The Foxhole

A Few More Recent CHMs

2012-01-12T08:12:00.000-06:00

It seems that my CHMs (Cutie Head Moments) have occurred a bit more frequently in the last six months or so. Some might call it Baby Brain. Whatever you call them, I've managed to embarrass myself a number of times, particularly recently.

Exhibit A: I get notification from my bank that my overdraft protection has kicked in. My first reaction? "WHA? I had plenty of money in there!" The week prior, I had moved a big chunk of money over to savings thinking I had left plenty in checking for the next two weeks. So I hop online and start reconciling my checkbook and realize that, at the first of the month, I forgot to include my mortgage in the list of deductions from my account. DOH! Naturally, the bank did not forget this, particularly since it autodrafts. So while I'm swiping away for groceries and other necessities, I actually have no money to do so. I guess this is one of the reasons why it's nice to have overdraft protection!

Exhibit B: Yesterday, at work, I was preparing a travel folder for one of my bosses. When making said travel folder, I include printed confirmations for all reservations, like flight, hotel, car, etc. This is so that she has proof in the event she has any issues when checking in for any one of these, and the folder also provides a convenient place for her to place receipts and conference materials. Anywho, I was preparing a folder for a conference next week when I realized that I didn't have email confirmation of her hotel reservation. *gulp* I check with the business admin, who sometimes makes reservations in my absence or at the boss' request. "I don't seem to have an email confirmation for Boss' hotel next week. Did you happen to make that reservation?" "No." Ruh-roh. So I scramble to get that done. Naturally, the conference rate is long gone (or the hotel simply won't honor it) so we have to go with the "best available" rate, which was astronomical but what can you do when you're down to the wire? With reservations now made, the folder is finished and I go to the boss and admit my mistake. Naturally, she's more than a little panicked about this "best available rate." After all, times are tough and we're counting pennies even more than usual. So we begin trying to find a way to either get the hotel to honor the conference rate or find a better rate somewhere else. Luckily, we were able to get a rate even cheaper than the conference rate and later, after securing the reservation with this great rate, had a really good laugh about how the baby is "stealing my brain cells." Let's just say that this has never happened to me before and I suspect will never happen to me again!

In both cases, all's well that ends well! Here ends the streak of CHMs ... I hope!

I'm (Kinda) Back

2011-12-02T15:44:00.000-06:00

I've loooooooooooooong been absent from this blog, despite the fact that I promised you updates way back in August. And there's one solidly good reason for that.

Meet the newest (soon-to-be) addition to our family. This little guy is scheduled to make his stage debut on April 8th - Easter Sunday, to be exact.

And that pretty much sums up where I've been!

Hellooooooooooooooooooo

2011-08-05T11:03:00.000-05:00

Well. I guess I kinda disappeared there, didn't I? Sorry about that. I'm back now though so you better watch out. I have lots and lots of things to post about. This is all you get for today, but check back over the weekend for the start of a string of posts about the Bahamas. We had the most wonderful time and we have the pictures to prove it!

Ciao!

Much-needed R&R

2011-05-16T07:45:00.000-05:00

Today I'm headed out on a little late spring mini-vacay with the hubby. Never fear, the house and the critters will be happy little clams since their pal (and my terrific business partner) Whitney is coming to stay for the week. We'll be cruising the Bahamas. Nothing says relaxation like sunscreen, the beach, the ocean, a drink with an umbrella, and the iPad! Perhaps I'll make a post or two from the boat. We shall see if it fits into the busy schedule. *snicker*

See ya on the flipside!

Things: Installment 63

2011-05-06T04:50:00.002-05:00

Several times recently, some of my favorite childhood songs have come up in conversation. Or, I suppose you could say, I worked them in to conversations. LOL! I thought it would be fun to take a look at some of the songs that still randomly pop into my head. The good ones just don't fade, do they?? I can't wait to teach them to my nephew!!!

Things That I Can Still Work Into Conversations
(a/k/a Favorite Songs from My Childhood)

Happy Celiac Awareness Month

2011-05-04T17:43:00.001-05:00

Hellooooooooooooooooo, May! So nice to see you. We've definitely experienced April Showers and now I'm waiting on those May Flowers. What about you?

Now that we're welcoming in the month of May, it is also time to celebrate Celiac Awareness Month. For those of you who are new to the blog, my mom was diagnosed with celiac disease in June 2008 and I was diagnosed with gluten sensitivity in May 2010. Aside from personal experience, both mom and I have a number of friends who also share our gluten problems. And so this "holiday," should you wish to call it such, hits very close to home. And all of us in this "community" feel a real desire and dedication to educate others in the hopes that they can help themselves or others who may be unknowingly and needlessly suffering.

There are SO many wonderful websites out there, from researchers to practicianers to parents to chefs, that are chock full of fantastic education and information on the subject, not to mention food reviews and recipes and restaurant guides and lists of retailers and ... the list goes on. And it's in this vein that I have decided to share with you some of the helpful and insightful websites that I go to most often. A glass menagerie of everything gluten free, if you will. If you have any helpful links not shown here, please share them in the Comments so that others who happen upon this post might enjoy them, as well.

HealthNOW Medical Center - an absolute wealth of scientific information put into terms that any lay person can understand. Dr. Petersen has a blog dedicated to gluten sensitivities and celiac disease.
The Gluten Free Blog - a good place for recipes but also a few editorials that I find interesting.
Gluten Free Blog from Triumph Dining - the popular publisher of The Gluten-Free Dining and Restaurant Guides has a blog that provides wonderful recipes, product reviews, and news affecting the celiac community.
Gluten-Free Goddess - a fantastic place for creative and easy gluten-free recipes.
Official Blog of Glutenfreeda - the online source for this well-known cooking magazine.
Simply Sugar and Gluten-Free - a local N. Texas blogger who has wonderful recipes and recently published a cookbook.
Gluten Free Mom - "insights from a mom on living gluten free." I enjoy this blog b/c she addresses the challenges of a household where not everyone is gluten free, which is much like going out to eat where the kitchens aren't gluten free.
Lone Star Celiac Support Group - this great group hosts meetings and gatherings to educate newly diagnosed celiacs, as well as those who have been living and coping with the disease for many years. Their website is a wealth of information.
Live Gluten Freely - a terrific site begun in conjunction with General Mills' launch of its gluten-free line of products. The site has grown exponentially over the last year and now includes a blog, a store, an information section, as well as recipes and loads of other useful tools and information.
North Texas GIG - the N. Texas Chapter of the Gluten Intolerance Group (GIG). This fantastic group hosts monthly meetings, as well as dine-outs and other wonderful events. This group sponsored last year's Gluten Free Expo at the Gaylord Texan.

This list is merely a drop in the bucket. And I think you'll find that they're great sites whether you have gluten issues or not. If you think you may be gluten intolerant, I encourage you to do a two-week gluten-free trial. With so many mainstream products now on the market, I think you'll find that it's not as difficult as it once was, and you just might feel better!

Things: Installment 62

2011-04-29T04:32:00.000-05:00

Do you ever have fleeting thoughts? Ones that make you go "hmmmmm?" It's okay. You're not alone. I often sit around and ponder things that may or may not have a solid answer. Regardless, it's fun to ponder them.

Things I Sit Around and Think About

Do you think there was road kill back in the days when the central mode of transportation was horses?
Do you think that animals have real conversations ... like we do?
Do you ever wonder if we see colors exactly the same way? Like is the red I see the same red you see?
Do you ever give much thought to the incredible gift that composers possess? How do they hear and imagine so much going on at once? How does it all come together? Amazing!
Do you ever wonder if progress for progress' sake will lead to our unraveling? Or has it already?
Why do I find myself doing and saying the same things my parents did or said when they were my age?
Is every generation of children worse than the last?
Do you ever wonder what it was like to live on the prairies of N. Texas back when it was first settled?
Why are Mockingbirds so annoying and who thought it was a good idea to make them the State Bird of Texas?!
What do you think goes through a bug's mind before it slams head-on into your windshield? Oh $h!t??
Why is it that stupid people can reproduce like bunnies but smart people have to resort to modern medicine?
Is there really life on Mars? Or anywhere else in the vast expanses of the universe, like the Stargate series suggests?
Do you think insects break wind?
What's really whispering in the trees?
What would it be like to be a royal or someone with great power? Are they really just like everybody else?
Why do squirrels and bunnies have The Suicide Club when their greatest chances of survival would be won by standing still?

What do you sit around and think about?? I'd love to hear!

Did You Hug Your Admin?

2011-04-28T04:17:00.003-05:00

So yesterday was Administrative Professionals Day, formerly known as Administrative Assistants Day formerly known as Secretaries Day. (Honestly, I do not understand the hang-up on what you call your secretary. I mean, really. Whether I'm a secretary or an assistant, my job functions remain the same: I'm a phone answerin', paper pushin', calendar managin', travel coordinatin' diva!) Did you do something spectacular for your assistant?

I may or may not have mentioned before that I happen to be an assistant. Actually, I have five bosses, if we want to get really technical about it. Sure, it sounds like a lot, but I have it down to a science. Or perhaps my bosses just don't require that much of me. Take your pick.

Eeeeeeeeeeeeenyway, some of my wonderful co-workers/staff brought me THE bestest gifts EVAH today - shoe crack. Oh yes. I admit it. I have a problem. A high-heeled, open-toed, b-e-a-utiful problem called shoes. Shoes, shoes, glorious shoes! And I am now the proud owner of $170 worth of plastic, cue-the-angelic-choir, pure heaven in my wallet, shoe-purchase-enabling, do the happy shoe dance, glorious cold plastic shoe cash. And I will soon be the proud owner of some sparkly, smell-that-faux-leather, new collectible beauties for my shoe cabinet.

For you see, aside from the plastic-glorious-plastic shoe cash, I've recently retired a number of pairs of My Pretties. Some are going to better homes and a few were sent to a tearful grave as I literally wore them out. But as an eternal optimist of the shoeless mind, I have merely begun my search for the next set of Pretties to fill the voids on the shelves. And filled, my friends, those voids shall be come Friday night when I join My Girls for a fantastic evening that we so lovingly have coined Margaritas and Shoes.

But this week, rather than sneaking my shoes in the door at home one pair at a time, I will proudly prance in and put them on display in runway fashion as a) I didn't spend our money, honey and b) babe, I'm not banning any of your shoes to the hiding place under the stairs this time b/c I have roooooooooom to fill on my shelves!

Now everyone say a little prayer that my favorite shoe store doesn't fail me like it did the last time the girls met for Margaritas and Shoes when I left with ~~NONE~~...uh...ONE!

Knowing What to Say

2011-04-27T17:14:00.003-05:00

I don't know about you, but I've been known to have the What the Hell Do I Say to THAT problem, especially lately. I don't recall always having this ineptitude for comforting social interaction, but apparently, the older I've gotten the more awkward these situations have become for me. Am I losing touch with my softer side? Or have I just forgotten how to be a real friend to someone?

Lately, it seems like my go-to response to bad news is "I'm sorry. I'll be thinking of you." Seems so ... I don't know, COLD or something. Not that I don't mean that I'm really sorry for whatever has happened or that I'm not really thinking of the person as they deal with whatever bit of bad news they're facing. But seriously, people, surely I can formulate a better array of go-to responses that aren't so .... cliche?!

So I'm throwin' it out to you, interwebs, what do YOU do or say to comfort your friends in their times of need?

In a Nutshell

2011-04-25T15:54:00.001-05:00

(ETA: For those of you following me in Google Reader, I began this post the Monday after Easter but have not had time to finish it, so it will publish with today's date even though it will appear on the blog back in April.)

This last several weeks has been a little nuts. I've said that before. Probably many times. But I had no idea just HOW crazy it would ultimately be! With the big Palm Sunday performance out of the way, I really thought that I would coast through the remainder of Holy Week at Ye Olde Church Job. Boy, was I ever wrong on that one!

We had a rehearsal on the Saturday before Easter to go over the big pieces that we would be presenting during Easter worship services. We were pulling a movement from a piece that we sang several years ago (mvt 1 from Rutter's Gloria). Honestly, we had not worked on it very much b/c we were SO focused on the Chilcott. Our Wednesday rehearsal went pretty well, so we felt confident that, even though we hadn't rehearsed this piece very much, we would still be able to do it justice at the baton of our Fearless Leader on Sunday morning.

Well, that was fine and dandy until .... I arrive at Saturday's rehearsal to a flurry of activity and some BIG news. Our Fearless Leader was in the hospital AND her husband had been diagnosed that week with squamous cell carcinoma!! Her husband is our tenor section leader and by far the coat tails that the men ride on each week. A double whammy, to say the least, this news was. (Hello, Master Yoda.) That left us scrambling to pull of this rehearsal and tentatively make plans in the event she was not able to be released and join us for Sunday morning worship. Talk about running around like a chicken with one's head cut off!! Oh my.

To say that Saturday's rehearsal was one step short of disaster is an understatement. We split up conducting duty between two of our most capable members. (And in the end, I'm SO thankful this duty did NOT fall to me b/c it would have been absolutely disasterous on Sunday! Seriously!) Our confidence in that one difficult piece that we hadn't rehearsed much pretty much went down the tubes. We labored most of rehearsal on that one piece. And it was certainly a struggle. There were many grumblings about cutting it ... except that we had no suitable replacement AND we'd hired a brass quartet specifically for this particular ball-buster! Oy.

I received a phone call towards the end of rehearsal that our director would NOT be with us on Easter Sunday morning, that she was being held in the hospital for observation. She and I talked through all of the logistical things that would need to be put in order between Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning. These duties DID fall to me. Needless to say, Saturday afternoon turned into a busy one for me. I had set-up to take care of, phone calls to be made, checks to be found, emails to be sent, and signs to be made. AND I had a dinner party to give at my house that evening.

Sunday morning came really early. I had to be to church by 6:30 a.m. (!) to get all of the ducks in a row before the good folks of the choir arrived to begin rehearsing at 7 a.m. We ran a tight ship that morning out of necessity. Our schedule allowed no wiggle room. Early worship was at 8 a.m. The brass arrived as scheduled at 8:30 (right in the middle of early morning worship) and we had a very brief rehearsal between early service and late service, which began at 9:30.

To say that we were all just a leeeeeetle bit stressed about music is an understatement. But when all was said and done, it went pretty well. Could it have gone better? Sure. But given the circumstances, I think we were all rock stars. Am I glad that it's all over? Absolutely.

Our director was released from the hospital on Sunday afternoon after a battery of tests and no definitive answer. She developed severe double vision on Saturday morning, and they believed it could be a stroke. However, all tests ruled out that possibility, but none of them were definitive in explaining what happened. It could very well be related to stress. This last week, with her husband's diagnosis, it would certainly make sense, not to mention in addition to the stress of preparing for Holy Week. She'll be on bed rest this week and go to several doctor appointments to try to determine the cause.

ETA: After another round of double vision this weekend (May 8th), the doctors believe that she is experiencing a new kind of migraine. She has suffered from severe migraines for more than 20 years and apparently this is a new manifestation.

I Did It

2011-04-21T16:37:00.007-05:00

For those of you who follow me on Facebook, I recently posed the question "have you ever had a bikini wax??" I asked this b/c a friend of mine (hey, Daon) and I were talking about it and how neither of us had ever been brave enough to get it done. (I'm not sure that I've mentioned on ye olde blog that Derek and I are taking a quick little cruise to the Bahamas in the middle of May. No matter how quick the cruise, it's still too many days for repeated shaving of sensitive areas, IYKWIM. And I'd rather not skip any beach days simply b/c I've got a case of the stubbles. So that's kinda the evolution of this whole conversation.)

Eeeenyway, I got some good responses on the FB post - from general encouragement to things to make it a more positive experience. *ahem* And I also got a referral for a local spa and most importantly a person to see. I've had the info for a good week or two, and I've just been sitting on it. B/c you know, I'm still a little nervous about the whole thing. But today I finally worked up the nerve to call and book an appointment for a bikini wax (somebody still needs to explain to me the real difference between a bikini and a Brazilian. I know what I think it is, but the spa's description didn't seem to match up). I opted to get it done a week before we leave just in case I have any kind of adverse reaction (there should be time for it to settle down before I have to don a swimsuit).

I shall let you know how this adventure unfolds. I hope it's quick and painless, not to mention worth my fretting (and my moolah)!

Open Letter

2011-04-19T01:37:00.004-05:00

Dear Listerine:

While your product may actually make mouths cleaner, though I believe this to be an arguable point, I would beg to differ about whether it kills bad breath germs. Quite frankly, in my opinion, I believe your product is single-handedly responsible for bad breath. In fact, it causes a very distinct kind of bad breath. Something I like to call The Breath of Death. B/c seriously, that's some stanky skank you leave behind. Downright horrible, in fact.

What's sadder still is that Death Breath comes completely unbeknownst to the Listerine user. Like somehow your product manages to strip away the user's ability to smell the green cloud that is emitted from their own mouths. And how do you tell someone that Whoa...Dude...DUUUUUUUUUUUUUDE...your. breath. is. horrible??!! Yeah. Not that easy. Instead, you do your best not to breathe around them and find the quickest escape route to the nearest gas mask and/or nose salve!

So please, do me a favor. Take a cue from all of the other mouth washes out there and find a way to kill the germs without killing everyone around the Listerine user!

Sincerely,
SheWhoCanSmellDeathBreathFromaMileAway

From Disaster to a Masterpiece

2011-04-18T20:00:00.002-05:00

It is nice to have the busiest part of the spring over and out of the way. It should be a smooth and quiet coast into summer and a much-needed respite.

This weekend's Palm Sunday program went from a potential cancellation to a wonderful masterpiece in just a week's time. Our last-minute tenor was a wonderful addition to the program. Honestly, I'm in awe of what he was able to do in such a short time. And I'm certainly indebted to him for affording us the opportunity to perform this beautiful work by Bob Chilcott.

Aside from the Chilcott, the choir sang the Wilburg arrangement of "Come Thou Fount." While it's written for a choir of 100 or more voices, that does not negate its absolute beauty even when sung by such small numbers. And it certainly doesn't hurt to have the best organist in town whose registrations are never less than perfection!

I was also able to reprise the commissioned work by Rob Landes called "Little Lamb, Who Made Thee" that I premiered in December. The premiere was excellent, but as any performer knows, you sometimes have performances where you think, "I could have done that better." And that is certainly how I felt after the premiere. I would say that the piece is now much more solidly in my voice. And while it still wasn't perfect - no live performance is, it was a far better representation of this piece and I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to do it justice.

So all in all, the week that began with such uncertainty culminated with a very meaningful program ushering in both a time of reflection and a time of celebration as we mark the final days leading to Easter. I'm including the first movement from last night's performance below for your viewing enjoyment, along with links to other videos since I couldn't fit them all in one post. (Note: all videos are best viewed with a high-speed internet connection.)

Introit and Kyrie

Pie Jesu

When Disaster Strikes

2011-04-11T17:09:00.012-05:00

This is the time of year that is insanely busy for me, particularly at Ye Olde Church Job. It pretty much just sucks the life right out of me, as a matter of fact. Don't get me wrong, I love the music and the opportunity to sing! But .... Lent is the time of year when lots of things are happening in the music program all at once.

The children's choir musical was last weekend. The big slog up to the show is always a difficult one. It's hard to keep the attention of 30+ 5-10 year olds, particularly for two hours at a time! I can (and will) write a whole other post about the frustrations with working with kids these days. But after all of the frustration and feelings of "we're aren't gonna be able to do this," the musical was a tremendous success. And if you ask me how, I still can't tell you!

At the same time, the adult choir is preparing for Holy Week activities, which kicks off with Palm Sunday. In particular, we have been working on a new piece. Not only is it new to us, it is actually hot off the presses. Last year, Preston Hollow Presbyterian premiered Bob Chilcott's Requiem. We are fortunate enough to be among the first Dallas-area churches to perform this work since the premiere. To my knowledge, we will be precisely the third choir (stateside anyway) to sing it. It's a beautiful work written for orchestra, soloists, and chorus with soaring melodies and intricate, dissonant harmonies. It truly is a masterpiece!

I actually convinced our director to tackle this work. The sanctuary at our facility is just perfect for it, and this group of singers is certainly capable of performing such a difficult work. Since I'm "out in the music community" more than our director, she charged me with finding our tenor soloist. This actually turned out to be far more challenging than I had anticipated. Holy Week is an extremely busy time in the life of any musician for hire. Oftentimes, we are contracted far in advance.

