Four Years, Baby!!

It's a cool feeling when you're sitting at work on your anniversary, and the florist delivery driver walks in with a beautiful bouquet of flowers.
And just when you're about to say, "Aww - for me?" They cut you off: "I have a delivery for Tammie..."
Oh. Well how nice for Tammie.
No - Kevin did good though. Dinner at Roadhouse and jewelry. Can't beat that :)

All Over The Place...

Wow - so many things going through my head right now.
This weekend did not turn out as planned. My poor Shibbie had car trouble in Arizona and was not able to make it to Dallas as planned. Actually, she still hasn't made it to D-town yet. Prayers might be helpful, if you're the praying kind :)

I start training the new girl at work today. Big workload in addition to my already big workload. So again, prayers might be helpful...

And I've decided to get back into a workout routine. Inspired by Amy and Lisa, I've decided that it's time for a healthier me. Plus, I feel FAT these days. And I hate that. So starting today, I'm getting back into a workout routine. My initial thoughts are that I'll alternate walking, jogging and aerobics at home. Easy on the pocketbook, good on the body. I'm so random, I know.

This weekend, I found the perfect shower gift for my girl Berly's baby. And that led me to think about the fact that she's the first of my super close college friends to have baby. EXCITING!!! That baby's going to have more "aunts" than she knows what to do with. I hope to be cool out of town "aunt" that she can come to when she wants to discuss how unfair her parents are being :) (Just kidding, Berle.)
And of course I'll have embarrassing stories about her mom, which should be helpful. And I'll always have gum. LOL

A Blog Post of Old

So, for the next few days, I've decided to repost old stories of the girls, in recognition of Shibbie's impending departure:
Disclaimer: Due to the nature of this story, all names will be changed to avoid any subsequent embarrassment from participants of that particular girls' weekend.
Lucy and I had just graduated from Texas A & M, and we were so excited to be making our first official joint trip to College Station to see our friend, Gretchen. Our other friend, Beverly, happened to be going out of town, but before leaving, she graciously offered us her apartment for the weekend...
For lack of other things to do in College Station, Lucy, Gretchen and I ended up at our favorite bar, Hole in the Wall. We did some drinking; we did some dancing. Long story short, it was late and time to leave. But being that we had done more drinking than dancing, it was clearly not a good idea for us to do some driving. So we did what any College Stationite would do: we called Carpool. I think I should give a quick shout out to Carpool, which is a student-based organization that offers free rides home to anybody that needs a ride, so that people don't feel the urge to drink and drive. Keep up the good work!!!
First of all, on the way back to Beverly's apartment, Gretchen whips out her wallet and tries to bribe the Carpool driver to take us through the McDonald's drive thru. She offers to pay him. He declines. She offers to buy him a meal. Again, he declines. Needless to say, we arrive at Beverly's apartment hungry and looking for food. The next logical step for three hungry girls with no mode of transportation is to utilize the available resources and raid the refrigerator. And that's just what we did.
I can still picture Lucy and Gretchen's sad little faces when we opened the refrigerator/freezer and found two Weight Watchers meals, a package of Saltine crackers, and a bag of pecans. This is clearly not what we're hoping for, but we're resourceful girls and this is just a bump in the road. So we heat up the Weight Watchers meals and eat them. We open up the Saltines and eat them. We even grab a handful of pecans and go at it. It was not our proudest moment, to say the least. But we're giggly and chatty, and we have the best time eating those horrid foods. See, this is what girls' weekend is all about.
Fast forward to 2:30 a.m. There we are, Lucy, Gretchen and I, scrunched up together on Beverly's full-size bed, talking about lord knows what, when Gretchen glances in to the closet and spots a bright blue, formal gown. Evidently, Gretchen loves this dress, because she decides that now is the time to spring out of bed and try it on. Now, this is quite a spectacle, because Gretchen has had a few drinks and this dress is extremely long and flowy. Gretchen stumbles and hops around, trying to get in to the dress. She is finally successful, and I'm in the process of zipping the dress up, when Gretchen looks down and decides that the dress is too tight on her, because in her head, she can see her belly button through the bodice of the dress. Of course this sets Gretchen in to fits of, "Can you see my belly button?" "Am I fat?" "Is this dress too tight?" "Maybe I shouldn't have had those pecans." Drama is always an active player in girls' weekends, let me tell you.
But, always on top of the situation, Lucy and I quickly gain control by combatting these remarks with "you're totally skinny" comments (Gretchen is totally skinny), temporarily calming Gretchen's mood. We fall asleep soon after, and the drama of girls' weekend is silenced...for now. It will inevitably wreak havoc again at the commencement of the next girls' weekend. But that's a whole other blog entry :)

Nope

There's nothing quite like getting cussed out and belittled prior to 10 am...

The Commish

So it has been brought to my attention several hundred times over the past 4 years that I look very much like the Commissioner of Social Security, whose picture hangs on the wall in our lobby, next to those of President Bush and Vice President Cheney.
And at least once a week, I get asked the question, "Is that you on the wall out front?" And at least once a week, I answer, "No - not me. I wish it was. That's the commissioner of Social Security," (who, incidentally is bringing home probably 10 times what I make.)
So yesterday, this question was raised to a whole new level, when the people in the lobby - who didn't know each other at all - were talking amongst themselves, trying to figure out exactly what I had done to get my picture on the wall.
I overheard one of them say, "I'll bet she's just the employee of the month or something. No way somebody that important would be working at a government office."
I wanted to shout out, "I CAN HEAR YOU!!!"
But instead, my non-important self just smiled and called the next number.
Man, my job is rewarding...

Ode to Lisa

So this weekend is the weekend that I've been looking forward to and also dreading for so long. On Friday, I'll be going to Dallas to see my Shibbie for the last time before she leaves for her year-long venture to Japan. JAPAN.
For the last eight years, Lisa has been my best friend. Absolutely, positively my best friend in the world.
She currently lives in Cali, but we've still somehow found ways to talk every single day. EVERY.SINGLE.DAY. As if we still live in the same zip code.
There's nothing that happens that she doesn't know about. Nothing I'm feeling that I don't discuss with her. Nothing I cry about that I don't tell her. Nothing I laugh about that I don't share with her.
She's seen me through good times and bad times: starting and finishing college, breakups with boyfriends, the loss of friends, drunken nights at the bar, growing up and not going to the bar so much, several moves, starting and ending jobs, weddings, showers...The list goes on and on.
And for the first time, it feels like I'm telling her goodbye. Maybe not goodbye forever, but goodbye for awhile. And I'm sad.
But I'm also happy for her, and I know she has so many adventures ahead of her.
While I'm really excited to see her this weekend, I'm also really sad to think about Sunday. So maybe I'll just postpone those thoughts for awhile...
I love you Shibbie :)

Confessions Part I

I have a confession to make.
A shameful, shameful confession.
Last night I went to see...Snakes...On...A...Plane...and the worst part was that I liked it.
Very much actually. Good show. A+
Oscar-winning performances, you ask? Umm, no. Definitely not.
Well thought out, rich plotline? Nope - pretty much just pissed off snakes killing people on a plane.
Ending that wrapped up the conflict? Not even a little bit.
But was it action packed? Indeed.
And were there funny, awkward sexual inuendos? Too many to count.
Everything you need in a movie :)
If you're not looking for a future Academy Award Winner, that is.

Happy Birthday, Kevbo!

So Kevin's surprise party/go-kart extravaganza went off without a hitch. I'm still so impressed with all of his buddies who knew about this for weeks and never said anything to him. I'm so impressed with myself for not letting something slip, since I came close to just screaming out, "YOU'RE HAVING A SURPRISE PARTY TOMORROW!" like 1007 times on Friday alone. I'm most impressed with Kevin, who didn't gripe too much when I sent him on a 30-minute treasure hunt around town to find his presents in order to keep him occupied while everybody arrived at the raceway.
Here are some pics (shocking, I know - lol) from the party.



Dane and Kevin - Kevin had just gotten to Bay Area Raceway and figured out that he was having a birthday party...



Kevin's birthday cake - we figured we needed to make the cake masculine for him :)



And finally, Kevin riding go-karts - I guess he finally figured out that turning 30 does not mean you can't still be a kid!! Amen to that!!

I Heart San Antonio

These were pics that I took from our hotel balcony in San Antonio. I love the city (any city) at night!

Happy Birthday!!!

...to my favorite brother, Craig!!!
Hope you have a great birthday :)

It's A Small World After All

This weekend was Kevin's pre-birthday "throw him off with a birthday outing so that he doesnt suspect his surprise party" present. We went to San Antonio to the riverwalk and to the Ron White comedy show.
Let me tell you - if you ever get a chance to see Ron White in person, you need to do it. My cheeks still hurt from laughing so hard.
The most bizarre thing happened though. Right before the show, I walked into the bathroom - because I have the weakest bladder EVER - and happened to run into my cousin who lives in Kerrville, which is an hour (East/Northeast??) on the other side of San Antonio. I see her once a year usually, and happened to run into her in the bathroom at random comedy show where probably 1000 people were in attendance. Weird.
Then I ran into one of my high school BFF's at the hotel where we were staying. Talk about small world...
But the weekend was good. It was great to see my cousin and my hs friend. Our room had an awesome view of San Antonio, we rode the river boat, ate on the river and did birthday drinks at Pat O'Brien's before the show, and Kevin seems to be clueless about his upcoming surprise party. Thank goodness he cares not about the blog world, or I would have given it away by now...

You Know It's Bad When...

...you start competitively tracking your record on ebay.
I'm 6-2 right now in wins versus losses on auctions. There's room for improvement. Faster keystrokes, less indecision :)
But for now, I'm happy - I'm still comfortably above a .500 average after all...

Spank That Child!!

Little girl is in the office today with her mom.
Now I'm not sure if mom is just oblivious to the fact that her child is an effing brat, or if she is just over trying to fight that fact.
But this girl was a hellion, I tell you!
She was running around the office, stepping all over the aged and disabled, swinging from the countertops (which are already loose as it is) and screaming at the top of her lungs.
So I look over at our non-confrontational security guard who is staring at the ground and avoiding eye contact with the girl and her mother.
Finally I have my fill, and tell the demon child that she needs to have a seat next to her mother. I guess at this point, reality strikes mom, who exclaims to her daughter, "If you don't behave, I'm going to tell that police officer (who's in the corner still AVOIDING EYE CONTACT - just fyi) on you.
Little girl straight up looks at her mom and says, "No you won't. I'm not going to be good."
And that's all there was to that.

Hellion: 1 Mom: 0

Uh Oh

I've discovered ebay.
And that's not good.

Diet Who? Diet What?

Today I discovered the Milano cookie.
And that's all I'm gonna say about that.

And also, I learned from the 104 Morning Show today that you can discover your own personal "adult film star" name by combining the name of your first pet with the name of the first street you lived on.
I'm Tiger Foster.
The man on the radio was Daisy Piping Rock.
Awesome.

20 Ways to Maintain A Healthy Level Of Insanity

I got this from Rita - my cubicle buddy :) It made me laugh, so I thought I'd pass it on...

1. At Lunch Time, Sit In Your Parked Car With Sunglasses on and point a Hair Dryer at Passing Cars. See If They Slow Down.
2. Page Yourself Over The Intercom. Don't Disguise Your Voice.
3. Every Time Someone Asks You To Do Something, Ask If They Want
Fries with that.
4. Put Your Garbage Can On Your Desk And Label It "In."
5. Put Decaf In The Coffee Maker For 3 Weeks. Once Everyone has
Gotten Over Their Caffeine Addictions, Switch to Espresso.
6. In The Memo Field Of All Your Checks, Write "For
Smuggling Diamonds".
7. Finish All Your sentences with "In Accordance With The
Prophecy."
8. Don't use any punctuation
9. As Often As Possible, Skip Rather Than Walk.
10. Order a Diet Water whenever you go out to
eat, with a serious face.
11. Specify That Your Drive-through Order Is "To Go."
12. Sing Along At The Opera.
13. Go To A Poetry Recital
And Ask Why The Poems Don't Rhyme?
14. Put Mosquito Netting Around Your Work Area And Play tropical
Sounds All Day.
15. Five Days In Advance, Tell Your Friends You Can't Attend Their
Party Because You're Not In The Mood.
16. Have Your Co-workers Address You By Your Wrestling Name, Rock
Bottom.
17. When The Money Comes Out The ATM, Scream "I Won!, I Won!"
18. When Leaving The Zoo, Start Running Towards The Parking lot,
Yelling "Run For Your Lives, They're Loose!!"
19. Tell Your Children Over Dinner. "Due To The Economy, We Are
Going To Have To Let One Of You Go."
And The Final Way To Keep A Healthy Level Of Insanity....
20. Send This List To Someone To Make Them Smile. Its Called...therapy.