The Way Things Are

Today was ... I would love to repeat myself and say it intense. And while it was, it was really so much more. It was difficult | it was fun | it was dissapointing | it was long & now it's all over, just like that.

I dreaded this day until it arrived. I'm not a big fan of opening before 6am, but today it turned out to be a lot of fun. We were like speedy gonzales, my tiny friend and I. Jordan gave us a little refresher course on setting up the ice cream because sometimes there are different ways of doing things, and it turned out that I really had no idea what he was talking about.

So with Christy and I opening front this morning, it was definitely fun. I discovered she sometimes uses a ladder to pour lemonade into the fountain, and at 6am, this makes me smile. If only because it made me remember the time she slipped down the ladder when her skirt caught on the back. * winks *

Around 10:20 a man came through drive-thru asking if we had a particular breakfast item still. I said we didn't, since we were opening lunch in a few minutes. He thanked me and said he'd do a raincheck, but while I was responding, I accidently must've turned the switch on the headset off so he couldn't hear me talking. The next thing I know, a woman is hollering into my headset, calling me a name I don't particularly care for. I quickly apologized for the confusion, thinking this would make things right and we could forget her un-awesome attitude. She was having none of it, she mumbled to herself about the (COUGH!) not being able to take a (un-lovely word) order.

I gave Kristen a heads up that the girl coming around to the window wouldn't be very pleasant and to really go the extra mile for her. Can you imagine my surprise when the "girl coming around" turned out to be a sweet-ish looking Grandma?? All I have to say is, my faith in sweet looking, little old ladies has vanished.

Apparently, old ladies can holler a lot louder than you think. And they can sure give a sailor a run for their money, ma'am. Let me tell you ...

Our registers took a trip to Antartica again this afternoon, they froze up and we gave away large amounts of free food. Our customers were delighted, and I have to admit, the change of pace was almost welcome. I'm not going to lie. Finally, Steven & Brent got them up and running again somehow and everything went back to normal.

Among the highlights of my day was definitely when another woman came through drive-thru and asked for a peppermint milkshake. I explained that we no longer had that one, but for a limited time we had Banana Pudding Milkshakes. After discussing it with her passenger for what seemed like an eternity, she finally said "Yeah. Just give me a large & small one of them." She pulled forward, then threw it back in reverse. You have no idea the handful of different feelings I had when she demanded that I go wash my hands and put on two pairs of gloves when making her shakes, because I had no idea what kind of germs we could be spreading around.

I cut the headset off and looked at Dustin. "Do I have to do this?!" I asked. He said he'd never heard of anything crazy like that, neither had Devonte. But I halfway did what the woman asked, and put on a pair of gloves knowing that my testimony & keeping the peace were more important.

Still, all the while I was so frustrated because I'd had nothing but a handful of difficult customers back to back for the last little bit. "Germs my eye ... craziness." I don't typically sweat the small stuff, but I guess I was quickly reaching my breaking point, because Dustin came over, grabbed the next order and told me to take it easy.

In that moment, he was such a life-saver. I was feeling WAY overwhelmed just then and his help was a big blessing. But soon, I was able to clock out and eat a quick supper before running to church. It was grey and rainy -- perfect snuggly weather in my opinion. And thus, I had a hard time staying away on my way there, and in nursery once I got there. I actually fell asleep reading Dr. Suess Tongue Twisters to Peanut. She grabbed the book from my hands and pretended to sleep, making little sounds. It was pretty cute!

Glad this day is pretty much behind me, because bed sounds more amazing than you can even imagine. * smiles *

Until Tomorrow, World.

Is There Anything Too Hard For God?

It's out of my hands, I've done all I can do.
I've given God my problem, it's no longer up to me.

I've prayed the prayer of faith, I'm standing on God's truth,
While I'm waiting on the answer, He has a question for me ... 

 Is anything too hard for Me?
Who's got a problem beyond My power to solve?

Are there situations I'm not the Master of?

Is anything too hard for God?

If only I believe, trust His word; I'll see.

His plans are now unfolding, performing perfectly

It's clear how much He loves me, look at all He's done!

For all life's questions, there's really only one ...

Is anything too hard for God?

Who's got a problem beyond His power to solve?

Are there situations He's not the Master of?

Is anything too hard for God?

God Makes NO Mistakes

Tonight, this song means a thousand different things to me.

My Mom | Sister | & I sang it tonight for church and it was only then, that the words truly hit me. Everything God has recently thrown into my life and so much more, are only things to strengthen me and for Him to use for a purpose better than I could ever hope to have.

I know that God isn't making any mistakes with how my life is turning out. Someone reminded me just the other day that nothing has taken God by surprise. That encourages me more than you know, I'm so thankful for Godly people in my life that help me get through struggles and trials that seem so very big. In truth though, God hasn't been taken by surprise, and to me, that's the best thing I know! * smiles *

My life I give to you, oh Lord, use ME I pray!

May I glorify Your precious name in all I do and say

Let me trust You in the valley dark as well as in the light.

Knowing You will always lead me

Your will is always right!

I know God makes no mistakes,

He leads in every path I take.

Along the way that’s leading me to home.

Though at times my heart would break,

There’s a purpose in every change He makes.

So that others would see my life and know

That God makes no mistakes.

And when some day in heav’n above I see His dear face,

May I then be counted faithful as a runner in this race.

But now I’m trusting in the Savior to show me the way.

In His righteousness, He guides me as I seek to please Him day by day.

I know God makes no mistakes!

... Not a single one.

 

It's Not Always What You Think

Later tonight, Michael and I were cleaning the restrooms. He had been sweeping and I was doing the sink and mirror. He stepped out for a minute to grab the mop, when a woman came in rather hesitantly. I smiled at her but said nothing, figuring she hadn't come in to socialize anyway.
"Excuse me?" I turned around to find the woman standing there with the oddest expression on her face. "Oh! Don't worry, you're fine. I'm just cleaning up." I said, thinking she must be worried about the bathroom not being available. She shook her head, "Uh ... I ... uh, was just coming in and didn't want to ... um, interrupt you guys if you were uh ..."


Inside, I died. I went from being shocked to inwardly dying with the strongest impulse to bust out laughing. "Oh no ma'am! The bathrooms are fine, go right ahead." The woman, who had turned three shades of red, pushed past me and latched the door behind her. I dropped the glass cleaner by the sink and slipped out the bathroom before my laughter really rocked the poor lady's boat any further.


Michael came around the corner and I grabbed the back of his shirt as he headed for the bathroom. "Don't! Go. in. there." I gasped. "Why? What'd you do?" He suddenly looked worried.

 Basically, I'm still a rookie where some closing things are concerned so I immagine he thought I'd either broken something or flooded a toilet, etc. I explained to him what had happened, and he laughed so hard he grabbed the nearest chair.

A moment later, the woman came out and gave us a funny sort of look. I walked away coughing to cover the fact that I found her take on the whole thing quite comical, to say the least. What's wrong with people these days?!!! Do they think Chick-fil-A employees have nothing better to do than make-out in the bathrooms after hours? Eeeww ... * Laughing muchly. *


All Michael could say was, "Are you SERIOUS?!! That's just Reckless, ya'll."

McKenzie and I suddenly realized a wonderful fact. She's been accepted to Gardner Webb and that's only five minutes from where I'll be. We definitely already kind-of-sort-of  maybe made a bunch of plans to go bowling and stuff. She really gets the whole bowling thing, whereas I dont ... I just bowl for the heck of it and love every minute of it.

But she's cute and all, and we plan to have bunches of fun at school. * smiles *

We teased Brent a good deal about smiling today, or the lack thereof. But he was in a fantastic mood, because we were able to surprise him by getting front & dining room finished by 10 and working on dishes until 10:30. There's nothing like getting done a little early when you've have a rough day.


