Getting Prepared

So things just continue to be uncertain. A few things are good though. My grandmother had surgery yesterday but is doing well enough today to be out of the ICU and should go home this afternoon. Also R's family will be in town for the holiday weekend. And reservations have been finalized for our camping trip next weekend. Things were finally all falling into place and working out, BUT, (well of course there is a but, there is always a but, and this is one hell of a big but, sorry about that, the pun was not intended but it just fits) we now have to worry about Gustav. Have you heard about Gustav yet? Well he is a Tropical Storm who will soon develop into a Hurricane and has the potential to be pretty bad. He also has one of those foreign names that are kind of fun to say. You remember me talking about Edouardo from a couple of weeks ago right? Well apparently he didn't do a good enough job on the Gulf Coast so his big Brother Gustav is coming to try and finish things. And Gustav is pretty pissed. He might be starting out slow but he is making sure to hit everything he can along his path. He actually changed course just so he could skirt around Jamaica and dump enough rain on them to do some pretty good damage. And he is toying with us, because he is a very unpredictable storm. He could hit the Gulf Coast anywhere from Texas to Florida and that has everyone pretty worried. He might get enough protein from all those fish in the gulf to build up strength and be a Category 3 or 4 by the time he reaches land. And we do not know who pissed him off or where is is going. But so far most maps forecast that he will hit Louisiana, probably somewhere right around New Orleans, which could be devastating. Especially as slow as he is moving, he could bring all sorts of rain. Perhaps you heard about Hurricane Katrina that hit New Orleans? Yeah well in case you didn't know today is the 3 year anniversary of the day she hit NOLA. And honestly she was bad, but what really did people in was all the rains and the levees breaking and the flooding. NOLA has had 3 years to fix the levees and make them stronger so you would think they have it all under control by now, Right? Well, you would be wrong. There are still problems with the levees and the rain from Gustav could be absolutely devastating and ruin lots of lives all over again, some before they even finished rebuilding from Katrina. This makes me pretty sad because I like New Orleans, and I want the city to do well. I want everyone who received damage along the Gulf Coast from Katrina and her little sister Rita to be able to rebuild their lives. My family was lucky enough not to get any real damage from either of those storms, but I knew plenty of people who did. Gustav does make me worry though.

Take a look at this map and you will get a better idea of why:

The arrow pointing to Home is approximately in the middle of the two places I consider Home. I am originally from a little town just outside of Lafayette, Louisiana. I moved to Baton Rouge for College and that is where R owns a house. These two cities are only about 45 miles apart and they are separated by the Atchafalaya Basin which is a big swamp. Currently they are right in the path of the storm. While I know neither home will flood, I wonder about wind damage and power outages and traffic chaos. I am planning on going home for this Labor Day weekend because I would rather be with family who have generators and such rather than alone in Houston. Plus the storm could turn and come to Houston quite easily. They are already planning evacuations in NOLA and other parts of Louisiana if necessary. This could really hurt me trying to get back to Houston for work next week. But honestly I would rather be stuck at home with family. Then I was planning on going back home next weekend to go camping. I was going to go home on Wednesday night. I wonder if the storm will have passed by then and if they will even let me get back home to Baton Rouge. I cannot decide if it would be better for me to take a few extra days off and stay in LA or if it would be better for R to take the days off and come stay with me and we can leave for camping from Houston. Gustav is screwing up all my plans. It is also making rain for my vacation which I do not like, not one bit.

So I suppose I am just here to tell you that I might not post too much in the next week because I will be having fun with Gustav then hopefully having a good vacation. Do not worry about me too much, we are pretty well prepared. Just cross your fingers and do a little rain dance to make Gustav miss NOLA and keep my family safe. I really hope I have good traffic karma over the next week. I hope everyone is safe and sound.

P.S. I am really annoyed at Gustav because he made them move up the LSU football game from 4pm to 10am and it won't be on ESPN anymore it will be on ESPN Classic which is a channel we do not catch. And Baton Rouge takes LSU football seriously, that is why they moved the game, because they knew people would be going counter to the flow of evacuating traffic just to get to the game no matter what the weather. Because as they say, It Never Rains in Tiger Stadium!

