Yay! Blog! v2.0
Category: Just Some Stuff

• Tazo Tea makes a flavor called "Citron." It's "a light, aromatic tea with hints of lemon and orange essences." I'd change that description to: "a bitter tea with hints of Fruit Loops." It tastes like strong tea and Fruit Loops!!
• I'm not suppposed to be drinking the Citron tea. It has caffeine. I've found, though, that I can have a small amount of caffeine and not suffer the bad effects. I don't want caffeine for the sake of caffeine, though. I just can't avoid if I want to drink some tasty drinks.
• I've lost 39 pounds now. I still have a double chin and big belly that causes people to ask me if I'm pregnant. That's okay, though. I feel skinny some days. I wonder how I'll feel when I've lost 47 more pounds? Downright sexy, I think!
• Fruit Loops, I tell ya!!
• Pictures from my trip to Corpus Christi this summer are coming soon. Maybe later today.
• Happy Halloween!!

• Dinner: Surf and Turf. T-bone Steak and three Garlic Mojo Shrimp from Whole Foods.
• My team's project at work goes live Monday morning. Wish us luck.
• I cancelled my Citibank credit card the other day. If you've been reading a while, you might remember me complaining about all the Citicrap they send me in the mail. I tried twice to get them to stop, but I only got empty promises. The guy asked me why I was cancelling the card. I said, "I'm simplifying my life." He didn't give me any flack and promptly cancelled the card. I'll bet I still get Citicrap in the mail.
• At the communication class I took a couple months ago, the instructor talked about introverts. He said introverts are more comfortable with written communication because they can edit a lot before they send. He said introverts are fearful of being judged by what they say. That's me. I fear being judged.
• Dinner was great. Steak always makes me feel some better. Maybe I'm deficient in something.

• I read that Crabapple Lane Rob, his wife Patsy, and his Mom are okay in Bush, LA, after Hurricane Katrina. Still no word from other family members. I'm keeping them in my prayers.
• Today is the first day of the Austin smoking ban. Back when the proposition passed, I had planned to go out to a club on this day. I only remembered again this morning when some DeeJays were talking about it, and speculating gleefully that Austin won't be able to enforce it, so people will probably smoke anyway. Just one more word: Disrespectful.
• I've been dieting and exercising, and I've lost 24 pounds now. My big goal is to lose 86 pounds, and probably a little more. A couple of intermediate goals I've already hit include: someone asking me if I've lost weight and feeling the bottom of my ribs when I suck in my stomach.
  
  Future intermediate goals include: see my collarbone in the mirror, get below 200, lose 14 more pounds before Halloween, fit comfortably into a pair of jeans, fit into that pair of leopard print panties I have, have a defined jawbone, feel OK in a bathing suit, feel comfortable getting up from my computer chair without turning my webcam off for fear someone will see my fat arse, do 10 good pushups from my toes, and fit into a little black dress with straps and cleavage.
• I've finally found my muse, and it's the best feeling in the world. I think I'll finally make some headway on my first real solo CD.

• I went to another training class on Tuesday. There were 6 men in the class. Five were married. The other was gay. Bless them all, but this isn't getting me anywhere.
• I bought the new Alanis Morissette CD that's an acoustic remake of her "Jagged Little Pill." It's excellent.
• I scheduled a vacation in November. I think I'll go visit the Louisiana and Mississippi state capitols. It's not a plan... just something I'm considering.
• After ruining my Sunday last weekend by unintentionally getting hopped up on herbal supplements, I have plans to be productive all weekend this weekend. I need to work on photo galleries of my trips to Fort Worth and Oklahoma City last January/February.
• What are you doing this weekend?

• I saw the trailer for "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" last weekend. At the start, they showed short snippets from the first four movies. I saw the boys grow up right before my eyes. I have to admit to have a schoolgirl crush on both Harry and Ron in "Goblet of Fire." It looks to be a great movie, just like the rest.
• I bought some multi-vitamin/herbal supplements at Central Market Saturday. I took one Saturday afternoon. I was feeling a little loopy the rest of the evening, but I didn't think much about it. I took another one Sunday around noon. Everything went downhill from there. Turns out Ginseng gets me high and gives me a headache. I didn't like it. I didn't recover until this morning.
• I bought a pound of shrimp at Central Market, too. I'd never cooked shrimp that didn't come out of a frozen box. It was wonderful. I simmered it in some of Suzanne Somer's Colorado Chili Simmer Sauce. That stuff is delectible. She has several flavors and they've all been good. It's a bit pricey, though.

• I got new pants. They're mostly cotton with a little bit of spandex. They're sooo soft. They have a tag in the back that says when they get wet, the dye will bleed onto other things. They assure me this is not a defect.
• I know that everybody doesn't really love Raymond. But I do.
• Orion O'Ryan (also known as Kit Cat) is batting around a fuzzy pink ball with a pig nose as I write this.
• I'm watching a movie that's had new lines dubbed over the curse words. Chris O'Donnell just said "Don't forget off the pot." That doesn't make sense any way you look at it.
• It's been close to 9 years since I caught the bouquet at a wedding. HELLO!!!

