Jobs and (University of) Georgia on My Mind

It's a lovely, sunny Sunday afternoon here in Atlanta, and I'm here working and looking for more work. Sounds exciting, huh? I thought I'd take a little break to do some whining.

The whole job thing has me really frustrated right now. For the last few years, I've been working and supporting myself as a freelance writer and journalist. It's definitely had its ups and downs, but last year, I got involved with a really big company and more or less quit all of my other jobs except for one. I loved it, but sadly, they began having budget issues and all that came to a screeching halt. Late last year, I actually saw an advertisement for a part-time job at a large, local newspaper that I thought would be perfect, and I was so excited until I realized I'd found it a day past the deadline to apply.

Now that the holidays are over, and I've finished this big project I was working on, I feel like I'm back to square one. I've got my book written, but it needs to be edited, and right this second, I just don't have time to do that. Looking for a job is like having three full-time jobs in itself. There are so many big publications that I'd love to apply to, but I'm so busy taking whatever tiny, boring writing job I can find that I rarely have time to come up with any sort of proposals.

I really want to go back to school, and I won't rehash my thoughts on that, but I've had this nagging desire to head back to Athens in the back of my mind for several years now. I've even got a little stack of acceptance letters from my many failed attempts. This summer would be a perfect time to make that happen, even if I have to commute and take some classes online for a little while, but I seriously doubt they are going to let me attend for free, so I've got to figure out the job thing first.

I'm so over the age thing. Hey, if this girl can do it, so can I, right?

Allison Krauss & Union Station

So last night, when the State of the Union address begin to put me to sleep, I started playing around on Twitter, and I saw that Alison Krauss & Union Station would be touring this spring. After hunting down the tour dates, I decided I wanted to go. Here's the thing: my two favorite bands in the world are AK&US and REM, but I've never seen either live. REM, unless there is some great reunion tour in the future, ruined that chance for me by breaking up last year, and I am not about to let that happen again.

The thing is, the tickets go on sale Friday, and if you're keeping track, I don't have a whole lot of work coming my way at the moment, so spending what money I do have on concert tickets is probably not the best idea. My sweet mother learned of my plight and offered to pay for it for my birthday (a few months early), and I haven't yet decided if I'm going to take her up on that or not.

Anyway, they're not coming to Atlanta, but they will be in Savannah, Nashville, Columbia, Birmingham, Jackson and Chattanooga. We're aiming for Savannah or Nashville and making a night out of it, but I really haven't made any definite decisions yet. I just know I'm going to be at one of those concerts if it kills me!

I'll leave you with some of my favorite AKUS performances. I actually prefer listening to these guys live versus listening to the albums, so I know seeing them in person will be a real treat.

Here is "Choctaw Hayride"



Here's Jerry Douglas playing "A Tribute to Peador O'Donnell"



"Let Me Touch You for a While"



"We Hide and Seek"

Following Celebrities (on Twitter)

This isn't some kind of crazy stalker post. No, it's all about Twitter.

As many of you know, I've been on Twitter for about three years, and while we've had our ups and downs, I love that little social networking site. I mean, I have to force myself to post stuff on Facebook, but I have to stop myself from posting my every waking thought on Twitter. I've gotten jobs through it, I've made friends through it and I've done a lot of political networking through it. The good has definitely outweighed the bad.

One of the perks of Twitter for many people is that they can follow and often interact with some of their heroes in the worlds of sports, entertainment, politics, etc. I can attest to this myself. There was the time Karl Rove and I had a conversation via Direct Message. I've been able to connect with and befriend some of my favorite writers and journalists. I even had one of my childhood crushes follow me earlier this year.

And while many of these interactions have been quite delightful, I've come to the conclusion that for some celebrities, joining Twitter is a recipe for disaster. Here's why:

1. Disappointment. I'm not going to mention any names here, but there is a comedian-turned-actor who I find to be very enjoyable. I've always thought he was amazingly talented, and obviously, he's known for his comedic skills. Unfortunately, following him on Twitter taught me that the funny runs out when there is not a script plastered in front of his pretty little face. When he started using Twitter to post a few not-so-funny one-liners each day, I groaned, but I decided everyone has a bad day. Everyone makes a bad joke. After a few days, I decided this guy must work with some damn good writers. The appeal began to dwindle quickly.

2. Drama. There's an author I've been in love with for the better part of a decade. I picked up her first book when I was in college and have read almost everything she has written since then. With the exception of one, all of her books have been fabulous, and I'm not the only one to think so. She's got quite a reputation in the literary world and even in the world of pop culture to some extent. So, when I saw that she was on Twitter, I squealed with delight and followed her immediately. At that time, she was carrying on quite excessively about something fairly meaningless, but I didn't think much of it. (If you follow me, you know I can do the same thing from time to time.) But the next week she was carrying on about something else. And the week after that, she was still doing it. Finally, it occurred to me that this woman is full-fledged drama queen. I may keep reading her books, but I'm always going to see some of her in her characters, and it's always going to annoy me.

3. Grammar. I don't expect everyone I tweet with to be perfect. Lord knows, I'm not. I understand people get passionate and type there instead of their in the heat of the moment, and I know that auto-correct can be the world's biggest pain in the ass when you're trying to spell certain words. But when someone who I have tremendous respect for is constantly throwing out sentences that look like they were typed by my dog, we're going to have a problem. I'm not expecting my favorite musician to be an English major, but there is a certain standard that adults should hold themselves to. I really don't feel comfortable supporting your career when it's probably best that you stop everything and go back to second grade to learn a thing or two before interacting with the general public again.

