a convenience store). I found cough drops, milk, Vicks rub, and a few other things I needed. The only thing I didn't find was a thicker scarf (I had a thin one but it wasn't keeping the cold at bay on stops). I found coffee and a MegaMillions ticket at the convenience store, and back into the car.
Remember my planned route to Harman? Well, the GPS and MQ differed here, and the GPS was directing me onto US-220 North. DO WHAT? It's getting dark, the GPS is throwing me for a loop, but you know, what the hell, you only live once. So I headed north onto 220, then....... once I crossed the state line into WV, the GPS directed me to turn left onto County Road 17: Snowy Mountain Road. I shrugged and turned down this road. I was immediately creeped out and every horror slasher killer flick I'd ever seen came to mind. Halfway down the road, I began to seriously reconsider my options. I programmed in how it would be if I turned around and took US-250: an extra hour. No. Not an option. So I just decided to take my chances on this little road, and prayed that no one wondered what I was doing there and take a shot at me. That's not intended as a slam on the fine citizens of West Virginia; but this is a road you take if you know where you are, not one you just casually choose.
So at the end of this road, I was instructed to turn right onto WV 28. My cell rang -- WAHOO! It was voicemail from Daddy and a missed call from my friends (probably already at the cabin, dammit!) I tried calling Daddy and ...... I tried again, and ......... dead silence. I looked at the screen: "No Service." Yep. I was in a dead zone! I drove on to find a little meat-and-three in the middle of nowhere (okay, the nearest town was Riverton), and I was starving. I got a to-go order, and noticed that the local high school was doing a fundraiser. My high school was the smallest school in the county, and fundraising was just a way of life for nearly every team or activity. So when the waitress brought my order, I gave her a $5 for the kids. I know it wasn't much, but I wanted to do something. And on to Harman I went....
At the split at Seneca Rocks (insert air guitar WAAAAAAAAAH here and a "devil sign" with your hands couldn't hurt either), I took US-33 W/WV-55 over to Harman. More mountains and lots of climbing, and a very sanded-down road. This wasn't just snow but some packy ice in places. They don't plow the roads, just sand/dirt them. I guess they get so much snow that it's futile to plow so often..... I mean, it does make sense. Anyhow, I crested the top of Allegheny Mountain to the sign pointing out the Eastern Continental Divide -- which is something I am used to seeing in North Carolina not all that far from home. Amazing. It meant I was pretty much due north of home, but had to go around Robin Hood's barn to get here. I made it to Harman eventually -- and no sign of the cabins.
The only -- and I do mean only -- thing in Harman, besides the WV-32 split to the Canaan Valley ski areas, is the WVDOT shed. The gentlemen in there helped me tremendously, by letting me know I was definitely in the wrong place. One of them said, "Are you maybe looking for Cabins, WV instead?" DING DING!!! Something in the brain said, "Oh crap; that was it." Guess what? I was going to have to turn around and go back the exact way I came in, back over Allegheny Mountain and to turn left at Seneca Rocks (air guitar: WAAAAH!). When I informed them that I had just come that way..... well, I can't decide if their look at me was one of admiration, shock or, "Is this girl that crazy?" Yep. To every last one of those.
Anyway, I drove back over the mountain -- massively steep grade. 10% in quite a number of places. I'm so glad I have good brakes. But I got to Seneca Rocks (air guitar: WAAAAH!) and made the turn. WV-28/Wv-55 was the exact opposite of the other. Not only not as icy/snowy, but hardly what you'd call treacherous. I found the cabins right on the road at a little place just south of Cabins called "Hopeville" -- I MADE IT!!!! 11 hours later, but I MADE IT!
Stay tuned for additional adventures from Wild, Wonderful West Virginia!
Monday, February 23, 2009
Home, happy and warm.....
I rolled in about an hour ago from my West Virginia mini-vacation. I have 3 days' worth of a travelogue and will post it as soon as I get a chance. Plus I have to write Day 4's adventure as well!
More to come, I promise!
More to come, I promise!
Friday, February 13, 2009
Okay, brain melt complete!
This week at work, I've been listening to That 70s Channel (KOOL, HD2; good stuff, by the way) and enjoying it. The other day, I heard one of my old favorites: "Life Is A Rock (But The Radio Rolled Me)" -- great tune!
While walking Maddox tonight, I had that song running through my head. No complaints, midn you. But then, I suddenly realized that I had taken that tune and put whole different lyrics with it -- I was singing Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire" to that tune!
YOW! Worlds colliding!!!! Scarily enough, it actually seemed to work fairly well.
Hmm.........
While walking Maddox tonight, I had that song running through my head. No complaints, midn you. But then, I suddenly realized that I had taken that tune and put whole different lyrics with it -- I was singing Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire" to that tune!
YOW! Worlds colliding!!!! Scarily enough, it actually seemed to work fairly well.
Hmm.........
Friday, February 06, 2009
In the Red.....
As most of my friends and faithful readers know, I'm all about pink and breast cancer awareness. But today is Go Red For Women Day, to help women recognize that the leading killer of women is heart disease. I am proud to wear a red sweater in solidarity with women who are battling heart disease, have come back from it, and all those we've lost to it.
Think about it, though: Heart disease: #1 killer in the US, and certainly #1 in South Carolina. #1 with a very deadly bullet. And overall, heart disease has been the number one killer of Americans for a century -- every year running since 1918, and tops since 1900. Heart disease: #1 ..... and preventable.
That statistic gives me chills, especially given my own families' history with heart disease. History isn't a strong enough word -- we're practically the Ginger Rogers to its Fred Astaire. I lost every single grandparent to some type of cardiovascular disease: my mother's parents to heart attacks, my dad's to strokes. The #1 and #3 killers, nationwide, and so very closely linked. My maternal grandmother's family is a cardiologist's dream or nightmare (I'm not sure which). A family reunion is more of a medical convention -- litanies of whose triglycerides have worsened or improved the most, discussions on the latest in cardiac management. Crazy, right? In my own family, my mother is hypertensive and has been for almost as long as I can remember. She is adamant about staying on top of this disease. She doesn't miss a daily dose of her BP meds; matter of fact, she gets incredibly dizzy and weak if she does. My brother is also hypertensive, but a little less regular about his meds. My father, thanks be, shows no signs of any of it so far. But since both his parents had strokes, I live in dread fear of it happening to him.
With this sort of family history, and given my contrary nature, one would think then that I would spend much of my adult life doing everything I could to NOT be one of the statistics. Right. I kept happily and heartily digging my eventual grave with a fork and spoon. The closest I came to even worrying about my heart was the night I was having a gallbladder attack. I had had similar symptoms a couple of weeks earlier, but was able to alleviate the muscle pain fairly easily. This night, it was about 1:30 AM, and I felt the pain shoot all the way up to my shoulders. I lay in my bed in horrific pain and my first thought was, "I am going to die here because I am too embarrassed to call for help. I am going to die here of a .... what is this?" Then the next thought was "OMG, is this a heart attack?" The only way I knew it wasn't was because the pain was far more concentrated in my abdomen, and tests a couple of weeks later confirmed a humongo gallstone. But once I knew what it was, I didn't give any additional thought to my heart.
I knew my extra poundage could not be healthy for my heart, but denial ain't just a river in Egypt. If I thought the whole scenario through to its logical conclusion, I would scare myself to death. Easier to be an ostrich and pretend it just doesn't exist. But you can't live like that at all. Eventually I would have to do SOMETHING. You would think gallbladder surgery would have been the impetus. Not at all. It took a very minor problem -- really, more of a fly in the ointment of my life -- to get it going. That and a doctor's kind words and confidence in me. I don't know what it was that made me pull my head out of the sand either, but I did.
I would be colossally naive to think that 36-plus years of abuse did no damage to my heart. Please, I'm an optimist, but that's wandering into the Land of Pure Stupidity. I can hope that nearly 3 years of an improved lifestyle have done something to reverse whatever damage I have caused. Dr. Ornish's studies show that change can occur. I hope that I have put my heart back on a healthy track so that I don't have a coronary issue someday. But I still need to educate myself ..... just in case.
And so here I am, on Go Red For Women Day .... learning what I can do to prevent heart disease from getting more of a foothold. And I encourage you to do the same. Ladies and gents, we have to stop this disease in its tracks as much as possible. And I'm willing to bet that if we stop #1, then we can also shorten the effects of #2 (cancers) and #3 (strokes).... also all preventable by the same methods. Imagine that. And we have to stop it in ourselves, or our kids might not live long enough to stop it.
Think about it, though: Heart disease: #1 killer in the US, and certainly #1 in South Carolina. #1 with a very deadly bullet. And overall, heart disease has been the number one killer of Americans for a century -- every year running since 1918, and tops since 1900. Heart disease: #1 ..... and preventable.
That statistic gives me chills, especially given my own families' history with heart disease. History isn't a strong enough word -- we're practically the Ginger Rogers to its Fred Astaire. I lost every single grandparent to some type of cardiovascular disease: my mother's parents to heart attacks, my dad's to strokes. The #1 and #3 killers, nationwide, and so very closely linked. My maternal grandmother's family is a cardiologist's dream or nightmare (I'm not sure which). A family reunion is more of a medical convention -- litanies of whose triglycerides have worsened or improved the most, discussions on the latest in cardiac management. Crazy, right? In my own family, my mother is hypertensive and has been for almost as long as I can remember. She is adamant about staying on top of this disease. She doesn't miss a daily dose of her BP meds; matter of fact, she gets incredibly dizzy and weak if she does. My brother is also hypertensive, but a little less regular about his meds. My father, thanks be, shows no signs of any of it so far. But since both his parents had strokes, I live in dread fear of it happening to him.
With this sort of family history, and given my contrary nature, one would think then that I would spend much of my adult life doing everything I could to NOT be one of the statistics. Right. I kept happily and heartily digging my eventual grave with a fork and spoon. The closest I came to even worrying about my heart was the night I was having a gallbladder attack. I had had similar symptoms a couple of weeks earlier, but was able to alleviate the muscle pain fairly easily. This night, it was about 1:30 AM, and I felt the pain shoot all the way up to my shoulders. I lay in my bed in horrific pain and my first thought was, "I am going to die here because I am too embarrassed to call for help. I am going to die here of a .... what is this?" Then the next thought was "OMG, is this a heart attack?" The only way I knew it wasn't was because the pain was far more concentrated in my abdomen, and tests a couple of weeks later confirmed a humongo gallstone. But once I knew what it was, I didn't give any additional thought to my heart.
I knew my extra poundage could not be healthy for my heart, but denial ain't just a river in Egypt. If I thought the whole scenario through to its logical conclusion, I would scare myself to death. Easier to be an ostrich and pretend it just doesn't exist. But you can't live like that at all. Eventually I would have to do SOMETHING. You would think gallbladder surgery would have been the impetus. Not at all. It took a very minor problem -- really, more of a fly in the ointment of my life -- to get it going. That and a doctor's kind words and confidence in me. I don't know what it was that made me pull my head out of the sand either, but I did.
I would be colossally naive to think that 36-plus years of abuse did no damage to my heart. Please, I'm an optimist, but that's wandering into the Land of Pure Stupidity. I can hope that nearly 3 years of an improved lifestyle have done something to reverse whatever damage I have caused. Dr. Ornish's studies show that change can occur. I hope that I have put my heart back on a healthy track so that I don't have a coronary issue someday. But I still need to educate myself ..... just in case.
