Tennessee Christmas

We decided to spend Christmas in Tennessee this year, much to my mother's chagrin... But I'm sure she's over it by now =).
Either way, we made the 13 hour drive on Thursday with surprising ease considering the energy levels of the toddler we tend to carry around with us. Whoever created the portable DVD player MUST have been a parent, but regardless he or she is a genius. Thanks to several rounds of Little Einsteins, Monsters Inc, and PraiseBaby we had a nearly tear-less, fuss-less drive!! Of course I have to say, no matter how thankful I am for the entertainment provided, there is something a little off-putting about seeing your toddler's glazed eyes and hanging jaw in the blue light of the TV screen!

We finally got to TN around 4:30 am and my little girl, despite being completely exhausted could not shake herself from the crazy blinking tree and crazy barking puppies. She was literally shaking from the combination of excitement, delirium and exhaustion. So I stayed up with her until about 9am till we were both passing out... Niles parents weren't going to be in town until the next day, so Grayson, Niles and I went to the mall (God forbid!) where they promptly decided to lose Reese as I was shopping! They were "watching" her while she played in one of those big foam-type play centers and next thing I know, as I'm walking back to get all of them, this strange woman walks up to me, angrily I might add, holding my daughter! In a shrill voice, with darts coming out of her eyes and steam blowing out her ears - wearing a shirt that said Jesus is the Reason for the Season (i'm exaggerating) - she asks me, "Is THIS YOUR CHILD?!?!". Quickly I grab my "rescued" daughter, close my phone whilst hanging up on my brother, and start yelling "Niles. Niles. Niles." - trying to act like I can't feel the judgment oozing out of Psycho Soccer Mom's pores. Niles and Grayson said they had been watching her closely, but she has the speed of a panther and dashed away before their very (dim) eyes.
Here is Reese, pre-panther-speed-display...
(with clearly no idea she is about to enter the scary jungle of the joyous Christmas shopping experience alone)


We ate at Abuelo's afterwards, drinking away our memories of nearly losing our daughter/niece in a couple rounds of Blue Moon beer. Later that night, Gray's friend Mark came over. We love him. He simultaneously drank a beer, talked about Mac computers with Niles, watched the Mavs game, and carried on a conversation about Lauren Conrad and The Hills with me. My kind of man!!! =) (P.S. Jackie, the Mavericks won on Friday. Just thought you would want to know!)

Saturday, waiting for Niles' parents to get in town, we went a played some tennis at the nearby park and took turns taking Reese out to the playground. Tennis is so much fun!!! It was ten times better working out by taking your aggression out on a bouncing ball than trying to run on a treadmill. With the exception of a few balls I hit out of the court and onto the street, I didn't play too poorly either, which was greatly satisfying to my highly competitive, lowly athletic personality. Reese had fun too, scraping a ball along the court with her racket.

Pure professional form here





The folks came in Saturday and we went, of course, to Cracker Barrel. Haven came in Sunday afternoon and we went again to Abuelos, where the Worst Service Ever competition must have been taking place... and our server WON!!! It was by far the worst service ever given to one group of people in the history of bad service. Not only did she forget to put our order in until about 30 minutes after we placed it, she never put my order in, and she never even regarded the fact that she had made a mistake. NOTE TO SERVERS OUT THERE EVERYWHERE: never, never, never, never pretend that you have no idea why our food would be taking so long and damn, that kitchen is so slow. NEVER. It's a bad, bad, tired act and makes you look irresponsible and just plain rude! Anyways, we had gotten to the restaurant at 1:30, and got home at 4. Need I say more?!?!

Since I forgot to blog about MY family's annual trip to the Galleria, here are a couple videos from that night, and then the video of Reese at the playground in TN.





Merry Christmas!!!!!

HILARIOUS

Check it out.
If you love Superbad, or Arrested Development... or if you are itching to see Juno, like I am, you have to appreciate these "episodes" by Michael Cera and his buddy.

www.clarkandmichael.com

It's Official. I'm old.

No longer a 20-something, I've moved into the next age bracket. sigh.
It has been an overwhelming month, trying to finish up school, work, and get all my freakin' dental problems taken care of. Finally, my little vacancy in the bottom corner of my mouth is starting to close up, I'm no longer on pain meds, and I'm slowly coming back to sanity. Last week was my 30th birthday! And of course, the day before my birthday was my major 10 -15 minute presentation for my final grade. So the 3 to 4 days leading up to my birthday were spent in utter mania just trying to get my topic and sort out all the information, etc. Im such a last minute person that I had not even decided on the topic of my presentation until the weekend before it was due. ANYWAYS, all that to say, I barely had time to think about my birthday or all the excitement it would be until the night before because I was so exhausted. And since it was the night before that I started thinking about it, of course I couldn't just fall asleep - so I was up until about 4:30am. nice.

