New Year's Eve ho-hum

So it's almost the end of 2007. I feel a little blah. I'm wondering if it's post-Christmas letdown.

I'm going to the doc today to get my ears checked.

I have a party tonight to go to.

I have a NEW DIET to try in January.


Question for the masses:
Would you prefer Scenario A or B?
A) life with a partner where your financial, emotional, intellectual needs are met or exceeded, but no sex.
B) life with a partner that had good sex, some intellectual, emotional needs, but little or no financial ones are met.

I'm home!

Man, it's good to be back in Atlanta!

Saturday was good

Despite the way it ended.

It started with me sleeping in some, and playing a bit of World of Warcraft. I haven't played in forever, so it was fun just to run around with my hunter for an hour and shoot arrows at stuff while my kitty clawed it to death.

I talked with B on the phone and we made plans for the day. We went shopping. First to the Farmer's Market, where I got coffee to drink as well as lettuce for the piggies. B got an Angus rib roast to smoke in his big green egg for the holiday dinner he was going to on Christmas day. Then he said he needed to bring a dessert, so we drove to the Alons bakery. I am in love with this place. Not just a bakery/cakery/breadery... They have wine, fantastic cheeses from around the world, and a deli case of ready-to-eat items. B decided on a Buche de Noel- a "log" cake that was a thin layer of gingerbread filled with Valrhona chocolate mousse with a center of coffee creme brulee. About that time B asked if I wanted another coffee, so I ordered one of those. Coffee in hand, I perused the store and returned to find B at the cheesemonger's counter. We tried 7 different kinds of cheeses and chose 3 of them for him to take to the dinner as well.

After this we went to his place and finished watching Tin Man that he'd recorded a couple weeks ago. Overall, I liked the retelling and found it to be inventive and creative, if a little hokey and convenient that a sister was possessed by a bad witch. While trying to decide what to do next, B said he'd like to play some air hockey. We'd leave bowling to another day. It was decided that Dave and Buster's would supply us with food, air hockey, and skeeball. He resoundingly beat me at skeeball, and I beat him at air hockey.

The day ended with my "tummy" seeking revenge for all the antibiotics I've been taking. It started before I'd even finished my food and had to excuse myself to the restroom. So rather than enjoy a second game of air hockey, we headed back to town in the light drizzle of late afternoon. B insists jokingly I asked to leave just so I can say that I beat him at air hockey. And while that wasn't the reason.... don't think it didn't cross my mind.

Once I was home and safely in the bathroom, B went to Publix to get me a few things for my drive tomorrow. I took a Heather's Tummy Tamer Peppermint oil pill. I think being home though helped relieve some of the anxiety I'd been feeling. And yes, I'm a little stressed about my trip tomorrow.

All the family will be at my parents' house Christmas day. Somehow we usually fall into roles like we're teenagers again, and I don't particularly relish the thought. The piggies will stay up here, B's offered to come by and feed them and check their water.

Oh, and he's making me wait till Christmas to open the "back up" present he got me... before he got me the one at the antique show.

*smiles* I'll be glad to be back here I think.

I wish I could sleep. My neck is tense. Somehow the thought of the drive tomorrow is quite different from when I went there for Thanksgiving. Ah well.

Merry Christmas to all!

Three Shopping Days Left

Can't decide what to get?



Caution- link is not safe for work, lyrics are not safe for young 'uns.
(and yes, that's Justin Timberlake)

No Sense of Smell

It was a blessing this morning, to have no sense of smell. It started with a mom telling me in the hall that her boy had thrown up the night before, but he seemed fine now, so of course he wanted to come to school and she let him.

At 8:15 the normal chaos of 20 5 and 6 year olds looking forward to Christmas reigned supreme in the classroom. One of the parents brought in finished gift projects- handprints from each child in plaster, spray painted either gold or silver. One catch- one was missing, he said. They couldn't find it in the house, or car, and had no idea where it was. A quick run-down of the names showed the boy to whom we had no gift.

So I start mixing plaster in a bowl (with my bare hand), preparing to pour it into the last mold the parents left us. My assistant says "I need to go out to my car, I'll be right back." And I thought... maybe this isn't the best time to be doing this.

