Jen Talks Smack

Not the Turtle!!!

2011-05-31T21:00:00.002-05:00

Four of us competed in the Stonebridge Ranch 10K this past weekend. Our trainer, LaChandra, kicked all our butts, but, I have the winning story! I was not the turtle!!!!! For my non-sports peeps, if you are last in a race, you are called the "turtle". Well, I was the turtle for about 3/4 mile during this race and I was completely freaked. Luckily, after the first water station, I passed a guy. Whew! I felt a little relief...but then I started thinking "What if he quits the race? I'll be the turtle!" But, I just checked the results online and I beat him!!! However, I was so slow apparently that the photographer didn't wait on me. So, no pics of me sweating like a pig in all that humidity.

Thank you, Clay Jensen for running too hard at the beginning so that you became the turtle.

Ew and Holy Frick!!!!

2011-04-27T10:44:00.004-05:00

The other night when I got home from work, my neighbor comes running over and says, "I've got something to show you." We met in the middle of my driveway and she turns me towards the side of the driveway and holy crap! There was a snake!!!!! I immediately shriek and run the opposite direction. Her husband laughs at me and assures me he's dead. Ew Ew and EW! We chatted and gave our theories on what type of snake it was and how it ended up being dead on the side of the driveway and then parted ways. I was completely freaked still....even though it was dead. Tom came home and I showed it to him and I think he was even a little freaked (though he's so "manly" he'd never admit it). :)

About 30 minutes later, the doorbell rings and it's my other neighbor who I'd only met one time before. He asked me if I had a pet snake. I told him no and the one that was at the side of my driveway was dead. He looked so relieved! Then he tells me that a couple of days ago he was driving in the alley and saw the snake crossing the alley. He immediately ran over it because he was freaked too. He said it was gone by the time he parked and got out of his car so he was stressed for days trying to figure out if he killed a pet. I assured him that was NOT the case.

I've been told that it looks like a chicken/rat snake and they are harmless. As I have been telling everyone ANY snake=venomous killer.

Tom finally threw it in the dumpster last night....again EW EW and EEEWWW!!!

I'm still completely freaked!

So many stories to share....

2011-02-25T11:19:00.005-06:00

I know, I know. Haven't' posted in forever. I keep thinking "I need to post ______" because it's hilarious. I just can't ramp up to do it. But, I will!!

So, for now...enjoy some cute pictures!

Adorable picture of Colin on one of the snow days.

Abby - post haircut. She's super cute!

Thanksgiving Fun

2010-11-30T22:51:00.008-06:00

Ever had a peach martini? They are divine! After two Thanksgiving meals on Thursday, Tom and I jetted to California on Friday morning to spend a few days with Dad and Teresa. We got to see my Grandma for a little while on Friday and she is still a feisty young lady who turns 79 yrs old next week. I sure do miss our shopping trips together. NOBODY shopped like my granny.

Friday night, the four of us went to dinner in Anaheim at a restaurant called The White House. We've been there before (maybe almost got kicked out....those peach martinis) so we knew we'd have a great time. You'll see from the pictures below they had some delicious drinks!

That may have been the third or fourth martini....

Teresa and Dad giggling...

This is what happens when you try to take a self portrait after said martinis.....I cut off his head!

That's better!

Look! There's snow in southern California!!!

Before we had left for dinner, part of the electricity went out in Dad and T's house. It was in the family room and the bedroom that we were staying in. We assumed a breaker had been tripped but we couldn't figure out which one because they were all "on" and nothing was labeled. So, Saturday morning, we turned on all the lights in the entire house and went one by one to see which breaker effected what area of the house. After going through all the breakers about three different times, we couldn't figure it out. We were really starting to get ticked b/c the family room is the only room downstairs that has a TV and we were missing college football and Game Day on ESPN! Dad finally called someone he knows that is an electrician and he came over and in less than thirty seconds fixed it. Apparently, we weren't "throwing" the switch hard enough and it wasn't connecting. What?!?! Oh, whatever.

See the extension cord? We couldn't take not having TV so we ran an extension cord from the surge protector to the kitchen so we could watch. My bright idea, thank you!

Princess Tiffany...gracing us with her presence.

Saturday night, we went to the USC/Notre Dame game. It was great people watching and as soon as the game really starting hopping....the skies opened up. After getting soaked for about 20 minutes, we decided to head to the car. USC lost (poor Dad and T).

Sunday morning was football, football and more football. Our flight wasn't until mid-afternoon so we got to watch the first game and eat delicious pastrami sandwiches.

Had a great time and the White House is on the itinerary for the next trip out!

View from our seats

Look at this skank!!! I have no words. Wait, yes I do! What a skank!!!

Getting soaked.

Aren't we adorable?

San Antonio

2010-11-14T21:20:00.005-06:00

Woo Hoo! I got to be a spectator! Senor, Kris, and my dad ran the San Antonio half marathon last weekend and I didn't. Again, Woo Hoo! Kris and Dad were supposed to run the full marathon, but due to injuries, ended up running the half. It was a fast trip down to San Antonio (flew down on Saturday morning and flew home Sunday evening). But, we managed to sightsee the Alamo and eat tons of mexican food.

That's Tomas in the grey shirt. On the right side of this picture is the back of Teresa's head. Somehow that is the only picture I got of her throughout the weekend. Sneaky girl!

X-Tina at mile 8.

Dad, delirious at mile 8....don't know why he is running backwards.

Senor at the finish line. He hasn't taken that medal off yet....it's been over a week now.

Jackson and his mom. His sign says, "My mom can outrun your mom".

Kris and Jackson in front of the Alamo. You can't really tell it's the Alamo because they would be tiny if I had backed up enough so you could see the entire building.

Our usual self portrait.

Senor's Birthday

2010-11-10T21:35:00.007-06:00

We went to Washington DC a few weeks ago for the Rally To Restore Sanity And/Or Fear and it was also Senor's birthday. It was a whirlwind weekend of sightseeing. We got in on Friday afternoon and, after hastily dropping our bags at the hotel, took off for the sights. Tom estimated (with his handy map) that we walked about 10 miles that afternoon...my feet sure felt it! Saturday, we were supposed to have a White House tour and then head to the rally. Unfortunately, the tour didn't happen. We got to the White House for our scheduled 11am tour and they hadn't even let the 9:30am people in yet. We stayed in line for about 30 minutes before bailing and heading towards the rally.

Wow, the rally. I've never seen so many people in one place in my entire life. I don't think they were prepared for the amount of people who showed up. Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert encouraged everyone to bring signs and a lot of people complied. I got some pics of hilarious ones that are below. We couldn't see the stage, but, could hear what was going on. After we got back to Dallas, we watched it on tivo and were like "Oh, THAT is what was going on."

Sunday was the day for more sightseeing. We tried to go up the Washington monument, but, the tickets were sold out. :( We ended up at the International Spy Museum....eh. It was okay. It cost $18/person to enter! Definitely not worth the $18. We were flippin' exhausted by the time that tour was over so we headed back to our hotel and hung out in bar watching football until it was time to head to the airport.

Super windy! Me and Senor in front of the Capitol.

Walking up to the Lincoln Memorial

Honest Abe

Washington Monument and some random girl on the left.

Supreme Court

Me and Senor at the Rally

People ended up sitting on the port-a-pottys!

Arrested Development!

A little Glen Beck humor....

Outside the rally...people were everywhere!

Lost!!!

A supporter at the Rally dressed as a Chilean Miner. He was more popular than Jon Stewart in our area of the rally!

The Wave!

Peeps were climbing trees to get better "seats".

I took this picture b/c what the heck is "Organization of American States"?

It was SUPER sunny...us in front of the White House.

Duh...

The other side of the White House

Sunday was the Marine Corps Marathon...water station with Marines passing our water/gatorade.

Saturday night (Tom's actual bday) we played a little pool (I got my butt kicked...gggrrr) and Senor enjoyed the tasty beverages.

Need I say more? he he

Niece & Nephew Day!

2010-11-10T21:10:00.005-06:00

I got to spend a few hours with my nieces and nephews last weekend. Colin had a soccer game and most were in town all at the same time so we had a little picture time! It was freaking freezing though!

Me & Kierra

Somehow this is the only picture I got of Colin...not sure how that happened.

Sierra, Me and the corner of Cameron's head

Lots of hair-covered faces!

Cam, Danielle, Kierra and Moi

Me & Jacks

Blast from the Past - TX/OU

2010-11-10T20:55:00.005-06:00

Jackson and I went to the TX/OU game last month. I've been to the fair during TX/OU weekend but not actually to a game. What fun! (even if we lost)... Unfortunately, Jackson heard quite the load of curse words from the crowd. His favorite was the chant "OU SUCKS"! He liked to call the players "suckers".

"Texas" on the field.

Lance Armstrong's "Livestrong"

The sun was unmerciful until after the 3rd quarter.

Yummy/horrible nachos during the game.

After the game, we tried to go see Big Tex....moronic guy behind Jackson blocked him in the pic.

Jackson rode this ride 3 times! He loved it.

Forget fried butter, fried oreos, or corny dogs....it was all about the turkey leg.

Longest Tri Yet!

2010-11-05T11:24:00.004-05:00

Tom and I participated in the Toyota US Open Triathlon in October. Yes, we're morons. I'm just resigned to the fact that I have to do these silly things now. It was held in Rockwall at Lake Ray Hubbard (I think...I get that lake and Ray Roberts confused). Anyway, it was an 800 meter swim in open water (gross), 12 mile bike ride through Rockwall and a 3 mile run. Nobody told me how hilly Rockwall is! Dang!!!

Also, we were afraid of the weather. It'd been pretty cold leading up to the race weekend and we were concerned about swimming in the lake without a wetsuit. We went to pick up our packets on Saturday and had a chance to get in the water to test it out. It was pretty cold but bearable. Of course, that was at 12pm and the race started at 7:30am. Fortunately for us, it wasn't too bad on race day. I jumped in and was freaked and it ended up being okay. It must have warmed up the day before or something. It felt warmer than when we jumped in on Saturday. 800 meters is a REALLY long way. I was exhausted after getting out of the water and I still had to ride and run. But, I persevered!

Tom, me and Jeff - pre-race.

Me, on the dock, about to jump in the water. Attractive stance there, Jen.

Pumpkin Carving!

2010-11-03T13:37:00.004-05:00

We had a pumpkin carving contest at work between the different departments. Luckily, my skills weren't tested....because I would have won! Yeah, right.

I really liked this one. It's a true pumpkin carving.

This poor pumpkin is about to be turned into pumpkin pie!!!

Rangers Fan!!!

This one is a cat...not sure if you could figure it out. Some people had trouble seeing it.

The Winner - no words for this craziness.

I'm Back!

2010-11-01T22:16:00.005-05:00

I know. I know. It's been forever. I am back to posting! To catch my peeps up, it won't be in any order.

Most importantly! Cute boys have arrived!

Baby Cash arrived in early September!

And, Baby Andrew arrived last week! He had to do his trick-or-treating in the hospital.

Senor got to meet him tonight and even held him. He wasn't too freaked.

More updates to come!

Side note: COMMENT...it means that people are actually reading my blog!

My Always, Sometimes, Never List

2010-08-16T14:54:00.003-05:00

I like to read other blogs...people I know and people they know. I read one recently that listed her "Always, Sometimes, and Never" and thought it was cute and decided to do one for myself. Here goes:

I always:
go to sleep with a sleep mask on.
eat breakfast.
make my bed before going on a trip (really the only time I make it).
need to be planning my next trip.
get annoyed at cars that back into parking spaces.

I sometimes:

eat a mixture of fritos and cottage cheese for a snack.

don't get out of my pjs until 7pm on weekends.

will sing Eminem loudly in the car.

slip and say a naughty word in front of a kid and get "the look" from the parent.

understand what Tomas is talking about when he discusses the market.

I never:

wake up with the sleep mask still on.

fall asleep quickly without The Golden Girls playing.

get out of participating in family competitions.

forget random dates (significant or insignificant).

have trash left in my car.

Are we living near the equator?

2010-08-05T10:12:00.002-05:00

This is ridonkulous! My car registered 112 yesterday. I know we complained when it snowed multiple times this winter/spring, but, come on. 112? That's just silliness.

My New Obsession

2010-08-04T15:10:00.001-05:00

My new obsession are the fruit smoothies from McDonald's. The WildBerry is delicious!!!

Disco Sucko!

2010-07-21T14:04:00.005-05:00

Hottest Freaking Day of the Year. That's how I'm going to describe the Disco Triathlon. It blew. We were miserable the entire time. People ask me "Why the heck do these things have to start so early?" Well, I'll tell ya. By 8:30am, you are a SWEATING machine! Dang you, humidity!!

Now, for the funny story parts:

The swim wasn't too bad. The water was actually cooler this year than last year which was nice. It was still disgusting lake water that you can't see more than a foot in front of you while underwater, but, it was better. I got kicked in the boob once and a few times in the legs. I almost got kicked in the face, but, I saw that foot coming at the last minute and immediately took my face out of the water. I would have been seriously pissed if I got kicked in the face.

The bike was yucko! It's so freaking hilly out there and I was tired already! It's an out/back so you ride 8.5 miles down the road and turn around and ride the 8.5 miles back (for my non-cyclist followers). Unfortunately, you see all the hills that you have to ride back on so it's kind of a bummer. Let me back up a second. You have to wear a timing chip around your ankle during the triathlon so they can post everyones results online. This year, they had a new timing chip that was disposable. You know those bands that you get at waterparks? That's pretty much what it was with a little square thing attached that was the actual timing chip. I put it on my right ankle which was fine for the swim part. Well, during the biking portion, the end of the band got caught in my derailer and ripped the entire thing off. So, I had to stop my bike and pick it up. The band was beyond repair so I couldn't reattach to my ankle. I had no pockets so I ended up looping it through my sports bra and continuing on my ride. The last few miles of the ride were really tough and I kept thinking, "Wow, this is a lot harder than I remember." But, I FINALLY reached the transition area. Unfortunately, nobody told me that the timing chip has to be near the ground in order to be read so I have no times for the rest of the day. It's like I didn't even participate! Blerg! However, I did still get my medal at the end. So there!

The run was a joke. I was so overheated at this point that I walked most of it. I did "run" when I was in the shade and going downhill...which wasn't very often. It was so hot that they were passing out cold wet paper towels to put around your neck. Miserable!!!

We picked up Chipotle on our way home (tradition for after triathlons) and went home. While Tom was getting my bike out from the back of the truck, he noticed that my back tire was completely flat. HELLLOOO.....that's why that dang bike ride was so hard at the end. I was on a FREAKING FLAT! Thanks for telling me, people who rode past me.

Tomas - post race

Me - post race...didn't even attempt to stand up. I was SO done!

