It's Like Super Bowl Sunday

We love election days in our house. I'm just sad that Legare is four hours away and can't sit in front of the TV with us tonight to await the election results. In addition to the BIG ONE...we have several significant congressional and school board races in our community.

Today was also a big day for Lorelai...she voted for the very first time. I don't think she voted along the same lines as Hank, Legare and me (mainly because she's not telling who she voted for) but that is her prerogative.

My philosophy is that a person should vote for who he feels is the right person for the job using his best judgement based on a thorough understanding of the issues. And when the election is over, if his candidate won then he should be grateful and gracious in victory. If his candidate does not win, he can be disappointed but absolutely must be gracious in accepting the loss. That, quite frankly, is easier said than done, but it MUST be done. Bitterness accomplishes nothing.

Here is Lor, heading with Hank into the elementary school which serves as our polling place. She wouldn't let me take an up close shot because I rushed her and she didn't "have her face on." We waited in line for two and a half hours....saw all sorts of folks that we never get to see. It was like a little reunion and the time went by pretty quickly.

See you on the other side of election day!

We can all use A Little Loveliness in our lives...

A Little Loveliness with Melissa Lester is the new recipient of the Life of a Southern Belle Award. She hosted a fabulous luncheon last week for her daughter's preschoool class and their moms. Melissa's blog is full of beautiful photos and wonderful ideas and she is a most gracious hostess. I do believe she might be able to give some of those gals with their own television shows and magazines a run for their money.

Melissa has a wonderful husband and four adorable children. In addition to sharing her marvelous sense of style with others. she is a contributing editor to "Christian Woman" magazine and author of the book "Giving for All It's Worth." She also contributed a chapter to the recently-released book "Woman to Woman."

Go over and see Melissa and congratulate her on the award. You'll be impressed!!

Surprises on Dancing with the Stars

I'm continuing to keep "mum" on my political inclinations. Legare sent this to me and I couldn't resist posting it since it doesn't take a side. Amazing what people can do with Photoshop.

Peace on Earth...Remotely Controlling

What a week. Thanks for the comments on my 100th post and for trying to help make my wishes come true. Didn't get to 100 comments but that's OK...it's QUALITY, not quantity that counts, right? We might, however, be just a little closer to Peace on Earth! Good Job!

Our TV/DVR remote has been acting up for a couple of days. I stopped by the cable company repair office during lunch, walking in with the express intent of walking out with a new one.

The guy at the desk politely asked if he could help and when I told him the problem, he indicated that I should have called the repair number and someone would have called me back and arranged a time to come out to our house and bring me a new remote. Now this seemed silly to me as I was STANDING right there trying to save their repair guy time and gasoline, so I said the first thing that came to my mind..."But this is an emergency...my remote has lost its will to live."

He gave me a new remote.

100th Post....Goodness Gracious

This is my 100th post...THANK YOU for following and reading (even those of you who stalk anonymously) and especially for commenting!! Comments are like some kind of seriously addictive drug...the more you get, the more you want (or so they tell me). What started out as a fun little way to document the busy spring and summer as we graduated our children from high school and college and moved them out to college and law school has turned into QUITE the hobby.

In the Land of Belle, everybody gets three wishes on the occasion of their 100th post and everybody who reads the post should be required (Required! I SAY) to grant the blogger's three wishes. Here are mine:

Wish #1 - Comment (it would be way cool to get 100)
Wish #2 - I'm ready to update my Reader...tell me your favorite blog so I can check it out.
Wish #3 - Peace on Earth. Just do whatever you can. Every little bit helps.

Looking forward to hundreds more posts...

Belle

Favorites

Petunia tagged me for a fun one that I haven't done yet...I'm supposed to list a few of my favorite things in specific categories...Here goes...

Favorite Store: Gwynn's of Mt. Pleasant. I love love love this store. Southern Living says that it's "where the locals shop." If you find yourself in a fashion emergency, you can call the store owner directly...LOVE IT!

Favorite City: There's no contest...Charleston, South Carolina, is tops on my list. I've traveled all over and there's nowhere like HOME!

Favorite Sweet: I am a sweet-a-holic. Lately, I've taken a shine to Molten Chocolate Cake...the one with the gooey middle. YUM and DOUBLE YUM

Favorite Music: I was a music major in college so I like just about all kinds of music, save the songs of any genre written by people who fell compelled to promote violence and ill-will. My absolutely favorite music, though, is Beach Music (clarification...the Beach Boys are NOT Beach Music). If you're not from around here, you might not know what I'm talking about.

The Catalinas, The Drifters, The Embers, General Johnson and the Chairmen of the Board and many others played beach music as young people danced the summer nights away in the pavilion in Myrtle Beach and other places all along the coast. Beach Music is the official popular music and Shagging is the official state dance of South Carolina (our kids take lessons). There is NO better fun in this world! Click here for the 100 Greatest Beach Music Songs. (Yes, I know that in other countries the word "shag" means something entirely different).

Favorite TV Show: At the moment...LOST!

Favorite Movie: THE BIG CHILL (they shag in the kitchen scene)

Favorite Workout: My time with Todd, the Trainer is about all I do so I guess that has to be it!

Favorite Drink: This week, Fiji Water

Favorite Coffee: Gevalia, Costa Rica Peaberry....also like Starbucks Pike Place a lot.

This was a fun one....I tag MGBHLH, Carolina Girl, and Beaufort Belle.

Memory Lane..Tap Dancing Through Life

Back in the day, a dance teacher came from a nearby small town to our even smaller town to give lessons every Wednesday afternoon at the American Legion Hut. She had bright red hair piled up on top of her head and taught it all...ballet, jazz, and tap. My best friend, Carla (on the far left) and I (next to her) were in a class with two older girls, Melanie and Evelyn. This particular recital would have been at the end of our second year of lessons. Carla's mom, our beloved Miss Peggy, leaned over to my mother during our dance and exclaimed, "LOOK, Melanie and Evelyn don't know what they're doing...they're not in step with our girls AT all!"