My beautiful, wonderful friend Lauren, along with a couple other girls, planned a night out for me in Dallas. They booked a room at Hotel Zaza, which is amazing, and we were ushered around in a limo all night to go eat and go dancing. It was SUCH a good time. My oldest and closest friends were there, with a few exceptions, and they all got along great and we managed to have an entire girls night out without any clashing amongst the various personalities. =) THANKS GIRLS!!
Here are a small number of photos from Friday...


Me, Lauren, and my oldest friend, Jess who I've known since I was 8!!

My awesome cake!

Outside the limo...

Me and my perfect sister-in-law...


Saturday night my mom threw me a small get-together at her house... Actually, I thought it was supposed to be small, which is why I didn't really tell many people about it, but my mom had the house DECKED out!! But it seems neither of us remembered to tell many people either, since two of my aunts had no idea, and neither did my other sister-in-law!! =) BUT, that's okay because I know she had just wanted to have a special evening for me, and that was certainly successful!!
Here are a few pics from that night...




So, it's official. I'm completely old.

Reese and Grandad

I have not posted any pictures of Reese in ages! And since our trip to Mexico, our camera has never been the same. SO, since the last time I got great pictures of Reese was when she was having a lengthy conversation with her grandad, that's what you get. And besides that, they are PRECIOUS pictures.

This year I'm thankful for...

MY DENTIST!!
Oh my gosh it has been quite a week.
A week and a half ago I was having serious pain in one of my molars and found out I needed to have it pulled! And along with that, they wanted to pull that pesky wisdom tooth that was pushing in on that sweet little molar. So, on the weekend that I should have been driving to Houston for an old friend's wedding, I spent my time on the couch, ice pack to my swollen face, and a mouth full of gauze. Awesome. I was seriously disappointed because I was really looking forward to going to this wedding. So many of my friends that I never see anymore were going to be there and because I was high on codine for 48 hours, I missed out on all the fun. I'm so sad!! Well, I did finally resurrect myself to go to dinner with some friends on Monday night, and I chose to enjoy a margarita, the result of which would normally be a really happy buzzy feeling. Instead, I got a freakin' DRY SOCKET. Which, if you don't know what that is, let's sum it up like this: undeniable, throbbing, lifesucking pain. I don't know that I necessarily got the DS as a result of the margarita, because I did call my doctor to make sure it was okay... But since I had done everything humanly possible to keep myself from getting this horrendous infliction, that's the only conclusion I can come to.

So, Wednesday I went to my new dentist, who may end up dropping me shortly out of sheer annoyance with my never ending phone calls... (seriously it was almost as bad as how often I called the pediatrician after Reese was born - A LOT) He "packed" the socket with this foul-tasting medication and I went on my way, hoping against all hope that I was cured. Not. Happening. Thanksgiving day I managed to cope and still enjoy my holiday with our friends (our family event was Wednesday night) but I was popping pain meds every few hours. Finally Friday, on my poor dentist's day off no less, I was admitted to get some more medication which seemed to ease my pain for a while.

What a week!! I'm so thankful for my new dentist. They have graciously opened their offices to me several times this week, even though it was a holiday and they were SLAMMED. And they didn't charge me for any of the visits, which I'm so grateful for. If you need a dentist, Huckabee Dental in Southlake. That's where it's at, my friends.

Other than that, it has been a great holiday!!

UPDATE on the Cole home: still on the market. Sooo... looks like Christmas won't be as sad as I thought. =) YAY!

SHOUT OUT TO TARRAH Z!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY FRIEND!!!!

Home for the Holidays?!?! NOT.

SO. Since putting the 22-Year-Cole-Family-Dreamhouse on the market last weekend, mom and dad have had a steady stream of visitors all week long last week, followed by a very successful Open House on Sunday. They have had two offers already and finally decided to accept one of them. Which is semi-good news. The facts are, no matter what they are moving and it might as well be sooner than later. I think for my mom, it would be easier to just cut the cord and go. But at the same time, the news that they are being asked to be out BEFORE THANKSGIVING I think is tough to take. It's at least extremely tough to take for ME!! I spent the hour before falling asleep last night trying to figure out what to do with myself while I cried my eyes out. I'm not a big touchy-feely kind of person, so when I cry, the last thing I want is to be hugged or touched. I'd prefer to cry on my own and not be messed with... Which left Niles in a bit of a quandary. Poor guy. I think he was digging through our junk drawer for my old therapist's number. just in case. I thought, okay, I'll sit in bed, cry somewhat silently, while listening to my iPod and looking at magazines. Unfortunately, that was not at all therapeutic. So, I just caved and went to sleep to the sound of Wedding Crashers. What... does that not seem appropriate? What's more therapeutic than Vince Vaughn?!

