2013 Wrap Up

Wow, 2013 is almost over.  The last part of the year has flown by.  There were things I wanted to share about our experiences here including crazy Alabama football fans and their heartache over losing to Auburn, our Thanksgiving weekend in Atlanta (photo below), and other random Southern things I find entertaining, but the end of this year got away from me and I didn't make the time to write about any of it.

Anyway, 2013 has been good to us.  We've had our ups and our downs, our laughs and our cries (well, my cries), and we've now had a year and a half living in Alabama.  We've been able to go to different places and see family and friends, and we are one year older and I think wiser.  I'm grateful for all our experiences and for our Savior, for His birth and His perfect example of how to live, love, and serve.  I'm grateful for what He did for each of us and that we'll be able to be with Him again.

We look forward to what 2014 has in store.  We wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Mystery Flyer

At work a few weeks ago, I was making some copies and while I was waiting for the copier to finish printing, I noticed this quote pinned to the bulletin board behind the copier.

"Wow", I said to myself.  I knew who David O. McKay was.  Did whoever put up this quote know who he was?  He was the ninth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  He was the prophet when my parents were born.

Isn't it a great quote?  It's a good one for me to remember because sometimes I do not like work.

I took a picture of it on my phone and sent it to my family right away because I thought they'd think it was cool.  I promised I wasn't the one who pinned it on the board.  And that made me wonder which of my coworkers put it on the board? Is he/she a Mormon too?  Oh, the mystery!!!

An Invitation

I've been looking forward to General Conference this whole week!  I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints which is better known as the Mormon Church.  I love this Church and its teachings with all my heart.  Twice each year, church leaders speak to all members and nonmembers worldwide on a variety of spiritual topics which primarily focus on following Jesus Christ.  I have never watched a session of conference where I have not felt inspired, uplifted and more fully devoted to being a better person and disciple of our Savior and Redeemer.  I hope y'all are going to watch it.  You can watch it tomorrow and Sunday if you go here.

Heap Fam Comes to Bham

I might need to break up this post a bit, but I guess we'll just see.  Actually, I'm gonna do a quick rundown of the visit and then go into fun details when I have more time (I'm so tired).  Last weekend, my mom and dad and youngest brother came from San Diego to stay with us in Birmingham.  It was SO MUCH FUN.  They were our first official visitors to come stay with us and see where we live.  It was their first time in Alabama and I'm pretty sure they weren't disappointed.  We got to do things I had already done as well as some new things, and we ate lots of good food, of course.  Here's what we did:

Vulcan Park

Antebellum Home & Gardens

Sloss Furnaces

Birmingham Civil Rights Institute

University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa on Game Day

There was also lots of food, games, talking, and hanging out all in between.  We also did a really interesting walking tour of Kelly Ingram Park which was definitely a highlight, but I have no pictures.

After I took my family back to the airport Monday morning, went to work, and then came home, our apartment felt empty and lonely.  I thought I was just a little crazy, but then Newel said it seemed quiet without my family there.  We both missed them!  I guess we could have lived in a less fun place and it still would have been great to have them, but I'm glad we moved to Birmingham so they could visit us here and see a new part of the country.  It was fun for me to see all the fun attractions here too because I can now better appreciate all the history and culture that makes Birmingham the great city it is.

Some old drafts

When I started this blog, I started making lots of drafts of posts I thought I wanted to write and then I never finished/posted them (usually because I didn't have photos to go with them and aren't blogs more fun when there are photos?!).  I just came across these drafts and thought I would share.  Here are some of the first things I felt or noticed when we were very new to Alabama:

Thursday, August 2, 2012 - Red Delicious
I love apples.  I usually eat an apple every single day.  My favorite kinds are Gala and Fuji, and I like Granny Smith if I'm feeling the tart taste.  I've never liked Red Delicious.  The primary factor for me in liking an apple is the crispiness.  If I get a mushy apple, I can't eat it, and I hate wasting food so it's a big deal when I can't eat something.  Almost every time I've had a Red Delicious, it's been mushy.  So I gave up on them.  But here in the South, the Red Delicious apples are crispy, and I'm really liking them.  And it's not just Birmingham, it's Atlanta too because I've had Red Delicious apples there and they were good.  Maybe it takes longer to ship them out west, and they get mushy by the time their sold in the grocery store.  I don't know.  If you don't like Red Delicious, try them when you come south. 
Today's response to this draft - I've had mushy Red Delicious since writing this post...  Maybe Red Delicious are just hit or miss.

