Sarahenity NOW!

A door= A Giant Scrapbook

2012-01-23T16:42:00.000-08:00

This is the inside of my office door:

That tacky black piece of fabric covers the window. I see students in my office so I gotta keep things private from time to time.

Upon first look, you might think all of those pictures on the right side are of various students. You would be wrong.

They are my school portraits through out the years. We have picture day in the spring and the fall. I take advantage of the free photos because I can pass them out to the teachers who use them for their student's individual schedules. The student can check the schedule, see my picture, and know it is time for a little speech/language therapy.

That orange sticky note says 139D. That is my office number which I often forget, thus the sticky note. This way, when somebody calls me and asks my office number, I can look up at the door and tell them. I'm all about visual aids people.
I have been in that office for going on 5 years. You would think I would know the stupid door number by now. Sheesh.

Below all of the Sarah pictures you will find a funny picture with my best school buddy (she is an audiologist for our school), a picture of another best buddy (she is a counselor at a different school in a different city), a wee dachshund card, some words of inspiration from my principal, and some wise words from Albert Einstein:

“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” -Albert Einstein

At the top of my door, there is more Sarah

These are from the birthday board. We have some pretty creative people putting that together.

Going down the left side of the door, you will find a copy of my professional license, an invitation to a 2 year old's birthday party, and some more inspirational words

Miss Bee turned me onto those words. Thanks, Bee!

I also have some Steller Staff tickets

students and staff can give these babies as rewards for good deeds. You put your orange tickets in a tub and the principal pulls from the tub once a month. The winning ticket gets a prize (certificate to a restaurant or something of the like).

And finally, two thank you cards made by students (with the help of their teachers).

Love them. The cards, the teachers, and the students.

This is Why We Can't Have Nice Things

2012-01-16T16:22:00.000-08:00

For a dog who is missing a quarter of his teeth, this guy sure does love chewing my possessions.

I buy him toys, give him chew bones, give him crunchy baby carrots and he still manages to find my things and bring them to his lair.

Look at him...looking like Gollum and what not. My Precious....

His lair is the space underneath my bed. From time to time, I have to look under there and see what Charlie has taken from me. Sometimes it is nail polish or face cream and other times it is a t-shirt or some socks.

This time, it was my BRAND NEW Lands End slippers. Yup, the ones I just posted about the other day. Damn.

He ate the leather string. Just ate that thang like it was a chicken wing.

I don't know what I am going to to with this guy. It's a good thing he is so dang cute...

because I can't stay mad at him for long.
Deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep sigh.

Happy Birthday to You...and Me

2012-01-14T13:46:00.001-08:00

When I asked husband what he wanted for his birthday, I was surprised to hear him say "slippers from Lands End". Normally, when asked the birthday question, he just shrugs and says "I dunno." apparently, his folks told him that the slippers from Lands End were the shit. The best in the business. The bee's knees. I got online the very next day to order these bad ass slippers. After selecting his slippers, I selected some for myself. Shoot, they were on sale! Plus, I love slippers! *Husband's parents don't use foul language. Saying that the slippers from Lands End were "the shit" was my representation of their shining endorsement.*

Our Friends Are Strange Friends

2012-01-08T13:53:00.000-08:00

Dale recently celebrated his birthday and our good friend's Amy and Will were kind enough to send him this birthday card:

But what is that bump in between the two birds?

A closer look:

Hmm...something has erupted from inside the card. Let's open it up and find out what is inside-

Oh my gosh! Is that what I think it is?

It's

a

PUPPY TOOTH!!!!!

Best. Birthday Card. Ever.

And also the grossest.

I love Amy and Will.

NYE PRD Part Two

2012-01-03T18:48:00.000-08:00

Dale took the group shots of us ladies in our finest hats. Rachel suggested we strike a "2-0-1-2" pose.

Had to throw it into the black and white zone.

My favorite group shot is right here:

Most of us have our eyes closed or are in the process of closing our eyes. I don't know how Dale managed to capture such a moment, but I LOVE IT!!!! Hahaha! How can you not laugh a little when you see this sucker?

The rest of the photos were taken by Tirzah. I feel bad because I basically shoved a camera in her hand the moment she walked through the door. I was having issues with finding the right shutter speed, aperture, and ISO. I've been spending a lot of time exploring different photography and photo editing apps on my iphone and not much time practicing with my SLR. I guess what I am trying to say is, THANK YOU TIRZAH! Also, I need to get back to my Nikon.

So the story of these centerpieces goes as follows- I went to Target the day of the NYE dinner to buy NYE supplies. You know, hats, noise makers, horns, etc. I did not find much of that but I did notice that Christmas decorations were marked down to 70% off! SCORE! I bought some more ornaments and those crazy gold things. I figured I could stick them in some of the empty wine bottles I have been hoarding. Dang Pinterest has got me saving all sorts of crap with the intention of repurposing them into lamps, wreaths, wrapping paper, etc.

Another one of Miss Bee and Larry. I love this one. They are all soft with the glow of the Christmas lights. I am serious when I say that those lights (behind the curtains) will stay up year round.

Tirzah was playing with the settings with these two shots:

I think they are beautiful.

So again, Big thanks to Dale, Miss Bee, Larry, and Tirzah for contributing to the party. Especially you, Dale. You worked your butt off!!! Thanks to our guests for making NYE memorable and fun. Let's do it again Jan 2012!

NYE PRD Part one

2012-01-02T18:49:00.000-08:00

New Years Eve calls for Prime Rib Dinner! I thought we should have a small dinner party so Dale whipped up a beautiful prime rib with roasted carrots and parsnips complimented with au jour and a horse radish sauce, wild mushroom risotto, salad with homemade dressing and rolls hot from the oven. Our friends Larry and Miss Bee helped us out a bunch by lending us some table linnens and making delicious appetizers and a yummy dessert (lemon poundcake and cheesecake stuffed strawberries). I handled the decorations and Tirzah mostly handled the photography. Here are a few pictures of the evening. I took the first two but Tirzah handled the rest.

Sitting down to eat

This one might be my favorite. Somebody must have been telling one hell of a story.

I love this one as well. It makes me happy.

More to come!

In other news:
I was NOT ready to go back to work this morning. No sir, not at all.
Um...that's about it bub.

Who Hair

2011-12-31T14:36:00.000-08:00

Dale and I spent Christmas with my his side of the family up near Dallas. We had a wonderful time! We stayed at Dale's Brother's house. He and his wife were wonderful hosts. Can you say cinnamon rolls for breakfast, EVERY MORNING? Awww yeah!

Bonus--They have one of those fancy media rooms with big, comfy couches, soft lush carpet, and a giant movie screen. On one of the nights, I slept in that room with 3 of my nieces and one nephew. We were watching Shrek II. It was awesome.

There were 9 adults and 5 kids. I had plenty of opportunities to curl, braid, twist, and brush my nieces hair. One of my nieces decided to return the favor and show me how to create "Who Hair."

You take a small waterbottle and place it on top of your head. Pull your hair up around it and secure with a hair band up top.
Easy as pie.

I could have used a larger water bottle, but the results were still cute. Especially on my niece.

In other news:

I want this!

Dale Tiffany Champagne Chandelier

It's a wee bit out of my budget so I'll have to save up but it will be worth it. Perfect for the big room.

Happy last day of 2011! It's been a bitch of a year, but not without it's gems. I recovered from neck surgery, continued to search for treatment for my residual neck pain, had another health problem arise, underwent 3 procedures and one full fledged surgery to attempt to fix it (still not fixed), saw both of my parents in the hospital at the same time, gained weight, helped to plan a surprise party for a good friend that graduated with her Master's, completed the 30 day photography challenge, created a bad ass Lichtenstein Girl Halloween costume, went to some amazing concerts (Railroad Revival being one of my favorites), groomed my buddie's beard for a contest, went to New Orleans for the wedding of two dear friends, and went to a Stephen King book reading (complete with an autographed 1at edition of his newest book).

I am happy to have done everything with Dale either by my side, or with his support.

Life is beautiful.

Fun With Photos

2011-12-30T14:13:00.001-08:00

I'm addicted to camera and photo editing apps. I recently obtained the Apps Diptic and Picframe. They do the same thing. Check it out (the first one is created with images of my nieces and nephew. The rest are yours truly).

Phirst Phone Post

2011-12-15T15:46:00.001-08:00

Just testing out this blogger app. Don't mind me. Wait, while you are here why don't ya lean back in your seat and check my hair out! I so
should have had my teen years/young twenties during the decade of decadence. I don't even have any hairspray in that main. It's just flipped to the side, baby! Ok...test over.

El Camino

2011-12-10T09:05:00.000-08:00

The newest album from The Black Keys came out Dec 6th, 2011. They have been making promotional appearances all over the place!
SNL
MTV Release Show
The Colbert Report
Late Show with David Letterman

If you are only going pick one link to watch, I say pic The Colbert Report. There is an interview and a performance, and both are great. The interview is pretty funny. Normally, these guys come off with a "sarcastic/smart ass" flavor. When Steven Colbert interviews them, they are all grins and giggles.

Wait...is "giggles" the right word? Do grown men "giggle?"

They do when Steven Colbert interviews them.
Ha!

Any-hoo, I pre-ordered the album. It arrived wrapped in cellophane with a shiny silver sticker saying "Play Loud"

You don't have to tell Dale twice. He popped that baby on the record player and turned it up loud enough to shake the needles off our Christmas tree.

Lonely Boy and Gold on the Ceiling are the two songs getting all the play and talk right now. They are both tremendously great songs and if you have not seen the video for Lonely Boy, go watch it now. You will want to thank me later. You probably won't actually thank me, because you have to make cookies and put stamps on your Christmas cards. I get it. You're busy. I'm busy. We all busy.

Where was I....Oh yes, The Black Keys.
Alright, so the two songs they are playing just about everywhere are great. I love them. But, heck, side one if the album is nothing but gems. Little Black Submarines reminds me of the Led Zeppelin era of Rock-n-Roll while Money Maker is a fat groove that will have you shakin' your hips. I promise you.

As for side B, I would have to pick Nova Baby as my favorite. Though Run Right Back could just as easily take that spot.

When their last album, Brothers, put them into the mainstream I gotta say that it was a little strange hearing Tighten Up come over the sound system at Ulta while I was shopping for cosmetics. Even more strange when the 17 year old cheerleader standing next to me started singing along. I wanted to shove a copy of Rubber Factory in her hand basket, next to her glittery lipgloss and hair straightening serum.

I mean, I've followed these guys since forever and while many of my friends enjoyed their music, it was not something the general population knew about. Now, three grammys later, everybody up in here know about Dan and Pat.

And that's ok.

: )

Cat Eye

2011-12-06T16:45:00.001-08:00

I saw these sunglasses on Ebay and bought them thinking they might look good on me.

I like how the look sitting there on the counter...

But when I tried them on,

I look a little like a space alien.

I think it's the combination of my "5-head" and the pointy, upturned peak of the rims.

But look what happens when I wear a short blond wig with bangs:

Yeah, that's more like it! Now if I could only walk around in a wig whenever I wanted... like it was Halloween everyday. How fun would that be, to change your hair like you change your lipstick? Not that I want to be forced to wear a wig (pleasedon'tgivemecancer), but it would be cool if it were the normal thing to do.

In a wig friendly world, I could pull off cat eye sunglasses.

Surgery

2011-12-02T15:00:00.000-08:00

I’m on my 3rd bowl of ice cream for the day. It’s all I can eat. The anesthesia made my throat VERY sore and all I want to do is pour ice cream down my gullet. My mouth hurts like the dickens. My tongue is a little swollen and it hurts when I move it.

Let’s rewind to the start of my day. I wake up at 6:00am. We had to be at the hospital by 7:30. I put on my new comfy clothes (purchased yesterday evening. What? It’s how I dealt with my anxiety for the upcoming surgery), brushed and flossed and got in the car. Dale stopped at Starbucks to buy a coffee, a bottle of water, and a breakfast sammich. I could have none of those as you are not allowed to eat or drink anything before surgery. NPO = Nothing Per Orem (Nil Per Os in Latin).

We got to the hospital (Seaton NW) and made our way to the surgical center. Everyone there was extremely nice and professional. I signed a few papers and was asked, again, if I had a living will or advanced directive. I do not. Dale and I really need to get on that. You should too! I for one do not want to be kept alive via a breathing machine and feeding tube if I am brain dead. No sir. Getting the living will, medical power of attorney, and advanced directive are on my list of things to accomplish in 2012.

I then had to pee in a cup. You know, they gotta do a pregnancy test and what not.

They brought me to the pre-op room where I changed into hospital attire (so sexy) and read a little (Stephen King’s new book 11/22/61). The nurse came in and took my temp, bp, and started an IV.

Ewww.....

She then asked me a series of medical questions that I would have to answer 3 more times as the anesthesiologist, surgeon, and surgical nurse all came to visit one by one.

Before I knew it, they came to wheel me to the operating room. Before they did, the nurse shot two different meds into my IV. The room took on a soft, warm glow. Everything is beauuuuuuuuutiful! I kissed my husband and away we went.

In the OR, I rolled from my bed onto the table. I was amazed by the ceiling but I can’t remember why. The anesthesiologist put the misty mask over my face and that was that. I was out.

A nurse woke up me up in recovery. Except for shivering like a leaf on a tree, I felt fine. No pain. No nausea. The nurse placed a warm blanket over my head and wrapped it around my shoulders. So nice. Dale came in and they told me I could get dressed and go.

So I did. I was still cold when I got home so I crawled into bed, turned on the heating pad, wrapped a scarf around my neck, cuddled my dogs, and went to sleep.

A few hours later, the pain kicked in. Guess whatever pain killer they had me on at the hospital wore off. I feel like my trachea is lined with sand paper. I am not talking because that hurts my throat and my mouth. Dale is being a wonderful care taker. He brings me the ice cream and my water. He checks on me and tells me he loves me.

Cooper and Charlie only leave my side when they need to eat or use the bathroom. Aww. They do love to nap but I also believe they know when I am not feeling well and want to comfort/watch over me.

Charlie is not in the picture because he is under the covers next to my feet.

That’s all for now. My pain meds are making me sleepy so I am gonna post this and then nap a little. I’ll probably wake up later and have some ice cream for dinner.

The Stubborn Cyst Story

2011-11-28T19:57:00.000-08:00

Back in August, I was sitting on the couch watching some bad showtime movie when suddenly I felt something in my mouth
Not my tongue, not my teeth...something foreign. Something under my tongue. I paniked and I froze. I sat there for a few seconds hoping that it would somehow vanish. When I realized that that was not going to happen, I jumped up and ran to the bathroom. I positioned myself close to the mirror, took a deep breath and opened my mouth. Under my tongue there was a fluid filled sac coming up from the floor of my mouth. It was the size of a jelly bean.

