Cowtown Adventures

After a day in Dallas, the girls and I spent a day in Fort Worth - the Stockyards to be specific. It's kind of that 'little bit country, little bit rock n' roll' concept. We ate lunch at a place called Trailboss Burgers and all of us got their specialty - buffalo burgers! They are really good and very lean. Anyway, after that we did some shopping and saw the Grapevine vintage train roll into the stockyards, so when it was unloaded and just sitting there, Rachel, Jamie and I jumped on the back to get a picture!

Then we headed down toward the Cowtown Coliseum (where the rodeo is held) and Toni agreed to get on a longhorn for a picture:

This time, it wasn't Big Jake that you could sit on - it was Pecos Bill. Here's a close-up of his face! (Big Jake showed up later)

And how could we hang out at the Stockyards without taking a picture on the big huge spur?!

And I thought that I would finally have someone to go check out The Filthy McNasty's with me...so we headed down to that bar in the afternoon....just to find out that they aren't open during the day - locked door. :( Oh well - I will get in there eventually.....for now I had to settle for a group photo by the sign (Jamie, Me, Toni, Renee):

We decided that at night we would go to the rodeo (finally - my first one!), so we decided to check out Billy Bob's during the day so they could see what it's like inside.

Every time I've been there, it's been nighttime and very crowded, so I never really knew what the concert area looked like. When I saw Pat Green there, it was just packed and dark, so you couldn't even see how big the place was! Here are some pics of the concert/stage area:

And here is the magical dancefloor where all of the fabulous 2-steppers work their magic! And to top it off, it's got the disco ball saddle - I just love that thing!

Big D and the Girls

This past weekend, four of my college friends came to visit - all the way from Minnesota, Wisconsin and Florida! We had fabulous weather for their trip and did lots of fun stuff. The first day, we went to Dallas (after making a trip to Sam Moon for jewelry).

The first stop was the Sixth Floor Museum & the grassy knoll (JFK assassination site). Since I've seen the museum a bunch of times, I took a nap on the grassy knoll while the girls went through the museum.

Here's a pic of Toni, Rachel, me and Renee on the grassy knoll!

After that 'cultural' experience, we needed some drinks! So we headed to the West End to go to Cadillac's for some happy hour margaritas.

And when we left Cadillac's, we saw some horse-drawn carriages on the corner with gorgeous horses. I just had to take a picture!

On the way out of the West End, Jamie got thirsty........heehee

At the end of our day in Dallas, I wanted to go to Reunion Tower (that sparkly lit-up ball in the Dallas skyline - see below) for a trip up to the newly renovated observation deck....so we walked all the way over to the Hyatt hotel and asked how we get to the elevator to the observation deck.....and they told us that it isn't opened yet! I knew that it was under renovation all throughout 2008, but Wolfgang Puck's new restaurant is already open at the top of the tower, so I figured the observation deck would be open too...well I was wrong - dang it!

Stop the Presses! Oh Wait - DON'T!

I suppose it's a 'sign of the times' (I hate that phrase), but I just read an article that listed the Top 10 newspapers in the country that are close to going out of business. I was hoping that I wouldn't see my hometown newspaper - the Minneapolis Star Tribune on that list, but alas - it was #2! Apparently it has already filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Oh, how sad! I have old copies of that newspaper from important historical days throughout my lifetime (well, my Mom had the smart idea of saving them) and it would be so sad to see that paper cease production.

We got the Star Tribune delivered to our house every day of my childhood, I think. Both my parents read the paper religiously and I can still picture my Dad sitting in 'his chair' either in the kitchen or in the living room, with that big newspaper in front of his face.

Here's the excerpt from the article about the "Strib" as some locals call it...

2. The Minneapolis Star Tribune has filed for Chapter 11. The paper may not make money this year even without the costs of debt coverage. The company said it made $26 million last year, about half of what it made in 2007. The odds are that the Star Tribune will lose money this year if its ad revenue drops another 20%. There is no point for creditors to keep the paper open if it cannot generate cash. It could become an all-digital property, but supporting a daily circulation of over 300,000 is too much of a burden. It could survive if its rival the St. Paul Pioneer Press folds. A grim race.