After months of searching and many referrals from singers already booked, I finally found a terrific singer who is a doctoral student at UNT. We rehearsed two weeks ago (I'm the soprano soloist), and our voices blended beautifully. Ideally, we were an excellent match for this piece. Not to mention, he has to be just about the nicest guy you could ever meet. In the course of our rehearsal and visit, we learned that he had recently had surgery to correct a severe reflux problem and actually had just been released to begin singing again in late January. (Reflux is a singer's absolute worst nightmare as it does immense damage to the vocal cords and, quite honestly, to the entire phonation structure.) For him to be in such fine voice so quickly after surgery is quite miraculous.

Unfortunately, on Saturday, we received an email from our contracted soloist saying that he would be unable to sing the piece for us. This last week, he went for a post-op check-up for his reflux correction surgery, and the doctor informed him that he had a vocal fold hemmorhage. And it was apparent that he had had it for several weeks and had clearly been singing on it. The doctor was puzzled by the fact that this singer still had a speaking voice, much less a singing voice, with such a sizable hemmorhage. And the doctor placed him on immediate vocal rest - no talking or singing for a minimum of two weeks.

For us, this spelled disaster for the Chilcott piece. The director was at her wit's end. How could we find a substitute at such late notice? Keep in mind that whomever we might find would have just one week to learn the piece. I put out feelers with my contacts in the local music scene. Within about an hour of receiving the phone call that the Chilcott might not be possible, I had found someone who was both free and interested in tackling this difficult work.

The director and I devised a plan to simplify the Requiem, omitting several movements, in the event our replacement tenor found the difficult movements too challenging to perfect in just a week's time. I met him yesterday afternoon with a score and a recording for his review, and he texted me not too long after to say that he did not think he would have any difficulty learning the entire piece! We have several rehearsals scheduled for this week. I want to do everything I can to ease the stress of learning this work on such short notice. To give a little perspective, I've spent the last three and a half months working on it!

If you're free this coming weekend, I invite you to come hear this stunningly beautiful work.

Sunday, April 17, 2011 - 7:00 p.m.

FREE performance of

Bob Chilcott's Requiem

performed with

chamber orchestra, organ, choir, tenor and soprano soloists

Lake Highlands UMC (Map)

We will also be singing the Wilburg arrangement of "Come Thou Fount," and I will be performing the commissioned piece "Little Lamb, Who Made Thee" that I premiered at our Advent service this past year.

Cutie Head Moment #1598763165198984

2011-03-26T16:36:00.001-05:00

Brought to you by Can You Hear Me Now....Good!

So I got a new cell phone a little while ago. Yep. I wasn't really planning to. I was perfectly happy with my old one. I had just figured out how to work the damn thing, so why would I want a new one? But the hubby decided he HAD to switch providers and get in on some iCrack. And that meant that his virtually brand NEW, fancy iCrack(ish) android would go the way of all the other has-beens in his vast collection of technology trash.

duh-duh-duhduh

Susan to the rescue! I'll take one for the team and learn how to use yet another complicated piece of portable technology that will make me scream profanities every time I try to use it to do something 'simple.' B/c, let's face it, people, ain't nothin' simple about Simple Technology these days!

So we get me switched over to this new fandangled piece of purse clutter and I play around with some of the basic settings, like ringtone and stuff. Fast forward a couple of hours to an after-dinner conversation with some girlfriends around the dining room table. *groovy dance tune* starts playing. We all look around at each other, like we've never heard this noise before. Then everyone takes out their phones one-by-one to see, "is that me??" All the while, I'm sitting at the table saying, "that's definitely not mine."

One by one, everyone declares that it's not theirs. And then it hits me. I have a new phone! I've never heard it ring! And as fate would have it, it was mine after all.

Is this one of those times that can be dubbed "eating crow??" Well, at least it tasted good!

Things: Installment 61

2011-03-25T05:30:00.010-05:00

I recently tagged along on one of Derek's business trips. This one happened to be to Fort Lauderdale. It was eventful(ish) so I thought it worthy of a Things post.

Things About the Fort Lauderdale Trip

Sometimes it's worth the extra price on airfare to AVOID red-eye flights. My flight left DFW at 6:25 a.m., which meant that I had to be to the airport for oh-dark-thirty which meant that I had to leave my house at the butt crack. The roosters weren't even up yet!
My friend/business partner Whitney (hey, girl) was kind enough to not only house sit but to volunteer to take me to the airport for said red-eye flight. What. a. saint!
When traveling during spring break season, it is wise to pay the extra $9 for the Priority Upgrade. For one, you get on the plane first. For two, you are guaranteed a space in the overhead for your one and only bag. Otherwise ... womp-womp ... you have to check said carry-on at the gate and then go to baggage claim at the airport rather than straight to your taxi!
On the upside, because I took the early flight, I dodged the crazy weather in Fort Lauderdale and was tucked snug-as-a-bug in my hotel room when the hurricane-like wind and rain pelted and whirled outside the sliding glass door of my hotel room.
On the downside, room service was TOO busy to answer the phone during said storm. I guess everyone else was hungry and avoiding going outside, too.
Staying at a hotel with a private beach during the beginning of the spring break season is GENIUS! The beach was never ridiculously crowded. There were plenty of chairs, plenty of umbrellas, and plenty of cold beverages. Just the way I like it!
Downside to only taking one form of entertainment to the beach: iPads overheat in direct sunlight. I thought I was going to be smart and catch up on the 800+ posts in my Google Reader. WRONG! I got about 30 min. of surfing in before it shut down and gave me the finger. "Too hot. Try again later." It took a good hour for that puppy to cool down enough for me to be able to turn it back on. I opted to leave it playing some tunes in the shade rather than entertaining me on the sunny beach chair. Whatever, dude.
The seafood was amazing!
Most of the restaurants we visited actually knew what I was talking about when I quizzed them about gluten-free menu items. And many were more than happy to talk to the chef for me.
Traveling with doctors is like traveling with movie stars. They don't give a rats @$$ about anyone but themselves!!!! So note to self: eat where YOU want to and make your own travel itinerary rather than syncing up return flights with everybody else.
Traveling with a gimp has its privileges - hello priority boarding for the spouse!
It wasn't the most ideal time to travel. I had just returned from tending to the patient after his knee surgery. But I sure as hell wasn't going to let him travel by himself while he was still barely hobbling around. (Thanks, doc, for telling him that he could do whatever he felt up to doing!) All in all, it was a nice trip. Gimp was basically ungimpy by the time we came home.
SPF5000 works in Florida too! *grin*

Monumental February

2011-03-24T05:56:00.006-05:00

It's hard to believe that two years has flown by. Like that. It was two years ago in February that Derek had his cancer surgery and was declared cancer-free. Make it to the two-year mark with no recurrence and you're pretty much golden. The likelihood of recurrence drops to less than 5%. We were on schedule to get the Official Word that he remains cancer free when life was rudely interrupted by a golf-ball size knot on the front of his right knee.

X-rays revealed that there were bony fragments loose in his knee - one of which appeared to be quite large. Apparently, Derek had Osgood-Schlatter as a child. This causes extra bone growth on the top of the tibia. While this often resolves on its own with no medical intervention, a small percentage of kids take the extra bone growth with them into adulthood. Derek is one of those lucky few. And some of that extra growth had broken off and was free-floating in the knee with the largest fragment being lodged beneath his patellar tendon.

So on the day that he would have seen the oncologist for his two-year check-up, he had knee surgery instead. The fragments were even larger than they appeared on x-ray. In fact, they were so sizable that the doctor had to bring them out to show us on his post-op-everything-is-a-okay visit. The largest one was the size of a large marble; there were two that were small marble sized; and then there were a bunch of little fragments that looked like jacks. It's no wonder he had a huge knot on his knee!

The surgery went fine and I spent a week and a half at home taking care of him. Pain management was our biggest obstacle since the doctor filed off the remaining bony growths on the top of the tibia. *shudder* Biggest RX obstacle: he's allergic to hydrocodone and #2 choice Darvocet is off the market. It took us several days and several phone calls to the doctor to get the right combo of his pain med cocktail. But we eventually got him some relief so he could rest.

We're now a month out and he's doing just fine. He's been on TWO business trips to FL and had his first physical therapy session this week, in fact. He has 120 degrees of motion right now with about 15 degrees more to go. Not bad. Hopefully he's faithful enough to p/t to get his back worked on too!

So what about that two-year follow-up? It's on the schedule for April. We're looking forward to getting some good news!

A Little R&R

2011-03-23T17:27:00.003-05:00

As I sit here with my months-old list of things to blog about, I am, quite surprisingly to most, really at a loss for words. I have enjoyed the last 4+ weeks of my blogging hiatus. I'm sure that some of you have wondered, at least in fleeting moments, what happened to take me away from the blogosphere. Well, quite simply, a lot and not much at all. It's certainly not for lack of blog-worthy material. That is clearly evidenced by the long list of potential topics currently staring me in the face. I think it generally boils down to an overall lack of enthusiasm for anything. Just a general state of the blahs. But the trees are budding (achoo, anyone?) and the birds are tweeting and one can't help but find the spring in the step return. And so I'll bore you all with the myriad of ridiculous thoughts that have been buzzing around my brain like that pesky fly that whizzes about stalking your first bites of your favorite summer fruits. (How's that for a colorful analogy?! Take that, caseoftheblahs!)

Karma, Baby!

2011-02-10T08:01:00.002-06:00

On Friday afternoon, I ventured out in the neighborhood to check out the winter wonderland. I set out on foot, camera in hand, since the streets certainly weren't passable by car. A quick pass around the cul-de-sac and I headed back to the house to drop off the camera. I didn't want to risk falling down with it any more times than I already had. I picked up Kelli on this stop and we headed out for a little walk.

First stop: the gas easement that runs close to our house. Kelli & I were curious whether the snow collected more here than in other places since it's basically a big hill with gullies running along each side. We tiptoed up the slope to the top to find that it was actually shallower than in our own front yards. A bit surprising to me actually. It was, however, much more slippery since the layer of sleet and ice was not covered with as much snow.

Having come away with the information we sought to find atop the hill, we made our way back down the little incline to the sidewalk. Kelli went first. And as she was oh-so-carefully tiptoeing back down the hill, she slipped, did a little bobble & arm flop, and caught her balance as she dismounted the hill successfully onto the sidewalk. I, of course, found this hilarious and laughed as it all unfolded.

"Nice save," I said in a chuckle as I began my own descent down the mini-mountain.

I was on the steeper part of the hill - not smart enough to go down the flatter side like Kelli did. I took no more than two steps when I, myself, found my footing unsure, slipped, did my own little bobble & arm flap, and proceeded to fall squarely on my arse with a resounding *thud*! Kelli absolutely burst out laughing. And I fell over on the snowy bank and had quite the guffaw myself.

And that, my friends, is why you should never laugh at your friend until you, yourself, have safely dismounted the slippery slope yourself! It's karma, baby!

Snow-pocalypse 2.0

2011-02-09T11:28:00.000-06:00

Howdy from a blustery, f-f-f-f-freeeeeeezing N. Texas! We're now into our second round of wintry weather as sleet fell heavily this morning and it is currently snowing like nobody's business here. C-RAZY to say the least!

As promised, I did actually venture out in the snow last week ... with the Husky, of course. But I realized today, after signing onto the ol' blog to figure out where I left off last week, that I never posted pictures (or stories) from our little trek. Shame, shame! So, as I sit here in the craft room watching the snow breeze by (it really IS pretty, even if it makes a mess of things) and pile up once again, I decided to edit some photos AND video from last week's Snow-pocalypse (thanks, Gayla, for that one!) and make a little movie montage for you to enjoy. The stories will come in separate posts this week b/c they're good enough to stand on their own. Oh, and while I'm on the subject of separate posts, I'll have a really fun one about photos that I found in the office while cleaning in there. Some real jewels, let me tell ya. You won't want to miss 'em! *grin* But for now, on to that montage....

And now that I'm done with that morning time-suck (tho it was fun), I must now do something productive. What, you may ask? Well, I've got two choices: make cards or clean the office. Which one do you think I'll choose? *snicker*

I Wish....

2011-02-04T11:29:00.000-06:00

I was a weather person. I would only have to be right 2% of the time and I could still keep my job!!! Talk about missing the mark ... again. That "light dusting" we were going to receive overnight turned into over SIX INCHES. And guess what??? It's snowing again. And they're speculating that we'll receive another 1-2 inches before it stops. I'm home from work a FOURTH day this week. Can anyone remember the last time we had weather like this? Back in the 80s maybe?? CRA-ZY!

But since today we have snow, rather remaining cooped up in the house another day, we're actually gonna venture out later and maybe take Dori for a walk. After all, she's a Husky and she's BEGGING to go outside. She beats on the blinds on the back door at least once an hour and then we have to bundle up to go get her to come back inside. I'm sure she'll love the opportunity to go for a stroll with us through the neighborhood. We'll see if we're actually able to stay upright first tho. There's a solid sheet of ice lurking underneath that 6" of fluffy stuff!

Stay safe & warm, everybody!!!

Rude Awakening

2011-02-02T07:15:00.000-06:00

I had intended to sleep in a little today, but my plans were thwarted when I was rudely awakened at 0545! Oy! I neglected to ~~complain about~~ mention that we've been having some issues with the smoke detectors that came with our house.

You: what other smoke detectors would you be talking about? Smoke detectors are required, Grasshoppa!
Me: I know. Let me explain.

We have two sets of smoke detectors: the six originals that were installed throughout the house as part of new construction and the two high-tech heat/smoke detectors that were installed and are monitored by our alarm company. The originals are powered two ways - direct wiring and 9V batteries. The other two are powered by the alarm system.

Several weeks ago, we were rudely awakened in the middle of the night by the originals. And for the record, how in the WORLD do people sleep through their smoke alarms going off? B/c let me tell you, there just ain't no way!!!!

Aaaaaanywho, we do a quick assessment and determine it is indeed a false alarm. And then they stopped. All by themselves. Alrighty. Back to bed then. We-he-hell, that would have been a good idea EXCEPT the stupid alarms went off randomly all. night. long. So what did we do? We unhooked the damn things. Yes, we did. Every single one AND took their batteries out. B/c you don't turn them off just by de-batterying them or just by unhooking them from the direct wiring. You have to do BOTH to silence those little screamers.

We decided that it had to be a battery causing the problem. And so they remained unhooked until just this last weekend when we replaced the batteries and then hooked them back up. All was quiet so we assumed that we'd solved the problem. Until this morning. When they started screaming. Given the bitter cold we're experiencing and the extra heat we're running, I really thought it was for real this time. But a quick inspection of the other two told me that it was a false alarm. Again. So I scaled the ladder and took all but one down. I think I've figured out that we have at least one bad unit and THAT'S causing the middle-of-the-night rude wake-up calls. Until I know for sure, those puppies are not going back up!

Oh, and to make this story better???? I was doing all of this in the DARK this morning b/c we had our 15 min. of rolling blackout right after the damn things starting eeking. Nice!

Jack Frost

2011-02-01T15:21:00.000-06:00

is definitely nipping at my nose! Let me just say BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

For those of you who live in my area, have you had the unfortunate happenstance of going outside today? Oh. My. Lord. When the weathermen said it was going to be bitterly cold, they were NOT kidding. That wind eats through every conceivable layer you can pack on to prevent its icy fingertips from poking you prickily. If I don't have to go outside again until it thaws, well, that'd suit me just fine!

Unlike the last winter weather system that blew through here a coupla weeks ago, this one left no doubt that we'd all be home today. When I got up this morning at oh-dark-thirty and turned on the tv to check out the weather, the first thing I heard was "All school districts in the DFW area are closed today." Wha? DISD actually made a decision before 7 a.m.?? Shocking!

And shortly after that, I got my glorious phone call from the office telling me that we were indeed closed (we base our closure decision on a bifurcated standard in which we assess DISD's decision and weigh it against the County's decision). So I began making my phone calls to my designated folks plus a few extras. I actually started with the group I like to refer to as The Early Birds b/c they get to the office when I do. Early. Then I moved down the list from there. All done before 7!

Once that was all done, I made a mental list of everything I would accomplish today.

First things first, start a fire.
Change into footed fleece pajamas.
Make coffee.
Christen the new waffle maker.
Check email.
Fill some High Notes Ink orders.
Skype w/ Whit about HNI stuff.
Put in some laundry.
Make some cards for fun / new product lines.
Catch up on blogging.
Check email.
Make lunch.
Put in some more laundry.
Think about whether or not it's time to shower/brush the fuzz off the teeth. (Nah! LOL)
Contemplate whether or not I might tackle the long-neglected hell hole we call The Home Office. (No, it's STILL not cleaned up & organized, thankyouverymuchforaskingpfffffft!)
Send the hubby off to work (boo-hiss!).
More blogging. (There's a LOT to catch up on!)
Grab the phone in case work calls with an early decision about tomorrow.
Gaze out the window at the still-falling snow flurries, which, BTW, were NOT supposed to be falling anymore.
Time to fold some laundry.

What's on your agenda??

P.S. Remember my mental note a coupla weeks ago about not riding the bus on bad weather days and riding the train instead? Yeah. Well. Today the train is shut down b/c of high wind & ice on the cables. Go figure!

What Would You Do ....

2011-02-01T06:20:00.001-06:00

With a freebie day off from work??? Well, lucky for you, I'm planning to catch up on my blogging. Believe it or not, I actually have a number of posts still saved as drafts. Just in case you thought I'd given up blogging altogether. *snicker* Things have just been crazy-busy and I could never get a post finished & ready to publish. So, since it looks like I'm gonna be iced in for a better part of this week, I can actually get those all wrapped up. (For all you Google Reader followers out there, the sequence of posts may not make as much sense since the publish date will be in real time rather than when I originally intended for the post to publish.)

But for right now, I'm off to whip up some homemade waffles. And that's something you don't hear every day, especially around here. Since I haven't yet christened my new waffle maker (thanks, D&O) and I've clearly got a lot of time on my hands, seems like a good way to start the day. Hot coffee & waffles, here I come!

EDITED TO ADD: For those of you who don't follow me in Google Reader, you'll have to click Older Posts at the bottom of the page (waaaaaaay down there at the bottom) to get to all of the posts that I'm catching up on for the month of January. If you don't, you'll surely miss something! (Not that it's earth-shattering, but still. I make a funny every once in a while. *wink*)

Guess What I Did???

2011-01-30T16:25:00.044-06:00

Anybody?? Who guessed cleaned up the office? Show of hands out there. *insert the EH Jeopardy buzzer* And my answer to that is .... I WISH!

For anybody who follows me on Facebook, I posted waaaaaaay back on Jan. 18 that "it's time again to bid adieu to the christmas decorations...." Well, I didn't exactly get around to doing anything about that. And so there they all sat, staring me in the face. No more excuses. They had to go.

So I got up and got started early yesterday. And when it was all said and done, the decorations came down, replaced with winter ones, of course. (Hello, snowmen!) And the house is de-sparkled, tho sparkling ... after a thorough vacuuming. It's nice to have that done. Finally.

So I could definitely enjoy the rest of the weekend. We had the neighbors over for dinner last night and they're coming over again tonight. We haven't seen them in a while, so it'll be good to have the gang back together. Great blog material, though most of it not suitable for public viewing. *wink*

Stunned

2011-01-27T16:00:00.047-06:00

Today, while I was in training for my office's new e-filing system, I got a phone call from my voice teacher. It's unusual for her to call me during the day, unless she's calling to reschedule a lesson. But I knew quickly after hearing her voicemail that it was unlikely that she was calling about my next lesson. So while on our first break for the training session, I called her back.

As I feared, she was not calling with good news. In fact, her first words were, "I wish I was calling you with good news." Instead, she was calling to tell me that one of our friends had been killed in a car accident early Tuesday morning. I had actually heard about the accident on the news on Tuesday morning and thought "how awful" after hearing the story.

Rick was a Type I diabetic and he had a devil of a time managing it. It was not unusual for him to have "episodes." Having traveled with him on a number of choir tours, you learned very quickly how to recognize the signs of one of his episodes. And it was a "quick, give me a peppermint" before everything was under control again. It is believed that he had one of these while driving on Monday night, got lost, and then crashed after failing to make a necessary turn at a dead-end road. Unfortunately, rescue workers were unable to get to him after the crash b/c the car was already engulfed in flames by the time they arrived.

