Better Living Through Color

Boy am I a slacker

2009-04-01T22:09:00.002-05:00

So a lot has happened since my last blog. I got a job and I've already been there a month. I like my co-workers, I like my job duties and it's only 4 minutes from the house.

Today I got my first full paycheck for 2 weeks' time. And I'm already getting a raise. How sweet is that.

Tonight I took my parents out to dinner, just trying to return the favor. We went to the Texas Roadhouse and boy howdy, you could not tell there is a recession going on. The place was packed and this is only Wednesday. I saw some people I knew, the parents saw people they knew and the food was good. Noisy as all get out, too.

Amazing how being gainfully employed again can boost your spirits and make you feel better as a person.

Martinis for Everyone or a Note About Parenting

2009-02-18T20:06:00.002-06:00

When asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, my answer was always a wife and mother. Well at 44, the motherhood issue is a moot point. Part of me feels very sad about this, part of me is relieved. BUT, due to my new living situation, I sort of have become a parent anyway, only my kids are 76 and 80 and named Mama and Daddy.

Things have actually been going pretty well, but occasionally the frustration sets in and tonight I opened my well stocked liquor cabinet and made a red apple martini. Let's just say I am not feeling as frustrated anymore. First off, I am lucky to still have both parents and also lucky to have pretty good relationships with each of them.

One frustration is the thermostat. My dad has bad circulation and he likes the house WARM, while my mom and I sweat to death. No amount of talk can convince him it's easier for him to wear more clothes than for my mother or me to wear less.

Another frustration is cooking. My dad is the type of eater who thinks that Hamburger Helper is gourmet food. Now I do admit I occasionally like something cooked with cream of crap soup, I loathe Hamburger Helper. Tonight my mom wanted us to cook Bisquick Impossible Cheeseburger Pie, so I cooked it. To me, it's about on the same level as HH. I have tried several new recipes, including a very tasty Mexican lasagna, but Daddy didn't like it. It was "too spicy". I thought it was perfect and my mom really liked it too. *Insert head-banging-against-the-wall smiley here.*

So tonight, I opened up my liquor cabinet that was previously untouched, and mixed up a red apple martini. I feel better now.

Long Time, No Blog

2009-01-29T21:21:00.002-06:00

It has been almost 2 months since my last blog. For awhile there, I was too depressed to write and there were things going on in life I wasn't ready to talk about. I still have not found a job and ended up moving back in with my parents the weekend after Christmas. Being 44 years old and moving back in with the folks just seemed like the ultimate failure to me. However, it has not been as bad as I expected and it was getting close to being necessary for their sake due to their rapid aging. Our family has been rapidly approaching the issue of assisted living for my parents. My moving in has solved that problem for the time being. I hope to be back on my own in a few months, but we'll cross that bridge later.

I hadn't shared a house with anyone since 1990 and there's been lots of adjustments, but mostly good ones. It's nice to have someone in the same house to talk to. I'm having to pick up after myself, which is a good habit to get back in to. I've had a monster of a cold this week, and it's been nice to have someone nearby who cares how I feel. I have people to cook for, which my parents love. I am trying to get them away from their meat and potatoes, and salt and pepper existence.

The cats made the move with me and my parents are pleasantly surprised at how much they like the cats. The cats have new big windows in which to watch all the birds and squirrels on all the feeders my dad has in the backyard. My parents laugh at how my tabby cat follows me everywhere and can't stand it when I go outside without him. He waits by the door until I get home.

Just having an extra person around to wash the dishes or clothes, take out the trash, or go outside to get the newspaper, has helped ease the workload a little. My mother has serious vision issues and uses a walker. My father has to use a cane. Both of them have bad memory problems, him more than her.

Last weekend our family threw my dad an 80th birthday party. It was a huge success and he has been smiling all week.

Even though I am still job hunting, I am no longer seriously depressed. It's amazing how more human contact has lifted me back up. I've been kind of reclusive too and now I feeling the need to get out more, just be more involved in life. Here's to hoping I keep up with that.

Games games and more games

2008-12-02T08:59:00.002-06:00

For as far back as I can remember, I have always loved playing games. Getting a new Operation game one year was the highlight of my Christmas, even more than the brand new Ken doll. I loved playing Battleship with my brothers, Go Fish with my dad. I still remember a weekend when my grandmother and cousins Ben & Betty babysat me one night, and they taught me to play Mexican dominoes. I also remember scoring a Clue game at a garage sale for 5 cents, I was ecstatic.

Some of my favorites now are Phase 10 card game, Gin rummy, Shanghai gin rummy, Spades, any form of dominoes, especially Mexican Train; Trivial Pursuit. .I also love watching game shows on the Game Show Network. I was on Jeopardy in 1996, coming in 2nd.

As far as computer games, I can play all day. Some of my favorites - Jewel Quest, Snood, Yahoo Mahjongg, Strike a Match, Texas Hold Em on Poker Stars or Full Tilt poker. I only play those with fake money. A friend of mine has now introduced me to games on Full Tilt, where if you finish in the top, you get real money from FT. It's not a lot, but it's free to play.

