Friday, July 29, 2005

"it's daddy, you shithead! where's my bourbon?"

- frank booth, blue velvet

i was reminded of this when i got a call from my dad last nite... a little bit after 10:00. dad just flew in last nite and apparently still on "chicago law" when he got here.

dad: where's an open liquor store?

me: uh...in chicago.

dad: whaaaat? (giggling)

me: you're in texas. all liquor stores close at 9:00 here. the only place you're gonna get a drink is in a bar.

dad: maaaann, you can get liquor until 12:00 in chicago. (laughing the whole time)

did i not just tell the man he's not in chicago anymore? i told him i had a full bottle of crown at my place and he was welcome to it. apparently, he wasn't that thirsty.
____________________________________________________

dad's down for his 40th class reunion! damn, he's old *kidding*. he and the stepmonster flew down for the reunion, but they're going to my sister's today so we can hang out for a while. i haven't seen him for a few months. last time he was here he took me and the siblings out to dinner and the next week my brother went psycho on me. let's see what happens this time. Wild & Crazy

Thursday, July 28, 2005

don't stop believin'

last nite, my "sistah" called. she got me and my sister two tickets to see JOURNEY! now, i really wanna be excited about this but i'm finding it hard. i wanna hear the JOURNEY of yesteryear. the JOURNEY i fell in love with in junior high. the JOURNEY my sister turned me onto with ESCAPE. the one that "just a small town girl, livin' in a lonely world" really appreciated.

it scares me to think we'll go and they'll play all their new stuff. who cares about their new stuff. i mean, really. do they really think they have new fans without STEVE PERRY??? mind you, i was a jonathan cain fan myself. looking at him now, i'm not sure why. sure, he's older now, but still. i think it was just because i was really into playing keyboard at the time and maybe i thot i would someday be in a band, playing keyboard. please, i was barely able to whip out "colour my world" by chicago....and that was only five or six keys!

the show is september 23rd. i'll be back with a review then.

Tuesday, July 26, 2005

my new laptop is here! my new laptop is here!

i'm somebody now!
"you may admire me"

does that mean he's MORE than famous


el guapo

my buddy k-pooop got "recognized" in the local paper:
+++The Steakhouse at the San Luis took AAA honors with its Four, count'em Four Diamond Award for the third year running. Completely objective top discerning travel editors scour the country and rank chosen selections. Kudos to Chef Lee Clements, Eddie Ghazal and their dazzling staff who constantly endeavor to keep this Gulf Coast jewel at the top of the list of restaurants in the region, while Josh Kane and the infamous Kevin Arndt whip up guests' favorite libations. Managing director Paul Schultz sez the honor is hard-earned and they are proud to have such a destination restaurant as part of the resort. The Steakhouse provides impeccable service, featuring attentive staff like Houston Fowlkes, voted best server in 2005 by the readers of The Galveston County Daily News.

Monday, July 25, 2005

weekend update\recap

friday - handyman DID make it early enough so i took him out for sushi. YUM! Sushi after sushi, we met lil bit and nara out for a beer. i wanted to get home and finish cleaning. we were up until 1:00 in the morning, at which time, my neighbor called to see "what we were doing". apparently, he got bored with his current company and wanted to come hang out with us. handyman and i took showers, neighbor came up for pina colada and we made it out in time for last call.
saturday morning- got up EARLY. earlier than i would ever want to get up on a saturday. we had appts to look at two homes. first home: somewhat of a back yard but the inside was ick. second home: has a pool and enough yard leftover. i didn't like the inside. handyman did. it just felt a little too confined to me. plus, the kitchen was like a dungeon at the very back of the house all blocked away from everything else.
we saw a few others in the neighborhood. our realtor/friend called the numbers on those and we were able to look at them. 1st lookie: weird add-on to master bedroom. they blocked the view of outside and made it into a game room. also, the guy poured a great big slab-o-concrete right in the middle of the frikkin yard. why, you ask? get this... for the horseshoe games!!! WTF?!?!? 2nd lookie: FELL IN LOVE WITH THE BACKYARD! it had those trees like the ones in riverside park that we climbed all around when we were kids (hey, i remembered something from my childhood). they were the big jungle-monkey-swinging trees. there were THREE of them in the backyard (i think. at least TWO). anyways, we were both so in love with the yard that it kinda didn't matter what the house looked like. built in '73, it needed major updates. on the way home, our realtor/friend pointed out it had nothing we were looking for in a home. needless to say, she was right and i was pretty pouty thinking about it. we played
LOTTO in hopes of winning so we could buy the lot and tear down the house. didn't happen.
saturday afternoon/nite - got back home and HM did a last minute mop while i put fresh sheets on the bed. mamalane and papatom came up to cool off. we took a walk then came back to get ready for dinner. after dinner, we went to
21. i think his parents enjoyed it, right up until the part where they saw a 3' inflatable penis attacking the patrons. nice.
sunday morning - for.the.love.of.god! why was i awake at 7:00 in the morning!?!?!? why? i'll tell you why. papatom is an early riser. i was actually ready to be up early as i'd been warned, but 7:00 AM!?!?!? good god, man! even mamalane came out (bless her heart) and told me to go back to sleep... and i quote, "you poor thing, this must be like the middle of the night for you. go back to sleep". i like mamalane. after about three hours of zombie-like behavior from me AND mamalane (apparently, she had geared herself to sleep late-didn't happen) we got up and went to
the phoenix for breakfast. we did a little bit of shopping and mamalane was ready to go after that. i think she just wanted to go home and nap.
sunday afternoon - went to fry's to get HM some RAM and me a laptop screen protector. yes boys and girls, i got me a laptop! i wasn't allowed to play with it until the parentals left, tho. we also drove around and checked out some other neighborhoods. we took down the numbers. we'll see what happens.

