Bill & Stacey Farrell

My, You Wrap a Nice Present

2011-01-26T17:28:00.000-06:00

Christmas. 'Tis awesome, no? I love wrapping presents. I love it so much that I used to wrap my OWN presents when I was little. My mom would put them in a box and I'd wrap them up. And I never snuck a peak at what was inside. I like surprises. Keep it a secret. Store my present on top of a table in plain site and I won't know what's in it until I'm supposed to. (As a side note: When Bill and I have children of our own, who will likely be more "normal" than I was, I'm going to be shocked at how much of a rule-following nerd I *really* am).

Alas, I have no good pictures of the 2010 Wrapping Extravaganza that was our Christmas Tree. So just go with it, yes? So without further ado, images of Christmas 2010, for your viewing pleasure...

(Oscar on his fancy new, Animal Planet-approved dog blanket. And some of my wrapping skillz in the background.)

(My Grandpa Waters got a head scratcher. For Christmas. You run out of things to get people!)

(Bill got the ESPN Films "30 in 30" documentary series. And it was sold out online. Little did he know his wife, me, is AWESOME, and had purchased it about a month before he decided it would be cool to have. BAM!)

(My dad and Grandparents enjoying the present-opening-event!)

(Natalie's card to me. Recycled. Nice.)

(The annual Farrell Christmas Tree. Minus the presents. Since this was taken two minute before we took the decorations off and de-Christmas-ized the apartment.)

(An attempt at the annual Anderson family picture. For the Anderson Christmas card. Taken on Christmas Eve. Making it the Anderson Happy Spring Card?)

(Better picture. Minus the dogs. They get in the way. Especially the one with the 30 lbs head. Which would not be my dog.)

(BEST PICTURE EVER! This immediately became a Facebook profile picture. 'Natch.)

(Attempt to take an extended family photo. We didn't know how to work the timer. Obviously. And also, my little sister Natalie's face is the best part. Second only to the big green thing growning out of my head - that I paid for.)

(Yeah, we're all looking in the right direction. I think.)

Merry Christmas Y'all (you know, all 3.5 of you reading this) - hope you and your family had a great one as well!

A Very ETSY Christmas...also known as Trying to be Sneaky...

2010-12-03T18:45:00.001-06:00

So I love ETSY. Do you? 'Cause you totally should. It's like Ebay, but for cute crafty people to sell their wares. Instead of your old couch with coffee stains and cat hair. And a missing pillow.

And I'm trying to direct a lot of my Christmas shopping to this charming site. (Only partly because maybe I do a "one for you, one for me" set up. Sometimes...a lot).

And then there's shopping for my sister. Which is easy and impossible at the same time. Every cute idea I have...thwarted by her 20 year old college student status. I keep sending her text messages like this:
Do you still wear headbands? Do you wear skirts and tights?

Answer: No to the headbands (D'oh! My intended gift!). Also no to the skirt and tights (which was my distraction/filler question. Because really, what college kid would wear a skirt and tights on a regular basis? Leave that for the 30-year-old-preppy girl that has an office to head to, as in moi).

{And FYI, Santa's helpers - I would totally take a headband...say, like this one -
http://www.etsy.com/listing/57954520/newrosette-headwrap-by-houseoftelsa }

{Hello?? How cute is THAT???}
{and also, I forgot that only like three people read this, so I guess I'll be buying myself said headband at some point, no?}

Anyways, Christmas shopping is one of my FAVORITE things to do! Love finding the perfect thing for people. Or, in some cases, what *I* deem to be perfect. {Yes, you DID need a bedazzled ficus tree stand made of reclaimed bamboo with a detachable watering contraption. Also bedazzled. You're welcome.}

So if you get something from me that is hand-made, just smile and humor me. Or next time, I will seriously get you something bedazzled. For real.

Chicago, if only you weren't so darn cold-hearted

2010-12-03T17:31:00.000-06:00

Bill and I spent a three-day weekend in Chicago to celebrate our anniversary. Okay, before you get all sappy on me, the trip just happened to fall on our anniversary weekend, but wasn't the only catalyst for going. We counted it as a "present"...mostly because Bill is impossible to shop for.

And of course, since we were going out of town, I decided to get sick the day before leaving. So I hit Chi-Town armed with tissues, antibiotics and Zycam. Very romantic, yes?

Friday -
We arrived at O'Hare arond 10 am and checked into our fancy fancy hotel, The Wit. Then we walked over to City Segway Tours to head off on our segway tour of the Windy City. Considering that I've flipped over the handle bars of a bike on a Hawaiian mountain AND run into two parked cars while cycling through Buenos Aires, Argentina, I wasn't all too sure about my motorized-personal-vehicle skills. But let me tell you, I was a pro! Bill, on the other hand, found it a bit more challenging. Probably because I'm only about two feet tall and my center of gravity is not only low to the ground, it practically is the ground.

We wheeled our way through the city - Buckingham Fountain, Millennium Park, by the Aquarium and Planetarium (both great "-ariums"), by Soldier Field (home of the Chicago Bears), past the Art Museum, and out by the shores of Lake Michigan. Although we looked a bit dorky in our helmets (safety first!), we had a blast.

During the home stretch of the trip, a TON of middle schoolers were ending a Museum Field Trip and were cheering for us...and giving us High Fives. Pretty hilarious. {I would have taken some video of the high-five receiving line, but with my history of death defying tricks on two-wheelers of any sort, though it best to keep both hands on the handle bar}.

(On our Segway tour, in front of Buckingham Fountain)

(Hook 'em!)

(Bill on the Segway. Looking a bit unsure about this whole plan)

(The Field Museum)

(Pretty Chicago skyline!)

(View on our tour. What a cool city!)

(Lake Michigan and Chicago's skyline)

(Taking a break from our helmets)

(How pretty is this!)

(it's really hard to look cool on these things...)

(This is actually one of the more flattering "Action" pictures of me)

(Look at that background!)

(rolling by the lake)

(Stopping for a moment in front of Millennium Park with "The Bean" statue)

Friday night we had dinner at MK Restaurant. Good stuff!! I think I could taste most of it considering I was being all sick and stuff.

After dinner went to see "Baby Wants Candy" at the Apollo Theater. They put on a musical improv show and it was hilarious. There was impromptu singing. And {quite terrible} dancing. And a live band! Definitely a great experience.

Saturday -
It was rainy and wet most of the day, but we were heading out for a Food and Cultural Walking Tour through Old Town, Lincoln Park and other neighborhoods in the north. First though, we had a pretty hearty brunch at our hotel. Briosche French Toast? Yes, please!! Oatmeal? Bring it on. Toast? Yes, I'll have some of that as well!

Our stuff-your-face tour started at the oldest Jewish Deli in Chicago, Ashkenaz. The menu? A Ruben sandwich. And I must say my first (and only?) Ruben was FAN-FREGGIN-TASTIC! Bill finished his in about 2.56 seconds. I paced myself but could have eaten about five of those babies. Minus the sauerkraut, mind you. And it was roughly the size of a carry on suitcase.

(The sampling of deliciousness at the Jewish Deli)

(our awesome tour guide!)

Our next stop was a Tea Shop - Tea Gschwendner. It is a European chain with only a few US locations. Our guide extolled the virtues of tea versus coffee and soda. And I must say, I was a big fan!!

(Our Tea was helping combat the cold and rainy. But it wasn't doing anything at all for my hair)

Next we stopped at The Spice House which imports and mixes spices from all over the world - any kind of salt or sugar or mulling spice you could ever want is there for the tasting and buying. I think I licked ten different salt varieties off my palm - good stuff!! We also got to go out on their patio and learn about different cinnamon varieties from all over the world. Mmmmm, I love you Cinnamon!

(outside the Spice House)

(Learing about cinnamon from all over the world)

After licking our way through the spices, we headed to Old Town Oil - an olive oil and balsamic vinegar emporium. Again, to die for!! They had Walnut Vinegar that was delicious with Walnut Olive Oil. The Strawberry Vinegar was great with Basil Olive Oil. The combinations were endless and I could have stayed there all day. And perhaps taken a swim in the vats of oil and vinegar!

(olive oil here we come!)

(Vats of olive oil and vinegar)

(the combinations were endless, I tell you!)

Further down the road we went to The Fudge Pot. Where I consumed roughly 5,000 calories worth of peanut brittle. We learned about old fashioned chocolate making and how they create their chocolate candies. And I kept on munching on the brittle.

(Pass me some of that brittle, ladies!)

(The Fudge Pot. Yummy yummy goodness!)

After some candy, we sampled a Potato and Cheese Pierogi and some sweets at Delightful Pastries, a polish bakery. Did you know that Chicago has more Polish residents than Warsaw Poland? (Or I think that was the shocking statistic we were told). These little dumplings were pretty darn good! And now I actually know what they are, so I learned something too!

(Do you SEE all those maccarooooooons!!!)

(There was quite an assortment to choose from)

(Great stuff in this place!)

We walked through cute little neighborhoods and learned about the Great Chicago Fire and all the different areas of the city. We saw adorable houses and parks and Halloween decorations. We even passed by a Texas Exes neighborhood bar- complete with Longhorn flag and the game on inside!

(Quaint little neighborhoods)

(Adorable little house. That we could totally buy.)

(so maybe parking is a challenge?)

(it was nice and "fall-ish" all weekend)

(look how cute it is!)

(and that would be a Texas Longhorn!!)

(We had a fantastic tour guide!!)

And finally, after spices and tea and chocolate and dumplings and Rubens, we hit Bacino's Pizzeria for some Chicago Style Stuffed Pizza. Oh. My. Goodness. This pizza was a mozzarella and spinach stuffed slice of heaven. It was SO good and not filling and gross like other stuffed pizza I've had. What a great way to end our eating and cultural tour of Chicago!!

(It was SOOOO good!!! Do you think they deliver? To Dallas?)

Here's a list of all the places we went, and links to their websites:

Bacino's Pizzeria: Award-winning Chicago-stuffed pizzeria (est. 1978)
The Spice House: America's top spice & herb specialty shop (est. 1957)
Delightful Pastries: An authentic European bakery & pastry shop (est. 1998)
Ashkenaz Deli: An authentic Ashkenazic Jewish deli (est. 1975)
Old Town Oil: A balsamic vinegar & olive oil specialty store (est. 2007)
Tea Gschwendner: A specialty loose tea & tisanes merchant (est. 1978)
The Fudge Pot: A chocolate confectioner and fudge shop (est. 1963)

After our tour, we walked around the neighborhood for a little bit and then headed back to our hotel to get ready for dinner. And more food. Because we hadn't eaten enough in this city! We also took a quick peak at the hotel's rooftop bar, which is quite a scene after dark!

(our rooftop bar - pretty happenin' place)

(I totally did not feel cool enough to be up there. Even at 5pm)

(The view was just awesome!)

Bill had made reservations for dinner at Sprout. Everything we had was delicious - and a fun and unexpected combination. My dessert involved bacon. And it was SO good!!!

After our fantastic dinner (I'm beginning to see why people Love this city!), we went to see "Billy Elliot" at the Chicago Theater. The show was great - funny and entertaining and dance-y! A great way to cap off our last evening in town.

Sunday -
We went to a Chicago Bears football game. Unfortunately, they lost, but we had a great time. It's fun to see how different fans react to their teams. After every Chicago touch down, everyone sings a song... I never quite caught all the words but it includes something about Chicago Bears. Obviously.

(after the game with Bill)

After the game, we headed to the hotel, grabbed our stuff and I headed back home. Bill stayed in Chicago for a few more days for work while I returned to reality.

(leaving the game, walking right through all the museums)

(Soldier Field is in the background, over that unhappy lady's shoulder)

(not a bad walk home, even if you did lose!)

(At least you have a great view to console you)

(Once again at Buckingham Fountain!)

If it weren't for the harsh winter, I'm pretty sure I'd be totally up for living in Chi-Town, at least for a few years maybe. But alas, I think my blood it too thing...maybe we could have a "summer home" in the Windy City some day.

And this brings us to my fame-dar...like radar?!?

2010-11-17T17:31:00.000-06:00

Flying back from Chicago last month (updates on that to appear later...you'll want to check back. There are pictures of us on Segways!), I sat next to a member of the band Forever the Sickest Kids. Which I had never heard of. Mostly because their demographic is a 15 to 23 year old girl, who obviously would not know the meaning of "What'chu talking 'bout Willis?" Or "By the Power of Greyskull..." Or "Care Bear Stare!!" Ahem. Moving on.

Anyways, turns out I sat next to Austin, listed on their website as "Bass/Vocals". And they were returning from an 8 week overseas tour - Dublin, Jakarta, etc., etc.

I posted this brush with (unknown to me but nonetheless) fame on Facebook. Duh. And my sister (and her friends) know who these {sick} kids are.

Which leads me to the following...the list of famous people I have seen, run into, spoken to, flown with, and otherwise bumped into (sometimes literally) over the years and that I can recall (or whose names I am hip enough to actually know)...allow me a few minutes of braggy-ness, will you:

- Dallas Cowboys CFO - a wine dinner at Jasper's in Plano. (I have his wife's email info! How's that for fancy?!)

- Ian Ziering, of "90201" and "Dancing with the Stars" - on a flight from LAX to Hawaii. We talked to him. He talked back!

- Alyssa Milano - "Who's the Boss" and Maxim or GQ (I'm assuming) - in Vegas.

- Nicollette Sheridan - "Desperate Housewives" and "Knots Landing", maybe? Vegas. Bellagio Spa. Naked. She was naked. In the Spa. Really, really naked.

- Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys - one of Natalie's Dance Recitals at some point.

- Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins, of "Bull Durham" fame - NYC at a performance of "Tap Dogs". I literally ran into them in the theater lobby. Like, physically ran into them.

- Dax Shepard, Seth Green and Kevin Smith (aka "Silent Bob") - Vegas. I was walking thisclose to Dax in the Bellagio.

- Nikki/Nicky Hilton, sister to Paris, extremely wealthy - Vegas. Bill swears she was checking him out...I take the stance of "no comment." {also, how does Google not know how to spell this girl's name??}

- Bono and The Edge, from the Irish Band "U2" - okay, so technically BILL met those two, BUT The Edge appeared on our Christmas Card, so I'm only one degree of separation on that one.

- Steve Forbes - again, Bill met him, but we have a picture!

- Ricky Williams, Longhorn Running Back, Heisman Trophy Winner, Miami Dolphin. {soft-spoken illegal substance and yoga lover} - Took a picture with this dude at the Spring Scrimmage in 1998 when I was on the Pom Squad.

- George W. - former president. Met him when he was still Governor of Texas and I was on the Pom Squad. There is a picture somewhere in existence, but alas, I don't have a copy!

- Jenna Bush, Former First Daughter - twice! During Sorority Rush at UT. She was a very sweet girl.

- Jen Lancaster, author, blogger, downright hilarious woman - Barnes & Noble, Dallas, at a book signing. Have a picture with her as well!

- The Jonas Brothers, musicians, Disney heart throbs, one of them is named Joe maybe? - In Northpark Mall, at David Yurman. Okay, so I didn't meet them, I only saw them inside the store as I was passing by. And the only reason I even knew something exciting was even happening is because one of the screaming girls' mom gave me a heads up as I was trying to elbow my way to Williams Sonoma for some pot roast sauce.

- David Hyde Pierce, actor, played Niles Crane on "Frasier" - in NYC after he stared in the musical "Curtains". Also have a picture - he commented on my bubble gum pink rain coat!!

- Jason Sudeikis, cast member of "Saturday Night Live" - in the baggage claim area at La Guardia Airport in NYC.

- Michael Benjamin Washington, actor extraordinaire, soon to be famous if you ask me! - High School, because he was our Sr Class President. AND the man has been a guest star on "30 Rock" and "Glee", making me practically best friends with Tina Fey and all the Gleeks!! {we're facebook friends. Word}

- Brett Hull (of Dallas Stars fame) - in the parking lot at Chuy's Mexican Restaurant in Dallas at the EXACT same time I was leaving. Wooooo....

- Peyton Manning, yes, THAT Peyton Manning - at Fountain Bleu in Miami when I was there for a bachelorette party. We took a picture with him. Okay, so technically it was a picture of our faces and the back of his head...but it made it into our Christmas letter?!

- Adrian Grenier from HBO's Entourage - hanging out with us at the Bellagio pool in Vegas. And by "hanging out" I mean he was a few lounge chairs away.

- Leann Rimes eating dinner (of fried chicken and mashed potatoes. with gravy!) - Bubba's in Dallas. Which you should check out...they have fried apricot pie AND buttered rolls with honey on the tables. Yeah.

- Wade Phillips (former head coach of the Dallas Cowboys) - Bill and I sat at a table next to him and his wife at Hibiscus in Dallas for dinner...this was prior to his recent unemployment.

It's the little things...

2010-10-14T18:18:00.000-05:00

Being 30-ish gives you a strange sense of comfort. Well, that's assuming you aren't living under a bridge or dealing with some sort of major life crisis type situation, but I digress. You know what else gives you a sense of comfort? Seeing pictures of famous, household-name fashion designer Betsey Johnson at a public event {as in, one she had ample time to plan and prep for. Like, with a stylist. Or hairbrush.} with crazy hair. Like, C-R-A-Z-Y hair. On her head. All the time. Rock on Ms. Johnson, you're more fashion forward than I...and you make me feel good about myself in a way you probably aren't quite intending. And also, I think you like the color hot pink more than I like things covered in syrup or caramel. Or both, actually.

Right, so it's been a while...

2010-10-08T17:41:00.001-05:00

Hi. My name is Stacey. I'm a bad, BAD blogger. Or so I've been told. Repeatedly. By my massive fan base {yeah. All three of you. Hi mom!}

A lot of things have happened in the last, um, year, is it? I'd like to say I've been too busy to send my stories out into cyberspace because of some crazy cool new and highly time consuming hobby or life change. But really...I'm just sort of lazy. And as much as I'm into "brand loyalty" when it comes to things like toothpaste (Colgate, baby!) and laundry detergent (Tide. Duh.), sometimes I get burned out on doing "things". You know, things that require work, for which I don't get paid or receive some sort of "feel good" endorphin burst. And being funny.

So, in lieu of 8.564 million postings of all the cool things we've done in the past year, here's a quick run down. And maybe I'll be inspired to post some pictures/stories/other stuff in the near {maybe?} future:

August 2009 -
- Girls trip to Austin with Monica and Michelle
- I joined the Junior League of Dallas and we went on a weekend retreat, where all sorts of hi jinks and "illegal" drinking took place (boxed wine in the country, anyone?)

September 2009 -
- For Labor Day Weekend, we headed up to the US Open Tennis Tournament with Jay and Michelle Lewis. Fun times. Once again, I figured out that I will never be a professional tennis player. Bummer.

