Crrrrrassssssh...

Unfortunately, Tuesday was not the best day for me. However, it was certainly worse for the fate of my car, the little Ford Focus that could. As I was headed to choir at St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church on Route 117 in Sudbury, another driver decided to completely and blatantly ignore a stop sign in a very important place in an intersection. I had no stop sign and when I observed the driver refusing to stop, well, it was just way too late. There was an impact and I saw what I thought was smoke (it was actually the powder from the airbags), so I unbuckled my belt and leaped out of the car. A man who lived in the house at the intersection came out and told me he had called 911. I started screaming and saying that the other driver just didn't stop. And the whole time, the other driver just walked around in a daze, holding his beer belly and not saying anything to me. I honestly thought he was intoxicated, but he was not. Even so, what a jerk!! The police came like two minutes after the crash, as well as ambulances from the fire department. After a few people questioned me about my information and the circumstances of the crash, I was taken to the hospital to make sure I hadn't endured any injuries. I called my mother first, who was a little frantic, but helpful, and then I called Brian and his phone was not on! It was a bit of a nightmare, but my mom called Brian's parents and they ended up going over to our apartment to tell him. Anyway, at the hospital, they simply questioned me about the accident details and took X-rays of my chest. Brian took me home at about 10:30, three hours after the accident.

I took Wednesday off of work because I wanted to rest and I knew there would be tons of phone calls to make to my insurance company, etc. After several calls and one visit to the Sudbury police department, I finally found out the name of the other driver and his insurance information. Although the insurance companies have not yet determined whose fault it was (and this still baffles me), he was issued a citation for not stopping at a stop sign, and therefore, will be at fault. The insurance company determined that my Ford was a total loss because of the excessive damage to the hood and engine and will give me $5700 with sales tax. I don't think this is too bad, considering I had the car for three and a half years and probably paid $9400 for the car, including the interest on the loan. The only bad thing is that I just paid off the loan in August and literally received the title last week, because it had to be transferred from state-to-state.

Of course, I had to rent a car on Wednesday so that I could get to work each day. His insurance will be reimbursing me. Although I have a feeling that it might take a while. Currently, I am driving a Dodge Caliber, which I would never buy. It has the worst visibility ever.

Everyone at school was pretty concerned about me when I told them what happened. I had also called another aide on Tuesday to let her know about the accident. On Thursday, I ended up going back to the doctor to have them look at my wrist, which is quite sore and is hurts when I bend it or flex it certain ways. The doctor said it was fine and that it should heal soon. She did look at my bruises on my hips (from the seatbelt) and recommended that I take pictures of them for any legal matters. I hope this doesn't come to that situation.

The best thing to happen as a result of the accident is that I now have to buy a new car, which is something I've wanted to do for a while. Since I did pay off the car recently, I was looking forward to not having a car loan for a few years. After Brian researched several cars on a consumer reports website and edmunds.com, we narrowed our search down to three cars-- the Honda Fit, the Toyota Yaris, and the Mazda 3. Last night, we drove to the three dealerships on Route 9 in Westborough (isn't it funny how these dealerships are so close to each other). We test drove all three cars (and the Mazda 3 had a manual transmission, which I really want!) and they were all good cars, but we determined that the Yaris was not for us. Also, the odometer was in the middle of the car and the car itself had a very plastic-y feel. The Mazda was great and had a good price, but this morning we have decided to go with the basic Honda Fit with a manual transmission. The only problem is that the car is in very high demand and we will have to call around to different dealerships and may possibly have to wait a few weeks to acquire one. As for the rental car, this DB(use your imagination)'s insurance company will just have to pay for the car a little longer. He had a thirteen-year-old Toyota. Obviously, he wanted a quality car, too.

That was probably a long and tedious explanation of the events that occurred. I hope no one has to endure an event like this, but I wasn't hurt (and the other driver wasn't either) and that is the most important thing.

Oh that boy of mine, by my side, the silver moon and the evening tide...

