My latest lesson from indoor soccer...

Perhaps I should stop stopping the ball with my face. The upper palate and gums of my mouth have been hurting all day from the ball that knocked me on my ass last night. I barely saw the ball before I discovered I was laying on the ground. Last night, as I laid there on the turf taking a mental inventory, like - can I still see and is there blood, I heard one of my team mates let me know that I would have to recover on the field as we had no subs. Heh :)

Indoor soccer is played at a much faster pace than outdoor and the field is smaller and the odds of getting beamed by a ball are much much higher. I have experienced this a few times since I have been playing indoor.

Yesterday was a rough game, and I don't particularly like those types of games. I want to be able to play for a long time to come and rough games can shorten any ones ability to play soccer, let alone exercise. I had one player apologize for hitting me in the boob and I would had given some humorous rejoinder if she hadn't simultaneously whacked the crap out of my wrist. I was busy mentally cussing so I couldn't respond right away. I mean, it was humorously odd to be running next to someone while they apologize for essentially punching you in the boob.

Ultimately, we had fun and we worked hard as a team. I was thankful for the exercise and that I wasn't too hurt. I will be taking some Ibuprofen before I go to bed. :)

Cats, dogs, turkeys, flying monkeys, Oh My!

So it has almost been a month since my last blog entry and I thought I better get a crackin'. What have I been up to? I am sure a lot of this will be out of chronological order but oh well.


I took more photos of the cast of Cats and Cliff made posters for all of his cast members. I thought that was very thoughtful of him. I know the Srays have a wall of pictures from their shows and I would want the same if I had been in a show. Anyway, it was good practice for me and I found it helpful that the cast was made up of very talented, friendly people who aren't shy in front of a camera. :)












I do not know if you can get an idea of how high the jump to the right is. If you look at the door to the right you will see where the knob is. The guy can jump! It took us a few tries as I was using a point and shoot which can be rather slow. I am learning. :)





I have a ton of photos of the cast and it is hard to choose what/who to post. I will leave it with these for now.

I had the chance to see Hairspray. It was a last minute thing and it went off without a hitch. If I had had more time to think about it I may not have done it. Fortunately, the friend I invited to go with me drove and had attended school in Waco, so there was no problem reaching our destination. Had I gone by my lonesome it is highly likely that I would have gotten lost. There was one actress in the show that was frigging brilliant. She was soooo very funny, had prefect timing and made the show for me. Marsha had told me to keep my eye out for her as she had seen her in the same role last year. The actress is great!

Um, what else. I went to Brackettville for Thanksgiving. My dad and I drove there together and it was fun. That is where my older brother and his girlfriend live. It was the first time I had been out there. Next time I will go when it is warmer weather so I can get the tour, as it were and take more pictures. I ended up taking a lot of pictures of their dogs, who are all kinds of sweet. I had my dad take a picture of me with my aunt and my brother's girlfriend as otherwise I wouldn't be in any of the holiday photos. I would like to be in some of the pictures too and I am trying to get him to start taking pictures again. He is a great photographer.

R

Rue and Fran are both very sweet girls!

Anyway, Cid, my brother, hosted Thanksgiving as my mother is in Germany for work and he smoked two hams and two turkeys. There was an INSANE amount of food. The drive out was neat as we saw a whole bunch of cotton less cotton farms. Actually there was some cotton remnant's on the barbed wire fences. I would like to make that drive when the cotton fields are ripe for picking, as it were. I want to take some surreal pictures with floating tufts of cotton. I am pretty sure I saw an eagle but it didn't register until later otherwise I would have tried to convince my dad to pull over. That wouldn't have lasted long though as we may have been shot by hunters, as there were a lot around. On the way back to San Antonio we stopped in Uvalde and went to an Army Surplus store. It was pretty fun. I tried to convenience my dad to buy a flight suit for next Halloween. If I slim down a bit maybe I'll get one for Halloween. Pretty easy costume. They also had some parachutes, which I keep forgetting to tell Amy. She was looking for one for one of the kids birthdays. We used to play with them at school and it remember it being rather neat. So if Amy ever finds time to read this she will now have a source other than eBay. :)

Tin Man - that SciFi movie extravaganza was rather crappy. The script could have been so much more imaginative. Also, Zooey Deschanel, who played DG - a descendant of Dorthy, well she was really bad. I have seen her in quite a few movies and she was great so I have to attribute it to the director, who seems to have wanted her to keep her eyes wide for the innocent look. Hard to act when keeping your eyes wide. Honestly I do not know what the cause was, I am sure there were a few factors but the resulting performance was lacking. There were three parts to the series and a part was shown each night, for three consecutive nights. Each part was two hours long and it got progressively crappier each night. Although, not intentionally humorous, there were the "monkeys" and I have to tell you where they flew from. The bosom of the sorceress (witch). She had tattoos on her that would fly off of her chest and morph into CGI flying monkeys (bat like monkeys?). The smirk on David's face when this would happen was hysterical. I called him tonight to tell him that I didn't quite know what to do as none of the shows on TV tonight had flying boob monkeys. Some of the most dead on and funny reviews I have read in a while can be read here. Just the commentary on the monkeys brought tears to my eyes. http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/elfman/674160,CST-FTR-elf30.article
http://www.nypost.com/seven/11302007/tv/against_all_oz_849976.htm
If you aren't interested in actually reading the reviews here are some snippets...

"Plus, no guy will be blamed for wanting to get comfy with the Wicked Witch. There's a change for you. Replacing the green skin and cackle is a dewy thing with a sultry voice. With a bit of dramatic heaving, the tattoos on her lush bosom transform into monkey bats and launch into the skies. Around the country, nerd boys will be reconsidering what their ideal unattainable woman looks like."
"On the upside, the special effects are, well, very special and very good and must have cost a bundle. Just to build Azkadelia's S&M Cinderella outfits and shooting boobs must have broken the bank."