Now some other friends have introduced me to some highly addictive games on Facebook - Scavenger Hunt, Mob Wars, Fashion Wars, Prison Wars and Vampire Wars.

In regards to Fashion Wars, I woke up with over 8 million in cash earned overnight. If only that were real, LOL.

Random thoughts

2008-11-21T13:07:00.002-06:00

Job hunting is a stressful pain in the butt, but necessary.

Christmas is coming too soon.

Last night's Survivor was the best episode EVER.

I am lucky to have the family I have with this being the time of year when so many people are not near as lucky.

Can't wait for that Greenberg turkey and spiral cut ham on T-day.

The Twilight books were ok to me, not awesome, and I am in no hurry to see the movie.

Love the True Blood series though, sad there's only one episode left.

I am in the mood to bake something, just typical of this time of year.

Love colder weather, especially when one or both cats want to curl up with me on the couch.

I love naps.

Chocolate milk is fabulous.

I love Buzztime trivia.

Tried to give up Diet Dr. Pepper, but can't.

Don't understand the point of stuffing.

Notes on an Election

2008-11-09T10:55:00.002-06:00

Well the Election is over, and as an American and as a worker at the county Elections office, I have a few observations.

I don't talk politics much, mainly because politically, I am in the minority in my family and in my county. But I am very happy with the outcome of Tuesday's Presidential election. I like Barack Obama, firmly believe we need a fresh change. I just hope he is up to the challenge, and I think he is. Our country needs a lot of work, and it won't happen overnight, but we still have the best country there is.

Until I worked at the E.O., I had no idea, and never gave much thought to, what all was involved in putting on an election. Never again will I think I can just show up and vote and it's that easy. The mail-in ballots alone take hours and hours of preparation by several people, and more hours and hours of work, as they are received back in the office.

Living in a smaller city, you kind of don't think of international connections, but just about your own small world at times. My county has almost 200,000 people in it now, more than I realized. Through working with the mail-in ballots, I realized we have a lot of people from this county serving in the military, all over the country and the world.

We also have a lot of residents who are living abroad, whether for work, pleasure, temporary or long-term. I saw addresses from China, Japan, Turkey, Jordan, Austria, England, Brazil, Bahamas, Scotland, Myanmar, Australia and many others. I saw an address for a Peace Corps worker in Kenya and someone else working on Mercy Ships.

The phone calls - holy cow did we get phone calls. On Election day, all I did was answer phone calls. We had a special room set up with extra phones and computers, and all we did all day long was answer the phone. About 50% were people calling to see where they were supposed to go vote. The other half were poll/precinct workers calling for people who had just showed up at a precinct, thinking they could vote anywhere they want. Well, in Texas, you have to vote in your particular precinct on Election Day. It also amazed me at the number of people who think they can vote without being registered.

We got a few complaint calls, overall not too bad. Texas has a law where any political signs and party workers, must stay a minimum of 100 feet from the polling location. This law also extends to t-shirts and hats with particular candidates on them. During early voting, a couple of people showed up to vote with a t shirt showing a candidate, were told by security to turn the shirt inside out before they went to to vote. One guy got pretty upset about it, going on and on about freedom of speech, which I understand where he is coming from, but when it comes to voting, there's still the 100 foot rule.

I got to be on the Ballot Board, which is the group that opens up the mailed in ballots, checks to see if the little circles are filled in correctly by the voter, and counts up any write in votes. One voter wrote, by the McCain circle, "voting while holding his nose", and drew fumes rising from McCain's name. Someone else wrote in Mickey Mouse in several local spots. We have a sheriff who has been in office for about 30 years, can not be defeated by any opponent, someone wrote NO WAY by his name.

All in all, it was very educational, I was on TV a couple of times, because it seems, every 2 days a local camera crew was at the office.

I even got a ticket for the Democrat victory party but was too exhausted to go.

First Timers

2008-10-30T20:28:00.002-05:00

Working at the Elections Office during the past 2 weeks, has been pretty dadgum interesting. I never really thought about how much work by so many people, went into holding an election. I don't think I will ever take voting for granted.

The early voting has been abundant with people voting for the first time in their lives. Today I met two of those people, with quite opposite personal stories.

The first - I was filling in at the entrance - reminding people to get out their voter's registration cards or driver's licenses, and to turn their cell phones off. Two women came in, probably a mother and daughter. As the mother exited the voting room, she stopped and told me, this was the first time she ever voted in her life. She was almost in tears, telling me she was 55 years old and she felt ashamed because she had never voted in her life. She told me she was scared, but now she knew how easy and fast the voting process is, she would never miss another election.

The second - I was leaving work, rode down the elevator with a girl, looked about college age. She was grinning from ear to ear, looking about to burst, when she told me, she was 18, and this was the first time she ever voted. She was almost bouncing and she told me about her almost 40 year old father, who wasn't planning on voting. But he couldn't let his little girl outdo him, so now he was going to make sure he voted.

