Kim thinks I'm Crazy!

I've been working on a very "deep thought" post, but I still have it in drafts. It's not quite ready to publish into my blog. However...I couldn't go another day without at least posting something new here, so I thought I would tell you the story of why my friend Kim thinks I'm crazy.

Kim is a girl I met through one of my online communities. The first time we ever decided to meet in person, there was a group of about 5-6 girls who decided to meet up at Macaroni Grill for dinner. Since I had the longest drive from work, I was the last to arrive. I really didn't know what anyone looked like, so I scanned the restaurant for groups of women. I saw a table with 3 ladies, and I walked up to them and said, "are you from the website?" They basically looked at me like I had 3 heads so I figured out quickly this was NOT the group I was looking for. I finally spotted my group tucked back in a corner. After telling them what I had done, Kim declared that it was one of the funniest things she had ever heard. (you might have to be an aficionado of message boards to fully comprehend the subtly of the humor, but believe me, it is there)

Fast forward a few months...once again I am meeting Kim for dinner at the mall. This time I arrived a little early and decided to shop. I happened to run into Kim while I was leaving Bath & Body Works. Oh, did I mention they were having a sale? A sale on my favorite scent (cool citrus basil) which had been discontinued? The fact that I had bought every shower gel and bubble bath I could find in the store? That I was dragging TWO HUGE bags behind me as I struggled out the door? Kim was once again practically in tears laughing at me. I know she was thinking, "can anyone actually get dirty enough to use all of that?"

So...we continued to chat on our board and met up a couple more times for a girl's day at the movies or a lunch at the Loveless Cafe with our other *sweet* friend Onna. I was finally starting to look normal again. Then today happened...

I met Kim and Onna for lunch at Dalt's Grill. Kim was trying to get me to turn around and look at some man who was acting crazy in the phone booth (which is in the restaurant). I kept saying, "is he talking to that other guy in the other booth?" She was looking at me like I was crazy. I finally turned around to see her man leaving the booth at the same time my guy was leaving his booth. To which I said, "I think they are twins." Okay...here it comes...I was looking in a mirror! It was the same guy all along. The top of the booths have these tiny mirrors in them. I thought it was a piece of glass and that I was seeing straight through to the other side of the restaurant. Nope!!! (keep in mind, the mirrors are above your head, it's not like I could see my own reflection in it or anything)

Seriously, if we hadn't been talking to each other for close to 3 years now (goodness, has it really been that long?), she would probably think I was some internet psycho. As always, my best foot forward! LOL

Hooters

I was reading a debate on my OLU website that originated when one of the women took her child to daycare and was a little shocked to see a young boy there in a Hooters T-Shirt. It was one of the ones with the Owl and the word Hooters - no girls in sight. She still thought it was a little inappropriate and it has sparked quite the debate, both about the child wearing the shirt and about the restaurant in general. I don't have kids, so I won't weigh in on that side of the debate, but as far as the restaurant itself...I like their wings! I don't have a problem going there and in fact Scott and I are meeting friends there for dinner tonight.

As far as the people who think it is exploitive to women, my question is "how"? The waitresses aren't forced to work there. They CHOOSE to apply. They know beforehand what the uniform is. It's not like they show up to work and are suddenly all offended because they thought they would get to wear their Quaker dress and bonnet.

To be fair, maybe if I had the type of husband who would sit there in front of me and lear down the waitress' shirt, I might feel differently. But, he doesn't. If I'm there, he's respectful. Obviously I can't know what he does when I'm not with him, but I would like to think that I know my husband well enough to know that he is a good man. I'm not going to restrict him from going out and having fun with the boys, and he doesn't complain when I announce to all of our friends that I think a certain FL boy in our truck club is quite the hottie! LOL

Honestly, I just feel bad for those poor Hooter's girls that they have to wear those orange shorts. Could they not have picked a better color? And how thick are those nylons they have to wear? Shorts and nylons... hmm...

I do think that if they have these restaurants catering to men, turn about is fair play. We women need a restaurant! *Rooster* shirts anyone?

Reading Moods

Are you able to pick up a book of any genre (that you would normally read) and begin reading at any time, or does the genre need to match your mood of the moment?

