Jumping on the Bandwagon...

And.....it's Done

2009-04-02T22:53:00.002-05:00

At the beginning....
Cabinets primed! The fumes were rather overpowering...

The final product

Another view...

Closeup of the tile :)

Let the Renovation Commence!

2009-03-10T12:04:00.003-05:00

So DH and I got bit by the reno bug and are now re-doing our kitchen. Actually, we've been wanting to do this since we moved in two years ago, and have the money saved up, finally.

We got a FABULOUS deal on granite countertops and backsplash, which will go in sometime next week. At first, we were going to try to get our cabinets re-faced (even though I really just wanted to have them painted antique white,) and while we were at Home Depot week before last, a guy came up from Home Depot Home Services and asked if we might be interested in getting a free estimate on cabinet refacing (essentially, this entails is replacing the doors and placing a wood veneer over the existing cabinet "box.") We said sure, and set something up for last Wednesday at 8 pm.

Well, this young guy comes in, does his spiel, we pick out a sample of something we like, and he quotes us $15,000. We pretty much laughed him out of the house. Or tried to, anyway.

BECAUSE THE BASTARD WOULDN'T LEAVE.

He kept knocking the price down, eventually getting it to a little more than $12k, and we still said no. Then, he had the audacity to say to us, "Well, if you weren't going to do this now, why did you ask us to come out here?" And I said to him, "Um, because your people approached US and asked us if we wanted a FREE estimate." Dickhead.

After nearly two hours of having this personality-challenged, rude person in our house, we finally got him out, and I was so stressed I had to have a cocktail.

Can you tell I'm still a little pissed about the whole thing?

But then, glory of glories, a former co-worker of DH's who now works in the remodeling business came to our rescue, and is painting our kitchen walls, cabinets, and installing new hardware on the doors for a FRACTION of what the refacing bastard was gonna charge us. So we said yes.

(DFW readers, if you're interested in an awesome home renovation guy who charges very good prices, let me know and I'll pass along his information to you!)

They started the process yesterday, and although the cats are pissed because we have them closed up in the bedroom and study, and the odor of primer is rather strong, I am so freaking excited I can hardly stand it.

Here's our kitchen before:

And in progress:

More to come as we get closer to completion!

New 'Do

2009-02-28T21:55:00.006-06:00

Hope everyone's had a nice weekend so far! Today, I went up to the salon and had my hair cut and got highlights.

Now, I originally went in to have more blonde highlights put in, since it's nearly spring and I like to lighten up in the warmer months (I get lowlights in the winter,) and I was only going to take a little bit of length off, since it was starting to get really long in the front.

Famous last words!

The minute I walked in, I saw a stylist with this super cute haircut. I had my stylist copy it, with a few minor changes: I had her keep it asymmetrical, and didn't stack it very much in the back. Then my colorist talked me into some pretty drastic highlights.

What do you think?

Quick! A Meme!

2009-02-20T08:27:00.003-06:00

I am super swamped at work today, trying to finish two proposals, but I saw this over at my BFF's and I had to do it. It's about the significant other in my life - my DH - hopefully after nearly 6 years together I've learned something!

1. He’s sitting in front of the TV, what is on the screen?
Probably some sci-fi, like BSG, but he usually has his laptop in front of him while he's watching it.

2. You’re out to eat; what kind of dressing does he get on his salad?
Ranch.

3. What’s one food he doesn’t like?
Fish.

4. You go out to eat and have a drink. What does he order?
He loves a good G & T.

5. Where did he go to high school?
At the high school in the next "city"over - I was astounded when he told me there were over 3,000 in his graduating class - I went to a 5A school as well, and had 400 in mine.

6. What size shoe does he wear?
12? I can never get this one right for some reason!

7. If he was to collect anything, what would it be?
Gadgets. Lots and lots of gadgets.

8. What is his favorite type of sandwich?
Roast beef with cheese - he likes pepper jack and swiss the best, but won't frown at cheddar.

9. What would this person eat every day if he could?
Bacon, bacon, BACON. (Poppy, I second that)

10. What is his favorite cereal?
He eats Fiber One every day.

11. What would he never wear?
I have a hard time believing he'd wear anything pink.

12. What is his favorite sports team?
Red Raiders!

13. Who did he vote for?
He didn't, this time.

14. Who is his best friend?
I'd like to say me, but boy-wise, he's known Eric the longest. :)

15. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn’t do?
Bite my fingernails.

16. What is his heritage?
Mostly English.

17. You bake him a cake for his birthday; what kind of cake?
German Chocolate, or Coconut.

18. Did he play sports in high school?
Yep - was a wrestler, until he blew out his knee Senior year.

19. What could he spend hours doing?
Playing video games. Sleeping. Sitting in front of the computer. Watching TV.

20. What is one unique talent he has?
My husband knows more about WWII than just about anyone I know. He's also really good at helping you to see every angle of a scheme you've cooked up, you know, to make sure you thought it out reeeeeeeeally well. Oh, and he can make me laugh pretty much all the time.

Canal Street, or the Tale of the "Fake" Spade

2009-02-16T18:43:00.006-06:00

Lots of stuff has been going on lately. For my birthday two weeks ago, DH and I went to visit my brother and his family in Boston, which was really fun, if cold (I ate Dunkin Donuts EVERY FREAKING DAY - their powdered Munchkins are my favorite,) and I have lots of fun pics from that trip to share.

But first, I'd like to tell y'all another NYC story, this time about Canal Street.

We headed to Chinatown one afternoon for some Chinese food - I fell in love with the pork buns - and, oh my, it was crowded! Cheek to jowl on the sidewalks, all around you were people hawking their wares. Here's a sampling of what I heard on our walk to the restaurant:

"handbaghandbaghandbag, lady, handbag?"

"rolexrolexrolex"

"DVDtwilight, DVD?" (Believe you me, I was sorely tempted to buy this, since from what I heard about the movie, I really didn't want to have to go to the theater to see it)

It was an interesting walk, and at some point I noticed this super cute purse being sold by thie Jamaican guy and paused, but didn't buy it. On the way back to the subway, however, it was still there:

The label on the purse said Kate Spade, and you all know that I'm a sucker for Kate Spade handbags, and I didn't get a chance to visit her SoHo store because we kept sleeping too late, so I paid probably more than, no, strike that, I DID pay more than I should have for this purse, because, it is so obviously a fake that it isn't even funny, but dammit, it was cuuuuute. I couldn't help myself.

I brought it home and carried it a couple of times, but, in all honesty, the purse is a bit too small than what I normally carry - so I hung it on the doorknob of the study and went about my business.

About a week later I was getting ready for work in our guest bathroom and noticed something black stuck to the white tile floor. Upon closer inspection I discovered that it was the "Kate Spade" label from my purse! What the hell?!?!? I know that you get what you pay for, but I would have at least expected a stronger glue than what was on that "Kate Spade" label for what I paid. DH and I had a good laugh over that one.

You know what I did with the label?

I am now the proud owner of a "Kate Spade" makeup bag. :P

I Don't Think I've Ever Done this Before...

2009-01-16T08:16:00.002-06:00

I've been reading a lot of books lately. I got some Barnes & Noble gift cards for Christmas and went nuts one Friday night, spending considerably more than the amount of the gift cards. Anyway, one of the books I picked up was The Hunger Games, a young-adult sci-fi novel about a world where, each year, two teenagers from each of the country's districts - a boy and a girl - are dropped into a vast arena where they have to go around killing each other until there's one left. Sounds kind of creepy, I know, but the story was so compelling, and the action in the book was so gripping, that every time I put the book down I was a little stunned to realize I was lying in my bed and not in the arena with the main characters.

I don't remember when I started it, exactly - probably this past Sunday or Monday - but I finished it at about 11 PM last night, and did something I don't think I've ever done before, or in my adult life, anyway. After I closed the book, I lay there for about 2 minutes, turned the book back to the front cover, and started reading again. Yes, it was that good.

If I'm not mistaken, the next book in the series should be out sometime this year, so I'll be impatiently waiting for that to come out.

In addition to reading lots of books lately, DH and I have seen quite a few movies, at least for us. We hardly ever go to the movie theater. On his birthday last month we went to see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which I LOVED - say what you will about Brad Pitt and how awful that he cheated on Jennifer Aniston, blah blah blah - it's been like 4 years, people! - that man just keeps getting better looking the older he gets. And Cate Blanchett was simply luminous in that film. She is probably one of the most beautiful women in Hollywood right now.

We also saw Yes Man, with Jim Carrey, on New Year's Eve, and laughed our heads off. I haven't really liked Jim Carrey movie in a while, but this one wasn't over the top with his silly mannerisms that he made famous, and the plot was really good, too.

But, oh my gosh, I think the best movie I've seen in years was Gran Torino. DH and I saw that last Saturday, and that movie reached out, gripped my heart, and squeezed. Clint Eastwood played his character so well, and actually, all of the actors were very well cast for that movie. This movie stayed with me for a few days, which doesn't happen very often.

If you haven't seen any of these movies yet or read The Hunger Games, I highly recommend every single one of them. Not a bad way at all to spend a cold winter's day or night!

And I promise, more NYC stories are coming.....

NYC Recap, Part I, or Why Carmel Car Service Sucks Monkey Balls

2009-01-07T08:21:00.006-06:00

I love NYC. DH and I had the best time while we were there, and didn't want to leave.

However, it didn't start that way.

First of all, I didn't start packing until 8 PM the night before we left, which is highly unusual for me. Normally, I start packing the week before I leave, but with work being so crazy these days, I got a late start.

We had no problem getting to the airport Saturday - left in plenty of time to get through security(it wasn't as hectic as I thought it would be) and sat at our gate with a little over an hour to spare. I popped a Xanax and an anti-nausea pill so I would be fine and dandy when it was time to get on the plane.

Then our flight was delayed two hours.

We finally got on the plane around 4 PM, and I could barely keep my eyes open. As it was, I slept on DH's shoulder in the terminal for about 30 minutes before we boarded. And then after we took off, I slept for ANOTHER 30 minutes, until it was time for the flight attendants to serve the drinks. I have to say, Xanax and anti-nausea meds are awesome when taken in conjunction with one another. There was turbulence on the flight, which usually makes me a nervous wreck, but I was happy as a clam.

So we landed in Newark at around 9 PM that night, and it was snowing - so pretty! and I called Carmel Car Service, who I'd booked for our drive into NYC as well as back to the airport a week later.

I called, talked to a guy named Samuel, told him my voucher code, information, etc, and he told me to hold for dispatch. So I did. For TEN MINUTES. Then the phone was disconnected.

I called back, talked to Samuel again, gave him my info AGAIN, and he said, "Hold for dispatch." Waited on hold for another ten minutes, talked to a lady in dispatch, gave her my information and what I was wearing so the driver could identify us, and was put on hold. For another ten minutes.

Can you tell I wasn't happy?

Then, another guy picks up the phone in dispatch, I had to give my information and description to them AGAIN, and by this time I was pissed and kindly let the guy know that I'd been hung up on, passed around several times, and had to relay my information to umpteen people. Of course, he didn't give a crap, but I got him to give me a concrete window of time on when our car would be there. (5-7 minutes, it was actually over 10 - what is it with this company and ten-minute increments?)

So here we are, outside Newark airport, it's snowing, I'm getting irritated more and more, and the car pulls up. FINALLY. An hour after we initially called for it.

We get in the car, the guy asks us how we're paying and we say, "We have a voucher." Well, that throws another wrench into the mix, and he has to call dispatch, I have to talk to them AGAIN, give them my information AGAIN, and the driver takes the voucher.

At last, we pull up to the apartment we rented for the week (another post entirely,) at 10:45 PM, tired, hungry, cold, but finally in NYC. A dubious beginning, to say the least, but we didn't let that color our experiences at all. :)

More to come!

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

2008-12-25T12:57:00.002-06:00

Just wanted to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas! DH and I have had a blast in NYC - well, aside from him getting the flu - and we don't want to leave. I'll post pics and recaps when I get back to Big D, but wanted to say hi! Enjoy your turkey - we're going to hunt down some Chinese food!

I'm Sorry!

2008-12-19T22:50:00.003-06:00

So, work has been a bit more busy than I'd anticipated for December. What do you know, it's almost Christmas and the only thing I've gotten done is my laundry. And that is pretty much in a pile on my dresser. :)

I had every intention of sending Christmas cards out to everyone like I've done for the past few years, but I just ran out of time. I promise I'll be back at it next year, though!

Tomorrow afternoon DH and I leave for New York City for a very much needed vacation. I'm going to see Poppy and meet Dawg and hopefully I'll get to hang out with Bearette and company. YAAAAAAAY!!!! I swear, if I had to go to the office one more day I was going to snap. Let's all keep our fingers crossed that the snowstorm that hit the Northeast won't throw too much of a wrench in our plans to get out of Dallas......

I will take lots of pictures, and I'll try to wrestle DH's laptop away from him long enough to write a few words. Until then, take it easy!

Speed Demon

2008-11-25T18:23:00.000-06:00

So DH loves Corvettes. LOVES them.

For his birthday present, I surprised him with the Texas Driving Experience. What is that, you ask? Well, essentially he got to drive around the track at Texas Motor Speedway in a Corvette.

Now, DH's birthday isn't until the end of December, but I gave the gift to him a little early because I didn't want to be sitting out in the cold watching him drive around the track. And you know what? I still sat out in the cold, because that particular day was in the 50's and EXTREMELY windy, which was nuts seeing that the day before and after was in the 70's. Go figure.

It was totally worth it, though, to see how happy he was.

You can see the best pictures here, the few there were! I kept missing him as he drove around the track.....

Needless to say, I got wife of the year for 2008. :)

Me to the Me

2008-11-17T11:47:00.003-06:00

I have a post about my (literally and figuratively) cool weekend, but want to get the pictures ready before I post about it. In the meantime, enjoy this meme I snagged from Poppelicious, whom I will be seeing in a month! Woo!

1. Do you like blue cheese salad dressing?
Mmmm - yes!

2. Favorite late night snack?
I usually don't eat late at night, but if I have to eat something or fall asleep with my stomach gnawing, it's usually half a peanut butter sandwich.

3. Do you own a gun?
We own two. His and Hers!

4. What’s your favorite drink at Starbucks or other specialty coffee shop?
I like their Peppermint Hot Chocolate and their plain old coffee.

5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments?
Not really.

6. What do you think of hot dogs?
Um, is this a double entendre?

7. Favorite Christmas song?
What Child is This?

8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning?
Tea

9. Can you do push-ups?
I'm working on it. I'm also perfecting the plank thingy in Pilates. That crap is way harder than it looks.

10. What’s your favorite piece of jewelry?
I'm quite fond of my engagement and wedding rings.

11. Favorite hobby?
Watching TV, reading, and cooking.

12. Do you have A.D.D.?
Sometimes. I thought that was called "Multitasking?"

13. What’s one trait that you hate about yourself?
I let people walk all over me for a little while and then get mad at them about it instead of not letting them walk all over me in the first place. (I'm with Poppy on this one.)

14. The last disease you contracted?
I think I got a cold last week...

15. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment.
Hungry - gotta eat lunch.
Bored - why doesn't 5 pm come sooner?
That's it...

16. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink?
Water, tea, Diet 7Up.

17. Current worry right now?
I worry about everything. I seriously need Xanax.

18. Current hate right now?
If I start up on that, I'll never stop. Just ask DH. I revisit this particular hate at least once a day.

19. Favorite place to be?
My house.

20. How did you ring in the New Year?
I think DH and I got really drunk and passed out while watching movies. We felt like crap the next day.

21. Like to travel?
Yes! I'm doing a lot of it in the coming year, too.

23. Do you own slippers?
I don't do winter without them.

24. What color shirt are you wearing?
It's kind of multi-colored.

25. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets?
Not really - too slippery.(Agreed.)

26. Can you whistle?
Not well.

27. Favorite singer/band?
This question irritates me. Who's your favorite child? (Agreed!)

28. Could you ever make it 39 days on the show Survivor?
Oh hell no. I like my electricity and plumbing, thank you very much.

29. What songs do you sing in the shower?
I sing in my car, not the shower.

30. Favorite girl’s names?
Bridget, Jane, Elizabeth

31. Favorite boy’s name?
William, Edward

32. What’s in your pocket right now?
No pockets on these pants!

33. Last thing that made you laugh?
Probably something that DH said yesterday.

34. Like your job?
I plead the fifth.

36. Do you love where you live?
YES, although I wish I lived about 300 miles south....if I could move my house to Houston, I'd be set.

37. How many TVs do you have in your house?
Two

38. Who is your loudest friend?
That's a good question....

39. Do you drive the speed limit or speed?
I'm usually 5 - 10 mph over

40. Does someone have a crush on you?
Lots of people do. I'm pretty fucking awesome.
(That's Poppy's answer, but I'm not going to pretend it's not true for me too.)

41. What is your favorite book?
Again, that's like asking me to pick a favorite child. (Which, we all know, is Joey, but that's not the point)

42. What is your favorite candy?
Cherry Jolly Ranchers.

43. Favorite Sports Team?
Go Red Raiders!!! Beat the crap out of OU!

44. What were you doing 12 AM last night?
Sleeping.

45. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up today?
Ugh, don't want to go to work!

Did you?

2008-11-04T08:28:00.004-06:00

Lubbock is Burning Right Now

2008-11-01T22:55:00.002-05:00

Texas Tech, 39
Texas, 33

I can't believe I'm saying this, but go Red Raiders!!! But, please, try not to run out on the field before the game is over next time, okay???

I'm Hooked

2008-10-26T21:00:00.003-05:00

So, does anyone else out there watch True Blood? Ohmygod....I am totally hooked on that show. A longtime devotee of anything related to vampires (I was addicted to Anne Rice's vampire tales as well as Stephenie Meyer's Twilight Saga) I was intrigued when I initially read about this series coming to HBO.

Since DH and I got rid of HBO last year because we weren't really watching anything on it, we've had to come by the episodes by other means. Last night we finished episode 7, and all I can say is wow. I love Anna Paquin as fiery waitress Sookie, and the characters who play Tara and Lafayette are equally memorable. Hell, the entire cast is freakin' awesome! And don't even get me started about the music. The show's producers put a lot of thought into the soundtrack for that show, and I think it sets the tone just right.

What does everyone else think?

