Soundtrack: It's Cold Edition.

It's been 80 hours since I've left my apartment complex. Not that I'm counting. In fact, if not for the 67 pound four-legged generator of boundless energy that looks to me for food and walks, I would be able to say that 80 hours have passed since I've been outdoors. Because who am I kidding? It's freezing out there and my closet isn't exactly adequately stocked with enough wool and fleece for the current outdoor conditions. In honor of Snowmageddon/Snowpocolypse/Snow Jam/The Bane of a Southerner's Existence 2011, I'm featuring cold songs. Yo VIP, let's kick it!

Ice, Ice Baby by Vanilla Ice. I'm dreaming of A1-A Beachfront Avenue. The next time I'm off of work for 4 days maybe I should roll down there in my 5.0.

Cold as Ice by Foreigner. In fact, my hands are as cold as ice. Even while indoors. I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that my thermostat is currently set on 64.

Song for a Winter's Night by Sarah McLachlan. So this song is actually featured on her Christmas CD, but technically it's winter now therefore it's appropriate. Besides, it's really not a Christmas song at all. It's a sad song.

Midnight in Montgomery by Alan Jackson. Feel that lonesome chill? I certainly do after being stuck in my 64-degree apartment alone for 4 days. Did I mention that I don't have to work tomorrow too?

Colder Weather by Zac Brown Band. This song is currently tied for first place as being my favorite ZBB song ever. Love it. Even though I discovered it pre-NYE concert, it was one of my favorites of the night at their show as well. Interestingly enough, the song that it's tied with is also appropriate this week...

Cold Hearted by Zac Brown Band. I hope the fellas debuted this song at their March 13, 2010 show. It's haunting and beautiful and the only thing that could make it better would be if Alison Krauss sang it instead or maybe with him. Listen to the song and then put her voice in it. It works. Speaking of Alison Krauss...

Restless by Alison Krauss. If I had to pick one adjective to describe how I'm feeling right about now, that just about sums it up.

Don't Eat the Yellow Snow by Frank Zappa. Sounds like sound advice from mama if I've ever heard sound advice.

Warm It Up by Kris Kross. Sure, the last time I heard this song I was wearing IOU brand sweatshirts and coveting my friends' ZCavaricci's but there's no shame in bringing a hit out of the archives every once in awhile.

Margaritaville by Jimmy Buffett. I wish I was there. I wish the DOT would find their lost shakers of salt and make all of this ice go away.

A hostage situation of sorts.

Meet my captor...

[Pretend like the above picture is horizontal and let it serve as exhibit #4275 of why I loathe uploading pictures to Blogger.]

From what I can tell based on the non-stop news coverage of Winter Storm Watch 2011, the entire state seems to be enjoying a few snow days. At the rate we're going, it might even be a snow week in some places. Currently my fingers and toes are crossed because working two full weeks after an entire week off for Christmas is quite exhausting. I'm due for a break.

At some point yesterday...today...all of the days are beginning to run together the [former] governor declared a state of emergency. I guess it would have been on Sunday actually since our new governor was sworn in yesterday. The world's busiest airport will shut down and malls across the state will close for days but democracy cannot be delayed people! It's nice to know we haven't completely lost focus of our priorities after all. I digress. Today, however, I declared an entirely new state of emergency: I baked the last batch of cookies. Being in this apartment that is the size of a man's shoebox without medication that comes in the form of chocolate chip cookies may very likely be the cause of my undoing. Especially if the sun doesn't come out tomorrow to speed up the great thaw. Little Orphan Annie lied when she sang about betting my dollar on the sun. All day long today, the sky was grayer than the hairs that I have to pluck out of the crown of my head way too frequently these days.

Honestly I'm enjoying sheer boredom. Reading, exercising, catching up on bad cop dramas, sleeping in, drinking coffee...I really was born to be a lady of leisure. In fact, the most exciting part of my day today was the 10 minute long phone conversation I had with the lady from the IRS. And if this hostage situation continues, I might just reach a new level of boredom that I actually share with you all why I was on the phone with a lady from the IRS in the first place.

Anybody else out there enjoying being a captive in your own home?

My resolve to be resolute.

