Me And My Peeps

A couple pics from my company Christmas Party last night:

Back: Jaimie, Leslie, Lindsay

Front: Rachel, Sarah, Me, Erin

I'm (by far) the oldest, but we ARE by far the most fun group!

Accountants can have fun, I assure you.

(No, this isn't the dress I advertised last month. I found another one I liked better. You can't really see it, but it has a drop waist and a floofy skirt part. I liked it! Although I think I need to find me some good bronzer lotion. Rachel is normally as white as me, but look how tan she looks! Any suggestions?)

The End

The end of November. Wow.
End of NaBloPoMo. Good.
End of the weekend. (cue the crying)

See you next year!

Almost There

The tree is up, the lights are on...I'll finish everything else tomorrow.

We're still the only house on the street that decorates. Why is everyone so Grinchy on my street? Last year we swore that we'd do it even bigger this year and get the thing the programs your lights to music. Yeahhh, not.

Also, only one more day for NaBloPoMo. I'm kinda glad because I really don't have something interesting to say 30 days in a row.

I'm Tired

This is really all I can think to say at this moment:

I'm tired of eating.

We got together for leftovers tonight. I think I'm done with the Thanksgiving meal now. Tomorrow I shall start decorating for Christmas!

Results

Pumpkin Pie: I'll give it a "fair". Mom said it was the best she ever had (she's my mom), but Scott said it was kinda blah. Okay, good to know! I'll work on it.

Cranberry Apple Pie: So good I shall now declare it My Favorite Pie! And that was the one that I kinda screwed up the crust.

Other than that we had the most fun and best dinner. My favorite aunt & uncle are here visiting and we played a game at dinner - one sentence story or something like that. Someone starts by saying a sentence and the next person adds, etc. Between Ed (bro-in-law), my dad, my uncle and SCOTT (who, as some of you may know, is prone to humor) I laughed so hard I don't think I have any make up on anymore. Oh man. Somehow Scott made every story about Edward Cullen and his gorgeous glistening white abs. I'm still giggling.

And tired. We're hitting the hay. Good night! Happy THANKSgiving (as it is pronounced by my southern in-laws)!

An Abundance of Pie

I chickened out. I went to Costco today and picked up a pumpkin and an apple pie. For backup. I'm still going to make the pies I set out to make, but if they don't turn out...I have a safety net. Scott assures me that he will eat whatever is leftover.

No one would care if I brought a store pie - everyone knows I work and don't have an overwhelming amount of time, but my sister and my mom are SUCH good cooks, it just doesn't do their meal justice if I bring a purchased pie. But then there's every chance that Costco pie is better....we'll see. I'm mostly nervous about the pumpkin pie because I've never made one and I don't like it...so how will I know if I'm doing it right? Also baking at altitude is something different altogether.

Anywho...maybe you noticed it's only 3:45? I got off early today (yea!). I'm off to work on pie and I'll let you know how it turns out!

First Time For Everything

Today was the first time since 9th grade that I've gone to the eye doctor and not had an increase to my prescription. Small victories. I'm very near-sighted and really can't see anything without my contacts.

Then the doctor informed me that in 3 or 4 years I can expect to start losing the close up vision as well.

So exactly WHAT will I be able to see at that point?

I did get myself some cute semi-Tina Fey glasses, though.

Hmmm

I have pie duty for Thanksgiving. I really want to make an apple cranberry pie with a sweet crumb topping (like a dutch apple pie - you know tart but sweet?) and I can't find a recipe that sounds right.

Any suggestions?

Little Man

So it's Sunday again. Nothing to blog about because I once again didn't do anything interesting. So since last Sunday was dedicated to Dave The Dog, this Sunday will be about my other kid:

Henry Franklin

Henry came to us via the neighbor. Her college-age son got himself a puppy. And then realized how much work they are. And then brought it home thinking his mom would raise it for him. Wrong. She knew the couple next door had another golden retriever and figured they'd be suckers for another one. After all, who could resist all that fuzzy cotton ball cuteness?