Baby Cash's Pre-Party

2010-07-21T13:01:00.004-05:00

We (Barbie, Wendy and I) hosted Julie's baby shower this past Saturday. We got to catch up with most of our peeps, drink a little leaded punch, and watch Julie open some cute gifts. One of Julie's friends from work flew in Julie's best friend, Shelby, from North Carolina to surprise her. She was SO surprised that there were tears and giddiness throughout the shower. Look at those delicious cupcakes above!! Yummy!

Mama Julie & Nana

Me & Shelby

Shelby, Barbie, Julie & Cindy catching up.

A few delicious treats for everyone.

The Leaded & Unleaded punch....the leaded was quite enjoyed.

Julie opening some her gifts.

Giddy Julie with an adorable new outfit for Cash.

How do I make it stop?

2010-07-12T16:12:00.003-05:00

Is it just my email or does this happen to you? Random words or dates are highlighted in the body of the email and if you happen to run the mouse over that word, a window pops up?

I don't need to see the meaning of "Northpark". I know that it's the mall!!! They don't even get it right...it pops up:

Home - North Park University - Christian, Urban,...
The mission of North Park University is to prepare students for lives of significance and service through education in...www.northpark.edu/

Any have any idea how to turn this off? Annoying!!

Does this....

2010-06-28T10:57:00.003-05:00

scream Douchebag or what?

Goin' Back To Cali....

2010-06-25T09:25:00.007-05:00

Southern California....there is nothing like that kind of traffic. At least here in Texas you will eventually get to where you want to go in a somewhat decent time. California traffic is horrible! You just sit there. For hours.....

Anyway, we went to Cali to visit some family last week. Kris, the boys, and I flew out last Saturday and the guys flew in mid-week. We did TONS of stuff: San Diego Zoo, Beach, Pool, Disneyland, SeaWorld, Catalina Island, and Hollywood. Whew, no wonder I had a cold when we got back. We were on the go go go!

We got in on Saturday and had a pretty lazy rest of the day. It took quite awhile to figure out what we were going to do every day that we were there. Too much stuff and not enough time! We also got to meet Tiffany (Dad and Teresa's new dog). She didn't really care for us at first and then decided she needed to boss us around after a few days. The boys tried playing with her but she didn't really want to have anything to do with them.

Colin trying to get Tiffany to play with him. He thought if he laid on the floor real quiet she'd play. She just sniffed him and walked away.

Sunday: San Diego Zoo! Definitely the best Zoo that I've ever seen. We saw all kinds of animals. Be warned: it is VERY hilly here. Bring your walking shoes. Our bootcamp instructor texted us while we were there to see if we were being good and we had no problem telling her how we were doing some major walking....we just didn't tell her what we were eating (ssshh).

The Pandas were really cute, but, I wouldn't want to see one in the wild. I think this one could tear me from limb to limb. You have to be super quiet in this exhibit and it's only open during certain times of the day.

Cute baby panda playing!

Polar Bears are HUGE!

Colin was freaked by the gorillas! He had is DSI out taking pictures of all his favorite animals.

Monday: we got to spend some quality time with our Granny (Great Nana). She was amazed how big the boys had gotten. The boys were on their best behavior (thank goodness).

Then it was pool time at my dad's. The boys loved their pool and also enjoyed putting Kris and me through a workout. They pretended they were our bootcamp instructor and made us do exercises in the pool (some were kind of hard, too!).

Tuesday: Disneyland. First - it is $72.00/adult ticket and $62.00/child's ticket. Good God! It's over $250 for a family of 4 just to enter the park. This doesn't even include parking, food and any souvenirs. Sheesh!!

We had tons of fun at Disney. Both boys rode all the rides (with the exception of Splash Mountain - it had a wait time of 1 hr 40 min). Colin didn't care for Space Mountain because it was entirely in the dark, but, he loved the Matterhorn and Thunder Mountain. We rode the Matterhorn 4 times! Jackson's favorite ride was Space Mountain. He had a moment of panic because the ride closed down while they were in line to ride it the second time, but, he eventually got to ride it twice.

The only picture at Disneyland that I took. We were our 3rd or 4th time on the Matterhorn.

Wednesday: the beach. We zipped down to Santa Monica beach for a few hours to enjoy the sun and sand. Really, besides children, who enjoys the sand? It gets EVERYWHERE.

Colin and Jackson loved the ocean. Kris was freaked that they would get towed out to sea, but, they managed to stay on their feet (for the most part).

Jackson wanted to be buried in the sand...really just his legs.

Colin kicked the ocean because it took one of his toys. He was so mad!

Kris and I helped them make sandcastles which they then took joy in destroying before we could get pictures. All our hard work and nothing to show!

Thursday: Catalina Island & SeaWorld. Kris, Dwane, and the boys headed to SeaWorld and Tomas and I went to Catalina. I remember vaguely going to Catalina when I was young but all I could remember was riding around on golf carts. Well, after going again...there isn't much there. Pretty scenery and a short route that you can ride a golf cart around to view the scenery. A few shops and a small beach. It was cute place but I don't think I will be going back.

Beautiful scenery

Our usual self portrait....

We did get some yummy ice cream cones.

Tiniest Fed Ex truck ever!!! We were cracking up at this one.

Wrigley Memorial - this was one of the sites on the golf cart route. We were kind of confused as to the point of it. It's in a protected area where they grow a bunch of endangered plants. Not really my thing...but we walked up to to the top. It has 100 stairs! Worked off our ice cream!

We heard all about the "Casino". Um, here it is. We thought "Casino? Can you gamble on Catalina? Sweet!". No. It's a building where they have a ballroom and show movies. At the time we were there.....the new Karate Kid movie.

This is one of a series of ramps to get to the top of the Casino building. We got all the way up there and some douche bag said "Oh, we're closed for a private event. You have to go back down." I almost smacked his face.

Friday: Hollywood. Tomas and I headed Hollywood Blvd for a few hours to do some sightseeing. Michael Jackson and Bruce Lee were big draws for tourists. We could barely get around them to get into the Kodak Theater/Grauman's Chinese Theater.

We did have a celebrity sighting! Look, it's Samuel L. Jackson!!!

We also saw "Get Him To The Greek". Eh. Definitely not up to par with Forgetting Sarah Marshall, SuperBad, or Knocked Up.

That night, we all took dad out for Father's Day. Delicious food and tasty beverages at BJ's. We had our usual fun time of laughing and making fun of one another. Tomas got to hear some funny stories about me and saw some unflattering photos from my youth.

Thanks Dad, Teresa, and Tiffany for dealing with all of us for an entire week. We are a rowdy bunch!

My final photo: for dad. He loves to see how long he can drives his vehicles. We passed 206,000 miles on the Expedition while out and about this past week. It's not his record though - that's still the Camry at 248,000. You have to be impressed that a Ford has gone that long though.

Definitions.....

2010-06-07T14:41:00.003-05:00

According to Dictionary.com:

Stupidity: the state, quality, or fact of being stupid.

Whiplash: a neck injury caused by a sudden jerking backward, forward, or both, of the head.

According to Me:

Stupidity: buying rollerblades and thinking "I can do this, no problem."

Whiplash: the result of hitting the ground so hard when trying said rollerblading. Good thing, I wore a helmet.

Yep, pulled the trigger on those rollerblades. That was just dumb. Kris and I decided we needed to try a new exercise. We got the wrist, elbow, and knee pads....already had the helmet from bike riding. I do have to say this...Kris fell first! Does that help me any? It does make me feel better. You know, I couldn't rollerskate very well when I was young so I'm not sure what made me think that rollerblading would be a snap. I mean, I didn't think it'd be super easy, but, come on! I completely suck on these things!

We headed to a trail near Kris's house on Sunday morning. Before we got to the end of her street, she busts it. I'm not sure what happened as I was looking down so I missed it. But, she was able to get back up and keep going. We made it to the parking lot near the trail....we decided to blade around it a couple of times to get comfortable. I made it around twice and was trying a turn to slow down when the incident happened. One second I was up...next second POW and on the ground. My feet flew out from underneath me and the back of my helmet hit the ground. Thank goodness for that helmet!! Unfortunately, my hit knocked my helmet forward which caused the front of the helmet to slam into my sunglasses which left quite the sore spot on my nose. But, I got back up and continued on!!!! According to Kris, she thinks that I made it 1 1/2 miles before calling it quits. That was plenty for my first time out. She did go 4 miles that heiffer. Next time, I will do better!!!

According to my readers:

Stupidity: continuing to rollerblade after my first experience with them.

Sierra's Walk

2010-06-06T12:15:00.004-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, some of the family got together for a 5K walk supporting the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America. As you can tell by the pictures below, it was freaking hot outside! But, it was for a good cause so we gladly participated. Enjoy the pics!

Sierra and Me - post walk.

Sierra and Kris

Sierra, her dad, and our other team members.

Cameron, Sierra and Danielle - dancing.

Danielle and Cameron mid-walk. They were some troopers - they walked entire walk!

Jen, Cameron and Abby crossing the finish line. Whew, I bet Abby was tired!

I have witnesses this time!

2010-06-04T09:17:00.002-05:00

I watched the boys for a couple of hours last night because Kris and Dwane had some work party-thing at Kris's work. Barbie and Larry came over to Kris's house and we went for a walk and Jackson and Colin rode their bikes. They would ride about 50 yards ahead of us, stop and get off their bikes and run around like the crazy kids they are, then hop back on when we reached them and ride off again.

At one point, we were in kind of a wooded area and Jackson is hopping around because he has to pee. He's a boy so we said "Find a tree." After running around to different trees and some "EW, huge spider" and "It's not private enough", Jackson decided he didn't have to go that bad. So, they get back on their bikes and take off. After a minute, we hear Jackson yelling, "I found a tree!"

We walk out of the nice wooded area and we see Jackson and Colin. There is Colin, with his pants and underwear around his knees and yelling "Look Nenny, I'm killing ants with my pee!!"

Larry and Barbie got quite the preview for their future arrival. For those that know them and haven't heard...they are having a BOY! I'm thinking Barbie will want to spends lots of time with Jackson and Colin to see what she's getting. I'm sure Kris wouldn't mind!

What a letdown!

2010-05-28T14:52:00.002-05:00

Some peeps at work at I were discussing walking to school when we were younger. I told my story about walking to school when I was in junior high and living in Michigan. I remembered that it was so freaking cold in the winter that we'd stop at friends' houses along the way to warm up (or to eat breakfast/afternoon snack). In my head, it was miles and miles.

So, I decided to look it up and see how far it really was.....here is the letdown. From our house to the junior high = one mile. AND google wouldn't let me put the route that I took because the roads have changed and those roads don't exist so it took me a longer route for that one mile...which means that it really was less than one mile. What? I thought I was awesome for walking all that way for years and now to find out it was less than a mile? Darn.

Which is more embarrassing?

2010-05-18T10:02:00.002-05:00

While in high school, falling down the stairs in church right before the service starts?

OR

Busting ass in the grocery store?

I have now done both.

During high school, my best friend and I were in the balcony of the church catching up with friends (i.e. gossiping). We normally sat in the middle section towards the front with all the high school peeps. We weren't paying attention until the music started playing telling the crowd that the service was about to begin. We hustled over to the stairs to get to our seats. The sanctuary has two set of stairs on each side so you are in the same room the entire time. Well, my feet got to moving faster than the rest of me and down I went. I didn't just hit and stop...no, I continued bumping down eight or nine more stairs. Luckily, I stopped before hitting bottom so nobody could actually see me. However, my friend was laughing so hard that everyone in the sanctuary looked at her. We were attached at the hip so they all knew it was me that had fallen. I had to gather my dress and pull it back down, hop up and went right out the side door. We eventually made it back to our seats, but, the damage was done. After the sermon, about 20 people came up to ask me if I was okay.

Now, to yesterday. We were grilling steaks and making baked potatoes for dinner. I forgot to pick up cheese at the store and didn't realize we only had a little tablespoon of sour cream left so I had to make a quick dash to the store. After I paid for my goodies, I was walking quickly and didn't see the liquid all over the floor. One leg went one way...the other crumbled beneath me. Down I went. Luckily my bag didn't go flying too. The checker rushed over to me and was like, "Oh, my goodness. Are you okay?" I was so embarrassed that I just said, "There is water all over the floor here, people. I'm fine." I proceeded to get up off the floor and walk even faster out of the store. Tom, of course, laughed when I told him the story. I now hate him.

So, which one is more embarrassing?

Wildflower Festival

2010-05-16T20:37:00.005-05:00

We headed to the Wildflower Festival on Saturday evening for some bad/delicious food and music. Vince Neil of Motley Crue and Bowling for Soup were both playing that night. It was great people watching, too! Vince sang tons of the favs: Kickstart My Heart, Girls, Girls, Girls, and Dr. Feelgood, to name a few. I didn't get a lot of pictures, due to the jamming and singing with Vince that I just HAD to do, but, here are a few. Sorry for the blurriness...my camera wouldn't take a clear picture of the stage.

Kris - happy as a lark...

Vince and his lead guitarist jamming.

The crowd behind us. TONS of peeps there!

Me and my sister...self portrait.

Bowling for Soup - awesome and hilarious. They stopped mid-song so they could pose for picture taking. Great band!

Rachel and Donnie - acting silly. They were up from Austin for Donnie's graduation. Congrats Donnie!!

Mother's Day Work!

2010-05-12T11:38:00.003-05:00

On Saturday, Kris, Colin and I got our Mother's Day grub on and went plantin'. Stephanie had the great idea of planting bushes and flowers in our mom's front yard for Mother's Day. She started the planting before heading up to see family up north and we finished it up. Kris and I are morons when it comes to picking out bushes and flowers so I'm sure we'll have to re-do all this next year....sounds like a great Mother's Day present again. :)

Me - hard at work.

Kris & Colin

See Colin wiping his brow? He said, "This is back-breaking work!" about five times.

Admiring our finished work?

All Colin really wanted to do was water. He kept asking if we were ready for him to water over and over and over and over again.

He may have drowned all the plants in here....

Cincinnati Rain....

2010-05-09T10:33:00.005-05:00

The dreaded half marathon. Oh, the rain. I'm not sure if it ever stopped raining the entire time we were in Cincinnati for the half marathon/marathon. My feet were never dry. This did not make for a pleasant run.

Race morning: rain is coming down. We all brought raincoats with us and definitely needed them (actually Tom and I bought them at Academy and brought them for everyone). We get to the start line and wonder if they are going to call the race. We all see the lightening and hear the thunder. But, the organizers are yelling over the storm that "the big storm is south of us and the race is still going on". Not two minutes after that announcement, the electricity is knocked out around us due to huge strike of lightening/thunder. So, they get on the bullhorn..."We are still a go!". Surprisingly, they were right. The lightening/thunder combo stopped as the race began.