Thursday, August 9, 2012 - Rain
It rains like crazy here!  It doesn’t rain all the time, but when it rains, it really does pour.  I first night here, Newel and I woke up to thunder and lightning and a downpour.  I’ve never seen it rain so much.  It doesn’t rain out West like it does here.  Growing up in San Diego, it didn’t rain much, and in Utah, when it did rain, it was usually snow.  The rain here kind of comes out of nowhere too.  It might be kind of cloudy, but then all of the sudden really big gray clouds come, it gets pretty dark and it just starts pouring.  It’s cool to experience if you’re inside, but yesterday I was running errands, and it started, and I had no umbrella and was wearing flip flops because it was hot.  That was a little adventure just getting to my car.
Today's response to this draft - Yeah, it still rains like crazy here sometimes.  It rained a lot this last summer.  That's why the heat was so mild this year.  I've also learned to always carry an umbrella with me because you never know when you might be stuck in a rainstorm in flip flops.

Thursday, September 27, 2012 - Beautiful Feet
After 8 years of dry, cold weather experienced in Utah, and 2 months of recovery in humid, hot Birmingham, I finally have my San Diegan feet back (i.e., feet with no extra layer of calloused skin and no need to slather them with thick foot cream every single day)!  But I still have my broken-looking pinky toe, which I love because I love every bit of myself. :)
Today's response to this draft - Yep, my skin is not as dried out, especially my feet.  I do have to lotion up every few days though.  And yep, my pinky toe is still broken-looking; always has been and always will be.

Well those were my drafts.  Kind of fun for me just to read them.  And I'm glad I remembered to finally post them.

Uhhh...

I remember a year or so ago, my sister-in-law wrote about having a blog block, meaning she was having a hard time coming up with what to write about.  I know what she felt like now because I'm having major blog block.  I haven't forgotten about my blog, and I haven't been procrastinating putting something up on the blog, but I just can't think of what to write about.  We haven't taken any pictures lately either.  Maybe I can tell y'all about Lloyd's Restaurant sometime.  It's where all the local old people dine and we've had some pleasant/funny experiences there.  I guess for now I'll just end this meaningless post with a Southern saying I heard today:

"He'll be on you like a rat on a cheeto."

I can't even remember the context now, but I don't think explaining it would make a difference. :)  Happy Wednesday.

Preferable Roadkill

Last month, I wrote about the never-ending roadkill in Birmingham.  That hasn't changed.  But I noticed something else that I think is rather interesting.  Two times in the last week, I've come across armadillo roadkill and it's a much better sight compared to other animals because the armadillos stay in one piece.  They kind of look like they're stuffed, and they're just lying on their backs with their feet up; not broken up with flesh & blood all over the place.  They're the kind of roadkill I don't mind seeing. :)  I hadn't noticed any armadillos since this last week; maybe armadillos come out at the end of July...

ONE YEAR

On Tuesday, July 30th, Newel and I hit our one year mark since moving to Birmingham.  I wanted to do something fun to celebrate our year mark.  I was thinking we could go out to eat some fried chicken and collard greens and then looking for some wild boars in Liberty Park.  It's not like it was our wedding anniversary, but I wanted to do something special and Southern-ish since coming here was a very big step out of my comfort zone and I felt very proud for being here one year without running back to Utah because I couldn't handle it. :)

Alas, it just didn't work out to do something like that.  Newel has been really busy at work, and he ended up getting off work even later than expected on Tuesday.  He hurried home, we ate some good leftovers and then went to visit some families we go to church with that we really love.  Then we went home and went to bed because we were tuckered out.  It was kind of anti-climatic, but it's funny because being here a year wasn't that big of a deal so it was probably fitting that we just had a normal day.  I think being here a year was just a big deal in my head. :)

I remember dates really well, and I like to think about where I was a year ago and then think about how much I've learned and how much I've grown and how much better I am now that I've had another year's worth of experiences.  I like to call them "let's celebrate me moments" that I can have all by myself.  Sometimes I invite Newel to "let's celebrate me" because he's my number one fan. :)

Jokes aside, there's so much I want to share about being here a year, but I can't find the words to describe it.  We feel really grateful to be here.  There are people we've met and experiences we've had that we would not have been able to meet and experience anywhere else, and that seems so weird because we wouldn't be who we are now without them.  We are better people because we've been here in Birmingham this last year.  This is where we've needed to be, and I believe where ever any one is right now is where they need to be.  Does that make sense?  I believe my brothers in Utah, my sister in Texas, and the rest of my family in San Diego are all meeting the people and having the experiences they need to have to continue becoming the better people God wants them to be.  I just wish someone had a camera filming all of them so I could share in all the great things that are going on in all their lives.  Oh how I miss them and love them.

