Because I am about to write an entire post about a dress.

Which is not very much like me. But sometimes, I find a dress or another piece of clothing that I totally ADORE and I can hardly contain myself. As is the case tonight.

Some other lady friends and I went for an impromptu shopping trip tonight. It was real nice- just some bfries hanging out and being normal. It’s weird because 2 years ago, we saw each other every week. Now the four of us live in four different cities.  Bizarro.

But being sappy about friendships is not why I’m here today.  I’m here to tell you about a dress.

Nashville has a handful of sassy Christmas events that I will be attending, so I have to reach down into the heart of me and find that trendy spot.  It is like the Grinch’s heart- 3 sizes too small.

[The part of my heart that loves Chick-fil-A milkshakes, it's 3 sizes too big. That new peppermint chocolate chip shake....]

GOOD GRACIOUS, GIRL. FOCUS ON THE DRESS. Sheesh.

Anyways, I couldn’t find a picture of the dress online, so I just had to photo booth it. But if you think I was going to put it on for you, you need to know that I have never been the fashion show type of shopper. And I think it would fit in the category of “weird” to take a picture of myself in a dress to post on my blog.

[But I'll take 57 pictures of a swollen ankle?  Don't judge me.]

As for the dress, I just COULD NOT resist showing you the pattern.

OH. MY. BEAUTIFUL.  Seriously.  It’s so cute I can’t even hardly stand it.  It’s from Banana Republic.  Sits right above the knee, short sleeve, 100% silk.

And the COLLAR.  Dear beautiful deep blue silk, will you marry me?  Or at least sit on my neck every day for the rest of my life?  Thanks.

And the piece de resistance. I’ve never passed out before, but I kinda thought I might when I saw the price on this dress.

Um. Yeah. $98 dress for $16?   Seriously, that’s like the price of 2 burritos from Moe’s (with chips and a drink). Ha. If someone ever asks me how much the dress costs, I’m going to say “2 burritos”.  Cause that’s funny.

The Blue 2 Burrito Dress.

Glorious.

[I dedicate this post to Melanie, Jan and Amber. Three very trendy friends of mine that may someday convince me that a tshirt is never fancy and fleece isn't the only winter covering. I hope you girls are proud.]

(Hey!  That’s MONDAY!!  Yay!!)

I was 18.  I had come home for my first holiday from the University of Georgia and honestly, was itching to get back to Athens.  You remember that feeling?  Like home is cool and all, but life is continuing without you somewhere else. I think all college kids feel that way.

I remember the only pressing social event was wanting to see my high school friends.  My church friends were a given on Sunday, my family was in the house.  But the people I graduated with were the ones I had to carve out time for.

And ten years later, its that same crowd that gets my Friday night.  All 30 of them.  Oh private school, you are so tiny.

Yep, my 10 Year Reunion is tonight.  I know its weird to have it this close to a holiday [trust me, one of the classmates sent me a strongly-worded email expressing the same feeling], but almost half of our class lives out of town and their parents are still here, so it made sense.  And about 20 out of the 30 are coming.

And by the way, the event planner? She lives in Nashville so she picked a date that would kill two Marietta birds with one stone (Thanksgiving and reunion).  Sue me her.

I would post pictures from my senior year, maybe do some sort of photoshop magic to put Annie 1998 by Annie 2008, but sadly, you wouldn’t know the difference.  Seriously, we were watching Christmas 1997 on video yesterday, and my own Mother said, “Weird. You look exactly the same.”

Yeah, I know.  Same haircut [but a variety of colors throughout the years], same frog eyes, same pant size, probably honestly some of the same pants.

Cause I’m nothing if not trendy thrifty.

I’m excited about tonight.  Cause while the outside may look exactly the same, the inside is drastically different. Though I’ve been a Christian since I was five, these last ten years have been different. My walk with God has become my own. And it has completely changed me.

