It's like I've been dead for a week

Or maybe longer.

Yes, we've been back in Texas since Sunday night and yet I have not had the time to blog. In fact, I should be doing things like cleaning the house (or rather keeping it clean since we cleaned before we left), or doing dishes, or watching episodes of Moonlight (yes, I am addicted, we shall not speak of this anymore), or hell, making myself something to eat (thank God for frozen corn dogs).

Observations over the last week:

-Thanksgiving is fun. Even if you do have to drive 15 hours to get to family.
-Camping is fun. Especially when it's not cold and you get to see Armadillos and Wild Turkeys.
-Driving across Texas is kinda boring. But there are bright spots, like all the dead deer. And seeing very Texan animals like Emus and Alpacas.
-I think Hitman was a good movie. But then, I also like Lake Placid. In any case, I think we can all agree that it was better than The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.
-Meeting your niece for the first time is wonderful. Made even better by the fact that she didn't scream when I picked her up. That is because I really am That Good with babies. Or it may have been because she was watching football on the TV.
-Stopping every 20 miles when you're driving through Colorado because your windshield fluid has frozen in the windshield wipers and you have to rub down the windshield with snow so you can clean it off enough to drive another 20 miles.
-Thanking the nice man who sprays your windshield with Windex because he feels sorry for you. And then realizing that your sprayers have finally become de-iced.
-It sucks that the Fit isn't a 6 speed. Man, think about it, you could get like 3 mpg better on the highway.
-The Fit gets pretty good gas mileage. We averaged probably about 34. Though there was the one time we apparently got 46. But we think the gas pump gave us more than it said it did.
-Coming home to snuggly-butted cats.
-Man, you really do learn to appreciate cruise control across those Texas plains.
-Finding out that your mother-in-law is a Speedy McSpeedersons and that's why they do the Texas/Colorado drive in 13 hours.
-Doing a six mile hike in like 1.5-2 hours. Through the desert. With 1.25 liters of water. For 2 people. Oh, and it's pretty hot (like maybe 75 degrees), especially for November.
-Hiking in the dark through brush up to your waist with a 20lb backpack following a 'trail' that may have just been a low spot on the ground. And then, when you finally decide to just set up camp, realizing that you have nowhere to set up the tent except the middle of a dried creek bed. Yeah, that makes me feel safe.
-Spending time with friends you don't get to see often enough is wonderful.
-Reading the Golden Compass in preparation for the movie release is fun. I like the book. Now, will I like the movie?
-Getting a 3-month subscription to Ancestry.com from your Dad as an early Christmas Gift is sweet. Even if he does mandate that this means you and your sister have to spend all your free time working on the tree to get the most out of the subscription.
-Speaking of family trees, I love going through old photos of family. I especially like finding the funny photos--you know the ones. The ones where your parents are sitting together wearing matching sweaters they got for Christmas. Yeah. That photo was awesome. However, since I teased Bob and Elsie about it so much, I'm sure that Shawn and I will end up with matching sweaters for Christmas. I would post a photo, but I like my life and I don't want it to end prematurely by posting said photo on the interwebs for all to see.
-AND I finally started driving my Fit to work. So far, so good.

going dark

I thought I would warn everyone...I will not be posting for a while.

"But, it's National Blog Post Month!" you may say.

And indeed it is. But I'm not going to figure out how to post to the interwebs with my tiny little cell phone.

Besides, what would I post? "Texas is Flat. Colorado is Cold." Yah, that makes for a riveting blog.

I transplanted my avocado tree with the help of Ross on Friday. Hopefully Colleen can keep it alive for a week. And I should have taken a picture, but I forgot. Damn.

Tombstones and Owies

So, my wonderful sister found a website the other day. It is a website in which someone has gone to these small towns in the Ohio/Indiana area and taken pictures of the tombstones in the cemeteries. This, of course, is supposed to help you know birth and death dates of your ancestors.

It is also morbid.

So now, Dani and I want to go on a road trip in the Ohio region to find this one cemetery that apparently has half of the Fouts Family Ancestors buried there.

This. Is also morbid.

On a lighter note:
The cats have this wonderful habit of walking across the laptop keyboard when they want to go from one side of the couch to the other side of the couch. This is because they apparently want to touch Shawn as little as possible. Shawn has gotten into the habit of if a cat starts acting like they're going to go for the keyboard he just shuts the laptop and then the cats just walk over the laptop. This usually works pretty well.

Until two nights ago.

Quazi went for the keyboard as he is wont. And then Shawn closed the laptop most of the way as Quazi's paw was on the edge of the keyboard and Shawn obviously didn't want to slam the top of the laptop on his paw. (It is noted that usually when this happens, Quazi and IV will both back off of the lap top to get their paws out of the way and so Shawn can close the laptop) For whatever reason, Quazi did not back off. Instead he went and put his OTHER paw on top of the semi-closed laptop and put his weight on it. Needless to say we had a very angry cat with a very sore paw.

A one picture post:

I would post but...

I'm entirely too tired. Tomorrow I will attempt to post an update on the stocking. And I finished the "Geographer's Library". I liked it. I didn't really see the end coming, though I should have.

Will this be the week?

Will this finally be the week in which I actually drive my new car to work? Everyone (and by "everyone" I mean Bond and Beachy) have said that it is time. It is time for me to drive to work so they can all bask in the gloriousness that is my car.

But

I don't know. I still get all freaked out with other cars around me. Maybe after our roadtrip I'll feel better about it.

Also

I gotta say, it's been awesome taking the bus the last few weeks (okay, the getting up early part has sucked), and I've only driven 140 miles on the car and haven't had to fill it up once. So, that's like about 120 (or so) miles driven to the bus stop over the last 11 working days (I had Veteran's Day off). Which if you consider the norm is 440 over the same amount of time if I actually drive to work.

So

If you say that I get 34 mpg, that means I've gone through about 4 gallons (we'll round it up to 5 since I am sure as hell not getting 34 mpg since I just started driving stick). That would mean it's about 13 gallons 'normally'. So I've saved about 8 gallons of gas just by taking the bus for the last 2.5 weeks. Which translates into like $25 saved.

Interesting.

Ancestors

So, I know I already blogged about this before, but I figure I'll blog about it again because I have spent most of today researching dead people that are in some way, shape, or form related to me.

Unfortunately, today hasn't been going nearly as well as yesterday.

Yesterday I managed to find ship passenger lists for the great German Migration of the 1700's and spent half the day going through those looking for a great (to the seventh) grandfather who came over in 1754. Dani also did some research and determined that his son went on to become a captain during the American Revolution. I also found a website that you can enter a name and find out if said person was a Civil War soldier, that one helped determine that a great-great-great grandfather was a private in the 124 Illinois Infantry.

Today, however, has mostly just been dead ends--dead ends in that there's no more information for the people (probably because the name is too common and there aren't enough records to help), or I have to jump to a different continent. The simplest way to fix this is to pay for the Ancestry.com access. Which, Dani and I talked about it yesterday and we know there is no way to do a good amount of research without paying for it, but the goal is to get as much done WITHOUT paying first so we don't waste time looking at 'free' information.

And all I can say is that my side of the tree is quite a bit more fleshed out than Shawn's side. This is entirely because my Grandfather is awesome and went on a family tree kick about 10 years ago so he got most of the research out of the way.

Dear Capital One,

If you like your customers, and I'm sure you do, then I suggest the following improvements to your organization:

1. Do not send an email to the people that have recently gotten a loan from you stating "If you do not sign up for automatic payments through our website RIGHT NOW you will DIE. And there will be DOOM. And the world will come to an end and will will point our fingers and stare at you" when you have not yet sent them a letter telling them the important information needed (account number, monthly payment) to set up their online payments.
2. If you have already sent out said letter with the pertinent information, make sure that your website will allow them to set up said automatic payments as soon as they get the letter. As of right now we are unable to set up automatic payments because the website says that our loan does not exist. We, however, know it is because the system has not yet been updated with the all so important information of "these people got a loan, they should start making payments soon"

Thank you for your consideration.