good nite and have a pleasant tomorrow.

p.s. DAMMIT if i didn't frikkin remember that i wanted to call my dad last nite, then FORGOT to do it!!

Friday, July 22, 2005

realizations/happenings of my day

1. crunch time for cleanup
2. i left my rug hanging out of my window to dry
3. 50% chance of rain
4. rain going in exact direction to hit rug
5. laptop out for delivery! YAY!
6. had lunch with new co-worker. still know nothing about him
7. i'll have to change the tunes out of the jukebox for upcoming party
8. i'm in love with a man who puts the R in Retarded ;o)
9. if said "R" man gets here before 7:00, i'll treat him to sushi tonite
10. it's only 2:00 - ugh

the heat is on

tonite is the last nite to get everything done before his parents get here. i already screwed up when i got home yesterday. i wanted to rest and take a cat-nap. i would still have two hours before i walked, to get things done. i asked HM to call me in 30 minutes. an hour and a half later, i woke up on my own (he fell asleep too). i didn't walk cuz i was STARVING so i knew i couldn't do it. i ate then went to wally-world to get a few things... snacks and drinks for his parents.

i never did the sweep & mop thing so that needs to be done tonite. i did, however, manage to make room in the closet for the ugly vanity thing and moved that. HM will move the boxes tonite. i also have to put the curtains up and i completely forgot to buy an additional curtain rod for the window behind the bar.

there's still a whole list of things to do and i feel like i got nothing accomplished last nite. i'm sure it'll all come together when handyman gets there. i hope. we'll see. am i just rambling now? i think i am. i'm just typing to see myself do something now.

OH... tomorrow we have appts to look at two of the homes we scoped last weekend. i'll let you know how that goes.

DAMMIT! i still forgot to call my dad last nite!

Thursday, July 21, 2005

poppa can you hear me

thinkin' 'bout my daddy.... AND saturday in the park!

i meant to call my dad last nite and completely forgot! i don't think i've talked to him on the phone for about two weeks now. if i did, it was just something quick. miss you dad.

Wednesday, July 20, 2005

under pressure

this weekend is "parent" weekend. not mine, but his. handyman's parents (mamalane & papatom) are coming to visit saturday and stay the nite. i am looking forward to it because i do like them both. plus, i get dinner at rudy & paco's! YUM! their menu is to die for.

back to the pressure part. yes, i've been in my apartment for one year at the end of this month. no, not every box is unpacked....with good reason. when i was moving, Sk-Ian thot he would play He-Man and jump off the back of the truck with my office cabinet in his hands. big mistake. of course, as soon as he landed, the cabinet landed on the ground and into pieces. this is where the unpacked boxed stuff should have gone. i never replaced it because i couldn't find one i really liked that would fit all my stuff. i went looking, at
ikea, a few weeks ago (cuz that's where i got the first one), but nothing quite met my standards. two and half hours at that frikkin store and NOTHING!

anyways, i unpacked about three of the boxes and just put the stuff on a small bookshelf i have. presentable enough. the other stuff is going in a closet. handyman will take care of that friday. he doesn't know it yet, but he will. knowing i was fretting about my place looking "presentable" to his parents, he offered to buy me a new comforter/sheet set. how nice is my boyfriend??? as of now, i have matching sheets but no comforter. i have a makeshift wanna be comforter type thing that lil' bit didn't want anymore and grandma blankets along with blankets acquired over the years. so, after searching and searching for sheets, i decided on a "bed in a bag" from target. not as vibrant as it looked online, but again "presentable" enough. i like it and it will go on the bed.


