Thursday Night's Alright for Fighting

Yeah, I am not very inspired this week.

So I paid the bills this morning. I feel very happy about the fact that it is done and that I have the money to do it.

I also filed my taxes today, although I tried to file them last week but Turbotax had to wait for a form from the IRS. They didn't get the form until today. Those of you who know me will not be surprised to learn that I blame George W. Bush for this.

Also on my "W" list this week: Domino magazine is no more. Conde Nast has shuttered my absolute favorite magazine due to the economy. And you are exactly right that I blame George W. Bush for that. Further, Home Depot has closed the uptown design center due to the economy - Bush's fault. All in all, W's popularity rating here at the Bee Charmer's has plummeted to new lows. I don't ask for a lot but couldn't I just be allowed to read my magazine and shop for floor tiles in peace? Am I reaching for the stars here?

I had dinner with my dear friend over at Cantina 1511 on Monday night. Their guacamole is quite something. The Bee Charmer has turned into a bit of a guacamole whore lately so, needless to say, I had a good time. The margarita didn't hurt, either.

On the way out I had to stand there and wait because my friend cannot leave without going to the ladies room. While waiting and talking to another friend I had a close encounter with the Ex - who we call "The Love Maker" for reasons that are unimportant. He was with Mrs. Love Maker. That was really no fun. His head was bigger than I had remembered it.

It was awkward. You'd think that at some point love gone wrong might get less complicated, but it doesn't seem to be working that way for me. I have anger toward him, probably because I didn't tell him off properly when we broke up. I was trying to be an adult about it but maybe there is something cathartic to be said about spewing venom. He's just so smug and judgmental and I wish he would get his comeuppance.

I am also annoyed that I did not look like my most fabulous self. I looked ok but when one imagines these situations, one always appears as one's most fabulous self. And there I was with no lipstick on. What a drag.

Bean Smoochies

You may have noticed that I have two Pembroke Welsh Corgis that I call Beans. There is a story behind this: When Finn was a baby, he was the exact shape, size and color of a butterbean, so that's what I call him about half of the time - Butterbean. Then Lola came. Naturally, she became Lola Bean and all of her personality traits began to be attributed to her Beaniness. Now she is Lola Bean, Miss Bean or, most often, the Bean or my Bean.

This is my Lola Bean being cradled and having her face kissed. She hates this. However, I require certain sacrifices from her and one of them is that she has to occasionally be cradled and have her face kissed. So there. When I see pictures of her like this I think that she is either a lot bigger than I perceive her to be or I am smaller than I think I am. Maybe some of both?



This is Finn in his Halloween costume. He went as a pig. If you knew him, you'd see the appropriateness of this. My father was horrified that I would dress up his grandpuppy in such an embarrassing outfit.

Lola went as a bumblebee. She was nothing but cute.

Mr. President

We're Gonna Be in the Hudson

This is just the damndest thing I think I have ever seen.

It is also an amazing testament to one man's skill, experience and ability and a humbling reminder of God's power and His grace.

Thank God for the lives of the people on this plane and for the people who rushed to rescue them on Thursday. What a truly miraculous blessing for us all.

Recession?

I didn't mean to go to the 60% off sale at Bob Ellis.

But then, you know, I went in just to "look". And, in my defense, I wanted these shoes last summer but I DID NOT buy them. I said "no", "these are too expensive" and "I'm being good". But now they're on SALE. So I bought them.



I also got some Stuart Weitzman booties, because they were also on sale, and I have needed some booties for a really long time and I looked other places and couldn't find what I wanted.

I also tried these on for fun:



They were just about the most gorgeous thing ever! Totally and completely impractical and overpriced, but it was so much fun to wear them for 5 minutes!

Law Life

When I started this blog, I thought I'd write a little bit about my work life, but as time has passed, it has just never come up. Truth be told, there is nothing exciting or particularly interesting about the practice of law, at least in my opinion. I would really love to be one of those people who is engaged and enriched by her profession, but I practice law so that I have the money to decorate my house. I don't live to work, I work to live.

The other thing is that, well, I can't talk about my clients because the Bar frowns on that sort of thing. And I can't talk about the Defendants that I go up against because it might make them mad and the Bar frowns on that sort of thing. And I don't want to talk about the people in my office because I really like them. And I don't want to talk about the judges and the court personnel because I think it's tacky.

You can see my dilemma here.

To mitigate this issue (there's a legal word for ya) I figure that something funny or interesting will happen around the courthouse from time to time or there will be some legal event in the news that I will feel concerned, annoyed or amused enough about to comment on. But nothing has come up yet.

What's that? You don't believe me when I say practicing law is less than thrilling?

Here's a typical court day:

First, the venue:

I went to court last Monday in Concord, North Carolina.

Downtown Concord is sort of like Brigadoon to me. I am never quite sure where it is or if it will be where I last looked for it. I always count just locating the Courthouse as a personal triumph. You can imagine how happy I was when I found the Courthouse and found a relatively close parking space. Parking is another big issue in going to Court. It's actually a pretty easy proposition in Concord, which is a lovely little town.