That's a Jelly Bean...not what was in my mouth

I made an appointment with an oral surgeon and waited....and worried...and worried some more.

I was all, "ohmygoshIhavecancerandmymouthisgoingtofalloff!"

The day of the appointment finally arrived (two weeks later). After a short examination, the oral surgeon diagnosed me with having a cyst on one of my salivary glands. On a duct coming off of the gland, really.

The cyst was blocking the duct creating pressure. Eventually, fluid would shoot up the duct and into the floor of my mouth. The tissue on the floor of my mouth was trapping the fluid. The fluid would eventually be absorbed by the tissues, but this process would take a long time and then eventually repeat itself. Very cyclical.

The oral surgeon told me that these types of cysts can appear after trauma or for no reason at all. I had not experienced any trauma so my little friend just came out of the dang ol' blue.

The oral surgeon said, "Let's wait and see if this goes away."
Reluctantly, I waited some more....worried some more...and then went to see the oral surgeon again as the cyst did not just go away.

He scheduled me for a cyst excision.

On the day of the "procedure" he sat me in the dental chair (remember, an oral surgeon also removes wisdom teeth and what-not) and proceded to give me a series of the most painful shots I have ever had. I have had a ton of dental work and a ton of painful shots and procedures. None of them came close to this. The pain was great. The shots were in my jaw bone, under my tongue, in my tongue. Ouch.

Then, he cut away. He cut, I bled, his assistant used the suction tube and then they stuffed my mouth full of gauze. Then they yanked the blood soaked gauze out of my mouth, cut some more, sucked some more and stuffed some more.

Lather, rinse, repeat.
Everything was very hurried. Very rapid. My anxiety was growing by the second. I thought I might have a heart attack. All I could do was dig my nails in the arms of the chair and pray for it to be over with.

It was over quickly, thank the Lord. It took about 5 minutes. Five, torturous minutes. Right when he finished, the oral surgeon left the room in a hurry. I tried to stand up but my legs were jelly. I thought I was going to pass out. He did not stay to answer any questions. Not that I could talk...my mouth was stuffed with gauze. I could have written my questions, though. Jerk.

10 days later, the cyst returned. The oral surgeon said he must have not gotten it all. Good news was that he sent the cyst he did remove to be tested and it came back non-cancerous. Whew. Bad news was I had to go through the procedure again.

This time, I wanted the gas damnit! Procedure number two was just as painful, but not as horrible thanks to the nitrus. I was able to go to a special place inside my head. My imaginary private beach.

10 days later, the cyst returned. Again. DAMNIT!!!!! The oral surgeon said, "well, let's just wait and see if it will just go away."

Really? Um.....have we not done the "wait and see" thing already? Pardon my language but Fuck You Doctor Wait-n-See!

I left his office and spoke with my good buddy Danny who happens to be a surgical nurse. He told me I needed to see an Ear Nose and Throat doctor and that I probably needed a surgery, not a "procedure."

I went to the ENT and he did in fact tell me that I need to have a surgery. He said they have to take their time to really try and get it all. They have to be careful and not rushed. Wow....that is pretty much the opposite of what I went through (twice!) with the oral surgeon. The ENT said it is possible that the cyst comes back even after the surgery and that they may have to remove the gland. It's ok though, we have many salivary glands.

The surgery is scheduled for this Friday. I should go home that day. Bing, bang, boom.

An Evening with Stephen King

2011-11-18T18:18:00.000-08:00

Never in a ba-gillion years did I think that I would ever be seated a few feet away from my favorite author, Stephen King. I mean, the only way I thought I would ever get to see him is if I took my ass to Lovell, Main and walked around town hoping to run into him while he was on one of his walks. I know what you are thinking...."creeper much?" Yup.
One phone call from my friend, Amy, changed all of that. Changed that line of thinking, anyway. Amy called me to tell me that Stephen King would be at McKinney High School in November. She told me how to get tickets from a bookstore's website. Moments after I spoke with her, my ticket to the event and my ticket for the plane to get me there were both purchased.

On the day of the event Amy picked my ass up from the Dallas airport and drove me to Mckinney high school where Will (her husband) and two of their friends joined us. We arrived at the high school at 4:00 and got in line. About 5-10 people were ahead of us. The line quickly grew to snake around the corner of the building.

Wait a second...how is it that I have never noticed that snaggle tooth of mine?

We made friends with those around us and got all nerdy talking about Stephen King books.

We were very excited and could not wait to get in the auditorium.

Here is Will with his boss moustache. Oh yeah, I said "Boss" as in Incrediably Awesome; miraculous; great. Will grows that shit out for Movember (moustache November....raises money for prostate cancer research).

After waiting for an hour outside, they finally let us into the auditorium. We were able to get seats only a few rows back from the stage! This lady (pictured below) was seated in the row directly in front of us. She was the worst! There were tote bags on our seats and she stole Will's right in front of him! I wanted to give her a piece of my mind, but Amy suggested that we not tarnish the energy of the evening.

Later, the woman took out her ipad and used it to take pictures. Seriously? You don't have something smaller to take a photo with? "Oooooh, look at me with my fancy ipad! I steal tote bags and sell them so that I can afford to buy the newest devices." Oh, and she saved a seats for friends that arrived only a few minutes before Stephen King took the stage. This was a very craptacular move as people waited an hour in line, and then 2 hours in the theatre for this event. Her friends just waltzed right in there like they owned the place. Ugh. Made me want to scratch the back of their necks with a rusty nail.

Back to the good part.

Like I said, we had to wait 2 hours in the auditorium! Yowza!

So we clowned around a bit. Oh, before I forget, thank's to Amy for the group shots and the pics of Stephen himself! We were not allowed to use flash photography and she still managed to do a good job!

and finally, Uncle Stevie appeared!

He was great. He started out by telling some stories about his experience as an author. He is really funny and endearing. At one point, Amy leaned over and whispered into my ear "he looks like my grandmother." I almost peed myself. She was not trying to be a smart ass....she was serious! To her, he really does look like her grandmother. I've never seen her g-maw, but I can assume she is correct in her comparison.

He spoke for quite some time before taking out his newest novel for a quick reading.

How crazy was it to hear my favorite author read a book he has written? Supa-dupa crazy, son.

He then answered questions that the audience submitted. I did not submit a question. I have read many a Stephen King interview in various magazines and websites. I have read all of his books, including the one On Writing. I know the answers to most questions that I have had about the man. The only thing left to ask would be "um, Mr. King....would you consider coming over to my house for dinner?" Nope. Can't really ask that. Instead, I listened to the other questions. Some good, some bad. One question was, "would you ever consider writing a young adult novel? Ugh. Seriously? I was a young adult when I started reading Stephen King. Heck, I was still in elementary school! Psh!
His answer was no, in case you were wondering.

When Stephen was done a lady came out to tell us that there would be four exit areas. At each exit, we were to pick up our first edition copy of Stephen King's new book. The best part was that 25% of the audience was to get a signed copy! The five of us in our group all ended up at the same book table. Three of us got books! We beat the odds!

I was a lucky member of the audience. I now own a first edition, signed copy, of a Stephen King book. This book, titled 11/22/63, has gotten great reviews. I can't wait to read it! I had to go and buy another copy to read so that I don't mess up the signed edition. Lord knows I would probably drop that sucka in the bathtub.

Anyway....thank you Amy. I love ya.

A Lichtenstein Halloween Part:3

2011-11-07T18:15:00.000-08:00

Since posting my Halloween pictures on my Facebook and this here blog, I have been frequently asked "how long did the make-up process take?" Well, it took quite some time. I don't know how long, exactly. Probably an hour and a half? That's just my guess.
First, I used basic Halloween white makeup to even out my skin tone and brighten things up. Then, I used liquid eyeliner to create the bold lines associated with Lichtenstein's style.

Then, I threw on some fake eyelashes and the perfect yellow wig.

It was the dang dots that took the longest. Not sure if you noticed, but I totally missed the area of skin above my top lip. Also, I messed up the dots around my neck/chest as I attempted to wear a necklace. Dumb. Other than that, the costume turned out pretty good. Here are some shots of me getting ready. Husband is handy with the camera, no?

There you have it!
Now I need to start thinking about what I will be for Halloween 2012.

A Lichtenstein Halloween Part:2

2011-11-03T18:25:00.000-07:00

I'm going to go reverse on the sucka. I'll show you more photos of my complete costume in this post, and then show you the transformation process (i.e., me applying a billion dots to my mug) in the next post. Alrighty? Here we go:

I put these photos on Facebook. I tagged my husband on this one. No particular reason why I singled him out on this one.......(*whistles innocently)

You never saw a comic strip character make this face....until now.

Another unique face, brought to you by a strange 30something lady.

up close...

I don't have a made, but "Lichtenstein Sarah" does.

You better go to the store and get some!!!

I'll just eat a carrot.

I have no words for this expression.

Or this one. What in the heck was going on?

Ah, back to decent posing.

Thanks for stopping by! Come back in a day or two to see the transformation process.

A Lichtenstein Halloween Part:1

2011-11-01T15:53:00.000-07:00

Do you know who Roy Lichtenstein is? Sure you do. He was an artist, specializing in pop art. In fact, his work is what defined pop art as we know it. Here, let me show you:

Lichtenstein used thick lines, bold colors and Ben-Day dots in much of his work.
Here is a short description of Ben-Day dots (printing process) taken from Wikipedia:

"The Ben-Day Dots printing process, named after illustrator and printer Benjamin Henry Day, Jr., is similar to Pointillism. Depending on the effect, color and optical illusion needed, small colored dots are closely spaced, widely spaced or overlapping. Magenta dots, for example, are widely spaced to create pink. "

Instead of using a printing process, Lichtenstein hand painted his work using a paint brush, oil and magenta paint. I used the flat round end of a wooden dowel rod and red halloween paint that I bought on clearance last year.

Not too shabby, eh?

My friend, Miss Bee, actually gave me the idea. She saw a photo floating around pinterest of a gal that was transformed into a "Lichtenstein girl" with the help of MAC makeup artists.

Here are a few more pics. I'll have more up tomorrow or the next day. It was too much fun.

P.S. You are not seeing things. I have tears in some photos and not in others. I started out without them, and then added them (make-up) after the first half of the "photoshoot."

Halloween Around The House

2011-10-29T18:17:00.001-07:00

Wanna see a few of my Halloween decorations? The following photos were all taken and edited using my iphone. Pretty neat.

These are new this year. They are creepy skeleton dolls. I'm going to hang them from the ceiling in the garage. Dale and I plan hanging out in the garage and passing out candy there. The constant ringing of the doorbell drives my dogs crazy. You are welcome to come join us. There will be wine.

Couple of creepy cats in a glass ball driving a car around.

This is one corner of a little sign I bought last year on clearance. I got it for like fiddy cents or something.

Creepy pumpkin head

These are up year round but they fit in nicely with my Halloween decor.

Pumpkin in a mask.

Silver Skull of Death.

Gotta run. Dinner is ready.

New Phone = New Fun

2011-10-22T17:40:00.000-07:00

I finally got an iPhone! I got the iPhone 4s, to be exact, and I am in love. I have been downloading practical apps like my banking app, a flashlight app, google maps, etc. I have also downloaded some fun apps, particularly Camera +. I don't have any games on my iPhone, but this Camera + app takes up enough of my time, I assure you.

While the iPhone 4s comes equipped with a pretty nice camera, the Camera + app has a lot of cool editing features that will take your photo from nice to noice!

Urban Dictionary
1. noice \nˈȯis\ (adjective)
Beyond the boundaries and exceeding the limits of nice. Spoken with emphasis when describing something particularly awesome.
"That freshly waxed fire truck that was rolling down the street looked really noice!"

I've been playing with this app for a few hours. Here is the evidence:

The last one is my favorite.

In other news:
I really wanted to go to the Gypsy Picnic Trailer Food Festival today. Mostly, I wanted to see Hacienda and Delta Spirit. I would have liked to check out Alabama Shakes as well. Heck, all of the bands listed were worth checking out. Plus, you get to sample Austin's finest trailer foods. I missed it for a number of reasons. Here they are, in no particular order:
1. Yesterday, I had a cyst removed from my submandibular salivary gland (right under my tongue). They had to cut through the floor of my mouth and carefully excise the cyst without cutting the salivary gland itself. It is painful, but I am no stranger to pain.
2. Thursday,I was attacked at my job. I can't really go into it here but it hurt and it still hurts (neck and back area).
3. Last Saturday, Dale broke his toe and does not want to be amongst large crowds for fear that somebody will step on the broken toe.
4. Dale might be sick. It might be allergies, but he feels pretty cruddy.

So there you have it. 4 reasons for staying home instead of having a fabulous day at the Gypsy Festival. It's a good thing I have this new phone to keep me entertained.

Adios, muchachos!

If You Pin It, It Will Come

2011-10-18T17:52:00.000-07:00

A while back, I pinned this photo to my "what to wear" Pinterest board.

Awesome wool hat with a fuzzy feather.

Well, I saw that exact hat while out shopping today, but opted for the green/brown version:

I already have a cute grey hat but I did not have a cute green hat with a brown feather until this afternoon.

The power of Pinterest, people. That's what I'm talking about.

I'm off to pin pictures of piles of money.

: )

King

2011-10-11T18:19:00.000-07:00

Have I told you about my Stephen King love?
I bought this book, The Stephen King Illustrated Companion, the other day. It was on sale and, like I said, I love SK so I thought I would purchase it.

Cooper is skeptical. He thinks I spend my money foolishly. "More dog bones and less mass marketed memorabilia"- says Cooper

It's basically a collection of Stephen King manuscripts, correspondence, drawings, and memorabilia. There are a lot of velum packets inside that contain various tokens. A packet might contain original manuscript excerpt from 217 Overlook Hotel or copy edits from The Dead Zone's prologue.

These is copy of the final galley page from The Stand, complete with SK's handwritten changes and additions. GANGSTA!

I started reading Stephen King when I was about 10. I picked up my dad's copy of Cugo because I knew it was about a dog and I like dogs. It took me a while to get through it, but I read that sucker and I never looked back.

"Remember the simplest thing of all ~ how it is to be children, secure in belief and thus afraid of the dark"-Stephen King, duh.

It was not too long after my good buddy Crazy Amy and I became friends that we realized we had a shared interest in our passion for Stephen King novels. We would talk about the books and quiz each other about cross references connecting Stephen King's characters and plots from book to book. We still do that. I love that Crazy Amy.

Peep that shit!

Amy texted me today and told me that in November, SK will be speaking at friggen' McKinney high school in McKinney, TX (near Dallas and whatnot). The cost to see the King speak, answer questions, receive his latest book (11/22/63), and listen to him do a book reading was $35.00....which is pretty much what you would pay for a hard copy of the book itself. Holy hell, count me in! I bought a ticket to the event, and a plane ticket to Dallas. Stephen King is only doing 5 stops on this tour!