• To the bird who pooped on the driver's side window of my car, thank you. Having a large white smear of crap in my peripheral vision motivated me to go to the car wash. My car is all shiny now.
• I haven't been to a car wash in years, and the last time I went, someone else ran the controls. I didn't know what to do and wasted a bunch of quarters. Next time, I'll know how it works, though.
• I am once again amazed at all the people who pack their three day weekends full of activities. I look forward to three day weekends so I can have three days of doing nothing in particular. If I want to do something, I'll take a vacation and do it while everyone else is working.

• On the way to work today, I saw a loose little dog and another dog poking his head out of a fence. I stopped and reattached a loose board and coaxed the little dog to go to his front door. I rang the doorbell and a little kid let the dog in and thanked me. Loose dogs worry the heck out of me.
• Lilydawg stayed home today instead of going to doggie day care. I came home at lunch to take her out. I stopped at Long John Silvers to pick up a platter of fish and chicken. I love that place. I wish they had better french fries, though.
• I'm glad my favorite shows are having their season finales. I need a break to watch the movies that are backed up on my TiVo. The "Alias" season finale shocked the heck out of me. The "House" season finale last Tuesday was great, but oddly enough, the next season of "House" starts this Tuesday.
• I like the Muppets. I sure don't like Miss Piggy, though. She's annoying. I'm watching the Muppets' Wizard of Oz. Kermit (scarecrow) just asked the Wizard if he was related to Frank Oz. hee hee

• First off: Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!! That's all I have to say about that.
• I'm coloring my hair tonight.
• I went to CVS to buy hair color, and they had Coke with Splenda. It's about time Coke got on board with Splenda. It tastes okay. Now they just need to come out with Caffiene Free Coke with Splenda and Lime, and I'll be a convert.
• When I went to check out, there was one woman waiting to check out and no clerk. I was very busy with my own thoughts and in no hurry, so it didn't bother me. But the longer we waited the more the waiting woman bitched. I know she had a right to bitch, but I can't take the negativity. Then she refused to walk over to the photo counter to check out when the photo dude offered to help her.
• I also bought two kinds of cookies and Fudge Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. I'm stressed out.
• The picture I had taken yesterday for a newsletter article turned out okay. My eyes and smile are cute. The thing I don't like about it has nothing to do with photography or lighting. It's my own fault that I need to lose 70 pounds. And then I'll still be overweight to some people.
• I get to go to Corpus Christi next month on business. I'm going a couple days early. That might be the only vacation I get this summer.

• I went for a haircut this afternoon. I got a cheap Supercuts haircut this time. Yolanda cut my hair. As she was washing my hair, she asked if I was ready for tomorrow. I asked, "What's tomorrow?" She said, "Mother's Day." I said, "Oh. No, I guess not." She asked me, "You don't have kids?" That took me by surprise because I wasn't thinking of it from a being-a-mom perspective. I felt bad for her because I knew what her next question would be. When she asked about my mother, I told her my mom passed away about 10 years ago. She expressed her sympathy. I guess most women my age either have mothers, are mothers or both.
• I have to get my picture taken on Monday for a newsletter article written about me at work. The article is real cool, but I'm not looking forward to the picture because I've done my best to restrict the pictures of me that get out into the public. I'm a big fatso, and I only let the pictures out that are taken with great care to minimize that (camera angles and shadows). I don't like to be a burden on people, though, nor do I want the reputation of a diva, so I'll probably just accept whatever picture is taken and hate it for the rest of my life. It's got me feeling depressed. I know everyone will assure me I look fine to them. That's not the point. I want to look fine to me.
• I think I'll wash my hair now and see what happens to it when I style it myself. I bought some Tea Tree Oil shampoo with peppermint oil that feels good on my scalp, so it'll be like a pamper session. Maybe I'll give myself a facial, too.

• I saw a dog with sunglasses today. They were strapped on with a harness. He had his head hanging out of a truck window. He looked happy and cute!
• I've given Orion a nickname. I call him Kit Cat. I love my Kit Cat.
• I bought fresh flowers on Sunday. I think I'll do that every so often. Fresh flowers add so much to a room.
• Whole Foods opened a giant flagship store on my way home from work a couple months ago. I've been avoiding it, thinking it would be crowded and nightmarish. Today, I needed parmesan cheese, so I took a chance. It was great! The problem is that I spend too much money and buy too many things that aren't good for me when I shop there. Like Belgian Kriek beer and a small cake. And Brie and crackers. I would have bought a S'more from the chocolate counter, too, if the lady hadn't been busy dipping strawberries.
• I'm going to try to get to sleep before 11:00 p.m. tonight. I've been staying up too late lately. That said... I better get to bed. 'night!

• Lily Dawg spent Tuesday at the doggy hospital while I was at work. She had the hershey squirts and wasn't eating her dog food. She'd still eat treats, so I knew she wasn't on her death bed. The vet said she had stress-induced colonitis or something like that. She's all better now. Yesterday, the vet called mid-day to ask how Lily was doing. How nice is that?
• While Lily was sick, I found wet spots on the carpet and tile near the entryway. I thought she had done it, but it turns out my air conditioner is leaking. This is the third time since I've lived here that it's happened. The first time it happened, I blamed it on Mandy Dawg. Poor doggies.
• Today is San Jacinto Day, the day Texas won our independence from Mexico. It's a work holiday, but I went to work anyway since I'd only worked one day this week so far. I thought it would be quiet and I could catch up on things, but it was busier than ever.
• Survivor was interesting tonight. Coby looked cute all cleaned up. I never liked Janu much until I saw her dance after finally getting her fire started. I would have danced in the solitude under the stars, too.

