Midnight Movie

Well, it's true. I did it. I went to the midnight showing of New Moon last night. I crowded into a packed movie theater of girls, young and old. Laughed with all the other girls at the 3 boys in the theater, and the 2 guys in the concessions line that kept pointing out other guys and mumbling something to the effect of "See, there's another guy...we're not the only ones here...we're going to make it though this stupid movie...my wife/girlfriend really owes me." I put up with the squels, sighs, swooning, whistles, and clapping when the actors came on the screen. And I didn't even glance twice at the many pjs, pillows, messy hair, pink fluffy bedroom slippers, and teddy bears in tow. (Okay, so maybe I did. And maybe I laughed. A lot.)

The last time I went to a midnight showing I was in high school. Actually, back then, the movie started at 1:15am. Yeah, not sure what I was thinking, either. And what came out of my repeated history? It made me realize how old I feel now. Funny I don't remember late movies being like a huge sorority sleepover before...or maybe it's just for this movie.

Earlier this month I had declined the invite from some friends to go to the midnight showing of New Moon. But when my friend Sarah called me at 10:19pm last night and I heard her say, "So what are you doing in an hour? One of the girls can't go to the movie...want to go see New Moon????", I just couldn't resist!!!! And I didn't even feel drowsy at all during the movie! (From my previous posts and my strict bedtime of 10:30pm, you should know what an accomplishment this really is.) And don't worry, my awesome sisters and I still have a date to see New Moon next week! :)

Please say a little prayer for my husband, though. He was very gracious and told me I could go to the movie, knowing full well that he'll be confined to a very small space for over 6 hours with a very tired wife tonight. Now that's an awesome husband!! What a champ!!!!

Speaking of, we'll be out of town for the next week, so no updates until we get back. Hope you have a great Thanksgiving!!

My Uncle's on TV!!!!!!

Check it out!!!! Ron Thomas, my handsome uncle, was on TV!!!!! He's a fly-fishing guide at Unicoi Outfitters, and he took Phil Proctor from Georgia Traveler out fly fishing! Uncle Ron comes on the scene about 1/4 of the way into the show. I'm so proud and excited for him!!!! Way to go, Uncle Ron!!!!! :)

Who am I?

Recently, more than a few people have commented that the me they know isn't the same me they read on this blog. Now, if you don't know me in person (hey Brent's Cousin Carol!), I'm actually pretty shy and somewhat quiet. So don't let the brown eyes fool you - I may not say all these things to you in person, you can be darn-tootin' that I'm thinking them! :) And as the tag line says, yeah, have fun with that.

I Have a Date!

Me: Guess what?!?! I have great news, honey!! I spoke with my sister tonight and we made a date to go see New Moon together!! Turns out she really wants to see it too, but no one would go with her, either, so we're going to go together while we're in GA for Thanksgiving! I'm so excited!! She hasn't read any of the books, so we can't whisper about how far off the movie will be, though. But anyway, you're off the hook!! Isn't that great??

[slight pause]

Brent: And I was really starting to look forward to going. How much do I owe her?

I (Heart) Snacks

I love to eat snacks throughout the day. Really, I do. Don't believe me? Ask my coworkers. I almost always have some snack at my desk I'm eating on throughout the day. If I had my way I'd probably snack all day and not eat any meals. Or maybe I love snacks so much because when I do sit down to a meal, I'm not ready to eat the table, too. Either way, snacks are an important part of everyone's day. Not only do they give your metabolism a boost and give you energy, but they also help control your glucose levels, making you less susceptible to hypoglycemia. I love coming home from work and eating a snack, just like when I was in school. Now though, unlike when I was in high school, snacks are more healthful and I'm now more portion-conscience. So I thought I'd share with you some of my favorite snack substitutes:

When I want: salty, crunchy potato chips
I eat: light popcorn

When I want: something, anything that's sweet
I eat: apple with peanut butter

(A note about nuts and nut butters: nuts are high in fat (albeit good fats, but still fats nonetheless), so you really have to watch portion control. Clearly, I still struggle with this - I love nut butters and Brent & I can down the new large sized bottle of Nutella along with a pint of freshly ground honey roasted peanuts from Whole Foods in less than a day and a half. Yeah, we know that's ridiculous - we're working on it!)

When I want: a chocolate candy bar
I eat: a chocolate coated protein bar

When I want: a piece of chocolate
I eat: dark chocolate or cocoa almonds*

Other snacks I love:
-Hummus with carrot chips/sticks
-Trail mix (we make our own since the kind you buy ready-made has so much sodium)
-Any fruit
-Yogurt, fruit, and granola
-Jerky
-Dry cereal (mostly Cracklin' Oat Bran (when it's on sale) or Cherrios)
-Cheese (string cheese is easy to transport, and I also snack on sliced cheese)
-Fruit-flavored yogurt
-Protein-fruit shake that's been frozen - it's like a sorbet!


