Notes from My Brain

Random, random list......this is what happens when nothing big happens, and I don't post for a week. Sorry, peeps.

1. Have I told you about my stalker here at work? Yeah. His name is Cleveland, and he stalks me. He tries to talk to me and ask me questions about my personal life. He has asked me for my phone number and if I have a boyfriend, etc. Needless to say, this is pretty awkward and not really welcome on my part. Not only do I have a boyfriend, but I would never date a student here at the school where I work, anyway -- it's just not a good thing to do professionally. Cleveland became so persistent that I had to tell him that my boyfriend would beat him up if he saw him talking to me. I also dropped heavy hints about my boyfriend's "temper", "weight-lifting" and "gun". It got so bad, that I began to wear a fake engagement ring to work, and walk to my car with other people.

He disappeared randomly and suddenly, last fall semester. I thought I was in the clear. Until this week: he requested me as a friend on myspace. It kind of freaked me out because my page is private, so there is little (if any) identifying information to be found by random people. He had to have sat there and hunted me down from some big list and remember what I look like. It kind of creeps me out. I denied the request and didn't reply to his drunken e-mail. I hope this will be the end of it. If he tries to talk to me again, I am going to call security. But part of me is freaking out a little, because what if he's a psycho and this will just royally piss him off??? Ugh.

2. It's official: I suck -- SUCK-- at dieting. At this point, I figure I might as well give up until after the cruise, because let's face it -- I'm not going to eat well while I'm on that boat. There will be a chocolate buffet, people. A chocolate buffet. Take a minute to imagine that. Yeah. I'm toast. This is in addition to the 24-hour pizza and ice cream station. So really, it's a lost cause. But I swear on all things sacred that I will go hard-core diet when I get back. I have to. Or else I will truly be a heifer. No, seriously -- it's starting to piss me off. There's no reason I can't lose at least 20 pounds. That is not even that much. I am being ridiculous, y'all. There's really no excuse.

I have been pretty good this week, after totally blowing my diet last weekend--more on that in a minute. Thank goodness I have very little junk food in the house right now. That helps a lot. I am still working out a lot, but not quite as much as I used to.

3. Speaking of last weekend, I went shopping with Barbie (aka the girl that Repo dated after me) and one of her friends. We had a good time, and I got some really cute stuff: a square-neck "going out" top in this color, an embroidered, tie-back, semi-see-through summery top in a pale dusty blue color, a cable-knit sweater for work in this color, a pair of jeans, a green/lavender/white-striped sundress and a new pair of black flats (old pair had been chewed by Toby). I also used my Sephora gift card from Xmas to buy some Nars blush. Thanks to some gift cards and great sales, I only ended up spending $100, including lunch at Steak n Shake.

Oh, how I miss S&S. We used to have one here in Columbia, but it closed down. They are my favorite burgers and shakes EVER, so I have been experiencing some withdrawals. My cheeseburger with pickles and half-chocolate/half-vanilla milkshake were so freaking delicious. It's kind of good that the closest one is an hour away from me. Or I really would be in serious diet trouble.

Although I had fun, I did get kind of annoyed hanging out with Barbie and her friend. They are both 23, and I had forgotten how immature 23 year-olds can be. I'm sure I was the same way when I was their age. So I was glad to get home at the end of the day, and away from all the drama and hyper-active ditziness. They are fun girls, but I need them in small doses.

4. I was supposed to get some Magic Hat beer for CN while I was in Charlotte. He loves it, and they don't sell it in SC. But I couldn't find any in the areas we were in. I felt really badly, because he was looking forward to it. So to make it up to him, I made him breakfast on Saturday morning: fried eggs, turkey bacon, sausage, french toast, hashbrowns and biscuits. He brought the orange juice and we had a feast!

By dinner time, I still felt like a lame girlfriend for letting him down, so I made him dinner, too: Chili Mac, which he had never had before. It's a dish popular in the midwest. You put spaghetti noodles on the bottom (NOT macaroni noodles, as some imposter recipes call for!), chili beef (which has been cooked with chili spices and beer) on top of that, then kidney beans, diced onions and lots of cheese. It is soooooooo good! It is very similar to Cincinnati-style chili, only I don't put cinnamon in it. But if you ever get the chance to try Skyline Chili or any other Cincy-style chili, you will love it! I know the cinnamon sounds weird, but trust me. Nothing beats this meal on a cold, rainy day.

5. I am still doing pretty well on the budgeting. But I can see the effects of the increasing gas prices: although I am buying the same things I buy every week, my Wal-Mart bill has been slowly creeping. All the stuff I used to buy for $50 is now more like $55-60. Ouch. In order not to de-rail all of my budgeting hard work so far, I am only bringing $200 with me on the cruise.

I figure, I have already paid for my ticket, which covers all my food. I don't drink alcohol. I will probably drink tap water for most of the cruise (I don't really drink sodas anymore). I don't gamble. I won't use their over-priced spa/salon. CN and I have decided not to spend any money on the $100-a-pop excursions. Instead, we are just going to find a beach and pop a squat. If we order sandwiches from room service before we get off the cruise ship in the morning, we can even avoid paying for lunch! The only things I am planning to spend money on include: half of the parking at the port and a few souvenirs. So I am thinking that I will be able to only end up spending about $150.

6. I am really excited about my upcoming orientation for Big Brothers Big Sisters. It will be in 3 weeks!!! I hope I do ok on the interview. I hope I like the little girl they pair me with. I hope she likes me! I was thinking of some fun activities we could do together. Here's what I've come up with so far:

take Sammy for a walk
bake a pie or cookies
color in a coloring book
play with Barbies
paint our fingernails and watch a movie (maybe a Disney princess movie??)
play a card game/board game
read books (I like reading books to kids)
go to a museum or the zoo

What do you think? If any of you (Becky!) have little girls, please share some fun ideas with me! I don't really know what kids are into these days. I'm worried she will be let down that I don't have any video games at my house.

7. I know a lot of you also read MJ's blog. Well, she doesn't really blog about her personal life anymore. She now does a dog-related blog. So that means, any dirt about her dating life will have to come from me. I would love to divulge some stuff for you, but I need to talk to her and see what she is ok with. I don't want to step on her toes. But I'll see what I can do.

8. CN and I just celebrated our 7 month anniversary. Hate to get all sappy on you, but it has been the happiest 7 months of my life. He is everything I have ever wanted or hoped for in a relationship. I honestly didn't think that men like him existed. And I know he must feel the same way, too, because he FINALLY dropped the "L" word a few weeks ago and gave me a key to his place. Aw.

Ok, more on next week's cruise coming up in tomorrow's post!!!

Yay! Valentine's Day!

Boy, is this year's Valentine's Day better than last year's! (If you don't remember, I'll let you go re-cap that for yourself. I'll skip linking to last February's archive...) It's nice to be happy instead of bitter and angry. It's refreshing. Ok, now I'm rambling.

At first, CN wanted today to be all about me. To quote him: "No! Valentine's Day is supposed to be all about the girl!" -- Reason #271 why I am dating him. And although I like this concept a LOT, and had very little argument against this idea, I told him that I wanted to do something for him, too.

So tonight, I am going to make him dinner. Here is the menu:

*Spring mix salad with cherry tomatoes, bacon bits, mushrooms and Esperanza dressing
*Filet mignon, marinated in mustard, balsamic vinegar, pepper, rosemary and some other stuff, then topped with carmelized onions and bleu cheese crumbles
*Garlic mashed potatoes
*Steamed broccoli
*Low-fat chocolate cheesecake with whipped topping

MMMMMMM!!!! I will put the recipes on my cooking blog tomorrow. I don't have time to do it today.

After dinner, I have a couple of little surprises for him. Although, maybe I will save them for tomorrow night.....I dunno. I will play it by ear. We might eat too much and just lay around and watch tv. Yeah, we are exciting like that.

Tomorrow night, CN is taking me out for V-Day. I have no idea where or when or what to wear. Hmm. I'd better ask him for a few details...he won't tell me anything. "It's a surprise." is all he will say. Eeek! I am excited.

CN's parents sent me a super-sweet V-Day card today. Aw. They are so nice. It's good to know I make the cut, so to speak.

How is your Valentine's Day going? I hope it's as good as mine. Ack! I gotta go. I have a lot of cooking to do!

New Orleans!

Ok, I swear that I'm alive. You can stop the search party. I know I've been gone for um...well over a week. But it's the holidays, so I've been really busy. I'm sure you can understand.

Did you know I am kind of a perfectionist with my blog posts? I am. I re-write each one about three times. So writing about my trip to New Orleans has been quite an ordeal -- one post was not enough, so I have a 2nd drafted post after this. But I wanted to wait on my photos to get developed so that I could show you my pics in the same post...and then I had car trouble....and....BLAH. Now I'm all screwed up, because part of me is thinking, "Dude, no one wants to read two posts about your trip. Just sum it up and get on with your life." But another part of me is saying, "Yes, but you are stuck at home today while your car is being worked on, so what the hell else are you going to do?"

Anyway, this is a post about my trip. It may/may not be the last post. I dunno yet. Haven't even developed the film. And I may not get around to another post before I go home to Virginia on Thursday. But I'm tired of editing it and stuff, so I'm just posting it for now, so I can get on with my life. If this post does it for you, great. If you want another post about my trip, stay tuned. I won't be mad if you skip it. Even I'm sick of reading it by now. Being anal-retentive is a double edge sword. :)

New Orleans is fantastic! If you have never been, I highly recommend it. Even if you don't drink in the numerous bars, you will enjoy the history, food and culture of this unique city. The downtown area is totally back up and running, as is the French Quarter. I did see a lot of "For Lease" and "For Sale" signs in windows, but that is pretty true in lots of cities across the country. Most of the heavily damaged part that is being rebuilt is on the other side of town from the touristy areas.

