People say the darndest things...

Yes I know, that's probably not the way you spell it, but I think you all get the point.
Sometimes, someone will say something and you literally look around to make sure they are indeed talking to you because what they just said is not applicable to your life in any way, shape, or form. That happened to me last night.

So I’m at my kiddie choir practice which already provides for a jolly good time. This Sunday in service the happy hypers are singing in the 8:45 service (aka, I expect you all to be there in support of me getting out of my box, plus my ensemble is also singing at the 10 and 11:15 service, just a plug) so we of course had to practice in the “big church”. Now for those of you who aren’t familiar with the church, it’s a mouse maze esk setup. There is literally a hallway called “Main Street” because it is so freaking long and runs the entire length of the church. That has nothing to do with where I was going with this story, but I love useless info sometimes. ANYWAYZ, we took a pilgrimage to the sanctuary with 40ish kids.

Now, I am a fan of lines. I like the order of them and the ease of which you can keep up with everyone. Last night I was in the middle of the line and things were going just fabulously and then WHAM, everything changes. I hear a ruckus behind me and then realize one kid has fallen, then when he fell he hit another kid, who fell into the other kid, etc etc etc (add 4 more kids) and then that kid fell into the wall. As I retrace the events leading up to this, I still can’t figure out what happened but boy did I laugh. OUT LOUD. AT.THE.KIDS. I couldn’t help it. I felt like a terrible person, but when people fall, regardless of age, I crack up. I did quit laughing long enough to help the kiddies up off the ground and back on our way. Needless the say the mother volunteers judged me for my unorganized section of the line. Issues, I haz them.

So we finally get to the sanctuary and as the leader is giving instructions kids are running wildly throughout. Well I had enough. I started rounding up kids like cattle, placing them on steps, and told them if they moved from that spot, I’d wave to them from the stage on Sunday because they weren’t gonna be singing (harsh I know, but some of the small people are fierce brats). NO ONE MOVED the entire practice, and it was heavenly.

After it was over and all the devils angels had been picked up by their parent’s one of the leaders said, “I’m so glad you are here to help us! You are so good with the kids! You have that motherly behavior and tone and the kids just love you!!!” I thought, boy has this lady lost it big time. I once made a kid cry because I told her I was gonna take her seat if she got out of it one more time. I feel like that mean guy off Chitti Chitti Bang Bang most days, but to hear I have a “motherly” side, that’s a new one. Not that I wasn’t flattered, I mean yeah, duh. But I still had to laugh, again OUT LOUD.

People say the funniest things sometimes.

Yay for the almost weekend!

Relationship status: it's complicated

No, I’m not talking about my real relationship status, although I guess they maybe could fall under the same category (bleak…). No, I’m talking about my relationship status with food and exercise. Yes, I understand what I should (grilled chicken, broccoli, etc.) and should not eat (cookies, pastas, chips, etc. etc.) and activities I should (walk, run, get off my lazy tail) and likewise should not do (sitting in my bed with spaghetti, chips & salsa, and Netflix Watch Instantly for instance).

While in college, I was not the best “worker outer”. Lamb and I walked a good bit, and as long as we stayed in a routine, things were just hunky dory. But, then it would rain, or I’d have to work, or she’d have class, and we’d get out of the routine and then 4 weeks later we’re talking about how we “really should get back to walking everyday”. And so we would start again, do good for a week, and then start the cycle all over again.

So then I had this brilliant idea! After college I was gonna be sooo bored that all I would do was eat right, live right, and workout, and life would be fabulous and I’d be a size 2 again! Bahahahaha, that has yet to happen. I was proactive for about a month. I did a boot camp, which I thoroughly enjoyed, and the lady kicked my butt 2 days a week, but that got quite expensive so I quit that. Then I enjoyed jazzercise (no funny snickering allowed people, it really was fun and good exercise), and I LOVED it! I went 3-5 days a week and normally stayed for 2 full hours. But then my membership for the summer ended and I didn’t go anymore.