I think I'm a little in between. If it has been a while since I have read a book (which doesn't happen very often), I can just pick anything up and immediately become engrossed. However, if I have been reading steadily, I actually have a problem *switching* genres. For instance, over the weekend I read Black Creek Crossing by John Saul. He is an author that I love and I have every book he has ever written. When I finished Black Creek, I was immediately craving more of his writing. Luckily, I did have a book of his that I had never gotten around to reading, so in the last two days I have read Nightshade. Now I have a problem. Since I finished Nightshade today, I don't have anything of his left and his new book The Perfect Nightmare doesn't release until September.

Of course, I do know what is next on my list: Second Glance by Jodi Picoult. It will just take me a couple of days to let go of Mr. Saul before I can completely immerse in my new book.

I am VERY author loyal. Once I find an author that I like, I will read everything they write. My list of favorite authors (and my favorite book of theirs) includes:
Jodi Picoult - My Sister's Keeper
John Saul - Manhattan Hunt Club
Nicholas Sparks - The Notebook
Erich Segal - The Class
Colleen McCullough - A Creed For The Third millennium
LaVyrle Spencer - Years
A. Manette Ansay - Midnight Champagne

I have a plastic tub under my bed full of books that I want to read. I can't resist buying new books even though I have a stack that I still need to read. My bucket includes everything from A Separate Peace by John Knowles (yes, I know I was supposed to read this in high school, but I never did) to The tattooed Girl by Joyce Carol Oates.

I think I would be very sad if I ever opened that tub and didn't have anything new in there to read. Oh well...that would be a great excuse to head to Borders!

Friendships and Chocolate Trifle

Sometimes I'm still surprised about how modern forms of communication can affect relationships so drastically. In particular, I'm thinking about friendships that I have formed over the last few years solely because the internet exists. I think that I have three categories that emphasis this point:

Our Little Universe - When I was planning my wedding, I came across an internet site devoted to brides and wedding planning. It was a message board designed in an interactive fashion where you could talk about your dress, complain that your Maid Of Honor had suddenly gone looney (mine didn't - but I would have known how to handle it if she did after hearing all the stories), compare photographer costs, etc. After the wedding, the site wasn't as useful but we still missed blabbing with each other. Through a series of migrations, a lot of us now reside on the OLU site where we can talk about anything and everything with other women and yes, even a few men. Through that site, I have met some wonderful women that I do in fact consider to be my friends. A few of them I have met in person, some I just talk to daily on the site. Either way, I do give them the label of "friend". These girls have given me comfort when my dad passed away and when I had a miscarriage. They have celebrated with me when I quit my job and started out on my own. They have oohed and aahed over pictures of my puppy and my wedding. We have discussed books and movies and new cars and old boyfriends... A few years ago I would have thought it just very strange to share my life inside and out with someone that I only knew through a small profile picture on a website. But today, I'm blessed that I have done just that. If any of them are reading this blog...love to you Kim, Onna, Shelby, Dana, Lisa, Diana, Michelle...and all the rest of you that have touched my life. They next time I make a chocolate/peanut butter trifle you are all invited to the house. :)

Chevy Avalanche Fan Club - This is more of Scott's baby, but I have reaped the benefits of it as well. Who knew that just by buying a truck and finding a website to read and keep current on warranties, recalls, new body styles, etc. we would meet some of our best friends in life? At least 2 - 3 times a month we have a get together with a few of the club members. We have done everything from just an impromptu dinner, to convoying to Niagara Falls for a weekend event. Even if we ever decide to sell the truck, these people are in our lives to stay. And can I just add that I was never hugged so much in my life until we started hanging out with these men and their families?

Class of 88 Message Board - I loved high school, and was so glad when the message board for our class took off. I have reconnected with so many people. Some I already knew and loved, some were acquaintances, and some I probably never spoke more than 5 words to back then. Somehow, that last group is what makes this board so special. I love that time has erased cliques and we all can talk freely with each other. I honestly think I have made NEW friends that will be just as special as the old ones. Remember that song from Girl Scouts..."Make new friends but keep the old...one is silver and the other gold." That's what I feel now. Blessed with silver and gold.

