Charlie says, “Happy Turkey Days to all!”
Monthly Archives: November 2009
9 Clues You’ve Arrived Down South
They’re baaa-aaack! (My lists!) This week I’m giving you an inside look at what it’s like to be innately Southern. Just because you moved here from Ohio doesn’t mean that you really know what’s going on. Here’s some help:
1. I am the seventh person in my family to be named Margaret Elizabeth, though not necessarily in the same order. Also, my brother and my cousin have the same name as my grandfather, ditto for most of my other cousins and their immediate families. I pity the fool that has a baby and picks a name because they like it. Possible grounds for getting disinherited.
2. My husband prefers bow ties to neck ties. Because they’re hot. And he thinks it gives him a better chance of getting laid. (He’s not entirely wrong.) Also, neck ties are kind of passe. Down here, at least.
3. We recently joined a social club whose sole purpose is to get a group of people together for drinking, dancing and debauchery. It’s called Cotillion and it could not be more Southern if it tried. Also, it’s awesome.
4. We refer to people’s houses as “The Austin House” or “Bloom Farms” or “Mulberry Hill” with a straight face. And if we live at such a place, we add that title to our return address embossers.

5. I wouldn’t dream of calling my friends’ mothers by their first names, unless a) they have instructed me to, or b) I put Ms. in front of it (e.g. Happy Thanksgiving, Ms. Anne!).
6. I am in stiff competition with the rest of my friends and family for “The Refrigerator with the Most Party Invitations.” The more covered your fridge door – particularly with Crane’s or Caspari invites – the more popular you are. And speaking of popular, it is custom for us to sneak into our friends’ kitchens and spy on their fridge doors to see what parties we weren’t invited to, and who isn’t getting a Christmas gift from us this year.
7. When someone invites me over for a glass of wine, I dare not show up empty handed, unless otherwise indicated. Acceptable take-alongs are cheese straws, pimento cheese and crackers, a cute package of cocktail napkins or a bottle of wine. (Side note: this is the perfect opportunity to regift those ugly napkins you got last year for Christmas or to get rid of that expensive Costco cheese you thought would be delicious but which actually tastes like shoes.)
8. We kiss cheeks. Doesn’t matter if you’re married, single, man, woman or child. When I hug you, I will also kiss your cheek. Might tell you I love you, too, if I’ve had a couple drinks. But don’t worry, it isn’t a come-on, it’s just a term of endearment.
9. Every Southern woman knows where to find the perfect ham biscuits, because chances are, she can’t make them as good herself. Ham biscuits are good for breakfast, brunches, company, cocktail parties, tailgating, and the list goes on and on. Once you find that lady out in the country that makes them by the hot, buttery dozen, you can bet on keeping her in business for as long as she’ll make them.
For other Monday listers, visit Anna @ abdpbt.

It’s not Wednesday anymore, but it IS another day
Internet. We have to talk.
Something’s happened to my mojo, my inspiration, my desire to get out here and kick blogging ass. What is it? I don’t know. Let’s explore:
1. First of all, I’m a big fat liar. I said that I was going to provide you with a little video where you [finally] get to hear my voice in all its awful glory but y’all, I swear I haven’t had time. It’s on the to-do list this weekend. Really. It is. See? I can’t even keep my promises, much less get inspired to blow you away with my blogging prowess.
2. Birthdays abound this week, as do visits with people I never see. All this social excitement is apparently taking away the usual excitement I have for writing things down here. Don’t get me wrong: I realize this interests you none. But it is worth exploring for the purposes of figuring out where my mojo’s gone.
3. I am on . . . medication. Not the OTC pain relievers, not the good stuff with the codeine that the doctor gives you when you have a sinus infection, but the really good stuff. The stuff that makes me measurably less crazy than I was before I was on it. That’s the up side to this. The down side is that my husband is going to have to hire a hooker one of these days and again, I can’t blog to save my soul.
4. I got this new monitor at work, which I adore, but for some reason office visitors feel like it’s license to walk around to my side of the desk. If anything, I thought that this would be one more barrier between me and the panic-causers, but that’s not the case. Alas, I minimize screens a lot and body block with my feet on my desk. It’s not attractive, and it wastes time. (Time that should be spent working? No, silly! Time that should be spent blogging.)
Alright, so here we have four whole reasons that I think this blog has suffered lately. Feel free to post additional reasons below. But not before you peek at this picture of my mommy and me, taken last night at dear Ruthie’s fabulous birthday party.
It’s Wednesday, November 18th.
Probably you already knew that. But what you might not know is that it is the combined birthday of two more of my most favorite people.
My BFF Kathy turns 30-ish today, and I wish I could find words to encapsulate her right here, but I don’t have enough storage space on this here blog. Kathy has more wit than Jon Stewart, better taste than Clinton Kelly (sorry Clinty, you know I still love you oh my god we are SO soulmates please don’t leave me please please), fiercer loyalty than a golden retriever (no, Kat, I’m not comparing you to a dog) and was a better roommate to me than Chandler was to Joey. Also, she does a mean running man. I adore her in every sense of the word and strive to be like her every day. (Except on the days that I’m lazy. On those days I’m not like her at all.) She knew me when I dated my husband, she put up with me for a solid year when we were wedding planning, and she has remained my steadfast and true blue friend even after I’ve become a jaded, cranky wife. The only supper club I have ever belonged to also belongs to her, and I’m eternally grateful. Happy birthday, Higs!
Finally, I have to wish my aunt Ruthie a marvelous *&th birthday. (I’m not naming numbers, even though I think it’s incredibly exciting, but let’s just say it falls somewhere between 69 and 71. Approximately.) Ruthie is the fabulous little devil that sits on my shoulder day after day to tell me that life can be more fun if you make it that way. She is the person in my life who reminds me not to set limitations on my dreams and my talents, and she is one of my most vocal cheerleaders. Ruthie will drop everything in a second to be with her friends when they need her, and I’m proud to say that our baby pictures look eerily similar. If that’s a sign of what’s to come, I’m gonna continue to be smoking hot for quite some time. Ruthie is a spitfire, she is a treasure, and she’s mine all mine.
I love you both and wish you the happiest of happy days!
I’m still a little bit in shock, really.
So you know how when you wander around on the Interwebs, discovering bloggers and blogs, and seeing people all over Facebook and such and you’re all Hey! Check out that chick! and stuff? And while you’re doing that, you picture them in your head except not really because you’ve probably already seen their picture and so in your head you just imagine their voices and their gestures and stuff?
I’m completely disturbed at how off base I was about one of my blogger idols, Jenny Lawson aka the Bloggess. For some reason I thought – no lie – that she would have this sort of authoritative voice – not boomy, but just in-charge sounding – and Y’ALL. She totally does not. She’s got this tiny little girl voice that makes me want to put her in my pocket and carry her around, wig and all. No lie.
That said, I started thinking that maybe you all wonder what I sound like. Do I have a Southern accent? Do I say “y’all” and “um” a lot? The answers are YES and YES. Would you like to hear? Should I promise (this time with makeup and un-scary hair) to post a video here tomorrow? Or better yet, after a glass or 6 of wine TONIGHT?



