Bad Days...

I’ve had a bad day, taken one down, sing a sad song just turn it around, something something something…

Kristy left this weekend. I didn’t think I’d actually be sad to see her go – I mean, obviously we enjoyed having her stay with us – but I didn’t think I would feel as sad as I did.

It started by shutting the door after she left, I turned to Justin and gave him a hug. Then he followed up with, “Okay, well, I’m going upstairs to watch TV, later.”

And I just stood there, watching him walk up the stairs, and thought, “Who am I going to watch television with now?”

Kristy is WAY ADDICTED to Law and Order, and in our short time together (three months), I became slightly addicted to the SVU and CI versions of the series. And Sunday, as I’m flipping through the channels, trying to find something to watch, I come across a marathon of SVU, AND FELT NOTHING.

It was sad, truly. I can’t even watch Law and Order without her now.

And the true test will be if I can even remember to tune into Project Runway tonight, another group favorite.

I mean, who else am I going to fail miserably with when attempting another run at “The Crunch Dance Party?”

So I’ve talked about with Justin, and we’ve decided we need a roommate. I just can’t go on living like this. It’s been three days now, and it’s horrible.

We’re currently taking applications. The room and board will be cheap – we’ll even barter. Thanks.

The intriguing weekend

I guess that I had a fairly productive weekend. I mean, I sat around a lot, worked out a little, and saw some fairly interesting things.

Interesting thing #1:
I was getting my hair cut on Saturday (and maybe my hair colored… which by the way, I accidentally went blond… whoops!) and this little girl was sitting next to me with her mom. Her mom had some fried out blond hair, will have skin cancer by the age of 40, and was wearing too much makeup.

The daughter? Well, she had the most gorgeous brunette hair, was eight years old, and getting platinum blond highlights for the first time. I was so pissed off. I mean, I guess ultimately it is the mother’s decision to do that to her daughter, but geez, wait until she is in middle school, not when she just completed the second grade.

Interesting thing #2:
This guy at Kirbey Lane South looked like my granddad. Probably not that interesting, but I thought so J

Interesting thing #3:
Mexican Vanilla ice cream and the fat free/sugar free yogurt version at Amy’s Ice Cream is about the same. Maybe not as creamy, but still dang good.

Interesting thing #4:
Matrix Three isn’t as bad as people told me was (cough cough, my husband). I mean the almost grotesque use of “g-dang” is borderline ridiculous, but take that out (and this weird nipple scene) and it isn’t half bad ;)

Interesting thing #5:
The Crunch Dance Party workout video confirmed what I already knew: I am not capable of any type of dance moves. I stopped after twenty minutes and did pilates instead. It made me feel better.


Anyways, I have a headache and I’m about to go to bed! Night!

#28!

Walter is the best dog ever. I think we have established that with extensive evidence.

Friday was a bad day, because I found out Walter might have a fatal disease. But I don't want to talk about it because it makes me sad.

What I do want to talk about it how effin' cool my dog is!

Case in point:

OMG, my dog is so awesome... I had the jersey specially made for him, and hopefully at the start of the football season, he'll be wearing it every Saturday, and on the first day Vince Young plays for the Titans.

Go long Walter!

Jenni's Gone Viral!

Hi guys,
As most of you know, I work for a PR agency and I do a variety of activities on the behalf of some pretty cool clients. My team has launched a viral Web site for one of our clients, Smoothie King, and I encourage you to check it out, sign up, submit a video and forward videos onto your friends. Here's the link: http://www.extremecastingcall.com

If you dont participate on my behalf, then do it for the prizes! If your audition gets chosen as a winner (Ted, this is calling your name!!!), you could win one of three fabulous prizes! Heck, if you forward on videos to your friends, youre also eligible to enter for prizes!

Unfortunately, if you are related to me (Becky, Kennie, Robbie, and Kristy, my sincerest apologies) you are not able to win anything, but for those of you with no Jenni or Justin blood flowin through your veins, you are eligible.

AND FORWARD ON TO YOUR FRIENDS. PLEASE!!!! Even relatives!!! Put a link on your page, do something!!! I want this to go viral and be showcased on the Web shows on VH1! Ha!

So ham it up folks, and visit http://www.extremecastingcall.com for more information on how to enter!

Babies, and how I'm not having any :(

Justin had the wonderful opportunity to baby sit Colin (shown here), a very cute, adorable and active cousin of his, while Colin’s mom and I went shopping.

I don’t think Justin quite knew what he was getting into, as he willingly offered to watch Colin. Someday, Justin is going to make a terrific dad, and I’m incredibly excited about the prospects of having adorable little red heads running around our house someday. But now is not the time.

By the time we returned five hours later, Justin didn’t even get a chance to say hello or bye, as he ran away.

Yes, he ran away, went to go chill out by purchasing baseball cards. It was almost comical really – he looked fried. Colin on the other hand, was still going strong, running around in nothing but a t-shirt and diapers.

After Justin returned, I was informed I (he said “I” referring to me, but really, I think he was referring to himself) am not ready to have children, saying I couldn’t handle that. He’s the one that ran out the second we got home. Nerd.

HAHAHA… I was like, seriously Justin, it isn’t like the Lord has women popping out two-year olds. That’s why you have a nine-month incubation period, and the baby starts off tiny and grows into a crazy kid. It’s so you have time to adjust.

So my attempts to have babies, quit my job, etc. have been foiled for the next two to four years, as I could not handle it. Dang it.

Boohiss!

I’m in a writing rut.

Rarely am I at a loss of words for my blog. More often than not, I rely on my blog writing to jumpstart the writing that I get paid to do; alas, it appears that the tables have turned.

I’ve knocked out three draft press releases this week and some web copy, painlessly I might add. Usually it would take me days, weeks, kick in the pants by an individual known as Mighty Tejana. It’s like, gross, really, how much stuff I have jammed out on this week.

I mean, usually the blog is almost this epicenter of all the crappy crap in my head that I have to get out in order to write decent stuff. Now, I have no crap in my head to spill.

Instead, I’m left with a willingness to actually write stuff I’m supposed to write on.

This doesn’t make any sense, which of course, is perfect, because I’d rather be writing nonsensical items here instead of somewhere else.

God Bless America… and Mexican Beer!

I guess the Fourth has different meaning for everyone, and I’m no different.

There are parents praying for the safe return of their sons and daughters from Iraq, war veterans recalling previous battles and what they fought for, while others find it an opportunity to celebrate a day off from work for fun, food, and drunkenness.

But for me, I find it a chance to reflect on my granddad, who passed away five years ago today. I always have a rough go at it in the weeks leading up to the Fourth, I guess because his death was the first and only passing I’ve ever witnessed. To be honest, I hope I never see something like that again, but I suppose I’m lucky to have lived to 19 and never witnessed someone dying in front of you.

So this morning, I woke up, cried a little, remembered what a true American stands for, and spent the day with Ashley and her family out in Comfort. I was thinking about going home to Dallas, but I had to work yesterday, and I found out my mom had to work. That and my family never talks, reflects, discusses the Fourth and Gramps’ passing, so I figured, what’s the point?

Comfort, Texas is about an hour and a half southwest of Austin, between Kerrville and San Antonio on I-10. It’s a beautiful drive through the Hill Country, and there is nothing quite like a serene 70-mph drive on Hwy. 290 through Johnson City and Fredericksburg while listening to Madonna and Kelly Clarkson. Haha. God bless crappy, yet awesome pop music.

I got there in time to see a traditional July Fourth parade, complete with “Little Miss Comfort” pageant contestants and their floats. After a few good laughs at the fake waves these girls were tossing out to the crowd, I quickly realized they must be taught to wave like corpses. I also learned that a horizontal oval looks much better in presentation than the more common circle wave.

But probably the best float/parade moment was the Mexican float. Now, I hate being stereotypical, but this totally went down!

So, their float was just a big trailer, not decorated, with people just sitting in the float, not really doing anything. And
instead of throwing candy to the children like the rest of the floats, they had coolers filled to the brim with, take a guess, Mexican beer. AND they were passing the stuff out to the crowd along the streets!! HAHAHAHAHA! I couldn’t stop laughing, and if I had thought before I left my house the morning, I totally would have grabbed my camera for a blog picture opportunity!

Only in Texas would that stuff go down, and only a city south of Waco and outside of the Bible Belt would something like this be approved as a valid parade float. HAHAHA.

So, happy Fourth -- and happy shortened work week!

Clutch!

You Are Ernie

Playful and childlike, you are everyone's favorite friend - even if your goofy antics get annoying at times. You are usually feeling: Amused - you are very easily entertained You are famous for: Always making people smile. From your silly songs to your wild pranks, you keep things fun. How you life your life: With ease. Life is only difficult when your friends won't play with you!

The Sesame Street Personality Quiz

Decorating!

So I've been decorating the past two weekends... and I'm pretty sure I'll be keeping it up too.
Here's our yard a few months ago... it looks completely different now, but Justin needs to mow, so I'm not taking a picture yet... that and we have a horrible problem with poison ivy and oak! OMG! Horrible! We need to hire a professional, but the better half thinks he can do it himself...