*Now since you've been a champ and read my post, I'll give you a quick and easy recipe for cocoa almonds:
6 oz whole, unsalted almonds (in case you don't have a food scale, 1 oz is about 22 almonds)
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 single-serve packet (like the packets you put in coffee) Splenda/Equal
Put in a sandwich bag and shake everything together. That's it - enjoy! These remind me of what a Hershey's Bar with Almond should taste like (the commercial ones don't have enough almonds for me). They're a little on the messy side since some of the cocoa tends to stick to your fingers, so I'm not sure how well these would hold up if children got a hold of them. (I'm imagining cocoa hand/finger prints everywhere.) Perfect for that chocolate craving!

The Importance of Dating Your Spouse

Me: Guess what?!?! I have great news, honey!! The girls I was going to see New Moon (read: total chick flick) with are planning on going to the midnight showing the day it opens, and since we both have to work the next day, that means that you get to take me out on a movie date!! Isn't that great?? You get to plan the whole evening!! Well, where we go to dinner, anyway...and which showing of the movie we should go to...I'm so excited to see New Moon!!!!! But books are always so much better than the movies are...

Slight pause.

Brent: And the good news is...??

Corn Maze

So the corn maze wasn't all that great in my opinion. We went to Clayton to Fear Farm, but the corn maze wasn't haunted. I was thinking it was going to be more "Children of the Corn" and less candy corn-ish. (Ummm, yes, I realize that doesn't make sense, but just go with it). So I was sadly disappointed. The corn was less than 6 feet tall, and even I didn't get turned around in it, so clearly, there were things to be desired. The hour drive (one way) was not a complete, totally way too overpriced loss, though, as I found a fun surprise. The outside of the "maze" was surrounded by cotton plants, so I picked some! I've never picked cotton before so that was pretty cool. I couldn't get over how the cotton I picked gets turned into our clothes. So interesting! (Yes, I realize that's lame, but hey, I'm just being honest.) So after Brent asks how many future cotton balls I plan on picking, we head home after only about 30 minutes in the maze. When you get more excited about picking cotton than the actual maze you paid way too much to enter, you know something's not quite right.

P.S. Sorry for the lack of pictures...I sent Brent back to the truck (parked a quarter mile away) to get the camera and a few other things, but he forgot to pick up the camera (but remembered the other things), so I only got a picture later, not while we're in the maze.

Love for all God's creatures

...except the spider. And roaches. But today I'm talking about spiders. Now, for those of you who've never been to my office desk, it's in the middle of the building. Smack dab in the middle. There's no door, window, or crack to the outside world within a 15 foot radius. Really. So how in the heck do spiders find their way onto my desk?? And more notably, onto my keyboard???? In the 2 years we've been at this office, I've had no fewer than six, yes six!, spiders who have wanted to join the working world of Lori Gail. Really spiders, get a new life...and not mine.

Now, maybe it's a part of my uncontrollable OCD, but seriously, I really don't like spiders. Maybe it's the way they move...some move so quickly for their size that it's a bit unnatural, or maybe when they slowly move one leg at a time it's even more creepy, like they're slowly moving just to show off how weird it is to move their creepy little legs. It gives me shivers down my spine! So today was another gift of the presence of the spider.

Setting: My desk.
Time: 5 minutes ago.

Something catches the eye of Lori Gail as she innocently works at her computer.

Lori Gail, to herself: "What was that? I thought I saw something little that was moving along the corner of my desk and disappeared around the front side. It kinda looked like...a spider!!!!"

Henceforth distracted from her work, she gets up to take a closer look at the possible intruder. ["Scary Music" begins to play.] Lori Gail moves to the front of her desk and intensely looks for spider, carefully looking over every inch, and finds... ["Scary Music" crescendo]...nothing. Lori Gail returns to her computer and continues to work. Then suddenly:

Lori Gail, out loud: "Aaaagggggghhhhhhh!!" while rolling across her workspace her in rolly chair.

Five guys in the office across the hall, tentatively: "Ummm...are you okay?"

Lori Gail, nodding head slowly: "Yeah...yeah, I'm fine. Ummm...there's a spider on my keyboard. Have I mentioned how much I can't stand spiders?"

Jonathan approaches Lori Gail's desk with his fingers cocked back in a flick position.

Lori Gail, hysterically: "DON'T FLICK IT AT ME!!!!!!!"

Jonathan, caught off guard: "Ummm, I wasn't." Jonathan then flicks the spider onto the side of the keyboard, thus killing it between his finger and the keyboard.

Lori Gail, relieved at last, but also feels awkward about her previous outburst: "Oh. Ummm, thanks Jonathan. Ummm...do you want a Clorox wipe to wipe that off your finger?"