it's the little things...

This is my last (and 127th) post of the year. Less than last year. I've read 17 books and am in the middle of two more. Slightly more than last year. Created the Life List and marked 6 things off it with progress on 3 more. Obviously more than last year. Traveled 123 days for work (including sites that are blessedly in town). Slightly less than last year. Here's how the rest of the year went down (per my Christmas card insert): January —Started my training to volunteer at a local non-profit that helps children who have lost parents or siblings (and their parents). I’ve been doing this twice a month all year. February —Turned 31 with fancy birthday dinner. First Valentine’s Day with the then Boyfriend (who was sick). March —Went to Vegas with The Boyfriend (for my job and a little leisure). We saw our first Cirque show. Also, The Brother got married (without me having a nervous breakdown). April —Was in my second wedding of the year. Went to Opening Day of the Astros. May —M...

It appears that I just fled to the great white north without saying goodbye. Without letting you know when I'd be back. Without wishing you a merry Christmas. Sorry about that. So, I'm back. The Fiance and I left for DC on the 19th. We had a really good time visiting some of the memorials and museums and government buildings. It was very cold and we spent a lot of time outdoors. But that gave me a chance to wear cute winter clothes. We also visited one of my favorite people from high school which was really great (and long overdue). I wish they lived closer. Obligatory pics... Doesn't it just look cold in most of those? One nifty thing was seeing some of the preparation for the inauguration--temporary fencing, bleachers being built. Also? Love, love, love the National Cathedral. Looks so European. And while we were there we got to hear the choir practicing. When they sang "O Holy Night" I had a few tears. It's such a beautiful song and they had great vo...

I flew to Dallas this morning because I was supposed to be at one of my sites today and one tomorrow. When I got here at 8:00, I found out that my site wasn't opening until 11:00 but the winter weather warning had just been extended to 4:00. The weather (and traffic) was so bad here today that we just went ahead and postponed today's visit and I ended up working at the hotel. They're talking about frozen fog on the news. I've never even heard of such a thing. Yea for room service. Yea for not having to get out on icy roads in freezing temperatures. I've also had a chance to try to figure out our Washington DC itinerary. I'm always so last-minute with planning... If you've been, what would you suggest seeing and what wasn't worth your time?

I'm still trying to not be sick. I know people say it is just an old wives tale that the weather can make you ill, but I give you this: December 9th: high 78, low 46 10th: 46/32 with snow 11th: 56/33 12th: 62/32 13th: 71/38 (I don't believe this low but that's what the internet said.) 14th: 74/63 Balmy when we went to bed last night. When I woke up this morning at The Fiance's it was suddenly about 15 degrees cooler. When I drove home it was still balmy. Now? 50 degrees. I know I'm going to be whining about the cold when we're up north starting Friday but at least it will be predictable. Freezing. Tomorrow? Freezing. The next day? Freezing. Freezing, freezing, freezing. And snow. Where God intended it to be--above the Mason-Dixon.

But allegedly tonight The Fiance is starting a delightful fire. Literally, people; get your mind out of the gutter. It's rainy today and just above freezing. Yesterday? In the 70s. If I hadn't gotten sick before... So, quick question for the day. For those of you who have planned a wedding in the past (or I guess this could apply to any big topic like childrearing, etc.), how did you handle people who had lots of advice? People with opinions different from your own? People who say "should?" If you haven't guessed, this has come up multiple times already, and we haven't even gotten started with real planning yet. Have I mentioned it's freakin' cold outside? I'm a wussy Texan (but perhaps that's why I live in Texas).

Remember on Seinfeld ? How George's fiance, Susan, died because of licking all those wedding invitation envelopes? Let's hope my incessant Christmas card envelope licking doesn't end the same way. They'll go in the mail tomorrow, people. Woohoo ! Also, lots of shopping last Friday so hopefully I'll be ready for the holidays. And of course I have a head cold. I think I'm feeling better. Hard to tell with the medication hangover... In obligatory engagement news, I had to bail on lunch with the future MIL today because I literally had no voice. And? It took my ring finger a week to get used to the engagement ring. It now notices when it's gone. My pointer finger, however, is still feeling a little sad. It used to sport the left hand ring (for years) but now that seems to bling -y. One ring per hand. Poor, sad pointer finger. (I said I was sick. That's as good of a post as I can muster today...)

