Happy Mother's Day!

Shoot out to my mom and all the mom's in the world! Happy Mother's Day :).

Saturday!

The week was great. I just got back from working out with Ryan -- we are still boxing and it is still the most wonderful workout ever! Plus, I get practical skills -- I am learning some moves that can be used if I ever need to defend myself. Calories burned and defense moves... what else can a girl ask for :). However my arms really hurt right now. Now I am just chilling, watching some old episodes of "Chuck". I actually need to go vote so I probably should get dressed and out the door. I also need to run to Target. Luckily they are both within a block of each other.

Mom and I are going to see "Rent" tonight. I am looking forward to it. I love "Rent" and seeing it live is a blast. I am making dinner for before hand -- I love my new crock pot. Well, to be honest, it isn't actually new. Jim gave it to me before we broke up -- and he isn't getting it back. So, I am enjoying the joys of the slow cooker :). And I appreciate Jen answering all sorts of dumb questions regarding crock pot cooking. I can come up with some doozies.... he he. Thanks girl! (And, while I am thinking about, shout out to Jen and the awesome work she is doing in the gym. I am so happy for you and you are truly an inspiration!!! Keep it up!).

Austin Re-Cap

Okay, Austin was WONDERFUL. I didn't want to leave. I have more pictures that I will post but I thought I'd give people a taste of some of it here. I went down for a bacherlorette party --- I just met the bride last weekend (the weekend before Austin). I know the Maid of Honor and she asked me to go along. So, along I went. There were only 4 of us -- the bride, Jen; Dawn (the MOH); Barry (yep, a guy at a b-party) and me. The bride had the veil and Dawn is the one obviously not me or a guy :).

(I hope these pictures aren't too dark!)

This one was taken at a tapas restaurant we had dinner at Saturday night. It was incredible. They had a fried goat cheese that rocked my world. Everything else was just super yummy too!

This picture was Halycon. It has the most awesome desserts and apparently great Chocolate Martinis. I took this time though to enjoy Smores and suck up as much water as I could. My cousin KaRyn went here when she was in Austin and told me all about it. So, so yummy! It was also a coffee bar and cigar bar. All these things in a cute, hip place.

We then went to about 4 different places to dance. We went non-stop from 10 -2 AM. One place of note was a club called Qua on 4th Street. There was a dance floor over a shark tank. Yes, a shark tank!!! It got so hot in there though -- I ended the night hanging out by the vent and trying to keep cool :). We also saw two bands (at two different clubs) who were singing the old 80's - 90's metal (think Poison....). With all the dancing, my legs were killing me the next day!!! I sat down for about 10 minutes. Bad move. Once I tried to stand back up, my feet pretty much revolted and said no. And it wasn't a great idea to walk around Austin barefoot. So, while they caught the cab back to the hotel, I sat on the bench at the corner.

It was a short trip and we were on our way back home Sunday around 1:00 (stopped for lunch at Z Southwestern Grille, another great food place). When I got home Sunday night, I pretty much just played with the cats and went to bed. I was still hurting Monday morning! My legs feel a lot better now :). I think all the dancing was good though -- we had a Cinco De Mayo lunch today and I probably ate more than I should have. I didn't get stuffed, but man, I don't think I can eat for a little bit longer.

More pictures to come though! Be on the look out :). (And based on the preview I just did of this blog, I might have to repost the two I did already!!!)

Saturday morning

Yes, I am going to Austin today! No, I am not worried about H1N1 (the official, not fun name for that new flu). I am healthy and wash my hands often. And really, I know what a sick person looks like, so I can stay away from them! I cough often which is annoying, but a side effect of my dang allergies. So, I am sure I will scare a few people in Austin :). There was no more anti- bacterial stuff at CVS but I had some in my car so I will just take that with me today too. Just have good hygiene, stay home when sick and just be vigilant. It is the same advice given during a regular flu outbreak. Just don't freak out! (By the way, www.cdc.gov has very good information about the new flu virus and other issues as well. I trust it way more than information on Yahoo or CNN. Although, I really do like Dr. Gupta.... but that is another blog post for another time :)).

I am just waiting for my friend to pick me up. We will be leaving around 11:30 or 12. So I gotta run and make sure I have everything. I just remembered I need to pack that camera!!! Have a great weekend :).

Well, dang it

I thought the mind crack was over when "Rock of Love Bus" had its season finale. I just watched "Daisy of Love". Now its going to be set on my DVR. It think it will be off-set by my new love of "In Plain Site". If you haven't seen that show, it's on USA and very very good!! Anyway, Sunday night has a new guilty pleasure......

I went to the shelter on Saturday afternoon and enjoyed the cuddles of many cats. I even actually got a kitty hug. I was sitting down and a sweet little black and white kitty crawled into my lap, put his paws on my shoulder and leaned in like he was hugging me. It was the sweetest thing!!!

Speaking of cats, I tried to give Sierra a Benedryl because she has allergies. Yeah, never actually got it in her. I just ended up with a drooling, pissed off cat. She is finally talking to me again. I used tuna and thought that would work. Yeah, no. She isn't sneezing as much now and her eye isn't running anymore so I am not really concerned about giving it to her. But it was kind of funny. If she starts up again, I will try to give it to her again.

That's it. Watching a "How I Met Your Mother" repeat-- the episode "Robin Sparkles" is like my all time favorite of that show. That and "Swarley". Both make me laugh many, many times. Anyway, I have to clean after this is over. And based on this blog entry, I might just watch too much TV!!! :)

Later....

TGIF

It's been a super duper rough week. I am so glad it's over!!! I am meeting some friends tonight for Happy Hour -- a much needed happy hour :). Then tomorrow, I plan to hang out at the shelter. Kitties always make it better.

I won't really go into details, however I wanted to let everyone know I was still alive and kicking! Katie posted some great videos of the girls and it made my week. Seriously, any bad thing melts away when seeing Colby crawl around and Chloe dance like only a 3 year old can :).

Have a wonderful weekend. If I get something interesting to say, I will definitely post. This weekend, the plan is just to stay busy.

Later!

Quick Recap

It's been awhile so I wanted to pop in and say hi. Been to Denver and back (AWESOME time!!) and worked a little so I wanted to take a moment to do a brief overview. I have pictures of Denver and I will post them soon. I keep promising that however I just haven't gotten around to it yet.

I arrived in Denver Friday morning very tired but ready to go! I arrived right after a blizzard, but amazingly enough my flight was on time and I had no problems. Michelle picked me up and then we started the trip. Friday was just chilling --we went to the mall. That night we took the train Downtown and hit a Piano Bar named Sing Sing. It was a lot of fun, however I think tiredness, dehydration and altitude got to me because I wasn't feeling all that great during the evening. Saturday we went to the mountains and played in the snow. Michelle's boyfriend has a German Shepard named Chloe and she is the sweetest dog! It was fun watching her play and romp around in the massive snow piles. Sunday was just spent chilling, hanging out and talking. I got home pretty late Sunday night (and the flight was very empty. There were only 28 people on that flight!).

This week hasn't been too eventful. I did have a fun commute Wednesday (April Fool's Day) when the train I boarded pretty much died on the tracks. I got on at Mockingbird, then the train lurched, lurched again and then went backwards. Um, we know that isn't right! During this time I met a gal who graduated from A&M so we chatted from the time they kicked us off the train, we got on a new train and then she got off. I never chat with people on the train however she was a fellow Ag so not a total weirdo :). We just joked that it was a very bad Dart April 1 prank......

This weeked should be fun. Jim's birthday was Thursday so I am having him over Saturday night and I am cooking dinner. I don't get to cook for him very often so it will be a treat. I am looking forward to it :). That is the big thing for the weekend. I do plan to go to the shelter, probably Sunday. I obviously didn't go last weekend so I need to go catch up with Felix and Mr. Pollo.

Okay, that's it -- I have to get back to work. I plan to post the pics soon. Possibly this weekend, but I really don't want to promise anything!!!

Mid Week Wrap-Up

One more work day and I am off to Denver!!! Whoot whoot!!! I talked to Michelle today and she has the weekend planned already. She asked if I had a heavy duty coat..... um, I live in Texas, we don't need that...... and gloves.... apparently I need thicker gloves. I might have to buy a cheapo pair while there. It is snowing and cold and it will be great! I can't wait to go to the mountains Saturday. Her boyfriend's family has a cabin up there and so we get to spend time with them. Can't wait!!!!

Prayers are needed right now. I have a friend who's sister was just diagnosed with thyroid cancer. It is very treatable and she should be fine, however, please keep her in your thoughts and prayers that it resolves it quickly and she goes into remission.

That is about it right now. I am thinking I need to pack soon but I will end up doing it all at the last minute tomorrow night! The bad part is that I have to pack all warm clothes and that takes way too much space! It is much easier to pack for warmer weather! :).

Later!!!

One full week

I was proud -- I didn't fall or bump my head once in the last week. Yes, seriously, that is a feet for me!!!! :). The weekend was great but it was too short.

I started volunteering at the Humane Society in Dallas. It is a no-kill shelter which is why I picked it. They have cats there that have been there for 10 years. A little old man cat named Mr Pollo is my favorite old timer. He has liver cancer, is about 16 years old, but he has a lot of life and love in him. He likes to cuddle and loves to be petted. I look forward to seeing him whenever I go in. I will get a picture of him so you can see him! And then there is a kitten named Felix. He is a solid black cat and very tiny. He is actually smaller than Simon. I believe he is actually over a year old because he is not in the "teenager" room. I sing "Felix the Cat" to him although I only know the first two lines :). There are a lot of other little love bugs in that shelter. If you know of anybody looking for a cat, let me know!!! I have only worked there for 3 hours but I can pinpoint personalities already. There are about 20 dogs also at the shelter (so if you want a dog, let me know that too!). I stick with the kitties because while I love dogs, I really am more comfortable with cat behavior!!! I do have to take my allergy medicine though - with 200 cats in the place, the allergies kind of act up.......

Well, that was the excitement of the weekend. Got to see my wonderful "friend" too and we watched the "Punisher: War Zone". Um, yeah, it was very cheesy but hey, I kind of figured it would be. Jim wasn't feeling well so we pretty much just hung out and watched the movie. It was still a nice evening.

I am heading to Denver this weekend and I can't wait! We are headed to the mountains on Saturday and Michelle said that snow was expected on Thursday and Friday. Yay!! I will have plenty of pictures next week.

Happy Birthday Chloe!!

Today is Chloe's 3rd birthday. Man, to be 3 again!!! I can't wait to see the pictures. Hopefully we will get a hold of them before my Aunt Gail starts photoshopping them. She is having fun however I will not believe there is a cow in her living room for the party :)>.

The weekend was great, very jam packed and even with some clutziness, I managed to escape it in one piece. Last night I was rather exhausted so I was in bed very early. Probably before 9 (Rock of Love Bus was still on so I know it was at least after 8). It was nice however I don't think I am fully recovered just yet. I think that is a function of Monday though. I should be better once I eat my lunch and get in a walk.

Everyone have a great Monday!

It's Cold!!!

I am cold and still wet from this morning's trek from the train station. Puddles tend to accumulate when it rains for awhile. And there were plenty of puddles. Sigh...... My shoes were pretty soaked when I got in so one of my co-workers loaned me a pair to wear so my feet wouldn't be cold. She is a size or two smaller than I am however they are slip ons and they work for the meantime. I now wish I had tea at the office. Something warm and soothing would do me some good!

That is about it today. I did do the Zumba class last night and had a blast! She was an awesome teacher. She even had some moves that weren't Zumba related..... we did a routine to "Mickey" by Toni Basil, complete with invisible pom poms. Had a blast, danced my booty off and I will definitely go back. It was a quick hour :). They have other classes at this studio (Move Studio, btw) so I will have to do more there.

Okay, later!

Zumba!

I haven't gone to a Zumba class in so long and I found one fairly close to me, so I made plans to go tonight. I need a good dance session. I hate cardio and finding fun ways to get it in are always good. I need it too. I have been slacking on my cardio sessions and that is not good. My aim is to get somewhat tight by the time I hit Denver. I won't be in a bathing suit in Denver, however 3 weeks is a good time frame to pump it up.

I know it is a little late for a weekend update but I think I am still being affected by the time change. There was no way I could type it yesterday :). It was a great weekend. My "new friend" and I went to a concert on Friday night at the Granada. Some guy named Derick Trucks. He is a Blues musician and actually very good. I enjoyed the concert... even danced around a little. He doesn't actually sing (he has members of his band that do that), he plays the slide guitar. It is mesmerizing to see the fingers go up and down the guitar. Even from as far back as we were, I could still see that skill. It was fun to hang out on Lower Greenville too. I hadn't done that in awhile. Saturday I just chilled in Keller. It was a lot of fun to just hang and watch movies. I had my choice of "SATC" or "Burn After Reading". I wasn't very impressed by "Burn After Reading" the first time I watched it so I chose my girls.

Onto Sunday. That was spent shopping with Mom for stuff for the apartment. I found lots of things to make my surroundings smell good (candles, etc). I didn't find any wall decorations I just could live without. I am going to try Hobby Lobby some time soon. They have some good stuff there and I have heard I can get it pretty cheap. Cheap is good! I also had dinner with my parents but by the time that was over, I was pretty tired. I just wanted to crawl on my couch and nap. And nap I did. It was rather nice to be lazy after such a productive day.

Okay, that is enough rambling. Time to get back to work!

Friday!

Good Morning! The two Red Bulls are kicking in and I am kind of hyper right now. That will wear off around 2 so might as well enjoy the ride while I have it going.

I have recently made two new goals for myself. I was feeling blocked and stuck and just not really thrilled with stuff (and basically bored out of my skull). I wanted to move but then I realized it was really because I was bored with my space. So, instead of putting energy into looking for a new place, packing, hiring movers, etc, I decided to just re-decorate and spruce things up a bit. I am going to see how cheaply I can design. I might just put ideas out here on occasion for vote/input.

My second goal is some sort of business certification. I have a phone meeting with my new boss to figure out what best suits my future career and the company. I found a program at UTD that looks pretty intense but great. And it will give me what I need without the 2-3 year commitment to another Master's Degree. I just need a brain spurt, and the UTD program will accomplish that. I am getting input from the new manager because I am going to utilize the Tuition Reimbursement benefit. I really wouldn't care what she thought if it was my own money! She is very cool and wants us to have whatever we need to succeed, so I will take her input to heart.

There is of course the on-going goal of weight loss and just getting better and stronger physically. I just need to tighten things up with my eating and I will be fine. I love Cadburry Eggs and have my share. However they came out so early that I am already sick of them. No need to buy and consume any more before Easter.

Okay, time to get to work. I need to get some things done before the weekend hits. Everyone have a great day!!!!

Family Brag Time

Read the article. Officer Houser is my cousin. Way to go, Officer Houser :).

http://www.mercedsunstar.com/108/story/711567.html

Another Girl!

It makes me laugh that now I find out the gender of my cousin's baby via a Facebook status update and not the usual emails/phone calls of past. My cousin Steven and his gf Christina are having a little girl. He did the right thing and made sure Aunt Gail knew first. Because I believe Gail would have killed him had she not been the 1st to know (or if she had to find out via Facebook). He and I aren't close so it was fine the way I found out. And I am very happy for them! Gotta go find something girly to send their way for the baby. :). I predicted a girl -- only based on the trend of Keen offspring. Forget genetics and XX and XY chromosones :).

Now I am just waiting for the end of the workday. It's been a super long and slow week. And this next hour is just going to crawl by! I don't like to wish the week away, but something more interesting has got to happen! I am having dinner tonight with Mia at this sushi restaurant my co-worker owns with his family (previously mentioned). It is very yummy and I am looking forward to it. I can't really walk right now because I worked out with Ryan last night and he killed my legs. You know how a baby deer wobbles when it is born -- yeah, I looked like that last night. I could barely stand up. It was awesome (I know, but have already established I am a sick girl :)). Tomorrow is upper body -- so I probably won't be able to type. It is all worth it. The workouts totally burn all the cake I am eating (and announcing on Facebook!).

Have a wonderful Friday night. Later!

Not much to say....