Love much,
Katina

Capital One

HATE!!!! [Banging head on keyboard] NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

Now, I must leave for I need ice for all the bruising that just happened.

Updates

Okay, so people leave comments on my blog (and if you don't, you damn well better--how else am I supposed to know who reads my blog?). Anyhow, people leave comments, and occasionally they will ask questions or ask for clarification and what have you. But, I can tell you that when I post comments on other people's blogs, I normally don't go back to the comments later to see if they have indeed responded to my comments. Thus, I am going to make it easy and respond to comments left since November 1 here:

NaBloPoMo entry: Jon asked "does the Po stand for Post maybe?" And Yes, yes it does.

Planting Trees entry: Dani asked for clarification in Ross's comment of "reminds me of the waitress at Zax." On Halloween, Ross, Paul and I ate at a restaurant across the street from the office. This restaurant is "Zax" The wait staff was dressed in their Halloween finest and our waitress went as a grandmother and thus she wore glasses that were very similar to the thicker rimmed glasses in Dani's heirloom shadow box.

[Aside] Yes, Dani, please inform the paternal unit that he does indeed have both of our copies of the family tree (if I remember correctly, Grandpa made a copy for you and a copy for me, but since we were like 8 at the time, Dad said he'd hold on to them for us), ergo he needs to fill in the blanks. Also, I want to say that they are kept in the bottom drawer in the file cabinet to the right of the computer desk. I do not know why I think this. Additionally, Mom's got a letter from Grandpa Ben that gives the family tree as much as he could remember...which actually included family members born in France, Germany, and Luxembourg. I think this letter is in the same place as the family tree that grandpa made. [/Aside]

A Post NOT about TV...and the Peasants Rejoice: Jon wanted to know if the book is good. So far I like it. It does move a little slow, but that works out well because I can read a few pages here, a few pages there, and I don't get overly obsessed like I do with the fast paced books (like the Da Vinci Code). I really do like the book. Unlike Labyrinth, the Phantom of the Opera and Jane Eyre which I only finished because I had already read through 2/3 of them before I realized I thought they were boring.

Bathroom

"Tina! Get in here! I cannot believe you burned our furniture with your hair dryer!"

"I did not burn the furniture with my hair dryer."

"Yes you did! Come look!"

"That? [pointing at said 'burn mark'] That is not a burn mark, that is a knot in the wood."

"That...Yes...That's a knot in the wood that has been there ever since we installed the sink. How could you have thought that was a burn mark when clearly it is a knot? Silly Tina."

"Yes. I don't know what I could have possibly been thinking. Oh, and by the way, I'm totally blogging about this."

And the Lord Said unto thee...

"Thou shalt embarrass thy family" and it was so:

And since the post in which the embarrassment of the family commences was not about television, the peasants rejoiced. And the peasants did feast upon the lambs, and sloths, and carp, and anchovies, and breakfast cereals, and fruit bats...

The Lord also said "Thou shall babysit." And thus it shall be (come Saturday night).

working

Sorry, I'm trying to work on getting a video loaded using the Blogger utility...it's not going to well since I wrote the blog, and tried to post it, and it still is "processing" which is what it's been doing for the last 2 hours...hmm, well then, I suppose you'll just have to wait until friday for the post.

A Post NOT about TV....and the Peasants Rejoice!

Currently Reading:
And this is what I got for my birthday: (Sew your own Christmas Stocking)

And this is how far I am on it:
And then, when I'm done with this one, I get to start in on this one:

About TV...Again.

Heroes has finally gotten good. Of course, if you haven't been watching the season up til this point, then you will think the last episode was quite possibly very bad. But, as I said, to us fanboys, it's finally good.

Also, Chuck was way better last night than the week before. Though I am sad that they're getting him a new girlfriend. But as we all know, Chuck is all about the Adam Baldwin.

I'm not looking forward to the hard times of the writer's strike. Mostly because this will probably be the demise of the new shows that haven't been given a whole season. Like Journeyman and Moonlight. Also, I am surprised that Big Bang was given a full season, but as Pam says, there's been a major lack of good sitcoms the past few years so any sitcom that's decent and gets a full season order is a good thing.

However, I am looking forward to this thursday's CSI/Without a Trace cross over.

AND I drove my car on 620 today during rush hour. Go me. Also, I have become quite the little bus-taker. I've even gotten to the point where I've forgone going to the bus stop with Colleen in the morning because that bus stop is further away and it requires a bus change. Stupid transfers. Capmetro really needs to get a bus that goes to both the Northwest Park 'n Ride, Pavilion Park 'n Ride, AND just south of the river. Hell, I'd be happy if it dropped us off just north of the river.

Planting Trees

Haha, you thought I was going to talk about planting actual real live trees didn't you (reminder to self: transplant the avocado tree, lest it die in it's tiny ittybitty pot at work). No, I am talking about a metaphorical tree...a Family Tree.

That's right, I started a Family Tree on Ancestry.com. Of course I'm too cheap to pay the $13/month, so I basically enter the information I know and then pray that my family members will do the same.

Speaking of ancestors and what not, you should check out Dani's blog because she finally finished the shadow box of great-great-grandma's glasses and she's got a picture up.

Thanksgiving

My mother-in-law called yesterday to ask if we had come to a decision on whether we were coming back for Thanksgiving.

We still haven't decided. That's right, it's less than 3 weeks until Thanksgiving and we have not yet made a decision.

Mostly because I dislike flying in the first place, and I HATE going to the airport when it's super busy (gee, must have been all those times Mom had me drive to the airport to pick up Dad when he was coming in around Thanksgiving and Christmas). Plus, we have not bought plane tickets...so, lets see what current prices are for flying back shall we?
Frontier: $310 round-trip for redeye flights,
United: $370 round-trip for redeye flights,
Southwest: $360 round-trip for redeye flights.

So, because of all this, I want to drive back instead of fly. But then, that's a 16-18 hour trip (each direction) which eats up one day at least at either end...so we'd probably have to take off a couple days from work (which Shawn doesn't want to do). [Aside] Funny thing though, when I was checking prices I was thinking "psh, why would I look at prices for Thanksgiving day itself when I can just take off a day or two from work and go back home early?" Thus I looked at prices for the 20th til the 24th...So, looks like he'd have to take time off of work anyhow. [/Aside]

And, above all this, I cannot leave before 430pm on the 19th, and we must be back by 430pm on the 26th (all this so I can get my 4 hours of administrative leave for going to every PE walk/run class).

NaBloPoMo

Yes, it's National Blog month...though I cannot for the life of me, remember what the Po stands for. Damn. Anyhow, I have not signed up for said blog-o-rama, but that that does not mean that I won't attempt to blog everyday (WARNING: This is going to get VERY boring).

Things of note at 130pm on Saturday:

- I drove to the car dealership to pick up the new license plates for the car. I had to go on the highways and everything. Sadly, the license plates do not have the 666 number associated with them. Which is kinda sad...

- And I have decided I like Daemon's TV. Especially the Death Watch portion of it. I love me some counters.

- Nostalgia moment: I remember when Independence Day came out. We went to go see it. It was the same day that there was some major electrical outage over the western half of the US (from Oregon to Colorado if I remember correctly). It totally was like the Aliens were coming. Also, the counter: I downloaded some Independence Day themed screen saver (from the official 20th Century Fox website I might add) and it basically was a counter. And it counted down. And I have no idea what it counted down to. But I do remember that when it got close to completing it's count down, my dad freaked out and deleted the thing because he swore it was going to unleash some computer virus. Which now, if you think about it, he probably should have gone with because then he could have gotten himself a new computer (of course he would have had to do things like back up all the files and disconnect it from the internet before the countdown was complete). [Aside] this moment has been brought to you by Milky Way and Coke [/Aside]

The first picture of 'blue'

Almost one full week (we've got another hour to go or so) and I've only stalled it 5 times.

Who is this?

