Back to College Station

Well, I had originally hoped to take Lauren and Jeff to the Bush Library this morning before Lauren's competition, but winterguard will take the whole day. Lauren is thrilled she doesn't have to see the Library. Ya' know, she could at least pretend she had really wanted to go. lol.

My high school will be there, too. How coolio is that? And they are in a different division, so I can cheer for both guards. I went to their web page to see if I happen recognize any of the last names (maybe kids of old classmates), but I don't. Random, but you never know!

So we're off!

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World's Best Complaint Letter

Just passing this link along to Virgin: the world's best passenger complaint letter?. So funny.

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Driving Safety

Safest lane to drive on I-35 through downtown Austin? The MIX 94.7 morning DJs report that it is... the inside lane of the lower deck. Which I guessed correctly. *bows* Why the lower deck? Because on the upper deck, people start sight-seeing and drive out of their lanes.

I never drive I-35 through Austin unless someone has a gun to my head, so it doesn't really matter much to me. Scary. Once some dorkass on the upper deck drove between me in the right lane and the car next to me in the left lane. No lie.

Downtown Dallas freeways are probably my second least favorite to drive. People drive really fast there and there are interchanges out the yang.

I would hate to drive in New York City. It's frightening enough to ride in a cab.

Speaking of cabs, Jeff and I were watching Cash Cab this weekend and we totally would have won $1800.

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Blog Day Off Entry

Facebook has this survey going around, so I am copying it here. Yes, I am a slacker today.

16 Random Facts About Me
(FB'ers may be familiar with this as 25 Random Facts, but the friend who tagged me listed only 16, so that is all I did.)

1. My worst job ever was one college summer working in a shoe store in that strange, half-empty mall (Tara reminded me- it's Deauville Mall) across I-45 from Baybrook Mall in Houston.

2. I've never been much of a "quiet night at home" kind of gal. I am usually looking for opportunities to go out or get together with friends.

3. I read almost exclusively non-fiction books.

4. I had a collection of celebrity autographs until I was out of college, when I tossed all of them in the trash. Who knew eBay was on the horizon?

5. I did Moms' Night Out, Kids' Field Trips and published the newsletter over the 4 years I was a member of a local moms club, when Lauren was little.

6. I was a two-time cancer survivor by age 26, with a clean bill of health (and a healthy daughter born) since then.

7. I used to hate to cook, but in the last few years I've grown to like it.

8. I am an office supply addict.

9. My friends and I (and several other middle school girls) were total groupies for a 50's band at Astroworld one summer. We were there all day, every day, in the front row at every show.

10. I'm scared of most dogs.

11. I have never worked a day in the field of my college degree, but wouldn't change a thing about my choice to study it. Or even to do the year of grad school… wait, let me think about that…

12. Jeff and I will be married 19 years in May.

13. I've never had a desire for Lauren to make the same school or career choices that I made, and it's a good thing, because she hasn't. I was choir. She was band. I was basketball. She was cheer. I was A&M. She is leaning UT.

14. I know a lot of people named Scott, Melissa and Kathy.

15. I find the social psychology of birth order very interesting and typically true.

16. I don't gamble, but I love Las Vegas! The shows, the sights, the sounds, the 24/7 activities.

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Free Tips and Advice Day

And worth every penny, thankyouverymuch.

First, Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Shower Cleaner. It did not clean our dirty shower over several days like the commercial said, but once we started with a clean shower, it has now kept it clean for over a month. Pretty great, I think!

Charge 25 cents a piece to pick up clothing your children leave on their bedroom floor. This works better than the old "if it's not in the hamper, it doesn't get washed" deal. Kids have all sorts of ingenious methods for "freshening up" dirty, wrinkled clothes. Especially male children.

At 20 minutes past the hour, the current diagnosis on House is incorrect. Correct diagnoses are only made in the last ten minutes. Usually the last five. Speaking of medical shows, George Clooney is going to be on the ER finale. Slightly irrelevant. Just wanted to mention it.

If you eat a lot of rice, get a rice cooker. I was given a Zojirushi Japanese one (thank you, Melissa- they run about $100), which according to the sushi chef who taught our class, is the best out there. Whichever model you choose, it is so easy and the rice is always perfect. If you want to cook brown rice, you'll need the one that does brown rice specifically. I had a Rival rice cooker from Target ($15), and it didn't work very well, but I never took too seriously the part about rinsing the rice first. Let me tell you, that is a kitchen disaster waiting to happen.

