Day 96- Feb 27
Listening to: the Oscars (too boring to actually watch)
Thought for the day: History never looks like history when you are living through it. ~John W. Gardner

You are looking at an accounting ledger turned cookbook that I found in a piece of furniture I inherited. For some reason I decided to look at it for the first time today. It belonged to the family of my step great grandmother. My grandmother’s mother died when she was six. She was raised by my step great grandmother who was as much a part of my blood as any blood relative could be.

Originally, the ledger was used to document weekly purchases. This page is from 1901 and contains everything from a hog for $10.70 to a pair of shoes for $1.25. At some point in time it morphed into a make-shift cookbook when someone started pasting newspaper clippings of recipes on top of the original ledger pages……………to conserve paper no doubt.

My grandmother obviously had value for it since she kept it. I’m considering going through and cooking all of the recipes ala Julia/Julie. The recipes, however, are a bit foreign compared to what I am use to seeing.

At the time of its origination, I imagine the owner had no idea that something so mundane/ordinary would mean something to someone 110 years later.

Day 96- Feb 26
Listening to: Hold the Line
Thought for the day: "Sometimes me think what is love, and then me think love is what last cookie is for. Me give up the last cookie for you. ~Cookie Monster

Jonesin for Girl Scout cookies and can’t find them? There’s an Ap for that…..

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/girl-scout-cookie-locator/id412442982?mt=8

I have no need for an Ap. I knew exactly where the girls in green would be today. I thought I was going to Kroger late enough to avoid them…………NOPEY. I’ve actually done well and have not committed GS cookie gluttony this year, well, not yet. The same cannot be said for my dear friend whose name starts with R and ends with K. He has plowed through 9 boxes of Samoas and I don’t think he’s done. NINE BOXES! He IS the champ. We may need to do an intervention before Girl Scout cookie season ends.

I’ve nom-nom’d two boxes………and I DID share. Girl Scout cookies aren’t as good as I remember them growing up and if they shrink much more we might need to call in Willy Wonka to find a way to save them.

Day 97- Feb 25
Listening to: In My Life
Thought for the day: And almost half of American oil consumption is for motor vehicles. ~Tim Holden

Gas has gone up 20 cents in two days all because some crazy dictator who reminds me of a singing raisin is being a total lunatic ASS. This is not a political rant. With the exception of the truly devout green people, we ALL carry the burden for our dependence on foreign oil. When is it going to stop? I could sit here and rant about big oil, greed, the Republican Party, or President O, but until I do something to curb my own use of gas………….I can’t say a peep……………and neither can you. @#$**% It is so FRUSTRATING. We put men on the moon. Why can’t we wean ourselves off of liquid gold? It is the most addictive of drugs and we don’t even recognize it. It has been a topic of conversation since the day I was born. I truly wonder if I will see society switch to an alternative energy source in my lifetime. There should be an uprising with the same zeal as the Egyptians, Libyans, and Wisconsians over this matter!

Day 98- Feb 24
Listening to: Girls on Film
Thought for the day: It takes 8,460 bolts to assemble an automobile, and one nut to scatter it all over the road.

I live a mile from Cubicle Caverns. Getting to and from work typically requires no thought (unless I have to take my daughter to school). Today I had to go downtown at a time that would put my trip home smack dab in the middle of rush hour. EWWWWWWWW. Let me just say God knew what he was doing when he put me down the street from my employer. I would be a Road Rage Rita if I had to drive in rush hour every day. Those who do? I AM NOT WORTHY……..ya’ll are brave souls. The experience renewed my appreciation for my boring/dead-end job.

Day 99- Feb 23
Listening to: You Can’t Hurry Love
Thought for the day: A woman by the name of Rebecca Webb Carranza invented the tortilla chip in the 1940s. I love her.

Wednesday Night Dinner Group – La Hacienda

I have never eaten at a bad Mexican restaurant. Between the free chips and swimming pool-sized margaritas who remembers the food? I didn’t dive into a mongo margarita tonight, but I did behave like a chip pirate…..argggh.