4. Politics and Hate. I don't begrudge anyone their political beliefs, and I'm certainly not part of the "shut up and sing" crowd, though I do feel like there is a time and a place sometimes. I'm not shy about my own political beliefs. And I try to make sure that anything I do put out there that is political is A) true or B) my pure opinion or C) not hateful or nasty. As long as others are doing that, I've got no beef with you, even if we disagree on every topic from abortion to whether or not Seal and Heidi Klum should get divorced. But I can't stand people who just randomly throw out "facts" that aren't true because they "heard it somewhere." And what I really can't stand is when someone starts badmouthing their political opponents because of something that has nothing to do with the "R" or "D" beside their name (ie. "har har, Sarah Palin's kid is a retard just like her") (yes, that's a paraphrased quote from an actor whose work I used to enjoy and who I used to follow on Twitter). Many of these celebs will try to cover up their hatefulness with the old "I'm a comedian; it was a joke." My opinion is that if you have to keep using that line, you're probably not that funny. It's hard to take your work seriously when I know you're really a small-minded buffoon who can't handle people who are different from you.

5. Overall stupidity. I think this one speaks for itself. If you have an ounce of intelligence yourself, you can spot the dumb ones from one or two tweets. Kind of sad to realize your favorite 40-year-old leading lady is not so "like totally awesome and stuff" because she tweets like a fourteen year old.

6. Ego. Obviously, egos are huge when it comes to being famous, so this one may not come as much of a surprise. There's a musician who I think is just one of the most talented people on the face of the earth. In most circles, he's really not that famous, and he's especially not as famous as he once was. If I mentioned his name here, most of you would have no idea who he is. He's been on Twitter for a while, and I don't even think he has as many followers as I do. But to read his tweets, you'd think you he was Brad freaking Pitt, though I'm sure Brad Pitt is a bit more practiced at at least pretending to be humble. This guy thinks the sun sets and rises only for him. He thinks everything he says is hilarious. His tweets are pretentious, and he loves him some him. This hasn't prevented me from listening to his music, but I've definitely dialed back my fandom.

7. Oversharing. Finally, there are some "famous" people who treat Twitter as if they are at the world's biggest slumber party. They tweet their other "famous" friends and make cutesy inside jokes. This might fly if you've got, say, Sandra Bullock tweeting George Clooney (note: I'm not even sure if these people are on Twitter, just making a point). People will eat that stuff up. But when your claim to fame is you are one of the supporting actors on that show that comes on ABC on Wednesday nights, you know the one that came on last year on Tuesday nights and will most likely be canceled by next year, and you are tweeting one of the writers for that show on NBC that no one watches and will most likely get canceled by next year, most of us don't care that you two are just too cool for the rest of us. And we all know that within hours the two of you will be sitting in whatever the Los Angeles equivalent of the Waffle House is and you can just as easily say all of that out loud. In person. I mean, most people are only following you because the star of the show that's on after your crap show tweeted you one day. I'd guess this was some kind of PR stunt if these people were actually famous enough to to require that sort of PR. Otherwise, I'm assuming it's just proof that you think you're a lot more adorable than you are.

I guess, in a way, this is all good. It reminds us not to look up to people who we don't actually know, at least not beyond admiring their talents. But I can't lie; there are some days that I wish I'd never witnessed any of this. I was perfectly happy imagining the guy in example six was just as sweet as his voice and his ability to play his instrument and the woman in example two was just a cool chick with the ability to put together an attention-grabbing story.

Soup

I've been trying and trying and trying to eat healthier lately, but it's just so much easier to hit the drive-thru than it is to cook, so I'm trying to start preparing meals ahead. It's hard to do that with meat and my dislike of cooked food that has been frozen, so I've been looking for things that will keep a little longer in the fridge. I'm not a big soup eater, but my mom and several of my friends who are also on a healthy kick kept suggesting it, so I thought I'd give it a whirl. I also wanted to keep it low-carb.

As most of you know, I don't cook much anyway (and for good reason), but I thought this Low-Carb, Gluten-Free Broccoli Cheese Soup looked pretty easy and tasty. It's full of healthy foods (broccoli, spinach, onion, garlic, cayenne pepper...), mostly inexpensive ingredients (the most money I spent was $4 on the chicken broth and that was because I had to have organic, low-sodium, free-range...), and well, as I just learned, even I can make it.

You really just throw all the ingredients into a pan and cook them:




And after it's finished cooking, you throw it all in the blender and you get this really pretty green glop:



I added a sprinkling of parmesan cheese to the result. I also added a little extra spinach and cayenne pepper, which made it kind of spicy, but my sinuses loved me.



The end result is quite tasty, especially for something I made. It said to add salt and pepper to taste, but I didn't do that, and it may be good with a tiny bit of extra flavor, but it's fine as is. It almost taste like spinach-artichoke dip. (And I may or may not have dipped a few tortilla chips in it to verify this.)

The thing is, it made two quarts and a serving is half a cup. If you're keeping count, that's... well, a lot of servings. I've got to figure out how long it will keep in the fridge. Anyway, I've been eating it as I write this, and I must say it's really filling too. (That's one reason I don't like most soups.)

Go Giants!

I'm not a big Giants fan or anything, but as everyone in the free world knows, Peyton Manning is my favorite non-UGA football player to ever grace the field, so naturally, I always pull for little brother when the chance arises. Also, I've got about four Giants on my fantasy team tonight.

Hope you're enjoying what'll be one of the last football Sundays of the year! (She says sadly.)