Option A) A cop
Option B) Tom Selleck from the 80's
Option C) Shawn with short hair and a mustache

Halloween and Nothing to Be

I came to the sad, sad realization this evening. I have no orange shirts. None. How the hell am I supposed to be an upside down-pumpkin if I have no orange shirts? I even went to TWO stores to look for those plastic leaf bags that form giant pumpkins. NOTHING! man...this is sucky. I guess I could dress like I did in highschool...which is basically wear really baggy clothes. And my letter jacket.

TV questionnaire

Moonlight will be canceled soon. I can feel it. Also, it does not help that the opening credits are craptacular. I think the only other credits I've seen on par with these is Raines. And look how long that show lasted.

But I digress. I have a bit of an obsession with Moonlight...alright, it's more of a guilty pleasure, but still, I watch it. I don't watch it on TV when it airs, I watch it online with limited commercial interruption. And I have come up with a questionnaire about shows:

1. Which TV vampire is the best?
a) Drusilla from Buffy
b) Spike from Buffy
c) Angel from Buffy/Angel
d) Josef from Moonlight
e) Mick from Moonlight
Answer: Honestly, I have to go with Mick. But this is mostly because I find him less sullen and sulky than Angel, and better looking than Spike. Actually, I think if Angel was always 'bad' then I would have taken this category. Also, Dru was up there because she was so awesome with the random crap: "I've named all the stars. But there is great confusion because I've named them all the same name" "Dru, sweetheart, we're inside, you can't see the stars. Besides, it's daylight." Also, Jason Dohring can't pull off Josef. He does great playing a high school bad boy. Not so great at a 400-year-old vamp.

2. Which Private Investigator would you hire?
a) Veronica Mars
b) Keith Mars
c) Mick St. John
d) Angel (I think he was a PI wasn't he? in the spinoff show?)
Answer: Obviously the answer is A. Because nothing can top V making fun of the people she's trying to help.

3. Best Crime fighting team:
a) V. Mars, Mac, Wallace, and grudgingly Piz
b) Mick and Beth
c) Buffy, Xander, Willow and Oz
d) CSI: Miami cast
e) CSI: NY cast
f) CSI: LV cast
g) Shark's team of DAs
Answer: None of the above. House and the Cottages would win (hey, I can consider MRSA and Ergot poisoning a crime syndicate can't I?) But, no, if I had to actually choose from the above grouping, I would choose the Buffy Clan because not only did they solve their given crimes with wit and aplomb, but they also had time to ace their finals.

4. Best Cross over show:
a) CSI: LV to CSI: Miami
b) CSI: Miami to CSI: NY
c) Jag to NCIS
d) Buffy to Angel
e) CSI: LV to Without a Trace
Answer: Even though it hasn't aired yet, I'm going with the CSI: Las Vegas to Without a Trace. Actually, the show I'd most like to cross over is Criminal Minds to CSI: LasVegas.

5. Best change to a vampire:
a) Moonlight (blue/gray eyes, fangs)
b) Buffy/Angel (cromagon brows and fangs)
Answer: Buffy/Angel by a landslide.

6. Best Ensemble cast:
a) Heroes
b) House
c) any of the CSIs
Answer: Heroes. Duh. Did you really think I was going to choose the red headed step child of CBS?

7. Most Surreal show:
a) Moonlight
b) Journeyman
c) Quantum Leap
d) Reaper
e) Pushing Daisies
Answer: I'm going with Pushing Daisies on this one because it's so Big Fish and ultra saturated.

8. Which is the better time travel show:
a) Journeyman
b) Quantum Leap
Answer: Quantum Leap. Ah Scott Bakula, where have you been? You know, Journeyman should have Scott Bakula guest star once...it'd be awesome if they could get the guy that played Ziggy as well.

9. Best Pet:
a) Eddie on Frasier
b) Backup on Veronica Mars
c) Digby on Pushing Daisies
d) Steve McQueen on House
Answer: There are only 4 options because I can't think of any other TV shows that have pets...weird, especially considering something like 50% of people have pets. Anyhow, I'd go with Backup. Never go anywhere without Backup. However, it seemed the writers would forget about him for about 5 episodes at a time. At least Digby's been in every epi so far of Pushing Daisies...and Eddie was in a bunch of episodes of Frasier...So the writers for those shows get special kudos for continuity. And Steve lost out because he was only on like 3 episodes of House. Though, the writers did bring him back for the season finale (House needed a rat to test a theory and he at least knew that Steve McQueen was clean as House had been taking care of him for months).

10. Best mid-20's something playing a highschool student:
a) Sarah Michelle Gellar
b) Kristen Bell
c) Jason Dohring
d) Alison Hannigan
e) Tina Majorino
Answer: Hayden Panatierre because she actually IS 18. Oh wait, she wasn't an option. Right. Uh Tina Majorino then.

11. Which show should be canceled based off the craptacularness of their opening credits?
a) Moonlight
b) Raines
c) Shark
Answer: Raines. Duh. Though, as I said, Moonlight is very similar to Raines. And Shark's opening credits remind me of 90210 for some reason. Numbers should be on this list, but they fixed their opening credits by getting rid of them. Which is good.

12. Which show has the best opening credits?
a) the Office
b) Chuck
c) CSI
d) Criminal Minds
Answer: It's a tie between Chuck and Criminal Minds. Though I think Chuck edges out ahead because of the use of the generic 'men' symbol most commonly seen on bathroom doors (or in Catch Me if You Can).

and I shall deem it "Blue"

My new car is here!!!! it's exciting, no? Unfortunately, however, it is a stick shift and I cannot drive stick. Thus I am relegated to driving around the neighborhood for about 20 minutes at a time and trying not to stall out while at stop signs.

Good news though, I've only stalled out like 3 times. And one of those times is because I took my feet off the pedals BEFORE turning off the car. And this, I know, is just a bad habit from driving automatics--I always want to make sure the car isn't going to move before I turn it off, so I take my feet off the pedals while the car is running. The other times were at stop signs--the first time the guy behind me was nice and didn't honk...though I think it was pretty obvious something was up because it was nighttime and when you pull the key out of the ignition, it will bring up the dome light, and when you start the car it turns off the dome light...and I've got another bad habit of when my car dies, I will turn it off and take the key out of the ignition (thus why my dome light turned on). The last time I stalled out was this morning and it was because I freak out that someone is going to be behind me at a stop sign so I try to start out without giving the car enough gas, thus the stall. And that lady was a dirty bitch and honked. Bitch.

I will post pictures when I'm not being a lazy butt.

The paper signing only took an hour and a half. And that included turning in the satan saturn. Sadly, we only got $500 for it because the dealership said they weren't going to sell it...actually the salesguy told it would probably be taken to Mexico. He did not elaborate past that.

The only "extra" we got was the extended warranty. And we only got that because I said "these are the things that went wrong with the Saturn in the first 5 years that I owned it: Alternator, Battery, Tensioner, Transmission, and Starter" To which, Shawn replied "yes, but the car is 12 years old and that's only what's gone wrong in the last 5 years" But still, we got the extended warranty (7 yrs 80k miles)...besides they were having a sale on the warranties...and when the Honda service guys charge $90/hour, I think it's a much better deal to just have it so they can't charge us on parts and labor because we have the warranty (the basic warranty was 3 yrs).

The only other thing that may have been nice was the window tint. But we can get that at a later date if we so desire.

Now then, I'm off to go drive around the neighborhood for another 20 minutes to get my muscle memory to remember where the clutch point is.

You know what else tastes like Almonds? Cyanide

The other day was my birthday. And everyone was super nice to me.

Then the guy showed up and dropped off the M&Ms.

Yep, some random guy dropped off a bag of M&Ms for me. And I don't have a clue as to who it was. But (and this is a big But), because I work for the guvmint, I can't eat any of them until I know who gave them to me.

Besides, they may be laced with cyanide.

Want an M&M?

Random Crap

1. So help me God, if you do not come over to my house and tell me how wonderful the kitchen looks (hint: The stove top and the fridge especially), I will cut you.