Fun with Quizzes

2008-10-25T15:09:00.002-05:00

Saw this over at Bearette's and had to do it too!

Take the Quiz here!

Holy Crap, Why do I do this?

2008-10-13T22:22:00.002-05:00

I got nothing. Well, almost nothing, anyway.

Since we moved in our house, every once in awhile I'd notice some dirt stuff coming in from under the baseboards in our master bathroom. Thinking it was just dirt from outside, I'd sweep it up and not give it another thought.

Last Sunday, we noticed the ant bed near our a/c unit hadn't gone away when we treated it previously, so DH hit it with some more bait. That night, I walked into the bathroom to brush my teeth and was confronted with an ANT BED NEXT TO OUR SHOWER. I ran out of the bathroom, grabbed the Dyson, and vacuumed those little suckers right up. That Englishman was right when he said it never loses suction!

Turns out we have an infestation. Of carpenter ants. In the siding outside our master bathroom. Totally disgusting. My skin is itching as I type this.

DH's friend's dad knows all about insects and how to get rid of them, so he's rounding up some bait for us. As soon as we eradicate the bastards we'll be able to see just how much damage they've done to our walls.

Looks like we might be remodeling our bathroom sooner than we thought! I really have the urge to just rip all the crap out and start from scratch........

Another Meme!

2008-09-28T17:08:00.002-05:00

Yeah, I know. But at least I'm posting more, right??

From Libragirl:

**FOODOLOGY**
What is your salad dressing of choice?
I like vinaigrettes and blue cheese. MMMM, wedge salads are the best.

What is your favorite sit-down restaurant?
Depends on my mood.

What food could you eat every day for two weeks and not get sick of?
Cereal.

What are your pizza toppings of choice?
Canadian bacon, pineapple, and jalapeno.

What do you like to put on your toast?
Butter & jam.

**TECHNOLOGY**
What is your wallpaper on your computer?
Something Windows generic.

How many televisions are in your house?
Two.

What color cell phone do you have?
Blue.

**BIOLOGY**
Are you right-handed or left-handed?
Right

Have you ever had anything removed from your body?
Gallbladder, wisdom teeth.

What is the last heavy item you lifted?
Tradeshow boxes.

Have you ever been knocked unconscious?
I don't think so...

**BULLCRAPOLOGY**
If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die?
Naah. I'd like to be surprised.

If you could change your name, what would you change it to?
I used to want to have a common name, since my given name is unusual, but now I love it and wouldn't change it for anything.

Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1000?
Depends on what kind and how big a bottle.

**DUMOLOGY**
How many pairs of flip flops do you own?
Less than 10.

Last time you had a run-in with the cops?
Probably 8 years ago when I was stopped for going FIVE MILES OVER the speed limit. Yeah. Bastard even wrote me a ticket, but it ended up getting dismissed without my even doing anything.

What did you want to be when you grew up?
A librarian.

Last person you talked to?
DH.

Last person you hugged?
DH.

**FAVORITOLOGY**
Season?
Spring and fall.

Holiday?
Halloween.

Day of the week?
Saturday.

**CURRENTOLOGY**
Missing someone?
Friends & family.

Mood?
Upbeat.

Listening to?
E! Entertainment Television

Watching?
Something about cults.

Worrying about?
Nothing at the moment, but anything can happen.

**RANDOMOLOGY**
First place you went this morning?
Starbucks.

What can you not wait to do?
Go to NYC.

What’s the last movie you saw?
Stand and Deliver. I love Edward James Olmos.

Do you smile often?
I'm a smiley person.

Thought I'd do a Meme

2008-09-27T16:18:00.003-05:00

Holy crap, y'all. This new bed of ours is AWESOME. Our mattress, which is one of those memory foam ones (not a Tempurpedic, but a lesser-priced brand, because $4,000 for a mattress was quite out of our budget,) was a bit unforgiving the first couple of nights, because any of you who have used a memory foam pillow knows that they're quite firm, but after a night or two, it begins conforming to your body. DH and I both woke up with lower-back pain the first two nights, but last night...OH MY GOD. Our bodies just needed to get used to it.

I went to bed around 1 am, and as soon as the light went out, I was pretty much out as well. Fast forward to 8 am, when I literally bounded out of bed, probably the most rested I've been in, well, ever. I was bouncing around the house, marveling at the fact that my back didn't hurt, my shoulder (which has been keeping me up at night more often than not) didn't hurt, and I felt terrific. Woke DH up at 10 and we went to the coffee shop for some caffeine, and caught up on some of our TV shows. Later, I went back to the bedroom to spend some time with Joey (who is now a fan of the bed too,) and the bed sucked me in again, and I ended up snoozing for about another hour. Ah, bliss. I never knew you 'til now.

And, without further ado, the real reason for this post - a meme snagged from Poppy.

1. Who was the last person of the opposite sex you lay in a bed with?
DH

2. Where was the last place you went out to eat?
The food court at the mall. Yeah, pedestrian, I know, but I wanted to do some shopping last night! I ended up with an awesome fruit cup and 4 chicken nuggets from Chik-fil-A.

3. What was the last alcoholic beverage you consumed?
I think it was a Blue Moon with my sister nearly a month ago. What's up with that???

4. Which do you prefer - eyes or lips?
Must I choose? I don't want to - I like both!

5. Medicine, fine arts, or law?
Uh...........

6. Best kind of pizza?
My favorite pizzas are taco pizza and Canadian bacon with pineapple and jalapeno. MMM!

7. Is your bedroom window open?
Are you crazy? I'd lose at least two cats if that were to happen.

8. What is in store for your future?
That remains unclear, but I know I'll be sleeping really well!

9. Who was the last band you saw live?
Oh man, it was either Nine Inch Nails or Coldplay. I totally can't remember.

10. Do you take care of your friends while they are sick?
Seeing I have no friends here, no. I would if I did, though. DH is rarely, if ever, sick (KNOCK ON WOOD) - he is the one taking care of me most times.

11. What is your favorite soda?
Coke Zero or Diet 7Up.

12. How many songs are on your iTunes?
1999 - but a lot of those are audiobook tracks, so I don't think that counts.

13. When was the last time you purchased something over 100 dollars?
The bedroom set last weekend. WAY over 100 dollars.

14. Where is the last place you drove to?
Work yesterday. DH has driven ever since.

15. Are you experienced?
At what? I have experience in a lot of different things. You need to be more specific!

16. Any historical figures that you envy?
Um, I like reading about historical figures, especially from medieval times, but I don't think I envy them. Living conditions, even for the higher classes, kinda sucked. I like my air conditioning and lack of vermin. And indoor plumbing. Never take me camping.

17. What brand of digital camera do you own?
A Canon PowerShot A640.

18. When was the last time you got a good workout?
Went to the gym on Thursday. Might go again today when DH gets back.

19. If you need a new pair of jeans, which store do you go to first?
Old Navy

20. Where did your last kiss take place?
I think in the bedroom (get your minds out of the gutter!) when DH came in during my naptime.

21. What were you doing at 11:59 PM on Monday night?
Sleeping. I'm an old lady.

22. Are you a quitter?
Not usually. I don't think. Do I do things half-ass? All the time. But quit outright? Hmm...

23. Who was the last person you had in your house?
The furniture people.

24. Can you speak another language?
Slightly.

25. How about you put your legs behind your head?
Ha! Yeah...

26. When was the last time you went dancing while under the influence?
Nine years ago. Numbers. Vodka sours & Mini Thins. Wow....that was a different lifetime.

27. Nickname?
B, Bdogg, Hon, Baby Doll (my Mom calls me that)

28. Describe what you are wearing in detail.
Glasses, knit crop pants, top, undergarments.

29. What do you think about people who party a lot?
Hey, more power to you! Just drink lots of water and remember to moisturize!

30. Does talking about sex make you uncomfortable?
It depends on who I'm talking with. With my co-workers? Oh hell yeah. Friends and/or husband? Nope.

31. Are you one of those people who obsesses over Hollister?
I've never even set foot in a Hollister. Are they like Abercrombie?

32. What was the last CD you purchased?
I bought Coldplay's new album via iTunes

33. What are two bands or singers that you will always love?
Nine Inch Nails and (don't ridicule me!) N'Sync. I know! Total extremes! But I came of age listening to NIN and my sister and I had good times together listening to N'Sync. So the last one is more sentimental than anything.

34. Which of the seven deadly sins are you guilty of?
Probably all of them. Sloth & Gluttony among the most frequent.

35. Did you just have to Google the seven deadly sins to see what they were?
No, but it took me a while to think of them.

36. Where is your favorite place to get coffee?
I only drink coffee about once a week, and it's usually Starbucks b/c it's convenient to my house.

37. Have you ever been offered a job?
Without applying for one? Yep. Biggest mistake of my life.

38. Have you ever stolen anything off a road?
No....

39. When was the last time you dyed your hair?
Three months ago. I need to have it done again.

40. Whom was the last person you rode in a car with?
DH

41. Have you kissed somebody in the last 2 weeks?
Besides my husband? No.

42. Miss someone?
I miss lots of people.

43. How is your last ex doing?
Pretty good, I think.

44. Is there someone you want to fight?
Not really. But I could if I needed to.

I Haven't the Slightest Idea What to Wear

2008-09-26T12:15:00.002-05:00

DH and I are spending Christmas in NYC this year! We will be there for 6 nights and have rented a cute little apartment in the West 40's for our stay. It was comparable, if not a little cheaper, to do that as opposed to getting a hotel, and I wanted to have the freedom of cooking our own meals if we wanted to, even though, in actuality, that probably won't happen. :P Okay, breakfast, maybe...

I already know that I will be seeing dear Poppy (and finally meet Dawg!) for quite a lot of that time, and I hope to see Bearette & Co while I'm there too!

We've bought a cute little guidebook and are planning things to do. This will be DH's first time to the City, and my third, so I've seen some of the touristy things, but want to make sure he sees the landmarks that he wants to see. My very first trip to NYC was with a friend who'd already been loads of times, so she didn't want to see the Statue of Liberty, or Rockefeller Center, or the World Trade Center (before it was Ground Zero,) and I wasn't comfortable enough going on my own (I was 17 and quite sheltered,) so I did what she wanted to do. Any suggestions on what we should see while we're in town?

But I have another problem!!!

I don't have the foggiest idea of what to pack! I mean, I don't even own a coat, people! It doesn't get that cold here!

So my conundrum is this: What should I wear? Can you help me?

And the crappy thing is, with the new baggage handling fee that American has instituted (I hate you, American Airlines! Just thought I'd throw that out there,) I want to try to keep it to two suitcases.

I have three months, so it's time to start preparing! :)

A Momentous Occasion

2008-09-23T19:00:00.003-05:00

This weekend was a rather grand occasion for our household. Why, you ask?

Because we got new bedroom furniture, that's why!!!! What spurred us on was the fact that I've been sleeping on the couch more often than not because our mattress totally crapped out on us and my back and shoulder just couldn't take it.

You know, it was pretty hard to find the perfect bedroom group - we've been looking for over a year to find something that was just right. Since I'm pretty much the chief decorator in the house, I had a vision of what our bedroom should look like - dark wood, headboard but no footboard, clean lines. It always felt like everything we looked at was lacking a certain something, but I knew I would know the right one when I saw it.

I perused the Rooms to Go website Saturday night and found "the one," and we headed over on Sunday and bought it--DH stayed home today while it was delivered. We got a new mattress, too, (a king!) which, incidentally, cost more than the entire bedroom group, but it is heaven to lie on.......

Here it is!

Three out of four kitties give the new bed two paws up!

Joey is still a little wary of the new bed - but he sure likes this box.

My nightstand - already on its way to being cluttered in typical Bdogg fashion, but I like to think of it more as "making it homey."

And last, the new dresser--with Menchi looking a little scary.

All that is left to do now is to paint the room, so sometime next year I'll probably be posting pictures of the painted room.

Semi-Goth :)

2008-09-12T16:17:00.004-05:00

From Dawg!

You Are 60% Goth

You definitely have some gothicness going on, but you're far from being a stereotypical goth.

You enjoy certain elements of goth culture, but you're not going to be into something simply because it's goth.

It's likely that you're the type of person who totally defies labels. Good for you!

If you are into something, it's because you sincerely love it. Not because it projects a certain image.

Are You Goth?

Pretty much all day I've been watching the hurricane hooplah via streaming video (a big no-no at work, but so is posting on my blog. I don't really give a shit.) Ike is going to make a direct hit on all the people I care about, and I wish more than anything that I was with them right now, if only to drink wine and wait out the storm together. Sigh.

I'm Getting Crochety in my Old Age

2008-09-10T21:28:00.003-05:00

This past weekend I drove to Houston for Krissypoo's baby shower, which was so much fun and seeing everyone again after so long made me realize how much I'm missing being so far away, and that I really want to move back to Houston. *sniff*

But, this isn't a time to be maudlin. I have a story to tell.

Thursday night I came home from work and noticed that our a/c unit wasn't cooling as well as usual. I didn't think much of it, though, because the evening sun happens to hit our thermostat just so, and sometimes it affects the temperature reading. Went to bed as usual, everything was fine.

I left for Houston from work on Friday, and spent the weekend shopping with my mom, hitting Baker Street Pub with my sister (where we got hit on by some stupid frat boy in an Abercrombie T-shirt that read "Don't blame me, I'm just the wingman," or something like that,) and having lunch on Sunday with Mrs. Wallington, Krissypoo, and SueSue (Krissypoo's good friend and old college roommate, who is totally kick-ass, I must say.)

I got back Sunday evening, and came into the hottest f-ing house EVER. Seriously. Usually, I'm not a hot-natured person, if anything, I'm wrapped in a blanket when it's 74 degrees in the house, but crap, was it hot. Our thermostat read 85, but it felt much hotter than that. I'd stripped down to my underwear within 15 minutes of coming home, which DH got a kick out of.

Sunday night was the worst. We had the overhead fan and our oscillating fan going full blast, and I still couldn't sleep. I probably got about 3-4 hours sleep total, tossing and turning and basically dying of heatstroke. The poor cats were miserable. DH had the name of the a/c guy his parents use, so he gave him a call Monday morning.

So the a/c guy came out, and it turns out all we needed was a freon charge. Thank goodness we didn't need to replace the whole unit! But you know what was really irksome? The reason we needed the charge is because some neighborhood kids were huffing our freon!!!!!

What. The. F-ing. Hell.

!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

Next to our unit, DH and the a/c guy found a spoon that the little fuckers used to turn the valve, or something like that. Earlier that week I'd found several Pepsi cans (neither of us drinks Pepsi or any full-sugar soda at all) around our trash can and in the area between our house and our neighbor's. Guess they needed the Pepsi to keep their energy up while they sniffed the lifeblood out of our a/c unit.

(Our neighbor on that side is like 91 years old. I thought most retired elderly people were nosy and saw everything? Why didn't he catch this????)

I just can't imagine why anyone would be stupid enough to inhale noxious, toxic chemicals in an attempt to get a little buzz. Okay, that totally made me sound like a hypocrite, seeing that I've been known in my college years to inhale the noxious smoke of the wacky tobacky, but at least that stuff's natural! Yeah, I know, not much of an argument, but still. Nobody I know of ever died hitting a joint, while a distant cousin of mine died huffing spray paint fumes.

In the end, there really wasn't much we could do, except replace the freon, which cost us about $150 including the a/c guy's visit. I also called the police to let them know what was happening, but there's nothing they can do either, except try to patrol the area a bit more rigorously.

I have half a mind to go door to door in a three or four block radius with that spoon and say, "Is this your spoon? Do you have a child who's acting a little dumber than normal?"

Stupid kids.

Seriously, I'm Going Nuts

2008-09-03T21:10:00.003-05:00

Okay, so I had a post half-written about some books I read over the summer, but ever since I uploaded to the latest version of Firefox, everything Google-related is a bit wonky. I don't know why - I can't get to my Gmail accounts, and now my posts aren't saving. Sheesh. It's really starting to annoy me.

Anyway, work has been crazy busy, which is actually why I'm in a bit of a pit of despair at the moment, simply because I think I'm getting tired of the place. I'm still selling Avon, so please visit my website if you'd like to order from me (Sour, if you're reading this, I think I figured out a way for me to help you out if you want...)I really enjoy the Avon thing, but haven't been able to give it the attention I want to because my day job has been so damn busy!

We were supposed to go to Houston for Labor Day weekend, but ended up staying home because we weren't entirely what Gustav was going to do. Incidentally, that turned out to be a good thing, because a bowl of pho I ate on Friday night had me in the bathroom pretty much all weekend, in addition to running a damn fever! I never run fever, so when that thermometer hit 101 degrees I kind of freaked out a bit. It broke about 12 hours later, though, so it wasn't too bad. By Monday I felt pretty much human again, and I lost 2 lbs to boot!

I think I'm going to have an early night and curl up with my Joey and a good book - right now I'm reading The Constant Princess by Phillippa Gregory. Of course I'm enjoying it, because it tells the story of Katherine of Aragon and how she went from impoverished dowager princess to Queen of England in a rather controversial way.

And finally, I got this from Poppy and Sour a few days ago, and thought I'd share my results. Have a lovely evening, everyone!

You Are a Walnut

You are down to earth and genuine.

Responsible and practical, you are a grown up in all aspects of your life.

You probably eat a healthy diet and get enough exercise.

And while you're not wild, you're not boring either. You're actually very deep and interesting.

What Nut Are You?

Finally! Part II

2008-08-20T17:55:00.003-05:00

I hated to do that to y'all last night, but it was really turning out to be a long post, and I like doing cliffhangers anyway, so I thought it was a good place to stop. :) I'm evil, I know.

So anyway, my attorney pulls out LB's Facebook profile, and I start reading it. Here are some of the lovely highlights of what she had written:

"I love driving fast and have the record to prove it"

"Here's to the drunken nights I'll never remember with the friends I'll never forget"

"I love staying single, seeing double, and sleeping triple"

Later, the mediator comes in and says to my attorney, "The defense is saying they never got the Stowers letter," which was essentially a letter my attorney had sent back in January telling the insurance company that we just wanted to get this all over with, and if they paid us the policy limit, we would settle immediately and that would be the end of it.

The insurance company never responded. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside just thinking about it.

