A NEW HOME!!!! Please change your links!
Thanks to Kathy's hard work, I finally have a new home for this blog. After almost 3 loyal years to Blogger, I am now all grown up and on my own over at my own domain with a WordPress powered site!!

So, please change your URL listing for me to:
http://www.cybertoad.us/blog

See you over there!!!

posted at 5/16/2004 11:58:00 a. m.

Happy links for Friday...
Since it seems the news lately has been all bad, I thought I'd share a couple of happier things to take note of...

Men prefer curvy to slim
(Kenny sent this to me - it may only refer to Australian men but still!)

Good turtle news comes in threes -
Record number of Kemp's ridleys nest in Galveston
(It was just to nice to read a positive story
happening in my own urban backyard)

posted at 5/14/2004 01:19:00 p. m.

A new fotolog...
Well, I've decided to start adding pictures on a regular basis to the Fotolog account I have. I think I will be adding some of my favorites from the past years and it will include pictures from my garden, my travels, around the city, even the pets. I can only upload one picture a day so I can't post everything at once. This way I'll just upload a new pic every few days and it will be more interesting for you guys.

So, please - start checking it out. The link will be permanently over there in the left-hand column and I will post an entry when I update over there. Hope you enjoy!

posted at 5/13/2004 05:11:00 p. m.

All quiet on the blogger front...
Sorry for staying away yesterday. I just didn't have anything interesting to say. It doesn't help either that the blogging world seems to be unusually quiet too. I notice my regular reads updating less often and my own readers commenting and visiting less. I wonder why. I hope it's just a temporary lull and not a pattern because I would hate to see you guys go!

So the weather is looking pretty bad out there. A huge thunderstorm is pounding Houston right now. There are flood warnings in the city and all the surrounding counties. I hope I don't need a boat to get home tonight...

posted at 5/13/2004 03:29:00 p. m.

Wet Tuesday
Well, it's a wet and stormy day here in Houston so I thought I'd share with you a little critter who probably appreciates this type of weather... I found this guy inside the water garden container before I filled it up with water. I've seen him before hanging out but in a shade of green (he changes color). He lives in the corner near the patio and I hope he returns to the container now that there are lily pads for him to hang out on! I took a few more pictures but this one was my favorite - it's now my desktop wallpaper. Keep in mind this guy is only about an inch big... (click for larger image)

posted at 5/11/2004 12:30:00 p. m.

Weekend Re-Cap
Wow! I had a busy weekend! And I have lots of pictures to share...

Friday night: Headed Downtown to Christine's Tiara Bachelorette Party. Met up with Kathy and her friend Ruchi and arrived a little late but still was able to join the fun. It was good to see the H-Town Blog girls again and Emily did a great job! My pictures from the evening are here...

The Art Cars were also down there so I snuck out and checked a few out...

Saturday: Had an early Mother's Day with my Mom by taking her out to dinner at Rockfish. Had a good lunch with her and afterwards stopped to get some dirt for my water garden project I planned to finish on Sunday.

Saturday night: We headed out to Humble on the motorcycle for Hanna & Michael's engagement party. We hadn't taken the bike out in months so it was nice and the weather was good (although chilly on the way back). The party was great - Hanna's Mom and family did a great job - and the BBQ was yummy. It took me a while to figure out the family tree but I think I almost had it by the time we left 4 hours later!

Sunday: Slept in and woke up when we felt like it. After lunch I finally got a chance to plant and set up my water garden container. Details and pictures are over at the garden blog...

Sunday night: Kenny took me out for some sushi and a movie.

So, you can see I got in a little bit of everything - social time, party time, movie time, Kenny time, garden time... OK, so I still need to do laundry and the dishes are piling up but hey, I was busy!

posted at 5/10/2004 11:15:00 a. m.

Goodbye Friends...
OK. I admit it - I didn't watch the show religioulsy for the past 10 years. I wouldn't be able to play the Friends Trivial Pursuit game either. But I did watch enough shows as reruns and I made it a point to watch this last season. So what do I think of last night's finale? Eh. It was boring and predictable and anti-climatic.

There. I said it. Shoot me now if you are a Friends fanatic but I thought it was a silly way to end the show. A few issues I had with it:

--> First of all - how could you go through an adoption process and *NOT* know you were about to adopt twins?! Uh. Duh? I think the agency would have been seriously concerned about whether the adoptive parents could afford and handle two infants instead of just one. This silly plot twist was just painfully pulled out of some writer's behind and I was not amused.

--> Not too mention how calm that whole labor was. Did you notice how the mother did to not scream or holler while Monica and Chandler decided what to do - how considerate of her! Whatever - that whole birth scene was a lame and sterile and entirely too vanilla for my tastes.

--> One more thing about those twins - they *never* cried!! And did anyone notice how Monica and Chandler kept leaving them alone in their apartment while they were over at Joey's?? I am sorry I keep nit-picking on these simple issues but I always enjoyed the show because they seemed like real people to me - with real reactions that reminded me of my own friends. Instead, in this last episode, everything was sanitized and made perfect. No funny comedic moments as Monica and Chandler learn to juggle the twins, no anal-retentive Monica doting over the babies every second of the day.

--> I have never liked Ross's whiny-ass double-standards character and I liked him even less after he stopped Rachel from leaving. Do not get me wrong - I am not staying he shouldn't have gone after her *but* why couldn't he have followed her to Paris?? If it's truly love and it is meant to be, he should have followed her to the ends of the world, not just to the airport. She was so excited about Paris and it was such a dream of hers and such an opportunity... Ross could have found his way to her and she wouldn't have had to give up anything. As it stands now, she gave up so much to be with him and he gave up nothing. I think that was selfish. He pursued her - he should be the one willing to give something up for his love. Love is about self-sacrifice and about realizing what is best for the other person and about patience. Instead - he puts her in the most awkward position at the end which I think was not cool. Seriously Ross, you spent enough money buying tickets to get through security that a flight to Paris would have probably been cheaper, more romantic and just as dramatic.

OK - enough of my whining. I know it's just a show and these people aren't real so my need for some reality seems fruitless but I guess I felt so gipped and it was all so predictable. They sent these friends off to new lives and it wasn't even with a "bang" which is what it deserved and its fans deserved after so many wonderful years on air entertaining us and making us one of their friends. If you watched it - what did you think?

P.S. Thanks Hanna for hosting the finale party at your place!!

posted at 5/07/2004 09:15:00 a. m.

How appropriate!
I took the Pantone birthday color test and these are my results...

I think the description for my actual birth date is relatively accurate...


"You tend to work very hard at what you believe in. Although you have a great sense of humor, you have a serious and emotional streak that lies under the surface. Part of this complexity is what makes you so attractive to others, but can also be difficult for you to handle. The integration of your inner longings into your daily life holds the key to your well-being and happiness. Galapagos Green enhances your ability to persevere with joy and enthusiasm."

And blue is my favorite color...

"The color for the month of December is Classic Blue. Classic Blue signifies wisdom, truth and optimism. This color lends vision and trust to those who wear it. It is a great color to use while traveling or exploring. Wearing, meditating or surrounding yourself with Classic Blue can help promte tolerance and understanding. It is a useful aid in dealing with others who have alternative points of view."

So, what is your Pantone birthday color?
(link found at Claire's)

posted at 5/06/2004 03:16:00 p. m.