And that brings me to my sense of awe of these friendships. Years ago, we would have kept in touch by writing letters. Soon that would have dwindled to a card on the friend's birthday and a couple during the holidays. Slowly, that would have ended as well. Now, I can type one post on a message board and talk to dozens of people at one time. I can stay in contact so much easier. Does that diminish the quality of the friendship? Not to me. Of course there are still going to be people that rise to the top of your list, and that's just human nature. But maybe the list is larger now. Hearts don't divide love, they multiply it.

Friday Fun

I'm getting ready to head out for the weekend. Scott and I are going to his mother's lake house for her birthday. But, I of course couldn't leave for a couple of days without leaving some sort of message. :) However, since my mind is still melting over the fact that Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes are engaged, and is still foggy from the Tylenol PM I took last night, I couldn't think of anything interesting to post. So, I stole the following from my other website (see links for Our Little Universe):

KNOW YOUR STATE MOTTO
Alabama Hell Yes, We Have Electricity.
Alaska 11,623 Eskimos Can't Be Wrong!
Arizona But It's A Dry Heat.
Arkansas Literacy Ain't Everything.
California By 30, Our Women Have More Plastic Than Your Honda. !
Colorado If You Don't Ski, Don't Bother.
Connecticut Like Massachusetts, Only The Kennedy's Don't Own It Yet.
Delaware We Really Do Like The Chemicals In Our Water.
Florida Ask Us About Our Grandkids.
Georgia We Put The Fun In Fundamentalist Extremism.
Hawaii Haka Tiki Mou Sha'ami Leeki Toru (Death To Mainland Scum, Leave Your Money)
Idaho More Than Just Potatoes... Well, Okay, We're Not, But The Potatoes Sure Are Real Good
Illinois Please, Don't Pronounce the "S"
Indiana 2 Billion Years Tidal Wave Free
Iowa We Do Amazing Things With Corn
Kansas First Of The Rectangle States
Kentucky Five Million People; Fifteen Last Names
Louisiana We're Not ALL Drunk Cajun Wackos, But That's Our Tourism Campaign.
Maine We're Really Cold, But We Have Cheap Lobster
Maryland If You Can Dream It, We Can Tax It
Massachusetts Our Taxes Are Lower Than Sweden's
Michigan First Line Of Defense From The Canadians
Minnesota 10,000 Lakes...And 10,000,000,000,000 Mosquitoes
Mississippi Come And Feel Better About Your Own State
Missouri Your Federal Flood Relief Tax Dollars At Work
Montana Land Of The Big Sky, The Unabomber, Right-wing Crazies, and Very Little Else. Nebraska Ask About Our State Motto Contest
Nevada Hookers and Poker!
New Hampshire Go Away And Leave Us Alone
New Jersey You Want A ##$%##! Motto? I Got Yer ##$%##! Motto Right here!
New Mexico Lizards Make Excellent Pets
New York You Have The Right To Remain Silent, You Have The Right To An Attorney...
North Carolina Tobacco Is A Vegetable
North Dakota We Really Are One Of The 50 States!
Ohio At Least We're Not Michigan
Oklahoma Like The Play, But No Singing
Oregon Spotted Owl...It's What's For Dinner
Pennsylvania Cook With Coal
Rhode Island We're Not REALLY An Island
South Carolina Remember The Civil War? Well, We Didn't Actually Surrender Yet
South Dakota Closer Than North Dakota
Tennessee The Edyoocashun State
Texas Se Hablo Ingles
Utah Our Jesus Is Better Than Your Jesus
Vermont Ay, Yep
Virginia Who Says Government Stiffs And Slackjaw Yokels Don't Mix?
Washington We have more rain than you do
West Virginia One Big Happy Family...Really!
Wisconsin Come Cut The Cheese!
Wyoming Where Men Are Men... And The Sheep Are Scared

Favorite Things

I decided to make a list of my favorite things. I think it goes without saying that my family would top the list, but here are a few other things in no particular order:

~The state of Indiana: I loved growing up in the Hoosier state, small town USA. You could drive down highways that cut straight through corn fields and watch big combines in the fields. Children grew up learning the difference between green and red depending on whether their fathers farmed with John Deere or International. The air always smelled clean (unless you were on the one stretch of Hwy 19 that goes right by the hog farm) and the grass was soft under your bare feet. I wouldn't really appreciate that small thing until years later when I couldn't walk barefoot through my FL yard without getting a foot full of stickers.

