Someone's Something's Been Walking in My Snow

I was pondering today about whether Kentucky is a Southern state or not. Given the fact that I have lived here for almost exactly one month and I have seen more snow than dry ground, I'm beginning to believe that Kentucky is NOT a Southern state.

The latest winter weather event began around 5:30 PM on Friday and lasted until about Noon Saturday. In the highest drifts, accumulations were knee-deep on me. I feel safe to say that Somerset, KY received at least 8 inches of snow!

I tried to build a snowman, but the snow was so dry and powdery that it just would not stick together. Yes, TT and I had a snow-fight. Yes, I won. Yes, I did make a little Snowcream, and no, I did not use the yellow snow that the neighborhood animals may have left for us!

Speaking of animals, I decided to go out to the backyard a little while ago, and I discovered the most strange tracks in the snow. I took some pics, but they are difficult to see in the photographs. They definitely were not human footprints. Does anybody have an educated guess as to what creature has been walking in my snow???

Alabama doesn't have Trunk Monkeys...

I've been in Kentucky for about a month now, and I have made one huge discovery since I've been here. Actually, TT alerted me to this phenomenon prior to my northbound trek, but it wasn't until I settled here that I fully realized these fascinating little gems.

Trunk Monkeys.

In Kentucky, if you purchase a Suburban, you get a Trunk Monkey. Suburbans aren't equipped with Trunk Monkeys in Alabama as I recall.

I want one.

When my lil Honda finally gives up, I'm getting a Trunk Monkey.

You can go to youtube.com to see even more adorable Trunk Monkeys.

FB friends click HERE to watch video.

Dear Brad Paisley

Dear Brad Paisley,

I came to your concert on Friday night. Oh my, what a great show you have! You sound as good in person as you do on the radio!

I had to travel about an hour to get there from my house, but that's ok- TT was driving! We were a little late so we didn't get to see the opening act...Justin Moore, whoever that is:) Boy O Boy was it raining cats and dogs. Furthermore, there was a detour in the highway and neither TT nor I knew where in the world we were going.

But anyway, back to the concert. The second act, Miranda Lambert, was ok. I would have rather you just skipped her and you have done the whole concert yourself.

Your video graphics and lights were FANTASTIC!

You are just so cute! I'm giggling like a 14 year old even as I type this.

I think I love you more today than I did yesterday, Brad.

I wanted to take my camera to your concert so that just in case you called me up on stage, or especially if you invited me backstage, I could ask someone to take our picture together. PLUS...I wanted to put the pictures on my blog for my friends and family to enjoy. Unfortunately I forgot to take my camera because I was just soooooo excited about coming to the concert. Oh well...I probably would not have been able to take it in anyway. There were security guards checking for stuff...I even had to pull up the pants legs for him to check....my camera has a good zoom, so the would have likely confiscated it.

I found this good video of the concert on youtube, so I guess my friends and family can watch it. It shows clips from the whole concert.

If you ever come through Somerset, KY, please call me. I will bake you a cheesecake or something.

Very Truly Yours,
Theia



FB friends click HERE to watch the video:)

Ahhhh Yes! I've still got it after all these years!

I remember when I worked at the nursing home in Tennessee. I had a special talent that would sometimes dumbfound the physical and occupational therapists. If ever there was a difficult...errrr...stubborn....errrr...strong willed resident who refused to leave his room to go to the rehab gym for therapy, I could almost always convince the patient to join us down in therapy. I always loved the look on the PTs and OTs faces when I wheeled the resident into the gym after they had unsuccessfully made multiple previous attempts to persuade the resident.

It happened again today. Day 2 on my new job....I wheeled a grumpy little old man into the rehab gym only to be greeted by the dropped-jaw of the other Speech therapist. I love it! Yes! I do still have it after all these years!

As far as the new job goes....so far, so good. For my friends and family who have been asking, I'm working at a skilled nursing facility in Stanford, KY for THIS company.

It's raining here now, and it's supposed to rain through the weekend and all into next week.

It's bedtime for me now. I must get to work early tomorrow, because I need to be home a little early. In case you didn't know, TT and I are going to see Brad Paisley in concert tomorrow night! I'll do my best to get some good pictures...I hope it's not like the LAST CONCERT I attended where my camera was almost confiscated!!!

FB friends click HERE to see video!

i tried something new...

I tried something new this weekend. I attempted my first ever homemade cheesecake. The real kind of cheesecake! Not a Jello No-Bake deal!

Nikki Wilks...of Nikki's Hair Trix in Henagar...gave me a recipe for a sugar-free cheesecake. Don't get too excited because it's NOT fat-free.

It looked really pretty. It tasted OK. I think I need to call Nikki and ask some questions before I try it again.

I will try again:)

One special note of interest....I sliced my index finger open while attempting to remove the cake from the spring-form pan. That was at about 1:30 p.m. today. My finger is still bleeding. Maybe I need some superglue...or something like it.

end of the era....falling hard into the next:)

I'm learning that one good thing about getting older is that things that would have seemed really BIG years ago just seem like another page in the book now. After you experience one life change after another, I suppose you just come to expect the twists and turns in the storyline of your life.

You learn to accept it. Go with it. Grab on tightly to the good and bad as it unfolds. If you are brave, you learn to love the suspense of the Great Epic which is your life, enjoying each unique era, and anticipating the future with hope.

I feel like the end of an era in my life-story is upon me.

All the snow has melted now. Almost all of my boxes are unpacked. I've even stocked my kitchen with most of the necessities. The electricity, water, and garbage companies have all received their deposits and the bills will come to my mailbox...with my name on them...oh what joy! I've already received my first bill. The Move to Kentucky is done.

