Month: July 2010

I made the most wondrous discovery yesterday, no, it wasn’t the secret of making it snow in the summer time in Texas. Something almost, but not quite as good, I discovered Fleeta Sundays website. Who is Fleeta Sunday you ask, well, she, along with her husband Ed, were the two Sunday School teachers I did not run off. Fleeta is an intuition in Owasso, Oklahoma. When I was in high school she worked in the office, she and her husband taught Sunday School and they had three children. One of them, Juli, was everything my parents thought they wanted me to be. To them she was the perfect teenager, around my parents, Juli was polite, never argumentative and a “good” girl. Of course they only saw her once a week at church, sometimes twice. Of course the inevitable “why can’t you be more like Juli” came out of their mouths. One day, I had finally heard that one time too many, so I said, “wow, you know what, you are 100 percent correct, I will strive to be more like Juli Sunday.” So, I ran and got a pen and paper and said “number one, find a boyfriend to make out with in front of my psych class, number two” I was stopped at number one. They quickly retracted their statement and demanded to know what kind of school they were sending me to. I might add here that if I had had a boyfriend in high school that looked like Juli Sundays boyfriend I would totally have made out with him in front of my psych class. What was his name? I can’t remember his name, I remember he played on the football team and was the prettiest boy in school. Tammi help a friend out here!

I never really stopped wanting to be a little like Juli Sunday, she always had perfect skin, perfect teeth, the perfect tan, perfect hair,  and let’s not forget she was MS Owasso.  Well, 3 out of 5 isn’t too bad. I was never Ms Owasso and well forget about tanning, but the hair, teeth and skin, I got that covered!

So if you want to check out my old Sunday School teacher and her daughter, my nemesis (she never knew she was my nemesis) go to www.fleetasunday.com her daughter works for her.

I hate the heat, there, I said it, yes, I know I live in Texas, the hottest state in the whole continental United States. If that is fundamentally not true, please do not correct me, as I believe it to be true. It is unbearable here this time of year. In Oklahoma, in Owasso, Oklahoma, it never got this hot. The summers were never as brutal as they are here. I long for the cold, I long for the snow, I long for, yes, and dare I say it, boot season.
Yesterday was a very lackluster day, first of all I get to work and cannot find my phone, and I am convinced I left it at home. Let everyone know they cannot reach me via cell. Imagine my horror when I do get home and cannot find said cell. I am already panicking because my keys are stuck in the front door, now, no phone! I pick up the house phone and call myself. I do not answer, no one does. No comforting sounds of vibrations, no dulcet tones of Brittany Spears fill the air. I go overtime into panic mode. Where is my precious phone? I then get the bright idea to go to the garage with the house phone and call the cell, to my chagrin the cell was in the car the whole time. In my defense the phone is black and so is the carpet in my car.
I feel discombobulated at work this week, with the new schedule change, having to be at work at 5:00 am and with Kimmy working a different schedule and not coming in until Wednesday, I am very put off on my own internal clock.
Hopefully it will all get better as time goes on, then it will be time for a new schedule! Oh the humanity!

Confession time, I watch Army Wives on Lifetime. I am not a typical Lifetime channel watcher; however, this show captured my attention. Originally it was because Kim Delaney is on there, we all remember her from All My Children, she was Jenny, I still love the story line of Jenny and Jessie, now this was not a romantic relationship, and it was friendship in its purest form. Of course when I saw she was in a new show my interest was piqued. Then I discovered Drew Fuller was also cast, from Charmed fame, and Brigid Brannagh who was in one episode of Charmed I was intrigued. Then I watched the first episode, darn you Lifetime, I was hooked.
The episode from last night, which I watched this morning, was heart wrenching, watching these characters that we have come to love deploy and leave their families. I was sobbing even before putting on my makeup. Of course now I have a headache from it, but the episode was realistic, it conveyed the correct emotions, the way the families go to the tarmac to say goodbye, the forced happiness so the troops can go off feeling somewhat good. The immense pride the wives have for their Army husbands, the fears that they also have and keep hidden. All I can say is darn you Lifetime for your blatant manipulation of my emotions!
If you are not watching this amazing show, well written, well acted, please do so, you will not be disappointed.