It's been over a month. It's still there.

Anyways, here are a few more pictures of the progress on the house.

This is our breakfast room, in between the living room and the kitchen. There is this rug I bought before we moved in that has my official color purple in it, along with different shades of brown and beige, and my new fav color, turquoise. West Elm, a cheaper, and might I say cooler, subsidiary of Pottery Barn (they own everything!) had these adorable linen curtains on serious clearance. 96' length too, so it really adds to the high ceilings in the house. Clutch.



Here's the study! It's at the front of the house, so it has a nice view of some trees, and other people's houses.

The other wall of the study sucks right now, because in Phase 4 of the house, we are going to get built in cabinets and bookshelves, with a desk, but until then, it is just my old bookshelf from when I was little.

Until then, I show you this gorgeous wall. Also from West Elm, are these kickin' 108' length silk dupioni curtains. That is a matching pillow, and then a little shelf that I can't get to stand straight. Also, that is the most comfortable leather recliner ever. Seriously, it is the softest leather, and goes so far back that you could easily fall asleep. I call it the "Gramps Recliner" because my grandfather would have loved this thing. Hopefully, he's got one even better upstairs ;)

Here is the dining room! An excellent architectural feature of this room is the cross-support beams in the middle of the ceiling that lead up to the skylight, and that's what the chandelier hangs from.

Um, I think this room still needs some more color, in the form of a table runner or something, but for now, I just have some flowers hanging on the wall vase.

Okay, actually, in describing this room, I just fell asleep, so it needs some more work ;)

Next up on the decorating block -- main guest bedroom (I need to finish re-staining some furniture, but that's it!), find a twin bed for the middle bedroom, (I want a day bed in there that will eventually match a crib because it will become the nursery... and before anyone freaks out, I used the term eventually, which means not for another year-and-a-half or two years), and my bedroom/bathroom (I just got some of my sister's prints framed, so I'm trying to figure out how to incorporate it... in fact, here's a picture of that... just ignore the hideous flash in the middle.)

Saved?

I'm feeling a little contriversal this morning watching the movie Saved!, a great favorite of mine.

Back in middle school/high school, I grew up in the bible belt capital of the world -- Dallas, Texas. Ironically, it is also the most populated city of homosexuals and home to the largest homosexual/transgender Christian church. Tells you a little something about the Dallas area. ;)

I'm Catholic, so it made for an interesting time, I suppose. Any given year I had about four or five people try and "save" me. I never really understood that because, um, I believed in Jesus and went to church every Sunday. Of course there is more to being a Christian then that, but you get my drift.

The point is, everyone is a little different in how they worship, pray, follow, etc. There is no one set way, there never will be. But so many people/Christians try to fit that into one category, the right category. It's more than one can handle sometimes.

And to make it worse, the establishment of church itself sucks. Take a trip up my work elevator and you'll get the drift... This large church in Austin has a commercial on during a news station break. Apparently, if you have digital cable, you can go to their own channel!

Okay, maybe I'm not the prime example of how to run a church, considering I don't have a church. But still -- I feel like the most important thing for churches right now is not to spread the word of God, but to get new members, becuase that means more $$$.

It's like a friend of mine's church in Houston. She found out they spent more than $700k on advertising in a given year. Missionary work? A measely $5k.

Churches have become a business/money making opportunity, a chance to "get new members" isn't necessarily to save -- but almost to steal others from other churches so more cash can be received. Argh! It makes no sense!

Everyday, people still accept the Lord into their hearts, and I'm happy for them. These churches help them, and that's great. But I still feel like there is this shift, to get as many people going to church, instead of focusing on something more important than a building. It's weird. And frustrating. I guess because it is hard to find people that feel this way, and the fact that I'm still struggling to find a church that isn't focused on just these things.

Take for example this church Justin and I frequented on ocassion. Our last visit, they sang a Cher song -- or rather one person sang the Cher song while we all watched with our mouths open. Say wha? The song was in no way related to Jesus, and I'm pretty sure that Cher isn't religious, or not outwardly so. The sole point was to put on a "concert" and entertain, not to spread the word. That was the last time we went to that church.

Anyways, don't take this e-mail as knocking you, your church, more me saying I'm not into Jesus anymore. I'm just trying to get this off my chest :)

Golfing

I've been working on my golf swing/game/hitting the ball during the last few weeks, and I feel like I'm making solid progress.

So in true Jenni fashion, I decided to reward myself with the following:

• Pink golf glove by Nicole Miller. Well, at least I didn't get the $8,000 Louis Vuitton golf bag I saw. Although, I will say, if Coach made one, I'd start saving my money. Plus, think of all the purses and shoes I could buy with that much money.
• 15 pink golf balls. I would have gone with the purple (my official color); however, I've found that the majority of my golf outfits are pink, and I didn't want to clash.

Now, to clarify, I had actually bought Justin something for our anniverary (we celebrate two... when we started dating and our wedding dates... JB is trying to get out of the first one, because he doesn't want to spend the money, which is a fair argument, but I got an iHome out of the deal, so woot), and I needed to get the order above a certain point for free shipping. So I wasn't as much rewarding myself as trying to save money.

Yes, Jenni... keep telling yourself that.

I'm going to try out a new church this weekend... the Catholic church out in Lakeway, and then maybe go watch Justin play in the Lakeway Cup. He's such a talented golfer, and it is a lot of fun to watch him dominate.

Alright, I'm pretty sure this is the crappiest blog I've ever wrote. I'm debating erasing this whole thing, but to be honest, it isn't worth the effort.

We’re expecting? Um, what?

Father’s Day is that time of year when families get together, profess their love of good ‘ol dad, and then go about their daily business.

Justin and I had his entire family over (around 20 people) to the house for some golf, fellowship, and food. His family has a tradition of passing out an enormous amount of cards (Hallmark must make enough money off of them in one year to supply ten full-time artists/writers) and this “holiday” was no different.

What was different this year is Justin getting a Father’s Day card. I was minding my own business cleaning the kitchen while others were opening gifts (it was also Justin’s sister’s birthday and his uncle’s), when I hear, “Jenni, you got Justin a father’s day card? OOOOH, are you pregnant?”

Um, hell no I’m not. But let’s back this boat up.

I don’t do cards first of all. I find them to be an enormous waste of money and they get thrown away that same day. I mean, buy some chocolate for that $2.50 instead of a card that approximately 15,000 other people get in a given year.

Second, if Justin were to receive a card from me proclaiming I’m pregnant, it definitely wouldn’t be in front of 20 other people, all finding out at the same time. That announcement is a private moment meant to be shared between me and him… and then shortly thereafter, as many people as I can call in one day.

So it turns out it was just a bad joke by some family member on Justin, or me… I don’t quite know.

But seriously folks, let’s try and keep the witful humor related to things like poop, pee, someone farting, not on my uterus. It just isn’t as funny.

Barf… literally

Some people are light sleepers, others sleep really hard, and carry conversations with people while sleeping and don’t remember. Others become apathetic during their sleep and only recall their idiocy when they wake up… or are reminded of it.

In high school, I carried on a conversation with a friend at about 10 p.m. – however, I was asleep. The following morning my dad wakes me up to listen to the answering machine. Apparently the conversation was recorded on the answering machine, which was hilarious, because I had no idea I was even on the phone. Much like when I’m awake, my discussions make no sense when I’m asleep.

Fast forward to 10 years later. I’m asleep by 10 p.m. (not much has changed since high school apparently…) and I vaguely remember Walter trying to wake me up between 10-11:15 p.m., but I didn’t care.

Then Justin comes in around 11:15, and wakes me up with this proclamation: “Oh my God! It smells like shit in here.” Then my memory of Walter trying to wake me up flashes through my mind, followed by an, “Aw, crud.”

Walter pooped, peed, barfed, and then left puddles of poop (I know gross… sorry). Justin ran off to the bathroom at one point while we were cleaning because he felt sick, and then I was jumpy the rest of the night thinking it was going to happen again… plus the smell was HORRIBLE all night long.

So, glad I was paranoid because he barfed and peed again at 4:45… I rushed him outside and he did his DIRRRRRTY business again out there. WOOO. Thank goodness. I don’t know how much more my carpet can take.

I went to check on him during the midday, and he seems a lot better, and he ate some food. So, he’s in the clear for now! I will talk to the vet on Friday about what causes this and how I can prevent it from happening twice in one night!

YUCK!

Waxing

Don't you hate it when you are getting your eyebrows waxed, and you are waiting, just like, trying to be cool without jumping or something when the stylist "lets it rip?"

Yeah, and then I hate it when I stop anticipating after several false starts and then she rips and it's like, CRAP! PREPARE ME FOR THAT!

Okay, that's all. I just needed someone to share in my pain.

My weekend.

This past weekend, my parents came in (I'm still not ready to discuss why my parents drive me crazy) and they dropped off all of my memories from childhood and high school.

Fun stuffed animals, a fisher price record player (still in pristine functioning order... that's totally worth some money), some photos (dang, I need to get back down to my anorexic size... haha... kidding). and the best part was getting my grandmother's china.