Other interesting tidbits - I came across names of those we have mailed absentee ballots to - saw names of my first piano teacher, my 2nd grade teacher, fellow church members, and a very successful country music star from a little town north of here.

And by the way, GO VOTE.

Drive by posting

2008-10-26T10:57:00.002-05:00

I haven't blogged in a month, because frankly, my life has been boring. Until I called the county elections office this past Monday, inquiring about a job on election day working at the polls. She told me she could put me to work that day, due to the fact Texas has early voting for 2 weeks prior to election day.

So on Tuesday, I started working in the Elections office. I will write more about it later, as I am getting ready to go in and work today.

And by the way, GO VOTE!

In Praise of Color

2008-09-24T15:38:00.004-05:00

I was tinkering with my blog recently and ended up changing the name of it once again. I had never been truly satisfied with it and I got to thinking and looking around my house, just what is it I like? Well I love beautiful colors, in the literal sense. I also think life is better if it has color, not blandness.

When it comes to decorating I tend to favor cottage style and blues, greens, and roses. I abhor certain earth tones, our house growing up was very typical 70's. Paneled walls, orange, yes orange shag carpet, an olive green couch, a harvest gold arm chair, and 2 Lazy Boy rockers in a rust/burnt orange color. *blech*

Here's my couch - full of the colors I like - and don't mind the wrestling cats -

Usually when asked what my favorite color is, I answer blue. Other times I might say red. I love red and when I bought a car almost 2 years ago, that's just what color I got. Now I want a red blackberry. I am also a big fan of purple and various shades of pink. I am ambivalent about yellow - I want no yellow of any kind in my bedroom, it's not a restful color to me. However I love the combination of yellow and blue in a kitchen. I have the soft yellow color as one of the several colors I own of Fiestaware.

Here are some blogs I've discovered lately, all colorful and a visual feast. Sorry if that's a cliche, but I'm a numbers person , not a writer.

Tara Frey - http://www.nu-era.com/Flip-Fold-Shirt-Folder.asp

All Over Print http://www.alloverprint.blogspot.com/

Hello My Name is Heather http://heatherbailey.typepad.com/heather_bailey/

Present Past Collection http://heatherbullard.typepad.com/heather_bullard_collectio/

Raised in Cotton - http://www.raisedincotton.typepad.com/

Enjoy!

Amateur Movie Reviews

2008-09-21T12:03:00.004-05:00

One of the things I love about the net and a wireless laptop is the ability to be watching TV and instantly look up something or someone on IMDB.com or Wikipedia. And yes I know the drawbacks of Wiki, but it's usually good as a starting point. I am a lover of trivia and uncovered a few known bits of trivia with the movies I watched. I've added a few more movies to my crossed off list of AFI nominees. Here's my 2 cents worth:

Pride & Prejudice (1940) - with Greer Garson & Laurence Olivier as the 2 principal characters Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy. First I must say that the BBC 6 hour version with Colin Firth has forever spoiled me to any other version of this novel. Olivier makes a good Darcy, Greer Garson was beautiful, but not really Elizabeth to me. The flighty Mrs. Bennett was played by the same actress who played the Countess in The Women, that I just saw a few days ago, Mary Boland. I was annoyed that some plot points were changed and also the costuming was not the right era. I read the Wiki (yes, I said Wiki) article claiming these two things were two of the primary criticisms of the movie at the time of its release. But overall, not a bad movie. AFI nominee for 100 Years 100 Laughs, and 100 Years..100 Passions.

A Face in the Crowd with Andy Griffith and Patricia Neal. One of those serious movies, good overall. Very strange to watch Andy Griffith as a bad guy though. AFI nominee for 100 Years...100 Movies, 10th anniversary.

Topper starring Cary Grant and Constance Bennett. Constance is a sister to Joan. The elevator operator looked familiar and sure enough, he was also Dagwood in the Blondie movies. He also turned out to be the son in law of William Randolph Hearst by his marriage to the illegitimate daughter of Hearst and Marion Davies. The movie was pretty good. As big a fan as I am of Cary Grant, I don't know how this one slipped by me. I do so love movies from the 30's - the sets, the clothes. As much as I hate colorization of movies, I'd like to see these just once, that way.

Witness for the Prosecution with Charles Laughton, Marlene Dietrich and Tyrone Power. Based on a short story by Agatha Christie, and evidently a very successful stage play - this movie is excellent with a surprise ending. So much a surprise that an announcement is voiced over the closing credits, asking theater-goers not to divulge any plot information. Good cast, good script, I highly recommend this one. AFI nominee for 100 Years...100 Thrills and Top Ten Courtroom dramas. Startling to read that this was Tyrone Power's next to last movie and he died of a heart attack at 44. MY AGE.

Scent of a Woman with Al Pacino and Chris O'Donnell. HOOO-ahh, how has it taken me so long to see this movie.? Excellent film and I can definitely see why Pacino won the Oscar. Very well deserved, in my opinion. AFI nominee for 100 Years....100 Cheers.

