Happy Birthday CJRW!

Yesterday, October 15th, was CJRW's 47th birthday. So, of course we took advantage and celebrated with a very wonderful cake from our favorite - Rick's Bakery. For me, CJRW has been a wonderful place to work and more importantly, learn.

Founded in 1961, Cranford Johnson Robinson Woods ad agency is headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas, with offices in Dallas and Northwest Arkansas. The agency also owns Jones Productions,one of the region’s leading film and video commercial production facilities. The agency has more than 100 employees and an estimated $84 million in capitalized billings.

The Young and the Breathless

Thanks to my wonderful best friend Sarah P, I will be joining her and a couple other girls to compete in (rather, participate in) the Memphis Half Marathon on December 6th. Our team name is "The Young and the Breathless." I voted for "Are We There Yet?" since I'm pretty sure that's what I'll be screaming the entire way. I've really gotten into running these past couple of years, but as of recently, I'm officially "training." And it's hard work.

A half marathon is 13.1 miles total - my goal is to run the entire time. I want to set a time goal for myself as well, but I'm still thinking about what that might be (I hate to set myself up for failure). So far, I've run up to six miles at once - I've only done it twice but it's a start. I'm very proud of myself for my six miles, but at the same time I realize I have seven more to add to that.

I'll keep you updated on our progress and I cannot wait to post pictures of the race and let you know how we all did. And if anyone would like to come and cheer us on and then play in Memphis that Saturday night, please do - we want support, and I want a driving partner to Memphis!

Money Problems Hitting Home

As we are all aware, the economy has hit quite a slump and we are all fortunate enough to feel the effects. Just kidding.

As many of you probably know, Heba (my step-sister) is studying abroad in France until December. So, I am living at our house by myself. And in my efforts to save a little bit of money each month I've managed to cut my cable bill in half. First, I switched to a slower Internet speed as I only use the Internet to surf - so I figure I can afford to "slow down" a bit. Second, I did something I've never lived with before - I walked away from my expanded channels. So now, I only have channels up to 22. No E! or MTV. I feel it's a little spoiled and superficial to feel I need those channels. Plus I don't watch them enough to warrant the extra almost $30 a month. And I can watch them at Cole's house when I want. :-) I promise to let you know if I cave and add them back.

So, this gets me wandering - what are you guys doing to save money? Everyone seems to be saving money in such creative ways these days and I need more ideas!

U of A Tradition: The Senior Walk

As many in Arkansas know, when you graduate from the U of A your name gets added to the Senior Walk. Mine has probably been up for about a year now? But I had yet to go and find it. This weekend Sarah P and I made our way to campus to find each of our names for one last pat on the back on our completed college education. Thank you Kalen and Matt for being such lovely photographers.

Below are Sarah and I hovered over my name: Jennifer B G James. I'm not sure if my four names would have all made it.


Below is Sarah happily posing in front of her name.

Bikes, Blues and BBQ Weekend

Bikes, Blues and BBQ Fest was in Fayetteville this weekend, and true to form it was a weekend of fun. Every time I walked out my front door - day or night - I could hear the constant hum of motorcycles everywhere! Also a bonus this weekend was Sarah's visit from (West) Memphis.

Kim, Sarah, Katie and I hanging out at Jose's Friday night.


Sarah and I having fun at Busters.


Maybe this isn't our best picture ever, but I had to post a picture of our oh-so-fun brunch at our favorite - Common Grounds.

McCain wins Friday night's debate!

Wait! The debate hasn't even taken place yet. But interestingly enough, a congratulatory banner and quote from McCain's manager appeared online Friday afternoon.

Congratulations Mom!

Congratulations Mom on becoming an American citizen today! Today at the Clinton Library my mother was naturalized! Since she moved here in January of 1973 she has been a legal alien. She never wanted to give up her Brasilian citizenship. But now, dual citizenship is offered and she can have both. So, after much hard work and some traveling to Memphis, my Mom is now a citizen of the United States - and is also able to maintain her citizenship in Brasil.

Congrats Mom!

You tell me why it's important - because it most certainly is!

