Potty Break

In our continuing commitment to get unpacked, moved in and decorated, we gave our bathroom a splash of sparkling personality this weekend. I liked the brightness of the white walls, however it lacked some flare. With the master bath being an extention of the master bedroom - and we are working on the decor on the bedroom - the bathroom needed something to make it more attractive - Eye-catching!
Our bath before:
The blue tape was used for painting purposes only.

Our bath after we painted.

We chose to leave the walls around the vanity area white so that there wouldnt be a red/pink cast on your skin. The red and white looks sharp and gives the bathroom much needed spark! Its bright, yet homey.... comfortable. However, I hope my guys don't get to comfortable in there and start camping out! lol

Quote of the Day

QUOTE OF THE DAY


"I don't mind coming to work,
but that eight hour wait to
go home is a bitch."

(thanks Anita)

Once Upon A Time

Now that the holidays are over with i've got some time to get back to unpacking (no... i'm not finished) and doing some much needed decorating. In the past few weeks Richard and I have been busy digging through our pictures and decor and deciding what to keep and what to use and making our what we need to go out and buy list. Our windows have remained bare with the exception of the shutters added by the builder, but other than that we've not done any window treatments.

Remember the icey snowy slush post... well that was when we searched out curtain patterns and fabrics. We've decided on the fabrics and a few days ago I called one of the women given to me by a girl in a fabric shop and made an appointment to visit with her. She gave me her address and directions to her place... which is on the south side of the metro area. A place I typically don't go. The South Side.

Yesterday, I left work and headed her way. I gave myself a few extra minutes to get lost (always a good plan here) but it was pretty easy. One turn off the highway and a long jaunt down the road. The homes were really nice and all placed on huge lots... acres! I got to where her house should be and I saw this castle thing. I thought 'why is there a restaurant or something like that out here!?' It was in the place where her house should be, but I drove right past it because surely that wasnt it. At the next house, the address was too big. The castle house is where i'm going.

I turned around, grabbed my phone - because I've gotta take a picture so I can blog it! Here is the house where the lady lives that is making my curtains.

I went up to the front door and she greeted me. She was extremely personable and friendly. We chatted up a storm... laughed and carried on like kids. I think we'll be friends. Her house is really nice... kind of horseshoe shaped with a pool in the middle courtyard. Inside it's decorated all castle-like (I wanted to snap pictures there too but I think she would have clued in).

Musical Chairs

I get the weirdest requests when I sit at S’s desk or as I like to call it, “play S.” I have worn this alternate hat for most of this week and Wed, an assistant came in asking if Water Buffalo could reserve the faculty lounge for some disability meeting next Monday, at 2pm!!!I looked at her like she had sprouted three heads as I couldn’t remember any time in the past we have ever closed down the lounge for a meeting held smack dab in the middle of the day. I told her I had no knowledge concerning this and maybe it would be better if she checked into another conference area more conducive to her needs.

Yesterday morning I beat WB to the 'think tank' and being in a humorous mood, she proceeded to bang on the door and "pssst" at me the whole time I was in there. When I finally emerged she slapped in on the butt and told me I was being ornery! (Does that qualify for sexual harrassment?)

But even more bizarre was yesterday's mind boggling phone call. Though D was slated to play S, I briefly filled in from 10:30 to noon while she left for a prior commitment. At straight up twelve, the phone rings. I debated whether to let it go to voicemail or dutifully answer the damn thing since I hadn’t left for lunch yet. Like an idiot I picked up the receiver to hear an extremely ridiculous solution to a seemingly minor problem. It seems the bigwigs at a large medical facility were meeting at our offsite lake facilities and did not realize a key was needed to gain entrance to enter the premises. Imagine that! A KEY. Their logical answer to this little wrinkle in the plan was to employ BOLT CLIPPERS to enter and as the gal cheerfully informed me, they would “be happy to pay for any damages incurred.” This seemed a totally rational solution to this pesky little matter so I agreeably retorted, “Go ahead! Feel free to flagrantly violate school property and slice up any damn thing you need to gain entry. No problem!" Ok, that is NOT what I said. Totally flabbergasted and dumbfounded, what actually came out of my mouth was, “I think you need to talk to the finance office about this,” and I transferred them. So I come back from lunch very curious to know how things turned out. It is imperative I make sure someone knows what went down in everyone's absence so I flew into our dean of campus construction's office and poured out my unbelieveable tale. Fortunately he thought it was kinda funny and felt a lack of communication lay behind this strange state of affairs. Dutifully he strolled down to the finance office to get a status report and discovered the med center contact had indeed spoken to finance and was firmly informed under no circumstances would destruction of said properly be excused or sanctioned and to COME PICK UP THE KEY. Though not happy, they did as instructed and completely unnecessary vandalism was thus avoided. (Who the hell do they think they are anyway??) An unnecessary brouhaha was peacefully settled. Whew!

It's a new day today and I play 'S' ALL day. I shudder to think what unexpected predicaments may finish off this peculiar workweek............ *shakes head*

Texas Poll

The latest telephone poll taken by the office of the Governor of Texas asked whether people who live in Texas think illegal immigration is a serious problem:

A) 35% of respondents answered: "Yes, it is a serious problem."
B) 65% of respondents answered: "No es una problema serio."

