Getting my Southern Groove On

The cuisine of the South doesn't really tickle me.

The fried chicken has skin and bones which I can’t tolerate. The biscuits are usually too greasy. And I love a good bowl of grain as much as the next girl, but grits are just a bit too gritty.

And then there’s The Flying Biscuit. It's a restaurant that fed us at work today. First of all, the biscuits are sort of crossed with a dinner roll. Perfectly moist and fluffy but not slimy to the touch. I know the grits don't look like much from my photo, but I'm pretty sure the grits are more butter and cream than grain. And I'm pretty sure that's why it takes just one spoonful to start wondering how much it would take to fill a bathtub and wallow in them.

In fact, the smell of the office today when those grits and biscuits arrived was so incredible, I wanted to capture it and turn it into cologne. I settled for eating heaping portions, which I still haven't managed to digest 5 hours later. But that's a price I'm happy to pay for a taste of Southern heaven.

Better off with a rabbit's foot

Each time I go with the missionaries to an appointment, they get stood up.

When I was a missionary in France, we called it fait le lapin, which means literally "act like a rabbit." People would say they wanted us to come by and visit, we'd make an appointment, follow-up by phone and then trek out there to discover them missing or hiding out in the back room with the lights off. Come to think of it, maybe that's why a rabbit's foot is a good luck charm? Minus a paw, the little creature'd have a harder time scurrying out of reach!

If this unlucky streak continues, I imagine one of two things will happen:

a. The missionaries will stop inviting me.
b. I'll develop a complex about my inadequate faith.

And you probably don't want me along on a trip to Vegas.

Yeehaw!

Lil Kim, Jilted Melissa and Gilles Marini (oh-la-la) are all amazing dancers, but my heart belongs to rodeo man Ty Murray.

I’ve had a thing for dancing cowboys since my sophomore year in college when I spent every Tuesday and Thursday night at the old Provo Armory. They would dim the lights, crank up the twang and out from the woodwork came dozens of real-life cowboys in their colorful western shirts and braided nylon belts. As if their super-tight Wranglers needed any help staying up!

They were never much for words. Just shy smiles and "yes ma'ms" as they led me around the room in a quick two-step.

Even with their pointed boots and ten-gallon hats I was a few inches taller and many pounds heavier than most of them. But I've never felt so graceful!

So it doesn't surprise me a second (or eight!) that Ty's giving a great show. A tough tango ain't nothing when you're used to fiesty bulls!

For Sale: 3BR, 2BTH, Great Location, Perfect for Kids. . . and Hobbits

These are REAL street signs from a Charlotte neighborhood I discovered today.

I'm as big a Tolkien fan as the next person. And I understand the need to come up with distinctive street names. But I’d be really embarrassed to buy a house on Legolas Lane and have people constantly saying “Legolas? Like the movie?”

I was also a bit disappointed to see the housing development was named Dominion Crossing. Why not The Shire? Or Middle Earth? And like my brother pointed out, if they’re nerdy enough to name a street Baggins Lane, they may as well go with some really good ones like "Gandalf the Grey Way," "Strider Street" or "Aragorn Avenue."

To top it off, I found out the housing development was built after the LOTR movies came out. At least if the streets were named pre-movie trilogy, there’d be some solace in knowing the street-namer was a serious Tolkien fan who’d actually read the books and not some Cineplex-goer who probably thinks a Hollywood scriptwriter dreamed up Frodo and his Ring.

Random and Inexplicable

Some days are full of strange coincidences. This morning I learned that my current town (Charlotte) and my hometown (Provo) are tied for 6th place in the ranks of fastest growing metropolitan areas on the country.

And then I met someone for a work project with whom I've never been in contact before and he turns out to have been raised in Provo, too. What are the chances that of the more than a million people in Charlotte, I would cross paths with one of the few with whom I share a hometown and a religious faith? And this was not someone I'd been introduced to through church circles. It was completely random and a little startling for us both to discover when we made the connection.

Serendipity.

Lucky Me

My sister Annie turns 30 today and I think it's perfect that she's a St. Patty's Day child because:

a) I've been green with envy of her all my life - her hair, her personality, her patience, the way people love being around her.

b) She's worthy of sainthood for all the pettiness she's put up with from me over the years.

It's funny that she's joining the thirty-something ranks today because we've bonded over the most immature things this last year. I blame it on the webcam making it so easy to chat face-to-face about nothing at all.

We're in a routine where I sleep in on Saturday and then ring her on Skype around noon. It's 10 a.m. in Utah and she's usually in her jammies combing her little boy's hair (see pic) or trying to keep him from diving down the stairs or eating the dog's tail.

But she always answers my webcam call as if she has nothing better to do than yammer on with her old maid sister about who dissed whom on The Bachelor and what crazy name we think our other sister should name the baby she's expecting.

It's a wonderful thing to have a sister who's both an inspiration and a best friend.

And it's even better when she has a birthday!

I'm still alive . . .

This post is mainly for everyone I've been ignoring the last few days because I've been literally drowning in responsibilities.

I haven't been able to watch even one minute of television thanks to work and church and other demands starting at 6 a.m. and going until after 9 p.m. every day. I like being busy as much as the next girl, but there's a limit and I hit mine. I haven't slept well because of this infernal cough, either, so I think sleep deprivation's only made things worth. I came home from my church activity last night at 9:15 p.m. and went straight to bed. I blew off the gym this a.m. too so I could squeeze another hour out of the night. Sleep cures most everything. Today was as hectic as the rest, but at least I'm not grumpy!