Beautiful spring day & hungry squirrels!
The squirrels are so well fed on this campus that they are quite bold and start to circle you if you even sit down, whether or not you have food. I did and I gave in and fed this cute one some fries...

(click for larger image)



Updated to add: A couple of additional pictures uploaded to my gallery over at the Zire Gallery.

posted at 3/31/2004 02:39:00 p. m.

Still have most of the list to do...

{Daily Regimen posts}

...but my priorities right now are to squeeze in treadmill time and head to bed around midnight instead of 1 or 2 AM so my list got neglected.

I did manage to water the plants outside. My dill plant was practically dead but I checked on it this morning and it has been revived. I also turned my automatic sprinkler back on (I turned it off during the winter to avoid paying a high water bill), walking around outside the house in the dark seeing if the sprinkler heads came up OK. I may have to test it out again this weekend when I can really see. The kitchen had gotten messy and the trash was overflowing so I took care of that too.

The list was hardly touched, I know, but like I said, I wanted to get time on the treadmill - which I did - and I wanted to get to bed earlier than usual - which I did by being in bed by 12:30 AM, about an hour earlier than usual. I didn't get home till 7:30 PM and I had to squeeze in dinner time and a shower as well so you can see it just wasn't going to be possible.

That's OK. I'm not stressing out about it. The two packages I need to mail out are going out Saturday morning so I've got a few more days and the other stuff is all non-urgent. It will get done when it can get done... :D

posted at 3/31/2004 10:25:00 a. m.

No really - tonight's to-do!
UPDATED 3/30/04: I didn't do a single thing off my list last night. Instead, I chatted on the phone with a friend, watched some TV, ordered pizza and then got sucked into the movie Sling Blade that Kenny wanted to watch. By the time it ended (it was over 2 hours long) it was midnight and I had stretched my lazy Sunday into a lazy Monday night. I should be home at a decent time today by 7 PM so I promise to get a few things scratched off the list - including some time on the treadmill (I got in 30 minutes) which did not happen last night. So, here is my list again, for tonight....

• File paperwork.
• Complete banking.
• Answer e-mails.
• Add new H-Town Blog members.
• Prepare Easter package for nieces.
• Prepare baby shower gift package for friends.
• Clean up closet.
• Unload dishwasher.
• Finish watering plants, both inside and out on patio.
• Turn automatic sprinkler program back on.
• Sort through magazines/catalogs.

--> Not on list but completed: Take out trash, tidy up kitchen.

posted at 3/30/2004 09:26:00 a. m.

Ugh. It's Monday.
Wow. I have been physically active since Friday and it took it's toll. I am so low on energy. It could have been worse if we hadn't taken a lazy Sunday though. Here's my weekend re-cap...

(and for anyone who cares - I did manage to get some time on the treadmill and I have been good about keeping up on my daily updates over at The Daily Regimen even if I've been eating badly and have actually gained half a pound - wah!)

Friday night: Headed to the Vietnamese part of town and had pho with Kathy. We then headed Downtown for Emily's Tiara Happy Hour and Birthday Bash. I had a great time and really enjoyed meeting Mrs. Go Fish herself who was visiting from Philadelphia. Hope you make it back down here again! Kathy and I had to leave the festivities a bit early to meet Kenny over at the Market Square Grill - a friend of ours is moving out of state and this was my last chance to see her before she leaves.

Pictures from the Tiara Happy Hour.
Saturday morning: Started off the daily early by meeting Hanna and her family. We successfully picked out the bridesmaid dresses (they are going be a rich ruby red) and had fun watching her try on wedding dresses. She is going to be a gorgeous bride!

Saturday afternoon: Headed over to EJ & Sherry's after lunch and helped do some painting on their house. They are fixing it up to sell it in the upcoming months and half of dozen of our friends were already there and had gotten lots done.

Saturday night: Scrubbed the paint off and got all purty for an evening of salsa dancing. Kenny and Robert came along and although it wasn't too crowded and there weren't enough men (it was a private event), I still had a blast dancing with my classmates and teachers. My good friends Jennifer and Erick joined us as well and afterwards we hit IHOP for a late, late dinner. Lesson learned - tequila and salsa don't mix, at least not for me (and my teachers agreed)!