HAHAHA

Flower Child

TBC has tons of relatives and one of the fam’s more recent acquisitions is his cousin’s second wife, P. They met and married in Arizona but it wasn’t until their move to Oklahoma that I have gotten to know her better. She has held several jobs in our fair town but she is currently working as a beauty consultant for a well-known company and this has resulted in more frequent contact. Unique P is the quintessential hippie. She’s all about health food and respect for the earth as she expounds on her view of life with her clipped Northern (obviously not from AZ) accent. We seem to have really hit it off and though she’s a little dingy and quite vocal with her opinions, I am watching a developing friendship.

In other news, I am currently paying for my outdoor exuberance in our snowy landscape as I valiantly fight off a determined cold. I’ve come to work armed with anything and everything I can think of to battle the stinkin virus; Dayquil (liquid after my last choking incident with a tablet), green tea, chicken bouillon cubes, water, aspirin, lozenges with zinc, Echinacea and Vitamin C, Vitamin C, and Zicam swabs! Though I don’t feel up to snuff, I’m not feeling as bad as I could be so I just might be winning for a change. We won’t even discuss the many leg (and derriere) bruises I’m sporting thanks to the ass over teakettle jolt I received from the sled-pulling incident. ;)

It's an Epidemic!

This morning I stopped by a coworkers office for some small talk and he said 'I dreamed about you last night'.

WHAT!!?!??!

He laughed 'yep, I dreamed about you...'

Me: Like the dream I had the night before about *Derek*? What happened?

Him: No, nothing like that but I dreamed you quit. You just up and quit like effective at noon. Someone called you out of the clear blue sky and offered you a job and you took it... and quit.

Me: Was it a good job?

Him: I dont know... but you took it!

What if this is a premonition? Or, could be job stress... or he thought my dream about *Derek* was hilarious and he'd been thinking about it and so I was on his mind.

Pillow Talk

All day I have been debating with myself over whether I should blog this or not....

Seriously, why do we dream some of the things we dream and why do we put some people in those dreams?!

I woke up this morning feeling very guilty. My alarm went off and I hopped out of bed. I took a little peek at Richard who was sleeping so peacefully and rolled up all nice and warm in the bed. He's so sweet, so loving, such a wonderful husband...

And I spent last night dreaming something...

The details are sketchy, but here's what I remember. I was sleeping over at someones house and I saw myself walk out of the bedroom in my polka dot sleeping pants. They are really cute! White with turqoise dots and a hot pink sash that ties them up. They are really loose and ride low on the hips. Really hot sleeping gear if you ask me! I also had on a white tank that was loose and hung really low in the front (you know where i'm going with that so I wont elaborate). I walked out to greet *Derek* who was also sleeping over. I have no idea what he had on and I have no idea why he was there or where we were, but the important thing was that he was sleeping in my room and we were just laughing and carrying on like it was a slumber party. I remember he kept looking at my um.... shirt area ;) and we talked about them, etc.

In real life, *Derek* works with me! He sits not 20 feet away from me all day long, Monday thru Friday. We get along well, we both have sparkling (and sometimes sick) personalities and can kind of be little smartasses. I have never had thoughts at all except work thoughts! Why did I dream this!!!? In the dream we knew we worked together and we worked here! Good grief! I'm his supervisor... why would we be in a situation like this!?

Am I having work anxieties? Could it have been the 5 different types of wine and hit of rum that I drank earlier in the night coupled with a diet pill I might have tossed down my throat earlier? Was I just super tired and I became delirious in my sleep? I don't see these guys at all after work hours and I typically don't talk to them on weekends unless there is a problem at the office... so why?

*Names have been changed to protect the innocent (or not so innocent)*

Multiple Personality Snowperson

Here are pics of the diminutive snowman I created yesterday. Torso construction turned out to be the easiest part as I suffered a lot of frustration making his edible features stick to his slippery face.

Browns fan with carrot nose and chocolate candy mouth.

Browns fan with chocolate candy mouth and lump of coal nose. The coal made his whole face look dirty giving him a striking resemblance to a disheveled, homeless derelict warming himself next to a makeshift barrel fire.

Straw-hatted cowboy minus the sunglasses. Chocolate eyes, carrot nose and I can't tell if his spindly twig mouth just isn't visible or frankly, fell off.

My feverish efforts will be fleeting and transitory as serious thawing was occurring even as I built him. Nevertheless, practice makes perfect and I certainly hope he won't be my last inspired effort of the season. :)

Slip Slidding Away

The weatherman was a bit off in forecasting this weekend weather blast. As of yesterday we were supposed to start getting snow about 10pm last night (didn't) and by noon today it was going to change to sleet/snow combo (didn't) and then get accumulations of 4-10 inches (haven't yet).

At 11am when we headed out the door to grab breakfast at Jimmy's Egg and do some shopping, it was raining... a nice steady rain. Not downpours... just gentle steady rain. There was sleet on the ground from earlier in the morning. About 4pm-ish we noticed that some snow was starting to fall and the rain had ended. So far, nothing major has accumulated, however it is a watery, slushy mess outside and tonight it's going to be well below freezing which means snotty slick roads again.

Speaking of the watery slushy mess.... today Richard and I headed out to do some shopping for the house. We needed to pick out fabric for window treatments, paint for the bathroom, a wine cabinet, and decor for the fireplace. We spent hours upon hours dashing in and out of stores scoping out our options... and found ourselves in the heart of the city on The Mile of Furniture. It's not really a mile, but close enough. Its an area of the city where there are tons of furniture stores... one right after another.

