Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her

Back on the book train, I recently finished the novel entitled: Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her. This was a really nifty little piece of nonfiction. I'm normlly a big fiction fan, but this had me drawn in. As a child I was a HUGE fan of the Nancy Drew Stories. i would get a new book and then devour it instantly. I know that I was not the only child who felt this way! This weeks little ditty was a discription of the history of Nancy Drew. It went into the developoment of the Stratemeyer Syndicate - creators of the Bobsey Twins (another childhood favorite), the Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, and a bunch of other characters I had never heard of. The book was pretty interesting. It got me thinking about how Nancy Drew helped to shape me, and the impact she had on generations of women before me. She was such a strong character, and she made me a lifelong mystery fan! It was a pretty good read, for a non-fiction sort of book!

Busy little Bees

It has been a fun time in Vicksburg lately! This weekend was happening! Saturday afternoon was an exciting time. I spent the afternoon working my booty off in the back yard. After several weekends of work I finally got the fenced in portion of the back yard cleaned of leaves. The crazy thing - there was more grass under there than i thought! While there is plent of mud, there is some real green stuff out there too. The girls had a ball with me in the yard. They didn't even need to play with me, they were just happy to roll around in the dirt and lie in the sun.

Saturday evening I moseied over to Jackson, and hit the PetSmart for a crapload of food. The spoiled babies got new toys too. I hit the Borders while I was over that direcion. We enjoyed a delicious dinner over at Keifer's. Keifer's is a fantabulous place over in Jackson. They have great food - all sorts of greek/midle eastern foods. The hummus was absolutely to die for, and the gyros are pretty tasty too. The cottage fries are crazy huge! The atmosphere there is great - they have this awesome patio, and sometimes they have live music.

Sunday was yet another productiv day. I finally hit the paint wagon again. Over the course of the long afternoon I was able to paint the ceiling in the living room. I even started on part of the trim. It will definitely look nice when it is done!

This afternoon I had to cut out of work a little early to take Ms. M. to the vet. She has a nasty rash on her belly. When it itches she starts scratching it and it gets really infcted if I'm not careful. It is pretty bad right now. Hopefully it will get better soon. She has a bunch of drugs to try to get her straight. In honor of our productive weekend we took a walk around the lake this afternoon. If I don't walk them fairly often, they start to act like they have never been outdoors before.

A day late, a dime short

It is only a dime short becase haley is so little. Today is a belated happy birthday blog to Haley Bell. Haley is one of my work/home neighbors. She works two doors down from me. Haley and her husband Mat live a couple of streets over. It might be .25 miles as the crow flies, but as the dog walks it is about .75 miles. That is grat for us as my dogs need all the walking they can get. It is a litle more difficult for Haley as her puppy is a itty bitty thing. Wrigley (as in the cubs) is a cairne terrier, so that kind of walk is a little beyond her capabilities.

Haleyis a little bitty thing She is so petite and tiny that you would hate her if you didn't love her. She is cute as a button and the sweetest thing - so you really couldn't dislike her if you tried. Right now she is super cute since she is about 20 weeks pregnant. she has this adorable bump that just looks so cute. I know that she is going to be a great mom because she is so kind and caring around the office. That is one of my favorite things about Haley - she remember what you tell her, remembers special things coming up and she always asks you are doing. If I don't give her a hi in the morning when I come in she comes over to ask if everything is OK. Haley Bell - here is a happy birthday to you (and your twin brother) - it may be a dime short, but it is still meant like a ten dollar bill!

Note: The picutre is both Haley and Lulu (our other work/home neighbor) at a conference in D.C. a couple of years back.

Total Eclipse of the Heart

Yes, you heard it here first (or last). don't forget about Wednesday's lunar eclipse. Apparently this is our last full on lunar eclipse until Dec 2010. more importntly, for those who are interested, according to NASA, for those of us in on CST the eclipse will be occuring primarli between the horus of 9 and 10. Get out your telescopes, binoculars, or whatever else it is you use and keep you eye on the sky.