After 2 years as an esteemed member of the Wednesday night dinner group, they finally revealed to me how they evolved. I have finally earned the right to be in possession of such knowledge. A Mexican restaurant gave birth to the group ……………..in a galaxy far, far away. It wasn’t just any Mexican restaurant either. It was El Chico………….which happened to be the site of my first experience with Mexican food (yeah I know EC is not necessarily legit Mexican food, but play along like it is). El Chico was also the site of many of my outlandish high school ………ahem……..incidents. I love it when worlds collide.

DAY ONE HUNDRED - Feb 22
Listening to: One Hundred Ways (sang it Quincy)
Thought for the day: Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. ~Psalm 100

The Story of 100

The 100 first days
100 bottles of beer on the wall
100%
100 days of summer
Billboard Hot 100
Fortune 100………oh wait that’s 500
Curious George Learns to Count from 1 to 100
100.com
100 days, 100 ways
100 degrees
Living to 100
Year 100 was a leap year
100 Best Companies to Work For
NASDAQ 100
Insert a radio station name 100
My Father at 100
50 Ways to Leave your Lover played twice = 100 Ways
The first official air mail flight took place 100 years ago
Ben Franklin and Independence Hall are on the $100 bill
And best of all……….

ONE HUNDRED DAYS UNTIL I AM DONE WITH THE 365………………..and celebrate a birthday shhhhh.

** Please note that I am not 100% sure that my daily countdown is correct. I am prone to error!

Day 101 - Feb 21
Listening to: Respect
Thought for the day: A good friend is a connection to life - a tie to the past, a road to the future, the key to sanity in a totally insane world. ~Lois Wyse

Tonight I attended a fundraiser to kick off Darren Jernigan's campaign for re-election as Nashville's District 11 Councilman. In case you are wondering, I endorse Darren 510%. He is a dear friend and one of my heroes.

The perk of attending tonight’s fundraiser was getting to see people I adore that I don’t see very often. Let me introduce you to Greg Comer and Dinah Turner. They both flat out make me smile at life………….always have, always will. I have known Greg since high school and Dinah is the mother of one of Christian’s long-time friends (one of my faves).

Dinah came up to me tonight and said, “Kris, I bought you a bag of Tootsie Rolls, but ate them all before I could give them to you.” Obviously we are Tootsie Roll fiends at heart, but Dinah had no idea when she confessed to me how many times I have bought candy for someone and eaten it before it reached its intended destination. Dinah is a kindred spirit. I suspected it before, but now I know without a doubt!

Day 102 - Feb 20
Listening to: Tainted Love
Thought for the day: I am never going to get divorced, and that's that.
~Diana Princess Of Wales

This is what my daughter's life looks like every Sunday (and my son's life too up until a year ago). It’s one of the costs of a divorced 50/50 custody situation. Her entire life is shoved into a trunk each Sunday and moved from Dad’s to Mom’s or Mom’s to Dad’s. The move consists of one giant suitcase and what feels like 50 billion smaller bags and totes.

Both kids HATE the Sunday parental shuffle. My daughter has been so unhappy with it that she has started disappearing on Sundays; she goes to another friend’s house and doesn't touch a single suitcase. You might say, “Why don’t you have one set of clothes for her at your house and one set at her Dad’s.” It is not that simple.

I’ve worried that living out of a suitcase would negatively impact them. My son, who moved into an apartment last year, seems to be thriving now that he has a permanent place to park his stuff.

I do hope my children know I am sorry they were forced to grow up like nomads.

Day 103 - Feb 19
Listening to: Owner of a Lonely Heart
Thought for the day: Oh valorous gray in the grave of your fate. Oh glorious blue in the long dead years.

Warning to those who dislike it when I go wordzerk! This entry is verbose!

(photo on right) This abandoned chunk of granite/marble stands guard over the Nashville I-440-I-65 interchange. It appears forgotten and forlorn. I like forgotten and forlorn. There are lessons to be learned in forgotten and forlorn!