Sorry, I am geeking out. I can't help it. I told you, I love Stephen King.

Halloween Mantle

2011-10-10T17:41:00.000-07:00

Decorations are up.

Tuesday Morning has the creepiest Halloween decorations out there.

The gems are from Michael's. That store gets on my nerves.

Best fake spiders I have seen. I'm not a fan of the glossy plastic ones. No sir.

There is a skull amongst them there flowers.

Dia De Los Muertos Charlie and Cooper figurines.

His and Hers creepy owl set.

Glass vessel filled with black glitter and gems. Just because.

The end

Fun With Photo Booth

2011-10-07T15:48:00.001-07:00

I ordered some new red lipstick. I really want red lipstick to look good on me, but I don't think I can pull it off. When this shade arrived, I slapped some on my kisser and took a photo booth pic with my computer to see what I looked like.

Then, I started looking at other Photo Booth pictures. I'm such a weird-o with the Photo Booth.
See for yourself:

Here I am peeling a masque off my face. I took a BUNCH of Photo Booth picks of this procedure. Not sure why.

Here I am holding the "Ugly Carrot."

Have you seen Bridesmaids? There is a line in there about how every bag of carrots has an ugly carrot. I happened to be wearing an "Ugly Beats" T-shirt when I found the ugly carrot. I did not realize I had the carrot positioned "just so" until later. In fact, I posted a different version of this pic on facebook and lamented that I should have held the carrot over the word "beats" on my shirt so that it would read "The Ugly Carrot." So happy to find that I actually got that shot by mistake and did not realize it at the time.

Here I am playing with the Photo Booth effects:

Um...ok.

And here is Dale doing the same:

Here is good one:

I added the bokeh later.

Two of me on the day they discharged me from the hospital:

Wave with this hand......and now with this hand.

And here I am a few weeks later using my medical tape for a very serious photo

The pain pills made me do it.

Here I am back when I had eyelash extensions:

Ooohhh....so glamourous.

Look! It's when Dale got all skinny!

Slender and tender.

This one is after Dale and I saw Black Swan

Have you seen it? You remember the nail file scene? (That's an ice pack strapped to my shoulder in case you were wondering.)
Do you see Dale flossing his teeth in the background? Classic.

I pick your nose for you?

Done and done.

Cooper!

When did my dog learn how to use Photo Booth?

Charlie Attacks!

He's pissed because he knows 15 ways to kill a man but can't figure out how to use Photo Booth.

Back where we started

Except I am smiling in this one.

Hope you all have a good weekend. If you get bored, use Photo Booth.

It's Not "Goodbye", It's "See ya Later."

2011-10-03T16:56:00.000-07:00

This is my friend Kristi. We met in grad school and I am so happy that we did. She has become one of my most favorite people on the planet Earth.

Kristi married PJ, her most favorite person on the planet Earth....and I'm so glad she did because he took up a place in my list of most favorite people as well.

Most favorite on the planet Earth.

Kristi and PJ had two kids and to know them is to love them. I speak the truth.

Kristi and PJ have a boat load of friends. A party-boat load of friends. Some of them ventured out to the Salt Lick for a "see ya later lunch."

PJ got a job promotion in Savannah, GA. They will have moved over a thousand miles away by the end of the week.

PJ with his good buddy Kim. She made them a lovely "Home is Wherever I'm with you" print. The hearts are made out of maps of the places Kristi and PJ have lived together. Those two are gypsies! (haha)

More friends at The Salt Lick. The blondie and the fella next to her are getting married in a few weeks!

Hey, there is a baby in that sack!!

I wish I had one of those to sleep in. How awesome would that be?

I'm really going to miss my friends, but I can't wait to go to Savannah and visit. You better believe I am going to take the Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil tour!!!

Kristi and Pj, you can say "goodbye" but you have never really gone anywhere. You are but a plane ride away and you will always have a place in my heart. Always.

Brown Paper Packages Tied Up With Strings

2011-09-25T11:07:00.000-07:00

As far as baby showers go, I normally don't like them. Let's face it, you don't either. Here are the top three reasons why I don't like the typical baby shower:

1. Girls only. Seriously? No dudes? Why do they get off so easy? A dude had just as much to do with makin' that baby as a gal did. He should have to sit through the awkward custom as well. Plus, I tend to not like going to a party that only has females. I was never in a sorority, I quit the Girl Scouts within the first few months of joining, and never was on an athletic team. Mix up the sexes! It makes things interesting.

2. You have to watch somebody open gifts. Is this not awkward to you? You got some lady opening the presents, another one writing down what she is opening, another one passing her the gifts, and another one taking them away and passing them around to room for everyone to "ooo and ahh" about. That is a lot of people involved in opening a present. About 3 too many if you ask me. And, I don't have a baby so I find it very difficult to act excited when somebody opens a Diaper Genie®.

3. Baby Shower Games. I guess I just am opposed to organized activities at a party. Unless that activity is Beer Pong. I don't want to sit in a circle and guess the size of the pregnant chicks tummy. Keep your baby bingo card and don't try to make me taste the baby food and guess the flavor. It's not going to happen. I will fake a bathroom emergency to get out of that game. You heard me. I would rather have everyone think I ate bad oysters and am about to pay for it than eat baby food with a bunch of grown ass women.

I tell you all of this because last night, I attended a great baby shower. It was a couples shower. Dudes allowed. The invitation directed everyone to "stock the baby's bookshelf" so everyone brought books. Here is what I brought:

Oh, you wanted to know the titles of the books? Sorry. I forgot already. They were good ones, though.

Dale helped with the wrapping. You can see a little orange on the paper covering one of the books. He used the wrong side of the grocery bag on that one. Oops.

The hostess did not make the couple open up all of the books in front of everybody. Even if she did, I probably would not mind much because I love books.

They had a wonderful spread of food, adult beverages, music, and NO GAMES.

Yipee!

2 Years in 342 Pages

2011-09-20T17:16:00.000-07:00

I got something in the mail.......

What's this?

Could it be?

Some sort of book?

YES!

Sarahenity Now! The first two years (2004-2006)!!!

I saw an add for blog2print and jumped on it!
here is a description of their service taken from their website:

Next time someone asks "How can I print my blog?" send them to Blog2Print. With a couple of clicks, you choose a cover, the posts you'd like to include, and you're on your way to creating your own Blog Book!

I have been blogging for quite some time, so I have a lot of material here bub. Blog2print would only allow about 2 years worth of material per book. For a book that size, the price was mighty high. However, it was a very easy service to use. The only complaint is I had to copy/paste the comments into the book (digital version) myself. I like my comments, they are sometimes the funniest part of the blog.

I love that they included a table of contents!

I also love the layout

My blog book contains 338 blog entries and 342 full pages. It covers a period starting on October 13th, 2004- October 26th, 2006. Wow.

The front cover is a diagram of an ear...one of the first pictures posted on my blog. This is the back cover:

Me as a "killer doll" for Halloween.

Will I do it again? Will I make a book for my blog posts from 2006-2008? What about 2008-2010, and so on? Will I pay over a hundred dollars, again?

Yes.

It's easy, it's quality work, and it will last a long time. I no longer have to worry about my blog here in cyberspace. No more worrying about "what would happen if my blog crashed and I lost all of those memories?"

I now have the solution. An expensive solution, but I can order the books one-by-one over time so I am not paying for all of them at once.

You know what is weird? One day, I will read this entry about the blog book in my blog book.

That is all.

Outdoor Dining

2011-09-18T14:53:00.000-07:00

Dale and I finally purchased a patio table (and chairs) that we love! We have known for years that we wanted a nice patio set....one that would last for a long time. We have gone through a cute set from target and another set from the grocery store. The set from Target fell apart after a few years and I never really loved the set from the grocery store (even though it was a steal). We happened to be at the Crate and Barrel outlet store looking for media storage when we found the table. It's original price was $1,200 but we got it for $300.

Now that's a deal! Unfortunately, there were no chairs at the Crate and Barrel outlet. We ended up looking at a few places before making our way to World Market.

Which is where we purchased these cute chairs! They were also on sale.
World Market also had a wide array of beautiful seat cushions to choose from. We chose these in "Moroccan Blue" and bought cloth napkins to match.

A few more pics...

I thought this was a neat shot:

I got the flowers (already arranged) at HEB. I have been wanting a small vase like this for some time. Thanks, HEB.

Last one:

In Other News:
I think I know what I want to be for Halloween. It's just around the corner!

I'm ready for my house to smell like pumpkin spice and cinnamon. Fall candles rule.

Got a Deer Tick show coming up! They are playing at the new Emo's in East Austin. I've never been to this venue. Not even sure if it is open yet.

I am sad because I missed Delta Spirit. That will be the 4th o5 5th time Delta Spirit has come through and I have missed them. Ugh! I won tickets to the Austin City Limits taping of Coldplay (which was happening the same night as Delta Spirit) so I went to that instead. If I could do it all over again, I think I would have given my Coldplay tickets away and gone to Delta Spirit. Coldplay is a really good band, but I am not a really big fan. I really like Delta Spirit, though. Dang. I got lured into going to the Coldplay show because it was an ACL taping that will show on New Years Eve. Going to an ACL taping, to me, is not like going to a real show. It is shorter and the sound is different. They are mixing the sound for TV....not for a live audience. Does that make sense? It was still fun, don't get me wrong, but I might have enjoyed myself more at the Delta Spirit show.
Next time, Delta Spirit. Next time.

PINNING!

2011-09-12T16:08:00.000-07:00

****ATTENTION DUDES!!! THIS POST IS ABOUT ARTS AND CRAFTS. YOU MAY BAIL OUT NOW OR CONTINUE READING. JUST DON"T COMPLAIN THAT I DIDN'T WARN YOU. OH, I ALSO MENTION A BABY SHOWER.****

If Charlie Sheen were on Pinterest, he would be "pinning!"

Right?

Hahaha!

What? You don't know what Pinterest is? It's crack, that's what it is. Very addictive. It's also hard to explain. The Pinterest site describes itself with the following:
"Pinterest lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and organize their favorite recipes."

I'm not going to try and describe it any further. I am not here to explain Pinterest to you. I just want to explain that it is super addictive and I have spent hours upon hours of my life "pinning" things. Many of these things are 'do it yourself' projects. I have maaaaaany projects waiting for me to actually do.

Many minus one, because I accomplished my first DIY from Pinterest this weekend!

I made these decorative "poms" to jazz up a giftbag.

One is made out of wax paper and the other is made out of tissue paper. Super easy.

I brought that bag to a babyshower and all of the gals seemed to like it. It's cheeper than buying a bow.
I don't know why girls like to make things pretty, but we do. It's in our DNA.

The Meat Cookbook

2011-09-08T19:26:00.000-07:00

Dale found two books at the thriftstore:
No Country for Old Men

and

We purchased both of them.

I think you should see some of the recipes from 1977 (when this cookbook was published)

First, The Table of Contents:

Did you see there is a section called "Variety Meats?" Awwwwwwwwww yeah!

Let's start with Beef:

It's a tradition

Who wants Beery Beef?

It calls for "Brown Ale"
Which Rhymes with "Ox Tail"
Which happens to be the recipe you see on the next page.

Ok, that looks alright. How about some lamb?

The soy sauce makes the lamb chops "Chinese"

Lancashire-Style Hotpot

This has lamb chops, and lamb kidneys (skinned, cored, and roughly chopped.

Pork time:

Pork and Liver Terrine inclydes pork(duh), pigs' or lambs' liver! Your choice!

Indonesian pork. I wish there was a picture of the Sweet 'n' Sour Pork Balls

And now, sausage!

Yuck.

Variety Meats? Yes.

The picture shows Braised Lambs' Tongues. The opposite page contains recipes for three culinary delights:
1. Liver and Bacon Marsala (I prefer my marsala with extra liver)
2. Sour Cream Liver (my favorite.....in hell)
3. Pressed Ox Tongue (just like momma used to make)

Lookie here:

Steak, Kidney, and Eggplant Pie! A new Thanksgiving tradition if you ask me.

Thank you, Rosemary Wadey, for putting together the most non-appetizing meat cookbook I have ever seen.
I will cherish it for all my days.

Dale with Child

2011-09-08T10:06:00.000-07:00

Amusing photos of my husband and our grand-nephew, taken while shopping at my favorite thrift store.

Same facial expression that says, "Are we done looking around the thrift store yet because I could really go for some pizza."

Same facial expression that says, "Hey, this thrift store is not bad. I just found a meat cookboook from 1977!"

That is all.

Personal Ad

2011-09-05T13:33:00.000-07:00

Hi, my name is Charlie.

My nickname is Billy.

I am 4 years old (28 in dog years) and I live with my parents and brother.

I have my own bed.

I'm lookin' for that special lady that can deal with my unique personality.

Wanna meet?

Mid-Century Modern

2011-09-03T12:34:00.000-07:00

My husband has been looking for speaker for quite some time. He finally found some that he loved (for the right price) on Craig's list.
Here they be:

Big, wodden, cubes standing on four legs with a golden front to add that extra pizazz.

I love them.

Now I can wear my hair like this and have cocktails in the (late) afternoon:

"What's that you say? you want to watch the new film Psycho at the Paramount? Why sure!"

And now, one with extra vintage:

That is all

Cozy Coozie

2011-09-01T18:18:00.000-07:00

I'm ready for Christmas..........

Got this at Tuesday Morning. I think it was $3.99. Only one left.

Do you think it was $3.99 at Tuesday Morning because it looks like the sweater has "Jay" (instead of "Joy") across the chest? I myself did not notice this until I looked at the pictures.

Or maybe it was $3.99 because it is a SWEATER and HAT SET for a WINE BOTTLE! Who buys this shit?

Sarah does, that's who.

Almost Correct Fortune

2011-08-29T18:42:00.000-07:00

I had to do some minor editing to the fortune found in my cookie:

That is all.

Death of a Sock Dachshund

2011-08-28T18:21:00.000-07:00

A year or two ago, I made a replica of my real dachshund, Charlie, In the form of a sock dachshund.

It took a long time to make and I thought it was pretty dang cute. Sure, Charlie was creeped out by it but that made it all the more charming.

An hour or two ago, I walked into the living room to find Cooper (my other real Dachshund) ripping into the sock dachshund. This is the gruesome scene that the murderous Cooper left in his wake:

Guts everywhere

Twisted body

Gaping hole in the neck

I attempted mouth-to-mouth

But I could not save ~~him~~ it. I held it's broken body in my arms and screamed...

WHHHHHHHHHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY?????????

Friggen' Cooper. He's a Blood-thirsty killer.
(Blood = Stuffing)
(Blood also = cicadas)

Olio di Pesce

2011-08-21T15:24:00.000-07:00

Hey Pal, Did You Know About This?

2011-08-16T16:04:00.000-07:00

For those of you in Austin, do you know about Punch!

