What A Day!

Well, the last few days have been quite busy and eventful! I traveled to and from Newark to prepare for a meeting I was leading today. All the hard work was worth it - the meeting went really well! It's been a tiring two days though - yesterday I drove to and from and today I flew to and from. That's a lot of travel time!

Then, to make matters worse, I think I've contracted the plague. Apparently my dad brought some Hawaiian bug home and managed to pass it to my mom. This morning I wake up with a sore throat and a very husky voice (OF COURSE on the day of my presentation!). However, those appear to be the only symptoms, along with a little bit of a stuffy nose. So if I keep telling myself it's just allergies, maybe I won't get any worse. That's my plan and I'm sticking to it!

One more thing... I NEED PLEDGES! Come on people - I only need to raise $150 and I've already got $25! Don't make me pledge for myself!

Other than that, nothing super spectacular to report. God, my life has become boring... maybe I need to get some finches again...

I'm off to bed.

Burrito Envy

Yes, I know, it sounds odd. So I get on the elliptical machine today at the gym. I'm on for about 10 minutes when a young guy in sweats gets on the machine next to me. He has a hooded sweatshirt with a pocket in the front on and I happen to glance over as he reaches into his pocket. To my utter astonishment, he pulls out a Taco Bell burrito and proceeds to eat it WHILE HE WORKS OUT. Now, it's about 11:30am, so it's getting close to lunch and I'm definitely hungry (what's new?). I'm completely blown away, but what's worse is that I'm actually jealous that he has a burrito. In fact, I wanted my own burrito. At this point, his cell phone rings and he actually answers it. Picture this: The man is on the elliptical machine, eating a burrito from one hand and talking into a cell phone in the other. I'm just WAITING for him to fall off. I know that's what would happen to me... however, he seems to be much better at multi-tasking than I am. *shrug*

I spent the rest of the day working (I know it's Saturday, but I'm heading a HUGE meeting on Tuesday, so I needed to review my presentation), doing my taxes (getting money back! Woo hoo!) and watching "24" (I LOVE Season 2!).

Now I'm off to read "Memoirs of a Geisha" for the book club I joined. :)

Poop, Broken Bones and "The Trade"

Let's get right to it.

So today I took Cody for a walk when I got home from work. We went on our normal 1 1/2 mile route, which isn't too bad. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary until I reached the last stretch of road before our house. You see, it straightens out and you can see all the way down the street. So I notice that about 4 blocks ahead of me is a girl walking what appeared to be a Rottie or Lab. Something big and dark. A few steps later I started to smell poop. So I stop and check my feet. Nothing there. I walk a few more steps and stop to check Cody's feet. Nothing there. We keep walking and I keep smelling it. We cross a court and I look down and see GIGANTIC dog poop in the middle of the street. Seriously, a gargantuan pile of GREEN dog poop. HUGE poop. I'm a little grossed out at this point, but I figure, hey, the dog had a little accident in the middle of the street. So I keep walking. We get across the street and notice that for the next 10 feet there a little logs. Of green poop. I really can't figure it out. Was she dragging him along while he was going? Did he try and fool her? Weird.

In other news, I'm pretty sure I broke my hand. I smacked it on the corner of the dresser right smack in the middle on the back of my hand (yeah, that spot where your bones are pretty much just covered by skin and have absolutely no protection). Now it's all swelled up and hurts to move around. But I refuse to go to the doctor because I don't want to know it's really broken and have another lame "how I broke a weird bone" story. Between that and the foot, I'll need to start making up really good stories.

Finally (and probably most importantly), "The Trade". If you haven't heard, today the Sacramento Kings traded Peja Stojakovic for Ron Artest. I'm not sure how I feel about having a thug on our team. Sure, Bibby kinda looks like a thug, but we all know our team doesn't have a real one. Ron Artest is a little loco. We'll have to see how this works out. I can't say that I'm really sad to see Peja go. Yes, I'll miss Peja the person. But Peja the whimpy basketball player has to go. He hasn't really played well since good old Webber left, so I say ship him off. Love ya Peja, good luck.

That's all for me. Work has been crazy and I'm super tired. I'm going to actually try to go to bed early tonight, even if it means taping "Lost". We'll see if it actually happens.

You Know You're A Child of the 90's If...

