Toco, Tx

Ok, I just re-read some of my entries. Man, am I the world's worst speller/user of wrong words.

Anyway, last weekend when I was driving to Paris and cruising along 82, I passed through a familiar little town, Toco. For the first time, I looked at the population listed on the sign. 98???

A bit further down the road I realized I had forgotten to bring wine for the weekend. I knew that most small towns in Texas are dry. Paris isn't small, but you never know. I was about 2 minutes into Toco when I saw a little shop coming up on my left. I thought at least I can stop in there and get some coke or a snack for the weekend.

Just as I was pulling in I saw the signs all over the place listing "liquor, beer, wine". And I realized exactly what Toco, Tx was. The liquor town. As in the case in Texas, dry areas will often have a very, very small town incorporate itself in order to sell liquor.

This was Toco, Tx.

I ran inside and picked up two cheap screw top bottles of Austrailian shiraz and stood in line. The woman behind me was holding about 4 cases of beer. I guess my eyes got pretty big. She said "I live in Oklahoma and this is the closest liquor store".

And then I looked all around me. Everyone was loaded up with cases and cases of beer and liquor.

I'm thinking all 98 residents of Toco probably do pretty well for themselves.

Coming home

I don't know what it is, but coming home to my mom brings me so much joy. I can't contain it.

Years ago when I live in Detroit, I would get excited about visiting Houston. I knew the minute I stepped off the plane, mom would be there to greet me, English accent and an awaiting hug. Its home.

Today was four hours on the rode. And I pulled into the driveway and she was outside the house waving.

We might have our issues and our differences, but I wouldn't ever give up her hug hello.

Home isn't necessarily the house you go to. For me, its the arms that hold you!!

This thing they call cable

Back in October, I thought it was time I became an adult. After a four year hiatus, I decided to get cable. I called up AT&T and requested their Uverse package. We scheduled the soonest appointment they could for installation, 5 weeks. I was a little shocked by this, but honestly, I haven't had cable in 4 years. What difference is five weeks?

Yesterday I worked for home and sat around while the cable guy crawled all over my house and attic, sending wires this way and that, getting me all set up. It was very intriguing, but I tried to stay out of his way.

And then, by noon, I was hooked up, and he began the tutorial. We walked through all the channels and my remote. Then we discussed the DVR. OMG. Its amazing. I've never seen anything like it. You can search for an actor. For fun, I looked up Harrison Ford. It brought up that Blade Runner was playing later on that day. WOW!!

I spent the rest of the day working on my couch with the TV on in the background. BBC America was where I spent most of the afternoon. They have that show with the two women who clean people's houses. Have you seen how dirty those houses are? I can't believe it. And the blond woman is just so sauce and British. Then they showed Gordon Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares. I love me some Gordon Ramsey. One day I will eat with him in London. One day.

Then, I spent the evening, after a lovely catch up dinner at Shinsei with Jane, watching hours upon hours of The Real Housewives. I can't believe women like that exist. Can't believe it. And, they put themselves on TV. I couldn't turn it off. It was like a car accident I couldn't stop watching.

Eventually by eleven my eyes were hurting. I wanted to stay up and watch more housewives, but I just couldn't do it.

I swear, this will not be permanent. I will leave the house. Promise. Just give me a couple of weeks...

I think I'm going to be an author

This weekend I ran away for a day to my friend's family farm. Mostly we just laze around all day and get up to eat and feed the llamas. Its really very relaxing.

I forgot to bring a book. So, I asked around to see what people brought. Jennifer brought out her selection of paperbacks. I just looked at them. And looked at her. I picked one up and read the back of it. I looked at her and said "is this what I think it is." She shook her head yes.

"Seriously, is this a Scottish, vampire, romance, Christmas novel?"

"Yes" she said laughing.

Well,when one is presented with a Scottish, vampire, romance, Christmas novel they just have to read it.

Lets just say I now thoroughly believe anyone can get published. This book didn't even have naughty bits. The only thing that made it fun was when I read passages aloud in my Scottish accent. By the way, I have a very good Scottish accent.

Seriously, I can make lazing around under afghans in the cold weather reading bad literature (if you can call it that) fun. Just give me a bottle of wine and a romance novel full of scotts and kilts.

Little Sweety

I invited myself to Julie's last night to meet the puppy. The woman has walking pneumonia, but Jesse was over. I thought I deserved to see the puppy, walking pneumonia or not.

Oh what a sweet little boy he is. He slept on my lap for about 2 minutes. He is gray with black spots and one eye is blue and one eye is brown. And his tail curls up at the end. Still no name yet. So we just call him puppy.

