Now there are two women of the house

Last night Dr. J and I had a scare. The little professor went out for her evening stroll and didn't come back. I know you won't believe it until you see it for yourself, but normally when I let her out she comes back in when I call her, whether she's ready to return or not.

We don't usually let her roam around once it's really dark so about 9 last night I called her

... and called her

... and called her.

Like true parents, we immediately started thinking the worst - our teenager was out there getting knocked up. I quickly remembered that she had been fixed and at least we won't be having babies before she can graduate from high school, but we weren't prepared for her to become a woman this early in her baby life!! About every 10 minutes or so we walked outside and called her, and called her, with no response. Maybe she fell out of a tree, maybe she's been hit by a car - the horrible things that went through our minds! Dr. J gave it one last try about 10:30 and I went out and called her twice. Nothing. As I turned to come in, I half-heartedly gave it one more shot and ZOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM! Prof. M runs by me into the house like nothing had happened.

She did look a little older when she returned. Walked a little more ... worldly. I'm not sure what happened out there, and I don't think I want to know.

And the game comes to an end

Today is the day when I give my Bingo Final Presentation and boy do I have some results. We are jazzing it up a little so it's more One Act Play than Class Presentation, so while it will be more fun and hopefully more interesting, it also is causing me quite a lot of butterflies. I like to think that down deep I'm really a great actress in the body of a mediocre engineer, alas, my two and a half minute Bingo Artifact Monologue is giving me the flutters.

Wish me luck!

A solution for loneliness

If anyone hasn't seen this yet, I HIGHLY recommend it. This is the cutest thing I think I've ever seen. It makes me want to knit a one-armed sweater for Mona.

Tree Sweater

A Toasty Mona

A Toasty Mona
Originally uploaded by missyajg.

This little kitten is plagued with the same disease as every other cute kitty in the world: she cannot let an opened door or an unwatched bag go unnoticed. Here we see her basking in the warmth of the dryer, exhausted from hours of rummaging through my purse and backpack.

Dee dee da duuuum!

Long time on hold listening to saxophones and flutes moan out a little elevator music ... ...

...

...


...



sigh.

Hey, but we did get grass planted this weekend. So that's good!

(dee dee daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa da doooooooooooo ... deeeeeeeee da de do .....)

we are now plus one mower and one rubbermaid storage unit

In the event that our grass decides to gestate and oh, I dunno ... grow, we are now fully prepared. Over the last couple months, Dr. J and I have compiled quite the collection of fertilizers, rakes, hoses, sprinklers and small garden tools, all of which have lived happily in the 3 ft x 3 ft covered concrete space just outside our side door or happily stored underneath the sink in the guest bath. However, with the addition of Moe, the mower, the scales finally tipped in favor of a rubbermaid storage unit. This has been quite the challenge for lawn care rookies, such as ourselves. I'm sure it comes as a surprise to no one that neither Dr. J nor myself has spent much time slaving in the garden.

We are now in full on attack mode in a very determined effort to make the "contractor's sod" either take or begin proactive medicinal lawn treatments. We live mere blocks from some of the most beautiful lawns in Columbia, which doesn't do much to console our frustration that our sod is a strong gust of wind away from loitering on our neighbor's lawn. I think I saw a tear well up in the corner of Dr. J's eye as we drove by The Perfect Lawn this afternoon. Hang in there, J. Our labors are not in vain.

I am proud of all of you, but that doesn't mean i don't think you're crazy, cause I do

This weekend, I have two friends in the St. Louis Marathon, one (maybe two!?) in the St. Louis Half Marathon, one in the Paris Marathon, and one in the Ironman in Arizona. Good luck to you all!!!

Wow. You'd think with all those good examples around me, I'd be a pillar of athleticism and good health.

You'd be wrong though. Dr. J and I have decided we are going to split a pan of turtle brownies and then take an absurdly long nap on Sunday in your honor.

Run like the wind!!

Dance to the Bingo

My life of late has been primarily composed of three things: The Girls (now in Season 5 L&L are together!!), Weeds, and Bingo. The weather here has been beautiful lately so I can't complain about the weeds, I'm actually enjoying it! I kept meaning to go into more detail about the Bingo side of life, but I just spend SO much time with Bingo and related activities that I haven't gone much into detail.

B-i-n-g-o isn't the cute song you used to sing or game you played in class to win the cool #2 pencil. No sir-ee, it's a lifestyle. I kid you not when I say that most of the players at my hall* are there between 4 and 6 days a week, some even 7! I did an interview this past week with one of the players and found out that she Bingos about 5 days a week had a mental spending limit of $60/day. Ummm, can you say really nice mortgage?!?! She also travels to play the big pots, and big in this case is somewhere between $50K and $100K. But before you all jump off the couch to join her, it costs $380 to enter.

The game itself, however, is UBER fast-paced and quite challenging. I've been playing for a couple of months and have never had the guts to call Bingo because I'm so unsure of when I won. And no, you don't win with only 5 across, up or down. I even have myself a small collection of Dabbin' Fever Daubers, a bingo-ist's most important tool. And if you ever decide to find yourself a Bingo Hall, be warned, the rules of behavior are many and newcomers are noticed and unwelcome.

This has been an education unlike one I've never had and yes, all those papers that I've been writing this semester that I've complained about on this site, during which time many of you received ridiculous forwards in my attempts to avoid writing, were all about Bingo. Thank God the end is near though, I've had about all the bingo analysis I can take. So Hooray for only two more papers and a project,

* my research team picked Bingo Halls and each of us went to one Hall once a week for two months for data collection

DST

I'm always the one that either finds out about this just before bedtime the night before or I'm reeeeealy late to church. I found out 5 days in advance this year and there's no reason for us to all miss the fun, so ... everyone ... Spring Forward one hour this Saturday!

The wild days

This morning, Dr. J and I woke up with a sack of wheat hot dog buns on the floor in our bedroom, unopened but with a few scratchy places. Apparently this sack of wheat hot dog buns had visciously attacked our precious Professor during the night, from its normal resting place atop the refrigerator. I was actually more amazed that she hadn't actually had herself a wheat feast than that she had scaled a 10' fridge to rescue some wrongfully imprisoned bread. We've been very strict with the no human food with her, and it's really been paying off. Back in the day, we'd come home to Daisy lounging beer belly up with her paw in a sack of cheetos.

And I hate it when people eat my cheetos.

This hardly seems real

Get the kiddos out of the room. You don't want to be giving them any ideas.

READ.

This is probably one of those you-had-to-be-there-s

So a couple of weeks ago when Erika was here we went outlet mall shopping, like any good girls would do. We got a bit of a late start and swung by Panera for a little b-fast around 9 a.m. (I normally chug my target imitation slimfast shake around 6:30, so this was pretty late) sooooo ... about lunch time, we really weren't hungry, opted no lunch in exchange for more shop time. Clearly the way to go.

However, by the time we finally left the outlets it was a little after 4 and we were getting pretty hungry. As any decent outlet, it's located out in BFE (which isn't hard to come by here) so we had to drive to the next town to find a restuarant. Ever the good hostess, I stopped at the first IHOP available dreaming of loading up on the largest combination of breakfast food on the menu. I can't remember exactly what I ordered, but we got essentially the same thing: 2 eggs, sausage, bacon, hashbrowns, and 2 pancakes. Delish.

And I'll tell ya, those IHOPers, they get yer food to ya in a jiffy!

So we were talking as fast as we could eat, or eating as fast as we could talk, I don't really remember. Inhaling food as quickly as we did is much akin to being drunk (not that I would know, mom). A few shovel fulls into my hashbrown and eggs Erika warns me that I had egg (or something) on my chin. Frustrated for having to slow my eating, I slap it clean with a napkin, and proceed to devour plate #1 in three breaths. Plate #2, the pancakes, were saved for last.

I wish I could say I started to slow down, except that halfway through the slaughtering, Erika stops in mid-sentence long enough to say, "Missy. Now you've got syrup dripping from your hair."

I can't even write that without bursting into fitful tears of laughter. The best part is that there are a handful of you that read this that have probably preached something similiar to me in the past. I think I would have eaten with as much etiquitte if the waitress had just brought us a trough.