If you use a rice cooker, always rinse the rice first.

And finally, from the gag reel of last night's episode of Scrubs:
Never marry a German. They have monkey feet.
Bwahaha!

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Tuesday Randomness

So, am I officially a Texan if I say the word "deluxe" with the accent on the "de-"? Yep, I thought so. Don't ask me why I said it that way, but I do seem to be speaking with my Southernest of accents today.

A young woman I encountered while I was out this morning had a British accent. Around here, we call the town of Dripping Springs "Drippin'." It was so cute to hear her say, "It's out towards Drippin'..." So, is she officially an Austinite if she says "Drippin'"? I'd have to say yes.

The college students are all irritated that older women (they don't say it as politely) are going to be at David Cook's concerts. I would have felt the same way at their age, I'm sure.

Yahoo Messenger is giving me troubles. I reinstalled version 8, and now it is randomly changing my away statuses to "available" when I'm not there. Version 9, as you may recall, is having difficulty receiving long messages from people who are not also on version 9. Good grief. If I switch back to Trillian, I wonder if that will solve the issues.

We are under a winter storm warning tonight. Luckily it will be over by noon tomorrow. Yay!

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Song Sound-Alikes

While listening to Darius Rucker's new single "It Won't Be Like This For Long," (see the right sidebar-->) I realized it sounds an awful lot like "I Can't Make You Love Me" by Bonnie Raitt. I played Darius' song for Lauren while singing "I Can't Make You Love Me" to show her the similarity. I turned off Darius' song and kept singing Bonnie's, and Lauren joined in, singing "I Don't Know You Anymore" by Savage Garden! So funny.

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I Hanker for a Hunka Cheese

Yesterday, Lauren went to a winterguard activity in shorts and Ugg-style boots. I told her she reminded me of the little cheese guy with the skinny legs and big cowboy boots from the 70's PSA for cheese as a healthy afternoon snack.

Well, I found it on YouTube. Everybody sing!!

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How Well Do You Know Your Valentine

I have finally accomplished the near-impossible. For Game Night, I made appetizers comparable to the amazing ones made by the Game Night guys, who are the cooks in their households. I made sun-dried tomato bruschetta and baby Portabella mushroom caps filled with garlic shrimp. Assembled a Havarti and Coppa deli tray and made turtle candies for dessert. HA. Every last bit was gone.

*bows*

How Well Do You Know Your Valentine
From February's Real Simple magazine. Answer for yourself and write your guesses for your significant other.

1. What reality TV show would you consider auditioning for?
You: Amazing Race
Significant Other: Wife Swap (ahaha)... really, none

2. What website do you spend most of your time on?
You: Facebook
SO: CNN.com

3. What's the most embarrassing song on your iPod?
You: "Pumpin' and Blowin'" -Kristy McNichol, Pirate Movie soundtrack
SO: It's all Enya and Josh Groban. Nothing too embarrassing.

4. On a limitless menu, what would you order?
You: Sesame chicken, veggie egg roll, chocolate cheesecake
SO: Filet mignon, baked potato, Bananas Foster

5. What was the last book you read?
You: I can't even remember.
SO: Artie Lange, Too Fat to Fish

6. Which way do you hang the toilet paper- over or under?
You: over
SO: hang toilet paper? wha?

7. What was your high school mascot?
You: Wildcat
SO: umm... I have no idea.

8. What is the one place on the planet you're dying to visit?
You: Russia
SO: Australia

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Brad Paisley

First I must tell you that another of my friends has gotten a tattoo. Debbie just got a butterfly on her shoulder. She still has it covered, but Troy showed me a photo last night on the way to the concert. So eventually I guess I'll be the final holdout.

Honestly, I went to the Brad Paisley concert because Lauren wanted to go, and I wanted to see Darius Rucker. Darius was wondermous, and he even sang Hootie and the Blowfish's "Let Her Cry."

The only country music I hear is crossover stuff that shows up on my pop radio station or songs that Lauren has on CD, so I only knew two Brad Paisley songs and recognized about three others. Still I thought it was a great show. Brad is a guitar master. And who doesn't love a guy who has several Guitar Hero/Rock Band elements in his visual effects arsenal? I was completely faked out by the two hi-def video performances. Just sayin'. When we couldn't figure out who the guy was who came out and sang "Miles and Miles of Texas" with him, we decided the guy was probably just a hologram anyway. Haha.