Today I was watching Larry King Live about the California fires, and realized I actually know a lot of people in San Diego that I have not checked in on! So, I emailed my friend Janie, and got the news back from her that they are all okay and safe. Although, she did let me know that they did have to go pack up valuables from her parents' house... (yes, my friend, I do know that you're probably reading this. I'm RELIEVED and so happy to know you are okay!!!!!) So, her brother, Josh, who is on my blogroll just to your right, has pictures from his driveway of the fires in the distance. It's extremely tough to look at, and it certainly gave me some perspective. All I could think of was how it would not be possible to look out your window and get back in bed peacefully... What a terrifying feeling.

As I continued watching LKL, they interviewed another news reporter who actually watched his house burn down. I think his name was Larry Himmel. Anyways, it was really tragic to hear him talk about - while seeing his completely destroyed home in the background - how he was standing in the driveway where he used to pitch baseballs to his son, and kiss his wife as he left for work everyday. He lived in that home for 25 years, and in the span of a few hours, he lost so much of the tangibility of his memories... I just completely lost it. It occurred to me how grateful I should be that even though we are leaving the home I grew up in, the home we have owned for 22 years, at least we are leaving it with all our memories in tact. All our belongings in place, the basketball goal from 15 years ago still there, the driveway where I found my first car tied with a ribbon (yes, i was spoiled) still there, and the huge front windows where our Christmas tree has always been on display going nowhere. Yes, the new people may take the goal down, yes, they may cut all the ivy off the house, change the landscaping (please!!), keep different cars in the driveway, and perhaps they won't have their Christmas tree in the front windows, but it will still be there. I can always drive by (and I probably will - so watch yourself newbies!!) and check in on it.

So, all that to say, I'm ridiculously sad about the fact that we will never have another Christmas morning on Shady Creek, but so many others are suffering the loss of their homes in a much worse way, and I'm extremely sad for those people, but grateful that I can take away this small comfort and I hope that doesn't seem selfish, but it's true.

I'm on a new mission to find out how we can possibly help those in California who are without homes, and if anyone has any ideas, let me know!!

Issues

My brother read my rant about the yellow pages commercials (below) and said I have anger issues I need to work on. =)

He is possibly correct!!

Right now I have several issues with varying degrees of emotional exertion. The first of which is the completion of my dad's conference. Christian Men's Network, the ministry my grandfather started in 1977, just celebrated its Thirtieth Anniversary. Not only was it our anniversary, but it was somewhat of a relaunching of the ministry for my dad. It has been a long hard, emotional experience, transitioning the ministry from my grandfather's hands to my father's, and not one without many questions that start with "Why...?". The conference was a smashing success, giving my dad the exact kind of encouragement and momentum he needed and the ministry needed and it also marked my debut as an all-around event coordinator, in charge of everything from volunteers (finding, scheduling, reigning in), speakers, transportation, facility liasing (word??), hotels(reservation management is probably the MOST TIME-CONSUMING aspect of any event I have ever participated in. It's certainly not a one-person job if you want to do it right!!), registration, money handling, yadda yadda yadda. It has been an extremely overwhelming summer getting ready for this event, and while I'm relieved it's over, it was also encouraging to me once the event came to a close, to realize that I had pulled it off, with minimal mistakes, and lots of ideas for next time. =) But I have to give MAJOR "props" to my friend Amy, who was my right hand for the entire thing and without her, I might have been in the fetal position in the corner of the lobby. ALL THAT TO SAY, it's taking me a good few weeks to recover from the sleep deprivation and hype. I'm exhausted.

Another huge event taxing my emotions is the big FOR SALE sign in the front yard of my parents' home. The home I lived in and have at least been to on a daily basis for the last 22 years of my life. It's my childhood home, the one where I had my 16th birthday, my 10th birthday, my 8th birthday!!! The home where every major event of my life has been celebrated, every holiday has been had, every going-away party, coming-home party, along with many and many baby showers, wedding showers, and any major playoff watching parties have been had, and not even just for me... for a churchful of people, for all my friends, for all of my brother's friends... This is the house that my daughter took her first steps in, had her first birthday in, went swimming for the first time at... The thought of not celebrating another Christmas in this house, is no less than gutwrenching. With the exception of a small handful of my friends, we've lived in this house longer than most people I know have ever lived in one place, maybe even one city! I am so torn up about the whole thing. But the worst is watching my mom go through it all. If you know my mom, you know you can't even guess how many layers of paint may be on each wall - how many times the counters have been redone, the cabinets have been painted, the color scheme has been changed. If you know my mom, you know that her home is a reflection of herself. It's her escape, her passion... I know it seems ridiculous to be writing on and on about this, but if you know me, and you know my family, you have been to our home countless times and probably have several precious memories of your own. Because that's how much we have loved and shared this house. I will have to post pictures later purely for preservational purposes. It is rough. Very very rough.

