Lee Greenwood

I know I know, its been ages, BUT I do have some valid and then some not so valid excuses. For some reason at work my computer quit uploading pictures and for Natalie's News to operate properly the stories must be supplemented with pictures so I felt like I could not longer publish. I mean, I have standards. Secondly, I have been using every second of my planning period like its my job (oh wait it is) to work on school stuff. Although I guess I am more prepared I feel a huge void in my create blog outlet so the kids can deal, I'm blogging.

YES WE CAN...OR YES WE DID.

Yes in the blogging void America elected a new president! On election day I volunteered to work and it was very exciting. After volunteering I went over to my teacher friend Jessica's house and she had a little election party. We were all glued to the television awaiting the results. When PA was called for Obama we all did a little happy dance and felt pretty good about our chances. (Although I do tolerate other's opinions, my friend Jessica does not so none with opposing views were invited... hilarious) We kept watching and socializing and then the moment happened...Obama was named our newest president. The full room was silent. We watched the country celebrate in the streets in cities across our great nation and we all sat in silence. I could not believe it; is this a dream? Sadly, until that wonderful day I had never voted for a winning candidate.. is this what it feels like? Finally we realized this was for sure and we came out of our little coma and started to celebrate. The next at school was so wild, most students were so excited about the news and the halls were filled with shouts for the new president. Probably the most wonderful aspect of the day after was the AMAZING voice mail I received from none other than uncle-of-the-year Ray. His rendition of Lee Greenwood's (scantily pictured right) "proud to be an American" made me really feel the nation's excitement. I suddenly felt the strange urge for a full body American flag tattoo with Obama and Ray's face right in the middle.. possibly where the stars go, the design is not fully finished. If you have any design ideas please e-mail them to me asap. Although I've decided not to go with the tattoo I am open to a mural with the same design on the side of my rental house.. or maybe a surprise present to my parents. They really do deserve the best.

Focus on the Family

Speaking of my parents, the entire family gathered at home last weekend for a much needed family filled weekend. Brother and I arrived Friday night and hung out in the best living room in the world. Sadly the teacher schedule has greatly altered my socializing capabilities. I was seriously dozing on the couch by 10:30, if not earlier. I was the first to arise as well on Saturday morning. Although papa does not see this as award winning news, for the girl who could easily sleep until noon or later during most of her life, this new lifestyle does seem worth mentioning. The weekend was amazing seeing all of my wonderful family, yet way too short. Luckily Thanksgiving break is only two short weeks away so I will get to see them again! One of the few perks with working with hormonal crazies everyday are the long holiday breaks. Oh, and we deserve them. More on that later.

In other news, cousin Carly is once again rubbing in her great life by enjoying her European adventure even more with a weekend getaway to Croatia. She was lucky enough to meet a lot of their Croatian family and learned a lot about why her family is.. well the way it is. For real though, the e-mails and facebook pictures are so amazing, I cannot wait for her to get back so we will all get to see her pictures in person.

Well I promise to be back in action but for now I need to get back to work. For Natalie's News this has been Natalie-Corinne.

Made it!

This week has been so challenging at school, more so than usual! I am getting more students switched into choir every day and sometimes I feel it challenging just to keep up and make it through the day. With these challenges I feel like I am constantly telling myself, "two days until Friday, one day until Friday, oh thank God it's Friday, just make it until 3:30pm" and really is this any meaningful way to live life? I am not naive enough to think that one should never think this way but I am getting the gross feeling that sometimes I am wishing life away. So with this depressing logic I am making things to be thankful for during the week, even if they're frustrating, I should find some humor in them.

Things that are frustrating but I should still be thankful for.

10. Fox news. Its so jaded it's funny. Really, really funny... especially Shepard Smith. Never do I see a more conservative group of people love a man who is basically in drag because of all the make up he wears. Come on, he is pretty much orange.

9. The forty-one students in my third period class (and it continues to grow) . Sure it is against the law to have that many, but after that class the day seems so much more enjoyable.

8. Lawrenceburg, TN. Except for the best family in the entire world I never thought having my roots from there was that cool UNTIL my general music class was watching a documentary on American music and the good ol' burg was featured A LOT! Who knew? I should never have doubted the musical land that created such gifts of songs such as uncle Ray.