Earlier this evening I engaged in a little friendly competition with Mother Nature. If it snowed enough to warrant a snow day, then I would blog. If she made fools out of local meteorologists and the clouds remained greedy with their precipitation, then I would not. What can I say? I grew up as an only child who stooped to low levels for the sake of amusement [after my parents had fulfilled their parental obligation to entertain me beyond measure, of course]. Guess what: Mother Nature won. She always does, my friends. Always. So now even though I should be using my Internet resources to research "building fires in fireplaces" while I still have electricity, I'm keeping my end of the deal and blogging. Besides I don't have any firewood. Or matches.

Today's Topic: New Year's Resolutions.

Now that it's January 10th, many of us who made them are now to the point where we have to stop for a second and think about exactly what it was we resolved to do in 2011. Or do you three readers not make resolutions?

I've been known to make a resolution or two throughout the years. For example, there was the year that I decided to keep an exercise journal. I did...for about 3 years. There was also the year that I gave up french fries. I did...for about 6.5 years. Once I decided to form the habit of taking a multi-vitamin everyday. I did...until I ran out of them that one time and never bought anymore at the store. Until last week. One year I decided to journal daily even if I really had nothing to say. I did...until October of the same year.

Of course it's easy to identify the benefits of all of these resolutions. I happened to be training for a half-marathon the year I started the exercise journal so it was especially important that I keep track of my progress. Cutting out french fries is a no-brainer. Look at how heart healthy I was for those 6 years! Never mind all the cookies and pizza I supplemented with during the absence of my favorite deep fried carbohydrate. Multi-vitamins? Who doesn't benefit from those? But the more I sit here and think about those resolutions, the more my real purpose and intent behind those resolutions becomes apparent. Sure, I remember exactly what I wore on the first day of kindergarten [and all sorts of other random, ridiculous things], but does anyone find it odd that I remember exactly how long I kept those resolutions? Yes, odd even for me...the girl who remembers everything. Here's the question: Did I keep those resolutions for the benefits gained from them or for the 'bragging rights' to share how long I kept them? Hmmm. Was I simply going through the motions so I could check off another box of something that I had completed? Is that really the purpose of resolutions? Probably not. And it's probably something everyone else in the entire universe figured out long ago but I've said it before: it takes me longer to learn the simple stuff.

How often do we go through the motions of life completing tasks and taking action on things just to say that we've done them? Or not doing things so we can say that we didn't do them? Is that really living? While I love lists and forms and filling in blanks, I've learned that life is too dynamic and three-dimensional to ever fit neatly on the one-dimensional list that I've created. It's too big to fit into the finite space of a blank on a page.

Very rarely do the things that I write here and the things that I write in my journal intersect. My journal is for me. But today I'm going to share what I journaled this afternoon with you. It's my 2011 resolution...of sorts. Here goes: "...I want this year to be my year of living in the moment, not dwelling on the past or looking so forward into the future that I miss the here and now. This does not mean that I am not hopeful about the future because I am certainly hopeful. God is such a big and mighty God that I am confident he is going to use me in a big and mighty way. I pray that I continuously seek his will for my life so that I can do the work that brings him glory. ... I want to give back this year. People have loved me and shown me such compassion and grace through such a tough time last year. My desire is that I pass that along to those around me who are hurting. I pray that my heart be full of love and compassion because love and anger cannot reside together in the same heart. And it is love that never fails. I want to open my heart to love because that is what it is ready for."

Note: When I refer to love I'm not referring to love of the starry-eyed and giddy as a school girl persuasion. It's just that my heart has healed to the point after dad's death and the event we will simply refer to as "the summer that earned me size 2 pants" that I'm no longer so numb and incapable of giving to the people around me.

My resolution for this year isn't really quantifiable. In fact probably when I go back and reread this little ramble before I hit "publish post", I'll wonder just what exactly it is that I'm so determined to do. But that's kind of it...I'm determined to be determined in the things that I do. I want to do them with heart. I don't want to lose heart when I don't put my heart into something like I could have or should have. This is a tall order. I should rest up.

