"WINTRY MIX 06"

Today is a "snow" day, if you can call it that. There was a fairly annoying drizzle and temperatures have dipped to 29 degrees. Flurries and ice have been reported. Sounds pretty lame, but people actually stayed home to avoid driving in the weather. Heck, if I drove to work, I just might have worked from home (if I could) only because North Texans are generally terrified of driving in icy conditions. Sprinkle a few hyper-paranoid soccer moms with SUVs in winter weather driving conditions, and well, you've got a bona fide crisis on your hands.

Sitting in my cubicle, though, I am envious. I'm surrounded by dark, empty offices. Several couch jockeys scoff at my oak-paneled hell here in downtown Dallas. While they are snuggled up with their pets, tea and slippers, I brave the wind, the sleet and the "snow" in heels and a parka to get the next edition out...

... bastards.

And doggie makes three!

Dave, Fitzy and I headed down to Houston this weekend. Thank God Dave's dad let us borrow his Passat, which has made me change my mind about buying a Toyota. Volkswagens are just so nifty. And cute, too!

It was fun to be with the Jemison Clan this long weekend. Everyone was in town, except Aron, who couldn't make it because he was in the middle of an out-of-state job.

We cooked we ate and we enjoyed one another. I honestly don't think there was any major conflict during the weekend between any of us, which is a feat in itself.

I visited Kara in her new apartment and Phillip and Meggo in their new house. My brother and sister-in-law and my newly minted hubby watched Shogun Assassin. Really, it was awesome. The most campy Kung Fu movie ever! It was a real blast to watch, considering the large amounts of orangey-red blood in every scene and the half-assed special effects! A real must-see!!!

On Saturday I went yarn shopping with my mother. Honestly, that was the most fun I had all weekend, excluding going on a motorcycle ride with my dad! If I have time later this week, I'll post pictures, but even though I don't have a vacation coming around for a while, this past four-day excursion will do well to hold me over!

Tossed, turned, battered and fried...

I felt like a half-eaten chicken fried steak Thursday morning: tossed, turned, battered and fried, then left in the fridge for later. It was the second in what I fear will become a succession of nights in which sleep is won in an epic battle between man and beast and man.

Fitzgerald insists on sleeping in our bed. I'm okay with that, except that he insists on sleeping right in between me and Dave, which makes our roomy Queen-sized bed seem like an Army cot. And I can't just usher him to the foot of the bed ... I feel like that would be mean, and I intend to spoil him rotten. So I roll over and over to get comfortable without disturbing the dog and without falling off of the bed. It's like mattress olympics, but not sexy.

My mother called last night and asked me what I thought about Donald Rumsfeld's resignation. I really was kind of taken that my mother asked in the first place, so assuming that she really wanted to know, I went off in my analysis of current events leading up to Rummy's pink slip and what his permanent vacation might mean for the Bush administration and our troops in Iraq.

When I was done she said, "Well ... Okay. Let me tell you what my friend is doing. She's working for this Presbyterian church and they've brought in this fundraiser ... "

I should have known. She was just being nice!

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Thursday night we watched Woody Allen's Match Point. Honestly, how did this flick garner so much critical acclaim? It was so slow, and predictable, notably due to the fact that the plot was the premise of Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment. I have to say that the book was boring, even torturous, when I was forced to read it in high school. Honestly, it might have been worse, because we were obliged to fast-forward through some parts.

That was one wasted Netflix rental. I gotta check the queue to make sure that we don't have any more flops in line.

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We're due for car shopping soon. I think that once my payroll situation is straightened out, I'll get one of those Nissan Versas, or maybe a Toyota Yaris. Not sure. I was once dead set on getting a Scion xB, but I'm not so sure now. I really wanted to get a Prius, but I don't think that selling the Jeep is in the cards right now. We're having a lot of difficulty being a one-car household with all of the things we're involved in. Maybe once we're ready to buy another car, and we sell the Jeep, we'll get a hybrid. Looks like for now though, I gotta give up the dream of having a Prius.

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Feels good to blog again, folks. Feels good to be back.

Toofless

Everything was nuts on Thursday morning, as I was making preparations in the office to be out that afternoon and Friday to have my wisdom teeth removed. During my consult with the oral surgeon on Tuesday, he said that instead of four wisdom teeth, I only had two, indicating that I am indeed the pinnacle of evolution, as our genes fail to produce the two bottom, more superfluous teeth.

Dave retrieved me after the surgery, and it was the weirdest sensation ever having your entire mouth deadened. We picked up my prescription for vicodin and antibiotics and some coffee-flavored ice cream, and I proceeded to rock my new faux-fur-trimmed slippers all weekend.

That evening, Vicki came by to drop off some chicken potato soup and some magazines. I tell ya, those womans' magazines are so interesting when you're locked in a drug-induced haze. I read through Woman's Day and Family Circle during the incredibly embarrassing Maverick's game. Marcus had come by to join us, and while leafing through the recipes, I managed to get a few shots of the boys.









Fitzgerald now has quite the wardrobe. He has a tee shirt, a cable-knit sweater and a collared tee shirt. All he needs is a pair of boots and he's fully dressed! However, we did somehow manage to loose his collar. How pitiful!

Yesterday, I baked. I made my first two successful loaves of bread! I'm not talking you're banana-nut confections, or my zucchini bread, but real, honest to goodness sandwich bread! It's soooo good!



I also made one regular sized loaf of buttercup squash bread and three mini loaves for folks at work.

I can't wait to make more bread!!! YAY!!!