Lazy Saturday

Well, I didn't post my baby update yesterday, because there just wasn't much to say. We got up, got ready and got out of the house. I took the little guy to do my grocery shopping, run some errands, to get some lunch and then we stopped by my parents' house to visit. We came home, and he played until he was exhausted. I put him down around 3 p.m, his mom was here by 4 p.m., and by 5 p.m., the Unabomber Cabin was quiet once again.

Not gonna lie; I kind of miss him.

I just knew that by today I'd be thrilled to death to have my freedom back, to be able to sleep as late as I wanted, to go somewhere without having to take a car seat and a diaper bag and to be able to go to the bathroom without having to worry about little fingers in electrical outlets or in the mouths of less-than-happy doggies. And don't get me wrong, all of that is nice, but it doesn't seem to be as big a thrill I thought it'd be. This doesn't mean I'm gong to run out and find me a baby, but it's definitely something that I want to happen in the next half a decade or so.

All of that said, I slept until 2 p.m.! I didn't sleep well last night, though - I kept getting hot and having these awful dreams. Then it started storming early this morning, and Sadie is suddenly scared of thunder, so she'd wake me up every time there was a boom. I got up, ate some leftover tacos from yesterday, and watched boring crap on TV. I also just took a two plus hour bath. And now that I've seen who won the primary, I'm going to go bury my head in the sand.

Newt? Really, South Carolina? Gah.

Anyway, this post is pretty much pointless, but I'm so used to updating every day now that I thought I'd throw something out there. Today truly is lazy Saturday. I think I'm about to park myself on the sofa and watch some movies/DVR'd TV shows. I've kind of been in lazy mode since the holidays anyway, so I've made a pledge to myself that it will end after this weekend.

I've been spending a lot of time cleaning out some of my mom's stuff, and I'm hoping I can finish that project up tomorrow. Monday, I've gotta get back to seeking writing jobs, getting my book edits finished, and figuring out what's next in my life. I'm really leaning towards going back to school, but well, I'm not making any big plans just yet.

One more day...

I kinda sorta feel like I just sold my soul to the devil, so I felt the need to write another post to make up for that. Truth be told, I had a six hour reprieve from the kid today, so there's not too much to report. He decided it'd be fun to wake up a little before 8 a.m. this morning, which I am not a fan of. Honestly, he didn't even wake me up; it was one of my dogs growling at him as she does every time he wakes up that got my attention.

I changed him as he'd soaked through his diaper, and then I made him a double serving of oatmeal because that boy can eat. One reason I think he was so fussy yesterday is because I didn't feed him enough. After that, he ate about 1,000 crackers while I got him ready for his big day out. His grandmother (my cousin's mother and my uncle's ex-wife) had emailed me to see if she could come get him around 11, and I was more than happy to let her. She came to pick him up, and I apologized to her if I smelled bad because, as we've noted, I haven't showered all week.

Once he was gone, that's the first thing I did: took a long, hot shower. It was oh so sweet. Unfortunately, I noted that I had huge dark circles under my eyes, and I looked like I'd aged ten years in one week. Hopefully, that will go away. I think that is one reason I look so much younger than many people I went to high school/church/college with: no kids. The next thing I did was to just sit here and enjoy not being responsible for another human being. I then got in my car and went places without having to break a nail on an impossible car-seat buckle. I'd just gotten home and was thinking I might watch some Shepard Smith and take a quickie nap on the sofa when the kid's grandmother called and asked if she could bring him back.

The good thing is, he didn't take much of a nap today, so he got pretty tired pretty early. I fed him, changed him, and I let him play for a little while, but he was out like a light by 7:45. I have no idea what time he'll get up in the morning, but since it's Friday, I'm not going to sweat it too much. His mom won't be back until late afternoon, so my plan is to get up, get him and his stuff together, and we're going to spend a day out on the town. It seems to make the time go by faster, and he loves to be out and about. Plus, it's supposed to be fairly warm tomorrow, so I'm thinking maybe a trip to the park is in order.

As my week comes to an end, I've decided that it really wasn't that bad. I even kind of missed the little guy when he was gone today. I was going to say it's become second nature, but the heat made a noise earlier that woke him up, and when I heard him scream, my first thought was what is that? I still don't think it's as hard as some people make it out to be, but I know it's unfair to make that call after four days. I still think some parents are just overly whiny about how rough they have it, especially those who have babysitters and spouses to help them out.

Honestly, I thought it'd deter me from wanting kids, and while it hasn't done that, it has made me rethink the whole adopting as a single parent thing. I mean, eventually, that may be something I have to do if I want to have kids, but I might give it a few more years.

Or at least wait until I'm wealthy enough to afford hired help...

Why I'm Supporting Mitt Romney for President

Quote of the Day: "It is capitalism and freedom that makes America strong." - Mitt Romney

We interrupt the "Adventures in Babysitting" series, to bring you a little bit of politics. I'm going to dip my toes into the 2012 presidential race. Please hear me out. Or don't. I don't care, but don't come crying to me when we become part of the EU or something.

I haven't formally endorsed any one candidate yet. I guess I was sort of, kind of hoping for Paul Ryan someone else to jump into the race at the last minute. When it became quite clear that no one else was going to do any jumping, I started leaning towards Rick Perry. Ironically, the worse he did in the polls, the more I realized he was the perfect guy for the job.

When Perry dropped out today, I was left with four guys. None of them are guys I want to vote for, for different reasons. Of them, I think three of them would be better than Obama, but I think Mitt Romney would be the best candidate of those four.