Today Elizabeth turned two!!! She is such a sweet girl. She had a Diego cake and all of the kids enjoyed the sugary concoction. I took video of the event and while videoing Luke broke into a hilarious dance of jubilation when his father said is was time for cake. I told Amy I want a copy. We need to send a copy to Grandma and our Aunt, I bet they will love it!

Last weekend my dad was in town and my sister, dad and my sister's two oldest and I went to the movies. We saw Enchanted. The lead actress and the prince were excellent. The movie was fun and although I thought it was a little slow at times and could of had more humor, I realize that I am not the main target for Disney. I like the quick wit in Shrek. Anyway, we all had fun at the movie! Spoiler..........................................................................................................................................................
I was disappointed that Idina Menzel didn't sing. I some how figured she wasn't going to but I really had hoped that she would. Hello, musical and she has chops!
End of Spoiler
One of my favorite people came into town last weekend and I was able to meet up with him last minute on Saturday night. We met at Whole Foods and then hung out at Starbucks for about two hours. I like talking with him as I can be open and talk about anything. Also, I like talking about spirituality, what we have been doing with our lives and things in general. He is a very positive person and I appreciate that in my life. Shawn is one of those people in my life that I can see once a year and have a great heart to heart. No bullshit, just laughter, kindness, clarity and friendship.

I need to be taking more photos so I thought I would put it in writing...to make it so. :)

Today I let David know that I bought a lotto ticket for today and Friday so I am pretty much covered. In which he replied "Sweet". He gets it. It is great to have a friend who gets your humor. Of course he then said I could adopt 100 cats. Then he suggested 200 Maevis'. So if I do win, any amount, I do not think I will ask David how I should spend it. Plus, I have plans for funding my Vespa gang.



As a side note I only edited the black and white photo so I know they could use some tweaking but then I wouldn't get to posting.



One last photo to help me sign off. :) Some of my favorite subjects...

Soup, Music and Tours of Art

The other day I was hanging out with my sister and her family and we went over to their new house to see the progress, as it is just about finished. My brother in-law and I were in the backyard when I saw movement. I pointed out my discovery to Charlie. A very large tarantula. Charlie called everyone to come check out the spider as I went to my car to look for a camera. I couldn't remember if I had brought my camera and I hadn't but fortunately my sister had brought hers. I took some pictures and Amy is going to email some to me. If they turned out I will post one. Although spiders give me the hebegebees some of them have beautiful patterns, like the ones on my back porch. The tarantula was just impressive.

There are a lot of things coming up that I want to do. The East Side Art Tour is supposed to be the week of November 17th. The Empty Bowl Project is on Nov 18th and I really recommend it. http://www.clayways.com/e_emptybowl.html There are also quite a few shows coming to town that I am interested in. Iron & Wine will be at La Zona Rosa, Nickel Creek is going to be at Stubb's, it is their Farewell For Now Tour. There are other shows as well. I may pick a few and go. I saw Tegan and Sara last night and there was too much cigarette smoke, more than I have been around in a long time. I am allergic to cigarette smoke so being around it isn't a pleasant experience for me. I didn't have as much fun as I did at the show I saw there last month but there ya go. They sounded great live and I probably should have moved either closer or away from the crowd as where I was, it was hard to see the stage and the smoke was in abundance.

I saw my ex the other day and I was completely shocked and I have no idea what she thought of my reaction/our brief interaction. She looked beautiful and had a friendly smile. It was hard to see her (it has almost been a year since we have seen each other) and I was surprised she said anything to me. There was a part of me that wished she hadn't said anything to me at all since we aren't talking. I haven't heard from her and part of me really had hoped she would have sent me an email. Then again, maybe I looked like I didn't want anything to do with her. Honestly, it is probably best because she still affects me. It was probably a 5 second moment and all I could do was react and then go sit down at my booth. I was at lunch with co-workers and there was nothing I could do. The fact that we sat about 10 feet from her table wasn't easy but it was somewhat comical.

The fridge did not die and I am thankful that I didn't have to go buy another one. Frankly, I need to by more groceries and stop going out so much. Although, I am trying to be a bit better about it. Monday night we had a pre-chemo dinner. David and I went grocery shopping and then cooked dinner at their place. I think it turned out rather well and I even toasted some pine nuts. :) We had pasta with grilled chicken, shrimp, pine nuts and the sauce had a whole bunch of garlic as David is a garlic fiend. :) We also had fresh bread, steamed broccoli and chocolate and some ice cream. Needless to say I ate too much. :) We had a good time hanging out and talking


I have been listening to a lot of random indie music lately. Also, Sara Bareilles and The Gotan Project. There have been quite a few artists covering Rhianna's Umbrella and my favorite version is by Tegan and Sara, which I heard on the Internet and I also heard it live last night and it sounded even better last night. See if you can find it online and give it a listen. It sounds great.

Strangely Silent Fridge - DEFY MURPHY!

As of late, my refrigerator has been a bit noisy. This evening when I went to pour myself some club soda - decadent, I know - I noticed that the contents were beginning to freeze. I then adjusted the level on the fridge thinking maybe I accidentally knocked the gauge, knowing full well that I probably didn't. A few minutes ago I opened it up to see if it is losing its cooling ability but I cannot tell.

I wonder if the previous noises were its last gasps? I am hoping such is not the case. However, something is going on as that was my third bottle of Club Soda I have opened this week and the first to have ice in it. Now, in the kitchen - utter silence. Don don dooon. Since I went grocery shopping just a few days ago, Murphy's would dictate my fridge's death. I hope that both the fridge and I defy Murphy. Dorky news? Yes, but thought I would share.