I've been thinking about this for over a week now. And my thought is that I would never want to use this blog as a place for a "rant." I want it to be an outlet of thought - whether you agree or not. If not, stop reading my blog. XOXO.

I was very disturbed to hear last week that someone thought that voting for McCain would be best for them because he would lower their taxes - that's it, he'd just lower their taxes. And his stance on everything else involved in the election doesn't matter because it doesn't directly affect them. Reasons being:

a. The war is over there, and not in our own backyard.
b. They are not a gay couple trying to get married.
c. And the abortion thing doesn't apply to them.

I have to say: they're wrong. I don't care who you're voting for. You're not thinking if you think this war doesn't have anything to do with us or affect us in every way - for many reasons.

Don't think because the war is being fought across the pond, that it's obsolete to us. And don't think that if we didn't fight it over there, that the war would be here. WRONG. We're fighting and being attacked because we bombed a country and a group that didn't attack us. Iraq, Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda did not attack us on 9/11 - Osama bin Laden did. And he is still out there, and our president is doing nothing to find him. Don't forget that - and don't forget we're fighting the wrong war. That is why we are now being attacked - over there.

This war costs the country and its citizens:
Per Month - $10.3 billion
Per Week - $2.4 billion
Per Day - $343 million
Per Hour - $14 million
Per Minute - $238,425
Per Second - $3,973

Don't you tell me for a second this doesn't affect you. Every time you fill up on gas, or pay taxes at the grocery store or see more taxes come out of your paycheck - don't tell me it has nothing to do with this war and that the war has nothing to do with you. It has everything to do with you. And for eight years we've had a president who has made this war, his war. We have the power to change that in November. One nonpartisan analysis finds that with Obama's tax proposal - which doesn't call to raise your taxes - the rich would pay more, and the poor and middle-class (you) would pay less. Under John McCain's plan, the rich would pay much less than they do now, the poor and middle-class would pay a bit less, and the federal deficit would grow even more.

So, yes the war affects you. Greatly. And I support our troops, but I do not support this war, and I have not since March of 2003 when we first invaded Iraq. And according to Sarah Palin, we're about to enter Russia, Iran and God help us on all the other "possibilities" she sees.


As for social issues such as gay rights and abortion: just because you might not be a gay American looking for equal rights or a person interested in seeking an abortion for the many reasons women may do so (because Palin is against them even in the cases or rape and incest), doesn't mean that these issues or how they're dealt with don't affect you. Please, don't ever think that for one minute! The Republican party will preach about how they want less government involvement but two of their main goals is to overturn Roe v. Wade and to pass a constitutional amendment against gay marriage - bringing the government right on into your living room and bedroom. When you allow these things to happen - or elect those who will oversee it - you're giving government, federal and state, the power to make personal decisions for you. And you're fooling yourself if you think it will stop there. So, what do we have to do, sit back until our government turns into China and restricts the amount of children we can have? Then will you be interested in who our president is and the authority they will give themselves over our lives? It will never just stop with abortion and gay rights. There will always be a "next" topic, which could very much involve your lives directly.


There is no truth to the "shaking up Washington" that McCain and Palin are shouting from the rooftops. There is nothing they can do to shake things up in a land that is identical to what they preach now.

Here's what we don't want: We don't want your bridge to nowhere Sarah Palin, and we never did. We don't want your extremist religious beliefs pulling books off our library shelves or telling us what we can do with our bodies or whom we can marry. We don't want you "lowering" our taxes while in the meantime steadily increasing our already outrageous deficit. We don't want more unnecessary wars started while you float around the country calling it God's plan you hypocrite! We don't care for your drilling in Alaska while you tell us we need to be more self-reliant on energy! Way to drill the little oil we have, if any, while destroying the wildlife refuge and increasing the country's dependence on oil. Set yourself up with an alternative energy plan and then go back and tell People.com you're an "adapter." Stop saying global warming isn't caused by human activity and don't ever undermine women again. How dare the McCain/Palin camp think that women could be so easily fooled into voting for them just because they placed a skirt next to John McCain.

Try again.

Make it tonight! Tomato and Cheese Baked Chicken.

