Welcome Back Curtis

Hello friends. I would like to follow up on Ande's post below, as I so often do, and report to you all one thing that has made me very glad today. Little Curtis Smith is back from China...for good! For those of you who don't know, my brother spent almost two years in Tianjin studying for an MBA through Oklahoma City University's Great Wall program. Guess what? He graduated first in his class and is now fluent in Mandarin. I think it is safe to say that the two years in China were not a waste of time.

So many, many congratulations to my little brother on his amazing accomplishments. I am so happy you are home!!

Manic Monday.

I tend to do drastic, weird things on Mondays. I am usually having an anxiety hangover from the weekend- whether I drank too much and did something weird or I am just plain tired, Monday tends to be my odd/dramatic decision making day.

I have been known to book a flight home for the weekend where there's a huge event I am looking forward to and regret it later. I have also been kwown to decide to go to Weight Watchers meetings that are full of 40 plus year olds that really don't understand counting calories and waste countless amount of money to listen to some yahoo tell me things I already know.

Well, this Monday is no different. I have been reading "The Happiness Project" for about 5 months now. I raved about how good it was when I started it...yet I have never finished the book. (It's a normal sized book. 300 pages.) I came across a section I really liked last night, and being that it was almost Monday, I decided to do it.

I am now playing the "Glad Game." It's where find something to be glad about in every situation and stop complaining. The author got the idea from the best-selling novel of 1913, "Pollyanna," by Eleanor H. Porter. To be honest, I failed about the minute I got out of bed, because I was thinking how annoying work was, how I didn't want to fill the empty kleenex box and then was thinking terrible thoughts about my morning commute.

I think I am back on my game though. I challenge others to play it, because it really makes you aware and feel silly about all the things you might complain about in a day. I just googled "Pollyanna," and was surpised to see that "Pollyanna" is actually a term used to describe someone who seems to always be able to find something to be glad about in any situation. It goes back to having your arms and legs!

And to bring truth to my whole "Monday Craziness," I woke up and decided I need to go back to school and be a labor and delivery nurse...2 hours later, I changed my profession to a teacher. You may be thinking, "she's bi-polar." I am thinking the same thing.

Please only refer to me as Pollyanna this week. I will not answer to Rhonda.

Trains, Planes and Automobiles.

By the title of this post, I only wish I were writing to say that John Candy did not pass away years ago, and he's come out of hiding and is going to make great movies again. But I am not. Although, John Candy movies are still my favorites.

What I would like to address today is air travel. I do not like it, but there is not a way around it. If you want to get somewhere quickly or if you are going on vacation, you must fly. Every time I fly, I clam up. For some reason, I am convinced that there is a possibility of crashing.

What's even worse, is before you take off, the captain comes on and says, "it will be a few more minutes, we are having maintenance problems." Oh hell, that is when I am ready to run off the plane. Or when you have to stay in a "holding pattern" in the air for a while. I am so nervous already, I don't want to fly around for the heck of it.

And I have also noticed lately how nervous I get when the captain comes on to speak. My hopes are it will be "Sully" making a guest appearance, but my worst fears are that it will be Osama Bin Laden saying this plane is not going to Vegas, bitches.

Last night on Nightline (here I go again with TV), I learned a lot of great air travel facts that have put me at ease, and I would like to share.

• The most dangerous times in flight are the first 3 minutes, and the last 8 minutes.


• An aisle seat, at least 7 rows from an exit is your safest spot. Studies show that you may not be able to move more than 7 aisles in the event of an emergency.


• 95% of people involved in a plane crash live! 95%!


• You have a 1 and 35 million chance of being in a plane crash.


• Air travel is the safest form of travel. I can guarantee you, driving on 6-35 is way more dangerous than flying...although, I can't seem to convince myself of that.

I hope these fun facts make you feel more at ease next time you board a plane. I am sure I will still clam up, but mostly during the first 3 minutes and last 8 minutes.

Big Bird Okay...Little Bird Stay Away

Growing up I was a huge fan of Sesame Street. Over the years I developed a fondness for many of the characters, but none of them came close to my devotion to Big Bird himself. I cried every time I watched Follow that Bird during the "blue bird" scene, and I almost peed in my pants from excitement when I saw him at Sesame Street Live...TWICE.

Strangely enough, over the years I have developed a strong distaste for actual real life birds. Especially pigeons and crows. I can't say I am afraid of them like my dear friend Alexis, I mean I did allow about 50 pigeons to eat out of my hand in Venice...TWICE. But, I think birds are sick, nasty animals and I really really don't like to be around them. With the exception of a giant canary who is best friends with Snuffleupagus, please stay away. I'm just not a fan of your kind.