I completed it!! Yay me! That's always my goal...a completion. Due to injuries, Senor and Teresa didn't get to the finish line. Tom had injured his knee the week prior at a triathlon and Teresa has had a bad knee since an alleged "ski injury" (she says Kris and I made her injure herself on her one and only ski trip in 1993....). Tom made it about 5 miles in before calling it quits and Teresa made it to mile 20.4. Good thing he stopped before going up into the hills. Dang you, hills!! Horrific! They sucked. We didn't enjoy them at all. Kris says that this was the hardest marathon she had ever done because of the weather and the hills. So, don't plan on The Flying Pigs marathon to be your first.

After the half, my poor feet had four blisters because of the moisture and rubbing with my socks and shoes. That did not make for pleasant walking. It took me awhile to find my way back to the our hotel and the one person that I found myself chatting with....was from Rockwall. Seriously? How do I go all the way to Ohio and find someone from Dallas? Small World! After a quick shower, we meet up with Dwane and he and I head back down to the finish line to watch Teresa, Dad, and Kris cross. We had great timing because Kris crossed about 5 minutes after we got there. Shortly after that, Teresa calls us from the medical tent where she was dropped off after she couldn't make it any further. So, we found her a chair and waited for Dad. He crossed a little while later and we were all done!

After a quick bite to eat, Tom and I headed to the airport. We had decided to come home that night because we wanted to sleep in our own bed and sleep in the next day and not have to worry about traveling home. What an exhausting trip home! Our plane was delayed in Cincinnati so we almost missed the last flight out of Chicago back to DFW. We had to sprint to another terminal in O'Hare airport in under three minutes. After we get to the gate, the agents yelled at us. HELLO...like it was our fault the plane was late. We also got some dirty looks from the other passengers. Again, this was not our fault...nor the other six people who were on our same flight and had to sprint. Speaking of sprinting...didn't I just discuss 13.1 miles and four blisters? My feet were seriously pissed by this point. And, I had to check my bag at the ramp because all the overhead compartments were full. So, we had to wait at baggage claim at DFW, take a shuttle from Terminal C back to Terminal B where we parked. AND, the guy drops us off at the wrong end and we had to walk like a mile to our car (not really, but 4 blisters, People!). Taco Bueno never tasted so good as it did that night. Party burritos....yum.

Overall...glad it is DONE. I will be a great spectator for Tomas when he decides to complete his first half marathon next!

Our self portrait. We take one of these wherever we go. It's a tradition now.

Dad, Teresa and Kris at the pasta dinner. Teresa is showing us the dessert. Bleh-tasting cookies.

We came across a random picture-taking spot and HAD to partake.

Dwane refused to put his face in the hole so this is Kris's new husband.

I think my dad was scared to put his head in there....

Tom carbing up pre-race

The only time I was dry that day.

Kris - about to cross the finish line.

Poor T. Flipping off the pig with her gimpy knee iced up.

Dad about to cross. Huge downpour right as he was crossing the finish.

The plane that we had to wait on and made us almost miss our connecting flight in Chicago. I curse you, AA!

Random Going-ons

2010-04-28T22:00:00.005-05:00

Here's the problem with having a blog: I end up taking my camera everywhere and taking photos and then don't end up posting them. Sigh! So, here was my weekend....

Friday night: had game night at Barbie & Larry's. We ate Campisi's pizza (yummy), drank Miller Lite, and played Rock Band. I think Cindy and I fought for winner of the singing part. I suck at playing any of the instruments. Amanda, Larry, Barbie and Tomas were much better than me.

Went to the Scarborough Fair this past Saturday with a bunch of peeps. I've never been to the fair before and we had a pretty good time. Not only do the people who work at the fair dress up, but, so do the visitors. Um, some of these ladies did NOT need to be wearing a corset. I almost saw nip on three or four different women. Eek! I think it was fun as a one time thing to go to, but, I don't feel a need to go back again.

The Joust. Our guy won (we sat in the right area, apparently).

Full gear - this actually looked really painful. They hit each other pretty hard.

This dude is balancing on his head! He was upside-down for a long time. His face was as red as his shirt. He was a tad too old to be doing this and we were afraid he'd have a stroke at any time.

Colin was obsessed about riding a llama or horse....he decided last minute that a cow is what he needed to ride. Silly boy.

Here he is again....

Jackson practiced his bow & arrow skills. He did pretty good!

Sunday - Tomas had another triathlon. He FINALLY got a new road bike and was SO excited about this tri so he could ride it.

Swimming away...

Riding his bike...the wind was about 30 mph so it was not a pleasant ride for him.

And finally, the run.

Sunday night, we decided to be Chefs and made "Perfect Roast Beef" and "Scalloped Potatoes". Delicious!! I was designated the food peeler and chopper and was not allowed to be the recipe reader/follower. I guess he wanted to be able to eat the dinner this time.

Pre-cooked....look at those chopped veggies and sliced potatoes. Great job, Jen!

Ready to eat!! We put the potatoes back into the oven for a broil to brown the top. I didn't get a picture of them because it was 9pm by the time all this food was ready and I was starving!

Next up: Half Marathon this weekend....yikes!!

I Love My Girls!

2010-04-21T13:27:00.002-05:00

Not those...you dirty minded people! Get outta the gutter! And, if your mind didn't immediately go there, then I am disappointed in you.

I meant my girlfriends! A bunch of us got together last night for mambo taxis and brisket quesadillas. The taxis were flowing and I was on a roll. Sometimes my mouth gets ahead of my brain...well, most of the time. Great thing about friends...they roll right with you. I think every person got made fun of at some point during the meal (I know I did...will never live down 50 Cent) and also their significant other (Sorry Senor...). You are free game if you aren't there. We discussed future travel plans - start thinking ladies for early summer 2011.

We celebrated an early birthday and the pregos. Do we ever really need a reason to celebrate with drinks/dinner? I think not. Just picking a day of the week when we can all get together is celebration enough.

To quote pregnant Jules..."I can't wait to be hung over again" with you guys soon!

Supercross Saturday

2010-03-24T11:47:00.004-05:00

It was Supercross Saturday! Larry, Barbie, Tomas and I went the Death Star on Saturday to watch some motorcycle crashes! I have never been to a Supercross race before and I actually had lots of fun. There were tons of crashes which I enjoyed....even one right in front of us where the guy was jumping around after crashed. We think he broke his wrist...ouch! Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate and it was FREEZING walking to and from Jerry World.

The crew walking to the stadium...it was SO SO SO cold!

The view of track from our seats. Front row in the second section. Good Job Larry!

The smaller bikes racing, I think. There were two different size bikes...all I know is one was louder than the other. Couldn't tell you the difference between the two. Oh, I know! Bigger engine? Larry and Tom were the know-it-alls the entire night. Barbie and I just smiled and nodded.

The corner where most everyone crashed. First curve after the start line. 95% of the bikes would crash. It was greatness!

Our entertainment between the qualifying races and the finals. They did some great tricks, but only did about four jumps. Would have liked to see more....

You have to time it just right to get them in the air...I am awesome.

Oh, even better, Jen!! I am a great photographer!

When we left the stadium, it was a blizzard outside!!!! I thought ahead and brought a hat and scarf (which I unselfishly shared with Barbie)

Overall, we had a great time and are ready for more. I now want to see an entire competition of just the crazy jumping. When is that?

St. Patty's Day Tri for Senor

2010-03-14T21:39:00.004-05:00

I've created a monster. Because of my craziness with athletic crap, I've turned Tom into a crazy person, too. He even did a triathlon by himself because nobody else wanted to do one this early in the year. I enjoyed being a spectator this time. I need to be that person more often! He did the same tri that we did in October, but, it was St. Patrick's Day themed instead of Halloween. He beat his time from the last one so he was excited. Not exciting? The hour wait before he got to start his swim and the 40 degree weather outside. But, he rocked it! Crazy-boy says "One down, five to go." Yep, you heard that right...he wants to do six triathlons THIS year. I'll say it again...I've created a monster.

That's him in the middle lane. He beat his old time by an entire minute. For those who don't swim - that's great!

Freezing his booty after the pool.

Leaving for the 12 mile bike ride.

Coming back in from the ride. I only saw one guy fall from not unclipping his shoes before stopping.

And, he's off for the run! He wanted me to point out how he is "flying" because he's not touching the ground in this photo.

Heading to the finishline. Run Tommy Run!!

His biggest fan...staying nice and warm.

Road Trip!

2010-03-08T11:10:00.003-06:00

I went to visit Marly and Christopher a couple of weeks ago and got to carpool with Elizabeth who was headed to see friends, too. I love a road trip! I picked up Chick Fil-A for lunch on Friday and what did Elizabeth bring? Dessert!! We love love love Tiff's Treats! We had our tasty treats and then saw signs for Buc-ee's and knew we had to stop. Elizabeth had been told that we had to try "Beaver Nuggets", but, we passed on them. They didn't look very appetizing, but, her friend Tiffany, swears they are delicious. We opted for other bad stuff. You'll see below....

How could we not resist this? Hilarous!

Elizabeth just had to have gummi worms. Apparently, she was not allowed to have them as a child and now must eat them whenever she sees them.

I love chocolate pretzels! What's not to love? Sweet and salty? Delicious combo.

I had a fun-filled weekend with Marly and Christopher. We shopped like crazy people (which is what usually happens when we get together). I may have purchased five pairs of shoes. But, Robin says that flip flops are not considered shoes, so, I only bought four pairs of shoes. :)

We shopped, ate, watched Olympics, bowled, and drank a few tasty beverages. Whew! I also got Marly completely into the USA vs Canada hockey game on Sunday. I was the "pro" telling her what everything meant (Tom would be so proud). We were both screaming at the TV. It was good that Christopher had gone to a friend's house to play...there may have been cussing.

Marly and me before going out on Friday night.

It was so beautiful on Sunday, we took a long walk and Christopher played in the park.

Marly also gave him a bike-riding lesson, too.

I had a blast in Houston and tons of laughs with Elizabeth and our carpooling. We talked about everything! Thanks for driving, E!

Bike Riding + Mud = what do you think?

2010-02-21T19:58:00.003-06:00

Let me tell you this: you should never ride bikes with someone who has a mountain bike and you have a road bike. They do NOT understand slick tires. I have no traction on my tires, people! My bike is for roadways only. I thought that was what we were going to do today. Unfortunately, after the rain this morning, the trail was not clean and dry.

About a mile and half into the ride was when it happened...let me set the scene. We were coming around a lake/pond where there were people feeding the ducks and walking around on the path. I was following Tom and coming around the corner. He sees a couple walking on the path and attempts to go around them. His back tire slips so he slows down and gets back behind the couple. He didn't tell me that he was slowing down so I either had to hit him or try and go around. I chose to go around...my mistake. I went straight into the mud and went down. As my fellow bike riders will tell you, it's hard to stop a fall and if you're clipped in, you are cooked. Thankfully, I had a helmet on because my head did quite the bounce on the ground. I did smash my sunglasses into my nose. The mud broke my fall so I didn't end up with road rash, but, I had mud everywhere. Being the trooper that I am, I continued the ten mile ride (as I have said before, I am awesome).

When we finished, Tom could barely get his shoes off before running into the house to get the camera so we would have a permanent reminder of this.

Enjoy!

My perspective...

2010-02-17T22:43:00.004-06:00

People have been sharing their photos from last week's snow on facebook and other blogs, so, I thought I'd share mine:

My house on Friday morning

My street

These next pictures are the same angle, but, different day/times.

The backyard on Thursday morning

Second angle of the backyard on Thursday morning

Thursday evening

Friday morning after the buckets of snow

Friday morning....poor tree is down

Julia Childs, I am not.

2010-02-09T21:57:00.005-06:00

I tried to cook tonight. Should we just leave it at that? Of course not.

Last week, Robin sent me a chipotle chicken and rice recipe and said "It's really yummy and easy." This should have been a red flag. I am a moron when it comes to the kitchen. This is why I chose my roommates based on their cooking ability.

Back to my story...so I went to the grocery store on Sunday and purchased all the ingredients. It took me about 15 minutes standing in front of the mexican food area to find "Chipotle Chiles in Adobo Sauce". There were two different size cans, what was I supposed to do? I bought both. I kept saying in my head, "yummy and easy, yummy and easy".

I came home from the gym tonight and was ready to cook! I had the Chef's apron on and everything. Cooked my chicken, diced the onions and on to the garlic. Um, honestly, I don't think that I've ever used real garlic (always used the jar of minced garlic). I didn't even know how to peel it. Tomas had to do it. Yep, that's what I said.

So, if I can't even peel garlic, do you think that I would thoroughly read the directions to the recipe? Exactly. I'm just going along, pouring the ingredients into the big pot and stirring....then, it calls for "2 canned chipotle chiles in adobo, minced". I read "2 cans of chipotle chiles in adobo, minced". Since I bought the different sized cans, I decided to use the big can. I wondered what I was supposed to do....shrugged my shoulders and dumped the entire can into the pot. Finished up the cooking and it was smelling delicious! "Yummy and Easy"

Tomas and I got our plates and beverages and sat down to eat. SWEET LORD. Holy Moly. Jeez. Zoinks. KaPow.

Apparently, I was supposed to pull 2 chiles out of the can, dice them up, and put them into the pot. I poured the entire can in there....10 chiles.

I......AM.......A.......MORON.

Lisa...Robin...it's okay to be ashamed.

I must now go eat the entire bottle of Pepcid.

Jury Duty

2010-01-27T21:29:00.003-06:00

Sorry for my delay in posting.....I'm in jury duty hell!!! Three week trial! Does my face say "Pick Me, Pick Me"? And, I SUCK at keeping secrets....sssshhh, I didn't tell you that. Do you know how hard it is to NOT talk about this trial? K-I-L-L-I-N-G M-E!!!!! How can I not gossip? I love to gossip..that's why I started this silly blog in the first place.

UGH!!!!! Eight Days down.....

Mavs Game

2010-01-14T18:04:00.003-06:00

Jules and I went to the mavs game last weekend. We started out our afternoon with TWO games of Phase 10 Master's Edition (love it!) and TWO games of Farkle (whoopee!!). We also had some great gossiping time, ice cream, and chips/queso. We had great seats to the game, thanks to Elizabert. Unfortunately, the Mavs didn't show up to play that night and lost by 18 points. I'm not 100% on that 18 points...we left 9 minutes before the end of the game. We wanted to get back to Jules' house to catch the end of the Cowboys game. At least, they won!

Here is my view from our seats. Not bad, right?

Here was Julie's view....not so good, right?

This was just a preview game until we can have our anniversary game with Elizabeth which will hopefully be VERY soon! The party girls will be ready ready ready!!! Of course, we are old...maybe we'll do Phase 10 and farkle again. Watch out, Elizabeth...I will punch you in the face!