The people and the food cannot be beat. Man oh man, did I have some good food!!!! This is a city that knows how to have a good time.

I took a lot of pictures, but did not use the whole roll of film yet, so I will have to share them with you later. For now, I will give you my general overview of the Crescent City. My next post will be more personal experiences.

Things I learned about New Orleans:

1. There are street musicians and performers everywhere. The large majority of them are fairly talented.

2. Almost everything has a French connotation or name, but every once in a while, you'll see something Spanish. That is because the city was passed back and forth between the two countries prior to the Louisiana Purchase, when it became U.S. territory. But the French culture is most evident, as just about everything has a fleur de lis on it.

3. There's lots of seafood to eat. I can tell the restaurant business there has a ton of competition. But it's pretty hard to go wrong in New Orleans. It's all delicious! While it is most definitely Southern cuisine, it has a lot of unique dishes not normally found in the rest of the South: jambalaya, gumbo, bread pudding (imagine an extremely moist cake, flavored with cinnamon or vanilla, sometimes including raisins), crawfish (aka crawdads aka mud puppies), redfish (a mild, flaky white fish), po'boys and lots of oysters. The signature dessert is bananas foster. I think they probably eat more rice per capita than any city in the country! Everything had rice in it or on the side.

They also love shrimp, anything with pecans, crab and beans. But that is fairly common anywhere in the South. Lots of things had wonderfully flavored sauces on them. If you've ever had something "blackened", then you know what I mean about the kick their food has. More often than not, their dishes are very zesty and flavorful, rather than spicy hot. But you can find spicy hot food, too.

Edit: I have already made bread pudding, a fantastic local dessert, from the cookbook I bought while there. I'll post it in a sec on my cooking blog. I just took it out of the oven and it smells fantastic!

4. I also realized that New Orleans is sort of the Las Vegas of the East Coast. This is most definitely a town for people with vices. Although unlike Vegas, it really caters more to alcoholics and exhibitionists than gamblers and prostitutes. Prostitution was legal in the French Quarter between about the 1870s and our entry into WWI. During that time, it became easier for the city to just legalize it than deal with all the hassle of enforcing the anti-prostitution laws.

But when we entered WWI, the Navy shut it all down because they didn't want the sailors all getting distracted (and getting VD!) before shipping out. Anyway, there's still strip clubs and tons of bars there. You can even walk around with an alcoholic drink in the streets, year-round! A lot of the bars have special side windows where you can buy "to-go" drinks. In short, this is not a city for straight-laced people. It definitely has a wild side!

5. Speaking of the wild side, although Mardi Gras is only once a year, you'd never know it by looking at all the shops. You'd think Mardi Gras was every weekend! Beads, masks, hats, feather boas, shot glasses, crazy outfits....all can be had on every street corner in town. And of course, everything is green, gold and purple. And since I am a culture vulture, I diligently read my travel guide on the flight down, so I taught myself all about the krewes, King Cake and Rex. Did you know that Mardi Gras lasts at least a couple of weeks, and there are several parades each day? Krewes (the people on the parade floats) can spend tens of thousands of dollars on the beads they throw to the crowds. And all of this has been going on since the 1700s!

6. Although voodoo can be found in Savannah, GA, it is most often associated with New Orleans. I didn't have time to go on the voodoo tour or to the voodoo museum, unfortunately. I will have to save it for my next trip down. But there are references to voodoo all over town, especially to Marie Laveau, the Voodoo Queen.

7. Because the water table is so high, you cannot bury people under the ground in New Orleans. So families have used vaults instead. They look like little buildings, but they hold...well, bodies. There are only so many slots per vault, so when one member of the family dies, they are just sort of pushed out of the way to make room for the newly deceased member. There is a 2 year waiting period between making a "new deposit" into the vault -- for obvious reasons. No, I don't know what they do when they want to make a deposit in less than 2 years. And I'm ok with living ignorantly in that way. But these cemeteries are amazing -- they literally look like little neighborhoods, each vault with a small cross on the top. They are almost always white, and often have statues of angels or cherubs decorating them. I wanted to take a tour of these, too, but unfortunately ran out of time.

8. Ok, enough creepy/morbid stuff. Let's talk architecture. Although it's called the "French" Quarter, much of the French architecture was burned in two 18th century fires. So the Spanish (who were in control at the time) decided to rebuild using only brick, rather than the wooden materials used by the French. Tiled roofs, stucco and balconies with ironwork are all noticeable features of this style. The buildings were often painted in pastel colors. Here is an example of one:


Meanwhile, in other parts of town, Americans were settling in the newer, outlying areas, such as the Garden District. The Americans were not socially accepted by the Creoles in the French Quarter, from what I understand, so they built houses like every other American in the antebellum South did: big, white and with columns. Take, for example, these:


I don't know which style I like better. I just know I really enjoyed looking at them. The trees and gardens (obviously) were also quite beautiful in the Garden District. It was neat to just walk around and see block after block of these gorgeous old homes.

9. I wish every town had a streetcar! They are the coolest way of transportation ever! They make this wonderful clickity-clack sound as they go down the track, and the conductor rings the bell when he crosses intersections -- it's very quaint. They are faster than walking, but slow enough that you can get a great view of your surroundings as you travel. There are big windows you can open to provide a nice breeze. And it's only $1.25 each way! Much cheaper than gas.

10. Overall, New Orleans reminds me of Charleston and Savannah, with a splash of NYC, all rolled into one.

Ok, hopefully I am developing the film tomorrow, and I will have another post for you, complete with my own pics and more personal experiences. I was going to do it today, but my car is in the shop and I'm stuck at home.

My car almost killed me on Saturday. I was on the highway, doing about 70 mph, when the engine DIED and I lost steering, brakes and gas. Luckily, I pulled over to the side ok, but I was shaking and on the verge of tears I was so scared. It turns out, I need a new fuel filter. Anyway, I am officially fed up with my POS car, and am getting a new one when I go home for Xmas! WOOT! More news on that soon. This post is long enough already.

The Men at Wal-Mart

Alright, since FEW people seem to be interested in my family stories, as evidenced by the paltry comments on the last post-- *ahem*-- I will not talk about that today.

So this is a big "FINE! Be that way!!" temper tantrum from yours truly. I know you guys are just jealous because my family has more boycotted marriages than yours does. Haters.

Today, I will post about something I know a lot of you will want to comment on: Wal-Mart.

Before going to work today, I stopped by the Wal-Mart near my house. MJ refers to this particular branch of the Big Box Store as "Little Mexico", since it is normally chock full of Hispanic immigrants who think blonde hair is the most fascinating thing EVER. They nudge each other when I go down the aisles. They stare at me. They like to call me "Mami" and "Bonita" and stuff like that under their breath. Uck. Why do men do that stuff? It's so annoying and rude, no matter who they are. It makes me feel objectified and I hate it. Something about it creeps me out. It makes me want to go home and take a shower. *shudders*

I wish I could learn how to respond in Spanish: "Yes, hello. While I am, in a nauseating way, flattered at the attention you are currently giving my outward appearance, I would like to inform you that it makes me feel very uncomfortable and violated, because it is rude and invasive, not to mention extremely dangerous, considering I outweigh you by about 50 pounds and could drop you like a hot tamale. Please refrain from doing so in the future or else I will be forced to call INS on your asses. Thanks. Have a nice day."

I need to type that up and make little flyers, and just hand them out when I go to Wal-Mart. That should do the trick.

So I'm at Wal-Mart this morning, and I am at first relieved by the noticeable absence of tiny Hispanic men, undressing me with their eyes. Whew!

Unfortunately, they were replaced with........

OLD PEOPLE!!!!

*screams bloody murder and faints*

If there is one thing I hate, it's old people. They are too slow, they smell funny and they are boring. I don't hate ALL old people, just most of them. There are some old people who kick ass, like The Fruitcake Lady. But unfortunately, this morning at Wal-Mart, there were no cool old people. (Except for the free samples lady who gave me a sugar cookie and tried to help me figure out the difference between semi-sweet and bittersweet chocolate.)

Nope. Today, there was a special deal at Wally World: disgusting old people! Just in time for Christmas!

NOTE: If you are eating while you are reading this, you may want to stop now. Don't say I didn't warn you.

I walk over to the coolers where they keep the milk. On my way, I pass an old man, hacking up one of his lungs. I am talking gurgling phlegm, here, peeps. He had just gotten some milk and put it into his cart, as he was coughing incessantly ALL OVER THE PLACE because he DIDN'T COVER HIS MOUTH AT ALL.

All in chorus now: Eeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwww!!!

I tried to put it in the back of my mind as I used my grocery list to grab the door handle. "Thank God I keep hand sanitizer in my car!" I thought. I grabbed my milk and put it in my cart.

Not three feet away, I look up to find Disgusting Old Man #2. He is -- get this - CUTTING HIS FINGERNAILS in the middle of the dairy department!!! Just clip! clip! clipping away!!! He wasn't even bothering to clean them up. He just let them fall on the floor.

This was so offensive to me that I could feel my stomach getting queasy and could not help but make a face as I passed. Unfortunately, he didn't see me, or else I would have said to him: "Does your wife let you do this? Because that's DISGUSTING!!!!" It is only because I was raised to respect my elders that I managed to walk away without saying something.

Gah. Unbelievable. What idiot thinks it's ok to do that?! In public???!! I won't even do it in front of my family members! Seriously, that is just.....disGUSting!!!