Yesterday I returned home from work to my new place. This marked my first commute from Addison to the M Streets. Not awesome, but not bad. When I got home I walked up to my front door and reached for my keys, only to discover that I didn't need them, because the door was already open...My heart started racing, but I soon realized the only trespasser was the wind, and that Paul was safe and sound in his "room" (aka the kitchen). So I grabbed the little man and took him outside. When I returned I did a quick search of his "room" for any accidents.

Well, Paul had been decidedly good that day and held number one and number two. But, some other little creature had not done so. Who, you might ask? Well a little nasty brown bird that had flown in my door, thanks wind, and had perched on my trash can and shit all over my floor. Not giant, not yellow, and certainly not friendly like the only kind of bird I care for. This one, was just yuck.

My poor little chihuahua ran away from the damn thing and started to shake. So i grabbed him and waited outside for the closest thing I have to a zoo keeper, Liz Stutts, who was dropping off some of my stuff. She grabbed the nasty little thing and threw it outside. I kept my distance, and almost threw up.

Now, this might be something that most of you think is a once in a lifetime experience. Not so. This has happened to me TWICE. Years ago when I worked at Dream Haven in Norman a huge crow flew into the store (and by huge crow I mean really just a little wren). I stood in the corner while it crapped all over the place and shed some disease ridden feathers on the floor, and then waltzed right out the way it had flown in.

If this happens again...I am throwing a skillet at the little shit.

Stay away from me poultry,

SES

Yes.

NO.

Rambling Nonsense that probably shouldn't be posted to WWAGS.

Remember like 2 months ago when I tried to make people believe that Monday was just as great as Friday? That was wrong. Just wrong.

However, I would like to share some positive notes on being happy on a Monday morning, because I know, I for one, am having troubles with it.

I spent the night at my parents last night, so I had the pleasure of waking up to my five-year old daughter, Lucy Le. (side note: she is a dog…well, we don’t like to call her a dog, we believe she’s human, but for all practical purposes, she is a dog.)

Lucy wakes up bright eyed and bushy tailed each morning. She is so happy and excited for the day, it’s like her 4 feet can’t stay planted to the ground. She does a bouncy/bobble headed type walk.

I looked at Lucy today and said, “if only I could start each morning like you.” Bounce out of bed, scurry to the kitchen to eat breakfast, have lots of kisses to give and ready to play full force. That girl is a mover and a shaker in the morning.

So where am I going with this? I would like to share my favorite quote with the world once again: WAG MORE, BARK LESS. Dogs not only live the life, they really know how to live life.

Since I have already failed at being like Lucy this morning, I am going to start now. Might even skip to the printer.

….and on another note, I heard the best quote this past weekend: “A sponge always has to look his spongey’ist.” – Sponge Bob Square Pants. (I just loved this.)

I am feeling like a modern day Ghandi today, spreading happiness to all 27 readers.

Sarah of the Gables Turtle Creek Cityplace

Until about the age of 11, I was very into historical novels about young women: the Little House series, Little Women, Anne of Green Gables, etc. Anne Shirley of Anne of Green Gables fame was my favorite heroine (although this title was relinquished to Elizabeth Bennett during my Freshman year of college). Before Mr. Darcy and Mr. Potter came along, my dream was to live in a gabled house on Prince Edward Island, just before the turn of the century. Back then, I truly wished to be a Canadian, not a wizard.

My how things have changed...

In August of 2007, I achieved my dream of living in a gabled house, if only in name not in structure, when I moved into my first apartment at the Gables Turtle Creek City Place with Cox and Alexis. The experience at the Gables has been happy, sad, fun, not fun, busy, lazy, and annoying all wrapped into one. Spending the past three years with my roommates and neighbors Jenny, Alexis, Cox, Mary, Strueber, Natalie, Nicky Martini, Kendall, Neil, and Liz was one of the best experiences I've ever had. It was like the Commons, but way better because I actually lived there and it wasn't nasty. But, now my time at the Gables has come to an end. Only three nights left of my three year residence here. See you later Loon, mouse at my old apartment, roaches at my current apartment, West Village, Village Burger Bar (giggle Robert), Magnolia, and finally, S I carved in the wet cement outside of the old apartment. Liz and I are the last ones to leave, and although I am very ready, I will miss it all. But just as a wise old woman once said when she left the Gables and viewed young 24 year olds moving their purple and red couches into their cheaply carpeted three floor apartment, "it is the circle of life." Indeed it is Mrs. Scarff.

On Friday I will spend my first night in my first home that I own. I will give up my dream of maple leaves and Canadian citizenship and settle on the reality that I'm just a home-owning Dallasite.