~Cousins: I have a ton of them! At one time I counted 123. Of course I have my favorites, but they are all special to me. Part of who I am today was shaped by growing up part of the "Kingery cousins". Add to that group Mike and Kim from the Reed side of the family and you have met a large portion of my heart. Maybe it is because I do not have any siblings, but my cousins mean the world to me.

~Books: As much as I love going into a crisp, clean Barnes & Noble, heaven on earth to me is an old, dusty used bookstore. I can spend hours rummaging through the stacks, my fingers trailing along the book spines. I've been known to sit right down on the floor and read. Libraries don't offer me the same pleasure. They want the books back when I'm done with them, and that is not something I can do. I fall in love with my books and I have to keep them. I'm not even really very good at loaning them out to people.

~Photographs: My home is filled with pictures of people that I love, both family and friends. Years ago a tradition started with my cousin Brian. Each year at the family reunion we have our picture taken together. It started as a joke after a comment I had made as a very young girl, but it blossomed into a yearly ritual. Now I have a visual timeline of Brian and I growing up over the years and it is something I treasure.

~Movies: I love to go to the movies by myself. I can pick the exact seat that I want (middle section, last few rows, middle seat in the row) and immerse myself in what's on the screen. No one is going to lean over and ask me, "what did he just say?" or "do you think it's odd that no one went to the bathroom in that scene?" For two hours I'm alone in the dark without a care in the world.

~My Eric Clapton CD "Chronicles"

~Homemade Strawberry Ice Cream

~St. Clair Glass

~A very large bolt given to me by my uncle from when he worked on the railroad. Obviously there is a story here, but I will save it for another time.

~Kissing

~Hydrangea

So there is a glimpse into a few of my favorite things. (how many people now have Julie Andrew's voice floating through their mind singing "raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens...")

No, I don't agree with you

Anyone who knows me, knows that I rarely have a problem giving someone my opinion. However, right now for some reason that is beyond me at the moment, I am biting my tongue all over the place. Here is what I want to say:

I don't really care if you don't like your daughter's boyfriend, the fact of the matter is that he has gotten her pregnant. I don't think you have the right to deny him his parental rights. Yes, he's young (16) and she's not much older (18), but this is still their child. You are bullying her into signing custody over to you under the guise of putting the child on your medical insurance when really it is just another step in keeping him away from his child. You have already convinced her not to name him on the birth certificate. Do you not realize that as soon as he turns 18 he can demand a paternity test and sue you for custody/partial custody/visitation rights/whatever anyway under your state's law? Why put the child through that? Let him be a part of her life now like he wants to be. As far as I know he isn't a drug addict or a criminal. You claim you don't like him because he doesn't have a lot of ambition. Hello - he is 16!! I'm not saying they should run out and get married and try to raise the child while working at minimum wage jobs. They do need support from their parents. But, you are crossing the line and making decisions for your daughter and somehow convincing her that she is the one making them. That is going to come back and bite you in the ass some day. Might I remind you that you were convinced that by only allowing her to see him 1 night during the week and 1 night on the weekend you had control over her. You had so much control that now you are going to be grandparents. Back off! She just might surprise you and be a wonderful, loving mother.

I don't know why this situation has gotten under my skin so much. These are good people and good friends of ours. But the more they talk about this situation, the more I feel my blood pressure boil. I think it's their attitude of superiority more than anything. They just automatically assume they are right on all counts and that I am in agreement with them.

I know in this particular situation, the absolute best thing I can do is keep my mouth shut. But, since that is *extremely* hard for me to do - I'm letting it out here.

I don't even know what to say...

Michael Jackson - not guilty on all counts.

I'm curious now to hear from the jury. Did they really think he was not guilty, or did they just not have enough evidence to erase reasonable doubt? I have no idea. Honestly, I didn't follow the case other than media snippets here and there. My gut said he was guilty. If not of molestation, at least of inappropriate behavior. I don't need to rehash all of his "oddities" here - we all know what they are.