Yard Mange

Heh. In a previous post I mentioned the attempt to save some of the bugs in my backyard. While trying to spare the bugs in my yard from the swift blades of my lawn mower I have created a rather mangie looking yard. So I will have to finish up the backyard. I mean, if someone were to look at it they would be hard pressed to explain the thinking behind it all.

Last night I went to a fundraiser event which had the theme of Casino Night. Marsha went with me and we had dinner, dessert, drinks and did some gambling. There was also a silent auction. You also received chips to gamble with and at the end of the night you could cash your chips/winnings in for tickets. You would then drop your ticket into the bag in front of the item you wanted to be in a drawing for. There was a fish tank, a tool set, VCR recorder thingie, A GPS unit, Rhino bed liner, and a few other items. Marsha tried for the GPS unit and and I put most of the tickets into the bed liner bag, and a few into the GPS bag. The GPS bag was very full with tickets and I thought the odds were better for the bed liner. We had a lot of tickets because the first of two tables we played had a very generous dealer. :) There was also a man who would walk up and take high dollar chips from our dealer and hand them out. :) When I was at the second table some one gave me $1,000 worth of chips for a water. LOL

Also, my friend Stacy, who gave me the ticket for the event was there with her husband. I was trying to help Mitch, Stacy's husband, win the bed lining for his truck and the odds were really good as most people put their tickets in for the GPS unit. Guess what? We didn't win jack. :) We weren't surprised but we dared to dream. Regardless, I had a while lot of fun hanging out with friends while working on my math skills. Anyway, we had fun! We didn't even make it to the Texas Hold 'Em tables because we were having so much fun at the Black jack tables.

Today I slept in and then hung out with Simon. He was happily laying on one of my pillows, purring. Later I met my friend Mary at Guerros on SoCo and we noshed while we conversed about life. We then perused the stores. We even got to check out the new candy store, which had some funny items, along with things you would expect. I also saw the cupcake airstream that I want to try out some time. They sell cupcakes and only cupcakes - yum! There was a line and if I hadn't been so full from lunch I was seriously considering the Red Velvet - which was a red velvet cupcake with cream cheese icing on top. I think it is clever and I really hope they stay in business.

The weather was great today and I am glad I got to enjoy some time out in it. Tonight I hope to do some reading and chill out.

~E

Emmett

I lost a friend yesterday. Quite a lot of people lost a friend yesterday. Emmett Miller was a sweet kind man that used to sit around the corner from me at work. We had many a great discussion about music, food and life. It is rare for me to find someone as in to music as me so when I discovered that he too was an audiophile, I knew I had a unique friend. Emmett was older than me so his music collect was more of the vinyl variety. I suspect he also had a large CD collection. :)

Emmett always had a smile and when he was upset he still had kindness about him. He was the kind of person that would go out of his way to help others. I remember when he helped a co-worker out he didn't really even know and drove her to and from work for longer than he should have. He spoke of his mother often and with affection. Not too long ago we chatted about his mother being on the cover of The Chronicle. For Christmas I got him a bottle of wine, which he refused to open because he liked the way the bottle looked. And for someone who would often have me help him with a computer issue, he was very knowledgeable on how to sell things on eBay. We seemed to appreciate each others' quirks. I loved him. He was a kind person who had a great laugh and I will miss hearing him call me Shug.

~E

Last Sunday I went to see Rilo Kiley and I had a great time. I was surprised to see so many people there let alone that so many people new the words to the most of the songs. It was a beautiful night and they gave an awesome performance. Initially, I was going to skip it as I was rather exhausted from my soccer game but a few of my friends said that I should go and so I did! :) You can see some of their videos here http://www.rilokiley.com/video

Last weekend I saw The Jane Austen Book Club and really enjoyed it. It was a fun chick flick with an actual bit of discussion regarding Jane Austen's work.

Last night I mowed part of the lawn - the tall junglie part. While mowing, I saw all kinds of critters scrambling as I literally mowed through their forest. So being the dork I am, I slowed down the mower so that they could scramble. Why cause carnage when it isn't needed? Plus I like to take pictures of all of the critters. They won't hang out if well... if they are dead or their habitat is gone. Go figure. Anyway, while mowing I was visualizing movies like A Bugs Life and I was the giant with the killing machine, while all the cute nice bugs screamed while they fled. It was humorous and wrong at the same time. So I decided I wasn't going to mow the whole yard so that the bugs would have somewhere to hang out, plus I was running out of day light.

I went to the opening night of Cats at The Georgetown Palace Theatre and they did a great job. If you like musicals you should go. I was so impressed how well the community theatre pulled of the show. Great dancing and just a good job overall.

Monday night I went out with the Sray's, as it was pre-chemo night, and we ate well at the Macaroni Grill. It was nice. Part of the time Marsha and I talked about books and I enjoyed that as I haven't had that type of discussion in a while. It reminded me that I need to do more reading and so I need to make a list. I already have something on its way from Amazon but it is non fiction. I would like to read more fiction and I am going to ask Marsha to email me some of the titles we discussed because I cannot remember them. [Marsha email me some titles, please :) ]

Tuesday night I hung out with Marsha and her mom as it was chemo night. Marsha had chemo that morning and it was a rough day. She was very nauseous and weak. Marsha commented that it was worse than morning sickness and at least with morning sickness, at the end you get a beautiful baby. Who could argue with that? I am glad we were able to hang out as I cannot fathom having to go through that alone. Not that I was much help but sometimes I think it can be a little less miserable if you have someone there with you. Marsha's mom was there too and we just talked a bit, watched tv and hung out. Marsha's mom is great and they have such a good relationship.

Anyway, I know I haven't posted in a while. I have just been busy and obviously need to be better about posting.

I finally did it...