You've got to love Miss Peggy's faith in Carla and me...Unfortunately, my daddy had his camera at the ready and the evidence is pretty compelling that as tap dancing through life goes, Carla and I were going nowhere fast!!

Slow Down

As things would have it, this week has been a dilly...I'm slap worn out. I was looking through some books on the shelf in my office recently for inspiring words for some teachers and came across a book of quotations and ideas by the name of Think Good Thoughts, Do Good Things by Nicholaus and Lowrie.

I was intrigued by the following idea...

"Celebrate a 'Slow Down Week.”'That’s right—a 'Slow Down Week.' Do everything at a decelerated pace from what you are used to—drive slower, walk slower, eat slower, speak slower, think slower…SLOWER is the word to remember. See if you can maintain this mindset beyond one week. And always keep this thought in mind: On life’s highway, spend more time in the right-hand lane!"

I don't know if I know how to slow down...in this day and age to do things more slowly seems to imply laziness or incompetence or inefficiency. But I tell you what...I'm exhausted from trying to keep the pace. I think I can drive, walk, and eat slower...maybe even speak slower...it's the thinking slower that's the hard part.

Is anybody out there willing to take the challenge along with me? How do you feel about it? Is life moving too fast for you? Think you can slow down? How are you going to do it?

Double Triple Checked

10/23/08 EDIT---First, I've fixed my misspelled words...I was seriously under the influence of my "magic flying pills" when I did the original post. Second...a couple of folks have asked for a picture of the shoes. They're the Kitty Wedge and I couldn't find a picture of the silver metallic ones I have but here is a photo of the same shoe in black...They were a splurge for Legare's graduation (I just COULDN'T wear the same shoes to his graduation that I'd worn to Lorelai's graduation just one night prior) and are VERY comfortable.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ORIGINAL POST

Security was randomly pulling folks aside at the gate as we loaded the plane in Baltimore. I was watching and marveling at some of the characters they were pulling aside. One girl had funny hair and an even funnier hat along with some kind of Pippi Longstocking tights. A couple of scraggly looking guys got stopped. Then...THEN...they stopped ME...BELLE...I had on my Chico's traveler pants and sleeveless top with a long white sweater and my metallic Tory Burch wedge heel peep toe shoes. Tasteful jewelry...not too much. I admit I might have looked a little bit tired...it's been a long day and the Baltimore airport did NOT have a Starbucks OR Cinnabon.

Here's what I think had to have happened....there's no other explanation. I had two carry on bags...Vera Bradley..one small duffel and one tote....and gasp GASP....horror of horrors....they were not the same pattern. That HAS to be what it was....I'm SO embarrassed!!!!

A Funny!

Had a few minutes to blog between my meeting and dinner. OH..on the bloglist question...I've moved everything over to Google Reader. It combines the ones I'm following with the others I want to subscribe to (so I don't know, really, what the difference is between Reader and Follower but OH WELL!)

Here's the FUNNY....On Facebook the other day, I saw that an acquaintance had updated his status with the following about his two year old daughter...

"Robert is thrilled to realize that when he heard Hope saying 'crap crap crap' what she really meant was 'clap clap clap'."

I've been laughing about that for about five days now!

I DO Love a Compliment!

About a month ago, Ellyn from A Little Piece of Heaven was kind enough to share this with me. I'm not sure that the folks who deal with me face-to-face everyday would always say that I'm "fun" so I'm thrilled that at least one of my friends in the blog world thinks so. I try really hard to keep things on the light side...heck, without something to tickle our funny bones we'd be in a world of hurt. THANK YOU, Ellyn for the vote of confidence.

I'll be passing the complement along to others soon!!

I have to be in a 1:00 pm meeting in Baltimore tomorrow (Monday) so I'll be leaving in the morning for the airport MUCH earlier than my sensibilities generally allow. Probably won't post again until Wednesday. Have a great week!

Do we stand by Dabo and the Tigers? YES WE DO!!!

I'm inspired by The Pink Owl and her post about Clemson's game yesterday. No, we didn't win. Yes, we made a few mistakes...but...Dabo Sweeney brought a renewed enthusiasm to the field, a clear love for his players, and did a few new things that gave me goose bumps (the good ones).

The players looked so handsome in the suits and ties as they walked into the stadium to suit up for the game. Dabo kissed Howard's Rock and led them down the hill to cheers the like of which have not been heard in Death Valley for awhile now. He's been interim head coach for all of six days and 80,000 people showed up to watch his first performance. Oh, NO stress THERE! Let's give him some time, why don't we...

The Clemson athletic director Terry Don Phillips, stood on the sideline with a disgusted look on his face most of the time, not appearing to serve any practical purpose unless SCOWLING is a practical purpose. He should be ashamed of himself and, as I commented to The Pink Owl, I hope Terry Don has a SOUTHERN BELLE of a wife who let him have it when he got home in regard to setting a good example...No "Life of a Southern Belle" award for him...no sireee! Hop on over to see what The Pink Owl had to say about all of this....it was brilliant!

Designing Women...Dash Goff, the Writer

One of my favorite television shows of all times is Designing Women. There are some FABULOUS lessons on being a southern belle. I like to think that I'm sort of a cross between Julia and Suzanne but more about that some other time.

In my favorite episode of the series, one of Suzanne's former husbands Dash Goff, a writer, finds himself in a bit of a slump and comes for a visit. I won't go into all the details as you might want to watch the episode sometime, but as it ends, Dash has moved along, leaving a letter and MERCIFUL days...it's a letter that any southern belle would treasure forever...

"Yesterday, in my mind's eye, I saw four women standing on a veranda in white, gauzy dresses and straw-colored hats. They were having a conversation. And it was hot. Their hankies tucked in cleavages where eternal trickles of perspiration run from the female breastbone to exotic vacation spots that southern men often dream about. They were sweet-smelling, coy, cunning, voluptuous, voracious, delicious, pernicious, vexing and sexing... these earth sister/rebel mothers... these arousers and carousers. And I was filled with a longing to join them. But like a whim of Scarlett's, they turned suddenly and went inside, shutting me out with a bolt of a latch. And I was left only to pick up an abandoned handkerchief and savor the perfumed shadows of these women... these southern women. This Suzanne. This Julia. This Mary Jo and Charlene. Thanks for the comfort, Dash Goff... the writer.”

