Thank you for choosing Continental Airlines...

Here is a little insight into me for those of you with less personal, hands on experience..... I like to know what is coming. Rephrase, I feel I HAVE to know what is coming in a lot of situations. Example, when going to a restaurant for the first time (or the first time in a long time), I go online and check out their menu first so that I know what I want when I get there. Otherwise it is nearly impossible for me to make a decision that I feel comfortable with.

If there is anyone reading this who is also a plan ahead type person, and if you've travelled internationally in the past few years, then you might already know what I am about to tell you. You know the magazines on planes that tell you the in-flight entertainment? They post them online too! They are up for the current and upcoming month so that you can see ahead of time what you will have the option of watching. I think this is more or less fabulous. Now, the way it works on most longer international flights now is that you have an individual screen on the seat infront of you and you choose between 9 different channels to watch. The channels run in 2.5 hour loops which gives me time for 3-4 cycles on my flight.

I have watched some pretty bad movies cause I was on a plane, bored and I have immense trouble sleeping on planes (not so in cars :P ). When I checked our movies for our upcoming flight, I'll admit I was bracing for the hit..... We got SO LUCKY! Especially on the way there. In addition to the CSI channel, comedy channel, Without a Trace channel, and others, we have~

On the way~

Pursuit of Happyness
Dreamgirls
Night at the Museum

On the way back~

Miss Potter
Happy Feet
The Holiday (not so excited about this one)

The basics have gone out of style

I went to lunch with some coworkers yesterday to celebrate our March birthdays from our department. Being the plan ahead person I am, I reserved the company Trailblazer so that we could take only 2 cars instead of three. So we piled 7 full sized adults into the white monster and actually fit surprisingly well. We left work and merged onto the Beltway and I noticed something.... 7 people, 4 seatbelts. Are you kidding me?? Did these people not go to drivers ed or defensive driving and see videos of non-seatbelt wearers strewn across the highway after an accident because they could be bothered?

This really did blow my mind. It would never occur to me to not buckle my seat belt regardless of where I was sitting in the car, so I was shocked that so many of my coworkers saw it as unnecessary. We didn't get into an accident and nobody died, but I felt uncomfortable the whole way there and back. Please buckle up guys, your lives are too precious to have them end so unnecessarily. I don't care if you are a good driver. Take it from me, you can be the best driver in the world and some random guy can just plow into you after you have been stopped in traffic for a couple of minutes...buhlieve me :) Ok, I think that ends my public service announcement, happy Thursday ya'll!

Flat Stanley

Jen Cates' class recently did something called flat Stanley where they dress up a paper doll and mail them out to all over the world. The Stanleys come back with pictures and a letter describing their adventures. This year, Jen sent one of her kids' Stanleys to my parents in Paris. Here were some of the resulting pictures~


This is NOT my dad, this is the Fromanger... or "Cheese man" :)


That IS my mom's arm :)

And her arm again :P

Anyways, one of the Stanleys got lost in the mail (POOR STANLEY!) So Nate and I get to take one with us to Holland and pose him in tulips and by windmills and put clogs on him and all sorts of good stuff. My parents will be there to offer guidance and artistic support and I am super pumped!!

Filler

I have nothing to write about today, so here is a random collection of things going through my head..

~ I'm making Spaghetti tonight. Mmmmm, Spaghetti :)
~ My nose hurts
~ Bible study last night was great
~ My finger nails are feeling particularly hard today and are looking particularly white
~ I must resist the chocolate, I must
~ I think that's enough for a blog entry. It's gotta be... I'm tapped :P

You would think that at some point you would get immune to having your feelings hurt. As it turns out, some people manage to do it on a seemingly weekly basis.

Productivity = 1000%

My inlaws came in town this week to help Nate and I do some of the work on the condo that we had planned. They worked on stuff without us there Thursday and Friday (well, I did go home sick on Friday but I was in a wonderful sleep coma for the first four hours and totally useless for the next four) and with our "help" Saturday and Sunday. In a span of a mere 4 days, the following was accomplished~

Thursday
~The guest bathroom had the rest of the wallpaper removed. It was close alredy, but getting the paste off the walls took FOREVER.
~ The walls in said bathroom were texturized

Friday
~ Said texturized walls were painted. 2 coats of course :)
~ A new countertop and faucet were installed in said bathroom
~ Said bathroom also received new lighting fixtures
~ New floor was installed in our glassed-in balcony. You might remember the sliding glass door being removed from the same area.

