It is 1:30 AM and I am awake.... why????? Grrr..... I am pretty sure if I watch "Hoarders" at this hour, I will never get to sleep. It would be scarier than "Paranormal Activity" (and that was incredibly scary!) So, I am going to find a movie on streaming Netflix. I was asleep and then just kind of popped awake. It doesn't help that my allergies are acting up and I can't breathe.

You would think I would have some interesting philosophical things to spout off this early in the morning. You would be wrong. I just managed to make Sierra mad at me because she was happily sound asleep and I woke her up. Since she sleeps all the time, I am fairly certain she will be okay.......

Okay, I think the Benedryl is starting to kick in so I am going to head back to sleepy land. Later!

State Fair Pictures

I am really not sure why the pictures are so small, but oh well..... Here are a few from the state fair :).

Being flowers!!!






The fried margarita... totally rocked.




Big Tex! Such an icon.





I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

Quick Check-In

I am doing great -- just wanted to pop my head in to say hi!

Let's see -- what's new:

**My car has a new tire. Seriously, what is it with my car and nails? And it isn't something I can put off -- I can't say, "nah, I'll wait for that new tire" because, yeah, a blow-out would be incredibly bad.

**Work is going well. Same old stuff. Nothing new to report :/. People who annoyed me before still annoy me. I can only go to my zen, happy place.

**I went to the fair on Sunday and it was so much fun! I will tell you now, the fried beer was AWFUL!!! I didn't buy it so that was good. However, I did have to get a corn dog right after to get rid of the taste in my mouth! Horrible, horrible. Now, the fried margarita was incredible! As was the fried butter. I didn't think I'd like the fried butter, but I have to tell you, it was a good indulgence. Since I went to fried food heaven on Sunday, I have been trying to eat better this week. My indulgence was only once this year and I usually only go to the fair every other year or so. If I ate fried butter every day, it would be a problem. However, I don't regret it at all. And I really would love to go back and get some more :). (But I won't.... because I don't think it would live up to the way I remember it in my mind!!!).

**Michelle is coming to Dallas on Friday and I am taking the day off. Yay!! Can't wait. It will be a blast.

**I loved the Britney Spears episode of "Glee" last night. I didn't enjoy "Baby, One More Time" because it was too high. But seeing "Glee" Brittany showcase her stuff, front and center, was awesome. Now, the episode was total fluff, but it was good, happy fluff. And watching Heather Morris ("Glee" Brittany) dance is just magical. I could watch her all day. I wish the whole episode would have been just her!

Okay, that is about it. Random stuff, I know. But, hey, my mind is a bunch of random thoughts today :). Happy Wednesday everybody!!

This is insanely adorable - Cats and Ikea (I found it on Icanhazcheezburger!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCB7RqGS684&feature=player_embedded

The weekend was great and I had a wonderful time. Nothing big happened, I just went to sushi with Dawn and then to the new Buffalo Wild Wings in Frisco. I didn't really think we would stay that long but we ended up watching college football most of the night. A wonderful waiter found us a table (it was packed!) and because of that, I figured we should stay for awhile. We chatted with the table next to us and made some new friends. A&M wasn't televised again this past week (not until 9/30... grr!) At least we are playing well - so I can't complain :). Okay, so it's been 2 games -- but still 2 wins is better than nothing. (Yes, looking at you Cowboys..)

Sunday I did nothing! It was kind of nice. So nothing to report there.

Right now I am watching a show called "Haunted History" and they are doing New Orleans ghost stories. I think one of the ladies giving commentary on it was a tour guide many, many years ago when I went. This would be the tour that I passed out on so I don't remember much about her except her dark hair and her giving me her water (well.... actually pouring it on my back...). Shocking that I passed out in May in humid, hot New Orleans (yes, sarcasm). I am sure I have relayed that story, but if not, I can definitely re-tell it here! This show is making me miss New Orleans though. I was supposed to go 5 years ago before Katrina hit, but obviously that never happened. But now I think I want to go back at some point.

Happy Monday to all! Hope the weekend was great.

Awesome Show!

Jo Koy was AWESOME!!! I laughed (tears at times) non-stop until he stopped. We had a pretty good view of the stage so that was good. I am so happy I was able to go (thanks to Steve for being my date!). We decided not to wait in line to get our picture taken with him. I do think I will be commenting on his FB page about the greatness that was the show. It was a very diverse crowd, which was kind of interesting. He just speaks to all types of people. He seems like he would be super fun to hang out with and just have a few beers. If I ever get the opportunity to see him again, I will!!! I love live comedy. There is nothing better than laughing until you are crying. And, yes, I did :).