A few aisles later, I come across the baking aisle. Most of my list involves the baking aisle, since I cannot seem to kick this baking binge I've been on. I'm not kidding. Some people hole up in hotel rooms, smoking crack until the cops break down the door. I go on baking benders. People won't see me this weekend. I'll be holed up in my kitchen, baking soda in one hand and measuring spoons in the other. It will look like I'm on drugs, because I am sweaty, jittery and holding spoons and a white powder, but I assure you, it is only an addiction to baking. This is what happens when it's 4pm and all you've had to eat all day are chocolate chip cookies. It will mess you up, a little. And before you know it, you get hooked. I have been waking up in the morning, going, "Must. Bake. Something!" I don't know if it's the holidays or the cold weather or what, but dangit, I. Can. Not. Stop. Baking.

Well, apparently this is addiction is going around, because the baking aisle is jammed FULL of little old ladies, who were entirely too caught up in talking to even notice that I'm trying to get into the aisle. After pausing for a second to think, "Oh. I think I'm getting a glimpse at my future....I am turning into a little old lady who bakes all day. Huh. It's not so bad. I bet their grandkids love it.....Dammit, there's a shitload of old people in here today. Gah, are they bussing them in or something? Did the old folks home have a field trip?? What the hell?!" --I decided to go around them and come into the baking aisle from the other end.

So I'm going around via the cereal aisle. I turn right to get to the baking aisle and I see an old man, just standing at the end of the aisle. He's all alone -- no wife in sight -- uh-oh. As I am walking towards him, I see him looking around to see if anyone is nearby. For some reason, he doesn't look in my direction, although I'm practically close enough to touch him by this point.

And that's when he let one. He FRIGGING FARTED in Wal-Mart, right next to me. It was a very audible fart, too. And the second he did it, he looked straight at me, only to receive a disapproving look on my part. He was totally busted. He got a deer-in-headlights expression on his face, and then looked at the ground. He mumbled something as I passed by, but I didn't catch it. I was trying to get away from him before I had to deal with any after-effects. UGH.

Lucky for me, this was the last disgusting thing I have seen today. But thanks to these nasty old men, roaming around Wal-Mart, making everyone want to barf, I am now able to make a promise to future generations:

When I am a little old lady who bakes all day, I promise I will never EVER bring a disgusting old man with me to Wal-Mart!!!!!! I will make him stay in the car!!!!

Leftovers

Is anyone out there waiting for a big, exciting report about my Thanksgiving break? Or maybe some juicy CN updates? Or a funny story about how I mortified myself in front of his family?

Then you will be sorely disappointed. :)

I did some shopping (including buying those silver shoes I mentioned in the last post, and I LOVE them -- they were on sale for $30!!) and got some Christmas presents. I am still stumped on MJ, KT and my mother. Well, kind of. I have gotten them all little things, but not enough for a whole present, so I have to think up something else. (Any ideas are appreciated! Yes, MJ & KT, even from you! I am officially taking requests!) Anyway, everyone else on my list is either scratched off or it's just a matter of my going to the store to go buy the item(s).

On Thanksgiving day, I got up and took a shower. Then I agonized about what to wear and changed outfits about 5 times. I called CN to ask him what he was wearing. "Jeans," he said. Cool! I put on some jeans and a button down shirt. I went over to his house and we watched some tv. I asked him what time they usually had Thanksgiving dinner at his parents' house. "Oh, you know, around lunch or something," he replied.

"Um, that sounds like something you should probably confirm with your mom, sweetie. I mean, CN. I am calling you CN today," I replied.

"You can call me sweetie. I told you, it's fine. Ok, let me call my mom," he said.

It turned out, the food was almost ready, and we were just dawdling, watching tv an hour away!!! Eeek! So we got in the car to make the drive. Halfway there, CN's dad called us and wanted us to pick up a newspaper for him. Well, it turns out that Thanksgiving newspapers are few and far between -- I think everyone bought one to get the shopping coupons. We tried every gas station, grocery store and quickie mart on the back roads to Barnwell -- they were all sold out! We finally found one in Barnwell. But by this time, we were about 30 minutes late and the food was waiting on us. Oops.

No one seemed upset, because they knew we were looking for a paper. When CN and I got there, we were greeted by his parents and his sisters. They had been working on a MASSIVE spread of food:

turkey
ham
gravy
mashed potatoes
stuffing
mac n cheese
sweet potato souffle
rutabagas (yeah, I passed on that...I am currently not accepting any new vegetables right now.)
green bean casserole
biscuits
grits (I think there were grits...I'm telling you, the selection was mind-boggling -- it was like a buffet!)

Can you say "Mmmmm!!!"? CN's mom makes the best mac n cheese I've ever had in my whole life. And then I brought the pie: pumpkin.......and sweet potato. The pumpkin came out fine. I just used the recipe on the back of the can. But the sweet potato pie....well, let's just say I wish I could have a do-over. It tasted fine. But I had two little problems:

1. I didn't really bake the sweet potatoes long enough. And I didn't realize it until it was too late. So the pie had teeny tiny lumps of sweet potato in it. Oops.
2. The recipe called for brown sugar, but all I had was dark brown sugar. I think it tastes better. Well, because it was so dark, it made the pie look like baked........puppy shit.

So CN and I dubbed it the "Puppy Shit Pie".

But we still ate it. It was pretty good.

We all ate so much, none of us had any energy after eating. We were even too lazy to change the tv channel, which was some show about plastic surgery. And it showed all these women with really REALLY saggy or terrifyingly huge boobies and we were all grossed out. It was kind of funny, actually. Poor CN had to listen to all of us women talk about boobs. He just laughed at us.

I got to meet CN's older sisters: Oldest, Middle, Youngest. Oldest only stopped by for a minute, so I didn't really get to talk to her. Middle is a hoot, and I liked her right away -- she is really funny, just like CN. And Youngest............well, CN had given me a heads-up about Youngest, so I was mentally prepared for how to deal with her. I was grateful for the heads up -- otherwise, I would have been convinced she just hated me! She's just one of those people who has to warm up to you. Which doesn't intimidate me at all. I mean, come on, I refer to my own mother as The Czarina-- she's not exactly a warm, huggy-type person. Besides, I'm totally charming. Who wouldn't like me? ;)

Youngest and I did bond over our shared love of makeup, shoes, purses, jewelry and Girly Things in General. So I could see her melting a little. I think I did ok. I think the sisters like me.

And CN's mom is just so sweet. I really like her. Her dining room was full of her collection of these, which I adore. I have a white one with a blue head at my house. It belonged to my grandmother, and I love it. I had no idea they came in different colors! CN's mom has them in all sorts of colors and sizes. It was really neat.

She's pretty stressed out right now, with CN's dad still being sick. He had to go back to the hospital today, because they are pretty sure he's got some internal bleeding somewhere. I am still waiting on an update. CN's mom doesn't like to upset CN with bad news, so he has to drag it out of her sometimes. Anyway, hopefully he will be better soon. He wasn't feeling too good when we were down there. He stayed in bed and didn't eat much. He had a fever, but thanks to some Tylenol, he was feeling better when we left. He was glad to see me.

Oh, and I did accidentally slip and call CN "honey" in front of his mom one time. But I don't think she noticed or cared. WHEW.

I asked CN to show me some baby photos, but he managed to weasel his way out of that one, claiming that he didn't have any or that his mother threw them away. So I had to settle for looking at his awful senior photos from high school! I haven't stopped teasing him about them since I saw them!

So yes, everything went very well at Thanksgiving, and I had nothing to worry about.

The rest of my long weekend was a mix of football game watching (all THREE of the teams I was rooting for -- Virginia, South Carolina and Alabama -- lost their games!!), bowling, napping, shopping, eating, cooking, movie watching and general relaxation. I love long weekends.

And yes, CN is still wonderful. "You're the best lookin' and the best cookin' girlfriend I've ever had," he told me last night when I made him some dinner. Aw. I almost barfed. :)

Thanks

Thank you to all the readers who left comments for me on the last post. I am not quite sure on the details about CN's dad, but he was allowed to go home last night, under the promise that he would come right back this morning. So he's not out of the clear, but it doesn't sound like it's too serious right now. CN is coming back to Columbia today.

WHEW.

I wish I knew more, but that's all I've got for now. Hopefully CN's dad will be feeling better and isn't dealing with anything serious. Then we can have Thanksgiving.

Speaking of that, one of the many things I am thankful for this year are my blog readers. Everyone is so supportive and helpful. Although I know few of you in real life, I am grateful for all the contact I do have with my readers, whether it's just on this blog, on myspace or in real life. I love the blogosphere's supportive attitude and I love meeting new people, if only virtually. You guys crack me up, and your interest in this blog never ceases to amaze me. You are understanding when I don't read your blog for months and sometimes, I feel like y'all are as emotionally invested in my dating life as I am! LOL! I love you guys. Please be careful when you are traveling this week and have a great time eating and hanging out with your fams!!!

Thanks for explaining that weird advice my mom gave me. I still don't really get it, but I guess it's because I don't have any kids of my own. I will give everyone the benefit of the doubt and avoid all pet names with CN in front of his mom. It will be weird to call him by name, though. I'm very used to calling him "babe" or "sweetheart".

Aw.

Ok, enough mush. Stupid hormones. And I miss my boyfriend. It's funny how quickly you miss someone when you're worried about them, huh?

Since we only have a half day at work today, I am running errands after work. I gotta go to the bank to deposit my Holiday Bonus (which is $200 more than last year! Woo Hoo!!!) and then I'm going to the mall and hopefully crossing some peeps off my Xmas list. Including myself, because I think my Christmas present to myself this year will be these. (Does everyone else buy themselves a Christmas gift? Or am I the only one? You see, this way, I'm guaranteed to get at least one thing I like. Can you tell my brothers suck at Christmas presents? Yeah.)