So here it is October. There are good things that happened. I haven’t gained weight (I actually have lost 4 pounds! Yippee), but I don’t “feel” healthy. I eat an entire box of Velveeta for dinner sometimes (yes I know I know). I could survive of Stouffers Mac and Cheese if my Citizen jeans would just expand with me (they’re my favorite and my measurement tool. Sometimes they aren’t very friendly. Pretty sure this morning as I was doing lunges to stretch them out, we were having choice words), and if my wallet would allow. But there are a lot of “ifs” in that sentence.

So what now? Well, I am not a long term kind of girl. I do much better with short run plans or goals because I remember them. The long term things I forget about after a month. So here’s my short term plan: I am gonna be much healthier at Christmas. Notice I didn’t say “weigh less” because honestly weight is like age: it’s just a number. My mom is 3080 and in better shape than me, and that’s just sad (yes, I may be a tad jealous, especially because she doesn’t even work out!!!). So there’s the plan and here goes! I’ll keep you up to date!

PS: anyone who would like to buy me new walking shoes, feel free. These are the ones I want (size 5.5):

http://www.shopnewbalance.com/newbalanceWW850GP.htm

ugh....

Do you ever just have one of those days where all you want to do is cry?!? I rarely have those. No really, I’m not a crier. I pride myself on being a positive person 99% of the time. I may get a tad pouty or moody but for the most part, I’m not a crier on a regular basis, and when I do cry, it’s a mad rush of tears for like 5 minutes and I’m done. Now I know some of you are reading this and thinking “oh no, she’s gone crazy” and please do not think that. I am completely sane, or at least I am for the most part. :)

My computer at work is messed up for one. I play CD’s on it because I can’t get to music sites (see Blocked Domain), and all day it has repeated the same, slow, sad song over and over and over again. Now normally I would just remove the CD and sit in the quiet, but today the quiet made me want to cry even more so I opted for the sad, weepy song.

My sweet mom worries about me too, which doesn’t help. I know she is just being a mom, and she only asks because she cares, but sometimes the question “what’s wrong” is the biggest part of what is wrong. I am an emotion wearer (see Heart on My Sleeve…aka I can’t hide anything) and when everyone asks that, all I want to do is tell them there’s nothing wrong, because honestly I can’t pin point exactly what it is that makes me feel this way.

I’ve been in “big girl” city for almost 4 months now, and I adore it. I love everything about this city. The traffic doesn’t bother me, the eclectic mix of people is wonderful, the hustle and bustle of everyday life is exhilarating. So it’s not that.

I do miss my family a lot. And I miss having people around me all the time that understand me completely. I know this is part of growing up, you know, moving to a new city 4 hours from my best friend, 2+ hours from family, 3 hours from that town that housed my heart for 4 years. This is the first time in my life that nothing has transitioned with me. From high school to college, at least I still had the normalcy of school and classes, so that was a constant. But this, this is all new. I have the freedom to do whatever I want, and I love that, but hate it at the same time.

So for now, I must remember there is always a rainbow (of all the advice I’ve ever been given, I cling to that statement that most), tomorrow is another day (see Scarlet O’Hara, and yes I adore her), I have much to be thankful for, I am a very blessed individual, and God has a plan.

Much love!

Falling for Fall

Anyone who knows me knows that I will have an eternal love affair with fall. I love everything about this season. Here are some of my favorite things (see Sound of Music):

1. FOOTBALL! It's like life again has meaning come football season. Either you love it (like I do) or you hate it (like some of my friends do) but whether you're a professional tailgater or a committed "seated at every game" fan, you know how much football changes your life!
2. The weather. I love waking up with my windows open and it being a crisp 65 degrees outside. The air is perfect and you have so many clothing options. That brings me to #3.
3. The clothes!!!! I adore hats and scarves and sweaters and boots and gloves and leggings and flats and OHHH don't you just get excited thinking about it?!?!?!
4. Family time. The fall brings sooo many opportunities for family. Thanksgiving, football games, my birthday (haha I had to throw that in there) and very soon after, Christmas and New Years.
5. The colors. I could live in orange and that's not because I'm a Clemson fan. I just really really love the color, and olive green.
6. The smells. Who doesn't love the spell of pumpkin pie, or goodies baking in the oven. My Bath and Body Works plugin has been getting me in the fall spirit for weeks!!!

