Rut?

(stuck) in a rut

Fig. kept in an established way of living or working that never changes. David felt like he was stuck in a rut, so he went back to school. Anne was tired of being in a rut, so she moved to Los Angeles.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

  One of the perks of my job is being able to have a change of scenery every other week. Business trips are seen as glamorous by most. Sometimes they are; sometimes they're not. Often times I find myself in a cool location but working and viewing the city from my hotel room--that part not so glamorous. Meeting new people, experiencing the culture of a state (particularly those past the Mason Dixon), and eating at local establishments is the fun, glamorous part.

  While the coordinates on the grid change there is one thing that remains the same, no matter the duration of the trip: I find myself grappling with familiarity in a brand new place. For example, there is a restaurant in Toledo that I love, and while I'm sure there are lots of great eateries in the city, I ate both lunch and dinner at this restaurant in the same day. Why? Because i really like the food and I can't get it back home. I often wonder if this means I'm getting stuck in a rut when I visit a city for a day or two. Is that even possible, by definition, if I'm only there for two days.

   I write this seemingly pointless yet observational post because I found myself already doing it today. I'm in Columbia for the very first time and will be here until Friday evening. My hotel doesn't offer breakfast so I googled coffee shops near me and found two local spots near the hotel and the station. I made the decision to try one this morning and the remaining one tomorrow morning, but my breakfast was good and the coffee even better. I decided right then and there that I didn't even need to try the other spot because it couldn't possibly be more quaint than Immaculate Consumption, and there's just no way they can make better hand-crafted lattes. 

   I guess I'm getting stuck in a rut all over again....but at least there'll be good coffee. :)

Night y'all!

DC for NYE

  I've been meaning to update the ol' blog site for a while now. So here goes....

  Back story on how this came to be:  It all began at a work soiree (fancy for retirement reception) on December 20th. I have a couple of coworkers from the DC area, and they were urging me to plan a trip to our nation's capital one day. Fast-forward to a couple of weeks later. Anthony and I are having lunch with a friend, and she mentioned she was going to visit her parents in DC and suggested we should join. A couple of days later, we're in the car making our way to DC.

  We were able to spend two full days visiting museums and walking the Mall.

Starting off Day 1 with this cutie pie. The first museum we visited was the National Museum of American History. This museum was super cool! I especially enjoyed the Star Spangled Banner: The flag that inspired the National Anthem exhibition. This flag is HUGE and almost 200 years old. It really gets the emotions flowing when viewing it. I also really enjoyed the First Ladies exhibition. It had so many beautiful gowns!!

The White House. President Obama was on vacation in Hawaii during this time.

Next, we visited the Botanical Garden. The colored foliage was sparse which is completely understandable for this time of year. It was still a cool place to visit.

Lastly for day one, we visited the Air and Space Museum. To be completely honest, I was tuckered out by the time we reached this museum so there are no pictures. 

The Capital. We were unable to take a tour of the Capital, unfortunately. It's on our list for next time!

We started Day Two off right with the reflecting pool. 

The whole group on Day 2. :)

After about 22 years, I finally got to see this man! I remember a classmate taking a trip to DC with his father and showed us pictures of the Lincoln Memorial back when I was in first grade. After hearing his story at show and tell, I've always wanted to visit this memorial. See, dreams really do come true!

Love how the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Memorial, and the Capital line up. Great shot by Anthony!

We meandered over to one of the art museums, next. This was a wonderful experience! We spent a good bit of time in here and only scratched the surface. You'd need at least one full day to experience all that this museum has to offer.

Next up was the Library of Congress. This was the most beautiful building by far! I honestly couldn't say if I spent more time looking at the exhibits or the walls and ceilings. I cannot tell you how neat it was to see Lincoln's speeches written in his own handwriting! We even saw the Wanted poster for his assassin.

We decided to celebrate NYE with Georgetown cupcakes! The line was crazy long, of course, but that didn't deter us from joining it. We spent the evening with great conversations over dinner and cupcakes. It was the perfect NYE. :)

  I cannot tell you how happy I am that we decided to go on this trip at a spur of the moment. It was absolutely wonderful, and if you haven't had the chance to visit, I strongly suggest you start planning a trip now. You'll need a good week to see everything!

