I've been tagged! (7.22.05)

I just did this entire post and lost it...grrrrrrrrr... but, I am a dedicated new blogger, and I will do it again!! Thanks for tagging me, Allison!! (I even am getting the lingo down) Happy Friday!

10 Years Ago Today: Good Lord, I'm old. I was 19, home from freshman year at UGA, working for the Experiment Station in the peanut fields...exhausted but soooo tan.

5 Years Ago Today: I had just moved to Macon and taken a sales job with Macon Magazine. Was living with my parents for the first time since I left for college and was on the cusp of breaking up with a long-time boyfriend. I was basically just trying to figure out which way was up.

1 Year Ago Today: I was here in this very office...in this very chair... Happy in love, and had just gotten a new boss who has ended up being a lifesaver!!

Yesterday: Celebrated a friend's engagement at our favorite watering hole.

Tomorrow: I hope to go to the beach, but Lee and I have too much to do around the house. Bummer.

5 Snacks I enjoy: Clausen dill pickles, Zapps Salt & Vinegar potato chips, Combos, carrots with veggie dip, beef jerky

5 Adult Beverages I enjoy: Amstel Light, chardonnay, champagne, Crown & ginger ale, strawberry dacquiris

5 Bands That I Know the Lyrics to Most of Their Songs: Commodores, The Police, Frank Sinatra, Otis Redding, Snoop Dogg (old school...not the new stuff)

5 Things I Would Do with a $100,000,000: Send my parents on a fabulous overseas trip, repair the damage that stupid Dennis did to our beach house, pay off my debts, buy Lee a new car...possibly a police cruiser...hmmm?, invest

5 Locations I Would Like to Run Away to: Cannes, Italy, Turks & Caicos, Hawaii, Fiji

5 Bad Habits I Have: Procrastinating at work, biting/chewing my cuticles, not balancing my checkbook, not answering my cell phone, eating late

5 Things I Like Doing: going to the beach, reading, watching movies, running, hanging out with Lee, traveling

5 Things I would Never Wear: micro mini skirt, polyester leisure suit, socks to bed, midriff-baring top, assless chaps (ahahhahhaahah)

5 TV Shows I Like: Felicity, Law & Order, Bridezilla, Real World, Laguna Beach (I know...I'm much too old)

5 Movies I Like: Annie Hall, The Shining, Pretty In Pink, Wizard of Oz, A Love Song for Bobby Long

5 Famous People I would Like to Meet: John Cusack, Katie Couric, Tom Brokaw, Tom Selleck, Tom Cruise (so I could punch him)

5 Biggest Joys at the Moment: planning my wedding, looking forward to the weekend with Lee, my cold Diet Coke, knowing it's Friday, being happy for my brother that he got his house (yah!)

5 favorite toys: my wedding notebook, my dogs, my car, the On-Demand feature on our cable box, Netflix

5 People to Tag: Mere, Allison (thanks for the tag!!!), Girl From Florida, JC, Huge Soul

Ok, I would try to link those names, but that's how I lost this the first time. ;) One day I'll figure it out...

51 More Things to Note... (7.21.05)

It was brought to my attention that most people in Blogland note 100 or 101 things about themselves....since I only listed 50 the other day, I will attempt to get to 100. If I have it in me, I will try for 101. If this is boring any of you, you have my permission (and the power) to close this window.

51. I have been to Las Vegas - I gambled for about three days (we were there on a 7 day trip) but then lost at the Roulette table, and I didn't gamble for the remainder of the trip. I did however, bash my head into a marble chair rail at the MGM Grand on New Year's Eve and I think I had a mild concussion.

52. My fiance and I have our own language - we probably are up to about 25-30 words that no one uses but us.

53. I was cut from Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority during rush at UGA in 1994 - and it really pissed me off.

54. I don't like spicy food.

55. My first pets were poodles - Louie & Mimi - that were my Mom's babies before I was born.

56. My left ear is double pierced - I did that in rebellion on a Choir Tour when I was 14. My best friends did it with me...