Since I work for an ad agency that represents Tyson Foods, Inc., many, many food shots and recipes come across my desk and computer multiple times throughout the week, if not each day. As I was thumbing through potential recipes and food shots today I stumbled upon one called Tomato and Cheese Baked Chicken on Tyson's Web site. And I made it tonight, which of course I loved, but more importantly it got rave reviews from Cole as well - sometimes we don't always see eye to eye on what makes a good dinner! But, we both loved this one and I know it gets hard thinking of things to make for dinner each night and I love getting new recipes, so I want to share this with you.

You can click on the link above or you can follow my recipe below. Note, the recipe calls for Split Chicken Breasts, but I used Boneless Skinless Breasts as it's lower in calorie and carried by most grocery stores.

4 Tyson(R) Trimmed & Ready(R) Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
1 container garlic herb spreadable cheese, 6.5 oz., softened
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, oil-packed; drained
2 tablespoons green onion, sliced
1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese, grated (optional, I intended to use afterward but didn't)

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray a baking pan with nonstick cooking spray or line with nonstick aluminum foil. Wash hands. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper to taste; place in prepared baking pan. Wash hands. (I sprinkled with garlic salt and pepper and then browned each breast on the stove along with garlic for a couple minutes per side.)

2. Pat tomatoes dry with paper towels; chop as desired. Place softened cheese in small bowl. Stir in tomatoes, green onion and Parmesan cheese. Spread cheese mixture evenly over chicken. Wash hands.

3. Bake chicken 35 to 45 minutes or until done (internal temp 180°F).

SO GOOD!

Oklahoma's Test Scores Better Go Up

In hopes of finding something fun and different to do on a Saturday afternoon, we ventured on over to West Siloam Springs, OK to the casino. Kim, Joe, Liz, Chad, Cole and I arrived around 5 that afternoon and stayed for an eventful four hours.

In little ole Oklahoma you must "ante up" each time you bet - each time you must pay $.50 - and it goes to the Oklahoma schools. Well, I did my part and contributed quite enough, as did everyone else. I won't call anyone out on what losers half the group was, but I will say Chad and Kim were definitely the big winners of the weekend!

It was a fun day - now the next couple of days will be realizing that my money is gone, gone, gone.

Watch out for hiding gas prices.

If you're like me, you pay for most things with your debit card. I rarely carry cash - I find I spend it quicker if I have it. Well, we just noticed today at the Shell gas station on Gregg Street in Fayetteville (AKA the White Oak Station) that the price per gallon is $0.09 less if you pay for your gas in cash! With debit/credit cards, the price per gallon was $3.57; however, when paying in cash, it was only $3.49! The prices were actually displayed on the gas station marquee. I never really pay attention because I usually get gas at Walmart.

So next time you get gas check and see if there is a lower price if paying in cash - it's probably worth a trip to the ATM. It's almost the same price difference between Unleaded and Premium! I've never noticed this before, but I'm sure it exists in other places as well!

Hogs-a-palooza

The first Little Rock Razorback game was this weekend and it was kicked off in true Hog style. Again, Dad had his tailgating spot, and again we all showed up to join in the fun. The game would have been a "good game" if it had been against an SEC rival and not Louisiana Monroe (huh?), but it was just a little ridiculous that it came down to literally the last minute as we scored and won by one point! I didn't go to the game, but Kim and I held down the forts just fine and had just as much fun. Plus, we got a new cooler out of it!

Will and me at our spot. It's always SO GREAT to see the boys. They're constantly growing and changing, but they're always sweet.


Mom and Morie came out and had a ball - even Mom! :-)


It's my version of My Two Dads. Dad is manning the grill of course, and Morie is keeping him company.


Spencer and me - and his big red hat he purchased for $6. Spencer saw Jermain Taylor again tailgating. Last year, he actually hung out with him for a little bit. Will and I have decided he's a JT magnet.


Kim and I watching over the place while everyone went to the game.

It's all in the family.

Just when we thought the major issue of this year's Presidential election would be centered around the war in Iraq and gas prices, a nasty storm has been brewing over the nominees themselves. The circus might just prove to be about their own family lives more so than the shots they will no doubt take at their opponents. Obviously we don't know for sure, but it appears that a few of our candidates might have a little explaining to do.

