You know what I miss? Mixed tapes. I used to love making mixed tapes. And burning a CD isn't the same. Not by a long shot. You can make playlists or burn CDs in seconds, but a mixed tape? That took some thought. That took time.

In Junior High, my BFF Becky and I made mixed tapes like they were going out of style. And they took time. There was no "all of this won't fit" iTunes message. You had to do the math. You'd look at the reel to see how much tape was left, and try to figure out the shortest song you had to fill the space. (We always squeezed in Janet Jackson's "Again" when nothing else would fit.) You also had to consider the recipient. Were you keeping it or giving it away? What kind of message
do you want to convey? Sometimes we'd make one side depressing songs and the other upbeat songs so the tape was versatile enough to fit any occasion. How would you make sure the songs flowed? You couldn't put two Aerosmith songs back to back regardless of how much they made you think of that certain boy. There had to be a buffer song or two in-between.

I listened to some of those tapes until I literally wore them out. Even now, there are old love songs I hear on the radio, and I know what should come next. (I guess music really does improve memory!)

Making a mixed tape was an art... An art lost on this generation. Just like kids today will never really understand what "Party like it's 1999!" means. Nor will they know why when you crank your arm while standing outside a car, the driver knows this means roll down your window.




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Honda, Chase Visa, University of the Cumberlands, my dentist, the US Dept of Education (or whoever it is that gives student loans). Add 'em all up, and what do you have? $0.00. That's right folks, I'm debt free. (Not counting my mortgage of course, but what 31 year old has their house paid off?)

Maybe when I get paid Friday, I'll take it all out in cash and roll around in it..


Actually, come to think of it, I used to work at a bank and saw people pull money from weird places. So nix that.

Maybe I'll just do a little shopping... :D



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I've sat through every second of 196 Quarters. I don't come late. And I don't leave early.

I've endured 15 overtime periods (which STRESS ME OUT!)

I've seen 2777 points scored. 1537 by the Cats, 1240 by their opponents.

If you're a LSUKFF (Long Suffering UK Football Fan) like me, this one might surprise you. 27 wins-22 losses. I knew it was close, but I thought it would tilt the other way. I guess I have Woodson, Tamme and Co to thank for that.

Of the 27 wins, the average margin of victory was 18, with 10 of them (37%) being decided by one possession or less.

Of the 22 losses, the average margin of defeat was about 14 points, with 12 (55%) being decided by one possession or less.

Why all the stat work? you ask...

Well, today is a milestone. When I enter Commonwealth Stadium today, it will mark my 50th consecutive home game. I missed the Florida game in 2003 and I haven't missed one since. I didn't set out to reach this goal. In fact, I was a few seasons in before I realized I'd not missed a game in a while. But now that I am this far, I am all in. Watch out "Superfan" Jim Brown (and all of the other people with streaks longer than mine). I am younger than you. And I will outlast you. I sat through three losing seasons with this streak. I saw Florida beat us by 45 points. Hell, I saw Ohio University beat us by a couple of touchdowns. I can take it. I have staying power.

Hopefully I will be able to write a glorious post in the morning about knocking off the Dawgs. But either way, here's to the next 50 games.

On this glorious Sunday, today I am happy for:

• You may think you have the best friends in the world, but you're wrong. I do.
  
• I love that it's just cool enough outside to elicit a breeze through my (of course) open windows, but not cold enough that the birds aren't outside chirping.
  
• This week was basically the longest week of my life
• ESPN College Game Day=Love
• Made $110 selling two textbooks on eBay the other day
  
• Pumpkin Spice creamer for my coffee makes me a happy girl
• I wish I would've gotten those Oreos at Target yesterday
  
• No tailgating again this week. Bummer.
  
• I hate Steve Spurrier
• Go Cats!
  

