American Idol

I think it was a lot harder to pick the worst boys than it was to pick the girls. Here are my picks on who might go home Thurdsday night.






I don't know about the last guy, but I don't like him.

My Reality TV

I am not a big reality TV fan, but as you all know American Idol started up again, and that is, well, pretty much tradition in my household. Another show that I started watching last year was Project Runway on Bravo. I think it is amazing how those people can put together a garment that looks good in a limited amount of time. I have a sewing machine and have sewn from time to time, but let me tell you I only sew straight lines and only on cotton.

Right now on Project Runway there are three finalists that faced off during New York’s Fashion Week and one of them is Houston’s own Chloe Dao. Here is a pic of us during one of our happy hours.



You can see all the Fashion Week outfits here. Good luck Chloe. Her boutique Lot 8 is located in the Rice Village.

American Idol
The clock is running down on two of the 12 girls on American Idol. Some of the girls are amazing and some others not so much. Here is my take on who sang her last song (ok, I am not a psychic so I will choose who I thought were the worst four).






I have been surprised before, but I really think that two of these ladies are going to be saying their auf Wiedersehen's Thursday night.

Ride From Hell

I officially hate winter. I have hated winter before, but never to this depth. Today in our way back home to Houston from Memphis we encountered the worst weather conditions ever. It took us 8 hours to get from Memphis to Little Rock, a trip that usually only takes 2:30!! The highway was covered with a two inch thick layer of ice. We were going 20 miles per hour the whole way. The whole experience was pretty scary; we would be driving and all of the sudden the car would start skidding, yikes. We saw overturned 18 wheelers, RV, and cars. Several cars lost control right in front of us…AHHHHHH!!! We decided to stop and spend the night in Little Rock, I really hope we can make it back home tomorrow. Wish us luck.

Picture Blogging

Picture Blogging.

In Memphis,Tn.

This and That

I so need to blog, but can not really think of anything, so here goes a little bit of everything.

This weekend we had our Second Annual Valentine’s Day Brunch. My friends live all over Houston so we designated a day that we get together just to catch up and talk. We do see each other at birthday parties and gatherings, but it is just nice to see each other without other things going on.

I am currently in Dallas working, some weird maintenance window thing. I will be up all night, great. When I travel it is pretty much the only time I get to watch tv uninterrupted. I must say that I really, really hate that guy from CSI Miami (you know, the one with the red hair). I mean they want to make every time he is on camera a dramatic moment. Oh, and the way he delivers the lines… “But (dramatic pause) who?” and “Is (dramatic pause) it?” And of course who can forget the taking off of the sunglasses.

What is up with Britney Spears? She looks like crap. She has lost the baby weight and all, but her face looks, well, not right. Her husband looks like crap too.

Also, what is up with Lance Armstrong and Sheryl Crow? I know they broke up, but didn’t she just say that she wanted 6 or 7 kids by him? I never approved of that relationship. He was married and had kids; a marriage is hard enough without having some skinny rich lady shaking her stuff in front of your man.

Cheez, I am in such a loving mood. On Cupid’s eve I should be talking about love and red hearts, and more love, and happiness, but I am stuck in Dallas watching crappy tv. With that, I wish you all a great Valentine’s Day. Much Love.

The Freaky Family

I have looked at Craigslist a lot, seen it all, and I have never, ever, come across an ad like this. Please bear in mind that this ad was posted in the baby/kid items for sale.

Couple with Toddler Seeking Friendship with Similar Couple

Do you love the T.V. show Yes,Dear? Do you wish that was your social life? Well, we may be just the friends you are looking for. I have a personality like Christine and my husband is more like Greg. I am 26 and he is 28....we have 2 kids, and 19 month old girl and a 7 month old boy. We like movies, pool, board games, camping, the beach, the zoo, childrens museum, etc. We have outgrown our friends, they are still single and have no idea what a life is like when you are married with kids...they still go clubbing...this life is not for us anymore! We rarely have baby sitters, so activities that involve the whole gang are good. Maybe you guys could come over and let your kids play with ours while we drink wine, play board games, and talk? Maybe we could all go to the zoo, or the park?

Here is a list of the qualities we admire and are looking for:

• 1. Honesty


• 2. Laid Back


• 3. Fun Loving


• 4. Working Professional


• 5. Intelligent/Clever/Resourceful/Good Common Sense


• 7. Open Minded


• 8. Good Sense of Humour


• 9. Nice

Email me and lets chat some more.

The last line really got me…“Maybe you guys could come over and let your kids play with ours while we drink wine, play board games, and talk?” I keep thinking of that weird couple on Saturday Night Live called The Lovers - The English Professors played by Will Ferrell and Rachel Dratch. Freaky.

Update - I just noticed that No.6 is missing. I wonder what was there. Anything before "open minded" had to of been interesting.

I Have Been Tagged...

Yesterday I got a comment from Cybertoad saying that I was tagged. In the past I have always stay away from filling these out, because, well, I don’t know, I just have, but pretty soon you will find out why. Anyway, since I was tagged, I better get to it.

Four jobs you’ve had in your life:
Well, I have had over 14 jobs so it was kinda hard to narrow it down to just four. I will list my four latest.
1) Network Analyst – Not as intense as it sounds.
2) Public Relations/Event Coordinating for a Non-Profit – With the key word being Non-Profit.
3) TV News Reporter – Yes, as cool as it sounds.
4) Internships – I had several internships in College, but my PAYING job before that was as a Payroll Specialists.

Four movies you could watch over and over again (not to be confused with favorite movies):
Not in favorite order -
1) 10 Things I Hate About You
2) Dangerous Liaisons
3) Anything by John Hughes
4) Blade

Four TV shows you love(d) to watch (among many others):
1) Dead Like Me
2) It’s Always Sunny In Philadenphia
3) Nip/Tuck
4) Arrested Development

Four places you’ve lived:
1) Mexico
2) Panama – Central America, not Florida
3) Boston, Mass
4) Houston and surrounding areas.

Four places you’ve been on vacation to:
Another hard one see my 43 Places link. I will just write down the most fun.
1) Aruba
2) Venice
3) Munich for Octoberfest
4) Cancun – Visiting Chizen-Itza and Tulum.

Four places you would rather be (or where you’ll like to visit):
1) Hawaii
2) Japan
3) Egypt
4) At the beach, not Galveston.