From the Punch! Website-
"PUNCH! is the best-booked, best-attended comedy show in Austin. Seriously. Plus it's only five bucks. So it's a no-brainer. But go ahead and gamble on that $8.50 movie, Ass-hat.

PUNCH! is your go-to for consistent, high-caliber comedy. Unlike open-mics or haphazardly assembled showcases, PUNCH! is a carefully curated show with an eye on professionalism, cutting edge content, and audience enjoyment. A joint production between Matt Bearden and Capitol City Comedy Club, PUNCH! maintains a focus on stand-up, but also makes nods toward reliable improv, sketch and variety acts.

PUNCH! currently schedules 3 seasons per year. Unless otherwise noted, shows are staged at CapCityComedyClub, TUESDAYS at 8PM. Tickets are always just $5. Taste it."

I have been to two Punch! shows and I highly recommend you take your boring ass out on a Tuesday for some laughter. Matt Bearden is a tremendous host. It is worth it to just watch him chat a little bit in between sets and introduce the comics. Dude is funny. Smart funny.

The sets are short and sweet and you are out of there before 10:00. If you want to go, I will go with you.

For everyone else, have you seen Whisker Wars on IFC?

A while back, I blogged about the Beard and Moustache competition in which my buddy Danny was a competitor. It was a 10 part blog series on my part. Crazy. Any-hoo, the IFC has made a documentary about competitive bearding that follows a few bearded men as they attend various competitions- including the beard and moustache competition I blogged about.

The Austin Facial Hair Club is heavily featured on the show. Here are a few shots of these down home boys:

Photo Credit
Husband Dale works with Allen, the guy on the right. Amazing beard, yes?

I like the Austin team for 3 reasons:
1. I am from Austin, duh.
2. They seem to have the right attitude about beard competitions. They don't take themselves too seriously and appear to have more fun than anyone.
3. They have found the happy medium somewhere between having a good sense of humor and being a smart ass.

We don't get IFC on our cable plan so I just purchase the episodes on itunes. You might consider doing the same.

That is all.

A Few Shots

2011-08-08T20:11:00.001-07:00

I uploaded the pics from my camera and came upon these gems:

Serenade

Poached Huevos

Fat Pants

But not really. These are ~~MC HAMMER~~ Pakistani pants that gather at the waist via some sort of draw string.

Little Man Nephew

Cute, I know.

Succulents

Straight out of a Dr. Seuss book.

I see you

2011-08-04T15:01:00.001-07:00

I took these pictures through the wicker siding of a chair.

I like how they turned out.

*Edit -here is a pic of the wicker......

In Other News:
School (work) starts back up the week after next. I'm ready. Know what else I'm ready for? A day that the temperature does not reach triple digits!

Saw Horrible Bosses.....thought is sucked, horribly.

The other day, I was experiencing terrible pain as my neck and shoulder muscles on my left side were constricted, knotted and twisted into spasm. Turns out, I had been taking anti-nausea medication for the past 3-4 days instead of my muscle relaxers (they look almost Identical). CHECK THE LABLE BEFORE YOU POP YO PILL! Lesson Learned.

Digital Wig

2011-07-29T11:02:00.000-07:00

You know that magazine Real Simple? If you are a girl, I am 99% sure you know the magazine and that you love it. I know I do. Any-hoo, I "liked" their facebook page so I get all of their updates which is how I came upon the VIRTUAL MAKEOVER!

Me as a blonde!

Mostly, I just wanted to try different hairstyles and hair colors but you can play around with makeup and eye color as well. Hours of time wasting fun my friend.

If you know me, you know I love wigs. Not to wear out on a normal day, but for Halloween and costume parties and what not.
While the virtual makeover is not as satisfying as trying on a new wig, it is free and pretty funny.

I changed my eye color in this one:

Don't ya turn my brown eyes blue......

This next one shows me sporting a style I like to call "Lubbock hair." There is a strange phenomenon in Lubbock regarding women after they hit 30. For some reason, they chop their hair all short and spikey and add bad highlights. I am not exaggerating. It looks something like this:

Now listen, not all of the 30+ Lubbock females fall victim to this curse. In fact, most of my female friends that remain in Lubbock do not have this hairstyle. However, I guarantee that if you were to find yourself in Lubbock you would see a crap load of ladies with this style. Mmm-hmmm. I speak the truth.

Ooooooooh, I really like this one:

If I only had straight hair....I would do things like this.

This one is just bad:

But I made my eyes violet and I wanted to show you.

And finally, the HOT MESS!

SHAZAM!

Pot Head

2011-07-20T17:55:00.000-07:00

Every so often, I get the urge to go to the Mega Tuesday Morning (on Burnet road in Austin, TX) and look for something odd. Have you been to the giant Tuesday Morning I am talking about? Oh. My. Gosh. You should go. I'll go with you. There is a lawn crocodile I got my eye on.

Anyway, during my most recent Tuesday Morning hunt I found this friggen' head!

It was the only one they had. I picked it up, put it in my basket, took it out of my basket and put it back on the shelf, and back in my basket again. I'm not sure why I debated on if I should buy this ~~tacky~~ charming item. I am glad my smarter self won the battle because every time I go out on the patio that pothead makes me laugh.

In Other News:
Why is it that the extreme heat makes me only want to drink Mexican beer?

Pacifico, you are an amazing cerveza. I love you.

Have you ever bought flowers to match your produce?

I didn't do it on purpose.

That is all.

Crash! Bang!

2011-07-14T12:35:00.000-07:00

I was sitting in the little living room (family room? TV room? Not sure what to call it) typing an e-mail to me husband when I heard a very loud crash come from the big living room.

Yes, I meant to say "me husband" instead of "my husband." I like how that sounds in my head. Especially when I am using my inside my head Irish accent.

WTF? The dogs immediately came to my side and we went to the big room to see what the heck happened.

This is what I found-

The large and ugly light fixture committed suicide.

It removed itself from the ceiling and left nothing but this unattractive hole:

And now it sits on my floor:

The center dome separated from the main fixture and landed upright, with the bulb still inside but unbroken:

I found two screws on the carpet and the frayed ends of a wire:

I never liked that thing and have been meaning to replace it with a crazy chandelier of some sort. Looks like I have some shopping to do.

No, I did not do this myself to give myself an excuse to shop.

New Chairs

2011-07-13T14:02:00.000-07:00

I got the dogs some new chairs. I could not resist as they were in complimentary shades of almost black and paprika. I hoped Charlie (black dog) would choose the paprika chair and Cooper (orange dog) would choose the almost black chair. This would be pleasing to my eye....another way to decorate my living room, with dogs and their furniture.

I'm helpless.

My plan was initially foiled as they chose the chairs that were closest to their coloring:

I tried reasoning with my pups, explaining that their choices for leisure was not aesthetically pleasing. "Charlie, you all but disappear in that chair and Cooper, paprika does nothing to accentuate your beautiful coloring."

A few days later, I found them like this!

Much better, my pretties. Muy bien.

Uncommon Objects

2011-07-08T15:05:00.000-07:00

Recently, my friends Amy (pictured above) and Will and I ventured to one of my favorite places on South Congress. Uncommon Objects sells "oddities, antiques, and curious goods."

You got that right. You want odd? Here is odd:

I don't know if this is some kind of rabbit pope, a rabbit bride, or just a fancy ass rabbit. I do know that it is odd.

Look at these:

What in the hell? Some kind of monkey figurines......saying the pledge of allegiance?

And then there are the bug specimen:

Amy does not like this.

Basket of heads?

They got 'em.

Ohh...my favorite:

A bunch of rusty, old, scissors on a string. Nice. Although I am "curious" if these are any "good." Can they still cut hair worth a darn? I doubt it.

What happened?

2011-07-03T11:15:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning, I woke up and heard Dale scolding Charlie in the other room. The only time Dale scolds Charlie is when Charlie pees on the carpet or when he barks at our other dog Cooper. I did not hear any barking, so I figured that Charlie had peed on the carpet...again. He did it right in front of Dale, which is unusual. The only time he has ever peed (in the house) in front of me is when he was trying to prevent me from leaving the house. He ran in front of me, standing in between myself and the door, and peed. Normally, he waits until we are gone to act like the carpet is his personal toilet.

We have had our carpet cleaned multiple times but the urine is never really gone, is it? The stains come back and we know it is in the pad underneath the carpet. Gross.

Anyway, I got up about 20 minutes after I heard Dale scolding Charlie and I walked into the living room. This is what I saw:

What the what?

Dale and I have discussed removing the carpet and going with either stained concrete or hardwood. However, I had no idea he was going to start the project on this particular morning so I was somewhat surprised.
Here is what the floor looks like at this moment:

Raw. Our armoire has been moved to another room. It feels strange in here.
I am a fan of hardwood but Dale is interested in the stained concrete look. I heard bamboo floors are pet friendly (unlike hardwood). Maybe we will look into that?
Dale told me he wants to remove the carpet in all of the rooms. Looks like I'll be living in a construction site for a while.

In Other News:
I purchased a few items while out and about on South Congress. Here is one of my favorite purchases- Day of the Dead Dog Skeletons!

One for Charlie and one for Cooper. I love them.

Here is skeleton Charlie and Skeleton Cooper standing on a photograph of myself dressed as La Catrina on Halloween a few years ago:

I love Día de los Muertos.

True Blood

2011-07-02T09:29:00.000-07:00

My friend's Amy and Will came to visit us. I tried to be a good host and provide Amy with some True Blood.

I even warmed it up for her! Cold blood makes her gag.

But she never touched it. She told me she was full.

Poor Will.

End of the 30 Day Challenge-Self Portriate

2011-06-30T15:29:00.000-07:00

We have come to the end of the 30 Day photography challenge! I have learned more about my camera and photography during the last 30 days than I have for the few years that I have owned my trusty Nikon. Today's assignment: Self Portriat-

I admit, I took these the two days ago. I have company so I don't have a lot of time to set up the camera and take pictures of myself. "Sorry guys, I know you are visiting from out of town but I can't go to Barton Springs with you. I have to photograph myself, edit the photos, and then post them on my blog."
Hahaha! Can you imagine?

Ok, here is one I took today....to make it official:
My hand holding a mighty cone.

If you live in Austin or are ever traveling through, you should really try the Might Cone in the trailer park eatery. So yummy!

I want to thank the lovely and talented Kimberly June for letting me know about this challenge. A group of bloggers joined her in the challenge and she posted everybody's daily photos on her blog. It was really neat to see them all in one place. You should visit her blog and check them out.

Black and White

2011-06-29T16:07:00.000-07:00

This is on my mantle piece.

It's a squirrel (that I made out of a glove) inside a bird cage. What, you don't have stuffed animals in cages on your mantle?

Flower

2011-06-28T17:52:00.000-07:00

Ahh the Stargazer Lily. My favorite flower.
Dale and I had only been dating for a few weeks before he had to temporarily move to a different city (6 hours away) for a summer internship. We both had just gotten out of long term relationships and I did not know if it was a good idea to jump right into a long distance one. The first week that Dale was away, he sent me a beautiful bouquet of flowers--stargazer lilies, roses, and irises. He also sent me a roundtrip ticket to Dallas so that I could visit him.

I went to Dallas and Dale spoiled me. We went out to eat, to see live music (Buddy Guy), and to various places like the West End and Deep Ellum. We had the most fun hanging out in his parent's back yard and talking. We would talk for hours.....just getting to know each other.

When I took the plane back to Lubbock, I knew that I was in another relationship. The long distance part was only for a few months. I could wait....and I did.

My wedding bouguet was made up of Stargazer Lilies.

They smell divine!

From a Distance

2011-06-27T16:41:00.000-07:00

I think landscapes would be the ideal subject for a photo that is to be taken "from a distance." A majestic mountain looks as beautiful far away as it does up close. Seeing that it is 6:45 and I am still in my bathrobe, I don't think I will be venturing out to take any grand landscape shots. Instead, I positioned myself at the edge of my living room and took pictures of my dogs gazing out the front window located on the oposite end. Here is Dale's favorite:

Charlie decided to walk away in the middle of the shot.
Dale says it's much more interesting than the other ones you are about to see.

I am partial to this one for the color:

And this one for the perspective:

In other news:
I think Charlie has vitiligo. He has always had a loss of pigment on his nose but we have recently noticed this de-pigmented area just below his nose:

It is possible that he had a scab there that we did not notice and what you see is the new skin. I don't think that is the case. I mean, I really think we would notice if he had a scab. The area looks really pink in the picture but is more muted in real life. Dale found out that dachshunds are one of the breeds that commonly inherits vitiligo.

Do you know who else had vitiligo?
Michael Jackson.

Close Up

2011-06-26T17:41:00.000-07:00

That right there is the tip of a new rubber tree leaf, about to unfurl.
We have had this plant for a very long time. I want to say somewhere between 8-10 years. It keeps growing, and growing, and growing.

Here is the new leaf from a different view:

The thing is too heavy for me to move. We ought to put it on wheels so Dale does not have to risk throwing his back out every time there is a freeze (causing him to bring the plant inside).

It's a beast!

But we love it.

Pink

2011-06-25T15:27:00.001-07:00

I did not have high hopes for today's photo assignment. I thought, "what in the hell do I own that is pink?" Not much. I do have a soft pink traveling jewelry box. I took some photos of that, but they were not very interesting. Not very pink. Then, I saw the bougainvillea:

The purple object providing the beautiful background is a "gazing ball." It was on the clearance rack at my local T.J. Maxx. I love it...even though it sort of looks like a bowling ball.
The bougainvillea is not doing so well. Dale swears that it only blooms a few days out of the year. These blooms are on their way out.

Since I mentioned it, here is the jewelry box:

Pretty boring.

Thank goodness for wilting pink bougainvillea!

Animal

2011-06-24T16:58:00.000-07:00

I have two dogs, but Charlie is the most photogenic:

Often, he will show his little teeth and that just cracks me up.

Charlie came to us by way of The Central Texas Dachshund Rescue. He had been in 3 or 4 different foster homes before he came to us. Poor fella had been through a lot, which may explain his...ahem... unique personality. When we first got Charlie, and for several months afterwards, he displayed some peculiar behavior. For instance, he was a hoarder. I know I have written about this before, so I will be brief. I think Charlie had anxiety problems and the hoarding was somehow related to that. He would hoard anything and everything he could get his teeth on. His hoarding spot was under the bed and I would have to clean it out every month. I would find contact solution, tissues, shoes, baseball caps, socks, bras, paper, etc. He loved going under the bed every night to spend time with his things. We would hear him under the bed chewing on things, grumbling, and shifting around.

It was funny/crazy/strange.

With every passing day, I could tell Charlie's anxiety was slowly going away. Now, he does not hoard at all. Yes, he still has to spend alone time under the bed every night but he is not rolling around in stolen laundry.