Sunday: Kenny and I got *nothing* accomplished. We woke up late, moved our lazy butts to the couch, fell asleep watching TV and eventually woke up in time for dinner at The Olive Garden. Afterwards Kenny managed to do the dishes and I actually got on the treadmill for thirty minutes. That was the extent of our productivity for the day and I stayed in my pajamas till 7:30 PM. I don't think I personally could have done much more. I felt like I had been hit by a train - not necessarily a hangover (although all that drinking Friday and Saturday did have an affect) but mostly exhaustion had hit my muscles.

Now it's Monday and it's back to work. Tonight I have nothing planned so maybe I can get some things done. I'll throw up a to-do list later this afternoon to see if can motivate myself to scratch some things off the list.

posted at 3/29/2004 12:41:00 p. m.

Spread the love... and pass the carrots.

Something fun since it's Friday - click here.
(link thanks to Claire)

posted at 3/26/2004 12:08:00 p. m.

T.G.I.F.

{last night's Daily Regimen post}

Yay! It's Friday! I am still running low on energy but I did manage to get on the treadmill for 30 minutes. Yay! Boo for me is my food choices though. I had Taco Bell for dinner last night. And I started the day off with a Krispy Kreme donut. Alright, one thing at a time I guess. At least I exercised!

Hope everyone has a good Friday!

posted at 3/26/2004 09:43:00 a. m.

Quack.


Click on image to find out what type of duck you are!
(Link thanks to Gina.)

posted at 3/25/2004 04:11:00 p. m.

Sooooo tired.

{last night's Daily Regimen post}

Well, I feel asleep after I made dinner last night and didn't even try out my own creation. I had salsa class last night and decided to treat Kenny to a home-cooked meal last night after class. Of course, stupid me tries something new, a recipe I had never tried to make before. The albondigas (Cuban-style meatballs) turned out great - or so Kenny says becasue I still haven't tried it) but also took longer than I had anticipated so by the time they were ready it was 10:30 PM. I had snacked while I was cooking so I lost my appetite and before I even ate my dinner, I fell asleep on the couch. *sigh*

And yes, this meant I also had no time for the treadmill. It was just too late. Dinner had to be made and I wasn't going to get on the treadmill afterwards at 11 PM! Sorry. I've got the evening to myself so I don't foresee anything getting in the way. I should even have time to do more than 30 minutes to make up for last night's lapse.

General rant: I am tired of being tired. Lately I have been unable to stay awake while on the couch. I haven't been able to finish watching anything longer than a thirty-minute show. This is frustrating because then I then wake up at 1 AM and have to haul myself to bed. I've asked Kenny to please nag me to go to bed earlier if he sees me falling asleep and to try not to let me stay out there so late. I hope he follows through.

posted at 3/25/2004 12:22:00 p. m.

2.5 miles!
Well, I did it - the treadmill came in Monday night and last night I used it for the first time. I'll be documenting my "daily regimen" over here on a shared blog with Kathy. If you are already a member of her site you'll be able to view it. If you are not and would like to be, feel free to register.*

Short summary - I walked 2.5 miles in 50 minutes while I watched the latest episode of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. Not bad. It was all very low impact, no cardio really but it was a start. I don't want to push myself so much that I dread getting on there. I'll work myself up to high speeds, larger inclines, etc. I also need to watch what I eat but one thing at a time!!

Now I have to share the story of the treadmill's arrival - it was not "smooth" sailing (ha, ha - the brand of the treadmill is Smooth Fitness - get the pun?)...

Like many home services, Kenny was only told that it would be delivered Monday "afternoon" - no specific time frame was given so Kenny took a half-day and came home to wait for the delivery guys. He waited all afternoon but no delivery guys as of 5 PM. Yikes. He had not completely wasted a day (he had done part of his on-line defensive driving) but still, it meant it might have to be re-scheduled and more time would be lost.

Closer to 6 PM he calls me and tell me there was good news and bad. Good news was that the treadmill had indeed arrived and the "installers" were there. Bad news was that the panel with the screen had been damaged and the top LCD screen was smashed. He had told them to go ahead and assemble it despite the damage (the 300 lb. box had already been unloaded and opened inside the house) and he would make sure to write the damage description all over the packing list. He also left a voice mail with customer service and figured they would be able to just send a replacement panel.

