Pet Peeve Time!

OK, I haven't vented about any pet peeves lately, so here goes (I know - I'm Extreme Lauri):

1. Why do people call me when they are in line at a store, pulling up to a drive-thru bank teller, in line at a fast food restaurant, etc.??? It has happened a LOT lately and I just don't understand the logic! Are you SO very busy that that is the ONLY time you could find to call me? Do you really think that my life is SO empty and boring that I want to answer the phone and then listen to you complete purchases, converse with cashiers or decide on your dinner menu? I cannot count the number of times someone has called me and then within 2 minutes says something like "Hold on a second - I have to pay for my food" or "Just a sec.....(to drive-thru speaker) OK, I would like a #2 with Dr. Pepper, no tomatoes" or "(to Walmart cashier - while I'm sitting on the line) Hi - I'm good - how are you? Pretty busy in here tonight, huh?" (they are making small-talk with the cashier while I'm sitting on the phone). WHY can't they just call me 5 minutes later than they chose?

2. People who cannot put the Blackberry, iPhone or other PDA away when out to dinner, drinks or otherwise spending time with someone. Why on earth would I want to go to a restaurant and spend my hard-earned money on dinner, drinks or appetizers with another person, just to compete for conversation with a 2"x4" piece of plastic??? I just think it is so insulting and rude to make plans with someone and then when you get to the resaurant, the phone comes out of the purse or pocket and gets set right on the table, so you can check (AND respond to, in some cases) their email, text, IM or phone call AS SOON as it comes in.

It is very arrogant in my opinion, to think that you are SO important and indispensable to the world, your friends, your job, etc. that you couldn't possibly eat a meal in peace and respond to the person in a half hour. THAT'S WHY THEY INVENTED VOICEMAIL!

3. People who send an email about something and then immediately run over to your desk and say "I just sent you an email - (and then proceed to explain in great detail what the email said). Call me when you've read it and then let me know what you think we should do." Are you serious??

Anyone else annoyed with these things or do you have others that you need to vent about?

PS - Thanks for reading my rant - I feel better now.....

My Angel......named Barb

So I was having a pretty crappy, emotional day yesterday and I stayed at work until after six, just because I didn't want to leave and go home and be alone. I couldn't think of anything that I wanted to do to make me feel better. I was kind of just grabbing at straws to try to find a way to improve my mood.......and then my phone rang. It was my friend Barb from Ohio who I love to pieces and I respect a LOT. She has such a reassuring, calming effect on me and I'm always in a good mood after I talk to her. She has been a true friend, with the kindest heart EVER. I thought of her a lot this past week because I spent Christmas with her and her husband, Mike last year when I was living in Ohio. I'm sooo lucky to have them as friends!


Barb - You are what an angel looks like. I love you and thank you for brightening my day!

Office Space/Welcome Home

Our new office space is certainly coming along as we get moved in and settled. I wasn't going to post any pics until everything was completed, but I just think our reception area looks too pretty with the Christmas tree not to take a picture of it! By the time the whole office is completed and moved in, the tree will be down, so I decided to capture the 'effect' while I could on my way out...

I love what they did with the entryway! And since it's a Christian company (our company makes church management software), the big wooden doors (above), as well as the etched-glass door (below) were custom-made with that cross carved into it. There were a lot of customizations to the space planning - I think it looks great!

And another favorite part of our new building is the fancy-pants bathrooms! I love them! Aren't they pretty?

Keep Your Eye On The Prize

This T-shirt basically sums up my idea of where I wanted to live since February 2002! I found it on my desk when I came to work today. A mystery T-shirt that fell out of the sky! Actually, Mayce brought it in - it was a gift from her mom, Terrye.

Thanks, T-Nann!! It's perfect - I love it!! :)

Cracklin' Rosie

I experienced a 'first' recently - I had my very first fire in my fireplace! I've never lived anywhere that had a working, functioning fireplace, so this was a big deal to me. I bought one of those special logs that are sold at any Walmart or home improvment store. It lit right up when I followed the directions and it looked beautiful! I bought the kind that is supposed to 'crackle' while burning, so I got the full effect. LOVE IT!

