Ppppbbbbbbbtttttt!

Assimilation

Well ladies and gentlemen, I have finally joined the 'i' cult...er, family. ;) When the whole ipod thing became popular, I quickly dismissed it. I'd had a Sony Walkman when I was a kid...what's the big deal?! Living with college kids for a summer (with their expendable incomes and fun toys) made me start to rethink my staunch anti-bandwagon view on this new techno-gadget, but I still wasn't convinced that I wanted to spend THAT much money for a suped-up jump drive! (Although I was being swayed by the free engraving promotion that Apple was offering this summer.)

Little did I know that simply waiting would give me a version of that 'toy' I'd begun to think on fondly. Other years Centrifuge Directors have been given anything from beautiful watches to leather office chairs...this year the Director gift was an ipod shuffle! While it wasn't a full-blown ipod, it was a start! I brought the little sucker home and promptly forgot all about it until December when I found it in a box of stuff (very important stuff, mind you!) that I'd mailed home at the end of the summer. It's been sitting on my coffee table for two months along with a hearty resolution to start exercising more! Today I finally got around to setting up itunes and organizing my playlists. Ladies and Gents, I am finally ready to join that oblivious multitude who manage to drown out that pesky oncoming traffic with tiny little ear-buds! Watch it, I may be stepping out in an intersection near you!! ha!

Remembering Challenger

Today was the 20th anniversary of the Challenger space shuttle explosion. I can't believe it's been 20 years! I was in 5th grade and our class had gone over to the 6th grade wing to watch the television coverage of the event. It was a big deal because Christa McAuliffe was the first teacher to go into space. There were several interviews with her prior to the launch and she seemed like a really neat person. I remember wishing that she could have been my teacher. I don't think I'll ever forget where I was when it happened.

Yeah, that's right...SEVEN!

One pooped pup!

Mom's dog Izzy had puppies yesterday! She's a small dog but she had a BIG belly, so we were expecting 4 or 5. Yeah, she is now the proud mamma of SEVEN black and tans!! 4 girls, 3 boys. And mom is looking for homes...so lemme know if you're interested! :)

Here is Izzy with her brood


One day old!

Awwwwhhhhh, how sweet!

Stuff I want...

Alright, I'm not intentionally trying to be materialistic. I'm just bored and thought it would be fun! Click on the image for more information!

I want this camera (or the D70s). Back in the day, we had a film SLR and I loved it! I've missed it ever since it decided to run away (on a trip to Seattle, I think? ha!) I've become addicted to digital photography recently, so I'm thinking a digital SLR would make more sense now. And everyone I know is sporting a Canon, and as I'm not much of a 'bandwagon' person myself, I'd get the Nikon just to be different! ;)


I need a club chair for my apartment. A leather chair and ottoman would be nice. Or if you click on the picture, you can see the link to the Lay-z-boy chair style that I like. Not sure what fabric I'd choose, given the choice, but I like the style.

A West Highland Terrier! I want a girl and I would name her Coconut! :)

Oh, uhm...Michael Rosenbaum...hmmmm, how did HE get here?! ;) Well, while we're on the subject of things I want... ha!

A 2006 Nissan Z Roadster--Silver is good...or black...or white...or ANY color would work if you're actually gonna get me one! I'm not picky! ha!

And WORLD PEACE of course! ;)

This has been a slightly tongue-in-cheek look at the stuff I'd like to have. I am very aware that THINGS will not make me happy, so no need to give me a reality check. I find that the content of my blog is often inversely proportional to the things I'm actually thinking on. If that is the case, just know that while this post may seem shallow, the stuff going on behind is much more profound. Cryptic, I know...hopefully one day soon I will share out of the depth rather than indulging in the frivolous. Until then...

