You Gotta Have Frrrrriends!

Yeah, I'm behind. Way behind. You want a piece of me? Take a number.

So lets do our best to catch up okay? Lesse where were we...

...ah, yes! Way Back Wednesday brought to you by The Kept Woman. This week she has us dredging up past friendships. BEST friends at that...*snort*. Little girls use that honor as a bargaining tool from the get go.

"If you give me the chocolate pudding for your lunch I'll be your best friend."
"If you let me sit next to cute Jimmy as the assembly I'll be your best friend."

Eventually we grow up and appreciate that ain't NOBODY taking that chocolate pudding and cute Jimmy is a loser who peaked at high school and now drives the van for a local dry cleaners.

Here's my compendium of best buds:

Clockwise from the top. Only first names are being used to protect the embarrassed.

The first one is my high school buddy, Amanda. One night in a drunken stupor when we were 14 she told me I was her BEST friend. Yeah, it was the Bartles & James talking, but who was I to argue. As it turned out she did become one of my 3 best friends in high school and was my maid of honor at my wedding.

My friend Feliz and I at our high school graduation. She had the good sense to take off the big maroon dress, but I kept mine on for the pix.

Feliz and I once again in our 10th grade year. We went to the Carousel dance stag and were just dorky enough to take a picture together commerating the event.

I'm not in this picture, but this was my best friend in fifth grade. Tami moved to Belgium and I went to visit her one summer, but after that disasterous trip I never heard from her again. Oh, sure I've googled her and tried to find her over the years, but nada.

Ginnie, me, Amanda and Birdie, the cat. The cat died several years back and Ginnie cut me loose shortly after my wedding. I'm not sure how or why we lost touch, but we did. I spent many years sending Christmas cards to her through her parents and I still know where they live, but c'mon how long can you spend trying to pursue a friendship that someone won't reciprocate?!

Now I don't have a "best friend" per se, but I have a couple of really good friends whom I love and cherish. As corny as it sounds Papa is my bestest bud as is my mom (who's hubby is her bestest bud...as it should be). So I've given up on the dream of a school girl best friends and just love the friends I have for whatever the reason or season.

The DHW

No Time Like The Last Minute

When will I learn??

I know my mom used to complain about me waiting until the night before fill-in-the-blank to tell her I needed something. Seems some habits die hard.

I had to get my car inspected today. No big deal if it were any month other than August. You see tomorrow is September 1 and new emissions testing goes into effect. That means close to $30 for the test instead of $12. Oh, and if you don't pass we're talking some serious coin to get the damage repaired for the privledge of paying $30 again to get retested. Sweeeet. Why not wait until later you ask? Well, because with anything new there are bugs to work out and I don't have patience to wait while everyone involved with this process gets their collective shit together. Setting aside the fact the learning curve for anything new is enough to drive anyone batty, my "check engine soon" light is on which could only translate to big bucks if I wait even one more day. Yeah, I was just buying time by getting it done today, but it was a calculated risk. Let someone else be the guinea pig for the state's latest and greatest plan.

So I drop Z-boy off at school and go immediately to the testing center; do not pass go; do not collect $200. The line is already six cars deep and four lanes wide. I take my proof of insurance to the good man at the front desk and he tells me, "the wait is two hours". Well, okay. I mean I waited until the last minute, what can I do? Lucky for me I brought coupons to sort and a magazine to read, not to mention I have lots of phone calls to return. Seating is limited, but apart from that I'll make due.

I spare you the pissy-whiney details. Suffice it to say I have learned my lesson. I will not wait until the last minute to get things done. I waited over three hours and ended up squealing into the parking lot to at Z-boy's school just in the nick of time. I'm hot, I'm sweaty, I'm hungry and just generally bitchy at this point, but at least I'm not the poor slob in front of me who's car *didn't* pass at all.

Bummer.

SPF: Oys In The 'Hood

Thanks for viewing my interpretation of this week’s Stuff Portrait Friday brought to you by Kristine. For your entertainment I provide:

The eyesore of the neighborhood
A photo taken secretly (shhhhh)
The most interesting/funny sign in our area

So let’s take a look, shall we?

A photo taken secretly















I have no idea what possessed my neighbors to put up all these flamingos. Papa and I thought it was hilarious, but apparently others did not share our sentiment since the pretty pink lawn art disappeared a few weeks later. Darn! I just felt they were doing their part to “Keep Austin Weird”. It’s sort of an anthem around here.

