Thursday, November 11, 2004
"do you know what today is?"
to which i replied, "thursday?"
"nope."
"november 11th?"
"nope."
"ummm... i not knowin."
"today is Fingers and Toes Day."
"excuse me?"
"Fingers and Toes Day."
"and WHAT? pray tell is Fingers and Toes Day?"
"Fingers and Toes Day is today, because you only have to you use your fingers and toes to count the days until i get to see you again. no one else's digits are required."
(commence with the crying) "how cute are you?"
"very."
and he is.
he came up with this in the shower this morning. and this is reason 2,387,563,835,475,694,398,723 that i love him.
Happy Fingers and Toes Day, Y'all.
Tuesday, November 02, 2004
Sunday, October 31, 2004
joe crow
and i come home late last night after closing at the store... to a brother laying on the couch, watching movies with an empty pizza box in front of him... and his girlfriend... in his room. CLEANING it. and he is letting her. she said she just wanted to do it. i say she got tired of wallowing through the mire that is considered "Z's room". i gave the boy a ration of shit about it and he says, all defensively, "she said she had all this energy and wanted to clean. she even wanted to clean the living room, but i made her stop"
i think i might have to call BULLSHIT on this one, folks.
she got tired of the place looking like a dump. the end.
and THEN, she leaves and shortly after, the phone rings. it's her. the conversation goes like this:
... it's the stick on the right side of the steering wheel.
... yeah, push it all the way down, and then up one notch.
... no, one notch.
... the right side.
... then you aren't doing it right. (at this point i am thinking, what on earth could be going on in this girl's car, that she has to call HIM to figure it out)
... well i guess you have to drive home with the windows down.
... (frustrated voice) well, sorry, i don't know what to tell you.
... yeah. bye.
hmmmm.... so i asked him what that was all about.
him: she couldn't find the windshield wipers.
me: on her OWN car?
him: no, she is in my car.
me: why?
him: because i didn't want to drive her home. i'm tired.
me: so let me get this straight, first you let this girl clean your sty and you lay on the couch watching movies while she does it, THEN you are "too tired" to drive her home so you send her off in YOUR piece of shit car to drive herownself home? (at this point i am getting a little vocal about it.)
him: yeah.
me: that's really shitty. and sad.
him: we agreed upon it earlier. she said she was fine with it.
me: of course she did. she is one of those types of girls who does anything you say because she doesn't want to make waves. she cleaned your room and then drove herself home in your car, for fuck's sake.
him: whatever.
and that brought us to the conclusion of that conversation. nice, huh?
BUT WAIT, there's more.
i also noticed, when i came home to get new clothes, that the computer i had turned off the day prior was miraculously on. and i know the cats didn't do it. and i know the aliens didn't do it. that leaves one other creature. Z. so, i turned to computer off when i left.
and when i got home on sunday, it was on again. those damned aliens.
and then this morning, when i was straightening up the kitchen, i decided, on a whim, to check the likker cabinet. hmm... i don't remember the tequila being there. and that bottle of rum used to live at the back of the cabinet. gee... that's strange.
IT WOULD ONLY BE STRANGE IF I DIDN'T HAVE ANYONE ELSE LIVING HERE.
but i do. and i asked him about it. because he had mentioned getting drunk at some point during the weekend. i asked him what he drank.
him: uhh... beer and tequila.
me: MY tequila?
him: yeah. i'll buy you some more. (keep in mind he is only 19 and i will probably be the one to actually BUY the tequila)
me: you mean the tequila that i got on my 21st birthday that i save for special occasions.
him: what?
me: you mean the t e q u i l a that i got on my 21st birthday that i s a v e for special o c c a s i o n s.
him: oh. i didn't know.
me: BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T ASK! just because you live here does not give you free reign over anything housed within these walls. i turned off the computer this weekend and you still got on it. we bought beer so that WE could drink it and you drink my tequila as well. you cant just get into peoples stuff without asking. if you want something. ASK FIRST!
him: uh. ok. fine.
grrrrrr.....and i marched off to my room. to tell all you nice people about it.
children. i swear.
Friday, October 29, 2004
since my husband is displaced....
i have noticed that i have reverted back to a 14 year old girl. (yes, i know, some of you think that is considered "growing up" for me.....) and i have recently become BOY CRAZY. (when is the last time you heard that phrase?)
i have told Husband about this and he just laughs. and then says, "you can look, but don't touch" what sort of shopping rules are those?
so i have compiled a photo montage of Boys I'd Like to Lick. (not for the faint of heart)
for your viewing pleasure, i give you, in no particular order, the Lucky 13.
my Husband
andy pettitte (now pitches for the Astros)
johnny damon (newest World Series champ)
orlando bloom (i'm speechless)
brad pitt (umm... again, speechless)
LL Cool J a.k.a. Lady's Love Cool James (just give me an hour to kiss him. the only thing better than HIS lips, are my husband's lips)
joey harrington (QB for the Lions. used to play for the Oregon Ducks)
johnny depp (pillage me)
jason la rue (catcher for the Cinci Reds)
vin diesel (*drool*)
chris isaak (he sang to me for over 2 hours, once)
benjamin bratt (if he's good enough for julia....)
matthew mcconaughey (a boy from the Lone Star State... how could you go wrong?)
TADA! this has brought me about half way out of my funk. now its only 25 more days until i see my #1. YAY!