7. Caffeine. My rich history with caffeine has so many chapters. I seriously have compassion for people trying to quit smoking or any other addiction because caffeine is my hard core addiction. During this uncertain economic times I have been trying to cut out unnecessary spending and I added up how much I spent on that magical drink I like to call manna but others call diet coke. It made me want to vomit when I realized how much I was spending on the bubbly mixture. So I quit buying it, but the void of diet coke created head aches and a mood I do not like to admit I have. The front office has coffee and I have switched one addiction for the other. The nice thing about coffee though is that its free in the front office and its warm AND it gives me this little jittery effect after two cups. Probably a little bit like speed but I like it, so maybe its eating my insides a little bit, for right now the extra boost it totally worth it. (Obviously I'm on an extreme caffeine high, just took how long I blabbered about it.. whoa killer)

6.The alarm clock. Admitted it is the most heinous sound ever, but what if we had nothing to get up for...

5. FWD e-mails. Usually I hate them, I even delete them when others say I will die or have bad luck for 55 years. But recently I have received some surveys that are fun to do when I should be working. Yay.

4. Guilty pleasure television shows: The list of them seem to be growing. Although I have even spoken the words about how it is ruining our society and how certain tv shows display women in a terrible way, I can't help but love The Girls Next Store and The Hills. Those dramatic girls make my rants seem so much more reasonable.

3. Bills. I really can't think of anything positive about bills except that they get paid.

2. Pale skin: I have it and I hear its in again.

And the number one frustrating thing that we should all be thankful for:

1. Well I guess this one is really for me and folks my age. Being in our twenties. Sometimes (more like constantly) I complain about being in an awkward stage and I am stuck between college life and what is next, but really we should consider ourselves lucky. When else is it acceptable to go to work all day actually leading children and then drive back to my magical college town where it is perfectly acceptable to start socializing at 5pm and continue during the night? There's not much wrong with that and honestly if it is wrong, I don't wanna be right!

Have a wonderful weekend and take sometimes to enjoy the unenjoyable! For Natalie's News this has been Natalie-Corinne.

Reproduction

All the time I hear educators, parents, politicians etc debating on what to teach children about reproduction. I could save us all a lot of money and time by making them all teach middle school. It has greatly made me challenge the thought of reproduction and bringing more little runts into the world. Really, there are tons of folks, do we all really need more of them? If I were my mother, I would be coming home to a two year old which means really the child would be home alone because I would be locked up somewhere with padded walls. This rant may insinuate that I am having a bad day, not really any different than any other day. Recently I realized though how overwhelming younger students are and how challenging and demanding they are. Being a perfect child, I never had such issues but the average student does and there is no mental medicine strong enough for the sane person to cope with such craziness. There is a Sex and the City episode that touches on this and I am beginning to agree. Miranda explains that the witch in Hansel and Gretel is really misunderstood. She spends forever putting together her dream house and some kids come and try to eat it. Hello kids? Houses don't grow on trees, somebody has to buy/ find the candy for this house. So she gets mad because they are destroying her dream house and they bake her. Food for thought, oh I know so cheesy.

Well I hope everyone has a wonderful Thursday! For Natalie's News this has been Natalie-Corinne.

Greeks

Last night after seeing all my fast and athletic students at the football game (and yay the Tigers won) I decided to go running around my neighborhood. Luckily my neighborhood has a lot of hills and sidewalks and people are always out running or walking so I am in good company, however last night was totally different. Greek rush occurred just last weekend and I guess last night was the first swap for all of the new Greek pledges. Swaps are social gatherings when a sorority and fraternity have a themed party together. At the beginning of my run literally fifty blond and skinny sorority girls dressed as Tom Hanks in Risky Business game giggling down the street ready for their big night out. At first I began reminiscing fondly of the excitement of swaps. All day everyone would talk about what they were wearing and who they would expect to see. I kept running and then ran into another sorority and fraternity that must have been attending a wedding swap because far too many girls were dressed in hideous wedding gowns. This set of Greeks seemed to be farther along on with the pre-partying than the previous group. I was running along completely minding my own business when guys in bad groom outfits came running at me yelling, "come on baby, why you running away on our wedding day?" and then" wrong way girl, the wedding swap is this way" followed by roars of laughter. It was all I could do not to shoot them some obscene gesture or whip out my cell and call the police. But I decided to keep running because there were about 100 of them and only one out of shape me and I have to admit, I was probably at one point obnoxious to someone when I was a Greek. Yuck...screwy karma. So I just kept going and in attempts to avoid further interaction with Greeks, I ran down street I was not sure where they led, so my run was extended a lot which I'm sure my booty will soon thank me for! I guess that is what happens though when you STAY in a college town. Honestly, I am so busy I forget that there is even a college here, but then Greeks in wedding dresses quickly remind you of the 20,000 students that make Oxford so...unique.