I don't think I've laughed that hard since Jr. High. You'll be happy to know that the laughing and cleaning slowed me down enough to make me realize that, indeed, I was actually full.

To my faithful readers, both of you

I do apologize for not posting much. I can't decide if I should hang onto this thing or not. On the one hand, it gives my friends a place to know what's going on with me and feel as though they never have to email me back, on the other hand, I've been so busy lately that it's hard to keep up. I have a long list of excuses lined up behind me - I've even had a ton of things I wanted to post, but never the time. Sigh.

So, does anyone know anything about planting grass? We are going to go the seed route and not the sod route, and we are definitely looking for advice, we are getting conflicting information. Oh, and I pulled weeds all day Saturday and my body is in screaming pain. By "all day" I do mean for about 8 hours. Pulling. Yes, there were that many weeds. Hence the need for some grass.

this doesn't make me a basketball fan, but i do love the ags!!

I was listening to NPR this morning and I hear something about Texas A&M on the radio ... any mention of Aggieland within earshot of me makes me perk up. I ask Dr. J what they said, and he says something about them winning a basketball game.

Whaa?

Texas A&M is in the NCAA tournament?!?

How do I not know this? Granted, I'm not what you might call a basketball enthusiast, I consider the winter months and early spring as the break between football and baseball. Maybe it's because I grew up in Dallas in the age where you couldn't pay people to go to a Mavericks game (I remember a joke about someone's car getting broken into where someone left a pair of Maverick tickets on their dash) and the pale skinned, vertically challenged Aggies that composed our basketball team while I attended was supported, they are Aggies after all, but they definitely weren't considered a serious competitor, more like an excuse to go somewhere with that cute guy in Chem Class. While I was in the Midwest, I was often accosted by people with attacks that the Aggies had lost so Ha! Ha!! And I'm all, it's February, you mean like women's rugby? And there's certainly no way I'd get news here beyond how Carolina and Clemson are doing unless I go hunt it down myself and like I said, it's March, so why would I?

So, way to go Ags!! Way to surprise the hell outta this Aggie!! Good luck in the tourney!!!

Let's ... go to ... the movies!! (pauses to emphasize the tune of the Annie song)

CNN has an article that says,

Theater operators who have felt the pinch of a lingering decline in movie business have a ready solution to turn things around: Studios need to make better films.

Seeeee ... now I was under the impression that recycled plots were sufficient as long as the explosions were more extravagant. Better films. What a novel idea! Do you thinik they will actually hire screenwriters instead of just modifying character names, throwing in an extra sex scene, and adding a white knuckle car chase that just barely misses colliding with an infant's stroller?* Now there's a reason to buy the large popcorn.

*Spiderman III, IV, V, VI, VII, and VIII are excluded from these accusations.

Somoa S.O.S.

I'm seeing on other's blogs that it's Girl Scout Cookie time, but I have yet to see any of these alleged Girl Scouts out and about here in ColUmbia. My experience living between two states tells me that they sell them at different times of the year, depending on where you are ... but how do I find out?! I don't even want to imagine a year without the Peanut Butter Sandwiches or Somoas!!!!

Help!?! What am I to do?

What an Uber Fantastic Weekend!!

Friend visit this weekend was FAAAAAAAAN-TASTICO! Lots of laughs, a perfectly ridiculous Oscar night (preceeded by the dyeing of my hair), tons of shopping and I have one great story that I'll have to share later because I'm feeling vomit-ous, a word I'd like to coin because it exactly describes how I feel right now. Hopefully a few hours with The Girls can make me come around. I think I'll be picking up some saltines and chicken soup on the way home.

I don't know if this means I'm tired or old

I am working way more than I can stand these days, but the end is drawing near which is pretty much the only reason I'm not in panicking because I truly think the source of the problem is that I'm WORKING TOO MUCH! Anyway, but as of two days ago, I realized that my headache-ieness was probably due to the fact that I was seeing double in my right eye and then yesterday, unable to read with my glasses on out of my right eye and then today, can't make out any of the letters on the computer screen (much less my books) ... with my glasses on!! I'm hoping all this will remedy itself once I'm done with all this work but in the meantime my left eye ... my good eye, the one with the 6.00 prescription is working just swimmingly. So hang in there leftie! I need you to get me through this week! Plus, I've had to go back on my no caffeine/acids diet and it is horribly troublesome to not be able to have coffee this week. Oh and tomorrow is my 6 hour round trip in a bus with 200 6th graders. YEA!!

39 years of schooling between the two of us, and not much to show for it ...

So Saturday night Dr. J and I were at the grocery store - that's right, I said Saturday night. No, I swear we're still fun even though all we do is work or watch 24 re-runs and go to the grocery store on Saturday night.

Anyhoo ... so we are checking out at the self checkout line at the grocery store. You know, the one where you scan and bag yourself. Very convenient, if I say so myself. Never been much of a lets-become-best-friends-with-the-checker-at-the-grocery-store and yet I always still feel guilty for just standing there and not saying anything. So we're there, at the You-Scan that's furthest from where the Self-Scan-Superintendent is, and there is pretty much no one else at the grocery store, except us and her, because, like I said before, it's Saturday night.

So we are scanning our food and we come to an de-barcoded bag of green onions. So I, routinely, push the button that says No Bar Code and wait for the pretty pictures of all of the popular produce to appear. But none does. And after about 20 seconds of no pictures appearing, all of the sudden, the Self-Scan-Machine says, "green onions ... $0.70". Dr. J and I just turn to each other and are like, wow ... how did it know it was green onions. So I'm all ... hey! grab the green beans! let's see if it can tell that it's green beans! And Dr. J enthusiastically puts the green beans on the scanner and hits the No Bar Code button. And wallah! It says, "Green beans ... $0.whatever!" We both roar back with hands flailing and shout WoW! Dr. J is, as any good professor should be, examining as to whether the machine could be deciphering the density of the vegetables as I run to get the tomatoes.

And then. Dr. J looks over to see that devilish little Self-Scan-Supervisor standing a mere 15 from our checkout station. And it became, embarrassingly, all too clear.

Sorry, couldn't keep it from you guys

The topic of 6th grade science this week was on fungi and related entities, one such entity being yeast. With the mere mention of the word, one of the boys in the back stood up and said, "My mom is always saying she has a yeast infection, is that the same fungus that's in the bread?"

I try not to exploit my 6th graders, but this one is just too funny. Unfortunately for his mother, she works at the school with us and, well, news like this travels fast. I'm sure this one will sort of be remembered in his family like the time that my mom looked down from the church chior only to see her son staring back at her from a viewfinder/tampon applicator that he found in her purse.

New Mommeeeeeee!!

As of Sunday, Marfeld is the proud mommy of Marshall James, who weighed in at 9 lbs, 7 oz. I know, it's hard to believe that little lady could have toted him around. And worse to think she only gained 27 lbs with that big boy floppin' around in there!

No pics yet since she is still in the hospital, but they will come soon enough.

Congratulations my little honey bunches of oats!!

Pride, pride and more pride

I have spent LOTS of time lately working at home, I am distracted less there since La Casa only has dial-up and it's much more difficult to browse the Sale sections of my favorite retailers. However, I often find that I just get up, make some coffee and start working, without even a nod towards a shower or a toothbrush. Sometimes those things happen at lunch, sometimes they happen after CSI. One might think I'd have a little more self-respect, but you'd be wrong.

However, we have had many a phone problem since we moved in and the phone guy has had to come to our house about once a week. I am utterly mortified when I have to answer my front door at 1:30 p.m., still in my pjs with hair that has visibly been given no consideration. The sad thing is that I'm more mortified because I am afraid he's going to think I'm unemployed, rather than that he might think I have poor hygiene. I have found myself explaining to the mailman, the phone guy, the UPS driver, and a 75 year-old woman that stopped by to welcome us to the neighborhood that I indeed, work from home, and despite the fact that you caught me on my break watching Oprah, I don't sit around all day watching TV. I'm sure my shouts of I swear I have a job! as they fled back to their vehicles of choice was not only effective, but certainly advanced their opinion of the Crazy-Cat-Lady-in-The-House-On-The-Corner.