And so here I am, on Go Red For Women Day .... learning what I can do to prevent heart disease from getting more of a foothold. And I encourage you to do the same. Ladies and gents, we have to stop this disease in its tracks as much as possible. And I'm willing to bet that if we stop #1, then we can also shorten the effects of #2 (cancers) and #3 (strokes).... also all preventable by the same methods. Imagine that. And we have to stop it in ourselves, or our kids might not live long enough to stop it.
Friday, January 30, 2009
An open letter to my senators and congressman....
Dear Senators Graham and DeMint, and Congressman Barrett,
Words cannot begin to express my complete and utter disappointment in your failure to vote in favor of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.
Mr. DeMint, I admit without reservation that I am no fan of yours, as you are far too conservative for my liking. So honestly, I didn't expect any better of you and assumed you had voted against it. I didn't vote for you last time, and rest assured that I will continue to support your opposition. Good day.
But as for you, Senator Graham and Congressman Barrett, I have supported you over the years. This is primarily because you are from my area (the next county over) and you understand the concerns of the smaller towns and their people. Or at least I thought you did..... And given the fact that you are both from areas whose people made their living in textiles or other manufacturing operations, I thought certainly that a bill like this would hold great appeal?
So what was it? What was it about this law that made you say, "Oh no.... I can't vote for that!" I don't get it. All it did was extend the amount of time that an employee has to file a pay discrimination suit. It really didn't say that companies had to do equal pay -- that's another law's job. All this did was right a horrific wrong in the hopes that there isn't another woman out there that misses a window of opportunity to get what she truly deserves.
Now, why in the world would that interest me, other than being female and being in solidarity with my sisters? It's simple, really: my grandmother.
For all her imperfections, I give my grandmother full credit for raising seven children on a mill worker's salary. I'm willing to bet that she never made close to the salary of the men around her, even while working the same job with the same skills and education. The CRA of 1964 came a little too late to help my grandmother and by extension her children (my father included). You see, my grandmother had it tough, raising those kids on that paltry salary. Again, you will never convince me that she wasn't paid less, and then only because she had two X chromosomes instead of an XY combination. And because it was so difficult, none of her kids graduated high school when they were teens. They all had to drop out at 16 and help support the family. I wonder ..... if any legislation about equal pay had been available at the time, or a Lilly Ledbetter Act to ensure that she had some extra time to right the wrong .... might my father and his siblings have been able to finish high school? Might college have been in their future with scholarships or grants for lower-income children?
I also think of my mother. My mother returned to the workforce when I was 7. She was blessed enough to do office work, but I also am fairly certain that no man would have ever agreed to work for what they paid her -- only if he were truly desperate. She did it willingly to help keep a roof over our heads and clothes on our backs. She and my dad made it possible for my brother and I to never have to have a job in high school unless we just truly wanted one. They made it possible for me to go on to college for more education and to get a job where I wouldn't hear the deafening roar of a loom in my sleep, or do work so monotonous and repetitive that years down the road, my body's cellular memory would still be screaming out in pain. They did that for us.
I also think of my godchild. In a few years, she may be entering the work force with a summer job or an after-school fun-money job. But right now, she's still young enough to not have to worry about that and can concentrate on being just a kid. Her mom and I are both strongly in favor of women's rights, and it's something we discuss with her on occasion. We both believe that whatever she chooses to do in life, gender should not be an issue in her employment. Frankly, for her sake, I'm glad the bill passed. Because believe you me, if she should ever find herself in that boat, I will personally help her put together the research --- not that she's not talented enough to do it on her own, I just want to be there for it! It ticks me off that she's growing up in a society that still thinks it's okay to discriminate in pay and opportunity simply because she's a woman. It makes me angry as all hell.
And this, Senators and Congressman, is just part of the reason for my deep disappointment. You all know women like my grandmother, my mother, my godchild. Me, for that matter. I want a working world where my gender is not a detriment -- I do not want you to give me any special consideration just because I'm a woman, nor do I want you to punish me because I'm a woman. I just want to be able to do the job, and have my performance, my abilities, and my talents judged -- the same as any man would.
November 2010, gentlemen. I will remember.
Sincerely,
Nettiemac.
Words cannot begin to express my complete and utter disappointment in your failure to vote in favor of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.
Mr. DeMint, I admit without reservation that I am no fan of yours, as you are far too conservative for my liking. So honestly, I didn't expect any better of you and assumed you had voted against it. I didn't vote for you last time, and rest assured that I will continue to support your opposition. Good day.
But as for you, Senator Graham and Congressman Barrett, I have supported you over the years. This is primarily because you are from my area (the next county over) and you understand the concerns of the smaller towns and their people. Or at least I thought you did..... And given the fact that you are both from areas whose people made their living in textiles or other manufacturing operations, I thought certainly that a bill like this would hold great appeal?
So what was it? What was it about this law that made you say, "Oh no.... I can't vote for that!" I don't get it. All it did was extend the amount of time that an employee has to file a pay discrimination suit. It really didn't say that companies had to do equal pay -- that's another law's job. All this did was right a horrific wrong in the hopes that there isn't another woman out there that misses a window of opportunity to get what she truly deserves.
Now, why in the world would that interest me, other than being female and being in solidarity with my sisters? It's simple, really: my grandmother.
For all her imperfections, I give my grandmother full credit for raising seven children on a mill worker's salary. I'm willing to bet that she never made close to the salary of the men around her, even while working the same job with the same skills and education. The CRA of 1964 came a little too late to help my grandmother and by extension her children (my father included). You see, my grandmother had it tough, raising those kids on that paltry salary. Again, you will never convince me that she wasn't paid less, and then only because she had two X chromosomes instead of an XY combination. And because it was so difficult, none of her kids graduated high school when they were teens. They all had to drop out at 16 and help support the family. I wonder ..... if any legislation about equal pay had been available at the time, or a Lilly Ledbetter Act to ensure that she had some extra time to right the wrong .... might my father and his siblings have been able to finish high school? Might college have been in their future with scholarships or grants for lower-income children?
I also think of my mother. My mother returned to the workforce when I was 7. She was blessed enough to do office work, but I also am fairly certain that no man would have ever agreed to work for what they paid her -- only if he were truly desperate. She did it willingly to help keep a roof over our heads and clothes on our backs. She and my dad made it possible for my brother and I to never have to have a job in high school unless we just truly wanted one. They made it possible for me to go on to college for more education and to get a job where I wouldn't hear the deafening roar of a loom in my sleep, or do work so monotonous and repetitive that years down the road, my body's cellular memory would still be screaming out in pain. They did that for us.
I also think of my godchild. In a few years, she may be entering the work force with a summer job or an after-school fun-money job. But right now, she's still young enough to not have to worry about that and can concentrate on being just a kid. Her mom and I are both strongly in favor of women's rights, and it's something we discuss with her on occasion. We both believe that whatever she chooses to do in life, gender should not be an issue in her employment. Frankly, for her sake, I'm glad the bill passed. Because believe you me, if she should ever find herself in that boat, I will personally help her put together the research --- not that she's not talented enough to do it on her own, I just want to be there for it! It ticks me off that she's growing up in a society that still thinks it's okay to discriminate in pay and opportunity simply because she's a woman. It makes me angry as all hell.
And this, Senators and Congressman, is just part of the reason for my deep disappointment. You all know women like my grandmother, my mother, my godchild. Me, for that matter. I want a working world where my gender is not a detriment -- I do not want you to give me any special consideration just because I'm a woman, nor do I want you to punish me because I'm a woman. I just want to be able to do the job, and have my performance, my abilities, and my talents judged -- the same as any man would.
November 2010, gentlemen. I will remember.
Sincerely,
Nettiemac.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
A word or several about clothes.
Apparently, I am running a laundry porn operation or brothel. Because there is NO other explanation for why my laundry is seeming to multiply. There's some serious bow-chicka-wow-wow going on, which is causing everything to just grow exponentially. Okay, seriously, there isn't mad passionate lovemaking amongst my cottons, linens, woolens, and denims (although that would be a bizarre idea for a comic strip). There's also my addiction to clearance sales and thrift stores, along with a HUMONGO box of jeans and other goodies that my best friend lovingly passed on to me.
The one thing for which I'm really glad is that 90% of the clothes I have fit me -- not perfectly, but they fit. What doesn't fit, I'm clearing out, mostly by recycling them to Goodwill. Now, what sizes are there? It's a range of sizes -- what one label will call a 14 might be a 10 in another label or an 18 in yet another. You just never know until you try it on. And what looks fantastic on a hanger might just look less-than-great on your own body (and perfect on someone else's).
When it comes to clothes and a sense of personal style, I cannot recommend these three books highly enough:
The one thing for which I'm really glad is that 90% of the clothes I have fit me -- not perfectly, but they fit. What doesn't fit, I'm clearing out, mostly by recycling them to Goodwill. Now, what sizes are there? It's a range of sizes -- what one label will call a 14 might be a 10 in another label or an 18 in yet another. You just never know until you try it on. And what looks fantastic on a hanger might just look less-than-great on your own body (and perfect on someone else's).
When it comes to clothes and a sense of personal style, I cannot recommend these three books highly enough:
- In the Dressing Room with Brenda (Brenda Kinsel)
- Dress Your Best (Clinton Kelly & Stacey London)
- Figure It Out! The Real Woman's Guide to Great Style (Geri Brin & Tish Jett)
Saturday, January 17, 2009
I've been downsized....
But in a very good way.
Warning to my male readers: this post involves the discussion of lingerie and body size, body image, etc. You've been forewarned! You're also welcome to click on the links and view the lingerie models, if that's your thing.
About 3 years ago, I found a great plus-size lingerie store in Atlanta called Silver Lining Plus. They were able to do a professional bra fitting, and put me in something to give me the illusion of a waistline (at a time when I had none). I remember buying $200 worth of bras that day, and getting the feeling that I could drive to Atlanta 2-3 times a year for some good foundations. Two weeks later, I joined Weight Watchers, and 6 months later, all those bras I bought were way too big. I made a return trip, bought a couple more, and repeated about every 6-8 months.
I was in the greater metro area last night and today, so I thought I would stop in and get at least one bra. Lately, I've been buying off the rack but it's kind of a crap shoot. You never know if it's going to fit just right, and the average retail store is not at all keen on having you try on bras! And one of the ones I'd packed has fantastic side/back support, iffy strap support, and is horrific where it counts most.
I got to Silver Lining this morning, and got in the fitting room. I explained to the salesclerk that I'd been dropping in every few months, I needed to know about my size for sure, and so forth. So she gave me a few to try on.... one of which was a cup size lower than what I usually wear, because of this particular vendor and how they construct things. When another clerk came in to assist me, she took one look and said, "Honey, I'm not taking your money today. You're at a point now that we don't carry very many bras in your size. You're in regular sizes now, so I'm going to send you to Intimacy over in Phipps Plaza. They're going to carry plenty of different designs that might be in the size you're used to now. We appreciate the business you've given us, and keep sending people our way that can use us!" They all hugged me and sent me on my way.