Four of your favorite foods:
Another crazy question…one does not get to be kinda chunky by not loving food.
1) White Rice
2) Pasta
3) Arroz con Pollo
4) Ice Cream

Four websites you visit daily:
1) eBay
2) Craigslist
3) My blogging friend’s websites.
4) Gmail, Hotmail, and Yahoo for email.

Four tagged:
1) Chris
2) Greg
3) Sandra
4) Gretchen

Here Is What Happened...

Tuesday was the day from hell. I was in a rush the whole day. I woke up, got ready, and took Baby Girl to school. I drove to BFE because I was invited to a resale party and since I love anything with the word resale on it I went. I found out that Houston is HUGE. It took me a whole hour to get there.

After the party, in which I got a lot of neat stuff, I drove to my Doctor’s office. It seems that the new Walgreens can not get their act straight and can not seem to be able to contact a doctor (I have been trying for a month!!) for a prescription refill, so I had go and pick up a written prescription.

After the DRs I went to the post office. I forgot to mention that I had stayed up really late on Monday (or Tuesday morning) night getting the sold eBay items ready. I made a whopping $250. At the post office, like usual, there was the line from hell. Hell is getting very, very popular.

After that I drove home and got JR to take me to Avis to pick up a rental car. Another wait, great!

Behind the wheel of the rental I went to drop off the prescription at Walgreens. The prescription would be ready in an hour, so I drove home and packed.

JR went to pick up Baby Girl at school and I went to pick up my mother (both Baby Girl and my mother are going with me on the trip). My mother informs me that she left her wallet in my step-dads car and needs me to take her to pick it up, great.

I finally get home and get everything in the car. On the way out I stop at the drive-thru window at Walgreens to pick up my prescription. There is a line from hell and people keep stacking up behind me. One more car and I am next, I say. Well, I was waiting behind that car for the next 20 minutes!!! I could not back up, I was stuck. The only reason I was able to free myself was because everyone behind me moved to the second lane. I was furious!! When I was finally able to back up I drove around and went inside. I hate those people!! I spoke to the Pharmacy Manager and told him there is a reason they have a drive-thru and express pay - it is supposed to be fast. He just looked at me with that “I am not really listening” look. I wanted to jump across the counter and slap him.

With prescription in hand we finally make our way to Dallas. Yippie!! The excitement would not last long, at about 90 miles from Houston the traffic comes to a complete stop and we are taken off the freeway and into HELL. We were on stop and go traffic, on a two lane narrow road, for about an hour, we went through Falba, and Midway,Texas. I am about to kill someone when all of the sudden I look and see a beautiful sunset. I guess that is all I needed to take me to my Zen place. All the hatred just melted away, ahhhhhh.

Phone Blogging

Phone Blogging.

A great ending to a crappy day.

Links Update

I wanted to update you on two sites I have added to my blogroll. One of them is Cuz I Said So! - a blog from a Canadian Chica. Greg from Dissonance emailed me and told me that he had seen a link to my blog on her site and I checked it out. She is pretty funny and says what is on everyone’s mind about celebrities. You Go Girl!!

The second blog is from my long time friend Chris. Chris was one of those guys that emailed his friends with the weirdest, most obscure websites out there; he covered everything from the paranormal to natural disasters and every weird thing in between. I thought that a blog would be the best way for him to get his findings out there to people that could really, really, appreciate it, since his friends have stopped opening his emails long ago. Anyway, I have been bugging him for years to get a blog and he finally did! He can be found at Internet Curios. Also, ladies, he is single so email me for any personal info or questions you might have.

eBay, Sleep, and Sex

I need to blog, but don’t know about what. So, I will write about whatever comes to mind.

I am loving eBay more and more with each passing day. I just listed 23 pairs of shoes I did not even know I had. I took out around 14 pairs with boxes from my closet, I was about to take pictures when I decided it would be best to weigh them as I wrote down the description. In my attempt to find the scale I came across a big box of shoes that I had not even seen over a year. I found some really cute ones and 9 others I am getting rid of. I love eBay!!!

This morning I overslept, that never happens to me, especially when I have a maintenance window and need to be on the conference call by 6am. I woke up at 6:50!! Luckily for me everyone else was running late and I made it on the call just in time to start testing. The only bad thing is that I had to hold in my pee for around 30 minutes.

Speaking of pee…It was nice to see my blog get hit with over 1,000 unique users right after I blogged about Ricky Martin. Given my new found info I decided that I will close each post with the words - XXX, sex, and porn - that should keep em coming.

When It Rains It Pours

Sometime ago my mother tells me, “They are advertising on the TV that Ricky Martin is going to say something very shocking.” “He might be finally coming out saying he IS gay”, I answer.

I could care less if Ricky Martin is gay or not, but I hate all those public personalities that try so hard to cover their gayness that they come across as definitely, without a doubt, being gay. If you are, you are. Shout it out, be proud. I would not be one of those crazy women whose dream of sleeping with him has finally been crushed; I mean do they really have a chance? Anyway, back to my Ricky Martin story.

A few days later my mother tells me, “He did not say he was gay. He said that he likes “golden showers” and everyone is laughing about it, what is that?” I tell her that is when urination is used get some form of sexual arousal and tell her that at least he did not say that he likes someone going no.2 on him!

The backlash from Ricky Martin’s comments has been huge, people are asking for his resignation from UNICEF and from his own Ricky Martin Foundation. Isn’t a little unfair? I mean, he did not say he killed anyone or likes having sex with children. He just said what he likes and in the context of Blender (the magazine that did the interview) I don’t see what is wrong.

This type of public response is the same as when Paul Reubens (Pee Wee Herman) was caught masturbating at an XXX movie theatre. Isn’t that an outcome of going to a XXX theatre? Was he hurting anyone? Are all theatre masturbators arrested and fined?

My advice to all celebrities - stick to missionary, but even then I think someone out there will be offended.

A lot to tell, a lot to tell.

I will start with a funny story. On Friday I had to pick up a few things at the store and since I looked like crap I picked Wal-Mart to do my shopping at. I though, I will run in and run out, no problem. As I made my way to the back of the store (isn’t that how it always is) this lady jumps out of nowhere and gives me what looks like a little bottle of All detergent, but the bottle is empty. I look down and notice that there is a slit on the top of the detergent bottle. I look at the lady and say “what is this?” She (promotion lady) looks at me and tells me “when you go to the laundromat you can keep all your quarters in here and take them out as you need them”. All I could think was WTF!! I don’t even look like someone that has a washer and dryer at home!! Great.

