Wednesday

Got a message from Grant the other day, out of the blue. Just two photos of him, posing with a duck on his shoulder. Grant and I are the kind of old friends who send birthday cards to each other and text or email maybe once a year, so to start a text conversation with random photos, instead of "Hey! Check out my new pet!" was a clue that these photos were probably sent to me inadvertently.

Grant and I chatted a bit, and then I told Jeff about it. Jeff said, "Well at least it wasn't an unsolicited d* pic."

No. It was an unsolicited DUCK PIC.

Bwahahaa.

Jeff and I had margs at Curra's with Doug and his mom last weekend. She is still a firecracker, like she always was! It was fun to see them together again.

In other news, we saw A Star is Born, like a million years ago now, and Lady Gaga is SO talented. Holy moly. I mean, we knew it already, but she is amazing in this film. Bradley Cooper, also fabulous. I hope "Shallow" gets an Oscar nom!

We also saw Green Book, which I loved. Such a relevant movie for these times. It is very raw and real. The honesty is refreshing. And you'll be smiling at the end, which is nice.

Finally did our weekend in Waco with Scott-n-Julie. It was fun fun! We made it to the Waco Mammoth National Monument. It was VERY cool. Learned a lot. They may start digging there again soon.

We went to a museum with a John James Audubon exhibit. We've had great luck getting museum curators and directors telling us stories during our trips, and this one was no different. The lady told us how she accidentally ended up with a very rare print. Ask questions at museums! The real stories are behind the scenes.

Sorry to say, I wasn't very impressed with Magnolia Market. It's just a store, and it is packed to the gills with people, making it impossible to see everything. I would have bought a giant clock, but there is no way I could have fit it into the car was going to stand in that line.

We went to the Spice Village, which I liked a lot. There are a lot of neat things for sale there. Many stores in town have "Magnolia-like" merch that you can buy for less money and hassle than at Magnolia. At one of those stores, I wanted to get a retired red wine barrel for my in-laws' back patio (they're wine people), but wasn't sure how to get it home or to Frisco. Cool item though!

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A Horrifying, Sad and Somewhat Amusing Story of a Lizard

So there was a dead lizard just outside our garage last Monday. It was weird, because I don't think I've ever seen a lizard just dead on the ground, like, ever. If something in nature kills a lizard, it usually eats it (I guess?). I pondered that all week long, while I left the lizard on the ground by the garage door. I never had anything handy to push it into the grass, and I was always on my way somewhere when I opened the garage door, so I just kept leaving it there.

Lauren and I went to a doc appointment on Friday. I told her about the lizard when we got into the car. When we got home, we took a look at it.

It was mostly black, having lost all its green by that point. It was dried out, because the sun had come out for the first time in about 16 years three weeks, and it was sort of flat and leathery. We leaned way over, and I said, "I don't know why I've left it here. It's been dead for five days..." Literally, at that exact moment, it...

SLOWLY. RAISED. ITS. HEAD.

And opened its mouth.

I'm not kidding.

Me: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!

Most bizarre thing ever. After I finished freaking out, I was so disappointed that we couldn't do anything for it. Lauren poured some water on the ground and it lay its head down on the water, although I don't know if it actually drank anything. Then it raised its head and arm again. We were probably scaring the crap out of the poor thing.

Jeff had come out by then, and noticed its leg was all messed up. I said I was willing to make it one of those rolling thingers for its back legs, so it could run around with its front legs. Jeff asked if I was going to catch mosquitos and feed him, too.

Well, maybe!

Wah. :(

So, we couldn't have done anything to save it on Monday either, but at least we could have put it out of its misery sooner. Sad day. Poor little guy!


Sunday Stealing

1. What is on your mind right now?
deciding whether or not to plant some plants in the front yard, or to wait until spring

2. Do you know anyone who has attended Harvard University?
Julie has a master's degree from Harvard

3. How many books are in the room you’re in?
in the living room- 9 decorative books on the shelf above the TV

4. Do you save at least 15 percent of your income?
yes

5. When was the last time you had a rainy day spent at home?
last Thursday

6. When was the last time you stayed home from school/work?
I work from home, but I haven't been sick in years. *knock on wood!*

7. Do you write “yes” or “no” answers to surveys or do you explain more?
I try to explain more, usually briefly for a yes/no, unless an explanation would be pointless.

8. Is there any type of medicine you can’t take? For what reason?
Bactrim- I developed a sudden, extremely severe allergy, after taking it with no issues for forever.

9. Do you have a favorite pair of pajamas? What do they look like?
I hate pajamas. Too much fabric to deal with under the sheets. I almost always wear a short nightgown. I do own one pair of pajamas. They are super-soft navy blue capris with a matching top with a cute, tiny metal anchor in the front of the collar.

10. Would you rather have potato or chicken noodle soup if you had to?
potato- carbs are my weakness

11. Do you believe that when a person appears in your dreams, that person wants to see you?
Um, no, But that would make my dreams more interesting.

12. When’s the last time you saw your mom?
At the nursing center, about 10-15 minutes before she passed away in December 2006.

13. What is one food you could eat for a month, straight, and not get sick of?
hamburgers

14. Have you ever spray painted something about your love somewhere?
hmm, no

15. Do you live in a town where basically everyone knows everyone else?
Nope. Austin metro is over 2 million people now.

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