Why? It comes down to this: I don't care about social issues. I mean, I do, but this election doesn't need to be about that. This election needs to be about fixing the economy, restoring freedom and capitalism, allowing businesses to succeed or fail, and allowing new and small businesses to start up and flourish. I think Mitt Romney truly understands this. Not only does he understand that, he's lived it.

At some point in 2008, when everyone was talking bailouts, I read an op-ed Romney had written about it, and it occurred to me that this guy knows business. Obviously, he's got a storied background, but he is a walking, talking poster child for the capitalism everyone who is a fiscal conservative claims to be all about. I started seeking out more information about him, and I started to wonder if we'd made a mistake in not making him our candidate. I truly believed at that point in time, we needed a businessman in the White House. We needed a guy who had real-world experience and knew how to fix things as a boss, as a manager, as a proven leader, not some political ideologue or career politician. We need a guy who knows how jobs are crated, not one who has big ideas about what might work.

You can call him a "flip-flopper," a "phoney," a "RINO" or whatever else you want to call him or hear others say. You can say he's out-of-touch or take issue that he's a Mormon. You can point out that he's made some fairly liberal statements in the past. You can say he doesn't stand up enough for what he believes in. But what he has going for him is real-world business experience and success, and that, to me, is what makes him stand above the rest of the other mediocre candidates. And I think that's what we need more than anything right now. I don't love that it's the only reason why I want to vote for him, but it almost scares me not to do so. If we don't get this mess straightened out soon, nothing else matters.

Many people have said to me that they fear what he will do in regard to Obama's health care bill and a few other issues. If I'm being 100% honest, I have that fear as well. But he says he will handle it, and I'm going to have to trust him. In life, you just have to take that chance sometimes. Nothing is ever a sure thing. My suggestion to those who let that prevent them from voting for him is to see to it that we get and/or keep a Republican majority in the House and the Senate that will keep him honest.

I keep hearing all of this "We have to beat Obama" talk. And we do. But I don't think carefully manipulating the race (ie. picking the guy who will win debates, etc.) is the way to do that. I think the way to do that is for this party to come together and strongly support a candidate and let Democrats know that we are not going to let them win in 2012. We need to let them know Mitt Romney is our guy, and we will fight behind him. We need to stop showing weakness and apathy for our candidate, and focus on the real problems in this country. We need to educate people on why they should vote for fiscal conservatives in order to see improvements in their lives. That's how you win elections and make real change.

Many of my friends support Newt because they want to see him debate Obama. (Which, again, a smooth talking politician is how we ended up with Obama in the first place. I'll never understand that. Any of these candidates could debate Obama on his first four years and win a debate anyway.) Newt talks a good game, but what has he done to back that up? Where in life has he proven that he can do this thing? He's been a college professor, an author, a politician and a lobbyist. That pretty much sums up what Barack Obama would be in 20 years if he hadn't become president. I'm not seeing how this guy is suddenly the champion of conservatives?

I hope my friends in the GOP will eventually see through all of this too. I hope they'll get past talking points and catchy catch-phases and fancy speeches. Those things are great for talk shows, but they don't fix a country with big problems. It's too late to wish and hope and search for the perfect candidate; we need to start supporting a candidate who can and will get something accomplished.

I have more to say on the matter, but this foray back into political blogging is giving me a headache. Baby steps, kids, baby steps.

Is it Friday Yet?

I'm counting down the hours.

Not really, but today was definitely a little more trying. I'll try not to type out the whole play-by-play, as I realize that's boring, but it's all I've got to blog about lately. (Though I'm on the verge of blogging about politics again...soon. Maybe.)

Anyway, the little munchkin woke up a little before 9 a.m., and while I could have slept another hour or two, I decided it was probably cruel to just let him sit in his little cage while I got my sleep on. So, we got up, and I made him some oatmeal. I washed some dishes. I did some laundry. I made myself this healthy smoothy I've been meaning to try for a while. I got him a snack, and he settled in to watch Sesame Street, while I pulled out the laptop and looked for some recipes. I was feeling like the Super Nanny.

And then he started whining.

Whining annoys me. His mom told me he'd been doing this lately, so I followed her instructions for how to deal with it. It didn't quite work out. Everything seemed to upset him; it didn't matter what I did. He would play for a little while and then come whining to me. I got him more food, I changed his diaper, I played with him and I even let him pet Sadie (who growls when he comes too close). I finally decided that I couldn't take anymore of this pretending to be a stay-at-home mom junk. Our cozy day at home was making me stir-crazy anyway.

I didn't care that my clothing was covered in sweet potatoes, and I didn't care that I haven't showered in a few days. I loaded him up and we drove to the grocery store. He drifted off to sleep on the way, which made me think that's probably one reason he was so fussy. I got him out and took him inside and took my sweet time trying to come up with some things to buy. He sat happily in the buggie while I shopped.

On the way home, I swung by Burger King to get my dogs some hamburgers (I know, I know), and I decided to get him one too. OK, I got me one too. Sue me. Anyway, I tore his little burger into a gazillion pieces, we ate lunch, and he was happy until about 2:30, when the whining started again, so I decided he could go down for his nap early.

I watched Shepard Smith in peace, and I actually got some work done. Around 5:30, I started worrying that he was sleeping too long, so I went to check on him, and he seemed to be fine. Obviously, he needed some sleep. I was just about to sit back down when Gabby took it upon herself to bark for no reason, and suddenly, he was wide awake.