I just couldn't believe it. I'm now too small for them! BWAAAAH! But off to Intimacy I went. Alexa was my fitter there (so if you are in Phipps Plaza and get Alexa, you are in great hands!), and we tried on bookoo bras! The real kicker is this incredible purple bra I tried on with pink and gold accents and a little dangly jewel in the center. It was also priced at over $200. If I'm spending that much, there had better be bras, plural, in the bag. Yow. It was gorgeous, but that's a V-Day gift to me from the love of my life (wherever he may be, somewhere out there).
So I know where to go now, but I hate to leave the wonderful folks at Silver Lining behind. They are the best at what they do, and they have such beautiful clothing and lingerie!
BUT.... I also firmly believe that every woman deserves to be professionally fitted at least once in her life, if not once a year! It's worth every moment, and worth every penny to wear a well-fitting, supportive bra -- it not only lifts the girls, it lifts the spirit! Not only that, it's been documented time and again that at least 70% of women are in the wrong bra size --- no wonder our shoulders ache, our sides spill over, the girls are either swimming in too much fabric or barely constrained by not enough. Even if you don't buy the foundation there, at least you'll know what size to wear or what style to look for to meet your body's needs. Find a good foundations store near you, or a department store with a good foundations department -- for example, Nordstrom has a good reputation for proper fittings. Make the time to look your best and feel your best!
Warning to my male readers: this post involves the discussion of lingerie and body size, body image, etc. You've been forewarned! You're also welcome to click on the links and view the lingerie models, if that's your thing.
About 3 years ago, I found a great plus-size lingerie store in Atlanta called Silver Lining Plus. They were able to do a professional bra fitting, and put me in something to give me the illusion of a waistline (at a time when I had none). I remember buying $200 worth of bras that day, and getting the feeling that I could drive to Atlanta 2-3 times a year for some good foundations. Two weeks later, I joined Weight Watchers, and 6 months later, all those bras I bought were way too big. I made a return trip, bought a couple more, and repeated about every 6-8 months.
I was in the greater metro area last night and today, so I thought I would stop in and get at least one bra. Lately, I've been buying off the rack but it's kind of a crap shoot. You never know if it's going to fit just right, and the average retail store is not at all keen on having you try on bras! And one of the ones I'd packed has fantastic side/back support, iffy strap support, and is horrific where it counts most.
I got to Silver Lining this morning, and got in the fitting room. I explained to the salesclerk that I'd been dropping in every few months, I needed to know about my size for sure, and so forth. So she gave me a few to try on.... one of which was a cup size lower than what I usually wear, because of this particular vendor and how they construct things. When another clerk came in to assist me, she took one look and said, "Honey, I'm not taking your money today. You're at a point now that we don't carry very many bras in your size. You're in regular sizes now, so I'm going to send you to Intimacy over in Phipps Plaza. They're going to carry plenty of different designs that might be in the size you're used to now. We appreciate the business you've given us, and keep sending people our way that can use us!" They all hugged me and sent me on my way.
I just couldn't believe it. I'm now too small for them! BWAAAAH! But off to Intimacy I went. Alexa was my fitter there (so if you are in Phipps Plaza and get Alexa, you are in great hands!), and we tried on bookoo bras! The real kicker is this incredible purple bra I tried on with pink and gold accents and a little dangly jewel in the center. It was also priced at over $200. If I'm spending that much, there had better be bras, plural, in the bag. Yow. It was gorgeous, but that's a V-Day gift to me from the love of my life (wherever he may be, somewhere out there).
So I know where to go now, but I hate to leave the wonderful folks at Silver Lining behind. They are the best at what they do, and they have such beautiful clothing and lingerie!
BUT.... I also firmly believe that every woman deserves to be professionally fitted at least once in her life, if not once a year! It's worth every moment, and worth every penny to wear a well-fitting, supportive bra -- it not only lifts the girls, it lifts the spirit! Not only that, it's been documented time and again that at least 70% of women are in the wrong bra size --- no wonder our shoulders ache, our sides spill over, the girls are either swimming in too much fabric or barely constrained by not enough. Even if you don't buy the foundation there, at least you'll know what size to wear or what style to look for to meet your body's needs. Find a good foundations store near you, or a department store with a good foundations department -- for example, Nordstrom has a good reputation for proper fittings. Make the time to look your best and feel your best!
Sunday, January 04, 2009
To pause, perchance to reflect.....
Today, I'm pooped. I made it through the holidays in good form, did everything well, had a great Christmas and New Year's, and today..... I can't keep my eyes open through the playoff game. Eight straight days of getting up at my normal time (when usually I sleep in a bit on Saturdays and Sundays -- not much but some).
So instead of me doing some silly reflection on 2008, I'll let "Uncle Jay" do it for me........
Enjoy!!!
So instead of me doing some silly reflection on 2008, I'll let "Uncle Jay" do it for me........
Enjoy!!!
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Did you know....
that painting walls burns some serious calories? Yep! It sure does!
For someone at my weight and for the time I painted today (roughly one hour), I burned around 400 calories, at least according to the online calorie-burning-calculator I consulted. Two words: Believe it. Okay, technically one site said 407 calories per hour. Another said it was 384 calories per hour. Yet another said it was only 235 calories per hour (to which I say "Oscar Meyer baloney!") Still, another says 389 per hour. So I can deal with saying 400 and leaving well enough alone!
I painted a little last Wednesday, and mentioned to one of my fellow choir members what I had done. Gary said, "You are gonna hurt tomorrow in places you never imagined." He was right -- I woke up Christmas morning wondering how in the world my calves could be that sore! I had used my arms, not my legs...... Today, it didn't hurt my arms as badly, nor did I hold the roller handle with a Vulcan death grip (I was actually able to use a pen this afternoon, unlike last week). Tomorrow morning may be a different story.
So now I have one paint-splattered pair of jeans, a thin stream on my sneakers (or, as we say in my neck of the woods, "tenny shoes"), and one hopelessly splattered shirt (but that's why I wore it!). And I have a great feeling of accomplishment! Oh, and we have very pretty walls now too!
For someone at my weight and for the time I painted today (roughly one hour), I burned around 400 calories, at least according to the online calorie-burning-calculator I consulted. Two words: Believe it. Okay, technically one site said 407 calories per hour. Another said it was 384 calories per hour. Yet another said it was only 235 calories per hour (to which I say "Oscar Meyer baloney!") Still, another says 389 per hour. So I can deal with saying 400 and leaving well enough alone!
I painted a little last Wednesday, and mentioned to one of my fellow choir members what I had done. Gary said, "You are gonna hurt tomorrow in places you never imagined." He was right -- I woke up Christmas morning wondering how in the world my calves could be that sore! I had used my arms, not my legs...... Today, it didn't hurt my arms as badly, nor did I hold the roller handle with a Vulcan death grip (I was actually able to use a pen this afternoon, unlike last week). Tomorrow morning may be a different story.
So now I have one paint-splattered pair of jeans, a thin stream on my sneakers (or, as we say in my neck of the woods, "tenny shoes"), and one hopelessly splattered shirt (but that's why I wore it!). And I have a great feeling of accomplishment! Oh, and we have very pretty walls now too!
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Christmas joys and sorrows...
I know, it's been a while since the last post. But things are relatively good, and I've been fairly busy, too.
Shopping: not nearly the headache-inducing experience that it normally can be. I did most of it in one weekend (last weekend, just before Christmas), and I got pretty much everything I needed without stepping foot in a mall! That's now at least 8 years of a mall-free Christmas! WAHOO! I bargain-shopped like a madwoman, and came out pretty good. I also included some gift cards because I knew that's what some of my recipients wanted. So it all worked out.
Singing: oh my! The choir did a fantastic job -- not that we don't always do, but somehow it seemed to be really great this year! From where I stood/sat, we hit all our cues, notes, times, etc. and we sounded great!
Christmas Morning: I got some workout gear from my brother, PJ's from the parents, The Barbecue Bible from my brother (OMG, some of the recipes in there.... SLURP!). My dad and I love to grill and love trying new things, so I can't wait to try these out! Plus, I got a Visa gift card (YAHOO!!!). I gave my parents each a fleece pullover with matching fleece beanie cap, each a pair of PJ's and each a gift card to a favorite store (Mom got Hamrick's, Dad got Home Depot). I gave my brother a fleece beanie cap, a Circuit City gift card, two movies (Sling Blade and Stephen King's Silver Bullet), and an MP3 player.
Eating: I was extra good, I thought. I have this plan each year that I don't track on two days of the year: Thanksgiving and Christmas Days. Every other day, I track! So on Christmas, I relaxed and enjoyed myself and didn't worry so much about the food. It's kind of a 90-10 rule: I give myself some wiggle room to enjoy a meal or a day every once in a while, and I'm vigilant the other 90% of the time. After all, it's not one meal that gets us to where we are.... it's "one meal"-ing ourselves every waking moment!
So all in all, it was a nice day.......
***
However, one of my former coworkers lost her battle with cancer on Christmas Eve. It is all the more heartbreaking because she had just lost her husband in May after his battle with Lou Gehrig's disease. Their children are just barely adult-age (late teens and early 20s). I cannot imagine what they have gone through, having to lose two parents so close apart and to two awful diseases. My prayers are certainly with them.
It made me think of my own family. For quite a number of years, my dad's family had funerals either just before or just after Christmas. His grandmother died in December 1968 (my mother's first Christmas with Dad). His nephew (my cousin) died in December 1975 (my brother's first Christmas). There were two or three others scattered in there.
It also made me think of a friend from my old church who just lost her husband last week, suddenly and very unexpectedly. Her daughter was a couple of years behind me in school, and it made me sad for them.
I wonder why God just doesn't put a moratorium on death from Thanksgiving to New Year, all over the world. I know, I know -- death is as much a part of life as is birth, and we're not asking for a moratorium on babies being born. None of us get to choose the time of our death, but you just wish that no family has to go through a holiday with a fresh, raw loss .... and how it mars every holiday after that. True, once a person passes, no holiday is ever the same without them; it matters not if the loss happens in March or July or December. But when you lose someone right at Christmas, it clouds the whole holiday, even many years down the road........
My prayers are with those girls, and the other family, and all other families who have a fresh, raw grief this holiday season -- whether from the passing of a loved one, a child deployed to a war zone and spending that first holiday away from family, or a missing relative who hasn't been seen or heard from in months, and there are no answers. My prayer is for peace in their hearts, courage for the future, and for answers to one day come.
Shopping: not nearly the headache-inducing experience that it normally can be. I did most of it in one weekend (last weekend, just before Christmas), and I got pretty much everything I needed without stepping foot in a mall! That's now at least 8 years of a mall-free Christmas! WAHOO! I bargain-shopped like a madwoman, and came out pretty good. I also included some gift cards because I knew that's what some of my recipients wanted. So it all worked out.
Singing: oh my! The choir did a fantastic job -- not that we don't always do, but somehow it seemed to be really great this year! From where I stood/sat, we hit all our cues, notes, times, etc. and we sounded great!
Christmas Morning: I got some workout gear from my brother, PJ's from the parents, The Barbecue Bible from my brother (OMG, some of the recipes in there.... SLURP!). My dad and I love to grill and love trying new things, so I can't wait to try these out! Plus, I got a Visa gift card (YAHOO!!!). I gave my parents each a fleece pullover with matching fleece beanie cap, each a pair of PJ's and each a gift card to a favorite store (Mom got Hamrick's, Dad got Home Depot). I gave my brother a fleece beanie cap, a Circuit City gift card, two movies (Sling Blade and Stephen King's Silver Bullet), and an MP3 player.