Maggie was very curious and got close to the fireplace just when I was lighting it, but really didn't go near it after that, so I'm thankful that she didn't want to play near the fire!

All Bottled Up

My friend Erin received a cool gift from her Secret Santa at work this year and I decided to try it out for myself. It's very simple, but very cool. You just find a neat colored wine/liquor bottle, drink the contents (or share it if you're feeling generous), and then wash it out. When it's dry, you put a strand of 50 white lights in it and plug the lights into the wall.

I bought two blue bottles of wine and I did the whole process for one of the bottles (see above), but I'm still working on bottle number two. :)

Have a Seat

Last week, I made a 'house purchase' that turned out to be perfect! I have been looking for a pot, chair or something to put on my front porch to fill up some of the space. I saw an ad for Big Lots that had wood benches that had wagon wheels on the sides and I decided to check them out. It turned out to be the EXACT dimensions of the space and how more Texas could it be?? I took it home and put it together in my living room and then brought it out to the porch and it fit perfectly!

The only thing is that it kind of looks like a wheelchair on my porch from the street. LOL! Oh well -who cares!

I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.......

Check this out - it's my Mom with Santa a LONG time ago! It was probably about 1946 or so, since she was born in February 1944. Weird - this picture was taken shortly after World War II ended!

Wasn't Carol a cutie??

44 ODD Things about you!

This is one of those survey things, but I have never seen this version of it. I think they are fun and I usually learn something I didn't know about people before (I learned things that I didn't know about Stacie, who is the person who sent it to me!).

Here goes:

1. Do you like bleu cheese? Yes

2. Have you ever smoked? No - not even a puff

3. Do you own a gun? No, but now that I'm in Texas.......hmmm.........

4. What flavor of Kool Aid was your favorite? Grape

5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? Almost always!

6. What do you think of hot dogs? I know they are gross, but I do like one once in a while

7. Favorite Christmas movie? It's A Wonderful Life

8. Favorite thing to drink in the morning? Diet Mountain Dew

9.. Can you do push ups? Not sure - haven't done one in a long time

10. Favorite piece of jewelry? The silver rings I get each year in Mexico with my Mom - I think of her and our south TX fun when I look at them on my hands

11. Favorite hobby(s): Decorating my house, traveling

12. Do you have A.D.D.? Yes, when it comes to movies - my attention span just isn't that long!

13. What is one trait you hate about yourself? I'm a worrier!! I overanalyze WAY too much.

14. Middle name? Renee

15. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment. (1) My feet are cold (2) I need to get my Secret Santa one more gift (3) I love being in my pj's.

16. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink. Water, diet pop, occasionally wine

17. Current worry? Being lonely at the holidays

18. Current hate right now? People who just talk and talk and talk and don't show interest in making it a "conversation" - just a monologue.

19. Favorite place to be? Europe (but on a daily basis....home with Maggie or out exploring new things)

20. How did you bring in the new year? I think I spent it at home last year...can't remember....

21. Where would you like to go? Europe

22. Name three people who might complete this. (1.) Colleen (2.) Allison (3.) Shooter

23. Do you own slippers? Yes

24. What shirt are you wearing? My favorite Pittsburgh Steelers long-sleeved T-shirt

25. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? Don't know - never tried it.

26. Can you whistle? Yes

27. Favorite color? RED

28. Would you be a pirate? Not sure! Probably not....I'm a rules follower - always have been.

29. What songs do you sing in the AM? I don't sing anything in the morning - I'm not awake yet

30. Favorite girl's name? Kylie, Sophie, Madelyn, Chloe

31. Favorite boy's name? Jack, Thomas, Evan, Ethan

32. What's in your pocket right now? Nothing

33. Last thing that made you laugh? Ryan's love life saga (friend at work)

34. What vehicle do you drive? Mazda 6

35. Worst injury you have ever had? Fell down concrete stairs a couple years ago - didn't break anything, but it still hurts if Maggie steps on my leg in that spot