My 12 Days of Christmas

Hi, blogosphere. I'm back after a bit of a holiday hiatus. Do you all remember Christmas? It seems like eons ago, right? Its only fitting now that nearly 12 days have passed since the most recent celebration of the dear lord baby Jesus's birth, I will attempt to recap how I spent my Christmas vacation. Initially I had planned to just sleep through the entire season of giving and joy and celebration. But then I determined that if I slept through the gift exchange someone else would get to open my presents. And there's nothing that two boys within the 12-17 year age range want more than a crock pot or coffee maker.

I'm happy to report that I started and finished all of my Christmas shopping approximately 5 days before Christmas. I did simplify my gift-giving a great deal this year because shopping for people who already have tons of stuff stresses. me. out. The boys and I engaged in a little friendly competition this year to see which of us could come up with the "best" gifts for each other from Goodwill. I'm quite proud of my PCB"belly buster" shirt and blinged-out handbag. With any luck, I'll wear them together while out on the town here in the Classic City. I don't know if I should tell you all to Beware or to be excited.

Probably the biggest thing to report is that during my 12 days of Christmas, I was literally home for 12 days. And by home, I mean mom's house. I'm pretty sure I haven't spent 12 days in a row there since I was in college. Not that I have this crazy aversion to my family...it's more that I very much love my space with my things and my bed and my kitchen and my time, blah blah blah. Call me an independent only-child. It wouldn't be the first time I've been called one of those. I'm happy to report that a good time was had by all during my 12 days of captivity (Oh, I kid!).

In addition to lots of family time, I enjoyed the snow on Christmas Day (in! the! South!), catching up on my recreational reading, catching up with some sweet friends, seeing Common Thread at Smith's Olde Bar, spending NYE in Atlanta to the tunes of the Zac Brown Band, and watching True Grit to start off the first day of 2011.

This post provides me with plenty of opportunity to share pictures of my 12 days. That was my original intent BUT my fancy-smancy new-fangled phone is taking its own sweet time sending some of the pictures that I've taken over the course of the holidays. Instead I'll just cheat and include this hyperlink which makes my pictures from the 2010: Chapter 12 Facebook album accessible to you all . With any luck my pictures that I took with my phone in 2010 will show up in my inbox sometime before the end of 2011 and I'll eventually include those in the FB album. Why am I sharing my inner thoughts and monologue with you three here who have been so kind to stop by and read? No idea. I'll add that to my laundry list of things to work on in 2011.

Mission Accomplished.

Do you all remember George W.'s speech back in 2003 when he flew in (on?) to the USS Abraham Lincoln in his jazzy flight suit and declared in front of God and hopeful, happy Americans everywhere that the mission was accomplished? [By mission he was referring to the end of major combat operations in Iraq for those of you who were busy watching Sponge Bob Squarepants with your roommate after a hard day at the office as a professional working girl. Not that I would know anything about that.] And then do you all remember how we hopeful, happy Americans woke up the next day and the day after that and the day after that and to our not-privvy-to-classified-information-eyes it didn't really seem that all that much had actually changed? Well, that's kind of how I feel about finishing up grad school. As of last Friday at 2:30 in the afternoon, my purpose and reason for moving my home, job, and life to Athens a mere 3.5 years ago was accomplished. Don't get me wrong...I'm ELATED to be done for once and for all. In fact, I don't really think it has actually dawned on me yet that I'm done. Perhaps in January when a new semester begins and I don't have that constant nagging guilt of "I really should be doing school work instead of watching a Law & Order: SVU marathon on a Sunday afternoon." hanging over my head. I mean, seriously...Law & Order: SVU??? Never in my life did I watch that show until I resorted to scraping the bottom of the procrastination tactics barrel during my last semester.

On Friday night, I happened to run into my advisor and her husband at dinner. We were talking and he asked me what I was going to do now. My response: Well, I'm going to work next Monday. To the outside observer, it may appear that nothing really will change all that much. Unless of course you consider the absence of my whining about having school work to do. And admittedly during these first few post-graduate school graduation days as the realization of being done has begun to set it, I have been a little bit frustrated because I met this goal/reached this milestone/accomplished my mission only to be greeted with the same old apartment and the same old job and the same old salary when I get back into town after Christmas. Clarification: I am absolutely grateful for the security that accompanies those "same old things".