• Who needs an alarm clock when you have a cat who will throw up in the bed when it's time to get up?
• I went to Waterloo Records on the way home from work tonight. I haven't been there in ages. It's a true "Keep Austin Weird" institution. That means it's a local establishment. Anyway... I bought the new Dishwalla CD, a bunch of magnets, and a pig catapult for my friend Terry.
• I went to some web accessibility training today. I'm all about accessibility, but I learned that they are building screen readers to not read things that are styled as "display: none" and the other "invisible" style. I thought those styles were for things you wanted screen readers to read to blind people, but didn't want sighted people to see (like links to skip navigation and such, not secret messages, although if it worked I guess you could write secret messages to the blind people). Blah. Now I have to redo some things on my site and the site at work.
• The new Dishwalla CD is titled "Dishwalla." I don't like when bands release self-titled CDs after they've already released several CDs. It's like they couldn't think of a name or something.
• Texas state employees might get a raise this year. Assuming it goes through... between that and paying off my car payment, I'll be living large. Or putting some money away in savings if I'm smart about it.
• I won some trail mix at the accessibility training. It looks like frou frou trail mix with soy nuts and pumpkins seeds. Someone else won a basil plant. Another person won a bar of glycerin soap. Anyone want these walnuts?
• I've seen Dishwalla three times. Always in October. Two times a week apart. One time by myself. That was the time I got one of J.R. Richards' guitar picks.

• This weekend was awesome. It's the first weekend I haven't taken an afternoon nap. I ripped more CDs to MP3, and I started reading the latest Harry Potter book. I also made deviled eggs for a baby shower tomorrow and bought a collapsible cooler on wheels to cart glow punch ingredients to work.
• I made a great batch of turkey spaghetti tonight. The thing that made it good was that I sauteed mushrooms and yellow bell pepper chunks in butter and added it to the sauce. I kept the bell pepper chunks a little crunchy. I'll be eating turkey spaghetti all week.
• I like that new show, "Grey's Anatomy" on Sunday nights. I don't think it's going to stay on Sunday nights, though, because it's in the Boston Legal time slot. I hope they don't move it to Wednesday night or another night that I already have a lot of shows to watch.
• I watched the season premiere of "Tru Calling" this week, and Jason Priestly got on my last nerve. It was hard enough for Tru to keep people alive without him throwing wrenches in every which way. I know it's supposed to be a challenge for her, but it used to be like solving a puzzle. Now it's a stupid competition. Then again... Davis is a great geeky characters.
• This morning started off badly. The time change has me getting up in the dark again. That was bad enough, but then my toilet overflowed. Luckily, I was still in the bathroom or it would have flowed right out into the hallway.

• Yesterday, I started a goal to lose 10 pounds. Today, I quit. I haven't actually eaten anything I shouldn't yet, but I made a commitment to myself to eat cookies and not torture myself with restrictions. Besides... it's a depressingly cloudy day, and I think I'm PMSing.
• I woke up this morning with a cat snuggled up to my left armpit, and a dog butt up against my right waist. It doesn't get much better than that.
• That was the second time I woke up. The first time I woke up was when Lily wanted to go for a walk. We walked to the post office field, and I saw a cardinal. That made up for the nasty weather.
• Wow... it just thundered. I better save this post quick in case the power goes out.
• Okay... I saved it.
• I'm drinking juice made from nectarines, strawberries and raspberries. It's quite frothy.
• I don't know what I'm going to do today. I'm getting tired of converting CDs to MP3 and watching movies. Reading a book doesn't sound that good. Nor does putting a gallery together of pictures I took on my trips this year. I wish I could crawl into bed until the sun comes out again without screwing up my sleep cycle.
• I was going to abort this post at this point, but I guess I won't.
• Baby steps... I'll start by burning a couple of movies I recorded to DVD: Just Write and Storytelling. The first, I've seen and love. I've not seen the second.

• It's a three day weekend, and it looks like the sun might only come out Monday. Bleh. That's better than nothing, I guess.
• American Idol this week was less than satisfying. I like when the contestants sing and get feedback. There was none of that on either show. The second show was the worst... it was all about torturing the contestants by making them wait *hours* after the decisions were made to find out if they would move on. My favorite (not necessarily to win, but to watch), Constantine, made it through. Yay!
• I've never paid much attention to the weather forecasts unless I was planning an outting or knew I had to be out in the elements for whatever reason. After I downloaded a weather extension for Firefox called ForecastFox that Irish Kelly told me about, I alway look at the forecast. It's funny how I wasn't interested in weather forecasts until someone made it convenient.

• I'm so relieved that it's Friday. After two weekends in a row of traveling, I'm very happy to have two days with no obligations. Not that my trips weren't good... I just look forward to having a weekend to myself.
• I worked out a New Year's resolution a couple of weeks ago. I resolve to snap pictures of the Mississippi and Louisiana state capitols this year. I didn't snap any capitol pictures in 2004, and if I don't make a point to get a few each year, I won't ever finish my capitol picture collection. When I made the resolution, I had no idea I'd be going to Oklahoma City, too.
• I think a trip to Wing Stop is in order tomorrow. Mmmmm... fresh cut seasoned fries.
• I think I'll start the weekend off with a bang by going to bed early and watching my Alias Season 2 DVDs. Such is my exciting life. I love it.