October 2009 -
- We had a Texas Pom Squad reunion in Austin. The "cheerleaders, but without tumbling" group I was proudly a part of in college (although for only one short year) celebrated their 20 year reunion. And we got to go to a game. Monica and Walter were also in town. Except she didn't tell me she was pregnant, which would have been nice to know...
- We also flew up to "Northwest Arkansas" (seriously, this is what the flight attendants say. Not the name of a city, the geographical region...) for a game at the University of Arkansas, current home of my Pig Soowie sister. It was a pretty high scoring game. And the cute little usher in our section was SO excited because "If the Hogs win this game, we're BOWL ELIGIBLE! Wooo wee!!" {Bill and I refrained from telling him that, as Texas fans, we'd already booked our flights to Pasadena for the National Championship. Didn't want to burst his bubble...}
- My Junior League Provisional (read: Pledge) year project consisted of two weekends spent in the Dallas Public Library at their International Book Fair. Which is TOTALLY different from the Scholastic Book Fair I was envisioning. Make your own conclusions on that one...

November 2009 -
- We headed up to Cleveland for the annual Farrell Thanksgiving festivities and the fun craziness that entails!! And snow. Lots of snow.

December 2009 -
- We celebrated the holidays between Dallas and Cleveland. Yeah Santa!! And again, more Cleveland snow... I get a lot of use out of my "real" snow boots in the months of November and December!

January 2010 -
- Okay, so we're Longhorns. And we travel. So we headed out to Pasadena for the second time in less than 5 years to watch our Boys in Burnt Orange play in the BCS National Championship game at the Rose Bowl. Except 'Bama came away with the win this time. BUT, on a bright note, at this point I knew Monica was pregnant and we got to see her cute baby belly as they were out West with us! Yeah!!!

February 2010 -
- It snowed. In Dallas. Like, REAL snow!! Twice!! Good thing I didn't leave my snow boots in Cleveland! Oscar was not really sure what to do with all that cold, wet stuff. And we didn't have work. Because people in Dallas don't know what to do with snow. Tornadoes, sure. Fluffy frozen water? Not so much.
- AND, Bill managed to get us signed up for a workout with Bob Harper, the trainer from NBC's "The Biggest Loser" when they were in town filming for the series. And work us out, he did. I wanted to die. Bill almost passed out. And then it was broadcast on national television. The episode, and Bill's 15 seconds of (painful, red-faced) fame aired on April 27th. In the middle of a book club meeting. My Facebook was EXPLODING that night, I tell you! At least Trainer Bob said we were both "very fit". And gave me a hug. TOTALLY famous...

March 2010 -
- Bill headed out to Vegas with the boys for a weekend full of gambling and the gun range, and then the Farrell's took our annual spring break trip to Phoenix. I got to see my cousin Jim(my) and his wife Alice, and HER cute baby bump! {Is it just me, or do I have the procreating-est friends around??}
- We also had a wine dinner at Jasper's in Plano, where we sat with the CFO of the Cowboys (as in, America's Favorite Team...). He and his wife gave us all sorts of pointers on Napa Valley, which was great since we were planning a big group trip out there in July.
- And, lucky, lucky me, Health care Reform and all its glory passed. Making for quite possibly the worst day in my entire working life. Followed, that same evening, by a presentation on "health insurance" to the seniors at the SMU chapter of my sorority, Alpha Chi Omega. Nice. Thanks Government. Sure do 'preciate cha.

April 2010 -
- Michelle and I headed up to Washington, DC to visit with a (by this point) very pregnant Monica. And Walter (who was not pregnant). And their kitties (also not pregnant). We did some shopping, oooh'ed and ahhh'ed over the CUTE baby clothes she had collected and generally had a great time. Love my girls!!!

May 2010 -
- Bill's youngest brother, Jon, graduated from Texas Tech so we spent about 24 hours in Lubbock for the ceremony. And a fancy celebration lunch at On the Boarder. Hey, it's Lubbock... We also got to stop by my grandparent's house for a quick visit which was just fantastic. Grandma even made cookies. You may not know this from experience, but you should be EXTREMELY jealous of the cookies...
- We also went up to New York City for Memorial Day weekend. Bill, my awesome husband, surprised me with tickets to the GLEE! Show. Live. In concert. GLEE!!! I was in Gleek heaven! Seriously. I should be a 13 year old girl again. Except with out the adolescent self-doubt and bad skin, maybe.

July 2010 -
- The BIG Napa Trip!!! Five other couples from high school (and/or marriage!) joined us in a rented (million dollar!) house in Napa Valley for 4th of July weekend. We went to wineries. We ate. We BBQ'ed. We played Nertz. We laughed. We had a great time! Oh wine country, how I love you!
- Two weekends later, Book club had our first "Get in a car and drive for more than 1 hour" trip together. We went to the cute little town of Fredericksburg, Texas. In Texas Wine Country. We did tastings. We ate. We shopped. We took a wine tour. It was just awesome. And we hit Austin for some good eatin' on the way home. Because really, anytime you're less than 2 hours away, it's pretty much mandatory.
- We went up to Cleveland for Bill's Dad's annual birthday soiree. This thing is crazy fun - a tent, catered dinner, a singer, gambling, prizes. It's so much fun, that I was passed out and in bed. At roughly 9pm. Which is 8pm Dallas time, making it an even lamer story. But I did have fun, while I lasted...

August 2010 -
- Bill and I went back up to Washington, DC to visit with Chris Mewett and his lovely girlfriend, Alexandra. Alexandra took us on the most awesome, behind-the-scenes tour of the Capitol building. And since she works for the Speaker of the House, we even got to go in Speaker Pelosi's office...I sat in her chair!! I saw her family photos!! It was so cool!! We also got to spend a night at the Buzzetta's house, where we finally met Baby Alexis Riley Buzzetta. She's beautiful!! I have the cutest "faux" niece and nephew around.

October 2010 -
- We hit our 13th (can that be right??) annual Texas-OU game at the State Fair of Texas. And we lost. But there were Corny Dogs?!
- And through the Junior League, I'm volunteering at the Museum of Nature & Science, also in Fair Park, so I've been to the Fair three times now. Each time, enjoying a Corny Dog. And maybe a Funnel Cake. And maybe Root Beer. And maybe enough fried goodness for me to LITERALLY weigh 5 lbs more at the end of the day. The scale doesn't lie, you see.
- At the end of this month, we're heading up to Chicago. Where it will probably snow on us, because I'm such a fan of the whole snow thing.
- And also, Bill's tires were stolen, yes, STOLEN off of his SUV in the wee hours of the night. In our apartment complex. Which is gated. And "luxury". So that was fun. Hooligans.

So that, in a nut shell, is a snap shot of our life. And the preview of our Christmas Letter...

Hey...is anyone still out there?!?

Do you think the DOGS would forgive him?

2009-08-14T20:13:00.010-05:00

I'm not sure what I think about this whole Michael Vick second chance thing. He served his time, everyone deserves a second chance, blah blah blah. I'm just not convinced he shouldn't still be in jail. Rotting in a cold dark cell. Where he's forced to fight for his life just as his dogs were.

I'm pretty sure that if I, normal citizen girl, were arrested, tried and convicted of a felony, I could not expect to get another job with a million dollar salary a few weeks after being released from jail. But then again, I'm a girl. That can't run particularly fast. Or throw particularly far. Or run illegal "sports" rings with such vigor and success.

And maybe I'm biased. I am the "mommy" of a rescue dog. I do volunteer with an animal shelter, trying to find good homes for rescued dogs at adoption days. I have spent more money than I care to admit to have my dog's teeth cleaned, or his cancer treated. I let my dog sleep in our bed. I feed him Graham Crackers and sugar cookies because he likes them.

Or maybe I'm a hypocrite. I still eat cows and chickens and pigs and fish for dinner. I'm not a member of PETA. I am not as diligent as others with regards to buying cruelty-free or non-animal tested items. I do prefer cuter animals to say, a Possum.

Maybe I just like dogs more than I like people. After all, people can be really, really stupid. Or annoying. Or loud. But dogs don't judge or criticize or yell at you. They're always happy to see you. Dogs give more unconditional love than a lot of people do. And they have cute, tiny brains, so, you know...

But I will say that the only time Sports Illustrated has made me cry (on a plane no less) is when I was reading the article about the rescue groups and families that had saved and cared for and adopted Michael Vick's Pit Bulls. Those poor dogs were raised to kill each other for the sick enjoyment of people. They were abused and neglected and tied up and discarded. If Michael Vick had done to people or children what he did to those dogs, he'd be in jail for the rest of his life. There would be no second chance. There would definitely not be a million dollar pay check. Is the difference because the dogs don't have a voice with which to share their awful stories?

So unless part of that pay check, and a big six figure part, is directed towards a charity that works to prevent cruelty to animals or provide them with good homes and love filled lives, I'm afraid I can't place my bet on Michael Vick and his big comeback.

See, I DO need to shop at Ann Taylor...

2009-08-05T13:09:00.006-05:00

From MSN CareerBuilder

Top 10 Ways to Use

Your Female Advantage

in Business

By Catherine Kaputa, Author "The Female Brand: Using the Female Mindset to Succeed in Business"

The conventional wisdom has been that women have trouble succeeding because they don't act like men. But playing it like a man doesn't work because it brands you as tough and aggressive. And it's stupid for the most basic reason. We're not men. And that's an advantage.

It's common sense to be authentic, and it's smart branding. Your personal brand must come from who you are and what makes you tick -- including your strengths and aptitudes as a woman.

Here is my top 10 list of how to use your female aptitudes to increase your success in business:

1. Turn up your empathy quotient (EmQ)
Women are strong in empathy thanks in part to higher levels of estrogen and oxytocin. So it's no wonder that when President Obama cited "empathy" as a key factor in his selection of a Supreme Court justice, the four finalists were women.
How to leverage empathy: Be approachable and empathize with the feelings of others. People will feel understood even if you are giving them bad news! You can use empathy to build consensus around a common goal.

2. Create an appealing package
Studies show that attractive people not only make more money, they are viewed as smarter, more productive, and even kinder than others. Women have an advantage because we have more "visual packaging tools."
How to package yourself: Don't mimic the male model -- that's so 20^th century. Use the French women's model: Dress like a woman and accentuate your best features. If you don't have the body of a fashion model, do something wonderful with your hair and clothing. Develop a distinctive look with a signature color, accessories and so on. Work on your posture and how you move.

3. Reach out and connect
Women have the social gene and an innate ability to build relationships and connect with people, studies show. Women are natural-born networkers, team builders and relationship mavens.

How to use people power: The larger your network, the more career capital you'll have. So don't just use your people power to develop deep relationships with a few; use it to also develop a broad network of more casual acquaintances with all types of people.

4. Speak with panache
Women routinely outscore men on oral and written tests because they use both hemispheres of the brain -- left and right -- to process verbal and emotional messages.

How to use your verbal agility in the workplace: Use your verbal skills to speak up: Ask great questions and listen actively. Hone your business conversation and presentation skills. Pitch yourself for a move up or a lateral move with interesting "stories" about your past performance.

5. Be inclusive
Choosing inclusion over exclusion is a powerful female strength. In today's modern, global companies, the ability to work well with diverse groups will set you apart.

How of leverage inclusiveness: Encourage different perspectives and offer goodwill to everyone -- friends and foes. Cultivate strong alliances and be loyal.

6. Read between the lines
MRI imaging and other brain research show that women are much better at picking up subtle emotional messages than men are. Women can pick up body language and are able to detect unspoken signals of unhappiness, frustration, and confusion.

How to leverage emotional intelligence: Look beyond verbal messages to the real message people are conveying in meetings. If something feels uncomfortable or incomplete, act on your intuition and follow up with a phone call.

7. Empower others
Studies show that women tend to work together collaboratively, empowering different members of the team to contribute and accomplish tasks. So rather than seek power over others, the female leadership style seeks to empower others.

How to leverage the female leadership style: Create teams and a personal "board of directors" who can advise you -- and be sure to include men too. Give public credit to other people when they contribute.

8. See the big picture
Women tend to take in various perspectives and consider a larger framework when solving a problem or making a decision, while men's style of problem solving tends to be more linear and transactional.

How to leverage big-picture thinking: Use your problem-solving style to uncover risks and opportunities, and bring more creativity and innovation to your work.

9. Be likeable
Women's gifts for relationships, compassion, connection and empathy make them the more likeable gender. And let's face it, the workplace is a personality contest too, so likeability is a key factor in success.

How to leverage likeability: Smile and be positive -- as opposed to being serious and stern -- and you will win over business fans and be more influential in your work.

10. Brand yourself
Use the nine female aptitudes listed above to brand yourself for success.

Who needs a gun range when you've got Queso!!!

2009-08-03T09:00:00.021-05:00

Since we're all turning {shhh} thirty (said in a hushed tone, preferably while making the sign of the cross...) this year, I decided Michelle, Monica and I needed a Girls Trip to Austin to celebrate their birthdays. Since Monica lives in DC, we had to wait a bit to work out our schedules. But work them out, we did. We were going to have a weekend full of eating, shopping and makeup.

Bill was kind enough to let us borrow the new Escalade (he even got it washed and put gas in it...how awesome is that!?). Monica flew in to Dallas Friday morning and we hit the road that afternoon. Our first stop in Austin - Guero's Taco Bar for Ritas, 'Ladas, Queso (ohhh the queso - there was so much queso in Austin!!!) and Salsa. Oh yes, Guero's proved once again that it needs to retain the #1 spot on my Favorite Restaurants of All Time list. It's gonna take Gordon Ramsey himself to knock it down.

After dinner, we checked into the Omni and went up to our room for a few minutes. Then we walked a few blocks to a local Craft Show at the Beauty Bar. I think we were expecting a little more "craft" to go with the "show" so we didn't do any shopping and weren't there too long. But we are counting that as "going out" while in town. Once back in the room, we played with my makeup collection. Which I had packed for the trip.

Since our hotel was a block away from 6th Street, or what the front desk so nicely referred to as "the entertainment district" (yeah, you mean the DRUNK district) there were a few dozen loud people at night. Let me restate that: there was an endless stream of screaming drunkards in the hallway until roughly 5am. But such is Austin. And we were too lazy to call the security man.

Sunday morning we had breakfast at Magnolia Cafe, an old college spot. After waiting for a while, and almost starving, we had pancakes and breakfast taco platters. Oh how I miss Austin...mostly for the food. And I'm totally serious about that. During breakfast, Monica got a call from her husband Walter, who was with Bill and 4 other guys in Vegas for the weekend (perhaps this is why Bill let us take the new car to Austin??). The boys were having a fairly tame guys weekend in Vegas. They were about to hit...the gun range. Yeah. The Gun Range. I think it's a boy thing. Walter also told us about hitting the club the night before...the visual images of Kaiser on the dance floor will be with me for a long time...

After breakfast we did some, okay, a lot of shopping on Congress. We found a really cute boutique called Maya Star and made fast friends with Veronica the sales girl. We each bought some dresses. Michelle and Monica each bought a dress that I also bought. Because we are, in fact, triplicates of each other. We were in the store for over an hour. And eventually the three of us went from three dressing rooms, to two, down to one.

Then we hit up the UT Co-Op to stock up on Longhorn gear. Where we all ended up in the same dressing room. Again. Because we're triplicates.

After hours of shopping, we hit up Monica's find - Casey's New Orleans Snow Balls in Northwest Austin. These are the fanciest, juiciest, tastiest snow cones I've ever had. I had a Pina Collada and Watermelon mixed snow ball. Unfortunately, we really needed protein at this point, not sugar. But sugar is what we got.

Then we went in search of our mecca - MAC Cosmetics. I input "MAC" in the fancy navigator system in the new car. And it kept telling me to make a U-Turn. And that my destination was on the right. Now the left. Now U-Turn. Um....we're in a parking lot?? Finally, we figured out it was directing us to the stand-alone Saks which has a MAC counter. Yeah, three girls with four advanced degrees between them, getting out-smarted by a talking computer. Great...it's because we were crashing from the snow cone sugar high.

At Saks, we made friends with the MAC girl. And I almost passed out from starvation and dehydration. So I went down to the Starbucks on the corner and cleaned out their supply of bottled water. Add death by dehydration as one of the ways I do not want to leave this world!!

Once we were all prettied up, we headed down to another favorite, Hula Hut, for dinner. Where we had queso. Again. Because it needs to be its own food group. Back at the hotel, we were worn out and barely played with the makeup collection, but instead talked into the night. And it was awesome!

Breakfast on Sunday morning was at Kerby with Becca, a friend from freshman year. We caught up with her, enjoyed more pancakes AND queso, yes for breakfast, and enjoyed the morning on the patio.

Before leaving town, we had to stop at Austin's famous Amy's Ice Cream to pick up a "few" pints of ice cream...for Bill. I brought a small cooler with us on the trip and we packed the ice cream in the cooler with some of the hotel's ice. We were afraid the pints (seven, to be exact) might not make it on the 4 hour drive back to Dallas. We had no need to worry - two hours into the drive, the ice/ice cream mixture was frozen solid. I had to chip the ice away from the ice cream containers once we got home!!

We had such a great time and enjoyed our weekend together. And I can say I'm really good at driving the fancy new, big car - I can parallel park it, back it up, turn around...so what if I can't quite work the navigation system. Or the blue tooth.

When we got home, Jay brought Finley down to my apartment to pick Michelle up. We visited and played with little Fin for about an hour and then I took Monica to the airport for her flight home.

As for the Boys' trip?? They barely used the cameras we sent with them. They stayed up waaaaay too late. They shot some guns. They ate some expensive steaks. They saw Penn and Teller. And they gambled. A lot. Luckily, Bill home with over $2,000 - and that, my friends, pays for both our trips!!

(little Finley riding in the car)

(Enjoying a sangria floater in my frozen 'rita at Guero's)

(Monica at Guero's)

(Michelle's FIRST time at Guero's. What was she doing in college??)

(The makeup. In my collection. I know, I know...)

(Still my collection...notice the $5 bill, helping you get a gist of the proportions)

(Same $5 bill. Monica's collection is on the left, Michelle's on the right. Yeah, this is for two people...)

(Me. Lying in my makeup. I use it all, I swear. And no, not all at once!!)

(I'm working on my second career. The girls at MAC tell me I should start free-lancing...)

(Currently I work for free. If I like you...)

(waiting for breakfast at Magnolia Cafe...literally starving)

(After breakfast. I think I gained 5 lbs in pancake)

(Texas State Capital. Yeah Austin)

(Littlefield Fountain in front of the UT Tower on campus)

(A terrible, terrible self portrait)

(A much better self portrait...)

(With Michelle in front of Littlefield Fountain)

(Monica and Michelle)

(Monica, me and Michelle on our old stomping grounds)

(with Monica - I look like her pocket-person...)

(Monica...dipping her hand in the Littlefield Fountain. Which is probably a felony or something)

(The girls after their MAC Attacks)

(Waiting for MY turn in the MAC chair...)

(At Hula Hut, looking all per-ty)

(Sunday breakfast at Kerby Lane, L-R: Michelle, Becca, Monica, me)

(Monica and Becca, 10 years later)

(This lady had the cutest little Yorkie puppy with her...and has nothing to do with any part of our trip.)

(The Amy's Ice Cream / Ice block of yummy yummy goodness...7 pints, people, seven.)