The animation sequence was probably my favorite part of the whole night. Excellent job on that. He's cute, he sings and he draws?! Wow.

I was really impressed that he made a special effort to interact with children in the audience, touching their hands and giving them guitar picks, etc. At the end of the concert, he gave his hat to a little girl on her dad's shoulders. His hat, folks. She was thrilled. Very sweet.

When he sang "Alcohol" (one of the best all-time country songs), Darius and Dierks Bentley were on stage singing along. Darius showed us how "white people dance." A lovely Carlton Dance sort of thing. Nice. lol.

Here's a vid from the New Orleans performance. I'll switch it out if I see one from Austin. Darius' dance is at about 2:30. He does it again later.

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Inaugural Review

I was so moved by all the inauguration events yesterday. Such an historic day for President Obama, African Americans and for all of us as a nation.

Hearing Anderson Cooper say "buddins" instead of "buttons" made me giggle.

Hearing an ABC commentator say that George Bush feels much more comfortable in Austin than Washington made me cringe. Follow that with an AP article about "Texans cheering Bush on his return" and I no longer wonder why we're seen as the Texas stereotype around the world. Ack.

Welcome to Day 1 of a New America. I am hoping for one of bipartisanship and common sense in government, and a refreshed sense of community in our towns and cities. And I love that Obama is encouraging volunteering. Love it. Especially in this economic climate, volunteering is a way to get the things accomplished that YOU want to see accomplished, without just throwing money at them. Contributing your time can sometimes be hard and it can sometimes be fun, but either way, it is indescribably rewarding to see the result.

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Happy Inauguration Day!

I am thrilled that we'll have a new President today! Can't wait to watch the ceremony. Zonia is actually in Washington DC to participate in some of the festivities. How exciting!

Loved Mrs. Biden's slip yesterday that Biden was offered a choice between Secretary of State and VP. He turned 18 shades of red. It really was his fault that she had to explain, because he said it was the better choice for his family, and then Oprah had to ask what he meant by that. I also love that Obama's people say he was only offered VP. That statement was made no doubt at Mrs. Clinton's request. Bwahaha.

And finally, in reference to my AC dream the other day, Laura said, "No offense, but if we were chatting on the phone and Anderson Cooper wanted to talk to me, I would hang up on you." That girl needs to learn some manners. ;)

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A Dream

About Anderson Cooper. HEE. Feel free to skip this.

Dreamed last night that I worked for a company that shared an office building with CNN. I was looking terribly cute in a pencil skirt and white blouse, with super-high spiky stilettos. (I so never wore such a thing to work in real life.) I walked into a CNN office area to make a copy. Guess we borrowed their copier now and then.

As I came around a corner, I saw Anderson in a t-shirt and running shorts and running shoes, sprawled out on his tummy on top of a tall bank of metal file cabinets. I stopped and smiled. "I am really going to miss this place," he said quietly. He sat up and hopped down from the file cabinets. He leaned in really close to me and whispered, "But don't tell anyone I said that." Then he winked.

Someone came up and he excused himself momentarily, indicating he wanted to talk some more. I immediately pulled out my cell and called Laura. Huddled in a corner next to AC's office, I was whispering that I had just talked to him and evidently he was leaving CNN for some reason. Laura started telling me some story about a mom at a dance competition who had ticked her off. I kept trying to tell her my story, but she was so irritated about the dance mom that she wasn't listening.

Anderson eventually came out of his office to talk again and saw that I was on the phone. He made a face like he was disappointed, but that it was okay.

I kept trying to interrupt Laura and say I needed to hang up, but she kept talking. Finally I told her I had to go and I hung up. By then Anderson was gone. Grr!

Laura!!

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Saturday 9

Saturday 9: The First Apartment

1. Describe your first apartment.
A garage apartment in my grandparents' house in College Station. It was a true apartment, separate from the house and with its own entrance.

2. Where had you moved from?
League City, TX

3. How old were you when you had your apartment?
18

4. Did you have roommates? If yes, tell us more.
No roommates.

5. What was your place of employment then?
I was a student.

6. How were your finances at the time?
Very very tight, but I am a pretty frugal person by nature, so it was fine.

7. Tell us about a lover who spent a night there.
Nosy Saturday Nine this week. No comment. :p

8. Tell us about a band you listened to then. (You can cheat. Look it up.)
Bangles. They were da bomb.

9. How long did you live there and why did you move from there?
Lived there four years of undergrad. That was my grandparents' "deal" for free rent. I moved out to another apartment when I started grad school.

