It's a girl!  She's due March 10.  

Messed up week

It’s been a really really messed up week
Seven days of torture, seven days of bitter
And my girlfriend went and cheated on me . . . no wait, I don't have a girlfriend.

What I do have is a $300 ER bill, a $1400 truck tires and repair bill, a $100 vet bill and somewhere between a $600 and $1200 car repair bill (finding out Monday if my warranty is still in place.)

La la la, whatever, la la la, it doesn’t matter, la la la, oh well, la la la

DEB took his truck in for tires and found out he needed break work and some other stuff, which we couldn't afford, so we didn't get.

On Wednesday morning he woke up with severe pain and concluded he probably had another kidney stone. He called the doctor, took some 11 year old pain killers and sent me off to work. When I got back he said "We need to go the the ER now." 3 hours and $300 later we had new pain killers and some pee filters. The pain mysteriously disappeared and hasn't been back since, sans drugs.

Friday Louie had to go to the vet ER because he had some kind of seizure. He couldn't focus his eyes and wouldn't respond. The vet said she didn't know exactly was the problem was, but he was fine by the time he left a few hours later. She said watch him and if has more problems, take him to the regular vet for testing.

Saturday my car's big red exclamation point in a triangle light came on. DEB was driving and had to have it towed to a dealership. They said it was a warning light about getting the 120,000 mile check up or maybe I got too low on gas? Which was strange because no warning lights came on for 24 hours after it both got low and I filled it up and drove it 50+ miles. Crackpot Toyota people. They did an expensive diagnostic, said it needed lots of stuff, gave DEB a 2011 Prius rental and said check back on Monday to find out how much it will be.

This week gave me a headache.

People sending and posting baby videos: would it kill you to do a little narrating?!  I realize your baby is amazing, but a silent video of a baby wiggling around for a minute and a half don't cut it for me, and I'm feeling all maternal and stuff!

I went to the Doctor today.  I started coughing just as he walked in.
"You were diagnosed with asthma when you were a kid."  (not a question)
"No."
"You should have been."

I think I just had a 'House' moment.

I said, "I have fall allergies."
He said, "Among other things."

I've never even seen this man before!

He said, "You know you are married to a nerd."
I said, "Yes, I know."  (Insightful man after all.)

He said, "I'm going to send the nurse in to give you a test. If you don't pass it you should go to the emergency room."

I passed.

He said, "Well, it looks like you are getting enough oxygen, I'm going to give you an antibiotic so you don't get pneumonia.  Keep taking over the counter allergy and cough meds.  Good luck!"

That was one of the strangest doctor visits I've ever had.

Blogging from the phone.

It has happened.  The 80s styles are back in the worst possible ways.  I was at McDonald's yesterday and for whatever reason there were about a million high school students there too. One girl was dressed like she had just come from the staring roll in the 1980s.

At first I thought she was dressed for a play, but when I looked around I noticed hints of her 'style' on the other girls too.  The off the shoulder shirts, tights, raglan sleeves here and there and in neutral colors one can ignore it, pretend it's not happening, but this one girl- I should have taken a picture.

She was wearing pink tennis shoes, purple legwarmers, blue tights, a jean mini skirt, a gray off the shoulder shirt, with a black and neon splatter tank top underneath.  She had her hair up in a side pony tale secured by an enormous red scrunchie.  She had a neon green headband and those big plastic pink and green sunglasses that were popular in the day.  She finished off her look with blue eye shadow and a pink purse. 

The only additions or changes she could have made were bigger hair, a banana clip and slouchie socks (2 pair in different colors.)  Woe is me- this is really happening.

I was driving up the hill to my apartment yesterday when I saw this little kid "racing" the cars going up the hill.  I decided I should slow down, rev my engine and let him "win."  But, I couldn't, there was a car behind me.  I didn't want to make the driver mad.  You never want to anger drivers in my neighborhood.  It's a little too shady for that. Anyway, I started thinking, "Is it even possible to rev the engine on this car?"  I've had this car for three years and I've never tried to rev the engine.

Before I got this Prius I drove a 1985 Nissan Z.  It had a big engine and a manual transmission.  That car sounded like it was going fast just sitting in the driveway.  I revved the engine regularly, just to hear how cool it sounded.

