5 Things: Di and I

1. I know everyone was in love with Princess Diana (how couldn't you be?), but I LOVED her... everything about her. Everything. And that's ok...I could have had a worse role model.
2. I have (safely tucked away) a (real) copy of Princess Di's - and now Kate Middleton's - sapphire & diamond engagement ring (photo); passed down to me by my mother. (Darn you, ugly $19.90 imitation now being sold!!!!)


3. As a little girl, I always had whatever hairstyle Diana had at the time.
4. My mom used to live in London and have tea in the Royal Garden with the Queen. Gloves, curtsies, hats, and all. I'm serious.
5. In Paris on our honeymoon, we unexpectedly stumbled upon the spot where Princess Di was killed... Ironically, it was the one year anniversary of her death and there was a huge makeshift memorial in the street (photos). It broke me into pieces and I couldn't tear myself away...I hated it and loved it at the same time. It's an extra special memory of mine...the kind that has its own place reserved in my heart and mind and soul, and will never, ever die.

5 Things: I May Be Old, But Keith Olbermann Is Dumb.

1. Gulf Coast Highway by Nanci Griffith & Darius Rucker (from her album Blue Roses From the Moons, 1997). An all time favorite song... especially this arrangement with strings & Darius. It's one of "those" songs... one I have been singing at the top of my lungs (I actually just typed logs. Go brain.) for 13 years in my house, in my car, in my mind, or wherever the urge may have presented itself.
2. A friend from my high school graduating class became a grandmother today. I'm 35. Ugh. (Congrats, Willie! :o) )
3. Blaming a gun for a crime is like blaming a pencil for a misspelled word.
4. Elaborate? Sure... statistics have repeatedly proven that cities & states with strict gun laws have high gun-related crime, while the citiies & states with the fewest gun laws (ie Vermont) have the lowest rates of gun-related crime. Hmm...
5. Keith Olbermann is lower than the pus that infects the mucus, that cruds up the fungus that feeds on the pond scum... Name that movie. ..well, except the Keith Olberman part. I added that.

5 Things: This

1. Stomach
2. Virus
3. Is
4. SO
5. Awful.

5 Things: Old As Dirt

1. My brother turned 37 today. 3 years away from 40. That depresses me to no end. I remember our parents turning 40. That's just wrong.
2. My friend Thad came home from the hospital today!!!!!! One large intestine and one partial small intestine lighter, but hey... lose weight the fast way, right? What matters is that he is home and he is ALIVE! Chemo starts in 6 weeks.
3. A family friend was buried today....a great patriarch. Without fail, every time I think of him, I think of a pink house and a statue of a horse's but with a long tail sticking out of it.
4. I'm designing a prom dress for my little cousin Mandy.
5. Dates and Craigslist. Just say no.

5 Things: Wrinkles & Rick Springfield.

1. Worst. Year. Ever.
2. Glad. It's. Over.
3. The only thing sadder than the Gin Blossoms being a featured performer for New Year's 2011 (!!!!!) is Rick Springfield headlining the show. Really, Fox?? Really???
4. Speaking of Fox.......congrats, Panthers. You're only about 5 years late with that one. (I'm just sayin'.)
5. I bought wrinkle reducing cleanser and lotion tonight. Thumbs down. Big, fat, wrinkly thumbs down.

5 Things: Panthers, Drugs, & Tonya Harding!

1. If Santa leaves a 200 count bottle of Benedryl in your stocking, is it time to go back to the allergy doc?
2. Of all the atrocities in the world today, the one I least understand is that someone pays Tonya Harding & Danny Bonaduce to give their opinions on tv.
Seriously?
3. And then there's Tonya Harding's hair...
4. Thanks, John Fox. The Panthers are clearly not going anywhere near the Superbowl; the least you could have done was lose one more game and assure Carolina a #1 draft pick. But no. So thanks.
5. Dear Jerry Richardson, ...................

5 Things: Jesus is a Rockstar.

1. If we all worshipped Jesus the way we worship rock stars, singers, actors, & other entertainers, we'd be in much better shape.... Individually & as a whole. Try it.
2. It is a widely spread rumor that the Christmas tree is Pagan in origin, but this is actually a myth. The roots of the tree tradition are actually Christian, and the first decorated tree is reported to have been in Tallin, Estonia in the late 1400s / early 1500s.
3. My sister has been to Tallin!
4. The trumpet part in Handel's Messiah: Hallelujah Chorus. *Sigh*
5. Jesus Christ. Best. Gift. Ever.