I heated his dinner up in the microwave. It was this godawful-looking baby food microwave dinner with chicken chunks, mashed potatoes, and carrots. He enjoyed a few bites of the potatoes, but when I put a piece of chicken in his mouth, he started screaming at the top of his lungs. And I mean screaming! Food and spit were flying everywhere. I finally sent his mom a text, asking her if she had ever fed her one of these things before. She was like, "Oh yeah, but he doesn't really like them."

No kidding!

So, I tossed that right in the garbage and he ended up eating a gazillion other things. After that and a diaper change, I decided maybe he was just hungry, because he seemed a lot more settled. I let him run around naked (in a diaper) for a bit. Tonight was bath night, and I had this terrible fear of him pooping in my tub, so I thought I'd give him a little more time to digest everything (and he did...twice). He had a good time with his toys and then I changed his diaper and he screamed at the top of his lungs again. That's probably when I started counting down until bedtime.

I ended up putting him in his little cage so I could go get the bathtub ready for his bath, and I noticed that the water from my last shower (from a few days ago), was still in the tub. Long story short, I ended up reaching my hand down the drain and pulling out gobs of nasty, slimy hair that I hoped like hell was mine and not the home's previous residents'. After all of this, I ran back into the living room, grabbed a toy that was bath-friendly, a plastic cub, his shampoo/body wash, and him in one big swoop, and we ran back to the bathroom. I put him in the tub and he squealed with delight.

I let him play for a few minutes and then I began washing him. Good Lord, that child started screaming again. And when I went to wash his hair...holy crap. He hated it. I tried so hard not to get it in his face, but he was bucking and jerking and then he'd go limp when I tried to move him. When I was sure I had all of the soap off of him, I gathered him in a towel and he just grinned at me like none of that had even happened. Sigh.

So, I got him dressed, and we were back in the living room by 8 p.m. American Idol was on, and he was very fascinated by this program, even dancing at times when someone was singing. He played and watched, and I breathed a big sigh of relief that bedtime was in sight. Before he goes to bed, he gets a cup of milk, so I got that ready and he could barely stand up to drink it. I cuddled him for a while, and he drank his milk and watched TV, and as soon as the clock hit 9, he went to bed. And I came back to the living room, plopped myself down on my loveseat and only moved to make some hot chocolate about an hour ago.

I had all these great plans for after he went to sleep (shower, anyone?), but I got caught up in some story someone posted on Facebook, and then there was the Daily Show and well, now I'm just sleepy.

While today wasn't the best, I haven't made any doctor's appointments to have my reproductive organs stripped from my body. My lack of accomplishing anything today was mostly my fault, as I just wasn't motivated, baby or not. I'm still enjoying his company, and I would gladly keep him again if the need arises. But I ain't gonna lie: when I found out his grandmother may come get him for a while tomorrow, I got a tiny bit happy.

Day 2: Yawn

Well, "Day 2" of adventures in babysitting is officially over. I should be writing some things I'll actually get paid to write, but what's the fun in that? Besides, I'm wide awake after my two-hour nap today, so I suspect I'll be up late. Yeah, that's right. I took a two hour nap. And they say parenting is hard...

The day started around 8:30 when Mr. "Oh, he always sleeps until 9, sometimes later" made liars out of his parents, even after I kept him up late last night. Truth be told, I probably could have slept longer. He was just sitting in his little travel crib singing and playing, but I drank way too much tea last night, and my bladder wasn't having it. On a normal day, I would have gone to the bathroom, let the dogs out so they could empty their own bladders, and then I would have gone back to bed, but once this little guy spotted me climbing out of bed, he started clapping his hands and squealing. (I promise, that's the last time I'll talk about me using the bathroom in this post, so you can keep reading.)

Instead of getting him up, I wheeled his little bed into the living room and gave him a few toys. He actually likes spending time in there (even though his mom claimed he's too big for it. psht, what does she know?), and the dogs aren't too crazy about him yet, so I took advantage of it. I had several errands to run today and nothing to wear, so I threw some laundry in and went ahead and made his breakfast. I fed him, changed him, let him play for a little while, and then I put him back in the crib while I got ready (seriously, I love that thing).

Our first stop was my mom's house to get a few things and let her see him for a bit. Next, we went to the gas station.

Mom Lesson #1: Always be able to pay at the pump.

There are two gas stations near my house. The one I always used to go to was sold to someone else. He's a jackass, and he tries to rip you off, so I no longer go there. The other one is always more expensive and it's Citgo, which I don't like, but the guys who own it are really nice. And my gas light had been on for two days, so I didn't want to risk driving further. Well, the other problem with this particular station is that sometimes my debit card works in the pump and sometimes it doesn't. There's no rhyme or reason to it, and of course, today was a big fat no. I was really tempted to just run in and pay and leave the little guy in the car, but I knew that was a big fat no too, so I got him out (in the rain) for all of two minutes so I could go pay for my gas.

My next stop was the bank drive-thru to make a deposit, and then I had to run by the courthouse to drop something off for my mom (drop-box in the parking lot for the win). Next was Publix.

Mom Lesson #2: You can't get injured.

Back when I hurt my back, I also hurt my knee, because I was walking at such a strange angle. I never mentioned this (I don't think), because I figured y'all get enough of my injury reports. It's a lot better than it was, but it's hard to go up stairs sometimes, and it randomly hurts from time-to-time. The problem is, this is not the knee that is already hurt from running over myself. So, now I have two hurt knees. (Hopefully, this new injury isn't quite as permanent.)