When I arrived an hour later I come home to the machine assembled in my lounge - not the bedroom where it should have been. Kenny explains that he made a judgment call and figured that there wasn't enough space to assemble it in the bedroom. He thought once it was assembled we could fold it up and move it into the bedroom. Not so easy. Even assembled and folded it just would not go through the bedroom door without some damage to my walls. It wouldn't even go through the back door as is!! Finally, with the handbars off it barely made it through the back door! Once outside in the backyard it was a cinch getting it into the bedroom through the double French doors that lead out from the bedroom.

So, with much struggle and with installers who had no idea what they were doing, we did manage to get it in place. Despite the smashed screen, the machinery works and you can see 2/3 of the screen. Enough to start using it. A call made to the manufacturer the next day was quick and painless - a new panel should be on its way and Kenny should be able to replace it on his own. Ta-da!!

Since Hanna asked me for one - I'll leave you guys with a horrible picture of me on the treadmill last night that Kenny took as proof of my efforts last night!

* It is up to her discretion who she grants access to - not mine - so please don't be offended if she denies access for whatever reason. She is doing me the favor of hosting the site, designing it and maintaining it so I have no problem following her rules!

posted at 3/24/2004 10:04:00 a. m.

Weekend Recap
OK - still busy but I have a few minutes...

Friday night: Decided to stay in yet again since we had a busy Saturday ahead of us.

Saturday: Got up early and dropped my car off at the mechanic to get the a/c fixed. Since the weather wasn't going to let Kenny fly (the clouds were too low), he went ahead and brought me back from the mechanic. He was pretty tired so while he went back to bed I started tidying up the house in preparation for the baby shower I was hosting at the house. I swept the whole house, cleaned up the kitchen, cleaned the baby fish tank, took out the trash and tidied up. I also ran to the store to pick up the balloons, the corsage, the cake and ice.

By the time I came back the other two hostesses were there and Kenny was making up for sleeping in by helping out in the kitchen with the sandwich preparations. Unfortunately, in this hectic time as guests started to arrived I went ahead and in my hurry tried to back up Kenny's Jeep into the garage. *Bad idea!* I was at the wrong angle and I ended up scratching his Jeep by getting too close to his motorcycle which is parked between both of our cars in the garage. His motorcycle is essentially fine and his Jeep will be too but I panicked for a while. Kenny was upset but he relaxed and let me have this one time to screw up (it might have helped that I pointed out how he put the first scratch into my Honda when it was much newer when he backed up into a pole a few years ago). I still don't know how much damage I did but hopefully that plastic section can be replaced easily (famous last words).

After the initial panic, guests continued to arrive and soon the party was going. It was a huge success and the proud parents-to-be got some great gifts (it's their first child).

Once everyone left Kenny went and played pool with a friend for the rest of the evening while I vegged on the couch in front of the TV, finally getting off my feet for the day!

Sunday: Slept in late then went shopping!! Kenny needed a new monitor for his computer so we found him one and then I wanted to head to The Galleria to use a coupon and look for a birthday gift. After all was said and done Kenny had bought me a new "casual" set of clothes!

To make a long story short - when Kenny met me I dressed with my own style. I guess you could call it funky vintage - I wore baggier, off the hip jeans, Doc Marten's, thrift store clothes and wore more distinctive glasses... I grew up though, had to buy clothes for work and at the time Kenny showed a dislike for my polyester shirts so I thought dressing more conventionally would appeal to him more.

It seems that I went too conventional and recently, after asking him his opinion on this dress I bought he surprised me and told me that he missed the way I dressed. That he loved the dress and wanted me to move back towards that "funkiness" in my casual weekend wear. He said he was surprised himself (he didn't think he liked it) but says that he realized part of the reason he fell for me back then was because of my offbeat wardrobe. He even offered to help me "re-vamp" my closet by going shopping with me and buying me new clothes! So, this weekend we did just that. He was a sweetheart and bought me a couple of low-slung jeans and a handful of new shirts at The Buckle. I also hit Old Navy and got a short new denim skirt. The jeans are being altered (they were too long) but when I have them back I'll take some "before" and "after" pictures so you can see what I am talking about.

Updated to add: I just wanted to let everyone know that Kenny and the saleslady at The Buckle picked out all the new clothes except one top that I picked out myself. I just waited in the dressing room while they ran around the store... LOL. I felt so spoiled!

Anyhoo - that was my weekend!! I have to get back to work but I'll be back later!

posted at 3/23/2004 10:59:00 a. m.

