Phone Call

LL: Hello
Polly: Hey
LL: Hey
Polly: Are you still at work?
LL: No, I am at Tim's watching Survivor.
Polly: Oh, well this is your mother.....


Have a great weekend...and tomorrow is Pancake Day at DHS! Yea!!!!!

Give me an R...

...give me a E, give me a D, N, E, C, K...what do you got? Me for the past 2 weeks. Or, at least me pretending to be for the past two weeks. While Rachel's car was in the shop, I got to tool around in this. I know I looked funny getting out of it in my dressed up work clothes. I bet a lot of people were thinking "Something is just not right with this picture."

Anyway, thanks to my love for letting me borrow it. I am very grateful that you have 5 vehicles for me to choose from when I need a loan! (can you say overkill?)

ETHNICITY

I must have been Asain in another life. I can not get enough sushi this past week. I have eaten it 3 times in 7 days, 4 time in the last 10. I don't know what is wrong. I might have to have an intervention. This was my dinner last night. I ate all but 2 pieces!

Love

Ode to Beverly Jo

....that is not her real middle name. It is Jean.

I had lunch with my friend Beverly yesterday. It was so good to see her and visit with her. We are both so busy that it has been quite a while since we spent time together. In front of all you witnesses (3) I vow not to wait long before I spend time with her again. I always have so much fun and really appreciate the longevity of our friendship. It is special.

I met Beverly when I got my first real job after college. We hit it off right away, forming the original Fashion Police (and trust me, where we worked we gave lots of tickets!), going to Atlanta for Broadway plays, we even went with my Mom to Philidelphia to see a Cezanne exhibit. I will never forget my Mom asking the toothless, not American taxi driver "Where do you recommend we eat?" Lord help me!

Anyway - shout out to my friend Beverly. I am lucky to have her in my life! And shout out to Chef's Table....my favorite resturant EVER!

You have something on your forehead.....

Just a gentle reminder: Today is Ash Wednesday. It is the first day of Lent and occurs 46 days before Easter.

From Wikipedia:
Ash Wednesday gets its name from the practice of placing ashes on the foreheads of the faithful as a sign of repentance. The ashes used are gathered after the Palm Crosses from the previous year's Palm Sunday are burned. In the liturgical practice of some churches, the ashes are mixed with the Oil of the Catechumens[1] (one of the sacred oils used to anoint those about to be baptized), though some churches use ordinary oil. This paste is used by the priest who presides at the service to make the sign of the cross, first upon his own forehead and then on each of those present who kneel before him at the altar rail. As he does so, he recites the words: "Remember (O man) that you are dust, and to dust you shall return."

So, if you have friends or co-workers whose religion practices this sacramental, you will probably notice an ash mark on their face today. Try to remember not to point this out to them, they know it is there. I just wanted to let you know, because last year I did tell Jamie she had something on her forehead!

A rose is a rose is a confused rose

I have had this saying stuck in my head for a couple of weeks now. "A rose, by any other name, is still a rose." I have told several friends that I needed to look up where it came from. Finally I did and realized I was fusing together two popular "rose" sayings:


Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, 1594: "That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet" (what matters is what something is, not what it is called - Juliet was using this to inform Romeo that even though he is Mantague by name, he is still sweet).

and

Gertrude Stein, Sacred Emily, 1913: "A rose is a rose is a rose" (things are what they are).

And just for fun.....

Poison, 1988: "Every rose has its thorns"

Happy Monday!

Shout out to Lisa Tut! Happy Birthday! Saturday night I went to Mi Hacienda to celebrate Lisa Tut's birthday. There were a lot of people there. I did not get to visit much with Lisa or Beth, but we had fun at my end of the table. I got to sit next to the cutest baby named Braxton. We became fast friends. The servers thought we were crazy, and even said something about "crazy white people." We kept mimicking them by saying "hot plate, hot plate" but we were using an Asian accent. You can tell the margarita's were good!

Useless Info

Influenza got its name from the fact that people believed the disease was caused by the evil "influence" of stars.

Abraham Lincoln's mother died when the family cow ate poisonous mushrooms and Mrs. Lincoln drank its milk.

The word lethologica describes the state of not remembering the word you want to say.

The "You are here" arrow on a map is called the IDEO locator.

Wine Art

On the subject of sharing stuff on my walls.....this is a painting that my friend Kelli made for me. It is quite large, about 2 feet tall. As you can see it is a painted wine bottle on an old scrap piece of wood. There is a cute saying about good friends and good wine written on it. I love how she used frame scraps on the outside. The label and cork are real. It has a lot of sentimental value because.....

....the label reads "Willow Bend." That was the street I lived on in Burningtree for 15 years! Also, Kelli and her 3 sisters lived right across the street. Isn't that neat?

Side note: The metal angel handing by the wine bottle was made by, you guessed it, my friend Denise. I am so lucky to have such creative, talented friends.

Happy Friday!

RFCU WARNING!!!!!!

