The Lost and the Found at the Cheesecake Factory

"Chandler and Rachel eat a cheesecake that was accidentally delivered to their door and it's the best cheesecake they've ever had. Another cheesecake gets delivered and they try to resist and drop it off to their neighbor that was supposed to receive it - but they eat it instead."

Anyone remember that episode of Friends? I loved that sitcom. Even though I myself was never a Friends-insane-fanatic like some people I know, I did love the show. And I do remember sitting in my Belmont University apartment, spring of 2005, with 400 people piled in (okay, 5 people?), watching the last and final episode of that wonderful piece of television history. Why am I going on and on? (Because thats what I do....) But... when my sister posted on my Facebook wall that I should update my blog, uh-hum, excuse me, my blawg, the only thing that happens to be on my mind right now is cheesecake.

I had quite the cheesecake experience about 52 hours ago. Picture this: a weekend trip-with-a-purpose-not-really-a-weekend-but-a-good-35-hours-or-so, and in the biggest, fanciest best city in the sweet state of Tennessee (hey, I can spell it): I, a bff, and an unassuming tag, zoom northeast after overcoming several obstacles only found in the Olympics. Eight, or nine hours later.... we finally reached our destination. Over the course of the entire day, the tag almost fell into a stranger's shower stall, we were arrested for breaking and entering a vehicle via a tennis racket, we crashed Mardi Gras, wrestled a Bruin, climbed a rock wall, (or... rode the elevator.. I can't remember..?), learned how long it takes to cook cheese sticks at Sonic, and successfully got completely lost in 2 square blocks of residential neighborhood. Exhaustion set in. Then Sonic grease. Then some stupid E! Network show that resembles a news show, but really looks like a bunch of uneducated bozos who happen to look great in short dresses and hooker shoes who like to talk about other folks. Aka: some retarded gossip show was on tv and no one knew how to work the remote to change the channel. I learned who Julliana is. I think that's her name.

Anyway, so... all of a sudden after this huge, busy sequence of events went down,... there it was. It was as plain as anything I've ever seen before in all of my life. The cheesecake. I'm not really that big of a cheesecake fan,.. I mean.. I LOVE anything with those four letters attached anywhere to it.. C-A-K-E.. but.. cheesecake holds a close 2nd to vanilla cake with confetti all over it in my book. Ice Cream is about number 12. It was amazing. Red Velvet Cake Cheesecake. Are you freakin KIDDING ME????? Oh no... the bff had to tell me to "keep it down" when I first put that slice of pure ecstacy in my mouth. (This, from a chick who danced solo to "I'm a Slave 4 U" in a Pizza Hut during dinner hour once upon a time.... !!! lmfao.Hhahaha!!!!) I screamed out loud. I mean... nothing is better than this cheesecake. NOTHING. 

So in my reckless abandonment of making love to this cheesecake slice, which was $8.45..(!!!), it had better been great!, I LOST my !@#$%!! scarf! Not the ones that my sister knitted for me, or the one that my other bff's mom knitted me for Christmas one year, or the smelly one that I have no idea where it came from.., but my big wide red and black houndstooth scarf that I could put over my head like a rain bonnet that my husband just bought for me last fall on his trip to Chattychat!!!!!!! When I finally got back to where I was staying.. the scarf was missing. I checked the car. I checked the trunk. I just KNEW I had that scarf with me in the Cheesecake Factory. Alas, it was gone. I think someone stole it!! 

But, could someone really have stolen a scarf off of my body? Well knowing me, I was so enamored with thinking about this Cheesecake and how stupid it is for me to be in love with it, I think I left my scarf sitting on a bench. Either that, or I just had to have flushed it down the toilet, and I think I would have noticed if I did that.

BOOOHOOOO.!!! I can't believe I went to Nashville and lost my scarf!!! Well.. its not the first time and I'm sure it won't be the last.. 

So, approximately 16 hours later, I am back at the Cheesecake Factory. I'm really not sure why, this time. The Cheesecake wanted more cheesecake I suppose. My stomach had to be pumped full of Immodium all day because of the first cheesecake episode... Anyway, so while I'm there, I ask for the lost and found from the previous evening. I knew my scarf would pop out of that cabinet that LeQuiontakeesha was looking through, but it DID NOT!!! :...( !

Well, that settled that debate then, I must have flushed it down the toilet. Attention all female Cheesecake Factory diners in the next few days: stall number one in the women's room is stopped up because of a wool wide red and black houndstooth scarf. Sorry, ladies. 

