Tom Brady. So Hot Right Now.

If any man ever wondered why women Really watch football, let me let you in on a little secret: it's all about the men in uniform! I go gaga for the guys in tight, shiny pants, and the strong, athletic bodies, and it's nice to see men who know what their job is, and they aggressively get it done on the field. Yes, it's a primeval way of looking at the game, but guys, don't fool yourselves into thinking that you enjoy the sport for any more noble a reason- the competition, the physical battle of wit and strength, and the added bonus, the scantily-clad cheerleaders on the sidelines (read: dancers who shake their assets in short, spandex half-outfits).

I spent my Sunday evening with the guys- Miller, Brad, and Jason, watching the Colts-Patriots game. They got a taste into the female psyche as I drooled over Tom Brady, and they enlightened me with their theory of every man feeling a strong kinship to a specific animal. (Miller is a wolf, Brad is a polar bear)

Poor Tom looks so dejected here after losing to the Colts... perhaps I should make a special trip up to New England to console him?

Tied to our jobs

So I know most of us don't exactly LOVE our jobs... and probably many times we feel like we are chained to our desks for 40 hours a week. But what if you were literally chained to your desk? As in, physically restrained so that you were not able to leave your desk? This is no hypothetical question. The story you are about to read is both sad and true. The names have not been changed because the author enjoys making fun of herself and the antics of her day to day life in hopes that by reading her anecdotes the reader would get a smile on his or her face.

It was a normal Wednesday morning. I woke up late. I showered and sprayed some scrunchy stuff in my hair to avoid having to blow dry it. I arrived to work frazzled and started to go through voice mails and emails. Eventually I started to make some phone calls and noticed that it was rather chilly in my office on this particular morning, so as the phone rang and rang and rang I reached under my desk to turn on my space heater like I had done so many times before.

It was a simple maneuver I had mastered, the squat and reach, my headset on, ready to say "hello" in a flash should the person on the other end of the line answer, and in one deft move turning on the bringer of warmth to oscillate and make my cube nice and cozy. But this morning was not like every other morning. On this morning the scrunchiness of my hair made it highly susceptible to snags. Snags on metal thingies that I had no idea were underneath my desk. Snags that would prevent me from being able to return to a normal sitting position. Snags that would impair my ability to even reach the phone base to hang up. So there I was, my head bowed and parallel to the desk, headset on, phone ringing, the answering machine finally picking up, and I was unable to free myself from whatever I had tangled my hair on. This was quite the predicament.

I started to panic when I realized I couldn't reach buttons on the phone to hang up, and panicked further when I couldn't free myself from the uncomfortable position. I don't know all the details of what happened next- everything is just a blur, but I know I asked timidly for help from Jody, the girl who sits next to me. Surely as a fellow female she would understand the trials and tribulations of hair entanglement and be able to free me safely. But after I called her name with no response I realized in horror that she was on the phone with a customer and unable to hear my pathetic pleas. I turned my head as much as I could to try and get the attention of Todd who sits behind me, but I was unable to contort my body so much without yanking out handfuls of hair.

Suddenly, my friend John came valiantly to my rescue, noticing that I was in pain and hearing my whiney statement of "I'm stuck" to anyone who was listening. I was literally chained to my desk! John quickly pulled the headset from my head and discovered the source of my snag- a metal thingie on the bottom of my desk. His capable hands worked quickly to free my hair without resulting to cutting it out with scissors and I breathed a sigh of relief as I sat upright once again. I thanked him profusely as he pointed out to me the source of my angst so that I could avoid it in the future.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Because now I was free to sit at my desk once again, safely removed from harm's way, but now I was also expected to get back to work.

Punked

Back in the day when Heather and I spent our summers working at Lifeway together, one of our favorite pastimes was calling coworkers at the store while we were off or on break, and ask for items that didn’t exist. The one we used for each other was to call and ask for The Living Bible, a translation that was no longer in print. Sometimes we would call and ask other unsuspecting employees for the book, “How to beat your child into submission” by Dr. James Dobson. This was an especially fun trick to play when the sales associate actually went to look for the book!

