Nothing new

Really don't have anything to say. So why say it, you ask? I dunno.

Is this how the other half live?

Hubby and I went to La Strada in the Montrose area Sunday to celebrate one of my friend's acceptance into nursing anethesia school. By the time we found a place to park and then found their table, the bellinis and mimosas were flowing. The whole place was jumping with a DJ and partying everywhere. I know that I'm old and boring and mom of two now, so it really surprised me that a Sunday brunch felt exactly like a Saturday night club experience. Not that there's anything wrong with that....

Happy Halloween!

This morning, I decided to wear my black skirt and black wool jacket as it was a little chilly outside. Contemplated which shirt to wear under the jacket, I spotted an orange shirt. Thinking that I hadn't worn it in awhile, I decided to go orange. Quickly checked the mirror. Not too bad- off I go.

When I finally arrived in my office this morning, I happened to glance down and then it hit me- WHAM- I'm wearing bright orange and black. Together. I wondered how long it would take before the comments started. About an hour.....

Hey Courtney! Where's your broom?

Woah! Put a giant pumpkin on your head and you're set!

Are we celebrating half-Halloween today?

Har. Har. Har.

Negotiating practice

I love to practice my negotiating skills and use every opportunity that comes my way. Being on the "no call list" I rarely get a telemarketer calls- only the people quickly stating- "Don't worry! I am not trying to sell you anything. I work for a charitable organization...."

One I received tonight was about the lack of family movies being produced in Hollywood. Hooray- I got a live one!

Him :Are you the mother or grandmother of a child under the age of 16?
Me: Yes
Him: Many people today are concerned about the images our children are seeing on television and movies.
Me: I carefully monitor what my children watch. I believe that is a parent's job.
Him: Yes. Wouldn't it be nice if Hollywood was more concerned about your family and produced quality films for families?
Me: I believe in a free market.
Him: Um, I am looking for a certain group of people, thank you very much for your time.

Ah, man! That's no fun......


In all seriousness, we took the kids to see Curious George this weekend. I did not expect to enjoy the movie, but it was cute and thoughtful. And when my children do come across images or ideas that I do not approve of, instead of getting pissed off at the world for doing this to my child, I use it as a learning tool and another opportunity to reinforce and discuss our family's values.

Winning the password war

Instead of trying to remember or even write down the password to a particular application that I use at work approximately once a month, I call our tech support to reset my password. That'll teach 'em.

Life on the bench

It's been 10 years since I've been on the bench, but I haven't forgotten what is involved. You are no longer working on a project and charging to a client - the company is footing your bill. And the company wants some benefit for your time. Only they really don't need you, so the department dreams up crazy tasks to fill your day.

But, alas, I have moved up in the world! Now I am directing two new hires on said crazy tasks. And just what does this exciting, brave new world offer these eager new-hires? Why making copies of course!

Blah

That sums up my feeling for the day. Not sure if it's due to the dreary, cold weather that kept us inside all weekend, the fact that I didn't accomplish one quarter of what I had planned for the weekend, or the fact that I am now between projects at work and am "on the bench".

I just feel blah.

Is this wrong?

As I was dropping off the boy at the extended day program at his school at 7:15 this morning, I saw two sets of parents dropping their kids off in the parking lot. The school doesn't open until 7:30, so I'm not sure what these kids do in the interim, but it gave me a sick feeling. Elementary school kids, unsupervised, running around outside the elementary school.

I happened to be behind one of the parents and he pulled up at the same day care that I was driving my daughter to and dropped off his daughter. I was fairly far behind him though because he was driving 90 miles an hour between the schools.

And THEN I saw another women pulling into the parking lot to drop off her young son, only her son was sitting in the front seat and not in a car seat.

Am I too overprotective? Or do these people just not care about the welfare of their children??? I try not to judge other's actions, but I respond differently if it involves children.

I'm not sure I want to know the answer to this

Is Snapple tea supposed to have stuff floating around in it?