See You on Saturday

Legare is home for a couple of days on fall break from law school so I'll be back a'bloggin on Saturday. In the meantime, I'm just curious how others approach blog reading. I'm following a number of people through the Blogspot Follower and a bunch of other people through Bloglines...trying to decide which "reader/feeder" I like best. All total I'm probably checking in with over 60 folks.

How many do you follow...how do you manage...which "reader/feeder" is your favorite?

All Sorts of Things

I need to thank Gracie Beth at Preppy Southern Princess for this wonderful award. I try really hard to exhibit the characteristics of the award...as in all things, I suppose I am successful some of the time and come up short some of the time. I'll be passing the award along soon...

Characteristics for the Smile Award are:

1. Must display a cheerful attitude.

2. Must love one another.

3. Must make mistakes.

4. Must learn from others.

5. Must be a positive contributor to blog world.

6. Must love life.

7. Must love kids.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

I got tagged awhile ago by The Beaufort Lookout and Becs Bohemia, to write seven weird or random things about myself. I did a similar post not long ago but since I am REALLY REALLY weird I bet I can come up with seven more....

1. I became a church organist at the age of 14.

2. I thought once that I wanted to be a caterer until I did two "jobs" for friends and realized what hard work it is...DANG...I was exhausted.

3. My uncle (my daddy's brother) was an undertaker who lived in an apartment over the funeral home. We'd go by to visit him a couple of evenings a week and if he was "working" we'd visit in the funeral home itself. It was all very "six feet under" and dead bodies don't really bother me much as long as they aren't the bodies of people I knew. (yes, I find it disturbing also...)

4. Because I was a church musician for nearly 25 years, having started so young, I've been Methodist, Baptist, Episcopalian, Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist, Baptist, and Presbyterian...in that order.

5. I'm not a church musician anymore.

6. I would love to own a little southern belle shop stocked with all kinds of southern, preppy and lowcountry things...clothing, shoes, gifts, books, and all manner of doodads....

7. I'm addicted to my Blackberry....SERIOUSLY addicted

I'm tagging ANY AND ALL FOLLOWERS...if you haven't done this one yet...TAG...you're it!

Rowdy Girls Weekend...the conclusion...

Let's see if the rest of those pictures will load now. Here are a few of our husbands...Hank explaining his tax plan to Louis on the dock and to Will in front of the football game, as well as a few of them throwing the shrimp net.

They actually caught us a nice little mess of shrimp that we boiled and put on the table along with our delicious steaks at suppertime. They're pretty good guys to have managed dealing with the rowdy girls for all of these years.

The Rowdy Girls (and husbands) Get Back to the Real World

We had such a wonderful time at the river this weekend. Hank is always a man with a plan and we had a great time even though the weather was rainy. Louis was interested in my blogging or at least he pretended to be which tickled me to no end. Sue, Meg and I took a little excursion out and about on Saturday afternoon, and we all ate WAY too much. It's funny how we've changed over the years, yet in our own eyes (which all now require reading glasses as we're well over the "40" mark) we still see the same six sweet young people that we were when we met so many years ago. We talked about our children, politics, education, and the economy. Hank and I love these people and are so blessed to have them in our lives. I have a few photos to share so here we go...The first pictures below are at a little cider store on Hwy 17. They have the best pickles, chutneys, jams, jellies and more. Meg is with me in the photo inside and that's Meg and Sue out

in front.

We left the roadside shop and drove a few miles to Old Sheldon Church. It is such a beautiful and historic site, burned by the British during the Revolutionary War, rebuilt, then burned again by General Sherman and Union soldiers during the Civil War. As an aside, I've often thought Old Sheldon would be gorgeous for a wedding but you just can't trust the weather (or the bugs) around here...at least I'm not brave enough.

For some reason my photos aren't uploading in an efficient manner...I spent about three hours last night just getting the above done and already awhile this morning with no results. I'm going to post these and add the others tonight....hopefully the issue will be taken care of by then. Have a Happy Monday and a great week!

Beaufort Weekend with the Rowdy Girls

Well, that's an exaggeration...we weren't really that rowdy, but Beaufort Weekend with the Didn't Stay Out Too Late Studious Socially Responsible Girls doesn't have the same effect.

Hank and I are getting together with my two best college pals and their husbands for a couple of days down at the summer house in Beaufort. Some of the best memories I have include these people. Hank was the "first husband," followed by Will and then Louis.

Sue, who is married to Louis, was my roommate for all four years of college and Meg, married to Will, was our suite mate for the last three. We all really liked Louis from the start. I can't say the same for Will...oh mercy, we did NOT like him when we met him (well, except for Meg of course). The reason...he didn't pay the rowdy girls enough attention on the night we first met him at their engagement party (imagine that) and we eventually told him so. To his credit, he mended his wicked ways quickly (not really having a choice) and we'd decided to give him a chance by the time they got married 23 years ago.

On Saturday morning, the guys will throw the shrimp net and we girls will sit around in our pajamas drinking coffee until lunchtime. We might watch a movie or a football game...maybe play cards and take naps. We'll sit on the dock and watch the sunset and then throw some steaks on the grill about dark. We'll eat and drink and and talk until we start to get hoarse and can't hold our eyes open. Sunday morning will bring more coffee drinking and shrimp net throwing, but about noon we'll have to force ourselves back into reality, clean up, and start for home. I'll be back on Sunday with PICTURES!!

Have a lovely weekend, y'all!

A Note to Tommy Bowden and the Tigers

BOYS...you're breaking my heart! What in the world is going on??