Anyways, just thought I would share.
I am not good at venting my emotions and so trying to keep calm during all of this is very difficult, but I know my problems are extremely small in the face of so many others'... So maybe blogging about it all will help.

Absolutely Absurd

You know what annoys me lately??
The absurd AT&T yellow pages phone book commercial.
What overpaid geniuses sat in a room and thought of a
marketing concept for a PHONE BOOK that entails a
jingle sung by people who simply cannot wait!, are so
excited!, are on the edge of their seats waiting for,
looking for...
their new yellow pages book.

Can I just tell you, the absolute LAST thing (aside
from Mormons or people ("single" moms, yeah right)
selling outlandishly overpriced magazine
subscriptions) I want on my doorstep, is a BIG ASS
YELLOW PAGES BOOK. I despise those things. All they do
is make me feel guilty because I don't recycle them
when I finally drag their dust-covered, still wrapped
in plastic, selves out of my closet to finally throw
them away.

Whew.
I feel better now.

Just a little gift from my sister in law...

And a perfect time to post considering it's
1. My 100th Post!!
2. STRESSFUL TIMES
3. 72 hours until my conference starts!!! oh jeez.

Here's a little taste of what me and some girlfriends do on our weekends. =)

Finally... Wiggles pictures!

Me and a super-cool toddler walking up to the theater.

Captain Feathersword and Dorothy, her favorite!

Dorothy the dinosaur


with her new Dorothy doll

with her Wiggles program. She is obsessed with this
book. She will lay on her stomach and read it forever.

So cool. =)

Again, days later, reading her program with daddy on the couch.

I love this.

And, NO, I'm not pregnant. =)

so tired

I have been so exhausted lately that I very nearly
feel the need to buy a pregnancy test! Getting in bed
at 9:30, falling asleep before 10:30.. this is so
completely unlike me. I am, in fact, so tired right
now, that I hear Reese making a lot of racket behind
me (which is actually far less scary than her total
silence, which usually is a sign that she is into
something terribly inappropriate) and I'm having a
hard time even looking around, for fear that I may
have to actually get up out of my chair. This is not
good.

It's one of those days where I could literally sit in
one place, in a total daze, and feel completely okay
about that. Normally I don't like to sit still unless
there's a magazine, book, or puzzle in front of me, as
well as a movie going or music playing... and I can't
help but think of all the things I should be doing.

I'm wondering if it's possible that my poor diet is
contributing to my tiredness... but there's nothing
different in my diet now than there has been for...
forever! So, what's the deal?!?!

If I took a pregnancy test today and it turned
positive, I could very nearly promise you that Niles
would go take a close look at his protection
collection to see if I'd "tampered" with it. That's
how much of a shock it would be.

Okay. I really must find out the source of all the
racket going on behind me. Sounds like videotapes
being haphazardly ripped out of their cases and tossed
aside for sport.

It is.

Mommy Tip

Okay. This is going to seem a little random, but
anytime I find a good money-saving or time-saving
mommy tip, I think it should be shared.

Target diapers.

As any parent knows, a major budget-sucker are (is?)
diapers. I'm always a little weary of cheap brands
because usually you get what you pay for... and
diapers are one thing you should not be scared to
spend money on.

But I got a Target box of 92 diapers for $13!!!! I've
been on the same box for over a week and a half now
and we have had no leakage, no accidents, no wet crib
mattress... So, I'm sold. AND, no diaper rash... don't
let me forget that important issue. I'm so excited.

I've used Walmart brand diapers and "parents choice"
diapers... They all suck. Not Target.

If you know me, you know I'm a little fanatic about
Target... Im trying to wean myself off of my daily
trip as it's a little embarrassing because now the
staff always recognize me. I'm sure they sit and talk
about me in the break room like "hey, crazy Target
girl came back in today and you know what she
bought??" Embarrassing.

Big Day!!

Today is Reese's first concert.
Who is it you ask? The Strokes? U2? Fergie? no.
Only the most.talented. most. innovative. group. of. all. time.
THE WIGGLES!!
We are Racing to the Rainbow today, guys. It is Reese's highlight of the day when I turn on the TV (which I try to do increasingly less, as I want my child to have some semblance of imagination and creativity on her own someday) and she hears that familiar refrain all of us parents know and "love"... "It's the Wiggles, it's the Wiggles, dancing with our friends..."
I have to say honestly, I am a bit excited myself seeing as I pretty much watch the show just as much as Reese and now feel some emotional attachment to the four colorful fellas. I have turned to them in some dark times. Times when I thought I could never get Reese to calm down, or stop crying, or help me figure out what was wrong; times when I felt the world closing in on our tiny apartment as I racked my brain thinking of ways I could help her. These are the Wiggle times. When the Wiggles are on, Reese's world comes to a stop. She sits down, stops crying, pulls her blankie on to her lap (or if she's happy, she dances and claps along with the songs) and gives mom a few moments' rest and recuperation. Or at least 30 minutes to get something done. Hopefully she won't die of shock when she sees Jeff (the purple guy) running around in the crowd. And he better... because that's what they show on TV and I am counting on grabbing onto his hips and starting a major conga line. Bet they'll show THAT on tv.







disclaimer: For all you parents out there who are thinking of challenging me over the use of TV to help calm my child down... don't bother. I don't care what you think. =)

Technology + Me= Dammit.

