I thought I looked cute this morning - I had on my favorite RL black tweed skirt, RL red merino wool turtleneck, Talbot's black flats and black tights -until I got to work and realized the tights were not black, they were NAVY BLUE. I was self conscious all day. I'll be more careful tomorrow.

I got so much shopping done this weekend. I have all of my Christmas shopping done except the person at work and my brother-in-law. I'm going to try to take care of that tomorrow.

I went with my mother to her high school graduating class's Christmas Party Saturday night. It was about 30 degrees outside so I wore my charcoal gray cashmere Chesterfield coat and my Burberry scarf. When I started to get into to the car, she said, "You're not wearing that coat are you?" I asked what was wrong with it and she said that people don't wear stuff like that anymore. I said, "They do if they're cold!" I haven't figured out what was wrong with the coat.

Boy, Gossip Girl was a shocker tonight. We're going to have to wait until January to find out what happens.

The weirdest thing just happened. A man that has been coming in the store for years walked in and held his arms out and said, "Give me a hug." It struck me as weird. I hugged him but was not comfortable doing so. He said that it made his day better. I don't want this man to make me feel unconfortable. Maybe he'll want to hug my mother and the other girl.

I still haven't figured out who sent me the invitation to the party. It's not a customer where I work, BFF has never heard of them, coworkers have never heard of them and my mother has never heard of them. I wondered if it was a mistake, but it had my name on the front of the handwritten envelope.

Last night on the way to my mother's, I stopped at Chick-Fil-A and bought a Peppermint Chocolate Chip milkshake. BEST.MILKSHAKE.EVER. If you like mint and chocolate together, I highly recommend it. I have been wanting one for over a week. I told myself if I was good on my eating all week, which I was, that I could have one Friday night. It was also my reward for getting through two weeks of mail duty.

I know this sounds weird, but to me McDonald's is my Christmas go to food. I grew up in Huntsville, Alabama and there were only 2 McDonald's, one on North Memorial Parkway and the other was on South Memorial Parkway. We rarely ever went there because it was "all the way over on the Parkway". We always went there for lunch after the Christmas parade. So now when I have a holiday activity, I always stop by McDonald's for a cheeseburger, fries and a Coke. (remember, in the South, all carbonated beverages are called "Coke") . It is sort of nostalgic.

I think I am going to start giving our Northern readers some lessons in Southern language so that they will not be confused when us Southerners talk Southern. Today's lesson:

Coke - any type of carbonated beverage. Types of coke are Co-Cola, Diet Coke, Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Dr. Pepper, and of course TaB. The person that works for Coca-Cola or Pepsi is called the "Coke Man".

Bobs - peanut butter and crackers that come 6 to a pack. A good snack is a Coke and a pack of Bobs.

Krystal - fast food restaurant chain headquartered in Chattanooga, TN that serves small square hamburgers that are steamed with small diced onion, pickle and mustard on a small square bun. The #1 is 4 Krystals, fries and "Coke". In the South, it is a challenge to see how many Krystal's one can eat.

Debbie Cakes - The box says Little Debbie. Also headquartered in Chattanooga. They can be bought 10 small to a box at the grocerry store or individually at convenience stores. They make Oatmeal Cream pies, brownies, holiday cakes, Swiss Rolls. My favorite are the Fudge Rounds and I can eat almost an entire box of Swiss Rolls in one day, if they are fresh. They also have a Thrift store in Collegedale, TN which is a favorite stop for our family.

If us Southern bloggers ever mention something that is confusing, just ask me and I will try to explain it the best I can.

It's time for me to eat a snack. I think I'll have a Coke (diet Dr. Pepper), and I think I'll eat a Snickers bar instead of a pack of Bob's.

I hope everyone has a good weekend. Stay warm where you are. It is in the 20's here now.

Today, I received an invitation to a Christmas Party/Open House. I have no clue who the couple is that invited me. It is an RSVP thing and I am afraid to call. I'm afraid that I'm supposed to know these people and it will show that I don't have a clue as to who they are. I'm goint to start asking around. Surely somebody I know knows these people.

I am sick over Tommy Tuberville, Auburn's coach. He will not be back next year. It is like a "Mini Apocalypse". Just because he had one bad season, they get rid of him. My brother-in-law said, "The sun can't shine on the same dog's but every year." I think that is true. I feel like I've been kicked in the stomach. All of those Alabama fans are gloating. Whenever Tuberville comes to my hometown, he always takes time to stop and visit with my sister and brother-in-law. We think he is a class act.





I just finished a great book, Poisoned by Gilt by Leslie Caine. It is the fifth murder mystery that she has written about interior designers Erin Gilbert and Steve Sullivan (Gilbert and Sullivan). The others are Death by Inferior Design, Fatal Premises, Manor of Death, Killed by Clutter and Fatal Feng Shui. I highly recommend all of them. The next book that I am going to read is Eggs in Purgatory by Laura Childs. She writes the Tea Shop Mysteries, Scrapbooking Mysteries and now Cackleberry Club Mysteries. I have read all of the Tea Shop Mysteries. I haven't read any of the Scrapbooking Mysteries. I highly recommend the Tea Shop Mysteries also.

This morning, I was relieved to see that Pink Cupcakes and TaB was not listed as one of the Eleven Lamest Blogs.


Yesterday, Birmingham's mayor was arrested and indicted on 101 Federal charges. There was not much on al.com about it today...but on my way home from work on the Red Mountain Expressway, there was a billboard that said "Mayor Lankford Indicted". It was an advertisement for the Birmingham News. Apparently, The Birmingham News is not a big fan of Mayor Lankford. Apparently, A Trip Down South is not a fan either.

Today, Queenie had to leave early. Her cough drops weren't working. Working for what, I don't know. She didn't act like she was sick.

Today was awful at work. When I got back from the post office, I fell between the parking deck and the building. I was trying to carry too much. I had on rubber soled shoes and my foot started dragging on the concrete and I felt myself starting to fall. I gave into it so that I wouldn't fall flat and really hurt myself. The only injuries that I have are the joints on my right pinky and the finger next to it. They bled pretty bad. Tomorrow, I'll either ask for help or carry everything in one at a time. Queenie has not helped much with the mail, but she is quick to criticize when something gets in her mail by mistake. If she complains tomorrow, I'll tell her if she can do better, she can have at it.

Yesterday, my mother and I bought ingredients for chili. We cooked a pot of chili to have for dinner. It was a dreary blustery day and chili sounded perfect. Right before we started to eat, my sister called and invited us over to her house. My brother-in-law had cooked real food, as in, green beans, mac and cheese, pork chops, fried potatoes and biscuits. We cooked some frozen crowder peas and took over there. It was so good. I brought back some chili for lunch and dinner. I need to curb my eating. I don't want to gain too much weight over the holidays.

Did anyone watch Gossip Girl tonight? I hate to say this but Vanessa is growing on me. I know a lot of people don't like her. I heard that someone was going to get killed off. I was hoping that it would not be Vanessa or Jenny. I won't ruin it for those who did not get to see tonight's episode.