I am thankful for...Jacob!!

Quote for the day

I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.
-Douglas Adams

My one and only attempt to be a celebrity gossip columnist

It wasn’t so long ago that everyone wondered if Britney Spears could turn the tide of public affection in her direction again, or was it too late? I think the AMA Awards answered last night –a loud and clear “YES, yes she can.” Britney came out to thundering applause to announce an award immediately following a skit that featured a Kevin Federline look-alike being sealed into a crate (soundproofed for our protection –from his singing) and dropped into the river, as well as several scathing jokes from Jimmy Kimmel about the state of his career as a rapper. Kimmel referred to Federline as the first “no-hit wonder”, said that Federline’s release of “Playing with Fire” was his first release that didn’t result in a pregnancy, and made fun of Federline’s poor record sales -all sending a very clear message: "Britney belongs here, you do not." So, Britney’s back, whether you like it or not. She’s chain smoking, dancing without pants at a Vegas club with Paris Hilton, and enjoying some positive media attention for the first time in a long time. Welcome back, Brit.

I DON'T LIKE CHANGE

There are too many changes going on in morning radio. I feel all out of sorts. I had grown to love the Bob and Sheri show. I listened every morning during the week, and sometimes on Saturdays. They really made me laugh. I couldn’t wait to turn it on every morning. Then one morning without warning –gone. No more Bob and Sheri. Then, a few days later, news anchor Kris Kelly is suddenly gone from Woody and Jim. Last night I heard that, after nine years, The Bob and Tom show will no longer be on 102.9. This morning someone other than U-Turn Laverne did the traffic report. OK, OK…enough already! Stop messing with my morning radio! Some of you just won’t get this, because your commute is too short. So trust, me. Morning radio is important. It keeps me sane. Puts me in a good mood. Makes the commute much less horrible. So, Nashville radio, get a grip! Stop freaking me out!

Disclaimer

The "Unfaithful" poem is not about me. It is a work of fiction and any resemblance to any real person, event or location is entirely coincidental. (I have always wanted to say that.) It started out with the line My breath froze...and went from there. I had no idea what it would be about when I started. That's how it goes. Tally-ho.

Unfaithful

My breath froze
but my heart chose
to go on beating
in spite
of your shock show.
My face glowed
a bright red code
and it heated
in spite
of the harsh cold.

My mind slowed
but my eyes chose
to go on seeing
in spite
of the cries, “No!”
My life changed
As feelings ranged
From hate to love
in spite
of the status quo.

Mind games.
You are on my mind
My mind lets me down.
Mine. My mind used to be mine.
You are in my mind.
My mind is on you.
Me my mine.
I have to say me
Because you always said you.

Words

I love words. I like some words merely for the sound they make, others for their meaning. I even love words in other languages. Reloj is my favorite Spanish word. Not for it’s meaning –it means watch –but for how it sounds when you say it. Rolls off the tongue quite nicely. Do you ever think about words that have no literal translation to English? How trippy is that... I like to learn new words. If I see a word and I don’t know the meaning, I have to look it up. I bought one of those vocabulary builder books, but that was kind of a boring way to learn, and I never got past bellicose, which I have never remembered to use. My old boss liked to throw big words around that he thought other people wouldn’t know. I would, of course, pretend to know exactly what he was talking about and then run to the library to look them up. That’s more fun that reading a vocabulary builder, don’t you think? He once called me valetudinarian, which made me mad when I read the definition, although it’s really not far off the mark. He also liked to call me obdurate, which isn’t really nice either. What made him think he could call me all these names?

Feeling a little whiny

Today I just want to curl up on the couch with a big blanket and watch TV. Or maybe snuggle in a chair by a window and read a book –with one dog in my lap and the other at my feet. I want to eat greasy cheesy hash browns for lunch with lots of ketchup, with a fiery diet coke to drink, and then doze on and off, all warm, snuggly and full. Instead I drove in the rain, walked in the rain, and now I am sitting in my cold office with no window doing things that bore me. In a little bit I will walk in the rain to eat lunch –no greasy hash browns :( - then I will walk back in the rain to my cold office to do more work that bores me. Wow, my mood is phenomenal, isn’t it? Why am I whining on my blog? From now on, this will be a NO WHINING ZONE. !

