Wear that White!

Today marks the one week countdown to the official end of that special fashion season where one is permitted to wear white. In an effort to squeeze them into my wardrobe rotation one more time this season, I have on my white strappy heels and white pleated skirt today. I know there are the naysayers out there (This is for you Ari & Tadd: Nay. I say it. I say Nay. I'm a naysayer) who scoff and say that the old no-white-after-Labor-Day is positively prosaic and not a rule to be upheld any longer, but I'm a staunch traditionalist and thus will dutifully be packing up the aforementioned clothes after next Monday.

A Stardust is born

I had a date with Fashionista Mama B last night- we enjoyed a nice dinner and went to see the movie Stardust. With an all-star cast including Claire Danes, Michelle Pfeiiffer, and Robert De Niro, I have no idea why this film hasn't gotten more hype. The only theater in Nashville that I know of that is showing the movie is Green Hills Regal Cinemas, but it's worth the drive (maybe not worth the drive if you're out of state though, so find it someplace local)!

Stardust was a surprise hit with me. I liken it to a Pirates of the Carribean or a Princess Bride- a great cast, and wonderful feel-good fairy tale type movie. I went in not knowing much about the movie, but I would recommend it to anyone... which I guess is why I'm blogging about it- so go see this movie and let me know what you think! Bradley & Bradley give it two thumbs up!

Weather you like it or not

Whether or not you are a Weather nerd like I am, you might find this Hurricane blog fascinating. I stumbled upon it through weather.com after reading some reports on Hurricane Dean- the 3rd strongest storm ever to make landfall, I might add. The senior meteorologist's blog discusses the storms' paths and progress in detail, and spells it out for you in layman's terms, even providing pictures labeled with important things to note. I may have just stumbled upon my new favorite website!

Mad about Plaid

I'm here to give mad fashion props out to Mama B, who recently purchased an inexpensive, trendy pair of shoes from none other than my favorite store in the world, and the center of my other blog today, Target! Mom is obsessive about wearing her Ravenwood Red & Black religiously the way I am devoted to the color pink. She scours the shelves and shoe racks and has quite the collection of red kicks. Mama B was particularly smug about this new plaid pair, featured here on the left in this week's Target ad:

She strutted down the halls of Ravenwood High School today and just waited for someone to stop and compliment her on her School-spirited shoes. And she walked, and she waited, and the compliments never came. So here's your public affirmation, Mom. The shoes are adorable and very YOU. Even though no one at school seemed to notice, I think you're adorable!

Blogging Blahs

One hour and $143 later, I am back at work. For my lunch break today I treated myself to some much needed Retail Therapy, aka Target, and I have 2 measely bags to show for it. How the heck does that stuff add up so quickly?!

I also allowed myself to run for the Border for a quick bite (the shopping wore me out) since Miss Borders mentioned Taco Bell yesterday. I felt guilty mid-burrito but finished it all anyways, and now I am back for what is hopefulyl to be a stress-free afternoon.

Recently work has got me stressed. The Man has got me down. But I came to the stark realization this morning that stress is not a necessity or a bi-product of my job or life- stress is brought on by how I react to my environment, and it is a choice I can make. I am not a victim of stress, and for crying out loud, I'm 26 years old and my life is pretty darn good right now. I have no room for complaining, and no room for stress. So I came up with a new mantra for work this morning. Say it with me:

It's not life or death, it's just choral music.

Whenever I start to get overwhelmed I am reminding myself that all I can do is to do my job to the best of my ability. I can't control what comes out of my customers mouths. I can't control UPS's shipping errors. I will not worry that my voicemail light has been on for an hour without me checking. the Soprano rehearsal track cd can wait. It's not life or death, it's just choral music.

Does the Man have you down? Are you feeling overwhelmed with life? Do yourself a favor and remember that all you can do, is all you can do (thanks Jeffrey Steele for that great song!). Stress is a choice, and you can refuse not to partake. It's freeing.

Remember the Titans?

Ahh, Football season is here again! I was fortunate enough to get to attend last night's home opener (albeit a preseason game) of the Tennessee Titans versus the Washington Redskins. Dad and I had great seats on the 50-yard line, club level, which makes for a great view of the game. Unfortunately, there wasn't much to see last night.

