I'm About to Ruin Your Favorite Cookie Snack

This week, the DM gals had a very in-depth (pardon the pun) conversation about anal bleaching. It was absolutely hilarious, and I wish I could share every detail here, but unfortunately this is a rated PG blog. I do have to post this one priceless moment though, for posterity--

Me: ...You'd have to frequently participate in activities where someone is up close and personal with that area to put in that level of effort.
Jen: Well, that wouldn't be me. It makes me uncomfortable just to watch the commercials for those Hershey's things, where you dip the cookie sticks into chocolate.

I love her.


Sunday Stealing: I’ll spread my wings and I’ll learn how to fly Meme

1. Have you ever had a pen pal?
We did pen pals in elementary school with kids at a sister school in some far away state.

2. What’s your favorite breed of dog?
cocker spaniel

3. Can money buy happiness?
No, but there is a minimum of stress in having at least a safe place to live with a roof over your head and food on the table.

4. Do you listen to music when you’re down?
Definitely. Sometimes upbeat music to raise my spirits and other times sad music to really punch the feeling home. :)

5. What is one thing you spend way too much money on?
I wouldn't say we spend "too much" money on it, but we spend quite a bit of money on eating out, because I hate to cook and most of the time, it's the last thing I want to do.

6. Can you honestly say you’re okay right now?
At the moment? Yes. :)

7. What was the last thing you spent money on?
Other than dinner at Flores last night (ha!)... we made a trip to Sam's and bought granola bars and juice.

8. Is your current hair color mostly your natural hair color?
It's only my natural hair color.

9. Who have you texted in the last 24 hours?
Absolutely no one. I'm off the grid, yo.

10. Were you in a good mood last night?
Yes.

11. Do you have a reason to smile right now?
Yes, I am thankful for our great friends and that Lauren's pain is improved this week with new meds.

12. How often do you hold back what you want to say?
More than I should.

13. Do you think that in the end, everything will fall into place?
Yes

14. Are you currently looking forward to anything?
Aggie Night at the Round Rock Express game next weekend.

15. Do you have any TV shows on DVD?
Just Impractical Jokers and Square Pegs. We don't own many DVDs.

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Xanadu, Your Neon Lights Will Shine

Paul and Lori went to a party last night at the skating rink we frequented in middle school and posted a photo on Facebook. Holy wow!! What a flashback! So great.

I hope to see Trainwreck at some point this weekend. I can't wait for Vacation next week. Have you seen the red band trailer for Vacation yet?? Google now and view and laugh your butt right off.


Saturday 9: All the Way (1957)
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) In this song, Frank sings, "who knows where the road will lead us?" Which leads Sam to ask, does your vehicle have GPS?
No, but I do use a separate GPS.

2) Sinatra introduced "All the Way" in the movie, The Joker Is Wild. During that film he also sang "Chicago (That Toddlin' Town)." A few years later, in the movie Robin and The Seven Hoods, he declared Chicago as his "kind of town." Besides Chicago, can you think of another city Frank immortalized in song?
San Francisco

3) When Frank was 19, he saw a pretty girl sitting on her front porch, giving herself a manicure. He went and got his ukelele and serenaded her. That girl became his first wife, Nancy. Tell us how one of your romances began. 
My friend and I started talking to the guys who sat in front of us in Physics my sophomore year of college. Jeff was one of those guys. At the end of the semester, he invited me to study with him for finals. After winter break, he asked me out on a real date, to the Baylor basketball game.

4) Both Frank and Nancy grew up in New Jersey. When you think of NJ, what else comes to mind?
My mom lived there for a year or two when she was a teenager and her dad was stationed at Picatinny Arsenal. She liked it and thought it was pretty, so I think about her being in middle school there in the 50's, in saddle shoes and a poodle skirt.

5) Sinatra made Las Vegas as famous for entertainment as for gambling. He was so identified with the Strip, that when he played Caesar's Palace the marquee simply said, "He's Here." Have you ever been to Vegas? 
Once with a large group of girls and another time with my aunt and her BFF. I LOVE Vegas.