I don't have too much to report and most of it would sound like complaining anyway (I have that freaking cough again, my back is killing me, etc) so I will just stop there. I don't want to complain. The weekend was pretty good. It wasn't packed with non-stop adventures but that is okay. They can't all be the best weekend ever :). I ate at the Shuck and Jive around the corner from my house -- I hadn't been there in awhile and it was a lot of fun. Seemed the thing to do since it is Mardi Gras time (and they specialize in Cajun food). I didn't watch the Oscars because I fell into a NyQuil induced sleep. Yeah it was kind of early but it was bothering me and I needed to do something to control it. I apparently need to go find the Tina Fey/Steve Martin presentation because I have read places that is it funny. They are always funny together so it might be worth the effort.

Well, everyone have a wonderful Monday! It is so pretty outside. It is nice to have the sunshine thru my window! Later!

Best Weekend Ever

I had a wonderful weekend! Valentine's Day was perfect. I have just recently met someone and since it is still new, I won't give too many details here. But I will say for Valentine's day he cooked me dinner and we had so much fun. He is a great cook too! It was just a perfect, low stress, laugh filled night. We even watched those cheesy Sci Fi channel movies.

For my birthday, I did nothing until that night when Mom and Dad took me to dinner (Thai food!). So yummy. I was going to get my nails done, but really, I figured I would just chill and watch movies. It was my day :). I may possibly get my nails done today since I am off. Just need to get out and run some errands.

So, today is President's Day and I am off. I have actually been pretty productive this morning. Now I need to dry my hair and run to the grocery store. I have no food in the house. I also need to work out because, man I ate a lot this weekend!!! It was all worth it though :).

Later! Happy President's Day!

random thought

Is it supposed to be 72 degrees during February? I won't complain because I like the fact I don't have to run my heater, but I was just thinking that -- it was 72 ish today! I am the queen of random thoughts today so just ignore me :)>.

I am so happy tomorrow is Friday. It's going to be a good weekend and not just because its my birthday weekend. I want it to get started! Plus, I have Monday off, so hello 3 day weekend!!!

This is short and sweet. Everyone have a great Thursday night/Friday.

Rock Of Love Bus

Still trashtastic. Still love it. Watching it right now...... My mind crack on Sunday nights :).

This weekend was actually pretty productive. I worked out both Saturday and Sunday, balanced my checkbook, filed my taxes, completed benefit paperwork and did some laundry and the dishes. I get a nice refund in about 10 days direct deposited into my account. Love direct deposit into my account :). Sierra, of course, tried to help with all the paperwork. She is such a good cat :).

Nothing completely exciting happened this weekend though. I went to dinner on Saturday night with Mia and some of her co-workers, which was a lot of fun. The restaurant, Parigi, is located on Oak Lawn. It's small and quaint and very, very yummy! I believe they went to a wine bar afterwards but I decided to come on home. I watched Saw V (see Jen, totally figured out those tricky roman numerals :)). Now, I love the Saw films but V wasn't really as good as the others. Saw I is still the best. This installment filled in some holes in the story and did have a scene I didn't see coming. Love those! But, yeah, it still wasn't the BEST. And no, there were no nightmares for Kim last night!

Now I am getting my mind ready to head into the week. It will be long and fun and I am sure will have its ups and downs. They goal is to eat healthy and kick up those work outs. Cardio 4 x this week. One down, 3 to go!

I think this post has turned into some ramblings so I am going to end it :). Later!

The Super Bowl is not supposed to make you cry.....

When Jennifer Hudson came out to sing the National Anthem, I think I almost lost it. To know what horrific things she had to deal with at the end of last year, it was amazing to see her strong and powerful (well, on the outside. I am sure she was mush on the inside, but really who would blame her). I always tear up during the National Anthem anyway, but yeah, I was almost a blubbering idiot yesterday.

The weekend was good for me. I went dancing on Saturday night and had such a blast. I now realize I can't wear my 4 inch strappy sandals dancing because I can't walk in them at the end of the night! However, and yes I know I do sound very conceited here -- my legs looked awesome. I had so much fun, but yeah, at the end of the night I was running around barefoot :).

Okay, gotta run and analyze some Access data regarding Oil and Gas. Woo hoo..........