More About Me

I know I have been away for too long now. I must make myself post more regularly. But the thing is nothing so exciting has been happening lately. Well actually that's not true. A lot has been happening lately but its a lot of speculation and what-ifs and none of it is ironed out in the least. So I have been lost in my own head trying to make plans for things that may or may not happen. I am really bad about that. My mind is constantly racing and trying to gather new information and fine tune what I already know. I am quite sure I am getting annoying to some of my family by asking the same questions over and over just to see if the answer has changed yet. I know they will tell me the instant it changes but I can't help asking. It's just a lot right now. And when I can't make plans or have a general outline of the way things are supposed to happen then I get ancy. So I am frustrated and since I don't know definites it is kind of hard to talk about them. And I like to talk! I like to talk my way through things. By talking about things I figure out how I feel about things and what is going on. But speculating over and over without getting any new answers gets kind of old. Oh well, I am stuck until some new answers come along.

So instead of just staying stuck with nothing definite to talk about, I thought I could tell you a little more about me. I know some people don't like memes but I figure I will give one a shot. Don't worry I don't know enough people in the blogosphere yet to tag anyone so just enjoy learning a little about me and know that there is no pressure to respond. Here goes...

1) Last movie you saw in a theater? I honestly cannot remember what it was. I am pretty confident it was some sort of action movie. I can remember the theatre we went to, just not the movie. We(R and I) do not go to the theatre that often. I have netflix now and we usually just wait until something comes out on DVD. I do really want to go to the theatre and see The Dark Knight though. I hope we make it before it stops showing.

2) What book are you reading? Cutter by Thomas Laird. I already told you how I like murder mysteries and this is a decent one. It is my interim book that I pulled off the shelf while I was waiting on some library holds. I am in the middle of the Harry Bosch series by Michael Connelly which is about a cop in California and I am really enjoying it.

3) Favorite board game? We don't really do board games, I like card games more. If I had to pick a board game I would go with something involving trivia in the game, but not as hard as trivial pursuit. I like the card games SkipBo and Phase 10 and Uno.

4) Favorite magazine? I do not get any magazines delivered to me. I will browse them at other people's homes or at the store. I generally look at the guy magazines because they actually do have interesting articles. I look at Cosmo, Cooking Light, Esquire, Maxim, PB, and the car magazines R gets. I know guys look at some magazines for more than just the articles but the articles are actually good. I like the snippets on new gadgets!

5) Favorite smells? Fresh cut grass, a baby's head, anything baking, anything grilling, clean clothes fresh out of the dryer, R just after a shower.

6) Favorite sounds? Running water, giggles, the words I Love You, nature sounds, nothing at all.

7) Worst feeling in the world? Rejection, Helplessness

8) What is the first thing you think of when you wake? Urgh, I don't want to get out of bed but I need to get to the bathroom.

9) Favorite fast food place?I do not eat fast food that much anymore because it just doesn't sit well with my tummy. But I have recently discovered Taco Cabana which is like Taco Bell but better and its open 24 hours.

10) Future child's name? Oh I love the name Aiden for a boy but it has become super popular lately and I don't want my child to have the same name as 5 of his classmates. R likes Sierra for a girl but I don't think I like that so much. We might name a boy after our fathers who are both named Steven. R made a joke one day that if we named the boy after our fathers and then the middle name was Ulysses then the kid's initials would be SUV I think I would prefer something like Aiden Tyler more and the initials would be ATV. Its mostly a joke but it would be kind of neat.

11) Finish this statement - "If I had a lot of money I'd..." Build a nice house, get a nice car or 2, make sure all my bills were paid, make sure all the family bills were paid, and just live comfortably without worrying about how I would pay for a house our kids or college tuition. Oh and I would travel. I really want to see the world.

12) Do you drive fast? Does the phrase "Drive it like you stole it" mean anything to you. Just kidding. Yeah I do drive pretty fast but only when I am comfortable doing so, I am not reckless.

13) Do you sleep with a stuffed animal? Yeah I sleep with 2. R got me a bear for our first Valentine's day and this past one I got a really big Leopard with a heart in it's mouth. This thing is so big its like a body pillow. R got it for me because it was so big and would take up some space in my king size bed that I sleep in alone during the week.

14) Storms - cool or scary? If I am home or do not have to go out in them then they are cool. though I do not mind playing in the rain sometimes. If they are big bad storms that do lots of damage then scary.

15) What was your first car? A 1985 GMC Jimmy, Navy Blue. It is like the Chevy Blazer. I liked it a lot and was pretty sad when I totalled it.

16) Favorite drink? It's a tie between water and milk. If you were talking alcoholic then I like white russians.

17) Finish this statement - if I had the time, I would......do something fun.

18) Do you eat the stems on broccoli? Usually. Cooked most always, Raw depending on how big it is, and Always depending on how hard and fibrous it is.

19) If you could dye your hair any other color, what would be your choice? If I could do it and not worry about getting fired, probably blue. In reality probably red, like a deep purple-red.

20) Name all of the different cities/towns you've lived. Breaux Bridge, Baton Rouge, Houston.