On Saturday we finally cleaned our garage. It was a lot of work, and now we can safely enter and exit without sustaining any injuries. I wonder how long it will last.

On Sunday we made our way to the Galleria. I HATE that place on the weekend. There are so many people, and it is so loud that I walk out of there with a headache. Anyway, I had to go to Tiffany & Co. to exchange the great bracelets JR gave me for Christmas.





All I can say is that Tiffany must be making their bracelets for anorexics or bulimics because, I have normal sized hands, NOT man-hands like JR now bugs me about, and I literally had to dislocate my thumb to get the bracelet to fit. I am not kidding; and it was painful trying to get it off.

The second bracelet looks a lot bigger in the picture. I was thinking that I was going to be the same size as the heart bracelet and it isn’t. It is more for a girl.

Anyway I exchanged the first one for a necklace (it must be a new style because I was not able to find a pic on the website). The second bracelet made it back home with me, they were out of mostly everything, and since I need to go back to Tiffany this week to pick up my other necklace I left for a thorough cleaning I will exchange it then.

Aside from Tiffany we went to Burberry where I got a pair of house shoes and jacket for Baby Girl.

Hey, we also ran into the Governor. I saw him coming and waved. Sometimes I forget that just because you read someone’s most personal thoughts and dreams on their blog it does not mean that they remember who you are. Anyway, I saw him coming and waved, I saw his mind working, gears cranking, and then the almighty “hey, I know who you are” smile. I like those smiles.

going, Going, GONE!!!

I need to peel myself away from eBay. I think I might be addicted. I have gotten to the point that if I see something super cute for the kids I say, “hey, I love that, I should buy it”. I then start thinking of how cute the item would look on and how I must have it, and how cheap shipping is, and if I buy something else from the same seller I can combine the items and save so much money on shipping, then the rational side of my brain kicks in and it tells me (in a British and sophisticated accent, I don’t know why, but I think that is the way my rational brain should sound), “ok, you do know that that outfit is a size 3T and that The Sequel is barely going to be one!”. I love my rational side. If it wasn’t for it I might have closets full of stuff I don’t need, oh wait, I do have crap I don’t need! My rational side and I will need to have a talk.

Anyway, I feel that I am barely getting back into a regular schedule, after the holidays and all. I am finally catching up on other people’s lives, I am reading blogs, commenting, and see, writing my own posts.

Hey, I wanted to see if any of you live or work in the north area of Houston. I have a couple of friends that work up here in The Woodlands and I was thinking of putting together a Lunch Bunch Club of sorts. We can get together on Fridays for lunch and chat. If you are interested in getting together and meeting new people email me and I will add you to the mailing list.

Ok, that is it. I hope you guys have a wonderful weekend. Much Love.

Hiking In Huntsville

Hiking In Huntsville.

New Year's Resolutions

It is that time of year again, time to jump on the bandwagon and make resolutions that will only last for a couple of months.

So, with that in mind, I will omit everyone’s favorites – Eat well and exercise (wah, wah, wah). Yes, I could stand to loose A LOT of pounds, but I am not putting that as a resolution for this year since it was my resolution from 10 years ago, and every year after that. I am also omitting the standards like “Pray for world peace” and “Try to end world hunger”.

My resolutions for 2006 are –

1. Clean out every single closet in my house and the garage (well, any place where there is a door and things can quickly be put away when company comes over). My garage is a disaster; we call it the Bermuda Triangle, if anything goes in there it is likely to never be seen again.
2. Ebay, Ebay, Ebay. I have a million collections. I really need to focus on a couple and let go of all the other stuff. (plus, I think this will help my closet problem).
3. Learn to play an instrument. I am thinking piano, but if that does not work out then guitar is my second choice.

Yeap, those are my three little resolutions that I will be lucky to get done before the next new years. Wish me luck!!

Happy New Year!!

For last year's words belong to last year's language
and next year's words await another voice.
-T.S. Eliot

Happy Holidays

He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not, He Loves Me!!!

Wow, some people really get carried away with their celebrity crushes. Colleen Nestrel from Santa Fe, NM, filed a restraining order against David Letterman claiming that he has caused her “mental cruelty” and “sleep deprivation”. Ok, at first I said that Letterman freak! but as I read the story I came to realize that they do not even know each other!

Nestrel claims that she and Letterman have their own secret language and that he has even proposed marriage to her through the television…Hellllllo! All I can say is that the judge that granted this woman a restraining order needs to have HIS head examined, plus what a waste of resources and tax-payer’s money.

If Nestrel felt so abused by Letterman why didn’t she just change the channel or turn her TV off? Oh, yeah, I forgot, he talks to her when her TV isn’t even on. Freak!!

Boston

Boston.

Yucky snow

Boston

I have been trying to post some snow pictures from Boston (and all you guys know how much I LOVE snow), but I fear my phone is frozen. The temperature up here has been wretched, the low has been around 7 and the highs have been in the 20s…yuck!!

I am up in Boston, yes, all together now, AGAIN?? Yes, it seems that people up here can not live without me. Yippy, lucky me.

I will try to upload some pics as soon as my phone defrosts.

Aaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!

I am sick!! My throat is hurting so much that I can not even swallow, much less talk. Today is Elaine’s birthday party and I can not believe that I am missing it.

The kids have been sick for a while now (given Houston’s daily temperature change), since I had not gotten sick, I though that maybe I was going to be safe this winter, but I guess not. Those germs found their way in and ravaged my body. Damn them!!!

I was so looking forward to the party. Elaine, have a great birthday and an awesome time.

Have Gun, Will Shoot

Caution – With this post I do not mean to offend anyone that has a bipolar disorder or mental illness in any way.

Ok, with that said…what the hell was Rigoberto Alpizar (the guy that was shot in the Orlando International Airport on Dec. 7th by an Air Marshal) doing without his medication? And why was he on a missionary trip to Quito, Ecuador if he is bipolar?

I feel really bad for his wife and their families, but if I would have been on that plane I would have told the Air Marshals to shoot him. You would have to live under a rock not to know that suicide bombers are becoming the trend and that those types of terrorist attacks will be increasing here in the United States.