Once I got to Brentwood Benson, the joke was to call a new sales rep and place a mock order for 300 or so hymnals, in which case the rep would get really excited that they had made such a big order, and then the rep on the other end of the phone would laugh and tell them they were only kidding, and that the order wasn’t for real. If the seasoned rep was particularly tricky, they wouldn't tell the newbie until well after the conversation had ended, and the rep had plenty of time to share with everyone else on the sales floor what had taken place before they went and broke the news to the new employee.

Today however, the joke was on me. I had just gotten back from a very productive lunch break in which I had run several errands and picked up a sandwich to bring back to work. I had just cleared my email inbox, and was going through my voicemails when I got a particularly annoying/curious voicemail. A 615 area code phone call, however the woman said she was calling from Connecticut... interesting because I have Just taken over CT and hardly anyone from that state knows to call my extension... I continue to listen. She tells me her name, Katherine McDoogal, and proceeds to say she is looking for the sheet music to "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star," and that she is doing this as a solo and her children's choir is backing her up. (You would think I would have caught on that this wasn't for real, but you'd be surprised what people will ask for.) So below is the actual verbatim message I typed out while I listened to this strange request: (phone numbers scrambled to protect the not-so-innocent)

615-648-2067 katherine mcdoogal in CT place order twinkle little star 615-265-6196 ext 120

As this woman droned on in her message I found it odd that she was in CT, had a nasally, northern accent, but had a local phone number... I know, Amanda, how dumb can you be? But it had been a crazy day, the phone ringing nonstop, so I proceeded to call Miss McDoogal back, only to be greeted with the direct line to one Miss Mary Anna Brown. I was so flustered that I had fallen hook, line, and sinker, that I could barely put two and two together at what had just transpired. Mary Anna was obviously elated that her little trick had worked.

And I had been beaten at my own game!

Lunching with Loved Ones

Tis been the week of lunch dates- that glorious hour in the middle of my work day, where I am able to escape for exactly 60 minutes, lest a few precious minutes of my vacation time be snatched up in order to compensate for my tardiness, and catch up on life with a dear friend. Monday was January 1st, and we were still off on holiday, so back to work on the 2nd it was. That evening was spent where I won a date with Tadd Himelrick. We dined at Chili's and then watched the first 5 episodes of season one of Arrested Development. This is a show that several good friends of mine have sworn up and down that I would love, so I finally succumbed to the pressure and watched it. It did take a few episodes to get me interested, but I am hereby publicly admitting that my smart friends were right, I love the show, and will be booking some time with the Taddster as soon as our schedules permit to finish the first season on DVD.

Wednesday, January 3rd was lunch with Momma B and Laura Lee at Logan's. Thursday was TGI Friday's with Thomas (no more Oreo maddness- what's that all about?!). Friday was McCallister's with Beth, and finally, today yielded a trip up and back to Louisville to have a long lunch with Colleen and Holt. It was worth the drive since I hadn't seen either of them since July.

I love dining with friends, but for the sake of my pocketbook, I must insist upon several Lean Cuisines, and lunches in the 2nd floor cafe this week. And let me just tell you how excited I am about that!

Drum Roll Please...

And here we are, well into the new year, and it’s my first blog of 2007. I know. I continue to disappoint and abandon You the reader. Guess what my new year’s resolution is? To Blog More! Ha ha that would be a good one, wouldn’t it? I am only kidding of course. In lieu of last year’s much talked about list, I have made a new resolution this year, and that is not to have any resolutions! (Which, I suppose IS a resolution in itself, but whatever) That way I don’t have to feel guilty about breaking them! I did write in my journal (with pen and paper… how positively prosaic) several “goals” for the new year. Most of them are going well thus far, but one at the top of the list- “do not hit the snooze button” I broke the morning of January 2nd- the morning I started back to work after having a week off! I literally rolled over and chanted the mantra to myself.. “new year’s goal- do not hit snooze” and then I rebelliously hit the large button and rolled back over for 10 more minutes of blissful zz’s.