Thank goodness. I love that Charlie.

Cooper is as cool as a cucumber:

No anxiety here. This is a well balanced canine.

Sunflare

2011-06-23T17:07:00.000-07:00

Not my favorite pic, but it will do.

My shadow:

"What's up, stretch?"

In Other News:
You should read Tina Fey's book, Bossy Pants. It is maybe the funniest book I have ever read in my entire life.

Um.....I guess that is all. Man, it's a slow blog day.

Hands

2011-06-22T17:23:00.000-07:00

We are on day 22 of the 30 day photography challenge. Today's subject is hands. Specifically, Dale's hands.

Dale has the softest hands in the world. You think you have soft hands? You're wrong. Your hands feel like sandpaper next to Dale's.

Dales hands are extra large. He can open a pickle jar faster than you can open your eyes.

His fingertips are squishy like a marshmallow.

He let's me pop his knuckles and for that I am grateful.

I love popping knuckles...even toe knuckles.

The first time Dale's hands held my hands I felt an actual spark pass from his fingertips to mine. I knew I was in trouble after that.

He felt it too.

Faceless Self-Portriat

2011-06-21T15:27:00.000-07:00

I had to really think about what I was going to do for today's photo assignment. I thought I might just focus on my hands, or feet, or knees....but I need a mani/pedi and my knees are not all that interesting.

So, you get another shot of me with a hula-hoop. It really is fitting seeing as how I love my hoop. I exercise with it quite frequently, especially in the summer.

Why yes, that is a Harry Nilsson record (Son of Schmilsson) on the floor next to my record player. It's a radio copy that we bought at a thrift store. There is a big sticker on the front that lists the song title and length. "Don't Play" is written in big letters next to "Take 54" and "You're Breakin' My Heart." If you know these songs, you know why they are not "suitable" for air play. If you don't know these songs, you should probably go and get this record

Back to today's project-
Here is a pic to go along with the assignment if you took "Faceless Self-Portriat" in the most literal definition:

Bwa-ha-ha! I look like a pod person that did not finish developing.

In Other News:
My good buddy Miss Bee had all of her wisdom teeth removed. The lower half of her face swelled up to elephant man proportions and the bruising was epic. Poor Bee. It was very unfortunate for her that she won 2 tickets to attend last nights Austin City Limits taping of Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears during this time of pain and face distortion.

Her misfortune is my good fortune because she gifted the passes to Dale and I. Bee, I owe you one!

Here are a few pics:

Here Dale and I sit outside of the ACL Bar, waiting for the show to start. At their old studio, they would give you free beer. Now, you pay $11.00 for a regular sized bud light and one tall boy. Sheesh!

Once we got into the studio we found a great place on the floor. Minutes later, we ran into a few friends and they joined us at our spot. Running into these two made the night twice as fun. Kim and Ryan know how to do it to it.

Dale took all of the following pics with my point and shoot. He was not allowed to use the flash. Still, they came out pretty good!

There is not a bad seat in the new studio. It's pretty awesome.

I have never seen a telecaster like this before:

Red body, Red Neck, Red Headstock. Very nice.

The Relatives came out and did a few songs with Black Joe and his Honeybears:

Let me tell you something...they TORE the ROOF off the PLACE!

When they performed "You've Been Lying" I could not help but dance and throw my hands in the air. My eyes got big and I would throw a look at Dale that said, "Is this for real?" I can't wait to see the show air. I'll find out when that is going to happen and let you know because you MUST witness that performance.

Must.

Bokeh

2011-06-20T12:12:00.000-07:00

What is bokeh? It's today's photo assignment.

This website explains it for you. But you don't have to go there if you don't want to. Here is their explanation in short:
"It's a Japanese word for blurring and refers to a pleasing aesthetic quality to the out-of-focus areas of a photo."

Bokeh........I got this.

These are my rooster and hen figurines that I like to think represent Dale and I. He is the cock, obviously. I am the fat, little hen.

Nobody wants a skinny hen, bub. They make for shitty eggs.

Orange

2011-06-19T15:49:00.000-07:00

Photo assignment: Orange.

That's what you get, sucka!

Orange rimmed sunglasses!

Blah! I just am not the biggest fan of orange. Not much orange in my house. Not even an orange mouse. I don't own an orange blouse.

K, gotta go. Dale and I are pickin' and-a-singing right now.
That looks like this:

Mmmmmmmmm....now Dale's talking about goin' on down to the Clay Pit and eatin' up some Indian food!

Bye!

Shoes

2011-06-18T17:03:00.000-07:00

Today's photo assignment is shoes, and since I could not pick a favorite pair to photograph I chose a category of shoe.

Is that correct? "a category of shoe?"

Ladies and gentleman, I give you........

CONVERSE ALL STARS!

And now, a conversation I had with Dale:

(scene: I was bringing all of my Converse, stored in their plastic shoe boxes, into the living room.)

Dale: "are you going to take a picture of all of those together?"

Sarah: "yes, the photography topic of the day is shoes."

Dale: "But are you going to photograph all of them in one shot?"

Sarah: "Yes."

Dale: "People are gonna think you're rich."

Sarah: "What? Why?"

Dale: "How many pairs of Cons do you have?"

Sarah: (counts) "nine."

Dale: "Who has nine pairs of Converse?"

Sarah: "You're right, I need 1 more pair to even it out to 10."

*I only paid full price for one pair of those shoes (black ones) and I have been collecting them for YEARS!

Technology

2011-06-17T12:51:00.000-07:00

I love my iPad 2. I am always looking for the best apps that I can use with my students. I'm telling you, every speech language pathologist should have one of these bad boys. It will change the way you prepare for a session. I only wish they had these back when I was in grad school. I could have saved so much time! See, back in 2007, we had to make many of our therapy materials. It took a lot of time that could have been used for ~~studying~~ drinking beer.

Ah, technology...enabling college students more time to drink on a daily basis.

Here is my blooper shot:

I accidentally hit the screen and brought up my thumbnails.
Also, the framing is all wrong.

In other news:
I am in pain RIGHT NOW but my appointment with my doctor is not until Tuesday. Ice packs, don't fail me now.
Stupid steroid shot wore off....quite some time ago. I don't know if I want another one seeing as how the first one was so short lived. I read that having too many in a short period of time can actually damage the structures you are trying to fix. Great.

I saw Super 8 and loved it! It's a must see on the big screen. Very entertaining....all that you want in a summer blockbuster. I want to adopt the pyro kid with the braces and the overbite.

I purchased True Blood Season 3. We are going to have a marathon watching party up in here! The party consists of myself, my husband, and my dogs. They love Sookie.

Long Exposure

2011-06-16T17:36:00.000-07:00

For today's photo assignment, I thought that I would take a photo of a record spinning.

So I did, obviously:

Wish I had a tiny LED light to place on the record. That would have been cool.

As I was taking the photo at various shutter speeds, I got so into the music that I decided to bust out my hula hoops.

I look like a ghost. In fact, If I die in this house I plan on haunting it by hula hooping while guests are over. They will be standing around the living room and feel a chilly breeze as my ghost hoop brushes by their waist.

Muah-ha-ha-haaaaaaa!

Silhouette

2011-06-15T07:07:00.000-07:00

Today's post marks day 15 of the photography challenge. I am halfway through, folks!

Unfortunately, I did not have much time for today's shoot. It's not too bad...

but I could have done better given more time. We are leaving Las Vegas today so I was (am) in a hurry.

I did not bring my tripod with me so this is what I used instead:

I am excited to get back home. I miss my damn dogs.

Eyes

2011-06-14T16:43:00.000-07:00

Bright, clean, eyes:

Dirty, grimy, smokey eyes...er, that is to say.....EYE:

Thanks for the line, True Grit.

In other news:
My dad is out of the hospital. He will have to get a heart MRI and then they can look at scheduling his surgery.

My mom got out of the hospital yesterday. She is breathing easier, thank goodness!

Bobby Flay's restaurant, MESA is sickening. I mean that in a good way. You know, the way the youngsters use that word. Seriously though, I have been there three times now. Twice for meals and once for drinks. I would go there again for dinner tonight if Dale said the word. (The word is "ok.")

Thirteen

2011-06-13T11:52:00.000-07:00

Everything is expensive at Caesars Palace and it's pissing me off!

Here I am with 13 of the 24 Aleve caplets that came in the bottle I purchased at the little giftshop in Caesars. The bottle of 24 cost me $10.27. When I handed the Cashier lady my $20.00 to pay for the pills, she asked if I had .27 cents in change. I said "no". She said, "you don't?" I shook my head. She gave me my change and I walked away.

I totally had .27 cents in change. I was just being an ass because the Aleve cost so much! I'm really mad at myself because I forgot my ibuprofen at home!

This morning, I bought a large latte, add sugar free syrup, a yogurt parfait, and a newspaper. This cost me around $18.00.

*gulp*

I need to bum a ride to a grocery store so I can stock up on various food items and sundries.

Bonus 13 pic:

Here are 13 of the little snack items that came in the room. Cookies, coffee, condoms, corn popped), cashews, candy, etc. There are also plenty of tiny bottles of rum, vodka, whiskey, and beer. Probably some champagne in there as well. I'm trying to stay out of the mini fridge. Talk about expensive!!

Sunset

2011-06-12T20:36:00.001-07:00

I'm in Las Vegas.
This was the best I could do for a "sunset" photo (taken from my hotel window). The sun is technically going down in this photo...just not the pretty horizon shot full of pink and orange hues that I had imagined.

What can I say? Vegas!

I'll have more time for photos tomorrow.

Adios muchacha! Ayeyaiyai! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii hai hai hai!

Something Blue

2011-06-11T14:40:00.000-07:00

My favorite "Blue" song- Dr. Dog's I Only Wear Blue

Video by Frank Weysos (Tour Footage, duh). You better believe I was at one of those shows during that tour. Stubb's Outdoors in Austin, TX. I highly recommend you attend a Dr. Dog show. I hear they are working on a new album now, so a tour can't be too far in the future.

And Lyrics:
I'm all bottled up
Floating in the deep blue
And you're an open book
Anyone could read you
I'm losing my voice
Barking up the wrong tree
When you can't be yourself
There's just too much to be

Let's get on with it
You have got too much time
And I don't want to stay here
Where the sun don't ever shine.

So say the word and open up the blinds

Well it came like a dream
But it went just as fast
Like a dream
Left out in the trash

She said "I know what you mean,
But I don't know who you are.
Ah, we're just two of many; fractions of a part.
Ah, we're just two of many; fractions of a part.

They said it couldn't be done,
But you went out and did it.
But it was more than you were looking for it
And there ain't no way to get it

I'm only guilty, I admit it
I'm only guilty, I...

Excuse me, Forgive me.
I only wear blue.
Excuse me. Forgive me.
I only wear blue.
Excuse me.

A Childhood Memory

2011-06-10T15:37:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite memories of growing up is attending the various back yard barbeques, potluck suppers, and parties with my family. At these parties, food would be shared (after prayer), libations were available for the adults, and the kids would roam in packs.

The very best part of the parties was the music. Many of the party goers were blessed with musical talent. Heck, 99% of our church choir were in attendance. At some point during the party, somebody would pick up a guitar and signal to the others that it was time for music. You could hear the click of the guitar cases opening and the shuffle of the chairs gathering in a circle at everyone gathered for the show.

It seemed like half of the party members had a guitar. Like it was just as natural to bring a guitar to a party as a six pack of beer.

They played rock-n-roll, folk, blues.....

They would play and they would sing. There was harmony and laughter and it was magical. Us kids would dance in the background as we ate sliced watermelon while the sun set. They would play well into the evening.

My mom would sing with a voice so powerful and pure you would get goose bumps. And she was not the only one with a beautiful voice there. Nope. That was as abundant as the guitars.

When I grew up and met new friends, I would often tell them about these parties. I thought that is how everyone grew up. I thought it was cool, but not unusual. I found out later that it was something special. No, that is not how most people grow up.

I'm glad I have the memory.

I'm glad I have the guitars.

Someone You Love

2011-06-09T15:07:00.000-07:00

My father

Did you think I would pick someone else during a time like this?

Besides, I've had to stare at his bald head for 4 days straight. Who else was I going to shoot?

In Other News:
I think my dad has a diagnosis. It's called Constrictive Pericarditis.
Basically, the membrane around his heart is very thick and fibrous. It should not be that way. Because it is so thick and tough, it is hard for the heart to stretch properly when it beats. As a result, the heart chambers don't fill up with enough blood. Blood backs up behind the heart, causing heart swelling and other symptoms of heart failure- like fluid buildup in the abdomen.

Surgery is recommended.

Surgery is dangerous...but so is walking around with a tight pericardium.

A Bad Habit

2011-06-08T17:59:00.000-07:00

I often dog ear the pages of my book to mark my place. I am trying to use a book mark, when I remember, but I have been dog earin' pages since I started reading my first book back when I was a wee lass. It has become a habit. Some would argue that it is a bad habit because it damages the book. Others would say that it breaks the book in and shows that it has been read. I think I am somewhere in the middle. It becomes a problem when I borrow books from friends. If they don't dog ear their books, I don't want to do it for them and this is why I am trying to change my habit.

Hey, look at this!

A pic of my first book....not the actual book I owned. I wish I still had that book, but it was probably from the library. My dad (a book lover) would pay me a nickel for every page I read. It got me to love reading. I started reading Stephen King books by the time I was 10 (maybe sooner). I could not get enough of reading! I would finish my Babysitters Club book and raid my dads bookshelf for my next treasure. I remember reading Hollywood Henderson's Autobiography Out of Control: Confessions of an NFL Casualty when I was about 11. I did not know who he was or what he did. I just knew I needed a book to read (Like Hollywood Henderson needed a line to snort).

In other news:
I spent the first half of the day with my pop in the hospital. His colonoscopy went well, no signs of cancer there. He has a heart catheter procedure scheduled for the morning.

The second half of my day was spent waiting with my mom in the ER (of the same hospital my dad where my dad is a patient). She was having a very hard time breathing. Maybe bronchitis. They gave her some breathing treatments, a steroid shot, and took a chest x-ray. She was feeling much better after the breathing treatments.

What a day!

Fruit of the Devil

2011-06-07T17:25:00.000-07:00

I'm still out of town....still living at a hospital during the day and a hotel at night. My dad received a bit of good news. He does not have cirrhosis of the liver. Whew! Still, we don't know what is wrong with him. He will undergo a colonoscopy and a lexi scan stress test tomorrow. They have to figure out why he is anemic and why he has ascites. What's that? You don't know what ascites is? I didn't either, until recently.
Ascites is excess fluid in the space between the tissues lining the abdomen and abdominal organs (the peritoneal cavity).

Go ahead, google it and see what Ascites is an indicator for and get freaked out just like me. Stinkin' google.

