Pretentious Blogging Meme

But first! For anyone playing Mafia Wars who doesn't want their non-Mafia-Wars-playing friends to see their MW notifications:

1) Set up a Facebook friend list of your MW friends only (Friends>All Friends>Create New List)
2) Whenever you are playing the game and a window pops up asking if you want to post to your friends' news feeds, before you say yes, click the little lock icon at the bottom of the pop-up window to customize who can see the post.
3) Select "Custom" then These People>Specific People and type the name of your MW friends list. Make sure none of your networks are checked.
4) Because the custom privacy window is buggy and only partially displays, just use the TAB key to move around. Then click "save setting" at the bottom and post.

Incidentally, the profile privacy in Application Settings for Mafia Wars only sets who can see the Mafia Wars box on your profile page, and does not control posting to the wall/news feed. But if you want to minimize notifications, you can go to Application Settings>Mafia Wars>Additional Permissions and uncheck the box that lets it post to your wall without prompting you.

Ta-daaa!

Sunday Stealing: The Pretentious Blogging Meme

1. How long have you been blogging?
My very first entry back at LiveJournal is dated April 11, 2003.

2. What made you start?
I was a webmistress and message board admin for a pop band fansite, and my friends from that endeavor took up blogging at LJ. They made me do it. Didn't we talk about this yesterday?

3. Who inspired you?
All those women from the fansite. They were funny and honest in their journals, and we used that medium (and a wild night on a limo bus in Miami) to get to know each other better.

4. About how many hours a week would you estimate you spend on your blog?
around 4

5. What kind of experience or background do you have with writing?
I began writing stories as soon as I could write. When I was in high school I was a prolific writer of poetry and song lyrics, and was published in our school literary magazine, as well as a Houston entertainment magazine. I was also a reporter for the high school paper, and later, the editor and primary writer for the Mothers Club Newsletter. OH! And I wrote an awesome letter to the editor that was published in Tiger Beat when I was 15. Heh.

6. Talk about how you come up with blog topics. Where do you get your ideas?
This is a personal thoughts sort of blog. The ideas come from things that happen, conversations, thoughts I need to get into written form, etc. Sometimes when something hits me that I want to write about, I jot a post-it to remind me to use that for the next post. (A POST-IT to remind me to POST IT. Ahahahaaaa. Ha. Moving on.)

7. What or who inspires you and your blog?
Laura's and my idea for a TV show where we hang out and discuss current topics. Much in the format of "Chelsea Lately" without the professional comedian, or Oprah's live Friday shows, without the delicious Mark Consuelos. The show never came to be, so I do it here. She was originally invited to do a blog with me, but she turned me down, so now I think she was just chasing the fame of television. Daily inspiration? Conversations with friends. The news. Personal experiences.

8. Where and/or how do you do your brainstorming for your blog?
Usually I have plenty to say. When I need to brainstorm, I sometimes go out on the back porch, settle into a comfy chair, breathe the fresh air, watch the squirrels and commune with nature. I can think of all sorts of things to blog about while sitting there in the quiet. Sometimes I even blog on my laptop out there.

9. Do you have any blogging rules or guidelines you follow?
a) I keep it PG-13 for two reasons. First, I don't want to have to put the adult-content Blogger rating on my blog. When you see it, it makes it sound like your blog has freaky porn all over it, and I wouldn't be posting anything that raunchy. Second, my teen daughter reads this thing now and then... when she's really really bored.
b) I never mention my or my friends' full names or post identifying photos, to keep it as anonymous as possible. I'm always very careful about internet privacy. Also, I want to be a generic voice, free to say whatever I'm thinking.
c) I never specify the websites I run or the foundation for whom I volunteer, because I'm not speaking as a representative of them in this forum.

10. Is there anything you will not blog about?
Anything someone has specifically asked me not to post about, or by virtue of my own common sense I figure they wouldn't want me to talk about. Things that are not PG-13 (see above).

11. Do you have any sort of a publishing schedule in terms of day of week or topic? 
I publish every day unless I just can't for some reason. Topic? You need a GPS to follow the randomness here. It's a free-for-all, really.

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Saturday Nine

Yahoo Mail has been holding some of my emails for a couple of days, and just dumped them on me in the middle of the night. Interesting. For what I'm paying, I should expect that.

From a fictional exchange between Apple Board members, over at The Inquirer, particularly entertaining because I am always impressed and amazed by Apple's marketing---

Steve Jobs: ...And I will call it an 'iPad' which is what users will need after having their eyes gouged out by our expert marketing...

:) Apple and Disney could both sell anything to anyone.


Saturday 9: Everybody is a Star

1. Did you ever think that you'd be a star? If yes, doing what?
Yes, when I was 8 or 9 I thought I might be a Broadway singing sensation.

2. Tell us about the last time you had a romantic dinner.
We had a really nice dinner at the Hyatt downtown on the lake a few months ago. That's where our wedding reception was, so it's always fun. Gorgeous view.

3. Tell us about your worst job interview.
The only interview I've had where I didn't get the job was when I was 16, applying at Dairy Queen. It was short and sweet, and the manager basically told me on the spot that she didn't think I would be willing to work every Friday and Saturday night. She was probably right.

4. Tell us about your stupidest date.
"Date"- the evening or the person? It has to be the evening with a customer I met at Gallagher's. I was 17. We went to the mall and he gave me a ginormous, obnoxious pink stuffed cat...-ish thing. We walked around for a while and that was it.

5. How much in common do you think you should have with a romantic partner?
I think you should have a good deal of the basics in common (similar sense of humor, similar general desires in life), rather than specifics like golf or country music. The specifics can be shared with each other more easily than the biggies. It's nice to have a few specific interests the same.  

6. Tell us about a favorite meme that you loved but no longer posts.
My faves all still post. Originally we just religiously did the Friday Five on our message board, even before we all joined LiveJournal.

7. How did you get into blogging?
The fansite girls got into LJ back in the day, and dragged me kicking and screaming. Eventually I realized I really enjoy the writing and memory-keeping. I had three LJs before moving here to Blogger.

8. Do you share all your fantasies with a significant other?
Some, sure! All? Hellz to the no. And I don't wanna hear all his either.

9. What change in your life would you like to happen this year?
I am pretty happy with where things are for the moment.

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Friday!