Short post...
Busy at work - didn't have lunch till 3:15 PM! Had a great weekend but will re-cap later, hopefully tonight! Want a preview? How about baby shower, shopping, housecleaning, car in the shop, other car scratched... come back later for the details!

posted at 3/22/2004 04:06:00 p. m.

New photolog!!
EJ, another fellow Palm Zire 71 owner, and I thought up the idea of creating a Zire Gallery - a photolog to showcase the low quality but fun pictures we take with the PDA (similar concept to the moblogs for cell phone cameras). So last night he diligently created the photolog and I must say it looks awesome!!! Click on the button below to check it out yourself. Our individual galleries are listed under "User Galleries" - feel free to leave comments and rate pictures too!



We are opening up the photolog to other Zire owners* and invite you to join us and create your own gallery or spread the word even if you don't own one.

* (sorry, only Zire owners and not other brands of PDA's)

posted at 3/19/2004 09:37:00 a. m.

No time.
Can't write - I really have no time. Work is just not fun right now. The politics and my adjustment to these politics is making me frazzled.

So, I'll be scarce around here today but since Kenny will be at pool league tonight I will finally have a night to myself at home which is long, long overdue. I hope to dedicate some time to the computer and finally answer some e-mails as well as get some laundry done and do the dishes. I hope I can also get inspired to clean off my desk and get some banking and filing done but I'm not that optimistic. We'll see - wish me luck - both at work and at home!

posted at 3/18/2004 11:28:00 a. m.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

posted at 3/17/2004 09:28:00 a. m.

Zire 71 pictures from lunchtime.
Since I was feeling so out-of-whack earlier (see last entry) and the food courts on campus were closed for spring break, I took an early lunch and went to Jenni's Noodles by myself. It was nice. I had a chance to read and relax. On the way to the car I snapped a few pictures with my Palm Zire 71 to try to show you what a beautiful spring day it is here in Houston. I also snapped my colorful toes since I can finally wear my open-toed shoes once again! Yay! I even snapped a pic of a curious squirrel (the shadows camouflage her so look carefully).

(click for larger image)

Anyway, I am feeling a bit better - the weather and the off-campus lunch did wonders! Two and a half hours left to go...

posted at 3/16/2004 02:25:00 p. m.

I don't know what is wrong with me today...
...but I feel anxious. Almost like I am having a minor anxiety attack. But this is not like me. I fell jittery, jumpy - as if I've had caffeine but I haven't even gotten near any soft drinks or coffee.

I don't like the feeling. I am tense, I can feel the tension building in my head and I can not focus, can not concentrate on anything, especially work.

This sucks. I just don't know how to take care of it. I'm going to change the radio station (I think the top-40 music playing in the background is actually aggravating me more) and I am going to close the door to my office so I don't hear the contractors working across the hall in the new server room.

This sucks... I am feeling like crap but not in a physically ill sort of way - more of a psychological kind of way. Argh...

posted at 3/16/2004 09:57:00 a. m.

I am still here, just didn't feel like writing...
Hey everyone - yes, I am still alive but barely. I have had no real time to myself which in turn kept me from the computer and from coming over here to post. Sorry. Not to worry, I've got my regularly scheduled weekend update...

Thursday night: Had a wonderful time at the Pre-pre SXSW Happy Hour with the H-Town Bloggers and a couple of special guests from Toronto - Rannie & Jay. It was nice to meet them and I hope they enjoyed their visit to Houston. Here are my pictures from the evening...

Friday night: Stayed home and watched Legally Blonde 2 with Kathy and Kenny. It was nice and relaxing and just what I needed.

Saturday morning: I am hosting a baby shower next weekend so I went shopping with the other hostess to get most of the supplies out of the way. We found everything we needed and even ordered the cake, the mother-to-be's corsage, a balloon bouquet and all the stuff we needed to put together some party favors.

Saturday afternoon: I had planned another H-Town Blogs event - an afternoon at the coffee house - but less people showed up than I had expected (due to being sick or going out of town at the last minute). No big deal - a handful of us still showed up and we had some good conversation.

