LeAnn Rimes has a song on her new album, Family, that is awesome.  It is called "Good Friends and a Glass of Wine".  I can completely relate to all aspects of this song.  It starts out "Who died and crowned me everybody’s everything." This is exactly how I feel in my life right now. I guess my situation is worse because I am an only child. So when things happen in the family, I am the only one to take care of things. This is a lot of pressure.  The next line in the song goes "I’m busting my butt through the weekend" – I don’t know about you, but our weekends are NEVER long enough.  On Saturday mornings we have to get trash together, do laundry, pick the house up, and do whatever we have obligated ourselves to that day (birthday parties, shopping for essentials etc.) Sunday morning, we go to church (provided we weren’t out late the night before – late being 10 PM) go to the grocery store, go to my grandmother’s and eat lunch, go to my mother-in-laws and eat dinner, come home, watch Desperate Housewives, and its time to go to bed. Seems like there’s no time to do what I’d like to do, or if there is I don’t feel like it.  I’d love to spend more time with my godchildren, go to the zoo, make cookies just for the fun of it.  "By the time I get home there’s not an ounce of sanity Between the dogs, my momma’s calls Is it against the law For me to get what I need " I think this speaks for itself. I don’t know many  nights when I get home, I have to start dinner, let the dog out (if I can get it done before Josh gets home), the phone usually rings in the middle of chaos. It’s either my mom, my mother-in-law or a neighbor.  Normally I don’t mind talking to any of the above. But when I get home from a long day at work, all I want to do is sit on the couch for 30 minutes and watch Momma’s Family (one of the best shows ever) That’s just not an option a lot of days.  " A good friend and a glass of wine Someone to say it’s gonna be alright A good friend and a glass of wine A little pick me up to get me through the night We talk trash n’ we laugh and cry That kind of therapy money can’t buy Every now and then, every now and then Every girl needs a good friend and a glass of wine"   I experienced this the other night. I’m not one for drinking, but I met up with a good friend to do Christmas the other night and we shared Pomegranate Margaritas. It was nice to just sit and chat and enjoy each others company. For an hour, I didn’t have to worry about anything else going on in my life. It was a refreshing experience. Then I realized I need to do that more often. 

I challenge you to 1) Go listen to LeAnn Rimes new cd, I’m not a HUGE fan of hers, but this one is pretty good. 2) Call up an old friend you haven’t seen in a while – Someone that you value their opinion and just go have a drink, it’ll do you a world of good. 3) Make time for things you want to do, one day you’ll regret not doing the "little things" in life.

* Lyrics to "Good Friends and a Glass of Wine, courtesy of www.azlyrics.com

I have heard mention of this concerning guys. You leave a stall between you and another guy if possible. But there’s also etiquette for girls too. If I have the option, I want a stall with one main wall (at the end of a line of stalls) so I only have to be next to one person instead of two. If that’s not available, I try to get between two stalls that aren’t being used. Also, if I have serious business to take care of (clearing throat) I try my hardest to wait until I’m the only one in there. If this is impossible, I’ll stay in the stall until whoever else is in there, leaves. If I have to pull the door open, I use a napkin, do you know how many people go through and don’t wash their hands!? Sometimes, I don’t. Before you judge me, hear me out. I do not like the hand blowers. If this is my only option, I keep hand sanitizer in my purse at all times. (I use it before I eat at restaurants) Am I the only one weird about this?

I love to shop. Just ask my husband. I have discovered a whole new way of shopping that has changed my life. Online shopping – but not just Online shopping – searching for coupon codes before I check out. There are websites dedicated to keeping a list of current coupon codes that offer you 10% off, to free shipping (and sometimes both!) My favorite website is www.retailmenot.com My best deal to date was for Victoria Secret. I got 10% off, free shipping, free lip gloss and a free medium tote. You can’t beat that with a stick.

Here is a list of things I did not have growing up, that I use now and has truelly changed the way I live.

Tivo – This has changed the way I watch tv. Now when I go to my Grandmother’s house, I get aggravated at watching commercials. I’ll ask my mom if she watched a certain show, and she’ll ask me when it comes on and what channel. Then I realize, I don’t know. The Tivo takes care of that for me. When its time for it to come on, the tv changes itself to that channel, because I told it I wanted to watch that.

Roomba – When this first came out, it had some major bugs, but now, it’s freakin’ awesome! It’s the perfect gift for the multi-tasker. I can be at work, vacuuming my house, and cooking dinner in the crockpot. How awesome is that? Now we only push a vacuum cleaner for major messes like the needles from the Christmas tree.

