Moving on out

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www.the8thgirl.com

Excuses not to exercise

#1 - Blame it on the iPod

I had a dream the other night that I hired a personal assistant. Her first day on the job I asked her to organize my iTunes library. She was so not feeling me at that moment. She looked at me as if I thought I was the female version of Sean Combs. I don't remember if she actually completed the task. I think I woke up before I could find out. Maybe I was frightened by those daggers she was staring into me.

Hubby often comments on my eclectic taste in music. He just doesn't "get" me where music is concerned. I try to explain that I'm just an avid music lover. Plain and simple. I can appreciate all genres; everything from punk rock to classical.

Sometimes this presents a problem for me. Those times when I want to blast my music through the house, like when I'm cleaning or cooking a big meal, I often find myself in a quandry as to what I should listen to. At first I'll be in the mood for some smooth jazz. A few songs later I find myself wanting to dance. Then I have to interrupt whatever it is I'm doing to go scroll and click through until I get to some disco. By this time all I can hope is that the A.D.D. hasn't kicked in and I haven't forgotten what it is I wanted to listen to in the first place.

When it really irks me is on the rare occasions that I decide to exercise. Nothing is more aggrivating than to have to constantly flip through hundreds of songs to get to the one song I feel will keep me motivated to keep going.

I'm convinced my iPod is evil. I'm not saying all iPods are evil. Lord knows I do not have the cash to fight Apple for dissing their product (like my little opinion even counts--it's not like I'm Oprah). I'm saying my iPod is evil. I cannot for the life of me figure out how to organize the darn thing. Yeah, I know I can put every song into neat little playlists, but who has time for that? I tried at first but that evil thing wouldn't cooperate. I'm so far gone now I cannot imagine how I would even begin. I'm sure this is a good "problem" to have, but still.

So there you have it. If I didn't have to constantly look down to skip over Cold Play to get to Prince I would probably be on that elliptical a whole lot more often. Until T.O. becomes my personal trainer - in which case all excuses are out the window - I'll be battling between the forces of good and the evil iPod.

Happy Birthday Baby

My mom finally decided to have "the talk" with me a few days before I left for college. She told me I would be meeting boys who were very different from the kind of boys I was used to dealing with. After all I had basically grown up with the boys I dated in high school, but this would be different. I would not know a thing about them.

I'll never forget how she ended the conversation in which I sat there in sheer embarrassment, melting in my chair like the wicked witch from The Wizard of Oz. She said to especially stay away from those big city boys from places like Detroit, Chicago and New York.

This is one time I'm glad I didn't listen to my mom. Where would I be if I had not given the Yankee a chance?

Hey Friend!

I've recently connected with some old friends from high school via Facebook. This has been one of the most thrilling things for me in recent memory. Yeah, I lead an exciting life.

Every time I think about how long it's been since I graduated high school, I almost want to cry. Where did the time go? Even sadder is the fact that I haven't seen some of my former classmates since graduation night. It's not that I haven't wanted to keep in touch. Our lives just seemed to move in completely different directions. Most of them went to colleges close to our hometown. I wanted to get as far away as possible. I didn't get as far as I would have liked, but I was one of only 2 from my class (that I know of) who came up to the "big city." I wanted to meet new people and have new experiences. Most of us in my graduating class had been together since kindergarten. I felt as if I would never broaden my horizons if I continued to ride along with them into the next phase of our lives.

When I got to the city I met people from all over the country, as well as other parts of the world. I guess I got so caught up with the "newness", I let myself forget about the friends I had always known and who really knew me. I got married, made even more friends and got even more caught up.

I've made some great new friends along the way, but nothing beats having people around you who've been there with you through all the crazy phases of your life. From kicking each other out of the sand box on the playground to the awkward adolescent stage to the wild and crazy teen years. We were always there for each other and always had each others backs. We promised to stay friends and keep in touch after graduation. Next thing you know we're about to celebrate a 20 year reunion and it will likely be the first time some of us have seen each other since that last crazy night when we turned our tassels and threw our caps up in the air.