36. Do you love where you live? Yes!!! Finally!!!

37. How many TV's do you have in your house? 3 (but only 2 are plugged in)

38. Who is your loudest friend(s) ? Colleen!! And I LOVE her super LOUD laugh!!!!

39. Do you have any pets? My wiener (dog), Maggie.

40. Does someone have a crush on you? Not that I'm aware of

41. What is your favorite book(s)? To Kill A Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, "Traveling Light" by Max Lucado or any of Glenn Beck's books ("The Real America" or "An Inconvenient Book")

42. Do you collect anything? Anything RED or cool prints of Europe

43. Favorite sports team(s)? Minnesota Vikings (The 'Queens')

44. What song(s) do you want played at your funeral? "Highway To Hell" by AC/DC...JUST KIDDING!! How about...."Every Grain of Sand" by Bob Dylan

I *heart* my Mom

This is a postcard that I got in the mail last week from my Mom. Apparently when my Mom visited me in mid-November on her way down to south Texas for the winter, she hid one of my Christmas presents somewhere in my house! Now she is sending me clues to find this hidden gift. Clue #1 was pretty vague - just informing of the existence of the 'hidden gift'. I am hesitant to start searching for fear of finding said gift before I receive exciting Clue #2!

What a cool Mom I have!! I'm so lucky!

Dancing Under The Saddle

One thing I just love about Billy Bob's in Fort Worth is their version of a disco ball over the wood dancefloor where all of the cowboys and cowgirls do their 2-stepping.....it's a saddle covered in mirror pieces to make a unique version of a twinkly, sparkly disco ball! These pictures I took don't do it justice - it's much prettier in person. I'm guessing it took a TON of time to cover that saddle in little mirror squares!

And what would a honky tonk be without an official pickup truck?! Here is Mayce in "Truckville" at Billy Bob's! Giddy up!

My very own Margaritaville!

Last weekend I decided to finally put some time and effort into my back patio. I have a cement slab as a patio and then there is a metal roof/covering over it, extending out from my house. It's pretty much a blank slate as far as decorating goes.

I'm becoming obsessed with lighting lately, so since it's Christmas and all of the outdoor lighting is available in plentiful supply, I went to Lowe's and bought a ton of icicle lights. But before I put the lights up, I decided to paint the whole porch covering and supports with the trim paint that was left over from painting the front porch. My arm went numb several times during the painting process, but I got it done. Luckily it was a very windy day and it dried in no time. I bought a bunch of those adhesive hooks and put them up around the inside of the porch covering and then went to town on those icicle lights.

Next, I'm going to buy a chiminea in Mexico (when I visit my Mom in February) so I can have little mini-campfires on my patio. I also want to find some cool year-round garland of some sort to wrap around the two support poles.

I love my new little oasis with my swing...Now I just need to find a cowboy to sit with me on the swing and have a margarita!

The Grass was GREENer at Billy Bob's!!

Last night, Mayce and I trekked to Fort Worth to see Pat Green, Texas songwriter extraordinaire, play a show at Billy Bob's Texas. This was a special night because it was the 10th Anniversary of him recording his "Live at Billy Bob's" CD back in the late 90's.

He is a Texas Country artist who is kind of a kick*ss, boot-wearin', Fort Worth kind of guy (he even ripped on Dallas during the concert!).

He is from Texas, sings about Texas, and currently lives in Fort Worth, so this concert is kind of like 'coming home' for him - and the crowd definitely welcomed him with open arms! He even has a neon sign of his name at Billy Bob's! (See below)

Yesterday was Mayce's 35th birthday, so we went out for dinner to celebrate and then on to the concert that started at 10:30pm. It was supposed to start at 10pm, but the crowd was enthralled by the Cowboys game on the big TVs - the last regular season game at Texas Stadium in Irving (they will be moving over to my neck of the woods in Arlington in their new $1.4 billion stadium next season). Unfortunately, they lost to the Baltimore Ravens, so everyone was pretty upset.

