Life goes on

Ziggy's death kind of overshadowed everything else that has happened since the 23rd, but I don't want to let Christmas completely slide by.

As previously mentioned, my mom was here from California, and my daughter and her family were here from Ohio.

We were completely out of the old house by the 22nd, but the new house was a mess. I had to be at work every day, so my mom and daughter did the most wonderful thing for me and cleaned where possible, and tried to organize.

We ended up having a fairly quiet Christmas Eve, as Kristi and her family went down to the lake to stay with my ex-in-laws, so Christmas Eve was just me, Scott and my mom.

Christmas morning, we drove out to Scott's mom and delivered her present, and then drove on down to the lake, where we stayed for about 4 hours - missing out on breakfast AND dinner - kinda sucked, and then we had to drive home to meet Scott's step-son Travis and his family. The next morning, we picked Shannon up and then threw an impromptu BBQ with Scott's kids and my daughter and her family...it was a lot of fun. The Texas weather was being kind and we enjoyed 70 degree temps for our first official BBQ at our lake house :)

Kristi and her family left our house Monday night, and left Dallas Tuesday morning. My mom left Wednesday morning...ugh, had to leave the house at 5 am to get her to the airport - and at that, I had underestimated how long it would take and she almost missed her flight.

I loved having them all with me for the first time in many years!

Scott started our remodelling with our bedroom/office. He painted the office, all the trim in both rooms, laid carpet in both rooms and knocked out the wall between them (although not in that order). It took him longer than he thought, but it's 99% done right now and the other 1% will have to wait for our checking account to magically refill itself. It looks great, and the bedroom is much larger and brighter. We should be able to put our office together this weekend.

The livingroom is completely devoid of Christmas now, and is just waiting for the computer stuff to be moved to the office, then we can start deciding picture placement, etc.

After that, we will be painting Shannon's bedroom (our guest room) which is currently Pepto-pink, lavendar and candy apple green (arrrggghhhh!) and which will be painted a color called "Cool Water", which is a very slightly green-tinted blue.

Of note is the fact that Katie, our other Quaker Parrot, seems to realize that Ziggy is gone, and is taking the opportunity to start showing off her personality. She had learned many of his phrases, so it's a little eerie hearing them from her, but she's also bringing out sounds of her own and seems hungry to learn more. Maybe it took the "top dog" being gone for her to come out of her shell.

Well, I hope some of this made sense - I'm sicker than a dog and still at work, so I'm a little braindead. More later!

Rest in Peace, my darling Ziggy

This morning, around 8:00 a.m., my darling Ziggy passed away.

We didn't even realize something was wrong until last night, when he started shivering and wanted to be cuddled. By then, it was too late. I did get to hold him for a couple of hours last night, as he seemed to seek me out again and again. I'd like to think that he knew he was going and wanted to spend his remaining time with me.

I've cried all day, mourning the loss of that little bird who had such a huge impact on our family in the year that we've had him. No more Ziggy singing karaoke and opera, or barking at the dog, or meowing at the cat. No more "Mommy!!" shrieked at the top of his lungs. No more Ziggy begging for pizza, bread, or oyster crackers. No more preening my hair, no more nibbling my ear, or chasing my bare feet.

He will be buried at the top of the hill behind our house, where hopefully, he won't be disturbed for many years to come.

I love you Zigman...and miss you terribly! It's already too quiet without you.


Ziggy - Died 12/28/05

Killing time and an update

Since I'm stuck at work for another hour or so and could be doing real work, but not under any pressure to do so, I figured I'd take some time to update my blog.

I believe I last left off with the fact that we were supposed to move into our house last Saturday, the 17th and, of course, since nothing else has gone smoothly with this deal, I have a story to tell you about it.

We rented our truck on Friday evening, and Scott and his friend, John, started loading it. Scott and I drove out to the house at 4:00 p.m. to do our walk-through, since the seller had already told us he wouldn't be out at 8:00 a.m., like he was supposed to be.

We get out there and...the power is off. It's a little hard to do a proper walk-through with no power, but we did the best we could...HA!

There was still a little furniture in every room. It was apparent that they hadn't cleaned the house at all. The boat house was still filled to the brim with the seller's crap. One of the ceramic light covers on the patio was broken and pieces on the ground. Their teenage daughter wrote on the walls of her bedroom in black magic marker "Tiffany loves you - 11/11/05"....one week before we closed on the house. It was also obvious that the seller had allowed his dogs to hang out in the two carpeted bedrooms - where they apparently relieved themselves. Despite all of this, the seller assured us that they would be completely out that night, and would leave the key for us under a brick by the porch.

Disappointed once again, and furious that we were unable to get into the house and were paying rent on the truck for a second day, we went home, after stopping first at Home Depot and picking out new carpet for the bedrooms, and paint for the walls of the room that will become our office - which was a hideous dark blue.

Sunday morning, we rolled out of the house at the crack of dawn and headed to our new home. Bear in mind that it is a 46 mile drive one way. We arrive at the house and discover that the seller didn't leave the key - but that's ok, the front door was unlocked.

We walk in the house and...the furniture is still there. The house is filthy and I mean that truly. They hadn't washed the tub, hadn't swept, hadn't washed windows...it was truly dirty. Seller shows up a few minutes later and Scott says "What were you going to do with this furniture? Do you need a hand getting it out of here?" And the seller says, "I wasn't planning on doing anything with it...I was just going to leave it." WTF? At that point, he started understanding how pissed off we were and helped Scott get it out of the house and then, the only decent thing the guy has done throughout this ordeal, he and his brother in law helped Scott unload the truck...good thing, because our driveway is a 20% grade and there is no way we would have gotten it done by ourselves.

Today is Friday, and we finally got the last load of little crap over to the new house. The old house is as spotless as I can make it. My mother and my daughter have been cleaning the new house while I work, and trying to organize it as best they can. I'm hoping to get it finished up over the next few days, but I'm utterly and totally exhausted.

All I can say is that I'm getting far too old for this crap and if we ever move again, Scott better plan on getting movers and a cleaning crew.

OK, I'm out of here...Merry Christmas everyone!!

It's starting to look a lot like Christmas!

Last week, our entire town lost its power - on the coldest day we've had this year. The temperature outside was 16, but I have no idea how cold it got in the house. The birds became lethargic from the cold, so we lit a fire in the fireplace we hadn't used in the two and a half years we lived here, and put the bird cages in a semi-circle around the fire to warm them up. Oh, we're down to four birds - we re-homed Lucy two weeks ago. We just couldn't take her screeching anymore - and the other 4 were starting to imitate her! At 5:30 in the morning, that just wasn't cool.

We're supposed to (finally!!) move into our house Saturday morning - and our weather forecast is calling for snow. Somehow, that makes sense, after all we've been through to get the house.

My daughter and her family will arrive here tomorrow from Ohio. They'll be staying for two weeks, but I don't know how much I'll actually see of them. I know they have plans to visit all their friends and other family members, but I know I'll at least see them here and there.

My mom will arrive from California on the 21st...I just hope we have the house set up by then!

My livingroom is filled with boxes and Christmas presents - but no tree yet. Doesn't make sense to buy one when you're about to move :)

I've been letting this blog slide while we've been busy packing, but I'll try to get better about it after the first of the year. If I don't post before then - have a Merry Christmas!

Tis the Season!

I started listening to Manheim Steamroller last night - always my indicator that the Christmas spirit is upon me :)

Since the stress of the house purchase has passed, and Scott assures me that he'll handle the move and that we will have a Christmas tree for our first Christmas in our new home, I decided to jump back on the Nutrisystem band wagon starting yesterday. I've had two 100% days in a row, and was down 1.4 lbs this morning...woohoo!

Our dog, Jonah, has been with us 31 days now, and he's gained 10 lbs! He was thin when we got him and needed filling out, so this is a good thing. He's such a good dog, although he freaked me out tonight by barking very loudly at his reflection in the sliding glass door tonight...lol. Makes me think he'll be a good watchdog though :)

I haven't started Christmas shopping yet - thank God I don't have too many people to buy for! I should be able to start this coming weekend, and we'll have Shannon, so I'll get her to help me. Having her around every other weekend sure has been nice...and well worth the hassles we went through to get this thing with her mother straightened out!

Three websites for you to check out, in light of the holidays. They're coupon sites...hope you find one you can use!

http://www.currentcodes.com/

http://www.couponcabin.com/

http://www.dealhunting.com/

22 days and counting

Well, in 22 days, we'll be able to start moving into our house!

The bitter taste left over from the closing has started to subside as our excitement begins to build. We went furniture shopping on Friday - I've wanted new furniture for quite awhile and since we aren't going to be smoking in the new house, I didn't want to take smoke-smelling furniture into it. We found a set at Rooms to Go, consisting of a sofa and what they call a "chair and a half". Both pieces are recliners, which Scott and I both wanted. They will be delivered to the house on the 20th. Of course, we paid more than I wanted to, but that's fine - hopefully, it'll be the last set of furniture we buy for 10 years or so.

Our conversations are now peppered with ideas and plans. Since our ultimate goal is to build a new house on that land, we've been looking at floor plans and we've decided to go with a log cabin look - and this is the design we really want. This is 2-3 years away though.

I think I'll spend today packing some more stuff. Most of it's already in storage, but there's quite a bit more that could be packed up now as we're getting closer!

Pictures of the house

Sue, just for you and anyone else who may want to look :)

http://photobucket.com/albums/b127/honey4evr/Our%20House/

For password, use helen

Homeowners....at last

The closing was painful, very stressful, broke us completely financially (I'll be bouncing checks until Thursday), but it's over. We'll move in starting the evening of December 18.

The lender kept putting off getting the loan docs to the title company - they were supposed to be there Tuesday, then Wednesday, then Thursday, and still were not there until noon on Friday.