I did updates to the Foundation site all day yesterday. We are in major event mode for two events. Crazy! Unfortunately, Wordpress (which they use for templates on the new site) is quite inflexible, and thinks it knows HTML better than I, so it keeps replacing my code with its own. It is darn near impossible to design under those conditions. Gah.

In other news... I used to be a John Edwards fan, all the way into the last presidential campaign. Turns out he's a skeevy, arrogant butthead with an extreme lack of judgement. Not things I want in a president. Thank goodness he didn't end up there. All the gory details are in Andrew Young's new book, The Politician: An Insider's Account of John Edwards's Pursuit of the Presidency and the Scandal That Brought Him Down.

He cheated on his wife. It happens. And she was ill, which makes it a bit more slimy. But making a sex tape with your pregnant girlfriend a month before hitting the campaign trail? Utter foolishness. And the derogatory comments he made about his own constituents make me sick. Those were his supporters whom he called "fat rednecks." Well, aren't we high and mighty.

I really want to read that book. Or maybe I shouldn't, because I already feel like I fell for his BS, and it will probably tick me off even more. Grr. Pathetic!

Game night tonight. Scott was going to just make dessert, which was a relief for me, because he and Bruce always make gourmet dinners on each of their months and then I always have to step it up and figure out something great for the third month. But nooooo! Scott called yesterday to say he's serving dinner, too. Yay and ack! I'm next. Anyone have a fabulous recipe they wanna share? :)

Friday Five: Hoops

1. When did you last feel you were required to jump through meaningless hoops to get something you wanted?
Getting Lauren's driver's license. What a nightmare.

2. What kinds of hula hoop memories do you have?
Lori and I hula hooped ALL the time in 3rd and 4th grade. We also used to skip through it, like a jump rope ya' know? Then you would inevitably step on it and get a kink in it. Suckage!

3. How do you feel about basketball?
It's not my favorite sport, because the scores usually bounce back and forth and the only exciting part is the last three minutes.

4. What do you think of hoop earrings?
I don't own any. I think they're outdated. They still sell them though!

5. What’s your favorite Whoopi Goldberg movie?
Ghost

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iPad

Steve Jobs is a genius of marketing and the master of hype. And boy, do I love some good hype!! Whether or not the iPad is everything you'd hoped for depends on whether you look at it as a bigger and better iPod Touch or a toned-down laptop. I think of it as the former, and it impresses the crap out of me.

See, I don't use our laptop for things like word processing, photo editing, etc. It's just for web surfing and using this recipe software I have, so I can use it in the kitchen. I don't need another computer. I need a portable gadget that does real internet on a decent-size screen. And if it does other cool stuff--- bonus!

Since my PalmPilot days, I've been hot for an electronic calendar with a screen big enough to really see what is going on today, this week, this month. I was positively claustrophobic using the tiny PalmPilot screen, and went to the Franklin Covey paper system within a couple of years. Now I'm on a teensy weensy paper calendar in my purse, in painful conjunction with a highly functional calendar living on my PC. So while others are enamored of the iPad's battery life and iBooks app, I am melting at the sight of the calendar on a big, portable screen. Cooool.

As many have pointed out, this device is not something you'll toss in your purse. It will require a satchel. ("It's not a purse! It's a satchel." Bwahaha!) I carry practically nothing in my purse. If I could find an iPad satchel with a phone pocket and a place for credit cards and a lipstick, I'd be all over it. And I'd ditch the purse.

[Oooooh! I just found out that Blogger has a new editing interface, which now expands to fit the text of an entry. NICE. Thank you, Google. I hate scrolling through here making edits.]

Anyhoo, I saw an interesting exchange on a blog where readers were commenting how there should be more women on Apple's marketing team, because iPad is a terrible name. One said it's like "maxIPad" followed by someone else saying she would wait for next year's model, the "minIPad." Good one.

I don't know about the 3G for my area. It's pretty slow and sporadic here. I'd definitely go wifi.

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First Letterboxing Excursion

I finally went letterboxing! Too fun! Tracy and I did 6 boxes on Turkey Creek Trail. A most amusing moment was when one woman became very suspicious of us. She told us we should stay on the marked trail. We thanked her and then started up an incline through the trees to find one of our boxes. After locating it and completing our tasks, we came back down to find her still standing there. Did she think we were hiding a body or something?

Someone else up the trail asked if we were on a scavenger hunt. Tracy said yes. See, there's a secret society element to letterboxing, so... shhhhhhh. Plus, if we traipse up a 45 degree slope through thorny vines and poison ivy to search for a rock behind a particular cedar stump, we are not sharing our find with you. :p

It was really cool to find the boxes. Now I just need to choose a REAL trail name. Your trail name is the one other letterboxers know you by. Yesterday I used one that isn't really "me." Gotta think about that. (No thank you, I don't need questionable suggestions from the peanut gallery. I can hear your collective brain cogs turning now.) I also need to get my own stamp. And Tracy has uber-cool ink markers to do multicolor stamping. Must get those.

KathyL does geocaching, which is much the same as letterboxing, only using a GPS and trinkets, rather than written directions and stamps. We've talked about doing a geocaching adventure together for forever, but haven't yet. I hope I can use my same awesome trail name for it. Whenever I think of it...

Needless to say, these hikes are much more comfortably done anytime but summer around here. So... it's letterboxing season! Try it!

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Afraid and Shy, I Let My Chance Go By

One of the best songs ever written. And it's Bob! And Mitch Watkins. At Antone's Saturday night.




Something amusing from an article I read yesterday:

...It is surprising that [the F word] has retained its aura for so long and can still be considered so shocking. Now that children are demanding to see "The Spy Who Shagged Me," the word shag, alongside screw and bonk, has become perfectly acceptable. I don't like any of these words myself - but then I don't like any words that make sex sound jolly...

LOL

Lyrics du Jour

You give your hand to me
And then you say hello
And I can hardly speak
My heart is beating so
And anyone can tell
You think you know me well
Well you don't know me...

"You Don't Know Me," originally performed by Eddy Arnold

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Summer Travel

We are now booked on our Eastern Caribbean cruise! Jim and Jaxon are also booked. Invites are still open. Talk to me if you aren't sure. I guarantee I can persuade you. Great cabins still available!

And... Angel and I are spending a few days in Orlando! Squeeeeeeee! Can't wait to see her.

