Hi all! Happy Fat Tuesday! I hope you're getting all of your partying out of your systems before we head into Lent tomorrow... fun times! I really partied it up... I drank a whole glass of wine with dinner. Watch out, I'm a rebel! :)
Seriously, though, I am really amazed at the spirit of rebirth in New Orleans. I was looking at pictures of Mardi Gras and am completely amazed how the people who have seen such devastation over the last six months still find a reason to rejoice.
CNN had some really great Mardi Gras pictures. I'm not sure if you all remember, but one of the famous pictures of the aftermath was a man who had boarded up his store to try to keep looters out. On the outside of the white wood he wrote: "Don't try. I am sleeping inside with a big dog, and ugly woman, two shotguns and a hammer." That cracked me up at the time, but what's even better is the statement written later: "9/4/05. Still here. Woman left Fri. Cooking a pot of dog gumbo." lol - that's the spirit of life - you can always find something to laugh about and we all know laughter is the best medicine! Honestly, I don't know how the people of New Orleans do it! It just really amazes me to see people who lost everything celebrating and continuing on with tradition in the face of total devastation. Absolutely amazing.
Hope y'all had a great Fat Tuesday!
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Monday, February 27, 2006
Getting Back In Shape
So this weekend I ventured back to the gym after my 3 1/2 week hiatus. Ouch. I've lost 2 pounds, all of which I'm sure is muscle. I was doing so well before I got sick! So Saturday I "took it easy" and lifted weights. Apparently, I forgot that I have zero upper body strength to begin with and was a little over-zealous with the weight lifting. Sunday I decided to get back into my old swimming form. It hurts less than running and I feel like I actually build some muscle definition and tone up a bit. I found this great website: http://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/swim-cgi/
It lets you put in what level you want to swim at, how long you want to swim and then what you would like to focus on. Then you can print out the workout and take it with you to the pool. Makes me feel like my old swimming days, minus the screaming-shove-a-banana-down-your-throat-coach (gotta love him). It breaks the workout into sets (rather than saying "I'm going to swim 100 laps") and works on building your stroke. I highly recommend it if you're interested in swimming!
Just a few more days until our next concert! I'm so excited... this music is some of the most challenging music that I've ever sang! We have some great soloists coming in, including the soprano who just won the Metropolitan Opera Competition! I can't wait! It's going to be a super busy week with dress rehearsals and then the performance, but I love it!
Ok, off to bed to get some beauty sleep!
It lets you put in what level you want to swim at, how long you want to swim and then what you would like to focus on. Then you can print out the workout and take it with you to the pool. Makes me feel like my old swimming days, minus the screaming-shove-a-banana-down-your-throat-coach (gotta love him). It breaks the workout into sets (rather than saying "I'm going to swim 100 laps") and works on building your stroke. I highly recommend it if you're interested in swimming!
Just a few more days until our next concert! I'm so excited... this music is some of the most challenging music that I've ever sang! We have some great soloists coming in, including the soprano who just won the Metropolitan Opera Competition! I can't wait! It's going to be a super busy week with dress rehearsals and then the performance, but I love it!
Ok, off to bed to get some beauty sleep!
Saturday, February 25, 2006
What a Day!
Today had to have been one of the most productive days I've had in a while. I'm definitely feeling better now! I ran errands this morning, washed my car (as in got out the bucket and hose - this hasn't been done in FOREVER), got my oil changed, went to the gym and spend an hour laying in the sun reading. It was so fantastic!
Ok, I have to send a shout out to dear Mateo. He told me about this program called Trillian (Eva, it's a lot like the one you use on Mac) that connects you to all of your instant messaging tools through one interface. So, for example, I use MSN, AOL and Yahoo!. That means three different connections, three different programs to learn. Instead, Trillian connects you and you just use one interface. VERY cool!
Finally, tonight I went to the movies with Kelly. We saw "When A Stranger Calls". I guess I need to be a little more careful when selecting movies, as all I saw was "thriller". We got excited thinking we were going to see a really scary movie. As it turns out, it's a PG-13 thriller, which sort of changes things. First of all, the movie itself was a little "eh". But the most interesting part was our fellow movie viewers. You see, Kelly and I were surrounded by the 13 and under crowd. They were a little rowdy, throwing popcorn, talking really loud, moving around a lot. In fact, they actually had to bring security into the theatre to keep them in check. That's right, a security guard who sat there for the whole movie watching for troublemakers. Talk about entertainment!
Ok, I have to send a shout out to dear Mateo. He told me about this program called Trillian (Eva, it's a lot like the one you use on Mac) that connects you to all of your instant messaging tools through one interface. So, for example, I use MSN, AOL and Yahoo!. That means three different connections, three different programs to learn. Instead, Trillian connects you and you just use one interface. VERY cool!