When I pulled into my parking spot at home I put the car in park and stepped on the gas petal.  The engine turned off.  It was as though my car were saying, "Uh- no I'm not going to do that.  I'm not that kind of car."  So I put it in drive and put one foot on the break and one foot on the gas.  My car turned back on, (obligingly) and purred.  "mmmmmmm"  "mmmmmmmm"  I had to turn off the radio and roll down the windows to hear it.

That Z is laughing at my Prius from the junk yard.

So, now I know, the answer to "Can I rev my car?"  is "No."

Look at the decline in my blog readership.  Looks like the economy.

Sometimes I ask the dogs questions.
 "Do you want a treat?"
 "Do you want to go outside?"
"What was that sound?"
 "Did you do this?"
"Where's your toy?"

 Buzz responds as a normal dog should.  He barks, wags his tail, runs in circles, starts doing random tricks or hides in his box, depending on the question (more importantly the tone of the question.)

 Louie some times takes cues from Buzz, but usually just sits there and stares at me as though he were trying to communicate with his tiny mind.  It's like I can almost get what he's trying to say . . .  but no.  A few times he has stared at me for a while, and then purposefully walked  over the computer as though he had decided the charade was up and he would type his message out, but just before he reaches the keyboard he turns around, like "No, that would be showing them too much."

The other day I was at a friend's house.  Her little girl ran in and announced it was "FREEZING" outside!  "It's so cold, there is ICE on the grass! It's probably going to SNOW!"  (It was in the mid 70s)

What has the hottest summer EVER done to the weather sense of the children?

Ok she is a rather dramatic child.  One day I commented on the monkeys in the living room.  Her mother explained that they had to be banished from her daughter's room each night because one night the daughter came out all hysterical and saying she couldn't sleep in there because the monkeys kept slapping her.  Nice by day, naughty by night sock monkeys!

I don't know about you, but I believe her.  I don't trust monkeys.

Computer with a new motherboard, welcome home!

What I really want are some new pens.  What I really need is to stop buying new pens, and to find and use my old pens.

Sometimes spending a few dollars on a want is worth it!

School starts soon.  Vacation is never long enough.  Even with the meager list of things I wanted to accomplish- most of them are left undone.

 I'll teach a seminar tomorrow to 20 new MBA students in TCU's Neeley School of Business.  My job is to remind them how to read. :)
I'm offering suggestions on how to read faster, remember more and take notes, specifically while working on case studies.
(like I know)

Looks like Blogger's Big Brother is watching.  I just found out that since my blog began it has been accessed in Bulgaria 29 times.  At this very moment two people in The USA and one in Germany are looking at it.  I feel like a CREEPER!  I know too much and I like it!!!

Yesterday Louie fell down the stairs.  It was horrifying.  His tiny little fuzzy foot slipped off the first step and he bounced down every hard wooden step until he reached the bottom.  Left side-Right side-Back-Belly-Left . . . I was having visions of a toddler bouncing down the stairs in a similar way- how it would break little bones and crack a tiny skull.  Louie, however bounced to the landing and got up and and looked around like, "Nobody saw that right?!" The whole time he was bouncing down I was standing at the top of the stairs saying, "Dog! Stairs! Falling!"  When I got down the stairs I picked him up and checked him out, he didn't seem to be any worse for the ware.  Resilient little critter.

My gmail was hacked.  Boo  Add another to "Things I thought would never happen to me."

Last week we went to see Johnny about our rings.  Johnny is the jeweler Daniel worked with to design my opal ring, which I love.  Daniel bought the opal over 10 years ago looking forward to putting it into an engagement ring.  When he proposed he said this was the ‘surprise’ ring and we could get a diamond later.  At first I thought I would wait for the diamond.  But after talking to Johnny (an ultimate salesman) I decided to get him to make a diamond ring for me too.  He’s a character, and always busy traveling and buying and selling.  There’s no telling when Johnny might have time- so I figured this was my chance to get him to make a ring that corresponds to my opal ring with some of his signature touches as a jeweler.  The rings should be ready next week. 

This week has been busy.  I’ve been on spring break, but I’ve been busy with wedding stuff every day.  The day before yesterday we stuffed, sealed, addressed and stamped about 400 invitations.  There were about 100 missing from the print run, so we can pick those up tomorrow and have the invites out this weekend.  Our invitations are also one of a kind designs made my Jessica my soon to be sister-in-law. 