So people talk about finding "The One"... You know, that one article of clothing that you love more than anything else? (C'mon, did you really think I was going somewhere lovey dovey with this?) Yours may be a favorite pair of jeans or a cute pair of shoes. Mine is a hooded sweatshirt. And not just one, I actually have three that I love: The NAVY one I got in Annapolis last winter, a pink Kentucky one Kim got me for Christmas several years ago, and a blue Kentucky one that I got super cheap at the bookstore when I worked there. The last one and I have been through a lot together. Lots of cold football losses. Some cold football victories. I've even changed out the regular drawstrings with cute ribbon. If I could wear a hooded sweatshirt every day, I would. Sometimes I even get excited about cold and dreary weather because that means it's a hooded sweatshirt day! So even though the first day of my fall break is unseasonably cold, I will not complain. Because me and my trusty sweatshirt are going out on the town today!

(Author's Note: I feel like I have been doing these posts f-o-r-e-v-e-r and I am not even halfway through the alphabet yet, so I've got to get movin'!)

The ABCs of Happiness: L

Laughter- There are few things in this world that I love more than laughter. Medicine, mood changer, calorie burner--however you look at it, it's a great thing to do. Sure, sometimes I need to have a good cry (And if that's the case, luckily, I know just how to make that happen!) but there's just about nothing that feels better than a good laugh.

Lexington-(See also: Kentucky) When I was a little girl and Dad would bring me to Midnight Madness, as I sat in line at Memorial Coliseum, I'd see the college girls crossing the street and think "That's going to be me one day..." And it was. And I'm still here!



Labrynth- As far as 80's movies goes, this one has all the elements: Jim Henson puppet characters, bad green screen effects, baby-sitting, apathetic parents, amazing soundtrack, and as an added bonus: David Bowie. It's pretty phenomenal.


Lindsay- After my second year of teaching, I was interviewing candidates for a 4th grade vacancy in the classroom that adjoined to mine. This cute blond came in and answered her questions like she'd just read the SAT Vocabulary book. I didn't even know what some of the crap she was saying meant! When she left, I told the committee, "I can't work with her, she uses too many big words!" But those big words landed her a job, and this cute blond and I quickly became friends (because she's friends with all kinds of people!) =) I love Lindsay for lots of reasons, but at the top of the list has to be that she's so upbeat that I never feel bad about myself when she's around. And at times, that was saying alot! I love my job now. If you know me, you know that. However, I can say with near certainty that I don't think I will ever be as happy at work as I was the two years I teamed with her.

My blog is officially all grown up. It has a new real URL and everything! You can still follow from the blogspot address, or now from www.a-little-bit-of-everything.com.

And I'll try to get back in the habit of writing more often!

One of my favorite authors is Sophie Kinsella, the author of the Shopaholic books. Her books are funny, easy to read, and she uses a lot of voice in her writing. My favorite book she has written is called Can You Keep a Secret? (Which BTW, I am fairly certain that someone stole from my house, because I can not find it ANYWHERE...) In this book, the main character, Emma, is on a flight back to London, and the plane encounters some turbulence. As in the oxygen masks drop and everything. Emma, being fairly certain that she is going to die, decides to confess all of her secrets, and I mean ALL of them, to the handsome stranger next to her. Of course, she doesn't die, the plane lands safely, and the next day, she finds out that the man next to her on the plane is the owner of her company. Hilarity ensues.

On my way back from New Jersey last week, my plane hit a touch of turbulence itself. Not as much as Emma's and not nearly enough to spill my guts to the old man next to me (he probably couldn't have handled my secrets anyway), but enough to make you wonder. What if something happens? What are my regrets? What do I wish I would've tried? What would I do different? What would I change about myself?

But of course, my plane did land safely. And there was no hot stranger in charge of my company when I got to work the next day. And I completely forgot all those things I was going to change...

A few weeks ago, my friend Andi asked me to come to her classes to let her students interview me to practice on their questioning skills. Most were simple: "What's your job title?" " Where'd you go to college?" "How long have you worked here?" But then they asked me one that stumped me: What would you change about your life if you could? I wasn't prepared to have to think during this interview! So I hemmed and hawed around, and then decided on the fact that I think I would've been just as happy being a high school teacher as I would being an elementary school teacher. Then later that evening, it hit me. I would've taken more chances. Not been so careful. Not been so guarded.

You know, you do only live once. You've got to make it count.