Christian had to attend a class this morning near this monument. For years I’ve wondered what this thing was. There use to be more to the monument and I never understood why part of it went missing. So, instead of going home after I delivered Christian to her destination, I decided to go investigate. My investigation prompted a full out Google-thon when I got home.

The chunk of granite, now separated from the sculpture that once rested on it, was installed to honor the 1864 Battle of Nashville. My initial thought was the sculpture had been stolen or vandalized. I was relieved to find out that a group of people resurrected it at a different location in 1999. Guess what? I have a new 365 assignment! You can bet the resurrected monument will be featured in a future entry. I’m not sure why they left the original base behind, but am glad they did. Apparently it sits on the site of General Lee’s initial encampment (Lee was a handsome man imho – rawr).

The cool part about the monument is that it is one of the few that recognizes both the blue and the gray. It also recognizes the fact that those who fought each other during this battle of brother against brother would ban together within the next 100 years to fight World War I.

All of these years I have driven in this area, eaten at nearby restaurants, shopped at the stores and yet I had NO clue I was in the area of a prominent Civil War battle. NO CLUE AT ALL. It saddens me because I’m sure I’m in the majority. Better late than never though!

Interesting information about the monument and source of the photo of the original monument…….. http://www.bonps.org/mon_history.htm

Day 104 - Feb. 18
Listening to: What’ll I Do
Thought for the day: Fighting the “IWIWABH” syndrome today (I wish I was anywhere but here).

Sometimes I think I should just take a fork, a bottle of salad dressing, and go out in my yard to eat. I don’t feel like writing today, so I bring you lunchtime in Cubicle Caverns where it was a balmy 73 degrees today. I had two meetings today, updated a few procedures, and accidentally dozed off once sitting straight up and dreamed I was doing shots of tequila. Ahhhh Friday.

Day 105 - Feb. 17 (really looking forward to day 100)
Listening to: Get Off of My Cloud
Thought for the day: If you don't have a smile, I'll give you one of mine.

Hello Taco Bell drive through, or is it drive-thru! I’ll have the cheap 5-layer burrito with ………….meat? ummm……….no…………….um…………..SH

ELLFISH! hee hee. Check the warning sign in the lower right-hand corner. Oddly enough, when I took this photo, I was going for the grammar-school magnetic letters on the wall that say smile, plan, enjoy, energy, devotion. It’s obvious why I’d want to write about those words right? Well, low and behold when I went to crop the picture I started giggling about the shellfish warning…………….AT TACO BELL. I also think it is cute that the drive through worker tried to avoid my lens. I did ask permission………….a request that was followed by looks of “is the 5-layer burrito woman sane?”

OK, back to the initial objective. It is my wish that each of you will go forth this weekend and smile, plan (something fun), enjoy, (have) energy, and (experience) devotion.

PEACE OUT YA’LL

Day 106 - Feb. 16
Listening to: My Funny Valentine
Thought for the day: A trout in the pot is better than a salmon in the sea.

Trout, trout, trout……………… the trout dish is why the Wednesday night group keeps going back to the Bicyclette Café. I had never ordered the trout before, so I decided to try it tonight. My trout dish had three things going against it: I ate too many Girl Scout cookies prior, I coveted what the peep sitting next to me ordered, and I’ve been eating a ton of tilapia lately which is a milder fish. My first bite of the trout was……………….well, FISHY. The second bite was a bit better. By the 4th or 5th bite I started understanding the fish frenzy. The Wednesday night peep sitting next to me ordered the prosciutto poulet brochette (prosciutto stuffed chicken). It looked D-I-V-I-N-E. I suffered peep plate envy. I will order it next time. My final trout verdict? It was good, but not my fave.

http://www.bicyclettecafe.com/

Photo Credit: Shelbyville Times Gazette
http://www.t-g.com/blogs/davidmelson/entry/39736/

Day 107 - Feb. 15
Listening to: Black Magic Woman
Thought for the day: The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary. ~Donald Kendall

This photo found its way into my in box late last night. It has been on my mind all day. That’s my Dad on the far left. He is so TINY. The photo was included in a blog that discusses the bygone days of Shelbyville, Tennessee. Obviously the skyline of the metropolis of Shelbyville has changed and there was a need for the blogger to ooooh and ahhh over what was, but I’m disappointed that there was no discussion in the blog about bicycle newspaper carriers being relinquished to the hall of the dinosaurs.