Finally, tonight I went to the movies with Kelly. We saw "When A Stranger Calls". I guess I need to be a little more careful when selecting movies, as all I saw was "thriller". We got excited thinking we were going to see a really scary movie. As it turns out, it's a PG-13 thriller, which sort of changes things. First of all, the movie itself was a little "eh". But the most interesting part was our fellow movie viewers. You see, Kelly and I were surrounded by the 13 and under crowd. They were a little rowdy, throwing popcorn, talking really loud, moving around a lot. In fact, they actually had to bring security into the theatre to keep them in check. That's right, a security guard who sat there for the whole movie watching for troublemakers. Talk about entertainment!
Sunday, February 19, 2006
Sleep
So I feel like I've been sleeping for the last week. I went back to the doctor on Friday and discovered that although I felt better, I was still kinda sick. Fever and bronchial yuckiness. So another shot, this one a steroid, to the booty. Fun times.
In other news, I'm returning to choir practice today. We have a special rehearsal because we're getting close to our performance. I figure a couple hours tonight and a couple hours tomorrow night won't kill me, especially since I've pretty much just been sleeping for the last two days. And I have all day tomorrow to sleep as well. The issue with sleeping all day is that I'm having a really hard time falling asleep at night. Bummer.
To make matters worse, it's the All Star break, so there's not even good basketball on TV! I have been catching up on Season 3 of 24, but I can only watch so much of that in a row. I've gone through 2 1/2 books in the last two weeks.
On that note, I'm off to nap.
In other news, I'm returning to choir practice today. We have a special rehearsal because we're getting close to our performance. I figure a couple hours tonight and a couple hours tomorrow night won't kill me, especially since I've pretty much just been sleeping for the last two days. And I have all day tomorrow to sleep as well. The issue with sleeping all day is that I'm having a really hard time falling asleep at night. Bummer.
To make matters worse, it's the All Star break, so there's not even good basketball on TV! I have been catching up on Season 3 of 24, but I can only watch so much of that in a row. I've gone through 2 1/2 books in the last two weeks.
On that note, I'm off to nap.
Sunday, February 12, 2006
Oops!
Big news today...
Our talented Vice President (get this) "accidentally shot and wounded a campaign contributor during a weekend quail hunt on a friend's South Texas ranch". Oops. Big oops. Apparently the guy has birdshot in his face and chest. He'll be fine, but my guess is that he might not be a campaign contributor after this little incident.
Click on the link to read the whole story: http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/02/12/cheney/index.html
In other news, I'm FINALLY starting to feel normal again. Holy cow - it's been a while since I've had something knock me off my feet for 2 weeks. Guess I should listen to my body a little more often so it stops trying to shut down on me...
Brigitte and I went to see "Brokeback Mountain" last night. We don't get it. Someone please explain. We don't understand the ending at all, we think it was kinda slow in the middle (they go to the mountain, they come back, they go to the mountain, they come back). AND, there was this huge thing about them being gay, but they were more like bi.
I spent the rest of the weekend resting so that I'm all set for the work week ahead of me. Yesterday was absolutely GORGEOUS out! I walked Cody in the morning and it was so nice that I came back, got my bathing suit on and sunned myself in the back yard (while finishing Memoires of Geisha - GREAT book!). Maybe it's because I've been inside and in my pjs for the last two weeks, but the sun has never felt so good on my skin! And it was just so nice to be outside again! I need to find a biking buddy!
Our talented Vice President (get this) "accidentally shot and wounded a campaign contributor during a weekend quail hunt on a friend's South Texas ranch". Oops. Big oops. Apparently the guy has birdshot in his face and chest. He'll be fine, but my guess is that he might not be a campaign contributor after this little incident.
Click on the link to read the whole story: http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/02/12/cheney/index.html
In other news, I'm FINALLY starting to feel normal again. Holy cow - it's been a while since I've had something knock me off my feet for 2 weeks. Guess I should listen to my body a little more often so it stops trying to shut down on me...
Brigitte and I went to see "Brokeback Mountain" last night. We don't get it. Someone please explain. We don't understand the ending at all, we think it was kinda slow in the middle (they go to the mountain, they come back, they go to the mountain, they come back). AND, there was this huge thing about them being gay, but they were more like bi.
I spent the rest of the weekend resting so that I'm all set for the work week ahead of me. Yesterday was absolutely GORGEOUS out! I walked Cody in the morning and it was so nice that I came back, got my bathing suit on and sunned myself in the back yard (while finishing Memoires of Geisha - GREAT book!). Maybe it's because I've been inside and in my pjs for the last two weeks, but the sun has never felt so good on my skin! And it was just so nice to be outside again! I need to find a biking buddy!