The Fashion Report:

I wore black pants and my nifty red shawl-collared jacket buttoned up the front and no blouse on underneath it. Yep, I was in Superior Court in nothing on but a red jacket and a red bra. I'm a little rebel! I also wore my Monday-go-to-Court shoes. They're black patent leather. They have a buckle on the toe and a spike in the four inch heel. They set off the metal detectors in most counties. I kinda like that about them. Just as an aside, I always feel like an Easter Egg in Court. It's mostly full of middle aged men wearing black, brown, blue or gray and women in blouses and sensible shoes. I don't have any interest in sensible shoes, I think blouses are optional and I look terrible in gray. So I wear red, pink and green to Court. Deal with it.

What I did and how I felt about it:

I had a motion on of no consequence with an unrepresented defendant on the other side. She quoted a lot of scriptures in her Answer and then stood there and lied her butt off. I will say that I am annoyed by all the lying that I see in Court. The ease in which these people lie and don't seem to care about doing it is part of the problem in America. It doesn't seem to bother the judges at all, which is the other side of the problem and I just don't understand how the judges could not care. But they don't. Anyhoo, I did my thing, the judge took it under advisement and I came back to Charlotte. Do you sense my bitterness and pessimism regarding the "system"?

What I did for the rest of the day:

Basically, I sat at my desk and signed things for the rest of the day. I also refused to talk to people on the phone because once you reach a certain experience level in the practice of law, you can refuse to speak to people on the phone. It's a small perk, but I take advantage of it sometimes.

How's that for excitement?

Spring Flowers

I know. It's only January. As we have previously discussed, I am in winter denial.

As you may have noticed from the pictures of the house tours, I buy a lot of fresh flowers. I am blessed to have a nice flower selection over at my Teeter and I take advantage of it. This weekend, they had some really good looking tulips and so for ten bucks, I got some beautiful pink tulips for my bedroom.

If you don't take the opportunity to purchase fresh flowers for your home, you should really think about it. These blooms have been such a nice pick me up on what turned out to be a pretty gray day.

A Fragrant and Pretty Thing

I had a challenging day at work today and I was feeling a little down when I left so I swung by Neiman Marcus on the way home and picked up a Jo Malone candle. I know they are ridiculously expensive but I wanted to splurge a little and I thought that a sweet smelling candle wouldn't be a bad way to go. I got the "Wild Fig and Cassis" candle and the sales lady assured me that it would "burn beautifully". And so far, you know she is right!

This and That

My power was out when I woke up this morning. I could not do my hair, I could not make coffee, I couldn't even get my car out of the garage. Now, it is well known that there is no such thing as natural beauty and this is especially true here at the Bee Charmer's house. Beauty must be created every morning and the creation of beauty requires electricity.

The upshot of all of this is that I was late for work.

Not to have my fun plans for the day upended, I had lunch with my colleague and male girlfriend, Bobby G. Do ya'll have any idea how much I love Bobby G? Well I do. He is my friend.

I stopped by the liquor store on the way back to the office and picked up a bottle of cognac. I went with the Remy Martin Fine Champaigne Cognac VSOP. I will say that the cognac selection there at the Park Road ABC Store left a little to be desired. I poured a little in the snifter when I got home from work two hours ago and so far I have had 2 and a half sips. It warms your chest, let me tell you. It is an acquired taste so I am acquiring. I can't say that I am loving it so far, but I don't hate it. It is beautiful in the glass and the glass is also very beautiful. I am quite the little cosmopolitan cutie, no?

I also scheduled a plumber to come over here next week and give me an estimate for putting in a line to my steam dryer. Right now, it won't steam and I really want it to. Hopefully, the cost will not be prohibitive. I never thought I would reach the point of personal growth where I would voluntarily spend money on a plumber, but we have indeed gotten there.

The highlight of my day is that my next door neighbors (whose multiple cars are always in the way because they use their garage as a storage area)have finally put one of their cars into the garage! Perhaps the homeowner's association has let it be known that they are going to start towing (as well they should). This has been my pet peeve with them since I moved in because they make it difficult for me to use my driveway. I comply with the rules and I think everybody else should, too. So there. Anyway, it's progress! Maybe? Hopefully.....

I am off to the Teeter and the bookstore and the gas station. No matter how much I talk about the cognac, ya'll know it is really all about the diet coke and right now, we are out of it.

Feeling Gifted

You may have noticed that I didn't mention all the Christmas presents I got this year. That's because I asked for gift cards so I could buy stuff for my house.

I ordered things for the two as yet undecorated rooms in the house, and as fate would have it, everything got here in the past couple of days. I want to show ya'll, but these rooms are not finished, so bear with me.

First, we have a nifty new headboard for the twin bed in my third bedroom. This turned out even better than I thought it would. Thank you Mom and Daddy! Now that the headboard, bedding and side table are in place, I think this room is going to come together pretty quickly, so stay tuned for a full tour in the near future.



And here we have a glimpse of my master bathroom. Basically, I moved into the house last March, put my stuff in the cabinets and have not really touched this room since. It is builder's beige and blah. However, a couple of weeks ago I think I finally got a bead on the direction I want to go in here. As a first step, I bought this big, fluffy white bath rug from Crate and Barrel. Now I realize that buying a white rug isn't exactly bold, but ya'll don't need to be snarky about it. Big thank you to my sister for the gift card from my happy place!



I am going to follow up on both of these rooms in the future, so stay tuned.