(With Finley once we were back in Big D. He was happy to see Mommy. Not so happy to see the rest of us...)

Scary...

2009-07-29T10:52:00.003-05:00

I got this email from an insurance-related organization and wanted to share...

Date: Wed, 29 Jul 2009 13:44:59

Subject: health care reform bill...

People are starting to read the health care bill being considered by the House. Please call or email your representatives to oppose this nightmare. Here's a link that you can use to find them: http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/

Note that this list only extends to page 498, and the bill is over 1000 pages.

Pg 22 of the Health Care Bill mandates that the Govt will audit the books of all employers that self insure

Pg 30 Sec 123 of HC bill - Establishes a Govt committee that decides what treatments/benefits you get

Pg 29 lines 4-16 - Rationing of health care

Pg 42 - The Health Choices Commissioner will choose your benefits for you. You have no choice

Pg 58 - Govt will have real-time access to individuals' finances & a National ID Healthcard will be issued

Pg 59 lines 21-24 - Govt will have direct access to your bank accounts for elective funds transfer

PG 65 Sec 164 - This is a payoff subsidized plan for retirees and their families in community orgs (ACORN).

Pg 72 Lines 8-14 - Govt is creating an Health Care Exchange to bring private plans under Govt control.

PG 84 Sec 203 - Govt mandates all benefit pkgs for private plans be in the Govt health care exchange

PG 85 Line 7 - Specifics for Benefit Levels for Plans = The Govt will ration your Healthcare

PG 91 Lines 4-7 - Govt mandates "linguistic appropropriate services." Translation: for illegal aliens

Pg 95 Lines 8-18 - The Govt will use groups (i.e., ACORN & Americorps) to sign up individuals for Govt plan

PG 85 Line 7 - Specifics of Benefit Levels for Plans. (#AARP members - your care will be rationed)

PG 102 Lines 12-18 - Medicaid Eligible Individuals will be automatically enrolled in Medicaid. No choice.

pg 124 lines 24-25 - No company can sue GOVT on price fixing. No "judicial review" against Govt Monopoly

pg 127 Lines 1-16 - Doctors/ #AMA - The Govt will set compensation for you

Pg 145 Line 15-17 - An Employer must automatically enroll employees into Govt plan

Pg 126 Lines 22-25 - Employers must pay for health care for part time employees AND their families.

Pg 149 Lines 16-24 - Any Employer with a payroll of 400k & above who does not provide public option pays an 8% tax on all payroll

pg 150 Lines 9-13 - Any employer with a payroll betwween 251k & 400k who doesn't provide public option pays a 2-6% tax on all payroll

Pg 167 Lines 18-23 - Any individual who doesn't have acceptable Health Care according to the Govt will be taxed 2.5% of income

Pg 170 Lines 1-3 - Any nonresident Alien is exempt from individual taxes. (Americans will pay)

Pg 195 - Officers & employees of Health Care Administration of Govt will have access to all Americans financial and personal records

PG 203 Line 14-15 - "The tax imposed under this section shall not be treated as tax" Yes, it says that

Pg 239 Line 14-24 - Govt will reduce physician services for Medicaid. Seniors, low income, poor affected

Pg 241 Line 6-8 - Doctors, doesn't matter what specialty you have, you'll all be paid the same

PG 253 Line 10-18 - Govt sets value of Doctor's time, professional judgement, etc.

PG 265 Sec 1131- Govt mandates & controls productivity for private Health Care industries

PG 268 Sec 1141 - Govt regulates rental & purchase of power driven wheelchairs

PG 272 SEC. 1145 - Controls treatment given at Cancer hospitals - Cancer patients - welcome to rationing

Page 280 Sec 1151 - The Govt will penalize hospitals for what Govt deems preventable readmissions

Pg 298 Lines 9-11 - Doctors that treat a patient during initial admission that results in a readmission will be penalized

Pg 317 L 13-20 - Prohibition on ownership/investment. Govt tells Doctors what/how much they can own.

Pg 317-318 lines 21-25,1-3 - Prohibition on expansion- Govt is mandating hospitals cannot expand

pg 321 2-13 - Hospitals have opportunity to apply for exception to expansion rule, but "community input" (ie, ACORN) required.

Pg 341 Lines 3-9 - Govt has authority to disqualify Medicare Advanced Plans, HMOs, etc., forcing people into Govt plan

Pg 354 Sec 1177 - Govt will restrict enrollment of Special needs people.

Pg 379 Sec 1191 - Govt creates more bureaucracy - Telehealth Advisory Committee. (Health Care by phone)

PG 425 Lines 4-12 - Govt mandates Advance Care Planning Consultations. Senior Citizens must meet with Govt representatives on a regular basis (more often if ill) to discuss "end of life" issues

Pg 425 Lines 17-19 - Govt will instruct & consult regarding living wills, durable powers of attorney. Mandatory!

PG 425 Lines 22-25, 426 Lines 1-3 - Govt provides approved list of end of life resources, guiding you in death

PG 427 Lines 15-24 - Govt mandates program for orders for end of life. The Govt has a say in how your life ends

Pg 429 Lines 1-9 An "Advance care planning consult" will be used frequently as patients health deteriorates

PG 429 Lines 10-12 "Advance care consultation" may include an order for end of life plans.

Pg 429 Lines 13-25 - The govt will specify which Doctors can write an end of life order.

PG 430 Lines 11-15 - The Govt will decide what level of treatment you will have at end of life

Pg 469 - Community Based Home Medical Services (ACORN Medical Svcs)

Page 472 Lines 14-17 - Monthly payments to community-based organizations (ACORN)

PG 489 Sec 1308 - The Govt will cover Marriage & Family therapy. Which means they will insert Govt into your marriage

Pg 494-498 Govt will cover Mental Health Services including defining, creating, rationing those svcs

As if National Healthcare wasn't scary enough...

2009-07-28T11:27:00.009-05:00

I found this article

online and as it relates

to National Healthcare,

thought I'd post it...

5 Freedoms You'd Lose

in Health Care Reform

by Shawn Tully - Fortune on CNNMoney.com
Monday, July 27, 2009provided by

If you read the fine print in the Congressional plans, you'll find that a lot of cherished aspects of the current system would disappear.

In promoting his health-care agenda, President Obama has repeatedly reassured Americans that they can keep their existing health plans -- and that the benefits and access they prize will be enhanced through reform.

A close reading of the two main bills, one backed by Democrats in the House and the other issued by Sen. Edward Kennedy's Health committee, contradict the President's assurances. To be sure, it isn't easy to comb through their 2,000 pages of tortured legal language. But page by page, the bills reveal a web of restrictions, fines, and mandates that would radically change your health-care coverage.

If you prize choosing your own cardiologist or urologist under your company's Preferred Provider Organization plan (PPO), if your employer rewards your non-smoking, healthy lifestyle with reduced premiums, if you love the bargain Health Savings Account (HSA) that insures you just for the essentials, or if you simply take comfort in the freedom to spend your own money for a policy that covers the newest drugs and diagnostic tests -- you may be shocked to learn that you could lose all of those good things under the rules proposed in the two bills that herald a health-care revolution.

In short, the Obama platform would mandate extremely full, expensive, and highly subsidized coverage -- including a lot of benefits people would never pay for with their own money -- but deliver it through a highly restrictive, HMO-style plan that will determine what care and tests you can and can't have. It's a revolution, all right, but in the wrong direction.

Let's explore the five freedoms that Americans would lose under Obamacare:

1. Freedom to choose what's in your plan

The bills in both houses require that Americans purchase insurance through "qualified" plans offered by health-care "exchanges" that would be set up in each state. The rub is that the plans can't really compete based on what they offer. The reason: The federal government will impose a minimum list of benefits that each plan is required to offer.

Today, many states require these "standard benefits packages" -- and they're a major cause for the rise in health-care costs. Every group, from chiropractors to alcohol-abuse counselors, do lobbying to get included. Connecticut, for example, requires reimbursement for hair transplants, hearing aids, and in vitro fertilization.

The Senate bill would require coverage for prescription drugs, mental-health benefits, and substance-abuse services. It also requires policies to insure "children" until the age of 26. That's just the starting list. The bills would allow the Department of Health and Human Services to add to the list of required benefits, based on recommendations from a committee of experts. Americans, therefore, wouldn't even know what's in their plans and what they're required to pay for, directly or indirectly, until after the bills become law.

2. Freedom to be rewarded for healthy living, or pay your real costs

As with the previous example, the Obama plan enshrines into federal law one of the worst features of state legislation: community rating. Eleven states, ranging from New York to Oregon, have some form of community rating. In its purest form, community rating requires that all patients pay the same rates for their level of coverage regardless of their age or medical condition.

Americans with pre-existing conditions need subsidies under any plan, but community rating is a dubious way to bring fairness to health care. The reason is twofold: First, it forces young people, who typically have lower incomes than older workers, to pay far more than their actual cost, and gives older workers, who can afford to pay more, a big discount. The state laws gouging the young are a major reason so many of them have joined the ranks of uninsured.

Under the Senate plan, insurers would be barred from charging any more than twice as much for one patient vs. any other patient with the same coverage. So if a 20-year-old who costs just $800 a year to insure is forced to pay $2,500, a 62-year-old who costs $7,500 would pay no more than $5,000.

Second, the bills would ban insurers from charging differing premiums based on the health of their customers. Again, that's understandable for folks with diabetes or cancer. But the bills would bar rewarding people who pursue a healthy lifestyle of exercise or a cholesterol-conscious diet. That's hardly a formula for lower costs. It's as if car insurers had to charge the same rates to safe drivers as to chronic speeders with a history of accidents.

3. Freedom to choose high-deductible coverage

The bills threaten to eliminate the one part of the market truly driven by consumers spending their own money. That's what makes a market, and health care needs more of it, not less.

Hundreds of companies now offer Health Savings Accounts to about 5 million employees. Those workers deposit tax-free money in the accounts and get a matching contribution from their employer. They can use the funds to buy a high-deductible plan -- say for major medical costs over $12,000. Preventive care is reimbursed, but patients pay all other routine doctor visits and tests with their own money from the HSA account. As a result, HSA users are far more cost-conscious than customers who are reimbursed for the majority of their care.

The bills seriously endanger the trend toward consumer-driven care in general. By requiring minimum packages, they would prevent patients from choosing stripped-down plans that cover only major medical expenses. "The government could set extremely low deductibles that would eliminate HSAs," says John Goodman of the National Center for Policy Analysis, a free-market research group. "And they could do it after the bills are passed."

4. Freedom to keep your existing plan

This is the freedom that the President keeps emphasizing. Yet the bills appear to say otherwise. It's worth diving into the weeds -- the territory where most pundits and politicians don't seem to have ventured.

The legislation divides the insured into two main groups, and those two groups are treated differently with respect to their current plans. The first are employees covered by the Employee Retirement Security Act of 1974. ERISA regulates companies that are self-insured, meaning they pay claims out of their cash flow, and don't have real insurance. Those are the GEs and Time Warners and most other big companies.

The House bill states that employees covered by ERISA plans are "grandfathered." Under ERISA, the plans can do pretty much what they want -- they're exempt from standard packages and community rating and can reward employees for healthy lifestyles even in restrictive states.

But read on.

The bill gives ERISA employers a five-year grace period when they can keep offering plans free from the restrictions of the "qualified" policies offered on the exchanges. But after five years, they would have to offer only approved plans, with the myriad rules we've already discussed. So for Americans in large corporations, "keeping your own plan" has a strict deadline. In five years, like it or not, you'll get dumped into the exchange. As we'll see, it could happen a lot earlier.

The outlook is worse for the second group. It encompasses employees who aren't under ERISA but get actual insurance either on their own or through small businesses. After the legislation passes, all insurers that offer a wide range of plans to these employees will be forced to offer only "qualified" plans to new customers, via the exchanges.

The employees who got their coverage before the law goes into effect can keep their plans, but once again, there's a catch. If the plan changes in any way -- by altering co-pays, deductibles, or even switching coverage for this or that drug -- the employee must drop out and shop through the exchange. Since these plans generally change their policies every year, it's likely that millions of employees will lose their plans in 12 months.

5. Freedom to choose your doctors

The Senate bill requires that Americans buying through the exchanges -- and as we've seen, that will soon be most Americans -- must get their care through something called "medical home." Medical home is similar to an HMO. You're assigned a primary care doctor, and the doctor controls your access to specialists. The primary care physicians will decide which services, like MRIs and other diagnostic scans, are best for you, and will decide when you really need to see a cardiologists or orthopedists.

Under the proposals, the gatekeepers would theoretically guide patients to tests and treatments that have proved most cost-effective. The danger is that doctors will be financially rewarded for denying care, as were HMO physicians more than a decade ago. It was consumer outrage over despotic gatekeepers that made the HMOs so unpopular, and killed what was billed as the solution to America's health-care cost explosion.

The bills do not specifically rule out fee-for-service plans as options to be offered through the exchanges. But remember, those plans -- if they exist -- would be barred from charging sick or elderly patients more than young and healthy ones. So patients would be inclined to game the system, staying in the HMO while they're healthy and switching to fee-for-service when they become seriously ill. "That would kill fee-for-service in a hurry," says Goodman.

In reality, the flexible, employer-based plans that now dominate the landscape, and that Americans so cherish, could disappear far faster than the 5 year "grace period" that's barely being discussed.

Companies would have the option of paying an 8% payroll tax into a fund that pays for coverage for Americans who aren't covered by their employers. It won't happen right away -- large companies must wait a couple of years before they opt out. But it will happen, since it's likely that the tax will rise a lot more slowly than corporate health-care costs, especially since they'll be lobbying Washington to keep the tax under control in the righteous name of job creation.

The best solution is to move to a let-freedom-ring regime of high deductibles, no community rating, no standard benefits, and cross-state shopping for bargains (another market-based reform that's strictly taboo in the bills). I'll propose my own solution in another piece soon on Fortune.com. For now, we suffer with a flawed health-care system, but we still have our Five Freedoms. Call them the Five Endangered Freedoms.

It's on a BOAT!!

2009-07-27T21:38:00.015-05:00

So 2009 has seen quite a few of us enter into the next decade of life. On the Steep Hill O'Life, we're starting to see the summit from which it's all down hill - or so Hallmark would have us believe. There have been some fantastic birthdays and themes as we've all turned 30 and, of course, Beth's birthday party was no exception. In fact, for once I'm glad I'm older than she is...I wouldn't want to have to follow the Beth Boat-a-rama!! Her party was on a big party boat at Lake Lewisville - with plenty of food, lots of fun, a jug of sangria, party koozies, swimming, good friends, aaaaannnnd homemade ice cream sandwiches! Wishing you were in our group of friends now, aren't you?!

After our tour on the boat, a few of us went back to Beth's house for her to open presents. And there was more beer and Sangria. And ice cream sandwiches. I mean, you can't just let that stuff go to waste now, can you?! Some of us enjoyed the refreshments more than others...as certain people started falling off of chairs. Or benches. Or sliding down walls. Or spilling drinks. And they weren't me, in case you were wondering...

(Bill and Rachel on the party boat)

(Rachel and Bill. On a date. Or something.)

(Cute Rachel and Cute Mama Erin enjoying the festivities)

(And now I am on a date with Bill. In the dark.)

(Jay and Michelle enjoying some time on the water)

(Celia and Seth on their 21st wedding anniversary. Twenty-one days that is...)

(Beth the birthday girl and her friend - whose name I cannot remember?!)

(Pia and Kent enjoying the sunset cruise)

(Hani, Leia and Jason)

(Rachel and Michelle. Such cuteness)

(Me with Rachel. After swimming. Which explains the hair. Maybe.)

(Me with Michelle. After Sangria. Which explains the tongue. Definitely.)

(Birthday Girl Beth looking fine in her very fashionable brown and turquoise ensemble and flowers)

(Enjoying the ride!)

(Checking out all the good eats. Or more likely the jug of Sangria.)

(me with Rachel, Beth and Erin.)

(Book Clubbin' - me, Rachel, Michelle, Beth, Erin, Celia. Why do I look freakishly tan?? And windblown?)

(Beth even provided a dance party mix for the ride! That girl thinks of everything!!)

(Rachel. Posing.)

(Rachel's faux diamond ring. That lights up. It. Is. Awesome.)

(Beth's house - she needs to be an interior decorator. This is a collection of vintage jewelry in the old phone nook of her cuuuute house!)

(Opening presents. Rachel got her this card. Which is genius. I want to buy a stack of them.)

(Beth showing off some of her goodies - pot holders, an apron, a clutch purse, and a wine goblet among others)

(Beth. Lost in balloons. After more sangria...)

(The balloons kept creeping closer to the ceiling fan. Which would have been very very bad. Considering all the sangria that had been enjoyed.)

Do you remember the secret handshake...yeah, me neither

2009-07-23T11:09:00.005-05:00

Since discovering the joy of FaceBook (which would be why the blog posts have been few and far between...), I've reconnected with several of my sorority sisters, many in the Dallas area. A handful of girls, from various universities, get together for a monthly AXO Happy Hour and I went to my first one in July.

Turns out a few of the girls are also also joining the Dallas Jr League - we're all going to need to break out our pearls. But I don't think they have a secret handshake in Jr League...

It was so much fun to see some familiar faces after so many years (or in some cases just a few weeks!). When you're in a sorority, people always joke (or poke fun) about you having to "buy" your friends. But I've got a pretty big network to call on and found some of my best friends being a G(r)eek. So if you ask me, the money was well worth it...and I got some cute t-shirts to boot. (And let's be honest, it never hurts to have super cute girlfriends around you, eh?)

Yeah, well I hope you never get cancer...

2009-07-23T11:05:00.012-05:00

National health care. Bad idea. Seriously, have you thought about that? Do you really want the government telling you how to take care of yourself? Uh, 'cause I sure don't!

I know I work in the insurance industry, but I'm not just worried about losing my job, or entire industry...I'm worried about having a baby sometime in the (far distant, don't get any ideas out there!) future. I'm worried about having to have some sort of procedure done sometime in the next 50 years of my life, which is highly likely just based on the way life goes. I'm worried about my future children perhaps having a chronic illness...even something as "simple" as asthma.

So here's the deal - since I get all sorts of updates from insurance carriers and other insurance related groups through my job, I'm going to be posting some of them on here. If you disagree with me and my anti-ObamaCare stance, feel free to tell me. Feel free to skip these posts. Feel free to stop reading all together (although I will be sad to lose any of my 3.5 readers...). Feel free to ask questions. Because really, I'd love to know if anyone out there, outside of Washington DC thinks this is actually a good solution. And why. (so that I can berate them and convince them otherwise. Wait, did I say that??).

And to kick things off, here are some observations I have for you about insurance or health care in general:
- A pre-mature baby can cost upwards of $1 million dollars very quickly. We see large claims information all the time and one preemie baby can blow the cost of insurance for a very large company out of the water. Do you really think that a national health care plan would cover $1 million of claims for a baby without there being serious hoops to jump through... hummm.