TOMMY...I'm a pretty fair motivational speaker and I'm volunteering here and now to be your life coach to help you through this. You've got too much talent on that field to be playing ball like this. I'm thinking your guy up in the booth coaching the offensive line could use my help also. Just leave me comment and I'll take personal leave and come to Clemson to help you out before the Georgia Tech game.

Your friend and concerned fan,
Belle

Life of a Southern Belle Award

Three quotation Thursday will be back soon. In the meantime, it's time to bestow the Life of a Southern Belle Award on another very worthy blogger.

The Pink Owl is one of my daily reads and a recent post, My Career and How I Got There was an incredibly interesting story about how this prissy little gal came to live her dream of becoming an honest to goodness Deputy Sheriff by way of teaching school. It ain't for the faint of heart (law enforcement OR teaching), let me tell you! (and then there is Hot Police Boy....). Last, but not least...she's a Clemson girl and in my book she's a Southern Belle all the way!!

It's my pleasure to pass along the Life of a Southern Belle Award to The Pink Owl!

I Know...It's a Bummer

After such a fun giveaway week, this week seems kind of dull. Well, dull from a blogging perspective but LIFE....whew...not a dull moment here.

Legare did a friend a favor last Friday night by driving her home from a party. Her SUV was much larger than his Passat and he bumped another vehicle in the parking lot. WELL...as he is no longer on our car insurance, he's had to try to figure this whole thing out with his new insurance company and the other two people involved and has wanted to consult (and rightfully so...we're glad he calls) his dad at every turn. (Maybe I could come up with a new lawyer joke...what happens when three law students have to negotiate a fender bender...Oh never mind...I'm terrible with jokes.) Everything is fine but it took up most of Legare's weekend after he had practice exams on Friday.

In the meantime, Lorelai has decided that she wants to change her major from Food Science/Nutrition to Early Childhood Education. I've always believed that she has the heart of a teacher...and ultimately a counselor and told her so a couple of years ago when she started thinking about college. Nutrition and exercise will always be a huge part of her life (she's SO much better than me!) but as a hobby/lifestyle and not a career. A lot of my educator friends are saying "NO, not education...it's a thankless job," but I tell you, I think that individuals are CALLED to be educators much like people are called to be pastors. (That's not to say that there aren't people in both professions who weren't called, but then they're often not very good at what they do.) I know I was called to be an educator and feel it deep down in my soul that Lorelai has been as well.

So....part of the hubbub of the week has been trying to decide whether or not she should just drop Chemistry since she won't need it. Dropping the four hour course would put her one credit hour under full time student status and that opens up a whole heap of mess, so, she's just going to have to tough it out. It won't be a barrel of laughs that's for sure, BUT we just gotta do what we gotta do with a Southern Belle smile on our face (while we grit out teeth and say ugly words under our breath) and get through it. But you know...part of the lifestyle in the Land of Belle is a PRIZE when we've had to work really really hard.

Hey Lor....are you reading this...can you say "shopping spree" when the semester is over? (Don't tell your brother or he'll be making a shopping list too!) Remember those cute shoes on Petunia's blog? I know Weezie would love to see us in Gwynn's right around Christmas time. Those peep toe pumps probably come in a bunch of colors. I got a Tiffany catalogue in the mail today...ahh...blue boxes with white bows...EVERYWHERE. (OK...maybe not everywhere but we can dream, can't we?) Lunch at Charleston Place...Copper Penny...Saks...dinner at The Woodlands. A SPA DAY!!!!!! YES YES YES YES...MAMA NEEDS A SPA DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Come on...Kick Chemistry's Patooty!!!!!!

And the Week of Jubilee Winners Are...

And what a week it was...I had so much fun and felt like the belle of the ball with all of the happy birthday wishes... I surely do wish I had prizes for each and every person. This I can tell you, I'm following each of you either through Bloglines or Blogspot follower. The giveaway might be over but you're not rid of the likes of Belle...no sireee! You can't have too many blog friends as far as I'm concerned!

Giveaway winners....You'll need to send me an e-mail with your addresses and/or choices to lifeofasouthernbelle@gmail.com

Monday: Screen Doors and Sweet Tea--Recipes and Tales from a Southern Cook
THE WINNER IS..........JJ Parky

Tuesday: Subscription to Southern Living or Real Simple, your choice
THE WINNER IS........Ellyn over at a Little Piece of Heaven

Wednesday: DVD of my favorite movie of all time…The Big Chill
THE WINNER IS......KD Lost from FROGGITY

Thursday: $25 Starbucks gift card OR $25 Target gift card, your choice
THE WINNER IS......The Mrs at One Fabulous Mom

AND TA-DAHHHHHH
Grand Prize Friday: $25 Target Gift Card, The Big Chill DVD, and subscription to Southern Living or Real Simple, your choice
THE WINNER IS......Shannon from The Scribble Pad

CONGRATULATIONS EVERYBODY!! We'll do this again next year, if not before!

Week of Jubilee- GRAND PRIZE FRIDAY

It's been a fun-filled week and I've had SO many wonderful comments and birthday wishes. Hank and the kids didn't let me down and my friends at work went above and beyond, giving me a gift certificate to one of my favorite stores, a local establishment by the name of Palmetto Moon. LOTS of Clemson items....LOTS and LOTS!
Now, for the BIG prizes...

$25 Target Gift Card, The Big Chill DVD, and your choice of a subscription to Southern Living or Real Simple.

My, my, my...if you comment today, did the giveaway post, and added me to your blog roll or followers list your name is in the hat for today's drawing 16 times!

Thanks so much for playing this week and for all of the kinds words...hope you had as much fun as I did. I'm taking a posting day off tomorrow but will do my "who won" post and notify the winners on Sunday.

Have a safe and happy weekend.

Giveaway Week of Jubilee- Day 4

If you missed my Week of Jubilee post, just click here to see the rules for the week.

