Got The Travel Bug

This past week, I have been feeling restless, frustrated and unmotivated and I wondered why.....until i realized that it was 'the travel bug.' If I don't have some sort of adventure, travel or trip in a long time, I start to get this way.

I was just doing the math and it's been a LONG time since I got out of town! I flew to Ohio last August to visit friends in Toledo and I think that was the last time I really left the DFW area. That was six months ago - holy crap! NOT RIGHT!

However, this spring has a lot of exciting things in store, involving lots of travel. Later this month, I'll be making my annual journey southward to visit my Mom in Harlingen. Hopefully Chris is going to be able to join me this year.

In March, I am going to New York City for the first time! Mayce's brother is a drama teacher in San Antonio and they take a group of students on a NYC trip each year and Mayce, her Mom and I are joining the tour! We're going to a lot of tourist areas and 4 Broadway shows. I am SO FREAKING EXCITED!!

Then in April, I'm travelling to Orlando to have a reunion weekend with "The Governors Girls" - my four great friends from college (we met and lived in Governors Hall at the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire together). The last reunion weekend we did was in May 2007 in Vegas. It's about time we got together to bond, talk, laugh and enjoy a few adult beverages!

I'm just so restless with this cabin fever - I need to skip town ASAP!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm so glad I figured out what this frustration was from - can't wait for the adventures of the spring!

Thankful Thursday - Round 2

So I started this Thursday blog tradition two weeks ago and then I forgot to do it in the second week! UGH! Oh well, I'm keeping with the new habit this week, so here is my list of things I'm thankful for this week:

1. New friends - I have SO enjoyed hosting my new friend Laura and it's so much fun to talk to someone in person who knows my hometown. She is moving from St. Louis Park, MN - that's the suburb that I was born in! She is a great new friend and a spectacular person. I'm looking forward to fun Texas adventures with her!

2. Wireless internet - I am blogging on my couch right now - no cords attached! It's like the concept of 'Look, Mom - no hands!' What a great invention - I can sit anywhere in my house or out on the patio in the backyard and still be on the internet - GENIUS!

3. Puppy ears - There just is nothing better than soft, floppy puppy ears. And just that clean puppy smell - I call it 'sleeping puppy' smell. When Maggie sleeps, she is all warm, soft and peaceful. NOTHING better!

4. Quilts from my Mom and sister - I have a quilt that my Mom made for me a few years ago and then my old and new quilts from my sister, Kristi. I have come to love quilts and there is just something about a gift that is handmade. Priceless.

5. My health - I know it's cliche and a very general statement, but it's so BIG. I know several people in my life that RIGHT NOW are fighting for their very existence and going through some very exhausting, painful and costly medical battles. I am wildly thankful for my health - now more than ever before in my life.

The Crazy Cat Lady - times 100!

OK, my Mom sent me an email with the following pictures of cats. This takes the concept of 'the crazy cat lady' to a whole new *disturbing* level!

Some of the paint jobs cost $15,000 and have to be repeated every 3 months as the cat's hair grows out. Must be nice to have $60,000 a year just to keep your cat painted!! And people wonder why cats sometimes attack their owners!!

Lessons For Life

I got these in an email recently and there were a ton of pictures, but I decided that some of them were cute enough to add to my blog! I really need to heed the advice in the pictures more.....

It's sad that sometimes you can't even remember the last time that you laughed REALLY HARD. I don't like that - I need to laugh more and not take life so seriously all the time....

Here's to new friends - both of the human and animal variety. They are all of value and bring joy to your life.

I hope that I'm as spunky as these hopscotch ladies at that age! I want to experience more joy in my life - not just the day-to-day responsibilities.

Sometimes no words are necessary - friends can just 'read' you without saying a word. I know that Maggie can tell when I'm upset or sad - she is extra cuddly and will stay close and calm. I love that she knows me that well - she is a true and faithful friend.
Gotta love growing older gracefully - and keeping the young spirit inside during that journey!
Sometimes a hug can just connect two people for just that one moment and make you feel so much better.
Bring it - playing soccer in your golden years. AWESOME! I hope I keep the curiosity that I possess now and never succumb to the boredom of everyday life. There's always something new to explore!

Project: Neverending Shower

Wow - this shower replacement thing has really dragged out and become SO much more complicated and frustrating than I EVER imagined!

I finally found a contractor that would do the job and for a decent price. They had to take up the rotten part of the sub-floor, move the drain location (which involved altering the structural beams and 'boxing them in'), put down new sub-floor and hardy-backer, install the new shower base, hook up the drain, and replace the mixing valve for the shower. WHEW!

They arrived on time - right at 9am on Saturday - and were done and out of there by 2pm. They were polite, efficient, clearly knew what they were doing, and one of them even owns a wiener dog (he scored extra points for that)!

I was really impressed with this company and the two guys who came out and did the work.

Now that all the weird, messy stuff is done, we can actually build the new shower! Chris and I went to a tile place and bought the tile for the walls of the shower and then I re-bought the shower kit that I had before, which includes the 3 neo-angle glass walls.