All that remains to be finalized is the resort weekend for our big 2-0 anniversary. Must check with the in-laws on dates, so Lauren can stay with them.

Laura read a fiction book that took place during the Holocaust. It wasn't set in Germany though, but rather in France, where they were also rounding up Jews. We were talking about how we always think of only Germany when we think of the Holocaust, and I joked (we joke about all sorts of unspeakable atrocities and tragedies, because we're just sick we just see the humor in things) that it was all in how the media was spinning it at the time. She said, "So maybe if Hitler had just had a better PR guy, this whole Holocaust thing could have been associated with France."

I can't even type what I said next, but it involved Tiger Woods.

This is how our conversations go sometimes. A rapid spiral into the pit of political incorrectness. Ohhhhhh the stories I could tell. (No worries, L. I won't mention the infamous "dance.")

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Negativity Meme

Color guard takes..... first place!!!! They scored higher than every guard at their first competition, including a few Open and World class independent guards. The girls were amazing. Fantastic performers, every one. Lots of smiles and expression in their faces. Very skillful spinning of weapons and flags. Standing ovation at the end. So fun! I'm so proud of them!

According to the sidebar of my Facebook News Feed page, I have poked myself. This is the second time it's happened. I wouldn't even have a clue how I would do that if I wanted to. Jeff and I poke each other all day long and it was his turn, so I surmise it was supposed to say he had poked me. Still. Oh well, at least it wasn't announced to all my friends via the News Feed like last time.

*g*

This meme is perfect for me. I've been annoyingly perky this week, so here you'll see my cranky side---

Sunday Stealing: The Negativity Meme

Foods which disgust the crap out of me: oatmeal, squash

TV show I loathe: "Color Splash" on HGTV

Movie I loathe: The Blue Lagoon

Music genres I loathe: loathe is a harsh word, but my least favorite genres are country and rap

Magazine which annoys me:  Martha Stewart Living

Makes me cranky at a restaurant: when a server doesn't appear within a few minutes of our being seated

Makes me cranky in public: when people bring their dogs to people places like Home Depot

Makes me cranky in general: being cold

Pisses me off at home: when the cable modem goes out

Pisses me off at work: n/a

Pisses me off in general: arrogant people

Makes me impatient at home: when my dryer is finished, the clothes are still damp and I have to run it for more time every... single... time...

Makes me impatient at work: n/a

Makes me impatient in public: lines at the gas station

Celebrity I hate: Lindsay Lohan

Music artist I hate: Mariah Carey (as a person, not as a singer)

I could care less about: NASCAR

Annoys the crap out of me weekdays: when my FitTV show is doing Yoga or pilates instead of a real workout, and I have to re-do a recently DVRed episode I probably did the day before

Annoys the crap out of me weekends: crowds and traffic everywhere I'm used to slipping in and out of during the week

Movie star you despise: Tom Cruise

Politician that you hate: Sarah Palin

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Saturday Nine

The very entertaining Sleep Talkin' Man blog has been getting lots of international press, and was on our morning news. It's a wife from the UK writing the things her husband says in his sleep. Check it out!

Saturday 9: I Think We're Alone Now

1. What celebrity in a fantasy would you like to be alone with?
Why is this question on every meme? I'm gonna gooooo wiiiiiiiiith... hmm... George Clooney? I'm very monogamous in my celebrity crushes. Well, except the recent fling with Bradley Cooper. I'm over him.

2. Have ever dated a good friend?
Yes, one of my closest friends in high school. We've talked about this before as well... It was very awkward for both of us. We went back to being pals pretty quickly.

3. What is the most embarrassing song that you like?
"Party in the USA" by Miley Cyrus

4. What is your favorite tear jerker movie?
Love Actually

5. What about yourself makes you least secure?
Not being able to come up with conversation starters when I'm alone with people I don't know, when nothing overwhelmingly obvious is presenting itself. If everyone would just wear an amazing or unusual fashion accessory, that's my standby opener. "I love your *descriptive adjective* *accessory item*!"

6. Do you believe in destiny?
No, I do not think one's life path is predetermined.

7. What 'issue' do you think your opinion is so right about that you end up trying to sway others to your point of view?
I generally don't wish to sway others to my point of view. Most of us are not easily swayed from our opinions anyway, nor should we be. We're all coming from our own life experiences. I'll certainly voice my opinion, and if others disagree, I like to hear their view.

8. What are 5 things you don't care about?
Jon Gosselin, Farmville, the weather in New York City, principles of electricity, Survivor

9. Have you ever been in a situation where you weren't sure if you were seducing or being seduced?
Of course! This is a delightful complication of mutual attraction.

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This is a Splash Zone

I saw a bunch of people on TV at SeaWorld San Diego. They were in the splash zone, covered in park-provided plastic. WTF? It's water! Plus it's clearly marked that you may get totally soaked sitting there. Some people would knock over their own grandmother to get one of those seats! Fuddy duddies.

Gotta love this from the guy who runs Improv Everywhere. A comment on their recent "No Pants Day" on the NYC subways... Sometimes It's Fun to Respond to YouTube Comments

The Clooney is hosting his big Haiti telethon tonight. I like the way he runs these things, with all the star power getting people to watch and give. Should be great, even though he doesn't appear much. If he'll shave all that hair off his face, I'll donate $1000.
 
With Timberlake to appear on the telethon, I keep thinking about one of Lauren's famous lines from when she was about 7...

Lauren: Is NSYNC a Christian group?
Me: No.
Lauren: Oh. Are they Jewish?

HI-larious.


Friday Five

1. What’s your favorite “just add water!” food?
Betty Crocker Warm Delights Minis (only 150 calories. it's a small serving of real cake. and chocolate. and cooks in the microwave. no dish to wash. It's the best.)

2. What’s your favorite thing to add vinegar to?
fried fish

3. What’s something weird you’ve added to normal food?
I put mayonnaise on french fries every once in a while. It's not weird. It's European.

4. What’s your favorite thing to add whipped cream to?
Ahahaaaaaaa. *ahem* I'm not a whipped cream person when it comes to desserts. Pumpkin pie is the only thing that requires it.

5. What’s something you refuse to add anything to, even though most people add something?
It's not that I don't add "anything," but most everyone likes cheese on their hamburger and I always have it without.

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Somebody Loves Me!