Anyway, I got out of the car at Publix, and this sharp, shooting pain ran down the back of my leg. I could hardly move. It was that damn knee. It took me a few minutes just to get around to the other side of the car to get the kid, and then it took me a few more minutes to actually get inside the store while lugging an extra 20 to 30 pounds. I put him in the buggie, got the two or three things I knew I needed and just left. I worried about him in the store. I had these horrible images of him jumping out and hitting the hard floor or someone grabbing him when I turned my head. That said, I watch my purse like a hawk when I'm in the store, so I just put it in his lap so I'd be forced to watch him closely. (I'm kidding!)

We went by the post office next, and a friend of mine who works there oohed and aahed over him, and then I went and picked up a pizza (despite the fact that I am supposed to not be eating carbs and had this great plan of cooking fresh food and chicken all week).

Mom Lesson #3: Low-carb diets require a little more planning ahead when you have kids.

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. I fed him lunch and had him in bed in time for me to watch some live Shepard Smith. My goal while he was napping was to, like, do things, but I was so sleepy, that at 4:00, I climbed in bed too. I turned my ringer on my phone off (something I rarely do) and the next thing I know, it's dark and the iPhone is vibrating all over the windowsill over my bed. It was 6:30 p.m. and both me and the kid were still asleep. Oops. (He's supposed to sleep from 3 to 4-5 p.m.) I let him play for a few minutes, and then I fed him his dinner while we watched more Shepard Smith. I just knew he'd be up all night, but by about 9 p.m., he was whiny, so I did his bedtime stuff, put him in his little bed and wheeled it back to my room.

Anyway, this is probably a pretty boring post, but really, it was a pretty boring day. He's starting to get comfortable here, so he's acting out a little more, but he's still really well-behaved compared to other kids I've dealt with in the past. It's mostly just inconvenient for my cushy, single lifestyle. I'm still not convinced that half the parents I know have a legitimate excuse for being so whiny and tired all the time, but I still have three more days to go.

Tomorrow, we are not leaving the house, so I'm hoping I can get some things done (and stop eating junk).

Where's that engineering degree when I need it?

My babysittee arrived around 3pm today. It's 11:00 now, and he just went to sleep about half an hour ago.

I am utterly exhausted.

Actually, I spent the weekend cleaning my house, and I don't just mean doing the dishes. I mopped, swept, dusted the ceilings, moved furniture, etc. I also got very little sleep. By about noon today, I was already ready to pass out, so I don't think today is a fair assessment for my "are people with kids really just whiny and annoying" project.

I did, however, learn already that having my own child would be quite a shock to my system.

After they arrived, it took about half an hour for his mom and I to unload her car. I'm grateful that she practically brought everything he owns, but I can barely fit my stuff in the car when I travel, and I don't require a stroller and a crib!

My cousin told me that he likes to play with phones and remote controls. Seeing as how my only phone is my iPhone and we hadn't gotten any of his toys out yet, I decided he couldn't do much harm to my remote controls. Within minutes, he'd changed the channel on my cable box and my TV and had set up some kind of weather alerts that I didn't even know existed. As we all know, 3 p.m. is my Shepard Smith time. I DVR Stuido B every day, because I'm usually busy or not home, and I watch it at night after the Daily Show. Every time he pressed buttons, I had a silent panic attack, but the thought of voicing my concerns seemed so trivial.

His mom left around 4 p.m., and he and I played for a little while. She said it was technically his nap time, and he actually fell asleep for a little while. I hadn't yet set up his little bed, so I put him in my bed. During this time, my plan was to make this great chicken recipe I'd been planning since last week; I'd already thawed out the chicken and everything. By the time I could pull up the recipe on my iPhone, he was awake.

At this point, I decided it would be best if I get his little portable playpen/crib thing put together before bedtime. Good grief, that thing should have come with instructions. It literally took a leg and two arms to snap it in place, and then I was left with these two metal rods that I had no idea what to do with. Let's just hope it doesn't close up on him tonight!

Then I tried to open up his stroller so I could sit him in it to feed him. She also brought some sort of highchair, but after the crib thing, I refused to try to put that together. Before she left, she showed me how to open the stroller: "you just push this button and pull the seat and voila."

"That's easy enough," I responded, thinking how hard can it be to open a stroller? My dad was here when I was trying to open the stroller (he was dropping my dogs off). He watched as I pushed and pulled and finally asked what I was doing. It took me texting my cousin to realize you are supposed to turn the handle after you push the button and before you pull the seat. I must have missed that part. Oops.

So, after I fed him, I realized I haven't eaten a thing all day, and I wasn't about to wait for that thawed out chicken to cook. Naturally, I decided we'd make a quick Chick fil A run. It was only about 7:30, and I wanted to watch the GOP debate at 9. Had I been by myself, I would have been back by the time Shepard Smith signed off on the Fox Report (yes, I DVR that too), but I wasn't. I was in the dark with a 15-month-old baby and a car-seat that had more straps and buckles on it than one of those scary bondage outfits you see in movies. After about 20 minutes of trying to figure it out, I sent a text to my cousin again and asked her how to put it in the car. I was afraid she was going to get pissed off at this point, but she assured me it wasn't just me.

We finally got home just as the debate started. He's supposed to go to bed at 9 p.m., but he was checking out my waffle fries, and I thought maybe he'd sleep later in the morning if I let him stay up late. I think he finally went down around 10:30 p.m.

Oh, well. Aside from my inability to understand this newfangled baby equipment, I'd say day one went pretty well. He's actually a really good kid, just very busy. Then again, day one was only really half a day, so who knows what tomorrow will bring.

On that note, I've got some chicken to cook and a bed calling my name.

Oh Baby!