Back to the Basics

It has been a while since I've had a book to blog about. Between the house and my qualifying exam i haven't been the avid reader i would like to be. I have a few from Christmas that I read and should probably put up here. For the time being I would like to discuss Maisie Dobbs, by Jacqueline Winspear.

This is the first in a seres of mystery/novels centering on the Maisie Dobbs character. I would classify it as more of a novel than a mystery based on the way it read to me. The novel is set in Lonon/Kent, England. The "Current" day Maisie is a psychologist and investigator in London approximately 10 years after the conclusion of WWI. A series of flashbacks occur as a method by which the backstory unfolds. In this book Maisie has just set out to start her career in detecting. It was a fairly amiable read -- rather easygoing. The book didn't result in any super fabulous insights, however, I it was entertaining and gave cause to consier how one's upbringing and station in life affects verything. It also reminded me to think of the issues associated with war - the emotional scars of WWI sometiems outweighed the physical scars, a well as the fact that everyone is affected by battle, not just the soldier who sees it but also his family, friends, and even complete strangers. These are lessons that we shoul probably ponder considering the current state of affairs in the US with the War on Terror.

In going back to the basics i would also like to comment that we are enjoying some unseasonable weather. I'm trying not to get to used to it since we are still in February. Saturday afternoon I took the puppies on a walk in the Military Park again. We decid to up our mileage to the 3 mile, South Loop. It is always a nice walk. It is crazy to consider how close we are to civilization when you realize how clsoe you are to the Interstate, yet, the park is so serene and natural (monuments not withstanding). This afternoon we didn't brave the park, but rather walked around our subdivision. I added a little leg to our walk around the lake. Using a nifty tool I read about elsewhere I am now able to esimate my milage wherever I walk. G-map pedometer is so cool! Some computery people took the google map software and developed algorithms whereby a person can put in a starting locatoin, pinpoint any waypoints and get their mileage. Since I walk a lot of rather curvy roads following the ridgeline in the park, I need a lot of waypoints! Same with the neighborhood. I hightly reccomend it for runners, walkers, cyclers, etc. who want to guestimate their mileage when hitting the road.

It's called Karma Karma Karma Chameleon

Kelvin Sampson, you come and go, you come and go. For you sports fans out there, particularly sports fans of the Big Ten Basketball nature, Kelvin Sampson has done it one time to many. This week it was reported that he is under investigation for getting his butt in trouble with NCAA recruiting regulations, again. He is an acknowledged liar and a cheat - having been proven of significnat wrong doing during his tenure at Oklahoma (where the wind comes sweeping down the plain). Apparnetly he didn't clean up his act when he made the move to the Big Ten. We IL fans are not necessarily surprised considering the way he recruited Eric Gordon. While I can totally understand why EG wanted to go to IU, the manner in which it was carried out left a bad taste in my mouth. Kelvin, it is called Karma. Just ask Boy George. you get what you put out.

I <3 Rick Springfield

I was looking at the website for Riverfest here in Vicksburg. This year's washed up rock star performance will be given by none other than Rick Springfield!!! Other performers on on tap are Jason Aldean, Vickey Baker, The Chill, and Crossin' Dixon. We look forward to this exciting endeavor! Make sure to mark your calendars!

Happy Valentines Day

I just wanted to wish a happy valentines day to all of my peeps - be you family or friend, happy Valentines Day. I'm honestly not sure why we celebrate this holiday, except that Hallmark seems to think that we should. I would rather that the people I love see my feelings year round than on one day -- said like a truly disenfranchised singleton. however, I really do feel that way - the everyday should be represenative of your feelings rather than a solitairy day.

Daisy D and Ms. March send you all their love too.