I think that anyone that says that the Marshals shot Alpizar too quickly, without waiting to see if he really had a bomb, are not thinking straight, or maybe they would think differently if it was them on that flight.

Next time I fly I am definitely paying attention to the lady on the airport loudspeaker that says that anyone making jokes or not taking the security measures seriously will be removed and that actions will be taken...and now we know they mean it.

Cold

Cold

Freaking cold in Houston.

Weird Conversation

I was at Wal-Mart today picking up some last minute items I need for my outside Christmas decorating. For some reason I feel that I need to keep up with the crazies down the street – they deserve a whole entry, so I will leave that one for later.

As I am looking at lights a lady comes up and stands next to me, nothing weird about that, except that she is talking to herself, nothing unusual about that either, I think; we have all done it at some point or another. I look at her and smile, she tells me that she was talking to herself (helllllo!! we all heard you lady). I make a joke and say, well, you know what they say, as long as you are not answering yourself you are ok. She tells me she answers herself and “my psychiatrist (holy crap!!) says that as long as I am talking to someone that it’s there I am ok. He will start to worry if I am talking to a…” at this point she starts waving her hand in front of her face and I say “imaginary”, she says, “yes, someone that does not exist”.

Moral of the story – stay away from the Christmas aisles, anyone that has waited this late in the game to get their Christmas shit together is dealing with other forces or voices inside their head.

Day From Hell

The day started off pretty good. I woke up early because Best Buy was delivering my new refrigerator and dishwasher. JR has wanted a new dishwasher for a long time, and since the holidays are upon us I was like, Merry Christmas honey!

Anyway, you might be asking yourself, didn’t she have a refrigerator? And what happened to her old one? Well, yes, I did, JR and I purchase this jewel, piece of crap, refrigerator that has been serviced over 5 times. A couple of weeks ago the darn thing completely stopped making ice, and nobody messes with my ice! So we called in again to get it serviced, we inquired about the non-lemon service agreement and we ended up getting a new fridge…yippie for us!!!

A couple of days later we made our way to Best Buy and got ourselves some new appliances. Ok, this brings me to today.

This morning two guys came and brought me my stuff. They gave me the basic instructions like, do not drink the first 3 gallons of water or use the first tray of ice, ok, got that. So I went on my way. A couple of hours later when I come home and open the fridge I see water all over the place. I am like, what the fu%k?!! I clean it up and call in right away. The lady that answers tells me to close the water valve, ok, I can do that. I tell the lady that I am not putting on with this and that I want to exchange it (I went through too much crap with the other fridge to have this one mess up the first day). She tells me to call the store.

Now, mind you that the people working at Best Buy are no PhDs, but they talk to you like YOU are an idiot. I tell the store guy what is happening. He tells me to take the filter out and gives me directions on how to reinstall it, maybe I am an idiot! I then turn the water valve on, I can do that. He says to go to the water dispenser and run it until the water is running out smoothly. I do this, but notice that two minutes later the water is still sputtering. I open the fridge side door to see if it is leaking and a tidal wave comes out and unto my hardwood floors. The rest of the story, well, you can just imagine how it went.

I am pissed and tired. I am marching into Best Buy tomorrow and getting me all different stuff…well, you all know what they say- lucky in love, unlucky in refrigerators.

Look Ma' No...Horns!?

That whole Cruise/Holmes baby pregnancy is just getting weirder and weirder.

It turns out that Tom Cruise is now pissing off a government agency. The Food and Drug Administration and the American College of Radiology are questioning his reasons for getting an ultrasound machine. The agencies are saying that continuous unnecessary exposure might harm the baby. Read entire article here.

The way I see is that when you have all the money in the world buying an ultrasound machine is like buying a baby swing to the rest of us, it kinda just comes with the baby. Plus, Tom has to check for horns if he wants to sell the picture of his “perfect family” and be on the cover of Vanity Fair.

Thanksgiving in Houston

Thanksgiving in Houston.

Thanksgiving in 82 degree weather.

Picture Blogging

Sorry I have not blogged in a while. I got a new cell phone (yes, I waited to get the upgrade) and have been wanting to do some picture/email blogging, but every time I try it I get a "can not connect" or some kind of error message.

I am thinking I should of gotten one of those phones with a key pad because it takes me forever to key in the entry and then the darn thing doesn't send the message, so I have to start over again! I just give up. I'll try it later I say.

Anyway, if you guys ever get a text/picture blog from me it will read something like, "bb grl @ 8 yrs" she is only 4 so maybe I can get this working by then.

Here is a pic of my new phone. Cool and stylish. If I can only get the darn thing to send a pic message I would be in heaven.

Happy Turkey Day!!

I hope you guys have a great Thanksgiving surrounded by your family and friends. Happy Thanksgiving

Black Friday

Black Friday is soon approaching (the biggest shopping day of the year – the day after Thanksgiving) and do you know which stores you will be hitting? Probably not, but I have some help. You can go to bp2005.com and click a link to see the stores advertised specials. The website also has other useful information, so it is a good place to get started while you wait for the store flyers to arrive. Planning IS everything.

Also, if you are a Banana Republic fan, you can now get $20 off a $100 purchase or $50 off a $200 just by using code BRGIVING at checkout. They also have 20% off outerwear and jeans. Offer is valid till Nov. 27th.

Neiman Marcus has 30% off its already reduced items and if you purchase $175 you can get free shipping by using code HOLIDAY at checkout.

Run Katie, Run!

Does the Katie Holmes/Tom Cruise pregnancy remind anyone of that Rosemary's Baby movie?? Creepy!!

Update - and now she is quiting her movie career to become a stay-at-home mom. Katie, I am telling you girl, RUN. Post a comment, I can get you out. I think it is too late for the baby, but save yourself.

Patch Warning

Article was taken straight from the Associated Press...

FDA issues warning for Ortho Evra patch

On Thursday the FDA issued a warning that the popular Ortho Evra birth control patch puts women at higher risk of blood clots and other serious side effects. Though Ortho McNeil's patch and the Ortho-Cyclen pill have similar levels of estrogen, women absorb about 60 percent more hormone on the patch because it is delivered directly into the bloodstream, rather than being digested first. The FDA's warning is a result of an Associated Press report that found women on the patch were three times more likely to die and suffer blood clots than women taking an oral formulation of the contraceptive. The AP report also claimed that in 2004 about a dozen women died and many more suffered strokes after using the patch. Ortho McNeil is a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson.

