The long-awaited weekend update!
OK - here it is. I am being lazy so the update will be a bullet list instead:

- Friday had a wonderful time celebrating Christine's birthday. We had a group of 16 at dinner at Lupe Tortillas.

-- Kathy also joined us! I am glad they both enjoyed our group dynamics enough to return on a regular basis to our Friday nights out! Looking forward to seeing you both again! Maybe this week we can have dinner on the grill at our place?

-- After-dinner drinks at Prive was also fun - especially when the leatherneck shots came out for Robert, Mike, Kenny and EJ. Kathy and Christine tell the story better.

-- Saturday Kenny and I slept in but not too late and decided to take the day for ourselves. No errands (OK, Kenny got a quick haircut) or house-cleaning - just us. We had lunch at Amazon Grill, coffee at Kaveh Kanes, took a leisure walk in the dwindling afternoon around Downtown (see picture taken by Kenny) which was especially nice because Kenny hadn't seen some of the sites by foot despite living here since 1996. We finally went home around 8 PM.


-- Continued the Kenny-Elaine Saturday theme and got on Kenny's PC and played his new game Syberia with him. Very cool game - I look forward to continue to play with him. Despite the computer crashing every 10 minutes, I somehow did not lose interest (which is usually the case and the reason I don't play computer games).

-- Sunday somehow got up by noon and set off to get some stuff for the house. Kenny repaired our toilets (they were leaking and it was noticeable on our water bill - it doubled), bought me a ceiling fan for my office (hopefully to be installed soon), and worked on sorting through his grandparents paperwork, filing it into folders and classifying it. I took the opportunity to repot some more plants (my box window in the breakfast nook is getting full of foliage!), cleaned the master bathroom, found and killed some more friggin' fire ants around the house, picked up dog poop from the backyard (someone has to do it) and tidied up the kitchen.

-- Finished the evening off with some TV and a spaghetti dinner cooked by Kenny.

-- Other good news this weekend - Kenny started the patch Saturday morning and has been smoke-free since then!! Yay!!! He hasn't even been too mean to me yet!

I must run now but that about covers it! So how was your weekend??

posted at 9/30/2002 12:20:00 p. m.

Weekend update coming later...
For those of you I spent time with this weekend, don't worry - an update will be coming later today - maybe at lunch time? So, please be patient - there will be pictures too so please come back!!

posted at 9/30/2002 09:51:00 a. m.

Very, very late...
...but better late than never!

I finally posted my Theme Thursday entry. It's posted over at my Photolog.

Please leave comments - that blog has been very lonely lately!

posted at 9/30/2002 09:44:00 a. m.

P.S.
Had a great lunch today enjoying the beautiful weather outside with Kathy...

..and I'm looking forward to celebrating Christine's birthday tonight!

posted at 9/27/2002 02:32:00 p. m.

TGIF
Wow! What a busy day!! I have had no time to myself since I am actually working these past few days on a big project for another accountant here in the office. There is a very important deadline and he is in a bad mood… so I am having to sneak this entry in!

Anyhoo, you should all be proud of me! Despite what the exercise gods were trying to tell me yesterday, I persevered! Remember I mentioned I had left my clothes at home? Well, I took my entire lunch hour (despite speeding most of the way home at 85 mph) and grabbed my clothes then scarfed my food down at my desk afterwards. At least I had no excuse. II had my clothes now.

So I get to class and am getting my clothes out to change… guess what? I had no shorts to wear. Instead of grabbing my gray biker shorts, I had grabbed my gray tank top. I had shoes, socks, sports bra, shirt and an extra tank top but no shorts! Argh! Plus, I was wearing a skirt that day so no way. The hyper manager chick came out and I told her what I had done and she insisted on finding a solution. Before I knew it, I had some other lady's extra shorts (whom I didn't even know) and I was able to get through class.

As I drove home, content but with a huge cramp in my foot from one of the last exercises, I noticed I had left my favorite water bottle back there. I could have turned around but I had taken my tennis shoe off (because of the cramp) so I spent $0.99 for Sprint's directory assistance to call the center. Yep, you guessed it - no answer. A buck wasted. The lost water bottle is really no big deal but it's a funny ending to an already difficult day!