I've been officially off the market for about 3 days now. It's overwhelmingly weird. Don't get me wrong, I really couldn't be happier. Very exciting. Best year ever. But it's weird to think of what this means. And to have and be a fiance. To think about changing my name and combining households. To be able to live with the person I love. All of it. I've been wearing my mother's ring for about 2 days now. Also weird. It's beautiful and I think it looks good on my skinny little finger. I've put it on briefly in the past just to imagine what it would be like (even well before I met The Fiance) but now it fits me. It's always been Mom's ring, though, and I wonder how long it will take for me to call it mine. When people ask to see it and compliment me on it, I just respond that it was my mother's. I'm not sure why I'm compelled to say that. And I have no idea why--maybe because my mom wore this ring all day everyday--bu...

We woke up yesterday with the titles of Boyfriend/Girlfriend for the last time. It was a slow, easy start to the final day of a good long weekend. We piddled around, he setting up a wifi connection in my office and me working on Christmas cards that remain unfinished. Did some laundry. We were planning on doing a little Christmas shopping since our preparation has been condensed by a week because of our pre-holiday travel. Set out to start our errands... He had mentioned that he wanted to go to the rum distillery (first one in Texas) that's about 10 miles from here. That was our second stop. Neither one of us had been there. It was supposed to be the site of our first date but the distillery was still too new for tours back then so we had settled on lunch (and endless chatting) instead. On the way there, I reached into the glove compartment to get my GPS and there was a towel in there. Since I hadn't put it there, I asked him what it was and if I needed to be concerned about hi...

So I marked something off the Life List today...

“Thanksgiving comes to us out of the prehistoric dimness, universal to all ages and all faiths. At whatever straws we must grasp, there is always a time for gratitude and new beginnings.” --J. Robert Moskin

It was a nice, mellow weekend at The Boyfriend's place. Since I had to work in town on Friday, I just stuck around here. And since The Boyfriend has had a few rough weeks at work, I packed up stuff for dinner and grabbed a few movies so we could settle in for a relaxing evening. He had some obligations on Saturday and I had some free time for crafting. I made a fun little wreath for Christmas and got started on Christmas cards. I'm really trying to not cram everything in at the last minute this year. Seems like that's the only way I've been getting anything done lately. But I'm proud of my progress so far. I've even purchased a few gifts already. On Saturday evening we went to a Two-step/Polka dance class. While we've both country danced before (hello, we live in Texas), we've never had official lessons together. Between that class and my obsession with Dancing With the Stars , I think it would be nice to take ongoing lessons. This was just a o...

So it's been almost a week since I last wrote. Thing is, I don't have a lot of coherent things to say. Another braindump it is. There are some active little squirrels around my yard today. In other wildlife news, I had two raccoons walk across my porch while I was watching tv the other night. One just looked in at me. Freaked me out a little. Something (maybe them) have been digging in my newly weed-free (mostly) front bed. Hey, whatever. Just don't eat any new plants (if I ever get around to planting them). I am now planning on visiting one of my good high school friends when we go to DC in December. Yea! I haven't seen her or her husband since they got married in 2000. Is that right?! Crazy. Also get to meet their daughter. Even though my schedule this week has been slightly better than expected (because I rearranged some things), it's still been nuts. That said, I was very happy to get home at 9:15 last night instead of 11:30. It was only a 16-hour da...

I'm sitting here eating lunch and I ordered hot soup and iced tea in the same meal. Do you think that ever happens up north? I'm guessing no. Also? While sitting on the patio eating and drinking the above items, I'm hearing my first Christmas song of the season. Two things. 1) This is later than last year. I mean, come on, it's mid-November. Perhaps next year they'll actually wait till an appropriate time. Yeah, I don't think they will either. And 2), I'm able to sit outside comfortably and listen to Christmas music. I think there's something wrong with that, too.

Work requires me to be gone at least 8 days per month. I'm often gone much more than that. This month, however, I'm just squeaking by..you know, what with Election Day and the Thanksgiving holiday and one meeting day and a dentist appointment and fighting my increased property taxes. As it turns out, between this week and next, I'm getting in 7 of those 8 days. Sheesh. One could really use a break that weekend in between. Not me. I'm going to camp. Not let's-pitch-a-tent camp. (Praise tiny baby Jesus; it's going to be freakin' cold this weekend!) We're staying in cabins, and it's for my volunteer gig. The kids get to do all sorts of fun activities this weekend. Hopefully it will be a good time for everyone and everything will run smoothly. I'll get back on Sunday and will head to Corpus on Monday, Lake Charles on Tuesday, and Albuquerque on Wednesday before I get a day at home. I think I'm going to need a nap.