Please pay attention! If you are going to Redstone Federal Credit Union on Wynn Drive, make sure you avoid being helped by Jacqueline. If you find yourself staring at the teller and her name tag says "Jacqueline" trust me and RUN!!!! Say you forgot something in the car, go outside and then reenter, making sure you do not, repeat DO NOT get in her line again.

Yesterday I had two simple transaction. One a deposit and the other to cash a check from work. During the time it took Jac to complete these transactions, the teller next to us waited on 4 other people....yes, 4! My friend was waiting in the car and she said she saw about 5 or 6 people enter after I entered and leave before I did.

Well, intelligent, germ avoiding Jac started to process my check cashing. She asked to see my driver's license which she proceeded to rub anti-bacterial hand solution all over! GROSS. She couldn't even pronounce it calling it "this anti stuff." Then she counts my money to me giving me first a 20, then a five, next four ones, and finally the 10. I reach for the money but she picks it up in order to insert the 10 after the 20. Why didn't she do that in the first place. Isn't that taught in Money Counting 101? I finally wrestle the money from her anti-bacterial damp hands and shove it in my purse. She then asks me to make sure that was $39. Are you kidding me? We have both been studying her counting out the money for 45.7 seconds. I assure her yes, it was $39.

Now, I know I am beginning to look at her like "you big dumb ass" as stealthy, quick, efficient teller next to us is churning out customers like an assembly line. I could not get the smirk off my face. For the next transaction, I was depositing $1000 in Jimmy's account. He had gone by and paid for Rachel's car, so I was putting the money back. Well, this transaction appears to go real smooth with Jac and she hands me my receipt. As I am walking away, I notice the receipt is for my account, and that my balance has not been reduced by the $1000. I unwillingly walk back up to "Super Teller" and say, "I need a receipt showing the deposit into Jimmy's account." Now, hold your breath for this one:

J: Oh, I didn't realize the account had changed from the one cashing the check
LL: So you cashed a check and made a deposit to the same account?
J: Yeah
LL: Well, I need the money to go in James Bowers account
J: Ok, we can fix it, and don't worry the other was just a zero transaction (pronounced trans-ax-shun)
J: (looking at my check again) Is this your Dad?
LL: No, my boyfriend.
J: Oh

It took all I had not to say "What the hell? Who cares who it is. Please just deposit the damn money so I can go to lunch!" Finally, the deposit got squared away, (I hope). I do have a receipt showing someone put $1000 into Jimmy's account. You might want to check your balance!

My work here is done....consider yourself warned.

VALENTINES

Here are my beautiful Valentine memories from 2009.


Cute little Luke (Lukademous as called by Poppy)

Sweet Tatum with her winning smile....

Both together are a handful! We went to Jamee's for a pizza-cupcake party. It took all 3 of us to handle them! Love, love, love....

And the beautiful roses my love sent me. Hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day!

KITCHEN WALL

This is my wall in the kitchen. I really like how so many haphazard things can look good (I think) when grouped (crazily) together. When I see this wall it makes me smile. There are many memories from items on these shelves.

My friend Beverly gave me these painted ladies through the years. The cookie jar's name is Laura. The salt and pepper are Iris and Violet. The picture beside them (by the air fern - love air ferns - don't have to do anything to them - I am not even sure they are real?) is the Bird Girl statue in Savannah. Remember, it was on the cover of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Tim brought me the picture from a trip of his. It is framed real cute - shadowbox (I bought the frame).

Here is a wooden snake my friend Denise made me. She has such creativity! I think tonight I will just go around my house and take pictures of all the things she has made me and do a blog about her. Probably will take more than one blog. I love her - and her husband is alright too! Cute how I put a frame around the phone jack if I do say so myself. No one ever notices that. I guess because there is so much going on on the wall.

This is a surfing frog my brother David gave me. I have no idea why he gave me a surfing frog, but I am glad he did. Froggy goes so well with all the other stuff. The wooden olive art was done by my friend Kelli. "One martini, two martini, three martini, floor!"

Any way, I love this wall. It is part of what makes my house my home. It, and a crazy, big eared, hyper puppy dog is the first thing I see when I get home. Makes me feel good.

Love

PS: Sorry about the delay in blogging. Rachel and Jimmy are both unwell and I have been scurrying between dr.s appointments for the last two days. I will do better.

Happy Valentiny!

My sweet little Valentines! Can you believe they are just 2? We are going to Jamee's house tomorrow evening to have a Valentine-pizza party with these cuties! It is right up my alley! Not sure how Jimmy feels about it, but he loves to spend time with Tatum and Luke.

You might be saying "That doesn't sound like a rip-roaring, hot and steamy valentine evening for Laura Leigh and Jimmy." Well, we found out yesterday that Jimmy has a bone spur that is cutting into a nerve in his neck. Needless to say, he is in pain. So we will have to postpone the rip-roaring, hot and steamy valentine evening until another time. He did send me beautiful roses!

Happy Valentines Day.
Happy Weekend.