And A&M kicked some college football booty today. 48-7 against Stephen F Austin. Solid showing :). Oh, and my friend's little girl took her first steps today. Go Ally!!!! I hope Natalie got it on video. I got the text after the show and I am happy she decided to share that moment with friends (pretty sure I wasn't the only one to get that message :))

Okay, time to log off. Because I feel lame for blogging on Saturday night even though I have already been out and had the most wonderful time!

Hump Day!

This week has been great. I have been busy at work (kind of to the point where my brain feels like it is swimming. Not a bad thing, I just feel exhausted when I leave the office!). I get to go see Jo Koy this weekend at the Addison Improv! I am sooooo excited. Love, love, love him. He is a comedian that appears on "Chelsea Lately" (and we all know I love her!). He just makes me laugh every time he is on panel. I was excited to read when he was coming to Dallas and then even more excited when my friend Steve wanted to go too! He is a big Chelsea fan as well and knows who Jo is -- so who better to drag along :). I am getting my ticket today since we just finally decided on the date and time. It was originally going to be at the Arlington Improv and I am not sure why they moved it. However, I am very happy they did because Addison is much more convenient.

My PHR Re-cert came back as accepted this week as well, so that makes me very happy. Another 3 years to get 60 credits. I will try not to wait until a year before they are all due. Really, that OSHA Standards course helped out a lot with 28 hours!!

That is it for now. I have to get back to work. Really, it is nice to be busy :). And I am looking forward to the 3 day weekend coming up. Besides the Improv, I have no other plans. So, it will be chilling and sleeping :). Yay.

Update

Nothing too exciting...

1) New cell phone. It rocks. Love it!

2) My Aunt and Uncle are in town from CA this weekend. I can't wait to see them tonight for dinner! I'm cooking and hopefully it will be great. (Well, it will be great. I know it.). I just made a fruit dip (recipe given to me by my friend!) and it is so yummy. Philly Cream Cheese, Cool Whip and Sweetened Condensed milk, whipped all up (all low-fat, fat-free, of course). I am chilling it right now and I expect to eat more before official dessert time :).

3) Went to the Women's Expo today at the Dallas Market Center. Spent an hour, it was pretty much all I needed. There were only a handful of booths I was even interested in. Oh well, it was something new to do.

4) Resting up right now, watching disaster movies. The SyFy Channel is running them today. A tornado just destroyed Las Vegas. That was just the first 10 minutes. Yeah, this will be a thought provoker....

5) I saw "Eat, Pray, Love" last night and it was so good. I wasn't sure I'd be that into it since I never read the book. It was funny, thought provoking and just a lot of fun. I do recommend it.

Okay, that's it right for now! Everyone have a great Saturday.

Um....

I now remember why the cute pair of Steve Madden shoes hadn't been worn to work in awhile. When you go walking around Downtown, feet HURT! I am now wearing flats...... (But they are so cute!! I'll have to wear them on a date when I am not moving so much......)

Possible Epidemic...

I swear, pregnancy is becoming an epidemic. This week alone, 2 people have told me they are pregnant (and Neil Patrick Harris just announced he and his partner are expecting twins. That got a super "AW!"). While I am happy for all, it is getting to the point where I am just not surprised anymore :). (Okay, one of them this week was a very happy surprise and special prayers go up for this special person! The people in the know know why she gets extra special thoughts and prayers. I won't be going into it on a public forum.). I had lunch today with an old high school friend who is almost 5 months pregnant. She finds out Thursday what she is having. I guess starting around Oct you will be hearing a lot about baby showers. And it is probably a good thing I like to buying for babies. I even checked out baby blankets at Target today. Monkeys make a good theme for a boys room, by the way :). (And, I guess a girls room too.)

Book club was fun on Thursday night. I really liked the book and it was a great discussion. I loved seeing Chloe and Colby before we started the meeting via Skype. Colby kept saying hi to the camera and she and Chloe would come up and hug in front of it. They were very adorable and it made me miss them even more! I wanted to hug them but all I could do was say "hi" back to Ms. Colby :). The next book club book is "The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud". Hopefully I will get it done before 6:00 on the night of the meeting....

Okay, off to get ready for dinner. Meeting my friend at 6:30 and looking forward to a nice night out! Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

My exciting adventure for today? I actually went to the Dallas Public Library (Main Branch here in Downtown). I have lived in Dallas for years and have never taken advantage of all they have to offer. Okay, I didn't get a card because I left my ID at the office (the main branch is right down the street from the office) but I did go in, look around and get the urge to actually get one. Okay, so not really that newsworthy, but hey, you have to take what you can get these days :).