To some, this obsession may be a tad pathetic but what the hey, why not enjoy it?? :)

The picture below my mom took this weekend at Winsletts, our local produce stand. They had just received a shipment of over 800 pumpkins!!! YAY!!!

Weekly Top 10 Countdown!!!

So it’s obvious that I really enjoy blogs. I am so ADD that I can hardly ever sit down and read an entire book, but I can spare 20 minutes to read the few blogs I follow faithfully.
After reading, I’ve noticed that a lot of them have a post they do weekly. Examples: things they are thankful for, things they believe, weekend wonders, etc etc. After much thought I have decided I will do a Friday edition of “Weekly Top 10 Countdown!” So here goes:

10. Eating spaghetti with anything but spaghetti noodles just isn’t the same. This week I ran out of spaghetti noodles and tried bow-tie (or hair-bow as my Eeyore friend calls them) and it just wasn’t the same. It was definitely fake spaghetti.

9. Playing the game “who-wins” really is as fun as it sounds. For those of you who don’t know what it is, it’s when you look at a couple and decide which one got the better end of the deal. At dinner one night this week I was totally playing and realized the “couple” I was scoring happened to the siblings! AWKWARD!

8. Dior really is the best, and I am not just saying this because I love Carrie Bradshaw (which I do), but because they make this spray foundation called AirFlash and it is the BESTEST thing ever. And no they aren’t paying me to say that, although I wish they were.

7. Not everything that comes in generic should be bought. My mom is a generic-genie if you may. If it comes in generic or store brand, she’s gonna buy it. I bought the “K” brand Triscuits this week because they were almost a whole $1 cheaper (yeah I know it’s just a dollar but…) but after eating 3 of them I knew for certain I was never gonna eat the rest. Sad day.

6. Some people are real pains in the “you know what”. Perfect example being this week we had to print out a check for an individual who worked .25 of an hour! How do even do that?? Come to work, clock in, run around the store 3 times, yell to your boss that you quit, and then clock out? I mean really. So the check was $1.57, which is less than the cost to print it, and then on top of all of that we had to mail the darn thing to him. Boy howdy was I mad.

5. Football makes my heart very happy.

4. I really enjoy choir. The choir at my church is very good. The majority of the people in it have sung their whole lives, and are involved in other choirs in “big girl” city. Of course, they are no PC choir, but ya know, everybody can’t be the best…

3. I miss college. I miss my friends there. I miss not having to get dressed until 3 when I went to work. On that note: I miss Tapestry. BIG TIME. I’m gonna have to go work on a Saturday just because…
PS: new Vera Bradley in!!!! Go see it!

2. Pumpkin donuts from Dunkin Donuts are divine, but of the devil. Although I enjoyed every last morsel of that thing, after looking up the caloric value of it, I was not a happy camper.

1. No more packing the car in the mornings. If someone would have had a video camera and was taping me this morning, they would sell millions of copies because it was flippin’ hilarious. For one, I’m wearing my bedroom shoes to my car b/c the shoes I wanted to wear today were in it and I didn’t want to take a pair down I didn’t need. Secondly, I’m wearing my glasses today and needless to say my depth preceptors lack BIG time in them. Thirdly, I’m carrying my purse, a Bloomingdales bag, my rolling duffle, and a laundry basket FULL of clothes to take home to wash (I don’t have a washer or dryer in my apt b/c I’m cheap). So as I get about 3 steps from the bottom, my slick bottom bedroom shoe turns on me and I fall, hard, straight to the ground sending clothes flying everything, my purse to turn over and everything dump out, and my glasses to fall off my face. At first I just laid there, thinking if I wanted to get up or not. Thank goodness it was still dark outside so it wasn’t in broad daylight, which made me feel much better. I did finally get all my garments picked up off the sidewalk and out of the bushes and got them back in the basket and into my car. My mom has told me 3985620 times to pack my car at night, but who listens to their mom right??? :)


YAY for the weekend!!!