With all that in mind, I'm looking forward to another year in Birmingham.  I'm glad to be here.

Homes of the GD

So it's been almost two months since we visited New Orleans, but I took lots of pictures and there was lots of stuff to share so this is the third and probably final post of what we did there.

Our last morning in New Orleans, we took a walking tour of the Garden District.  I definitely recommend walking tours if you like to learn some of the history/background and get a feel for what you're learning about because you're walking around and seeing everything.  What I remember most about the Garden District were all the beautiful houses.  Apparently, the Garden District was built by Americans that moved to New Orleans after the Louisiana Purchase who didn't want to live with the French/Cajun people in the French Quarter.  The neighborhood is a little classier in my opinion - it's more quiet and has a nice neighborhood feel.  Anyway, back to what I was saying - the houses.  Beautifully built and very cool.  I'm just gonna post a picture of a house and tell what I learned about it.

Anne Rice, author of Interview with a Vampire, lived in this house and then Nicholas Cage later lived in it, but then he had to give it up because of all his money problems.

Archie Manning's house - I thought my dad and brothers might think this house would be cool to see.  Can't you imagine little Peyton and Eli throwing the football with their dad in the frontyard?

This house was Walt Disney's inspiration for the haunted mansion ride at Disneyland.  This house reminded me of all my family that loves Disneyland (especially Stacy).  I can see it, but I totally thought this next house would be better inspiration for that ride.

Isn't that tree in front creepy?

John Goodman's house - They say he's out on his lawn a lot and will talk to people passing by.  He wasn't out when we were there.

Sandra Bullock's house - well one of them I'm sure.  She bought this house when she adopted a baby from New Orleans.

Nothing famous about this house as far as I know, but I really liked it so I took a picture.  I think the staircase leading up to the front door is cool.

I took more than just house pictures.  The Garden District has a pretty interesting graveyard/cemetery and a cool restaurant and lots of cool shops on Magazine Street that we checked out.  It was a very enjoyable experience in the GD.

Back to Nashville

 A few weeks ago (actually almost a month ago), I went up to Nashville for a girls trip with two of my best friends from college, Lauren and Julia.  

We did so many fun things including walking up and down Music Row, going to the Country Music Hall of Fame, hanging out in the District, checking out Opryland/the Grand Ole Opry, walking around Centennial Park, and going to the Bluebird Cafe.  

And, of course, we hit up some of the best places to eat including Pancake Pantry, Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream, Monell's, and Loveless Cafe.  

I recommend every single thing we did and every single place we ate.  Seriously, two thumbs up!  Both Lauren and Julia wrote posts already, and they both have better pictures.  So see their posts here and here.  

In addition to all they've shared, I'd like to say that Nashville has become my favorite city in the South, and there are many reasons for that.  One is because of all the many fun & exciting things to do, and two is because I always have the best company when I'm there. :) 

Lauren and Julia are some the most wonderful people I have ever known and will ever know.  They've known me in my most immature/awkward moments as well as in my greatest, and they have loved me and supported me in all of them.  I just know they were meant to be a part of my life.  I had the greatest time seeing them again, catching up, talking about families & friends, where we live, things in life that are great & things in life that are hard.  I could not have asked for a better girls trip!  

Some of the best adventures of my life have been with Lauren & Julia, and I'm really glad our most recent one was in Nashville!   

Riverwalk

When Newel and I were down in New Orleans we walked along the Mississippi River waterfront from Canal Street up to the Riverwalk Marketplace.  We really enjoyed the openness and the breeze from the river.  Here are some pictures we took:

Newel & the M-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-P-P-I River

Some very yummy beignets we ate from the famous Cafe du Monde.

And more of New Orleans.

I know the pictures don't show much, but I really enjoyed the riverwalk since it was cooler out in the open versus in the busy, crowded streets of the city.  You learn to find ways to escape the heat to some degree in the South.