It got me thinking about puppies and babies in general. I know that they are cute on purpose. Its supposed to help the mother bond with them more. Honestly, baby anythings are adorable. Kittens, bears, orcas.

But every once in a while I will see a human baby and just be like "oh dear". Seriously. But the mother thinks its the most beautiful thing on earth. I love that. I never know what to say in those situations. So I just say "oh, its a baby". Now I gave my ugly baby secret away. Don't tell!

My morning routine

The alarm went off at 5:30 am.

I pressed snooz.

The cat jumped on the bed and tried to wake me up.

I buried myself under the duvet and hid.

The alarm went off again.

I snaked my hand out from under the duvet and pressed snooz.

I had a good mini dream about Gerard Butler.

The alarm went off again.

I actually get up.

I zombie walk down the dark hallway to the kitchen.

I trip over the cat four times in my attempt to get her kitty treats.

I zombie walk down the hallway to the bathroom, turn on the light, and look in the mirror.

I roll my eyes at the bad bed hair and bags under the eyes in the face that greets me.

I spend half an hour trying to transform myself into a human being.

I eventually give up.

I suit up.

I wander in the light of dusk down to the kitchen, open the freezerm and peruse through the frozen wasteland to see what I might be able to defrost by lunch time.

I give the cat a hug.

I clomp out the door, breakfast in one hand, brief case in the other and mutter to myself "time to make the donuts".

It's been a long week!!!

Enough dogs

I think people are seriously putting me on email block lists at this very moment. It has been requested that I send no more pictures of dogs needing a home. So, I will stop doing it on the blog too.

What to talk about??

hmmm

I'm on a budget. I've put myself on it. I really looked at my credit card bills, and I was shocked at my spending. I spent $70 here, there, and everwhere. Ok, alot of it is on sushi.

I realized that a girl does have to eat, but she does not have to live off of raw fish. So, I put myself on a sushi budget. How sad is that? I can't eat it as often, and I can't eat as much as I was. My addiction to yellowtail and spicy tuna has got to stop.

One half of my brain is thinking of creative meals that I can cook for myself at home. The other half of my brain is scheming to figure out how I can get someone to buy the sushi for me, a sushi sugar daddy, so to speak.

My next victim

So, have I introduced everyone to Cormac?

Cormac is in a bit of a bind. His mommy just left his daddy. Its a very messy messy situation. We won't go into details. Daddy has his hands full with a 2 year old and isn't really able to handle him, a stressfull job, and this sweet doggy. Therefore, I was contacted to see if I knew anyone looking for a dog.

I've decided that since I can't really be a good doggy mommy, I would instead because a good doggy godmother. (Just ask Julie and SPOT)

Come on. Look at sweet Cormac. He is fixed and all trained. He went to a fancy training school in Highland Park. He likes long walks and snuggling(ok now this sounds like a personal add).

But you know, I was just complaining at work. I date men and that ain't no fun, but I honestly don't know how guys date chicks either. We are impossible. My solution, everyone get a dog.

Lovely lovely

I don't think that word is used enough. Lovely. I really like it. I also like to use the word delicious and not have it refer to food. "Oh, that's a delicious idea." Just makes everything sound a bit decadent.

Anyway, this weekend was lovely. Friday night I acted half my age and went to see a show at House of Blues, Of Montreal, it was fantastic. Honestly, for $20, completely worth every penny. I've spent $50 on shows that didn't hold my attention half as much.

Each member of the band played more then one instrument, to the point that at some times in the concert there were two drummers or two bassists or 4 guitars. At the same time, throughout the show, there was a group of about 5-6 extra people who kept putting on little shows. Seriously, the lead singer came out in a gold lame liter carried by five golden buddhas who danced through the first song. I highly suggest this show to anyone if they come back. Just ignore the Outback Steakhouse song.

Then Saturday was spent visiting Cindi at the Lake. This time of year is my absolute favorite. Sitting outside near the fire pit with a warm cup of cider looking at the stars. Couldn't get any better.

AND, Julie is adopting one of the puppies. SPOT. YAY!!!

Its like the stars are aligning.

Responsibility

See these puppies, they need homes. Right now their names are Sleepy and Spot, but you could name them whatever you want.

I know your thinking, "I don't need a dog. That is too much responsibility." I agree, hence why I'm writing this blog. A cat is about all I can take with my work schedule and intense need to see people and eat out.