- There is a difference between health insurance and medical care. Having access to medical care is, if you want to think about it this way, a "right" of every American citizen. Having health insurance is not. I'm sorry, but it's just not. We ALL have access to medical care - it's called the emergency room. It may not be pleasant. And you may have to wait and you may have to pay, but you have access to medical care. You have the ability to go to Parkland Hospital in Dallas (where JFK was taken after he was shot. Which treats many gang related gun shot wounds and consequently has the best trauma service in Dallas, but is pretty unpleasant to visit). You may likely have access to health insurance - but like car insurance, you have to pay for it. If you drive recklessly or have a lot of claims, your car insurance premium goes up. It sucks, but that's the way it works. Likewise, if you live recklessly or have a lot of claims, your health insurance goes up. In simpler terms, everyone in America has the "ability" to buy a car (maybe it's not financially feasible, but just go with me here...). I may only be able to buy a used Honda, where as my neighbor may have the means to buy a Ferrari. That's called "life" - it's not fair, but everything in life has a cost; either in money or time or something else. I know this is a simplistic, somewhat emotionless comment, but that's my analogy.

- In the English system, they have actually assigned a value to each human life. I think it's something equivalent of $60,000 in US dollars. Any procedures or treatments above that amount are essentially denied under their national plan. And if you decide to seek private insurance to cover these excluded procedures, you are no longer eligible for the national plan. That kind of sucks...

- Any drug you see advertised on television are what we call "TV drugs". They are the most expensive drugs on the market and are always "formulary", meaning your highest Drug Copay amount (maybe around $50). They are on TV for roughly 7 years until their patent runs out and they can be made into generic drugs. Just think, how many different "Purple Pills" have there been for Heartburn? Prilosec, which is now Prilosec OTC. And now there is Nexium. If you go into your doctors office asking for a drug you've seen advertised on TV, your going to pay more.

- If you've ever gotten your license renewed or changed your name at the Social Security Office or gotten married, just think about how ridiculous it was to deal with the government in that limited situation. I like Kay Bailey Hutchison, but I certainly don't want her deciding my medical future.

- Insurance is essentially a promise to pay. It is a contract that states if XYZ happens, we will pay you ABC. Insurance is all about taking a risk and deciding the probability of such risk coming to fruition. And when that risk happens, someone has to help the insurance company pay for it - and that "someone" is you and me. That's just the way it works. With car insurance, we all pay a little bit more so there is a "pot" of money available for us if we're hit by someone that doesn't have insurance. Health insurance works much the same way. We all pay monies into a big pot so that Sam Smith doesn't have to pay $8,000 for his heart transplant (which would be a discounted price for a heart transplant!). If you don't use the insurance a lot, you're likely paying more into the system than you are paying out, but if you're Sam Smith, you're sure glad there are some healthy people in there helping to spread the risk around.

- A heart transplant does not cost your $15 copay. Period. There is significant cost associated with the medical technology we have today. People don't know how much things cost. And they should. Roughly 10% of the medical costs today are related to obesity. Healthy people are paying for others with chronic conditions, which are many times directly related to lifestyle - obesity being the biggest cost driver of late.

- Much like there needs to be real sex education in the classrooms, I think students need to learn how insurance works. How credit cards work. How you pay taxes. What it means to have good versus bad credit. People need to know how to survive and navigate in this complex world of red tape and applications and 1-800 numbers that call India.

And that's all I have to say about that (well, for now anyways)

Hello Cleveland, meet my sweater.

2009-07-23T11:04:00.011-05:00

Bill's parents had a big Casino party up at their house in Cleveland (it was secretly a celebration for Bill's dad's 55th birthday...that wasn't very successfully kept secret as everyone seemed to know). Getting off the plane I knew it would be "cold" in Cleveland. Cold being anything below about 85. Or, as it's known in Dallas, Winter. And boy, was I right...yeah!! Sweater weather!!!

The party was set up in the basement and in a tent outside. The basement casino had black jack tables, roulette and even a craps table! In the basement!!! So cool. We got to gamble with fake money (but really, as long as it's not YOUR money in jeopardy, who cares!) and could use our winnings to buy raffle tickets for various prizes. The grand prize was two round trip tickets on American Airlines anywhere in the continental US...how's that for beating the odds?! (Fine, I will stop with the poor Vegas puns...sorry.)

Once the gambling was done, everyone went outside to the tent for dinner and entertainment. Now when I say "Tent", that's not really the best description of what was going on...more like "Hey, here's an outdoor structure with dance floor, buffet line, speakers, lights and 20 tables. Come have your wedding reception here!" Really, it was so awesome!! The Farrell Family's favorite entertainer, Scott Brotherton, a local crooner, was there singing us into the night. He does everything from Neil Diamond to Sinatra to songs from "Grease", with a few jokes thrown in the mix. He's really good and keeps the party going all night!

I think just about everyone was up late (except for me, I was crashing fast around 1am...pretty proud of myself for making it that far, honestly!!). A few of the cousins and friends actually just spent the night instead of having to drive home so late. Then we all had a great breakfast the next morning before heading out.

Before leaving town, we snuck in an Indians game - and some sun burns on the side. I wasn't expecting it to be so, well, sunny, considering I'm from TEXAS and it was in the winter-weather-equivalent 80's...but I still managed to get a little pink on my arms. Resulting in what I'm sure will be a lovely tan line. Great...

Oh, and PS - I was wearing a sweater almost the whole weekend. It was glorious. Just like football season...or Christmas.

(Paul, Jon and Tom squeezing in the back of our rented SUV...I, meanwhile had plenty of room up front...)

(Scoping out the prizes...there was a Browns helmet, Indians tickets, a spa package, dinner gift certificates...it was pretty awesome!)

(One of the dealers. And the gamblers!)

(It's not a Farrell party without a ton of fun friends!)

(Yes, that's a wine basket. That someone won! How cool is that!)

(The dealers counting up the chips at the Craps table.)

(They even got a professional photographer to take souvenir pictures of everyone!)

(The "tent" in the back yard!)

(Getting ready to eat dinner outside after a night of gambling!)

(Bill's dad, doing a great job handing out all the prizes!)

(Reading a raffle ticket...and the winner is...)

(And then there was dancing...with Uncle Pat)

(Nice leg kick by Scott, the entertainment. See, he's very well rounded!)

(The kick line to "New York, New York")

(All together now...)

(Practicing for their Rockette auditions.)

(At the Indians game before flying home)

I'm sorry, I thought you were MARRIED

2009-07-07T18:46:00.001-05:00

What is the deal with all the married men and their girlfriends? The senator from South Carolina (idiot). John Edwards (jerk-face idiot with a "cute" accent). Steve McNair (uh, something there went very wrong).

Do you people not understand the concept of "being married"? This is not a "I'm playing the field and dating a few people" scenario. This is more like a "I promise to date only YOU, my spouse, FOREVER. Because we're MARRIED. So it's not really even dating, it's more like we're MARRIED" kind of deal.

You do not get on a plane, go to a foreign country, say you're "hiking", and end up, whoops!, with someone that IS NOT YOUR WIFE. And THEN, when you get caught (because you are a public figure. Idiot), you do not refer to your girlfriend as your true soul mate while promising to try to fall back in love with your wife (wow, did you at least bring your wife very, very expensive wine as a souvenir from your love-fest trip to Argentina?). Dude, politician guy...STOP TALKING. Really, just stop.

Should you find yourself in this situation, your options are:
A) not get married in the first place if you're not all about the "one spouse" rule that generally defines "marriage".
B) get a divorce before dating anyone other than your current spouse. In which case, be prepared to write some big fat checks to your non-soul-mate-I-bore-your-children wife.
C) keep your pants on and be a man.

I don't like to make generalizations, and I am not privy to the entire situation, but these men...are idiots.

In case you've never been south of the Mason-Dixon Line

2009-07-07T17:34:00.000-05:00

If you've never been to Texas outside the months of December through February, you may not truly understand the meaning of "HOT". We have a bike ride here called "The Hotter'en Hell" where bicyclers can be found crouched in the quasi-shade of a speed limit sign, seeking relief from the skin-boiling swelter that is Texas from May to until at least September... Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE has an air conditioner. This ain't no "Leave the windows open for a cool summer breeze" kind of place. We don't need heated pools - they're naturally warm. I have no idea how generations of Texans survived pre-A/C (like my mom). If you have any doubt that Global Warming is real, come stand on a street corner down here anytime after 8am and you'll be convinced that the globe is actually getting hotter with each passing minute. Polar Bears wouldn't last a minute...

Anyways, I found this witty explanation, as stolen from Texas Monthly's website...

You may have noticed that it's hot outside. If you're like me, you're wondering, "How did I end up in hell? I thought I was a semi-decent person." When I walk outside in the morning, I feel like I may burst into flames. Before I get to my car I'm already sweating profusely and gasping for air, and once I get inside, I'm trapped in a virtual oven equipped with leather seats and a half-melted Dalí-esque steering wheel.

Yes, it's summer in Texas. But this isn't just any summer. It's the summer to end all summers (please, God), with record-breaking heat, triple-digit temperatures, and the uncontrollable urge to sit in your freezer, atop the Häagen-Dazs bars. Here in Austin, it's been over 100 degrees for nine days straight. When the meteorologists say a "cold front" is coming, they mean that it could plunge to a refreshing 98 degrees. If you ever want to describe summer in Texas to someone, all you have to say is that it's like sitting in a sauna, fully clothed, while a sadistic personal trainer pours water over those stupid inexplicable rocks every five minutes.

I grew up in Virginia where summers were hot but not quite as oppressive and—here's the difference—they only last three months. If my calculations are correct, Texas summers last anywhere from eight months to year-round. I experienced my first Texas summer when I moved here in 2000. Of course, I knew Texas was hot. But this was more than hot. This was like mirage-inducing hot. (Is that an icy bottled water in my path or am I about to suck on a rock?)

It's not as though I wasn't used to severe weather. I went to graduate school in Chicago. Whenever I told people here that I had lived in Chicago, the reaction was always the same. How could you live there in the winter? YOU MUST HAVE BEEN MISERABLE. And I would reply that the winters in Chicago are similar to the summers here in that you have to stay indoors unless faced with an emergency and, even then, you probably shouldn't leave your house. In order to brave the elements in Chicago, you have to dress yourself accordingly—three fleeces layered on top of each other and a ski mask. Basically, do not leave any part of your body exposed. In order to handle the Texas heat, you also have to dress yourself accordingly—wear nothing (but 110 SPF sunscreen).

I am now in my ninth summer. Every year at this time, I think, this is it. I've finally reached my limit. I can't take it anymore. I need to move to Vermont. The heat is frying my brain. I used to be so smart. But by the time October (mid-October?) rolls around, with its brisk 80-degree temperatures, I almost forget the agony of summer. Until next April.

Celia and Seth's wedding

2009-07-07T14:16:00.016-05:00

The New McCormick's got hitched on July 4 this year. We had SUCH a blast at their wedding - it certainly didn't hurt that there was a musical play list, long-lost-out-of-town guests, and blue margaritas from Blue Mesa served by very generous bartenders (some of whom may or may not be related to the bride).

The wedding was at the Custer Road United Methodist Church and the reception was out at the Heard Natural Science Museum, which we knew nothing about but totally loved!!

Highlights of the evening included the very sweet ceremony (because we are all in love with this couple. If we could collectively marry them, as a group, I'm pretty sure we'd make it happen. And then we could get a really big house and be a totally non-sketchy version of "Big Love", yes? Or is that weird?), the Blue Margaritas (hello, already mentioned that), the hot dance moves by various guests (pretty sure we did "Thriller" three times...), and the after party (in hip downtown Plano, no less).

Sadly I have no pictures of the dancing - just look at the after-party pictures and the (HOT! Really, really HOT!) shoes we're all wearing and you'll have a general idea...unless you've never seen us at a wedding. Or other social event. Or even in the hallways of dorms. Regardless, we bring the party. And when we leave, we take it back with us. I mean, everyone there KNEW who the book club was. We even had people ask if they could apply...

After a season of weddings and a year of 30th birthday parties, we are running out of excuses to get together and break out the dance shoes. Not to worry, we don't really need an excuse - "just because" will do just fine...

(Before the wedding, hanging with the bride. Yes. BEFORE the wedding.
L-R: Me, Rachel, Beth, Bride Celia, Erin, Michelle)

(Showing off our shoes. It's important!)

(The bear at the reception. He's super cute. And furry.)

(Beth and the Wedding Bear.)

(Posing with the Wedding Bear. This was immediately turned into my Facebook Profile picture!!)

(At the wedding after-party. L-R: Michelle, Beth and Rachel. And their beverages of choice...)

(With my dapper looking husband!!)

(Alexandra and Chris in from DC)

(Ryan and Jenny Mewett. Yes, the Mewetts are twins. You're not seeing double...)

(I'm not sure what's going on here...there was some caressing of earlobes. Seth is married now, so I guess it's okay...)

(The NEW Mr and Mrs McCormick!!)

(Michelle. Being all bendy and what not. CUTE SHOES!!)

(Hanging out with Rachel after the party! Same glass of wine in every picture...)

(Michelle and Rachel at our SECOND stop during the after party tour of Plano...)

(Chilling at the bar. The music was really loud. I have no idea what Celia was saying...)

(Ryan and Jenny yell-talking. Really...the band was horrendously loud.)

(Beth and Chris Mewett)

(Bill. And me. Looking very...alert?! Tired??)

(Closing down the bar with Rachel!)

(Bill and Ryan. And some random guy in the background. Thanks dude...)

(Yeah!! Married people!! I love cute married people!)

(Outside the bar. After it closed.

L-R: Jenny, Ryan, Alexandra, Chris, Me, Bill, Beth)

We need a bachelorette weekend once a month - even if no one gets married...

2009-06-21T21:02:00.018-05:00

Beth and Erin threw a Bachelorette party for Celia since her wedding is coming up soon (YEAH!). They got a room up at the NYLO Loft Hotel in Plano. The plan was to hit the pool for a few hours (drinks in hand, natch), then get all gussied up for a night out. Well, technically it was more like a night downstairs as we ate at the hotel's fancy restaurant and then hung out on the patio. Sadly, the pool was closed for maintenance. So we spent six hours in the room talking and opening presents and enjoying Celia-tinis (some of us enjoyed more Celia-tinis than others...because some people are little and can't have more than one per hour...ahem).

The restaurant downstairs, Loft, was really good. And loud. And full of people. I haven't seen such a "scene" since PF Chang's bar in Plano (makes sense if you've been there. If not you probably think Plano is really lame, eh?). There were lots of women in heels and shorts. Let me repeat...Heels and Shorts. It is not a good look. It's actually quite ridiculous about 85% of the time...especially on the over-35-age-bracket. Just sayin... There were also a few dresses that we swear were meant to be shirts. Shirts worn with pants. Actual Pants, not just underpants.

We had SUCH a great time, that we've decided (or *I* have decided. And Beth agrees. And Michelle too.) that we need to do this more often. Even if no one gets married. We won't even require Renewing of Vows or other ceremony. Just some girl time. In a room. All together. For hours. With more makeup than an army of Drag Queens could use (pictorial evidence below). It was awesome, my friends...Awesome. And the Celia-tinis probably didn't hurt either.

(Erin and Beth are perfect hostesses - there were decorated cookies, Celia-tini's, chocolate covered strawberries, cheese and crackers. We could have survived in that room for days...)

(Don't worry Seth, this was not her "best" present...)

(These are from Celia's mom. Hi-lar-i-ous.)

(The makeup collection. Supplied by yours truly. I have an addiction...)

(But I use my addiction for the greater good. I did every one's makeup for the night. And they looked pretty good, if I do say so myself!)

(Miss Rachel, sporting a lot of GREEN for the night)

(This is not the best picture, but Michelle's face here CRACKS me up!! I think she was having a hard time deciding what "look" to go with. She almost settled on Broadway Villain)

(Beth looking good. I didn't actually do her makeup, but I supplied the ingredients...)

(L-R: Celia the bride, Erin, and Beth)

(L-R: Me, Michelle and Rachel)

(After dinner. On the "patio". With crazy music. And a million, uh, let's call them "Cougars". And their..."friends"?)

(Hanging out after dinner)

(Enjoying some Pinot...with my hideous tennis tan line. Classy.)

(Rachel, Michelle and me. Does it look like I'm missing part of my shirt there...? Optical illusion, seriously)

(same glass of Pinot. Really. It lasted me for hours)

(The group, L-R: Me, Beth, Erin, Celia, Rachel, Michelle)

(Yes, exact same people. Exact same picture. Deal with it.)

We have lots of glassware, bring us booze...

2009-06-14T19:03:00.031-05:00

We're all mature here right? (Anyone that gets legitimately carded, as in, can be categorized as Under Age, please turn away and come back in a few years as I don't want your parents yelling at me...) Yes, well, okay then. Celia and Seth recently had a bar stocking shower. The invitation suggested "Everyday Glass and Barware". Which is awesome. I love my everyday glassware. I use it a lot, everyday you might say (heh). But I have plenty. As do the Future McCormick's. So instead of glassware, they requested, well, Booze. You know, to go in the glassware. And Booze they got. (Added bonus - it never goes bad, right? Unlike, say, milk. Or orange juice.)

There were lovely varieties of wine. Functional martini shakers. Fancy dessert li-quors. And Boone's Farm. Strawberry, I believe...very classy. We had a great time. And didn't even have to break open their presents (as the lovely hosts provided some fermented grape juice for us to enjoy - yeah!).

(The happy couple opening presents! Yeah!!!)

(This is actually a garden hose bin - to keep the kinks out of the hose when you store it. Or I'm sure it could be used as a make shift beer cooler...pretty sure Celia is on board with that idea from the look on her face...)

(The lovely bride-to-be. Slightly off center. And diagonal. Sorry.)

(Michelle and Brandon. And the cutest dog in the world - beside Oscar)

(Ahh, yes. THERE is the Boone's Farm, courtesy of Erin and Brandon)

(The bringers of the Boone's Farm. It was pretty awesome, actually)

(Beth and Bill enjoying the present opening!)

(The cute dog. I can't remember his name, but I wanted to take him home. Oscar would have loved him. Maybe.)

(Wedding presents are so fun! When else in life do people buy you cute place mats and such?)

(Rachel and friends)

(Observing the "bar stocking")

(WaHoo! Fancy dessert liquor!! And Celia impersonating a Velocaraptor??)

(We had a great time - lots of good laughs)

(Erin made friends with the cute Lab in the house!)

(The bar is going to be well stocked...when are we all coming over?!)

(Beth and Bill)

(So all the dogs love Erin...I was not jealous. Not one bit.)

(Personalized Styrofoam cups - how CUTE is that!!)

(What a great party!! Time to write all those Thank You notes...)

So, to recap - Bar stocking parties are super fun. They require lots of Booze...or so I hear.

Yeah, this wedding is going to be so awesome!!!

Puppy chasers

2009-06-14T19:02:00.009-05:00

Bill is an official convert - the guy loves dogs. Oscar has done his job well. While out house hunting today, we saw a little puppy darting through the front lawns of the neighborhood. And no one was with him. And he looked scared and lost (you know, tail between the legs, ears back. I'm the Dog Whisperer remember?). So we decided to try to catch the little guy and find his owners. Commence Operation Catch Puppy.

