Ode to Nissan

During the holidays, people sometimes write about what they are thankful for or memories of previous holidays. I've decided to write an ode to my car. Why, you ask? Probably because I just paid it off and I also want to share some of my memories of the ol' Nissan.



This past Monday was the five year anniversary of when I bought her. She already had a few miles on her and a previous owner, but, I was so excited at her speed and color. Of course, I had to have red. First thing I did was get a good cleaning done. I didn't want anybody's cooties in MY car. Plus, I love a car that has clean shiny rims and tires. I always get the "tire dressing" whenever I get my car cleaned.



Some of the fun memories:



Having to remind people where Reverse is....sometimes I forget to tell people about pushing down the shifter before putting it in the reverse.



Laughing at the car dealership when they quoted me the price for new tires. I thought it was the price for all four tires......no, it was for one tire.



Driving to Houston in under three hours after being laid off earlier that morning. I was wanting to be pulled over so I could show the cop my ridiculous lay-off letter. That's how you tell someone they are being laid off? A letter on their desk? Not even in person? What cowards!



Cramming a too large suitcase in the floorboard of my front seat and my little sister trying to fold her legs around the suitcase so I could take her to the airport. She is such an over packer!



Having three people in the car on multiple occasions. Usually, Elizabeth is one of them. Not sure why we didn't take her huge Jeep out....maybe because we thought we weren't going to have a few too many and decide later that we needed to continue to party. In case you wondering, it's kind of hard to shift when a leg is laying across the shifter.



The block of concrete in the middle of the street that I thought I could run over. Wait, Elizabeth was with me then, too. I think she is no longer allowed in the Nissan.... The drunk lady who decided that SHE would be the one to get the concrete out from under my car. She had to yell at Elizabeth to get the big stick down the street so she could move the block where she could reach it.



The F-Bomb that was dropped in front of a church when I hit a median on a Sunday morning. My car and I will be in hell for that one. (I had to wait two years for someone to hit me so I could get the bumper replaced, but, it's all new and shiny now.)



Teaching my little sister how to drive a standard in a car that is too powerful for her. If you've never taught someone how to drive one, I don't recommend doing it. I almost vomited. She's a pro now, but, the learning part, with the jerking of the car while switching gears, would make anyone carsick.



Well, that's about all I can think of off the top of my head right now. I did think about getting rid of her about 18 months ago, but, now that she's paid off....she goes nowhere.

It's OVER! No more running for me!

Horrific, Horrible....I can't think of any other "H" words to describe the entire day of the New York Marathon. Hell? True. But, I completed it! That was my goal...not a time goal, just completion and to get the silly medal.





Here is my dad and I before we left the hotel. Don't we look happy? We had no idea what was to come.




We had to be at the start line at 6:30am, but, the our wave start wasn't until 10:20am. So, we sat on this hard concrete block in 40 degree weather with icy 15mph winds for four hours. It was FREEZING!

Here is the Verrazano Bridge where we started the race. The bridge is 2 1/2 miles long. It's not easy to run on a bridge and it's where we start the horrific 26.2 miles.

Here are spectators and runners dancing in Brooklyn. Runners were stopping to dance with the spectators. Crazy!

Here's my dad running backwards in Brooklyn. :)

Here is the dreaded Queensboro bridge that takes you from Queens into Manhattan around mile 16. IT SUCKED! Most were walking across this bridge....of course, we were part of the slower group.

We met Kris and Teresa right after we exited the bridge. They were taking pictures and cheering us on. We definitely needed the pick me up.

Um, especially me. Nice face, Jen!

Here we are after the finish with our "keep warm" gear.

After the race, Kris and Teresa decided they were going to put us in a bike cab to get us back to our hotel. In their drunken state (they had quite a few drinks after they saw us at mile 16), they decided that a bike cab would be quicker than a regular cab. It was the scariest ride that I've ever been on. The bike driver had no fear of real cabs or big delivery trucks. He also showed no respect for red lights. Just cruised right through them. It was the most frightening 30 blocks that I've ever experienced (and never want to experience again).

Overall, the experience sucked and I never want to do it again. :)

I'm happy to be a spectator and cheer anyone else on as they run 26.2 miles.

I hate to run.

After this weekend, I will only run when being chased. Why do I let my sister talk me into these things? Why do I come from a psychotically competitive family?

Well, I'm off to New York tomorrow to run that silly marathon on Sunday.