• Debating which is the best operating system never gets old. Oh wait... yes it does.
• I made a low carb meatloaf on Sunday, and I'm still working on the leftovers. It's the best low carb meatloaf I've tasted. I used ground sirloin, ground turkey, spinach, swiss cheese, parmesan cheese, mustard and eggs. The recipe said to add salt and pepper to taste, but I don't understand how to do that. You can't taste it until after it's cooked. Well... I guess you can if you want to risk dying of whatever people die from who eat raw beef and turkey.
• ABC is really beginning to piss me off. They can't keep "Lost" confined to its allotted time slot. Last night, I was watching my recording, and when it got to the part where Locke asked Boone how the bad stuff made him feel, the recording cut off. Luckily, I had recorded "Alias" on my other TV, so I was able to watch the end of "Lost" on that recording. I predicted Boone's answer, but it didn't occur to me he felt that way until after Locke asked the question. I never would have thought to ask the question.
• Just this week, two unacquainted females said at different times, "There's nothing better in the world than brand new socks." I can think of better things. Just off the top of my head are chocolate cheesecake, getting my java application to compile on the first try, a "Joan of Arcadia" episode that makes me laugh as much as it makes me cry, and unexpected snail mail from a friend. Brand new socks are real nice, though.

• I haven't been blogging much this week because I didn't have much to say that wasn't whiney.
• A friend asked me to tell him something embarrassing a while back. I made a joke that I'm embarrassed that I own almost all of the Partridge Family albums on vinyl. Now I guess I should be even more embarrassed because I bought 3 of the albums on CD. Whooot!
• Monday, I took Lily to the vet because she's had a wound on her ear since before Christmas that just wouldn't heal. I thought maybe she got into a tussle with another dog at day care, but it's more likely it's from scratching her ears. She had some yeast in her ears. I have to clean them out and squirt some medicine in one of them 3 times a day until the 13th. She's fine, though.
• "Brown eyes you're beautiful, and you're all mine." I used to daydream that David Cassidy was singing that to me. heh!
• I also took Orion to the vet for his booster shot. He was such a good little soldier. He's the best cat ever.
• "Point Me In The Direction of Albuquerque" is the first song that ever made me cry. I found out this morning that it still makes me cry.
• The first day back at work was hard, but the second day back, I wrote a small application that asks a visitor a series of questions. When they submit the form, it gives him or her a personalized list of training classes. That's fun stuff!
• I read that for the albums, Shirley Jones' voice was mixed down with the other backup singers so that it was indistiguishable. For the soundtrack on the show, though, they brought her voice up so you could hear it.
• I was trying to get back to eating better, but due to a combination of laziness and a desire to get rid of the bad food in my freezer without wasting it, I baked a Sarah Lee Pecan Coffee Cake and ate the whole thing for dinner last night. I'm pathetic.
• I have this David Cassidy beach towel. Wow... this guy really loves the Partridge Family.

• I saw a heron or an egret on my way to Houston last week. It was next to the highway not too far outside of Austin. I saw it take flight, and it had a huge wingspan. It flew parallel to the road, and as I drove past it, I looked out the passenger window. For a few seconds, it seemed as if it was flying with me.
• I made a pot roast tonight. It was okay, but it didn't fall apart like a good pot roast. Anyone know the secret to making a good fall-apart pot roast?
• LilyDawg won't eat her dinner, but she's begging me for treats. I have a feeling she's going to be bugging me into the night. I won't give her a treat until she eats some of her dog food, though. It's hard to explain that to a dog.

• My Christmas trip to Houston was great. I got to hang out with my family, watch movies, eat yummy food, catch snowflakes on my tongue, and exchange presents. I came back with enough DVDs to last me through next Christmas, including all three seasons of Alias. Whooot!
• There's a cat on my roof. And no... I don't have a hot tin roof.
• I'm pretty sure my New Year's resolutions will including something about diet and exercise. I-yi-yi!
• How do you spell I-yi-yi?

• This afternoon, there were two police cars and a crime scene van on my street. I don't know why they were there. I'm glad the coroner's van wasn't there.
• Orion threw up on my pillow last night. I didn't know it until I woke up and stuck my hand in it.
• I keep almost buying outdoor Christmas decorations. The thing that stops me is that I don't want to do anything half a$$, and I don't want to spend the kind of money and commit the time to do it right. I guess I just want my house to be magically decorated without doing any work. Isn't that what husbands are for? Actually... if I had someone to help me, I'd be all over it.
• I miss college football so much. During the season, I watch some games, but usually I use it as background noise, and something to look up at periodically. Today, though, TVLand is showing the 100 Most Memorable TV Moments. It works just as well.

Today, I did some indoor gardening. The Brykman sent me some aloe pups, so I went to Home Depot and bought a pot and some special potting soil for cactus and aloe and stuff like that. They look like happy little pups.



I also bought a new pot and soil for my Peace Lily that outgrew its pot over a year ago. It hasn't bloomed in a long time. Poor thing. It should get to stretch its roots now.