The seller tried to put off signing until Monday, which meant they would occupy our house until 12/21...and I just lost it. I called my father in law, who has been dealing with the seller, and raged at him. My mom is supposed to be here from California on 12/20...where the hell was I going to put her? My daughter and grandchildren are coming in from Ohio on 12/14....they'll have to stay at a hotel or with her father. It's going to cost $31 a day to board the dog and cat, while we're staying with the birds at the home of my ex-mother in law, or a friend, since we have to be out of this house on 12/10. Father in law finally called the seller and lit into him...so they showed up at closing and signed.

When we got in there to sign, the title company informed us that they needed another $2100 by certified check - and there was no branch of our bank in that town - no way to get the money. I lost it again. The title company finally, after 30 minutes of us trying to find a bank who would let us cash a check (HA!) decided that we could wire them the money on Monday morning.

I truly don't think I could have taken another delay or another problem...I'd have been fitted for a straight jacket if there had been.

Thank God it's all over....and I swear, I will never go through this again. Next house we buy will be EMPTY.

The closing

*sigh*

We didn't close. Our landlady must have decided she didn't want us to move or something, because she intentionally sat on the paperwork she needed to fill out and send back to the lender...hence, loan documents didn't issue today.

We took our certified check for the anticipated closing costs to the title company and signed another extension to "on or before November 18th", terrified all the while that the seller wouldn't agree to it.

We found out a little while ago that he did agree to it, but that he now wants a firm 30 days to move, but he will absolutely be out on that 30th day. Fine...not a problem. We had gone up just last night and gave the landlady a check that paid us to up 12/10. Everyone now believes we'll sign loan docs on Tuesday morning, so we'll have to give them another 3 days of rent, and not have a week to clean the way we had planned.

What I'd really like to do is choke the life out of my landlady, but of course, I can't do that. She told our loan broker that she didn't have the lease in front of her and couldn't verify how long we lived here...we moved in in September of 2003....2.2 years ago, and she only needed to verify 12 months. If she hates us, it would have made more sense to fill that paper out as fast as possible and send it to the lender by fax right away so we'd be gone. If she likes us and wants us to stay, she has a strange way of showing it. And, btw, she's a residential real estate agent for Coldwell Banker, so it's not like she didn't know how badly we needed this....and I had called her twice about it anyway....once while she apparently had the document sitting on her desk and she told me she hadn't heard from the lender. Purely evil.

We're going to go rent a storage unit in the town we're moving to, and we're going to start loading up Scott's work van with the boxes we've had packed for 2 months, and move them out there. I figure if we've done without it this long, it can stay in storage until we settle in and I'll bring a few boxes home at a time. That'll thin out the clutter around here (2/3rds of the house is in boxes scattered around my house) and we can start cleaning. Benefit: Things that were a priority to keep 2 months ago, may not be as important to keep in another 2 months.

Other than the landlady thing, I'm calmer and it's going to be ok. The landlady thing hurts to the quick...this is not some corporation...this is a woman that lives 500 yards from me and waves to me every day. We feel utterly and totally betrayed.

It wasn't supposed to be this hard!!

I haven't been posting and probably needed to, if for no other reason than the therapy benefits.

Last Friday, we bought a dog from the SPCA! His name is Jonah and he's a Labrador mix, probably with Weimaraner. He is without a doubt the best dog I've ever owned. He's 7 months old, weighs 40 lbs, and is calm and gentle.

We were supposed to close on our house on October 31, but we received word that our appraiser had been unable to get out to the house - couldn't hook up with the sellers, so the closing got extended until November 10. I called the sellers yesterday to let them know that our insurance agent needed to come and inspect the house and, in the course of that conversation, discovered that while they have every intention of closing on 11/10, they have NO intention of being out of the house by then, nor do they intend to pay rent to us for staying there. Contractually, of course, they can't do that; however, they let it be known that if we intended to force the issue, they would simply walk away...with our $5,000 escrow.

Needless to say, this has Scott and I completely and totally stressed out. I lost 3 lbs overnight simply because I couldn't eat and from crying (I cry when I'm stressed - and when we fight, which is occurring because of the stress). We reminded each other this morning that we love each other and this is just a house and there are more houses out there, and even if we have to wait a year to find one, we'll be just fine. It still sucks.

I'm picking Shannon up tonight after work and taking her to our house for our very first entire weekend visit! Scott and I are very excited about this, so it is a bright spot in an otherwise miserable week.

Valium, anyone?

OK, so daughter #1 had her baby, daughter #2 got married, and the visitation issues with my step-daughter have been resolved to our satisfaction. The only remaining issue for October is closing on the house. The loan app has been signed, but not yet approved. We have all the money we will need if we get the 100% loan, but if it's only a 90-95% loan, we're going to have to go to Scott's dad...which we really do NOT want to do! If it's a 95% loan, we'll only need $2000, but I still don't want to go to him!

We're pretty much packed, but I intend to do some more this weekend and try to get us down to just the stuff we'll need for the next 11 days. The house is supposed to be move-in ready when we get the keys on the 31st. Scott swears we're showing up for the closing with the fully packed moving van! I'm delighted that I can't take any time off work - he'll be doing most of the move himself ;)

I'm a little worried about how the birds are going to take this - moving them could cause some issues like more night-frights (which Ozzie gets more frequently than I like) and it could also cause some feather plucking. Nobody does that now and I hope they're secure enough about us that the move doesn't make them start!

So yeah, a little stressed, but nothing that 10 mg of Valium couldn't help! ;)

She'll carry on

On October 13, at 10:00 a.m., my newest grandchild, Kathryn Lynn was born. She weighed in at 8 lbs., 10 oz. and was 21 inches long. My daughter was in labor for only 7 hours, and only pushed for 12 minutes, and after only 3 good pushes, presented our little beauty.

After packing to come home yesterday, I sat holding Kathryn. As I gazed at her, I realized I wanted to live long enough to see the young woman she is destined to become.

My nickname for my grandmother was the "Ice Queen". She was a very hard woman who, upon being told by my mother "I love you", responded with "God bless you". Love wasn't apparently part of her make-up. Needless to say, being raised by the Ice Queen, my mother wasn't exactly the most loving parent around, and she did try, but unconditional love was not something I experienced.

I know the mistakes I've made with my children, but thankfully, they received enough good from me that they have become very loving and generous adults. I can't wait to see Kathryn (and her big brother Alex, and their cousin Alyssa) grow into adults who were loved unconditionally. My daughters are such better mothers than I was, so I apparently did something right!

I doubt seriously that I'll live long enough to see Kathryn become a mother, but I was totally in awe as I sat looking at that sweet baby face, and realized that at some time in the distant future, she will tell her children stories about her grandmother (me). I pray that the stories Kathryn shares with her children about me will include lots of humor and tons of love!

The Food Whore

I stumbled across a blogger today that has kept me giggling for hours. It's called The Food Whore. The author is a chef and caterer, and the blogger details her "tricks" (jobs). It's a great read, but don't visit for the first time when you're short on time...you'll want to stay for hours!

I must warn you that she's fond of expletives, so if that bothers you, I guess you'll need to miss this one.

Weekend update

Friday Night: My step-daughter Jennifer had her wedding rehearsal. It was a long evening, but a lot of fun. It was great to see old friends and family.

Saturday: The wedding was absolutely beautiful, although most of the people there had been there the night before! My son-in-law's family is very nice, and we had a great time.

Scott's holds my family up as a beacon of how a divorced family should be. In attendance was my ex-husband's first wife and her current boyfriend, me and Scott, my ex and his Significant Other, my ex's father and step-mother, and mother and step-father...you almost needed a scorecard to keep up! We all get along well and we even took the first wife and her boyfriend to the bus station and airport (they came separately). It's pretty cool that we all managed to make this work...I think it's very good for the kids, even though they're grown. I think it teaches them a valuable lesson for "just in case" their own marriages fail, and what they need to do to make it good for their own kids.

So, a happy weekend all around!

I love my TIVO!

OK...so it's not really a Tivo. It's a DVR from Direcway, but it works very much like a Tivo. I set it up to record tv shows that I want to see but can't watch at the time they're on.

For instance, I love the show "House, M.D." It is in its second season and it's an absolutely awesome show...catch it if you can. It's on tonight as a matter of fact! But because we're supposed to have company tonight, I won't be able to watch it...so Tivo to the rescue!

Now I'll share a secret with you....don't tell anyone else...*looking around*...

I am a junkie...a soap opera junkie. I love General Hospital and One Life to Live and have them both set up on the Tivo to record every day. Granted, sometimes I'm running 6 weeks behind, but then I let Scott know it's time for a marathon weekend and he lets me veg in front of the tv all weekend.

I love technology and this little device is one of the best ones ever designed, in my book!

Rita fades away

Well, other than some wind gusts of nearly 50 mph, we didn't see hide nor hair of Rita! From all the data I had at my disposal (which was considerable), the storm was headed in our direction and missed us by about 5 miles, then moved north and east.

It never once occurred to me to check and see if the new house was getting any rain! DUH! But we're sure hoping it did...the lake was really low when we were out there last Sunday.

Anyway, glad that's over!!

By the way, if you'd like to take a look at the lake house, you can go here. If it asks for a password, use helen.

Weather update

Well, we've seen no rain yet, but our winds are currently 14-22 mph, with gusts of 38. Weatherbug advises me that we're formally under a flood watch. The sky starting to get darker. We'll stay online until it becomes unsafe to do so, or we lose our satellite connection - whichever occurs first.

Since I started typing this, our winds are now 18-22 consistently...I guess it's coming!

Scott's outside, doing some last minute nailing down and clearing. Some of the trees are bending pretty good...I'm hoping none come down, because it'll either be a car or the house that they hit! (And I just got my car back last Monday from the accident...argh!)

Riding the storm out

We live outside of Dallas...about 40 minutes southeast, and we're about 90 minutes west (and slightly north) of Tyler. We're definitely going to get some "weather" this weekend - it just remains to be seen what that weather will entail. For sure, some rain.

