Still tweaking...
Yep - it's time for a new design as we enter September... I hope to have things in better order by the time the Labor Day weekend is over. Please bear with me!

posted at 8/31/2002 12:54:00 a. m.

I'm stuffed with sushi...
Can't...move... Feel...sluggish. Too many....California rolls...

To keep you entertained this Friday afternoon, here is a great article on one of my favorite sites, The Mirror Project.

(P.S. I have been bestowed with the honor of being a guest curator over at The Mirror Project Galleries in a couple of weeks... be sure to stop by and check it out - don't worry, I'll post a reminder here).

posted at 8/30/2002 01:21:00 p. m.

View from work...
Had the camera the other day at work and thought I would take a few snaps of the view from my boss' office across the hallway.

We are located near the Greenway Plaza area, near Compaq Center where the Houston Rockets play. Our view faces North (so you can't see the center).

In this picture you see Downtown in the East to the far right of the image.

In this second picture, you are now looking towards the West and that is The Galleria area in the background (named after the huge shopping center where most international tourists visit but also the general name of the adjacent area that is now a large business and shopping district).

posted at 8/30/2002 10:58:00 a. m.

More pictures
This week's Theme Thursday pictures are up over at my Photolog, if anyone is interested.

posted at 8/29/2002 01:38:00 p. m.

Pictures from last night are up!
Had a lot of fun last night at the H-Town Blogs Happy Hour. A couple of pictures are up over there so go check them out!

posted at 8/29/2002 11:12:00 a. m.

Happy Hour
Can 6 o'clock get here quicker? I want to get over to the H-Town Blogs Happy Hour at Star Pizza tonight!

posted at 8/28/2002 05:24:00 p. m.

I'm sore!
Yes, I made it to aerobics last night. Since I stayed home Monday and the fitness center is closer to work than home, I didn't go Monday night as I would have liked. But, if I want to keep my promise of going twice a week, I had to go last night.

It seemed a bit harder last night but I think it was because the instructor was a bit too repetitive on her moves and waited a little longer to give us a break that I would have liked. The guy I had Thursday night offered more variety and a break a little earlier on. Anyway, I survived and today I am sore and a bit tired. I will go again tomorrow night...

The boss is out today but I have lots to do so I better run! Ciao!

posted at 8/28/2002 10:33:00 a. m.

Today's Meme
Tuesday's This-or-That:
1. Sesame Street or Captain Kangaroo? Both
2. Muppet Show or Fraggle Rock? Muppet Show!!!!
3. He-Man or Jem? Neither (who is Jem?)
4. The Smurfs or Muppet Babies? The Smurfs
5. Archie or Josie & the Pussycats?? Josie & The Pussycats
6. H.R. Pufnstuf or The Banana Splits? Neither - I watched The Great Space Coaster instead ("Get on board...")
7. The Partridge Family or The Brady Bunch? Brady Bunch
8. Happy Days or Welcome Back Kotter? Happy Days
9. Punky Brewster or Small Wonder? Punky Brewster
10. The Facts of Life or Silver Spoons? Both (I had a crush on Ricky) but Facts of Life more often.

posted at 8/27/2002 11:47:00 a. m.

Feeling better!
Thanks for all the kind comments guys. It was very appreciated! I am feeling much better despite a pesky allergy headache. For those concerned, I stayed home due to a tummy ache and the aforementioned allergies. I was bad too - I actually stayed busy around the house and managed to get a lot done including mopping and dusting the bedroom and washing sheets. I figured the huge dust bunnies lurking in the corners and the layer of dust covering all the furniture was probably aggravating my allergies and something had to be done! I think it helped... Oh, and while I was at it, I did the rest of my laundry and organized my bathroom cabinet!

As for the weekend, as I said, we went to Dallas to visiting Kenny's grandmother who is battling cancer. She is in much better spirits than the last time we saw her thanks to her radiation treatments but she is definitely not in the clear. She is now considering chemo. She was thrilled to see us though, especially her dog Heidi. She was amazed at how well behaved we had her. It seems that Kenny and I "performed a miracle" with her and actually socialized her. She was finally getting along with the rest of the dogs and we never had to put her in the bedroom. Depending on several factors, there is a possibility she'll go back to stay with MaMa since she did so well but it depends on MaMa's strength and prognosis in the upcoming month.