My Dad was 10 in this picture. TEN…………he was earning a wage at freaking ten years old!!!! Needless to say he’s gone on to become a very successful businessman and physicist. I can’t help but wonder if starting work at such a young age didn’t ensure his success. Are we missing something by not having ordinary jobs for youngsters in this day and time?

Day 108 - Feb. 14
Listening to: All You Need is Love (bah…..bah….bah duh…bah)
Thought for the day: A kiss for you, & you, & you……….as yes, even you!

This Valentines Day I gave chocolate kisses to the officers of the KB Club, aka the maintenance guys that work with me. My philanthropic behavior was not without incident. I ran out of the symbolic kisses before getting to everyone. Demands for real kisses followed. Luckily, I had a bigger stash of kisses in my office. After the prospect of receiving real KB kisses faded, a few of them started accusing me of giving KB club officer #1 more kisses than officer #2. It wasn’t pretty. Best of all, however, was the shock that I was actually giving away chocolate………….. as if hell would freeze over if I, KB, was selfless with chocolate.

The best part about Valentines Day????? CHEAP CANDY ON FEBRUARY 15! WOO HOO!.

Day 109 - Feb. 13
Listening to: Forget You
Thought for the day: YES

A Facebook friend of mine announced last week that she couldn’t stop eating candy hearts. I’ve bought them in the past for their messages, but have never eaten any...........until today. Necco, the major producer of the hearts, says they have been adding a new saying every year. I think they need a little help. “I-M Sure?” “Hey You?” “Get Real?” ………I’m not feelin’ warm and fuzzy guys. Oh well, at least I can say I have tried them now. They taste a bit like cardboard sugar, but I ate more than one. I guess if you put sugar on just about anything I’ll eat it.

One of the trending topics on Twitter today was #rejectedcandyhearts. One of the most tweeted rejected candy hearts was:

I ♥ UR ( . Y . )

Not on Twitter? See what you’re missing. Hee hee hee.

Day 111 - Feb. 11 (hee hee.......111 on Feb. 11 SAWEET)
Listening to: Express Yourself (Madonna, not Lady G.)
Thought for the day: Business in the front, party in the back!

OK. Here it goes. I’ve been saving this story for the right moment. Tonight’s the night. It’s a story I need to capture for my grandchildren. I bring you................... The Tale of the Joe Diffie Tour jacket.

First let me say, I have never had any desire to write song lyrics and don’t imagine myself to be a lyricist. With that said, I entered the Sparkle paper towel jingle competition back in the 90s not to be “discovered,” but rather to win the grand prize, two tickets to the CMA Awards. The rules were simple. There was a word count requirement, it had to be written on a Sparkle paper towel, and you had to use the word “Sparkle” in the lyrics. I sent in a billion entries………….each one sillier than the last.

A month or so after I had entered the contest, I forgot about it. Then one day I received a notice in the mail from the post office that an attorney had sent me a certified letter. I flat out freaked thinking someone had sued me. With trepidation, I went to the post office. Turns out I had “placed” in the Sparkle paper towel contest and their attorneys needed me to sign a release. No. I didn’t win the grand prize. I won an ugly-ass Joe Diffie Tour jacket which is floating around a Goodwill near you. I wouldn’t know Joe Diffie if he walked up to me on the street…………SO I HAVE POSTED A PICTURE OF HIM (and his mullet) FOR MY 365!

Here is a sampling of my entries. I have no idea which one earned me the "major award" and I’ve spared you the agony of sharing them all. These are my two faves.

Be thankful if you can belt out a song
When things in your life have gone wrong
My voice is silent, thoughts confined to my head,
Forced to write it all on a Sparkle Napkin instead.