Well, I *must* get back to reconciling some accounting!

posted at 9/27/2002 02:30:00 p. m.

What a morning!
Well - here I am - a bit late getting into work because of wardrobe indecision (don't ask...) and then I go and leave my bag for aerobics at home!!! Argh!!! I have been doing so well too and I'd hate to miss it today but I would have to miss my lunch or have to eat something quick on the run because it would take me 20 minutes -at least if the traffic gods are with me- to go home 1-way and get the bag. Maybe I can grab a low-fat Subway sandwich on the way back and eat it at my desk?

Anyway - sorry for being so scarce around here. Just way too busy at work and too tired when I get home. I did want to share with you yesterday my new poster... I found this at the local Hobby Lobby store and fell in love with it! It's a pretty big reproduction of an old Cuban travel poster. I bought the frame at IKEA (of course - so it would match the decor in the room)and recently had it matted. Isn't it great?? It's my 2nd Cuban travel poster... the first one I have is in the guest bedroom...

Well, ta ta for now... the paperwork awaits me!

posted at 9/26/2002 09:38:00 a. m.

Yes, yes, I'm here!
I haven't had time to write from work today but I will when I get home tonight! I promise!

posted at 9/25/2002 03:41:00 p. m.

Tuesday Meme
Tuesday's This-or-That:
1. "Gone With The Wind" or "The Wizard of Oz"? "The Wizard of Oz"
2. "Toy Story" or "Shrek"? Both (OK, "Shrek" if I have to!)
3. "Saturday Night Fever" or "Grease"? "Grease" (You're the one that I want... woo-hoo-hoo!"
4. "Casablanca" or "Citizen Kane"? I've only seen "Casablanca".
5. "When Harry Met Sally" or "You've Got Mail"? "When Harry Met Sally"
6. "Forrest Gump" or "Titanic"? "Forrest Gump"
7. "Pretty Woman" or "Working Girl"? "Pretty Woman"
8. "The First Wives Club" or "Thelma & Louise"? "Thelma & Louise"
9. "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory" or "James & the Giant Peach"? "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory" (one of my all-time favorites)
10. "Legally Blonde" or "Bridget Jones' Diary"? "Bridget Jones' Diary"

posted at 9/24/2002 11:51:00 a. m.

I had a good weekend...
Don't have much time to write but I had a wonderful weekend even though my husband was out of town. The weather stayed nice (nice enough to drive around with the windows and sunroof open) and I got a ton of stuff done making me feel much more in control of things! I finally re-planted a couple of more plants I brought home last week, changed the dusty air filters and changed a light bulb inside (thanks Robert), took in a poster to be matted (I had the frame already), deposited a check I had, picked up my prescription, bought my husband some nicotine patches so he can quit smoking (on his request), organized all the house files and bills into various binders (finally, after 5 months), recycled all the plastic bags, plastic bottles and glass I had, put away my husband's laundry (as a favor since he was out of town) and ran a handful of other errands.

Despite all the stuff I got done, I was still able to spend time with friends. Most of Saturday afternoon and early evening was spent with some fellow H-Town Bloggers. We met up at Kaveh Kanes Downtown. I'll post pictures and more details up on the site late this afternoon. Afterwards, half of us went next door to Solero for some tapas. By the time we finished it was 8:00 PM and I was ready to go home so I took the scenic route home (wandering around town, taking my time, enjoying the evening weather) and spent the rest of the night at home with the dogs on the couch watching Changing Rooms and Ground Force Goes East.

Sunday I finished up some of those errands I mentioned earlier, had lunch with Robert and went and checked out his new place (his brother bought a house). Kenny came home around 7 PM and we spent the rest of the evening relaxing, watching TV. I rented Monsters, Inc. and we had a good time watching that. It was good to have him home!

Well, I really must run now! Work beckons!

posted at 9/23/2002 10:50:00 a. m.

Picture Yourself!
Christine has begun a wonderful new collaborative project! Similar to The Mirror Project, Picture Yourself wants your "self-portrait" shots, whether by reflective means or by just holding the camera up to yourself. Since I already do this a lot, I've sent in my 1st four shots (with Hanna, with each of my dogs and with my husband). I've got another 5 already selected to submit nest week!