Good Morning, Monday ... a little smile from my mommy to you

Due to a power outage, only one paramedic responded to the call. The house was very, very dark, so the paramedic asked Kathleen, a 3-year-old girl, to hold a flashlight high over her Mommy so he could see while he helped deliver the baby. Very diligently, Kathleen did as she was asked. Heidi pushed and pushed, and after a little while Connor was born. The paramedic lifted him by his little feet and spanked him on his bottom. Connor began to cry.

The paramedic then thanked Kathleen for her help and asked the wide-eyed 3-year old what she thought about what she had just witnessed. Kathleen quickly responded, "He shouldn't have crawled in there in the first place......... smack his bottom again."

Nuttin, honey

Yes, I seem to only be able to post M-W ... the load should lighten soon enough, my long lost friends. And for those of you that are having a baby next week, I miss you tons and I'm so sad that I'm not there to get to bring you CheezBalls to the hospital because, c'mon, who really wants flowers when you can have CheezBalls!?

Last week I built 16 - 9" high Trebuchets. I was a HIT! Two days of assorted marshmallows and jelly beans of all shapes and sizes flying in every possible direction. Yes, it was as stressful as it sounds. And a mere two weeks from tomorrow, I will be accompanying no less than 200 6th graders on a three hour school bus trip to Medieval Times in Myrtle Beach! I only wish I were joking!

No, I won't tell you what the difference in a trebuchet and a catapult is. Do your own research.

Home Sweet Home

Little Waxahachie reaches once again attains national fame by astounding means.

Here's the text for those of you that couldn't open the page...

When you're throwing your pot out of your car window, remember the wind effect.

Wildflowers may not be the only thing sprouting up along a 15-mile stretch of Interstate 35 in Ellis County this spring.

Seeds of an illegal plant were inadvertently sown after a police officer stopped a car with no license plate light early Friday morning and smelled a strong odor of marijuana. When the officer returned to his car and called for backup, the driver drove away, Milford Police Chief Carlos Phoenix said.

As several law enforcement agencies joined the chase, the fleeing driver tore open and threw 17 to 19 bags out of his window. "There was marijuana flying everywhere," Phoenix told the Waxahachie Daily Light.

After driving over a second set of spikes set out by authorities, the suspect finally stopped and was taken into custody, and he was "literally covered in marijuana," Phoenix said.

Officers picked up two duffel bags, a backpack and three or four gallon-size freezer bags from the interstate, but the wind blew much of the substance and seeds, Phoenix said.

How does that saying go? A stye in the eye is worth two in the ... something something

On Monday, whilst working diligently on my paper at home, I stood up, tried to unplug my jumpdrive from the back of the computer and brushed the desklamp with the side of my neck. The ENORMOUS burn that it left in it's wake makes me think that this was probably one of our less-than-quality purchases. Yes, it most definitely looks like a hickey but the pain it inflicts reminds me otherwise.

Additionally, I got a stye in my left eye on Monday night and by Tuesday morning, it was pretty painful and swollen. Had I not had a paper due today, I would have tried to sleep all day. But then today I would have been sad because I slept all day yesterday because now I have a stye in my left and right eye. And there is much work to be done and no real time to slow down, but oh! how I wish to go home and close my eyes and not look at anything else today. Unfortunately I have class until 8 pm.

Sniff.

I miss exams!

I am currently being forced to subject myself to the most unnatural thing possible ... writing a subjective paper. UGH! Give me a book of math problems or sit me down and tell me to read a physics text book cover to cover (not biology though ... that stuff bores the poop right out of me). But this narrative, subjective, philosophical-in-nature-sort-of-thing comes out sounding WAY to similar to a blog post which I am certain my Prof is not looking for. Blick! I can't go 5 minutes without screaming to Professor McGonagal how much I HATE THIS!!! HATE!

HATE!

I'm a few pages away from a rough draft and it's due tomorrow.

HATE!

AND we don't have any exams in this class, only papers and this one's the shortest by about 10 pages.

HATE HATE!

I think when I finish my paper I'll console myslef with an episode of The Girls before I move onto more studying.

Bingo is my Thing-o

In case that was you calling me last night around 5:30 pm, I was busy gettin' my Bingo groove on, as I will be from 5:30 to 6:30 pm every Tuesday night this entire semester.

dis ain't yer sistas bingo ... SNAP!

I was 12 the last time that I was this unprepared

Lump me in with the group of people that didn't see any of the movies nominated for pretty much everything in the Oscars (yes I know that's the majority, but I'm not usually in it, I'm comfortable in the minority). I have had a rotating list of Must-Sees that we Never-Saw and they are ALL on here. We even rented some and never watched them.

Sad.

I'm living somewhere between 2000 and 2002, I think

So since Dr. J decided to go out of town for five days, I decided to start up The Gilmore Girls Season 1, which I had borrowed from a friend. I indulged in way too many days of that and once Dr. J returned, we've been catching up on all the Season 2 Episodes of 24 that TiVo'd while I was out with The Girls. I know I'm way late on both these bandwagons, and I have no one to vent my frustration with about how oblivious Laureli is to Luke's interest because everyone else is literally years ahead of me. It does calm me down to know that L.A. is not going to be melted by a nuclear bomb since I have definitely seen Jack, Tony and the gang in random Day 4 episodes. Helps me sleep better.

Misc.

I'm so behind on my blog reading! I doubt this is something I should be ashamed of, but I certainly do miss them. It's been all I can do to squeeze in half of the first season of the Gilmore Girls - whew!

I'm also looking forward to seeing this outcome. Those guys apparently need some time in a private, perhaps barred, room to see the error of their ways.

On other news my former St. Louis surrogate mother (aka, my friend that had the graciousness to let me live with her for a month) is coming to see me, not-so-coincidently on the weekend of the Oscars!! There will be much tiara and feather boa wearing to accompany whatever snooty appetizers we can muster. My friends here in Columbia are in for a serious awakening of my need to be shallow and mock others.

Tissue anyone?

I’m not sure what her initial goal was, but right now, the lower half of Professor McGonagall’s body is protruding from an almost empty Kleenex box. Something tells me those last tissues aren’t really going to be up to the job after she emerges. She’s also started doing this thing lately where she walks around with about one-quarter inch of her tiny little tongue poking out between her lips. It’s the cutest thing ever. I’m on a mission to get a photo.

Back!

I've tunneled my way through to victory! Well, that's probably a bit of an overstatement, but I at least have part of my days back to myself. Sadly, Dr. J is out-of-town and I have to celebrate alone. Even more sad is the fact that Columbia, South Carolina does not carry CheezBalls in ANY OF THE GROCERY OR CONVENIENT STORES and how is a girl to celebrate without CHEEZBALLS!?!?

I have been looking for months in every store I go into and I've finally reconciled with that fact, but it doesn't make it any easier to swallow. This past weekend would have been a perfect weekend to curl with with a canister of cheezballs and watch a movie, but alas, it was not to be. Any of you that feel like UPS-ing me a crate or two, we're BFFEs.

More to come, but not now

It's a never-ending world of turmoil in la casa, things never stop-a changin'!

Panic ensued since I returned from Christmas Vacay to find myself buried under mountains of work. I'm slowly tunneling my way out and hope to see you all on the other side soon enough...

Home Beauty Shop

The weekend was full of not-as-much-work as it should have been but yet way-more-errands-than-imagined. Blick.

The Professor is now free of her post-op stitches, has a new manicure, and got her first full bath yesterday. Amazinly, she liked the warm water being poured over her, but shrieked with pain at the in-between times and the soaping-down when she shivered miserably. It was almost too much for my little heart to take. I certainly couldn't let her dry her little shaking body without some intervention, so I gave the hair dryer on a low setting a go. Although, she was quite obviously afraid at first, she gave it a chance since it was, at least, better than the cruel 70 degree room temperature, and it was only a matter of time before she was rotating so I could get her other side and ultimately, holding up her back leg for me to expose her wet underside.

What a cutie!

Dance to the Rhythm

YES!!!

Two of my favorite things will be colliding on March 5th.

So do YOU know how to do it?