Well she picked the right house. Against our better judgment and against the warning from my mom (who also has 2 male golden retrievers), we took him in. Look at him, could you have said no? So he's almost 18 months old now, still behaves much like a puppy, though somewhat better (right Carol?), still wrestles with Dave, still rips giant branches off the bushes out back when you're not paying attention, still eats bath mats, still has not made friends with Zoe The Cat...but we love him.

Henry's names (he's still young so he hasn't collected as many as Dave):

Henry

Hen

Hen-er-y

Heneria

Little Man

Kiddo

Hank Frank

Doofus

I Know This Is Ridiculous

And I'm Not Sure Why I'm Admitting It But...

I've already seen Twilight twice.

Once with my sister, nieces, and friend Jaimie, and then again later (same day) with Scott.

I'm actually glad I saw it again because I spent the whole first time comparing the movie to the book and only thought it was okay. The second time I just enjoyed it for what it was and really liked it! Same thing happened with the Harry Potter movies. By the way, I also got to see the new trailer for Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince twice!

*sigh*

So my final review is: I liked it a lot...bordering on loved it. :-)

The Dress Makes the Woman

Got my party dress today. Here's a picture in case you're interested. I actually got it in charcoal grey because they didn't have the blue one in my size, but you get the idea.


Funny, this happened last year too: I never would've picked this dress off the hanger. I grabbed a bunch to try on and then saw this in the dressing room waiting to go back on the floor and decided "why not, may as well try this one too".

I've learned that dresses I like on the hanger almost never look good on me. You just have to grab them all and start trying them on and voila, the one you never would've picked otherwise actually looks good on you. It's ALL about cut and color, baybee. It may be beautiful but if it doesn't accentuate the positive and hide the negative...don't wear it. On the other hand, it may not be the most glamourous dress, but if it fits well, looks good on your shape, and it's comfortable - you'll look marvelous and have a fabulous time.

That, and get yourself a great pair of sturdy, tummy tucking underwear!

Is It Inappropriate...

...for a 40-year-old woman to be this into a teenager book (and movie)?


Takes me back to that time in high school when you liked a guy and then you found out he liked you too! Wasn't that a glorious time to be alive?

Sigh...

Me, my sister, my nieces (age 10 & 12), and my good friend/coworker are going to the movie on Saturday. With all the other teenage girls in town, no doubt.

I can't wait!

That Time Again

Time to find a "Winterfest" dress again. Why do the stores only stock up on teenager dresses?

Almost time to hang Christmas lights. I don't know...it's not feeling very holidayish to me right now.

Time to clean my windows. Yuck they're dirty. And people are coming to visit.

Apparently it's time for Scott to change cars again (the truck, not the Prius). Don't ask.

Time to go to the eye doctor...okay, no biggie. And the dentist...eh, not my favorite passtime. Oh, and I probably should get that mammogram since I'm 40 now, greeaaaaat.

And lastly, it's time for bed.

Maintain No Gain

And Other Wellness Programs Designed to Hamper Your Self Esteem

The company holiday wellness program starts next week. My co-worker and fellow Bootcamper, Jaimie, and I went and weighed in today. Basically if you don't gain any weight over the holdiays you're entered into a drawing to win $300. If you lose weight you get extra entries for each pound you lose. And our instructor is making the Bootcamp class participate (I'm only mostly kidding).

I never weigh myself because who cares what the number is as long as your jeans fit? But, alas, the scale did not say what I wanted it to say. Is it possible to lose 7 pounds over Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years? Don't give me any grief about "only 7" - I'd love to lose 10- 15, but I'm trying to be realistic. I haven't weighed that little since....before I was married.

I wonder...will my lovely friends mind if I DON'T fill the M&M jar for their visit?

One of Life's Great Injustices

In an effort to be healthier and do my part to ward off osteoporosis, I joined an exercise class at the beginning of the year. Cardio Bootcamp. I love it and I go VERY regularly - every Monday, Wednesday & Friday unless something comes up that prevents me from going...like work. It happens every now and then.