One time, months ago, it had been a while (probably five whole minutes) since Lauren last received a text message. When she finally heard the alert sound, she squealed, "Somebody loves me!!" and I about fell out of my chair laughing. Since that day, that is what we say when we get a text message after a quiet period. "Somebody loves me!"

When Kristin was over a couple of weeks ago, she said the same thing when someone texted her. I figured Lauren had told the other kids, and they were doing it too, but then I heard Lauren say, "Oh my gosh! You say that, too??!" ROFL

SlimFast sent me a check for the cans I had on hand when they did the recall last month. Impressive. They still don't have cans back on the shelves, which is okay, because I think I've permanently switched to the powdered stuff now. It tastes fresher. I've always detested skim milk, but since I have it around, I've actually been drinking it. It's pretty good. Who knew?

Song Lyrics of the Day

...So if you care to find me
Look to the western sky
As someone told me lately -
Everyone deserves the chance to fly...

"Defying Gravity" from Wicked

I'm not a huge fan of the music in Wicked, but "Defying Gravity" is a fantastic, very emotional song where Elphaba takes control of her own destiny. My favorite moment of the entire musical is the end of this song. At 6:55 in this video...



(with Kristin Chenoweth! Yay!)

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Cruising

I have spent two days analyzing hundreds of Mediterranean cruise itineraries, to find one that ideally hit Rome, Venice, Athens and Istanbul. Several of them hit two to three of the four cities. I had a chart, etc. Then we checked airfare to Europe. Cheapest ---- $1500 per person, baby! Holy cats. That's more than a 7-day Mediterranean cruise. So we're not going to do the Europe trip. :( Maybe next year.

My favorite is Princess' Venice and Rome Cruisetour. 2 nights in Venice, train trip to Rome, 2 nights in Rome, then a 12-day cruise that hits Monte Carlo and Athens, among a bunch of cool Italian and Greek ports. AWESOME.

Instead, we are most likely going on Royal Caribbean's Liberty of the Seas on a 7-night Eastern Caribbean out of Miami. Among the standard ports, it also goes to Puerto Rico, which I have yet to visit! We're hoping Troy and Jaxon and their parents are able to go with us. *fingers crossed* I can't seem to link it, but you can view it on RCCL.com. If you want to come, too, let me know! We want to bring as many friends as want to go. Get 5% cashback if you use your Discover Card. People in Florida *coughAngelcough* have zero airfare. And yes, I am the queen of the travel deal.

Liberty of the Seas is a Freedom Class ship. It's positively ginormous. I guarantee you will love it, or I'll personally deliver a pizza to your room. (Pizza is included in the fare, but it's the thought, right?) All food and drinks other than soft drinks and alcohol are included. The only extra expense is shore excursions, if you choose to do them. Ports include St. Maarten; San Juan, Puerto Rico and Labadee, Haiti.

My thoughts on Royal Caribbean going to Labadee-- They have been going there for many, many years. The beach is on the opposite side of the island from Port Au Prince. If you ask me, the whole idea of being just across the mountain from such poverty has always been weird. We've gone twice, and most passengers are aware of it while they are there. So I have very mixed feelings about it, especially now with the complete devastation. However, as with every port, being there supports the economy and many local people. If the cruise line stopped showing up, all that money would vanish. I hope the media doesn't force them out of there while rebuilding is about to begin.

Some people are calling for RCCL to empty their ships and use them to carry supplies in and people out. (They are carrying food and supplies in, although with vacationers.) Sounds great! But it would be extremely expensive and very impractical for fulfilling the needs of Haiti. Those things are vastly more efficiently done with planes, not cruise ships. If you want to learn more about what Royal Caribbean is doing for the relief effort, you can read here.

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Pants on the Ground

I am highly amused that half my friends' retro Facebook profile photos belong to me. Yeah, it just means I am the only one of them to have scanned and uploaded those suckers. Or maybe I just take the most awesome photos. Heh.

Brett Favre singing "Pants on the Ground" after the Dallas game about killed me. "Hat to the side... Hat to the side..." LO-freakin-L. You cannot escape "American Idol." Can't be done.

I went to Discount Tire at Slaughter and Manchaca this morning because one of my tires keeps leaking. I must put in a good word for them, because they were exceptionally nice and very fast.

There were no magazines in the waiting area, so I hopped onto my phone to see who was on Yahoo Messenger. I spent five minutes trying to find it and never did locate the thing. I tried Messenger out when I first got the phone, so I knew it was on there. It was just hidden somewhere in the vast menu tree, under some completely illogical heading. I hate that!

When I got home, I finally found it.

Under "Messaging."

Yeah, well... who would put it there?! :)

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MLK Day of Service

Read more about the Day of Service

I really enjoy the Golden Globes every year. If Ricky Gervais is hosting, I have to watch all the more. The Hangover got Best Motion Picture: Comedy or Musical. Yaaaay! 500 Days of Summer had a few nominations, which was great. I think the best dressed was Jennifer Garner. Clooney had the Grizzly Adams beard going. Good thing Bradley Cooper was there for me to stare at.

We saw Sherlock Holmes yesterday. I hated it. The story jumped around too much and I didn't like the whole look of it. Disappointing. The guys liked it though.

Kathy has been newly assimilated into the iPhone Club. She didn't even know she was paying $30 a month for data while I pay $10. When I explained that was for the privilege of having an iPhone, she said it was totally worth it. She rattled off things it could do, and I responded that my phone does those things as well. Finally she said what they all say- that she "just loves it" and I simply "need to get one." LOL.

Apple is down to only a handful of resistant potential customers. Stay strong. Never let an iPhone owner hand theirs to you to "try out." Once the pleasure centers of your brain start lighting up, you're hooked.

One thing--- If you have a Kindle, you do need to get an iPhone. That is one cool app! :)

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She Walked in Through the Out Door

Bob Schneider is still updating his Facebook a lot, which is very cool. He sometimes uses song lyrics as his status, and I think it shows people's ages when some recognize it and others don't. He uses a lot of Prince lyrics, so it works for me.

Patrick's Saturday Six

1. You’re at an Italian restaurant on a first date: how do you eat your spaghetti: do you cut it with the fork or roll it onto the tines? (And eating something else isn’t an option!)
I would never order spaghetti on a first date. But if I had to, I would roll it. If my date cut his spaghetti with a fork, I would wonder about him.

