Mississippi Trip 2011 Vol. 1

THIS TRIP!! 

1) Why was I stuck in TWO accidents in the sleet that hit the day we headed for Mississippi?  In Birmingham, we went 2 miles in 1.5 hours... our exit was at the second mile.  |||||||||||||//////////////////_________   Please slap me in the face.  We then spent a few hours in the city with my aunt.  Then right after we crossed the Mississippi state line, we got stuck about 200 yards behind an accident that required 8 tow trucks, 3 ambulances and a mess (yes, a mess) of police cars.  And when we finally got past it TWO HOURS later?  We saw a tractor trailer off to the side that looked like nothing or very little happened to it.  :/  I left home at 5:45 am.  I got to my grandma's at 4am EST.  NOT AWESOME.  Guess who  went to sleep & drooled her face off she was so tired.  My mama.  LOL!!  J/k.  It was me.
2) I hung out with Nerd Girl & Love Girl at a Vietnamese restaurant.  She was amusing & my mom adored her.  Pserendipity went to Memphis instead.  You chose your husband over me?  I mean... Is that dude gonna love you for the rest of your lives?  He is?  Oh... okay.  Then I guess I'll let it slide.
3) Fish balls sound DISGUSTING but the ones I had? Delicious!
4) Mississippi is batting like .988 on restaurants!  So awesome!  Every place I've been to here (minus the lowest rungs of buffet chains my aunt & uncle love-- BLECH), I liked most of the food I got.  Super great!  Can Winston-Salem do even a tenth of that?  We just want TWO good CONSISTENT restaurants.  One extra casual, one less casual.
5) I liked my grandma a lot more this trip.  Small doses are key.  It also helps when she was nothing but complimentary: (As I'm working out) "You have nice legs." Then later, "You look great in that color!" "You're like me, any hat you put on, you can wear it well." (That one was for both of us.)
6) My uncle & I cried together as he talked about missing my grandpa.  I feel a lot closer to all of my uncles than I've ever felt since making this film.  My mom, too.
7) The word grandpa looks weird in reference to him.  I've always called him granddaddy or my grandfather.
8) The dvr got up to 30% and counting with all of my shows and I'm so blown!  I try to keep it out of the double digits.  So Wednesday after I return?  I'll be watching more tv than necessary!  LOL
9) Why was my grandma sweeping the house at 1:28 in the morning?  I bet this is my fault since we took her to the Mexican restaurant at 9pm!  She eats dinner at 5pm but was tapas-in it up!  Son!  She'd never had guacamole.  (I'm gonna go ahead and give her credit for my food adventurousness.)  She LOVED it!  She was eating it by the forkful.  HILARIOUS!
10) Raise your hand if you've been working out at least 3xs a week for the last 6 weeks.  MEEEEEEEE!!!  Now put it down if you have also been eating WHATEVER you wanted with little regard to said workout.  *sheepish face*  For shame.
11) Y'all.  If you find yourself wasting money on things you don't need, take that wasted money and put it in a good trainer.  It's cheaper than you think it is and SO worth the money.  Mine is constantly suggesting things that sounds insane to me until I do them!  For instance?  One-legged push-ups on alternating legs.  (Get in position, lift one leg, do a push-up, repeat, alternating legs.)  A week later, I'm STILL proud I can do those!  My mom, Rashan & my grandma were all equally impressed! Most common response: Whoa.  LOL.
12) We talked to my Uncle Charlie Friday night to confirm an interview Saturday at 1-- his chosen time.  He called my Uncle James around 8am Saturday and told us to come on. O_O You live 3 hours away!  And we planned other stuff for that morning.  We MIGHT be 20 minutes early... Except we were 20 minutes late.  LOL.  Didn't matter.  He fed us the second we walked in the door.  We did the (AWESOME!)  interview.  He sent us down the road to his daughter's for some delicious gumbo and amazing banana pudding.  I LOVE MY FAMILY!!!
13) My new favorite Mississippi towns (villages?)?  Homo Chitto (chitta), Bogue Chitto (boga chitta) &... HOT COFFEE!!  FOR REAL!!