Last Sunday after the mid-day heat soccer game I spent some quality time trying to get the humidity/sweat induced knots out of my hair. I figured it was time to measure my hair again and see if I had the 10 inches for Locks of Love. Well, have the 10 inches and still have enough hair for a ponytail and for me to be happy with the length. So Friday I went in and had my hair chopped. Cost Cutters is doing a hair drive for Locks of Love and they will cut, shampoo and blow dry your hair for free if you are donating your hair. I hadn't had that done in a while. It was nice and I was in a happy massaged head place. The above picture is of 10 inch ponytails. Instead of trying to saw through one big ponytail the lady wisely sectioned my hair off. Anyway, I am happy with my haircut and that I was able to donate my hair. I was too distracted and forgot to take an after photo. I will see what I can do.


Jackson, David and I had dinner at Cafe Java Friday night. It was fun and the ladies at the diner all loved Jackson. :) Marsha stayed home as the after effects of her chemo are still in effect - evil bone pain. Jackson more than once mentioned that mama wasn't coming. He had a good time though and was pleased that there were chips with his nuggets. Um, he also kept stealing noodles from my plate. :) I like the way he says noodles.








I spent this weekend taking lots of pictures. Starting with an outing Friday night Jackson, then with my sister's family, then Saturday I took pictures at Allison and Andy's wedding and then Saturday late afternoon I went and attempted to take more low lighting photos of the Cats Rehearsal. I have much to learn about lighting.


The picture to the right is of the Johnson clan looking at/ordering gelato. :)


I will try to edit some photos, maybe tonight, so I can post some of what I took this weekend.


I have been rather busy, last week I had a line break in my front yard and that was a bit sucky but my neighbors were very helpful and Roto Rooter was quick to show up and finish the job.

ACL Festival 2007 - Fire and all...

Click on the pictures for a closer look.

So I managed to swing a wristband to the ACL Fest and while there I took a bunch of photos. I also took a few videos.

There was a fire at the festival and I got quite a few photos. Apparently some people were cooking and there was a faulty butane line. The fire ended up burning up a trailer and two 18 wheelers. Above is a pictures of the burned out Budweiser truck. This fire was not in the open public area but it was very close, as you can tell from the photo. There is a short video at the bottom that I took of the fire.

One of the favorites for me was the Gotan Project. The front man was very talented and made me crack up. There were three violinists, a pianist, a guitar player, a cellist, two DJs, a singer and an accordionist. You should visit their site http://www.gotanproject.com/ so you can get an idea of why they are great. The whole time everyone was dancing. I was up near the front and I was surround by young folk who were all fluent in Spanish. A couple behind me asked me where Bjork would be playing and I got out one of my maps and showed them. The lady then asked me if I had heard of the Gotan Project before and I said yes, she then asked if I understood what they were singing, and I said a little. :) I told her that I owned some of their music. She said that she was from Mexico city and had never heard of them. I think she was surprised that she had never heard of them and that I had. She of course has no idea what a music freak I am.

I also got to see M.I.A. and she was entertaining but I think the heat made the crowd a little lethargic. Her run dancing looked cool and funny at the same time. I haven't modified any of the pictures from her set yet. There were a lot of people to see her show as she has a new sound but also there are also political issues with her and they finally let her in the country.

Zap Mama was great and I was glad they moved them to a stage as opposed to the tent they were under two years ago, as they had a huge crowd and the tent wouldn't have sufficed.

I also saw Amy Lavere and she is very talented and her lyrics are a humorous and a bit dark. She can also slap that bass! I love that she wears a TCB - Taking Care of Business neckless. The video isn't the best quality but I am playing with this new feature. :)

Adam Hood put on a good show and I need to look at his site more so I can figure out which album to buy. He and his band have a good sound. Country rock, as it were.

I like taking pictures of people with reflective glasses as I try to catch what is in the reflection. In this case you can see the crowd watching him play.

I have never attached a video before and this was a little large. When I left Saturday night I stopped on Barton Springs, on the way to my car, to watch these guys. I enjoyed listening to them and was impressed with their home made instruments.

Read the bottom text of the sign. :) It says "Violaters will be towed to a place of Darkness and Tormanet!"" Heh.

~Elaine

Hola

Click to see some serious eye lashes. :) Luke loves cookies!

So it has been a little while and I am sitting on my couch trying to recall what I have been up to.

The day before labour day I drove to my parents and we had a big BBQ. All the kids were there, along with their kids, my aunt, uncle, cousin and her husband. Also, my brother's girlfriend was also there. Anyway, it was nice to see my dad in good spirits and a lot healthier.

The picture is of my sister's family. We took a walk while visiting my parents.

I went and saw a scary/campy movie about on labour day with David, Marsha, Cliff and Jennifer. The movie was much better than expected. I spent part of the movie covering my eyes and waiting for those watching the screen to stop groaning from what was on screen. That isn't to say that I miss calculated on occassion and saw entrails across the screen, but there you go. Black Sheep is a campy horror movie and be sure to have your volume on when you visit the site, you know, so you get the whole affect. http://www.blacksheep-themovie.com/

Outdoor soccer has started and I am thankful that most the paperwork has been completed and we have a good bunch of players, both as players and more importantly, people.

Marsha and I went out to eat the other night and that was nice. I mentioned to her that I am trying to be better about what I eat and then we ended up splitting a HUGE piece of chocolate cake and it was lovely. We then went to the Half Price Bookstore. It was fun. I then dropped her off and then hurried home as I had found a camera at the field the day before and the owner was meeting me at my house. It turns out that I know the wife of the person who left their very nice camera at the field. We talked a bit and he shared that he takes classes from Precision Camera so I am going to look into that option.