Eating: I was extra good, I thought. I have this plan each year that I don't track on two days of the year: Thanksgiving and Christmas Days. Every other day, I track! So on Christmas, I relaxed and enjoyed myself and didn't worry so much about the food. It's kind of a 90-10 rule: I give myself some wiggle room to enjoy a meal or a day every once in a while, and I'm vigilant the other 90% of the time. After all, it's not one meal that gets us to where we are.... it's "one meal"-ing ourselves every waking moment!
So all in all, it was a nice day.......
***
However, one of my former coworkers lost her battle with cancer on Christmas Eve. It is all the more heartbreaking because she had just lost her husband in May after his battle with Lou Gehrig's disease. Their children are just barely adult-age (late teens and early 20s). I cannot imagine what they have gone through, having to lose two parents so close apart and to two awful diseases. My prayers are certainly with them.
It made me think of my own family. For quite a number of years, my dad's family had funerals either just before or just after Christmas. His grandmother died in December 1968 (my mother's first Christmas with Dad). His nephew (my cousin) died in December 1975 (my brother's first Christmas). There were two or three others scattered in there.
It also made me think of a friend from my old church who just lost her husband last week, suddenly and very unexpectedly. Her daughter was a couple of years behind me in school, and it made me sad for them.
I wonder why God just doesn't put a moratorium on death from Thanksgiving to New Year, all over the world. I know, I know -- death is as much a part of life as is birth, and we're not asking for a moratorium on babies being born. None of us get to choose the time of our death, but you just wish that no family has to go through a holiday with a fresh, raw loss .... and how it mars every holiday after that. True, once a person passes, no holiday is ever the same without them; it matters not if the loss happens in March or July or December. But when you lose someone right at Christmas, it clouds the whole holiday, even many years down the road........
My prayers are with those girls, and the other family, and all other families who have a fresh, raw grief this holiday season -- whether from the passing of a loved one, a child deployed to a war zone and spending that first holiday away from family, or a missing relative who hasn't been seen or heard from in months, and there are no answers. My prayer is for peace in their hearts, courage for the future, and for answers to one day come.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Yeah, it's been a while
Honestly, I've been so busy over the last couple of weeks I have hardly had time to breathe! Between work and real life and choir practice and everything with the holidays (and no, I haven't started shopping yet, but I am going on Saturday)..... well, whew! I'm just now getting a chance to write.
Life, for the most part, is good -- in spite of the crazy-busys, even with all the hustle and hubbub. I decided not to put up any fuss at all about the holidays and just to be happy with what is. Giving up the need to have it all be perfect....... and honestly, I'm happier about this time of year than I've been in a long time. I'm not all ho-ho-holiday crazy. I'm still the first to yell Bah Humbug. What I am is just happy to be in the present moment......
I did have a moment today when I looked at the calendar and said, "Holy cow! It's two weeks until Christmas! YOW!!" Hence, the shopping on Saturday. Now, come Saturday after it's over, I may come back all in a huff .... usually because so many people can be complete jackasses at the holiday. Greed and me-me-me... not my style!
We shall see. But for now, it's good. And I'm content and grateful for everything I have and am.
Life, for the most part, is good -- in spite of the crazy-busys, even with all the hustle and hubbub. I decided not to put up any fuss at all about the holidays and just to be happy with what is. Giving up the need to have it all be perfect....... and honestly, I'm happier about this time of year than I've been in a long time. I'm not all ho-ho-holiday crazy. I'm still the first to yell Bah Humbug. What I am is just happy to be in the present moment......
I did have a moment today when I looked at the calendar and said, "Holy cow! It's two weeks until Christmas! YOW!!" Hence, the shopping on Saturday. Now, come Saturday after it's over, I may come back all in a huff .... usually because so many people can be complete jackasses at the holiday. Greed and me-me-me... not my style!
We shall see. But for now, it's good. And I'm content and grateful for everything I have and am.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Great; 365 more days of....
hearing the non-stop yammering of Orange Faithful -- and trust me, some of them will yammer on and on and on.
Worse, we deserve it. We played badly. WHY, WHY, the ol' ball coach kept Chris Smelley in the game is beyond me. He should have put Beecher in, if Garcia was unable to play (stomach flu all week). Smelley stunk. After the 2nd interception, he should have put Beecher in. No question. If Beecher flubbed it, THEN put Smelley back in after a good smackaround by the coaches.
What was the deal? We'll never know.
Worse, we deserve it. We played badly. WHY, WHY, the ol' ball coach kept Chris Smelley in the game is beyond me. He should have put Beecher in, if Garcia was unable to play (stomach flu all week). Smelley stunk. After the 2nd interception, he should have put Beecher in. No question. If Beecher flubbed it, THEN put Smelley back in after a good smackaround by the coaches.
What was the deal? We'll never know.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Tagged by Kate/Susan
It's that time again!!! Tagging for a fun quiz from Kate/Susan!
The rules:
Ok, now to find six people whom Susan didn't nab already. YOW!!!!
1. Stoney
2. Cary from LOTD
3. Stacey
4. Ballz
5. Sunny
6. Toucan
Have fun! Looking forward to learning some new facts about everyone :-)
The rules:
- Link to the person who tagged you.
- Post the rules on your blog.
- Write 6 random things about yourself.
- Tag 6-ish people at the end of your post.
- Let each person know he/she has been tagged.
- Let the tagger know when your entry is up.
- I don't have stage fright. Not to say I don't get butterflies on occasion, but as far as being absolutely terrified to get up in front of people ..... not a prayer. It doesn't bother me in the least. There was some statistic years ago that something like 2 out of every 3 people would seriously rather die than do public speaking. PLEASE! I'd rather have to give a speech on a daily basis than die!!!
- I actually can be quiet. Most of my friends will immediately double over in laughter and be yelling, "Stop! Stop! It hurts!" But at work, I'm fairly quiet. Not that I don't have anything to say, but most of the time (especially now) I'm trying to balance 14 plates on 2 hands. Ya know?
- I love sportstalk. I do not listen to talk radio, because 95% of it is WAY too conservative for me. And believe me, no broadcaster around here would dare carry Air America, and upset all the poor little Carolina people who beleive that people who actually use the brain God gave them are pinko godless commie hippie freaks. But sports talk? Now that, my friends, is another story entirely. What can I say? I love sports, therefore I enjoy sports talk radio. Now, having said that, please allow me to express my extreme frustration with the local sports station -- not because they're the flagship station of the archrival school, but just because they have no idea how to hire someone who can actually (a) show up on a night or weekend and (b) actually have the cognitive and motor skills necessary to push a button for a satellite feed. TWO nights in a row without Westwood One coverage of football is making me one very cranky girl.
- I'm no Adrian Monk, but.... I do not like germs, in the least. And most of all, I cannot tolerate a nasty kitchen. I honestly think a lot of that goes back to that one weekend I had a case of food poisoning. Salmonella will change your attitude about many things. You will pray for death, if you never have before. And when you survive, you will think very differently about germs. Now, I'm not saying I wash EVERY single dish, utensil, etc. immediately upon use. I don't have that much time on my hands! But I do believe in washing them as soon as possible, very thoroughly, and in the hottest water my hands can stand without being scalded. Or at the very least, putting them in the dishwasher for the next cycle. I know, I'm a little obsessive.
- I'm a bit disorganized. Okay, I'll give you a chance to quit guffawing. Everything is in a pile somewhere, but I can almost always get you what you need within minutes. It's odd. I can't be perfectly organized. I've tried a million times. It just doesn't work. But the pile system works. Go figure. Does "savant" figure in here?
- I am the worst nightmare for an Adult Contemporary PD. I'm their perfect P1 -- pushing 40, career person or soccer mom (I'm the first), female, and not really up on who the latest craze in teen music is (okay, I know who the Jonas Brothers are only because they seem to be plastered all over People but to name a song of theirs... Please.). And here's the deal: I hate the format. Celine Dion makes me wretch, and Shania's music is something I haven't enjoyed since the song "Any Man of Mine." Faith Hill is not the second coming, and Josh Groban doesn't make me swoon in the least. And ... get ready for a shocker ... I am damn tired of Christmas music shoved down my throat 6 weeks before I plan to shop. On that point alone, you will rarely catch me listening to an A/C station. Oh, and I am not a fan of either Delilah or John Tesh. Oddly enough, between the two, I prefer John Tesh's format -- he just records drop-ins and lets the station choose the music. That, at least, allows for a little creativity!
Ok, now to find six people whom Susan didn't nab already. YOW!!!!
1. Stoney
2. Cary from LOTD
3. Stacey
4. Ballz
5. Sunny
6. Toucan
Have fun! Looking forward to learning some new facts about everyone :-)
Monday, November 24, 2008
They were FABULOUS!!!
I went yesterday to our local large venue to see Trans-Siberian Orchestra.
Not only did they not disappoint in the least, but they wowed me. I actually sat there for a few songs and all I could say was "Whoa!" or "WOW!" or "Holy mackerel!" The pyrotechnics and lights were amazing. The music was great.
If they come to your area, RUN to the ticket office and get your seats. Next year, I'm taking the whole family. My father will love it, my brother will (being a metal fan), and my mom will take a pair of earplugs. (HA!!!!!)
I'm serious, though. They are a must-see. Absolutely incredible. The only caveat is that they do use a lot of strobe and flash lighting -- so if you have a sensitivity to that at all, stay home. I had nosebleed seats (but right over the stage), and one of the floodlights near me was heavily involved in the flash lighting for one song. So I had to just shut my eyes during that segment and focus on the music instead.
And the new album -- probably next year. I can't wait. I will be getting it. REALLY good..... But in the meantime, you can get a download FREE at Amazon.com -- check out "Night Enchanted"! It's awesome -- and only good this week! HURRY!
Not only did they not disappoint in the least, but they wowed me. I actually sat there for a few songs and all I could say was "Whoa!" or "WOW!" or "Holy mackerel!" The pyrotechnics and lights were amazing. The music was great.
If they come to your area, RUN to the ticket office and get your seats. Next year, I'm taking the whole family. My father will love it, my brother will (being a metal fan), and my mom will take a pair of earplugs. (HA!!!!!)
I'm serious, though. They are a must-see. Absolutely incredible. The only caveat is that they do use a lot of strobe and flash lighting -- so if you have a sensitivity to that at all, stay home. I had nosebleed seats (but right over the stage), and one of the floodlights near me was heavily involved in the flash lighting for one song. So I had to just shut my eyes during that segment and focus on the music instead.
And the new album -- probably next year. I can't wait. I will be getting it. REALLY good..... But in the meantime, you can get a download FREE at Amazon.com -- check out "Night Enchanted"! It's awesome -- and only good this week! HURRY!
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Still got the scratchies....
Yep. Three full days of Claritin and Nasonex later, and I still have the scratchy throat. I have an awful sense of foreboding that I will be battling this all winter long. I really, truly, deeply, madly hope and pray that it goes away before Christmas and Midnight Mass. The one year that I've actually been able to practice (at least a better part of the time) with the choir ... and I would hate to miss it because I can't sing.
I think this scares me more than anything. Singing is so much a part of who I am that the idea that it can be taken away just..... I don't even want to entertain the thought. I don't want to give it any rent in my head. I will get better. I will get better. I will get better.