Cortni (Rick's daughter), Rick, and Me in Ireland

Naturally, we are all in shock. Rick was so kind, a fantastic musician, and just an all-around nice guy who would give you the shirt off his back if you asked him for it. And his loss will certainly be felt by many. I will cherish the few occasions I got to sing with him. It was truly an honor!

And I will be equally as honored to sing him home at his memorial service, along with many, many others of his musician friends!

We Made Our Milestone!

2011-01-25T15:46:00.017-06:00

Howdy, folks! I told you I was gonna be busy last week, and I wasn't kiddin'. My house & my husband are none too worse for the wear, but they're definitely glad to have me back into a more relaxed schedule.

High Notes Ink's official launch went smashingly well, if I do say so myself! The in-home show was very well-attended, and our product flew out the door like hotcakes. We couldn't be more thrilled! Aaaaaand, according to our business plan, we've hit our first milestone which means that we have enough money in the bank to make this baby official. *giggling with glee* Somebody pinch me! *OUCH*

Seriously though, now I have to work on getting all the legal ducks in a row, which means a lot of research, a lot of paperwork, and some moolah. But it's such a nice place to be in and we certainly didn't think we'd get here as quickly as we have. So thanks to ALL of you who have been a part of High Notes Ink's launch! We wouldn't be here without you!

With that big thing out of the way, I now have some time to actually get some stuff done. I've long-neglected some housework. (Hello, Christmas decorations!) So I'll move that to the top of the list. Whitney, my super-awesome business partner, has even volunteered herself to help me do a complete reorg of my house. I know, right?! AWESOME! I keep telling her that she's crazy, but she keeps telling me that she loves to clean & organize and that it's easier to toss stuff when someone ELSE tells you that youreallyneedtothrowthatcrapout! LOL!

So now we should be back to regular programming. As in, gee, is she EVER gonna post anything?!

Busy Week

2011-01-18T15:33:00.020-06:00

There won't be much posting this week, folks. I know, I know. Don't be TOO disappointed. LOL!

In all seriousness, there are lots o' things on the plate this week. First and foremost, High Notes Ink is making its official launch at an in-home show on Sunday afternoon, and we have some last-minute product to finish up. Not to mention, updating our website and brochure. So I'll be busy behind the crafting table and/or the iMac.

And secondly, I finally have my music for the big performance on Palm Sunday! *commencing happy dance* I cannot TELL you how excited I am about this piece! It was premiered in Dallas last spring and is now available on the market. While we're not the only ones to jump on board for local performances this year, we're certainly the smallest group of accomplished musicians to do so. AND we're gonna have the players required for the orchestrated score thanks to a generous donation from a faithful patron. ((hugs)) This is a very challenging work. And I'm very much looking forward to digging into the score. My work is certainly cut out for me!

So ... I'll see you on the flipside of this crazy week!

Merry Christmas!

2011-01-16T15:21:00.001-06:00

Ummmm. What?! I know, I know. Christmas is long over.

Except when you're a Foster. Many moons ago, it became a family tradition to have our holiday gathering over MLK weekend. Why? Well, mostly b/c all of the kiddos were out of school for a long weekend which made travel for everyone much easier. You see, we're all spread out, so it can be a chore to get us all in one place. And now that we're all grown & out on our own, it still remains a good weekend since we have work holidays that afford us the same long weekend.

This year, we descended upon my brother & his new house since it offers the most room for all 25+ of us to be in one place. We enjoyed good food, good fellowship, and good times. As usual, the Chinese gift exchange was loads of fun and full of much intrigue / conniving. LOL!

Looking forward to next year!

Open Letter

2011-01-14T14:06:00.008-06:00

Dear Subway:

Thank you for listening to your patrons who ~~begged~~ asked you to consider adding a gluten-free menu. I was thrilled to hear that Dallas would be a test market for your new gluten-free options. I decided to try out the store by my office today since I didn't have anything for lunch. I called first since I wasn't sure every restaurant would be participating and was pleased to hear that they were a part of the test group. When I came in, the on-duty manager was very courteous and walked the sandwich-ista through the process step-by-step. It was apparent that you've had training in safe handling of gluten-free food. (There are still some things I could suggest to you, but I suspect that others will take care of that for me. Or perhaps I will mention it on my next visit.) Everyone at your store was kind and courteous. And they were thrilled to have their first request for gluten-free.

Thank you for making it a very pleasant experience. I WILL be back for more!
Me

P.S. That gluten-free brownie is sinfully delicious and worth ALL 350 glorious Calories!!!!

Open Letter

2011-01-13T14:55:00.001-06:00

Dear Facebook:

The new profile that you've FORCED upon me really sucks! Hate isn't a strong enough word to describe the deep loathing I have for it actually.

Not that you care.
Me

Cutie Head Moment #4098723140752

2011-01-11T08:24:00.039-06:00

After yesterday's nightmare commute, one might think that things couldn't get any worse. And yet ...

So here I was walking to work from the bus stop like any other day. It's really bloody cold, and I'm all bundled up to protect myself from the whipping wind and frigid temps - complete with Under Armor and tabbogan. Never leave home without 'em! But I digress.

So I'm walking and get to the last crosswalk before getting to my office building. And *WHAM* just as happy as you please, I'm not walking anymore. No. Seriously. I was walking ... and then I wasn't. Instead, I was falling. Face first into the crosswalk. Somehow I managed to catch my wits enough to brace myself for the *kersplat* that was sure to follow. And follow it did. I went skidding across the crosswalk on my hands and knees. I quickly hop up and try to look cool. You know, like, NOYOUDIDNOTSEETHATHAPPEN. Took a quick assessment: everything's moving (check), clothes not ripped (check), get to office as quickly as possible (double check).

TTL I had on all those layers b/c I'm pretty sure that's the only thing that saved me from some serious injury, not to mention holes in my pants. When I finally get to my office (remember, we have ridiculous security to clear every morning), I head straight to the bathroom to REALLY assess the damage/remove the Under Armor b/c who leaves that on the whole day?! And that's when it became quite clear that I did not escape my latest little Cutie Head Moment unscathed. Nosirree. My knee was bloody like you read about. And there's no doubt that it's gonna HURT tomorrow!

And for those of you who may be wondering,

no, I didn't have on a pair of my crazy, ridiculous shoes,
no, there was no ice in the crosswalk,
and no, I didn't trip.

So here's yet another story to add to my ever-growing list of Embarrassing Things That Happen to Me on My Way to Work.

REALLY?!

2011-01-10T14:35:00.048-06:00

Weather in North Texas is unpredictable at best. Today is a perfect example of what a cluster the weather really is.

So the weather forecasters talk about the latest winter weather system headed our way ALL WEEKEND. And whaddya know, I come out of church yesterday to snow falling like nobody's business & accumulations already on the ground. Lovely. So now the question is: what does this mean for Monday's commute?? That, my friends, turned out to be a million dollar question that ended up being worth way more than that in insurance claims!

I get up today at my regular time - oh dark thirty - and turn on the tv ... hopeful that we at least have a delay. I mean, we still have STUFF on the ground for pete's sake. DISD insists that they're opening on time. So I did what any good employee would do, I got ready for work. Still secretly hoping that I'd get that phone call telling me not to worry about it.

As I'm getting ready for work, road conditions are going from bad to worse after freezing fog moved in & began coating all of the road surfaces in a thin sheet of ice. But it's WAY past the time that my office makes the call about closing so I hop in my car and go to the bus stop.

My first clue to turn around and go home should have come when my 5-minute commute to the park-n-ride turned into a 20-minute commute. That short bridge over Ray Hubbard that I cross every morning was quite slippery and was causing quite the traffic snarl. So I knew that I was going to miss the bus that I usually take and probably the one after that too.

I get to the park-n-ride to find a long line of folks waiting on the bus. Clearly more than one bus was a no-show that morning b/c this was way more folks than should be waiting at this hour. Sure enough, the bus I was aiming for hadn't come and the one after it was, at this point, 5 minutes late. Great. Do I go get in my car & try the train or wait and see if a bus shows?? Keep in mind that I'm standing out in the bitter cold & whipping wind as I make this decision. But I was saved by the arrival of a bus. Bus it is then!

Oh how I would live to regret that decision! Little did I know that the HOV lane isn't open on inclement weather days. So that meant that we were forced to drive the highway like every other Tom, Dick, and Harry. And it tweren't pretty! It took us more than 30 min. to go 3/4 mi. Oh yeah, you read that right. So what is ordinarily a 60-minute door-to-door commute for me turned into 2.5 HOURS!!!

Lesson learned, my friends. On winter weather days, take the train!!!

Things: Installment 60

2011-01-07T05:30:00.510-06:00

Well, hell's bells. I've spent the better part of two days writing this dang post only to manage to lose more than half of it just b/c Blogger saves changes every 30 seconds on my home computer and I had the unfortunate mishap of accidentally deleting my post right as it was autosaving. And if I could figure out how to change the intervals between autosaves, I would. Grrrrrrr! So let's see if I can recreate this thing. It won't be as witty as the first go-around, but I'm giving it a whirl.

In honor of our cross-country trek to attend the Rose Bowl festivities, you get to enjoy a complete run-down on the trip in this issue of Things. Excited? Well, if you scroll down and realize how loooooooooong this sucker is, you might not be! (And so this lovely post doesn't take up sooooooooooo much room on the homepage of the ol' blog, I'm gonna insert a little "click here" page break right here, which means absolutely zippo to the Google Reader followers out there.)

All Things Rose Bowl

Why do you care about TCU? - In the event I haven't talked much about it before, our ties to TCU go back. Way back. Derek's mom grew up in Fort Worth. And when you grow up in Fort Worth there are two things that elicit your undying devotion: the Stock Yards and Texas Christian University! (My ties to TCU are by marriage. Obv.) After a successful year at Navarro, Derek transferred to TCU, where he was enrolled for two years. While his class attendance was sketchy at the very best, his devotion to TCU was not. He has bled purple ever since!
How the trip came about - Derek and I celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary in October, and when I was looking for a gift for him, something having to do with TCU jumped immediately to mind. When you live with a Frog fan, you know more about football records than you'd probably care to. And with TCU's exceptional record the last two seasons, let's just say that the Frogs were the talk at the dinner table this fall. So being the astute wife that I am, I began researching TCU's standings and what the prospects of a repeat bowl appearance might be. Two reputable polls had them going to the Rose Bowl. So I hedged my bets and got tickets to the game through the Team Specific Reservations office. Basically, if your team makes it to the bowl game, you are obligated to purchase a specified number of tickets at face value; if your team doesn't make it, you're only out the cost of the reservation. We anxiously awaited the release of final BCS standings on Dec. 5th where TCU was ranked #3 and thus qualified for the Rose Bowl. I can't tell you how fast we called to book a package on Dec. 6th!
The trip that almost wasn't - I left Derek to booking the trip package, which included hotel, parade tickets, and game tickets, while I went on a mad hunt for reasonable airfare. Have you ever priced an itinerary over New Year's? OMG! Crazy! Let's just say I went into an utter state of panic when the cheapest thing I could find was $2500. A PERSON. I frantically called Derek and broke the bad news, but it was too late to back out. He'd already booked the NON-REFUNDABLE tour package. We're locked into going now. So I did what any coordinator of office travel would do: I called my favorite travel agent. Pam has gotten me out of so many jams when my bosses opt to book travel at the last minute. In our case, we were booking three weeks out - hardly what I would qualify as last-minute - but unfortunately for us on one of the busiest travel holidays of the year. But lucky for us, Pam was able to work her magic and get us a reasonable itinerary for $800 person. Painful but certainly better than $2500! Downside: layovers. Upside: oh, the memories!
How we got great tickets - If you ever consider going to a bowl game of any kind, I cannot recommend highly enough the use of packaged tours. We booked ours directly through the Tournament of Roses. PrimeSport was the coordinator of all the bookings, and overall we were pretty happy with them. The package we bought gave us hotel, parade tickets, and game tickets - not to mention transportation to & from all events and access to freebies. Since this was Derek's anniversary present, I also opted for the package upgrade which gave us awesome seats at the game. If we ever decided to do this trip again, I would book again in a heartbeat.
Travel in general - We were prepared for the worst. Honestly, I expected utter chaos. Do you know how many people travel for the New Year's holiday? A LOT. But we were surprised to check in and breeze through security so quickly at DFW. Probably b/c we were in Terminal E. But even so, I expected much more foot traffic in the airport midmorning. And flying home at LAX was equally as painless. And that left us with lots of sitting around in the airport. Coming home, we left Hollywood 4 hours before our flight, expecting issues with traffic on the way and checking in and clearing security at LAX. To boot, it was raining when we left the hotel, and apparently drivers in LA have the same issues that Dallas drivers do in the rain: hello, stupidity! But nope, we got to the airport and into the terminal in record time. Now what? We scoped out our gate (utter chaos), checked out restaurants (unimaginable lines), and looked for the AAdmirals Club (across the airport and outside of security). So we did what any season traveler would do, we looked for another airline's club. And whaddya know, US Airways had a club in our terminal. So we marched ourselves right in there ... after they let us in. Tell me: who has a bell to get into a lousy airline club?! And we bought ourselves a day pass for a mere $50 a piece after they told us that they do not honor the One World Alliance for purposes of enjoying the airline club. What a load! But access to a comfy chair, nice restrooms, and free drinks for three hours ... worth the buckeroos.
The hotel - We stayed at the Hilton Hollywood City which is in the heart of Universal Studios. It's an older hotel but recently updated and the staff is very attentive. Derek pulled his usual upgrade trick at check-in, justifying it in two ways: 1) this was our anniversary trip and 2) he made quota in 2010 which entitled him not only to his full bonus but also to several 4th quarter incentives. Our GInormous room had spectacular views of the valley, as well as a partial view of Universal.

A view of the valley during the day

A view of the valley at night

Around Town - Honestly, we didn't get out all that much while we were in town. We went into Burbank to Best Buy b/c we'd forgotten the photo upload adapter for our iPads, and we also realized that the camera we bought for the trip did NOT come with a memory card. Tell me: what camera doesn't come with a memory card?! Ridiculous. Anyway, while we were there, we ended up buying an HD video camera. We've been talking about it off and on for a while, but we decided to go with it b/c we wanted high-quality video of portions of our trip. Just what we need - more tech gadgets! But I'm glad we did b/c the quality really IS fantastic. We went to Universal Studios and paid the ridiculous $79/person to go to the park. On New Year's Eve. Stupid? Why, yes, yes it was. You could not stir people with a stick. Imagine Six Flags on its busiest day and then imagine Six Flags' busiest day on a serious dose of steroids. Average wait time for rides was 2 hours. And the line for the studio tour was estimated to be 3 hours. So we came, we saw, and we were conquered by the masses. Maybe next time. New Year's Eve was spent at a late dinner reservation with Derek's friend from TCU, Sandy, and her husband Rob at Morton's in Burbank, where we ultimately rang in the new year.

Just outside the entrance to Universal Studios

Inside Universal Studios

You should have seen how ridiculous this hat actually looked on his mountainous head! (LOL)

Sandy & Rob

Happy 2011, everybody!

Do not call a taxi on New Year's Eve - Not if you intend to actually GO anywhere. We attempted to catch a cab from Morton's back to our hotel. After waiting for 45 min. with narry a single taxi appearing to pick anyone up, the general manager offered to take us back to our hotel. It wasn't that far out of his way to drop us off on his way home. What we had not accounted for was the traffic around Universal Studios. Hello, genius! They had a HUGE NYE bash at Universal Studios. Of course the streets were blocked off and traffic was awful and access to the hotel would be limited. Duh! Oh, and on our little detour, we got forced into a sobriety checkpoint. All was well, of course. But cops aren't very friendly in Hollywood on NYE. Just sayin'. We finally made it back to the hotel about 1 a.m. and got to bed at 1:30 a.m., which wouldn't be so bad if we didn't have to be up again at 5 a.m.
The Rose Parade - The 5 a.m. alarm went off mighty. early. We had to meet the tour group in the lobby at 5:30 a.m. to get our boxed breakfast and get on the buses for a 5:45 a.m. departure. This all went very smoothly and we got on our way pretty close to schedule. Traffic is a nightmare on parade/game day, so if you ever consider going to the parade and/or game, getting in on a tour is the way to go! The tour shuttled us to/from all locations. Perfect! Our seats for the parade were in the VIP grandstands on Olive Street right underneath the HGTV booth and just before the big turn at the corner. We were also sitting directly behind the float judges and the President of the Tournament of Roses' family, along with many other dignataries. Pretty cool. We heard we were on tv on ABC. Though we weren't smart enough to set the DVR to record the parade or the game. Doh! Our seats were amazing, and our VIP tickets gave us access to a free breakfast (muffins, bagels, coffee, hot chocolate) and nice(r) portapotties (and LOTS of them). I watch the Rose Parade every year. It's my favorite thing to do on New Year's Day while making breakfast/brunch. In person, it's even more spectacular, but I did miss having the commentary from the on-air hosts.

I look amazingly chipper for 4 hours of sleep. Glad there's some evidence!

On the bus waiting to leave for the parade

Did you know they shut down the freeway to stage the parade?
Can you imagine shutting down I-35 for a parade??

Yes, we really are this close to the floats!

I'm still in awe with what they can do with all-natural materials!

Go Frogs!

Several floats had running water.

Love this float - the famous Clydesdales pulling our veterans
"Proud to serve those who serve!"

The Rose Bowl - Wow. What an amazing experience! And for TCU to win? Gravy, my friends, gravy. After the parade, we loaded back up on the buses and headed to the stadium. We even got a police escort so getting into the close-up designated parking area was easy breezy. Our tour package gave us access to the VIP hospitality village, which meant more free food and drinks. (Of course, someone so kindly pointed out that it wasn't actually "free." Okay, okay, you betcha we paid for it but "free" has a much better ring to it!) My one complaint with the entire tour was the lack of instruction for getting to said area full of freebies. And despite the tour guide's best efforts to get in touch with someone to help us, we ultimately found it on our own after wandering the grounds for about 30-45 min. The stadium opens at 12:15 p.m., but once you enter, you are not allowed to leave the stadium unless you are leaving for good, i.e. there's no hand-stamping re-entry like the amusement parks. After enjoying the hospitality village and buying some souveniers, we headed to the stadium to get settled in before pregame began at 1:30. Our seats were spectacular - right on the 40 yard line and about halfway up. We had a perfect view of the entire field. I have to say that it's a lot more fun to be AT a game than to watch one on tv. There are lots of things that tv watchers don't have the benefit of enjoying - pregame being one of them. Navy Seals flew in the game flags, an Air Force squadron performed the flyover during the National Anthem, and there was an introduction of Marcus Luttrell and his Lone Survivor Foundation, just to name a few. There really is nothing like being at the game. And TCU's win made it all the sweeter!

In the VIP Hospitality Tent

Inside the Rose Bowl grounds

Look, I was here, too!

The view from our seats

Navy Seals bringing in the game flags

Marcus Luttrell

Paula Dean tosses the game coin

Getting ready for kick-off

Thanks, Wisconsin fan, for taking our photo!

Dalton had a great final game as a Frog!

TCU Wins! Go Horn Frogs!

Coach gives his thoughts on the game

The two game MVPs

So congrats to us on ten years of marriage and congrats to Derek on making quota! The wonderful memories of this trip were worth every penny. Thanks, Frogs! Bring on that victory parade!

Rose Bowl in Brief

2011-01-02T15:54:00.000-06:00

Flight, hotel, parade/game tickets: $5000
Parade/game ticket upgrade: $1200
Food & fun: $750
TCU wins the Rose Bowl: priceless

Thanks for the memories, Frogs....they will indeed last a lifetime!

(Tune in on Friday for a Things dedicated to all things Rose Bowl)

Whoohoo!!!!

2010-12-28T15:15:00.000-06:00

Derek made his number!!

Congrats, babe! You worked hard all year and it's really paid off. Good job and well done. Love ya!

Holiday Round-Up

2010-12-27T17:32:00.017-06:00

All of the packages are opened and put away, and it's now time to take a little stock in all of what the holidays had to offer. To sum it up in three words: great family time!

