Having a bad day? Not anymore!

I can at least say it’s over

So…..last week – last week sucked. It started out with a nice little chat with a uniformed officer of the law. You see, I didn't have my seatbelt on. And it happened to be "Click It or Ticket Week." Yep, that means a Ticket for me. 5 Bucks – but still, everyone heard my name on the scanner and I no longer got to say that I NEVER received a ticket. So, I was whining about it. "Ruins my record – I've never gotten anything other than some verbal warnings – blah blah blah." Well that was Wednesday, Thursday brought a new day….and a much more expensive ticket. That's right; I got a second ticket within about 36 hours of the first one. I was going about 70 in a 65…but the 65 switches to a 55 and my mind was elsewhere (I was practicing my Matron of Honor speech!) And I definitely received a much higher price on that one. Thursday was also a long day, not just with how it ended but also how it started. I didn't get much sleep the night before in anticipation of my morning. You see, I was a witness in a criminal trial. It sucked and was sufficiently scary – though it really was only for a couple of fraudulent checks. At least this time I hadn't seen someone die in my front yard (let me be straight though-I only had to give a statement for that.) But I was questioned, and then cross-examined, and then re-questioned, and re-cross-examined. Never have I been so happy to hear "No Objection" as when they asked for me to be released from my subpoena. I had really been freaking for a while before it and Mark was trying to help me out. He told me that it would all soon be over and that I would be able to chalk it all up to life experiences. Well I'm sorry, but I think I'm about done with these new life experiences.

Remember when it was cool to NOT be on Facebook?

Everybody's on Facebook. Every business, nationwide or local, every charity, everybody's dog is on Facebook. It's interesting to see what it has become and the info you can find there. But, also the connections are amazing. You used to play the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon game, well now it's about Three Degrees of Facebook. The other day I was on hotels.com taking a look at some hotel rooms for a vacation that Mark and I may or may not be taking…and of course the website told me to Like them on Facebook. Well, ok, that's fine. I did. But I'm really starting to worry about the state of our world when I took a look at their FB page ….. and found that hotels.com had "Liked" Vanilla Ice. I mean really, what is Facebook coming to!?

Complimentary

On Sunday, I was feeling slightly nostalgic and romantic. Mark didn't go to the farm so that he could spend the whole day home with his wife. We went to church, had dinner, worked outside and got quite a bit done. It was great, I loved it. At one point I leaned over to him and said, "Honey, why did you marry me?" I know it's horrible….but sometimes I just want to hear a compliment – no matter how demanded it may be! And for once it seemed like Mark really thought about it and wanted to say something real. So he thought about and then responded "You always keep me on my toes."

WAIT………….WHAT???????

I think he just called me crazy. He married me because I'm bat-shit crazy. Awesome, I'm glad I fished for that one.

Yes, that’s me you are hearing

So I've had a great few weeks at work. My boss made a point to stop in my office and tell me that I was doing a good job. And he's not one to give empty flattery. I've more than doubled our average weekly sales, we've set a sustainable goal for our business, and I really just feel like everything is going in a positive direction…..AND I just did my first live shift on the air as well as my first night on Severe Weather Duty. All of our regular on air personalities had a charity event (ok so it was the local Chamber's golf scramble – but whatever) and so I covered it. I was so pumped. Freaking a little, but also mainly pumped. And it was good that I had so much practice, as yesterday I got called in from 4- about 10:30 for a severe thunderstorm watch. And also about 45 minutes worth of a warning. When we're in a warning, it's no-music/non-stop talking. Which would normally be an easy thing for me. But I want to make sure that I'm giving accurate, up to date info for my listeners….all while not saying ummmm, ummmm, ummmmm the entire time.

So it's been fun, it's been a learning experience. But I'm doing something I absolutely love. The only issue that the program director may have now…..is that I want to do it more.