21) Favorite sports to watch. Football and that's pretty much the only one I really get into. I mean Living in Baton Rouge and going to LSU and winning the National Championship last year kind of gets you in the mood for football.

22) One nice thing about the person who sent this to you? Well no one technically sent this to me. I snatched it off of Velvet Lava. But I would have to say that Ann looks like an amazing cook and I really want some chocolate cake now.

23) What's under your bed? Some rogue socks, some chapstick, a pot holder, a small bottle of lotion, fluff bunnies from the box springs. Technically none of that should be under my bed but the mattress slides around due to the bed skirt and things fall off of the headboard and my arm just doesn't fit where they fall in and I have been too lazy to go get a broom and retrieve them. I guess I can add that to my to do list.

24) Would you like to be born as yourself again? I do like me and I do not think I would turn out any differently if I were to be me again so I have no aversions to being born as myself again. I do think that I would like to try something different though. My main question about this is would we remember being ourselves and our experiences or would we not know anything. If we remember then I want to be someone new, if not then it makes no difference because I wouldn't know I was different anyways.

25) Morning person or night owl?I am a night owl, though I can't stay up as late as I used to. If I sleep in too late int eh mornings I get a headache which is just sucky.

26) Over easy or sunny side up? Over easy. But they don't have to be turned over if you cook them in the same pan as you just cooked bacon. My daddy just pushes the grease up over the top of the egg with the spatula until he is sure all the white is cooked and the yolk stays runny. This is my favorite way if I am doing eggs like this. I also love scrambled with cheese though.

27) Favorite place to relax? Camping, preferably near woods and a body of water. When you wake up to the sounds of nature or sit by a campfire it is just really calming. Smores help. I do just like to lay in bed though.

28) Favorite pie?APPLE! I love apple pie. I also love it as apple cobbler/crumble though. Pecan Pie holds a close second. Oh and Lemon Meringue too!

29) Favorite ice cream flavor? Chocolate! I love chocolate. And if I get to mix things in then peanut butter, or brownie bites, or crushed oreos and fresh strawberries. I think the oreo and strawberry combination ties with peanut butter.

30) Of all the people you have tagged, who is the most likely to respond first? Well since I didn't actually tag anyone I have no idea. But whoever you are feel free to play along and tag yourself.

And if anyone else does this meme leave me a comment and let me know. I would love to know more about you too.

I promise I will try to get back to blogging more often, as soon as I figure some things out...

I Like Shopping, Sometimes

I do like shopping, I really do. But only sometimes. Normally I am content to just go shopping. I like looking at things, picking up a few, putting most of it back, and buying what I really want/need/have to have. I am actually kind of frugal and like to wait for things to go on sale before I buy them. The reasoning behind that being that if I really like a shirt but it is $50 I will come back to the store later and if they still have my size on the sale rack then it was meant to be and I get it, Yay! If they no longer have my size on sale, oh well, no great loss. This generally works pretty well and I am not a very impulsive buyer. I am an impulsive want-er, and often see things and think, Ooo I want one of those! But then I stop to think do I really need that and will I really use that, or do I need that much of that? And usually this stops me from ever putting the item in my shopping basket. Then near the end of my shopping trip I do a mental tally of what I would be spending if I bought everything in my basket and if I do in fact really need everything in there. Inevitably I always pull a few items out and leave them behind. Usually this works just fine. Sometimes though I will get home and a few days later start looking for what I think I bought, only to remember I never actually bought it.

And I don't mind shopping as long as I am happy. If I am happy and rested, I love shopping. Let me stay in one store too long though and I will get bored and tired and just want to leave. This happens often in large stores like home improvement stores and malls and whatnot. I just start to get tired and my back hurts or my feet hurt and all I want to do is sit down. Or I get hungry because we have been there too long. Or my head just starts to hurt form thinking about things too much and I don't want to talk about ideas and potential uses for such and such anymore. Some stores are better when you take them in small doses. But those stores are also some of the best because almost everything you could ask for is already there in that one store. I like going to stores like that alone so I can take my time to look at what I want and then leave when I get tired of the whole charade.

Well this past weekend I discovered a new humungo store that I can have a love/hate relationship with. It is one of those stores that is a warehouse store. It is so big that they have more states in the U.S. than they do stores, and I just moved to a city that has one. It is a European company. People take trucks on day trips to other states just to visit this store and be able to carry home all the stuff they will buy. They have everything you could think of that you might ever need to furnish your home. They have fairly good prices and are all about the space saving capabilities and versatility of their products. Have you guessed it yet?