So my attorney told the mediator, "I sent that Stowers letter back in January, and here is a copy of it," and handed the mediator the letter. Seemingly, someone at the defense attorney's office f-ed up and the defense attorney never got the letter, or he's lying. My attorney gives the mediator the Stowers letter to show to the defense, and then says, "Show them this, too," and hands the mediator LB's Facebook profile, with all the juicy bits highlighted.

A few minutes later the mediator comes in and says, "You got policy limit." She goes on to tell us that she pulled the defense attorney and the insurance adjuster out of the room and said, "Here is the Stowers letter you claim you never received. The plaintiff is demanding you give her policy limit, or I am going to pull LB's father out here and show him his daughter's Facebook profile," and she handed the attorney and the adjuster the pages, to which they said, "Oh, crap," and I got a check the same day.

Success!

I wish I could have been a fly on the wall to witness that conversation.

Finally, after almost a year and a half, this whole stupid business is over. After my medical bills and the attorney was paid, we came out with a decent amount that will help pay off some debt and have some left over to put into savings. And I learned a valuable lesson - if someone rear ends you and runs off, and they catch who did it, have their ass arrested!

Finally!!

2008-08-19T20:16:00.003-05:00

Okay, it's really sad when you haven't posted in so long the Blogger dashboard has changed in your absence, and it threw you for a loop for a second.

As little as I post, you'd think I'd pack it in already, but, as few posts that come out of here now, I still love blogging and hope that someday, relatively soon, I will regain my mojo. :)

Anyway, I wanted to share with the few who are still readers a little bit of what happened last week. A couple of you have already heard this, but it's a good story and needs to be told again.

In April of 2007, some of you may remember that I was in a car accident, where I was rear-ended while going to work and the person who hit me fled the scene, and they caught her, the Little Bitch (from now on referred to as LB) had no remorse, yadda yadda yadda. I was in physical therapy for five months and still, almost a year and a half later, suffer from pain on my right side, from my neck all the way down my leg. I'd originally thought I was going to let the insurance company take care of me, but several months of physical therapy coming out of my own pocket and hearing some horror stories about insurance companies wanting to take care of their bottom line before they took care of you made me decide to hire an attorney, who would be on my side.

An MRI and X-rays showed that I had an injury to my leg as well as two bulging discs in my neck, and my attorney presented the facts and demanded a certain amount as a settlement based on my injuries, to which LB's insurance company essentially gave us the finger and counteroffered $1700, about a tenth of what my medical bills ended up being. They said that since there was minor damage to my car that I couldn't possibly be as hurt as I said I was, and that I was pretty much faking. Lovely, huh? I guess I paid the MRI technician to switch my results with someone else who had the bulging discs.

In March I gave a deposition, as did LB and her father, since LB is still on his insurance, and found out while reading her deposition that after she rear ended me and left she went home and tried to lie about the accident to her dad, who called her on it and she admitted the truth. But the kicker is that about six months before my accident, she was in a wreck that was her fault, and four months after she rear ended me she was in ANOTHER rear end collision, her fault, of course, and she totaled her car. And you know how her parents "punished" her for that? They bought her a new car!

You'd think that after hearing all this evidence that my case was pretty much watertight, but no, this crap dragged on for yet another five months until last Wednesday, when, in an attempt to keep this from going to trial, we all met up for mediation.

So, last Wednesday morning I showed up at this gorgeous little office in Uptown Dallas, wearing a suit and looking very professional. I was incredibly nervous because LB and her dad were going to be there too, and I just didn't feel like facing them, but I did, and guess what she came dressed in?

Bitch was wearing jeans! JEANS! I mean, come on...my attorney got a kick out of me being so outraged at that, but it just goes to show you what kind of person LB is that she doesn't know that there are times you need to look professional.

So we had our General Session, where the two parties meet in a room with the mediator and the attorneys present their sides of the case. My attorney said that it's an open and shut thing, and if it goes before a jury the defense is screwed and I'll be awarded all these damages, while the other side says I'm faking and the jury would see that and laugh in my face, and then we all adjourned to different rooms, after which the mediator would try to facilitate negotiations for a settlement. My attorney was trying to go for LB's policy limit or as close to it as possible.

While we were waiting for the mediator to come back to us, my attorney says to me, "My paralegal was doing some research on LB, and look what she found."

And my attorney pulled out LB's Facebook profile. And after reading what she wrote, our case started looking better and better.

That's all I'm going to post tonight! Tune in next time for another gripping installment! :)

Bobby Brady Lives on my Block

2008-07-28T21:10:00.005-05:00

Most of the people who live on our street are older than we are. Our neighbor on the left is the oldest person in the neighborhood, at 91, and is quite proud of that. The neighbors on our right are a retired couple whose kids and grandkids live nearby. When we moved in a year and a half ago, DH was unpacking in the front room and he said that a gaggle of pre-middle school kids kept running by our house, stopping short of ringing the doorbell and asking if any kids lived here and wanted to come out to play.

When we lived in Frisco, the area was literally teeming with babies. It was baby this, baby that, oh look at my baby, I have a baby, and pretty much wherever we went we saw families lugging small children around in Baby Bjorns and Peg Perego strollers. Which was totally cool with us, but moving to Allen has thrown us into dealing with a whole new age group of children.

The teenager.

For example, the past few nights I've been serenaded by the sweet, sweet sounds of a drum kit being hit with full force by, most likely, a teenage boy with dreams of traveling all over the world, being a rockstar flocked by groupies. (I wonder, do drummers these days still twirl the drumsticks in their fingers like all the hair metal guys did in the '80s? Probably not - wow, Bdogg, you are really showing your age now!) I have to say, it isn't that bad, and I was never coordinated enough to hit a bass drum with my right foot and hit a snare drum with my left hand while tinging the cymbal with my right hand, but come on! Just because you're on summer vacation and can stay up all hours of the night does not mean that the rest of the neighborhood should be subjected to killer beats when they have to go to work the next day. Why don't you try to wake up early, say 10 am or so, and practice then? The majority of the neighborhood would most likely be at work during that time. Oh my gosh, will you listen to me? When did I become old? Next thing you know I'll be going to Denny's for the 4:30 dinner special.

Bobby Brady doesn't have anything on the hot tub banger, though. Remember that classic?

Ear plugs, I love you.

There's a Birthday Among Us...

2008-07-25T10:14:00.003-05:00

Today is the birthday of my bestest friend in the whole world, Poppy. She's an awesome chick with a huge heart and a load of sassiness to boot. I am incredibly lucky to have her as a friend.

Happy Birthday, sweetie!!!!!111

Riddled with Bullets

2008-07-23T20:18:00.005-05:00

--On Sunday, DH and I went to our favorite place, Studio Movie Grill, to see The Dark Knight. It was all-you-can-eat pizza night, so DH and I ate pizzas and drank sodas and watched the movie. The thing about the pizza is, they bring you a full-sized pizza the first time around, and if you order another one, it's half the size of the first one. That's okay with me, though. I thought the movie was really really really good. There were several times that I sat there, slack-jawed, and looked over at DH who had the same expression. Heath Ledger was amazing as The Joker, and of course, Christian Bale is one of my favorite actors. After the movie, DH and I were mostly quiet on the way home, just processing it all.

--Yesterday I was coming back from the sandwich shop near work, and as a cop drove by on the other side of the street, I watched as a man in a pickup truck pulled right out in front of me to turn left and stopped in the median area, the back of his pickup taking up my entire lane. So, I laid on the horn and kept my hand there until he finally moved, and when he was pulling away from me the bastard moved his hand in a "yap yap yap" motion at me. So I gave him the finger.

--It is hot as blazes here. Yesterday the high was 103, but today it actually cooled off a bit. The high is 98! I should have worn a sweater. But it is kinda sad that my office gets so cold in the summertime that I welcome going outside just to warm up...

--Menchi and Kino are pretty smart kitties. I think one of the reasons he is such a butthead is because he gets bored easily. So one day I was watching Housecat Housecall on Animal Planet and the vet suggested giving the cats toys that made them work for things to occupy their time and engage their mind, and showed a clip of a cat batting around a Kong filled with kitty treats and eating the treats contained within, as its reward. So last weekend, DH and I went to Petco and bought a Kong, brought it home and promptly filled it with treats. The cats looked at us like we were crazy, so we just left it on the floor and DH went to work out. About ten minutes after DH left I went into the kitchen and saw Menchi batting the Kong around and eating the treats that came out. I got so excited that I called DH and told him about Menchi's super intelligence. She hasn't done it since, though, so maybe it was a fluke.

--I'm in a big rut with my job. I mean, I've been doing the same thing, essentially, for nearly 10 years, and I'm tired of sitting at a desk all day. So, I figured, why not try something new? So I'm selling Avon. Not full-time, of course, not yet, but it's something I really want to try to do. I'm not allowed to advertise my website link on my blog though (boo,) but if you want to buy stuff from me, e-mail me and I'd be glad to help you out.

--Happy belated birthday to Ms. Bearette!

New Eyes

2008-07-17T21:43:00.004-05:00

Thanks to all of you who left get well comments. I am finally starting to feel better, thank goodness! Five days after the surgery, I woke up with a puffy rash all over my torso. Turns out I had an allergic reaction to the antiseptic prep stuff they swab all over you pre-incision. My body is weird like that -- I once finished a ten-day course of a sulfa medication before I blew up like a balloon. But, a prescription for steroids and a week later and presto! No more rash!

My incisions healed nicely, but the scars aren't that pretty. I see Mederma in my future...

Anyway, last Saturday DH and I had our annual eye exams. Well, it was annual for me -- DH hadn't been to the eye doctor since before we moved to Dallas 4.5 years ago, when he got glasses to replace the ones he lost in the Guadalupe River on a toobing trip.

Ever since mid-June, DH had been wearing his old contacts that I had to dig out of a box in our closet because, big surprise, he lost his current pair of glasses in the Guadalupe River during a toobing trip. Now, let me tell you, when he decided to go (I'm not the biggest fan of toobing, so I decided to stay behind, plus, my dad and stepmom came to town and took me shopping--way more fun,) I said to him, "I really hope you don't lose your glasses this time," and he assured me this wouldn't happen.

Flash forward to Saturday afternoon. I'm in the car with my parents heading back from the mall when I get a phone call. It was DH, telling me that, as usual, I was right, and guess what he did? He lost his glasses in the river. Luckily his prescription isn't that bad and he can still see mostly without his glasses, because he had to drive back to our house!

Anyway, so we had our eye appointment, and he got new glasses. The new glasses bug bit me as well, since my pair was 3 years old, and, well, I couldn't have DH looking all snazzy in new glasses with me wearing my old ones. Never mind that I don't wear glasses in public. Oh well - I got a new pair in addition to my contacts, and I love love love them!

While DH got his glasses right away, because his prescription is so minimal they can make them in-house (and he looks so cute, y'all, in his new glasses, you don't even know!) mine, being coke bottles, have to be sent off and ground down from giant sheets of plastic, or whatever they do for people who are half-blind.

They came in earlier this week, and I thought I'd show them off, because I think they're quite fetching. I might even wear them in public!

Here are my previous glasses:

And the new ones:

What do you think??

Up and at 'em...sort of

2008-07-05T21:33:00.002-05:00

Well, folks, I survived my gallbladder removal. So far, I've been feeling pretty well, considering, but I've been trying to take it easy. Wednesday morning I checked into the hospital and got the IV and all that great stuff, and met with my surgeon and anesthesiologist (both very wonderful people,) and was wheeled into the operating room. The anesthesiologist and I were talking about different types of music we liked, and they were piling warm blankets on top of me, and the last thing I remember was the gas mask being put over my nose.

I woke up in recovery, having a very difficult time breathing, and every once in a while the oxygen machine would beep at me, reminding me to breathe since the anesthesia relaxed my respiratory system so much. Luckily, though, I wasn't nauseous or anything, but I was in quite a bit of pain, so they kept giving me painkillers.

According to the surgeon, my body had started attacking my gallbladder, and was in the process of walling it off by growing fat and tissue around the offending organ. She took a picture of it, and I have to say it was a very interesting sight. So it was a good thing that they took it out, since my body would have eventually killed the gallbladder anyway and kept causing me pain.

The past few days have been spent with me on the couch, my Mom taking care of me and she & my Dad pretty much doing all the housework, bless them. They left yesterday afternoon, and DH has taken really good care of me, too, bringing me drinks and snacks and ice packs for my tummy. I have three incisions on the right side of my abdomen, and one in my belly button, which are held together with super glue-like stuff. Kinda disconcerting to look at, but so far everything seems to be holding together all right. :)

Just wanted to let everyone know that the surgery went well. Sitting up can be a bit uncomfortable, so I'm going to go recline as much as possible until I have to sit up all day back at work on Monday!

American Girls and Gallbladders

2008-07-01T21:57:00.003-05:00

Last weekend, my sister-in-law came up and took her daughter and son (my niece and nephew) and their cousin to the American Girl Cafe. Now, I know you're wondering why my nephew came too, but that was because his dad is in Korea preparing for the family to move there at the end of the month, so he was kind of stuck doing all the girly stuff.

I got one of the very first American Girl dolls, Kirsten, when it was still called Pleasant Company and before Mattel bought the company out and kind of sullied the brand, in my mind, but I have to say I got suckered in, and had a fabulous time. I even brought my doll and got her hair done back to its original style, and we all had a lovely lunch - here's a pic of the afternoon--you can see the rest of the set here:

Later on that afternoon we went to see Wall-E for my nephew, and it was very very good. I definitely recommend it. At first I was worried that it was going to be a bit too preachy like Happy Feet, but I was pleasantly surprised and even teared up a few times.

Tomorrow morning I check into the hospital to have my gallbladder removed, and while I'm a bit nervous, I'm glad the whole thing is soon to be finished. So, until sometime after the surgery, I bid you happy blogging and I'll see you on the flipside!

Cats - 0, Humans - 1

2008-06-22T20:48:00.004-05:00

Our bedroom furniture belonged to DH during his bachelor days. Medium-brown wood, done in the mission style, it is really well made and for the past nearly five (damn!) years it has served us well.

There's one problem, though. The headboard is a ledge of sorts, and this perch is something that the cats just LOVE to jump on at 5am, 6am, 7am, pretty much when they want to drive us out of bed to give them food/attention/what-have-you.

And it drives me up the f-ing wall. You wanna know why? Because I can't count how many times I've been sleeping peacefully, ensconced in a fabulous dream, only to have a damn furry body slip off the headboard right onto my head.

Since new bedroom furniture is not very high on the list of priorities (need to put back moolah for my surgery a week from Wednesday as well as our Christmas trip to NYC, and then we want to upgrade our appliances, etc. etc. etc,) DH and I devised a simple plan to deter the cats from their favorite morning perch.

Painter's tape. Turned inside out to expose the sticky side. After we put it on the headboard, BlackJack, ever the curious bastard, promptly jumped up on the ledge to see what was going on, and proceeded to freak out at the stickiness assaulting his paws.

That was a couple of weeks ago, and so far, no morning headboard hijinks from the cats. Every once in a while Joey contemplates jumping on it, but one touch of his paws to that tape and he decides it isn't worth it.

Sure the tape isn't very attractive, but I don't care since I can now sleep peacefully at night.

However, if you're interested in a well-made mission style bedroom set, please let me know - I'm more than happy to give you a good deal!!

Clandestine Post

2008-06-11T09:11:00.004-05:00

I'm not supposed to be doing this at work, but Poppy posted this meme and I thought I'd do the same. Our Internet has been on the fritz at home for the past couple of weeks, which is why I haven't posted recently, but it's been fixed now. So I should be posting more after hours. :)

This morning I was looking at my reflection in the mirror and noticed that when I smile, my eyes crinkle up around the corners. I don't remember them being that pronounced previously. I'm kinda freaking out right now.

But anyway, here's the meme:

What is in the back of your car? Shoes, mainly. And workout towels.

Name one person that made you smile today? You know, it's early, and I'm at work, so no smile as of yet.

What were you doing at 8 am this morning? Making my morning tea.

What were you doing 45 minutes ago? Driving to work.

What is your favorite candy bar? Oooh, the Ritter Sport Milk Chocolate with Butter Biscuit. They're magically delicious.

Have you ever been to a strip club? I've been to a male one, when I was young and foolish.

What is the last thing you said aloud? I can't remember the exact words, but it was something to my boss about a tradeshow booth.

What is the best ice cream flavor? New York Super Fudge Chunk! And Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough! Wait, that's two...

What was the last thing you had to drink? I just had a sip of tea.

What are you wearing right now? Black pants, black tank, black and gray patterned sheer top, black shoes. Even my underthings are black. And it's going to be 98 degrees today. What the hell was I thinking?

What was the last thing you ate? Frosted Shredded Wheat.

Have you bought any new clothing items this week? I bought some new workout shoes yesterday...

When was the last time you ran? I don't run. I did go 5.5 MPH on the elliptical last night, though. My best yet!

The last sporting event you watched? College Baseball was on the screen at Studio Movie Grill this weekend while we were waiting to see Don't Mess with the Zohan. (Terrible movie, btw)

What is your favorite flavor of popcorn? Regular popped, with Old Bay sprinkled on.

Who is the last person you sent a comment/message on myspace? I rarely visit MySpace anymore.

Do you take vitamins daily? Yes.

Do you go to church every Sunday? No. I used to, growing up, but I lost my faith quite a few years ago, and despite several tries to find it again, it's still gone. I'm perfectly okay with that.

Do you have a tan? Nope. Pale as a ghost.

Do you like Chinese food over pizza? I like both equally.

Do you drink your soda with a straw? Only if it is served to me that way at a restaurant.

What did your last text message say? It was from dear Poppy, telling me they were being sent home because of the weather.

Are you someone's best friend? Yes. :)

What are you doing tomorrow? Working. Going to the gym. Cooking dinner. Watching TV. Going to sleep. Standard Thursday.

Look to your left, what do you see? A box of tissues, and a bottle of water.

What color is your watch? I don't wear a watch.

What do you think of when you think of Australia? The Thorn Birds.

Do you use chapstick? Every day!

What is your birthstone? Garnet.

What is your favorite number? 13.

Do you have a dog? No. They're cute and all, but with 4 cats, a dog would be a bit much.

Last person you talked to on the phone? I think my mom.

Have you met anyone famous?No. I'm boring.

Any plans today? Not really. I have to go with the VP to a lunch & learn session today, but that's about it.

How many states have you lived in? One.

Ever go to college? Yes, yes I did. (Your mom goes to college.)