And it's my BIRTHDAY! The $65,000 question is whether or not Legare will remember. He forgot when he went away for freshman year and sent me a belated card about a week later with the perfect message...it was something like, "I don't answer to anybody...I make my own rules...I'm young, I'm wild, I'm living out on my own, CALL ME COYOTE...oh, by the way, I'm really sorry I forgot your birthday."

Just one more reminder that you get extra chances for Grand Prize Friday (time flies...that's TOMORROW) if you've added me to a blogroll or followers list. Just be sure to let me know. All winners will be notified no later than Sunday, October 5.

Today's prize is your choice of a $25 Starbucks gift card OR $25 Target gift card. I honestly don't know which one I would choose since we have both not too far away.

DRUM ROLL....Grand Prize Friday...coming up tomorrow!

Giveaway Week of Jubilee- Day 3

If you missed my Week of Jubilee post, just click here to see the rules for the week. Remember that you get extra chances for Grand Prize Friday if you add me to a blogroll or followers list by the end of the week. Just be sure to let me know. All winners will be notified no later than Sunday, October 5.

Today, you get TWO chances to win if you say Happy Birthday to me in your comment. (I have to confess, I got confused when I set the rules and thought that my birthday was today...NOPE, it's tomorrow, but we won't change the rules now)

Today's prize is a copy of my favorite movie in the whole entire world forever and ever and ever. The Big Chill.

I don't know why I love it so much. Maybe it's because it was filmed in my neck of the woods but I think it's more because it reminds me of how special old friendships are. Hank and I have many wonderful friends, both old and new but there's something about the people who "knew you when"...back before you were somebody's wife or somebody's mother or the district coordinator of blah blah blah. If you're still friends with any of those people then you know exactly what I'm talking about. GOOD LUCK!

Giveaway Week of Jubilee- Day 2

If you missed my Week of Jubilee post, just click here to see the rules for the week. Remember that you get extra chances for Grand Prize Friday if you do a post about my giveaway by the end of the day TODAY and/or add me to a blogroll or followers list by the end of the week. Just be sure to let me know. All winners will be notified no later than Sunday, October 5.

Today's prize is a subscription to Southern Living or Real Simple, your choice. I really enjoy both of these magazines a whole lot and keep copies practically forever because I like to look back through them again and again. GOOD LUCK...

Giveaway Week of Jubilee- Day 1

If you missed my Week of Jubilee post, just click here to see the rules for the week. Remember that you get extra chances for Grand Prize Friday if you do a post about my giveaway by the end of the day on Tuesday and/or add me to a blogroll or followers list by the end of the week. Just be sure to let me know. All winners will be notified no later than Sunday, October 5.

Today's prize is the wonderful cookbook, SCREEN DOORS AND SWEET TEA. Leave a comment to this post if you want to win.

Check out Collage...It's Almost Giveaway Week

There's a new cooperative venture out there...a blog titled Collage-a collection of diverse opinions. Our good blog friend Jill, from Caffeine Court started it and I'm pleased to be a contributor. Our first assignment last week was the Presidential Election. Since I'm busy putting the finishing touches on my Giveaway posts for this week, I thought I'd share with you what I wrote for Collage. I encourage you to hop on over there and see what else is waiting...Jill is really challenging us to think!

The title of my post was Respect in Politics...and here it is for your reading pleasure.
--------------------------------------------------------------
I'm 46 years old (yikes, 47 next week), a wife, school district administrator, mother of two almost grown up children and lover of politics. My son, who is in his first year of law school, was a Political Science major and as you can imagine, we've had many a lively conversation over the years. In the small town I grew up in, most everybody was a believer in the "solid south." That has changed. Amazingly, in this same small town since the 1970's a number of the county offices like Clerk of Court and Probate Judge have been held by women...good solid women who were the mothers of my friends and who played a big role in the person I've become. The day I registered to vote, the Probate Judge hugged me and whispered, "If you can't vote democrat, stay home on election day." Sometimes I've followed her rule and sometimes I haven't, but I always vote, and have never voted a straight ticket ever. It's about the individual candidate and the individual issues as far as I'm concerned. I have my opinions as do you, but it has bothered me lately when I've read what I consider to be MEAN things on blogs in regard to the opinions of people who were contrary to that of the blogger...whether he or she be Democrat, Republican, or Independent. Can we not agree to disagree, and take advantage of the freedom we have to engage in meaningful discourse with respect for an opposing opinion?

In The Land of Belle (my little perfect world) people would always check things out before they passed along bad, negative, or just plain not true and out of context information about the candidate they do not like. Let's be POSITIVE and RESPECTFUL. The bottom line is this...either Obama or McCain will be the next leader of the free world and whichever one is elected, a lot of people will be disappointed. Here's the thing...I'll campaign hard for my candidate but come the morning after election day whomever has been chosen will be my President-elect and the campaign sign will be removed from the yard, the bumper sticker on my car will be in the trash can and I will be SOLIDLY behind the winner...MY President-elect, whether Obama or McCain. I encourage you to do the same.

Heading out for Clemson

It's Family Weekend at Clemson and I'm taking the day of from work. REJOICE!

Lorelai is playing in her first club softball game this afternoon and tomorrow promises much excitement as Clemson has a showdown with Maryland. Todd, the Trainer is a big Maryland fan and we have a little agreement that he's going to have to wear a Clemson shirt on Monday in honor our OUR victory. Of course, in his mind, the agreement is that I'm going to have to wear a Maryland shirt on Monday. Think good thoughts for me, PLEASE! Yes, even you Gamecock fans out there. I'm all for YOU as long as you're not playing MY boys. I've got an awful bad crush on CJ Spiller. I can't understand why he hasn't returned my calls or thanked me for the flowers and candy I keep sending. (YES...I'm joking!)

Keep my giveaway alive out there. If you missed it, check back with yesterday's post. It's going to be much fun...even more fun if you win! A bunch of people already have extra points for Grand Prize Friday for becoming followers...

We Interrupt Three Quotation Thursday for Five Days of GIVEAWAY - A Week of Jubilee in Honor of ME!!