***
Mr. Maddox had himself a grand ol' time the last few days at Camp Bow Wow. Normally, I have another petsitter that I would use, but Wednesday and Thursday were going to be late nights for me anyway, so I might as well have kept him close for pickup.
Their idea is "Play All Day, Snooze The Night Away" .... and it's not just a slogan. IT WORKS! Maddox was thoroughly exhausted and pretty much slept or napped from the moment he got home. I had to take him with me to Weight Watchers the other night, and while he kind of sniffed around a little, he was far more eager to find a spot and just poop out. Even now, the day after having spent a full day playing and a full night sleeping, he is still napping!
***
And next on the agenda -- CHRISTMAS CARDS! I'm taking part in a card swap and I have to make some Christmas cards for it. On that note, I had best get to hopping on it and out of these PJ's. Although they are warm flannel PJ's in pink with white polar bears and snowflakes on them. Got them at KMart over the weekend for a STEAL of a price. I may just have to go buy and get myself another pair (in a different motif). These are really warm and I would love to lounge around in them all day. But I have a couple of places to go and things to do first (then get crackin' on those cards!) ......... AND I have to figure out a way to take the family Christmas pictures tomorrow afternoon before the concert. I'm going to see Trans-Siberian Orchestra and I can't wait!!
That's all that's happening in Nettie's World. WHEW!
I think this scares me more than anything. Singing is so much a part of who I am that the idea that it can be taken away just..... I don't even want to entertain the thought. I don't want to give it any rent in my head. I will get better. I will get better. I will get better.
***
Mr. Maddox had himself a grand ol' time the last few days at Camp Bow Wow. Normally, I have another petsitter that I would use, but Wednesday and Thursday were going to be late nights for me anyway, so I might as well have kept him close for pickup.
Their idea is "Play All Day, Snooze The Night Away" .... and it's not just a slogan. IT WORKS! Maddox was thoroughly exhausted and pretty much slept or napped from the moment he got home. I had to take him with me to Weight Watchers the other night, and while he kind of sniffed around a little, he was far more eager to find a spot and just poop out. Even now, the day after having spent a full day playing and a full night sleeping, he is still napping!
***
And next on the agenda -- CHRISTMAS CARDS! I'm taking part in a card swap and I have to make some Christmas cards for it. On that note, I had best get to hopping on it and out of these PJ's. Although they are warm flannel PJ's in pink with white polar bears and snowflakes on them. Got them at KMart over the weekend for a STEAL of a price. I may just have to go buy and get myself another pair (in a different motif). These are really warm and I would love to lounge around in them all day. But I have a couple of places to go and things to do first (then get crackin' on those cards!) ......... AND I have to figure out a way to take the family Christmas pictures tomorrow afternoon before the concert. I'm going to see Trans-Siberian Orchestra and I can't wait!!
That's all that's happening in Nettie's World. WHEW!
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
It's baaa-aaack....
And now I sound like Marge Simpson.
I felt it starting Saturday night, the old familiar scratchy-scratch feeling in my throat. And instead of going to the Johnny Cash/Barry White end of things, it's gone Marge Simpson. So I went to our family doctor today to make sure it wasn't strep.
Whew, thank you saints and angels, it isn't. What is happening is a horrid case of post-nasal drip due to nasal allergies. Makes me remember the old Dristan commercials about "post-nasal drip" ... but that's another thought. Anyway, I'll be taking Claritin and Nasonex and seeing what progresses from there.
Makes me kind of wish I'd had my tonsils and adenoids removed as a child.....
***
IN OTHER NEWS.......
I had a great time Sunday and yesterday with my friends, The Glecks (Tal & Sera). Sera had an entry in the National Gingerbread House Competition at the Grove Park Inn in Asheville NC. I loved her entry, precisely because it wasn't a Christmas-y entry. There's nothing in the rulebook that says "Christmas entries only" and no reason other than pure tradition to associate gingerbread with Christmas. Quite honestly, I think of it as a fall thing myself.
Anyway, there were bookoo entries, all with that overwhelming Christmas theme. I could write an entire diatribe on that, but I won't bore you. Suffice to say that while Sera's house didn't get in the Top 10, it should have, and I am proud to say that the comments I heard about her entry were very positive, and was captured in quite a few cameras.
We also got to meet actress Melissa Reeves, who played Jennifer (Horton) Devereaux on Days of Our Lives for a number of years. She could not have been a more gracious individual, and genuinely happy that her work had been received well. I watched Days for many years in high school and college, and always enjoyed her performances. She and her family live in Tennessee now, and she had a friend who was also an entrant.
As for next year, ideas have been tossed up...... (insert very evil, maniacal laugh right here).
I felt it starting Saturday night, the old familiar scratchy-scratch feeling in my throat. And instead of going to the Johnny Cash/Barry White end of things, it's gone Marge Simpson. So I went to our family doctor today to make sure it wasn't strep.
Whew, thank you saints and angels, it isn't. What is happening is a horrid case of post-nasal drip due to nasal allergies. Makes me remember the old Dristan commercials about "post-nasal drip" ... but that's another thought. Anyway, I'll be taking Claritin and Nasonex and seeing what progresses from there.
Makes me kind of wish I'd had my tonsils and adenoids removed as a child.....
***
IN OTHER NEWS.......
I had a great time Sunday and yesterday with my friends, The Glecks (Tal & Sera). Sera had an entry in the National Gingerbread House Competition at the Grove Park Inn in Asheville NC. I loved her entry, precisely because it wasn't a Christmas-y entry. There's nothing in the rulebook that says "Christmas entries only" and no reason other than pure tradition to associate gingerbread with Christmas. Quite honestly, I think of it as a fall thing myself.
Anyway, there were bookoo entries, all with that overwhelming Christmas theme. I could write an entire diatribe on that, but I won't bore you. Suffice to say that while Sera's house didn't get in the Top 10, it should have, and I am proud to say that the comments I heard about her entry were very positive, and was captured in quite a few cameras.
We also got to meet actress Melissa Reeves, who played Jennifer (Horton) Devereaux on Days of Our Lives for a number of years. She could not have been a more gracious individual, and genuinely happy that her work had been received well. I watched Days for many years in high school and college, and always enjoyed her performances. She and her family live in Tennessee now, and she had a friend who was also an entrant.
As for next year, ideas have been tossed up...... (insert very evil, maniacal laugh right here).
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
Sometimes, being fully armed...
........just isn't enough. Most of the weekend was spent doing my usual litany of things to do that I can't get done during the week, and speaking hoarsely. Yep, hoarseness-leaning-into-laryngitis. Nothing ached, nothing felt bad, just couldn't speak. And then.......
Yesterday morning came. I woke up and my throat didn't hurt as much, but my nose was starting to feel weird. By yesterday afternoon, I was in Rite Aid, buying more cough drops, zinc lozenges, and anti-viral Kleenex (I won't vouch for the anti-viral part, but I love the triple-thickness!). I'm sneezing. My eyes are watery. My head doesn't ache, but I do feel I'm running around 90% capacity instead of my usual 100+.
Yep. It's a cold. Almost for sure. My face doesn't ache, and I don't have that weird disconnect that I feel sometimes with a sinus infection. My throat STILL hurts and I still sound like a white, Southern female version of Barry White. Hey, at least I have my voice back, right? It comes and goes.... when it's here, I'm Barryna. When it's not, I'm Kirstie Alley during some of the scenes in "Look Who's Talking" ("What do you mean, he looks stoned? He looks PERFECT!")
And I'm still drinking hot drinks (decaf tea with a little honey thrown in, sugar-free cider, sugar-free hot chocolate, even non-iced sodas). And yes, I am still taking Granny's cough syrup at bedtime (it helps, if nothing else but to let me sleep...... HA!)
Oh well..... whomever is the patron saint of the common cold, pray for us. It's gonna be a long winter.
Yesterday morning came. I woke up and my throat didn't hurt as much, but my nose was starting to feel weird. By yesterday afternoon, I was in Rite Aid, buying more cough drops, zinc lozenges, and anti-viral Kleenex (I won't vouch for the anti-viral part, but I love the triple-thickness!). I'm sneezing. My eyes are watery. My head doesn't ache, but I do feel I'm running around 90% capacity instead of my usual 100+.
Yep. It's a cold. Almost for sure. My face doesn't ache, and I don't have that weird disconnect that I feel sometimes with a sinus infection. My throat STILL hurts and I still sound like a white, Southern female version of Barry White. Hey, at least I have my voice back, right? It comes and goes.... when it's here, I'm Barryna. When it's not, I'm Kirstie Alley during some of the scenes in "Look Who's Talking" ("What do you mean, he looks stoned? He looks PERFECT!")
And I'm still drinking hot drinks (decaf tea with a little honey thrown in, sugar-free cider, sugar-free hot chocolate, even non-iced sodas). And yes, I am still taking Granny's cough syrup at bedtime (it helps, if nothing else but to let me sleep...... HA!)
Oh well..... whomever is the patron saint of the common cold, pray for us. It's gonna be a long winter.
Friday, October 31, 2008
A warning to germs, viruses, and other little creepies.
I am fully armed.
At work, there are four different bottles of hand sanitizer at my desk -- two gel-based containers (one is lavender scented and available for use by the public, and they had best use it -- the other is just a purse-sized trial size). There's also a trial-sized bottle of the Lysol Healthy Touch foam, and a sample of a hand sanitizer spray (part of a promotion that I got last night at Walgreen's). I have sugar-free cough drops. I have plenty of Celestial Seasonings tea bags as well as sugar-free spiced cider packs -- and let's NOT forget the many packets of Emergen-C in my purse. Oooh, I nearly forgot the now almost-empty tub of disinfecting wipes on the shelf (note to self: pick up more of those over the weekend).
And at home, I have the two bottles of hand sanitizer in my purse, plenty -- PLENTY, mind you -- of antibacterial soap, more sugar-free cough drops picked up at lunch, several cans of soup plus leftover hot-n-sour soup from this evening .... which I halfway expected to really open me up from whatever is causing this, but hasn't so far .... and OH YEAH, the rock-n-rye picked up this evening from the P Road Party Shop. God bless good ol' Rock-n-Rye. It's cheap whisky but it makes one hell of a medicinal mix.
Why am I so heavily armed? Because I have a scratchy throat.
Now, I am not a nervous Nellie in the least. Nor am I a germophobe along the lines of Adrian Monk. I'm not wiping down every surface the minute people exit my office or leave my general vicinity. But I will be danged if I allow this feeling to bloom into a full-fledged.... whatever. I refuse to let the germs win. Right now, I sound like Marge Simpson. Here's the other part of the equation -- I'm singing Sunday night for Mass. Yep. I practiced a little in the car at lunch. I hit the bass notes better than the higher alto notes that I am accustomed to singing.
It behooves me to take care of myself as much as possible. And so I am, and armed to the teeth.
At work, there are four different bottles of hand sanitizer at my desk -- two gel-based containers (one is lavender scented and available for use by the public, and they had best use it -- the other is just a purse-sized trial size). There's also a trial-sized bottle of the Lysol Healthy Touch foam, and a sample of a hand sanitizer spray (part of a promotion that I got last night at Walgreen's). I have sugar-free cough drops. I have plenty of Celestial Seasonings tea bags as well as sugar-free spiced cider packs -- and let's NOT forget the many packets of Emergen-C in my purse. Oooh, I nearly forgot the now almost-empty tub of disinfecting wipes on the shelf (note to self: pick up more of those over the weekend).