Anyway, my point is that I've worked very hard this year and I can see the results (I actually DO have arm muscles, who knew!). So why, after months of hard work, when I have to miss a week due to getting a nasty cold and then becoming suddenly very busy at work, WHY is it almost like starting over the next time I go (today)? It's been less than 3 hours and I'm already sore. Why don't muscles stick around longer?

It ain't fair.

Sundays Are Hard

It's hard to blog on Sunday. Because I don't DO anything!

So when in doubt, post a cute picture. This one isn't all that cute - you can tell that Dave isn't really in the mood. Dave is practically a person. He understands English, and he picks up words without us realizing it. Lizard, for one. We have a lizard that lives between the barbecue and the rose bush around the side of the house. If you ask Dave, "Where's the lizard?" He'll run over to that spot and start looking for it. How does he know that word? I never worked on it with him. He just picked it up.

He's moody. If he doesn't feel like coming inside...he doesn't. Usually you can persuade him with a cookie because Cookie trumps just about everything else. If you ignore him too much, he gets up, walks across the room, lays down in a dramatic flop with his back to you, and lets out a heavy sigh. In fact he just did it because I'm typing instead of petting him.

Dave is a person. Henry is a dog, but Dave is a person.

Dave's names:

Dave

Dave of Daves

Davey-Doo-Da

Doo-Doo

The Boo

Boo Bear

Fat Boy (as referenced in the blog title)

Yellow Man

Fluffy Muffin

My Sweet Dave

Quantum of Bond

I've seen every single James Bond movie. All 22 of them. I'm not a fan of Roger Moore, but I really do like all the rest of them, even Timothy Dalton and George Lazenby. But I think I'm ready to declare Daniel Craig my favorite. And I was dead set against liking him before Casino Royale.

So of course we went to see the latest Bond flick tonight. My review? I need to see it again. The story is a little confusing, but that's okay because I LIKE to watch the movies several times and this way you pick up new things every time.

So, go see it. That's my recommendation.

Fried Brain

I felt like I was in an episode of Numb3rs today....well, minus the FBI investigation. And actually, it's not over - I haven't figured out the answer yet.

I've been working on figuring out the fair value of some executive stock awards. And this is the formula:
















Yeah, I'm not going to pretend I understand it, cuz they'll just give ya a formula to use in Excel. But still...I have to figure out how to use the formula...

Anyway, I'm going to go see if Charlie Eppes can help me.

Two Things

1. Layoffs are complete (for my department at least) and I am still gainfully employed.

2. I recently converted to Bare Minerals makeup and I LOVE it. It's so light that you hardly have to put any on and you still get coverage. And this is a 40 yr. old with so-so skin speaking. Next time you run out of whatever you're using, you might want to give it a try.

That's all.

PSA #3

Don't take Claritin before bedtime if you are planning on actually sleeping.

It doesn't work that way. In fact, I'm really not sure that I slept at all last night.

Which brings me to my next theory. I've actually thought about this several times over the years, I just haven't found a way to prove it.

I am almost positive that time moves faster at night.

Think about it: you're in bed, can't sleep...those 8 hours tick by so fast! Much faster than 8 hours go by at work!

Or, you're out on a date (remember those days?). You sit there talking for what seems like 1 hour, but then you look at the clock and all of a sudden it's 5:00 am!

I'm telling you, time moves faster at night.

Maybe This is Gross...

But when you have a cold (as I do)...where does all that snot COME from?

I feel like detaching my nose and removing my eyeballs for a while.

That might make a good horror flick...

I know it's a lame post, but my brain isn't functioning properly right now so I'm just going to take my Kleenex and go sit.

Show Me The Money

Just a little concern today.

They're announcing layoff at work this week...Thursday or Friday. I feel pretty good about my chances, but nothing is ever for sure.

The State budget is worse than bad, so Scott feels the same way about his job - fairly secure, but you never know.

Then I read about GM, AIG, DHL, all the banks...it's bad out there.

Hope none of you are in jeopardy.

Sleepy Day

Nothing to say since I have barely left the couch at all today.

Clipped Henry's toenails (that dog can grow cat-claw-like toenails in no time!).
Finished reading Twilight for the 2nd time.
Played ball with the boys for a bit.
Made dinner.
Did laundry.
Chargers won.

