Story Worth Waiting For

So, yes, it's been a week since my last post. I apologize. But I think this post will be enough to make up for it. Oh, yeah. It's good.

Yesterday I walked down from the pool to the ocean to get my parents' towels off the chairs they had rented. I recognized a towel I thought was my mom's, but there was a lady sitting on the chair. As I approached the chairs a man next to the lady started taking off his belt and unbuttoning his dress (!) pants. Then, oh dear Lord, he pulled them down. I saw white boxers. I was almost to the chairs...reaching for the towels. OH NO HE DIDN'T. Just as I grabbed the towels, in one motion he pulled down his pants and boxers, tugged on the bottom of his wife beater and tucked it under his naked bum, then set down on MY DAD'S CHAIR. He was changing into his bathing suit. And I saw crack. Ooooh, dude. Crack kills. I was mortified. The lady turned around and asked if these were my chairs. What, the monograms didn't give it away? They were European, I think. I grabbed the towels and ran.

It's darn hard to run barefoot through sand.

Monogram Hook-Up

Wow. So, if you guys thought I was crazy about monogrammed stuff before, wait till you see what my sister got me for my birthday. MONOGRAMMED CAR MATS! Ahh, yes, some might call this a sickness. I don't. I also got a decal for my car with my initials. Overboard, you ask? I don't think so. All the cool girls have them now, and I'm nothing if not cool. I'll take a picture once it's on my car.

Ohh, and here are the cherry Nick & Nora pajamas my brother got me. If you know the story about the pink pants he bought me 7 years ago, you might think he actually picked out these too. But I think he just gave my mom some money. Either way, I love them!


Ha ha. I love the celestial light above my head. (These photos weren't taken with the new camera.)

Flowers for Me

Aren't they pretty? I love sunflowers.

Big Money

While we were waiting for our table at Hot & Hot tonight, this obnoxious group gathered around the bar. They were loud in a showy, we-weren't-popular-in-high-school kind of way, and they were celebrating someone's birthday. It was an odd group: a couple, another girl and guy, and two more random, portly men. I was annoyed that they were blocking the boiled peanuts (boiled p-nuts for you natives) at the bar.

Anyway, one of the portly guys went to pay for the drinks, and he pulled out a wad of hundred dollar bills. A fat wad. I'm talking several thousand dollars, unless he had a bunch of ones underneath. He peeled off a hundred, passed it to the bartender, and then folded over the mound of money and secured it with a green rubber band. Yep, that's right. A rubber band. He even snapped it after the second wrap. Then he stuffed it back in his pocket with a flourish. Seriously. I can't get over it.

Entrepreneurial Spirit

Yesterday I put a few of my crafts on etsy.com, an online marketplace for craftspeople such as myself. The shop is a little cheesy, and I apologize in advance, but you've been warned. The pictures are bad, too, but I hope to remedy that after I get my new camera! I priced stuff pretty fairly, I think, based on what the shop in Columbus charges. You'll notice the infamous ornaments on there. This week I ransacked the AC Moore in Ft. Walton and Montgomery for plastic foam balls. I noticed their scrapbooking section has gotten even more awesome. I'm still SO sad that the B'ham one shut down. I pray for a new one every night. I don't ask for much.

If you are a crafty friend of mine (Leah!) you should go check it out and sell your own stuff! I'll heart your store (Etsy lingo).

My personal shop (that's right!) is www.stephaniemims.etsy.com.

Sweet Surprise

Someone made reservations at Hot & Hot for tomorrow night! I'm so excited! Countdown clock: 2 days. I have a work thing Thursday, though, so that's why we're going Wednesday.

Man, am I a dork or what?! But, in all fairness, I love celebrating other peoples' birthdays too.

Ants in My Cube

Grr. The ants have invaded my space. The little buggers are everywhere. I don't like ants. At all. I feel like they are constantly crawling up my legs, in my hair. One actually made it onto my finger earlier. Yech. I've been squirming all morning, popping my legs like a fed-up mom does her 3-year-old during church. (Wait, is that totally un-PC these
days?) I took to drowning them with citrus-scented Windex earlier, then I got ahold of some Raid.

Now I smell like the Orkin man.

Ever-So-Slight Road Rage

This morning, as I was rushing to re-enter the hectic working world—fresh from vacation, running late, of course—I sat impatiently at a light that refused to turn green. Once it did, I was ready to go. Threw down the lipstick and switched my foot to the gas. But the car in front of me, a white Buick, wasn't budging. The driver eased out, then stopped. This light is short, and I didn't have another four minutes to sit and wait, so I honked. The car hesitated once more, and then slooowly pulled out. I changed lanes to pass the Buick, and as I did, I got a good look at the driver.

I had honked at a nun.

Surely my spot in heaven has been sacrificed.

