My Hair Has Been Cut, I Repeat, My Hair Has Been Cut October 28, 2009

It’s true, I took myself to the hair dresser today, sat myself in her chair, and told her to cut, cut like the wind. I was at the mercy of her scissors, and did not know what the out come would be. It was a very intense time, one must never take these matters lightly. Especially if your single; it could make or break a relationship, y’all. Make or break.

Here is what I looked like before:

Nevermind the black fingernails, this pic is for before picture purposes only. See, my hair is longer, I had grown out my bangs.

Now here is what it looked like after I came home:

Notice it is shorter, and I have added bangs back into the mix. I also decided to get my picture taken with my boys (App State Football players).

Now, here is what it looks like after I re-did it:

Not too much difference, just straight ironed it a little more. Now, would someone please explain why it looks like my head is so large?? Honestly, it looks like someone cut and pasted a big head on a little neck…

Now, here is the fun part. How do you think I liked my haircut?

Option 1: I LOVE it with  a captial “L”!! Too Cute!!!

Option 2: I hate it with the passion of a million fiery suns, I cannot wait for it to grow out.

Option 3: It’s ok, not exactly what I was looking for, but it will do for now.

See you in the comments!

“We’ve bonded this weekend, ya’ll…” June 1, 2009

About a week ago, I went to the North Carolinian Home Educators conference in Winston Salem, NC with Dustin, Daphne, Ruthie, and LeeAnne. I went mainly to go to the massive book fair, but to help with Ruthie and LeeAnne some, too.

We left on Thursday evening, and arrived at our hotel around 6:45. The hotel was nice, but we wanted to go to the bookfair to walk around before it closed for the evening. We had not eaten at this point, but said we would stop somewhere after the bookfair. And since the conference center was only four blocks away, we decided to walk to the book fair.

Um, yeah.

What was supposed to be four lighthearted blocks of sunshine and rainbows, turned into 8 blocks of torture and death. A certain person in the party was setting the pace, at what we affectionately called: The Death March. Two of us in the party lagged behind with our chests heaving, and brows dripping with sweat.

Once we (finally) reached the center, we walked inside to the blissful air conditioning and I promptly fell to my knees and gave a prayer of thanksgiving for the cool air blowing.

After being revived, I checked in and went down the escalator to the book fair!

(Here is where you pretend to see a picture of a massive room filled with vendor after vendor)

We didn’t stay long, but I did get to walk around and stopped at one vendor to pick up a couple of books that looked interesting. That’s when it happened. Never have I ever been so mortified in my entire life.

As I was checking out, the two (young) guys who were checking my books out, decided that they would check out more than just my books, if ya know what I mean. So as they were trying to be funny, but very horrible at it talking with me, I was trying to be nice, and just get out of there. As soon as they gave me my total I gave them my credit card, and the younger guy processed it and then gave me the receipt. When he gave me the receipt, he said this: “Please sign your name, annnnnd give me your phone number.” I wish I could have come up with some sort of witty response, but I just laughed and proceeded to write my name ONLY. As I handed the receipt back, he said “I need your phone number.” I looked at him and said, “I’m sorry I don’t give my phone number out to strangers.” (I couldn’t make this up if I tried) he then said “I need it to process your credit card, that’s all.”

Ahem, oh, well in that case you may have it. Never mind that I thought you were asking for my number, here take it, and LET ME LEAVE!!

Mortified, just mortified. I didn’t go back to that place the rest of the weekend.

After the bookfair we went back to the hotel, it was around 9:00 at this time, and we still had not eaten. So I did what any person who had just walked 16 blocks in one evening would do. I ordered room service. Yes, Ma’am I did.  The Pasta Bowl to be exact.

Delish, very delish.

After my dinner I settled in for a good night’s sleep. Once the morning arrived, I was awoken by Daphne. Which is a good thing, because I feel certain that I would have overslept. Which would have thrown everyone off schedule, and then the trip would have been ruined. I had already been mortified once, let’s not add insult to injury.

We spent the morning at the conference and then set out to find some place to have lunch. And we found a charming little spot. But that will have to wait until tomorrow…

Greetings from the Sick Ward February 27, 2009

“ACHHHHOOOOO”  I’m so sorry, here, let me get a kleenex. What? Well, yes. I am suffering from the pestilence and plague. How did you know? Oh, my sneezing gave it away? Well, yes, they are rather loud. What? Oh, thanks. I’m sure I’ll be one hundred percent better by Monday.

