dear wall street.

i come to you compelled to say what has been on my heart. knowing it will probably fall on deaf ears im taking my chances anyway. after an extremely difficult year in regards to our economy we are all welcoming 2009 and hoping for better days. but in the midst of all the media coverage - the newspaper headlines - the tragic losses in retirement accounts - i have been struck deeply by the news of 3 recent suicides. all of them stemming back to the destruction on wall street and in the global economy. and i pose this question to you today investors, bankers, real estate moguls, polictians -- don't you think your greed and hunger for money/power has done enough damage? i have lost both of my parents due to choices they made in their lives. those choices and their consequences will haunt me and continue to shape me for the rest of my life. looking forward to my upcoming wedding, i am reminded in every step of the planning process, they will not be there. based on the ruthlessness of your greed you have shown no remorse or accountability for what has transpired. Stop being selfish. Don’t be a coward and run away. You can teach your children, your spouses, and Americans a very valuable lesson -- you can change, you can redeem yourself, and make lasting changes your legacies. face the consequences of the decisions you've made over the past leading you to where you are today. don’t leave your families to face them alone.

sunny side up.

i have to stick with this blogging. in my absence ive thought of a 1000 things to write about...ill take care of covering christmas when i get back from florida...which im going to go enjoy for the rest of the day. i promise to catch up...

south of the border.

reporting from kingsland, ga. last minute we decided to head to key largo to celebrate the new year. flights are still outrageous even though gas prices have fallen off a cliff. result = mgb & me rent a car and head down I-95 south. i was exhausted from my 6 hour hike on christmas day to visit the fam, so he drove the first leg while i slept for about two hours. i decided i should wake up when i felt like mitch was going 90 mph in the pouring rain. i hate to be a backseat driver, but like to arrive to my destination alive. need a good laugh? take a road trip. my favorite part? singing duets of random oldies youll find while scanning the radio -- "danger zone" (think top gun theme song) and "your as cold as ice" were our favorites today. about half way through we stopped to fill up with gas -- instead of getting out, i just crawled into the drivers seat and waited for mitch to fill up the car. he got in and off we go, or not. as i am waving to the officer parked directly beside us i hear a loud slam -- i glance in the rear view mirror to see the gas hose flying out and bouncing off of our car. niiiiiceeeee. besides the officer looking at us like were lunatics -- all was well and we didnt break the nozzle. stephanies fabulous fam lives here in kingsland. like always im last minute, but hoping to catch atleast coffee in the am with her. for now, the bed is calling...

ohhhh yeah!! i heard the BEST quote today. "go through life with a newspaper in one hand and a bible in the other" - billy graham. definitely filing that away. night!

santa baby…marylin or audrey?

“only simplicity and the truth count…” – a. hepburn.

a great quote. fitting for this time of year especially.

im reading a fabulous book right now. “the audrey hepburn treasures - pictures & momentos of a life of style and purpose.”
at age 11 i fell in love with one of miss holly golightly, audreys character in “breakfast at tiffanys”

it almost obnoxious to see how marylin monroe and audrey hepburn have been somewhat brought back to life for a younger generation -- under the same category as glamour girls from old hollywood. this book especially helped me see the stark contrast. of course, nothing taken away from marlyin but – lets just say id rather be a princess di over a madonna anyday.

throughout the book, tucked between pages are what appear to be very real (pull out)replicas of anything ranging from her WWII national ID given to her by the Germans to her first acting contract with Jack Hylton LTD in london.

the cherry on top? this fantastic find donates a portion of the book sales to audreys children fund which helps children all over the world. for a peek into the legend order your copy today!

and santa? id pick audrey. hands down.

yoga lingo.

seriously the past three days i've had the HIGHEST anxiety AHHHHHHHHHH. no idea why. maybe its the holidays? anticipation of a new year? perhaps, my ADD has seriously increased? either way i am really hoping yoga tonight can calm me down. although, i have to admit that yoga and me -- well its almost comical. i cannot freaking chill out to save my life. so the whole, “namaste” idea is a bit tough to grasp especially in a pose called “downward facing dog”. wish me luck!

i wonder if barack likes burger king?

last night, while laying in bed watching tv, i noticed a headline scrolling across the screen "obama press conference, 11:45 AM announcing the new secretary of education” rolling over to mgb i said…i guarantee the stock market soars through closing bell.” some of you could be completely uninterested in the markets, but 2008, the election, and the volatile economy drew my interest to the world of investments -- and after watching cnbc 70% of the time, im hooked. anyway, the dow closed up roughly 360 points – financials, which is mainly what i follow – closed strong. and although i have to admit, my confidence in mr. obama has already started to falter (ill explain that later) every time the president-elect gets on live tv, the markets shoot for the stars. so for god’s sake get on tv any chance you get. of course the trick will be making the gains stick, which can’t seem to come soon enough. we’ll get a chance to see – CNN is reporting he will back on tomorrow announcing his agriculture secretary. can we get another 400 point push, pretty please?

anyway enough about that…i went to burger king today. note to self: probably the last visit for the next 10 years of my life. seems a bit dramatic, eh? well, take a look as this picture they have PLASTERED on an 8 ft poster next to their drive through window and try NOT to vomit.



really, three, no FOUR patties of “beef”? freaking disgusting. there is no reason any human should be allowed to consume that. not only did it cost them my business, but motivated me to eat a salad for lunch today and probably the rest of the week. so thank you burger king for my reminder to eat healthy. maybe try new poster/marketing campaign, something that wont remind us of how horrible fast food really is? as if the current obesity epidemic in the US isn’t proof enough.

i need to start buckling down planning for our wedding. really is it already december 16th? i cannot believe how quickly the time has passed since we were engaged in april. i feel like just yesterday i was saying, “oh we have almost two years to plan…” tick tock tick tock. speaking of the time flying by, sitting in the car waiting for mgb last night while he did his weekly video rental run (ps i hate the video store ugh!) i was looking around the parking lot. the most random thought crossed my mind. all the cars i could see in the parking lot were all new enough that my mom never saw them. wierd idea i know but sometimes i forget how long she has been gone. or how long they both have been for that matter. i try not to think about it too much – it makes me feel even further away from them. <3

why, hello there.

my thoughts run about 100 mph roughly 16 hours a day. only when i’m sleeping does it get a break. i think relaxing is a nice idea and maybe when I am 90 & forced to slow down, i will learn how to put it into practice. besides, how can i relax? i’m 24 with ambitions bigger than life itself and compassion rivaling even the biggest of hearts. great qualities, or so i’m told, but without reeling them in every now and then i lose myself -- not living in today, too busy about dreaming of tomorrow & overwhelmed by worry for everything out of my control. interests??? everything from world politics to red carpet fashion catches my attention. i can’t go a day without watching sportscenter and if i don’t get a chance to enjoy my morning beauty routine with Diane & Robin from good morning america im like a star bucks junkie without their am latte. there you have a brief intro to me and here’s to more to come. my advice? sit back & buckle your seatbelt before trying to navigate through my diary of thoughts…i drive all over the road.