Tuesday, February 7, 2006
Giggle for the Day
Thanks Eva! :)
Mahatma Gandhi, as you know, walked barefoot most of the time, which produced an impressive set of calluses on his feet. He also ate very little, which made him rather frail and with his odd diet, he suffered from bad breath. This made him (Oh, man, this is so bad, it's good)....
A super calloused fragile mystic hexed by halitosis.
Mahatma Gandhi, as you know, walked barefoot most of the time, which produced an impressive set of calluses on his feet. He also ate very little, which made him rather frail and with his odd diet, he suffered from bad breath. This made him (Oh, man, this is so bad, it's good)....
A super calloused fragile mystic hexed by halitosis.
Shot through the....what?!
So remember the Bon Jovi song "You Give Love a Bad Name". You know, the one that goes "Shot through the heart and you're to blame, you give love a bad name"? Well, I took my shots elsewhere today. And I'm not talking the arm. I went back into the doctor today to get another breathing treatment and what do you know, I ended up with a B12 shot to the butt. Let me tell you, if you haven't had a shot there before, you're not missing out on much. Yow! It still hurts!
I spent the rest of the day cat napping and resting. Drinking LOTS of water because I seriously want to kick this. I feel like I've been in my jammies for the last week straight. I'm sick of being sick!
In other news, a GREAT BIG THANK YOU to both Kimi and Emily who send me their pledges today. We have a few more days to go until Singathon and every little bit helps! Thanks!
I spent the rest of the day cat napping and resting. Drinking LOTS of water because I seriously want to kick this. I feel like I've been in my jammies for the last week straight. I'm sick of being sick!
In other news, a GREAT BIG THANK YOU to both Kimi and Emily who send me their pledges today. We have a few more days to go until Singathon and every little bit helps! Thanks!
Sunday, February 5, 2006
SpotBowl 2006
Ok, I'm totally hooked. It was all about SpotBowl 2006 (what, there was some sort of football game on?). It was seriously so much fun - I wrote down each of the commercials and ranked them, then went online and voted. I have to say, it was a blast and I think next year Brigitte and I are going to have a party. A SpotBowl party.
My clear favorites were the Budweiser commercials. I laughed my booty off at "Streaker Sheep" - it was a great play off of last year's Clydesdales playing football. And I LOVED "Junior Clydesdale" where the Mommy and Daddy Clydesdales helped push the cart. That one brought a tear to my eye! I also really liked the "I'm Going To Disneyland" commercials - it was really cute to hear all the players pep talking themselves.
I thought Jessica Simpson's Pizza Hut commercial was completely lame. That along with the Gillette commercials - I mean, honestly, for as much as they pay for those spots, you'd think they could come up with something a little more interesting (and creative)!
And, just to prove that I actually did watch the GAME, I have to give it to the Steelers. They had some amazing plays (A wide reciever throwing a touchdown? In the SuperBowl?!). Turns out the guy was a quarterback in college. Damn! I was rooting for the Seahawks because they were the underdog, but by the end of it, had I had a terrible towl, I would have been swinging it.
That said, I'm taking my cough syrup and going to bed.
Smithson. Out.
My clear favorites were the Budweiser commercials. I laughed my booty off at "Streaker Sheep" - it was a great play off of last year's Clydesdales playing football. And I LOVED "Junior Clydesdale" where the Mommy and Daddy Clydesdales helped push the cart. That one brought a tear to my eye! I also really liked the "I'm Going To Disneyland" commercials - it was really cute to hear all the players pep talking themselves.
I thought Jessica Simpson's Pizza Hut commercial was completely lame. That along with the Gillette commercials - I mean, honestly, for as much as they pay for those spots, you'd think they could come up with something a little more interesting (and creative)!
And, just to prove that I actually did watch the GAME, I have to give it to the Steelers. They had some amazing plays (A wide reciever throwing a touchdown? In the SuperBowl?!). Turns out the guy was a quarterback in college. Damn! I was rooting for the Seahawks because they were the underdog, but by the end of it, had I had a terrible towl, I would have been swinging it.
That said, I'm taking my cough syrup and going to bed.
Smithson. Out.
Saturday, February 4, 2006
Things To Do At Walmart
I know, another rare two posts in one day... :) It's been around the email circuit a couple of times, but it's pretty funny! :)
15 Things to do at Wal-Mart while your spouse is taking his/her sweet time:
1. Pick up condom packages & randomly put them in peoples carts when they aren't looking.
2. Set all the alarm clocks in house wares to go off at 5 minute intervals.
3. Make a trail of tomato juice on the floor to the rest rooms.
4. Walk up to an employee and tell him/her in an official tone, 'Code 3 in house wares,'...and see what happens.
5. Go to the Service Desk and ask to put a bag of M&M's on lay away.
6. Move a 'CAUTION - WET FLOOR' sign to a carpeted area.
7. Set up a tent in the camping department and tell other shoppers you'll only invite them in if they bring pillows from the bedding department.