What was I doing here? Ah, yes. Today's post for the photography challenge is FRUIT. Well, bub, after reading up on Ascites the only fruit I am craving comes in a glass with a stem.

See you tomorrow.

Down Low

2011-06-06T16:33:00.000-07:00

I have a story to go along with today's "low angle" shot (day 4 of the photography challenge).
I'm in San Antonio. My first stop was the hospital to see my father. I spent several hours with him and my mom. He had a liver and a spleen scan but we do not know the results. He is in good spirits.

When I went online to make my hotel reservation, I decided to utilize the fact that I am a state employee and ask for the state rate (it's not a bad discount). I had to provide them with my workplace information and all that Jazz so I was not entirely surprised when the front desk clerk said "I'm sorry I can't sign to you." I laughed and told him that was ok. He then preceded to tell me that he recently "Deaf Days" over at Six Flags San Antonio because his friend from church is an interpreter. He spoke about how cool it was and how I should check it out next year. I smiled, thanked him and went up to my room. Here is what was posted outside my door:

"Room for handicapped please depress button for five seconds"

Yup, they put me in a "handicapped" room. The button activates a light inside the room. This is a service for deaf or hard of hearing people since they would have trouble hearing a knock at the door. I chuckled to myself and thought that there must have been a mix up with the reservations people. When they read that I work at a school for the deaf, they must have assumed that I myself am deaf.

Further exploration of the room revealed a bathroom with safety rails, and rails inside the shower.
Uh-oh. I began to feel bad about occupying the room. What if I was taking up a room that somebody else needed? This room was a general room for people with certain needs....physical limitations...not just for those that are deaf.
I called down to the front desk and told him the mix up.

It was NOT a mix up.

They can only hold so many "state rate" rooms. I requested a king sized room and the only king sized, state rate rooms they had remaining were the handicapped rooms.

Ha! A "coincidence" he called it.

Side note: Many Deaf people do not like to be referred to as "Handicapped" or even "Hearing Impaired." Just throwing that out there.

Up high

2011-06-05T18:49:00.000-07:00

Day 5: From a high angle

Not very high. I was standing on the chest that is next to my bed.
When I accepted the photography challenge, I had something different in mind for today's shot. Maybe a bird's-eye-view of Dale playing guitar....or a shot of my street taken from my roof....or a high angle of my colorful decorative mushrooms in my front yard.

Well, we can't always plan ahead. Nope.

My dad is back in the hospital. His abdomen filled up with fluid (again) and they drained 10 liters. The are trying to find out why this is happening. There are many possibilities...they have to run a billion tests to discover the true reason.

So, I pack. I am going to San Antonio to be with my mom and dad at the hospital. I don't do well with the unknown...oh no. My mind wanders in the unknown and it can come upon some pretty scary ideas. I do much better knowing as many of the facts possible. The doctors always seem caught off guard by me and my million questions.

The above photo is the best I could do considering my situation. I am still going to try and participate in the photography challenge because it will give me something else to do when my mind starts to wander where it should not.

Green

2011-06-04T13:18:00.000-07:00

Day 4 of the photography challenge: Green.
I had a hard time choosing what I wanted to photograph. I have a lot of green things in my casa. I decided on this green glass perfume bottle that serves as a decorative piece in my bathroom:

I took the photo outside to utilize the natural light. It really boosts the color....almost like it is glowing.

While I was looking at various green things around my house, the song It Ain't Easy Being Green played in my head. That made me think of the episode of the Cosby show where Rudy was so upset that her mom would not let her wear her pretty, purple, summer dress to a party on a cool, fall afternoon. Here is the video clip of her agonizing over this atrocity. I love it! (The song starts at 2:50.)

The Cosby Show introduced me to great music, as a child. Do you remember the episode where the family did a lip synched performance of Night and Day (another one by Ray Charles)? Damn! I just loved that as a little kid. Still do. Here is a clip of that episode.

Hahahaha! That is awesome.

Clouds

2011-06-03T18:21:00.000-07:00

My assigned subject for day 3 of the photography is clouds.

Well, the clouds were pretty wimpy today here in Austin, Texas. See:

Good thing I took a few photos of the monster cloud that invaded the Railroad Revival Concert I was at back in May. Here are my favorites:

In other News:
Summer is here! Working at a school does not pay much (compared to working at a medical facility...another option for a speech language pathologist), but having the summer off is a very big incentive.

That is all

What I Wore Today

2011-06-02T15:01:00.000-07:00

Day two of the photography challenge has me showing you my outfit.

I did wear shoes today, but by the time I got home and was ready to take the photo my feet were killin' me. I had to lose the shoes.

In Other News:
Have you seen the television show JAIL? I believe it is on SPIKE. Yup, it is...I just checked. I am watching it right now. It is footage of people going through the intake process at their local jailery. I wish it were really called that, "jailery." Any-hoo, the people are mostly there for DUI or PI (public intoxication). Drunk and stupid. Some of them come in calm and sedate but most of them come in spitting, kicking, and sporting an attitude.
There but for the grace of God go I.
That is all

30 Day Photography Challenge

2011-06-01T15:52:00.001-07:00

Kimberly June over at Human Behavior Is participating in this cool photography challenge and I thought I would join her.

Day One: Self Portrait

Yup, that's me back there. What the what?

In other news:
Can somebody please convince me to eat nothing but celery and drink nothing but water for the next 30 days? I am huge. Friggen' huge! I started gaining weight just before my surgery in December and haven't stopped. Ugh. Just before summer....nice.

Speaking of summer, I am done with this school year in two more days! Yay!

I think I am going on a Vegas vacation in the near future. I am not a big fan of Vegas, but I am a big fan of fancy hotels and hanging out with my husband.

Saw Bridesmaids. Pretty funny. I'd rather see the various comic book movies. Thor, I'm looking at you.

That is all.

Funny Face

2011-05-23T20:07:00.000-07:00

My work just handed me over a brand new iPad 2. I just have to pay insurance on it and I can use it as if it were mine. If I leave my job, I have to give it back. In the meantime, It's all mine. I have already downloaded all kinds of apps that I have used with my students. They love it. It captures their attention and holds it. I'm a speech language pathologist...did you know that? Some of you did...but maybe not all of you. I say things like "my students" and people think I am a teacher. Nope. Not this lady. I do love me some teachers, though! Any-hoo, that is neither here nor there.

The iPad 2 has the camera that captures video and still photo and face time (video phone). It's pretty freakin' cool. Dale and I have had the most fun with the photobooth application. Here is the evidence:

Mr and Mrs Alien Face

Meet the Blockheads

In other news:
Today was the last Monday of the 2010-2011 school year! We have Memorial day off. Woot! My last day of work before summer vacation is June 3rd! Summer break can not happen any sooner. For various reasons, this has been the most difficult year at my job. Next year will be my 5th year of employment at the school. Pretty solid.

In Sickness and Health

2011-05-22T15:54:00.000-07:00

From our Hawaiian honeymoon....black sands beach on the Big Island

Today marks our 7th wedding anniversary. Seven years! It feels like our wedding was just a year ago. Let me tell you something, bub...Marrying Dale was the best thing I have ever done.

We went with the traditional Catholic wedding vows that day. "I, _______, take you, ________, for my lawful wife/husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and health, until death do us part." I figured, why re-write what has already been written so well? The above words say it all. Right now, we are going through a sample of the "in sickness and health" bit. The surgery I had on my neck back in December turned out to be unsuccessful. For a while, I felt like I was getting better. I think I was just healing from the surgery (which is quite traumatic) and not the actual problem that prompted the surgery. The physical therapy HAS increased my mobility, but has not decreased the pain. The numbness and tingling in my left arm is back as is the stabbing, twisting, cramping pain in the muscles of my neck and shoulder. Very tricky. I am back to the drawing board. I am going to try Rolfing, Yoga, and Swimming this summer.

Yesterday morning, Dale took me to get some steroid injections in my neck. I got two, one in between the epidural space of C4-5 and one in the space between C5-6.

See, they wrote it on me. There is the bandaid that covers both injection sites.
And there is my birthmark that looks like a hickey. Yup...growing up with that was a real treat.

Once the steroid is injected, it sort of forms a localized ball in the area that the doctor was shooting for. This "ball" can make things worse before it makes them better as it can press on the surrounding nerves before it spreads out. Yeah, it totally made me worse. They say the pain from the injection can last about 3 days. Bad timing to have the shot done the day before your anniversary. I was in bed all day yesterday (doctor's orders) and have been taking it very easy today. Hopefully, I will feel fine like red wine tomorrow. Keep your fingers crossed.
In the mean time, Dale has been taking excellent care of me. He is very sweet and I sure am happy to have him. He took his vows seriously. A man of his word, that Dale.

Bonus pics:
These were taken a week ago:

Cooper can tell when my neck hurts. He always crawls up and lays his head right on or around the area that hurts. He has done this since he was a little puppy. The pressure actually makes me feel better.

Charlie does not know how to do this. Instead, he just jumps on me and tries to lick my face off.

Oh, Charlie. We love you, but you have poor social skills.

Surprise!!!

2011-05-16T18:39:00.000-07:00

If you have never been part of the planning and execution of a surprise party, I suggest you do so. It's quite the rush!

The lovely blonde that I am nearly squishing to death is my life long friend, Miss Bee. She has recently earned her Master's degree and that's cause for a party. Her boyfriend put together a crack team of party planners to help him put together the surprise party. Here is "the team" at our first meeting:

I was in charge of the invitations, guest list, and distracting Miss Bee on the morning of her party.
Several e-mails, text messages, and one meeting later, it was time for the big Day. I took Bee out for coffee, and then to Waterloo Records, Lush, and Whole foods. We arrived at her house and she noticed all of the cars on the street. She said something like, "What's going on with all the cars?" I remained quiet. We pulled up to her house and she said "Why is their a balloon on my mailbox?" I stayed silent. Then, she saw her boyfriend waiting for her with the biggest smile on his face:

She walked up the path and saw these people:

And these people:

Here she is:

Here is the Team:

See the brunette standing in between Miss Bee and her boyfriend? Well, she was in charge of the decorations and let me tell you, she did one heck of a job!

Napkin rings with Miss Bee's face on them!

Candy with Miss Bee's face on the wrapper!

There were also lovely centerpieces and beautiful flowers.

Let's get to the cake:

Do you get the reference? If not, you were not a girl with a television in the 90's.

Friends help other friends with their tassel before a photo op.

A few more:

Her brother declared that Miss Bee was no longer "Miss Bee." No sir, she has a new name. One that came with her degree......

Congratulations, Bee. You did good.

The Memorial

2011-05-13T14:49:00.000-07:00

My first year at my current job, one of my students passed away. He was medically fragile to begin with and his body just finally gave out. It was very hard on everyone. I remembered crying and asking a veteran co-worker if this kind of thing happened all the time.I work with special needs students and many have disorders that cause various health problems. If it were to happen frequently, I don't know if I could handle it. She said it happens, but not very often. It was either my 2nd or 3rd year that a teacher's aide passed away. That was a total shock. She was young, healthy, and a new mother. She passed away in her sleep. I am still not sure what happened. I heard it might have been a heart defect. Our department pulled together and created a memorial for the two that had passed.
I knew about the bench, planters, and rocks (engraved with the names of the deceased) but I did not know about the stepping stones. I was walking up to the bench and something shiny caught my eye. I brushed away the leaves and dirt and found this:

There were many more....each very unique and special, created by our students.

My favorit part of the memorial is up in the tree:

Here is a closer look:

They are flowers made from 3 liter soda bottles. Beautiful!

Railroad Revival: This One's for the Band Geeks

2011-05-03T19:05:00.000-07:00

Dusty
The concert took place at 4th and Waller in East Austin. Do you want to know what is 4th and Waller? Nothing. Well, there is a big, old, dusty, empty lot next to some railroad tracks and that's it. They had to build a stage specifically for the event. Knowing that there was nothing but a big, old, dusty lot at 4th and Waller helped me select my footwear for the evening. Boots were perfect, but I would have been just fine in tennis shoes. You could tell if a gal had driven in from Dallas for the event by the fact that she was probably wearing her cutest strappy sandals. Sure, they looked cute when she put them on but were soon rendered useless once the dirt and rocks made their way into the space between the bottom of her foot and the sole of the shoe.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaanyway....let's look at some pics!
Remember, my Nikon SLR is being repaired so I had to rely on my Nikon point and shoot. Not bad, but nothing to write home about.

Mumford and Sons were all that you would want them to be and more. They are energetic, talented, on point, endearing, and genuine.

They did most of their songs off of Sigh No More and played some new material as well.

This is not the most flattering picture of myself but I wanted to post it anyway so I could show you what it looks like when I am really enjoying a show. I am smiling, singing along, and dancing. It was great to have Dale and Rachel by my side to enjoy the show right along with me.

A few black and whites:

The crowd:

A surprise:

Marcus Mumford brought The Austin High School Marching band to help out with The Cave (my favorite). That was amazing! The kids on stage were so happy!!!

For the grand finale, every member of all three bands came out on stage and performed This Train is Bound For Glory. Somebody had a garden gnome and raised it high,as he sat on another persons shoulders, for all to see:

I don't know why that made me so happy and filled with joy, but it did. Yes sir, it did.

All in all, nothing could ruin this concert experience. Not the heat, not the dust, not the rocks, not the port-o-potties (though I did not use one), not the expensive beer, and not even the Dallas gals in their strappy sandals.

Pssssst...I'm just messin' with ya, Dallas gals.

Railroad Revival: The Cloud and The Music

2011-04-28T19:39:00.000-07:00

"This April, Mumford & Sons, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, and Old Crow Medicine Show will embark on a tour unlike any in recent memory. Traveling exclusively in vintage railcars, the three bands will journey across the American Southwest over the course of a week. The aptly titled Railroad Revival Tour will feature the three bands playing concerts at six unique outdoor locations along the route, beginning April 21st in Oakland, California."-Tour Announcement, Posted on March 2, 2011 By Railroad Revival Tour-Here

The tickets for the Austin show sold out faster than any other show on the tour. We are talking like 10 minutes or so. Maybe less. All I know for sure is that I was one of the lucky ones......

The show was this past Wed and it was, as fellow concert attendee and friend Kim C. put it, "Hot, dirty and amazing!"

Old Crow Medicine Show played first. I really don't have a good picture of their performance as we were too far from the stage at that point. Don't worry, we moved up by the time the next band took the stage. OCMS were fantastic live! Dale and I discussed how much we would love to see them in a small venue. That would be too much fun.

Here we are waiting for Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros to take the stage. Soon, our good friends Rachel and Larry joined us. Rachel was dressed for the occasion in her cute engineer hat-

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros came out and started their set with 40 Day Dream. Here is a short clip of that + me, Rachel, Larry, Dale, and the crowd:

If I were in a band playing to thousands of people, I think I would take a picture just like this guy (Stewart Cole) did.