It is Friday and I am grateful, I will be running my errands this afternoon after work so I can spend all day tomorrow holed up in my apartment. Yes, it has been that kind of week. I am determined that with my new schedule beginning on Monday it will all be better. I do believe leaving 30 minutes earlier might do the trick.
Yesterday I stopped at Starbucks for me and Tiffaney; you would think that would eradicate the need to stop this morning. It did not; I fully refuse to feel any shame in this. I need my coffee treat on Friday dagnabit, and I am going to get it. I did get something healthy, the Greek yogurt, so I have balanced myself out. While I am going the full disclosure route, I had my Peet’s coffee at home and also got an extra shot of espresso again. Once again I feel no shame.
Last night Alex came over and we had dinner together, I cooked a pizza, no, not homemade, but second best. The spinach, mushroom and garlic pizza from Schwan’s, so good! I highly recommend it. We had a pleasant meal together and a pleasant conversation.
I want to know who decided it was a good idea to put dried cranberries in everything. Someone find that person and fire them!

Today we are celebrating, the end of a six month cycle here at work, we will begin our new tours with new managers on Monday, today is Tiffaneys’ Friday, so she and I have decided it is Double Espresso Day. I have picked up the coffee treats on my way to work. Beginning next week I will no longer be able to stop on my way to work as they open right at 5:00 A.M. and that is when I have to sign into my phone. I am not able to be in two places at once.
So, this getting a new manager thing, there are several they could put me with, I usually end up with a “special” one. Please take the quotation marks however you decide to. These six months I will be working 5:00 A.M. to 1:30 P.M. I am very excited about this. Getting off of work earlier in the afternoon is a dream come true. I am especially excited about this during the holiday season, can you imagine getting off of work at 1:30 in the afternoon and hitting the malls before the evening crowd gets there! Getting your shopping done then heading home while the rest of the world is getting off of work! Amazing. I can hardly wait.
Speaking of Holidays, one of my favorites is coming up, Halloween, I love, love, love Halloween, the dressing up, pretending to be what you aren’t and the candy! Who hates a holiday that is basically a candy holiday, you get rewarded for a minimal effort, at least with boys it is minimal, girls tend to take this a little more seriously. I have not dressed up in several years due to I am not at work on that day; I miss dressing up. Wonder Woman was my favorite, I worked with a personal trainer for about six months before Halloween for that one, there is no way in the world I could be her now. But one time in my life I got to be Wonder Woman. It was total greatness; I still have the costume and the boots. Those boots rock, I have wracked my brain trying to figure out how to make those boots work with a real world outfit to no avail.
And now for our favorite segment: Does that Make My Dog Crazy or in this case Lazy.
When Chewie first came to live with me I made a video of him howling for Jess, so he could watch it whenever he missed Chewie. Well recently I shot a video of Tessa at her party and was uploading it, after I was done I was going back to make sure it was watchable on the Iphone. So I am sitting on the sofa with Nocona lying next to me, I play the Tessa video, no problems, then I see the Chewie video, I thought “oh I haven’t watched this in a while”, so I begin watching the video. Nocona is lying right next to me, as the video begins and we hear Chewie “talking” I feel Nocona twitch, I look down, her body is not moving, only her mouth is twitching, she begins howling, without lifting her head. She howls the entire video, not once moving a muscle other than her mouth.
So, lazy or crazy?

So on my way to work I heard the song I want to kiss you all over by Exile, I love that song. I have so many fond memories of skating to that song. I remember this one time Pam went up to the DJ at the Skate Ranch to request that particular ditty, however, since she had a huge crush on him she became flustered and blurted out “I want to kiss you all over!” Of course we all were so embarrassed for her, the horror! She of course turned beet red and tried to recover by saying “I mean play the song.” And she very quickly made her escape via skates.
I have so many memories of that place; the Skate Ranch in Owasso was the place to be on Friday night. Ma and Pa Luper owned it and they were genuinely like family. It is the place many Owassoans had their first taste of liquor, behind the Skate Ranch, of course. It is the place were we could escape for a few hours and skate our troubles away. I loved the Skate Ranch, I loved disco skating and beyond all I loved hanging out with my friends at the rink. The Skate Ranch had the best floor, it was a wooden floor, that kind is the best for disco skating; they had the best nachos and the best popcorn.
Today they have made it into a carpet warehouse, the travesty of it all, how dare they take an iconic Owasso landmark and make it a carpet warehouse! I am outraged that no one in the city fought this, are there no more of us left there? That remember our home away from home? I promise you this right here and now fellow Owassoans, if I ever win the lottery I will buy the Skate Ranch back and restore it to its former glory!

