Saturday, December 31, 2011

day 131 Happy New Year!!

WHAT A YEAR THIS HAS BEEN!

 This New Year’s Eve marks the end of a slew of experiences that made me a stronger person, some negative, some positive and some a little of both. The good thing about experiences is that they are past tense and typically created an opportunity to learn something (I learn daily). If you don't have experiences you don't have a story to tell. I have a story to tell and I am excited to see to how the next chapter will play out in this brand NEW YEAR.

I think it’s funny that it’s my first NYE in Nashville and I am going to Manchester instead. Me and Kelly are heading to Brandy’s for the night (we call ourselves the half circle) and I wouldn't have it any other way. We are gonna celebrate and bring in the new year with fire! Bon fire, fireworks, fire chili, fire water, I am all fired up, I just hope we don't need a fire hose! They say that your year will reflect the moment you are having at the stroke of mid-night. I think that I am gonna roll around in a stack of ones, just hope they don’t catch on fire.

FIRE FIRE!!

Friday, December 30, 2011

day 130 still the day before the day before the first day of a new year

Friday night...I have been on the phone since I got home four and a half hours ago ( I love nights like this). I turned on the TV and Sugarland is on, its one of her concerts from when she was in Atlanta. This gets me all nostalgic. I immediately think of my very good friend Marybeth. She knows that I have been following Jennifer Nettles since I was 18 years old. My friend Rita turned me on to her in college, and then one day she came to play at my college as a local artist, just trying to make it. I went to a small private college, Reinhardt, and not many people came to visit, much less to play music. She showed up with her singing partner, Corey, and I was hooked! She was so talented, I made it a regular thing to follow her all over the state of Georgia. To see her progress from Soul Minors Daughter to The Jennifer Nettles Band to Sugarland over the last 16 years has made me a proud mama! I do miss seeing her as a raw artist at the 40 Watt in Athens, Georgia before she was famous. She used to belt out some acapella rawness that made me tear up and the local people standing behind her playing the bongos, steel guitar and drums were just mind blowing. I still own all of her music except for her first CD, I lost it and I am pissed because it was the BEST. Marybeth knew my love of her music from the beginning and bought me tickets a few years ago for my birthday. We went to one of her very first venues and for that, I will always be thankful. Thank you Marybeth, you are such a good friend, and one of these years I am gonna get you a birthday present :)
So I am sitting here on New Years Eve Eve and loving life, watching Jen Nettles, and talking to my friends.

Tomorrow night...New Years Eve in the country! Stay tuned!

Day 130 the day before the last day of the year

I didn't feel like blogging last night and I woke up feeling like a slacker. I have The Bert Show on right now and they are talking to a Pet Psychic.

 I started reading Angelogy (A richly Allusive and vividly staged...sensual intelligent, terrifically clever thriller) I think that thanslates into humans gettin it on with Angels..I will let you know....

ah crap, I have to get in the shower.....more later...like after work...I am gonna love today....its Friday and the New Year is approaching and that is exciting. In with the good out with the bad. Breathe in and breathe out. That's what I am gonna do at the stroke of midnight tomorrow night.

Oh am I worked out for the 2nd time in 2 days....someone give me a metal! I now have to listen to this pet psychic...its very bizarre. She is asking some cats and dogs some questions and they are answering this lady in her head.

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

day 129...the count down begins!

I am quite pleased with myself, I actually found the gym in my apartment complex. Oh how I missed a good workout... its on now! I have 26 days until I turn 35 and I would like get back to the way I was approximately 4 month ago....a little less booty and a lot more collar bone! (that's how I can tell how much I weigh, by how much of my collar bone sticks out, its been hiding all winter). The gym is actually really nice, all brand new equipment and I am pumped that I don't need to pay for no stinkin gym! (one less thing)
I also made the trip to the mailbox and I got a few more Christmas cards...Thank you to my wonderful friends Stayce, Beth, Michelle and Justin, you all look exactly like your gorgeous kids, especially you Justin :)

That's all I have for now...

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

day 128..

I am cracking up right now...there is this website about Atlanta and all the hotspots, where to go, who to see, where to go on NYE blah blah blah...well Lindsey and I made the homepage of this website like 9 years ago. I just looked up the site and our picture is still on the homepage... 9 years later! Why???!!! Lindsay looks fabulous, I sort of resemble Miss Piggy, so me pointing this out to everyone is just funny and I am ok with that...www.sheeratlanta.com 

Kelly came over tonight, I made her dinner, she almost fell over when she walked in, I have appetizers on display and me in the kitchen making dinner all domestic like. Stanger things have happened I am sure of it.

Nothing really all that exciting to report, BUT I do have to start thinking about my New Year’s Eve plans and what I am going to do with myself in my new city....