In other news I am so excited about this weekend already! Sometimes I feel like I really am working for the weekend (along with the rest of America) but this weekend is exciting for different reasons. First if weather permits, Oxford will host the second annual BBQ festival. Hello...is this Heaven? It will be held at the conference center and will feature numerous BBQ tents from all over. I am working out hard core this week so I can "taste" as many tents as possible. I will probably have to go and check into cash as well (jk, never do that) after emptying out my bank account for all of that glorious meat. If that wasn't enough probably the thing I'm looking forward to the most is the the nerdlyiest thing of all... I am going to training on Saturday morning to work the polls on election day! whoo! I know, I'm kind of a big deal. I signed up to volunteer and kind of forgot about it and I got an e-mail informing me of where I will be working and when trainig will take place; how exciting! Of course I am doing it for my country etc. BUT when the lifetime movie (Saving Panola) debuts this will be a nice added bonus! Jk.. or is she?

Well I need to go and work! I hope everyone has a wonderful hump day! For Natalie's News this has been Natalie-Corinne.

the girls

Being such a dedicated junior high teacher I am going to go to the football game tonight so I do not have a lot of time to post BUT due to increasing demands for pictures of the new additions in my life I thought there was no time like the present! The little lady on the left is Heidi. She is of course named after the amazing Heidi Klum and is still a kitten and loves to play. The cat on the right is Beatrice but we just call her B. This fluff ball is over a year old and the prissy one. At first the girls did not know what to think about each other but now they are getting along well and play together all the time. I just love having them! We got them kind of randomly one day at the Humane society and the litter box (eww) has totally been worth it. They are so cute together! At first we thought of only getting one but now are so glad we got them together. Although they are not biological, they have come to be sisters, we're basically the Brady bunch of cats. Now we just need an Alice.. any takers?

Lastly I thought I would leave you with a picture from the Presidential debate in Oxford. This picture is of myself and my former roommate Ms. Ann Marie Hall in the grove on the Ole Miss campus where we watched the debate on big screen televisions! Her boyfriend Mike took this picture for us and I thought it was cute :)

Well I am off to the football game! Go Tigers! For Natalie's News this has been Natalie-Corinne.

Happy Birthday Ben

Yesterday Ben turned twenty flipping years old. Can you believe it? I really cannot get over that my little brother is 20. I remember those twenty years ago when I was in kindergarten being so excited that I would finally have a little sibling that would play with me. My neighbors the Pearsons had four girls and were always playing dress up and tea party and I was jealous at their luck always having friends around. I remember telling my mom of all the plans I made for Ben and I to do together and she trying to tell me that he would not be able to play dress up when he arrived. In the nicest voice she said, "he will be a little baby and will not be able to play like the Pearsons" but I refused to listen. What did she know anyway? The Pearsons had a baby (she was actually 2 or so) and they played with her. She seemed little so it would be fine. October 20th finally came around and I was wearing my favorite outfit, a plaid green skirt with a cream top and a hair bow (of course). I went to the hospital and waited for at least 35 hours (so it seemed) with Mamaw. She did her best to entertain me but I was pretty out of control with excitement. My dad kept coming out into the waiting room to check on me in scrubs and a mask. I remember thinking how cool my family was. My mom was having a new baby who would do everything I wanted AND my dad was apparently a doctor on the side. After annoying Mamaw to death Ben finally arrived. I remember just dying to see him and Uncle Ray took me to the viewing window to see him. I was so excited and kept knocking on the window to kindly remind the nurse to show him to me...I'm sure it was cute and not extremely annoying. Ray literally had to hold me back as I squirmed to see my new brother. After another 39 hours the nurse cleaned Ben up and pulled back the window to finally show us my new baby brother/new best friend. As much as I hate to admit it, I was kind of weirded out. Ben's head looked differently than I thought it would and I did not expect him to be so little, fussy, and messy. I remember trying to look excited but I was more confused than anything, "he is even smaller than my baby (doll of course)". After seeing Ben we went back into the hospital room to see my tired momma. I had at least 1000 questions for her and she tried to entertain them the best she could. Finally I asked the most important question of all, "why does his head look like candy corn?"hahahaha. I do not even remember her response but she must have been convincing because I was really excited for them to come home after talking to her. By the next day I had forgotten all about the tea party plans and was excited about being a new big sister and helping my mom with everything.. yes everything. Obviously I knew how to do it all so she should let me. ha, well she actually did let me do a lot and I am glad because everyone knows that my brother Ben is alright in my book :)