Do you dye your hair? I've dyed my hair for so long I don't remember what my natural color is. I think what I have now (minus the highlights) is pretty close, though.

Biggest annoyance in your life right now? My leg is bugging me from the workout last night.

Last song listened to? "(Keep Feeling) Fascination" by Thompson Twins

Can you say the alphabet backwards? Of course!

Do you have a maid service clean your house? No. I want to get one, but I'm too lazy to clean up beforehand so they won't see what horrible housekeepers we are.

Favorite pair of shoes you wear all the time? I usually wear my ballet flats during the week, and flip flops on the weekends.

Are you jealous of anyone?Nope.

Is anyone jealous of you? I like to think so.

Do you love anyone? More than anything.

Do any of your friends have children? Yes.

Do you eat healthy? I try to, for the most part.

What do you usually do during the day? Sit in front of the computer. Yay.

Do you hate anyone that you know right now? No, but do fellow drivers count?

Do you use the word 'hello' daily? I do. I know Poppy thinks it is too formal a word, but I still like it. :)

What color is your car? Seafoam green. After I had my wreck last year the police were there taking my statement and when they asked me what color my car was, I said, "Seafoam." The officer looked at me and said, "I can't put that in the report. How about green?" I guess he didn't want anyone to question his masculinity, or maybe men just see all shades of green as just "green." Who knows?

Do you like cats? They are the best animals ever!

Have you ever been to Six Flags? Yes, and got heatstroke when I was 15, and the bitches I was with didn't want to get out of the rollercoaster line to help me. Whores.

How did you get your worst scar? I don't really have a "worst" scar. They're all quite tiny, really.

Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme

2008-05-26T21:57:00.004-05:00

Yesterday, DH and I went to Scarborough Faire - a lovely village festival in Waxahachie where you are transported back into the 16th century. Well, sort of.

There is an equivalent near Houston, which I've been to twice in my life, and since we've lived here in Dallas I hadn't been to Scarborough Faire, which was something I've wanted to remedy for So, it being the last weekend and all for the festival, DH and I took the hour drive down to see what we could see.

Here is some of what we saw:

Some kids getting tossed around in a barrel swing...
A procession that went on forever...Henna tattoos...The final result...(my hair looked horrible!)
Camel rides...
A guy who played music by rubbing his fingers on glasses filled with water...(it was actually really cool)
And me trying on hats. I wanted this cute pink cowboy hat, but it was $55! I passed on it.It was a really, really fun day, despite the fact that it was 1000 degrees outside and I sweated like I've never sweated before (and you all know how I hate to sweat.) There were lots of people dressed in costume: I saw barbarians, lords and ladies, belly dancers, and a man in Native American garb who had the most gorgeous head of black hair I've ever seen. Gentlemen, why is it that when you grow long hair, it looks damn awesome, but if I try to grow it, it looks like crap?? I ate some lightly breaded, fried mushrooms and a barbecue pork pie, followed later by some skewered fresh pineapple and drank about 50 bottles of water. And, silly us, DH nor I wore any sunscreen on our bodies, so I have the nice farmer tan/burn on the back of my neck and part of my arms. Yeah.

Next year I plan on going in costume, like the big nerd I am, oh, and I'll go when the faire opens at the first of April instead of the end of May, so maybe I won't roast to death....

Plane Rides, Sinus Infections, and 25 Big Hershey Kisses

2008-05-20T18:12:00.002-05:00

Hi Everyone!

Last week I was in the land of milk chocolate (Hershey, PA) for a tradeshow. I left Friday before last and flew straight to Harrisburg in one of those regional jets that hopped up and down on the wind currents and scared the ever-living crap out of me (oh, Xanax, where are you when I need you?) and sat next to the most inconsiderate asshole on the planet who brought a stinky hot sandwich on the plane with him and proceeded to linger over it for a good 20-30 minutes, in between sips of a nasty-looking blue-ish smoothie. Oh nausea, you were my good friend that evening.

I arrived in Harrisburg around 9:45 PM and went to get my rental car, and thank goodness, they had some with GPS. However, when I typed in the address of my hotel, I chose "shortest time" instead of "use freeways" or something like that, because I wound up doing all kinds of twisty-turny crap, and let me tell you, PA is extremely DARK--there were hardly any streetlights. Thankfully I arrived at my hotel in one piece and pretty much fell into bed.

Next day, I mapped out some things to do and headed out to Hershey's Chocolate World, where I took a "tour" of how chocolate is made (complete with fake factory and all - apparently my father-in-law was really mad when he took that tour because he wanted to see a real factory) and, at the urging of a co-worker, brought back those big Hershey Kisses for everyone in the office. Well, they were in between the big ones and the regular size. I'd briefly thought about just going to Wal-Mart, picking up a couple bags of Hershey Miniatures, and saying, "I bought these in Hershey!" when I got back, but that wouldn't be nice, would it? :)

Sunday through Tuesday was the tradeshow, and it was your typical tradeshow - people going apeshit over crappy 99-cent pens and stress balls. I got sexually harassed by one winner whose wife was talking to one of our other reps not five feet away. I didn't really know how to deal with that, so I just laughed it off.

Tuesday we packed everything up and I got to the airport to find out that my 8 PM flight from Chicago to Dallas (I had a layover) was canceled, and I was put on the later, 8:45 PM flight instead. Well, due to storms in the area and delays, our 8:45 flight sat on the runway for about an hour and we didn't take off until nearly 11 PM, and by the time I got my bags and took the shuttle out to get my car, it was 1 AM, putting me home at 2 AM. I had been up nearly 24 hours by this time and was freaking exhausted! And wouldn't you know, I went to work the next day--granted, I went in at 10 and left at 4:30, but I was there all the same. Some consolation is that I got to take Friday off, though....had a two-hour massage.....it was great.

I don't know if I caught something on the plane, but Friday I started getting stopped up. By Saturday I couldn't breathe and Sunday was running fever. A trip to the doctor yesterday revealed a nice sinus infection, but at least I'm on antibiotics now and hopefully I'll get over it rather quickly.

Oh, and I got a prescription for Xanax too, so I won't be unprepared on plane rides anymore. Woo hoo!

I Have a lot of Gall

2008-05-07T19:55:00.003-05:00

Last week I had my appointment with the surgeon about my gallbladder. She really listened to me when I told her my symptoms, and based on all my test results, it was recommended that the ol' gallbladder come out. (Duh, like we all knew THAT wasn't gonna happen!)

So, my surgery has been scheduled for the early morning of July 2nd, which I chose because I get a "free" day off for July 4th and now will only have to use two PTO days instead of three. The surgeon said that she sees a lot of women my age with gallbladder disease, and that there also seems to be a correlation with losing significant amounts of weight and gallbladder problems. Who knew?

On Friday I'm heading out to Hershey, PA, for a tradeshow that will take place over the weekend and through Tuesday. It should be a pretty fun time - I was supposed to see some friends while I was there, but found out this evening that they're in Arizona for the week and won't be back in time to see me. :( Bummer!! Oh well - I have some things to do in mind.

Dancing with the Stars is starting to heat up! The funny thing is, DH has gotten hooked on it too, mainly because of Jason Taylor. I can't decide who to root for, though, him or Kristi Yamaguchi. But the judges didn't seem to like either of their dances the other night!

I'm such a dork. But y'all already knew that.

Changing my Mind

2008-05-02T17:02:00.001-05:00

Have I ever mentioned just how much I hate exercising? I mean, I really hate exercising – always have. Why exert yourself, and heaven forbid, sweat, when you can be doing something far more relaxing, like reading a book or watching your favorite TV show?

This apathy towards exercise was probably a massive factor in my weight gain of epic proportion over the past 8 years, and when I joined Weight Watchers, DH signed us up for a gym membership not long after. I gave it the old college try for a little while, but I hated it, and slowly stopped going. DH, however, kept at it, and hired a personal trainer a couple of months ago to show him what he needed to do in the weightlifting department.

I blithely watched him go to the gym several times a week, while I stayed home, made dinner, and watched myriad episodes of House Hunters on HGTV. (I love that show, but people can be real bitches when they’re looking at houses – “The bedrooms are a little small” – like a kid needs a 15’ x 15’ bedroom? But I digress…)

Then, about six weeks ago, something happened. DH started making me go to the gym. I’m not kidding. I would come home and the bastard (sorry, honey, but I seriously hated you then) would badger and guilt-trip me until I put my gym clothes on and go with him to work out. I would moan and complain and be in a general pissed-off mood until about 5 minutes into my warmup on the stationary bike, when the endorphins would kick in and I would start feeling better. I would leave the gym in a nicer mood than when I came in, but I still maintained that I hated going.

This pattern went on twice a week for about three weeks – badger, bitch and moan, work out, come home – until one day, I came home from work, immediately went to the bedroom, changed into my gym clothes, and went with DH to the gym—without complaint, shockingly enough. I even went a third time last week, and, when DH told me yesterday that he was going to be late and to go to the gym without him, you know what I did? I got home, changed clothes, and went to work out, all. by. my. self. And you know what? I rather enjoyed it.

I can’t pinpoint what caused me to change my attitude toward working out, whether it was my forming a habit or just resigning myself to the inevitable that if I didn’t go I would be getting hell from my husband, but in any event, I don’t mind it as much anymore.

Now if I could only change my attitude towards my job like I did exercising, I'd be set!

Waiting for #3

2008-04-28T18:00:00.002-05:00

Weekend before last, DH and I noticed my battery was a bit sluggish. Thinking I could get by a few more days, we let it go. Then, Monday afternoon, as I was about to take my lunch break, wouldn't you know, the battery was completely dead. The damn thing wouldn't even turn over. I had to get a co-worker to take me to Wal-Mart (oh, how I loathe thee, Wal-Mart,) and of course the book couldn't tell the person behind the counter what kind of battery my Mazda 6 needed, so I looked at the kind of battery a Mazda 3 needed and bought that, figuring it would be the same, right?

I get to work, and as 5 pm approaches, realize NOBODY HAS JUMPER CABLES IN THE ENTIRE OFFICE. Not even me, and I'd just been at Wal-Mart a mere two hours earlier and could have bought some. The AP chick's boyfriend drove up right about that time and miraculously had jumper cables, so I was able to get home for DH to put the new battery in.

But the battery didn't fit, so he had to go to AutoZone and buy one that did, so as I puttered around in the garage, and as he closed the garage door, I just happened to look up at the garage door opener. Which I never do. Because who looks up at their garage ceiling? Not me...

And what do you know - one of the brackets holding the garage door opener to the ceiling has broken and now it is dangling by one measly bracket.

I gasped and immediately called DH and said, "ohmygoshthegaragedooropenerisdanglingandthebracketbrokeyouhavetofixit!"

(I'm usually not this dramatic, but for some reason I was being super affected by all this.)

So DH went to Home Depot as well as AutoZone, and bought a metal bracket to fix the garage door opener. And now everything's back to normal, whatever the hell that is.

But that makes me wonder. Everything happens in threes, right? Well, my battery died, and then the whole brouhaha with the garage door opener happened. Where's number 3?

I need to go find a piece of wood to knock on or something...

Back from Outer Space

2008-04-23T16:47:00.001-05:00

Wow - I haven't posted in FOREVER! Work has been very busy lately, and it seems like it never stops. Add to that the fact that my blogging opportunities at work have dropped sharply (they monitor just about everything here,) and, well, I'm just not as verbose as I used to be.

Last Friday I had an endoscopy, which is just like a colonoscopy except the camera goes down your throat instead of up your, well, you remember my talking about that, don't you? Right before the procedure I mentioned to my doctor that I was fearful of waking up during the procedure like I did during the colonoscopy, and she said, "Oh, we'll hook you up."

And boy, did she! Holy crap, I was practically comatose! I vaguely remember sipping on juice or something, and I think my doctor was talking to me at some point, and how I got dressed God only knows, because the next thing I remember the nurse was LEADING me to the car because I couldn't walk on my own. DH was quite amused at that, apparently. We stopped at the drive thru on the way home, and after eating my cheeseburger and tots, I promptly fell into bed and slept for the next seven hours, only to wake, eat dinner, watch Battlestar Galactica, and go back to bed, where I slept soundly until 7:30 am feeling MARVELOUS.

The rest of the weekend was quite productive, since I usually sleep my Saturdays away on the couch. Well, I'd already done that the day before, so DH and I did laundry and shopped for groceries - it was great, actually!

My doctor called me yesterday and told me that she didn't see anything in my stomach that would explain the pain I've been having, so she is pretty confident that it is my gallbladder that's bothering me and has been all along, so she referred me to a surgeon, and I have an appointment on Tuesday to discuss having it out. The thing is, though, with my schedule at work being so busy (I'm attending three tradeshows in the next two months,) I doubt I'll be able to have it out until July, but I can wait. I'll probably have it out the week of July 4th so I can have the long weekend to recuperate. What a way to spend a holiday, huh?

I'll keep everyone posted, I promise!

This Cracks me up

2008-04-10T10:38:00.001-05:00

ICHC rocks, don't you agree??

see more crazy cat pics

Frackin' A

2008-04-04T09:48:00.002-05:00

The McGee household is doing a big happy dance because tonight, after a YEAR, people, our favoritest show in the entire universe is coming back on.

This morning I went to Starbucks in honor of my favorite character, and I am waiting on pins and needles for 9 PM tonight.

Who is the final Cylon? Anyone have a guess? We're thinking it's Starbuck, but who knows? This season has the potential to keep us all guessing.

Can't wait!

(Anyone guess what the above pic is modeled after? How symbolic!)

Lost in Austen

2008-04-01T20:17:00.002-05:00

Since January, I've been hooked. PBS is playing The Complete Jane Austen, which ends, unfortunately, this Sunday with the conclusion of Sense & Sensibility.

I came rather late to the Jane Austen fan club. I don't know why, but I never picked up any of her books in my childhood (guess I was too busy with Laura Ingalls Wilder and those trashy V.C. Andrews books,) but I was introduced to Pride & Prejudice in college for an English class I was taking. And that, coupled with the 1995 BBC miniseries, was all it took.

Lately, I've been on kind of a P&P kick, especially with the sequel novels. I adore Elizabeth Aston's novels, and always read them too quickly for my own good, because as soon as I finish them I realize that I have to wait an entire year for the next one to come out. I've read P&P variations, mysteries, and rather racy sequels, but nothing is as good as the original. In fact, at Barnes & Noble a couple of weeks ago I picked up a hardbound copy of the novel, and have decided to re-read it again, and I wonder why it always seems that books are better when you read them because you want to, not because it's required for a class?

To crown my Jane Austen nerdiness, last week I received my membership papers to the Jane Austen Society of North America. Ah, bliss!

Well, I'll be Damned!

2008-03-29T09:34:00.001-05:00

Created by OnePlusYou - Free Online Dating

Thanks, Poppy!

The Cowboys Have their Yoko

2008-03-27T20:00:00.002-05:00

Okay, so I'm not sure if this is exactly true or not (I saw it on TV while at the gym and googled it when I got home,) but if it is, then Kim, my friend, it looks like the Redskins just might beat the Cowboys this season....

Jessica Simpson Married to Tony Romo

(Please don't let it be true!)

I Hate My Guts...

2008-03-24T21:07:00.003-05:00

Hello all!

So last Friday I had my latest test for the ol' digestive system. This was a HIDA scan (not hydoscan like I'd originally thought it was spelled,) which consisted of my fasting for an evening, checking into the hospital at the crack of dawn, and getting yet another IV. But, this time I got to sit on an X-ray table for 2 hours while a radioactive isotope traveled from my liver to my gallbladder--that was interesting, because everything glowed--and then I was injected with a chemical that told my gallbladder "Hey, she ate something, get to work!" This was to check how much, if at all, my gallbladder was functioning.

The test finally ended, and by that time I had to pee so badly (Why is that? I didn't have a drop to drink after 8 PM the night before!) I literally sprinted to the bathroom and peed forEVER.

So, what's the verdict, you ask? Well, according to the nurse, my gallbladder function is at 48%. They automatically remove the gallbladder when it functions at 30% or below. As it stands I'm at the low end of normal, but as she wasn't a doctor, she couldn't tell me anything definitively. She did, however, say that it is probably a better than average chance that I'll have to have it out, since the function will continue to decline over the next few years and I'll have to have it out anyway. I haven't heard from my doctor yet, but I probably will tomorrow. If it will alleviate my problems, though, I'm all for it!

On another note, though, is anyone watching Dancing with the Stars? I got hooked last season quite unexpectedly, and of course I'm watching this season as well. The singers are kind of bad (the rendition of "Hey Baby" was atrocious) and some of the dancers have a lot of room for improvement, but what can I say? But I'm wondering, what the hell is up with Priscilla Presley's face? Did she really have to have whatever work she had done? She used to be so pretty! Woman can dance, though. I hope at 62 I can move like she can! I probably won't, though. I'll be hobbling around on a walker, mainlining Ensure and wondering where the hell I am. A girl can dream, though....

Anyone have early predictions of who might win??

No More Jell-O for a bit

2008-03-13T19:45:00.004-05:00

Hi all!

The colonoscopy went fine. They all say the prep is the worst part, and I am inclined to agree. However, the prep wasn't as awful as everyone made it out to be, but I think that is because I got the new-fangled prep liquid where I only had to drink 2 liters instead of a gallon, which used to be the norm.

BUT...(no pun intended)

I have to say, if any of you ever have to have a colonoscopy in the future, to please remember to pick up Preparation H wipes or Tucks. Do not, I repeat DO NOT think that the Cottonelle wipes will suffice. Things get a little, um, raw down there, and the Cottonelle wipes tend to burn quite a lot. That's all I'll say about that, though.

We got there right on time yesterday morning, and the IV went very smoothly--they let me have it in my arm instead of my hand, and I hardly felt a thing. DH stayed with me until they wheeled me to the room where the procedure would be done, and the doctor discussed the procedure and, after all of my questions were answered, they gave me the happy juice and I drifted off to oblivion.

I assume about 5 minutes before the procedure was over, I came to, but didn't feel anything, and was able to see my insides on the 42" flat screen monitor right in front of me. From then on, things kind of happened in bursts of memory: the next thing I remember is being in the recovery room, drinking juice and holding DH's hand, and after that I was getting dressed and the nurse was walking me out to the car.

Things were coming more into focus by this time, so DH, wonderful man that he is, took me to Pancake House and filled me up with eggs and pancakes, and then I went home, fell into bed, and woke up at 4:30 yesterday afternoon. I slept ALL DAY LONG.