Monday, December 26, 2011

Day 127....post Christmas

If are a single woman, living on your own, there comes a point when you have to admit your strengths and weaknesses. Today my weakness was giving myself a mani/pedi.  Typically, I let other people do this for me, but in the spirit of moving and Christmas expenses, I decided I was gonna cut that corner and do them myself. Um well, one word, WEAKNESS, I have this file-thing that has 4 sides, one of the sides says "Course" they should of named it "Saw" my nails are now are sawed-off and my manicure is pretty much null and void. The pedicure, well, the polish will wash off the sides of my toes in the shower, so it has hope.  Let’s talk about my new STRENGHT, cooking, I made myself another amazing dinner, courtesy of George Foreman. Delicious turkey burgers with a side of spinach…success!!

I just came from Brandy's house, I joined her for Christmas. She found herself all by her lonesome after her dog so kindly locked her out of her own car while getting gas. It was Christmas Eve and she was heading down to Georgia to spend Christmas with her family after she spent an early Christmas with her two boys. I am sure her dog, Kilo, did not think it was so funny four hours later when road side assistance decided to show up and unlock the car. I am guessing Brandy didn't think it was all that funny either, she finally got on the road and the dog had a bout with diarrhea every 15 minutes in the car. Brandy made the decision to turn around and spend Christmas in Morrison, Tennessee. I joined her on Christmas; we sat around, laugh, talked and watched lots of racy, bloody, and ridiculous movies….Merry Christmas!

All in all, a very fun and memorable Christmas vacation, thank you to all of my awesome friends and family…u all keep me laughing……laughing keeps the skin tight, the mood light and I will now recite the prayer my dad gave before we ate Christmas dinner, “In God we Trust, everyone else pays cash”

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Day 126 Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone!


The Baswell Christmas is predictably unpredictable, every year it’s different but the same. For example, my dad always cuts down our Christmas tree from the yard (same) and this year we passing out presents and playing  “Guess who it’s for and guess who it’s from!” since none of them are marked. (Different) Another example, my mom makes the most amazing chocolate pie ever and I look forward to it every year, but over the past 5-7 years, she has altered the recipe just a little and it’s now the most unpredictable chocolate pie ever. As we speak, she is in the kitchen making it with molasses and honey instead of sugar, cocoa instead of chocolate and the crust is whole wheat, probably made out of wheat germ and saw dust.

I love that my Christmas’s are never boring, always interesting, and honestly, most people come from their families a few pounds heavier, I leave mine and feel like I have had a full body detox cleanse. And most people also come from their families with a lot less in the bank account, I on the other hand, get to take my mom to the Dollar Store on Christmas Eve and tell her she can have anything she wants (up to 5 items) and you woulda thought I gave her a brand new bicycle! She was so excited, especially since she had never been to the Dollar Store before and couldn't believe that everything was truly one dollar. Well I need to go see if my mom needs any help cleaning up the kitchen, AKA collecting compost materials.

Merry Christmas!!!!

Saturday, December 24, 2011

day 126...Christmas Eve

I arrived yesterday at The Baswell Compound, home of the Granola Griswolds. So far today, I woke up to my mom making homemade granola (naturally) and then went on a power walk with my dad around the property. That dude is in excellent shape, I kept thinking that we should stop but the 64-year-old man had a different plan, which was fine with me, whip me into shape! I need it! On our walk I was telling him that I wanted to stay away from the gossip at work, that nothing good can come of it and he said gossipers are liars and thieves. "They lie about you and steal your serenity." Ok I can go along with that, so that is my new goal, stay naive to the gossip. After about 2 miles of up and down hills, it was time for a bubble bath. My mom drew me a bubble bath, she used her own special concoction of Rosemary, Lavender, Ala Vera and Lemons that she grew herself in her own garden. It you don't mind the occasional twig/leaf floating by, it was quite nice and now I smell like a meadow. I then let my mom talk me into giving me a facial, using one raw egg and one orange peel. Actually not gonna knock it, my skin feels amazing but the process is a work in progress. I just had some homemade vegetable soup that I am sure was the result of juicing something, again, if you don't mind the occasional twig/leaf it’s all good. SO if I don't turn into a bean sprout, I should leave here feeling like a new person. My mom just made me a green tea/orange infusion, things are about to get wild! Ok I seriously go gotta go start my Christmas shopping, I know I have a few hours before the stores close, but I don't wanna procrastinate and wait til the last minute.

Friday, December 23, 2011

day 125...I'm a fixer upper

Last night was a blast, hung out with 3 other girls at my office and we laughed the entire time. We went to a Mexican restaurant for dinner and exchanged out secret Santa gifts. We were the only ones in the restaurant and loud as hell. I went to the bathroom and this girl asked if I was part of the bachelorette party. She was referring to our table. Bachelorette party? Geeez how sad would that be to have your last night of being single in an empty Mexican restaurant, but it was funny that she thought we were hoopin it up enough to qualify as a bachelorette party.