Here is the link to the article if you would like to check out the other 9 newspapers that are likely to fold:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20090309/us_time/08599188378500

Another one of the newspapers on the list is the Fort Worth Star Telegram - the paper that is delivered to my neighborhood. AGH!

9. The Fort Worth Star Telegram is another one of the big dailies that competes with a larger paper in a neighboring market - Dallas. The parent of The Dallas Morning News, Belo, is arguably a stronger company that the Star Telegram's parent, McClatchy. The Morning News has a circulation of about 350,000 and the Star Telegram has just over 200,000. The Star Telegram will have to shut down or become an edition of its rival. Putting them together would save tens of millions of dollars a year.

Product Request: Conditioner, Please!

Since I am a person of mostly Scandanavian heritage, I was blessed (cursed) with plain, light brown hair. For a LONG time now, I have had what I affectionately refer to as "dark hair envy." I think what perpetuated this problem was when my friend Colleen (who has dark hair naturally) would wear this fabulous bright red shirt (Iris, you know which one I'm talking about - the one you LOST!) and she looked so great with the dark hair/red shirt combo. And pretty much any color that dark-haired people wear looks good!

I had white-blonde hair as a little kid and it just progressively got darker over the years, before settling into a dull shade of 'light brown'. Ugh. So anyway, I decided to color my hair darker. Usually, you think of dyeing your hair as being damaging to hair, but I have found the opposite (and I think it has something to do with me darkening it, as opposed to lightening it) to be true.

But while I was conditioning my hair with the hair color conditioner after I applied the actual color chemical, I had an epiphany. I LOVE the conditioner tube that they include with the color package! You're supposed to use it right when you're coloring your hair and then once a week after that. It's a very deep conditioner and I think it's amazing!

So my question is: Why can't I buy this Loreal Excellence hair color conditioner in a bottle at the store??? I would TOTALLY buy it - and a LOT of it!!! I wish they sold it like that!

It's All In The Title

The other day, I reconnected with my best friend from childhood - Becky. We lost touch for several years, but I found her brother on Facebook and got her number that way. She used to live a few blocks from my house growing up, but now she lives in Palm Springs, CA and is a kindergarten teacher. She's just as off-the-wall as ever (we were total opposites, so that's why we got along so well, I think!) and I love her for it.

Anyway, during our 2-hour 'reunion' conversation, we were discussing how we are both divorced and what life is like 'after marriage'. Her situation is still pretty new (I don't think it's final yet) and she has a 7-year-old son with her ex, but there are common experiences with just being a divorced woman.

One of those issues is your title when you are divorced. Before you got married, you are technically a "Miss Larsen" (OK, funny sidenote - I grew up as a Larsen, and when she got married, she married into the name Larson!). Once you get married, you are a "Mrs. Rettinger." But once you get divorced, what are you?? You aren't a Mrs. anymore, but you aren't really a Miss (at least you sure don't FEEL like one after all that!). I guess you are forced into being a Ms. Oh yes, the dreaded "Ms." I can just see that snotty, pretentious librarian now - that corrected you when you said either Miss or Mrs. "It's MS. Johnson!" YUCK. Please tell me that I don't have to be that!

Well, the subject came up when we were talking about her school and students - since she's a teacher, she is called by Mrs. Larson, but now that she is divorced, what should she tell the kids to call her?? She wants to keep the Larson name in order to have the same name as her son, which is understandable, but she is no longer Mrs. Larson. What to do? She is kind of a wacky person, so she said she wants to be Mr. Larson! She thinks that it's unfair that men don't have to divulge their personal/marital status or life - they are a "Mr." their whole life. Women have to choose one or graduate to one of those statuses. UGH! I told her to pick another language - be a Mademoiselle or something!

After my divorce, everyone thought I would switch my name back to Larsen, but I didn't. Believe me, it wasn't because I was proud of that family or my ex and wanted to hang on to it! It was more of a logistical thing. I was devastated, overwhelmed and depressed. I had just changed all of my documentation over to his name just a year and a half earlier (drivers license, checks, bank accounts, credit cards, email addresses, passport amendments, social security card, etc. etc. etc.). Also, since I was in Ohio, it wasn't like I would be tied to his family by using that name or anything. In addition, I had just started a new job (email address, business cards, etc.) and everyone in Ohio knew me by his name.....so to switch it and then have people say "Oh! Did you get married???" would've been more than I could take. I would have to try and bite my tongue and not say something really bitter and angry like "NO - I got divorced. That bastard left me!". Anyway, moving on - that's in the past.....