Yesterday Daniel and I got our engagement pictures taken.  I think they are going to turn out really well.  We went to Handley, the little town where we will get married, and took some pictures with a caboose (the town symbol) then we went to a few parks in Arlington.

Our photographer is about 12 years old.  I told him I got a haircut and the woman styled it so that it looked like I just walked out of 1990.  He said,  “Oh, that’s when I was born!”  Oh well, his pictures are awesome, so what do I care how old he is?

Today I was with Jessica’s mother because she will be making my veil.  Again, it will be amazing. 

Tomorrow is Daniel’s birthday- so we will be out and about for that and that’s the end of my spring break.  Tragic.

We did decide to go to Spain for our honeymoon though!  Wow- that will be amazing, awesome, fantastico!

http://www.mywedding.com/daniellovesshannon/index.html

I want this:  I don't know what I'd do with it.  It costs between $18-65 per skein.  That's pretty pricey, but it is made from silk and baby goat hair.  That's something right?  It's called 'water lily' and that color fascinates me.

I currently have more yarn than I could knit or crochet in 2 years (probably more, I'm rather slow.) Nevertheless, I  want to join a yarn club.  What a strange notion.

Yarn is my addiction.

I'm currently working on a blanket which I love. Double love.  I started from the center and I'm working out, so it doesn't have a set size.  It is black and rainbow colors in long stripes.  It's square, and the yarn is cheap acrylic, but it is so soft and light and warm and pretty. I love it.  I've taken some pictures, but haven't posted them.  I think it looks better every time I add to it, so I hesitate to put up old pictures.  I think this will be the first blanket I keep for myself. 

Last night a bunch of us went to "Love and War in Texas."  It's a restaurant which serves Tex-Mex and Tex-Tex food.  They have Barbara Bush's fried green beans in the appetizers and  things like long horn steaks, rattle snake and wild boar for entrees.  We went because Daniel wanted to celebrate the 175th anniversary of the independence of Texas.  He get's these ideas- but really, who am I to argue with deep fried green beans? (Yum)

When we got there we saw a car with eyelashes or headlight lashes to be exact.  I decided I needed some so I left a note on the car with my email address.  She totally wrote back and I have already ordered my pair along with the matching rhinestone liner.

At the table we talked about wedding things, and work things and of course Texas things.  Someone at the table declared that Daniel had enough Texas pride to cover both of us since I insisted on being "yankeefied."  He was just jealous because I knew the answer to the crossword puzzle clue "the port of Pennsylvania."  Duh- there's only 1!

My students often ask why they can understand when I speak English, but they can't understand when people outside (Texans) speak English.  I tell them that Texans have a different kind of English than I do.  I speak 'standard English' Texas of course speak Texan English.  I have to remind them that I'm not Texan, I can understand Texans- I've been here a long time- and I've met a few Texans out of context in my travels. (Hi) Sometimes I teach them what I call "special Texan words," like "Howdy Y'all."  They can't believe Texas has it's own words, but I assure them that if they go to another state and use these special words someone will surely ask them if they learned English in Texas.  (Imagine the fun of having a room full of Koreans, Chinese people, Arabs, Russians and South Americans repeating after me, "How-dy Y'all!"  I tell them they'll fit right in. :0)

I have a great time telling all my little foreign friends about Texas- and how special it is.  The lone star flag is very interesting to them along with the six flags of Texas.  I love asking them what they think the six flags are for.  Sometimes the give outlandish answers, only hoping there was a time that Japan owned Texas.  Imagine southwestern samurai eating fish tacos.

Hey friend,
Happy Texas Independence Day!  We went to Love and War in Texas to celebrate tonight.

When I was in high school I developed hay fever allergies.  It was a mystery at first, I thought I had a crazy cold for about a month until I realized it was possible to suddenly develop allergies.  I had a few allergy related sinus infections in college- I move around a lot after that so I don't recall having a problem until about 4 or 5 years ago when I started getting a yearly allergy/sinus infection attack.  I normally get it in the fall- I figured it was ragweed- famous in TX for it's allergy inducing pollen. 