Beautiful and Adorable Christmas Cards

2009-12-22T09:06:00.004-06:00

I have to admit..I love to get mail. Not the bills, of course. Random cards or anything really. I can barely contain myself walking up to the house from the mailbox when I get something personal. Usually, I've opened the envelope before I've made it into the house. So you know that Christmas is especially fun with all the cards coming in. I am a big slacker in sending out Christmas cards. I did get on the bandwagon last year with my infamous photo, but, I got lazy this year.

Back to this year...I've received lots of great cards. Yesterday, I even received a note from the post office. It said that I had a letter that needed to be picked up and "postage due" was checked. hhhmmm, odd. I sat there for awhile and contemplated what it could be. Tom came home and I showed him the note and he didn't have any ideas, either. Then, it came to me. I told him my guess. Before I tell you that I WAS RIGHT, I'll finish the story chronologically. My little note said that I had to pick up the letter the next day after 8:30am at the post office. Okay, no problem. I'll just be late for work.

Fast forward to this morning: off to the post office I go. Have you ever tried to go to the post office before Christmas? People are frantically trying to get their packages to their destination, but, they've already missed the deadline to get it there by Christmas Eve. Oh, the horror!

There was a man in front of me that just couldn't understand how the post office couldn't get his letter to Austin by 7am tomorrow morning. They could guarantee by noon, but, not by 7am (really, noon wouldn't work? If it's that important, you can drive it down there faster). He went round and round with the postman. If I were that postman, I would have smacked him up side head. Finally, he got it that the post office will not get his letter to his destination. The postman suggests Fed Ex....the moron guy asks him where it was located. I think the postman knew, but, was so annoyed by this guy, he said "I have no idea." The guy then asked for a phone book! I was about to smack him at this point. Finally, he leaves.

My turn, my turn!!! I give him my little note and returns with my letter. I had to pay my postage due before he would even hand me the letter. I grabbed it eagerly, hoping that I had some relative that I never met before send me an enormous sum of money.

What was it, you ask? A square-shaped Christmas card. I will say that it's a cute square-shaped card, but, you have to put extra postage on square cards!!!! I won't call you out, card-sender, but, you owe me 20 cents and I will collect!

Merry Christmas Everyone!! Woo Hoo, holiday spirit.

I hate you, Garland

2009-12-10T16:08:00.003-06:00

Every year, I get lost. I don't understand how it happens. For five years, I've been going to Jackson and Colin's holiday programs in downtown Garland at the Granville Arts Center. EVERY flippin' year we all get lost either going to or leaving that place.

This year, I came straight from work and had to map it. I had no idea that Forest Lane went that far. I can safely say that I had no idea where I was...but, somehow, made it. When it was time to leave, Kris was so cofident with fancy navigation in her car. So, I decided that I'd follow her out and we'd get home lickety split. We ended up going through a residential area and then we're on Beltline Road. That is NOT the way to get home quickly! How does that happen? Ugh! Good news is that I never have to go there again. Colin starts kindergarten next year and he is done with daycare.

He was the only one in the holiday program this year and was super cute. And, really tall! My little boy is growing up so fast!

Jackson told me that the little girl to his right is Colin's girlfriend.

Someone is off in this picture....I'm not sure who. Does the little girl on the left remind you of "Friends"? She's about to tell the crowd off!

Now they are all in sync.

Adorable!

RVing!

2009-12-01T09:07:00.004-06:00

I think my liver and kidneys are needing a break from Miller Lite. Went RVing this past weekend and there was alot of Miller Lite drinking. Jeez! I am saying RVing because when I say camping people think "are you crazy?"No, I don't camp. I RV, though!

Barbie and Larry's RV is kick ass and we decided for a few days of fun. Barbie found an RV site about 50 miles west of Ft Worth that had a 9 hole par 3 golf course. Great! We headed out on Friday and our weekend consisted of campfires, beer drinking, beer brats, golf, beer drinking, bad movie watching, and more beer drinking. Sense the theme?

Barbie, Tom and Larry watching some moron trying to back his RV into a spot. The guy was not afraid to hit a couple of trees.

Our awesome dinner the first night. Boiling the brats before grillin'.

Our view - cows.

We could have been in the tree-lined area, but, decided to park on the edge of the park. We are so glad we did. Check out the awesome sunset.

Larry and I were the only two that stayed awake for movie time. We like to watch bad movies together. First up - The Goods. It was actually pretty funny and definitely raunchy. We giggled like twelve year olds. Since we had already had quite a few beers - if you fall asleep, you are fair game.

Poor Tomas - he fell asleep during the movie...we MAY have strategically placed that beer to make it a better picture. Like I said, twelve year olds.

Saturday, we were up and ready for some golf! We ended up playing 27 holes of golf that day. We had a great time and lots of laughs on the course. I think we lost about 10 balls in total (Larry was responsible for about 8 of those). The beer drinking started around hole 8 and continue throughout the day and evening. It was steaks, potatoes, and corn on the cob for dinner that night. Delish! Barbie dumped her entire plate in her lap, but, managed to save hermeal. Larry helped clean her up while Tom and I continued to stuff our faces and giggle at her.

Movie #2 was Transformers 2. Don't even waste your time with this one. Barbie and Tom fell asleep again and Larry and I stopped it about an hour into it and decided we had to continue it the next day because we were exhausted from all the golf....or beer drinking.

Barbie - notice that she's on her backswing....um, the ball is still on the ground. I say "Practice Swing!"

Larry - going for his second shot. Notice that he's very close to the tee of another hole. This happened alot with all of us. We weren't that good.

Tomas chipping up to the green.

There are no pictures of me golfing - ha ha! I had the camera and made sure nobody got pictures!

We had a great time and are already planning our next RVing trip.

My 2nd Longhorns Game

2009-11-24T21:46:00.002-06:00

Ginger and I went back to Austin for the UT/Kansas game last weekend. We had a little bit more fun this time around.....

We were more prepared and packed our own "tailgating party". Here we are hanging out in the parking garage enjoying a beer and snacks.

We met up with my friend, Greg, who tailgates at EVERY Texas game. Um, what is that in my hand, you ask?

Well crap! It's me shotgunning a beer!!

And then, singing the Texas Fight Song!

We had a fabulous time at the game and had lots of laughs on our way to/from Austin. Thanks Ginger for letting me tag along to the games with you! I'm ready for the Big 12 Championship Game!!

New York Marathon! NOT ME!!!

2009-11-03T19:31:00.015-06:00

My sister didn’t get to run the NYC marathon last year, but, went to New York and cheered my dad and me on. So, of course, I had to go back with her this year and support her run. Can I tell you how unbelievably happy I was not to be the one running? It was such a better trip this year! It ended up being a girls’ trip with Kris, Debra (Kris’s friend who also ran the marathon), Elizabeth, and me. We stayed at the Hilton Times Square in the heart of the city. Some people thought that hotel would be too loud with street noise, but, we were on the 33rd floor and barely heard anything. We had so much fun!

We arrived on Friday afternoon, checked into our hotel, and went to pick up the race packets. After spending some time roaming around the expo, we decided to take the subway into Greenwich Village to get cupcakes at Magnolia Bakery. Of course, we had to get two apiece. You’ll notice throughout this blog, food is the key. After eating one cupcake, we took the train back up to Times Square to grab a quick dinner. We had some delicious Chinese food at Ruby Foo’s.

Delicious cupcakes from Magnolia Bakery. Note that two are already missing.

There they are...or the leftovers.

Elizabeth and Kris - after enjoying yummy cupcakes.

Saturday – Halloween in NYC. Yikes – the crazy people. First of all, don’t you usually just wear a costume on Halloween? Not in NYC. There were people in them on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. People there definitely enjoy dressing up costumes.

Debra, who has been to New York multiple times, suggested that we have lunch at a restaurant called “Peanut Butter & Co.” WHAT? A restaurant that makes everything with peanut butter? Heavenly!! We trained it back down to Greenwich Village for that deliciousness. We decided to get four sandwiches and just split them so we could try as many as possible.

Here they are in order of deliciousness:

Fluffernutter: creamy peanut butter, marshmallow fluff on wheat

Cookie Dough Surprise: creamy peanut butter, chocolate chips, and vanilla cream cheese on wheat

The Elvis: crunchy peanut butter, bananas, honey, toasted on wheat

Black and Tan: crunchy peanut butter, chocolate syrup, toasted on wheat

I bought a recipe book from the store, so, be prepared if I have to bring anything to your house – food-wise. It will contain peanut butter.

Yuminess!!!!

All four different sandwiches. The chips were needed to cleanse our palates.

We trained back up to Times Square and had tickets to see the musical, Chicago. Kris and I wanted to belt out the tunes because she has had the soundtrack since the movie came out and we knew all the words. We managed to keep our mouths closed….it was hard.

Kris and Debra walking to the theatre.

Elizabeth, me, Debra, and Kris after the show.

Afterwards, Elizabeth and I went downtown to meet up with Celeste, who was in town visiting another friend, Mallory. Mallory is attending fashion school in New York and has a kick ass apartment near the water. We also met her two friends, Freda and Andrew. We wanted to go to the Halloween parade that started in Greenwich Village. Due to some costume malfunctions, we didn’t leave Mallory’s until late. The subway was jammed with everyone headed to the parade.

Unfortunately, it was raining and the streets were way too crowded, so, we didn’t get to see the parade. That did not deter us (of course). We went to a bar near the parade route and had a few beers while doing some serious people watching. It was great seeing everyone’s costume…before you ask, Elizabeth and I did not dress up and we got crap from EVERYONE about it. How were we to know that everyone in New York dressed up for Halloween? Don’t’ worry…everyone who saw us, gave us crap for it. We had a blast that night. We went to three or four different bars…stopped at one gay bar for our new best friend Andrew, so he could check out the scene, and talked a doorman into letting us use his building’s employee bathroom. We ended up getting back to our hotel around 2:45am and had to be super quiet since the other girls were getting up at 5:30am to get ready for the marathon.

Elizabeth - trying to keep her hair dry from the rain.

Elizabeth, me and Celeste (she had on an '80s costume...very cute!)

Adorable little boy and Waldo on the Subway.

All we saw of the Halloween parade.

Elizabeth and me - soaked.

The group at the bar. Freda, Andrew, Celeste, Elizabeth, Me and Mallory.

Elizabeth and Celeste after a few beers.

Beauty Queen with creepy lizard guy.

Elizabeth and Celeste with Gumby.

Creepiest outfit that we saw. Super sweet girl, though.

The area where the doorman let us the employee-only bathroom.

The cologne in the bathroom area.....oh dear.

After waiting 40 minutes for the train....this is what pulls up. They have a freaking trash only train!!!! We were pissed...and also freaked...saw a sewer rat right after that. Gross!

Elizabeth's injury from the night. She was so busy looking at everyone's costume, she failed to look where she was going and walked into a concrete barrier.

Sunday was the big day. Kris and Debra left about 6am to get to the start line. Elizabeth and I got to sleep in for awhile, then watch the professional men and women race in its entirety before heading to mile 16 to see and cheer Debra and Kris on. Another of Elizabeth’s friends, Mindy, lived in New Jersey and had a friend who was also running so she came to our hotel to hang out with us and cheer her friend on. We somehow missed Debra at mile 16 (she must have been speedy) and almost missed Kris. We got to scream and shake our sign that we made for them.

We had some time before cheering them on again at mile 25, so, we headed to Dylan’s candy shop. They have bulk candy!!! Skittles (the worst candy in the world for you to eat), chocolate covered pretzels, sour candy and even chocolate covered gummy bears. There was also a candy that was called Chicken Feet that Elizabeth got, but, she said they were not that good. We hustled to mile 25 in Central Park to cheer on our girls. We may have gotten a few dirty looks while we were cheering…we were also eating our candy. I don’t think the runners were very pleased with us for that one. We tried to hide it behind our sign.

The girls - pre-race.

Kris at mile 16. That is a fake smile, by the way. She was not pleased after crossing the Queensboro bridge.

Our quick stop between cheering at mile 16 and 25.

They had a chocolate fountain - in the store!!!

The cheer squad!

Debra - looking great at mile 25.

We busted into the candy while waiting for Kris. Note the dirty looks from the runners.

Kris - delirious at mile 25.

It was a low key dinner and watching a movie in our room night after the race. Kris and Debra both did GREAT in the race and got their medals. However, both were completely pooped and sore. Debra headed to her Uncle’s apartment after the race so we were down to three. Bubba Gump’s for dinner and Musics & Lyrics on TBS. What else do you need?

Monday was our slow day. After a quick excursion to H&M for some shopping, we headed to a restaurant called “Burgers and Cupcakes”. Wouldn’t you go immediately to a restaurant named that? The portions were huge (why didn’t the waitress tell us this?) so we had to take our cupcakes to go. We were so full from lunch that we had to go back to the hotel and take a quick nap. Lethargy set in and we watched TV, messed around on the internet, and chatted the rest of the afternoon. We discussed going to The Met, Guggenheim, Empire State Building, etc, but, were just too tired from all our eating to get up and go. How’s that for lazy?

Best idea ever!! Well, maybe 2nd best. Peanut Butter restaurant is first!

Our huge lunch. We ordered sweet potatoes fries, onion rings and cheese fries.

So full, we had to take our cupcakes to go!

We had the best time and to top it all of: Elizabeth has decided to enter the lottery for the 2010 NYC marathon. She asked if I wanted to join her. Does she not remember my blog from last year? Heck NO!

Another Triathlon....Really?

2009-10-26T20:07:00.009-05:00

Another triathlon. Silly, isn't it? I can't help myself. I can pretty much get talked into anything, I guess.

Since I did that triathlon in July, Tom decided that he wanted to do one. We had a bunch of people who wanted to compete, but, when it came down to it...it was me, Tom, and Larry. Pansies!

We "camped" Saturday night in Barbie and Larry's RV in Grapevine. The tri was in Keller so we thought we'd stay in the RV and get to sleep a little later. What we didn't count on was the drinking Saturday night. We tried to not overdue it since we were racing the next day, but, tasty beverages were enjoyed a little too much (ahem...Barbie). Even though wine and beer were consumed, we still made it on time for the race.

Started with a 300 meter swim in a pool. Would not recommend for anyone looking to do a triathlon. They let one person start every five seconds. I waited in line for 40 minutes!! Annoying! Why did I get up so dang early? Plus, a lake is crowded, but, you have room to swim. This was six laps in a pool. At every turn, it was a crowded mess.

Then, to the bike: 12 miles total. Two six mile loops. Hilly and windy. Yuck.

Last was the 3 mile run. You know how I feel about running. GGRR.

Here's the big story of the day: my goal was to finish the swim and bike without being passed by Tom or Larry. There were starting behind me in the swim so I thought that I could get a good head start and keep my lead. I knew that I would be passed in the run (as I hate to run) so I gave my all for the swim and bike. When I was in the transition area after the bike and heading out to the run...I spotted Tom putting his bike up and getting ready for his run. I thought to myself "Crap, get moving, Jen!" So, off I went and happy as a clam because I made it to the run without being passed by them. Barbie spots me and starts cheering and I say "Tom is right behind me, but, I haven't seen Larry yet." She responds "Oh, Larry is already on the run." WHAT????? Oh, I was pissed! No way!!!! Tom catches up with me about 30 seconds later (told you I was a slow runner) and I tell him that Larry is already on the run. He agrees that was weird and said Larry never passed him either. Aha! I knew it!!! Remember earlier when I said it was two six mile loop? Larry CHEATED. He only did one loop. That kept me going the rest of the run. I was ready at the finish line to give him hell. After my tongue-lashing, Larry admitted that he got confused and only did one lap. I took his medal away from him.

Not really...but, it sounded like something I would do, doesn't it?

Larry coming out of the pool area after his swim. He didn't want me to post this picture so I colored in a shirt for him.

Tom running his little heart out.

Me, at the finish. I was ready for it to be over.

I miss you. Why did you go away?

2009-10-13T14:42:00.003-05:00

Oh, how I miss you. I'm not sure what I've done to make you angry and disappear, but, whatever it is...I am sorry. I know I went to Seattle earlier this summer and bragged about how great the weather was and the beautiful area. Was that it? Are you trying to punish me? Please, oh please...come back to me. I am getting better at applying lotion so you won't burn my sensitive skin.

I miss you.

What else can I say or do to make you come back to me?

Birthdays!

2009-10-09T15:25:00.005-05:00

Lil' Abby turned 1 year old last week and had a yummy birthday party. I think she had the most fun, don't you?

At least she isn't afraid of me anymore. She used to scream bloody murder whenever I picked her up.

Happy Birthday, Abby!!

I missed Colin's birthday party because I was in Mexico, but, I hear he had a great time. He is five now and still as cute as ever!

Happy Birthday, Colin!!

Amigos, Dos!

2009-10-05T11:03:00.007-05:00

Sorry for my delay in posting the second part....short work week, really short weekend. But, I'm back!

Stories:

We saw a "Variety Show" on Saturday night. I put it in quotes because it may have been the weirdest thing I have ever seen. The was a melody of different songs and the entertainment crew danced around in costume and pretended to know the words to the songs. I have no words for these costumes. They were SO bad.

Stevie Wonder song: he has the hair, wearing a Santa Claus outfit, and has Eeyore on a leash. Eeyore walked around him and lifted his leg to pee and then humped his leg. No words here.

Elmo, dancing around.

I think this was a Grease medley.

This guy kept singing and grabbing his crotch and butt. The crowd (all but us) loved it.

Guy dressed in drag, with a fake dog on a leash.

We also had some great people watching at the pool. There were some drunk people...not including us, of course. We saw a girl bust her butt as she tried to put on her flip flops. Her husband helped her up and then she did a face plant into the chair. She then laid on the lounge chair for a bit and then the dreaded leaning over to the side. Out came all the liquor she consumed. The husband was quite the helper with trying to clean her up. There was some negotiating on whether she would get up and go to the room. He finally got her up and walking.

There was another lady that threw up on herself and her wonderful friends rinsed her off in the outdoor shower and then put on her lounge chair and went back to their sunbathing. Great friends, huh? Didn't even take her up to the room. After a few hours, she got up and stumbled over to them and laid down in the pool lounger. We were freaked..thinking she was going to vomit in the pool. Julie and Elizabeth went over to the sober "friend" and volunteered to help get her to the room. Said friend was like "No, she doesn't want to go." I don't think she should have much of a choice, do you? After some major complaining by everyone in the pool, security brought a wheelchair and took her up to her room. They had to hold her head up because she couldn't do it herself. Seriously? That is terrible!

Let' see...other fun things:

The bathtubs in the rooms were oddly shaped. The base of the tub wasn't flat and it was hard to stand upright and balance. Imagine trying to do that after quite a few drinks? Enter Elizabeth. Julie and I were hanging out watching tv while E was in the shower. We hear a little slip then BOOM...we immediately took at each other and start laughing hysterically. I go into the bathroom and make sure E's okay. I can't even get the words out because I'm laughing so hard. E ripped half the shower curtain down in her attempt to stay upright. She had quite the bruise on her derriere from that one.

We went to the sports bar one night to watch the Cowboys game. We also brought along SkipBo cards. We played an innocent game and then decided to play partners. Julie and Barbie were one team and Elizabeth and I were the other. If you hadn't guessed, I'm a tad competitive. Elizabeth had played the game exactly one time prior to our partner game and she should have never been my partner. Poor girl. I may have said, "I will kill you." and "I'm going to punch you in the face." during the game to poor E. It was all meant in jest, I swear! I love Bert and would never harm her...intentionally.

I know I am forgetting some great stories, so I expect the group to post them in the comments.

In conclusion, I had a fabulous time with my girls and we're already planning our next trip!

Amigos!

2009-10-01T16:05:00.013-05:00

Just got back from the last of the 30th birthday celebrations. We (Julie, Elizabeth, Barbie, Lisa, Robin and me) decided on Puerto Vallarta, after looking at many many many places. There is SO much to discuss, I'm not even sure where to begin.

We arrived in PV on Saturday. To our surprise, we learned that we had been upgraded to a newer RIU hotel. Never one to complain (well, without just cause), we all hopped into the taxi and headed to our new resort.

Overview of the trip: Excellent! We had a ton of laughs and lots of tasty beverages. We also played lots of card games and found a new drinking game that can be played in the pool with dice. We love Farkle!!! The food at the all-inclusive was in the "eh to bleh" range. Most of us had quite the tummy aches at one time or another, but, we didn't let it stop us.

Now, on to the pictures and stories:

Our hotel

Our room..notice the double beds pushed together to make one big bed. We didn't ask for that, you have no choice. It's one big headboard. Poor person who slept in the middle...sleeping in the crack.

This was in our room. Just make your tasty beverage before you leave the room!

Fabulous pool

Where we really spent most of our time...the swim up bar area.

Game and drinks of choice. Farkle! Beer, Mojitos and Lemon Drop shots.

Lisa and Robin..toasting in the sun

Lisa and Barbie

Julie and me - we may have had too many tasty beverages at this point.

Barbie and Elizabeth have definitely had too many tasty beverages!

My cat-like reflexes at work. DIE bees DIE!

Ok, the cat-like reflexes got out of hand. Bee carcasses everywhere.

Elizabeth's head on a statue.

To Be Continued........

My First Longhorns Game!!

2009-09-20T17:20:00.010-05:00

Greatness!! I went to my first Texas game and what a game is was! Woo Hoo! Sorry, Red Raider fans, the Horns kicked butt! My friend, Ginger, has season tickets and they were great seats. We were on the 45 yard line and got to see the entire field. Record attendance at this game: 101,297 peeps and I think every one of us were sweating machines. It was freaking hot and humid and I wished and wished for just a small breeze. But, I was denied.

I did get some really cool pictures during the game in between my screaming and clapping.

About halfway up the ramps to our seats...the crowd, before the game.

Pre-game fun!

Longhorns, coming onto the field.

Halftime

After we won - going to shake hands.

The team and everyone in the crowd singing "The Eyes of Texas"

The tower and it's orangeness.

2009-09-08T14:57:00.003-05:00

My Granny turned 100 years old this past Sunday. How crazy is that? She is still a rockin' old lady, though. The entire family went up to Denton for lasagna, salad, and birthday cake. I picked up the cake from Costco. Ever had one? If not, you are missing out! Deliciousness!! I am VERY picky about my cakes and usually do not like filling. It always seem to make the cake part mushy. However, Costco makes a white cake with vanilla cheesecake filling. Yum.

Last year, my mom got one of those birthday cards that sing when you open them and Granny loved it. She still has it and opens it whenever we come over. Without even discussing it, we all got her that type of card. She now has four cards that sing a little song when she opens them. She just starts laughing and always seems surprised when it does it. It's pretty cute.

Here is the yummy cake!

Colin - waiting patiently for his Great-Granny to ask him to help her blow out the candles.

He got most of them, but, my brother had to help out on the other side of the cake.

Happy 100th Birthday to my Granny!

Vegas Baby!

2009-09-01T21:54:00.004-05:00

Jetted to Vegas with my friend Marly for a few days. It was a girls' weekend of shopping, pool time, tasty beverages and gambling. I'd love to tell you everything we did, but, I have to abide by the Vegas rules. But, I will tell you that we had a blast and I am an awesome wingman.

Below are a few photos:

We stayed at New York, New York. Never stayed there before and I'd recommend it. The rooms were clean and the food was pretty good. However, the pool only gets direct sunlight for about three hours. That was probably good for me as I fry in the sun too long and don't know how to put sunscreen on appropriately.

We ended up going to Shadow Bar at Caesar's one night and discovered awesome cosmos. What was not awesome...the drinks were $15.50 apiece. Holy Moly!!

Marly, enjoying the cosmo....

My face after we received our bill for $31.00 for the two drinks.

Outside the Bellagio. We had to stop and rest our feet. It's so easy to forget how far the hotels really are from each other.

On the Vegas Strip....after a few beverages.

One funny story that I will share: We went to Margaritaville for drinks and dinner one night. We decided to eat/drink at the bar since the restaurant was pretty crowded. Marly ordered a margarita that was way too strong (according to her). She stopped the bartender and said, "I know you'll think badly of me, but, I cannot drink this. It's way too strong." Without missing a beat, the bartender responded with "Quit being a vagina and drink it" and kept walking. We were speechless for a split second and then almost fell out of our chairs because we were laughing so hard.

I Heart Restaurant Week.

2009-08-21T11:24:00.002-05:00

Every August I get so excited about one thing. Not the hot weather! Restaurant week. It's so delish! I get to try out restaurants that I wouldn't normally go to eat. Who can afford these places??

My first restaurant this year was Pappa Bros. Steakhouse. I always try to hit up a steak place every year because I do love the filet mignon. In the past, I've tried Nick & Sam's, McCormick & Schmidt's, Del Frisco, and III Forks. I had heard of Pappa Bros., but, it was never on the top of my list. I mean, it's the same people who own Pappasito's and Pappadeaux. They are great casual places, but, I am interested in some serious steak. However, I have recently noticed in some magazines that Pappa Bros. has replaced Bob's in the list of "Top Steakhouses in the U.S." That got my attention. I haven't had the opportunity to try Bob's yet, but, always heard it was the top steakhouse in Dallas. After dining at Pappa Bros., I don't know how Bob's could even compete.

Tomas and I arrived for our 7:30pm reservation at 7:10pm and were seated right away (traffic was non-existent which never happens). It was a happening spot for a Thursday evening, but, it is restaurant week. We chatted with our waiter for a few minutes and ordered a glass of wine. After placing our order, we sat back to wait for our first course. I also perused the wine list because the waiter left it on the table. Of course, I have to look for the most expensive bottle of wine. $52,000. That's right..for one bottle. We just laughed and put the menu aside. Our salads arrived and tasted scrumptious. Tomas ordered the house salad with vinaigrette and I had the caesar. Heads down - we scarfed the salads. Didn't even speak. The dressings were perfect on both salads and not oversaturated.

Then, the steaks arrived. Tomas had the New York Strip and I had the filet. I have no words. Every bite was heaven. I have never had a steak so tasty in my life. I cut the bites smaller than normal so I would be able to enjoy every morsel. Tomas thought his steak was pretty good until he tried mine. I believe he said, "Wow, that's even better than mine." The mashed potatoes were perfectly done, too. They had just enough lumpiness to make them perfect. The asparagus that we ordered additional looked like it had been injected with steroids - they were that plump.

Saved the greatness for last: dessert. I ordered the Chocolate peanut butter cake and he got the key lime pie. I was afraid that the cake may be too much chocolate and too dark/bitter for me, but, I was wrong. It was fluffy with layers of peanut butter mousse. Doesn't that sound delicious? Oh yeah, they drizzled chocolate sauce on top and threw in some peanut brittle chunks. The key lime pie was fresh, tart, and heavenly. I wanted to lick the plate to get all the cream sauce, but, had to settle for using the fruit on the sides to get it all up.

After all that - we left by 8:15pm. Seriously, how did that happen? We were not rushed at all and were in/out of a steak place in one hour. Even better!

I actually get to try TWO steak places this year. Monday is Steve Field's Steak and Lobster. I wonder if it will be up to par. I'll let you know!

New Diet Alert!

2009-08-17T09:52:00.003-05:00

I have a great new diet for everyone. You get to eat food like mashed potatoes and ice cream! What kind of diet lets you eat carbs and dairy, you ask? It's the removal of wisdom teeth diet!!!

I had three wisdom teeth removed on Friday morning. Before you ask, I only had three so I didn't just leave one in there for kicks. I had a lovely IV so I have no recollection of the removal and woke up about five minutes after they were finished. Luckily, I was coherent enough so I didn't say or do anything embarrassing (that I'm aware of). Tom was probably annoyed at my chattiness on the drive home, but, too bad. I was feeling no pain!

My weekend consisted of eating mashed potatoes, ice cream, and a little scrambled eggs. I even had a piece of bacon on Saturday morning...chewed very slowly. The pain was minimal and I even ventured out on Sunday to see a movie with Megan. We saw "Paper Heart" at the Magnolia....cute, but odd. Other than that, it was a low key weekend for me. Just taking meds throughout the day and night. Who knew that you took steroids and antibiotics when you have teeth pulled? Not me. Apparently, it's to beef up that immune system. But, a side effect - makes you lose your voice. I sound all "Stevie Nicks" right now.

Right after I got home from the oral surgeon's office.

Later that afternoon...nice swollen cheek.

I cracked up at myself in this get-up. It's an ice pack that you are supposed to wear for the first 24 hours.

Cool, Cool Air!

2009-08-13T15:45:00.004-05:00

First off, thank you to everyone who have sent emails, posted comments, or called about Boo's passing. I enjoyed reading your comments and remembering her silliness. She was a loved member of my family and still missed daily.

Back to my previous blog about homeownership.

I have a brand spanking new air conditioner!! It's so pretty!!! I think there is something wrong with me. Getting excited about cold air. But, try going without it for five days and see how you feel. I had to abandon my house after the first night of no a/c. But, I'm back and it is fabulous.

I can now tell you all about air conditioners and the many parts. Tonage, SEER, variable vs non-variable speed, or straight a/c versus heat pump. I have this information all in my head now. I better not have to ever use it again.

The new compressor unit outside. Funny thing about it, the unit inside is really only have two feet tall, but, the case is about four feet tall. It's monstrous.

The air-handler. Don't have much to say about this, except that it is now cold!! Yay!

My fancy new thermostat. I can now set it on 76 and it is still cold in the house. I initially set it to 73-74 degrees, thinking it was the same as my old unit. No No! It's cold enough at 76. Wow, I had no idea.

Sweet and Cranky

2009-08-10T09:58:00.003-05:00

Sweet and Cranky Old Lady. That's my girl. After 14 1/2 years, Sweet Boo had to be put down this past weekend. It's been hard to imagine my life when I didn't have her. She has moved nine times with me, had seven human roommates and five cat roommates (plus a short time with those pesky annoying other animals...dogs).

Whew, no wonder she was cranky all the time.

My sister was the initial owner of Boo. She went to a pet store with a friend and Boo reached through her cage and grabbed a hold of her hair. The pet store owner told Kris that Boo was the runt of the liter and nobody wanted her. Sucker. She brought her home and the rest is history. I inherited her after Kris moved to Dallas and then went to the dark side and brought home dogs. She does NOT like dogs and makes it very clear they are not allowed in her domain.

Some other fun memories and things that I'll miss:

Teresa told us that one time when she went to check on her, when Kris and I were out of town, she walked into our apartment and there was Boo, swinging from the curtains.

She used to run sideways when she was a kitten. Not sure why and when she grew out of it, but, used to crack me up.

How much she hated riding in the car. She'd last about 10 minutes and then vomit. She also whined and meowed the entire ride. The move from San Marcos to Dallas was a very long trip with her.

Greeting me at the door when I came home. Instead of being excited to see me (like some other "animals" would be) she would yell at me. You could almost hear the "Where have you been? Why are you just now getting home?"

Leaving "surprises" for me on my bed when I went out of town. She did not like it when I was gone for too long and made sure that I knew it.

Not being able to close my bedroom door for 14 years. She would have none of that. She would bang on the door and scream until you let her in or out. Her highness must be able to go from room to room as she chose.

Only petting her head. She did not allow people to pet her anywhere else. You could almost lose a digit for trying....as Tom discovered.

Yummy chicken. She would go nuts if you even opened a package of chicken.

She has had many names: Boo, Miss Boo, Boo Boo, Pooper (don't know where that came from), and Sweet Girl.

Here's a picture from the early days of Nac. I think it was taken around 2am after I worked at Mazzio's all night...I look terrible, but, she is mad at being held. She was not a cuddler.

I will miss you, Sweet Girl!

Homeownership is crap.

2009-08-04T08:36:00.002-05:00

Beware: it's bitchin' time.

For all you that don't own a home and your friends/family keep telling you how great it is? DON'T BELIEVE THEM. What's so great about spending every freaking penny you earn on upkeep?

Let's start with the outside:

Lawn. You can spend 3 hours on a Saturday or Sunday EVERY freaking week during the 100 degree summer days trying to edge, weed, and mow your lawn. Or, you can spend $25/week for five guys to come in and make it look better than you ever could. It takes them 15 minutes. Damn it.

Pool. Yes, it's so awesome that I have a pool in my backyard. Again, you can spend every weekend cleaning this pool and trying to figure out what chemicals you need to add and what the heck a pH level even is...or, you can spend $150/month for someone to come out to clean and put in the proper chemicals for you. Of course, if it rains, the pool is now dirty with leaves and dirt. Vinnie, the vacuum, doesn't seem to work during those times, either.

Trees. Who the hell puts a Crape Myrtle near a pool? And, what is the point of an Oleander tree? To provide breeding grounds for wasp nests? $250 to a tree company to get those cut down. Oh, but wait! They can't grind the stumps because they are too close to the fence and the roots may break the fence if they try to pull them up. So, what happens? The trees keep coming back and the lawn guys have to keep cutting them down, along with trimming the other trees and bushes in the backyard....for a price, of course.

Wasps. I hate them and don't even know why they are on this earth. To get on my nerves? Yes.

Let's go inside:

Bugs. How disgusting are cockroaches? I freak if I see one. Boo, on the other hand, wants to chase and play with them. Let me tell you non-homeowners something. You have to get a dang service to come out and spray your house for bugs on a consistent basis. Again, something nobody told me.

Plumbing. Remember in apartments when something clogged or quit working? You could just call you handy apartment landlord and they'd send someone up to fix it. Now? You have to call around and see who can get out the quickest and do bids for big items. Who wants to do all that? And, how do you know if the guy is legit?

Finally, Air-conditioning. Ever have to sleep in a house when the a/c is out or frozen? That was me, last night. M-I-S-E-R-A-B-L-E. (You can see where this blog is coming from now, right?) Three a/c quotes and I'm at $6,000 for a new one. Are you kidding me? Who has $6,000 just sitting around ready to give away? I could scream right now.

Also, home warranties SUCK. They are useless and I wouldn't recommend them. They don't cover anything!! Mine says that the "noise" from my compressor unit outside is just noise and not something broken. Hello - it sounds like a plane is taking off outside my window when it's on. That can't be normal.

Now, don't talk to me about "tax benefits". I haven't seen any. Yes, I got about $3,000 back last year...know where it went? The damn house. "Equity" is another argument...whatever. Am I getting anything out of that right now? NO! I don't see it and I'm mad right now so I don't want to hear it!

If you read all the way to the bottom of this post, thanks. I am extremely frustrated right now and could kick some ass (really just the home warranty people).

Don't say that I can't make fun of myself....

2009-07-24T08:46:00.004-05:00

Unfortunately, I can't download the pictures because you have to buy them...I don't think I want to purchase these pics. :)

This is what happens when you see the photographer....

http://orders.racephotonetwork.com/QPPlus/PreviewImage.aspx?O=26397982&R=00093&F=0020

http://orders.racephotonetwork.com/QPPlus/PreviewImage.aspx?O=26397982&R=00058&F=0093

http://orders.racephotonetwork.com/QPPlus/PreviewImage.aspx?O=26397982&R=00069&F=0047

This is what happens when you don't.....

http://orders.racephotonetwork.com/QPPlus/PreviewImage.aspx?O=26397982&R=00012&F=0075 (Sorry Kris, had to throw you under the bus)

http://orders.racephotonetwork.com/QPPlus/PreviewImage.aspx?O=26397982&R=00032&F=0087

Finally, this year's Christmas card???

http://orders.racephotonetwork.com/QPPlus/PreviewImage.aspx?O=26397982&R=00010&F=0002

I am a Triathlete.

2009-07-19T18:11:00.009-05:00

Racheal, Kris, and me with our medals.

I rock. Just in case you didn't know. So do Kris, Racheal, Corrie, and Jeff. The triathlon was a success. By success, I mean we completed it. :) We don't need to discuss the 50 year old man who walked past me while I was "running". Or, the 67 year old woman who passed Kris on the biking portion.

Several people asked at the end of the race if I would be signing up for it next year. Uh, NO..or hell NO! Take your pick. First of all, don't ask me that question two minutes after I cross the finish line. I don't have the "joy" of crossing that finish line. It's more of relief that I don't have to swim, bike, or run a-n-y-m-o-r-e. You have to wait, at least, until my muscles stop quivering from fatigue. Geez. Honestly, I have no interest at this time to do another triathlon.

Swimming - not too bad. My heat was 4th to go and I wasn't kicked too badly. The water was warm which was kind of gross, but, I got through it pretty fast (I thought).

Biking - better than the practice tri from the week before. Unfortunately, my heart rate wouldn't calm down for the first 5 miles so that part was pretty tough to get through. Not sure if it was the adrenaline, the 5 hour energy, or the "Tired Legs" pills that Jeff gave me. I'm really glad that we went to the practice tri the week before so I was prepared for the hills.

Running - I HATE to run. The first mile was really hard and my calves felt like the were in knots. They finally calmed down enough for me to "run" (see beginning of the post to read again how fast I ran).

Enjoy!

Me, Corrie, and Kris before heading down to the beach.

Me and Kris - before the big start.

Me - after the successful swim.

Me and Kris - coming in from the 17 mile bike ride.

Kris - at the finishline.

Me - hobbling across the finishline.

Getting ready for the Tri...

2009-07-13T10:31:00.002-05:00

Next Sunday is the big triathlon. Kris and I have been extremely freaked about the swimming portion. It's 500 yards in the lake. I do not swim in lakes. Gross.

The sponsors had a free clinic this past weekend for the beginners - to give them pointers and help them get over their fears. We were SO glad we went to it. We got to go through the entire course and see what we're going to be up against.

Surprisingly, the swim was the easiest part. We swam in a small group so I'm sure I'll still have some troubles on Sunday when I'm swimming with 125 people in my heat. But, overall, the swimming was not bad. I think we had built it up to be so huge that our anxiety level was through the roof. We were completely relieved when we finished because A. we didn't drown, B. we didn't feel any kelp/seaweed and C. couldn't see anything in the water and were okay with it.

The biking was tough...of course, I haven't been on my bike since the MS ride in May. Um, not even to a spin class. Good one, Jen. Big hills, hot temperatures and not enough water did not make the bike ride fun. My chain fell off at the top of a hill that I went up at 4 mph. But, I didn't get off my bike like the lady in front of me did so I was successful there.

The run portion was just funny. I was so dehydrated by the time I got to the run that I ran about 25 feet and said "Screw this." and just walked the rest of it. It was so hot by that time, it was just ridiculous.

So, I'll be doing a little running, swimming, and spin class, hopefully this week to prepare. Wish me luck!

My small world sighting: Mike and Mimi Ostrom from the Ol' Heritage days were at the triathlon clinic. They are doing another tri so they won't be at the race this weekend.

Alaska Finale

2009-06-28T22:13:00.007-05:00

Our final stop was in Victoria, Canada. We were all looking forward to getting our passports stamped (yes, we're nerds like that) and they didn't even glance at them! All they cared about was our silly ship keycards. Dang it!!

Victoria is a nice touristy town, but, dinner was quite expensive. Be sure to bring the cash!

Speaking of cash - Tom and I visited the casino onboard many times during our trip. The last night we went, I decided to play the 25 cent slot machine while Tom played poker. After about 30 minutes of playing, I freaking won a $937 jackpot!!! I was freaked and excited at the same time!! Woo HOO!

Then, we got our bill the next morning and I had to give all my winnings away. Sad.

The Empress Hotel - is this place famous? Everyone kept talking about it.

The marina and a fancy government building (not even a capital).

Kris had to take this picture for her sons. Darth Vader was playing a violin!

One final story to show my ding dong blonde self: Kris, Dwane, Tom, and I are sitting on the boat sipping tasty beverages right after we set sail. The Captain comes on to tell us how far we're going, how many knots we're going, etc. Kris asks, "What's a knot?" and it's kind of windy so I lean over and repeat her question to Tom. He answers, "It's 1.15 miles. Not a cool mile." I repeat that to Kris. She looks at me weirdly and says "Not a cool mile?" So, I lean back over to Tom and repeat "It's not a cool mile?" I'm thinking to myself, that's weird that he said it that way. He starts laughing at me and says "Nautical mile, Jennifer". Yes, I am a moron.

One final picture to honor the Birthday Boy!!!

Happy Birthday, Old Man!!

Alaska, Part 2

2009-06-28T22:03:00.009-05:00

After the glacier cruising, we headed to Sitka, AK. My family lived in Sitka for a little while before I was born and my Dad and Teresa got married there 13 years ago. We got to see the spot they got hitched and did a little 4x4 riding.

Teresa and I getting excited for 4x4 riding. Dad pretending he didn't know us.

He'll hate that I posted this, but, I think he's cute.

Our 4x4s

The brown spot you see out there is a BEAR!! A Coastal Brown Bear with her two cubs.

I tried to take a picture of them through the binoculars. FYI, it doesn't work.

We cruised to the black sandy beaches. That was a weird site. Black Sand...

The rainforest that we went through...who knew Alaska has a rainforest?

You can't really see it because of the clouds, but, there is a volcano out there.

Castle Hill - Dad and Teresa were married up here. Tons of freaking steps to get up there!

After Sitka, we headed to Ketchikan and sea kayaking. I've never kayaked before and don't really care to do it again. Yikes, that was hard. It was fairly easy when we were in the cove areas. But, the guides decided our group was "advanced" and took us out into the mass waves to carry us back down to our starting point. We almost flipped over!!! There were many cuss words flying and I got a blister from the oars. Oh, we also came thisclose to being eaten by a Sea Lion. One popped it's head up out of the water, his head was bigger than Diezel's, and then it disappeared back underwater. The Guide kind of freaked and said, "Um, we should move out of his way." and then took off. We oared as fast as we could to get out of there! I just kept thinking about the whale watching guide telling us that Sea Lions were mean and like to knock over kayakers. I was FREAKED.

Kris and Dwane on the speedboat - heading to kayaking site.

Tom and Me - before our "adventure".

Kayaking in the calm waters.

Dad and his hand (he blocked Teresa)

Here is a picture of us on one of the formal nights - we clean up nicely.

The sunset outside the window during dinner.

I still have more photos to share, but, it'll have to be Part 3....stay tuned.

Alaskan Surprise!

2009-06-28T20:55:00.009-05:00

We did it!! Whew. It has been super hard keeping my dad's birthday surprise a secret from him. Teresa, Kris and I have been planning this for about a year. We wanted to take a vacation somewhere fun for his big 6-0 b-day. Originally, we looked at going to Canada for a few days, but, after we started researching, we found out that an Alaskan cruise worked out better. I've always wanted to go up to Alaska, too!

So, we booked it and kept it from my dad for about four months. I think Teresa had the hardest job....she had to tell Dad he was going on a vacation and not tell him where until about three weeks prior. Plus, she couldn't tell him that we were all going! It consisted of lots of secret conference calling, sneakery, and laughter. But, we pulled it off!

We (Kris, Dwane, Tom and me) arrived in Seattle about 45 minutes before my Dad's flight and after some confusion with which gate they were arriving at (idiots at SeaTac airport), we made our sign and prepared for our surprise. I think Kris and I were freaked we were so excited.

Story behind our sign: we couldn't decide what to do. We thought about getting a wheelchair and having a sign "Wheelchair for old man Worley", but, we noticed that there were two wheelchairs that had been requested for people on their flight and it probably would offend them. Teresa had told us that Dad had purchased a t-shirt that said, "Old Guys Rule" and would always say it to her. We went with it and viola:

It's kind of hard to see his face, but, if you looked closely, he is about to say "Sh*t!"'. He he!! That was his reaction when he saw us. Dwane's off to the left,, filming the surprise. :)

After that, we were off to the ship. We sailed the MS Amerstam with Holland America. Overall, it was great. The food was yummy, the drinks were plentiful, the casinos paid, and we had a blast the entire week.

We had one full day at sea, stops in Juneau, Hubbard Glacier, Sitka, Ketchikan, and Victoria, Canada. In between our stops, we ate, drank, took lots of naps, played Phase 10, ate, drank, gambled in the casino, visited the spa onboard, ate, and drank. Do you see a repeat of anything? Yes, the rumors are all true. The food is plentiful and the drinks flow.

Enjoy the pics!

Dad, me and Teresa whale watching in Juneau.

Whale

More Whale (they are really big up close!)

Seals on a booey...I don't know how to spell booey, but, you know what I mean.

Hubbard Glacier

Me and Kris hanging on the bow, waiting while we creep slowly towards the glacier.

Me and Tom getting sunburned and enjoying the beautiful weather. Oh yeah, there is a huge glacier behind us!! It's six miles long and over 300 feet tall (above water).

More seals....on the ICEBERG RIGHT AHEAD!! Can't tell you how many times I said that and heard others saying it. The guide even mentioned it.

Here's a picture of our room. It was cheaper for us to have an interior room, but, we had a fake window. It even had a light behind it to simulate a window. It was hilarious.

Our steward left us surprises every night. These two were my favorite.

Our tiny bathroom

To be continued....

Confession Time...

2009-06-16T16:30:00.005-05:00

I read an article today that said Dallas/Fort Worth is second in highest road rage. Now, I suffer from road rage now and again, but, it surprised me that we came in second...only after NYC. I've beenthere, those people are crazy!

My confession? After reading the article, I realized that I'm guilty of almost all the things that piss people off. I talk to my sister on my cell almost every day on my way home from work. Usually, some other family member or friend is calling me during that time so I'm going back/forth between the calls. I'm also a texting-driver. I try to only text while I'm sitting at a light, but, sometimes I'll answer a text while driving down 75. It's a terrible things to do and I can't help it. Many a meal has been eaten while driving down the highway, too. Um, have I mentioned (if you don't already know) that I drive a standard?

I rarely put on make up while driving, maybe lipstick or powder. Another one was shaving - I'm going to assume they were talking about men. I've never seen a woman with her leg up on the dash shaving away while driving (though, it could happen). The last one was reading - I've been guilty of flipping through magazines or my mail while at red lights, but, never while I'm driving.

But, if I see someone on the phone or looking down at a phone? Oh, hell NO. Definite cussing at them!

I'll apologize to everyone now - sorry for my cell-talking, texting, eating, lipstick applying ways!

New Cowboys Stadium

2009-06-07T22:31:00.011-05:00

Ginger and I got last minute tickets to attend the opening concert at the New Cowboys stadium in Arlington. All we heard prior to the concert was how bad traffic was going to be...it was easy. It took us one hour (including stopping at Sonic for food) to get from Garland to our seats. Parking was $40...eek. We parked at The Ballpark and walked (not far at all). The range of people was vast. You had the true rednecks and then the girls with babydoll dresses and "boots". It was great people-watching.

It was supposed to start with Julianne Hough, but, she called in sick. Who calls in sick when George asks you to play? Dumb girl. But, we got to see LeeAnn Womack instead. I like her even better. Truthfully, I've never heard a song that Julianne Hough sings so I don't know if I like her or not. Then, Blake Shelton....HOT. I think he was singing directly to me, sorry ladies who were there. He has that smouldering look down!

No words to describe Reba and George. They were just awesome. Reba sang "Fancy" as her encore. Poor Ginger had to listen to me yelling that song. It's my favorite. Sweet George was greatness. Near the beginning of his set, he had them open the retractable roof. It takes 12 minutes to open it fully. Of course, they were opening it when George said so. It's George!

The concert was great and I'm glad that we got to go. Thanks Megan and Christine for the excellent tickets!

This screen is HUGE. We pretty much just watched the screen the entire time.

It was a packed house!

LeeAnn Womack (she flew in and performed with less than 24 hrs notice)

Hot Hot Blake Shelton

Reba, in her red dress, singing Fancy

King George

Guilty Pleasure

2009-06-01T13:53:00.003-05:00

I love game shows. Not Not NOT reality TV, but, actual game shows. I could sit and watch the Game Show Network all day. $100,000 Pyramid, Password, Family Feud, etc. Love them!

My new guilty pleasure is Wipeout. I love this show. It cracks me up! The big red balls may be my favorite obstacle. Though, the new ones they have come up with this season are pretty dang hilarious.

Does anyone else watch?

California Sun!

2009-05-26T20:37:00.010-05:00

We were off to the California beaches for Memorial Day weekend. Tom and I went with Barbie and Larry to Malibu for a long weekend and stayed at my Granny's beach house in Malibu. There is nothing better than free lodging!

We started out Thursday doing some sight-seeing in L.A. We hit Sunset Blvd, Grauman's Chinese Theatre, the Kodak Theatre, Hollywood Walk of Stars, went to a rehearsal at CBS Studios for "Real Time with Bill Maher", and finished up at Venice Beach. It was a packed day of weird/hilarious people watching and ended with some serious tasty beverages at Duke's.

Friday - had lunch with my Granny, took naps, and then saw Star Trek. I loved it! What I didn't love? $15 per freaking ticket!!!! Two people + tickets, popcorn and drinks = $50. Wow, Malibu is seriously expensive.

Saturday - went to Paradise Cove for breakfast and had a yummy breakfast. Serious people watching there. We sat next to a freakish couple who were not afraid to talk about their sex life, doing it on the beach, getting tattoos of their family members on their bodies, and ordering Vodka on the Rocks at 9:30am. Wow. After that fun stuff, we got some Miller Lite and headed to Zuma beach for some sun. A little bit of info: it is illegal to have beer or cigarettes on the beach. We didn't know that and got a "talking to" from the beach patrol on their 4 wheelers. Luckily, they found our Texas accents adorable and let us off with a warning. After our brush with the law, we decided to move our party back to the condo. We ended our day grilling, playing Phase 10 (Larry is the new King of the game), and consuming more beer. I think we all reached our limit of beer drinking this weekend.

Sunday - we went to pick up my aunt for breakfast and ended up calling 911. She boards horses on her property and one of the riders was kicked off their horse and kicked around a bit. Luckily, it looked like a 'minor' injury, according to my aunt. I'm not sure I'd call a broken rib and wrist, minor, but, that's my aunt for ya. Before we headed to the airport, we watched a few episodes of "Top Gear". Hilarious show, if you haven't seen it.

After all that, here are some photos. Enjoy!

Our view from the condo:

One of the major reasons we headed to Sunset - we wanted to see The Viper Room.

I'm a celebrity nerd, as you know. It's Hyde Lounge!!

An example of the interesting people on Venice Beach:

Venice beach:

Barbie and Larry - not prepared for the freezing ocean water:

We went to In-N-Out Burger for lunch. YUM!

Jealous??

Look, it's the Hollywood sign!!

Barbie after two bottles of wine:

Another example of drunkenness:

Barbie and Larry on Zuma Beach:

Me and Senor at Zuma:

Weekend Fun!

2009-05-19T10:57:00.009-05:00

My high school friend, Mandy, is getting married next month. She and her fiance, Mikey (also high school pal), live in San Antonio, but, most of her friends live here in Dallas. So, where should she have her bachelorette party? Dallas, of course!

I only knew two girls at the party when I got there, but, the group was so much fun that we were all best friends by the end of the evening. When you have to wear sombreros the entire evening, you bond.

During the lingerie shower, Mandy had to answer questions that the hostesses had asked Mikey. You know the drill: how well do you know your groom? kind of questions. However, if she got them wrong, she had to do shots of Boone's Farm Strawberry Hill. How hilarious is that??? We had to help her finish the bottle at the end. Why, oh why, did we ever drink that crap? Oh right, we were 18 yrs old and drank whatever we could get.

After the shower, we had time to kill, so we played Catchphrase for awhile. Mandy and I were on the same team and we rocked it! Our other friend, Stephanie, was not happy that we kicked her team's ass. Little did she realize that I am super competitive....and stop at nothing, NOTHING, to win.

We then met the group out at Manny's for a quick bite. Our sombreros were the hit of the night. We had to do some chasing around the bar later that night to get them back. People were trying to steal them!

It was great fun with lots of shots (the bar owner gave us free shots if he could wear Mandy's sombrero for awhile) and dancing.

I'm bummed that I can't make it to their wedding because these peeps know how to party!

Last picture of the night....drunk girls!

Congrats, Mandy and Mikey!!

Geez, not again.

2009-05-18T10:50:00.002-05:00

I distinctly remember saying "no running in 2009". How is it that I am ignored and harped on until I cave? Sigh.

I am doing a Sprint Triathlon in July. Yes, swimming, biking, and RUNNING in JULY. What the heck am I thinking???

A few friends (and sister who always gets me into trouble) and I are competing in the Disco Triathlon on July 19th at Lake Ray Roberts in Denton. Here is what I have to do:

500 yard swim

17.6 mile bike ride

3.1 mile run

Sounds short, right? I've been in swim training mode for about a week and my fellow triathlon-ers and I have discovered that swimming is EXHAUSTING. And, it's first on the list. I am going to have to drag myself out of the lake and on to a bike, then switch to running. UGH.

Here's the big issue: I have to swim in a lake...gross. You can't see where you're going and I'm probably going to get kicked in the head by my fellow competitors. Plus, I hear that swimming in a pool is a breeze to swimming in "open water". Awesome, I'm going to drown.

I'm such a positive person sometimes. :)

Goodbye, my friend.

2009-05-07T09:03:00.003-05:00

I have watched Scrubs since it first began years ago. I've loved every episode. I couldn't decide which episode was my favorite because they were all so great. Before last night, it was "My Hero" which was dedicated to John Ritter, who played JD's dad. I also absolutely love "My Musical" with Turk and JD's "Guy Love" song.

Last night's finale is now my all-time favorite. I laughed and cried at the same time.

I've heard rumor that they are thinking of bringing back the show without it's main characters. At first, I thought, "Great! More Scrubs!". But, after last night, I realize that Scrubs cannot exist without JD, Turk, Elliott, Carla, and Dr. Cox. They are the core of the show and I don't think I'll watch it without them.

Selfishly, I hope they don't bring it back and let last night's episode be their final word. It was fantastic.

MS150...er, MS72?

2009-05-03T20:33:00.007-05:00

The big bike ride weekend. We've been training for weeks. We had our gear ready. Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate. We were only able to ride 72 miles of the 86 mile day one. The officials called the ride around 1pm due to incoming bad weather. We got into the car just before the skies opened up. They cancelled day two around 6pm Saturday night because of the weather reports/warnings for Sunday. Weather reports are another discussion....seriously, are they morons? I can guess better than they can. It was quite the thunderstorm Saturday night, but, Sunday had no rain in sight. We could have rode, but, it was a little chilly. Oh well, we had tons of fun Saturday night.

But first, the ride. We all rocked! We started in the back of the pack, due to mishaps with Julie's bike tire. So, it was around 7:30am before we crossed the start line. Our average mph for the first 35 miles was 18.4. That's great for me, especially with the humidity level. At one of the rest stops, we felt a cold gust of wind and hurried past Lake Ray Roberts to get to lunch. We had one of our support people there with our windbreakers. Of course, five minutes after we left lunch with the windbreakers on, the weather turned back to humid and hot. After pulling into the last rest stop, the announcement was made over the loudspeaker that the ride was cancelled for the day. They had reports of hail and lightening that were coming in. Talk about frustrating - we had 14 miles left and we were all feeling great and wanted to cross the finishline. Some people hopped on their bikes and took off. We were glad we didn't do that - it took about 20 minutes and the rain started pouring. So, we called Dwane for a pick up and got out of there.

We all went to the hotel, took showers, and went to grab dinner. While at On The Border, we got word that the ride had been cancelled and the drinking commenced. Margaritas and beer, what else do you need? How about 90s trivia - guys vs girls, back at the hotel? It was ON! Of course, the girls won. We are awesome.

Thanks to everyone who donated - I've raised $1460 this year so far. Woo Hoo!!

Below are some fun pics from the weekend.

Julie, Tom, and Barbie at the start line.

Barbie's excited because they just announced our team name over the loudspeaker.

The start line. 3,000 cyclists.

The scrumptious lunch - BEST PB&J

The last rest stop where we were forced to stop. We had to leave our bikes and get the heck out of there. The volunteers loaded all the bikes and took them to the finish line.

Nora, Julie, Kris, and Tom's sad faces after we found out we had to quit for the day.

Loading up the Yukon with 4 bikes, luggage, coolers, and all of us. It was packed!

The inside of Barbie and Larry's Pathfinder. They crammed the rest of the bikes and luggage, plus, their group. I'm not sure we could have fit anyone else or another piece of luggage.

Larry - trying to tie down the bikes.

UPDATE ON THE DUCKS: The ducks are gone. After the storm on Wednesday, the ducks left the pool. They were there Thursday morning when I left for work and then gone when I got home. They haven't made an appearance since then. The pool, however, is about to overflow. Stop raining!!

It's a pool not a pond!

2009-04-28T09:59:00.003-05:00

Apparently, my pool is now the training ground for a mama duck and her baby ducklings. They are pretty cute, but, they better get trained and outta here before June comes around. I'm ready for summer pool time!!

Oh, they also better NOT poo in my pool!

Stairs are not my friend.

2009-04-27T08:42:00.004-05:00

I was such a good girl this morning.

45 minutes of step class......

15 minutes of abs......

Feeling pretty good about myself.

Then, I get to work.

10 flights of stairs - going up.......

STUPID STORM AND NO ELECTRICITY!

My legs are SORE!

Flippin' Cute

2009-04-20T15:06:00.003-05:00

This past weekend my mom wanted to get pictures made of all the grandkids. The picture taking was pretty easy, but, the wait was horribly long for the kids. But, look at these faces! How cute are they? I can't even pick a favorite because they are all precious!

Eric and Jen's: Abby, Danielle, Cameron, Sierra, and Kierra

Kris and Dwane's: Colin and Jackson

I am Mohammad Ali!

2009-04-14T09:33:00.002-05:00

Barbie and I have been taking a bootcamp class at our gym. Unlike the last bootcamp that I attended a few years ago, I talk back to the instructor. She used to teach a spin class that we attended so we have fun. We give each other a hard time (usually she is unjustly punishing me with running or push ups) and yell back and forth at one another.

This morning, we had to put on boxing gloves and hit a bag that she was holding. Well, I put on the gloves and thought that she was ready. I hit the bag with all my might and it, in turn, hit her in the nose.

Don't mess with me.

