Because this will keep you busy all day (as it did me).

Thank you for giving me sage wisdom from someone who’s been there before and seen the ugly side.  Thank you for understanding that EVERY situation has an ugly side.  Thank you for not assuming that my ugly side will be the same.  And thank you for seeing the very, very, VERY pretty side of it.

Thank you for helping me be excited.

Thank you for calling me to see how important milestones went.

Thank you for standing beside me, even though sometimes you didn’t agree with my stance.

Thank you for treating me like a sister, even though we could not be more different or any more alike.  I look back on who we were earlier, and I’m amazed that we didn’t realize our power back then.  Better late than never, I suppose.

Thank you for allowing me to encroach on your landscape.  It was because of you that I had my first real Christmas tree, I baked my first breads, I painted my first room, I drank my first wine. 

Thank you for recognizing when I’m afraid, and then holding my hand and telling me it will be okay without me ever having to admit that I’m not fully in control.

Thank you for showing me church.

Thank you for your patience.  It was inevitable that we would paired through many performances, and I know I don’t pick up music as quickly as you do, or adapt to change as easily as you do, or always keep my composure as classically as you do.  Your patience and humor was what got us through that horrid, horrid show. (You know the one.. it shall not be named.)

Thank you for being part of the wedding team.  It’s just getting started.

Thank you for being my Bitter Twin.

Thank you for you.

I love you and miss you and wish you were here to celebrate..

On tonight’s menu:

Roasted pork tenderloin with a honey mustard glaze

home-made mashed potatoes

biscuits

sweet tea

All cooked to perfection by Chez Sarah. (God willing.)

Special thanks to Philippe for 1) being french and having a sexy name and 2) restoring my blogspirit banner, which seemed to be beyond my capabilities this morning.  Looks lovely, dahling!

So Charlie lunged at a jogger last night.  I think we’re done trying to self-discipline and are now looking for the experts.  Bryan used to work with some guy who was a K-9 Search and Rescue thingie, so he’s gonna email him today.  I’m excited because I love well-behaved dogs.

Work really sucks when there’s so much insecurity.  No one knows what their job will be tomorrow, if they still have one, so no work is getting done.  And it’s very hard to blame them.  It makes for a tense workplace.

I didn’t realize how incredibly stressed I was last week until Bryan rubbed my back on Friday.  I always carry all of my stress in my lower back, and he could barely knead anything.  After he had tried for a bit, I felt worlds better.  I haven’t slept well in a long time, though.  Too much stress.

Delle said I can be excited.  So if she says it’s okay, it’s okay.  I get a little flutter everytime I think about it.  So much to do!

Life is good.

** Okay, first of all, for those of you freaking out about my last shown post, "Ghosting", I’d like to let you know that I penned that on Friday, hoping that the email-posting was still working, and it posted itself this morning.  I am not headed to Jasper today.  Already been.  AND, just FYI, I’m having to reload all of the coding for my site since the server apparently did not "reload" the way it was supposed to.  So be patient.  Soon The Anvil Tree will be back as we all know and love it. **

This weekend was all about Traditions.  They were abounding.  They even spawned a little tiff.  Because traditions are not always shared, but are usually VERY important to one or more parties involved.

This weekend, I partook in a new tradition (to me, anyway) of going to Jasper to watch a football game with Uncle Terry, over a HUGE spread cooked by Grandma Comer.  Holy hell, that food.  It was a new experience, seeing a grandmother so mobile, so sweet, so able.. never had to speak up, never had to help, and was immediately family.  Even held my own against Uncle Terry, who is smart-as-a-whip and a supposedly fervent Auburn fan.  But he had no clue about football.  Not like I did, anyway.  I won him over when Bryan prompted me to go around 2:00, and I sat up wide-eyed and exclaimed, "BUT IT’S TIED IN THE FOURTH!  WE ARE NOT GOING ANYWHERE."

(Oh, Tide.. you almost made me eat my words this weekend.  And I’m embarrassed.  Did we leave the defense at home?)

Then we stopped in at the Dutton’s.. his mother’s side of the family.  Hung out a bit there.. with people who REALLY did know football.  That was fun.

Then we drove back and got to talking about the Wings Awards.  Had a small little argument over wardrobe.  I don’t know why I was so protective about what we wore, but it did mean something to me.  It went something like this.

Me: Hey, what were you planning on wearing?

Him: Slacks and a button down.

Me: Okay..

Him: Why?  What are you wearing?

Me: A formal gown.

Him: Oh. 