It's really cute -- nothing too expensive -- Gran was cool enough to keep the original documentation of the set (Style House "Duchess" is the exact name), and nothing says class like Montgomery Ward :) Regardless, I adore it. It's a simple white plate, lined with silver pine on the outer rim.

So I had almost gotten the house the way I wanted it, and now our study is once again the crap room. BOOO.
Anyways, so yesterday, Justin and I spent a relaxing afternoon playing golf at the country club and then had a nice dinner at the clubhouse. I'm actually getting pretty decent at golf, and Justin and I figured out that if I were to play every whole and start at the spot I should, I would only have a handicap of 70. HA! But seriously, huge strides in my game. I can actually make contact with the ball now ;) Plus, let's just cut to the chase, I like wearing the cute short skirts.

It’s Been Awhile

Well, I’m happy to report that it is currently 75 degrees in Austin on May 31. You read right folks- the world is coming to an end when it is hotter in Washington D.C. (or so I’ve been informed) than it is in the entire state of Texas (okay, El Paso is 93, two degrees warmer than DC).

So horrible news. I’ve been informed we have a wedding to go to in August (GASP!), which means I’ve got 20 pounds to lose before then. I’ve been having trouble with the weight lately, despite my attempts at eating healthy, so I’m pondering the Jenny Craig (no) or the L.A. Weight Loss (maybe) options. Justin thinks it’s stupid, and maybe it is. But if it helps me shed the pounds, he can shove it. And of course, shove it with love.

So I have a feeling this blog will be about my attempts (again) to try and shed the pounds, so I expect all of you (all three) who read this to keep me honest. But I’m also doing this for another reason, besides looking hot and sassy in August. I mean, a year from now, Justin and I will probably start trying the procreation thing (eeeegad!) and I want to be in the fittest, healthiest shape possible because, a) it makes the pregnancy easier, and b) the baby is healthier.

In other news, Justin’s sister has been living with us for a week now, and it’s going really well. It’s nice having another girl in the house, because sometimes Justin is such a freakin’ boy, with all of his ESPN, golf playing, dorky life.

Oh, wish him luck next weekend – he’s trying to qualify for a golf tournament at Pinehurst. (Apparently one of the first and nicest golf clubs in the U.S.) Just since we have joined the country club, his ability to play golf has already made him a coveted piece – a.k.a. “join my golf team you crazy player!” I, on the other hand, have gone two steps backwards in my playing ability, and still struggle to hit the ball. Yeah, look at that period at the end of the sentence, not “hit the ball…far” or “hit the ball…where I want it to go” – just hit the ball. I’ll figure it out again at some point, and it will be oh so glorious.

Until next time suckas.

Announcement!

I’m really excited to announce a new member of the Balthrop Austin clan. The new member came a little sooner than we expected, but Justin and I are stoked nonetheless.

Welcome Kristy to our humble home! JB’s sister will be residing with us for a few months while she tackles an internship in Austin. YAY! Someone to shop with!

If I was on South Park...

So I was doing my weekly tech-blog reading and one, came across this way cool music blog that will totally revolutionize the way orchestras/musicians read music, and then two, a way to create your own South Park character. So here is mine…

Sweet.

Bon Voyage!

Welcome back DirectTV… it’s like the cable knew I was returning to watch it! Probably my all-time favorite Charlie Brown special is on , Bon Voyage Charlie Brown (And Don’t Come Back).

Surprisingly, a lot of people have not seen this Charlie Brown special, and let me tell you, they’re missing out!

I mean, somehow, Snoopy and Woodstock not only have passports to travel abroad, but Snoopy is the only one of the gang that can drive a car.

Plus, Snoopy gets sloshed on root beer. Tell me this isn’t the best?!

I've got the shakes.

It’s coming…

A wave of anger so deep that it is causing my eye to twitch and my hands to shake violently for the last week.

I guess it started at the tail-end of those blasted thunderstorms, and looking back at my previous posts, I’m sort of surprised I didn’t blog about them. I could have sworn I did!

Anyways, back on track, our DirectTV has been out for two weeks, and last Friday we discovered our phone line is also out.

Along with the daily dose of stress at work (which I’m not complaining, it just happens every once and awhile) I’ve started to develop this twitch on my right eye. I’ll be talking to someone, and it just starts twitching. Then starting yesterday and peaking today, my hands started to get numb and shake violently.

I mean, I guess it is either a sign of Parkinson’s or small anxiety attacks, but I choose to go with the ladder because it makes more sense, and it doesn’t scare me.

I can’t wait to relax this weekend. I’m really looking forward to it!

Leave My Pumpernickel's Alone While I Dance!

Um yeah.

You might be wondering where in the hell that title came from. If I had read it thirty minutes ago I would be wondering the same thing.

Tonight, Justin and I set up this desk system that we acquired from Costco. Yay, Costco! Anyways, I decided to boot up the old college computer (Dell was the thang in college, fo' real) and grab all of my old MP3's off of it.

However, the problem is two fold:

One: I have no connection to the Internet on this thing.

Second: For some reason, if I burn Data CDs on this computer (so like 300 MP3s on one CD, per say) it won't read it on any other computer. It doesn't matter if it is a Word Document, something is just corrupted and it can only burn audio.

So I have a lot of songs on my old computer, because, well, let's all admit it, we were all into Napster in college. Those days are gone, and I'm too frightened to steal music now from odd online sources, but I want these bloody songs!

I mean, in my spare time I was burning such quality classics as: Part of Your World by Ariel the mermaid, Everything I Own by Bread (and by NSYNC, but they really did the song a disservice), or even the Saved by the Bell theme song. I mean, seriously folks, I want these songs.

But perhaps the songs that will live forever in my heart takes me back to a little place called "University Commons" off of Wickersham Lane my freshman year. Here, me, Enrico, a Filipino friend of his, and James Willis, all huddled around this small ass microphone I had, tied to the pulley on my ceiling fan and sang/played our hearts out for a little song called Pumpernickel's Curse.

And seriously, given the fact we were in a room about the size of a potato, recording two acoustic guitars, a bass guitar, a violin, and my voice on a microphone the size of my thumb, shows what a bunch of retards we were. Nonetheless, the song was recorded, showcasing the talent of a bass player (James), a talented song writer (Enrico), a hella good acoustic guitarist (some friend of Enrico's who also sang backup) and then the tits and ass (a.k.a. the brains) of the group, me (and my attempt to sing lead vocals while playing a violin, both done poorly).

So the songs are still on my old computer, and I just finished transferring them to my laptop for again transferal to my iPod. Other solo breakout songs include the hits "Leave" and "Dance," both showcasing my ability to overcompensate on the piano for my mousy voice. It's awesome.

Ikea and the Bed…

Some of you (well, maybe just one person) might remember a trip to Houston and Ikea back in April. Well, I’m happy to report that we were finally able to assemble the canopy bed we bought.

Yes, you read right: it took us a month and a half to finally put the bloody bed together. The funniest part is 99 percent of the bed was put together the afternoon we bought it (by myself I might add… muscles flinching as she types). But, there were these funky cross bars that wouldn’t attach to the bed because the holes were too small to fit the screws in.

After much arguing, analysis, and consultations of experts (i.e. Justin’s cousin and a co-worker), we decided that these cross bars provided no additional structural support to the bed frame. This analysis period took well over a month to complete.

So yesterday we made the bed, tested it out (take that for what you will), and felt accomplished.

Politics and Roaches... one in the same?

So I was in the Big D this past weekend for a couple of reasons: one, it was Mother’s Day, and I had to surprise my mom with an iPod Nano my sister and I went in on (although, the younger sibling has yet reimburse me for my troubles). Second, Saturday also marked the culmination of a very hard fought battle for my dad to get on the town council.

I think I got my dad into trouble with his campaign manager, because he neglected to inform her of my work background. She about murdered him on the spot actually when I told her I do PR, but since he won, she forgave him. She said she’ll use me when they find a candidate for mayor… I’m thinking it might be her.

See, Dad thinks I’m still seven, so of course he wouldn’t recommend that they funnel their messages, Web site copy, and news releases through me. Oh well, I don’t think I would have had time for it anyway.

Apparently, Sunday also marked the time when Mom decided to force all of my old belongings back on me. No big deal, except we had minimal space in the vehicle and she tells me this as we still have guests (Justin’s family) at the house. So instead of visiting with people, I’m forced to go through crap. Booo…

Also what I didn’t realize is that there would be tons of roaches in the boxes when I opened them at my house. Luckily, I had Raid on hand to prevent any rapid escape by these disgusting creatures, but it was so gross.

So I’m unpacking my old items (trophies from middle school and high school… in Speech and Debate, and orchestra) and two years ago I couldn’t throw away any of this stuff. I don’t know if it was Desperate Housewives calling my name or the thought of roaches crawling through all of my stuff, but I no longer felt the need to keep all of this crap.

So no more of the “Lead Me On” album by Amy Grant, and no more of that repulsive turquoise ceramic medallion I made when I was 10… they are now in the trash.

Because the trash pickup in Austin is funky, I decided to run to one of the huge trash bins in the housing development that the construction workers use, and dump my boxes filled with roaches there.