NFL rookie of the year and Titans starting QB Vince Young was suspended for breaking an unspecified team rule so he didn't play. What a great way to start the season- your best player and team leader has disciplinary problems. Let's hope Jeff Fisher & the rest of the coaching staff can nip this in the bud before we have another PacMan Jones on our hands. Although... we could just continue the trend of misbhavin' players and form our own Titans wrestling team... hmmm...

Former American Idol contestant Elliot Yamin sang the national anthem- to tell you how much cosmetic work the singer has had done post-AI, I didn't recognize him until the end of the song, and then had to wait for the announcer to verify for me that he was indeed who I thought he was. Also the poor kid messed up the opening line of the national anthem- whoops!

With Young out, our offense was lackluster, although I will say it seemed to be more the fault of the O-line than the quarterbacks. We scored no touchdowns, and settled for a measly 2 field goals.

The loudest LP field got was when the Wave was started in the 3rd quarter- pretty sad for the fans who used to be notorious for making so much noise during games.

The one high point in the game for me personally was seeing an old UK player in the game for the Titans. Glen Pakulak is a punter who broke all kinds of records at Kentucky, and was our Mr. UK one year for Delta Zeta's Mr. UK pageant, and yours truly has a pic with the Kentucky cutie. He's bounced around from a few teams since being drafted initially in 2002, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the Titans will keep him on their roster.

Big Brother is Watching

I've been at work an hour and 23 minutes this morning, and the phones have been down, and are still down. For a company who makes its livelihood taking and making calls this gives us very little to do. We were sent an email this morning to handle whatever work-related stuff we could find to do that didn't require use of the phone till the issue was resolved. I think I can find plenty to keep me busy, I thought to myself.

Things at work have been off-kilter recently. My boss was asked politely to leave, the Big Boss (the one I am scared of, ever since that dreaded Solitaire episode a few years ago) has stepped in and decided to implement some changes and try and whip us into shape, and all during our busiest part of the year. Yesterday the bomb they dropped on us was to hand us work sheets to fill out daily with information detailing exactly how we spent our work day, what products we sold, and how much. Besides being micro-managed, which I hate, the information they are requesting I fill out manually is duplicated on our electronic log sheet we fill out after every call. These sheets were passed out to us without any explanation as to why they are necessary, and how they are beneficial. To a person like me, who knows they are good at what they do, and doesn't appreciate feeling like someone is watching my every move over my shoulder, it angered me to no end. So I emailed the powers that be, and in no uncertain terms, politely asked that there be explanation given before I would be filling out a single sheet.

Sure she may look sweet and innocent, and Compliant, but that could not be further from the truth. Nothing gets me fired up like unjust action from an authority figure, and so I make it my personal cause for me and everyone around me to stand up for our rights. I could get in trouble for this ordeal. I could even lose my job over this worksheet business, judging by how many people have been fired in the past year, but I can't sit idly by and be a company yes woman.

Cliche a Day: August 2nd

Ok, I know, I know- it's not the Chicago recap! Nor is it the obligatory family blog recap detailing Michael & Missy's visit to the new and improved Chateau Bradley, seeing Garrick and Braedon, and my first encounter with baby cousin Addison Grace... but this post should be quick and painless to post at work, and thought it would be worth sharing for the restless readers tired of looking at my Chicago Hopes and wondering if they panned out. (Some did, some didn't.)

So here it is. Today's Cliche A Day calendar enlightenment. Enjoy.

Smart Aleck
someone who us very or "too" clever

In the 1840's, New York City fraudster Aleck Hoag and his wife, posing as a prostitute, robbed her would-be customers. Hoag bribed the police to escape prosecution, but ultimately paid the price for being too clever when he tried to cut the police out of the deal, leading to the pair's arrest. In describing Hoag, the police were supposedly the first to use the expression "smart aleck."

In a semi-unrelated note, The Cliche A Day calendar was a Christmas present from fellow DIVA Ariana, who just happens to be having a birthday today. So Happy Birthday Ari! I hope you have a fabulous day, and a wonderful birthday weekend with yo' hurrrsband. (I'm still not used to that!)

Harry Hysteria

I finished the last Harry Potter book last Tuesday night. It was all I could do to not carry the thick volume with me to the Cubs game when it arrived at Jeff & Ali's condo on that Saturday in an owl-stamped book-shaped box that read: Attention Muggles, do not ship till Saturday July 21st. Almost as a taunt, a girl was reading her book at a nearby table at the neighborhood restaurant where we were enjoying our breakfast just minutes later.

