Friday random thoughts...

So the last couple weeks have just been up and down, what with the Chicago move being ripped away from us, and Echo cycling between “sick” and “okay.” I haven’t had a chance to really think about anything coherent to write about. So instead, I shall lean on my tried and true “random thought” arrangement:

So Echo was doing really well for about a week, and then all of a sudden stopped eating again. I’m thinking it may have been because of her arthritis, as opposed to any kind of stomach ailment, because we were forced to take her off the anti-inflammatory drug she’s been on for a few years. It’s been great for her arthritis, but it has the unfortunate side-effect of possible liver damage. And since her liver enzymes were too high when she was at the vet a couple weeks ago, he decided to take her off the drug. She was okay for about a week, and like I said, had started eating normally again – but then she started hobbling around like she was in pain, and wouldn’t eat anything. So we asked the vet for some pain medication that WON’T damage one of her organs, and after I gave her that, she seemed to perk up again. (And that reminds me, I have to give her all her pills now… I HATE giving her these pills, because she obviously does NOT appreciate it at ALL. I wish it were possible to talk and reason with animals…)

Okay, THAT’S taken care of… well, until tonight when I have to do it all over again. (And can someone tell me WHY they can make medicine that tastes good for KIDS, but they apparently can’t do the same thing for animals?? I mean, I can remember when I was kid and I had ear infections, I’d have to take some kind of liquid antibiotic – and I think it tasted like grape or something. So couldn’t they make, like, beef-flavored antibiotics for dogs? And tuna-flavored pills for cats?? It would make this twice-daily medication dosing routine a lot easier… for Echo AND for me…)

Moving on to other random topics… So my favorite commercial right now is that one for Hotels.com, where the guy is in the hotel bathroom and he goes, “hey honey, look – they gave us two bottles of shampoo…” and his wife says something like, “maybe they’re hoping you’ll write a good review” and then the guy starts pouring the bottles of shampoo on his head (even though he’s just standing in front of the mirror, fully clothed) and says, “it’s working! Aw, they got me! It’s working!” That commercial totally cracks me up every time I see it. It also makes me think I should visit Hotels.com once in a while, as my preferred travel-planning site of choice right now is Trip Advisor. But Trip Advisor doesn’t even HAVE commercials…

It’s been much too warm here the last few days. It’s still February, but it’s been in the 80’s all week. It makes me miss the brisk Chicago air… even if walking outside for too long meant the loss of all feeling in my face. It was very refreshing. (Of course, I’m sure if I’d been in Chicago for a while, I’d be writing, “I miss the warm Februarys in Austin… I could always feel my face when I walked outside…”)

We are getting dangerously close to running out of our seemingly-never ending supply of candy from the Tootsie Roll company that Rick brought home many weeks ago. I thought we’d never finish it all, and yet here we are, down to a few measly lollypops and a bunch of chewing gum (the Double Bubble gum has lasted the longest, because really – it’s just gum… :)). I’m glad it’s gone, actually – it’s much too tempting to have mountains of candy in the pantry (as is evidenced from the fact that it’s almost gone…).

And along those same lines – I’ve been TRYING to get back into my good eating and exercise habits lately. We’re two months past Christmas, so you’d think I could be back on track by now. Of course, I think the Chicago job kinda messed things up for a while, since our schedules were crazy and I made several trips to the City of Many Many Yummy Restaurants. One of the reasons I was really looking forward to moving there was all the opportunity for walking – if you choose the right location, you can pretty much walk EVERYwhere. The grocery store, the Starbucks, the bookstore, the Best Buy, the Home Depot, Many Many Yummy Restaurants, etc. But I guess I shall make do with my treadmill and occasional walks to Walgreens or CVS (which are the two places that are quite easy to walk to in my neighborhood… but I’m still wondering why they built two drugstores right across the street from each other…).

Argh! The fantasy baseball draft is less than a month away! I’m so unprepared! (Just realized that, so I thought I’d throw it in with my random thoughts…)

Okay, that’s about all I can come up with for now. Hopefully I’ll have something more interesting to write about soon…

Such a good dog...

Well, it’s been a bit of a crazy week. When Rick got laid off, we made plans to fly back to Chicago one last time (on Dell’s dime, fortunately) to retrieve the car – we drove it up back in October so Rick would have his own car up there. That way, he didn’t have to rent a car every time he flew up, and he could keep extra shoes/clothes in the car to make packing his little carry-on bag much easier. He had negotiated a great rate at a downtown hotel and found a parking garage a couple blocks away where he could park for 9 dollars a day. That’s outright cheap compared to the 30 or 40 dollars a day most hotels charge.

But anyway, as I was saying, we had plans to fly up to Chicago on Sunday. On Friday night, Echo started acting a bit “off” – panting a lot and not showing any interest in her treats (which are usually her favorite part of the evening). Some time in the middle of the night, she started throwing up – and she was pretty much up all night heaving and pacing and generally not feeling well. So the next day (after steam-cleaning the bedroom carpet…) I kept an eye on her, trying to decide if I should go ahead and go to Chicago, or just let Rick go by himself and hope he didn’t fall asleep trying to drive the car all the way back by himself. But I managed to get her to eat some dinner (although I had to mix her regular hard food with a bit of canned soft food), and she kept it down all night. So we thought she was over her little stomach issue and took her to Rick’s parents’ house Sunday morning on our way to the airport.