We get hit pretty hard out here in the country when there's a good storm over Dallas, so my worry is possibly flooding. We're in a mobile home, in a valley, and for some unknown reason, all of the neighborhood's culverts drain under our driveway and into our yard (hey, we're just renting, so please don't think we planned this crap). We're the standard 4 feet off the ground, so it would take a lot of water for us to get officially flooded, and I don't think we'll get that much. But, it wouldn't take much rain for us to get to 5-10" deep...NOT fun.

We have discussed what we would take if we decide we need to bug out - obviously the birds and Misty, some clothes, food and water, both computers and two drawers out of our filing cabinets, because they hold very important papers, and, if possible, the karaoke equipment. We figure we could be out the door in an hour or less.

I'm guessing we'll probably lose our satellite internet and our satellite TV, since both dishes point to the southern sky.

Scott's on call this weekend. I'm hoping he doesn't get any calls, but several of the company's accounts are condos, apartments and hotels...not much hope he won't. I'm just hoping everyone else is off the roads he's driving.

Countdown

I noticed tonight that next week (Sept. 27), this blogger will be a year old. I’m not sure that I’m accomplishing anything with my blogging, but since I never had a clearly defined goal for it, I guess it’s just become a place to hold some thoughts and memories. Since I’m worried that I’ll end up with Alzheimer’s, someone please lead me to the computer, pull up my blog, and make me read.

Sometimes I read blogs that make an impact on the internet community. There are those who digest the news and state their opinion on it – and I find those interesting, but doing something like that just isn’t me.

There are those who aren’t afraid to put out every aspect of their childhood (or adult) traumas for the world to see. My own childhood (and adult) traumas were pretty significant and I don’t mind talking about them, but I don’t think I could put them here on Life in Texas…because I have a lot of people visiting these days that I’m not prepared to share these stories with. No offense if that statement strikes a chord with you – there are very few people that I can share them with. Maybe, someday, I should start a second blogger just to deal with those traumas.

*sigh*


Eh…enough of that for tonight.

About Ozzie...

OK, so tonight we’re testing out Blogger for Word. Supposedly, you can publish right from Word, so we’ll see.

I’ve decided to write about Ozzie tonight since she’s been the most persistent of the birds lately.

Ozzie is a Senegal Parrot, sex undetermined at this time, but we call her a “her”. I truly suspect that she’s a he, but we won’t do her DNA test until after the first of the year. She will be 2 years old in March.

We picked Ozzie out when we got to our breeder’s house to pick up Lucy, who we had already committed to buy. Ozzie was in her own cage next to Lucy. I leaned down to say hi to her and she kissed me – and it was love at first sight for both of us. ;)

As far as the noise level goes, Ozzie is the quietest of all the birds. She frequently does “contact calls” when I’m out of the room, wanting to know where I am at all times, but her “voice” is pretty quiet. She doesn’t talk, other than “Hi Sammy”, which she has picked up from the Sammy the cockatiel (who also says “Hi Sammy”…and nothing else). She has, however, starting imitating sounds around the house like the microwave beep and the refrigerator door squeal, Sammy’s chirping sounds, and she makes kissing sounds…all of which have only appeared in the past 2-3 months.

Ozzie LOVES her mommy! She doesn’t want to have much to do with Scott and only quietly tolerates him holding her or feeding her. But where I’m concerned…I’m the bee’s knees! As mentioned above, she whistles contact calls to me all the time I’m out of the room. Her favorite place to be is on me or on my desk chair while I’m working. On a daily basis (and several times a day), she quietly manages to get off the cage she shares with Lucy, and walks across the floor to my desk. If Scott sees her before I do, he’ll do the shark-getting-ready-to-attack theme from Jaws and I’ll know she’s coming my way. But more often than not, I’ll hear a peep (or worse, feel a touch on my foot…she’s gone flying more than once!!) and look down to find her under my chair, looking up at me and waiting for me to pick her up and put her on my chair.

Last night, Ozzie managed to get from her cage to Sammy’s cage. She figured out how to open his door (NOT an easy trick!) and was sitting inside his cage…she’s a pretty smart little girl ;)

Ozzie is definitely the most picky of all the birds, as far as food. She has no interest in pasta, chips, crackers or bread, and she despises fresh fruit and vegetables. She wants only her seed mix, peanuts, and the occasional pistachio.

If you’ve ever thought you’d like a parrot, a Senegal is a good place to start. They can be bought for $250-$300, and are a medium sized bird – larger than a cockatiel, but smaller than a cockatoo. There are some Senegals who are very good talkers, and some who never talk, and I don’t think there’s any way of determining who will or won’t. If you can live with the fact they may never talk, they’re very sweet companions, and I wouldn’t hesitate to get another Senegal.

Opinionistas

I read constantly. Words are food for my brain and it's always hungry for more. My list of blogs on the left side of this page continues to grow and I've found a new one. Opinionistas is the blogger of a female Manhattan associate attorney who writes about her ongoing struggles working for a large NY megafirm...it could even be the NY office of the firm I work for, who knows? I've been reading her for a couple of months now, and with each read, renew my thanks that I evaluated my life years ago and decided that, despite the encouragement of family and friends (who no doubt looked forward to free legal advice), working as an attorney was not my cup of tea.

Anyway, those of you who may be legal minded in some form or another may enjoy her blog and therefore, I pass it along to you.

Changes

I mentioned several months ago that one of my bosses (the male) and I had had a falling out. At the instigation of several of my work friends, I finally, last month, made the first move, being open and friendly with him, and he responded in kind, so things have gotten much better. But at the same time, it always felt like the other shoe was getting ready to drop, and I've tried to block it out of my mind because I have enough to worry about right now.

When I arrived at work this morning, I opened my Outlook and there was an email from one of our human resources people, informing me that I had been reassigned. I would keep my two female attorneys and pick up a new associate that just started today, also female (not that it really matters...or, hm, maybe it does), and the male attorney would be paired with someone else.

