Position Available: Spelling Editor

I detest bad spelling. I spellcheck when I am texting. I will not send an email without Googling words of which I am unsure. Apparently not everyone is inflicted with this problem. And truth be told- I love finding other people's errors. Facebook is the greatest invention, simply because I can constantly correct people's poor spelling. However, I learned pretty quickly that most people do not appreciate this, so now I simply gossip and ridicule these people behind their backs. Below are some gems I found out in the "real" world.

It is Summer in Alabama, and nothing says Summer in Alabama more than fresh fruits and vegetables at the local gas station! Let's first focus on the good- Corn, Peaches, Okra, and Peppers are all spelled correctly. Good grief- even Watermelons is right, and it has 10 letter! However, the person in charge of this sign either ran out of "U"s or simply forgot how to spell Squash (even though I checked the other side and it was correct). Tomatoes- yes, the "O" obviously fell, but where is the "A"? And that ampersand looks a lot more like a cursive "S".

As a Bible-thumping believer, I applaud his sentiment. I, too, have decided to follow Jesus. Only, in my case "decided" only had 2 "e"s. My issue is not with the driver, but more so with the person he most likely PAID for this decal. I want to go to that person and tell them a list of decals I want, just to see how many are misspelled. I also found it quintessentially Alabamian of him that his Crimson A was bigger than all 6 words of the hymn.
The most common spelling mistake (I have realized, thanks to Facebook) is amongst homonyms. You're does not equal your. There does not equal their does not equal they're. Here we have at least one instance of this- "To Good To Be Threw". Aside from the fact that is a goodness-awful name for a store, the first "To" should definitely be "Too". When I took this picture, I was sure that it was a double whammy, and that "Threw" should also be "Through". However, when I showed my boyfriend- he said that he understood why it was "Threw", as in "threw away". Which I in turn, told him should then be "thrown". Which he in turn told me I needed to quit being a nerd and chill out. You can decide for yourself what the mistake(s) is(are).

I am not disputing the fact that Wranglers may indeed be "Comfotable". What I cannot understand is why no one, including Brett Favre, caught this typo. Maybe it is an inside joke that I am not privy to. Maybe it is a play on the Southern dialect. (That said, I am from Alabama and definitely pronounce the R in comfortable.) I'm not sure, but when I saw this truck on my way to work one morning, I felt like I had struck proverbial gold. I immediately posted to Facebook so that I wouldn't be scooped by someone driving the same route as me.

I assure you, this will not be the last SpellCheck post I have.

5 Different Kinds of Macaroni

I titled this blog Potluck Life, because it seemed to convey exactly how I felt about my life and all the people that come in and out of it.

Or maybe I happened to pass by a church while I was thinking.

Or maybe I was also (as usual) thinking about food.

Or maybe it is because I am so completely random, there will be no dominant theme throughout this blog. Aside from randomness.

But maybe it does actually convey exactly how I feel about my life and all the people that come in and out of it.

Anywho...

I was raised in church. And when I say church, I mean Baptist. And when I say Baptist, I mean Southern Baptist. And when I say Southern Baptist, I mean painstakingly stereotypical Southern Baptist Churches. I now attend a mini-mega church, with huge buildings and endless Sunday School rolls. But my favorite memories as a child all involve the small, country churches that I attended as a child. I was inflicted with the horror (as a child) that Jesus could literally pop down out of the sky at any given moment. The older I get, the more I long for that, but as a 7 year old girl- I would just pray that He hold off until after Christmas, or my birthday, or some other earthly celebration that I did not want to miss. One of these small, but equally enjoyable, celebrations were 5th Sunday Singin's and Potluck Dinner Fellowships.

I loved... okay fine - LOVE, present tense - Potluck Dinner Fellowships. My favorite part of belonging to a church is the fellowship. And my favorite part of fellowship, and this is not limited to church, is food. I can look forward all day to Mawmaw Belle's special chocolate cake, or that-old-lady-whose-name-I-don't-know's chicken casserole. I will literally starve myself all day, just so that I have room to sample 5 different kinds of macaroni and cheese.

Macaroni. And. Cheese. Is there anything that is better? I doubt it. And the amazing thing is, all macaroni and cheese dishes are primarily just that- macaroni... and cheese. But every old lady in northeast Alabama seems to have a secret ingredient that makes HER macaroni a little bit different, and maybe a little bit better, than all the others.

Extra melted cheese baked on, like frosting to a cake?
Ritz crackers on top?
Yellow cheese?
White cheese?

I have to stop or I may die.

Now, to disuade you from thinking I am a glutton- I will get to the philosophical meanings that Potluck Dinners hold for me.

I am now in my mid-to-late twenties. This is a fact that I choke on everytime I say it. But as I look back on the 26 plus years of my life, I can pinpoint exactly, certain instances and people that influenced me, for better or worse. I can even remember, in detail, certain conversations I had, or good, and bad, advice that I have received. And the thing about all these people is that when you break it down, they are all just human. Flesh and blood, just like the thousands of others that I forgot ten minutes after meeting. But there were certain things about each one of these few that made them different and special and unique. That made them memorable.

Were they honest, but with a sense of humor?
They listened without judging?
Had unconditional loyalty?

And then there are, of course, those pieces of ham in the macaroni (Don't put meat in mac and cheese. It's gross).

Habitual liars.
Debbie Downers.
Backstabbing B-words from middle school. (That stuff stays with you!)

But nonetheless, you will never be happy if all you eat is the dish that you brought. To really enjoy a good Potluck, you have to be willing to sample all the cuisine. Even the macaroni and cheese with the ham. But just once. Trust me.