Then, to make things smell pretty around the house, I bought some of the best candles ever: Betty Crocker Home Fragrances. I've had the Christmas Cookies fragrance since last year, so today I bought Chocolate Chip Cookies and Strawberry Shortcake. They're yummy!

• I averted disaster at the grocery this weekend. Not really disaster, but grave disappointment. I'd brought back a lot of leftover turkey from Thanksgiving dinner, and I was looking forward to some good old fashioned turkey sandwiches with fresh white bread, mayo, salt and pepper. I had everything but white bread. I studied the bread in the bread aisle and settled on some Mrs. Baird's "Large" bread (that's large slices as opposed to extra thin). As I was leaving the aisle, I saw the mayo. I knew I had a BIG jar at home, but something told me to buy a little jar anyway. That evening, when it was sammich time, I found that my big jar of mayo had expired. Whew!! I would have cried.
• I also bought one of those new toilet brush systems where you have a plastic handle that you clip some disposable cottony, soapy paper to the end. I usually use one of those wiry toilet brushes, and I've been known to scratch the enamel with it (who thought wiry toilet brushes were a good idea, anyway??). The new thingy worked much better, and when I was finished cleaning, I just flushed the papery thing away. There's another kind that has a more spongy thing to clip on the end, but I figured that would clog my toilet.
• I'm on the brink of adopting a stray cat. She loves my LilyDawg, and LilyDawg tolerates her. She came in the house one day last week, and LilyDawg was licking her behind her ears. I worry about my bird, though. I'll have to be vigilant to keep the kitty cat and the bird separated.
• I'm watching "The Real Gilligan's Island." I don't know if I'll be a regular viewer, but I was excited to see the Gingers are real movie stars! Rachel Hunter and Nicole Eggert. Whooot! I'm only 20 minutes into the show, so I'll have to get back to you on whether it's a winner.

• I've been to Houston to visit my family for Thanksgiving. I had a nice time and had a some great food. My great-nephew is really growing up. He's 3 now, and is becoming a super little man.
• Driving to Houston was a nightmare. What normally would take 3 hours and 15 minutes took 4 and a half hours because of holiday traffic. Gak. I'd hoped to get there before dark, but it didn't work out which added to the stress of the traffic.
• Driving back to Austin was a breeze. I figured traffic wouldn't be as bad, so I drove through downtown Houston. I saw Minute Maid Park, the University of Houston, The Aquarium, and Toyota Center. I didn't know what Toyota Center was, but research revealed it's where the Rockets and the Aeros play now. I haven't been paying attention. It makes me a little sad to find out they moved out of Compaq Center (formerly known as the Summit). I went to the grand opening of The Summit back in the 70s and went to a lot of concerts there.
• I was surfing iTunes for new music today. I found American Idol Fantasia's CD. I was looking forward to it, but I don't like the style of music she's doing. What a let down.
• I also found Kevin Spacey's CD. Wow! I'm impressed with his crooning. Still... I only downloaded one song because that's not my style of music, either.
• Placing in the top 6 overall in the college football pool is a bust. I'll be lucky if I get 4 picks correct out of 15 this week. I went from being tied for 7th place down to 16th place in just one week. My average of correct picks went down below 50%, too. Poop. But I won all my money back on weekly wins, so I can't complain too much. Bring on the bowls!
• Things *finally* picked up on "Survivor." I'm so glad those dadburn women who thought they were running things found out they were vulnerable. How stupid was it for LeeAnn and Amy to let Scout know she wasn't a lock for their final four? I loved Sarge and Chad's reaction when Chris didn't get voted off. Whooot!
• I think I'll put up Christmas decorations tomorrow.

• LilyDawg is a supermodel. Her daycare used her as a model for some doggy jackets someone is selling on their premises. Her picture is in their lobby. *proud*
• I've been real busy at work. So busy, I didn't have time to visit with Kevin when he was in town last week. Poo.
• I was dismissed from jury duty before I ever had to go to the courthouse. It's good, I guess, since I had so much going on at work, and all the rain would have made public transportation an unwelcome adventure. But shoot... I wanted to at least take part in jury selection.
• Best show on TV? "Joan of Arcadia" They played Patty Griffin's "Kite Song" at the end of the show this week. I was crying like a baby.
• Second best show? "Lost" Next week, it looks like we have baby sign. I'm still waiting for Hurley's back story. The brykMan thinks he might be a dot com millionaire. It wouldn't surprise me.
• I tied with 7 people for second place in a college football pool this week. I'm now just $10.50 short of what I put in with one more week to go. I'm tied with 2 other people for 7th place overall. There are 54 people in the pool. For the overall, they pay out through 6th place. I'm out of reach of 1st place, but close to the rest. I've got my fingers crossed.