A couple more that aren't on the AFI list -

The Painted Veil - with Ed Norton and Naomi Watts, recommended by a friend and author Deanna Raybourn. (Check out her blog http://deannaraybourn.typepad.com/blog_a_gogo/ )A movie I had never heard of, but enjoyed quite a bit. Set and shot in China, a very lush, beautifully filmed kind of movie, with clothes from the 20's and 30's that I love so much.

Mary Queen of Scots with Vanessa Redgrave and Glenda Jackson. I saw this years ago because I love love love Tudor and Elizabethan history. I couldn't stop watching it again. I was curious as to who played Lord Bothwell, a rather atractive and unfamiliar British actor. So Wiki and IMDB to the rescue. Nigel Davenport, who as it turns out, is father to Jack Davenport, star of BBC's Coupling and CBS' Swingtown.

I just love those interesting trivial facts. I am sure keeping my DVR busy.

In Praise of Movies

2008-09-19T19:30:00.002-05:00

I love watching movies. Love the experience of going to a theater, buying buttered popcorn and a Dr. Pepper, and sitting in thos semi-comfy chairs in a dark theater. Or curling up on the couch in a pair of comfy PJ's with a favorite snack and a Dr. Pepper.

I also love lists. You know, those Top Ten lists that come out every year about all kinds of topics. Or those recommended reading lists you get from your English teacher in high school. I still have the one from my jr. and sr. year somewhere in a box.

A few years back, I was watching the Oscars and they showed a segment with a few seconds of all 70 (at the time) Best Picture winners. I thought I'd rewind the tape and make my own list of these, and see just how many I had seen. Well, not as many as I thought. So I thought it would be cool to work my way through the list and see all of them.

Shortly after, AFI came out with their list of the top 100 movies of all time. Oh goody! Another list! So I ended up on AFI's website to get the list. Only I discovered ANOTHER list. The 400, yes 400 movies, from which the top 100 were chosen and ranked. I was ecstatic, more movies to add to my list to see. So over the past 10 years or so, I've been slowly working my way through the list of 400.

There were some gems I discovered, had never heard of them before, but now can't imagine not watching them every time they came on. The main one of these is "The Awful Truth" with Cary Grant and Irene Dunne. Oh my, what a FABULOUS example of screwball comedy. Another goody is "Run Silent, Run Deep", with Clark Gable and Burt Lancaster. This is a WWII submarine movie and an excellent story and great performances. There's been some that I shake my head and wonder how the heck they ever made it on a list like this. The main one that comes to mind is "Local Hero". Ugh.

Every year, AFI seems to come out with a new list of some kind. For example, 100 Years...100 Cheers, Passions, Thrills, Laughs, Songs, Musicals, Film Scores, Top 100 of 10 genres, etc. An updated list of the top 100 came out in 2007. So, geek that I am, created an Excel spreadsheet, combining every movie from almost every list AFI has done, and including all Best Picture winners. I didn't include the Heroes & Villains or the Top Quotes, but all the other lists are coombined. For a grand total of 1800+ movies, and I estimate I've seen only about a third of those. I thought the total I've viewed would have been bigger but afraid not. So I am now spending spare time watching movies.

Recently I have seen Marnie, Gladiator, Midway, Fury, The Women, The Defiant Ones and some others. I currently have A Face in The Crowd on the TV, with The Hurricane, The Misfits and The Night of the Hunter recorded on the DVR. I also have it set to record several the next week.

My own personal Top 10 - (series grouped together)

1. The Sound of Music
2. Out of Africa
3. Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid
4. The Thin Man series (all 6)
5. Blazing Saddles
6. Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back & Return of the Jedi
7. Lord of the Rings trilogy
8. It Happened One Night
9. The Awful Truth
10.The Philadelphia Story

Several others come close to making my top list, I have a hard timr narrowing it down sometimes. There are some movies that I seem to watch every time I see them on - War Games, Apollo 13, The Hunt for Red October, and Die Hard.

And I must say, I freakin' love TCM's 30 days of Oscar in February.

The Sky is Falling, the Sky is Falling

2008-09-12T16:35:00.002-05:00

Well at least not yet, but if you believe the Weather Channel, the next couple of days are going to be hell.

Hurricane Ike is almost to Texas, and even though I am still over 200 miles from the coast, the trajectory is taking Ike right up through my part of East Texas. This means tropical storm winds and rain. Oh yippy. Oh joy.

My thoughts and prayers are with all those people on the coast who are going to get all the damage, and looking at the images on TV, you just know it's going to be bad. The water's been lapping over Galveston's seawall for hours and it's going to get worse. I hope the Flagship Hotel, one of my favorite places, is still there once it's over with. I've always had a fondness for Galveston over Corpus. Love the old homes, walking on the seawall, and Guidos.

Everyone take care and be careful.