I do get a bit judgemental of people sometimes. I have friends who have the sweetest dog who is treated like a king, when the parents are in town. They are constantly working and traveling. And when that happens, the pup is taken off to the puppy day care and the kennel. How is that exactly having a pet? You travel and work all the time so you can see your dog on the weekends?

Ok, I will stop. But don't even get me started on people who give away their dogs and cats because they are pregant, having a new baby, or moving in with a new person. I just think that's awful!!

Love

I've been discussing this word a lot lately. It scares the heck out of me. So much power in one word. Do you think people realize the power?


Love is reckless; not reason.
Reason seeks a profit.
Love comes on strong,
consuming herself, unabashed.

Yet, in the midst of suffering,
Love proceeds like a millstone,
hard surfaced and straightforward.

Having died of self-interest,
she risks everything and asks for nothing.
Love gambles away every gift God bestows.

Without cause God gave us Being;
without cause, give it back again.

Rumi

Victor Tango

Ok, I tried to post a picture, but it doesn't seem to be loading.

Anyway, last night I met Shandi and Elizabeth for drinks. Its kind of hard to get Shandi out of the house as she has two kids under the age of four, but she vowed that once a month she would meet us for a night of strong drinks. Last night was the night. We had two hours since Shandi wanted to be home in time to read books before bed time. So, I picked a new place closish to her house, Victor Tango.

I hadn't really heard much about the spot. Its situated at 75 and Henderson, right where Sense used to be. I walked in expecting the lounge of Sense and was a bit shocked. They had gutted the place. I think the bar is about the only same thing. Otherwise, its full of nice big booths and tables. I'm a booth lover. So, we quickly snatched one up.

The big thing at Victor Tango is the drinks and the food are fresh. You expect that of the food, its a bonus when the drinks are treated the same. All juices are squeezed fresh. I had the blackberry gimlet and it was tasty. I think I also had something called the French 75 with fresh lemon juice.

And the food was good. We had the ahi tuna naches, the fried green beans, and the chicken and waffles (my pick) We devored the whole table full. The fried green beans were tempura flash fried. Not to put down the state fair or anything, but the ones at Victor Tango were a wee bit better, and came with a really good wasabi dipping sauce. I asked for extra.

The chicken and waffles were rich a departure for me, but I thought I would give them a try. Delicious. The fried chicken wasn't too greasy and they gave us extra maple syrup for dipping!!

Overall, good night. Good place. We will be back.

Sometimes I'm Too Honest

I was recently having a discussion with a friend where I was telling them my thoughts on their mental state. I have to admit at the time I was having this discussion, I had quite a few margaritas in me. I'm not sure why, but margaritas cause me to believe I am incredibly intelligent and knowledgable. Yeah, not so much.

Anyway, I decided I needed to evaluate him psychologically. I believe I told him that he is so unhappy with his life, he becomes self destructive. He does bad things to make him feel like he is living. That's not good.

I said I understood where he was coming from on this. I sometimes get like this. I am slightly self destructive.

He just looked at me incredulously and said "You? You're self destructive? What self destructive thing have you done."

I looked at him honestly over the rim of my tequila filled glass and said "I dated you!"

I'm horrible

The Bounce House

You know what everyone should do once? Rent a bounc house. It's really not that expensive, but it brings so much joy to everyone's lives. Seriously.

I ordered mine last Tuesday. I went online and picked out the one I wanted, the red castle. I really wanted the pink castle, but I realized I was going to have a decent number of boys over. So, I went for the red castle.

The guys came over at 5 on Friday and had it rolled out and set up in the backyard in under 10 minutes. Seriously, it was inflated and going lickity split. So, I took advantage. I probably jumped for about 5 minues before I became so completely winded and took a knee. Man, that's a cardiovascular workout. See, bounce houses have so many benefits.

The only thing I really had to sign off on was that no silly string would enter the bounce house. That was easy enough to sign off on. I don't think any silly string has been in my presence for about 12 years. Does anyone over the age of 15 really use that stuff anymore?

People came over and I had it going throughout the night. I was a bit afraid that chili and a bounce house would not mix, but it was all good. Honestly, I think that one day when I am frivolous and have a lot of money, I'm buying one for my backyard, that and a hot tub.

Jalapeno issues

Would you like to know how much I love my friends? Let me tell you. I made two pots of chili for them. That is actually no big deal, BUT in order to make both of these pots of chili I cut up 6 jalapenos. For the record, I can't stand jalapenos. All my cheese fries come loaded, but with jalapenos on the side. That used to be so that Kristine could eat them. Unfortunately, Kristine is gone and the jalapenos sit there so lonely.