Saturday night: Kenny was an angel and I came home to a busy husband running all over the kitchen. He had hit Central Market while I was out and was halfway into the cooking for that evening's meal. We had invited some friends over and to save me the trouble, Kenny had taken over the cooking duties and was enjoying trying out new recipes. He made a wonderful salmon & prawn appetizer, followed by a prawn and pasta dish. We also had these strange looking prawn balls (see a theme here?), salad and wine. I was thrilled he was able to use some of my home-grown herbs - the dill and parsley. Afterwards I asked him to make us some post-dinner mojitos and he used my spearmint for those. I just hope I can maintain the herb garden during the summer months - it's really thriving now but I don't know how they will resist the heat.

Sunday: I spent the entire day in a Nikon photography workshop. It was not what I expected - I thought I'd learn how to use my camera better. Instead, I learned some great tips in PhotoShop that gave me hope that I could fix some of my photographs with a little more ease.

Sunday night: Went out for Thai with friends.

And even though it's Monday, my week is already filling up. I will have to say no to some birthday celebrations Thursday night because I have so many other obligations already this week. Thursday would be my only free night and I really, really need it. *sigh* I need a vacation from my social calendar.

posted at 3/15/2004 09:04:00 a. m.

A less depressing post.
Well, the work day is almost over and I have been swamped with a deluge of assignments. Argh. At least the big boss will be out all next week so maybe I can re-group the papers and tasks on my desks.

The weather has been beautiful here - the students are all wearing the latest Abercrombie spring fashion (I swear, it seems that every other shirt is from there) - but I haven't had a chance to enjoy it as I've had to scramble back to my desk.

I won't bore you with salsa class details but I will tell you that I had another good night and was told I was ready for intermediate. I'll probably move to that class in April when the new class cycle starts.

Tonight I'll be hanging out with some Houston bloggers as well as some visiting bloggers who are in town on their way to SXSW in Austin this weekend. Should be fun. I just hope I can muster the energy to look somewhat lively.

OK, must get back to work - I am officially here till 5:30! Have a good night everyone.

posted at 3/11/2004 04:59:00 p. m.

A cowardly savage act.
When I read about the savage terrorist attacks in Madrid this morning, it hit close to home. Spain holds a special place in my heart and I have even been in the train station where it occurred in Madrid. The brutality of it accentuated how restless the world is. This attack was not against Americans nor was it even related to Al Queda or Iraq. It was by a separatist movement that the Spanish government has been fighting for years. It's beginning to look like the work of Al Queda.

How and why did anyone get the idea that violence would resolve any issues? It isn't working in Israel. It isn't working in Iraq. It isn't working in Latin America and Africa and Russia. My heart is heavy this morning as I count in my head the senseless acts of violence I read about every day in the world news - not to mention the continued violence in Iraq and Israel where impatience and frustration at the current system fuel more violence and ensnare the youths of that country so that hope for peace seems less of a reality. We are living in a fucked up world. My heart is even heavier with the realization that it's not getting any better. *sigh* I feel so helpless and so angry and so upset right now.

posted at 3/11/2004 09:27:00 a. m.

Happy Hump-Day!
Whew. It's Wednesday. Half way through the week and almost over the hump towards the weekend. The weekend won't be as causal and relaxed as last weekend but I don't want to whine anymore. I'll get through it and Friday night I look forward to staying home and watching a movie on the couch with Kathy.

Poor Kenny has been just as exhausted as me this week. He too drank a bit more than he should have Monday night and he has had to get in to work earlier than usual for meetings with clients. This morning he woke up extra early to go flying and he still has more early meetings with clients the rest of the week. We are both dragging... *yawn*

Maybe I'll go get a coke... I don't usually drink cokes - especially this early - but I need caffeine and a coffee just doesn't sound good right now. Time to scrounge up some change...

posted at 3/10/2004 09:09:00 a. m.

Ten on Tuesday
Yano's back from her Hawaiian vacation and I almost forgot this week's Ten for Tuesday!

Ten Things You Do to Spoil Yourself:

1. Take a nap on the couch with the dogs.
2. Go to a coffee shop, grab a coffee and read a book.
3. Guiltlessly watch TV for several hours.
4. Go to my favorite nursery and buy myself some new plants.
5. Hit my local Marshall's and go shopping.
6. Ignore all phone calls.
7. Sleep in late on the weekend.
8. Take a weekend vacation somewhere with my husband.
9. Have my husband take me out to a nice restaurant.
10. Buy myself something from eBay.

posted at 3/09/2004 03:01:00 p. m.