And at home, I have the two bottles of hand sanitizer in my purse, plenty -- PLENTY, mind you -- of antibacterial soap, more sugar-free cough drops picked up at lunch, several cans of soup plus leftover hot-n-sour soup from this evening .... which I halfway expected to really open me up from whatever is causing this, but hasn't so far .... and OH YEAH, the rock-n-rye picked up this evening from the P Road Party Shop. God bless good ol' Rock-n-Rye. It's cheap whisky but it makes one hell of a medicinal mix.
Why am I so heavily armed? Because I have a scratchy throat.
Now, I am not a nervous Nellie in the least. Nor am I a germophobe along the lines of Adrian Monk. I'm not wiping down every surface the minute people exit my office or leave my general vicinity. But I will be danged if I allow this feeling to bloom into a full-fledged.... whatever. I refuse to let the germs win. Right now, I sound like Marge Simpson. Here's the other part of the equation -- I'm singing Sunday night for Mass. Yep. I practiced a little in the car at lunch. I hit the bass notes better than the higher alto notes that I am accustomed to singing.
It behooves me to take care of myself as much as possible. And so I am, and armed to the teeth.
Monday, October 27, 2008
This pirate is looking......
So, this weekend, I turned 39. 98% of me is not bothered by that number at all. The other 2% is humming the referenced Buffett song madly.
But I have another song that sums it up much better -- for the 98% of me excited to be alive and another year wiser, and another year better, and another year happier. So, with many thanks to Darius Rucker............
Thirty-nine (39) candles burnt out on a cake
Each representin' a million mistakes
The last one still burns, there's a wish I can make
This time I'm getting it right
So I close my eyes and I take a deep breath
And I promise myself in the time I have left
I'm gonna work like I don't need the money
I'm gonna laugh like I'm not afraid to cry
I'm gonna dance like nobody's watchin'
I'm gonna love while I still got the time
Lovin' me hasn't been easy on you
I don't know why, but I know you still do
It may be my day, but here's a present for you
You're lookin' at your new man
He's sincere and sober and faithful and kind
And he's home when you need him and girl startin' tonight
I'm gonna work like I don't need the money
I'm gonna laugh like I'm not afraid to cry
I'm gonna dance like nobody's watchin'
I'm gonna love while I still got the time
No more excuses and no more me doing things wrong
Life is too short, baby, I've wasted ours for too long
And baby from now on
I'm gonna work like I don't need the money
I'm gonna laugh like I'm not afraid to cry
I'm gonna dance like nobody's watchin'
I'm gonna love while I still got the time
I'm gonna work like I don't need the money -- I know I am
I'm gonna laugh like I'm not afraid to cry -- laugh laugh laugh
I'm gonna dance like nobody's watchin' -- I'm gonna dance, I'm gonna dance
I'm gonna love while I still got the time
I'm gonna love while I still got the time
While I still got the time
So there it is -- one more year in the mirror, but so many more to go, so many more to live. Let's live 'em!
But I have another song that sums it up much better -- for the 98% of me excited to be alive and another year wiser, and another year better, and another year happier. So, with many thanks to Darius Rucker............
Thirty-nine (39) candles burnt out on a cake
Each representin' a million mistakes
The last one still burns, there's a wish I can make
This time I'm getting it right
So I close my eyes and I take a deep breath
And I promise myself in the time I have left
I'm gonna work like I don't need the money
I'm gonna laugh like I'm not afraid to cry
I'm gonna dance like nobody's watchin'
I'm gonna love while I still got the time
Lovin' me hasn't been easy on you
I don't know why, but I know you still do
It may be my day, but here's a present for you
You're lookin' at your new man
He's sincere and sober and faithful and kind
And he's home when you need him and girl startin' tonight
I'm gonna work like I don't need the money
I'm gonna laugh like I'm not afraid to cry
I'm gonna dance like nobody's watchin'
I'm gonna love while I still got the time
No more excuses and no more me doing things wrong
Life is too short, baby, I've wasted ours for too long
And baby from now on
I'm gonna work like I don't need the money
I'm gonna laugh like I'm not afraid to cry
I'm gonna dance like nobody's watchin'
I'm gonna love while I still got the time
I'm gonna work like I don't need the money -- I know I am
I'm gonna laugh like I'm not afraid to cry -- laugh laugh laugh
I'm gonna dance like nobody's watchin' -- I'm gonna dance, I'm gonna dance
I'm gonna love while I still got the time
I'm gonna love while I still got the time
While I still got the time
So there it is -- one more year in the mirror, but so many more to go, so many more to live. Let's live 'em!
Monday, October 20, 2008
My kind of town!
So, this time last week, I was waking up from a nap in a Chicago-area hotel room.
My flight out was nice. It was on time (this is important) and we actually landed a little early. The descent gave me a slight headache, though, and I am not sure why. It wasn't a full-on migraine, but just enough of an ache to make me just-this-side of miserable. My bags didn't get sent to Pocatello, thank you little eight-pound Christchild of the manger, and came off the plane and onto the carousel just fine.
I found a cab right outside that could drive me to Glenview...... where I promptly got handed a jar of Vaseline and told to bend over. Well, sort of..... The meter at the end read $29.25, and I was told, "Well, it's actually $44.00. It's time and a half because I had to drive to the suburbs....." Excuse me? It took you ten minutes, and I have since discovered that you actually drove a mile and a half out of the way because you turned left off the exit instead of right. Fine, whatever. But I saw no notice that said anything about time-and-a-half and the suburbs. It's a shame a pleasant cab ride had to end that way.
The hotel was nice; it was one of the preferred ones from Corporate Office. We got a fantastic rate, and it could not have been a more comfy, pleasant room. And I'm being truly serious. I'm usually the type that says, "Hey, as long as the pillows don't go too flat, the a/c doesn't rattle all night, and the blanket keeps me comfy, then I am good to go, who cares what chain it is?" This one may cause me to change my mind about that. There was a nice LCD TV, a sofa and coffee table, nice desk, and very comfy bed. The facilities were very nice and spacious; nothing I hate worse than a teensy hotel bathroom.
And the staff was very nice. They were able to answer all my questions ..... for the most part. Apparently there is some miscommunication between Corporate and the shuttle service. They told us it didn't start until 9:00 AM, and we were told at Corporate, "BALONEY! It starts whenever you need it to, and you can tell them we said that!" The breakfast was nice too -- a mix of hot and cold, and the staff was very accommodating. And they had a nice workstation area, which is great for those of us in the stone age still without laptops.
So anyway, let's fast forward to Wednesday. Training was great, I learned a lot, we had fun.... a colleague and I both had flights leaving around the same time -- and he had a rental car! So we decided to head downtown and see the sights. My original plan was to check my luggage, hop on the El and go to Daley Plaza. This way, we could see lots of sights, not just Daley Plaza...... only I was stricken with a sudden case of motion sickness. AARGH!!!! I felt a little queasy at one point on the way in, but it passed pretty quickly. But just a few minutes later, a full attack. Just enough to give me a headache, and make me want to do nothing but nap. My colleague -- one of the nicest people around, by the way -- apologized a million times over, thinking his driving had caused it. Nope, just this weird thing I have.... and hate.
I got to O'Hare, got through security, and headed for the gate. There was a Mickey D's there, and I realized I hadn't had anything since breakfast. So I grabbed something quick and WW-friendly, ate it, and sat to wait on the boarding time. I had about 90 minutes to kill so I read the newspaper, read part of a book, and then.......... Delay.
It had rained all day, and the two flights prior to mine were delayed. For starters, they pushed us back a half-hour (ha.... ha ha ha). With that in mind, I called the office, left a message for my boss to let him know I'd be in even later than planned ... actually, I'd take a half-day vacation and come in at 1:00. I also called the family to inform them -- we have some serious worrywarts in the bunch.
Twenty minutes before we were scheduled to board, they THEN informed us that we were changing gates. Yep. Meaning: more delay. FINALLY, we boarded around 7:30 PM Chicago time ... 90 minutes after schedule. Believe me, the pilots made up some of the delay in the air. There were some pockets of turbulence, enough to make me grip the arm of the seat a couple of times -- and I am thinking the flight attendant thought I was sick when it took me a few extra moments in the lavatory. It was actually a zipper on my pants that got stuck. But it was enough for her to give me a free drink..... which I felt bad about!
Finally, we got in only 40 minutes later than scheduled ..... again, praise be, my luggage was the 2nd one on the carousel! I got back to my car in almost no time and on the road for home. I had already decided that I would drive as far as I could until I got tired, and then I would definitely pull over. About a half-hour into it I was feeling good. Twenty minutes later, I was looking for the first good hotel I could. I was still about 45 minutes from home, but no way could I go any longer. I checked into the hotel, got a nice room, and was asleep in 10 minutes.
The next morning, I checked out and headed home. I had had a long trip and needed to chill before heading to the office. And to see my sweet Maddox --- who was incredibly happy and surprised to see me!
And.... I have decided to save some money and go back to Chicago next spring to see the sights myself, on my own timetable!!! I have to see what I missed!
My flight out was nice. It was on time (this is important) and we actually landed a little early. The descent gave me a slight headache, though, and I am not sure why. It wasn't a full-on migraine, but just enough of an ache to make me just-this-side of miserable. My bags didn't get sent to Pocatello, thank you little eight-pound Christchild of the manger, and came off the plane and onto the carousel just fine.
I found a cab right outside that could drive me to Glenview...... where I promptly got handed a jar of Vaseline and told to bend over. Well, sort of..... The meter at the end read $29.25, and I was told, "Well, it's actually $44.00. It's time and a half because I had to drive to the suburbs....." Excuse me? It took you ten minutes, and I have since discovered that you actually drove a mile and a half out of the way because you turned left off the exit instead of right. Fine, whatever. But I saw no notice that said anything about time-and-a-half and the suburbs. It's a shame a pleasant cab ride had to end that way.
The hotel was nice; it was one of the preferred ones from Corporate Office. We got a fantastic rate, and it could not have been a more comfy, pleasant room. And I'm being truly serious. I'm usually the type that says, "Hey, as long as the pillows don't go too flat, the a/c doesn't rattle all night, and the blanket keeps me comfy, then I am good to go, who cares what chain it is?" This one may cause me to change my mind about that. There was a nice LCD TV, a sofa and coffee table, nice desk, and very comfy bed. The facilities were very nice and spacious; nothing I hate worse than a teensy hotel bathroom.
And the staff was very nice. They were able to answer all my questions ..... for the most part. Apparently there is some miscommunication between Corporate and the shuttle service. They told us it didn't start until 9:00 AM, and we were told at Corporate, "BALONEY! It starts whenever you need it to, and you can tell them we said that!" The breakfast was nice too -- a mix of hot and cold, and the staff was very accommodating. And they had a nice workstation area, which is great for those of us in the stone age still without laptops.
So anyway, let's fast forward to Wednesday. Training was great, I learned a lot, we had fun.... a colleague and I both had flights leaving around the same time -- and he had a rental car! So we decided to head downtown and see the sights. My original plan was to check my luggage, hop on the El and go to Daley Plaza. This way, we could see lots of sights, not just Daley Plaza...... only I was stricken with a sudden case of motion sickness. AARGH!!!! I felt a little queasy at one point on the way in, but it passed pretty quickly. But just a few minutes later, a full attack. Just enough to give me a headache, and make me want to do nothing but nap. My colleague -- one of the nicest people around, by the way -- apologized a million times over, thinking his driving had caused it. Nope, just this weird thing I have.... and hate.