Earlier in the week, my cousin emailed me and asked if I had plans next week. She just started a new job and has to go do some training out of state. Her husband has to work, so her mom was going to keep her baby, and she wanted to know if I'd be around in case she needed help. I told her I would.

At some point yesterday, they decided it would be best if I kept him the entire time.

He'll be here Monday afternoon through Friday evening. I'm fine with that, but it's been so long since I took care of a baby. Well, I actually kept him for a day not long after he was born, but he was tiny and slept most of the time, and now he just started walking. Anyway, I actually have tons of baby experience from back in the day (babysitting/church nursery/daycare), so I'm sure it will come back to me easily.

The thing is, with most of these jobs, I went home at the end of the day. It's just going to be me and him for nearly a week. I think it'll be fun, but don't be surprised if one of my next posts is a rant about how I'm never having kids myself!

Last night, I was looking around my house and realizing how very not baby-proof it is. I actually asked her if she was going to bring him some food, because outside of a bag of Goldfish crackers I found, my cabinets and fridge are a low-carb, non-processed food zone.

This is really going to be a shock to my cushy, single lifestyle. But it can't be that hard, right?

Manhunt Wednesday

It started around 5:30 a.m. when I awoke to the loudest boom of thunder I've heard in my life. I literally sleep through hurricanes and tornadoes, and this had me hopping straight up out of the bed as soon as I heard it. I got up and unplugged my computer and new TV (not taking any chances with the luck I've had over the last couple of years) and after listening to the storm for a while, I went back to sleep.

And I thought that would be the most excitement I had today.

Around 9 a.m., I woke up again, took the dogs out, threw on some clothes and headed up to my parents' house. Today's plan was to go run a few errands for myself and my mom, and then go back to my parents' to do some work. I've been cleaning out my mom's "craft room" for the last few weeks, and I've been spending a few hours there every day when I have nothing else going on. Today was supposed to be one of those days.

Let me back up and say I live about half a mile from my parents, on a tiny, private road off their road. My parents have lived in that house for as long as I've been alive, and my grandfather is next door. My road only has a few residences on it: mine, my landlord's, my landlord's in-laws, their daughter, and another house they rent out, plus my dad's brother and sister's houses, which are behind my parents' and grandfather's houses. In other words, we all know each other in this little area. Confused?

So, I'm getting ready to leave my mom's house, and we hear a siren on my parents' road. It's rare for a police car or ambulance to go down my parents' road (there are less than 20 houses on it), but with the weather as bad as it's been all morning, my mom said she'd been hearing sirens all day. We thought nothing of it, but I went out to get in the car and the local crime scene van drives by. I thought that was a little odd. It's one thing to see a patrol car, but the crime scene van? Did someone get killed? They were going really slow, so I walked down to the mailbox hoping I could talk to them or figure out what they were doing, but they stopped and talked to my parents' neighbor. I sat in my car for a few minutes and noticed several other law enforcement vehicles coming down the road, as well as several that were already lining the street down towards my road. I went in and told my mom, and she called my landlord (they're good friends) to see if she knew what was going on.

The thing that had me slightly worried, aside from the number of law enforcement vehicles, was the mixture of vehicles. We do not live within the city limits, but there were city police as well as county deputies, detectives in unmarked cars, the crime scene unit, and numerous other types of vehicles. I actually used to work in law enforcement here, so I kind of had an idea of what's what, and that sort of mixture usually meant something pretty bad.

Anyway, after sitting in my car in my parents' driveway, I noticed several of the cars were starting to turn down my road. This had me a little freaked out. I don't call my little house in the woods the "Unabomber Cabin" for nothing. It's somewhat hidden in the trees and maybe even a little deserted looking. I decided it was time to drive down and check it out.

I turned down my road and the first thing I saw was a detective sitting in an unmarked car, so I pulled up beside her and rolled down my window. I asked if it was okay for me to keep going, and she said yes, and I asked her if she could tell me what was going on. She told me a guy had escaped from a deputy and was on the loose in this area. She told me what he was wearing and if I saw him to call 911. I asked if he was armed, and I'm pretty sure she thought I'd been watching too much First 48, but she told me she didn't think so.

I kept going, and I soon realized, there were cops in every little nook and cranny on my little wooded road. They were in my landlord's driveway and all of her family's driveways. There were several of them up in this little field above my house where my landlord's in-laws plant vegetables. There was one sitting just at the edge of my driveway, but I pulled in anyway. I sat in the car for a while, because I wasn't really sure what to do. I just knew if I got out of the car, some maniac was going to come up and put a gun to my head or something.

I finally decided I must look suspicious to all of the cops sitting in my direct line of vision, so I got out of the car, and I started to walk to my door, but my mom called me. I was going to tell her what the detective had told me, but she'd already talked to someone else who told her the same thing.

"Do you know where he's supposed to be?" I asked her.

"Well, they say he was last seen on the blah blah blah," she said.

Let me back up again. Without going into too much detail, because I'm paranoid like that, the "blah blah blah" is something that's in my front yard. Right in my front yard. I was standing just feet from it at that very moment she said that. I nearly passed out right then and there.

I hurriedly made my way to the house, fumbled with my keys and went inside. I am bad about not double checking the locks when I go to my parents' house, and I was hoping and praying I'd locked them all. I also have a window that doesn't lock, and while I keep a piece of wood jammed in it, an extremely thin person could easily slide in if they really wanted to. Granted, they'd tear up half of the electronics I own, but it could happen. Also, I usually keep my TV on when I'm not home, but because of the weather, I'd left it unplugged, AND all of the light-bulbs in my living room are blown (one reason I was running errands).