Balance

**Disclaimer: You don't have to be Sheldon Cooper-smart to understand this physics lesson.**

 Have you ever experienced a moment that made you lose faith in the human race? Chances are the answer is yes. I seem to experience this somewhat frequently. I blame this on my high expectations of manners from perfect strangers.

   Here's a couple of things that make me more than a little disappointed in my fellow man:

• Failing to say "thank you" when a stranger holds the door open for you. Let's just say I'm that gracious stranger who is holding the door. It may be a small act that only adds up to a couple of seconds out of my life, but I didn't have to volunteer this act. I may be in a hurry; you don't know. It takes less time to say "thank you" than it did for me to hold that door open so make the sacrifice, please. It actually means a lot. (Because, if I'm being completely honest, your failure to do so makes me want to scream out, "Do over!", and I can promise you I won't be holding that door the second time around.)
• Gossip. If you were the subject of whatever you're talking about, would you want someone to continue on with the story? What's that? It's true?? Who cares!?! It's not your business to tell. If you like to tell people's business, why don't you talk about your own? Or are you just not that interesting? (Can you tell I have a bit of animosity built up for gossipers? Whoops.)
• Poor customer service. If you know me at all or read this blog even semi-regularly then you know the high emphasis I put on quality service. When I receive service that is less than sub-par, I usually try to make excuses for that person such as (but not limited to): they're having a bad day, they're going through a breakup, their pet just passed away, and so forth. While one of these excuses just might be true every once in a while, let's be honest--they probably just don't want to be at their job. I get it. Not everyday is sunshine and roses for me either, but have a little dignity and take pride in your work. Challenge yourself to be the best   insert here  you can be.
• Not letting the first person on the elevator off first. I realize this might be a lofty expectation, but if there are only two people in an elevator I believe it's only fair that the last person on is the last person off. After all, that's the person who delayed the other person in getting to their desired destination. 

  Okay, I think that list will suffice in getting my point across. The point of this post is not to air a bunch of grievances. No, the point is actually Newton's third law of motion:

  For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

  It seems that every act that leaves me shaking my head is always balanced out with an act of human kindness amongst strangers.

  For example, I was recently in Savannah for work and got to be a part of something wonderful. As I was walking around downtown with a coworker, a utility truck hit the gas when the light turned green at a traffic stop. When he did this, several buckets full of tools and small pieces of hardware scattered throughout the intersection. Thanks, Inertia! It made quite the scene, as you can imagine. Everyone on the sidewalks stopped what they were doing and stared while murmuring things like, "That sucks." I know because I was one of them. Then, something great happened. I looked to see if cars were coming, turned to my coworker, and said, "Let's help him." And so we did. We hopped into the street in our pencil skirts that make it nearly impossible to bend down comfortably and high heels that aren't exactly built for speed, and began picking up the pieces of hardware, tools, and buckets. Once people saw us doing this, they quickly jumped in to help. Within minutes, the driver of the truck had all of his equipment loaded and was ready for take off. 

   I don't share this to brag on myself for doing something good. I share this because I had an opportunity to display human kindness. That act only took five minutes, at most, out of my day and it very well could have been the difference between a horrible day and a good day for that man. If no one had pitched in he would have had to attempt to pick up all those items in an intersection in of one of the most visited cities in the nation (and the area that sees the most tourist traffic). It would have taken him a lot longer and most definitely would have put a damper on his mood. But by five strangers taking time out of whatever they were doing this man was able to go on about his day without a big delay. And who knows? It might have inspired others on the sidewalk to do something special for someone when the opportunity arises. 

  There are so many similar experiences that I could share with you. They happen everyday. Some small; some big. Their impact is the same. It has a positive effect on someone. 

  I want to end this post with a challenge. I challenge you to be that equal and opposite reaction when you experience one of those actions that leave you disappointed in people.

   

Counting My Blessings

  While there are so many things to be grateful for year-round, this time of year gets people to really count their blessings. I am so thankful for the Father, the Savior, and the Comforter. I am thankful for my family, my sweet friends, and my beloved Antonio. I am blessed to have a job I love that not only supplies my needs, but also my wants. But let's be honest, if you so much as semi-regularly read this blog, you know these things. So allow me to tell you five things you don't know.