Go check them out here... they are numbers 49-52...

posted at 9/20/2002 09:35:00 a. m.

Happy Birthday Smiley!
:-) turns 20!

Read more information...

posted at 9/19/2002 12:31:00 p. m.

Theme Thursday
Today's Theme Thursday is up over at the photolog!

posted at 9/19/2002 11:57:00 a. m.

I'm here...
...just busy today so I won't have time to write...

posted at 9/19/2002 11:44:00 a. m.

I'm in a bad mood - watch out!
Where to begin? I have a headache, the office I work in is always too warm and I am the only person who thinks so, I am extra warm today because (stupid me) wore a short sleeve sweater top, I am not at my desk and therefore not at my PC, because I am not at my PC I am working on an older PC which has none of my settings, I will be at this PC for over a month while the receptionist is out on health reasons, the monitor sucks and is fuzzy (hence, the headache), I do not like my job, I can't do anything about it until the economy gets better, the hole puncher jammed on me, the shredder jammed on me and did I mention I have a headache?

Plus, I have no one to go to lunch with me... *wah!*

Ooh - someone just asked me to go to lunch! *Yay!!!*

posted at 9/18/2002 11:30:00 a. m.

Stuff
Well - I actually did some shopping, got my laundry done last night AND got to relax in front of the TV. Shopping involved grabbing a few things at Target, including these cute low heel mules. I always wear open toed slip-on shoes and I figure these will still let me have the comfortable slip-on advantage but will also keep my toes warm this winter. I also went shopping at Academy for some new exercise clothes for aerobics. I desperately need new shoes too because I am having severe pains in my lower shins during the step routines but I couldn't find any that felt like they gave me any more support than the ones I wear now. This weekend I will go to a speciality store like Women's Foot Locker and hopefully talk to a more educated sales person who can offer a better selection of shoes.

Tonight I have aerobics and afterwards I may try to sit in front of the computer and send some e-mails out, work on the H-Town Blogs site, invite some new bloggers... we'll see!

posted at 9/17/2002 10:48:00 a. m.

Tuesday's Meme
Today's This-or-That:

The name's the same (sort of), part deux...
1. Portland, Maine or Portland, Oregon? Either - haven't been to them but would love to go!
2. New York or New Jersey? New York
3. Van Gogh or Van Halen? Van Gogh
4. Bill Clinton or Bill Gates? Bill Gates
5. Leonardo daVinci or Leonardo DiCaprio? daVinci
6. "American Pie" or "American Idol"? "American Pie"
7. George W. Bush or Curious George? They look similar but I choose Curious George (here is a good Bush/Curious George parody)
8. Billy Joel or Billy Idol? Billy Idol
9. Donny Osmond or Donald Duck? Donald Duck
10. Dr. Seuss or Dr. Kevorkian? Dr. Seuss

posted at 9/17/2002 09:50:00 a. m.

My Mirror Project Gallery
Along with my 300 Exposures submission,
my Mirror Project Gallery went up this weekend as well:

Elaine's Mirror Project Gallery: Vintage



Be sure to check out my portrait as a little girl on that page as well as my own vintage mirror project shot my Father took when I was a toddler that was my inspiration for the gallery.

posted at 9/16/2002 11:45:00 a. m.

It was long weekend.
Well, we are back, safe and sound. We had a wonderful time Friday night celebrating Hanna's birthday at Buca di Beppo's but stayed up later than we had intended.

Saturday morning we somehow got up at 6 AM and made our way out the door a little after 7... After picking up Kenny's great-aunt and her friend in Austin, we drove up the graveside service exactly at 2 PM. It started a few minutes later.

The service was short but the most touching part was Kenny's eulogy. He had not taken the opportunity to say anything at his Grandfather's funeral back in April and he says he really regretted that so he wrote a page-long eulogy thanking both MaMa and PaPa for what they gave him and for being such wonderful people. There wasn't a dry eye to be seen. It was really good for Kenny as well. After dinner with family and visiting for a bit, we headed back home with a stop in Austin again. We finally drove up to the house at 1:30 AM. It was good to be home again.