I babysat the other night. All four kids and it went well. I asked Amy how long the first movie was that she put in and she said at least 90 minutes. I had a feeling that wasn't the case so I read the back of the box and it was 34 minutes, then I read the other video's info, and it was a whole 11 minutes. Fortunately, the kids and I also had Hercules. Charlie, who had to work late, came home to Luke refusing to let Anna remove the first movie so we could watch Hercules. I was in the middle of asking Luke to use his words when Charlie got home. Heh. So Charlie and crew watched the movie for a while and then I ended up spending about 20 to 30 minutes throwing Luke and baby Cate onto the big bed, which was covered in pillows. They had fun. Then I ended up having to do that with all the kids, my back was a bit sore the next day but we had fun! I hung out until Amy got home and monitored Craigslist and managed to buy a last minute ACL ticket. I already had Friday off and so things fell into place.

I took a bunch of pictures at the festival and I will post some soon. Needless to say, last night I decided that three days at the festival was just too much so I didn't go today. They need more shade or to move it to October. I saw some great bands but when I go by myself I have a habit of walking all over the place when I should just settle and enjoy it all. I am thinking that next year I may go to some of the pre and post shows instead, as they are after dark = cooler and I suspect longer than a 45 to 60 minute set. We shall see.

Random thing to share, if you enjoy campy/cheesy movies, with action/spies and such, and aren't uncomfortable with a gay theme/love story, I so recommend D.E.B.S.. It cracks me up and it is PG-13. It is on TV right now and so I thought I would share. :)

Picture story for David

Once upon a time, like two days ago, there was a kitten that liked to hang out in the Funk's backyard and torture the black and white kitty who lived inside the house. You see Simon Funk, while very sweet to humans, has some serious issues and doesn't like other cats. It is suspected that he feels threatened, some times due to their cuteness and other times due to territorial disputes.

Recently, Simon tried to project himself through the sliding glass door, which he is want to do when he sees a cat in his backyard, let alone on his porch. On this particular day he turned it up a notch and ran to the kitchen to further stare down the furry intruder...it was rather comical...

Simon scrambled to get on top of the fridge and then worked his head around the high dollar paper curtain. Please note I have curtain rods up, so I am getting there.

The next photo is not of a ghost but of the illusive Mork, who wants to live at the Sray's. I added the scientific circle so that you could see the non apparition with greater ease.

Also, Mork was named by David, hence the name. :)

Meanwhile, Maevis could really give a rip about cats. Had it been a dog then Simon would have been lounging and Maevis would have tried to go through the glass door. Maevis loves her new plush Ikea rug and rather lay upon it in an unlady-like fashion than look out the kitchen window.

Here is the view from behind the curtain. :) Simon wasn't fooling around.

This is probably the cutest cat I have seen in a long while. It just sat there wondering what was up with all of the commotion.:)

I hope everyone has a happy Friday! Mork misses you David and says to come pick him/her up!

You should be able to click for a closer look at Mork. :)

Interviewed by Marsha...

I requested that Marsha interview me per her site's posting...(by the way it is great so you should visit it! http://themarshalogues.blogspot.com/index.html)

Interview rules:1. Leave a comment saying “Interview me.”2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. I get to pick the questions.3. You will update your blog with a post containing your the answers to the questions.4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

1. What was the first car you drove? The first car I ever drove was an orange Datsun hatchback that we called Pumpkin. I was around 12 and would beg my mother to let me drive. So she would let me drive it around the pasture on the farm. She would last about 15 minutes at a time as it was hot and and I am sure boring. I thought it was awesome :) When I got a little older I used to get to drive to and from church. At that time all the roads were pretty much back country roads. I will have to see if I can find a picture of the car.

2. (from David) Talk about your passion for photography. Is it new or renewed? What is your goal with this talent? It is renewed. When I was in High School I got a hold of an old Pentax and some lens. Both my step dad and my dad gave me some of their equipment that they had purchased while stationed in overseas. It was much cheaper to buy overseas so I had the hook up. I still have all of what they gave me. I really got into taking pictures of football because I had a subject, my brother Daryl. I proceeded to take pictures quite often. My brother Daryl was on the yearbook committee and he was able to use a lot of my photos, which I thought was cool. At some point, after Daryl graduated, I was busy with work, school and handling life, taking pictures faded. Ultimately, my dad and my mother were a shutterbugs and they passed it on to me and my sister. I haven't decided what my goal is other than to improve. I am interested in being able to sell some of my work at some point. To have someone see what I have done and feel a connection. So an artistic path is what I am thinking. We will see where it takes me.

3. How did Maevis get her name? Simon? Heh. I named Maevis after I heard the name in a Xena episode. It was was a humorous moment in the program where the main character is off her rocker (I believe due to the Furies) and refers to her friend as Mavis, and the name just stuck in my head. I spell Maevis with an e in it because I wasn't sure if I liked the name enough and I could always call Maevis Mae, or Mae Mae instead. It turned out that she is a Maevis. Simon is named after a cat we had when my sister and I were little. He was Siamese and he disappeared, most likely with the help of coyotes. I just like the name.

4. Who is your favorite actor, male or female and why? I am not quite sure who my favorite actor or actress is. I think there are really talented people who are in crap and then there are not so talented people in great films. Hmmm. Then there are aesthetic qualities versus pure talent. :) So, I do not know. I will have to think on it and if I figure it out I will post my findings.

5. Talk about your favorite vacation. Where, when, what. A few years ago I went on a short trip to L.A. with a friend and I had a really good time. It wasn't over planned, there was great food, went to the Getty, took pictures, watched two plays outside in beautiful weather, got to see the coast, etc. Low key, relaxing and fun.

So if you have a blog and would like me to interview you, just send me a note.