I mourn the Michael Jackson of my youth. The man who sang "Billie Jean" at the Motown 25 Special. The man who made it okay for high school boys to wear one white glove to a school dance, I'm thinking of one particular popular boy from my class, and me still think they were cool. That man's been gone for quite some time.

Will anyone ever listen to his music again and not at least wonder?

I just hope that the jury did in fact reach the right decision. That hope stems not from concern for MJ himself, but for those 3 innocent children still in his care.

Tequila Makes Her Clothes Come Off

WOW - what a busy week! Haven't had one of these for some time now that I don't work in the corporate world anymore. It was fun busy though.

The CMA concert was a blast. Luckily we had remembered our rain coats although I was still soaked to the skin and I think my jeans soaked up about 30 pounds of water. The rain didn't slow anything down. Everywhere you looked in the stadium, all you could see was a swaying mass of yellow, blue, and red ponchos. LOL

Joe Nichols was second on the stage. He was the one I went most excited to see. He's a cutie and a half and Scott almost had to hold me down in my seat. LOL He sang his standards "Brokenheartsville", "The Impossible", etc., but then he launched into "Tequila makes her clothes come off" which they are considering for the next single. It was funny and cute. I must have been enjoying the song a little too much, because Scott leaned over and said, "I'm rethinking the fact that you are headed to FL by yourself in a couple of weeks.". LOL

JoDee Messina was up next. I love her attitude and powerful voice. I was really hoping to hear her sing "Bring On The Rain", but no luck. Considering the weather she may have thought it a bad choice.

Wynona closed the show. I must admit, she has never been one of my favorite artists, but this is the second time I have seen her live and she is electrifying on stage. Oh, to have her voice!! The girl rocked! I also think it says a lot when someone can effortless transition through covers of songs by people as diverse as Mercy Me, Tina Turner, Foreigner, Melissa Ethridge, and others. Flawless. She actually got a "Woooooo" and a standing up clapping over the head from me. Give credit where credit is due I say.

All of the others (Miranda Lambert/Trace Adkins/Trisha Yearwood/Kenny Rogers) did great sets as well. Scott even enjoyed the show (aside from my Joe Nichols drooling, although I'm pretty sure he I caught a little drool from him over Jo Dee) and he NEVER listens to country music.

So today it is back to the regular grind. I need to take a couple of hours and actually figure out what that is. I have emails to read and mail to go through...and maybe spend a little time on iTunes downloading some new favorites songs! Just for the record...the only tequila I will be drinking in FL will be contained in a Margarita!! :)

WOO HOO! Free Tickets

Hubby just scored 8 tickets to the CMA Music Festival for this weekend. Hmm...I work in the music industry and didn't get them, he works for a hospital and did. Something is not right here. LOL

We are only going Saturday night. We have given all the Friday night tickets away to some friends. Concert lineup Sat. is:
Trace Adkins - love his DEEEP voice!
Miranda Lambert
Jo Dee Messina - I'll be singing right along with her on "my give a damn's busted!"
Joe Nichols - Cutie, cutie, cutie
Kenny Rogers
Trisha Yearwood - maybe a surprise visit from Garth?
Wynonna - I saw her in concert a few years back. She was great and she had never been one of my favorites

Funny thing is, I worked the CMA festival a few years ago. I SWORE I would never go back. However, I'm not turning down free tickets and the concerts are now given in the Titans' stadium which is MUCH better than when they were at the Fairground. As long as we can get through the parking okay we should be fine!

Did I mention Scott hates country music? LOL

Since I'm telling stories about my Jakey and his desire to make friends with the skunks - you should know what he looks like! Here he is the night we adopted him at 3 months old. He was 6 pounds. I'll post a recent pic of him later. 

Adorable Stinky little creatures

We have 4 baby skunks living in our yard. To be honest, they have to be the cutest little creatures I've ever seen. However, obviously we can't let them continue to live here. I called animal control yesterday and was told they wouldn't come out. They would rent us traps for $50.00 a piece and we could catch them ourselves. Not an attractive option to me! Our neighbor has a friend who works for Wildlife Rescue, so we have a call into them.