Once we got to Chicago, we called for an update and learned that she was refusing to eat ANY of her food. Not even the soft food. Sunday night all she ate was a bit of chicken, so Rick’s mom and my mom took her into the vet on Monday. This is when I wish animals could talk – was something hurting her? Was it her teeth? Her stomach? Was she simply feeling nauseous, or was she in pain? The vet ran some blood tests, and her liver and kidney enzymes were elevated. Her liver enzymes have always been elevated, but usually just slightly – the medication she was on for arthritis is known for raising liver enzymes, so the vet took her off that medicine. But the kidneys are a mystery. She also has a high white blood cell count. But the vet had no definitive answers…

So after another day of barely eating anything (although Rick’s mom was able to coax her into eating some roast beef and a bit of cubed steak…), we made the decision to drive back to Austin as quickly as we could. We had wanted to take our time on the drive back – an easy drive to St. Louis the first day, another easy drive to Oklahoma City the next, and then a nice, pleasant jaunt to Austin on the third day. But after Rick talked to his mom on Tuesday morning, we thought it would be best if we just got home as quickly as we could. Unfortunately, since we’d been planning the “easy” drive, we didn’t make it out of Chicago until around 12:30 that afternoon. Which meant we were driving until 11:30 Tuesday night so we could make it to Tulsa. I don’t know what it is about driving all day that wears me out, but I was exhausted by the time we got to the hotel. (I think it’s worse in the winter, too – because it starts to get dark by 4:30 or 5:00, so then you’re driving in the dark for hours… and dark = sleep… It’s much easier to take a road trip in the summer, because it’s still light at 8 or 8:30…)

But we made it home yesterday afternoon, and have been attending to our poor, sick Echo ever since. The vet gave us some antibiotics and some anti-nausea medication, to see if those might have an effect. That’s a bit difficult, because Echo has never liked taking pills… she’s very sneaky… you can try to get the pill on the back of her tongue and then hold her mouth closed, but as soon as you let go, she just spits the pill out. So you REALLY have to make sure she actually swallows the thing before you let go of her mouth. She’s eaten a bit of chicken, and I actually just managed to feed her some potato, too. Although I had to surround it with chicken first – but I was encouraged, because she was finally acting like she WANTED the chicken. She’s been sort of reluctantly eating the little bits we’ve fed her, but this was the first time she looked interested in what I was feeding her. I only gave her a small amount, to make sure she keeps it down, but I’m HOPING maybe the medication the vet gave us is helping.

I have to thank Rick's mom and my mom SO MUCH for helping out while we were away and showing Echo all kinds of love. I'm so glad I have family that understands how important our pets are. :) We did have a couple nice days in Chicago, and I think once I’m not worrying about Echo so much I’m really going to miss the idea of moving up there. But maybe it’ll still happen eventually, who knows. In the meantime, I guess we try to enjoy the warm winters while we can…

Random picture post!!

I haven't done a random picture post in a long time... so here we go, in no particular order and with no rhyme or reason:



Cool ocean picture Rick took in Kauai...


Jellyfish at the Maui Ocean Center... I just love that place... :)


Allegro and Piva kicking back in a sunbeam... it's so hard to be a cat...


A park in Costa Rica... the bench and gazebo were badly in need of new coats of paint, but they actually looked sort of cool the way they were...


Purple flower in Key West -- and yes, the only reason I took this picture was because the flower was purple... :)


An old church in Mallorca... they were renovating part of it, but I kinda like how the cross is right between the uncovered part and the part covered in scaffolding...



The hoards of people on the Spanish Steps in Rome...


And the hoards of people at Trevi Fountain. We were there in October, I believe -- so it kinda makes you wonder if there's ever an "off" season for tourists in Rome...


I love this picture of me and Eric... Eric rules...


This is a picture dad took of a church in Palermo, Sicily. I wish I would've been there myself, because that would've meant that I was NOT getting attacked by a rouge umbrella in another part of town and heading back to our cruise ship for stitches...


Fuzzy nighttime Chicago skyline. There was a storm this night, and I was standing on Eric's balcony attempting to catch a shot of some lightning. Never got a picture of the lightning, but this one isn't so bad... :)

The best-laid plans...

Well, it’s been a crazy week. And not a fun sort of crazy – not like riding roller coasters, or bungee jumping, or getting on the wrong train in a foreign city and ending up in the part of town where the circus performers hang out (“dude, that was CRAZY!”). No, this has been the kind of crazy that pops up at annoyingly inopportune times to cancel the happy opportunities you’d been comfortably getting used to…

Last Saturday, I decided at the last minute to fly up to Chicago with Rick on his usual Sunday afternoon flight. It was a good week to go, since Rick only had a few appointments to take care of, and Eric was off work until Thursday night. So not only were Rick and I able to hang out all day on Monday, but I was able to hang out with Eric on Tuesday and Wednesday when Rick was working. We went to the Art Institute, we ate at a cool little breakfast place called Toast, we bought some DVDs at Best Buy and some popcorn and orange cream soda at the grocery store and had a movie marathon – and then at night, we met up with Rick and had dinner at a few of our favorite Chicago restaurants. All in all, it was a fun visit, and served to reinforce my excitement about our impending move to the city. Rick and I had even seen some great condos when we were out wandering around on Monday – and many were well within our price range, too. Chicago was so close I could taste it… even literally, when I was at those restaurants (yuuuum… Basil Leaf Café… tastes like Chicago…)

Thursday morning, we packed up our suitcases and got ready to run out to the train to catch our flight back to Austin. But before we could leave, Rick had a conference call with his boss – so I ran downstairs to the Starbucks in the lobby of the hotel and bought a couple of cappuccinos. When I walked back into our hotel room, Rick had four words for me: “I’ve been laid off.” I only had one word, myself: “WHAT??!?!?!?” He was still on the phone, so I placed his coffee on the desk and then took my own cup over to the window and, feeling stunned and disbelieving, stared outside. What else was there to do?

We’ve known for a while that Dell was layoff-happy this past year. People have been dropping like flies, left and right. But we’ve been pretty secure in Rick’s position with the company, and he’d been repeatedly assured that he was in a good area for avoiding layoffs. And besides, Rick is GOOD at his job. I mean, not just good – like awesomely super good. Rick is the reason someone coined the phrase “he could sell ice to an Eskimo” or however that saying goes. If you want someone who’s dedicated, and ambitious, and willing to go to great lengths to make sure customers are happy, you can count on Rick. Tootsie Roll isn’t gonna give away bags of their entire candy line to a guy who has no clue what he’s doing. So this really was a case of, “if Rick can be laid off, ANYONE can be laid off.” Those who remain must be afraid. Very afraid.