My face may say 18, but my heart knows 28. I have seen my fair share of challenges and heartache, but I’ve also seen MORE than my fair share of blessing. The biggest difference, I think, is that my confidence level, once hovering at an abysmal 2 is honestly around an 8 now.  And that has NOT.ONE.THING. to do with me or what I look like [same, remember?], but EVERY.THING. to do with what God has painstakingly done in me the last 10 years (especially thanks to my time at the Wesley Foundation at UGA).  Don’t hear me saying that it’s always easy, that lies don’t creep in or, let’s be honest, MARCH in and live for a while.  But where 1998 saw more defeats than victories in my mind, 2008 has about 1/3 of the battles and rare defeats.

Lamentations 3:22

“Because of the Lord’s GREAT LOVE we are not consumed; for His compassions never fail.”

I’m not nervous about tonight because what these old friends think about me does not change one bit of who I am.  I’m glad to see them, but they don’t decide my worth. I will eat dinner with them tonight, then leave and drive over to a party where tons of my lifelong friends will be.

And at both places, I’ll be proud to be Annie.

So tonight, I don’t celebrate how far I’ve come since the last time I saw these friends.  I celebrate the One who has been with me all along.  The One who will continue to walk with me tomorrow and the next day and the next day and….

For starters, a video. One day late.

I know.  I am one of a kind and the world is GRATEFUL, I tell ya. And you are all going to laugh when somebody marries this piece of work. I pity the fool.

Anyways.

HEAR THIS!

Joy Williams has given y’all ANOTHER FREE SONG at the Bloggable Music Network.  And it’s all warm and toasty and Christmasy sounding. And the price is right.

WATCH THESE!

Cute Wade on the Ukulele.  Listen, this college kid is so presh I could just take him around in my pocket.  I love this song. And his voice!  You stop it right now, cute boy.  Stop it.  You know I have a soft spot for musicians.  [Not really the 19-year-old variety, so I think he's safe.]

Brad the Canadian Pastor has a seriously awesome series of videos on having a relationship with God.  Watch them all.  You’ll like it, or your blog-money back.  From Brad.

READ THIS!

Here is the ever-growing list of bloggers who need Africa.  Um, wow.

Annie and Annie.

Taking over Nashville one video at a time.

We’ve been over this before, but Nashville?  It’s been a good decision.  Not painless, not without loss, but good.

And probably one of the highlights has been the folks at Mocha Club letting me volunteer.  I had heard of Mocha Club at Barnes and Wertz shows before, so I kinda knew what was up.  But if you are new to the ways of MC, here’s how it works-

Mocha Club is a community-based website where members [like me!] can start a team [AnnieBlogs!] and invite friends to join them in giving $7 a month – the cost of 2 mochas – to support a project in Africa.  Mocha Club’s vision is to provide a way for people who don’t have hundreds or thousands of dollars to make a difference in Africa.

[And I don't know if you have heard, but I actually have thousands of pennies, so that's why me and Mocha Club are kinda BFFs.]

So one day, a few months ago at the MC office, Marisa started telling me about this new campaign called “I NEED AFRICA MORE THAN AFRICA NEEDS ME”.

I looked up from my computer and said, “Is that true, Marisa?”  And she kinda looked at me with a blank stare.  Because sometimes a completely selfish question stuns good people into dead silence.

“Uh, yeah, it is, Annie.”  [Which was a polite reply when I probably more deserved a swift kick in the A...frica.]

And since I’ve been working on this project and really asking God to show me truth in my own life, I know it’s true.  I do need Africa.

I need Africa to remind me that my life [sadly] is not quite the center of the universe.

I need Africa to remind me that beauty has many faces and that giving has many hands.

I need Africa to show me how to love selflessly and give without concern for myself.

I need Africa to teach me how to prioritize- because in Africa, I’m pretty sure they don’t struggle to decide between GAP jeans and Old Navy jeans.  Because that is trivial when you don’t have a roof over your head.

I need Africa because I want to see beauty in it’s purest form, see people love simply but deeply, and because loving Jesus means loving this world.