Our holidays started early. On the 19th, to be exact, when we had some friends over for dinner and a little Santa. Our big gift to our families was a little different this year. We are all blessed in abundance and no one really needs anything. So rather than buying a bunch of gifts, we adopted a needy family and bought everything on their wish lists instead. And what makes this even neater is that we all know the family. To say that this family had a really tough 2010 would be an understatement. And to say that this act of kindness really made their 2010 would likewise be an understatement. I think these photos from our evening with them speak volumes.

We enjoyed Christmas Day with Derek's parents. We started with brunch and ended with a delicious steak dinner. It had been a while since we had been to visit them. Terrible to say but life really does get in the way of quality family time sometimes. And that's certainly true of most of 2010. So it was nice to set aside an entire day to enjoy a leisurely visit. They set us up with loads of Frog gear, so we're definitely all set for game day. But I think we had the most fun with the hilariously fun remote control cars. LOL

My family came over on Sunday afternoon. We don't get much time to really sit and visit either, so it was nice to have the afternoon to do some catching up. My nephew provided great entertainment for us all. And he was particularly helpful with opening packages. What....you didn't want that package open, Aunt Susan?? LOL!

And now we count down the days until the new year and the Rose Bowl. Both are just around the corner. Where does all the time go?!

NOTE: I began drafting this before New Year's but was unable to get it finished before we left on our trip. Just in case those of you reading in Google Reader are a little confused.

GoD and DoG

2010-12-19T19:37:00.003-06:00

Our pastor shared this video this morning during his sermon. It's very touching and SO true. Enjoy!

Things: Installment 59

2010-12-17T05:58:00.001-06:00

For the last month or so, there hasn't been much cooking going on at my house. You know what that means?! Yep, we've been eating out. This issue of Things is focusing on all of the wonderful mainstream gluten-free dining options out there and most specifically the restaurants that I've patronized.

Things on the Gluten-Free Menu

Maggiano's has made a number of revisions to their menu to accomodate everyone requiring gluten-free options. EVERY sauce on their menu is gluten-free as Maggiano's has chosen to substitute rice flour for the traditional flours they were using. At this time, you have two choices for pasta: rigatoni or fettuccini. When I was there most recently, I had the chicken scallopini over rigatoni, and it did not disappoint. I was a little disappointed, however, that they don't offer gluten-free ravioli or gnocchi. But you know, I decided that those options will come in time as more of us begin venturing out to eat at mainstream restaurants. I'm exceedingly grateful to Maggiano's for adapting their entire menu to accomodate those with gluten sensitivities!
PF Chang's has an entire section of their menu devoted to gluten-free selections and it's quite extensive. I actually got to sample several of these items at the gluten-free expo that I attended in Grapevine back in September. Until recently, I hadn't had the time to actually GO to PF Chang's and try the dining experience. I must say, it did NOT disappoint. I had the spicy chicken and it was very good. It's light and especially good with the extra-spicy condiments that PF Chang's is so famous for. The waitress was also very knowledgable and kept all of the gluten-free food and condiments (yes, they have gluten-free soy sauce!) separate. Unfortunately, I was too full to have dessert, but I know that it's absolutely divine b/c I had a NUMBER of samples at the expo. *grin* So definitely be sure you save room for that heavenly chocolate mousse, even if you're not gluten free!
Cosa Nostra is my absolute favorite local Italian joint that I have spoken about many times here on the ol' blog. It's a family-run business, and I just happen to know the family. Great people! And even better food!! After finding out that I have gluten sensitivities, I had not been to eat there even though Denisio promised that he could accomodate me. We finally got around to going this week, and Denisio got onto me for not coming in sooner. Apparently, there are a number of faithful patrons who are gluten free and he had already made some adjustments to menu items. My favorite menu items are actually naturally gluten free; they just needed a pasta substitution. The only hitch is that you must provide your own pasta (which they, of course, cook separately to avoid cross-contamination). But you know, that's a small price to pay for TO DIE FOR authentic Italian food! Thanks, Denisio - you rock!!
Pei Wei also has adapted several of its menu items to make them gluten-free, though it's not nearly as extensive as PF Chang's. I took some time off work this week so I could get my Christmas shopping done in the middle of the day and avoid some of the crowds and decided to give lunch at Pei Wei a whirl after picking up their gluten-free menu at the Grapevine expo. I had the spicy chicken and it was just as light as the dish at PF Chang's. Pei Wei also provides patrons with gluten-free soy sauce. And if you happen to have any food left to take home, they send you home with gluten-free soy sauce packets! (Gotta love San-J for coming up with that idea! Brilliant!) So if you're looking for good Asian food on-the-run, then Pei Wei certainly fits the bill.
Jason's Deli launched its gluten-free menu offerings over the summer. I have not tried it myself, but my mom has and was very pleased. They use Udi's gluten-free bread to build your sandwich. (And for those of you who don't know, it really is the best bread on the widespread market if you're looking for something that is close to the "real" thing.) The staff is all supposed to be trained about cross-contamination, and thus far, my mom hasn't had any issues. One day soon, I'll get in there to get me a sammich b/c I LOVE their sweet tea!
TGI Friday's recently announced that they have revamped their menu to include allergen alerts next to all of their menu items so that common allergens are identified, including wheat, soy, eggs, shellfish, peanuts, to name a few. (Read the press release here) I'll have to pop in there soon and check out the new menu.
The Screen Door located in the One Arts Plaza is able to accomodate people with food allergies. I dined there recently with a friend before we went to the opera. When I placed our reservation on Open Table, I made a notation about requiring gluten-free. As soon as we checked in with the hostess, she asked about the person needing gluten-free and told me that she had alerted the waiter. It was definitely smooth sailing and the food was delicious. I had steak with bernaise sauce and mashed potatoes and steamed veggies. Yummo! Two thumbs up all around!
Mickey Mantle's Steakhouse in Oklahoma City also has an extensive gluten-free menu. We visited friends over Thanksgiving and went to dinner at Mickey Mantle's on Friday night. It's very reminiscent of one of our favorite steakhouses here in Dallas - Morton's of Chicago (who has also told us that they can easily accomodate gluten-free diners). I was surprised when I mentioned to the waitress that I was gluten-free that she took my menu and brought me a new one that not only told me what I could have but also told me the things I could not. Sometimes it's helpful to know that things on the menu that SEEM harmless by description really aren't! The steak was cooked to perfection, as was everything else. If you ever find yourself in OKC, you should definitely eat at Mickey Mantle's.

There are many more restaurants joining in the gluten-free movement. And those of us who require these special menu items should do our part by patronizing the restaurants who test out these menus. If we don't, we are likely to lose the number of mainstream restaurant choices we now have, putting us back another 5-10 years. And who wants that?!

Things: Installment 58

2010-12-10T09:33:00.000-06:00

The blog's been silent for a while. At least with posts of any substance. So how about a new Things post? This time of the year - the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas - makes me far more aware of my many blessings.

Things I'm Thankful For

I'm thankful to be in a position not to need anything but instead to be in a place where I can meet other people's needs.
I'm thankful for good health. This is so easy to take for granted. I was listening to the radio yesterday, and they were fundraising for Children's Hospital. And it made me think about the number of people who will be spending their holidays in the hospital fighting various illnesses. How wonderful it is to be well!
I'm thankful for wonderful friends. Derek and I are blessed to have really terrific people in our lives. People who listen to us when we whine, who celebrate when we accomplish something, who get mad on our behalves, who give us encouragement when we're down. Where would we be without good friends?!
I'm thankful that we both have jobs that are not as susceptible to fluctuations in the economy.
I'm thankful for family. They love you warts & all. And while we can't pick and choose our family, they can't pick & choose either. And so you learn very early the importance of compromise, forgiveness, understanding, and unconditional love. What invaluable gifts & lessons!
I'm thankful for music. As much as I may complain this time of year about how busy things are and how much singing I do, it really IS my favorite time of year to sing. I love Christmas/Advent music! Something about the music just gives me goosebumps. What a joy it is to get to share that with others! (If you're not busy on Sunday, please come to A Texas Christmas. It's going to be fabulous! And yes, I'm feeling better. Thanksforasking.)
I'm thankful for a successful start to my new joint business venture and I'm looking forward to getting back in the ~~sweat~~craftroom to create the new line of product launching in January.

At this time of year, what are you thankful for?

A Texas Christmas

2010-12-09T12:31:00.000-06:00

You are cordially invited to join the Lake Highlands United Methodist Church Ministry of Music as we celebrate the joy of the season in an evening concert featuring all church choirs, handbells, orchestra, percussion, organ, and piano this Sunday, December 12th at 6:30 p.m. in the sanctuary. Those in attendance will have a special treat as we premiere a memorial commissioned work composed by Rob Landes for soprano, flute, and piano. "Little Lamb, Who Made Thee?" is a delightful setting of the traditional poem of the same name by Robert Blake. (And I also happen to be fortunate enough to get to sing it! (assuming I ward off this cold!))

For Sale

2010-12-08T14:15:00.000-06:00

FOR SALE:

Four (4) adjacent, end zone tickets to the

2011 Rose Bowl game

(We upgraded. Go Frogs!!)

Ringin' in the New Year in Style

2010-12-06T10:51:00.000-06:00

We're goin' to the Rose Bowl! Go Frogs!

Now Open for Business

2010-11-29T11:56:00.000-06:00

In one of my recent posts, I mentioned that a friend and I are opening a business. Well, I'm pleased to announce that the doors are now open! Get sneak peeks at our current holiday line and some of the exciting products that are to come. Visit us on the web: on our site or on Facebook. Drop by often - you never know what's in store!

Mea Culpa

2010-11-23T08:27:00.000-06:00

You know that big rambling post I gave you guys last week? The big whiny one? Well, I clearly didn't proofread it too well and what I had intended to be a bit of a funny about giving the blog the cold shoulder ... well, it clearly did not read like that. In fact, if you thought I was saying that I was giving my grandmother the cold shoulder, well, you would not have been alone. So ... for the record, please allow me to clarify what I meant to say. I was NOT giving my grandmother the cold shoulder! I was giving Ye Olde Blog the cold shoulder ... not writing ... you know, going MIA for basically an entire month. I'm really sorry if any of you took offense, and I'm particularly sorry that I hurt my grandmother's feelings! My apologies. *hugs*

Keepin' It Real

2010-11-18T03:39:00.012-06:00

My grandmother dropped me an email the other day that went something like (I'm paraphrasing), "I can't keep up with you on your blog if you don't write anything. So I'm emailing you instead." Well, there's no denying the truth in that one, now, is there. Let's just be honest, I haven't felt like keeping all of you in the loop, so I've given the blog the cold shoulder. Be offended if you want, but that'sthetruthscout'shonor.

Quite honestly, I started this post TWO WEEKS ago, if that tells you anything about my motivation as of late. Between you and me, I've been a little blue. Ordinarily, I think I would classify myself as a Glass Half Full kind of gal. But the end of October wasn't full of its usual joy and November hasn't necessarily been much better.

For those of you who are interested, click below for the Reader's Digest version. (Though some may dispute that the info's actually been digested.)

For those of you who are still with me after the "click here," congratulations! You've just won yourself a one-way trip down Whiney Road. So don't blame me if you feel like jumping out of the car when you get to the end - you've been warned. (Plus, this has to be THE longest post I've ever written. You're welcome!)

By all appearances, things were rocking along pretty well. Particularly in October. I mean, who can be down in the dumps when her husband orchestrates a huge birthday surprise? Or when her big show goes off without a hitch and raises the funds needed for the Christmas orchestra? Or when she gets to celebrate her tenth wedding anniversary? Or when she gets that commissioned piece in her hot little hand and gets to begin working towards that premiere?

Well, apparently, I CAN! The week after the big show closed, the Boss at Ye Olde Church Job brought us two paid singers into her office to deliver some news. Due to a financial crisis, ministries are being cut. "Decisions haven't been made about where the cuts will come, but there is serious talk about cutting full-time staff to part-time." So it only goes to follow that those of us who are part-time are likely on the chopping block. And generally speaking, when budgets get cut, music is always number one on the list. After several miserable weeks, the boss told us that she had received word that we would still be employed but couldn't speak to whether our hourly pay rate might be cut. Final word will come after our big Christmas program. This has proved quite a conundrum for the two of us. Do we stay? Do we go? This job has afforded us so, so many opportunities to sing some wonderful music. But I also can't help but feel a little burned out. IF I decided to give notice, it means that I could find a church that BOTH Derek and I would attend and perhaps (and most preferable) within the city in which we live. But then there's that part of me that feels that I owe it to the Boss to stick around. Decisions, decisions ... and I'm totally on the fence!

The silver lining is that Whitney and I started thinking about what we could do to supplement the income that we are likely to lose from the singing gig. We are both avid paper crafters (i.e. scrapbookers, cardmakers, etc.) and have spent many a weekend playing in the craft room. Individually, we have both toyed with the idea of turning our hobby into a marketable business but both of us found it too overwhelming to undertake on our own. Over breakfast one Sunday morning, Whitney pitched the idea of going into business together. Together we have ample resources and know-how to do so and the grand plans began taking shape. In just a few short weeks, we have formulated our business structure, our business plan, and our first product line. And we have been busy making the first round of products. (Another BIG reason that I haven't been blogging.) We will have two Open House parties in just a few short weeks. So if you're interested and don't think that you're on my radar for being invited, definitely shoot me an email or comment on this post (those come to my inbox too). Next week, we'll be sending out invitations for Open House, as well as for the launch of our website, where you will get exclusive sneak-peaks of all of our products, as well as have chances to win free product. Whitney and I are SUPER excited as are the friends and family we have told. So for those of you who have said, "I really think you should sell these cards," your wishes have been granted!

Last week, I was home all week long tending to my Floor Potato. Most of you know that Derek has been plagued with back problems off and on over the last five years or so. Sunday he complained of being uncomfortable, like he had slept funny or something. As the day dragged on, it got worse and he was even more uncomfortable. By the time he got ready to go to bed, it was uncomfortable even sitting in a chair. The next morning, he couldn't get out of bed without a great deal of pain. In fact, once he rolled out of bed (I'm not kidding!) and crawled to the bathroom, he didn't get back up off the floor until the following Sunday! Oy! I spread the cushions from the patio furniture, cushions which live in the house when we're not using them outside since they don't dry worth a damn when they get wet, on the floor in the den. And this is where Derek spent the rest of the week and most of the weekend. Hence the name Floor Potato. Long story short, the doctor thinks that it's a disc problem this time. Derek goes for an MRI today, so we'll know for sure and know the extent of the problem. And it will also tell us whether physical therapy will be effective. In the meantime, Derek's going to PT twice a week until further notice. Assuming it is a disc and it's not severe, PT should do the trick. If not, the next step is usually injections and then surgery. We're obviously hoping for the best!

The silver lining to being home tending to the Floor Potato all last week was that I got LOTS of stuff done around the house. I cleared up the clutter in the kitchen and kept up with the dishes. I scrubbed both of the bathrooms so that the tiles and other surfaces actually sparkle now. (That, my friends, took a lot of elbow grease. Why, oh why, do I let the bathrooms get so disgusting?!) And I purged and reorganized under all of the bathroom sinks. I cleaned out drawers in the bedrooms. I cleaned up the master closet. (Who knew that thing was THAT big?!) I reorganized the guest bedroom closet, which I use to store my seasonal decorations, as well as all of my wrapping supplies. And I did ALL of the laundry. Yep. ALL of it. (And you know how I feel about laundry!) I have a big hamper full of stuff to go to the cleaners. *shudder* I hate to think what THAT will cost me. But I can't even give stuff away until it goes to the cleaners, it's so wrinkled and who even knows if it was clean in the first place! And by the end of the week, all of the projects (I wanted to tackle) were mastered and I got to work on the card business stuff in the craft room. Yep. It was a productive week around the house. If it paid the same, I might consider being a housewife. *snort*

Let's throw in some other things for fun to wrap up this novel that I called the Reader's Digest Version of the last month of our lives. But pictures will make it better, right? Especially if they're mostly pictures of my cutie-pie nephew? *wink*

The Squirt dressed up as Tigger for Halloween. OMG, isn't he the cutest?!

And here he is with his birthday cupcake. Amazing how quickly a year has gone by!

And here's the Little Stinker on his baptism day (with mom & dad & the pastor). He was so good that Sunday and entertained us all. He only cried when mean ol' Aunt Susan tried to fish out the big hunk of paper he was chewing on from the bulletin (that SHE gave him!) from his mouth.

And, of course, I couldn't resist showing off (one of the very few) photos we have together. Nom, nom, couldn't you just eat those cheeks?? (His, not mine, silly!)

/longramblingReader'sDigestpost

Our Anniversary

2010-10-21T09:56:00.001-05:00

Ten years ago today, I married a knight in shining armor. Or perhaps he was a living saint. Whatever you'd like to call him, he married me for the person I was - warts & all. And trust me, there were, and still are, plenty of warts! Today's post is a tribute to ten years of marriage. It's had its ups and its downs, its good times and its bad times, its joys and its sorrows. But in the end, here we are. Ten years older. Ten years wiser. And ten years still married!

Poem adapted from "Anniversary Love Sonnet" by Joanna Fuchs
"When I Fall in Love" recorded by me and played at our wedding

Things: Installment 57

2010-10-15T05:47:00.002-05:00

Coming down off the show high, well, I'm a bit of an emotional mess. I'm glad that it's over. I'm sad that it's over. I'm a little anxious to get on with the next project. I'm glad to have nothing to do. So that's what this week's Things Series is all about.

Things You Should or Shouldn't Do After Completing a Big Project

You should definitely enjoy a day or two of doing absolutely nothing. It's very cathartic!
You should enjoy a long-overdue Girls Night Out - i.e. margaritas and shoes for our bunch. (On tonight's agenda!)
You should not, under any circumstances, read sappy love poems in search of the perfect one for your anniversary card! You will, most certainly, get teary-eyed if not shed a for-reals tear.
You should definitely not say goodbye to one of your closest friends before he leaves for active duty. You are in no state to handle such things. Tell him to come back next week and try again. (If only...)
You should not avoid housework. Those dust bunnies have built megaplexes in your absence. They must be stopped.
You should not wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat after dreaming about choreography. Enough already. You rocked it!
You should get crafty. I don't know about you, but a little ink on the fingers is good for the soul!
You should catch up on your long-neglected DVR. Your husband will thank you for freeing up the space he needs to record his very important cartoons.
You should definitely start working on your husband's anniversary gift. Particularly since you now know what you have to live up to in the expectations department!
You should do some laundry. The sniff test won't help you now.
You should enjoy time with friends. Kick back. Have a few. Chat. Giggle. Sing karaoke. You know, live a little!

WOW....

2010-10-11T18:39:00.000-05:00

That one little word sums up the entire weekend rather nicely. Two successful shows, a birthday, a surprise, and lots of friends and family. I am truly blessed!

Thank you to everyone who supported Side by Side by Sondheim in some form or fashion. Without each and every one of you, the show could not have been a success! Thanks to the other singers and accompanists who spent countless hours rehearsing. Thanks to Daon for your patience and tireless effort to turn us into Singers Who Can Move. Thanks to the behind-the-scenes folks for taking care of all the little details. Thanks to those of you who attended the performances or who, in absence, gave a donation. But most importantly, thank you to the spouses/significant others who loved and supported us through this tiring (and sometimes frustrating) process.

Aside from performing this weekend, I also celebrated another birthday. And on Saturday night, Derek surprised me after the show. For those of you who don't know Derek, he cannot buy a gift and hang onto it. It burns a hole in his pocket. So this year, he gave my gift to a friend to hang onto so he wouldn't be tempted to give it to me early. He (very easily) coerced friends and family to participate in surprising me after Saturday's show. Aside from a birthday this month, we will also celebrate our TENTH wedding anniversary. So he gave me beautiful roses and got down on one knee and proposed all over again. For those of you who know our original proposal story, this one was proper! *snicker* It was truly a very special evening.

Today, I've enjoyed a day of rest. I haven't done much of anything that I didn't want to do. Unless you count that trip to the DMV to get a new driver's license. *giggle* But that was actually pretty painless - in and out in 20 min. and that was AFTER going through the line twice because I neglected to complete a new form where they just about ask you what brand of underwear you wear. I even managed to avoid doing any household chores, though I should probably at least reconsider the laundry since I have no clean underoos for tomorrow. I kid. Kinda. *chuckle*

From the bottom of my heart, thanks, everyone! This was a spectacular weekend!