Needless to say, there go our plans for a move to Chicago. I’m a bit crushed, to tell the truth. I was starting to really look forward to my new home, even though my moving plans weren’t finalized. I was having so much fun looking through my new Chicago books and finding restaurants I couldn’t wait to try or places I couldn’t wait to visit. I had visions of walking to a farmer’s market in the middle of summer and purchasing fresh produce for that evening’s dinner. I was looking forward to spending more time with my brother and inviting him over for my farmer’s market dinners (and biscuits, of course, Eric… lots of biscuits). I thought maybe I could find a job at one of the many publishing giants with locations in Chicago. I was already anticipating a cheerful and wonderfully cold Christmas, and hoping everyone could come to my fantastic new condo for Christmas dinner and presents. And sure, I had plenty of worry, as well – like all the packing I’d have to complete once the house sold… or wondering how to transport my very old cat and dog to a new place… or thinking about whether I’d be able to manage navigating traffic downtown… or just being concerned for my general safety in a city so much larger than my own, with millions of strangers and many dark alleys…

But for the most part, I felt a sense of hope and adventure, and I couldn’t wait to embark upon the next chapter of my life. But apparently I wasn’t quite finished with THIS chapter. What’s funny is that Rick truly feels like a chapter of his life has come to a close, and he’s moving on to something new... I, however, seem to be back where I started…

The good news is that Rick did get a severance package, and has a profile on LinkedIn, where he’s been networking with various people. It seems that getting laid off is a bit like attending your own funeral – suddenly people are saying all kinds of great things about you that you never knew they were thinking. Dozens of Rick’s friends and co-workers have written recommendations for him, and he’s already heard about a few possible opportunities. And knowing Rick, he’ll attack his job search with the usual tenacious determination he always displays when he’s working toward a new career goal. He’ll find something – I have no doubts about that.

But I WILL miss that great Chicago winter weather…

And don't forget the camera...

My friend Amber forwarded me an interesting article the other day. It was about “tourist traps” and how we, as travelers, have gotten a little hung up on avoiding them. It seems like there’s been this movement toward “blending in with the locals” when traveling to a new place, and anything else is a less-than-optimal experience. We’re made to feel that if we’re herded around on a bus with 50 other tourists, we’re not seeing the “real” (insert name of exotic destination here). And the author of the article had to ask – why? Why can’t a “tourist trap” also be a great vacation experience? Why can’t an organized, planned foray into a city with dozens of other tourists be a memorable, amazing part of your vacation? Why can’t the most popular restaurant in town have better food than where the “locals” eat?

Now, I definitely have a few great “off the beaten path” memories from my travels. Like Crazy Estonian Tour Guide Guy and our unique walking tour of Tallinn. Or Alex and Carlos, the two little kids who accosted us in Costa Rica and convinced us they knew of all the cool places to see (they DID show us some very “local” neighborhoods…) Or like the time we were in Gdansk, Poland and got into a taxi with a driver who only spoke Polish and German. My dad and I used our limited knowledge of German to effectively communicate with him. It was so interesting to see how we were all able to laugh and talk and have fun and understand each other – even though we were from different parts of the world and barely spoke a dozen comprehensible sentences between us. Then there was the time when Rick and I were very “local” and took the train into Yankee Stadium, crushed up against all the other “locals.” Fun? Maybe that isn’t the right word. A worthy experience? Definitely.

But for all those “local” experiences I’ve had, there’ve been many more “touristy” experiences. And who’s to say that acting like a tourist isn’t just as much fun as blending in with the locals? If I hadn’t been acting like a “tourist,” I never would’ve seen luaus in Hawaii… I never would’ve learned all kinds of interesting things about Pompeii… I never would’ve seen HALF the amazing churches and cathedrals I’ve seen in Europe… I wouldn’t have seen the Eiffel Tower or the Brandenburg Gate or the Panama Canal… And Dad never would’ve discovered that there IS, in fact, cheese so tasteless even HE can eat it – in Sardinia.

Being a tourist can be fun closer to home, too. I LIVE in Austin, but I had a great time the night we went on the bat bridge boat tour with Jen and Jason and the kids. When Rick and I were in San Francisco a few years ago, we spent a day at Fisherman’s Wharf – you can’t get much more touristy than food, shopping and sea lions… but so what? We had fun, and that’s all that matters. And every time we’re in Chicago we make it a point to head over to Ghirardelli’s for hot fudge sundaes. And just about every tourist in the city has the same idea – but when you have sundaes as good as what they serve at Ghirardelli’s, you’ll brave hoards of tourists and sub-zero temperatures to get to them.

So why should it matter what a few pretentious travel writers say about “tourist traps”? Why should we avoid getting on a bus with 50 other tourists and allowing ourselves to be delivered to places we wouldn’t see otherwise? Sure, it’s fun to wander off the well-worn paths now and then… but usually there’s a REASON those paths are so well-worn. So as long as your travels bring you happiness, joy, a sense of wonder, or a bit of enlightenment about something new, there’s really no need to worry about falling into a “tourist trap.” Returning from a trip with fond memories is a great way to break the fall... :)

Yes, it's another cat post...

This is the silly poem I wrote yesterday, when I saw a spider in the bathtub… I’d also seen it a couple days earlier, down by the drain. So I have to assume it was just kind of hanging out in the drain. (Not a very big spider, by the way… otherwise I wouldn’t have taken the time to write a poem about it before running from the room for a can of Raid…)

There is the spider who lives in the drain.

Should I send him back from whence he came?

Or allow him to live, although he’s so scary,

With his eight creepy legs and his back so hairy?

Should I turn on the water and watch him swim?

Or watch as he walks away at his whim?

That’s it, I want him gone – I really hate him.

Whoops, too late – Piva just ate him.

Piva is great – she’s like a furry little exterminator. (And then, later on, she licks me with her little sandpapery tongue and I try not to think about how she eats spiders…) :)

Someone deserves a whole can of tuna...