Big Kudos go out to John Lott. I work with John, and he has been known to be annoying at times in the past, like pretty much every waking hour. however, John went out and bought small boxes of candy for al of the women at work becasue "All women deserve candy on Valentines Day". John, for hat you get a big shout out. That was really sweet. Either you really are a nice guy somewhere underneath it all, Or (more likely) you really wanted to get out of the proverbial doghouse. Either way, Thanks!

You Have a baby, in a bar...

I actually read this statement in the Vicksburg Post yesterday. 'Nuff Said

About an hour later in the courtroom, James Denver Ainsworth, 24, 279 Opperman Road, accused of shooting and killing his brother-in-law after a family argument at a bar, was assigned a $100,000 bond.

Everything

I am allergic to everything. Dust Mintes, Grass, Dogs, Cats. No wonder i haven't been abel to breathe for the last 28 years. Yuck. Guess I'll be spending my free day off working on these things.

Really, it just makes me want to take a nap. Luckily my allergist made no mention of getting rid of my puppies.

I'm a wet noodle

Here is yet another dog related post. I'm watching the Westminster again with the puppies. I'm enjoying it as tonight they show the sporting dogs, which are my favoites nowadays, and the toys, who just amuse me. What I want to say though, is that the commercials by Pedigree really upset me. I'm such a softie. The dogs are so cute. And then the add is so sad. i can't tke any more dogs in - 2 is enough (we found taht out this week). But, it breaks my heart. So, if you are considering getting a dog, i suggest rescuing rather than getting a papered dog. They are already out there, just waiting for you to take them home. Just watch the pedigree ads. If they don't break your heart even just a little bit, please come talk to me.

Semi-related, I'm a little concerned. My dogs apear to have switched personalities. Daisy is Ms. Playful - wanting to play catch and chew on her rope all night. Madison has been sitting upnext to me wanting me to love on her.

Finally, It has been a nice night to watch the competition. Courtesy of the writer's guild, there is nothing on TV. And, it was a gross, wet, rainy day. We actually lost power at work today for about 40 minutes around lunch today. I kept waiting for someone to come through and tell us to come home. Never happened. However, we did light a fire ad enjoyed a nice night in front of the fire. i do enjoy my fireplace. I'm slowly getting better a this whole fire thing.

A rehtorical question...

It's the end of the World as they know it...

And they feel fine!

Huge Congrats go out to Miss Eleanor Grace Hayden. Nora is 10 months old, and she started crawling this weekend. Watch out Abby and John, trouble is heading your way!!!

My Favorite Time of Year

It is mid February, so start guesing why it is my favorite time of year....

Yesterday was a fun time in the city. We had a gorgeous day. I feel bad hearing about all my mid-westerners with -22 degree windchills and 50 mph winds, but we had a gorgeous day. I spent the afternoon working in the yard. I moved the remainder of the woodpile out to the shed for storage until next winter (Don't worry - I kept a little for the next few weeks when it gets cold again). I then proceeded to spend the next few hours raking leaves and trying to get the back yard in order. It is slowly getting there.

Why is it my favorite time of year you ask? It has nothing to do with cold weather or holidays. It is time for the Westminter Kennel Club Dog Show. One of my memories from childhood is watching the Westminster Show every year. It was alway shown on PBS, and we got to see all sorts of dogs doing their thing... I remember seeing about a million different dogs, always being cute and funny. I was in love with the English Sheepdog with the fifteen million hairs and the stuck up poodles. They are adoreable, and now that i'm a real adult I can't imagine dealing with all of that hair! Today I came home and my cousin Christina sent me a little IM asking me if I was watching the show. I totally forgot it was on tonight. So, we watched part of the show. It brought back lots of memories, both of childhood and last year. Last year we had a huge snowstorm. it was aboslutely insane. I nearly wrecked my car several times driving to my 8AM class. Then, the chancellor cancelled classses in the middle of that class. I went home and we had a fun couple of snow days. This was during the Westminster Kennel Club show last year. We spent our days watching re-runs on USA. Daisy Dogg really enjoyed it. She actually watched it! it. We particularly enjoye that the springer spaniel won. We'll see who wins tomorrow night.