AND I TOTALLY THOUGHT I GOT BUSTED!!

As I was attempting to throw these boxes up 11 feet into the air (which 75 percent of the time I missed on the first attempt), I saw this car going into reverse. So I freaked out and got in my car to speed off. Except I’m a retard and went to a dead-in street.

So I tried to pass off my stupidity by getting out of my car (while it's still running) and trying to hide in a house. Well problem one: the car totally saw where I was and parked near me and two: the house I tried to hide in was locked.
Oddly enough, the guy that was driving car that was following me went into a house across the street. I don’t know if they were calling the cops or what, but I SPED the hell out of there, parked in my garage and shut the garage door, breathing a sigh of relief.

While no one came knocking on my door, I still think the guy wrote down my license plate number. I bet we’ll get a citation in the mail or something. Good thing the car is in Justin’s name. HAH!

Why I Love Meredith Grey.

I’m in love with Grey’s Anatomy. I am starting to really dislike Desperate Housewives (I mean, it is just too far out there now… that show used to be a “tall-tale” of fairly realistic storylines, but now it is just stupid), so now I patiently wait through DH to get to Grey’s. Maybe it’s because I worked in a hospital for five summers in a row and feel a connection to the characters, from the nurses to the arrogant doctors, but I usually end up crying at the end of every episode.

So here is my gift to you, fellow reader(s). It’s one of my favorite blogs out there because it just gives additional insight into an already well-written show: http://www.greyswriters.com. Yeah, it’s a blog the writers of the show keep. Awesome.

For the one person that reads this!

Take My Quiz - http://www.quizyourfriends.com/linkIM02.php?quizname=060505170931-732611&

Cookie Monster

So there was this incident on Easter I need to discuss that I hadn’t really brought up.

I gave up all kinds of desserts for the lovely Lenten season, and as a reward, Gran made me her famous (and by famous I mean, I know about them and they are GLORIOUS) fudge and sugar cookies.

On Easter, I was fairly miserable and over dosed on serious sugar… she made enough for me to bring back, and I was clinging to them as we were loading up the car to head back to Austin.

Unfortunately, my husband, who in today’s blog will be referred to as EVIL JERK, told me to give him the desserts and for me to take Walter and put him in the car.

Like the obedient and loving wife that I am, I happily obliged him, knowing that my desserts would be in strong, caring, and safe hands.

I WAS WRONG.

EVIL JERK decided to not head straight to the car with the sweets; rather, EVIL JERK decided he was thirsty and needed a Propel before he left Dallas. Sitting the sweets down on the counter, EVIL JERK got is Propel and LEFT MY DESSERTS ON THE COUNTER.

Okay, so you may think I’m overreacting a tad on this, and to be honest, I know I am. But you just don’t get it until you experience this fudge and sugar cookie combo… I mean, it brings back all the memories of childhood and spending so much time with my grandparents, plus Gran could sell these desserts and make a crap load of money.

So about twenty minutes down the road, I realized we had left the sweets, and EVIL JERK refused to turn around and get them, even though it was entirely his fault.

And I cried. I admit it – My grandmother is 88 years old (89 in August) and this very well could have been her last batch of cookies and fudge she ever made me! And it isn’t like I have the recipes to these, I totally do… but as decent of a cook as I am, I just can’t compete with the expertise of Gran.

So we called EVIL JERK’s mom (known in today’s blog as M-I-L SAVIOR) and she froze the sweets for me.

It’s been weeks, and finally yesterday EVIL JERK went to Dallas for some meetings and golf with some clients or something, and picked up the glorious sweets, after I called to remind him and MIL SAVIOR.

And all day today I have been showering co-workers that are deemed worthy enough (or rather, that knew about my tearful pout) with yummy cookies and fudge. Ivette even wants me to ask how much Gran would charge for her fudge.

I’m telling you… I’m going to steal Gran for a week, and we are going to make fudge and cookies all week long, so I can learn the way of the Gran and then sell this stuff online.

XX-XY (Maybe even an XXH?)

What a boring day. I have a lot to do, and I’m doing it, but geez, I just want to go home and nap. I’m having a really bad headache, stemming from lack of water and annoying florescent lighting, and we are getting a new mattress delivered this evening for a bed we haven’t finished putting together. Lovely.

Yesterday was a busy day. We had to finish cleaning the apartment and turn in our keys (about an hour in we both said “Fuck It” – to cleaning) and left. Haha. Ashley stopped by to see the house before she left for Houston. While she was in town she got a sweet new car – fully loaded Toyota Four Runner… gorgeous – and so Justin christens it with “JB was Here” on the back window. I’m pretty sure Ashley was a little miffed, but her car was dirty, and it attracts immature boys to write stupid sayings.

Ivette and Lissette stopped by to scope out the house too, which was fun. I got to see Ivette’s new sweet ride (which I’m thinking, if you want to get a new car, just plan to stop by our house). They got Walter a ball, and it was hilarious. He destroyed it in literally 15 minutes. Walter is crazy.

Then we went to a 2 year-old birthday party. Colin is cute, and I’m fairly sure he is going to take after his dad and cousins (that being Justin) and be a sarcastic terror. He’ll do something, give you an evil glare, and then crack up. It’s just a sign. Then someone told me that my baby will look like Colin. Colin’s cute, and I hope that my kid gets red hair, but I would prefer a freak of recessive genes and the kid have dark hair and dark skin, like the rest of my family. Haha.

Which, speaking of, remember those blocks that you would do in middle school to track recessive genes and dominant genes. They actually stopped teaching that in schools because kids were figuring out their mom or dad wasn’t really their mom or dad. Crazy stuff.

Okay, back to word. My seven minute break was long over due, and subsequently, now over.

The 'Nilla Effect

Nilla® Wafers are the bomb.

As a child, you get your first taste of them in banana pudding. I am not a big fan of bananas, so I would use the pudding opportunity to steal more than my share of the circular goodness.

Flash forward to when my mom was trying to be frugal and purchasing the off-branded version of the ‘nilla, like “Hi-Top” Vanilla Wafers from Sack ‘N Save. Complete failure. I told her as such.

So we did a taste test. I told my mom that she could put the ‘nilla with two other different versions (like the Keebler version… don’t let those stupid midgets fool you, those vanilla wafers have a nasty aftertaste) and told her I could tell her which ones were which, blindfolded.

And, because I don’t talk trash without backing it up, that’s what I did.

From that moment on, my mom was a believer. And through high school (and occasional grocery runs in college) that is what my mom got me.

And then I forgot about them. In college they tried this whole “New and Improved” but the ‘nilla didn’t need improvement. And so I forgot about them because it just wasn’t the same

But I saw them again for the first time in years at CVS yesterday. I had to run in to obtain some womanly items (I guess I could say TMI here, but this entire blog is TMI, so you really read at your own risk) and as I’m walking to the register I see the glorious ‘Nilla wafers. A whopping $4 is pretty ridiculous for a box, but I couldn’t help myself.

Oh, and they went back to the original goodness that is the ‘nilla. Let me freakin’ tell you.

So thank you Nabisco. You momentarily sold yourself out, but you have been redeemed in my eyes. Thank you… (tear falls) Thank you.

Fire Drill

I just came to the realization I am horribly out of shape, and it could mortally wound me.

In the event of a fire at my office building downtown, it appears I would make it down 25 flights of stairs just fine. Then walking to the safe place, I may spontaneously begin twitching my legs, and if standing for long periods of time, collapse.

I didn’t get to the third element of that doomsday scenario, but I met the first two.

Piss.

Fear

There is nothing like taking a warm bath while surfing the Internet. I guess it sounds a little dangerous (think blow dryer in the tub or something) but there is no way that the laptop would have fallen in. I mean, it would have had to come to life and flipped over and in for it to land in the water.

But I digress from a point I have not even put in writing yet.

I’m feeling sorry for myself. It’s a weird feeling because I don’t think I have ever felt it before. I don’t particularly like it, and I dug my own hole, so I should just suck it up, right?

Justin is in NYC, and he hasn’t even been gone 24 hours and miss him. Pretty pathetic, no? To top it off, I just made myself chocolate icing and ate it, and I haven’t done that in YEARS!! (mmm… so good) It’s all just a bad sign! Especially the chocolate icing part.

And to top it off, I hate being at the house all by myself. Like, it sucks. Every sound I hear I think someone is breaking into the house. I can’t wait until we get a mattress for the guest bedroom so I can force someone to spend the night when Justin is off in NYC.

I’m a paranoid individual with an innate fear of being by myself and also the fear of someone possibly talking bad about me. Isn’t that horrible – that has to be the two stupidest combinations of fear ever.

I’m not scared of spiders. Depending on the snake, I’m not that frightened of them. But put me in a room by myself or have two people stand next to me and not be able to hear what they are saying, I’m petrified. Oh, and maybe getting a mosquito bite; I have an allergic reaction to those.

It’s screwed up, is what it is.

My weekend update.

Do you ever have one of those weeks where everything is sort of screwing up, it’s your fault, and you’re watching a bunch of stuff fall apart, like an out of body experience? I had one of those weeks. Yuck.