So much for Ihop after work. Too tired to eat stuffed French Toast and all that lovely stuff. Its a real bummer I didn't think to bring an extra change of clothes, because who doesn't love a good night out at Ihop? * smiles *

Well world, it's been real and it's been fun. But I have been thinking about this moment all day long. This, the moment I say goodnight and crawl into my amazing bed and sleep for hours and hours and wake up to sunshine outside my window with almost no place in the world to go.

 G ... O ... O ... D ... N ... I ... G ... H ... T

Yes, that makes me smile.

Bunches.

P.S. I don't even know why I bother tip-toeing around the house at all hours of the night when Romeo pushes plastic balls and toys around making all kinds of racket. Crazy cat ...

Reckless Abandon -- Part One

So I just walked in the door, and I'm not even going to lie. Today was intense ...

• Started off not feeling very good, so everybody kept asking "Why aren't you perky today? You're like ALWAYS perky. What's wrong with you?"

• Somehow, the fact that it was Kid's Night completely bi-passed me. So when we started having gobs of people come in with teeny tinies, it finally clicked. The ACAC girl came up before she left and said "You're still wearing your bracelet?! That's cool."  What's cool is that she remembered ... but then again, if you had like five Chicky girls come up to your table in the middle of kids night activities and beg for braided bracelets, I suppose you'd remember them too. * winks *

• Our boards screens have been messing up lately, so Brent called Corporate to get them to switch out our online stuff -- complicated process, I guess. So in the middle of our supper rush, my computer screen froze up. All in a row, every other register locked up along with mine. McKenzie and I called for Brent, who came from the drive-thru register looking kind of exasperated. He's a big fan of these technological problems that toally throw business. But he's good at jumping right into a problem and fixing it, so we wrote down orders for the next half hour and promo-ed them out.

• One guy pulled out his wallet, I explained to him that it was free and he smacked the counter in surprise and said, "Get outa here, girl! You dead serious?" I told him I was and he seriously whooped in the middle of Chicky like he'd won the lottery.

     ... and I thought to myself  "Good gosh, man. It's just Chicken." But then I had to laugh, because he had three friends just like him. They showed mutual gratitude. * smiles *

• The Ice Cream machine froze up after getting the registers all squared away and I thought, "Seriously? Will we make it through this night?"

• "Oh my gosh! That signs coming down tomorrow, this makes the girl happy." I said, pointing to the Free Breakfast Tuesdays sign sticking up in our rock | flower bed as we finished the trash. Michael stopped, casting one long enormous -- yet funny and strange -- shadow across the white pavement. "Huh? You're not makin' any sense, sweetheart."

    I picked my way back across the drive, heading back inside where it was warm. "It's the last week of March! No more free breakfast, and don't call me sweetheart."

Tomorrow, I'm off entirely and pretty much in love with this fact. It means I get to sleep in, and get things done like a care-free human being. And hopefully feel better too! That excites me. Yay!

Michael

Hey Brittany's friends, this is her best buddy Michael :) She kept me during the summer. It was kinda awesome!!!! So imma go now.

Amazing Grace

Amazing Grace,

How sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like ME!

I once was lost, but now I'm found.

Was blind, but now I see.

'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear

And grace my FEARS relieved!

How precious did that grace appear,

The hour I first believed.

My chains are gone.

I've been set FREE!

My God, my Savior has ransomed me.

And like a flood His mercy reigns!

Unending love, Amazing Grace.

The LORD has promised good to me.

His word my HOPE secures.

He will my SHIELD and portion be,

As long as life endures.

The earth shall soon dissolve like snow.

The sun forbear to shine.

But God, Who called me HERE below

Will be FOREVER mine ...

You are forever mine!

Nothing Profound

• The first words out of my mouth this morning when Joshy woke me up, were "Hold on, I have to get my last order out." This made him frustrated, he said "Brit. This is NOT Chick-fil-A ... it's just the basement."

• When I looked out my bedroom window, the world was white and little white fluffy things were falling out of the sky. And I thought to myself, "There's snow in March, why??"

• My Sunday School class went fantastic this morning. I even remembered to bring a snack, thus I was right up with all other kind of nice teachers in the world. * winks *

• We have Dr. Childs in for Spring Bible Conference and I absolutely love | love | loved his preaching. He's such a sweet & Godly man. Not to mention the fact that Michael wrote me a note in service that said, "I love him! He's hilarious."

• Got to spend some time with my boys this morning! Cameron & Noah. This was basically almost the highlight of my whole entire day.

• I chatted for almost an hour with my very sweet & amazing cousin. We mostly talked about hair and school and clothes and people. Which is basically, everything under the whole wide wonderful sun I suppose. But anyways, it was bunches of fun catching up on our busy lives and making plans for our summer and all that fun lovely stuff. * smiles *

• Staying home from church tonight was no fun. But Buttons came downstairs and fell asleep on top of me out of sympathy. All I have to say is, you're not really going to go too many places with a 14 pound cat sleeping on your stomach. And forget about changing the channel if he's curled up on top of the remote too, he's liable to whack you in the face with his tail.

• Hide & Seek in the dark sounds fun ... it'd make us feel like we were kids again.

• I watched Pearl Harbor again today. I love that movie so much, it always makes me cry though. But I could watch it again and again.

• P.S. We had Chocolate Bochlava after work last night and it was out of this world good amazing. I'm already a lover of Bochlava to begin with, but throw chocolate into the mix and I'll probably just keel over and die right there on the spot. * Cross my Heart *

• When will pigs fly? I wonder ... All I know is, that when they do all sorts of unbelieveable things will happen. * winks *

• I love how some people can spend like "four hours a day" on Facebook, and suddenly they repeat old news like it just happened. I spend way less time on Facebook and know half the things up there, and ... yeah, makes me smile every time. Yeah, we're Facebook stalkin, we're having some fun ...

• After sleeping off and on all afternoon and night, bed STILL sounds good to me so ...

              Goodnight, World.

Put the Blinkers On and Sit a Spell

"Fun fact: I've never sat on the side of the road in the middle of almost nowhere, because the car ran out of gas ... Until tonight. All I want to know is, where's my good Samaritan??"

"Can I drive?" I asked, standing in the middle of my grandparents drive-way as I waited for all 11 family members to decide where they would ride. My grandma was more than willing to let me drive my Grandpa's awesome Convertible which is pretty much amazing, but thus the seats were too small to fit all the girls in the back so we took the other car.

"Watch these curves up here, they're going to be sharp. Lot of people just go right on through the guard rail ..." My papa warned, as we headed up the mountainside. My grandma and the girls were smooshed into the backseat chatting up a humongous storm and laughing an awful lot. We passed Big Meadows and he reminded me of the time we'd all taken a picnic up there and roasted hot dogs and watched deer. We drove through the park and up another steep incline before we spotted the sign for Four Seasons: Massanutten. By this time, we were all starving hungry and the food was absolutely amazing. * smiles *

After eating for an eternity which wasn't hard considering the menu, we shivered our way back to the car. I was smart enough to latch on to my Papa's arm because he's always much warmer than I and the cold mountain air was just whipping across the expanse of parking lot. My grandma and I swapped seats so she'd be more comfortable, and everything was fine and dandy.

... Until, we were about halfway back up the mountain and the car began to sputter a bit. My papa told my grandma just to give it more gas and it'd be fine. She did, and that only made matters worse. The car puttered some in protest and then ever so suddenly gave up the ghost and died. Right there on the side of the mountain with no respect or decency for passengers who really loved the idea of staying warm and getting home.

I dug my phone out of my bag and called my Momma, explaining our dilemma. She laughed and almost hung up on me until she realized I wasn't joking. And I thought to myself, "Becoming toast on the side of a dark mountain is no laughing matter." Are you even kidding me?

So my dad turned around somewhere and went back in the direction we had come, and managed to find a gas can that held all of one gallon of gas which didn't really impress me much. While we girls sat scrunched in the back seat of my papa's car, we couldn't help but crack up just a little. Papa had five girls of his own, so I immagine we took him back ...