It’s giveaway time (the first EVER) from Life of a Southern Belle because my birthday is coming up and YOU, my friends will be receiving the gifts!! How fun is that?

Monday through Friday of next week (September 29 – October 3) I’ll be offering a prize each day. To win, just leave one comment on any and all days that you’re interested in winning. If lady luck is on your side you might even win more than one day…there’s no law against that in the Land of Belle. Tell me Happy Birthday on Wednesday and we’ll throw your name in twice that day.

We’ll add two little twists to Grand Prize Friday. As usual, you can leave a comment to enter but if you are willing to feature my giveaway in a post by Tuesday night (just let me know) you’ll get an additional five entries. I’m shameless, so if you’ll also add me to your blog roll or become a FOLLOWER (or if I'm already there...just remind me), we’ll add on another ten. That means that for Grand Prize Friday you can have a total of 16 chances to WIN WIN WIN. Names will be drawn each day from a big old hat and I’ll post the winners on Sunday, October 5.

Here are the prizes:

Monday: Screen Doors and Sweet Tea--Recipes and Tales from a Southern Cook
Tuesday: Subscription to Southern Living or Real Simple, your choice
Wednesday: DVD of my favorite movie of all time…The Big Chill
Thursday: $25 Starbucks gift card OR $25 Target gift card, your choice

Grand Prize Friday:
$25 Target Gift Card, The Big Chill DVD, and subscription to Southern Living or Real Simple, your choice

Fun! Yes??

I'm IT---Tagged for the First Time

Mojito Maven over at Make Mine a Mojito has tagged me! So...I'm going to give you seven random/weird things about myself and then tag me some other folks.

1. I never spent a night in a house alone until I was a married 24 year old and my husband went out of town. Growing up, my parents would make me stay at my aunt's house if they weren't home...even after I went to college and came home in the summer. Weird, huh?

2. My brother Ned and I are seven years and one day apart in age. My mother put on a spaghetti supper birthday party for me on October 2, 1968, with a pretty good idea that she was in labor, cleaned the kitchen, put me to bed, told my daddy to call my aunt to come over, then went to the hospital.

3. Last year, I was on a team to interview applicants for a position in our organization. A woman I'd never met came in, and as I looked over her resume her address stood out but I couldn't figure out why. After about ten minutes it dawned on me. Her address in a nearby town was MY address 25 years ago for about 2 years. I asked the question and sure enough, she currently resides in the first house that we ever bought. How WEIRD is that?

4. I cannot eat an olive. If olives were the last food on the face of the earth I would be a goner.

5. I also cannot eat lamb. Maybe I could swallow it if it was a case of life or death but it would be a push.

6. One day I'm going to skydive...seriously, I am...

7. Don't judge me...I am not an animal lover.

SO...there you have it...or seven "its" as the case may be.

I tag...hmmm...how about some of my newer reads...

Buzzings of a Queen Bee

Shell in Your Pocket

Mrs. Preppy

Southern Daze

Madras and Martinis

Out on a Limb

Preppy Southern Princess

I Want to Dance With the Stars

I really do and there's no question who I would pick as my partner...Maksim...I don't usually get gaga over TV or movie types but oh My Stars (get it? Stars...LOL). Who would you choose?

Some of My Favorite Things...What Are Yours?

The Pink Owl and several others have inspired me to do a post about some of my favorite things right now. Some things are seasonal and some are not. For example, now that the weather is turning cooler, I'm again becoming addicted to (1) Aura Cacia Aromatherapy Lavender Body Creme. It's heavenly and helps me to sleep a little better also.I make coffee every morning in a french press and after trying many different coffees, the (2) Gevalia Costa Rica Peaberry seems just right to me all year 'round. I'm still a disciple of (3) Starbucks Pike Place Roast when I'm out and about, but the Gevalia variety is nice and smooth and just starts my day off right. Hank is an uncomplicated coffee drinker...whatever we have, he'll drink.

(4) Sharper Image Sound Machine. I can't find a photo to post because they've discontinued my particular model and apparently Sharper Image is undergoing a restructuring BUT...our sound machine set to "jet plane" is just the thing to filter out annoying sounds (like snoring). We thought it was broken last year and I had everybody I know searching for a replacement...turns out it was the electrical cord which was an easy fix. It wouldn't have worked for us when our kids were young and waking up during the night, but it is definitely a favorite thing now.

I adore (5) Bare Minerals make-up. I start with the primer, add the powder foundation and finish with the mineral veil powder. I high encourage you to try it...the finish is practically flawless.I don't love cleaning house but I do love (6) Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day products. All the scents are nice but the Geranium is my favorite.

(7) The Good Home Company also has some lovely cleaning products. I particularly like the laundry detergent and fragrances. They're great in combination but laundry fragrance alone makes bed sheets smell divine. You can buy it in bulk to refill the cute bottles.

I am not much of a wine drinker but Hank is, and last year Real Simple placed (8) Liberty School Cabernet on a list of things that never disappoint. He concurs...it's moderately priced and he hasn't been disappointed yet.

I do really enjoy a nice glass of port and friends of ours introduced us to the (9) Mayo Family Winery last Christmas. Legare and I made quick work of the bottle presented to us as a gift and quickly ordered more. At $35 per half bottle, it's a bit pricey but we only break it out on special occasions.

One last thing...the book that touches my heart every time I read it. I mentioned it several weeks ago when I read it yet again. It's my regular read

before each new school year begins. The Water Is Wide by Pat Conroy. Maybe it's the educator in me...maybe it's the southerner in me and the fact that I'm familiar with the setting. The movie version is Conrack (the children couldn't say "Conroy" and took to calling him Conrack instead).

Be a Follower of Belle...You can even call me by my first name if you want

I really like the new follower thingy on my dashboard. That actually sounds kind of creepy...like "the others" on Lost or some weird cult thing. Whatever...Won't you be my follower??

Oh...and this might make me sound like the biggest snobby woman in the world (and really I'm not) but in three different stores today, the salespeople walked up to me with hands outstretched and said, "Hi, I'm Sue/John/Ginger and you are...?"