This past weekend I spent a ridiculous amount of time watching television and catching up on movies. No wonder last year’s box office SUCKED. Let’s start off with the first movie I watched: Herbie, Fully Loaded. I’ll admit it, I giggled when Herbie decided to get the hots for the new bug. It was cute, and as an avid Herbie fan (remember the Monte Carlo movie! LOVED IT!), this one actually kept the same type of feel. Unfortunately, that feel is now seen as lame, and Lindsay Lohan still sucked. Haha. Okay, then I watched Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle. I almost need to re-watch it because I was in such shock at the craziness. I also watched some My Sweet 16 and Tiara Girls. (Stupid Aaron Reid… I wish Kayne West could perform at my house warming…) This weekend I also watched The Notebook (where I clinged to an unknowing Justin for 20 minutes after it ended crying) and Ella: Enchanted (way cute, love Anne Hathaway).

Anyways, this morning I left for work about 5:45 (fixing said “bunch of stuff falling apart”) but Walter REFUSED to use the restroom. I’m not too excited about this, and fully anticipate an anointing of my beautiful carpet. I have been keeping the carpet immaculate with my brand new Dyson that is seriously the coolest thing ever, and have used it twice since I bought it last week.

So, Walter wouldn’t go down the steps, like he was scared or something, and I even threw a ball down there to try and “make” him potty. He grabbed the ball, slowly I might add, and then raced back up to the door. Argh.

Alright, so I’m hungry now, I guess from being up since 5 a.m. Later!

It's 3 a.m. and I must be lonely...

because Justin is asleep, so is my dog, and I'm up waiting for it to stop thundering. ARGH! I hate being a light sleeper during thunderstorms. But, it was a good thing I was up, because we lost power and our alarm of course went to the blinking 12:00 AM mode. (so I might not have batteries in my alarm, which is totally my fault)

I'm kinda ready for the stormy season to be over. I'm sick of heavy rain, hail, "circulation" that amounts to nothing, etc. I just like the light cutesy rain.

Walter is pretty funny during storms. It gives me an idea of what he does while we're gone. He lost his ball twice and was running around the house with his tail between his legs. He's probably picking up on the fact that I don't like storms, yet has decided to pass out. Haha. Poor guy.

Okay, I think they may have passed, so I'm going to try and get an additional three more hours of sleep. I have a shindig after work for Justin's work. His boss owns Six at Fourth and Colorado (the one that "Lance Armstrong" owns... well it turns out it is a bunch of investors that own it, and Lance is one of many... but I guess it wouldn't be cool to say that) so I guess we have it privately reserved or something. I think it should be fun, although my posse that I hang out with at these things has already bailed, so I may resort to sitting by myself drinking wine. How pathetic.

Reading into what I say

I'm under the impression my boss thinks I'm pregnant.
I got a bit of a late start this morning, for various disgusting reasons I won't gross you out with. I delayed my presence at work for a few hours, just to make sure I could handle being at work (and my Internet was on the fritz at home, so I didn't really have much of a choice).
So later today my boss is asking how I'm feeling, why I am at work, and what was wrong. I think she was suspicious. Then again, I always thinks she is suspicious ;) Then someone else asked me.
So while I can't be 100% certain, I am 99% certain I'm not pregnant.

Sigh... OF RELIEF!

Life is good people ;) Just wrapped up my review at work and apparently I'm not a total failure. It's always refreshing to hear. Apparently my bosses like me and want me to stick around for another year of craziness. Wee. I'll be sleeping much better tonight.

Oh, and ALIAS is on tonight! WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! I'm going to burst into tears when this show is off the air.

Purple vacuums prepare you for global warming.

I’m trying to get the creative juices flowing this morning. I have a bunch of materials to write today and I’m totally getting writer’s block. I think I may have had it since last week, but today it is peaking.

I took a picture of this yesterday, but I don’t really have a way to get it out of my camera right now, so I’ll post it later. Yesterday, during the “wave” of rolling blackouts, I stopped to get gas, since I was on “E.” I get cut off by this huge ass Chevy Silverado with some bumper stickers on them. One of the stickers proudly exclaimed, “GLOBAL WARMING IS UPON US! PREPARE NOW!”

What a bitch. I mean seriously. I don’t know enough about the scientific evidence surrounding global warming, so I won’t claim that it is exists, but I’m pretty sure driving a monstrous pick-up truck isn’t exactly preparing for global warming like she is suggesting others to do.

Essentially, her car was a walking (driving?) contradiction.

It further cemented my belief that in Austin, people rally behind an idea merely for the sake of it. This woman lives in the city, and most definitely does not need a pick-up truck. Let’s assume the truck was given to her though, and she needs the ride. She could sell the stupid truck and get a smaller car, and therefore prepare for the onslaught of global warming and all of his evil ramifications.

Stupidity, or at least, the illusion of stupidity (because I don’t really know her) really pisses me off.

On a brighter note, we just bought a Dyson vacuum. I haven’t actually tried it out yet, but I’m pretty excited about the prospects. Justin said I was acting like a kid with a new red wagon, and maybe I am, but this vacuum is totally kickin!

Update...

A few people at work today have asked me how my granddad is doing, and I haven’t really blogged about him in this blog, so I thought I might give an update.

About a month ago, my grandfather was at the airport working on an experimental aircraft on quite a windy day. (like 30-35 mile an hour winds) Anyways, a metal door at the hanger he was working in flew open, hitting him, and knocking him to the ground. He didn’t just break his hip, it flat-out shattered.

After a long stint in the hospital and rehabilitation center, Grandpa is back home recovering. He had a bladder infection, probably from the less than optimal healthcare he was receiving, but in good spirits. In fact, he is celebrating his 89th birthday next month. So congrats Grandpa!!

Happy Belated Easter!

You know, I love going home to see family, especially on special occasions such as Easter, but by the end of the trip, I’m so happy to be home – very far away from all of them. Funny how that works, huh?

We got to Dallas Friday morning in time to watch a little “The View” and then hop on a conference call for about 1.25 hours (even when I’m off work I think in time entry terms… evil). Justin started aggravating me, because his family was waiting for me to get off the call so they could eat. But I told Justin in the car I was fasting on Good Friday, I can’t eat meat (they were going to Subway and their veggie sandwiches suck) BUT HE WASN’T LISTENING (or apparently looking, I even wrote it down for him on a post-it note while I was on the call). Luckily, it was a short-lived fight (though in front of his parents, which is embarrassing) and all was repaired in the matter of minutes ;)

I then went to a garage sale a friend of Justin’s family was having (and there was nothing there!), followed by some shopping out at Firewheel with Justin's mom and sister. There, I realized, as I’m about to purchase THE CUTEST pair of pants, my wallet isn’t in my purse. That was a scary few seconds – I was afraid it fell out of the car or something when we stopped to get gas in Waco. Luckily, it had just fallen behind a seat in the car, but I didn’t have my car with me, so I had to put the pants on hold. Booo. The lady at the counter thought it was pretty funny though. And looking back, I would have to agree.

After shopping, we went to Bowl-a-Rama in Rowlett, where I played the crappiest two sets in history. How embarrassing, though I didn’t drop the ball behind me like the work-bowling event. Once that horrible game was over (though Kristy did have seven gutterballs in a row, followed by her 142 the next game… why couldn’t I have been that lucky!), we went and ate at Napoli’s down the street. Mmmm, it was nice to get my one meal in for the day. I love me some baked cheese tortellini!

The next day my mom, Justin’s mom, and myself went to another garage sale of a family friend, and I didn’t see anything I particularly cared for. After that, Mom and I went back out to Firewheel to shop and get those bloody pants!!! ARGH! So got those, headed back over to the house to see my mom, dad, and sister, and went to a wedding shower of a neighbor’s daughter. Stayed there long enough to congratulate her on the impending nuptials, and ventured back home for a few before heading to On the Border to meet Justin’s family for dinner. Mom tagged along, and I had the blandest house salad ever. Totally disappointing.

Followed that up with seeing V for Vendetta, which I recommend to all. Amazing storyline and very pertinent to today’s political and social climate. Went back home and watched The Chronicles of Narnia, and unfortunately, was very glad I didn’t see that in the movie theatre. I LOVE the whole series of C.S. Lewis’ (and A Devine Mercy too… amazing writer) but the movie bit. The scenes that built up to the fight were mediocre and the whole movie could have flowed much better if it had a narrator, like in the book.

The following morning I get woken up with word I have 15 minutes to get ready for church. Lovely. Luckily, the Lord doesn’t mind I wasn’t wearing makeup that day, although I’m pretty sure others did. ;) The pastor went a little overboard with the singing, and had a tendency to repeat his message three or for times before moving on, but other than that, it was okay. I prefer Catholic mass, but I guess that’s why I’m Catholic and not Baptist.

After church, we went back home and prepared the Easter meal, where both of Justin’s grandparents and my parents and Gran came over. I’m pretty sure I ODed on sugar (I gave that and soda up for Lent) and then tried to layout and swim.