And sure enough....

Not 10 seconds later I heard 3 kids saying my name and "Kiera's throwing up".

I turn around, wrist deep in wet plaster, to see on the floor clear liquid and bits of blue?? and a green bean. I tell Kiera to go to the toilet to finish, and ask a boy to go next door and tell Trese I need help. Trese cleans Kiera up and takes her to the nurse to call mom, who left not 20 minutes ago. Did I mention today was "Pajama Polar Express Day"? Yes, she threw up on her nightclothes and bathrobe.

I finishing pouring the plaster into the mold, wash my hands, and buzz the office to get the janitor to come clean up. He does, and as he arrives, I see the kids in the class next door are watching Christmas videos. I ask, and they let my class go over there. I follow them, and by this time my assistant is back. The mom arrives, says it's her own fault for giving her daughter decongestant (hence the blue) on an empty stomach. She'll watch her during the day and see if she's alright to come to the party at 1:30. (Said mom was a room parent that is helping organize the party).

So they leave, and I walk back to my room to check on janitor status. About that time I hear a commotion in the other room. Guess what?

Yup.... one of their boys threw up... all over the carpet.

Cue me to call the janitor over as soon as he was done there. So I was eternally grateful I couldn't smell a thing. Else I might have become nauseous too. There must have been something going around, because before noon our janitor got cleanup calls in the first grade across the hall, and down the hall near the front office.

Again I see the sense in making the 18th or 19th of December the last day of school.

Rest of the day went well. We all moved back to my room to let them clean the carpet. Moved the TV too. At 10am I sent the other kids back, with the TV. Our kids were going to have our gift exchange.

Gifts were divided into two tables. One for boys, one for girls.
These were my rules:
1) You don't come up until I call your name.
2) You don't cry or say "I don't like it" when you unwrap it if you're disappointed. (I told them these are small gifts, not large gifts like they might get at home. $5 was suggested spending)
3) If you really don't like the present you chose, whisper it to me later, in private, and I'll see that it goes to a boy or girl who may not get toys at all for Christmas.

Not one child cried or complained. (Yes, I've had it happen in previous years)

Then came lunch. Then came them going to the Coach for 2 hours while he showed "The Polar Express". During this time we covered the tables in green and red butcher paper, got packages ready to go home, and set up for the party at 1:30. The time to ourselves was MUCH appreciated.

Party went smoothly. The parents came to help. Not too much food, no red dye #5 Kool-Aid. We had small bottles of water, a teeny cupcake, a glob of white frosting, 2 sugar cookies each, a popsicle stick to spread the frosting, and sprinkles to decorate with. The goldfish crackers actually weren't needed for the time allowed. Kids got to "do a craft" and then eat it. Perfect.

And I'm home now.
After a visit to the local pub of course... for a burger and waffle fries, and a capaccino stout on draught.

Happy vacation~!

Bleh

All the kids have been coming to school with green snot in their noses. Ok, not all of them, but certainly the ones who pick their nose and then (without washing or using sanitizer) try to tie their shoes, give up, and ask me to do it.

I've got their germs.

I've got the snot.

Bleh.

What D&D Character am I?

Yes, I am just this geeky:



I Am A: True Neutral Human Ranger/Bard (3rd/2nd Level)


Ability Scores:

Strength-11

Dexterity-12

Constitution-10

Intelligence-16

Wisdom-14

Charisma-12


Alignment:
True Neutral A true neutral character does what seems to be a good idea. He doesn't feel strongly one way or the other when it comes to good vs. evil or law vs. chaos. Most true neutral characters exhibit a lack of conviction or bias rather than a commitment to neutrality. Such a character thinks of good as better than evil after all, he would rather have good neighbors and rulers than evil ones. Still, he's not personally committed to upholding good in any abstract or universal way. Some true neutral characters, on the other hand, commit themselves philosophically to neutrality. They see good, evil, law, and chaos as prejudices and dangerous extremes. They advocate the middle way of neutrality as the best, most balanced road in the long run. True neutral is the best alignment you can be because it means you act naturally, without prejudice or compulsion. However, true neutral can be a dangerous alignment because it represents apathy, indifference, and a lack of conviction.