I drank the kool-aid and settled comfortably in a fun little work clique, this is a newly formed alliance so we are now jockeying for position and falling into our little roles as the office whisperers (talking during office hours is frowned upon, so we whisper). My role of course is Single Stephanie from Atlanta who has become the token pet project, while they do get a kick out of my antics, enjoy my quirky ways and one-liners, the 3 girls look at me like a piece of clay that they need to mold, kinda like a cute little fixer-upper. The other girls are married and like contribute their "How to Keep a Man” and “How to not lose a guy in 10 days” advice. I took everything with a grain of salt since Rusty is my age and on her 4th marriage, Christina is my age and on her 3rd marriage and Toni was engaged 5 times before she got married. I mean I am all for learning lessons through trial and error but 3 and 4 times?? Where to they find the time? I barely can find the time to get my oil changed much less plan a wedding every year. I will admit my ears perk up to all advice because I think taking other people’s “best practices” can trigger new light bulbs, so I am always open to listening to advice and suggestions.

The first “suggestion” I got from my new team of advisors (remember…its takes a village) is to stop wearing body spray that smells like the Xclamation perfume that we all wore when we were 12-years-old. Rusty told me to take it out of my purse and she threw it across the room for emphasis. Then the DO’s and DON’Ts segment began…. DO stand there and let the guy open all doors for you at all times, DON'T wear jeans at all times. DO where more flattering clothes (they said I dress cute but I don't flatter myself enough and I need to buy some 6-inch heels (this is not the first time I have heard this) They had a lot of good advice I think, they gave me some good tips on removing wrinkles, but I was not happy that Rusty felt the need to tell me that my neck looks like it has been hit with a Frisbee a few times. WHAT?? Are you freaking kidding me? First of all, telling me to wear more accessories is fine but don’t be bustin on my neck!  My neck, who cares about my neck? My neck is fine, and then I told her that her cars smells and then I felt better.

Ok I got to get motivated, I must start my Christmas shopping....hopefully the line won't be too long at the Dollar store.

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

day 124...what will be will be

SO I am coming off of a cleaning high, I have been organizing and cleaning all evening, I feel so much better about myself. I got a Christmas card from Amber (thanks girl) and got a pumpkin roll in the mail from Sarah! Wahoo, I have gotten a pumpkin roll every year since I can remember and this year it made its way up to Nashville and that's awesome. I am thinking of re-gifting it to my secret Santa recipient tomorrow, don't tell Sarah. The way I see it, I won't get any fatter and the pumpkin roll's goodness will have spread its wings even further. (just kidding girl)
I am also thinking about doing some shopping tomorrow during lunch, someone told me that Christmas was this weekend, I did not get the memo. I guess I will get in the spirit starting tomorrow, I don't like to wear out the Christmas welcome, I like to get into the mood about 3 day prior and drown myself in the Christmas spirit, kinda like I do everything else, cram for my final, stay at a friends house for 3 days, go on a 4 day diet, I never like to spread things for too long.

Ok this is so F'd up! I want to talk like I used to, about boys and my inner conflicts, and I can't because certain people read about it and journal is now censored! Ah screw it.

As everyone knows I hate playing games with boys, but of course I have to because that is what people say you are supposed to do in the dating arena. Again, for the record, I am against this, but I feel like me and a certain boy started off talking NON-stop, texting-talking-texting-talking all the freakin time and that was cool,because we were both participating and it was fun. NOW I feel like I am carrying on like we used to, but I also feel like I need to take a step back and play a little hard to get. I mean I have things to do and people to see, but I enjoy talking to him, he still makes me laugh, but we are dangerously entering the friend zone and that has happened to me ALOT. I am a guy's girl, I enjoy sports, talking about sports, enjoy bustin chops, enjoy being candid, being silly, being myself and just hangin. In the past, most of the time, this behavior translates into finding a new friend (lets face it, Gary and I were best friends, not boyfriend and girlfriend, and neither one of us wanted to admit it for years)  So now I am thinking that this is where we are headed, its understandable, but to be quite honest, I have enough friends. I want to make some plans and hang out all cutesy like. I want to be courted and not thought of as of one of the boys. I guess I have a lot to learn in the dating world, but most of it seems fake and one big game, and apparently that's the necessary step into ushy-gooshy-world. I don't want ooshy gooshy, but I do want to be the catch, the girl that's not like most girls, all dramatic, needy, catty, materialistic and co-dependent. I just want to be myself and want a man who respects that and is ok with that and wants to do the little things to make me happy, because it all boils down to the little things. I am a self- sufficient woman who enjoys the little things in life.

Ok now that I have stepped off of my soap box and have become aware that I just used my blog as a bullhorn to voice my way of thinking, I will shut up and wait for my all of my girls to hit their foreheads with their hands. But, what will be will be, I just felt like I needed to keep the honest, candid  theme of my daily thoughts and felt the need to express myself, otherwise, why have a public journal?

