Totally Business

Ha! I completely forgot to mention anything about my first office Christmas party. Yea! The party was in downtown Nash above a wonderful restaurant known as Big River. We started with a dinner at Joe's Crab Shack that was literally half a block away from the party. We decided the reason behind this choice was cost effectiveness. I even sat with the boss and wife. You know just working my way up in the world...only kidding.

We had a live band (well actually two since apparently Moto has its own little band, too. I might just land myself I lead singer position in that band in the next couple of years). There were only a few fellow enginerds there with there wives so it was mostly sales guys. I spent the night socializing away and even managed to squeeze in a few WDEs during the Auburn rendition of Sweet Home Alabama (with the sales guy over our whole territory's wife). The usual.

After the party was over we headed to the normal Friday night spots...Paradise Park, Tootsies, etc. We stayed out until at least half of us were sitting at our table yawning. That's how it has been with me lately. I just get hit with super tiredness out of nowhere. Getting old is my only explanation.

The party was great fun, and I am now officially business. I managed to make it through the night with none to minimal embarrassment which is better than I thought I would do. So overall I would call my first big girl Christmas party a success.

Merry Weekend after Christmas

I feel like I haven't had any free time in the past couple of weeks to even think about turning on my computer to write a blog. Between work and the holidays, I have just been super busy, and as far as work goes I'm pretty sure I'm only going to get busier (or more busy). I thought I'd say a quick hello though in case I don't get the chance to write again until the new year (2009...how crazy is that?!).

I remember when Y2K and all of that fun paranoia jazz happened (mi madre was definitely sucked into it), but one of my favorite things about hitting the 2000s was the awesome glasses that have been produced every new years for the past nine years. So to all of you I say go get you some 2009 paper glasses because this will be the last year for awhile for double o's in the middle. I love how I say that like I'm going to be alive for the next go round.

On a different note I hope that everyone had a super Christmas. I know I did. This was my first Christmas that I had to travel more than ten minutes across town, and I'm working now. So it was definitely different, but I think it made me enjoy time with the fam that much more.

The broseph visited Nashty last weekend, and we went to see one of the Rockettes shows at the Grand Ole Opry. I have only done that once before when I was in high school so I thoroughly enjoyed it. The nativity scene they do at the end was awesome with live livestock and all (that sounded weird). And of course the decor around the hotel and all was just lovely. If you have never made it up that way for the holidays I would highly recommend it.

I haven't quite made it home yet from the break. I'm in the ATL right now hoping to mosy back towards Nash tomorrow morning. I have friends coming up to ring the new year in with me, so I'll be cleaning all day tomorrow probably. Good times. I've actually started a list of resolutions for next year. I approached it a little different this year, and I am pretty excited about it. I'm out for now though.

Hope everyone had a very merry!

-1 Degrees

I noticed my neighbor looking at the broseph and I like we were crazy this morning when we were packing up his car to leave after his weekend visit. I mean yes it was cold and yes he had on a short sleeve shirt and yes I had wet hair, but it wasn't until I checked out the weather channel that I realized I would have looked at us the same way. Why? Wind chill = -1 degrees. Craziness.

Negative One Degrees.

My Anti-drug...again

So I just got through with my random two hour YouTube video watching instead of going to bed (...ugh why do I always do this). I actually came out of the end of the search with a new cd...from the guy in the second video. These are some of the best covers I've seen in awhile. Enjoy.

I think this might be the only Coldplay song I really listen to, but I definitely listen to it enough to make up for all of their other songs that I don't listen to. This cat also did a mean cover of Cannonball.

I guess I was in a Damien mood, huh?

I watched this baby at least five times. He also did a cover of Regina Spektor so I decided right away to buy his cd. You might think this rash, but I am thoroughly enjoying his tunes already.

Night!

Carole...I think you knew it was coming.

I would not be true to myself if I had no blog completely dedicated to one of my heroes (not politically) Carole King. Anyone that knows my first and last name knows who Carole King is and my slight obsession with her. I wasn't really sure how to approach this blog, but after hours upon hours (aka five minutos) of brainstorming I knew exactly what I would do...an acronym. This might be my top ranked English activity. Haikus coming in at a close second, naturally. So here it is.


Creative
Amazing
Rustic
Original
Laid back
Entertaining


So that's what I think about her. She's an amazingly creative singer/songwriter whose known for her originality and whose laid back and rustic tunes have kept me entertained for years. How's that for awesome?