We drove all over the neighborhood. I would jump out of the car (in my lovely sun dress, that was quickly becoming sweaty and gross since this is Texas in June...), Bill would drive the car down the street to try to cut him off. We even recruited a jogger and another couple out driving around.

We chased the dog down a major road, onto another street and finally into the front yard of a house. I got a hand on him, but the little guy was all squirmy and fast and he escaped and darted into the back yard. Where we cornered him. Again. Until he ran into the house through the doggie door!! Now what the heck do you do about that??

I put a note on the door saying something to the effect of "Sorry this random dog ran into your house - hope he didn't pee on anything. He sure is cute. We tried to catch him. Here's my number."

And you know what - the home owner did call me. And thanked me profusely. And told me we were so nice to look out for a little dog. Because it was HER dog. And he escaped through the fence because the maids didn't close the gate. And he'd done it once before. And she's going to get a better gate lock.

So we actually chased the puppy home...he just took the long way.

Wichita Wagon rolls, no BUMPS into town

2009-06-14T19:00:00.014-05:00

Saturday morning we hitched up the Wichita Wagon (otherwise known as Bill's dying Navigator) and headed up to Wichita Falls for Lauren and Collin's wedding. There were 6 of us in the car. What do you get when you have six people, a box of cookies, some almonds, a failing suspension, bald tires, shotty brakes and a round-trip road trip?? Big Time F-U-N, that's what. (And a side of death-defying crazy...)

Since Bill's suspension/shocks are on their last (half) leg, Celia and Seth, who were sitting in the "way back" were slowly sinking lower to the ground as the drive continued. The "check suspension" light would come on and those poor guys would start bouncing all over the place. They were quite literally sitting on the rear tires. Luckily, no one participated too much in the adult beverages that were provided at the wedding - that would have been one bumpy ride!!

(Riding on the tires. Seriously...time for a new car, yes?)

(At the reception - L-R: Celia, Beth, me, Rachel. Looking lovely ladies!!)

(Beth and Celia enjoying some margaritas!!)

(Bill bonding with Book Club Baby Mattie. Who is just about the cutest thing ever...and is the wedding couple's niece!!)

(Only shot I got of Lauren, the beautiful bride!!)

(Me and my cute husband!)

After the wedding, we decided to take some pictures at the falls. The "Falls" that Wichita Falls should be named for, right? Well, since the Falls we visited were man made (by Mr. Concrete, no less), I'm not actually sure how the town got its name. That is some research I've yet to do...

(Our very refined pose in front of THE Falls)

(This looks like an engagement picture, no?)

(Okay, THIS looks like an engagement photo!! Probably because they're actually engaged...)

(Beth and Rachel with the lovely Falls)

(And now we're just being dorks. And Celia looks drunk...but isn't. Promise.)

(Like I said...dorks. In fancy dresses)

(No idea what this about. No book clubbers were hurt in the filming of this scene...)

(Celia showing off the sign to the falls)

(Just thought this was "Oh My Awesome". So I took a picture)

After our visit to the Falls, we changed clothes. On the side of the road. Out in public. For all of the town to see. Bill got a honk. The rest of us got nothin'... (And I totally should have taken pictures).

On the drive home, we stopped at Dairy Queen. It is the Texas Stop Sign, after all. I think we've officially hit "old-dom" as none of us could finish our hand dipped cones. It was just...too much?

(Dairy Queen in Denton, TX. It really is as thrilling as it looks. Which is not very.)

(Beth is enjoying her hand dipped cone. Rachel is...not??)

My Cup Runneth Over (or when the toilet overflows in the morning)

2009-06-09T20:29:00.002-05:00

This morning after Oscar's walk, I walked into the guest bathroom. And left with a soggy sock. No, not soggy. WET. Our toilet, the ever-running nuisance, had flooded the bathroom floor. And it turns out that our bathroom is on a slant as none of the water reached the carpet outside the bathroom - yeah, score one for ME!

I was actually running 10 minutes ahead of my usual schedule this morning. Until I had to clean up the inch of standing (pee) water. Which put me 20 minutes behind. Hey, I didn't want to dry my hair this morning anyways - another point for ME (except not really at all)! I also didn't really want to scoop water out of the toilet with a cup so it would stop overflowing even after I turned the water off - point for the potty... Nice. Sorry Indians plastic cup, I have a feeling you won't be living with us anymore after today...

And so I ask - The day HAS to get better than that, right??

And now we have 7 Degrees in the Anderson Household

2009-06-09T18:56:00.002-05:00

My sister Natalie graduated from High School yesterday. Along with 955 of her closest friends...or if she was like me, 500 people she'd never actually met. Of course, my graduating class had 1,392 people in it. And I'm not even kidding. (Which totally makes my class rank of top 5% more impressive, no?).

Anyways, the Anderson household now has 7 "degrees" within it's walls. Except my diploma from UT is technically in Oscar's closet at the moment... And the fact that my baby sister, who was BORN in 1990 (omg!) is officially a COLLEGE student, well, that should make you feel sufficiently old. Because it makes me feel really old. Because unlike Natalie, I was not only alive, but I also remember the '80s...

Nice Mom Jeans...

2009-06-08T07:23:00.000-05:00

During a family celebration of Natalie's high school graduation, we busted out some old family video of her childhood. And my tragic wardrobe choices. I was under the impression that the '90s were pretty "classic" when it came to fashion. Nothing crazy like the shoulder pads and big hair of the '80s. No crazy bell bottoms of the '70s. Sure, there might have been a higher concentration of lumber jack attire after the whole "grunge" thing, but that's about it, right??

Holy High Waisted Jeans and Tucked in Shirt, how I was wrong!

As we recently discussed in Book Club, we dressed like 40 year olds when in our late teens and early twenties. We would wear black pants (and everyone had about 5 pair) and a blue button down shirt. Or jeans (up to our navel) with a semi-cropped shirt. And a belt. ALWAYS a belt. And this is what we wore to GO OUT!! Like, with BOYS! Boys we were trying to IMPRESS!!! Seriously?!?! But the coup de grace were my two super hip pairs of pants - Red Velvet and Leopard Print. Each worn with respective button down shirts. Each stretchy and Lycra-ized. Seriously. I have pictures of these outfits. What on earth was I thinking? Or more like it, what on earth was Express selling to me?!?

It was seriously bad. But at least our skirts covered all our {cough} parts, unlike the ones chosen by today's starlets. We might have chosen unwisely, but at least we were conservative in our awfulness. And really, everyone else was dressed like that - there is safety in numbers my fashion-challenged friends...

Oversharing (disguised as Interesting Tidbits)

2009-06-06T17:58:00.004-05:00

In the spirit of the "25 Random Things" you're supposed to do on FaceBook, here are some random things about lil' old me. On the blog...because I'd rather have 6 people read this than over 200 of my (not really) closest friends. And I can't promise it will be 25 things - I might be more interesting. Or less.

1. When I was growing up, I thought I wanted to be one of three things: A Rockette, a Fighter Pilot (preferably with the Blue Angels) or an Accountant. Turns out I'm too short to be a Rockette - they actually have a height requirement. Guess I could have sued my way on stage with the other high steppers, but I'm not that kind of girl. Flying planes sounded super cool, especially since I loved going to air shows with my parents when I was little. But then again, war sounds scary. As did the Communists (I'm a child of the '80s, mind you). And I'm probably too short for that one too. Accounting, oh accounting. I was all about accounting - I love math, I'm good a math, I have nice handwriting, and I likely could have gone to work for the family business. And then I took an accounting class in college. A REAL accounting class. I crossed that off my potential job list real fast like.

2. Now that I'm a "Grown Up" (riiight), I think that in my next life, I would like to be a makeup artist. Until recently, I would laugh at the poor girls who list that as their occupation while starring as one of the female masses on the latest season of "The Bachelor". But now I think it would be really fun. Especially if I actually knew what I was doing. But I wouldn't want to have to work on the weekends doing weddings, and I'd only want to work with cool girls (and maybe guys?). And they'd have to be nice. And have at least ONE quality facial feature I could work with. And I don't know if I could do the crazy Hollywood movie makeup with fake noses and hair pieces and monster faces and stuff. But I still think it would be fun.

3. I love to read. LOVE it. When I was in elementary school, my birthday and Christmas wish lists were comprised of about 85% books. I think it's sad when people don't like to read - like Kanye West, who is an idiot to begin with... I usually read a few books at a time. At an unnaturally quick pace. I finish our book club books so far ahead of the next meeting, that I kind of forget what I wanted to talk about!

4. If I could figure out a way to get paid to read books, without having to edit them, I would be in hog heaven.

5. I don't have the attention span to read magazines. Or newspapers. Which is weird, seeing as how books are longer and whatnot.

6. I am a rule follower. If the sign says "Exit", I'm not about to "Enter" through that door. Breaking rules gives me the heeby-geebies. Seriously, my heart starts racing like I just got caught stealing gum from the 7-Eleven on the corner. It's annoying. (The only rule I don't totally follow would be the speed limit on the Tollway - aka The Dallas Autobahn. I default to the flow of traffic rule on that one).

7. Purple is my favorite color. FAV-O-RITE. It was also my Aunt Judy's favorite color. Just one reason in about a million why she was so great.

8. The first time I remember riding a horse it was when we lived in New Jersey. NOT Texas, contrary to popular (uneducated) opinion.

9. I have, however, driven a quite large John Deer Tractor on farm land in Lubbock, Texas owned by my equally wonderful Uncle Gordon. How many people can say that?

10. Also, I liked living in New Jersey. It's the Garden State. And it didn't smell. I promise.

11. It really, REALLY annoys me when people spell "Y'all" incorrectly. It is a contraction for "you all"...not "ya ll". Think about it...Do Not becomes Don't. Cannot becomes Can't. The ' sign replaces the missing letters...get with it peeps! It's Y-apostrophe-A-L-L.

12. I didn't own a pair of cowboys boots until about 3 years ago. And I got them at Nordstrom so they're technically not even "real" cowboy boots. But they're super cute!

13. I go through very distinct fashion "phases". Two years ago it was tennis clothes. Before that it was purses. Now it's dresses with pockets. I have a sickness and deal with it through retail therapy... ;-)

14. I love dogs. In fact, I love dogs more than about 85% of people out there...except if they're all yippy and pee everywhere, then I probably just like them. When we moved from New Jersey to Texas, I made my parents get me a dog (because I had any real control over the moving situation??). And I've yet to get tired of being a dog owner. They're just about the most awesome thing ever. I hear kids are great, but for now Oscar gets my vote...

14a. People that say they don't like dogs, or actually don't like them are inherently suspect in my book.

14b. People that don't like Oscar I can no longer be friends with.

15. Proctor and Gamble love me. Dr Pepper has my picture in their Hall of Fame. MAC offers up prayers in my name. Because I have more brand loyalty than anyone I know. Colgate - check. Tide - yes. Downy - of course. Cascade - what else would I use. This even extends to non-product related parts of life. If I start watching a television show, you bet your bottom dollar I'm in for the long haul. Until the final curtain call. Despite numerous "Jump the Shark" situations. I will listen to anything Bon Jovi sings. I'll buy any book written by my list of favorite authors. If I were a marketing executive, I would stalk me.

16. I have freakishly accurate Famous-Person-Radar. If they're in the same building or room or airport, I will likely spot them. I will not, however, get up the guts to go say something to them. Rarely do I even attempt the subtle picture. Unless it's Bon Jovi. Or Laura Bush. And then watch the freak out, I am heading straight toward you at FULL speed, because we are going to be best friends, darn it!!

17. I wish I knew how to play the guitar. Not enough that I will do something about it. I spent about 5 years playing the violin until I quit. And despite my mom's warnings, I have yet to regret that decision... ;-)

18. To this day I cannot, cannot, CANNOT watch anything related to 9/11. Documentaries, movies, special reports - once people start getting on the planes or going off to work or making those heart wrenching phone calls, I just can't do it.

19. I'm super excited about eventually finding and owning a house, but totally terrified we will install a ceiling fan incorrectly, or flood the washing machine, or knock the fence over and Jose the Maintenance Guy will not be around to help!

20. I've only highlighted my hair twice. In college. My mom paid for it. And when I saw the bill I decided that was not something I was about to get involved with.

21. But now that I'm 30, I'm pretty sure my virgin hair won't be so untouched for long...

22. I do my own manicures/pedicures for essentially the same reason - CHEAPNESS. I could put that $40 toward a killer pair of shoes. And my finger nails chip after a day anyways, so I hardly ever paint them. I do insist, however, on always having my toenails painted. You can take a girl out of the sorority, but you can't take the sorority out of the girl...

23. I feel as if I'd like to live somewhere more "interesting" than Dallas at some point in my adult life. But it's a pretty fleeting thought as I love it here. And we have a ton of airline miles.

24. I have the best friends and family in the world. The best. Don't challenge me to a Friends & Family Duel, I will win.

25. In my "TV Character as Life" fantasy, I'd like to be a combination of Blair, Serena, Jenny and Dan from "Gossip Girl" - the good parts, not the mean nasty parts. Oh, and Nate has perfect (man) bangs - throw those in for good measure.

26. Growing up I never got grounded, had detention or was sent to the Principal's office. In 30 years of life, I've been 100% cavity free. I was born on my actual due date. This tri-fecta leads me to believe I am quite possibly, actually, in fact, just a little bit perfect... :-)

27. Every girl needs a pair of killer red shoes, preferably heels. Preferably numerous pair. When you have the choice between black, brown and red, always pick red. If you think you'll never have the opportunity to wear them, substitute them anytime you would normally wear black shoes - you'll be surprised how much they go with. And, yes, some people may call you "Dorthy", but they will notice. Go out and get some. Immediately.

I think I would have fit in

2009-06-05T18:02:00.009-05:00

Bill and I have been watching "Mad Men" on AMC. It's based on the Ad agencies in the 1960s and their employees lives', both inside and outside the office. I would like to think I would have fit in during that time. Mostly because I want to wear the fun dresses and pencil skirts. And their elegant hair styles. And hats. Why can't we bring back real hats?

The women characters are either some body's wife, some body's girlfriend, a secretary, or for one "lucky" girl, a junior copy writer. So those might not be the best options, but you know... The Head Secretary/Office Manager, Joan Holloway, is this feisty red head that has the best outfits. I'd want to be her. Even though her boss/secret boyfriend is married and decides to leave his wife for another secretary...that just turned 20. Ouch. And her fiancee is a doctor, but seems like he might be a bit of a dope...he hasn't made too many appearances yet.

But if my hair looked that perfect all the time and I was in charge of "the girls" and had killer fashion sense, I think I could manage...

It's basically an "E" for Effort

2009-06-04T18:17:00.012-05:00

I've decided I'm talentedly mediocre at numerous things. I mean I can do a lot of stuff. And I can do a lot of stuff pretty darn well. Like tennis, and dancing, and writing, and spreadsheet-ing and algebra-ing (those are real skills. There are people out there that are truly terrible at these things. Trust me. I've seen their spreadsheets. And math homework. Not pretty.). So by "talentedly mediocre", I mean that the average person might be impressed with my skills, but compared to someone that is truly talented, like gift from God, you should be paid for doing this thing, I'm just sort of meh {shrug of the shoulders, scrunch of the face}.

Case in point...tennis. I'm in the Advanced class at my tennis "club". And I play on a team of really good players (like, state ranked, people are scared of me, players). (Except they maybe broke up with me?!) Yet, I am just about the weakest link in the class and on the team. (Which is why they maybe broke up with me?) And I'm okay with that - I don't mind pulling up the rear. And, maybe I'm not technically the weakest link - there are some people in there that probably shouldn't be. But whatever. And also, I'm a girl, so I'm never going to hit it as hard or as fast or as crazy ridiculous because my forearms and shoulders and legs just aren't that big. But after years, I mean years of playing numerous times a week, I'm pretty sure my dad could still beat me. Left handed. Of course, he actually is left handed, so there's that.

Or snow skiing. I think I'm really good at snow skiing. I can do blue and black diamonds comfortably. But then my crazy husband does the black diamond moguls and little jumpy things and is all speed-demony with his brothers, and meanwhile I'm still back at the top of the mountain weaving my way down in wide, wide sweeping fashion. And we live in Texas, so no one ever gets to actually see this particular set of skills, which doesn't help me at all. And I wouldn't begin to try to teach someone else how to ski (except Michelle - that was successful), so it's a self contained meh-talent.

Or writing. I mean, I think I put together a mean email. My high school and college papers were made examples of (because they were good, thank you very much). The three people that read this blog tell me it's entertaining (four people??). But then I read other people's stuff - published books for example, and think "Huh...this is REALLY good. No one would publish the stuff *I* write, would they?? My vocabulary is way too limited. And I can't spell worth a darn. And I'm not sure I could squeeze 500+ pages out of my daily life...which is all I write about."

And then there's dancing. I've had moderate success at the whole dancing thing. I was in my studio's dance company when I was little. I was an officer on my high school drill team (score!). I was on the Pom Squad at the University of Texas, which is pretty brag-worthy (and I try to mention that to someone just to boost my coolness factor at least once a month...). But if I decided to stand in line and try out for "So You Think You Can Dance", I'd be one of the sad, sad people that thinks they can dance, until some Broadway star prima ballerina twirls all over my tap shoes and the judges simply say "Right. So...Thanks for coming out. Have a lovely day...". I mean, if I had decided to major in dance in college, they would have brought in a career counselor to help me "explore other options". It's okay though because I will dance you off the floor any night of the week at a wedding, club or salsa night (because I do that SO often in my old age...). And sometimes on the tennis court...

So one thing I'm probably really good at is shopping. Which I will never be paid for, sadly. I'm also really good at encouraging others to shop - Yes, you need that in two colors. What's another $25 when we're talking about shoes, my friend?? Really, I can carry that extra shopping bag if that's what you're worried about. A college roommate of mine was forbidden from going with me to Target, Wal-Mart, Ann Taylor and any sort of outlet mall. I am a shining star at my neighborhood Nordstrom - I've got "People" in numerous departments. That know me by name. But I'm not about to list that under the "skills" section of my resume...you'll just have to take my word for it.

You may have been right about this one Glamour...

2009-05-29T18:45:00.001-05:00

(Not that anyone cares. At all, but) I read an article awhile back about the Ten Biggest Beauty Mistakes you can make - I think it was in Glamour or one of those magazines. I was ~~hoping~~ thinking their list would have something along the lines of the side pony tail (sadly, that did not make the cut. But I still refuse to give in. I remember the first time those came around...Not awesome.). One of the items on the list was working out with makeup on. Now, I'm not one of those fresh-faced-Cover-Girl-who-needs-makeup-with-skin-like-this chicks. I mean, makeup and I are friends. Good friends. If makeup had a summer home in the Hamptons, I would have my own dedicated bedroom and a seat at the breakfast table from which to view the water while enjoying my morning coffee. I have a very public love affair with MAC - and I don't even try to hide it. If I could funnel my paycheck directly to MAC, it would make things much easier...