I hope this isn't me:

I KNOW this will be me:

I am taking a camera with me on the run, so, be prepared for some hilarous pictures. There are over 40,000 runners for 26.2 miles. There will be 2 million spectators and 100 bands along the route. Yes, they will all see my pitiful running.

I've waited years for this!

Yay! I finally got to see New Kids On The Block again! I am completely aging myself by writing this, but, it's been 20 years since I first saw NKOTB. They were my very first concert. My sister and a friend of hers drove my best friend and I down to Indianapolis for the concert. Oh, the memories. I loved Joey McIntyre....I may have even written "Mrs. Jennifer McIntyre" in my notebook over and over again. Others will say that they were meant to be with Joey, but, he was MINE.

The concert was as fantastic as I remember from 1988. They sang their old songs exactly the same way (directly to me, of course). They did add a little crotch-grabbing to be able to keep up with the times. And, some crazy lady threw her bra on-stage. Before you ask, no, it was not me. I went to see Justin Timberlake a year ago and this concert put his to shame. I have never seen so many late-20 to early 30-somethings going crazy like that. We had no shame. There was yelling and belting out the words like we were on stage with the boys.

Can you spot the lone male in this picture? Everyone else....female.




Sweet Jordan can still hit those high notes.

Have to save this picture for last. Oh, Joey.

Adventures of Flat Batman - Part 1

I have taken over this blog, so, you can see the adventures that I've been on lately.

Let me explain where I came from: I decided to pick a child who would take me places and have adventures and see things through their eyes. I thought a great place to start this adventure would be at the airport. Adventure city, right? However, I was given to an "adult". Why would an adult get a kid's meal at McDonald's? They have adult sizes for pete's sake! So, I was given as a toy to some chick from Boston and then stolen from her by this girl whose blog I have hacked. I made a four day trip to Lake Tahoe for a wedding and saw many things. Below are some photos of my adventure:

When I arrived at the house where the "people" were staying, I was given a "Welcome to Tahoe" bag. Inside was chapstick, silly string, candy, granola bar, lotion, and a travel mug with some cool photos (or so the "people" said). There were other great things in the bag, but, I didn't see/eat/use any of it. The "people" took it all!

I went to see the "Fanny Bridge" the first night. It's called the Fanny Bridge because when you're driving by it, all you see are butts because everyone is looking over the side of it. Apparently, there are salmon that come and "do their thing" there. I wouldn't know....I am batman and do not care for fish.

In this photo, I am looking out across Lake Tahoe trying to figure out how long it would take me to fly across it. Oh wait, I don't really fly.....hhhmmm....this will take some planning.

I thought I'd show my "robot" dancing skills in this photo.

Those mad dancing skills came after many beverages...like this one.

There was a party the second night...like I said, there was a wedding taking place. I wanted to try the white cake. Somehow, I ended up on top of the cake, I blame those pesky drinks.

I even tried to take a bath. But, I didn't have thumbs, so, I couldn't turn the nozzle on.

This guy thought I was cool....he wanted to be a superhero like me. I told him to get a haircut. Superheroes are ALWAYS put together.

I decided to go for a bike ride on Sunday.

I had to point a young child in the right direction. Somehow, he was on the trail by himself. However, he did pass up the "people" that I was riding with. He looked to be about five years old. It was embarrassing for the "people" to be passed by such a young child. I wanted to go off on adventures with him, but, he was too fast and they couldn't catch him.

On the way back to the house, I thought I'd give a belly rub to an adorable dog that was on the sidewalk.

I had to help the "people" get ready for the wedding. Not sure how they could put on the make-up without me....especially since they had a couple of drinks while getting ready.

Here I am on the aisle. Some people across the aisle looked at me weirdly and I had to give them my "Superhero Eye". They did not look at me again.

I made sure there were no kinks or problems for this nice couple's wedding. They are forever in my debt.

I needed fuel....reviewed the menu and took over the ordering.




I am excellent at ordering....of course. Look at this appetizer....I ate all the avocado stuffed with crab.

I also started to get my drink on again.

And, the final pose....again on a cake. It was good.

I have other adventures from my trip....this is only part 1. I am going to hack this blog soon and show you the rest. Stay tuned.

Introducing...........

Abigail Nicole

We went down to Mart this weekend to meet my new niece, Abigail. She was born on September 29th and weighed in at 7 lbs, 1 oz. I haven't been around a newborn in awhile and forgot how tiny they are! She slept most of the time we were at my brother's house, but, I did get a couple of pictures with her eyes open. Enjoy!

Eric so wanted a boy....we're all glad it was a girl. I think he's a little freaked in this photo.

Jen bonding with Abigail.

Cameron and Abigail (I think we caught her in mid-yawn).

Sweet Danielle holding her little sister.

Jackson is a pro! I think he wants a little sister.

Colin was not interested in his new cousin. He was more interested in playing with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle & motorcycle that his Uncle Eric & Aunt Jen gave him for his birthday. He also told his mom that she could look at the new baby, but, was not allowed to "pet" her.

Megan and Chris's Wedding in Lake Tahoe

My friends love destination weddings....well, I guess I should say I love destination wedding, too. So, when Megan said she and Chris had decided to get married in Lake Tahoe, I told her I was definitely in for that trip. We stayed at an awesome house that Megan found online that slept twelve very comfortably. We even tried to get more people to stay with us throughout the weekend. There are so many stories from that weekend that I can only give you a few of them.

Christine, Elizabeth and I flew from Dallas to Reno and cracked ourselves up most of the entire trip. There was a McDonald's incident (which I'll blog about later) and then finding out that Elizabeth crammed her dress that she was going to wear to the wedding into her purse. Yes, she had her dress folded up in her purse. Here's a photo of it:

The first night we all went for pizza and beer at The Lakeshore Bar. Either, we were tipsy and starving or that was the best pizza ever. The rest of the evening was spent laughing, telling stories and making fun of one another (that was pretty much the theme for the weekend).

Saturday, Christine, Emily and I went for a run in the morning. Surprisingly, we felt pretty good running at that altitude (Someone told me that we were about 6,000 ft above sea level). Then, it was off for manicures and pedicures. I love to be pampered. :) We had yummy hamburgers for lunch and our waitress entertained us the entire time. I think she's spent a little too much time smoking the bong. She answered everything with "cool" and thought we were "cool" girls...well, we are, of course.

Saturday night, we had a delicious meal prepared by Megan's dad. There was pulled pork, baked beans, grilled artichokes, and I can't remember what else. Oh, there was also a queso dip that was fantastic. It had a secret ingredient....I cannot tell you what it was.....though, some of us helped make the food so we know. It was YUMMY and someone mentioned they had never had queso dip before. All Texans were appalled by this statement.

Sunday, Celeste, Elizabeth, Colleen, and I went for 9 mile bike ride. I was an exercising machine this weekend! Go me! Poor Celeste was told the wrong way to change gears (we blame Elizabeth) and ended up making it nearly impossible to pedal as she was riding up hills. She thought she was way out of shape and come to find out...they way she was riding, Lance Armstrong would have been breathing hard trying to get up those same hills.

Sunday evening was what we had all been waiting for: the wedding. It was beautiful. Chris and Megan had planned an unbelievable ceremony and reception. The dinner was so good that I didn't want to stop eating and the dancing...oh, the dancing. I have no words to explain the awesomeness of Chris Gaines' dancing abilities. He brought out moves honoring Footloose, moonwalking, and NKOTB to name a few. I know there is video out there of him and Chris Shahan and I hope it's posted. There may have been some running man dancing, too.

Unfortunately, my camera batteries died after dinner, so, I don't have a lot of photos yet from then. Here are what I have so far:

The girls having a toast to Megan and Chris before the wedding.

The aisle that Chris and Megan walked down.

The view for the guests. The picture doesn't do it justice.

I think this is self-explanatory. :)

Boy, do we clean up nicely.

The table-setting. Nothing was overlooked and the meal was fantastic.

Like I said, there are so many stories from this past weekend. Thank you to Chris, Megan, and their families for making this trip so memorable. Congrats and I love you!

Memorable quotes from the weekend:

Brown Chicken, Brown Cow! (my favorite)

It's the altitude.

I squirted myself.

Save that.

I accidently went on a date with a lesbian.

Apple-bottom jeans.

I need a Nana.

Christine punched me in the face.

I'm not a lady because I don't have a pashima.

I look like a crazy aunt in this photo.

1, 2, 2....1, 2, 2....1, 2, 2....1, 2, 2....1, 2 2

Ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay

If the bartender comes in, tell him that we went to Pete'n Peters. Here's my number.