Heading Home Sweet Home

Well today was our last day in Destin. The weather has been perfect. The ocean, crystal clear with no seaweed. Yesterday's waves were really great for jumping and riding, but today it was too calm. On our way out to the pool today, we ran into a couple who goes to school with Sean. So weird. We finished up tonight with a lot of snow crab legs. Yum.

This couple who caught my attention yesterday in the pool sat by us today. The guy is pretty young, really tan, very cut, few tattoos. He's with a [much] older woman who has a teenage son, probably around 14. There was another couple with them; I think it was the woman's older son and his girlfriend. I decided the first couple met at the gym. Anyway, the pretty-boy boyfriend played a lot of catch with the youngest son. The problem was, neither of them could catch the football, and it kept skipping across the pool and splashing my pages of Harry Potter. A couple of times the kid overthrew the ball and almost hit me with it. [Sean was on high alert, ready to fight!]

I was really wishing I had a wand.

Okay, sorry for the boring post. Surely something exciting will happen next week!

Am I Cool?

This is my new beach hat. Like it? Sean said it was cute. He better not have been lying. My Ron Jon hat gave me a headache today, and I really needed a hat that shades my face a little better anyway. Prevent crow's feet! I didn't want one of those trendy cowboy hats because I think I'm too old for that, but this one (I hope) is a happy medium between the current trend and an old lady hat. Plus, this one is bendable, so I can sculpt it. I'm also wearing Sean's new aviator glasses. He got contacts, and therefore needed new sunglasses, so he's rockin' the old school look. He didn't want a picture, so I put them on instead.

We're having a blast!

PS Tonight my fish sandwich was totally normal sized!

Quite a Dinner

So for dinner our first night here in Destin, we went down to AJ's. I ordered a shrimp, scallop, and crawfish muffaletta, and Sean got an oyster po'boy. It's important for me to tell you that mine was around $11 and his was about $10. You'd think they'd be comparable, yes? You'd be wrong. The waitress warned me the muffaletta was big, but the proportion she showed with her hands looked equivalent to two regular white-bread sandwiches. Sean said he'd eat some, so I wasn't worried.



Here's the sandwich, before and after. It was beyond enormous. Sean estimated the diameter to be about 10 inches. TEN! Some lady and her daughter even walked over to ask me what it was. She said her husband told her that the look on my face was priceless. I was totally shocked! In the end, I gave up, took off the top, and ate the seafood and olive spread. But mostly I just laughed and endured the stares of everyone around me.

Bad Timing

Hey, you know when it's not a good time to drive down to the beach? During Alabama law enforcement's Take Back Our Highways week. Pretty much everyone was driving slower, except for some clueless out-of-towners. It's amazing how slow 70 mph feels when you actually have to drive 70 mph! We even slowed down to 45 mph through the construction in Montgomery. We really didn't see that many staked-out cops, just quite a few of them driving down I-65. (I say this although I slept a good bit of the drive.) We floored it as we crossed the Florida state line.

Run, Stephanie, Run

Ever had a day at work when you just wanted to bolt? Today (and yesterday, actually) was like that for me. Wow. I don't so much blog about work because I would be the one who gets fired and doesn't get a million-dollar book/movie deal, so I don't have any specifics for you. Just a long two days.

I left work at 8:30 and ran by Katie's house for a few minutes. Katie lives close to a Krystal, so on the way home I pulled through. Two cheese, no onion. Mmmm. That made (almost) everything better.

And the good news is I'm done. We're leaving for the beach tomorrow! I really don't care if I have to stay up all night packing. The coffee's already brewing.

Wish me sunny skies and cool breezes!

Kind of Funny

Last week, Sean dropped his cell phone in the toilet. Not exactly sure how this happened, but it's funny to me. Of course, that's because it happened to someone else. It's turned in to quite a little debacle, because neither of us knew about backing up address books. He lost everyone's numbers, and he doesn't have many of them memorized. For two days he left a message on his voicemail explaining the situation and asking callers to leave their numbers. The biggest problem was Saturday, when he was trying to figure out his mom's cell number so he could call her on her birthday. Me? I backed up my address book last night.

Wahhh. It's SO Hot

Oh. My Lord. It's hotter than the hinges of hell outside. I can barely force myself to go get the mail. There are loads of people at the pool right now, and even that sounds wretched. Someone once said that Southern women don't sweat, they glisten. Well then I'm shining brighter than a diamond. Gross. I'm posting now instead of doing what I need to do, which is run errands and go in to work for a little bit. I think I'm going to start living like a vampire and only go out at night. I'll sleep through this suffocating season, thank you very much.

Sharing My Love of Cherries

Can you tell I love cherries? I even named my sister's monogramming business The Cherry Zebra (love those too). And my current favorite store is Cherry Pie in Atlanta (www.cherrypieatl.com). I have more stuff, too, I just thought these photos proved my point enough. I'm weird.