Well here it is!
Dun Dun Dun! Yes I have discovered IKEA and I love it. I spent 3 hours there this past weekend! We walked around until we were exhausted. We really only saw everything on the top floor in the showroom. I will have to go back to look around the ground floor which held kitchen and bath accessories and other nick knacks. We were so tired we just kind of glazed over everything downstairs on our way out. I was silently happy that my boyfriend actually got tired of a store too, and before I ever asked to leave! So yes, I am declaring my love/hate relationship with IKEA official. It is one of those stores that I will have to take in small doses but that I know I cannot help but patronize. I love it and all its great design. If you have the opportunity I suggest a trip here. They even have a cafe with super cheap prices like Sam's Club and an awesome playland where you can leave the kids. So when you have a few hours, or a day to spend, make a trip to your "local" IKEA. I promise you will be overwhelmed and satisfied!

Rainy Monday

I don't know about you but I began the day just feeling kind of blah. Nothing out of the ordinary to feel happy or sad about, yet here I am still feeling somewhat down. Then it has been rainy all day long. So when I might look out the window to see the sunshine and green trees, all I see is a gray haze. The grayness does not help to promote the good moods. And I should be in a pretty good mood considering I had quite a lovely weekend. Yet somehow the weather is creating an adverse effect. And the blahness leaves me kind of empty for writing inspiration. There are plenty of good things I have done recently that warrant a good blog post but I just don't feel up to talking about them right now. I just don't feel like talking about anything. And when I don't feel like talking I can get slightly irritated at people who ask questions of me. Even when those questions are well meaning and simple like, how are you? Even that amount of conversation pulls me out from inside myself where I would rather stay. I even made sure to eat lunch all by myself today to just get a little bit of me time.

So I believe I will just go home tonight and try to relax. I think a night like this warrants going home and changing into some really comfy clothes. It also requires some yummy comfort food. I am thinking of eggs and grits or maybe even french toast because breakfast food sounds warm and good right now. Then I just need to vege out in front of the TV or curl up with my current read and relax some. No emails, No phone calls, No other people around. Just me and the rain outside. And though I feel kind of down, I do not feel depressed. I think we all need to take days to just be by ourselves and comfort ourselves. I am going to do that tonight, and I am going to enjoy it.

Happy Cows or Laughing Cows?

Do you remember those commercials about how great cheese comes from Happy Cows? You know the Happy Cows from California? Well I always thought they were kind of silly, but fun to watch. So anyway the real reason I am asking is that I recently tried some cheese that made me think of this slogan. I mean this cheese is soooo good it has to come from Happy Cows, right? I think so. And I think you will too. Or maybe you already do...

Have you tried these?

They are absolutely yummy! AND they come in their own nifty little travel pouches! But the best thing about them other than portability is the taste. Some serious yum was infused into these little cheeses. And aren't they just the cutest! They fit right in the palm of your hand! But the taste! It is one of those things that makes your mouth water when you think about the taste. They are these little white cheese rounds with a slight tang. But they are really creamy too. So you take a bite and salivate due to the tanginess and then moan because of the melt-in-your-mouthness of them. And if you didn't eat the whole thing in one bite (which is entirely possible since they are tiny like that and some people just might pop in the whole thing all at once, not me, but some people, you know those other people) then you just want to take another bite! As yummy as I imagine a whole little cheese wheel would be I much prefer to take as many little nibbles as I can to be able to really enjoy the flavors. What? I do have some self control! Well, okay, the first bite may not be as tiny as the rest but jeez the expectation is just too much sometimes. And honestly up till this point I really have not popped the whole thing in my mouth at one time, but that's not to say that I won't do it in the future now that I have thought about it. But it would not be a tragedy, because they are tiny. So tiny that they have very few calories, something like 70 for one of the regular wheels and 50 for the light. So not a whole lot of guilt can come from the urge to eat more than one. And did I mention that they are baby cheese and really tiny? Well they are and they have this red wax protective shell on them so they are super portable. And the shell is really easy to peel off due to the pull strip which breaks the shell right in half. Well except for a little part where the halves are still connected and it then looks like a red Pacman. Think about how cool your kids would be if you packed Pacman cheese in their lunch! I wish this cheese had been around for my school lunches. This is my kind of cheese! And I am really not sure if it comes from the Happy Cows in California but I do know it comes from the Laughing Cow people. Oh, drat, I got curious and turns out that the Babybel people are actually a french company based out of Paris. But their main USA address is in Illinois. Maybe they import some Happy Cows from California though. Or maybe the Happy Cows and Laughing Cows are really twins. Who knows? All I really know is that I am glad I found these wonderful little cheese rounds. They make my mouth happy! Go, go, go, go, go to your store and get some to try today! I promise if you like cheese you will not regret this!