My Grandma -- "Well that person passed us too! Why doesn't somebody stop Haywood?"
My Papa, in a somewhat dry tone -- "Would you stop to help somebody on the side of the road at night?"
My Grandma -- "Well, uh ..."
My Papa -- "Yeah! I know you would. Just like a woman."

That made me laugh, because it reminds me of lots of other similar things. I randomly decided men must just be alike where these sorts of things are concerned. * smiles *

The longer I sat there, the more the wheels turned in my head. I was thinking aloud, and mentioned something about feeling like that wounded man in the Bible that the Good Samaritan helped. A moment later, Mckenna pipes up all the way over from her squished up seat by the window, "There went the Priest."

We drew pictures on the fogged windows until daddy came back with the little gas can. I bet my Papa's going to be a pretty happy man when he's riding down the road on a sunshiney day sometime soon and finds all those marks we left. * oopsies. *

Finally, we made it to a gas station and ended up making it home safely. But even for not being the most ideal thing to do with one's grandparents, it was a pretty fun night. And as you already know, I love me some spontaneity. * winks *

This Is Where It All Goes Down

I slide into the booth semi-gracefully, and get the attention of the restaurant's only waiter. His eyebrows raise quickly in ackowledgement, his mouth forms a hint of a smile as he grabs his yellow pad. He scribbles down our order with quick, jerky motions. I can't really read what he's writing; just a familiar looking letter every now and then that only causes confusion in this brain of mine. We wait for him to return, his shoes sliding across the tile floor, breaking the silence of the bare restaurant.

A moment later as I'm stirring sugar into my glass of water, I see something familiar. The white-haired man who is always watching sports and drinking a dark glass of Jack Daniels. This, is my typical Monday afternoon in between work. My grandma and I usually mean to eat elsewhere, but somehow we always end up at the tiny little Chinese restaurant with a staff of four, right down the street from the John Paul Jones Arena where famous people come to visit. It's good, and it's quiet. I like that.

• This morning, I heard the beards chirping through my headset. It was a happy "good morning" from God. How could you NOT smile at a thing like that? * smiles *

• We were short again and I was basically flying solo in drive-thru which doesn't always work out so very well. Today it only had it's glitches and little slip-ups ever now and then, like:

Me (on Headset): "Will that be all for you, sir?"

Driver (at the Window): "Oh, yes ma'am. You have a good day. Thank you."

Me (Forgetting I hadn't turned my button for drive thru off when replying to the man at the window): "You too, sir! Have a great day. It's my pleasure."

Driver (at the menu): "Hey! Hold on. I'm not done yet!"

• And then a nice man came in today, and when I noticed his Little Debbie jacket, I told him how much the boys loved Debbie Cakes and kept the business going. * winks * He and I got to talking and I ended up sharing how dad had raised us on those cakes and it was one of my favorite childhood memories ... he was just the nicest man. So when I turned around to give him his order, he was gone and I thought he'd run to the restroom. But then I see him walking through the door carrying three boxes of Springy looking Debbie Cakes in his hands. He gave them to me with a big smile, and said "Hey! I just so happened to have a few extra boxes in the truck. Take these home for your family." I was absolutely floored and his niceness almost made me cry. 

"Let go, laughing! Life won't go quite like you plan it, and we try so very hard to understand it. But just let it all go ... laughing."

They Make Me Who I Am

" But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."

Joshua 24:15

My amazing siblings whom I love and adore very much!

When You Think You've Got It Bad

"Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD."   Psalm 27:14 Tonight, I'm focusing on this verse because I'm basically worn out. I'm not even going to lie. This day has really been a tough one, and kind of discouraging for me. I wake up everyday and barely get to spend 5 minutes in my Bible. I used to take that for granted, but not anymore. I miss spending more time with God. He amazes me! on a daily basis, I might add. If it weren't for God, I would be nothing on this earth. * smiles * So today, I chose to spend some honest to goodness time with God and find encouragement. I also watched Letters to God ... It made me cry. Bunches. But my soul, it was so very good. Just when I think I've got it rough, I see a true story about a little boy who died of cancer and had the sweetest spirit about everything he struggled through. So I am reminded that just when I think I've got it bad, I don't. God is good ALL the time. * smiles *

Humpy Dumpty Sat On A Wall.

I just walked in the door about 15 minutes ago, and as I sit here I really don't know what to say. All my well-thought out tidbits of the day are a mere jumble of words and phrases my tired mind is racing to put together. It feels like Humpty Dumpty happened in my head, just now ...

Unlike yesterday, I woke up thirty minutes earlier than I was supposed and felt terribly terrific. I was having a dream that was truly quite lovely, and a moment later Abigail was pushing against my shoulder. "You have a text message." Funny, that I'm sleeping through texts now, yes? So I grabbed my phone and sleepily asked who from. Her reply? "Your Bank." Because everybody loves getting text messages about the amount one has in savings ... yeah. Not so much. * smiles. *

Brent absolutely made my day when he had me go on headset for five hours today. Currently, that's my favorite thing. I get bored working front counter and always doing drive-thru so the change has definitely been nice!

Honestly though, me and the milkshakes just don't walk a straight line yet. If I've got two, then yeah it's all okey dokey. But if you throw five drinks | a customer who won't stop talking | and three shakes into the mix then you totally lose me. I'm still figuring all this good stuff out.

A random woman gave me a new name this afternoon, or rather a new title I guess. I thought I'd like to reach out and shake her just a little but thus, God intervened on my behalf. Apparently, it was my fault for Chick-fil-A being so busy and her having to wait in line for 11 whole minutes. Who knew?!

A short time later, a little girl walked up with her grandma. Her arm was cut off above the elbow, and wrapped in a bright pink cast with hearts and little messages scribbled every which way. I asked her what happened. She grew very serious and said, "Surgery."  I smiled down at her as I leaned across the counter, "Well I think your pink cast is pretty awesome!"

Ya'll, she gave me the biggest smile I'm sure she could muster, and turned into quite the little chatterbox after that. Her grandma told me that she's been self-concious about it and thanked me for complimenting her when I didn't have to. Her smile was worth the extra time I spent talking to her. Knowing she was happy made me feel happy inside, too.

Another little girl came in and stood at my register while her mom placed her order. She came back a few minutes later, and said "Excuse me, I like your glasses." That, of course, made me smile. I've been wearing them alot lately so I can see like a normal human being, and some random little girl liking them is pretty sweet.

I closed up tonight and had a pretty good time doing it. Michael mopped --- so I just about broke my neck 50-11 times. We made Kwon smile an awful lot tonight, which makes work all the better.

... Especially when we were $80 shy of our Saturday goal in the last 20 minutes so Jeff and I were begging | pleading | etc additional milkshakes and upsizing every imaginable thing in drive-thru. We were cracking our managers up, and high-fiving one another when we were successful. In the end we were about $45 dollars short, but hey! Not too bad for twenty minutes.
The cats are in the living room going all Jackie Chan on one another and making a racket, so I'm off to turn them in to a Chinese Diner or something and head to bed.

Goodnight, World.

PS. Just kidding about the Chinese Diner, they prefer Rats anyway. * Winks *

Like the Sands of Time

If one had the opportunity to sit back and watch me this morning from the very start, as if my life were one big movie playing across a great big black screen, one might find it quite comical to say the least ...

In the very late hours of night, I suddenly remembered to set my alarm for 8:15 -- today being a day I could sleep in quite a lot and leave by 9am. But alas, a strange noise woke me up this morning. It was the sound of five missed texts, much to my dismay. I reached over in my sleepy stupor and grabbed my phone.

9:20.

Upon seing the time, my heart skipped five beats I'm quite sure. I flung my pile of a zillion comfy blankets away from my body and jumped out of bed so fast I surprised even myself. Two minutes later, I looked half the part of a working girl. I called to my sister to kindly throw some coffee in a cup for me, as I grabbed my bag and kissed the kiddos goodbye.

