Melons of all Sizes

I never thought I'd be the mom that would ever suggest Hooters for dinner, but It sounded like the best deal considering our situation last night.

Richard scored all four of us tickets to see Trans-Siberian Orchestra at the Ford Center so right after work we headed off to Bricktown for dinner at Crabtown before the concert. The traffic was a bit of a pain, but to be expected (somewhat) considering there was also some function going on at the Cox Convention center and also the concert had been sold out so there would be 80,000+ people heading for the area within a few hours.

I darted in the doors at Crabtown to put our name on the waiting list but there was a 55 minute wait! We didn't have 55 minutes to spare because we'd spent any extra time we had sitting thru stoplights 5 and 6 times. We decided to head down the street to Bricktown Brewery where we find a nice comfortable 1 1/2 hours wait. I laughed at the little greeter girl... she apologized, but not her fault! Debating on where to try next... I mentioned that everyone is trying to eat at the bigger more touristy kinds of restaurants, so let's try going somewhere off the beaten path. That's when I looked up and it was like Heavens gates had opened and bright lights beemed... I saw the Hooters sign. It was off the beaten path... and surely people weren't making mad dashes to eat there!

I stated my case, and with zero complaints from the men, we headed to Hooters. We waited our 5 minute wait and was promptly seated by Megan or Gretchen (whatever her name was). Courtney came over to take our drink order as we looked over the menu. I'd never eaten there... I'd had take-out from there... but not actually gone in and sat to eat. We sized up the waitresses and determined that the clothes that they wear have got to be the worst getup we have ever seen. It is so not attractive nor pleasing to the eye. They make what is a cute girl look like an out of shape Michelin Man stay-puff marshmallow. They have to wear hose, which are tight and cut them off at the waist, but the shorts ride lower than the hose, so you see their roll because the shirt is so dang tight. The shorts are pulled way up, so there is massive camel toe going on... and its not attractive.

Anyways, we scarfed and headed off to the see the concert. It was the most amazing thing! They were as much and way more than what I expected. The show was amazing! They use tons of lights and lasers... and fire and fireworks... you name it, they use it. The entire first half of the concert was their Christmas music which they arranged with a narrator who told a Christmas story. It was beautifully arranged! The second half, we rocked like rockstars. The whole group is fantastic at entertaining and humor! It was just so much better than I had ever imagined. They were a very personal group... full of energy and excitment. They could sing and boy could they ever play instruments!!!

If you ever get the chance to see them... go! We have some of their CD's... and they are good and we like to listen to the music, but it is incredible to see them in concert! We will definitely do that again!!

Blog Crush '06

Da Rules:

A) You can't wait to read what they post next.
B) You want to be friends with them.
C) You think they are the cat's meow. Meow!
D) You might find them attractive- physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, whatever floats your boat.
E) If you met them in person, blushing might occur.

First off, I must convey to all how much I enjoy reading each and every one on our blog list and how difficult it is to award two lucky recipients my Blog Crush '06. The amount of sheer writing talent is overwhelming and regularly immobilizes me in my tracks as I compare my most humble offerings to others far more talented. In the 1 ½ years I’ve been blogging, our blogroll has periodically changed as some fade into the twilight and fresh discoveries are made. There are several we read regularly but simply haven’t gotten around to adding. Before announcing the winners, I wanted to express a few thoughts regarding several of our special compadres. :)

Ms. Sizzle—no one has the knack for baring her heart and soul to her faithful and many readers quite like our beloved Ms Sizzle. She is a total joy to read and we all love her in return. You are a treasured find, sweetie. (((hugs)))

Bone—he has got to be the sweetest, most likable Southern guy on the blog planet and has a tremendous talent for turning a phrase or posting a poem.

Trouble—wins the Sexiest Male Blogger award. Our hedonistic island guy is a pleasure to read when he shares his frolicking adventures with his avid fans.

Stacey—always entertaining, our Canadian gal brings both laughter and tears as she courageously marches her way across the daunting obstacles life has thrown in her path. And pics of her most famous feline, Yoshi, are icing on the cake.

Twisted Panties—our Texas gal wears her redneck trappings with pizzazz and flair and we love hearing about life in the Lone Star State.

OC Gal—winning the Sexiest Female Blogger award, she is currently in transition as she embarks on a fresh blog start.