Tonight however, I began to think a little beyond the surface. While my routine that has been essentially the same for the last 3.5 years will continue to be that way for at least the foreseeable future, so much has changed in my life. In fact, I have experienced more "life-changing" events in the years that I was in grad school than all of my other years combined. Through these events, I have come to believe that maybe it's not even the actual event but my response to the event that determines how I grow (or wilt) as a person. As I reach the completion of another level of higher education, never in my life have I been more aware of my need for sheer and utter dependence upon a higher power. [And my higher power has a pretty big event coming up on the 25th of this month in case you're wondering if I'm referring to a specific or just any higher power here.] I am at the point in my life when I have never been more formally educated, yet the knowledge that there are certain things in life that are absolutely beyond my control is what is most forefront in my mind. The most important lessons that I have learned while in grad school did not take place in a classroom. Ironically though, were it not for the classroom lectures and material on adult learning that is a component of the program's curriculum, I don't know if my response to and reflection on the events in my life would have been the same. The timing of all of these things in my life lining up quite nicely [now that I can look back on them all and see it] is a great reminder that I am not responsible for the day-to-day operations of Planet Earth despite my best efforts in trying to shoulder that responsibility.

Does everyone here see the parallel that I'm making with my George W. reference and my graduation? If I need to I'm sure that I can have Dubya come in as a guest blogger to make the point crystal clear. Obviously I'm tired because I typically try not to reference politicians or their politics here on the ol' blog. Here's my point. [I think. There's a chance that I'll reread this tomorrow and none it will really be all that coherent.] We may reach what we think is the end of something only to realize that it's actually the beginning. I'm so pumped about my beginning that I'm giving my three readers out there a virtual fist bump.

If it weren't way past my bedtime, I would pretty this post up with some pictures of the glorious graduation day of which I write. Instead I'm including this hyperlink with photo documentation that it really did happen. I'm sure I'll write again when the actual diploma arrives. Maybe that's when I'll really believe that I'm done.

The time Alexander Graham Bell rolled over in his grave.

There is a sociological model known as the technology adoption lifecycle. For those of you who have already checked out for Christmas vacation, please don't check out from this post because I promise that the educational value parallels the nutritional value of circus peanuts. Anywho...the model is based on the premise that we all fall somewhere within the spectrum of the technology adoption lifecycle which ranges from innovators to early adopters to early majority to late majority and finally, the laggards. If asked, I would declare that I fit in quite comfortably between the early majority and late majority. Perhaps the fact that I just got DVR earlier this year would lead you to believe otherwise. Or if you have ever attempted to send me an image via text message and I never acknowledge it [Because! My! Phone! Won't! Let! Me!], I suspect that you roll your eyes and discuss amongst your cool tech savvy friends "this poor girl you know" who still has a flip phone that only has the functions of phone calls and standard text messaging. No more, my friends. No. More.

Before we get all oogly-eyed over [the picture on the box of] the shiny new phone, can we please just make a few observations about the old phone? Or more specifically the charger. I mean, seriously...aren't the exposed wires somehow some sort of fire hazard? And just last night the silver trim that borders the keypad on the inside that you see propped up there on the phone like it's being sold on QVC fell off while I was in the middle of a phone conversation. Which really means that it stuck to the side of my face because the 4 year old glue that finally came loose from the phone still adheres nicely to skin. It's been a good phone. It's even been with me through and longer than two boyfriends. We won't compare its reliability and consistency with theirs. Oh...I kid, I kid!

Now I realize that me with this new phone is akin to giving a 16 year-old boy the keys to a Corvette. Lack of experience + Lots of power = Danger Zone. That's why I plan to ease into using a phone that is smarter than me much like I enter a swimming pool: test the waters before diving right in. I'll say there's a pretty great chance that I may even take it out of the box before the end of the day.

Soundtrack: My Favorite Christmas Song Edition

O Holy Night

O holy night! The stars are brightly shining,

It is the night of the dear Saviour's birth.

Long lay the world in sin and error pining.

'til He appeared and the soul felt its worth.

A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,

For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices!

O night divine, the night when Christ was born;

Truly He taught us to love one another,

His law is love and His gospel is peace.

Chains he shall break, for the slave is our brother.

And in his name all oppression shall cease.

Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,

With all our hearts we praise His holy name.

