BFF Antics

Earlier this week my grandmother had an appointment with her endocrinologist and I volunteered to drive her to Roanoke for her appointment. This was not the best choice I've ever made. Two of my aunties came along and we planned to meet BFF1 for lunch and some shopping afterwards since my grandmother's appointment was in the town where she currently lives. This didn't work out as planned because even though we left on time we also ran into a wreck on the interstate and were almost late for the appointment. This frustrated one of my aunts. The other was upset because she had things to do at home and wasn't excited about a day spent shopping. I ignored the overwhelming silence in my car on the ride to Roanoke and tried to make the best of the situation. A feat made easier because my bestie is used to these dramatics and when she met us at the doctor's office she helped distract me from the uneasiness. We spent our time in the waiting room sitting side by side playing DrawSomething with each other and laughing at how terrible we are at the game and chatting about various things. After the doctor we went to lunch at a pizza bar, and that was AMAZING and tasty. After lunch we embarked on Speed Shopping. Literally. I went through Target at a jog, grabbing random items that were on my shopping list so that we could GET OUT IN A HURRY!!! I needed to buy a pair of jeans, but didn't have time to try on. I'm not so upset about THAT...I absolutely HATE trying on pants.*

During the awkward lunch and doctor's visit and all through Speed Shopping BFF1 and I chatted about various difficulties we have dealt with recently. We had been out to lunch the previous day since she was in my town (her hometown) which ended with me almost in tears over my cheese fries. I know, right! Why are there tears if cheese fries are present?! Turns out that even after six months, conversations centering around my mother can cause emotional turmoil. I'm blessed because BFF1 handled it like a CHAMP! So we revisited my emotional breakdown the previous day and also talked about how she is sometimes uncomfortable in the area she currently lives and also about how we just miss each other. She only lives about an hour and a half away now, but that's a big adjustment since she had previously lived 15 minutes away from me since we were in fifth grade. We have adjusted well, but things are a lot different and sometimes it is really hard to be far apart. We talk to each other constantly throughout the day and we have a group of shows that we "watch" together while texting comments about the content, but the time we spend together via phone or computer dwindles during the summer. To counteract that we have started a "book club." It's not really much of a book club with just the two of us, but we're testing the waters for now. If we enjoy it and are successful we may expand and include some of our other friends.** For now we're slogging through Hissy Fit by Mary Kay Andrews, and when we've finished I'll update this with our progress/success. Hopefully it will be a fun activity to share. I love reading and she doesn't read many novels, but we both love funny girls and The South so MKA was a good starting point for us. Mainly I'm looking forward to sharing an activity with someone I adore, that I miss on an almost daily basis.

I have to say...I have mad respect for you guys that move away from your childhood friends and your families. Perhaps you are better at making friends than I am, maybe you're just braver...but I get absolutely verklempt whenever I think about leaving this tiny place that has been my home for 28 years.


*Or shirts, or dresses, or basically anything. It sucks.
**Who are we kidding, we don't actually have that many friends...hence the two man book club.

BEDA 14- Chelle and BBF1 Remember the 90s

Apparently BEDA=list making. Oh well, I'm one heck of a list maker! Tonight I conned BFF1 into helping me come up with a BEDA List and she suggested listing things we liked about The 90s. Since I'm exhausted and kind of feel like garbage I agreed.
Things We Love: 90s Edition

Lit2Go and Booknerdiness

Last week as I was perusing iTunes for awesome free stuff, I stumbled upon Lit2Go, which is basically a ton of classic literature in audiobook form. I was immediately hooked. I love the classics in audio format because the books are usually so wordy that it is hard for me to stay focused on what is happening. Also helpful is the fact that the people doing these readings are really good. My normal commute this summer was close to 45 minutes alone, and then 45 minutes with kids.* So I was excited to find these books because honestly my clients were getting more than a little tired of my musical tastes.** It was really nice to spend the last week of our program listening the Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories with my client and to Vanity Fair when I was alone in the car. He loved listening to the stories, and they distracted him enough that I didn't have to listen to him talk about video games for an hour and a half each day.***

So what is the point of this blog entry? Just a ramble about how audio books are the bees knees? No, not really. It has more to do with the fact that when I found this beautiful wonderful FREE selection of audiobooks I immediately contacted both BFF1 and BFF2. My conversation with BFF1 was pretty normal. It went pretty much like this:
Me: Hey, remember that time you paid a bunch of money for audiobook versions of classic literature?
BFF1: Yeah...
Me: Well, I just found a TON of them on iTunesU for FREE!!!
BFF1: Sh!t...good ones?
Me: Yeah -insert LONG list of titles here-
BFF1: Crap...remind me when I get on AIM tonight to look at them.****
Me: 'Kay