The Daily Dump—another male blogger switching blog gears who manages to totally blow me away with his amazing genius for writing.

Discombobulating Grant—our favorite twisted psychopath is currently on permanent hiatus. His look at life through sinister, jaded lenses holds all transfixed with his pithy tirades and dissimilar introspection. Grant, we miss your biting wit. Come back soon.

Without further ado, would the Blog Pixie please hand me the coveted envelopes declaring the victors? *drumroll*

In accordance with the rules stipulated in regards to Blog Crush Day, I hereby award my Female Crush to: Traveling Chica and Male Crush to Wombat from Kiss & Blog!

Dear TC is sweet, friendly, and extremely talented and the first female blogger I check each day. One of our newest additions, our Wisconsin gal became my girl blog crush immediately and I would relish clinking glasses with her. Though far more traveled than I, we share a mutual love of the Outer Banks, and I must say this may have tipped the scales in her favor. Smooches Amanda!

Joining the large crowd of jostling female admirers, I cast my male vote for the ever suave, debonair and exquisitely mysterious, Wombat. Clever and outspoken yet always a model of diplomatic tact, it would be a rare female to not succumb to Mr. Wombat’s delicious Aussie charms. Always an entertaining read, he (along with darling Aspen) is first and foremost in my male blog reading pastimes and their thoughts on various topics are a pleasure to peruse.

There you have it. The Circe Blog Crushers of 2006. In all honesty, there isn’t one of our fellow blog buds I wouldn’t look forward to meeting and sharing stimulating companionship and in my humble opinion, every one of you is a fabulous winner. ;)

kisses,
circe

Always Brush and Floss

Tonight I went to my POWER class (it's a form of weight training by doing lighter weights but massive amounts of repetition) and I was greeted with some girl I'd never seen before. She bounced around the room and obviously was preparing to teach the next hour. She asked if we wanted to do new material or stick with the old favorites... we all kind of muttered underneath our breath. It really made no difference... pain is pain regardless of what music you're using. lol

She proceeded to go over techniques and how to bend, twist, flip your body and your weights (as if we'd never done this before)... and then we started. Our warmup was complete and we headed into squats. Before each segment she went thru this whole 'i've got to tell you guys every little thing to do and not to do because, heaven forbid you point your elbows the wrong way or have your feet too far apart'... it was driving me nuts!

But it was during shoulders that I noticed something. I'd been checking her out the entire time (that's what you're supposed to do, right!?!?) and I'd determined that she must have been a gymnist at one time - but was now into retirement and eating. She was by no means thin. She wasn't fat... but certainly wasn't thin. She was thick. Not blubbery thick... but thick like muscle with a little fat on top... just thick. Thru this whole hour she kept telling all of us to pack on more weight. The entire time i'm thinking 'no way... i dont want to be thick like that!' I'd checked out her butt alot during this time together... it was in my face most of the time so I had no choice. When we sat down to do some shoulders.... plop! there it was.... a big ol white pair of thong undies, not peeking, but hanging out of her tight black workout pants.

I focused on her butt floss the rest of the shoulder segment and tried with everything I had to forget about the visual during lunges and situps. I'll probably dream about white butt floss tonight... I just hope they are clean and not sweaty and ... well this could just get bad really fast!!

And Finally...

I promise I'll quit after this... ;)

Toys Pt 2

Christmas Bells Are Ringing

This past weekend Richard and I along with C, P and my sis, headed out to the lake to take some christmas pictures to send to family. Well, let me back up. We first stopped at the mall to take some pictures inside. There is a little mall just down the street and around the corner that is pretty quiet on Sunday's, so we thought we'd do some pics using their decor. Here's a sneak peek of some of our Glamour Shots.

Tuesday Tidbits

TOYS YOU WON'T FIND SOLD IN STORES

In National News Highlights:

IRVINE, CA—Local house cat Tibbles woke up, arched his back, took five steps, fell asleep, woke up, shat in a box, brushed up against the television, fell asleep, woke up, killed a small thing, and fell asleep.

Aquarius (January 20 - February 18)

You'll be torn a new asshole this week by some of the top reconstructive surgeons in the country.

A Few Hours to Vegas

Sometimes my job is so hard and demanding.