I was jabbering on the phone to my mom about whether I should hire a seamstress to sew the curtains or should we attempt to do it when I realized that the parking lot we were turning around in.... wasn't letting us out. We were stuck. Richard looked at me... I looked at him... I told mom "gotta go... I think i'm going to have to drive and Richard is going to have to push". It wasnt ice or snow, but we were stuck in deep watery slushy mess. The car wouldn't go forward nor would it go backwards (we probably should have taken the MM cause it will pull thru all that mess... but who woulda thought!)

I tried to go in reverse - it made sense because we'd just pulled in that way and knew we could get out that far and I had no idea what was ahead of me or if I could get through it... but the car would not budge. Richard was about to pop a vein trying to push with everything he had. I have to say he looked so sexy pushing the car in the cold rain and his muscles buldging and me going about 35mph but sitting still, and nestled safely in the warm (and dry) inside... smelling rubber and seeing smoke from the tires and then only picturing $$$ because i'm probably shortening the tire life by about ohhhh..... a year. lol

I tried to go forward, no cigar... I tried reverse again, nothing. Back in drive he pushed me from behind. One inch at a time (really it was about that much movement at a time) we finally got the car out of the parking lot and I pulled onto the street. This is where I gave the 'stay on the cleared streets and don't try to drive through the crap anymore' speech.

We finished our shopping and a few hours later we head home. We pulled down our street at a snails pace because it's still watery slushy too and its really easy to slide around. Richard turned to pull in the driveway and got about half way in when the car just stopped. He gave it more gas and the all too familiar rubber aroma filled the car. Dammit, we're stuck again. He put it in reverse and we couldnt even back down the driveway. We're stuck half way up our driveway! We knew the routine. He got out, I climbed over, threw the car in reverse and he pushed me back into the street. We have to park the little car in the street for now. He's going to have to get a faster running start to get up over the ice and slush to park the car in the driveway.

I can't wait til all this crap is gone.

This was a long post! I don't normally write this much.... !

Snow Time

Happy camper

Patio view


Got pulled on the sled attached to this rope.

Winter Wonderland

It’s been another busy week and I am once again guilty of blog neglect. Hope there isn’t a severe penalty for that. Fifty lashings with a frozen, sleet-encrusted noodle perhaps? ;)

Wednesday found me battling the downstairs vending machine. Those large, blinking rectangular behemoths rarely cooperate with me as they sense my timidity and hesitation. Nevertheless, tasty Nacho Doritos called my name that afternoon and zombielike I descended the stairs to the area where the goodies reside. Rummaging through my change, I inserted the correct amount of nickels and dimes only to have the bag crawl to the very edge of the precipice and stop. Resignedly I once again dug through my purse and repeated the process. Much to my astonishment, both bags chose to obstinately remain with their fellow snacks and refused to budge. Given no choice but to briskly backside butt the machine, I finally released the first one but Bag 2 ignored my invitation and remained hooked in position. Miffed at my audacity, the machine immediately lost power and shut down. Oops! Though the finance office now owes me money, I haven’t mentioned the human vs machine showdown seeing as I’m the guilty party who assaulted the willful contraption. :)

Last Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, we received quite a bit of white stuff covering the ground and it has tenaciously hung in there as we eagerly wait in expectation of the next predicted wet and white round. I wasn’t crazy about the frozen pellets that piled up and resembled snow as neither hefty humans nor weighty vehicles could make a dent in the mixture. It made for treacherous treading and precarious driving. However, I positively relish the thought of plentiful, fluffy flakes. *happy dance* At this point, we are expecting 5 to 7 inches and I have promised myself at least one outdoor recess where snow is used to its best advantage. Most here are complaining but not this transplanted Buckeye. I’m thrilled to pieces and trying very hard not to let my jubilation express itself on my smiling countenance and considering I have a very transparent face, I’m doing a lousy job hiding it. Ker and I will keep you posted on deteriorating conditions in Okieville.

Snowfall Circe

Icecycle Pop

A friend of mine from the eastern part of the state sent me this picture from her hometown. She is one of the lucky ones... they got their power turned back on after hours... most of the town has been without power for days! The ice is breaking power lines, trees, caving in roofs, etc. Although it was the same storm system, they got more ice than we did. Ours was a combo snow/sleet. This weekend its in the forecast to get more snow/sleet and even more intense than this last storm.

Be safe Kristen!

This is Just Slickening!

Another day gone by with very little ice disappearing...
You can see from the pictures that the snow/ice is pretty tough (and slick). With all of us trampling the stuff.... there are very few foot prints to show for it! We've given in and dug out our sleds...

Here are a few of the neighbor kids sliding down our front lawn into the street... across the street... and back up into the neighbors yard. It's that slick.

And it's very cold.

Ice Ice Baby

Ok. I'm sick of the ice.

Today is way worse than yesterday. The highways are clear, but the side roads are total hell. What kind of melted yesterday and sat as water on top of the existing ice/snow, turned into a solid sheet of snotty looking ice and is slicker than snot! It took me 25 minutes to get out of our residential area and get on a major highway to get to work this morning. It normally takes me 5-10 minutes depending on traffic. The maximum speed was about 10mph which absolutely drives me nuts, but there is no way you dare go over that... you'd wind up in the ditch just like the little Pathfinder, Mustang, some sort of little 4-door sedan and truck that I saw.