2. You’ve prepared a nice soup for dinner when you happen to hear a news story that bay leaves, even after being cooked, are sharp enough to tear internal organs when eaten whole. (It’s true.) Do you fish them out of your masterpiece, warn your guests in advance not to eat them, or just assume everyone knows to not eat the extra greenery?
I always remove the bay leaves, even though I didn't know they could cause serious bodily injury.

3. You’re having dinner at a nice restaurant with a group of friends and acquaintances. The sauce of your main course is the best you’ve ever tasted. You’ve eaten most of the dish, but you’ve got part of a roll and some sauce left. Do you sop up a little sauce for one more taste?
Nice restaurant? No way.

4. This time, you’re at a seafood restaurant with folks you don’t know as well. Do you order a crab or lobster, a dish that would involve a lot of shell-cracking and a potential minor mess, or do you stick with something cleaner like a nice grilled fillet?
I would not be the only person to order crab or lobster. If others were, I would.

5. You’re invited to a cookout by a friend, but when you get there, you discover that the main thing being cooked, that everyone else is a big fan of, is something you don’t like. Would you still eat a serving to be neighborly, or try to talk your way out of that one dish?
This has happened to me before. I would eat a serving. I don't think there is a subtle method to talk your way out of the main dish. Jeff won't eat it, so please don't serve him anything with goat cheese. Just saying.

6. You’re back at a seafood restaurant with friends. Unknowingly, you order a fish that is served whole, head and all. Do you send it back or just deal with it?
This has happened to me as well. I just deal with it.

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Through the Looking Glass

No matter when I go to bed, I am up at 6. If I went to sleep at 5:45 a.m., I would wake at 6 a.m.  Shoot. Me. Now. Err... I mean... Good morning!!

Scotty isn't on ooVoo or Yahoo, so we use Windows Live Messenger for webcam chats. (Neither of us gets sound there for some reason, so I need to figure out my firewall settings.) Weirdo thing is-- on my screen, my image is reversed like a mirror! I only noticed because it was an extremely rare time I wore a tshirt, and the writing was backwards!

Weirder still... for him my image is NOT reversed. If I view the image through my webcam software on my own computer screen, it is not reversed either. Do ooVoo and Yahoo and other video chat apps do the same thing or is it a Windows Live thing? I need to check. And whyyyyyyy does it do that??! My brain hurts thinking about it.

Everyone run and check your video chat apps. You know you want to.

KathyL and I almost seriously had two summer vacations to Europe planned last night. A trip to Amsterdam for just the two of us (LMAO can you imagine?), and the Italy/Greece/Turkey cruise I've been eying for our families. We also discussed a road trip through the UK. But even through the red wine and chocolate we realized we'll probably end up doing a weekend in Vegas instead. Or a day trip to Gruene.

I mentioned the erroneous gay rumors about some of my celebrity crushes... Well my girlfriends were shamelessly lusting after a certain CNN anchor on Facebook yesterday, who I will just point out, is the one of my crushes who is probably actually gay.

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TGIF Y'all

Ready for the three-day weekend? I've done web pages for two- count 'em- TWO major events for the Foundation. Whoop!! It's nice to finally have them up.

The foray into deciding the re-entry plan for my second career continues. Many say you should use your previous experience in a new setting that is exciting to you. So for me, data management/database administration at a radio or TV station, a hospital, Clooney's Italian villa on Lake Como...

Also, many people are telling me to stick with the homemaker/volunteering thing, but I miss so much the social aspects of working in an office setting. If I can discover my dream job, I can spend these last couple of years with Lauren at home (don't remind me... wah) to get training, etc.

I'm dying to organize Laura's master bedroom closets. She took a personal day yesterday and it got really personal. LOL. We went in her closet and I described my plan in great detail. She said I should submit a bid for her consideration (haha), but I'd do it for free. (Maybe that's what I should be doing as a job.)

She also informed me that a possible career restart in college administration- a new field I have identified as infinitely perfect for me- would not require my nuclear engineering degree. Yeah well, most things I have identified as interesting do not. We couldn't figure out between us what degree it would require. Must look into it.

Why on earth is every celebrity I find attractive dating Renee Zellweger? Bleh. Incidentally most of them have also had erroneous rumors they were gay. What is that about?

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Randomness

* One of the funniest "Modern Family" episodes ever last night. ROFL

* KathyL and I both tried "natural" kitchen cleansers this past few weeks. Neither of us had a positive experience. It's like spraying water on the counters. It doesn't clean anything at all, and there isn't a scent of lemons. We're both back to 409. And our kitchens are clean!

* Let it be known that I have never liked Jay Leno. Ever.

* I have spent hours trying to figure out how to get an empty toolbar row off my Firefox window. I carefully condensed all my buttons and links and toolbars into two rows, but it won't let me delete the empty row I cleared out. And if I use Googlebar Lite, which I love like I love hugs and spring rain, it adds ANOTHER row, even if you move it. Then I have two empty rows. So I am without it at the moment. (Best toolbar minimization tip I found: Delete the names of the links in your Bookmarks Toolbar. Then you have only a tiny string of favicons. NICE!)

* After yesterday's Foundation meeting, we started talking movies. When we began watching trailers on YouTube, I was pretty sure we were avoiding working. Now I'm knee deep in event pages for the website. Heeeeellllp...

* And on a serious note... We've been to Haiti a couple of times. I am very sad to see all the devastation.

Today, many important things became unimportant.
- Tweet from a Haitian resident on Tuesday

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Making My Escape

Was daydreaming in the shower and came *thisclose* to putting a handful of shaving cream into my hair. Wow.

I have not been out of the house for two days other than to go to HEB. Not only does that mean I am Vitamin D deficient, but also that I have nothing much to say here today. You'd think I would have some insightful commentary on world events, but when Lauren was awake, we were watching ABC Family shows. Did you know little Ruthie from "Seventh Heaven" is about to start a role as the school slut on "Secret Life of the American Teenager?"

This morning I am at the library. Thank goodness.

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Politics As Usual

Reaction to Senator Reid's comments is 100% split along party lines. Think for yourselves, you party-owned robots. Is there one Democrat who has the guts to stand up and say he crossed a line? Any Republican who will say all this fuss is silly? Yeah, not out loud anyway. How sad.