Alas, the Chicago trip activities prevented me from starting the book until I was waiting to board the plane last Monday morning to head back to Nashville. In a fit and fury of reading though, I managed not to discover the details of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows before I could finish it for myself, save one teensy little status quote from a facebook Friend that alluded to the kind of ending I might expect. The final saga of the Harry Potter epic however, did not fail to disappoint.

Though I had plenty to keep me busy in Chitown, I managed to talk about Harry Potter all weekend long and even befriended the turban-wearing Cabbie talking to him about the 7th HP book. It became a joke among Jeff, Ali, and Mary Anna how obsessed I had become with J.K. Rowling's fantasy literature. All I'm sayin is, don't knock it till you've tried it. I know nare a person who has picked up book one, and been able to put it down without devouring it and the now other 7 books.

Chicago Hopes

In an effort to maintain what little self-dignity I have left after MA's recent blog, I will just post on here that I am going to be out of the office on Friday, and leave the boring out of office email reply for everyone else. But in case you'd like to know where I'm going, and I suppose you do because you're reading this, I am taking a weekend jaunt to Chicago with Mary Anna.

I've never been to Chicago, and as a proclaimed lover of all things metropolitan, this city has been on my must-see list. I imagine I'll eat my share of hot dogs and pizza this weekend, and do plenty of Harry Caray/Will Ferrell impersonations to entertain those around me for a lifetime. I guesstimate that I will shop till I drop, and stare in disbelief at viewing Seurat's A Sunday on La Grande Jatte in person. I propose that I will walk many many miles and curse myself for wearing heels in a vain effort to look cute in a city where I know virtually no one. I suspect that I will get very little sleep and that Mary Anna and I will take many dumb pictures and laugh a lot. I predict that the Cubbies will win and we will celebrate with the city. I trust that Jeff and Ali will not be too glad to be rid of us come Monday morning, and I am certain that I will drag myself unwillingly to work after having such a wonderful weekend.

These are my Chicago hopes. Let's see if they turn out to be true.

Just dial it

Pick up your phone right now and dial 1-800-5HOCKEY. You won't be disapointed.*

*Ok, maybe you will, but it's still amusing.

Acting on Acts

I started reading through the book of Acts last night with Brian. We each read chapter one on our own and then talked about what we had learned last night on the phone. It spawned a great conversation where I shared with him my discontent with the modern church, and how I do not understand how we got from Acts chapter one, the first century church, to the Mega churches of today. Brian also brought up the phenomenon of reading a passage of scripture that you've read a million times before, but discovering something new every time. Today I experienced that very thing.

I read Acts chapter 2 on my lunch break with what I feel are fresh eyes, and an open heart. I read about God pouring out his Holy Spirit on us, and how God's timing was perfect, saving Pentecost for a time when many foreigners were already in Jerusalem for a feast, so that they were able to witness God working and take the gospel back to their countries. I read the final verses of Chapter 2, and cherished them, about how the first century believers lived together, ate together, prayed together, gave everything they had to one another, and "the Lord added to their numbers daily." Where was that model in today's churches?

With those words fresh in my mind, I then began my book club book called Irresistible Revolution, about a guy who became disillusioned with the modern church and set off to form his own grassroots ministry, sharing Jesus with people on the streets of Philadelphia, and living out his faith practically. From the few pages I've read in the author's introduction it sounds like he is taking seriously the command to share the gospel and does it in a way reminiscent in the book of Acts. I am so anxious to go home from work today and dive further in this book because I think it's just what God has meant me to read right now!

Friday the 13th

Here's how I remembered that it was Friday the 13th this morning. After finally climbing out of bed and washing my face, I turned on my tv and recoiled in horror. ESPN was blank. The screen was black. There was no Sportscenter to be had. Panicked, I flipped the channel to CNN, 2 channels over, and it worked. So it wasn't my tv, and it wasn't my cable. I flipped back to ESPN, and still the black screen of death stared back at me. Oh no. It's Friday the 13th, I thought to myself. Of all the unlucky days for ESPN to be out! I made one more last ditch effort switching channels and then back to ESPN to no avail. I was stuck watching CNN this morning instead. What a terrible way to start the day! Hopefully your Friday the 13th goes a little better!