This year, we're going up north for Christmas. Back to the lakehouse . But before we head up there, The Boyfriend and I are going here for a few days: (Photo courtesy of San Francisco Sentinel .) Too bad I won't be able to say hi to Obama. But maybe W's dog can bite me.

I was actually out of town on Friday so my weekend got started a little later than usual. I made it home in time to veg in front of the tv and catch up on the week's shows and a few home improvement programs. Saturday morning I woke up early and did a little work and then worked in the yard for awhile. I decided I really needed to pot a few pansies so I made a quick Home Depot run. The porch looks a bit more seasonal now. And I'm knocking out those weeds. I tell ya, I'm motivated this season. This place is going to look good inside and out. Visited briefly with The Brother and SIL. Found out that one of the SIL's friends has breast cancer. At 30. Sheesh. I sincerely hope things work out for her. Then a quick trip to the scrapbooking store for paper for a project I wanted to try. While I was there I became a little freaked out about the relative nearness of Christmas. And I had zero Christmas card ideas. I've since gotten a little something in my head. I'm again ...

I'd like to refer you to Pigs . That's what I'm talkin' about.

I was excited yesterday. Excited to vote. Excited to see how things would turn out. Don't get me wrong. I know the color of this state, and I know a lot of people are probably angry or sad or disappointed or whatever this morning. But what's done is done. Move on. How I see it, this is a pretty interesting time for our country. Obviously things haven't been going all that well. The economy. The war. The attitude other countries have towards us. It hasn't felt like things were moving in a positive direction and regardless of your party affiliation, something needs to change. I think there's no arguing that last night we got change. What makes it exciting to me is that so many people got involved in this election. So many people felt connected to one of the sides. They donated money. They volunteered their time. They did something. And ultimately, it looks like over 131 million of them voted. It will be interesting to see what happens from here. To see what policy ge...

And there wasn't even a line!

Since I had a Halloween party this year and actually made my house look a little scary, I had intentions of taking a picture of the creepy front porch to post on Friday. You know, wishing you a happy Halloween. But I didn't. And then the rest of the weekend came along and I didn't feel all that productive but I did take down the decorations. Without taking pictures. So, um, yeah... The party was fun. I like it when adults dress up and almost everyone did. And my favorite thing about being Pippi Longstocking was that in the pictures it just looks like my head is constantly in motion because, really, who has hair that sticks out when you're still? Also at the party I got to meet a very cute 4-month-old Boxer puppy who could be my puppy if I wanted him. Who doesn't want a cute Boxer puppy? Who, rationally, shouldn't take one? Someone who travels out of town every week, who also volunteers, who lives alone, who has a potential puppy support system (except that...

Or maybe two weeks. Then maybe I wouldn't have been MIA for that first week. My last two posts were entertaining to me. Were they enough to constitute an entire post? Probably not. You want more? Today I overheard someone say, "I'm not really much of a reader." I do not understand. That's like speaking an entirely different language to me. Also, as I was walking back from the liquor store to get lunch (not liquid lunch, an actual salad...oddly the freshest produce around and it's 1.2 miles roundtrip), I passed some purple lantana. About 30 butterflies flew up and were all around me. I smiled and giggled. Do you see? You could have totally read about these things via flicker. But I still won't break down and get it. (And not just because Patois made it less cool.)

"Terrorism is what made America." What she actually said: "Volunteerism is what made America." I'm a little eavesdropper this week. And sometimes even part of a word can make a world of difference. Hey, at least I'm not listening to conversations people are having with the voices in their heads today. You can't wait for tomorrow's installment, can you? _______ Ok, sorry. One more for today. Leaving a voicemail, "Hi, this is BLAH. You were scheduled for an appointment at 10:00 today for a memory assessment. If you'd like to reschedule..." Heehee.

Overheard from a schizophrenic patient today: "Yeah, I was just going to be homeless. I decided that I'd do it for, like, a year. I would live in a car. That way, after a year, I'd have $5,000." Also? "Thanks for the soda. They don't serve them at the hospital. But you can get some caffeine." There are multiple things in those brief sentences that make me ridiculously grateful. And puts some things in perspective.

I marked off another item on the Life List. This time it was illegally setting foot on the grass at Minute Maid Park. They tell you not to but I sneakily stepped right on the edge. I didn't make it all the way to the warning track just to wuss out. The Boyfriend and I went on the twilight tour on Friday night. We saw some fun places up close and received some little giveaways (hats, posters, decks of cards, Biggio pins). And I won a Milo Hamilton bobblehead for some somewhat educated guessing. It was fun, and I'd recommend going. Oh, and if anyone has some suite tickets they want to give me, I'll take 'em.