How do I love Saturdays? Let me count the ways. Now that I no longer work at a credit union or bank, I don't have to work on Saturdays any more and I love it!! Saturday will now be my new day to sleep in (until nine today; I'm not a very late sleeper), since I will now be going to church most Sundays for choir.

Today looks like a lazy day. I'll probably go to the mall and the grocery and cook a little bit. Tonight, Brian and I have been invited to a housewarming party given by someone in chorus who I've been talking to lately. I feel like I don't really know her very well, but this is a nice gesture and she is a very nice and gregarious person (this is something I highly admire).




I've been thinking a lot about my stepfather lately. Although it's been almost a year since he's been gone, I still miss him all the time. My parents came to visit Brian and me in 2006 and we visited Salem for the first time, and when I went there with Mary and Natyra two weeks ago, it really reminded me of Walt. I don't really buy or have a lot of trinkets around our house, but I have a few things that Walt gave me that are very sentimental to my heart. One of these items is a little green stone that he bought in Salem. I don't know anything about it; all I know is that I keep this stone in my wallet so that a part of Walt is constantly with me. Walt had two daughters, both of whom my mom has tried to keep in contact with, but recently, one of them has been very cruel to my mother, especially because she is now engaged to another man. I cannot say I am surprised by this behavior because of the way my former stepsister has behaved in the past, but I am completely disappointed and I believe that Walt would be very upset with her as well. The animosity has gotten so bad that my mother has now blocked her e-mail address and has ceased contact with her. I only hope that this situation gets better for everyone involved.

One of my goals is to let Walt's spirit live through me. He was a magnanimous person who was not judgmental, he tried to maintain a positive attitude all the time, and he was all about being an individual. When I lost him, I felt that I really lost the best part of myself. When I lived in Louisville or even when I traveled there from Mass., I always felt so comfortable and so accepted when I visited Mom and Walt in their country home in Bloomfield. Their home was isolated from the metropolitan area of Louisville, and it was so relaxing being there with my parents. My parents were my good friends and understood me best of all. Now that Walt is gone, my peaceful sanctuary is gone. However, I believe that if I carry him with me forever, everything will be alright.

In the New York Minute...

View from UN Millennium Plaza!

This past weekend was one of the best I have had in a long while. As aforementioned, the fall is amazing up here in New England and not too shabby in New York City either. On Friday afternoon, I drove to Stamford, Connecticut, to catch the train, and ended up being in more traffic than I had hoped for, but that was fine. I arrived at Grand Central Station at 6:45 and walked to the UN Millennium Plaza on 44th Street between 1st and 2nd Avenue. Our room was on the 37th floor and the view was totally amazing!! Also, the decor for the room was very fresh and modern. It was certainly the best $300 I have spent on a hotel room in New York and it was even better than the Plaza near Central Park. I met Paul near Penn Station at eight and we walked around for a while looking for places to eat. We ended up at this little neighborhood joint called Duke's (mediocre) and then went back to the hotel. With both of us working in schools, we were quite tired and fell asleep instead of going out on the town (sorry Paul!).

On Saturday, we had coffee/chai tea in Bryant Park, bought tickets to see Spring Awakening, and had brunch in Hell's Kitchen. The show started at 2 pm and well, it was quite different from any musical I had ever seen. First of all, audience members were actually sitting on the stage, and secondly, it was based on a very scandalous play written in the 1890's, which I thought was simply astonishing. The music was composed by Duncan Sheik, who had a hit with "Barely Breathing" in the 1990's. Also, the show won a Tony Award for Best Musical in 2007. I'm not the most eloquent in describing the shows I've seen, but I will say that this was a musical I will never forget. I don't think Paul will, either.

We ended our short trip to NYC after we dined at a nice Mexican restaurant and headed off in different directions towards home. We will continue to keep our October tradition with a trip to New York next year!

I don't know why I go to extremes...

This is the cake I made for the party!


I'm very excited about this weekend. On Tuesday, I was not entirely excited about it because a now ex-friend let me down (I now know why we drifted apart nearly eight years ago after high school and I should never have rekindled this friendship) and the weather looked rainy in New York, but now, I am just happy to be going with my dear friend Paul, plus the weather looks sunny and about seventy degrees.