• There's a cat on my block who likes LilyDawg. On two walks over the last couple of weeks, this cat saw us and came running over. I was worried a fight would break out. They sniffed each others' noses for a second, then the cat rubbed the top of its head on Lily's chin. Then the cat plopped to the ground and rolled over on its back. Lily sniffed that cat and continued with our walk. Yesterday, I was walking by myself and saw the cat. I called for it to come over, but it just stared at me. It only loves LilyDawg.
• It got chilly outside. I don't like it.
• I didn't get to do a Survivor debriefing with my supervisor today as he was out. I like the show, but I'm not thrilled with the women vs. men thing. I was really disappointed that Twila stuck with the girls. I guess things would be different if they hadn't split the teams by gender in the first week. I'd have hated to be with all those women. I think I would have gotten along with Twila the best. I'm also scratching my head about why Chris voted against Sarge. And why did he say that it wasn't a vote against him, but *for* him?
• I delved into a new (to me) programming language today. Irish Kelly and I worked on a Perl script that we use to post form data to a flat file. It was very frustrating, but that's the kind of work I love. When we finally got it to do what we wanted, it was a wonderful "Yay!" moment. More to come on Monday--there's one more thing we need it to do. Then again... when it comes to programming, there's *always* one more thing that needs to be done.

• I was really glad to see Jake Plummer finally do well yesterday. I just wish it hadn't been against my darling Houston Texans.
• I've been getting some weird comments lately. I'm not calling it spam because it's not advertising anything. The comments just say "Hi" or "I found you from [somewhere] and just wanted to say Hi." The email address is always [someone's name]@ yahoo or msn or another popular webmail service. The url is always www.[the same someone's name].com. The urls don't work. Anyone else getting comments like that?
• I think I might lose my Texas citizenship. I added sauteed mushrooms to my chili last night. It's real good, though.
• I got my jury duty assignment for next week. I'm on a supplemental panel. I have to call a couple of hours beforehand to see if I need to report. I bet they deny me the chance.

• I just came in from walking Lily. There was a guy walking to his car as we passed his house. I said, "Hi." He said, "How ya doing?" He sounded just like Pacey (Joshua Jackson) on "Dawson's Creek." Think it was really him?
• In Austin, we had a light commuter rail proposal on the ballot. Everyone I know who wanted it to pass except one said they were voting for it because they hope it will ease traffic. The only way it will ease traffic, though, is if a lot of other people were voting for it because they want to ride it.
• I have the bug to buy one of those new TiVo DVD recorder combos. I would put it in my bedroom. Besides the DVD recording capability, it's cool because I would have 80 more hours of space. With the networking capability, I could also watch movies and tv shows recorded on either box in the bedroom or living room. It's such an unneeded luxury. But once I get the bug...

• Yesterday I saw a man with a goat on my walk around the neighborhood. I wanted to take a picture of the goat, but the man was there. Later, I wished that I had asked the man if I could take a picture of him and the goat.
  
  
• I had to register my email address to download some software yesterday. They were using a captcha image to keep out the bots. I don't mind those things when I can read them. But when a sighted person struggles to see it, it's not serving its intended purpose (to let in the humans). I actually had to take a screen capture of the image, put it into my Fireworks program and blow it up 400% to read it. The image is below. Can you read it? Take a guess in the comments.
  
  
  
  
• Last week was my good sports week. All my favorite football teams won. This week is the balance... the only team that hasn't tanked so far is the ASU Sun Devils, and they had a bye week this week. Arizona is playing now, but I'm not holding my breath. And now that I'm getting excited about baseball, the Astros lost. I'm tied for 7th overall in the college football pool, though, so I can't complain too much.
  
  
• Wife Swap is fun to watch! A recurring outcome so far (after seeing 2 shows) is that the dads end up spending more time with their kids. Moms, too, but some moms already spend a lot of time with their kids. Last week, the hippie husband bonded with his daughter over their distaste of the conservative southern lady who came to live in their liberal home. Watching the animal rights activist wife at the home of the southern hunter was a hoot, too. I liked the hunter guy until the end when he went off on the hippie husband just because he has dreadlocks. I can't stand intolerance like that. At the end of the last show, the only people I liked were the hippie husband and the kids. Save the kids before they become their parents!! The people either gain a new attitude (for the better) or they strengthen the attitudes they already have (not always for the better). I can't wait for the next show!

• I took LilyDawg to the vet today. I thought she was going to have a little doggy heart attack. Poor thing. She can't deal with being restrained, and if someone's poking and prodding her and someone else is trying to hold her still, it gets ugly. She doesn't try to bite, though. She just wiggles like crazy and pants and drools. The vet put a note on her chart that the next time we come in, they should sit down on the floor and play with her a while before they start poking and prodding her. They couldn't get a stool sample from her hiney, so they sent a stool sample collection kit home with me. It's called a Fecalyzer. hah! I hope she poops tonight.
  
  
• I set up a season pass for the new CSI: New York, but I cancelled it before the first one recorded. I tried to watch the CSI: Miami episode where they introduce the New York people and couldn't stay focused. Those CSI shows bore me to death. I like to watch true crime stories with an emphasis on crime scene investigation, though.
  
  
• I watched part of Rob Lowe's new show, dr. vegas Saturday night. It was kinda cute. I set up a season pass for that, too. It might not last, though, because it'll probably interfere with college football.
  
  
• I made some spaghetti last night with whole wheat pasta. Never again. Blech!
  