Ugh. I shouldn't drink on a Monday night.
*Sigh* I am so out of it today. Last night was going to be my one night home this week but at the last minute Kenny invited me to join him and his co-workers for dinner and drinks. They were taking out their clients on an informal evening out. We took them to Empire Cafe for dinner and then hit a hole-in-the-wall bar called the Marquis II.

I had several drinks there, including some tall, strong peach concoction, a buttery nipple shot and a Smirnoff ice flavored with raspberry liquor (I don't know, Mandy was drinking it so I asked for the same thing). Holy crap! I was drunk by the end of the night!! I practically fell asleep on the way home (don't worry - Kenny, who was much more sober, was driving) and when I did get home I stumbled in and headed straight to bed. You must understand, I always take a shower before I go to bed... no matter what time it is or what state I am in. I was so out of it I thought better of it and had Kenny set my alarm a few minutes earlier than usual - I was too drunk to handle my alarm settings - and I crashed at 1 AM. I did somehow manage to get up early and take a shower. I also somehow managed to avoid a huge hangover. I am slightly off kilter this morning and I am really friggin' tired but there is no throbbing headache, just a dull ache that I will hopefully get rid of with some ibuprofen.

I think what makes me seem more tired is this week's scheduled activities - I don't have a free day all week (including the weekend):

--> Tonight: An evening of fun and games at Jillian's courtesy of Kenny's company (they are taking out his project group).
--> Wednesday: salsa class
--> Thursday: H-Town Blogs Happy Hour
--> Friday: well, we always have something to do but I might opt out though to recuperate some energy
--> Saturday: Another H-Town Blogs event in the afternoon (coffee at Brasil's) and maybe dinner with friends at our place for the evening (still tentative)
--> Sunday: All day Nikon photography workshop.

As you can see and as Hanna pointed out is often the case - my dance card is full!! And right now, I don't feel like I can make it till lunch, much less through such a busy week. *double sigh*

posted at 3/09/2004 10:04:00 a. m.

Weekend recap
It's Monday once again and time for my weekend recap...

Friday night: Headed to Robert's house where about ten of us enjoyed a "game night". A fun and hilarious game of Pictionary occupied most of the evening and my team came in 2nd...

Saturday: I slept in late while Kenny headed out to go flying. He picked me up afterwards and we ran some errands. Before we knew it it was time for dinner so we stopped to pick some up as well as a couple of movies, both of which we were able to watch and both of which were enjoyable.

Sunday: The beautiful weekend weather inspired me to get some much needed house-cleaning done. I finally swept AND mopped the living room hardwoods and Kenny took care of the areas with tile (hallway, lounge and kitchen). The dishes were also done, the kitchen counters wiped clean, the blinds and shelves dusted and the houseplants watered. I still have more cleaning to do - clean off my desk, sweep, mop & dust our bedroom and clean our bathroom - but at least most of the house is nice and clean. I also need to start thinking about getting in some gardening time. The front yard is looking messy and the back yard garden needs new plants and the patio furniture needs new cushions.

At 7 PM we were excepting dinner guests. They arrived shortly thereafter and we had a lovely evening chatting and catching up with them. I am going to try to schedule a few more of these dinners during the upcoming months since it seems that we always have groups over but haven't had intimate dinners in a while - although we have been guests ourselves at various friends' homes. I figure it's our turn so I am going to try to catch up!

I have another busy day here at work so I must run but I hope all of you had a lovely weekend as well!!

posted at 3/08/2004 11:47:00 a. m.

Busy Friday
Sorry - I've been busy today... and there hasn't really been anything interesting to post about.

I had a lovely dinner with friends last night at The Black Lab. Then I went home and finished forty-five baby shower invites that were mailed this morning (I'm hosting the shower). Other than that I am just waiting for the weekend to get here. I have game night at Robert's tonight and then my weekend is mostly mine! Yay! I can't wait!

posted at 3/05/2004 01:52:00 p. m.

Dizzy night at salsa...
Good morning! Yeah, my headache is still around but it's a dull throb now. Much less noticeable. I hope it goes away for the weekend.

I had salsa class last night and we perfected our twirls. We learned how to gracefully complete a 270 degree turn. The guys are still a little clumsy with us but the girls got their footwork down. The men are still struggling with their timing and the issue of how to give us space. For example, one guy I danced with wasn't giving me any so when I turned I'd be right on top of him, my face in his chest. I think some feel the need to travel with us when in fact it's not really necessary because our footwork will bring us right back in step with them at the right distance (if we do our part right and land on the right foot).