What are your thoughts on this subject?

Your World. Delivered.

I figured it was about time for another plug for a company doing something right! So here's my PSA for AT&T:

Recently I had an AT&T salesman come to my door asking me to switch from Time Warner Cable (for TV, DVR & Internet) to AT&T U-verse. Normally I would've just said that I don't want to deal with the hassle, but he explained everything and it was a much better deal! I decided to sign up for the following reasons:

1. It will make my bill go from $115/month to $96/month - yay for $19!

2. You get a check for $100 cash just for signing up.

3. There are no contracts - you can quit anytime.

4. The DVR is amazing - you can set your main DVR to record all of your shows, but then when you watch them, you can watch them on any TV! So I can push play on my main DVR downstairs, then go upstairs and watch the show on a different TV. SIMPLY AMAZING!!!

Anyway, when the technician came today, he showed up and was very polite, petted Maggie (scored lots of points right there), and even put on surgical booties over his shoes so he wouldn't get my floor/carpet dirty! Every time he had to go outside, he took them off and then put them back on when he came back inside. NOT ONE single repairman or installer EVER has done that in my house. I LOVED IT!!

So, even though I have only had the service for a few hours, I am VERY pleased with the product, the folks at AT&T, and their installers!

Kitchen Advice!

Lately, it seems that everything is breaking in my life! I just broke my phone recently (dropped it too many times - I guess that's my fault....) and my diswasher (my 24-year-old dishwasher) is broken. The dishwasher COULD be fixed, but whoever tiled my kitchen prior to me living there, effectively tiled the dishwasher into its space with no good way to get it out to fix it. The only options are to rip up the tile or to rip off the countertop! I hate the countertop that I have - cheap stuff that has seen better days....so my conclusion was that I would just use my tax credit and buy a new dishwasher, countertops and kitchen sink. UGH.

Sooooo.....that's where all of you readers that are homeowners come in! I am looking for advice, tips, don't-do's, definitely-do's or horror stories with this type of project/purchase. I'm going to begin getting estimates from Home Depot and Lowe's just to get a ballpark idea of the cost and options, but I'm also going to try and find smaller places that might be cheaper....

Any input??? HELP!!!!

Pimp Juice!

This past weekend, I went out with a Meetup.com group and we played Pokeno at a bar in North Richland Hills. I already knew kind of how to play it because I had played it last year with my Mom and her friends down in south Texas while visiting. It's a pretty easy game, which is good.....since we were drinking some yummy stuff!

My new friend April (from the ghost hunt) introduced me to a fruity drink that she ordered the last time she was at this bar (Sparks) - and they call it PIMP JUICE!! It's some sort of rum and fruit juice mixture and it tastes GOOD. But I couldn't not get my picture taken with said pimp juice!

A Suite Deal

I think I'm getting addicted to hockey games! Mayce and I went to another Dallas Stars game recently (my 4th one since moving here not even a year ago!) and hit the jackpot.....We bought tickets through a Ladies Night promotion that they were having and so we went to the Platinum entrance to get in and they told us to go to Will Call to get our tickets......so we go to Will Call and they send us back to the Platinum entrance. Anyway, because of a mix-up on their part with our tickets, they just sent us up to the Admiral Level to enjoy the game in a suite!

There are fabulous (and empty) bathrooms, better choices for food and it's not crowded AT ALL. Plus, the seating in a the suites is just so much better. We had a great time, but the Stars lost. :(

The big Chili's blimp even flew right over our suite - so neat!

Any Minnesota North Stars fans out there? Check out the 3rd name on this scoreboard - he's still playing with the Stars down here....after all these years!

Massage Hangover??