Rumor has it that we're getting another dump from dear ol Mother Nature this weekend. Hopefully the temperatures will get high enough to melt some of this off!

A Forgotten Miami Story!

Because we are iced in....
Not really, we can get out and about a bit, but it takes so flippin long because you have to drive too slow, so we've been doing some projects around the house that we really intended to do ages ago. Anyways, that's not important. The important part is, Richard was trying to find some pictures on his computer and in the process he came across some pics from our Miami trip that I had completely forgot about and then realized I'd never shared! Shame on me!

One of the nights we ventured down to Naughty (but, oh so fun) beach (which is South Beach to most of us), the adventurous us headed for the more questionable part of the area and stumbled onto a little 'store' that said World Erotic Art Museum. We walked inside, and entered just a little (nasty) entryway with one door to an elevator. Keep in mind this area looks dirty and drug infested and scary and dirty and there isnt proper signage and it's dirty - you get my drift. We hop on the elevator and take the ride up a few floors without having any idea what we are really getting ourselves into. The doors fly open and whhaaalllaaaaah! Nudity everywhere!!! We stepped off the elevator... our jaws draggin the floor. We are stunned.

The little girl waiting the counter greets us 'Welcome to the World Erotic Art Museum. $15 to enter'. I'm like 'WHAT?!?!?' Seriously. They cannot be charging that much! I look at Richard... he looks at me... I said 'well, let's pay her!' haha 'We're going in!'

I'll share a few of the photos here... most are too graphic to post I think!

Here's the famous Penis bed. Photos of it have been passed arond in emails for year, but we saw it here! On the wall was a serious of photographs and the history of the bed: how it was made and by whom, where, why, etc.

This is a chair. In this picture you can't really tell the details, so I followed up with a few closeup shots so you'd see why it was so intriguing. *giggle*

They wouldnt let us sit in it....

Some of the art was so graphic! Like... the picture of Marilyn Monroe in all her glory! I've never seen a picture of her in that position before....

Easy on the Ice, Please

The big winter storm that the weathermen have been talking about all week hit yesterday morning. I went to work earlier than usual to try to avoid the heavy traffic and so I could head home earlier... again to avoid the heavy traffic. When I left (6:30ish in the am) it was a bit drizzley, but nothing major and about 8:30am, we could hear the sleet hitting the skylight by my office. This is what I saw on my front porch when I got home.

We probably should have been staying inside and avoiding the dangerously slick roads, but I had a hankerin'...

This is where I was headed....

To get me one of these. I had to have a fix... and like the mailman... no rain, sleet or snow will stop me.

Today, we're supposed to get round two of the stuff and I guess tomorrow is round three (which is supposedly going to be worse than round 1).

Sleet City

Though we are not receiving the cruel ice that was predicted, a lovely wintery mix has been falling off and on since yesterday morning and should continue through Sunday. Most of us have hankered down in our cozy nooks as nature displays its vibrant white fireworks. We watch fascinated from our warms enclaves debating whether to brave January’s arsenal or just sit back and enjoy being reclusive hermits.

The Topfive.com’s 20 Bad Suspense Novel Metaphors or Similes

20> Worn down at the edges like a Times Square hooker, the 

    caretaker's last tooth lay on the floor like a yellow Chiclet.

19> When she stepped out of her dress, she had the body of a

    90-year-old nun, if the nun looked as young, attractive,

    and sexy as the dame standing in front of me.

18> The situation had become topsy-turvy -- like Christmas in the

    summer, if you're in Australia.

17> The information imbedded on the stolen computer chip was like

    an explosive so explosive it could explode, creating a massive

    explosion.

16> As I watched through the slatted shades, her bosom bounce like

    her suspicious husband's first check.

15> The killer was a misplaced comma in the jaunty, happy sentence

    that made up the party crowd.

14> His face looked like an ice sculpture.  Not one of those 

    pretty ones in the middle of a cruise ship buffet, but the 

    kind they do in a contest with a chainsaw -- and it had been 

    out in the heat too long.

13> Like any family, this house had its secrets, secrets it grimly

    refused to reveal, and would continue to refuse to reveal even

    if it could speak, which unlike a family, or at least most 

    members of most families, it couldn't. 

12> The air of danger perversely made Nina's nipples harden, 

    like that Magic Shell stuff on a bowl of ice cream.

11> From his vantage point in the balcony, the would-be assassin

    looked down on the debating candidates like a webhead looking 

    down on an AOL user.

10> The sudden darkness made the Countess tense, like Bobby Jerome

    that time with the bicycle in 7th grade, remember?

 9> There was something funny about the kidnapping crime scene

    that Special Agent Frievald couldn't quite place, and the

    thought stuck with him throughout the rest of the day,

    like those tiny little bits of the circumferent skin from

    the bologna slices on a foot-long Subway Cold Cut Trio that 

    get stuck in between the last two molars on the upper left, 

    on the tongue side where you can't possibly reach them with 

    a toothpick, your fingernails, or even a systematically 

    straightened paper clip, they just sit there and make every-

    thing you eat at your next meal taste vaguely like vinegar 

    and mayonnaise, and then somehow -- quietly but miraculously

    -- they disappear by themselves in the middle of the night 

    while you're asleep, just like the visiting Countess appeared

    to have done.

 8> Her parting words lingered heavily inside me like last night's

    Taco Bell.