Tuesday, October 26, 2004
even jackie wilson can't fix this one.
a blue period?
mean reds?
fuck it. i'm down. not out... just down.
and i don't want to fix it. i just want it to go away.
i have been anti-social and that just ain't me. i haven't called 2 of my very good friends since i have been back from texas and i feel like a schmo for that... and then that adds to the funk. so i feel bad because i haven't called and haven't called because i feel bad. vicious cycle. i have been invited to a halloween party with some of my favorite gay boys... and i am probably not going. how stupid is that? (besides the fact that i hate halloween)
work sucks. a lot. a whole lot. sucks on ice.
since i am leaving in 3 months, i need to train my replacement. now we all knew who the replacement will be, and she works there and i love her. no problem there. the problem is that what was supposed to be a gradual process, came as one fell swoop. what was supposed to transition from manager ... came as WHA-POW! bottom of the food chain. i feel like i have been demoted. that's not the case, but i feel that way. but maybe i am reading too much into all of this. maybe the other employees don't really feel confused about who they should ask about stuff? maybe the vendors that call don't know who to ask for? maybe the answers to the questions aren't my responsibility anymore. maybe im just fucked in the head. yeah, that must be it. and the holiday season is coming. fast. like it will be here tomorrow. and i have gift baskets that will be coming out of my ass in a matter of weeks. stressed? no. nuh-uh. not much. and i know that once gift baskets are done, then that means christmas is over and then i have to pack to move. to another state. away from my family, friends... to strike out on our own. i am super excited about living in amarillo. it's the getting there part that makes me want to crawl in a hole. a big hole. with a one-way opening.
and i am sad because i had a wonderful weekend with my husband and had to say goodbye all over again. so the roller coaster is now creeping back up the huge incline before the 984 foot drop. chucka chucka chucka chucka.... and i miss him. so much. yeah, it was nice the first few weeks when i got to play bachelor-girl. now i am just a wife with a displaced husband. no more game. just the lonely. and the act that we talk maybe 7 minutes total, each day isn't helping. we went from 72+ hours together to 3 and 4 minute phone calls. talk about a screeching halt. this shit sucks.
and my father-in-law is a daily stress factor. he is at the very top of the "Things To Stress About Today" list. his health is bad. his mind is going. he is lonely. he is poor. he has to fight with the VA on a daily basis. and he doesn't walk so well. his wife (and caregiver) died almost a year ago... and he hasn't even grieved for her, yet. granted neither have i. because grieving about it, is admitting it happened. and i DO NOT want to get on that bus ever. (yeah, can we say denial?) so i feel totally helpless when it comes to the subject of Daddy Mike. real helpless. but that man calls me everyday. to check on me, to tell me how he is doing, to tell me that everything is going to be ok. after all the shit this man deals with on a daily basis, he calls ME to tell me that everything is going to be ok. how amazing is that? but i know deep down, that when we talk, it's therapeutic for both of us. if he can hear about my mundane shit, it helps him get his mind off of his major shit. and making him laugh is one of my favorite things. he told Husband once, that he made a vow to himself to make his wife laugh every day. and he did it too. and Husband does it now, as well. and i now do the same thing to Daddy Mike. full circle, i guess. but it works. and he calls this morning to let me know that he was worried about me yesterday. he called probably 6 times. and i never picked up the phone. (the funk, remember) and i felt horrible about it. so i apologized this morning and told him i was in a funk and he tried to bring up stuff that he thought i would be happy about, but some of the stuff is the exact reason i am stressed. poor guy. the conversation was like this:
"what about...."
"i don't wanna talk about that. "
"well what about....."
" i don't want to talk about that either."
"well, just remember....."
"yeah, that's stressing me out too"
poor guy. he was trying so hard. and i love him for it. and then he told me if i wanted to stay in my funk, i could. and that made me happy. ummm... happy-er.
so, i have found that when i am in a mood like this, the best thing to do is let me do it on my own. don't try to cheer me up. don't feel bad for me, just hug me. silently. i will come around. usually. but for right now, if you don't hear from me.... don't worry, i'm fine. i just got the blues.
i think i will go listen to some muddy waters now.
Friday, October 22, 2004
please welcome the graduating class of 1994
anyway, where were we? oh right. the reunion.
so we got there and checked in and got our badges. they used the worst picture possible for me. i was a wee bit heavier (read: a LOT heavier) when i graduated, and that's the picture they used. yay me.
so we started to see some of the people we were talking about earlier in the day. A and i start giggling because some of these people have not changed. certain individuals that we made fun of, ones we had crushes on, ones we thought were losers, and ones that picked on us. the boys had not changed much. the girls. a whole other story. wanna hear it? here it go.
it was a little nervous at first for everyone. a lot of looking once, then looking at the name tag, the blank stare while they ran through the mental list of "did i know you/like you/pick on you/hate you/fuck you?" and then when they made whatever match, they would either advance, or do the half smile and turn away. i mean UH-LOT of that. but then there were the "oh hey, i was hoping you were going to be here"s! so it was wide open, the responses we all got/gave.
so we see all the other girls we didn't like in school. they were either pregnant, or showing off pictures of their kids. this was the part that started to bum me out. i started threatening to show pictures of my empty uterus with the sign on it that said,
FOR RENT
9 month Lease
Very cozy
GREAT starter home
Wednesday, October 20, 2004
the point of no return
"you start with the loudest one first and work your way down"
TADA, child-rearing, demystified.
so he held babies and didn't freak out. he held smaller children and didn't freak out. baby steps... baby steps....
so we left there, went to our room, took a nap and then got ready for dinner with other very close friends of the family, the B's.