Monday, December 19, 2011

day 123...part 2

Ok so I just got off the phone with the girls. It was so good to catch up conference call style. We opened our goals that we all wrote down last Christmas that we wanted to accomplish for the upcoming year, along with one memory, we sealed them up, hid them away and just now opened them. I used to do this with Sarah, G, and Den every year, but that died out. They opened and read my goals that I wrote down this time last year:

1. Take care of  my skin, ie stop rubbing my make-up on and off of my eyes, creating wrinkles
 Nope didn't do it
2. Pay off all debt.
 Nope didn't do that either
3. Learn Spanish.
No comprende

My memory: Spending Josh's birthday (Christine's husband) at a restaurant on the beach with all my peeps and me wearing a weave that I bought from the gas station on the drive down.

Patti's memory: me doing the Superman Dance on stage in Destin

Christine's memory: Christin burning my hair with a match while I was sitting down  on the deck minding my own business (she lit a cigarette, the head of the match went flying and landed on my head) everyone just happened to be looking at me when this happened, so it was pretty funny as I went into freak out mode.

Alicia's memory: a hodge podge of stuff

(every one's memory has me in it, that kinda makes me smile)

So now I have to come up with all new goals that I am not going to do,fold em up and mail them to Patti for next year.

day 122..MNF..are you ready for some football?!

 I am pumped! I just got done grilling me up some fish and veggies, last night I grilled me up some steak and veggies, I think I am gonna change my name to Grill Master. I love George Foreman and now I am getting all excited about this epic battle that is about to take place...STEE'S and 49ers, wait holy crap, there is a power outage at Candlestick Park whoa!!! Ok, so I guess I will get ready for my conference call with my Decatur peeps, they are supposed to calling me Christine, Patti and Alicia, look like I won't have to pause the game for the call....this is nuts! Ok they are calling..chat later!

Saturday, December 17, 2011

day 121..saturday...

Brandy came into town last night; she wanted to see my apartment with actual furniture in it and to have a girl’s night in. When she got here I decided we needed ice so I ran up to the gas station real quick. I am trying to pull out of the complex and this girl flags me down and wants me to roll down my window, she seems harmless enough, looks like a nice little white girl, so I roll down my window. She tells me she ran out of gas, and then tells me this long story about where she needs to go and that she has no money. But she does have this barely used Mariah Carey perfume that's “worth like $20 or $30” that she would like to offer me in exchange for a couple of bucks to fill her gas can. I thought it was a nice change from just flat out begging, she wants to barter instead. I felt bad for her, so I dug out my $2 I had in my wallet, told her to put her perfume away and if she wants to meet me up at the gas station down the street that I would fill up her gas can. She was so grateful and said she would go get it and meet there. I got up to the gas station waited for a few minutes, went inside, got my ice and told the guy behind the counter to put a few bucks on pump 2 for this random girl who is on her way up with a gas can. He then asked me asked me if the girl offered me perfume? If so she was in here yesterday trying to trade gas for perfume. Are you kidding me, I am such a sucker! I told him to still put the money in the pump just in case she showed up (cause I said I would). I never saw her walking as I made my way back and here I thought I was doing a good deed, instead I got hosed, now I wish I would have taken the bitch’s perfume. I woulda rather she said “hey girl, I just smoked my last Winston Light, can you hook me up with a couple bucks, it’s been a slow night and I’m a broke ass.” Don’t just make up a bunch of crap, whatever happened to the honest hookers?



Brandy and I had a good night we sat around looking at old pictures and chatting, it was a low key fun evening. We kicked it to the 90s, reminisced and laughed about the soap opera we call life, correction sit-com.



The status on my shower is this: I just took one and the hot water lasted the whole time at the expense of the water pressure being dialed way down. I guess I am not going to get everything I want out of a shower anymore. To be fair, the pressure was a little much, it kinda felt like a fire hose and had to check to see if I still had eyebrows after I would wash my face, so I guess I will just have to adjust accordingly.



Did my laundry today, the first time I use the "Clothing Care Center.”  First I had to go get a card from the office, then you put money on the card instead of quarters. I threw a $20 in the machine and asked the leasing lady how many loads I would get out of that…she was like “well its $1.25 per load so if you multiply by 20, you would get like 40 loads out of it”. wow. Holy smokes, thanks girl, I literally saw smoke coming out of her ears as she was calculating in her head, and why were we multiplying again? It wasn't as sketchy as I thought it was gonna be and it was quite efficient I might add. They have like 15 washers and dryers so I filled up four of them, came back, 30 minutes later filled up 4 dryers and wam bam, all finished! Most people have to wash their laundry one load at a time like a chumps…ha :)

I decided to visit my mailbox for the first time today and I also decided to let the post office know that I moved…again. I was really excited to find a hand written card from Sarah in my mail box, she sent me a card for no reason. The front of the card says "You're a beautiful friend who brightens my days" AWWW she took the time to put pen to paper, like in the olden days, and write some really nice things that got me all choked up. Thanks girl!

Ok I am gonna go cook something, as I now have groceries, the ketchup and mustard are no longer lonely.