Anyway, I HATE dealing with holiday shoppers, so this will be my last chance before the crowds hit. After tomorrow, I am doing all my shopping at weird hours or online. Or far, far away from the mall.

I know you are all fascinated to hear this and this is the most interesting blog post you've ever read in your whole life.......riiiiiiiiight.

Then, I am baking three pies: pumpkin, sweet potato and pecan. If I have time, I might make some of my mom's Cranberry-Orange bread. Mmmmm.

As if this post isn't rambling and random enough, here is some more stuff:

I learned on the news this morning that today is the biggest day of the YEAR for people to order pizza delivery. It makes sense, if you think about it.

Did you know that Thanksgiving actually originated in my home state of Virginia? Yup. It did NOT start with the Pilgrims in Massachus... Massachussets .... Massa....dammit, how do you spell that frickin state?! Every version I type gets a red underline.

Makes me glad I'm not from there. Anyway, you know what state I'm talking about.

I sure do hope CN's mom makes yummy food. I am going to be missing my mom's stuffing (with sausage, apples and lots of sage), green bean casserole (I swear, hers is the best), turkey gravy and mashed potatoes. According to my dad, it was "the perfect meal" -- and my whole family agrees. My mom does it up right for Thanksgiving. So CN's mom has a tough act to follow.

But she's going to make sweet potato casserole, which I have been lobbying for at Mom's house for years--with no luck. So I'm pretty excited about that. Mmmm, with marshmallows on top...

Can't wait!!! Happy Turkey Day, everyone!!! As if the food isn't good enough, we get to watch all the college football games, too! I love Thanksgiving! Go Gamecocks!!!

Stories of My Family, Part 3

Since this past weekend was pleasant, but rather uneventful, I thought I'd post a short family story I just learned today. (I have been pumping The Czarina for stories about her parents). So these are some quick stories about my Grandma Virginia's dad.

Apparently, my Great-Grandpa was a total jerk! Examples:

1. I told you how he disapproved of Grandma V's marriage to Grandpa John, because he wasn't a "good" Catholic. She ignored him and married him anyway.

2. Great-Grandpa also wrote a letter to Grandma V when she was young. He said he'd rather see her in a coffin than marry a non-Catholic. (WOW.)

3. Grandma V's sister, Helen, also got some bad advice from her dad. He told Helen that she and her fiance should wait until after WWII was over to get married, just in case he came home an amputee. (HOLY COW.) Helen wisely ignored this advice, too, and married Byrne before he went to war. And no, I don't think he was injured in the war. They were also happily married.

Great-Grandpa did not attend either wedding. (I told you he was a jerk!)

4. He was one of those dads who made you pick out your own switch. And if he thought it was too small....well....he got to pick it! One time when she was little, Grandma V kept a kitten after he told her she couldn't keep it. She had hidden it somewhere, and he found out. She got the switch! (Jeez Louise!)

5. He gave my Great-Grandmother $30 a month to run a household with 7 children. Even in 1920s money, that is very little. Especially when that includes food, clothing, cleaning and well, everything! During the Great Depression, they had to take in some family cousins who were out of work, which added an additional strain on her budget. I don't know how she did it.

Apparently, Great-Grandma had the patience of a saint, because that is exactly what she did for years and years -- she ran the house on a very tight budget. The only time she got a break was during the summer, when all the kids were shipped out to the family farm to help out. When the girls came home at the end of the summer, they were all tan and freckled, which was not very classy, back in the day. So she would make them bleach their skin with lemons before they were allowed in the parlor when guests came over! She didn't want them looking like farm hands in front of company. Isn't that funny? How times have changed...

One day, one of the daughters was getting married, and the wedding reception was held at the house, so Great-Grandma was getting everything ready for the big party. She noticed the kitchen needed painting, so she was up on a ladder, putting on a fresh coat.

Great-Grandpa walked in with some news: "I just came from the accountant's office! He told me the family firecracker business is worth a half a million dollars!"

Apparently, all his penny pinching paid off in the end! The firecracker business is still doing well to this day, and is still run by my family!

Great-Grandma climbed down the ladder, handed him the paintbrush and said to him, "Well, then you can afford to hire someone to paint this damn kitchen!"

This was the only time she ever said a word to him about his cheap ways!

And yes, he did hire someone to paint the kitchen. :)

Hey -- we still use my Great-Grandma's Applesauce Cake recipe. Wanna make it? You can find the recipe here.

Stories of My Family, Part 2

This is the story about my Grandma Virginia. She was The Czarina's mother, and yes, I am named after her.

Virginia grew up in Kansas City, Missouri, the daughter of German-Irish stock. (I can't remember if she was half German or a quarter German...anyway, it's not important). Being Catholics, they had your typical large family. Here were the names of some of her siblings: Wilbur, Harold, Helen, Jerry...I know there were more, but I can't remember their names. I believe there were 9 children in all. Eventually, they all ended up getting married and having a between 2 and 6 children a piece. That was three generations ago.

By this point in time, there are approximately 5.2 million people in this branch of my family, which means that every resident of Kansas City is a first, second or third cousin of mine. When they have family reunions, each little segment of the family has to wear a designated-color tshirt, or else no one would know who the hell anyone is.

But I digress.

I don't know a lot about Grandma Virginia. I never met her or my Grandpa John. You see, both of my mom's parents died when she was about 21. Grandpa John was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. Three months later, Grandma Virginia was diagnosed with terminal bone cancer. They died less than a year apart, when my mom was fresh out of college. Not surprisingly, this was rather traumatizing to The Czarina, who has a difficult time talking about her parents at all, to this day. (Oh crap, I'm getting sad again.)

So I don't know a whole lot about her. But I do know the following:

1. She is where my mother and I get our love of efficiency from. We enjoy being productive and making the most of our time. Apparently, multi-tasking IS genetic. We joke about how "German" we are. We are Type-A and want everything streamlined.

2. This is also where I get some of my penny-pinching ways from. Not that I'm a penny pincher. My bank account would be Exhibit A in that court case. But I do have my moments. Lord knows I didn't get it from my dad's side or Grandpa John's side. They were both constitutionally against saving money on anything. In fact, I believe it was physically painful for them to save money.

3. Grandma Virginia is responsible for the vast majority of my family's recipes, including the biscuit recipe, which originated with my great-great grandmother, who was a pioneer out west back in the 1800s. To this day, we make Grandma's gravy, pot roast, beef stew and spaghetti, among other things. She handed down this love of cooking to her daughter and granddaughter. We are all good cooks. I have a soup pot that belonged to her, and the handle just broke on it, and I'm really upset.

4. Apparently, my love of shoes was something I also have in common with Grandma V. Although my size 9 feet are nothing like her tiny size 6s (she was barely five feet tall, after all), the passion is the same: when it comes to heels, the higher, the better, the more, the merrier. Grandma used to go to the Saxon shoe sale in Richmond twice a year and buy about ten pairs at a time. This just makes my heart swell with pride. (By the way, if you are ever in Richmond and you love shoes, you have GOT to go to Saxon. It is the Holy Grail of shoedom.)

I don't know a lot about her childhood or her single-girl years, but I do know that she dated a guy (I think his name was Charlie) who was crazy about her. They had grown up together, and dated for a long time, ever since she was in high school. When World War II broke out, they decided to wait until after the war to get married. But he gave her this beautiful gold and mother-of-pearl locket to remember him by when he left. He even engraved it with a little love note and the date. We still have it. They wrote letters to each other, until one day, Virginia heard through the grapevine that Charlie had been killed in action or was missing in action -- something like that. (Oops, there goes the sad thing again!)

At about the same time, Grandma Virginia attempted to attend college, but was ultimately dismissed because on a dare, she rode a horse through downtown Kansas City, disrupting traffic and I assume, breaking several laws. This was not very acceptable behavior for a good German Catholic girl, and so she was kicked out of college.

Hmmm, this must also be where I get my wild streak.....

I am not sure why, but this, along with the sad news about Charlie, may have been the reason she decided to move to Washington state and work for Boeing during World War II.

She got a job as a secretary in the Headquarters building at Boeing. One day, she was sitting at her desk, doing some work, when a very tall (6'3") young, thin man walked up to her.

She didn't recognize him. "May I help you?" she asked.

He leaned on the desk and casually asked over his shoulder, "How 'bout a cup o' coffee, Babe?"

And that is how my grandparents met.

They started dating immediately, and Grandpa was a total goner for her -- hook, line and sinker. They reached a crossroads when World War II came to an end: their jobs were also coming to an end, since there was no longer a need for new wartime aircraft. This meant that Virginia was going to move back home to Kansas City.

This did not sit well with Grandpa John.

So he followed her there uninvited. He somehow found her parents' house and knocked on the door. After explaining to her mother who he was, Virginia came down to talk to him alone in the living room. Grandma V's mom left them alone so they could talk privately. A few minutes later, there was a big commotion. Much to the family's surprise, they ran into the living room to find John, chasing Virginia in circles around the sofa, pleading with her to marry him.

This did not sit well with Virginia's father, who was a big jerk and thought Virginia should only marry a German Catholic, not an Irish Catholic. (Because they are SO different, right?!)

But it didn't sit well with Virginia, either. She said to John: "I won't marry you until you quit drinking and save up $1,000."

As we all know from the last post, John liked to drink. A LOT. It was pretty much his only hobby. But he was also terrible with money, as I just mentioned. So this was a double-whammy challenge for him.

"Okay," John said.

He quit drinking that day, and found a job. He saved up $1,000 and went straight back to Virginia's house to propose again. This time, he had a ring and she said yes. They got married on January 11, 1945 and had their honeymoon in New Orleans.

Their wedding pictures are really funny, because he's more than a foot taller than her.