Don't you wish your life was as riveting as mine?

So as not to bore you completely, here's a cute picture of Dave on his bed. And a rare Zoe sighting.

Carol & Michelle Were Right

Carol:
1. The rolls at Texas Roadhouse are...what's a good description...melt-in-your-mouth-dangerously-good? With the cinnamon butter. Wow.

Michelle:
2. The ginger floaties on top of the 2008 Gingerbread Latte are yucky. No they weren't there last year. I was confused with the gingerbread loaf.

That's all.

Factoid

I learned this at work yesterday.

Did you know that during the Depression slot machines actually dispensed candy, and that's why you see the reels with the lemons and cherries? If you got 3 lemons, you won lemon drops!

Given our current economy I wonder if we'll start doing that again.

In Regards to Monday's Post...

I'm guessing that your kid doesn't do this, though:

Like I said: obedience increases in direct correlation to the amount of exercise taken.

Apparently I'm taking Henry for a walk tonight.

Sugarland

I love this group. I saw them in concert last year and Jennifer Nettles is the strongest, most incredible singer I've ever had the pleasure of listening to....twang and all. So I thought I'd share.

Sorry this would be slicker if they'd let me embed their video, but...gotta respect artist copyrights.

http://www.cmt.com/videos/sugarland/272213/already-gone.jhtml

I forgot to mention that my hubby stopped at Borders today to get his mom a birthday gift and brought me their new CD and the set of Twilight books. sigh. A much needed act of kindness for me. :-) I feel loved.

Rant

I think I'm a media hater.

Why do they call election races with only 2% precincts reporting? In what alternative universe is 2% a majority?

Why don't they just WAIT and actually Count. The. Votes. ??? How must the people in Hawaii feel when the election is all but over before their polls close?

Grrrrrr.

Dogs & Children

I don't have kids. I have dogs. But everyone I know has kids which means I hear ALL their kid stories. So, my observation is this: up to a certain age...maybe when children begin talking...I'm not sure there's much difference. Observe:

• Until their bladders are big enough to hold it, you have to get up with them in the middle of the night.


• You can't trust them to wander the house or yard unsupervised. My house is full of gates.


• They ruin your carpet.


• You have to take them to the Doctor regularly for shots. And it ain't cheap.


• You have to be careful what you leave within easy reach - trash, shoes, food on the counter, etc.


• They get spazzier when they're tired and will just run around until they drop.


• The more exercise they get, the better behaved they are.


• You need a variety of toys to keep them occupied, but not all at once. Put an old toy away for a while. When you bring it out it's as if it was brand new!


• You have to teach them to share. Their natural tendency is "mine, mine, mine!".


• They are sneaky! When you're not looking they do stuff they know they shouldn't! (I'm yelling at Henry as we speak).


• The obvious: they're cute, they're cuddly, they demand attention, they climb on the furniture even when they're not supposed to.
• There's never as many pictures of the second kid as there are of the first. (I'm #2)

Sound like your kid?

Henry & Dave
Oct'2007

The Case for Fall

Why Fall is better than any other season:

Beautiful trees!
Beautiful clouds!
Sweater weather!
Jacket weather!
TV shows come back on!
Football!
Halloween!
Thanksgiving!
Christmas!

(I know technically Christmas is in winter, but all of the fun...the anticipation, the shopping, the baking, the wrapping, the Gingerbread Lattes...that happens in Fall)!

House decorations! Wreaths! Lights!
Year end bonuses!

But most convincing of all....

An Extra Hour of Sleep!!

Fall wins.

Here We Go

N othing comes to mind except
A bstract thoughts that no one cares about
B ut me.
L ongwinded babbling
O bscures the point.
P ressure builds...
O h what shall I write?
M y mind is blank.
O r is it?

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Love,
Mr. T & Don King

Ode to Fall by Dave Edwards

I love my ball.

My ball loves me.

I love this grass.

It scratches my ass.

I love my mom.

O look my ball!

Let's stay out and enjoy the Fall.