The eyesore of the neighborhood




















It’s not a house. It’s all the fricking loose dogs. I don’t know why people think its okay to just let Fido run unrestrained. People used to think I was just bitching and complaining because I’m not a dog lover, but after using my ‘hood as the home base for morning walks it seems folks are realizing I’m not a loony as they first thought.

Or so say the voices in my head…

The most interesting/funny sign in your area:















Well, it’s not a sign in a bricks and mortar sort of way, but I think an ambulance and a fire truck in front of your child’s school is a pretty interesting sign. As it turns out there is a child that has a medical condition and it became acute so EMS was called.

Still, not a good sign when you pull up to pick up your kid and lights are a blazing.

T-t-t-t-that's all folks!

The DHW

Oooh, Oooh...I've Been Tagged!

I was tagged by the Psycho SAHM so here’s my love/hate top 10. I’m sure no real surprises here, but maybe you’ll learn something new about the mystery that is me.

Love:
1. God
2. My husband
3. My boys
4. My extended family (well, except for a few)
5. Scrapbooking (yes, it rates that high)
6. Flip flops
7. The smell of Pumpkin Pie candles
8. The color pink
9. Getting a pedicure
10. My Motherwise group


Hate:
1. Extremes in any direction (politics, religion, weather)
2. Buying a bra
3. People who don’t follow the rules
4. Letting my children grow up
5. Soaring gas prices
6. HMMs (High Maintenance Moms)
7. Having to buy something without a coupon or discount
8. When people wait until the last minute to get in the correct lane
9. My student loan
10. When I’m too tired to scrapbook!

Welllll....who can I tag? I think everyone that I actually know who blogs has been tagged and that would just be boring to do again. So I will tag anyone who is actually reading this blog even if I don't you are reading it!

Let me know you played and we'll consider it an introduction of sorts. :)

The DHW

Way Back Wednesday:Say "Cheese"

Mama Duck has given us school portraits as this week’s Way Back Wednesday assignment. As a scrapbooker I have all my school portraits in order and I’m doing my best to scrap my boy’s portraits as they come in so this assignment was loads of fun for me if you set aside the agony of reliving the clothes and the hairstyles.




Don't you love the Pocahontas look?

I wish I could regale you with some tale of when this portrait was taken, but I honestly cannot remember a thing about this event. Nothing. Maybe my braids were too tight?

Here I am in the 4th grade looking as FABULOUS as anyone could hope to in the early 80's. This was about the time my heroine was "Jo Polniaczek" from The Facts of Life. I aspired to have a hair style just like hers, the two ponytails on top of the head and one at the nape of my neck. I guess this was my formal interpretation of the do.

The outfit is what I called my "lizard dress". When a friend called me the night before this picture was taken to ask what I was going to wear I told her my wizard dress. She thought I said lizard dress and the name stuck. It was sooooo funny....okay, locational joke, I guess you had to be there.

Junior year and the perm is queen. I worked tirelessly on getting those bangs *just* right. All that youthful innocence and those bright eyes. As I reflect on this time I think, damn girl, wear your retainer or those straight teeth are going to get all F^(K#D up. And do you *know* how much orthedontia costs?! Oh and, lawdy child, get your eyebrows done.

Something Wicked This Way Comes

Okay, just an update on that little shit who was mean to my kid. I went to lunch with J-boy yesterday and took Z-boy. I met the little brat and as much as I tried to keep an open mind (no, really I did) I don't like her. She's snotty, rude, imposing and insinuating. I was very nice to her and put on my teacher hat when I talked to her, but still there's just not much love there as far as I'm concerned. Still you know what they say, hold your friends close and your enemies closer. So for now I'll just keep watching...and waiting...quietly planning....


The DHW

SPF: Random Portraits of Progress

It's Fridaythe end of the week so you know what that means...Stuff Portrait Friday! This week the good folks over at Random and Odd (read Kristine) have asked us to share:

* Something you made/built yourself
* Tools of your hobby
* Something you want to give away

As luck would have it I had just decorated several slide mounts for a scrapbooking loop I'm in and I had to post what I made. These examples are just a few extras that were easily accessibly on my desk (no small feat, let me tell you - see below). I had to make six of each set. to send to a hostess who would "swap" out all the other handmades and return them to the participants.

Mom The Crafter: Can She Scrap It? Yes, She Can!