This made for an utterly wonderful day. I like this boss as a person, but our work styles are so vastly different that it was very frustrating for me to work for him. He's one of those that you ask "what time is it?" and he proceeds to give you a two hour dissertation on how man realized that some method of keeping time was needed, followed by how watches are made, before finally telling you it's 3:15. But then, if I needed instructions on how to do a project for him, he couldn't give me more than 5 words on the topic. I think I'll be a much happier employee now :)

~~~~~~~~~

Judging from my stats, I'm starting to get a few more visitors these days! That's kind of exciting for me. I know this blog isn't a hotbed of information, and most of what I blog about is probably pretty boring. But I do appreciate everyone who spends time here visiting. Feel free to leave comments!

Another successful karaoke party!

It's a little scary sometimes, inviting people from different places to come to a karaoke party. You're never sure whether the blending of personalities will work to create a fun time or not. We also are never entirely sure how many people are actually going to show up.

But it worked well. We ended up with a good group of people, and Scott and I cooked up the fish that we caught Mother's Day and the weekend of Scott's grandmother's funeral.

I think everyone had a decent enough time ;)

Was able to put $325 into the savings account this week. That was a good feeling, and now brings us up to $1,000 in savings. Now I only need another $7,000-13,000 for the closing costs...LOL. I wish I didn't have to put out $500 for my deductible on my car next week...I want to bank it!!

Some good news

After brawling with Verizon for several days, they have agreed to reduce a $262 bill by $150. This occurred after Scott's cell phone was stolen and we didn't know it for 3 weeks. (Yeah, he used it a lot! LOL) Every little bit helps!

The man we're using to clean up our credit is definitely getting some good results. There were about 10-15 duplicate accounts on our credit records, and they've been eliminated...I'm dying to see our current credit scores, but I've been advised to wait a month to see them. Time is flying by...I'm still terrified we won't be able to get enough done to get a decent interest rate on our home loan! Only 6 weeks till escrow closes!!

Getting connected

While I was at Verizon Wireless today, preparing to fight with them over Scott's stolen cell phone, an older couple came in, and were talking to me while we all waited in line. They were from New Orleans and had lost their cell phones in the flooding and needed new ones. They appeared to be having much better luck with Verizon than I was, and were rapidly issued new phones. I hope they find people to call.

They told me they were staying at Reunion Arena, where most of the Katrina victims in Dallas are being housed. The woman told me they're just bored beyond belief - that there's nothing for them to do but wait. They told me they won't be going back to New Orleans...ever. There's nothing for them there.

They also told me that they were very grateful for everything that is being done for them and that they've been getting the supplies being donated. These were the first victims I had spoken with face to face, and it did my heart good to hear that the supplies are actually getting to them. I have some serious concerns about the Red Cross and their "give us money" line and not accepting any supplies. The Salvation Army has been accepting supplies and they're getting delivered...weehaw :)

Finally cooling down!

Dallas has had several 100+ degree days this summer...considerably more than last summer. I've noticed that the past few days have had that "Autumn" smell and feel to them...despite being 95 degrees.

I checked out the 10 day forecast this morning on weather.com and happily, there's not one day showing higher than 95 degrees. In fact, we have a storm coming in next weekend, which our yard desparately needs - with gas going sky high, watering the lawn and raising the water bill is very low on my list of priorities! My outdoors plants are looking pretty grim and I don't think many are going to make it.

Back in California, when I left there, kids started school after Labor Day. I don't know if that's still the case - my kids have long since graduated. Here in Texas, they start the middle of August. It's always seemed a little inhumane to stick them in poorly air-conditioned rooms when it's still 100 degrees outside, but hey, nobody's died so I guess it's ok.

September is always calming for me...cooler temps, the occasional storm, the smells of fall coming in...the lower power bills ($541 last month kids!). September this year means another month closer to closing on our house. Trust me, a 90 day escrow is not fun! But now we're down to 55 days. Packing has begun in earnest. I can't wait until the move is complete...and watching winter settle in on the lake :)

$1 donation to Katrina victims

The Oxygen Network is giving a dollar donation to the hurricane victims for every person who signs up at this site! Just name and email and zip code and AGE. Please go and sign up! It only takes a second and it will be meaningful to a lot of people! Click on the title link of the post.

The Interdictor

Today a friend of mine posted this link http://www.livejournal.com/users/interdictor. It is the blogger of an employee of DirectNIC.com, located in NO. He rode the hurricane out and is still holed up at 650 Poydras, giving commentary on what's going on there. It's a pretty interesting look at Katrina from the inside.

Just the fact that they stayed online through all of this is a testament to the company itself!

Helping out

Scott, his daughter and I went shopping today (thank God for plastic). We spent about $200 on socks, diapers, razors, tampons, individual snack items, gloves, flashlights, etc. and then drove down to the American Airlines Center where several of the radio stations were camped out, along with the Salvation Army.

What started as about 50 people quickly grew as one out of every two cars that came to deliver supplies stayed. All the goods had to be sorted out, and then loaded into a truck.

Because it was hot, and I'm so susceptible to heat stroke, we could only stay a couple of hours, but what a great feeling to be helping in some very small way to the relief effort. A true drop in the bucket, but each drop adds up.

We're beginning to think that this tragedy in NO is going to affect us more personally. As the gas prices steadily increase, we're coming to the realization that we may not be able to afford to live 45 miles one-way from work. Riding together is quickly becoming mandatory, rather than the option it once was.

Find Katrina

FindKatrina.com is another site set up to help locate missing victims of Katrina.

Please check these boards if you can - someone may be looking for you, or you may know the whereabouts of someone who is on the missing list.

NowPublic has set up a missing persons board to help victims of Hurricane Katrina

NowPublic has set up a missing persons board to help victims of Hurricane Katrina find those who go missing during the storm.

If you want to publish the photograph of someone you are looking for, please go to http://www.nowpublic.com/node/17228.

I've been tagged!

OK...let's see how this plays out.

1. What is the ratio of sexy panties to granny panties currently in your possesion?

I have NO granny panties in my drawer. Got rid of them all after I met Scott. Every single pair I own (which is about 20) came from Victoria's Secret.

2. Pretend you won one of those "Make your dream come true" deals that Oprah is always giving away. What would you ask for?

I'd ask for the new house to paid for in full, along with a houseful of new furniture!

3. Describe your high school days in one word.

Weird

4.If you could shag any celebrity in the world who would be your top three picks?

1. George Clooney
2. Brad Pitt (even though the rumor is that he has a teenie weenie)
3. Antonio Banderas (YUM...have you seen that man's ass??)
   

5. If you had all the money in the world, more money than you could spend in four lifetimes, would you eat some?

No way...there's no telling where that's been!

6. Tag three people.

1. Wisshes (she's going to kill me).
2. TheFamilyMan (he's going to kill me, too)
3. Onderland (oh well, 3 for 3)
   

Kick a man when he's down

As New Orleans and Gulfport try to pull themselves together, there are battles being waged against it by the absolute scum of the earth - those low-lifes who feel free to plunder businesses and homes which miraculously survived the hurricane and subsequent flooding.

What is the logic behind breaking into a store and stealing 9 pairs of sneakers? What is it that causes a presumably civilized man to turn into an animal in the face of disaster? What line of thinking leads one to believe that they are somehow entitled to things that don't belong to them, just because the city is in shambles??

Am I just naive by believing that after a crisis, people should be concerned about others sharing their space, rather than how much money or how many things they can steal? Isn't that like kicking a man when he's down?

And the price-gougers should be drawn and quartered!

It truly saddens me when I see what this world has become.

In any event, if you want to help the flood victims, here are a couple of links:

American Red Cross

The Salvation Army

They don't need clothes or shoes or food or water...they need MONEY. If you have it...give...and give some more.

Blessings

While this string of unfortunate luck is with us, I need to keep in mind that there are many blessings as well.

1. My daughter Kristi is 7 weeks from her due date.
2. My daughter Jennifer is getting married in 5 weeks.
3. We're buying a lake house!!
4. While I was in a car wreck, I wasn't badly hurt, and I'm still alive!
5. Despite cheating constantly on my diet, I've only gained back 3 lbs., which comes and goes.
6. I'm loved by many people, more than I deserve.

If I keep these thoughts in mind - I can get through anything!!

What a day *sigh*

I was in my third accident since 08/03 today, and the second one just this year. This time an unlicensed, uninsured Hispanic National (isn't that totally PC of me?) tried to cut in front of someone else in the far right lane, reacted from almost hitting a car by overcompensating, and she came flying across the next two lanes of traffic, clipping my front end and pushing me into the retaining wall.

*sigh*

My front end is trashed, but the car is driveable. My left wrist hurts, my back hurts, my shoulder hurts, my head hurts.

The other driver was making noises like I was somehow to blame for her crossing the highway and hitting me, because I wasn't 100% sure whose face I saw in the window as she hit me (there were three adults in the car). Fortunately, I have the names and phone numbers of two witnesses who came running over to my car because they thought I was going to be pretty messed up when they got there...both terribly relieved that I wasn't cut up or broken.

The insurance company has been called, a statement given...and I just want to cry. Just yesterday morning, I finished paying off Scott's mom's car...and now we have to come up with $500 for my deductible...I'm just hoping this doesn't jeopardize the house :((

Passages and new beginnings

Last Friday morning, we buried Scott's grandmother, Lillie. It was a beautiful service at the church where she had been a member most of her life. After the church service, there was a short procession to the cemetary where, thank God, they did not lower the casket in front of us...that's where I lose it. The minister said a few words and a prayer, then everyone kind of milled around and talked for a little while, then it was back to the church for lunch. First time I've been to a funeral where they fed you, but the psychology behind it has to be that during that time of sharing a meal is where the healing begins.

After the funeral, we returned to the house, where family who had not met other family members (like me) got to know us a little. Then Scott's dad, Keith, said: "The best way I can think of to honor my mother....is to fish!" Scott, Keith, his wife Cathy, and I headed down to the pond, where we proceeded to catch 15 good-sized bass....and of those 15, I caught 6!! We ate them Saturday night for dinner and I swear I've never eaten better tasting fish ;)

During the last week when I was completely out of control on my eating, I put 6 lbs back on. Fortunately, most of it must have been water, because I've already lost 2.5 of it. Won't be doing THAT again!

Nothing new on the house yet. Carolyn, one of the attorneys I work for, has been going over the paperwork on it, making sure all the i's are dotted and t's are crossed...mental note: send her flowers. Scott and I have begun daydreaming about things we want to change in the house, and in what order. LOL...we've even begun picking out paint colors.

