weekend recap

krista, kissey and mandi

i am so glad to be home. but not because i didn't have fun.

i went to nashville this past weekend to visit one of my best and first friends from college, since she's now so much closer than new york. we had a blast! i don't really go out much at home unless there's something major going on (like the north mississippi allstars last week), or i drag the law student out of the house because, contrary to popular belief, there is only so much criminal minds one can watch.

friday night we went out to hear a band, then on to a local favorite. mandi decided on tequila shots at the end of the night, and we all thought it was a great idea. at first, it was--those things made us giggle. everything for the next 45 minutes was absolutely hilarious. but after that, things weren't so funny and nobody felt really awesome saturday morning until after heath made breakfast (pancakes from scratch!). we shopped a bit and then dropped by a bachelorette party, followed by sushi for dinner. then, krista and mandi decided to take me to a lesbian bar to see my reactions, since i'd never been to one before. we listened to lots of karaoke, and i think we got hit on by 2 swinger couples, but you can't go by me. we did not end the night with tequila shots, and everyone was ok with that. sunday brought us the sweetest stray pit bull mix that mandi named "lady." she had mange, but not too bad, and was skinny, but not too skinny. we called a pit rescue service, since the humane society would have put her down immediately. she was super sweet, only wanted to be petted, and obviously had been someone's pet and then recently abandoned. i hated to leave her!

and now, the bad part. i absolutely hate driving in the rain. i hydroplaned a few years ago, then had a few more bad experiences, and have been terrified ever since. it reduces me to tears, and last night was no exception. i drove head-on into a huge band of storms around jackson, tennessee (after fighting terrible and uncharacteristic traffic out of nashville). but i handled it well, for me. then there was memphis. by this time it was pouring rain so hard i couldn't see the road, it was dark, and i was scared stiff. i made it through memphis and breathed a sigh of relief, only to have it start pouring again in southaven all the way to holly springs. i was going 45 miles an hour, couldn't see the road to save my life, and cars are just flying past me. i have no idea how they made it. by the time i pulled off on my exit, i was starting to lose it. i pulled into a gas station and sat and squalled for 20 minutes by myself. i called ben and mom and cried to them too (scared them to death, i'm sure). i collected myself finally and waited out the storm per weather reports. but when i finally decided to drive the last 28 miles home, my car wouldn't start. battery=DEAD. apparently, i had left my car turned on while having my come-apart in the car. great. i started crying all over again. so i went into the gas station, with wet hair and puffy eyes, and the sweet man working had jumper cables and gave me coffee while he waited for someone he knew to come jump me off. someone finally walked in and agreed to jump off my car. so i walked out into the rain and popped the hood of my car (rather unsuccessfully). there was a truck next to me, and i thought this was the nice man who was going to get me home and end my awful night. but it wasn't. it was another guy (who finally got my hood up) and he ended up getting me going while the original guy looked on. my battery is super corroded, and the law student is actually getting me a new one right now. so, i made it home at 9 o'clock, physically and emotionally drained, but grateful.

p.s. while the 2 men were jumping off my car, popping my hood and examining my battery, etc., one of them made a comment about where i live. "oh, does your daddy or your boyfriend live there?" "yeah, my husband is in law school there." apparently i look barely old enough to drive.

birthday post--edited, because i've lost all track of time

today is my birthday! 23 with 4 years of experience, as i like to say. the law student gave me my birthday present last night. so now, a birthday present comparison post.

here's not-last year's present:roxy hart lang, affectionately known as
roxyface
foxy roxy
roxycontin
roxymoron
roxygirl
the rox

here's this year's present:

the humidifier

ok, so it's not the sexiest present ever. or the snuggliest (like the previous). but it's kind of awesome, in its own way. i did actually want one. it adds moisture to the air, which really helps with the law student's sinuses/allergies and our collective dry skin. it's programmable and can detect your room's humidity, and has a permanent filter (that necessitates washing, but it seems lately like that's all i ever do, so what's another?). and it makes that beautiful white noise. i also got an xm radio, but i got one for christmas from my dad (gonna have to start asking for different things from different people), so that's going back. all in all, the law student kind of rocks (rox! ha! sorry.) at birthdays.

so, happy birthday to me! and, in true fashion, it's not without its incident. i have managed to "follow" myself on my own blog. i have no idea how i did it or even how to undo it. and thank you, joeli, for becoming my 7th follower. it was a nice birthday present.

edited to add: the rox was not last year's present. i actually can't remember last year's birthday present (shhhhhh). but the comparison still stands.

decatur county - world's largest coon hunt

that was the bumper sticker i saw this morning at 7:07 a.m.

yes, it was early. do you want to know why i was on the road that early?

here's the story of how i actually got to work on time for the first time this summer.

i went running yesterday afternoon, and decided to get in a run this thursday morning to compensate for not doing anything all week and going out of town tomorrow for the weekend. so i set my alarm for 5 a.m. now, for those of you who know me well (or even just know me a little bit), you know i do not do mornings. so this 5 a.m. run thing was pure paving-the-way-to-hell good intention. anyhoo, i did not get an uninterrupted night of sleep due to a unsleepy husband who does not like the air conditioning as much as i do. so i naturally turned off my alarm at 5 and reset it for 6 a.m. like a good employee.

woke up from a crazy heat-induced dream at 7:21 a.m. panic ensues. my teeth are probably not as clean as they should be, and definitely are not flossed. coffee the law student was supposed to make is not made. makeup is not on. oh well, i'm more late than usual, so i forego the coffee and makeup. as i dash to the car, i look at my phone to calculate my ETA. it says 6:53 a.m. i do a double take, walk in the door to check the dvr clock, and realize it is not a dream. i am on time.

when i reset my alarm, i inadvertently set my clock forward an hour. so i put on makeup, make the coffee, water the plants, potty the dog and put her in bed with the law student and wake him up to tell him the story. i arrived at work at 7:10 a.m. this morning. model employee.

told you i was incident-prone.