 7> The bullet burned Gilmore's gut like the first piss after a

    long night in a Singapore brothel.

 6> A single drop of sweat slowly inched down Chad's brow -- 

    a tiny, glistening Times Square New Year's Eve Ball of

    desperation.

 5> His .38 barked fire, like John Goodman's butt after a chili

    cookoff.

 4> Her blazing eyes dance like Astaire and Rogers, but since they

    were crossed, it was an ocular tango, and my eyes had to 

    foxtrot just to maintain eye contact.

 3> She had a voice so husky it could have pulled a dogsled, and

    the gun she was holding gave me a bad case of barrel envy.

 2> The neon sign reflected off his gun, like the moonlight

    reflects off my brother-in-law's bald head after a night

    of beer drinking and cow-tipping.

 1> Unable to contain his rage, he burst like a pimple of emotion,

    the pus of his fury streaking the mirror of calm in the

    bathroom of his life.

Subway... Eat Fresh!

maybe... if they will keep the restaurant open!

Tonite, C and I headed right around the corner to grab a sandwich... walked in the door and immediately this chubby girl (green shirt) said 'we're closed'. No Hello, i'm sorry but we're closed, kiss my foot or nothing! I stopped dead in my tracks and repeated 'you're closed!?' YES! she says. C and I headed back out the front door... I turned and double checked the hours because I knew it couldn't be that late. I just left the gym and it was roughly 8pm. Closing time was clearly posted as 10pm! I noticed the Open sign was off.

We hopped in the MM and sat there discussing our next move. It made no sense that they were closed. There was a guy inside paying for his purchase and it's 8:15pm. A little car zips up next to me and a guy hops out and runs inside. I said 'watch this!' to C and we sat there... watching and waiting. He was all spiffied up like maybe he was the owner or maybe he was an insurance agent. lol Sure as shiat! He walked up and ordered!

Now, my blood is boiling. Chubby girl in green shirt walks over and turns the Open sign on! I turned off the MM and told C 'get out! we're going in!' I waltzed in the front door and very clearly and loudly said 'SO! Are you open or are you closed!?' Chubby girl in red shirt said 'we're open... blah blah blah blah' some explanation about how they had an emergency and she wasnt supposed to be there because she's injured but she's working and someone didnt show or some crap. Basically they were having employee problems and they were just going to close the place down and go home.

C ordered his sandwich and told red shirt girl what he wanted... turkey, cheese, lettuce and tomato... Green shirt girl (very snippy I might add) said 'we don't have any tomatoes'. Red shirt girl (who is somewhat trying to smooth things over) silently went to the back of the store and brought out a whole hand full of sliced tomatoes! I just glared and chubby, irritating, green shirt girl. We paid for our sandwich and two drinks (actually, she gave us one of the drinks free because of the trouble we went through) and headed out the front door. As I jumped in the MM, chubby green shirt girl walked over to the Open sign and turned it off again.!!!

That is the third time I've been in that Subway... and each time something catastrophic has happened with the employees. Its a shame too.. its a brand new Subway, great location, very clean... awesome potential! They are ruining it....

Nothing Major

After a chaotic morning and grabbing lunch with my sweetie in Bricktown, I'm sitting here in my unusually quiet office just listening to the wild Oklahoma wind rip and roar. I have a skylite just right outside my office door, and we are sure that this time it's going to be lifted and taken for a ride. The wind is so strong today... but other than that, its nice outside! The temperature is about 70 degrees and if the wind would die down to nothing (or just a gentle breeze) it would be a perfect day to crawl into a bikini and catch a few rays of sunshine on the back deck.

A complete 180 from what it's supposed to be like late tomorrow. Our weather guy (you choose... whichever one you watch) has been warning us of rain, then ice, then snow beginning late tomorrow afternoon. The temperature will be in the 20's by 6pm tomorrow!!! So... guess that means I'll be house bound (somewhat) this weekend. Besides a basketball game, I guess I'll work on some insurance stuff, maybe work on taxes, watch a movie, clean on my house and hopefully get some time to update the links on our site. I think some of our little blogger friends have just given up and taken a permanent vacation!

Sucky Cingular

Last week when five workdays were compressed into three and everything was building up to the grand climax we here at Chaos College affectionately refer to as ‘hell week,’ I had the added privilege of once again tangling with Ma Bell. Apparently they suffered acute memory loss of our explicit conversation a mere three weeks ago in reference to the downgrading of my cell phone plan. I had overkill in terms of minutes and the bill was killing me. Lo and behold, I checked my account online last week to find a considerably higher charge than expected leaving me a whopping DOLLAR in my checking account when that deduction was subtracted. What generosity! Thanks Cingular!!! Once again I stated my case in clearly understood terms with minimal use of syllables and received the typical runaround for my efforts. Not one to be easily dissuaded, I stubbornly clenched the receiver tightly in my determined hand prepared to wait on hold for as long as it took. It was only when I finally got testy and used the “C” word (cancellation silly, not that other word!) that they “found my notes” from our previous tête-à-tête and agreed to the cheaper plan. They promptly changed the fees to reflect the lesser amount owed and switched me to the plan I wanted thus soothing this irate customer. In talking to others, I’ve gathered Cingular is notorious for making the lowly consumer fight for their rights and this certainly held true in my case. I suggest they not renege on promised changes to this loyal customer ever again or walking papers will be served. *arches brow*

9 Months

Richard,

Today marks our 9 month anniversary! I've always been told that the first year or two is the hardest... and it's been nothing of the sort! We've laughed and had the best time whether it be alone, with family or with friends... even with total strangers! You are a fantastic husband, an outstanding dad, and my very best friend. I thank God that the events in our lives and the highways that we chose to venture down, brought us together. I wouldn't trade any of it!