(sidebar) the B's have a son, P, who is 2 1/2 years younger than me. it was through their son that i became part of the family. P and i decided that if neither of us was married by the time we I was 28, we would tie the knot. and were VERY serious about it. we never dated, but were sure we could make a great go at marriage. hell, i was already family. so, as you can see, i did NOT marry their son, but the B family welcomed Husband with open arms and even threw our wedding rehearsal dinner at their house after putting us up there all week, prior. so they are our family in every sense of the word.
dinner with them was fabulous. as always. P couldn't be there, but the youngest, M was there and she and Husband have a very special bond. they truly are brother and sister. the middle sister, C, lives in Cali, so it was a little far for her to come to dinner, although we were a small group, we had an uproarious time.
after leaving, we finally got some alone time. and we used it wisely. ;)
we had to get up the next morning to go to A's daughter's Pee-Wee football game, at which her oldest daughter, M was cheering. that was the cutest, funnest thing we have done in a long while. even Husband said, "if we don't have a son to play football, i don't mind being a CheerDad" how cute was that?
so we left there and had some lunch and decided to be total dorks and go see a movie. i know i know... we haven't seen each other in 6 weeks and we go see a movie. well, he doesn't want to go see movies by himself...and neither do i, so now that we were together, we can go see a movie together. shut up, it made sense to us. so we saw "forgotten". with julianne moore and the cute foreign guy. it wasn't a bad movie. it had some edge of your seat parts... and even some make you jump out of your skin parts. all in all it was a good movie. but i know you didn't come here to read movie reviews. you want the down and dirty about the conjugal visits. i know. well you AREN'T getting them. (my parents read this, not like they care, but i am going to use them as an excuse to NOT tell you about our horizontal mambo)
blah blah drove back to town, got ready for the reunion... Husband looked AWESOME. but, I.... yes, even I out-cuted him this time. partially because i bought his outfit, and knew ahead of time that i would out-cute him. we headed to A's for drinks. they looked just as awesome as we did. drink more wine... drink more beer. we even kicked it old school and had a Zima with a gummi worm in it. (another story for another time, but really funny if you can think in highschool drunk mentality) and we talked about who we would see there. we said that the hairiest guy in school would be bald, the boys we thought were too cute and preppy for us would be fat and ugly, and all the girls we hated would have married assholes and be miserable. laugh now... but just you wait.....
ate at chuy's and had more beers and drinks and food and the laughing and the nervous started to set in. now, since i moved away roughly 5 years ago.... i haven't seen some of these people in 5 years.... others, its been 10. sooooooo.... Cirque du Soleil has come to austin and they are performing in my stomach. yay. but i have to keep on a straight face, because my dumb ass dragged A to this thing. so i cant back out now. we get there and take a LONG time getting out of the car and going inside... and when we have reached the point of no return....
Tuesday, October 19, 2004
i just flew in from dallas....
yes. i am back.
yes. it was fabulous.
yes. i miss it already.
yes. i wanted to stuff myself in husband's bag and go back to amarillo with him.
yes. i wanted to have someone else pack up our house and send it to us.
yes. i'm sad.
i left thursday morning and for some reason we flew to CHICAGO to go to dallas. hmmmm.... that seemed unnecessary. but after being in airplanes and airports for 5 hours, i arrived safely and soundly in dallas. i go pick up my rental and someone thought it would be funny for me to fly a thousand miles.... to then drive the EXACT SAME CAR as my husband. where's my cute little sportscar? where's my red and fast and snappy? oh no.... here is a nice TAN ford TAURUS. have a nice day.
at least i already know how to work all the parts and pieces.
so it takes an hour to get from the airport to my grandmother's house. and i was almost to her door when she opens it up and gives me a HUGE hug. she said she could smell me coming. (is that bad? i know i had been traveling all day, but damn... i showered.) so we chat for a while. she is looking well. she is tethered to a giant oxygen machine, so we all have to make sure we don't step on her air hose, but other than that, she looks like my grandmother. my oldest cousin shows up and i am just amazed at how much of his life i have missed. it seems like i only get to see my cousins about once every 2 or 3 years. here is this kid whose diapers i changed.... and he is now old enough to DRINK. that's crazy. i still have a hard time wrapping my head around that one. so them the tornado hits, the one that is commonly called, My Aunt and her Other 2 Sons. so i have 3 boy cousins. i am the only grand-daughter. (can we say spoiled?) now these boys are older than 18 as well. and i just look at them... and shake my head because they have become human type people. i still picture them as little boys. not no mo.
so we eat and talk and laugh and eat and then we all head back to my aunts house. i mean the Zoo. i hope i get this right. they have a Macaw named Big Bird. and when they first got the bird, the only thing it really knew how to say was, "Shut the FUCK Up". and i quickly realized why. i found myself thinking the very same thing multiple times throughout the night. they also have a parakeet named Lucy, an australian shepherd named Bandit 2, 3 cats, 2 rabbits, and iguana, and 4 tortoises? if i have remembered correctly. a fucking zoo. this woman has 3 boys between the ages of 21 and 18, and a house full of animals. i bet she spends a billion dollars on food a week. so.... that part of the visit was NOT boring at all. i got up the next morning and got directions that took 2 hours to get OUT OF DALLAS. holy fuck me. i gots places to be. people to do. namely my husband whose flight into austin was getting in at 1:35.
so i drive and drive and drive and drive.... and drive right through my hometown. which was odd in itself. and finally get to austin. and to the airport. and to the gate. and 20 minutes later, i get my husband. the love of my life i have not seen in 6 weeks. and oh my damn does he look good. i am surprised that he didn't have girls trailing after him. after we pry ourselves apart, we get his bags and we head back to my hometown.
