Little Liz Stutts

Did you all know I live with an elf? She has some special abilities and some really big goals in life. Of course, this elf is Liz "Kathy" Stutts. I don't think it comes as much of a surprise to you that she is actually not human at all, and that at night she sings in elvish to our little puppy Paul, and she has the most enchanting voice. Would you like to know more about her? "Yes" you say? Good, because she is next week's friend of the week. And, to give you a little taste, Liz thinks that if she trained for four years she could compete in the following Winter Olympics events: 1) the luge; 2) the bobseld; 3) speed skating; 4) curling; and 5) (her personal favorite) ski jumping.

See you Monday Little Liz.

Working for the Weekend

I woke up this morning, stressed as usual, wondering where Paul was. He came running into my room as soon as he heard the opera blaring on my alarm clock, yes I wake up to opera, and he gave me bunches of kisses. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, took a drink of water, and finally realized, "IT's FRIDAY!!!" I have had a hellish week. This weekend could not have come sooner, and I am so glad it is here.

So in case you are bored, or need some ideas on how to spend the next two days, here is my to do list:

1. Celebrate Mary Green tonight at Hotel Belmont with my best friends.

2. Spend some time with Adrienne Jones.

3. Wake up tomorrow, figure out how I am going to watch 7 movies by 7pm on Sunday.

4. Take Paul on a walk.

5. Get my hair highlighted at Avalon Salon Snider Plaza.

6. Get my hair cut at Avalon Salon West Village.

7. Find something fun to do on Saturday night so that I don't have time to watch any 7 of those movies until Sunday morning.

8. Magically add ten extra hours to Sunday so I have time to watch all of those movies.

9. Wake up on Sunday and clean my apartment.

10. If number 8 doesn't work out...at 6:30 on Sunday call Jesse and let him know I lost our Oscars bet.

11. Watch the Oscars.

12. Do some writing.

13. Start reading You Can't Win.

Any questions?

Go play,

SES

Friend of the Week: Robert "Bobby" Scarff

From one of our favorite friends to all of our dear readers, here are Robert Scarff's Confessions Questions:

Your favorite virtue - honesty

Your favorite qualities in a man. - work ethic, loyalty, an interest in the finer things

Your favorite qualities in a woman. - kindness, big breasts

Your chief characteristic - steadiness

What you appreciate the most in your friends - lack of pretense

Your main fault - whatever it is, it is spiritual

Your favourite occupation. - being on the PGA Tour, probably

Your idea of happiness - used to think it was doing what I love for a living, now I know it is being with who I love

Your idea of misery. - Grey's Anatomy

If not yourself, who would you be? - I wouldn't want to be anybody else, but Derek Jeter if pressed.

Where would you like to live? - Lakewood, forever. Or Austin.

Your favourite colour and flower. - Any Colour You Like; tulips

Your favorite prose authors - Salinger, Hemingway

Your favorite poets. - Lennon & McCartney

Your favorite heroes in fiction. - Sam Spade?

Your favorite heroines in fiction. - Madame Bovary. Just kidding, way overrated.

Your favorite painters and composers. - Van Gogh is pretty good... Beethoven, Satie, Copland

Your heroes in real life. - those guys with the longhorns on their helmets. and my dad

Your favorite heroines in real life. - Alexis, Mamaw, Teri, Gradma Scarff

What characters in history do you most dislike. - Nazis

Your heroines in World history - The Virgin Mary, Wilson Phillips

Your favorite food and drink. - I never tire of bar b que and beer

Your favorite names. - please look at the Garland High School football team's roster

What I hate the most. - most intensely - myself; most frequently - officials of sporting events i watch

World history characters I hate the most - hate is an awful word, but Hitler

The military event I admire the most - I admire when both sides agree to stop

The reform I admire the most - don't know, but this health care thing probably isn't it

The natural talent I'd like to be gifted with - foot speed

How I wish to die - an old woman, warm in her bed

What is your present state of mind. - "tax season, damn"

For what fault have you most toleration? - ask Al

Your favorite motto. - live and let live, baby

Blank.

Blank Slate. That is me these days. I don’t have anything new going on…My life right now resembles the movie “Groundhog Day.”. I pretty much repeat the same day over and over again. Wake up, fight myself to workout, go to work, come home, catch up on some more work, go to bed. Wake up, and repeat the next day.

Am I okay with this? I guess so. Sure I would like to have better material to write about, and sure, I would like a little more excitement. But this stale period will end soon, and life will begin to look more like a twisted Lifetime movie- full of twists and turns, and I will be hoping for a “Groundhog Day” period once again. This is just kind of like a “life time-out.”

I am hoping this “Groundhog Day” period will end around 7pm Friday night during our dear friend Mary’s going away celebration. Instead of a Lifetime movie, let’s make this next phase “Boogie Nights.” I kid, I kid… sort of.

Anyways, Mary’s departure is another blog entry, for another day. Till then, I will continue to live my “Groundhog” life…. Friday, hurry up or don’t hurry up. I don’t want Mary to move.

And P.S., Elton John was fantastic. Although, I did not purchase any flair from the show. For those that know me, this is shocking. When did concert t-shirts start selling for $40?