Sunday we slept in of course and Kenny woke up around 1 PM. He really was a different man. I told him it seemed like a big weight had been lifted off his shoulders. As the executor of the Will he still has a lot of stressful work ahead of himself as he starts to deal with his grandparents finances and starts to get the the assets (including the sale of the farm) and debts in order but he was just in a better mood. He was attentive and cheerful towards me and was being silly and cute throughout the day - in general, just smiling more. I think he just feels better that both of his grandparents are resting together and that neither is suffering anymore.

Anyhoo, we ran some errands with our friend Robert, headed back home, took a nap from 6 - 8 PM and then woke up to Kenny making meatloaf for dinner. We settled down in front of the TV afterwards and watched The Count of Monte Cristo.

I am still a bit tired today but it will be OK. Looking at my calendar, I am happy to report that my evenings are free all this week (not counting aerobics tonight and Thursday where I am home by 8 PM) and I look forward to getting some more personal stuff done with the time like laundry, some website maintenance and organizing my personal files and bills - as well as catching up on some lazy time in front of the TV!

Thanks for everyone's kinds words these past few weeks! It was very appreciated.

posted at 9/16/2002 09:46:00 a. m.

About to head out to West Texas...
...but I wanted to post a link to my
300 Exposures, 30 Days submissions.

Enjoy!

posted at 9/14/2002 07:12:00 a. m.

posted at 9/13/2002 08:02:00 a. m.

Got some things done last night...
Last night I babysat for Sherry again so she could play pool while E.J. is out of the country. The kids did well - we watched the Charlie's Angel DVD. I forgot that despite the cheese factor, the stunts were pretty damn good.

After she picked them up I still had time to finish some projects I had to do before Saturday. I finally sent Heather a portrait for my Mirror Project gallery that starts Saturday (be sure to check it out) and more importantly, I sent in my 10 submissions for Ranni's 300 Exposures, 30 Days Project. I am also featured there Saturday as well so after you check out the gallery, stop by and leave me some comments on the pictures.

Tonight, to continue my photography streak, I am going with Mike to Kaveh Kanes, that coffeehouse Downtown I mentioned was going to hang up my hand-printed black and white Houston photos. Ben, the owner, has asked for them already once so I want to give them to him before the weekend and get that out of the way. I am pretty excited about it because this is the first public showing of my stuff. Sure, it's not a gallery or anything professional but still... Downtown gets crowded on the weekend and hopefully they'll appreciate my work as they stop in there for some coffee to get them started for the night or to help get them home in the early morning. For my friends in Houston interested in checking out the place (and my pictures) I'll be arranging something in the near future where we can all meet up there on the same day.

Saturday we head out 1st thing in the morning (7 AM) to go to MaMa's funeral so I had to get these projects completed before tonight. At least it is three less things to worry about during this exhausting week...

posted at 9/12/2002 04:50:00 p. m.

Theme Thursday
Good morning... today's Theme Thursday is up over at the photolog!

posted at 9/12/2002 09:41:00 a. m.

Don't ever forget...

Click here for an interactive photographic memorial.

posted at 9/11/2002 09:28:00 a. m.

Goodbye MaMa...
Mary Ruth Lisso
March 30, 1930 - September 10, 2002

We love you.
You will be missed.

posted at 9/11/2002 12:46:00 a. m.

Finally...
My comment system is back up! Yay!!

posted at 9/10/2002 04:08:00 p. m.

Tueday Meme
Tuesday's This-or-That:
1. Paper or plastic? Plastic
2. Stripes or plaid? Stripes
3. Baseball or football? Neither. Not a sports fan.
4. TV or movies? Both.
5. Craig Kilborn or Conan O'Brien? Can't decide.
6. Amazon or BN.com? Amazon.
7. Yahoo or Google? Both but now mostly Google.
8. Star Trek or Star Wars? Both
9. Cats or dogs? Definitely dogs (I'm allergic to cats).
10. Is that for here or to go? Typically for here...

posted at 9/10/2002 12:32:00 p. m.