I went to Africa one time and I liked it far more than I thought I would.  But now that I’ve been gone two years, I think it may be time to return.  Africa may not be as rich as us, and yes- we do need to help the people in those nations.  But when our economy is like this, and yet our culture is materialistic for realz, I need perspective.  I need simplicity.

I need Africa.

Do you?

Talk about it.  On your blog.  In the comment section.  In the car with your kids or your friends. At dinner. In your time with the Lord.

Bring it- what are your thoughts?

And then head back here on December 1st.  Cause not only do we get to talk about, we get to do something about it.

I am a penny pincher.  I am a saver. I’m using the same furniture in my bedroom that I purchased in 1998.  I wear clothes from high school because, really, who cares if it says 1996?  [All of Nashville, most likely. Trendy-ville that it is.]  In fact, I would probably carry the same purse everyday until it fell apart if not for a wee bit of ingrained girly-ness that says a white purse isn’t IDEAL for December.  I would rather write my return address than waste a label.  I collect “free trials” of NetFlix and use them one after the other.  I eat the butt-ends of the bread. I eat entire pitchers of soup just to ensure none goes to waste.

I would have been a fine specimen to behold during The Great Depression.  My Victory garden would have been spectacular.

So it has come as a great surprise to see how wasteful I have been here in Nashville.

With my time.

I chalk it up to a lot of factors- the freedom from a 7-3 job [yes, those are teaching hours], the complete lack of responsibility, being SEVERELY exhausted when I arrived in Nashville from a nonstop summer, thus causing a much needed hibernation season.  And a big factor lately has been, disappointely enough, homesickness.

It was just easier on Tuesday to lay in my bed with a word document open, not type one word, but spend my time thinking about Marietta.  Figuring out why I say I’m “going home” when I leave Marietta and “going home” when I leave Nashville.  Sheesh.

Even with this new writing job that does have deadlines, I find myself being a procrastinator, which I hate.  I WANT this job.  I WANT to do this job well and make a living at it.  Yet it seems that I am my own worst enemy and my own strongest discourager.

I talked with my friend Sissy yesterday- she is a singer/songwriter here in town, and I was hoping she could shed some light on my situation.  Being that this is my first run at “self-employment”, I thought a seasoned veteran could talk some sense in to me.

“QUIT BEING AN IDIOT!  THIS IS YOUR DREAM JOB!”, I wanted her to yell.  “You selfish being”, I hoped she would say, “get off your keester and get to work.  You should probably go get a real job so you know how good you had it and how much time you have already wasted.”

But she didn’t say any of that.  She just told me that yes, this is the hardest part.  And there is a learning curve. [Me no likey learning curves.] But that you have to glorify God in your art AND your time.

She said that every type of artist deals with this at some point.  That it isn’t easy being your own motivation.  [Sure, standing in line in a soup kitchen will give you motivation, but I'm not quite at that point yet. YET.]

I though that doing exactly what I’ve always wanted to do would be motivation enough.  Sadly, it’s not.  YET.

But after Thanksgiving, I have a plan.  Sissy gave me some good thoughts and I’ve turned them in to good plans and things are going to change.

Thank you, Fall 08, for allowing me to relax and rest and chill and be.  Thank you for not judging me when I stayed in bed for many-an-hour, and thank you for being patient with me in the Great Move of 08.

But we’re going to have to part ways.  The Winter brings something new.  Something we common folk like to call DISCIPLINE.

Because this life is a dream come true and I refuse to waste another season.

I know some other bloggers have done this before, but I don’t think I have.  Maybe I have.  I don’t totally remember.  We just passed 500 posts here people, and 2 years worth of my brain puke, so it’s hard to recall.

Anyways….. this weekend, Sophie gave me some tips on finding blog stuff…. blah blah blah…. you totally don’t care about the tech talk that would come out of my mouth [fingers?] explaining what I’m talking about.

Suffice it to say I found a new place that lists all the phrases that brought you, my bloggites, to this here blog from Google in the month of November.

And in order to really meet the needs of my people, I will address those of you who arrived here via bizarro googling:

“annie – maybe free download“- I mean, maybe I’m a free download?  I’m not sure.  But give it a shot.