Ice Cream :)

Well it has been a little while and thankfully things have settled a bit. Most importantly, my dad is home from the hospital and recovering. We are so very thankful for that. I ended my sentence with the word that and that is going have to suffice! :)

Simon is also at home and recovering. I am a little paranoid about him as he has been peeing a lot but then I need to worry when he isn't peeing so here's to lots of peeing! He has been very good as I have to give him strong antibiotics twice a day. So I pop the pill in and sometimes I have to pop it in again. :) Overall, he has been quite the sport. He has taken to the forbidden pillow as though it had a healing source and he dares me to say anything. I know better. I just cover the pillow or when foiled by his stealthiness, I just have to throw on a new cover. The other day I had to get up around 12:30 AM as he had been sick, on the bed, and I had to switch the sheets out. He laid there and I had to pick him up and move him to different parts of the bed, as he made it clear he wasn't gonna move. Mattress pads are a godsend. If he weren't sick I would have motivated him to move it. I think he may be milking it a little but he is such a good boy and he almost died, he deserves the attention.

I went outside and took some more photos, one of my favorites has the bee's shadow on the flower. I just like how that turned out. I also took a million photos trying to get a picture of a particular spider's web. It took two days to get the right lighting etc. I could do better but I suspect I would need a macro lens. Click on the picture to get a better view of the web.

I bought two rugs a couple months ago from Ikea's As Is section. They were discontinued and they were like $5 each. Well I finally put one out to see how long it will last. I am going to put flooring in my bedroom but for now it is concrete. I thought a little rug would be nice and it is rather cushioned and feels awesome. It is Maevis' new favorite place to pass out. I will have find the picture.

Let's see...I had my birthday and that was okay. I think next year I am gonna leave town and do something fun. I did that a few years ago and had such a good time. Birthdays are kind of hard for me and I rather just plan something then regret not doing something.

Here is a picture of a bad mama jamma. I wish I hadn't cut off the top of Stacy's head but it still looks cool. This picture says "Badass". :) I took this at our last co-ed game of the season.

I got hit in the esophagus last indoor soccer game and may I just say, I do not recommend it. I went down, laid there and decided there were just a couple minutes left in the game and the world could kiss my ass. That isn't nice but it was the pain talking. I walked off the field, my body shaking. After the game quite a few players from the other team asked if I was okay, which is rare, and that was nice. The person who did it apologized and it made me laugh because before she said anything, I hadn't known who hurt me. I have noticed that when someone takes a play too far that I have to back off and fight the urge to slam them into the plexi-glass. It feels odd to react that way as I really try to be nice but I attribute it to fight or flight. It rarely happens but when it does it is a rare sight. I am usually goofing around etc so it throws people off to see me as Angry Spice. Anyway, Stacy had warned me that I might experience some whiplash, which I couldn't fathom, I was too busy making sure that my trachea was still connected. Well, Stacy was right, lovely headache and a stiff neck followed the next day and has continued. I am trying to get in with Donna so she can work out some of the whiplash.

Marsha celebrated her birthday on Sunday, August 12th and there was a nice gathering. Jackson really, really wanted to open pressies and was very helpful when the time came to open pressies. A lot of the presents were in bags and he was very adapt at pulling things out. He was a good helper!

To left you can see a fun photo of Andrea holding the pressie king. You may notice that he is holding tissue paper that he liberated from a pressie, before the adults got wise and put the bags out of reach. Also, if you look to the left of Andrea you will see a cameo by Sarah Sray. I took the picture of me and Jackson and he is just chilling with his ribbon.









Marsha had a b-day pie as she was caked out from Jackson and then David's birthdays. Mmm chocolate cake! Cakie!!! - as Jackson says. The pie was actually very yummy!















Friday night I went over to the Johnson's and had wookies with lil bit cake. :) That's how she says cookies. Then her siblings came home and we watched High School Musical 2. Woooo. :)
It was cool to watch them watch something they were excited about. Where as Amy and I had fun making cracks about the program but at the same time talked about how talented the actors are.

The girls were enthralled with the show and progressively got closer to the TV and if you wanted to see the screen you had to ask them to move. :) I had a good time with everyone and it was fun to hang out with Amy and talk. Sooner than later I am supposed to go to the lake with them. We'll see. I am already sun burnt from Saturday.

So Saturday I went to the Whole Foods downtown and stumbled upon a cool event. I ended up staying and taking quite a few pictures. The guy in the picture below, I can't remember his last name but one of the other people at the event said he was a professional skater. I meant to get a picture of his back as he has his last name tattooed on it. It starts with a B.

This picture is of a shopper who also stopped to watch the skaters. His hat looks like something you would see in a Kenneth Branagh Shakespeare adaptation/movie or maybe on Heehaw.



After getting a nice red base coat, as opposed to a tan, I then headed to the First Annual Austin Ice Cream Festival. I met with some friends and we all had a cleansing sweat while eating ice cream or sipping on $4 sweet tea. I actually had a cool thing happen there as I was in line to get tickets, as you had to use tickets instead of cash, a lady behind me handed me hers as she wanted to leave and not fool with getting her money back. So it was like her handing me $9 in cash.

I didn't have enough ice cream while there but by the time I was ready for a big cup-o-ice cream I didn't want to stand in line so the sweet tea served me well. There was a great turn out and next year they will be better prepared, more scoopers and more ice cream. Some of the vendors ran out before the mid-day. They even had ice cream for dogs! I had fun and the cool part about Waterloo Park is that you can find shade, which we did. I got to pet quite a few dogs and one of the cutest ones there was Buster. He was a rather larger dog and very sweet. He and I shook hands and he let me take his picture. I dig his collar.

There was a contest with popcicle sticks and the below was the coolest of the ones we saw.

Saturday night I had dinner with the Wanke folk and guests. The meal was awesomely delicious, and the company was great. Unfortunately, I didn't last too long as I had been outside or a good part of the day so I left at a decent hour. :) I must say not only was dinner excellent but they served two different kinds of ice cream cake! Yay ice cream and yay cakie! So not having but a small scoop of ice cream with root beer earlier in the day paid off.

Sunday I got to hang out with Allison and Andy and that was a lot of fun too. They have really worked hard on their house and I can only hope a bit of their domestic diligence will some how transfer to me. I need to send them some of the pictures I took.