The doctor said I had a "pristine colon," and although I'm glad that they didn't find anything unusual, I'm also a bit disappointed that she can't explain the pain I'm having. Sigh. But, I have one more test on the 21st, to check my gallbladder, and maybe I can get some answers by that route.

I don't think I'll be eating any more Jell-O for a while, though.

Mmmm....Jell-O

2008-03-11T08:51:00.000-05:00

Remember my earlier bouts this year with stomach pain, in which we thought it was appendicitis, and I spent the evening in the ER? Well, that was nearly two months ago, and I'm still not any better. Over Valentine's weekend I suffered from a spasm in my abdominal area that was so painful I could neither stand up straight nor lie down flat, so for a few minutes all I could do was bend myself at the waist and pray that the pain subsided.

It did, but it hasn't totaally gone away. A visit to the gyno revealed it wasn't my ovaries, so week before last I made a trip to the gastroenterolgist. She took my history, and asked me about the pains I've been having. In addition to the lower abdominal pain, I've also been suffering from a pain when I eat in the middle of my abdomen. The GI doctor's theory is that the two pains are unrelated and she wants me to have two procedures done: a colonoscopy, and a hydoscan, which is essentially an X-Ray where they check gallbladder function.

Tomorrow morning,I check into the hospital for my first test, the colonoscopy. Woo! (I'm brimming with sarcasm, can you tell?) It is going to be a short test, only lasting about an hour, and I'll be sedated for the procedure (THANK GOD,) but I'm really only concerned about two things: the prep the day before, and the IV before the procedure.

Today, I am on a clear liquid diet, and can have no solid food. I can have chicken broth, clear soft drinks & beverages, and Jell-O. Thank goodness Jell-O counts as a liquid, otherwise I might go crazy. I'll be at work most of the day, so I've warned everyone that I might be a real bitch due to the lack of food, and apologized in advance. Then, in the afternoon, I begin taking the prep, which is essentially a giant laxative to prepare my colon. Everyone I've talked to said this is the worst part, and I can't say I'm looking forward to it. Then again, who knows? I might end up losing some weight by doing all this!

Maybe I should weigh in before I go to the hospital?

The other thing I'm worried about is the IV. Every time I've had an IV in my hand, I've sort of passed out due to the pain. Shots don't bother me. Giving blood doesn't bother me. IV's, though? They REALLY bother me. Hopefully they'll be able to either put it in my arm or deaden the area before they try to put it in my hand. I'm getting nauseous just thinking about it....
The hydoscan is scheduled for the 21st, and calls for an IV as well. Good lord, I don't know how I'm going to stand this!!!

So please send me good vibes tomorrow morning, and let's hope that they figure out what's going on with me!

March Madness

2008-03-06T16:10:00.007-06:00

And I'm not talking about basketball...

If I am not mistaken, today is March 6th. I live in Dallas, where our winter weather this year has been very mild, to say the least.

But what do you know? Monday night we got snow, and today? Yup. More snow. Four to six inches in places.

Granted, the 2 inches that we got earlier in the week had melted by midday the following day, but today we've been getting these huge clumpy flakes. I even shot a video of it, if you don't believe me.

(Okay - I was originally going to put a video of the snow up here, but I didn't like the way it turned out, so here's a cute video of Joey playing with a toy instead.)

Yes, I know, I know. The snow we're getting ain't shit compared to what all of you up north have gotten this winter, but you know what? We don't get this all the time, so it's a novelty for us. Shut up. :)

While I was filming the snow, I thought I'd treat you to a picture of the bookcases we installed recently. For a year the study was a cat room filled with boxes of books stacked on a desk, and now, nothing but prettiness.

Because of said snow and freezing conditions my office closed early. I got home around 1:45 to see that Kino had knocked over the nice French press we got for Christmas and broken glass and coffee grounds were everywhere. (Didn't have time to clean them out this morning.) I cursed God who made this evil creature, picked up the big pieces of glass, and obsessively swept, vacuumed, then mopped the kitchen floor. Right about that time DH came home, as I was putting the mop away. That man has all the luck.

Oh, now, one last picture. Of moi. Because even though my weight loss has stalled at around 35 lbs. due to lack of exercise and, well, let's face it, laziness, I'm still one hot chick.

Bye for now!

If I Didn't Know Any Better...

2008-03-03T20:58:00.001-06:00

I'd think these were DH's two cats! I wouldn't put it past them, you know!

Enter the ICHC online Poker Cats Contest!

I Love This!!

2008-02-28T20:27:00.001-06:00

This is my favorite commercial at the moment. Just thought I'd share...

I Swear there's Something in the Water...

2008-02-22T10:54:00.003-06:00

My work life has been extremely busy as of late. As I write this, four requests for proposals have come through the pipeline, and I just finished a proposal offering our services to a small town near Weatherford.

Let me tell you all about it.

I busted my ass trying to get the proposal finished, packed up, and shipped to reach the city by the deadline, but after checking the next day, discovered that Fed Ex wasn't guaranteeing delivery until 4:30 pm. The submission deadline was 2 pm. Frantic, I re-bound 9 proposals and prepared to make the hour and a half drive to hand-deliver them when one of our Ft. Worth office people, who happened to be in our office that day, generously offered to deliver them for me. Phew.

He called at 1:20 to tell me the proposals were hand-delivered.

Fed Ex sent me an e-mail confirming delivery of the proposals I'd done the night before at 1:30.

Son of a bitch.

But that wasn't the original intent of this post, merely a side story to reiterate how busy I've been as of late.

While I was frantically getting the proposals done, I took a short break to check Gmail. My friend Krissypoo had sent me an e-mail, asking me if I had finished reading the book she sent me for my birthday. Happy to receive an e-mail from her, I replied that I'd read a few pages, and asked how her Valentine's Day trip to Tahoe had been.

She replied a few minutes later and I was skimming her e-mail (I WAS busy, mind you) filled with chatter about the glories of Tahoe, and skimmed over a sentence that ended with "I'm knocked up."

"That's nice," I thought to myself, and went back to finishing up the proposal.

About three seconds later a little light bulb went off over my head and I went, "Wait a minute..." and read the e-mail again. Same sentence.

I immediately replied to the extent of SHUT UP! ARE YOU SERIOUS?? I'M CALLING YOU AS SOON AS I FINISH THIS PROPOSAL!

She was serious.

My very good friend Krissypoo has a bun in the oven. And I couldn't be happier for her.

Congratulations!!

Seriously, though, what IS in the water these days???

Self Love Day!

2008-02-14T10:42:00.003-06:00

No, not THAT kind of self love!

I pilfered this from Dawg. Here are the rules!

1.) Grab yourself a banner. If you don’t like the one I’ve used in this post, you can find another one here.
2.) Post that banner and with it tell us all something (or multiple things, like me!) that you really love about yourself (thus, the “self-love” portion of the program).
3.) Ask or beg your readers to post one thing that they too love about you!!! If your blog friends are nice, you shouldn’t have to beg…much.
4.) Enjoy yourself and spread the love by doing this on your blog!
______________________________________________________

I've been kind of blue lately. Not for any particular reason, so it's most likely hormonal. So, I will take today and focus on the good things about me! I hope all of you will give me a bit of a boost as well. :)

How do I love me? Let me count the ways:

1. I love my legs. I should probably wear skirts more, because they're one of the things I really like about my body. Which leads me to my other favorite part:

2. The girls. I must say, I have a rather spectacular set of twins, which sometimes can be put to very good use!

3. I love my nerdiness. It took me a very long time to embrace it, but I wholly accept myself for the medieval-history-loving, Jane Austen fanatic nerd that I am. One of my favorite medieval mystery authors, Margaret Frazer, talked in an interview about complaining that she doesn't have much of a life, and one of her sons said to her, "But you do have a life, Mom, it just happens to take place 600 years ago."

I can totally relate to that.

But enough about me. What do you think of me? :)

Twoo Wuv

2008-02-14T08:18:00.002-06:00

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! MWAH!

Meme-riffic

2008-02-08T10:02:00.000-06:00

Stole this from my lovely Poppy earlier this week, and am just now getting around to post it.

I swear there's a dark cloud over my head lately - I am still having that pain from last week and before, went to the gynecologist and my ovaries are fine. My next step is to visit a GI doctor and see what happens there. On top of this, I caught the office cold AND it's that "time of the month." Did I piss someone off or something, and karma's biting me in my ass? Sheesh.

1. If your doctor told you TODAY that you were pregnant, what would you say?
I don't know if I would SAY anything, just look at her in shock, seeing all the problems we've had getting pregnant. Then I'd be ecstatic.

2. Do you trust all of your friends?
By nature, I'm a pretty trusting person, so I'd have to say yes, for the most part.

3. Would you move to another state or country to be with the one you love?
Of course I would! I moved to a different city with DH....

4. Do you believe that everything happens for a reason?
I do.

5. Can you make a dollar in change right now?
Do I have a dollar in change on my person? No, b/c I never carry cash anymore. Can I combine assorted coins to make a dollar? Yes.

6. Which one of your friends do you think would make the best doctor?
God, I have no clue...

7. Are you afraid of falling in love?
Not at all.

9. Is there someone who pops into your mind at random times?
Always.

10. What’s your most favorite scar?
I only have a couple,and my laparascopy scars remind me of not-so-great times, so I'd have to say the one on my forearm from a cat when I was 7. But that wasn't really fun either, so I don't know.

11. When was the last time you flew in a plane?
December

12. What did the last text message you sent say?
I rarely send texts, so I can't remember.

13. What features do you find most attractive in the preferred sex?
Eyes, smile, sense of humor (are we talking physical or mental fetures, here?)

14. Fill in the blank. I love ________.
Fridays.

15. What is a goal you would like to accomplish in the near future?
Figuring out what I want to do with my life. Professionally, of course. I'm very happy otherwise.

16. If you were to wake up from being in a coma for an extended time who would you call?
DH, of course. If he wasn't already at my bedside...

17. How many kids do you want to have?
I'd like to have two or three, but we'll see how that goes...

18. Would you make a good parent?
I hope so.

19. Where was your favorite picture taken?
In New Orleans.

20. What’s your middle name?
My middle name is my grandmother's maiden name.

21. Honestly, what’s on your mind right now?
Wishing I could go home. :)

22. If you could go back in time and change something, what would it be?
Nothing at all, but I might have made more of an effort my last two semesters in college.

23. Who was or will be the maid of honor/best man in your wedding?
Um, that's already happened....

24. What are you wearing right now?
Jeans and a blue pullover.

25. Righty or Lefty?
I'm a righty.

26. Best place to eat?
The Melting Pot (my answer for now....this changes daily)

27. Favorite jeans?
Lane Bryant's Right Fit jeans are so far the best ones I've encountered. Hopefully soon, though, I won't have to buy those anymore!

28. Favorite animal?
Kitteh!

29. Favorite juice?
Pineapple (Poppy's answer preserved.)

30. Have you had the chicken pox?
Yep, right after my brother had them. I was 3 or 4.

31. Have you had a sore throat?
Um, yes?

32. Ever had a bar fight?
No, I'm not much on bars. And I'm non-confrontational,too.

33. Who knows you the best?
Me. And DH.

34. Shoe size?
8

35. Do you wear contact lenses or glasses?
I wear both. Glasses only at home, though, b/c when I was 11, my next-door neighbor called me "fat ugly whale," but tried to be my friend when I got contacts a year later. I have a bit of a complex about that.

36. Ever been in a fight with your pet?
Kino and I are constantly at odds.

37. Been to Mexico?
No, never to Mexico. There's a resort I want to visit there, though, so someday...

38. Did you buy something today?
I had a coupon for a free coffee at Starbucks....

39. Did you get sick today?
Does sick of work count?

40. Do you miss someone today?
I miss lots of people daily, but they're in my heart. (Poppy's answer preserved.)

41. Did you get in a fight with someone today?
No, but it's still early yet. :) (I am afraid of confrontation, so I hardly ever get in fights.)

42. When is the last time you had a massage?
AGES ago...

43. Last person to lie in your bed?
Me. And DH.

44. Last person to see you cry?
DH

45. Who made you cry?
I made myself cry. Because I'm crazy.

46. What was the last TV show you watched?
South Park

47. What are your plans for the weekend?
Being lazy. Very, very lazy. (Poppy's answer preserved.)

48. Who do you think will repost this?
The people who have nothing to post and like memes, I imagine.

49. Who was the last person you hung out with?
DH. It's always DH.

50. If your significant other asked you to marry them TODAY, what would you say?
I would say yes all over again.

Are You Watching?

2008-02-03T20:00:00.000-06:00

My parents came this weekend to celebrate my birthday. Friday night we had dinner with them and the in-laws, and I got four place settings of the long-coveted Fiestaware in Shamrock (my other two colors are Tangerine and Scarlet) and the latest book in one of my favorite medieval mysteries series.

Mom and I went shopping most of the day yesterday, and after eating cheeseburgers at the local hamburger joint, we watched The Kingdom, and boy was that one intense movie! They left early this morning to go back home, and I ended up sleeping away most of the afternoon because sometimes, being a hostess can be tiring.

This evening DH and I went and got hot wings for the game and are eating those and drinking Blue Moon. He's rooting for the Pats (b/c of Wes Welker) and I'm rooting for the Giants, simply because I have no allegiance to either team. So far my favorite commercial has been the Budweiser one where they ripped off Rocky and had a Dalmatian training one of the Clydesdales.

Any of you have a favorite commercial so far?

Maybe Today Won't be so Bad, After All

2008-01-30T10:45:00.000-06:00

31.

Thirty-one.

Treinta y uno.

You know, I was excited about thirty. A momentous milestone! Thirty-one? Not so much. What's there to get excited about thirty-one?

Well, kind of a lot, actually.

Gifts from co-workers, my favorite kind of cake, dinner tonight at The Melting Pot, a funny card from DH.....

And these. The ladies at work are totally jealous.

He finally got one over on me - I had no idea I was getting them! :)

Uninspired

2008-01-29T14:38:00.000-06:00

So I'm not feeling particularly inspired as of late. I'm still having pain and running low-grade fever, despite antibiotics and the proclamation that I have some intestinal disease of which I have none of the symptoms. I'm pretty frustrated, even to the point that I want to cancel my birthday tomorrow, although I have a feeling that cheese fondue might make me feel better. So maybe I'll do that.

Sigh.

Sheesh

2008-01-22T07:59:00.001-06:00

Okay, so yesterday I went to the doctor for a follow up for some medication she's put me on - essentially, about two months ago, we discovered that I was suffering from hypothyroidism, and she put me on medication for that, and we've been trying to regulate my blood pressure again. Even though I've lost 30 lbs, I'm still having trouble keeping my blood pressure in a normal range.

But that's another story.

So I went into the doctor, and they took my BP and temperature. My BP was 150/100 and I was running 100 degree fever. They asked me if I was feeling all right, and I mentioned that I had been having a pain in my right side that started that morning.

My doctor mashed on me and all that stuff and told me, "I'm sending you to the hospital. I think you have appendicitis."

Great.....

I called DH, who was on his way home, and he ran home, packed me a bag just in case, and met me at the hospital. I was privileged enough to drink that great barium crap, and had a CT scan with an IV.

The technician summarily dismissed me around 8 pm last night saying, "You can go, your doctor will call you in the morning." Um, okay, but what's going on, then?

This morning I woke up with pain and fever, still, and had to call the doctor myself. Three times. I finally got through to her medical assistant, who is kind of a bitch, and she said that I'm supposed to watch it for the next 24-48 hours, and if the pain persists, they'll put me on an antibiotic. Fabulous.

And I found out a little while ago about Heath Ledger. Such a shame. I feel for his daughter and his family.

So that's my story and I'm sticking to it, and I'm going to go back to the couch, because it still bugs me to sit up for any length of time. :)

Kitties, Kitties Everywhere...

2008-01-13T21:58:00.001-06:00

Geez, I don't know what my problem is with taking blurry pics lately, but the other day before I went to work I saw all four of the cats on the bed at the same time and had to capture it for posterity.

Hope everyone had a good weekend! I didn't leave the house the entire time. Caught up on laundry, had the Christmas decorations put up in the attic, and caught up on my TiVo watching. It was great!!

Having Issues

2008-01-09T13:34:00.000-06:00

Appropriated from Poppy:

82% Chris Dodd
77% John Edwards
77% Barack Obama
76% Hillary Clinton
73% Bill Richardson
72% Mike Gravel
70% Joe Biden
67% Dennis Kucinich
52% Rudy Giuliani
46% John McCain
42% Mike Huckabee
42% Tom Tancredo
39% Mitt Romney
36% Ron Paul
31% Fred Thompson

2008 Presidential Candidate Matching Quiz

Very interesting, indeed. Doesn't help that the candidate who I "match" with most has withdrawn from the race....I'm going to read up more on the next three, then. :)

Randomosity

2008-01-08T11:38:00.000-06:00

Things started off so well to the New Year. Until I got the damn stomach bug that's been going around my office.

Went home yesterday at 2:30 and pretty much stayed on the couch for the rest of the evening, tried to go to bed but promptly got back up at midnight and hung out on the couch until about 3 am.

Needless to say, I called in sick today. I've been feasting on tea, toast, and 7Up. It's been fabulous. :) Hopefully, though, this will speed up the weight loss! My weigh in after the holidays revealed I'd gained four pounds, which was not good. I'm trying not to beat myself up too much about it, though, but I discovered that going back on plan after you've been more or less off of it for a month is very difficult!! Eeeeek!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There have been a rash of break-ins and robberies around my area the past few weeks. In fact, one of my coworkers suffered a break in about a week before Christmas - they took everything, including the safe with their tax information, etc. The only thing they didn't take, much to my coworker's chagrin, was his big, old television. According to our local paper, a man was robbed at gunpoint in his alley while going into his garage one night, and another family was robbed at gunpoint in the middle of the day in their house. It's beginning to make me pretty paranoid...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This past weekend DH and I got on an organization kick and we finally got our laundry off the top of the dresser and the floor, in addition to filling four trash bags with clothes we no longer want/no longer fit. It is very strange to go into our bedroom and not have to step over piles of laundry.