I'm FINALLY done with the stair project! Sure it means that I'll have to do some work work this evening but it's so worth it! Maybe you need a refresher on what it looked like before. (Not represented in the before? The lace curtains. I pulled those down as soon as I moved in and now there are 2" wide faux wood blinds.) I know some people liked the navy but it didn't go with my scheme and it was a little oppressive. And come on...gold crown molding?! That horrible light fixture? Well, The Brother changed out that light fixture not long after I moved in. The rest? I just resigned myself to living with since who in their right mind wants to paint in the stairs? But the SIL's parents gave us a joint gift of one of those fancy ladders that you can pretty much configure any way you'd like and, thus, the project became possible. Scary as a mo fo? That, too. But here's the after! The walls are a beige-y grey and the ceiling is the same blue-green color as...

I have been super productive in several different areas over the last week or so. I confess. I'm pretty productive normally (except for work sometimes) but have been in the zone lately. Today? Not so much. I don't feel like doing anything. Not work. Not working on indoor projects. Not working on outdoor projects. Nothing. But I have a feeling I'm going to force myself to do at least a little painting of the stairwell trim this evening. This project has done some serious lingering and I'm about ready for it to be complete. What I'm really ready for is the hanging of the stuff on the walls. I've lived here almost two years (What?! How can that be right?!) and nothing has ever hung on those walls because they were just too ugly. Now I have this fabulous set of framed black and white photography (all but one were taken by yours truly) and all are in black or white frames. They're going to go up the stairs at the same angle as the chair railing. T...

The mallow's last hurrah before winter. Too bad Ike blew off most of its leaves. A new way to procrastinate. Spiderwebs I spun for Halloween! The Boyfriend and me, in scary Halloween form. These guys crack me up. The Boyfriend's Pumpkin Ale.

Things have been really busy lately. And when I say "lately" I mean for, oh, the past 3 years or so. There's a lot of work to catch up on when you were only back from vacation for 7 working days before missing another 7 because of a natural disaster. I missed the presidential programming last night because I was flying back home and just wanted to get to bed as quickly as possible. As I was rushing out of the airport, however, I heard Obama say this: I know that I wouldn't be standing here if it weren't for the fact that this country gave me opportunity. I came from very modest means. I had a single mom and my grandparents raised me and it was because of the help of scholarships and my grandmother scrimping on things that she might have wanted to purchase and my mom, at one point, getting food stamps in order for us to put food on the table. Despite all that, I was able to go to the best schools on earth and I was able to succeed in a way that I could not have suc...

I would just like to point out that over there--in the goal section--I've surpassed it. Even with a natural disaster and an entire week of working at The Brother's house. Surpassed it. I also realize it wasn't a lofty goal but the few months prior taught me that my goals were so lofty I'd never meet them. Baby step, people. So I'm rewarding myself with a new pair of running shoes. The new shoes have nothing to do with the fact that the old ones spent a week walking around on things contaminated by the poo water. (And wouldn't you know it? Now that I'm looking for new shoes, I can't find any I like.)

I wasn't going to post this on here. Trying to keep it a surprise. But then I thought, what if they don't win? Could they still read the nice things people are saying? Could they see how many folks took the time to vote for them? So if you haven't already gotten an e-mail from me (or from someone who knows me), consider yourself spammed. Go here . Vote. Doesn't matter if your a Republican or a Democrat. Thank you.

Over the last two weeks I've had tons of thoughts that should have been written here. I just haven't had the right combination of time and internet access and energy to get it down. So this should be some brain dumping. Using bullets means I don't need any kind of flow, right? When evacuating from a hurricane where there's a real possibility someone you are close to will have damage occur to their home, load up on bug spray, trash bags, rubber gloves, masks, bleach. Remember you may not have power. For a long time. Even if it's hot outside, the people you stay with may keep the house a little cooler than you'd like. Pack some seemingly inappropriate cool weather gear. And bring your pillow. If your family photos are in a flood (and you, like millions of others, haven't backed them up in some electronic form), get them into a freezer. I know, I know...who has power? Someone out-of-town. Apparently this stops the mold process and you can figure out the rest up...

I'd just like to say that for the first time since the evening of September 12th, I have power. That is all. If you need me, I'll be in my house with all lights and fans on, radio and tv blaring, staring at my open (yet empty) refrigerator.