Lesson I learned trying to swim: even though it is in the mid-90’s, don’t get into a pool in mid-April unless you want a death wish. Justin thought I wouldn’t get into the pool because it would be too cold. I told him he could push me in, that’s how confident I was that the pool was at a tolerable temperature. Incorrect. It was so freaking cold. Gross.

Then we drove home, hit crappy traffic, and watched Desperate Housewives. Pretty decent episode, although I thought the end of it sucked.

And that was my Easter weekend. Pretty uneventful, yet packed with family activities. Maybe that’s why I don’t like going home all the time. I don’t get a moment to breathe :)

I heart English?

Despite the opinion of many, probably one of my least favorite teachers in high school was an individual by the name of Mrs. Horn. Booo, hiss… I know people are disagreeing now, and I have my reasons – let’s just say her and her sister (my government teacher) didn’t like me, and visa versa.

Throughout my college and subsequent work, my mind keeps wandering back to this particular teacher. We did a lot of stupid assignments in there, and didn’t really focus on writing style. In college, my first English professor really worked with me to develop my writing ability, and ever since then, I love to write.

Today, I write multiple documents everyday at work, and for the most part, I have a blast. One of my supervisors even said I was a strong writer, which about knocked me on the floor.

See, Mrs. Horn through I was a shitty-ass writer, and let me know through several of my grades and comments on papers. (And I’m not saying I wasn’t… I was at the time) The thing that frustrates me the most is that she didn’t sit down with me, or actually say what was so bad. I think that’s because she didn’t really know how to actually “teach” the art of writing, she just knew what was bad and good.

And you know, she had a lot of students, whatever. So did my English professor at UT, plus her own doctorate work. But she cared and she took the time, which is all I really needed.

Anyways, so Justin feels the same way about the said English teacher, though for different reasons (a lot has to do with her fake “happiness” – Justin isn’t exactly Mr. Chip-Cheery). Both of us were driving near our house and were at a stop light. I LOVE looking at bumper stickers and I saw this Civic with one.


YES… look closer.


It says, “I heart Ms. Horne.”

It took a lot not to flick the person off. So, maybe I did, but they couldn’t tell.

So much dislike in my heart. Yuck. I need to work on this.

My mind has gone mad.

You know you’re a dork when…

I had this dream last night, and I guess it took in a bunch of thoughts going through my head that day: American Idol, watching the news, going home this weekend, the list goes on and on.

Anywho, the premise was this: I was sitting in the lounge area with tons of other contestants to try out for “Anchor Idol” at the local FOX station. Carissa, Justin, and Jennifer, some high school friends (and my husband), were with me, and I wasn’t planning to audition, but just to lend moral support. So I’m sitting there chatting it up with one of the assignment editors that I know (I don’t really though in real life – I just know the name and have spoken a few times on the phone) through work and he’s asking why I’m not auditioning.

I say I like my job, and then he says that he loves the press releases I send. At this point, like I’m outside of my dream, the part of me watching this dream in my head starts laughing because that is a funny-ass statement. Who would say that?!

Back to the story though. So somehow I get convinced to join in the festivities. I walk into this room, sort of set up like a lecture hall. On each desk in front of the contestant there is a button.

I’m explained that it works sort of like a current events quiz. They start telling a news story, and once you recognize the topic you buzz. That enables you to go down in front of everyone and recite the full news story in front of everyone, from your own memory. When I finally get one right, I go down there, and I’m about to speak, and Walter wakes me up with a sneeze. Thanks Walls, I wanted to know if I won.

I will say, when it was Justin’s turn to go up, he went all conspiracy theory on them in this fake newsman’s voice. It was hilarious and everyone was rolling. I think he might have been asked to leave. HA!

The fact that I’m even dreaming about this is hilarious. I mean, who dreams about becoming an anchor of a crappy local TV show through Anchor Idol?

That being said, FOX7, if you read this (which I doubt) please come up with this format and execute it. I would DOMINATE!

Random Thoughts for April 11.

I’m as red as an apple waiting to be peeled.

This morning I was sitting in traffic (which my ‘short-cut’ suddenly started sucking this week, making my commute an extra 10 minutes long) and I was putting my makeup on because I was running a tad late this morning.

As I’m applying my powder I begin to notice that chunks of skin are coming off my face. Great. So now I look like a two-toned freak, but only on my forehead and nose.

Lesson of the week: don’t think you are invincible. Wear SPF 15.

So yesterday, Justin and I checked out a country club. I’ve never belonged to a country club before, but Justin participated in one growing up since he is such an avid golfer.

I’m not exactly fru-fru or feeling the need to belong to cliques (i.e. I never joined any Greek organizations in college), but the idea of the country club is tempting.

Everyone was pretty nice, and they all seem to drink a lot. “Hey, come join our tennis group. We have mimosas before we play.” Quickly followed by another woman, “Join our ladies golf group – we drink Bloody Mary’s before and after we play.” I mean, seriously, how can you not pass that up? Right? Eh?

I just don’t want to show up to work tan, blonde, and stupid, which I’m quite concerned may occur. Or worse, quit my job to spend my life drinking mimosas before a game of drunken tennis (which I’m sure I pretty sure I would get hurt, as evident by my rollerblading incident).

Will they pressure me to have children and quit my job? Will I be obligated to showcase my lack of athletic ability in return for a false sense of camaraderie among women that are everything I stand against in this world? Or, am I feeding a stereotype, and in truth, these women are hard-working, equally athletically talentless individuals like myself that are just trying to do these things for their husbands? Or do they even have husbands?

ARGH! I’m torn! Is it possible to keep your sense of individuality while succumbing to the proper etiquettes of the country club.

Or did I really just want to tell Justin, “HEY! How about you buy me a Mini-Cooper instead and we’ll call it a day?” Man, Gone in 60 Seconds is good.

Young people Kickin' My Ass

So I read this motivating story today in Tactics, a monthly newsletter I get as a PRSA member. Anyways, in it was this article written by a young professional around my age and how she kicks ass.

I got a little pissed off, mainly at myself. She got a job right out of college (which despite my best attempts I did not) and now is the PR manager at a prestigious zoo. AT MY AGE! ARGH!

That could have been me. I graduated almost three years ago and I’m still stuck at an entry level position. Reading that is almost insulting.

So I started figuring out the mistakes I made in the last three years, as an attempt to tell myself to not make any more professionally:

Getting out of Austin. I think I should have found a job right after college outside of Austin or Texas, then after Justin and I got married, try and move back or do the long distance thing until I was able to find a job. I couldn’t even get an internship out of college in Austin after I graduated.
Taking jobs that only minimally utilized my skills. Taking stupid temp jobs sucked, and prevented me from pounding the pavement looking for jobs. DUMB – Thanks prominent PR professional in Austin with the initials EC for that stupid idea. Then being a real estate assistant was murder, and then that job as a “marketing” assistant (a.k.a front desk helper) at a “wellness center” (a.k.a. gimmick place to rip people off through over-priced chiropractic care) didn’t help either.
Getting involved with local communications organizations. I didn’t have the money at the time and didn’t think it would help. WRONG WRONG WRONG! I’m pretty sure I would have at least gotten my name out there or something had I participated in PRSA or something. But my parents would help me pay the crazy sum that it costs per year, so I didn’t. I should have taken a second job or something. Argh.

In conclusion, I’m an idiot. This girl has her APR (which come next year, I’m going for) and she is only 25. Craziness. I’ve been told APR doesn’t help that much at the agency level, but you know what? I want to work at a corporation some day where they pay more and an APR does matter (at least $$ wise) and I don’t have to work as many hours.

Argh, 25… pisses me off. I’m hanging that article in my cube as a constant reminder.

Procrastinating when you have lots of work is stupid.

1.) When showering, do you start the water and then get in or get in and start the shower?
Start the shower, get it as hot as possible without it scalding me, and then get itn.

2.) Do you read the labels on your shampoo bottle?
Depends on how bored I am. If I forgot to turn the radio on before I got in, I read as many bottles as possible.

3.) Do you moan in the shower like the people on the Herbal Essence commercial?
Nope, just sing.

4.) Have you ever showered with someone of the opposite sex?
Well, I am married… what do you think?

5.) Have you ever peed in someone's yard?
Recently, no. But as a kid if I was doing the kiddie pool thing and had to tinkle, I’d run into the side yard and get my pee on.

6.) Have you ever brushed your teeth in the shower?
No, though I have thought about from a time standpoint. I could do it while conditioning my hair. Hmm…

7.) Have you ever dropped your soap on your foot?
No, but I have dropped the shampoo bottle, the razor (OUCH), and various other items, but never the soap bar.

8.) How old do you look?
Probably my age.

9.) How old do you act?
Based on another survey, I act 28.

10.) What's the last song you listened to?
Ugh, that stupid James Blunt song, “You’re Beautiful.” STOP PLAYING THAT SONG EVERY 8 SECOND 96.7!!

11.) Have you recently become a member of anything?
Actually yes! I’m a card carrying member of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) as of two weeks ago.

12.) What are your plans for the weekend?
Seeing family for the Easter holidays!

13.) Do you kiss with your eyes opened or closed?
Closed, unless it is lasting too long, then I open them to see if Justin is thinking the same thing, and usually he is. Haha.