57. I hate sweeping - I would rather clean toilets than sweep.

58. I love the show "Felicity" - it is probably my favorite show that has ever aired.

59. I didn't understand that the cereal tagline "Nut'n Honey" was supposed to have the double meaning of "Nothing, Honey" in the commercial until about 3 years after it had been on the air

60. My fiance's favorite ice cream is Mint Chocolate Chip - it is pretty much the only flavor of ice cream that I don't like

61. I am a Libra

62. I love football

63. I hate mayonnaise

64. My friend Beth and I used to have beauty pageants with her Madame Alexander dolls and tape record them. We even had musical interludes...sang "America the Beautiful" once

65. I used to prank call people and ask for Ghandi - I thought that was hilarious

66. I was hit by a car when I was riding my bike - I think I was about 9 years old

67. I have never broken a bone or even had a sprain

68. I have had an MRI, a Cat Scan, an endoscopy, and several other procedures that you don't want to know about

69. I went to Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta during the 1996 Olympics...but I didn't go to any events

70. I also went to the World's Fair in 1980 and still remember riding the "ski lift" thing in Knoxville, TN

71. My uncle and my dad played college football - uncle at Georgia Tech and dad at University of South Carolina

72. My fiance's feet look like a warlock's (or what I would imagine that a warlock's feet look like)

73. I wear a size 7 ring (that's kind of big)

74. I have had about 11 speeding tickets - I have never gotten out of a single one

75. I prefer driving a 5-speed car to an automatic car

76. I am really, really silly at heart

77. I was voted "Best Legs" my senior year of high school

78. My first kiss was Josh Mason in the 6th grade at a party at April C's house

79. I have a Sheltie named Charlie - I think he is the greatest dog in the world

80. The only play I was ever in was a Christmas play at church - I was one of the Star of Bethlehem's sidekicks - I wore a big cardboard star around my head and had several lines. It was scary. I think I was about 6

81. That's a lie - I just remembered that I was in a play in preschool and played "Harriet Honeybee" (I can't believe I remember that...I was only 4 years old)

82. We used to reenact Dukes of Hazzard on the playground of my preschool, and everyone wanted to be Daisy Duke. I was usually one of the Hazzard boys or Roscoe P. Coltraine

83. I like food from places like Morrison's and Picadilly Cafeterias

84. I love to sleep - I can easily sleep 12 hours a night, but I try not to do that

85. I can't wear socks to bed because I am really hot natured

86. I went to three funerals in high school for classmates that died in car accidents

87. I love to buy clothes - it really gives me an incredible high

88. I want to lose about 12 lbs

89. I strive to be more like my mother - she is much more reserved than I am and an amazingly strong person

90. I also strive to be like my father - he's a role model and well-respected and funny and a very hard worker

91. I think that being weird is a very attractive quality

92. The first time I ever got tipsy was on Choir Tour when I was 14 years old...we were in New Orleans (our choir director later got in trouble)

93. I love amusement parks - way more than your average person. I have a hard time sleeping the night before I go to one.

94. Christmas Eve is the best day of the year. Period.

95. I dressed my brother up like a girl once - put him in a tutu, a wig, the whole nine yards. No wonder he hates me.

96. One of the happiest days of my life was when I made the cheerleading squad in high school - we had 5 different uniforms, and I tried every one of them on that night and did cheers in front of the mirror

97. One of the scariest days of my life was when I was dropped off at college - I begged my parents and my boyfriend not to leave me

98. I love french dip sandwiches

99. I don't know how to water ski - I have tried, but I can't stay up for longer than about 100 yards

100. I wrecked a Honda scooter when I was 15 and chipped four teeth

101. This is for Meredith: I am still a movie fanatic and can quote lines from probably over 100 movies

Whew.

A Christmas Story in July (7.21.05)

This is another of my stories from the past that I don't want to forget...the story of mine and Lee's engagement. Thought I'd post so that I'll have it. :)

Feel free to read at your leisure - this is a long, long story...but pretty entertaining. And true! As you may or may not know, the Sewards went on a cruise this year - from December 18th to December 23rd, and this is where the story begins...

The cruise was wonderful - so relaxing and so much fun and I think I gained 1700 lbs. It was actually a little chilly some days, but still warm enough to lay out some and relax and read in the sun. Ahhh... Key West was great and the Bahamas were so beautiful. Got back to Jacksonville (with no horrible hurricane-like winds or Tsunamis) Thursday morning. I cried all the way back to Savannah because this was the first Christmas without my family, but by the time I got home I was ok. I'm a huge baby. hahaha...

Packed and did laundry and relaxed a little bit at home here in the 'vannah before my 6:05 PM flight to Memphis. Got to the airport and found that my flight was delayed by 30 minutes...no biggie. But, when we got to Atlanta, my flight there was delayed 2 HOURS! And the Atlanta airport literally looked like Wal-Mart on Christmas Eve. People EVERYWHERE!! So I was a little perturbed and called Lee to let him know that I would not be to Memphis by 9.

