Thursday, September 27, 2007

I Am My Mother's Daughter

I was running very late for work (and an important meeting) this morning, so as I was rushing to get ready, I had a very important decision to make: Put makeup on at home or in the car? I opted for the car. I stuffed my makeup and necessary tools into my makeup bag and speed-walked to my Mazda, sans makeup.

I put everything on whilst travelling: under-eye concealer, blemish concealer, blush, eyeshadow, mascara. It wasn't until the mascara and the ramp to 85-N, that I realized I am my mother's daughter. I remember being young and watching my mom eat and apply makeup and talk to me all while driving. "She's crazy!" I thought, "and so good at everything! I'll never be able to do even one of those things while driving!"

Little did I know that about 20 years later, I would be doing just that. I usually don't eat while I'm driving, I don't normally have little kiddies to talk to, either -- but I can now say that I've put makeup on while driving to and fro. Dangerous, maybe, but interesting to know that I'm becoming more like the person who can do everything!


Thing I'm thankful for: girlfriends. :)

Sunday, September 16, 2007

An Unexpected Surprise

You know that feeling you get when you reach into the pocket of a winter coat you haven't worn in months and find a 10-dollar bill? Or when you find a refund check from Banana Republic in your mailbox because for some reason, you paid more than the balance on the card? Or when you find something that you just really, really love but forgot you had?

Well, I had a feeling like that tonight when I was cleaning/organizing my pantry. I was throwing some old food away and kind of taking inventory of the food I have, when I saw something I never expected to see at this time of year: a Cadbury Creme Egg! Can you believe it? After all these months, there was one egg left in my candy stash that I didn't know I had!

Could it still be fresh? Or would it have that waxy residue on the chocolate shell, like so many chocolates do after months of storage in room temperature? I sat down right on my pantry floor and started to unwrap the foil. I doubted it was still good. To my wonderful surprise, it was. It was glorious! A fresh celebration of Easter just before Halloween! What an odd event! But I savored every moment of it.

All in all, a good end to the night's activities -- one of which included attending my first college football game. I'll tell you about that tomorrow . . .


Thing I'm thankful for: the desire to learn.

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, or Wow -- I'm a Grownup.

After nearly two months since it's release, I finally finished reading the 7th Harry Potter* book!

Over the last few weeks, countless people have exclaimed, "You're still not done yet?!?" I felt the need to explain myself, to excuse my behavior. I mean, I had pre-ordered the book (Quite foolishly, I must say; my neighborhood Kroger was selling them at a very reasonable price . . .).

This got me thinking. Why did people expect me to finish a 759-page book immediately? I mean, I have a full-time job; I have regular errands to run; I have to clean house and wash dishes; I go to church or church-related functions 2-3 times a week; I date; and I talk on the phone to friends and family. That's a lot of stuff to be involved with! And it's not just me. There are millions of people the world over who stretch themselves over a busy schedule. Yes, a lot of us would like to read, read, read! But long gone are the days of starting a good book on Friday evening and staying up all night if necessary to finish it. It's just practical to read a long story in small chunks now. As much as I hate to admit it, my body can't take sleep deprivation as well as it used to.

As those thought's swirled through my head, I realized that I was an "adult" with "real" responsibilities. I'm not completely financially and emotionally independent, but I do have things that simply must be done during the week. So take that, all you Harry Potter speed readers! An average of 14 pages per day is pretty darn good, when you come right down to it! So quit hassling me!


* Hm. What shall I say about the book itself? I thought it was much better-written than books 5 and 6. In general, I liked it, but there were some gaps in the plot, I think. I'm not counting that as a real criticism, though, because I think some, if not all, of those gaps would be filled, if I had remembered what happened in book 6. The whole thing was . . . good, I guess. I still have some unanswered questions, and I was frustrated with Harry in the first half of the book. His temper seemed to have gotten the better of him -- a usual tactic J.K. Rowling employs when she wants to throw the reader off track. That was frustrating.

Like I said, though, it was well-written, and I have a profound respect for someone who can write and publish 7 non-fiction novels in 17 years. Book 4, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, remains my favorite in the series.


Thing I'm thankful for: literacy. I'm so grateful to be able to read! Yay for reading!