Good Evening Sir/Madame

How much do I like the new Netflix commercial? A lot.



"...To me, I am perfect." Ahaha!

A girl hit Crystal's car at her apartment over a week ago and left a note that began "Good evening Sir/Madame..." It had a phone number and asked her to text so she could give her insurance information. They arranged to meet at Crystal's apartment, but then the girl never showed and never answered Crystal's texts. Then the girl randomly texted her on Thursday and asked her to meet for dinner at a tapas restaurant.

We decided that between the "Sir/Madame" and the dinner invitation, the girl was either a little weird, a creepy stalker... or just foreign. Ahaha. C was pretty concerned about the weird/stalkery possibilities, because this chick knows where she lives.

Yesterday they finally met at the apartment, as originally planned. Afterwards, I got a text from Crystal:

"She is from Spain."

Whew!! ;)

We saw 22 Jump Street yesterday. It's nowhere near as funny as the first one, but it's okay. If you have watched the entire movie, be sure to stay until the very, very end for a funny scene!


Sunday Stealing: 90, Part III

61. Do you like current pop stars?
Always.

62. What is your least favorite chore?
Cooking

63. Last place you drove your car? 
Ashley Furniture Store on Friday night. Lauren found a couch on sale.

64. Ever been out of the country? 
Many times. Germany (x2), England, Mexico (many times), Canada, Jamaica (a few times), all sorts of islands in the Bahamas and Caribbean...

65. Where were you the last time you used a public bathroom? 
the horrible theater at Barton Creek Mall last night

66. Could you handle being in the military? 
Nope. A heartfelt thank you to all who serve.

67. What is your average cell phone bill? 
I think we pay around $100 for all three of us.

68. Who or what are you thinking about right now? 
Lauren's upcoming move- just a few things left to set up before move-in day.

69. When was the last time you laughed REALLY hard?
We were in Jeff's car one night this week, debating the origin of the sound of flatulence. I almost peed my pants. Seriously.

70. How many pairs of shoes do you own? 
15? I don't know.

71. Are your toes always painted? 
Between March and November, yes. During winter, I try to take a nail polish break, but I sometimes still paint them then.

72. How many piercings do you have? 
Two- both ears.

73. What are you doing today?
Not sure. I don't have any plans yet.

74. Have you ever been gambling? 
I'm not into it, but I've gambled three times. I went to Vegas the first time and didn't gamble a dime. The second time, I played video poker for about 1-2 hours a day. Jeff and I have hit the casino on cruises twice. The first time, we came out $50 ahead. The second time, we probably lost $60.

75. When is the last time you updated your blog? 
Wednesday

76. Do you like roller coasters?
Yes!

77. Have you ever been to Disneyland or World? 
I have been to Disney World in Florida twice- once with Jeff for our first anniversary and again as a family with Chris-n-Alicia when Lauren was 5 and Sam was 2.

78. Do you have a favorite cartoon character? 
Bugs Bunny is my all-time favorite. Love his sarcasm and personality.

79. Last thing you cooked? 
Steak and Snow Peas stir-fry

80. How's the weather? 
Beautiful, just a tad warm.

81. Do you e-mail more than snail mail? 
I haven't snail mailed a written message to anyone in years.

82. What's the funniest picture you ever took with your cell phone?
Yeesh, I have no idea, but of the ones I've taken recently... it's Kiptyn in a box.

83. Last time you were sick? 
A long time ago. I don't remember the last time I was sick.

84. What states have you lived in? 
Texas and Kansas

85. Do you wish you could move? 
Not yet. I want to move to a one-story at some point.

86. Do you take a lot of quizzes? 
Yes. I take a lot and read other people's.

87. What is your dream car? 
BMW Z4

88. Have you ever wanted someone you can't have? 
Haven't we all.

89. If you could be anywhere right now where would it be? 
at the beach

90. Are you happy with your life?
At the moment, not particularly. There are a few things that are great, but more things that are sucking like a giant sucking thing. Just the ebb and flow of things, I think. Still working on it! :)

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Moooovin'

Our company is moving!!

As you can tell from the exclamation points, we're moving WAY CLOSER to my house. Waaaay closer.

My commute will go from 30 minutes to about 10. Tops! Whee!

