Hopeful

This week has not been so hot. Actually, Monday started off great. But Tuesday...at 8:05 am it went WAY downhill. Smart Leslie was not paying attention at a stoplight and rolled into the back of a green Expedition. I could not have been going more than 5 mph, and do not think the other car was damaged at all. Poor Optimus just got a hole in his grill. The estimate for his dental work is $953.22 - which happens to be under his medical deductible. :-(

Then last night the soreness set in. Neck and shoulder pain. Ouch! When I got up this morning it was pretty severe, but as the day went on it got better. I imagine I will be all stiff again in the morning.

Over the past few days I also feel like I have been flirting with sickness. Today it really got weird feeling when it was like I was running a fever and felt all clammy. I felt like a bump on a log during our staff meeting today.

Some of the good things about the week have included progress at work on some things I am working on, a fab dinner with Tara last night (Chad, Christy, and I went to Charlotte to see her), successful completion of Mr. Suki's vaccine trip, and lunch with Scott Kaplan.

Some things I am looking forward to include a possible trip to the zoo on Saturday morning, lunch with a new friend on Friday, the chili cookoff for the AHA next week, seeing Intimate Apparel on Saturday night (a play), and seeing a good friend next week.

For now though - I am interested in sleep, and have some other writing to do before I can head that way. Farewell!

Crunch

Orange.
Yellow.
A lunch of vivid color, actually sort of painful to the eye.

I am snacking on some carrot slices and honey mustard dressing and drinking a good ole' diet cola for lunch today. I brought a little thing of string cheese (low fat variety) to, but am going to save it until around 3:00 when I always get a craving for some food.

My kryptonite (sp?) lately has been the White Chocolate Kit-Kat bars that I got in the annual Christmas White Elephant game the other month. Those things are so dang tasty. I keep telling myself - go ahead and eat it Leslie - at least the sooner you eat them, the sooner they will be gone and will no longer be tempting you!

So, I am slowly ridding the house of al the junk food and nastiness that I like to consume and eventually, if I can use moderation while getting rid of it - I will only be in possession of healthy items. I won't even call them healthy alternatives because they won't be the alternative. They will be the only choice.

I have been making myself eat breakfast though. Generally a scrambled egg in a tortilla with a bit of shredded cheese or something. I did move from flour tortillas to some white wheat tortillas though. So we will see how I like them. This morning I chose to have a slice of toast with my egg instead - also white wheat.

Can't remember if I mentioned in my last post that I have added some new photos to flickr, and today and recently I have added some new sites of interest. So - check it by using the nav to the left. :-)

Leslie is OuT.

I bet you can't...

This is so funny that it will boggle your mind. And you will keep trying it at least 50 more times to see if you can outsmart your foot. But you can't!!

1. While sitting at your desk, lift your right foot off the floor and make clockwise circles with it.

2. Now, while doing this, draw the number "6" in the air with your right hand. Your foot will change direction!!!

I told you so... And there is nothing you can do about it.

Ending with Breakfast

It is possible that the mark of a good night is ending it with breakfast. I had a great time with the work group last night at the ADDY stuff. Honestly, the event itself could have been a bit better, but since there was an open bar they get some kudos. We got one Silver ADDY for our safety campaign (at least I think that is what it was). Chernoff-Newman, MadMonkey, RIGGS, and The AD Company really ran away with everything.

After getting Art Bar's location confused with the Blue Martini's location I finally made it to the after party. It was a good time. I met John T's friend John B. and a few other people. It was a good time. There was a pretty good jazz band playing. All guitar, no wind instruments. Then a group of us went to Art Bar for awhile. Hot Lava was the band playing. It turned out the lead singer was the former employee of George, one of the guys in our group (a photographer). Small world. I saw Danielle Butler and Joe there (some people Justin and I were friends with). It was a little awkward. She was really the first person I have seen since the split.

John B. split and I was about to go too. Head was pounding from all the music, but then the talk of iHop started and I could not resist. So Chris & his wife, George & his wife, Melissa and I all ended up at the iHizzop for a late night meal. It was not the best food I have ever had - sort of bad actually - but a good time all in all. I hit the bed hard at 3:00 and am just now making it downstairs.

Fortunately, Mr. Suki cooperated and let me get my sleep on. Right now he is staking a yellow jacket or something that has made it in the house. I think he already god stung once, but I guess he did not learn his lesson. Silly cat.

Gotta go to the grocery store and stuff today - do some more laundry - watch the race. Should be a good day.