(As interpreted by Scott Edwards)

I Heart NY

A lot of folks spend their vacation relaxing by the pool, sunning themselves on the beach, taking it easy...

We are not those people.

We like adventures, exploring new cities, eating good food (nothing too funky, though, no bugs!). So we're back from a 6-day trip to NYC. This was our first Real Vacation since our trip to Paris & the UK in 2000 and was made in honor of my 40th birthday earlier this year. (Trips to visit family do not count as Real Vacations in our book.) It was a great trip. We saw a lot in just a few days. In fact, I can't think of anything that we wanted to do that didn't get done. As I look now at my pictures I am extremely disappointed in the pictures I DIDN'T take, but here are a few of the ones I did take and some supplemental ones I found on the internet (I know, how boring, someone's vacation pictures...but they come with stories):

Day 1: Saturday/Sunday - Grand Central Station, Central Park. We took the red-eye from Portland to NYC (note: you can go almost nowhere directly from Reno). We were sad to discover that our seats did not recline and the tvs that Jet Blue is famous for were out of order...on our side of the plane only, of course. It was an extremely painful experience, but after a short nap at our hotel, we took off on foot to see the sights of Central Park, stopping first to check out Grand Central Station, which was attached to our hotel.

Observation: NYC is full of skinny, fit, fashionable people. It kind of sets them apart from the tourists. If you've watched Sex & The City, it's really not that far off of reality. We saw several of them jogging through a the park on this beautiful, warm-not-hot, Sunday.

Dinner: Becco (authentic Italian restaurant just west of Times Square) OMG. You know you're in a good place if it's crowded with locals. And it was so so so so good. They have a big list of wines that are all $25 per bottle so you can order whatever you want and not have to worry about the price. Also had the best gin and tonic I ever had (aside from those made by my dad/sister) while waiting for our table. Oh, the pasta was amazing, too.

Day 2: Monday - Wall Street, Top of the Rock, Top of Empire State Building

Breakfast: Scott was on the search for the perfect NY bagel. First try came from a coffee shop downstairs in Grand Central Station. Rating: Just Ok. Good lattes, though.

Part of the adventure when traveling to big cities it using public transportation, so we took the subway (which was conveniently attached to the basement of our hotel) down to Wall Street. I stood there for a good 10-15 minutes waiting for IGT to go by on the ticker, but apparently no one was trading in that stock that day. Then we walked down Broadway and found the Bull. Scott seized the opportunity to take it by the horns.

Lunch: John's Pizza, Bleeker Street, Greenwich Village. Authentic NY Sausage & Pepperoni pizza. Thin crust, foldable, yet crispy, not soggy. Great crust. Deeeelicious. Scott followed the lead of so many tourists before us by carving our initial (a big E to be efficient) into the wooden booth.

Then on to Rockefeller Center. Did you know you could go to the top of the building? It has great views of Central Park and Downtown/Empire State Building.

At the bottom is the NBC news studio - where the Today Show films...other news shows, too. Also in the picture you'll notice a Toyota Sienna NYC Cab. We were hot on the lookout for these because that's what they drive on Cash Cab! Ever see that show on the Discovery Channel? We so wanted to get picked up by Ben Bailey! Didn't happen, though.

Then later that evening, we took in the nighttime views from the Empire State Building:

Dinner: Joe's Shanghai, Lower East Side By now it's about 9:30 pm but heck, we're still on west coast time and it's the City That Never Sleeps, right? Sounds like Dinnertime! We cabbed it down to the Lower East Side to another local favorite. It was 10:00 by the time we got there and it was crowded.

Observation: see the trash in the picture? Every evening businesses put out their bags of trash and every morning it's gone. In a city of over 8 million people, where the heck does it all go?

Day 3: Tuesday - Cooperstown, Baseball Hall of Fame

Breakfast: we were in a hurry to get out of town, so after renting a car we grabbed breakfast on the road. Scott's next bagel try was a (gasp) toasted sesame bagel from Dunkin' Donuts. After hearing how popular their coffee was we also tried Dunkin' Donuts coffee. Review: bagel was good - better than the Grand Central Bagel. Coffee...eh. It was coffee. We'll stick with Starbucks.