Yes, it’s true. I woke up on Tuesday morning with a scratchy throat. That is not unusual for me since I have been blessed with rather large tonsils, and they are prone to sore throats. But when Thursday rolled around and my throat was still sore, I knew that I was dealing with the common cold. I called my general physician, and was informed that they were “slammed packed” and could not see me until Monday morning. Great. I knew I couldn’t wait until Monday, and needed to see a doctor right then! No, I’m not high maintenance, thanks for asking. After I got off the phone with the doctor’s office, I called the doctor’s office in Ashe County. Yes, I am a patient at a doctor’s office in Boone, and  Ashe County. No, I am not high maintenance, thanks for asking. Thankfully they could see me that very afternoon which turned out to be a good thing, since the doctor diagnosed me with a good ‘ol sinus infection, with a side of allergies. Terrific. He promptly wrote  a prescription for some antibiotic and orders to take some Claritin. I also know that it is good to drink lots of fluids whilst sick, so I’ve been sucking on this:

 

Oh, I kid. I actually haven’t taken a drop of the stuff. Although I was tempted to last night, so I could get some sleep. I always wondered why that stuff made you sleep so well, when I figured out that it is made up of 70% alcohol, and 30% medication. It’s a wonder!

 

But I have been popping these like their hard candy:

 

The good thing is that they actually taste like candy. It’s like nature’s candy!

 

I have also been killing trees by going through these things like there is no tomorrow:

 

They are indispensable to me. Whoever invented the kleenex, should be given the noble prize. They are a wonder.

 

I am on the mend, and I should be back to my old self by next week. I’ll be back on Monday with a progress report of my health. Until then, have a great weekend!

Coming to an Interstate Near You February 3, 2009

Ahem, it has come to my attention that I have been somewhat lax in keeping up with the blog. I realized that I did not post a Fabulous Friday, or a Marvelous Monday (or whatever it’s called). Please accept my humblest apologies, I’m trying to work on this. I’m hoping to get to the point where I post something everyday (excluding the weekend). We’ll see how that turns out. So it is with fierce determination that I set my nose to the grindstone, or fingers to the keyboard…

 

I had the great opportunity to go back to Mooresville this past weekend to visit with Kris, Marshall, Hannah, and Mikala. We had a great time, and I love going down there to visit.

 

In preparation for my trip, I decided to make an iTunes playlist for my journey. Since I was feeling wild, and carefree I made the very impulsive decsion to add Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On”. Why? Frankly, I have no idea. Other than I was like ooh, Celine can sing, and I’ve always like this song so why not? I’ll add it to my totally, rockin’ mix. Let’s just say that a little of Celine goes a long way. After my third time of hearing “near, far, wheeeeerrrrreeevvverrrr youuuuuu areeeeeeee, I believe that the heart does go oOooNnnnNN.” I was ready to chuck it out the window. Thankfully I added some Whitney Houston to spice things up.  Chances are that if you passed me on I-77 you would have passed a young, brunette dancing while singing “Ohhhhh, I wanna dance with somebody, I wanna feel the heat with somebody.” Charming, it was.

 

And I may or may not have teared up while listening to “I Will Always Love You”, that song has always gotten to me.

 

Thankfully, I added some Jack Johnson and Jason Mraz to add balance to all the sappiness. I love Jack Johnson, and I love his music. I especially like him, since his voice is perfect for harmonizing.

 

And last but certainly not least, I added some Michael Buble. His music is so great. And his new song “Everything”? Well, it has been added to the “potential first dance” song list. It’s that good.

 

So, next time your on the interstate, be on the lookout for me, Molly Petrey, and my musical stylings.

Texas Land and Cattle January 26, 2009

This past Friday, I had the day off of work, so mom and I decided to travel to Winston Salem to do what we do best: shop. We had a later start than we anticipated, which may or may not have been my fault. We arrived in the fair metropolis of Winston Salem around 12:15, I was hungry and suggested we go to our favorite lunch spot: Texas Land and Cattle.

 

This place is really great, and has the best sourdough bread. Seriously, I could eat their bread and be just fine. After we were seated, mom went to the restroom while I stayed at the table to survey the menu. our waiter came up, introduced himself, and informed me that he was training a new waiter that afternoon. When the other waiter joined us, he asked if I would mind a “tour of the menu”. Sure I don’t mind, what do you recommend?

 

Funny thing though, is that mom didn’t know that one waiter was training the other, and was taken a back a little that I had two male waiters waiting on me. I told her it was my raving beauty…and then I looked down and saw that I had a rather prominent stain on my shirt. Oh, the irony.

 

After we ordered, our waiters brought our food, and the new waiter was doing a fabulous job! I was really impressed with how much he could remember. He then told us that he had only been working three days, which really blew me away.