SOON this project will be finished! I will never take a shower for granted AGAIN!!!

Drama-Free Zone

I have been thinking lately about people and the drama in their lives. Doesn't it seem like some people seem to ALWAYS have drama, no matter what?! I just don't get it - how could the same person have so much drama all the time and somehow 'none' of it is 'their fault'?

And then there's the rest of us......ya know, the people who have drama, issues or trauma SOME of the time, or occasionally. That's just the ebb and flow of life - we're all going to go through bad times and good times, deal with drama, setbacks, troubles, etc. But eventually we get through them and then move on peacefully.

It's almost as if the 80/20 rule applies to the 'dramatic' people in this world....80% of the ridiculous drama comes from 20% of the people in our lives! I totally believe this is true and it has been my experience.

It gets to the point where you run into the concept of 'the boy who cried wolf.' When these 'drama' people are constantly creating, reacting to, or wallowing in drama all the time, you kind of tune them out and ignore the chaos. So when something really noteworthy happens, it's the same retoric that you hear from them all the time and you just think 'yeah, yeah - I've heard this before. Whatever - it will be something different tomorrow, so I'm not going to really pay attention to it.'

These people are absolutely exhausting! What's the deal?? Why on earth would you want to attract all that drama and be in a constant state of chaos and panic?! And just a tip to those that are full of drama - when is the last time you ASKED A QUESTION of the people that you converse with each day?? If they really paid attention, drama-lovers would realize that they are WILDLY self-absorbed and do not seem to care about the people they verbally puke on all the time! Enough, already!

Sleepin' With The Lights On

Lately, I have been succumbing to a very bad habit.....falling asleep on the couch watching TV in the evening and then waking up in the middle of the night (usually between 1am & 3am) with a crazy sore neck/back and going to what I now call "real bed."


This is bad for a number of reasons:

1. It breaks up the night's sleep

2. It wastes electricity - lights and TV are on for many hours when no one is using them

3. It is very bad for my neck and back (my massage therapist confirmed that!)

4. It annoys Maggie - she gets comfortable on the couch and then I interrupt her sleep to go to 'real bed'.

5. I have to believe that it's not really good sleep when the lights and TV are on.

6. It's a shame to sleep on a couch when I have two big beds upstairs!

I really need to STOP this habit and just GO TO BED at a decent hour in 'real bed!'

"Semi" Humor

Last week, I was sitting in traffic on 360 (a big accident - it was a parking lot) and I saw the back of this semi and had to laugh.

There's nothing entertaining or funny about sitting in stopped traffic for an hour, so I appreciated this little dose of humor. I wish I would've seen what company was on the side of the truck so that I could've given them a plug.

It just goes to show that there are many different ways to say the same exact thing - might as well use some humor and give us daily commuters a little chuckle and joy when we're sitting on the same highways, looking at the same scenery five days a week.

Thanks for the laugh, Mr. Semi!

Today's post was SUPPOSED to be the before and after pics of my new shower that was SUPPOSED to be installed last Friday. Well, that is not going to happen because my bathroom is still torn apart with NO new shower.

The plumbers came on time, ready to go. Chris was even here to meet them and get things started. But when they took up the old shower base, they found that the sub-floor had some rotted areas in the corners of the old base, so they couldn't put down the new base.

Another big problem was that the location of the new drain was RIGHT where a structural support joist was and the plumber couldn't cut that board without risking structural damage. UGH. So now I'm going to have to return the shower (or do some MAJOR reconstructive tinkering to move the shower over a few inches by creating a fake wall, etc.).

Now Chris and I are trying to decide on Plan B.....which will probably involve creating a tile shower from the ground up. I'm going to work with Chris and the plumber to create this new shower (Chris might do some of the tile work). It's just dragging out and the impatient girl inside me is going NUTS!

Clearly this is not the end of the world or a huge trauma (I have 2 full bathrooms, so it's not that big of a deal to use the other shower in the meantime), but I just want it DONE!

Watch for updates soon - this project WILL be done soon!

A Cowboys Disgrace

So we all know how the Vikings' season ended (heartbreaking!!), but when they were still on their winning streak, I made a bet with a co-worker. Since I live in Texas now, I live amongst Dallas Cowboys fans and my friend Ricardo at work suggested that we make a bet on the Cowboys/Vikings game.

Well, for anyone that watched that game, it was apparent that the Vikings showed up......and the Cowboys did not! Anyway, the bet that we made was that if the Vikings won, Ricardo would have to buy a Vikings shirt and wear it to work, and if the Cowboys won that I would have to buy a Cowboys shirt and wear it.

It's strange, though, because I live just a few short miles from Cowboys Stadium here in Arlington, so you would think I would be rooting for the Cowboys, but still.....I have to cheer for my hometown team! SKOL!

At any rate, here is Ricardo - honoring the bet he lost!!

What a good sport - he had to order it on the internet because you can't find Vikings stuff down here!