November 28, 2011 · 6:00 am

Waffle Irons & Pepper Spray– My Take on Black Friday

I find it hard to digest the melee that is Black Friday.

The people in the above video are after waffle irons. Waffle irons!? And one woman even appears to be losing her pants in the chaos.

I see the news coverage of stampedes, fights, violence, people getting trampled, and the people who have camped out in front of stores for weeks, and I think, “SERIOUSLY?”

I don’t get it. I don’t. There is nothing in this world I need so badly that I’m willing to get involved in the insanity that is Black Friday. I stay home. I don’t go out. If I’m desperate to shop on that day, I’ll do it online.

Members of my family brave the madness, though. Friends do it. They head out at midnight or the wee hours of the morn to get in line and wait…and hope they’ll beat the crowd to whatever deal is their goal. I’ve heard of people who get entire families involved, preparing a strategy to race through the stores at insane hours of the night in order to snag the best deals. 

I’m all about saving money, of course. There’s nothing I love more than a good deal, but I’m not willing to risk my life for it. 

I think the thing that bothers me the most about Black Friday is that there are too many opportunities for greed to rear it’s ugly head. And more often than not, it does. And those are the stories that make the news. And it comes one day after we sit around our tables and thank God for our many blessings.

But now some people aren’t even doing that. As my husband pointed out, some people are skipping Thanksgiving all together to get in line at the store to be one of the first to get a deal.

I’m going to say it–there’s something wrong with that.

When a woman feels the need to pepper spray people because they cut in line in front of her (or for whatever reason), something is wrong.  A friend of mine got a waffle iron snatched from her hand at a WalMart at midnight.  Really–who needs a waffle iron so badly that they need to snatch it from someone? And what about the shooting that took place outside of a WalMart when some folks got into a fight? (What is it about WalMart…?)

And as the video above showed, it gets U.G.L.Y. out there on Black Friday.

And I can’t support that. I don’t want to be a part of it.

I do realize that not all people who venture out on Black Friday are insane, but it certainly appears that there are plenty of looney-tunes out there… at least evidenced by the horror stories. And those few, isolated incidents are enough to sour me on the entire “experience.”

Black Friday, appropriately named, makes me sad/scared/leery of elements of humanity. I don’t like what it’s become or what it represents. I can only imagine what people in 3rd world countries, if they had access to TV coverage of Black Friday, would think about seeing a crowd of people fight over waffle irons.

I think the beauty of thanking God for his many blessings on Thursday is being overshadowed by the greed that is Black Friday.

Share with Me: What do you think? Do you venture out on Black Friday? Have any stories to share about your shopping experience? Were you able to score any deals and remain unscathed?

9 Comments

Filed under The Christian Walk

Tagged as ,

November 18, 2011 · 6:00 am

I Should Have Prepared a Speech — I Won!!

In case you haven’t heard the amazing news, I was recently awarded a coveted prize: The Versatile Blogger Award!

This achievement was granted to me by my friend and agency-mate, Regina Jennings. And yes, there was a ceremony that took place via her blog. You can check it out here.

 So, what now, you may ask? Well, in lieu of a speech, I am to complete the following:

1. List 7 things people may not know about you.
2. Pass the award on to 7 new bloggers and let them know that they won.
3. Don’t forget to thank the blogger who gave the award to you.

So, here I go. I can only hope that this award is the step that will bolster my fledgling movie career. Oscars, here I come!

First off, a very humble and gracious thank you to Regina Jennings. If you don’t know this lady, you should. She’s eloquent, bubbly, warm, sincere, and genuinely one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. (And yes, I had the pleasure of meeting her in person at the ACFW conference this year!) She’s has all the sweetness of a real lady, and I so admire that in her. Plus, I don’t ever think I’ve seen her without a smile on her face! So Regina, I thank you for recognizing me and for calling me friend. You are a joy to know. You can check out Regina’s blog at www.reginajennings.com. 

7 Things People May Not Know About Me:

1. I am a Mary Kay consultant. Or I was for the past 5 years. I’ve enjoyed it, but I’m closing down my business because I don’t have the time to devote to it. And no, I don’t drive a pink Cadillac. Although, a free car is a free car, even if it is pink. I’ll take one if they’re giving.

2. I hate to throw up more than anything in the world. Like, seriously hate it. I get so anxious when I’m nauseated that it intensifies the problem. And lucky me, but I was violently ill with both my pregnancies. Woo hoo! In the 5th grade I threw up at school and it scarred me for life.

3. I love to go fishing. I’m not an outdoorsy girl at all, but I love to fish. On my last fishing trip, my dad and I were discussing my random love of fishing and he pegged me with, “I don’t think it’s the fishing you really like. It’s the challenge of catching the fish. You aren’t going to let a fish beat you.” He’s right.

4. I performed in “The Lion King.” I love to dance so much that I started taking classes again in college, and my hubby and I scheduled our honeymoon so that I’d be back in time for my studio’s big performance. I could go on So You Think You Can Dance. And I’d be on the gag reel of the really bad people who seriously think they’re awesome. Regardless of my lack of coordination, I really enjoy it. I think my new favorite quote came from Regina’s blog: “In my heart, I’m a dancer. In my feet, I’m a Baptist.”