Race:
Humans are the most adaptable of the common races. Short generations and a penchant for migration and conquest have made them physically diverse as well. Humans are often unorthodox in their dress, sporting unusual hairstyles, fanciful clothes, tattoos, and the like.


Primary Class:
Rangers are skilled stalkers and hunters who make their home in the woods. Their martial skill is nearly the equal of the fighter, but they lack the latter's dedication to the craft of fighting. Instead, the ranger focuses his skills and training on a specific enemy a type of creature he bears a vengeful grudge against and hunts above all others. Rangers often accept the role of protector, aiding those who live in or travel through the woods. His skills allow him to move quietly and stick to the shadows, especially in natural settings, and he also has special knowledge of certain types of creatures. Finally, an experienced ranger has such a tie to nature that he can actually draw on natural power to cast divine spells, much as a druid does, and like a druid he is often accompanied by animal companions. A ranger's Wisdom score should be high, as this determines the maximum spell level that he can cast.


Secondary Class:
Bards often serve as negotiators, messengers, scouts, and spies. They love to accompany heroes (and villains) to witness heroic (or villainous) deeds firsthand, since a bard who can tell a story from personal experience earns renown among his fellows. A bard casts arcane spells without any advance preparation, much like a sorcerer. Bards also share some specialized skills with rogues, and their knowledge of item lore is nearly unmatched. A high Charisma score allows a bard to cast high-level spells.


Find out What Kind of Dungeons and Dragons Character Would You Be?, courtesy of Easydamus (e-mail)

Something new to knit.

I may just be addicted to knitting.

I finished my first real project today, even wore the muffler to work since it matched my blouse, although it's really for B.

Afterschool, went to get something to eat only to find I wasn't really hungry. All I could think about was going to the crafts store to buy a new color to begin a new project.

Happy hands now... with something new to knit.

Pampering

I have to give a shout out to my friend Allie for suggesting I get my nails done.

Even though I'd originally wanted to sleep, the mani-pedi was great. I got the good vibrating chair. My fingernails are now dark pink and my toes are dark red. The big toenails have a Christmas tree painted on each nail. It makes me smile to look at them.

I also paid an extra $10 for 10 extra minutes of arm massage. Damn... worth it! oh ya.

Got home, had some food, slipped into my comfy robe and read some Oprah magazine. Got cold feet (no, literally) and decided on a hot bath with epsom salts. Read more magazine by candlelight and lit some white sage.

Finished the evening with (too much) homemade fudge. Got to make sure there's enough left to give B :P

I'm feeling better.

Weekend with B

This was our first "reality" weekend. That kind of feeling where there's very little excitement about seeing each other, and lots on the mind dealing with work or RL. For B's part, he was very preoccupied with situations at work, and the fact that he'd need to work Sunday to get stuff done for a Linux guy on Monday. For my part, I was so totally exhausted, that all I really wanted to do was stay in bed.

But I didn't. I called B at 8am and told him I was up. We decided to do breakfast and he picked me up at 9:30. Breakfast for me turned out to be lunchfood. I was pretty hungry. Afterwards though, I got sooo sleepy. B told me he thought I needed a nap, and I ruefully agreed with him. So bowling was put on hold. We went back to his place. He asked how long I thought I'd nap. I said a couple hours. That was at 11:30.

I did wake up 2 hours later, but by then a soft rain was coming down. He was working on a 'puter in the other room, with the door closed, so I went back to sleep.

About 3:40 I finally woke up for good. Hungry of course. :P We went to the store and got some light fare and came back and ate, and watched some of the Tivo'd Tin Man from last week.

Dinner with Allie went ok. We ate at the Lobster bar, and B didn't talk too much. Not that I expected him to. Later I found out he'd been pretty disappointed by his order, and the service. At one point a waiter even came and took the glasses Allie and I weren't done with- like he was going to bring it back full. He never did though, so we had to ask for new ones. Our food was good though.

I slept better than I have there before. But I woke up early knowing I had to do greeter duty at church, and not really wanting to. I swear I almost fell asleep during the meditation.