Wind is blowing like crazy. I hear it is suppose to be a stormy day. Sort of cloudy out but no rain. Reckon I will check the radar and see what the skinny on the situation is.

So long.

Music to My Ears

Last night the Columbia Community Concert Band had a concert. We played quite well, and I had a lovely time tooting away on the bassoon. Mom, Dad, Grandma A, and Grandma J came up to see me play. We ate at Steak and Shake afterwards. I had a side-by-side strawberry and banana milk shake and a deluxe cheddar and bacon steak burger with fries and slaw. It was mucho yummo.

What else have I done recently...

In general this week was really good. I was productive at work, got some working out done, had a home cooked meal from Eric, paid bills, got used to the cat more, and well...I guess that is about it.

Mr. Suki I think is the kitty's name. He gets castrated on Friday next week. I am sure he will love that. The meowing has cut down a lot and he is funny as anything when he gets to playing with toy mice and such. Quite brave too. He will race up and down the spiral stairs and has no fear when it comes to leaping off of them. I must say it makes me a little nervous though. I still can't get him to be still enough to get good photos, but Justin wants to come meet him next week so maybe I can get him to bring his camera and take some photos for me. Gotta love instant shutter as opposed to the delay on the camera I have.

Today I am cleaning up around the house, doing laundry, and sorting paper. I have a ton of it that has just not been appropriately filed or purged, so today seems like a good day to do it.

Tonight is the Columbia Ad Club's ADDY Awards Gala, and I am going with a group from work. It should be a good time. The after-party is at the Blue Martini. :-) It will be nice to have a fun-filled evening with John, Chad, Melissa, Roxanne, Lee, Greg, Chris, and possibly Fran (she is not sure if she is going). John says he has someone he wants me to meet though...a guy named John actually. So, we shall see how that goes.

For now I am off to sort paper.

HUGS!

"Zeke"

Meet the new cat. He is cool, although the meowing is freaking obnoxious. Last night was better than the night before though, so that is progress. I need name ideas. The first one I have gotten is from Eric, "Mr. Suki." Comments appreciated. Feel free to come visit us whenever.



On another note, if you see the nail design pics...it is not because I wanted them. It is because Mike insisted I have some Valentine's Flowers. (Mike is my nail guy.) The flowers come off on Thursday! :-) Yipee!



So, see all the photos on flickr

Extension of the Senses

The "Sounds and Smells" post I made the other day fueled the idea to do one now on...

Some of My Favorite Touches and Tastes

Touches
- Brand new socks - plain old thick white sneaker wearing ones.
- Hugs.
- The big furry swan blanket I have - just after it has come out of the dryer.
- Of walking on acorns on the sidewalk - so they crack under my feet

Tastes
- The combo of Sun Drop and pretzels. Sweet and salty, and something about it tickles my tongue.
- Popcorn and M&Ms
- The crusty sort of edge that prime rib will get when cooked just right
- Dad's stuffed rolled chicken

Woooo! Hooo!

Sitting on the sofa pattering my feet quickly against the ground, raising my glass of Riesling, and cheering "Come on Kevin, Come on Kevin" - I happily watched Kevin Harvick win the Daytona 500! :-) That was some finish, and some wreck.

How appropriate - I am having pulled pork, pickled beets, green beans, and rice for dinner - a good southern meal!

The cat is still in hiding, although I think we are making a little bit of progress.

Vrooom Vrooom

Ahhh, the Daytona 500. I ought to be sleeping on the sofa instead of writing, but I am slightly preoccupied. Why? Because there is meowing coming from the back room and I keep trying to coax my new buddy out from hiding. I think he is afraid of the tall ceilings though, and for awhile he pulled a Vegeta and hid behind the washing machine. More about him later though...

Last night was almost tragic. I got 1/2 way to town and realized that I left my phone at home so I had to go back, and when I was on my way home earlier in the day the refuel light had come on. So, by the time I got back to the house to get the phone and pulled back onto Bluff Rd the fuel estimator read 10 miles. Not good. I set cruise on 60 flat and prayed the entire way to the circle K on the corner of Bluff and Atlas. Somehow the meter stayed on 10 miles the entire way, and I got fueled. Needless to say that made me late for the start of USC Concert Band, but I came in the middle of the second piece. (No programs left though, so I can't give a song list.)