I didn't have a problem this year though- until now.  Late winter/early spring allergies.  In the past I tried to wait it out.  I waited for 5 days this time.  I thought it might dry up after a few days since it didn't seem really serious.  Boy was I wrong.  I don't know that this was really as much about allergies this time as it was the infection.  I don't know much about sinuses, but there must be a front and a back.  I've had 'front' sinus problems before.  Pain in my forehead and around my eyes.  Drainage from my nose like water works etc.  What I have going on now is the 'back' kind.  It's all in my throat and down my neck and up to my ears. 

I'm coughing and hacking and wheezing and retching and making any manner of awful sounds as though I were orally birthing an alien race.  Some of the stuff that comes up sort of looks like that too.  I went to the doctor yesterday and he gave me antibiotics, nasal spray, allergy meds, and codeine cough syrup.  He said the syrup would help me sleep, so don't take it if I'm going to drive.   I took it last night before bed   and I swear it made me twitchy.  Great.  I'm one of the freaks for whom codeine causes "excitability."  Oh well, I guess I don't have to worry about driving after I take it. 

TGTF (Thank God Tomorrow's Friday)

PS I want to see Gnomeo and Juliette!

Today is the fifth snow day of the year- of the month, with in the past 10 days.  We were off Tuesday through Friday last week.  It warmed up and melted off for the Super Bowl in Arlington, Monday and Tuesday this week were good, last night it froze up and snowed some more.
Some people at work were all "I hope we don't have a snow day again tomorrow!  I was going crazy staying at home!"  Well, it's pretty safe to say that I was routing for disaster yesterday.  I 100% enjoyed last week at home, and I'm sure to enjoy today at home as well.
I realize that I have enough projects in my apartment that I could be under house arrest for 2 months before I ran out of things to do.  Actually I wouldn't run out, I would just get tired of doing those same things.
While not in school I watched TV and movies, crocheted, knitted, painted, cooked, cleaned, played computer games, sewed, organized and read a lot.  It was fantastic really.  Louie was with me (Buzz was with Daniel.) so I  took him out a few times a day.  He would run across the snow, realize again that he hated it, pee without lifting his leg and come back and stand on my foot until we went back in.
Today my plan is to make lemon bars with the left over egg yokes I have from the Texas shaped waffles I made over the weekend.
I will also go out to do my private tutoring. Daniel worked all night on the emergency line, he said the roads aren't so bad. I hope to finish a few more little project that I started last week.  I already finished my book.  It was the Robber Bride, which I don't recommended.  It's one of those books I've had for years, and I felt obligated to read.  1. because someone gave it to me 2. I really enjoyed another book by the same author 3. because I hate to get rid of books before I know what's in them.  I mean, if I read a book and then get rid of it, I always know I can get another copy if I want it again.  But if I get rid of  a book without reading it I feel I've wasted my potential with that book.  It seems I have book issues.  Clearly I could get another copy of that book I didn't read too.  But if I had a copy and got rid of it and then had to buy another copy only to find out I didn't like that book I would be mad about wasting my money (possibly twice.)
My goal is to read though my books on my shelf so that I can decrease the number of books I have to carry around when I move to just the ones I really love.  I have a Kindle now so I can keep electronic copies of all other books I feel the need to access.
Time for lemon bars now!  Let's hope I don't burn them.

The Super Bowl will be here Sunday- This weekend was beautiful- but starting tomorrow night an "arctic front" is moving in.  Looks like it will be a wintery Super Bowl this year.  Snow, sleet, ice and temperatures in the teens.  Ah Texas- if I were feeling more creative I'd write an ode to your wacky weather. 

I don't understand where all my time goes.  Thank you Jesus that I don't have a 9-5 type job.  How would I accomplish anything?  Not that I accomplish much now.  It's bed time already and I only accomplished one thing off my "to do" list! 

Pooh.

I'm going through some old work emails- I seem to forget that I actually have a work email address most of the time:  I found this little jem.

"Hi Shannon Petrson

I wish you and your family
hoppy knew year
with my best wishes
Rashed"

I Love It.