Overall, it was a good trip. It felt like Thanksgiving as we ate fried turkey, dressing, biscuits, green beans, homemade gravy and marshmallowy sweet potatoes. I was thankful MaMa was strong enough to sit at the table with us - the first time she has done so since she has been in Dallas.

I didn't take many pictures but I did take some of Vickie's dogs (she is Kenny's Mom): Muffin, Sasha and Smokey (Samantha, the cocker spaniel, is camera shy and avoided me).

posted at 8/27/2002 10:44:00 a. m.

Staying home
I'm at home today, a little under the weather. More later.

posted at 8/26/2002 12:25:00 p. m.

Off to Dallas...
...to visit Kenny's Grandmother. Be back Sunday.

posted at 8/24/2002 10:55:00 a. m.

Sad News
For those of us who watched and enjoyed Houston Medical, Dr. Rose, due to her brain tumors, had a stroke and lost her battle with cancer yesterday. She was only 28... the same age I am.

Marnie Rose 1974-2002
Your courage and determination was courageous and inspiring.
May you rest in peace.

posted at 8/24/2002 09:48:00 a. m.

Sing with me... "Let's get physical, physical..."
Well, I did it. I signed my life away. OK. So maybe it was only for a year but still... I have gone and signed up for a membership to a fitness center that offers unlimited aerobic classes for a very reasonable price. It's not a full gym, just a storefront center. Each center has a few workout machines but it specializes in offering aerobic classes almost all day Monday - Saturday. I joined a class last night to see how hard it would be and I did better than I thought - I had to slow it down and I am not completely up to speed with the other ladies but I really, really felt like I could do it! So why aerobics instead of a just working out at a local gym or joining a community sports team? Lots of reasons!

-- the place made me feel comfortable (gyms do not)
-- The class wasn't crowded (unlike some I've seen in the popular gyms)
-- the music made me move (I love to dance so this is the same idea)
-- the instructor and other students keep me motivated and encourage me to keep up (vs. working out alone at the gym)
-- I don't have to depend on a partner
-- there are no scary looking machines I have no idea how to use
-- the weather can't be used as an excuse not to exercise (the main reason I stopped cycling in Memorial Park).

Now if you know me personally, you will know what a big deal this exercise effort is. I abhor any form of exercise. The reality though is that I am not getting any younger and my body is slowing down. In the past 4 years alone I have gained about 30 pounds and I have been especially unhappy with myself for the last year. If you've been reading my blog, you've heard this before! So I felt I had to do something and exercise would have to become part of this, not just to lose weight but for my future health as well.

Once I am comfortable with the exercise, I'll tackle the diet/nutrition issues. I know I should be doing it all at once but I don't have the willpower and if I try to start counting calories while I am also trying to start an exercise routine, I have a feeling I'll just be miserable and quit the effort early. If the exercise works, that should boost my energy which will hopefully translate into more energy when I get home so I can actually whip up better meals than the always easy but nutritiously disastrous Hamburger Helper or mac and cheese. Eating better isn't that hard, but it takes a little more effort and motivation, of which I had none because of my low energy level.

So, wish me luck as I begin my journey! My goal right now is to go to aerobics twice a week for now! I'll keep you guys posted!!!!

posted at 8/23/2002 10:20:00 a. m.

The Dog Days of Summer!
My Theme Thursday is up over at my photolog...

posted at 8/22/2002 10:15:00 a. m.

Famous Birthdays
According to today's The Writer's Almanac, it is the birthday of two of my favorites...

As a child, Ray Bradbury was one of my favorite authors. I remember reading Fahrenheit 451, The Martian Chronicles, The Illustrated Man and many of his short stories (and probaly a couple more books, just can't remember which ones). His writing was so creative and fantastical, it kept this twelve year old entertained!

It is also the birthday of Henri Cartier-Bresson, a wonderful French photographer, one of the from the last century. He was known for capturing everyday life and used a small camera, sometimes hidden under a napkin, so as to be able to capture more subtle and spontaneous images. Some of his more famous images are very popular posters.

posted at 8/22/2002 09:42:00 a. m.

Sushi Lunch
Thanks for going to lunch with me on such short notice Kathy! I had a fun catching up with you again!

posted at 8/21/2002 01:33:00 p. m.

Dirty Old Man
I don't know why but this article put a smile on my face. Honestly, why not? Seems like a good idea - he gets what he wants and the lucky girl does too!
Berlin Playboy Offers Jackpot to Final Bedmate

posted at 8/21/2002 11:14:00 a. m.