I love you...

Utter Chaos

Well, to kick start our new semester which began yesterday, we have one of our dwindling IT people missing after having his jaw broke in a bar fight this past weekend. Yes, dear GFR managed to anger some guy in a local dive resulting in a sucker punch to the face and an unplanned emergency trip to the hospital. He had surgery yesterday and won’t be gracing our hallowed halls this week and possibly not the next. I left work yesterday with a tremendous headache and though I know the drill for the first insane week, I am already having to psyche myself up just to arrive here. To add to the fun, our think tank, (aka quiet place to get away from it all and hide), er, upstairs ladies potty is out of order and we are forced to make the extended trek downstairs to use the general public bathroom. I found myself sharing cramped space with Psycho and Water Buffalo this morning. Yikes! Also, we went to portals on our website and the students have no clue that the hyperlink to get their demographics is now at the bottom of the page as opposed to the top. This has created an untenable situation and generated frantic calls and mass confusion. *sigh* I would love to give you the longer version of my day but the natives are restless and work and everyone else under god’s freekin' creation is calling me. Ciao for now. :)

For Better or For Worse

I try to drag my new camera around with me everywhere I go (forgot it at TGIFridays when I needed it to get a picture of the chocolate chip in the ice) and so I took it to the wedding on Saturday to get some snapshots. I grabbed extra batteries 'just in case' and as my luck would have it, I got to the wedding and before the dang thing even started my batteries started flashing 'low'... and i went to grab for my new ones and realized i'd grabbed the old ones! So, I spent the entire wedding, rationing precious battery time. I snapped pics as fast as i could and shut the camera off. I got a ton of good shots though... i'll share a few here.

Richard finally dressed and ready to go... I fixed his crooked bow tie after the picture ;)

The wedding party. Her dress was white with black stitching and the accent color was red. The entire thing had a 20's feel to it.

One of the kiddos took this picture of us at the reception.

When the bride and groom leave for their honeymoon, most (or they used to) have rice thrown, Dale and Judy had bottles of bubbles. The only thing is, by the time they got ready to leave... everyone else had already left. It was Richard and I and about 4 other kids (and a couple of adults stuck inside) that got about 100 bottles of bubbles to play with. The big kids had the most fun.... as you can see. :)

This kiddo was chasing me and trying to blow bubbles on me. I stopped and turned... armed only with my new camera... and started snapping pictures. This one turned out really well I think!

An Extra Shot of....

Last night P and I met my sister at the mall to hit some of the after Christmas sales and to celebrate our purchases we decided to throw back a margarita (and a martini) at TGIFridays. P sat quietly coloring a picture while we laughed and whooped it up... round two of the drinks came out and Sis gasped for air and said 'what is this!' - while digging around in her drink with her straw. I was thinking 'it's a lime, you doh-doh head!' lol

She reached in (with sanitized fingers i'm sure) and pulled out an ice cube and said to our little waitress (who was as cute as a button and had the most wonderful sparkling personality flare) 'that is a chocolate chip in my ice cube!'

We busted up laughing. The little waitress girl laughed, but with shock. Sis handed her the cube and we all inspected it. I told her it was a rat turd... she insisted it was a chocolate chip. This all sparked the interest of P... who now wanted to keep the ice cube because, you know... that is 'cool'. She offered to bring P a whole bowl full of chocolate chips (probably trying to smooth all this over but we were laughing at it... was no big deal). She brought P a glass full of chocolate chips and they were frozen. So apparently they keep chips (for dessert) in the freezer and somehow one little lone chip got loose... it was the funniest thing!

I wish I'd had my camera...

Nothing in Particular other than TGIF

I'm so happy it's Friday!!! Although this week was a short week, it's been long and hard. Alot of projects happening at work and with people off on vacation, having babies, sick, etc... trying to help with their work and keep up on my own is tiresome.

We don't have much on tap for the weekend. We have a wedding in Tulsa tomorrow and massages scheduled for sunday - gosh I love those! I actually had purchased a massage for Richard, but he wants me to tag along so he scheduled me one too! C is going for foot reflexology.... we'll see how that goes. He's pretty excited about that too. He complains that his feet hurt... probably all that soccer ball kicking and basketball playing that he does!

I think i'm going to spend this afternoon googling Europe. We are itching for another trip (it's been a whole few months since Florida and a whole year since the cruise!) and i've asked my sis and a friend of hers if they'd like to go, so I guess I better get some info together. C and P have been asking about deep sea fishing... another cruise... anything. I think they are really beginning to like travel. I love it!

Have a wonderful weekend!!!

"I'm No Superman"

I know this witty showed has aired for several seasons but I have just recently become a staunch aficionado of the ever popular Scrubs and remain glued to the TV between 6 and 7 pm most Monday through Fridays in a vain attempt to play catch-up. Well written, often hilarious, and possessing a well-rounded, talented cast, I revel in its strong writing and relevant themes. While JD is fantastic as the playful soul and spokesman for the show, I do have my more mature preferences. So here goes, my two favorite characters on this stellar addition to prime time viewing.