Quiet

This morning as I was checking my blogroll, I came across a great video shared by Piece of Cake. As I started to listen, I was distracted by what I had on TV. While catching up on all my blogs I also was trying to catch up on all my DVR'd shows. But I had missed a little of what they were saying on "The Talk" so I rewound. But then I missed part of the song that Laura from Piece of Cake shared, so I started her video over. And then I looked up to watch the TV show. Ugh….this wasn't working-so I paused the TV so I could concentrate on the video. Then, I flipped over to some other blogs I had opened on other tabs. But then I thought, no I want to see this video. So I went back to Piece of Cake's blog to watch the video while listening, but before I knew it I had opened up the latest game of Spider Solitaire that I always have going.

I mean seriously, it was if I was incapable of slowing down and focusing on one thing at the time. Why? What is wrong with my generation? I always have the computer up while I'm watching TV. Or maybe I'm reading a book. While in the truck with Mark, I'm reading or playing crossword on my Kindle instead of just talking. And when I do dishes or am cleaning – the TV's on for at least some background noise, or I've got the music blaring.

Now, I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with listening to some music while you're cleaning…but my point is that it is never quiet. I am never solely concentrating on what it is I'm doing. It seems like even when I have my iTunes pulled up on my computer just so I can clean dishes, I'm also thinking about my playlist and maybe searching for a song, or maybe buying a new song.

At the Radio Station, I always have the radio going. It's always playing into my right ear. And when I first started working here, it took a little getting used to. So by the time I left from work, I would leave and just shut my radio off in my car and just drive home in silence. It was a wonderful, peaceful feeling. That feeling of quietness. And it's something that I need to WORK to find more often. So right now, I'm asking you to pause the TV (tell your husband I told you to do it). Don't open another browser or another tab. Don't start thinking about what's for supper, or what's on your grocery list, and don't look at the ledge that needs to be dusted. Just sit and be still….

Now, listen to this. Listen to each word.

Green Beans

I have a new favorite snack. Well…..I have a couple new favorite snacks. If you follow me on twitter (what? You don't? You should! Not that I'm that interesting…but you already know that if you're reading my blog) I ate the heck out of a bag of trail mix today at work. That stuff is ridiculously addictive. BUT the snack that I am really excited about is fresh green beans. I got a bag of green beans from the fresh produce section at the store – and opened it before I got out of the parking lot. Mmmm-mmmmm. Delicious. I can't wait until my own garden full of green beans and such are all ready.

Oh yes, Mark and I did actually get a bit of our garden planted. Corn, green beans, peas, and more. Specials thanks to our wonderful neighbors for a sampler box of seeds. This is my first year with a garden…and basically I have no idea what I'm doing. So, if nothing grows I am sure it will be my fault and not the fault of the seeds. But oh man, I cannot wait for something, anything really to grow out there. Especially so that I can just drive around and snack on some more green beans!

VACAY!!

I have a demand for this summer. Mark and I WILL take a vacation. I want to get in another big, fun vacation before we start a family. I think I'd like a beach…..but I doubt that's going to happen. We have a little game in our family when we have to make a decision, typically it's just a "where are we going to eat" kinda decision. But one person will pick three options, a second person will eliminate one option, and then someone else picks between the two for the final decision. See how that works?! It's so handy, helps to eliminate that weird "you decide where we eat" "no you decide."

So I have three choices as to where we should go this summer.

1. Savannah, Georgia – I have for years wanted to visit Savannah. I want to experience all of that history and Southern charm and architecture and food. But it's quite a distance to travel.
   
2. Chicago – Everyone has to visit Chicago once, right? And please the food!? Plus I had a friend tell me that there are tons of free activities, and it's within driving distance.
   
3. Nashville – The Grand Ole Opry would be amazing, but I also think I would just want to go and listen to live music every night. Good music comes out of Nashville, but at the same time….there's lots of crap country too. I don't want to get only pulled into the touristy stuff.
   

So what do you think? I'd love your opinions. Maybe you can "eliminate" one of the options and then Mark will choose between the last two….of course we still have to find both the money and the time to have the vacay…..but surely we can make that happen, right?