Pretty birdie!
I live in a gated community and across the street from the gate there is a small empty field with tall grasses and some trees. Almost every morning as I leave I see one of these pretty birds, a cattle egret. I wonder if it's always the same one?

posted at 8/21/2002 09:36:00 a. m.

Overzealous HPD
We were talking about this a late night raid at a local K-Mart last night while we grocery shopping ($120 worth of groceries later and our kitchen is stocked up again after avoiding the store for about two weeks)! Hundreds of kids (and adults) were taken from cars or as they walking out the store, arrested, taken Downtown where they spent the night in jail and charged with trespassing. This article states pretty much what we had been thinking - the police screwed up big time!

Houston Police Chief C.O. Bradford ordered an investigation Monday into the weekend arrests of hundreds of people gathered peacefully at a westside parking lot by police who were assigned to stop illegal drag racing.

posted at 8/20/2002 10:37:00 a. m.

This week's Tuesday This-or-That:
1. CandyLand or Chutes and Ladders? Ooh! I played them both but I think I preferred CandyLand.

2. Barbie or GI Joe? Neither.

3. Play-Doh or Silly Putty? Play-Doh! I had the original version of the Barber and Beauty Shop where you squeezed the Pay-Doh through the heads as if it was growing hair. Mine had a neat background set-up that looked like a beauty shop. There's a picture of me playing with it somewhere...

4. Lincoln Logs or Tinkertoys? Neither. I had Legos. *TONS* of Legos.

5. The Game of Life or Monopoly? The Game of Life (my favorite part was selling off the kids at the end.

6. Etch-a-Sketch or Lite-Brite? Etch-a-Sketch. I still have my original one and it works. Altho' I always wanted a Lite-Brite...

7. The Slinky: metal or plastic? Metals ones were better but they got messed up easier.

8. Easy-Bake Oven or Sno-Cone Machine? Sno-Cone Machine. My friend had the Snoopy one.

9. Hot Wheels or Matchbox cars? Neither.

10. Spirograph or Paint-by-Numbers? Spirograph, definitely.

posted at 8/20/2002 09:28:00 a. m.

Testing the new "title" section.
And checking to see if my time stamp is correct.

posted at 8/19/2002 02:16:00 p. m.

Weekend was pretty good as it was spent with friends (even though Hanna was missed)! Saturday night Susan (and CJ) finally had a housewarming party and a good time was had by all. We even played with sparklers...

Other than that I ran a few errands - bought a few gifts for friends, went to the post office to mail off some of the aforementioned gifts to family and friends as well as cleaned both the fish tank and the snake's terrarium. Kenny also got stuff done - he sweated a few pounds away rotating his tires and adding mud flaps to his Jeep in the Houston heat Sunday evening (I was bad and fell asleep on the couch).

Now I am back at work, eagerly waiting for lunch to arrive! I'm hungry!! It better get here soon!

posted at 8/19/2002 12:03:00 p. m.

Well - I have successfully migrated (finally) over to Blogger Pro™ after an initial "burp" in the system...

I hope I get what I paid for!!

posted at 8/19/2002 10:33:00 a. m.

Hee, hee - I'm at home taking a personal day off but wanted to drop in and say hello! I was actually up by noon and have already been to the store and bought some frames for some prints I received recently (this one and this one).

At 2:30 PM I took my dachshund Ginger for a vet appointment (standard check-up) and now I'm back at home and I can't stop playing Bejeweled! In a couple of hours my friends will be picking me up to go over to EJ and Sherry's.

Since it's a lazy Friday for me, I thought I would leave you with a couple of sites to play around with:

Pretty colors and alcohol
Friday time waster

posted at 8/16/2002 04:07:00 p. m.

Please keep my friend E.J.'s family in your thoughts today. They suffered a terrible loss today.

Buddy, we are there when you need us.

posted at 8/15/2002 11:01:00 a. m.

Today's entry for Theme Thursday is up at my Photolog. The theme was black and white.

posted at 8/15/2002 10:56:00 a. m.

Hello everyone! Happy Humpday. I feel liking making lists today. Here is a list of what's good and what's bad in my life...

Good: My husband unexpectedly loaded the dishwasher last night and cleaned up the sink area by the time I got home last night.