I really do appreciate the people who help me when I shop, and in my favorite stores we are always on a first name basis. My favorite person, Weezie, in my favorite store, Gwynns of Mt. Pleasant, is on a pedestal as far as I'm concerned. I wear an outfit she picked out for me and I'm gonna get compliments. For general looking around though, I kind of like to live in my own little bubble when I shop...I'm not rude...I smile and speak to people...say excuse me and please and thank you, but I'm not generally out to learn the name of every person I encounter for five minutes. Maybe I should make a game out of it and give them fake names...

In yet another store, as I checked out and the 20 year old salesgirl handed back my ID she'd asked for with my credit card (I don't mind that what with all the dishonest people out there who try to use other people's cards), she said, "Thanks so much, Belle...I hope you have a great day." Yes, I appreciate the sentiment for the great day, but she does not know me and I'm old enough to be her mother...we are NOT on a first name basis. I've lived across the street from the same lady for 23 years and still call her Mrs. Jackson for goodness sake. Maybe it's a southern thing that I'm like this...or maybe I'm a very snobby woman and didn't know it, in which case this is bad...this is very bad.

Okey dokey then, perhaps I've gone a little bit around the bend here but does the "overly familiar" thing bug anybody else?

PS...don't forget to follow!! :)

I'm not THAT old!!!!!!!!!!

I've had a "crick" in my neck so I visited the chiropractor earlier this week. While there, I made an appointment to see the massage therapist for this afternoon. I put the appointment into my Blackberry calendar while standing there and headed back to work (incidentally, probably the reason that I have a pain in my neck).

I returned today for the lovely massage and once again, took out my Blackberry to see when I could schedule again for next week. The therapist, a couple of years older than me said, "You really impressed Susie (the receptionist) the other day. She said she'd never seen somebody so old using a Blackberry."

What ROCK has Susie been living under? I know lots of old people who use Blackberries...I'm just NOT one of them.

Three Quotation Thursday...What Do You Think?

We would worry less about what other people think of us if we realized how seldom they do. Ethel Barrett

Other people are worried about what we think while we're worried about what they think. Apparently, we're just one great big self-absorbed bunch of people. But REALLY, you do like me, don't you?? DON'T YOU!!!??!
---------------------------------------------------

A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it well worth the effort. Herm Albright

I'm going to give this one a whirl for a week and see what happens. When somebody throws out a negative/pessimistic thought, I'm going to counter with a happy positive optimistic thought. Want to try it with me and report back in a week?? Comment and commit!
----------------------------------------------------

"Nothing gives a person so much advantage over another as to remain always cool and unruffled under all circumstances." Thomas Jefferson

I've actually been trying to practice this for a while...sometimes I do better than others BUT, when I can stay unruffled, it can really throw the high strung person off their game.

Duh...Is that a legal term??

The day after I posted about the ungentlemanly conduct of the manager of the Atlanta Bread Company I received this comment...

"ABC couldn't serve you at 7:45 because it would be a breach of their franchise agreement to serve you anything before the opening time explicitly noted in the aforementioned agreement. Duh"

So I'm thinking "DUH"????? What the heck and who is this person commenting on my post with made up legal mumbo jumbo and a DUH!? I was about to get all BELLE on somebody...

It was Legare...

WICKED Swap

I'm pretty sure that I got the best end of the deal in the WICKED Swap hosted by The Pink Clutch. My partner Maureen from Mom Times Two outdid herself. Just opening the box was a treat...she even tied up the packages with orange ribbon for our Clemson family!

My gifts included a Wicked wood sign (and she didn't even know that Wicked is my favorite Broadway show of all time), Icky candy worms, Cute cat candies, Kitchen towels in fall colors, for Entertaining...a festive pumpkin plate, and Maureen's favorite Drink of the day...coffee (MINE TOO!!)

Thank you SO much, Maureen, for the wonderful box of goodies!

Week in Review

1. The Atlanta Bread Company across from the Lexington Medical Center right off of I-26 in the Columbia, SC area is the first recipient of the "You're Should Be Ashamed of Yourself" prize. We were sleepy and caffeine-deprived as we traveled up to Clemson yesterday morning and pulled into ABC at 7:45 thinking we'd get a little sustenance. There were cars...and people holding coffee cups and boxes of food were chatting in the parking lot. We got out of the car and walked right in the door ONLY to hear one of the voices in the parking lot yelling, "Folks...FOLKS...we do not open until 8:00 a.m...You can't go in there." Now let's review...people in parking lot with coffee and food, lights on, door OPEN! Would not selling us two little cups of coffee and a chocolate croissant been the gentlemanly thing for him to do? I say we boycott that particular location of ABC. BOYCOTT, I say! Thank goodness Starbucks a few miles further up the road did not let us down. Pike Place roast and a cranberry orange scone...very nice!

2. Lorelai made the Clemson club softball team. Yep, once again, we're pretty darn proud.

3. In one of Legare's law school classes last week, he had the distinction of being the ONLY person the professor called on for the entire session. Yes indeedy, the spotlight was on the boy! He survived and reports that he doesn't think he sounded "too stupid"; however, the fact he called to tell me about it as he was purchasing a bottle of Johnnie Walker Black might indicate that it was just a tad bit stressful.

4. If you've been following, you know that I took a minimalist approach to tailgating for the first Clemson home game. Here's how things looked this week...MUCH improved, if I do say so myself. We were so hot and hungry after the game that I neglected to get any photos of the food...chicken salad, deviled eggs, homemade pimento cheese, cucumber sandwiches, orange sprinkled sugar cookies, orange and grape soft drinks, Newcastle Brown Ale, and ice cold water. You know, the man next spot over ROLLED his eyes when he heard me say "cucumber sandwiches." Clearly, he's never had a cucumber sandwich...

