Why do I have to Do-Si-Do my way around to find GS cookies?

So I have been receiving twitters, facebook messages and texts all day about sweets...whether it be cupcakes, cookies or candy, I got to hear all about it. It made me hungry, and I knew I needed my sweet tooth fix. I did not have the energy nor the skill to try the wonderful cupcake recipes links that were sent my way, so I decided to find the girl scout cookies.

Here is the problem: When you want the Girl Scout Cookies and you do not know anyone girl scout age, it is very hard to track the cookies down. Seriously, my friend Meg got her cookies SHIPPED IN because she could not find any. I looked on the girl scout website, and I saw that the cookie sales end this weekend. This meant I needed to take action, and fast.

Rx: Find a location that sold my favorite Do-Si-Dos and buy them pronto. The problem with filling that prescription? I can not find a location to buy them. I do not want to drive up and down Broad Street in search of possible cookie locations...might be a cookie monster but not the cookie stalker.

I am lazy enough that I would even order the cookies online, but as this story shows, the Girl Scouts have outlawed the sales of cookies online. Seriously, I do understand why the GS do not allow the individual troops to set up online sales- after all- there are some very scary people out there. But why can't the GS set up a national online cookie ordering site so people like me who actually LOVE the cookies ( and set a troop record for sales back in the day, fyi) but do not have access to a salesperson get the cookies? According to the GS cookie website," These annual activities offer many opportunities for hands-on entrepreneurial activities in the Girl Scout Leadership Experience." In other words, I think this means that the spirit of the cookie sales would be defeated if it all went online. Fine. I get that. But I still want my cookies, and I had to think about how to get them. Now it was a mission.

Then I came up with the perfect solution for the girl scouts: set it up so we can zip code search locations for the cookies! Would this not be fantastic? You could type in your zip code and it would show you all the locations for the girl scouts sales for the week. I would not have to drive around looking for the random display- I could pick and choose my locations.

Yeah, unfortunately for now I will have to pass this along to my local troop when I call and ask them for the cookie information. But if they take me up on this, I could save so many my troubles of hunting down the cookie goodness!

A Snoopy Tree is Better than a Stump.

I know, I know- I have been slacking. I have been twittering more and more lately, and have been neglecting my (self-imposed) blogging duties. I promise, I did not give up blogging for lent...

I got inspired to write more than 140 characters today because one of my best guy friends and I had a fight that made me at a loss for words. If you knew me, you would understand how almost impossible it would be to get me in that kind of state. The fight itself is irrelevant to the story...it is more of how this fight made me feel.

Have you ever read the book called, " The Giving Tree"? I was reminded of this story when I was watching "Friday Night Lights". Basically, it is a story about this little boy and this tree. The little boy takes from the tree and the tree gives everything it can until it is left as nothing more than a stump. With this friend and our fight, I took a look in the "relationship mirror" and realized that my reflection looked more like a snoopy tree and not a in full bloom magnolia tree that I am. Hey- I am willing to do almost anything for a friend,but I am not going to end up a stump someone sits on. I am just surprised it took me this long to figure it out. Maybe this semi- retired thing had my mirror a little foggy?

So tomorrow I will have a conversation that no one likes to have but is sometimes necessary. I am going to put boundaries on this relationship. I am putting a fence around my snoopy tree with a lock on the gate. He needs to realize that while I am a very giving person, that self preservation instinct of mine will always kick in and he is SO in for one of my famous "come into the light" discussion. I just hope he can handle it. I may be a snoopy tree in this scenario, but it is better that I fix this situation now before I lost anymore needles...

job prospects

So I found a job for a motivated, environmentally friendly trainer. I need to be conscious of the green movement. Does it count if I always allowed my staff to order the recycled paper from staples? Or will the fact that small trees died every day because of the copier hating me go against me?

The search continues...

Possibly Two Peas in a Pod?

In the midst of having all of this Valentine's Day propaganda thrown at me, I found this great article about describing love in six words. It is really amazing how revealing six words can really be. I thought that this would be my way of participating in today that was not not sappy, but heart felt. I really believed that the recipient of my work would love the original idea much more so than a Hallmark card. Okay, it was more the idea that I could stay in my pj's that much longer, but I was sure this thought would count.

I tackled this project with much gusto and bravado. Who can not write about love in six words? I can knock this out in 30 minutes and have time to be lazy and catch the last of the Housewives of New York. And then I started writing.

Do you know how hard it is to sum up love of any kind in six words? Do you know how hard it is for someone who loves to talk, who loves to describe things in excruciating detail to sum up anything, much less love in six words? I thought I was up to the challenge. And then I tried. And tried. You thought haiku's were hard. They have nothing on this six word love story. The constant pressing of the delete button was causing my carpel tunnel to act up.

I could have given up, got dressed, and started my valentine's shopping. But then I got stubborn and decided not to give up. Writing about love in six words was not going to stump me. I could do it...maybe.

So I kept at it. I kept trying to write this six word story of love and realized I was overthinking it. Then I just started thinking about how the idea of this holiday just drives me crazy.

And before you think I am one of those Sylvia Path reading, Chinese food eating, wearing all black girls to protest this holiday, you are wrong...sort of. You see, I appreciate the fact that people want to express love, but I really think that this should be done every day, not just on a mandated holiday. It is really true...it is the thought that counts. Unfortunately for any many in my life, roses have not been the way to my heart for awhile.