Thirsty Thursday

Bradley. Brown. Baseball. Beer. Boys. Beef franks. Buns. Balls. Bats. Bases. Brews. Burgers, Bud Light. Bunts. Baserunners. Batters. Baseline. Ballgame.

T & A Day

Today was the day for me and Tadd and hang out (what did you think T&A stood for, you dirty mind!)

We old high school friends enjoyed lunch at "our place" aka Blue Coast Burrito. My week just isn't complete without a trip to BCB. And I love being able to enjoy my favorite salsa at a picnic table outside in the sunshine!

After work Tadd & I met up with Ari, Ang, & Robin for some dinner at Calypso Cafe. Tadd asked what kind of soup they had, and when the server explained that soup is a seasonal item, Tadd ordered something else that came with 2 sides. To be funny he asked for a cup of soup as one them. The waitress was not amused! Finally we all went to the 6:30 showing of the new Harry Potter movie.

I won't spoil the movie for any of you casual fans out there who might not have seen the movie yet (because you're obviously not a fanatic like we are, otherwise you would have already seen the film!), but let's just say Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix is my 2nd favorite of the HP movies, next to the original one of course. I also won't go into the antics of the people in the movie theater surrounding us (ie, the obese children panting after they climbed the theater steps after making multiple candy runs during the film, the kid who farted loudly during a quiet part of the movie, or the older women behind Ariana who carried on a conversation disregarding the fact that everyone and their mother could hear them, plus the child who was with them that kicked Ari's seat repeatedly.). But no, we won't mention them at all. Oh, or we won't mention the pretty boy taking our tickets at the movie theater who, while wearing makeup, told Tadd he was good in the Pajama Game.

We still all had a blast, and it was fun for Tadd and I to be able to spend some time together after our crazy schedules made it impossible to hang out. I look forward to many more Harry Potter movies (or okay, just 2 more) and T & A days to come!

7-11

I was amused as I looked at the date on the calendar today, and immediately a song lyric came to mind. From seven to seven he's got me open like Seven Eleven

So there's your 90's Throwback song for the day: Whatta Man by Salt N Pepa. Go forth and sing!

They call her Skipper, Skipper

My obsession with pink is well-known among my friends and co-workers. This story was posted on Fox News last week and 2 different people sent me a link to it! I have decided that this rare pink bottlenose dolphin should be dubbed Skipper- kind of like the famous tv dolphin Flipper, but more in line with her Barbie Doll shade of pink!

Juana Sail?

This past weekend I made the drive down to Florida to visit the new Beau. I won't gag you with all the ridiculously cute details about what all we did except one.

Knowing the Scaredy-Cat that I am, Brian managed to coax me out onto the sound waters and go for a sail. He reassured me with, "I'll try not to let us flip over." Let me tell you, I was not exactly comforted by that assertion! We had life jackets on the boat of course, but weren't wearing them (Sorry Mom!), but I did make Brian go through the crash procedures should we happen to capsize before I would step foot on the 14-foot floating vessel.

We shoved off from shore and stepped onto either side of the smallish ship. All that powered the sailboat was the manual rudder and a rope attached to the actual sail. Depending on the combination of pull on these 2 facets determined what direction you sailed, and how fast you got there.

(*Thanks to the pics on the Juana's website, you can see a lovely picture of what the sailboats look like*)

There is nothing to hold onto, and you're sitting on the Styrofoam sides of the sailboat. I did my best to relax and trust Brian as he steered us out into the water. I eventually calmed down and was very much enjoying myself when all a sudden he hands me the rope and tells me to grab a hold of the rudder. Nervously I follow his instructions and I realize with delight that I am unexpectedly sailing! I exclaim with childish glee, "I'm sailing!" to which I then begin to giggle and remind us both aloud about a line from the classic Bill Murray movie, What About Bob? "I'm saaaaaiiiling!! Dr. Leo Marvin!! I'm saaaaiiiillliiiing!"