Her father didn't walk her down the aisle, because he didn't approve of her marrying an Irishman. (He didn't walk any of his daughters down the aisle, actually, because none of them married German Catholics. I think the girls did it for spite, actually.) I think he got over it, eventually, though. Czarina spent many happy summers visiting her Kansas City cousins and eating her grandmother's applesauce cake. So things couldn't have been too bad between Grandma V and her dad.

Grandpa John never drank a drop of alcohol again for the rest of his life.

But that was the first and last time he ever saved $1,000.

And what about Charlie? Well, I just realized, after typing all of this, that I have posted the Charlie story before. Duh! Go read the side-story about Charlie here. It's the freakin' saddest thing I've ever heard of in my life.

Writer's Block

Well, crap. I am suffering from major blog writer's block. I don't have much of anything to report. Everything is sort of "same shit, different day". Not that I'm complaining. It's just hard to blog. I'm sure I can come up with something. Um, let's see...

CN is fine. He's still wonderful. Although he did lose some points this past weekend. On Sunday, I told him I would make dinner for him when he got back from watching the Falcons play. I wanted to eat at 6pm, but he said that he was still full from all the nachos he ate at 3pm.

Now, this is just a word of advice to men: if your woman is making you dinner, DO NOT spoil your dinner by eating nachos mid-afternoon. It's very inconsiderate.

"Grrrr..." I thought.

"Ok, how about dinner at 7pm?" I texted.

"Sounds good!" he replied.

Soon it is 7:00. No CN to be found. At this point, dinner is ready to eat and waiting on him to cross the street to my house. He was probably sitting on his couch, watching "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" or "Curb Your Enthusiasm".

"Grrr..." I thought.

Word of advice to anyone: It is rude to be late to dinner. Usually because it means people are waiting on you and the food is being kept warm. Sometimes, keeping it warm can affect the quality of the food. Sometimes, this can cause the rice to stick to the pot like.....well, like white on rice. This kind of rice is extremely difficult to scrub off of said pot. Which often makes cooks angry.

"GRRRRR!!!" I thought as 7:15 ticked by.

I sat down on my couch, too stubborn to call him and see what in the hell he was doing. I began to work on my recipe organizing project to distract myself from my irritation. I was still busy working on it when he decided to show up. It was 7:30.

"GRRRRR!!!" I thought when he walked in the door.

"Rumble!!" said my empty tummy. (I was ready to eat at 6pm, so I was pretty hungry by this point.....although, my anger was definitely causing me to begin to lose my appetite.)

"Hey Babe! I have been so lazy today. I just laid on my couch after I got home from watching the game..." said CN.

"Hi," I said, frigidly. No hug. No eye contact. I was Ice Queen.

He instantly knew something was wrong. I told him I was annoyed and hungry. He said he didn't realize I was waiting on him. That's when I informed him that cooking dinner is different than cooking breakfast -- it's more than just cracking a couple of eggs into a frying pan. It takes time. If I say we are eating at 7:00, that means forkfuls of food are being sent to my empty tummy at that time. Then I told him that I was more irritated at the fact that he spoiled his dinner by eating a whole thing of nachos late in the afternoon when he knew I was making him dinner. That's just inconsiderate.

Ok, I didn't tell him he was inconsiderate. But I did make him feel badly. He apologized profusely and asked if he could do anything to make it up to me. I told him he had to do all the dishes, even the stuck-rice one. He said ok.

We ate. He washed. I felt better. We had a make-up smooching session.

Unfortunately, the handle on the rice pot broke during all of this (um...during dinner, not during the make-out session, that is). It was my fault, not his. And I was kind of upset, because the pot used to belong to my Grandma Virginia. I never met her, and I am named after her. All I have are her recipes and her pot, which is now broken. It is pretty old (from about the 1950s, I think), so I guess it had to go sometime. CN can't fix the handle, and neither can I. It's cracked, and the screw won't "stick". Glue might work, but I'm thinking it might melt or something when I heat up the pot. So I might see if I can find a replacement on eBay. I'm kind of bummed out about the pot, actually. :'(

I am secretly hoping CN will read my mind and get me a replacement pot for Christmas......but I'm not holding my breath. And if you are one of my readers who knows CN in real life, please do not tell him this, because then it won't count. Guys have to think up their own things for girlfriends for Christmas. That's the rule.

Anyway....let's see, what else.......

Last night, MJ and I hung out -- we were sorely in need of some Girl Time. In fact, we are having MORE Girl Time this weekend! Woo Hoo! We love hanging out with our new boyfs, but after having Boyfriend Weekends last weekend, we are wanting some alone/friend time. I am excited -- I haven't gone out with just MJ and KT in a long, long time.

Tonight I'm hanging out with CN, though. I haven't really seen him or talked to him since the Dinner Incident, and he really wants to see me. "I want to take you out somewhere nice for dinner. Are you free tonight?" he texted me today. How can you be mad at this guy? He's such a sweetheart.

Ugh. This blog is turning into a Boyfriend Blog. Which makes me kinda throw up a little. I need to get some variety in here. Does anyone have any ideas? Posting requests? I have major writers' block, guys! Help!

Best Sick Day Ever!!!

WARNING: This might be the gushiest, mushiest, sappiest post I've ever written in my whole life. If you are annoyed or have a weak stomach, you may want to just look at the pictures. :)

Ugh, I have had the worst cold all week. I'm getting better, but I have been in and out of work all week. Yesterday was the worst -- I was out all day. I felt terrible, but managed to sleep most of the morning.

When I got up to eat my breakfast, I got a call from work. Someone had sent me flowers on the one sick day I've had in months! Shoot! Luckily, my coworker offered to drop the flowers off at my house on her lunch break. Look at what was inside the box!!


(Can you see my Sudafed that I've been popping like peanuts? LOL)

CN sent the flowers to me to cheer me up since I have been sick all week! They are still in the process of blooming. Every time I go in the living room, it seems like I have another flower. They are irises (irisii??) of different colors. They are gorgeous!!

The note was so sweet, too. "Hey Babe, just thought I'd cheer you up since you're sick. Hope you're feeling better. P.S. How many points do I get for this? -- CN"

Well, needless to say, he got a lot of points yesterday. He even took a mid-afternoon break to come over and hang out with me for a little bit. Then he went back to work and I began to make his birthday dinner (yes, he actually sent me flowers the day before his own birthday! Is he unreal or what?). By this point in the day I was starting to feel a lot better.

He wanted chili and cheesecake, so that's what he got! As I waited for the chili to finish simmering, I got all gussied up (I was sick of looking gross and sickly, you know?). When I opened the door, he told me I looked so good he wanted to forget eating dinner! (Woo Hoo!!!) I told him dessert was later. ;) He had two helpings of chili and a big piece of cheesecake. He opened his birthday card and saw that I got him two tickets to the Falcons game next month. I think I must have "done good" because he jumped up and came across the table to give me a big hug and kiss. It turns out, he has never been to a Falcons game before, so I think he's pretty excited! (Yessssss! Go me!)

Did I tell you that we are having dinner with his parents on Saturday? And that he invited me to go to his parents' house for Thanksgiving? Yeah. I don't think I can go -- The Czarina would probably kill me--but it can't hurt to ask.

"Doesn't it feel like we have been dating forever?" he said last night.
"Yeah, but it's only been like....2 months! Weird, huh?" I replied.
He nodded.
"Have you noticed that everything between us is just so....easy? Like it's just totally smooth sailing all the time?" I said.
"Yeah. With everyone else I've dated, it's been like pulling teeth," he replied.
"Yeah, I usually feel like..."I trailed off.
"...like one person is always trying harder than the other?" he asked, finishing my sentence.
"Exactly!! This is so much better!" I said.
"I know! You're the best girlfriend I've ever had. I really mean it. You are," he said.
"Really?? Well, I didn't know guys like you even existed! I am so glad that we met," I gushed.
"Me too. I've been looking for someone like you for a long time," he replied.
"Happy Birthday, Baby," I said.

Then we hung out together for the rest of the night. Just the two of us. I won't go into details, but um.........you can guess. ;)

Thursday 13-- Autumn!

Thanks to all my readers for the kind and sympathetic thoughts on the last post. I was kinda bummed the other day, but I'm ok now. Despite the fact that I had a dream last night that my dad died. Again. Very strange. But it was just a dream. I honestly don't know where all of this is coming from. Maybe it's my brain's way of reminding me not to forget my dad. I dunno.

Alright, moving on. There's a saying here in South Carolina: We have four seasons -- almost summer, summer, still summer and Christmas. And this year, it's proving true! Thanks to this wonderful Indian Summer we are having, October is half over, and I am still wearing flip flops, jean skirts and tank tops. Contrast that to my home state, Virginia, where they are in the upper 70s (still warm, but certainly not hot) and Indiana (where my family lived for several years), where fall is already well under way--mid-60s. In high school and college, I expected to be seeing snow on the ground by Halloween. SC is proving to be sliiiightly different!

We haven't really dropped below the mid-80s yet. I never thought I'd say this, because I love summer almost as much as candy, but I'm SO ready for some nice fall weather! These are all the things I LOVE about slightly cooler weather. Hopefully I can enjoy some of them before it turns back into spring again!

1. Soup!! My favorites include Campbell's Bean n Bacon and/or Beef Vegetable. Potato and tomato are also good. My mom's chili is awesome. I am also in love with Quizno's Broccoli n Cheese, because they put it in a bread bowl, along with pieces of grilled chicken. Mmmmmmm!! I am also really craving my grandmother's French Beef Stew, so when I make that, I'll post the recipe. Right now, it's just too dang hot for soup!

2. Turtlenecks, jackets, sweaters, coats and boots. I like fall/winter clothes so much better than summer clothes. I don't know why, but I feel I look more presentable in the cooler months. My all-cotton summer wardrobe is so....schlumpy.