Hot times in Downtown Vicksburg

We had a busy little Saturday. This weekend we are watching my friend Amanda's Dog. Amanda and her family are currently in Orlando Florida on their family vacation. The girls are having a blast in sensory overload at the Magic Kingdom. Allie Dog is a 7 year old Greyhound. I was a little nervous to see how things would go, but she has been able to play the old lady card with the my pups. She is a couch potato, so while they mud wrestle and body slam one another she calmly lies and rolls her eyes at them.

Our morning had a little delayed start. We relaxed and watched some TV. There wasn't anything of real interest on TV, so we watched our 12th Night gift: the He-Man She-Ra Christmas Movie. It was about as cheesy as I remember it being. I did a little housework while the dogs enjoyed the beautiful weather. It was so nice that Daisy Dogg didn't want to come inside. I totally don't blame her!

I headed over to Lorelei Books to catch a book igning. I was really excited by this. Lorelei is a new bookstore in town. It is the first independent bookseller in Vicksburg in Decades. They took an old building on the main drag and rennovated the bottom floor into this cute little bookstore. It is ideally located next door to our coffee shop too! this was my first trip into Lorelei. A little girl was doing a book signing for a book she wrote, her mom illustrated, and they got published. It is a really cute book, Holly's Halo, about how she dealt with her dog dying. A portion of the proceeds from each sale went to Paws Rescue, the organization I adopted Madison from. It was really nifty! The signing was taped and they will cut a video from it to show on our local access network. I even got interviewed to discuss adopting a dog from a rescue organization! So, if you are watching Channel 23 don't be surprised if you see me. Of course, I dont' get Channel 23 since I have directv, so you can tell me I sounded good, even if I didn't.

I really enjoyed being able to go to a book store in town, even if it wasn't huge. The owners are really nice - we chatted for a long while. It turns out that there are a few book clubs forming in Vicksburg. I've always wanted to be in a book club, so I filled out the paperwork, and I belive I will be joining one. A chapter of a nationwide book club, The Pulpwood Queens, has just started up here in town. They will be reading The Pirate's Daughter by Margaret Cezair- THompson for next month. I'm looking forward to it already!! Plus, I got a list of other new and noteworthy books that I can't wait to tear through. This could get in the way of my disseration!!!

After the book store I went to the new(ish) coffee shop for the first time. It is pretty cute. I need to go spend some tiem there on Saturdays. I am all about supporting our local businesses. the day concluded wtih a quick stop at the least local business in town, Walley-World, were I stocked up on some new dog toys. The girls had killed most of their toys. They have this one favorite toy - they have gone through 3 of the so far. They adore it, so I keep replacing it! I'm such a sucker.

TV, to have or to have not...

Last night I got to watch my new fave, Project Runway. This was an episode to end all episodes. There really wasn't that much fashion involved in last night. It was a hurdle made to amuse the viewing public rather than a real fashion test... The topic: design an outfit for a woman from the WWE Raw. Definitely an interesting task. A few comments I have to make. 1. What was Christian thiking when he said the mystery room had sex sounds coming from it - everyone else said it souned like fighting. I really don't want to know. 2. Best. Line. Ever. Michael Kors: "I feel like I'm the pope at a sex party" I nearly died. 3. Please tell me that these desingers did NOT complain about having to design for these women with curves. 4. I LOVE that they went shopping at the Spandex House. so trash-tastic 5. I wish I had a body like that!!!! I would dress like striperella too!!

THis week I loved the outifs by Chris March, Christian, and Jillian. I love Christian's outfits, but I can see just as much continuity in his outfits as I can see in Rami's outfits from episode to episdoe. I just happen to enjoy his stereotypical look more than Rami's look. Speaking of Rami, his look was hideous this week. When I initially saw him draping that hideous pink fabric I started yelling at my tv. I seriously would like to see him kicked off just because he is unable to peek outside his comfort zone.