I saw this wedding show this past weekend that featured different wedding cakes. One caught my eye, it was a cupcake wedding cake, and the different layers are all cupcakes! In different flavors, I am thinking that is the way to go. There will be a lot of children there and well let’s face it I am a giant child myself with the taste buds of an eight year old. Cupcakes are a perfect solution. And with the different flavors everyone could get something they like. I could have German chocolate for one layer, vanilla for one layer, strawberry and regular chocolate. The combinations are just endless! I am very excited by this idea.
The Irishman has added someone to his guest list, it is someone he meant to have on there in the first place and just forgot. So now another foreigner is added to the list, the Spaniard, which is good because he knows how to dance. So perhaps he can be a stand in for the Irishman at the disco extravaganza.
Yes I am back to wanting someplace that has a disco ball so I can have all of the disco music my little heart desires. Although the Katy Perry California Girls theme is a close second, with Jess in a Snoop Dogg outfit, wow, I know this is all caffeine induced but seriously people, can’t you picture it! All of the guests dressed like they belong in a Candy Land game! How much fun would that be? I will keep that in mind for plan B.
So as many of my readers know, or maybe you don’t, I let the Irishman off the hook in going to my grand daughter’s birthday party to go watch the final game of the World Cup with said Spaniard and Gladys. I did this knowing how much this sporting event means to him. No strings, no holding it over his head, nothing. Now, my ex-husband asked where he was, Elizabeth asked where he was, when I explained, ex-husband understood, Elizabeth, not so much. I have a feeling she will not be letting him off the hook so easily.
Ok, I found Peet’s coffee in the grocery store, my California friend Michelle goes on and on about Peet’s, of course I cannot visit the coffee shop so I decided to purchase the ground coffee. I wanted to see for myself if it was as good as she has stated. Michelle did not lie, that is all I can say, this coffee rocks. Everyone should run out and purchase it; it has a smooth taste and a rockin kick!
Peace out homies, I hope everyone has a Peet’s day!

Today is a momentous day, I had to have a double espresso to talk about it. Today is Alex’s 19th birthday. I can’t believe he is that old. I remember when I found out I was pregnant with him, it was a total surprise. He has been the best surprise I have ever had. When he was born his sister, Elizabeth, nicknamed him mr sunshine face, because he was always smiling.
I love you Alex and hope your day is total greatness and that you get off work early!

Yesterday was Tessa’s birthday party, a huge success in my eyes, the kids had fun with the water fun outside and the adults had fun inside in the air conditioning. What more could one ask for. Today I am wearing an outfit that is reminiscent of the 1940’s complete with ankle strap shoes.
It is Monday and I am exhausted but chipper. I have decided chipper is the only way to be. This is a short one folks, my mind is blank today!

Today is Tessa Renee’s birthday party; we will be celebrating her turning three. I still cannot believe it has been three years since that little ball of energy entered this world. She is an amazing child; you can tell she is in a loving home with two parents who love her very much. I would like to take credit for my son being the kind of father he is, but I know that it is his personality and temperament perhaps combined with my parenting abilities that has made him the man he is today.
He is truly amazing and I am amazed every day that God decided to bless me with him. Children are a gift from God, they only belong to us a short amount of time, the time goes by way too quickly. While I am proud of the adults my children have become I miss the toddler and elementary school and middle school and high school days with them.
Today is going to be a very hot day here in North Texas, we got some very good weather the last few days, storms and tons of rain, now back to the real July!
I hope everyone has a great day, I know I am going to enjoy seeing my beautiful Tessa have fun with her little friends!