Please address me as Sarah of Monticello Crossroads going forward.

Thank you,

SES

Let’s here it for New York.

The streets will make you feel brand new, and the lights will inspire you. I wish Dallas did this for me. LBJ Freeway by day and Downtown by night- nothing is making me feel brand new and the green lit buildings downtown are not inspiring me. This is why we go on vacation.

This past weekend my mother and I vacationed to NYC. Since nobody wants to read something about ME, ME, ME- I will give you the short version of my mini-vacation.

Friday:
Arrive to NYC and head to our favorite lunch place, Serendipity. Once again, their Broadway Sundae made the trip to NYC worth it. That damn sundae is to kill for. No, I don’t mess around with the Frozen Hot Chocolate.

Got my “chocolate” inhaler from Dylan’s Candy Bar. I have yet to use it. Mostly because I have had so much to eat the past 4 days I don’t want to mess around with air…but also because I am afraid it might be disgusting and ruin my hopes of finding a calorie free chocolate fix. (The past couple of weeks I have decided I must have chocolate to go. Much like a car must have gasoline. I think I might need to be hypnotized to forget this theory.)

We shopped till we dropped into Dos Caminos for dinner. All I have to say is: WHITE SANGRIA. It is to die for. My heaven: Serendipity Sundaes and White Sangria. All you need is love? No, all you need is white sangria and chocolate. (maybe a dash of love) This is also the place where my mother called me a teetotaler, (A person who sustains from drinking alcohol) because she was out drinking me. Moms!

Saw a man drop his drawers and pee on the side of the road. I am still a little stirred up by this.

Saturday:
Headed to the lower west side area for a day of fun. We brunched at the Standard Grill, which was phenomenal, and their attention to detail was impeccable.

Visited the new “Highline,” which is basically an elevated park trail. Again, the attention to design and detail on this pathway was awesome. If I lived in NYC, I would want to frequent this little gem, a lot!

After stealing Mary’s friends NYC weekend agenda, I got the idea to go to the Chelsea Market. Again, another site to see. It was like a grown up Eatzis. Fresh food, a bakery even an Anthropologie. So happy we went there.

Found the Peanut Butter Co. The older I get, the more I LOVE peanut butter. I was convinced they would have the best peanut butter cookies in the world, but they were just average. Very happy I stopped by this place. I felt like me and the people in their had something in common – a love for the good stuff. (peanut butter)

Saturday evening landed us at a Broadway Show. Promises, Promises was the name. Kristen Chenoweth and Sean Hayes both have leading roles in this new musical. It was FANTASTIC. Another must-see in my book. This new Broadway play is based off of the old movie, “The Apartment.” If you have not seen the Apartment, buy it on Amazon. Worth the $13. This was one of my favorite shows- and they let you drink in the theatre. I have never been to a show where you could bring your drink to your seat. They had adult-sized “sippy cups.” They were perfect for sipping wine.

Left the Braodway show and had dinner at Toaloache. Another great Mexican place. On the way home to our hotel, we had to walk through Times Square. Thank the Lord for Sangria and Wine. This was the night of the “bombing attempt.” The crazy thing was, nobody was really that shooken up. Tourists were just standing around watching, behind the roped off area. Due to the “juice,” my mother and I didn’t think much about it and stumbled the 6 blocks down to our hotel. My sister called scared to death and we realized what was going on, was a big deal. This incident left me with an uneasy feeling the remainder of the weekend.

Sunday:
Fantastic lunch at the Central Park Boathouse. This is one of my favorite spots in NYC.

Dinner: hope everyone is in their desk chairs. We went to Hard Rock Café. For those that know me well, this will not surprise you. I love hard rock café. It reminds me of my youth. We were exhausted and wanted comfort food. I have to say, HRC did the trick!

Monday (or should I say best day of my life?):
TODAY SHOW. Enough said. Had my 3 seconds of fame waving like a mad woman behind Al Roker. Unfortunately yesterday morning, it was pouring down rain. I am not talking a sprinkle, I am talking a monsoon. My mother and I woke up early to go see my Today show family. We go downstairs and realize how bad it was raining. She decides to stay back, and I bundle up in my rain coat. Due to the weather, I got front row seats, right next to Lenny. After my TV debut, I started feeling a little silly being alone at the Today show and walked back to the hotel. I was a mascara mess.


Got to get back to work now, but all in all, it was a GREAT weekend! Our flight yesterday was a little drawn out though- got on the plane at 1:30pm, got into Dallas at 8:15. I was not a happy camper.

And last but not least, I would like to give a shot out to Steve Jobs. Without my iphone, I would not have been able to navigate so well around that city. Raise the roof Steve.