I could have come home and gone to sleep, but have decided to treat myself to a Mani-Pedi. Maybe I can get extra massage for my sore muscles.

Anway... the weekend together felt more blah than it has before. B even felt it and apologized, said he felt guilty that we hadn't had an "exciting fun time". *Shrug* This was time when we just got to be ourselves, without scheduled activities and games. And hey, he let me sleep. What a guy.

Space Center

Friday's field trip to the Huntsville Space and Rocket Center was great. All the kids loved it. My philosophy for the day was "if it looks cool, try it". So I went on the G-force (spins you around and you stick to the wall). Once was enough. I went on the "Mars Experience" rollercoaster simulation. That was fun. Then there was the "Martian" rock wall.

I'm fat. I'm not supposed to be able to climb a rock wall. But you know what? I weighed less than their weight limit, so I thought hey, why not try and see if I can do it.

I got halfway up the rock wall before my arms and legs said "ok, that's enough. We're done." I then proceeded to jump down on my safety line. I should have put more thought into the getting down part. Apparently I was higher than I thought. I *should* have made little tiny hops to rappel down the wall. Instead I tried to take it all in one go. When the line sensor finally decided to tighten, I crashed sideways into a wall. One of the "rock" hand/foot holds dug into my hip. I continued in my downward trajectory and landed oh-not-so delicately on my fat ass. hehe.

I was pretty proud of myself for attempting it though. And I have a clementine-orange-size bruise on my hip now. Not too different from summers when I capsize in a canoe on my favorite camping trip.

We were at the center from about 9:45am till 4:30pm. We had lunch at noon, and an IMAX movie at 3:00. Lunch was.... weird. I swear I thought I knew all the colors edible ground meat could be, and still be good. I'm sure they called it a hamburger, but I'm sure it was too grey to be ground beef. Maybe turkey and soy. Didn't make us sleepy though. Copious amounts of ketchup, mustard, and a layer of Lay's potato chips made it better. The boy next to me decided to "invent" two new foods: the Oreo and meat burger, as well as a tasty dessert of the Potato chip Oreo. He said the latter tasted better. I decided not to try oreo on the bun with said mystery meat.

We had dinner at Cici's pizza in Huntsville. Thirty six kids, 12 adults invaded the restaurant. Soon as pizza was wolfed down, 36 kids invaded their game room there.

We got back about 10:30, 10:45pm. I was sooooo tired. I couldn't sleep right on the bus, and was too self conscious about snoring.

All in all a great trip. It was awesome to see the kids working together and learning.

Well, when they weren't begging to go on rides that made adults want to throw up, that is.

Cooties

Today was a good day. Talked to the boy's mom about the cell phone. It's an old one of hers, given to the boy because he LOVES technology and ringtones and the games. But he knows he's not supposed to bring it to school.

Licegirl was back today, sans lice.

Tonight I was supposed to go to a caroling service at my church. B was going to go with me, then we'd grab a bite to eat afterward. However, around 4pm I started getting a killer headache. It wasn't gone by 6, so I emailed him asking if we could just do dinner somewhere dark and quiet. He said no problem.

I'm back, stuffed, and my headache's gone. I'm overthinking things a bit for this looong field trip tomorrow. I don't know what to expect exactly, so I feel like I'm going to end up bringing too much. Ah well. I guess the important part now is to get a good night's sleep.

Is It Christmas Yet?

What a day what a day.

I feel like I have this black cloud hanging over me. Last night was the Holiday PTA. PreK and K'ers were dressed as little bees. The overarching story was about these "share" bears and how one of them was a beekeeper and always gave honey to whoever asked. It wasn't over till 8pm. So 11 hours later I'm back at school. Yes, it was hard to get up this morning. I also had to dress up, put the pretty on. Holiday show for the school today, and Holiday luncheon for parents and relatives (decent food for a change).

Well one of the first things to happen today is the coordinator of our Secret Santa comes to me. It seems that the person to whom I've been giving items to, is creeped out by the fact the food snacks aren't individually wrapped. IE They said they like salt n vinegar chips. There are no small containers of those I could find, so I get a Pringles tube and pour half of the chips into a ziploc bag for the person.