Thankfully Facebook is bringing us back together and hopefully we can reconnect in real life soon. While I'm truly grateful for the wonderful new friends I've made, I'm equally grateful that after all this time I can send a request to a long lost buddy and have her embrace me with all the enthusiasm she had 18 years ago she when wrote "you'll always be my girl" in my memory book.

Country Bumpkin

I took a "How country are you" quiz on Facebook today. According to the results, I'm 75% country. I have to say, I'm somewhat shocked and maybe even a little disappointed in that score. To be honest, I thought I was way more country than that. Or at least I can relate to being more country.

I know to some it might seem a little strange that I aspire to be associated with the barefoot, overalls wearing, watermelon eating, beer cans stacked up on the front porch crew. Well, that would be strange. Mind you, I'm not saying anything is wrong with that at all. It's just that I'm more in tune with the everybody knows everybody, leave your doors unlocked, sit in the rocker on the front porch and wave at everyone who drives by the house crew. Hey, I still do that last part now. I guess that makes me country chic?

I love being from a town with only one traffic light and where every major store and every point of interest sits in an exact circle. Living in the big city has it merits, but nothing compares to being able to walk outside and literally smell the fragrance from the trees instead of car exhaust. It's a wonderful thing to be able to actually hear the birds chirping without them being drowned out by police and ambulance sirens.

My mom complained to me a while back that her water bill was too high because she had been watering her flowers every day. I was puzzled because my bill never gets higher than about $40. I asked her why would her bill was so high just because she was using a little more water? As she went on and on I thought something had to be wrong. How could the little small town I hold so true to my heart be jerking my mom on her water bill? Finally, it dawned on me to ask her the amount of her bill. She said it was $17. I digress.

Bite Me

I'm a scaredy cat. I'm probably one of the scariest people I know. I quickly flip the channel every time a commercial for a scary movie comes on. I don't like pulling up next to white vans. I wouldn't leave the house on Halloween if I could help it. I would beat Usain Bolt running from a dog. Hey, it is what it is. I don't ask much of my loved ones. Just respect my fear.

With all that being said, why am I so inexplicably addicted to a TV series about vampires? True Blood is truly in my blood now. Sunday night is a complete waste if I haven't watched the latest episode. Sometimes I watch it twice; just because I think I might have missed something the first time around.

I blame one of my dearest friends (thanks Fred) for getting me hooked in the first place. He was after me for months to watch it. I finally caved in and sat down to watch a recap episode of the first series. Thanks to On Demand, I finally pried myself off the couch about 4 hours and 3 episodes later. It took me less than a week to watch the whole first season. Of course I did dream about Bill that first night. I still do occasionally. Scary guy when he gets upset. Otherwise he's a cream puff.

True Blood is unequivocally the best show on TV right now. It's not really "all that scary" (sure Fred). It might have you looking over your shoulder occasionally though. It's just about the most well-written, impeccably directed and incredibly thought provoking show on television. True Blood is also pure entertainment. So those who don't believe in vampires need not worry. You won't feel like your faith is in jeopardy by watching.

If you haven't checked it out, you absolutely must. There are only 3 episodes left--which I'm completely depressed about. Go rent or buy the first season ASAP. All of the episodes from the second season so far are On Demand. If you don't have On Demand, well, that sucks. No pun intended.

NO kidding

"When are you going to have kids?"

"Why don't you have kids?"

"What are you waiting on to have kids?"

Either hubby or myself is asked at least one of these questions every time we meet someone for the first time or talk to someone we haven't seen or spoken to in a long time. What's the deal? Why is everyone obsessed with us having kids? Do we not fit into some kind of ideal family unit?

Personally, I'd like to think my mother already took care of my part in populating this great planet of ours. After all, she had 12. Thanks, mom! I haven't ruled it out yet. I just haven't grown up enough. Or more like, mother nature isn't convinced that I have.

Anyone who knows me knows I do things at my own pace in my own way. Never been a follower. I hate taking directions and I HATE to be told what to do. So either I'll pull a Octomom or hubby and I will be admitting each other into the nursing home when there's no one else around to take care of us.

In the meantime, I have plenty of nieces, nephews, godchildren and friends' kids to practice on.