“hi my name is“- If you have to google what your name is, then you might need to see a doctor.  Or call someone more educated (like your mom), because Google, though VERY smart, does not know your name. And neither do I, sadly.

“scabs in nashville“- Sick.  I hope not.

“cankle“- Well.  No one is surprised about that.

“examples of blogs written by friends“- That’s nice.  I have always considered you a friend, too.

“decorating brownies like footballs“- The trick is in the muffin tin. Here’s how you do it.

“pay basic cable and get expanded basic“- Let me warn you, with that new no antenna biz-nass in February, Obama will bust you for stealing cable in 09.  You just wait for it.

“1999 annie part 1“- That would be the spring of my freshman year of college.

“annie at costco“- Probably.

“fat blogs“- Ahem. My blog is the same size as everyone else’s. How rude.

“the world as it should be“- Aww. You googled that and ended up here?  Well, isn’t that the sweetest thing.  And yes, this is the place where the world is as it should be.

“who wrote the book trust me“-I want to make up an answer, but then you won’t trust me anymore.

“www.anmiebloggs.com“- Wow. You really need to slow down when you type- that is quite a lot of errors.

“tupperware nashville tennessee“- Where? Cause you know I want some real bad.

“what can’t i do on snowy day“- Go swimming.

“stealing coupons“- That’s not nice.

“carmelbooty“- …… I don’t even know what to say.

If you haven’t yet, all you crazy bloggers should join the Mocha Club campaign that is starting soon- a teaser- it’s called I Need Africa.  If you still want play along, just let me know.

I have some internet things to share.

[Apparently I feel very "to the point" right now.  Hmm.  Rare.]

First of all, have you heard of THIS WEBSITE?  Where you swap paperback books?  Now I haven’t tried it myself but that was only because I heard of it this weekend and I couldn’t see my bookshelves to pick which ones to switch.  Cause I have a little book addiction. Don’t judge me.

And the sick truth is 1. I have read all of these and 2. Most of the shelves are 2 books deep.  Look closely.

I guess it’s a good addiction, right?  Better than crack, or so they say.

I have three songs repeating in my life right now-

1. In Better Hands by Natalie Grant
2. Up To The Mountain by Patty Griffin (performed first for my ears by Reba and Kelly)
3. Could’ve Sworn It Was You by Annie Parsons

I’m also finding that I frequent money savings websites and these two have been real pleasures as of late-

1. One Goodie- One fun home item a day (which you know I am sucker for all things homegoods related) and one baby item a day (yeah, not really “for my house” right now, but cute.)
2. Bargain Briana- This girl don’t mess around.  She will save you some doll hairs for realz.

I also love this Throw Out 50 Things Challenge- cause honestly folks, how many of us literally could give away/sell/toss AT LEAST 50 sundry items in our lives?  I’m doin’ it, yo. And documenting it on my blog. Because that is sadly how my mind works 87% of the time now.

And some housekeeping clicks-

If you want to follow me on TWITTER, I’d love it, but you have to have an account.  I tried to have mine unlocked so anyone could see it and follow, but you would be in shock and awe if you saw the amount of trash that requested to follow me.  Mainly spammers.  And Florida Gators.

[ba-dum-ching!  I'll be here all night folks. Tip your waitresses.  Try the lasagna.]

Also, if you are still checking all the blogs you love everyday, crossing your fingers for a new post only to realize that Jimmy-Never-Post has let you down again?  Go to GOOGLE READER, subscribe to all the blogs you read (you know, like this one here) and then you never have to waste a click on Jimmy-Never-Post again. Google Reader will just show you the ones that update.  I find it helpful and enjoyable, two of my favorite things.

And finally, a cankle update:

It’s feeling much better.  I have most of the rotation back and can almost stand on it without pain.  I still have a bit of a limp, but that’s cause I’m cool like dat.  I’m regaining strength, but it will be a while before my next 5K. Sorry, Annie Parsons.