tonite, i'm going to attempt to sweep and mop (i'm not a big mopper). i say attempt, because i know how lazy i get after work. hell, who am i kidding, i know how lazy i am all the time. plus, we didn't get to walk last nite because it was raining so we're going to try tonite. also, i need to get this ugly vanity thing out of my bedroom and into the closet. note to self: make room in closet. after this is done, i'll windex and pledge everything down. that may be tomorrow. all the while, doing laundry as well. i'm ALWAYS frikkin' doing laundry. i think i need to buy more clothes. or maybe it just looks like i'm always doing it cuz it's "right there" for me to see all the time.

by saturday afternoon, my place will be "PRESENTABLE"! let's see how long it lasts.

Monday, July 18, 2005

weekend recap

second time around: so yesterday we went house-hunting again. not so depressing this time around. we found a neighborhood that had actual YARDS! we also found a neighborhood about four blocks away that had it's very own airplane hangar and private strip. uh...can you say "drug smuggling", boys and girls? anyways, handyman got all excited when he saw the hangar that he could put his cars in until we realized we were probably in a neighborhood we shouldn't have been in and the guard didn't stop us cuz he was out to lunch. there are more neighborhoods we don't know about and that friends are telling me about every week so we'll keep on truckin'. we're still looking at a year.

ringo: he had his vet appt and did fine. i wondered why it took so long to weigh him and trim his nails when they finally walked back in, apologizing because they had been playing with my baby boy. everybody loves him! he's gained 2.5lbs since his last visit. i think that puts him at 12.5 or 13. he's supposed to double his size that he is now.

spa day: they fuck you at the drive-thru! the stone massage was great! awesome! i will go back. it's just that when i called to make the appt from my gift certificate, they were looking at what i was looking at. when i said "stone massage", don't you think they would tell me, "no, your GC is for a regular massage"??? no. no, they didn't. so when i was all done, they charged me extra for the stones. hell, i could get stoned for a lot less than that! i'm not bitching cuz i had to pay extra. had they told me it was for a regular massage and not a stone massage, i probably would have upgraded (because this is all mary aka sweet cheeks ever talks about). the point is, they DID NOT tell me when i made the appt. totally caught me off guard.

i've got the golden ticket: saturday, was anika's birthday. she wanted to see charlie & the chocolate factory and have a willy wonka birthday. not a bad movie, but you shouldn't go in expecting a complete re-make of the first. tho i love johnny depp, gene wilder was the greatest willy wonka. plus, the oompa loompa was just freaky looking.

overall, the weekend was pleasant. good times with handyman.

p.s. the pretender was on this morning.

Thursday, July 14, 2005

realizations\happenings of my day

1. found out 'the pretender' is no longer on in the mornings between 6-7 (maybe it was a one time thing. i'll check again monday)
2. it's my last day at work this week
3. forgot to put deodorant on
4. found some deodorant in work drawer
5. listened to Journey Captured CD three times at work today
6. looked at laptops on dell site
7. it was raining, so i didn't have to walk (aka excercise)
8. karaokeing, at the top of my lungs (so much that i choked and peed myself a bit), to the Journey-Captured CD on my hour commute to see handyman
9. he's worth the drive
10. tomorrow is SPA DAY!

it's my friday

today is thursday. but it's my friday at work. i'm off tomorrow and boy am i gonna enjoy it! for valentine's day, handyman gave me a gift certificate for a Spa Day (i'm finally cashing in on it). it includes a stone massage, spa manicure, spa pedicure and lunch. with a drink! okay, so it's non-alcoholic. still, a whole 5 hours at the spa! yay!

i also need to take ringo for his 2nd round of shots tomorrow. it's my day off and i'm getting up to take him to the vet. i'm such a good mommy. i'm gonna find out how much he's grown in the last month. he was so tiny when we first got him. HM says he's grown at least 25% since we got him. that was barely a month ago. he says that's why he naps so much. i thot it was just cuz he took after his mommy.


just like momma

Wednesday, July 13, 2005

freak or foe

okay... i know you people are freaking out on me even SPEAKING of having children and NO i'm not pregnant! but there are reasons i never wanted them before and i think this "freak" nature handymans speaks of, may be one of them.

you know we're looking at houses now. so i'm looking at different floor plans today and i see that the master bedroom is in the back of the house and the kids' rooms are in the front. why would you put your babies in the front of the house with another bedroom, a dining room and a bathroom in between you? how could you HEAR anything? granted, i'm sure i'd have a monitor, but HM sleeps like a frikkin log! he'd never hear anything! still, even after you've stirred a little and realized what, if anything, was going on you'd still have to run all the way across the house to check it out. he says that's the point of putting the kids in front, is so you can't hear them. i'm not buying it.

