Thank you, Al Gore...

Today I am grateful for the Internet.  Not only is this genius invention the sole reason we are all able to co-create a blog together, but it is also an extremely useful tool for accomplishing work, school, and entertainment tasks from the comfort of one's own pajamas. I have utilized the Internet in many useful capacities just today! I woke up this morning and checked on the Atlanta ice storm apocalypse that turned out not to be a big deal, tweeted for my internship, emailed my family members, and am now writing this blog post. By far the most convenient and time-consuming Internet activity in which I participated was creating a group presentation for school without leaving my home. I researched, created drafts, contacted my team members, and revised all afternoon without having to visit someone's smelly apartment or make small talk with anyone's irritating boyfriend. While I wish I had just been playing in the snow, I was so thankful to be off the roads and in my living room for all these magical Internet missions!

Home

For five years as a teenager and two years as an adult I spent a week each summer making homes "warmer, safer, and drier" for low income families in the Appalachian Mountains. The people were always kind, if a little down on their luck, and the houses were inadequate. Compared to my comfy Decatur abode with the nuclear family in tact, these broken homes were often depressing, and I was confused my these families' good nature during my first trip; however, I soon realized that home is truly where the heart is. Today I sit in a medium sized, warm house typing, watching movies, and drinking coffee (of course), and I am again feeling empathy for the less fortunate. I daily pass a tent village on the side of 75/85 in downtown Atlanta: on a warm day the village looks almost cozy and I am happy that these particular homeless people seem to have a sense of camaraderie; however, when icy, cold, or rainy conditions arise, I cannot help but feel extremely compassionate for their lives without homes and extremely grateful for all the shelter I have had in mine. Glad all my friends are warm, safe, and dry today!  

Coffee, coffee, everywhere and not a drop to drink.

I'm a fan of coffee.  I'll drink it most ways as long as it's not McDonald's, Dunkin' Donuts, or Quik Trip brand, but I generally buy it iced from Starbucks, Dancing Goats, Java Monkey, or Revolution Doughnuts and add a shot of espresso and very, very light cream or almond milk. I put absolutely no sweetener in my drink of choice, because that addition would detract from the flavor of fully roasted goodness. Being an avid and dedicated coffee drinker may not be surprising, but what may set me apart from the crowd is how far I will go for coffee when I'm out of beans and there is an impending ice storm. I went to the Farmer's Market to eat lunch and grab some organic bread and chocolate before I was snowed in again, and, while its aisles were congested, I am used to a throng of exuberant shoppers there, so I plowed on and purchased my items.  Because of my previously mentioned affinity for Starbucks coffee, I decided I should also stop by Kroger for my afternoon fix and a bag to take home; however, I was greeted by a line that wrapped around all the way around the frozen food section and to the back of the store, ending basically a half a mile from the checkout lanes. Needless to say, I dropped by basket and went on my merry way.  I was thinking I had enough grounds at home to make one more pot of coffee, and I would just savor it and be okay.  WRONG! After a long evening carting adolescents and navigating the formidable streets of Atlanta during rush hour, I picked up my dog from daycare and drove the twenty minutes home only to find that I had about one teaspoon of coffee left over in my freezer.  This would obviously not do, so I packed up my wallet and drove about a mile to the Kroger on Metropolitan Parkway.  On a good day, this store is sleepy and filled with Ramen Noodles and Tahitian Treat but has a great organic section and Starbucks coffee, generally on sale. Last night the store was so packed I could hardly walk through the aisles sans cart, and I was bumped and pushed repeatedly within the first five seconds. The lines were snaked behind every register and led down each aisle to the back of the store: much worse that the afternoon Kroger trip. I  quickly grabbed my Espresso Roast and prepared to survive a 45-minute line behind families buying gobs of genetically-modified Frankenfood. Oodles of self control was exerted when a woman rung up $400 worth of groceries and had to put them back because she forgot her debit card pin. A cashier had to leave her line to take a bathroom break which nearly incited a riot, but I left the store surprisingly unscathed and surprised at how many shenanigans I will tolerate to drink a cup of coffee in the morning. Despite the drama of procuring my bag of coffee I was grateful to wake up this morning in my warm house and make a balanced breakfast, with coffee as the anchor.  Cheers!