Hands and Feet and Body Parts

I like mysteries. Most specifically crime mysteries. And crime mysteries seem to be pretty synonymous with murder mysteries. I like to read about them and I like to watch them. Now murder usually means some blood and guts but not a lot of gore. I do not like horror movies because they use the gore as a simple shock factor and it is gross. But I do like crime shows and movies because the crime is integral to the plot and is usually more tactfully described and displayed. I like trying to figure things out and the dark nature of the subject really does not bother me that much. I suppose it is because I am separated from the subject and can only imagine what happens. If I had to experience it I know I would not like it. But reading about something or watching a show where it happens to other people I am not involved with is pretty darn interesting to me. I guess you could look at it as creepy. But I think I just like the crime stories because it engages my intellect. I mean when you think about it, a criminal has to be pretty smart to get away with something. Sure luck plays a part, but there is some skill and intelligence involved. I relate well to the smart criminals in the plots. I love that some authors are skilled enough to have me completely in the dark as to the identity of the killer right until the end. I also like when I can figure it out early though, as long as it was not too obvious. So I guess my whole point is that I like crime dramas and I like the criminals to be smart in the stories. Therefore it is really easy for me to see why I like this so much

I really like the Showtime Series, Dexter. It is all about a serial killer with a twist. He is a good killer if that can really be true. He only kills other killers. He was raised by a cop who taught him that if he had to kill he needed to be really careful not to get caught and also that he should only kill those people who deserved it. He grew up to be a forensic blood specialist and uses his connections with the ops to get to the serial killers before they can be arrested. It is pretty interesting because he is not really this madman, he just doesn't feel anything and wishes he could be more normal. He wants to be able to blend in so he can continue to kill. I suppose you could get all technical and say that he should not be killing people even though they are bad. Because if you really think about it when you kill a person you kill everything about them, not just the bad parts, you kill everything they will ever become. That is why Dexter only kills those he is sure deserve to die and have evaded justice. In a way he protects more people from getting hurt. So it is easy to justify why you can root for the killer, because he is actually a good guy in a way. Regardless, I find this series very interesting. I watched the whole first season on my netflix in just 1 week. It may help that the plot is awesome and somehow you feel for Dexter and don't want him to get caught. I think it also really helps that he is pretty hot. It is a little strange because the actor, Michael C. Hall, has such a versatile face. One minute you look at him and you can see that he is empty inside with cold eyes and no emotion and then the next he is playful and quite sexy. Of course I much prefer to watch him smirk and be sexy. But I have to admit that his yumminess factor is a big reason I think a lot of women watch this show. The actress who plays Dexter's sister, Jennifer Carpenter, provides some eye candy for the guys too, even though she can be quite annoying. Overall I really liked this show and felt the need to share. I believe the show is in its third season and I plan to watch all I can get my hands on. SO if you are looking for a crime show with a twist and a pretty hot main character I think you should check out Dexter.

Happy viewing!

Morning has Broken

Are you a Morning Person?

Well, for the record, I am not so much a morning person. I do not wake up all bright eyed and bushy tailed as the saying goes. Now, I am not usually grumpy either, unless I have gotten too little sleep. But there is no sunshine shooting forth from my derriere either like some people I know. I am just kind of quiet until I really wake up. And really waking up could very well take an hour or two. There are some mornings I am happy and some mornings where I am just comfortable with everything and feeling pretty good. Some mornings I hit snooze as many times as I can and others I get up with or even before the first alarm and feel really rested. Just depends on the day.

Well today did not start off the best. I did not get enough sleep really and wanted more. I decided maybe, just maybe I could try to at least close my eyes on the bus if not actually doze off for a few. But was that really a possibility? Not so much. There was only one strip of lights on and they just happened to be the ones right above my seat. Ehh, bright light is okay cause it will go away when the driver takes off right. Yeah well she didn't turn them off while we were driving in to downtown so there was really no chance of me getting any rest. Drat! Okay well I read my book some and I suppose that's okay too. And the buses were running relatively fast which was good. There was no line at my favorite breakfast taco place so I had time to grab one and still make it to my building on time, hooray! I needed a yummy breakfast today. So I am sitting at my desk as the other people in my office trickle in. The girl who sits in the cube next to me obviously was in a better mood than I and loudly professed a good morning to everyone. When the 3 people here did not make enough of a noise to really be heard when responding she told us we all needed to wake up. Needless to say, that annoyed me some. I had not realized how much until I heard the tone of the words coming out of my mouth. I told her I had said good morning back to her and frankly it sounded quite snippish. But darn it I had told her good morning and was annoyed that she was fussing at us for not saying it back when in reality she had just not heard us because she was the one talking so loudly. Sorry for not having sunshine shooting out of my you-know-where but I do not need to be as freaking perky as you are right now. I was polite enough in responding when I really didn't even feel like talking. So she got annoyed with me for sounding so snippy but you know what I really don't care. I do not need to be told how freaking happy I should or should not be in the morning. I am glad she was happy but I did not have to be. There are mornings when she walks in and mumbles sometimes instead of saying good morning and I don't go all sunshine commando on her arse like I could. Whatever.