We get to keep offices, too. No cubicles. We keep a parking garage, so no sun damage to our cars and no uberhot cars at 5pm. We gain a covered walkway from garage to building, so no raining on us anymore. It's surrounded by nature, with lots of trails around it, so we can take walks on something other than asphalt. (There are walks in nature by our current site, but also, there are cliffs. So yeah.)

Most of us are super-psyched. The few people who live in north Austin, not so much.

Anyhoo... Ari has a friend who is vacationing at the World Cup! Supercool! In case you were wondering if you could get it on with any soccer stars while you're vacationing in Brazil, here's The Complete Guide to World Cup Sex Rules.

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Happy Fathers Day!

Happy Fathers Day to Jeff, Gene, my Grandpa and all the other dads out there! And to my awesome dad, who is no doubt enjoying a cocktail, singing at the piano with his pals and taking my mom (and all the other ladies) for a twirl on the dance floor in some great club in the sky. I miss you, Dad!


Sunday Stealing: 90 Part II

30. Do you read your horoscope? 
No

31. Where was the last place you bought something? 
I bought groceries at HEB on Thursday night.

32. How do you feel about your hair right now? 
Kristen Taekman styles her very basic shoulder-length bob in a hundred different ways, so I lament the fact that my very similar haircut always looks the same from day to day. I need to learn how to do all those styles with mine!

33. Do you bite your nails? 
No

34. Do you have any expensive jewelry? 
Just a few pieces. Everything else is fashion jewelry.

35. Have you ever been told you speak fast? 
No

36. Is your laugh usually hearty? 
Yes

37. How fast have you driven a car? 
about 90 mph

38. Have you ever smoked? 
I smoked literally a few cigarettes in high school, during a stint where John and I were hanging out with the community theater crowd, while he was in a show. Everyone smoked at the afterparties and I picked up one now and then to have it in my hand. I probably inhaled once.

39. What was your favorite subject in school? 
Biology

40. Do you have cell phone provider loyalty? 
Nah. We've always had AT&T though.

41. What type of boy or girl do you usually fall for? 
funny & exceptionally smart boys

42. Do you have any hidden talents?
Most people don't know that I write song parodies.

43. Favorite Song? 
Right now I have two: Ed Sheeran "Sing" and OneRepublic "Love Runs Out"

44. Do you like to sing at all? 
LOVE it.

45. Dream Job? 
Interior Designer

46. Where does most of your family live? 
They're very spread out, but most live in Texas- Dallas, Houston and Jasper. I also have close family in Denver, Chicago, Gulf Shores... and Germany!

47. Are you an only child or do you have siblings? 
Only child. I have a distant half-brother to whom I was introduced as an adult.

48. Would you consider yourself to be spoiled? 
Nope

49. What was the first thing you thought when you woke up?
My in-laws will be here for lunch, so I thought about what needs to be done in preparation for that.

50. Do you drink? 
Yep. 

51. Know any other languages? 
No, although I wish I spoke fluent German.

52. Ever write a coded message? 
Yes. I was into cryptography in middle school and did an award-winning science fair project about codes and ciphers in 8th grade. (THAT is the project I went to regionals with? It couldn't be garage nuclear fission or any of the others? Hee.)

53. Have you ever been in someone else's wedding? 
KathyL's in Nashville- superfun!

54. Do you have any children? 
Lauren :)

55. Did you take a nap today?
not yet, but the day is young

56. Who has the same birthday as you? 
my next-door-neighbor Matt!

57. Ever met anyone famous before? 
Many people. A few standouts:  John Taylor, John Schneider, Chris Daughtry, Joey Fatone

58. Do you want to be famous one day? 
Nope

59. Any Pet Peeves? 
People who park their shopping cart in the middle of the grocery store aisle. :)

60. Are you multitasking right now?
Yes, I'm watching Million Dollar Listing while I write. And this just happened. I may have teared up. Good job, Ryan!

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Stormy Weather

...Since my man and I ain't together
Keeps rainin' all the time...

There's a tornado-y thunderstorm headed our direction right now. It should be in the area just about the time Jeff lands at Bergstrom. Lovely. (I still want to call that place Bergstrom AFB.)