The Mad Scrapbooker's desk. Believe it or not this is where I create my scrapbooks, cards and embellishments. In my mind clutter equals creativity.

This is the most organized spot in the room. Let's just say it's a controlled chaos. Those are some of my scrapbooks up in the top left corner of the bookshelf. I get those scrapbooks from Kami since she is my CTMH dealer.

This is the closet where I keep more of the crap I use to create. I know it's a sickness. I can't believe I'm even showing my scrapbook room. Of course there are people who can't believe I even *have* a whole room dedicated to my craft.

Getter' Gone

Here is something I've been trying to get rid of for weeks, now going on months. It's a candle that I thought I would like, but I don't. It's almost new and I know someone will like it, but I don't know who so I keep it. I like fruity or spicy scents and this one is more powdery. I keep meaning to give it my friend who is still selling candles, but I forget.

You Mamas Know What I'm Talkin' About

I have to vent. I was going to let this go, but it really bothered me. I don't want to dwell on it in front of the boy, but I gotta get it out of my brain.

Yesterday J-boy came home from school a little quiet which is out of character for him. After school it's my habit to sit and the dining room table to while the boys play in the living room. I take that time to go through the backpack and check out the gazillion papers they send home each day. It gives the boys an opening to talk to me even if it's just about nothing at all. While I was going through the piles of papers, I found a really cool card made my boy and asked him to tell me about it. He said he made it for me and Papa in school.

Then he got all teary eyed.

It seems a classmate told him it was the "worstest" card she'd ever seen. She told him that the inside of the card (where his picture was pasted) was ugly. He told me that it "hurt his heart way deep down inside". I was able to do some damage control without actually calling this MONSTER any names I couldn't take back. You know it's not the fact the little shit didn't like the card, but rather the hurtful way in which she told him so. Where does a child learn to be so mean and hateful at such a young age?

It took everything I had to NOT go hunt this girl down and pull a little Hand-That-Rocks-The-Cradle action on her malevolent ass. No, I'm NOT handling this in a mature, adult fashion. When you hurt my child all reason goes out the door and I go from zero to bitch in 60 seconds.

Tomorrow I'm going to have lunch with him so that I can check out the class, the set up and consider petty ways I can seek my revenge.

The Best Birthday EVER!

So The Kept Woman wants us to give some birthday happiness for today's Way Back Wednesday. I have to say that in general I'm not a fan of birthday parties. I think it's because I'm a behind-the-scenes kind of girl. It's the news producer in me. I also think it stems from a party gone bad when I was 8, I think.



So when my mom wanted to throw me a party for my last birthday I was reluctant. I'm glad I gave in because it was the funnest time I had and made parties in my honor fun again. My mom made enchiladas, rice, beans and all the fixin's. She also got me two cakes. The one here is a photo cake of me when I turned one. Cute idea!

That's a big birthday smile! I guess because it was a great party. Not because of the free flowing booze since there wasn't any, but because all of my family turned out for it. In fact my 34th birthday made a little family history in that my mom and dad happily attended the celebration at the same time. Dad even came to mom's house where the soiree was being held. In the last few years my parents have actually become...gasp!...friends. It's amazing to me that they are happy and their new respective mates get along as well. The whole arrangement is still a little odd for me, but I'm getting used it.

I've Been Tagged or Let's Send DHW Right Over The Edge

So the Ms. Dallas K has tagged me. Here is my assignment and I suppose I choose to accept it:

List ten songs that you are currently digging. It doesn't matter what genre they are from, whether they have words, or even if they're no good but they must be songs you're really enjoying right now. Post these instructions, the artists, and the ten songs in your blog. Then tag five other random people to see what they're listening to.

1. Better Now - Collective Soul (LOVE this one)
2. I Like To Move It - Madagascar credits song
3. Live Like You Were Dying - Tim McGraw
4. Hollaback Girl - Gwen Stefani
5. I Don't Wanna Be - Gavin DeGraw
6. Lonely No More - Rob Thomas
7. Let Me Go - 3 Doors Down
8. Fallen - Sarah MacLachlan
9. Good Is Good - Sheryl Crow
10. Why Don't You and I - Santana featuring Alex from The Calling

Okay, I tag Delaine, Beth, Dy, Leila and Amy.

Lesse who's payin' attention.

Blah, Blah, Blah

This is floating around in blogville and it seemed an easy way to fill up my Saturday morning blog commitment. So now I'm off to get my real day done since a day isn't a day without some bloggin'.