Well, it's been a good two months since I last
blogged. For some friggin reason, every time I would
log in to start a new post, it would give me some
error message saying that my template was invalid?!
Who knows. Me and electronic devices do not mesh well.
I am literally known at every office I have ever
worked at, for messing up the one computer that is
supposed to withstand any and all viruses, bugs, and
nuclear disasters that come its way. Except me. I am
the indestructible, walking, breathing virus.

But I must say, I have an old Mac at the office that I
am now using, (all because, of course, my previous PC
caught some sort of pop-up disease; one resembling the
end of solitaire when all the cards start bouncing all
over the screen... except the popups don't go away or
deal again) and thus far, knock on wood, have had no
issues!! Go Mac!!

So far this year, I have successfully destroyed one
Mac laptop, one PC laptop, and a PC desktop. In that
order. Why? Just for kicks. Just because I always
hoped my life would be more difficult, more complex,
less efficient or organized. I started off the year
feeling just a bit too on top of things, ya know?

Here are a few other things I have accomplished
technologically:

1. Orlando, Florida, circa August 2005 - hurricane
season, lots of thunder and lightning storms. All the
computers and basically all general electronics at my
office building are on a backup system. All but one.
All but the measly little crapper I had in my cubicle
on the second floor, left wing of the building on the
right. That's right. Everyone else was up and running
in seconds. Not me. It took me a team of Campus
Crusade "tech specialists" to keep trading out
computers till finally they settle on one they thought
might withstand Hurricane Lindsay.

2. Dallas, TX, Thanksgiving break, 2005 - Outlook, all
mail systems, all programs successfully running before
I go to Tennessee for holiday. All mail programs
unsuccessfully running when I return, and thus never
returned to proper working order. Ever.

3. Dallas, TX, circa February 2007 - large printer
stops working. Just. stops. And it costs a good 500
dollars just for a diagnostic?! Are you kidding? I
guess I didn't realize it ran on Kia parts.

4. Mac laptop - have used consistently for the last
three years. Stopped working during midterms of my
first class back in college. awesome.

5. PC laptop - used simply to fill in for the Mac
laptop for a month or so. Quit working the night
before my research paper was due.

6. PC desktop, office, two months ago - Pop up
infestation.

There you have it. A short history of my computer
shortcomings. Why do people always buy me such crappy
computers??

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Back and Being Vulnerable!

Well, my amazing, intelligent, hilarious, beautiful, Lohan-esque cousin, Holland, left today for Syracuse Journalism la-di-dah school. We have always been good friends and we always have fun together... mostly because she humors me and puts up with my below-her intelligence and wit, not to mention my love for wine and chaotic personality. But she left today, and even though I had ample time to spend with her over the last 2.5 years since the move home from Florida, we did not hang out NEARLY as much as I would have liked!!! And now I'm mad at myself!!

I realize that we are family, and we will always be close and together and in touch somehow, but it's not quite the same as spending time together.

I do this all the time!!

I am extremely awful at keeping in touch. Not extremely awful, but pretty bad. I LOATHE talking on the phone. I get lazy with emails, and write things like, "cute! love it. miss you." And even MySpace cannot hold me in its trance anymore. Believe me, friends and family are not insignificant to me by any means... So am I just insensitive? Lazy? Tired? Self-involved? I dont know. But it's definitely not a good thing. And I certainly never mean to make people (especially people I care about deeply!) feel as if I don't care enough about their lives to take two minutes out of mine and call them up. It's terrible. I'm sure I've blogged about this before, and surely many of these will follow... But this is a tribute to Holland.

I am SO stinkin' proud of you!!!
You are such an amazing person... I, truthfully, am always learning things from you... And not just things about superficial celebrities and reality shows. (Although that's true, too)
You have experienced so much in your life that I am envious of, and I'm glad you get to tell me stories about it, because then I can tell them to Reese, and together we can explain to her the 100 most Stupid things to do in a Relationship, the 100 Best Places to Go, the 100 Places to go where certain experimental substances are okay... (well, you can tell her that one) JUST KIDDING!!!
But seriously, I think you are terrific and talented and special. I believe in you and I think you are taking a risk that will ultimately pay off, and I can't wait for you to dedicate your first book to me.
One last thing...
BURN THAT DRUNK DANCE VIDEO WE MADE IN MY FLORIDA APARTMENT PARKING LOT.
Or I will release the cassette tape we made at Grandma and Grandpa's. Oh yeah. Be afraid.