I was thrilled though to be told by BOTH instructors that I had it down perfect. Since we rotate partners, each instructor gets to dance with you to see how you are doing and give you tips. The guy, Raul, told me not to change a thing! Don't misunderstand me - I didn't walk in knowing how to do it - the instructors gave us good tips and I think that I am picking things up from those two really quickly. It's so much fun!! And when I get a step down, it feels really natural. I'm really looking forward to going out to some clubs with a few of the classmates in the upcoming weeks so we can put our moves into practice outside of the classroom!

My biggest fear before starting class was that the way I danced "instinctually" in the past had actually been bad form. Not so at all! From what Raul says I am dancing with a Cuban/Caribbean style (there are different regional forms - for example, in L.A. they dance more stiffly and with less feet tapping). My extra beats between steps, my foot-tapping and hip swinging are all typical of Cuban style salsa. This in a way freaks me out because although Cuban I never saw my parents dance nor was I ever around family friends who danced. I started to dance my own "salsa style" when I was in college and never took a lesson till now. Does this really mean that the ability is in my blood, its in my cultural roots? How? I wasn't even born on the island! I was born in Texas! Not, Havana, not even Miami but Texas! Freaky, ain't it? Can anyone offer me any other explanation why this feels so natural?

posted at 3/04/2004 09:56:00 a. m.

It's only Wednesday.
I survived yesterday but I am still running on reserves in terms of energy. I went to bed around midnight, a good hour and a half before I usually do and I don't think I got any benefit from it because I am just as tired as before. I was exhausted when I got home after spending an hour in traffic (accident further up on the highway) so I asked Kenny if we could just grab some food for dinner. He obliged and we headed out to Long John Silver's. We brought it home and caught up on our favorite shows that TiVo had recorded. We watched the last couple of episodes of Scrubs as well as the latest Gilmore Girls and Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. They were all better than usual episodes...

Now it's humpday and tonight I have salsa class, tomorrow night I have a dinner with a couple of co-workers after work and Friday I have a haircut and a game night at a friend's place. The weekend is still up in the air and I may just keep it that way to catch up on sleep. I won't even go into next week's schedule but suffice it to say that I have something planned every night after work. I think I'll look into moving some things around so I don't make myself miserable.

Since I need something to brighten me up today I thought I'd just share a picture of the work I had done on my wedding band. I know most of you don't care but I am really proud of how it turned out so I wanted to show it off. As you can see, that is my engagement ring on top (white gold, round cut .26 caret diamond, sapphires to each side of the diamond inset in the band) that Kenny helped design with the jeweler. (edited to add: My only suggestion to Kenny was that I wanted white gold and if he needed to save money he could get me a smaller diamond if he added sapphires - my favorite gemstone - to the design).

The wedding band is below. It started off as a simple white gold band - no stones in it. For our wedding anniversary I brought up an idea we had discussed before - about adding stones as way to mark anniversaries. We went to the jeweler and found out how affordable it was so I had the diamond put in (about $70). I loved it but thought it needed something else so I went back and had the two sapphires put in (less than $50 total for both). Now it matches up with the engagement ring and in the future I think I will add two new stones every two years (to keep it evened out). So in 2 years I'll add two more diamonds, then another 2 years after that I'll add 2 sapphires and so on... by the time it's filled Kenny can get me a new ring!! Anyway, it's a good way to add sparkle if you can't afford the sparkles from the get go.

OK, I'm off to nurse this headache that won't go away - I'm thinking it's allergies at this point because no amount of ibuprofen has helped! Wah!!

posted at 3/03/2004 10:33:00 a. m.

Frazzled at work...
Not having a good day. A stalled vehicle on the freeway makes me 40 minutes late to work this morning.

Then I lost track of time and don't start on my boss' travel folder till fifteen minutes before he has to leave for the airport. He can't wait so he walks out while I am still trying to shuffle his calendar in. He manages to grab the elevator before I could so I had to grab the next elevator and run down the sidewalk to catch him. I am still upset at myself for this. I looked like a fool. I was still fumbling with pages as he walked out because I made last minute changes to his calendar and printed out new copies that I had to replace so I can only hope that I gave him the right pages in the right order!

