My guest for a day

I had an out of town visitor recently: Moxie Mona.

Mona is the dream child of Better in Bulk, Mama's Losing It, Scary Mommy, Seven Clown Circus and Mayhem and Moxie. She's touring the blogosphere this week, and stopped to visit North Carolina! I agonized over what to show her, and finally had an epiphany: While there are certainly wonderful places to see in my home state, it's the people of North Carolina and their southern hospitality that make it so beautiful. And what better way for Mona to meet people than to take her to a barbecue?!

It goes without saying that Mona had a blast, but she's definitely a West Coast kinda girl. I think she was unfamiliar with some southern-isms. So, without further ado, I present to you:

The Top 5 Things Mona Learned in North Carolina

1. When a friendly neighbor invites you over for a barbecue it means pork cooked over an open fire and seasoned with vinegar, salt, and pepper. Eastern barbecue is legendary out here. Barbecue is NOT burgers and hot dogs.

2. When the friendly neighbor asks you to "give him some sugar," he is not looking to sweeten his tea, if you catch my drift. Tread lightly.

3. The person speaking to you is not French if they look at you inquiringly and say, "D'jeet?" North Carolinians are truly some of the most hospitable people on Earth. They also take some short cuts with standard English. The person is simply being kind and asking, "Did you eat?"

4. When someone says, "Bless your heart, that's the most unusual headband!" It is NOT a compliment. There is a code in the south... whenever a sentence starts with "bless your heart," you're about to be insulted. If it comes at the end of the sentence (She's been sick as a dog, bless her heart) it's a legitimate show of concern.

5. The food in North Carolina is delicious. Grits, greens, barbecue, and butter beans are all wonderful things, but they are surprisingly high in calories.

I had such a good time with Mona. I wasn't ready for her to go, but she has lots of other blogs to visit. If you see her jogging along the side of the road do not offer her a ride. She needs to do a lot of running to work off all that southern hospitality.

Want to see where else Mona is today? Of course you do! Go see Angie at Seven Clown Circus to find out...