So anyways...I decided to try out this little trick. I now wash my face before any physical activity of consequence - walking the dog, hitting the treadmill (few and far between as I'm always walking the dog), and even tennis. Tennis. Where I see people. People that I know. People that are my friends. Friends that I don't want to scare off to the point that they de-friend me on FaceBook.

But you know what - I think Glamour was right. I think it actually makes a difference. Huh, score one for the beauty experts. (Riveting, I know...)

Is this like getting dumped via text message?

2009-05-28T18:23:00.001-05:00

I think my tennis team broke up with me. The mixed doubles team. The team of which I was an original member. I figured out that the season started a few weeks ago, and I'm not on the roster of players. Making it hard to be a part of the "team" and all.

Was it something I did?
(Like, I don't know, going from UNDEFEATED with my first partner to being the losing-est player on the team in a matter of about three seasons? Seriously. Losing-Est. In my defense, my undefeated streak did help us get promoted to a more difficult level. In which I am obviously not thriving).

Was it something I said?
(Perhaps stating that I would rather play left handed on one leg than with a certain Mr. Bossy Pants as a partner? I mean really...it was unpleasant...he was a super jerk face.)

Was it something I wore?
(Maybe the skirt I got in Argentina, that is technically part of their national Olympic Field Hockey Uniform didn't translate to tennis like I thought? Or maybe I repeated outfits too often. Hey, I just grab whatever is on top of the pile I keep meaning to hang up. If you had to go in the Junk Room Closet, you'd just make a pile on the floor too...)

I mean, maybe it's a misunderstanding. Or an oversight. Or an accidentally on purpose strategic move. But at least I have my Sunday nights free for other stuff now. Like TiVo. Or reading. Or W-I-N-E...

But seriously guys...you know where to find me. I'd probably take you back. I'm very forgiving like that. Of course, you'd totally owe me a dinner at that fancy new restaurant I was always talking about...or Jewelry. Like, you know, a tennis bracelet.

All Fixed Up. With Nothin' to Say

2009-05-27T18:29:00.005-05:00

So I paid for extra storage space on this fancy little blog thingy here. Guess all the pictures that ~~Bill~~ we take are eating up our free blog space (which is limited to 1 GB - take note, fellow bloggers). So I sent Google $20 of my hard earned money. For 10 GB of space. That ought to be enough. At least until our next international trip, which may or may not include two trips to a cemetery. Or illuminated crypt. Take your pick.

Rest assured, All Ye Blog Faithful (hello? Anyone out there??) that the inane details of our life will continue to appear. Right here. Just as soon as something exciting happens. {crickets...crickets}

Maybe I'll have some wine before tennis tonight - that might do the trick...

Out of room?!?!

2009-05-25T21:20:00.005-05:00

Wait...what? I've exceeded the space limit of my free blog? You will not let me upload any more pictures, Mr. Blogger? Not even of Oscar? Cute, innocent, megabytes-mean-nothing-to-me-because-I'm-a-DOG, Oscar?

In fact, you're going to charge me for more storage space? Charge me cash money? And I don't even get to use a U-Haul for a day or anything? (See, that was a joke...storage space...U-Haul. Anyone??)

Fine. {arms crossed, scowling}

I'm sorry that it has come to this - If you read this blog, send me $1. Better yet, make that $5 if you think I'm funny...which I would advise you to do. So I can buy more bytes. More bytes = more funny...??

(Just kidding. It's like $20 a year for 10MB. Just annoying, that's all. Who knew you could have too many pictures on here?)

(I mean unless you want to send me money...I wouldn't want to be rude and refuse it or anything.)

Memorial Day weekend

2009-05-25T18:18:00.008-05:00

Here's the run down on the long weekend. (I've been nursing a glass of Syrah while updating this thing, so keep that in mind if this is only partly interesting/entertaining...or coherent.)

On Saturday, I went to Northpark to visit MAC with Rachel. I'm somewhat of a VIP celebrity there. In that they all know me. To the point where they know there is an "e" in my name when looking me up in the fancy Nordstrom computer. Which can be good or bad. Depending on who you are. I'm sure Nordie's thinks it's great. My MasterCard (ie *Bill*) may have an entirely different outlook on the situation. Regardless, an hour later, we looked good, yo. I was all gussied up and ready to go...clean the apartment. No matter - I'm sure the kitchen appreciated it. And I actually refrained from going MAC crazy. Or even Nordie's crazy. But I did manage to find some shorts at the Loft - yeah for me!

Sunday we headed out to the Byron Nelson. We managed to miss the rain by about 10 minutes, which is fantastic. Sloshing through rain on a golf course does not sound fun to me. At all. After the Byron, we headed to Mattito's with Celia, Seth and Rachel, who had come with us to the tournament. The Raspberry Margarita was a nice finish to a relaxing day.

Sunday night we saw "Angels and Demons". Which was much better than "The Da Vinci Code" if you ask me. And they managed to make the helicopter scene less offensively ludicrous than it was in the book. I told Bill what they did in the book and I'm pretty sure I finished with, "And that is the point where I threw it across the room due to the complete stupidity." And that's what I think about that!

Monday we spent a few hours organizing the apartment and THEN we took Oscar to the Dog park. Which was awesome!! He loved it. And only tried to eat three other dogs. But in his defense, I'm pretty sure he takes his job of Guard-Dog very seriously...and that Wiener dog DID look pretty scary.

Hope you enjoyed your Memorial Day AND remembered what it's all about. Thank a Vet next time you get the chance...

Total Neglect. Or what else has been going on...

2009-05-22T16:50:00.029-05:00

So I've been neglecting the blog. People probably think I've died. Well, maybe not...since the only people that read this are, well, Jamie and my mom? Regardless, I've been a bit Cyber-AWOL. And not because nothing has been going on - there's been plenty. It's just been a bit boring. Or stuff I'd rather not put on here, for fear of who might happen upon it (ahem, crazy people I may or may not work with. perhaps. or not. who knows. I'm not telling.).

I mean, Finley turned 1 and there was a party. And Lauren had a bridal shower with Sprinkles cupcakes (yeah cupcakes!).

(How cute is this little guy - he's got a hat on!!)

(Cute mommy with cute not-such-a-baby-anymore-cause-I'm-One Finley!)

(He is definitely his daddy's boy - loved the dessert!)

(What a cutie! And now it's bath time...)

And we had a Spring Fling at my office - we went to TopGolf, the same place we had Bill's 30th Birthday party. I don't want to take credit or anything, but I WAS on the planning committee at work. My team didn't win anything but I think everyone had a great time. Even the handful of people that were staging anti-golf protests...

(The fancy set up in our private suite!)

(I look like I have golf skills, no?)

(Okay, so I maybe hit the ball straight up into the ceiling, and Clair on my team caught it with his bare hands. And here he's making sure I know what I'm doing before giving it back...)

(Hanging out with my team mates!)

(My team...we were called "The Hookers". It's a golf term. Shut up.)

And Jen Lancaster came to town and there was a book signing. (But since I have a Kindle, there was no way I was standing in line with a Sharpie Marker...).

And I "moved" at work. Not jobs. Just desks. Long story.

And Rachel and I went to an Etsy craft fair, which sounds kind of crunchy-granola-lame, but was actually super awesome.

And I'm joining the Junior League of Dallas. I'm hoping my sorority skills will come in handy there. And that the other girls will like me. (And my Camry.)

And Bill and I are still looking for houses. Which is oddly exhausting. Beth has given us a deadline of July so that we can host her 30th birthday bash in our new house. We might have to have a "30.2" party...um, next July.

And I officially have over 100 more friends on FaceBook than my husband.

Yup. That about sums it up, folks.

I need to get a life. Or start lying...

Open Letter to the Non Handwashing Lady

2009-05-05T12:10:00.004-05:00

There is a lady on our floor that works in anther office, for another firm. Which is good. For her. I run into her in the Ladies' Room. And have noticed that she never washes her hands. NEVER. Which is gross. To the Nth Degree Gross. Especially with the whole swine flu we've got going on. School districts are closing down. People are walking around with haz-mat suits and medical masks on. Pigs are avoiding confined spaces...on the recommendation of Joe Biden, you see.

Lady, really. Are you kidding me? Wash. Your. HANDS.

Or I will be tempted to say something to you next time we meet. And it will likely come out somewhat nasty. Yes. Nasty, just like your hands are!!!

And then I will run after you with some Purell. Or handi-wipes. Or Lysol. Because I have all of the above available at my desk. And honestly, GROSS OUT!!!

(and also...let's talk about looking into a new hair style while we're at it...)

Day Three, NYC. Or When We Said Don't Eat Lunch, We Meant It...

2009-05-03T17:18:00.035-05:00

Sunday started with breakfast in our hotel. Then Bill and I headed down to the World Trade Center site and St Paul's Cathedral across the street while Brent and Elisa went back to SoHo for some quick shopping. The WTC is under construction and you really can't see much beyond the fencing that is erected on the perimeter. I've seen Ground Zero at various times since 9/11, but Bill hadn't really ever been there. Since we couldn't see much, other than a bunch of construction equipment, we headed over to the church next door. St. Paul's served as a makeshift headquarters for volunteers and rescue personnel in the days after 9/11. Since it's still a working church, they've set up small memorials and exhibits around the pews inside the building. They kept cards and letters and photos of those lost in the terrorist attack, and it makes for a very powerful reminder of what happened just across the street.

After walking through the church, we made our way over to Greenwich Village for our eating and cultural walking tour. We've done one of these tours before in the Chelsea Market and thought it was great. This time we picked Greenwich Village - and it was fantastic as well. We sampled olive bread, cupcakes, pizza, Italian rice balls (which are fan-freggin-tastic!), chocolates, gelatto and chocolate chip cookies! We were stuffed after the first stop, but suffered through the rest!! The only problem was the rain. The constant, soaking, my socks are wet, gross, why today of all days rain. But we still had a great time. This is something I'd love to do again on a nice fall day - and it would give Bill a chance to break out the fancy camera for some great pictures!!

(Some of the cards, letters and photos on display on a separate alter in St. Paul's)

(In Amy's Breads before our Greenwich Village eating tour. The cupcakes were delish!)

(Brent and Elisa, trying to stay dry before our tour)

(Nice rain jacket...did you wear that to a swanky roof top terrace last night?!)

(Yeah, the cakes...oh my goodness, the cakes!)

(Brent in his poncho...)

(My attempt at an artistic Bill-ish shot...it's kind of...meh.)

(Off we go!! On tour...in the constant rain!)

(What do you think the locals were saying...a crowd of 10 people in matching plastic...)

(Amy's Bread, where our tour started - great cupcakes, great bread!)

(A side street in the Village)

(Doesn't even look like NYC does it?)

(A cute little stoop in front of a historic old home)

(Such a cute little area down here)

(Little neighborhood bistro called The Little Owl)

(the oldest WOODEN structure in NYC - it's illegal to building anything in wood now due to the fire hazard)

(Such a surprisingly quaint little street in the middle of NYC!)

(This building is where Rachel, Monica, Chandler and Joey supposedly "lived" in Friends)

(Across the street from the Friends apartment building)

(I love that everyone has a dog in the city!)

(How cute is this girl - in her Wellies and her dog in his rain coat!!)

(I think I'd want to live here if I were a New Yorker)

(A cute private court yard - this is where the lower class and servants used to live...not too shabby if you ask me!)

(How cute is that!)

(More fun little houses in the Village)

(Another private court yard area)

(It was so peaceful back here)

(I think we only saw two cars! Of course, it was a rainy Sunday afternoon)

(I could ride my bike around here)

(Our last stop - Milk and Cookies Bakery. SO GOOD!)

(We managed to stay relatively dry on our tour!)

We peeled off of our tour a little early to head back to the hotel, change into dry clothes, and head out to the airport. We actually made it to airport on time, EARLY even. I'm pretty sure I know what the motivation was - the Mavs playoff game. But I'll take it. What a great trip - we can't wait to do it again...assuming the Little's have recovered...
pick up Oscar

Day Two, NYC. Or, We are WAY not Cool Enough for This Place...

2009-05-03T13:17:00.067-05:00

We started Saturday off with sleeping in. And pre-planning a nap for the afternoon. Today was going to included eating (of course!), shopping (duh) and highly inappropriate comedy (my favorite kind. Wait...that sounds bad). We decided to start the day at Grand Central. Because when in Rome, ride the subway. Actually, when in Rome don't ride the subway...but in NYC, go ahead.

We rode down to Union Square where they have a Saturday morning market. They sell everything from flowers to cheese to wine to vegetables. If I lived in NYC, I would hit these up all the time for the yummy goodies and fresh items! It was so fun to walk through - people had their dogs and their kids and were just having a nice morning out in New York City.

(The entrance to Grand Central)

(Beautiful ceiling of Grand Central terminal)

(inside the commuter hub that is really nice, as it was refurbished a few years ago)

(Think of all the people that travel through this station in a day. In a year!)

(In the market at Union Square)

(People shopping and visiting in the outdoor market)

(Bread for sale)

(Doesn't that fresh produce look just great?!)

(Beautiful flowers for sale - I would have loved to bring some orchids back. But I'd probably kill them if they even survived the flight home!)

(Tulips of every color!)

(I'm not a HUGE spinach person, but this stuff looks yum-tastic!)

(Any market that sells wine, on the street, has my vote!)

(How beautiful are these flowers? This would get you some brownie points with a hot date, guys!)

(Such a pretty selection! It's like Home Depot on steroids!)

(Check out the cute dog - love this place!)

(Hanging flowers, potted plants, greatness)

After the outdoor market, we headed to a store called ABC Home and Carpet in SoHo. They have two separate store fronts - one for actual carpet, and another for total awesomeness in every size, shape and color you can imagine. This place had furniture, home decor, clothing, jewelry, children's toys, bath products. It was crazy and so completely fun! One more thing to add to my "Need to revisit (likely with Rachel and a credit card)" NYC list...

(Inside ABC Home and Carpet - all the lighting and jewelry on display was so cool)

(See all the clothing and chandeliers and cool stuff you can buy!?)

(Brent and Elisa checking out a fancy blue scarf...that came home in their suitcase.)

(China and home decor)

(If only some of these chandeliers would fit in my suitcase - or I had a place to hang them once we got home?)

(Checking out some place mats and other house wares)

(Puts Lamps Plus to shame!)

(I think there were even some ceiling fans in the mix...)

(Stationery - one of my weaknesses!)

(Look how cute this little tent is. And the llama that lives next door...?)

(Would this be totally fun, or really creepy to own as a child? I'm not sure, but you don't see that in many toy stores, do you?)

So eventually we got to Mesa Grill, a Bobby Flay restaurant where we had a late brunch. Then it was on through SoHo and to the Brooklyn Bridge. Our taxi dropped us off in South Street Seaport, where we visited an old fashioned stationery store. Where I wanted to buy everything, but managed to refrain, for the most part. We were going to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, something I've done before, but no one else had. I was hoping it would be as exciting for everyone else as I think it is...I am pretty sure it was a success! I'll let the pictures speak for themselves...

(Bill took this one with his big fancy camera! Pretty cool!)

(Another of Bill's shots...)

(How cute is this picture!!!)

(Can't take credit for this one either - it's all Bill!)

(View of the Statue of Liberty in the river...beyond her is New Jersey)

(Shot of the skyline - Battery Park and the Wall Street area where the Twin Towers used to live...)

(Looking back uptown - you can see the Empire State Building to the left and the Chrysler Building in the middle)

(It was a bit windy...)

After walking about 1/4 of the bridge (it's a long bridge, people - it goes all the way to Brooklyn after all!), we headed back into SoHo for some shopping. We didn't last too long after all the walking and eating and bridge-ing. It was about time for our mid-afternoon power nap!

(Brent was brave enough to get something from the street vendor - a Diet Coke.)

(The boys waiting for us outside of Kate Spade. I'm pretty sure Bill is saying, "Are you girls ready yet?")

We were quickly done with all the shopping - Elisa and I did get some cute street vendor jewelry at a fraction of the price we were seeing in the stores. And if it turns green 6 months from now, at least it was only $15, right?!? It was back to the hotel for a nap - before our next night out on the town was to begin!!

Scott Kaiser came over to the hotel after Nappy-Nap Time, and we headed out to dinner. Bill was set on going to a pub called The Spotted Pig, but we were afraid the wait would be too long. Instead, we walked around the Village with Scott as our guide until we found a no-name italian place he'd been to before. Turns out, no name Italian is a good bet in New York, as if that's surprising! We had dinner and wine and fun conversation. And then it was off to the Upright Citizens Brigade for their improve show - that's the home of present and former SNL stars Amy Poehler, Seth Meyers and others. We knew it was going to be racy as the name of the show was "Death By Roo-Roo: Your F'ed Up Family". But again, when in Rome...

(The Public Library, down the street from our hotel. Made famous in "Ghost Busters" for anyone alive and conscious in the 1980s...)

(Bill at dinner...probably wondering why we didn't go to the Spotted Pig...)

(See, in the Village, you can walk to the Hudson River. We were that close to New Jersey...)

(Bill, trying to make Brent uncomfortable. Brent, trying to look non-challant.)

(I think Bill won...)

(Let the comedy insue...)

(The people in line in front of us were already talking about their F'ed Up Families, so this was sure to be a good show...not wholesome, but good)

The improv show was hilarious!! I highly recommend it...assuming you can handle lots and LOTS of cursing...just sayin'.

After the show we decided to head out for drinks at a place one of our guide books recommended - 230 Fifth. It's a rooftop terrace with one of the best views of the city, says the guide book. It's a great place to unwine after work, says the guide book. Yeah, it's nice, says Scott. Little did we know that we would be the most out of place, uncool, under-dressed, obvious tourists in the joint. But alas, what do we care? My rain jacket from the Gap circa 2001 is TOTALLY hip. My fancy walking shoes are totally happenin'. And my hair looks hot (a hot mess, that is). No matter. Watch out for me, here I come!!

(the view from 230 Fifth was indeed fantastic. That there be the Empire State Building)

(there were palm trees on the roof. Palm trees. Yeah, we were way not cool enough to be here.)

(Brent and Elisa. Chillin' with the locals)

(Me and Bill. At least he has a cool jacket on. I have...like four shirts on!!)

(I swear I put make up on that morning. Nice rain jacket over the purse...loser.)

(The terrace was really cool. Had we known, and had I even packed heels, it would have been a fun place to go.)

(AKWARD! Not these two, the situation...)

Since we were done hitting the town, we grabbed a cab back to the hotel. In which I managed to sit on seatbelt part anchor that lives down in the seat. Yeah, I think I broke my tailbone on that thing. I was black and blue by morning. If only I'd packed my Jimmy Choo's (which I don't actually own) the whole night would have gone better...

Day one, NYC. Or, You're Going to Need a NAP!

