Sleepy but cute!

“Hi, Aunt Catherine!” 

STOP! Pajama-Time

This time of year, all I really want to do is curl up in front of a warm fire in some cozy pajamas, with a nice (read: cheap) glass of shiraz and a book.  I guess that is natural here with this first gust of cold, fall, weather, except, I don’t really have any cozy pajamas. 

I’m finding myself lingering in the pajama/loungewear department of Target or Kohl’s.  I’ve never really had true “pajamas” (except when I was a kid and my aunt would buy them for me and I HATED it).  I’ve always been more of a t-shirt and boxers kind of person, but when you see the cute, long john matching sets, or the warm fuzzy lounge pants and matching tanks, its hard to not want to own them. 

I picture myself lounging comfortably while looking impossibly adorable, not a belly or extra chin in sight, you know, like the ads in all the L.L. Bean and J. Crew catalogs, “cute guy and girl, laughing hysterically while stringing popcorn”.  Its a strange fantasy, I guess.  Nothing remotely sexy, just warm, comfortable, cozy, safe.  Maybe that is sexy.

I think I am getting old.

There.  I said it.  The reasons for my revelation aren’t so exciting, but I thought that maybe, like ripping off the band aid, I’d feel better if I just said it.

See, I’m trying to become smarter about my money, investments (when I actually HAVE some investments), benefits,  bills, insurance premiums, etc.  I’m even using words like “budget” and  ”deductible”.   I might actually be using them correctly! 

I wasn’t really smart about this stuff earlier in my adulthood.  I was actually pretty stupid about frivolously spending money, having little savings, and not so good to my credit.  Although I didn’t get into a lot of credit card debt (thankfully), I have student loans to repay.  Fortunately, I don’t have too far to go with it, but that’s one of my revelations, start working on my debt and other than my house, working toward zero-debt.   I’ve started setting up my bills autopay which is really nice, since I’m horrible at remembering to actually put the check in the mail, or when something is due.  

Instead of just signing up for whatever insurance is offered, I’m actually looking stuff up to see what best fits my budget (see there, I said it) and my needs.   I’m beginning to wonder if I need the cable package I have since I don’t feel like I watch $100 of TV a month. 

I don’t really think this means I’m old, mostly it just means I was stupid when I was young.  I wish I hadn’t been, but I can be thankful I wasn’t one of those young folks that gets into tens of thousands of dollars of credit card debt and has to file for bankruptcy.   I’m glad I’m thinking about it and working on it now, though.  Better now than even next year, I guess. 

I’m even thinking of hiring someone to do my taxes (although, wait.  Doesn’t that cost money?! :). 

Christmas at the Biltmore

Well, I’m finally going to the Biltmore House.  I think I’m the last person in our area that hasn’t ever visited it.  I’m pretty excited about it.  We’re going next weekend and it will be decorated for Christmas already, so we shouldn’t have a hard time getting into the Christmas spirit! 

We’ll be going with B’s parents.  Officially its his birthday celebration, but we’re really going because I’ve never been.  I feel bad that he’s getting ripped off because its supposed to be all about him!  I think I’m going to take him to a concert later that night to make up for it.  I know he doesn’t mind, but its still supposed to be his celebration! 

I’m just sayin’

So how do YOU keep a positive attitude?

Usually, I am the kind of person who has a natural positive attitude.   I don’t have to make a conscious effort to be nice to people, most often, that comes naturally as well.   Lately, I’ve been under an abnormal amount of stress and I’ve really noticed the toll its taking on me.   I’m not sleeping well, I’m short with loved ones, my migraines are more frequent, just a lot of unpleasantness going on that I can attribute directly to my stress levels.

For me, one major stressor is a feeling of helplessness, so I have taken the steps that I can control to relieve some of the stress.  Unfortunately, some of it is beyond my control, so I need some major stress management help. 

I know several techniques from when I worked in health and fitness, but I want to know what WORKS for you.   I do regular breathing techniques and I’ve started working out again.  That does help me a lot but surely, there’s something that hasn’t crossed my mind.  (And yes, “drinking many beers” is another technique I’ve utilized in the past!)