Well, when I got him on the phone, I could tell something was wrong...he was breaking up, and all I heard was "Mary Emma...hospital...not good..." Mary Emma is Lee's 2-year-old niece. The phone completely cut off, and I hysterically called back. This time, Mrs. Huff answered and told me that Mary Emma had fallen and hit her head - she quit breathing, had a seizure and was in the hospital. Lee had driven her, his sister, and his nephew, William, in the ice to the hospital - thankfully seeing an ambulance on the way and flagging them down. In the process, he knocked his passenger side mirror off of his car and his driver side window blew a fuse and wouldn't roll up (mind you, it was 11 degrees). So, when I talked to Mrs. Huff, Mary Emma was in ICU and they didn't know if she would suffer brain damage or not. So, so, so, so scary. They were just a mess!

My flight (of course) got delayed 4 more times, and by the time I finally left for Memphis (1240 AM), Mary Emma was doing fine, her Cat Scan came back normal and she was going to stay in the hospital for observation. Whew... I got to Memphis at about 130 AM, and Lee picked me up at the airport. By this time everyone was exhausted - emotionally and physically.

Mary Nell (Lee's sister) stayed at the hospital while her husband, Patrick, had to move mountains to get to Memphis from Paducah (where they live) because of the 14 inches of snow that fell. Finally, a neighbor drove Patrick to the hospital (took them almost 5 hours), and the little family was reunited. In the meantime, Lee's dad fell and broke his arm while walking the dog on the ice. The hits just kept on coming...

SO...by the time Christmas Eve rolled around, everyone was pretty much patched up, and we were all just happy that things turned out as well as they did. Such a roller coaster of emotions! Mary Emma got to come home around 3 or so, and she was as good as new, thank goodness. Mr. Huff got a cast, and was just thankful that his left arm was impaired and not his right.

Lee told me that Christmas Eve would be our night, so we packed a little bag, got ready and headed out into the snow and ice. We went to the Peabody Hotel to have a drink and dinner at the Italian restaurant there. Before dinner, we checked into our room - which was so fabulous and QUIET which was a nice change - and then went down to eat. Dinner was so delicious, and it was so nice to just be able to talk and unwind. After that, we went to a little blues bar in the hotel and had a drink. Lee was dead-set on getting up to the roof (I had no idea why), so we went up to the room to get our coats. While we were in the room, he said he wanted to get some champagne to take up to the roof... as he was calling the lobby, I looked on the table in the room, and there was champagne already there. Lee looked so confused - it was hilarious... Anyway, he said that he must've ordered that when he reserved the room, so we poured a glass and began our venture to the roof.

Since it was now 5 degrees and completely iced over, they wouldn't let us up to the Skyway. Foiled! Lee went down and begged the concierge, but it didn't help. He was a bit crestfallen, and I didn't know why...but we decided to just have our champagne in the warm room (which was FINE by me!! haha). When we got there and sat down, Lee told me he loved me...then he said, "Do you know how much I love you?" And, honestly, after that, it becomes a blur! It was so romantic, and he told me that he wanted me to be his wife and that he loves me more than anything in the world...and then he got on his knee and proposed. Such an amazing moment. Actually, he said, "You didn't say yes!" To which I responded, "You didn't ask!" He had only said "I want you to be my wife..." So, then he said, "Will you marry me?" And I said "yes" and we laughed and cried and had more champagne. :)

So, there you go! A really memorable Christmas indeed. Haven't set the date yet, but we're thinking maybe October...

Forgive...still officeless (7.19.05)

I swear, I think that being officeless is worse than being on a serious deadline. I am bored to tears AND antsy about all of the work I haven't been able to do. In order to keep myself from stressing out, I have decided to make a list - 50 Things About Molly... I've seen it on other blogs, and it's kind of interesting. Let's see if I can get to 50.

1. I am left handed - I eat and write with my left hand...but throw with my right.

2. I have green eyes that can sometimes look blue in the sunlight and with the right color shirt on.

3. I am a dog person - cats are ok, but I adore the canines.

4. I don't like bananas, grapes, canteloupe, watermelon, honeydew, or kiwi.

5. I do like liver & onions, spinach, cooked carrots, rutabegas (sp?) and can eat bbq for breakfast.

6. I was a big baby - 9 lbs, 15 oz's at birth

7. I wrote plays in the 2nd grade and cast kids from my class to be in them. I would even bring them costumes to wear and rewrite all the copies of the script.