Seven minutes after waking up, I was heading to work and only just discovering that instant coffee tastes pretty like I've often imagined an ashtray might. But in my heart of hearts, I knew I was destined to be an epic failure all the day long without something to give my tired mind a bit of a jolt. Hello, liquid ashtray. * smiles *

After calling Billy, who wasn't bothered in the least that I was running 15 minutes late, an old Ford with a pile of strapped down old metal parts pulled onto the road ahead of me. The guy was driving slow as molasses, and thus I watched a stream of brown liquid pour from one of the old containers for entertainment. All the while thinking to myself, "Dear God! Must I relearn patience too?!"

I'm pretty sure God said yes. Because I followed him all the way into town at a snail's pace.

But other than a few glitches, my day was good. Michael & Scott came to see me on my break so we all sat down and had lunch together, it was so much fun! They definitely lightened my mood.

The weather was absolutely amazing tonight, and as I was driving home I saw a cute middle aged couple holding one another on the curb waiting to cross the street in court square. It made me smile, because I like seeing people like that.

Love & adored coming home to some TERRIFICALLY fantastic pizza from Mrs. Barnes. It was some of the best pizza I've ever had and it made a hungry girl quite happy. * Hmmm ... *

And one last thing, ya'll. I randomly despise that my natural reaction to finding a tick crawling across my stomach is to fling it on the floor. So I spent five minutes sitting on the floor squinting into burber carpet looking for the thing and feeling like an idiot. lol

"Sometimes, you've got to lose until you win. But it will be alright again."

Buffering from the Soap Box

I told myself fifty-eleven times today that I would not | should not blog tonight. Because today just happened to be one of those days where you keep trying to think happy thoughts, but so many things overwhelm you at once and push your buttons that your happy-system takes a little more time buffering.

The first and best thing ---

• I got to sleep in this morning because I didn't go in until 10, which made me so very incredibly thankful!

• I really messed up today, when instead of thinking of something positive to say when someone really rudely unkindly asked Brian why he had a knife in his back pocket, I said "It's so he can cut someone's throat out!" Brian looked at me, laughing "Why'd you say that?" I'm not even going to lie, ya'll. I'd been dealing with this particular person's attitude all day and I think I finally reached my breaking point. It was a pretty rough day where she was concerned, so I ended up praying quite a lot.

• My adorable munchkin came to see me tonight which SO made up for my rough day. Daniel came around the corner and when I picked him up, he kissed me on my cheek and said, "I love you, Brittany. Like a whole lot." Right then and there, I wanted to cry happy tears because God had sent that awesome little guy to cheer me up bunches. It worked wonders ...

• We had quite a busy day, so we all wound up being everywhere we weren't lined up to be and doing a bang up job on business because we worked together to get things done. I like that part about Chick-fil-A. Team work is a good thing!

• Jake -- the new guy -- worked register tonight and did an absolutely fantastic job! We were all very proud of his hard work and teachable spirit tonight.

• Tonight, we were discussing someone going to a men's club. One of the guys was asking our advice about it; Adrienne and I agreed that they didn't promote good character, nor was it wise to go. The particular girl I'd been struggling to have a good attitude towards all day walked up and said, "Well, I think they should be able to go if he wants to! They just want to have fun." Adrienne and I both looked at each other, and said it wasn't a good place to go. The girl grew serious and said, "Um no, hun. It's called single mom's trying to make a living. Why don't you try to show some support." I don't know, but that really blew Adrienne and I away. "No way am I going to support that! That's not even true. They could get a job anywhere, good jobs!" I said. Adrienne agreed with me, while the other girl started going on. I turned around and walked away.

• I'm not typically controversial but there are a handful of subjects -- the above for instance -- that aren't going down without a fight. I believe it's wrong, and I'm not about to back down just because others think I should support things like that.

• Honestly now, I feel a little like I've been ranting from a soapbox from hello. I'm sorry if I am. Someone said today that you can't always be peppy and positive, even though I try hard to be. So thus, you wound up with a lot of honest to goodness randomness from my day. * smiles *

• Next on the list, I'm going to kill alot of people with kindness. Yes sir, that's just what I'm going to do! Though I don't know what will prove more difficult, learning to say "no" or being so insanely kind to unlovely people. We shall see ...

• Mom brought home my bible study books since I missed it tonight. The title alone is killer, "Finding God's Path Through Trials." Ironic, yes? To this I say, thank you Lord! Obviously, I'm getting some real life examples here! * Smiling muchly. *

A Little Bit of Rain & Randomness

Today, was a very gloomy day. But despite it being bleak and grey outside, my day was still filled with lovely randomness and such things. So I decided I would find all kinds of good things to do with my day:

• I passed Chick-fil-A this morning and smiled. Thinking to myself, "I'm so happy not to be there today." Who doesn't love a day off with a change of scenery?

• We got Chinese take-out with my Grandma today. There was no table while we were waiting on Momma, and thus I decided we should have a parking lot picnic. We did the whole shebang right then and there, right outside of the gym. And sitting on the pavement next to your car eating some of the world's highest calorie food outside the gym where people inside * DREAM * they could eat such stuff, is pretty much an awesome thing. * Happiness in my soul. *

See? And these people still love me. I don't know why ... I'm just here to make their life a little more lovely, I think. * winks *

• I also cleaned my car out when I got home today. Do you know how long I've been wanting to? A very long time, ya'll. A very long time! So now, it's all cleaned up and pretty again with only the bare essentials in it. In the little compartment between my front seats I have an ever growing collection of little significant things. I was looking through them today and some made me smile ...

~ My hospital band. I don't know why I still have that one.

~ A Red Tootsie Pop from my man.

Along with a tag from my AE hoodie.

~ A flat Sea Shell Joshy gave me when we went to Myrtle Beach.

~ One single Pearl Earring. Only because they were my favorite,

and the other one fell out and was lost forever. * sniff *

~2 Empty Hot Sauce Packets from when Dorothy & I went shopping in

Gaffney. They had something funny written on them and made us laugh.

~ A black sharpie. Because I am forever writing things down and

drawing little hearts in random places. 

• Josh climbs in my car as I'm cleaning it out and finds my emergency kit. Talking to himself, I hear him say "Hey ... there's all kinds of break-in thief stuff in here." And to me, he says "Brit! What do you do?!!" The little blonde boy makes me laugh. Bunches.

• Still cleaning, and Sammy says "Man, people could have a sleepover in here." Without thinking, I said "They do." To which he replied, "They do? In a car?" I smile and say, "Nevermind, buddy."

• Later, he points to the side panel of the dash board and asks what something says. I tell him FUSE. "Just fuse?" He asks. I nod my head, "Yep. Just fuse, buddy." He grinned, "So then thats where I'm gonna go if I need to hotwire your car?"

  I stop cleaning and look at the kid who looks as serious as can be standing there almost as tall as I am. "No son, you don't go there to hotwire my car." He shrugs his shoulders, "It's a free country, son."

"Boy, where do you get this stuff from?" I ask. Sammy stuck his hands in the pocket of his jeans like a little man. "The newspaper, Brit. I read about this police guy who hotwired a criminal's jeep. So I going to do it someday. And just think, I already know how."

• Lastly, the boys begged and pleaded for me to ride bikes with them. So alas, I said yes and we three went spent a good little while doing something I thought I'd forgotten how to do ... but then I was reminded that, one never forgets how to ride a bike. * winks *

Singing in the Rain. We're Happy Again!

Dear World.

I hope your day was absolutely awesome! Mine just unofficially ended but it was fantastic, you've no idea.

• Since we'd been discusssing Dustin being un-gloomy in drive-thru, I complimented him when he started being all peppy. He made us girls laugh when he turned around and said, "What are you talkin' about, girl? I gotta wear this polo. I can't help being preppy with stylin' clothes like this." We're all getting stuck on this peppy business, and I've no idea why. But all of us were cracking up so hard today, and everybody was having so much fun!