But we have bigger issues, folks.
Sarah Palin to appear regularly on Fox News

Good thing I don't watch. Reminds me though, KathyL told me her dad thinks Fox News is "just another liberal media outlet." We got a giggle out of that.

Can someone explain to me why Leno is getting his old timeslot back if his show supposedly sucks so bad that network affiliates are complaining? I am totally missing something there.

I'm making a public plea for chairs. The varsity color guard is in desperate need of wooden chairs, like kitchen table ones, for their winter show. They do not have to be in good repair. Any Austin friends who have a chair (or two) in their garage collecting dust, and would be willing to donate it, please let me know!

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Monday Already?

Saw Daybreakers with the guys last night. It was really good. One of the goriest films I've ever seen, but what an original storyline and very well done. And the quotes! So funny. My favorite: "Life's a bitch and then you don't die."

It's been brought to my attention that I never gave my review of NINE. The visual experience of the film is beyond cool. Simply stunning. Camera angles. Costumes. Color. The choreography is AMAZING. My favorite was Fergie's song, with the sand and chairs. It was the story and the music that weren't very special for me. "Cinema Italiano" is the only good song, and I hear it was newly written for Kate Hudson's character in the movie. So I doubt I would have enjoyed the Broadway musical.

Sunday Stealing: The Current Obsessions Meme

Snack: grape tomatoes

Restaurant: Iron Cactus

Beverage: Gewürztraminer

Decor: transitional with a touch of contemporary

Actor: Bradley Cooper (SURPRISE!)

Actress: Thandie Newton

Movie: Iron Man

TV show: Modern Family

Hobby: sadly, I don't have one right now

Band: Daughtry

Song: "Bad Girlfriend" Theory of a Deadman

Blog: Lifehacker

Quote: "Maybe we should tell that to Rain Man, because he practically bankrupted a casino, and he was a rittard." Alan in The Hangover

Peeve: dangerous drivers

Sport: Football

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Movie Day

Saw Up in the Air with Kath yesterday. It was very good. Kathy travels a whole lot for work, and she was particularly amused at all the travel references. Definitely a sad story in parts, but a lot of laughter in our theater, too. I am pretty certain Vera Farmiga had a body double. Just an observation.

Then last night we went out to dinner with Jeff and Kathy (The Jeffs and Kathys!) and then played games here and watched The Hangover. Gosh that movie cracks me up. And Bradley Cooper is yikes.... ohsohot. Fun night!

Saturday 9: Call Me

1. Who is someone that phones you routinely that you never seem to be up to talk to, but you are not ready to push them out of your life?
Luckily, no one.

2. What is something that affects you deeply, to your core, no matter your mood or what else is going on in your life?
A parent losing a child, through unspeakable circumstances like death or kidnapping, or even just custody battles. Anything that separates the two. I cried through the whole Dateline special on David Goldman and his son who just returned from Brazil. It's so heartbreaking the time they've lost and the division they experienced.

3. Tell us of something that relaxes you and always makes you happy.
Music. :D

4. If you could take the train from anywhere to anywhere, where would 'anywhere' be?
London to Rome.

5. If you could look into the future, how far down the road would you like to see? 10 years? 100 years? A million?
A thousand. I don't want to see my own future. Have you seen "FlashForward?"

6. Did you do your shopping online for this Christmas, how did it go? Did things come in on time? Any significant failures? ...and if you didn't, will you consider trying online shopping sometime this year?
I did some shopping online. It went perfectly!

7. What people or projects are worth your time, money or effort?
Children's charities, education and medical research are typically my main concerns. The majority of my volunteer time right now is spent on a children's foundation and in neighborhood schools. Most of my donation dollars are going to Texas A&M and MD Anderson.

8. Think back when you were in high school. Are you proud of the way you dressed, or do you wish you could go back and change it all?
Change it. Change it. Change it. Rare days I looked uber-cute. Most days I just wore tshirts and jeans. I would love to go back and wear trendy outfits every day. It just wasn't my focus back then, unless we were going out of course!

9. Do any of your friends, family or co-workers know about your blogs? For those that do, did you tell them or have they stumbled upon it by themselves?
Some of them. A few acquaintances know because those friends told them, which is fine. I just want to feel like I can write almost whatever I want to here, and I can't do that if certain people know about it. Not that I don't love some of those people to death, but... you know. Grandma probably doesn't want to read about the back door bunch.

Bonus: Song Lyrics of the Day!

You are my sweetest downfall
I loved you first, I loved you first
Beneath the sheets of paper lies my truth...

"Samson" Regina Spektor

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Blog Stats 2009

Resuming workouts after being sick really bites. Holy muscle-soreness, Batman.

And now... my 2009 blog statistics! I know some of you come in through the back door and avoid the Google Analytics script. *arches eyebrow* You know how I feel about the back door, but if you must... then fine. Is the law after you or something?

Top Talking For Free Blog Traffic Sources: The vast majority of visitors, 61.9%, arrived directly either through a bookmark or by typing the URL. That is pretty good, because I publicize this blog to only very carefully selected people. If you are one of them, please consider yourself special. Next was random Google searches, accounting for 23.9% of visits. 10% came from Blogger via that "show me another random blog" link or Blogger search. About 2% were from emailed links. (Mmmmmmkaaaay.)

Most interesting website referring people to my blog in '09--- ArnelPinedaRocks.com (and he really does rock!)

Most Popular Search Keywords Bringing Visitors:
1. terms including the word "webcam." I have no idea what that's about. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
2. variations of "in high school they called me anal girl."  Very misleading again. This is a quote from the very awesome movie 500 Days of Summer. Don't get excited, Back Door People. I've got my eye on you.
3. terms involving "Facebook" and/or "Mafia Wars." OK, that, I get.

Most interesting search keywords--- "don't marry a german they have monkey feet" (from an episode of Scrubs)

Most Popular Individual Posts: 
1. Webcam Ahoy I promise you there is nothing to see here. Many disappointed visitors to that one, I'm sure.
2. A very old post about a credit card issue I had which started attracting spammers commenting with male enhancement links every day so I deleted it. :)
3. In High School They Called Me Anal Girl Okay, they did. Happy, back door bunch? Get off my back. (Why yes, I am on a roll!)

Most interesting popular post--- Tattoos- Not Just for Whores and Sailors

Countries Sending the Most Visits:
1. USA! USA! USA!
2. Mexico
3. Netherlands. Seriously? *waves*

Most interesting country--- Mauritius. Evidently a beautiful island in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Africa. The only known home of the extinct Dodo bird.