3. Two words: Egg Nog. Holy Cow, I cannot express to you in the English language how much I love this holiday drink. Sans alcohol, obviously. Not really the healthiest thing you can put in your body, but man-oh-man, I squeal like a little kid when I drink some. My favorite is the Southern Comfort brand's Vanilla Spice. It tastes like a milkshake--seriously, it's the best. I bought some today, actually, only because I was SO excited to see that they are selling it so early in the season. I would also like to add that my love of all things nog also includes ice creams, coffees, milkshakes, cheesecakes and anything where egg nog is an ingredient or flavor.

4. I don't need any excuse to make Pumpkin Bread or pumpkin pie or baked items in general. If it's got cinnamon or pumpkin in it, this is the time of year where people really want to snuggle up with some coffee, tea or (in my case) egg nog and something yummy and baked. Keep your eyes peeled over on my cooking blog for yummy recipes. I think I've already posted the Pumpkin Bread recipe, but I'm too lazy to look right now. I'm going to try out something this year that has a pumpkin-chocolate combo, because it sounds interesting to me.

5. I used to say "the leaves" because when I lived in Indiana, I got to witness some of the most beautiful fall leaves you've ever seen. The town where I went to college, Bloomington, is really known for it. I would give anything to see and smell the beautiful foliage right now. Unfortunately, we have few maple trees here. Lots of pine trees and crepe myrtles instead. Not the best for fall foliage, you know? And at the rate we're going, they won't be changing colors anytime soon. Anyway, here are some pics to show you what I'm missing. Indiana's campus in the fall:







6. That nip in the air. Not the kind of cold where you feel cold, but the kind that just wakes you up. Enough of a chill that you need a jacket or a coat, but not enough that you need a hat and gloves. The pre-snow-and-ice chill. Also known as the pre-wool-but-more-than-a-long-sleeved-tshirt cool. Aaaaaah! What a nice break from the sticky, humid, 2-showers-a-day heat that is July and August here.

7. Warm fluffy blankets, whether it's on the couch (with a good book and something yummy and baked) or on your lap at a football game. Preferably with a significant other sitting next to you.

8. Speaking of football games, I love love love wearing college sweatshirts when it's cold! That and flannel pjs at night. (Can you tell I dislike being cold?) I flirt with the concept of slippers and thick socks, but I dislike it when my feet get hot. So those are reserved for moments when I'm totally freezing my ass off.

9. I forgot my other favorite cold weather drink: hot cocoa!!! Mmmm!! I always make mine with milk and try to have marshmallows around, too. Whoever invented this concept was a total genius. And now, you can get it in so many yummy flavors--caramel, mint, Butterfinger.... Have you tried the individual packets of hot cocoa mix put out by Land o Lakes? OMG....total yummers.

10. Basketball season AND football season!!! I did go to Indiana for undergrad and South Carolina for grad school. So I am a pretty big college sports fan. November is especially great, because both sports are playing at the same time! Total bliss!

11. Fuji and Granny Smith apples are in season. I love to snack on apples, and the rest of the year, they just aren't as good.

12. Lower heating/cooling bills!!! Too late for A/C, too early for heat! Yesssssss!!!

13. This might just be my imagination, but I swear my hair looks better in the fall/winter months.

14. Ok, I just thought of another. Halloween. Because it's my favorite holiday!!! It involves dressing up and lots of candy. That's pretty much my ideal celebration.

Did I miss anything? What do you like about the fall? (I am trying not to get into Christmas/Thanksgiving TOO much just yet. It's still hot! I'll post about the holidays later!)

I Think We're Alone Now

...the beating of our hearts is the only sound....

(anyone else remember Tiffany?? Haha, now you have that song in your head!)

Well, now that most of us are here, all I can say is:

Holy Lurking, Batman!!!

I tell ya, nothing brings the lurkers out more than making your blog private! Yesterday, when I got to work at about 1:30, I opened my email:

44 New Messages.

Holy Schnikes! That was a new record! And the emails just kept pouring in all day long! It was so cool, because I had NO CLUE I had so many lurkers. I thought that about 25 people read this thing on a regular basis. So far, it's more like 85! WOW. Now I know why my statcounter tells me someone is reading this in Montana, Raleigh, Canada, etc.

So I am saying a big HELLO to all of my lurkers out there. Thanks for lurking. I am flattered to have so many fans and wonderful fan mail! WOOT! I am amazed at your ability to keep your mouth shut and never leave comments! As you can tell, this is a skill I do not possess. So more power to ya.

Hopefully, we won't have to be all secretive and stuff for too long. I wish that Google would stop cacheing (sp?) my blog, too. It has a bunch of posts on there, but oh well. What can you do?

I'm sure you wall want a CN update. Because if you're anything like me, the love lives of virtual strangers are the most fascinating things EVER. So here is your update.

There is no update. I haven't seen him since our Sunday Smoochfest. Crazy, considering he lives across the street from me, I know. But we are both busy. I think he's getting kinda antsy, though, because he seemed really bummed when I couldn't hang out with him Wednesday or Thursday. Tee hee.

So instead, we have resorted to one of my specialties: communicating through obnoxiously flirty text messages and novel-length myspace comments. Barf, barf, I know.

On Saturday, I'm going to his house to watch the game (and I swear upon all things holy that if Blake Mitchell throws THREE interceptions this week, I will fly to Baton Rouge myself to personally kick his ass!!!).

Then we're going to my house so I can make him dinner, and he is entirely too excited about this. "Ok, I have to calm down. Let me think about baseball and Angela Lansbury for a minute..." he said, when I told him what I wanted to make. You'd think no one has ever made dinner for him before-- he was that excited.

Time for a totally unrelated and jarring change of subject. You know me!

I did some shopping the other day and had a fantastic, wonderful experience.

All my male readers are saying, "Oh great. I accepted the invitation for this?!" -- ha ha! Yes, I am talking about shopping again.

I have been lusting after this one pair of Steve Madden shoes for months. I think since about April. Every time I have gone to the mall, I have picked them up, held them to my chest and cooed over them. Alas, I was not willing to drop $60 on a spontaneous purchase. After all, it's not like I would wear them every day.

But Wednesday night, I walked into Dillard's to behold......SHOE CLEARANCE. *fans herself.*

I walked up to the section for my shoe size, and there they were in their full glory: the LAST pair of my shoes. In my size. For $23.

[insert chorus of singing angels and heavenly beam of light here.]

Needless to say, they are in my closet right now. Pair #62 (I think....) I just need to find a killer outfit to wear them with...

So I might go shopping after work today to see if I can find something perfect to wear with them tonight. MJ, KT and I (and yes, VW and CN are coming, too) are going out to dinner and then we're going to see our favorite local band. So it should be a fun night.

I might post again later on this afternoon, peeps. I promise it won't be as random and incoherent as this one. Because after re-reading this, I fear I should be on ritalin....

We Interrupt This Program...

I still have at least two more Southern Culture posts I'd like to write. (Unless everyone is sick of them?) I decided to start this series at a good time -- I don't have a lot going on right now. But that doesn't mean I don't have anything going on, either. For example:

1. I cannot stop eating hot dogs or anything orange-flavored. Maybe it's the summer weather, maybe it's the little kid in me, but all I want are ketchup, orange soda pop (OMG, diet Sunkist? The shiznit.), cheese-filled wieners and that ice cream where they mix the vanilla ice cream with orange sherbet. What is going on??? I never crave this stuff.

2. I am officially b-r-o-k-e. $40 until payday. This is not good. Note to self: DO SOMETHING!!

3. I just burned a new CD today. My favorite tracks include: "Beautiful Liar" -- Beyonce & Shakira, "Hang Me Up to Dry" -- Cold War Kids, "You Know I'm No Good" -- Amy Winehouse, "Like This" -- Kelly Rowland feat. Eve, "We Takin' Over" -- DJ Khaled (et al.) and "Hump de Bump" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, even though they totally sold out on that track. I had no business buying the tracks, but if I don't have new music every 2 months, I can feel my soul dying.

4. Not really any Hot Neighbor news. Haven't seen Hoochie McSkankerton in at least a week. This is good. I probably just jinxed myself, though. I'll probably come home to them sucking face in his driveway again. I did manage to make a complete idiot out of myself, though. (Surprised??) It's a long story, but he needed his sewer turned back on, and he didn't have time to do it since he was going to NC. Being the huge sucker that I am, I blurted out, "I'm not doing anything tomorrow. I can go down to the city offices and do it for you, if you want." The second it flew out of my mouth, I could not believe what a total jackass I was. So if you see me, please write "SUCKER" on my forehead in permanent ink, OK? He ended up doing it himself, so no, I did not run any errands for him. GAH. *bangs head against wall*

5. I didn't do diddly squat over the holiday weekend (see #2, above). Lots of naps, TV watching and hot dog eating. I was pretty much a worthless human being, aside from baking some cookies and working on my big secret project. Which I should actually be calling "Big Secret Project, The Sequel", as the original project needed to be aborted. This re-vamped version is much more...doable. (Again, if you have no idea what I'm talking about or are just plain nosy, email me and I will give you details.) It's ok. I have a 4 day weekend coming up. I can be more productive then. The good thing is, the Summer Parties and cookouts have started. It's starting to be lake time, which is always a fun weekend activity. WOOT!

6. I posted some new recipes on my cooking blog, Virginia Cooks. If you're interested.

But the true highlight of the long weekend was last night.

This is a story which I will call: "I am a Sucker for Awkwardness and Total Humiliation" or "On Realizing That I am a Masochist"

Ahem.

I have been spending a lot of time with the Happy Hour Girls lately, especially E, Butter and their boyfriends. If you remember, we all had a good time together the weekend of Cinco de Mayo. And if you recall, I ended up making out with Rob Thomas, who never called. And yes, I was kind of upset about that.