Love

Weekend - Nashville Trip Postponed

Boy, What a weekend! Rachel was sick, sick, sick. If you are a Mom you know how it feels when your baby is sick. Also, her car broke! It is going to be around $1000 to fix. Nothing she did, just wear and tear on an old car. She is driving my car in Bham and I am tooling around in Jimmy's big Z71 Chevy truck! You should see me! I told everybody I need a cowboy hat and some camo! It's fun to drive.

Anyway, my other baby (Jimmy) is in extreme pain from a pinched nerve, ruptured disc type injury in his neck, back, shoulder. We are going to the doctor on Thursday (finally), but we decided to postpone our trip (of course) to nashville until he can get the pain fixed or under control. Wish us luck.

Love

I love Jesus, but I drank a little

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83JDXXKzOXg

This is the funniest thing I have ever watched. I laughed until I cried. It is from the Ellen D. show. Please take the time to watch it. You will be glad you did!

Love

Useless Info - Sleep Tight

The phrase "sleep tight" originated when mattresses were set upon ropes woven through the bed frame. To remedy sagging ropes, one would use a bed key to tighten them.

We don't have to worry about that anymore, but I did hear that bed bugs were making a comeback. Gross.

Rachel's Gift

I was suprised when I got home yesterday. Rachel had driven up and brought me a dozen yellow roses and had the sweetest card ever written sitting on the table. I actually cried when I read the card and what she wrote inside.

I have the best daughter ever!

I love you Rayray!

Happy Weekend

Happy Birthday to Me!

Rachel didn't read my blog about Polly and Sally. She said it was too long. So, here is my blog for today.

"Today is my 40th birthday."

Useless Info

1. Miss Piggy's measurements are 27-20-36.

2. ABBA got its name by taking the first letter from each of the band member's names (Agnetha, Bjorn, Benny and Anni-frid).

Happy Birthday Tim

Today is Tim's birthday. I will not mention the exact number of birthday's he has had, but I think you know. I remember having our 3rd grade birthday party together at the roller skating rink! We have been friends for a long time! That is my friend Jenfer with Tim in the picture.

Tim, I hope you have a wonderful year!

Sally or Sybil? The 3 Faces of My Cat?

Here we go.....Thursday night I noticed that Sally had licked a patch of hair off her back. I looked at it and saw a little scratch, nothing much, and just figured she licked it so much because it was itching. Then Friday night I was showing the booboo to Rachel when she got home from school. Chrissy and Adrian were there and noticed that she had licked the fur off the underside of her back legs too! They were looking at her and thought it was mange!!!! OK, you know me and my pets, so I started freaking out. I know a skin disease is not a veterinary emergency, but the thought did cross my mind.

I called mom and told her I would need to borrow the pet carrier to take Sally to the vet in the morning. Saturday I got up and 9:15 and called the vet. They could see me only if I started that way right then. I told them I was on my way, called mom real quick and said I need the carrier ASAP! I then got dressed, brushed my teeth and waited. She arrived soon after and parked right behind me. I grabbed the carrier and said move your car. She then proceeds to casually follow me in the house. I am running around getting a towel for Sally and getting Sally herself. Mom is in the kitchen. I ask "Is your car still there?" as I am shoving my cat in the carrier. She responds "Wait and let me look at her." See, her dog Andy (who by the way is out in her car) had a rash last week and she took him to the same vet I was going to. But her dog had ringworm, and this did not look anything like ringworm. Ok, now I lost my temper and told her I was in a blanking hurry!!! Move her car!!!

Moving on....(see this is a Sally and a Polly post in one), so I get to the vet and I am waiting to see him. I notice someone walking up the steps, and you will never guess who it is.....Yep, Miss Polly, in pajamas and raincoat and all. I know I said Shit out loud. She sits down and I ask "what are you doing here?" She states that she is there and has Andy in the car in case the vet wants to see what his rash looks like. OK, my cat and her dog are never together...let's set that straight. I just look at her like I can't believe this is happening.

Sally is called back. Mom asks if she can go too. Why not, I said and told the little guy that Grandma is coming too!

The vet takes one look and says it is not mange or, Polly, even ringworm, but allergies or stress. Mom tells him she has Andy in the car if he would like to take a look at him (whatever reason for, I don't know). I tell her, "Mom, he already said it wasn't ringworm and Andy has ringworm, that is what Dr. Bryan said the other day." Mom then says "He doesn't have ringworm he has a fungus." Then Dr. English informs her that ringworm is a fungus. Well, that finally got Polly to stop trying to shove her dog on everybody and let us get back to the matter at hand.

Have we moved or gotten a new pet? No, but I did buy her a new kind of IAMS food. Well, let's switch her back to the regular IAMS and give her a steroid shot and see if that works. Bring her back in 2 weeks. If not, we will have to put her on some mood altering drug like PROZAC! Can you believe it. My cat might have to take PROZAC. Later in the evening I noticed that she is very afraid of the neighbors new dogs even though they are in a fence. She used to play in that yard, so maybe she is stressed out about that.

Sybil Salad...that has a ring, kind of like "silly rabbit, tricks are for kids."

Sorry so long....Happy Tuesday.