Aftermath of the Fourth

Yesterday was pretty much the perfect day- I was out at the pool re-reading Harry Potter Book 5 by 9:30 am. I transferred myself over to MA & Lana's pool around 11am, and including me, there were 11 of us gals taking up residency at the Aspen Bungalow pool. We amused ourselves by watching the water aerobics class in the pool and filled our tummies with the potluck lunch stuff that everyone brought. After taking in as much sun as possible I showered and met up with Katie Greer, Katie Signaigo, Emily, & Jen at Panera to grab some dinner to go and headed downtown to River Front for the fireworks.

Arriving at 6:30, we found a spot on a concrete wall right on the river with 100,000 of our closest friends and settled in for the 3 hour wait before the fireworks began. Apparently due to some rain on the east coast, Nashville had the nation's largest crowd for a fireworks display, so that was exciting to know that Music City beat out several cities with larger populations to come out and celebrate America's birthday. I still maintain that it's worth the time, traffic, and throngs of people to be able to not only see the fireworks, but hear the music as well. This year's show did not disappoint- although I will say it seemed a bit shorter this year- perhaps due to the live televise cast? The fireworks that came out of the water were original, and though I missed it, Katie S. says she did spot the new firework shaped like a musical note.

Today however, I am paying the price for my negligence in sleep. We had an 8am meeting this morning, the morning after a holiday, where they crammed me into a room at a table for an hour and a half, and bored me with a ton of technological details, and expected me to be alert and awake. I thought I was doing pretty well, paying attention or at least acting like I was. I would feel my eyelids get heavy and so I would force them open wide, at the same time wondering if anyone else could tell that my eyes were open wider than normal. I didn't have to wait long to get my answer.

Directly after the meeting Adam approached me laughing and said he caught me nodding off several times during the meeting. I was horrified! I didn't even realize that I had even fallen asleep. Adam laughed and said that he would sit his coffee cup down on the table abruptly to wake me up, and that I would open my eyes really wide to compensate for the fact that they had just been closed. Oopsie. He had a good laugh at my expense; I can only hope that no one else spotted my sleepiness!

Goin' to the chapel

We here at the DIVA domain have been pre-occupied the past week, working hard on getting our fellow Diva Ariana hitched, so I apologize for my delinquency in blogging! However, I am proud to say that although her initials haven't changed, I am now friends with one Celia Ariana Bartolomea ("I'd like to buy a vowel, please")!

After hearing about Bart's family and friends for so long, it was great to finally put faces with names. All of Bart's groomsmen, save one brother, were in the military, so they were all decked out in their uniforms which made for a beautiful ceremony. At the rehearsal when we practiced walking down the aisle, my groomsman introduced himself to me as "Mike." I gave him a puzzled look. "But that's not what Ari calls you is it?" "No, it's Porkchop," he clarified. All of the guys have these crazy call signs. So I walked down the aisle with Mr. Porkchop. I just think that's hysterical. Conley got Scottie Too Hottie aka Beef. But I wasn't jealous or anything.

Barring a few names being mispronounced, and me skipping the second verse of You Raise Me Up (aka Jews Raise Me Up) the actual wedding was wonderful. When Bart's brother Bill handed him the ring and whispered "My precious" it was all we could do to stifle our laughter and try and remain solemn. The rain held off for the evening, and a good time was had by all at the reception. And after the party (the reception) was the After Party (in the Bridal Suite) and after the party it was the hotel lobby (the Sheraton bar) ... so the rap songs don't lie!

Congrats Bart & Ari! And now a run down of the events in pictorial form:


Wednesday evening, the Bachelorette party

We started off at Ari's apartment and opened the "wicked" themed gifts, then proceeded to enjoy some apps and wine at the Grape in Bellvue. Following the Grape we headed down the road to a fantastic dinner at Maggiano's and ended the evening at Nashville's favorite piano bar (or mine) Big Bang.

All I'm gonna say is notice the wine charms.

Thursday evening, the rehearsal dinner at Sole Mio's (yes, of course I sang the aria!). Bridesmaids with their gifts- bottles of wine called "Little Black Dress"- Ari is so clever! On the left are Beth & Katie (please don't ask me which is which!) and on the right are Angela and Conley

A slightly stressed Bride gets laced up into her wedding dress! Isn't she beautiful though?

The gorgeous wedding cake garnished with gold filigree to match Ari's dress and fresh berries

And yes, the obligatory shot of me & Brian at the wedding reception. A very cute couple, don't you think?