Well Happy Birthday Ben, and I need to get back to work, I hope everyone has a wonderful day and for Natalie's News this has been Natalie-Corinne.

Natalie in Nashville

This week has totally flown by and later tonight I am so excited to travel home to Nashville for a ANOTHER wedding weekend! I guess it is understandable since I'm 25 and it is that time of life for a lot of folks. But before going to Nashville, I am meeting with some teacher friends after school for a much needed "faculty meeting". Right... this "faculty meeting" will be located at a Mexican restaurant near school...attending this very official meeting are some new fun and younger teachers I have met recently. I am excited to meet and discuss problems and solution of the education crisis...over 2 for 1 umm milks. After the "meeting" I will travel back to Oxford and leave for Nashville. I cannot wait to get back home. There is obviously no doubt that I adore Oxford but there is something really special about Nashville; the air feels different. Maybe its the music, in riverfront or the pollution...whatever the case I am always excited to go home. Unfortunately this weekend will be jam packed with events to go to so I feel like I will not see my family enough but some is better than none I guess.




In other news if you have facebook, watch out. In the junior high the social online site is the cause for massive amounts of turmoil and drama. I literally had a brief conference over certain students today that have to be moved in my classes because of conflicts on facebook. When an administrator began describing the problem I seriously almost laughed... really, all this over facebook? I acted my booty off though looking very alarmed at the facebook drama. I once had a certain opera director who questioned my acting abilities...look at me now lady! I could win the best acting award every single day!

Well I must get back to the grind! I hope everyone has a wonderful and safe weekend! For Natalie's News this has been Natalie-Corinne.

football duty

After school football duty = total punishment.

Because being at school at the crack of dawn is not enough for your big ol pay check teach...no clearly you need to be at school for 13 hours today. It only makes sense.

I hope you're picking up on the sarcasm because I'm laying it on pretty thick. Boo.

Please feel free to call and demand my presence for a fake emergency.

For Natalie's News this has been a very tired Natalie-Corinne.

Decision 08

Decision 08... no not the presidential decision.. social decision! If you read my last blog you know I was crammed full of social commitments last night and somehow I got it done :) After children's choir I met some friends for Mexican and caught up on all the Ole Miss music department drama...oh how I forgot how Scruggs hall is dripping with secrets, cattiness, backstabbing, gossip, fighting and all sorts of other drama, Good Lord I miss it. After the catch up I raced home and got ready and headed for Downtown Grill (pictured right), NOT before setting my tv to record the debate and Project Runway. I know I have previously stated how the technology revolution waved bye bye to me long ago, I have mastered the record button. My partner in crime Mr. Kelly Burns and I traveled together and were lucky enough to celebrate Janna Montgomery's birthday. It was so awesome seeing some St. Peter's choir people I have not seen in a while. Janna looked amazing and was beaming on her big day. Her husband Travis treated Janna and her lucky friends to a beautiful and tasty cake and a the most professional version of Happy Birthday I have ever heard (One plus of having singer friends). We stayed and celebrated with Janna until the big whopping 10pm. Sadly it is positive I am getting old because I was so concerned with getting back to get in bed. I mean I know 5:15 comes early, but really?! If this is what life becomes, someone pull an Old Yeller (pictured left) and put me out of my misery. Anyway, not wanting to miss any tv goodness I made myself stay awake and watch the debate and Project Runway to dvr. I had mixed emotions about the Project Runway finale. I feel like this whole season has been kind of drab and that the finale was far less dramatic than usual. Where were the accusations of cheating? An extra challenge? Nope nothing, just Kenley (pictured right) crying with her ridiculous bangs as usual. I actually liked both of the other finalists a lot so I was happy and sad right along with both of them. Sounds kind of odd that I am so into to them.. nah lets just call it dedication. Others that share in the Project Runway culture will totally understand.