The 12 Days of a Cannelton Christmas

The Bradley clan did something different for Christmas this year. After attending the 9am Christmas Eve service, we piled into 2 cars with our 3 dogs and all our presents and headed up to Cannelton for a fun old-fashioned family Christmas (minus Chevy Chase). Things are always chaotic when all the families get together (chaotic in a good way) but I thought the best way to break it down would be in a creative (& accurate for the most part) list to the tune of the Twelve Days of Christmas. So without further ado...

On the Twelfth day of a Cannelton Christmas my family gave to me

12. glasses of punch dad drank on Christmas Eve
11. times Braedon & Nicole listened to the Wiggles songs on repeat while singing and dancing
10. number of adults that fit around the Big Table on the back porch for dinner
9. Grandkids at the house
8. the combined number of stores to which Mom & Dad got gifts card this year
7. pieces of our traditional homemade coffee cake the four Bradleys collectively ate on Christmas morning
6. the number of cameras we had snapping pictures of the various family groups around Papa & the Christmas tree
5. different dogs at the house (Stockwell, Oscar, Ginger, Oreo, & Julius)
4. siblings present (Mom, Lisa, Kristina, and Michael)
3. the number of times I walked around the entire Tell City, IN Walmart to buy some last
minute forgotten things on Christmas Eve for my mother
2. Great-Grandkids at the house (Natalee & Nicole)
1. Great-Grandfather/Grandfather/dad to bring us all together in one Mr. Harry Lee Huber

I sincerely hope you and your family had a wonderful Christmas!!

Getting a Handel on things

Thanks to MA, we have pics from Tuesday night's dress rehearsal. I thought I'd share a few of these with you guys since I'm on a blogging roll today:

Here's me smiling for the camera (You can always count on MA to take lots of good pictures!)

And here is yours truly, finally appearing as though she has a "Handel" on her music!

A View of the Nashville Symphony Chorus, and Symphony in the new Schermerhorn Symphony Hall

A lady on the front row who Mom & MA (what a dangerous combo, sitting those 2 together) had a good laugh over, watching her mouth open to the size of a softball!

We perform tonight and tomorrow night to sold-out audiences. I have been listening to Messiah here at work the past few days and am beyond excited to finally be performing this major work! Hallelujah!

The road to the Gym is paved with good intentions

I got up this morning with the intent to go to my Thursday morning spin class at the Y, keeping in line with my 3-for-3 workouts this week so far. With "dad gum it's Christmas" still going full swing at work, I've got to stay in the gym in order to allow myself to eat all the tasty treats baked lovingly by my coworkers! Well, the alarm went off, I sang along to Beyonce on my clock radio while I got dressed, and like a pack mule, grabbed everything I would need for the rest of the day. Or so I thought. On my way out the door, I hung my clothes on the back of one of our dining room chairs and put on my coat. Then I picked up my pink gym bag, and out the door I went. Still dark, I pulled up to the Y and began to gather my things to head inside.

purse: check.
gym back: check.
Work clothes on hanger: ... I scan the back seat...
Work clothes on hanger... I scan the front seat... and begin to get frustrated...

You can see where this is going. It's going to me driving all the way back to the apartment (still in the dark, and mourning the loss of sleep), and getting ready sans workout. You can imagine my frustration when I came in and hung my coat on the same chair that my work clothes were mistakingly hung.

So what did I do to make up for the missed spinning class this morning? I got ready early, made myself some coffee, and enjoyed it in my pink Christmas travel mug along with a 7 layer cookie on my way to work!

Heroin, romantic comedies- same thing

Amidst this crazier-than-ever December, we three roommates (of Nashville are) took some time out of our busy schedules to meet up for a movie on Monday night. We planned on seeing The Holiday- hailed by some as the Best Romantic Comedy EVER, so of course we had to see it!

I don't know if I would say it is the best ever (my fav is still You've Got Mail, and how can we neglect When Harry Met Sally? In fact, throw in Sleepless in Seattle and, are we sensing the Meg Ryan trend here, you've got yourself some classic romantic comedies. Seriously Meg, embrace your niche instead of (literally) fighting your way into a horrible movie like In The Cut. Go back to what you know. Heck, even Kate & Leopold wasn't that bad of a movie because of you.