The Christmas decorations also came down, and our family room looks so empty now without the Christmas tree. I do like getting back to normal, though. Even though the holidays are great, they always seem to make me feel off, somehow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And lastly, before I go back to the couch, I got this meme from Poppy and Sour, who got it from Sybil. The directions are over at her blog if you want to participate.

THE MONTHLY FLAVORS, WHICH ARE YOU?

JANUARY:
Stubborn and hard-hearted.
Yep. I know I can be stubborn, but hard hearted? I'm mostly a softie, but if you irritate me long enough, it usually takes an act of god for you to come back into my good graces.

Ambitious and serious.
Not ambitious in the least. I am pretty serious, though.

Loves to teach and be taught.
I don't think I'd make a good teacher because I tend to lose patience with those who ask the same question overandoverandover, but I love to learn new things.

Always looking at people's flaws and weaknesses.
Not always.....

Likes to criticize.
God, this makes me sound like an awful bitch, doesn't it? I think I'm mostly critical of myself.

Hardworking and productive.
If I enjoy doing something, I throw myself into it.

Smart, neat and organized.
Neat and organized? Ha! See what I wrote above about all our clothes on the floor.

Sensitive and has deep thoughts.
Sometimes I think I'm TOO sensitive. :) My thoughts, they are deep.

Knows how to make others happy.
I'm a nurturer. In fact, in some circles I'm known as "Mom."

Quiet unless excited or tensed.
Right on.

Rather reserved.
It depends on who I'm with...

Highly attentive.
Yep.

Resistant to illnesses but prone to colds.
Ha! I get just about every damn bug that comes my way. Damn weak immune system.

Romantic but has difficulties expressing love.
I have no difficulties expressing love, especially for DH, but we're not particularly romantic.

Loves children.
I like kids when they're not running around screaming unsupervised in stores.ol. :)

Loyal.
Extremely...

Has great social abilities yet easily jealous.
I have no problems talking to people. Prone to jealousy? You bet. I suppose my eyes are green for a reason.

Very stubborn and money cautious.
Didn't we establish my stubbornness earlier? Now you have to call me very stubborn? Sheesh! As for being money cautious--well, I like having things that are well made, like handbags, but will scoff at spending more than $30 on a pair of shoes. It's a strange paradox...

Merry New Year!

2008-01-01T20:45:00.000-06:00

I hope everyone has had a fabulous opening to 2008! So far, DH and I have had a pretty good start. The last night of 2007 was spent at home, because who are we kidding, DH and I are homebodies. We made a trek to Central Market and picked up some delicious things to eat and watched movies and drank waaaay too much. It was awesome. We made it to midnight but passed out soon after.

Today was spent playing Mass Effect (DH) and watching the Law & Order marathon (me,) and Joey kept doing this:

He spent the day on the couch with me, and I guess he kept hearing the guns of DH's game and it made him nervous, because he did this several times, and luckily I had my camera close by. :)

Christmastime is Here...

2007-12-21T21:39:00.000-06:00

Well, everyone, can you believe another Christmas is here?

Tomorrow morning, at the butt crack of dawn, DH and I will be driving to H-town. This year will probably be the last one for a while that we'll all be together, because my next-to-oldest brother lives with his wife and their baby girl in Boston, my oldest brother and his family soon be traveling to Kuwait for a few years so he can help build an oil refinery, and well, for purely selfish reasons, DH and I will be spending next Christmas in either New York or London.

So, we're packing up a mountain of presents, our XBOX 360 and Wii, laptops and Guitar Hero III to travel the 283 miles to Houston. (DH remarked that we're taking more electronics than clothes!) Tomorrow evening the family will congregate to have photographs taken by a professional photographer, the first photos in forever, it seems, and Sunday we'll be spending time with Ashley Beth and her husband Russ, my friend Mrs. W and her husband, and if we can swing it, attend the Festivus bash with the McCormicks and crew. All in all, a busy few days, but most likely a happy one, and it's times like this that make me wish I didn't live so far away from most of my friends and family. It makes me appreciate it all the more, though, when I do get to spend time with them.

If I don't get to post until after Christmas, I want to wish all of my lovely friends in the blogosphere a very Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays, and I want you to all know how grateful I am to know you. If you're traveling, have a safe journey, and enjoy your time with your family and friends--I know I will!

iTunes and My Life

2007-12-20T15:44:00.000-06:00

Okay, so I stole this from Poppy, who stole it from Avi, and now it seems that the whole world is doing it because Poppy put it on her blog. Or so she says. :)

Rules: Put your music player on shuffle, press forward for each question and use the song title as the answer.

What does next year have in store for me?
Top of the World by The Carpenters

What's my love life like?
Waterloo by ABBA

What do I say when life gets hard?
Ladies Night by Kool & the Gang

What do I think of on waking up?
Bye Bye Bye by *NSYNC

What song will I dance to at my wedding?
I'm Every Woman by Chaka Khan

What do I want as a career?
Bamboleo by Gipsy Kings

My favorite saying?
Let's Get it On by Marvin Gaye (hehehehehe)

Favorite place?
Girlfriend by Avril Lavigne (weird.)

What do I think of my parents?
Dirt Off Your Shoulder by Jay-Z

What's my porn star name?
You Spin Me Round (Like a Record) by Dead or Alive

Where would I go on a first date?
Cry me a River by Justin Timberlake

Drug of choice?
Another One Bites the Dust by Queen

Describe myself.
Goody Two Shoes by Adam Ant (OMG how true!)

What is the thing I like doing most?
I'll be Home for Christmas by Bing Crosby

What is my state of mind like at the moment?
There's More to Life than This by Bjork (another true one)

How will I die?
Boogie Wonderland by Earth, Wind & Fire

Hmm. Some scarily accurate, others not so much. What does your MP3 player say about YOUR life??

Typical Monday

2007-12-17T10:30:00.000-06:00

This morning, my boss calls me while she's en route to the office.

"I need a favor," she says.

Apparently the flight she was scheduled to leave on today for business got cancelled (the only one, don'tcha just LOVE American Airlines?) and she needed to get booked on the next available flight. So Bdogg came to the rescue, found the 800 number to American Airlines, dialed it, and waited for them to pick up.

"Feeling horny?" the voice over the phone said. "Then talk to some of our hottest girls--"

I immediately hung up the phone, and thought, "What the hell kind of airline is this??"

Turns out, instead of dialing 1-800-433, like I was supposed to, I dialed 1-800-422, promptly connecting me to 976-BABE.

Great. Now it's probably going to show up on the phone record that I called a sex line. Lovely.

A few minutes later, I took a drink from my big water cup and spilled it all over me, because the top wasn't locked on properly. I went to the kitchen to get some paper towels and slipped in a puddle of water. Thankfully, I'm unhurt, but dammit! Can I please go back to bed now?

A Nice Surprise...

2007-12-16T19:45:00.000-06:00

So, remember how we won the iPhone at my Christmas party and DH got to keep it? Well, I had been thinking about what I'd like to have in return. Immediately I thought, "Kate Spade," since, well, I'm a Kate Spade junkie, but after looking at her collection this year, I wasn't really impressed with what I saw. Dejectedly, I decided to look at other brands, and found this at Dooney & Bourke's website, but, at $425, it was a bit out of our price range. So I checked out Coach and found a bag that was understated (sometimes Coach can make bags a bit too showy for my taste,) and in our price range, and sent the link to DH's iPhone. :)

Yesterday we met DH's parents for brunch and tried to brave NorthPark Mall, but after driving around for an hour looking for a parking space (I have NEVER seen it that busy,) we headed back up to our side of town and DH and I ran our errands. While hitting the mall on our side of town, we walked into Macy's and rode the escalator to the second floor, where DH led me to the handbag department, found the bag I had shown him, and bought it for me. What a guy!

Here's what I got--it was such a surprise!!!!

Today has been spent baking cookies to take to the office tomorrow, watching Planet Earth reruns on the Discovery Channel, and cooking a damn good meal of sweet and sour slow cooker flank steak with roasted potatoes and salad. I wish I had pictures of that to show you, but alas, I ate it all before I thought about it.

My weight loss has stalled for the moment, as it is the holidays and I'll be damned if I'm going to deprive myself of a couple glasses of wine or a few cookies. That's okay, though, because I'm really just trying to maintain, and then hit it hard when the holidays are over. Although, the cookies I baked for tomorrow are from the Weight Watchers website, and they're delicious! I'm hovering right around 35 lbs lost at the moment, and let's hope I can keep it that way!

It's Raining....

2007-12-14T18:50:00.000-06:00

I mean, SERIOUSLY raining here. It keeps alternating between drizzle and full-out downpour. Right now we're experiencing the latter. On top of that, the temperature is supposed to drop even more the next couple of days, so it could very well ice over. About time!

This weekend DH and I are having brunch with his parents, and then we really need to get a move on cleaning this house. We're planning on having DH's family over for New Year's (which is when we'll exchange gifts and everything since we'll be in Houston this year,) and this place is in dire need of organization.

I tried to take a picture of our Christmas tree and such, but Joey was being uncooperative, demanding attention and stuff. Plus, I can't get the lights to come out right. Nevertheless, here's a photo:

Hope all of you have a fabulous weekend!

I Really Don't Drink THAT Much...Anymore!

2007-12-13T16:57:00.001-06:00

97%ALCOHOLIC

Looking for payday loans?

Lucky!

2007-12-09T21:57:00.000-06:00

This Saturday was my company's annual Christmas party. I planned pretty much the entire thing, and from what everyone kept saying, it looked like it was a success. (I love planning a party!) The food was excellent, which, for hotel catering, was saying something, the banquet room was decorated beautifully, and the DJ kept the good tunes coming.

Here's a picture of us from last night. Aren't we cute?

We also held a Casino Night, and let me say, I kicked major ass on Texas Hold 'Em, and the tickets that DH and I won went toward prizes that another co-worker was in charge of buying. There was a surround sound system, gift certificates to nice restaurants, and a plethora of Apple products, one of which was an iPhone. I think there were at least 100 tickets for that iPhone, including many of ours as well.

As I was in charge of helping hand out the prizes, DH was in charge of checking our tickets, and when the iPhone came up, everyone waited with bated breath to see who was gonna win the prize.

And wouldn't you know it, we had the winning ticket, as well as five other winning tickets, but since it was only one prize per couple, we kept the iPhone.

So DH has a new phone, and he owes me a nice present since I let him keep it. :) Actually, I was happy to let him have it, since I just got a new phone recently.

Now I have to figure out what I want!!

Totally Drank the Kool-Aid

2007-12-04T22:14:00.000-06:00

So, this past weekend we were in Lubbock, celebrating the holidays early with my dad and stepmom. While we were there, we went shopping, and DH picked up a used wireless Guitar Hero controller at GameStop for $39. Last night, for the first time in many, many months, I joined DH in front of the game room television and played bass to his lead guitar.

Needless to say, I'm hooked. I always had this secret dream, a dream of playing bass in a band. From my years of harmonizing in a choral setting, it makes perfect sense that I'd be into playing bass. Well, to me at least. Initially I resisted playing Guitar Hero, because I seriously sucked the first time I played it, and if I can't do something perfect the first time, I tend to resist trying it again. Silly, I know, but it's just what I do.....

Tonight at about 8 pm, I say to DH, "Can we play Guitar Hero?" to which he replied, "How about I go get Guitar Hero III?" I agreed, he ran out to GameStop, and I just finished playing eleven songs as Midori, the cute little Harajuku-style chick. My fingers hurt now, and I had to stop before I ended up playing until 2 am.

So how about y'all? I know Miss Poppy has rapidly become a convert, but has anyone else drank the Kool-Aid?

I'm off to bed before I change my mind and start playing again....

G'night!

Musings...

2007-11-21T21:43:00.000-06:00

I just love the holidays, don't you? But, I especially love the day before a holiday, because we usually get out at noon. A half day off from work....pure heaven.

So to celebrate the half day, I went shopping at the mall to cross some more gifts off my list. I have almost completed my goal of finishing my Christmas shopping before Thanksgiving - I have 7 more gifts to buy, thank you Amazon! I think I'll call it a day, and pat myself on the back for buying most of them early.

Anyhoo, while I was shopping, I decided to see if there was anything in the stores that I might want to wear to our Christmas party that, I am planning, and nearly started crying in the store. You want to know why?

Because, for the first time in 4 years, I can actually fit into Misses sizes. Granted, it's the largest size in the Misses department, but oh holy Jesus, I can actually fit into clothes in the non-Plus size section! I ended up buying a black skirt at JC Penney, that, upon further inspection at home, realized it was too big.

In case you're wondering, I've lost 32 lbs so far. For the first time in 4 years, I weigh less than 200 lbs. (YIPPEE!!!!!!)

Because said skirt was too large, DH and I went back to the mall after going out for dinner, and wouldn't you know it, I forgot the damn skirt. Sigh. No matter, because I ended up buying the cutest, sweetest pair of shoes on the entire planet. Wanna see a picture?

They called out to me in the store, and I just HAD to try them on. The minute they were placed on my feet, I knew I was in love.

So, now I'm going to have to plan an outfit for the Christmas party around these shoes. I'm thinking of getting another black pencil skirt, pairing it with a lovely ivory sweater, and topping it off with these fabulous shoes.

What do y'all think??

Wishing all of you a very Happy Thanksgiving! Eat lots of good stuff!

Awwwwww!

2007-11-19T11:04:00.000-06:00

I just had to post this - it's way too cute.

I *heart* ICHC!

moar funny pictures

True Confessions - Going Nuts, the Conclusion

2007-11-17T21:59:00.000-06:00

Wow, I didn't mean to let this go as long as it has. With the tradeshow and work being extremely busy, mostly all I want to do when it's time to go home is sit on the couch and watch TV.

But here I am, ready to finish my tale.

Okay, so in our last installment, I had confronted Jim with an ultimatum: Break up with Jenna, or never speak to me again. When I said this to him, you know what he told me? He said, "I can't break up with her now, we are going on a trip to Toronto next weekend."

He gave up the so-called "love of his life" for a trip to Toronto! When I heard that I said, "Okay, fine," but I was hurting so badly. He said, "I don't want it to end this way," and I said to him, "Then break up with her now." He wasn't going to do it, though, so I hung up the phone and bawled my eyes out the rest of the evening.

Time went on, though. I dated, but for the most part stayed single, mainly because I just couldn't seem to get over Jim. (WHY???) About a year later I was at Crate and Barrel with my boss, Caroline, bless her dear departed soul, buying a wedding gift for one of our co-workers. She was printing off the registry list while I milled around the store, and all of a sudden I heard her call out to me.

She beckoned me to come to the computer where the registries were, and there, plain as day, was the wedding registry for Jim and Jenna. They were getting married the next month. (Caroline had been around for the whole debacle the year previously, and, devious woman that she was, decided to do a search for Jim's name.)

Looking at that list, my heart shattered into a million pieces. I truly felt like something snapped inside of me. I knew that he would probably end up marrying her, but to see it staring me in the face.....I literally wanted to crawl into a ball and die. You know, I think I would have been okay if he'd married anyone else but her, simply because she knew exactly what she was doing when she set out to play the "I need a friend" card. I know in my heart that he and I couldn't have worked out in the end, but her presence contributed to our demise. Not that he was innocent by any means, either....

In the car, Caroline kept saying to me, "You have to get back at him. What can we do?" I half-listened to her brainstorm, and all of a sudden she goes, "I GOT IT."

Her plan, which I went along with, involved saving up her dog's poo, which was put into a box, wrapped up in expensive wedding wrapping paper, and mailed to the happy couple.

Yep. You read that right. I sent my ex-fiance and his soon-to-be wife a box of dog poo.

I wondered for several weeks whether they'd gotten it or not, and got my answer about three weeks later when I ran into a mutual friend of ours at a movie theater. We chit-chatted for a bit, and then he said to me, "Jim and Jenna want to say thank you for their gift."

Bingo.

I denied it like mad (even though I probably wasn't fooling anyone,) and then asked him, "Is Jim happy?" to which he scoffed, "I don't know!" and then in a low voice he told me, "She's weird...."

And that was that. I never heard anything else about it. A month later I heard from a girlfriend that Jenna "accidentally" (my take on it) got pregnant soon after they were married, and I went on antidepressants.

And since I can't let anything alone, about 2 months before I met DH, in a fit of weakness, I e-mailed Jim. The next day I got a phone call from him, saying, "Jenna read your e-mail, and I have to figure out what I'm going to tell her. She didn't know you visited me in Austin two years ago." I called him back, and said, "She read my e-mail?"

And that's when I found out that, somehow, she'd been going into my personal e-mail account and had been reading my e-mail for at least the past two years. The only thing I can figure is that my password must have been saved on Jim's computer, and she used it to check up on whether or not he and I were in contact. We talked for a while, I asked what gender their baby was (Jenna hadn't given birth yet,) and that was the last time I heard from him.

Then I met DH, and finally found out what a real, healthy relationship was all about. We have our ups and downs, just like any married couple, but it consists of mostly ups, and not too many downs. I know that if he and I faced the situation that I encountered when I was with Jim, he would immediately stop what was going on if I asked, instead of saying, "She needs a friend."

Do I regret sending Jim and Jenna that special wedding gift? Not really. Yes, I know it was immature, but I can't say I feel too badly about it, even after all these years. Although, I can look back on the time Jim and I spent together and recognize that while we had some really good times, when all was said and done, he and I were not well-suited for one another. He needed a woman who would dominate him and tell him what to do, and I was not that woman. I do hope, though, that he found happiness, because he so desperately needed sunshine in his life.
I hope you enjoyed my tale, and don't judge me too harshly for what I did. I'm only human, after all! :)

Back From Outer Space

2007-11-11T18:49:00.001-06:00

Well, sort of....

Last week was a blur of tradeshow dealings, lots of alcohol, and hotel rooms. Things are getting back to normal now, so our story will continue soon!!

True Confessions: Going Nuts - Part II

2007-11-04T15:46:00.000-06:00

Sorry guys - I meant to post this last night, but either something I ate did not agree with me, or I had a bug, or whatever, but I was sick all night last night and into today. Feeling a bit uplifted from the chicken broth I drank about 30 minutes ago, I finally feel alive enough to continue with our story.