Family Issue #1
I woke up this morning to what I thought was Christmas when I was told that Bristol Palin, the seventeen-year-old high school senior of Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin, was pregnant. Then, I realized that I don't want to sit here and comment to you on the mistakes of a seventeen-year-old - as many of us have made mistakes. But, I also don't want to be persuaded into the line of thought that this should stay a private matter. Once you've thrown your own self and your family into the spotlight of the world, the Palin's must understand that this will be an issue and a topic. On paper, the right and responsible thing is being done. She's marrying her boyfriend, Levi (age and last name unknown), and keeping the baby. The question I will ask is this her decision to marry and is this couple even ready for marriage?

Also, we're told that McCain's camp knew of the pregnancy before he chose Palin for his VP - very good, since he had only met the woman once before. Apparently, this news is breaking in response to Internet rumors that Palin's fifth child Trig, who was born in April with Down's Syndrome, is actually Bristol's. I guess we'll have to ride this out and see. But, as rumors go - that's probably all this is. It's an interesting rumor since apparently Sarah Palin announced her pregnancy in early March (two months before she was due) - shocking most around her as she didn't appear to show any signs of being pregnant. However, this is probably due to the baby's Down's Syndrome. Also, Bristol went noticeably absent in school for several months due to what her family called prolonged mono. Maybe it was.

Bristol Paline and her youngest brother, Trig.


Family Issue #2
Ever heard of Kathleen Hensley Portalski? Not from Cindy McCain, you haven't. As Cindy calls herself an "only child" Kathleen tells of her feelings as a "non person" by Cindy's comment. The two women, Kathleen is around 11 years older, do share the same father, Jim Hensley, but did not grow up in the same household. Kathleen claims she only saw the man who she called Dad on Christmases and birthdays - presumably Cindy was around. Upon Jim's death, Cindy inherited the family estate and business, the beer distributor, Hensley and Co., and Kathleen says she only received $10,000. Cindy has yet to comment on the half sister whom, according to Kathleen, she's "airbrushed out of her life."

Kathleen Hensley Portalski


Family Issue #3
The Republicans are not the only ones who have some explaining to do. Although some people believe this man is lying - why because he lives in a shack in Kenya? - George Hussein Onyango Obama, who lives on the outskirts of Nairobi in Kenya, tells Italian Vogue he is Obama's half brother. Like Cindy McCain and her half sister, these two men share the same father, and he is apparently the youngest of Obama's five half siblings. Although they've only met once, Obama mentions him in his autobiography as a "beautiful boy with a rounded head." My question is: how is Obama talking about his "brothers and sisters" here in the U.S. during his speeches, but he appears to have no contact with his brother who lives in such poverty and crime-stricken conditions? I would like that question to be asked and answered.

George Hussein Onyango Obama


Like you, I do not know the complete history or story to these three issues mentioned above. But, they do seem like areas of concern. And as these three people could potentially be running our country and making decisions for the world, I believe they have an obligation to answer them.

The perfect brownie: found. Only if you like mint.

I have the most incredible brownie recipe for you - if you love mint, you will love this brownie.

Purchase your usual brownie mix and all the necessities you need for them. And a bag of Andes mints - whole or crushed. Either works.

You simply make brownies as you normally would. Once they're done, I usually let them cool for a little under 10 minutes so that they're still pretty warm. Then spread almost the entire bag (or the entire bag, depends on how much you want) of Andes mints on top so that they create a top layer. Then place in the refrigerator until the mint layer has cooled and hardened. This usually takes about 30 - 45 minutes.

And if you want to lighten the brownie a bit you can buy Duncan Hines brownie mix - they're the best anyway. You can substitute the water, oil and eggs with 2 tbsp of water, 1/3 cup of applesauce (in place of the oil) and one egg - or 1/4 cup of egg whites/egg substitute (the equivalent of one egg). This reduced fat version is on the back of the Duncan Hines box.

Less calories and I PROMISE you, you cannot tell the difference and they're fabulous. Then dump a load of chocolate mints on top! :-)

Yummy eating!