In the meantime, my dog is going nuts. He doesn't understand why we won't let him play with the "kitties". He was barking at one last night and it raised its tail. I grabbed Jake real quick and was dragging him across the yard. The skunk just started hopping backward with its tail still in the air. It was actually kind of humerous. I do not want to have to give him (or me!) a tomato juice bath though.

The joys of country living! :)

Emotional Roller Coasters

I hate the fact that I am a crier. If I just cried over things that made me sad (or a really good chick flick) it wouldn't bother me. But, I cry when I'm mad or frustrated. Then I get mad that I'm crying, so I cry some more. See the vicious cycle here? I want to appear strong, capable, independent. That's a little hard to do with tears flowing from your eyes and your nose running. :(

The past couple of days have been a little bit of an emotional roller coaster for me. I'm drained and tired. The good news is, I also feel cleansed. A good cry, a good conversation...it always gives me a sense of renewal. A fresh start if you may.

I don't have it in me to be deep or philosophical today. There is still that urge to cry right under the surface, but it is fading fast. A hug and a kiss from my husband tonight should go a long way toward easing any last remnants of my roller coaster ride.

400 Miles

Today was...well...Interesting.

Scott and I had plans to meet some people from his truck club and take in the 400 mile yard sale across Kentucky. We weren't planning on driving the full route, just a section from Glasgow to Hopkinsville. We drove up to my mom's last night and spent the night there so we wouldn't have as far to drive this morning to meet everyone else. Well, sometime in the middle of the night I woke up SICK! UGH! I basically didn't sleep the rest of the night and considered just staying at my mom's today while Scott went on the GTG. I didn't want him to drive all that way back for me, so I went ahead and climbed in the truck. By the time we got to Glasgow, my tummy had settled down and I was glad to see our friends.

The trip was actually pretty fun, we stopped in various quaint little towns and scoured some antique shops. However, it was HOT!! I was already somewhat dehydrated from my night and this did not make things better. We decided to call it a day around 5:00 and everyone went their separate ways to go home. Scott and I arrive home - open the garage door - no car! Panic mode for a full 2 minutes until we remembered that I had driven to his work on Friday and left my car in his lot. We're both too tired to deal with it tonight, so we'll go in tomorrow and pick it up.

Did I also mention that we currently have a skunk wandering around in our yard? He seems to be eating the clover. Animal control doesn't open until Monday morning, so hopefully he will have his dinner of clover and just wander on away.

Now...what in the world do I make us for dinner? I'm too tired to think about it. We may just order pizza.

I've always liked this picture of me. :) It was taken at the Biltmore Estate in NC. It was freezing cold and VERY windy. It was the first time that Scott and I went away for the weekend together. I was actually very afraid that he was going to ask me to marry him that weekend, and I just wasn't ready. He didn't ask, but he did give me a diamond eternity band and told me that he hoped to replace it with a gold band someday. A few months later I got the emerald cut diamond ring with a gold band that followed 6 months later. :) 

I'm just testing the photo posting function and thought I might as well post a picture that makes me happy when I look at it! LOL Thank goodness my husband puts up with me. :) 

Trim Spa, Baby!

I HATE the new Trim Spa commercial that has Anna Nicole Smith on her knees at the beach, arms stretched above her head, saying in her baby voice, "Trim Spa, Baby!" What is wrong with her mouth when she says that? I think she is trying to smile but it ends up being some weird contortion of lips and teeth that quite honestly FREAKS ME OUT!!!

I'll give her credit, she looks great. Maybe the stuff really works. But, I can't get past the commercial! Scott knows how much I hate it so he will mimic it to try and make me laugh. He doesn't actually do the full pose but he will kind of twist at the waist and do the high pitched voice and attempts that freaky smile. I can't help but laugh (and slug him) each time he does it.

I've always thought Anna Nicole was a bit of a train wreck, but I think she crosses the line to plain scary in this one. So, think of me the next time you hear "Trim Spa, Baby!" I'll be cringing in the corner. :)

She's the reason why

I've always believed in giving credit where credit is due, so I want to give a shout out to Katie! Katie is a member of a message board that I used to frequent daily - and hope to again real soon! I noticed a link to her blog in her signature at the site, followed it, and soon found myself creating my own. It was something I'd always wanted to do and I guess that was the final push I needed.