I would also like to make some commentar on TV in general. I keep hearing rumors that the Writers GUild is going to settle. Honestly, I'm Ok either way. I make lots of claims of not needing TV and being abe to do without. This strike has shown me that it is true. I really could do without most of the fiction on TV. I probably could give it up. Mybe one day I really will turn off the directv. I would miss all of the educational TV that I watch, and I would miss the XM radio that I listen to when nothing is on TV. It keeps me up with new music. I would probably miss the news channels as I have been strangely drawn to the election this year. Otherwise, I could do without. I miss my stories, but I am doing just fine without them. A good book is 1000 times better than a tv show anyways. The writers guild is trying to get more money, but they ahve shown me that they really don't need my money.

Finally, yesterday I got a hair cut. To use Christian's words, it is FIERCE. I LOVE my haircut. I don'tknow the last time I felt this cut. Major Kudos to Kristie for making me look beautiful. It is much shorter than it has been for a long time. The blonde is chunky and gorgeous. (Yes BOB, my hair is CHUNKY). I keep saying that expensive haircuts aren't in the budget, but considering how great tey make me feel, I need to cut the cable so I can keep the haircuts. The picture isn't great since it is a "self-portrait", but you can get an idea of the hair from it. I look like a fool because I'm busy laughing at the mud wrestling puppies.

Happy Ash Wednesday to One and All.

Ash Wednesday is a holiday celebrated by a portion of the Christian faiths. As I understand it is generally celebrated by Catholics, Methodists, and Episcopals. Likewise, these are the gruops that generally recognize Lent. This isn't surprising as Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent, the 40 day period prior to Easter. This is representative to the 40 days Jesus spent in the desert, enduring Satan's temptations. During this period we are encouraged to pray, do pennance, and to do works of mercy and charity. These practices prepare us to take in the joy associated with Jesus's ressuration on Easter Sunday.

In addition to these enhancements to our daily lives, many of us choose to make a sacrafice during htis season. It helps to bring us closer to God and to remind us of the sacrafice that Jesus made for all of us. The sacrafice is stereotyped as giving something one enjoys up - such as chocolate or ice cream. Alternatively, the sacrafice may incorporate adding someone to ones life that does one does not really enjoy. This year I will be sacraficing cheese. Thus, until Easter I will be living a cheese-less life. This is particularly difficult on Fridays when we also abstain from eating meat. Thus, I will be eating a lot of cheeseless vegetarian meals and fish on Fridays. I enjoy a good cut of Fish on Fridays during Lent as I don't eat nearly enough fish during the rest of the year.

In closing I will share a joke that Mark Jourdan shard with me after mass tonight: What did the baker give his wife for Valentines Day? A Hug and quiche. Hardy Har Har!

Gonna make you love me more

OK, Here is a shamless plug for the new AT&T commercial. I LOVE that they feature one of my favorite songs by one of my favorite artists - Ryan Adams. Dork Boy sends a song to his girl for Valentines day using his crackjack. It goes

My darling girl, Teresa
You're hotter than paprika
I'll announce it through these speakers
I love you more than my sneakers
Buh buh buh boom
http://youtube.com/watch?v=rAjiEcxF54I

Equally enjoyable is the burnt cake add.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=jDkKckyHGKg

Belligerent (but hopefully not drunk)

Just a quick observation from today. You know you have issues when you get thrown out of a required training course. I'm not in this class (I already took it), but some of my co-workers are. apparently there is a dude who is just angry and belligerent, so he got thrown out. Gotta love the stereotypical government worker - he gives us all a bad name

Throw me somethin' Mister!