5. I have a superpower. I’m a lightning-fast reader. My husband calls me a freak. I finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in about 18 hours. When given the opportunity (which is not often) I can knock out a novel in a matter of hours, not days.

6. I beat up a guy once. Okay, let’s use the term “beat up” loosely. I was a senior in high school and my sister was a sophomore. She was dating a guy in my class and I heard a rumor that he was cheating on her. So being the protective sister that I am, I cornered the guy in the parking lot after school one day. His 6 foot frame towered over my 5’4″ self, but I shoved him up against a car and threatened his life unless he a) straightened up or b) broke up with my sister. She beat him to the punch and broke up with him first. This incident is logged away in my memory as one of my finest and most fearless moments.

7. Most embarrassing moment ever– when I was pregnant with my first son, I had serious hypoglycemia. My blood sugar would drop unexpectedly and I’d faint. I went in for a checkup at the doctor and passed out in the middle of the waiting room. When I came to, I was completely disoriented and talking like a looney person. I’ve never been so embarrassed in all my life–except for when it happened at home and my hubby called 911 because at that point, we had no idea why I was fainting and he was scared to death. Remember the dude from #6 above? The one I “beat up”? Yeah, well, he was one of the EMTs to show up at my house in the early morning hours after I fainted. Yep. That’s how it goes for me.

And now to crown the next winners!!
In no particular order they are:

Heather Sunseri– one of the nicest, kindest, funniest people I know. She’s passionate and brilliant, and I am so thankful to know her. Check out her blog at www.heathersunseri.com

Lacie Nezbeth– if this girl lived closer to me, we’d be dangerous together. We parent similarly and share a sense of humor. Not to mention, she’s drop-dead gorgeous. Check her out at http://lacienezbeth.blogspot.com

Kelli Wommack– a local writer, speaker and minister, this lady is inspiring and supportive. And we’re going to have coffee one of these days because we live in the same town. Check her out at http://kelliwommack.blogspot.com

Colleen Meeks– This lady was the very first gal to speak to me when I started 8th grade as the “new girl” and I’m so happy to say that we are still friends. That’s mostly because she has a wicked sense of humor and the sharpest tongue I know. Definitely check her out at http://wordmartini.wordpress.com/

Sarah Forgrave– this chick is one of the coolest, nicest gals I know. I counted her as a friend before I’d even met her face to face, and when I did, it was like we’d known each other for years. One of the best, and I LOVE her posts labeled “writer mom recommends.” Genius!! http://sarahforgrave.com/blog/

Jeannie Campbell– when I meet someone who makes me laugh until I can’t breathe, I want to spend all my time with them. And if she didn’t live all the way across the country, this girl and I would be inseparable. Even better, she’s a licensed marriage and family therapist (always helpful) and analyzes fictional characters. Check her out at http://charactertherapist.com/

Olivia Newport- She’s a Twitter friend. She’s a writer (with a book releasing soon!) and she’s a blogger. And she’s one of the nicest people I’ve never met in person. I hope you enjoy her writing–she does it from the heart. Read some of her work at http://www.olivianewport.com/

Share with me: Have you ever won an award? What was it for?

7 Comments

Filed under Just For Fun

Tagged as ,

November 16, 2011 · 6:00 am

Worst Break Up Excuses EVER

We all hate that moment–the one where you know the relationship is over and now you have to do something about it.

Thankfully I haven’t had to break up with anybody in a long, long time and I don’t plan on having to do it ever again. (I love you, babe!) but being broken up with is the pits. I’ve made a collection of some of the worst break up lines and the reasons why.

The Psychologist — it’s not you, it’s me. And then he’ll offer 100 reasons why it’s really you.

The Gut-wrencher — I’ve met somebody else. This one hurts the worst, I think, because now you’re automatically thinking, “I’m not good enough. She’s better.” It’s the most painful.

The Vanisher — he doesn’t call, he doesn’t write, he simply disappears from the face of the earth and hopes you’ll take the hint. Coward, I say.

The Holier-Than-Thou — God doesn’t want me to have a girlfriend right now. Yech. I hate this one the most because it was used on me once. But a week later, dude was dating a new girl. Hmmm. Wonder what God said about that.

The Player — we need a break. This is code for “I want to get with someone else and still have a chance to get back with you.” Your answer should be no.

The Scaredy-cat — Sends a note or text or leaves a voicemail saying the relationship is over. I was guilty of this once. Ouch.

The Animal Rights Activist — Your cat has feline leukemia you say? That’s airborne. I have a cat too. Here’s some money for a cab. We can’t see each other anymore. My husband actually used this on a poor, unsuspecting young lady years and years ago. Yep, he loved his cat more than he liked the girl. Lucky for me, I suppose.

The Mama’s Boy — My mommy says that I can do better. And, ladies, you can do better than a mama’s boy.

The Liar — I just don’t love you anymore. Either he never did or he still does, but either way, he was lying at some point.

The Romantic– It’s just not our time. Oh, please. It probably never will be if you stick with this drama queen.

The Waffler — Let’s just take it slow. When he’s with you, he says all the right things and treats you like the only woman in the world, then doesn’t call for three weeks. He’s out and he’s in. Drop this one quickly or he’ll make you crazy.  Maybe use one of the excuses above.

Share with me: What are the worst break up lines or excuses that you can think of? Any really bad ones ever used on you?

13 Comments

Filed under Romance, Writing

Tagged as , ,