(to be continued)
Monday, October 11, 2004
never a dull moment
and then i thought i better put the air pillows down and get back to work, in case i got fired and then really was able to pursue a career in a bubble wrap factory. i'm sure it would be a GAS to work there. (har har)
Thursday, October 07, 2004
8 days
8 days.
it's only 8 days till i see my husband!
in 8 days i get to hug him, squeeze him, kiss him, touch him and look at him. i can breathe the same air, i can hold his hand, i can occupy the same space as him. i CANNOT wait. i just want to crawl into his skin. 8 DAYS!
i have missed him more in the past week, than i have any other time. partly because i have an independent streak as big as the mississippi river. and partly because i was pacing myself. no good doing all my missing when he first leaves. better to miss him TONS right before i get to see him, then i get the gratification sooner. or some shit.
fact is: i miss him, but only for 8 more days.
also, i have realized that i eat like a bachelor when he isn't here. m&m's for dinner are ok, right? macaroni and cheese for breakfast is fine, right? chicken pot pie and ramen are acceptable lunch foods, right? provided i even eat at all. i have lost 10 pounds since he has been gone. i have also managed to set aside nearly $300. i am saving my tip money instead of feeding the 2 of us. who knew we spent that much money on food? but i put the money to good use. i bought tickets to my 10 year high school reunion for myself, my husband, A, and her husband. aint i nice? i like to think so. at the same time, i just spent nearly $300 to go see people i haven't kept in touch with for 10 years. why do i have to pay cash-money to see people i forgot i hated? OOOOOOH, that's right... to laugh in their faces. DUR!
i'm very excited. and nervous. and skeptical. what if it's all dorks who go to this thing? and we have to hang out with the band fags all night? (no offense to anyone who was ever IN band, dated anyone in band, was friends with anyone in band or related to anyone in band. its just an expression)
so as i was saying, before i so rudely interrupted myself....
i am curious. that's a better word. yes, curious.
but i still get to see my husband in 8 days. i don't even need to take off my shoes to count that high!
yay!
Tuesday, October 05, 2004
things you didnt know.
here's a list of strange facts about me.
ready?
- i DO NOT eat blue M&Ms... they arent normal. i even go so far as to SEPARATE them.
- i am afraid of the dark.
- i still have monsters living under my bed.
- i go to sleep laying on my stomach, covered all the way up to my shoulders, except for my left foot sticking out.
- i have mysophobia (fear of being contaminated with dirt or germs) i wash my hands a LOT.
- i will not eat after i touch money. i HAVE to wash my hands first.
- i hate to shake hands.
- i have an irrational fear of icebergs, too.
- i havent seen my natural hair color in 15 years.
- my toenails are ALWAYS painted.
- i hate halloween.
- i once had 22 bottles of various bathing concoctions in my shower at one time.
- i have never been on a horse. (odd for a girl from texas, huh?)
- i have never done shots of jagermeister.
- half of my (personal) wardrobe is men's clothing.
- i am really kinda shy.
- i met my husband online.
- when eating ice cream from the container, it has to be level when i am done with it. same thing goes for dip.
- i have to have a spoon in my coffee cup.
- i sleep on the left side of the bed.
- i once ate Play-Doh in order to hang out with some girls in my neighborhood.
- the first time i saw spark plugs, i thought they were an alien homing device.
- i couldnt watch gremlins all the way through. we had to leave the theatre.
- i didnt learn how to ride a bike until i was 9.
- i can't roller skate/ice skate/rollerblade.
- i have been drinking coffee since i was 2.
- i hate peas. i will pick them out of fried rice.
- i am allergic to chicken. but not eggs.
- i am allergic to my own state tree, and it's fruit.
- i love all things spongy and squarepanted.
- i had a cat named "shoes".
- i was once "institutionalized"
- i have a very high I.Q.
- i rode Space Mountain 18 times in a row when i was 15.
- i LOVE roller coasters.
- i hate wax museums.
- i once threatened to play "connect the dots" with the small moles and freckles on my husband's back.
- i am ambidextrous.
- i did not "walk" at my high school graduation. i was half a credit short.
- i bought my truck before i learned how to drive a stick shift. the salesman had to drive me on my test drive.
- i have worked in the coffee business for 9 years.
- i had a turtle named "soup".
- it bugs me a LOT when people let rain build up on their windshields before turning their wipers on.
- we once filled a friends truckbed up with water and lounged around in it all day.
- i make the best meatloaf, ever.
- more than half of my friends are gay.
- i eat the middle of the oreo first.
- i have seen neil diamond in concert.
- i have to potential to be an utter bitch.
- i know all the lines in Princess Bride.
- i still have my Paddington Bear from when i was 3.
- i am the only granddaughter.