SO, to all of you who don't know my soon-to-be-famous, soon-to-be-literary-prize-winning cousin, you can check out her blog at
www.lifeisthat.blogspot.com

She is A-W-E-S-O-M-E.

Made my day!

Am I crazy that this made me cry?!?

Pictures... finally!

Since I've been so terrible about blogging, and picture uploading, and pretty much everything beyond simply checking my emails... (and yes, that does mean i've even been terrible at responding to emails...) I have a lot of photos to share.

First and foremost, my dear friend, Jen is getting married to the guy she's been with for like 8 years. FINALLY! So, my friends from high school and I are all flying up to Missouri at the end of June for the big event. We had her shower in April and some of these girls I had not seen in AGES.
Here's all of us at the "bachelorette party" (i.e. dinner at Mi Cocina)

Me and the bride to be!


Here's the girls at the shower:

The all-important cake that I was put in charge of... It was a terrifying experience! Picking out just the right cake for a shower... I'm not normally up for that task, and it was much bigger than me. =)


Okay. Now onto more important things... Namely, Reese:

Back in the cupboard again...



Despite this look on her face, she truly is a fan...


And finally, dinner wth friends.


And let me leave you with this final thought.

Where have I been?!?!

WOW... I have not blogged in a long time. Maybe it was the emotional hangover of depression from the Mavericks loss... I will say, unabashedly, that I did bawl my eyes out when Dirk won his MVP trophy last Tuesday. I just love him so much. I literally sat in the car, listening to the entire press conference on the radio, and then watched it on TV later that day. He looked so sweet in his little suit. =) Although, I don't know that you can call anything worn by a 7-ft man "little".

Well, I FINALLY finished my first semester back at school!! I have to say, I picked the absolute worst time in life to try to go back. Life is complex enough right now, with work, children, family, church, etc. But, throwing in school?!?! What was I thinking?! I'll tell you what I was thinking... DEGREE... MONEY... CAREER... SETTING UP GOALS... FINISHING GOALS... Trying to do the right thing for myself and my future. I just could have done it a little earlier... Say, 8 years ago when I was actually still enrolled and on campus? Oh well. That's life. But I ended up getting a B+ in one class, and an A in the other, so I guess I did well enough.

Last Friday I left with my cousin Seth to drive down to Corpus Christi to run a relay marathon called the Beach to Bay Relay. We got asked to join a team who needed to fill a few spots. I was trying to get out of it, but I'm so glad I didn't and that I actually made the trip and ran the race. I got stuck with the longest leg (4.8 miles) but I ran the whole thing, and did it in 40 minutes, too! So, I'm happy with that. The only infuriating thing was the ABUNDANCE of San Antonio Spurs fans EVERYWHERE. I'm telling you, I'm a die-hard Mavs fan, but S.A. fans put us TO SHAME!!! (well, not me... but the rest of y'all)

Anyways, here are some pictures... I knew none of these people before this weekend, but there's nothing like building a bond over a little sweat, heat, and baton-passing. =)
Here's our team: (me, Seth, Eva, Jason, Monica, and Joe)

Me and Monica (the ringleader of the whole thing... She's a big marathon runner):

Here's me walking to drop some of our team off at their bus to take them to their first leg: (pointless picture truly)

Here's Eva handing off the baton at her exchange spot:


That's about it. Unfortunately I have no pictures of me running or handing off my baton because we were all spread out, and I didn't bring my camera. It was truly an inspiring experience and very encouraging. I'm thinking I may go ahead and start marathon training!! I'm telling you, the adrenaline at that thing was so contagious. If anyone's interested in joining me, let me know!!! =)

I can't take this!!

NBA Playoffs 2007.
This was supposed to feel like Christmas! It was supposed to be simple, easy, and quick! Who are these Golden State Warriors we are playing? I for sure have not seen them this year.
This was OUR YEAR!!!

I'm so devastated over this first round of the playoffs for the Dallas Mavericks. I'm sick over it. I just cannot believe that we are down 3-1 right now, and have to win 3 straight games over this team in order to get into the second freaking round.

I'm not mad at them. I'm just mad. And I'm sad and embarrassed for them, because this is not the team they have been all year. Their legacy should not be set in stone as the only NBA team in history to lose their first place status in the first round of the playoffs!!!

If you're not a basketball fan, a sports fan, or especially a Mavs fan, then you probably think it's ridiculous that Ive spent so much time mourning these losses. But for some reason, it just really feels crappy. I want them to win so badly...