I have an aversion to roses, and not just because everyone gives roses on this day. One of my ex's ruined roses for me. It got to the point that when I saw roses, I would instantly cringe and wonder what had happen...or what was going to. Roses became a token gesture, and guys were forced to expand their flower palette when it came to me. I forced them to go out of their comfort zone and visit the florist for ideas. When florist see any man I am dating, they ( literally) jump up and down at the thought of actually getting to be creative and create a beautiful arrangement. I always explained that I would much rather have different flowers, and if they wanted they could put the cash they saved towards something else. And if that something else was a sweater from Banana, I would not object.

If you have or are dating any of my ex's, you can thank me later.

Working on my love in six words has given me another reason why this holiday frustrates me. But I would not give up. I just needed the right inspiration.

While trying to write the perfect six word story of love, I procrastinate and look out the window to see the Fed Ex truck and UPS van race around the neighborhood. I can guess they are dropping off yet more boxes of long stem roses to a very happy and non jaded rose recipient. Or maybe, just maybe, they are delivering to someonewho was too lazy to go to the florist and decided to order the flowers online and have them delivered to them so they could pretend they just went out today to get them. What? You don't think people would do that...be too lazy not to leave their house to pick/create a gift but to use their computer? That is totally something my guy would do. And come to think of it...

And then it hits me. I exhale, write the title of the blog as my story of love in six words, and realize that I can be concise when I need to.

Recipe for Love

My friend got engaged on Wednesday, moved in with her boyfriend on Thursday, and got married on Monday...and no, it was not a shotgun wedding.

These two just decided that there was no reason why they had to wait and instead had a quiet celebration. In talking to both the bride and the groom, they decided that they just wanted to be together, and could not see why they should wait to do so. These two had seen too many friends plan elaborate events only to never watch the wedding DVD, and they were just looking for something simple. I loved the idea, and thought that while my friends and family would stroke out if I chose this route of wedding planning, I appreciated their bravery and was thrilled I was invited to be the witness to the celebration.


So that is how I found myself at 3pm Monday standing on a gazebo with a few other close friends sharing in the intimate celebration of the exchanging of vows. Well, it was as intimate as it could be with kids crying, mom's yelling for the whereabouts of the crying kids, and a wayward duck thinking I was its mom chasing me down the pathway to the wedding site. But hey, the happy couple had only eyes and ears for each other during the actual ceremony, and that is all that matters, right?

This was a dramatic departure from the previous weddings I have been to recently. First of all, as a witness, I was expected to sign paperwork... not sign a check for a hideous dress that would stay on my body less than a day but remain buried in my closet for a lifetime. I also did not have to spend big bucks traveling to a "destination " that I would not otherwise ever plan to go to in my lifetime to watch the union. The party the night before did not involve a visit to the local precinct, the bride did not turn out in a bat crazy bridezilla because there was just not any time for her to even ramp up, and I did not have to deal with the usual drunk and/or crazy wedding guests. All in all, I think this day worked out well for everyone involved.

After being a part of this experience, I decided that this just might be my recipe for love when I get married. Keep it short, simple, and focus on what's important...the person you are commiting the rest of your life. They decided to focus on each other and not the day, and I am definitely voting for that if and when I make the walk down the aisle. Besides, I know enough bartenders in this town that any day could really be considered an open bar for me!

However, some things- no matter how big or small the wedding- always stay the same. I bet that the justice of the peace would read First Corinthians over Colossians 3:12, and I was so right....

sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy...

I can not begin to share with you how happy I am today...it is 71 degrees in February! Seriously, I get to shed my turtleneck collection for a day and enjoy the heat.

I know, there are some of you out there that wish that you could see snow, but I should tell you that if you want snow- move to Ohio. I have friends there that would like to ship some snow your way. They weep when I tell them that we have had above freezing temperatures for more than a day. They talk of snow drifts and icy roads, and I just to rely on my memory remember what those look like. And on days like today, I do not think about global warming or how it is possible that I might not see real snow this year, but how I am like Goldilocks and enjoy weather not too hot and not too cold, but just right...


I was so happy with the weather today that I forgot that I am caspar the friendly ghost and wore a tank top to brunch. There is nothing better than yummy brunch on a deck in the sunshine, and the mimosas were just the cherry on top of my sunday(e). I do have an issue with how mimosas are served at some places.

Mimosas should not be served in pint glasses. Ever. An even greater sin is when they are served in a pint glass with ice. Seriously, you are messing with greatness, and this practice needs to stop now. I know some great brunch places that think it is easier to make pictures of mimosas and serve it that way. There is nothing finer than orange juice and champagne in a *gasp, call me crazy* champagne glass. Mimosas are like a little burst of sunshine on my sundays, and when you cloud them with ice cubes and pint glasses- it makes me sad.


As I read this post, I am a little nervous that I am writing about the weather. I mean, my dad loves the weather channel and can spend hours watching it...and as much as I love him, I so do not want to be come one of those people who spend their days talking about hurricanes and the ten day forecast in the rainiest city in the lower 48. I won't worry for now unless I start to see a pattern of weather related mo stories...