So Wednesday night I watched the season premiere of Lost (it’s back! Finally! After eight long months of Lost silence, we were FINALLY given some new episodes!), and then instant messaged Rick up in Chicago for a little while. And just when I was thinking about heading off to bed, I noticed Allegro standing over in the hallway. But there was something weird about the way she was standing – her back was sort of arched over, and she looked like she was hesitating about what to do next. And then she started walking – a strange, wobbly, uncoordinated walk. THAT was not right. I picked her up and put her next to me on the couch, and she attempted to jump from the couch to the coffee table – a small jump she’s executed many times before. But this time, she clumsily missed the coffee table and fell to the floor. By this time I was quite worried. I told Rick what was going on, and he wondered if I wanted to take her to the 24-hour emergency vet a few miles away. I picked her back up and put her on the couch, and this time she awkwardly arranged herself until she was comfortable, and then stayed there in listless contentment…

Now, Allegro is 17 years old, which is quite the feline senior citizen. So I’ve been preparing myself for a while for an inevitable decline in her sprightly health. It’s not something I like to think about – that this friend who has been with me for 16 of her 17 years will not be with me much longer. And I think that at this point in her life, the most important thing is that she’s happy and comfortable. So since she didn’t appear to be in any pain, I decided to just wait and see how she would do overnight.

I put her favorite blanket in a spot on the floor that gets lots of sunlight, and when I got up in the morning, that’s where she was. She was still acting rather lethargic – she wouldn’t even raise her head to look at me when I walked by. But the one bit of encouragement I had was that she still wanted to eat – I put a few of her favorite treats in front of her, and she gobbled them up quite happily. She also lapped up a saucer of milk I placed next to her nose. By the afternoon, she was picking herself up and wobbly walking to the laundry room to eat her usual food. Rick got home from Chicago in the afternoon, and we decided to go ahead and take her in to the vet's office just to see what their opinion was. After thoroughly annoying Allegro (she was NOT happy…) the vet gave us the two most probable diagnoses – either she’d had a stroke (which was my first thought when I saw her walking so unsteadily), or she had a tumor somewhere on her spine that was causing neurological problems. In the latter case, we would have to expect her to steadily get worse as the tumor grew bigger.

However, in the case of a stroke, cats tend to recover rather quickly. So I was quite pleased when I woke up this morning and Allegro was acting much more alert and more like her normal self. Yesterday, even when she was lying down, it seemed like she couldn’t figure out how to arrange her legs in such a way as to be comfortable. But today, she’s curled up on her blanket just like she usually likes to curl up. And she’s walking MUCH more steadily now. So I think we can be fairly certain that she had a stroke – which isn’t a great thing, of course, but it’s preferable to a tumor on her spine.

It seems unfair, sometimes, that these pets of ours woof and purr their way into our hearts, even when we KNOW we’ll be forced to say good-bye one day. And they always, no matter what, display examples of unconditional love – even when we humans don’t always deserve it. I know many people who couldn’t care less about cats or dogs, or any animals for that matter. And I feel rather sorry for them. Because they’re missing out on some very profound lessons – if only they’d be willing to learn.

So for now, it looks like Allegro will be with us for a little while longer. And she’ll be getting extra scratches behind the ears, and extra pats on the head, and extra kitty treats, and extra licks of my bowl after I’ve eaten ice cream, and extra nibbles of chicken when I’m eating dinner – because as long as she’s here in my life, I want her to know that she’s still the Queen of the House…

Allegro, Protector of the Sandals, roaring like the little lion she is...

Random stuff...

Well, this is it – happy Rainbows in the Sky Free Puppies for Everyone No More Mortgages Zero Air Pollution Happy Joy World Peace Day!! And that’s all I’m gonna say about that… :)

Ugh, cedar season has definitely begun. If I go outside for more than five or ten minutes, I get all sneezy and itchy and my head gets stuffy and my nose runs. I think I have some pretty good air filters in this house, because there is a noticeable difference between how I feel when I’m out running around and how I feel when I just stay put. I think I may have to stay put for the rest of the day. I’m trying Zyrtec today, which I’ve never tried before – I usually make do with Benadryl, which works pretty well, but also puts me to sleep. I’m a little worried about the Zyrtec, because not only does the package say “may cause drowsiness,” but it’s also a 24-hour pill. So if I get all itchy and sneezy again in 12 hours, I have to just deal with it. The package is very clear about NOT taking more than one pill in 24 hours… like “don’t even THINK about taking more than one of these within a 24 hour span of time. Don’t do it. Just don’t.” So here’s hoping it works well…

So I’ve been using my new Brookstone sound machine every night when I sleep, and I have to give this thing rave reviews. I LOVE it. I usually turn on the “rain” sound and I fall asleep within a few minutes. It’s awesome. I must recommend it to anyone who ever has trouble sleeping. And even when Rick is here, I like to set it to “ocean waves” and put the timer on for an hour, just so I can fall asleep to the sound of crashing waves. It’s like sleeping on the beach in Hawaii… without all the sand in your pajamas…

Our good friends Eric and Debbie gave us some really cool Chicago books for Christmas. One is a Fodor’s guide, one is “Chicago for Dummies” (are you guys trying to tell us something??? :)) and the last one is called “Weird Illinois,” and it’s full of all kinds of interesting stories about UFOs and ghosts and creepy roads and strange houses in Illinois. And after reading some of it, I’ve decided I shouldn’t move to Chicago. (Just kidding!! I don’t care if the whole city IS haunted… I still want to move…) One thing I’ve been doing is perusing the guide books for restaurants near Rick’s hotel. And thanks to these books, Rick has FINALLY found a barbecue place up north that he likes. And last night, he and Eric tried a place called Wildfire that they really liked. Of course, I’m a little jealous that Rick and Eric are the only people benefitting from my Chicago restaurant research… I need to get up there again soon…

Well, that’s about all the random stuff I can manage today. Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Brush and floss... and maybe try boxers next time...

So I had a dentist appointment this morning, to get a crown fitted for one of my night-grinding fractured molars. (Seriously, I think I grind my teeth more when I’m stressed, and it stresses me out to know I’m grinding my teeth – it’s a horrible cycle…) What a lot of fun THAT was. Actually, my dentist has iPod movies that you can watch on these little movie goggles, which is a nice distraction when you have fifteen pairs of hands in your mouth. Although honestly, really not ENOUGH of a distraction…

There were only about two dozen movies to choose from, and before he started, the dentist asked me which movie I was going to watch. “C’mon, you chose a chick flick, right?” he joked. I then held up the iPod to show my chosen movie – Live Free or Die Hard. The dentist was impressed with my departure from the girly entertainment that (apparently) most of his female patients choose. But I chose that movie for two reasons – one, because I’ve seen it before and I knew I wouldn’t be there long enough to watch an entire movie; and two, because action movies really don’t require much concentration. You don’t have to pay attention to an action movie so much as just watch it and think, “ooooo… cool…” when something explodes. Because while I may have been “watching a movie,” I was still much too concerned about what was going on in my mouth to really CARE about it.