2009-05-01T23:14:00.065-05:00

So we decided to spend a three day weekend with our friends Brent and Elisa. These two have never been to NYC...well, I think there was a quick trip somewhere in there, but that doesn't count when you're dealing with The Farrell's (insert either scary dooms-day or fun upbeat music here. Your choice...). Anyways, we took separate flights - they flew into Newark, and we went to La Guardia. Which is where the other cool kids go, because as we left the airport, I spotted Jason Sudakis, of Saturday Night Live. I have fairly good Fay-Dar (instead of Radar? Famous-dar? No?) and so we tried to get some pictures of him without being those people that can't be all calm and relaxed around famous people. Pft, losers. {That said, if I ever run into George or Laura now that they're back in Big D, I will likely be taken down by Secret Security because I heart them something fierce... You know, I've actually met George (imagine - me on Texas Pom, him serving as the Lone Star Governor. There is a group picture somewhere...) AND Jenna (during Texas sorority Rush. And then in the bathroom of Chili's. Oh and I read an article in "Glamour" on her too.... We're besties). All I have left is Laura. And Barbara. The twin, not the grandma. Although she's nice too.}

Okay, back to New York. Sorry 'bout that. So yes. SNL cast member. Thisclose to us.

(Green jacket - Jason Sudakis...)

(Bill's arm. And fuzzy Jason Sudakis.)

(Still Jason Sudakis. Sorry, he was the only celebrity in La Guardia at midnight on a Thursday. What do you want from me people?!)

Saturday morning we headed up to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Our favorite part of the Met was the armor exhibit. Because it was cool. And admittedly, I don't really "get" a lot of modern art. Fighting in 100 lbs of armour, that I can understand at least.

(Brent and Elisa in front of the armored brigade.)

(Some of these I might not fit into...others, well, you could fit three of me in there!)

(This gate used to separate the choir from the worshipers in a Cathedral in Spain. The thing was HUGE.)

(There was a special exhibit at the Met - an artist had spent a lifetime collecting postcards and other items, coins, stamps, etc. His postcard collection was on display - I tried to find all the Texas cards!)

(After about two hours, we were tired. And hungry!)

(A lovely Van Gough on display. What do you think would happen if someone touched that?!)

(Admiring some of the artwork in the European salon, one of my favorites)

(In front of one of my favorites - Degas's dancers.)

Post Met visit, we went to Cafe Sabarsky on the recommendation of a high school friend that has lived in NYC and worked at the Met - how cool is that?!? The Cafe is Austrian and had great drinks and desserts. We had a pre-lunch snack of apple turnover. It is one of our friend's favorite spots and I think it's on my list now too!! Thanks for the recommendation, Ester!

(Did I mention that this was an EATING tour of NYC??)

On our way to our actual lunch spot, we took a quick detour through 0.8945% of Central Park. Seriously, I think we went about 5 feet in - but Brent and Elisa can now check it off of their list!

(Everything was in bloom and SO pretty!)

(It was a great day to be in NYC!)

(Brent and Elisa in Central Park)

(Here I am will Bill in Central Park)

(Okay...if we EVER live in NYC, I'm going to be a dog walker!! A very, very poor dog walker...)

Bill did some research and found an awesome diner for lunch - Lexington Candy Shop. It's an old fashioned diner with hand blended sodas!! They make your Coke. Or Milk Shake. Or Malt. Or Lime Rickey, which is what I ordered (it's like a cherry lime aid, best as I can tell - regardless, it was good stuff!). This place was really cool - I can't wait to go back. Bill was out doing himself on all the research and planning, not that it surprised me!!

(Lime Rickey's - here I come!)

(How cute is the sign? This place was so cool!)

(I think we all ordered some version of breakfast. When in doubt, always go with breakfast!)

(Lime Rickey!!)

(Enjoying their hand mixed Cokes. Craziness!)

(Diner man is squeezing fresh lime juice for my Lime Rickey. Sorry, I was just really excited about it!)

(Adding the soda to my Lime Rickey. Lime Rickey! Lime Rickey!! How many more times can I talk about this drink?!)

(Sitting at the counter, withe all the locals)

(Waiting for our breakfast/lunch)

After lunch, we headed back down town-ish for our visit to the NBC Studio and then Top of the Rock at the top of Rockefeller Center. But first we had just enough time to stop in St. Patrick's Cathedral.

(Inside St. Patrick's)

(St. Patrick's still holds mass as well as being open to tourists)

(Some of the prayer candles inside the church)

(Candles for offerings or prayer inside the Cathedral)

(Some of the artwork inside the church)

After the church, we walked across the street to start our NBC Studio tour - you're not allowed to take pictures on the tour, so I have nothing to show you...But I swear we did it!

(Sculpture of Atlas out side Rockefeller Center)

(View of St Patrick's from Rockefeller)

(View of St Patrick's Cathedral from Top of the Rock - 60 some odd floors into the sky!)

(St. Patty's - from way up high)

(View of the Empire State Building from Top of the Rock)

(Bill's artistic shot of our view on top of Rockefeller Center)

After our sky-high view of the city, we were all about ready to crash. So we headed back to the hotel and took a nap before heading out to dinner. We had dinner reservations at Scarpetta in the Meat Packing District. It was wonderful Italian food and they had great desserts! After dinner, we headed up to Broadway to see "In the Heights", the latest Tony award winning musical. It was a great show - even the boys liked it! After the show, we went out for some drinks at the Marriott Marquee which has a great view of Times Square. And $15 Mojitos, but you know you're paying for the view, so there you go! After our cocktails, we went back to hotel around midnight. And we'll definitely be sleeping in tomorrow morning!!

(One of our desserts at Scarpetta - the flour-less chocolate cake thingy. It was gooood)

(Our second dessert - something with rhubarb. It was also quite yummy!)

(the view from the Marriott Marquis - Time Square at night)

(Not bad for a late cocktail hour, eh?)

(Times Square - how much do you think their electricity bill is each month?)

(Inside the Marriott Marquis bar on the 8th floor)

(Proof that McDonald's is indeed everywhere. All they need in Times Square is a Starbucks. Which is actually in the bottom of the Marriott Marquis, so nevermind.)

(Nice way to end a great evening on our Tour of NYC)

(Riding in the cab back to our hotel)

(Such a cool place to visit!)

Show your spirit

2009-04-29T08:04:00.004-05:00

Last night, while watching the Mavs finish off the Spurs (Go Dirk!), the announcers asked viewers to send in some pictures displaying their Mav's spirit. During one of the breaks, they broadcast some of the pictures. Being the quick thinkers that we are, I threw a Mavs t-shirt on Oscar and we sat him on one of Bill's throw-back jerseys.

The email Bill sent with the picture was:
I was just adopted from Operation Kindness (slight exaggeration) and am already a HUGE MAVS FAN! BEAT THE SPURS!!!

Sadly, Oscar will have to wait a bit longer to make his television debut...he didn't make it on the air. Yet.

(How can you not broadcast this sweet face on national television?!?)

Passive aggressive - now with an extra scoop of snark-y

2009-04-21T23:19:00.009-05:00

I haven't been too bloggy lately... Pretty sure it's mad at me for cheating on it with Facebook but whatever. Lately I have been a bit annoyed. Which leads to the snarky. Which is when I'm at my funniest. At least in my opinion.

So annoying people. You know, the kind of person that makes you run for cover, in search of something, anything to numb the pain...Tylenol, sledge hammer, bottle of wine, spoon with which to gouge your eyes out. I would say that 95% of the time I'm pretty darn tolerant of these folk (Eighty-five percent? Sixty-five?!). But sometimes I just can't take it anymore. And evidently these people really, really love me. Yee-haw for me. And I'm not talking about anyone that can be labeled husband, friend, family, boss, mail carrier, veterinarian, apartment manager or sales person. So that should narrow it down. Maybe.

Anyways, I'll give you a not at all accurate example of the annoying... I say, "I saw on the news that dogs like to go for walks. " And annoying person says,"but what about MY dog? How long are the walks? Where should we go? How long does YOUR dog like to walk? What about cats? Do cats like to walk!?"

Good gravy!! I am just the messenger here. I said ONE sentence. That is all. I am not declaring myself the expert on the subject. And also...does your dog know you're this annoying?

Of course I say none of this. Just in my head. Where I'm also thinking "Hey. You. Yeah, the one with all the ANNOYING?!? I'm kind of busy here. How about you take a number and get in line? Better yet, come back later. Yeah, Thursday after NEVER works just great for me..."

I know...my life is tough, what can I say...

And then my face got in the way...

2009-04-13T21:54:00.012-05:00

I blame Beth. She totally started it. "It" being the tradition of making dinner for Book Club. And dessert. And a signature cocktail. I'm not talking any old dinner, and dessert, and cocktail...it must be fancy and William Sonoma-esque.

Which is how I burned my face. With a cake. Yeah, you heard me.

So I made this fancy citrus glazed cake for Book Club. There were about 17 egg whites and vanilla extract and orange zest and cake flour (I mean it didn't even have normal flour!) and you bake it in an Angel Food pan. And when cooling an Angel Food cake, you flip the pan upside down and let it rest on a bottle (as I've had to explain to all the boys in my office who are wondering how I could have had such a freak-ish baking accident). About all we have for "bottles" in the house are the Dr Pepper (plastic), beer (too short and wobbly, come to find out) and wine (sacrilegious!) variety. At first I thought the beer bottle would work fine, but as I'm flipping the cake over, and the beer bottle kept dodging my attempts to use it as a base, my chin got in the way. And therefore was scorched to death with the cake pan. The fresh out of the 350 degree oven cake pan. Hello Chin, meet Cake Pan...he's sure to make an impression on you.

After a brief, but totally justified outburst of four-letter words in the kitchen, my lovely husband came to my rescue. And helped me flip the cake. Onto a much more stable wine bottle. Which is what I probably should have used in the first place - the husband and the wine bottle that is.

And now I have a nasty burn to show for it. ON. MY. FACE.

So as you can see, it's all Beth's fault... Of course I'm pretty sure Beth keeps her face out of the way when baking...

Would rather be the Stalk-ee

2009-04-13T07:54:00.002-05:00

So I'm officially on FaceBook. In less than 72 hours, my friend list is bigger than Bill's (I was in a sorority after all...). But I will give him mad props for reaching the 100 friend mark first. (Barely.) So really, we're both winners, yes?? And people like us.

But mostly, I've been the one sending out the friend requests to people I know. So if you're reading this, and you're not a scary stalker, and you think I'm funny and/or cute, and you want to be my FB friend, come find me (Stacey Anderson Farrell, Dallas)!! I will friend you...unless you don't meet the previously stated requirements. In which case I will politely ignore you. Or call the police.

Easter Bunny commith

2009-04-13T06:53:00.008-05:00

I volunteered to make some items for our Easter celebration - dessert and a corn casserole. Now, I really do like to cook. And even though our kitchen is "big" for an apartment, it is "small" when making more than one thing at a time. Or things involving stirring and mixing and baking and numerous ingredients. You run out of counter space pretty darn fast (yet another reason we need a house, yes?).

I think I spent the entire weekend baking. But everyone liked what I brought, so it was worth it! And since Book Club is Tuesday night, I'll also be baking on Monday and Tuesday. Just call me Betty Crocker. Only much younger. And with better hair.

Baseball is officially in season

2009-04-09T07:37:00.006-05:00

I am tired. Like, SO tired. Last night we went to the Rangers vs. Indians game in Arlington with Brad and Kelli. It lasted until well after 10pm, which means beauty sleep was totally out of the question. Good thing I've learned how to fake it...

Didn't help that my allergies have been in a fist fight with my entire body and I can't actually breathe out of my nose. So yeah, needless to say, the only pictures I took of the sporting event were of the field. Which is not very exciting. So just use your imagination here...

Cherry Blossoms abound

2009-04-08T10:26:00.070-05:00

(Sunday morning we got a bit later of a start than we were hoping for, since we had miles of Cherry Blossoms to discover, and only so many hours in which to do it. Monica made another breakfast of cinnamon rolls and coffee - really, can we move in?! Before heading out the door, we all got to play with our new MAC purchases and I spent a few minutes doing Monica's makeup (again, not sure how I became the expert, but I think I'm going to start charging for my very pretend "skills").

Once everyone was ready, and our matching scarfs where artfully draped around us, we headed out to the Cherry Blossom Festival in D.C. I could have sworn I'd been to the Festival as a little kid, but my mom tells me otherwise. If I haven't really gone before, then I was robbed because the blossoms were beautiful. Supposedly, we hit it at the peak - and we took a ton of pictures on our walk around the Tidal Basin to prove it!! (When in doubt, keep scrolling...)

After working up an appetite, Monica and Walter treated us to lunch at their favorite Indian restaurant. Michelle and I were a little hesitant, but luckily Mon and Walter wanted us to enjoy what we were eating and translated! There was some yummy lamb and chicken. And I'm a big fan of the naan bread...I think I ate 10 pieces. I'm sure it's good for you?!? Each corner of the restaurant has TVs that showing Bollywood movies. We weren't sure if all these dance scenes were part of the same movie (which would make absolutely no sense) or were if the best parts of several movies were spliced together (which still might not make sense!). I was totally mesmerized and trying to figure out a story line...which was useless as there was also no sound.

After lunch, we spent a few minutes looking at houses with Monica and Walter in a neighborhood they found and are hoping to live in. Turns out, they bought one of the ones we visited a few weeks later - Michelle and I must be good house-buying Karma!! And we already picked our rooms out for our next visit...and neither one of us is staying in the indoor hot tub...

Before our flight home, we spent some time hanging out in guest room, making plans for our June trip to Austin. We have such little time and so many places to eat!! And shop. But mostly eat.

After a totally fun filled weekend, Michelle and I hopped on a plane and headed home to Dallas. Even though they just bought a house, and we love having an excuse to visit DC, our next goal is to convince these guys to move back to Dallas, so we can do this EVERY weekend!!! Well, except for the Cherry Blossoms - pretty sure the Dallas heat would kill those off right quick!

(Cherry Blossoms. And the crowd that comes with them!)

(Jefferson Memorial amongst the blossoms)

(Taking a picture of Michelle. Who is taking a picture of me. Yes, we're nerds...)

(Another shot of the Jefferson)

(Some of the blossoms up close)

(Walter and Monica - our wonderful weekend hosts!)

(Me, Michelle, Monica - Again with the scarfs...)

(Great shot of the Jefferson. People would pay money for this one, no?)

(Even Bill was impressed with some of my pictures...)

(Washington Monument)

(Very, very pretty!)

(Some of the blossoms up close. Okay, and blurry)

(Getting closer to the Jefferson)

(In front of the Jefferson, kind of)

(The three of us again.)

(More Cherry Blossoms. You get the picture...)

(Mr. Jefferson. Inside his memorial.)

(Wally and Monica inside the Jefferson)

(Inside the Jefferson. He needs a matching scarf, too)

(This tree had a different kind of blossom. Yes, there are different varieties of Cherry Blossom, who knew!)

(Closer shot...see, totally different!)

(I'm surrounded...)

(Walter and Monica. Obviously.)

(Another impressive shot - man, I'm good.)

(it is hard to mess these up with the beautiful surroundings...)

(Getting artistic, with the reflection and all...)

(Shot of the Capital building)

(We wanted to ride the paddle boats but didn't think there was enough time. Next visit perhaps!)

(Monica's new Facebook profile picture...for real!)

(And MY new Facebook profile picture...yes, totally copied Mon)

(Outside the FDR memorial)

(Taking a break on the steps inside the FDR Memorial)

(FDR. With his dog. And some random guy that would NOT get out of the way.)

(The gang's all here. And now Walter needs a scarf, too.)

(You guessed it - another shot of the Jefferson Memorial. Yeah!!)

(How cute are these two??)

(Blossoms growing out of a tree trunk - so cool!)

(Yeah, that's right - Hook 'em!!)

(Enjoying our Indian lunch!!)

Who needs monuments when you've got MAC?

2009-04-08T10:24:00.038-05:00

Saturday morning, Monica made us a delicious Pancake Breakfast, complete with Mimosas! Not a bad way to start the weekend, if you ask me! After our breakfast of champions, we spent a few hours looking at old pictures and cruising FaceBook (I had to keep tabs on how many friends Bill had managed to find...have to know what I'm up against after all!).

When we were getting ready, M and M were admiring my makeup collection (only about 1/845th of it, actually...I have quite a collection, but whatever) and we decided that there would have to be a stop at the MAC store in Georgetown on our schedule. Because makeup is fun, and who better to enjoy it with than your girlfriends!?

Walter, our awesome weekend driver, drove us into Georgetown where we started with lunch at Clyde's, which was delicious! Then we headed to the MAC store. Where we spent at LEAST an hour playing and waiting to be helped - mostly waiting to be helped. It was so bad that the store's security guard was grabbing eye liners and Q-Tips for us. Talk about a store being understaffed! Finally, after about an hour, we all got a few fun new items, and were excited to try them out later on.

We did some more shopping on M Street, which has just about every store you could ever want! Except Nordie's, but I'm not complaining... When we stopped in the Lucky Jeans store, we all fell in love with some matching scarfs. So we each bought one. Because again, we're essentially the same person!! And Monica had a coupon.

While in the Lucky store, there were about 8 firetrucks that drove by. And we could smell smoke but couldn't tell where it was coming from. M Street was entirely empty, which never happens. It's like LBJ being empty in Dallas - something out of an Apocalypse movie. We never could quite figure out what had happened, but they did close down the bridge that leads into Georgetown. Since we had some time to kill (as we were not going anywhere!) , we finished shopping before heading off to dinner.

We had dinner at Cactus, a Mexican restaurant in Georgetown. Now, being from Texas, I'm a bit leery of having Mexican any place north of the Red River, but the Bush family used to eat at this place during his Presidency, so I figured it would at least be decent. Michelle and I split Lamb Fajitas, which were excellent. And probably even better after our two swirl margaritas...okay, more like 1.25. Monica tried for two but her first strawberry daiquiri did her in!

We were tentatively planning to take a nighttime tour of the Monuments, but after such a long day (and the 'ritas), we weren't moving too fast. Monica fell asleep on couch shortly after we got home, so we decided to call it a night and get some sleep for the Cherry Blossom Festival in the morning.

But instead of going to sleep, we got a second wind and had our own Makeup Party, much like 7 year olds. But minus the Bonnie Bell Lip Smackers. We offered to let Walter join in, but he opted for a movie instead... A good end to a great day! Cherry Blossoms tomorrow!

(In the airport - so excited to be here for our visit!!)

(Two days, three girls...and all this makeup!)

(Ready to face the day, after a great Pancake Breakfast!)

(Waiting for a table at Clyde's, our yummy lunch spot!)

(Michelle and Monica at lunch. How cute are these girls??)

(Walter and Me. Monica said it looks like we're on a date here.)

(In the Lucky Store with our matching scarfs. The sales girl asked us if this picture was going to go on Facebook...indeed)

(M Street. Totally empty. So strange!)

(Apocalypse movie, am I right!?!)

(Drive by of the National Cathedral)

(the Cathedral...followed by Margaritas!)

We're essentially different versions of the same person...

2009-04-08T10:24:00.015-05:00

Michelle and I were lucky enough to get to spend a weekend with Monica in Washington DC to celebrate her (and our!) 30th birthday. We arrived Friday night and spent a few hours catching up with Monica and Walter.