 

After we finished our lunch, we were both very full. That’s when I noticed, in my peripheral vision, our waiters carrying a large tray filled with desserts. Oh, well I hate to break it to the new guy, but there is no way I’m eating dessert.

 

Oh, was I wrong.

 

Not only did he display the desserts, he also gave a detailed description of each, and again he blew me away with how much information he had memorized in just three days. After he finished with his descriptions, I looked at mom and saw a little gleam in her eye. That’s when I knew. I knew that we would be having dessert. My mom looked at him and said, “we’ll have a brownie to share, please.”

 

After the waiter left, I looked at mom and said, “what! we don’t need to eat dessert.” “Well, I know, Molly, but I wanted to support the little guy and his new job. I just can’t turn him down.”

 

And so we ate a brownie, a brownie that was the size of my head with chocolate and caramel sauce, and vanilla ice cream. With each bite mom informed me that I was doing a good thing, and that I was supporting the new waiter with his job.

 

Well, I do what I can. At least the ice cream was good.

Fabulous Friday: It Felt Like “Law and Order”! January 23, 2009

Well, it’s been forever since I’ve posted a “Fabulous Friday”. I really can’t blame it on anything other than the fact that I have been slack when it comes to writing something fabulous (yeah, right) for Friday.

 

Sorry, I will try and make it up to you by writing a post that you  will more than likely forget 5 minutes after reading. Hey, it’s a tough job, but someone has to do it, and that someone happens to be me.

 

It is now my honor to recount the harrowing tale of “Molly and the Federal Court House” - now don’t get too excited, I haven’t committed any crimes in the past couple of months. I’m innocent, honest. 

 

In December, I received a official looking letter from the “Federal Court House of Charlotte,NC”. Before I opened it, I freaked out. I was wracking my brain “what have I done? I know I got a parking violation, but I paid it, I remember writing the check for twenty, stinkin’ dollars. I paid it, honest.” Thankfully, it was only a summon for Grand Jury Duty. What I didn’t realize at the time was that when you are summoned to the Grand Jury, you have been officially summoned to sell your soul to the Federal Courthouse for 12 whole months.

 

Yes, I was informed that I had to go to Charlotte once a month for 12 whole months. Needless to say, I was thrilled.

 

Yesterday was my first day, and since I am a confident, self assured kind of girl wimp, I begged my dad to go with me for my first time. He was very kind, and even drove! Thanks, dad!

 

We left my house at 6:15 am, the temp was only 12 degrees, yes, 12 degrees. I was cold, and you better believe I had my heated seat cranked up, and rarin’ to go.

 

We arrived at the courthouse around 8:45, and I was checked in by the security guards. Thankfully, I didn’t set off any alarms and I was free and clear to enter the building. Once I was thoroughly checked, a kind security guard directed me to a waiting room for all the grand jurors.

 

When I walked in the room, several people were already there. There was an air of dread and remorse. I sat down, while a sweet lady took my name, gave me a parking token and told me to make myself comfortable. Yeah, I’m about to give you my life for the next 12 months, like I’m really comfortable about that.

 

At 9:30 the sweet lady came back in the room and proceeded to give us a short overview of what would be happening that day, and what to expect.

 

That’s when she dropped the bomb.

 

” You shouldn’t be here more than three days a month.” ’scuse me? Forgive me if I’m wrong, but I thought it was only once a month. No, no, I couldn’t be more wrong. According to the lady it could be anywhere from 1 to 3 days a month. Meaning you never knew how many days to plan for.

 

The room went silent. Some people sat in shock, while others lashed out in anger. I was silent. I felt sorry for the lady taking all the frustration. She was doing her job, I tried to smile at her, but I’ll be honest, it was hard.

 

And that’s when she offered a glimmer of hope.

 

After announcing that I would be selling my life for not one, but possibly three days a month, she announced that there would be 6 alternate jurors that would not have to come unless called upon.

 

She mentioned that she needed to finish placing the grand jurors, and six alternates, and that we needed to hold tight a little longer. When she came back in the room to announce the results we all sat with bated breath.

 

She started out with the 23 grand jurors. I noticed that they were in alphabetical order. She got to the “m’s” and then the “n’s” “ok, this is it p is next.” Instead of saying my last name she moved onto the letter “s”. “Wait, what does that mean? Does that mean I’m an alternate??” She then moved onto the 6 alternates starting alphabetically. Miracles of miracles my name was mentioned first!

 

I immediately broke out into a silent prayer of praise.

 

All I had to do was to sit through orientation, be sworn in, and listen to the responsibilities of the grand jury. After all that (about 2 hours) I was free and clear. Once they told the alternates that they could leave, I was out of there like a rat on a cheeto (I’m so sorry. That last line is evidence that I grew up with brothers.).

