it's the little things...

I'm tired of winter. Come on, spring. (I know, I know...it's the last day of January and I live in Texas. I proudly accept my sissy-ness. Mostly I'm just tired of wearing socks.)

Yesterday I went back to my hometown to attend my friend's father's funeral. We've known each other forever. As was the case throughout my youth, I was the little sister. About ten years ago we became friends in our own right, not just through my brother. Because life tends to get in the way sometimes, we haven't really kept in touch the last year or so. Regardless, I went to the funeral because this person needed his friends. I went because of the Aggie football games we attended together, because of the wedding we went to where we danced along side his parents, because of the annual weekends we all gathered at his bay house to live commune-style, because of the real conversations we had quietly and alone when the guys left the room to take a break from "shootin' the shit." I went because he could bring tears to my eyes by saying "Now I know how you felt; I couldn't really understand it all these years." I went because there are some...

I have not posted in the middle of the week at all over the last two weeks. What's up with that? This week was busy with travel, what with me being in the DFW area for 4 days. Then a delayed flight yesterday. By 9:15 this morning I had my 40 hours (I "went to work" at 9). You'd think that would equate to a very productive week. Not so much. I'm in need of some office time. But not today... I'll be home all next week for that. Nothing that absolutely has to be done right now. In the personal life, however, I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed. I need a list so I can start crossing things off it. Get groceries. I have now owned this home 7 weeks and have yet to make a real trip to the grocery store. I've been surviving on other people's food and crackers (which started out as someone else's food as well). Buy mothballs. I hear this will drive the cats away. I don't know if I mentioned it before but the house came with 9 cats. All outdoor. Now, I...

I just watched that episode of Friends where Ross goes to the spray tanning booth and gets sprayed on his face 6 times . I think that's one of my all-time favorite episodes. What's your fave?

Why do so many medicines have side effects? I know I’m not the only one who has commented on this when watching commercials for the newest treatment for, say, headaches. The next-to-last blurb lists side effects and reasons to contact your physician. “This product may cause nausea, dry eyes, and insomnia. In rare instances gastrointestinal bleeding may occur. Call your doctor if your toes curl upward or hair starts sprouting from your belly button.” Really? I’d rather have a headache. When I was a teenager and trying to find the miracle cure for acne, I was offered up a medication that may cause night blindness. Hmmm. Having pimples vs. becoming blind. Even if it did help my skin I’d only be able to enjoy my appearance during daylight hours. Now, as I lay here in bed, I’m battling that disconnected feeling. I’m a little groggy, a little shaky, and am in a bit of a fog. I went to the doctor on Friday and got meds. Not wanting a repeat of my last bout with sinusitis , I told...

So yesterday I lost my voice. Not in some tragic metaphorical sense. Literally. That doesn't happen to me very often at all. In fact, I can't remember another time I wasn't able to eek out anything more audible than a whisper. Today I'm squeaking out a few words in between bouts of uncontrollable coughing. Life is fun... It's cold. I'm not going out there. I'm so Southern.

You want to know what I did this morning? I cooked breakfast. You want to know where? In my kitchen. In my house. You want to know what I used? My pan. And my toaster. And my utensils. Either this medication I'm taking to battle the sinus congestion (yet again) is making me loopy or I'm happy. See, it really is the little things... Not only because they themselves are pretty cool but because sometimes they represent years of hard work and sacrifice.

If you're interested in some good self-care information, go to Tigger's (aka StacyG) site. If you'd like to read my experience from yesterday regarding taking it too far, read below. I boarded the plane to come back home and sat in front of Self-important Guy. Here's what made me come to this conclusion: He was talking on his cell phone. Not uncommon while boarding planes. I realize people have terrible cell phone etiquette. Is there a Miss Manners book on that yet? But this guy was talking on speaker phone. It appeared that he was on some sort of conference call so you not only got to hear him talking loudly but also some of his employees. It appeared that he was high up in his company (it could have even been his company). He was traveling with a lowly employee to whom he said, "I want two pillows. Tell her to get us two pillows." And... "If they come around handing out peanuts and you don't want all of yours, I'll take them." ...

Today I'm in Oklahoma City. I got finished a bit early this afternoon so I headed to the Oklahoma City National Memorial . It was amazing. I was in high school when the bombing occurred. It, however, hit sort of close to home. One of the teachers had a sister who worked in the Murrah building but for some reason decided not to go in that day. From what I recall, she wasn't sick and hadn't planned in advance to skip work. One little decision and crisis averted. The memorial was really well done. It takes you through the whole event and then the aftermath years later. I think it makes you feel exactly what a memorial should. I was on the verge of tears the entire time. It's so hard to imagine someone committing such a horrible act. Hard to imagine being in that building, being trapped or even what the people who walked away from it must have felt. The poor people who had to wait up to 41 days to get confirmation that their loved one had died. But then it ends in hope. The...

Do you know where you were ten years ago this evening? I do. I was 19 and was home from college. It was my last night there before I had to go back to school. My brother wasn't at home that night...he had to work out of town the next day. It was just me and Mom. I can't remember what we did earlier in the evening but I know when we were about ready for bed she came in my room and we started talking. We just gabbed and gabbed about all sorts of things that I hadn't told her about the previous semester. We talked about friends and relationships and the dorm. We ended up staying up later than we intended to but eventually went to bed. That was the end of my life as I knew it... The next morning (January 9th) I woke up to banging on the front door. I didn't want to get up. I was home alone and it was early. I didn't have to get up early...so went the life of a college student. But the banging didn't stop and I got up to see who was there. I let in what...

As you should know by now (see here ), I have a tendency to have celebrity boyfriends. A few years ago it was John Mayer . I got in on that before he became super popular with his first album. I bought his second album. I not only loved his music as a whole, but loved his voice, his lyrics, his guitar skills... And he's cute and seemed, I don't know, like someone who was grounded and couldn't believe he got to the big leagues, etc. I have since moved on but still enjoyed the memories... Today, I saw this . Oh, John, I'm so disappointed in you... In other news, I'm in our great state capital this evening. I'm staying here . It's very hip. I think maybe too hip for me. Maybe too hip for me merely because I used the word "hip" to describe it. I'm surprised they let me in. Well, I am wearing corduroy... I know I should be writing about resolutions (see poll, as requested) since it's timely. When I finally get around to it it wil...

This is probably incomplete but here goes: 17. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince 16. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix 15. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire 14. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban 13. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets 12. Harry Potter and the Sourcerer's Stone 11. The 158-Pound Marriage 10. The Devil Wears Prada 9. Hank Aaron and the Hit That Changed America 8. Pretty Boy Floyd 7. Trading Up 6. High Fidelity 5. The Rescue 4. About a Boy 3. The World According to Garp 2. Girls in Pants: The Third Summer of the Sisterhood 1. The Second Summer of the Sisterhood

I remember when my best friend from college and I went on vacation to Grand Cayman to celebrate her graduating. We tried to cram in as much as we could into those few days. Let's tour everything! Let's snorkel! Let's hang with some creepy Jamaicans! Well, that last one just sort of happened... Meanwhile, there were people there who lounged by the water reading. What the hell are they doing?! You're in this beautiful place with so much to see and do and eat and you're just reading?! As I've gotten a little older I totally understand those people. There are times I long to vacation in their low-key fashion. These days it seems like vacation means getting all those things done that you don't have time to do while working a 40+ hour week. Add to that the joys of moving (into an 80-ish year old house) and the week is pretty much crammed full of things to accomplish because when the days of vacation are over it's on the road again... I did get quit...