But, Pat Wiley, the commentator for these concerts for as long as I can remember, came out and started talking about "Andante and Hungarian Rondo" as this great bassoon piece, and to my amazement - it was better than just a piece featuring the bassoon section of the band - the new bassoon professor at USC was the soloist. Peter Kolkay was great. I was very impressed. It is not every day that you get to hear an awesome bassoon solo. The piece they played after that was the Overture from Candide, :-) LOVE that piece. It is what I conducted for exhibition my second summer at USC drum major camp. Awesome piece, and they played it very well. They concluded with a long piece that I cannot remember the name of but should. The entire USC Chorus joined them. I can sing the last movement of it - everyone knows it almost - but can't figure a way to type it.

The Palmetto Concert Band was good as well. I have a program of theirs, but it is in the car and I am too lazy to go get it right now. Mike Jones, my West Florence band director, played in the ensemble as I expected as well as some peers of mine that I went to high school with or USC band camps with. What I need to do is figure out how to get in playing with that group. That would be VERY cool. Thinking about e-mail O'Shields about it.

Ended up eating at Grilled Teryaki for dinner last night after the concerts with Eric and then he and I met up with SJ over at Jakes for a few beers. We closed the place down at 2am. It was good to see SJ. She kept yawning and Eric was giving her a hard time about it - quite amusing actually.

Had some Bfast at Lizards Thicket this morning and then did some more cat searching. Ended up back at Pet's Incorporated, and about 3:00 "Zeke" arrived at the ponderosa. I don't like that name though. Once I get a good pic of him I will put them up and you guys can help me pick a name. I am thinking "Parker" right now. Not sure why, it just seems good to me.

Last 36 Hours

The last 36 hours have been interesting.

I was not going to Myrtle Beach, then going, then definitely not going. So I ended up at the Koger Center for the USC Symphonic Band concert. The USC Band Clinic and Conductors Symposium is this weekend. Copenhaver's group played...

Summon the Heroes, John Williams - a piece for the 1996 Olympics that has that famous trumpet part we all know. Very good.

Symphony no. 3, Vittorio Giannini - a 4 movement piece that was quite nice.

Concertino op. 107, Cecile Chaminade - a piece that featured the new flute profession, Donna Shin, it was a glorious perform ace and I was dazzled as she played what appeared to be an enchanted beam of sunlight.

Baron Cimetiere's Mambo, Donald Grantham - featured a lot of neat percussion

Redline Tango, John Mackey - fun piece

Morning, Noon, and Night in Vienna, Franz von Suppe - a good closure

The concert was delightful in general. Nice to hear a good group play. Shortly I am off to see the USC Concert Band and the Palmetto Concert band. Also expected to be a good show.

This morning I was up early, talked to Mom, and packed a few things before heading to Animal Mission to check out cats, visiting the zoo, sitting on the rocks at the river, and checking out cats at Pets Inc.

See Photos!

So long for now!

Some Favorite Sounds and Smells

inspired by Alpha W's post!

Sounds
- A symphonic band warming up on stage
- The breath and heartbeat of someone sleeping when my head is on their chest
- The sounds of outside when I watch the stars on my land
- (Miss it) Gohan's tail wagging against the floor or his toes dancing on the hardwoods when he was excited.
- Meat searing on a grill or skillet
- Eric saying "I like it."

Smells
- Fresh cut grass
- Spring rain storms
- My toasted almond candle
- A man's aftershave or cologne (best experienced with sound #2)
- Popcorn
- Dad's tomato sauce

Fortune

Prosperity makes friends and adversity tries them.

I went to lunch with Justin today at mCafe. He really does not like that place, so it was nice of him to go there and I greatly appreciate him asking me to go to lunch. We got to share some 'relationship' stories, fears, concerns, and questions as well as have a nice conversation in general. Everyone I have talked to thinks it is really weird that he and I can talk to each other about the people we have been seeing and how things are going, but we can and I am glad for that. While we may not be able to talk about "us" very well (meaning talk about our own relationship) we can really talk about anything else.

So this was really his fortune, and mine was something like "Patience, nature, and happiness are the best physicians." We determined that we just got the wrong cookies.

Two birthday shout-outs...
- To Chance - happy happy, I hope you enjoy the iPod
- To JJ - best wishes!

Happy Valentines

I have not felt quite this torn in awhile. "Torn?" you ask...

On one hand I look at Valentine's Day as a very over-commercialized event. I don't want a man that will just treat me right because it is February 14th. I want the real 'spirit' of Valentine's Day to be an attitude or a lifestyle. I guess a philosophy might be a better way to put it. So, because of that outlook on the holiday I am like - ehh - who cares.