This is one of those fundamental differences in people. It would never occur to me that it would creep out someone. I mean, this is a staff of teachers, we're NOT trying to poison each other. We are trained in sanitary measures. But because my identity is a secret, it's no good. Especially a guy. Stereotypes being what they are, it'd be easier for me to see a woman getting all super-sanitary about it. My hands never touched it! Ah well... anyway.

Before the holiday show for the school, I had to go with the AP and help determine if we had enough seats for the kindergartners that weren't performing. How should I know? All I wanted to do is get assessments done. But I went, guesstimated, and came back. Only I forgot to tell a coworker she didn't need to bring chairs for their students. They came late, and I'd already had to tell the cranky upper grade teacher that these seats behind me were for the other class. Then they came in with their chairs, which they ended up not needing, because I'd forgotten to tell them. So they looked foolish for not needing chairs, Our whole grade level looked foolish for not having its act together in front of the cranky teacher who's always complaining and dissing events - whatever those events may be.Then we weren't all in our bee costumes, and half the K audience stood up when the K'ers on the risers sang. The other half remained seated.

Then the dancers danced. I hated the song. I didn't like it last night when I heard it. I didn't like it (or the performance) any better today. The dance itself was uninspired. The song was a slow, soulful rendition of "Hark how the bells" by Beyonce or somesuch. I knew the problem was just with me. I get tired of what I perceive to be "black" songs always being performed. The logical side to me though points out the majority of the team are black, as are the sponsors. I guess I just wish there were more variety, or cultural diversity. Does this make me racist?

At lunch one of the girls brought to me a cell phone saying that it belonged one of our boys' mom. Said boy kept yelling at me to give it back to him. Mom didn't know he had it. Remember this is our holiday lunch. White tablecloths on tables. Plastic evergreen garlands with red fabric poinsettias. Parents, grandparents to arrive. And this boy starts crying huge tearful cries in the lunchline because I won't give him back the cellphone. I tell him to stop and get back in line. He doesn't. I ask if he wants to go to the office? No of course not. Then do as I say. On most children in my class, this would work. But this boy's too stubborn. He said "no!", and "Gimme!" So I take him to the office. Or rather, partway he resists, I let go and keep on walking. He chases me, still crying, still yelling. Eventually the principal talks to him and calls his mom to let him know. Granted, he was out of school the previous two days with an ear infection, so I know he wasn't on top of his game.

After lunch we go back to the room to start Math and continue assessing. While I try to start, a girl comes up to me saying that her head is itching really really bad. This is the girl who is always around and playing with the boy who had lice a couple weeks ago. I do a head check (with pencil) through the layers of hair. Sure enough, I see nits. The empty egg cases stuck to hair shafts. I keep looking. Then, to my shuddering dismay, I see the scurrying movement of a louse.

Sigh.

So I walk her to the nurse. Apparently they don't separate kids now or send them home when they have lice. Only in the case of several. To me of course, this defeats the purpose. It's like "we're not going to do anything to prevent a problem until there's a real problem" Sheesh.

I just feel very tired, and over it all. I'm stressed because these assessments aren't done, and I won't be here Friday because I'll be on a field trip.

Is it Christmas yet?

Wow

Damn I love MaidBrigade.

Come home, all the carpets are vacuumed. The pillows are fluffed and arranged neatly. The kitchen floors are mopped, the stove is shiny clean, as is the sink. The kitchen rugs are clean. The bathroom is shiny. My bed is made and the floors are spotless.

Why didn't I do this years ago??

My Weekend

I'm tired, my eyes hurt. I cried this weekend. I must be PMSing.

B (formerly Mr. Broadband) and I averted a crisis last night. Or it felt like one to me. The topic this weekend was snoring. And if you know me, you know I'm a big snorer. He didn't get much sleep Friday night, which I only found out from him late Saturday afternoon. Saturday night, I awoke at 1:48 to find that he'd left the bed and was in the master bedroom (he sleeps in the room that has a better view of trees/no traffic sound).