Thursday, December 15, 2011

121..what what

I had worst day, but not no mo! I have been chillin, watching the Ghetto Housewives of Atlanta on the reeecord  and talking to some of my girls from the ATL. Another video just surfaced... I am dancing to Ice Ice Baby....seriously... you secret Smart Phone users are killing me! I must be having a good time in ol Nashville...dancing and singing, singing and dancing and all. My girl Casey is coming up soon to go honky tonkin, I can't wait! Hey girl, miss you and our body pump classes! My ass misses them too! It has taken on a life of its own...me and Sheree from Real Housewives are neck and neck.

Ok can we just go over the fact that I still don't have a working shower?! Lets review: I have not been able to take over a 4 min and 53 sec shower since I moved in. I took 3 showers on Sunday just to get the job done (1 part face/body, one part hair and one part shave) I literally spent all day Sunday taking showers...wtf....that's not normal. They supposedly installed a new water heater yesterday, um I get up early all excited to take a nice long hot shower and after 3 minutes I am PISSED!!! I can't remember the last time I had time to even put conditioner in my hair! I mean I get the expression "you get what you pay for", but seriously, I think $40 a month for a water bill should include an F'ing shower!

Ok, I now have to go figure out how to iron my shirt without an iron or a dryer.

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

day 120...viral

Well I finally got my big break as a country singer...I am on freakin YouTube! The video of my duet with the service manager, Ben, is now on the internet and it may become viral...I had no idea there was even a video. Brandy saw it and is now suing me for her hospital bill after her ear drum ruptured and is now bleeding.

Last night I hung out with D. Mac, we had some Sushi. I went over to his place and we drove to the restaurant, he is not happy that he now has to open my door every time now since I broadcasted his chivalrous behavior to the world. I am now trying to think of what else I can mention that he has done that he has to keep doing...I will think on that for a minute. It was another evening of laughs and talking about nothing. He told me he had a plan and he hopes its working....I later asked him what that plan was, he said his plan was to just be nice and be all gentleman like and then I told him he was doing a great job. I guess that’s the thing that I am mentioning that he has to keep doing.
Mr. Avocado is to continue to be a gentleman and I will let him.

Today at work, kooky as usual, since our lovely felon receptionist got whisked away in cuffs, we have had to cover her duties; I was up in the rotation. I had to sit up front and be a receptionist. This also meant that I got to watch the entire office on the survaliece cameras, which is on her computer. I got to watch the 3 scandals (the girl Sam, and her 2 boys, one married, one not, the pee in the coffee guy is the married guy) The married guy was told to stay away from Sam during business hours, BUT today on camera I saw the three of them leave for lunch! Paul got into her truck, yes truck, and proceeded to duck down thinking that we was avoiding the cameras and they then followed the other guy out of the gate, what??? Where is the pee in the cup guy, the guy who drank pee and the girl who is sleeping with both of them going??? SCANDELOUS! And I then watched an empty plastic bag being carried by the wind all over the parking lot like on the movie "American Beauty", it was beautifully peaceful.

ok well that’s it for now I gotta go not do laundry and talk to my girl Nena!

Monday, December 12, 2011

day 119...post date

OK so I can't believe I am about to blog about a date with a boy who is going to read this...so jacked up. Now I can't say that I think he is so dreamy and dashing, so I am gonna just write what he told me to say...he is charming, good looking and something to do with sliced bread. I guess I can also add that we had a great time. First off, he picked me up and didn't kill me or stash me in the closet, 2nd, he opened the car door for me! (I really can't remember the last time that happened so I didn't know how to react, but I liked it). 3rd, we got along great, it was pretty effortless (not like some people who used to make me work my ass off just to have a 2 way conversation) I didn't feel like I was talking to a tree at all and that was nice. We laughed and had more conversations about nothing. I think he had a good time too because we are going out for Sushi tomorrow night. So to sum up, he looked like his pics, he was brutally honest at all times and is not afraid to call me out on anything, which makes me laugh and this is good in my book.

I am excited to see him again and I wish he weren't reading this,but I vowed that I would give selective, semi-full disclosure almost at all times.

I am exhausted! I have to go to bed and catch up on some sleep. OH but wait, I may need to mention that a guy at work (on the Servpro side) got in trouble today for peeing in another guys coffee. Um yes that's right, twice! It was all over a girl they both were trying to date at work.  This guy urinated in another guys coffee, admitted it and he didn't even get his ass beat. WTF, he didn't even get fired, just got a "talking to". Man I would of loved to be a fly on that wall during this convo. The owner of the company has to actually tell another grown-ass man that it is against company policy to pee in another dude's beverage and that his behavior, while frowned upon, is not subject to termination. So he didn't have to go home and tell his wife that he got fired for being disgusting and the reason behind it has to do with a spat over his mistress and his 5 kids will have Christmas after all. This place is kooky!

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Day 118 lovin it!