I Want to Hold Your Hand

I was having a word of prayer (that’s belle-speak for a serious conversation) in a school hallway the other day with a teddy bear of a kid named Darnell. It seems that Darnell, an 8th grader, was having problems staying on task in a couple of his classes. He was daydreaming and annoying the students around him with his fidgeting. This behavior had to stop and since I had about an hour before my next meeting, my very serious question to Darnell was this…Do I need to go with you to your computer applications class and hold your hand so that you’ll pay attention, not bother other people and get your work done?

His reply…just as serious and heartfelt as he could be…Well, you can come sit by me if you really want to but you won’t be able to hold my hand. I’ve got to be able to type!

You can’t make this stuff up…

Todd the Trainer...Again

I suggested to Todd the Trainer this afternoon that if he was just going to stand there and look at me while I was being tortured by the confounded elliptical machine that he might fan me with his clipboard as it was hotter than the hinges of hades in that gym. I even offered to bring him a giant fan next time so that he didn't have to use the clipboard...seemed reasonable to me.

He declined!

AUTUMN Swap

Running Just As Fast As I Can organized an AUTUMN Swap (the first I've ever participated in ) and I just got my package from my swap partner, Preppy Chemist, over at Adventures in Grad School. As you'll see in the picture, I received Awesome candies (gummy yummy), Umber candle (pumpkin spice scent), Tailgating supplies (football dishes), Unique cookie cutters (fall leaves), Mitt (oven), and Napkins (orange, of course). Those dishes will be on my tailgate table THIS Saturday but the candy won't last that long. I just lit the candle and my family room is smelling OH so fallish. This weekend's Clemson cookies will be in the shape of leaves (with orange sugar) and the mitt will keep me from burning myself taking those cookies in and out of the oven. I'm saving the napkins for our October weekend at the Beaufort house with my college friends and their husbands. Life is GOOD! Thanks Partner!!

This is FUN!

Passing Along Awards

It's been a busy week but I'm getting there. Awhile ago Jillian, Inc. gave me this fab award that I need to pass along. I'll pass along the other awards from Zen Ventures soon. Here goes...

Recipients will need to tell us about six things that make them happy and then pass the award along to six other folks. This is what I said...

1. My job...while it can be hectic, I get extraordinary satisfaction from helping others. (
2. My Joe Muggs coffee mug.
3. Alone time with my husband.
4. Staying home on a rainy day.
5. Chai Tea Latte on a cold day.
6. A good book...

I'm passing the award along to six fab (yes, that's my word today...fab, fab, fab, fab) bloggers...You GO girls!!! I check in with you every chance I get.

Mamasphere

Pink Clutch

Happy Daily

A Little Piece of Heaven


MCC (Private Blog)

Classy Chaos

McMommy Wins the Life of a Southern Belle Award

Dang...McMommy is GOOD in case you didn't already know. Her $30 Investment post put her over the top to receive the Life of a Southern Belle Award. She managed to get her pediatrician's cell phone number in style...STYLE, I say! Hop on over there and read all about it.

Game Day...A New Obsession

Oh my goodness...we just had the most WONDERFUL time yesterday at Clemson's first home game. Hank and I are very committed to the institutions of higher learning that we attended but neither of them had a football team so our children did not grow up spending Saturdays in a stadium. Lorelai text messaged me in the middle of the game with this...I can't believe that you've deprived me of this experience for my whole entire life!!!!! So...it looks like we've become a member of the Clemson football family. I do; however, have a bit of "tailgate envy." Yesterday we went with a minimalist approach as I wanted to survey the situation, but give me few weeks and I'll have it ALL figured out by the Georgia Tech at Clemson game. You'll see a picture in my slide show of a really nice setup complete with portable satellite dish and television. We won't be going quite THAT nice...

Three Quotation Thursday...What Do You Think?

"Politics is not the art of the possible. It consists in choosing between the disastrous and the unpalatable. " John Kenneth Galbraith (1908 - 2006)

Perhaps I'm a little cynical as we wrap up the second week of political conventions. Last week was a blast (please don't call me an "eastern liberal elite"). I love conventions...it's like Super Bowl Sunday every night. I've been pretty hard on Sarah Palin this week but she just gave a pretty good performance...most definitely more appealing than Senator McCain. Too bad she can't be at the top of the ticket. I just worry about that sweet little baby boy of hers.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Here's one more from Legare....

"The Palin family should have their own TV reality show."

Well, son....it looks like they've got it! Anybody who signs on to go for the goal at this level has to expect to live under a microscope...it's just a shame that their children have to endure it as well.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Moving away from the political commentary...not being a fan of "The Wizard of Oz" this quote really hit home with me...LOL

Transported to a surreal landscape, a young girl kills the first woman she meets and then teams up with three complete strangers to kill again.
Rick Polito, Marin Independent Journal's TV listing for "The Wizard of Oz"

Whine and Cheese...Can a Man Measure Up?

How's that for a provocative post title? Hank and I went to a lovely "whine and cheese" gathering tonight. Everybody there sent a child off to college this year...some, like us, sent the baby of the family. We had a marvelous time and got to compare notes with several folks that we don't see very often. All in all each parent is holding up pretty well and our kids are happily settling in to new routines, as are we.

Blogging came up in the conversation and heavenly days, y'all know how I love attention!

The question of the night was, "Can a man get the Life of a Southern Belle Award?" I never really thought about it but I can't think of a reason why not. After all, it is MY award that I give when I feel so inspired. The award is named for ME, the southern belle, and doesn't necessarily imply that it is only to be given to women. I am inclined to declare that a man can indeed receive the award IF he can measure up. This is what I've said before about the award...Southern Belleness transcends geography....it is a philosophy...a state of mind...style and substance...wit and charm...joy and sunshine...grit and determination...love...respect, and so much more. The standards for receiving the award are high indeed. I kind of just have an epiphany when the time is right based on reading the magic words or seeing the magic photos.

OK MEN...bring it on!! I rarely run across a blog written by a man...I need recommendations! Blogging gals...whatcha got? Maybe I'll take nominations...we're going to have to think this through. Tell me what you think!