Side note: I should add that the summer has been mild here in Birmingham (I think).  It doesn't seem as hot as last summer.  Or maybe my body has adjusted to Southern weather better than I thought it would. :)

Yum

So here's a personal adventure that took place in the South: baking with yeast. :)  I use to have a yeast phobia.  For some reason, I thought yeast was seriously hard to work with and that the only chance I had to make decent bread was my dear friend, the bread making machine (which I still think is a really great and respectable way to make bread).  But then I finally caught on to the Our Best Bites blog and found yeast bread recipes that looked so, SO delicious.  I wanted to make them so much that I just made myself overcome my fear of yeast.  I started with the rosemary focaccia recipe which was divine, and then I tried the breadsticks.  I loved them so much and was so proud of my work that I took a picture.  I know, I'm now one of those people that takes pictures of their food.  Oh well.  Still proud!

I definitely recommend both recipes.  The shaping of the breadsticks was a little bit of work for me, but any normal bread-making person can easily handle it.  If you are feeling wary about yeast or bread-making in general, don't worry, I believe in you and know you can make whatever you want!

More Southern Talk

Just a few other things we've picked up on since living here.  For some of the originals check out this post.

On the flip of that - on the other hand; as in "I like going to work, but on the flip of that, I don't." :)  I like saying 'on the flip of that' better than 'on the other hand' now.

Hosepipe - hose/garden hose.  I don't really get this one; pipes are hard, right?

Buggy - shopping cart.  I thought babies went in buggies, not groceries.

Ma'am - what/pardon/excuse me?
For example:
Me: "Where do you hear the R sound in bear?"
Student: "Ma'am?"
Me: "What?"
Student: "Ma'am?"
Me: "What?"
Student: "I didn't hear the word.  Say that again."
Me: "Oh, right.  Where do you hear the R sound in bear?"
This one obviously took me a while to get.  Still gets me sometimes.

Boy, you gone crazy/you have lost yo' mind - means what it says.

Mess - a person/thing/situation that's disarrayed, out of sorts, etc.; as in, "Newel, my little Sugar-Bear is such a mess."

Hot mess - a person/thing/situation that's REALLY disarrayed, disheveled, out of sorts, etc.; as in "That Hillary is a hot mess" (on the day I wore two different shoes to work).

Bless your heart - an expression of sympathy like 'you poor thing'... at least when it's been said to me.  I've since realized that "bless your heart" can also an expression of "you're kind of an idiot" so pay attention to context!

Love me this Southern talk. :)

Some Explaining

I'm a little guilty of blog neglect again.  Don't worry, I didn't forget I had one like last time.  Things just got a little busy and those other things came first.  I really wanted to have a new cool post about more we did in New Orleans or a fun weekend I had with some of my best friends in Nashville, but I just don't have the brain power to do that.

BUT...I was reading my last post about the French Quarter and thought I would explain a little more of why I liked St. Louis Cathedral so much.

It was because it's a church and it was beautifully built, and when we were walking around everywhere, it got really hot and really noisy.  We decided to go inside the cathedral,  and as soon as we walked in, it was quiet and cool (amazing AC) and peaceful.  It reminded me that when we slow down and are still, we feel peace and we can listen to our heart, and what it's saying to us.  I love to be in quiet, holy places like my the church building I usually go to, or the temple, or even out in good, ole Mother Nature.  Feels like home, feels like God.

Just a Taste

Of the French Quarter.  We went there a few weeks ago.  Really fun and interesting.  History is just oozing out of the buildings down there.  We spent an entire day roaming the streets, taking walking tours, and taking lots of pictures.  Here are some of them:

Saint Louis Cathedral - my favorite building in the French Quarter.

Can you tell I loved the buildings?  I really liked the architecture and layout of it all.  It's said to be inspired by Spanish architecture.

Napoleon never lived here, but it was built for him.  Since he never made it to New Orleans, it was turned into a restaurant where they serve some killer hot muffalettas.

One of the many, many street musicians of the French Quarter.  There was always music being played as we walked around.  Most of it was really good.  Jazz did originate in New Orleans after all.

The railings on the balconies were incredibly detailed and I loved these ones because they have the initials of the woman who designed them - Baroness Micaela Almonester de Pontalba (AP).  Apparently she was quite feisty for her day, and I think you would have to be if you're going to design your own railings in an industry dominated by males.

This really was my favorite building so I needed another picture with the pretty blue sky in the background. 

A quiet alley next to the cathedral.  I wanted a picture of it and Newel mumbled in his Kip-voice, "Hey old man, don't mind us taking a picture of you."  It made me laugh.