14.) Have you ever ridden a mechanical bull?
No.

15.) If you were working on a pirate ship, what would you most likely be doing?
I’d like to the person on top peering to see if any ships are coming.

17.) Have you ever called anyone a slut?
Um yeah. I think I’ve even called myself a slut.

18) Have you ever been called a slut?
See above.

19). Have you ever smuggled something into America?
Oh yes!!! One (1) Cuban cigar from the cruise I went on. I was so scared I was going to get busted. Oddly enough, I think I threw it out a month or two later because I don’t smoke.

20). Does playing the guitar make a girl/guy more attractive?
No offense to guitar players, but it’s really just a cry for help if that’s the only instrument you play and you suck at it.

21). Do you live in a city with a good sports team?
National Champion Longhorns! Boo-ya!

23). How many people do you think would come to your funeral? Probably about 200, including people from work. Maybe more.

24). How many of them would come just to make sure you're dead?
Oh no! gosh, probably none.

25). Do you have more enemies or more friends?
That’s a toss up. Over my lifetime, probably equal ;)

26.) Have you ever sent an anonymous letter?
Heck no. When I put something to words, I sign that stuff – I want them to know who sent it. It’s also the only way I can confront people.

28.) Have you ever turned someone down for a date?
Yeah.

29.) Are you smarter than your friends?
I think I’m friends with a lot of intellectual people, if anything, I’m the stupid one of the group

30.) Have you ever stolen anything from your friends?
OMG no!

31.) Have you ever been to jail?
Actually, yes. Just to tour it in fourth grade!

32.) Should you have?
Well, I would have gotten in trouble if I skipped out on it!

33) Do you like the smell of beer?
Yuck no.

34.) Have you ever died or killed someone in your dreams?
Actually no! I have been killed in my dreams. It was really scary because the guy shot me, and it went black in my dream, and when I woke up, the electricity had gone off. Pretty freaky!

35.) Have you ever given to charity?
Yes

36.) Would you kill a dog for $1000?
I could never kill a dog ever.

37.) Do you sometimes get depressed?
Yes, for odd reasons too.

38.) Do you live with your parents?
Shoot me now! Heck no!

39.) Do you have plans for your future?
Yes, I need to start my own firm someday and have children and go back to school and travel the world. I anticipate all of this occurring in the next year. HAHA!

X MARKS THE SPOT

You are
[ ]short, under 5'4" (5'2)
[x]5'4" - 5'6"
[ ] 5'7" - 6'0"
[ ] tall 6'1" and up

NATURALLY
[ ] blonde
[] redhead
[ ] brunette
[ ] dirty blonde
[x ]dark brown
[ ] black

[ ] blue-eyed
[x] brown-eyed
[ ] green-eyed
[ ] hazel-eyed
[ ] gold/gray-eyed
[ ] silver/gray- eyed
[ ] blue/green-eyed
[ ] brown/green-eyed
[ ] Yellow/Green-eyed
[ ] they change colors

[ ] glasses I need them.
[ ] contacts
[ ] have glasses
[ ] BOTH
[x] neither

[ ]short hair
[x]medium hair
[] long hair

Your favorite color(s) are?
[ ] red
[ ] khaki
[ aqua (marine)
[x] pink
[ ] hot pink
[] yellow
[] black
[ ] green
[ ] lime green
[]blue
[] white
[ ] Turquoise
[x ] silver
[x] purple
[ ] brown
[x] Orange
[ ] gray
[ ] maroon
[ ] gold
[ ] teal
[ ] I don't really care
[ ] I don't believe in favorite colors

Some things you've done?
[x] ice skating
[x] hiking
[] rafting
[] water skiing
[x] horseback riding
[] body/surfing and skim/wake boarding
[ ] snowboarding
[] skiing
[x] dancing
[x] skateboarding
[] cheerleading
[ ] lacrosse
[ ] street hockey
[x] gymnastics
[ ] martial arts
[x] baton twirling
[x] swimming

Your personality is sometimes...
[x] talkative
[x] shy
[x] funny
[x] serious
[x] laid back
[ ] strict
[ ] hyper
[ ] weird
[x] ditzy - thanks to pregnancy
[x]sarcastic
[ ]slow

You can't stand listening to...
[] pop
[x] country
[ ] Christian
[ ] classical
[ ] techno
[x] oldies
[ ] opera
[ ] 80's
[ ] disco
[ ] Hip Hop
[ ] classic rock
[x] punk
[ ] metal
[x] screamo
[ ] reggae
[ ] I like everything as long as I am in the mood for it or its not for to long a period of time

Clothing Brands you own?
[ ] Delia's
[ ] American Eagle
[ ] Hollister
[ ] Buckle
[ ] Abercrombie&Fitch
[x] Target
[ ] Wal-mart
[ ] Wet Seal...old clothes
[ ] Forever 21
[ ] O'neil
[ ] Pac Sun
[x] Gap
[x] JCrew
[x] Neiman Marcus
[ ] Bloomingdales
[x] Nordstrom
[x] Anthropologie
[x] Banana Republic
[ ] Aeropostale
[ ] Dickies
[ ] Anchor Blue
[ ] Guess
[ ] Lucky
[ ] Champs
[ ] Salvation army/goodwill/VALUE WORLD.
[ ] Old Navy
[ ] whatever is at the thrift store
[ ] Eddie Bauer
[ ] Hot Topic
[ ] Alloy
[ ] RAVE!
[ ] Baby Phat
[ ] Apple Bottoms

Okay, I feel stupid now for doing this! Do any of these people actually hold jobs!? What about Ann Taylor, Ann Taylor Loft, the Limited, Express, White House Black Market, NY and Co., boutiques! HELLO!

Shoe Brands You Own?
[x] Flip-Flops
[x] Nike
[ ] Adidas
[ ] Reebok
[ ] Billabong
[ ] Roxy
[ ] Puma
[ ] Jack purcells
[ ] luggs
[ ] BCBG
[ ] Birkenstocks
[ ] Etnies
[X] Reefs
[ ] Converse
[ ] K Swiss
[ ] Adio
[ ] DC
[X]Steve Madden
[ ] Vans
[x] if I like something alot ill buy it
[ ] New Balance
[ ] LEI
[X] Payless
[ ] DVS
[ ] Emerica's
[ ] Rainbows
[X] dc martens
[ ] dickies
[ ] diesels
[ ] roos
[ ] Globe
[] Airwalk
[] Circa
[ ] I own alot but dont know what they are
[ ] birdman
[ ] jordans
[ ] baby phat

Once again? I need more “work shoe” options. Gimme a break!

Your confessions:
[X] I'm afraid of silence
[x I am ticklish
[ ] I'm afraid of the dark if im alone
[ ] I've collected comic books
[ ] I shut others out when I'm mad
[X] I open up to others easily (eh, it kinda depends on the subject)
[ ]I read the newspaper (comics)
[x] I love Disney movies
[ ] I am a sucker for eyes
[ ] I don't kill bugs
[ ] I have "x"s in my screen name
[X] I bake well
[x] I have worn pajamas to class (yeah, um, four or five years ago! AHH! I’m getting old!)
[ ] I love Martha Stewart
[ ] I am guilty of tYpInG lIkE tHiS
[x] I am self-conscious...sometimes
[x] I love to laugh
[ ] I can't swallow pills
[ ] I bite my nails
[X] I play computer games when I'm bored (I’m a Sukoku nut!)
[ ] I've gotten lost in the city
[x] Gone out in public in your pajamas (once again, not in years!)
[ ] Been skydiving
[ ] Been bungee jumping
[ ] Bitten someone
[X] Dressed up like the opposite sex (When I was four, to see if my parents would think it wasn’t me)
[x] teepeed a house
[x] Been fired (I quit before it got to that point. But yes, twice!)

Have you ever...
[ ] danced in the rain
[x] Seen a shooting star
[ ] Gotten stitches
[x] Eaten Sushi
[x] Gotten the chicken pox
[x Ridden in a taxi
[X] Been on a cruise ship
[ ] Driven over 400 miles in one day
[ ] Been on a plane by yourself
[X] Had surgery
[ ]seen a movie more than 3 times in the theater (Casper… I know, Devon Sawa)
[x] been on stage
[ ] gotten a black eye
[X ] watched an entire baseball game on tv

Do you like...
[X ] musicals
[x] blasting music in your car
[x] Christmas time
[ ] donuts
[x] animals
[ ] coffee
[x] tea (only hot peppermint tea)

Two Things That Scare You
1. Giving birth and the subsequent raising of a child
2. getting murdered

Two Things You Are Wearing Right Now
1. H&M long sleeved cotton brown shirt
2. NY & Co black baggy cotton pants (that go right past my knees)

Favorite Hobby
1. Writing

Three Things You Want Really Badly
1. A Mini Cooper
2. My weight from high school
3. my dog to live forever (SHOUT OUT WALTER!)

Two Places You Want to go on Vacation
1. Italy (well, Rome)
2. Australia

Two Things You Want to Do Before You Die
Can't narrow it down

Two Things You Are Thinking About Now
1. I need to get out of here
2. Is this almost done?

