Who knew?!?

I sure like where this is going...

Your Hidden Talent

You are both very knowledgeable and creative. You tend to be full of new ideas and potential - big potential. Ideas like yours could change the world, if you build them. As long as you don't stop working on your dreams, you'll get there.

What's Your Hidden Talent?

www.ThisIsGross.com

The woefully inadequate KFC.com website doesn't allow me to share with you a new menu item being advertised on TV here in America's South. I wonder if any of the rest of you are lucky enough to have this crazy meal option.

Since I can't seem to create a hyperlink to a profile of this delectable treat (or find the name of it for that matter), here's my brief description... First slop some fake mashed potatoes into the bottom of a black plastic bowl. Top the crappy mashed potatoes with several scoops of canned, watery, unnaturally yellow corn and some fried chicken strips, dump on a few ounces of industrial strength cheddar cheese and finish off the whole deal with a lot of full-fat brown, Jello-esque gravy. Mmm, what a treat. For those of you who might find the statement relevant, it's like For the Crowd Casserole only lower quality and eaten with a Spork.

Mind you, this review is written by a young lady who had fried macaroni and cheese as an appetizer tonight. That should give you some idea that trashy food is of some interest to me, but I really draw the line at this KFC "doesn't really matter if it's all mixed up, it's going to get mixed up in your stomach anyway" number. Another day, another terrible commercial I had to suffer through. I have got to do something about being so bothered by craptastic advertising. This can only mean one of two things: either I didn't learn to block the ads successfully after my RoomStore ad experience, or I need digital cable with DVR.

Long time no post

In the past ten days I've done a lot of things. I went to Oregon to see family. I saw my sister-in-law beautiful and pregnant, my nieces and nephew nearly two years older than the last time I saw them, had an awesome professional development experience in sunny St. Pete, planted a container garden, had my last day of work at my old gig, cooked a delicious dinner, hosted a party, had lots of fun with my sweet sweet husband, saw the puppy play off her leash in an unfenced environment, got a new great book, gotten plenty of sleep, got two amazing gifts from loved ones, congratulated my brother on getting his master's degree, congratulated my brother-in-law (who's really more like my brother) on completing his first semester as a teacher, made new friends, did I mention that I slept a lot more than usual and generally smiled a lot. It's true --- life is pretty good, at least most of the time.

Real Housewives

Yesterday I came to work very early so I could leave around 4p. It was great! Did all my work, had a nice lunch meeting, achieved a (very) few things and left about 4. I left work early, and so did my neighbor pal for the express purpose of getting a pedicure together.

So we did. We drove to Lee Nails and sat in chairs and paid what seems like a very small amount of money for the pleasure of someone else soaking, exfoliating, lotioning and grooming my feet. Then they were polished perfectly with a French pedicure finish. Pretty, accurate white tips that look lovely in my new silver Birkenstock-esque sandals. And since we were there, we opted for French manicures, too.

When we got back to Victory Garden, Pete met us in the driveway. He told us we had to go in the back door of the house, because he had just mopped the kitchen floor. (I omitted the part about how when we were getting in the car to leave I had a complete outburst and flipped out about my pants being in the dryer, which I hate, and how dirty our house seemed.) That's right, I left to get pretty and came home to a house that had been cleaned thoroughly and all I had to do was pick up a little clutter.

As if the manicure/pedicure combo wasn't enough, my home had been cleaned by my sweet husband (I hardly had to lift a finger) and then we all decided to order curbside pick-up from Outback, especially since Pete was going to be driving right by after teaching a drum lesson out in that part of town. Pampered lifestyle? I should say so. While we waited for the food and for Pete to finish teaching, we wirelessly computed and cleaned our pets' Coach leather collars. Good God. We might need a reality TV show. I had no idea my life would ever come to this, but I'm certainly not complaining. I guess this is what it's like to be a Real Housewife of Tallahassee. Ha! At least one day a year...

30 before 30.

As a lover of the list and inspired by a couple of other people who've done things similar, I've started a 30 things to do before I hit 30. I've also got a lifetime goals list of things to see and do (like the Kentucky Derby) that won't probably fit into my pre-30 lifestyle.

Last night I put a new thing on my list mentally on the way to the beach with Pete and pals Matt and Jenny. As we were driving along highway 98 I was thinking about how much I would like to learn to kayak. Something I've always wanted to do, never have done and would like to try. Little did I know that when we got to Carrabelle I would have my opportunity. Last night, the weekend of the first full week in May, I was kayaking in the Gulf of Mexico in the moonlight. I guess that's one thing I can scratch off my list, and a skill I can keep developing, because despite feeling out of control in the gentle waves and the dark, I didn't capsize and I did enjoy myself! I wasn't even cold. What a blast. I think I'll check out more of this kind of thing this summer. Let me know if you'd like to join in the fun.

I'm working on another of my goals --- getting a promotion at work. My new job does mean more responsibility and a title to reflect it. Cool. Speaking of that, I'm on my way to meet the boys of the BCT in about 30 minutes. Thank goodness for accomplishing goals. Now if I could just learn to keep my bedroom cleaner!

Things I Love, Part 1.

Bike rides. Saturday I took a bike ride with Pete. It was his first ride since he got hit by a lady driving an SUV (looking for her cell phone, not talking on it) in September of 2004. The most amazing part --- he fixed up his completely demolished bike and is riding it again. He rules.

Etta the puppy. She turns one year old today.

Parties. Like last week's graduation/birthday extravaganza or this Saturday's Etta birthday party. Or Cinco de Mayo...

Exercise. Who knew that I actually like it? Well, I like the energy is provides me, and the smaller pants are an added perk. I think I'll keep at it.

New opportunities. More to come on that, for sure.

Lending a helping hand. I played a very minor part in our neighbor's furniture acquisition of '06. But I did like making myself useful.

Learning to consider things in new ways. This week I'm learning about art through a choreographic lens. Rad.

Lists. Like this one, for example! I'm a sucker for a good list.