I feel like I should be posting something. Anything. Like maybe how things are going. Or that I probably won't have electricity until late this week at the earliest. Or how disasters are worse when they happen in your town. Or the things we've thought of doing differently next time around. Or how I have a ton of emotion just below the surface. But I'm just spent. And I'm in California for work so I really should be doing that. But I did, thankfully, finally have some good sleep last night. Did include a dream about my old apartment with all the destruction that really occurred to it. My actual apartment was missing an entire wall. Did I mention you can't get renter's insurance there?

The computer tells me it's Thursday. I can't really argue with that. Things have been a blur since the storm came in. We finally got into Matthew's house and it had over four feet of water in it. You know what's worse? I know, you're thinking, "What could be worse?" The sewage treatment plant in their town sustained damage and it was poo water. When we got there, all the water had drained. (You know, except from storage boxes that contained childhood photographs and bowls in the kitchen and books in the library and clothes hanging on even the high racks and carpet and and and...) I think you can check out my SIL's blog (NDH over there on the side) for a few pics. Since then, we've drug every last item out of the house, town out all the carpet and most of the tile, found a contractor (thank you, neighbors), and had the contractors rip out some drywall and kitchen cabinets. There's been a lot of progress physically and even a little emot...

All our people are fine. My house is good. The Brother's in-law's even have power restored (thus the internet access). The Brother has yet to be able to get a visual on his place, however. It's very frustrating. Somehow even if things are bad, you'd just like to know how bad. So send the good thoughts to his place. I'll update when possible. Lots of power outages around here.

Just sitting here at The Boyfriend's waiting for this all to be over. Probably won't be for another 16 hours or so. It's just starting to get windy up here. Nothing terrible. I wish the same could be said for the island and the area by the bay. Don't get me wrong. I want us, our persons, to make it through safely. But it's making me insane to just sit and wait to see how bad things are at home. And with the situation with the storm surge, we may not be able to make it down there until late tomorrow or maybe even Sunday. That will make me insane. Please let my house be ok. Please let all those irreplaceables be fine.

So not going out of town for work. Going to be making frantic last-minute decisions instead... (depressing map courtesy of http://www.nhc.noaa.gov ) Update (~8am, 9/11) : The Brother, SIL and I will be under mandatory evacuation as of noon today. We're cleaning up the yard, packing up our stuff and getting the heck out of here. Not sure where yet. I'll head to The Boyfriend's and go from there. Good thoughts our way would be super. Update 2 (5:45pm, 9/11) : Both of our houses are boarded up. We've taken only the most important items--insurance papers, jewelry, journals, photos, some clothes. Did the best we could to prepare. How do you really prepare for the possibility of 100 mph winds and a 15, maybe 18 ft storm surge? And the most recent track is putting it in even closer to us. Blech. I'm at The Boyfriend's, waiting for him to get home for work. Then we'll figure out the rest. The Brother and SIL are on their way to the Dallas area. I repeat, this is su...

Last week after we got back from the long weekend I was very unmotivated. It took everything I had to get real work done those first few days. I don't know what changed after that, but I suddenly was in the zone. On Wednesday I went to my lady doctor for my annual poke and prod. I finally found someone I like, two years after being abandoned by my last OBGYN. This one seems good and actually listened to me when I complained about my crazy bad monthly headaches. We're switching things up and we'll see if that works. Praise tiny baby Jesus. I've also made long-overdue appointments for the eye doctor and to get my hair cut. The Boyfriend (mostly) and I got yardwork done. I finished one art project and threw in another little one just for fun. We finally took in the mounds of recycling. I cleaned up the junk sunroom. We had folks over for dinner. There are actually some groceries in the kitchen. I've been to the gym multiple times this month. My house is...

While we were on vacation we had to keep an eye on the impending hurricane that was going to make landfall about the time we were getting back home. Turned out that it headed elsewhere. Thank goodness. Now it's the beginning of a new week and there's yet another storm allegedly headed right for us. That would be making landfall at about the time I'm getting back home from a work thing. We all know what we're getting into when we live on the Gulf Coast. Hurricanes are part of it. Every place has their potential for natural disaster. This doesn't keep us from getting frustrated over the media coverage. Or wishing the storm would head someplace else. Sometimes I feel bad about effectively wishing ill on our neighboring towns and states but then I bet they do the same to us. So it goes... Let's just hope this one turns like the others. Sure would be more convenient for me. :o)

The Boyfriend and I planned a long weekend in west Texas over Labor Day. Why west Texas you ask? I'm not quite sure but I think we could stand to go back. We flew to Midland on Thursday because it was slightly cheaper than flying to El Paso and we could spend a little less time on the plane. Because of all sorts of festivals allegedly taking place over the weekend, we ended up booking a hotel in downtown Midland for Thursday night. Downtown Midland? Not that exciting. Things do not appear to be bustling there. But we had some good barbecue, drove by Dubya's childhood home (modest, cute), wandered through the local college's art gallery, played some miniature golf, and crossed "see a drive-in movie" off my Life List. That was really fun and something I would totally do again. On Friday we milled around town a little bit. The tourist spots in Midland are a bit of a stretch. We ended up visiting this one office building that had the strangest atrium. These guys were...