• I randomly decided that I were just a bit taller, I wouldn't forever be hitting my funny-bone against the window ledge as I'm working in drive-thru. How many times a day can one person bang their arm up without getting bruised?

• Around 9am, we had a guy in his mid-thirties come in for breakfast. As is typical on free-breakfast Tuesdays, we get a bunch of customers that probably wouldn't come to Chick-fil-A otherwise. So this guy walks up and before I knew it, he was leaning all over my register. Seriously leaning. Kind of like old people who can't hear do, which I don't mind ... so long as you're old. Anyways, so he ended up being one of the weird ones. Not to mention that the first thing he did was pay for coffee with a hundred dollar bill, which I think we've established is rather annoying.

• My aunt and one of my favoritest | cutest | most adorable cousins came to Chicky today which thrilled me to no end. * Happiness in my soul! *

• This little girl crawled into her daddy's lap tonight in drive-thru. She gave him something which he passed along to me with a smile. "Here ma'am, she wanted to give you this." I took the little card from him and smiled at the fuzzy puppy dog picture on the front. It said:

Help me to remember, Lord

that nothing is going to happen today

that you and I can't handle together.

....

Along with the verse that talks about trusting the Lord, because he's our refuge and strength. It made me smile bunches. I told her I would go home and stick it in my Bible or up on my bulletin board when I got home. I haven't made it downstairs yet, so it's sitting right beside me but I'm thinking I'm going to stick it in my Bible. I thought it was so very nice of God to put that little bit of unexpected happiness and encouragement in his plans for me today. * smiles *

• It also rained, and I thought how I'd love to go for a run. So far, that hasn't happened yet but in about ten minutes I'm going to seriously drag my lazy | unmotivated little self down stairs and remedy that.

Basically, that pretty much wraps up another day in my life and I'm pretty happy about it. So I'm off to scrounge up some energy and look forward to tomorrow. It's my unofficial day off, so I'm helping my Mom & my Grandma ... and hopefully swinging by Kohls to grab some things for the girlies. * Big Smiles *

~ Tomorrow's another day, so bring on the Rain. ~

Nothing Profound

The moment that I realized I'd be closing tonight and opening tomorrow, my heart sort of sagged inside. I had a feeling that working 12 hours on less than 2 of sleep wasn't going to fly so very high.
Thus, when I came in and Aaron asked me if I was working much tomorrow I laughed. He told me to talk to Billy and see what he could do. As usual, he was all easy-going about it and soon had it all worked out, which I thought was pretty great.

"Billy, Billy. I'd almost hug you right now but you smell like chicken."
He replied, "Yeah, well maybe you smell like an elementary teacher."
"You're such a kid, Billy Billy." I said with a grin.
"Yeah ... you know? That's probably why they keep me in the back."


Really, I had nothing more to say after that because ... well, there's something to be said of that. * winks * jk

• A guy came through drive-thru with the biggest gauge I've ever seen in his ear. It was blood red and I almost asked, "Does that hurt much, mister?" But then I thought to myself, "Of course it hurts, dummy. It's three seconds short of blood and gore and you wanna ask a dumb question like that?" Yeah, call me Captain Obvious.

• One of the funniest things I heard all day, was more like a you-had-to-be-there moment, from Michael. All of us girls were asking how long we were holding on fries, when he leaned over the shoot and said, "Um, yeah. So the potatoe tree got mad at me and it's gonna be a while."

• Come to think of it, there were a bunch of random funny comments at work tonight. It was one of the better nights we've had at Chick-fil-A. 

• Stephanie told me tonight that I was just so ... peppy. Well hey, I'm tired and about to drop dead, but if I'm somehow sounding peppy, I'm not really going to complain much. * smiles *

• Took Gribble's way home tonight and cut my time by a few minutes. I decided that while that way is quicker, it isn't as awesome. I like the lovely | familiar winding roads on Monticello Mountain and knowing just where this and that are. I almost hit five deer too, and randomly wondered what's wrong with deer today? Apparently, horns don't bother them anymore ...

• It's funny to be sitting here in the dead of night, and my sister's voice breaks the silence in the other end of the house. She's not such a big fan of cats, especially ones that come into her room uninvited at night and jump up onto her bed. She's shooing the cat out her room and once I hear it thumping down the hall, her bedroom door clicks as she closes it. I love her.
  
  Well it's the end of the day, and all I can say is that today was just a pretty great day. I love days like that, when I can't remember too much about it but what I do remember is absolutely great.

Goodnight, World.





Make-over Shhhmake-over.

Things are looking a bit different this morning ...

I really had no intention of changing anything just yet, but technology is sometimes just unlovely. After my computer froze, something went haywire and a hundred different settings disappeared much to my horror. Thus, a new look which I'm not entirely sad about. I mean, change is good right?

So instead of writing when I got home last night, I was scrambling through the blog world trying to save my blog from being very much erased. I've yet to figure out just how that came to be ... but anyways! * smiles *

• Yesterday, church was fantastic! I loved every bit of it. I ended up being in the Nursery, and the girls were a riot. By the time Sunday School let out, I had Cheetos all over my skirt and I smelled like Strawberry Oatmeal. Thankfully, cheetos come out very easily (most times) which I never knew.

• Peanut decided to feed Laniyah some oatmeal  -- she leaned over with her little spoon and said, "Jue wike it, Niyah?" To which Laniyah giggled and stuck her tongue out to show her it was all gone. Their baby chatter cracks me up! They go on and on, and I only end up catching about three words.

• If anyone could unofficially adopt family, I would adopt the Barnes. They are some of my favoritest people in the whole world. They make me smile | make me laugh | and make my life a better one.

• I randomly remembered we were having Chocolate Cake after lunch yesterday. I leaned over and told Sammy to stay awake, and reminded him what was for lunch. So while we're sitting in church Sammy is sticking his stomach out and loosening his belt. He reminded me alot of a super-fantastic un-random guy I know. It made me laugh.

• My kids were absolutely fantastic in class last night! They were also pretty exhausted; from what, I have no clue. I was wearing my glasses, so Jay Man wanted to be like me and wear some too. I gave him my sunglasses. He waved and said, "Du By! Goin to wucck." 

• One of the kids asked me if I was married. I said no, and Joshy said "She's gonna be someday!" Then Emma began to tell them that I had a boyfriend, I have no idea how little girls even know such things. "Yup, she's got a picture on her phone." Ah, that explained it. So when Jay Man saw my phone, he laughed. "Payder?" This made ME laugh too, 'cause it wasn't what I was expecting. "No, buddy. Not Peter." * smiles *

• And the homemade Chocolate Pudding was a big hit. Emma informed me she didn't usually like pudding that wasn't from the store. I told her homemade things were healthier for you, and when she asked why, I told her they didn't have as many preservatives in it. Josh leaned over and said, "She worked at a Pregnancy Center all summer, so she knows all about things like that."

• Joshy stuck an orange posted note on our classroom door. I asked him what it said. He replied, "Oh. I don't know, Brit. I wrote it in cursive!" Silly boy, I could put him in jar and keep him forever. And yes. I'd poke holes in the top, Mckenna.

• The girls and I had to run to Charly last night after church to run an errand for Momma. On the way home we passed a Chinese restaurant, the sign was flashing OPEN in big glowing neon letters. And thus, we ended up eating chinese at 10:30 last night which was pretty much amazing.

That pretty much wraps up my day, with the exception of watching Planet 51 which ended up being pretty fun. I love watching movies with my sisters, they're so much fun. * smiles *

Making Bad Things Better

•  You'd be amazed at all the wonderful things you can do when wearing glasses. After a week of customers thinking I was in a bad mood because I was squinting all the time | and not being able to read the order screen very well, I finally wore my glasses to work. My day went like 10 times smoother, thanks to being able to see! So obvious, yes?

