yay for:
seeing a fall fashion preview at a work event
this article
a curly hair day (after a straight hair week)
free lunch
hitting snooze until 7:30
vixen nail polish by revlon
payday
a refrigerator that works again
my friend ashley always being near her blackberry
south beach diet energy snack packs
making plans for a december trip to new york
an organized desk at work
a free dinner, thanks to junior league
being excited for a weekend that doesn’t involve packing

Last year, I wrote about what I was doing on September 11, 2001. We should all take a moment to reflect today – forget about healthcare debates and Congressmen and football games. Remember what happened 8 years ago. Remember the heros, remember the families whose lives forever changed, remember for those who weren’t given the option to.

Here is a photo gallery of the timeline and events of that day.

Dear Congressman Joe Wilson,
I think I speak for all (native) South Carolinians when I say that you are ridiculous. You can disagree with our President all you would like, as it is the American way, but you are a Congressman for goodness sakes. And he is the President. You were not at a Republican rally, you were not at a town hall meeting. You, Rep. Wilson, were sitting in the United States Capitol Building. Have some respect, man.

Also, if you would, why don’t you and Mark Sanford take a trip up the Appalachian Trail and never return to South Carolina again? You’re making it look bad.
Love,
M

Dear South Carolina,
I don’t normally like to shout, but: PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER.
Love,
M

When I was negotiating with the former owners of my house, I drew a line, and that line was the refrigerator. You see, said former owners were lovely people – but they played hardball. Like nothing I’ve ever seen on HGTV, y’all. Negotiation…not so much. And, I would like to point out (as my father did many, many times), that at the time it was the ultimate buyer’s market. This couple, though, they didn’t care.

In order to feel like I had achieved something (after the rejection to pay closing costs, or to come off the price of the house another few thousand, etc.), I demanded the refrigerator. My realtor/friend Clay and I became pretty serious about this. We were getting that fridge. Come hell or high water, it would stay in that house. We needed a victory, and we got one! The refrigerator (side-by-side with water dispenser and ice maker – crushed and cubed, thank you very much) was part of the deal. Former owners = 99, Mandi = 1.

Things were going fine until I reached into my refrigerator for a Diet Coke and it was cool, not cold. What the heck, right? No worries, I just turned up that little dial in the fridge. It was only on 5, so I jacked that sucker up to 7. When that didn’t work (I waited a day, like the manual suggested), I read on to see what the other possible problems could be. The manual suggested I clean the coils, which would be super easy if they were not located UNDER the refrigerator that I can’t move. However, with the help of this cute guy I know, he lifted and I cleaned. We even unplugged the machine (also suggested in the manual), and plugged it back in. And then, I waited another 24 hours to let the clean coils do their thing. They did nothing.

So today, I’m calling a repairman. I feel defeated, especially as I notice other refrigerators, older refrigerators (like the one in our office building that has to be from 1980, whose coils are probably not only caked with 30 years of dirt, but also rust) and how they seem to work just fine.

I know this sounds paranoid, but I’m beginning to think the refrigerator somehow realized that I was a new owner (perhaps the previous owners didn’t eat as much greek olive hummus as I do?) didn’t like it, and just decided to quit.

Levi Johnston, aka, The Boy Who Knocked Up Sarah Palin’s Daughter, went and did an interview with Vanity Fair and it’s all anybody can talk about today. Here’s a link so you’ll be in the know when someone says, “Wasn’t that tacky?”

p.s. It was.

p.p.s. Is he a looker or what? (in a he’s-too-young-for-anyone-who-reads-this-blog kind of way)

Fall. It’s creeping up on us, folks. The air here in Georgia no longer frizzes your hair two seconds after going outside (it takes a few minutes now, which, my friends – is progress). And, all around us there’s talk of football. Gone are our lazy beach/lake days and white pants, and here for a while are Football Friday nights and College Football Saturdays. Oh, and sweaters, which I need to shop for, by the way, because they are super cute this season. I like anything that is baggy and covers my thighs. Hello Fall fashion…we will be great friends.

Men all across the USA will be glued to their televisions (or their stadium seat) for the duration of the season. So, before we all become disenchanted with our team of choice, while all of our teams are still currently undefeated, let me just shout, “Go Dawgs!” for my fellow Georgia Bulldog fans.

Sidenote: UGA lost QB Matthew Stafford and RB/freak-of-nature Knowshon Moreno to the NFL, so I’m not expecting much this year. I do, however, need and expect them to beat South Carolina. Because that’s a tough one to live down ’round here.