What Show Week Does to My Blurfing

2010-10-07T17:47:00.007-05:00

I'm pretty noidy about cleaning out my Google Reader. I know that comes as a shock to most of you! *snicker* Needless to say, most of this week, I've had more important things to do than read all of the blogs I follow. Here's what happens when I ignore GR for just two days....uggggh!

P.S. blurfing = blog surfing ... you're welcome

Things: Installment 56

2010-10-01T05:56:00.008-05:00

Have you bought your tickets for Side by Side by Sondheim yet? And why not?! Hmmmm??? *wink*

Still in show mode. Oh my, oh my! am I in show mode! So, as promised, another week of funny things from rehearsals.

More Things Overheard in Rehearsals

Wow! Well ... THAT was a trainwreck!!
I'm glad you're singing this one!
Three against two, two against three. Who's on first?
She: Don't forget about cross-cross-down-pop. [Blank stares] We: But aren't we on the bouncy song? [pause] [uprorious laughter] She: Oh ... right. Well, don't forget that NEXT time!
Come on, don't give up!
Dammit, wrong foot AGAIN!
I'll save my cry for later.
And that, folks, is how you panic your choreographer!
You realize we've only had one rehearsal for each of our numbers?!
Okay, now I'm a little scared.
Again?
I can't even think straight.
How much longer?
Can we go yet?
Um. No. That was wrong. But you were wrong together!
I give that one a "meh."
You got it.
Keep going.
Almost.

Things: Installment 55

2010-09-24T05:19:00.003-05:00

Since I'm in full-on show mode, the next several weeks of Things will be dedicated to all things Side by Side. You: But is there really that much material? Me: Of course! Plus, it's my show & I can plug it again (and again) if I want to! *wink*

Things Overheard in Rehearsal

No, Susan, your other left!
Well, if the divas don't want to sing it, of course they'll give it to someone else!
I won't lie, those shoes scare me a little bit.
You look a little stiff.
Just call me the dancing penguin.
I just pulled a Susan.
But my hips don't mooooooove like that.
Pardon me a moment, I have to go cry in the hallway.
Tim, you can just stand there for this part. *Tim all but dances a jig*
The last time I worked with a choreographer, I made her cry.
You want us to stroke his arm?
I swear that my lack of enthusiasm has nothing to do with you.
Right, this is a church production!

Dori's Humiliation

2010-09-23T20:34:00.002-05:00

Dori went to the groomer today to blow out her summer coat, which has been coming out in serious clumps all over the house for several weeks. They decided to dress her up today instead of giving her a bandana. She's not impressed ... in fact, she wouldn't even look at the camera!

Things: Installment 54

2010-09-17T05:10:00.026-05:00

This week we're gonna take a look at all of my nicknames. There have been quite a few through the years. Some are still in use, while others have gone on to the Place Where Dead Nicknames Go. (I have no idea where that is.)

Things People Have Called Me

Mrs. Johnson - My grandfather called me this. I have no idea why, but I gladly answered to it.
The Sus - This nickname was coined by my neighbor Kelli and has been adopted by our friend Bubbles.
Tinygrasshoppa - A group of my guy friends in college came up with this one. I can't really remember how it got started. But I can tell you that it must be said with your BEST accent. lol
Susan E. - My Granny calls me this. Most often when she has a point to make but sometimes when she just wants to get my attention.
Sus - Gosh, I've had this nickname forever. I have no idea who first coined it, but it's been adopted by friends and family alike & is the nickname by which most people refer to me.
Suzie Q - My childhood choir director, Ms. Becky, first coined this one. Several of my dear friends (hiya, Rachel V.) and coworkers still use it.
Goose - My dear friend Patrick came up with this one after I started calling him "Chicken."
Snuzan - My youth director Glenn gave me this nickname and still likes to use it every once in a while.
Midget - Derek's best friend from TCU gave me this name after which I started calling him Fat Man. Hey, all's fair!
Girlfriend - Derek's Pappaw first called me this. I think it was because he couldn't remember my real name but knew I was Derek's girlfriend. It became a bit of a joke after that.
Roomie - My college roommate Rachel still refers to me by the nickname she created for me all those many years ago while we lived in C-Town. (And when you go through what we went through together, you earn the right to call each other whatever you want!)
Midget Cricket - I actually don't know who first called me this. Maybe I gave it to myself? But I don't think so. Anyway, Derek & Skeet call me this everytime I drive the truck b/c, from behind, it doesn't look like there's anyone in the driver's seat.

You can call me by any of these and I will answer. BUT, under no circumstances should you ever, ever, EVER call me Sue!!!!! I just might come after you with a kitchen knife. Seriously.

Where the Heck ARE You?

2010-09-16T18:08:00.012-05:00

As you can see from my clear remiss in posting, I am most definitely in "show mode." Every moment of every day is spent working on some part of the show - from working on music to learning choreography to making cue books for the behind-the-scenes folks to assembling props and stage pieces, there really is no end. It is an all-consuming project, making it quite difficult to even think about anything else. I go to bed thinking about the staging for the more subtle pieces or choreography for a number I'm struggling with. I wake up in the middle of the night with some new idea or fear or *aha* something I'd forgotten. And then I get up and do it all over again the next day.

You: But, Grasshoppa. Why? It doesn't sound like any fun.
Me: ... Because I love it. For the sheer joy of doing it. For the challenge. For the growth that always comes from an endeavor like this one. And it really is fun. Still, there's a reason I have a "day job:" quite simply, as much as I love music, I could not pursue it as a full-time gig because it is too all-consuming. There would be nothing left for anything else. And I have lots of anything-elses that I enjoy doing when I'm not singing.

And I've done some of those anything-elses in the last several weeks, too. Labor Day was pretty low key. I worked in the home office some more. We had some friends over to watch football. I scrapbooked and made some cards. And I did have a rehearsal, but it was a fun one - we danced with umbrellas. In the front yard. The neighbors were entertained. But no one left us a tip. *sniff* Last weekend was (mostly) taken up with my high school reunion for which you will get to hear some hilarious stories later. Hmmm....maybe I can get Derek to do a guest post?? *hint, hint* That would be an entertaining tale of hillbillies and yuppies meetin' 'neath the ol' country pine at the Best Western!

I'll do my best to pop in a few times here and there over the next several weeks. But as the time to cram things in the noodle draws (too) quickly to a close, don't get too concerned if I go off the radar again. I'll meet ya back here on the flip side.

You're Invited!

2010-09-16T03:01:00.002-05:00

Curtains Up for Side By Side

By Sondheim Musical Revue

Side by Side by Sondheim, a musical revue featuring works by celebrated Broadway and film composer Stephen Sondheim, will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 9, and Saturday, Oct. 10, in the Sanctuary of Lake Highlands United Methodist Church.

This popular production features Sondheim songs from productions including A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, West Side Story, Follies, Evening Primrose, Gypsy, Anyone Can Whistle and Pacific Overtures. Although a gifted composer and lyricist in his own right, Sondheim collaborated with the likes of Leonard Bernstein, Mary Rodgers, Richard Rodgers and Jule Styne, producing some of the most memorable and entertaining songs in musical theater.

Featured performers will be Chancel Choir Soloists Susan Fox and Whitney Dewell, along with baritone Tim Marks. The ensemble will be accompanied by dual pianos played by Scott Ayers and David Morgan. Other cast members will include LHUMC Chancel Choir members Janelle Krumbholz, Staci Mannix and Mary Nell Tripp, with narration by Robert Temple. The show was choreographed by Daon Ward.

Tickets for Side by Side by Sondheim are $10 each for adults (13 years and older) and $5 for children (12 and younger), with a family maximum of $25. Tickets sales begin Sunday, Sept. 19, in the Narthex and the Refreshment Center prior to and after the Sunday school hour and after 11 a.m. worship services. They also will be sold from 5:30 p.m. till 6:30 p.m. Wednesdays in the Refreshment Center during the dinner hour at Wednesday Night Live! Or you may purchase tickets online through the church website: http://www.lhumc.com/.

Proceeds from Side by Side by Sondheim will benefit the LHUMC’s December 12 production, A Texas Christmas, featuring all church choirs. “Stephen Sondheim’s works are witty and wonderful,” explains Rev. Nicki Lyford, Minister of Music. “Bring your family and your friends and your neighbors, and enjoy an evening of memorable entertainment and fun.”

Things: Installment 53

2010-09-10T05:38:00.030-05:00

On the eve of my fifteen-year *gasp* high school class reunion, I thought it would be fun to walk down memory lane and see how much I've forgotten ... uh, I mean, how much I can remember. And just provide some general trivia. There will be a quiz later.

Things About High School

I graduated with 220 of my fellow classmates. That is about half of the number we started with as freshman.
I was in the photo that graced the front-page of the paper the following day. (Thanks to my aunt who happened to be the Staff Photographer at the time. And I suppose b/c I was sitting in the front row with the rest of the National Honor Society.)
I was 7th in my graduating class, just as I was when I graduated from 8th grade. (Yes, we have a junior-high graduation ceremony and name valedictorian and salutatorian, as well as the top 10.)
I can still sing and know all of the words to both the Fight Song and the School Song (as I proved to myself on the way to church last Sunday morning).
My brother and I have class reunions the same year - we graduated 5 yrs. apart.
My brother and I also graduated on the same day five years apart - May 26th.
My graduation ceremony was held in the rodeo arena. (I believe I've whined about this before.)
My high school's colors and my college's school colors are the same - blue & gold.
This will be the first class reunion that I've attended.
My class did not have a 10-yr reunion.
In 1995, my class won the most scholarship money of any class to have ever graduated from SSHS. (Since then, I think several classes have broken our record.)
Just as it did more than 15 yrs ago, the town still rolls up the streets on Friday nights when the 'Cats play football.
Just like the team of the 90s, our current high school football team is a Power House. The only difference? This generation has a State Football Championship to show for it.

Things: Installment 52

2010-09-03T06:55:00.049-05:00

Because it's been really quiet around the office for the last several weeks, I decided to take some personal time the end of last week. I was tired of just complaining about the wreck that we call a Home Office and decided to actually do something about it ... other than just move the piles around. So, how about we take a look at some of the (bizarre) things I've found stashed in the office?

Things I've Found While Cleaning Out the Home Office

Poultry seasoning - I kid you not! I'm guessing that this fell out of one of the bags that Derek took camping. Why was that bag in the office? Your guess is as good as mine.
Business cards - about 500 of Derek's, to be exact. Why on earth they're not in the box they came in beats the heck out of me. I'm sure they fell off the bookshelf at one point and no one (ahem) ever bothered to pick them up & put them back in the box.
An unopened bottle of baby oil - Um. I'm not even sure what to think about this find.
Computer programs - Which isn't so bad until you consider that they were all for PCs and we're a 100% Mac household!
Bills and statements from closed accounts - I really thought I'd purged all of the stuff from accounts we no longer have, but apparently, I missed a whole box of 'em.
Bills and statements from 2000 - Seriously, I think I can dispose of these now, don't you?
Old photos - I found some of my senior pictures, some photos from church camps in the late 90s, our engagement photos, and some of Derek's old photos from Disney, just to name a few. It was fun to walk down memory lane. They're now all in one box together to peruse again another day when I want to remember "the good ol' days."
A bottle of vitamins - I think Derek was hiding them from me so that I'd think he was actually taking them.
College scrapbook - I think I kept everything from my college days. I have papers that I wrote, newspaper clippings, certificates for making the Dean's List, rosters for civic organizations, notes from my roommate, etc., etc., etc. Man, I'm a packrat!!
Cards - Cards from wedding showers, from wedding gifts, from birthdays, from anniversaries, from holidays. Cards, cards everywhere! I won't lie, I looked at every single one of them & decided to keep some of them.
My baby book - My mom went on a cleaning streak at her house several years ago and brought me boxes and boxes of things that I'd left at her house or things that she'd found in the cedar chest that she thought I'd want. Clearly my mom liked documenting things as much when I was little as she does now b/c the entire book is full - not a single page left blank. So if I wanna know the first solid food I ate, it's in there. First word - check. First birthday present - check. First tooth - check.
Boxes - All because I thought I might need to keep them for warranty purposes. In hindsight, not. so. much. So all of those puppies went to the recycle bin. From old cell phones (like my first one that I bought in 1999) to Wii equipment to iPods (that are now defunct) to iPads (both of them) to ... well, you get the idea.
Old cell phones - Several of which were broken. Why on earth would I save phones that don't even work? But know what else I found? Those handy little cell phone recycler bags. Zipped those puppies in there and sent them to wherever those things go. Thank you, Sprint!

I think this gives you a pretty embarrassingly clear idea of the kind of crap I like to keep hanging around for years beyond its shelflife. Well, let me be the first to tell you, NO MORE! (And you all can remind me of this the next time I purge the office and give you a similar list of junk that I've ratted away for safe keeping.)

Catching Up

2010-09-02T05:18:00.007-05:00

I intended to write several posts ... over the weekend, earlier this week, yesterday. But, well, I just didn't. So there. Here's what's been going on, for those of you who have any interest. And if you don't have any interest in the sordid (boring) details of our lives, you should just click "mark as read" and move on. ha!

I took a coupla days off the end of last week. It was super quiet at the office, and I knew that this week would be crazy since we closed out FY09-10. Plus, Friday was a holiday (thanks to good ol' LBJ) so I didn't have to take personal time for that day. What did I do with my time off? Well, I'd like to tell you that I did something exciting, but I don't think cleaning out the home office counts. (However, cleaning out the home office did provide some good blog fodder, so come back tomorrow to check that out.)

I spent Thursday afternoon, all day Friday, and part of Saturday morning working in there. While I didn't get the home office put back together, I made HUGE progress. Like ... the closet is finally empty! (And if any of you had seen what the closet looked like before, you'd give me a big ol' pat on the back for gettin' that thing empty!) I managed to move a big four-drawer filing cabinet from the garage & get it in the closet ... all by myself. Gotta love the invention of the appliance dolly! And now said filing cabinet is beginning to fill with all of the stuff I intend to keep, like Derek's work stuff, tax returns, manuals (for everything under the sun ... yes, I'm weird like that & keep them all ... hey, you never know when you might need one), etc. etc. etc.

In the process of the office clean-up, I filled three big polycarts w/ junk. Plus, we filled the back of the truck with empty boxes (not all of which came out of the office but a good portion did) and made a run to the recycle center. Which, by the way, was an adventure in itself. City of Garland, do me a favor - empty your dang recycle bins once in a while! Lordy but that was ri. di. cu. lous!!

Now that the closet is finally empty and I've sorted through all but two of the boxes that we'd stashed away in there (some, I'm ashamed to say, had not seen the light of day since we moved into the house ... wait for it ... in 2003!!!! Sheesh!), I'm well more than halfway to a useable home office again. Oh blessed day, how I long to greet thee!

The rest of the weekend went by in a blur. We went boating with some friends on Saturday afternoon and then had them over for dinner & football. (Ugh. The Cowboys are suckin' this year! I think I'm gonna have to find a way to keep up with my Packers instead.) Sunday was the first full rehearsal for the show, and it went smashingly well. I can't tell you how excited I am! Wickedly good talent, if I do say so myself. It's gonna be a must-see. Really. So make your plans to come see it. Have I mentioned there will be dancing?? Choreographed by my friend??

Last night ushered in the new year for children's choirs. Oy! It's gonna be a challenging year. While I have quite a few 2nd graders to be good leaders, I have equally as many kindergartners. Very young kindergartners. Which means that I hold their attention for ... oh ... about 10 seconds. So that drastically alters how I'll conduct rehearsals this year. I'm still working out the finer details, but I can tell you that it's definitely gonna take My Thinking Cap to figure out how to keep us on track.

And that, my friends, sums up another exciting week.

/exceedinglyboringpostaboutthenothingnessofourlives

Not Too Shabby

2010-08-25T17:24:00.005-05:00

So ... in order to get my blood pressure meds refilled recently, I had to go visit my PCP. You may remember me whining about that in this post. ANYway, on that same visit, I also got orders to have some routine labs run since it had been a while since we'd done any. The nurse had to draw a ridiculous amount of blood, IMHO, to cover all of the labs that my PCP ordered - liver, kidney, thyroid, diabetes, cholesterol ... there may have been more. I've blocked it all out now. I finally called in today to see if the results were in. Long story short: I passed with flying colors. Well, except for that vitamin D. That was a bit on the low side, so I'll now be adding that horsepill supplement to the regimen. Oh joy of joys.

Wanna know how good the numbers looked? I suppose I'll induldge those (few) of you who may be curious. Here's a comparison of the last round (that I documented) and the most recent:

Stats (6/15/07)
BP 100/68
Total Chol - 181
Tri - 79
HDL - 61
LDL - 101

Stats (8/6/10)
BP 105/72
Total Chol - 180
Tri - 107
HDL - 61
LDL - 98

Things: Installment 51

2010-08-20T06:09:00.001-05:00

Since I've begun the arduous task of learning choreography for my upcoming show, I thought it would be fun to have a post all about dancing. Let the chassé-ing begin!

Some Things About Dancing

My first foray into learning any type of dance moves came very early, like before kindergarten, when I started twirling. I was part of a twirling studio and we went to various competitions around the state and competed. A little "Duck Dance" anyone??
Then there were the awkward years of junior high when we had dances, yet no one danced. Why? Probably because we were too afraid of making fools of ourselves. That changed in high school when we all said "screw it" and danced like the white folks we really were. lol Which basically means that we looked like flailing chickens, but we had a great time anyway.
And then in college, I got "serious" when I discovered the wonders of swing dancing. The Charleston, Lindy Hop, East Coast and West Coast styles ... I loved them all (and still do!). I even went to workshops to learn new techniques and tricks. And dragged my best friend along with me. Jarrod was such a good sport! And it was wicked fun.
There was a group of us in college who would go to Dallas every week to swing dance. The Red Jacket and The Sand Castle were our favorite haunts. I was sad to see the mainstream craze die out just after I moved to Dallas permanently.
I received my first "real" dancing injury while swing dancing. Fell on my head trying out the "death drop." I swear I heard tweety birds when my head hit the ground!
And I received my second, more serious, injury also while swing dancing when I tore my achiles. It was a microtear, but it was still very painful and still meant 8 weeks on crutches. And sadly, I never went back to swing dancing after that.
While I would say I was pretty good at swing dancing, I've never really claimed to be a good dancer. Exhibit A - the sad tale of my first theatre dance audition. Laughable, to say the least.
I know very few actual step names, unless they're somehow related to swing dancing. In fact, the only classical one I know without thinking about it is included in this post.
My hands and my feet often do exactly what they're NOT supposed to do. Right, Daon? lol
I have to write down choreography in order to learn it and remember it. Even the simple steps. This is something that should be done AS you're learning it. Don't ask me why I know this.
Come see the show in October and judge for yourself whether or not I pass or fail at dancing. Either way, I know I'm gonna have a rockin' good time! (Show info over --> there in the sidebar)

School of Hard Knocks

2010-08-18T13:28:00.007-05:00

So I had an interesting evening at the gym yesterday.

You: What's so interesting about the gym?
Me: Well, I learned something.
You: Oy, this is gonna be a good one!
Me: Probably.

For the last several months, I've been on a different training schedule - one hard hour a week rather than two. Yesterday, we switched back to our regular three-day-a-week schedule & bumped up our Tues. session to an hour instead of 30 min. I typically do about 20-25 min. of cardio before my weight training, and yesterday was no exception.

Knowing that I was doing a full leg workout yesterday, I took the elliptical at an easy pace - only doing about 1.6 mi - for the 20 min. or so that I was up there. A casual stroll by my standards. Then we hit the legs really hard. We bumped up both weight and reps on everything, and about halfway through, I was really feeling it. Dadgum, my legs were burnin'! And man, was I tired! Pathetic.

Now 45 min. in to my session, I'm on a set that alternates one of the hamstring machines with oblique drops. I do fine on the first two sets of the machine, but on my second set of the oblique drops, I got this sudden wave of UhOhIDon'tFeelSoGood. At the time, my trainer was telling me a story, and I was doing my best to focus on what she was saying at the same time I was focusing on PleaseDon'tPuke.

My trainer must have known something was amiss. In a matter of minutes, she had asked me if I was okay, asked me when I ate last, and when I answered "lunch," ran to the snack counter for a protein bar which I took without even reading the label because ... well, at that moment, not passing out and/or puking in the gym was preferred to whatever ramifications I might suffer later if said bar contained wheat. About halfway into the beloved bar of chocolate heaven, I felt much better. (And no, it didn't contain wheat b/c my trainer is awesome & read the label for me!) Crises averted - no puking OR passing out!