Checking In

2008-09-10T16:40:00.003-05:00

Today marks one week since I had some minor surgery and what a week it has been. The saga actually began the day before surgery when I developed a migraine. Since Advil was on the list of things not to take before surgery, and I didn't know if Maxalt was ok or not, I was up a creek. Tried to take it easy, but the pain got worse. Made a 10 p.m. emergency call to my buddy John, to see if he had any Tylenol, which is one thing I don't keep in the medicine chest. Sweetheart that he is, bought me a bottle at CVS and brought them right to me. Between that and the ice bag on my head, I got some relief and was able to sleep.

My fantastic sister in law Teri, took me and my mom (my mom and me?) to the hospital Wednesday morning. The nurse who was getting me prepped was wonderful, she gave me Fentanyl, since the migraine was still with me. Then she gave me more when the first dose didn't work. Everyone was helpful in keeping the lights off in the room or helping me shade my eyes when the lights had to be on. We watched TV, Teri changed it to whichever channel I wanted. Our friend Melissa, from church, came and stayed with us. I was worried about who would stay with Mama, because of her vision issue, and her left hearing aid was out too.

Versed was next and I remember looking upside down at the anesthesiologist's face, saying hello and next thing I knew, I was waking up in recovery. Bryan was my nurse there, I was asking all kinds of questions and noticing I was in pain at the same time. Bryan gave me ice chips and morphine (twice). If I had been more coherent, I would have asked him to marry me.

Next thing I knew, I was in another recovery room, Mama and Teri were there. John was there and I could see Monica out talking to the nurse's station nurse. Mama told me the Dr. said everything went fine; my brother Keith had brought her some lunch in the waiting room. My brother Glenn was on call to take us home from the hospital, but Teri ended up staying with us all day.

Teri stopped by Grandy's on the way home, for some reason, chicken nuggets and mashed potatoes sounded appetizing when nothing else did. Then we picked up my pain meds from CVS and I came home. I was insistent that I didn't need anyone to stay with me overnight, in retrospect, maybe not. But really, I don't know what anyone could have done for me.

Thursday was an excruciatingly painful day. I had to go to the Dr's office for post op and I am not going into details, I just wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy.

Friday and Saturday I had to get my Daddy to get me a few items at the store. By Sunday, I drove myself to McDonalds for what seemed to be the best tasting Egg McMuffin ever. SUnday night I had an episode of fever and chills that kind of concerned me, but Monday evening I seemed to turn a corner, suddenly, and started feeling better. Each day has gotten better, I have felt stronger and the pain has receded.

I have a lot of people to thank for helping me through this -
Mama - for being there, and always listening, and for being a nurse - you know, once a nurse, always a nurse.
Teri - for staying with me and then with Mama and taking good care of both of us.
Melissa - for being such a person filled with light, and always being there for my family.
Keith & Glenn - for pesky older brothers, they turned out OK.
Daddy - for making little runs to the grocery store.
Monica - for checking on me and being there when I woke up and the offer to stay with me.
John - for the emergency Tylenol run and checking on me and Mama
Jen - for reminding John, lol and always being there to listen and encourage me.

And last but certainly not least, to God for putting all these people in my life and reminding me I am not alone. Amen.

It's about time

2008-08-29T16:28:00.002-05:00

This is going to be the weekend to take care of a number of items on my own HoneyDo list. Since I have no Honey, it's all up to me. I guess I am my own Honey for now, so it's all about the new and improved me. I don't really like the term the 'new me' cause that implies there's something wrong with the old one. I just want to improve on me and live up to my potential.

I have too much "stuff", it's disorganized and I'm sick and tired of it. Going to put what I can in my upcoming garage sale. I also am going to re-do my resume and put it out on every job website, and every suitable opening I can find. Trying to become the better me that I CAN be if I just get off my ass and do it.

I've been in this house for almost 3 years, and there are still some pictures I have never hung on the wall. There are still curtain rods and drapes that aren't up. That seems to be a pattern with me, every apartment I have lived in, I seem to never finish completely "unpacking" and finishing up the decorating. Maybe if I do, I can relax and not worry. I also have that "CHAOS" syndrome - can't have anyone over syndrome.

Trying to adopt the positive thinking principles, also going to make a vision board, or "treasure map" as I think Sarah Ban Breathnach refers to it in Simple Abundance. I can't be sure, it's been a long time since I read that. There are some books I am reading now, The Secret and Eat, Pray Love, among others. Trying to crawl out of this depression I have been in for months.

I did learn something last weekend, or at least was reminded of something I forgot. Whenever I am feeling the ultimate in loneliness and being unloved, all I have to do is go see Mama & Daddy. They were both really down in the dumps last Saturday because of all their health issues, and my visit was exactly what they both needed. They were genuinely happy to see me and I made them laugh and smile so we all 3 ended up feeling better.

I am having minor surgery next week and at first I was freaked out, then I moved to annoyed and pissed, now I'm like, whatever. I hate that I have to rely on my parents to get me home from the hospital because some days they are barely making it themselves.

So this Labor Day weekend, going to use my own labors to shape up and get my you know what together.