So the Holiday was everything we expected. We laughed. We cried (thanks FR for the much needed tissues- "I'm a bit of a weeper!") It was better than Cats. But maybe not so much better as the classic Romantic Comedies I listed above. But it was very good- perhaps even "totally brill" which is maybe my new favorite British phrase. The movie inspired me to swap flats with some fabulous young British singleton over Christmas and meet a Jude Law look-alike to fall madly in love with in one week's time. (Hey, it could happen!)

It also inspired us to tap our arms several times during the course of the film implying that we needed another "heroin fix. See Em's infamous post Just Like Heroin for the full story, but basically her point is that women watch romantic comedies that make our emotions soar and then the movie ends and we come crashing back down to reality. So we watch more movies to bring us up again, we crash, and the addiction continues. Similar to the highs and lows of being on heroin. Or so I've heard.

All that to say, I give the Holiday 2 thumbs up. It's a fun chick flick to go see over Christmas with your gal-pals or girlfriend (guys).

To wear or not to wear?

Lately my friends and I have had numerous discussions on the Taboo act of wearing that infamous piece of festive clothing- the Christmas Sweater. It's perfectly acceptable, and particularly adorable to dress children in red velvet dresses with fur trim, and fine to dress them in red from top to bottom with a matching bow during the Christmas season. Additionally, we sort of laugh and accept the fact that many of our mothers are of the mature age now where they are donning Christmas sweaters (daily if it's my Mother, with red pants to match!). And while we agree that our moms are cute in their snowmen vests, and reindeer mock turtlenecks, we swear to each other that we will Never be caught dead in something so hideous.

But what is so bad about the Christmas sweater? What makes it a universally-unaccepted article of clothing once you hit the teens and is locked in that category until you hit 50 where it becomes acceptable once again? I mean personally, I don't see what is so tacky about a bulky sweater covered with ginormous poinsettias. Office Max has even gone to great lengths to make fun of the often-laughed-at Christmas sweater (I think maybe the only thing poked fun at more during the holidays would be the Fruitcake) that they have a website where you can create a virtual tacky Christmas sweater and email your creation to a friend.

While I agree that most holiday apparel is indeed unflattering for the trendy dresser, I myself am wearing a fashionable Christmas shirt that I got from the Gap last year. It's fitted and green and has a tiny reindeer made of rhinestones on it. Christmas socks are also festive and fun, mainly because you can wear them proudly without causing too much of a distraction to the rest of your ensemble, because how often are one's socks really displayed? And then there was that incident in college with the Christmas bra.... disaster.... but all I can say is that there are ways to wear your holiday spirit proudly, even if it's not as obvious as a snowman covering the entire length of your torso.


Post Script: Momma B took this picture with the intent of including it on her comment after this post, but technical difficulties prevented her from doing so. I am displaying here now for you all to admire. :o)

Roadtrippin It part 1

Backing up one more weekend, in the wee hours of the morning (the alarm went off at 4:30 am) following the Dixie Chicks show, Steph and I piled into her gracefully aging Saturn and headed up to Lexington. We rolled into LexVegas at 10:04 for the 10 am wedding shower I was trying to make. Steph and I parted ways, and I entered into wedding shower world for the next half-a-day. Ariana's maid & matron of honor threw her a Holiday-themed shower (hence some of the less than ideal gifts, ie. not one but Two dancing Santas, and a to-die-for cookie plate with a cat on it. And by to die for, I mean, I nearly died watching Ari gush over gifts which she obviously had no use for!). It was a blast though getting to know some of her family and close friends better (I think after 7 years I just might have Beth & Katie, the twins, straight!) After a highly competitive clothes-pin game where you couldn't cross your legs, I lost (sorely, I might add) to Ari's aunt Carol. Carol and I ended up being friends though, so there were no hard feelings.