Last night, I went to another aide's house for dinner and drinks, along with the other aides and teachers in the special education program. We all had a really good time and I had one tequila shot too many (which was only one shot!). The teachers gave the aides these cute mock-awards and I received the "Sweetest" award. According to them and my blog's title, I apparently really am a proper southern belle. That is, until I've had a few drinks in me. It is so refreshing to work with people who are nice and who do not get too clique-y with each other and exclude you from everything. Honestly, I just put up with that for too long of a time.

I made a lovely no-bake cheesecake from the October Martha Stewart Living magazine for the party and I felt that it was a huge success. Also, I made a delicious butternut squash lasagna using one of Gretchen's squashes from the garden. Cooking and baking makes me feel very accomplished.

Today I have a holiday because of Yom Kippur. We also have Columbus Day off on Monday. However, today I don't have a complete day off because I have to babysit from 11 until 7. Also, I am letting my employer know that I will be quitting soon. My new choir starts next week and I will be quite busy.

In addition to the New York trip tomorrow, Brian and I are going hiking in Western Mass. on Sunday and hopefully just relaxing on Monday. I hope to read a lot of my book, The Witches of Eastwick, this weekend as well.

My days have been full of Rodeo Drive and pumpkin seeds?

I have two new obsessions; unfortunately, they both have to do with television. The less important one is my new-found love of watching reruns of the old "Beverly Hills 90210" on Soapnet. I didn't even know we had Soapnet until last week. At my babysitting job, I haven't been doing much after the kids get their homework done, so I take advantage of the family's satellite TV and now I am immersed in the world of Dylan's bed hopping, Steve's mullet, Brenda's bad French accent, and Andrea's zealous love of journalism and Brandon Walsh. Not to mention David's synthesizer "skillz," Donna's virginity woes, Kelly's perfection (almost), and the omniscient advice of Cindy and Jim Walsh. Great show. I haven't watched the reincarnation, but I don't believe it would live up the award-winning caliber of the original show.

Anyway, my other obsession is with Gillian McKeith and her show on BBC America called "You Are What you Eat".
She practices holistic health and believes in eating a lot of fruits, veg (vegetables), seeds and nuts, and oily fish. Basically, everything that is natural and good for you and what you should be eating. The format in the half hour show is that she will have a food junkie who is eating a terrible diet and will reform them for eight weeks with a kind of detox plan as well as exercise. It is quite wonderful and if I had the time, my hope is to have this kind of natural and diverse food on the table every night. I also feel like my diet is not very colorful; I should be eating more green, red, purple foods, etc. However, today I went to the grocery store and bought several good foods-- tomatoes, red pears, bananas, acorn squash, raw pumpkin seeds, and carrots. Anyway, Mrs. McKeith has a couple of books that I really want to buy for healthier eating habits.

Speaking of babysitting, I am going to be giving my notice to quit next week. The hours have been too long during the week and I haven't been able to spend very much time with my husband. I miss cooking for Brian (see above paragraph on healthier foods), going to the gym, and just having free time during the week. Plus, I am going to start singing at a Lutheran church for a small compensation. Very excited about this. I think that my employer will be upset but it is my decision.

Tomorrow, I'm going to a little place called Salem with friends. It can be very touristy in the fall, but it has a very cool ambiance this time of year. We may go to a house museum and a graveyard. I'll always enjoy day trips with friends.

All the loneliness in this world, you know it's just not fair...

Did you know that you are more likely to be depressed in the morning than at other times of day? I know this in part because I used to cry almost every morning in the shower during my last semester of college (it was a very difficult time for me).

Saying this, I wake up to find that I'm not invited to an important event and even though I live 950 miles away, it is still a bit upsetting. Actually, I'm kind of hurt, but the older I get, the less I can find any sort of full-out trust in people.

The babysitting job is getting out of hand. The mom asked me to go in the garage and check for what was making a terrible smell and it just happened to be two dead rats or mice that were maggot-infested. Yay.

Another day, another dollar. And Brian is sleeping in because he has the day off of school.