Last night, my company treated me and my sweet little hubby - along with about 14 other employees - to an outstanding dinner at the Iron Star restaurant (drinks included). For months, our financial software package has been in a 'upgrade and testing' mode and it's been very stressful and taxing. Not so much for me and our department as it has been for people in Accounting, but nonetheless, we're still involved.

The project is up and running full force... and live! So, we got to celebrate the completion and the fact that now, the finance department and some of the I.S. staff will get to work more normal hours - leave and depart at regular times.

The food was scrumptious. For the first time in my life I tried Quail. It came as an appetizer and wrapped in some honey flavored bacon. I'm not one to eat odd birds, but I tried it so as not to be a stick-in-the-mud. It was pretty good. The salad was a hunk of lettuce topped with candied pecans and some sort of sauce (sweet).... which i devoured! Richard didn't touch his (said he was saving room for the real food. lol) and I wanted to gobble his salad too. Had we not been with the rest of the group I would have grabbed his plate and finished off his hunk of lettuce.

I got the Prime Rib... Richard got the Chicken and both were very yummy! There wasn't much there we didn't like... except the green beans. I'm not a fan of buttery, crunchy green beans. I kind of like mine more mushy out of the can. haha

We had a good time.... its fun to socialize with co-workers outside of the office. I got to see some of them in a whole new light! People are different when they are at work.... and obviously some of us stress alot more at work.. and relax a ton when we're out! (not referring to myself or Richard either)

There is always so much I leave out when I try to tell these kinds of stories.... but, our waitor was a drummer in a rock band! I spotted him... I knew he was a drummer because of the way he rolled his ink pen in his fingers while he was taking our orders.

There was no way he was a twirler....! lol

Richard made a phone call... got his name... and I asked him. Yep... that dude is a drummer in a local rock band. Sweet! I called it right!

Dark December

The disturbing call came while I was at work on that cold, clear, sunny Saturday afternoon. “Your mother has been in a bad car accident, is comatose, suffering from severe head injuries, and her survival is uncertain.” My safe little world came crashing down around me. These are not the words an 18-year old daughter ever hopes to hear, even if your rancorous relationship is far from ideal. Mothers are supposed to be there for loving guidance, needed counsel and profound wisdom. They should fearlessly maneuver you through the frightening obstacles of serious illness and give their unwavering assurance that things will turn out just fine. In shock and disbelief, I called my dad who was also at work and we raced up the beach heading north into Virginia for the two-hour ride to the hospital. This life-altering occurrence affected me in several ways; I grieved, I grew up, and learned to rely on a power greater than myself.

Initially I experienced all the normal stages of grief—the denial, the anger, and finally acceptance. The intense grief was overwhelming, and the sense of loss unbearable. Then the anger and outrage reared its ugly head. How dare this have happened to my mother? How could that bus have obliviously been unaware of their presence and plowed right into them? Why couldn’t she have been wearing her protective seatbelt like my sister? I thought the lump in my throat would never dissolve. She remained comatose for a month and when she slowly emerged from her dreamlike cocoon, she was severely brain-damaged needing skilled, professional care.

After the grieving, anger, and passage of time, I got my act together. Before the accident, had you looked up "rebellious" in the dictionary, you would have seen my picture. But this 18-year old rebel was forced to grow up, face reality, and see life in a new, harsh light. I was no longer the carefree teenager just a few months out of graduation. I was no longer the defiant firstborn who placed her self-centered needs ahead of all others. I no longer champed at the bit to leave home and be out on my own. I quit my job to take care of things and my sister returned to high school. My family needed cohesiveness and we pulled together to return to a semblance of normalcy. Probably the most profound change was drawing closer to God. I had prayed off and on before, but it now became a regular daily habit. I poured my heart out to my heavenly Father, begging him to make her well again. I tried to bargain and made a lot of promises, and while my prayers weren’t answered as I hoped, His loving care and critical comfort sustained me through this dark period so long ago.

Life has thrown a lot of obstacles in my path since that December day and I’ve had to learn lessons without an experienced maternal presence. She languished in a distant nursing home for about a year before pneumonia ended her existence. She missed the good and bad times in my life; however, all was not lost. Positive changes occurred as I grew as a person and I gained a close relationship with the best friend a mortal could ever have: our loving heavenly Father. Out of the broken shards of my shattered life rose a deep, abiding, and forever renewing living faith that has continued to console and comfort through these past decades. I love you, mom.