What else went on this weekend you might wonder? Or you might not. But here it is:
*Ari's secret hot cousin
*Watching (& laughing at) drunk girls playing darts
*Ang & Ari not having heat in the guest bedroom the first night
*Puccini's Smiling Teeth- the quaint little Italian restaurant in Chevy Chase for Sat night dinner
*Massive peanut butter desert (compliments of the aforementioned secret hot cousin)
*Drunk christmas caroling (ok, we didn't do this, but Liz wanted to)
*The pink bathroom at Marika's
*Being locked out of the house at 3am.
*Rekindling friendships with old (intoxicated) college friends.
*Eyeball trees.
*I really couldn't find my toothbrush this time!

Is there ever a dull weekend in Lexington? All I will say is that there was no Cider consumed on this trip, and that all parties involved are another year older, wiser, and more mature than last year's infamous tales of woe. This was all around a fun girls weekend, and the wedding countdown (6 months to go!) begins. Now if only we had some Bridesmaids dresses...

Roadtrippin It part 2

This past Sunday I was reminded again about how precious my years of Singledom really are. Me, Bryce, Bethany, and Jessica met up at the Cool Springs Starbucks on Sunday morning and took a road trip down to Montgomery, AL to hear our fellow coworker Erin, perform. She was the featured solist in their holiday pops concert, and so it was a really big deal! It was great to be able to take off for a day and not have anything to hold us back from the 8 hour round trip! The four of us sang along to Michael Buble', NSYNC (Bryce's cds!) and Jess and I had a dance party in the back seat to my Florida 2005 mix (what a great cd mix Em!), prior to singing every Christmas carol we could think of, and switching off singing lead and harmony. We took turns playing the peg game on the table at Cracker Barrel and ate our weight in food (I enjoyed my potatoes and green beans, even though there's apparently a study which says that those foods are now considered bad for you). Bryce tried to convince us he could run 60 miles per hour, and then proceeded to "demonstrate" in the parking lot of the Montgomery Starbucks.

Erin had no idea we were coming, and her face was priceless when she spotted us after the show. That for me, made the entire trip worth it to me! Her family welcomed us into their home for a visit before we had to get back on the road, and they were all so funny and amiable that it was very hard to leave! After the concert Erin's grandmamma hit on Bryce so we were in stitches about that, and Bethany called Erin's brother-in-law Scott when his name was Chris, but he thought it was hilarious, along with the rest of us. MA- Erin's fam has a big Blue Russian cat that looks almost exactly like Jack, but he hissed at me, so I don't think we share the same special relationship that Jack and I do!

I love that I work in a place where I can spend a day laughing with coworkers, and where we support each other in parts of our lives that have nothing to do with the 8-5 day. Some days the work we do can get monotonous, but it's the people I work with, and the people who benefit from the work that I do that keeps me here.

Dad Gum It's St. Nick's Day!

Another year almost over, another St. Nicholas Day, and yes, today also marks the beginning December-long celebration at work called Dad Gum It's Christmas!!

I'm heading home after work tonight to have dinner with the family and open our stockings to see what St. Nick brought us. For a detailed explanation, see December 2004's post on the holiday!

I have been listening to Christmas music at work, and I have my cube decorated with lights, a tree, a pink fiber-optic angel, my Kentucky Blue Santa hat, and a stocking hung by the cubicle with care, in hopes that coworkers will bring me presents and treats! (You think that's a bit over-board?) So far I've received several offers for lumps of coal, and 40 cents in my stocking!

Chickens from the South

As we near the end of 2006 it is time to squeeze in one (maybe last) concert review for the year. Friday night several thousand fans put politics aside and showed up to the GEC to hear a trio of women play and sing their hearts out. (Because the only reason anyone listened to what lead singer Natalie Maines had to say a few years back about the president was because of the innovative music that shot the Dixie Chicks to the top of the charts, making them a household name.) And like it or not, the girls are still at the top of their game despite many radio markets refusing to play their records, and many conservative fans boycotting their concerts. Before introducing one of their new songs that came from the Shut Up & Sing movie soundtrack, Natalie quipped, "here's a new one that you haven't heard yet- well of course you haven't heard it on the radio!"

I am admit I am guilty for falling prey to the media influence, and the DC became out of sight out of mind for me the past few years. Friday night rekindled my devotion to the DC, and brought back many happy memories from college as former roommate Stephanie and I sang our hearts out from the audience (The hand motions to Travellin Soldier made up while tailgating for a UK football game would be one of the better memories)! It is refreshing to hear clean, pure harmonies (hey, what a novel idea- singers who can sing!) and even more impressive, to see artists who can actually play several different instruments.