One of our biggest questions is...where are the birds going to live? The most logical spot for them may disappear if we knock out a wall we want gone. Hm...Our guests may have to share a room with them ;) (Never happen, trust me! We'll figure out something.)

That's it for now....Life in Texas...it's for the birds!

Interest is up!

Woohooo! The interest rate was raised on my savings account to 3.30%! Sure, it's only a few cents here and there, but they add up!

If you're interested in opening an account, please email me and I'll send you a referral link - you'll get $25 FREE just for opening an account, and I'll get $10 FREE, because you did!

Update 8/15/05

The problem with not posting daily is that you then have to do update posts, and something inevitably gets left out. I'm hoping I don't do that now.

Scott's grandmother passed away last night at 7 p.m. She was 86 years old and lived a long happy life. She's been ill for two years, and was ready to go. She died at home, surrounded by her children and grandchildren. She just went to sleep and didn't wake back up. She'll be terribly missed. We drove up to Oklahoma yesterday and got there about 1 p.m., so Scott was able to see her before she passed away.

We've been seeing Shannon regularly. Things are not smooth just yet, but hopefully the issues will get resolved soon. We love spending time with her, and she seems to enjoy being with us.

At our monthly karaoke party on Saturday night, our dear friend, Linda, handed me a card and said, "I have a gift for you. It's not much, but I wanted you to have it" and handed me an envelope. Inside the envelope was a card and five $100 bills! I immediately started crying and threw my arms around her. There was a split second battle in my head saying "protest, give it back to her, it's much too generous" with the other side of it being "she wouldn't give it if she couldn't afford it and didn't want to, and to protest would just be a waste of time". I just thanked her profusely. It will go immediately into the bank and then be transferred to the savings account. Linda, if you ever read this...thank you so very much.

So, progress on the house continues. We now have a title policy, we're building our savings account for the closing costs, and we're starting to do some serious daydreaming. The escrow company was supposed to send me some documents which I haven't received yet, but hopefully that doesn't indicate any problems.

My daughter Kristi got a contract on her house today - they have to be out by September 30. Her baby is due October 13. Wonder when I should book my flight for? ;)

As a reminder, if you'd like to open an online savings account, where you'll get a FREE $25 for signing up, please email me. I'll get $10 for referring you and boy, could I use the money! LOL

Also, the jewelry ad to the left of this page is also a money maker for me. If you purchase a piece of jewelry for only the small shipping and handling, I'll receive a small commission. I'm going to be adding a PayPal donation button until we get moved. If you'd like to help out in any small way, feel free. If not, hey, that's fine too! (We need $14,000....I'm not proud...lol)

Feelings

Despite being a packrat, I've been fairly transient in my life. For example, when I was 20 or so, I applied to work for the IRS. Part of their application was the requirement that you list your addresses for the past 10 years. At that point in time, I had 14 different addresses...and only one of those was my mother's. I can't count how many times I moved between the age of 20 and the age of 39, in 1995. I've moved nine times since 1995 and I'm preparing to move again, making it 10 times in 10 years. I finally got collapsible boxes a few moves ago, so when I unpacked, they went into a closet somewhere, waiting for the next move.

I hate moving. I hate packing everything up, and taking it back down. I hate that things get broken during a move. So, the packrat in me goes through trauma with each move. And here I am again, having to sort through my books, and throwing more away. They aren't worth anything - old secretarial handbooks, for example, but I just hate having to do it.

I'm really hoping we stay in this house forever - but I know that won't happen. Part of our purpose in buying this place is to improve it, and resell it for much more than we paid for it in 5 years, or so.

Anybody else out there feel like this?

These "hates" are very short-term, however. I'll get over them soon enough, when they'll be replaced with the excitement of owning my first home, of living on a lake, learning a new town. I actually have fun getting lost in a new town...I look at it as an adventure, because you always learn about some place you might not normally have looked for. It'll be way cool, sitting on our dock at night, drinking a glass of wine, my fishing pole in the water, as I watch the sun's setting rays on the water. Every night after work will seem like a vacation, with all the stresses of the day behind me. We'll be able to open our bedroom window and listen to the water lapping on the shore.

Please God - don't let something stand in our way of owning this house.

Katie

Katie is the youngest of our "fids" (feathered kids). Another Quaker Parrot, she was born January 21, 2005, and is still learning how to do things, and trying find her place within our family.

Katie decided when we brought her home that she was the "top dog" and that hasn't changed much. She will knock anybody off their cage - except Ziggy. She's not very sure of him just yet, so she still approaches him with caution.

Katie is curious about everything, and like most birds, loves anything shiny. I forget about this when I come home from work and head to her cage without removing my necklace or earrings. I have to force her beak open to remove my pendant, so you'd think I'd learn to take them off before going to her cage!

As I mentioned in Ziggy's post, Katie has learned several of his words. She will rarely say them directly to us, rather, she will sit in her cage (irritated with me because I won't let her roam anymore) and let loose a string of words - all of them Ziggy's! Last night, I heard her say tickle-tickle, thank you, mommy, and ok. Like Ziggy, a lot of her words couldn't be understood. Speaking birds tend to work out their new words at volumes difficult to hear until they have it down pat - and then they save them to try out when you least expect...or least want, in some cases!

I've been working on my consistency with all the birds - trying to feed them at the same time, put them to sleep at the same time, and playing with them at the same time. One of the things that I needed to do consistently for Ziggy and Katie was to give every item its name, and describe my actions verbably - it's important because it helps them understand what's going on and what I'm doing. Since I started working on being more consistent with them, Katie's training has been going much better. Instead of throwing herself at her cage door, I will tell her "open the door", and she will sit and wait for me to do just that, and then will step-up on my finger quite prettily. She's getting it :)

I'm not sure how the birds are going to react to our move. They'll have a pretty area to hang out in, looking out the window towards the lake. Eventually, I'd like to have Scott build an aviary for them, so they'll all be housed together, but I have to see proof first that they'll all get along in one large cage. Could be interesting!

Wanna come help me pack? :)

OK, so we're moving along with the premise that we actually have bought that house, and now we're starting to take mental notes around this house, trying to figure out what we want to get rid of, and where we're going to put the things we keep in the new place.

Scott and I are both packrats. We hate to throw things away. He told me once that he had no intention of moving the box of empty boxes that my ex had been trying to get me to throw away for years. I refused to give it up - you just never know when you're going to need a small empty box. Actually, the "box of boxes" isn't always the same boxes - I use the ones I have and refill when necessary. Now...he tells me that, and yet, for every piece of computer equipment that we bought for two years (which was considerable - we built everyone in his family new computers in that two years), he kept the box the piece came in! We finally had a bonfire this summer, where we emptied the closet he kept those boxes in and burned the damn things ;)

So, this is something we're obviously wrestling with. Both of us are going to have to get rid of a lot of the stuff that we've been hanging on to for years. I've been carting around my daughter's stuff that she left with me 4 years ago when she got married. Now she's getting it all back.

All the pictures, drawings, journals, report cards, honor roll certificates, track medals and ribbons from my three kids that I've been hanging on to "until they grew up" are now going to be distributed to them - and they can decide whether they want to keep the stuff or not. That's a weird feeling, I have to admit, to think that they've grown up enough to give it to them. Can anyone else relate to that?

I'm going to have to get rid of most of my books - another arrow in my heart, but we just don't have the room, and I've read them all anyway. I'm sure there's many I won't want to give up and that's fine, I'll find a place for them...someday.

I feel like I'm releasing my past - all part of a new life, I guess.

$14,000

I asked Scott's step-mom yesterday (she's brokering our loan) for an estimate of what she thought our closing costs would be on the house.

$14,000 was her response.

I was stressing over the idea of coming up with $2,700, and now I'm looking at $14,000?

Anybody want to open an ING Direct Savings Account? It pays 3.15% interest, which is more than my bank pays. If so, let me know - you'll get a free $25, and I'll get a free $10.

Anybody want to join a 'Get Paid to Read' program? If you're diligent and can stand the constant onslaught of email and associated clicking, you can earn up to $1.00 per day. Let me know if you're interested and I'll give you the sign up link.

Life on the edge

I can't believe how stressed out I am!

Work: Busier than ever, I'm on the go from the moment I hit the door until I leave, and I'm looking at overtime on Saturday :(

Home: Stressing hard over the new house. I'm just not sure we're going to be able to come up with the $2700 in closing costs, so I'm worrying about it constantly.

Pets: Ozzie has decided to start biting, which makes me want to hold her less, which makes her want to bite more...and around we go.

Weight: I'm thinking about quitting Nutrisystem, so I can contribute that money ($250ish per month) to the closing costs...fortunately, my weight is still going down.

So, no happy upbeat posts right now...hopefully soon.

Emotional rollercoaster

It's been a really difficult week. After putting an offer on the lake house, and it being accepted, the seller tells us that he had another buyer willing to pay full price. We had to wait to see if the seller would accept that offer, and we finally got the call saying it was ours. Then, we get the news that we probably can't get 100% financing, and Scott's dad started sounding iffy about whether he was going to help with the down payment.

Finally, by yesterday, we got the contract signed, so at least the home is off the market. We put our $5,000 into escrow - and I immediately started having a major anxiety attack, complete with chest pains, heartburn, headache, etc. Last night, after seeing all of this, Scott ran us a nice hot bubble bath and broke open a bottle of champagne that we had received for our wedding a year ago and which we were holding for a celebration.

Financing still isn't in place, but at the very least, we'll be able to get an 80/20 loan and Scott's dad did confirm verbally that he'll give us whatever we need. We've got the house on a 90 day escrow and we'll close on Scott's favorite holiday - Halloween!

If the sellers find their new home and close escrow in 30 days, they'll let us know and we can turn in notice here where we rent, and move into the new home, paying them rent until our escrow closes.

What was nice was going to get the contract from the sellers yesterday and finding out that the guy that was willing to pay full price HAD come up with the money, but they chose us - because they had already given their word, and because they thought we would love the house more. They're right :)

In the course of all of this, I had gotten down to 178.8 lbs...and now I'm back up to 181.5....grrrr!!

Home Sweet Home

