Only three more days to vote in Round 3 of the Brava Writing with the Stars Contest – this round is for is Back Cover Blurb. You can read Madeline Smyth’s, my mentee, entry for Aliya Arabesque on the Romantic Times website.

Go Madeline Go!

OMG, y’all, yesterday I was the victim of a seriously fierce allergy attack. I’ve had them as long as I can remember, embarrassing as they are. Basically my nose, sinuses, etc. go into hyperdrive and turn into a faucet, literally. I go through boxes of tissues, turn my nose raw, and get a headache.

Yesterday such an attack occurred. At work. Blech. Thank God most people are on vacation, including my officemate, or it would have been even more embarrassing. I went out to run an errand thinking the cold air might help. Ha! I went through a whole pocket pack of issues (imagine the contents of my pockets, yuck) before I gave up and went back to work.

By 2 pm, I had had enough. I called it a day and was on my way home by 2:30. When I got home, I chased my 14 YO out of the living room and took one of those Advil congestion pills hoping it would help. After I turned on the Style network, crawled under my cozy sherpa blankie, I fell unconcious and that’s all she wrote.

I woke up two hours later and felt better. This morning I’m better but still have a headache. Vaseline helped my nose while I slept. I’m still traumatized though. I hate those allergy attacks. :(

Of course, it may have been all my fault because I ate something I shouldn’t have on Tuesday…

One of my book club ladies sent this to me. Please read on y’all! Then stop to smell the roses… or listen to music. :)

THE SITUATION
In Washington , DC , at a Metro Station, on a cold January morning in 2007, this man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. Approximately 2,000 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. After about 3 minutes, a middle-aged man noticed that there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds, and then he hurried on.

About 4 minutes later:
The violinist received his first dollar. A woman threw money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.

At 6 minutes:
A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.

At 10 minutes:
A 3-year old boy stopped, but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head the whole time. This action was repeated by several other children, but every parent – without exception – forced their children to move on quickly.

At 45 minutes:
The musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.

After 1 hour:
He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed and no one applauded. There was no recognition at all.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before, Joshua Bell sold-out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100 each to sit and listen to him play the same music.

This is a true story. Joshua Bell, playing incognito in the D.C. Metro Station, was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people’s priorities.

This experiment raised several questions:
*In a common-place environment, at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty?

*If so, do we stop to appreciate it?

*Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?

One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this:
If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made . . ..
How many other things are we missing as we rush through life? How many talented and interesting people are we looking past?

Slow down and enjoy the journey and those you meet along the way.
Slow down and enjoy Life .. it has an expiration date!
Slow down and enjoy the magic of the holiday season.

I took a few pictures of the snow here in NC. We ended up with 10 inches! Sheesh! Sorry this turned into a Nor-Easter for folks up in the north. I’m sure you had it much worse than we did!

Click the pic to make it bigger.

I hope y’all had a great holiday! Mine was good for sure. Without further ado, today’s eye candy for your viewing pleasure. :)

I’m signing off for the weekend. Got family arriving and need to get ready for tomorrow and tonight. I hope you all have a safe, joyous holiday.

Merry Christmas!

I survived yesterday’s shopping, although it was kee-razee. I had to go to stores near the mall, and there were state troopers directing traffic. Nutzo.

Unfortunately I had to go back to JCPenney because the foolish man who rung me up didn’t take off the ink tag thingy. I wasn’t about to ruin the shirt by taking it off myself so I had to go back this morning. Ugh.

I’ve got a few gifts left to wrap and some cleaning to do, but most of the work is done. Whew.

Anyway, I am enjoying my time off…

Wow. That felt great. Y’all I get up at 5:30 or earlier every day, so sleeping until 9 is just amazing. I feel so refreshed! Coffee tasted great too.

Now onto a super busy day of errands to get ready for Christmas. LOL. I’ve just gone through all the gifts I have to wrap (which is almost all of them) and realized I shorted my older son on gifts. I know I bought him a new bed but just a few gifts under the tree is just not my style. I’m going to have to go shopping three days before Christmas.

I’m scared!

Wish me luck y’all!

I’ve got a 5-day weekend y’all. I’m so excited! Not only is it my favorite holiday but I get five days off to enjoy it. *bliss*

Of course I’ve still got to wrap, um, everything, but that’s what 14YO children are for. Wrapping everything but their own gifts. LOL.

We’re starting to come out of the big chill here in NC. Our highs have been 12-15 degrees below normal for like three weeks plus it’s SNOWED three times! WTH? Is this NC or ND? This morning it’s warmer than it has been in a long time, at 32 it’s feeling almost balmy.

I’ve got all my baking done (because I lost my mind and did it the last two weekends), decorating is acceptable (we just put up the tree Sunday) but I still have some cleaning to do. And um, oh yeah, wrapping.

Poor DH is working all week, even Friday. I get to sleep late every day! It doesn’t happen often y’all. I’m getting up at 5:15 nowadays to use my fabulous treadmill before work, so five days to sleep late is a gift from heaven.

Anybody else off for Christmas? Traveling? I’m staying put, thank goodness. Traveled so many times at Christmas I am happy to be home.

Today’s eye candy for your viewing pleasure.