I realize they are not playing as well as normal, and I also realize that the Warriors are playing exceptionally more outstanding than they have for this entire year. But that doesn't soften the blows. I'm thinking of their reputations. It's just NOT STINKIN' FAIR.

I am a dedicated Mavs fan, and nothing that happens at the conclusion of this season will change that. If anything, I will show MORE support and MORE dedication!! But, I can't hide the disappointment. It's just gutwrenching.

On Alec Baldwin

First of all, I've always thought that he seemed like a jerk. So no matter what, my opinion of him is more or less just confirmed by the recent incident of his.

Second of all, I realize that this is ridiculous that I'm making time to comment...
BUT.

I'm sorry. If I were his ex-wife, and he was calling up my ELEVEN-year-old daughter and yelling at her like that, you better believe I'd be telling everyone!! Especially if he were famous.

She's E-LEVEN!! Hello?!?!?

Let's Think About This for A Brief Moment...

"The procedure at issue involves partially removing the fetus intact from a woman's uterus, then crushing or cutting its skull to complete the abortion."

This is an excerpt from an article I just read about the Court upholding, thankfully, the ban on partial birth abortion. Let me rephrase the above sentence with the appropriate verbiage:

"The procedure at issue involves partially removing the BABY intact from a woman's uterus, then crushing or cutting THE BABY'S skull to complete the abortion."

Really. Does that seem like something that should even be up for discussion? Much less made legal??

Ironic that April just happens to be National Child Abuse Prevention Month.

I am so disgusted by the fact that someone could even try to legitimize this procedure, and turn it into something "positive". What's even more sickening is that the ban was only upheld by a 5 to 4 vote.

Sad. So, instead of just choosing not to have sex with someone whose baby you don't want let's just crush its skull to make your life more convenient. HOW IS THIS DIFFERENT FROM THE TEENAGER WHO GETS HER BOYFRIEND TO JUMP ON HER STOMACH TO KILL HER BABY?????? She was on Oprah having the whole world gasp at her inhumanity. Are we going to do that with the doctors who perform this "surgery"???

(Understand here, I realize that some people choose to have abortions because of pregnancy due to rape or molestation, etc. But statistics show that those numbers are STAGGERINGLY minimal compared to those who are choosing abortion because it doesn't fit into their current lifestyle. Look it up before you decide to throw that argument at me. Even then, it still doesn't justify the means I'm talking about.)

Mere Christianity...

The one good thing about my fake Intro to Adult Education class, (which is really a way of asking while simultaneously substantially charging me for this elaborate means of introspection... "You may be an adult, make a living, have a career and parent little future adults, but do you really know what you're talking about and are you worthy of getting a degree?") is that I am forced to read a little Christian philosophy. Which I always pretend I would love to read, but if I did really want to read it I would have done so... So, for my research paper which is due Thursday, I'm reading Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis.

What a genius.

Today's gem: (on the topic of pride vs. 'proud of')
"To love and admire anything outside of yourself is to take one step away from utter spiritual ruin; though we shall not be well so long as we love and admire anything more than we love and admire God."

"...if you really get into any kind of touch with Him you will, in fact, be humble - delightedly humble, feeling the infinite relief of having for once got rid of all the silly nonsense about your own dignity which has made you restless and unhappy all your life."

On the topic of faith:
"Now Faith, in the sense in which I am here using the word, is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods. For moods will change, whatever view your reason takes... Now that I am a Christian I do have moods in which the whole things looks very improbable: but when I was an atheist I had moods in which Christianity looked terribly probable... unless you teach your moods 'where they get off,'you can never be either a sound Christian or even a sound atheist, but just a creature dithering to and fro, with its beliefs really dependent on the weather and the state of its digestion. Consequently one must train the habit of Faith."

What Just Happened Here?

I'm sorry...

I'm in a bit of a daze... I just finished watching tonight's results episode of American Idol. Or did I? I'm still waiting for Ryan to come back on and say it was all a big practical joke. I mean, considering they can't air on April Fools Day, maybe tonight was their only night to play any practical jokes. After all, he never did say "Seacrest.Out." So it can't possibly be over...

Or am I truly just reeling in the unbelief of Sanjaya and Haley sliding by once more into safety?!?! Is this really happening?

What.the.hell.

Many "props" to Gina. For being awesome. I'm sorry you got a bum deal tonight.

Let's just pretend that Sanjaya and Haley don't exist. And if they continue to remain on the show, that's the only way to stomach the whole debacle. Or we (I'm saying "we" here, because I'm assuming you are all on my side. Because you're good, caring, thoughtful, TASTEFUL and awesome) will need to spend the two hours following Tuesday night's show on the phone, voting continuously for the 6 remaining good singers. I'll let you know the verdict after next Wednesday.

Till next week's rant...

Don't Trust Time Warner Cable!!