So let this be a lesson to you: if you know you're in for a hard workout in the evening, be sure you have a snack about 4ish! Duh!!

Things: Installment 50

2010-08-06T17:08:00.107-05:00

I would love to come at you with something a little more ... interesting, but unfortunately for you, I'm still on a whining kick. So if you're looking for rainbows and unicorns, you might just want to step aside and read the next pole at the train station 'cause I'm in rare form today.

Things I Have to Whine About

While the story of the a/c replacement/repair is still fresh on our minds, I thought I would add a little tidbit that I neglected to mention in my previous rant. We've been in our house 7 yrs. Most a/c units have 10 yr warranties - ours being no exception. So we stood to have at least a 3 yr credit towards the new attic unit. *clap, clap* *sarcastic laugh* Um. Yeah. Funny thing about that. When they ran the serial number, it turns out that our particular unit is 11 yrs old. Yep. You read that right. ELEVEN YEARS OLD!!!!!!!! I pitched a major hissy fit, as you can imagine, because WTH, dude. Let's just say that the rest of the rant looked a little something like !@#$%^&*. Needless to say, no credit towards the new unit. *sigh*
My allergies are on full tilt again. I either toss & turn all night or I sleep like a rock only to wake up and feel like I haven't slept at all. And there's the crusted-shut eyes and the ooky stuff in the schnoz. BUT it's a little bit better than a few weeks ago (for those of you who got tired of my whiny posts on Facebook). Not that I'm whining any less.

OMG, can it get any HOTTER?! You: hello, Captain Obvious, we know! Me: But I want to whine about it, and it's my blog so I'm gonna. *sticks tongue out* Besides, when your thermometer says something like this (see photo), who wouldn't want to whine about it! Yes, my friends, that says 108. And I had been driving for a while so it's not like it was me sitting in my boiling garage or anything. Oy! (Photo too small for you? Click on it)
Then, this morning I went to see my PCP b/c he wouldn't call in a refill on one of my scripts at the pharmacy unless I came in to see him. I hate those visits b/c they're a waste of time. Sure, sure. I understand that it's standard, but can't I just "phone it in??" When I scheduled my appointment, the receptionist said, "we'll get you in and out since it's just a routine visit." You know, I should learn to buckle my seatbelt and hang on for the ride when I hear things like that from a doctor's office b/c that phrase right there is sure to tack on AT LEAST 45 min. So for that 5 min. that I spent with the doc, I spent a total of 60 min. in the exam room waiting. And for those of you who know me, waiting is not something I'm good at. At all. Good thing they took my blood pressure first thing!
And for some icing on that dr. visit cake, I saw the creepy Pony Tail Guy from my building when I was at the hospital. And not just once but going both in & out of the building. AND he almost ran me over in the parking garage. I could've gone all year without seeing that guy!
And to make matters even better, after the marathon at the doctor's office I pull into the train station right as the train is pulling in. Which basically means that there was no way in hell I was going to make that train. Which meant that I would have to wait another 20 min. for the next one. Ozone day be damned, I'm driving to work! And I like driving to work (and paying the ridiculous fare to park) about as much as I like waiting.
You know that show I'm scheduled to sing in October? One of my accompanists pulled out of the show. Now I'm scrambling to find a replacement. Do people answer their emails and voicemails anymore? Or is business now conducted only through Facebook? Lordy.

It's almost too hot to go to the lake. But then we would miss great photos, like this one, of us piling into the truck with our intertubes. Nice! (Good thing Kelli doesn't read my blog, huh? *wink*)

Yes, Thank You, I'll Take That Cheese Now

2010-08-05T05:39:00.012-05:00

Or, in the alternative, How to Spend a Ridiculous Amount of Money Without Really Trying. Background. July 15th was going to be one of those days. Derek calls me mid-morning to tell me that the a/c was blowing moderately cool air and the house was getting warmer by the minute. He calls the repair company we contract regular maintenance service with and they say they can make it out sometime that afternoon. The great sit-and-wait game may now commence.

Around 11ish, I get the long-awaited phone call from my mom telling me that my grandfather had passed away and would Derek agree to be a pallbearer. I hang up with her, after miraculously holding my sh** together, and call Derek only to lose it when I actually get him on the phone to break the news / pose the question to him. Nice. I just love falling apart at work! But it couldn't be helped! So we make plans for me to head to East Texas that afternoon, where I would spend the remainder of the weekend helping with the arrangements and just generally "being there" for my mom.

The a/c repairman comes a little after lunch. There's good news and bad news. Good news: your compressor is fine. Bad news: you have a freon leak & I don't have time to do the full repair today. It took 5 lbs. of freon to refill the unit & get things cooling properly. "This should last you until Monday when I come back." For $250 plus a service call, IT BETTER!!!!

Fastforward. I head to East Texas early Friday morning. Saturday morning my brother is scheduled to move (a whole saga unto itself) and I've asked Derek to help him since none of the rest of us would now be available to be the moving crew. Like every good BIL, he dutifully helps my brother swap houses in the heat. He gets home mid-afternoon, and soon after, my cell rings. "It's hot in here again." My response. Um. Yeah. Well. Not really suitable for reprint. Let's just say it was something like, "YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!" Another call to the a/c company. Another service call. Another round of freon. "We'll just add this one to the repair bill for Monday." Oh. Gee. Thankshowkindofyou!

Fastforward. Repairman comes to fix the bloody unit on Monday. "I've got good news and bad news." Gee. Where've I heard that before?! *insert monstrous eyeroll* Bad news: it's not just one freon leak; it's five - one large leak, a medium-sized one, and at least three small ones. There's no way to repair it; the only option is to replace the entire attic unit. Good news: this fixes your problem with the heater pulling too much amperage. Oh. Right. The proverbial two birds with one stone thing. Am I supposed to feel better? 'Cause... Not. So. Much. Especially after I hear what it's gonna cost me. *cough, hack, gag* wewon'tevengothere

So ... yes, I will take some cheese with that whine. And perhaps I will have that while riding in the waaaaaaaaaa-am-bu-lance. B/c dude. This was So. Not. In. The. Budget!!!!!

Tap, tap, tap

2010-08-04T17:07:00.002-05:00

Is this thing on?? I've always wanted to work that into a post. *grin* I'm sure the few of you who are still subscribing to posts have been wondering what happened to me. The ol' blog has been silent for well over two weeks. I'll give you the Reader's Digest version: my grandfather passed away on July 15th and I just haven't really felt like writing. BUT lots of things have been happening in the last several weeks, and I've had the posts ruminating. So "we're back in the saddle again." Hold on, though, it might get a little bumpy!

Save the Date

2010-08-02T17:55:00.001-05:00

I will be starring in a full-scale Broadway show this fall. I would love to see you in the audience!

Side by Side by Sondheim
Saturday, October 9, 2010 - 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, October 10, 2010 - 7:30 p.m.
Tickets: $10/person
Reserve tickets by emailing:
lhumcsondheimtickets(at)gmail(dot)com
LHUMC, Dallas
Map

What's Better than a Pool???

2010-07-12T05:18:00.006-05:00

So we've had many discussions about the proposed backyard project. We've hemmed and we've hawed. We've flipped and we've flopped. And when push came to shove, we made a decision. And, of course, it all hinged on finances.

When you're planning to undertake such a huge (and expensive) project, it goes without saying that it has to be affordable without hardship. When the "ballpark estimate" from several companies came back roughly in the range of $60-70,000 for our "dream set-up," well, let's just say that was a wee bit more than we had anticipated. And after some preliminary inquiries with our preferred lender, it didn't take long to see that now is just not the right time.

Does that mean that we won't do another makeover on the backyard? Nope. In fact, the outdoor kitchen is still on the table. BUT after much discussion, we both came to the conclusion that we have a nice set-up right now and can take the next year or so designing the ideal outdoor kitchen, which is the affordable part of the whole plan. The pool? Well, we'll stick with the blow-up version for now. *wink*

So ... with that decision firmly made, we put another option back on the table.

For about a year, Derek has been trying to talk me into getting a truck. You may recall that we had a truck and got rid of it to replace Derek's work vehicle. It worked for us financially at the time, but we quickly came to realize just how much we used the truck. Who knew?! So Derek pulled out his folder of research (not really) and went to work. It didn't take him long to find his "dream truck." And let's face it, if you're gonna buy one, you might as well get the one they want. YKWIM?

Meet the newest addition to our vehicular family.

Who needs a pool when you can pull a boat & go to a bunch of pools (or lakes, as the case may be)?! *wink* Now all we need is a boat! LOL!

Speaking of Bonuses...

2010-07-10T07:57:00.001-05:00

I forgot to mention that I got a bonus at work. It was a nice sum, even after Uncle Sam took his share. So I bought myself a toy. Wanna see??

That's right, my friends, I bought myself an iPad. I won't lie. When I bought Derek's iPad, I talked about how silly it was to have one of these things. I mean, when you have an iPod touch, what need do you have for a bigger version of one? Then Derek made me sit down with his iPad and try it out. And I was hooked. Reading really is easy on the eyes and movies look superb. It's gonna be great for my commutes to/from work, not to mention on our future trips.

Things: Installment 49

2010-07-09T07:56:00.000-05:00

So ... you may have noticed my absence from the ol' blog-o as of late. No reason in particular. Just haven't sat down & taken the time to catch you up on things. So I'll take this edition of Things to bring you up-to-date. You'll see that you haven't missed all that much. *wink*

Things We've Been Up To

A couple of weeks ago, I went to the Rangers game with some girlfriends - a girls night at the Ballpark, if you will. We had a terrific time. Despite the fact that the Rangers tanked on their winning streak. And despite the rain (score on those seats under cover!).

We happened to go to the Ballpark on a night with fireworks scheduled after the game and it just happened to be the night that the fireworks were set to Michael Jackson tunes. The show was spectacular! And we got to park for FREE. Extra bonus!

We finally met with a couple of pool contractors (a couple more to go) about the possibility of adding an outdoor kitchen & pool out back. It's becoming pretty clear that now is not the greatest time to undertake such a huge project. But we'll see how it shakes out once all four contractors have weighed in. I suspect the outdoor kitchen will likely happen since it's not ridiculously expensive. Oh, it's expensive but just not eye-popping, jaw-dropping expensive. (Honestly, I would much rather save all that cash for traveling anyway, YKWIM??)

The 4th holiday was relatively quiet. I had sushi with the girls on Friday. Derek spent most of the weekend working and I spent the rest of the weekend catching up on housework. A little boring perhaps but it was nice to have a quiet weekend with no place to go. It was also my last weekend at Ye Olde Church Job until mid-August. We didn't attend any 4th festivities. But we did cook out with some friends on Monday.

This week has been pretty quiet too. In fact, Tuesday I fell asleep on the couch at 7. Pathetic! But my allergies are on full tilt again and that always makes me extra tired.

Right now, as I type this, I'm waiting on a repair person to fix our garage door. Apparently when the door closed last night, it was for the last time. It's so broken that it can't even been raised manually. Bummer. Hopefully it's a simple fix that isn't too expensive. I don't relish the idea of buying a new garage door, but I suppose there are worse things??

We don't have much on the agenda for this weekend either. Derek's on call as are two of his big cutters so he'll likely be working again. I have grand plans to get in the home office and do some serious cleaning/tossing/purging. We shall see how that goes. I gotta find our tax info for the last two years. I'm hoping that the bottomless pit in there hasn't eaten it! *wink*

Things: Installment 48

2010-06-25T05:16:00.049-05:00

Things I Love About Summer - A Photo Essay
(click on the links to go to the original posts)

It's time for some of my favorite critters to start hatching. Did I ever tell you about my childhood collection of the cicada "shells?" Oh how I loved plucking these babies from the trees (or wherever else they chose to hatch)!!!

These lovely jewels (rainbow beetles a/k/a great horned beetles to some a/k/a doodoo rollers to the rest of us (I kid you not!)) are also summertime roamers. We don't see many (if any??) of these in The Big City, but I used to see them a LOT on the farm. Fascinating little buggers.

Another summertime fave of mine. Used to watch these guys buzz around while fishing in my grandparents' pond. Dragon flies are so entertaining. Have you ever really watched them?? Good times!

For the most part, I can say with absolute certainty that I don't really miss The Country Life. I like living in The Big City. Close to everything I want to partake of, whether it's shopping or eating or enjoying leisure activities. I certainly don't miss the malodorous wisps of Dairy Barn floating on the summer air. BUT I DO miss the smell of fresh-cut hay. And I'm sorry, but you just can't find much of THAT here in The Big City!

Oh how I LOVE home-grown tomatoes. Is there anything better than a yummy E. Texas tomato fresh-sliced & covered with salt & pepper? I can't think of anything myself.

And while we're talking about vegetables, I love summer veggies cooked on the grill. Oh my! Don't get me wrong, we grill veggies all year, but they're so much better when you can get local-grown squash and zucchini and cook it fresh. Delish!

Wanna know my other favorite thing about summer??? I get to look up all of the cool creepy crawlies in the Texas Field Guide to Common Insects. LOVE!! (And it just happens to be available online now. Score!)

Restaurant Review

2010-06-23T05:06:00.052-05:00

Several of my co-workers took me out for a little appreciation lunch yesterday. I got to pick the restaurant so I suggested one of the restaurants that mom & I have talked about trying for quite some time - Kozy Kitchen. It's received quite a bit of press over the last several years and particularly in the gluten-free community. You see, one of the owners/chefs in the restaurant has gluten sensitivity, so 98% of the menu is gluten-free or has gluten-free substitutions. They buy local, farm-fresh ingredients - everything from fresh seasonal farmers market veggies to grassfed beef to free-range chicken. They bake all of their gluten-free bread in-house, and every dessert at Kozy is gluten-free. I opted for the beef burger on gluten-free bread with grilled summer vegetables. The thick burger was cooked to perfection and the bread held its own against the tomato and thick sandwich. The seasonal veggies, consisting of summer squash, zucchini, onions, a variety of bell peppers, finger-thin asparagus pieces, and mushrooms, were well-seasoned but a tad al dente for my liking. But that didn't stop me from eating most of them. *grin* We opted for the Oh My God cake for dessert, and OMG was it good!!! It's a chocolate cake with layers of peanut butter mousse, a brownie center, topped with cream cheese frosting, powdered cocoa, and fresh-shaved white chocolate. It was surprisingly light and even more delicious than even I could have anticipated. We took some macaroons to go and I had one later in the afternoon. It did not disappoint either. It was delectably crunchy on the outside and soft, sweet, and slightly gooey on the inside. It was like having the perfect (coconut) truffle.

I give Kozy Kitchen 2 BIG thumbs up, and I cannot WAIT to go back & try their gluten-free breakfast menu (which is served every day until 3 p.m.)!

Weekend Roundup

2010-06-22T19:06:00.000-05:00

The weekend went by in a whirlwind for us. What about you guys?

Saturday was my brother's birthday. My SIL planned a surprise party for him, and it was Derek's job to keep David occupied all day. They played golf & had a late lunch and then Derek took him home to meet his fate. LOL! Poor guy, he was all hot & sweaty from playing golf and was looking forward to a shower & a nap. Little did he know what awaited him. But he took the surprise like a champ and enjoyed the festivities with friends & family.

I headed from the surprise party to an outdoor wedding that I was hired to sing. You know, the thing about sunset weddings is that they're better when it's not so damn HOT! Lordy, lordy. We about melted into grease spots until the sun sunk below the horizon and even then it was steamy. But all survived and the bride & groom are now happily wed.

I got a reprieve from Ye Olde Church Job on Sunday so I spent most of the day cleaning house. It had been a while since I'd cleared out the dust bunnies, and OH MY. They were no longer bunnies. They were two-ton gorillas with attitude! But me and the Rainbow beat those puppies into submission and all is well with the world again. haha

The inlaws came over later in the afternoon to celebrate Father's Day. We enjoyed a wonderful steak dinner compliments of Chef Derek and a lovely visit. They were finally able to see some of the improvements we've made to the house, and they really loved them. We've been thoroughly pleased with the patio and the new floors, and it's always good to hear when other people enjoy them as much as we do. Of course, we didn't get to enjoy the patio to its full potential that evening b/c it was so bloody hot (the patio gets the hot western sun). So we'll definitely have to have them over in the fall when the weather is nicer.

Albeit a busy weekend, it was great to get to spend it with both dads.

Things: Installment 47

2010-06-18T05:31:00.005-05:00

So last week's post generated some interest in what kind of exercises my trainer has me doing. I thought it might be interesting to take a little looksy at some of my harder workouts from the last year that left me *ow, ow, ow-ing* the next day.

Things I Do in My Workouts

Legs 09/26/09 (3 sets of ea.)

Step-ups: 1 min.
Lunges around gym: 1 lap
Box pushes (10 lb weighted box): back/forth twice
Box jumps: 15
Sit-ups w/ bar: 20 w/ 8 lbs
Wall sits: 30 sec.
Squats w/ bar: 20 w/ 8 lbs
Calf raises: 100
Leg lifts: 30

Back & biceps 10/20/09 (3 sets of ea.)

Rear fly: 15 w/ 5 lbs
Back flutters: 25
Arch ups: 20
Good morning sunshines: 12 w/ 40 lbs
Standing obliques: 30 w/ 10 lbs
Bicep curls: 15 w/ 10 lbs
Assisted pull-ups: 12 w/ 125 lbs

Chest, triceps, & abs 11/20/09 (3 sets of ea.)

Tri pull-down: 15 w/ 20 lbs
Elevated push-ups: 12
Jumping jacks: 25 w/ 2.5 lbs
Bar push-ups: 15
Dips: 20
In & outs (abs): 25
Alt. crunches: 20
Reg. crunches: 50

Legs 04/30/10 (3 sets of ea.)

Leg press: 12 w/ 140 lbs
Wall sits: 30 sec
Lunges: 50
Step-ups w/ punch: 15 w/ 5 lbs
Squat w/ press: 20 w/ 5 lbs
Up/downs: 12
Box pushes (70 lb weighted box): back/forth twice
Kneeling leg curl: 15 w/ 10 lbs
Jumping jacks: 25
Hip adduction: 25 w/ 50 lbs
Hip abduction: 25 2/ 65 lbs
Hip raises w/ bar: 10 sec w/ 25 lbs

Back & biceps 06/03/10 (3 sets of ea.)

Bicep curls: 15 w/ 10 lbs
Bent over row: 12 w/ 60 lbs
Ball throw: 25 w/ 10 lbs
Plank w/ lat raise: 10 w/ 5 lbs
Assisted pull-ups: 15 w/ 120 lbs

Chest, triceps, & abs 06/17/10 (3 sets of ea.)

Bar pushups: 15
Dips: 20
Skull crushers: 12 w/ 30 lbs
Pec fly: 12 w/ 30 lbs
Jumping jacks: 20
Shoulder press: 12 w/ 30 lbs
Tri pull-downs: 12 w/ 25 lbs
Plank: 30 sec/ 45 sec/ 45 sec
Crunches: 25
Tuck-ups: 20
Leg lift (incline): 15

So ... what do you guys do in your workouts???? Let's commiserate. *grin*

Things: Installment 46

2010-06-11T05:01:00.072-05:00

So ... one of my fellow bloggers Tess is on a Health Kick. And after squeezing myself into my swimsuit by means that are appropriately known as the Swimsuit Wiggle Shake Shuffle Readjust the last two weekends, I must admit that I have quickly joined her. With the ol' Swimsuit Dance displaying vividly in my mind, I thought it would be fun to see where I was when I started training more than a year ago compared to where I am today.

Now. Before I put all of this out there, let's be clear about one thing. I may be thin, but there are a multitude of sins hidden under my clothing. So don't go straight to the I Can't Believe She's Even Going There eyeroll. Safe to say that it's gonna be a while before this bod goes anywhere other than the backyard blow-up pool in a two-piece!!! Jiggles & cellulite ... nuff said!

Drumroll, please ......................