2. Why yes I've been cleaning the house for my parents impending arrival, what would ever make you think that?

3. Yesterday was "Blog about the environment day". And I didn't. HA! I'm horrible about helping the environment...but (!) I will say that I absolutely love the H2 stuff from Shaklee. The stuff is great. 2 drops in 16 oz of water makes a great glass cleaner. And when you use the microfiber cloth, you can actually SEE out of your car windows...which, sadly, is an entirely new concept to me. I have also been using the laundry stuffs they sent as well--unfortunately, I do not like the scent of the laundry detergent/dryer sheets. But I do totally dig the fact that the dryer sheets are recyclable. Yay for recycling!

food

So, Shawn's been out of town since Tuesday AM on a recruiting trip to Colorado for National Instruments. This of course means that it's just me and the cats. This also means that since there isn't anyone else around, I'll just eat when I'm hungry. I have found that I am apparently hungry very infrequently. For example, I made and ate dinner on Tuesday night. I had an apple Wednesday night (while making apple dumplings). And last night I had a serving of cooked carrots. Yep, that's it. And I haven't been hungry for the rest of the night...I find it kind of intriguing...but it does appear that I do in fact eat more fruits and vegetables when Shawn isn't around.

McKinney Falls

I think it's quite possible that Shawn and I are never meant to hike the Homestead Trail here. We have gone to the park 3 times now. And each time we couldn't go on the hike. The first time it was because it had rained a bunch earlier in the week so the fecal contamination of the river was high...and the water was high, so we couldn't cross the river to get to the trail. The second time we got to the park and just as we left the car is started to rain. Hard. We insisted on walking around for about 20 minutes before we realized that it wasn't going to stop any time soon. We then spent the next hour trying to drive home in the pouring rain. The third time (which was this last weekend), the trail was closed because of some expo going on at the Texas Parks and Wildlife main building. I don't know what it was about, but we kept hearing gunfire so it obviously didn't make us want to push our luck by crossing the river and walking on the forbidden trail. Well...maybe next time.

Things to do in Austin Part 2

So then, my parents are coming down for a visit and of course my mom said "Start planning things to do!" So, I decided that a list form is, once again, the easiest way to get my mom a list of things to do in Austin...however, this time we have to separate out the things that Shawn and I want to do and suggestions for my parents (though I think I will take off at least one of the days that they're down here).

1. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower center
2. Innerspace Caverns (Dad has decided this is a must)
3. Tour de Fat (Mom has decided this is a must)
4. Bess Bistro (I figure mom and dad would like the joint)
5. Capital Building
6. Bob Bullock Museum
7. Alamo Drafthouse (more than likely)
8. Grilling something on Shawn's grill...Mom says we have to because it's a fancy grill...
9. LBJ Ranch (something for Mom and Dad to do on their own)
10. Driftwood Winery (something for Mom and Dad to do on their own)
11. San Antonio Missions (something for Mom and Dad to do on their own)

HOA

Yes, we got another letter from the HOA...goddamn unpaid for home owners association. This time, thankfully, it wasn't about our lawn but about the north side of our house. "there is a 'greenish' tinge which may be mold or mildew" No shit. We're working on it. We have been working on it. Do you have any idea how hot it is outside and how I totally don't want to be spending an entire saturday in the heat and humidity spraying, scrubbing and washing the side of my house? The side of my house that is in the back yard mind you. Not even the part that is in the front yard. You know, if we had a 6' privacy fence I question if they even would have noticed the mold/mildew/whatever.

Actually, it just makes me wonder what else they're looking at...like are they stalking us or something? hmm, maybe I ought to start shutting the shades before changing.

College Football

I'm not a big football fan. In fact, I don't have a favorite team. I'm one of those people that likes to watch a good game and I could care less who is playing. But I went over to a friend's house yesterday and watched the KSU vs UT game. Which of course means that throughout the game they were giving updates on the other college games happening that day...and my god, it was like upset city:

CU (unranked) beat Oklahoma (#3) by 3 points off of a field goal kicked in the last few seconds of the game.

Kansas State (unranked) beat UT (#7) by 21 points.

Auburn (unranked) beat Florida U(#4) by 3 points...again off of a field goal kicked in the last few seconds of the game.

Illinois (unranked) beat Penn State (#21) 27-20.

Maryland (unranked) beat Rutgers (#10) 34-24

Georgia Tech (unranked) beat Clemson (#13) 13-3 (and Clemson's 3 points came from a field goal in the first quarter)

Florida State (unranked) beat Alabama (#22) 21-14

South Florida (#18) beat West Virginia (#5) 21-13

And as far as blowouts go, Texas Tech beat Northwestern by 68 points. And Arkansas beat North Texas by 59 points.

Fall Lineup Reviews

Chuck (NBC Mondays 7pm): A good show for the techgeek set. Now then, if only they'd get rid of the crappy action scenes. Though, I will say that I found them intentionally campy...much like a bunch of the stuff in Scrubs. So in other words, if a show KNOWS that it is campy, and embraces it, then is it really that much of a bad thing? I say no.
Status: Recording

Heroes (NBC Mondays 8pm): A decent first epi for a smash hit. It wasn't great, but it did do its job--(re)introduce you to the main characters so if you didn't watch last season, you can start this season and not really be that far behind (hell, we've saved the cheerleader, saved the world, and determined if we were on the list, plus we stopped an exploding man...but that all happened last season, and we shall never speak of it again).
Status: Recording

Journeyman (NBC Mondays 9pm): We didn't record this show (mostly because I thought it looked REALLY stoopid), but we watched it at Jamie's house. And for the first 48 minutes of the show I thought it was REALLY stoopid. But then the last 12 minutes made me want to give it another chance...so maybe we'll watch it again. Besides, it's just so darn fun to laugh at it. Basically, the synopsis is "An updated version of Quantum Leap--only the guy is always himself instead of different people."
Status: Not Recording, but will watch if it's on the boob tube.

How I Met Your Mother (CBS Mondays 7pm): Oh my holy hell this show is awesome. Also, they have brought back the Slap Bet... You know, the Slap Bet Commissioner was probably one of the best episodes last season so I'm glad to see that they are carrying through with it in a spate of continuity.
Status: Recording.

Big Bang (CBS Mondays 730pm): Very meh. The guys do well as acting like hopeless nerds who are trying to get in the hot neighbor's pants. But as I said...very meh.
Status: Recording and watching 2 more epis before decision. I bet this gets canceled though

Two and a Half Men (CBS Mondays 8pm): I thought the show needed much more Bertha and Rose. Also, it seemed that Charlie was written in a way that wasn't consistent with last season. Still, it's good for a few laughs.
Status: Recording

The Rules of Engagement (CBS Mondays 830pm): I like David Spade, I really do...so why must he be in mediocre shows? Still, good enough for me...Spade plays so well off of Oliver Hudson that it's worth watching.
Status: Recording

CSI: Miami (CBS Mondays 9pm): Oh my holy hell this has got to win the award for "editing guy had too much to drink before work...again". I swear I should time how much of the show actually is show and how much is filler. David Caruso's scenes will be considered filler. We have agreed that we will watch 2 more episodes this season and if it doesn't get better, it's cut.
Status: Recording...for now

New Amsterdam (Fox ?): ummm...I haven't seen this show on the listings...did it get canceled before it even aired or is it supposed to be a mid season show? I don't know...but I still want to watch an epi.
Status: Indeterminate

Beauty and the Geek (CW Tuesdays 7pm): I'm happy that this show was moved up an hour. That way it doesn't compete as directly with the big hits. So far so good, there's annoying geeks, there are sweet geeks, and there's a guy "beauty" and a girl "geek". This twist? Not as hot as the producers think it is. Especially since the guy beauty and one of the girl beauties hooks up...isn't that the point of the show? to get the people away from the normal types they hang out with? I'm so confused. This would have been a much better show if they just totally changed it with guy 'beauties' and girl 'geeks'.
Status: Recording

House (Fox Tuesdays 8pm): Yay for Hugh Laurie, Sean Robert Leonard and Lisa Edelstein!
Status: Recording