My conversation with BFF2 was slightly more maniacal.
BFF2: Hey, what are you doing? I miss you...I feel like we haven't spent time together since Baby Neville was born.
Me: Not too much, hanging out...the usual ya know.
BFF2: Anything else exciting happen at work?*****
Me: No, not really. Client1 had a breakdown and literally beat his head against a wall today. Which is new...turns out mom and dad knew this was going on and "didn't think it was that important" so didn't tell me.
Me: HOLY CRAP!!!
BFF2: What? Did something happen?
Me: Yeah, something AWESOME!
Me: I just found this really cool thing online where they have free downloads of CLASSIC LITERATURE. Like TONS of stuff
BFF2: OH MY GOSH! Like what? What are you downloading?
Me: -insert LONG list of titles here-
BFF2: I am so jealous right now!
Me: Ya know, it kind of bothers me that they have A Connecticut Yankee In Kind Arthur's Court and not Le Morte D'Arthur.
BFF2: Only YOU would be bothered by that.
Me: Well, Twain is a sexist bastard. They have Ethan Frome...are you my EF person?
BFF2: I LOVE ETHAN FROME! It's my favorite thing we read in HS! Even though it may be THE most depressing book ever.
Me: HOLY CRAP! They have Emily Dickinson! EMILY DICKINSON!
BFF2: *dead silence*
Me: Really? No comments?
BFF2: Uh, not really. You know she makes me want to die.
Me: I like her...
-twenty minutes later-
Me: I find myself want to read/listen to Leaves of Grass? Who AM I?
BFF2: A freak...
BFF2: You hate transcendentalist poets****** and the only good thing about Whitman is the "O Captain, My Captain" scene from Dead Poet's Society
Me: Touche, mon amie
BFF2: But I love you regardless.
Me: Ditto.
-End of Conversation-

Now, what is the point of sharing this? Other than to display that my best friends and I are easily amused and huge nerds, and that iTunesU has a GREAT selection of free audio? Basically to show how grateful I am to know like minded people. Not many people want to spend a car ride listening to Around the World in Eighty Days, but my two best friends (while not as enthusiastic as I was) totally dug it. I guess the main point is, sometimes it is so easy to forget to appreciate the little things. Things like talented people reading (and creating) great works of literature, friends who love you even if they hate Emily Dickinson's poetry and don't understand your desire to read transcendentalist poetry, and friends who get just as excited as you over little tiny things. With all the crap I wade through everyday, I find myself forgetting to be thankful for these little things, because in the long run, they are HUGE things.

Sorry that this blog post is LONG. Tomorrow's will probably be EXTREMELY short, because I have The Fantastic Four tonight and most of tomorrow, so I will be BUSY! Maybe sometime this month I should let The Clone guest blog...it would help me get over my BEDA-Block.


*During the school year it was 20 minutes each way. I'm not even sure where I'll be next year, but chances are I'll have a commute that is at least that long, possibly longer.
**Although, how ANYONE gets sick of The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, or Queen I will NEVER understand.
***Seriously, there is only so much video game talk one girl can take.
****I know what you're thinking. I do in fact work with BFF1 for 5 hours everyday and then go home and spend hours talking to her online each night. We are dreadfully codependent.
*****Yep, BFF2 works for the same company as BFF1 and I, she's just on maternity leave right now.
******We realize that Whitman isn't technically a transcendentalist poet, but he is close enough for us.

Happy (Belated) America Day

Happy July 5th! It just doesn't have the same ring to it does it? I had intended to write this yesterday, but since I spent the day celebrating the country I love with the people I love the most, it just didn't happen. Terrible I know! However, I did outline some things that I wanted to include, so I figured why not do this a day later? It's not like my love for America ended yesterday with the holiday after all. I love it just as much today as I did yesterday!

First I should outline what the big deal about America is anyway. My best friend Alissa (commonly referred to as BFF1 on Twitter) and I LOVE America. Not in a normal "Man, our country rocks!" kind of way. It's more of a kind of awe that we are allowed to be here, allowed to be who we are, allowed to say what we think. We make America references ALL the time. We randomly quote random speeches, we compare situations we are in to historical events, basically we are complete nutters. I'm not sure why we are like this. Maybe because she was raised on various army bases and I was raised in a small town where you love God, your family, and your country. Whatever the reason, we dearly love our country. We love the huge, wonderful things and the small, random, quirky things. We love the good and the bad. We love it for what it is...a place that isn't perfect but that gives us the opportunity to be ourselves, to grow, and to be magnificent.

So now that I've been cheesy and funny...on to the ten things we love about America.

1) Freedom: I am well aware of the fact that freedom is the number one amazing thing about America. We are fortunate to live in a place where we are allowed to vote, get an education, work, believe what we want to believe, and basically be who we are. Not everyone has basic rights, so my freedom is the number one reason I love America.