Three times more likely?? Crap! ok, they have my attention, the patch is coming off.

All Chicken is NOT Made the Same

Do any of you think it’s weird that McDonald’s is doing the promotion for the movie Chicken Little? McDonald’s sells chicken nuggets (well, you all knew that) and I wonder if any kids out there have made the connection.

Boston News

I am in Boston, ahhhhgain! The weather is extremely pleasant for this time of year, so I am having a great time going out and shopping. There is nothing better to get your blood pumping than TAX-FREE shopping. So far I have bought me three Lacoste shirts, one Burberry shirt, Burberry gloves (that had to be sent back to the store because I did not notice I had two right ones), and some Banana Republic items.

In other Boston news...A new Ikea opened up this morning in Stoughton, Mass. The opening of the mega store is not the strange thing, what is weird is that people have been camping out in front of the store for a week!!! When I saw the news report yesterday there were hundreds outside in sleeping bags waiting to get in!! Those people must really LOVE Ikea and have the time to commit to it since, as you all know, when they get home with their purchases is going to take them another week to put it together.

A Spooktacular Halloween

It Rained!!! But I soon got over it and managed to make it the best one yet, decoration wise.

It was really nice having my nemesis (the family that won the Halloween decorating contest last year) come over and say that I did a really good job this year. They also shared with me the plans they have for next year…oh, it is so on!!

This year our family theme was Neverland. The Sequel was Peter Pan, Baby Girl was Tinkerbell, JR was Capt. Hook, and I was Wendy. I told my sister and anyone that came over to dress up as a pirate.



This year, because of the rain, we only got around 75 kids. The year before last, when Halloween landed on a Friday we got around 250!!

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. And from now on I am asking to have it off! The whole day I was running around, getting everything set up while working! All my effort did pay off, JR and I stood outside for a while and heard the kids say very positive things (if spooky, scary, and creepy are positive, yeah!!).

I am already thinking of next year’s Halloween. I will keep you guys posted on what I come up with.

Wickedly Awesome

After much anticipation the day finally came for us to see the musical Wicked. At first I was kinda weird about Baby Girl coming with us because A) she is only four, B) it was her first musical, and C) she sometimes does not behave as well as she should, no matter how many evil eyes, and whisperings of “behave” under our breath we give her. But, I must say that given all the things mentioned above she did extremely well for her first day at the theatre.

The show was fantastic! The sets are great, the music is catchy, and the costumes are phenomenal. The musical is a prequel to the Wizard of Oz movie and they did a really great job tying everything together.

If you live in Houston, go see it, it will be here till November 13th. If you live somewhere else check your local venues, it is definitely worth seeing. The story has so many different points to consider (I do not want to spoil the show for anyone, so I will stop here) that you will be enlighten by something in it.

One last thing – are you a popular or defy gravity type of gal??

Eating My Words

Last year when I was up in Boston I told everyone that if the Red Sox would of faced the Astros in the ’04 World Series we would at least won one game (If you guys remember the Cardinals were swept by the Red Sox).

Today is the last chance the Astros have to win just one game!! Go Astros. I Believe!!

JR is at the game today. When he came home on Friday I told him that we had to have a family meeting. The conversation went something like this…John, as you know I have not gotten my period in a while and well, there is something me and the kids want to give you (at that point and time there was terror written all over his face). I gave The Sequel a little box and told him to give it to his father. (Background – Last year when I found out I was pregnant with The Sequel I gave Baby Girl the peed on stick and told her to give it to her dad, so you guys can see how this is very funny at this time). To make a long story short John was overjoyed when he found out he was getting World Series tickets instead of another baby.

When I gave him the tickets I told him to take a friend and that I wanted him to have the best day of his life. JR has been a super fan since we has 8 years old and I have heard him talk, yell, and scream every year for almost 13 years about those Astros, so I would be damned if he was not going to a game. I mean, who knows when the Astros will make the World Series again and hey, at least he can say he was there.

R.I.P.

Rosa Parks - A super cool chic that stood (or sat) her ground and did not take crap from the man.

Her death reminds us to stick to our guns and stir things up. Rosa Parks could have just gotten on that bus and sat on the back just like she had done the days and years before, but on that day something changed.

You just never know when your anthill will turn into a mountain.

Finally!!

Better late than never. Congrats Astros!!

Biggio said it best "I am not greedy, I am not selfish, I just want to go (to the World Series) one time", And so do I!!!

Good Luck Astros.

We Were, Ohh, So Close

Before the game pic




Minute Maid Park was packed, fans were on their feet cheering, excitement was in the air. Only one more out and we would be on our way to our first World Series. The roar of the fans was contagious, I, the once doubter, was on my feet and banging my thunder-stix like there was no tomorrow, but sadly there will be.



After getting a guy on base and walking the next guy the Astros (in a move that JR is still talking about and that brings tears to his eyes) decided to pitch to Pujols; a move that quickly ended our chances of clinching at home. The roar of the crown was quickly exchanged for silence and the look of disbelieve as Pujols hit a home run giving the Cardinals a run lead.

And just like that the game was over. Outside as people were coming off their almost-winning high there was anger, but most of all sadness. Dreams were crushed. On the way out we walked behind a dad that had to console his son (about 9) and explain to him what had just happened. The kid was close to tears.


JR ready to commit suicide

It would of been nice winning a spot to the World Series at home, but we still have two more games and contrary to the naysayers (and there are many) I think we will make it.

Friends In High Places

All I have to say is that Ashlee Simpson must have friends in high places. There is NO WAY that she was on Saturday Night Live again on her own merit given last year’s lip-sync fiasco.

If SNL did pick her to be on the show, without being black mailed or threaten in some way, SHAME ON THEM!! There are thousands of bands out there that would love an opportunity like that.

Milli Vanilli’s (yes, you remember them) career was so over when it was discovered that they had lip-synced at the Grammy Awards. They were called fakes and frauds. Didn’t Ashlee do the same thing??

I Thought I Had Heard It All

On Tuesday JR and I picked up Baby Girl from school. On the way home Baby Girl said that she had forgotten a piece of paper and that it was “very important”. We went back to school; she got out, and came back with a green paper. I read it, “What the Hell?” so I read it again. I just had to read it out loud so the words could penetrate my brain. Pretty much the school was telling us that our daughter could wear regular clothes (No Uniforms) on Thursday for the low, low (I added that) price of $1!