  

• I've been walking around my neighborhood in the evenings since Saturday night. Not tonight, though. I came home and fell asleep on the couch.
• I've noticed when I drive through my neighborhood, I see houses. I see people and their houses. I see the houses with nice yards and houses with not so nice yards. I see cats in front of houses and dogs in the backyards of houses. But when I walk around the neighborhood, instead of houses, I see homes. I get a glimpse of people living their lives. I guess it has to do with walking along the sidewalk in someone's front yard as opposed to looking out from the solitude of my fishbowl car.
• I've seen a lot of houses for sale on my walks. One house is being remodeled, and I saw stainless steel appliances through the window. It makes me yearn for another life.
• I'm good at stumbling on cracks in the sidewalk.
• Yesterday, I walked on some streets I hadn't walked on before. One street I walked on, I *thought* it was one I hadn't walked on before until I got to the end of it. Then I realized I'd been down it a few times before, but I'd walked on the other side of the street.
• Yesterday, I was watching a couple of women play with a Jack Russell Terrier in a front yard. They were throwing a small frisby, and the dog was going crazy running after it and bringing it back. It made me smile really big. When I turned my head to look where I was going, I was still smiling. I looked right into the face of a little girl sitting on a bicycle. She smiled a great big smile back and asked, "What's your name?" I replied, "Kim. What's yours?" She said, "Theresa." I said, "Hello, Theresa!" She said, "Hello, Kim!"
• I watched a boy ride by on a bicycle carrying a twelve pack of Dr. Peppers. I'd have a hard time riding a bike and carrying a twelve pack of soda. He kinda had a hard time, too, but he was determined.
• I always say hi to the kitties and doggies.

• I saved $600 on my car insurance by switching to Geico. Seriously. My car insurance skyrocketed about 6 months after my accident two years ago. I was hoping it would go down this renewal period. Nope... it went up! So I called Geico, and they hooked me up. When I called my old insurance to tell them not to renew, they checked to see if they could beat it (or at least match it). Nope... not even close. She said it was due to go down again *next* renewal period. Too bad. Yay, Geico!
  
  
• I got a GREAT CD in the mail today... Henry Morgan and the High Grass Boys. It's my friends Frank Cotolo and Splash (Larry Michelich), but I don't want you to think I'm just pushing my friends' CD. It's great folk rocky stuff!! And it's way professional... Adam Kittle did the mastering.
  
  
• I got the previously mentioned CD at CDBaby. That place rocks so much! The last three times I ordered a CD there, I got two CDs (the one I ordered and a surprise free one of CDBaby's choosing). All three free CDs are awesome, too. Somehow, they just *knew* what kind of music I like. This time I got Digby Wallace's Sweet Talk.
  
  
• I sold out of my Rose and Blows' "Long Road Home" CD at CDBaby this week. I sent them the last 5 "Long Road Home" CDs that they'll ever get. I also sent them some more Raspberry Silk "Inner Voices" CDs because I put them into the $5 CD sale. I don't have that many of the Raspberry Silk CDs, either. I'm so not motivated to get more CDs made. I guess I should. If you're interested, the Raspberry Silk CD is in Soft Rock and the Rose and Blows CD is in Love Songs. I'd give you direct URLs, but for the $5 sale, you have to browse and you have to buy 3 $5 CDs.
  
  
• I got an awesome dessert at Starbucks today. I think it's called apple harvest torte. Oh man... if you like cinnamon apple stuff, get to Starbucks and get one. I'm getting another one tomorrow. Yum!

• Lily Story - A couple weekends ago, I had the window in the dining room open so Lily could go in and out (it's low to the ground). A black winged creature flew in and did a fly by between my nose and my computer monitor. It startled me, and I think I made a noise and got Lily's attention. She saw the beast and started chasing it around the living room and dining room. She would jump up at it and try to bite it. It was fun to watch. I walked into the kitchen to get my aquarium net to try to catch it. I walked back in the living room just as Lily chased it right out the window again. Whooot! Good dog!!
  
  
• Citi Crap Story - Citi Cards sends me too damn much crap in the mail: 0% balance transfer offers; 2.9% cash offers; and "convenience" checks. My favorite pieces of crap mail say, "Last Chance Offer!" ha!! If I could be so lucky!
  
  I called them a few weeks ago to ask them to stop, and the lady said she "put a note on my account." I didn't like the sound of that; it just wasn't definitive enough for me. So today, when I found THREE pieces of Citi Crap in my mailbox, I called again... this time to close my account. Except this time I got a really nice lady on the phone. She examined my account and said that it can take up to two months to take effect, and that it had been less than that since I called. Then she did some other things to the account to make sure I wouldn't get any (ANY!) promotional materials in the mail including "convenience" checks. I hate those convenience checks. Pah! Then she asked if I would like her to send me a confirmation letter that they removed me from all their lists. Yay!! She was the nicest customer service lady I've ever talked to... she sounded like she's probably someone's mom. And a great mom, too!
  
  
• Jenga Story - We've been playing Jenga at work on breaks and at lunch and after hours. We've developed several variations. Like "Five by One 2 to 5 Jenga." That's where we stack the blocks on their skinny side, so each row has 5 blocks. When it's our turn, we can pull 2 to 5 blocks. We also play "Variable Stack 1 to 2 Jenga." In that game, if you're the person to start a new row on top, you can either put the first block down skinny side or fat side. And you can choose to pull 1 or 2 blocks. Today we had a new variation called "Lame Middle Jenga." That's where we stack the blocks up normal, but we can only pull the middle block from a row. We thought it would be easy, but it was really hard. Those middle blocks can be totally wedged in there.
  