Carla (Judy Reyes) is the raven-haired caring, responsible beauty. I was thrilled she married the man of her dreams (Turk) because if anyone deserves happiness, it’s her. But by far, my favorite individual is the surly Dr. Perry Cox (John McGinley). OMG, can you say hot with me? It’s not so much his physical looks which are pretty much so-so, but rather he epitomizes the ballsy, no-holds-barred, wry, witty, tell-it-like-it-is sarcastic personality whose sharp, pithy retorts cut to the very quick. His sparkling verbal banter wins me over in spades. Even his predilection for dark-haired Medusas (aka Jordan and the aggressive nurse he dated) fail to deter me from adding him to my male wish list.

“The actor won a new set of fans when he was cast as the creatively insulting, professionally demanding but far from heartless Dr. Perry Cox on the NBC sitcom "Scrubs" (2001- ), a role that would prove defining in the actor's career by providing a showcase for his diverse comedic and dramatic skills.”

Underneath his scratchy exterior beats the heart of human who endured a rough childhood and rarely lets the audience or anyone else glimpse his soft underbelly. Only caring Carla possesses the magic words to tame this wild beast. Long live the mortal saints treading the halls of Sacred Heart Hospital.

A Few More Notes and Pictures

I danced with Richard... if that's what you call this. I think I was really just messing around and click-happy sister took a picture.
Sis told Dawna and I to growl and be Lions... OBVIOUSLY only one of us listens to directions!
They all complained because I kept sneezing (you can see my poor red eyes here) and snotting around... and eventually they said "put a cork in it!" So, I did.
I am so lucky to be married to this wonderful man. He tolerates my crazy ways so well. He says i'm 'fun'. I think its just that I keep him laughing and wondering what's next! We have a good time! (Thanks sweetie, and Happy New Year to you!)

A New Years Eve Story (clean version)

The Beads. They become important as the night goes on...

Flying high on DayQuil and Sudafed, I got all spiffied up to spend the night celebrating with my hubbie, my absolute dearest friend Fowler, my hot sister and her twin (who isn't related to me but they might as well be twins... cuz that a whole other story) and 100 of our other closest friends.

Me, Richard and Fowler. I love their baby blues! I am a very lucky girl!

My sister and her twin showed up... showin the man some lovins right here!

Apparently, Richard was really funny that night because they were totally cracking up... and I missed it. I was either taking the picture, dancing or....

... being coerced into taking a crotch shot of a girl because they wanted a picture. I just got a hiney shot. Maybe that was what they were laughing at... because I took the picture. hmmm

We aren't dancing here... thats a whole other set of pictures. I think he was trying to rewrap the beads for me. He told me I wasnt cooperating... and I quote "you keep squirming around and won't be still!"

While fiddling around with the beads I looked just over Richards shoulder and I saw boobs! Two girls were flashing their boobage and dancing around. OMG. I stood there gasping for air and scrambling for my camera and we all gawked.... One of the girls looked straight at me, smiled and started moving towards me - boobs all in my face. She danced and jiggled... This must be a pic of me looking at her. lol

I told her there was no way I was going to do that... she said 'NO! I show you and then you give me a string of beads!" okie... So I hung a string around her neck and I got the biggest hug :) hehe Richard said "why is it always you!" hahahahhahaah I dont know....

So after my boobie experience.... I partied on. I posed for pictures with people that had no idea who I was, I didnt know them and even some of them had no idea they were posing for a picture with me (see lady above who is either screaming at Fowler, or singing along with the DJ, or in some sort of pain. Gas pains maybe?!)

All this while on cold meds.... there are alot more pictures but that would take pages of posts to show all those! lol

Dagnabit!

Is this flippin' Blogger having issues again!? I will not let me upload pictures!!!! *ugly frown face inserted here*

Just a Taste

In between chatting online with my sis, answering emails and helping anyone and everyone that runs in here to talk to me.. I have managed to resize all my pictures so now I can dig through them and post the ones I want (can) share. However, now it's too late. I'm on drugs (fighting the cold still) and so i'm fixing to go curl up in my cozy bed and shove my cold toes behind Richards knees to help warm them up. My goal is tomorrow night... post pics! whooohooo!

New Year Begins with a Blow

I've started the new year off with a real bang!

I've got a cold.

For weeks I have managed to avoid the cooties that have floated the airways in my office area. Everyone here has been sick - coughing and snotting around. I've done my best to dodge the germs but over Christmas break my sweet lovie caught a cootie bug and was a bit under the weather. I'm guessing that what happened is... at night, when I wasnt looking, one of his cootie bugs crawled off him and bit me in the butt because when I woke up New Years Eve morning, I felt like poo-poo.

I was determined to carry on with our New Years Eve plans, so I drugged up and went full speed ahead. I got my hair colored, we loaded up C, P and Z (friend) and headed to Bricktown where we ate and went Snowtubing, we rented movies and later Richard and I met some friends for some fun times and boobies (not mine... and that story comes later).

I didn't notice my aches and pains so much while out whooopin and hollerin', but New Years Day I woke to have the worst headache, runny nose and congestion and the all over just poopy feeling. I laid around the house and tried to take care of myself. I downed gallons of water and had a big hit of diet coke along with DayQuil, Sudafed, Motrin and tons of vitamins.