Achoo!
Allergies suck. It feels like a head cold but I know it's not. It's allergies. Maybe the rains from Tropical Storm Fay agitated the local vegetation and in turn agitated my allergies. I have taken an Allegra to stop my nose from running but it has effectively parched my mouth thereby making me extremely thirsty and has somewhat stuffed up my nose (hey, at least it's no longer running). Never mind that my eyes are still a bit irritated, I'm sleepy and in general I feel like crap. *sniff*

Last night Kenny and I had a mini-catharsis. It was my fault 100% (me being selfish) but he forgave me and things are better again. We are still waiting hour after hour for the final word on MaMa though and I know he is unable to concentrate, especially each time the phone rings. We'll get through this and Kenny himself is doing remarkably well but it will sure take its toll. I'll keep you posted.

FYI: My comments are down for a little bit this morning for some scheduled maintenance.

posted at 9/10/2002 10:46:00 a. m.

Finally back home.
What an exhausting weekend. As you know, Kenny I left unexpectedly for Dallas Saturday to visit his grandmother. We returned last night at 10 pm after an emotionally tiring overnight stay. The reality still is that MaMa will not be recovering and Kenny and I know that it is just a matter of time before she passes away. We can at least find solace in the knowledge that at least she is at home with family and is being well taken care of, with dignity and love. She also seems to be resting well. Thank you for your kind thoughts everyone. We are glad we went despite the circumstances and uncertainty. She became less lucid as the weekend progressed but we were able to talk to her a few times and felt that she was aware of who we were.

End result is that we are both exhausted since we had hoped to catch up on rest and personal time this past weekend. Well, it will have to wait. If anything, we need even more rest now, especially since on the way home from Dallas the typical 4 hour trip became 5 1/2 hours due to a sad, horrible accident that slowed our travel time since it forced the closure of I-45 Southbound (and yes, we drove right by it and saw it). To complicate things further, as we were driving through the detour, a woman rear-ended us. Kenny's Jeep Liberty suffered very, very minor damage (you can't even see it, it merely bent in the spare tire frame ever so slightly - the paint was not even touched nor was anything cracked or broken) but the woman's Toyota 4Runner was damaged extensively (hood crumpled, both headlights broken, bumper pushed down). Kenny and I can't even imagine why she sustained so much damage from a simple 5 mph bump but that is her loss. We exchanged information though and went on our way finally without further incident.

It was wonderful to be back home and the girls were too but now I have sooooooo many little things to get done this week that I had planned to do on the weekend... I think my biggest concern is that I have to take some photographs by Saturday morning and I need daylight to do so - but I don't know when I'll find the time this week since it's almost dark by the time I get home after work! As Bill the Cat would say, Ack!!!

I really do need a vacation. *sigh*

posted at 9/09/2002 10:02:00 a. m.

Horrible news...
Kenny's Grandmother's battle with cancer is ending. She has been sent home from the hospital with hospice care. We are going to Dallas today to see her probably for the last time. I am more worried for Kenny at this point. He lost his Grandfather back in April and now this. He is so emotionally exhausted and hurt. His grandparents were his parents to him - they raised him - and it's hard to have to bury them both within six months. At least they will be together soon and MaMa will be out of pain.

Keep his family in your thoughts...

posted at 9/07/2002 09:22:00 a. m.

WTC Internet Remembrance Project
With the 1 year anniversary coming up,
here is a simple way to remember the September 11th tragedy...
Just go to the WTC Internet Remembrance Campaign,
grab a banner or image and register your URL.

posted at 9/06/2002 11:24:00 a. m.

Aerobics Update
Well, the Labor Day holiday threw me off schedule this week but I did manage to go to aerobics last night. I won't get another chance this week but I am going to see if I can get my husband to go walking with me around the neighborhood tonight.

I have also started looking at the Weight Watchers point system. A co-worker is using it and has lent me her books so I can start getting an idea of how many points I eat during the day. I mentioned it to Kenny and he was interested as well. All I have to do is decide whether or not to do the system on my own (I can get my own set of books 'under-the-table' through the co-worker connection) or pay to go to the weekly meetings. If I can get Kenny to go, I may consider paying. If not, the system is relatively self-explanatory and easy to follow with the books.