Christ is the Lord! Then ever, ever praise we,

His power and glory ever more proclaim!

His power and glory ever more proclaim!

First a little history about the song. According to my dear friends at Wikipedia... O Holy Night is a well-known Christmas carol composed by Adolphe Adam in 1847 to the French poem "Minuit, chrétiens" (Midnight, Christians) by Placide Cappeau. [Don't say I've never taught you anything, blogosphere.] In copying and pasting the words of the song, I left out the 2nd stanza. Not that the second stanza isn't important, I just would like to focus on the first and third today. I hope you spend some time during all of the craziness that accompanies the Christmas season as we know it in a quiet spot and reflect over these lyrics and what they truly mean.

I have multiple favorite versions of this song. Josh Groban? Check. Celine Dion? Check. Martina McBride? Check. Kelly Clarkson? Check. Celtic Woman? Check. [Even though I'm not sure why they are wearing their Easter best in this particular performance.] Eric Cartman? Just seeing if you people are paying attention. Andrea Bocelli & his friend, David Foster? You got it.

What's your favorite Christmas song of all time?

Soundtrack: The 12 Songs of Christmas Edition.

Before I dive any deeper into today's musical feature, let me just go ahead and put it out there that The Twelve Days of Christmas will not be one of today's songs. This may come as a disappointment for you Christmas carol traditionalists who are reading along at home. My apologies. Might I recommend that you create your own list and then share it with the group. And by group, I mean my three regular readers. Let's get this party started, right?

Little Drummer Boy by MercyMe. Alright so I know that this song has a good meaning. I know that the dear Lord baby Jesus wants us to use the gifts and talents that he has given us in order to turn them back in praise and glory for him. But. Each and every time I hear this song, I get so cracked up at the thought of the ox and lamb keeping time. I mean, really? Barn animals keeping time? Let's be a little realistic please. In my mind, the ox and lamb are both standing together in the corner, wearing sunglasses, smoking cigars (um, hello...a baby was just born, let's celebrate!), and snapping their fingers and stomping their hooves.


Mele Kalikimaka by Bing Crosby. This is the song I have been singing in the mornings when I'm out walking my dog in the arctic temps. Mind over matter, people.


Mary Did You Know? by Kenny Rogers and Wynonna Judd. Love can build a bridge and because it can, I'm convinced you all will still be my friend even though this particular version of the song is my favorite one. The song in general though is easily one of my favorites ever. While we're on the subject of song titles in the form of a question...


What Child is This? by Sarah McLachlan. Do yourself a favor and please obtain your own personal copy of Sarah's Wintersong cd. It's a rare one that I will listen to all the way through without skipping ahead. In fact, it's so good that songs from it made my list twice this week.


River by Sarah McLachlan. Joni Mitchell actually sang this song first but ol' Sarah does a great cover. Notice how I seem to be on a first name basis with Sarah? I'm acting as if there is a Christmas card from her waiting for me at home in my mailbox. Yes, as a matter of fact this may be the one of the most depressing songs ever. There's something about melancholy that just feels so good though, isn't there?


Happy Christmas (War is Over) by John Lennon. Did you know that it was 30 years ago today when John Lennon was murdered? Did you know that I invited Debbie Downer to be a guest blogger today?


Santa Claus is Coming to Town by Jackson 5. I hope Santa Claus has room in his sleigh for a house with a fenced-in backyard this year because I am already tired of walking my dog in the cold and it's only been cold for 3 days. I suspect that there's more room for a nice gloves, scarf, and hat combo. I also suspect that some of you out there prefer Bruce's version of this song.


In honor of the 8th crazy night of Hanukkah (Chanukah?), The Chanukah Song by Adam Sandler. Why haven't I heard this song at all this season? Could it be because I've had my head stuck in the sand trying to finish school? Surely not.

O Come, O Come Emmanuel. I couldn't really find a version of this song that I like all that well online. This one by Sufjan Stevens is alright...even though I much prefer a big booming baritone voice versus a ukulele being the musical accompaniment to his not so big and booming bariton voice. It's really the lyrics that get me though and those are the same in all versions.

Christmas Song by Dave Matthews Band. Confession: I do listen to this song before Thanksgiving. It's just that good.