UPDATE: Look at this awesome cherry bag I just found! http://www.wrapables.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=A54470&prodlist=nextag

Big Night Out

We had a good Saturday night. It started at Cantina, which was entirely empty except for us. So strange. Plenty of guacamole and sweet potato fries for me! Then we went to see Stardust. If you guys want my opinion--and if you don't, well, then why are you reading my blog--it was one of the best movies I've seen in awhile. I loved it! So did Sean, and he's a tougher critic than I am. Go see it!

Official Countdown

Well here we go. As of this past Thursday, there are only two weeks left before my birthday. If you are good friends w. me, you know this is big. I LOVE my birthday. It's just the best day ever. I think I've always been like this, and everyone indulges me. This is an especially big day, as I will be entering the last year of my twenties.

Yes, I know what you all must be thinking. 29? You look SO much younger. I know, I know. My kids will probably be so embarrassed when we're older and strangers mistake me for their older sister.

I hope (wink, wink) that someone is going to get me a digital camera. Then I can start posting w. lots of pictures. And, The Nanny Diaries comes out the day after my birthday, so some friends and I are going. I've been waiting for this movie since April, when the release date was pushed back. It better be good.

Katie, what does EW say?

Goin' Back to Cali

Woo hoo! I found THE best deal on airfare to California. I want to go visit in October, and the flight on Delta is less than $200. That's unbelievable! I hope the rates don't go up because my friend is currently in Thailand. I'm not totally sure on the rules here, but I think it might be rude to book a trip to your friend's house when she's out of the country. But ask me again next week, because if those rates do go up, I'm going to change my mind.

I Blew My Chance

So I got to thinking the other night, I totally gave up the chance to move to San Francisco.

See, SF is where Sean and I went on our honeymoon, and we fell in love. With the city. We were on that post-wedding high, so we made big plans for Sean to go to law school out West. Ahh, yes, it would be the life. But the reality was, it's a long, long way away from family, it's expensive, and--oh yeah--I needed a job. I totally chickened out. Sean would've gone, but I freaked.

But now, I think we should've done it. When else could we go so far and be so free. Eh, that's a little hokey, but you get the idea. If someone could promise us jobs that paid above the poverty line and guarantee me that the move was for a finite amount of time--say a year or two or even three--I'd be packed tomorrow.

And, so far, Sean and I have followed the path my parents did. Live in Georgia; get married; move to B'ham; move to Cali, have me; go back home. It's kind of like we have to do it, right?

Just So You Know

I have clearly lifted the freeze-out, but I'm not afraid to use it again. You've been warned. Didn't anyone read posts #1 and #8? I need acceptance people!

New Obsession

This blog is my current fave. It's titled "Oh Happy Day" (http://www.jordanferney.blogspot.com). I just love this blog! I stumbled across it the way I find most of my favorite blogs--linking then linking then linking again, probably while trying to avoid doing my job.

Anyway, this woman lives in San Francisco, and now I just want to live there! Can't you just see me, strolling down the sidewalk, carrying my yoga mat? Listening to Train and The Fray on my iPod? Eating granola and fat-free organic yogurt for breakfast. Living in a loft w. exposed brick walls and great views of the Golden Gate Bridge. I'd clearly have to grow out my new hair and switch completely to Bare Minerals makeup for that I'm-pretending-this-is-my-natural-glow look. I'd be so Zen, I swear. I'd recycle more too. And get a bike. With a basket. Oh! And a bell.

This blogger is clearly crafty, too, which is another reason I love the blog. But I get so jealous when she features some great boutique or cafe in San Fran. I want to live a fabulous tree-huggin' life too! Okay, okay. Maybe I'm not so much the tree-hugger, but I do love the fabulous!

You're Not Fooling Me...Or Even Trying

Okay. This is majorly irritating to me. (Yes, I am easily annoyed.) There are certain people--and don't think I don't have a clue who you are--who rummage through things on my desk. Sometimes I think perhaps they are legitimately looking for something they need, but um, it's still not okay for you to be digging through my papers, files, piles, or stacks. Nope, totally not justified. And, for the love, if you are going to rifle through my things, have the common sense to put things back the way you found them. I might have 24 stacks on my desk, but if you'll please pay attention, the stacks are very neat. No haphazard piling or papers turned every which way. And, seriously, I'm at work all the time. It can't wait?

Never mind. The people going through my things are the very ones I don't want to deal with face to face. Just pretend like you're trying to put things back the way you found them.

Observation

Huh. In a couple of the posts below, I've noticed something. I have some beady little eyes. I look like a sneak.

Punishment

Well, I was punishing you guys because I like comments, and my last four posts--FOUR posts, people!--have gone without a single one. Sigh. But it's been a week and a half, so I guess I've freezed you out long enough.

Just kidding. Really, I haven't had anything to blog about. I've been working 24-7 and spent a couple fun days in Atlanta for work.

Now, I have three full days off, and I'm not doing anything but making Christmas ornaments and cleaning the apartment. More about the crafts later. It's going to give you a little more insight as to just how insane I am.