 More pictures of French Quarter architecture. :)

 After dinner, we checked out Bourbon Street since it is the most famous street of the French Quarter but didn't stay for long.  Just a bit too crowded and we were TIRED at this point in the day.  So we took quieter streets all the way back to where our car was parked, and I took some more pictures.

 

 And then I had Newel take a picture of me with my favorite building in the background.

If you look through the gates between buildings, you can peek into some pretty courtyards like this one.

And one last picture of Canal Street where our adventures in the French Quarter came to an end.  Definitely an interesting place to experience for a day.

Roadkill

So I was thinking this morning as I was driving to work that I see a lot of roadkill here in Birmingham.  In fact, it's a guarantee that I see at least one dead animal on the road on my way to work.  I thought I should write a post about it.  And then I thought, "But I haven't seen any roadkill yet, and I'm gonna be to work in a few minutes."  Then, as if the universe knew my thoughts, I come around a bend and there one dead animal in the road.  Then I come around the next bend, and there's another dead animal in the road.  Two roadkill incidents after just two bends?!  It was a sign.  So here is what I have to share about the roadkill in South:

There is A LOT of road kill around here in Alabama.  I really do see at least one dead animal on the road every single day.  I can't believe I haven't really thought about it until now.  Maybe I've become desensitized to it.

You may ask why is there so much roadkill?  Well, there is a lot of foliage which I think makes a bunch of nice homes for the raccoons, squirrels, opossums, etc.  Also, no one cleans up any roadkill.  It's just left on the road until the crows pick at it until it's gone.  There are a lot of crows in Alabama too. 

I saw something kind of sad the other day on my way to work.  I saw a dead raccoon in the road after being hit by a car.  Later, on my way home from work, I saw the same raccoon completely flattened by another car and being picked at by the crows.  Just the circle of life I guess, or maybe just gross.


Sorry, no pictures of the roadkill (for obvious reasons).  You can Google pictures of roadkill or search roadkill cuisine.  Pretty interesting.

Union Pride

In honor of my Dad, who loves American Civil War history, I wanted to share these photos I took in Jackson Square in the French Quarter of New Orleans.  The square was named after Major General (and later U.S. President) Andrew Jackson who won the Battle of New Orleans against the British in 1815.  An equestrian statue of General Jackson was later erected in the middle of the square in 1856.  The people of New Orleans loved and I think still love Andrew Jackson.

A few years after the statue was built, New Orleans was captured by the Union Army at the end of the Civil War.  There was no battle in the city itself so New Orleans didn't get totally abused.  Major General Benjamin Butler took over New Orleans and put the people under martial law which ticked everyone off.  Then he ordered the following words to be carved in the base of the Andrew Jackson statue:

You can probably guess that the people hated Butler for that, and they did.  Our tour guide told us some funny stories about the whole thing.  I think it's funny that there is a historic park in the South where you can read the words "The Union must and shall be preserved."  I know my dad would love that.

I love him, and I'm so grateful for all the wonderful fathers and future fathers out there!

Can't Breathe

So I remember people talking about how when it gets super hot & humid, it feels like you can't breathe, and I didn't understand.  How can you not breathe?  We live on a planet that was created for human life.  There's always enough oxygen to go around, right?  Mostly right.

Today, it was a lovely 96 degrees and pretty humid (not sure the percentage).  I left work to get into my car, and the little 2-minute walk to my vehicle wasn't too bad (although my hair was already sticking to the sweat on my neck).  Then I get into my car, and I can't breathe!  Really, I don't know how to describe it, but it was like the air in my car was so hot and so wet that it was like I was half submerged in water and I couldn't get any air!  What is happening?!!!  I was a little panicked for a second, but quickly got the AC going and was fine again.  Sheesh.

I don't know how people lived here without air conditioning.  They must have just been wet & sticky ALL THE TIME.  There are many reasons I came to to this earth in this day & age.  And air conditioning is one of them.

P.S.  Southwest is having a great deal on flights during the fall season (need to book by TOMORROW).  All the suffocating heat & humidity will be over with so if anyone wants to come visit us, we would love for you to come!

Purely Divine

Really, Southern Candymakers is SO divinely delicious.  Kind of expensive, but totally worth it.  Have y'all ever had pralines?  Did you know they're pronounced praw-lines in the South?  It's so weird.  I can't bring myself to say it the right way yet.  The pralines were my favorite at Southern Candymakers.  Below is a picture of what we purchased.  Believe me, I wanted to buy EVERYTHING, but we didn't.  I had to hush that pig inside me. :)

My favorites (of what we got) were the peanut butter praline and the dark chocolate caramel tortue.  I'm so tempted to order more from their website (since they're only in the French Quarter of New Orleans).  I just love these little, yummy Southern treasures.