So I was pretty awake by the time I had a meeting at 9. We did this video-teleconference thingy with some people in our other office. Well we found out one of the presenters was flying into our town for some stuff today and would be joining us as soon as he got in. So we started the meeting and got through one slide before he showed up. Since he was supposed to start the presentation he took over, and promptly elevated the decibel level in the room. He is normally a loud person, military background and all. But this morning he was actually trying to be loud and get our attention. Well is sure as heck worked. And once again I was like wha? Howcome the supreme chipperness? Especially when considering he had to be up at o'dark thirty to catch his flight and make it in for when he did. But we all made it through and the presenter left the meeting when he was done with his part. Even funnier was when a colleague who was sitting closer to the presenter later told me that he said he needed to go find a Starbucks as he left the room. I mean it already seemed like he had 5 espressos this morning how many more could he want. And if that is what he considers to be a tired morning for him I would hate to see what is normal. Jeez just sunshine all around...

Now I am all for morning people. And I like how I feel when I wake up early and get lots of stuff done. Those mornings when you wake up early and just feel really rested and ready to get out and do things are great. You can get so much done and then still have the whole day ahead of you. It is just so satisfying and it makes the whole day better. I love that content feeling you get on those kind of mornings. But really when it comes down to it I would rather sleep until I am ready to wake up. And when I am allowed to be the night owl like I like to be, I will sleep in. Other days if I wake up at 7 and feel like getting up I will, even on a Saturday. I swear its true! But no matter how good I feel I just do not see the need to act like sunshine commando barbie or something and attack everyone I meet with a shrill Good Morning! I much prefer to savour the morning and the peaceful quiet that comes with it.

So while morning may have broken, if you know me please refrain from breaking morning greetings over my head. Corny, yeah I know, but true. Thanks!

Let the Love Begin

Tradition, what makes us want to follow it and never break it?

Well in the short time I have been reading blogs I have discovered that many of the people I read most often tend to participate in what is known as Love Thursday. There are plenty of other traditions in the blogosphere such as Works For Me Wednesday and the like. Yet, the only one I have been really drawn to is Love Thursday. The funny part about traditions is that lots of people do them because that is just what you are supposed to do without knowing why. I tend to question the whys and what-fors a lot, it's just who I am. I am often thinking about things and wondering how they work, how they are made, or who was the first person to think of something. But then again there are some things I just do out of habit, or tradition and never question why. I am sure we all have some funny stories about traditions and the truth behind them.

I remember going to the grocery store with my boyfriend before we were dating and having an argument about the milk. We had bought some ice cream and milk and a few other things. As we walked out to my car to load up everything we got into an argument about where to put things. I remember him popping the trunk to load things. As he was putting things in I kept out the milk and told him we would put it on the floor of the passenger's side of the car. He asked why and all I could really say was that the floor is where I had always put the milk. He thought it would be in the way in his feet and wanted to know the reason behind putting the milk on the floor rather than the trunk with everything else. I told him that's what my mom had always done and that's just how I do it too. But he wanted to know WHY? What was the reason for it? I realized I had never questioned it and had just always put the milk there. He was starting to make me mad, and when he makes me mad I get irrational and cannot think straight or formulate answers very quickly. So for every reason I started to come up with he would immediately tell me that my reason still didn't make a whole lot of sense and he didn't see why we couldn't just put the milk in the trunk. I told him I had no idea why my mother did this and was only trying to come up with potential reasons. Of course since I was flustered already and just kind of talking my way through things I wasn't really coming up with anything good enough to prove to him why it couldn't just go in the trunk. I was saying how the milk sweats and it would make the things in the trunk yucky with condensation and it would be better on the floor. Plus there is air conditioning in the car and not in the trunk and you can keep the milk cooler by keeping it in the car on the floor near the ac vent. And my main reason and I really do think this was my mother's reason was, what if it starts to leak or something. If it was on the floor near you you could see it and do something about it; if it was in the trunk you wouldn't know and it would get all over everything. But none of this was good enough for him. If it was on the floor it would still sweat and then just get all over his legs. And if it leaks then it is still all over everything and I am driving and there is still nothing I can do about it. Blah Blah Blah. Point is he made me so mad that he questioned me and how I do things and was basically telling me my way was just stupid and I was really mad. He was really mad because I couldn't formulate and answer in a normal amount of time because I was mad. So he told me to just put the dang milk in his feet and lets just go home, and I told him no to put it in the freaking trunk. I don't remember where it went but I know we went home mad. And as I was calming down I could think better so I kept coming up with more answers all the way home until he got really mad and just told me to drop it.