But, at the same time I think I am realizing I took advantage of this day because I can't help but like getting a special treat of flowers or chocolate or something. So, I am feeling a little isolated as a result of the over-commercialization of today. And by 'isolated' everyone knows I really mean alone or lonely. I was just trying to make it not sound as sappy.

I try to avoid 'pity Leslie' posts like this because they are cheap - and now this seems to be turning hypocritical, oh goodness - but part of Celebrating Life means recognizing the ups and the downs.

So, thank you Justin for many good years. I am glad we are still friends, and I wish you the best of luck as you continue to move forward.

Mom & Dad - I love you more than you will know and SO appreciate everything you two have done for me.

Gramma A - Wow. You are amazing. I love you!

To all the married people I know - congratulations! Stay honest, true, and passionate!

To all the "couples" - enjoy the day!

To all my friends - you know who you are and I really appreciate you guys and love each of you dearly!

Have a great day everyone!

Fun Link

[11:28] Matt: http://www.atelier-v.ch/index.htm
[11:30] poofyturkey: uhhh
[11:30] poofyturkey: what is that?
[11:30] Matt: common household products and their new uses
[11:30] Matt: pretty cool
[11:30] Matt: and funny
[11:31] poofyturkey: it is not in english
[11:31] Matt: so
[11:31] Matt: just look at the pics
[11:31] Matt: Anglo-snob

Yeah, so what if I am an Anglo-snob. Use the #s on the bottom to navigate. Its nice.

Time to eat my popcorn.

New Fortune

Ok, it is a little out of date - but I got this at dinner on 2-2-07...

Your romantic life will take a turn for the better.

Renters vs. Mortgagers

Ladies - I was given this insight recently. When looking at what guys to date first ask yourself. Do I want a "renter" or a "mortgager"? I had not thought about the differences until someone asked me this very question. In most cases they really are two different guys, and there are exceptions to everything so it isn't a hard and fast rule but an interesting thought nonetheless.

Are you OK having fun with the renter guy that cannot commit to a living arrangement for more than a year (sometimes as little as 6 mths)? How many times has he renewed his lease? - Having "fun" is probably the key there, because that is most likely his goal.

The mortgage guy probably has all his ducks in a row and has a set of responsibilities you can respect and appreciate.

Is is possible to find the really fun "mortgager"? I think so. No, no thinking about it. I know so.

So, stew on that one for awhile. Makes you think about the guys you have dated, married, or are just friends with - and probably will give you ideas or clues on how successfully evaluate the men that your friends bring around when they ask for your opinion. Which they will always do.

Prom Memories

After watching "Pretty in Pink" the other day, and getting a photo memory from a friend, and seeing an old prom date recently I decided that a post on prom memories was in order. I went to the prom all 4 years I was in high school. As a freshman with Iain King, sophomore with Pat Gwyer, junior with Jason Wyllie, and senior with Matt Calloway. While all 4 years were fun - my junior year was probably most memorable, and it was really the after event that I liked best. Jason, Brian, Ashlee, John, Pamela and I went to Food Lion after prom and bought a few 2-liter sodas plus a gallon of ice cream and some sppons. We parked in the middle of a baseball field and sat in the back of Brian's pathfinder passing around the soda and ice cream. Good innocent fun. So, I have collected some wonderful prom photos. I challenge you to pick which one has a friend of mine in it (and no cheating my looking at the source for the images!)

One


Two


Three


Four


Five

The Herd

On my way home this evening I was coming down Appleton (the dirt road) and a herd of deer passed in front of me. Literally, a herd of them. At least 12, maybe more like 15 or 18. Lots of them. I slowed way down as I saw them moving in the distance. Their silhouettes were lovely and eyes bright. Wish I got to see stuff like that more.

Off to bed.

Sweet Dreams to all, and to all a good morning tomorrow!

Funk

Sort of been in a little bit of of funk today, but little things have made is pass and I am off to get in the shower so I can go out this evening. Dinner and a movie I think. Should be nice. Expect two posts tomorrow...

1 on proms (inspired partly by watching Pretty in Pink)

1 on Renters vs Mortgagers (inspired partly by recovery)

Farewell!

Romance

OK. I am a girl. I like romantic sort of stuff. Granted, people that have interacted with me during my life may question that, but that is just the way that is. Is it so wrong for me to enjoy unexpected surprises whether it be hugs, a kind gesture, or just a call to check in? I guess that really isn't relevant to where I am going - but hey - I am a chick and I like that sort of stuff. Anyway...This was shared with me this morning and it sort of reminded me of all that romance stuff.


image served from the Daily Mail site

Inspiration

Sometimes really obscure things that normally don't make you think twice suddenly bring out a rage of intense emotion from you and as a result you get very passionate about a topic.