Can a man sparkle from inside
When he has too much to hide
Bad relationships, too much to drink
So down on his luck, he can't even think.

Day 112 - Feb 10
Listening to: You’ll be in My Heart
Thought for the day: "For we walk by faith, not by sight" (2 Corinthians 5:7)

Dude! Where’s the road? What happens when the path you’ve traveled for 20 years suddenly morphs into an endless sheet of white glittery nothingness and becomes unrecognizable? It happened to me this morning. You are looking at the view out of my front windshield on my drive into work this morning. Oddly, I was totally relaxed. Can’t see the road? No problem. No white knuckle of death steering wheel grip for me! I had an unwavering belief that I would arrive at my destination.............and I did. I drove by faith and not by site!

Like my drive this morning, there are figurative moments in my life when I am moving forward and cannot see the path that’s in front of me. Quite often I panic. Next time I plan to channel some of my morning drive-time bravado.

Day 113 - Feb 9
Listening to: Let’s Dance
Thought for the day: I used to be Snow White, but I drifted. ~Mae West

Due to inclement weather, the Wednesday Night Dinner Club was canceled………….boo hoo hoo…..WAAAAAAAAAHHH! So..........Since life served up snow: I made snow cream. Yippy Skippy! Yep! Tonight's dessert, harvested from my back yard, is representin' in today’s 365.

It appears that I have a snow bucket list that I’m slowly working my way through this winter. Snowman? Check! Snow angel? Check! Snow writing? Check! Snow cream? Check! Snowtini/Snowgaritas? Pending. Sledding? Pending. Basically, we need one more snow for me to fulfill the list. I also need a sledding buddy. I can’t go sledding alone. Who is going to take the picture?

Day 114 - Feb. 8
Listening to: Swinging on a Star
Thought for the day: You can't wrap love in a box, but you can wrap a person in a hug.

There is no shortage of scarves in my house. My mom is a knitting M-A-C-H-I-N-E and every year for Christmas she makes me something different. This year the theme was scarves. My scarf cup overflows.

In addition to my mom’s gifts of knitted neck wear, my son also gave me a scarf. When I opened his gift, he said with a prideful voice, “it is cashmere.” I was thinking to myself, “Where the hell did he get the money for cashmere?” Then I saw the tag. It said, “cashmere-feel – 100% Acrylic.” I started to giggle and it made the moment that much better.

It wasn’t until today, however, that I fully realized why I like wearing these scarves. Yes they are warm, but wearing one makes me feel like I’m getting a hug from my mom or my son!

Day 115 - Feb. 7
Listening to: Photograph
Thought for the day: Wow! The Peeps have a fan club http://www.marshmallowpeeps.com/

Look what happened while no one was looking! The Easter Peeps MUTATED!!!! Either that or there has been peep shenanigans at the Peep factory in Peepville. We now have Valentine bear and heart Peeps. Technically speaking, the bear Peeps should be called “Growls” and the hearts “Beats.” Seriously, bears don’t “peep” and it is an offense to all bear species to imply they do. Calling hearts “peeps” isn’t quite as odious since I, myself, was recently tossed on the treadmill of stress death because I have a heart peep instead of a heart beat.

Day 117 - Feb. 5
Listening to: It Takes 2
Thought for the day: If I take any more vitamin C, I’ll sweat orange juice.

I am campaigning to be the new spokes person for Vicks. Yes, I am sick again and am on my third bottle since November of this nasty liquid commercially known as “Nyquil.” I have been sicker this year than I have been in the past 5 years combined. Ugggh.

This afternoon I noticed I was down to the last drop of the green stuff which meant a trip to the drugstore. To my dismay, the drugstore did not have any more green-flavor. I say “green-flavor” because the green has no flavor name. There is a reason for that. The flavor is unidentifiable. I call it the “green shiver-inducing slime of death.” In my mind, only the green works, but when you only have cherry flavor to choose from you take what you can get (cough cough).

I had to combine the leftover green with the cherry to create a full dose. Normally, red and green make brown. In this case red and green made dark-red shiver-inducing slime of death.