Yesterday was the Vicksburg Mardi Gras Parade. Being a Yankee transplant, I used to “think” I knew about Mardi Gras. It was that crazy time in New Orleans. I knew the religious roots, as a celebration and debauchery associated with having a great time and eating all the bad food before the Lenten season. Now that I live in the south, I realize it is so much more than that!

My friend Sandy has an apartment overlooking Washington Street, the main drag through downtown where the parade action is centered. As usual, she invited one and all, and we had a great time. Everyone brought food and/or drinks and we had all out enjoyable afternoon. We started with a couple of hours of food and drinks, and then we hit the balcony. We definitely were closing in on structural overloading of the balcony! We were at least two rows deep. We started by throwing some beads ourselves. It was waaaay to fun throwing beads at all of the kids down on the street below us. The cops had just come through and cleared off the street, so what did we do but start throwing beads. The street was even more crowded than before!!!
Eventually the parade got down to our part of town. Actually, the judging was being held on the balcony two buildings down from us. As a result, the floats and groups were really excitable and friendly in our section. There were all sorts of groups and floats. We had motorcycles, monster trucks, dancing girls, and FLOATS. Most importantly, they all had beads, candy, and trinkets to throw. A lot of people take it pretty seriously, so they saw our balcony as a challenge – get the beads upstairs!!
After the parade was over we did some more beading of the people on the street. Sandy’s balcony is great – I don’t know what we’sl do if she ever moves The rest of the afternoon was spent eating and drinking. I must admit, we did a lot of both. We looked like a bunch of boozers – going through more hurricanes, bloody mary’s, and champagne than acceptable for a Saturday afternoon. More importantly, I want to give my peeps a major shout out – Way to cook! There were about 35 of us there, and there were probably a dozen crock pots, a dozen different appetizers, and a bunch of other goodies. The list included stuffed japenos, ham and cheese rolls, rotel dip, spinach and artichoke dip, red beans and rice, duck gumbo, shrimp etoufee, crawfish bisque, muffaletta spread, paula deen brownies, better than sex cake, and bread pudding. It was enough to make a food network personality go bonkers!

I have to take a moment to brag on my food. I made an appetizer and a dessert - love having the opportunity to try making new things and pawning them off on my friends. My appetizer was something I saw in the Rachel Ray living that arrived last week: cheesy corn bites. I did dessert, bread pudding. Really, what is more New Orleans than Bread Pudding? It is up there with beignets from the Café du Monde. I have to admit, it was better than anything I could have imagined. I am really proud of it! Recipes follow:

Cheesy Corn Bites

• 8 oz cream cheese (room temperture)
• 1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup frozen corn kernals
• 1/2 -1 can black beans rinsed and drained
• approx 48 scoop shapped tortillas

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Mix cream cheese, pepper jack cheese, egg, corn, and bean.
2. Arrane chips on a baking sheet and scoop mixture into tortila. Bake approximately 20 minutes until filling sets.
3. Serve warm, sprinkling with chives or gree onions

Fresh Raspberry Bread Pudding

• 5-6 cups carsely crmbled or diced french bread, challah, or rich white bread [crusts removed]
• 1/2 pint fresh raspberries [may substitute blueberries or blackberries]
• 2 cups heavy crem
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 6 larg eggs
• 1 tbl vanilla extract

1. Coat slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray
2. Layer half of the bread in the slow cooker and sprinkle with half of the rasperries. Repeat layers ending with berries on top.
3. In a large bowl whisk together cream, milk, sugar, ggs, and vanilla until sooth. Pour into cooker over breakd and berries. Gently push down the bread to make sure it is entirely moistened. Cover and cook on high until puffed, about 2 1/2 hours. Knife in th center should come out clean or an instant read thermometer should read 190 degrees.
4. Remove lid and cook on High for another 15 minutes
5. Cover, turn off the cooker and let the pudding stan to cool slightly. Serve warm or at room temperatur with whipped cream

Note: I doubled the raspberries and vanilla when I made it, and it was yum-a-licious!