Back to You (Fox Wednesdays 7pm): Honestly, we never watched it. We decided that it just looked too blase'.
Status: Not Recording

Criminal Minds (CBS Wednesdays 8pm): Mandy Patinkin has left the show. The pilot for this season (which was supposed to air last season but didn't) had to have extra scenes added to set up for the Patink offing himself in the show (though that's not confirmed yet...they just IMPLIED it at the end of the pilot).
Status: Recording

CSI: NY (CBS Wednesdays 9pm): I really do like this show so much better than CSI Miami. I really, really do. This episode was well acted, and decently written...but I dislike it when I figure it out when they first introduce a character. That is only allowed to happen with Criminal Minds, CBS!
Status: Recording

Pushing Daisies (ABC Wednesdays 7pm): We didn't get to watch the pilot for this show because they put in on a different night (why the hell do networks do that? why would you air the pilot on a different night than the show is actually going to air--I mean, I understand the concept--you want a big lead in from one of your blockbusters, but really, how many of those people are actually going to clear time from their schedule to watch this show on a different night?) I've set up the MythTV to record an episode of it this week, so we'll see how it is.
Status: Indeterminate

Kitchen Nightmares (Fox Wednesdays 8pm): Ah, to hear Gordon Ramsay tell people that they are donkeys is music to my ears.
Status: Recording

Survivor China (CBS Thursdays 7pm): Sigh...see my earlier Rant about reality show contestants. Still, we'll watch for the betrayal and the stupidity. What fun is Thursday night if you can't spend it yelling at the idjits on your TV?
Status: Recording

CSI (CBS Thursdays 8pm): Ah, normal CSI, How I have missed you over the summer hiatus! Also, they have added Langham to the lineup (wee!!!).
Status: Recording

The Office (NBC Thursdays 8pm): It's the Office. Need I say more?
Status: Recording

Moonlight (CBS Friday 8pm): Hmm...This is like Buffy the Vampire Slayer (the TV show)...but worse...actually, it's more like Buffy when it was close to being canned. Yep. I give this show 6 episodes tops. This is one of those shows that's so bad you want to get smashed and watch it...just to make fun of it.
Status: Not Recording

Reality TV

At work the other day, Pam and I were talking about what idiots the people are that go on Survivor. If not for any other reason than they actually believe the production crew when they say "The game starts tomorrow. Please be aware that we will be taking a group photo later today, so wear whatever you want, but remember, we want you to look nice." That is just idiocy. Do you not instinctively know that the production team is there to screw with you and they are to be trusted as much as a politician?

As such, this is the list of stuff you should wear on the plane, on the boat, to all meetings with anyone that has anything to do with Survivor:
-Cargo pants/shorts. If you cannot decide, get the type that zip off at the knee.
-A T-shirt. You may opt for the 'fast wicking' type, but what's the point as this will be the only shirt you wear for the next 39 days.
-If you are a girl, a good sports bra.
-Underwear. Always wear underwear. Actually, if you're comfortable with wearing two layers of underwear, do so. You will be glad in the end.
-Wool socks...at the very least, socks...If you wish to forgo socks, always wear some form of "sport sandal". Crocs do not count.
-Good athletic shoes...of course, you may not want to go out and buy a brand new pair of shoes, as after this, you will never wear them again...but still, athletic shoes of some sort are a must. (This also seems to be the one item they will give you after the game has started, so you do not always have to have these on your person).
-A wool sweater...you can tie it around your shoulders or waist if need be. If you do not want to take a wool sweater, then do the same thing with some sort of lightweight jacket.

Also, for the love of God, learn how to start a fire without using aids. At the very least, learn how to start a fire using flint.

Deep Thoughts

Sorry, another Dog Rant coming up.

I recently joined a breed specific rescue group (I walk dogs boarded at the Vet clinic on Saturday mornings). One of the email posts we recently got was about 6 dogs (of a specific breed) at a shelter and "they need our help right now because they are at a kill shelter!" and I think to myself "what makes these ones more important?"

I also have heard stories of the Katrina Disaster and the breed specific rescue groups were basically told "sure, you can have these 5 whatevers, but you have to take these 3 other mutts" and a bunch of the groups thought this was unfair. And again I ask myself "what makes one breed any better than another?"

I have heard stories from the foster families of the rescue group who have had to pass off certain dogs because they didn't get along with everyone in the family (whether it's children or other dogs or the husband or whatever). And I just think "wow, this family could have spent their time fostering a different dog of a different breed with better results, but instead of saving the little mutt on doggie death row who is a really good dog and gets along with everyone he meets, they instead had to waste their time fostering a dog that ended up starting fights with the other dogs in the house and ultimately had to be put down because of wounds (from said fights). Yeah, this breed specific thing makes perfect sense."

Of course, at the same time, every time a breed specific rescue group comes and picks up a dog from a shelter, that obviously opens a kennel for a different dog, so they do help, but still, I think we need more dog rescue groups...especially groups that don't care about which breed, and just care about the personality.

Google searches that resulted in people visiting my blog

That's right...I got a sitemeter counter...which isn't all that spectacular. BUT. It does tell me when people visit my site because of a Google Search Engine hit.

So, here are the most recent search strings:
1. fat ones skinny ones
-This returned my picture of the snake I saw last year while doing creek inspections.

2. biggest sac in the wac
-This returned my transcribed e-mail conversation with Dana

3. bladder infection call in sick
-This returns my fear of doctor's offices. Also, what the hell are the Canadians doing, what type of crazy ass string of words is this? I think I'm going to Google "Cat pop-sickle stick" and see what comes back.
By the way, "Cat pop-sickle stick" returns this.

4. Zenni Optical Review
Okay, I don't think I wrote a review, just that I got glasses from them. So, here's a mini-review: I like them, they're cheap, and they're what you would expect. My only complaint was that they said they would email me when they shipped the glasses, and they never did. So, it ended up being a nice surprise when my glasses did arrive. They do give you a hard glasses case with lens cloth for each pair of glasses. So now, I have lens cloths out the wazoo. So, would I recommend them? Absolutely. I will have to remember to write an ACTUAL blog about this with pictures to facilitate this.

5. Baby Yam
-HAHAHAHA, someone in Singapore actually Googled "Baby Yam". This search apparently gives you recipes on how to make baby food yourself.

6. bedframe "two and a half men"
-At first I was like "uhhhh..." but I now figure that it's more like someone was watching the show and saw a bed frame they liked so they tried to figure out where they could get it. Also, I cannot find anywhere on that page that links to my blog. Google screwed up. How's your Algorithm now?

7. Katina Butler
- User located in Parker, Colorado...Um...yeah. Thanks Dad.

8. The Ambitious Mrs.
-The funny thing about this one is that the searcher apparently didn't bother to look in my blog links...otherwise they would have seen that I link to her blog (there was no outclick--which usually means the browser was just closed, I think). Oddly, I think this was her mom and/or dad...

9. Spreng Bling Bling
-Once again, I can't see where my page is linked (see #6)...but once again, I do link to this blog on my Links list to the right. The searcher didn't see that apparently as their out-page was a comment page...which doesn't mean they didn't see the link AFTER going to the comment page, but still, I like to pretend the interwebs isn't very bright sometimes.

le sigh

so the other day one of my coworkers asked me if two of the other workers were dating. I told the truth. I don't know. It seems no one knows. It seems they don't even know. But I digress. Anyhow, said coworker then asked if they ever WERE dating, and I told the truth, once again, in so much as "he wanted to, she didn't" and then the dreaded story of how it became known that she didn't want to. Coworker lady was wondering because the guy has been acting "down" and so she just wanted to know if there was anything major going on. And, I honestly believe that she DOES want to know because she acts like a mother to some of us and she is concerned...but then, I'm sure I'll be told that no, she's an evil, evil wench lady and I'm a biyotch for ever fraternizin' with the enemy. Blah. Besides...is it really 'ratting out' if it's something that happened 6 months ago and quite a few of the people at work already know about it? If anything, I figured it'd make bosslady more sympathetic and less likely to get angry at my coworker who I like lots and don't want him to leave because then work would be sad...besides, if he's happy, then there's less of a chance of the rest of us ending up dead.

clear as mud?