6) Thin for most of his life, Frank was blessed with a metabolism that allowed him to whatever he wanted without gaining weight. He especially enjoyed clams posillipo. What's your favorite Italian dish?
Simple pasta with a good meat sauce. Mandola's has my favorite meat sauce of all time.

7) Perhaps because of his hardscrabble childhood, Sinatra was a soft touch for charities devoted to kids. One of his favorites was Variety, which sends disadvantaged children on day trips to museums, zoos and sporting events. Here's your chance to tell us about a cause that's near and dear to your heart.
MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. They help countless people every single day, through patient treatment and programs, life-saving research and student/professional oncology training.

8) Sinatra was a neat freak who couldn't stand dust or clutter and showered at least twice a day. He got this from his mother Dolly, who was compulsive about housecleaning and hygiene. Can you think of a time when you caught yourself doing something and thought, "I'm just like Mom/Dad!"
I think I'm just like my mom when I laugh, when I write lists, or when I bestow some valuable and insightful life observations on Lauren (rare, but it happens now and then!). I've also recently started twisting my hair around my finger on occasion, which freaks me out. Why would that behavior be genetic? Ha! I'm just like my dad when I am appreciating simple things, like a sunset or being with friends, or when I'm the one to say something positive and optimistic in the face of a shitstorm.

9) In 1998, Sinatra was buried with the things he always had in tow: a bottle of Jack Daniels, a pack of Camels, a Zippo lighter and 10 dimes. Why the dimes? According to his daughter, "He never wanted to be caught not able to make a call." Of course, 17 years later cell phones have replaced pay phones. Anyway, tell us what you always carry.
fingernail clippers (useful for all sorts of things), migraine meds (you do NOT want to get a migraine without meds on hand), Burts Bees regular lip balm (the best)

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Magic Mike XXL

Jen, Mel, Kyra, Crystal and I saw Magic Mike XXL last night. The movie was thin on plot. I mean, reeeeeally thin. But the dancing--

OH. MY.

If you missed the trailer, here's a sampling of the dancing.



Here's the teaser trailer again, too. Cuz... WOW.



The convenience store scene was SO funny and incredibly hot. We were dying the whole time. (Joe's my fave, so... bonus!) Joe's and Channing's performances at the end were the other two most magnificent moments of the movie, but all the dancing was amazing! Very very entertaining.

It will be more fabulous on DVD, when we can fast forward through all the talking parts.


Sunday Stealing: Let's Not Be Difficult Meme

1. Do you like your movies and books to be more lighthearted or serious? 
I love both types.

2. What’s more important, first impressions or lasting impact? 
Lasting impact, but poor first impressions are difficult to overcome.

3. Order these areas of psychological health from what you need the least improvement into what you need the most improvement in: physical, emotional, social, intellectual, environmental, spiritual?
Intellectual, Spiritual, Emotional, Physical, Environmental

4. Do you react appropriately to things and control your feelings? 
I react to things appropriately and control my feelings most of the time. I've certainly had some moments though. (One recently!) :)

5. Do you have stable relationships? 
Yep.

6. Do you need to be in a relationship to feel good about yourself? 
No.

7. Which is the clearest and most concise, your thoughts, your speech or your writing? Which is the least clear and concise? 
Most clear and concise- writing. Least clear and concise- my thoughts. I contemplate things more than I need to.

8. Are you always trying to learn new things?
Not necessarily. I'm more often trying to improve my knowledge of things I already know. I love an opportunity to learn something new, if it sounds interesting.

9. Do you feel at peace? 
Currently- no. Life is complicated, although FAR less chaotic than it was up to about a month ago!

10. Do you have strong morals and ethics that you believe in and adhere to? 
Of course.

11. Do you think of the needs of all humanity or just the needs of yourself and those you know? 
I do think about the needs of all humanity. Of course, unless we get into some sort of "Falling Skies" scenario, the needs of the people I know and love come first.

12. Do you recycle? 
Yes

13. Are you active in your community?
I haven't been lately, but I used to be.

14. Are you sensitive to the needs of others? 
Yep

15. Do you dress up to go out? 
Not often. I like to, now and then, but I prefer to be casual. Not workout-wear casual, but jeans casual.