Well, last night I got a text message from E: "Hey, want to go to dinner with us? We are going to Flying Saucer because Rob Thomas wants to hit on some waitress who works there."

I know she didn't mean anything by it, but did I really need to have this information? To her, it's old news, but to me, it still kind of stings a little that he never called me.

"Dude, no. There's no way I'm going and watching Rob hit on some waitress in front of my face. Not when this is the first time he and I will be seeing each other. Unless you really want me to go," I replied.

She did. And Butter did, too. "Pleeeeeeeeease? I'm Butter! I need bread! You are my bread!" she pleaded. *sigh*

"It's going to be awkward the first time you and Rob see each other, anyway. Might as well get it over with," E said.

"*sigh* Ok. But I'm only going if I can have cigarettes on-demand," I said.

"Done," E said.

I drove over to meet everyone at Rob's house. (Remember, E's boyf is Rob's roommate). Rob and I were cordial, but distant. I wholly avoided eye contact with him (I know, I know. But I just wasn't ready to make nice quite yet.) and talked to everyone else instead. I asked if they liked the cookies. Earlier in the week, I had given E some cookies I made. "Dude, those cookies you made? Amazing," Rob said to me, out of nowhere.

"Really? Because I was sorta hoping you'd choke to death on them!" I wanted to say.
"Dude, your ass-kissing is total bullshit, so fuck off!" I wanted to say.
"That kissing you did? SO average," I wanted to say.

"Thank you. I'm glad you like them," I said instead.

"You wuss!" my brain said.

Soon after, we all piled into cars and drove to the restaurant.

I got MJ and KT to join us, too, and I'm so glad they came. I don't think I could have made it through the meal without having at least 4 girlfriends with me. Thank God for the knowing, understanding and sympathetic looks your girlfriends can give you, all without saying a word. "You OK?" "OMG he's being such a douchebag!" "Don't worry, let's talk about something else!" "Seriously, how dumb is this girl Rob likes?" their eyes said to me.

When I sat down at the table, the only empty seat was next to me. And Rob was the only person who hadn't sat down yet. Super. It looked like I was expecting him to sit next to me. Ugh.

Instead, and far worse, he moved aaaaaall the way to the opposite end of the table from me, and proceeded to pull up a chair. Wow. I don't think that could have been more insulting. Now, not only am I Almost Girl, I also have cooties. This is like 3rd grade all over again. I was already regretting my decision.

My feelings of self-loathing were only intensified when the waitress came over to our table. First off, she wasn't a very good waitress. This is probably because she has the same level of intelligence as a toothpick. Then again, I suppose I am biased. Since she and Rob already knew each other, she proceeds to pull up a chair next to him, where they spent half the meal talking to one another. She spent every possible minute talking to him, and he spent every possible minute trying to make her job easier: "Guys, who ordered the French dip?" "Anyone need anything?" "Are we ready for our bills?" etc.

"It's a good thing my stomach is empty right now, because otherwise, I'd be barfing all over this table," I whispered to MJ as we waited for our food.

"Stiff that stupid bimbo waitress," my brain said.

"I'm gonna stiff her," I told MJ.

I didn't stiff her.

"You wuss!" my brain said.

Anyway, the food was good. My girlfriends were wonderful. The service was below average. The humiliation was total.

Yup. Sounds pretty normal for me.

Never fear. Rob has invited all of us to go to the lake on his boat next weekend. I will get to do a whole repeat of this story, only while wearing my bikini. Because this wasn't quite humiliating enough. To be fully awful, I need to add "pale flesh" and "tummy rolls" to the mix. And if the bimbo waitress comes too? Aaaah, that will be Humiliation Extraordinaire!

It's kind of like a nightmare, only more real.

Southern Survival 101: Stuff I Missed

OMG this is so fun writing these!!! Because, you don't really stop to think about these things when you live it day-to-day. When you stop and look at our lifestyle as an outsider would, it is really bizarre. I'm glad y'all like reading them, too. Y'all bring up big things I keep missing, and I am so grateful. I'm wondering if we'll ever stop talking about Southern food! Examples:

Charming is correct about our love of seafood and frying it, especially in states where there is a coastline. We do, indeed, fry a lot of fish down here. I forgot to mention that. It's not unusual to have a Fish Fry as the main annual fund raiser for the Volunteer Fire Department. (In rural areas, we have volunteer fire depts. Is this true everywhere?) I also forgot about Mississippi Mud, which is a deliciously sloppy chocolate dessert. I think there are marshmallows in it, too. I dunno. It's been a while. I just remember it's very messy. And you're right, Charming, I think there are nuts in it. Thank you for correcting me on my assumption everyone in LA is Catholic. Again, I am exposing my ignorance! Y'all really are so much different than us "Eastcoasters"! I had no idea. And thanks for bringing up "parishes". That is another thing unique to LA. I didn't realize how Catholicism affects Spring Break or chain restaurant menus in LA. Thank you for bringing that up--it's very interesting!

Meghan, if I went to a party and all you had was a keg and a couple of bags of chips, I would think either A) "Oh shit, I forgot to bring something. We were all supposed to chip in!" or B) "OMG. Starve us, why don't you! How rude!" or C) "She ain't from 'roun here." Also, most of the time, if you say, "Oh, yeah, I made that low-fat!" then at least one person will say, "What'd ya do that for? It takes all the flavor out!" Oh, and it's considered "old school" to demand a glass out of which to drink your beer. Just old-fashioned ladies do that. Also, old school ladies don't walk around with a lit cigarette -- they sit down to smoke. Weird, I know. And no, I will not give you a crab dip recipe so you can make it with Miracle Whip. That is a crime down here. We just simply cannot condone such an act. Miracle Whip in your crab dip! PSH! Yankees! *rolls eyes*

As far as lingering around after church is concerned, you have to remember that back in the day, church was often the only time you went into town, so that's the only time you're going to see anyone outside of your family. We were (and still are) very rural down here. I think that's where all the socializing came from. And your friend who went from SB to Greek Orthodox? Holy cow. Not only is that one heck of a stretch, she might have been written out of the will. I'm not kidding. And I forgot to talk about how alcohol sales can vary from city to city, county to county and state to state:

In NC, the counties run all alcohol sales. There is no such thing as a private liquor store. In VA, the state runs it, and the selection BLOWS. You have one choice of everything. So. Lame. I don't even know where you can buy wine, as I don't remember seeing it for sale anywhere in VA. You can buy beer in gas stations, though. In SC, you can buy beer and wine in grocery stores, but not hard liquor. We do have privately owned liquor stores here in SC, which I have to say, is kind of unusual. But if you want to drink alcohol on a Sunday, you have to go to a restaurant or hope you've got some leftover from the night before at your house. (I'm not totally aware of alcohol sales anyplace I live, because I don't drink. So there's more to it than that.....I'm sure there's some weird law I'm forgetting.)

Glad you brought up the bugs, though. Will have to discuss that in a future post.

Kimmykins -- yes, Mrs. Fearnow's canned Brunswick Stew is an excellent substitute. And yes, sometimes we put sweet pickles on our ham biscuits, too. It's excellent. And yes, you're right about SBs -- there are many many different kinds. There is a whole spectrum. Sounds like you're one of the SBs who makes sense. :) Hope I didn't offend. The vast majority of SBs are perfectly normal and good people. Like I said, I have lots of SB friends.

Mieke -- we don't have Goodberry's custard here. I've never heard of it. Will keep my eyes peeled. Frozen custard could possibly be my all-time favorite food.

RWA -- yeah, we do eat turkeys....that was an unfair statement in retrospect. It's just that at the Belle house, the ham is the star of the show. Sometimes we don't even fool with a turkey. Especially if my brothers found/hunted some venison. Glad to hear y'all eat Brunswick stew, too. Man, it's good stuff. And thanks for clarifying about the rumor that Alabamans put mayo in their BBQ sauce. I thought that sounded funny.

Grewuprural -- Oh man, you have opened up a can of worms by bringing up scrapple! First off, it's not a Southern thing. You cannot buy it at our stores. I do believe it's a mid-Atlantic thing, because you can buy it in VA, MD and PN. WLF and The Czarina used to get into arguments about whether or not it's a Southern food. I think WLF was wrong, because no one here's ever heard of scrapple. (I have had it and I like it. Tastes like sausage.) The scraps from the pigs down here (and often, chit'lins are included in this) are eaten by poor people only. Sounds bad, I know. But the nasty piggy parts are what "po' white trash" eat. More on them later.

Christina -- yes, good idea! I should do that!!! The only problem is, I don't know how to make most of this stuff.....hard to believe, I know. But I'm sure I've got some recipes floating around somewhere. I'll let you know. The thing is, you need special equipment for a lot of the recipes: cast iron skillet for cornbread, deep fryer for hush puppies, e.g. I don't have some of the equipment, plus, it's pretty fattening stuff, so I don't normally make it at home.

Amy -- you are living in BBQ heaven, btw. Memphis is my personal favorite style. So tangy. Mmmmmmm!!! And you are totally right about peach ice cream. It's VERY popular down here. Probably because we grow so many peaches. The Czarina used to make preserves and pickle things, too. She makes a fantastic chow chow. (Goes great with beef!) But her best is probably her strawberry preserves. They kick ass. And yes, biscuits need Crisco, lard, bacon grease...something! Your meemaw is old school if she makes neckbones!!! WOW. I, too, don't think I would try that. Another thing you'd have to grow up with. I completely forgot about deep fried chicken livers!!! Czarina loooooooves them. That's another thing you'll see on a BBQ buffet. I am having a hard time seeing how you cook your ham in a skillet. You must slice it up first...because there's no way a 15 lb ham will fit in a frying pan. I have never heard of such a thing. Oh, and you are completely correct in your explanation of cleaning/caring for cast iron. I forgot some people call crawfish "mudbugs". Thanks for the reminder!

coffeesnob -- thank you. I tried to be fair, but some of it does indeed humor me!

mc-- I like that joke. It's kinda true, actually.....tee hee! Some Baptists are closet drinkers!!! And they most certainly don't have booze at their weddings. Not even at funerals. I'm talking a totally alcohol-free lifestyle here. Grape juice at church instead of wine.

