Cat weighs 44 pounds (the weight of an average five-year old)

While I was in New York in May, I received news that my beloved Mississippi was the "fattest station in the nation" for the third year running (according to CalorieLab; other articles and sites have said that this is the fourth year for Mississippi - alas). My home state of Tennessee falls closely behind at number six. The article gives the typical reasons and explanations for Mississippi's obesity: fast food is quick, convienent, and located everywhere, while some of the grocery stores (you know, where you buy fruits and veggies and all that great healthy stuff) are over 40 miles away. Crazy, but it's not hard for me to believe!

Would you know, obesity's even becoming a very large (pun intended) problem even with pets. Check out this monster of a cat, nicknamed "Princess Chunk," found wandering the streets of New Jersey:



She weighs 44 pounds! To put that into perspective, that's the average size of a five-year old child, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.

Read the complete article and view a slideshow of other strange pets (including a woman who has her lab running for town mayor) here.

Looking for baby names? Don't use these.

Not to turn into a baby names blog or a celebrity blog, but I found this quite crazy, amusing, and sad...all at the same time:

Interesting Baby Names

Some of the most unique/horrible baby names: Dweezel, Moon Unit, Diva Muffin (those three are Frank Zappa's kids), Sage Moonblood (Sylvester Stallone), Audio Science (Shannyn Sossamon), Poppy Honey, Daisy Boo (both are Jamie Oliver's children), Moxie Crimefighter (Penn Jillete), Little Pixie (Bob Geldof), Pilot Inspektor (Jason Lee), and Jermajesty (Jermaine Jackson).

Yikes. Apart from a few normal names that made the list (Pierce Brosnan's son is Dylan Thomas and Kate Hudson's son is Ryder Russell- please explain how those two made the list) and few unique (in a good way) names (John Mellencamp's daughter is Justice and Jessica Alba's daughter is Honor), most of them are cruel and unusual punishment.

For the love of all things good, holy, and right in the world, please don't name your children something crazy...like Lemonjello and Orangejello (twin boys, rumor has it they might be in Memphis?).

Dad sells baby's name for $100 gas card

Yes, that's an actual headline.

What have parent succumbed to these days? I mean, I know gas prices are ridiculous, but giving up the right and privilege to name your own son for a $100 gas card? That poor kid. He'll have a great story about his name that will haunt him for the rest of his life.

ORLANDO, Fla. (July 12) - An Orlando man has traded the naming rights to his unborn son for a $100 gas card.

David Partin recently heard that a local radio station was giving $100 worth of free gas to the listener who called in with the most interesting item to trade. Central Florida radio hosts Richard Dixon and J. Willoughby were quick to take Partin up on his offer, The Orlando Sentinel reports.

When the baby is born this winter, he will be named Dixon and Willoughby Partin — with the "and" included.

Partin's girlfriend, Samantha, says at least her son will have an interesting story about how he got his name.

Dixon and Willoughby plan to be at the hospital when the baby is born and will hand over the gas card when they see the official birth certificate.

To read the official AP story and to view the photo of the couple, click here.

To read to original article (published in The Orlando Sentinel), click here.

Items found at a Mississippi gas station

This post is mainly for some of my Yank - I mean friends up north who loved teasing me about my Southern drawl (which is very minor compared to most of the people at my school, but whatever), overalls, wearing shorts to class because it’s 95+ degrees for at least three months, saying “funny” words and phrases like “y’all,” “reckon,” “yonder,” “Mis-sipi” (sound it out – the lazy yet much shorter way to say “Mississippi”), “you’re slower than molasses running uphill in January,” “I’m up a creek with no paddle” and “where are the cows in this god-forsaken city!?” (Okay, I exaggerate just a little.)

Last week, my family took a four-day trip (two days driving, two days at the beach) to Orange Beach (Gulf Shores), Alabama. Of course, this meant driving from Memphis, through Tupelo, past Starkville (home of Mississippi State University, where I now fondly call second home), into Meridian, and…well, I’m not exactly sure what we went through after that. It involved probably hundreds of small towns (populations averaging 64, counting the cows and chickens) in Mississippi and Alabama, and stops at those places are sometimes my favorite. I think you’ll see why.

Items found at Mississippi gas station, somewhere in-between Citronelle (let’s just say that’s close to Mobile, Alabama, because that’s the largest/most recognizable city nearby) and Meridian (Mississippi):



A bottle opener that makes four different turkey calls (and sadly, there was only one left, so they have sold some)
Pantyhose (all different shades and sizes)
A sign on the door reading “Pants must be pulled up and shirts worn inside for service.” (Kind of sad that they have to post that on the door.)
Sticks of homemade beef jerky in a plastic dispenser labeled, “Please pay at the register” (I’m not doing a very good job explaining this one: you would just push the handle down like a toothpick or straw dispenser and out popped your beef jerky. As my friend Hannah says, sick dog.)
All kinds of wise redneck sayings and clichés on t-shirts, cozies, baseball caps, cell phone covers and bumper stickers (Regretfully, I didn’t have much time to ponder these. We make very quick fill-up/bathroom stops.)

Man, I love the South…home is good. :)

Confession

Confession for the blog world out there: I've been jealous.

Through various events this summer, I've started to realize how slow I am to rejoice with others in their blessings. Whether it be incredible internships, fast-paced freelancing jobs, people hunting them down for job interviews, getting the job of their dreams, finding "the one" (that refers to all the great weddings and showers going on this season!), the list could probably go on a little ways.

(By the way, "slow to rejoice" is just a nicer way of admitting that I'm simply jealous.)

Instead of rejoicing in what they've been given, my first thought has usually been, "Lord, why didn't you bless me with something like that? How come my freelancing jobs haven't come through whatsoever? Why did the paid internship fall through when it seemed like I had it? Are You closing these doors to tell me to consider a different career?"

While this summer (after returning from New York) certainly seemed discouraging in several aspects, I've realized that the Lord is teaching me to rejoice in what He's given to me and what He's given to others. He has certainly been gracious to me. Although it wasn't my plan, I've returned to the job that I've had for almost three years. It's perfect for my schedule. While I haven't received the hours that want/need, that's enabled me to catch up on so many things: family, reading for pleasure (it's been well over a year since I've been able to pick up a book for pleasure), having heart-to-hearts with close friends and volunteering at Life Choices. These are things that I've longed to do for quite some time, but in the chaos of last summer and my other breaks from school, they rarely happen.

The Lord has reminded me that all things come from Him and come according to His perfect timing, not mine. So while I might have already planned out my summer months in advance, He's the one in control of it all (Prov. 20:24).

I haven't "fixed" my discontentment yet (nor can I, because I can't "fix things" on my own), but the Lord has graciously reminded me that He is faithful and will provide exactly what I need when I need it. He has started to show me how wonderful it is to rejoice with others in what He's given them. I am so grateful for how He has blessed me and continues to bless me, and I'm thankful that He has been so gracious to my dear friends, family and coworkers this summer. What sweet comfort to know that our Heavenly Father sees fit to bless us with exactly what we need and will never leave us. He's got it all under control!