But I survived (albeit with a very numb face… and while I’m grateful for Novocain when it’s needed, it gets a bit annoying after you’ve been home for three hours and just want to EAT like a normal person…). And the assistant at the dentist’s office always gives you flowers after they’ve spent an hour tormenting you. Which is a nice touch, even if it doesn’t bring the feeling back into my face…

When I first arrived at the office this morning, I took a seat in the waiting area and glanced over at the front desk, where a man was standing and talking to the office manager. I didn’t pay that much attention to him… but I did notice he was wearing a black leather jacket and a pair of black jeans. And then something between the jacket and the jeans caught my eye – he was wearing (and, unfortunately, displaying for all to see) a pair of Calvin Klein thong underwear. The waistband (with its prominent “Calvin Klein” logo) was a good two inches above the waist of his jeans, and the jacket wasn’t long enough to cover it. And I did what anyone would do when they noticed a guy wearing an obvious pair of thong underwear – I started laughing. I then had to cover my mouth and busy myself with my cell phone, in an attempt to appear amused by something completely unrelated to Thong Underwear Guy. But dude, seriously – if you’re gonna leave the house in a pair of thong underwear, please either a) wear pants that sufficiently cover all traces of thong fabric; or b) wear a shirt that is long enough to cover said fabric. For your sake AND the sake of those around you…

So I am now going to go drink the cappuccino my mom was nice enough to bring me… and hopefully my mouth has regained enough feeling so I can actually DRINK it…

The loot...

Now how do I decide what to eat first???

Tea with your sister (or brother...)

I have to give a shout out to my new friend Amber, who recently discovered my blog and has been reading it when she’s supposed to be working. (Which I think is pretty much what EVERYONE who reads my blog does… get back to work, people…) I “met” Amber on Facebook, and as soon as I found out she loved M. Night Shyamalan’s “Lady in the Water,” I knew I’d discovered a kindred spirit. I mean, apparently you have to be some kind of really bizarre, unique person to appreciate Lady in the Water… there aren’t a lot of us LITW fans out there. LITW bashers outnumber LITW fans by about 99 to 1… (Hey, I’ve never been one to follow the crowd…) Anyway, thanks for all the nice compliments about my blog, Amber! :)

Speaking of people getting back to work (I’m serious, stop reading – you have stuff to do…) – I recently finished a project I was working on for Jen’s company up in Chicago. They have a line of perpetual calendars – you know, those flip-book type calendars that have a different picture or saying or puzzle or piece of trivia on each page. So you flip the page to the next date every day, and there’s something new to read or look at. This particular project I was working on was a “sister” calendar. So every day when you flip the page, there’s a new quote or saying about sisters. Things like, “sisters are great!” or “sisters are the best!” – but perhaps a bit more eloquent. Now, 315 of those pages were already taken care of – either by other present-day writers, or possibly by DEAD writers who already wrote things about sisters and can’t complain about anyone using their words. (Ha! That’s right, Benjamin Franklin – there’s not a thing you can do about it, is there?)

So that left 50 empty pages in need of sayings about sisters. And that task fell to yours truly. Now, when I first started to write these things, I had the idea that it would be a pretty simple project. After all, I was basically just writing 50 different sentences. How hard can it be to write 50 sentences? But somewhere between the twentieth and twenty-fifth saying, it hit me that I was only about half finished… and what’s more, those first 20 or 25 sayings had been much more difficult to write than I’d anticipated. Once you get past “sisters are great!” and “sisters are the best!” it starts to become a lot more complicated. There’s only so much you can SAY about a sister (actually, I guess there are 365 things you can say about a sister… but I could only manage 50…).

But I was determined to submit my 50 sayings at the beginning of the year (because they’d told me the deadline was the beginning of the year and I like to be punctual…). While we were in Chicago, we liked to walk over to the Argo Tea Shop in the freezing cold every morning, and hang out around a table clutching warm beverages. And what better place for creative inspiration than a shop that sells “teapuccinos” and “maté latés.” So I bummed a pen off my dad and some post-it notes off my mom and started brainstorming. This particular version of “brainstorming” consisted of asking everyone else if they had any thoughts about sisters, and listening to the barrage of comments that ensued. Since Eric was with us, things never really took a turn toward “serious” suggestions – instead, the object of the game seemed to be “who can make up the funniest saying about sisters.” At one point, Rick did attempt to offer a genuine idea, proposing “sisters are inseparable.” This, however, evolved into “sisters are inseparable if they’re joined at the head or share major organs… otherwise, surgery may be possible.” And I’m just not sure that’s the direction they wanted to go with the calendar…

Needless to say, I didn’t use any of the “suggestions” my family threw out. However, just sitting around the table talking and laughing and enjoying the warmth of a tea shop was enough to inspire me – I wrote about fifteen (serious) sayings in that shop. And I wrote the remainder on my flight back to Austin, so I was able to turn in all 50 sayings on time. It’s funny how something as simple as drinking tea on a cold day with your family can be such a fun experience… I hope I need that kind of “inspiration” again someday soon… :)

New year, new Tootsie Rolls...