Frustration

It seems that with every version of Microsoft Word, the formatting becomes more and more difficult to understand and control. I can only attribute it to one of three things:

a) The developers are trying to automate the software in such a manner that it tries to anticipate your next move. And 9 times out of 10 it's wrong.

b) Additional features are hurting rather than helping.

c) I'm getting old and senile. I remember when we had write everything by hand! With pencil! And we didn't have those stinking pencil sharpeners. We had to sharpen them with our teeth!

Interesting Read

Do Bush followers have a political ideology?

While I tend to agree with some of the points made, I do think it's all a bit exaggerated. Although this was not the point of the article, what irritates me more than anything is the name calling and the mud slinging. As written by one of the commentors:

It's true: political labels are too often used as weapons rather than as descriptors with reliable meaning. "Liberal" and "conservative" have become code words for enemies and friends.

Honestly, I belong to neither side. I want the government to just stay the hell out of my life, thank you very much. I especially do not want "Big Brother" getting into my personal life which pushes me more into the liberal arena. And the Republicans have only increased the size of our government since gaining control. I do find it terrifying the numbers of Americans who continue to support the president without question or any analytical thought.

Thanks to Mister Crunchy for the link.

In honor of V-day

Your Candy Heart Says "Get Real"

You're a bit of a cynic when it comes to love.You don't lose your head, and hardly anyone penetrates your heart. Your ideal Valentine's Day date: is all about the person you're seeing (with no mentions of v-day!) Your flirting style: honest and even slightly sarcastic What turns you off: romantic expectations and "greeting card" holidays Why you're hot: you don't just play hard to get - you are hard to get

What Does Your Candy Heart Say?

*Lifted from Journey of the Heart

Pro Child. Pro Family. Pro Choice.

Bumper sticker seen on a car in the parking lot at my office. I like that.

This is cool

Click here to pick out the words you feel best describe me. It will be interesting to find out if how I perceive myself is in any way similar to how others perceive me.

*Thanks to Spin the Moon for the link.

Fear Factor Dinner

We have one rule in our house concerning dinner time. Whatever you are served, you will try it. That doesn't mean you will have to finish it, but one bite is mandatory. Last night, we had cake left over from friends visiting this weekend. The girl happily ate her dinner and was served a piece of cake, but the boy would only eat salad, not the tuna noodle casserole. Getting him to even take a bite of the casserole was excruciating. Just one bite- NO! IT'S NASTY! How do you know if you haven't tried it? No cake then.

Finally, he scrunches up his fast, holds his nose and takes a bite. Then almost spits it out. We start cheering him on- you can do it! Swallow! It's just like Fear Factor! Pretend you're eating worms!

I am starting to get a complex about my cooking.

How sweet

Out of the blue last evening, my daughter says "You're my best friend Mommy. " She then turns to her dad and says "You're my best friend, too, Daddy."

Just makes my heart melt.

Bathroom etiquette

There are three stalls and three sinks in a bathroom. The middle stall is occupied by person A. Person B enters the bathroom and chooses the closest stall. Now person A is heading to the sink.
Do they:

a) pick sink closest to the exit
b) pick the corresponding sink to the stall which they used
c) none of the above, who needs to wash their hands anyways

Is it just me that thinks middle stall = middle sink? And why does this bother me?

Don't even get me started on people who don't wash their hands.

How does this work?

My husband and I met on the high school swim team. We've both grew up swimming and were on our neighborhood swim teams since we were both 6. It is only natural I assume that both of our kids are fish. They LOVE the water.

However, the fact that both of us understand the mechanics of swimming and that we had each earned extra money in the summers by teaching kids how to swim, we could not teach our own. They simply would not follow our instructions. So, we signed them up and the Boot Camp of all swim schools, the Houston Swim Club.

The girl was just barely two when we started her and within a month, she graduated out of the parent/swim class and swam in the classes reserved for those 3+ (which scared the crap out of us).