In the past, I have failed to include what I like to call Paige Stories. No one to blame but myself, but you guys are overdue for an intro to the fun. Paige has a way of saying exactly what everyone else is thinking, but she can get away with it because 1) she was raised by my family (see below post) and 2) she's mentally handicapped.

For example. You have that friend that talks all the way through the movies at the theater, no matter how tense the movie is, or how involved you might be. You are probably obligated to maybe nod politely, or attempt in vain to ignore her. However, Paige's options are considerably more open in this same situation in one smooth motion, Paige will turn directly to her and say, "TRY TO LISTEN". In similar circumstances, when maybe your Grandmother is becoming a little overly advice-ey when perhaps, your vehicle is stuck in the mud and snow out in the Texas Panhandle and you have little option for getting it out since there are, of course, bovines blocking your only path, Paige will gladly verbalize, "Grandmother stop talking".

I loved those two days.

Anyway, so I was home having lunch with my mom and sister and we were discussing the details of the Afternoon Popcorn (the girl needs a plan to hold on to and Afternoon Popcorn is part of The Routine).

Mom: Missy can probably make the popcorn for you later.

[Paige lets out a small burp]

Mom: Paige, please cover your mouth

[Paige covers her mouth]

Mom: No, please cover your mouth before you burp

Me: Dr. J and I are working on the exact same thing at the Casa, but for me, not him

Paige [to Missy]: Do you know how to do it?

Me: Yes, of course

[Missy takes a napkin from the table, places it over her mouth, and forces a dainty little BUUUURP behind the napkin]

Me: Now you try.

[Paige mimics the taking of the napkin, the placing of it over her mouth, and the even more dainty BLURRRRRRRRRRRP behind the napkin]

Paige: So do you know how to make the popcorn?

Introducing Professor McGonagall

Whom you are free to refer to as simply Professor or Mona, but please, upon introduction, use her christian name.



Here we see The Professor in all her might, defeating her most hated enemy, George the Mouse. Many of The Professor's enemies (aka playthings) are rejected hand-me downs from the I'm-above-such-childish-things-predecessor, Daisy. The Professor doesn't mind how long the enemies have haunted our home, so long as it is the desire of the Big Cats for her to defeat them.



The Professor has not yet conjured a strategy for defeating The Evil Vacuum, and the fact that she was forced to retreat behind the Guest Pillows is utterly humiliating for her. She won't accept this sort of imposed humiliation and has resolved to learn more about The Vacuum. Below you can see she and Dr. J doing some afternoon net reserach so she has a slight hand up in the event that Vacuum emerges. She fully expects to be on the defensive, until she has considerably more time to learn the ways of such a threatening foe.

It's a Girl!!

We bailed her out just this afternoon (maybe that's what grandmother meant?!) 12 weeks old, grey/tan with black stripes, has better than average computer skills, very purr-ey, snuggly, clingy, very stinky (and can't be bathed for 10 days due to yesterday's removal of the femal organs), wants to scratch everything (10 minutes in she'd poked 3 holes in the side of the leather couch) and very nameless. She has to stick around for a couple of days and we'll try on a few of the early bids (Dobby, Bennie, Priscilla, Alice). The naming auction is still open though, and you have gender direction now.

The best part? She's a lap kitty. She likes to stay there while I work. It rocks.

"I've simply had a wonderful Christmas and I'm just so thankful none of us are in jail"

Per the finale of my grandmother's I'm-so-glad-everyone-could-be-together speech just after family Christmas rituals had concluded. My grandmother, queen of all that is inappropriate and untimely. Props to grandmother for pulling through the knee replacement surgery on tuesday with flying colors. She's a tough cookie. Now just a little bit tougher ... watch those groins, gentlemen.

This just one of many delicious nuggets from Christmas 2005. More to come.

Mexican Tuesday

As is our new Tradition, we'll be picked up from DFW airport tomorrow and shuttled directly to a Mexican Restaurant of our choosing. I am quite the ball of excitement about this, all except that I feel like poop and I'm afraid of feeling like poop tomorrow. Wish me luck that I overcome the poopiness before christmas and that I get along swimmingly with my neph-pup (to avoid further confusion on this issue, neph-pup would be my Brother's Dog).

Signing off till next week. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

I'm not even getting paid for this

Coke zero rocks and this is a plug to get more people to drink it so it doesn't find itself in the wasteland of Tab and Pepsi Free. Even Dr. J, the sworn enemy to all that is diet, loves it.

Now that I'm of the late-twenty variety, am I still obligated to report my grades to my parents?

Remember those days of yesteryear when you would go home at the end of a rough semester for the Christmas holidays, indulge on free food and free laundry at Mom's house, maybe go out with some high school friends with a 10-spot from Dad that felt like 100 bucks since you hadn't actually held 10 dollars in your hand that wasn't already predestined for laundry or groceries since the last time you came home to visit the parents? Yeah, me too.

Remember how exhilarating it was to finish your finals, pack up the car and drive home? And how you used to wallow in the freedom of having completed another round of coursework and how you didn't even care how you did on the final because you were just so glad to be done with it? And remember how you would wake up feeling completely relaxed and thrilled with the fact you didn't have to study that day, or do homework, or go to classes ... right up until the day that you could call in on the Automated Phone System that would give you your grade report for the semester and then you wish that you had studied a little more for your finals, and the fret and the praying would start all over again? I probably have a few readers who had to look at Posted Grade Sheets the next semester when they returned, or something very archaic like that. Today the hip kids (I think the mere fact that I call them The Hip Kids makes me Not Hip) are checking those grades online. And the grades pop in as the professor decides to post them. So I don't understand why my one teacher is holding out on me ... UGH! Although I can't imagine how distracted I would be if I still had finals to take and I already had posted grades in other classes ...


I wonder if I'm still entitled to that 10 bucks? Maybe I can finagle an extra 5 bucks since I'm married now. Or does it go down by $5?

The Ultimate in Sell-Out

So today, at my conference, I was having a conversation with a certain someone that is the Assistant Director of a certain organization that funds (or more importantly, doesn't fund) university projects ... potentially my own. Apparently Mrs. Assistant Director's mouth was exceptionally full of fresh saliva because she accidently spit all over me in mid-sentence.

And what did I do?

Nothing.

I simply pretended like Mrs. Assistant Director had not spat on me and that I didn't all of the sudden have droplets of said saliva drying all over my face. I didn't even flinch or consider embarrassing her by wiping it off.

I've sold my soul.

Semester 1. Over and Out

One semester less. Doesn't say much since I only took one class, so I'm 1/6 of the way there. But 1/6 is better than 0 - hooray! This is just a quick hoorah before I skidaddle to Atlanta for the weekend. Don't get too excited, it's for work. However, there is shopping scheduled. At real stores. Some of the many millions they don't have here in the S of C. Be back next week, kiddos.

I absolutely LOVE Christmas

Love the songs, the houses dressed top to bottom with lights, the movies, the wreaths, the jingle bells, the snow (or thought thereof), the mistletoe, the ornaments, the s'mores, the christmas pageants, the egg nog and apple cider, the spicy candles popping up in all the stores, the vacations from work and the days off from school, the holiday sales!, the giving of gifts, the green, the red, the silver, the gold, santa, rudolph and the gang, the family home videos, the lazy days of winter, the smell of fireplaces burning, the holiday cheer. Love it, love it, love it all. Never get a bit tired of any of it.

God Bless You, Everyone!

One Week In

Last set of house photos, I swear. I know some of you are interested and requesting photos but there are still others who could not care less.

Witness. Christmas is in full swing at La Casa, inasmuch as christmas can swing sans Tree.


I can practically hear the reindeer's footsteps clacking on my roof.


That's a little Leonardo Da Vinci via the History Channel in the background. A perfect Advent accompanyment if you ask me.


Yeah! The newly installed refrigerator hosting many a christmas treat (and many a Thanksgiving leftover)


If you squint through the darkness you can see a stack ... ahem ... a mountain of boxes and plastic wrap. That's the trash. Ready as can be to find a new home. Wonder who's job that is.


Unplaced decor stacking up in this room, on the bed and furniture. I'm sure it will be sorted last. It did help in upping the box count in the hallway though.