I guess if he hadn't made me so mad I might have seen the sense in his questions then. Honestly I never really had anyone ride in my car with me so it was never a problem before for me to put my groceries on the passenger's side floor because there were no legs and feet to worry about. And I had just never questioned my mother's reasoning behind it but I knew I didn't want the milk sweating and condensating all over other things in my trunk. (Yes, I make up words like condensating because I think they describe the situation better than being grammatically correct, get over it.) But it sweating and condensating on the floor of my car was no different really I suppose. So it really wasn't that big of a deal to change my habit/tradition and put the darn milk in the trunk with everything else. It so shouldn't have turned into such a huge argument. But he made me feel like he thought my tradition was stupid and that my mother was silly for doing it and I was silly for doing it too. And I had to justify it! Only I couldn't really other than saying that's just the way I want to do it.

So I guess what I am really wondering today is what makes us hold on so firmly to traditions that make no sense but that we have never even bothered to question? I once heard about a woman who always cut the ends of the pot roast off before cooking it. Her new husband asked her why and she said that her mother and her grandmother had always done it that way. She called the mother, who called the grandmother to find out why it started because surely it was just an old technique to make the meat more tender and flavorful. The answer they got was that the roast would not fit in the pan unless the grandmother cut the ends off so that's why she did it. So, since they had never questioned why and just done things as their mothers' had, they had been cutting off the ends of roasts for years for absolutely no reason. Granted cutting the roast did no harm either, there was just no real reason to do it.

As I have admitted I am usually one to question things. But sometimes I just don't, and I really am not sure why. What makes some things different from others? Why does it bother me that some people follow pointless traditions while I follow some of my own? When you actually sit down to reason things out you realize that your tradition and habitual way of doing something might not always have a reason behind it. So why do we hold so fiercely to our ideas of the way things should be? The only thing I can come up with is that some traditions are so mindless and we are so set in our ways that the repetition and simplicity of not having to question something is just comforting. I mean nothing says that everyone has to put up our Christmas Trees or Menorahs or whatever traditional holiday items your family uses on the same day at the same time right? Yet each family has certain ideas of what time is right for them and they make a tradition and follow it year after year. And there is really no problem with some children opening presents on Christmas Eve and others on Christmas Morning. So why do we find it odd when other families do not celebrate the way we do? I think tradition is comforting. I know I take some comfort in the ease with which I just know what to do sometimes and I just know the way things should be and how I just know what others are expecting of me. That's not to say it stops me from doing things my way just because I know others will disagree, because it most certainly does not. But I think a certain degree of tradition and habits are comforting for everyone.

So in the sense of tradition I think I will participate in Love Thursday, even though I don't really know why it happens or why it started. And I am not promising to be faithful and only post blogs about love on Thursdays. I will be a rebel and post blogs about love on any day I so choose, and Thursday posts will not always be Love Thursday posts. But that is okay by me. I just want to have some sense of tradition here and I think Love Thursday is a good one. It is one that will make me think about things I love and what makes me happy and makes my heart sing. I think that is a really good tradition to start. So from now on I plan on thinking about things that make me happy and sharing them with you in the hopes that I can make you a little happier too. Traditions are good for sharing the love and happiness! And I suppose I started a tradition with talking about tradition, ironic much?

Rain Delay

So yesterday was a lazy day. And I am glad for it!

There was a Tropical Storm with the potential to become a Hurricane and his name was Edouard. He was supposed to make landfall Tuesday morning around 7am somewhere near Galveston on the coast of Texas. I like Edouard because he never made it to Hurricane strength. I also like Edouard because he turned some and hit to the west of us here in Houston so we got less rain than we might have. So while we did get some rain, there was no flooding. This made me happy happy since I live on the first floor and am near a bayou. Also just saying the name Edouard is fun and makes me happy, typing Edouard is almost as fun because it still makes me think about saying the name Edouard and contorting my mouth into funny shapes to say it. :)

I got out and drove around some to see what was going on, but it wasn't much. I thought about going to the mall but decided that my bed was looking much more attractive. So I went home and took a nap. Normally I don't nap but the day was sooo lazy and also I hadn't had the chance to sleep in quite like I wanted. R decided to call me when he got to work to make sure I hadn't drowned in my sleep. Quite nice of him, but I would have preferred the sleep. Though me getting up that early did have the advantage of being able to get a sausage biscuit from McDonald's so I suppose I should be thanking him for the call too, even though my ass doesn't.