So I'll lose satellite about an hour before that and I'll have to follow the radar on my Macbook. Looks like I'll be up late. TGIF tomorrow!

xkcd :)

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Sunday Stealing

90, Part I

1. What was the highlight of your week?
our impromptu Wednesday dessert at Scott-n-Julie's

2. Whose car were you in last? 
Jeff's

3. When is the next time you will kiss someone? 
tonight

4. What color shirt are you wearing? 
I'm wearing a blue sundress.

5. How long is your hair? 
exactly shoulder-length

6. Are you good looking?
Nah. I'm pretty average looking.

7. Last movie you watched? 
The Fault in Our Stars

8. Who were you with? 
Jeff and Lauren

9. Last thing you ate? 
barbecue ranch salad

10. Last thing you drank? 
iced tea

11. When was the last time you had your heart broken? 
January of 1988 when Jeff dumped me

12. Who came over last? 
Scott-n-Julie, briefly on Wednesday night.

13. Are you happy right now? 
Nope. I have a sinus headache.

14. What did you say last? 
"Don't bite your nails, LeBron."

15. Where is your phone? 
At the other end of the couch with the sound off.

16. What color are your eyes?
green

17. Are you left-handed? 
nope

18. Spell your name without vowels:
Kthrn

19. Do you have any pets? 
2 cats- Kiptyn and Maya

20. Favorite Vacation? 
Hawaii

21. What do you dislike currently?
weather patterns that bring on sinus headaches

22. What are you listening to? 
Spurs vs. Heat game

23. If you could have one thing right now what would it be? 
an extra day tacked onto the weekend

24. What is your favorite scent? 
ocean breeze

25. Who makes you happiest? 
the fam

26. What were you doing at midnight last night? 
sleeping

27. When is your birthday? 
April 2

28. Who has the same phone as you? 
Lauren, Jeff, MelissaQ, Jen, Kathy, JasonP...  a whole bunch of people!

29. Last time you went swimming in a pool? 
Last summer.

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Sunrise Saturday

I'm UP at 5:15 a.m. on Saturday. (Gah. Really?) So I'm watching Nate Berkus, and this amusing exchange just happened... 23-year-old Kathy is moving back home after college and her childhood bedroom needs a makeover. Nate wants to replace the flooring and asked what her parents are going to do with the room when she eventually moves out.

Kathy: I don't know. They haven't done anything with my brother's room and he moved out a few years ago.
Nate: What are their names?
Kathy: Jim and Brian.
Nate: Jim and Brian?
Kathy: Yes.
Nate (to the camera): Well, Jim and Brian, when you eventually redo this room...
Kathy: No, those are my BROTHERS.
Nate (as the audience is laughing): Hey, this is a judgement free zone. That's why I asked twice! And I'm the last person who should be questioning! What are your PARENTS' names?
Kathy (blushing): Chuck and Sally.

Too funny!

Speaking of moving out, Lauren is moving up north (to north Austin, not Montana) in a few weeks. Today we're hitting IKEA for her living room furniture. Why is it so much fun to walk around there?! The only thing that makes me crazy is when people are walking the wrong direction. If you need to go back to see something, just finish the path, exit the store and come back into the entrance again. It sounds like a pain, but returning backwards down the IKEA path is like fighting a salmon run.

When I have some time to get bedroom furniture and decor, I'll set up her empty bedroom as her "bedroom at home." (For now, we have a guest bedroom for her to stay when she's here.) And I'll just continue to use the "video game room" as a workout space, I think. She's taking back her desk, which I've been using as my desk, so I'll need to do a little rearranging in the office space upstairs.

We gave her some money to decorate her living room and kitchen, so she's enjoying picking out colors, etc. IKEA is a great place to get that sort of stuff, too. Especially large art for a college student budget!

Saturday 9: Walk This Way
If you're not familiar with today's song, you can hear it here.

1) This song is about a young man who takes advantage of his "big chance at a high school dance." Share a memory from your high school years.
Interesting- I think I went to every single high school dance we had while I was there, but I remember very little about the details of any of them! A high school memory- the day Grant and I recorded a song we wrote in his home studio. I had written the lyrics and he had composed the music. He played keyboards and I did the vocal track. The whole process was too cool! I still need to figure out how to get that recording from cassette to MP3.

2) Lead singer Steven Tyler is the son of a working mother (mom Susan was a secretary). Did your mother work outside the home?
My mom didn't work until I was in 6th grade. Then she got a part-time job at a print shop. When I was in high school, she took a position at IBM in their mapping division and worked there the rest of her career. She was also the accountant for our neighborhood homeowners association for many, many years.