• Randomly, I love laughing with people. It's one of the best feelings in the whole wide world.

• This old man came up to my register this afternoon and asked, "Do you take orders to go, little lady?" I smile "Oh, absolutely. What can I get for you?" He leans over the counter, "Well, why don't we all just go 'n have us a little picnic? You know ... folks just don't do that anymore." There was a twinkle in his old eye, and his mouth wobbled a little as he smiled. I grinned at him, "Well, I think they might miss me just a little bit." He laughed a funny sort of laugh and said, "Yep, yep. I bet they would." In case I haven't said so in a while, I love old people.

• So I passed a stone place this afternoon and randomly wondered what they'd put on my grave stone when I die.

• On a brighter, less morbid note --  I went to our brand new Kohls today and loved it so much. I'm not even going to lie. Tons of lovely things in there, but thus I was such a good girl and stuck to window shopping instead ... or for now, I should say. * winks *  

• Adrienne and I were up in the freezer like a bunch of monkeys looking for a box of whipped cream that wasn't even there. It was pretty fun stuff, freezing up there on the ladder like that. * smiles *

• I caught 11:11pm on my phone tonight. This made me smile, it's like Lucky Charms & Sunshine. But it always makes me think of one of my favoritest roomies in the whole world, Jenny-furr. Every night, she'd grab her phone to see if she'd catch it, and when she did she'd jump out of bed and said "Eleven-eleven. Let's make a wish!"

• Some dear sweet person got behind me tonight and totally blinded me. Then I remembered that Jesus truly loves all kinds of people, even me. So instead of getting irritated, I flipped my mirror up with a smile. Now tell me, how much better is that than to get mad? I decided I'm going to try to keep finding little things like that to make bad things better. Sounds good to me!

• And Oh My Lanta! Lord help us all come tomorrow morning when we're sitting in church fighting sleep. The sudden realization that Daylight Savings just sprung our blessed time forward an hour and a half ago, gives me a funny feeling that I'll probably be yawning my way through the morning.

Goodnight, World.

Spelling the Obvious

• So tonight, I came home to a boatload -- more like a shipload, actually -- of comments on my blog. And I just want to say I really love the feedback, even if it did suddenly occur to me that enabling a chat box on the side might also be a good idea. * winks *

• I met a woman who is currently living in Uganda with her adopted baby girl who was absolutely adorable. She was so sweet, I could've talked to her for a long time. It's funny how you can think one thing of something like adoption for instance, and meeting people like that change your whole way of thinking.

• Billy asked me today, "So why do you always come and sit in your car for like 3 hours, Pal?" I laughed at his exaggeration of all of 15 minutes. "Oh, 'cause I'm paranoid that one day I'll be late." He nods his head, "Yeah, well hey! That's a good Paranoia, you're better than alot of the typical freaks walking around." I nod and grin, "Yeah, you know it! Oh Billy Billy, we'll never think of anything good to do with you."

• Last night I wasn't feeling very good. Michael made me laugh when he hugged me and solemnly said, "I'm sorry you're dying from Polio, Crazy Pretty Lady." It was so sincere, but he cracked me up. I think the sentimental moment was lost after that, but the thought is what counts. * smiles *

• Have you ever thought how people with obvious names like Jim and Bob voluntarilly spell their names but people with odd, rare names never do? Have they any idea what the poor person behind the register goes through? Scrambling to spell their name with only a personal interpretation of how to do so?

Nothing Profound

• My sister heated my coffee up in the microwave. I hadn't realized she'd brought it in until she pointed it out. I asked, "Is it hot?" She replied, "Probably not ... been sitting there for like 15 minutes!" So I grabbed it, happily discovering the cup was warm. And thus, I basically burned the taste right out of my mouth.  Good Morning, America.

• Every now and then, my arm and shoulder hurt like the dickens. I was just wondering what I had done to it, then I remembered. Alma and I were in the walk-in yesterday, neither of us could reach the boxes on the tippy top shelf so in my little mind, it was "Shorty's gotta do, what shorty's gotta do." And it was up the shelf we went, and back down again with a box of Ice Cream mix. I just want to know who the brilliant individual was that put it way up there. It weighs 50 pounds, and today my shoulder is hating me and asking "Why the heck, super-woman?" 

• And I love that moment when the Teas need to be refilled and they're above my head. I lug one of those big old containers out there to front counter, and eventually get it all in there looking all super-woman-ish as Billy says. He took over yesterday and said with a grin, "You gotta love this. Smiling all nice on the outside and going 'uhhh, oohhhh. My gosh, man!' on the inside." I laughed, "Yeah, Billy Billy." He cracks me up.

• I forgot to mention that I had a pretty scrumptious cupcake yesterday, thanks to Billy's baby shower.

• So it was a pretty nice day full of Sunshine and Cupcakes. Well not so very many cupcakes, more like a lot of sunshine. * smiles *  

• Hugs are special, they make me feel a whole lot better. Thankful for those lovely things!  

How Deep the Father's Love

How deep  the Father's Love for Us! How vast beyond all  measure. That He should give His only  son, to make a wretch His treasure. How great the pain of searing loss! The Father turns His face away, As wounds which marred the Chosen One, bring many sons to Glory.

Behold! The man upon a Cross, my sin  upon his shoulders. Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice  calling out among the scoffers. But, it was my sin that held  Him there. Until it was accomplished, His dying breath  has brough me such life. I know, that it is truly finished.

I will not boast in Anything. No gifts | No Power | No Wisdom. But I will boast in Jesus Christ, his death and resurrection.

... But Why should I gain from his  reward? I cannot give you an answer. But this I know with all  my heart, His wounds have paid  my ransome.

His Name was Mary

• Two random guys walk up to two registers. Chick-fil-A employee asks "May I get your name for the order, sir?" The big burly customer replies "Mary." with the straightest, most serious of faces. Second Guy customer busts out laughing right there on the spot and actually had to walk away from the counter to get a grip on himself. This made me laugh bunches and tons. It was hilarious ... especially because they didn't even know each other.

• Yesterday, I was so tired that I fell asleep eating lunch. Jordan bumped my arm and said, "Hey, wake up." Apparently, I had fallen asleep as I was putting cream cheese on my bagel. Who does that? I guess I was just really, really tired. Jordan's words of wisdom: I should get more sleep, because I looked like I was going to fall over dead. Thank you, Jordan. * smiles *

• Something funny happened today -- my cousin stopped by Chicky to see me, and a few of the girls said, "Is that your brother? He's hot!" I cracked up, because I never really think of my cousin as hot but rather adorable. But alas, he's decided he ought to visit more often after gaining such smiling approval.

• Tonight, I am thankful for caring people who take on a load of responsibility and step in when I can't handle something, even if I want to really bad.

• I bright-lighted somebody tonight on the way home and as felt so bad about it for some random, silly reason I wanted to jump out and say "Hey mister, sorry 'bout that" just because it's because a pet peeve of mine lately, but then I told myself I was a nut and went on my merry little way.

• I suddenly just looked at all the comments on my blog and thought, "Golly molly, that's alot." lol

• So I think I'm getting used to the kitties. The14 pound tub of lard is curled up in my lap being all sweet and cuddly. Neither of them have permanent names yet, due to 8 people not agreeing on anything just yet. Personally, dumb and dumber would be just fine with me as they don't come running when I snap my fingers or say "Here, kitty kitty." Mommy informed me last night that it's not natural, unless you've raised them that way. My bad for expecting greatness ... anyways, the grey one is in my lap nearly suffocating me and watching me type. It's cute.

• And I basically forgot we had kitties unitl I walked in the door tonight and tripped on one of those teeny, shiny kitty toys they'd left lying around.