10 YEARS AGO: We had just bought our first home in South Austin. I had just graduated from college with a BA in Communication. I was working as a Public Information Specialist for the City and I handled the media contacts and community relations functions for my department. Papa worked as a Human Resource Specialist (everyone was a specialist at something back then, I do believe we even had a VBX specialist – read receptionist). We had been married for 3 years and were TTC #1 with no luck.

5 YEARS AGO: Finally had DS #1 the year before and I was a SAHM. Papa was working in financial services, which was really hard because he was gone all the time. We had been living in the house we’re in now since right before DS#1 was born.

1 YEAR AGO: Now with two boys and still at home, but working part time again. Papa changed jobs and is now working for the state (we’ll just leave it at that, most of you know what he does now). We were preparing for DS #1 to start kindergarten and DS#2 to start preschool. It was the first time in a long time I actually had a moment to myself.

Yesterday: I took my 6 year old to find out who his first grade teacher would be for the year. I went to the chiropractor to get an adjustment and my boys stayed in the playroom and did so well. It was a really proud mommy moment.

TODAY: I am blogging and reading blogs while Papa takes the boys and the dog to Bull Creek Park, or as they call it “The Dog Park”. I have a butt load of stuff to do including getting the rest of the supplies for my *gasp* first grader that I haven’t purchased so far. Oh and groceries – we’re seeing how just how long we can go without bread. Then tonight we’re having our monthly birthday get together with Papa’s side of the family. There are so friggin’ many of them we are going to a once-a-month celebration rather than individual birthdays. Yes, it sounds cold and impersonal, but when you figure a family lunch brings 22 people just with the immediate siblings, well you gotta do what you gotta do.

TOMORROW: Hopefully checking out the new scrapbook store down yonder with my latest scrapbooking friend. Oh and I have to work on some scrapbooking stuff for a swap that is due at the end of next week.

5 SNACKS I ENJOY: Chips and queso or salsa or guacamole (or hell, all three). Diet coke. Popcorn, kettle corn is my favorite. Dove chocolate.

BANDS I KNOW MOST OF THE LYRICS TO THEIR SONGS: Journey, Hall & Oats, Sarah McLachlan, Veggie Tales, Pat Benatar, White Snake, Celine Dion.

THINGS I WOULD DO WITH 100 MILLION DOLLARS: Pay off my student loans and then burn the paperwork is a glorious fire. I’d pay for both the boys’ college right now, right now or at least put the money away so they’ll never know the pain of student loans. Then I’d go to Disney World, of course. I’d buy a new car for me, Papa and some well-deserving relatives. Buy a new house (though truth be told I like the one we have now so I’d stay here until I could have My Dream House built and not worry about the time factor). I’d start a foundation for single parents who have trouble with child care because they work odd hours or simply can’t afford it in the hopes that kids wouldn't be left home alone when they didn't want to be. I give money to all kinds of kid’s organizations.

5 BAD HABITS I HAVE: Spending too much time on the computer, buying too much scrapbooking stuff, over committing myself, over eating, blowing off exercise.

5 LOCATIONS I WOULD RUN AWAY TO: Oregon, a Mexican beach, New York City, Chicago, Utah (lots of scrapbooking stores there) – oh, and no I have no desire to leave the United States, except for the aforementioned Mexico. I’ve been to Europe and seen pictures of other places, that’s enough for me.

5 THINGS I LIKE DOING: Scrapbooking, blogging, reading, baking, decorating my home.

5 BIGGEST JOYS OF THE MOMENT: I am still at home with my kids. I’m still married after all these years. I’m making good friends and building a strong support system. I have a flexible part time job that allows me to be with my kids and still make a contribution to the household (and it’s only .4 miles away – gas prices people!). I have family all around me.

5 FAMOUS PEOPLE I WOULD LIKE TO MEET: Sandra Bullock, Oprah, Elizabeth Vargas, George Lopez, Jada Pinkett-Smith

5 MOVIES I LIKE: Fools Rush In, When Harry Met Sally, 13 going on 30, Sleepless in Seattle, Ocean’s Eleven

5 TV SHOWS I LIKE: CSI, Grey's Anatomy, Law and Order, Brat Camp, Boston Legal

5 FAVORITE TOYS: My digital camera, my Quickutz, my coffee maker, I guess I should get new toys.

+

SPF: The Freeway of Love

This week's Stuff Portrait Friday has a sort of Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang theme. Kristine would like us to show her 1) my ride 2) one mile from home and 3) the reason I love where I live. All rightee!

