The rest of the trip

2008-07-31T09:35:00.004-05:00

I forgot to finish writing about the rest of the Colorado trip. On Wednesday, the 2nd day, I went to the Molly Brown House & Museum. That's the Unsinkable Molly Brown, although her name was Margaret and no one ever called her Molly in her lifetime. Here's a picture -

That afternoon I went to the Brown Palace Hotel for afternoon tea. Even though I'm not the biggest fan of tea, I like the experience with the scones and the clotted cream and the little tea size sandwiches.

I ended up going to a couple of speaker sessions, competed in the Sudoku tournament, played in a trivia contest and hung out in hospitality with friends.

On Friday the 4th, I took off north to Estes Park. The Rocky Mountains are incredibly beautiful.
The town of Estes Park is somewhere I wish I had more time to explore on a less crowded holiday. Saw some gorgeous mountain cabins, I do believe I could live there. I headed into Rocky Mountain National Park, intending to drive as far west on Trail Ridge Road as I could. This was the scene, not long after I drove into the park -

My favorite part of the drive, was once I got to a certain elevation, the snow from above was melting and creating waterfalls along the sides near the road. I stopped at one point and made a snowball. It's been a long time since I've been able to do that. I kept rising higher and higher until I stopped at Rainbow Curve. At this stop, there was a beautiful valley down below and it was a little disconcerting, because there was just a low stone wall along the edge, not much protection to keep from tumbling down 10,000+ feet. Not long after driving past this curve, my fear of heights kicked in, I could no longer seem to block out my right side periphery of the sheer drop off the side of the road. Then I could see coming up, a sheer drop off the left side as well. Well not only was my fear of heights working overtome at this point, but the memory of dreams I have had of driving off a mountain curve were coming back to haunt me. So a mini panic attack began and I found the nearest spot to pull over, made a U turn and came back down. On the one hand, the panic was a surprise, on the other, it made perfect sense.

Even though I saw some of the most beautiful scenery ever, it was a little uncomfortable doing that driving. Next time I go to the mountains, somebody else will have to do the driving.

Other highlights of the trip, meeting up with one of SPQ messageboard buddies at Casa Bonita in Denver. And yes, they really do have a gorilla diving off a cliff into a pool of water, inside the restaurant. Overall I was impressed with the city of Denver, enjoyed meeting new friends, catching up with old ones and experiencing some new things.

Oh and another highlight, having breakfast from a street cart that makes Belgian waffles.

All my other pictures are here - http://tinyurl.com/5sfgz8

Slacking Again

2008-07-16T13:26:00.003-05:00

I've been back from Denver over a week and already slacking in my writing. The AG was fun and tiring. The altitude kicked my butt far more than I thought. I realized it when I got back to the DFW airport, and when I got a little winded from dealing with my luggage, I got my breath back much sooner than I did when I was in Denver.

I stayed exhausted in Denver and didn't do as many activities as I wished to do because I simply ran out of steam. Of course, starting the trip out on 4 hours of bad sleep didn't help. The hotel layout was not the most conducive, it was simply too big and spread out. Hospitality was tucked away and it just seemed like I didn't see or run into people I knew nearly as much as last year's. I also noticed the first day I was there, places in CO don't run the A/C all the time like they do in TX, and I suffered until I adjusted.

My initial impression of Denver is that of a beautiful city, mountains in the background, nice old and modern architecture and very clean. The shuttle ride to the hotel passed right by the Brown Palace and Trinity UMC, both beautiful old historic buildings. The hotel was right on the 16th Street Mall and was chock full of restaurants and stores and good people-watching.

I met more people from GenX than I did last year, and this year, thanks to hanging out in the chat room, I knew people before the AG, and seeing them finally in person was great. I got a chance to catch up with Karen and that was nice.

I wish I had attended more activities and spent more time in the GenX suite, but oh well, will have to make up for it next year.

Tuesday night we went to a Geeks who Drink Pub Quiz at a place called the Irish Snug. I would have loved to spend some time in the little drinking "snugs" but we headed straight downstairs to the first place of the trip I noticed with the AC issue. We divided up into teams and I liked my team of Rimas, Leann, Paul and Melissa and I will not name the other one who annoyed the crap out of me. The evening had me really wishing there was a Pub Quiz in Tyler. Oh yeah, and I should bone up on Gangsta Rap before the next one.

Next post: More AG fun

So much to do, so little time

2008-06-29T09:33:00.003-05:00

Well here it is, 2 days before I head off to Denver for the Mensa AG. I'd be head over heels with excitement if I didn't have a to-do list as long as my arm.

Today is all about cleaning house and doing laundry. Tomorrow is the last trip to Wal Mart hell, coloring my hair, painting my fingernails and toenails and packing. I have to print out my airplane info, shuttle info, all the maps and info I need for my side trip to Rocky Mountain National Park and the list goes on and on and on.........

I am hoping to do a daily AG blog diary of sorts and take lots and lots of pictures. Tata for now.

My Favorite Things

2008-06-10T19:03:00.002-05:00

After spending time at a family reunion this weekend, and then celebrating my birthday yesterday with family and friends, I am feeling in a good mood. Here are some of my favorite things.