After writing this I thought it was so good that I should email it to her, but last time I shot her an email she didn't respond. Sad day. Maybe I'll just write it on a piece of paper and give it to her daughter the next time she's in town.

I also thought to myself...I wonder how many times in my life I have done an acronym with Carol (no e) since that is my mom's name. My conclusion: probably a bunch.

What's always been funny to me is that I was always a fan and just didn't know it. My dad loves to tell the story of me singing (You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Woman to him on the ride to kindergarten everyday. It was the Aretha version and I was five, but that is in my opinion one of the most beautifully written songs ever...

"When my soul was in the lost and found, you came along to claim it.
I didn't know just what was wrong with me 'til your kiss helped me name it.
Now I'm no longer doubtful of what I'm living for.
'Cause if I make you happy, I don't need to do more."

Don't get me wrong. I am no hopeless romantic, but everytime I hear this I can't help but get chills all over.

So what better way to get you acquainted with Carole (if you aren't already) than watching her rendition of this song. Carole and the piano. Nothing more is needed. It's the rawness of her version of this song that I really love. Everything laid out on the table. Nothing left to hide. Enjoy!

This is Me Venting

I'm right there with you, Alex.

I'm pretty sure that everyone from my generation is familiar with Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. I know I am, and that's how I feel the last few days have been for me.

It started on Tuesday. I was lucky enough to get up at 5:30 (I normally wake up at least two hours later) to drive a couple of hours east for business. To save me some time, the night before I straightened my hair which turned out to just be a waste of time. On the way their it started raining, and I don't think it's stopped yet. So it rained all day. I had on heels, straight hair, and I was basically trekking around in the mud outside to visit some sites. It was awesome.

I ended up leaving a couple of hours later than planned because we had an incident. So when I finally got on the road I realized I was going to hit Nash at rush hour, and to make matters worse it was absolutely pouring rain. Oh wait that wasn't the worst because about 30 miles outside of Nash my engine light came on so I found myself maxing out at 50 mph on the interstate. Good times.

Wednesday:
I realized I had a ridiculously short time frame to get work done, and I had absolutely no clue what I was doing. I get extremely frustrated in this type of situation. Today wasn't so bad except for the fact I couldn't really go any where because my engine light was still on so I missed book club...Christmas edition style.

Today:
Wow. I got up straightened my hair yet again (don't ask me why). I left for work later than normal to make sure and avoid any traffic so I could drive straight to Mazda and get my little Nigel serviced. Ends up that there was a wreck so any and every way I could go was backed up and moving I'd say around .01 mph. So I finally got back to my neck of the woods in 30 minutesish and went to Panera across the street from mi casa to work/eat breakfast/see when traffic died down. I basically had nothing accomplished by the time lunch rolled around.

I finally got to work a little, and traffic cleared up after 1:00 so I decided to head towards the dealership. Dropped the car off and got one of my coworkers to pick me up and we headed to the office. I then got an earful from one of the sales guys I'm working with (which was awesome and didn't piss me off at all), and I didn't get everything done that I needed to.

When I left the office it was raining/sleeting/snowing, and by the time I got my car it was covered with snow. So I got to drive home going 35 mph on the interstate (if you'd have told me that was even legal I probably wouldn't have believed you). I didn't even get to enjoy my first snow in Nashville. Oh well.

I'm still working (this is my break) right now and waiting for some emails to come in. I was suppose to have dinner downtown and get a CMT tour compliments of Kate, but the weather/work put a stop to that.

Needless to say I won't be sorry when this week is over. And I didn't think I would say this so soon, but I'd rather be in finals.

My only explanation for all of this is that last week was really awesome, so I guess I had to maintain balance...hence this week.

I Need Your Help

I was thinking about what other Christmas decor I can use in my house. I realized that I don't have a snow globe or a nativity scene yet which made me think of a snow globe that my grandmother has. It is a snow globe with Santa holding Baby Jesus which I always thought was the sweetest thing. Even Santa knew the reason for the season.

SO if you are out shopping this holiday season and happen to see any snow globes with Santa either holding or kneeling to Baby Jesus pretty please let me know where you saw it. I am dying to have one. Thanks!

Oh and I finished The Friday Night Knitting Club last night. Sad ending. I hate reading books that are sad because it's ridiculously hard to read while crying. I learned this big time when reading the last two installments of Harry Potter (or Partner as my nephew called it when he was itty bitty).