Scott and his dad (Keith) looked at the mobile we were interested in and Keith wasn't impressed. He basically implied to us that if we wanted to buy a mobile home, we couldn't expect much help from him, but if we were interested in a real home, lots of help was to be had.

While they were out running around looking at properties, they found a great house, ON THE LAKE!! I was resistent when Scott told me about it on the phone, but we went and looked at it Friday night and it's wonderful! It's 4 bedrooms, 1 bath, with two big storage sheds in the back that look like little houses, and we'll probably use them as guest rooms. We'll lose one bedroom early on, as we'll knock the wall out between it and the master bedroom, so we'll have one huge master. It has a wet dock and boat house, so when we get our boat, we're set to go!

It's smaller than I wanted and I'll have to get rid of a lot of stuff, but it has lots of room for development. It is 1.5 acres, with .5 acre running behind the guy next door…who desperately wants to buy it. We’ll sell it to him and use that money to build onto the house. It was listed for $145k. We made an initial offer of $130k, but he wouldn't let it go for under $140k....so we accepted it!

It's an hour from my office to the house, so that's a drawback, but it's not a bad drive...I did it Friday night. It's an extra 15 miles beyond what I drive now, but I can handle it.

What's cool is being right ON the water!! Scott and I have always said we wanted to live on the water, and now we will!

We couldn't be more excited and I cried when the word came down that the offer was accepted. Of course, now the hard part comes - making it through escrow and moving...yuck!

Not sure what possessed me

As I've mentioned before, I'm a newlywed. Scott and I just celebrated our first anniversary July 11. As a newlywed, even though I'm 49, I do feel compelled to grant my husband's desires...and the man loves for me to wear lingerie.

So, since I've been losing weight, I try to pick up something new here and there, that he likes.

The other night, I met him and his work buddies after hours for an adult beverage...or two....or three. It was over a long enough period of time that I was "happy", but not drunk. So when Scott suggested we go over to the nearest "adult toy" store, I was game. Giggly, but game.

We look over the selection, and I found a couple that I kinda liked, but he found one he really liked. I looked at it dubiously, since it was a "One Size Fits All", and I know that those don't fit me. But what the hell, I'm giggly and wanting to satisfy my spouse. We buy it.

A couple of days later, it occurs to me that we had bought it and the bag was still in Scott's van. I send him out for it and he brings it in, very smiley. I took the bag into the bedroom and started to put the outfit on over my head, when it becomes very apparent that I could drop another 40 lbs and never be able to wear this thing...the...uh...cups on it are like a size A and I'm a C, and there's no pretending my way through it...it does not fit.

What do I do with it now? The adult toy shop isn't going to take it back. I guess there's always ebay, but do they allow adult content??

Mental note to self: Quit buying "One Size Fits All". It's a lie, and they will never fit you, no matter how thin you get.

Guard your flashlights carefully!

Scott and I are fairly normal people, other than the karaoke obsession. We're conservative in our politics, Christian in our beliefs, we like to have fun but know when it's time to be serious. All of our friends are good people, 35 years old and up. We're all grown-ups.

As you know, you can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family....or who your family marries, or who their friends are.

Scott's sister's husband has a friend named Steven. Steven is kinda out there and not the kinda guy that we like having around us anyway, so Steven has been to our house - once - with Scott's brother in law. While he was here, the flashlight off my desk mysteriously disappeared. It was a nice flashlight...small and powerful enough for looking for things under my desk, and I used it frequently. So the morning after Steven is here, I notice my flashlight is missing. Scott said Steven had been sitting at my computer after I went to bed. Well, I'll be damned. Scott doesn't much care for Steven, so it was nothing to him when I said I didn't want Steven back in my house if he was going to steal things. No problem.

So tonight, Scott's talking to his mom on the phone (he's such a good boy), and in the course of the conversation, she tells him that Steven was at her house and while he was there, her flashlight disappeared....and in the course of mentioning this to her daughter, Scott's sister, it turns out that Steven had stolen HER flashlight as well!

WTF?

So this guy has a flashlight fetish? Is there some sexual overtone to a flashlight fetish? Allowing for a very liberal moment that a flashlight fetish is somehow ok, is there something weird that he's stolen the flashlights of all the women in Scott's immediate family?

Scott says he's gonna go find Steven and kick his ass, saying all the while "what kind of low life steals a woman's flashlight? You like leaving them defenseless and in the dark? You get off on the fact that you have their flashlight? You scum....we're going to your house and picking up every fucking flashlight you've got....see how you like it!"

I admit that my mind extrapolated the sexual fetish thing for a moment, wondering what sexual gratification he was using them for. As my sphincter tightened up, I just decided I wasn't going there!!

So, if there is a sexual gratification for Steven in stealing women's flashlights, are there others out there with this fetish? Is there some supersecret female flashlight fetish club somewhere?

With Google at my fingertips, I'm sure I could research this and find out, but I think there are just some things I'd rather not know.

All I can say is guard your flashlights carefully, you never know!

I must be living right :)

Scott and I went to look at this manufactured home yesterday and fell in LOVE. This thing is 2,560 s.f., 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 2 separate family rooms, MASSIVE freaking kitchen, huge laundryroom right off the master bath (what a logical place to put it! where is most of the laundry YOU do put away?), fireplace and 2 car garage. It sits on 1 acre.

We would take it on a lease to own until our credit is cleaned up enough to get an FHA loan (we figure 6 months to a year, although we have up to three). In the meantime, we give the owner $5,000 down, which gets applied to the purchase price when we get our financing. We didn't quite have $5,000 (ok, so we only had $1,000), so we decided to cash in our most liquid asset, and I listed our motorcycle on ebay today. Less than 5 hours later, someone bought it for $4,199 - the Buy It Now price! We now have our down payment!!

Scott's dad (the real estate mogul) is going to come down this week from Oklahoma to take a look at it for us, and to go over the deal with the guy. If he approves, we should be in our new home by September 1. If he doesn't, we'll continue to look, but I really, really love this home. I am SO excited!!

Frustrated beyond belief

When I was on Nutrisystem in 2000, I got down to 178 lbs and everyone started telling me how great I looked, and many said I didn't need to lose any more weight, so I quit. I shouldn't have, I was still overweight, but being as curvy as I am, it looked good.

I'm there again. I'm at 180-181 (depending on what day it is) and can't seem to get below it. I've been fighting the 180s since May 18. Two freaking months and I haven't broken below 180. I'm frustrated and discouraged. I know it's because my husband is absolutely thrilled with me right now, and has been making comments like "you look great right now, if you don't lose another pound, I'll be happy". I'm wearing the clothes I bought 5 years ago and hearing all the time, "You look great!", so mentally, I'm exactly where I was in 2000.

The problem is - I don't want to stop right now. I don't want to weigh 180. I want to keep going, but I keep sabotaging my diet. It's like after 6 months of being on NS, I want to eat real food. I don't do it at home (much), but we've been going out to dinner more and I don't fight it at all. I try to make good choices, but I'm at this point where ANY meal off of NS will put a pound on me.

While a pound isn't that much, it's that pound that puts me back at 181 and then I have to fight for a WEEK to get it off...and this has been happening now for a month. Struggle to get to 180, one meal out and back to 181 - fight for a week to get to 180 and then another meal out...yada yada yada. It's SO frustrating!!!

Today, we're driving up to Oklahoma to the WinStar Casino and all I can think is "great, another day off program" and worry about what it will do to my weight. I'm just not having fun anymore :(

Another blog to check out

I found this blogger today. It is called An Audience of One. Another wonderful writer with good stuff to say!

Ziggy

Since this blog features my birds, I'll share some bird stories :)

Ziggy is a 13 year old Quaker Parrot. Quakers are a small parrot, green and grey in color. They're about the size of a cockatiel in length, but much more solid and beefy. They can develop fairly extensive vocabularies. Ziggy came to us second-hand just after Christmas last year. He's the bird on the very far left of the bird graphic at the top of this page.

Ziggy says: Mommy (much like an angry 3 year old child, if you can imagine that), get the lead out, sue the bastards (hey, he used to belong to a lawyer), Jonah (one of his former owner's kids), pet the birdie, bye-bye, thank you. He laughs like a little girl, he "crunches" (like chips), he gurgles (like water), he says meow just like the cat, yaba-daba-do, ok, he squeals like the fridge door opening, he makes kissing sounds, coughs, hiccups, and makes several other sounds that we haven't been able to figure out. When he's pissed, you know it, because he chews you out, even if you can't understand the words.

Ziggy also likes to sing karaoke. No, really, he does. He sits on Scott's shoulder and "sings" while Scott does - if it's a song he's heard Scott do a lot, he'll even hit it on key occasionally. He sings the song by Suzanne Vega called Tom's Diner and sings it frequently. He whistles the theme song to the Odd Couple, if you remember that.

Most of the time, he's only loyal to one of us at a time. If it's Scott's day, I can't get anywhere near him, and vice versa. He spends more time with me, because while Scott plays with him, but I nuzzle him and stroke him, which he loves.

When we bought our newest bird, another Quaker named Katie, part of the thought process was we wanted a bird that we could teach our own phrases to, rather than having it repeated phrases someone else had taught them.

Imagine my dismay when I suddenly heard Ziggy's phrases coming from Katie! He's taught her several of the noises he makes, but as yet, she's not saying any actual words. If she pops off with "sue the bastards", I'm going to cry!

Ziggy is out of his cage 24/7, unless we're going to be gone overnight. Katie is a roamer and so she's pretty much grounded to her cage at the moment, until she learns that she needs to stay on her cage. The past few days, Ziggy has been trying to break her out of her cage, which is cute to watch, but he wants nothing to do with her once she is out. Not quite sure what that's about.

Ziggy is an absolute joy to have in our lives and I hope he lives out his full life span of 25-35 years :)

Playing catch-up!

I was so busy last week, I didn't have time to post, so it's time for a little catch-up.

I've lost the 4 lbs I gained during the BBQ weekend, thank God!

The Alanis Morissette concert was wonderful! She sang every song on the Jagged Little Pill album, plus 4 more. If you get the chance to see her, go for it!

We had Scott's daughter Saturday and Sunday, and it was pure joy. We took her Saturday to see War of the Worlds (good flick, go see it), then we shopped the rest of the day. Sunday after we dropped her off, we headed to the lake for the fireworks. Spent the night up there, then spent most of the 4th vegging out.

We're having a karaoke party this coming Saturday night and the house is still a bit of a mess...Guess we'll spend Saturday morning cleaning!

I'm kinda bummed...got my first application to join the AARP in the mail yesterday...sheesh!

Fortunately, Scott's mission in life is for us to have fun...and that keeps me busy and feeling young - so I may join AARP just for the benefits...heck, it's only $12.50 per year, and McDonald's gives ya a free cup of coffee if you're a member ;)

There's so much more I could write, but I'm tired. Will try to stay more current with this thing!

Eeeeekkk!!!