My Bailey

My Chel

Baby, it's cold outside....(and I'm glad)

Christmas decorations for sale

I am selling Holiday Gifts of Light like the one shown above. You can choose the color of your bow, and either clear or colored lights. $25 for one, or $22.50 for two or more. You know you want one.

On a lighter note

Yeah, yeah. So I was a little touch yesterday. It happens. So sue me. (Please don't.) I got it off my chest. I feel better. They even responded… that’s a first! No one ever responds to my venting e-mails, so I will give them kudos for that. So on a lighter note, I’m hoping to go to the movies this weekend. I want to see Stranger than Fiction with Will Farrell. It just looks like my kind of movie...weird. But now that I think about it, I think I remember The Kev telling me I would have to see that one alone. Not his thing, he said. I think he’s playing golf on Sunday, so maybe I’ll go then. I hope you enjoy your weekend!

Me venting to a local radio show that made me mad

I have listened to your show for several years. I am not in the habit of taking up for the people you make fun of. I understand your job is to make jokes about current events. I am not the type to take things too seriously, but I feel your comments on the air about adoption were insulting and irresponsible, and I cringed when I read the article in the Murfreesboro post that said you were going to call the embassies in Africa to see how easy it is to adopt a baby. I can assure you that there is nothing easy about adoption. Even if the adoption process itself is easy (and most of the time it is heart wrenchingly long and hard), that is only the beginning of a lifetime commitment that could never be described as easy, even in the very best of circumstances. I am not concerned about what you say about Madonna - I think she can take care of herself. I don't believe that any comment you make could hurt her. But adopted children can be hurt by your comments. And any adopted child that heard you compare them to puppies lined up in a window -or whatever the comment was- probably did not feel so good about themselves. Adopted children and the parents who make the decision to adopt have enough issues to deal with without having to hear snide comments on the radio. Many people who choose to adopt have endured years of heartbreaking infertility. Others choose to adopt because they want to share what they have with a less fortunate child. Whatever the motivation behind the adoption, they all have to deal with attachment issues, the incredible financial burden of adoption, and ignorant uninformed people. A child that is an orphan or a foster child in the US has a chance at life, education, care and a future. A child raised in a foreign orphanage - especially in places ravaged by poverty - often has close to a zero chance at anything. Many children are turned out to the streets at age 18 and die at a young age due to health problems, suicide, or crime. Some of them will also have endured abuse, neglect and unimaginable conditions in their childhood. For you to do or say anything that could in anyway be taken as a slight to these children or to the process of adoption is reprehensible. To insult adoptive parents is unforgivable. I pray to God that no adopted child was listening to your show on those days. If the US system didn't so strongly favor neglectful and abusive biological families' rights, as opposed to what's best for the children, then I would bet that many people would not be spending the money, emotion and stress of adopting overseas. Say what you want about Madonna. Poke fun at stars and entertainers who put themselves in the spotlight and in a position to be critiqued. Leave innocent adopted children, and people who have made the decision to adopt out of your show.

Well today was one of those days where the weather is doing something screwy, and it feels like a gift. Summer is over. No, wait....here's one more day for you. One more day to hear lawn mowers buzzing, walk your dog in short sleeves (you, not the dog... please forgive my dangling participle or whatever that is), catch a whiff of green onions through the sunroof. Hope you enjoyed it. I did, even though I worked and had to go to the dentist. Here's to one more day of summer. Cheers.

Look! It's Halloween Melissa!

Look.
My posts are getting fewer
and farther between.
My blog is
dyyyiiinnngggg......

Another poem I like (read recently in a movie I like, In Her Shoes.)

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in my heart)
ee cummings

i carry your heart with me (i carry it in my heart)
i am never without it (anywhere i go you go, my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing, my darling)
i fear no fate(for you are my fate, my sweet)
i want no world(for beautiful you are my world, my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)