Yeah, so things may look a little weird around here. I getting a little bored with the old look... Bear with me. Vacation update soon but you can see which item got marked off on the Life List.

Good heavens, people. There have been so many issues with work over the last few days it's ridiculous. I mean, so ridiculous that I didn't even cry about it. Well, until today. And then only briefly. My work computer finally died. It was, of course, the worst possible time--3 outstanding reports, a site having crises and me not having access to any solutions, a BlackBerry that hadn't yet been set up, all right before vacation. I'd complain more but I think the internet can only handle one superstar who can make more money blogging than working at the job that fired her for blogging. Amidst everything, I decided to say no. Part of it was for my sanity. Part of it was because it's finally getting to me that it doesn't seem like anyone else works this hard. I can't tell you the number of times I've called coworkers only to find them taking care of some personal or leisure activity during business hours. It seems like I'm the only one stressin...

What's worse? That the radio station is playing (old skool) New Kids on the Block or that I know they're playing NKOTB? Or maybe that I just wrote NKOTB? Regardless, I'm tickled. (Even more so after labeling this post "pop culture.")

So you may remember this from the beginning of the year. Or not. I totally forgot about my goals and my theme but this post reminded me. To catch you up, my theme for 2008 was The Year of Reconnecting and I had three goals. Here's what I wrote before: I want to feel like I'm on a very real path to marriage. (Um, yes, this is scary to write. Makes me want to throw up a little bit so it must be a good one.) I want to have even closer relationships with my loved ones. I want to take better care of myself. In every way. Things are going well for #1. Still dating The Boyfriend, which is key. And we have good conversations and took that pre-marriage class awhile back. And my friend NL is so looking forward to a wedding that I think she could have the whole thing planned in about 5 minutes if I gave her the go ahead. #2 isn't going as well as I'd like for it to. I've spent at least a little time with everyone but not as much as I'd like. It's just so hard to ...

Ten on Tuesday to go with the current Olympic obsession. There's also another figure skater I can't think of...I'm sure I will tomorrow. I guess I just like ones who are/were inspiring to me and often those most memorable (which may also be the most hyped). And I know the media is all over Michael Phelps but he sure does make things exciting. 10 Favorite Olympians of All Time Mary Lou Retton , gymnast , owned her workout video for kids when I was younger Michael Phelps, swimmer, record breaker, cutie Greg Louganis , diver, so memorable until the other night when we couldn't remember if he was still alive or not (he is) Surya Bonaly , figure skater, bad ass, broke the rules because they were stupid Scott Hamilton, figure skater, back flipper, fun routine maker Domonique Dawes, gymnast, first female African American gymnast to win an individual medal Kerri Strug , gymnast, good lander on one ankle Carl Lewis, runner, full of energy Kurt Browning, figure skater, cutie ...

I slept through the entire flight this morning. As we taxied to our gate, the flight attendant said something about going out there and making today a good day. Apparently that's what I needed to hear because I thought, "She's exactly right. It really is up to me to make it a good day." On Monday, I went to the doctor to see about some meds for my troublesome allergies and also to complain about a few other problems I've had lately. And I've just felt run down. She basically attributed everything to stress, even the headaches I've had like clockwork once a month for the last few months. I don't think I buy that explanation for that one, but when I asked her what to do about it she said, "Break the cycle." What she meant was to take meds right before I knew the headache was going to come on. What I took from it was to just get out of this freakin' rut already. I've been so overwhelmed for so long that even when something goes ...

This week's topic was suggested by me. Woohoo! Except that meant extra pressure. You know, when I'm already stressed to the max. Yeah. So be kind. 10 Favorite Movie Villains Cruella de Vil from 101 Dalmations . I don't like people who want to turn puppies into coats. Voldemort from Harry Potter . He's evil and creepy and his lack of nose bothers me. I can't wait to see the newest one. The casting of his young self looks fantastic. Tess (the sister) from 27 Dresses . I know, I know. She's not really a villain in the typical sense. When I thought about this topic I asked myself what character really gets my blood boiling. She does. Every single time. Because of several in-flight movies, I've seen this movie a few times. The wedding dress scene makes me hate her. Hate. Her. Annie Wilkes from Misery . Ouch. Nazis from pretty much every movie they're in but specifically The Pianist . Maybe this movie sticks out for me because I also read the book. The Evil St...