The Tennessean gave them a glowing review, and so do I.

Where in the world is Amanda SanDiego?

She's been enjoying the 70 degree late November weather...
Nothing helps me get in the Christmas spirit better than to drive down the road listening to Christmas music with the windows down! Me and the Roommates are decorating our place for Christmas tonight, putting up the tree, cooking dinner and watching The Office & Gray's Anatomy together. It should be a fun night, and is (correct me if I'm wrong) our first planned event together at the apartment since we moved in 3 months ago (Daaannng Gina, we are busy girls!)

She has been working like a mad woman...
New job responsibilities and a shifting tide in the office environment have forced me to limit the blogging and emailing and focus on (shocker) work. Plus due to the nature of my hectic schedule and the still obstintate laptop & internet, it's been difficult to manage my Domain at nighttime too.

She has enjoyed a lovely Thanksgiving weekend, full of Family, Food, Football, & Shopping (sory, I couldn't find an F synonym that pleased me!)...
It was a whirlwind weekend- Laura & I drove up to Cannelton last Wednesday night and met mom & dad and The Boys who were already there with my Papa. That night we did kareoke at the Pumper- where else? (Pumper? I don't even KNOW 'er) I sang "When You Say Nothing At All" and "Rocky Top," which both turned out to be real crowd pleasers! Ryan & Matt sang their rendition of "the Wheels on the Short Bus go round and round, all through Bucktown!" And I have plenty of pictures of Jerry dancing to "Go Jerry (Johnny) Go." Eric, I am mentioning you because last time you got mad at me for not posting anything about you!

Thanksgiving we ate so early that I wasn't even hungry yet, so I did what every American did that day- I shoveled the food in anyways! In keeping with last year's TAR tradition, the Publix pilgrim salt & pepper shakers were put in various compromising positions, and every time mom would catch them in the act, she would sit them upright again, only to discover another lewd pose just moments later. My uncle Michael called us in the middle of dinner to announce the big news that they are expecting baby Number 3 (I think Missy is hoping for a little DZ legacy since her other 2 are boys)! This also makes 16 first cousins on that side of the family now!

Friday we got home early and mom, dad, and I boarded one of 5 fan busses to Memphis for the Ravenwood-White Station playoff game. Ravenwood won and will thus be playing for the state title for the second year in a row. "We believe."

Saturday was a disapoining loss by UK to an unimpressive UT football team. We are still waiting to see where Kentucky will play for their bowl game, and hopefully it will be played here in Nashvegas. I got a good start on my Christmas shopping and spent a relaxing evening at home watching a movie and unwinding from the weekend.

She finally got to see the Lion King, thanks to a nice birthday surprise...
I won't bore you with the details of the show- you can read MA and Emo's reviews since they were both enamoured of this play. I will say this- love, love, Loved the costumes, really enjoyed the new music for the score, and hated adult Symba. He wasn't loud enough, he over-enunciated, and came off very effiminate, despite his bulging muscles. He didn't come across at all as a powerful jungle king, but perhaps instead Queen of the Jungle Lounge. I was overall impressed with the magnitude of the show, and the costumes are what make it amazing, with people doubling as animals and dressing up to be part of the set. Ok, I said I wasn't going to bore you with details. I lied.

She has got her Christmas cheer now, and plans on blogging more frequently...
Seriously! Like finishing up LONG overdue blogs about DC, etc, and wishing Happy Birthdays to gal pals Heather, Lisa, & Lana, all who have had birthdays in the past week!

A weekend at the Pidge

"There are 9 of us... that's almost 10!"
"Well, with our big personalities, it's like having an extra person."

Thus the Girls' Second Annual Cabin weekend comes to a close. Me, Mandy, Sarah, Em, Natalie, Rhonda, Mary Anna, Amy, and Lana took off on Friday afternoon/evening (depending on which car you were in) east on I-40 and headed up to the Smoky Mountains for a weekend getaway. Already slightly crowded in the car with 5 of us, and all our stuff, we stopped for groceries and piled them on our laps in the back seat before finally making our way to the quaint "Deer Crossing" cabin.