Forgive the poor photo. It's hard to see from this angle but there are pencil markings surrounding the perimeter of that shelf. That shelf there, the one that almost became the bane of Dr. J's existince.


The official study/work area. We are currently accepting donations in the amount of $25. No personal checks please.

Cupcake Day!

It has just occurred to me ... back in the day, when I was at A&M, on the first day of finals each semester all the engineering professors and staff would each bring in about 3 dozen or so homemade cupcakes. For those of you that think that's not that many cupcakes, there are about 900 Civil Undergrads at any given time and I could always eat cupcakes until I was sick to my stomach. They actually lined the corridors with them.

Sweet, luscious, mouth-watering cupcakes.

Somehow I doubt I have that to look forward to here. I have a feeling that not every university does that. Come to think of it, it may have only been the Civil Engineering Department. I do, however, have my very own professor that I sleep with every night. Maybe he'll make me a private stash. I like the white ones. With the pink icing. Maybe rainbow sprinkles inside too.

New Pet Peeve

When someone messes with all the settings on my camera and I don't realize it and I take two dozen photos and then I go to upload them and they all look like monet paintings.

A man and his dog

a man and his dog
Originally uploaded by missyajg.

I didn't get to see my family ... ahem ... my now extended family (that's a shout out to the new fam, dr. j) but my uncle sent me some great photos from the celebration. My brother's post-Thanksgiving naps are becoming legendary. I wish I could follow this up from the ones I have from previous years. I think I will someday, if I ever can get around to it.

We're In!

Remaining boxes are generally all piled in one room so the place is fairly livable now. Tivo, fridge, phone has arrived, and we are just waiting on them to come do something with the phone line that is just LAYING in our yard.

I don't even want to think about how far behind I am with school/work right now. Rest assured, you won't hear much from me in the next week.

DONE!

Small glich, but it was overcome. As of 4 pm today, Dr. J and I had signed all the papers, had our celebratory wine bottle, and have parted ways to get back to Thanksgiving prep / work. Official move in is two days hence.

Countdown to new countdowns

My life is just full to the brim with anticipation. In the on-deck circle is ...

Tivo (sweet lord, it's about time!)
satellite (bye bye little rabbit ears that have sat diligently in our rocking chair)
full-sized refrigerator
Christmas decor (love it! love it! love it! love it!)
future kitty (we have already decided where future kitty's food and water bowls will lay)
internet service at home
and finally ... a nod to next summer and some very likely upcoming travel

House Update

We are supposed to close tomorrow, and all is in order for that to take place.... all except that the electricity isn't hooked up, so the inspector can't inspect it, and we can't close till those things take place. Why isn't the electricity hooked up? Beats me. But now it is because yesterday it rained (heavy sprinkle all day) for the first time in 3 months, and the electrical company can't hook up the electricity in the sprinkle. More sprinkle today as well. Why did they wait until today to do this? Some questions can never be answered. In the meantime, we can show some new pics ...




Dr. J continues to forget to take pictures of the other rooms or useful bathroom perspectives. I'll see if I can take that camera away from him. Actually, the bathrooms aren't his fault. Since there's no electricity yet, those rooms are very dark. Hopefully soon though ...

Lost thoughts

Am I the only person left that didn't like Ana Lucia before Wednesday night's episode and still doesn't like her? Aren't you all still pissed at her for shooting Shannon? I didn't see anything redeeming in her character this week ... I do like Eko more though. And I can't WAIT for the Bernard-Rose reuniting ... CAN'T WAIT!

I take it back

The house is all but done. Get ready to pop the corks off your champagne bottles, we're gonna dance on the 23rd after all! Be ready for a lengthy photo posting this weekend.

How to put a damper on a good time

This weekend, here in mini-bottle land, is the big Clemson-USC rivalry game. Haven't heard of it before? Me neither!

Which is why I feel like such a putz when everyone from my 6th graders to the guy checking my groceries at the store asks me if I'm a Carolina fan!?!? Even if I lie, it's hard to get anything more than a halfhearted "sure" out of my mouth. I mostly want to talk about the fact that the new Harry Potter movie is being released on Friday and FOR ONCE this town doesn't have to wait for the wide release (still no word on when Pride and Prejudice hits theaters here). Anyhoo, so half the time I just confess I'm not from here, and if they are really nice they might ask where I'm from, to which they really have no reply to since most of them have never been west of Atlanta. No offense, little confederate flag bearers, but you haven't. Anyway, so I'm a conversation killer. You just can't fake school spirit like that.

Clearly, UT sucks and I'm all over that bandwagon. =)
(that's for you Karo - I know how much you love it)

Next Wednesday

I haven't been posting pictures on the house much because, to be honest, not much is happening there. Dr. J and I are preparing, but no one else seems to be. We are supposed to close in 10 days and the To Do List includes:

- Complete kitchen cabinets
- Paint kitchen cabinets
- Put hardwood floors in the entire house minus two rooms
- Put carpeting in those remaining two rooms
- Paint the walls (one coat is on ... but very blotchy, desperate need of multiple coatings)
- Install all light fixtures
- Install appliances
- Touch up all the little places you beat to death while trapesing in and out
- Anything else that's not obvious to your average lay-person.

Let's see a show of hands that thinks we'll be going to see the new John Cusack movie on the 23rd instead of closing. There's really not much we can do about it, so I'm preparing a Thanksgiving Grocery List and wrapping up my Christmas shopping. We did, however, buy a washer and dryer this past weekend. Refrigerator is next on the list.

Huh.

This guy is either going to end up as our president or in jail. Do you think that city council meetings will be considered an excused absense? Would he technically be his principal's boss? There is an endless amount of wondering to be done here.

I'm back on!

YAY!!! I got a new computer at work today and I am back in Messenger! At least MSN, but it's at least a small step forward. And I even think computer guru man is warming up to me enough that he might let me install some of that software that I like have but tight-wad-tech-geeks freak out about. Happy Friday to me!

That and I'm hacking up lots of mucus to day. Not fun (or quiet), but better out than in. Also better than feeling like slushy poop on the couch with tickley snot throat (i.e., yesterday).

Raider, P

Raider, P
Originally uploaded by missyajg.

This guy, who has always been known to me as "P", is The Biggest College Football Fan. And sadly, he, like myself, is being forced to watch the Aggies muddle their way through '05. P is my cousin, the whole lot of us are Aggie grads and none of us are discussing the feat of the Ags this season.

Fortunately, the rest of us didn't make bets with our co-workers that would put us in this position. You can't imagine what a sore loser this guy is (that guy, the one in the right-background knows though, he definitely knows). But we love P even more for it. It just wouldn't be a family gathering if P wasn't getting pissed about losing something.

Beasley Grubbs

Beasley Grubbs
Originally uploaded by missyajg.

Presenting the newest member of our family, my neph-pup, Beasley.

Beasley joined the ranks a few weeks ago and just endured a rough weekend of vets and vaccines, so let's give the little tyke a hand. Dr. J and I intend the snuggle the poop right out of that guy come Christmas.

We loves ya, Beas!

Now He's just showing off

So things seem to be moving along, maybe the builder is actually going to make our November 23 close (and move) date. I was watching TV last night and see a preview for an upcoming attraction starring, none other than John Cusack.

The Ice Harvest, starring John Cusack, is being released not-so-coincidently on Wednesday, November 23.

Very spooky.

Not one to waste an opportunity ... it would fulfill me a million times over if a perfect stranger would show up at our closing and offer to pay off our mortgage.

God feels bad leaving me here in ColUmbia for Thanksgiving but he's trying to make it up to me

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: 11/18/05
Pride and Prejudice: 11/11/05
Rent: 11/23/05

There is little else I love more dearly than these three things: Jane Austen, Broadway, and Harry Potter ... oh and movies (especially free ones - where's that pizza guy?). If I could just get John Cusack to stop by and help us move into our house, I could die a very fulfilled and happy girl.

Just call me Missy McLucky

So, poor Dr. J has had this horribly busy week ... yes I even had to sleep alone one night while he practically pulled an all nighter. So last night I wanted to surprise him and go pick up a pizza (all the poor guy ever wants is fast food and that mean wife of his just doesn't go for it).