Sugarland - Stay

This video is so stark and emotional.  It almost made me cry!  Its like Sinead O’Conner’s Nothing Compares 2u video.  I like it though.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=yIyxkZod2cM

 (I can’t embed it, its from the record label.)

My uncle Bill

One of my favorite family members passed away early yesterday morning.  My uncle Bill was so pleasant and just an all around wonderful person.   He was always so excited to see my brother and me, you know genuinely happy to know us.   When we were kids he had a rock tumbler and always gave us the most beautiful stones.  It was such a small thing, but as a kid, it was so cool.  He also drew optical illisions and cool little doodles.  When my dad had open heart surgery a couple of years ago, Helen and Bill visited Dad and, of course, brought some sketches with him, hung them in his hospital room.  It was just Bill, you know. 

DAYTON — William Isaac “Bill” Bolton, 83, died Sunday, Oct. 21, 2007, at Memorial Hospital.He was a longtime resident of Rhea County, Tenn. He was a member of Graysville United Methodist Church, member of American Legion Brady William Post 100 and was a veteran of the U.S. Navy, serving in World War II.

He was preceded in death by parents, William and Hester Bolton; son, Don Bolton; two sisters; and four brothers.

Survivors include wife, Helen Bolton, of Dayton; three daughters, Linda Bolton, of Nashville, Brenda (Dave) French, of Knoxville, Rhonda Masterson, of Atlanta; five grandchildren, Keith Smith, Denise (Andy) Cobb, Haley (Jason) Moore, Jeffrey French and Patrick (Claire) French; great-grandson, Noah Cobb; several nieces and nephews.

Funeral: 7 p.m. today, Oct. 22, 2007, at the chapel of Coulter-Garrison Funeral Home with the Rev. Paul Miracle officiating.

Interment: Chattanooga National Cemetery.

Visitation: 5-7 p.m. today.

Arrangements are by Coulter-Garrison Funeral Home Inc.

Want your Lake updates?

Go read Karissa’s blog for adorable updates like this one:

Go Vols!

Superdrag at Barley’s (tonight and tomorrow)

So, who is going and what night?

Bad pictures from a good night!

Billy Joe Shaver!

I’m really looking forward to seeing Billy Joe Shaver tonight at the Shed at Smoky Mountain Harley Davidson.  We went to see Todd Snider there earlier in the year and I really really like the venue.  Its completely covered, so if it does rain, we’re still safe and dry!  The sound was great when we saw Todd so I can safely guess it will be good tonight too. 

If you don’t know who Billy Joe Shaver is, here’s a quick spotlight from Matthew Everett in this week’s Metro Pulse:

In 1973, Waylon Jennings recorded Honky Tonk Heroes, a full album of songs by Billy Joe Shaver. The Texas-born Shaver seemed set to break through to bigger success, but he never did make the charts. He kept making music, though, cultivating a harder, Texas-blues edge with his son Eddy on guitar, and albums like Tramp on Your Street, Highway of Life, and the live Unshaven earned him new recognition from country traditionalists and alt-country carpetbaggers alike. But trouble has dogged Shaver’s steps in recent years: his wife and his mother both died in 1999; Eddy died from a drug overdose on New Year’s Eve of 2000; and Shaver suffered a heart attack onstage in 2001. In April, he was charged with assault after shooting a man in the face in a bar in Lorena, Texas. But Everybody’s Brother, Shaver’s new CD of religious songs (he once said, “If you don’t love Jesus, you can go to hell”), is getting good reviews. (Matthew Everett)Billy Joe Shaver with Peter Cooper • Thursday, Oct. 18 • 7:30 p.m. • The Shed (Maryville) • $10

How the heck is it only Tuesday?

From The Onion:

WASHINGTON, DC—After running a thousand errands, working hours of overtime, and being stuck in seemingly endless gridlock traffic commuting to and from their jobs, millions of Americans were disheartened to learn that it was, in fact, only Tuesday.