2) Epic Television: This is one that I had on my list when I called BFF1 to ask her for two items to add to my list, but it is also the first thing she said. It may seem stupid, but just like Harry Potter has provided me with a world full of people that I love, TV has done the same thing. While it's true I may not reference Chandler Bing or Stars Hallow on a daily basis, but I do whistle an alarming number of TV theme songs. TV provides an escape which everyone needs. For me TV shows provide an outlet for my nerdity, and for BFF1 TV represents change in both culture and technology. We love TV. Classic TV, new TV, reality shows, animal shows, cheesy TV, PBS, Food Network, talk shows. We just love it. And BFF1 REALLY loves it. TV is to her as books are to me. So we love that America has AWESOME TV.

3) History: Pretty self explanatory. America is a pretty young country, and yet SO much has happened here. I don't have a lot to say about this one. Basically without the history of our nation BFF1 and I wouldn't have nearly as many references to make.

4) Disney: When I called BFF1 up she didn't say Disney, and I really don't know why honestly, maybe she just KNEW that I would have it on the list. Maybe it is just such a given that she didn't figure she needed to mention it. I don't know about the rest of America, but I grew up with Disney. Disney is the first thing I can remember loving outside of my family. Disney is something we have experienced together. There are maybe two Disney cartoons that I have never seen. Disney also represents the various shifts in our culture and technology. It also shows that no matter how much things change, they also stay the same. My two year old cousin loves The Aristocats as much as I did. I love Cars as much as my four year old cousin does. And I paid for a movie ticket so that I could see HSM3 with BFF1 in theaters. So even though it is a worldwide phenomenon, Disney to me is another fundamental benefit of living in America.

5) Diversity: America is a pretty diverse place. Economically, culturally, scenically...there are so many different things to experience here. For BFF1 it is exploring a small town and seeing what it is that draws people there. For me it is wondering around a city and seeing how different it is from my tiny place on the mountain. I love things that are unique and different, and I think that America really gives me the opportunity to experience those differences.

6) The Vlogbrothers: Okay, this one is a little silly, and also has spread to all corners of the world. However, John and Hank Green are amazing! Not only are they funny, they have inspired an entire group of people to embrace the nerdy part of themselves that most of us have been convinced to bury deep inside. They have also inspired us to reach out to others, to befriend people we would not otherwise have the opportunity to meet, and to stand up for what we believe in-whether it is stopping global warming or speaking out about censorship. They have taught us how to properly insult people (with Shakespeare), how to turn the other cheek, how to imagine people complexly, and so much more.

7) Smith's Rosebud Salve: Okay, this isn't really a GO AMERICA type thing. However, it is an amazing product. It fixes my dry lips, it helps when my hands get chapped from playing outside in the snow, it works as a moisturizer in a pinch, it is a miracle product! And it's made in America with all natural ingredients, which is pretty awesome.

8) Dolly Parton: Okay...this one is all BFF1. For me Dolly doesn't really scream AMERICA, but for BFF1 she really does. For her, Dolly represents the American Dream far better than Steinbeck, Elvis, or Miley Cyrus. Dolly is a small town girl who fought hard to achieve her dreams. She is a strong woman who worked hard to get what she wanted. Has she had too much plastic surgery? Sure she has, but that's her right. She has had a wonderful career as a musician, before autotuning ruined modern music. She has been in several hilarious and heartwarming movies. Best of all? She has her own theme park, and who in this country doesn't aspire to owning their own theme park? I know for a fact that BFF1 and I would LOVE to have one!

9) Our Unbreakable Spirit: So this one is a GO AMERICA type thing, but seriously! There have been so many things in the history of our country, up to and including that whole "taxation without representation" thing. So many examples- Katrina, 9/11, Vietnam, Civil Rights, and so on. All of these are examples of times when people have stood up for their beliefs and for their fellow Americans, and to me that is what this country is about. Not everyone agrees on everything and not everyone believes the same things, but at the end of the day we come together for our fellow countrymen and we care about them. Whether it is a soldier from a small town who gave his life for our country or a huge city that has been impacted by a major disaster, we all feel it and we ban together to overcome it. At least, that's what we do where I'm from.

And Last but not Least Number Ten (also straight from BFF1's list)....Us-Ally and Chelle: In her words we are on the list because "we are the coolest Americans I know." I agreed to put us on this list because we are pretty much Made of Awesome. We are diverse-I'm a nerdy bookworm who is loud and outspoken, she is a quiet fashonista who can outline the history of most any TV show or Disney movie. We have extraordinarily epic bad luck. We laugh at anything and everything. We have overcome MANY hardships between the two of us. We try to make the best out of things, regardless of how much we complain about things. We love people. We love this country. We are cheesy and silly and smart and wonderful girls, who embody many of the things on this list. So she's right...we ARE America, and that's why we are on the list.

So there it is, my love letter to America. Do you love America? If so then why? Or, like many...do you think we are completely bonkers? Probably the latter...but stick around and I promise, before long you will love us =)