This summer, I'd like the boy to have the opportunity to swim on the swim team for our city. Here's the part that I can't figure out how to overcome- the practice is from 4 - 4:30 Monday through Friday until school gets out and then it is 9 - 9:45 every weekday morning. Hello? Ever heard of two working parents? My work hours are 7:15 to 5. Hubby's are all over the map, but with his move to Continental, I don't expect him to be much help at all.

A day in the life

I can't figure out why I am tired all the time.....

5:30 am - alarm goes off, press snooze
5:37 am - alarm goes off, press snooze
5:44 am - alarm goes off, think about getting out of bed, press snooze
5:51 am - drag myself out of bed & make coffee
5:55 am - empty dishwasher, run dryer again, pack lunch, fix breakfast, check email
6:22 am - get dressed, put on makeup
6:27 am - eat breakfast
6:31 am - beg kids to wake up
6:32 am to 7:08 am - get kids up, feed them breakfast, dressed, and in the car
7:25 am - drop off son at elementary school
7:35 am - drop off daughter at preschool
7:42 am - sneak into work, half an hour late
7:43 am to 11:14 am - work, put out fires
11:15 am to 12 pm - jog and shower
12:01 pm to 12:05 pm - eat lunch
12:05 pm to 5:10 pm - work, put out fires, sit through meetings
5:15 pm - pick up daughter
5:21 pm - pick up son
5:47 pm - 6:45 pm - prepare dinner, begin work brought home, feed family, clean up dishes, start a load of laundry
6:45 pm - 7:45 pm - bathe kids, talk to kids, read books, brush teeth, move laundry from washer to dryer
7:45 pm - 8:15 pm - fight with kids to go to bed
8:16 pm - 9:40 pm - finish work
9:41 pm - watch one recorded show on TIVO and try to unwind while working on business stuff- accounting, filing, taxes, etc
10:22 pm - fall asleep on couch
10:59 pm - move to bedroom, now wide awake
11:25 pm - finally fall asleep again

The shoes

Last evening, as I kissed my sleeping angel good night, I noticed a line of shoes against the wall. Thinking that was strange, I asked hubby what was going on with the boy's shoes. He begins with "well, he is your son." Apparently, he had lined up his shoes with labels to identify the purpose of the shoe. A baseball was set next to his cleats. An A&M logo next to his new Aggie flip-flops. A star wars toy next to his star war logo shoes. Nothing was set next to his every day shoes, because, well they're just every day shoes.

Creative problem solving

The party Saturday evening was nice. Much to my surprise, the huge ballroom was packed and I was not expected to be a seat filler. I did have my own version of hell Saturday morning when I spent two hours at the mall. I first looked for a new dress. The selection was either old lady or hoochy mama, so I decided to look for a shrug to go over a sleeveless dress that I already owned. Seemed like a simple task. I finally found two that might work, so I bought both and then attempted to find comfortable, dressy, evening shoes. I felt like I was on Mission Impossible. Again, the selection was either old lady or hoochy mama or just downright painful looking. I finally found a pair that didn't have a point at the toes sharp enough to spear a fish. They were inches higher than anything I'd ever worn before, but feeling brave, or more likely desperate, I bought them anyways.

When I tried on the shoes, I did not have on hose. When I wore the shoes, I had hose on. First stop at my folks to drop off the kiddos and I realized my heel was slipping out of the back of the shoe and I couldn't walk. Attempt #1- inserted moleskin in the heel of the shoe, drove to party. The walk from the car to the hotel, I quickly realized attempt #1 was a failure. I slid my way into the hotel, hanging from my husband's arm, while trying to come up with a backup plan. Ah ha! I can stuff a bunch of toilet paper inside my hose at the back of my heel. Attempt #2 success! Unless you count the fact that the toilet paper kept riding up my ankle and it was white and my hose and shoes were black.

I think there's a good reason why I never dress up.

Two hands butter!

In the middle of the usual dinner time mayhem, the boy picks up his cup of chocolate milk and proceeds to drop it and spill it everywhere. Nothing too out of the ordinary until his little 2 year old sister starts reprimanding him-

Two hands butter! Two hands!!