"Everybody's working for the weekend..."

Have you ever listened to a radio station at work that played lightly in the background, and to your knowledge, NO ONE actually listens to it for real?

Well we listen to this oldies rock station at "big girl" work, and to be honest, most people remember when the songs came out the first time around (except of course my gorgeous friend Ali, she's too young to remember them).

Well today the only song I actually "heard" was "Everybody's Working for the Weekend" and yall I swear if it came on once it came on 6 times. Now I don't know how DJ'in works. My degree was business, but I do totally understand where dude man is coming from. There are some weeks where I wake up and all the sudden it's Friday and I'm like "woah!!!" And needless to say, that is not this week. I have felt like I'm doing the remake of "Groundhog Day" except I'm pretty sure I'm not gonna end up with a love interest at the end, I mean, I could be wrong, but a lot would have to happen by tomorrow night! :)

But there's good news (gotta remember there's always a rainbow!), and that is that tomorrow is FRIDAY, I'm "going home to see my mother!" (See scarlet o'hara when things don't go her way), and I have a fabulously awesome job! Plus on top of all that, I have the most awesome sister EVA and I get to see her tomorrow too!!! Can't wait!

PS: Dear God, please make it fall. Amen.

When I grow up I want to be....Rachel?

For those of you who don't know, I am the accompanist for the kids choir grades 1-3 at the church I go to in "big girl" city. I know what you're thinking, "you don't even like kids!!!" and although that may be true of some, these kids I like. There are about 40 kids in this group and they are not your average choir screamers. The ones that aren't enrolled in $80 an hour voice lessons (and believe me, many of them are) are in EVERY play/musical/drama east of, well Nevada.These munchkins are incredible.

Now I know you're never supposed to pick favorites, but since I'm just the pianist, I think I'm allowed to. This one little girl is my favorite and I'll tell you why. She always sits on the front row, second from the right (if you're looking at her) and is always ten minutes early. She's early because she wants THAT seat, and she made sure to tell me that. Her mom drops her off at the door and no lie tells her "to sing fabulously!" Does that not sound just like something I would say??!! So in she marches to her self-designated chair, opening her hymnal and sits with perfect posture until it's time to sing. Yall, the girl can read music, and she's in the 3rd grade!!! She knows every word to every song, every rhythm and every syncopated note (and she isn't scared to correct the people around her either). When she stands up to sing, I'm waiting for her to bust out exaggerated arm motions like Galenda from Wicked (and yes, I spelled that correctly!)

For those of you who are fellow GLEE-ers (yep I made that up), you are probably already imagining Rachel. For those of you who don't watch GLEE, get right while there's still time!!!!!

M is exactly like Rachel. Perfectly dressed with skirts and socks up to her knees (NO LIE YALL, and IN THE SUMMER!!!!) When I was little I wanted to be Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, I even had the shoes and the dress (my mom is a real doll for getting me those). Wonder if my musical midget friend wants to be Rachel when she grows up?!?! I think I'll ask her! Hehe! :)

Roadtrips, Rain, and Rainbows

Every now and then in  life you just need a change of scenery. With my love of football in mind I decided this past weekend I was headed to Charleston to see the Blue Hose take on the Citadel. Sounded like a fabulous idea at the time but had NO clue how far away it was (did a total of almost 900 miles).