When we last left our saga of Jim, me, and Jenna, I had moved out of the apartment Jim and I shared and moved into my new place. Aside from that one day where Jenna called my line "thinking" she was calling Jim, I hadn't heard from her since, and Jim and I, once more, tried to work things out. During this time I got our last phone bill, and saw umpteen calls to Jenna while I was home for Christmas, and FINALLY, I realized I'd had enough. In February, I gave up the ghost and broke up with Jim, citing his unhealthy attachment to Jenna as the reason. I cried for a while, but ultimately I was relieved. You see, although I loved Jim, his remarks about my weight, and the fact that he was unhappy all the time really took its toll on me.

Newly free from a repressive relationship, do you know what I ended up doing for the rest of the semester? I drank countless pints of Dos XX and played trivia at The Fox and Hound. (Amazingly, my grades didn't suffer...)

But I digress.....

I ran into Jim from time to time, and he would e-mail me every once in a while, but I tried to keep him at arm's length as much as possible. I knew that if I ever gave in, and succumbed to that crazy spell he had over me, the vicious cycle would start all over again.

Around the summertime, I started dating Richard, a boy that I had a class with when I first transferred in from Houston. He'd already graduated and was living in Austin, and I found his company immensely enjoyable - we had a lot of fun together. And so all was well until, spring semester began (my last semester,) I walked into class, took my seat, and guess what?? Jim walked in and proceeded to sit right next to me, and spoke nary a word. No "Hi, how are ya?" Nothing. For the next three months, we sat next to one another in stony silence. I have no idea why he chose to sit next to me, when there were dozens of seats available in that classroom, but he did.

I really can't remember what it was that sparked the initial conversation between us, but around mid-April, Jim and I started talking again. Talking in class progressed into talking outside the building, which progressed into dinners on Wednesday nights at El Chico ($1 margarita night) and time spent back at the apartment we used to share. We did a lot of talking, where I learned that he was seeing Jenna, but that it wasn't anything serious, that after all, and I quote, "She isn't you."

And there you go. Hook, line, and sinker, I fell for it all over again. I don't know if it was the fact that I was graduating from college, and the thought of the unknown scared me to pieces, but dammit if I didn't latch right back on to Jim again. We started spending a lot of time together in those last few weeks before graduation. Yes, I know that he said he was seeing Jenna, and I was seeing Richard, but Jim was a drug I just couldn't stop using. (Horribly cliche!) It doesn't excuse the fact that I was seeing Jim behind Richard's back, even though nothing untoward happened between us. I'd deluded myself that Jim and I could possibly have another chance to make it work--I mean, he SAID that it wasn't serious between them, and I was the only one he ever loved! (Ha!)

I know, I know, didn't I just say four paragraphs earlier that my going back would start a vicious cycle? What can I say, I was weak and stupid - all that alcohol must have damaged my brain. So, soon after graduation, I called off things between Richard and me, and set about trying to see if Jim and I might possibly try again.

One snag in the plan was that he was moving to Austin, and I was moving back to Houston. I was supposed to move to Austin too (which he said, later on, was the entire reason he moved to Austin in the first place,) but at the last minute I changed my mind, and by that time Jim had already signed a lease on an apartment there and couldn't get out of it. I was a regular visitor up there, however, visiting friends who had snagged jobs there, and also stayed with Jim a few times. We would sit on his balcony and smoke cigarettes and he would tell me how he was not a fan of Jenna's behavior sometimes - her getting drunk and flashing her boobs to everyone, among other things. Because of this, I truly felt that If I asked him to let us give our relationship another go, he would agree.

Since I didn't move to Austin as I planned after graduation, I didn't have a job, so I set out to find one in Houston, and after about a month and a half of looking, I got an offer and took it. About this time, too, I had a talk with Jim and told him that I would like to try to make our relationship work one more time.

And so began four months of the "string-along," as I like to call it. He couldn't make up his mind, he said. He loved me, but he had feelings for Jenna, too. My job sent me to Austin several times for training classes, and every time I went, I saw Jim, and things would be like we'd never been apart. Well, except for the fact that he just couldn't choose between Jenna and me. I cried and screamed, but he continued to waffle. I'd get mad and refuse to talk to him, he'd send me an e-mail about our cat being sick (we adopted a kitty together while we were engaged, but when we broke up I let him have the kitty because they got along so well, I didn't have the heart to take him,) and I'd start talking to him again. I'd go up for more training in Austin, see him, and he'd still be waffling about who he wanted to be with. I'd get mad, cry, scream, etc, and the cycle would start all over again.

At last, I was sick of it, my family was sick of listening to me bitch and moan about it, so one night I called him up and delivered an ultimatum. I said, "If you want to be with me, then you need to call Jenna right now and break up with her. Otherwise, I can never speak to you again."

You want to know what he told me? Then tune in for the next installment - trust me, it only gets better from here......

Happy Halloween!!

2007-10-31T08:01:00.000-05:00

Happy Halloween, everyone!

Stay tuned for more confessions....

(image courtesy of History.com)

True Confessions: Going Nuts, part I

2007-10-27T21:37:00.000-05:00

I think there are times in every person's life when they tend to go a little crazy. Some have more crazy times than others, but in each and every one of us, there's a nutter just waiting to escape.

Take me, for instance. I'd like to share with you a time in my life when I went completely off my rocker, and did something that is totally outside my personality - the situation that led to this little breakdown was the #1 reason I ended up on anti-depressants.

Lovely.

In order to truly tell this story, however, I am going to have to give you a bit (well, maybe a lot) of background info. Some of it is painful for me to relive, but, for the sake of getting it all out in the open, well, I'm gonna do it.

Most of you know that I was engaged once before, nearly ten years ago. (Good God, has it really been that long?) For the sake of the story, I'm going to call him Jim.

I loved Jim almost to the point of obsession. He was the be all and end all of my existence (oh, to be 21 again!) I loved him with that kind of crazy, all-consuming love that only a very young person can get away with, especially since he was my first real, non-teenage relationship. We dated for about seven months before deciding to get married, and on Christmas Day 1998 I was given a ring. I won't go into details about how I knew, from the start, that something didn't feel right. I mean, I LOVED him! We had signed a year lease on an apartment together! I quashed any doubts I had in my head and happily accepted his proposal. (which is another story entirely--I wouldn't call it a proposal, per se...)

Before we moved in together, I asked Jim if he would please not give an ex-girlfriend of his, "Jenna," our contact information. They'd dated about six months before we got together, until she decided to go back with her ex-boyfriend. I always got this weird vibe from her, you know? When Jim and I would go dancing, she was almost always at the same club, so invariably our paths would cross. I tried to be cool about it, but it always bothered me. When he told Jenna that he and I were getting married, she told him, "I'll always think of you as the one who got away."

(See where this is going?)

He promised to not give her our contact information, so imagine my surprise, a couple of months later, when a card arrived from none other than Jenna. Okay, I thought. Once again, I tried to be the cool fiancee, and not be jealous, but inside, I was extremely hurt.

One day, I looked at his e-mail. I just had this feeling, you know? I know, it was snooping, but he DID give me his password, so I felt completely justified. Guess what I found?

E-mails. Several, in fact, from Jenna, lamenting about her boyfriend moving overseas and how she wanted to be a wild woman and what a great time she had with him at the club over the weekend.

Reading that, my heart plummeted. Apparently, while I was on a school-related trip, Jim went to Houston and ended up at the club with Jenna. When I confronted him about it, he said that she was there, but nothing happened - "we talked about you the whole time." Uh huh.

This went on for a few months. Despite repeated assurances that he was not cheating on me, I still couldn't shake the fact that something was going on. Every time I pleaded with him to stop seeing her, he would reply, "She really needs a friend right now." (God, was I gullible...)

All of this doubt was causing me to pull away from him, and I was (and still am) really bad at communicating my feelings, but one night we talked and decided that maybe we should hold off on the whole engagement thing. It was pretty tense for a while afterwards, but I thought everything was going better between us. That was, until I came home from work late one Friday night (Jim had gone to Houston to the club again,) and discovered that both my ring and a box of condoms was gone.

Of course, I went ballistic, cried myself to the point of throwing up, and spent the night sleepless in bed, until he rolled in at 5 am telling me how much he loved me--that he'd had an "epiphany." Yeah, right. Of course, I wanted to believe that he was being faithful to me, but looking back on it now, I see the red flags EVERYWHERE.

And so it went. We'd get mad at each other, "break up," and Jim would call Jenna to talk about his "feelings." Then, we'd get back together. Finally, though, I realized I'd had enough. I moved out at Christmas break, but we hadn't broken up yet. Our phone number was transferred to my new place, and one night I came home to the phone ringing and about 4 voicemails from Jenna, asking Jim why he wasn't calling her back. She was acting all innocently, but she new perfectly well that she was calling me, for after her fifth call, I immediately called her back and she didn't pick up. Grr. As you can surmise, it went downhill from there.

And now I'm going to stop here for today, because it's going to be a long story. Tune in next time for part 2 of this gripping installment!

Weight Loss Update

2007-10-21T17:53:00.001-05:00

I realized earlier today that I haven't been updating everyone as regularly as I should about my Weight Watchers progress. As if you are all dying to know..... :)

So, Poppy's visit last week triggered a week of what I like to call "food debauchery," but all in all, my weight didn't seem to go up, which was good. So far, I've lost a total of 29 lbs. It seems completely crazy to me that I've lost that much weight. Twenty-nine pounds! I've gone down a size in everything, and things that I haven't been able to wear in three years suddenly fit now. What's even more amazing to me is the fact that my boobs are a lot smaller, too. I've gone down two cup sizes, and can finally wear cute bras in colors in other than white, black, or ivory.

I have had a little bit of help with my weight loss besides Weight Watchers, though. For the past three months, I've been on birth control pills again. Because of the havoc that PCOS wreaked on my body - the weight gain, mood swings, acne, high blood pressure, you all remember me talking about that - DH and I decided that it was more important for me to try to reach a healthy weight than to try to get pregnant right now.

And, since I've been back on the Pill, I have seen some dramatic changes. Not only has my skin cleared up considerably, the weight just seems to come off so much easier than before. Funny, huh, how most people gain weight when they're on the Pill, but I lose weight.....

So, for the moment, trying for a little McGee is on hold. Who knows, maybe once I reach my goal weight, I'll get pregnant right away. But, in the event that it doesn't happen, we're okay with that too.

Note to Self:

2007-10-17T07:11:00.001-05:00

If you don't want to be peeing all night, in the future, do not take dandelion root before you go to bed.

That's all.

Weekend Hijinks

2007-10-16T19:50:00.000-05:00

So, Poppy left early on Sunday morning, which was interesting. The night before, she and I went to Central Market to buy steaks and all the fixin's for that, including a really good bottle of wine, when I got the bright idea to make lemon drop martinis. Some really yummy steak, a glass of wine, and two lemon drop martinis later, Poppy and I were on our laptops at the kitchen table (yeah, we're so cool, aren't we?) drunkenly trading music. We stumbled off to bed around midnight, and I set my alarm for 4 am in order to give myself enough time to get around before we had to leave for the airport at 4:45 am. (Damn you, Priceline!)

And of course, since I had to be up at a certain time, I kept waking up at all hours, thinking that I might have missed the alarm, and omg, Poppy was going to miss her flight, and boy would that suck (not for me, b/c I'd have her here all the time if it was up to me!) but the clock inched by - 1 am, 2:15 am, etc.

Finally, 4 am rolled around, and I stumbled out of bed. My balance was so poor that I was convinced I was still drunk, and was paranoid that I was going to get stopped on my way to the airport and get arrested. Fortunately, though, it was just the fact that it was FOUR IN THE MORNING.

We left on time, and after getting Poppy to the airport with no problems, I was almost out to the freeway when DING! My gas light went off. It was nearly 6 am at this point, and I really didn't want to stop and get gas, but I knew that I had to, otherwise I'd be stranded. So I pulled off the freeway and put some gas in the tank, proceeded home, and ended up sleeping nearly the entire day.

All in all, it was a fabulous weekend. We enjoyed our time at the Arboretum, and had tons of fun shopping on Saturday (we took this at the mall - I don't know what our deal was with flipping the bird) until we were tired of walking around and trying on clothes, then we went to Central Market, and the rest I already told you.

Fun stuff!

Finally!! (An Update)

2007-10-12T08:57:00.001-05:00

After at least six months of waiting and planning, Poppy is finally here in Texas! She arrived last night, and after some great Tex-Mex and a trip to Target, we came back to the house and fell asleep around 11:30. Or, rather, I fell asleep around 11:30, then was woken up with a yowl about an hour later - BlackJack, who is extremely territorial, attacked Poppy while she was going out to the bathroom. Grrrrr.

Other than that, everything's going great! Today we are going to have lunch at Neiman Marcus and visit Southfork Ranch and the Dallas Arboretum (with a stopoff at Sprinkles Cupcakes!) and tomorrow we'll play it by ear. Shopping, maybe? Or State Fair?

Pics are here!!!. So far this has been the best weekend EVER!!!!!!!!

You'll be Seeing Less of Me

2007-09-28T16:50:00.001-05:00

No, I'm not going to be posting less--if I did, I wouldn't be posting at all. :) I really need to work on that.

I finally got a photo of the kick-ass haircut, and thought I would share some progress photos with you all on my weight loss.

This pic was taken of me for my New Employee Announcement back in April. Man, it's kind of hard for me to look at....and I can't believe that it still took me 3 months after this picture was taken to join Weight Watchers! Denial ain't just a river in Egypt....

And I took this on Tuesday morning:

What do you think of the hair???

Very Interesting

2007-09-27T15:50:00.000-05:00

I've been sick for the past two and a half days. It all started on Tuesday, when I had to go to a less-than-stellar seminar for work, and the only thing there to eat were hot dogs, pizza, hamburgers, fried chicken, etc. Due to time constraints I ended up with a hot dog, and ended up getting sick that night from it. I felt crappy all day yesterday, but still went in b/c there was so much to do, but this morning I woke up and thought, "I don't feel one bit better, so I'm staying home." And so I did.

My very last physical therapy session was today as well--I sucked it up and went anyway. It was a little sad, because I really enjoyed working with my therapist and his assistants, but I can't say I'm glad to have my life back somewhat!

My brother sent me this link, and I thought I'd share it with you all. If any fellow female has ever felt inadequate looking at the stick figures in magazines, here's proof that Photoshop can work wonders.

Photoshopping a Buxom Woman into a Thin Woman

(I have to admit, I was watching this very carefully, trying to figure out if I could do some of this to my old pics--hey, I'm human...)

Happy Accidents

2007-09-24T21:26:00.000-05:00

I haven't had my hair cut for a few months now, and I'm one of those people who starts to go a little crazy if my thick hair starts hanging in my face. I prefer my hair short, but with my weight gain the past few years I always felt a bit self-conscious showing off my face with shorter hair.

Losing 20+ lbs is a real confidence booster, let me tell you! Yesterday, finally unable to stand the hair hanging listlessly around my face, I made an appointment at the salon in the mall.

Another funny thing is, I can't stick to a hairdresser for very long, for some reason. I'll go to one for a few months, get bored, and then move along to another one. Until yesterday.....

I was scheduled to have my haircut by a lady named K, and when I went with the shampoo girl she said, "So, you're getting your hair cut by D..." I was momentarily confused, but I went with it anyway, thinking that maybe K was running late and they re-scheduled me with someone else. No biggie, right?

Well, I sit in D's chair, and we hit it off immediately. I showed her the haircut I wanted, and at that time the shampoo girl came up and said, "OMG, I'm sorry, but I misread your ticket, and you're supposed to be with K after all," whose chair was right next to D's. I was really bummed about it, since I liked D so much, and replied, "Well, can I stay with D if she doesn't have any bookings?" Turns out she didn't, and not only did I get a kick-ass haircut (will post pics soon,) I got to know a really cool person too.

Woo Hoo!

2007-09-24T20:40:00.000-05:00

Did anyone else go nuts when Sark showed up on Heroes just now? This show f-ing rocks!

As usual, the season has started off with a bang. Now I'm chomping at the bit to see House and Bionic Woman!!

I'm a Cool Nerd Queen

2007-09-15T12:00:00.001-05:00

OMG--I logged onto my dashboard and realized I had 5 comments I hadn't published! Oops...see, I usually read the comments at work, but since my desk is pretty much in the open, I can't be online as much as I would like. Very annoying! I'll respond to your lovely comments today. : )

Anyhoo, I found this over at Poppy's, and had to take the challenge.

Notice that my history/literature score is abnormally high. Jeez. Further proof of my historical nerdiness: this morning I saw a preview for Elizabeth: The Golden Age (with Cate Blanchett reprising her role from the first movie back in 1998) and got way too excited for my own good. Now, Elizabeth was not very historically accurate, but the film itself was beautiful, and I have no doubt that this next one will be the same.

As for my WW update--I have lost yet another 2 lbs, making my weight loss up to 18 lbs via the WW scale, 20 lbs via my scale at home. The jeans I bought about a month and a half previously were literally falling off of me, so I went to Lane Bryant, where they were having a sale, and bought 4 pairs of pants in the next smaller size! The jeans fit perfectly, but the pants are a little too tight--5 more lbs should have them fitting perfectly, though. : )

Hope everyone has fabulous plans for the weekend! I am going to plug into my new iPod, listen to an audiobook, and try to get our bedroom organized--this place is a pit! I'm thisclose to getting a maid twice a month.....

So Sweet...

2007-09-10T16:32:00.000-05:00

A co-worker sent this to me this afternoon, and I just had to share it with y'all. Turns me into mush, naturally! I'm a sucker for animals, what can I say??

P.S. - I love my new iPod. Last night I stayed up until almost midnight lying in bed, watching Pride and Prejudice on that tiny little screen. It was simply magical....although I got a little crick in my neck and it was difficult to find a comfortable viewing position. Oh well!

I'm Spoiled

2007-09-09T11:50:00.000-05:00

Last night, DH and I had our weekly "date night." For the past couple of months, we'd been going to the same place--Vietnamese--but last weekend I got a little ill from the food, so we went to our favorite Mediterranean place instead, which, since it was near our old house, we hadn't visited in a while.

I realized last night that my stomach must have shrunk during my weight loss journey, because I couldn't eat half of what I used to be able to eat when we went to the Mediterranean place previously. I'm not complaining, mind you, but it was surprising.

Anyway, after a delicious meal of a vegetarian sampler for me and a lamb kebab sandwich and hummus for DH, my husband, lovely man that he is, drove us to the Apple store and bought me the new iPod nano. My mini is on its last legs, poor thing, and, well, I'm not going to turn down a new toy. :)

Needless to say, I'm thrilled.

Seems he IS good for something...

2007-09-05T20:26:00.000-05:00

This past weekend, DH and I flew to Lubbock to visit my dad and stepmom. It was a lovely visit, naturally, but the adventure began way before we got there.

You see, my rear driver's side tire has had a slow leak in it for some time now. (You see where this is going, don't you?) I think I got a nail or a screw in it courtesy of the HVAC company that is located next door to my office, and I've been putting air in the tire in the hopes that I could stretch out the time before I needed to replace the tire, because when I did, I was going to replace all four.

Saturday morning, around 6:45 am, as we were driving to the airport, I felt the car start to wobble. I said to DH, "Hon, do you think it's my tire?" to which he replied, "Naah. It's the road."

About 100 feet later, I said to him, "No, that's definitely my tire!" Sure enough, we pulled over onto the shoulder, and my tire was shredded. The odor of burned rubber was extremely prevalent in the air. DH gets down to change the tire, and I watch in shock as people stay in the right lane and speed past us going at least 70 MPH. Good thing it was on a Saturday morning, or else we probably would have been on the morning news traffic report. But still, it kinda pissed me off that people would do that, so I stayed as close to DH as I could and watched the traffic, determined that if some jackass was going to take us out, DH and I were going together.

We made it to the airport with plenty of time to spare, thank goodness, boarded the plane around 8:20 am, and proceeded to sit on the plane for an hour. Apparently something with the computer was malfunctioning, and the techs were attempting to repair it. No such luck, though, and we had to deplane and wait around for another plane. DH and I ended up getting into Lubbock about an hour later than expected, but all ended well, and it was really nice to spend some time with my dad and stepmom.

Today was my weekly WW meeting, and I somehow managed to lose 2.6 lbs this week despite my Tex-Mex binge on Saturday night. This puts my total poundage lost to 18 lbs! Yee haw!

I've been craving chicken pot pie lately, so I hunted on the WW website for a Points-friendly recipe, and found one that turned out wonderfully. It is made with phyllo dough instead of the traditional pie crust as well as evaporated milk to evoke that creamy mouth-feel.

Here's the recipe. Of course, I modified it the way I always do, using rotisserie chicken, but it still turned out well.

Chicken Pot Pie
Points: 5
Serves: 6

1 pound rotisserie chicken, shredded
2 medium carrots, chopped
1 cup frozen green peas
2 tsp olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
5 oz fat-free evaporated milk
1 cup chicken broth
15 1/4 oz can of corn, drained and rinsed
6 sheets phyllo dough

Preheat oven to 400 degrees, and spray a deep pie plate with cooking spray. Microwave the peas and carrots for 2 minutes, drain and set aside. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-ish heat, add the onions, and cook until soft. Stir in the flour and cook over low heat for 2 minutes.

Remove pan from heat, stir in milk and chicken broth, return to stove, crank up to medium heat, and cook until mixture boils. Add carrot/pea mixture, corn, and chicken, and pour into the pie pan.

Top the pie pan with phyllo, trim off excess and lightly spray with cooking spray. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes, lower the heat to 350 degrees, and cook an additional 20 minutes.

Bon appetit!

More Lovely Food Photography

2007-08-20T18:47:00.000-05:00

At work, I've become like this dessert diva. Whenever anyone has a birthday, I offer to make them their favorite dessert. A couple of months ago it was Italian Cream Cupcakes. Tomorrow, I will be getting up at the crack of dawn (well, more like 5:30) to make a peach cobbler for one of my colleagues. I will try to take photos, but more than likely I will forget. It's gonna be 5:30, people. In the morning.

Tonight I was at Kroger buying the stuff for said peach cobbler, and when I got home learned from DH that he was going to go play poker with his buddies tonight. Luckily, he had already prepared two chicken tenders in the broiler for my dinner (really, broiling from frozen is the ONLY way to go--they're so juicy!) so I threw together one of my staple meals, flatbread chicken nachos. It's super easy and tastes oh-so-good. Not the lowest Points meal, though, hanging in around 11, but I usually like to save my big meal for the end of the day anyway, so I have no problems with this. Here's the recipe if you're interested:

Flatbread Chicken Nachos

Points: 11

2 skinless chicken breast tenderloins, cooked and seasoned however you like
1 piece flatbread, toasted
1 Tbs. roasted red pepper hummus
1 Tbs. canned black beans, drained and rinsed
1 oz. low fat shredded Mexican cneese
1/2 of a small avocado (if you don't like avocado, you can omit it and add an extra tablespoon each of the hummus and beans--I wanted to try something different tonight)
Diced red onion, tomato, and salsa for garnish

Toast the flatbread under the broiler until crispy, and spread with the hummus. Top with black beans, sliced chicken, and cheese, and put back in the oven at around 350 degrees until the cheese melts and all the ingredients warm through, about 5-7 minutes. Remove from oven and garnish with avocado, onion, and salsa, and canned jalapenos if you wish.

Really, the possibilities are endless for toppings on this bad boy. Play around and find a combination you like! Yummy!

And, a closeup.

And I still have enough Points left over for some ice cream! I love this Weight Watchers stuff!

Saturdays.....

2007-08-18T13:10:00.000-05:00

Since I started Weight Watchers, I noticed that I don't eat as much on the weekends as I do during the week. Usually, during the week, I use up all or the majority of my Points, but on the weekends I almost always have at least 10 to burn by the end of the day, and that's after I've eaten all my meals and such. Maybe I'm not as bored at home as I am at work, and I don't think about food as much? Who knows...one reason is that I usually wake up later on the weekends as well, and usually don't eat my first meal until around 11.

About a month ago, DH and I got new laptops. I am now the proud owner of one of the new Dell Inspiron laptops that you can order in different colors--mine is chocolate brown, and oh-so-chic. It totally matches the decor of our house! I also got the matching Belkin Cushtop lapdesk, also in chocolate brown--hey, I have to be color coordinated! So, where I used to use the kitchen table exclusively for my surfing, I now can surf from the comfort of the couch and not have my legs get all hot. I'm so spoiled...

This new laptop has a webcam built in (that I've used exactly once, and have no idea how to use properly,) and an SD Card reader, which makes uploading photos from my digital camera to my computer so much easier. So easy, in fact, that I was able to cook a delicious egg dish and it took me less than a minute to upload it to my laptop so I can share it with you guys!

I was going to make eggs on the stove, but at the last minute decided to pour the lot into my Corningware mini oval dish and bake it in the oven. Here's what I came up with:

Spinach and Cheese Baked Eggs
(only 5 Points!)

3/4 cup of Egg Beaters
1/4 cup Reduced Fat Cheddar Cheese
1 cup Frozen Spinach, thawed and drained
1/4 tsp. Ground Nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste
Spray of Olive Oil Cooking Spray

Spray the dish with the cooking spray, and layer the spinach on the bottom. Sprinkle nutmeg on top of the spinach, season with salt and pepper, and top with half of the cheese. Then, pour the egg beaters on top of the spinach and cheese mixture, use more salt and pepper if desired, and top with the remaining cheese.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes, checking after the first 15 minutes or so.

Doesn't it look yummy? It sure tasted yummy....

Of course, being a girl who can't get enough spicy food, I liberally splashed Tabasco on top. No egg dish is complete without Tabasco!!

Blocked

2007-08-14T19:54:00.001-05:00

I have two posts in draft form that I just can't finish. What's funny is that they happened at two completely different times in my life. One is about something that's going on in my life at the moment (doesn't have to do with DH or anything like that--we're great,) and the second one happened during a time period of about 5-10 years ago that is the main reason I went off the deep end. Both are difficult to write, not only because they're pretty personal, but because I can't find the right words to say what I want to say. Plus, on one of them, I feel that some of you may be shocked at what you read. Or you might laugh. Who knows?

Have any of you experienced writers block? What do you do to get over it? On another note, do any of you have any requests on what I should post about??

On the Weight Watchers front: I've lost 9.6 lbs in the past month. I go in for my weekly weigh-in tomorrow morning. Wish me luck!!!

UPDATE: Well, this week wasn't so kind to me--I lost only .2 lbs! I guess part of it was DH's and my Sunday night Sonic throwdown, where I had an extra-long chili cheese coney and tots. However, it was within my Points range! Well, that, and I had fajitas on Monday with my boss and a coworker. Oh well. Take the good with the not-so-good!

Not a Good Way to Start the Morning

2007-08-09T06:34:00.001-05:00

At 2:30 this morning, I was apparently having a nightmare, because I was POSITIVE that a pale man with red hair was lunging at me while I was in bed. I screamed and backed up against DH, and once I woke up realized it was a dream.

After calming my quickly beating heart, I later awoke to a loud crash and pain in my head. Apparently, one of DH's cats finally succeeded in knocking over one of our new, heavy lamps, and in his haste to get away he jumped over DH onto my head.

So, at 5:30 (an hour earlier than I usually get up,) I decided to give up trying to sleep. Plus I needed to tend to the deep-ish claw marks that are gracing my scalp now.

Sigh. As I said in the title, not a good way to start the morning.......

A Horoscope...

2007-08-07T09:39:00.000-05:00

This horoscope is not mine, but I am posting it for someone in order to give encouragement....you know who you are!!!

Our world contains a million unwritten codes of behaviour that we transgress at our peril. We are judged by our peers and found wanting if we fail to follow their protocols. Take, for example, the thorny issue of identity. Why are we all allowed only one each? Why can't we have several to pick and choose between according to our mood? You now don't feel what you used to feel, nor want what you used to want. In some circles, this is called inconsistency. A much better word would be progress.

It's Sunday Afternoon.* Do You Know Where Your Kitties Are?

2007-08-06T21:35:00.001-05:00

**Obviously, this is being posted Monday night instead of Sunday afternoon, but while we were getting ready to leave to go see The Bourne Ultimatum last night (GREAT movie, btw,) I saw BlackJack with his butt sticking out from under the couch in the video game room and it made me go on a quest to find the other three. All were sleeping peacefully in different rooms of the house, except Kino, who looked a bit perturbed that I was taking his picture.

Exhausted!!

2007-07-29T20:24:00.000-05:00

This past week has been quite exhausting. Monday morning I got to work and found out that a proposal that I had all but given up on got the go-ahead from the director of our group and I had to scramble to get everything out by Thursday for delivery on Friday. Many frustrated hours later, I slapped that FedEx sticker on the box late Thursday afternoon and breathed a sigh of relief. Now, whether we get the interview or not is another story, but I was just glad to be done with it!

Because of my hard work, my boss gave me a half day off for "free" on Friday, which was awesome since my mom and sister came into town for the weekend for a visit. We spent the afternoon at the mall, where I bought some new clothes and lots of stuff for the house. Things are starting to come together a bit--here's a photo of the revamped mantel:

I thought that the cats would be hospitable, since we haven't had any mishaps with other people who've come to stay, but sure enough, BlackJack went crazy on Friday night and attacked my mom on the way to the guest room, and when I tried to shoo him away, he came back and attacked ME! He was banished to the master bedroom for the rest of the weekend. I just don't understand why he does that--this never happens when other people come to visit! DH and I seem to think it's because my mom and sister have dogs, and the cats smell the dogs on them.

I am entering my fourth week of Weight Watchers, and everything seems to be going well. So far I haven't felt deprived, in fact, I made a lovely vegetarian lasagna for dinner tonight. The thing I can't understand, though, is the fact that at home, my scales register a 9 lb weight loss, while at the meetings, the "official" weight loss is only 4 lbs. I started out at the same weight on both scales! Maybe it's because at home, I weigh in the morning, while my meetings are in the evening.....I don't know, I like to think it's a 9 lb weight loss instead of a 4 lb one. :) Whatever gets me through the day, right?? DH is doing really well, too--he's lost 10 lbs!

I hope everyone else had a good weekend too!!!

Bdogg and the Overactive Imagination

2007-07-23T21:04:00.000-05:00

Ever since my car accident, I will sometimes wake up in the night with these twinges in my shoulder. It keeps me from falling back to sleep, and the only thing that helps is if I pop a Vicodin and lie on the couch. I turn on the TV.

You know a great TV station to have on at 2 in the morning? TVLand. Something about those old shows is really soothing....

Now, we keep our blinds in the family room and game room up about a quarter of the way so the cats can look outside, so at 2 in the morning when I'm staggering to the couch, it is always in the back of my head that some burglar or peeping Tom or werewolf or demon is waiting on the other side of the window, staring at me, getting ready to break into the house, or kill me.

And it kinda freaks me out.

I also don't like to be in the house alone overnight--if DH goes out of town for the weekend, or if he's away on business, I don't sleep very well at all. Now, if it's only for a couple of days, I try to butch up and stay at home (with the gun in close proximity to me, though,) but if he's gone for more than two nights, I usually go over to the in-laws and stay with them. Yes, I'm a pussy.

I used to not be like this. When I first went off to A&M I slept alone in the apartment I shared with my roommate all the time--I had no problem being alone, in fact, I loved it. Then, the night before I was to move back home for the summer, I had gone over to a friend's house to play cards and have a few drinks. I left my apartment about 9 pm, and came back around 1:30. The door was open, which I didn't think was all that odd, because my roommate ALWAYS left the door unlocked. So I walked on in, and noticed that the lights were on. Thought that was kind of strange, because I was sure I had turned the lights off when I left. But oh well. My roommate must have come home, turned the lights on, and left without locking up (she was raised in a small town and didn't quite grasp the concept of locking your front door.)

But anyway, I walked back into my bedroom, and noticed that my box spring, which had been pushed up against the window earlier in the day was pushed away from the window, the blinds were shredded, and the screen to my window was lying on my mattress. Broken glass was all over the floor.

And, dumbass that I was, IT STILL DIDN'T REGISTER. I thought that maybe my roommate had forgotten her key and had to break the window to get in. (I think I was in shock) The light finally turned on in my brain when I called my roommate to ask her what was going on and she said that she hadn't been in the apartment since the afternoon. And that's when I started to freak out.

Luckily, the only thing that was taken was a bike that belonged to my roommate's boyfriend, but I felt so violated, especially because it had been my room that had been broken into. The police were called, reports were filed, and I ended up crashing at my roommate's new apartment that night, because I sure as hell wasn't going to sleep in my old place. They never found out who did it, but I doubt much legwork was done on our case. We were students, the school year was over, and nothing of real consequence was taken. Well, nothing except my peace of mind!

Ever since, it has been difficult for me to stay overnight by myself. I thought that the two years I lived alone in my single-girl apartment had cured me, but that was only 650 square feet, so there was only one way in, and not as much space for someone to hide and kill me in my sleep. However, our house now is nearly 2000 square feet, which means there is three times more space for intruders to lurk, waiting in the study to cause me bodily harm, or in the guest bedroom, just waiting for their chance.

Is it any wonder, then, why I don't like watching scary movies???

Behavioral Problems

2007-07-19T15:07:00.000-05:00

This morning, you were so beautiful. You had bounce and volume and were a joy to look at. Every part of you was pure poetry--you turned under where you were supposed to, and I was enthralled by the sophisticated look you portrayed. I was so happy, becuase I thought, "Today is the day that my hair finally behaves."

But you didn't.

The minute I stepped outside you fell flat on your follicles, impervious to the volumizing mousse I so lovingly applied to your roots. You made my bangs feather out like a poor Farrah Fawcett imitation, resisting all pleas to remain the beautiful, side-swept creation you were MEANT to be. And, worst of all, you deviously pushed the button I most hate to have pushed: you made one--JUST ONE--section flip and stick awkwardly out of what had all the potential to be a perfectly turned under, layered bob.

Why must you be so difficult? I do everything for you! I wash you in highlight-enhancing shampoo, I lightly condition you to keep you supple, I even let you rest over the weekends and don't use styling products if I am not going anywhere of consequence. Once a week, I remove any buildup that might have accumulated on you with a gentle clarifying shampoo. So why do you repay me by flipping when you're not supposed to, doing weird feather-y things, and falling flat? What have I done to deserve this????

Look, we're stuck with each other, so we might as well TRY to get along, right?

Let's hope that tomorrow is a better day.

Monday Meme

2007-07-16T15:05:00.000-05:00

I found this over at Merrie's site, and have gotten it in an e-mail recently too. Thought I'd post it, and if you'd like to do the same, go ahead!

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
Not to my recollection. When I was born, my name wasn't a very common one.

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?
I got teary last night...

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING
It's okay--I prefer to type, though.

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?
Turkey or roast beef. I don't eat a lot of sandwiches, though.

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
Most definitely.

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT?
Depends on the situation!

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?
Yes I do.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?
OH HELL NO!

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?
I don't really have a favorite, because I like so many of them. Cheerios, Life, Frosted Mini Wheats, Froot Loops...

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?
Depends on the shoes.

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE MENTALLY STRONG?
Sometimes.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?
I like vanilla bean and chocolate chip cookie dough. Oh, and chocolate peanut butter!

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?
Their smile, or eyes.

15. RED OR PINK?
Red.

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?
I am a bit of a control freak. And I let little things annoy me too much.

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?
My family.

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU?
Not tagging anyone, so not really applicable.

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?
Black Skirt, red slingbacks.

20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE?
A mini-chocolate cake.

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
My co-worker whistling through her teeth. (see the last part of #16)

22. IF YOU Were A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
Robin's egg blue. Or Macaroni and Cheese.

23. FAVORITE SMELLS?
Fresh laundry, vanilla, things baking.

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
I think it was my Mom last night.

25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?
I think she's the coolest!

26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
Ninja Warrior and baseball.

27. HAIR COLOR?
Blondie.

28. EYE COLOR?
Green.

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?
Won't leave the house without them.

30. FAVORITE FOOD?
Tacos! And chocolate.

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?
Happy endings. No scary movies.

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?
Black and gray and white floral.

34. SUMMER OR WINTER?
Winter.

35. HUGS OR KISSES?
Both, please!

36. FAVORITE DESSERT?
Anything with chocolate. Or pastry.

37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
N/A

38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
N/A

39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince--trying to brush up for the 7th book this weekend!

40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?
Some anime cat.

41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T.V. LAST NIGHT?
Cheaters that was on the TiVo.

42. FAVORITE SOUND?
My Joey purring.

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES?
Beatles.

44. HOW FAR HAVE YOU BEEN FROM HOME?
NYC.

45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?
Not really. I can tie a cherry stem in a knot with my tongue...