Feelings from my past relationships where snoring had literally run men from the bedroom cropped up, and I went in the bathroom to cry and blow my nose. I came out, he was sitting on the bed, and I was wordless. He laid down crosswise, so I cuddled in front of him, and silently wept, fearing the worst. Dreading hearing how my snoring was intolerable. Fearing he wouldn't want to see me anymore. He heard me and ask if I was crying, I said yes, and he said, in a commanding voice, "well, stop it". lol so I did. I started to get up and let him have his comfy bed, and I'd go sleep on the firmer master bedroom one, but he said for me to come back here, and what was I doing. I told him it wouldn't be right for me to make him switch, so I was going to take the other. He said no, we'd both sleep in this one. I went back to the bathroom for water, more crying, and blowing of said nose. I came back to discover he'd gotten out earplugs, and we slept the rest of the night that way.

We talked this morning, thankfully. He said it distressed him to see me crying, that he'd left to see if it was less loud in the other room (it wasn't) . It had been all of 10 min with him gone before I'd woken up, and he'd been trying to figure a way to come back and get out the earplugs w/o waking me. He says the earplugs are a manageable workaround for now, but said if we were to ever be married, I might want to consider a surgery, or weightloss (about 50 lbs). He said his snoring was much louder 100lbs ago, but that the pitch of mine was what awoke him.

Other than that bump in the road of life, the weekend was good. Friday night we went to see the movie The Golden Compass. It was good, and for what it was, not a bad retelling of the book by Philip Pullman. I'd say read the book though. The words are beautiful, and uninhibited by fear of reprisal from the Catholic church. I was shocked that the movie didn't end where the book did-I was waiting for that high adrenaline moment- but I can certainly see how this makes more sense market wise.

B had told me that my ornaments came in. I had been telling him about 2 Star Wars ornaments that my parents tree has that I really love- the Millenium Falcon, and the X Wing. Both of which light up when plugged in to the string of lights. Since he does E-Bay a lot, he asked me to let him take care of it.

So when he tells me Thursday that my ornaments came in- I'm expecting, you know..... 2 ornaments. Nope. He got me *17* Hallmark Star Wars ornaments. Wow... talk about blown away. Sunday he helped me decorate my tree with them.

Saturday B and I went to the Scott Antique Show at the Exposition Center near Jonesboro road. We were there with the purpose of finding me a Christmas present I liked. We found one. I won't go into details, but it was nothing so grand as my friend Leah got- She got ENGAGED!!! :)

Maybe one day, I will be too.

I am sick after all.

I stayed home today. Had a sub at work. Slept most of the day, read some. I finished Brave New World, and started Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. I like both of them, though they're very different. What I like best though, is that feeling of losing track of time while I become immersed in a story. It's been since summer that I had books that I could do this with. Nice to be back.

I made a BBQ chicken pizza for dinner tonight. Surprise surprise, I didn't eat the whole thing. I only ate half. Felt full after half.

Well, I am sick after all.

Tuesday Musings

I came home sick today. Was sick to my stomach at work, topped with my head cold I'd been battling I didn't think it a good idea to stay. I have a sub for tomorrow. Went to the doc today, and only definitive thing he could find was an ear infection. Good news is he gave me samples of my Lexapro, and the Publix pharmacy was filling Amoxicilin prescriptions for free.

FREE. Have you heard about this? Some pharmacies, certain drugs- FREE. Now, I'm grateful and all for free, but I'm wondering why? What's the catch? I even jokingly asked if they had a bunch of drugs that were nearing the end of their shelf life. I was laughingly told no, more came in each day.
Hmm.

I see from rereading my blog I forgot to mention something else that happened Friday. A delivery came for me at school around 2:50pm. Thank goodness I hadn't left at 2:45 but was tying up loose ends. Inside this HUGE box from 1800Flowers was a very large teddy bear with a velvet heart, and a dozen red roses. Yup. From Mr. Broadband. I've been thinking of this past weekend, and the thing I remember the most is how I felt. I felt cared for, protected, looked after. I didn't have to worry about anything. That was a great feeling. Part of me, the cynical realist, reminds me that this could all go away, go horribly wrong. I should take care with plunging my heart headlong. But I really like him. I'm trying to just take each day as it comes for now.