My ride is a big ass Suburban. It's a gas-hungry vehicle and I wouldn't be able to maintain her appetite if I had a car payment. Yep, what's that bumper sticker say? "Don't laugh, it's paid for".



































A mile away from my house to the left is a driving range. To the right is the off ramp most people take to get to Gardenridge and Target (which is 1.3 miles away from home in case you were wondering).


































































My family is why I love where I live. Maybe I would have chosen a place with a lower cost of living, but we've all been here for generations, so here we stay. I have my cousins (top picture), Papa has his siblings near (second picture), my kids get to grow up with their cousins (picture three) and I have my brother close to us(last picture).

Yeah, I love the casual lifestyle and the hike and bike trail and all the other cool things Austin has to offer, but my family is what keeps us here year after year. It's home.

Back To School - The Rest of The Story

I started this train-wreck of a thought on our TPG blog, but felt that the rest of the story needed to be moved over here so not as to create wide spread panic as to my mental health with those who only have a nodding acquaintance with our family. I am generally not this wiggy when it comes to things of this nature. Well, I am, but at usually try not to show it. Still this is my cheap therapy, so damn the torpedos. Full speed ahead.

I’m sitting here watching the clock tick down until we can go find out J-boy’s new teacher. The anticipation is killing me. I think I’m particularly skiddish because his teacher last year (whom we both LOVED) decided to follow her calling and take a job at her church. Arrrrgggghhhh! So setting aside the fact I have to do my research all over again for Z-boy next year, this year the one thing I hoped would be a familiar site is gone! Last year when we took J-boy to his Kindergarten class I saw all the kid’s from previous years come and say hi to Ms. D. She hugged them and wished them well in first grade. What a great way to start off the year! Well, who the hell are we going to go back and see? Even the principal is different! The other principal retired. Damn.

The school took out one of the pieces of play ground equipment over the summer and the play ground seems a little sparse. I hope they put something new to replace the tire swing. The play ground has always seemed a little back-asswards to me. The teacher bench is facing in the opposite direction of the kids and there's tons of shade where nobody is but the playscape is out in full on sun...in Texas...in August. Does anyone else see this as an issue?

I guess I know J-boy will be okay so I have to acknowledge my own worries. Will I make new mommy friends in his class? I was room mom last year, will they need me this year? Do I *want* to be room mom this year? Will I overcommit myself? Will I not give enough and the other mommies will think I'm a slacker? Will my child be bullied and I'll have to go in kicking ass and taking names? I am still so intimidated by all the other moms that seem to have all their "stuff" together. I constantly feel like I'm missing a page in my parent's handbook.

*sigh*

Does school anxiety EVER end??

-e

***UPDATE***

Okay, I'm doing better. Nothing like information and a strong margarita to put things back in perspective.

I'm surprised about J-boy's teacher, but not displeased. I think everything will be fine. There are only 3 kids from his Kindergarten class in his first grade class this year. I figured there would be a few more, but okay. J-boy seems pleased so I can live with whatever makes him happy.

The Great Hamper Debate

I'm stymied.

I've tried putting the dirty clothes hamper in a variety of locations in order to make most efficient use of the receptacle.

It's not working.

It's been out in the hall, conveniently located next to the boy's bathroom. The clothes stayed on the floor of each of their bedrooms or on the floor of the bathroom. My favorite variation of the floor theme is when the clothes landed IN FRONT of the hamper, but not actually making it inside the little chute. WTH??

It’s been in the garage converted into three baskets for hot, warm or cold water washed clothes. The clothes are still in the bathroom, in the bedroom and in the hall. At this point I’d even be okay if we could centralize to the hall. Then as I’m walking by one of the million times a day I do, I could take the clothes to their journey’s end in the garage. They’d be ever so close to their dream of clean.

I hate laundry.

Way Back Wednesday: Family Vacations

Looookin' good!

Okay The Kept Woman has asked for old family vacation photos. We didn't have many vacations unless you count trucking from Texas to Oregon and back three times a vacation. I don't.

So here I am at Hanauma Bay Beach Park (or so the picture says) in Hawaii. My mom won a trip to Hawaii from a Safeway sweepstakes back in 1978 and I got to go with her! I know I had fun, but I don't remember many of the details. We toured the Dole Pineapple Factory. Good times there. I also remember thinking is was so cool that the swimming pool at the hotel was on the roof and there wasn't a 13th floor.