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And...

My friend's special guy, who she is back in touch with...

IS MARRIED.

What the Frenchtoast?!!! I got all excited for nothing.

She's still thrilled, so that is nice. :D

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TGIF

I am telling you, this week was the most suckeriffic one in forever! I cannot even list all the things that have happened to the three of us. The good things though-- all on her own, Lauren switched from band to another class, despite a rough couple of discussions with the band director; the first Color Guard competition is tomorrow; we did make it to the dance store (three minutes before closing) on Tuesday; the sweet Melissa N gave me a very nice Japanese rice cooker; AI is back; bathroom decisions have been made, and I may be going to happy hour tonight. Whoop! And best of all- that plane that went down in the Hudson... was that a miracle landing or what?! How freaking amazing. The pilot and all the rescuers are heroes.

Friday Five: Wind

1. Among your friends, who could be blown over by a strong wind?
Physically? Kimberly

2. What’s something in your house you occasionally wind?
My mom's music boxes.

3. Is there some significant gossip you’ve recently gotten wind of?
Yes. That is all. :)

4. Where is the windiest place you’ve ever been?
Houston during Hurricane Alicia. On a normal day- Corpus Christi.

5. What do you do, on a typical day, to unwind?
Blast my music!

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Facebook Reconnect and Designer #2

Oooooh. A single-and-looking girlfriend of mine reconnected with an old love interest yesterday on Facebook. She had just decided Tuesday night that maybe she would like to get in touch with him again. Wednesday morning he friended her. He had just joined Facebook. WEIRD, HUH? And so cool! I'm almost as giddy as her about the whole thing.

Bathroom Designer #2 was not so flowy with the brainstorming as Designer #1, but she was very good with budgeting and numbers for various options. She also laughed at my interior design jokes, loved my design choices in the rest of the house, and said I didn't look old enough to have a 15-year-old child. Yeah. She rocks.

The hubby and I made the final decision to expand the shower to add a bench, and get rid of the vanity (does anyone use those?) to get more cabinet storage. Next step... getting a general contractor and securing an estimate.

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American Idol is Back

And my day has gone well. The designer was great. More about her later...

I just have to say, thank goodness AI is back on!! Family TV two nights a week. Loving the new judge. She can replace Paula, as far as I'm concerned.

Funny moment from last night, in reference to the 17-year-old horror film maker-

Me: He's really cute. That's a guy, right?

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Blah

The past two days, life has sucked out loud. Just little thing after little thing. I haven't had this bad a week since over a year ago, and I was miserably sick then! lol. *sigh* I have high hopes for today. Come on Wednesday!! Woohoo!

Bathroom Designer #2 comes today. I am very excited about her. Her website rocks and she has a blog that is awesome as well. I am definitely won over by a positive online experience. Cross your fingers, folks!

I'm beginning work on a new print ad. This one is for the River Parade program during Fiesta in San Antonio. Fun! So far the publishers are letting me slide by submitting jpegs, but really they prefer CMYK tiff images. I just don't have the capability to work in that format with the software I have. Publishing software is $$$$, so I'm waiting...

I hope everyone else is having a wonderful week! :)

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Yahoo! Messenger 9

I downloaded Yahoo! Messenger 9 yesterday morning. I like the display and customization stuff. Two things so far are driving me nutty:

1) No "busy" status automatically associated with a status message. I hate maintaining my status all the time anyway. Adding the step of clicking the "busy" icon is a bummer.

2) It's dropping almost all my longer received messages. It transmits my long messages (to people not using YM9 anyway), but I'm not receiving the other person's. I see "so-and-so is typing a message" forever and then instead of a small delay and then the display of the message, I get nothing. Gah.

May need to revert to version 8.

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Ring Ring

I have Steven's Aggie ring. He asked me to bring it to Balfour (down the road from us) for resizing, so he wouldn't have send it through the mail, but it turns out the Balfour building is closed to the public. Anyway, when we were in Dallas, I discovered that he has an A&M football signed by Coach Franchione. Maybe I can hold his ring for ransom and get that football. Mwahahaha!

Although... if an Aggie steals another Aggie's ring, some Former Students Association Ninja Force probably descends on her house in the night to retrieve it. Yeah. I'll send it in.

This week's Saturday 9- The Phone is For You

1. Your phone rings. Who is the most likely caller?
Jeff or Laura.

2. How long do you chat on the phone each day?
Varies from "not at all" to two hours.

3. Who do you speak to the most?
Laura

4. Do you often not answer if a certain person comes up on your caller id?
No, I always answer if a person comes up.

5. Do you phone friends at their places of work?
Yes.

6. Do you make personal calls at work?
When I was working, I very rarely made personal calls from work.

7. To whom do you always say “I love you” at the end of the call?
Jeff, Teresa and Dad.

8. Do you use a land line or cell more often?
Land line.

9. Who in the blogosphere have you not chatted with, but would like to?
Anderson Cooper. What. I know it's not his personal blog. The question just says "blogosphere." I wonder if George Clooney has a blog.

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David Cook Tour!

Colleges, beginning in February! And he has a new little friend. So cute.



Funny story... I learned on TMZ a couple of days ago about Kathy Griffin's "You know, I don't go to your job and knock the d***s out of your mouth" comment on CNN's New Year's coverage. By the way the TMZers were talking, I thought she had said it TO Anderson. When I was at the school yesterday, I told Laura. She was appalled.

We hung out after the kids went home, and went all around the building telling people the story or talking about it, if they had seen it. We must have discussed it with six different people who were all equally shocked. The assistant principal had watched it on video and we talked to him about it for like 10 minutes. We were all surprised, too, that Anderson brought it up on his own show after Kathy appeared on Jimmy Kimmel. He has a great sense of humor and can laugh at himself, but come on.

Well, it turns out that Kathy said it to some hecklers, not to Anderson. ROFL. All that discussion and we never figured that out! Now Laura thinks I assumed Kathy was talking to him because I make certain assumptions about Anderson. Ahahaa! Hmm...

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Illinois House impeaches Gov. Rod Blagojevich

From yahoo

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – The Illinois House voted overwhelmingly Friday to impeach Gov. Rod Blagojevich, an unprecedented action that sets up a Senate trial on whether he should be thrown out for abuse of power, including allegations that he tried to sell President-elect Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat. Impeachment required just 60 votes. The final result was 114-1...

What a jerk that guy is, wasting the time of the state with his selfish need to stay in power. If he had the interest of the citizens in mind, he would have stepped down when the charges were first made public. Bah. Glad I don't live there.

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Master Bathroom Remodel

Had Interior Designer #1 (Sarah's neighbor's designer) out yesterday. I had given her my budget on the phone and before even seeing the room, she immediately said it would be very tight. I want my designer to say, "We can do that! We might not be able to do everything you want, but we can do something great."

Once she got here, she kept suggesting more and more things to up the cost. I dunno. She had great ideas, but I want to talk to another person. We won't be in this house forever, so I don't need a dream bathroom.

This was my first experience with a designer. Now I know how the process works. You can have the designer just give you ideas on colors, materials, etc. or do a full-on plan, both at an hourly rate. (Average rate I've seen is $95 per hour. A bathroom would take about 3-10 hours for the drawing and plan.) She was here for an hour, and I'll have another person come out for an hour before I make any decisions. Totally worth it for ideas, to me. I'm an HGTV junkie and I hadn't thought of a lot of things she suggested. After the planning, you can have them manage the project or do it yourself.

Incidentally, for furniture and decor ideas for rooms other than kitchen/bathroom, many furniture stores will send someone out for free to do that sort of "decor brainstorming" with you. We did that with Bassett for our living room. It turned out fantastic.

Waiting for the second designer to call me back...

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Thursday

OK, Facebook-Application-for-iPhone. I don't need to get a notification every time my friends install you. It's filling my News Feed today. *shakes fist*

Read my original LJ last night. I have two. This was the one from the fansite webmistress days. Good times, dude. There is some seriously funny stuff there. If Scotty can have a secret LJ, so can I. Meh.

Survey!

Do you like having your picture taken?
I don't mind it. I don't seek it out.

Have you ever done crossword puzzles?
I love crosswords!

Pick up the closest book and write a sentence at random from it.
Some SEO professionals have dropped rank checking out of the equation altogether because it is less connected to your business goals than other metrics such as conversion tracking.

The same with a lyric from either a cd or the radio:
One minute you'll be thinking that everything's fine
The next thing you know, well, you're there with your heart on the line

Can you sing?
Oh yeah.

What's your favorite color of Post-It note?
bright pink

Have you ever lied to get off the phone or out of talking to someone online?
Nah. You don't have to say "I have to go now," just say "I'm going to go now." Simple!

Do you read your horoscope?
No.

Would you rather chew gum or use mouthwash and why?
Chew gum. I love gum anyway. After mouthwash, I always want to rinse the taste out of my mouth.

How many times a year about are you sick?
0.5

Ever been in an airplane?
Many times.

What radio station do you listen to most?
94.7

Do you know how to play dominoes?
Yes.

What color are your eyes?
Green

Name one person your life is made better by.
Lauren.

Can you do math with ease?
Yes.

Are you a vegetarian?
Hell no. :D

How about an aspiring actor/actress?
No. I am a terrible actress.

Which movie can you watch and say the lines along with the actors?
Princess Bride. Well, most of the lines.

Name one of your passions in life.
Music.

What's your least favorite time of day?
Mid-afternoon. If I run out of things to do, it's usually then. I like to be busy.

What color is the inside of your head when you close your eyes?
Maroon

Have you ever said 'lol' in real life without thinking about it?
Um, yes.

What is the best present you've ever given someone else?
A poem.

What is the best present someone else has ever given to you?
Jeff surprised me with an anniversary trip to New Orleans once. He even coordinated it with Donna, so it was awesome with her expert hotel and restaurant recommendations.

Do you wear a watch?
No.

Describe the ideal superpower and what you would do if you had it.
Invisibility. I could observe everything without being observed myself.

Name something you've done in the last 24 hours no matter how big or small.
Grocery shopping.

What's on your computer desk?
Photo of Lauren, photo of me and my grandma when I was 9, NDA (New Drug Application) Team commemorative thingie from work, stability ball inflater (I need to put that away), desk calendar

When you're talking do you ever use your hands to do quotation marks in the air when saying certain words?
Yes.

What's in your fridge right now?
Stuff to make Hawaiian meatballs tonight. It's also pretty full of the usual suspects. Fruit, veggies, juice, milk... Oh- there is fresh banana bread. Want some?

How many people do you live with?
Two.

What is the strangest thing you've ever done?
It has to be any of the few times in high school that John (in his "punk rock phase") convinced me to let him dress me in punk garb and then go out somewhere in public. I specifically remember one of the Adam Ant concerts with a lot of interesting face makeup... and a movie with a jillion bandannas tied around me.

Have you ever been on TV or the radio?
On the local TV news when I was in elementary school and gave an award to Gordie Howe. Radio from a live broadcast in college, when I won Huey Lewis and the News tickets.

What is the worst thing anyone could ever do to you?
Lie.

Are you a fast typist?
I think so.

Describe how you sleep.
On my left side, with my head on a firm pillow.

Have you ever read a book and not understood it?
Yes. (But just so everyone knows- I "get" The Matrix.)

Do people pick up your slang language more than you pick up theirs?
No. I am a sponge for that stuff.

What would you like to do with your life?
Be a great mom and launch a second career in something fun

When they start sending rockets to the moon for us civilians, will you be on the list to go?
noooooooooo

Have you ever written anything on your skin?
Yes- mostly phone numbers in college

What color are most of your clothes?
blue

Are things as bad as they seem?
never

Do you like to look people in the eye?
Yes I make a specific effort to do just that.

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Broken finger

Lauren's finger has a small "chip fracture," so she'll have to splint it for at least another week. Yikers! No wonder it looks so awful. She thought it was jammed, but it sure did swell and bruise a lot for that. Four years of cheer and she never broke anything. One day of color guard and she's busted up. Weird!

It is the most gorgeous day ever here. It's about 70 degrees and sunny, with a cool breeze. Even though it's cedar allergy season, I'm outside just enjoying it... before the cold returns in a couple of days.

Sanjay Gupta looks like he might take the Surgeon General spot in the Obama administration. Coolio!

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Kathy Slept Here

From Scotty, who found it on LJ-

List all the cities in which you slept in 2008:

Austin, TX
Arlington, TX
Irving, TX
New York City, NY
Marble Falls, TX
College Station, TX
San Antonio, TX
Houston, TX

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Old pics

Tracy and Kathy have posted tons of photos from their old scrapbooks on Facebook this week. I LOVE IT. It makes me want to post more of my old pix. Everyone cringing yet?

Waiting for x-ray results on the daughter's swollen and bruised finger. She also still has pain in one area from her wisdom teeth surgery Dec 19! It's getting better though. She is perfectly happy, not whiny like I would be with all that going on.