Two Stores You Shop At
1. Ann Taylor Loft
2. White House Black Market

Two Fast Food/Restaurant Places You'll Eat at
1. Hickory Street Grill’s salad bar
2. Apple Annie’s for their yummy tomato brie soup

Two people I haven't talked to or seen in a while
1. Ashley (four days is a long time!)
2. Carissa

One Reason you're doing this survey
1. I’m a procrastinator.

note to self: I do not recover from falls well

Well, it's about 11 a.m. and I'm at home. I went home sick from work because those little "stumbles" I took rollerblading have knocked me on my ass, except it is painful to sit on said ass.

Instead, I'm working at the counter standing up, or laying down on my bed with my bum in the air.

It's still hilarious, and I don't want anyone to be like, "Oh Jenni, I'm sorry you fell." Rather, I prefer, "OMG Jenni, you are such a dumbass."

Luckily, people at work have been adhering to my request, making the situation even more humorous.

Except, it hurts to laugh.

I'm not ten anymore.

So Justin and I bought rollerblades today.

And about two feet from the house I almost flipped my feet up over my head. Instead, I landed on my back from mid air and killed my butt and lower back. Like I trooper, I got back up and did well for another ten minutes. Then, in front of our neighbor I did it freakin' again!!! Except this time I landed on my side and bloodied up my thigh.

So, I hope I make it to work tomorrow, because the soreness is starting to set in, and that isn't a good thing.

In conclusion, don't assume that because you were a badass on rollerblades at ten you still are at 24. Because, you aren't.

Oh high school body, where did you go?

I like my hair today. I colored it two days ago and no one noticed, which is what I was going for. I was sporting this two-toned thing, trying to grow out my hair in an effort to never color it again. I quickly realized (well, after a year) that this was taking longer than I had hoped.

So, taking a chance, I ventured to HEB in hopes of finding something close to my natural hair color, or slightly darker because it will totally fade.

After coloring it, I stepped out of the shower and noticed my hair had a tinge of red, it freaked me out, but turns out it was just bad lighting. Anyways, I think this summer I’ll start doing the “return to my roots” – i.e. blond highlights. My goal is to be fit and tan and cute by the summer.

Step 1: Resume South Beach Diet. I started Tuesday and I already feel like I have lost weight. Wee. I’m not even going to weigh myself, just see how much better my clothing looks on me.

Step 2: Purchase Rollerblades at Academy this evening and beginning rollerblading every evening, subject to weather. Justin hates running, biking, etc. and he has settled on rollerblading. Interestingly enough, at the age of 10, I developed, coordinated, and implemented (haha… sounds pretty PRish already) a neighborhood Olympics, and rollerblading to music was one of the events. Needless to say, I won.

Step 3: Lay out. I swear, I just look skinnier when I’m not pale. I haven’t been out in the sun for two years, so it’s time to make a resurgence.

Step 4: Actually stick with Steps 1-3 for longer than two months.

Wish me luck!

You know you're an addict when...

Thursday night, Justin and I were grabbing dinner at our favorite local hang out, Kirbey Lane (south), and there was a bit of a wait. So it was a lovely night and we sat outside with a few other people waiting to be seated.

From nowhere (and keep in mind this is Lamar, a.k.a. crazy people street), this skank nasty guy comes walking up (with no intention of eating at KL). By skank nasty, I mean, tight black jeans, white shirt with only two buttons, and greasy hair. Think Grease but fuglier.

So, he tries to bum a cigarette off of people, but no one around us smokes. He looks around, grabs a used cigarette off the ground and lights it, walking off to the gas station next door.

Okay, so first, gross. Are you that nasty that you are willing to put a cigarette in your mouth that could have belonged to an equally skank-nasty person????

Second, um, you aren't supposed to smoke around a gas station, idiot. Especially that close to the pumps.

That was so nasty, that six days later, I still get the shivers thinking about it. Yuck.

Surprise, Surprise

I love my husband, I really do, and I love everything about him: the red hair, the oversized t-shirts, the “I have never owned a pair of jeans in my life and I’m not starting now” aspect, and similar to the previous point – the never settling for anyone “even when your wife buys the pair of jeans just to see you in them so she can take a picture and then return them.” He has his standards, and I’ve learned (or am still in the process of) not to try and push the envelope, so to speak.

Justin is a big sweetheart, and though he’s never done much in the way of surprises, I’ve still loved his attempts, even more than the gifts themselves.

So I got home from work after a particularly hectic day, greeted by the Walls and then my husband. The blinds-guy had come by to repair a set of blinds that were malfunctioning and I was getting ready to ask Justin why he wasn’t picking up any phones earlier that afternoon (so I could let him know the blinds-guy was coming) when he said, “Go into the bedroom, I have a surprise.”

Okay, so maybe my mind was in the gutter the second he said that, and I was anticipating as such when I walked into our bedroom – you know, candles lit everywhere, maybe a piece of lingerie, because well, my mind was in the gutter. What I didn’t expect to find was a jewelry box on the bed.

See, I’ve only gotten a few pieces of jewelry from Justin and they are near and dear to me. One is this James Avery ring shaped like a heart that he gave me when we first started dating. The next two were the engagement ring and subsequently the wedding ring, and around Christmas (either this year or last… it’s a bit of a blur) I got a very pretty diamond heart necklace.

So seeing the box on the bed that said Helzberg Diamonds got me pretty excited. I think I was already hugging him and I hadn’t even opened the box yet.

So there it was: a necklace that I had wanted two years ago: those three diamond ones, Past-Present-Future. And OMG, the diamonds are brilliant!!! Seriously, appraised and everything and worth more than my rings combined. I about fell over with happiness for two reasons:

One, this came out of nowhere. Yesterday wasn’t a special day, it was just another day in the week. It caught me off guard and I loved it!

Two, well, hello – diamonds really are a girl’s best friend and these things are stellar.

So now I love an additional item about Justin: his element of surprise, and well, maybe the fact he sure does know how to pick jewelry, a very important trait in your husband.

Weekend Update!

Friday night, Justin and I ventured to Houston for a visit with my friend, Ashley. I missed out on a birthday party for Ivette back in Austin (though I got quite an interesting call on my cell phone from two individuals that I have saved. Hahaha… that was pretty hilarious) but I still had a good time in Houston.

Saturday was spent doing too much shopping. We started at the Galleria where I purchased some clothing at Nordstrom’s, The Limited, and Ann Taylor Loft (PLEASE LOVE OF GOD OPEN ONE IN AUSTIN) while Justin wandered aimlessly throughout the mall.

Justin decided to go from kiosk to kiosk to humor the hard-working individuals of T-Mobile and some gimmicky nail booth. For example, Justin was walking by, and was asked, “Have you ever heard of the Dead Sea,” quickly followed by, “Do you believe in magic?” Then they tested their product on his middle finger (how appropriate) and tried to convince him to purchase it first for himself, then when he wasn’t going waiver, for me.

At the T-Mobile booth, the guy asked him if he was a UT grad and they just talked about random stuff for five minutes. Then the guy asked him if he wanted a new phone. Justin’s phone is really a mini computer that his company paid for and pays for part of his cell service. Once Justin said that, the guy was like, well, um, have a great day. Haha.

After the Galleria, we went to a baseball card shop where Justin blew about $135. He can never complain about how much I spend on clothing ever again. He keeps telling me that his stuff appreciates over time, is worth money, etc., but Justin never plans to actually sell these things, so that argument is a tad moot.

We ate at this place called Lupe’s Tortillas, and I took a picture of the menu because it was funny, but I don’t have a way to upload my pics, so I’ll get them up this evening.

For dinner we were going to eat at this place called Benjy’s in the Rice Village, but because they are assholes we ended up eating at Katz’s, which was cool, but they have one in Austin, so not that unique to me. We called Benjy’s around 3 p.m. to make a reservation, but since we had to watch the final minutes of the Florida/George Mason game (which ended up being a blow out), they told us that we didn’t need to make one.

So we get there, and of course they tell us the wait is an hour. Why tell us to come on in without a reservation because “there won’t be much of a wait” and then get there and they look at us like we are crazy because we didn’t make a reservation? I wanted to bitch them out for making a stupid suggestion to us, but the atmosphere was snobby so we just left. I wish I could have bitched them out. I wanted to really bad. But Ashley isn’t confrontational, and I didn’t want to cause a scene.

Instead, to the 4 people that read this blog and to the googlers who put “Houston” and “Benjy’s” into their search, don’t go there!!! The rude wait staff is enough to not ever try that place for real.

Sunday we went to Ikea and bought a coffee table, canopy bed for the guest bedroom, lamps, and a duvet cover before heading home. I spent three hours putting that bloody thing together and still haven’t finished. I was making great time until it came to the part of putting the metal support beams in.

I have no idea what the directions are describing visually. Ashley has the same bed, and I can’t figure out the jimmy-rigged system her and her boyfriend used. ARGH!

Okay, that’s all for now – except to say that Grey’s Anatomy was killer awesome AGAIN yesterday. I love that show, especially in HD. ;)