Me: Could you see if Viv has a tux?

Him: I’m not wearing a tux.

Me: But I’m wearing a formal!

Him: It’s the f*cking Wings Awards!  I’m not wearing a tux!

Me: IT’S A FORMAL EVENT.

Him: I didn’t dress up last year..

Me: Believe it or not, I remember that.

Me: You don’t have to wear a tux.

Him: No, I’ll wear a tux. 

When I was little, the Wings Awards were something special.  I know what a joke the actual award is, since the system is a bit retarded, but the event was something nice.  It was formal.  And in my head, I’m angry that the dress code has slid towards casual.  I could not believe that I saw people there in business casual last year.  Could not believe it.  It’s a tradition.  And I’m strongly stuck to it.

I know that sounds evil and selfish of me, but I really was over it soon.  And about the time I was over it, he was pretty psyched about wearing a tux.  It’s just nice to dress up for eachother.

Sunday was all about traditions.  We spent all afternoon decorating my house with Halloween stuff.. and that was too much fun.  We put on some Broadway soundtracks and took turns singing through the different parts while hanging stuff.  My house is WAAAAY ready for the holiday now.

Then, he left.  He took a very long journey to perform a very important tradition.  He went to talk to my Daddy.

So what’s extremely cool is that, due to a hacker invasion of the server, my site was down this morning.  And you people went apeshit.  That made me feel good.  But to calm your overfrazzled nerves.. I am here, I am fine, and I am woman.  Hear me roar.

I hope that, in some of your obviously copious spare time, you browsed other blogs and met other new people.  I know I did.  I had fun, too.  I love good writers.  They make my day worth living.  I mean, the surveys are fun, and short posts are all well and good (because we ALL like a quickie every now and then), but REAL writers make you feel like you either connected with or learned something from what you just read.  Sometimes I read online content and just get angry at myself for reading it.  I think, "Man, I just wasted two minutes of my life on this drivel.. and for nothing."  Great writers have a way of bringing compassion, humor, and life to what they write.  And I think it takes a certain bit of self-deprication.  Writers who feel they lead flawless lives bore me.  Terribly.

E found a good one the other day.. and he is hysterical.  Had he lived here, he would be an honorary Wilde Chick. 

I’m glad we have some new Book Club members!  We should open it up.  I think it should include extraordinary women, age notwithstanding.  Because, no matter how crappy I feel that day or what has happened, hanging out with other amazing women ALWAYS fixes it.  It lets you know that you’re not alone, that someone has gone through it before you, and that you’ll come out on the other side okay. 

So we ARE going to Jasper tomorrow.  We’re having lunch at Grandma Comer’s, then going to see the Dutton side of the family, and then going to Uncle Terry’s to get the globe.  Like how I wrote that.. like any of that means anything to me?  I’m just along for the ride.

And what a ride it shall be.

The Cook, who is friends with both my father AND Bryan, says I need to stop asking questions.  That things are set to happen without me having to know about it.  Which is good, because I had to tell Bryan last night that I really DON’T want every detail.. some of it can be a surprise.  I don’t need to know what knee he’s planning on using, you know?

He’s just a hopeless romantic, God love him.

But a damn good kisser.

Today is moving so slowly.  I’m leaving early today so I can go home and shower, shave, and look half-way presentable when Bryan and I have our date night.  It’s been such an incredibly stressful week at work that I’m okay if it’s a low-key night.  Maybe just a walk with the dogs.  Can I tell you how much I love doing that together?  That’s probably my favorite activity.  It kills so many birds with one stone.

THE WINGS AWARDS ARE TUESDAY NIGHT!  I had to remind Bryan last night.  I was so proud of him for taking care of our invites, though.  I don’t know how dressy to go.. as we were WAAAAY overdressed last year (we went formal, and apparently, the dress code curve is sliding severely.. we some people there in JEANS).  Basically, I know that A) my hair should be out of my face, B) I should be comfortably dressed, so I can stumble about with ease, and C) I should not look so nice as to give the presumption that I take these things seriously.  Even Bryan, who was so serious during the "Noah" awards, complained about going this year.  Said he didn’t want to go last year either, but someone paid his way. 

Last year’s Wings were a fun (and trying) event.  Delle was a piece of work last year.. she was SOOOO mad at her date.  I skipped the date entirely so I could flirt with all of the men.  We both excel at whatever we set our mind to.

Damn "Pop" still has our Wings Award for Cell Block Tango. 

At least they make stiff drinks at the VBC.

::sigh:: I miss my site.  Back to browsing.