About a year ago I started making a baby blanket.  It's not for anyone- I wanted to try out a pattern, and I happened to have 8 balls of baby yarn that someone gave me.  I would never have picked this yarn.  It's sort of old fashioned looking, and a little bit scratchy.  Maybe the scratchiness will go away when it's washed the first time.  It's baby blue and white variegated with a silky thread running through it. 
The pattern is called a pin wheel blanket.  It's a circular blanket with ten sections radiating out from the center.  I've made several mistakes, but I figured this my practice.  I think I'll try again with yarn that I really like.  I saw some at the store the other day- I want it, it's cheap, but I told myself "Don't buy it!  You don't have any more space for yarn in you closet!"  I might have to buy it anyway.  I hate it when I see a yarn I like, I don't buy it because I don't need any more yarn, but later, when I want to buy for something specific, it's gone. 
The blanket is almost finished!  I'm working on the border now.  It will take a while, but I think it will look pretty cool.  That's a 1+ year baby blanket.  I must be the slowest knitter in history!  Finally finishing up has put me in the mind to buy more needles to make another one. (A bigger one.)  Of course the needles I want cost $140.  They seem to be made out of gold . . .  No just kidding, it is an interchangeable set of 8 or 10 pairs of needles and cables that hook them together to make big things like circular blankets. Some day . . . It will be me and a mountain of yarn and my fancy needles.

I only want a little vengeance.  And maybe to scratch my eyes out for the dramatic quality of the performance.  No lasting effects please.

Sadly, my purse smells like a fish.  One of my fish oil caplets burst in there and now I feel like I'm carrying around an aquarium each time I look in my purse.

Resolution 1: Make some good resolutions
Resolution 2:  Finish Bible Study before Monday each week
Resloution 3:  Prepare for classes before they start :)  (Me?  Unprepared? No, I'm just spontaneous!)

I'll keep thinking- it's a start.

I just finished The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.  When I started it everyone said, "you won't like that!"  "It's so violent, so graphic . . ."  blah blah- terrible, horrible, no good, very bad . . .  Well, I finished it for the same reason I started it, I wanted to know what all the fuss was about.  It seemed like every one was reading it, talking about it, talking about the movie about it . . . so I read it.  It was ok.  Not horrible, not terrific- just ok.  I wonder what got everyone so worked up.  I understand that there are two more books that continue the story and that there is some mystery as to the fate of the author and the manner of this death . . .  I suppose I'll read the other two just to see what the fuss is all about.

In other news, no classes tomorrow!  Yeah MLK Jr!

Someday I'd like to have a kitchen big enough to accommodate both a toaster oven and a conventional toaster.

I haven't made my new year resolutions yet.  Some times it takes a while to think of something I might really want to commit to.  I'm considering one to be Finishing my unfinished projects- but there has to be more, I mean I have a lot of unfinished projects.  I finished two of them today (Yeah for me!)  There's another on my dinning room table, two on my sofa, two on my chair, about 6 in my foot stool and three or four in my closet.  Those are just yarn projects,  I have fabric projects, photo projects, drawing projects, writing projects, work projects, etc.  I expect that if I became agoraphobic and could never leave my apartment again it would not be a problem at all since I probably have enough projects to keep my busy for the rest of my days.

Time for bed.  I've been very tired this weekend.  I've been sleeping 10 hours in the night (and morning) and getting up, not because I felt refreshed., but because there is some shame attached to staying in bed all day for no good reason at all.  I've clearly overcome any stigma attached to staying in the house and wearing my pjs all day- but with out any clear health reasons, I feel like I really should get out of bed.

I hope to finish my weekend project tomorrow, which is a brain bag.  It's a little make-up sized bag with brain wrinkles all over it.  I'll post a picture.  I hope it will make me happy, as I'm making it for myself.  I saw a picture of one someone made on line and I decided I could make that too.  The wrinkles are mostly done.  Now I just have to figure out how to put a zipper in a lined bag.  I can do it.

This will be the year of the rabbit (on February 3) according to the Chinese Zodiac.  For me, however, this will be the year of the sea creatures!  SEA CREATURES!! Kracken- a fearsome monster of old.  Leviathan- again fearsome- monster- old.  The  Lock Ness Monster . . .  Yes, lock monsters too.  Not just monsters though, fish and crustaceans  and  octopuses etc. which sometimes look like monsters, but are in fact just homely.  Yeah!