Ok, we pay tuition and we paid for a uniform, now they want us to pay $1 for her NOT to wear them. I was stunned. My first reaction was “You are wearing your uniform on Thursday, Baby Girl”, but I guess they must of worked them over in class, because she was not taking any of it. She started to tell me how the teacher had told them they had to wear their “special” clothes; they could wear anything they wanted, blah, blah, blah. The teacher must be getting a commission or something. Baby Girl said that EVERYONE was doing it.

It is not the $1 is the principle of the thing!!

Last night Baby Girl picked out her “special” clothes. I said that she should wear flip-flops with her outfit (a really cute Hello Kitty Asian inspired pair, but flip-flops none the less). I mean dealing with a 4 year-old in flip-flops the whole day sure makes paying $1 so worth it.

Pics From Natalie's Party

I have just uploaded the pics from Natalie's party into Flickr.

Nat, thanks for invitaing us, it was a lot of fun!



I so need to post about the Orlando vacation, it will happen one of these days.

I Must Start Making My Christmas List

Look, just in time for the holidays. I really, really hope I have been nice this year.

rita, Rita, RITA!!!

I am so tired of hearing about Rita. If you were affected by the hurricane I am so sorry, but if you are one of the 3.5 million people in Houston that was not, I bet you feel the same way I do when I say, let’s move on already!

Yesterday, I was watching one of the shows that I TiVoed that aired last Wednesday night (before Rita), I can see how people felt like grabbing their kids and running for the hills. The bottom of the screen had a scroll that pretty much said “Leave Now” flashing constantly across the screen.

We got back home from our vacation on Sunday. The airport was pretty empty and so were the streets. On the way home from the airport there was an eerie feeling in the air, it was like walking through a carnival after it closes; there are wrappers and trash on the floor and the look of chaos all around, but there is no one around to tell you what happened.

The home was ok, only a massive amount of branches and pine needles. Some roof shingles came off, but the roof is not leaking.

On Monday we decided to go to Sam’s and pick up some items. When we got there we thought the store was closed because there were only a couple of cars in the parking lot, but nope, it was opened. It was been nice having less people in Houston though, no lines, no parking problems, no traffic.

I will post some pics of the vacation a little later. Right now I am catching up on work and TiVo. I am also trying to stay away from those meteorologists that are predicting that another terrible storm is heading for, yes, you guess it, Houston.

Rita, Rita, Go Away, Come Again Some Other Day

Where am I?? Well, I am on vacation in Orlando, Florida and it looks like it will be an extended vacation since I will not be able to make it back home on Saturday night like I was supposed to.

From over here in Orlando what is going on in Houston looks totally scary. I am glad I am over here, eventhough I am completely worried about my house, my friends and family.

I hope you all Houstonians are doing well. Please be careful. Much Love.

Must...Be...Nice

There is just one major blogging rule that I follow and that is…

NEVER, ever, ever, blog about someone you know. There could be that small chance that the person stumbles on your blog, just to see what is new, and reads the horrific things you have said about them and their issues, mostly mental in my case, and make such a BIG deal about them that the issue that you had to begin with seems small in comparison. Totally NOT worth it!

I have never meanly blogged about anyone. I am a lover not a fighter and think that there are other million things to discuss or bash, like, lets say, Tom Cruise, his craziness, and his stupid and predictable War Of The Worlds movie, but that is another post entirely. See? I am clearly a lover.

Do not get me wrong, I do have a mean streak, come down girl! Not now, that would like to come out once in a while, like now. This is all I will say on the subject. Some people are crazy, they go and fuck up and want everyone else to share in the “cleaning up” responsibility, fuck that. You created the monster you clean it up!!!

You guys go on and have a beautiful day now. Much Love.

We Will Never Forget

Photo Collage - the day that will live in our memory forever.

Lending a Hand

Today will be a nice day. I will be having lunch with Hanna from Mish Mish. She works right across the street from my house, small world.

After lunch, I am volunteering at the George R. Brown (where the evacuees are housed) for HISD (Houston Independent School District). I, well, me and countless others, will be in charge of registering the kiddos in area schools.

I will be there from 1pm to 10pm, at first I was like WHAT? But it is for a good cause so I am ok with it – I hope, I will let you guys know how it went.

FX

Is anyone out there watching It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Starved, or Rescue Me? I am completely hooked on all those shows. I feel I am the only person in the world watching FX until Nip/Tuck starts on the 20th (yippie!!!).

I am looking forward to Reunion tonight on Fox, primarily because of Sean Faris. I really liked him in Life As We Know It.

Ok, I don’t know why I am blogging about my tv watching, I guess I want my voodoo curse to go away. JR always teases me by telling me that if I like a show it will most likely be cancelled within a season or two. Poor LAWKI was cancelled halfway through the season; ABC never aired the last two shows. Dead Like Me, I just LOVE that show and it was cancelled after two seasons. WTF??

I really hope Sunny and Starved make it (appeal to those mighty TV Gods). The shows are funny, yes, in my kind of way, but still funny without being in-your-face about it and without those annoying laugh tracks. I catch myself laughing, or what I consider laughter - a loud, unladylike, and unapologetic sound that is emitted from my body – when I watch the shows and for that I am thankful. I will keep my fingers crossed, but will not hold my breath.

"When I Was Your Age I Had To Walk..."

Tonight before her bedtime, I was reading Baby Girl a book titled Charming Opal. The book is about a little girl pig that has a loose tooth, looses the tooth, finds it, and gets a visit from the Tooth Fairy.

After the book was over I had the following conversation with Baby Girl –

BG: “Does the Tooth Fairy live in Texas?”

Me: “Yes”

BG: “How does she know where I live?”

Me: “When you start getting some loose teeth I will email her and give her the address”.

BG: “When you were little did the Tooth Fairy visit you?”

Me: “Yes, but we did not have email, my mom had to send her a letter by mail. (I thinking this was not clear had to elaborate) See, when I was little we did not have computers”

BG: “You did not have computers??” She said sounding very amazed.