• You've ever ended a sentence with the word "PSYCHE!"
• You can sing the rap to "The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air"
• You've worn skorts and felt stylish
• You yearned to be part of the Baby-Sitters club
• You use to love playing with your MY Little Pet Shop
• You know that "WOAH" comes from Joey from "Blossom" and that "How Rude!"comes from Stephanie from "Full House"
• You remember when it was actually worth getting up early on a Saturday to watch cartoons.
• You wore a ponytail on the side of your head and had fluffed bangs
• You got super excited when it was Oregon Trail day in computer class at school.
• You wanted to change your name to "JEM" in kindergarten
• You remember reading "Goosebumps"
• You know the profound meaning of "Wax on, wax off"
• You have pondered why Smurfette was the only female smurf.
• You took plastic cartoon lunch boxes to school.
• You remember the craze then the banning of slap bracelets and slam books.
• You still get the urge to say "NOT" after (almost) every sentence...Not...
• You knew that Kimberly, the pink ranger, and Tommy, the green Ranger were meant to be together.
• You remember "I've fallen and I can't get up"
• You remember going to the skating rink before there were inline skates
• You ever got injured on a Slip 'n' Slide
• You wore socks over leggings scrunched down"
• Miss Mary Mack, Mack, Mack, all dressed in black, black, black, with silver buttons, buttons, buttons, all down her back, back, back" SHE ASKED HER MOTHER MOTHER MOTHER FOR FIFTY CENTS CENTS CENTS TO SEE THE ELEPHANTS ELEPHANTS ELEPHANTS JUMP OVER THE FENCE THE FENCE THE FENCE"he jumped so high high high he touched the sky sky sky and he didn't comeback back back til the forth of july ly ly he jumped so low ow ow he stumbed his toe oe oe and thats the end end end of the elephants show ow ow
• You remember boom boxes vs. cd players
• You knew what it meant to say "Care Bear Stare"
• You remember Alf, the little brown alien from Melmac and Vicki the Robot from "MY Little Wonder"
• You remember New Kids on The Block when they were cool
• You knew all the characters names and their life stories on "Saved By The Bell"
• You played and or collected "Pogs"
• You used to pretend to be a MIGHTY MORPHIN Power Ranger and you owned a SkipIt
• You had at least one GigaPet or Nano and brought it everywhere
• You watched the original Care Bears, My Little Pony, and Ninja Turtles
• All your school supplies were "Lisa Frank"brand.(pencils.notebooks.binders.etc.)
• Yikes pencils and erasers were the shit.
• You remember when the new Beanie Babies were always sold out.
• You used to wear those stick on earrings, not only on your ears, but at the corners of your eyes.
• You remember a time before the WB.
• You've gotten creeped out by "Are You Afraid of the Dark?"
• You thought it would be so cool to be Alex Mack.
• You know the Macarena by heart.. LOL"
• Talk to the hand" ... enough said
• You thought Brain would finally take over the world
• You always said, "Then why don't you marry it!"

Ahhh... the 90's... :) Thanks for the giggle Brig!

Weekend Festivities and Singing

First and foremost, Eva and Adam, thank you very much for your pledge towards Singathon 2006... come on the rest of you! Only $125 to go!

This weekend was fun... had a party that ended up being a blast (email me for party pictures), hung out watching movies on Saturday and had a "24" marathon on Sunday. I am so hooked on that show. Props to Jason for letting me borrow his first 4 seasons to catch up!

Work today was crazy. I was seriously tired before I even got there, and when I opened my email it was nuts. By the end of the day I was definitely ready to go home! Tonight I'm off to SCSO rehearsal which is going to be a blast. We're working on some very challenging music and I can't wait!

Ok, have to scurry off to rehearsal now. I promise to try to keep up with this dang thing a little more often!

24

Ok, let me tell you how much I love 24. AWESOME show. I watched last night which was the first two hours of the 4 hour premiere. HOLY COW! I had rehearsal tonight, so I had to tape the second half, but the parents say it was great! I'm totally a viewer now!

In other exciting news, February 9, 2006 is Singathon 2006. Yes, that's a real thing. It's one of our big fundraisers for the year! We will be singing for four hours and each choir member has been tasked with raising $150. So, starting tonight I will keep tabs on the right hand side of this page to let you know how I'm doing. We perform for four hours on the 9th - it's one of the rare free events (show tunes and fun stuff, not really classical for this event), so if you'd like to come let me know and I'll get you info. Also, if you'd like to sponsor me (for any amount) please also let me know! It's just a flat rate, no dollars per minute sung or anything like that. You're doing a great thing for the arts! :)

On that happy note, I'm off to bed... work is crazy this week and this Friday is my PARTY!!! Woo hoo!

Sunday Laugh - Even God Enjoys a Good Laugh

EVEN GOD ENJOYS A GOOD LAUGH
There were 3 good arguments that Jesus was Black: 1. He called everyone brother. 2. He liked Gospel. 3. He couldn't get a fair trial.

But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was Jewish: 1. He went into His Father's business. 2. He lived at home until he was 33. 3. He was sure his Mother was a virgin and his Mother was sure He was God.

But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was Italian:1. He talked with His hands.2. He had wine with His meals.3. He used olive oil.

But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was a Californian:1. He never cut His hair. 2. He walked around barefoot all the time. 3. He started a new religion.

But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was an American Indian: 1. He was at peace with nature. 2. He ate a lot of fish. 3. He talked about the Great Spirit.

But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was Irish: 1. He never got married. 2. He was always telling stories. 3. He loved green pastures.

But the most compelling evidence of all - 3 proofs that Jesus was a WOMAN: 1. He fed a crowd at a moment's notice when there was no food. 2. He kept trying to get a message across to a bunch of men who just didn't get it. 3. And even when He was dead, He had to get up because there was work to do.
Need I say anymore . . . AMEN

Thanks Doug!!! :) Happy Sunday!

Oops!

Ok, so life has been so busy and I greatly apologize for not blogging in a while.

First things first...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY EVA!!!