“Tuesday?” San Diego resident Doris Wagner said. “How in the hell is it still Tuesday?”

Enlarge Image Already the week is unbearable for these New Yorkers awaiting a subway train, and it’s only fucking Tuesday.

Tuesday’s arrival stunned a nation still recovering from the nightmarish slog that was Monday, leaving some to wonder if the week was ever going to end, and others to ask what was taking Saturday so goddamn long.

“Ugh,” said Wagner, echoing a national sense of frustration over it not even being Wednesday at the very least.

According to suddenly depressed sources, the feeling that this week may in fact last forever was further compounded by the thought of all the work left to be done tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, and, if Americans make it that far, possibly even Friday, for Christ’s sake.

Fears that the week could actually be going backwards were also expressed.

“Not only do Americans have most of Tuesday morning to contend with, but all of Tuesday afternoon and then Tuesday night,” National Labor Relations Board spokesman David Prynn said. “If our calculations are correct, there is a chance we are in effect closer to last weekend than the one coming up.”

Added Prynn: “Fuck.”

Enlarge Image Believe it or not, it’s not even goddamn lunchtime yet for these commuters in Southern California.

Reports that this all has to be some kind of sick joke could not be confirmed as of press time.

Isolated attempts to make the day go faster, such as glancing at watches or clocks every other minute, compulsively checking e-mail, hiding in the office bathroom, fidgeting, or reading a boring magazine while sitting in the waiting room, have also proven unsuccessful, sources report.

The National Institutes of Standards and Technology, which oversees the official time of the United States, is flatly denying that it has slowed or otherwise tampered with Tuesday’s progression.

“The current Tuesday is keeping apace with past Tuesdays with no more than one ten-thousandth of a second’s variation at the most,” NIST spokeswoman Dr. Geraldine Schach said. “However, I sympathize with the common consensus that this week has already been a colossal pain in the neck.”

Labor Secretary Elaine Chao released a statement addressing widespread speculation that it might as well be Monday for all anyone cares.

“We understand this day has been tough on many of you, what with meetings mercilessly dragging on and an entire stack of files still left to organize,” Chao’s statement read in part. “Yet we urge Americans to show patience. The midweek hump is just around the corner, and we have strong reason to believe that Saturday will be here before you know it.”

“Go about your lives as best you can,” the statement continued. “Do not, we repeat, do not take a sick day, as it’ll make the rest of the week that much harder to endure.”

In the meantime, citizens are doing their best to cope with the interminable week, though Tuesday is still hours away from ending.

“The more I try to speed it along, the longer it almost seems to take,” said Dale Bouchard, a Chicago-based broker who has been waiting for today to be over since it first began earlier this morning. “Honestly, today could not have come at a worse time this week.”

In the meantime, the latest wristwatch consultations indicate that it is somehow still Tuesday, if that makes any sense at all.

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Days Aren’t Long Enough

I’ve been listening to the new Steve Earle CD, Washington Square Serenade, all weekend.  I’m digging it, if for no other reason that its a classic Steve Earle sounding album.  I was particularly drawn to this song.  I’d guess its for obvious reasons.  

Another year has come and gone
Another circle ‘round the sun
Another thousand tears have fallen
I don’t ever count ‘em ‘cause
I’m surrounded by your love 
And days are never long enough

Four more seasons on parade
Show their colors then they fade
But that won’t happen to us, darlin’
We’ll remember how it was
Then begin again because 
Days are never long enough

Time’s never late
Isn’t bound by our fate
Try as we may
Love might never be found if we wait
Until the sun comes up
On another day my love
Days are never long enough

Time’s never late
Isn’t bound by our fate
Try as we may
Love might never be found if we wait
Until the sun comes up
On another day my love
Days are never long enough

What are my ISP options?

Are there any blog readers can help me make a decision on my home internet connection?  I haven’t had a connection at home and need one now and really don’t know my high speed options other than Comcast.  Help!