And the Peasants do Not rejoice...

Sigh. Bob was called by USAA today. They said they've decided that they weren't going to hire anyone for any of the positions he interviewed for. I think they may mean that for one of the positions, but all four? that seems a bit much to swallow without a bag of salt. Sigh.

I like Surfing

..Surfing the 'net that is. I was reading MSN's recap crap about last night's Emmy Awards. And one of their things is pictures of the stars on the red carpet. Now then, these aren't nearly as fun as the "undressed" part which I'm sure they'll do in about a week. But still...I found these a little odd...

Okay...Is her dress SUPPOSED to do that? or is this a "Gosh, I don't want to get in trouble like Janet did at the Superbowl, I better wear a sparkly bra just to be on the safe side" thing?





















I can only assume that Hayden is trying to sneak fellow "Heroes" star, James Kyson Lee (Ando), into the auditorium under her massive dress as it appears Kristin Bell (better known as Veronica Mars) has taken his place by Hiro's side. (or maybe it's just because as soon as her show went down the drain, she signed on to do a few epi's of Heroes...word is her character is similar to Mr. Bennet's--as in you don't know if she's good or bad until the end of the season). [Aside] Also, last night one of the presenters was Joe Mantegna (who?), and he was introduced as the 'star of Criminal Minds'. This rightfully freaked me out because we all know that this Joe Mantegna person is decidedly NOT on Criminal Minds. So a search on TWoP was in order and apparently Mandy Patinkin quit the show. QUIT! DAMMIT! [/Aside]





Pictures taken from MSN website...so credit goes to the AP for Paula's picture and to Wireimage.com for Hayden's.

Oh my God...

We just put a hold on a 2008 Honda Fit (Vivid Blue Sport 5-speed manual). Should be arriving the first or second week in October. Happy Birthday to Us!

Not mine, but close!

We drove it around the neighborhood by the dealership and I drove around in the bowling alley parking lot a bunch (problem of course with this is that I never got out of 2nd gear...but I guess if you can switch into one gear you can switch into them all). The salesguy was the one that suggested the parking lot--though he did concur with Shawn that if I can get the car going without stalling out, then I can drive it, but it's more that I just don't trust myself in traffic.

When we got back to the dealership we played around with the seats a bunch. I swear you could do all the configurations using just one hand if need be. Which I pointed out would be super handy if you were carrying something you didn't want to put down...like a kid (hey man, if they don't have leashes attached to them, what's to prevent them from running out into traffic?).

The shifting is very nice and very smooth, and driving it is completely different than driving Shawn's truck...like I couldn't find the point where you're stepping on the clutch and the gas and the car is resting, just about to go (handy for stopping on those hills and whatnot). But I'm sure it's because I can hear it when I'm in the truck (yay for diesels!), but I couldn't hear it in the Fit...but at the same time, the Fit has a tachometer and the truck doesn't. And I would shift faithfully when it hit 2500 rpms. Shawn was pushing it further than that...he claims I drive like a grandma. Whatever, I'll get better gas mileage, ass.

One of the nicest things about the Fit is that since it doesn't come with a bunch of options there's not a whole lot for the salesguy to try to sell you. Thus they don't seem to try. The only thing he did try to sell us on was financing, but Shawn held firm and said we were going to go through Capital One because it was a better deal. The dealer could offer financing in the 'low 6% range', but Shawn already knew he could get 5.99% from CapOne, so we told the guy we'd get our own financing.

Overall, I'm pleased with our car shopping experience and I highly recommend Al at First Texas Honda.

Also, I saw Steve Sun there...but I didn't get to talk to him. It was funny, we were just coming back from our test drive, and I noticed him standing next to my car (that is, between his car and my car) and looking around like he was looking for someone. Shawn asked if it was possible that he was looking for me since he'd look at the car, then look at all the people walking by, walk a little ways away, look at the license plate, look around at the people, rinse, repeat. I said it was possible, but I didn't know how many people at work really knew my car (which, isn't necessarily true because I know a bunch of people know what my car is--and how many green saturns with a license plate that starts with 666 can there be?). By the time we had parked the Fit and played with all the seats, though, Steve was gone.

I'm sorry

But I just think the darth vader costume is hysterical...

Also...

The neighbor's cat has disappeared. He is a long haired black and white cat (tuxedo, but with quite a bit of white and a pink nose). He meows a lot. And is de-clawed in the front. Also, he bites. We call him "Figacat." The neighbor-lady came by yesterday to ask when we last saw him...so he's obviously missing. Damn.

Nothing in particular

I watched the Britney Spears VMA performance the other night (it's almost like MTV wants people to talk about it since they put it up on their website). I swear I watched through laced fingers over my eyes and kept saying "oh, that poor girl..." But then I comfort myself by remembering that she went out later and probably flashed her lady bits to the paparazzi...which is precisely what happens when you wear a mini-skirt and no underwear.

Speaking of no underwear, the sorority intern has left (okay, she left a long time ago), and I'm sure it was a sad, sad day for all the guys I work with.

Also, I would like to warn everyone who actually did read David's blog to know that his wife isn't as mean as he makes her out to be...unless she's very Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde. Which, I guess could be the case...I mean, she did tell us that she broke her cell phone because she threw it at the wall she was so angry once. But I swear that was a one time thing. And if you met Bond, you'd know what I was talking about.

Yesterday, my supervisor informed me that one of the customers I've been working with over the last week says that I don't know what I'm doing. Said customer then went on to insult my supervisor as well. Not very smart. See if we help you next time you have a question about the models--maybe I'll just play the "but I'm a girl!!! my brain's too small! I don't understand! I need to go get a pedicure and a purse dog. L8r!" card and my supervisor will play the "I don't speak English" card. And then where will you be Mr. I-don't-have-a-brain? This is about as smart as telling your waiter that he's horrible and you're not giving him a tip. Utterly stupid.

I also went and hung out with Miss Sarah and Yam for about 2 hours. Basically I sat on my ass and talked to Miss Sarah while she actually did things like laundry and feed and change the baby. She claims that she just likes having someone to talk to who doesn't crap their pants. My response, naturally, is "how does she know I DON'T crap my pants?"

New Glasses!

Yay for new glasses! The new photo is of the glasses I got from the eye doctor. I also bought three pairs of cheapo-glasses from Zenni Optical (2 sunglasses and 1 normal). Man, I should be able to color coordinate now!

Also, I think everyone should read David's blog because it's freaking hysterical...but then, at the same time, you may have to be signed into MySpace to do it. I'm not sure.

And, Shawn and I have been invited to a birthday party for a 1-year-old...what do you get a 1-year-old? A toy that comes in a really cool box because we all know that toddlers like the boxes better than the toys?

Working for the Weekend

Sigh. My poor little car has re-commenced its slow painful death.