Cell phones – When I was growing up, we had pagers. Now, everyone has a cell phone. I didn’t realize how reliant I have become on having a phone with me at all times. I left my phone at home and felt insecure all day. What if I have a wreck? I can’t call anyone, oh no! How did I survive without this little gadget? Also, all my phone numbers are stored in there. I don’t remember my parents phone number, they are #4 on my speed dial

Ipods – This has changed the way I listen to music. Pretty soon, CDs will be non-existent. They will be like 8-tracks to our parents. I can hear it now.. “Son, back in my day we had what were called a C…D…. you put it in a slot and had to hit a button to get to a certain song. “ Heaven forbid we talk about cassette tapes. You want to learn Spanish? There’s a podcast for that. Want to read a book? You don’t have to go to a library (what’s that?!) just download it onto your ipod. It’s not, can I borrow that book? It’s can you send me the MP3 of So and So.

Guitar Hero – If you have not played this game, I highly recommend it. Its great stress relief and it will give you higher self esteem. I have a friend who auditioned for a band. Apparently the lead guitarist couldn’t play Sweet Child of Mine. First thing that came to my mind was, “What’s wrong with him? I can play Sweet Child of Mine on Medium…. Loser.” I’ll hear a song on the radio, and think, I can play that! )

What new technologies have you found that has changed your life as you know it?

I have a few friends that create drama. I’m sure you knew the type of people I am talking about. They make a string of bad decisions and then wonder why their life is falling apart. If you can’t pay your bills, don’t go buy a $500 cell phone. To me, this is common sense, but maybe this is a quality I take for granted. I can’t feel sorry for you if you don’t have enough sense to not spend money on things you don’t need and then don’t have enough money left for stuff you do need. These type of people also usually like to only talk about themselves as well. You listen to them complain for 30 minutes about a self inflicted problem. You go to say something that pertains to your life ( i.e. family member being really sick, can’t get help) and they talk over you or they say, “Aww, I’m sorry. You know my Aunt Ida is sick…” and go on for another 15 minutes about Aunt Ida. Do they ever call to see how your family member is? Not usually. They may call to tell you another one of their problems, and in the course of the conversation, ask you about it, but that’s not the purpose of their call.

On a similar note, this reminds me of a quote I live by: “Bad planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part.” Just because you don’t do what you are supposed to, doesn’t mean I am obligated to drop everything I am doing and help you. You can’t tell me something you need and expect it done in 5 minutes, when I have a list of other things to do that people have told me in plenty of time. Also, if you RUSH everything you do, it does not become a RUSH anymore. It’s like the boy who cried wolf. Just thought I’d throw that in.

In the spirit of the holidays, I thought I would write about something related to the season. I have become very passionate about some things in the past few years, and saying “Merry Christmas” is one of them. Jesus is the reason for the season. These companies that are calling them “Winter Trees” or “Holiday Wreaths” have officially lost my business. This same theme goes for Christmas Cards. I make it a point to buy cards that say Merry Christmas on them. After all, that’s the whole point in sending Christmas cards. I send them to other Christians, wishing them a wonderful Christian holiday. That should not offend anyone. In the same respect, I agree with Larry the Cable Guy on his views of atheists getting good deals at Christmas, these deals are for Christians. All non-Christians, stop hogging the good parking spots and buying all the Zunes at $99, these deals are for us! (Just kidding, sorta…) This year, I’ve only received 3 Christmas Cards so far. Last year, I received 56. Now, it’s still fairly early in the game, but it makes me wonder. Is this tradition slowly dying? What’s the reason behind it? Is it because we are too lazy to send out cards? Is it because with technology like it is, sending cards is a dying art? Or is it that Christian population slowly diminishing and our world is slowly being taken over by other religions? It’s probably a compilation of all of these, but I’d like to hear what you think.

• 2 1/4 cups Bisquik
• 1 lb Tennessee Pride Sausage (Mild)
• 2 cups mild shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 360. Mix all ingredients until combined. Roll into balls and put on cookie sheet.  Bake for 10-12 (until bottoms turn slightly brown)

* These are really good dipped into Rotel dip. But also excellent all by themselves.

You’ve had it happen.. You run into someone and you do the whole " Hey, How are you?  Good, How are you? Good.  See you later.. "  When you both know, you are not good. You just go through the motions, because it’s easier. Both of your lives are falling apart, but you don’t want to get into it. There’s different reasons for this. You don’t know them well enough to tell them your personal business.  You don’t have time to get into details. They have their own problems, they don’t want to listen to yours, or you don’t want to listen to theirs. Alas, it happens all the time.

Lets take it one step further. A loved one is sick. They don’t want to be a bother, so they tell you they are okay, when they aren’t. You can only go on what they are telling you. Then you find out they are worse than what you thought. Now, this puts you in a tough position. Do you get mad because they lied to you, or do you take in consideration the reasons they did it?