I fortunately had the chance to be part of such an emotional spill today and it prompted me to ponder the following words...

fault, destiny, ideal, complex, decisions, happiness, necessary, appropriate, and tactful

Granted - those words are not listed in any particular order - but for whats it worth I thought about them...

Unimpressed

OK. Last night I had to go over to Eric's and get stuff I left there from the very fun Super Bowl party over the weekend. I need to remember to fix Deviled Eggs more often - people are always so impressed by them. So, we get to watching TV and before I know it I either have to grab stuff quick and go, or have him record 24 for me. We ended up watching 24. LOVE THAT SHOW! And don't worry - it has nothing to do with me being unimpressed. After that I was talking to the dude that lives at his place - George I will call him (because he forever calls me something different) about the Super Bowl commercials and how either this year they were really bad or I was too intoxicated to pay attention to them. Eric didn't really remember them being that good either, but he had recorded the game so we decided to watch all the commercials.

UNIMPRESSED!

Major kudos to Career Builder for being the one company that really did a good job placing a set of strategically done and consistently messaged spots. While a little stupid they were amusing and did a good job of mocking what we all hate about our jobs on one day or another (some of us more than others.)

My favorite ad had to be the Snickers one, and for me - the spot worked. I really did want to go get a Snickers bar. That is what a stand alone ad is suppose to be. One good strong funny memorable ad during the biggest night in TV advertising.

Speaking of the biggest night in TV advertising. There were WAY too many CBS driven commercials. I am not sure if that was some sort of strategic move they made or not, but if left me wanting more. I asked myself whether the price for advertising in the Super Bowl has just gone up so much that people are not pushing out the $$ - or if CBS was just trying to brainwash people into remembering to watch the TV shows they have.

Maybe it is just me, but I don't get the GoDaddy advertising during the super bowl, and for goodness sake - if you are going to get more than one spot please show us ads that work together as opposed to show us the same thing over and over again. PLEASE!

Budweiser made a good showing as always. Their marketers are good, and they did a good job of targeting different audiences with their ads. The funny slapping people as opposed to giving pound, dog getting his spots, bowing crabs, etc...

I also got fed-up with all the car commercials. And while disturbing at least one Chevy spot was entertaining...the one where all the guys take off their shirts and wash the car. But - I don't remember what car it was for. Hmmm.

I am going to leave my rant/comments on the ads there though and get back to work. My blogging lunch has concluded!

Smiling

I felt like I probably smiled a lot this week. I am not sure why as I look back on the past 7 days that I feel like I have been extra happy...but I do. It has not been anything in particular, but just good enjoyable days - and for that I am thankful. :-)

This week I tackled a lot of stuff at work and was very productive, ate relatively well, spent less money than I typically do (which as I am analyzing things is a very smart move), and saw good people.

The highlights included drinks & dinner with Eric at Liberty; seeing Heather, Sid, etc. at Jillians; having dinner with Wendy at Lizards Thicket (yum); band (I played well - and confidently); eating at Miyos with Mom & Ryan; watching mom get a little buzzed at Wild Wings while she talked cars with this guy named Kenny - and in general hanging at Wild Wings because I got to meet some new people.

I did not so much enjoy getting home at 11:30ish last night after leaving Eric & Kenny at Wild Wings and then having to get up at 5am this morning. Mom and I made it to US 1 Flea Market about 6:45, and by 10 were so freaking cold that we just said forget it. I could have made an extra $30 bucks or so I bet (when the Mexican shopping crowd came through), but getting to the grocery store and taking a nap were much more important to me. Why? Because I was freezing. Hot chocolate only does so much. Everything got dropped at HIS House, and Mom and I enjoyed a long nap while FoodTV played in the background.

I was productive though today and have most all of the prep work done for the party tomorrow. So, that is good. Planning to take it easy the rest of the evening and just see what happens.

So, go Super Bowl. I am thinking that the Colts are going to win, but really just want to see a hard hitting football game that keeps me guessing. May any festivities that you have planned be fun. Oh, and don't forget that Animal Planet's Puppy Bowl (with Kitty Half Time Show starts tomorrow at 3:00pm EST. Puppies are cute. Part of me really wants to get a dog, or a cat, heck - I still want a Jersey Cow. I need to go visit Fancy at the zoo sometime soon. I have not been to see her recently.

I am off for now though...so long.