I also had to register The Red Hots for a new season of soccer. So I am still trying to get in paperwork and money. So far it has been gone rather well.

Anyway, this last weekend was the best weekend I have had in a while and it consisted of all the simple things. :) Kind people, good food, laughter, photography and so on.

Starbucks coupon...

Some Target stores now have Starbucks in them. Click on the link for a printable coupon.

http://www.spoofee.com/coupons/page.html

~E

Please and thank you

My dad has been improving and he was able to go home tonight. We are all very thankful for his improvement and for your thoughts and prayers, they were and are appreciated.

Send up good thoughts for my meow Simon as he is pretty ill and staying at the vet. I had to rush him to the emergency care center last night and then I took him to his regular vet today. He has improved some but it is best for him to stay where he is for now.
Today is David's b-day and Jackson loved the b-day cake. Marsha made an awesome dinner which consisted of steak, shrimp, corn and salad. I wisely went and played soccer about an hour afterwards. Tada! Fortunately for everyone on the field, I did not explode and I even scored a goal! It was a fun game and a good stress burner. My team mates are fun and awesome people.

Marsha got her hair cut today and it looks very cute!!

I am tired and I have more to share but maybe I will do that tomorrow. I hope that all 3.5 of you who read this are well!

~E

ICCU - who knew?

I am currently sitting in a hospital room watching my dad sleep. He was admitted last night and it turns out he has a Bi-Lateral Pulmonary Embolism. Essentially, he has blood clots in both of his lungs. He seems to be doing well and they are starting him on blood thinner. They are trying make sure the clots attach and go no further and that may take a few days. So we aren't sure how long he will be in the hospital and we are hoping that the clots will be responsive to the medications. So although this is very serious, it is such a blessing that he is in a hospital and that the clots were caught when they were.

So we have recently passed the mid-year mark and in taking stock of what has happened so far, I think we are doing pretty well. The collective we, heh, more so those in my life. Even Marsha and David whose lives recently took a turn they would never have anticipated, are doing amazingly well. It isn't to say we all don't have our moments, but they are just that, moments. Obviously, some moments are longer than others. :) A key thing is to try to be positive and that can really, really help. I also think surrounding yourself with good people can also do wonders.

I feel like I am learning a lot and I have got to tell you, some times I want to take a vacation from all the glorious life lessons. :) So I am thinking of maybe taking a short trip somewhere. I have just recently seriously considered it and now I have to figure out a plan.

I went outside this morning as I am trying to get pictures of a particular spiderweb and its tenant. Let me just say it isn't easy and I suspect I need to get up even earlier than I did. I did get some pictures but I still need to see how they turned out. I also took some pictures of some more inhabitants of my backyard. I will post those later once I am settled back at my house.

~E

Thank you...I'll be here all week!!!!

Many have experienced the misplacing of an item, like your glasses. Only to realize that they are on your head. Last night as I got out of my car I started looking for my cellphone. Once inside the house I even went back out to my car to make sure I didn't leave it in there, as I did that early in the week. I have to point out that the whole time I was searching for the phone, I was talking with my aunt, via the "missing" phone. When my brilliance finally sank in I had to explain to my aunt why I kept laughing. She too had a good laugh. I am a bit lacking in the sleep department and I am thankful that although yesterday could have been really rough, it wasn't.

Yesterday started with my cleaning up the cat trifecta - if it can come out of a cat, it did. Needless to say, at least one of them will be going to the vet tomorrow. So I had to clean as best as I could and then head off to work. Lovely. :) The night before I had a very late soccer game and ended up going to bed around 1AM as once I got home I had somethings to do.

Then I had some cat issues of the behavioral sort, which I haven't had in a while. Maevis protested my attempt at sleep - vocally- and then she woke me up earlie in the mornin'. I think someone feels neglected but I have to tell you, it makes me appreciate the fact that she had been really good for quite some time. I think that she hasn't been attending her sessions with Gnomie. That will rectified.

I will have to go take a picture of something as it feels odd to post with out including a picture.

I have been listening to a new song by Tegan and Sara, off of their latest album The Con. The song is called Back in Your Head. Anyway, I like their music and was excited to hear some new tunes. Tegan and Sara are twins from Canada and I dig 'em. You can hear some of their stuff at http://www.myspace.com/teganandsara I recommend the song I previously mentioned. They have interesting lyrics, catchy melodies and although pop-ish, they aren't mainstream. They are coming to Stubb's and I have purchased my ticket. Go forth and listen.

Pretzel Monsters...

Two weeks ago I was attacked by pretzel monsters. If you look in the back ground you will see the lil one being held by her mom. :) We had a lot of fun and they were kind enough to pose for the camera. :) Being Aunt Elaine/leelane is pretty cool.

Another fun thing, other than surprise food attacks, is sharing music with a whole new audience.

~E

Pushing back

I have a tendency to push back. I don't know why but it is something I have been working on. It is hard. It is hard to look at yourself and try to understand why you do or don't things. To put a magnifying glass on what you have tried to ignore, didn't realize, or thought it was fine only to learn how much more you have to work on.

I have found when working on yourself it can be very hopeful and frustrating at the same time. I feel like I am partially aware of what I am learning and that more will fall in to place when I am ready. I am trying to put things into practice and quite often think "holy crap I still have more to work on".
I cannot tell you how f'd up I have felt about allowing someone's opinions to really cloud the truth and how that affected me. I have learned that they were pretty off base and I am also learning how to prevent that from happening again.

Losing yourself - I don't really recommend it but I have to tell you, I know I am stronger, wiser and will be better prepared for the next go round. Next time I see red flags, I won't be so quick to excuse, forgive, and or ignore. Rather, it will be discussion time and quite possibly time to move on. I think it can apply to any relationship in your life.Vague enough for you? That's okay, this part of the post seems to be for me and those who know of which I babble. :) Mayhap I should print it out and tape it next to the tenets on my bathroom door?