So, I walk into this dark, quiet, possibly unlocked house, and I ducked into the first room after you walk in this particular door (which just so happens to be the bathroom). I listened to make sure no one was walking around, and I looked around for something to use as a weapon should it come to that. I've been talking about getting a new gun lately, and oh, how I wish I would have had it right then, but I had to settle for a can of hairspray. (Don't judge me.)

I walked down the hall a little ways and glanced in my bedroom. Unless he was hiding in my closet, he was not there. I didn't see anyone in the living room, but without completely turning a corner, I wouldn't be able to see into the kitchen. Also, there was the whole upstairs to contend with, but I decided I'd leave that be. I was just about to check the kitchen when I encountered a really strong whiff of cigarette smoke. I don't smoke, and I don't let anyone smoke in this house. My landlord (who is across the street from me) does smoke, and when it's windy, I sometimes get a little scent of it, but this was really strong. I thought: that fool is hiding in my house, smoking, and I'm going to die.

Instead of going any further inside, I glanced at all the doors to make sure they were locked, and I ran back to the door I came in, hairspray in hand, ready to spray anyone in my path right in the eyes. I locked the door and walked quickly to my car (I though running would look a little suspicious to all of the police officers in the area, especially considering some of them appeared to have their guns drawn).

I got back in the car and debated driving back to my mom's house or just sitting there for a while, when suddenly, I heard some shouting and all the law enforcement vehicles started to drive back up my road. I was surprised to see that there had been way more than I first realized; they seemed to come from all over the woods. After I was sure they were all gone, I gave them a minute and left too. Somewhere along the way, my mom called to tell me they'd caught the guy. I never could figure out where they caught him exactly, but I think he was in the field where my landlords' in-laws' garden is. Just feet from my house...

From what I understand, someone had been trying to serve a warrant on a guy in a house on a nearby road, and the guy took off from another door in the house. Fun stuff.

So, that was my little bit of drama in the woods. I'm exhausted from the little adrenaline surge, but it made for an interesting day. It also kind of made me miss my old job, especially considering that I'm unemployed, but that's a whole other blog post!

Best of 2011: Mary Kay Andrews / JT Ellison

Mary Kay Andrews

Since I did movies and music, I figured I should choose my favorite books of 2011. As previously stated, I didn't have much time for new music and movies last year, but I did do a good bit of reading. I started the year reading mysteries and crime fiction, and while I love my crime authors (Slaughter, Ellison, Cornwell, Gerritsen, etc.), by summer, I needed something a little lighter. I'm a sucker for Southern fiction, but there is just not as much of the good stuff as I'd like there to be. I can't do straight up romance and sadly, much of it falls into that category. (I do love me some chick lit, though.)

Between trips to South Carolina, I visited the local used book store and found a copy of Savannah Blues by Mary Kay Andrews. I'd actually remembered this book from when I worked at large chain bookstore during college, and it had been a big seller. At the time, it wasn't my thing, but I've grown up a little bit. I bought it, brought it home, and I couldn't put it down. I ended up ordering most of the rest of MKA's books on Amazon and reading those, as well. Savannah Blues is still my favorite, but I poured over those books like nobody's business.

I've always felt like there was a type of Southern fiction out there that didn't get written, which is, in part, why I started trying to write it myself, but Savannah Blues fits into it very well. Right now, I'm reading her latest book, Summer Rental, which is really good, too. Next up, I'm planning to read the mystery series written by the same author under her real name, Kathy Hogan Trocheck.

So, while Savannah Blues wasn't released in 2011, it was my favorite book I've read this year, and as far as MKA's books go, Summer Rental, which was released in 2011, is quickly becoming one of my favorites, too. Frankly, you should just check out all of her books!

JT Ellison

My favorite book actually released in 2011 was Where All the Dead Lie by JT Ellison. As I mentioned, I love mysteries and crime fiction, but I'm really picky about what I read. I don't want to say anything bad about anyone, so I'll just say I don't enjoy the way some people write or an overall lack of character development. Obviously, I'm in the minority, because these authors sell tons of books. Anyway, I discovered Ellison a couple of years ago when I saw a mutual friend conversing with her on Twitter. Her books are set in Nashville and that alone was enough to convince me to check them out. (See above: love for Southern fiction)

I've mentioned her here before, so I'll cut right to the chase: this is one of the few book series I've read that gets better as it matures. If I had to put her books in order according to which ones were my favorites, I'd more or less just line the series up backwards.

When I heard what the book would be about, I was cautiously optimistic. I was really intrigued by the supernatural element and the exploration of Taylor Jackson's (the main character) relationship with a male character who was not her main love interest. However, the book is set in Scotland, and I seem to have a love/hate relationship with books set in the UK. Let me just say, I started reading this book one day and stayed up most of the night finishing it. I loved almost everything about it, but I think my favorite part was the setting. I've never really had a desire to go to Scotland, but now, I'm so there the first chance I get.

If you haven't checked out the Taylor Jackson series, I highly recommend it. And while the last few books were my favorites, I would definitely start at the beginning with All the Pretty Girls, but I have some kind of OCD when it comes to reading a series in the order it was written. (No, really, I accidentally read one of the last Rizzoli and Isles books by Tess Gerritsen, not realizing it was part of a series, and I can't even bring myself to start from the beginning now without hyperventilating at the thought.)

So, those are my favorite books of 2011. Maybe my goofy little bluegrass book will be someone's favorite of 2013? Hey, a girl can dream! Speaking of, I've got some editing to do. This concludes my "Best of 2011" series of posts!