I know it's hard to tell, but that little rectangular dot in the forefront of the picture is indeed me. We were at the sand dunes of I-no-longer-remember-where-but-I-think-in-Oregon. I don't get the appeal of sand dunes. It's sand as far as the eye can see. Woo hoo.

So there you have two vacations from my youth. Not even enough in the way of photographs to make fun of my clothes.

Meet The Girls

I changed my profile to pay homage to my beloved UT. I love this shirt because it’s a longhorn and it’s pink! I love pink! Hey, I’m the only female in a house full of testosterone, a little frill isn’t going to come close to balancing out the levels. Anyway, since I do everything Mama Duck does (hell, she’s the whole reason I starting blogging – I had to keep up with her goings on when she left my ass here in the lone star state to go off on her fun filled cheesehead adventures) I took a shot with me *in* the shirt. I’ve always been self conscious about my boobs, but MD has made big boobs chic. Now Kami has her two bits on display too!

C’mon, show us yours!

The First Step is Admitting You Have a Problem

See doesn’t it feel good to acknowledge your crazy idiosyncrasies?

Me, I’m fine. Just fine.

I don’t what the hell Kristine is talking about when she wants me to post what I obsess over. There is nothing.

I’m fine. Just fine.

Once you see the few things I managed to come with you too will see that I’m fine.

Just fine.

This week our assignments are:
□ Your Horrible Habit
□ Something you obsess over
□ Something that causes anxiety

Your Horrible Habit

** cue Chicago's 1984 anthem "Hard Habit to Break" **



It’s a fairly new addiction – blogging. I’m doing it unconsciously now. Almost obsessively.

Click. Click. Click.

I’m just roaming aimlessly from one blog to another. Clicking on profiles and peeking in on other people’s lives. It’s so voyeuristic. It’s better than the tabloids.

Something You Obsess Over

I’m terrified of a home invasion. There’s no real reason for this fear other than a few isolated incidents on the news. Still even the idea of it is enough for me to obsess over the front door.

Lock.

Deadbolt.

Latch.

Alarm.

Check it again. Then again.

Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night to check the door again. The only reason I have the dog is so that she’ll bark if something is amiss. Trouble is she’s near deaf now. Useless mutt. Papa thinks this door OCD may have something to do with this control issue I have. Maybe. Can we finish this conversation after I check the door again? And can we talk while I’m checking my blogs?

Something That Causes You Anxiety

I hate calling people on the phone. I don't even really like talking on the phone all that much, calling people just pains me. I work myself up into a full scaled tizzy to call my brother. What am I scared of? I'm afraid that if I call someone they won't recognize who I am.

Me: Hi, this is E.
Them: Who?
Me: Um, E. You know, from [fill in connection]?
Them: Hmmm, I dunno. I can't remember you.
Me: Oh, okay. Sorry to have bothered you.

Stupid? I know. Has no basis in reality. When you think about it, who doesn't have caller ID these days? It's practically clairvoyant; people know you're calling even before they pick up the phone. Fear of rejection? Sure, but who isn't? I don't know why calling people on the phone causes me such great angst, but it does.

What's The Maximum Penalty in Texas for Herbicide?

Dear Diary,

Before she left for her new adventures as The Dallas K's, Ms. Kami entrusted her beloved whachamacallit plants to me. I was given instructions and assurances these little friends practically take care of themselves. I figured, hey it's a plant, how hard can it be? I have two kids that are still alive and kicking. A green thing should be a snap. Not so much.

How will I tell her that her little lovelies (at least one of them) are no more? Do you think she'll notice that one of the plants is completely headless? I was thinking about sending it to her anonymously after claiming it had been plantnapped from the window sill. Admittedly there are still some logistics to work out in that plan.

As for me, I’m going back to taking care of three year olds. These plants are waaaay too much work.

The DHW

I'm A Dork

I wanted to be the one to turn my counter over to 100 so I opened a new browser. I'm the 100th hit!

I warned you, I'm a dork.

It's A Nice Day for a White Wedding

So Mama Duck wants some wedding bliss. I got my bridal portrait for you. You know the big one they put out near the guest book and the gift table? I wish I had done an outdoor shot, but I got married in January so the photographer was pretty adamant about a studio portrait. If I look young, I was. There are so many things I wish I could tell that 21 year old girl. Not about being married, but damn girl, you should've gone to UT! But at least you can make ammends by grooming your boys to be Longhorns.