Neither hubby nor I can control our laughter which infuriates the boy. He retorts- if this is so funny, you clean up the rest!

My day off

Today is my off-Friday. In theory, we get every other Friday off. In reality, I very rarely see a day entirely to myself. This morning I am catching up on some work, but the good news is that I am doing it from home, in my pajamas. Yes, I know that it is 11:30. So what?

I am planning on going for a quick jog, shower, eat lunch and then begin one of my favorite activities in the world. No, not that. I am going to purge the closests. Yes, I do know that I am sick. Hey, I'm answering a fictitious person's questions right now.

I love getting rid of stuff. Seeing everything nice and organized and uncluttered and the bags and bags of stuff sitting by the back door, waiting for a better life. Now if I could only keep it from entering my house, life would be perfect.

Service award party

I was invited to a service award party for work. I heard that it was originally for people with 20+ years with the company. Not enough responded, so the requirement was dropped to 15+ years. Then 10+ and finally they could fill a room. I started polling coworkers to see if they were going. "To what?" was the reply. And then, "I didn't get invited". Strange-they've been here 14 years. I found out in someone's bizarre logic, anyone who met 5 or 10 years of service in 2005 was invited. Why they didn't drop the requirement to just 10+ years is beyond me. But hey, I'm not proud- free meal, free booze, I'm all in.

Then I started thinking -dangerous when I do that- maybe the 5 & 10 year people are seat fillers. If one the of old guys has to go pee during the presentation, do we have to jump up and run to his seat? Are they filming it for the stock holders? Is this just some big scam to show what a wonderful company we work for? Am I going to be on TV? A star? Watch for me.

Eastern medicine

After coming to the conclusion that western medicine is nothing but a bunch of trial and error involving drugs, I started researching the centuries old methods of healing. Ok, I'm stretching the truth. I had a major sinus attack and after prescription decongestants, antibiotics, and 3 days straight in bed, my mom brought over this strange contraption called a neti pot. Desperate, I was willing to try anything, even pouring salt water up one nostril to come out the other. Within a day, I was back to my normal life.

I must admit that now I'm a neti pot junky. I do it every day. And since I've begun, I have not had one cold even though the little germ monsters and the man of the house had colds. I even stopped taking my allergy pill every day. I take the neti pot with me when I travel as well. I can't imagine what the cleaning people must have thought when they saw this sitting on the sink.

Fantasy

I have a fantasy. Maybe it is a fantasy shared by many city slickers. I want out of the rat race. I want out of the "keeping up with the Jones" mentality. I crave freedom. I crave wide open spaces. I want to eat vegetables grown outside my back door. I want to eat fruit that I pick from a tree. I want to spend quality time with my children and to have the ability to tell them "go- run- play- be free!" I want a simpler life.

Warning- rant ahead

Everything and everyone is getting on my nerves today. I know it is stress related, but maybe this rant will help.

- The guy on the other side of my cube hacks and coughs all day long. When he's not sounding like a lung is coming up, he's yelling into his telephone.

- My new project sucks. I don't know what I am supposed to be doing and the client who I need to speak with has been out of the office for the two weeks I've been here.

- When I woke up this morning, I thought today was Thursday. Which would be a good thing because this Friday is not a working day (although I'll still be working from home) so I thought it was my last 5:30 am wakeup call for the week. Then I realized it was only Wednesday.

- I am trying to get back to my lunchtime running schedule and one of the three projects I am working on (another irritation there) keeps scheduling a meeting for right in the middle of my lunch hour.

- The space where my cube is located is behind locked doors since I'm working on "top secret proprietary technology" (whatever) and when someone goes in or out, the door squeaks for about 10 seconds as it slowly closes and then slams shut. And it's right next to my cube.

- Just the fact that I work in a cube!

I think I'm done. For now. Check back later- I am sure something else exciting will irritate me today :)