Merry Christmas from the Family by Robert Earl Keen. How come all commercials and Norman Rockwell paintings depict perfect families enjoying perfect dinners on a perfect winter day? I think that REK speaks a little more realistically of most families at Christmas gatherings. Except for mine, of course. I come from a long line of sophistication and class and we served as inspiration for most of Rockwell's work.

Here With Us by Joy Williams. I heard this song for the first time ever on my way to work Monday morning. More than anything in this world I am so thankful to know that the little baby sent by God long, long ago is here with us even today. And tomorrow. And forever.

Whatever happened to bobbleheads on dashboards?

I'm glad to see that the Hallway of Heads scene in Return to Oz seemingly left a more positive impression with this person than it did with me.

Soundtrack: It's beginning to sound a lot like Christmas Edition.

Anybody out there love dessert? Think about your most favorite dessert in the whole wide world. Mine happens to be red velvet cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory. Love. It. The last time I had it though was in February. If it was something that I ate frequently it would kind of lose its appeal. Kind of like spaghetti. It's good, but I get sick and tired of it after having it for the 4th meal in a row. In fact, after a couple of days with leftover spaghetti, I wish that spaghetti would buy a one-way ticket to Italy and never bother to renew its passport. What does my ramble about food have to do with music? Everything. My feelings about Christmas music are very similar to my feelings about spaghetti. There is such thing as too much of a good thing. In fact, I have one strict commandment when it comes to Christmas music: Thou shalt not play Christmas music in my presence before Thanksgiving. Have I ever mentioned my uncle, Ebenezer Scrooge? I kid, I kid. In the spirit of Christmas though, I would like to dedicate my soundtrack segments between now and December 25th to some of my favorite music that I spin at my house for about 30 days each year. 'Tis the season!

Christmas in Hollis by Run D.M.C. What? You didn't really think I was going to start with Jingle Bells did you? Not when Mom's cooking chicken and collard greens!

Pretty Paper by Willie Nelson. Did anyone happen to see Willie [back] in the headlines this week? Talk about same song, 99th verse. Kind of makes me wonder if he's singing about wrapping paper or rolling papers in this song though.

Last Christmas by Wham! It really wouldn't be Christmas without a little George Michael now would it? Don't answer that question.

Wizards in Winter by Trans-Siberian Orchestra. TSO is playing in Atlanta in mid-December. Dear Santa, I've been a good girl this year. If you are out there reading, I would really like to see their show. Love, HP


God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/We Three Kings by Barenaked Ladies featuring Sarah McLachlan. I know, I know. The whole thing sounds a little unnatural but it's a good combo so go with it. After a couple of listens there's a pretty great chance that if you had a million dollars, you would pay these guys to come play your Christmas party.

Go Tell It on the Mountain by Little Big Town. Hmmm. It seems that Little Big Town performed this on that television special earlier this week. The aforementioned special was not my inspiration for featuring it today though. It just so happens that this song is on HP's Holiday Hits: Volume II that I was listening to this morning on the way into work.

Children Go Where I Send Thee by Natalie Merchant. When I was a little girl, I had the Cabbage Patch Kids Christmas record. It was my favorite Christmas record even above Gene Autry's "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and Elvis's "Blue Christmas" records. This song was on that record, and I might have worn that part of the record out listening to it so much. I happen to love the grown up Natalie Merchant version now that I'm a big girl. Recognize the guest voices in her version?

Do You Hear What I Hear by Whitney Houston. She sings this one with a voice as big as the sea.

Mistletoe by Colbie Caillat. According to Colbie it's not Christmas if the snow doesn't fall. Well, that certainly saves me a lot of shopping.

Hard Candy Christmas by Dolly Parton. Dolly is clearly in an emotional state when she sings this song. Fortunately she realizes the perils of maybe getting drunk on apple wine and decides to maybe learn to sew instead. I hope she lets the apple wine hangover wear off first though or else she's likely to prick her finger with a sewing needle. My wish is that you all have a hard candy Christmas. Minus the toothaches and apple wine hangovers.

And now for my little Christmas gift to myself [and you all]: a non-Christmas bonus track. This week I would like to share Little Miss by Sugarland. I just love it when songs are written especially for me.