We handily prepared a simple dinner of spaghetti, salad, and bread, watched MA's friend win a lot of money on Deal Or No Deal, and "chillaxed" in the hot tub before car number 2 rolled in a few hours later. The 9 of us played a fun game of Celebrity Charades, and somewhere around 2am we all finally crashed in our respective sleeping spots. Besides MA & Lana keeping everyone up with their talking and Lady Bug infestation crisis, I think we all slept pretty well. The next morning we cooked breakfast, drove out to Clingman's Dome, and hiked to the highest elevation spot in Tennessee. We were all amazed at the snow covering the shady parts of the mountain side, and Sarah christened her own little spot of yellow snow in the woods before beginning the trek up the mountain! Walking back down the trail, Lana and I decided it would be appropriate to sing "Climb Every Mountain" ... in fact, we pretty much found it appropriate to sing wherever we were- on the porch of restaurants, in the middle of playing board games, in rocking chairs in front of the Applebarn... there was no venue to large, no spot too public for an impromptu sing-along. Luckily Sarah was always there to chime in with her BGV's and sometimes interpretive dance moves.

After hiking, car numero uno- the ones who wanted to head back to the cabin for lunch, hottubbing, and football (yours truly, of course) got about a half mile from the cabin before we came to the stark realization that none of us knew the code to get into our cabin. We frantically dialed the cell phone numbers of the other 4 who were hiking, but to no avail. They obviously would not have their phones with them on a hiking trail! After exploring many options (a broken window split 9 ways would not be that much money), MA called the leasing office as soon as we pulled up the cabin, and luckily they believed us and gave us the code with almost no questions asked. I guess it's a good thing we weren't robbers.

Meanwhile on the trail... the other girls realized mid-hike that we wouldn't be able to get into the cabin so they high-tailed it back tot he car and cut the excursion short as a result. All's well that ends well however. We enjoyed the rest of the afternoon, and headed into Pigeon Forge that night for dinner at The Old Mill Stream restaurant. The first thing our super-awesome server said to us after we were seated was, "I've had dreams like this!" We giggled appreciatively (not Chortled, mind you.) (PS, we have found a word that Sarah doesn't like that I DO... there are others we discovered as well, but 'twould be wrong to put them here. Perhaps on another site- ThaT AIN'T right for example). Seriously though, we 9 gals can be a lot for one man to handle, and during dinner we wanted for nothing. The food came out quickly, our glasses remained full the entire time, and even splitting the checks was no hassle whatsoever. Server-Boy came up one time as we were discussing the outcome of the Ohio State-Michigan game and as he overheard part of our conversation he exclaimed incredulously, "you watch football too??!!" Apparently guys in Nashville take it for granted that while we are girly girls too, many of us follow sports passionately. Maybe in other places that is not the norm for the female population, but here in the south it seems to be a requisite to watch football, and we're all proud of our heritage.

After dinner was game night back at Deer Crossing, and this morning we created our own worship service in the living room. I joked that this morning we were all going to the "early service" since we had to be up, packed, and ready to start by 8am. On our way out of town we enjoyed a hearty breakfast at where else, the Applebarn, and shopped for a few hours at the outlet mall before finally making our way back to middle Tennessee. Sarah played DJ for us on the way home and led us down a walk down Memory Lane by serving up a smattering of early 90's hits from Mandy's cds, and we amazed ourselves by remembering all the words to TLC, Boys II Men, "Snoopy Dogg Dogg" and many more, singing at the top of our lungs in between laughing at ourselves.

It was every bit the relaxing weekend I had hoped for. Now all I have to do is unpack!!

A poet, and I don't know it

A few days ago I received the strangest email:

Dear Amanda

I find your poetry so apt to our everyday life and am a huge fan. Your words express the emotions that we are sometimes so afraid of saying outaloud. I love your work.