I realize that not everyone is a huge dork like I am, and sets their DVR to record Senator Ted Kennedy’s funeral…so here’s the link to the best eulogy I’ve ever heard (and I grew up in a funeral home, remember?).

And if you don’t have time to watch it, read a part of it below:

“He was not perfect, far from it. But my father believed in redemption and he never surrendered. Never stopped trying to right wrongs, be they the results of his own failings or of ours.

But today I’m simply compelled to remember Ted Kennedy as my father and my best friend. When I was 12 years old I was diagnosed with bone cancer and a few months after I lost my leg, there was a heavy snowfall over my childhood home outside of Washington D.C. My father went to the garage to get the old Flexible Flyer and asked me if I wanted to go sledding down the steep driveway. And I was trying to get used to my new artificial leg and the hill was covered with ice and snow and it wasn’t easy for me to walk. And the hill was very slick and as I struggled to walk, I slipped and I fell on the ice and I started to cry and I said “I can’t do this.” I said, “I’ll never be able to climb that hill.” And he lifted me in his strong, gentle arms and said something I’ll never forget. He said “I know you’ll do it, there is nothing you can’t do. We’re going to climb that hill together, even if it takes us all day.”

Sure enough, he held me around my waist and we slowly made it to the top, and, you know, at age 12 losing a leg pretty much seems like the end of the world, but as I climbed onto his back and we flew down the hill that day I knew he was right. I knew I was going to be OK. You see, my father taught me that even our most profound losses are survivable and it is what we do with that loss, our ability to transform it into a positive event, that is one of my father’s greatest lessons. He taught me that nothing is impossible.”
-Ted Kennedy, Jr.

Don’t you hate it when you fall in love with a restaurant and then you switch jobs (or get laid of, whatever) and it isn’t located near you anymore? Then, if you ever happen to be close to it (because of a meeting or errand), you have to go there and get your fix, right?

That’s exactly what I did yesterday. And even though the line was ridiculously long, I waited anyway – because, well, I needed that pecan chicken salad with a side of veggies. Need.ed.

Whilst in line, I overheard a conversation between two non-working ladies dressed in tennis gear. And when I say dressed, I mean decked out. Tennis Lady #1 had on an all white top and skirt combo, complete with a white visor and K-Swiss shoes. She was carrying the Totally Monogram PM Louis Vuitton purse. Tennis Lady #2 had on an hot pink zip-up top, hot pink skirt, K-Swiss shoes and a white Sea Island hat. She was carrying this gray patent leather Valentino purse. Both had huge wedding rings (naturally) and diamond stud earrings that were at least 2 carats. I realize that I sound like a stalker, but I did wait in line behind them for 10 minutes. And I didn’t have my BlackBerry with me…you understand.

Anyway, the conversation went a little something like this:
Tennis Lady #1: Did you think it was fair that she was selected to play next weekend?
Tennis Lady #2: Absolutely not. She does not deserve a spot, in my opinion.
Tennis Lady #1: Exactly! She is terrible at the net. And we have all earned our spots. I worked hard for this. I will tell her that, too.
Tennis Lady #2: Maybe he just felt sorry for her. You are so right about the net. I couldn’t play with her, she isn’t aggressive enough.
Tennis Lady #1: Well, she’s scared of the ball hitting her nose.
Tennis Lady #2: Nose job or deviated septum?
Tennis Lady #1: Both.

I love a good trash-talking session, even if I don’t know anyone involved. I guess it’s the small town in me.

“For all my years in public life, I have believed that America must sail toward the shores of liberty and justice for all. There is no end to that journey, only the next great voyage. We know the future will outlast all of us, but I believe that all of us will live on in the future we make.”
-Senator Edward M. Kennedy

If you’re an emotional cutter, like myself, you can see the tribute video from the 2008 Democratic Convention here.

The offender: Alexis Bledel

The item(s) in question: Dress and shoes, worn during the Teen Choice Awards

My thoughts: First of all, I don’t care how many “Traveling Pants” she wears…to me, Alexis Bledel will always be the fast-talking, neurotic in an adorable way, straight-A student, Rory Gilmore. But back to the clothes. I’m sure this is a vintage dress, and I respect vintage most of the time. This time, however, it just looks like an old bridesmaid’s dress that someone gave to Goodwill because they never thought they (or anyone else, let’s be real here) would wear again.

The solution: Choose something that does not make these three thoughts immediately pop into one’s head: 1) Wow, that’s blue. 2) Um, that doesn’t fit. 3) Did she change outfits and forget to switch shoes?