1. Getting a temporary tattoo from my adorable little shy cousin and having a couple of cute conversations with him.

2. Chatting with the other little cousins.

3. Hearing the funny wedding stories from all the married people in the family.

4. A meal of fajitas, just-right-cooked pinto beans, and Velveeta queso and chips.

5. All the e-mails, instants messages, MySpace comments. Facebook comments and messageboard posts wishing me a Happy Birthday.

6. Making my mother giggle when we saw 10000 small children getting out of a bus at the movie theater to see the same movie we were going to see, and saying HELL no, we'll go somewhere else.

7. Being taken to a new restaurant by my friends and having them offer to buy me whatever I want. And said restaurant being DELICIOUS.

What's in a Name?

2008-05-28T11:01:00.003-05:00

Have you ever googled yourself? I tried that last night and found 2 obituaries for other Sheilas with my same last name. I also found lots of Sheilas in a certain city that happens to also be my last name.

When I was born, my dad picked the name Sheila because he liked it. Sheila is a Gaelic name and believed to be a form of Julia/Cecilia/Cecil. Which is very ironic, because my mother's mother and father were both named Cecil, so while Daddy named me because he liked the name, I'm actually named after my grandparents, which is pretty cool. My middle name is Jane, after my mother. Jane was also my great grandmother's middle name. I like the continuity of that.

Being named Sheila is a blessing and a curse. A blessing because it's not very common, and so there's not a lot of Sheilas running around. A curse, because people so frequently misspell it. Also a mixed bag when it comes to those little souvenirs you buy with people's names, in that sometimes there was a Sheila, sometimes not.

One of my Jaycee friends dubbed me Sheila E way back when I first joined, and it stuck. I like it as a nickname. I also use Tequila Sheila as a nickname on my favorite messageboard . I got that name from a song.

Speaking of songs, there are 3 I know of - "Sheila" by Tommy Roe, "Tequila Sheila" by Bobby Bare and "Oh Sheila" by Ready for the World. When I was 16 and taking my driving test on my birthday, the DPS trooper who was riding shotgun was singing Tequila Sheila. 28 years later and I have never forgotten that.

I think my favorite use of the name is a book by Judy Blume, "Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great". To which I say, but of course.

Having smart fun

2008-05-27T10:30:00.003-05:00

I just returned from a weekend in Houston at what we in Mensa call an RG, or Regional Gathering. These are little conventions, usually with a theme - there are a wide range of speakers, hospitality & games rooms open at all hours, a dance, and a bunch of cool people. Now I know Mensa peopple get stereotyped as a bunch of nerds, and we have our share of those. But we're regular people too, who just happened to outscore 98% of the population on a standardized test.

I played Phase 10, spades, Texas Hold 'EM, Carnelli, Palabra, worked on a jigsaw puzzle, competed on a team in a Movie trivia game. I swear if it involves a game I like, I could play all day long. Evidently I have a competitive streak a mile wide. Participated in a chocolate tasting, and I still prefer milk chocolate, and 100% cacao is VILE. Attended a little session on Mixers & Ellixirs and tried several types of alcohol I have never tried. Now I know what ouzo tastes like, and I can't stand it. It's no wonder, since I don't like licorice at all and it's like a liquid form of that. I think I'm adding a bottle of Frangelico to my next shopping list.

Hung out with some people I already knew a little, and got to know them even better; Met new people and just had a great all around good time. On the way home, I stopped and got a Gatti's pizza, my absolute favorite and one we don't have in Tyler anymore. I swear if I was a smoker, I would have needed a cigarette, it was that good.

Gulf Coast Mensa throws a good RG. Today is all about recuperating.

When is it going to end?

2008-05-10T11:10:00.002-05:00

I started this blog with the intention of being upbeat and trying to be slightly humorous, but today I'm ranting a little.

I spent my morning at the local Komen Race for the Cure. I didn't run or walk in it, but helped out some with some fellow Jaycees at the food booth.

My rant is against cancer and why oh why haven't we found a cure yet? I hear the numbers of how much money has been raised in the fight, and I wonder, when is it going to end? Especially after spending a day in our beautiful city park, with nice but humid weather and seeing the pink shirts of the survivors, and seeing survivors younger than me. It's just not fair, this cancer crap. The survivor's faces seem to be getting younger.

You see participants wearing their signs "In Memory of" - children who've lost a grandmother, men who have lost wives, even mothers who have lost their own daughters while fighting their own personal battle. I try to focus on the number of people who wear the "In Celebration of" signs and just pray and hope that the celebration signs will one day be the only signs you see, and eventually we won't even need this race, because cancer will be eradicated.

One can only hope.

Studying is driving me batty

2008-04-18T22:34:00.003-05:00

I am under the gun to get this CPA exam studying done so I can take 2 parts of the exam by May 30th. Some days I feel cross-eyed and incapable of learning. Other days it all clicks. Today was a little harder because my cat Cupcake was damned insistent on being in my lap and it's hard to tell her no.