BEFORE personal training
Weight: 123 lbs
Chest: 36"
Shoulders: 37.5"
Waist: 31.5"
Hips: 37.75"
Biceps: 9.5"
Thigh: 18.25"
Calves: 12.5"

AFTER personal training for 12 mos.
Weight: 123 lbs
Chest: 32.5"
Shoulders: 38"
Waist: 28.75"
Hips: 34"
Biceps: 10.5"
Thigh: 21"
Calves: 12.75"

Cutie Head Moment #5,213

2010-06-10T17:56:00.005-05:00

Today's Cutie Head Moment is brought to you by .... The Traveling Sewing Kit: Never leave home without one!!! So have you ever had this feeling that there was just a little too much wind blowing up your skirt?? Yeah, so my walk from the bus stop to the office building this morning was a bit more "aired out" than I would have liked.

It all started with my choice of wardrobe. I put together this cute little number with a knee-length pencil skirt & cute tweed jacket & some of my favorite animal-print heels. Now, the skirt has a slit up the back. I knew this when I put it on. When one wears a pencil skirt, there naturally has to be a slit in some part of the skirt to allow freer movement. Otherwise, you look like a penguin waddling around with your itty bitty baby steps. Anyway, point is the skirt has a slit up the back. I think you can see where this is going, but for your entertainment, let's continue, shall we?

Aside from said slit, this particular pencil skirt has this annoying tendency to ride up a little bit as you walk b/c of the way that it's cut to sit at the hips and b/c it's got a little stretch to it. So you have to watch The Ride, as I like to call it, otherwise you look goofy with your skirt creeping up to your boob pits from its appropriate place at the hips. I, of course, got to stand at every stop light this morning to wait for it to turn, which should have been a good thing, right? I did my little Get Back Down Here skirt adjustment ... in a casual kinda way so as not to draw attention to the fact that Yes My Skirt Is Riding a Little High Thankyouverymuch. Still, things felt a bit ... exposed, but sadly that didn't really register at the time.

So I get into my building, go through security, walk through the office lobby, talk to the security guard, and head to my desk all the while thinking, gee, something just Doesn't. Feel. Right. So I put my stuff down & decide to check things out. And that's when I realized ... the slit in my skirt is no longer the 4 inches it was intended to be. Oh no, it had come unhemmed ANOTHER 4 inches. And oh yeah, you guessed it, my arse was clearly & plainly visible for all the world to see. Nice. And how many people did I see on my way from the bus to the office this morning?! Again, I'm just thankful that I listened to that Little Voice in my Head that said, 'You really should wear the little boy shorts today.' Of course, I was thinking that was a good idea from the standpoint of my tendency to have Shoe Mishaps. Little did I know that it would save me a tiny bit of humiliation once I discovered that I'd been airing my arse to the world!

And that's why I'm very glad to a) have a sewing kit in my desk and b) have a vague knowledge of how to fix my Slit Up to the Cheeks problem. The slit in my skirt is now back to its appropriate length ... if not a wee bit shorter, you know, out of an overabundance of caution & all. And now you have yet another ridiculous story to tell about my crazy wardrobe malfunctions which ultimately lead to my flashing the entire world. You're welcome.

Catching Up

2010-06-08T20:54:00.001-05:00

Various & assundary things have kept me from sitting down to write about everything we've been up to in the last two weeks. And since things aren't going to slow down at least for another week or two, I figure there's no time like the present. Right?

We have to go back to Memorial Day to get you all caught up. Gosh, has it really been that long? Whew. We made the most of our long weekend. Derek played in a charity golf tournament on Saturday morning and then we headed out on the boat w/ my brother, SIL, and nephew that evening. We had a great time tootling around Ray Hubbard and just getting to visit. Since Derek's birthday fell on a Tuesday this year, we opted to have his annual birthday bash over the long holiday weekend rather than the traditional weekend after his birthday. So...twenty(ish) of our closest friends came over on Sunday for a cookout. Lord, was it HOT! But the beverages were cold and we had a good time anyway. It's always nice to spend time with family & friends - some of whom we had not seen in a loooooooooong time. Monday we loafed around & did a whole lotta nothin. And I spent part of the afternoon in the white trash pool with Kelli. Did I mention that it was HOT?!

Last week went by in a slow blur (is that possible?) and we were already at the weekend again. My brother & Derek played a round of golf on Saturday. They left bright & early (before 7 a.m.!) while I spent the day at a scrapbook convention in Arlington with my mom. Oh my. That was an experience! Never have I seen so much product all in one place. Impressive. I actually exercised some pretty good self-restraint. I know you're surprised! (And so is Derek!!) *wink* It was bloody hot on Sunday so I got out my own white trash pool for the first time this summer and Kelli & I sat and soaked in the nice cool pool all afternoon. And that led to conversations about how our yard would be perfect for a pool & since we are already planning on building an outdoor kitchen/entertaining area wouldn't it be perfect to do both at the same time. So yeah, we're considering the idea. But I make no promises, people!

Happy Anniversary

2010-06-08T05:43:00.001-05:00

Please join me in wishing my parents a very happy 36th wedding anniversary today!

Things: Installment 45

2010-06-04T05:01:00.043-05:00

I admit it. I'm doing a total give-up this week on a topic and totally stealing this idea from my friend. I thought it would be fun to see if I, too, have interesting friends. Can you figure out who they are??

Things About the People I Know

A singing CPA who has scuba dived in just about every major body of water on the planet
Spent a year in Italy
Part of orthopedic practice specializing in podiatry
Dating a multimillionaire
Lived in Spain
Gave birth to twins in Naples
Met Rob Pattinson
Has almost as many shoes as I do & just happens to wear my size (in both shoes & clothing...score!)
Will trade wife for good IPA
Is a classically trained pianist
Has been published in a scrapbooking magazine
Leaving on six-week tour of Europe
First-generation American with a voice (and the looks) to launch ... well, you know
A retired professional gymnast
Geneticist who worked on breast cancer research at UT Southwestern
Married to a nuclear physicist

Open Letter

2010-06-03T18:13:00.002-05:00

Dear Network Execs at CBS:

You suck! I realize this is nothing new. You're very well used to hearing that by now. But it doesn't make it any less a fact. You're cancelling my favorite Friday night show: Numb3rs. No more Colby. No more Don. No more interesting math facts. Why???!! I realize that ratings have slumped a little, but it's not a true reflection of your fanbase. And you left so much of the storyline hanging. Why not wrap it up? Or at least wrap it up a bit neater. I mean, it's not like you didn't know this would be the last season. I'm sure you probably knew from the get-go this season.

I don't hold out much hope for any type of quality replacement. About the only things you have going for you now are NCIS and NCIS: Los Angeles. Sink those two shows and you're sunk!

Rest in peace, Numb3rs. You will be missed!!!

Happy Birthday, Derek!

2010-06-01T05:18:00.002-05:00

Happy birthday to my sweet hubby who turns 30-something today! Love ya, babe!

(P.S. I thought this picture was appropriate since we're all roasting here in DFW! Definitely dreaming of winter skiing about now!!!!)

Things: Installment 44

2010-05-28T05:28:00.001-05:00

Today we wrap up our 4-week series on Celiac Awareness Month. Celiac disease and gluten sensitivity have been getting lots of press lately. So I thought I'd link you up to all the latest news.

Things In the News (Celiac Awareness Month)

The National Restaurant Association met this week. For the second year in a row, they have done special sessions on celiac disease and gluten sensitivity. As a general rule, the NRA (not to be confused with The NRA) does not allow special interest topics to be repeated, but they felt that the need to educate the restaurant industry about the growing concerns for those with food allergies outweighed their long-standing No Repeats Rule. The Celiac Chics have a great post about the special panel discussion. It's clear that the NRA is taking this seriously. (And it's about time!!!)
USA Today had a special insert several weeks ago. This 16-page insert gives the general public a (very) brief overview of celiac disease and all of its ramifications - from general health to eating out to coping - and even highlights a few celebs with the disease.
Did you know that many of the pro athletes affected by gluten sensitivities have banded together, in conjunction with the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness, to form Athletes for Awareness?
Did you know that many sports venues are now accomodating those with food allergies by having dedicated vendor locations for allergen-free food?
There are a number of celebrities who are raising awareness, including Elizabeth Hasselbeck (The View), Keith Olbermann (MSNBC), Sarah Jane Smith (LPGA), and AJ Clemens (USSA).

I hope you've enjoyed this brief foray into the world of gluten and that you've learned a little something along the way! Thanks for tagging along

Dangerous Footwear

2010-05-27T20:12:00.001-05:00

This Cutie Head Moment brought to you today by Sex and the City 2. So I saw this fantastic pair of shoes on a website commonly known around our house as My Shoe Crack. These drool-worthy shoes, known as The Charlottes, were a part of a line-up being featured prior to the SATC movie premier. As soon as I saw them, I knew they had to join My Collection. They arrived in all their glory on my doorstep on Wednesday night, which means I had to wear them immediately. *wink* These are knock-out in person and are really comfortable too, not to mention easy to walk in, which is geat considering The Trail of Tears that I must walk from the bus stop to my office building each day. So here I am. On said Trail. Tottering along in my sexy shoes and super-cute Charlotte-esque outfit. Along the way, I'm having this funny conversation with myself about how nice and clean the sidewalk is today and isn't that nice since it means there aren't any tiny rocks or acorns along the way for me to slip on and how I might actually get to the office today without having some kind of not-so-graceful incident involving said obstacles. I'm making my final crosswalk when it happened. Oh yes. You know. I had an epic fail in The Walking Department. Just as I was stepping up from the street to the sidewalk in front of my building, my left ankle did Its Thing. That thing where it just mysteriously goes all cattywompass and in the process I do a little wobble-stumble just barely catching myself before I fall and I'm pretty sure that the guy passing by, who casually asked if I was alright with the biggest smile on his face evah, probably caught a glimpse of my oh-so-cute Charlotte-esque undies. (At least I was wise and chose the boy shorts rather than The Usual, which let's just say doesn't cover that much!) Thank you, sir, and have a nice day.

Things: Installment 43

2010-05-21T04:33:00.001-05:00

Today, we're on post No. 3 out of 4 in honor of Celiac Awareness Month. As I've mentioned before, I came into this gluten sensitivity thing armed with lots of knowledge about living gluten free since my mom was diagnosed with celiac disease two years ago. But for those folks who don't have first-hand knowledge, where do they find educational resources?

Where to Find Educational Resources for Celiacs & Gluten-Sensitive Folks

I'm sure you aren't in the least bit surprised when I tell you that the internet can be a great source of information. Word of warning, however, it can also be filled with a lot of junk. So be sure you're consulting reputable sources rather than just clicking on the first link that pops up in your search. I recommend starting with The Mayo Clinic or The Celiac Disease Foundation.
Many, many doctors and researchers have written books about both celiac disease and gluten sensitivity. A quick search of Amazon revealed this list, but there are many more.
There are support groups all over the country that meet at least monthly. At these meetings, you hear from local doctors, chefs, and merchants. In DFW, you can attend meetings of the Lone Star Celiac Support Group & the North Texas Gluten Intolerance Group.
For the foodies, there are lots of gluten-free cookbooks on the market. A quick search on Amazon provided these results. There are also many sites on the internet that are recipe repositories, like GlutenFreeda.
There are innumerable blogs devoted to gluten-free living. These blogs are often sources of new gluten-free product announcements, recipes, product reviews, product recalls, research articles, etc. I follow quite a few of these blogs myself, like this one, this one, and this one.
And last but not least, there are doctors who specialize in gluten sensitivities. There are quite a few here in the DFW area. Both of the support groups in our area have recommendations for local physicians. And if you don't mind traveling, CDF also has a list on its website.

As you can see, there are many resources available to educate you about celiac disease and gluten sensitivities. So there's no need to stumble around in the dark.

Never All At Once

2010-05-20T17:55:00.003-05:00

You've probably heard me refer to Dori as the Million Dollar Dog. And while that's a bit of an exageration, it's safe to say that we've spent a lot of money on her. What can I say? I treat my animals like children. If they're sick, they go to the doctor. No questions asked. No dollar value attached.

Dori's actually been in fairly good health the last several years. We've had some minor hiccups here and there - like some skin conditions, ear infections, and hip issues - but overall, she's not had any major illnesses to speak of.

I'm not sure if I've raved enough about the procedure Dori had on her hips. But let me just say that it was The Best decision we've made to date! She gets up & down without pain. It's like she's a new dog. We're still not to the 90-day mark, which is when we should see the maximum benefit from the injections. But as well as she's doing now, she'll be like a puppy if she continues on this course!

The biggest hurdle we've been facing of late are some skin issues. She had this spot come up on her side, and honestly I thought it was ringworm b/c it looks like a classic case. But the cultures we sent to the lab several weeks ago came back negative for ringworm. She's had several bouts of staph on her tummy, but this place on her side looks nothing like that. Honestly, we're all baffled. I wonder if it's not another manifestation of her nasal allergies. Some dogs will develop skin conditions as a result of allergies. And she's certainly been sneezy this spring (who hasn't?!!). The vet's sent off yet another culture in hopes of growing something so we know how to treat it.

Then this week, she started limping. I thought she'd hurt herself in one of her freak-out sessions on the new floors. (She does perfectly fine most of the time, walking normally just like she does on the tile, but for some reason, she sometimes take a notion to be afraid of the new hardwoods. Have no idea what that's all about. We just call her Neuro. LOL!) I examined her leg and didn't seem to find anything, so we just decided to keep an eye on it. Well, the limping became more pronounced, and I finally took a look at her paw. Sure enough, I found this growth on one of her pads. We mess with her feet regularly (to help when she visits the vet), but somehow we'd missed this huge bump. There were no obvious signs of trauma, like she'd step on something or cut it. Honestly, it looked like a plantar's wart to me. So back to the vet we went.

After x-rays ruled out calcification or a metatarsal injury and an exam ruled out a trauma, we were in a bit of a quandry. The vet thought it could be one of three things: 1) a disease that manifests in dogs with liver conditions, 2) a bunion, or 3) a tumor. And that left us with several treatment options. We could give Dori an antibiotic in the event that it was just an infection. But none of us were sold on this idea since there was not an obvious puncture wound, and a bone infection was not indicated. Our other option was surgery to remove the growth.

After much discussion, we opted for surgery. In the end, I'm glad we did b/c that gave the vet a bird's eye view of the problem. Turns out, there was a puncture wound, but it was not clearly visible until the foot was opened. Apparently, Dori stepped on something, though there was nothing in her pad to indicate what, and the wound got infected. There were bits of grass and debris way up into the pad. The vet cleaned the interior of the wound really well and filled it with antiobiotic, so Dori should be good to go in no time. She spent the night at the vet, much to her buddy Meeko's shagrin, and will be coming home this afternoon.

We'll be in charge of wound care for the next two weeks. That ought to be fun. But we're just glad that it turned out to be nothing too serious. And thank goodness for pet insurance, which should cover a lot of the costs!

Midweek Round-Up

2010-05-19T17:53:00.005-05:00

I just haven't gotten around to sitting behind the computer since the weekend. Surprising? Probably.

We had a terrific weekend - full of time with friends. The weather couldn't have been more perfect! I played my first round of golf on Saturday. Nevermind that I haven't touched my clubs since we moved into our house 7 years ago! All things considered, I didn't do half-bad. I hit the ball more than I missed it, had a few decent drives, several nice putts, and only drowned 6 balls in water hazards. Not too shabby. I just might play again. *grin*

Had an exciting planning meeting on Sunday for all of the big projects upcoming for 2010 at Ye Olde Church Job. Can't tell you how stoked I am about what the next six months have in store!!! Rather than giving a recital this fall, we have decided to do a Broadway show called Side by Side by Sondheim. It doesn't require a large cast and will be one of the major fundraising events for our Christmas projects. We have also scheduled a full-scale Christmas show for mid-December - Amahl and the Night Visitors. I did this show a number of years ago at my previous church. I am particularly excited about LHUMC undertaking the show b/c I will be coaching two children for the lead role of Amahl, as well as being understudy for The Mother. Needless to say, I'll have my work cut out for me in the coming months!

Monday was errand day. I hate errand day. Especially when you have to take a personal day to get those errands run. It was time for several annual doctor visits, plus I needed to get Ezmerelda in for service & recall repair. It was a day full of stop & gos, but I managed to get everything done. Ezmerelda is now sparkly & clean (until it rains again) with a new gas pedal, a new pair of tires, and a detail job. No more worries about her for another six months! And I'm good to go for the next year, too.

Things: Installment 42

2010-05-14T05:15:00.003-05:00

Since May is Celiac Disease Awareness Month, I decided to keep in that vein and dedicate each Things post in May to general information about gluten and gluten intolerance. One question I've received a lot lately is "can you eat out?" Simple answer: yes. Let's take a look at some of the restaurants "on the list," shall we?

Restaurants With Gluten-Free Menus

Carino's Italian Grill
Outback Steakhouse
The Olive Garden
Chili's
On the Border
Maggiano's
PF Chang's
Asian Mint
Banana Leaf Thai Cuisine
Bavarian Grill
BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse
Boston's Gourmet Pizza
Fireside Pies
Fish City
Fogo de Chau
Cantina Laredo
Rockfish
Ruth's Chris
Texas Land & Cattle
Chick-Fil-A
Potbelly
Wendy's
Chipotle
Pei Wei
Tin Star
Red Robin
Burger King
Arby's
And gluten-free options coming soon to: Cosa Nostra (my favorite Italian)!

As you can see, there are LOTS of restaurants that make safe options available to those with food allergies. Obviously, this is not a comprehensive list, but I think it gives you an idea of just how many restaurants are recognizing the need to address food allergies. There are still many precautions to be undertaken in each of these establishments, however, they all have gluten-free menus and purport to educate their staff about cross-contamination.

The Tale of Faucet Replacements

2010-05-11T05:26:00.001-05:00

Some stories are just too good not to be shared. And while this reveals yet another Cutie Head Moment, I share it with you anyway.

The knob for the shower in our guest bath has been broken for, oh, I don't know, a couple of years ... and I finally got around to buying a replacement a month or so ago. Rather than just buying a new knob, I decided to replace the shower fixtures. The builder installed polished nickel fixtures when the house was built. (Can you say water spots?) We replaced the sink fixtures quite some time ago with brushed nickel. I opted to get some brushed nickel for the shower and was able to get rid of the STUPID plastic handle in the shower too. The proverbial two birds with one stone trick. With me so far?

After returning from Park City, the hot water in our master bath quit working. It has done this once before after a vacation but quickly "fixed" itself. How? I have no idea. I just know that one day I had no hot water and the next day I did. So I thought nothing of it. This time ... yeah, not so much. We get full pressure on the cold side. Nothin' but a trickle on the hot and the trickle never actually gets hot. Honestly, my first thought upon discovering the issue was that something happened to the hot water heater. But quick checks revealed otherwise. Every other faucet in the house gets hot water just fine so clearly it's isolated in the shower somehow. Still with me?

So I talk all this over with My Dad The Plumber. (Not really. But he's certainly a Jack of All Trades.) We decide that we'll replace the whole kit & kaboodle in the guest bath, since I bought a complete kit, and then take the "guts" from the guest bath and put them in the master bath since we know they work. Follow?

Step 1. Dad takes the fixtures off the handle in the master bath to assess.
Step 2. Dad says, "your valve is sweated in."
Step 3. Dad explains what the heck "sweated in" means. (The valve is sauldered in to the water pipes in the wall. So that means we can't just do a simple swap of the valves like we'd planned. To make any changes to the valves in the wall, you have to hire a plumber to make a big mess, i.e. cut a whole in your wall/tile for access & then cut and resaulder new stuff in. Replastering & paint. That's separate.)
Step 4. Dad says, "your new fixtures are Price Pfister; your existing ones are Moen."
Step 5. Dad explains why this makes a hill of beans. (Apparently, the valves are somehow propietary to the brand of fixtures currently in place. Simply, the new fixtures I bought will not work. I have to find something I like in the same brand.)
Step 6. Dad & I go on a quest to a) figure out what model of faucets we currently have, b) find a new kit for the guest bath, and c) figure out what part we need to fix the master bath.

Long story short, no new fixtures in the guest bath, no hot water in the master shower, and a date with My Dad The Plumber for some Saturday in the future!

Lovely Weekend

2010-05-10T05:10:00.001-05:00

Whew. Hard to believe the weekend has already come & gone. They go by so fast these days! I had a nice one. What about you?

