UPS...I need you

I have recently started an Amazon addiction over the last few months. They have EVERYTHING...or least close to everything on their nifty website. I even priced checked garden hoses last night. Seriously.

So when I couldn't think of a neat gift to buy my boyfriend this Christmas...I thought of course...Amazon!

But now I'm desperately waiting for Amazon's good friend UPS to deliver my Christmas package with great anticipation. They are already several days late (so glad I paid for next day shipping) and now I see that my present went to Mather, Ca, Cleveland, OH, Louisville, KY and now WEST COLUMBIA, SC! Hello UPS - you just bypassed me!

For this typical July Christmas shopper (yes...my sisters hate me for it), a last minute gift of this caliber drives me nuts...and UPS is making me older by the minute.

Are you going left or right?

Turn signals are almost non-existent aspect of driving in South. As soon as drivers cross the Mason-Dixon Line, they have a tendency to forget all knowledge of Drivers Education such as how to parallel park, driving with your lights on at dusk…and of course the turn signal.

The turn signal is one of my biggest pet peeves. You know…the little-flashing-arrows-that-come-on-to-indicate-whether-you’re-turning-right-or-left and taught how to use on day one of Drivers Ed?!?

Now surprising as it may sound…we do not read minds in the South. We can not figure out if you are turning left or right no matter how much you are thinking about it – sorry, like the rest of America we are just not that gifted.

Instead drivers of the South have invented a new driving technique called “The Southern Pass” which involves passing slow Mid-Westerns on the right on our way to the grocery store, mall and yes, even church.

We instead grumble behind your back and call you a fool but we’ll never use a horn to teach you a lesson. Why? Well you’re in the South and we have manners.

Snapshots of Montana

Here's a few snapshots from Montana before my camera died due to the cold.

On the morning of the big game...a "balmy" 7 degrees....

A couple views of the stadium before the game...at 9 degrees...

Lisa, Lenny's assistant before the game.

Monte's grand enterance...

The Grizzly Marching Band

Lenny running with the team...

The Wofford Cheerleaders cheering on the 56 Wofford fans that made the game.

Thanks Montana!

It was seven degrees outside when I entered the University of Montana’s football stadium to watch a college football game.

Seriously.

Decked out in my high-tech-won’t-freeze-your-butt-off-garb that I bought at the mall the day before (like a true southerner), I’m prepared to watch the Wofford Terriers take on the Montana Grizzlies (or the Grizzzzz as they call it) to play in the first rounds of the playoffs.

Yep, I’m 2,325 miles away from home to watch two teams from schools that I never attended and I love it.

My team – the Wofford Terriers are from a small liberal arts college nestled in the downtown area of Spartanburg, SC and I, in the last 5 years, have become a walk-on alumni. And for the next three hours I along with the rest of the traveling Wofford party became the loudest little crowd ever in the University of Montana stadium on November 24, 2007.

First, I’d like to point out that the people of Montana are nice. Like really, really, really nice. So nice that some fans even introduced them to us in the stadium. The girl at the Henley gave me an extra discount because-I-was-from-the-south-nice.

Why? Well probably because it’s their nature. Or maybe because they haven’t lost to a warm weather team ever in the existence of their football program – yes, I said ever. I guess they thought that the Terriers were going to be a cake walk.

Think again friends.

The Terriers WON! The “underdogs” beat the Griz 23-22 with a touchdown in the last 32 seconds of the game. The shocked (and I mean shocked) Griz fans watched the end of the unbeaten season end with a missed field goal. First southern team to ever beat Montana and the first team in 16 years to beat the Grizzlies in a playoff game - it was heaven!

Just say thank you!

Thanksgiving is a perfect time to say "thank you" to friends and loved ones. It is also a wonderful time to say thank you to our soldiers and you can do that with a click of a button. Below is a link to "Let's Say Thanks" a group that provides a way for individuals across the country to recognize U.S. troops stationed overseas.

It's simple, free and you will put a smile on someone's face that you don't even know. So take a moment...and click.

http://www.letssaythanks.com/Home1024.html

The Cheer Chain

Starbucks has launched its now famous "Cheer Chain" campaign with huge success. This easy to use website is cute, creative and business genius.

You can see "Cheer Stories" from all over the world that allow you to reflect on the true meaning of the holiday. If you can squeeze in a few seconds, take a moment to create a "Cheer Chain" and pass a gift on to your family and friends.

Have you passed the cheer on yet? You'll love it and it's easy...just click below.

http://www.itsredagain.com/

Is your music selection random?

Then you will LOVE this station! A new radio station in Greenville, SC...this place has the most random play list ever and I mean ever. When is the last time that you heard "The Adams Family" theme song followed up with a song from Cake played on the radio? The link is below for you to enjoy!

http://www.1063charliefm.com/

PS. Check out their version of Frogger...for all of you 90's game fans out there

Music to my ears...

This week Lenny and I attended another Healing Arts Fundraiser event at the Easton home and had the pleasure of listening to the Spartanburg Philharmonic conducted by Sarah Ioannides.

The Healings Arts Program is a joint partnership between the health care community and the arts. The overall idea is to use arts in a public health care setting to help facilitate the healing process. I became especially interested in the organization after my grandmother was placed in a nursing home a few years ago and saw musicians visit the group on a frequent basis.

It was a great treat and if you enjoy classical music then I think you’ll like Sarah’s website. Enjoy!

http://www.sarahioannides.net/

Need a laugh?

http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid446437106/bclid440984115/bctid1213892401

Marshall Chapman's Rap...

The Hub City's Jewel

The Chapman Cultural Center
Oct 3, 2007


And so it’s here – the Chapman Cultural Center. Finally! Spartanburg has waited close to 20 years to have all nine different art organizations under one room. Here’s a few photos from the opening…

A view of the opening events on the plaza

Can you see me? I'm in a red shirt on the far right.

The historic Spartanburg bell from the first Opera House back in the early 1900's

Scaring small children since the 1960's

The lovely theatre!

The view of the plaza from the West Wing.

30 miles

Recently over the last few months, I’ve really gotten into cycling for fun. It’s been such a wonderful way to reconnect with my childhood joy of getting on a bike and riding wherever I please. Growing up in the suburbs of Ohio, it was a rite of passage for one to have a bike and to ride it beyond the security of your own street.

The feeling of the wind against your face as you traveled up and over the hills came back to me as I started riding n the summer of this year. We are blessed to have a local non-profit group, Partners for Active Living or PALS that created a bike program that allows you to rent a bike for three months for less than $20. Amazing!

My first bike ride since 1993 was July 27,2007 and I traveled 8.6 miles. Had I known that we were going that far, I probably would have never tried but I’m very glad I did. Now I’m up to 30 miles a week and for a novice rider, I feel that I making some type of progress. If you haven't tried riding a bike, you should. At least for a brief moment to connect with your childhood again.

And so I caved

I’ve debated this whole blog thing for a while to see if it was going to be more than a fad…and it is. Hopefully, you’ll find this blog a tad entertaining every once in a while as I travel the “corporate” ladder and survive my first few years out of college.

Should be interesting…