So lazy I was for the entire day. All I did was play on the internets and watch some instant netflix. Well I did do some laundry and water my container garden. And I made spaghetti for dinner, which was quite yummy!

Thinking back now on what might have happened with Edouard is not so nice. But I am content to know that Edouard was lazy too and just decided to send a little rain our way. So thanks to Edouard for the rain delay, I enjoyed my lazy day!

Edouard, Edouard, Edouard....see its fun to say! Okay I guess I can stop now.

Edouard!~

Okay I maybe I can't!

Michigan on Friday

So how was your weekend?

Mine was just peachy! Apparently I was in a Wal-Mart in Michigan on Friday. I went on quite a shopping spree and racked up a total of over 600 dollars worth of stuff. Oh I bought the usual food items since you know people have to eat and I was planning a great barbecue. And I splurged and bought a new entertainment center for my TV and some movies and music to go with it. And I got some stuff to decorate the house that I just know my S.O. will hate but I love it and that's what counts right. I mean everyone should have a purple shag rug right!?! Mmm...and I got me some of those little bitty bottles of that white russian stuff which is like so good (moving on up from that boone's farm!). And you know how them lava lamps are back in style I got one of those too! Oh and some floats and tubes to go have a splashing good time in the Great Lakes. I think I got all I needed to have me a really good weekend! Probably.....

I mean isn't that what you guys would have bought if you were me and in Michigan for the weekend? Okay maybe you would have gone for the lime green rug. I can't blame you I debated over the color choices too. And maybe you would have gotten some other kind of cute little drinks in the bottle, say that hard lemonade stuff and I can't fault you for your choices there either. But generally you would have bought all the neato stuff I did. Or maybe not. Thing is I don't know what you would have bought. I don't even know what I was trying to buy at Wal-Mart in Michigan on a Friday. Well that's just silly you say, how can she not know what she was buying!?! Well see the thing is I really don't. And NO, I hadn't already popped the top on a few of those white russian thingamajiggers before I got to the register. Shame on you for thinking I am such a lush I can't even wait until I get in the car to start drinking like a normal person! I really don't know what I was trying to buy because I was not even there. And how is that you say? Well I thought maybe my credit card decided to take a vacation of it's own and see a few sights. But that didn't make sense because it hadn't even asked me to water it's plants for it while it was gone. And sure enough it wasn't gone, it was in my pocket taking a siesta just like it should be. But my credit card is a little bit of a tramp you see. Seems it shared its numbers with someone one torrid, drunken night and that someone took its numbers on a vacation to Michigan. And that someone is a bad person. That dirty someone tried to use my credit card's numbers to buy only they know what at a Wal-Mart in Michigan.

So instead of taking a nice trip to Michigan to go shopping for the weekend I was forced to deal with my loose-lipped credit card. Sad thing is even though I have gotten close to my credit card over the years and it has become sort of like a part of me, I know it had to be taken care of. Now of course I didn't put out a hit on it personally, the credit card company did that themselves. Though they did make me agree to it. Which I was honestly happy to do since the phone call telling me about my credit card's indiscretions came at the ungodly hour of o'dark thirty on Saturday morning, and interrupting my sleep means war. I am quite angry at it for making me the bearer of its bad news too. I have to go through it's address book and tell all of it's friends that it is gone now. Because if I don't, all of its friends will be calling for it to come out and play again next month like it has every month before and when it doesn't show I will get the blame. In the end I know it was best, but I still feel lost with out it right now. Luckily it was the only one of its siblings who is such a loosey-goosey, well as far as I can tell right now anyways. Something tells me I will have to keep a close eye on all of my other cards for a while.

So that was my weekend and now I am left still curious...
Who is this dark someone and where did he meet my little credit card? Or did someone sell my credit card out? Was it kidnapped? Did it not listen to common sense and go phishing with strangers? Who took its numbers? How did they get to Michigan? What were the plans for the numbers? What did the someone try to buy at a Wal-Mart in Michigan on a Friday? Did they try to buy food for their family or a big screen TV? Will they keep trying to use the numbers? Will they be back to try and get more? Or do they already have more?

But most importantly, what would you try to buy if you stole some little credit card's numbers?