In the interest of protecting future consumers, and more importantly my friends, I've decided I must let you know of the CRAP that is Time Warner Cable DVR.

Now, I watch a lot of shows. It is by far a huge weakness that I have chosen to ignore. That said, I am mostly a devotee to only shows that are saved on my DVR. I know the shows I want to watch, and I pretty much stop there. This is why DVR is wonderfully handy. I look up my shows, set them to record, and go about my way. Since the primary, scratch that.... ONLY function of DVR is to tape shows in the event that you are able to watch them at will, when said function is not being performed, DVR then becomes void of purpose or point. It is nothing.

Let me relate to you the recent events that have me seething:

1. As you know I am a complete American Idol wreck. I realize it's lame, and there's no need to reinforce that in your comments should you care to leave one. That's just a fact. So, imagine my devastation when TWO, not one, but TWO weeks in a row, my beloved show is just carelessly tossed aside, simply because my TIME WARNER CABLE DVR decides it just feels like maybe it's been working a little too hard lately. YOu know, with all the constant updating and then having me record something and then go back in and delete it, maybe TWC just decided it wasn't that big of a deal, because maybe I wouldn't watch it later, and why do all that work for someone who may not take notice of all that hard work?! I'm not bitter. Oh no. Just a little peeved that I missed Sanjaya's mohawk. Or whatever that mess was.

2. House. Repeate scenario above, but replace AI with House. Jackie, I know. devastating.

3. Grey's Anatomy. YES, you heard me right. GREY'S FREAKING ANATOMY. In the middle of the episode (granted it was a repeat, so maybe TWC thought, "eh, she's seen this one before... why bother?") the screen starts pixillating and acting as if I am watching a badly loading YouTube video. You know, the whole "buffering" frustration??? Try having that on your TELEVISION.

4. Dallas Mavericks vs. Phoenix Suns game today. Okay, so, maybe TWC had a point here. The game was going badly for Dallas, and maybe TWC was feeling as if I deserved a break from my emotional stress of watching this game. So, repeating the YouTube-esque scenario, throughout the game, I eventually had to turn it off. (ok, secretly, I did turn it off because I was getting so upset over the lack of shooting skills the Mavs were putting up against the Suns who couldn't miss a shot - damn! - but still!!)

5. Tonight - The Apprentice. Right before the crucial deciding discussion between Trump, the executives and the Apprentii... again. Pixillating, "buffering", sputtering, freezing... everything BUT letting me enjoy a smooth watching experience. Thank God it was during real-time, so I could at least see the last half. (poor Tim. I liked him.)

6. Tonight... Brothers and Sisters. I adore this show. For the last forever weeks it has been playing reruns. But not tonight! Tonight was a new episode!! Not that I get to watch it, because once again, the freezing. To the point where the show actually went black and TWC kindly informed me it wasn't "able to process my request". Well, I don't remember requesting anything, I was merely sitting enjoying Kitty meet the Senator's children. IS that a crime?!?! IS IT!?!

People, I've had it. TIME WARNER CABLE DVR is going DOWN.

DO NOT, and I repeat, DO NOT get this cable service. It is a disgrace to all cable services. It is a disgrace to DVR. It is a disgrace to me.

Tomorrow we will examine our DVR options, and will shortly remove the devil box from our apartment, anoint the room with some sort of Catholic oil, and go about our Verizon Fios way. (or some other way... I'll keep you posted as events unfold)

Normally I keep my promises, but...

I SWEAR, if Sanjaya or Haley last two more weeks on American Idol, I will quit watching this show.

IF ONE MORE FANTASTIC SINGER HAS TO GO HOME, and Sanjaya gets to sit there with his retarded mohawk and bad voice and bad, bad taste, I will just stop caring altogether. It is becoming ridiculous!!

I'm so sad for this season, because there have been such great singers and great people, and they're dropping like flies, while H and S get to sit smugly comfortable knowing that the Vote for the Worst jackasses are keeping them there. I can't take it anymore!!

Is ANYONE else hearing me out there?!?!?!?! DO YOU CARE AT ALL?!?!?!
THIS IS AGAINST GOD'S PLAN I'M TELLING YOU!

But, for all you other emotionally-invested AI fans, is it not somewhat redeeming to have significant talents like Gwen Stefani come and perform and be so nice and interested in the contestants?!?! Thank you, Prince!!

Holsinger. Out.

A Thing of Beauty is a Joy Forever

“Joy is the holy fire that keeps our purpose warm and our intelligence aglow” - Helen Keller



"Making the decision to have a child - it's momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking outside your body." - Elizabeth Stone



“Since love grows within you, so beauty grows. For love is the beauty of the soul.” - Saint Augustine



“The law of love could be best understood and learned through little children” - Mahatma Ghandi




“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children...to leave the world a better place...to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson