Feel free to hang out as long as you'd like, just watch out for the dust bunnies and plywood from the perpetual construction this site seems to be under.

1/10 Of The Way There
by Tricia
Sat, Aug 23 2008, 3:58 PM

While Scott had some "man time" doing Fantasy Football stuff today, I dove in and started clearing out the junk room. When it came down to it, there really wasn't that much stuff in there (most of it was jammed in the closet), but figuring out where things should go was the hard part. In fact, so hard that most of it is in various places all over the rest of the house, creating a bit of a mess.



So, now all that's left in the room is the couch, chair and a stack of magazines that I need to go through. The next step is to sand the walls down, which I'm hoping will be mainly Sott's responsibility. I'm really excited to get the walls painted - it will start to feel more like my space then. Plus, then we can get the new desk out of the garage and into the room. That's our motivator - we picked up the desk and instsead of taking it up to Smithville to store at Scott's parents' place, like we'd normally do, we left it in a prominant spot in front of the cars so we would have to look at it every day. This way we'll be more likely to get the project finished in order to get the desk out of our way.

Now I'm relaxing until Scott gets home - I tweaked my left hip socket a little while moving stuff around, and it's pretty sore now.

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Working Out With The Aged
by Tricia
Thu, Aug 21 2008, 7:42 PM

I love watching old people work out at the gym. It gives me the giggles. Most of them arrive in their street clothes, and then proceed to "work out" (if you can call walking at a snail's pace on a treadmill a work out - though I guess it's pretty hard core for someone born before 1940) in those same clothes. Today I had a sweet little old octogenarian man in front of me, and he had on a long sleeved plaid button-down shirt, nice dockers and black tennis shoes. I might be adding this in through imagination, but I think he had on a baseball cap, too. It was sweet, watching him trundle along on the treadmill - it kind of kept my mind occupied, making up stories about him instead of focusing on 13 more minutes.... 11 more minutes...10.5 more minutes... 9 more minutes... etc.

Even funnier is watching the elderly do the weight machines, though it's depressing because I've noticed that a few of them have more weight on the machines than I use. Then again, they've probably been at it longer than I have. Today I did 20 reps of all my machines EXCEPT the stupid shoulder press machine. That's the one where you sit and push the weight bar from your shoulders up with your hands. Blerg. It's the hardest one for me, and it kills me. I was only able to do 15 on that one, and even the last three of those I thought my arms were going to fall out of their sockets.

And I only use 20 pounds.

I bet those little old people can do it at 40 pounds without feeling any strain.

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Taking the Junk Room Back
by Tricia
Sun, Aug 17 2008, 6:51 PM

Just finished making a lovely peach pie. Hope it tastes as good as it looks, because as of now, it's the only plan we have for dinner. I don't know why we're not losing weight.

This weekend has been pretty busy. Yesterday morning I was in the "junk room" (Scott's old office, which is now the "study") kind of trying to clean it up. Scott came in and made a comment somewhere along the lines of "How would you like it if we made this room into a room for you? A craft room where you could have your sewing machine and all that stuff?" My head immediately began to spin with ideas and excitement. We did some more clearing out (though it's NOWHERE NEAR clear of all the junk) and discussed different ideas for storage, decor, etc.

We took a jaunt to Home Depot today to look at paint colors. I was having a really hard time deciding on a color palette. Just didn't feel inspired, I suppose. Finally, I remembered seeing Mamma Mia. While I wasn't all that taken with the movie itself, I did fall in love with the scenery and colors. All of the interior rooms had this beautiful ocean-y whitewash sort of paint. So I set about looking for appropriate paint sample cards.

Now I'm waiting for Jason to come up and give me his opinion on the steps we need to take to make the room work. Painting over the current color may prove a difficult task - the walls have a base coat of mustard yellow with an orange-y-red sponged on top. Though, now that I think about it, we didn't use a sponge - we used shop rags and wal-mart bags. It's a LOT better looking that it sounds, I think. But, it's a little obnoxious for a craft room, and I want something calm and that makes me happy and feel sunshiney, even in winter.

I'm sure this project will take a while to complete, but I'm excited to have my own space. Scott's sweet though - he keeps saying he wants me to have my own room where I can play crafty lady. Though perhaps this is all a ploy for him to get rid of me so he can work...

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My Husband is Great
by Tricia
Wed, Aug 13 2008, 9:49 PM

For weeks I have been obsessed with Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along-Blog. This gem stars Neil Patrick Harris, and is a musical. I *ahem* downloaded the songs because they are so fun to sing along with. Unfortunately, though you can download the three episodes from iTunes, you can't just download the songs. I wanted to be able to listen to them while driving, so I may have downloaded the songs in a way that involved me not paying any money. I felt bad about this, but REALLY wanted the music. I already was planning to purchase the DVD when they put it out (and still am).

Anyway, tonight I was out with some girlfriends having dinner, and as I was leaving I checked my phone. I had a few emails, one of which had the subject line of "Scott has sent you an iTunes gift!" I was slightly confused until I opened it and saw that he had bought me all three episodes of the show! What a sweetheart. Especially since, by doing this, he KNOWS he'll be forced to watch and listen to it repeatedly now. Poor guy. =)

Thanks, Bun!

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Official Maker of All Types of Signage
by Tricia
Wed, Aug 13 2008, 4:27 PM

Some days I feel like my title at work is wrong. The title printed on my (rarely-used) business cards is "Marketing Supervisor", but quite frequently I feel like my title ought to be "Official Maker of All Types of Signage".

For some reason, somewhere along the line, it became general knowledge that I knew how to use Microsoft Publisher, and had some basic talent at creating signage. So, lo these years later, I am the Official Maker of All Types of Signage. It's a little frustrating. Mostly I don't mind, but some days it feels like that's all I do. Like today. I'm re-doing some of the signs for the box office, creating signage for our upcoming show, fixing/updating old signs for the lobby, etc.

Can one get a well-paying gig just making signs using cardstock, various adhesives (I have experience with double-sided tape, velcro, foam adhesive, mounting squares, and even spray adhesive), and a color laser printer? I would like to make upwards of at least 35k annually. I do make a pretty nice sign, if I do say so myself.

Additionally, something I realized I could add to my resume is "ability to walk around adeptly in the dark", which pretty much applies to almost anyone who works in the performing arts. I made at least six trips to the light booth today, each time in the dark because it's not worth trying to figure out the light panel, which switch turns on what, etc. Easier to just make the journey blind. Another variation of this would be "ability to make a complicated journey mapped solely by tiny pieces of glow-tape."

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YMCA
by Tricia
Sun, Jul 27 2008, 12:12 PM

Just got back from the gym. Scott is in the shower, rinsing off all his sweat - he runs 3 miles as fast as he can, and his time has been improving regularly. I mostly hop on the elliptical machine (it's easier on my knees and hips than actually jogging or using a treadmill) and try to go as far as I can in 30 minutes. Ususally we get done around the same time, which is nice. I have been hitting 2.35 miles in 30 minutes pretty regularly - today I made it to 2.4, which felt good.

The Y has this program called Fitlinxx which is a

"computerized system that attaches directly to existing fitness equipment, adding an extraordinary “intelligent” dimension to the workout experience for the first time. FitLinxx “learns” users' programs, “coaches” them individually through their workout for better form, safety and confidence during every exercise, and “tracks” their progress over time."

This interested us, as we are lazy and need to be told what to do. So, we set up a session with a personal trainer on Wednesday to learn how to use the equipment and the Fitlinxx (does it really need to have two x's? What's that all about?) system. I'm looking forward to it. We were discussing what our personal goals are, which will be helpful when we are figuring out what type of routine to settle into with our exercising.

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Itching to Bake
by Tricia
Sat, Jul 26 2008, 8:17 PM

Despite the muggy weather, I was feeling the need all day to bake. I was thinking of scones, granola bars, cookies, etc. But, after getting home from seeing Mamma Mia neither of us wanted to go back out to get supplies at the store. I happened to have the appropriate items on hand to make a pineapple upside-down cake, and it is now cooling. I am so anxious to cut myself a big piece of it. I hope it doesn't suck.

Tomorrow we need to go to the gym and then, depending on the weather, we'll be going with Kelli & Jason to the Tiffany Springs Water Park, which Scott and I have been looking forward to doing for weeks. Maybe in between I'll bake something else. I've never done scones before, and I'd really like to try it.

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Healthy Puppy
by Tricia
Fri, Jul 18 2008, 11:11 AM

So it turns out that what we saw as scary weight loss and possible health problems is really just what our dog looks like at a healthy weight. The vet found nothing wrong, and actually praised us for getting him back to the weight he was when we got him six years ago (wow, almost to the day - I think we got him on July 17). She did say we should switch his food, as it's possible that the stuff he's on now just isn't doing it for him. She also suggested that it is probably time to get him on Senior food. Our dog is an old man, and should be fed as such.

We decided that perhaps having Plato around two weeks ago (we were dog-sitting him) made Brodie look more gaunt than he actually is, as Plato is... let's say... husky.

Now we just need to try to keep him at this weight, which happens to be 24.5 pounds. In November he was 28 pounds, and we certainly haven't gone out of our way to help him lose those 3.5 pounds, so how he did it is a mystery. We're boarding him in August for a weekend, so if he's lost any more weight by then, the Vet will get concerned, but for now she's pleased by his slender, muscular physique.

Maybe I need to have Brodie be my diet and exercise guru - obviously, he's got the system down pat.

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Skinny Puppy
by Tricia
Wed, Jul 16 2008, 10:15 AM

Today we are taking Brodie to the vet to have him looked at. Last weekend we noticed that he has lost a considerable amount of weight. We can feel his ribs through his fur, and that point just north of his hips and south of his ribcage has gotten so narrow. It's one of those things where you just don't notice because you see him every day, so you're oblivious to gradual change. Now that it's been pointed out to me, though, he looks positively gaunt. He's been acting totally fine otherwise, which leads me to hypochondriate (I don't care if I made it up) that he's got a tapeworm or something similar. Scott is convinced it's because of the change in food we made a few months back, but since we are still feeding him the same amount each day, I don't see how that could make a difference. We haven't switched him to diet food or anything.

He's also shedding more than I have ever seen him (or any other dog, for that matter) shed before. I gave him a bath Monday night and afterwards took him outside to brush him (which he HATES) and succeeded in building a whole second dog out of fur I removed from him. Then later we were on the couch snuggling and every time I ran my hand down his back I would get a tumbleweed of fur. Just doesn't seem right.

Anyway, just like always, we are more concerned than Brodie is. He'll probably get his annual checkup today, too - which means shots and blood tests, so he'll be sufficiently cranky by the time we're done. We've already decided that there will be a trip made to Sheridan's this evening to get him a special treat, and to use our Royals tickets to get a free sundae!

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Summer = Busy
by Tricia
Thu, Jul 03 2008, 4:47 PM

It's been too long. We've had so much going on and I just haven't had anything to write about. Or, at least, by the time I get a chance to write, I have forgotten the funny things I intended to write about. So is the life of a procrastinator. Right now we are getting ready to run out to get my hair cut and then go to dinner and a movie - the first time we'll have set foot inside a movie theatre since I saw Penelope a long time ago. I think we're either seeing Wanted or the new Indiana Jones. I'm worried that Wanted might be a little too violent/graphic for my tastes, but I suppose I'm willing to put up with that in order to stare at James McAvoy for 100 minutes.

So far this summer we have been trying to go to the gym (I went three days this week, and would have gone today if it weren't for my hair cut appointment). I am already showing improvement in my distance on the elliptical, which is encouraging. We also had a kickball tournament last weekend, which left us sore and sunburned. My nose peeled off yesterday. It wasn't like that thin, silky layer of skin that usually comes off after a sunburn (though my forehead did do that). My nose skin came off in leathery, thick strips. It's very red and blotchy now, so I look a little freaky. We got third place in the tournament, which won us a fancy trophy - made of a kid's soccer cleat mounted on a piece of wood and spray-painted bronze. After receiving our prize, one of our teammates, Kristy, said "So, who's got some gold spray-paint?" So true. It was a pretty controversial tourney, one that we all felt we could have won, but there was one team that unfairly thwarted us. We still had a kick-ass time, though, and that's what really matters. It was a full day - 10 am to 4pm of non-stop kickball. For everyone else. I took photos, and acted as team "Mom", making sure everyone else was hydrated, sunblocked (obviously, I didn't worry about myself too much) and happy. No major injuries on our team, which was a first - only some skinned knees and elbows. We did successfully (and totally accidentally) fracture a girl's ankle in the first game of the day. Oops!

My garden is doing well, though we had a rough, nasty storm come through last night that I think may have taken out my red bell pepper plant. I noticed this morning that it was lying on it's side - I need to go check on it. I've got two baby orange bell peppers that get bigger every day, plus my roma and cherry tomatoes are both showing blooms. Very exciting. I also have Rosemary, Sage, Basil and Cilantro, so I am Jason's hookup for herbs.

We have been keeping up with the CSA dinners, and this week we had gotten a bison chuck roast, which Jason turned into a delicious stew.

It's been very odd not having to do loads of Alpha Phi stuff this summer. It's nice, but also has left a little bit of an empty spot in my life. Though I'm sure I'll get over that once school starts and I don't have to drive out every week! I'm hoping to take that spare time and put it toward some other volunteer things like the Parkville animal shelter or something similar.

Off to get my hair cut! Photos should be posted soon from kickball tourney, as well as our other adventures in the last few months.

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CSA Meal Club
by Tricia
Mon, Jun 09 2008, 8:54 PM

This summer Scott and I are participating in the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program offered by Hen House, the grocery store down the street from our house. Each week we pick up a big bag full of fresh, locally grown/produced food. This week we got:
-1/2 gallon chocolate milk (scott immediately had a big glass full, as I looked on making gagging noises)
-2lb Ground Bison
-1 loaf of Sourdough bread
-1 head green leaf lettuce
-1 bunch Spring green onions (which were HUGE)
-1 bunch Sage (which I turned in for an extra loaf of bread because I have sage growing on my deck!)
-1 box alfalfa sprouts (mmm!)
-1 big jar of jam (it's called Traffic Jam and has cherries and rhubharb in it - it's really tasty)

So, the Thompsons are doing the CSA as well, and last week I mentioned that we ought to institute a "CSA meal" that we fix together each week out of the goodies that we get. Jason is an excellent cook, and much more creative and experimental with ingredients than we tend to be. Tonight we had our first CSA meal, and it was delicious! J made amazing burgers out of the ground Bison, and we put some locally produced, hormone-free cheddar cheese on them. I put alfalfa sprouts on mine, and everyone else made fun of me (but it was GOOD!). We used the leaf lettuce for a big salad with orange bell peppers, carrots, cherry tomatoes and cilantro (what a great idea to put that in - it gave it a great kick). I took our spring green onions and sliced them up with red potatoes, added some butter and lemon pepper and threw them on the grill. It was all fantastic. The best part was the giant bows of ice cream we had for dessert. Kind of threw the health-concsious meal all to hell, but it was worth it.

Next week we get all beef hot dogs, broccoli, cabbage (which I will be trading for something else), Italian bread, red potatoes (yum!), zucchini bread, swiss chard (I'm not sure what to do with this, or if we'll even like it - mom, expect a phone call from me!) and a soy candle. It doesn't get much better than walking a couple houses down with a bag full of groceries to put together a fun meal with friends. Especially when Jason does most of the work! =)

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If I Slept More, I Could Write Screenplays and Be A Millionaire
by Tricia
Sat, Jun 07 2008, 1:19 PM

Oh my god, I have to tell you about this dream I had!

Don't you hate it when people say that? You basically know you're about to be forced to listen to some weird story that won't have any meaning to you. We always seem so in awe of the things our own brains come up with, but other people's dreams never seem as interesting. My guess is, this is mostly because our own dreams are rooted in our own subconscious, so even if we know it or not, there are underlying reasons as to why we dream what we dream. So our own dreams are interesting to ourselves because we, at some level, understand the underlying meaning behind them. We don't care so much about other people's dreams because their subconcious is of no concern to us.

So, having said that, I have to tell you about my dream! Well, not the whole thing, because that would be boring, but the underlying reason as to the main part of the dream are pretty funny (I think).

This morning I was lying in bed, had this epic, Will Smith screenplay style dream, somewhat similar in storyline to War of the Worlds. When I woke up I yelled for Scott because I could remember the whole thing (which doesn't happen often) and I wanted to get it out and I knew he would think it was kind of an interesting dream (because he was in it, and it was a very action-adventure, run-from-aliens type dream). The main plotline was that I was driving to work, saw this HUGE weird alien ship in the sky, went to Scott's office to find him because I was scared. Once I found him, we found out that the "aliens" (I never saw anything but the ships, no actual aliens, so who knows if that's what they actually were) were using this awful bright light to basically fry humans. They would find you and shoot this light through the windows and if you let it touch you directly or looked at it, you fried.

So as I am telling all of this to Scott, I realize in a rush WHY the aliens used light. Our bedroom keeps randomly lighting up and going dark as the sunshine goes in and out behind the clouds outside. I'm guessing that my brain incorporated that (somehow!) into my dream, and that's why the aliens were using light to kill people.

Human brains are so freaking crazy. Sort of like when you're having a dream and a phone rings, and you wake up and your phone is actually ringing.

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Frostin'
by Tricia
Tue, Jun 03 2008, 6:50 PM

I'm making my Orange Blossom cupcakes again, with a little modification. I not only used the zest of an orange in the frosting, I also sliced the orange in half and used a small squeeze of the juice. Hopefully that will give it a more vibrant orange flavor. After doing so, I had to add in a little more powdered sugar because the juice thinned the consistency out a little too much. Once again, Kelli & Jason will be my guinea pigs. I gotta say, living up the street from us has its perks. =)

oops - got powdered sugar all over the keyboard. Perhaps I shouldn't blog while baking.

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Painful Gardening
by Tricia
Mon, May 26 2008, 6:17 PM

Yesterday we planned to have an Indiana Jones movie marathon (as preparation for eventually seeing the new one - it's been a VERY long time since I've seen any of the old ones). In between movies we were going to get the gardening done that I've been holding off on because of crappy weather. After Raiders of the Lost Ark we changed into grubbies, sprayed on the sunblock and headed outside to get to work.

I put together my tomato success kit, which takes a little while because you have to moisten the potting mix, which would be easy to do in a wheelbarrow, but since we keep the thing on our deck and I can't very well get the wheelbarrow up there, I do the dirt in shifts in a large bucket. We also planted some cherry tomatoes in an upside-down planter Scott's mom got me for my birthday. I'm excited to see how that works - though Scott is not, as he will probably have to water it as it is hung above my head. Once that stuff was done, I headed down into the backyard to till up my veggie garden bed so I could plant the red and orange peppers I got for Scott. I got about three quarters of the way through with tilling and was feeling pretty good about it when I had a horrible stabbing pain in my lower left back. I think I may have broken myself. I asked Scott to finish tilling for me and headed upstairs to do something "easier". At this point I was in denial that I had hurt msyelf. I started putting a basil plant into a container and pouring some dirt over it. I guess I was whimpering as I was working, because Scott came up and sternly told me to go inside and lay down.

I pretty much spent the next 26 hours horizontal, either on the couch or in bed. At one point last night I was feeling a little better and got up to get some of the yummy fruit salad Scott made for dessert. When I leaned over to put the big bowl back in the fridge, the knife stabbed and twisted into my back again and I almost fell to the ground. Scott had to help me to the couch and I just laid there in pain and cried for a while, which I'm sure made him uncomfortable. He was mad at me for not asking him to get the fruit salad for me. So, despite the sticky, muggy hot weather, I had to spend the evening with a hot pad on my back and a cold pack on my head/chest (to counteract the hot pad's heat). This evening it's feeling better, but still very sore and tight. I can't lift anything for fear of it seizing up again.

So, it pretty much took all the joy out all my hard work yesterday. And we're still not even done, as none of the peppers got planted, and I'm not sure when we'll get a chance to get them in the ground. Stupid old lady back pain.

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Madras Summer
by Tricia
Sun, May 25 2008, 2:56 PM

We're having a really nice weekend, and Scott keeps commenting on how great a day yesterday was. We got some shopping done in the morning, had a walk through the new Power & Light disctrict downtown and then went to the They Might Be Giants concert at Crown Center. Then, we met up with Ken and his sister, Kim to see the current show at AHT, Perfect Wedding. Our friend John-Michael is in it, and it's a really funny show. And I'm not just saying that because I work there. I have never seen Scott laugh as hard and for as long as he did during the show. Ken said he thought Scott peed a little. =)

During our shopping trip yesterday, Scott came upon a madras hat that he liked. He put it on and I sort of liked it, but it also made him look like a little old man. An eccentric little old man, for that matter. Nonetheless, he was totally excited about the hat and decided to get it. From the moment we walked out of the store and he put it on, his personality changed. He acted goofy the rest of the day, but not in a bad way. It's obvious that the hat makes him feel like a new haircut makes me feel - sort of like a new, different person. It was fun to watch him throughout the day.

Now the problem is that he has taken to purchasing madras shorts, but the hat is too much when paired with madras shorts - especially when the two madrases (is that a word? madri?) are completely different. He's a little bit of a fashion fail, but if it makes him happy, I'm fine with it.

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Zoot Suit
by Tricia
Fri, May 23 2008, 10:45 PM

Scott has only ever owned one suit. His mom and I helped him pick it out back in '98 or '99 as he was preparing to interview for "big kid" jobs. It was olive green and not very well cut for a guy his size (he looked like a kid swimming around in his dad's sports jacket - he was way to narrow for the width of it). It lasted through many weddings and funerals - I'd say at least 20 weddings and 6 or 7 funerals. He wore it to two or three job interviews before starting at DST. He wore it twice last September to two different weddings, and on the second one realized that a huge hole had appeared in one of the pockets in the pants. He decided it was time for a new suit, despite all the celebratin' and mournin' this one had gotten him through. How, with both Glenda and I there to help, he ended up with an olive green suit in the first place, I'll never know. I wish I could go back and witness the discussion and decision making. What were we thinking. I would also like to point out that he only owned one shirt and one tie that went with the suit - Not that this is abnormal for a guy these days, I just think it's kind of funny. So many people saw him wear that suit over and over (especially family) but if I had worn the same dress to every wedding, people would have noticed.

With another wedding looming next weekend, he figured we should probably go looking for a replacement, despite my encouragement that he would be just fine wearing khakis with a shirt and tie. Let me interject here and say that there is not much that I hate more in life than a department store. They are awful. I can never find what I'm looking for. It's frustrating. So, off we went to dive into every department store in the greater Kansas City area trying to find an appropriate suit.

We had quite a few rules:

-Must be "Athletic Cut" so he doesn't look like he's swimming in the jacket
-A nice charcoal would be best, as black would be too much with his fair coloring
-NO NAVY BLUE. Navy suits make me think of yacht clubs and Andy from The Office. I think they're awful
-Preferably flat-front pants (this proved to be most difficult. WHY do men like pleated pants? They look stupid!
-Preferably no pin-stripes. Too corporate
-Must not rape our bank account.

We looked and looked and he tried a few on, and we narrowed down what we did and didn't like, and what we were willing to give up (pin-stripes, as long as they weren't too blatant, would be acceptable). After the guy at JC Penneys referred to Scott more than once as "beautiful" we were sufficiently creeped out (though slightly flattered). Finally, we found two at Dillard's that looked really great on him. One actually happened to have flat front pants (the woman at Dillard's said that only 3% of their suits have flat-front pants, we just happened to pull one out that fit most of the criteria AND were flat-front). The other was pleated, but only had one pleat as opposed to the two or three most of the others were blessed with.

So, he put one on, and I liked it - it looked really good. Then he put the other one on, and I liked it too. It looked just as good. They were the same price, so I left the final decision up to him between the two.



I think I'll have to fend the ladies off my handsome husband all night at the wedding.

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Couched
by Tricia
Thu, May 22 2008, 8:13 PM

Scott and Brodie are out on a walk, enjoying the nice weather (though, as I peek out the window I see that it is pretty windy out). I went with on Monday and on Wednesday, but tonight I'm feeling a twinge in my dodgy knee and don't want to push it. It's been bothering me for a few weeks now, and last week I went to the doctor to have him check it out. He said it felt like it had a little fluid on it, but not enough to be concerned about. They took a few x-rays, which the doc said looked normal. He offered to give me a shot and I quickly turned it down. I asked if it was cortizone and he explained that cortizone isn't really used anymore - they use a synthetic version, the name of which I can't remember. Something with four syllables. So, he wrote me a prescription for some heavy-duty naproxen (Aleve) and told me to stay off it and ice it for a few days. If it wasn't feeling better by the end of the week, I should come in (with husband in tow) for the shot.

By the end of the week it felt much better (perhaps my subconscious healed me psychosomatically in order to not get the shot in the knee), so I went about my business. I have been staying away from the gym as I didn't want to exacerbate the problem, so we went on a walk with Brodie on Monday, trying to take it easy. When we got home I put my leg up and relaxed. Didn't really bother me the next day. Last night when we walked, though, it started to ache, and by the time we got home I was hobbling a little. I iced it, but today it was a little tender, so I'm back on the naproxen. I really want to be able to get back to the gym. Especially since we have cupcakes in the house. =)

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Theatre Etiquette
by Tricia
Wed, May 21 2008, 6:40 PM

Today I took some time out of my work day to watch the first half of the matinee of our current show, Perfect Wedding. My friend John-Michael is in it, so I thought I'd sneak in and just have a giggle at his funny expressions and jokes. I checked the chart in the ticketing system and there wasn't anyone sitting up there, so no one would notice if I snuck in and out. Grabbed a seat, got comfortable and got ready to laugh. About ten minutes in and usher came up with a large group of high school kids. Protocol dictates that if folks show up (especially a larger group of folks) after the show has begun, they are to be seated in the suite (provided it is available) so as not to disturb patrons on the floor. I'm wondering if these kids (and their chaperones, for that matter) had EVER been to a live event before. Apparently their bus got stuck somewhere or they got lost or whatever other sob story, and though we held the show 10 minutes waiting for them, they still arrived 10 minutes after the show started.

This group wanders in as if there's no one on stage. They are having conversations, stomping about, fighting over who is going to sit where, etc. I start to get frustrated. Two of the chaperones (large men) sat down in front of me, pretty much blocking my view, and one of them proceeded to pull out his cell phone and fiddle around on it. Great role model there, dude.

About 10 minutes later a man and woman walk in and sit down next to me. No big deal. A while after that, I hear a weird whimpering noise, look over and notice that the whimpering is coming from A BABY. Not just any baby, but a baby that looked as if it had been born about 2 hours before. WHO TAKES A NEWBORN TO A LIVE THEATRICAL PERFORMANCE? Unbelievable. The baby continued to whimper through the rest of the performance. Not loud enough to bother the actors, but loud enough to drive me crazy. The mom obviously was sure she could quiet baby down herself, and leaving the suite was not neccessary. Here's a note from a theatre professional to all people who have babies. IT IS NEVER COOL TO TAKE A BABY TO A LIVE PERFORMANCE. YOU MAY THINK "SHE'LL BE QUIET, NO ONE WILL NOTICE SHE'S THERE", BUT LET ME TELL YOU - PEOPLE NOTICE, AND WILL SILENTLY HATE YOU FOR RUINING THE NICE EVENING THEY PAID GOOD MONEY TO HAVE.

Then, at some point, a cell phone started to ring. Loudly. I couldn't tell where it was coming from, but it was apparent that the owner either was too old to hear it, or was embarrassed and pretending that it wasn't their phone. It just kept ringing. And ringing. Then, when it finally stopped ringing, the caller left a voicemail, causing the phone to let out a loud beeping noise. Really? Is it that complicated to silence your phone before the performance begins? Or, let's say you accidentally forget and your phone rings - the polite thing to do is turn beet red, look to your neighbors and mouth "sorry! sorry!" while fumbling hastily to turn the phone off, then sit ramrod straight in your seat for the next ten minutes thinking about how everyone is looking at you and silently hating you for ruining the nice evening they paid good money to have.

When it comes down to it, though, the reason for following these rules isn't just to create a happy theatre-going experience for the audience, but also to create a happy environment for the actors. How would you feel if you were giving the toast at your best friend's wedding, all eyes are on you, and all of a sudden a group of people walks in, or the pocket of some jackass starts to ring. It pulls focus! It's distracting and may cause you to lose your place, making you look and feel stupid.

So, in conclusion, don't be the jerk who takes a phone call (seriously - we have had people answer their phones and say "Oh, nothing - just seeing a play" in the middle of the performance), try to have the forethought to pee BEFORE the show starts so you don't distract everyone trying to get out of and back in to your seat, be sure to take your screamy baby out at the first indication of fussiness and for god's sake, SHOW UP ON TIME.

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Babycakes
by Tricia
Sun, May 18 2008, 4:33 PM

Yesterday we attended a party for our friend Kyle, who graduated Friday with his Masters from UMKC. The party was at a beautiful little house owned by a co-worker of his (Kyle works at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art) off the Plaza. We ate yummy appetizers and hung out enjoying the beautiful weather. One of the best things about the party though, were the cupcakes. The hostess had ordered lovely little treats from Babycakes in the River Market. They were fantastic. Beautifully simple and heavenly delicious in flavors like Orange Dreamcicle and Chocolate with peanut butter frosting. Even Red Velvet with cream cheese frosting. I immediately fell in love with them. And then today I found it necessary to make my own. I made my own version of the Orange Dreamcicle (from a box, of course, because let's face it - I love Betty Crocker) with orange cream cheese frosting. I made the frosting from scratch and used orange zest to give it a little orange blossom flavor. Thanks to Jason who lent me an orange for that purpose. He knows to just give me whatever I need because that means he gets to enjoy the finished product. We'll be heading down there for dinner this evening and I will be bringing a tray full of orange blossom cupcakes!

Now, how do I get a job at Babycakes??

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Riding the Octopus
by Tricia
Sun, May 18 2008, 8:43 AM

Friday night was DST Worlds of Fun night, where Scott's company rents out the local amusement park and we spend the evening eating low-quality hotdogs, standing in line for rides and feeling like we might see those hot dogs again. Scott actually went on the Patriot, a coaster that goes upside down. It's the sort where you sit but your legs dangle - you're not in a cart. I was proud of him for going on it - he usually stays away from anything that remotely goes in a circle in any way. I think he actually enjoyed it.

It was a fun night of people watching. We saw a guy who had a "mull-hawk" a mullet crossed with a mohawk. You kind of had to witness it to understand it's pure beauty. Oooh, and a baby so fat that it looked like a baby had eaten another baby. It was a good night.

Along with Kelli's sister, Kim, we took Kayla into the Camp Snoopy ball house - where there are millions of foam balls everywhere and you throw them, drop them into cannons and blow them across the room, throw them into baskets where air blows them up and all over the place, etc. The place is full of kids running around screaming, trying to grab as many balls as they can, and parents re-living their childhood, whipping balls at friends and spouses. It's a nice little slice of society regressing.

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The Newest Technology To Keep People From Actually Talking To Each Other
by Tricia
Fri, May 16 2008, 3:44 PM

It amazes me all of the ways we have to communicate without actually communicating. I can send a message through my phone, my computer, even my Wii, to friends and family. I could quite easily get by without ever talking to anyone besides Scott (and that's because he lives with me), though we have been known to sit on opposite sides of a room and text each other.

One could definitely argue that even though we actually speak to each other less, we know so much more about each other and our lives because of these other alternative ways of communicating. It's a conundrum.

So, to add to this communapalooza, I am trying out Twitter. I guess more than using it as a form of communication, I like the idea of having a mini-record of my life. An electronic journal, of sorts. So, feel free to follow me, and, if you decide to jump in and start twittering, let me know so I can follow you, too!

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Smart Kid
by Tricia
Wed, May 14 2008, 7:14 PM

Last night I went down to the Thompson's to help Jason with the kids while Kelli had a well-deserved night out with her sister. Not that Jason isn't capable of handling both children, but he might have ended up ripping out his own hair had he been left alone to watch them both simultaneously. Connor can't really move, but Kayla is a whirlwind of energy and requires quite a bit of attention.

Upon Kelli's departure, Kayla went into tantrum-mode, as toddlers tend to do. She screamed and howled and cried for Moooommmmieeee and Auntieeeee KIM! Jason and I both assured her that Mommy and Auntie Kim would be back later and Hey - look! Auntie T is here just to play with you! She came down to spend time with you and you alone! This did not help. After a few minutes of sitting on Jason's lap she started to calm down a bit and she turned herself sideways so she was laying across his legs with her head hanging over one of his arms and her legs over the other arm. She started to whimper again about Mommy and Jason said "Kayla, what are you doing?" Her very clear response?

"I throwing a fit"

Yes, yes you are.

A few minutes later we were happily playing in the basement with blocks and tea sets and pointing out the states on the map. When I asked her what her baby's (a Cabbage Patch Kid) name was, she thoughtfully said "Bo Rock Oba Ma." I couldn't help but giggle - she really soaks up everything she hears like a sponge. Not that she really knows what any of it means at this point - but that doesn't make it any less funny.

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Captive Audience
by Tricia
Sun, May 11 2008, 8:45 PM

What it's like to eat dinner with Brodie & Plato around. I swear, Brodie doesn't have much in the way of manners, but what he does have disappears when Plato is around. After a few hours of consensual humping, drooling on each other and barking (well, barking for Brodie, "roo-ing" for Plato), both pooches retired to separate couches and gave each other the stink eye. Plato slept in his dog bed on the floor while Brodie sneered down from our bed, pleased to have "won". Our dog is not a very good host.

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Shot to Hell
by Tricia
Mon, Apr 28 2008, 9:34 PM

This may have been the biggest (and best) mistake of our lives. We bought a copy of Wii Mario Kart and have been playing pretty much non-stop (outside of the 8 hours we were at work) since Sunday at 11am. It's pretty sweet, and it has shot all other plans out of the water. We play against friends and family online, when they aren't busy dealing with their kids. We are on our game because we don't have to worry about that and therefore have smoked everyone we have played. =)

We were concerned that all the hype about the game would have us too geeked and we would be disappointed by the actual game, but it's lived up to our expectations so far. It's pretty fun to be able to play with Ja, who we don't get to see anymore because he and his lovely wife, Julie, moved to Columbia, MO.

Ok. Must get back to playing so Scott doesn't get better than me!

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Spring Sprang Sprung
by Tricia
Wed, Apr 23 2008, 2:42 PM

It's been a while - I went through a couple of weeks where the only free time I had was while I was sleeping. Season Renewal time at work is always overwhelming, and last week I worked 60 hours! It's over now, and I'm back to my regular routine. Looking forward for the semester to be over and my trips to Topeka to end. Enjoying the warm weather (finally!) and copious blooms all over. My Bartlett Pear trees are just now starting to shed their flowers and sprout leaves. That week that those trees bloom is my favorite week of the year. They look so dressed up and happy, and it always makes me smile.

Since my last post, Scott and I both hit a milestone - we celebrated our 30th birthdays. I'm pretty much in denial about it, as I still feel like I'm 17. Scott hates people making a big deal of it and doesn't understand why turning 30 is any different from turning 27 or other random number. Scott's birthday was amazing, spent in North Carolina with my family. We spent his actual birthday visiting the aquarium in Wilmington, NC - it was a nice place, and we had fun being there with Mason & Hannah. The rest of the weekend was spent walking along the beach; playing in the sea spray; searching for fossilized shark teeth; watching Mason threaten the ocean waves, running in and out of the lapping water screaming; Hannah running up to me at the aquarium, grabbing my hand and saying "Auntie T, you're my friend"; building iPods in the sand (guess who THAT was); teaching my family to play Wii sports; laughing, discussing the Fair Tax with my dad; eating cake (that was mostly my mom)and generally enjoying the wonderful little town on Topsail Island. It was absolutely beautiful there, and I really couldn't get over being able to walk out onto the back porch and down the steps, just yards from the swells and whitecaps of the Atlantic.

My birthday was much less glamourous, as I worked almost 14 hours that day on Season Renewal stuff. Scott did a good job and spoiled me the day before, knowing that my actual birthday would probably be pretty crappy. He got me a Wii game which we played, as well as beautiful flowers and a delicious cake, which I spent the rest of the week eating for breakfast (if I didn't learn anything else from my mom, I sure learned that!).

We need to post our pictures from the NC vacation, as there are some really great ones of us on the beach.

Babies are being born left and right - our friends Ja & Julie welcomed Samantha Carter into the world on April 11, and my college roommate, Tammy, either had her daughter on Monday or Tuesday, I can't remember when her surgery was scheduled for. We have been spending as much time as we can watching Connor grow. Jason & Kelli came up the street the other night with Connor, Kayla trailing behind on her newly-assembled tricycle. It was so funny watching her ride that thing - and I was surprised by the amount of power she has! Our house is higher up than theirs, so there's a good slope she had to ride up, and she didn't have much trouble. She was pretty proud of her trike.

I know other stuff has happened, but I just can't remember, and wish I had chronicled it when it was happening. It's just been that sort of month where I just can't find the time to write when I want to, and don't have anything to say when I do have time to write. Such is life.

Today is my sister-in-law's birthday - Happy Birthday, Rebecca!

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Baby Boy Bowling
by Auntie T
Fri, Apr 04 2008, 7:16 PM

Mike and Amanda welcomed their new son this morning at 3:57am. Uncle Scotty and Auntie T are excited to have an April baby to share their birthdays with! Baby Boy currently has not been given a name, but they don't let you leave without one, so that will come soon enough, I'm sure.

Congrats Mike, Amanda & Ella!

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Elevator Etiquette
by Tricia
Fri, Mar 21 2008, 12:45 PM

Recently I have been amazed by the simple things I learned growing up that it seems the general population did not learn. Mainly, the proper way to get on and off an elevator.

I work on the 5th floor of a glorified shopping mall. Our offices are not open to the general public, and most people who come to my office, upon finding out it's on the fifth floor of Crown Center are amazed to hear that Crown Center even has a fifth floor. This being said, I use the elevator every day. I don't have a choice - I'm not lazy, and if I could take the stairs, I would. In fact, I often take the stairs down. The problem is going up. The only entrance by stairs into our offices is through the theatre, by using a door which remains locked except for during a performance. A door that employees are not allowed to have a key for. So, unless that door happens to be open for whatever reason, it's a waste of my time to walk all the way up there just to have to go down to 3 and catch the elevator anyway.

So. Every day I take the elevator at least twice, if not more often. Lately I've had a tendency to purchase my lunch in the food court, so I am forced to take the elevator during the most busy time in Crown Center. The time when all the Hallmark employees are at lunch and every kid in the city who is part of a field trip is running around maniacally with a Fritz's hat on their head.

First of all, I am amazed by the number of people with good, working legs who use the elevator to go ONE FLOOR. The worst thing is Crown Center is equipped with not one, but TWO escalators. In my eyes, the elevator should only be used by people with large stroller contraptions, the elderly and handicapped, and those of us with business on the floors that the stairs don't go to. Regardless of my beliefs, hoards of people use the elevator to go one or two floors, when they could easily take the stairs or escalator. I often have to go from the 1st floor to the 5th floor, and it's no surprise when someone stops my journey at 2 to get on, only to get off at 3, effectively forcing me to visit 4 of the 5 floors when I'm just trying to get from top to bottom as fast as I can.

My second beef is with people who rudely stand just in front of the elevator doors while they wait for it to arrive so they can board, thus forcing those passengers trying to exit to squeeze past them. DO NOT WAIT IN THE TINY WALLED-IN AREA JUST IN FRONT OF THE DOORS. I am not going to wait while you board and then exit. The people inside have the right of way, that's just how it is.

Now, here is a special message for parents. Your kids are cute, and I'm glad you're having a fun day at thuper Crown Center, but corral those little turds. I completely understand that your child, at 2-6 years of age, may not have a grasp on elevator etiquette. SO TEACH THEM. It is not cool when I am in the elevator and the doors open and there are five munchkins racing to get in, practically knocking me over, and YOU DON'T SAY A DAMN WORD TO THEM. That, my friends, is an opportunity to educate a child on being polite and taking turns. Not an opportunity to maul a stranger. Obviously my parents took the time to tell me to stay the hell away from the elevator door until people have exited - it's just the friendly thing to do.

Finally, I work here. I know the building pretty well, and I'm more than happy to help you find where you're trying to go. If you ask me where the Crayola store is and I say it's on 2, DON'T PRESS THE 3 BUTTON. On the same hand, if you get in and I'm standing in front of the buttons and ask you what floor, it's because I'm happy to push the button for you - SO DON'T REACH IN FRONT OF ME or PUSH ME OUT OF THE WAY to push the button! I will do it for you. I promise I will get you to the right place - I have no hidden agenda, and even if I did, this place is only 3 floors of shopping - I'm sure you'll find what you're looking for.

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Babies, babies, babies
by Tricia
Thu, Mar 20 2008, 1:42 PM

The first of many babies of the year has arrived - Kelli and Jason welcomed Connor Mitchell Thompson (also known as C-Thomp, or at least, that's what Scott and I call him) at 10:59pm on March 16. He was 9lbs, 1oz and 21 inches long. When their first, Kayla, was born, she came out with a typical Jason scowl on her face and there was no question that it was his kid. The Nash kids (Kelli, Ken, Kim and Kristy) all have the same nose, and it's a pretty unique nose. Connor most definitely is a Nash, because that nose is planted squarely on his face. He's so cute and content. Kayla seems to be fairly indifferent toward him at this point. There are more photos of him and of Kayla here and I am sure there will be more in our albums soon, as I have a tendency to go all paparazzi on these kids.

It's very strange to go from being used to walking, talking children, and all the sudden be holding a teeny newborn who barely makes a peep and pretty much sleeps all the time. I've gotten so accustomed to entertaining children, asking them questions, having them recite colors and letters, etc, that it's weird to just have Connor asleep on my chest and not requesting multiple Dora episodes by name, like his sister is want to do. =) That will come with time, I'm sure.

Additionally, the countdown is on for our new nephew - Amanda is doing great (she's due April 2nd), though I know she and Mike are both feeling the stress of preparing for their new family member. It's got to be overwhelming to know that any day your family will become something completely new and different - and that there's a TON of stuff to get done before that happens! They are working hard to spend these last few days with just Ella, making memories before their family of three becomes four.

Then there's Julie who is due the 3rd week of April, but is carrying a baby which is already weighing in at 9 pounds! She's an incredible lady, and I hope they give her a LOT of drugs when she is in labor.

My college roommate, Tammy, is also due with her second child in April, so it's a big month.

While all this birthin' is happening, our friends Heather & Shane are planning an important trip to Kingdom of Bhutan to adopt a little girl. They will be the first people ever to complete an international adoption from Bhutan, which is par for the course, as Shane and Heather are the type to be the first at everything.

Most exciting to me is the impending arrival of my cousin's baby at the end of May. She and I were like sisters growing up, so I pretty much see this kid as my nephew. Laura is one of my favorite people in the whole world, and I'm so excited for her. She will be such a fun mom, and between her and Andy, their kid(s) will be very logical and very creative - the best of both worlds!

Hooray for other people having babies for me to spoil!

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Guitar Loser
by Tricia
Mon, Mar 10 2008, 3:27 PM

Scott really gets into Guitar Hero. It's pretty funny to see such a geeky computer kid try to rock out. Especially when he's rocking out to a Pat Benatar song. =)

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Against Our Better Judgement
by Tricia
Mon, Mar 10 2008, 3:14 PM

I have never been a huge fan of video games or gaming systems. I'm not the type to want to go out and buy the newest, trendiest machine and be the first on my block to own it. I just don't care, and don't tend to spend enough time playing video games to make them worth the money I shell out for them.

When the Wii came out I was very against getting one, and didn't see the point of all the craziness surrounding it. We played a few times at Ken & Kyle's place, and while I enjoyed it, it still wasn't something I was willing to drop over $300 bucks on, just for the system and necessary peripherals. We have a PlayStation 2 which we rarely play, though we do have a few games that I really love to play. I just would rather be reading or watching TV, and frankly, after a while, the game make my eyes and head hurt. And my thumbs! =)

Well, a couple of weeks ago we were over at Mike & Amanda's to play their new Wii, and had a great time playing Tennis and SmartyPants. I had quite a bit of money saved up in my bank account (the one I use to buy yarn and stuff for the Alpha Phi house), so I told Scott that if he really wanted one (because he's addicted to Guitar Hero), I would pay for it. NOT the Guitar Hero, mind you, because that is a game I just can't get behind - I'm not a fan of that type of game. Plus, just watching people play it makes my carpal tunnel syndrome flare up.

So, this weekend, even though we shouldn't be wasting the money, and even though we shouldn't be wasting the time, we broke down and got a Wii. Scott had the whole week off from work and on Friday started to feel like he was coming down with a cold. He felt like poo all day Saturday and so by Sunday he was pretty cranky and wanting to do something fun... so we checked the Best Buy circular in the sunday paper, and sure enough they were showing that they had a limited quantity available in-store. We raced over and assumed they would all be gone - we were getting there an hour and a half after opening. To our surprise, of 59 units available that day, there were 3 left, so we loaded up with that, the Guitar Hero III package, WiiPlay (which comes with an extra Wii-mote) and SmartyPants. I really like SmartyPants. Perhaps because I won every game we played of it yesterday. =)

So, we are now Wii-people, and I have spent a lot of time making "Mii's". I made one of myself, one of Scott, and then for fun, I made Mii's of Scott's parents. Then we worked it out so we can send messages via the Wii to Mike and Amanda, so we traded Mii's and sent goofy emails back and forth. We also went to the "Check Mii Out" channel, where you can look at Mii's that other people have created and downloaded an Adam Savage Mii (star of MythBusters, Scott's favorite show).

We may never get anything done ever again.

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Seen on the way to work
by Tricia
Thu, Feb 28 2008, 10:50 AM

At the 6-square foot "poop zone" specifically created for people that live in the lofts on 10th street to take their dogs for ... relief.
One very straight, corporate-looking guy (shaved head, suit/tie, trench coat) holding two leashes. On the end of one leash was a tiny long-haired dachshund wearing a brown quilted jacket with pink piping. On the end of the other leash was a tiny terrier-type dog wearing a teeny tan/pewter faux leather trench coat. On the face of the guy was a scowl.

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Versatility
by Tricia
Thu, Feb 28 2008, 10:19 AM

I don't think I have had a haircut this versatile for a very long time. Like, since back in high school when I was able to do 3 things - hair down, hair in ponytail, top half of hair pulled into hairclip on top of head. This is kind of fun but also scary, because I just don't have any talent for styling my own hair (or anyone else's, for that matter). Though today I do feel quite Flock of Seagulls.

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Finally Making My Parents Happy
by Tricia
Wed, Feb 27 2008, 9:40 AM

My whole childhood I had long hair and continually heard "you should cut your hair short" from my parents. Perhaps subconsciously wishing I was a 3rd son, instead of the daughter they got? =) I vehemently refused, and pretty much always told myself I would NEVER, under any circumstances cut my hair short. To me, short hair meant old (How often do you see an older woman with long hair?) and I didn't ever want to succumb to old.

Of course, saying never always comes back to bite you in the ass, so for the last few years my hair has gotten shorter and shorter, each time making me look less like a teenager and more my age. Which I suppose is good. Last night I got my hair cut for the first time in close to four months - this is a very long time for me, as the style I have had dictates a need to get it cut about every 4-5 weeks. I just kept putting it off and couldn't find a time to do it - until I finally got fed up last week and made an appointment. I walked in and sat down, saying to my "stylist" (blerg) that I was in a rut and just didn't know what I wanted to do. She pulled out some books with hairstyles and we looked through them, pontificating on what would look good, what would be too much work for my "wash and wear" life. Finally we settled on something that made us both happy. And WHOO BOY is it short! But I do like it - it will take me a while to get used to it.

I met Scott at the gym after getting it cut, and while we made laps around the track, I could see that every time he passed me (he was jogging, I was walking) he had a big smile on his face. So, I guess he likes it.

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Snot
by Tricia
Wed, Feb 20 2008, 3:55 PM

I am finally on the verge of total recovery. I had a nasty sinus infection - the first one I think I've ever had. It was awful. The left side of my head was totally fine, but the right side felt like someone had peeled open my skull and lodged a brick inside. My face hurt, my ear was clogged to the point of not being able to hear out of it, my eye had so much pressure on it from the blocked sinus that it was constantly watering. And the snot. Oh, the snot. People, I could have built a house out of bricks using my snot as mortar. It would have been a two-story colonial. There was so much snot, and frankly, not enough kleenex to hold it all. In the span of six days I went through four boxes of kleenex. (and yes, Jake, it was ACTUALLY kleenex, which is why I am calling it that and not facial tissue).

I took Morgan's advice and went to the Minute Clinic for some meds. It took more like 90 minutes, but it was still quicker and easier than trying to make an appointment at my doctor's office. They gave me a prescription for amoxicillan, which I thought only small children with ear infections took. I was wrong. The pills may be giant and grown up, but they are still nauseatingly pink, just like the children's liquid is.

So, I am finally feeling a bit more normal and have gone from blowing my nose approximately 6,000 times a day to only about 100 times, so that's nice. The skin on my nostrils is also healing nicely, as it was worn away by all of the constant kleenex contact.

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Dammit
by Tricia
Mon, Feb 11 2008, 5:19 PM

I think I'm getting sick. Scott was feeling pretty punky all weekend, and I thought perhaps I had escaped the wrath of the travelling germs, but it seems that I am quickly becoming a jiggly mass of virus.

Sore throat? Check
Headache? Check
Lots of mucous in my throat? Check
Rising temperature? Check
Inability to focus? Check

It's going to be a long week.

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Gay Bar Bingo
by Tricia
Sun, Feb 03 2008, 8:38 PM

There is not much that is more fun than playing bingo with friends. Oh wait - yes there is. Playing bingo with a drag-queen calling the numbers! We hung out at Sharp's last night to participate in their Saturday night bingo game. It was a special night with Hedwig hosting the festivities. Eubank Productions is opening the 10th anniversary show of Hedwig and the Angry Inch later this month, starring the very talented Justin Van Pelt as Hedwig. We were having a good time, winning some prizes (Ken was in charge of the prizes, so it was all temporary tattoos, fake sideburns and slap bracelets.) The final game was a "blackout", where you have to fill in every square on your card to win. We all colored in our spaces with anticipation until finally I looked over at Scott's card and noticed he only needed ONE spot to win. Our table got excited and listened for his number to be called... AND IT WAS! Our whole table screamed "BINGO!!" and Hedwig said "it sounds like that whole table won!" Scott won the big prize of the night, which was a drag-queen wig, which actually looks a bit more like a mullett than any hair-do a respectable drag queen would wear. He was channelling Dolly Parton as he wore it and got his picture taken with Hedwig (Ken took the picture, so I'll have to beg him to send it to me so I can post it). He also got a Crown Royal/Nascar t-shirt (don't get me started on how wrong it is for alcohol companies to sponsor the sport of driving cars), two tickets to Hedwig and the Angry Inch, a Sharp's gift certificate and a bag full of crazy goodies (the aforementioned tattoos, slap bracelets, etc.)

When he went up to get his prize he was a little anxious about being the center of attention, and that didn't improve when Hedwig said "you must open the box in front of everyone". All I could think was "uh oh! He's not going to enjoy this!" He played it up, though, and all the folks enjoyed watching. I was probably the only one in the place who could tell he was uncomfortable with all the eyes on him and having to make witty banter with the transvestite. (the issue there being the making of the witty banter, not the transvestite)

We had a great time and look forward to playing bingo at Sharp's again. I gotta go put on some cool tattoos now.

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Best Movie Ever. Seriously.
by Tricia
Wed, Jan 30 2008, 8:49 PM

Scott and I have seen Juno no less than five times (Thanks, Mikey!). It is probably the most clever (cleverest, perhaps?) movie I have ever seen. I am dumbfounded by its awesomeness, and can't even complete a thought because of it. I'm speechless, folks. Speech. Less. Go see it.

Additionally, the soundtrack is pretty amazing, too - if you like that sort of thing. The singing itself is pretty questionable on some of the tracks, but the melodies are catchy and the lyrics are funny and poignant. I have a problem with getting the stupid "Vampire" song stuck in my head right before bedtime, and then I can't get to sleep. That's not so cool. You can listen to the soundtrack on the website linked above.

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Dog Days
by Tricia
Tue, Jan 22 2008, 2:27 PM

We got some sad news today - Scott has a cousin named Kari, and she and her husband, Eric, are dog people like us. We often talk to each other about our dogs at family gatherings, much like the other members of the family discuss their children. Our dogs ARE our children (yes, we fall into that creepy sect of people who take pictures with our dogs, buy birthday cakes for our canine pals and even take them with us in the car when there's no need for them to join us).

Right around Christmas, Kari and Eric found out that one of their dogs, Luke, had Lymphoma. It was heartbreaking to watch Kari as she told us about it and her eyes welled up with tears. Of all the people in that room, I think we were the only ones who could completely understand how devastating this news was.

Today Kari emailed me to let me know that Luke had passed away - his prognosis of having 2-3 months left had quickly turned into 2-3 weeks, and now he's gone. I sat here at my desk in my office and cried while I read her email. I know there are so many people in the world who think "It's just a dog. Get another one." These same people are the type who get a dog just to leave it outside all of the time, or adopt a cat specifically to let it roam the neighborhood. These animals are not a part of the family, and therefore have won the short end of the stick in life. They may get fed and watered and have room to run, but they don't form the relationship with their family that they need. Dogs need a pack to belong to, and it is cruel when they are left alone all the time.

I digress.

I can't imagine how hard the last few weeks have been for Kari and Eric, knowing that their little furry friend will soon be gone. It got me to thinking about how, as a dog owner, you enter into this relationship that you KNOW is not going to pan out in your favor in the end. You know that, chances are, you are going to outlive this wonderful creature. And yet, we do it anyway. The judgement is made, often fairly quickly and without hesitation, that the pain and sadness in the end is worth the long term happiness and unconditional love that having that animal in your life allows you. There is not much better than coming home and having Brodie rush to the door all smiles and wags, waiting to hear about our day. He'll dance around our feet as we fix dinner, hoping a scrap or two will fall his way. He knows when it's bedtime and takes up his resident spot where my feet should go, forcing me to sleep fetus-like in order to accommodate him. There are days when I am so happy to wake up and have him snuggled up in bed with me that I don't want to go to work, and must pry myself out of bed and away from his fuzzy face to shower and start the day.

There is this simplicty to loving a dog that is unequaled. This knowledge that, even if you forget to feed him, or punish him for digging in the garbage, he will come back to you and wag his tail and lick your hand and make you smile. This is why we endure the pain of losing our furry friends. A dog is a best friend who you don't understand, but who understands you, and that's all that matters.

In the end, all we have to comfort us is the knowledge that we made that animal's life happy, and he returned the favor tenfold.

Rest in peace, Luke. You'll be missed.

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Spectacle Spectacular
by Tricia
Wed, Jan 16 2008, 11:04 AM

Yesterday we picked up our new glasses, which was quite exciting. We both went a very different direction with the style we chose, and I think we are both pleased. Instead of our typical purchase of brownish frames, we both went with black frames, Scott's with a white layer on the inside, mine with teal. Scott's are plastic, mine are metal (which is proving to be a little hard to get used to). I suppose I am still deciding if I'm pleased, because mine are a little weird. The temple bars go WAY back around my head - apparently this style is made for people with exceptionally large head circumference.

We also got new lenses in our old sunglasses, and new lenses in our old regular glasses (though those lenses are at our old prescription) to have as an emergency pair. I guess they accidentally broke Scott's while putting in the new lenses, so he got an entirely new pair of frames for the emergency pair. We also both got the Transitions lenses in our new glasses, though they didn't actually put them in mine, so they are ordering me a new pair of correct ones. Unfortunately, we picked them up as it was getting dark, so Scott wasn't able to try them out - I'm sure he has taken a moment today to go outside and see what happens. Though it is pretty overcast today, so it may not work.

On to the photos:

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New Plates
by Tricia
Mon, Jan 14 2008, 10:30 AM

Friday we picked up our new license plates at the DMV - which alone was an experience. We got the specialty plates offered by the American Heart Association, which requires you make an annual donation to the organization of at least $25. The plates are super-cute with the Red Dress logo on them, and also are very fitting for me as an Alpha Phi, as our philanthropy is the Alpha Phi Foundation which supports education and research for cardiac care, specifically for women.

We had a few different personalizations to choose from, and were excited to see that we had gotten one of our first choices (as opposed to our breast cancer plates on the TrailBlazer, which got the lamest and last choice we had). We almost hit the floor laughing when we saw what the whole thing says when you read it:



Ain't it the truth? I feel like it should also say "...since 1978"

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Tele-elliptical
by Tricia
Fri, Jan 11 2008, 3:11 PM

Scott and I have finally given ourselves no excuse to lay around and get fat and lazy. We joined the YMCA last weekend, and have already gotten into the habit of going there after work. It's nice. It's a bustling place full of friendly people, the equipment is top-rate, and the pool is amazing (with a water slide and fountains, a hot tub and a LAZY RIVER!).

Already, though, I am amassing funny stories about my experiences there.

Wednesday evening we arrived, changed clothes and did a couple of laps around the track to warm up. This is the time that I scope out the ellipticals and treadmills that have televisions attached to them, and when one is vacated, I immediately abandon the track and Scott to head for mindless tv-watching. It makes the whole ordeal go a lot faster. Anyway, I hopped onto a machine and got going. The girl next to me was pumping away on her machine when her cell phone, which is sitting in the cup-holder of her display unit, starts to ring. She answers it. And keeps running. She says "hello? No, I'm at the gym working out. Mmmhm. No, that's ok, go ahead!" and proceeds to spend the next 15 minutes of her workout (and mine) jabbering away on her phone. I couldn't believe it. Frankly, if I were the person on the other end I would have been all "yo, that's ok - you finish your workout and call me back because I wouldn't want to be the reason you drive the woman next to you to murder."

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Y2K'08
by Tricia
Fri, Jan 11 2008, 3:00 PM

Well, if anyone is still checking this thing, let me apologize for the long hiatus. The holidays were so busy and stressful and I just couldn't find the time to catch up. Then on January 3rd I sat down to entertain you with holiday goodness, and my entry wouldn't show up. I posted it no less than three times, and each time it just disappeared into the ether.

I did a little hunting and finally figured out that Scott had not made my website Y2K'08 compliant. That is to say, 2008 did not exist, so therefore I could not post anything with a date in 2008. Sure, I could have just started posting everything with a date between the last post I made and December 31, but that would be a lie. And I don't lie. Unless it gets me out of the 300th reading of the book about Egypt or another game of Grinch, Sing Your Heart Out.

So, I had to wait until Scott found time in his busy schedule to change two lines of code so I could, once again, entertain you with my fascinating brand of humor.

Posting shall resume post-haste.

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Wishing I could slow down time like that dude on Heroes.
by Tricia
Wed, Dec 19 2007, 1:37 PM

Well, we're down to 24 hours before we are on the road, headed to North Carolina. I'm excited, and glad to get away, but at the same time Scott and I are both so stressed out trying to get everything done and in order before we leave. We are having our own Christmas tonight, but we don't know if we'll actually have time to enjoy it. Plus, neither of us has had time to actually wrap presents for each other, so we will be having a trashy lame gift exchange, wherein we cover our gifts with a blanket, then reach under and pull one out. I feel bad because I'm almost to the point where I can't even enjoy the prospect of getting to open gifts and watching him open his. I just want to take a nap! Last night I had an Alpha Phi Alumnae meeting, which I'm very glad I went to, but at the same time I just kept thinking "there's so much stuff I should be doing right now!" We still have to pack, load the car, get Brodie ready to stay with Grandma & Grandpa B, open our gifts, try to figure out how to program the thermostat online so we can fiddle with it while we're gone and get everything wrapped up at work. The program for the next show is due two days after I get back, so I'm really overwhelmed by that. Rehearsals don't start until next Wednesday, so I will be chasing actors down when I come back on Thursday to get their bios approved. Plus, the author wants 48 hours to approve the program! I don't know how I'm going to make that all happen. Luckily, the woman I deal with at the publishing company is great, and usually is ok with giving me an extra day or two. I just hate to have to do that. Deadlines are there for a reason, and it makes me feel incompetent to have to miss one.

Hopefully by this time tomorrow I will be relaxed and able to let myself enjoy the six days of crazy family ahead of me. =)

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Misread
by Tricia
Wed, Dec 12 2007, 9:29 AM

I just finished reading The Art of Mending by Elizabeth Berg. It was a good book, and I usually enjoy anything by this author. What made it more enjoyable, however, were the notes made by a previous reader (though I cringed every time I came across one of them, as writing in books - ESPECIALLY A LIBRARY BOOK - is a big no-no in my eyes) who obviously does not have a firm grasp of popular culture, and, from the look of it, took everything written literally rather than taking the time to unravel and understand what the author was getting at. At one point a character, in response to something awful another character has said, responds "Madonna, I can't believe it". Next to this sentence was a penciled-in question mark and "huh?" It's pretty clear that the character is saying "Madonna" instead of saying "jesus christ" or using a foul word. I think the reader looked at it as a reference to the singer Madonna, and was confused. The book was fairly serious and was wholly about a parent psychologically abusing her child, and that child coming to terms with it as an adult... but I giggled all the way through it due to the little gems I would come across from this person who just wasn't able to read the lines in context. There was also a reference at some point to an obvious pop-culture thing (I can't remember what, but, for the sake of making the point, lets say "pop rocks", as it will work in the same way). There, again, I found a penciled-in question mark next to this reference - apparently the reader did not see it as the well-known candy that explodes in your mouth, but saw it as an out-of-context reference to the character's father being a fantastic guy.

I in no way endorse making notes in books that don't belong to you, but this did make my reading experience a little more fun.

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Flakey
by Tricia
Thu, Dec 06 2007, 1:56 PM

It is SNOWING today. This morning when I drove in to work it was dry and cold...but by 10am it was coming down fast. Big, fat flakes creating a wintery haze. Slush abounds and skidding cars driven by people who don't understand how to navigate a vehicle in inclement weather are everywhere.

I'm very glad that Scott talked me in to carpooling today so I can leave the driving to him this afternoon. I can't wait to get home and have a hot mug of cider while I sit on the couch and knit.

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Oh, Holidays
by Tricia
Tue, Dec 04 2007, 11:58 AM

Christmas is looming, racing toward me, and I have practically nothing done. Scott and I thought we were doing so well, getting a little of our shopping done on Black Friday, but since then we have seriously backslid. I have knitted a few scarves, and am now working on one for my niece, Hannah (it's SO soft and brightly colored... I love it!). But, there are a few things I wanted to order from www.etsy.com for different people, and now I fear it may be too late. The one good thing is that we'll be actually going to see my family in North Carolina for Christmas, so we can just buy corncob dolls and walnut bowls on our way down there. =) Perhaps I will get Jake and Rebecca one of those crazy front yard totem pole things that people are always carving with chainsaws in Appalachia. Really, if you own a chainsaw and live in the mountains of North Carolina, you might as well be carving bears and people's surnames out of fallen trees, because tourists eat that crap up.

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Fluffy
by Tricia
Wed, Nov 28 2007, 7:22 PM

I'm working on a great scarf right now, but I can't post a photo because that would spoil the surprise for the person who will be receiving it for Christmas (Amanda!). The yarn is a bitch to work with, but it's very different and fun knitted up. It actually reminds me of a scarf/hat set I had as a kid that I HATED. I think my mom still has that set, and my niece, Hannah, wears it. It was nubbly and the hat was huge and made me feel stupid. I think I felt like it was too girly for me. I like this scarf a lot better than that set! I will have a hard time parting with it. I must go finish the last few rows so I can start on the next one. I can't very well bring this one to Iowa this weekend to work on since we're carpooling with Mike and Amanda!

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A Little Ego Boost
by Tricia
Fri, Nov 16 2007, 10:12 AM

Just an update on the scarves I made for the Alpha Phi auction. I finished the second one late Friday night and could hear the Hallelujah Chorus in my head as I bound off and carefully tucked the ends in so they weren't visible. I was really proud of both scarves, and started to think "hm, I may have to bid on these myself, as I would like to keep them!"

At the auction there was much hovering over the scarves by those bidding on items, and at least three people were fighting over them, re-bidding each time the others bid. They finally sold for $22, which is great! I have been to the home of the woman who had the highest bid, and she has very good taste, so that made me feel great that she thought my handiwork was worthy of purchase.

So, with the warm-fuzzies in tow, I have started working on myriad Christmas scarves for family and friends. Perhaps I will even make one for myself. Or Scott. I don't think I have ever made one for him. I usually just buy them at Target. Is that bad?

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Questioning Joseph Smith
by Tricia
Mon, Nov 12 2007, 5:28 PM

I have always been fascinated by all things Mormon. I am not a believer in any organized religion, but I find the idea of people believing whole-heartedly in a religion that has enough holes in its history to be swiss cheese very interesting. I am in no way mocking or belittling those of LDS faith - I really do find the whole thing amazing. I grew up knowing a few mormons and their families because of my cousin, Laura. I was impressed by the closeness and sincere love in those families. It was because of Laura and my early introduction to Mormon families that I investigated and read the Book of Mormon, just to see what it was all about.

Which makes this very interesting. Recent scientific testing of DNA has proven that there is little proof to support the LDS belief that Native Americans are descendents of the Lamanites, an ancient people belived to have come to America from Jerusalem in 600 BC.

Part of me thinks "ah-ha! More proof that organized religion is just story-telling and has no real foundation", making me feel more justified in my own beliefs. The other part of me thinks "what is this world coming to that our scientists have time to do studies of this nature to basically disprove the beliefs of a people and make them lose trust in the one thing that might be the most important to them." Also, who has the right to make changes to a religous document which is the basis of a belief system? This smacks of Emporor Constantine and his revisions of the New Testament to include pagan traditions and rituals in order to convert more people and stop pagan worship.

Most people need something to believe in, faith that there is a reason we are here and a purpose and a superintendent of sorts who is pulling the strings and making sure things happen as they should. It seems to me that making people question that is kind of mean. On the other hand, for many I'm sure these findings will just deepen their faith.

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Work in Progress
by Tricia
Fri, Nov 09 2007, 10:22 AM

Tomorrow evening Scott and I are going to a Wine Tasting/Silent Auction held by my Alpha Phi Alumnae group. I have been knitting like crazy to finish my contribution to the auction... and I'm a little nervous that I may not finish in time. I even brought my knitting to work today to sneak in a row here and a row there in between mailing lists, holiday trade letters and designing corporate party inserts.



I already finished my first scarf, and once I finish this one I will breathe a huge sigh of relief. As long as it's before the event and not after. =) This second one is so pretty and it's going to be difficult letting it go. I think I have another skein of this yarn, though, so perhaps I will make one for myself. I don't ever knit for myself - always for other people. I need to have an end person/goal in mind so it forces me to finish the project. If I make something for myself there is no deadline so I just set it down and never pick it back up. Plus, I like giving my finished products to people I love. =)

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Happy Halloween!
by Tricia
Wed, Oct 31 2007, 2:26 PM

It's kind of funny how Halloween really stops being as much fun once you hit "grown up" age. I suppose it renews itself when one has kids, but when you're past the trick-or-treat stage it just sort of loses a lot of the charm. Granted, I may be jaded because we aren't able to get much enjoyment out of trick-or-treaters coming to our house, as Brodie barks and freaks out the entire night.

The last couple of years we have found places to be instead of home in order to not deal with the dog's inability to socialize. Tonight we will do the same, though since it's a weeknight we'll be making an early night of it.

When I was a senior in high school two friends and I dressed up like the 3 blind mice. We wore gray sweat suits and sunglasses, made ears out of felt and hairclips and had my dad turn dowel rods into three long sticks painted white with red tips. We thought we were so clever, until we got outside and realized that the sunglasses made it impossible to see anything that night. And without the sunglasses we were just mice pretending to be blind.

When I was in 4th or 5th grade the night before halloween it occurred to me that I needed a costume. My mom helped me put together the "Queen of Hearts" which was me dressed like a giant playing card. I don't think we have any pictures, but I remember being quite proud of the costume. The next year I was in a "hat" phase and had recently become the proud owner of a silver glitter top hat. I decided to be a magician, using the top hat as my main component. I think I wore leggings and a blazer and carried props from Jake's old magic kit. Not that I knew how to use any of them.

I was never the person who planned my costume weeks or months in advance - I never had the forethought for that. And still don't. I was always jealous of the kids who had worked on their costumes diligently so they would be able to impress everyone at school. But, now that I think back, my costumes were pretty good, even if they were put together on the fly, sometimes the morning of halloween, before running out the door to school.

I do think back often to Jake's "Upside-down Man" costume. Somewhere there's a photo of him with Scott Bryant and some other kid on the driveway, headed out to trick more than treat, I'm sure. Jake is standing upright, but his arms are cleverly clad in pants with holes cut in the crotch so he could see, shoes on hands up in the air, shirt on his legs and hips, fake hands on his feet. And a head of some sort (I don't remember if it was a styrofoam ball or a mask or what) hanging from the neck of the shirt between his legs. Very clever. It looked like he was walking on his hands all night.

One year my friend Seth came dressed as a two-headed person. Have you seen the episode of The Office where Michael has the head pinned to his shirt? Seth did it first, circa 1992. He painstakingly covered a styrofoam head with flesh-colored latex and added a wig cut to look like his hair and painted features on to match his own. It was pretty impressive.

These days I just wear my cheesy Renaissance Festival horns and hope that's enough. At least it's something.

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Fun N Games with Enne
by Tricia
Tue, Oct 30 2007, 4:50 PM

Tonight we are hanging out at Ken's playing games and making dinner. If we play hearts things could go downhill because Ken doesn't like my strategy. That strategy being not having a strategy. Ken is the best.

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Famous. Sort of. Maybe a little.
by Tricia
Mon, Oct 22 2007, 10:15 PM

My sorority, Alpha Phi, has a quarterly magazine that, for obvious reasons, is called The Quarterly. Because it comes out quarterly. Clever, no?

Today the Fall edition arrived in my mailbox, and I always sit right down and read it cover to cover just to see what's up. I made it to the first page before squealing with delight. My friend Allison is featured as an Alumnae of Distinction. She is an amazing woman who has accomplished so much in very little time. If you are interested, you can read all about her here on page 7. It even mentions her involvement with Washburn, which is the chapter I advise.

Speaking of which, imagine my surprise as I kept reading and came across MYSELF in the magazine! Among many things Allison fills her time with, she is a member of the Alpha Phi Alumnae Membership Strategic Committee (I probably butchered the name of the committee, but you get the idea - as a part of the committee she works to find ways to engage alumnae and get them to participate as active members of the sorority). They were putting together a supplement for the Quarterly this summer which would address a lot of reasons (excuses) women give as to why they don't volunteer their time for Alpha Phi. She asked me if I would write a testimonial as an Alumnae who Advises a chapter that is not her own collegiate chapter. I obliged, not knowing if or when the piece would ever be printed.

It was!! (check out page 5)

I guess it's kind of exciting because Alpha Phi's all over the world receive this magazine and will see my smiling face, and hopefully they will jump in and get involved with a local chapter.

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Spooooooky Cupcakes
by Tricia
Sun, Oct 14 2007, 3:20 PM

The Spooky Cupcakes were a huge success! Cathy and I had so much fun making them, though most of the candy we used was gross. It's not candy that I would just eat because it's candy. The gumdrops were particularly disgusting - who eats that crap? They just aren't like I remembered them when I was a kid.




Now we're too in love with the results to actually eat them!

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Autumn is in the 80 degree air
by Tricia
Wed, Oct 10 2007, 3:14 PM

Many fascinating things have happened since my last post, but I caught a nasty cold and haven't had the brain power to type any of it up. Sorry. I am still trying to get around to putting the photos up from the wedding we went to (and I still need to send them out to all the Van Aelstyn kids, as well as my family). It's been a busy couple of weeks, and getting sick has not helped my "to-do" list shrink.

Something fun that we did this past Saturday was go to the pumpkin patch with Morgan & Michael. This is sort of an annual thing that we do, usually ending with a pumpkin-carving and apple pie-making smorgasboard. This year we went to a different pumpkin patch and we were AMAZED. This place doesn't have your typical patch of big orange pumpkins. They have acres and acres of every pumpkin you could ever think of. They give you gloves and a little knife and haul you out to the patch where you grab a wheelbarrow and go crazy. It's 100 pounds of pumpkins for $25, which is a fantastic deal. The patch is laced with a puzzle of vines, all growing different types of pumpkins - cinderella, baby boo, gourds of all sizes, blue pumpkins, green pumpkins, white pumpkins, striped pumpkins. It's unbelievable!

We walked away with 115 lbs of pumpkins and gourds, which only set us back $29! It was probably the most fun I had had in a long time. They also have animals and a corn maze and a pumpkin cannon which uses compressed air to shoot pumpkins across a lake to explode in the gravel on the other side.

Unfortunately, it was over 80 degrees that day, so we didn't get to enjoy the cool crisp weather that normally accompanies pumpkin pickin', but we quickly got over that. It was odd to be wearing a tank top though while thinking about autumnal things that ought to require polar fleece.

That afternoon we went up to Smithville to help Dirk celebrate his first birthday! Cathy made a really fun airplane cake (not a flat sheet cake in the shape of an airplane, but an actual 3-dimensional airplane out of layers of cake!), which Dirk proceeded to stick his feet in and crawl through. He was pretty timid about digging into it, though. We all assumed he would go nuts when he figured out it was cake! I have some great pictures from that day that I need to post as well. Hopefully we can get that done before this weekend, which looks like it's going to be a Hoskins/Bowling blowout - we're taking BJ, Cathy and Dirk to the Renaissance Festival on Saturday, then Saturday night we're going to WaterFire with them (probably sans Dirk). WaterFire is amazing and I highly suggest anyone in the KC area hightail it out to the Plaza this Saturday evening to take part. Then on Sunday, since I don't have to go to Topeka because the girls are on Fall Break, we're getting together so the guys can watch the Chiefs game and Cathy and I can make spooky cupcakes. I'm excited to spend the weekend with them because Cathy is a lot of fun to hang out with, and really, I can never get enough of Dirk.

Amidst everything this past weekend, Scott and I celebrated six years of marriage, which makes me feel old. I can't believe it's been that long! Scott gave me the best anniversary present by taking good care of me as I descended into this mucky cold. He also got me an iPod shuffle (pink for breast cancer). And 115 pounds of pumpkins.

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Baby Girl
by Tricia
Wed, Sep 26 2007, 10:17 PM

The newest little girl in my life was born yesterday, September 25. My friend Allison had Sydney Michelle at 2:15 pm. She's 7 lbs, 14 oz and 19 1/4 inches long. She had to have a C-Section, which she wasn't expecting, but other than that she is doing fine. I was so excited when I heard Scott answer the phone and say "Well hi, Allison!" I was flossing in the bathroom, and he was in bed and I ran to the bed and started jumping up and down, trying to get him to hand over the phone.

We are going to go meet Sydney tomorrow after work, and I don't think the day will go fast enough. I'm so excited for Allison and Nick - I know they will be wonderful, fun parents.

I love it when my friends have babies. It's wonderful to get to take part in the joy and sweetness of a new baby, but not have to change any diapers or be woken by screaming at 3am. =)

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Headed Toward Cheese
by Tricia
Fri, Sep 21 2007, 5:01 PM

We're on the road, headed up to La Crosse, Wisconsin to attend the wedding of my childhood friend, Megan. We are currently on I-35, just south of Des Moines with about four hours left to go. I drove the first three hours, but about 20 minutes ago we saw some major rain ahead of us, so we pulled into a gas station to have a pee and switch drivers. The temp went from 88 to 68 in under 5 minutes. For about 8 miles it rained so hard we could barely see, and now it's 73 degrees and extremely sunny with barely any clouds ahead. It was sort of like being in the twilight zone. Back to my book on CD!

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Seen on the Road...
by Tricia
Fri, Sep 21 2007, 10:55 AM

One Chrysler Sebring.... in an awful shade of Pepto-Bismol pink. Ugh. It obviusly wasn't a color you can order from your regular dealership - which means someone actually paid extra to drive that color around.

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Bookin'
by Tricia
Thu, Sep 20 2007, 7:59 PM

I am ashamed to admit that I am just now finishing the 7th Harry Potter book. I'm even more embarrassed to say that, upon starting the 7th book I got 20 pages in and realized I had NO idea what was going on. I couldn't remember the 6th book at all. I almost convinced myself that I hadn't actually ever read the 6th one, even though I had my own copy.

Mostly I read at night, right before I go to sleep, which has always been a bone of contention between the husband and me, as he likes to go to sleep when he gets in bed. In the dark. With the lights off. I like to read. With the lights on. It's complicated.

Needless to say, when the tossing and turning and sighing gets to be too