Bad: *Both* dogs had left him various "gifts" around the house to clean up.

Good: I got the newest IKEA catalog! Woohoo! And yes, I've already marked a few pages of new stuff I want...

Bad: I screwed up a wire transfer and a client's account could have been overdrawn because of it.

Good: It looks like it was not! Major disaster seems to be averted.

Bad: I've been exhausted lately (going to bed too late).

Good: I'm taking Friday off so I can sleep in late and get some personal time!!

Well, it looks like the positives have won out and I'm am just grateful that the weekday is over half done for me!

posted at 8/14/2002 10:39:00 a. m.

Good morning. Time for Tuesday's This-or-That:

1. Dr. Seuss characters: the Cat in the Hat or the Grinch? the Cat (I never did like the Grinch)

2. "Anne of Green Gables" or "Little Women"? "Little Women"

3. Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys? Neither. I read Encyclopedia Brown

4. Winnie the Pooh characters: Tigger or Eeyore? If I *had* to choose, Eeyore (I wasn't into Winnie the Pooh too much)

5. Which author: Judy Blume or Beverly Cleary? Liked both!

6. Roald Dahl books: "Charlie & the Chocolate Factory" (Willy Wonka) or "James & the Giant Peach"? Willy Wonka! (I love the movie too)

7. "Harry Potter" or "The Wizard of Oz"? Harry Potter

8. Curious George or Madeline? Madeline

9. "A Wrinkle in Time" or "Little House on the Prairie"? "A Wrinkle in Time" - Madeleine L'Engle still is my favorite childhood author!

10. Dr. Seuss again: "Horton Hears a Who" or "The Lorax"? Neither, really. Maybe Horton.

posted at 8/13/2002 09:15:00 a. m.

Hullo everyone! Hope a good weekend was had by all of my cyber friends. Mine was good - fun, productive and tiring.

Friday: Spent a wonderful evening outside sitting on the hill at Miller Outdoor Theatre watching a very good production of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. It was Hanna's idea and Mike and her friend Jonathan joined us. The mosquitoes stayed at bay and a breeze actually came through occasionally which made it a pleasant evening. We called it a night pretty early and headed our own directions afterwards…

Saturday: Got up in the early afternoon (1 PM) and went off with Kenny to run some errands including dropping off the recycling and buying Kenny a work bench (the top one) for the garage. Afterwards we called Mike and grabbed a late lunch/early dinner at Sweet Tomatoes. Yummy!!!

Finally made it out to Kaveh Kanes, a wonderful coffee shop in Downtown where Mike is a regular and knows everyone there including the owner. It's also a wireless internet café so Mike and Kenny had their laptops up and running and surfing. Kaveh Kanes will definitely become a new favorite and I look forward to many happy returns there!!

Finished the day (with Mike still in tow :D), at a friend's house where the boys played pool and I relaxed on the couch in front of the TV.

Sunday: I actually woke up before noon and attempted to be domestic by cleaning the gas range top. In my fury to clean, I somehow screwed something up (I think the spray cleaner got into some electrical contacts and shorted out a couple of things including the spark module which produces the spark you need to get the gas burning). I hurriedly got Kenny to help and before I knew it, he had the thing apart and he was not too happy with me.

I, being pretty intelligent and realizing I had done enough, soon left the house and left him to his own devices and went to meet Mike at Kaveh Kane's again - this time to show off my black and white photo portfolio to the owner. He is going to put up some of my prints from my Houston series in the coffeehouse and wanted to see my stuff first. He liked them so know I just have to pick a handful out, put them back in frames and make up some business cards!!! Woo-hoo!!

Got home to find the range top fixed (woo-hoo again!) by my ever so handy husband and I was able to finish cleaning it… Then we got in gear and *finally* went through all of our Goodwill pile. When we moved, we each went through our stuff and made quite a pile to give away. We do this every year but finally decided to get smart and put the deduction on our taxes this year. We bought a computer program to help us create a list and give us appropriate values. Three months after moving and an hour and half after starting to go through things, we had managed to list over a $1000 in stuff. We could now finally drop it off at Goodwill's (which Kenny is doing today).

With the piles moved out of the garage, we were then able to assemble Kenny's new workbench (see Saturday). With much banging and a few expletives, it was up and in place. It was 8 PM at this point but between the two of we still managed to go to Target, do a load of laundry as well as a load of dishes, mop, put away all of my clothes, make a spaghetti dinner and clean up the kitchen completely before bedtime!! OK, so bedtime was almost 2:30 AM... but you can see why I'm a bit tired today!!!

posted at 8/12/2002 11:51:00 a. m.

This is such bullsh*t!!! It's a double standard (you don't see men being required to reveal their past) and it's a blatant invasion of privacy!!

Women who put babies up for adoption required to publish sexual.

Quote: "In the newspaper notice, the mother must list her name, describe herself, name or describe the possible father(s) and list the date and the city or county of conception."

In what freakin' century are we????

posted at 8/09/2002 02:05:00 p. m.

My photolog is now open. Click on the button.



Not much to see yet but at least it's up and running.
I don't plan on posting too much there but
I'll post something weekly at least, maybe a little more often.

Also made a new button for my site, if anyone wants it, grab it!

posted at 8/09/2002 09:31:00 a. m.

I've set up a new Photoblog mostly for the Thursday Theme project I participate in weekly.

Go check it out and see my latest entry!

posted at 8/08/2002 02:09:00 p. m.

Fire ants suck. A fire ant bite between my toes sucks worse. That's OK. I exacted my revenge yesterday. Mwuah-ha-ha-ha...

posted at 8/08/2002 09:28:00 a. m.

I just can't think of anything to write today...

posted at 8/07/2002 01:08:00 p. m.

Ooh! I have spawned a blog child (and various siblings)!

posted at 8/07/2002 11:11:00 a. m.

Tuesday's This-or-That:

1. What's your personal clothing style...trendy or classic? In general, comfortable. I guess relatively classic for work, trendy when I hit the bar scene.

2. Do you shop for designer names or stick with the more generic brands? Generic - whatever I can find at Marshall's/TJ Maxx!!

3. Work clothes: dressy or casual? Work casual: typically long skirts, open-toed shoes, no panty hose. Absolutely no business suits.

4. Days off style: dressy or casual? Casual.

5. Women: high heels or flats? Men: Wing-tips or work boots? Flats, typically sandals or slip ons.

6. Do you have a large wardrobe, or just a few carefully selected pieces? Each time they've helped me move, my friends complain I have too much clothes so I think it's safe to say 'large'.

7. Do you shop for clothing at stores or from catalogs/internet? Store. I *must* try things on.

8. Are most of your clothes dry-clean only or machine-washable? Machine washable and no ironing needed!

9. You buy an article of clothing and realize it is all wrong for you when you get home. Return or keep it? Return it!

10. Hats: yes or no? Generally no. I do have one hat that I love but it's only good for really cold and dreary wintery days, which we have none of in Houston. I hardly ever use it unless I am traveling in the cooler months...

posted at 8/06/2002 10:26:00 a. m.

"Welcome to BlogTree.com, the blog genealogy site. You can register your blogs and record which blogs inspired their creation. You can also search for existing blogs and view which blogs they in turn inspired."

Who inspired you to blog? Add it to the Blogtree and start your very own blog geneology! Look who inspired me...

posted at 8/05/2002 06:01:00 p. m.

Sorry I haven't posted yet today - just been distracted.

Had a good but unfortunately completely unproductive weekend!! Spent it with friends both Friday and Saturday night eating some good food. Sunday was no different since my Mom came over and cooked some yummy Cuban cooking. I had the picadillo leftovers today at lunch and they were just as good as last night!

That was about it for the weekend - has some rain, ran some errands, caught up with people! And now it's Monday, yet again...

posted at 8/05/2002 04:19:00 p. m.

I saw this a few days back at Overflow and finally decided to post it for some Friday fun:

Eric Conveys an Emotion

Some of my favorites are Morning after horror/disbelief and Hamster in underpants.

posted at 8/02/2002 10:30:00 a. m.

Recently joined and subscribed to an art site called deviantART where I have set up a page with my original artwork, all photography, both black and white and digitally manipulated images.

Feel free to glance through the gallery (click on pinkish button near the top right-side) and leave any comments, if you so desire!

** Thank you! **

posted at 8/01/2002 02:18:00 p. m.

Well, I put up my very first Theme Thursday photo up on a temporary page (it will be on a blogspot page soon so I can update this easier on a weekly basis). Anyway, here is my contribution for this week's theme, "Adornment".

posted at 8/01/2002 09:16:00 a. m.