Denis Leary = Raunchiness

2009-04-12T22:07:00.003-05:00

Is raunchiness actually a word? I have no other word for Denis Leary. Tom and I went to his "Rescue Me" comedy tour at Nokia last week. He was hilarious....and dirty. I think I heard every curse word that I know, and maybe even a few that I didn't know, said as every other word. He had a back up band that played songs that either made fun of everyone in Hollywood that goes to rehab, told people off that were offended by his rehab song, some Irish song that I didn't understand, and his "asshole" song.

This was on all the screens during that song.

There were three other comedians that performed, as well. If you know the show, it was Uncle Teddy and Needles. The third guy is some comedian that will be guest starring on a few upcoming episodes. My favorite was Needles....he made fun of a girl in the front row (not meanly).

If you haven't seen Rescue Me, you are missing out. It's depresilious....that's depressing and hilarious. Hard to explain...just watch it!

Those dang parties where you have to buy something.

2009-03-30T11:08:00.003-05:00

I always get suckered into going to these parties. Premier jewelry....Mary kay.....Pampered chef. And, I always end up buying something because I feel that I have to. Then, they try and sucker you into hosting your own party. I was strong this time and walked away before she could ask me. Ha!

My sister hosted a pampered chef party this weekend that I was obligated to attend. She told me prior to the party that we'd be having mexican lasagna and some fruit cookie concoction for dessert. She neglected to tell me that the lady would be preparing it during the party and it wouldn't be ready until the end. I went on a 23 mile bike ride that morning and didn't eat before the party. I was STARVING. I had to stuff myself with carrots/dip and champagne punch until the food was ready.

Before you ask, yes, I bought something. Told you, I'm a sucker.

She made the lasagna in this pan. It comes with a book with all these recipes that you can make. The lasagna was super yummy, so, I bought the dang dish.

I liked this contraption. It's called a hold'n slice....kind of self explanatory. Um, you stab an onion with it and then slice it. That way your hands don't get all smelly.

I didn't buy these because I already have them. I LOVE them. It scrapes all the food and yuck off plates and pots. I get annoyed when I'm somewhere and they aren't there by the sink for me to use.

Now you know all about Pampered Chef so you don't need to attend one. Be strong people!!!

Sweet Miller!

2009-03-25T08:20:00.004-05:00

Since my office is close to Medical City, I got to visit Miller last night. Robin and I went up to the hospital for his 8pm feeding and a little snuggle time. He is super sweet and is definitely ready to go home. Robin's a pro at the diaper changing already...especially the poopy ones!

While we were there, the nurse admired Miller's "package".

She commented on it.

Seriously.

I tried to keep a straight face, but, one look at Robin and hysterical laughter erupted.

Look at this sweet face!

Who won?

2009-03-23T08:43:00.004-05:00

My beast-sitting is over! Woo Hoo! Sunday afternoon at 4:15pm, I picked up the family from the airport. They were entertained by my stories of Catcher and swore to me that his early morning routine from Thursday was not the norm. I highly disagree!

The question on your mind: Who won? I'm going to call it a draw. Yes, the beasts were ahead as of Thursday, but, I didn't murder them and finally got a good night's sleep. My family thinks that I lost, though. If it means that I NEVER have to beast-sit again, then, I'll gladly say that I lost.

I only got one more picture from the last three days with the beasts and it's Tom being attacked from Catcher. He thinks he's a crazy dog, too.

Here the other crazy part...they have a third dog! He is even more obnoxious than Catcher. His name is Rosco and he's a "Heinz 57" puppy. My sister put him in doggy obedience school for the week because she knew that there would only be two dogs when they came back if I had to watch all three....maybe even only Diezel left. How can you resist his face?

Why I don't have a dog...or live in a 2 story home

2009-03-19T08:25:00.004-05:00

So, I went to a step class yesterday morning....calves are killing me this morning.

Here is how my morning is going:

4am: Catcher decides he needs to tee tee and starts whining to go out. I get up and take him downstairs and put him in the backyard. Diezel - snoozing in his kennel.

4:30am: Catcher decides he wants back into the house and barks continuously until I get up and go bring him back upstairs. Diezel - snoozing in his kennel.

5:05am: Catcher decides he wants to go back outside and starts to BARK in his kennel. I get up and take him back downstairs and into the backyard. I also get Diezel up and take him out, too.

5:30am: Alarm goes off to get up to go to the gym.

5:40am: After the 2nd snooze, I actually get up and start getting ready to leave for the gym.

5:41am: Catcher starts barking continuously at "something" outside.

5:45am: I have to go back downstairs and put him inside for the day and he doesn't get to enjoy the outdoors because he CAN'T KEEP HIS BIG MOUTH SHUT!! Diezel - snoozing in the backyard.

5:47am: I leave for the gym to go to bootcamp.

Kill me now.

Beasts = 2

Me = 1

They think they are so cute....

2009-03-17T21:17:00.006-05:00

Not much to report. I don't think anyone scored this round. They tried to show they were cute, but, I am cold-hearted.

I've discovered the doggy treats and they keep them in line. I hope I don't run out before Sunday!

Day Two...we're even

2009-03-16T22:31:00.005-05:00

Well, I got the reinforcements that I needed. My little sister, Stephanie Michelle, came over with her aggressor to help me. We took Catcher out for a walk and he made an ass out of himself. He did not care for other dogs and about ripped my arm out of the socket trying to get to them.

My sister, the helper.

Kelly, the aggressor.

How did I win this round, you ask? Check out the pics below!

Ha ha, suckers!

Let's see what tomorrow brings....my reinforcements are gone.

Me = 1

Beasts = 1

It's me versus them....

2009-03-15T21:21:00.007-05:00

The beasts will not conquer me. I am on dog-sitting duty through next Sunday for my sister. Ugh. I'm dealing with two dogs and a muddy backyard. Double Ugh. Our first battle has ended and it wasn't pretty.

Here are the beasts:

Diezel: Pros - sweet disposition, Cons - 160 lbs, slobber, and no feelings for stuffed animals.

Catcher: Pros - None, Cons - annoying, agile, knocks over barricades, likes to nose dive into the mud.

The first battle goes to the beasts. Unfortunately, below are two causalities of the war. I guess the dogs didn't like the stuffed animals looking at them and tore their eyes out. Vicious!

Me = 0
Beasts = 1

Stay tuned for more updates. I'm hoping for reinforcements tomorrow.

Anniversary Game!

2009-03-02T08:55:00.001-06:00

It's our anniversary! Julie, Elizabeth and I have been attending one Mavs game every year since 2003. Most know the story, but, I'll give a refresher. We all worked together at THO and Elizabeth also worked on the stat crew at home games. She got Julie and me seats for the Mavs/Celtics game that year and we decided to go out after the game. Well, chaos reigned that night. There was me, running into people that I went to high school with (typical), Elizabeth, having to catch up to our drunkenness after the game so she overdid it, and Julie, trying to get Elizabeth to throw up outside her car and not in it. We had so much fun that we decided to make it an annual thing. We didn't let Elizabeth's moving to Boston last year stop us, either. We flew up there to keep the anniversary alive. That's us above at the game last year. I didn't like the picture of the three of us from my camera this year so you don't get to see it. :)

This year, we decided to attend the Mavs/Thunder game. Honestly, I had never heard of Oklahoma City Thunder. Who the heck were they? We also didn't let Julie's bronchitis slow us down, either. She got some drugs from the doctor and off we went. We had awesome seats in a suite this year! We felt so special. Thanks Gina!

After the game, Julie and I waited for Elizabeth at The Old No. 7 and witnessed some crazy people. There was the old man that kept making eyes at Julie. He wanted to dance sensually with her. There was also the weird guy that tried to put Julie's boot up his booty and also tried to put my purse down his pants. Ew.

There was also this girl in the pic below. Ladies, always pay attention to your booty or someone is going to get this picture:

After Elizabeth joined us, we went across the street to Boardroom for gossip and beer. We ended up back at Elizabeth's around 2am and were welcomed home with Doritos and Ben & Jerry's Cinnamon Bun Ice Cream (also another tradition that started last year). After watching SNL Top 10 digital shorts until 3:30am, we ended our night.

Robin and Gina came over in the morning for gossip and breakfast. Elizabeth made us a delicious spread of her special homemade casserole and cinnamon roll-ups. It was delicious!

I can't wait until next year's game, ladies!

Turks & Caicos

2009-02-25T19:00:00.000-06:00

If you've never been to the Caribbean, you are missing out. Turks & Caicos is beautiful and I recommend for everyone to visit. However, do NOT forget your bug spray. This wonderful island has a tiny mosquito problem. It was recommended to me via a pamphlet to purchase bug spray. But, my wonderful boyfriend told me "Nah, we don't need it." I am still counting, but, I have over 30 bites on my legs. He knew he was in trouble.

Here is Tom - sailing on the first day.

Anyway, back to the island. We spent most of our time on the beach. Tom went sailing one day and then the other day we went snorkeling. I have no idea how I got talked into that one....I guess technically I volunteered to go with him, but, that's neither here nor there. I ended up going. I went INTO THE WATER, people. Can you freaking believe it? We were in a glass bottom boat and we drove over the reef prior to snorkeling so I got to see what was in the water prior to diving in. It looked safe. I did pretty well, but, I had one minor freak out. I couldn't see outside my peripheral view and I started thinking for a second about a shark coming up from behind me and I had a minor panic attack. But, I pulled it together and kept swimming around. We also did some conch diving. Let me define conch diving for you: Conch, pronounced "conk", is a seafood-thingy in a shell. Like that definition? Anyway, we dove down to the bottom and picked up a bunch shells with conch to eat at a later time. Here are some photos of our snorkeling and diving:

We made a quick stop on our snorkeling tour to Leeward Island also called "Iguana Island", one of the many uninhabited islands in the Turks & Caicos. Look at this freaking iguana! It was at least five feet long!!! I may be lying about that.

My awesome diving!

Tom's diving skills

Can you tell that I am EXTREMELY excited to be out of the water?

The conch shells that our group got out of the ocean.

Tom trying the conch RIGHT OUT OF THE OCEAN...I tried it, too.

My conch salad (conch is the white stuff and the rest is pico de gallo-ish)

If you look closely, there is a dark spot in the water - it's a STING RAY!!!

I didn't get back into the water after we saw that.

Here are some other random photos:

Beautiful sunset

I do not know how to apply sunscreen, apparently.

Beautiful beaches everywhere

Me and Tom...watching the sunset and enjoying tasty beverages

Extremely clear water - we could see the ocean floor at 15 feet deep!

We went to dinner at another hotel and then went and did a little gambling. We did great the first hour and then went home losers. :(

Us - playing on the beach.

Here's the view from our hotel room. We had an ocean view - um, where is the ocean? Look way way way way way far out there.

It was a fantastic place and I can't wait to go back.

Preview.......

2009-02-23T08:04:00.000-06:00

Here are a few photos to tide you over until I can do the big post of the fabulous Turks & Caicos.

YES, you see me IN THE OCEAN with SNORKEL GEAR. Shocker!!!

Story to come.........

Happy Birthday Megan!

2009-02-13T10:09:00.001-06:00

Happy Birthday to my friend!

I love ya!

Miller Brant

2009-02-10T10:06:00.000-06:00

My girl, Robin, is having a baby boy very soon. Most everyone who reads this blog knows and is friends with her. Courtney, Meri, and I threw her a shower about 10 days ago (again, most of YOU attended). I was so busy pouring the champagne punch for everyone that I didn't get to take a lot of pictures. So, you can see all the fun photos that everyone else took here, here, here, here, and here.

For those wanting the recipe for the yummy punch, here you go:

One bottle of Champagne
One bottle of White Wine
One liter bottle of carbonated water
One frozen concentrate Pink Lemonade
One frozen concentrate Cranberry Cocktail
One frozen concentrate Limeade

You can garnish with lemons and mint....but, I was pouring it so quickly, there wasn't time.

I can't wait to meet Miller and play, play, play!

Telluride

2009-02-10T09:23:00.000-06:00

View of Telluride from the top of the Gondola.

Tom and I went to Telluride last week with 10 of his friends for a short ski trip. Unfortunately, the slopes didn't get new snow for the previous 10 days so we only skied one day. The other day we rented snowmobiles and had a great time thinking we were bad-ass. Probably the entire weekend we were thinking that - just look at some of the pictures.

Tom and I at the top of one of the lifts.

Tom showing off his snowboarding skills in a jump area.

John, Tom, and Peter at the top of the mountain.

Tom cheesin' it during the snowmobile trek.
(This is now my favorite picture of him. I think it's hilarous.)

Tom and me on a break from our bad-ass snowmobiling riding.

The night before we left - the guys.

The group of guys that went have known each other for the past 20 years and had lots of stories and making fun of one another. They are also serious in their gaming. The ones who drove up brought projectors and screens to play Ghost Re-con and other car racing games. They even set it up where they could play against each other from different condos. I admit that I played one game.....but, it was Movie Scene-it. I may have even played it twice.

It was a great trip and I'm ready to go skiing again. I definitely recommend Telluride to visit, though, bring your credit cards. We went to lunch on the first day and a bowl of chili was $18!

Boys...

2009-01-21T11:01:00.000-06:00

Where and what age do kids pick up sarcastic comments? I think my nephews are the most sarcastic kids around sometimes. But, you can't help but laugh at their comments.

Last night's example:

Colin - four years old

Colin (talking to my sister) - "Prepare for Duty!" Sits for a second and starts to giggle. "He he, I just said duty."

Robin - Get ready for this with your baby Boy!

Spelling & Grammar

2009-01-19T13:37:00.000-06:00

Let's get this out of the way first off: I know that I'm not the best speller or grammar person and terrible with comma placement. I try to be diligent with using spellcheck, but, an occasional word will slip me up. However, I sometimes wonder about people my age and younger.

I received an email recently from a young family member and was appalled at her lack of spelling skills. Punctuation? Non-existent. I had to email her back and say that I couldn't understand anything written because it was all one sentence.

One of my biggest pet peeves, besides parking garages, is shortening words in emails or text messages. I hate the new world of symbols and letters meaning words. Jeez, just type the word! g2g? lmao? Ugh! To me, that means you are too lazy to type the word out. Also, don't text someone "k". You can't even put an "o" before it? Just don't respond!

I wonder sometimes if it's just laziness. Please spellcheck or read something out loud before you send it out. Loser is not the same as Looser. To and Too mean separate things.

Am I too harsh with this one?

Lost

2009-01-14T18:19:00.001-06:00

Since Megan posted a blog about FNL, I thought that I'd post about how excited I am that Lost is back on. Most of the time I am completely confused, but, I still love that show. They kill off major characters, have a monster, time-travel, flash backwards and forwards, etc. My head hurts after each show and I am usually so baffled that I have to read online what I really watched. It's too much to comprehend! But, I am loving it!

Ode to Nissan

2008-12-11T09:07:00.000-06:00

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!

2008-11-09T16:27:00.001-06:00

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.