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Sushi Class

Everyone should take Origami Chef Tim Thomas's Sushi 101 class at Central Market (Lamar). He was awesome! Kathy L signed us up for last night's class as my Christmas present. His next two classes are Jan 25 and Feb 22.

We had appetizers, made three rolls, a hand roll and nigiri. He talked about the history of sushi, growing up in Japan, his family's restaurants and family stories, and had great recommendations for brands of products and types of fish. He was funny and entertaining. And cute. Not that I paid attention to anything but getting my rolls to look pretty. :D

The best CM cooking class I've taken so far!

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2008 in Review

What exactly were you doing a minute before the ball dropped in 2008?
Watching Dick Clark's Ryan Seacrest's New Year's Eve show, and realizing that I am much older than its demographic. (Heck, Ryan is older than the demographic.)

What was your status on Valentines Day?
Married.

Were you in school anytime in 2008?
Nope.

Did you have to go to the hospital?
Dec 31, to have a "foreign body" removed from my foot.

Did you have any encounters with the police?
Nope.

Where did you go on vacation?
Marble Falls, Canada and the northeast coast.

Did you know anybody who got married?
Melissa and Graham.

Did you know anybody who had a baby?
Tara and Aaron.

Did you know anybody who passed away?
Just our kitty.

Did you move anywhere?
No.

What sporting events did you attend?
Several all-star cheer competitions, A&M women's volleyball (v. Colorado)

What concerts/shows did you go to?
Legally Blonde in NYC, a few Bob Schneider shows, Rascal Flatts, Dave Attell, Carrie Underwood

Describe your birthday:
I don't remember. Yikes.

What was your favorite moment?
Lauren's cheer team (and parents) shocked to win Cheer America Nationals against a fantastic opponent.

Any new additions to your family?
No.

Made new friends?
A few!

How many people did you date?
None. Jeff prefers that I not date.

Favorite night out?
Any of Jeff and my nights out that began at Musashino.

Other than home, where did you spend most of your time?
Area schools.

Change your hairstyle?
I got highlights for about five minutes. Every time I do it, I regret it. No more! And I wore it curly for about a month.

Have any car accidents?
Nope.

How old did you turn in 2008?
41.

Get married or divorced?
Neither.

Get arrested?
Never have been.

Been snowboarding?
No, but I would like to.

Did you get sick in '08?
Caught a cold on the cruise. Bleh!

Are you happy to see 2008 go?
2008 wasn't bad, but I am excited about '09!

Been naughty or nice?
A little of both.

What are you looking forward to most in 2009?
The new President.

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Weekend!!

Scotty has dropped off the planet. The año nuevo is three days old. I hope he's not still recuperating.

Melissa, my old partner-in-crime, and her hubby came over last night. We played "the card game," which she and Jeff won. Pure luck, I tell ya'. ;)

Lolo jammed her finger her first day of guard camp. Yikers. She hung in there though, and she's back for another round all day today. She says the routine is very cool. (She probably didn't say "cool," but that's what I got out of it.) Can't wait to see it! Unlike cheer routines, which are snippets of music strung together, winter guard routines are a single song. Pop music- no marching band stuff. I love their song, but she assures us we'll all be sick to death of it by the end of the competition season.

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Happy 2009!!

Whale, Nancy (haha)... New Year's Eve day was a bummer-and-a-half. Warning to the queasy (like me): This story is way gross.

I stepped on a sewing needle on the carpet. Not one of those pip-squeak thin ones. The giant one that sits in the middle of the group in the package. It went in at a lovely angle, and a good 2 inches. I couldn't pull it out and Jeff couldn't get it to budge with pliers. Seriously.

So up to the ER we all went. The x-rays were "impressive" according to the doctor, and the staff each got a good look over the three hours I was back there. Some more grossed out than others. It was much like an episode of "Trauma in the ER"... practically an ax through the head... for little Seton Southwest hospital anyway. It was definitely more disturbing than painful. I wasn't in any real pain.

Took the doc three pulls with pliers to finally dislodge the thing from the tendon it was stuck in. My foot was lidocained up, so no big thang. The worst part? The tetanus shot. Dude. Those things kill your arm for up to a week. Bonus though-- I am again immune to diptheria and whooping cough. Have you had a DPT booster in the last 10 years? Yeah, I had no idea either.

Hope everyone is having a terrific new year!

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