Cities with the Most Visits:
1. Austin
2. Houston
3. Jacksonville, FL

Most interesting city: Fargo, ND. Someone from there read my oh so insightful post on Message Board Drama.

Only 38% of my visitors are using IE, which pleases me immensely. Rock on, my Firefoxy web friends. My guess is 100% of my back door buddies are using Firefox as well. BUT... I'll never know now, will I.

Oh, I can run with this all week.

Have yourselves a great Saturday!! I finally get to see Clooney's film today at the Drafthouse with K.

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Great Game!

It wasn't that I was rooting against t.u. last night. See, I wouldn't give a crap at all, other than I am a college football fan and it's the national championship; therefore, I had to watch. So then, between the two teams, I had to root for 'Bama. See? It's all logic. Nothing personal.

That being said, I really enjoyed the game. Oh. Yes.

Now, I did feel very sorry for Garrett Gilbert, especially throughout the first half and right before halftime. No one has ever had such pressure on them, and he was majorly sucking. He did end up pulling it together for a bit and brought the team within 3 points, which is amazing. Yay Gilbert!!

I laughed out loud when Musberger said that McCoy had BEGGED to play the rest of the game. You know Colt and his dad were in that locker room threatening a lawsuit if they even suggested he step onto that field. I know he was disappointed as all get-out, but begging to play with an injury before his NFL career begins? Doubtful.

During halftime, Tonya and I were quipping on our Facebook statuses about football analyst Lee Corso being drunk. His opening line was a rambling something ending with "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!" referring to the botched Gilbert shuttle pass. We were totally amused. When the weirdo fan ran onto the field, Tonya said "Is that Corso running onto the field?" LOL. Then Pedro commented that Corso is recovering from a stroke. I thought he was just harassing me, but... no. Yeah, there's just no enjoyment in making fun of a 73-year-old stroke victim. Sorry, Mr. Corso. :)

So it's Friday. Whoop! One of our security system keypad buttons is worn out. (Don't use a number twice in your code. That's all I'm saying.) A nice thing remodeling does for you is to make all home repairs seem cheap. $200 for a new system box and keypad, INSTALLED? Psshh. I'll take TWO!

Song Lyrics du Jour

I'm not here for your entertainment
You don't really wanna mess with me tonight
Just stop and take a second
I was fine before you walked into my life
'Cause you know it's over before it began
Keep your drink, just give me the money
It's just you and your hand tonight

Classic chick song. "U and UR Hand" by P!nk

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Roll Tide

Sorry t.u. friends... and Lauren ;)... Hopefully Texas will play like they've played the past few games and bite it tonight. That would make my week. Although... my mother was "mostly" from Alabama, so I can legitimately claim a very flimsy tie to UA. Roll Tide!!!!!!!!

Laura made me a very fancy decoupage wall hanging from my Daughtry photos for Christmas. (We hadn't seen each other since before then, can you believe that?)  I am SO blown away by it! She did an amazing job. What a fabulous memento of the experience. It is going on my "wall of celebrity meetings" in my office, with the Bob Schneider baseball cap and all the other stuff.

She gave it to me while her class was working on something. They were very curious about it, so I showed them. Laura said, "She met Daughtry!"

They were all, "Daughtry?"

So I said, "Chris Daughtry from American Idol!"

Magic words for 8-year-olds: American Idol. Were they ever impressed with that!

"CHRIS Daughtry???!!!"

OMG y'all. I found Doug's MySpace page!!!!!!111!!!1!!! And he isn't listed as Doug Williams either. He has a code name. Fortunately, I have well-honed sleuthing skills from searching for him for years online. I totally recognized him from his profile. Okay, he hasn't logged in since June of 2006. Still. I sent him a message there. And now we wait.

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Doooon't Forget Me When I'm Gooooone

...my heart would breeeeeeeak...  Remember when I was going to try and appropriately title every post with a song title? HA. Well you get the occasional one. May this Glass Tiger classic stick in your head all morning, as I am certain it will in mine.

I am a committee chair for the most enormous Foundation event ever held, which is coming up in May. I was appointed back in September, and we haven't started meeting yet, so I had forgotten about it. Completely. In a moment of panic, I just checked to make sure I had the event on my calendar. I didn't. Luckily that night is open. I'm telling you, these days if things don't go on my calendar or one of my lists, they are put right out of my head.

Like for instance... An officer of the law approached me while I was filling the car with gas yesterday, to inform me that my inspection sticker expired in November. Oops. He gave me a verbal warning so I could avoid the hassle and expense of the ticket. So nice! When I got back in the car, Lauren was just pleased as punch that she wasn't driving at the time. LOL. Then I had to suffer through the long lines of others who are late on their stickers, getting them on the 5th of the month. Put it on your calendars, people. :D

Are any of you familiar with Eddie Cibrian?

Evidently he is on one of the NCIS shows. He's no Clooney in the personality department, but he is nice to look at.

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Adventures in Grocery Shopping

So I ventured into the world and went to the grocery store yesterday. I am happy to report that I felt fine, other than choosing a rogue shopping cart that pulled to the left the whole time.

I do enjoy grocery shopping over holidays when the people who don't usually do the shopping (mostly guys) are there, wandering around like kids in a candy store. They pick up random sweets or interesting alcoholic beverages and say "Ooh! Let's get this!" Their eyes widen when they see that huge vat of bacon dip at the deli. If they are there alone (poor souls), they are desperately searching for something like vanilla or a particular cereal, and we regular shoppers can help them out.

And the couples shopping! So cute! Jeff and I shopped together. It takes longer, but it's fun.

I dreamed last night that I started a mothers' club for empty nesters. Rather than being a club where we talk about our babies and toddlers/preschoolers, it was one where we planned road trips and parties and like every night was Moms' Night Out. Hmm!

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Step. Away. From the TV.

I was laughing at The Simpsons late last night when the police chief said of women, "Why are all the pretty ones insane?" Ahaha. He sounds like my brother-in-law.

Also in television news from the House of Flu, we were just talking about the Sonic commercials and how we haven't seen our favorite pair, TJ and Pete, in a while. Well they are back. And hilarious as ever.