- i am the sole responsibility of carrying on my husband's bloodline.
- according to an online survey, my "faith" falls into the Neo-Pagan category.
- i was told i was a Druid Priestess in a past life.
- i am done with this list.
Monday, October 04, 2004
join me
yeah yeah, so it's called Join Me. it's a true story about a guy who decides to "recruit" a hundred people to form a "collective, not a cult" he then didn't know what to do with the people once he gets them, so he decided to have them do good deeds on fridays. thus calling it: Good Friday. he travels all europe, spreading his ideas. it is absolutely hysterical some of the things this guy gets into.
so, i read it. i really enjoyed it. i do good deeds on a regular basis anyway, but i try to do extra on fridays now because of this book. you should check out the website too. [http://www.join-me.co.uk/]
if you want to read the book, email me and i will send you my copy. see... good deeds already and its only monday.
Tuesday, September 28, 2004
101
i have, once again, been suckered by my desire to be as cool as my friends. they have lists of 101 things about them. here's mine:
- i am stupidly in love with my husband.
- he loves me almost the same much.
- only because i love him more.
- we still celebrate our monthly anniversaries.
- tomorrow will be 4 years and 2 months.
- we have been married for 2 years and 2 months.
- i am his second wife.
- i am his last wife.
- he is my only husband.
- my parents are divorced.
- they are still friends.
- that makes me happy.
- i have 3 siblings.
- i have 2 half brothers, that makes a "whole" brother.
- one of my brothers called me "shorty"
- he's whiter than me.
- but he's bigger.
- and runs fast.
- and plays football.
- i am proud of him.
- my other brother almost had his legs broken by me.
- he wouldn't have been able to run fast.
- then he couldn't go and do stupid stuff to make me want to break his legs.
- i love him, in spite of the stupid stuff.
- my sister is the oldest.
- she is my step-sister.
- my friends are like my family too.
- i met half of my friends because of a book.
- i also think it was fate that brought us together.
- i believe in fate.
- and destiny.
- and a higher power.
- i don't call it GOD.
- i don't have to.
- my mom said so.
- i still sit in my mother's lap.
- she still plays with my hair.
- i can tell her anything.
- even the bad stuff.
- i am learning not to dwell on the bad stuff.
- i believe bad stuff happens to good people.
- i believe i am good people.
- i believe in karma.
- i believe in the awesome power of good kisses.
- i believe in santa claus.
- my birthday is close to christmas.
- we call it christelmas.
- because i am spoiled.
- and i like it that way.
- my dad got me flowers last year.
- the card said "merry tistelmas"
- he calls me tistel.
- no one else is allowed to.
- only 9 people on the planet are allowed to call me "chris"
- let's keep it that way.
- my name was almost Carisa.
- it's a street in dallas.
- my mom used to make out with a boy on that street.
- they called it "necking"
- the boy was not my father.
- i was almost switched at birth.
- i used to think i had been.
- and that my REAL mother was a princess.
- who lived in a castle.
- and was going to come rescue me.
- and i would live in a castle, too.
- that never happened.
- i did marry Prince Charming, though.
- who knew his first name was Eddie?
- there was no white horse.
- still waiting for the castle, too.
- but i consider myself a queen.
- i think the rest of the world should, too.
- things would go much smoother if they did.
- when i rule the world, it will be illegal to be rude.
- or mean.
- or stupid.
- i can't wait to rule the world.
- i can't wait to be a mommie.
- i think i will be a good one.
- because i still enjoy being a child.
- i love to make farting noises on people's stomachs.
- i love that i have friends who let me make farting noises on their stomachs.
- strangers do not let me make farting noises on their stomachs.
- i have AWESOME friends.
- i want to move to bora bora with all of my friends.
- i want to learn how to play guitar.
- and piano.
- and cello.
- i want to sing more.
- i love to sing.
- my favorite song is 'into the mystic'.
- music has healing properties.
- i have done a lot of healing.
- i had a fucked up childhood.
- i think i turned out ok.
- i am stronger because of it.
- and i learned how to ask for help.
- i have friends who KNOW when i need help.
- that is amazing.
- and so am i.
Thursday, September 23, 2004
world poker tour
so i get there and everyone is bullshitting and drinking beer... obviously they are psyching themselves up. it takes the boys a little bit to get the game organized... which chips for a quarter, which chips for a dollar, no we have more green ones than red ones, those should be the quarters..... highly DISORGANIZED. i bet the WSOP doesn't have that conversation. and they lay down the "poker" table on top of the dining room table. it was a nice green table, with drink holders and everything. the boys my husband play with have used the "rake" to buy a nice fancy one that they move the dining room table out of the way to play. they have purchased vegas chips and get pretty serious. its 40 bucks just to sit your booty in the chair.