If real life would stop getting in the way, I would have more time to study. First up is this weekend's trip to Fort Worth for my cousin's wedding. I may need valium by the end of the weekend after chauffeuring my parents. At least I enjoy my cousins and aunts and uncles, so it should be a good time, but just no time for studying. I think I will pack my books and PC anyway, just in case.

I'm having a garage sale on the 3rd, and I need to get ready for that. Timing wise it's not great, but it needs to get done before it gets too hot. I also need to clean house before my family is traipsing in and out of my house that day.

My nephew is graduating from Rice University on the 10th and we were going to go, but I just cannot sacrifice 2 days of studying. I hope he will understand.

I'm going to Houston on Memorial Day weekend for a Mensa RG and maybe the Texas JCI Senate convention. I don't know if the Senate one will be worth going to. I'll have to pack my books for the section of the exam I'm hoping to take on the 30th.

My Meetup group for knitters and crocheters is going well. We've met twice and are talking about upping the meetings to twice a month. Found a better location than Starbucks at our local grocery store. They built a little cafe area called Java Jams and it's perfect for us.

Recent addictions include watching Big Brother, General Hospital, Hershey bars with Andes peppermint chips.

Well onto FW and a winery manana.

Drive-by posting

2008-04-08T23:40:00.003-05:00

I am already doing what I swore I wouldn't do on my old blog, and that is be a slacker about posting. It's been a little over a month since the last one. Several times I've thought I needed to post and then for various reasons I forgot. Now I need to try to remember what I've done the past month. And in no certain order -

Celebrated Mama's 75th birthday with a nice little birthday dinner with the family.

Rode the Texas State Railroad with the parents on a beautiful spring day. Took loads of pictures which makes me love a digital camera more.

I love how you can edit the photos and how that picture of the Palestine depot looks like a vintage picture.

Went to a disc clinic with my nieve and her husband. This could be a sport I am very capable of doing, it's good light exercise and not too expensive. Plus there are few women players. Can you say bonus?

Went to the Rose City Chili Pod cookoff, got to judge the 2nd round of chilis. I think I now know what to do ti tinker with my recipe.

It's that time of year again where I need to start mowing the yard. Yippy. I am thrilled. Haha.

Went to the county Democratic convention. It was a big ole cluster getting people signed in. I understand they have never worked with large crowd before but there has to be a more efficient way of operating.

That's all for the time being.

God Bless Democracy

2008-03-05T14:25:00.002-06:00

Being born and growing up in the USA, sometimes we take for granted all the liberties and freedoms we have. Yesterday I voted in the Democratic primary. I normally do not get into politics much. I read up some on the candidates, then I vote.

Yesterday I decided I would go to the caucus/precinct meetings held after the polls closed at 7. As I sat there and watched everyone there, and waited for my chance to sign in, I realized how truly lucky we are to be voting for who we want. No guns to our head, no riots and violence in the streets. And to have a CHOICE on who we want elected.

So I cast my vote for Barack Obama after waffling back and forth between him and Hillary Clinton. I just could not make up my mind for the longest time. I even took some of those online quizzes about Which Presidential Candidate Should I Choose. All of them came up virtually even steven between Clinton-Obama. Then I heard them both on the Kidd Kraddick show, my favorite radio morning show. I liked the way they BOTH came across.

Then I heard Obama talking about e-mails circulating that he was Muslim and he said on the radio that is not true. I have to admit I had some reservations about a Muslim president, at the same time wondering if that would make a difference in our relations with the Middle East. So I looked up some info on him, and turns out he's Church of Christ.

So when I started thinking about who to choose, and since they both were so even on the issues to me, I went with who I think I can trust more. And bottom line, there's just something I don't trust about Mrs. Clinton.

So last night I cast my vote, and volunteered, and now I'm an Obama delegate to the county Democratic convention.

Random Thoughts

2008-02-23T21:58:00.002-06:00

I've been reading some new blogs lately. There's one called Chicken Fried Therapy and she's been writing about what she calls Leaps of Faith. Since this is Leap Year, she has decided to try one new thing every week, that requires a Leap of Faith. You could also call these Comfort Zone Busters.

I did one of these Friday night, even though the LOF concept was not my original intent. One of my little addictions is trivia, more specifically Buzztime Trivia. I was playing it last week at one of my favorite restaurants and noticed the Friday night games consisted of the topic of Best Pictures. I am also a movie list geek, and have been working my way through watching past Best Picture winners and the big AFI list. So how could I possibly resist.

Well, my friends had other plans last night, so if I was going to do this, I was going to have to go out on Friday night. Alone. And praying nobody paid attention to me and thought oh who is that big dork by herself. Of course, I shouldn't be worried about what other people think, but easier said than done. So I decided Buffalo Wild Wings might be the best place, and I might be the least inconspicuous there.

I went early to get a booth, ended up playing for almost 4 hours. Won 5 out of the 6 games, including the Best Pictures one.

My first and maybe only LOF for this month.