I have so much to go over, but I want to start with the hammered lady running the dressing room at Marshells. She was WASTED! Before she would let me go in and try on some work clothes, she had to know my opinion on the outfit she picked out (I guess she put it together from the clothes people didn't want) I gave her my opinion and I then finally had to ask her again if I could go into the dressing room, she said yes. I was trying things on and listening to her ask every single person about this outfit. I ended going in and out of the dressing room 3 times and she asked me the same question 3 times, "Do you think these pants go with these pants?" Um yes I said...again. She was a nicely put together older lady, except she had a few buttons not buttoned on her shirt, she had no clue where she was...just staggering and stumbling around...its was sad and funny at the same time.

Anyway, I am now chillin on my COUCH!!! Not an air mattress!! What what! My lovely parents drove up all of my stuff yesterday, Kelly was here and 2 dudes from work stopped by to help with the heavy lifting. So I am all moved in and couldn't be happier! My parents drove 4 hours, dropped off my stuff and turned around and went home(thanks guys). WHAM BAM, I have stuff y'all!

Friday was a trip! We had our Christmas party at work, lots of food  and lots of laughs, its was nice to see the funny side of people. We sat around the table and ate honey baked ham, for some reason I felt the need to tell everyone that I used to work at Honey Baked Ham every Christmas during college and I was so good at slingin hams they named me the Hambassador (everyone was very impressed). Oh here is the best part, we had the Ugly Christmas sweater contest and they asked everyone to come on up to the front to get judged, they were like, come on up Stephanie! What?? I wasn't entering the contest! I just wore this sweater to work! Everyone was rolling laughing, haha hoho. We all went out after the party, this is the part where the fun people I was with earlier turned into a bunch of disgruntled employees. Everyone was mad and spent the next hour bitching about their Christmas bonuses being cut by 90%. I on the other hand was lovin life, I was in a great mood, I have been there for like 5 minutes and got a bonus. I also got a George Foreman grill and quesadilla maker out of the dirty Santa game. I was a happy girl. I did managed to get up on stage with Ben, the production manager and sing a duet (I was Allison Krauss and he was Kid Rock) we sang "Pictures" I was told I did great belting out the high notes, so I took that as a hint that the audience wanted more. For my encore performance I rapped Will Smith's Wild Wild West with another dude I work with. That went down in flames, its was terrible, I keep forgetting that I'm white.

I gotta go, me and D.Mac are hanging out tonight. He is picking me up and we are gonna go out for a bit. I told him I typically don't let strangers into my apartment, so I politely asked him to not cut me up into 1000 pieces and stash me in the closet. He said that wouldn't be a problem, he hasn't killed anyone in years, and he asked the same out of me, ok deal. I now have to go figure out what I am wearing, I have to look try and look cute, but not look like I am trying to look cute, just effortlessly striking.

I have to start now because I will have to take a few showers, my hot water runs out in about 4 minutes, so I guess I will have to take as many showers I need to get the job done. Wash my face and hair in one shower, let the water heat up again and in about an hour I can shave my legs...very efficient.

Thursday, December 8, 2011

day 116...ok day

ok ok ok, I am in a holding pattern. WTF, the dudes came over to fix my toilet today and they clearly made some adjustments. Instead of it running constantly, it now runs in 3 second spurts every 3 seconds. Good job guys. I guess I will just have to fix it myself.

D. Mac called me home body, um guess what, hell yes I'm a homebody, and guess why? Typically when a homeless person gets a home, he or she would like to spend time taking in the fact that he or she is no longer homeless! My plan was to sit still for one week in my new home, just soak it up and chill, truth be told, I am done soakin, and I am getting a bit antsy.

Tomorrow we have our Christmas party at work from 4-6pm whoa ho hey hey gettin crazy..... The party don't stop til 6 in the evenin! But then the cool kids are going out downtown for a bit the after party and you never know, we may stay out until 8.

OMG that toilet is driving me BATTY!

Saturday... moving day the sequel...gonna get to see my folks one mo again as they so kindly bring me my bed, not that I am hatin on the air mattress, but covering up with a fitted sheet is getting sorta old.....it’s also gonna be cool to have one pot and one pan....it’s a bit challenging to cook eggs with no pan! Tomorrow's party includes an ugly Xmas sweater contest, I don't have a Xmas sweater but I will be wearing a sweater, I hope I don't win.

Ok I am about to go bust up this toilet.

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

day 117...hoho ho

I woke up extra early for my meeting, I am leaving in plenty of time and I can't find my keys! Shocker! Everyone knows I lose everything and I typically find what I am looking for in my trunk, well I know this is not the case this time because I let myself in the door, so I know they are here somewhere and I am cussing myself out for losing keys in a one bedroom apartment with no furniture!...well, I finally remembered that I put them in the freezer....I thought that it would be a good way to not forget my Lean Cuisines in the morning and bring them to work for lunch for the rest of the week....great plan! So I grabbed my cold ass keys and head off to my meeting. Meeting went well, except for the fact that they now added accountant to my job description...um hello, my math skills include counting fingers and toes, and this should be interesting.