So we’re back in Austin (well, some of us – Rick is still in Chicago… and Eric is still in Chicago, too… but Eric is always in Chicago, so he doesn’t really count). We had a great time and really enjoyed walking blocks and blocks in the freezing cold weather – seriously, it was a rather refreshing change from the 60- and 70-degree weather we’re used to. And we had the good fortune of having some calm winds most of the time we were there, which made the cold much easier to bear. The only day it was really COLD in the city was Saturday, when the wind picked up. That also happened to be the day we decided to try a new restaurant that was a dozen or so blocks from the hotel, and eschewed the idea of a taxi. About halfway there, as the wind whipped around our faces and I could no longer tell if my nose was actually still on my face, we began to ask each other whose idea it was to walk. (I think we finally decided to blame dad… :))

But the cold (and a few Christmas gift cards) gave me an excuse to buy some new cold weather wear. (Incidentally, I really don’t highly recommend shopping on Michigan Avenue on a Saturday afternoon shortly after the holiday season. But I’ve never been a fan of crushing throngs of people. If you happen to be a fan of crushing throngs of people, go for it…) I got a new scarf, gloves and a hat that were all much warmer than the previous scarves, gloves and hats I’d been wearing. Always great to have a legitimate excuse to go shopping…

Well, now that the holidays are over, it’s time to get back on track with eating well and exercising on a regular basis. I always let things slide during the holiday season – there’s always so much to do, and everywhere you look some kind of horrible (but delicious) treat is staring back, daring you not to eat it. The peppermint mochas at Starbucks alone must’ve added a couple thousand calories a week to my usual intake. So now that they’ve been removed from the menu, I’ll no longer have that temptation staring me in the face every time I walk into a Starbucks. Back to plain old cappuccinos. But off course no resolve to eat better comes without a challenge or two – no sooner did I start writing this post than Rick called to tell me about the meeting he had with the Tootsie Roll corporation this morning. And those Tootsie Roll employees are very generous people – they gave Rick all kinds of free candy. So now he’ll be bringing home who-knows-how-many Tootsie Roll products (he described it as something like, “this must be every kind of candy they make”). And I have to be sure to ration said candy in a reasonable way, so I’m not ODing on sugar and calories…

But the pedometer is back on (over 5000 steps so far today) and I went grocery shopping last night and bought all kinds of healthy food, so hopefully I’ll be back on track in no time. (And a little Tootsie Roll now and then never hurt anyone… :))

A few pics from Chicago:

Kiko seems very happy at Eric's place...


Eric's new carpet... pretty nice, right? (I helped pick it out... :))


Me and Rick at the Argo Tea Shop


This is like the best picture anyone has ever taken of me...


Me and... uh... Pancho Villa?

Countdown to the new year...

We're here in freezing Chicago -- the high temperature today was 16! How fun is THAT? (It actually WAS a rather nice change from Texas weather... :)) We walked around downtown quite a bit today, because despite the cold temperature, it was sunny and beautiful, with very calm wind. It's the wind that'll make the sub-zero temperatures intolerable -- take away the wind, and even 16 degrees isn't TOO bad. Although after walking around for a while, my feet and legs sort of went numb -- I've decided I'm going to need a better pair of boots once I move up here. Long underwear probably wouldn't be such a bad investment, either...

So it's a mere six and half hours until 2009 here in the Central Time Zone. We were hoping to try a new restaurant for new year's eve, but reservations were hard to get in many places tonight. So we're settling on an old favorite -- the Saloon steakhouse. Which turns out to be a good choice, actually, because it's not too far from the hotel. Because I can only assume, now that the sun has set, that it is LESS than 16 degrees outside. My soon-to-be numb feet will be happy they don't have to walk too many blocks...

Since 2008 was a year full of political issues and religious issues and arguments over politics and arguments over religion, I have chosen this post from back in March as my "Blog Post of the Year." It seems to fit the general attitude of much of 2008. Let's hope 2009 will bring about much "change" and "hope" and maybe a few more over-used, cliched catchphrases... :)

I wish everyone a very happy and healthy 2009!!!

No time to write...

...must… make… cookies…

Okay, actually, I already made the cookies – but I still have to finish decorating them. Strangely, the cats have been hanging out on the floor near the counter, meowing pitifully as if I’m denying them some sort of savory cat treat. I’ve tried to explain it’s just sugar cookies and frosting, but cats are very insistent…

So we’re off to Chicago tomorrow morning, and I haven’t even started to pack yet (although while I’m thinking about it, I need to go take my winter coat out of the closet and put it next to my suitcase so I don’t forget it…) Okay, now that THAT’S done…

I’m very much looking forward to Chicago… Rick bought me a lovely assortment of sweaters for Christmas, all of which I plan on packing so I can test them out in the cold weather. And there’s a small chance of snow on Friday, so maybe I’ll see a flake or two before I head back to Austin…

But for now, I have about a million things to do, so I’d better go be productive…

Random thoughts... (Holiday edition!)

Merry Christmas!!! I hope you’re all having the chance to spend time with family and enjoying the day. We found the one Starbucks that remained open today (well, the only one near us… I’m sure there were a couple more open around the city…) and mom and dad brought us triple shot venti cappuccinos and cinnamon rolls this morning. Yes, we weren’t playing around – if we were gonna get cappuccino on Christmas, it was gonna be serious, three-shots-of-espresso cappuccino. (I have to admit it’s rather sad that Starbucks has become such a necessity in our coffee-loving society that it has to remain open on Christmas. Only the necessities – police, firefighters, hospitals… and Starbucks. :)) We opened some gifts here at my house, since mom and dad threw away their old Christmas tree when they moved into their new house and have yet to buy another one. So I had my tree lights on, and “A Christmas Story” on TV, so it was very holidayesque…

Oh, guess what my mom got me? A Brookstone “sound therapy system” with all kinds of sounds like rain and waterfalls to lull you to sleep. I no longer have to rely on White Noise Fan! I now have a dozen sounds besides “fan” to choose from when I’m trying to fall asleep. Yay!

So I seem to have developed a slight Christmas cold. (That makes it sound so much more pleasant… it’s a cheery Christmas cold!) It came on quite suddenly – my only clue that anything was amiss was a rather annoying ringing in my ears Tuesday night. I thought perhaps it was allergies, since my head felt sort of fuzzy… but when I woke up yesterday morning, it was apparent that I was dealing with more than just allergies. So I’ve spent Christmas Eve and Christmas in that sort of “cold haze” that envelops you when you’re getting sick. But oh well… just a cold. I can handle it. I’m just glad it’s getting out of the way now, before we fly up to Chicago. Flying with a cold can be a bad thing… (just ask my mom and her once-ruptured eardrum… )

Does anyone else think it’s weird that that Tom Cruise movie Valkyrie is opening today? Nothing says “peace on earth, goodwill toward men” like a bunch of nazis…

I have decided that I need to buy more lights/general ornaments for my Christmas tree next year. I sort of only decorate one side of the tree right now, because I don’t have enough lights or decorations to wrap all the way around the tree. Not that it matters much, since the tree is in a corner – so even if the other side was decorated no could see it. But it’s just the IDEA of having an entirely decorated tree… and then I could stick the tree right in the middle of the living room, like a giant prickly coffee table…

Well, that’s about it for today. I need to go get ready for dinner at Rick’s parents’ house. Merry Christmas, everyone!