16. What could make you lose respect for someone? 
The last time I lost respect for someone was when a coworker told me he "enjoys" and "gets a sense of satisfaction" whenever he gets the chance to berate a vendor.

17. If you won $1,000 every week until you die, would you still go to work?
No, I would volunteer for charity part-time.

18. What trend has been getting on your nerves lately?
People saying "No worries." I wasn't actually worried, but thanks.

19. Do you forgive yourself when you make a mistake?
Unless it's a minor mistake that doesn't affect anyone in a substantial way, I'm not quick to forgive myself.

20. Is ignorance really bliss? 
Sometimes.

21. What can be described as ‘even better than the real thing’? 
Nothing is better than the real thing.

22. What’s in your wallet right now?
the regular stuff plus a receipt from Waterloo, movie ticket stub and theater receipt from last night

23. Do you write letters that you never send?
I write texts and emails that I never send. I haven't written a letter in a long time.

24. Do you ever get the feeling people are laughing at you? 
No. Why? Have you heard something?

25. Who’s the one person you’d like to drop a house on?
Ahahahahaaa. People who know me know EXACTLY who it would be.

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Beautiful Saturday!

Thanks to Scott-n-Julie for the fun evening last night. I haven't laughed that much in a while! Julie and I won The Card Game, too. Boo-Yah!!

The highlight of the night was when Julie accidentally spit her after-dinner mint into the back seat of Jeff's brand new Acura, where it mysteriously disappeared, and Jeff managed not to have a legit stroke. LOL

We went to visit my high school last week, where my name is on the monument in the center of the courtyard as one of the school's National Merit Scholars and Commended Students (which is sort of crazy, considering how very, very sick I was on the day of the PSAT). The monument is full and I'm wondering if they're going to start chipping out the old names to put the new ones on it. HA! I have photos of it, just in case.

Kathy and I discovered our names on the monument when we visited campus several years ago, and had ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA why our names were there. One of the funniest experiences ever. I had to do some serious investigation to find out what the names were. The monument (a big granite obelisk) was installed while we were in school, but it was just a pretty thing we all took pictures in front of. It's in several of my pics from those years! I don't think there were names on it then, and I'm pretty sure most of the people listed from my year have no idea their names are there. I should really post it in my class group on Facebook.


Saturday 9: Bubbly (2007)
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) Singer Colbie Caillat says this song was inspired by a trip to "the beach and having a wonderful day with a person you like." Have you been to the beach yet this summer?
We have driven on Seawall Blvd. in Galveston, but did not go to the beach.

2) Are you careful about applying sunscreen?
Most of the time.

3) Colbie made her TV debut in a 2009 episode of Saturday Night Live. Are you a big SNL fan?
I'm a fan of the old episodes from the 70s, when I was a kid. I've been a fan of several of the very talented cast members since then, but the writing on the show has been awful for decades. I find the vast majority of SNL sketches to be repetitive and boring.

4) "Bubbly" is often a synonym for champagne. When's the last time you enjoyed a glass of bubbly?
I can't remember. I'm not much of a fan of champagne.

5) Colbie sang the National Anthem at the third game of the Red Sox/Cardinals World Series in 2013. How is your favorite baseball team doing so far this season?
Is it still baseball season? ;)

6) In 2005, Ms. Caillat tried out for Season 4 of American Idol but was eliminated very early in the process, before she could even audition for Simon, Paula and Randy. The winner that year was Carrie Underwood. Are you a Carrie Underwood fan?
Yes!

7) In 2007, when "Bubbly" was popular, actress Yvonne deCarlo died. She was best known as Lily on The Munsters. If you had to choose (and yes, this Saturday you have to), would you rather hang out with Lily Munster or Morticia Addams?
Lily Munster.

8) In 2007, MySpace was faced with a serious challenge from Facebook, and it's obvious which social network won. Did you have a MySpace account? If so, do you still post to it?
I did, but mostly to interact with friends who had accounts, rather than to post a lot to my own page. I do not still post to it. Isn't it a musician site now?