3) Onstage, Tyler takes colorful scarves from around his neck and drapes them over the microphone. Do you accessorize your outfits with scarves and belts? Or do you prefer to keep things simple?
I keep things simple, typically, although this winter I wore some scarves.

4) Tyler confessed to having a massive crush on Jennifer Lopez, his fellow judge on American Idol. Do you think a coworker has ever had a crush on you?
Well, C called me her "girl crush" yesterday! Bwahaha!

5) Aerosmith lead guitarist Joe Perry says seeing The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964 inspired him to go into music. How did you end up in your chosen profession?
Completely by accident. I took a job in clinical research to just give me something to do while I wrote my engineering Master's thesis. I loved the job so much and felt such a sense of accomplishment in contributing to the improvement of people's health and well-being, that I ditched the thesis and stuck with pharmaceuticals.

6) Perry's hobby, breeding horses, is very lucrative. What are your hobbies?
I like hiking and writing. I've also run my own website for 14 years.

7) Aerosmith performed before their biggest-ever TV audience when they played the Super Bowl halftime show in 2001. Are you a football fan? If so, do you prefer college football or the NFL? What teams do you root for?
I was a crazy Houston Oilers fan as a kid. Once I hit college, I became a college football fan and lost touch with pro football. I enjoy watching an NFL game, but I don't keep up with what's going on. I watch a lot of college football and we have Texas A&M season tickets!

8) Now that we're into summer, the days are longer. When is the last time you watched the sun set?
It's been a while!

9) What time did you go to sleep last night? 
11:00

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TGIF

I had a face-to-face meeting with my clients from California this week. When we were wrapping things up, their team was discussing returning in mid-August for another meeting.

VP: Are you sure you want to come to Austin in August? It's very hot then.
Statistician (a Brit): Oh, wait. What am I thinking? I'm European! I'll be taking the entire month of August off.

Hee. 'Twould be so nice!

Jennifer bought some Jergens Natural Glow Moisturizer the other day. (I use that stuff every summer to have a less-than-ghostly skin color.) Well, she thought it was just lotion that had shimmer in it to make you look glowy. So she rubbed it all over her hands and lower arms and didn't wash her hands.

Yeah. She got Oompa Loompa palms.

Now she's got the application down to an art though! My tip for self tanner is not to put a lot around your toes or the sides of your feet. Just smoosh a medium amount onto the top of your foot and feather it out lightly onto your toes and down the sides. Rub it in really well. That way it doesn't get too dark or develop any weird lines.

Friday 5: Sammy

1. A breakfast sandwich is typically made with some kind of bread with egg, cheese, and some kind of breakfast meat. What’s the best variation on this theme you’ve tried, or what variation would you like to try?
I prefer an English muffin with ham, cheddar and egg.

2. A sandwich cookie is typically made with two thin cookies with some kind of sweet, creamy filling. What’s the best variation on this theme you have tried, or what variation would you like to try?
Gotta go with chocolate cookies and vanilla filling. Traditional, but the best.

3. A melt sandwich (such as a tuna melt) is typically some kind of bread with some kind of filling plus some kind of cheese, grilled or fried until the cheese is melted. What’s the best variation on this sandwich you’ve tried, or what variation would you like to try?
Patty melt- hamburger on sourdough

4. If all you do is smear some peanut butter and jelly between two slices of bread, you have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. What do you do in order to make yours just a little better?
I sometimes like PB&J rolled in a flour tortilla.

5. What are your thoughts on sprouts in a sandwich?
Sprouts are good!

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I Don't Know Any Whores

Many of my conversations with Crystal begin with her appearing in the doorway of my office and saying something completely and delightfully random like...

"I don't know any whores, but..."

LMAO

Well, I actually intended to write today about my deep thoughts on this prisoner trade deal our government made with the Taliban, but I don't want people searching for current news and coming all the way here just to find this goofy blog.

And it's also probably best I keep my mouth shut.

:D

One question: Why on earth has this become yet another Conservative vs. Liberal issue? Political lemmings are so draining. Does anyone have a personal opinion not based on what their political party is feeding them via their liberal or conservative "news" sources? Our opinions should come from our hearts and our personal experiences, and our opinions should flow upwards to our political representatives, not the other way around.

Anyway, on a good note, my yearly cancer checkup went well a few weeks ago, then I had my mammogram last week. I just heard from my doc this afternoon that everything looks good!

Whee! Happy Wednesday!!

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