Alex Ebert is one of the most engaging front men I have ever seen. This guy has the charisma you were looking for! No, it's not under the bed with your missing sock and your flip flop.

Jade Castrinos has a voice that will make you want to cry, move, sing, pass out, paint, and make pancakes. All of that and she is sporting a great dress.

Oh, look! Marcus Mumford and Ben Lovett of Mumford and Sons came out to join the band! (They did the same thing when OCMS played.)

Do you want to know about the most beautiful thing that occurred that night? It was a moment that included this cloud + the music of Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros+ the vibe of the crowd.

This mutha was HUGE! At one point, Alex Ebert pointed to the enormous cloud and exclaimed "Holy Shit, Look at That!" followed by "thanks mom."

Now look at this short clip of the band and the music and the crowd and tell me it ain't beautiful:

Mumford and Sons up next....

Work Shenanigans

2011-04-21T19:58:00.000-07:00

As you can see by the lovely reminder posted on a colleague's white board, we only have 30 working days left of this school year! Woo-hoo!!!!
The countdown to freedom has begun. In celebration, I took a bunch of pictures of cool work things or me goofing around at work. Would you like to see a few? I will show you two today throw a few more at you here and there. You know....spread things out a bit.
(disclaimer, I work really hard. I often arrive to work at 6:30 so please don't think I goof off all day long. I only do so part of the day, gosh!)

Here we go:

This a small portion of a large mural. This section of the mural is located right outside of my office. The silhouettes are of actual students and staff members. I blend in well, no?

Here I am messing around in the audiology office:
Fake ears are fun!
The audiologist uses this ear to demonstrate how she makes ear molds. That pink stuff is what she squirts into your ear canal to capture the shape of your ear. When the pink stuff hardens, she pops them out of your ear and ships them off to a company that makes them into earmolds for hearing aids. If you don't need hearing aids, she will make you ear plugs! I work a a school for the Deaf, so the audiologist is an important employee.

p.s. yes, I did put my earring in that fake ear.
That is all.

3 Things

2011-04-17T12:34:00.000-07:00

1. You know I love me some beauty products. I also love samples of beauty products. I have often bid on sample packages from sephora or ulta on ebay. My friend Cristie recently told me about Birchbox and I jumped all over it. See, Birchbox is a service that sends you samples every month. You pay $10.00 month and they send you a handful of samples every month. Plus, if you decide that you want to purchase a full size product that was featured in that month's birchbox, you can do so at a discounted rate. I decided to give the service a try and I received my first Birchbox just the other day.

normally, the box is pink but they changed it up for April... I think it had something to do with going green.....

I love getting things in the mail (other than bills and crappy coupon packs that are filled with coupons for carpet cleaning and garage door repair).

Here are the items that were wrapped up in the pink tissue paper:

The box contained the following:
Juice Beauty, Green Apple Peel (tried it last night and liked it. The tingling (burning) sensation must mean it's working)

Liv GRN, Earth Eau de Parfum (smells nice)

Weleda, Wild Rose Smoothing Facial Lotion (good stuff)

Zoya nail polish in Jules (a pretty nude shade with shimmer)

Extre/Bloomin, Seed Paper (not sure about this one)

Ok, enough about skin care and what not. On to the next item!

2. We had to have the car serviced and the repair center gave us a volvo convertible as a loaner car. I drive a Volvo s80 Sedan, so this little convertible was a nice change.

I told Dale that it felt like we were on vacation.

3. Dale and I went to a hamburger place for lunch. Here is a little tip, never order a salad at a burger joint.

This is the type of salad you might want if you prefer Ranch dressing. Ranch eaters don't care what the salad tastes like because they can only taste the ranch dressing. Blech.

In Other News:
I think I am going to take a stained glass class this summer. Why not? I think I will be good at it.

Spectacles

2011-04-14T18:16:00.000-07:00

Bored? I suggest you go to warbyparker.com and try on glasses, virtually. Here is a picture of me virtually trying on the "Huxley" frames in Revolver Black:

What...not my best look?

Next, I suggest you take advantage of their "home try on" service. You pick 5 different frames and they send them to you to try on in the comfort of your own home. You get to keep them for 5 days and then send them back. They pay for postage both ways, so you have nothing to worry about! Would you like to see me in the 5 frames I chose to try on? Well all right then!

Starting with the worst pair first:

What in the hell? I don't look cool, I look like I took my gran'pappy's seizure meds.

Second pair: How about these?

Oh hellllllllllllllll nah!

Third pair: Maybe if I try to look a little sexy these frames will work....

Nope. No workie.

Fourth pair

Not so bad, but not so good.

Last pair

Hmm...I like these.

The best part of warby parker is that they only charge $95 for a pair of glasses (frames+prescription lenses). That is not a bad deal my friend. You can also buy a monocle, if that is your kind of thing.

Bonus pic:

I stab you!

SKIN

2011-04-10T11:08:00.001-07:00

I love skin products. SPF moisturizing lotions, toners, tonics, scrubs, masques, peels, exfoliators, serums, and refiners.
Love them all.

Here I am with my newest black peel masque (or mask, if you prefer). I like peels because I pretend like I am peeling off my own skin when I am removing them.

Here I am right after I removed the masque. Ahhh, so fresh and so clean!

You would think that, because I love skin products, that I would love going to the spa for a facial. Nah. I went for one a few weeks back and it was ok. I'll try it out again but so far, I like doing it myself.

Here I am crossing my eyes. Your welcome.

When I was in my early twenties, I hung out mostly with dudes. They let me give them little mini-facials and, in return, I would shave the back of their necks for them. Hey, when you don't have many girlfriends, you have to improvise. I learned that the peel masque was not the best thing to put on a guy that was sporting a 5 O'clock shadow. So remember, before applying a masque to your masculine friend, stubble is trouble.

That is all.

SXSW:Sunday-Night

2011-04-08T14:24:00.000-07:00

Ahhh, here we are at the last of the SXSW 2011 posts. Soon, I will be able to post about random things again like: my dog is fat, my other dog is thin, I saw a deer get hit by a car this morning, I am going to a rolfer for some rolfing, etc.

For now, let's discuss the last night of SXSW. Dale and I started off at Central Presbyterian church to catch Sharon Van Etten. I had heard her singing and playing guitar on the radio a few days before and her voice just about killed me. That was on the radio. In person, I damn near thought I was going to need medical attention. Her voice is like a hook that plunges into your gut and pulls out your small intestines. I had goose bumps during her entire performance. Loved her. In fact, she is now my favorite new (to me) artist. This is why I love SXSW......if you do it right, you will find new music to love.

Here is a video of Sharon performing at the IFC Crossroads house during SXSW 2011-

Niiiiiiiiiiice.

After SVE (that's Sharon Van Etton, duh) we went to Frank's for a frank:

If you are going to eat a hotdog, best go get one at Frank's.

Next up, Antones for Joe Ely and David Grissom. Joe Ely was born in Amarillo and was raised in my hometown, Lubbock. He has been at this music thing since before you were born. I recently found out that he toured with The Clash and even sang back up vocals on "Should I Stay or Should I go." He is a great musician, songwriter, and performer. You should check him out sometime. In fact, see him now while David Grissom is playing with him. David's guitar playing will spank your ass. IT WILL SPANK IT HARD!

Joe

David

Joe and David.

Here is a funny story about this show. We walked into Antone's and the place was packed. There was a line around the building. We pushed our way into the crowd and found a decent spot. I started looking around and noticed something strange. I turned to Dale and said, "man, there are a lot of bitches up in here. I wonder if Bob Schneider is playing later on." No offense bitches and Bob. It's just that Bitches love them some Bob Schneider. Simple fact, that's all. Anyway, Joe Ely comes out on stage and this girl next to me tells her friend, "oh! he is old!" At this point, I knew something funny was going on. Most of the crowd was compromised of women in their late 20's-early 20's. This is not the norm for a Joe Ely show.
So Joe Ely and the band do their thing and they do it well. Dale and I went home after that set. When I got home, I checked the SXSW schedule and found out who those chicks were waiting to see:

Hanson. Yup.....Hanson.
photo credit

This concludes the SXSW 2011 Blogs.

SXSW: Sunday-Day

2011-04-03T17:43:00.001-07:00

We started our Sunday by heading to east Austin for the Mess With Texas Fest. Deer Tick was playing and, well, we were excited to see them. We got there a little early and were able to catch most of The Growler's set. The Growler's are from Costa Mesa, California and they play gothic/Hawaiian/Surf music (according to their myspace page).
I was diggin' their gothic/hawaiian/surf sound and wanted to go take some pics of them producing said sound. I walked up to the stage, took out my camera, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaan.....nothing. Error message, actually. My shutter was not working. Say What?
That very morning, I pulled my camera bag off the bed and the camera fell out. I thought it was securely strapped inside of the bag but noooooooo. Not so. When it dropped, I turned it on and it seemed to be ok. I packed it in the bag and decided to not tell Dale. Well, flash forward to me trying to take pics of The Growlers only to be met with the terrifying error message that basically told me my fancy camera was now nothing but a fancy paperweight.

Now I had to tell Dale. I told him that something was wrong with the camera. I did not tell him I dropped it that morning and that was what was wrong. I thought he might be able to fix it and I would be off the hook.He examined it, could not fix it, and wondered why it was not working. That is when I had to tell him. Here is my video confession:

Awkward.
He was surprised that I was not completely forthcoming with him in the first place. I was just so dang embarrassed that it happened. He told me "this is why we can't have nice things." Soon, I will send the Nikon off for repair. Keep your fingers crossed.

Thankfully, soon after my confession, Deer Tick came on next and rocked the hell out of east Austin. We were able to forget about our troubles for about 40 minutes. After that, we went to the San Jose to catch White Denim, went to the Snack Bar for some quinoa, and then went home for some rest and air conditioning. It was hot, ya'll! We did not stay home for good. We had some night shows to attend. Next post will be the last SXSW 2011 post. It will also contain information regarding my favorite new (to me) artist found during the festival!

SXSW: Friday

2011-03-29T17:33:00.000-07:00

SXSW Friday started with Dale and I grabbing a bite at Elsi's on Burnet road. Elsi's serves Salvadorian food and buddy, it's scrumptious! Here is Dale enjoying the afternoon sunshine. The Weather was perfecto.

Here I am, enjoying a margarita (that's Dale's Pacifico):

I totally have a thing for polka dots right now.

After dinner, we made our way downtown and caught The Main Street Gospel from Columbus, OH.

These guys were tight like last years prom dress. Mmm-hmmm!

I had an entire line-up of bands I wanted to see, but Dale and I decided to ditch the plan and let destiny have a hand in who we saw. Sometimes, that is the best way to discover new music. This is who we saw:

Gentleman Jesse and his Men

I loved them. I saw a few more bands but did not like them so much. I don't want to mention their names here. It would not be the nice thing to do.

Oh, remember those margaritas I had at Elsi's?
Well....
I got drunk.

and we had to go home a little earlier than planned.

It's cool. We still have one more day to go!

In Other News:
TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY! Dale made me grilled lamb chops with Herbes De Provence, Demi-Glace, Mango Chutney, and roasted veggies featuring sweet potatoes, Brussel sprouts, and parsnips. For dessert- a chocolate espresso cake from my favorite bakers, Russel's. Mmmmmm! Some of the best food I have ever had in my life.
Chef Dale, indeed!

SXSW:Thursday-Night

2011-03-25T19:14:00.000-07:00

Thursday night brought us to the Lustre Pearl for an impressive line up. First up, Nive Nielsen from the dang ol' North Pole!

We only heard a few of their songs. Nive was very sweet, very gracious, very humble, and very talented.

Up next, Devotchka! My friend Mary recommended that I see Devotchka and I'm glad she did. Nick Urata has a terrific voice and each member of band plays more than one instrument. Amongst the instrument that were played during the set were a tuba, a theremin, a bouzouki, a trumpet, a violin, an accordion, and an upright bass. Those were only some of the instruments...not all. Do you know what a theremin is? Well I'm not going to tell you so just look it up.

You can see the theremin in the above pic. I used flashy text and a big, green arrow to point it out to you. You're welcome.

You can't go wrong with a tuba adorned with Christmas lights. No sir, you can't.

Wine is fine.

The only bad part about the Devotchka show was all of the d-bags in the audience. I mean it was like a frat party up in there. The dude in front of me was all over his girl, grabbing her butt like it handles. It was grossing me out. Plus, there was a lot of bad dancing going on (white kid shuffle..think Jam Band audience). In almost equal numbers as the frat crowd were the pseudo-hipsters. You know...the too cool for school crowd yet not ironic enough to be actual hipsters. Blech. I really wanted to stick around for the Cold War Kids, but the annoying crowd and the fact that the only bathrooms available were nasty port-a-potties had me running away from the Lustre Pearl just as soon as Devotchka hit the last note of their last song.

After making our escape from Lustre Pearl, we ran straight to Emo's for The Greenhornes. Yup. I liked them enough to see them twice in one day. We caught just a little bit of The Kills on the outside stage before going inside and watching a little bit of a band from Minnesota. I won't mention their names because I have nothing good to say about them and I don't want to be rude.

I have nothing bad to say about The Greenhornes because they killed it! Ka-boom! Pow! Bang! BOOM!

And that drumkit is pretty bad ass.

That dude is pretty bad ass.

That band is pretty bad ass.

I only got a few pictures of this show as I had to give the camera to Dale for safe keeping. Here's what happened- I was in the front row, enjoying the show, minding my own bid'ness when out of nowhere came a group of assholes shoving their way up to the front. It was a group of about 4 dudes and one chick. They were all dancing like they were on fire. If the gal were laying on the floor, I would have thought that she was having seizures. It was obnoxious and she continually ran into me. I promise these fools were from LA as they just reeked of that "I'm better than you" attitude. After the gal ran her elbow/arm/head/knee into me a few times, I handed Dale the camera and told him to put it away. I then prepared myself for a fight. I figured that I would probably have to punch the gal. No problem. I was worried that one of the guys she was with would launch a counter attack and that had me a little worried. I was so mad that I really did not care. I figured Dale would come to my rescue.

I was just waiting for my temper to spike....

And then, it happened.

There was a really nice lady standing next to me. She was trying to take a picture of the band when the LA chick went into another flailing fit and almost smacked the nice lady's iphone from her hand. I say almost because I took my right arm and flung that LA bitch about three feet away from the scene. I prepared myself for her retaliation but she just bounced back and continued to dance!

At this moment, The Greenhornes were really taking everybody to school and I was able to focus on the music and ignore the LA crew.

That's the end of Thursday! I managed to not get punched in the face yet the Greenhornes managed to kick my ass!