Test post

This is just a test to see if I can figure out how to link a site to a posted image. I saw a guy do it on his blog last week and I want to know how! :)


...alright, I've tried everything that I can think to do (and Blogger's help pages aren't being very 'helpful')! So any ideas? I'm sure it's very simple and I'll feel like a fool for not thinking to try 'that', but I'm impatient and prepared to look foolish at the moment! And yes, that camera is part of the post I'm trying to create...so stay tuned! And somebody help me figure this out!

Never a dull moment with Emory!!

Tonight my friend Emory and I went to dinner at Zeus (which I've blogged about at least a time or two! It's my favorite!!) Weeknight dinners out are rarely worth mentioning but this one will definitely go down in my books as one of my most entertaining meals ever!! Emory meets no strangers, so she's good at keeping up with the 'friendliness' of our dear servers at Zeus. Tonight, we had the good fortune to meet Nidal, the owner...and just to let you know, WE are family now! ha! He sat us at a table in the back--near the kitchen--where 'the family' sits and he checked on us throughout our meal to flirt with us and make sure we were doing well. Eventually, he came over to check on us and proceeded to sit down and visit with us for probably thirty minutes or maybe more! It was a very interesting conversation ranging from a mini-lesson on Islamic beliefs (Nidal is Muslim) to relationship advice! SO funny!!! Of course we took pictures!

Emory trying a little 'kibbe'

Nidal and Emory

Me and Emory in the tent

A very creative shot, courtesty of Nidal :)

Nidal vanished for a little while and we had no clue where he went. I ran to the restroom, and came back to find him and Emory sitting in the tent! It was hilarious!!

Emory's getting all 'duded' up!

A view from behind

Who is that masked woman?!

Emory's birthday Baklava came with a little birthday dance with Clay

Happy Birthday Emory! :)

You can check out Emory's version of the story, along with a few different pics, here.

My very diligent friend

A few months ago my friend Emory introduced me to the music of her friend Nathan Lee. I really liked it, so she said she would get one of his CD's for me (they aren't for sell). Well, in the meantime Emory decided to move off to Nashville in search of riches and fame (just kidding) !She was busy packing and getting ready for the move, but she promised me that she would send me the CD. Well, a few days after she moved, I received a package in the mail and it was the CD she'd promised! Problem was, my 'ray-of-sunshine' mail carrier jammed it into my box behind a magazine and some junk mail, crushing the package that was clearly labeled Do Not Bend! UGH!!! I hated to do it because she'd gone through so much trouble, but I emailed Emory and told her about the broken CD. She was disappointed but said that she would send another one.

So yesterday when I came home, I had a delivery attempt slip on my door. I'd missed a package from Emory. Today I picked the package up at the FedEx office. This was it:

As I began to open the box, I had to laugh! She made sure no one was gonna crush this package! :)




So after I fought through all of the packing tape and bubble-wrap, I managed to find the CD--contained in a CD holder and wrapped in a big plastic bag! Here is the CD with all of it's 'packaging' :

And here is the result! My very own Nathan Lee CD--in pristine condition! Thanks Emory! I appreciate the effort and I am sure I will appreciate the music as well! You are a diligent woman!! :)

Nothing like the last minute!

As of about 9:00am this morning, I found out that I will be a leader for FBC Lafayette's DiscipleNow THIS weekend! Nothing like those last-minute phone calls! I've been a leader for plenty of D-Nows in the past, but this is probably the shortest notice I've ever had. Makes me a little nervous! And I just feel strange about the whole deal. Ever have one of those times where you feel like you should do something, but you don't feel like doing it? Does that make sense? My spirit is torn but I feel like this is where I need to be this weekend. I have more to say, but I can't find the words. Oh, well...maybe they will come later. Until then, I'll be cramming! :D

food associations

I contemplated making chamomile tea earlier this evening and that made me think of Katie because I remember her drinking chamomile tea when she was pregnant and nursing David. That made me wonder who else I associate with various foods...and then it hit me--Blog Topic!! So here are some food associations and why they exist:

Erica::cheese--because the girl loves cheese
Kyle::chocolate cake--Kyle likes to bake and I remember him making a KILLER chocolate cake!
Mom::roast beef--Sunday lunches growing up (baked chicken and 'sticky chicken' also makes me think of her)
Dad::homemade cinnamon rolls (sourdough bread too) (oh, and sardines, and liver...Dad has some pretty strange food associations! ;)
Damon::vegetables--because he doesn't like them
Erica::green beans and corn--that's what she always picked when she picked out vegetables!
Katie::hummus--that girl makes some MEAN hummus!! :)
Glenn::chocolate Easter bunnies--the man is addicted!
Della::chocolate oatmeal no-bake cookies--because we made them all the time (ahhhh, the things we'd do to avoid studying!)
Jen::chicken shwarma salad at Zeus--because that's what she always orders
Joni::Hot Tamales--she had this candy dish of Hot Tamales when she lived in Baton Rouge and she never ate them. I never could understand how she could have candy sitting there and not eat it! That girl has some will power!
Bonny::chips and dip--her favorite junk food
Jeff::peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with homemade mayhaw or muscadine jelly--because he'd always come over to my apartment and make himself sandwiches!
Della::mom's homemade figs--because she says no one in California makes fig preserves like my mom (and I still have two jars that I need to send to her!)
Mickey::Big Red gum--he liked cinnamon. Cinnamon gum was the only positive thing that came out of that relationship! ha!
Erica::nachos--because nachos involve cheese and the girl loves cheese!
Joni::homemade chocolate mints--when we were just young-uns, we made mints for some youth group fundraiser and we thought we were SO on-the-edge b/c Mrs. Gloria used actual Creme de Menthe in the recipe!
Joni::Bishop's Bread--I love me some of her mom's bishop's bread! And apparently we were just lil' alchies in training, weren't we?! ha!
Brian::Secco-Bertani Valpolichella--just because! ;)
Mawmaw::Aunt Sally's Cheesecake--Good stuff!
Pawpaw::Wild Game Gumbo--I won't describe it--it's something you just have to experience!
Granddaddy::chocolate spread on sliced white bread--childhood memories
Granny::ponce--another interesting dish that is probably better left unexplained!
Aunt Debbie::flintzens--she makes great ones!
Uncle Donald::black coffee--he always allowed us the joy of getting him another cup of coffee--I was just glad he liked it black!
Phillip::Sonic Jalapeno Poppers--a memory from when I was living in Clute
Josh::steak fajita tacos from that hole-in-the-wall place in Clute--those things were GOO-OOD!
Mrs. Loretta::chicken spaghetti--she'd always make it for covered dish lunches at church
Ms. Jean::monkey bread--finally being a 'helper' at VBS and getting to eat the teacher's snacks!
Ms. Ouida::chocolate chip cookies--she always made great cccookies

I'm sure there are more associations, but I think this will do for now! Oh, and Ritz crackers and orange juice reminds me of the nursery at church...random, I know! I've got to keep it interesting!

Happy Epiphany!

Today was Epiphany, or Twelfth Night, which kicks off Mardi Gras season and EVERYONE knows what THAT means, right?! King Cake!! ;) I had my first piece today, thanks to the lovely Grace who provided a Gambino's king cake in celebration of Epiphany--and the fact that they officially go on sale today! I just wanted to share a little 'holiday cheer' with all of my faithful readers! So who's getting the next one?!

My, what big FEET you have!

Tonight included a little bathtime fun for ole' Gray-ster! I have pictures (of course) but I'll post the rest of those tomorrow. I did want to let you know that Damon has set up a blog just for Grayson, so if you'd like to see pictures of the cutie (without having to rifle through all of my mindless rambling) you can check it out here: http//graysonparks.blogspot.com. I will be posting on his blog as well as my own. Until then, I leave you with this foot... ;)  

The many faces of Grayson

Grayson makes lots of fun faces. I tried to capture some of them today...