Today, I need to be in bed. Why in the world did I try to come to work? It really makes no sense... I'm here breathing all over the people that have had it and have gotten rid of it (or still trying)... and I'll probably just reinfect them and it will all cycle over again.

Makes perfect sense.

New Years Pictures will come later... i'm still editing :)

Boys Don't Make Passes...

One thing I learned early in life was the paramount importance of possessing golden locks and lacking horrid glasses. This harsh revelation came about early in life for me in the second grade. Danny, a handsome charmer, had an overwhelming proclivity for yellow tresses and I most certainly fit the bill. I still remember his loud declaration of ‘loving blondes’ as he chased me and other flaxen-haired females around the playground at recess. I was in ‘sought after heaven’ the entire year as my natural attributes held his rapt attention and obvious approval, but oh what a difference a year can make! The lofty heights of second grade were closely followed by the depths of third grade despair as my looks went to hell in a handbasket. Much to my chagrin, my alluring mane had the audacity to darken to a disgusting mousy brown and my eyesight plummeted to fuzzy, nearsighted blobs on the overhead thus sealing my fate as a four-eyed geek. My physical failings paralleled my dismal failure to hold Danny’s interest any longer and other cuties now held his male attention. From the ashes of my abject misery rose the steadfast resolution to regain my rightful title as blonde princess. Years past as I endured the awkward prepubescent era of shapeless skinny bod topped off with a hideous thick, brown mop and pop-bottle specks, but eventually the day dawned when the glasses were replaced with glorious contacts and peroxide application lightened the dark tresses. Slowly but surely I transformed into a late blooming teenage goddess pursued by the male admirers I had long coveted. Though not yet a ravishing blonde, dear Danny’s gaze once again swiveled in my direction in our junior year and he asked me out. I declined. No, it was not out of spiteful revenge but rather a lack of interest on my part that precipitated that gracious refusal. Not long thereafter I did morph to flowing saffron-hued tresses and have never looked back. Blonde suits me and always has. And though I no long have a knee jerk revulsion for spectacles, I still prefer contacts and wear them whenever I leave the house. The days of that callous discovery have long past but the girl I was will forever have etched in her memory banks what it truly takes to charm and intrigue a guy. Funny how ancient lessons are never truly forgotten...

Happy New Year!

NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS YOU CAN KEEP

Are you sick of making the same resolutions year after year that you never keep? Why not promise to do something you can actually accomplish? Here are some resolutions that you can use as a starting point:

1. Gain weight. At least 30 pounds.

2. Stop exercising. Waste of time.

3. Read less. Makes you think.

4. Watch more TV. I've been missing some good stuff.

5. Procrastinate more. Starting tomorrow.

6. Not date any of the Baywatch cast.

7. Spend more time at work, surfing with the T1.

8. Take a vacation to someplace important: like, to see the largest ball of twine.

9. Not jump off a cliff just because everyone else did.

10. Stop bringing lunch from home: I should eat out more.

11. Not have eight children at once.

12. Get in a whole NEW rut!

13. Start being superstitious.

14. Personal goal: bring back disco.

15. Not wrestle with Jesse Ventura.

16. Not bet against the Minnesota Vikings.

17. Buy an '83 Eldorado and invest in a really loud stereo system.

18. Get the windows tinted. Buy some fur for the dash.

19. Speak in a monotone voice and only use monosyllabicwords.

20. Only wear jeans that are 2 sizes too small and use a chain or rope for a belt.

21. Spend my summer vacation in Cyberspace.

22. Not eat cloned meat.

23. Create loose ends.

24. Get more toys.

25. Get further in debt.

26. Not believe politicians.

27. Break at least one traffic law.

28. Not drive a motorized vehicle across thin ice.

29. Avoid transmission of inter-species diseases.

30. Avoid airplanes that spontaneously drop 1000 feet.

31. Stay off the MIR space station.

32. Not worry that the Y2K bug will cause the end of the world.

33. Get wired with high-speed net connections at home.

34. Not swim with pirhanas or sharks.

35. Associate with even worse business clients.

36. Spread out priorities beyond my ability to keep track of them.

37. Wait around for opportunity.

38. Focus on the faults of others.

39. Mope about my faults.

40. Never make New Year's resolutions again.

Hair of the Dog

Good Morning blog readers! This is my first post for 2007 and I thought it would be very fitting to start with some hangover advice and information. I'll save my story and pictures for later.

If you gotten up this morning and found yourself in a situation where your head is throbbing, your mouth is dry and you have the all over aches... you might have a bit of a hangover. To help remedy the problem...

Rehydrate. Drink plenty of water before, during, and after consuming alcohol.

Eat. Eating helps decrease the absorption of alcohol systemically. Eating salty foods will also help the body retain fluids. (I once knew a guy from Denmark who swore that he never had a hangover because he took a teaspoon of table salt after a long night of drinking. Be warned - this remedy is not verified!)

Replace Vitamin B. Brits and anglophiles swear by a product called Berocca which is a fizzy tablet like Alka-Seltzer that contains high amounts of Vitamin B6 and Vitamin C. Berocca is not available in the U.S. currently, but a similar product, called Emergen-C is available.

Choose your poison. Some drinks give you worse hangovers than others. Clear liquor like vodka and gin are lower in congeners (alcohol impurities) because of the filtering process involved. Fewer congeners mean a lower risk of hangover.

Good New Years Day to you!