For the past few years, I have given myself a gift for Christmas - a massage. I usually schedule it for right before Christmas, like the 23rd or something like that. Massage is something that I absolutely love - it's my one big indulgence for myself. This Christmas, I decided that I would give myself a bigger gift this year, and sign up for one massage per month. So far, I've had my Christmas one, and then one in January and now my February one was done just recently. I found a massage therapist that I love - Barbara. It's nice going back to the same person because they have your chart and they remember what you like and don't like, and what areas to concentrate on. She now even remembers that I like the room warm!


Well, since I have never had this many massages in this short of time (3 of them in 3 months), I guess I never noticed patterns in how I feel after a massage. But now I do....for instance, most people who get massages are told to drink a ton of water after the treatment, in order to flush out the toxins that the therapist released by working your muscles. Pretty basic. You will even physically feel like you are sore the next day - like you were working out and your muscles are kind of achy. Got it.

But I am also noticing that I am an emotional wreck for up to 2 days after my massages. I have heard in the past that some people cry during a massage, but I had never experienced that before.....until now. I didn't cry in my recent massage, but for the last two, I have cried on the way home, despite my body feeling wonderful. I am just on the verge of tears every minute during the day or so after the massage, and I'm crabby, sad, depressed, anxious, etc. How could this be after having such a therapeutic, wonderful, relaxing massage (and I get a deep tissue massage - very intense and sometimes painful, but it's a good pain - lots of breathing, kinda feels like physical therapy for part of it!)?? Now I'm starting to wonder if the 'toxins' that are released from the muscles aren't just physical toxins, but emotional baggage that I've been storing up as well. For the most part, my monthly massage is the only physical touch that I experience (except for cuddling with my dog, Maggie), so maybe that is what is evoking such an emotional response? I'm just not sure and it makes me worried if I'm keeping that much trapped sad emotion in my body all the time. I guess it's good to get it out often with a massage, but it has got to be affecting me negatively to have that in my system all the time..........Anyone have any input on this subject??


Here's a blog post from a Licensed Massage Therapist (Sierra Kennedy, LMP) who talks about this very thing:

Massage Blues - What happens after a massage?
By sierra on Jun 6, 2007 in healthly living, Deep Tissue, Massage

I just had a new client come in and tell me that after every massage she’s ever gotten, she’s felt crappy the next day. I responded to her with this:

It rather depends on what it means to you to feel “crappy” because it is true that massage often leaves one feeling tired or worn out. Many people say that the next day - a deep massage will feel like they worked out the day before.

Even very “light” techniques like Cranio-Sacral (which I am getting certified in this year - yay!) and Reiki can leave a person feeling emotionally and physically “crappy” as well.

A classic Swedish massage is like 7 miles of hiking to the circulatory system because of all the stuff that gets all loosened up during the massage. Later on, all that released lactic acid, waste products, chemicals and “other” just get processed out of the body for the next day.

During deep tissue - deep pressure is applied to sore spots and so the area can feel sore and “worked”.

It is a common concern how the body feels, reacts and how the emotional state of a body will be after receiving massage. It is very common to have the experience of cold-like symptoms, fatigue, irritability and even crying or emotional release after the massage.

I always suggest to my clients that they drink water - lots of water - the following 24 hours after their massage. That way the circulation of fluids and the healing process, in general, is helped along because it dilutes and flushes the entire system.

It is often a good idea to avoid coffee, alcohol and heavy greasy foods after a massage.
Always check in with yourself after a massage, for emotional disturbance. I find the most common “emotional” stuff that comes up after a massage is just irritability and sadness for no reason. This is totally natural. It’s just the combination of the chemicals and hormones that were sitting in your tissue that have been released to be cleaned out AND the emotions that may have been “stored” in places that were released and relaxed during the massage.

If you ever have issues after a massage, call your massage practitioner. They know what’s going on and they will have the information to help you understand what’s happening.

Don’t let the downside of massage keep you from getting one. The freedom from pain, pattern and holding is far worth the 24 to 36 hours of slight discomfort that comes after a massage.

It's A Wonderful Day In The Neighborhood.......maybe not.

I have blogged in the past about my next door neighbor who 'stopped over' during the Vikings game when they were in the playoffs (and proceeded to drone on and on about nothing while making me miss an entire quarter of the game). This is also the neighbor who thinks the coyotes near my house "are NEAT - especially when they serenade us at night!" and feeds them. ugh.