 

Saved by the "bull"

A good friend once semi-facetiously told me, "congratulations for letting sunshine and puppies into your life!" While this may make me seem like a wholehearted miser I swear I'm just a little cynical and set in my ways. I admit, there was a time when I hated the beach and I time when puppies disgusted and frightened me.  The beach is still a little too hot and sandy for my comfort, but I have recently become the most dog-tolerant and one of the most dog-loving people on the planet. I happily wear spiky, white hairs on all of my mostly-black clothing, I frequently welcome a 60-pound, furry creature into my bed, and I regularly speak in baby talk to animals of all sorts! I found Sugar Mama on the side of the road one month after my brother died and a few months before one of the worst imaginable relationships ended, a time when I really needed something to love.  In learning to take care of Mama, I learned to take care of myself again, and while having a feisty, enormous, pit-bully dog is a huge responsibility and chore, I am grateful everyday that I can see her happy face and be reminded of how far I have come.

If you'd like to watch her at daycare before 6:30, here you go!

How "The Help" Helped Me

I have a little cold and had a very rough week with attempted dog attacks and car thefts, so I decided to watch one of my go-to, feel-good movies last night: "The Help." Each time I see Skeeter's radical ways, Hilly's spite, Abilene's stoic resilience, and all the Southern charm and turmoil of 1960s Jackson, Mississippi I know I've chosen the right time occupant for the next two hours. During this viewing I paid close attention to the relationship between Skeeter and her mother, Charlotte. Having recently lost a wonderful mother, I was more angered than usual by Charlotte's antagonizing of her daughter's social choices, supposed sexual preferences, and career objectives. I kept thinking how grateful I was to have such a wonderful Mom for thirty years.  She would never have criticized me for being too liberal, she always gave me gentle and timely advice, and every day of my life until last November she told me I was "lovable and capable." While my Mom was 100 percent my biggest fan there were days when I rejected that support, and there were years when we fought, a lot. Sometime I rolled my eyes at the triteness of her catch phrase, and some days I simply told her she was lovable and capable too. Towards the end of the movie last night I found myself wiping away more than a few tears when Charlotte says to Skeeter that she's never been more proud of her, she wishes her well in New York with her new career, and thanks her for bringing courage back to their family. I missed my Mom terribly, and I was touched by how strong the bond between mother and daughter can be. Despite the discrepancies between the two women throughout the film Skeeter forgave her mom. That's the great thing about mothers and daughters: they can always reconcile and their love is unshakable.  Even though my Mom is gone from this world her repeated support and love are almost enough to "help" me through hard weeks and tough situations, or even sappy movies.      

snowpocalypse 2014

I was pondering what I am grateful for, and my list is very long. So, first I am grateful for being so grateful and having a life that creates a long grateful list.

But I wanted my first post to be a timely post about something that has recently happen. And the first thing that popped into my mind was Atlanta Snowpocalypse 2014. Which brings me to the grateful part.

I am grateful that I have a job that allows me to make adult decisions leaving work early or working from home. I've had jobs in the past that are so serious about the 9-5 work hours, that if the Snowpocalypse happened while I was there, they would not  have let anyone leave early. My current job allowed us to make our own choice about when to leave, and I am 100% positive that if I had left work even 1 hour later than I did, I would have been caught in that horrible, horrible traffic.

And, I am grateful to have cable and internet. If I didn't have the internet, then working from home would be impossible. And if I didn't have cable than working from home would be incredibly boring.

I am also grateful that I live in a place that is walking distance to restaurants and shops. Seriously, our food stash was in a sad state. If we didn't live near a market or a pub, we would have been eating frozen berries and rice for 2.5 days.

Which leads me to being extremely grateful to have a roof over my head. Side story - we had Book of Mormon tickets for the same evening of the Snowpocalypse. We decided to brave the weather, since we live about 1 mile from a Marta station. Getting to the Fox was super easy. BUT they cancelled the show after we got there! Sad face. So, we proceeded to take Marta back. Marta was a bit majorly delayed at the Five Points stop. We waited for a train for about 30 minutes. In that time, everyone started to get really, really cold. And it wasn't like the temperature was super low, BUT standing outside with no heat for an extended period made it really cold. To the point where my toes were literally numb. I was so uncomfortable, I wanted to cry and complain the whole time. What stopped me was the realization that many people have no way to escape the cold. And this was only 30 minutes for me! Imagine nights filled with such cold. It made me sad. So, in conclusion, I am grateful to be in the position to know that I will always have a roof over my head, heat, and food. Oh and the internet and cable. And a job.

xoxo.

Visit with Mom

My mom is on town after a year and a half hiatus from visiting. I'm looking forward to spending some quality time together!