Have a great Monday!

Love It

I've been somewhat obsessed with a little band known as the The Weepies the past couple of months. They actually started as two solo acts and both liked each other's music so much that they decided to converge (and they're married...so cute). They are really great, and I would recommend them to anyone.

My fave tunes right now are Happiness (fast) and Somebody Loved (slow). I always have to pick one of each.

Anyways, I'm not here to sell you on their music. Yesterday, I visited their website for the first time this holiday season, and I was pleasantly surprised. Check it out right chanana.

Go ahead and give it a shake. It's fun. I promise.

Hair...Hmmm

I was looking at my vlog below earlier, and I realized something was a little off. Well I had the mirror image on my webcam turned on so while that is what I see when I look in the mirror everyone else sees me the completely opposite way. Funny, huh?

So I got to thinking...why does my hair part to that specific side? Yes. Some people would have immediately dropped the topic there, but this is how my brain works. I know that this is something that you have always wanted to know (and some of you probably do). I decided to Google "why does hair part to one side." The results gave me three good theories (two leaning towards scientific and one more based on personality).

Scientific
The Nose Theory
This theory is used by some hairdressers and states that everyone's nose angles to one side, either toward the left or the right. Proponents of this method say that if your nose leans to the left, you should part your hair on the left and brush it to the right. Accordingly, if your nose is right leaning, part your hair on the right and brush it to the left. By causing your hair to go the opposite way of your nose you will create a balance in your facial appearance.In addition, a center part will draw attention or "point to" your nose. So if you have a large or unattractive nose, you will want to stay away from the center part.

I couldn't really do much with this one seeing as how my nose is pretty round so I can't even find the "point" let alone where it is pointing. I hope this doesn't mean that my facial appearance is totally unbalanced. I don't know what I would do if that were the case.

The Eye Theory
Everyone has one eye that is prettier than the other. In this method, the part is placed over the center of your prettier eye. This will accent the pretty eye while not drawing so much attention to the less attractive eye. As a hairdresser, I have used both the Eye and the Nose Theory in designing a style. However, the following theory is new to me and deserves some thought.

I always thought one of my eyes was a little lazy, and if this theory holds true then my part is definitely helping me draw more attention to my prettier eye. This is when I started to feel good about my part.

Personality (and somewhat scientific once reading it again)
The Gender Theory
This one says that when a person puts a part in their hair, they are emphasizing either the right or left brain functioning. According to the study by Catherine Walter and John Walter called The Effects of Hair Parting on Social Appraisal and Personal Development, others make subconscious assumptions about you from the way you part your hair.

1. Men with a Left Part
The left part works well for men. They are seen as popular, successful, strong and traditional although possibly out of touch with their feminine side.

2. Women with a Left Part
This is good for women interested in a career in politics or business. They are perceived as intelligent, in charge, and reliable. Sometimes they are perceived as overly masculine and this can create difficulties in fulfilling traditionally feminine roles.

This one is me! And it is totally me. I mean I am working in a man's profession for sure. I am all for the gender theory because although it did call me overly masculine I took everything else as a complete compliment.

3. Men with a Right Part
The right part is not natural for men. It can create an uncomfortable image, and is sometimes perceived as radical. However it can work for the man who is very self-confident or striving to be respected in a non-traditional role.

4. Women with a Right Part
This is natural for women. It is seen as very feminine, gentle and caring, however it can sometimes cause the problem of not being taken seriously.

5. Men and Women with No part, Center Part or Bald
This is perceived as natural for men and women. It is perceived as balanced, trustworthy and wise although it can lack the flair associated with the other types.

This one just made me laugh. I know that some people choose to be bald (aka not sick or the victim of bad genes) so I'm now going to consider those people fakes. I mean come on guys...just deal with your receding hairline, okay? Thank you very much.

You can read the entire article on the gender theory HERE. And why not? You've already wasted a good five or 10 minutes of your day.

This is just a test.

My broseph recommended vlogging which I probably won't stick to seeing as how I sometimes spend my downtime (breaks I am allowed that is) at work writing up a blog and lets be honest...I can't make a video in my cube. BUT I thought I'd give it a try. It'll be just like we're having a conversation, except for the fact that you can't respond.

Weird. Cheers!

P.S. My fun room is not messy at all.