Luckily, Pat Green took the stage just a few minutes after the game ended (I bet Pat was swearing at the TV backstage just before going onstage, just like the rest of Billy Bob's!).

Here are some pics that I took at the concert - it was awesome!

This next one is my favorite pic from the night. He had a lot of energy and it was electric!!

Lady In Red

My friend Erin from work (we share an office) gave me these napkins as part of my Christmas present - how perfect! In my opinion, RED is the best color ever! I own about a million (OK, that's a little extreme) red items of clothing (shirts, coat, shoes, sunglasses, etc.). I think it's 'easy on the eyes' even though it's supposedly not a 'relaxing' color according to decorating experts. Who cares about those experts anyway?!?!

Coyote Ugly

Most of you know that I'm a city girl - it's no secret. And one of the MANY reasons I like the city is that I don't have to deal with gross or wild animals. However, recently I have realized that maybe those wild animals are in the city and I have just been delusional about 'being safe from the beasts.'

Several months ago, I was walking Maggie very late at night several times a week since it was so hot during the day - nighttime was the coolest time of day. During one of those 11pm walks around my very residential, suburban neighborhood, I saw a coyote across the street from where we were walking!! I was stunned and just froze. The coyote was in a field that is across the street from my neighborhood (in the middle of the city) and came up to the sidewalk and just stood there and stared Maggie and I down. While I froze up, Maggie just acted like her usual self - pulling on the leash to go 'play with the nice doggy across the street'!

I was sure that Maggie and I were both going to be mauled to death by a possibly rabid coyote (I know, Extreme Lauri). I figured I had to do something to get out of there, so I tried to stay calm and not look scared or nervous. I just slowly started walking on my side of the street and looking straight ahead - no funny moves. But I could tell that the coyote, while standing still, was staring us down as we left and hurried home.

Shortly after, I called the City of Arlington - Animal Services and told them of the coyote sighting. They seemed unimpressed and asked me what I thought they should do about it! She said "Well, what do you want us to do?? Move them to another part of Arlington until they bother someone there??" I was shocked! There are coyotes in the middle of a suburb of 350,000 people and no one cared! There are lots of little kids in my neighborhood and almost everyone has a dog. In addition, there is a church at the corner of this field by my house that has a daycare/preschool in it.

Anyway, I didn't get anywhere with the city, so I just made sure that Maggie was always on a leash and hoped for the best. Well, several weeks later, I saw one of the coyotes walking around in the middle of the day (usually they are nocturnal, sleeping during the day) - alarming!!

And now this week, the inevitable has happened - a coyote was on Mayfield Rd......as roadkill. I saw it on my way to work (had to drive around it) and it was just a few feet from the church with the daycare/preschool. UGH!!!

Piggybacking!

Last week, I heard on the radio that NASA's Endeavor would be making a pit stop in Fort Worth because it couldn't quite make it from Edwards Air Force Base in California to Kennedy Space Station in Florida due to weather problems. That made me wonder how a space shuttle just 'makes a pit stop' ANYWHERE in our atmosphere without all of the special NASA landing equipment and procedures.

Well, it turns out that the Endeavor (and other shuttles like it) ride 'piggyback' on planes! From the prep pictures, it looks like quite a process to get it positioned on the plane and attached, but how intriguing and amazing!

Here's a progressive picture of the Endeavor and it's 'host' taking off from Edwards Air Force Base in California.

So for just a little while, we were host to this piggybacking masterpiece while they waited out bad weather on their way from California to Florida!

Come To My Window/Juliet, Waiting for her Romeo

I have a theory about whoever built my house in 1985...they must've loved a wiener dog as much as I do. Why else would a builder make windows that are as low as mine??

I had this realization when I came into my bedroom and found Maggie looking out the window and she didn't have to struggle at all - it's one of the ONLY things in this people world that are wiener-dog-height-friendly!

There is a big dog that lives next door, but Maggie can only listen to the dog through the fence....but the other day when I found her at the window, I think I saw her finally figure out a way to look at her next door neighbor!