so the boys, excuse me, men... get down to bidness. that leaves, me, heather, justin, and special K to watch. justin and K grab 2 stools and drag them over to the game to do commentary. they start using their pseudo hushed golf voices. "and lance has big slick and here comes the flop, OH, that won't help him at all...." we got bored with that and since justin and i don't know how/want to play poker, we bust out UNO! that's right ladies and gentleman. UNO. the fast paced game of strategy, skill, and thwarting your opponents. now, the last time we played UNO, it was at the lake. and we played MY VERSION: drUnkEn UnO. the one where if you draw two, you drink two..... you get skipped, you gotta sip, throw a wild, drink it, child. yes, even I can make a drinking game out of something so harmless as UNO. but we played the regular way, last night. and UNO will tell you who your real friends are. if your friend skips you 6 times, you might want to re-evaluate things. you might want to reconsider them for the christmas card list. while we were playing UNO, some more people showed up, the pizza showed up and the poker game was still going strong. we started placing bets on who was going to stand up in outrage and get pissed off at their buddy, who was going to tell them to shut up and who was going to make a joke out of the whole thing. it was hard to take these boys seriously, since one of them was wearing a pair of Jimmy Neutron sunglasses. K went to Big Lots and purchased fun glasses for those amateurs who forgot to bring theirs. she even bought diving goggles, which justin wore during the powerful game of UNO, until they started to fog up.
so heather won UNO and she, K, eileen, and her husband went to go start their own poker game. that left me. and justin. well, we knew how to improvise. we decided to learn how to play Skip-Bo. neither of us had ever played, so it was truly an adventure. we opened he box and found not one deck of cards, but three. oh jeebus, this was going to be involved. we counted the cards, 162 total and began to read the instructions. we were each dealt 30! cards. that is called our "stock" pile. then there will be the rest of the deck, that is called the "draw" pile. then we have 4 piles in front of us called the "discard" pile. there are 18 skip-bo cards also known as "wild cards" i looked at justin and said, "wild cards??? have we been immunized?" he raised his beer, we clink and drink, and thus became "immunized" we were ready! we had also taken a blue, a white, and a black chip and set them by our "stock piles" see, we were playing with poker chips too. now the counter where we were playing had now become the "Skip-Bo Arena". we checked the diagram of all the piles, using a screwdriver as a pointer, to help point out the exact location of the cards that will be played in the Arena. we shook hands and began. it was slow going at first. because there was so much strategy involved. you have to make 4 piles in the middle of the Arena starting with 1 and consecutively increasing to 12. once all of the piles reach 12, you shuffle them in with the "draw" pile and continue playing. the first person to use up all of their cards in their "stock" pile, wins. difficult, no? i thought justin was cheating since he kept running out of cards. kinda like when my grandfather use to play scrabble with us and would say, "i don't have anymore room for my tiles", and he would have 10 tiles. but i digress... the game lasted almost an hour. the guys over at the poker table kept making fun of us by calling out, "SKIP-BO!" see, they were jealous. they had to play stupid, ole poker and here we were playing the rousing game of Skip-Bo. nanny nanny boo boo.
as the "stock" piles are dwindling, we start throwing in our chips. i checked him when i had double trip 8's. a great hand by any standard! he then called me when he ended up with 5 12's. i think double trip 8's beats quintuple 12's ANY day. so, the game is progressing. him, still cheating. but i cant prove it. i am sure of it. he had that look in his eye and the eyebrow that twitched when he uncovered another card from his "stock" pile. finally i am All-In. and we both have 2 cards left in our "stock" pile. he throws an 11, flips over his last card... and it was a 12. DAMMIT! just when i thought i had him cornered. i still maintain that he was cheating. he must have looked at my cards, when he stepped away from the arena to get another beer. to justin i demand a REMATCH! i will defeat you, you Skip-Bo cheater, you!
after the game was finished, we shook hands and watched the others playing poker. K's friend Lance wasn't doing so well at his poker game, so i turned his hat inside out as a rally cap. he began to turn his luck around. until jeremy knocked the hat off his head, and then it was tainted and ruined the rally. spoil sport.
i started to get tired, since i have been sick this past week and it was well past my bedtime. i came home and went to sleep. i had super fun. and i will triumph at Skip-Bo next time! you hear me, Justin Cheater Pants?
Wednesday, September 22, 2004
let's go to luchenbach, texas with waylon, willie, and the boys
i am so ready to move back to texas. and i'm not ready at the same time. i am sitting here listening to willie (nelson, DUR) and drinking Red Draws. "what the fuck is a Red Draw," you ask? lemme tell you. its so yum, you will thank me after i tell you. if you like beer and bloody marys. if not, then thank me anyway, because i am sharing a secret with you.
RED DRAW:
1 can beer (miller lite is great for this)
1/4 cup V8
1 tsp lemon juice
2 shakes salt
3 spanish olives (optional)
tabasco (also optional)
mix it all together in a glass and enjoy. my friend michelle and i used to sit around drinking these until we were silly. they originated in a bar in wichita falls, texas.
and i am just ready to be "home" i wanna eat brisket and elgin sausage. i wanna get shiner bock at EVERY single watering hole i patronize. i wanna hug my sweetie. i wanna see BIG belt buckles and tight jeans. i wanna go honky-tonkin with my honey. i wanna eat blue bell ice cream. i wanna see a texas sunset (the MOST beautiful you will EVER see.) i wanna see bluebonnets. i wanna hug my grandma. i wanna see the texas flag plastered on ANYTHING that will sit still. i wanna drink a REAL margarita. i wanna eat real TexMex. i wanna see armadillos and jack rabbits. i wanna be in texas. really bad.
anyone have any frequent flyer miles to spare for a good cause?