I'm standing there alone at Papa Johns waiting on my pizza to be done and this pizza delivery guy walks in the door, back from a round of deliveries. He starts to walk past me, but then he stops and he says to me, "Do you think you'd use these tonight? I'd hate for them to go to waste and I have to work", and hands me two tickets to see The Fully Monty at the Koger Center in downtown. It takes me a minute to realize he's just handing me a pair of musical tickets, to a musical that starts in an hour. I try to be polite and suggest that maybe he'll be able to go, but he insists. So, I thank him, get my pizza, and make my way home.

Despite the fact that Dr. J is already in his pajama pants, he doesn't want to pass up the free seats, so we scarf down a few slices of pizza, change our clothes and make our way down town. It's not until we arrive that we actually look at the tickets and notice they are in the Lower Orchestra Section. That's right folks, pizza guy gave us third row tickets to a musical.

We really enjoyed the musical, we both agreed it was much better than the movie by the same name. I have to admit though, we didn't actually expect to get the full monty, but get it we did, it was hilarious. Even conservative South Carolina seemed to agree. However, we were definitly reminded how red this state is during a particular romantic scene (a VERY quick one) where two of the guys that became friends almost kiss. The entire audience actually groaned and you could hear hundreds of very audible "oh god"'s! Now, obviously I'm not gay, and I don't anticipate moments like these, but COME ON! It's not like those guys were trying to kiss the men in the audience.

This IS as good as it gets

Witness Harry and Hermione as of Friday eve:
Note the detail (not all of which appears here). There's the obvious lightning bolt scar, the crazy gel-ed hair (for both of us, I suppose), Harry's got his Nimbus 2000 (in case someone hadn't read all the books and doesn't know of the more advanced broomstickery) and a wand for each of us. But Crookshanks is there also, Hermione is toting one of her favorite textbooks, and our wardrobe is consistent with the white button-up shirt and tie overlain by the grey v-neck and black unzipped robes that appear in the films. On closer inspection, you will see that we located a Gryffindor symbol on the web, printed it out, and since I could not find a safety pin at the apartment, I stitched the crest to the robes. And by "stitched" I mean I pulled out the needle and thread and SEWED.

I mention all of this to you because we managed to attend a Halloween party with 30-ish other people, NONE of which had ever read any of the books or seen ANY of the movies. I can't imagine that a collection of 30 people exist in any portion of the english-speaking world where this is even possible. So we had to continually explain who we were and nary a soul appreciated the detail of our wardrobes. No less than 10 people during the course of the evening made mention that "oh and you brought a cat!", to which I would reply, "It's Crookshanks", and receive this retort, "wow, you even named it"! It just about killed me that we had to constantly say who we were so people didn't think we were "students".

Oh, and to top it all off, everyone now thinks I'm this huge sci-fi and fantasy fan because I've read all the books and people keep trying to ask me about Star Trek.

I never knew I had a fascination with pancake syrup before

All those years of dreading that I would forget it was the weekend to turn back the clocks finally paid off. I looked it up and wrote it in my planner so we wouldn't forget to Fall Back, but alas, we greeted our Sunday morning an hour earlier than necessary.

Luckily, Dr. J realized this about 20 minutes after we woke up (don't ask me how) so he suggested we go get breakfast at this place near our church that always has crowds of people waiting outside of it, The Original Pancake House.

Ladies and gentlemen, The Original Pancake House did not disappoint. I suggest you find one near you, or if you ever decide to come and see us, remind us to take you there.

It took me a full 15 minutes to select which variety of pancakes to go with, torn between the blueberry, the banana nut, the georgia pecan, the classic dollar pancakes, not to mention the succulent variety of waffles ... but who knew it would be the syrup that would utlimately cause me to forget my surroundings and lick my plate clean in public. We'll be back, TOPH.

Because I couldn't get Dr. J to dress up as Zorro ...

... we will be leaving the house tonight as Hermione and Harry, complete with Harry's homemade Nimbus 2000 and Crookshanks. Pictures to follow.

I think Dr. J thought Zorro was too cliche, but a latin guy in a cape and mask never gets old, am I right ladies?

Actually, yes, I have wanted to do that very thing

"For anyone who's ever wanted to sit down with several pints of ice cream and watch every episode of "Sex and the City," you get half your wish: "Sex and the City: The Complete Series" -- 19 discs and a bonus disc -- comes out Tuesday." - Eye on Entertainment, CNN

All I can say is, bring on the Triple Choclate Fudge and a stick of Tollhouse cookie dough.

This conversation took place this morning

[Dr. J sneezes 20 times in succession - normally I would find this very funny but you can't laugh at these things immediately after someone wakes up or you have to sleep on the couch that night]

Missy: Are you getting sick?
(see how sweet and sympathetic I am?)

Dr. J: My allergies are acting up ... I think maybe I'm allergic to you!

Missy: Maybe I should run away with John Cusack so you have time to heal?

Dr. J: No wait! Then who would cook for me?!

When normal people are given free football tickets, that's usually the highlight of the weekend

Thanks for the outpouring of support, really we are all fine except that one of us accidently bare-handled a pot immediately after it came out of the oven last night and has some pretty nasty burns. If you have to wonder who it was, just ask yourself how many times Dr. J has ever used a pot and/or the oven.

The game turned out to be a really good one to go to, quite exciting (scoring wise). It shouldn't have been so close and would be if USC's QB wasn't such a little girl when it comes to running the ball himself. We tried to give that extra pair of tickets away - I emailed everyone in our class at church (~50 people) and got no replies (no I didn't feel AT ALL rejected from that) so we decided to take it to our new neighbor. So I knocked on their door Saturday morning, was greeted with a weepy face, asked if the owner of the home was there and received a reply of, "she passed away two days ago."

Uhh ... how awesome did I feel. All I could say was, "sucks, here's a pair of football tickets to express my condolences" ... not to mention I'm wearing a black t-shirt that actually has COCKS written across my chest.

So anyway, our breakdown for the weekend was: fun game, found good chinese food, completed disc 3 of Everwood Season 1, and we are down a neighbor. Oh that and it turns out the tree in our front yard is a pecan tree. Made me much less homesick.

Homecoming: Cocktoberfest

The worst part is I didn't even have to make that up.

I just found out that Homecoming has been going on this week at USC. And with no time to spare because apparently the parade starts at 4 pm. To top it off, my boss just walked in here and said that he and his family can't make it to the game tomorrow and handed us 4 tickets*. So this should be a very different weekend for us. Beats the crying fit I had in Bed, Bath and Beyond yesterday because I couldn't decide which window treatments would work best for the house. Sure, it may have had more to do that I don't have a SINGLE FRIEND in town to help me decide, but it didn't make my public breakdown any less ridiculous. Oh and if you know 2 people who love the Gamecocks, we've got a pair of tickets with their name on them.

*Dr. J's ticket request for 2 seats to one very insignificant game this year was rejected by the athletic department. You aren't even permitted to apply for tickets until you have completed a year with the university.

I'm definitely behind the Stros

Very sad to see the Cards go down this way, and even more saddened by the fact they started ripping apart Busch Stadium the next morning. Pitiful, mutilated, warm corpse that it is.

However, I can get behind the Stros easily, seeing as how I did root for them while I was at A&M for SIX YEARS that and they played their arse off against St. Louis. This morning I heard on the radio of Houston's troubles, their unprepared-ness in hosting the World Series since it's untimely appearance lines up with the Annual World Quilting Convention that brings a minimum of 50,000 knitters, quilters, and crochet-ers to this apparent metropolitan center of fabric and thread. Not to mention the some 45,000 refugees still in hotels there. I imagine with winter looming, those guys are gonna get a little chilly. I feel like there's a connection here but I just can't put it together.

One More Thing

Wanna know how kool Dr. J is? He has agreed to let me watch The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants tonight as a reward for all of my hard work as of late.

What a guy.

Nothings

Sounds like these guys have no business robbing pharmacies. They are really just do-good-ers at heart.

Wish me luck on my exam tonight. That and recouping from everything I've been putting off because of an overwhelming amount of things to do all at one time. I did get to crush Dr. J with my icey-cold toes under the covers last night since it's finally getting cold at night here. Rumor is the cold will be short lived, so I had to take advantage of it. That was fun.