Take Care :)

Written from someone who, at first glance, I assumed read my blog, but then I realized he had said "poetry." Well, I thought, I mean I know I'm articulate and witty (and humble!), but I don't know if I would consider my blogs Poetry per say.

THAT'S when it hit me. This stranger had not intended to write an email to Amanda Bradley, the DIVA, Amanda the blogger, or Amanda, the sassy twenty-something. He meant to contact Amanda Bradley, the greeting card writer! We are in fact 2 different Amanda Bradleys who, while both sharing a penchant for writing, live what I guarantee are drastically different lives.

I'm sure the other Amanda Bradley gets emails from my adoring divadomain fans all the time too.

Fall is for Football

This weekend was a good weekend for football on many different levels- high school, collegiate, and NFL. Lucy, Let me splain.

Ravenwood High School won their playoff game and are in the process of making a run for their second straight 5A state championship. Mom lives and breathes RHS football so she's pretty pumped. This weekend while I'm off gallivanting in the mountains, Ravenwood will travel to Hunter's Lane to take on the big, bad metro school. Go Raptors (and I don't even know 'er)!!!

On the collegiate level, pigs are flying somewhere because Kentucky is now ranked #2 in the SEC east, ahead of Tennessee. No, you did not misread that. Thanks in part to Kentucky whooping up on Vanderbilt, and UT losing to Arkansas, the unthinkable has happened. Pause for a moment while I grumble about the fact that even though Vanderbilt is a local team, no TV station or local drinking establishment even, was showing the game on TV, so dad and I were relegated to listening to the 2nd half of the game on streaming audio in front of the computer. Fun times. Kentucky is now bowl eligible following this Vandy win, and we have what should be an easy non-conference game this weekend, and then finish out the season with a trip to Knoxvegas in what could be a great game for UK.

Finally, MA & I spent a chilly afternoon cheering the Titans to a one point loss against Steve McNair's Baltimore Ravens. It was a tough defeat since we led the entire game when we were predicted to lose, but all it took was one bad call for our home team to lose momentum, and a blocked field goal was all she wrote. MA and I did enjoy befriending the cutie-patooties near us (it's amazing how a UK hat can spark many a good conversation), and I did have a blast even though we did end up losing the game. A few hours later, I thawed out and my body temperature climbed above 90 degrees.

I would have to say that football is one of Fall's better attributes, though I could do without the brisk air for which Fall is synonymous. (Football in 75 degree weather is ideal for me!)

When your world looks kind of weird...

I know, I know... I have let you down. And what's worse, I have let myself down. I'm so ashamed. And it's not been because life has been so completely boring that there's been nothing blogworthy about which to write. Quite the opposite rather- there have been blog ideas- many topics to cover- the DC trip (I promise once blogger co-operates with the uploading of pictures it will happen), the white trash bash, the fall colors, the election, Britney Spears' marriage being done-zo, Faith Hill's so-NOT-kidding expression caught on camera at the CMA's, a birthday (happy 21 to me), and SO much more, all for only $19.95 plus shipping and handling.

Mostly it boils down to me working out in the mornings and thus being dog-tired at night, so the desire to stay up writing is lacking. And at work, it's been busy, and my own Mac continues to be the bane of my existence, and thus, is still not cooperating, making it difficult to use the internet at the Deuce (did we decide on this name for the apartment?) (Am I even There enough to warrant naming it?).

Anywho.... the straw that broke the camel's back today so to speak- the topic that prompted this blog was the most random of them all. I was talking with a co-worker, a Muppet babies reference came up, and suddenly I remembered (and sang) the entire Muppet Babies Theme song! Cody was impressed, as was I! Where did it come from? Isn't it weird to suddenly remember something you'd forgotten? Kind of like those people you run into from high school that you haven't thought about in years, who you forgot even existed or played a part in your life story- and then suddenly you see them and you're taken back to 5th period Algebra II where you admired Brian Hartshorne from afar and how his chiseled jaw line moved expertly up and down whenever he chewed gum, which was often, and you couldn't have agreed more when he was voted Best Looking Senior. Hypothetically speaking of course. I'm JUST sayin...

Don't be disapointed... the rest is coming!

The Road Not Taken

TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.