Day 118 - Feb. 4
Listening to: Summer of ‘69
Thought for the day: Friday. ‘nuff said.

Iconography – Circa 1988
i•co•nog•ra•phy [ahy-kuh-nog-ruh-fee]
–noun, plural -phies.
1. symbolic representation, especially the conventional meanings attached to an image or images.

You are looking at one of the projects assigned in my photography class during my senior year in college. Sprawled on the back of the photo in my expansive handwriting is the word “Iconography.” I assume that was the name of the project. I vaguely remember the assignment to be about capturing the essence of who I was. In a pre-Facebook, un-narcissistic time, THIS TASK WAS DIFFICULT. Today, I’d have no trouble. I’d just turn in the photo of me kissing the Tootsie Roll jar. I don’t remember taking this photo and don’t remember which of my essences I was trying to portray. I do remember the horrors of trying to thread a strip of negatives on to a tiny spool in complete darkness. #$*&% Do they still make students learn how to develop real film?

Day 119 - Feb. 3
Listening to: I'm Alright
Thought for the day: Is it a coincidence that Bill Murray starred alongside a rodent in two different films?

This was the scene that greeted me this morning as I departed McGavock High School. You are looking at a plethora of mole/gopher/critter escape hatches (little brown piles of dirt). Immediately the scene reminded me of the movie Caddy Shack. It looks like God has been playing Whack-A-Mole, or a mole/gopher has been plotting an evil takeover of the nearby golf course. The whole thing made me wonder; what is the difference between a mole and a gopher? It turns out Gophers are bigger, more hug able, and do cute dances when thwarting the plans of Bill Murray.

Join me in paying homage to the Caddyshack gopher! It’ll make you smile. Promise.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krVXRCcr2M4

Day 120 - Feb. 2
Listening to: I Feel the Earth Move
Thought for today: Wednesdays always leave me knackered!

Melrose Pub - http://www.themelrose.net/

It must be bloody UK week for me. The Wednesday night dinner group enjoyed some Americanized British culture by choosing a pub for dinner. The dictionary defines a pub as a bar or tavern. Those words just don’t seem to represent the essence of a true British pub to me. In all honesty, I have yet to find an American pub that is anything like a British pub.

The Melrose Pub is located in the west part of Nashville where the shady neighborhood starts transitioning into an affluent neighborhood. The pub itself is an interesting place and does manage to capture a fairly legitimate “local” bar atmosphere. They serve mostly hamburgers, sandwiches, wings and beer, beer, beer. All of their beef is grown locally which is a bit of an oddity these days. I skipped the beef and went straight for the veggie burger, a delicacy that might be akin to local cow cud for the avid meat consumer. It was probably one of the best veggie burgers I’ve had.

Just one side note: if you order the fries with ranch dressing and cheese, request the ranch dressing on the side unless you like a side of fries with your dressing. Good news? We were not charged for the fries.

Day 121 - Feb. 1
Listening to: Papa Was a Rolling Stone (you know you want to sing it).
Thought for today: Don't make me come down there. -God

Today my coworkers and I gathered at the Old Hickory Country club for our annual safety luncheon. Working safely is a huge deal where I work. In addition to monthly meetings to discuss.....well......safety..... we also have an annual meeting/lunch to review the year's safety and environmental performance. Was anyone hurt? Did our machinery puke on the environment? We get all of the details and more.

Back in the 90s, the company adopted the belief that all injuries are preventable. As employees we’re expected to believe the same thing. The guest speaker asked us today who in the room believed this corporate-losophy. I did not raise my hand (I wasn’t alone). For me to say all injuries are preventable is to fly in the face of God. Trust me; many managers have tried to convince me otherwise. Thankfully they’ve treaded lightly in doing so. I wouldn’t want any of them to be struck by lightening.

Does this mean I’m not going to wear my seat belt, run with scissors, or put the forks in the dishwasher with the prongs facing up? ABSOLUTELY NOT! I do believe in striving for no injuries..............but I also believe God always has the final say.