  
• Stuffed Peppers - I made Make Me Stuffed Peppers yesterday. I didn't want onion in the meat mixture, though, so I substituted Cilantro. Oh my gosh... they're super!

• I switched up my routine this weekend. Usually, I go to the grocery on Sunday, but I went today instead. Exciting times...
• Lily had lots of ticks on her today. I'm wondering if my house is infested now. It only takes one female to finish her feeding and drop off and crawl away to end up with thousands of ticks in the house. I was so disgusted after I pulled the ticks off that I felt bugs crawling on me. I just took a shower, but it didn't help so much. I ordered a Preventic tick collar for her. I've read those work pretty good.
• Joan of Arcadia was weird and disturbing and sad and very intriguing. I cried at least three times while watching it. I don't know what to think of it now. The Dad had a mystical experience. The Mom saw God in a dream. And Joan was told she's been having hallucinations all along because she has Lyme disease. One of the times I cried was when one of God's incarnations showed up at the very end. I was so thankful to see him watching over her. All that stuff overshadowed the whole Grace and Luke thing, which would have been enough by itself to make a show memorable. Another part that struck me deeply enough to make me cry was when Adam found out that the Joan he knows and loves is a result of her Lyme disease, and he worries that she might change too much when she gets well.
• A couple of girls came to my door this afternoon selling stickers. They're always selling something. I bought three cat stickers and five smiley face stickers for 50 cents. I had iTunes playing, and one of the girls heard it and asked, "Why are you listening to music?" I thought that was a really odd question. I just told her I felt like hearing some music. I'll bet at her house, they have the TV on all the time.
• Speaking of... I think I've heard enough music for today. I'm gonna go watch some TV.

• An entry over at Brykmantra made me think of this: I never liked the show Kung Fu so much. But sometimes it was on, and I'd watch it. Back then, we didn't have hundreds of channels to choose from. One time they were sticking the grasshopper guy in a big box, and he had to survive the cold weather. I don't remember if it was overnight or for a few days or what. He did survive, of course. And he explained that he just relaxed or meditated or something instead of tensing up from the cold. So I tried that at the bus stop... I hated waiting for the bus in the cold. It worked!! Instead of tensing up all my muscles, I relaxed them. I was still cold, but it wasn't as unbearable as before.
• I'm not all that excited about the finale of American Idol. It's kinda like the show is already over. What does it matter who actually wins? Does it make any difference in Ruben's life compared to Clay's life? I'll still watch it, and root for Fantasia. I might even vote again, although I tend to jinx whoever I vote for.
• I've been having a blast at work the past several days. I'm building a new website, and I get to use cascading style sheets. We've not be able to use them before because we are catering to the oldest of the old browsers on our public site. This is going to be an extranet site only for other state agencies, so we can up our standards. I'm still using nested tables for layout, but text and colors will all the controlled with CSS. Thanks a lot to A List Apart for tips! {Note: I just went over there to get the URL for the link, and they have yet another super article about how to create truly expandable drop shadows. Yay!!}
• I'll be in training Monday through Wednesday next week. Three full days of geekery... learning all about accessibility and the web. It's the perfect time, too, considering we're just now designing our new website. We definitely want it to be accessible to people with handicaps!
• The Torani syrups I ordered should get to my house today. That means I'll be having a chocolate raspberry decaf coffee with whipped cream on top for dessert tonight. Yay!

• American Idol: I know Camille had to go, but I sure wish either of the Johns had been voted off first. I know one of these weeks Camille would have gotten a song that fit her style, and she would have really shined.
• I've been juggling at work lately. Literally. I'm a three ball juggler. I took my juggle balls home, and I'm going to start juggling in the evenings. It's not *great* exercise, but it's movement and that's always a good thing.
• American Idol: I think about the way the voting works a lot. I wonder how different things would be if we voted someone off instead of voting for our favorite. I never get to vote anyway, because I usually have too much going on Tuesday evenings to see the show in real time. But if I could have voted someone off, I would have voted John Peter Lewis (JPL) off. He's cute and all, but I can't imagine watching him do more than one song in one sitting.
• American Idol: If I'd had time to vote for my favorite, it probably would have been Fantasia. I didn't like her at first, but now I think she's the coolest of the bunch.
• Joan of Arcadia: Do you think the whole Adam/Jane(joan) romance will start stinking up the series now that Adam left Iris for Jane(joan)? I hope not... I live vicariously through those two.
• American Idol: Do you think there's really any chance Simon and Paula would get married? Do you think Randy ever feels like a third wheel?
• I found out that if I skip GrapeNuts in the morning, I'm more likely to cheat on my diet during the day. Go Go GrapeNuts!!
• American Idol: Redheaded John should have sung "Daniel." He sounded really good during that awful montage thing they did on that terribly LONG results show last night. John needs to go, but I love when he sings the sweet tender songs like that.
• I usually don't like daylight savings time, but I've been enjoying it on the days that the weather is good. I got home from work the other day, and it was still so bright that I got to see the rainbows on my walls and ceiling. And as much as I hate getting up before the sun, I got to see a whole bunch of stars this morning when Lily took me for a walk.
• American Idol: Another thing I think about when I think about the voting... I wonder how people's votes swing when their favorite gets voted off. Who will the Camille voters vote for next week? Some might not vote anymore, but others will choose a new favorite. That's one of the things that makes this show so dynamic and interesting.