And in local news Rodney Battles was found guilty of killing a quickie mart owner. Local news coverage is here. Something about this, about his reaction to the verdict, about his mother telling that the man was first described as being much taller than her son- I can't help but wonder that maybe the wrong man was convicted.

My Weekend

I had a fabulous weekend with Mr. Broadband.

Friday night we went for dinner at a place The Lobster Bar. It's downstairs from a steak restaurant called Chops, and offers all of Chops' meats, plus fresh lobster and seafood. It was really cool. The decor is kind of like Lex Luthor's subway mansion in Superman II. After dinner, we went for a drive through a Christmas lights display put on by a University.

Saturday morning I made breakfast for us. Steak and eggs with red and green bell peppers, onions, garlic, and 2 kinds of cheeses. Hashbrowns, bacon, fresh fruit, OJ. I had a blast making it. His kitchen is much nicer than my own.

After lunch he took me to a sports shoe place called Phidippides. All the shoes are in the normal range of $80-$130 (man, that's normal???) but the service is excellent. They watch your gait as you walk for them. They notice if your feet come down in certain ways, and then recommend shoes that will help correct that. FINALLY! See my post here, if you want to know about a previous experience elsewhere. After pinpointing what my feet were doing, she brought out a variety of shoes, watched me walk some more. Once we got the right correction, she brought out still more so that I could judge purely on comfort. I finally found the right pair for me, in New Balance brand. And surprise surprise, Mr. Broadband bought them for me as a gift, to help with the walking. Now I don't have sore feet just from walking. Yay!

We drove to Helen, visited Habersham Winery. Got a case for my dad of his favorite muscadine wine to take with me when I go home for Christmas. We went into the kitschy part of town, which was wonderfully decorated for Christmas. Alpine architecture and Christmas go hand in hand. Oddly enough though, it was pretty warm out. Mid 60's I'd say. Hopefully we can go back when it's cold. Kudos to us for not stopping to get fudge!

We drove back a different way, driving through mountains and it was beautiful. We stopped in Blairsville and saw the end of a Christmas parade, and drove by the town square where they were auctioning off a woman's devil food cake. Small town fun :) Wholesome. Good to find out about it, perhaps next year can go and enjoy it for a day.

We got back into town late, and instead of eating out (which I didn't feel like) we went to the store and got some stuff to take back to his house. We ate in front of the TV watching Sci-Fi channel, and then BBC at 9 for Torchwood, and at 10 Graham Norton.

This morning was full of wonderful laziness, laying about in bed and talking. Watching the leaves fall from trees in his yard. Breakfast at La Madeleine's. Afterwards we went to Barnes and Noble. He bought 2 books for me based on discussions we'd had. I'm reading the first now- Brave New World. It's supposed to be a faster read than the other, Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. On the way back to my place he remembered that my Christmas tree lights needed a new bulb, so we stopped and picked up some replacements. Unfortunately, there was another issue and we had to scrap the whole string. He went and got another for me, and put them on the tree. He's very thoughtful.

All in all, I feel like I had a "vacation weekend" because of the roadtrip. I came home and relaxed, but later had kind of a chilled feeling so I took a hot bath. I hope I'm not coming down with something. I drank several packets of Emer-Gen-C, and will prolly take some Nyquil before heading to bed early.

7 Things Most People Don't Know About Me

Tagged by Chutney.

1. In 8th grade I was the only white girl on the cheerleading team.

2. When I was 19 and in Japan, I partied with some clowns from Ringling Bros Circus in their hotel room.

3. In Japan, I liked a yukatta at a hostel so much, I "lifted" it, thanking them in broken Japanese in the room journal for "the lovely gift of robe".

4. Once, at 2am while in college, I and a female friend who was a free spirit went down to the unlit soccer field, took off our clothes and just sat and walked around naked. It felt odd to put clothes back on.

5. My favorite time to visit Disney World is after dark. In high school there were nights of special events we went to that started at 8:30pm and ended at 2am.

6. I have 3 teeth instead of 4 between my bottom incisors.

7. I can wiggle my ears.


Consider yourself tagged.