These are the last couple of days before I begin the new era. Tuesday marks its beginning when I start a new job in a new place. I'm very hopeful that this will be a positive chapter in my life.

I'm also settling in to this new "Era of TT"....that's the whole reason I moved to Kentucky, right? To check this man out. To see what he's all about. To determine if he's really a dirtbag gentleman or not. To acquire information about his character.

I discovered a little bit of his character last night.

My Sweet TT took me out to dinner (Mexican, it was very good). Afterwards I wanted to peruse through a store in the same strip-mall as the restaurant...he agreed without a word. Then I wanted to go to WalMart....again he agreed without as much as a sigh, huff, or puff. When we got back to my apartment, he grabbed the bags to bring them inside as I went ahead to unlock the front door.

After I got the door unlocked, I looked back just in time to see Sweet TT, with both hands full of WalMart bags, fall sideways, seemingly silently and in slow-motion, from the driveway into the yard. Not a even a grunt came from of his mouth. I stood there frozen with my mouth wide open for what felt like an eternity!

I knew that fall had to have hurt.

"Are you okay TT?" I finally uttered, my feet still glued to the front porch. By that time he was back on his feet, WalMart bags still in hand, on his way into the house.

He evidently was okay.

Then I lost it. I laughed and laughed and laughed. I tried to stop laughing, but I just couldn't. I mean, it was Obnoxious Laugh. I'm-afraid-i'm-gonna-wet-my-pants-laugh. "What hahahahahaahaha....What hahahahaaaaaaaaaaa Waaahhahahaahah.....What...Happened???" was the best I could get out of my mouth!

Poor Guy! He had escorted me around like Queen Ann all night, was bringing my bags into the house, fell while doing so, and all I could do was laugh! Laugh Hard!!!

Sweet TT just chuckled. He let me laugh. He even laughed a little.

Character....TT's got the good kind. I learned he doesn't take himself too, too seriously.

Yes, he's got character.

Me....not so much!

"I'm gonna let you put those groceries away by yourself," he said slyly.

The joke was on me I suppose....

I guess he had had enough...

....sigh.......

Yes, the former Era has come to a close, and a new one has begun. Sounds like it's gonna be a fun one. I can't wait to see what's next...

KY: Week One in Review

My landlord says it's not always this cold up here in Kentucky, but I'm not so sure. I have woken up to snow on 8 out of my first 9 days as a Kentucky resident! What a change from Alabama weather, right?

The night before my big move, my good friend Stephanie asked me if I needed a snow shovel....I said no, but I'm beginning to think that perhaps I do. Driving in the weather has not been an issue as the roads have been salted, but getting in and out of my driveway today was a challenge. I don't know how to manipulate the snow, but I just twisted and turned the wheel to get some traction as I gently eased up the sharp little hill at the end of my drive. Hopefully the snow is on its way out, and I won't have to practice my snowdriving skills much longer.

I moved into a little duplex here in Somerset. I had only seen cell-phone pictures of it before I actually moved in, so when I arrived I was a little anxious about what I would find. I had found the duplex on the internet, and after talking to the owner, Sweet T came over to check it out for me. He liked it alot, so I went with it! Sweet T did good... I could not be happier!

The duplex is very, very roomy with an open floor plan. 2 Bed/2Bath. Lots of closets and cabinets. It has a garage...which I love given the current weather conditions:) It is about a year old and looks as if no one has ever lived here. From what I understand, the resident of the other unit is a Psychiatrist who lives there part-time. I've never seen him.....so I don't know about him....Maybe it's Frasier Crane:)

I joined the YMCA this week. What awesome facilities! You can check it out HERE. It feels good to be back in an exercise routine. The real test will be when I start to work....

Speaking of the YMCA, yesterday I wore an Auburn t-shirt to work out. That really got the attention of some of the old pawpaws who were there working out, I tell ya! They had a lot of questions and comments about Auburn and Alabama and why I'm in Somerset and whether or not I will be a Kentucky fan except for when they play Auburn and on and on and on. It was soooo funny! Just hilarious!

....And when I say PawPaws at the YMCA, I mean PawPaws. Old men love me. I guess that's why I'm going back to work at the nursing home...sigh...

That's all I have to report for my first week in Kentucky.

I will leave you with a thought that has been floating around in this brain of mine as I have watched the snow fall so beautifully...

"Come now, let us reason together," says the Lord. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool." Isaiah 1:18

blogging nap-time over:)

My first home-cooked meal of 2010....turkey breast tenderloin, pintos, blackeye peas, greens, candied jalapenos, and cornbread. Not too out of the ordinary for a New Years Day meal prepared by a girl raised in the South, right?

The thing is...I'm not in Alabama any more. That's right, Toto! I'm in southeast Kentucky!

What in the world? I've been here 6 days, and I still find myself sitting in the living room of my adorable apartment wondering what in the world is happening here!

On January 4th, 2009, I would have stood toe-to-toe with anyone who merely suggested that within a year I would have packed everything I owned up onto a Budget rental truck to migrate to Kentucky. KENTUCKY, I SAY!!!!

But here I am...

I've been on somewhat of a blogging nap lately. It's not that I've not had a lot activity swirling around in this brain of mine, it's just that either my thoughts weren't "readmythoughtstoday.blogspot.com" appropriate or my thoughts were too scattered to organize into coherent sentences.

Yes, I do love a good nap...even blogging naps are necessary at times. And yes, all good things must come to an end. I feel confident that this move to Kentucky will open up a whole new can of blogging worms.

To my sweet friends who have been asking about the "Read My Thoughts" blog...

...thank you....

...and stay tuned...