A FOUR pound gain from my weekend! Will be strictly adhering to the plan this week, for sure!

Next up for us is the Alanis Morrisette concert Thursday night. We'll be spending the night in Fort Worth, and driving from there to work Friday morning. I'm terrified, because that's a very nasty drive.

Saturday, we have Scott's daughter, and I think we're going to Oklahoma for the day to fish and see Scott's dad. When we get back and drop her off, we head back up to the lake for the 4th of July weekend. Whooo....a busy week ahead!

The Tastes of Success :)

Taste of Success 1: We had somewhere between 60-70 people at our BBQ (depending on what time it was) which was a wonderful number. All of the meat came out great...best ribs I've ever eaten, tenderest brisket, and our turkey legs were awesome!

Taste of Success 2: All that tanning DID help because, despite all of the time I spent in the sun yesterday and today, I'm not burned. Normally, had I spent that many hours in the sun, I'd have been fried to the point of calling in sick from the pain - and I actually have had to do that once, about a year ago (hm...maybe that was last year's BBQ, I don't remember). So, I'm very pleased about that. We had the best of intentions of wearing SPF45 sun block all weekend to prevent burn and to protect our existing tans and not get lines, but it just didn't happen. There was too much going on at all times to even think about it.

Taste of Success 3: Almost all of the people that haven't seen me since I started my diet commented and told me how great I looked and I just ate it up. Although I find out that Scott has been bragging to everyone about how much I lose here and there, so it wasn't really a surprise to anyone like I had hoped. Still, it was soooooooo good to hear the compliments. I ran around very comfortably in short shorts and a halter top yesterday, and wore shorts and a spaghetti strap tank top today. I only recall being self-conscious about my body once, when I realized I was sitting hunched over and my stomach looked huge. Needless to say, I sat straight up immediately, and made a point to be aware of my posture after that. Six months ago, I would have first of all NOT dressed like that, and secondly, wouldn't have had the confidence that goes along with it.

Taste of Success 4: I discovered that my body really, really can't handle that kind of food anymore. The only greens I saw the whole weekend were the trees and the grass, and the closest I came to a fruit was drinking Peach Absolut and banana wine. I paid dearly. My body rejected all that greasy meat just as rapidly as it could manage....which was pretty quick, let me tell ya. I look forward to starting fresh tomorrow, and I'm actually craving a salad.

(I'm afraid to get on the scale after all that, but I know it's only temporary.)

Taste of Success 5: Between my divorce and subsequent marriage, I've always spent holidays with my ex's family (It drives my ex's girlfriend crazy, but oh well). These people have been my family for 20 years...in a real, healthy world, relationships of that long should not be severed, just because you divorce. After Scott and I met, the family and I didn't see any reason for the relationship to change. Scott and my son-in-law both didn't get it at first, because they came from homes where when you divorce, you hate each other and fight over the kids and property and God forbid you actually have to see them in public. Ick...not what I wanted for my kids, thank you very much. Occasionally, especially on Christmas and July 4th - the two big days in the family - we are all together. Scott now gets it, and has come to appreciate it for what it is.

This weekend, my ex-father-in-law and my ex-brother-in-law and his wife all came to the BBQ. More importantly, my ex-father-law came over to the site and spent the entire day with us, helping and talking and enjoying himself. He lives just 5 minutes from the campground, so if we needed anything, he went and got it. The BBQ would have been a much more difficult thing without him, and I thank you Jeff, should you ever make it to this site and read this entry. I love you and appreciate the love and support that I've received from you and Betty over the years, thank you for making my life a better place to be ;)

Ah...life in Texas - it's a good thang.

Coming Out Party

Back in the olden days, girls had "coming out" parties, which was meant to introduce them to society, and hopefully find a suitable match, which would benefit both families.

Coming out has a whole new social connotation now, but that's not what this is about.

Tomorrow night is my coming out party. Everything I've done for the past 6 months to improve my body will be put on display tomorrow night. I'm as thin as I can get before tomorrow night, and although I'll tan tomorrow morning before we leave, I'm probably as dark as I'm going to get.

I'm still a half pound shy of the 45 lbs I wanted to lose...maybe the scale will be kind tomorrow morning. Not terribly worried about it - it'll still be better than last year.

I've been exercising at minimum every other night - arm curls, ab crunches, reverse ab crunches and leg lifts (wearing ankle weights). My legs and arms have definition they've never had before, and although I'm not "done" yet, it's obvious that I've been working out.

Tomorrow, I will do myself proud, and do my husband proud. He can't wait to show me off, because he knows how much it meant to me to look good this year. I don't look great, but I do look good and that's good enough ;)

Have a nice weekend, all.

More bloggers for you to check out

Before I forget to do this, I wanted to mention a couple of other bloggers I've been reading.

First, is Waiter Rant. This is a well-written blog by a waiter who tells about working in an upscale restaurant - the good, the bad and the ugly. I liked his writing so well that I went all the way back to the beginning and read forward. Good stuff.

Second, is a young but well-written blog called The Family Man. This guy obviously loves his kids and sounds like a terrific dad. I plan on following this blog for a long time.

Take a look, and I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

We're having fun now! lol

By the time most of you see this post, the new design will be up. It's supposed to be installed tomorrow morning, and I'm so excited about it! It accurately shows my love for Texas and for my birds. What's funny is that I never told her how much I love Texas...Cat must have done a quick read through my blogger ;)

The countdown has begun! We pulled all the camping gear out of storage last night and it's piled in the middle of my livingroom. We've spent this evening starting the cooking for the BBQ. Had to start the brine for the turkey legs - they have to soak for 2 days in it. I can't believe these turkey legs...they're massive. Scott's making his superhot salsa as we speak.

Funny bird story to share. All of the birds love both of us, but they love me more *beam*. I'm sitting in the chair the other night and Ozzie sneaks off her cage, to the floor, and up on my chair. After awhile, I hear a noise to my left and here is Katie, sneaking on to my chair. Not to be outdone, and realizing that those two were getting attention that he rightfully deserved, Ziggy started making his way across the cages...something he's never done...until I notice he's working his way over and just go get him. I sat there, surrounded by lotsa birdie love :)

My review

I work for a law firm. It is a large, international, pretigious law firm, and generally, they treat their employees well. When they hired me permanently, after working as a temp there for three months, I was prepared to have to negotiate my salary; after all, I was paying $75 a month for parking, the job itself can be pretty stressful, and 8 days out of 10, I'm running around with my hair on fire...busier than hell. I knew the amount I wanted to start at...and surprisingly, they offered me $3k a year more...ok, well shut my mouth :)

Raises come out in July, so reviews occur in June and this is my first one. Overall, I was pleased - the two female attorneys I work for gave me incredibly glowing evaluations. I love working for both of them and could work for them until I retire and be just fine.

The third attorney, a male (and who, last year, gave me our cockatiel and our first quaker parrot) and I had a disagreement in March and he hasn't spoken to me since then, because I went to HR about him. No matter how mad at me he was, he should have taken me in his office and closed the door. Instead, he stood at my cubicle and raised his voice to me where everyone could hear it...just a wee fucking bit humiliating. The first time he did it, I let him get away with it. The second time, I immediately made an appointment to talk to the HR manager. I don't know what she said to him, but he hasn't spoken to me since, other than "Good morning" when he comes in, and to specifically give me work (which he doesn't do often anymore, thank God).

So back to where I was - reviews. I knew he was going to give me a bad review, but the man trashed me. 90% of the review was negative, 5% middle of the road, and 5% good. He lied about the disagreement (although I guess that's his perception of it). If that review had been the only one - I'd be job-hunting right now.

Fortunately, he's only 1/4 of my total review - I didn't know, but the HR manager gives a review too, and she gave me a good one. So, 3 out of 4 good, and hopefully, I'll get my full raise.

But I just don't know what to do about this guy. He makes me insane and I truly dislike working for him. He's a nice guy - if I didn't have to work for him. I'm grateful to him for the birds that I totally adore - but I wish he'd move to New York or go to work somewhere else.

*sigh*

A better day

First of all, Happy Father's Day, Dad :)

So, we got the kiddo this morning and had a wonderful 4 hours with her. You could tell she was glad to be spending time with us, even if it was supervised. Once again, I have to say how much I appreciate our supervisor. She's a lovely woman, who has given up holidays with her family in order to facilitate other families spending them together. Can't get much more giving than that. We'll miss her once the visits are unsupervised, but plan on still staying in touch and having her come visit us.

Anyway, good visit, good day and now a very busy week ahead of us because the 3-day barbeque that we throw every year is next weekend, and we haven't begun to get ready for it! Eeeek!

Somewhere in the middle of all of the work that needs to be done this week, my blogger will probably be receiving it's makeover, as the designer was supposed to start working on it this weekend.

Stay tuned!

NSVs abound!

Over at NutriSystem, we call any positive event that occurs due to your weight loss a "Non-Scale Victory" or NSV.

I've had several NSVs this week, one of which was being able to wear a dress to work for the first time in 10 years - not a skirt and jacket, which can hide a lot of flaws - but a form fitting, flowing feminine dress.

I wore a shirt to work today...a more orange than salmon but in that hue, V-necked t-shirt, nothing special, but not one I would have worn 6 months ago because of all the rolls around my waist. But I had no less than 6 people tell me that color was great on me...it's like they saw something but didn't quite know it was, so settled for the color was great. It could have been the newly blonder hair on a nice dark tan wearing a more orange than salmon but in that hue, V-necked t-shirt - a very striking combination.

My confidence hasn't been this high in years and I'm once again finding the sexy woman that's been slumbering within for the past couple of years as my weight climbed higher and higher.

Back when I started NS in January, I had a mini-goal of losing 45 lbs. by our annual BBQ which falls June 24-26 this year. As of this morning, I had lost 44.5 lbs! Close enough for me to feel the very sweet taste of success. :)

I know that I still have a lot to go, but it feels do-able now. Scott started to tell me last night that if I stopped right now, he'd be happy but I stopped him mid-sentence. He told me that once before and it sent me into a 3 week tailspin that I'm just now coming out of. I told him when I started that if I got thin enough for him, he could tell me and I'd stop, but I haven't heard that said in any kind of seriousness yet...and I don't want to stop yet.

My goal of 140 lbs is based on my height and what I think my anticipated size will be - a 10/12. I actually started the diet with the goal of 150, which is a weight that I know I can wear very comfortably, a size 12/14. I've maintained all along that I'll know when I'm there. So, I'm looking at somewhere between 32 (minimum) to 42.5 lbs (maximum) left to go. The 32 sounds much, much closer ;)

63 Days