UPDATE: This recipe needs a more credible source than myself - thank you Jane Dennis for your yummy brownie recipe.

Comments

I've been told people cannot leave a comment unless they have an account. I didn't realize it was on that setting. I've changed it now to where anyone can post a comment.

Peace.

Razorbacks! All kinds of Razorbacks!

The very first game day weekend brought a lot of fun tailgating, good friends, a disappointing game (sorry if you disagree) and a sighting of JERMAIN TAYLOR!

Friday night consisted of pre-partying with Katie, Elise, Liz and crew that lasted until the wee hours - I haven't had that much fun on a Friday in a while! Then came game day - and tailgating started at about 2 in the afternoon. Even though Katie thought we were getting out way too late! :-) Tailgating was fun and all over the place - and by the time the game started at 6, I'm pretty sure we all had our hair stuck to our skin and our make-up sweating down our faces. Wow it was hot. Seats for the game were good - thanks Michele - but the Hogs, not so much. We won yes, but we should have obliterated the Western Illinois Leathernecks and that was not so much the case.

Sunday consisted of hanging with the pups and seeing Mama Mia with Kim and Liz. It was good - DON'T take your male significant other. And we were the youngest people in the theater.

Going back to Jermain. Saturday night his pimped out, black Rolls-Royce just pulled up right behind Stir and Busters and parked on the curb. When I realized Jermaine was getting out of it, I flipped. I'm not a boxing fan - but I am a Jermain Taylor fan, and I have never missed him fight. I think he's fantastic and gorgeous and fantastic again! And he was so sweet. I asked if I could take a picture with him, he just smiled and yes "sure." I also of course decided to profess my love. Then he went into Stir, but not before I got a picture.


Kim and I post game and post tailgate at Busters Saturday night.


Kim, Elise and her two sisters, Erica and Jessica, and me.

Oh, it's on! Introducing Ms. Alaska!

Oh, it's laughable! Wow - forget about her oh-so-boring, irrelevant speech that had zero substance and sounded more like a high-schooler pleading with her fellow classmates to "please vote for me", but the woman isn't even qualified! The former mayor of a town of only 9,000 and Alaskan beauty queen - who participated in beauty pageants to earn money for college - probably spent more time prepping for her stint on the catwalk longer than she's served as the governor of Alaska. Telling Vogue magazine "They made us line up in bathing suits and turn our backs so the male judges could look at our butts. I couldn't believe it."

After running on a platform of "heavy reform" this governor has decided to (potentially) abandon her state - and promises - only 20 months after election. This only shows that John McCain's doubts about his presidential run have now turned into sheer desperation.

This is too good to be true.

So, I bet a majority of us can safely say that McCain has chosen this "surprise pick" in order to pick-up a few Hillary voters. Good to know that the McCain camp and the Bush administration can no longer shout "inexperience" in Obama's direction.

Besides the fact that she's a woman - and this is thought to bring many new faces to the McCain side - her supporters argue that she is "arguably the only candidate who has the necessary expertise to address the single most pressing issue in this election: gas prices. As Governor of Alaska, Chair of the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission (America’s largest interstate organization), and a former Chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, Sarah Palin can run rings around almost anyone when it comes to oil."

Well, puh-lease. This is like asking for a third helping of all the slop President Bush has served us for the past eight years. But, even with her looming inexperience, she is the quintessential Republican. McCain hopes she will claim the female vote; she's pro-gun, pro-life, and pro-family - whatever that means.

Go Obama!

Fantasy Football!

As many of you probably know Cole is oh-so-into football. Subsequently, I've had football introduced into my life and I never thought I'd ever be this knowledgeable about it. Ever. And this year I've entered my first fantasy football league - and today was the day to draft. Today was also draft day for Cole and Kyle's league - so it was a big football day for us. Below is my team. Pretty nice, huh?

Quarterbacks
Donovan McNabb
Eli Manning

Running Backs
Marion Barber
Clinton Portis
Selvin Young
Ricky Williams

Wide Receivers
T.J. Houshmandzadeh
Plaxico Burruss
Laveranues Coles
Kevin Curtis

Update: I've traded Kevin Curtis for Jabar Gaffney due to injury and that he might not play until October.