*Disclaimer- I don't want you to think that I hate dancing. I don't. I love dancing. I dance every day! I dance at concerts! I just don't make a fool out of myself, dancing like somebody's shootin' bullets at my feet. I also don't assault anybody with my dance moves. I stay in my space. It's not a mosh pitt...keep your elbows to yourself or you are going to get my elbow in your rib. It's ok if you want to dance but you don't have rhythm. Really, it is. I might laugh at you but who cares? Not you...you know you can't dance.

SXSW:Thursday-day

2011-03-24T20:03:00.001-07:00

Our SXSW Thursday started with some day shows at Waterloo Records. I would show you what I was wearing, but we forgot to take a picture. I will tell you that my outfit reminded Dale of Rango's coloring. You know who Rango is, right? Funny movie.

That's Rango.

The first band was The Naked & Famous from New Zealand:

This gang did not play the type of music I typically listen to, but I enjoyed them. The gal singing had a really clear voice and would put her palm up and push it out towards the audience like she was giving invisible high fives. I dug it.

Up next were The Greenhornes! I have been wanting to see these dudes for quite some time.

Each member of the band was excellent. Truly excellent.

But the drummer was like no other, my brother. I mean this guy was goooooooooooo-pause for a breath-ooooooooood!

You can read a MUCH better review of The Greenhornes over at Dante's Blog Dante (from Hacienda) is actually touring with The Greenhornes so he gets to hear them night after night. Therefore, his review is quite accurate.

While we were watching The Greenhornes, I saw Jack White (of The White Stripes, duh) exit this black and yellow trailer and walk over to the side stage to check out some Greenhorn action. I guess that should not have been a big surprise seeing how the drummer and bass player (Patrick Keeler and Jack Lawrence) were both in The Raconteurs with Jack White. Jack Lawrence is also in The Dead Weather with White. Keeler and Lawrence also played on The Album Jack White produced for Loretta Lynn -Van Lear Rose. I love that album.

Here's Jack!

After The Greenhornes, Dale and I popped into 24 diner for some brunch. I ate the best waffles of my life! We sat next to a dude that chatted us up and made us laugh. He left before we did and when it was time to pay our bill we found out that he paid it for us. NICE!
We left the waitress a fat tip and went back home to rest and prepare for the night shows. I'll have those pictures and accompanying stories for ya in the next post.

SXSW: Wednesday

2011-03-21T08:38:00.000-07:00

Wednesday night kicked off SXSW 2011. Dale and I did not make it downtown until that evening. A girl has to get ready for such events, ya know?

Here is what I wore:

Can't go wrong with a black dress and boots. It's impossible.

We saw a few bands from South Korea. The first one (Galaxy Express) was kind of fun - high energy. The second one (I won't tell you the name) seriously made me nauseous. They were some kind of electronic/experimental band that made a bunch of noise. Here is how they describe their sound "Distilled hallucinogenic spirits stirred into a soothing, shoegazing blend of ambient, alternative rock."
It was gross.

Next, watched a band from the Netherlands take more time setting up than actually playing. Longest. Soundcheck. Ever.

Finally, we saw Hacienda do their thing:

They did a great job. Had the crowd dancing and singing along.

Next thing I knew, we were on the move and headed to BD Riley's to see Amplified Heat.

First, a quick pint.

Hmm...I can't find my picture of the bass player. What the what?

Amplified Heat is an Austin band that I have been meaning to check out for some time.

Let me tell you, I was glad to have my customized musician's earplugs with me because those dudes are loud as hell!

I realize that it's kind of gross that I am showing you my earplug. Sorry about that. I love them. They are clear with gold glitter. They have a filter that allows me to hear the band at a safer level. Much better than those neon earplugs you buy at the Walgreens.

Beard Contest Part 10: The Winners!

2011-03-16T09:00:00.001-07:00

The three finalists for Best Groomed were:

These dudes

This dude took first in this category:

Burke T. Kenny (Olympia, WA)

Ladies finalists:

good jaerrrrb!

This chick and her dreds took first:

Aime Hammons (Austin, TX)

This chick took the prize of a movie star kiss from one of the judges

totally unexpected

Freestyle finalists:

"hey man, nice pipe. Can I have some?"

Ahhhhhhhh yeah, that's the good shit.

Don't leave this dude out of the puff-puff action!

The man in pink wins it!

Alex LaRoche (Austin, TX)

Fiercest Chops Finalists:

Mr. Pink pants took first-
Kris Elkinton (Kong) (Austin, TX)

Sweetest "Stache

Mr. Moustache Wax, FTW!

Taylor Welden (Austin, TX)

Gnarliest Beard Finalists:

Two red beards and a grey.

WINNING!

Aarne Bielefeldt (Willits, CA)

Freestyle winner took a stage dive right after the Gnarliest Beard winner was announced:

Good stuff.

His beard is so frothy because he just drank beer from his trophy.

Weeeeeeeeeeeeee are the champions my friend!

Hug it out:

I guarantee that Misprint Magazine/Mohawk's Beard and Moustache competition had more hugs that any other beard and moustache competition....ever. That's Austin for ya.

More Hugs

Preparing to stage dive..er...stage sit and lay down. Is it lay or lie down? I never could get that straight.

VICTORY!

Thanks for hanging in there through ALL 10 POSTS on this subject matter.

We done, son!

Beard Contest Part 9: Gnarliest Chops

2011-03-14T08:28:00.000-07:00

I see a light at the end of the tunnel, folks. After this post, there will be one more post where I show you the winners. It might be a long last post, but I vow to only do one more beard post after this one. THAT'S IT DAMN IT!

And now I bring you the Gnarliest Beard contestants....or at least the pics of my favorites.
First up, group shot:

Well now this is a motley crew if I have ever seen one. Check out Santa over on the left.

This feller has a little bit of a Shooter Jennings thing going on....with a longer beard:

Nice shades

He goes in for the "Beard Kiss"- They say they are just touching beards. Yeah, that's where it begins.

I like it.

The Brawny Man/Lumberjack shows us what he is working with:

Hairy Logger.

This guy has a pretty impressive beard:

HE get's a kiss from the Beard Groomer Girl who also happens to be his girlfriend.

This guy has a good beard and a funny shirt:

"More people have read this shirt than your blog." He's probably right.

This guy:

Was a nice person.

Another group shot:

Now we're talkin'

Red beards are all the rage this season:

Fire crotch. (yes, that was the easy joke and yes, I used it. I'm tired!)

This young man is the world beard champion or something.
Seriously.

He fluffs his beard like a pro.

His beard earns points for length, width, and vibrancy of color.

Finally, we have Pee-Paw Lederhosen:

Danny Called him "Old Man Winter"

He was my favorite because of his outfit.

That wraps up Gnarliest Beard.

YES!!!!

Next, the finale. I'll post the winners and be done with this mess. Damn you Misprint Magazine for hosting such a cool event! It was hard to choose which photos to post because every beard was good!

In other news:
I'm on spring break!

SXSW Music starts on Wednesday!

Some old guy at Starbucks just told his friends to start taking Potassium iodide pills to prepare for the forthcoming nuclear waste problem that will be brought over to us in the wind from Japan. He said, "Hell, I already took 2 this morning!" Right after that, his old ass friend sneezed on me. Three times. Does he have a pill for that?

That is all.

Beard Contest Part 8: Moustache

2011-03-10T11:03:00.000-08:00

BLAST! I forgot about the moustache portion of the competition. I thought I was almost done with this series but, alas, I was wrong. Let's get this thing going:

a tiny comb for your moustache

This guy was my favorite:

Check out the curly action!

More curls

nice bow tie.

This guy had the crazy eye:

Whats up with this guy?

Take a closer look:

Smallest. Moustache. Ever.

Mario!

Hope you save the princess, fella.

This guy invested in some moustache wax.

That's for sure.

The host asked this guy if he wanted to touch moustaches. The guy reluctantly agreed and went in for the touch. It was not a kiss.....or was it? Why did he have to close his eyes just to touch moustaches?

Kissin' Kissin', that's what I've been missin'.

Hi!

How are you?

Not sure what is going on here:

Better get that thing under control.

Look who fancy:

He is better than you...in his mind.

So the guy dressed like a golfer decided it would be a good idea to use his golf club to knock a few golf balls into the audience. Yes, I'm serious.

I saw it about to happen and I ducked as low as I could. When I came back up, the host was freaking out at what the golfer just did. Then, this other dude was making his way up to the stage. I looked at him and saw the golf-ball-sized dent in his head. No lie. He crashed the stage and confronted the golfer. I thought a fight would break out, but they managed to keep the peace. The golfer ended up getting kicked out of the competition....possibly the bar.

Ok, Next post is gnarliest beard.

Beard Contest Part 7: Ladies

2011-03-08T17:50:00.000-08:00

It's now time to share the photos from the part of the Beard and Moustache that featured the ladies!

This gal was the first contestant on the price is right! Um, scratch that. Sorry. Speaking of "scratch that" how in the heck do I create a strike through on this sucker? I see it done on other blogs so I know it is possible. Somebody google it for me. I am feeling a bit lazy.

Meet "SARAHFUCKIN'BLUE!"

Yes, that is how she introduced herself. Later on when her boyfriend was on stage being judged on his facial hair, he gave a shout out and said "I came down here from Portland with my girlfriend SARAHFUCKIN'BLUE!

And then there was this lady:

I thought it was clever.

This one was my personal favorite:

She made that hat and beard. Nice.

Another cool beard:

flashin' a little belly never hurt nobody.

Oh, wow! Look at this one:

Would you believe me if I told you that her beard was made from actual human hair? Well you better, because those are her dreadlocks that she had saved after she sheared them from her head. Yes...I'm serious. Looks like they came in handy. When I saw them, all I could think was "I bet they stink." Sorry, but that is what I thought. I mean no harm.

This chick had a pretty cool look:

Who is that guy totally checking out her ass?

Well, it's this guy:

Still checking out her ass.

Here is a picture of his complete outfit:

Looks a bit like Joan Cusack.

And here he is allowing the host to motorboat his non-existant cleavage.

Up next- Gnarliest Beard. After that, I will post the winners. Damn, this is the longest series ever. I can't wait for it to be over.

Beard Contest Part 6: Billy

2011-03-06T14:49:00.001-08:00

Oh my gosh! I totally forgot about the special guest judge that showed up about halfway through the competition!

Ladies and germs, I give you...................

Billy Gibbons!

ZZ Top Ya'll!

The first thing I noticed about Billy was that he is Wee.

As a guitarist, he is a giant. As a person, he is wee.

The second thing I noticed was his teeth and the almost blinding shade of white they are:

Hollywood style

The third thing I noticed about him was his flair. He has the hat, the strange eyes on his jacket, the polkadot scarf, the sunglasses, and the collection of keys and what-nots that he wears around his neck.

Dude hung out, onstage, for the rest of the night.

Pretty cool, Billy.

They gave him a trophy for being a bad ass or something....I forget exactly what it was for.

Bonus Photo:

You can see me in the corner with my camera and crazy hat, just clickin' away.

Credit
I promise...the ladies will be the next post. Maybe. Haha!

Beard Contest Part 5: Freestyle

2011-03-03T17:08:00.000-08:00

I lied. I'm only going to post the freestyle pics right now. Pictures from the Ladies competition will be featured in the next blog. Are we still friends? Good. You can buy me lunch.

Here we go:

Curly McCurlerson

Another curly contender

This guy came out on stage and performed a series of poses. The host didn't even interview him as the poses spoke loudly enough. Speaking of loud, get a load of that shirt.

My favorite freestyle candidate:

Mr. Penguin

Ugh...and then there was this guy:

He wore very VERY short jean shorts with no underwear.

Here, look for yourself

I know he did not have underwear on because he hiked his leg up on the monitor directly in front of me. I had to turn away. I am still having nightmares about what I saw that night.

There were some more contestants but I cut it down to dudes you see above.

Here are some bonus pics of the DJ

As a dude

As a gal.

Do guys think that women go around with bows in their hair? Why else would he put one in his? He is wearing enough make-up to keep Sephora in the black, so we know he is not trying to look like a little girl....yet he chooses the kiddie bow as an accessory. Interesting.

In other news:
There is no other news.

Beard Contest Part 4: Best Groomed Beard

2011-02-26T12:44:00.000-08:00

It's now time for my buddy Danny's part of the competition. There he is, taking his place on stage amongst his bearded brethren. His bearded brothers. His bearded bros. The bearded bastards.

During his interview, the host asked Danny if he came from Lubbock specifically for the contest. Danny said that he came to Austin to see his good friends, Dale and Sarah. While I loved the shout out, I think the judges wanted him to say that he came down specifically for the contest. They eat that shit up.

He also got to show off his chest hairs. I say "hairs" because he only has a handful....enough to count, really.

Here are some of the other "Best Groomed" contestants:

Love his pose. After this pose, he slapped the host (at the host's request).

Many of the contestants dressed in some type of costume. We already have some Ideas for Danny's attire next year. That is, if they have the contest next year. THey might just go out on top and not have another one. I'll tell you more about that in a later post.

This guy had a tight beard but he scared me. He looks like one of those guys that, while in a fight, would rip an antenna off of your ford F150 and whip you with it.

Three for the price of one plus a dollar all for the beardos stand up and holler!

This outfit totally makes sense.

This guy was a sniper in the Marines

and now, he is some sort of cop. (He gets two pics because I thought he was cute)

This fella looks like he straightened his beard. Also, he put some sort of tinsel up in there. It reminds me of that one chick from The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Don't act like you don't know what I am talking about (unless you are Bee who does not have cable and probably really doesn't know what I am talking about).

Finally, this dude takes the stage

Not sure why he was in the Best Groomed category. He really belonged in Gnarliest beard, don't you think?

We ain't done yet! If you can take it, I have more contestants to show you. Up next, free style and Ladies combined.

Beard Contest Part 3: Fiercest Chops

2011-02-25T15:00:00.000-08:00

Before we get into pictures of the fiercest chops, allow me to introduce you to the judges:

From Left to RightLLaurie Gallardo (KUT FM Austin), Allen Demling (Austin Facial Hair Club/future city councilman),Houshang Ghaharie (Emo's/Mohawk, Bryan Nelson (Austin Facial Hair Club/Australian Cattle God Records)

Here is a little tidbit for ya- Dale works with Allen...Judge #2. Allen also happens to be another big Hacienda fan. Whoop!

Another tidbit- Houshang is the best bartender in Austin. If you have ever been to Emo's you have probably seen him in all of his glory. Dude is all about business when he is behind the bar. You will get served.

Ok, here we go:
The first contestant to step onto the stage-

Nice socks.

This guy is who your parents warned you about:

don't take candy from him nor should you climb into his van.

His name is Kong

I did not make that up.

Those are some serious chops!

Gotta bust out the tape measure

Oooooh, fancy photo

Let's wrap it up with one of my favorite things...a man slap

Backhand style, all up in it.

Best groomed is next. I'm going to have to only show you a select few pics as just about every dude in Austin (and one dude from Lubbock) entered this category.