 

I met my dad who was waiting in the lobby, and greeted him with a jubiliant smile and may or may not have formed a “VICTORY” sign.

 

Once we got out of the parking lot, we headed to BBQ King to eat lunch. It was quite delicious, and time well spent with dad.

 

And that, my friends, is my tale of “The Federal Courthouse”.  I know that I’ve written my tale from a sarcastic point of view. But I’m truly grateful to live in a country that governs fairly, and justly. It is what makes our country so great. I would have been happy to have served on the grand jury for a year, but I am also thankful that I am an alternate.

 

And I must say that I’m so proud to be an American.

Love Never Fails January 13, 2009

It is freezing outside as I’m writing this. In fact I have not been able to stay warm all day. I had to pull out the “Arctic winter gear” this morning. Which mainly consists of  a jacket, parka, gloves, and personal heater. I don’t take the personal heater with me, I just have one at work. One of the perks when you work for a heating and air contractor. Tomorrow, I’ll be adding a hat! I just might take a picture for you, so you can get the full idea.

But all of that is not the reason I came on here to write. I would like to make the official declaration that I have the BEST MOM IN THE WORLD! My mom bought me Brandon Heath’s newest album, “What If We” just because today.

It is awesome! I’m really enjoying it, but I’m really loving his song “Love Never Fails”. This song is based on 1 Corinthians 13, and is quickly becoming my favorite song right now. I wish I could post a clip of it, or a video, but to be honest, I  looked on You Tube and couldn’t find anything that I liked. You can go on  You Tube and search for it, though.

This CD is awesome, and I highly recommend it!

Well Said, Dad! January 8, 2009

Molly here. I’m currently watching the BCS Championship with my dad, and I just had to share what he said. Upon looking at one of the Florida Gators defensive players (can’t remember which one), my looked at me and said: “That’s a big piece of beef right there.”

Well said, dad, well said.

GO GATORS!

You, Only U. January 6, 2009

As well as accepting the proposal of God this year, one of my other goals is to become more healthy. After Christmas, I took an inventory of my life and decided that while Christmas was good to me this year, the food was not. I guess you could call it one too many boiled cookies. Oh well, that’s why we have January, to undo all the bad habits we assumed in the previous years!

 

So that means I am frequenting the gym a lot more, and eating better food. Surprisingly, I am actually enjoying this lifestyle change, I am actually enjoying eating healthier and working out more. I’m praying that keeps up into next week…

 

Although, I do think it’s important to mention that motivation may wane. So I went in search of an inspirational video to help me when I need that extra little kick in the tail. And I came across a gem! I hope you enjoy this as much as I did!!

A Happy, Healthy, Holiday to You! December 19, 2008

Ahem, once again, I’ve promised something , and have not fulfilled my promise. I told you I would take pictures of the concert with Travis last night, but I didn’t take my camera. Why? Well, please imagine a girl sitting on the second row, in a cute red and black polka dotted top, pulling out her Canon XSI Rebel. To snap a few pictures for her blog. If that doesn’t scream “Merry Christmas” I don’t know what does. I love you, blog friends, but not that much.

So, although there were no pictures, I can say that last night was AWESOME! Travis sounded great, as usual, and the orchestra was phenomenal!

I wish all of you could have been there…

Now, onto business. I have been busy in the kitchen this morning, baking up a batch of healthy snack food for a Christmas party I’m attending tonight. And since it’s the holiday’s, I thought I would give the gift of my recipe (in pictures!) to you! I know, I’m so generous.

First things first though, one must eat a healthy lunch to keep up her strength:

There is enough calcium in this cheese ball to build up some very strong and healthy bones. And the crackers are whole grain, it’s like eating oatmeal in a cracker!

Now that you are sufficiently strengthened for the task at hand, it is time to assemble the ingredients. First a healthy stick of butter, and a healthy two cups of sugar

The butter is made from real cream, so it’s totally unaltered, making it very healthy to consume. And the sugar is made from real cane, making it somewhat unaltered. We all know that they just refine it to make it pretty, and white. It’s sort of like make-up, just giving a more aesthetic quality.

Next, it’s time to add the vanilla (from real vanilla beans!), cocoa powder (from real cocoa beans!), and peanut butter (made from real peanuts!), and the oatmeal (real oats!)

The peanut butter had added calcium to it, so that makes it extra healthy!! Boy, I should have arms like Popeye by now with all the calcium flowing through my veins.

Finally, after all the hard work, you scoop the mixture onto wax paper (made from real wax! Sorry, couldn’t help myself)

And there you have it! A healthy, holiday snack the whole family will enjoy! Merry Christmas, arteries!!!