Me: “Computers were not around when I was little. If we had to get in touch with someone we actually had to get a pen and paper out and write them. I did not have a computer when I was little like you do today”

I could not control myself and started to laugh, I actually sounded like my grandmother when she told me about her first ride in a car! Oh, no, I had come up with my own version of “walking to school in a foot of snow” old-timer story. I feel really old right about now.

Biting The Hand That Feeds You

The Office Depot and the Kroger (grocery store), as well are other stores down the street from the Astrodome, where the refugees are housed, have had to close their doors for some time due to the fact that people were going in there to steal. Ok, I can understand stealing food and water, but what the hell are they doing with Post-its??

There have been reports of rape at both the Astrodome and in the Superdome. And more than 30 fire arms were confiscated from the refugees when they arrived in Houston.

The reason some of these individuals were not able to leave New Orleans when the evacuation began was because they did not have the means or the way to do so. These are people that EXPECT to be taken care of. My one question is…will these people be bused back?

Do not get me wrong, I am not talking about the handicapped, children, elderly, or sick, I am talking about the strong men and women that are able to break a store window, grab a TV, and then carry it down the street! (I have a hard time carrying my 6 month old for more than a block).

On the other hand, I have to give Kudos to the companies and corporations that are making it easier for individuals affected by the hurricane. Chase Bank is giving their employees a job here in Houston as well as $1500. Apartment complexes are having “free” move-in and limited lease agreements. And area universities are taking in Louisiana students rather quickly.

I have no problem helping people that are willing to help themselves; yesterday I saw a car that had “Thank You Texas” painted on its back window, hey, someone is appreciative.

I do have a problem with helping people that use our stores for practice drills. The ones that do not want to loose their stealing touch for when they are out in the real world, most likely the streets of Houston.

Idiots

I can not believe it. Gays are being blamed for the destruction caused by Katrina to New Orleans. The “Christians” are saying that God destroyed New Orleans because it was a “Wicked” city full of sin. This Labor Day weekend was to be the 34th celebration of Southern Decadence, a majority gay party. The “Christians” are saying that the party was a reason God got rid of The Big Easy. You can read the stupid statement here.

These “Christians” have their head so far up their ass to see the real devastation and hurt that the hurricane has caused. The feel no pain for the thousands left homeless since “the tolerated and put up with the (gay) behavior”.

And by the way, after the flood didn’t God say in the Bible that he would never again destroy the earth with water? Huh? Idiots!

Hurricane Katrina

There are several shelters that have been opened around the Houston area to accommodate the thousands of people that have been evacuated from their homes because of the hurricane.

This is a current list of shelters and more are being added daily. Starting tomorrow people will begin being bused from Louisiana and Mississippi to the Astrodome.
These places need volunteers or you can give anything you can, any amount helps, to the Red Cross.

It was their turn this time and tomorrow it maybe ours, so give anything you can or just help out.

So Sad

My heart completely goes out to anyone that had to go through the hurricane Katrina. I feel so sad just reading some of the news stories on CNN.com.

I am speechless, all I can say is that I am so, so sorry.

Busy, Busy...Timmmmber!!!

Wow, we had a super busy weekend and here is the recap…

Friday Night – We made our way to The Flying Saucer in Downtown Houston for a long overdue Tiara Happy Hour. I had not been to a Tiara since December, so it was nice to see everyone again.





Saturday – We got up early because we were invited to a Birthday breakfast for a 2 year old. The party was to start at 9:30am in Sugarland, Tx (the complete opposite point of were I live). The party was for little Mark the son of a Middle School friend of mine. I had not seen them in a while, so we made the trip.

It’s a small world, at the party there was another person there that attended the same school at the same time. I did not recognize him, and you guys know what a dork I am when it comes to stuff like this, so when I got home I busted out my 1985 Ollie Middle School yearbook and reminisced about the past.

Speaking of birthday parties…it has come to my attention that more and more people are having what I call eclectic get-togethers. Saturday we had the Birthday Breakfast and Friday we have a kid’s birthday party at 5:30pm. I don’t know how to feel about the new trend, I guess it is like going to a Wedding on a Thursday afternoon, you know you are going, but it just takes you a little while to get used to the idea.

Saturday Night – We went to a friend’s birthday get together. It was a low key game party. We played this game called spoons, it is played with, yes, you guessed it, spoons and playing cards. The whole game goes really fast and can get violent at times. I being a lover not a fighter was the first one out.

On our way home there was a huge storm, a lot of lightning and thundering. When we got home, I could not believe my eyes, one of the trees in the front lawn had fallen down, and by fallen I mean all the way from the root straight down. Gasp. What the hell?

Sunday – We spent the whole day slicing up the tree and branches. There is now a big hole where the tree used to be, so sad.

How Do They Do It??

How do some women have the power to look awesome/flawless at all hours of the day?

This is a conundrum that has perplexed me for some time now. As most of you guys know I work from home and my every day uniform consists of shorts, t-shirt, tennis shoes, and ponytail. I am pretty low key most of the time. If I go out, well, I dress up, but most of the time I am just hanging. I would think that that would be the case for most women with children living around me in the suburbs, but it is not.

Baby Girl has gymnastics at 10:30 am and I can swear that people get dressed up to go there. These women have makeup, hair done, and cute matching clothes. These women look like they are going to a party afterwards or something. I experience the same thing when I drop off Baby Girl at school. Her drop-off time is 8:50-9am, by the time I am assuming that most parents there are stay at home, but I pretty much see the same thing there. The only thing that saves me is the car line. I can wear dark shades, a hat, and drop her off without having to get out of the car.

Going to the Y sucks also (I go mid-day because I hate crowds). You would think, ok, one, it is the Y and two, people are there to exercise and get sweaty, but that is so not the case. Women actually go there with makeup and their hair done! Ok, I can understand that one day they had a meeting or something, but everyday I have been there??!! I don’t think so.

I just don’t know how they do it. Maybe I am just a slacker that cherishes her sleep a little bit too much. When I go out out it takes me one hour to take a shower, put makeup on, do my hair, and get dressed. I would not do that every day unless I had paying job to go to. Maybe these mommies are dressing for success, but who do they talk to about getting a raise??

Super Busy

I have been super busy this week. I have had to work almost every day, I really hate that!!

I did so good with blogging last week that this week I feel like a complete slacker, but do not worry as soon as things die down I will tell you guys all about the fabulous life I lead ;)

Oh, yeah, some light at the end of the tunnel, Friday is Tiara night here in Houston, we will be meeting at The Flying Saucer at around 8:00pm, if anyone is interested come on down. I can really use a few beers and some good conversation right about now.