I got to work and kinda snickered to myself when I passed by Rusty's desk (the marketing girl) I am her Secret Santa and I am in charge of giving her small gifts throughout December. Yesterday I gave her some bath stuff (crystals, fizzy stuff, candles, candle holder) and I didn't have anything to wrap it in, so I scrambled around and donated this green foofoo thing that I hold my TP in on my bathroom floor. It actually worked out perfectly except for the fact that it has spent the past few years holding my toilet paper on my bathroom floor and now it’s sitting on her desk holding Christmas presents from her secret Santa.

The highlight of my day was Brandy unexpectedly taking me out to lunch, she had a meeting in Nashville and made time to take her old ex-roomie out to lunch, and so I rescheduled my lunch with my flooring guy to Friday.

My uncle called my mom and told her that is bullshit that I don't talk to my cousin anymore and that I need to make up with her because they will be in TN visiting her for Christmas.....um I am not going to even comment on that right now....I am in an anxiety-free-zone at the moment.

D. Mac is cracking me up right now, as he is spittin some lyrics from Digital Underground via text, I am currently pretending to know every word of this song with the help of my ol pal google.com, I am pretty sure he is impressed. I honestly thought I was the only one who listened to DU... So just let me introduce myself, my name is Humpty, pronounced with an Umpty....


Tuesday, December 6, 2011

day 115

ok so I have gotten several texts and calls from you all wanting to know whats up with this dude not asking me out. Ok, here is whats up with whats goin down..Donnie Mac and I do talk and text everyday for hours and yes we haven't met yet. This is the only way I can describe it, we are building a foundation...I almost said that with a straight face...we are taking things SLOW. We both acknowledge that this is kooky, but I think we are perfectly okay with building it up and setting the bar so high that we will both be disappointed when we do finally meet. We can make each other laugh over the phone and text, we (I mean he) may be scared to take this relationship on to dry land. All I know is ,we are both single, we have had our dating hits and misses and we are just getting to know each other by talking about absolutely nothing. It may be the perfect way to start a relationship or we will just get bored and it will die down...whatever will be will be. I placed the ball in his court, he can pick it up and do whatever he wants to with it. Until then, I will laugh and go with the flow.

I now have to do some work, I am running our meeting tomorrow at 7am and I must prepare. I also have a lunch tomorrow with our new flooring guy, so I have to get ready for that too...good night

Monday, December 5, 2011

day 114

Not much to report, it was good day, I always consider it a good day when the police don't show up at my work and cart me off to the clink.... our receptionist was not so lucky. I guess no one told her that is not okay to charge $60K to someone else's credit card...oopsy, guess we will have to find someone else to answer the phones...I just hope she wasn't my secret santa...

SO I just got my computer to work, it will probably F up again in a minute so I better type fast. My place is quite cozy, the sound of the running toilet is soothing and the candle kinda covers up the motel smell...but I am not complaining about one thing, its all funny and all good, especially since it didn't take me 2.5 hours to get to work this morning. I am now watching this movie about a man in a boat who likes Chardonnay/white zin mix, its pretty funny. I really don't have anything to say right now, I am honestly just typing because I can, about an hour ago I couldn't and I threw a little tantrum.  I spent the last few hours fixing my computer and texting this one guy, he is now taking a bubble bath, so I am blogging about nothing. I think its time to watch more of this man in a boat movie. Good night!

Sunday, December 4, 2011

day 113....camping out...in my living room

Ok, first and foremost, my dad is out of the hospital and he doing just fine, he had every test done imaginable and they couldn't find anything...again! So they are chalking it up to a migraine without the headache...whatever, he is healthy as a horse and that's all that matters.

2nd, I am in my new place!!! yee haw! I am now chillin on my air mattress waching TV and talking to all of you...I couldn't be happier. I don't even care that the sprayer on the sink is broken, the toilet runs constantly, the screen door fell off, the dishwasher is broken, the tub won't drain and I have popcorn with no microwave, all of that can be fixed. Oh and I am fairly certain there is hole under the carpet in my bedroom, well there is no bed in it, so for now its just a room.

Ok if I don't sound like myself its not my fault, its Ed Hardy, he found my blog and now I am trying to pretend he is not in the audience (hey Donnie). Seriously, you know how you sometimes have to pretend everyone in the audience is in their underwear so you will not be so nervous, that its supposed to help you relax and be yourself when you are on stage? Well I am just gonna have to pretend he is in his underwear. Its all my fault really, he said he was going to start calling me Gypsy and I got all paranoid that he already knew about my blog, so I freaked out and practically spelled out the link myself. He said he read all the posts that he was mentioned in and he just texted me saying he was disappointed that "his blog" wasn't updated yesterday, ha.  This is a first...I am literally writing in my diary about a boy that the boy is now reading, oh well at this rate we are never going to meet anyway, he is like scared to ask me out. :)

Ok before I go, I want to give a shout out to my good friend Stewart. Back in April, I was complaining about my job and my life in general, the fact that I felt like I was drowning in Atlanta, that I needed a change of scenery and I that I wanted to move to Nashville. Stewart then sat me down, gave me a pep talk, made me develop an action plan and then told me to execute the plan. He made me come up with a target move date (July) and follow through, just do it he said, there is nothing holding you back but yourself. That's exactly what I did, I moved to TN July 15th, and in 4 1/2 months, I got a job in my industry that I love, an apartment and I have never looked back. I love my decision and my new city. I am thankful for Stewart making me believe I can do what ever I want just by executing the plan. Thanks Stewart!