Tight Ends
Dallas Clark
Alge Crumpler

Defensive Teams
Jacksonville Jaguars
New York Giants

Kicker
Mike Nugent

I am exhausted!

This weekend was jam-packed, and I mean jam-packed! But it was jam-packed with lots of fun! Kate, Kyle and their dog Abby came in town from St. Louis to visit and stayed with me. And the fun began Friday night around 10 and didn't stop until Sunday afternoon - and then I crashed and took a 2 1/2 hour nap. Much needed.

So, what all did we do? Well, if you're friends with Cole and me, you've heard us talk about Fast Lane. The Lokomotion/Chuck E Cheese for adults/Dave & Busters all rolled into one in Northwest Arkansas. That was Friday night. We played games, played laser tag, ate fried pickles and bowled all night long. And I have to throw in - I bowled a 181! I wish I had taken a picture! Then we all went back to my house and had a big sleep over. So much fun!

Kate and I discovering Dance Dance Revolution - who knew it was so fun?


Kate enjoying her 150 tickets from the Deal or No Deal game. This proved to be a very popular game among us.


Bo and Bailey hamming it up in the bowling alley - AKA Cosmo's Corner.


Cole working his magic. This is also a good picture of the bowling alley - there are big screens behind the lanes constantly playing music videos.


Saturday night was wedding time. Marlena Sweeney, a friend from college and a great fellow debater, married Michael Bond - coincidentally enough he's my boss Michele's brother. The wedding was at St. Raphael's Catholic Church in Springdale. Cole and I made it through the hour-long full Catholic mass complete with communion. The reception was at the Towne Center on the square. I saw a lot of old debate friends and my former debate coaches Leah and Keith Peterson.
Leah, Emily Story and I at the reception.


And Sunday was all about Fantasy Football drafting - next post.

Jesus Loves Me, This I Know

This is not what the Westboro Baptist Church wants you to believe. This hate-filled group is well known (not for anything that positively impacts the world or themselves or their congregation) for picketing certain events, specifically funerals of fallen soldiers and well-known politicians or family members of politicians.

First of all, it makes me sick to enter their site http:www.godhatesfags.com. - please know I had to google this, I do not visit this site. But it also makes you want to laugh out loud that they use the words "God" and "hate" together so much on their Web site and in their everyday language. They do not preach love or tolerance or forgiveness - you may remember this is what the Bible talks about. Ironically enough, they preach the Bible by preaching hate. Below is what I would consider their pathetic "about them" section found on the homepage of their Web site:

"Since 1955, Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) has taken forth the precious from the vile, and is therefore as the mouth of God (Jer. 15:19). In 1991, WBC took her ministry to the streets, conducting over 34,000 peaceful demonstrations (to date) opposing the fag lifestyle of soul-damning, nation-destroying filth."

Seems to me they cannot come up with anything better to bitch about besides the fact that there are people who live their lives openly gay and there are people who support it. I bet a few are just pissed off that they're gay themselves and are unable to admit it or act on it. Think about it, I bet some of them are gay. But that's not the point. Before I start a rant that is just as ridiculous as theirs I want to try and give you insight as to why they do the things they do. BUT I BARELY CAN! They're preaching is really just judging others and disrespecting millions of families.

I'm not going to preach - not my style - and you're not asking for it. But, it's so humorous (not really, but what else am I supposed to say?) that they cannot make a case for themselves except for "we live disgusting lives and God hates us for it." So, in turn they find it appropriate to picket Bill Gwatney's funeral and say that God sent the shooter because of his sins. And one of his sins is that he's friends with the Clinton's. Well, sign me up then. I just find it so inappropriate, weird, disgusting and bothersome.

If you feel like getting sick to your stomach you can visit their schedule of terror here. It lists Little Rock as one of it's stops before they scoot on to terrorize Isaac Haye's family. No that's not a joke. Check it out for yourself: http://www.godhatesfags.com/schedule.html.