Gas Prices SUCK!!

LA Bound...

I'm leaving on a jet plane...

Tomorrow I am heading to sunny Los Angeles for work. I will be staying in Manhattan Beach. I am, oh, so excited (sarcastic). I will let you know how things went as soon as I can.

Growing Up Is Hard To Do

Baby Girl started school today. She just looked so cute in her little uniform. She was SO excited this morning that she got up with out me even waking her up.

I, on the other hand, was extremely confused this morning. I was told that her school ran with the same schedule as CISD, but they don’t start school till tomorrow. I woke up this morning expecting to see a line of cars behind my fence (we live right behind an elementary school), but there were no cars. So, as any person would do, I started questioning my sanity. I tried calling the school, but there was no answer. It became a Twilight Zone moment for me…is it this week or next? What day is it?

I figured I would get Baby Girl ready anyway, make her a lunch, take some pics, and drive to the school just to be sure. My mom that was with me told her “we are going for a ride to the school just for fun, if there are kids there you will get off, if not we will just have a fun ride”. We just did not want to get her hopes up, but Baby Girl quickly added, “We can go on a picnic”.

We drove to the school and, yes!!, there were cars there. I walked her in and she gave me a kiss and said bye. I know she is doing great, but my heart just can’t understand that she is getting older; I guess I am the one that is having a harder time growing up. Sniff, sniff.

Good Idea/Bad Price

I am not one of those mothers that has pictures of her kids plastered all over the place, but when I saw this, I was like “I could do that!”



I mean, why get those boring stamps at the post office – you know the ones with the pictures of people you have never heard of or the ones that make you feel totally guilty that you are no supporting the “in” cause. Anyway, when I saw those personalized stamps advertised in a magazine I said to myself “I will buy boring stamps no longer!” Who wouldn’t love these things? What could keep someone from personalizing their invitations and envelopes with their own creation? Well, I came to find out…The Price!

You can normally buy a set of 20 stamps for $7.40, but these people are selling 20 personalized stamps, for the very high price of, $16.99!!

To say the least, my bubble popped as fast as it had been inflated. I immediately thought, the flag stamps are not so bad; a personalized stamp will work the same as an ugly one; plus, nobody keeps the envelopes anyway.

Wickedly Awesome

This weekend I got tickets for Wicked. The show is part of the Broadway Across America series and will be in Houston the last week of October until Nov. 13, 2005. I thought it would be a great show to see for Halloween so we got tickets for Oct. 30th. This will be Baby Girl's first theatre show, I am so excited...yes, I am a dork!!

Must...Have...New...Phone...

I so want a new cell phone that I fabricated a lie to get one. Yes, I know, I am going to hell, but at least I will have a new phone.

Lately, I have been thinking that I NEED a camera phone (I have an external camera phone, which sucks) that way I can take pics when I am on the go and blog about them without having to haul my camera around.

One of the things I HATE about myself is that when I want something I will dwell on it forever and it will consume my every minute of my every day until I get it. I got the thought in my head a couple of days ago and yesterday I found my phone, the only thing is that it is pretty much sold out everywhere.



It has a 2 pixel camera with flash, zoom capabilities, TV, and I can store music on it. Oh, yeah, and I guess it works as a phone too, plus other things I am not concerned with, blah, blah, blah. Full features here.

Anyway, the phone retails for $499 – WHAT?!! Anyway, this morning I called my boss and told him that I thought I needed a new phone because my old phone was not keeping a charge. I also told him that I had changed the battery and it was still not working properly. Geez, I suck, I really do. I hate myself for the lie.

I will probably pay for it (karma) because I can not find that phone anywhere. If anyone sees it, it is a Samsung MM-A800, please let me know.

The Real Boston Update

Our Boston trip was a lot of fun. We left on Saturday morning at around 5:30am for the airport...yeap, a little too early for me (JR booked the trip). I must say that The Sequel was awesome on the plane, I was a little afraid at first he being a little more needy that Baby Girl at that age, but I guess the both have good traveling genes because they were both great on the plane.



After we got the car, which was hell, because we seem to have the stroller from hell that did not fit in a regular sized trunk, we made our way to our hotel room in Bedford, MA.

The day was awesome, sunny, breeze, no humidity, so we decided that it was a good day to go to the beach. After talking to a couple of people we decided on Hampton Beach in New Hampshire.



After the beach we were invited to dinner at a friend’s house. Thanks Gus and Steph. They are the couple that you love to hate, the kind that has a great kitchen and came make dirt taste awesome. Yeah, I hate them!

On Sunday we made our way to Concord, Mass to the North Bridge, the site where the firsts shots of the Revolution were fired. I don’t know why, but I really like that place. I guess I just remember being pregnant with Baby Girl and going there for a picnic or to take a nap next to the water. I think it is just so neat that there is so much history in and around Boston.





From there we drove down to Boston. I wanted to take a pic of The Sequel at the Public Garden near the ducks. Baby Girl had a picture taken there at the same age, so I thought it would be nice to do the same thing with The Sequel.



One thing I never did while living in Boston was ride the Swan Boats. They have actually been there since the early 1900s. I guess is one of those things that you do when you have a child that desperately wants to get on them.

For me there is nothing better to do in Boston than strolling through the park (with great weather) and looking at the flowers, statues. It is just a nice place.



After the park we walked up Boylston Street to Copley Square.





On Monday through Wednesday I had training at the office, so I was not able to go out and see the city. But on Thursday I had a day off (the rest of the group went on a gambling boat, so I opted out of it) so we decided to drive up to Gloucester and go whale watching.







We so totally lucked out this year with the weather. Last year when I was there in the summer it rained all week and it was unusually cold. I am supposed to be up there again in December, I really, really, hate snow and it just so happens that the first snow of the season usually falls the days that I am there.

Boston Update

We have had an amazing week here in Boston. I MUST write a longer update and download some pictures as soon as I have time, it is 3am and I got stuck working a maint window up here, ughhh.

We head back home tomorrow and I will have to put my Superwoman cape on because Baby Girl's 4th bday party is Saturday and there is lots to do. She will be having a Strawberry Shortcake Swimming Party, please keep your fingers crossed so it doesn't rain.