The Kingsleys Go Out for Supper...

Mmm... crab legs. Hey, what a neat little fork they gave us!





Must be some fancy mashed potato fork.

F -

A recent assignment for my job was to do a Stress Management Seminar. I was asked very last minute, but a Power Point presentation had already been set up. All I had to do was learn it well enough to not stare at each slide and present it to a group. I had two places to do this and on two separate days.

I was asked to hand out evaluation sheets to everyone attending the seminar. I had to then mail all the sheets back to the home office in Rhode Island. The first time I did the presentation, I was alright. I would say I was about a B-.

Today, I was relaxed, I knew my stuff, I talked to everyone beforehand... I barely needed to look at the slides. I had lots of interaction, comments, and I thought I did a good job. Maybe about a A-.

I looked over the evaluation sheets from the first day. I mostly got "satisfactory" and then some people took pity on me and gave me an "excellent" score. I didn't receive any "unsatisfactory" ratings.

Today, I got a lot of "excellent" marks and a few "satisfactory". There was one that stood out, the lone "UNSATISFACTORY".

Not only did this guy find me unsatisfactory, but he was kind enough to add a comment: "You could've had a livelier speaker. This lady was very dry."

Ouch.

Paper Dolls

...they just ain't what they used to be.

Blog Envy

Have you ever looked at someone else's blog and wished your blog could be like their blog? I never knew I could have these feelings. It is odd and I may have reached some new level of strangeness.

Envy (also called invidiousness) may be defined as an emotion that "occurs when a person lacks another’s superior quality, achievement, or possession and either desires it or wishes that the other lacked it."

So there it is and I have it...blog envy.

Here are some blogs I envy and why:

1. Random Thoughts.
This is a fun blog. If you haven't looked at it, check it out. It cracks me up. Why do I envy it? Her last post had 32 comments. I think I get 32 readers in a month. The reason there are so many readers is because the writing is hilarious and she never bores you with long, dull stories. She keeps you guessing. I don't even know her name. (Just kidding) It makes you laugh until you pee your pants (which is sooner than later for some moms out there).

2. The Meservy Monthly. These guys were blogging before blogs existed. This is my sister and brother-in-law's site. They had a monthly family newsletter they used to send out. It was chocked full of interesting tidbits about their interesting family, lives, and stories. Basically, it is very interesting. Love it.

3. De Profundis. This blog is about my best friend, Tami. She is so amazing and I've always tried to emulate her. She is naturally comedic, brilliant, and very well versed. I just love that she is able to travel all over the world, have adventures, and she does an amazing job writing about it. Plus, she is just plain cool.

If you would like to participate in this exercise, please tag your post with “blog envy” and list 3-5 blogs that create deep feelings of envy and jealousy.

My Future Athlete

Maya: Mommy, when I go to school, I want to play sports.
Me: Really, what sports would you like to play?
Maya: I wanna play the one where you hit the alien in the head when it's in the pool.
Me: Um, where did you hear about that one?
Maya: I didn't. I just made it up. It's called "Alien Dead"
*Maya recently saw part of The Goonies

A Well Balanced Meal

Is it okay to eat only this for dinner? I bought some lovely Ohio corn on the cob and kinda ate it until I was full. It's fun to be a grown up.

Have you ever eaten an entire meal with only one ingredient?

Amusement

*from theonion.com

Par-tay

I don't party quite like I used to, but here are a few highlights of one I just attended. I didn't stay up all night, but I sure felt sick afterwards.

Alabama - home again.

I grew up in a tiny little town in northeast Alabama. I was a certifiable nerd and my mom was also foreign which made me a bit of an outcast. I didn't understand the people in my town. I didn't relate to my relatives, including my own dad. I left the first chance I got when I was 16. I spent 10 years in a town that I felt was some sort of prison sentence.

I just came back from a trip to Piedmont. Now, 15 years later, I actually kind of miss the place. I miss some of my old friends, my old neighborhood, and even that quaint small town life. Now that I'm in the North, I actually miss my hometown.

Here are a few things that I miss about Alabama:

The sight of Kudzu.

Really good Barbecue.

Red Clay.

..and the fishing *.
*note- the guy on the right was my childhood friend from Piedmont.

One

Happy Birthday to my little blond munchkin, Reili. Believe it or not, she is one today. We love you!

Reili's First Flight

You Gas Guzzlin *&$&^%!

I almost got ran over by one of these yesterday. That's how it is, too. If they pull out in front of you, who wins? He was too busy to notice my puny station wagon because he was texting his buddy as soon as he left the gas station.... or maybe he had to check his account balance after that large transaction.

Poo-Pee

Me: Maya, are you going poo poo or pee pee?
Maya: Poo-pee
Me: You're pooping?
Maya: No mommy, I'm going poop AND pee... you know, poo-pee.

Pittsburgh and Pink Eye

We went with Jeff on a TDY to Pittsburgh, PA for an entire week. I thought I'd post some pictures. We ended our trip with a visit to the Columbus, OH Zoo and Aquarium. Why Columbus? Well, the Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium is about an hour east of Pittsburgh... not even in Pittsburgh and not even in the right direction. We passed around an nice virus, so you'll see some hotel room pictures in there, too. Enjoy!

Sweet Home Alabama

Alabama man stabs friend for buying wrong beer
Posted by Associated Press August 01, 2008 9:21 AM
Categories: Crime

MOULTON -- A north Alabama man has been accused of stabbing a friend for returning from a store with the wrong brand of beer.

The Lawrence County Sheriff's Department charged 64-year-old Grady "Skip" Wilburn Dollar with first-degree assault for allegedly stabbing Mickey Joe Hill.

Lawrence County Sheriff Gene Mitchell said the 37-year-old Hill was in good condition at Huntsville Hospital after being stabbed at Dollar's rural Lawrence County home.

The sheriff said Thursday that Dollar had given Hill money to buy the beer, but Hill got the wrong kind.

Dollar was released from jail on $5,000 bail.