If you go by the calendar, it was yesterday. If you go by the day of the week and associated events, it was Friday. Either way, it has been one year since I met The Boyfriend. Due to schedules and some things outside of our control, we ended up spending the weekend in the country. Stayed at what is turning into my favorite B&B. Were leisurely. Slept in and ate some great breakfast. Picked and stomped some grapes. Did a little shopping. Ate a couple good dinners. Limited talk about work. All in all, very relaxing and much needed. I lurve you, Boyfriend. One down, 60 to go.

10 events that should be in the Olympics Given that I'm sick today and have recently been preparing for a tropical storm (that ended up not being so bad, thank goodness), I don't think I'll actually have ten. Last week I was thinking about this topic as I was traveling (yet again) for work. Multitasking: We're talking taking a training class while on a conference call and checking e-mail and maybe filing. Speed Airport Travel: We'll give you a line to check in. Perhaps another line to take your checked baggage to...throw you a curve by having one or two baggage drops closed. Then another line for security. Who gets through fastest? Overwhelmed Breakdown: In this one you should have more and more piled on you until you crack. Maybe that would mean traveling to the wrong place on the wrong day. Or maybe forgetting documents you should have packed. Or maybe having no GPS system in the rental car when you haven't printed out any directions. (You know, for example.) ...

Why does it have to be 9000 degrees outside the day before a tropical storm/possible hurricane? In keeping with last week's 10 on Tuesday, it is too hot to drag in patio furniture and plants and to bag up weeds that you were hoping would dry out before you bagged them and duct tape the wonky globes on your outside light because that's the best solution you can think of right now and put the several bags of garbage in the garage because trash day isn't until tomorrow and bring in the garden gnomes lest they become flying projectiles. Too. Freakin'. Hot. Good luck, house. I'll see you Wednesday.

There is no little emoticon on the website I use for "inadequate." If there were, that's what I'd have over there. For most of the last year I've felt great. Pretty much better than I had in years and years. Something in me has changed. And I really do believe that or else there would have been many more days months of feeling inadequate over the last year. But here I am anyway. Everything stems from work. After two years of working the same project, I knew it backwards and forwards. I knew all the people with whom I worked (even if I hadn't met them face-to-face). I knew everyone's roles. I knew how to get to all my sites in other cities/states and knew my way around those offices. I knew who was good at their job and those who were less so. Even though I didn't love Shreveport, I knew what to expect. And right now, even going there doesn't seem so bad. (And you know I'm not doing well if I'm saying that.) Now I've been on two new pro...

No, I'm fine. Thanks for asking. While I am in LA today, my plane was still above the shaking ground . How freaky would it be to try to land a plane amidst an earthquake? Had I kept my original travel plans I would have been here. At the site. Freaking out. Working the rest of the day under the desk. No aftershocks that have been registered (by me anyway). Perhaps I wouldn't have even noticed... "Hmm, was that my stomach growling?" I must say, it would be an interesting thing to experience as long as you knew it wouldn't end poorly.

When I was in college, one of my friends and I were talking about what it was too hot to do. We came up with things like "it's too hot to be pregnant" or "it's too hot to fall down." When you live in Texas it is often too hot to do many things. Here's what you do instead. 10 things to do when it's too hot to go outside Play the Wii. I've gotten pretty good at Guitar Hero. Clean the house. Thrilling, I know. Work on house projects. Lately it's been painting the stairs. If I ever make the last few decisions and actually finish without killing myself, there will be pictures to come. Sit in front of the computer. Internet. E-mail. Photography. Wish my house were better insulated. Hand-in-hand with this is wonder how bad my electric bill is going to be. Drink more. Generally the non-alcoholic kind. Go shopping. This does, however, require a person to go from the house to the car. Outside. With no air conditioning. See a movie. You know, this doesn...

So there's this woman at my company who I'm sure is very nice. Awhile back she started sending us these quotes every Friday. You'd think I'd love her for that, right? I love quotes. But she sends them as a PowerPoint slide and my computer is so slow that sometimes I just delete without reading because, seriously, if I have to wait on one more thing--especially something that's not work-related--I'll go insane. And then there's the joy of getting my inbox down by one more message, to a so-close-to-being-almost-in-the-vicinity-of-manageable number of e-mails. Regardless, here's the quote for today that I opened as I pondered what I have to get done today and what I'll have to "come back into the office" to get done over the weekend. “Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone. The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of nonessentials.” –Lin Yutang Now if only I could get this Lin...