Yesterday Shawn and I went down to San Antonio, and as we reached I35 and 51st street (in Austin), the check engine light came back on, so Shawn exited the highway and we pulled into a gas station and turned off the car...though as Shawn says, for the last bit there we were literally coasting as the car had completely stalled out. We filled the car with gas (as we needed gas anyway) and turned it back on. It started fine (well, it did the same thing as last time where it revved the engine at a high RPM for a bit before settling back down). We pulled out on the frontage road and began to figure out where we were supposed to go to get back on to I35 southbound. We got to a stop light and the car just died. There didn't seem to be any warning, but Shawn knew it was dying right before it actually did. I quickly threw the car into park (see...this is what happens when you drive stick all the time, you forget things like 'cars must be in park BEFORE starting the car, and the car will not turn off unless you're in park'), and he restarted it before the light turned green. We didn't have any other problems on the way to San Antonio, nor on the way back. But still, it's obnoxious when your car just up and dies on you and it seems to be a completely random thing because it was fine for a month and then it goes and dies on us 2 times within 10 minutes, but then afterward it's fine again...yeah, something is probably really wrong....and the bigger problem is that neither of us wants to spend a ton of money to fix up the car because it's pretty much on its last legs anyhow with the transmission and engine. So I think Shawn wanted to check the spark plugs and fuel filter/put in some fuel injector cleaner to see if that helps any. [Update: Shawn has decided after searching the net that there is probably nothing wrong with the spark plugs...and the fuel system was completely cleaned out exactly a year ago, so he's decided that it just means we gotta get a new car]

You may ask why it was that we were so gung-ho to get down to San Antonio. And the answer would be that we had to get down there because Shawn's parents were in town for an interview (okay, Bob was really the one down in SA for the interview, Elsie was just along for the ride). Because of the car problems, and the fact that San Antonio is like 90 miles away, we got there at about 1 pm. We then went with the 'rents to go look at model homes (as there's a very good chance that they will be moving down here). The funniest part was listening to Elsie talk to the sales people (as we went to 'new' subdivisions)--at one of them she said that she and Bob were currently living in a Victorian house built in the 80's. Shawn and I are pretty sure that the saleslady thought they were talking about the 1880's, and this explains why she was questioning why they were only wanting to look at the model houses in the $150K range. We also went to Del Webb's Hill Country Retreat ('The Llano' is pictured to the left) which is a community for "people 55 or better." The salesman was very nice, but it's obvious he is a salesman. The houses were very nice...as in, I wouldn't mind living in one. Of course, they come with a price attached--as in the mid-range houses are about $225K and of course there's the $100 a month in home owner's fees to maintain the entrance to the community, and use of the amenity center. And the amenity center isn't even open yet, nor are there plans to put in a golf course. Plus, you don't get a lot of options with the houses, basically, what you see is what you get, so if you get the mid-range house, you get Corian Countertops, but you can't upgrade to granite. Also, Elsie is very concerned (and I'm sure Bob is too) about having mature trees in their yard (either front or back)...of course, I would figure that if you wanted mature trees, you wouldn't be looking at a new subdivision...even if Texas developers are gung-ho about leaving live oak trees in the ground if they can. Also, it seems that they are looking for something in a cul-de-sac with a green belt behind (very similar to their current house)...But it's quickly becoming "Beggars can't be Choosers" I would think.

I went to a party on Friday night at the Ambitious Mrs. father-in-law's house. That was fun, I got to meet the newest member of their family, plus I got to hang out with the Venezuelan and Ma-Belle, and Miss Sarah and Yam...ah, babies are so much fun when they aren't your own. :) (the picture above is of Miss Sarah and the Ambitious Mrs. taking pictures of their respective children and the child of one of Sarah's co-workers.)

Ummm....Holy Crap!

Hey all.

1. Went on the National Weather Service Tour today. That was fun. I learned that the Texas NWS is fully utilizing CoCoRaHS. Which, is only funny because my Grandpa sent me an email about a year ago asking if my division utilized any of the information from CoCoRaHS and it was the first time I had ever even heard of it. So yeah, my Grandpa rules! (I looked at the website...Troy Kimmel is the overall coordinator, and Bob Rose is the specific coordinator for Travis and Williamson County...Okay, I realize that these names mean NOTHING to you if you're not a weather nerd (or FEWS person) in the Austin area)

2. Also, it is my grandparents 51st wedding anniversary today. Happy Anniversary!

3. Father-in-law Bob snagged an interview with some company. Congratulations!

4. That company is in San Antonio.

5. They're flying Bob and Elsie down for Bob to interview next Friday (sept 7th). They (the company) are also hiring a real estate agent to meet with Bob and Elsie to show them the neighborhoods in the area and answer their housing questions. This seems very...optimistic...on the company's part. And expensive. If only because I must assume they are doing this for all of their out-of-town interviewees.

Because it pissed her off so much...

This is the only type of sports article that I read: Top 25 College Mascots

Naturally I sent this article to my CSU alum coworker...

Dana,
I noticed that Ralphie (CU) made the list...as did Bevo (UT), Reveille (A&M), and the Masked Raider (Texas Tech)...but nowhere on this list did I see CAM (CSU)...

Katina,
RALPHIE IS A GIRL.
Cam the Ram - Biggest Sac in the WAC. More man than your muffalo will ever be.
Article: http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_6744811
"She's a popular girl."

Well...Considering that CSU isn't even in the WAC...

Was up until 1997-1998 season.

I thought about bringing up the fact that their current mascot is a breed of sheep used to make pretty sweaters for the ladies, but I decided I didn't want to send Dana over the edge...

Voice Mails

From my friend and coworker, Colleen:

"Ms. Butler, this is Colleen Kirk with Watershed Engineering calling in regards to a model confirmation request I placed earlier. It is already past the... 24 minute mark in which, I believe, is the standard turn around for these types of requests. As mentioned earlier, I need this information for my review. Please call me back at extension XXXX with details of which model was provided to the consultant. Thank you."

My voice mail back:

"Ms. Kirk, this is Katina Butler from the Watershed Engineering Division returning your phone call. I would like to inform you that I spoke with Ms. Renfro about your earlier request and she concurs that you should tell the consultant to utilize the latest and greatest model for the project of interest. I would have returned your phone call earlier; however, the meeting Ms. Renfro and I were involved with went until 5:30. Please accept my apologies on my late reply. If you have any further questions, or require any more assistance, please let either Ms. Renfro or me know. Thanks, and have a nice day."

Now then, I don't think Colleen knows, but it is quite common for Mr. Kosut and Mr. Janek to leave each other voice mails in the same uber-formal fashion... But I believe the scary part is the fact that two mid-20-year-old girls are acting in the same manner as two mid-50-year-old men... Man...23 years from now Colleen and I are going to OWN THE DIVISION!

Fat March

So we started watching this show because nothing else is on Monday nights right now (okay, there are repeats of Heroes...but why watch all of them again when I've already watched them the first time, and then there was the time I watched them online, and then after that I'd watch them with the cast commentary, so...unless you're showing me something new, forget it.).

Anyhoo...Fat March. Right. The whole premise is that they take people that are overweight and literally march them 500+ miles. Every time someone drops out by choice (or gets kicked out by vote) each person that finishes the march gets $10,000 less in prize money. Ergo, it's generally thought to be better to try to keep people in than it is to kick them out (because you get more money in the end, duh.)

However, I've decided that ABC needs to stir up some unnecessary drama by making these people walk insane distances on 'vote out' days. For example, tonight, the episode had the people walk 18 miles in 5 hours (average of 3 miles an hour...keep in mind the average walking speed is 2.5 mph). It's 95 degrees outside, humidity is probably at about 80%, and these people are overweight. Just today 2 of the girls got within spitting distance of 200 lbs. But they're also only like 5'4". Yes, this just sounds like a death waiting to happen. And they've apparently got some rule about an ambulance appearance for each episode (what is this? let's prove how nice paramedics are?). On top of the insane pace they set, they also have a rule that at the end of the vote out legs, the entire team has to make up the amount to distance the loser lost by, i.e. if the person that is the furthest back still has 5 miles to go to the finish line when time is called, the entire team has to walk the 5 miles the next day, unless the vote the person out...So, seems to me that ABC is trying to get away with not paying any prize money...

6 degrees

So, I don't know how, but I started thinking of John Cleese's "Rhubarb Tart Song". Which, by the way, I haven't ever actually heard until tonight when I Googled it. But yet, I somehow knew of the whole "A rhubarb what? A rhubarb tart! Jean-Paul who? Jean-Paul Sartre!"

Then, that made me think of Jean-Paul Sartre (obviously).

Which leads to his story/play "No Exit" which is basically famous for saying "Hell is other people" (freak-ass loner)

But I was supposed to bring in the book for someone at work to read. Now who was it...?

Oh yeah! the CHEESE DOCUMENTARY FOR MATT!

And this is how I ultimately remembered that I need to take that DVD to Matt tomorrow.