MJ-- yes! I can't believe I forgot that!!! Meetings in the secular world have prayers. You'll see people blessing their food in restaurants....lots of praying here in general. It will surprise you if you're not from 'roun here. And you don't believe in Jesus??? OMG, I am friends with a heathen! *faints*

meish -- Oh, I can't believe I forgot to mention bars! Thank you! On Fridays, bars close at 2am. (This was an adjustment for me, because in IN, they never close before 3am) On Saturdays, it's 1am. You gotta get up the next morning for church, ya know. There are some bars who can get away with staying open later than that, but that is unusual and inconsistent. So yeah, you'll never hear of someone coming home from the bars at 4am. They'd have to explain where they've been for the last 2 hours. ;) I have no idea what the hours are in bars on Sundays. Going out on a Sunday night is pretty much unheard of.....I'm sure college students do it. (This is just in SC, btw. I can't speak for the rest of the South....readers??? Help!)

lowtide-- I can't believe I forgot that! Yes, the SB church is ALWAYS the biggest building (or at least the biggest church) in town. That seems to be their "thing." And yes, church suppers (dinner = lunch, supper = dinner...another weird Southernism) often have 5 types of fried chicken, 3 kinds of mac n cheese, two different sweet potato casseroles and 5 different cakes. And yeah, we always have deviled eggs. I've heard it said that you're not a True Southern Belle unless you own a deviled egg plate. (And in case you're wondering, YES, I do own one.) Oh boy. You brought up The War. That is a whole different can of worms. More about Northern Aggression later. Let's not get ahead of ourselves. ;) Can everyone just hold off on this topic for a bit? We still have to get through football and slang!

Ya know what aspect of religion I forgot to talk about, y'all? We have a higher percentage of Jehovah's Witnesses down here, I think. I know they are everywhere, but I really think we have more of them in the South. You occasionally hear about the little kids who don't have birthday parties or of people who won't accept blood transfusions. If you are scratching your head right now, read the link above. It will explain what I'm talking about. They take the Bible even more literally than the SBs. Witnesses are hard-core.

I'm not sure about this either, but I think we have a large number of open-casket funerals down here. (Readers, I need your help on this one) They kind of creep me out -- we don't do that in my family. But I know some families who only have open-casket. (Ooh, this is a good transition paragraph, as funerals are where food and church intersect!!) Now, when someone dies, everyone in town--even people you haven't seen in years and people you don't know--will bring you food. TONS of food. (I want you to imagine what "tons" of food looks like. Now double it. That's what I'm talking about.) Typical funeral food includes: casseroles, deviled eggs, potato salad, fruit salad, mac n cheese (I swear, someone always brings this!), sliced ham, fried chicken, biscuits, red velvet cake, pound cake, etc. Some people bring booze. (Maybe this is just my family??) Within hours of the passing, your kitchen will be full of food. As in, "Holy cow. Where am I going to put these baked beans??? Seriously???!!" Because people don't just bring small amounts of this stuff. They fill up those aluminum lasagna pans with food. Each person brings food for 20.

Oh, and just because someone stops by to visit for a bit and bring you food doesn't mean they are coming to the funeral. Really, just your closest family friends attend the funeral. Anyone in town can stop by with food. Your neighbors, whom you've never talked to, because they live 3 miles down the road, found out about the death while they were down at the post office, where they heard about it from your youngest son's 2nd grade teacher. Who's on her way to your house with a huge pan of cornbread., even though your youngest son just graduated college and you haven't talked to the teacher in 15 years. So don't be surprised if your neighbors show up to both introduce themselves and give you their condolences. Complete with a pan of creamed corn. (See how things work around here?)

This is why, after the funeral at church, everyone goes back to your house and helps you eat it. There's usually a lot of drinking, too. So I guess, in a way, this is much like a wake. Southerners know that food is the best thing to bring when someone dies because: grieving people don't feel like cooking, lots of people are going to be coming over and you have to feed them, plants might die on you too and it's tacky to give money. So food it is.

Speaking of food...

I forgot to mention tomato aspic. THAT is a Southern dish. Very old-school. If you don't know what it is, imagine tomato Jell-O. "Ew" is right. We also do a lot of chicken n dumplings, but I have heard they eat that out west, so I don't know if that counts as Southern. In Texas, they eat one of my favorite things: brisket. Whatever you do, never turn down brisket. The first time I had it, I think I ate a pound of it in one sitting. It's freakin awesome.

Oh! I forgot to explain "country fried steak" and "hamburger steak". You will see these items on menus in small country towns. Country fried steak is just a steak that has been deep fried like fried chicken. So it has that yummy fried chicken crust on it. It's usually topped with gravy. Hamburger steak is basically a burger in fancy clothes: served without a bun, with mashed potatoes on the side, and covered in sauteed mushrooms and mushroom gravy. It's my brother Fat Dog's meal of choice.

We also fry pickles down here. You'll see those at fairs and festivals. (We pretty much fry everything down here...)

I forgot to mention tomato pie (imagine a quiche, only very heavy on the tomatoes) and the importance of Vidalia onions. They are valued above all other onions. We have oodles of Vidalia onion recipes around here. They come from Georgia, you know.

Anything made with peaches is going to be very popular around here, especially where I live. (Trivia fact for you: Most people think Georgia grows the most peaches, but they don't. SC does.) K's mom makes the best dang peach cobbler I've ever had. I need to get that recipe....

Corn is definitely a diet staple. We've talked about grits, but there's also: corn pones (aka Johnnycake), corn fritters (delicious!), corn pudding, creamed corn, etc.

People down here eat quail. Usually they're deep fried (duh). They look like tiny, deep fried turkeys.

I forgot to mention that sometimes, we stuff our turkeys with oyster dressing, instead of sage or Stove Top or whatever. I mean, it's got breadcrumbs in it, so I guess that's not too weird. I've never had it, but I bet it's good. Again, we love our seafood down here.

I also forgot to mention the importance of Cool Whip to our desserts. Pretty much every dessert has Cool Whip in it, on it or near it! But Jell-o? Not so much. We don't eat a lot of Jell-O here. We are more likely to have some rice pudding around. With a dollop of Cool Whip on top. (Dude, when rice pudding is made correctly, it is to DIE for. Cinnamon and raisins are in it....mmmmmm) Chess pies are popular: lemon chess, chocolate chess, etc. You'll hear of vinegar pie (it's good! It's sweet, I promise!) and that is similar to custard pie or Shoo Fly Pie, which is a little more popular in VA. Peanut brittle and key lime pie are popular down here. So is bread pudding (again, don't knock it 'til you try it!). One of the more popular cakes is red velvet cake, although I have no idea why. People go crazy for it. If you're deep, deep down south, you are familiar with King Cake. We don't have it in my part of the country, though.

In the summer, we eat a lot of local watermelon, nectarines, peaches, blackberries and strawberries. Lots of sweet potatoes, tomatoes, squash and coleslaw. We don't really use cabbage for anything else. And of course, it's got tons of mayo.

Now, if you want to go old school in the dessert department, you'll have benne seed candy. I personally don't care for it, but some people like it. Imagine sesame seed brittle. That's pretty regional, though -- SC and GA mostly. That's something they ate in the 1700s.

Squirrel Nut Zippers are not a rock band down here. They are little wrapped candies, kind of like Mary Janes. Only nuttier. But same idea. We also have Moon Pies and Goo Goo Clusters. You'll see them for sale in convenience stores.

We also have a tendency to put Coca-Cola in things: I've heard of Coca-Cola gravy and one of the most popular recipes in the Belle household is Coca-Cola cake. Some people make 7-Up cake, too. You'll hear of people soaking their peanuts in glasses of Coca-Cola.

Speaking of drinks, there are a lot of bourbon and whiskey drinkers down here. We especially like to use those liquors in punches. The Czarina has a recipe for Charleston Light Dragoon Punch, not to be confused with St. Cecilia's Punch. (More on St. Cecilia later...) Wine made from muscadine grapes is also popular. Oh, you'll love to know this little trivia fact: Coors beers were not available on the east coast until....hmmm. I would say the last 30 years or so. Pabst Blue Ribbon was popular, I think.

Cheerwine is a Southern soda pop. It tastes like a combination between cherry soda and Dr. Pepper. Another soda pop we have is RC Cola. It's getting hard to find, now, along with Nehi (pronounced "knee-high", because that's how tall the bottles used to be). Nehi comes in grape and orange...maybe some other flavors, too. It's very popular with children. I haven't seen it since I was a kid. SunDrop is sort of a Mountain Dew knock-off. That's hard to find, too. People who like it LOVE it, though.

Old ladies drink buttermilk sometimes. You'll see it on the menu in mom n pop restaurants in rural areas. Yeah, I don't get it either. Every restaurant in town serves crab cakes. At least, in SC they do. Oh shoot, I'm trying to hold off on restaurant stuff or else this will be too long...I guess I should at least mention that there's a Waffle House on every corner here. That's where you can have your hashbrowns smothered and covered.

Last but not least, the best recipes come from Southern Living or Paula Deen. (She is a culinary goddess down here!)

WHEW! Have I forgotten anything this time??? I promise football is next!