And tonight I actually have to leave half an hour early to get to an appointment. Not a good day to have to leave early. Crap.

I think I need a drink. I guess lunch will have to do for now. *sigh*

posted at 3/02/2004 12:42:00 p. m.

Ten on Tuesday
Even while Yano is away in Hawaii on vacation, she left us today's Ten for Tuesday...

Ten All-Time Favorite Vacations (no particular order):
1. Guatemala – Summer 1988
2. Spain – Christmas 1984 – I was 10 years old – it was magical!
3. San Francisco – May 1999 OR June 2000 (both tie) (both trips were equally memorable)
4. Europe – Summer 1996 (2 months after graduation)
5. Spain – Summer 1994 (2 months school+vacation)
6. Dominica, W.I. (study abroad trip but like a vacation) – Summer 1992
7. Barcelona & Valencia, Spain – March 2001
8. NYC – Spring 1997 (when Kenny and I had just started dating – our first trip together)
9. Northeast US – NYC, Philadelphia & DC – Spring Break 1990 – 1st time up North
10. London - September 2003

I had to leave off a few more memorable trips like our honeyman in Europe 1998 (obvioulsy memorable but way too hectic and short) or Boston 2003 as well as Washington, DC 1999... but these were also great!

posted at 3/02/2004 10:16:00 a. m.

Leap Day Weekend Recap
Friday night: The "Friday Gaggle" has been small lately and this Friday night was no exception. I met up with Kenny and a couple of friends at Thai Spice for dinner and then walked around the corner to Kelvin Arms for a drink. We didn't stay too late and made it back home by midnight.

Saturday: We slept in (it was a rainy day) and then I left Kenny at home while I ran some errands. I finally picked up my wedding band from the jewelers (the sapphires they put in it look great). I also dropped off Heidi at the dog groomers, went by the post office and the dry cleaners and hit Linens 'n Things for some sheets.

Saturday night: Kenny and I had a dinner date with Pat and her husband John. We met up for Cuban at Cafe Piquet and had a lovely time getting to know each other. Her husband and mine are in similar circumstances - both white guys married to crazy Hispanics who blog. It also happened that they both worked in the computer industry too. We all had a lot of laughs and I want to thank Pat for suggesting we do this!

Sunday: Another rainy day so we slept in again. Kenny then suggested we hit Sweet Tomatoes for lunch and also go by The Great Indoors (a couple of months ago I had thought this store had closed across the city but in fact there was still one open and I had told him I wanted to go). Off we went but we hit Sweet Tomatoes right as a busload of older citizens lined up to go in. Use your imagination here: 1) The line was out the door and 2) this was a buffet where you get a tray and serve yourself. Can you imagine how painfully slow this line was going to be with a couple of dozen of senior citizens, some with walkers?? We quickly left and ended up at the 59 Diner. Much less healthy but much faster!

At The Great Indoors I was bad and finally bought some wonderful cocktail-themed throw pillows I had seen last year. I couldn't believe they still had them so I grabbed two, one for each chair in my cocktail "lounge". The colors and theme matched perfectly!! Don't you think? I also had Kenny helped me pick out new bathmats for our master bath. He found this great shaggy rug that goes great in there!

Sunday night: We just headed home and chilled. We watched the History Channel a bit (OK, we both fell asleep for an hour) and then Kenny did some documentation work on his laptop while I cleaned the large 30 gallon fish tank, washed and put away four loads of my laundry. We then hit the grocery store at 10:30 PM so I would have food for work this week. I still didn't get on the computer nor did I file the paperwork but I got some other things I needed done so I feel the weekend wasted.

Before I head off and get back to work, I had to share the winning argument of the weekend. While at dinner Friday Kenny and I talked about how he had neglected to put virus detection software on our PC's. I asked him a couple of weeks ago about this and he had gotten all snooty with me and said that I should take care of it myself if I wanted it on my PC. I told him I thought it was his responsibility since he handles all of the electronics in the house including the computers and related technical issues. He was about to counter me in front of our friends when I blurted out something to the effect that he should take care of my PC because I was responsible for maintaining other things around the house like making sure he always had toilet paper when he er, sat down. That quickly stopped him. He says that he could not argue with that. I was right. He will look into installing some virus protection for me. Ha!! Victory is sweet! LOL!

posted at 3/01/2004 09:33:00 a. m.