And by the way, a “cankle” is a fat ankle- like your calf goes straight to your foot.  I thought that was a common term.  Apparently it is not.  My apologies.

The big closer- a new photo.

If I could think of a stronger exclamation than BOOYAH, I would use it to describe my weekend.

But obviously.  There is no stronger language to be used.

Let me give you the highlights, in bullet points and randomly inserted photographs.

-Friday I drove to Birmingham, just a quick jaunt.  So please don’t be sad if you are my family know me and live there and I didn’t see you.  I promise I wasn’t even there for 12 hours hardly.

-Late lunch with Sophie and Alex.  He told me he loved me, called me his girlfriend, and asked, “Mama, can I unclick [unbuckle] to give Miss Annie sugar?” And that’s when I got engaged to a 5 year old.

-Dinner with Robyn‘s family, and about 30 minutes of getting a SEVERE whooping from her 7 year old daughter on the Wii.  I’ve really got to get better at virtual ping-pong.

-THEN…. the reason for the trip….. REBA MCENTIRE/KELLY CLARKSTON CONCERT.  Sweet Robyn invited me to go with her as a b-day celebration and I HAPPILY attended. 8th row center seats?  Yes ma’am.  She did a much finer job recapping this than I ever will, so go there and read her recap if you so desire.

[I will take this opportunity to say the most exciting moment of my life of the night was when BARBARA JEAN from the Reba TV show came out and did stand up. Listen. I was thrilled. To put it mildly. Cause I don't know if you have heard, but I. LOVE. THE. REBA. SHOW.  Like the "4 episodes a day" kind of love.]

-Saturday morning I had brunch with some Bham bloggers (Gayle, Robyn, Sophie, and LoraLynn).  Again, Gayle has the cute pics and summarized quite nicely, so go there if you are just chompin’ at the bit to read about the gritty details of our two hour meal.  By saying “gritty”, I am being punny, because I actually ate shrimp and grits.

[And can you believe I honestly have NO training in humor writing?  That stuff, like the double meaning when I use the word "gritty", just comes out naturally. I know. What a gift.]

-Then I drove to the ATL, where I saw this in the sky and took a moment to say, “God, I believe Your promises for me.”  Cause sometimes, y’all, we just need to say that stuff outloud.  Can I get an amen from the choir?

-On Sunday, myself and a bunch of my nearest and dearest got to throw a shower for my bfry Molly. You may have heard of her…. she has a bit of a sweet tooth.  Ahem.

-Then my favorite 2 year old on the entire planet built me a bird house.  Ok, he didn’t really build it per say, but he was seriously hammering the nails and unscrewing the screws.  Look at that form!  That’s a man in a toddler body, I tell ya.

-Then I saw a wedding gown of a future bride, ate homemade marshmallows, and watched football with my family, had Zaxby’s zalads with Haley and Molly today, then got on the road.

Now I’m back in Nashville. And went to my accountability group, which is a GIFT in my life.  It would be weird to tell you what we talk about, but suffice it to say that they already know my junkiest junk and they hug me anyways.

What a weekend.

What a life.

Ok, y’all. This is gonna be so fun.

I’ve told you this before, but I volunteer with an amazing non-profit called MOCHA CLUB.

Mocha Club is launching a new campaign next week.  I can’t put a lot of details out there yet, BUT!  The coolest part is- Barrett, the director of MC, wants BLOGGERS to be the way to get this campaign out there.

So yeah.  That means YOU. [If you have a blog, that is.]

And you get to post about something that is way big and something that is literally changing the face of Africa. And maybe you get a little summin’-summin’ too.

How RAD is that?!?!

Does it matter how many readers you have?  NOPE. Does it cost you anything? NOPE.

All you have to have is a blog and heart for Africa.

That’s it.

Want more details?  Interested in taking part?

Leave a comment below and I’ll get your info to the Mocha Club director Barrett.  Or, you can just email him yourself at barrett [at] mochaclub [dot] org.  Whichever makes you happy.

But jump on in.  Why not?