am i a freak to be having these thoughts? seriously?

i knew i'd be a freak if i had kids.

i want it, i want it, i want it...

granted, i don't have a laptop yet. but when i DO get one, this is going on it!

all hope is not lost

so last nite, i'm at a team meeting. afterwards, we're catching up on who's doing what, who's moving, who's in love, yadda yadda yadda. the conversation turns to me (my favorite subject) and i give them the spill about "no yards" and "small homes" and how depressing it was, just looking.

lil bo pEEp and double d tell me that there are a ton of houses up for sale in their neighborhood (not that we're buying tomorrow or anything) and they all have GIANT YARDS!! mind you, they live a tad further than i ever wanted to drive. dd says it's exactly 32 miles from his front door to the seawall. not all that comforting since 32 miles translates into 45 minutes with traffic. but they were really trying to make a case for their neighborhood.

they want us to come by and see the improvements they've made on their house and how big the yard is. there used to be a pool but they filled it *gasp*! why would you do that? but, i guess they're not water babies like my handyman.

p.s. at least we'd have someone to watch the dogs! ;o)

Monday, July 11, 2005

is it just my imagination...

or did homes actually used to have YARDS that came with them!?!?!? i mean, i know i don't remember much of my childhood (most of it blocked out for a very good reason, i'm sure), but i think i vaguely remember kids playing outside and not have to worry about running into the street or into a fence in the back.

yesterday, handyman and i decided to look at homes in a "middle ground" for both of us. we got a bunch of listings from a realtor after specifying location (close proximity to the freeway) and got in the truck to look at them. after the first house, we were already disappointed. man, the things you can do with a wide angle lens! in the picture, it looked like this house had a front yard the size of half the lot. when we got there, it was no more than 20 feet from the sidewalk. geesh! after that, we just started driving around not really looking at any of the listings. we found a couple of open houses and browsed into those. again, no back yard! or, at least, not much of one. if it did have a yard it was consumed by a deck looking at nothing but the very large tree. we both want a yard.

handyman wants a pool. a pool isn't bad. i'd enjoy it. but i would also like room for kids (assuming we can have them) to run around. safely. not have to worry about having them in the front yard with some freak watching them. i know... it's morbid, but it happens.

next sunday, we're going to look at the other side of the freeway. which may as well be "the other side of the tracks". don't get me wrong, there are nice homes over there. i just never really thot about living there. it seems that there has been more crime and missing children in that area. seriously. when i lived near that area before, it was always on the news. not every day, mind you, but enough.

until we find a yard, there will be no home for us. it's not like we're rushing. our plan is another year before we move. thank goodness we have time. neither one of us want to settle. this is going to be our HOME where we will raise our family. now that i've seen what's out there, i'm willing to drive a few extra miles from the freeway so we can accomplish that.

i guess we'll see what happens. we may end up having to build somewhere in BFE just so we can get a place we both feel comfortable with. like i said, thank goodness we have a year.

p.s. the open houses we went to....closets in the bathroom! UGH!!

Wednesday, July 06, 2005

celebration of all things nara


nara's birthday

yesterday was nara's (mom, sbw, nora, la rana) birthday. we started celebrating at midnite the day before and didn't stop until last nite. well, i had a nap and went to work and then continued with the rest of the gang, afterwards. she's 22 *cough*! and looks every bit of it, huh?

p.s. no black & white for you. one year!

good god man!


busy weekend

sleep! i need sleep! no weekend planning this week. as far as you're concerned, i'm gone. we're out of town. we're in such a remote place our cell phones have no signal and the only way you can contact us is by messenger pigeon.

last weekend started last thursday and just ended last nite.
thursday - toga
friday - stayed in houston to see handyman
saturday - retirement/birthday party
sat nite - friends in town. had to go out.
sunday - on to the beach shack
sun nite - neverending game of mexican
monday - more mexican
mon nite - came back. started celebrating nara's bday
tuesday nite - nara's bday dinner

wanna know if i had a blast? oh boy, DID I ?!?!?!?! of course i did. it was good times with good people. i was surrounded by people i know and love and met new people i can do without in the future. but those were the ones that kept us entertained. i can't wait to see them all again.... but not this weekend.

Tuesday, July 05, 2005

one of the reasons we're able to celebrate the season


joe (#2) meller

above is a picture of our buddy joseph aka #2. i'm not exactly sure HOW he got that nickname but i know i'm the one that gave it to him. here's to joe, all the fallen heros and the ones who are currently fighting for the day we celebrated on the 4th.