Do something good for the environment AND the water supply today

Fluorescent light bulbs and batteries contain toxic chemicals that are dangerous if they get into groundwater, air or soil and are absorbed even in small quantities. These products contain substances such as mercury, lead and PCBs and cannot be thrown out in your kitchen trash can - or your bedroom trash can. A single broken fluorescent light bulb (whose hazardous culprit is mercury) can contaminate as much as 7,000 gallons of water!

Light bulbs and batteries need to be recycled or treated as hazardous waste! So, the solution is below. If your city is not listed, you can google your city name and "solid waste" and I'm sure this information will appear. Also a great resource for finding a location near you is http://www.Earth911.org., which enables you to search by item and zip code for a recycling center.

For Fayetteville:
Bring them to us! We recycle ink jets and batteries at the Solid Waste and Recycling Facility for no charge. We are located at 1560 Happy Hollow Road in southeast Fayetteville and are open Monday through Friday from 8am to 5pm. Please take regular batteries to the Washington County Household Hazardous Waste trailer on Brink Drive. Their phone number is (479) 444-1725.

Also, many places such as Radio Shack, Office Depot and Best Buy will recycle these hazardous items.

NEW CAR!

Finally! After our scary wreck, the Vibe had to go! About three weeks ago Cole and I drove to Kansas City and picked up my new Nissan Altima! I did A LOT of research to find the car I wanted. It had to have everything on my list - and this one does plus more! It's an 06 with 23k miles, fully loaded, leather, sunroof, spoiler, ground effects, they tinted my windows, the coolest navigation system with screen that is not any extra a month, satellite connection and 6 disc Bose stereo system!

It's so wonderful and nice - I cannot wait to show it to my family next weekend!

Summer Treats

I've had the biggest sweet tooth lately! The last two Fridays at work we've had cupcakes from Rick's Bakery here in Fayetteville - they have the best ever. The icing is piled so high and the cupcakes are always moist and yummy.


And below is a picture of a cake I purchased from Cold Stone. Last Sunday I was craving it and decided that instead of waiting in the huge line I would purchase a small cake. Then I decided to be an airhead and think the "time" labeled on the cake (when it was made) - 9:33 - was how much it was. I assumed I'd spend that much anyway and I'd bypass the line - genius move, right? Not really, the cake was $25 but I was too embarrassed to put it back! You should have seen Cole's confused face when I was walking back to the car - I had gone in for ice cream for me and a milkshake for him! As you can see we have polished it off quite nicely.

What a disappointment...

I almost feel silly for being so disappointed in Edwards - obviously, we're not close friends. And although I never thought he should be our next president I felt he was an important figure in bringing the Democratic party back into the White House. I also felt he was a wholesome and moral Southerner who tugged at our heartstrings when he and his wife Elizabeth publicly discussed her terminal battle with cancer.

It's such a shame. And I think there's more to the story, and I'm really interested to know the outcome of the paternity test.

"And the days went by like paper in the wind. Everything changed, then changed again. It's hard to find a friend. It's hard to find a friend."

The last couple of weeks have been a little different for me. This year I've had three good friends move away from me for good. Not to mention, I'm still not over Sarah P moving back to Memphis! I'm happy for them because they're moving on to big and better things but I miss them so much! It has been a little lonely and I'm adjusting...I guess.

First Kate, who just finished getting her masters in Hospital Administration at UAMS, and Kyle moved to St. Louis at the beginning of the summer. Kate is starting her fellowship at the Barnes Jewish Hospital. This summer my family went to St. Louis while my grandmother was in town and I got to see Kate. I can't wait to go again.

And Elise! Elise who just got engaged and we have to help plan her wedding from SO far away! Elise and Ricky just moved - like last week - to New Orleans. This is good in that we have a free place to stay when we want to go to NOLA! Elise and Ricky moved so that Ricky can begin his four years in dental school. Then hopefully they will move back!

And a couple weeks before Elise and Ricky moved Nick and Amanda moved to Enterprise, AL (nice!) so that Nick could attend Flight School.

But, on a brighter note, Katie and Ehren moved back from Dallas to finish their last year in law school. They also got engaged - and job offers to Baker Botts Law Firm in Dallas! Alas, they will be moving at the end of next summer - after their lovely destination wedding, of course.

I miss my friends!