As you may have guessed (or know, if you happen to be family), I'm an internet junkie. I have loved the internet since it first became available to the public in 1994 and I was one of those first million users of AOL, often spending $200-300 a month for the privilege of surfing, chatting, and playing games.

Because of this addiction, I've read a lot of things on the internet, but few have touched me as deeply as the site I found today - 63 Days.

63 Days is a story being told by a woman who survived one of the teen "boot camps" that surfaced in the late 1980s. Her story is horrific at best. It is very well written, and should be turned into a book - I'm sure it would be a best seller.

Certain aspects of her story touched me to the very core of my being, having been through some similar experiences - and no, I'm not brave enough to share them here.

Anyway, I encourage you to visit her site and read her incredible story.

Blogger overhaul

My blogger is about to get an overhaul! I've paid Blogtogs to design something especially for me and they should be starting on it by next weekend. I've asked for something tropical and birdy...I hope they can make more sense out of that than I can! LOL

Edith darlin...it's all you're fault! ;)

Fun, fun!

Last weekend, Scott and I were lamenting the death of the drive-in theater. Not that I ever got to go as a teen, but we did go a few times when I was a kid, and I went a couple of times as an adult, so I do have some fond memories of them.

Last night, Scott was golfing with a buddy of his, Mike. Mike said he and his wife were going to the drive-in and did we want to go with them? Turns out, the Galaxy Drive-In Theater is about 30 minutes from us - three screens and when I looked at the website, they were double features of new releases on all three screens, for the rate of $6 per person...pretty reasonable if you ask me, since a walk in theater is $7 for one movie!

So, we decided to go. I had to take my car in for repairs early this morning, so we didn't stay for the second feature (The Longest Yard), but did see Mr. and Mrs. Smith. It was a good movie, and yes, Angelina and Brad have a good chemistry, but I still hate her for stealing Brad from Jennifer Aniston. ;)

You used your car radio for the speaker, the snack bar food wasn't great, but it wasn't horrible, and it was crowded beyond belief (but then we got there pretty late too), but it was very cool to kick your shoes off, put up your feet and smoke if you wanted to!

Ahem...we won't mention what all that very salty popcorn heavy with butter did to my weight ;)

Thoughts on Tanning

As you can tell from my picture, I'm white. Not just white, but very white. I have shunned the sun for many years because I always burn, I've had rosecea (since cured), the fear of skin cancer, and my ongoing battle against aging.

But as I'm thinning down (still holding at 185, plus or minus tenths of a pound), I'm feeling pretty good about myself. Yes, I know 185 isn't exactly thin, but it's much better than 227 was, and on me 185 looks about like 160 on most people. Anyway, I've been using a tanning bed for hm...3 weeks now. Not every day, but as many days as I could manage it and I've got an all-over, even tan! My legs no longer glow in the dark! It's quite an accomplishment for me, and ya know what? Tans are sexy. Tans are also slimming.

Tanning has become quite the industry, I've discovered. When I first walked into this place, I was greeted with a display case of tanning lotions. Looking them over, there must have been 30 different kinds, each with a higher, more shocking, price tag than the others. Seriously, who in their right mind is going to pay $42 for a bottle of tanning lotion?? Grumbling (and vowing to buy a bottle of tanning lotion at Walmart for $8), I forked over $15 for a bottle of lotion called an "accelerator", meant to do just that - accelerate your tanning. It worked ok, color was coming out, but not fast enough. I did buy the $8 lotion at Walmart and hated it. So, I did some research and talked to the owner of the tanning salon, who assured me that the higher priced lotions were worth the money. Standing there, debating it for the last time, my darling husband (who is also tanning), came into the salon and said "just buy it", so I did. I bought Australian Gold's Almost Famous ($39).

This product makes some incredible claims:

Darkest Triple Bronzer with Hemp
You’ll have a famously dark tan with the amazing new triple bronzing formula with Lipocare contouring blend.
Feature: Lipocare BlendBenefit: Anti-aging, firming and slimming complex designed to visibly firm and contour the skin.
Feature: Natural Bronzing ExtractsBenefit: Botanical ingredients that provide immediate bronzed color.
Feature: Bronzing ComplexBenefit: DHA-based ingredients produce delayed, natural looking color that is fully noticeable within 12-24 hours.
Feature: Biotanning ComplexBenefit: Revolutionary new melanin booster for darkest color that lasts 5-8 days.
Feature: Anti Aging and Firming BlendBenefit: Visibly younger, toned skin

Is it worth $39? Hm...I'm going through the bottle pretty quickly. I am considerably darker, but I haven't noticed any firming, slimming and younger, toned skin yet. Will keep you posted on that aspect :)

Our annual BBQ is now 3 weeks away. I'm going to be a bronze goddess. In the meantime, my darling husband can't keep his hands off me.

Maybe $39 isn't so expensive after all ;)

Want to make $25?

I signed up for an online savings account the other day. It pays 3.00% interest, which is better than my own bank pays at the moment. They're a legitimate company and what's really cool is that they give you $10 to refer people, and if someone signs up through you, they receive a $25 bonus in their savings account! I imagine (although couldn't find it in the small print) that you'd have to leave the savings account open for a certain time period, but that's what savings accounts are for....to save money, so why not?

Interested? Drop me an email at hlcarey@gmail.com and I'll send you a referral :)

Star Wars and the Diet

Scott and I just got home from seeing Star Wars, Episode III. While it was nice having the loose ends tied up, this movie was way too long! It's running time is 2 hours, 26 minutes, and seriously, the story wouldn't have been any less served if they had cut another 26 minutes. Scott and I both actually dozed for a minute somewhere around the end of the first hour. If you go see it anytime soon, make sure you get there an hour early, and make sure you pee just before the movie starts!

Despite spending Friday night, all day Saturday and half of Sunday down at the lake, I actually came home 2 lbs lighter! I ate on plan all day, only the nights were bad. Although today at the movie, I had a hot dog, a big soft pretzel and Gummy Bears...so I may be up again tomorrow.

For today though, I'm down to 185.5, for a total of 41.5 lbs lost!

Fish Tales (and other updates)

My dad left May 7, and we immediately left for Oklahoma to see Scott's dad. While we were there, we went fishing on Mother's Day. Now I've been fishing many times, but had never succeeded in landing a fish. I wasn't really thrilled at the idea of spending my Mother's Day on yet another fruitless fishing trip, but there isn't much else going on in Tishomingo, OK, so what the heck.

Scott's dad has a private stocked pond. I've fished that pond before and didn't catch anything. Amazingly, Mother's Day made up for almost every fishing trip I've ever taken! It helped that the fish were cooperating by literally jumping onto my hook...lol.

Here is a picture of the crappie I caught. Scott says it's the biggest crappie he's ever seen. It's being mounted on a plaque for me :)

Here is a picture of one of the bass I caught!

And here is a picture of my total stringer for the day! Woohoo!! I caught all of these fish within about three hours.

I won't be quite so reluctant to go fishing next time! ;)

The birds are all fine, although Ozzie had a case of night frights Wednesday night. At 4 am, I awoke to the sound of a bird hitting the floor and wings fluttering. So I got up to see what was going on and she was on the floor. I tried to pick her up and put her back on her cage, but she literally flapped her way out of my hands...twice! The third time I picked her up, I just held her and stroked her until she calmed down...and then I saw that she was bleeding. She had broken a blood feather...which is a normal feather that gets broken and bleeds. The only recourse is to grab a pair of pliers and pull it out, and then to get the bleeding stopped. So at 4 am, I'm doing minor surgery on my poor birdie. She's fine now, but that was SCARY.

On the weight-loss front, I'm now down a total of 39.5 lbs. I had actually hit 40.2 lbs on May 7, but it came right back, since it had been a 5 lb loss that week. Must have been a fluke, or an error in my scale, but I should see 40 lbs tomorrow and this time it will stay gone, since it's been coming off slowly.

As my reward for the continued weight-loss, and in preparation for our annual BBQ, I signed up for 30 days at a tanning booth. I've had three sessions now, and it's pretty cool seeing my skin get darker. I've never really been a sunbather, so this is a new and exciting experience for me! No cancer in my family, so I don't worry about that, and this isn't something I'm going to do forever.

OK...That's the update for this time!

My dad is here visiting :)

I hadn't seen my father face-to-face since 1996, although we do keep in touch by email and phone. He and his wife, Kathy, have been here visiting since Tuesday, and while it's not been great for my diet, it has been wonderful spending time with them!

Yesterday, we visited the Dallas Arboretum which is a truly beautiful place this time of year. We apparently missed the big Tulip displays but still enjoyed the gardens immensely. Since it sits on 66 acres, we definitely got our exercise in!

They leave tomorrow, which is much too soon, but hopefully it won't be another 9 years before I see them again. :(

I took my monthly measurements this morning and am pleased to announce that I've lost 7.75" overall since April 4!!

The Smothers Brothers!

Scott ended up working in Fort Worth yesterday, so I left work at 4pm, and drove the 30 miles out there. He called me when I was halfway there and said, "You're never going to guess who I just talked to!" I asked him who, and he said the Smothers Brothers!! They had just pulled up and were getting their stuff out of their car, and he told them we were looking forward to the show and they said good, and were friendly to him, but obviously didn't want to hang around on the street too long.

Scott checked us into the hotel, then went across the street to Chili's to have a drink and wait for me. I got to the hotel at about 4:45 and parked my car, and walked over there, where I had dinner. We had time to kill so we went to a club and shot a few games of pool, and then walked to the Bass Hall to go to the show (bear in mind, this is all in a two block radius).

The show was awesome. They were on stage for about 90 minutes. Other than being a bit older (imagine that!), they look exactly the same. Their comedy hasn't changed at all, except for being a little less political than they used to be. Ten minutes of the show was a video montage of their CBS show...boy, did that take us back! Tommy did his "Yo-Yo Man" routine, which, if you're not aware, is where he does a few yo-yo tricks...and he's damned good! I was sad to have the show end!!

After the show was over, we walked outside and there were a few people standing at the stage door. I asked Scott if he minded if we hung out for a bit and he said no, so hang out we did....and I got a nice payoff!!

After waiting at the stage door for about 45 minutes and watching people go in and out (some with their older record albums, which they brought out signed!) I was going a little crazy. I wanted to meet them so badly and was afraid I wouldn't get to. But finally, they came out! I had the envelope that my tickets came in and I pulled that out and asked Tommy for his autograph first (I've always loved Tommy and that was the signature I wanted most!). He signed the envelope and then...and then....he posed with me, while Scott took our picture with my camera phone (left my regular camera at home)! Unfortunately, the picture is pretty blurry, but if you know the SB, you know this is legit!! That's Dickie on the far right in the background.

After Tommy signed the envelope, I turned to Dickie and asked him to sign. I told him he could use the other side if he wanted to and he said "I'll sign the same side, I wouldn't want you to have to play favorites"...I laughed and said "No offense, but I always liked HIM (tilting head towards Tommy) best!" Everyone around us roared! :)

I was higher than a kite after that...pure adreneline!