Reason #546 that I shouldn’t have kids: I pick favorites.
October. It’s my favorite month. I love the weather, I love the pumpkins, I love the trick-or-treaters. Every year around this time, my house is decked out with all things fall-sy. It sort of looks like the season threw up on my house, but I care not. I’m going home to open the windows, look at my jack-o-lantern, light a pumpkin scented candle and drink pumpkin spiced coffee.
October is my Zoloft.
Thanks to a super cool blog reader (who also works down the hall from me), I got this awesome surprise today:
A lunchbox! It’s not Strawberry Shortcake or Rainbow Brite, but it’ll do just fine.
In a world of meat dresses and jeggings, it’s a welcomed relief to see normal clothing on famous people. A sight for sore eyes, Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel looked stunning together at the premiere of Life As We Know It.
Mrs. Heigl’s ruby red one shoulder dress is by David Meister. I adore the color on her, and I covet her side bun (I plan to don one this weekend at my friend Valorie’s wedding). I do think, however, that her hair stylist went a little far with the blonde this time. It’s a little yellow for my liking, but don’t worry, Kat – Josh Duhamel totally distracts from it/anyone near him.
Ben just asked me if I would be interested in running a 5k with him. What the…?
First things first. I don’t run. I did in college, because I was a cheerleader and it was required. And, I never “grew to love it” as so many insist will happen. I loathed just as much the day it was over as the day it began.
Secondly, what (exactly) is he trying to say?
Just view this vintage Lucky Strike advertisement:
As soon as I heard about the suicide of 18-year-old Tyler Clementi, a Rutgers college student who was webcast (without consent) while having an intimate encounter with another male, I was saddened and disappointed. Saddened at the loss of a bright young person, saddened for his family and friends. Disappointed in the citizens of this country.
You can read that line again. It’s a bold statement, I realize that, but it is how I feel.
In elementary schools all over the US, students learn that our Declaration of Independence says “all men are created equal.” We learn that, but we don’t live it. My dad didn’t live it when he went to a segregated school. His grandmother didn’t live it when she wasn’t allowed to vote. And today, gay and lesbian couples aren’t living it when they are denied the right to be legally married. (That is just one example, there are many more.)
Stating that there is nothing wrong with being homosexual doesn’t get us very far if our laws don’t say so, too. When you elect the people who will lead your community, your state, your country – I hope you’ll remember that.
“The rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened.”
-John F. Kennedy
(And, as a sidenote, if you’re going to lecture me about what the Bible says, please save your breath. I’ve been there and done that.)
A dear friend of mine got married this past weekend in the small, quiet, town of Manning, South Carolina. Quiet, that is, until her wedding reception began. The outdoor reception reminded me of the one in Father of the Bride. Everything was lovely, the weather was perfect, the food was delicious and the champagne flowed freely. Before we knew it, the wedding party was singing (screaming?) the song Jessie’s Girl and inserting the groom’s name for Jessie. It’s safe to say that a good time was had by all.
I met the bride, Meigs, five years ago. I distinctly remember our first meeting because I didn’t like her very much. Meigs is probably the most direct person I know – and it’s funny to me now that the one thing I didn’t like about her at first is the thing I love most about her now. If you want an honest opinion, you can ask her. (Hell, even if you don’t want an opinion at all…she’ll give it to you.) It may not always be what I want to hear, but it’s always what I need to hear. That is a rarity in friendship, and it’s something that I treasure and love about Meigs.
When I met the groom, Troy, I had the exact opposite reaction. I instantly loved him, and not just because he told me he thought I looked a little like Reese Witherspoon in Walk the Line (Hello, he made a friend for life!). There is just something about Troy that makes you want to give him a big ‘ole hug – you can tell from the get that it’s just his nature to be sweet and caring.
Their relationship has been an inspiration to me. They are living proof that two people can find their soulmate, despite circumstances that might suggest otherwise. I’ve watched them grow as a couple, and I’ve watched my friend become a better version of herself (she was pretty amazing to start with) over the years they have been together. I shed more than a few tears last Saturday – but all tears of joy, of course. This girl that I didn’t like, then loved, lived with, shared many laughs, tears, and memories with got married to the absolute perfect man for her, and he got married to the absolute perfect woman for him.
And they will live happily ever after.
It sort of looks like the city of Augusta birthed a baby girl today. She didn’t. Every year on October 1st, Augusta is decked out in pink for the start of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Pink fountains, pink bows, pink newspaper:
This is the 3rd year that The Augusta Chronicle has printed on pink paper on October 1st. It costs significantly more for them to so, but the nice folks over there decide each year that the benefit trumps the cost. (And, I know you are wondering…yes, a portion of the ad sales go to a breast cancer charity.)
“As we have in years past, The Augusta Chronicle is being printed today on pink paper to help raise awareness of the plight of the estimated hundreds of thousands of people nationwide who are fighting brave battles against breast cancer.” -Augusta Chronicle Editorial Staff
You know what I get a lot of? “That Mandi, she seems so sweet.” It’s a nice compliment, but as you are all well aware of by now…I’m really not that sweet. Don’t get me wrong, I am a nice person (I’m certainly not an asshole or anything) but, come on – let’s keep it real. I won’t be up for sainthood anytime soon.
I’m convinced that the reason people assume I’m “sweet” is because I’m small. Petite does not a sweetheart make. Just look at Joan Rivers. She’s tiny – and she’s a huge b.
Learn this lesson now, folks. Don’t be deceived by a person’s stature. Especially on days like today, where I’m a feisty-firecracker who seriously considered punching someone in the face.
(I decided against it, because I have better manners than that. And because I didn’t want to be arrested. But, I totally punched them in the face in my mind, and I felt much better.)
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