Thursday, July 26, 2007

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.

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

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

Monday, July 23, 2007

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

Thursday, July 19, 2007

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