8. I am horribly scared of alligators - I have nightmares about them.

9. I am very self conscious about my body - especially my love handles.

10. I am named after a friend of my mother's in college - a ZTA friend at UGA

11. I have always found English classes easy...and math classes impossible.

12. I don't love poetry - except for limericks. Love limericks.

13. I love to read - mostly fiction although a good biography can suck me in, too.

14. I think that listening to Braves games on the radio is really fun and it makes me feel happy.

15. I adore the smell of fresh cut grass - it reminds me of summertime and of football games on Friday nights.

16. I could eat an entire jar of dill pickles in one sitting.

17. I own close to 50 pairs of shoes.

18. My Seven jeans that I bought in LA are one of my favorite possessions.

19. I have never been out of the country besides going to the Bahamas.

20. I was a gymnast for 8 years, but I was always scared of the parallel bars.

21. I won a writing fair in 4th grade for a poem I wrote about school. I won again in the 9th grade for a story I wrote from the point of view of a soldier in Desert Storm.

22. I won 3rd place in an On the Spot writing contest at a Journalism Convention held at UGA when I was in 12th grade.

23. I lost the student council election in 12th grade, as well as the Beta Club Officer election, and I didn't get chosen as captain of our cheerleading squad or voted onto the Homecoming Court.

24. I have never been late on my taxes.

25. I have been late on my car payment.\r\n26. I have bounced a check.

27. I have never pawned anything.

28. I have called in sick when I was not really sick.

29. I have gone to work when I probably should have stayed home.

30. I have written letters and emails to people who haven't written me back, and it hurts my feelings.\r\n31. I think my brother is amazing.

32. I have flat feet.

33. I don't have contacts and never had braces.

34. I only quit biting my fingernails about 2 years ago.

35. I have had my heart broken - at least twice.

36. I have broken someone's heart.

37. I got an award in 5th grade for not missing a single day of school - that same year, I also got an award for the highest academic average in my grade. Going to school DOES help you to do better. ha

38. I have called someone by the wrong name - recently - and it was a family member.

39. I wanted to be a grocery store clerk when I was a little girl.

40. I used to make up songs on my front porch and when I was riding my bike, and it would make my eyes water.

41. I think that Riesen candies are the most delicious thing on the planet.

42. I like beer more than wine.

43. I love Lionel Richie, Phil Collins, Hall & Oates and tons of other cheesy music.

44. I have tripped and fallen while running in my neighborhood.

45. I have been caught talking about a friend.

46. I love collard greens - can eat 2 or 3 helpings without getting full.

47. My first name and my last name both mean the same thing: "Guardian of the Sea"

48. I love to write, talk, look at pictures, and watch old movies - I am extremely nostalgic

49. I was a C-section baby - therefore I have a "perfect" head

50. I am much too sensitive and can dish out a lot more than I can take.

Whew - there you go. And guess what!! I get my office back!

Back to My Post (7.19.05)

I have been momentarily displaced out of my office - my computer has some strange corrupt "thing" going on, and our IT person had to copy ALL of my files onto a 3rd party hard drive, clean out the computer, and then copy it all back. I have, as a result, lost a day and a half of work AND of blogging. Woe is me.

The weekend was great - my fitting went well, and there are only a couple of minor things they have to do to the dress before the wedding. Yikes. Even my shoes were ready this time. It is such a good feeling to put on your wedding dress and have other patrons in the store tell you how much they like it...validation that you chose well, I suppose. I am happy with the dress - it's gorgeous. And I really wish that I could wear it more than once, but that would be severely inappropriate and a little mentally unstable.

Saturday evening the whole family went to a wedding. It was an Episcopal wedding, so it lasted a really long time (for us Methodist folks, anyway). So beautiful, though...and really sweet. The couple seem perfect together, and I've known them both for ages. Especially the groom - I've known him since he was born. The reception was SO much fun!! And I wasn't expecting that... I think that may have been what made it even better. The band was great, the beer and wine were abundant, and there were tons of people there that I knew. We even ended up at the country club bar after the bride and groom left - no one was ready to go home. I love those nights - you feel like you are smiling for hours upon hours.

Sunday, while Lee was still camping, my mother and I went shopping. During the course of the weekend, I scored three new pairs of shoes and two dresses. My mother also found my bridesmaids' jewelry yesterday, so we are one step closer to having everything done. What a great feeling. I ended up staying in Tifton Sunday night and driving back yesterday morning. That was a fine idea except that by yesterday afternoon, I was an exhausted wreck. At one point, I cried because the clean dishes had not been unloaded out of the dishwasher. It was time to lie down.