Other than that, nothing really much to report. Book club is tomorrow and hopefully I can actually get it finished before 8..... I think I can. It is a really good book, it just started off very slow. I think I read 4 other books before I got to it :). But, "Peace Like a River" is worth it if you are looking for a good novel to read.

I hope everyone is having a great Wednesday. The air is killing me right now and I am sneezing and coughing like a crazy person. I guess it had been awhile since I used the rescue inhaler.... :(.

Quote

The best quote on fluffy reality tv goes to... RuPaul on "RuPaul's Drag U". I am paraphrasing, however the sentiment is the same: "When you hear that negative self talk enter your mind, just tell it to STFU". I loved that!

Today was great. (Okay, it started a bit rocky, however I pulled myself out of it, regrouped and made it a great day.). I am exhausted but never mind that. It isn't anything a good nap after work can't cure.

Hope everyone is staying cool this week. Happy Wednesday! (Nope nothing else to report.)

Happy Tuesday

I have to say that today has been a pretty good day. I got into work with news that a friend of mine had her twin girls yesterday. They were scheduled to be delivered on Friday, however I guess they wanted to play early. They are both healthy and Mommy is doing well too (the babies were both over 5 lbs which is great for twins). So, yay!!! I had a presentation at 8:30, got that out of the way and had a pretty productive morning. Now I am slowing down and getting tired. 3 more hours - let's see if I can gain that momentum from this morning! (And, to make things so much better, annoying cube neighbor is out again today. Really, who could ask for more :)).

I'm Back!

I'm back from Atlanta and in one piece. I really am glad I don't travel for my job -- air travel is an a** whipping! I will give full details in a future post (tomorrow maybe). I saw lots of interesting things while there! However today is a day off and I am going to enjoy it. I got in last night around 8:45 (which was actually only 30 minutes later than my scheduled arrival time so yay Delta.. and yes, that is sarcasm....). Of course, with getting my luggage, and then my car, I didn't get home until around 10. It is good to be home. :) The trip was actually productive and my trusty Kindle (loaded with my new obsession Jen Lancaster) kept me company while waiting for delays and sitting on tarmacs. I guess I can't complain too much -- I got home safely. :). And Simon was definitely happy to see me. Man, he chatted me up when I got through that door. Sierra said hi and then just went away. She doesn't really seem to care much anymore when I leave. That probably should hurt my feelings in some way.......

Anyway, Happy Friday!

??

What the heck is up with "Christmas in July"? I have heard about 3 or 4 events over the last week that have the title and I was even invited to a party next weekend with the theme. Not sure if this is a new phenomenon or I have just been under a rock for the last 38 years and never saw it. Luckily, obnoxious cube neighbor has not found Christmas music to sing out of tune to. That might cause staplers to go flying.

I have decided to register for the Dallas White Rock 1/2 Marathon on Dec 5. I had forgotten about it but found a link yesterday and got the urge again. It is 4 solid months before the event and I am sure I can train and get ready to attempt it. I needed a new goal anyway and this is as lofty as any!! :). So, when I return from Atlanta, I will start the process. Seems weird to start so early, but I have lost the momentum from last year, running in the relay. I need to build it back up. So, there you go, it is out there and now I have to commit!

Everyone have a wonderful Thursday! I am really looking forward to the weekend. If only because it is the weekend!!! I am tired of Grumpus people (and I was TOTALLY one on Monday. I was tired of myself!).

What was I going to say???

I had a great blog post written in my mind and for some reason, on the walk back from lunch, it went away. Not sure where. It was great, I can assure you of that :).

Last night, I finally got to watch the new Logo show, "Drag U". It premiered Monday night but the DVR picked it up. I make no apologies for my love of Drag Queens. I would watch episodes of "RuPaul's Drag Race" over and over again. (Except when Pandora got kicked off. Couldn't watch that more than once.). I really like "Drag U" -- it is pure fluff and really doesn't take itself too seriously. The premise is that each episode takes ordinary women and gives them a drag "professor". The contestants of Season One and Two of Drag Race serve as the "professors". Now, truthfully, had I known this show was going into production I might have tried to get on. I might have to frump down a bit, but really, for my own Drag Mother I would do it :). What made me sad was a woman on there who said she never felt beautiful in her life. I have days of feeling like an ugly duckling, but I am fairly certain I am beautiful. I loved the fact that at the end of the show, she sat up there and said "I am a beautiful woman!" with gusto. Yes, this fluffy show gave me little tears of happiness. The show won't win Emmy's but it brings back my favorite Drag Queens (PANDORA!!! and Nina too :)) and brings a bit of sunshine to women who need it in there life. I even was able to stand Raven. Her and Jujubee were pretty funny together. If you haven't watched "Drag Race" before, you have no idea who I am talking about. Sorry :).