Glasses

I had an eye appointment today. Yep...the actual appointment took maybe 30-45 minutes (including the initial waiting when I first got there). The choosing of the new frames took over an hour. Yay for indecisiveness! And this was even with the optician guy helping me find glasses--at least we had narrowed the selection down to 2 styles and 4 colors in about the first 20 minutes...but it seriously was a draw when it came down to choosing between the 2 styles. Ultimately I decided to go with the style that was least like my current glasses. And both of us lamented the fact that they didn't have any glasses in the style that I liked in tortoiseshell because that would have been awesome.

The best part, of course, is the part where I didn't even NEED new glasses. The doctor told me that my prescription changed slightly, but if I didn't want new glasses, I didn't need to get them. And if I did opt to get new glasses, I should keep my current pair as backups.

Of course, you may ask "how could they possibly know your prescription when the last eye doctor you saw was in Colorado?" The answer, of course, is that they have this nifty little machine that tells you the prescription value of the glasses you're currently wearing.

Also, I found out that if I didn't have Astigmatisms in my eyes, I wouldn't even need glasses.

My current prescription if anyone is wondering:
OD 0, -1.25, x092
OS 0, -1.25, x072

OD means right eye, OS means left eye. the first number is your nearsighted/farsightedness (+ is farsighted, - is nearsighted). The second value is your astigmatism value. The third value is the axis of the astigmatism (this ranges from 0 to 180)

Now then, my new glasses should be ready by September 11. Then, there will be pictures!

Booooooring

So, I lead a very uneventful and boring life. And yet. I insist upon blogging about it...

The other day I told Shawn we were starting to look dumpy (please keep in mind that this is only an assessment from when we first started dating...it's the whole "Hey, I got you, now I have to stop working so hard to look hot").

He has taken this to mean that we both need to do daily push-ups, or pull-ups if we're out walking in the greenbelt (which, SUCK. I've got little chicken arms for a reason! Hel-lo!).

He has also taken this to mean no homemade chocolate chip cookies.

At all.

Of course, this isn't that much of a problem for me, as I dislike my chocolate chip cookies. However, the problem is that I LOVE the dough...and this is the main reason I make the chocolate chip cookies. FOR THE DELICIOUS, DELICIOUS DOUGH. And I hardly eat enough dough to equal more than 2 (or 6) actual cookies. But, of course, since he will horde away all the cookies and eat them all, it means I can't make the cookies.

But man, you shoulda seen his freak out when I suggested I make the cookies and then take them all to work.

Don't worry

I'm not dead. Yet. I've just been busy this week with rain and whatnot. Yep, I'm on call. Yay for Tropical Depression Erin! and next week it's going to be "Yay for Hurricane Dean!"

Anyhow, I've also be searching the interwebs for car ideas. So far: The Mini and the Honda Fit. And possibly the diesel versions of Volkswagen cars. As you can tell, our number one priority (or as John from work would say, "poority") is Gas Mileage. Followed quickly by Not Hybrid. I'd be fine with getting a hybrid, but the fact that you have to get a new battery cell in 8-10 years at a cost of $5000 (which is currently more than both of our cars...COMBINED) makes Shawn want to get something else that will (hopefully) last more than 8 years.

I spent this evening putting together the new cat post. I bought a cat tree from Drs. Foster and Smith for the cats because it's got all three types of scratching post on it (wood, carpet, sisal). So far IV really likes it and has claimed it as hers...which basically means she growls at Quazi any time he gets near it. And she's sleeping in 'her' cradle right now.

okay, I bet the scetti's ready...later. and pray that hurricane dean makes landfall in a place that doesn't give us 10" of rain...

Poor Busted Ass Saturn Part II

My God, I'm surprised this car still works.

It's been what? a week? since my car was in the shop. So, of course that means something has to happen.

And thus, on Tuesday, something did.

I was driving Shawn downtown for NI week. We're toolin' along on 183 and the car starts shifting really hard (and it's an automatic). I say "Why's my car shifting so funny?" and then, immediately, almost like the car was waiting for me to say something, the "Check Engine" light comes on. I exit the highway and drive to the closest parking lot, as I pull in, the power steering goes out (And my God! I had no idea power steering was so necessary). Then all the idiot lights come on. I throw the car into park and turn it off...Shawn said I did it in such a way that it seemed like I seriously believed my car was going to explode if I didn't turn off the car. Right! Now! I let it sit for a little bit and then said "Okay, I am going to turn the key in the ignition, and everything will start up fine and we will have no further problems." And I turn the key, and we drive on to downtown without any other incidences (nor have I had any other incidences since then).

Of course, now I drive like a little old granny. And I'm looking at new cars online. And Shawn's gung-ho about getting a stick shift. Keep in mind that I DON'T DRIVE STICK SHIFT! In fact, I've driven stick a total of 3 times in my life. Once around a parking lot in Parker, and twice around our neighborhood down here. All three times were in Shawn's truck. I think I've stalled out 4 times. Of those 4 times, all 4 were this last time I drove. So, instead of getting BETTER at driving stick, I am apparently getting WORSE. And the boy still wants to get me a stick shift car.

He claims that we just have to take a Friday off, go down and get the car (he'll drive it home), and then I get to drive it all weekend, and magically, I will be a manual transmission driving pro. I don't know....what do you guys think?

I've been Blogrolled!

YAY!!!!!!!!!!!

Also. A work story: Yesterday, Todd, Colleen, and I are all in Colleen's office discussing a project that's under review. Colleen starts up the ArcMap. And it takes forever to load. And we're all just standing there like dorks, staring at the computer, waiting. And waiting. And waiting. And then "Sexy Back" comes on the radio. 2 bars in, we all spontaneously start dancing. Yep, that's right. Dancing. At work. Then of course we started laughing hysterically because what are the chances that everyone in a cubicle will start jivin' out to a song at the SAME TIME? I know!

No, I really do hate being a dork

For the 2nd time this week, I grabbed Shawn's digital SLR and went outside to take photos...and for the 2nd time this week I came back inside to download the photos only to find out that the camera didn't have the damn CF card in it. Boourns. I wish the stupid camera, instead of showing you the picture you just took (which won't be saved), would give a blue screen with the message "No CF Card" or whatever. Sigh...it's okay, practice makes perfect and so all those times I'm framing a shot and trying to make sure it's exposed correctly and what not is just practice for when it really counts. right?

I've been taking a lot of macro photos of things in the garden and yard (including the cats), so if you want to check out the pictures, I suggest taking a gander at my garden blog (link at right). The best thing is that since I'm about the only one that looks at that blog, I'm too lazy to actually really make the pictures look good via editing so they're usually minimally edited.

MyAm

pictures courtesy of Bob and Elsie:

Bob with MyAm: I call this one "Babies are Delicious"

Nathan with MyAm: I just like this photo...Plus he's wearing a Mortenson shirt. Yes, I used to be an AGC dork.

And the photo you've been waiting for:

"Eggsellent...First Mom and Dad, then the grandparents, then...THE WORLD"

7lbs, 4oz...21"...August 1, 2007...3:15am
(Nathan, correct me if I'm wrong)

Baby Projects 2

Yam's Project: A baby animal book (March 07).

Cole's Project (coworker's baby): Learn to count book (March 07)

MyAm's Project: Bear stuffed animal (me) and matching blanket (made by Shawn) (July 07)

Pictures 7-4-07

Not by me this time! Woo!

Proud Papas: Maracu with Yam and Flon with Ma-Belle on July 4th

Ma-Belle on the 4th of July. This is when Kids get cute. When they are mobile of their own volition. Plus, it helps that she smiles--This picture doesn't show the caliber of her smile, she'll scrunch her entire face up at you with this HUGE open mouth grin and then laugh maniacally.

Daniella, Me, Sonja

Update

After I posted the last post about Nathan and Christina's baby, Elsie called me back to tell me they decided to change the baby's name. They, i suppose, can change the name as frequently as they want until they write it down on the birth certificate. Anyhow...she was Amelia Rose (Elsie confirmed the spelling), but is now Mya Amelia. And dammit, I can't have 2 Yams. so I shall have to come up with a new nickname...Myaam maybe...I don't know...I'll have to think about that.