Monday, September 20, 2004
the mexican (mocha)
this man came into the store this afternoon. he asked all sorts of questions about the sugar-free items we have available. here is how the conversation went:
him: how many carbs are in your sugar free mexican mocha?
me: (checking) hmm... there are no carbs in the syrups we use, therefore the only carbs would come from the dairy.
him: so there are are no carbs in your sugar-free syrups.
me: right. just checked.
him: well sometimes the sugar-free stuff has carbs.
me: ours don't. (with sly smirk)
him: ok, then i want the grande sugar-free mexican mocha... the one with the blender.
me: OH, that is going to have a substantial amount of carbs, that's a different ingredient for making the frozen drinks.
him: oh, so the blender ones have more carbs? i mean the one with the... (he sticks his pointer finger towards the sky and makes a circle with it)
me: yes sir, the frozen drinks, with the shaved ice have more carbs. i can make you this drink over ice, using milk, which will cut down on the carbs drastically.
him: so that's with the shaved ice?
me: no sir, that's OVER ice. with ice cubes and regular milk.
him: nah, i'll just have the grande mexican mocha, sugar-free.
me: ok so that is a HOT drink now? (he nods) now what kind of dairy do you prefer? whole, skim, or half-and-half?
him: oh, you have half-and-half... i want that.
( i go grab the cup and start putting the syrups in it)
him: is that the largest size you have?
me: no sir, i have a 24 ounce.... but you asked for the grande (he is staring at the menu trying to find a 4th size) we added a 4th size AFTER our menu was printed, so its not on there, but we have a 24 ounce size, which would be our largest.
him: well how much is that?
(i turn around to look at the menu to figure out how much a 24 ounce breve with flavor would be, meanwhile we have a line of customers forming.. i ask E to ring it up to give him a total, it was $4.57 he looks the menu and tells me that a "mexican mocha is less than that")
me: well sir, you got a breve with a flavor, that's a different price.
him: no, i got a mexican mocha.
me: you want a breve with mexican mocha syrups. the breve is made with half-and-half, therefore it is more expensive
him: well you just asked me what kind of milk i wanted, you didn't say that one was more expensive than another. (E rings up a mega mexican mocha totaling $4.04)
me: so, does that mean you want me to make this with MILK instead?
him: yes, now that's sugar-free right?
me: the milk changed, sir, NOT the syrups. (with the "could you be MORE stupid" tone)
(i proceed to make this man's drink.... slamming shit around and hand him his drink and i don't say anything.... he takes a sip of it and asks E if it needs sweet and low. she says, "i guess, if you think it does"
me: it shouldn't need it, it should be plenty sweet enough.
him: well, its not.
me: the sweeteners are over on the bar.
him: what about the whipped cream?
(E tells him that it has carbs because it is sweetened with our regular syrups... he decides after ALL of this that he wants whipped cream, too and LOTS of it)
now i have to make the 48 drinks that have lined up in the time it took to get this jackass's order right. i noticed he was wearing a shirt that said "blah blah Hypnotherapy" and i began to wonder, do they have hypnotherapy for being a jackass? or maybe... his behavior was a result of a JOKE that someone played on him, "while he was under" ya know, you hear a bell and start barking.... someone takes your drink order at a coffeehouse, and you become an utter asshole? it could happen, right?
i just hope he seeks help somewhere. and i hope he doesn't come back here. because if you cant spare an extra .50 on a cup of joe..... then you might want to start making your coffee at home.
and you thought slingin coffee was easy.
Sunday, September 19, 2004
why me?
so today's word? (see i WAS going somewhere with this)
coelacanth
"what the fuck?" you say?
well, here ya go:
Virtually unique in the animal kingdom, with a saga steeped in science and popular imagination, the fabulous Coelacanth ("see-la-kanth"), that 400 million year old "living fossil" fish, paddles on. Pre-dating the dinosaurs by millions of years and once thought to have gone extinct with them, 65 million years ago, the Coelacanth with its "missing link" "proto legs" was "discovered" alive and well in 1938! (http://www.dinofish.com/)
yep... that's what i got stuck in my head today. i learned about them in biology 2 years ago. and for some reason the information wormed it's way back out of the deep recesses where i store all that junk, and rattled around in my head today like a tennis shoe in a clothes dryer.
so, truly.... WELCOME to my little world. where prehistoric fish and blast-ended skrewts dwell.
careful, the skrewts are a bit fiesty.
Thursday, September 16, 2004
yep, its my turn for a list
here is my things to do before i am 100 list.
- have kids
- have grandkids
- see van morrison in concert in belfast, ireland (from about 3 feet away) and then meet him
- dance in the street, with my husband, in every foreign city we visit
- visit peru
- visit morocco
- visit greece
- go back to england and scotland
- learn to SCUBA dive
- buy my mother diamonds
- spend a month in bora bora with every single one of my girlfriends
- own my own coffee plantation in costa rica or guatemala
- own a silver porsche 911 turbo cabriolet
- gaze at a star filled sky in the middle of the mediterranean ocean
- catch lightning bugs with my children
- donate as much money or time to any charity i desire
- see the indigo girls in athens, ga with jenny
- see rod stewart with angela
- write a book
- learn how to throw pottery
- learn to blow glass
- get another tattoo
- send my parents on vacation
- go to one of my brother's football games
- go on another cruise
- adopt a child
- learn to play guitar
- learn to play cello
- teach a child something only i know how to do
- spend a summer touring every major league ballpark
- throw a BASH
- pick my husband up from an airport wearing nothing but a trenchcoat and heels
- take a beach trip with donna
- learn to salsa dance
- make a signature dessert
- serve at a soup kitchen
- have one truly fearless day
- play dress up with my grandmother again
- have a family reunion
- send my husband, mother, dad, and father to pebble beach to golf
- have my own line of nail polish called StarWonder
- build a hammock for 3 and lay in it with allie and lauren (have cable installed, as well)
- have lunch with julia roberts
- drive as fast as i want on an open road
- live up to my mother-in-law's legacy
- change a stranger's life for the better
- afford a *real* hair conditioner addiction
- buy 50 of the biggest christmas trees and give them to families without them
- plant a tree in honor of my family members who are no longer with us
- give my daughter(s) the wedding of her dreams
i think i will stop here. i will add to this list whenever i see fit. check back often, in case i think of something crazy that i HAVE to do.