9) Random question: Which have you had longer, your ironing board or your plunger?
Plunger.

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Saturday 9

Saturday 9: Crazy Little Thing Called Love (1980)
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) In this video, Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury is wearing a leather jacket. Do you have a leather jacket?
I've never owned a leather jacket. In high school, I had an awesome leather skirt.

2) There's a statue of Freddie in Switzerland. There's another statue of him above the Dominion Theater in London. Tell us about a statue or memorial in your town. 
Our most famous statue is the Stevie Ray Vaughan statue memorializing the musician at Auditorium Shores. It's just him and his guitar.

3) Mercury said this song was inspired by Elvis Presley. What's your favorite Elvis song?
"Are You Lonesome Tonight"



4) This song was covered by the animated Alvin and the Chipmunks. Do you still watch cartoons?
I watch Archer and Family Guy... and SpongeBob!

5) The members of Queen met while attending Ealing Art College in London. Are you still in touch with the friends you had in your late teens and early 20s?
Yep!

6) During Queen's hey day in the 1980s, Mercury stayed in shape with tennis and swimming. Are you more accomplished on the court or in the pool?
I'm not "accomplished" in either, but I have more hours in the pool.

7) In 1980, when this song was popular, Brooke Shields made a jeans commercial where she said, "Nothing comes between me and Calvins." It actually only aired for a short time because so many viewers called and complained about it. Have you ever called or emailed to protest something you saw on TV?
Nah.

8) 1980 is also the year the Post-It note was introduced. What's the last Post-It you wrote?
I can't remember what it says, but I left myself a note on my computer monitor to do something when I get back to work on Monday. I wonder how long it will take me to get through a week of emails...

9) Random question: Do you blush easily?
I'm not embarrassed easily, but if I am, I will blush for sure.

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Just One Overprivileged White Person's Opinion...

The University of Texas is considering taking down three statues of Confederate heroes on campus. There was a public forum yesterday where folks were able to share their opinions on the issue. The local news chose to air a comment from one black student who said of the white people who were speaking at the meeting, "I don't care what any of these overprivileged white people think... I'm offended (by the statues)."

Why select this hateful young lady's nasty comment, rather than air some thoughtful commentary from anyone else on her side of the discussion? This black racist is no different from any white racist, and I don't want to see her ignorant statement featured on the news, thankyouverymuch.

The media sure do enjoy stirring the pot.

Most of my confusion over Confederate heroes being featured and celebrated across the South relates to the fact that the Confederacy lost the war and ended up staying with the Union. I would have thought that these men would be less and less celebrated by southerners over time and their statues would have come down decades ago. No? It's always been weird to me. Maybe I'm missing something. It wouldn't be the first time. Perhaps they are all celebrated for reasons apart from their Confederate War contributions. Many of them, like Sul Ross (statue of him at A&M), were great leaders in their states after the war.

The Confederate flag isn't a big symbol in Texas, so I'm hardly an expert, but it has never signified slavery to me. I completely understand that many black Americans see it that way though. To most people, as evidenced by it's perpetual presence for 150 years without major issue, it's just a symbol of being a rebel, in a very general sense, like when a girl might say she likes a "bad boy." She doesn't mean she wants to date a serial killer (or some psycho racist who burns down a church). She just wants someone with a devilish twinkle in his eye, who might unexpectedly pop a wheelie on his motorcycle on that stretch of highway between College Station and Huntsville.

(I don't know anything about that, because I'm more of an "Everyone wearing their seatbelts?" sort of gal, but, you know what I mean.)

So if it's hurtful to a large group of Americans, maybe it's time to remove it. And maybe it's just plain old outdated. I don't really have a dog in that fight, so I leave it to the powers that be and the people who care about the flag to figure out. There is an issue though, with everyone being so flipping offended by everything these days. I thought we had finally swung around to a sort of acceptance of each other and our quirks and differences. It seems many individuals are becoming frighteningly intolerant of ideas different from their own, with a little prodding from the media to make a bigger, better story.