8. When a clerk asks if they can help you, begin to cry and ask 'Why can't you people just leave me alone?
9. Look right into the security camera and use it as a mirror while you pick your nose.
10. While handling guns in the hunting department ask the clerk if he knows where the anti- depressants are.
11. Dart around the store suspiciously while loudly humming the theme from 'Mission Impossible'.
12. In the auto department practice your Madonna look using different size funnels.
13. Hide in the clothing rack and when people browse through say 'PICK ME! PICK ME!!!!!!'
14. When an announcement comes over the loud speaker assume the fetal position and scream 'NO! It's those voices again'.
15. Go into a fitting room and yell real LOUD 'We're out of toilet paper in here!
15 Things to do at Wal-Mart while your spouse is taking his/her sweet time:
1. Pick up condom packages & randomly put them in peoples carts when they aren't looking.
2. Set all the alarm clocks in house wares to go off at 5 minute intervals.
3. Make a trail of tomato juice on the floor to the rest rooms.
4. Walk up to an employee and tell him/her in an official tone, 'Code 3 in house wares,'...and see what happens.
5. Go to the Service Desk and ask to put a bag of M&M's on lay away.
6. Move a 'CAUTION - WET FLOOR' sign to a carpeted area.
7. Set up a tent in the camping department and tell other shoppers you'll only invite them in if they bring pillows from the bedding department.
8. When a clerk asks if they can help you, begin to cry and ask 'Why can't you people just leave me alone?
9. Look right into the security camera and use it as a mirror while you pick your nose.
10. While handling guns in the hunting department ask the clerk if he knows where the anti- depressants are.
11. Dart around the store suspiciously while loudly humming the theme from 'Mission Impossible'.
12. In the auto department practice your Madonna look using different size funnels.
13. Hide in the clothing rack and when people browse through say 'PICK ME! PICK ME!!!!!!'
14. When an announcement comes over the loud speaker assume the fetal position and scream 'NO! It's those voices again'.
15. Go into a fitting room and yell real LOUD 'We're out of toilet paper in here!
She's Alive!
So after two days of blending in with the sofa, I finally feel like I'm not going to die. Wow. It came on sudden, it came on hard, and it took me out. "It" being a double whammy consisting of a sinus infection and bronchitis. No fun. The worst part was going to the doctor on Thursday. I get in there and I'm coughing up a lung. I pay my copay and the nurse hands me one of those masks that doctors wear when they're going into surgery. I look at her and ask what it's for. She said that since they didn't know what I had, I needed to wear it while I was in the waiting room. I look around and no one else has one on. But, being the public health servant that I am, I place the little straps over my ears and wear it. I sit down and notice that everyone else is on the complete opposite side of the waiting room - probably because I look like I have ebola or SARS. I sit there and fog up my glasses (couldn't get the darn thing to not let all the hot air go up onto my glasses) and cough (the hot air irritated my throat) and pretty much feel like an outcast. All in the name of public safety. Fortunately, I didn't have anything super contagious or deadly. They gave me a breathing treatment, a decongestant, and some antibiotics and sent me on my way.
I have to say, the good thing about being confined to the sofa for two days is that I made it through the entire second season of "24". I am seriously in love with that show!
Today I woke up finally feeling much better. Thank goodness, because I was beginning to get a little grumpy. :)
Tomorrow is the Super Bowl! As always, I will be watching and this year I'm cheering for the underdogs - the Seattle Seahawks. Woot! Of course, we all know it's not about the game, it's about the ADS! Eva was kind enough to send me my ad score card so I will be able to keep track and then vote. Simply go to www.spotbowl.com and print your score sheet. After the game, you just log on and vote for your favorites - it's that simple. Remember, while it seems like the Super Bowl is about football, it's ACTUALLY about the ads and the food!
Only 5 more days until Singathon 2006! Keep the pledges coming!
I have to say, the good thing about being confined to the sofa for two days is that I made it through the entire second season of "24". I am seriously in love with that show!
Today I woke up finally feeling much better. Thank goodness, because I was beginning to get a little grumpy. :)
Tomorrow is the Super Bowl! As always, I will be watching and this year I'm cheering for the underdogs - the Seattle Seahawks. Woot! Of course, we all know it's not about the game, it's about the ADS! Eva was kind enough to send me my ad score card so I will be able to keep track and then vote. Simply go to www.spotbowl.com and print your score sheet. After the game, you just log on and vote for your favorites - it's that simple. Remember, while it seems like the Super Bowl is about football, it's ACTUALLY about the ads and the food!
Only 5 more days until Singathon 2006! Keep the pledges coming!
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