• It just dawned on me that I have Piano class bright and early tomorrow morning, and I've touched the piano for a little over an hour all week which is really quite sad! If it were a test, I'd surely fail it. But thankfully, my piano teacher is awesome and lets me slide on little things.

• And the absolute best for last. Tomorrow is Saturday, meaning after piano I don't have to work until later. Much later. Connecting all those little dots, means I don't have to wake up at all un-Godly hours of the morning. Hello rainy wet, wonderful world. Goodnight! * smiling muchly *

It's Raining, It's Pouring.

Well, I'm almost disappointed in myself for not blogging last night. It ended up being a longer day than I'd expected, so by the time I got home all I wanted to do was sleep. I woke up twice thinking to myself, "I should blog. But I'm SO tired. I'll get up in a minute ..." But alas, the minute to blog never came. I slept like a rock, which brings me to Yesterday's Nothing Profound.

• This entirely gay guy walks up, with these two girls with hair dyed shades of Pink & Purple. You know that feeling you get that's a cross between "Oh-my-gosh! That's gross."  and "Seriously? Do you have any idea how much you're cracking my insides up, It?" He orders a plain biscuit and asks me if we've got grape jelly. So after the whole grape jelly ordeal is over, he sashays back over to the counter and says "Doll, could I trouble you for some water?" I'm really gagging on the inside, but smiling ever so pleasantly on the outside. I ask him if he wants a lemon -- just like every other customer -- and he grins and does that flippy wrist thing. "Girl, you're nice. I like you, Brittany."  Where's my fork, knife & spoon, people?! * Gagging. *

~ I reminded myself Jesus loves all people ... so yeah, it's ever a work in progress.

• Then as I'm working drive-thru, I turn around and run smack dab into all 6 foot, 4 inches of Brent-liness. I'm talking like didn't see him there | full force kind of deal. I've yet to determine who suffered the most from our little collision but he had a good laugh over it. Especially when I said, "Oh my gosh, I didn't even see you there!"

• You would be amazed at how mean some people can be! So this woman had her six year old little boy with her, and this college guy walks up to my register obviously not realizing the woman was in line. The woman jerks his coat sleeve and says, "Hey hey, Buddy! Don't be butting in line, who do you think you are?! I was here before you, are you blind?" He's quick to apologize and step out of her way as she makes a beeline for my register.

          My register! O_o

• After watching the little ordeal, I was really ticked off at the woman. She comes up smiling like nothing happened, and asks me about my day etc. I wanted to knock her head off, which isn't really polite to do either all things considered ... but she was such a snot to that poor guy. Needless to say, I got the job done and that's about all. She came for food and that's what she got; not a whole lot of small talk and smiles. Maybe one day I'll feel bad, I don't know. ??

P.S. So I've suddenly decided, God keeps giving me some unlovely customers so I can learn to be more loving. Thank you, God. * smiles *

• Jeff and I worked drive-thru and let me tell you, it was probably the most fun I've had in drive-thru in a while. It was crazy and random for one. Secondly, it was raining cats and dogs outside so every time I opened the window, Rain would just come pouring in. We ended up with a puddle inside, and I basically got soaken wet but it was a blast. I'm not even going to lie - I loved it. And just before I decided I loved the rain and getting all wet, Jeff turned around and said, "You're gonna want to confirm that order. I couldn't hear very well." And I thought to myself "Jeff, are you even kidding me?!" So we took wet money | shoved bags into open car windows and kept things short and sweet. It was the best part of my whole entire day ... minus, coming home and sleeping forever that is. * wink *

Thus, my day ended with a bang. It was simply terrific!

Kinda Happy / Kinda Sad.

It was pretty much a good day, today! It wasn't entirely fantastic, but all in all it was a pretty fine day. A few more people called in sick, etc so we were a bit shorthanded up front to say the least. Jordan and I ran both drive-thru & front counter which was nothing short of insanity for 2 hours. We both had headsets on and rushed from one thing to another, but after reinforcements showed up we decided we hadn't done half bad. * wink *

Somehow, it feels like this morning was forever & ages ago. But it was kind of a fun day, and we had a good three hours of slow business which made me fantastically happy! You wouldn't believe how much not having lines out the door for just a little bit is appreciated until you've been there, done that.

Corporate -- the big Chicky Head Honchos -- is coming tomorrow, so my boss not only called me in early tomorrow, but had us double checking odds and ends things all afternoon. It was a blessing for everyone not to have to wait on a lot of starving customers and clean under and around things too!

P.S. It helped that everyone had great attitudes, and just had a good time working with each other.

By the way, if you haven't ever tried a Spicy Chargrilled Wrap know that they are super scrumptious. I had one for supper tonight, and then had an ice cream cone on the way home. The combination was lovely. * smiles *

Currently, I am snuggled up on the couch sneezing and coughing more than any one girl should ...
I had just gone on break today, when Mama & Daddy showed up. They'd had some errands to run in town and had decided to stop by. I walked out to Dad's truck with them, thinking that maybe I'd steal some of their Milkshake like the lovely little moocher I can sometimes be. (Jk) They pulled out two cardboard boxes, and when I heard the box Meow, I flipped a cow.

... which is pretty ironic, seeing that I work at Chick-fil-A, ya know?

So now, we have two kitties in remembrance of our favoritest Katchina. * sniff *

One is solid black with long hair and coal black eyes --- I think this one shall scare me some cold dark night when I'm traipsing around the house on my lonesome. We shall see.
The Second, is smoky gray with short thick hair with melty grey eyes. But here's the real kicker, one weighs 14 pounds and the other weighs 10. That's one hunk of cat, ya'll. They're so heavy, when I got home from work & church Dad told me to go sit down with them. Sit down with them ... like they're two big old babies, can you believe it?

My siblings assure me they are sweet and loving, for all the six hours they've been with them. The only problem is, they aren't Mancoon Cats and I'm pretty much on the brink of misery feeling sort of like maybe I've got a cold, but haven't. And I say to myself, "Oh Dear Lord! Please build mine ammunities fast."

                                 The End.

For Lack of Something Better ...

• At ten to five this morning, the self appointed wake up call flashed their brights behind me. And I thought to myself, "Why?" Nevertheless, they will have to try harder to aggrivate me on a morning when I haven't grabbed a Blueberry Waffle & Coffee as I walked out the door. Blueberry Waffles are kind of like Lucky Charms - they maketh me smile.

• Nothing but girls on the front line-up today, with the exception of Dustin. None of us had more than about four hours of sleep, we were crazy tired and we were either laughing or crying. It was pretty hilarious. The poor guy just stood there trying to pick up our slack, as we laughed over the dumbest things. For a solid 2 hours straight, we even had a few customers cracking up at our antics, and Dustin just kept saying, "I'm sorry, sir/ma'am. Things are a bit crazy this morning." * smiles. *

• Every Tuesday, we're holding on Spicy. And yet, people still act surprised. This fact never ceases to amaze me, wouldn't it be smarter to just assume we'll hold and plan ahead? But it always works itself out in the end, no biggie.

• As I'm ringing up one of the guy's employee meals, he leans over the counter and says "You wear a retainer?" I'm sure I gave him a funny look when I said, "I do, but not at the moment." Jordan told me to smile, as he unconciously smiled himself. "Man, you got nice teeth." I replied, "What. In. The. World. Jordan." And then Miss Jackie told he he better scoot himself off to break before she got a broom after his backside. She's a keeper, that woman.