I got to O'Hare, got through security, and headed for the gate. There was a Mickey D's there, and I realized I hadn't had anything since breakfast. So I grabbed something quick and WW-friendly, ate it, and sat to wait on the boarding time. I had about 90 minutes to kill so I read the newspaper, read part of a book, and then.......... Delay.
It had rained all day, and the two flights prior to mine were delayed. For starters, they pushed us back a half-hour (ha.... ha ha ha). With that in mind, I called the office, left a message for my boss to let him know I'd be in even later than planned ... actually, I'd take a half-day vacation and come in at 1:00. I also called the family to inform them -- we have some serious worrywarts in the bunch.
Twenty minutes before we were scheduled to board, they THEN informed us that we were changing gates. Yep. Meaning: more delay. FINALLY, we boarded around 7:30 PM Chicago time ... 90 minutes after schedule. Believe me, the pilots made up some of the delay in the air. There were some pockets of turbulence, enough to make me grip the arm of the seat a couple of times -- and I am thinking the flight attendant thought I was sick when it took me a few extra moments in the lavatory. It was actually a zipper on my pants that got stuck. But it was enough for her to give me a free drink..... which I felt bad about!
Finally, we got in only 40 minutes later than scheduled ..... again, praise be, my luggage was the 2nd one on the carousel! I got back to my car in almost no time and on the road for home. I had already decided that I would drive as far as I could until I got tired, and then I would definitely pull over. About a half-hour into it I was feeling good. Twenty minutes later, I was looking for the first good hotel I could. I was still about 45 minutes from home, but no way could I go any longer. I checked into the hotel, got a nice room, and was asleep in 10 minutes.
The next morning, I checked out and headed home. I had had a long trip and needed to chill before heading to the office. And to see my sweet Maddox --- who was incredibly happy and surprised to see me!
And.... I have decided to save some money and go back to Chicago next spring to see the sights myself, on my own timetable!!! I have to see what I missed!
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Procrastination, thy name is....
I am sitting here, doing a blog post.
What I ought to be doing is walking the dog. Then packing for my business trip. Then getting more stuff together. And preparing to go to bed a little early, since I plan to go in somewhat earlier tomorrow morning.
And I am sitting here, writing.
Okay. I'm done. I have GOT to go do things. No more excuses.
What I ought to be doing is walking the dog. Then packing for my business trip. Then getting more stuff together. And preparing to go to bed a little early, since I plan to go in somewhat earlier tomorrow morning.
And I am sitting here, writing.
Okay. I'm done. I have GOT to go do things. No more excuses.
Thursday, October 02, 2008
Releasing my inner country girl....
This week, and even some of last week, I've been in a country music mood. So thanks to Rhapsody, I was able to play some new stuff and old favorites. Monday and Tuesday, I played Darius Rucker's Learning to Live -- it's pretty good!!!! It's got a country feel without being overly twangy. I can definitely see myself buying this one this weekend. Really good sound.
But yesterday, I needed more country and only a dose of George Strait would do. My brother is a HUGE George Strait fan. I swear, for a time there in the early-to-mid-90s, about the only artist he ever seemed to play was George Strait. I learned his music in and out, and it's good stuff. So yesterday, I loaded up his Strait Out of the Box, and played it over and over. Good memories and even better music.
So I have decided that I will be working on a playlist for the ol' MP3 which will allow me to release my inner country girl....... okay, my inner redneck. More to follow...............
But yesterday, I needed more country and only a dose of George Strait would do. My brother is a HUGE George Strait fan. I swear, for a time there in the early-to-mid-90s, about the only artist he ever seemed to play was George Strait. I learned his music in and out, and it's good stuff. So yesterday, I loaded up his Strait Out of the Box, and played it over and over. Good memories and even better music.
So I have decided that I will be working on a playlist for the ol' MP3 which will allow me to release my inner country girl....... okay, my inner redneck. More to follow...............
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Shufflin' Things Up
(and not the Curly Shuffle, woob woob woob).
Here's a little game:
't have shuffle or else I haven't figured out where shuffle is, BUT.... here goes:
Here's a little game:
- Put your music
playe r on shuff le. - Post the first
line ( unles s the first line revea ls the song title ) from the first 30 songs that play, no matte r how embar rassi ng. - Strik
e throu (gh the songs when someo ne guess es both artis t and song title corre ctly. Just post a comme )nt, and I will let that serve as the recor d. - Looki
ng them up on Googl e or any other searc h engin e is CHEAT ING! - If you like the game,
post your own
- Every
time I move I lose, when I look I'm in - (
spoke n intro ) " Fella s, I'm ready to get up and do MY thang . ...." - If I said what'
s on my mind, you' d turn and walk away - Yeah,
it's been a long long time, you' re such a sight - You turn me on, you lift me up like the sweet
est cup I share with you - If you can just get your mind toget
her, then come on acros s to me - (2nd line)
Light in your head and dead on your feet - I'm feeli
ng so tired , can' t under stand it, just had a fortn ight' s sleep - (opening verse) Midni
ght creep s so slowl y into heart s of men who need more than they get - You know she likes
to take me danci ng on the outsk irts of town - Now I like takin
g off, don' t like burni ng out - (
verse ) It burne d like a ball on fire, when the rebel took a littl e child bride - We get it almos
t every night , when that moon is big and brigh t - Every
body go on and dance if you want to, music makes your body move, well all right - Talki
ng about steal ing the show, no one would know - I've seen the brigh
t light s of Memph is and the Commo dore Hotel - What is it good for? Absol
utely nothi ng! - I hear songs
on the radio , they might be fast or they might be slow - Thoug
h I've tried befor e to tell her of the feeli ngs I have for her in my heart - Paria
h dogs and wande ring madme n, barki ng at stran gers and speak ing in tongu es - Long time no see, short
time for you & me - What kind of troub
le did I get into (gotch a movin g, gotch a movin g) - Heart
break er, soul shake r, I've been told about you - I had mysel
f a tall one waiti ng at the bar - This silve
r bird takes me ' cross the sky - Feel when I dance
with you, we move like the sea - You'
ve got me so confu sed, and there 's words I could use - (1st
v ) Nobod y's right till someb ody' s wrong , nobod y's weak till someb ody' s strong - Cheat
the odds that made you, brave to try to gambl e at times - I can feel no sense
of measu re, no illus ion as we take
Saturday, September 27, 2008
10 Minutes, 8 Seconds
(note: cross-posted to Weighty Matters)
Today was the Race for the Cure ...... and I reached my goal!!!! I shaved 10:08 off last year's time of 1:06:34 by coming in this year at 56:26. I jogged in a few places to hit my goal, but it was worth it! I would have honestly been happy at anything around 57 or so. But seeing the actual number was fantastic. I went from a pace time of 21:24 (last year) to 18:10 this year. Holy Moses!
And this year, speaking of numbers, we had an approximate 25% increase in the number of participants..... amazing enough, but even more so in light of the very shaky economy. It's unbelievable and humbling.
Last year, I was very inspired by all the survivors. Seeing them do the walk -- especially those newly diagnosed or battling the disease -- was enough to bring me to tears. This year, there was a young lady who was walking it on a prosthetic leg. As she came down her side of the course (as several of us were walking up to the turnaround), all you could hear was "Oh my God, how awesome is that girl!" I found her after the race and told her so -- that she inspired me to keep moving, and that she amazed me. She was so gracious about it and almost seemed as if she couldn't believe all the people who told her how proud they were of her (I am betting her time was probably between 45 and 50 minutes). She was a hero to me today, as were all those who took part in the survivor ceremony.
My cousin was one of the competitive runners.... he fell a little short of his hoped-for time, but not by all that much. Instead of 24:00, he ran a 26:08 .... good enough to be in the top 225 (out of close to 900 runners!). TOP QUARTER!!!! I'm so proud of Brandon I could burst!
And I already can't wait for next year!
Today was the Race for the Cure ...... and I reached my goal!!!! I shaved 10:08 off last year's time of 1:06:34 by coming in this year at 56:26. I jogged in a few places to hit my goal, but it was worth it! I would have honestly been happy at anything around 57 or so. But seeing the actual number was fantastic. I went from a pace time of 21:24 (last year) to 18:10 this year. Holy Moses!
And this year, speaking of numbers, we had an approximate 25% increase in the number of participants..... amazing enough, but even more so in light of the very shaky economy. It's unbelievable and humbling.
Last year, I was very inspired by all the survivors. Seeing them do the walk -- especially those newly diagnosed or battling the disease -- was enough to bring me to tears. This year, there was a young lady who was walking it on a prosthetic leg. As she came down her side of the course (as several of us were walking up to the turnaround), all you could hear was "Oh my God, how awesome is that girl!" I found her after the race and told her so -- that she inspired me to keep moving, and that she amazed me. She was so gracious about it and almost seemed as if she couldn't believe all the people who told her how proud they were of her (I am betting her time was probably between 45 and 50 minutes). She was a hero to me today, as were all those who took part in the survivor ceremony.
My cousin was one of the competitive runners.... he fell a little short of his hoped-for time, but not by all that much. Instead of 24:00, he ran a 26:08 .... good enough to be in the top 225 (out of close to 900 runners!). TOP QUARTER!!!! I'm so proud of Brandon I could burst!
And I already can't wait for next year!
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
A picture of my baby!
This is a picture of my very sweet baby!!!
What a PRECIOUS face!!!! (Of course, it's helped by the fact that "Nanny" had treats, and Maddox is a master at the sad beggy look!)
What a PRECIOUS face!!!! (Of course, it's helped by the fact that "Nanny" had treats, and Maddox is a master at the sad beggy look!)
Saturday, September 20, 2008
My busy Thursday.... and lucky Saturday!
It was so busy I'm just now getting a chance to write about it!
As you know from earlier posts, I was last year's captain for my company's Race for the Cure team. It was my first year doing it, and I enjoyed the hard work we put in. I have since learned that I knew nothing about hard work.
Thursday was Team Captain Packet Pickup day. As a member of the Race Committee (Sleep-In chair), I was asked to volunteer --- plus I could do some of the Sleep-In work at the same time. I got there at 8:30 and maybe sat for a total of 30 minutes until 6:00 PM. And that COUNTS the 20 minutes I took to drive some t-shirts over to one of the teams (I had miscounted). I helped move tables, shrink-wrapped boxes on pallets to be moved, hefted boxes once they got moved, packed t-shirts, recounted t-shirts, ran hither and yon, helped in putting together my packets for my own team, and do some of the stuffing for Sleep-In.
I also ran into my cousin's son who works at the building where we had pick-up. I'm so proud of him in so many ways, but especially since this year, he's running the race. His grandmother is my aunt who's the breast cancer survivor, so it's especially meaningful! AND I ran into a classmate of mine -- haven't seen her in 21 years (she lives around here but didn't make either of the reunions). She puts together a HUGE team ..... how awesome is that!
When I finally got to sit down at my WW meeting, it was then that my muscles finally said, "No mas!" and BOY was I sore, even the next morning. But it's the best kind of sore there is -- the feeling of satisfaction, knowing you've done something for a good cause!