10 Least Favorite Celebrities Ugh. There are so many... I was just thinking over the weekend that there are very few "classic" Hollywood-types these days. Paris Hilton --Why won't she go away? And now there have been rumors of her reproducing. Just what we need. Keanu Reeves --I think he's a terrible actor. Terrible. Jessica Simpson --I don't care if she's ditsy and uneducated or just pretending to be--both are bad in my book. Lindsey Lohan --The newest possible lesbian turn she's taking seems like an improvement over the drugs/alcohol/drunk driving fun she's normally up to... Britney Spears --Not a fan but still am glad no one follows me around with cameras claiming I'm pregnant because I have a little belly bulge occasionally. Miley Cyrus --I know kids love her. I don't. The entire cast of High School Musical --See #6. Tom Cruise --I never would have thought the tide would turn on him--especially if you would have asked me right after Cockta...

On July 7th, we drove in to Pittsburgh to see the Astros play the Pirates. It was my first away game. Since I'd experienced the joy of Yankee and Red Sox fans on our home turf (Bubba, I can hear you saying that we don't have turf anymore; we have grass), I was determined to not be an obnoxious fan. And I wasn't. A good time was had by all...except maybe our boys. They lost. We got there early and stayed the entire game. Our seats were great--8 rows up along the 1st base line. The Pirates fans behind us were very nice. The folks to our left were actually Phillies fans. And the people in front of us were on a 5-stadium bus tour. Seemed fun. Granted, it was the Astros vs. the Bucs on a Monday night but attendance didn't even hit 14,000. The first half took forever; it seemed like the battle of the poor pitchers. But it also seemed like we had a shot. In the end, the second half went as quickly as any hopes we had of winning. It ended 7-10. Some interesting tidbits: The le...

I haven't done a 10 on Tuesday in quite awhile. Ok, since the end of April. Lately, some of the topics haven't really hit home with me and other times I've just looked up and it was already Wednesday. Oops. 10 Memorable Vacation Moments Seeing the Eiffel Tower for the first time. Being only a few feet away from elk in the wild in rural Pennsylvania. Drinking wine on the porch with The Boyfriend (as described here ) in Brenham. Horseback riding in Mexico with my snarky, biting and sometimes galloping horse. Dancing till the early morning on our Mexican cruise . Seeing "O" (my first Cirque show) in Vegas with The Boyfriend. Whale watching for the first time off of Boston. Crossing the state line for the first time (to Louisiana) when I was 17. (I know. I was old. We were poor. And who needs to leave Texas?) The early morning Seattle markets. Minding our own business in the hotel pool when those Jamaicans started talking to us in Grand Cayman. Also, hanging with sti...

The clouds were amazing. I don't know what compelled me to look out the window. Maybe the lack of reading material. Maybe the chatty tween the row in front of me who kept me from napping. Maybe the warning that it was about to get bumpy. Whatever it was, I'm glad I did. Interspersed amongst the inviting fluffy white clouds that could have been taken right out of a 5-year-old's drawing were flat, wispy cirrus clouds. Their horizontal lines dissected the giant puffs in such a way that you could easily imagine them being the surface of a vast ocean where you could simultaneously see the tops and bottoms of icebergs. I didn't have my camera. ++++++++++ When the clouds thinned, the boy behind me asked his mother if that was the Mississippi. The river is always huge, impressive. Because of the relentless rain, it had jumped its banks. The land isn't heavily populated but there are a few homes that still have water knocking on their doors. Others are islands, driveways lea...

There was beauty in all the nature that surrounded us. Everywhere. Rural PA is really quite lovely. The Boyfriend and I got to spend some quality alone time at two homes designed by Frank Lloyd Wright--Falling Water and Kentuck Knob. Both are amazing today and even more so when you remember how long ago they were conceived and constructed. And, yes, we got to tour their interiors as well. Even though the weather wasn't the picture of summer (i.e. warm and sunny) at all times, the rain and fog in the mountains took my breath away. Other than the GPS and very rare phone calls, we didn't use any technology during the trip. No voicemail or e-mail or internet or television. (We did use the stove and A/C and indoor plumbing, etc.) It was refreshing. I saw real life Amish. In the wild. We also saw real live elk. I never knew "elk" could be turned into a verb--as in "we went elking." This means driving around looking for them. They are relatively easy to...