I don't even think she knows how much I enjoy her posts. She has that "intelligent humor" that never fails in making me laugh. :) Her blog can be found at: http://www.80kay.blogspot.com/ I did verify with her that it was okay to post the link!

I better run. Less than 30 minutes until Hit Me Baby One More Time premieres! LOL :)

I Remember Falling

This is a memory that goes back a few years, but it is something that affected me greatly. I don't think physically I am what you would call a "risk-taker". I'm not going to go skydiving or bungee jumping unless I'm on The Amazing Race. Although, I would love to drive an Indy Car around the Brickyard at 220 mph some day.

A few years ago, the department I worked in at EMI went on a "team building" retreat. It was a ropes course. Yes, it was physically demanding, but more than anything it was psychologically demanding. I guess that was the point. We started out in an open field, standing in a circle. We were blindfolded, and led off into the woods one by one. The instructors demanded silence. We were to put complete faith into them and each other. Finally after walking for quite some time, and I suspect we were led in circles, we were told to remove our blindfolds. I found myself deep in the woods. I wouldn't have known which way to go to even begin to find my way back to the field. I looked around at my coworkers and saw expressions of excitement, nervousness, even fear. Thus began our day...

The first trust building exercise required me to climb to a platform situated up in a tree. I'm not sure how high up it was, but at least 10 feet as it was above the heads of even the tallest man in my group. I stood on the very edge of the platform with my coworkers positioned on the ground in two lines. I was supposed to fall backward into their waiting arms below. No nets, no cushions, just the outstretched arms of 10 men and women to break my fall.

So, I fell. And it was one of the most beautiful moments of my life. There was this moment as my body left the platform and I was floating in the air. It felt like I wasn't even moving. At that moment, I didn't even think of the arms waiting for me below. I just saw the sky above and felt the complete freedom of not being restrained to the earth. I remember smiling the most genuine smile I have probably ever given in my life. It seemed to last forever, but logically I know it couldn't have been more than a few seconds.

The moment broke when I landed in my coworkers arms, but that experience was just as beautiful. I no longer saw the faces of "coworkers" above me. I saw the faces of friends and family. I trusted them and they caught me.

The rest of the day found us flying on zip lines and falling from tight wires into nets. Sometimes it was an individual accomplishment, sometimes we needed each other to solve a puzzle and reach the other side. But nothing came close to that first moment. That moment of freedom.

If you ever have a chance to experience a ropes course, I encourage you to do it. Take your family, go with a church group, round up your 10 best friends... You will leave with a new confidence in yourself and new love for others.

What to expect...

I've kept journals my entire life, but this is my first attempt at an online journal. What can you expect from me? I really don't know. I'm sure I will blather on about my life in all sorts of ways. Some of it will be boring, hopefully some of it will be a little exciting. Things I know for sure will come up frequently:

Adventures with the Truck Club. (believe me, this takes up a huge chunk of my time and I will talk about it and the wonderful people involved.)

My husband, Scott (I love him dearly)

Movies & Music (hey, my job revolves around them both so of course I'm going to chat about them)

Incoherent thoughts and ramblings (basically, anything on my mind at that exact moment!)

I'll also probably post a lot of pictures and maybe even a few sound clips.

Okay - I need to actually go read some instructions and find out the best way to utilize my blog. Hopefully I can find a spell checker somewhere on here as well! :)

I should explain my signature...

You might notice that I am signing my posts in the following fashion:

Dian(a)

This might be causing a bit of confusion to anyone who doesn't know me (or for that matter, some who do!). I have the misfortune of having a name that is pronounced one way and spelled a different way. Why? I don't know. My parents were never able to answer that question for me.

Spelled: Diana
Pronounced: Diane

When I first started working at EMI a little over 10 years ago, there was a young man who worked in the accounting department named, Rob Robinson. He was quite the cutie!! :) Whenever he would send me any inter-office mail, he would always add the paranthesis to my name. I thought it was cute and so I'm bringing it back as my signature here! I don't know where Rob is these days. He left EMI after a couple of years and I didn't keep up with him. Maybe he'll stumble across this blog one day and get a kick out of my remembering this small thing.