Wednesday, September 15, 2004
head, shoulders, knees, and toes
and i just got off the phone with one of my very best friends and she made it all better. i mean, hell, you can't be upset with your life when you are on the phone with a woman who has 4 children. under the age of 10. let me break it down: a 9 year old, a 5 year old, a 3 year old and a 7 month old. HOLY SHIT. yes, i tell her she's crazy about as many times as i blink. but she makes it work. and it makes her happy. and her kids are happy. even though her 3 year old told her that the song and dance to "head, shoulders, knees, and toes" was "DUMB" that was a humbling experience. she told me that somewhere between year 1 and year 3, that song lost ALL cool points. so take note of that if you decide to sing that song to a room full of kids. you might get an unruly audience.
so yeah, that will bring you out of a funk. considering a had a breakdown driving across town earlier in the day. i mean i was a snotty, teary, hicuppy, road raged kind of mess. but i think i am ok now. i miss my kitties. i miss my husband. and people can't drive. good reasons to cry, no?
but here are my meaningful things:
#1 i spent yesterday celebrating a friend's birthday with food, shopping, food, laughing, shopping and more laughing.
#2 i went over to my mom's house and we ate chinese and had quality time. we even made a few purses too.
#3 i got to talk to my grandmother and make her laugh... the good deep belly kind. i think i may have even snorted. i KNOW i guffawed.
so i am going to work on more purses. and perhaps my business cards. i already have one bag on hold for a lady. just wait till the world gets a peek at em.
yay me.
on a different note, is it weird that i told our other 2 cats that simon wasn't coming home? it was kinda like the "death talk" you give to kids. ya know. the one where you tell them that "so-and-so is up in the sky with grandpa. you remember grandpa right? you know the one with the candy in his pockets. yeah.. him. no not really in the sky. but heaven. yes, heaven. no, i dont think all people go to heaven. i am sure all animals do. because they have good souls. i will tell you what a soul is another time. why? because i said so. ok its time for bed"
yeah. that one. but it was VERY one-sided. the girls (we have 2 girl cats) just kinda looked at me like i was crazy. i think our "oldest" understood because she has been through this before.
right.... so was it weird?
Friday, September 10, 2004
sleep well, little man.
simon avery, kitten boy had a total of 13 seizures yesterday, that i was able to witness. that can't be good. it isn't good. and it is hurting him more than i am allowing myself to accept. i think he is now blind and gets angry if you touch him, because he cant see you coming.
we have an appointment at 3:45 at the vets office. we are going to bury him next to our family doggie and our oldest cat, whom we buried last year, the day before thanksgiving. my husband is beating himself up for not being here for this. but he can't. that is a fact. he has bigger things to do. but i have my brother here to go with me. what a way to spend your day off. but on the bright side, we gave simon a very loving house to live for as long as he was able. if it hadn't been for us, he might have gone to the pound and they may have put him down sooner than was necessary. he has had 2 older kitty sisters to torment him and love him all at the same time. he filled a void we needed filled after we put our oldest down. and we loved him. more than he will ever know. more than i think i will ever know. and i hate it for him. i hate that he got sick. i hate that his brain is fucked up. i hate that he hasn't even lived a year. how do people watch their children die so young? that has to shatter a persons heart. AND faith. but my sense of faith is messed up. so we shouldn't bring faith into it.
all i know is that i have loved that kitten so much. and his "daddy" has loved him even more because finally he wasn't out-numbered. with 2 other girl cats, he finally had a "man" on his side. and i know that my husband's heart is breaking, as well. not only because he can't be here, but he also knows that i have to do this without him. and there's the guilt that he can't be here for me, simon, or himself. the next time he comes home, there will only be 2 cats to greet him. that's hard. and i hate it for him. but we are doing this for simon. we have to. he is not living right now, he is existing. and for no one else but me. and that's not fair.
simon avery, we loved you with all of our hearts. sleep well, little man. you have a sister waiting for you.

andy pettitte (now pitches for the Astros)
johnny damon (newest World Series champ)
orlando bloom (i'm speechless)
brad pitt (umm... again, speechless)
LL Cool J a.k.a. Lady's Love Cool James (just give me an hour to kiss him. the only thing better than HIS lips, are my husband's lips)
joey harrington (QB for the Lions. used to play for the Oregon Ducks)
johnny depp (pillage me)
jason la rue (catcher for the Cinci Reds)
vin diesel (*drool*)
chris isaak (he sang to me for over 2 hours, once)
benjamin bratt (if he's good enough for julia....)
matthew mcconaughey (a boy from the Lone Star State... how could you go wrong?)