Lee was a sweetheart and let me be pitiful - he made dinner and even brought me dessert. :) I needed that...I think the stress of the wedding on top of working and just being tired all got to me. Bottom line: I need a vacation.

This weekend - NO PLANS!! I can't believe it...and am so excited. I hope I get at least one good beach day out of it, too. My mother gave me a JFK, Jr. biography this weekend that I am flying through - he was my ideal growing up. I loved everything about that man. This book is fascinating.

Off to check on the status of my computer - happy green beans and Gadget!

Brain Dead (7.15.05)

I am officially the most useless person here today. I can't bring myself to do even a morsel of anything resembling work...it's pitiful. I just was asked if I had finished revising a schedule that I was given early this morning. Of course I had not finished...I haven't finished ANYTHING today. So I felt a little guilty and took the 10 minutes necessary to revise the schedule. If possible, I am even MORE worthless after that little bit of effort.

I'm driving home to Tifton this afternoon, and I think that's my problem. I'm just so ready to get out of here and get on the road. That drive is quite possibly one of the most boring trips there is - 3 hours of flat landscape and tiny speed-trap towns. But, I was informed by my Mother that there will be a steak there with my name on it when I arrive. Yippee...

I have my second wedding dress fitting in the morning. The last time we did this, I almost passed out from standing for so long. Of course I didn't eat because I didn't want to be chubby for the fitting - that was beyond brilliant. I was light headed and almost sick by the time it was over. I am vowing to have at least a piece of toast tomorrow.

Tomorrow evening I have a wedding to attend - I'm so excited about it. It's weird...now that I have my own wedding in the works, going to other folks' nuptials is fascinating! Lee is off doing the camping thing this weekend (remember? I'm the cool fiance), so it will just be me and the fam. Looking forward to it.

Ok, short post today because, as I've stated, I am a mere shell of a human today. Happy weekend!

Do You Love As Good As You Look? (7.14.05)

Just a little tribute to the Bellamy Brothers. Last night while it was storming, Lee and I sat on the screen porch having some wine...and I decided that I was in the mood for some music from my childhood. Bellamy Brothers won.

When I was a little girl, I used to love to tag along with my Daddy. He was a football and baseball coach, so he spent lots of time outdoors. On the weekends, he was always at one field or the other...mowing the grass, dragging the infield, irrigating, putting up fences, you name it. I begged to be able to go with him - it was so much fun for me. Everytime I would ask, he would say (in his timeless Southern drawl), "Now, it's gon' be a little while..." Meaning: This is an all day event and I don't want to hear any whining or complaining. I was always ready and willing, though. Even in the 100 degree heat and suffocating humidity of South Georgia in August.

So off we went! I would crawl up into his pick up truck, he would roll down his window, usually put in a plug of chewing tobacco, turn on the radio, and we'd be on our way. The smells and sounds of those days come back to me so vividly - it's amazing. Fresh cut grass, gasoline for the mower, the crickets and tree frogs that lived near the fields, the sweet smell of tobacco, the hollow sounds of the aluminum bats in the dugout, honeysuckle plants, and most of all the music. Otis Redding, Hall & Oats, Steppenwolf, Dire Straits and, of course, The Bellamy Brothers.

After our long day of working (Daddy working, me staying out of the way and practicing my gymnastics floor routine), we would swing by the quickie store. This was the one time that I got to have a "bad for me" snack - away from the watchful eyes of my mother who preferred we eat healthy. My favorites: YooHoo to drink, fried pork rinds and beef jerky. Oh how I loved those trips to the store. I felt so deliciously sinful...eating "junk" with my Daddy. During the ride home, I would take my shoes off, devour my snacks and sing along to the radio. All of these memories take place when I was between the ages of about 5 and 9.

I am the only girl...and the oldest child. When we would get home to my Mother and baby brother, I looked like anything but the good mannered little lady she was trying to raise. Shoeless, dirty, eating horrible redneck-y snacks and singing Bellamy Brothers songs - with all their double meanings and suggestive innuendo - as loud as I could. "If I said you had a beautiful body, would you hold it against me?" "Do you love as good as you look?" These were my two favorites...I didn't even understand them until about the 9th grade.

My Mother was understanding, though, and knew it was important for me to bond with my Daddy. And my Father was so patient to let me tag along while he worked. These are some of the best (and oldest) memories I have.

Long live unhealthy snacks, Daddy's and daughters, and the music that is the soundtrack of our youth.