Give me a B!

this post is broughtto you for the man named Bob. Creepy Bob.

One of the highlights of going back to C-U for my QE was getting a chance to hang with my Illinois peeps. When I arrived on Tuesday night I had planned to meet my friend Nikki for dinner. Nik and I go waaaaay back - we used to work at the Assembly Hall as ushers. During our sophomore year we both started working there. We met and bonded while working a portal together at the John Mellencamp show. We discovered that we had a mutal crush on a certain supervisor of ours. We also each had a little brother named Matthew, a friend back at home with some issues, and we got to watch my friend Marc get pulled on stage to sing with Johnny Cougar! Unfortunately we had blizzard style winds, so we agreed that Nik should stay in Decatur with her parents rather than driving the hour to get back to C-U. Instead I wound up hanging out with Jane, also part of the Assembly Hall crew. Jane is a member of a great sounding church, Quest. Her small group was meeting to have a fun night of snacks and Wii. I tagged along, and got to see what all of the fuss with Wii is all about. i am not allowed to get one of those as I could totally get sucked in!!!

Wednesday I did some official studying at Panera, my absolute favorite study spot int he world. I LOVE panera. I wish we had one here in Vicksburg. Funny side story - Amanda and I were bonding over of love of Panera, and she told me that at her church ack in Atlanta they used to get their communion bread from Panera. i would not mind participating in that communion!!

After my exam I had a great conversation with my advisor. We discussed my dissertation, and saw some really good progress. We are both really excited about it. I'm gung ho ready to get going, if only I had an extra hour or two in my week! I'll probably be heading back up to IL sometime this summer to keep in contact with him and to do my preliminary exam in which I defend my dissertation proposal.

Back to Bob. Apparently Bob is a semi-avid reader of my blog. He likes that i write as much/often as I do. He also is really sad that I don't talk about him. As I said, it was great to see my peeps. Along with my Assembly Hall peeps, i got to see my peeps from the CEE department. A bunch of us hit Murphy's, my home away from my office away from my home in C-U (do you follow that one!) What better night to hit Murph's than Weds, Logo Glass Night!!! I was able to get the special - a mega bacon cheeseburger and famous fries, as well as enjoy time with my friends. BOB, Matt, Victor, Carrie, and Jimmy all spent some time with me. It was great to see them.

A little bit about Bob. His officia nickname is Creepy Bob. Why you ask? Because he is creepy! Bob was my officemate last spring and summer. he sat at the desk next to me, and we annoyed the rest of the office. I think our idle banter definitely chased out at least one officemate. We had some good times. One time I thought I looked really cute. I was in my little jean skirt and a white cami and a black wraparound sweater. Bob decided that the white lacey cami made him think of someone Amish. But he coudln't remember that word, so he told me I was a Quaker. Smooth. Another time we were discussing men, women, relationships, and cars. In likening men and women to cars, he was discussing how all men want a ferrarie or a porche 911 turbo. he proceeded to then tell me that if I were a car I would be a Volvo. Station Wagon. WITH A DOG CRATE IN THE BACK. You know, like from the 90's... Super Smooth. Bob is also a big fan of the 'NSynch. How straight is that? Bob is also the creator of two disgusting drinks: Gin and Pepsi, and Limeade Gin with a splace of tonic. In all seriousnous, we had some good times and he is a nice guy. Just a creepy guy. Plus, on my last night in Champaign we went to Kams and saw some guy getting the crap beat out of him and watched as the cops came up. It was a crazy sobering and scary and very memoable event.

So Here is to you Bob, a Blog almost all about Bob.

bye bye weight

http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/diet.fitness/02/01/weightloss.phill.novak/index.html
This man is awesome. Let him be a motivator for all of us! I hate to see that people become so overweight that it affects their lives, but I love to read about how they have motivated themselves and taken the weight off the good old fashioned (and right) way.