I have to be functional today. Lots going on this last vacation day before Lauren goes back to school tomorrow! I need coffee. Lots of it...

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What If

So yesterday was that first day after being sick that I did my hair, put on makeup to disguise my Nicole-Kidmanesque pallor, got dressed and went out briefly. As is typical for this stage, I felt terrible afterward, put my jammies back on and climbed into bed again. Hopefully today will be better.

Sunday Stealing: The "What If" Meme

1. You can press a button that will make any one person explode. Who would you blow up?
Kelly Bensimon from "Real Housewives of New York"

2. You can flip a switch that will wipe any band or musical artist out of existence. Which one will it be?
Kanye West

3. Who would you really like to just punch in the face?
This is a really negative-energy sort of survey, ain't it? I'd say... Octomom. Although she would probably kick my ass.

4. What is your favorite cheese?
smoked havarti

5. You can only have one kind of sandwich. Every sandwich ingredient known to humankind is at your immediate disposal. What kind will you make?
A traditional Reuben.

6. You have the opportunity to sleep with the movie celebrity of your choice. We are talking no-strings-attached sex and it can only happen once. Who is the lucky celebrity of your choice?
George Clooney.

7. You have the opportunity to sleep with the music celebrity of your choice. Who do you pick?
Harry Connick, Jr.

8. Now that you’ve slept with two different people in a row, you seem to be having an excellent day because you just came across a hundred-dollar bill on the sidewalk. How are you gonna spend it?
Take my poor, neglected hubby to Musashino for dinner.

9. You just got a free plane ticket to anywhere. You have to depart right now. Where are you gonna go?
Hawaii!

10. Upon arrival to the aforementioned location, you get off the plane and discover another hundred-dollar bill. Now that you are in the new location, what are you gonna do?
Buy a new swimsuit and head to the beach.

11. An angel appears out of Heaven and offers you a lifetime supply of the alcoholic beverage of your choice. It is…?
Beringer White Zinfandel. I'm thinking practicality here. It goes with most everything.

12. Rufus appears out of nowhere with a time-traveling phone booth. You can go anytime in the PAST. What time are you traveling to and what are you going to do when you get there?
I'm going back to college and having one helluva party with my old pals.

13. You discover a beautiful island upon which you may build your own society. You make the rules. What is the first rule you put into place?
Frivolous lawsuits will be immediately thrown out, and the people who brought them will be punished by some form of public humiliation. (Yeah, we've been talking about this issue. lol)

14. You have been given the opportunity to create the half-hour TV show of your own design. What is it called and what’s the premise?
It's called "Wish Come True" and it's just regular folks chosen to have an experience wish granted--- something like performing at Carnegie Hall or being a policeman for a day. Something they've dreamed of doing but haven't achieved for one reason or another.

15.What is your favorite curse word?
I don't curse much, but when I do, I prefer the F word.

16.One night you wake up because you heard a noise. You turn on the light to find that you are surrounded by MUMMIES. The mummies aren’t really doing anything, they’re just standing around your bed. What do you do?
Start screaming and squeeze into the smallest space I can at the center of the bed.

17. Your house is on fire! You have just enough time to run in there and grab ONE inanimate object. Don’t worry, your loved ones and pets have already made it out safely. So what’s the item?
My purse. I'm very practical about these things. Remember the zinfandel?

18. The Angel of Death has descended upon you. Fortunately, the Angel of Death is pretty cool and in a good mood, and it offers you a half-hour to do whatever you want before you bite it. Whatcha gonna do in that half-hour?
hang out at the beach with Jeff and Lauren

19. You accidentally eat some radioactive vegetables. They were good, and what’s even cooler is that they endow you with the super-power of your choice! What’s it gonna be?
definitely reading people's minds

20. You can re-live any point of time in your life. The time-span can only be a half-hour, though. What half-hour of your past would you like to experience again?
There are so many! I think any time when Lauren was 2-4 years old and just the two of us were chatting would be really fun right now.

21. You can erase any horrible experience from your past. What will it be?
The Hodgkins diagnosis. That in-turn would eliminate the second cancer diagnosis... and countless other horrible experiences.

22. You got kicked out of the country for being a time-traveling heathen who sleeps with celebrities and has super-powers. But… you can move to anywhere else in the world! Bitchin’! What country are you going to live in now?
Germany

23. You have been eternally banned from every single bar in the world except for ONE. Which one is it gonna be?
The Dixie Chicken in College Station

24. Suddenly, you have gained the ability to FLOAT!!! Whose house are you going to float to first, and be like “Dude, check it out…I can FLOAT!”?
Cathy's

25. The constant absorption of magical moonbeams mixed with the radioactive vegetables you consumed earlier has given you the ability to resurrect the dead famous-person of your choice. So which celebrity will you bring back to life?
Peter Jennings

26. The Celestial Gates of Beyond have opened, much to your surprise because you didn’t think such a thing existed. Death appears. As it turns out, Death is actually a pretty cool entity, and happens to be in a fantastic mood. Death offers to return the friend/family-member/person, etc. of your choice to the living world. Who will you bring back?
Mom

27. What’s your theme song?
"Mmmbop" by Hanson :)

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Happy 2010!!

I have been very sick since Tuesday night. Fever, runny nose, watery eyes, sneezing, coughing, major headache sick. To add to the misery, I got a zit for the first time in at least ten years. WTH.

Onward ho. I emerged from sickness to find it is 2010. Happy New Year! And I see from zoning in and out of countless hours of crappy television, it is "twenty ten" rather than "two thousand ten." Saves a syllable. Got it.

I somehow managed to watch ten complete hours of the last season of "The Next Iron Chef" yesterday. I had missed the original airing. I was going for Chef Jose Garces the entire time. And in the end- he won! I was so happy for him!! Garces was the best personality and I loved his dishes. As a side note, I may have a teeny weeny crush on Iron Chef Michael Symon.

Speaking of "Iron Chef America," the big contest between Batali/Legasse and Flay/Comerford (Cristeta Comerford is the White House Executive Chef) is Sunday night. Michelle Obama is the special guest. In the ad for the show, they keep saying "The secret ingredient is of national importance." And if anyone is in the room to hear, I say, "Tonight's secret ingredient..... BALD EAGLE!!"

Thank you, folks. I'm here all week.

I have officially made it through the holiday eating season still fitting into my tight jeans. Could one ask for any more than that? I think no.

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