So I finally decided to take some photography classes, something I have put off for years. Part of the reason has been due to trying to find a class that worked around my work schedule and then the other being that I haven't been too thrilled with the thought of spending 5 or so hours in class on a weekend. I am sure a larger part was/is my tendency to push back.

I have enjoy taking pictures and thought it was time to take some classes. So I registered for classes this morning, which felt like a big step for me. I discovered when preparing to pay for the two classes that I am out of district which means tuition is about three times what I thought it would be. Two classes will cost me a little over $1,000. So I have until Friday to figure out what I am going to do. Right now I can't fathom spending all that money. That money could buy the SLR camera I want. So I am leaning towards reading more, taking more photos, talking to those who know about the subject and saving up for the SLR.

I think I am disappointed because I was really looking forward to taking the classes, meeting new people and learning about one of my favorite things. I am trying to step forward but it seems as of late that when I stop pushing back that I am running into obstacles. I should probably stop looking at it that way and I will try. Although life is a bit chaotic and frustrating right now, I know that a lot of this is what is supposed to be happening and I have some learning to do. So I am fixin' to keep a learnin'. :) For further stories about obstacles ask me about the church service I attended. Heh.

There is also a larger part of me that feels guilty that the things that are bothering me, are bothering me, when there are bigger, more serious things in life. I guess this is my stuff and I just have to keep it in perspective. I have a good friend of mine who is very sick and I haven't decided if I want to blog about it or not. She called me tonight and she received some good news and I am so glad that she shared her news with me. She starts chemo tomorrow so keep her in your prayers.

~E

Travel, movies & chocolate cake

Once again it has been a while so I have some things to share. I spent part of the July 4th week in Illinois hanging out with my dad's side of the family. It is always fun and I love the fact that the relatives that live near by always come to visit us when we are in town. I had a plethora of cousins around and they are all quite fun and nice, which makes for a good trip. Although, I don't feel like I got to spend enough time with my grandmother so I may need to fly out on my own.

My grandmother has a cool backyard. If you click on the photo you will see that there is a staring contest going on.

This trip I met my dad flew in the same day and met at the St. Louis airport. A few days later, my sister and her two oldest kids flew in to visit as well. So that was fun and it was cool to get some group photos of the multi-generations. While on my trip, my aunt Beni and my cousin Chris took me downtown for lunch and to look around. We went to Fitz's and inside they bottle their own Root Beer, which was cool to see. We then walked around "The Loop," stepped into a comic book store, where I met an employee who is from Gruene, TX. We talked about the all the rain and the flood that hit Gruene a couple of years ago. We then visited Blueberry Hill which is also on The Loop and Chuck Berry plays there on occasion. There are a lot of photos all over the inside of celebrities who have visited. I believe in the basement there is a rather popular music venue called the Duck Room.

We then went into a Head shop - The Loop is very close to a college campus, where we proceeded to look at the home made clothes, quasi-clever tee shirts, and the 18 year old in deep discussion over a one hitter with the sales guy behind the counter. First of all, I didn't know that is what the wooden flask like object was called but Chris educated me. Secondly, I was impressed with how lucid the sales guy was and he was really educating the kid and working on a two dollar up sale. It was all rather odd. Lastly, I really was tempted to walk up to the kid, who probably just turned 18 and looked about 15, and I wanted to say "Don't I know your mother?". Alas, he lucked out and I was distracted by my aunt's inquiry as to what a particular t-shirt's acronym meant. Anyway, Chris turned down our idea of him getting the I Heart Boobies shirt for the family photo that would happen the next day, so the entertainment value of the head shop was exhausted. So, even though I was full from Fritz's I was craving a cold concoction from Starbuck's and Beni and Chris were kind enough to wait for me and then we went down the street and they got Bubble Teas.

The picture to the left is very representative of how I spent a lot of my time in Illinois, as my aunt is a great cook. :)

The trip was fun and I got to see lots of family folk. I also took a lot of photos. :) I have so many photos that I need to go through all of them and tweak them. I should actually post one of the group pics but I will do that another time.

Movie reviews...

While in Illinois I went to see Transformers with my Uncle Bob, my cousins Chris and Adrienne. It is a great action flick. I am glad they waited for the technology to catch up because if they had made Transformers about 10 or more years ago, I suspect it would have consisted of spray painted cardboard outfits. Not to say that ain't fancy but I think what they did in the movie is very impressive. While on the topic of movies, this past Monday I finally got to see Ratatouille, or as I call it, Rata-pooee aka Rata-poopie. I actually had to check the time to see how much of the movie was left. The visuals were great and there was a plot but it was severely lacking in cleverness and there were blantant things done for shock value, things that I don't think little kids need to see. I was very disappointed and I say if you plan on seeing it, go to a matinee or wait to rent it.

Jackson turned 2!!!!!!!


Last Saturday, July 14th, my buddy Jackson turned two. There was a shindig where he got a lot of trucks and such but I think one of the true highlights was the chocolate cake. Jackson is my type of friend, as he understands the love of chocolate. I was lucky enough to get a picture of the jubilation on Jackson's face when he saw the cake. He was so excited that he ran to the table and then turned and made a beeline for his high chair. He is a smart boy!! Jackson was also kind enough to share his coveted chocolate cake with his mom. :)

This entry was started on the date shown and completed on Monday the 23nd. Apparently drafts maintain the start date. It is early Monday morning, around 12:30am and I blame Marsha and David for keeping me up late. :) We went and saw the latest Harry Potter movie at the last minute and it was pretty good.

Anyway, I will post more this week. Later today - July 23, I am to register for my photography classes. I hope I am able to get the ones I want.

~E