Crazy Week

Sorry for the non-updating. Nothing much I can do about it though.

I will say that now that nothing will make you miss your former hometown like watching a little post-season baseball in your pjs and knowing you are missing all the fun. Sniff.

Common Grad School Sightings

You know, I don't even bat an eyelash anymore when a see a little chinese guy with his tapered, frosted jeans tucked into his pale pink socks and held up by those plastic crayola-colored belts with his shirt tucked in tight enough to expose his squirly ribcage and tinsey nipples, but today I saw this American guy with double-pleated, fire-engine-red, mid-thigh length shorts hoisted up to just above the bottom tip of his ribs, tied off with a thick, rope-like, black belt. I know he was wearing a shirt but I didn't have time to take it all in. It did make me feel better about this half pajama lookin outfit I have going on today.

No baseball in SC

I've complained to a few friends already, but Dr. J and I are very sad because there is no baseball here. And by no baseball, I mean they don't even really talk about it on the news. Now that it's into the playoffs, we'll get a little blurb every now and then, but something along the lines of "a team with a red bird on their jersey played a couple days ago and beat these other guys ... that and there are some other teams still playing ... mmmm ... let's go get us some nachos". And the closest baseball team to here is the Braves who had a very sad, sad day yesterday, so you'd think they'd at least follow them around here, but no. Pretty much everyone watches Gamecock Football and not much else (by watch, I mean is OBSESSED with) and their year sucks worse than the Ags, so that's no fun either. Anyway, so for having gotten caught up in all the Cardinal Hype the last couple of years, it's very sad to know that's all going on without me. And that I can't even watch much of it on T.V. (no cable just yet)

Anyway, so in trying to see the silver lining, I've decided that my leaving St. Louis might help the Cardinal's since I've altered their karma ... you can't explain these things, you can merely point them out ... and maybe this time they'll have a better showing in the Series.

Sleepeeeeey

Have you ever had one of those weeks where every day you feel completely sleep deprived regardless of how much sleep you are getting? I think I'm on my second week of that.

All of this makes it quite hard to focus, and I've read about all the message boards I can stomach while trying to wake myself up.

The as-promised photos

Before I get too carried away, I have two friends that are down to within days of having little ones emerge from their wombs, and I wish them both the best of luck while I kick up my legs and thumb through interior design magazines over a chilled latte. Let me know if you need anything, girlies. I had offered to take some cookies to my prego-friend here in town, and I was going to let her choose her favorite until I saw a canister of pumpkin, black cats, ghost, and goblin shaped sprinkles at Target yesterday, at which time my open ended cookie giving turned into Halloween sugar cookies. But who doesn't like Halloween sugar cookies? I daresay my Reece's loving Karo would even gobble a goblin or two.

Anyway, so friends, feast your eyes upon our soon-to-be-abode.



Our official new home in it's developing stages


... developing master bedroom and closet


... developing kitchen with missy practicing her hollywood poses


... developing kitchen/breakfast nook with missy practicing second hollywood pose


... developing rear and deck with missy not practicing hollywood pose and looking bloated


and finally, dr. j's artistic zoom in of the developing porch.

We signed a contract on the house!!

Pictures to follow.

As well as much paper signage and a tremendously lengthy lists of tasks prior to ownership. If all goes smoothly, D-day is Nov 23.

My computer friendly time has signifcantly decreased

Which doesn't speak well for my e-future not to mention my availability for dancing to the rhythm.

Here's a house update: we've FINALLY started the offer/negotiation process. As it turns out, my alien-resident of a husband is going to make this a touch more difficult than we would have liked, but we'll get through it, little green antennas or not.

Other good news: the wedding photographer has been overly-swamped and behind but will be posting our photos by next week - yay! So all the requests I've gotten for photos will soon be appeased. Plus, we get a few free prints for the wait - excellent! It pays to be patient. (stop snickering mother)

When you gotta go ...

Working diligently, I didn't quite realize how loud nature was calling me until I had to burst down the hallway and was forced to unbutton and unzip my pants as I was opening the door to the ladies' restroom as to not waste any valuable time standing around once I was safely in the stall. Note: pants came open NOT upon entering the stall ... upon entering from the main hallway.

To celebrate how childlike I felt, I high-fived all the posters, corridor corners and hangy-down-thingys on the way back to my office.

Lost, my sci-fi lust

Gotta admit, I love that show Lost. And I just wasted my lunch break plus some scanning message boards and snickering at people's theories and overactive imaginations. However, as much as I wish that show was just mysterious and fun to watch (ahem, Matthew Fox), I can't deny the fact that there is SO much mystery in the plotlines, that there must inevitably be something complex, if not science fiction, about the way it has to play out. So I'm in the midst of trying to console myself to the fact that I really love a sci-fi drama, which I've always despised to the point of nausea.

3-0

You know how we all have those friends that so fervently loathe aging like the wild beast from hell that it is that they act as though birthdays actually inflict physical pain on their bodies? And although we may have many friends who would rather not talk about it, there's the one that is so adamant about the not talking about it that just to keep him or her honest it is imperative that you bring it up on every possible occasion?

Mine is turning thirty on Monday. Go three - oh. Sweet Lord this is gonna be fun.

Prayers for South Texas

Local weatherman Bruce came to our 6th graders classrooms yesterday to talk about pressure or air currents or something ... I'm not really sure. I could have paid better attention if Columbia, SC didn't have the hottest meterologist ever! Sorry, Dr. J. I came home, didn't I?

Anyway, so I did learn much about the pending hurricane that's causing all the Houston traffic to rear its ugly head. Friends and family there, keep me posted, I'm worried for you all!

Also, breathe easy folks. The Ags got the game in early. Thank God we didn't also have to sacrifice a weekend of Texas Football. At least they didn't keep it scheduled for Saturday. I suppose the NCF will see it's limitations from time to time.

Refer Me to Dance to the Rhythm

A very occasional pasttime of mine is to look at what pages have referred my blog. It's interesting to see what combos of words lead you my way, and even more interesting to see the combos of words people are looking for in the first place. I should have been posting these before now, they almost always make me laugh, but this week I hit pay dirt by being referred from yahoo search when someone search for "soaked panties" (I was about 50-something on the referral list, but hey, you didn't make that list, did you?). I thinking I have officially recieved recognition for my talents.

Other notable entries for this week on yahoo were:
"oprah granola pie million dollar" the number THREE result! WOW!
"cheetoe" - number FIVE result ... are Daisy (2002-2005) and I the only ones who appreciate the contribution of the cheetoe???
"the mascara story pictures" - number TWO
"football thought of the week" - number TWO AND FOUR

Our First Achievement as a Married Couple

I am pleased to announce that as of 11:00 pm, Wednesday, September 21st, we have completed Season One of 24.

I suppose all of our shock and dismay at the ending was about 4 years behind the rest of the television-loving-world, but nevertheless, shocked and dismayed we were. I am a firm believer in not spoiling endings for other people ever since the time that Dietra told me that Macaulay Culkin dies in My Girl as we were on our way to the theater. I still cried when that little cutie got all the bee stings and bit it in the end, but it just wasn't the same. All this to say, you'll have to watch 24 for yourself.

There is no way a normal person can read this and not be completely mortified on her behalf

Probably most of you have already read that she said this, but I just came across it and I just want to SHAKE HER INTO REALITY, but I can't so I'll do a little blog-shaking in her direction.

"I have a feeling I'm going to have an operation. I don't know why but I hope so.

"My mom said giving birth was the most excruciating thing she's ever gone through in her life. So if a caesarian doesn't happen, I'll be like, 'Epidural, please.' "

"The only thing I haven't done so far is experience the closest thing to God and that's having a baby. I can't wait."

-Brit brit


She's not a kid anymore (matter of fact, she's raising one!), but it's as though she still exists in the mental and emotional state of a five year old.