So, I leave work Friday afternoon and set out to pick up my roadtrip partner Gabby (see "blondie" as per our Japanese server, or the only girl I know who loves football as much as I do) and then Chapman (see precious girl who thinks so much of her responsibilities that she refuses to skip out on work (lucky for her we were coming through)) and then be on our way.

Since it was now nearing dinner time I hop into the Subway/gas station combo to get me a sandwich for the road. Now mind you this is not the nicest exit on the highway. There is no Fatz or Hampton Inn. This is the exit that houses the people you would only see on the 6 o'clock news when a natural disaster occurs, or someone is shot or kidnapped. So I'm standing in line totally judging the people in front of me, when the couple does the oddest thing. While the cashier is ringing up their food, he hands me my bag and says "have a good evening and enjoy your sandwich!" I was floored and very confused. As I'm mumbling out words that even babies can't understand I somehow manage to ask why and he replies "just remember to do something nice for someone else sometime..." Wow!! God sure did kick me in the butt right there for being such a brat.
So once I shared this story with Gabbs and Chapman and we marveled over how there really still are good people in the world, we continued our trip and made it to Charleston with zero issues/traumas/bad things.

I got to catch up/stay with one of my best friends from childhood who, no matter how much time lapses between us, I still know I can call her up and we'll pick right back up where we left off. It was wonderful to see her and spend time with her! :)

As Gabby and I headed to the tailgate on Saturday, not only were we "strugglin" but it was hot as blue blazes. Now mind you, I checked the weather a good 39284502 times before leaving on Friday and all forecasts showed sunny around 85. That was SOOO incorrect. By 330 it was raining big time. Thank goodness some of the guys had brought a tent, but we were definitely maxing out the allowable number of people under there. So after being mad at Gabby, but then deciding going to the game was NOT a good idea, we counted to 3 and made a run for my vehicle, or at least that was the plan. As I step out from under the tent, God went "muahahaha" and dumped BUCKETS of rain right on me. It started raining harder than it had all day. And to make it worse, I turn around and Gabby and the other girls are still under the tents. Brats. We did finally all make it to the vehicle (after I picked them up almost at the tent), went and ate food that's terrible for our bodies, and watched our tigers put on a valiant fight.

As I was sitting there that evening though I remembered exactly where I was this time last year. Carmen, Lamb, L McTeer, and myself we all at the game and it was beautiful, crisp weather. Our thoughts of the future were on much simpler things. We were focused on the "right now" instead of the "far away". I remember laughing and just truly enjoying the simplicity of life right then. I don't remember what the score of the game was, what classes I was in at the time, or what we did after, but I vividly remember sitting at that game and being completely content and happy. So what changed? Why do I feel I need to "plan" so far in advance, especially for something that may never come to pass? It's because I've gotten so consumed with life instead of living. So from here on out, no more "plan, plan, plan" because God laughs at plans. Instead, I'm just gonna sit back, take too many roadtrips, run through the rain when it's raining, and wait for rainbows to come my way!

Start of Something Good!

So after much deliberation, chatting with friends, and thought, I decided I'd go for a blog! I love writing, not just about things that are funny but also about small things in everyday life that make it so interesting and worth living. Naming a blog is MUCH harder than you think. You want something that's catchy and that people will remember, but not something stupid and cliche'. I always want everything "just so" so picking the name was the hardest part. Now you're probably wondering, "where the heck is woodfield???" Well I grew up on Woodfield Dr. and the best memories I have come from the love that was shared there with friends, family, and sometimes strangers. When mom and dad kicked me out of the house 4 years ago to send me to college (ok, they didn't kick me out, but Mama sure wasn't letting me come home just because I wasn't happy all the time) they sent me "From Woodfield with Love" and then again when I moved to the big girl city, I know without a doubt they again sent me off "From Woodfield with Love." So although I no longer live on Woodfield, it still holds a ginormous (yes I know that's not a word, but you'll see lots of things like that) place in my heart.

And we're off! One down!