Friday, December 2, 2011

day 112 last night of being a nomad...sorta

Today has been a whirlwind of emotions. Woke up walking on air. Went to work and got a call, my dad is in the hospital. Ok, well ok, um  well of course I start crying.  My dad has had an episode of what could be a mini stroke. He has had these before and has been in the hospital twice before, dizziness, blurred vision, disoriented, grey, he goes to the hospital and they run every single test they could possibly run and they find nothing. He is as healthy as a horse, both times. Its crazy and frustrating that they can't find one single thing wrong with him, this morning it happened again. My brother calls to say dad is in the hospital and moving day is canceled. Ok well i am a wreck at work, I am worried sick and I am trying to figure out what to do. My dad is supposed to be co-signing for me because of my blemish and now I am conflicted, on how I am supposed to act. I am worried about my dad and feel selfish about worrying about how I am going to get this apartment and move my stuff. So hurdles hurdles everywhere. I decide to leave work early, I am a wreck so my boss tell me to go and its fine. I go straight to the leasing office (mind you I have called them 4 times today and every other day leading up until now). They are sick of me but I don't care. I sit down with the leasing agent. At one point today I consider forging my dads signature and sending it to a notary and having the lease over-nighted. I then find out that is next to impossible by tomorrow. So I sit down with the property manger and we work out a plan to let me pay yet another deposit instead of having a co-signer. It cost me a bunch of money and my soul, but somehow end up signing a lease and get my keys to my new place. wow. I have no idea what just happened, I am in a complete fog, but here I am with keys. So I leave and head out. I wanted to go to Atlanta to be with my family but my mom talked me out of it, saying Ryan was there and we can't even visit dad so not to come. I also thought about going there and renting a U-haul and grabbing my stuff but Brandy talked me out of that too, so I just went to her house. Today was filled with senerio after senerio racing through my brain.  I am a zombie, during the hour drive I spoke with my mom again, my uncle (my dads brother), left a message for my dad, who will be spending the night and possibly the whole weekend in the hospital for more tests and observation. I spoke with my dad earlier and I said  "boy you will do anything to get out of moving" he laughed and said you got that right. So here I am, I have a place and guess what, I am going to round up all of my belonging that I do have and move into my apartment, my furniture will get here when it gets here, not a big deal. For now, all I need is one air mattress, Brandy's TV that she claims she never watches from her bedroom and my clothes. That is all I need and its a good thing cause that is all I have :) I am excited to camp out in my own place, one more adventure. Brandy is putting together a starter kit for me, salt and pepper, a spatula, a fork , a butter knife and lots o sporks from Taco Bell. I am thankful for what I do have and that is a roof over my head. I can say one thing, I will never take for granted having anything ever. I am certifiably humbled in life. Bring it life! I am ready for any hurdle or hiccup you bring my way. Nothing is easy and that's the way it should be. By new apartment has power, a TV, cable, I have my laptop, and Brandy will provide me with sheets, pillow and blankets, that's all I need! My focus is praying that my dad will be ok and my mom will be ok and my brother will help hold the walls up. I know whats most important in life and that is family and friends and I will hang on to them until my knuckles turn from white to blue....cause without them and God, I am mush.

 So that was my day, Brandy and I just watched a movie and now I have to try to exhale and get ready to move my hot pink trunk that I still have from my dorm room. Lordy lordy

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Day 111 2nd to the last day of being a nomad!

So Ed Hardy, ok I am going to start using his real name, Donnie Mac. So DM, told me he googled me, and then he had to get off the phone cause he was at work. Holy crap! Who is the heck knows whats he found out. So I googled myself, to see whats going on with Stephanie Baswell. I learned a lot about my self, I had completly forgotten that I won a Telly Award in college for producing, directing, editing a documentary about my 70-year-old friend Mary Jane Taft in college. She was in my ceramics class and she was so cool, her life was so interesting, I made a documentary and while I was getting to know her, I found out she was a friends of my parents! Who know? Crazy! She was the grand-daughter of President Taft, her mom was involved in the plot to kill Hitler and she had miniature horses, a documentary was in order!

I also found all the races that I ran, the marathon, the 1/2 marathon, a 10K, the 5k Fallen Hero's race I ran with Sarah and a few other random races. I found out that there is a Stephanie Baswell in MN and TX weird. and just basic info on High School (McEachern) and college (Reinhardt). So it was pretty cool to google myself, no mentions of court appearances or mugshots so all is good!