Even though I haven't officially started to count my points, just looking through the books encouraged me to make a list to see what I normally eat and how drastic the changes would have to be in order to follow their regime. It's not completely effortless but it seems reasonable and "do-able". It has also already inspired me to start thinking about my food choices and I have consciously started to pick healthier ones. For example, I am drinking flavored teas with the pink stuff (even though I traditionally hate teas) - this counts as zero points so I can have as much as I want, once I get used to the taste. I am also making an effort at mealtimes. Yesterday I resisted a black bean soup (got chicken vegetable instead) and exchanged a fast food dinner with a yummy Jamba Juice. Today at lunch I resisted the french onion soup full of cheese (got vegetarian vegetable instead) and avoided the soft serve ice cream and pre-lunch snack.

This might not seem like much but these little, seemingly mundane changes are big to me. I have always been an "eat-whatever-I-want, whenever-I-want" type of person but if I want to lose 20 pounds, this has got to change. So...We'll see. I hope I can keep up these food choice changes. The next thing is to motivate myself to exercise at home either by walking or doing stomach crunches the days I don't go to aerobics... Wish me luck!!! I need it!!!

posted at 9/05/2002 02:03:00 p. m.

Theme Thursday
Good morning... my Theme Thursday for today is up over at the photolog!

posted at 9/05/2002 10:02:00 a. m.

Not as high as expected...
Since it seems that both Hanna and Melanie want to know my score...

37.5 %

My weblog owns 37.5 % of me.
Does your weblog own you?

posted at 9/04/2002 09:20:00 a. m.

Very full and busy Labor Day weekend!
Wow. I am so much more tired than I was before the weekend. *sigh* Just did too much. It was all very enjoyable as it was all spent with some great friends but sure wish I'd hit the bed a little earlier or at least slept in a little more.

Friday was the usual - movie and pizza at our place.

Saturday was spent moving Hanna and then we had friends over. Again, another movie and dinner cooked by Mike and Kenny.

Sunday was the busiest as I got up early to host a surprise birthday party for Sherry. I had to run to Sam's Club, get Heidi the dog groomed, tidy up the house and bake a cake, all by 2 PM. We had a good turnout - around 12-15 people at any given time - and Sherry was also thoroughly surprised!! The lasagna was extra yummy, the cake was actually decent too and everyone had a good time.

Monday I actually got to sleep in (I needed it) and after watching a handful of Changing Room episodes (BBC America was having a marathon), I went out for a quick photo shoot around Downtown Houston. I am shooting pictures for my upcoming participation in Photojunkie's 300 Exposures, 30 Days Project. Look for my submissions on September 14th!

Came back and went back out the door for dinner at Christine and John's place. Another good time was had there as margaritas were mixed, in-laws, movies, blogs and bugs were discussed till midnight! Now, I am struggling at work to stay somewhat lively. Argh, I'm hungry too! Hope lunch gets here quickly! I ordered some pork dumplings...

posted at 9/03/2002 11:39:00 a. m.

Today's Meme
Time for Tuesday's This-or-That:

1. Tom Hanks or Tom Cruise? Hmm, I like both. Can't decide.
2. Julia Roberts or Julia Stiles? I'm starting to dislike Julia Roberts so I'm tempted to say Julia Stiles.
3. Kevin Costner or Kevin Spacey? Kevin Spacey, definitely!
4. Ben Affleck or Ben Stiller? Ben Stiller
5. Sean Connery or Sean Penn? Sean Connery
6. Jennifer Lopez or Jennifer Aniston? J-Lo = evil, so I choose Aniston.
7. Courtney Love or Courtney Cox-Arquette? Coutney Love = evil #2, so I choose Courtney Cox-Arquette.
8. Sarah Michelle Gellar or Sarah Jessica Parker? Sara Michelle Gellar (Buffy rocks)!
9. Michael Douglas or Mike Myers? Mike Meyers, I I had to choose.
10. Nicole Kidman or (Anna) Nicole Smith? Nicole Kidman!

posted at 9/03/2002 09:21:00 a. m.

Thanks for the HTML help!
I still need to update my other pages (about me and 100 things as well as archive page) but at least this main page is essentially done.

Thanks to Mike and Robert for helping me tweak out the code... Now it's time for bed finally - I have a busy day ahead of me!!

posted at 9/01/2002 02:57:00 a. m.