I can't wait for April...

And I can't believe I haven't mentioned this on my blog until now (but since today is the day it becomes "official," I guess it's a good day to mention it) -- C.C. Sabathia is a Yankee!!!! Yes, that's right, my pitching man-god is doing the only other thing he can possibly do to make me love him even more -- he's coming to New York! YES!!

I am seriously excited about this (in case that wasn't already evident). The Yankees have had rather lackluster pitching for years now, but the upcoming season is looking promising to me. We now not only have Sabathia, but also A.J. Burnett. And if Wang and Joba can stay healthy (and, in Joba's case, out of trouble...) we might actually have a really decent pitching rotation this year. This could be a great start to the New Yankee Stadium era...

For those who may not have been reading my blog very long, I have had the privilege (privilege?? Privilege might be the wrong word... :)) of playing fantasy baseball the last three years with a bunch of really great guys. (You can read about some of that here, here, here or here.) They were nice enough to allow a girl to infiltrate their world of statistics and averages and RBIs and ERAs -- and while I've been a baseball fan since I was about thirteen years old, I've learned even more about different teams and players over the past few years. If it hadn't been for my foray into the world of fantasy baseball, I'd probably be a lot less excited about the Sabathia news... because I wouldn't have had him on my team for three years in a row and seen all the complete game shutouts he pitched...

So now I'm off to tune my TV to the YES network so I can watch the Sabathia/Burnett news conference... GO YANKEES!!!

Monday randomness...

It’s 34 degrees here today! I think this is the coldest day we’ve had this year. I’m not even sure it was this cold the other night when we got our “snow.” And what’s funny is that this wasn’t even forecasted by our eternally-befuddled Austin meteorologists. The low overnight was only supposed to be in the 60s, and, in fact, it was 68 degrees when I went to bed last night. I turned on my A/C because the bedroom was about 74 and I wanted it around 70… I figured once it hit 70 it would pretty much stay there most of the night, since it was supposed to be fairly warm outside and the rest of the house was settled in at a comfortable 72. But when I woke up this morning, I felt rather chilly – I wondered if I should’ve kept the A/C at 71 instead. And then I got up and checked the thermostat and saw that the temperature in the bedroom was only 66 – no wonder I’d been cold! The only time the temp in the bedroom drops like that is when it gets very cold outside. Yet still I was surprised by the blast of cold air that hit me when I opened the patio door to let Echo outside this morning. Brrrrr… it feels like Christmas! (Which I’d better enjoy today, because who knows if Christmas will actually feel like Christmas…)

So this morning when my mom and I were on our way back from Starbucks, we were stopped at a red light. And this guy ran across the crosswalk in front of us, wearing his pants in that “my pants are about to fall down and I’m so cool because of it” way. He actually had to hold onto the waistband so they wouldn’t fall off as he jogged across the street. And every time I see some guy wearing his pants like that, I can’t help but wonder HOW in ANY way that is considered cool by ANYONE? I mean, there are some fads and fashion trends that maybe I don’t LIKE, or aren’t really my own style, but I can understand how OTHER people might think they’re fun or unique. But pants that are sliding down your thighs, exposing your bright blue flannel boxer shorts?? What about that is cool, exactly? Are you trying to rebel against the fashion industry’s obvious practical modesty agenda? How dare they construct garments that are meant to fit OVER the parts of you no one wants to see! You’re gonna wear them so they don’t fit at ALL, and so they’re extremely uncomfortable, and so they must be readjusted five times a minute to maintain that perfect level of “coolness”…

Why is it that hot chocolate tastes even better when it’s cold outside? I’ll probably make some tonight, since the temperature is so seasonably perfect right now. And for some reason, even though it’ll taste exactly the same as if I’d had it LAST night (when it was still in the 60s), my taste buds will somehow perceive a difference because of the freezing outside weather. I wonder why that is…

Although I DO love the cold weather, I’m not a big fan of the cloudy skies today. I mean, if it’s gonna be this cloudy, it’d better start snowing again. Yeah, that’s right – it had BETTER start snowing. (Yes, I’m threatening the weather so it’ll bend to my will and give me some snow… I’m not sure it’ll actually work, but it’s worth a shot…) On the plus side, I’ve had my Christmas tree lights on all day because it’s really dark in the living room…

So next week Rick gets to stay in Austin all week – no flying! And then we’re all heading up to Chicago for New Year’s. I have stocked my pantry with cookie-making ingredients, and I’m planning to make cutout sugar cookies right before we leave so I can pack them up and take a bunch to Eric. I’m such a nice sister. :)

Okay, that’s all I’ve got today. I need to go finish up my Christmas shopping (and by that I mean “order stuff off the internet”). I only need about two more gifts and I’ll be done! (I suppose I should buy some wrapping paper…) Have a good week, everyone!

No, it doesn't rhyme...

My new blogging friend Jannie Funster recently posted something on her blog that got me thinking about Aimee. It's been just over six years since she died. And there've been so many times over the last six years that I've found myself thinking, "I wonder what Aimee would do in this situation? I wonder what Aimee would think? I wonder if Aimee would like this new ice cream flavor, or if Moose Tracks would always be her favorite??" I bet she would've had some interesting thoughts on the election this year, and on the recession, and on Rod Blagojevich. :) And I think she would've been really happy about our Chicago relocation (regardless of the screwed up nature of Illinois politics...).