Okay, seriously. I guess I was tired or something, because from the whole day this is the one picture I took:

Didn't take a picture of the cute candy apple red Mini Cooper we rented.

Didn't take a picture of the picturesque Americana that is Cooperstown.

Didn't take a picture of Scott driving through NYC traffic (and kicking ass at it).

*sigh* Wish you could see the pictures in my head.

Dinner: Gray's Papaya hotdogs Another local favorite. They were goood.

Observation: certain food rules apply in NYC: no toasting the bagels, and no ketchup on the hot dogs allowed! Also, Scott could be a NYC cabbie. He's that good, folks. I have the white knuckles to prove it.

Day 4: Wednesday - Statue of Liberty, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Meltdown, Nap, Padres v. Mets game Shea Stadium

Breakfast: discovered there was a wonderful market in Grand Central Station with fresh fruit, fresh deli items, and FRESH BAGELS. Best bagel so far.

Got up early to beat the crowds and headed back downtown to the ultimate tourist spot. You've seen a million photos so I'll post one maybe you haven't seen: her booty.

The ferry ride back from Liberty Island was slow, warm, and there was a gentle rocking. So it wasn't surprising when I heard a few snorts and looked over to see Scott sleeping on the bench next to me. But there is no rest for the weary, so on to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Okay, so this is when we were going to subway-it back down to the Lower East Side to try the famous Katz's Deli, but the time difference, lack of sleep, and that day's high humidity finally got to us at that point. There was a mild meltdown. Instead we headed back to the hotel for a much needed nap before the game.

And what a game it was! Padres won! Trevor got a save! And we didn't get beat up for wearing Padres gear! A really nice, funny, truly NY guy sitting behind us snapped this one and only picture of us together (I think he was wearing a FDNY medallion):

Observation: People in Queens are more normal-looking than folks in Manhattan. Read: these people dress normally and aren't as religious about the gym.


Day 5: Thursday - Last Day - NBC Studio Tour, Greenwich Village

No breakfast. We were in a hurry to make our 8:30 tour.

Also no pictures allowed in the studios, so...not my fault that I don't have any. We were ushered around by a very perky page, though. Think Kenneth from 30 Rock (at right). We saw Conan O'Brian's studio and saw Rudy Guiliani being interviewed on the Morning Joe show.

Lunch: the famous Katz's Deli, Houston Street. Famous since 1888, but you may recognize it from When Harry Met Sally. There are pictures of famous people all over the walls, including all U.S. Presidents since who knows when. We saved the best for last. Seriously. Scott had a hot dog with mustard and sauerkraut. I had the most amazing pastrami sandwich ever. Melt in your mouth pastrami. The owner wanders around and talks to everyone. Everything is made there fresh - their own sausage, own pastrami, own sauerkraut, own mustard...you name it. If we had to pick a favorite place from the trip - this would be it.

Since we had time to kill, we intended to see a few more things and get a 2nd pass at John's Pizza before getting back on the plane, but we were too tired to walk much, and too full from Katz's to eat a whole Pizza (John's does NOT serve slices). So we sat on a bench in the heart of Greenwich Village and had some frozen yogurt. Very delightful. But of course, no pictures. (I'm a dope).

Observation: A good way to spot a tourist from a local is how they pronounce Houston St. You're thinking Huuston, like Houston, TX, right? Wrong! It's pronounced Howston.

Day 6: Friday - Home, James! So back to Reno, through Portland, where we've been recovering by sitting on our collective arses watching the Olympics ever since!

The History of Sooz 1968-1986

Today I turned 40. Kind of strange. I have lots of thoughts about it but...I thought I'd share some photos instead. I couldn't find a good one from the Big Hair Period, but oh well...

May 1, 1968 ...........................................shortly thereafter

1st Grade .......................................................3rd Grade












5th Grade ........................................6th Grade

7th Grade.....................................9th Grade

Sophomore ........................... Junior

Senior

I know, I know. But it was the 80's and perms were in. What can I say? Also rest assured that I have since learned how to pluck my eyebrows.