Welllllll, recently he "stopped by" in the evening at about 8:30pm. I had just gotten home from a massage a little while before that and had taken a shower. This meant that when he "dropped by", I was already in my pajamas, hair in some sort of messy ponytail, glasses on, no makeup - basically looking like a total slob. I also hadn't had dinner yet and actually was just about to sit down and eat (it was already cooked and on a plate).

The reason he came over was to tell me that he found out that he has some termite issues with his house and that I might want to get my house checked out too (my house is a townhouse/duplex, so we share a 'structure'). I asked him how much it is costing him to get it taken care of and he said $800. FABULOUS. Just the news I wanted to hear - more money to sink into this house.

Anyway, he said that he would email me the company name/contact info for the termite company in case I want them to look at my house at the same time as his. OK, great. Thanks for the heads up - here's my email address. BUT, that wasn't enough. My neighbor is a chatty cathy and once again, wants to stand there in my house and talk and talk and talk about nothing. And by this time, we are IN MY KITCHEN so he can clearly see that my meal is getting cold on the counter right in front of his face. But yet he keeps going on and on, ignoring my signals that I'm done with the conversation and that I want to enjoy the relaxation time that follows a massage.....and I'm HUNGRY since my DINNER is sitting right in FRONT of him!

I probably should be thankful that I have a courteous neighbor who is just looking to do me a favor and give me a heads up. He really is a nice guy and his wife is sweet too (she brought over a home-cooked "Texas" meal when I moved in, and they have always offered their tools, etc. whenever I have needed something). I really shouldn't complain - there are much more annoying things in the world (don't EVEN get me started on the Octa-Mom!!!!).

OK, thanks for letting me vent!

On The Prowl.......Casper-style

Recently, I went on a Ghost Hunt with a group of about 20 people from one of my meetup.com groups. We went to several places around the Metroplex, guided by our ghost hunt expert, Lisa.

The first place we went was a big park in Arlington where there is an area called "Hell's Gate". This sounds awful intimidating, but really it was just two wood posts that supposedly have ghosts around them often. The 'folklore' story that Lisa told is that those posts were a gate where in the Civil War, confederate soldiers would take union soldiers that were spies through this gate and over to a tree nearby to hang them. She pointed out the 'hanging tree' and several others on the trail....but I was a little skeptical about the authenticity of the story since the wood posts don't look like they are 150 years old! Anyway, we didn't see any ghosts there (although Lisa said that she had a headache when we were there and that indicates 'activity'.

Here is "Hell's Gate":

Here is one of the 'hanging trees' where the union soldiers would (allegedly) be hung if they were spies:

Lisa showed us two big bags full of her ghost-hunting equipment, as well as techniques, rules and tips.....however, we didn't use any of that equipment until the very end at night. Ugh.

Anyway, our next stop was in Fort Worth - at my favorite place, the Stockyards! We ate lunch at Cattlemen's Steakhouse (which is supposed to be haunted in the basement, but we couldn't find anything...):

Here's a cool picture of the saloon upstairs:

On a totally unrelated note, here are some bikers that we saw amongst the horses and cowboys!

The next 'haunted' place to visit was Miss Molly's Hotel - an old brothel, but is still open as a hotel. They had no vacancies, so we couldn't go in and see rooms. Apparently there is a ghost of one of the 'ladies of the night' in Room 7.

Here's the view looking up the stairs - the entrance to Miss Molly's Hotel:

After the Stockyards, we drove west of Fort Worth to a little town called Boyd, TX. It looked like a regular cemetary, but I guess it's extra haunted?? Anyway, it was kind of creepy because there is a serial killer buried there - he got the death penalty and was executed in 1997. We saw his grave - CREEPY! But yet....still no ghosts to speak of......

After the cemetary, we treked northeast of Boyd to Denton (that's why I posted pics of the Denton county courthouse last week). There is a haunted bridge where some old cowboy spirits hang out, as well as Comanche native Americans as well. FINALLY, we whipped out the ghost hunting devices and waited......and waited.....and we actually got some readings off them! That was the best part of the day - and it finally felt like true ghost hunting because we were in the dark! We had a lot of fun on the bridge!