I'm officially a student

I have my first exam tonight. It's a non-engineering class so I spent half the day yesterday memorizing lists and definitions. I felt twelve. The good thing is that it only takes a couple hours to study for it, freeing up plenty o' time to make a batch of chicken n' dumplings and to read half of Eldred's 106 Common Mistakes Homebuyers Make ... I'll keep you posted if it results in us not making any. I assure you, it has already prevented a few.

All this free time pre-exam does make me dread taking engineering classes again. All I can say is a big, fat ugh.

House Hunting Update

I know I haven't been putting any detailish things up about the house hunting. We have found a house we really like that's under construction in an old neighborhood, close to work, church and Target which pretty much covers the basic necessities of life. So I'm supposed to meet with the builder to see if we can change a few things about the house today or Monday. If things go well, we hope to put an offer down soon and then we hope that an angel will be sent down from heaven to fill out the paper work and double our down payment (and possibly throw in some guest bedroom furniture and maybe some artwork for the living room). Once things are more set in stone, there will be photo posting and wild announcements. Celebrations of unimaginable enormity will be in order.

Pet Peeve

Please do not send me photos that are greater than 2 MB a piece in an email. I can see the same photo when it's only 100 Kb. If you don't understand what I mean, you are probably the one that's sending them to me.

And don't come over and squish my toothpaste in all the wrong directions or flip the toilet paper upside down.

There. Now we can be friends again.

ok this is just weird

Is it possible that my logging in to Flickr made the photos work again? Does anyone out there know the answer to this?!?

Why aren't my pictures coming up?

If anyone knows the answer to the title of this posting, please feel free to help me out. I haven't had time to figure out this little puzzle, nor do I think I have the capability even if I had a weeks time to give my undivided attention to the problem.

Dr. J and I are in the middle of watching the first season of 24. I wish I had listened to our friends Maureen and Diego back in the day when they told us we would love that show because now we are completely addicted and it's costing us money to feed the addiction. It's just as well during the summer because there's nothing much on TV (save Dancing with the Stars) but the new season of Lost is right around the corner and we are going to have to start scheduling our evenings to get all this hard work in.

Also, since J and I are right around the corner with this house thing (we hope) let's start looking towards the Other Perks of getting out of our apartment .... namely, Dr. J will let me get another kitty. (Yes, we had wanted a dog, but it's looking like the house and yard will be a touch too small to support the canine of our choosing) .... Thus, shall we start thinking of names? Any ideas, little friends?

To guide your thoughts, with the exception of Daisy, I have always named the little ones after some favorite characters from books, movies, musicals, etc. Any favorites among you?

Dreamy Stupor

I am way too young to have chronic back pain but I do. It's in this one crampey spot and I can't get rid of it. Believe it or not I am pretty sure it's an ergonomic issue that I got from my last job which got so bad, I think I'm never going to rid myself of it. Anyway, so last night I took a muscle relaxer that the doc had given me (with much warning as to the drowsiness effects of it) and I fell into a drug induced coma which took me about 15 hours to sleep off. Needless to say I was a little late to work, but my back does feel a little better.

We had our quiktrip to the Big D this weekend to watch my little bro marry his new bride. In spite of absolutely everything going wrong for them, they still got married, so the end result was the same. At least the rain held off until 10 pm, as requested. Thanks, God, for a very timely, answered prayer.

Of panties and stockings ...

A friend of mine, and I mean "friend" in the true sense of the word, not code for "something-embarrassing-that-happened-to-me" (I really have no problem posting all my stupid stunts on the internet and claiming them as my own) went for her annual visit to the GYN recently. No, she didn't get stuck midway through a mammogram for 2.5 hours while the power went out and didn't accidentally use her daughter's glitter soaked washcloth to clean up that morning, she simply doesn't live in the United States at present and observed a few subtle differences between the procedure here and there. I didn't ask, but I'll venture a guess that it was still cold and unpleasant. Essentially, she had to undress, walk across the room, and lay on the "observation table" completely naked in front of her doctor. No one gave her a gown or an option.

It's no secret that nakedness is much more ... errr ... available outside of the States than it is within. And for someone like me who is painstakingly modest, I think I would have absolutely blushed from head-to-toe. My friend probably dealt with the situation with much better poise (in the psychological sense) than I would have. She simply accepted that there were no gowns in the available undressing area and just understood the situation. I probably would have asked for a gown and upon rejection, successively named each article of clothing I was wearing, begging to keep one of them on. Even if I ended up laying on an aluminum observation table wearing nothing but stockings.

It probably doesn't help any that when I was 12 I had to start going to the doctor every three months to get my back x-rayed (scoliosis). Mom and I didn't really know what to expect from the initial visit, certainly if we knew I was going to have to wear a hospital gown that didn't close in the back while I waddled back and forth across the room like a duck and then bent over and touched my toes in front of this Doogie Howser of an M.D. that we had given a "10" to when we walked in, I would have worn panties with fewer holes in them. Incidentally, the doctor had to ask my mother to leave the room until after the examination was over because she couldn't stop laughing. Dad was never prouder.

When Tragedy Strikes ...

I'm unspeakably saddened by what has happened to New Orleans and all along the Gulf Coast, and more than a little ashamed at the timeliness of our goverment's response.

However, I'm so proud of how the citizens in all the nearby states have turned out in droves to help out in any way they can, and the financial support from everyone else in the United States. Being from Texas, I'm hearing tons of stories of the outpouring of generosity from all the people there - giving their time, talents, clothing, food ... my mom is even doing laundry. Just to support the hundreds of thousands of people that are staying in shelters in Texas requires tens of thousands of citizens to help support them there. In the small county that I'm from alone, there are 1,000 refugees. And everyone is working to support them ... willingly, happily, and thankful to help.

I've never been prouder to call myself a Texan.

In total, I spent 10 hours on the phone with various airlines yesterday

And now we are on our way to Dallas for my brother's wedding this weekend instead of Houson/Galveston. Very much a last minute change. Their honeymoon cruise has also been cancelled since Carnival has donated the use of some of their cruise ships as shelters. I'm sure my brother and his wife don't mind a bit helping out the hurricane victims, however, you would think that Carnival would NOTIFY them of their cancelled cruise. They just luckily came across the cancellation while websurfing late Sunday night and had to call to verify.

Sigh. If only Dr. J and I could run the world. People would find out their cruise has been cancelled before they drive 6 hours to the dock.

That and air travel would be free. I don't know how I would work that out, but I would.

And cars would endlessly run off of their own emissions and there would be no pollution or $4 gas.

And world peace. And chocolate chip cookies would make you lose weight.

Let me warn you away from Delta

Delta is the most unorganized airline ever. We were given some flyer miles to use on the airline and it is nearly impossible to do, and it takes AT LEAST 2 - 4 hours to figure out what you can't do because their website and phone system BLOWS. Their phone system has left me on hold for 20+ minutes and then hung up on me before I get to speak with anyone THREE TIMES IN SUCCESSION. And I'm having to call them because to find ONE flight that's available for milage purchase takes half an hour. Not to mention how long it takes to compare flights.

DELTA. MAKE A CALENDAR OF YOUR BLACKOUT DATES AND/OR DATES WHICH REQUIRE HIGHER MILAGE. IT'S JUST NOT THAT HARD.

We never fly with them and this experience of attempting to fly with them has been so horrendous that I can't wait for it to be over and then to never mention their name again.

Maybe I will turn this blog into a place where you can publicly let others know how various companies - large and small - try to take advantage of the american consumer. I've got a few stories.

I love that I'm spending my entire holiday on this. Thanks.

Back to Happy Friday

I'm not sure what's to become of this thing, the blog thing, since it's original purpose has now been fulfilled. You've all seen my through my voyage to ColOmbia and have returned with, and beared with me through the initial marital chaos. So now what? Do I keep it up?

My current schedule isn't providing me with the mountainous supply of computer time I had grown accustomed to at my previous employment. Not that I'm complaining. I do, however, have a nugget of a story to share with you later, but for now, Good Morning to All and (in the spirit of yesteryear) ...

"The crime bill passed by the Senate would reinstate the Federal death penalty for certain violent crimes: assassinating the President; hijacking an airliner; and murdering a government poultry inspector."
Knight Ridder News Service dispatch

That should keep the gamecocks happy.

Oh, and GIG'EM AGS!!