Anyway, nothing about dogs or living with dogs in this edition, but I did make mention of a Bruin in the third paragraph. That's a big bear who happens to live on campus at Belmont and stands very erect in front of the Plant Operations Building and is made of bronze.. or concrete and is painted brown. 

So, the cheesecake caused me to lose my dang scarf, but I did find some rreeeeaaalllllyyy good Cheesecake in the process...

Snow and Beds

Snow in Memphis is a pretty rare thing. Well, rare, meaning it only happens in the winter - pretty much every winter we see some snow, but not a lot. It's fairly early for it to be snowing the first week of January, but anyway... it DID snow last night!

Not only did it snow and all the schools were closed today.. (no work for me, then!!) but our brand new bed was delivered promptly at 9:00am, exactly 2 minutes after we woke up. Haha.

Dr. H and I have been sleeping on a California King bed since we were married, five years ago. Actually, he's had the bed since 2004, a whole year before we were married. Since we both are folks of festive plumpedness, (a new word!!) we were in dire need of a new bed. A king size Serta Perfect Sleeper Euro Top bed has officially joined the family!

Last night in preparation, he "made us" move the other bed to the guest room, which I thought was quite ludacris since the movers were very much going to be able to move our current bed to the location we wanted it, take any old beds with them, and place our new bed in our bedroom! "Not so!," cried Dr. Harrell! So around 10pm last evening, we cleared the old queen size out of the guest room, propped it up in the dining room, (Julie, come get this bed!!) and then quickly realized that in fact, no, that bed frame will not expand out to hold our California King bed that was henceforth coming into that room. Oh my. What to do? Just put the dang bed on the floor! (You can take the girl out of Lauderdale County, but you can't take the Lauderdale County outta the girl !!)

We made our huge Cali King up (on the floor with no bed frame.. lol) and slept quite nicely in there, after all, that used to be the master bedroom! Jack assumed his normal position at the foot of the bed on his dog cushy. I think the whole process thoroughly confused him, though. The guest room is also HIS room during times when we have to leave him home alone, (His kennel is in there.) and I think he thought we wanted him to sleep in his kennel or something. Brad said he didn't sleep too good because Jack didn't sleep too good. I slept fine except when I woke straight up at 5:30 wanting to know if it had snowed or not and whether or not schools were open.

Obviously I went back to sleep, because I woke up again at 9am, just like I do everyday by my internal clock, to the sound of a large truck outside the bedroom window! "Its's 9:00!!," I yell, at which point I then yell, "They're here!!!" With lots of gusto Brad jumps out of bed and says, "Where's my clothes??" I throw them at him, grab Jack, to try and corral him in the office, and then the phone rings. Brad is trying so hard to pull his clothes on, and I get Jack in the office only to find that the phone is missing! Where's the phone?!?!? (It was the movers trying to call and let us know "they're on the way," when in fact, they were in the @&$^#& driveway !!)

Anyway, to make a long story short, the bed was delivered and set up. We ate breakfast and then began to sit in the office and work on our computers when we looked up and couldn't find Jack. Where was he?

Yup - piled up (which he knows he isn't supposed to do) on the big bed that is now at his perfect height (since there's no frame) in "his" room.

Hmmm... dogs. They think they know everything. Haha

Freezing

Today is the second day of 2010. (I began this post on January 2nd.) It is also the last day of the Harrells' Holiday Hiatus from all things hellish such as teaching lessons, school, and work. Big sad face here. :(

But! Got some things done today and had some fun too.. We did end up taking Thurston to the vet the other day. Turns out, his platelets were very low and he had been bleeding from his gums for atleast 3 days. Poor little thing. He was wiped out. Doc prescribed him a few scripts, namely, put his little ass on some steroids, and in 12 short hours, the little man was back on his feet!

This morning was the follow-up appointment with the doctor, and all is well that ends well with Thurston. He's perfectly fine. 

Julie, you.. know... the GMOP, (Godmother Of the Pup.) met us at our MOST FAVORITE breakfast joint in the entire country this morning after Thurston came and went, (yeah, of course he went back home with my mom and therefore is now 'Noodle..') and then she and I went trasping off to the mall to do some after-Christmas Christmas shopping, then to her house to get her two boys (a Bull Mastiff, Argus; and a Rodesian Ridgeback, Romie) only to come back to our place to get Jack and head to the dog park for a nice afternoon stroll in the sub-zero temperatures. Oi.

I literally froze my legs and my bum off. The things we do...