Well I need to go prepare for my next class. I hope everyone has a wonderful day! It's almost the weekend :) For Natalie's News this has been Natalie-Corinne.

What a Wednesday

Today I am booked, totally booked socially and not a clue how to fit everything in... such a problem to have I know. After school I must race back to Oxford and direct the children's choir at St. Peter's church. After that I am determined to go the gym... after this is where the confusion begins. Obviously tonight is the final debate and being a responsible American it is my duty to watch the debate. However, there is also a project runway finale party (my fabulous friends pictured above) AND a birthday celebration for my good friend Janna Montgomery occurring all at the exact same time !! Fortunately I have dvr so I will probably record and watch the debate later tonight but I am so unsure of what to do about Project Runway. Being such a loyal fan (hello my cat's name is Heidi) I have never missed an episode even though I believe this season is lacking. But Janna is a good friend and I should definitely go to her birthday party at the Downtown Grill. Decisions, decisions...while I realize the world is consumed with the failing economy, health care, education, etc. we cannot and I repeat CANNOT fail socially, frankly it is just not an option. If my idols Scarlett and Maria could make fabulous clothes out of curtains we can surely remain fun, fabulous and fashionable... its the patriotic thing to do.

Focus on the Family:

I want to wish a belated birthday to far away cousin Ms. Carly Bacurin. She is still in Germany studying and because of this I think my slip up in mentioning her birthday yesterday should be excused because it would take longer than a day to get word across that big ocean to her anyway. I am not sure how she celebrated the big day but I hope it was great! :)

In other news, as I type Brother Ben and I are texting while he is in music class... I know as a teacher I should totally be above this but I mean its Ben... in a music class (Ben's teacher pictured right). Knowing the "education styling" of Ben I have already offered my aid in writing papers... aka I will help him when I receive a call after 11pm needing help on a paper...remember the Hamlet paper Ben?! ha. Oh well, that is what big sisters are for! I am so excited about his upcoming birthday because we have decided to meet on Monday after his practice in Memphis to celebrate his birthday and yes big sis will pick up the tab... at McDonalds. JK.

Well I must return to the land of hormones.. aka junior high. I hope everyone has a wonderful day. For Natalie's News this has been Natalie-Corinne.

1st payment

This year has been jam packed with so many firsts! Earlier there was the first day of an adult job, first pet, first time in 20 years that I have not been a student etc. But now I'm about to complete a first that is unlike the others. Today I will pay my first ever car payment. Honestly, not really all that exciting, I could really do without ever having this first. BUT in 59 more payments, the car will be mine in full! Whoohooo! Now I think I own the windshield wipers and MAYBE left blinker, not really sure.

In other news, brother Ben is enjoying his last week of being a teenager. I cannot believe little Ben will be the big 2-0 next week. My advice is to do something quick and irresponsible now while he is still an invincible teenager. Obviously the day he turns 20 he will become super responsible and boring and begin doing his laundry regularly and all things boys find important once they turn 20. As for presents, Ben is not asking for much other than for peace on earth, but obviously as a young, poor and struggling college student he would not turn down money.... lots of it, in big bills. But you know, its just an idea.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Tuesday! For Natalie's News this has been Natalie-Corinne.

delta blues

Weekend Update:

This weekend I traveled to Helena, Arkansas to attend the Arkansas Arts and Heritage festival, formally known as the King Biscuit Blues Festival. Right after school on Friday I hit the road and made my way to the dirty delta. I was lucky enough to get to stay three blocks away from the festival in the historic Allin house (pictured right). After a brief tour of Helena by car we walked to the festival around 7pm. There were excellent blues artists everywhere playing on small stages and on the side walk. Treasures for sale from exotic locations such as Africa, the Caribbean and Louisiana covered the sidewalks of the downtown. As we walked further down the main street, the tempting aromas of fried deliciousness such as rib tips, catfish and alligator made me totally forget about my vow of being vegetarian and I ate as much meat as possible...and loved every sinful bite. After some grilled catfish we went to the top of the levee and listened to the music. The weather was perfect and the music was amazing. Saturday another lady staying at the Allin house made a huge amount of food in this little antique oven. We feasted on meat yet again before returning to the blues festival. Saturday night was much more crowded. Being a natural VIP, I met a lady named Loretta who knew everyone in Helena including the owner and operator of John and John BBQ. He had two huge smokers put together with all different types of BBQ and was nice enough to give us a free sampling of most of it... so once again, those poor little animals, I hate them again. But honestly it was totally worth it. The picture above was taken from Helena and not of John and John BBQ but their smokers looked exactly like that. Anyway after the marathon meat eating session, we sat on the top of the levee and watched Bobby Rush (pictured right), and he was awesome. People of all over and all different ages danced and enjoyed the music and atmosphere. Around midnight we left and went back to the Allin house. This walk back was the only time I felt a little scared in Helena. Earlier I heard stories of crime issues but I felt very safe there, but we went off the beaten path just a little and I would not recommend doing it again! But the weekend and blues festival were so much fun and I am so glad I was able to join in!

Well I need to go prepare for my next group of... angels :).....Right. For Natalie's News this has been Natalie-Corinne.

Finally Friday

Oh my Lord, what a week it has been. The middle school talent show totally took over my life and now that it is over a wonderful sigh of relief should sweep over me...anytime now. So on to the long awaited middle school talent review. The day started with absolute craziness. Every child was super excited about the talent show and classes were even more difficult than usual. Thousands of questions about hair, makeup, wardrobe, dancing etc made me so sick of hearing my own name. For weeks I have been using every spare minute to prepare for this thing and I still did not feel prepared enough. But anyway, the show must go on. After students left school yesterday I stayed and worked on sound equipment and all sorts of technology that I know nothing about. Somewhere in my college education one might have thought to take a break from the 15th century choral chant study to learn about sound equipment... just a thought. So anyway, parents and students began arriving early and within minutes the auditorium became so insane. So many students and their family and friends were hanging around loudly.. I almost pulled a Brittany and had a nervous breakdown. But no, I had to pull it together for the children...or my paycheck, whatever. Of course some mishaps occurred. The janitor kept trying to help the sound by playing with it the entire time, one of the hosts did not show up, etc but all in all it was a successful first concert. One of my favorite students won the talent show which I was so happy about. I am so lucky to have such wonderful friends Mr. Kelly Burns and Ms. Tiffany Gammell as special guest judges for the night and Mr. Brandon Heishman was the pianist. It was so encouraging/intimidating having friends there. Tiffany and Brandon are still in school learning to be professional musicians and I'm... well, different.

In other news last weekend was such a success. Mother Michelle and I pulled off one fun and cramped bridal shower for my friend Ms. Rebecca Bertrand. Rebecca's mother and sister flew in from Houston from the party along with 13 other guests. It was so exciting having mom in Oxford to see my new car, house and kitty. We had such a great time but the visits was too short. On Saturday we went to the extremely disappointing Ole Miss vs South Carolina game. The rebels started out strong and fell apart in the second half. Poor Michelle wore very uncomfortable heals for the sake of beauty and regretting it later. Her poor feet were actually bleeding by the end of the game so we left the game right after the loss. Unfortunately we did not get to go to the grove but it is just as well. Everyone was so confident after our win to Florida that we would beat South Carolina that the mood of the campus was very somber. This means several drunk fights among greek men would soon follow and I am way over that.

FOCUS ON THE FAMILY

Lastly, I am so excited about this weekend. I am going to Arkansas Blues and Heritage festival formally the King Biscuit Music Festival in Helena, Arkansas. Papa Pete is super jealous of my trip but he has an exciting trip of his own. He and his friend Mr. Ron are traveling to Knoxville to meet Mr. Ron's son Hunter. They are going to a big beer festival in Knoxville. Remember gentlemen: with the economy is shambles nobody has extra bail money lying around! The other part of the Bottoms clan will be at home for the weekend. Brother Ben is on fall break and right at home ordering the parental unit around and feeling quite comfortable as the spoiled young one!!