Friday evening I met some girlfriends after work for happy hour & shopping at the Galleria. It was our last hoorah before Carla has baby Emma sometime in the coming weeks. Is there anything better than getting together for Girl Time? I think not. Well ... perhaps the only thing better is getting together for Girl Time AT A SHOE STORE! *wink*

Saturday was a big day as we hosted my family for Mother's Day. Derek made his famous ribs complete with the Fox Family Secret Recipe BBQ Sauce and they were DE-LISH! Mom made her famous potato salad and it was a particularly good batch. We enjoyed a wonderful afternoon of food, visiting, and The Squirt, who has to be THE cutest baby I know. (But perhaps I'm a little biased! *grin*) He's nothing but smiles & giggles, and he's working on crawling now which is pretty darn funny at this point b/c all he does right now is scoot around on the TOP of his HEAD. Silly kid! But it gets him where he wants to go. Most of the time.

We'd planned to host Derek's parents on Sunday afternoon, but they were pretty pooped after returning from a Caribbean vacay late Saturday evening. So we offered a rain check on the vittles & visits and gave them a quiet afternoon for resting instead.

We spent the afternoon doing ... well, not much of anything. We watched some things on the DVR and I forced Derek to watch Night at the Rodanthe with me. It was actually a very good movie, and I think he enjoyed it too (though he likely would never own up to that). It's definitely a chick flick. But I must say that I'm STUNNED that my former boss, who is a Manly Man, went to the movie theatre in the middle of the afternoon & watched this BY HIMSELF! Cracks. Me. Up!!!

We had the neighbors over for dinner. The weather was glorious, and we enjoyed good convo on the patio. It just reminds us why we spent all that money getting it fixed up. Worth every penny to be able to enjoy wonderful weather with great friends!

Things: Installment 41

2010-05-07T05:03:00.023-05:00

Several of my co-workers and friends have had questions about going gluten free. Namely: how on earth do you do that?? So, let's talk a little walk & discuss.

Things About Going Gluten Free

Gluten appears in all kinds of things you would not expect, which is why it is important for gluten senstitive folks to read every single label. For instance, Blue Bell ~~Vanilla~~ Chocolate Ice Cream has wheat in it while most other Blue Bell flavors do not. Would you have thought ice cream would be suspect?
Did you know that most run-of-the-mill soy sauces contain wheat? Yep, but there are a few common brands, like La Choy, that do not & there are also several certified gluten-free substitutes.
Traditional cornbread mix contains gluten. You: But, Susan, I thought cornbread was made from corn? SF: It is. However, other leavening agents are needed to make it rise into bread, and traditional mixes use wheat flour. But never fear, there are plenty of substitutes for those of us who are gluten free.
What about cookies and cakes? I guess you can't have those anymore either. On the contrary, there are LOTS of gluten free cookie and cake mixes out there. Did you know that Betty Crocker has launched a line of gluten free mixes?? I've tried several, and they've all been delicious, not to mention a lot cheaper than the specialty brands.
I received word yesterday that Bisquick is launching a gluten free mix this summer! Just ask your local grocer to carry it. Hooray for pancakes!
You: What about alcohol? Isn't beer made from wheat? While there are quite a few options eliminated b/c of gluten, there are still quite a few gluten free options out there. For example, I know that my local Flying Saucer has two gluten free beers. And I recently discovered that both Ace and Woodchuck ciders have been certified gluten free. So for those of you who enjoy an "adult beverage" from time to time, you're not out in the cold.
Gluten sensitive folks have to replace many common kitchen items that have been contaminated by gluten. For instance, plastic cutting boards, non-stick pots & pans, stone bakeware, and grates on the outdoor grill are just a few things that I have to replace in my own household. You: But wouldn't the sanitize cycle "kill" the gluten? According to the literature that's out there, no. Unfortunately, once these porous surfaces are contaminated, there's no decontamination - replacement is the only option. It's this fact that makes eating out a bit tricky b/c there's always a risk of cross-contamination from a porous surface. You: What about stainless steel items? Because they are not porous, the gluten does not get into the tiny microscopic crevices b/c, well, there aren't any. If stainless steel surfaces are cleaned well after exposure, the gluten is removed.

You: Wow, this is pretty overwhelming. Yep, it is. Honestly, if my mom hadn't been diagnosed with celiac disease two years ago, I would be completely lost in this world of Gluten Free. Her diagnosis opened my eyes to just how much of our day-to-day eating is ladened with gluten, and I've constantly been on the lookout for substitutes for our favorite things, like soups and sauce mixes and baking products. So I come into this pretty well-armed with information and product knowledge.

With more and more people being diagnosed with some type of gluten sensitivity, most of the large grocery stores, like Tom Thumb, and Super Centers, like WalMart and Target, have begun carrying more and more gluten free products. Before, you could only get gluten free items at specialty stores or health food stores. Naturally, products from these stores tend to be much more expensive. Eating gluten free is much more expensive simply b/c the alternatives are more expensive to process and b/c the processing has to occur in a certified gluten free facility. But with mainstream companies, like Betty Crocker and General Mills to name just two, jumping on the bandwagon, we are seeing more and more affordable gluten free options in our "regular" grocery stores. In fact, most supermarkets are open to and even welcome customer suggestions. So if you don't see a product, ask. More than likely, the store will at least trial it for you.

I hope you found today's stroll down Gluten Free Lane an informative one. You may see a few more of these as I educate my friends & co-workers.

How About a Poll?

2010-05-05T05:51:00.002-05:00

May is Celiac Disease Awareness Month, for those of you who didn't know (I didn't until yesterday). One of my new blog subscriptions had a post pointing to a poll being conducted by Jason's Deli. I've been known to eat a sandwich or two from Jason's. They have lots of delicious, healthy sandwich options, and I was bummed to think I couldn't have them anymore. But apparently, Jason's is conducting a survey to see if there is any public interest in a gluten free line of sandwich offerings. So take a minute and go vote "yes" for me, would ya?!

Things: Installment 40

2010-04-30T05:51:00.005-05:00

Since I've been busy this week preparing for performances this weekend, I thought it would be fun to give you an idea of how I got started with them in the first place. Enjoy!

Things About Northeast Texas Choral Society

NETCS is the dream child of director Carol Allen, who is the mother of one of my dearest high school classmates/friends.
Choral Society was formed in the summer 1998.
Their first "gig" was singing at a function for Gov. George W. Bush in July 1998.
NETCS began with a little less than 100 singers and today is over 120 singers strong.
Choral Society gives a series of two concerts a year to sold-out crowds.
I first auditioned in the early parts of 1999 and continued to sing with the group even after I moved to Dallas. It wasn't until I married and moved to Valley Ranch that I decided the drive was too much to handle on a weekly basis.
Carol has asked me back on several occasions to make solo concert appearances, and it's always an honor to sing with this group of talented singers. And I would like to thank Carol and all of the members of NETCS for yet another opportunity to sing with them.
This weekend Choral Society presents Walk By Faith, a moving compilation of songs about our spiritual journey. The audience will hear many favorites like "Shut De Do," "Jacob's Ladder," "Precious Lord," and "Come Thou Fount."
I have the privilege of opening this weekend's concerts with a beautiful Mark Hayes arrangement of The Prayer of St. Francis.
Performance information:

First Methodist Church, Sulphur Springs (Map)
May 1 - 7 p.m.
May 2 - 2 p.m. & 6 p.m.
Tickets: $10 adults / $5 children (903-885-2185)
Read the local review

Things: Installment 39 (A Mid-Week Edition)

2010-04-28T05:35:00.008-05:00

I recently underwent some testing to determine whether I had the gene(s) for celiac disease and/or gluten sensitivity. You may remember that my mom was diagnosed with celiac disease in June 2008, and I had some tests run after that that came back negative. In recent years, I've come to discover that there are many tests that can be run to determine whether someone is allergic (or potentially allergic) to gluten - some are more accurate than others. I opted to have the genetic typing tests run through a local lab. My recent research has again driven home the need for more patient education, and so I pass along these little nuggets of info to all of you.

Things to Know About Gluten & Gluten Allergies

Gluten is a protein contained in the grains wheat, barley, and rye. Its structure gives a doughy/elastic consistency to flours derived from these grains. It is not hard to see why, over the centuries, gluten-containing grains have come to be used so extensively in breads and other baked goods.
The nature of the toxicity is mostly due to a reaction that occurs within the immune system of individuals in possession of certain genes that recognize gluten for the foreign protein that it is.
Although there may be no detectable symptoms of the immune response to gluten, the typical symptoms people develop occur when the reaction begins to damage the intestines. The symptoms, resulting from malabsorption or improper digestion of dietary nutrients, include abdominal bloating or pain, diarrhea, constipation, gaseousness, or nausea with or without vomiting. It appears that acid reflux in the esophagus, manifesting as heartburn, may be a potential symptom as well. Other symptoms people experience include fatigue, joint pains, mouth ulcers, bone pain, abnormal menses in women, and infertility. It is important to note that there are many individuals who never possess clinical symptoms that lead them to the doctor.
Currently, tests are available to detect the genes that control the immune system's reaction to gluten. These genes are called human leukocyte antigens or HLA. There are several types of HLA genes within each person. It is a particular type called HLA-DQ that is most useful in the assessment of the probability that a person may be gluten sensitive.
DQ2 is present in 31% of the general American population. DQ8 (without DQ2) is present in another 12%. Thus, the main celiac genes are present in 43% of Americans. Include DQ1 (without DQ2 or DQ8), which is present in another 38%, yields the fact that at least 81% of America is genetically predisposed to gluten sensitivity. Based on these data, almost all Americans, especially those descending from Europe (including Mexico and other Latin states because of the Spanish influence), the Middle East, the Near East (including India), and Russia, are genetically predisposed to gluten sensitivity.
Gluten sensitivity implies that a person's immune system is intolerant of gluten in the diet and is forming antibodies or displaying some other evidence of an inflammatory reaction. When these reactions cause small intestinal damage visible on a biopsy, the syndrome has been called celiac sprue, celiac disease, or gluten sensitive enteropathy.
Because research has shown that as many as 30% of all Americans may be gluten sensitive, and that 1 in 225 have a severe form of this sensitivity causing the intestinal disease called celiac sprue, a case can be made that everyone in America should be screened for gluten sensitivity. However, there are people with various risk factors or diseases that are at greater risk of developing gluten sensitivity who should undoubtedly be tested. These include:

Microscopic colitis
Relatives of gluten-sensitive individuals
Gluten-sensitive individuals 1 year after treatment
Chronic diarrhea of unknown origin
Irritable bowel syndrome
Inflammatory bowel disease
Gastroesophageal reflux disease
Hepatitis C
Autoimmune liver disease
Other causes of chronic liver disease
Dermatitis herpetiformis
Diabetes mellitus, type 1
Rheumatoid arthritis
Sjogren's syndrome
Lupus
Scleroderma
Autoimmune thyroid disease
Dermatomyositis
Psoriasis
Any autoimmune syndrome
Chronic Fatigue
Fibromyalgia
Asthma
AIDS
Osteoporosis
Iron deficiency
Short stature in children
Down's syndrome
Mothers of kids with neural tube defects
Female infertility
Peripheral neuropathy
Cerebellar ataxia
Seizure disorders
Psychiatric disorders
Depression
Alcoholism
Autism
ADHD/ADD

If you have any reason to believe that you might have sensitivity to gluten, get tested. It's simple & painless, and it just might save your life. Seriously.

**All info relating to gluten & gluten sensitivity taken from here.

All's Well That Ends Well

2010-04-22T21:03:00.000-05:00

Well, after a pretty rough start to the day, it didn't finish too bad. Surprisingly, that cuppa tea in the morning, while not exactly as good as the coffee I'd planned, did work a little magic on the ol' mood. So I got over being grumpy and rather surly. And lucky for my officemates, no one came to visit me until late in the morning. *grin*

Last night, Derek and I went to the Flying Saucer with a friend. It was nice to unwind and enjoy those nachos that I've been dreaming about all week. And the company wasn't half-bad either. LOL!

Here's Your Sign

2010-04-22T07:31:00.001-05:00

Ever have those days that start out with a clear indication that you should just go back to bed?? Yeah, well, today is one of those days ... as I sit here writing this on my way to work.

The first sign? When I wasn't ready to leave by 6:25 to catch my bus. I wasn't even ready by 6:30 - thae absolutely latest that I can walk out the door & still make it. *sigh* So I resigned myself to the fact that I wasn't going to make it and took a bit more time with the rest of my morning routine since I now had an extra 20 min. After I finished getting ready & packing the ol' gym bag, I decided that what this Off To A Rocky Start morning needed was a cup of coffee. The clock said I had 5 min. - just enough time to brew up a TowGo (not to be confused with a TO go, LOL).

Yet another sign and the final straw? Got the coffee in the handy mug and then realized I didn't have the cap for the darn thing. And after searching high (and by high I mean in the farthest reaches of the tallest cabinets) and low, it was nowhere to be found. So then I proceeded to search for other TowGo options since my thermos of choice was OOC. Not a single insulated cup to be found ... clean anyway. So after throwing a big ol' conniption complete with some choice expletives, I threw up my hands, slammed some doors, and left.

*sigh* I only hope the hot cuppa tea awaiting me at the office will do the trick. Maybe I'll just work with my door closed today? Unless someone has some Happy Pills to share??

Weekend Roundup

2010-04-19T05:57:00.003-05:00

Here it is ... Monday again. Dude, was it a busy one or what! My kids had their spring musical this weekend. So needless to say, I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off on all of the last-minute stuff that goes along with putting on a musical. But I have to say that the dress rehearsal went really well and the performance was even better! This show was so well-suited to the group of kids we have in choir right now. It really utilized their strengths.

Aside from that, I didn't get much accomplished. I went to a birthday party very briefly on Saturday night. I sang two services on Sunday before running around striking the stage after worship and setting up for the kids' show in the afternoon. And then I promptly went home and crashed. I actually fell asleep on the couch at 6:30 and Derek tried to get me to go to bed. But "it's only 6:30," I argued. "But you've been asleep for the last 30 min." I managed to stick it out until about 8 before I gave it up. Pathetic. LOL

Things won't really slow down for the next few weeks either since I'm scheduled to sing in East Texas the first of May. Speaking of which, I suppose I should get to work on that solo. Ha!

Oh, and before I forget, a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my friend Kelli!!

Breaking News

2010-04-13T06:39:00.000-05:00

This just in from our news correspondent in Anniversaryville. The cute couple currently inhabiting The Foxhole will be tying the knot in Las Vegas in October. Or more appropriately, they will be celebrating ten years of marriage with their good friends Skeet & Kelli. This breaking news brought to you today by Second Honeymoon in Vegas. Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.

So...yeah. We'll be celebrating our TEN-year anniversary this year. (Where did all the time go?!) We've gone back and forth about what we would do for our big anniversary. Take a big trip? Take a small trip? Take no trip? Decisions, decisions. But we finally decided on a little get-away to Vegas with our friends. We'll enjoy a nice hotel, a little shopping, and all of the great sights we didn't get to see the last time we were there. Can't wait!!!

Fan. Tas. Tic.

2010-04-12T07:50:00.002-05:00

So what's worse than the cat waking you up with his incessant caterwalling?? The cat waking you up LATE with his caterwalling, that's what! I type this as I'm on my way to work ... late.

Meeko started in with his usual meowing at the wee hours this morning. I think the birds were up early, and he thought he was missing out on some prime Mockingbird stalking. Anyway, I shut him up the first 500 times with a little shake of the no-no can. It was still dark. The next time he wakes me up I see that there's a suspiciously late-morning glow about the room, and I take a peek at the clock. 6:35. *takes a minute to sink in* WHA??! 6:35??!!! I should be sitting on my bus not just now getting out of bed! *sigh*

Guess who forgot to turn ON the alarm that she so carefully set last night???

This Cutie Head Moment is brought to you today by the maker's of Trusty Alarm Clock Company.

Better(ish)

2010-04-11T19:57:00.001-05:00

I finally waved the white flag on Friday and gave in to my allergies. I stayed home. Honestly, it was a good week to have them be on full tilt since it was a particularly quiet week at the office. I toughed through them on Weds. and Thurs., but by Friday, well, I was just done. I must say that it was nice to get to sleep in and lounge about. When my allergies are particularly bad, it makes me tired and grumpy and non-productive, not to mention giving me the allergy fog & terrible headaches. All of you partners-in-misery out there know what I'm talking about. So I spent Friday relaxing and blowing my nose. Exciting, huh?

The rest of the weekend has been busy. Yesterday I had to be up early waiting on Verizon. They actually came early. Naturally, we couldn't reproduce the problem. Whatever. Then I headed to the church to prepare for a children's choir rehearsal for their spring musical. Today, I sang a service, went to a staff luncheon, set up for another children's choir rehearsal, and ran herd on little imps before heading home about 6 p.m. It was a long day. I'm now settled into the recliner with a good movie and prop for the kids' show. A director's job is never done, eh?

Here's hoping for a great week!

Derek Might Kill Me

2010-04-08T17:28:00.001-05:00

But THIS, my friends, is very tempting!!!!

I Will Survive

2010-04-04T23:11:00.016-05:00

That's what I kept telling myself this last week as I ran my hiney off singing. I've said this before, but I will say it again: Holy Week is both a joy and curse for a church musician! There's not a single one of us who isn't thrilled when it's over. But there's also not a single one of us who won't say in the end that it's one of the most memorable & moving weeks in the entire liturgical year.

The Durufle Requiem was simply fantastic and really brought Good Friday into a whole new light. A triumphal entry into Jerusalem, a plea for salvation, death. It brings the story to life in a completely different way. And then Easter Sunday we rejoice w/ brass and organ and choirs of angels. It was a fantastic three days of music!

And when it was all said and done and everything fell silent, I crashed. On weeks like this, I don't do much of anything other than sing. No cleaning. No laundry. No cooking. And, of course, when weeks like this are over, I'm spent and usually take an entire day or two to recover. This afternoon I enjoyed sitting around in my pjs watching tv before having a tasty steak dinner. It was some of the best relaxing I've done all week.

Poor Derek also had to work this past weekend. It wasn't crazy-busy, but it was certainly a steady stream of cases all weekend long. Honestly, his last week was just as busy as mine. We're both spent!

Now it's on to bigger & better things. I'm preparing for a concert appearance in May and am making long drives for rehearsals. My kids are preparing for their spring musical, and we're now in the critical portion of staging which means extra rehearsal time. Sometimes I feel like I'm herding squirrels. Have you ever tried herding squirrels? It's nye to impossible! Anybody know a Squirrel Whisperer?!

But the best part is that the days are longer, the flowers are blooming, and spring weather seems to be here to stay! I don't know about you but it's hard to be anything but happy when everything comes to life again!

The Foxhole

A Few More Recent CHMs

I'm (Kinda) Back

Hellooooooooooooooooooo

Much-needed R&R

Things: Installment 63

Happy Celiac Awareness Month

Things: Installment 62

Did You Hug Your Admin?

Knowing What to Say

In a Nutshell

I Did It

Open Letter

From Disaster to a Masterpiece

When Disaster Strikes

Cutie Head Moment #1598763165198984

Things: Installment 61

Monumental February

A Little R&R

Karma, Baby!

Snow-pocalypse 2.0

I Wish....

Rude Awakening

Jack Frost

What Would You Do ....

Guess What I Did???

Stunned

We Made Our Milestone!

Busy Week

Merry Christmas!

Open Letter

Open Letter

Cutie Head Moment #4098723140752

REALLY?!

Things: Installment 60

Rose Bowl in Brief

Whoohoo!!!!

Holiday Round-Up

GoD and DoG

Things: Installment 59

Things: Installment 58

A Texas Christmas

For Sale

Ringin' in the New Year in Style

Now Open for Business

Mea Culpa

Keepin' It Real

Our Anniversary

Things: Installment 57

WOW....

What Show Week Does to My Blurfing

Things: Installment 56

Things: Installment 55

Dori's Humiliation

Things: Installment 54

Where the Heck ARE You?

You're Invited!

Things: Installment 53

Things: Installment 52

Catching Up

Not Too Shabby

Things: Installment 51

School of Hard Knocks

Things: Installment 50

Yes, Thank You, I'll Take That Cheese Now

*Tap, tap, tap*

Save the Date

What's Better than a Pool???

Speaking of Bonuses...

Things: Installment 49

Things: Installment 48

Restaurant Review

Weekend Roundup

Things: Installment 47

Things: Installment 46

Cutie Head Moment #5,213

Catching Up

Happy Anniversary

Things: Installment 45

Open Letter

Tap, tap, tap