Next week is a trip to Atlanta for the Annual Training Meeting. I am really not looking forward to it but I must do my duty. It won't be that bad, I know. Just too hot for humans. Even hotter than Dallas, I think. At least last year it was in Denver. Cooler temps and I got to see Michelle. It is a way to get out of the office, so that is a silver lining too. Maybe I will get some good stories on the trip. People watching at the airport is always interesting.

PS -- today is National Junk Food Day. For those of you who are interested :).

My New Obsession

I have recently discovered the books of Jen Lancaster. Jen writes a blog (funny!!) and has 5 books out now (memoirs). I have to say, I just LOVE her. Her writing is funny and her stories are very interesting. I found her when I was doing research for my choices for the book club. I can't help but laugh when I read the books. I have gotten many a side eye on the train in the morning! But really, when you have to laugh, it will come out. (Sh*t my Dad Says" is also very funny and I highly recommend that one too). Anyway, the point is that I highly recommend her books to anyone looking for a good read, funny writing and a witty, very smart mind. I have her first book "Bitter is the New Black" in "real" book form and so I am willing to loan it out when I get done reading it. And more than likely that will be Wednesday or Thursday. After I am done with this book, I will need to get going on our next book club book "Peace Like a River". It is downloaded and ready to go. And, well, so is Kendra Wilkinson's new book but that seems pretty easy. Not sure what has gotten into me, but I am on a book kick! I guess there are worse things to be addicted to......

Hope the weekend was awesome for everybody!

I went to see "Eclipse" last night with a friend and it was pretty good. I enjoyed it -- definitely a lot better than the first "Twilight" movie. It was nice eye candy for a Sunday night. Anyway, after the big fight scene where Edward saves his beloved Bella from the evil vampire trying to kill her, my friend leans over and says "A bit over dramatic...". That pretty much gave me the giggles. At least that scene was close to scene in the book. :)

My friend is the queen of finding deals and so she had a coupon for $1 popcorn and $1 Soda at the AMC for July 4th only (any size!). I never buy popcorn at the theater however I took full advantage of it. I do have to remember never to get a large diet coke at 7 PM if I want to get to sleep before 2 AM. Thank goodness I didn't have to work today.

Well, that is about it for the laziest Fourth of July weekend ever. I really don't plan to get much done today either (well, laundry and possibly a trip to the grocery store). I would rather stay in, watch movies and read some. I truthfully think the Kindle has caused me to read more. Not a bad thing! I do have to circle back and refresh on "Water for Elephants" since we have book club this week and I am the leader this month. Happy Monday and have a great day!

Yep, I know

It has been a while since I blogged. I am totally aware of that. I just have nothing interesting to say right now. Really, I am thinking but life has just been status quo lately (or, I just have things I want to keep private for the time being ;-)). Obnoxious cube neighbor is out of the office today. That made life great. She has been out a lot lately. Not sure how I have managed to go on with out her.......

This coming weekend will actually be pretty low key. I have plans Saturday night (not sure the exact plans, but I am going out) and Monday. And Sunday is dinner at Mom and Dads. I am just happy it is a 3 day weekend! I was supposed to cook last Sunday for them but I had a migraine that was not allowing that to happen. Stupid migraine.

So, that is it. I will think of something grand and then release my wisdom upon all. Right now I need to get back to work :). Have a wonderful Tuesday and enjoy the cooler temps!!!

Idina

So, I went to see Idina Menzel tonight at the Meyerson Symphony Center (thanks again Mom!). She was singing with the DSO. Okay, I knew she had talent, but I had NO IDEA what it would be like to see her live. The woman was just stunning. Her voice is just so incredible. I really do want to expand on this post at a later time, but I needed to get out my awe of her awesomeness. Not only is she talented, but she is funny and dare I say, adorable. I enjoyed her telling stories just as much as her singing. And anytime you can get the Dallas Symphony Orchestra to play "Poker Face" is a good time :). She sang "No Day but Today" from "Rent". That song always makes me tear up. I may have to put the movie on while I am trying to fall asleep. It is past my bedtime and I have one more day of my awesome job before I can get to the weekend. I will tell more later. But, she rocked. Love her more now than ever before :).