Monica and Michelle were friends in pre-school and were roommates for 4 years in college. We all went to high school together, but weren't really good friends until UT - we've been close ever since our days as Longhorns. Especially since I work with Michelle and get to see her all the time.

No matter how long it has been since our last visit, we fall right back into the swing of things. We start finishing each other's sentences and laughing at the same things. It is SO much fun to be around these girls and I'm so glad I am able to count them among my closest friends!

Book club babies!!

2009-04-07T06:56:00.007-05:00

Two of the girls in Book Club have recently had little girls of their own!! Yeah, new book club babies!

(Miss Mattie Kathryn Turner, born on March 24, 2009. Hanging out with dad!)

(Miss Sally Claire Downing, born on April 2, 2009. Check out her RED hair!!)

(Visiting with Sally in the hospital!)

Congratulations to the Downings and Turners...we can't wait to see your little girls grow up! (Note to the Downings - In DALLAS. She needs to grow up IN DALLAS...)

It's on like Donkey Kong...

2009-04-03T12:26:00.005-05:00

M'kay, so Bill is now on FaceBook. Accruing friends like hot cakes. I'm giving him until next weekend to get as many as he can. Because I bet him I would have MORE friends than he does. Even with a head start.

Listen up People. Don't make me a liar... When I send you a Friend request, I'm hoping you'll welcome me with open (albeit electronic) arms... Just remember: I'm funny. I'm cute. You like me. And you WANT to be my friend, yes?

(Jamie, you'll be the first to know when I'm up and running!!!)

(Totally glad I listened to my mom when she told me to try to always be nice to everyone. Except for that one time, but the girl totally deserved it...)

We ARE the party

2009-04-02T07:46:00.010-05:00

Monica joined the ranks of 30-somethings earlier this week. So Michelle and I are heading up to the Nation's Capital to celebrate the milestone with her with a much needed Girl's Weekend...now that we all be old.

As luck would have it, the Coolest of All Coolness is happening this weekend - the annual Cherry Blossom Festival is predicted to be at its peak this weekend. Just for us!

Monica - get ready. Michelle and I are coming. And we're bringing a party with us. Heck, the three of us? Together? We ARE the party!!! I foresee lots of loud laughter, wine and Cherry Blossoms!

And really, when I get back, numerous blog updates, m'kay?! Pinky swear. Unless I have something better to do...like set up a FaceBook account...meh

"I think you'd like it. You might even get addicted"

2009-03-31T07:45:00.004-05:00

You may know I've been holding out on the whole FaceBook thing. I haven't signed up. I think I've only looked at it once. But now Bill has an account...not that he does anything with it. All my friends have accounts. Everyone in the world is on FaceBook, or so I hear.

So yesterday Bill snooped around and called me at work and said, "You know, I think you'd actually really like this FaceBook thing. I mean, you might even get addicted to it."

Great. You're going to give our future children lots of sugar and toys, aren't you?

(I feel the wheels coming off. I just need to find 18 straight hours of uninterrupted time to set up my "page" - do you call it a page? - and find everyone I've ever met in my whole life and "poke" them. Or "friend" them. Or whatever. Twitter. Blogging. Email. FaceBook...I'm a technology guru...)

And for my next trick, breathing...

2009-03-30T12:48:00.005-05:00

Bill's party on Saturday night was a the driving range, right? And a few people were unable to make it, meaning we had extra buckets of balls. And they were not going to go to waste with our crowd. Even in the dark of "Earth Hour" (really? Mad Props to Mother Earth and all...but golfing in the dark? So not effective!).

Anyways, I think I hit about 150 golf balls in the course of the evening. And now it's Monday.

And it still hurts to breathe. And type. And move. Really, what muscle group IS this??

Turning 30 really DOES hurt!!

Presenting, Natalie Anderson...

2009-03-29T21:48:00.009-05:00

Every year, the Seniors in National Charity League have a Senior Presentation ceremony. It's sort of like a Debutant Ball, but on a smaller scale. They all get white dresses (essentially wedding gowns) and are "presented" to their friends and family in the audience. They all make really cute tribute videos to their friends and families and there are lots of cute crying moms.

(The family with Nat)

(Closer up...are we twins, or what?)

(Bill took this artistic shot...it makes me laugh!)

(Cute enough to be Nat's new Facebook profile picture. And I'm cool enough to be in it!)

(My little sister's not so little anymore!)

(Bill likes to get the candid shots...)

Surprise - it's FREEZING out here

2009-03-29T12:48:00.028-05:00

For Bill's 30th birthday, I threw him a surprise party at Top Golf, a driving range in Dallas that uses RFID balls that track the distance and accuracy of your shots. We had SO much fun, despite the freezing cold weather. Luckily, we were able to go inside to warm up when needed. And the food was great!! Of course, Bill kept asking me if we had to go - I had told him it was an event for my office and spouses were invited. He kept asking if it would be cancelled because of the weather. Well, yes we had to go, and no it wouldn't be cancelled - because we had already paid for it and he was the guest of honor...not that he knew any of that... turned out great and he was actually surprised!!

I even went to so far as to have the people at the front desk know I would be asking for my company's party. While I was walking the dog before we left, I kept trying to find someone that was already at the party so they could remind guy at front that this was a surprise party.

Beth was kind enough to pick up a birthday cake. But we waited too late to eat it so half of the guests were already gone. Those of us left at the cake right out of the box. Like 12 year olds. It was awesome!!

After cake, we went back out to finish up our buckets of balls. Supposedly, that night was Earth Hour. So they turned off the lights. At a DRIVING RANGE??? Makes a ton of sense, right? Anyways, we were hitting golf balls in the dark, out onto a dark field. For over an hour. Kind of weird. Even though some of us managed to still get our golf balls into the targets.

Throughout the night, my shots going to the right, way to the right, then I finally figured out what I was doing and they started going straight. I think even Bill was impressed with my driving range skills!! Later that night, after we got home, I was writing a check to Beth for the cake - my arms and hands hurt so much it was all I could do to sign my name!!

(Rachel, Beth and Seth. Out in the cold, cold wind. See, Rachel's drinking coffee!!)

(Birthday Boy Bill lining up a shot...)

(Beth with a nice follow through)

(Beth was totally beating me, 0-6)

(Rachel, holding on to her coffee for any warmth, and Celia. Snuggling. It was FREEZING, I tell you!)

(Shadow Man Seth. Who is REALLY good!! And should be a coach, as I credit him for fixing my right hook)

(Rachel's got some nice form. Even in the heels and rain coat!!)

(That would be me. Scarf and pony tail swingin'...)

(Hey, I have hips, I'm going to use them...)

(It looks like we should be getting ready for Christmas, not playing golf!!)

(Bill and his dad, strategizing)

(I'm looking a little more athletic, yes?)

(I think putting the "30th" in there might have been an afterthought.)

(Hard core cake eating. Straight out of the box!)

(Seth couldn't even refrain from digging in while I was trying to take a picture. Kidding...)

(Cutting out the munched off corners so we could take it home...)

Further Proof of My Inner Nerd-dom

2009-03-27T14:55:00.008-05:00

Bill and I are planning at trip to NYC with our friend The Little's. The Little's have never really been to NYC so we're making suggestions and asking what they would like to do or see while there.

Of course, a Broadway show is on the list of Must Do's. So I picked out a few that I've heard are good or that I have seen before.

And there's a new revival of "West Side Story" on now. And I totally want to see it. I would go by myself. Seriously. Of course, if I'm there alone and cannot embarrass myself in front of others, I might actually dance in the aisle, so maybe that wouldn't be such a great idea...

I love "WSS". I own the movie. I (pretend to) know some of the choreography. I could be a Jet OR a Shark. Or Maria, since, you know, I'm a girl. (Oh Natalie Wood, how I heart you. You're like the 50s version of Beyonce. But with more clothing. And less Sasha Fierce-ness. Whatever that means...)

And right now, I'm a bit upset that my iPhone music play list is somehow missing my "WSS" soundtrack. I know I have the songs.

Guess I'll just have to sing in my head...I like to be in A-mer-i-ca, Okay by me in A-mer-i-ca...When you're a Jet, you're a Jet all the way...

Yup. Nerd. Right here. Wha'cha gonna do 'bout it?

Wedding at the Belo

2009-03-22T16:55:00.008-05:00

My sorority sister Marti and her fiancee got married the night we got back from Vegas at the beautiful Belo Mansion in Dallas. A bunch of my sorority sisters were there and we had a great time!! It's so fun when one of us gets married and we have an excuse to get together - but we're running out of single girls. We're going to have to start renewing our vows pretty soon...

(L-R: Sandy and her sister Tricia, Marti the bride, and Michelle)

(Marti, Michelle, Niki and half of her husband Todd)

(Bride and Groom wearing out the dance floor!)

(The beautiful couple! Congrats Mr and Mrs Shew!!)

Oscar gone wild

2009-03-22T12:03:00.017-05:00

Oscar is a mess. I know he's not a real "kid" per say, but he's the closest thing we've got, so you get VIDEOS!!! Yeah!! (I know, no body cares. Deal with it) Bill was sorting through items we're going to donate to Goodwill. Which included a box of cologne. Still wrapped in the cellophane. Which Oscar decided was a toy...

Oscar, attacking the cologne:

(Hiding under the table so we can't get it back)

Oscar re-arranging the toys I just cleaned up (you know how you hate the sound of your own voice on the phone...same applies to video. Listening to myself...Yuck!):

Day 9 - Early Moning Call

2009-03-21T14:50:00.009-05:00

Day 9 - Home to DALLAS

Saturday was an early morning. We were all functioning on very little sleep as we had an early flight, but had to make the most of our last night in Vegas. Bill and I ended up almost $500. If the Indians win the World Series, the Longhorns will the National Championship (which has ACTUALLY happened lately), or the Mavs win the NBA Series, we get more money from the Sports Bets we made.

That night, Bill and I had a wedding to attend and we had to pick up the dog. Luckily we made our flight in plenty of time, and were creative with our luggage weigh-ins as once again, our bags were totally overweight. One of these days, we WILL learn how to pack ;-)

(All our luggage ready for the trip home)

(That's right...a record of our BIG winnings!!)

(Paul and Jon...looking every bit like the Kids Who Decided To Just Stay Up All Night...Vegas, Baby!!)

Day 8 - All the Rest (of Vegas)

2009-03-21T11:48:00.036-05:00

DAY 8 - FRIDAY, VEGAS

Friday morning, the girls had spa appointments at the lovely Bellagio Spa. I had a wonderful massage and then a facial. The nice Facial Lady said I have young skin and I should keep up the SPF vigilance. To which I say "Amen Sista'" and "I told you so" to other people that don't believe in SPF like I do and will remain nameless...ahem.

After getting cleaned up (massages are kind of groody, with the grease in your hair and what not), I went shopping with Meredith for a few hours. We checked out the shops in Cesar's and then went across the street to the new Miracle Mile by the Paris. I was successful at Banana Republic and she found some cute stuff at White House/Black Market.

That night, we had dinner reservations at Wolfgang Puck's Postrio in the Venetian. We did a lot of good eatin' while in Vegas!! After dinner, we went to the Wayne Brady Show. There was audience participation in that one too, but I played it safe. When the audience was asked for strange words that Wayne Brady would have to use in a Rap song, I volunteered "Hippopotamus" - which they used. Yeah, famous-ness with out stage fright!

After the show, which was hysterical, we went back to the Bellagio for more gambling!! It was our final night after all...had to pocket as much winnings as possible! I was finally able to play Craps, and with active people. Of course, when I was rolling (which is really what it's all about, if we're being honest...), I didn't quite get my dice all the way to the back wall thingy. And one of the other guys at the table yelled, 'Hey!! You...down there...you throw like a girl". In response, I leaned across the table and said, "Well, I am a girl..." Evidently, I was too short for people to see!! All the other players were boxing me out...

Throughout our time at the Craps table, Bill ended up, and I was down - we broke even between the two of us. Jon had a fantastic roll - I think he rolled the dice 85 times!! And when I decided to quit while I was kind of ahead, some drunk kid hit on me, by almost knocking me over, which was awesome (sarcasm). Yeah, Carrot Top and drunk kids - love it...

(Mer and I saw Pete Rose signing autographs at the sports memorabilia store while shopping. Poor Pete Rose...he didn't have a line of people waiting like Bob Feller does...)

(Paul and Tom at dinner. Where I spilled my water. Oops.)

(Dessert - apple tart and ice cream, can't beat it!)

(Postrio, our last dinner in Vegas!)

(View inside the Venetian hotel)

(The Wayne Brady Show...our last entertainment of the trip.)

(Shot of the Bellagio from our cab, on the way home from Wayne Brady)

(The balloon outside the Paris hotel)

Video from our cab while driving down the strip on our last night in Vegas. We'll miss you!!

Day 7 - Sky Diving and Swimming

2009-03-21T10:34:00.064-05:00

DAY 7 - THURSDAY, VEGAS

Thursday morning we had reservations for some indoor sky diving. Yes - Indoor. SKY. DIVING!!! I could totally be on "The Amazing Race", no?? So basically, the indoor sky diving takes place in this big vertical wind tunnel. You go in this circular room that has a huge fan under a trampoline-type floor. When they turn the fan on, you quasi-sky dive. But don't have to do the jumping out of a plane part. Which is a deal breaker for me!

And luckily, they give you instructions and you have a "Pro" in the room with you. And the outfits are SUPER cool (not so much. But better to be un-stylish, than dead, yes?). Anyways, it was a blast - I would HIGHLY recommend it if you ever get the opportunity. Well worth the cost. We even got a video of our "flights" - but I won't bore you with posting it...not that I could figure it out. And it's really long, too.

I will say that *I* flew the highest. At one point, the instructor guy latched on to me and we went waaaay up. Of course, all I knew is that I couldn't see the instructor guy and everyone else looked a bit smaller...and was below me...which must have meant I was up in the air. Yeah, I'm a pro. Or very aero-dynamic. Or something. Regardless - high five to me!

(Bill getting suited up for his "flight")

(That would be me. Learning how to "fly". Could you miss me in that bright green monstrosity??)

(Bill, perfecting his form)

(Paul, Jon and Tom ready to go. Except Tom looks scared...or surprised...)

(Tom and me, pre-flight. Is that an Easter Egg on my suit? It doesn't really match my purple goggles...)

(Good gravy, I am SHORT!! But totally rockin' the flight suit, yes?)

(In all our gear, ready for some sky diving! L-R: Paul, Jon, Bill, me (way short...), Tom, Meredith)

(So this isn't actually any of us. This is the group before us. But you can't really take pictures of yourself when sky diving, so just imagine these are people you know...)

(The whole flying WAY up in the air? Yeah, I did this too. But this isn't a picture of me. It's a 12 year old kid. Which makes me...a bigger version of a 12 year old kid?)

After our sky diving (again, AWESOME!), we walked to the new Wynn hotel to check it out.

(The tile floor in the Wynn. How much do you think THAT cost?)

(Nice walkway inside the Wynn. Kind of similar to the Bellagio...)

Once back at the Bellagio, Bill, Tom, Meredith and I spent some time at the pool. We had a bit of lunch and (more than a bit) of fruity drinks and enjoyed some time outside in the desert sun. Then we got ready and had dinner at Olives, an Italian restaurant just outside the Bellagio. It was really good. Bill's mom had some GREAT pasta, I had fish, and there were really yummy pizzas for the whole table.

That night, we had tickets to the Cirque du Soleil show, "O". It's a show that takes place in a big pool of water, on the stage. There are all sorts of typical Cirque acrobatics and diving and craziness. With a Pool. On the Stage! After the show, we were trying to figure out the message of Cirque... an impossible task if you ask me! I think the theme is "Look, these people are crazy bendy!! And there's music. And water." :-)

(Bill and me before the show...waiting for the bendy people to...bend?)

(The Cirque clowns were out in the audience before the show, warming up the crowd)

(Rolling their life raft through the audience!)

(The view from our room after a long day and even longer night!)

Day 6 - Carrot Top likes me...

2009-03-19T17:20:00.036-05:00

DAY 6 - WEDNESDAY, VEGAS

We kicked off Wednesday with, you guessed it, more gambling!! At one point, Bill lost BIG at the Black Jack table. But being the risk averse wife that I am, every time we got a coveted Green Chip ($100 worth), I would stick it in my pocket. So we weren't at the point of forcing Oscar into child labor...

And then I spent about 10 minutes at the Craps table and made an easy $100. So really, I was covering Bill's debts... Craps is probably my favorite game, but no one else at the table was cheering or hooting or hollering. So my $100 profit was sort of boring. I was totally disappointed as Craps is usually all sorts of fun. I'd have to try again with a better audience!

That night, the whole group of us headed over to the Mandalay Bay for dinner at Burger Bar...after a painfully long cab ride...of about 50 feet...but whatever. Now, I'm not a huge burger fan, but this Burger Bar place was delicious. They had Kobe beef burgers and you can add your own toppings from an exhaustive list of options. I got Bleu Cheese, Mustard, Spinach and Pineapple on mine. YUM-MY!! I also supplemented my dinner with a vanilla milk shake - good stuff!

After the hours of gambling and our excellent dinner, we had tickets to the Carrot Top show that night. Yes. Carrot Top. Not my pick, but it was actually a lot better than expected! Of course, you know how I hate audience participation...we had tickets in the front row. At a Carrot Top show. This did not bode well for getting off unscathed!

During the show, "Mr. Top" asked if there was anyone in the audience celebrating a birthday or anniversary. We all pointed to Jon. And as we were sitting in the front row (yes, FRONT. ROW.) he saw us and decided we were the audience participation for the evening. Here was the interaction:

Carrot Top - What's your name, man?
Jon - Uh, Jonathan.
Carrot Top - Uh, Jonathan. It's not a hard question, dude.
(Audience laughs)
Carrot Top - So it's your birthday - how old are you?
Jon - 21.
Carrot Top - Awesome, man. Good place to be at 21 - Vegas. Where are you from?
Jon - Uh, Dallas mostly...
(Carrot Top rolls eyes. Audience laughs.)
Carrot Top (directed to me, as I was right next to Jon. In the front row.) - What's your name?
Me - Stacey
Carrot Top - And where are YOU from?
Me - Dallas
Carrot Top - (to Jon) See, dude, it's not that hard! (to me) Wow, you're really pretty (cue music, Enrique Iglesias, "Would you Dance?" And semi-creepy staring by Carrot Top. Staring...at me. Audience laughter.) So, are you with this guy? (motioning to Jon)
Me - No, but this is my husband. (pointing to Bill. Keeping fingers crossed that I would not be asked to go on stage...)
Carrot Top - That's okay...we can figure it out...

So after this exchange, Carrot Top gave Jon a shot of Crown. In a polka-dotted Dixie Cup. Real Crown Royal. The liquor... And he said I was pretty - yup, I got hit on by Carrot Top (which is probably part of every show, but no one needs to know that!). Life is now complete. I survived Audience Participation, Vegas style.