And to the owner of the Dukes of Hazzard TV show's General Lee, who is painting over the flag on the roof... The name of the car is the GENERAL LEE. Maybe the bigger socio-political statement would be to get rid of a car completely dedicated to the general. *eye roll*

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Happy Independence Day!

Party with friends tonight and a possible slip-away to see the downtown fireworks. Or maybe we're doing sparklers in the street. It could go either way!

The night before they closed on their house, Crystal had a dream that she and her boyfriend signed the papers and then she suddenly realized that she hated him but was stuck with him for the next 15 years because of the house. When they were moving, she texted me:

The dream is coming true. I hate him.

Ha! Ahhhh, moving day. Good times.


Saturday 9: Hungry (1966)
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) Are you eating anything as you respond to these questions?
Nope

2) Paul Revere and the Raiders performed in Revolutionary garb. Have you ever worked at a job that required you to wear a uniform?
No

3) The "Paul Revere" of Raiders fame was born Paul Revere Dick in Boise, Idaho. What else is Idaho known for?
Boise State University- one of Kimberly's sons goes there!

4) The original Paul Revere was a silversmith by trade, known for making church bells. Can you hear church bells from your home?
No. I can hear the delightful hum of the freeway in the distance.

5) In April, 1775, Paul Revere literally rode into history when he galloped into the night, spreading the word that "the British are coming." Name another Revolutionary War-era hero.
George Washington

6) Historians tell us that Revere's famous "midnight ride" actually took place between 9:00 and 10:00 PM. When is your usual bedtime?
10 pm

7) Earlier this year, officials from Boston's Museum of Fine Arts uncovered a time capsule buried in 1795 by Paul Revere and Gov. Sam Adams. It included coins and newspapers. If you were to bury a time capsule that reflects American life in 2015, what would it include?
cell phone, laptop, Xbox, scented candle, gift cards to Home Depot and the outlet mall, Time and Newsweek, a Chipotle soft drink cup with a great story on it, reusable shopping bags, bottled water

8) Will you attend a fireworks display during the 4th of July weekend?
Depends on how the get-together plays out.

9) What's your preferred way to celebrate Independence Day -- a parade, a picnic, or both?
I liked going to the neighborhood parade when the kids were small, but I'm not a big parade-goer now. Picnics are great if the weather is freakishly cool, but in recent years, we have just been with friends, eating at home or a restaurant on the 4th.

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It's Against My Religion

Cannot believe the governor is allowing judges and clerks to "stand up for their religious beliefs" and simply choose not to provide same sex marriage licenses or perform same sex marriages. Seriously? Just like you have to wear a suit to work, or teach what your school curriculum tells you to teach, or sell Bibles if you work at a Bible store, every job has rules and requirements. We don't get to pick and choose what we do at work. You don't want to do your job? Then get another job.

Gah!

And by the way, we're all very wary of the "it's against my religion" excuse. If you say you personally disagree with the new law, you look like an ass. Use your religion to explain your bigotry, so you can feel morally superior and also be protected by the law. Be sure to pick and choose what you stand up for though. I'll bet these same people haven't ever vehemently refused to give marriage licenses to pregnant brides.

As long as they are marrying men anyway.

In other news... Crystal is GONE from the office. Waaaaaah. Not having her around all day at work is going to seriously suck. Since Tuesday, it just feels like she's on vacation. Once I realize it's forever, I'll be really bummed. Yesterday we celebrated the second person leaving us this week. That's three quitters in three weeks. We're dwindling. Who. Will. Be. Next?

This is the first day of my vacation!!! A whole week. It's been too long since I had time off. Sooo excited!


Friday 5 for July 3: Under

What goes under grape jelly? Jif peanut butter
What goes under your car? just oil change guys
What gets under your skin? people not fulfilling the obligations of their job, and not having the balls to quit because of their "religious convictions"
What’s the underlying cause of your latest figurative headache? someone at work who is driving multiple employees away
What do your underlings generally think of you? that I'm a supportive trainer, available for questions, and that I'm hilarious

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