I know, it's 2 days late, but it's here. :) I'm glad to hear that your birthday week has been going well... I've been checking those away messages!

As I said, life has been crazy for me. But do you know what's been the worst part? The new freaking postage stamps. So I have my cell phone bill all ready to go when I look down at the stamp and remember that it's 39 cents now, not 37 cents. Fine, no big deal, I'll just stop at the post office on the way home. It's at said post office that I'm nicely told that they're out of 2 cent stamps. Ok, so I will try another post office. Today I drive to another post office (keep in mind this one is in a completely different city than the other one) and am told they don't have 2 cent, 1 cent OR 39 cent stamps. How the heck am I supposed to mail my bill when NO ONE has stamps?! So I put two 37 centers on there and am crossing my fingers. Talk about frustrating!

The rest of today was spent cleaning and running errands... something I've needed to do forever but just haven't had the time. Tomorrow is RELAX DAY! I'm not doing a thing except going to the gym and to church. I was supposed to have rehearsal, but just found out it was cancelled because our room was double booked. A nice little gift from the music gods as the next week is going to be crazy and I really just need a day to myself. Look out new books, here I come!

Weekend Wrapup

Holy moly, what a fun weekend! I will now take you though a small photo-documentary of my weekend experiences.

On Friday night some friends and I went to the Melting Pot for dinner. For those of you who don't know what the Melting Pot is, you're definitely missing out. You have something like this somewhere near you. Basically, it's a place where you go, pay a lot of money and eat a TON of fondue. Sounds lame, but I swear to you it was one of the coolest dining experiences. We arrived at 6:00pm and left around 10:00pm - that's four hours of fondue yumminess! We had four courses. The first was the cheese fondues:

Here's me eating cheese:

They bring you all kinds of yummy things to dip (it's unlimited, as is the fondue) and they're made right in the middle of your table. Each person has a little skewer thingy that is a different color, so you don't get mixed up.

Next came the salad, which is boring so I didn't take pictures.
Then came the meat. I was so busy eating that I forgot to take pictures. Oops. We had chicken, a couple different types of steak, fish (if you like stuff from the ocean), duck (if you're into that kinda thing) and TONS of yummy dips. You basically dipped the meat in batter and then fried it in different oils and then dipped it in sauces.

Finally, there was dessert.

We had the Yin and Yang (white and dark chocolate):


And the Flaming Turtle. He put carmel in the chocolate and then LIT IT ON FIRE. After he PUT OUT OUR DESSERT, he tossed in some pecans. Kyra, I thought of you, I know how you've always loved flaming food!


We dipped all kinds of things into the chocolates: cheesecake, brownies, strawberries, bananas, and marshmallows!
On Saturday my mom and I went shopping. Alas, no pictures, but we had a blast. I got some awesome clothes (so did mom) and we found her a totally cute purse! Yeah! I DID get my birthday watch... I absolutely love it! I'll take a picture of it tomorrow - or you can go to www.guesswatches.com, click on "for her", then "jewelry" then on the "embrace silver tone bangle watch". Mine actually has a silver face and no diamond... it looks so pretty on me!
Today Daddy and I finally went fishing. It took a couple starts, but we made it to the lake eventually. Good thing we checked, because the boat battery was dead! However, I learned how to pull the boat (I know how to drive it on the lake, but have never actually pulled it there). It was a blast! No fish because the lake was pretty muddy and it was windy, but it was a really nice trip!
El Capitan:


Gilligan:

And, of course, the Skipper...

Happy Birthday To Me!

Hi everyone! Well, it wasn't wild and it wasn't out of control. But it was a great birthday!

Here's the great setup my parents made:


This is me listening to Kati sing "Happy Birthday" to me over the phone:


Me and Mama:

Me and Daddy:

Daddy took me to the movies during the day (to see Harry Potter, because no one else on the planet will go with me). I got a watch and the iPod transporter thing - it players your iPod through your car stereo. Ha - see if any felons can get cds out of my car now! I just have to remember to take my iPod out... :)

One of the girls at work came in on Monday (which we had off) to decorate my cube - she put streamers and balloons all over the place. And thank you all for your phone calls, emails and presents!

Hope you're all having a wonderful 2006! Brig and I went to the gym tonight - part of our resolution to get healthy again! Yeah!!!

Happy New Year!

Welcome to 2006 and Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a very fun but very safe time last night! I went to an awesome party - it was basically a mini high school reunion and turned out to be a ton of fun. The neighbor called the cops three times (they weren't really that upset though, after all, it was freaking New Years Eve). Seriously, who calls the police on a New Years party at 11:45pm on New Years Eve? I could understand if it was out of control, but honestly, it definitely wasn't. Just a bunch of people having fun. Oh well... just goes to show that there are party poopers everywhere.

I'd love to hear what everyone else did - please add your stories to the comments section!

In other news, we're having a major storm up here. Storm Number 2 for the year. I love it - a little thunder, a little wind and a lot of rain.

Oh yeah, and I had one hell of a computer virus. SUCKY! I finally have my machine up and running again after three days of troubleshooting. PAIN IN THE ASS!!!

Hope you're all having a wonderful New Years Day!