***
Speaking of good causes..... The Witch told me that Birthright (for whom she volunteers) would be taking part in Macy's "Shop for the Cause" today. I was going to be out that way anyway, so.........
I first had to go to Burlington Coat Factory. I bought a lovely gray wool coat there several years ago, and wore the daylights out of it.... until it got way too big for me to wear. One of my WW buddies passed on two of her old coats last year, and they were fantastic. But alas, they too are now way too big, and I have passed them on. But I am also heading to Chicago in 3 weeks for training, and I have a sneaking suspicion that I will need a good coat up there by that time. I found a VERY good deal there at Burlington! It was a black wool blend (80/20) full coat, with a heavy-duty zipper, metal closures, and attached hood. Best of all, it was marked down around 22% off the original price. SWEET! There were also some peacoats on sale there, and I might (might) get one of those to use as well.
After my sweet deal at Burlington, I headed over to Macy's. I missed Witchiepoo by about 5 minutes, but bought the all-day savings pass with a donation and signed my name up for the door prizes. My mom was with me, ran into someone we knew, and then I joined them. Suddenly.......... "*BING BING* -- our next door prize winner is Nettiemac! Please come to the front to claim your prize!"
Yeah, I'd stood there a whole 5 minutes and won .... I got a pretty blue-green teardrop glass vase, a set of three crystal candleholders (for use with either pillars or tapers), and a Wedgewood Christmas ornament. I need to give away the ornament, because it says "Our First Christmas Together." I don't know any newlyweds I could give it to, but someone at work might. Ya know?
What a lucky day --- a great coat on sale, AND a lucky break on a door prize. WAHOO!
As you know from earlier posts, I was last year's captain for my company's Race for the Cure team. It was my first year doing it, and I enjoyed the hard work we put in. I have since learned that I knew nothing about hard work.
Thursday was Team Captain Packet Pickup day. As a member of the Race Committee (Sleep-In chair), I was asked to volunteer --- plus I could do some of the Sleep-In work at the same time. I got there at 8:30 and maybe sat for a total of 30 minutes until 6:00 PM. And that COUNTS the 20 minutes I took to drive some t-shirts over to one of the teams (I had miscounted). I helped move tables, shrink-wrapped boxes on pallets to be moved, hefted boxes once they got moved, packed t-shirts, recounted t-shirts, ran hither and yon, helped in putting together my packets for my own team, and do some of the stuffing for Sleep-In.
I also ran into my cousin's son who works at the building where we had pick-up. I'm so proud of him in so many ways, but especially since this year, he's running the race. His grandmother is my aunt who's the breast cancer survivor, so it's especially meaningful! AND I ran into a classmate of mine -- haven't seen her in 21 years (she lives around here but didn't make either of the reunions). She puts together a HUGE team ..... how awesome is that!
When I finally got to sit down at my WW meeting, it was then that my muscles finally said, "No mas!" and BOY was I sore, even the next morning. But it's the best kind of sore there is -- the feeling of satisfaction, knowing you've done something for a good cause!
***
Speaking of good causes..... The Witch told me that Birthright (for whom she volunteers) would be taking part in Macy's "Shop for the Cause" today. I was going to be out that way anyway, so.........
I first had to go to Burlington Coat Factory. I bought a lovely gray wool coat there several years ago, and wore the daylights out of it.... until it got way too big for me to wear. One of my WW buddies passed on two of her old coats last year, and they were fantastic. But alas, they too are now way too big, and I have passed them on. But I am also heading to Chicago in 3 weeks for training, and I have a sneaking suspicion that I will need a good coat up there by that time. I found a VERY good deal there at Burlington! It was a black wool blend (80/20) full coat, with a heavy-duty zipper, metal closures, and attached hood. Best of all, it was marked down around 22% off the original price. SWEET! There were also some peacoats on sale there, and I might (might) get one of those to use as well.
After my sweet deal at Burlington, I headed over to Macy's. I missed Witchiepoo by about 5 minutes, but bought the all-day savings pass with a donation and signed my name up for the door prizes. My mom was with me, ran into someone we knew, and then I joined them. Suddenly.......... "*BING BING* -- our next door prize winner is Nettiemac! Please come to the front to claim your prize!"
Yeah, I'd stood there a whole 5 minutes and won .... I got a pretty blue-green teardrop glass vase, a set of three crystal candleholders (for use with either pillars or tapers), and a Wedgewood Christmas ornament. I need to give away the ornament, because it says "Our First Christmas Together." I don't know any newlyweds I could give it to, but someone at work might. Ya know?
What a lucky day --- a great coat on sale, AND a lucky break on a door prize. WAHOO!
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Crazy days....
Ever have those days where you meet yourself coming and going? Welcome to my world, at least for the last couple of weeks. Between my regular job, helping to coordinate the United Way campaign at work, trying to do Race for the Cure stuff, choir practice, etc. etc., well, it makes for one very tired Nettie.
In good news, I had a follow-up with my physical therapist regarding the lymphedema. The double-hosiery idea (one pair full hose with an additional pair of knee-highs over that) seems to be working. It's holding the areas to their regular measurements, which is what is supposed to be happening. I'll probably have this going on until such time that I have the surgery. After that, I'll probably just need knee highs. But even I have to admit I don't mind the full hose so much. Right now, it's keeping everything squooshed and slimmed.
If you read my Weighty Matters blog regularly, you'll see that I finally hit my 200-pounds-gone mark! Just a few more pounds to go ..... mere ounces for a personal milestone, a teensy number of pounds for yet another personal milestone, and roughly 25 to go to hit final goal. I am being as patient with myself as I can be!
All week long, I've had a very slow, soothing playlist going. It sprang from an Internet discussion among friends, and it's sort of developed a little further. My own playlist has been heavy on Van Morrison and Marc Cohn. Good stuff, those two!
Speaking of music -- I scored two tickets for Trans-Siberian Orchestra, coming to the Bi-Lo Center in November. WAHOO! Others who have seen them have told me that they are fantastic -- I can't wait!
Well, that's about it from here for now. I hope to get back into the blogging habit (I have been slack this summer, I know!)
In good news, I had a follow-up with my physical therapist regarding the lymphedema. The double-hosiery idea (one pair full hose with an additional pair of knee-highs over that) seems to be working. It's holding the areas to their regular measurements, which is what is supposed to be happening. I'll probably have this going on until such time that I have the surgery. After that, I'll probably just need knee highs. But even I have to admit I don't mind the full hose so much. Right now, it's keeping everything squooshed and slimmed.
If you read my Weighty Matters blog regularly, you'll see that I finally hit my 200-pounds-gone mark! Just a few more pounds to go ..... mere ounces for a personal milestone, a teensy number of pounds for yet another personal milestone, and roughly 25 to go to hit final goal. I am being as patient with myself as I can be!
All week long, I've had a very slow, soothing playlist going. It sprang from an Internet discussion among friends, and it's sort of developed a little further. My own playlist has been heavy on Van Morrison and Marc Cohn. Good stuff, those two!
Speaking of music -- I scored two tickets for Trans-Siberian Orchestra, coming to the Bi-Lo Center in November. WAHOO! Others who have seen them have told me that they are fantastic -- I can't wait!
Well, that's about it from here for now. I hope to get back into the blogging habit (I have been slack this summer, I know!)
Saturday, September 06, 2008
Earworms.....
You know what earworms are, right? Those songs that get stuck on your mental iPod, and the skip buttons don't work. Sometimes, even the pause button doesn't work. Then, another song comes on and knocks that one out..... then repeat procedure. Worse, they're usually the songs you can't stand in real life anyway.
This morning's earworm isn't a bad song at all -- I actually do enjoy it when it hits my airwaves. Yet, I have no idea why it's going through my head: "Needles and Pins" by The Searchers (1964). Or actually, sung more like, "Needles and Pinza."
And so that you can share in my pain/pleasure:
"Needles & Pins" (written by Jack Nitzsche and Sonny Bono*):
I saw her today, I saw her face
It was the face I loved and I knew
I had to run away and get down on my knees and pray
That they'd go away
But still they begin
Needles and pins
Because of all my pride
The tears I gotta hide
Hey, I thought I was smart, I wanted her
Didn't think I'd do, but now I see
She's worse to him than me
Let her go ahead, take his love instead
And one day she will see
Just how to say please
And get down on her knees
Yeah, that's how it begins
She'll feel those needles and pins
a-hurtin her, a-hurtin her
Why can't I stop and tell myself I'm wrong, I'm wrong, so wrong
Why can't I stand up and tell myself I'm strong
Because I saw her today, I saw her face
It was the face I loved and I knew
I had to run away and get down on my knees and pray
That they'd go away
But still they begin
Needles and pins
Because of all my pride
The tears I gotta hide
Ah, needles and pins
Needles and pins
Needles and pins
(*-Yes, that Sonny Bono).
This morning's earworm isn't a bad song at all -- I actually do enjoy it when it hits my airwaves. Yet, I have no idea why it's going through my head: "Needles and Pins" by The Searchers (1964). Or actually, sung more like, "Needles and Pinza."
And so that you can share in my pain/pleasure:
"Needles & Pins" (written by Jack Nitzsche and Sonny Bono*):
I saw her today, I saw her face
It was the face I loved and I knew
I had to run away and get down on my knees and pray
That they'd go away
But still they begin
Needles and pins
Because of all my pride
The tears I gotta hide
Hey, I thought I was smart, I wanted her
Didn't think I'd do, but now I see
She's worse to him than me
Let her go ahead, take his love instead
And one day she will see
Just how to say please
And get down on her knees
Yeah, that's how it begins
She'll feel those needles and pins
a-hurtin her, a-hurtin her
Why can't I stop and tell myself I'm wrong, I'm wrong, so wrong
Why can't I stand up and tell myself I'm strong
Because I saw her today, I saw her face
It was the face I loved and I knew
I had to run away and get down on my knees and pray
That they'd go away
But still they begin
Needles and pins
Because of all my pride
The tears I gotta hide
Ah, needles and pins
Needles and pins
Needles and pins
(*-Yes, that Sonny Bono).
Monday, September 01, 2008
It's Labor Day and.....
in spite of needing to go in REALLY early tomorrow, all is right with the world.
College football kicked off on Thursday, made even sweeter by a Gamecock win. The icing on the cake was a Clemson loss (truly, more of a Clemson butt-whoopin'!). It's been a good day, a good weekend, with time spent with friends, family, and loved ones.
My best friend saved a box of clothing for me -- stuff I can wear at work and at home! In fact, I wore a pair of the shorts tonight on the walk, and they are SO comfy!
I'm pretty content. Content is sometimes seen as a bad thing, but it isn't really. Content is being happy with where and who you are -- always with an eye to improvement, but knowing that right now is good too.
I don't think you can beat that with a stick!
College football kicked off on Thursday, made even sweeter by a Gamecock win. The icing on the cake was a Clemson loss (truly, more of a Clemson butt-whoopin'!). It's been a good day, a good weekend, with time spent with friends, family, and loved ones.
My best friend saved a box of clothing for me -- stuff I can wear at work and at home! In fact, I wore a pair of the shorts tonight on the walk, and they are SO comfy!
I'm pretty content. Content is sometimes seen as a bad thing, but it isn't really. Content is being happy with where and who you are -- always with an eye to improvement, but knowing that right now is good too.
I don't think you can beat that with a stick!
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