Roach Motel

This is a review I wrote for Expedia and TripAdvisor of where we stayed when we went down to New Orleans.  The trip was really fun (more details and photos to come soon), but where we stayed was not.  I already spent time today writing this review so it's just gonna be my blog post for today as well.

"Where to start.  We thought this would be a great place to stay because of all the good reviews we read online.  The only poor reviews we read had to do with the distance from the French Quarter and other fun NOLA attractions, which we weren't worried about since we had a car.  Anyway, the night we arrived, they did not have our reservation, but they still gave us a room because we brought our itinerary.  We got to our room and it was very gross.  The carpets appeared (and smelled) as if they hadn't been cleaned for years, and they're was a disturbing stain on the chair.  They're were also little bugs all over the walls and the sheets.  We did not sleep well mostly because the mattresses and AC unit were in very poor condition.  The worst part was our second night when my husband woke up to a big cockroach biting his neck!  He quickly flicked it off and killed it, and didn't tell me till the next morning because he knew I would not be able to sleep through the rest of the night had I known.  We cut our trip short by a day because we did not want to spend another night at Crescent Palms Motel.  We knew we weren't paying for a luxury stay, but we thought it would have been a lot more comfortable based on the reviews we read.  I know other guests have had a great, comfortable stay so maybe we just got a bad room (109).  We were thoroughly disappointed and will never stay here again."

All of my review is true.  A cockroach really did bite Newel!!!  We didn't know they bit, but Newel looked it up on his phone after it happened and it turns out they do if they don't have any other food source.  He didn't really sleep for the rest of that night.  As the Southerners would say, "Bless his heart!"  The good news is that we've recovered from the trauma, and we're able to laugh about it too.

Fort Walton

A couple of weekends ago we went to Fort Walton Beach, Florida and it was so nice.  I LOVE the beach, and I've missed it so much.  I usually go to visit family in San Diego during the winter and early spring/summer seasons when the water is way too cold for a wimp like me.  I've probably only dipped my toes in the ocean the last 4-5 times I've been home.  

Everytime I go to the beach, I feel like my body recognizes the familiar scene of my childhood, and I feel home again.  It sounds crazy, but I do.  My whole body feels more relaxed and I feel happier.  Newel loves the beach too.  I'm sure it crossed his mind when we were dating that visiting in-laws in San Diego would be a definite bonus if/when he married me. :) 

Here's are some pictures of our trip.  

Can't you tell how happy we are to be at the beach?!

Aww yeah.

The is a picture of Destin Harbor which is just east of Fort Walton.  We grabbed dinner in Destin and loved the food, of course.

There are no pictures of us swimming in the ocean, but we swam a lot.  The water was apparently cooler than it usually is for this time of year, but we thought it was warmer than anything in the Pacific.  It was a great beach vacation, and we can't wait to go back again!

Wardrobe MALFUNCTION

 Yep, I accidentally wore different shoes to work today. 

 I wasn't even in a rush this morning.  And I thought I looked totally cute today - cute outfit, good hair day, etc.  We keep our shoes by the front door, and I wanted to wear my comfortable black ones (on my right foot).  I looked down and then back up, assuming I was slipping on my two black work shoes.  But no.  I locked up our apartment, got in my car, drove all the way to work, and didn't even realize I had two different shoes on until I entered the school.  Oh my goodness!  I was tempted to leave work and go back home to get two of the same shoes, but decided against it because I had a lot to do today.  I decided to experiment and see if anyone would say anything.  Only two of my coworkers did.  Not sure if that meant only two of them noticed or only two them were brave enough to say anything.  My first coworker to notice asked, "Hillary, I was wondering, what's going on with...(pointing at my feet)?"  And then, my second coworker to notice came up to me in the cafeteria to quietly ask me if I knew I was wearing two different shoes (probably because she didn't want to embarrass me if I didn't know).  Wow.  I laughed a lot today.  Newel laughed at me too since he got home before I did and got to see the my whole work ensemble.  I think this whole experience taught me (or reminded me) not to take life too seriously.  It's a good life and a funny one too.

Personal Goal for Tomorrow:  Wear the SAME pair of shoes. :)