COUNTING MY BLESSINGS

1. Daily To-Do Lists--Not only do they keep me focused and productive, just writing them actually gives me something to do.
2. Audible--Now I can catch up on the Game of Thrones series even when I can't read it. Maybe one day I'll actually finish it.....although that seems doubtful.
3. Aveeno Hand Cream--Finally a hand lotion that actually absorbs and doesn't leave you greasy!
4. Soup--No matter the weather, it's just downright hearty and delicious. BUT it tastes even better during this time of year.
5. Fuzzy Socks--I don't really think it's necessary for me to explain this one. It's fairly self-explanatory.

Friday's Letters 11.22.13

Dear 28, 
  Unlike most birthdays, I really haven't cared about adding another year under my belt. I guess once you get to the late 20's, what's another number? It doesn't sound young either way. So, yeah, I'm good with it. You just better be a fantastic year--that's pretty much all I care about.

Dear Aubrey, Jenna, Mom & Dad, and Anthony,
   Each of you sang a lovely rendition of "Happy birthday" on my voicemail and I loved every aching second of it. Haha, j/k.....I really didn't. But seriously, thank you! They brought a smile to my face and I loved it!!

Dear Facebook,
   You have changed so much about the general population's lifestyle. For example, if you think you might want to hang out with someone, you can look up their relationship status on FB before you even approach them. Want to find out if someone is cheating on you or lying about where they are? FB will usually tell you. Want to rob someone's home? They'll usually brag about being on vacation or tag their location to let you know that their house if free game. (Okay, so those last two were kind of bleak. But they still hold true.) Want to keep up with someone without actually having to talk to them? Check out their profile. You've given me the wonderful fortune of watching my friends' children grow when they lived far away (and even when they don't.) This list could go on and on, BUT you've also made people's birthdays 10x better. Before you gained mega popularity, you may have gotten a few phone calls and cards in the mail. But now you get notifications galore with people wishing you a happy birthday. I know it sure did make my day special! So thank you!!!

Dear Alabama, my sweet home,
   I'm so glad to be back to you! I wish there was a recording of my face when the flight captain came over the PA and announced the temperature in Alabama. Toledo was great, but there's nothing like Alabama the Beautiful!

Dear H&M,
   Get ready--I'm coming!

Friday's Letters 11.15.13

Dear Coworkers,
  I'm blaming any added weight on y'all. With all the yummy pumpkin bread, glazed Krispy Creme doughnuts, & double chocolate-chip cookies lying around, I'm not going to be able to get through the door.

Dear Sick Friend,
  I hope you get to feeling better. Thanks for letting me stay and partake in the chicken divan.

Dear Weather,
  Whoo, you are C-O-L-D! I just hope you calm down while I'm in Toledo next week.

Dear Mom,
   Christmas in November? Our Christmas tree is not three feet away from decorative pumpkins--and not six feet away from a pilgrim display. Whatever.

Dear Anthony,
   Thanks for taking me to lunch! Any time I get to spend with you is precious. :)

Dear Oil Change Place on Atl Hwy,
   If I hadn't visited you twice, I just don't know if I'd believe a place like you really exists! An oil change, vacuum, and car wash for $30?!?! You even have excellent customer service. Thanks y'all!

Dear Aubrey,
  I canNOT wait to see you on Sunday!!!

Dear Karyn & Harlyn,
  I'm so glad I got to see both of y'all! Thanks for letting me get in some cuddle time with that sweet angel baby!

Weekend Recap

This weekend deserves its own post to recap its awesomeness! As are all weekends spent with Anthony, this one was fun-filled and chocked full of new memories.

   I arrived in Dothan Friday evening, and we went to the fair at the Peanut Festival. This was my first time experiencing the annual event and was made even more special because I made a huge deal about missing the AL National Fair when it made its way to Montgomery. As always, Anthony to the rescue. We had a lot of fun walking around and riding the rides.

   Saturday was mostly spent with Anthony in the kitchen and me watching football. Yes, you heard that right. He made a scrumptious peanut butter cheesecake and we tag-teamed dinner. His classmate, Alix, joined us for dinner and Anthony watched the AL game while Alix and I semi-watched and chatted. It was lovely!

   We went to brunch with Helena, another of Anthony’s classmates, at Oak & Olive. Helena is an AU graduate so, naturally, she’s good people. J We spent the rest of the day with me watching movies while Anthony studied.

  All in all, it was one of my favorite weekends in a while!

Antonio and his Turkey Leg (guh-ross)

 The rest of the evening looked like this

Love this boy so very much!