And P.S.S. Yes, I am very excited Kate Gosselin is going to be on Dancing with the Stars. Don’t judge me. But I have to ask myself...where will her 8 kids be? I do not trust her Ed Hardy wearing "ex-hubby" to get the babysitting job done.

A Restaurant Love Affair

On a chilly Sunday in the fall of 2008, after a weekend in Oklahoma, Sarah Smith arrived at her apartment, tired, a little bit cranky, and in dire need of a glass of wine. Her roommate Alexis greeted her with a tired smile. It had been a long weekend for them both.

Always in the best mood when they were in each other's company, their spirits soon lifted with the prospect of Sunday dinner plans. Italian, they both decided. But where? Alexis remembered a unique little place on Greenville where Adrienne's mom Dotty had taken them a year ago. Terilli's! She exclaimed. Sarah was only familiar with the place as the establishment at the end of the row of a couple bars she frequented, Hurricane, where she spent her 24th birthday, Mick's, where she had her first real Irish Car Bomb on St. Patrick's day, and Greenville Bar and Grill, or GBG, as she had so lovingly learned to call it over that very summer after many many nights there with some newly-made friends. Terilli's, she thought. I might as well give it a try.

Alexis and Sarah arrived at about 7:00 pm. They took a seat on the right hand side of the restaurant right by the bar...behind the piano that had filled the dining room with music the night before. It was quiet. Their waiter only had one table other than them. Three girls sitting in the corner. Before they ordered Alexis and Sarah inquired about the Italchos, a menu item they had never heard of before. The waiter recommended they try them with steak, gorgonzola, and red onions. No, the two best friends thought, we are semi-vegetarians and aren't in the mood for cow tonight. So, they decided on an array of veggies, asparagus, mushrooms, tomatoes, onions, and broccoli. They sipped their wine and waited for their order, laughing at how romantic this evening was, and loving every second of it. It had been a long time since their last date. Both girls, enjoyed the Italchos coupled with a house salad each, and two glasses of red wine. Sarah had the house cab, Alexis a pinot that was at least $10.00 a glass. After dinner Alexis and Sarah retired to their apartment and reflected on their meal. Wow, they both thought. An undeniable restaurant love affair had just begun...

A year and a half later, following about thirty visits to Terilli's for late night dinners and late afternoon lunches, it is gone. Today, I am reminded of those mussels I only tried once, and how glad I am that I did, the best birthday party I ever had (thank you Mary, Ande, and Alexis), sitting at GBG talking about Fake Plastic Trees with Jesse, Nok, and Brandon while studying for the bar, Liz taking a spill outside and ripping a hole in her pants, the not one but two times I randomly ran into Robert and Alexis outside/inside the restaurant, playing trivia with Neil at GBG and logging my score as Sarah Potter or Sarah Weasley every chance I got, sipping wine with Kendra after the symphony, Jenny getting flustered while waiting for a table, taking every friend who ever came in town there at least once, finally eating there with my mom last month, those damn Italchos and chocolate martinis, clearly I could go on forever...if this is the end of my love affair, I just don't know what I will do.

My thoughts today will be focused on Terilli's insurance. Emit positivity. Hopefully they will be back in business soon, because, just as I feel when I am signing my check at my favorite restaurant, I am not ready for this love affair to be over...not even close!

Abbey Road...Again

In response to my posts about Abbey Road/Nice last week, a little birdie forwarded me this picture. Just in case any of you wanted to see a picture of me, Philip, and Britton traversing the famous crosswalk...here you go :)

Operation Oscars: Double Feature Failure

Hello everyone. Happy Monday. This weekend I had every intention of seeing two movies on Sunday - An Education and Crazy Heart. Saturday I ended up working until a little after 5, so I was unable to get anything done around the house, spend time with Paul, etc. So I decided instead of the double feature to just go see Up in the Air at 4:50. Well, we all know that the hockey game went into over time, and I felt like I should watch the end of it, which I did. Then I decided to wait and go see the movie at 7:20. I cozied up in my bed to read the Help for a bit. I fell asleep...dreamed about Clooney. Woke up at 7:35. I missed Clooney. I did not follow through on any of my theater-going intentions. So, instead, I just watched A Serious Man.

I had heard mixed reviews about this movie beforehand, and wasn't super exciting, but had to watch at least one movie this weekend so I chose that one. I can't really say I liked it, or that I even really understood it (especially not the ending), but I did laugh at times, and I definitely felt sorry for the main character. I guess you could say I appreciated it, but it is still nowhere close to Avatar in the running for choice for best picture. I can't believe I just admitted to preferring James Cameron over the Coen brothers. I promise people, this is the first and only time this will happen! Just so you know, I like O Brother Where Art Thou more than Avatar (Clooney, Homer, and the Coen Brothers - HELLO!!!)

I am hoping to watch one movie tonight, one tomorrow, one Wednesday, and the rest Saturday and Sunday. I have decided that I am no longer going to tell you all about my plans, because like Jenny always says, "[I] never do what [I] say I am going to do." Instead, I am just going to tell you what I think about each movie after I watch it. I won't lie about any of them I promise. You will know if Operation Oscars is a dud. I hope you care, and even if you don't, I hope you read it anyway :)

LOVE,

SES