Okay, I digress...

I got married pre-Vera Wang so poof was in and I complied. No respectable wedding dress was without a whole mess o’ bows on the butt and puffy sleeves to rival a Dynasty fashion show. I’m not sure what I was thinking with the little Jackie O. pill-box hat. It didn’t go a bit with the dress, but then neither did the Keds I wore below. Hey, I knew I’d be on my feet all day and I wasn’t going to let my dogs bark all night while I had to keep a smile on my face and a hop in my step. My only concession to the occasion was the sparkles on the Keds and the tulle shoe laces.

Because I Don't Have Enough to Bitch About

I have created a new blog. I finally got ticked enough to take pointless action on my most recent pet peeve. My list of business who use flyers to advertise has always been in my head and now I have transferred to an official - at least for me - blog. It's called Flying Rotten Tomatoes. So far it's exclusive to Austin, but if you've got a Paper Preacher in your 'hood do let us know.

To be honest, my memory isn't what it used to be and if I don't document those that have trespassed against me then I'll forget. I know, not very Christian like, but then Jesus never had a flyer for yard work left of his door.

25 More of 100 Things About Me

I started this list after Mama Duck created all 100 of her things in a new blog. I'm just not that organized or enlightened about myself because it's taken me months to get the next 25 things about me and the only new blog I've managed to create is this one and it's simply to compartmentalize my audience.

Anyway, here are some new tidbits I've discovered about myself. Maybe it will shed some light for you too.

...I still cry when I read The Velveteen Rabbit.

... My favorite game show is The Price is Right. It reminds me of my Gammy.

... My second grade teacher, Mr. Stamp, was killed in an auto-bicycle accident when I was in 4th grade.

...The best service I ever had at a restaurant was at Flores Bar & Grill in Oak Hill. The Anderson Lane location is outstanding too.

...I’m afraid of losing my mom.

...The best vacation I ever had was when we went to San Francisco right before J-boy was born. It was our last-for-awhile couple vacation.

...I order a chai vanilla latte at Starbucks. Yum! I want to try the Green Tea Frappachino.

...I wish I had gone to UT instead of St. Ed’s. I was accepted to UT, but I was too scared because it was such a big school. In the end everything turned out fine (except for those student loans, but don’t get me started on that) so I should have no regrets about it. But I do. Either way I’m glad I finished.

...I also cry at On Star commercials, but only the radio ones.

...I should read more. I really love to read.

...I’m really glad I’m married to my husband.

...I’ve been on a tour of Krispy Kreme, the Bluebell factory and the Ms. Baird’s bread factory on Airport (before it closed down).

...I want to visit New York City someday.

...I HATE it when solicitors leave paper fliers on my door or car windshield. I will NEVER buy from any business who uses that tactic (and yeah, I keep a list).

...My favorite movie is “Fools Rush In”. We watch it every time it comes on TBS. I love the scene when Matthew Perry goes to small family dinner and is mobbed by all the Mexicans. Just so you know, yeah, that IS how our family dinners look too.

...I’ve held a 3-year old child in my arms while paramedics removed a 1” metal brad from her ear canal. It was a student of mine, not my own child.

...When I was in college I wrote “A Woman’s Guide to Football” for my Technical Writing class. I got an A on the project and in the class.

...I can only wear New Balance athletic shoes. I spent years fighting this fact by purchasing Nike and damning my funky feet. When you’re a girl with wide, flat feet graced by bunions, you gotta go with what works. Oh, and I blame my dad for these feet.

...I traveled to Europe when I was 14. I went to visit a friend whose father was transferred to Belgium and we went to France, Germany and Luxemburg. It was fun, but I have no desire to return.

...I learned to make cheesecake from the book “Heartburn” by Nora Ephron. The book was later turned into a movie. Now I just buy cheesecake. The Cheesecake Factory is my favorite.

...I have two kids. Boys.

...Every Sunday morning I look for the Michael’s coupon first in the paper. I swear Papa steals it before I can get to it.

...If I were single, footloose and fancy free, I would be a news producer. I have no desire to report or be in front of the camera, but I love putting it all together and seeing the final result. Interesting people, thought-provoking work…lousy hours.

...My favorite dessert is Tres Leches Cake.

...I remember by events, songs and places, but not by years. I have to back out the memory and write down the year I think something took place.

Learn anything new?