So I thought I would post my Aimee poem again, since it's been a while since even I'VE read it. :) This is what's called a "sestina" poem, and it's kind of an unusual form -- I'd never even heard of a sestina until I took a poetry class several years ago. It's a poem that is comprised of six stanzas of six lines each, and the lines of each stanza end in one of six "end words" – one of the six end words are at the end of every line of every stanza, just in a different order each time. The last word of the last line in each stanza is the last word in the FIRST line of the next stanza. So in my poem, the end words are Aimee, years, New Orleans, dad, sister and you. Every line in the poem ends with one of these words, with the exception of the three line coda at the end -- two of the end words are used in each line, but they can be anywhere in the line. And the entire thing is written in iambic pentameter, so there are five beats, or accents, per line. Whew... it's probably the most complicated poetic form I've ever heard of... or at least it SOUNDS complicated when I try to explain it. :)

Poetry haters may stop reading now... :) Here ya go:

For My Sister

This is for you, my sweet sister Aimee.

We didn’t know you for twenty-nine years;

About your love of music and New Orleans;

Or how you have the same eyes as our dad.

My whole life I wanted a sister;

But three years was not enough to spend with you.

I remember when I first met you:

“This is her – this is Aimee!”

You hugged your dad, your brother and your sister,

Amazed you’d found us after all those years.

You couldn’t wait to call our father “dad,”

And tell us all about beloved New Orleans.

And yet you lived in Portland, not New Orleans;

The city was a kind of dream for you;

A place you talked about with me or dad.

“You really want to go back some day, Aimee?”

We all assumed it would take several years,

But I also assumed I would never find my sister.

How was I to know that my sister

Was traveling from Europe to New Orleans

While I spent all my high school years

Barely lending any thoughts to you?

I knew this much: I knew your name was Aimee.

I knew your absence left a void in dad.

Remember all the photos you sent dad?

You, an “only” child, without a sister;

Changed your name from Amy to Aimee.

Pictures of the old house in New Orleans,

Blurry and wonderful pictures of you.

To show us what we’d missed in all those years.

How do we get them back, the lost years?

How am I supposed to console dad?

Twice in your thirty-two years he lost you.

You left behind your new brother and sister.

I didn’t want to go to New Orleans,

Not without you next to me, Aimee.

Dad didn’t know the years would go so fast.

When you died, we buried you in New Orleans.

Back home at last, my sweet sister Aimee.

Snow!! (Sort of!!)

So yesterday the high temperature in Austin was 78 degrees. I actually had to run my air conditioner the night before to cool my bedroom down when I was trying to fall asleep. So I got up yesterday morning, put on a t-shirt (sigh...) and got on with my day. And then sometime around 4 or 5, it started to get very windy -- and when it's winter in Austin and you hear wind like that, it can only mean one thing: a cold front! (But when it's spring and you hear wind like that, it means, "go find a tornado shelter...") So by the time Echo had eaten her dinner and went to the patio door to go outside, it was around 55 degrees. Over the next few hours, the wind kept howling and the temperature kept dropping, until I eventually heard the unmistakable sound of freezing rain clicking on the windows. And then, at about 11:30, I let Echo outside again, and I thought I caught a glimpse of something white and flaky... so I stood out on the porch (not even thinking that perhaps I should don a coat and some shoes...) and sure enough, there it was -- snow! It was snowing!! I actually started jumping up and down (which may have had more to do with the fact that I was freezing cold than the fact that I was excited). So here are some pictures of the Austin Blizzard of 2008:

Wow! Look at those flakes fly!!

The aftermath...

"Snow" in the bushes... (actually, I think it was more like ice, but it LOOKS like snow, right?)

One person's tree is another person's shrub...

So who watched the lighting of the tree in Rockefeller Center last week? I almost missed it, because earlier in the evening, I went out to eat with my mom and stopped by Petsmart for a few things, and somewhere along the way, we both realized that the Rockefeller Center tree lighting was on TV. I thought it would be over by the time I got home, and that would’ve made me sad. (That would’ve actually made me sad – unlike decorating my Christmas tree by myself… which is NOT, as Tim the Misery Monger has tried to convince me, a harbinger of seasonal sadness. :)) But when I got home, I checked the TV listings and noticed there was still a half hour of the Rockefeller Center show left to go. I was like Ebenezer Scrooge at the end of A Christmas Carol –

Me (throwing open my window to look down onto a snowy street): “You there! Tivo! What time is it?”

Tivo (dressed as an urchin and wrapped in a torn shawl): “Why, it’s 7:30!”

Me (tossing a shiny coin to Tivo so he can buy himself something pretty): “Then I haven’t missed it!”

I really do miss Christmas in the northeast… it’s never seemed quite “right” here in Texas. But I guess it depends on what you grow up with – if you grew up in Texas, it must seem quite normal to wear a short-sleeved t-shirt on Christmas Day and feel the warmth of the sun and go for a bike ride. But for me, Christmas should be more like, “heavy wool coat, ice-cold wind, and a sled ride down a hill.”

And no one does Christmas in the northeast like New York City. I can clearly remember the first time I experienced New York in December. I was a senior in high school, and I was in the madrigal group that year – an a cappella singing group at my school. We’d been practicing our Christmas repertoire since October, and when December rolled around, we finally had the chance to sing in various venues around Northeast New Jersey. And then one Friday evening, we all piled into a bus and headed into the city… and even though I’d been to New York dozens of times over the four years I’d lived up there, I had never been into the city at Christmastime. My friend Ali warned me that the Rockefeller tree was less impressive in person than it was on TV – and to be honest, she was right (she called it the “Rockefeller Christmas Shrub”). And yet, when we reached the tree and filed off the bus and grouped together in front of that Christmas Shrub, it was pure holiday joy. We sang for a good half hour, with an appreciative crowd gathered around us… I can’t even remember if it was cold – it was too much fun to worry about such things.

Afterwards, Ali and I wandered the holiday-light-bedecked streets, stood in awe of the intricately-decorated windows on Fifth Avenue, popped into St. Patrick’s Cathedral, found a tiny little bookstore where we wasted some time browsing, and then met up with everyone else for a holiday show called “The Christmas Revels.” It was an audience participation show, where everyone was invited to sing along with the carols and dance in the aisles – so technically, we could all say that we’d literally sung and danced on Broadway. It was a perfect evening, and even after all these years it remains one of my favorite Christmas memories…

Of course, the good thing about seeing it on TV is that the Rockefeller Christmas Shrub looks like a more impressive tree when it's onscreen... I guess the camera really DOES add ten pounds... or a couple hundred...