Well I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! For Natalie's News this has been Natalie-Corinne.

Finally Friday

Oh, what a week. School has been much busier than normal getting ready for the talent show, children's choir is preparing to sing on Sunday, Michelle is coming to Oxford on Saturday to go to the Ole Miss game and prepare for the bridal shower we are throwing for Ms. Rebecca Bertrand on Sunday! WOW. Last night I should have stayed home and work but I did not. My teacher friend Jessica hosted a debate party for the Biden/Palin debate. As I arrived at her house I knew it would be a memorable night. There were red, white and blue balloons on the mailbox and life size cut out of Joe Biden as you walked in. Joe was so kind he would pose with everyone. Jessica went all out for this party; very hip Martha Stewart. Somehow she found Jill Biden's recipe for Joe's favorite cookie and made these huge chocolate oatmeal cookies! So good! Then she found out his favorite food was pasta so Jessica made this great pasta, salad and rosemary bread! She also served BLUEtinis and Bluemoon beer. It was so cute. As we left we were all given goody bags filled with homemade donkey cookies, Obama/Biden stickers and other fun things. I have not received a goody bag since a birthday party at the skate center circa 1995. It really had been too long. The attendees of this party were also very posh. Jessica's husband Paul is a lawyer in Oxford and I met several other lawyers and such. Most importantly though I met the stand in for Barack Obama at the presidential debate. He has totally become a local celebrity and well of course we hit it off right away. After several glasses of the blue drink we all decided we should go to DC for the inauguration... we shall see.

In other news, like I said before mother Michelle and I are giving Ms. Rebecca Bertrand a bridal shower this weekend. Really, Michelle is doing most of the work but it is at my house. I am getting a little nervous because my house is an upgrade from the previous house but it is still modest. Rebecca invited several "socialites" from Oxford and I am a little nervous about having them in my tiny place. Hopefully they do not mind sitting very closely... we'll just say cozy, that's sounds better, right? Whatever the case, I am so excited to see mother Michelle. I have not seen her in so long and I am so excited to show her the new additions in my life: like the car, cat, new house etc.

Depression Delight

So I am obsessed with the election and gloomy economic state, I am glued to the news and finally yesterday I just could not do it anymore... I needed a break! I began thinking that surely others felt the same frustration. Of course we are concerned.. big time concerned, but maybe it is just the way I deal with things but I thought we could all use some humor about our gloomy times..maybe in the form of a top 10 list... so here goes.

Top ten reasons having a depression is not really all that bad...

10) If you're a recent college grad you do not have to change your quality of living.. keep on being poor.

9) The generation that were children during the Depression 1 and soldiers during WWII are called the Greatest Generation. My generation has been called many things: quiet, apathetic, etc. Now we can be called the greatest generation to be spoiled rotten and then flat broke.

8) Everyone can get very skinny. (potential conversation) Girl 1: Hey Girl 2, you look skinny what are you doing? Jenny Craig? Weight Watchers? South Beach? (Girl 2 answers) No way Girl 1, I'm on the depression diet! Its super great, my boyfriend just LOVES these results.

7)More (forced) quality time at home with family.

6)The US will become super green because we will not be able to afford gas.

5)At least its not prohibition.

4)Canning food will become popular again... and really... it has been out for too long.

3)People will HAVE to listen to us when we're old because we made it out of the Depression II alive.

2) Being in a depression is such a valid excuse for everything. Saying no to people selling girl scout cookies, light bulbs, knives, insurance etc will be that much easier. (potential conversation) Child 1 says, "please buy my world's finest chocolates" Girl 2 "Oh I wish I could but we are in a depression and I'm on the depression diet, sorry" or even better...salesman says, "you see it only makes sense that you buy these encyclopedias. They're for the children" Mom says, "Oh I wish we could be we've got the depression".

1) And the number one reason the depression is not all that bad...Obviously with all of the added family time, people will regain interest in the family singalong. I can see it now, everyone will gather around the piano singing the old classics from all of the best musicals. I know Pete and Ben can hardly wait :)

So when you're sad a gloomy like me, just remember there's a lighter side of the economic turmoil...or maybe that's just the denial talking. Whatever the case, have a great day. For Natalie's News this has been Natalie-Corinne.