Anyway, I cut up all these jalapenos and then discovered the taste and smell don't leave your hands, FOR DAYS. I'm not even going to go into the hell I realized in the shower. It took me about 20 minutes to be able to see properly again, and that was the least affected part.

Renu from work cooks with them a lot and suggested I put some olive oil on my hands to tamp out the burn. You know what I got? Very supple hands and fingers that still taste and smell like molton FIRE!

I love you guys, but no more jalapenos. I'm stickin to lasagna.

Aquarius

I had a quick discussion with the roommate last night about my sign. I'm not a huge astrology person. I used to check yahoo's horiscopes daily when I dated this hippy guy, but once he and his patchoulli left me life, so did the horiscopes.

Anyway, I looked up the definition of me. I agree with most of it:
Aquarians are always ahead of their time
Aquarians form their own opinions, disregarding and perhaps even disdaining the orthodox
They are open-minded but once they make a decision, their mind (at least on that subject) closes.
They avoid routine and anything else that may lead to boredom. Aquarians are outgoing and find friends to share their adventures easily.

The part I'm not quite buying:
Aquarians tend to avoid hard work and will fulfill their potential best working with ideas

I do think most definitions of star signs tell us what we want to hear. Notice above I only buy the good parts that I think apply to me. Being the aquarian I am, I will be open-minded, but I've pretty much decided its bumpkiss.

Republic of what??

Yesterday, I had a day. It was going fine until 4 o'clock. At 4 o'clock I had the pleasure of sitting across from a man and being treated like a 2 year old for an hour. He seriously reeked of condescention. It was like he knew all the answers to his questions I was giving were wrong, even before I gave them. After about fifteen minutes with him, all that was going through my head was "I really don't like you. And I like everybody. But you, no, you, I don't like."

God it was awful.

I knew I had a work dinner. So, I ran to the gym to get things off my chest. I maybe got in 20 minutes. I just kept doing intervals on the treadmill. Just something. I hate being talked down to and was just so upset. I kept running and wearing myself out, then not running. I must have looked really bipolar.

Then I ran out to Las Colinas for dinner at Republic. I'm not even going to go into it, but the restaurant was horrible, the food was horrible. Just really a waste of time. Add on that I was in a combative mood. This all led to a pretty horrendous meal.

At the end, my boss pulled me aside, gave me a hug, and said "honey, you need to grow a thicker backbone. Your not going to get ahead unless you can stand up for yourself."

This weekend, I start taking my testosterone shots I guess.

I'm stuck

As some may know, last January, my cell phone went caput when I was visiting a friend for vacation in Colorado. In my desperation, I went to a phone store and just bought the cheapest thing they had and signed a contract.

Its been a number of months and this poor little phone has slowly but surely disintegrated before my eyes. I don't think it helps that I drop it about once a week and generally treat it very unkindly.

I decided over the weekend it was time to invest in a new phone. I went over to TMobile to see what I could get. They had all these new shiney phones that did everything but cook you breakfast. They appearred to be reasonably priced, but then we started getting into the nitty gritty. They were only reasonably priced if you were a new customer. If you were an old customer, they were about the price of a mortgage payment.

I looked at the girl like she was crazy. I didn't get it. I've been a loyal customer for over 6 years, and I have to donate blood in order afford a phone, but I completely new person gets one half price. What is up with that?

I shook my head and started walking out. Do I really need a new phone that badly?

November 24th

After November 24th, I fear no one will ever see me again. Why you ask? Because on November 24th I will officially get cable.

I know. This is a big step. Its been 4 years. 4 long years.

I called up AT&T last Thursday and said I was interested in cable and (wait for it) internet. YES, I am getting internet at home too. Seriously, you will never see my face again.

But, it's time to be an adult. It's time to be able to grow up and manage my time. I really think that if there is an 8 hour marathon of "Rock of Love" on VH1 I will be able to leave the house and still socialize, instead of cuddling up on my couch under a fuzzy afghan eating cheese and making fun of people. Man that sure sounds nice though.

The woman who signed me up for the service slowly walked me through all my options. We first discussed cable. I only wanted the 100 channel option, but it was pointed out to me that I could get the 200 channel option with the DVR for a year at the same price as the 100 channel option. I kind of got a bit crazy and said yes.

I'm really going to be testing myself.

The internet should be interesting. I fear I will have a permanent laptop imprint from having it sit on my lap all the time now.

It was nice knowing all of you. I will be stocking up on canned goods and supplies over the next couple of weeks.