• The fake twin of a famous man came through drive-thru today, and I thought to myself that everything was fine. * smiles *

• This afternoon, Miss Jackie was making Milkshakes. Unbeknownst to me, she has a weak stomach. As she was making a Chocolate Milkshake for Drive-thru, I heard her cough so I turned around to see if she was alright. All sympathies fled when she began gagging and walking away from the ice cream shaking her head. Casey and I were practically on the floor in stitches! Turns out, Casey had without thinking make a remark about the chocolate syrup on top looking kind of like an eye-ball she'd seen somewhere, which set poor Jackie off. She comes back looking fierce, which for Jackie isn't so very scary. "O my lanta, girl!" Casey said, "Jackie. You always blame me for everything." Then she and I busted up again. Someday soon, Miss Jackie's going to come after both our backsides with that broom of hers. * laughing muchly. *

• My coworkers are so different and interesting. Kristen walked away from front counter today to "help me" because she couldn't take it anymore. I asked her what was wrong, and all she could say was "Man! he's so hot. I just had to walk away before I did something dumb." Oh my soul, what a day it has been. They keep life interesting, for sure.

• I came home, changed my clothes and slept through supper with real fine class. Basically, I pretty much crashed on the couch for two hours and woke up to Dad reading Pilgrim's Progress to the boys. When Daddy asked them what they thought of it, Sammy said "Well Dad. I think it sure does sound like a smart book. Kind of like the Bible. Yeah."

• Why do little kids have to talk so fast? Leaves my exhausted brain in a muddle, racing to make some sort of sense out of what they're talking about.

• I don't even have to know my Boss' number to recoginize when he calls. He left a message and asked if I'd come in early on Thursday. We're pretty short at work due to the craziness of schedules lately, so I text him and told him I would. Hello, 54 hour week. I think we shall soon become fast friends. * smiles. *

Nothing Profound

• This morning, as I'm getting ready to leave for work, I hear my little brother say "Mom, I wanna go to disneyland before I move to my island." All the child ever talks about is growing up and moving to his little island where he can have a sleeping porch for us to stay in when we visit. I'm still thinking "Not so, Joe."

• My tiny tots actually loved having Oatmeal Raisin cookies for snack last night. Who knew they could be so picky about what they consumed? I mean, some of them haven't quite reached that stage where licking bottles of glue are beneath them, seriously. * smiles. *

• I let Kenna drive on the way home this afternoon. It was back to smilin' and wavin', and it was then that I noticed that waving is so crucial to this girl. It went from the white-knuckled grip to this quick grab-the-air kind of wave. By the time we got on our road, I was laughing so hard. Elaina finally piped up from the backseat, "Kenna, it's just a wave. We're not counting to four!"

• Remembered to take some medicine & Vitamins after supper. And as she's watching me, my mother says, "Oh Brittany. People swallow swords, ya know." Apparently, she thinks it's far easier than it looks ... O_o

• Have you ever read the Bobsey Twins? I never have, but the boys are reading them. How can there possibly be a cliff-hanger at the end of every chapter??

• Smart people go to bed at decent hours when having to get up at 4am the next day, others just seriously consider it. * wink *

P.S.  I despise buying school books. Must they really be expensive if I'm only using them once? Just wondering ... I am reminded of a phrase: "Such  is  life." Apparently, that's the way this girl's cookie shall currently crumble. * smiling muchly *

I really shouldn't ..

Okay, this will probably make you feel really good about the way you drive. A friend sent this to me and I laughed so hard! Especially when the gas pump drags the woman around the side of her car. Other times, I just sat there in open-mouthed shock, and thought "Are you serious?!"

Anybody out there care to give their opinion of why some women are just so inadequate to drive? I'd surely like to know. * smiles. *

So here it is, Why Girls Can't Drive ...

Untitled Indeed.

I just walked in the door, and have yet to change my clothes. My energy is basically zero, so I ditched the Italian leftovers from supper, and settled for some Lucky Charms. Have you any idea what Lucky Charms do for my soul?!!

On my way home, I suddenly realized something good and wonderful. So wonderful, I almost wanted to cry. I made it through 55 hours of work this week! It may not mean a lot to you, but I'm so incredibly thankful to have this week behind me. It just feels so good to know that tomorrow I go nowhere but church, and do nothing but sleep in between if I so choose. Hurrah!

My day started off with a bang, I got to sleep in. This was music to my ears, and joy way down deep. The girls and I drove to our piano lesson and went grocery shopping for Mama, which was all fine and dandy. An older man came up to me in the checkout line, and we somehow started a nice little conversation about my favorite-est old neighbor, Michell. I love old people. * smiles *

My sister drove my car on the way home. I suppose this buys me Awesome Big Sister points somewhere down the line, doesn't it? So she's just driving along with her little white-knuckled grip, smilin' and waving at every hick that passes us. And I'm sitting there in the passenger seat - holding her bag of skittles - eating ORANGE ones of all things, and not even caring. Typically, its yellow & red or green & purple, but not today ... I'm freaking out on the inside, and looking smooth and calm on the outside. I'm thinking to myself, "Lord in Heaven, will Orange Skittles truly be my last supper?"

She asks for a skittle, I reach over and shove one in her mouth to save her the trouble. A beat up old Chevy passes us, my sister waves. This girl forgets the skittles momentarily and screams at her sister, "Don't wave! I'm not feeding you for my health, girl." Laughter errupts from all four girls and she insists its only polite. I turn in my seat to look at her ... "Bull, child. Saving my life is polite."



But alas, God heard my plea and we were saved. Until we passed a house with an upright piano sitting on the curb. I've never had the desire to play a random piano on the side of the road before, especially not beat up ones with a cardboard sign with Free! painted on the side ... but you know, it just so happened to be one of those things. Thus, we pulled over and I jumped out long enough to sit down and play a song. It filled the morning air with a twangy version of Power in the Blood, and I thought to myself I'd remember this moment for a long time to come. Random unique moments strike a chord way down deep in my heart, you know.

Why does it always start to rain just as I'm opening my sunroof? I find this strange, and slightly comical.

Have you ever considered the grave chain of events, if a bat were to fly through your open car window at night? I have. Someone once told me such a story when I was little, and I'm gullible and all so wouldn't you know I think of this every time my windows are down at night. * wink *

Speaking of which, on my way home I saw a guy jogging down the road in the pitch black dark. I wanted to stop because smart people just don't run in the rain at midnight, but wise words rang in my head. So I thought to myself, "Hey man, do you really gotta do that now? Just wondering ... "

The day has long since drawn to a close, and the tired girl is thinking warm thoughts of sleep and goodness. So with this, I offer a final farewell to the wet, and rainy world. Goodnight! ♥

Teach Me, O God.

"But Godliness with contentment, is great gain."

1 Timothy 6:6

Have you ever stopped to consider that the trials you are going through is the way that God has chosen to grow YOU specifically? We can look at everyone else with discontentment, thinking they've got it so incredibly easy, but God didn't choose that way for you. ♥

I am so guilty of looking at everyone else's life and thinking Why can they do that, and not me? or Wow, they've got it so good, God. Why did you have to make mine so difficult?

But lately, God has been convicting me of my unthankful attitude for all the good things He's given me in my own life. God knows what is best, if only because He know's the end. But He also loves us and has a wealth of blessings in store for us.

For me, complaining is as easy as breathing. I can be negative about so many things in my life that I think are unfair. But for me to do that, is basically telling God I think he messed up. Who am I to tell God he doesn't know what he's doing??

This past week, I've had a handful of things come up and they really discouraged me. I told God I would open my heart to whatever He was going to do through these circumstances and struggles, and have a positive, Godly attitude. I can't tell you how much happier I've been just focusing on God and growing.

I shared that with one of my coworkers this week, and as good as it is ... I believe it's a place you have to reach on your own without anyone pushing or shoving you to that point. But the best part of it is ~ Our lives can be so much more, when we simply leave it in His hands. ♥

The Source of My Song

Life  is a song worth singing

Though it can be a hard  melody

But, if we keep our eyes on Jesus

He will turn the pain  into perfect harmony.

Oh, The Source of My Song is the Savior.

The reason for my singing is the Man from Galilee

It does not depend upon my circumstances.

For Jesus is the Source of My Song.

If we only sing when we’re happy

We won't be singing  very long

But, if we’re singing while the battle’s raging

The world will know that Jesus is the Source of our Song!