Saturday
~ New floor installed in guest bathroom
~ New floor installed in kitchen
~ Frame where sliding glass door used to be, trimmed up and ready to paint

Sunday
~ New floor installed in master bathroom
~ All 1/4 round cut and placed

I wish I had pics for you all, but we need to put all of the furniture back and vacuum and do all sorts of stuff before that happens :)

p.s.- Branden and Liz are engaged!! I have no idea if she still reads this, but if so Congrats again!!!

Black Friday

Well, the Ags lost a 1 pt heart breaker to Memphis last night. I'm disappointed but I have to say also relieved that I don't have to go through any more games.... I'm tired of being stressed out. Black Friday part number 2? I woke up feeling really sick (which sometimes happens for the first few minutes) and I shrugged it off thinking it would go away. I'm at work now and my head is killing me, I'm beyond nauseated and I feel horrible in general. I am considering going home (in rush hour traffic which I would now be flowing with and not against) but I'm afraid that it'll pass and I'll feel stupid for leaving. I dunno, we'll see.

News

I'm not sure if I have mentioned this on here or not, but my brother and sister-in-law are expecting another child! Amy went to the doctor earlier this week and got a due date set of October 14th. It is going to be a C-section (thanks to Laney and her amazing fetal gymnastics) so the baby will come sometime about a week before the due date. Ben seems to think it's going to be a girl, but of course he has no idea. I'll let you know as soon as I find out! (should be June or so) If the next kid is as cute as this, they can have as many as they want as far as I'm concerned.

Other news~ The Ags play Memphis today in San Antonio (my brother is going :) at 6:30. I am dressed in the appropriate work attire of khaki skirt and the same A&M shirt I wore for the last two tourney games. Gig 'em Ags!

Forth and Gone

Remember my excitement over this new store? Well, I received an email two days ago and Forth and Towne is closing in June! No explanation, just that all of their locations were going to shut down this June. I suppose this high end experiment from the people who brought you the Gap and Banana Republic was not such a success. Leslie Mac and I have entered into mourning. Perhaps a bit early for this, but we've always been progressive :)

Side note~ My in laws are coming today.... me = nervous

Side side note~ T-16 days til France and the Netherlands :)

A sickness that cannot be denied

I have a bit of a habit of getting Christmas and birthday presents super early. I will buy something as soon as I see it and know it's perfect for someone. I often have the majority of my Christmas gifts by June. Well, I have officially decided what I am getting my mom and Nate's parents this year. I also have my mom's birthday and welcome home presents ready to go (they are moving back in May!). Anyways, a little glimpse into my world on a boring Tuesday :)

How Sweet It Is

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Acie Law was there when Texas A&M hit bottom, wallowing through a winless Big 12 season three years ago, often wondering if he'd made a mistake by choosing to play for the perennially underachieving Aggies.

Law stayed, and vindication came in the jubilation after the Aggies' 72-69 win over Louisville in the second round of the South Regional on Saturday, when the senior point guard dubbed "Captain Clutch" for his cool demeanor under pressure finally let go.

Seconds after his 26 points helped send the Aggies to the round of 16 for the first time in 27 years, Law screamed while he hugged his teammates at midcourt. They'll next play the winner of Sunday's game between Nevada and Memphis.

"It's an amazing feeling. I don't have any words to describe it," Law said. "It's huge for this program."

A program that finally received the breakthrough victory it has been looking for under third-year coach Billy Gillispie.

It wasn't easy. Then again, it never really is for the Aggies (27-6).

"When Coach G came here, he brought that family atmosphere," said senior Marlon Pompey. "We play as a team, do everything as a team, so I'm not surprised at all. It feels so great. It's just hard to describe."


The Ags take on a very dangerous Memphis team this Thursday in San Antonio... Gig 'em Ags!!!

My Thursday

~ Ags won by 16 over a hard-fighting Penn team and are now lined up to play Louisville in Lexington on Saturday.
~ My bracket survived what could have been a bit hit had Maryland and Georgetown both not gotten their acts together.
~ Nate and I went to Seven Brides for Seven Brothers with our season ticket group. The show was good, and we ended up sitting next to an elementary school class who was there with their teachers. The best part of the show? The first time that Adam and Milly kiss and all the kids around us erupted into a very loud EEEEWWWWW!!!!
~ I scared the mess outta Ashley when I leaned over and told her that "Wicked was coming up soon" and she heard, "A kid is coming up soon". She looked at me wide-eyed and I figured she had forgotten the show was coming up, not that she thought I was pregnant (which I'm not) :)

Those are the highlights (such as they are). Now on to Friday. I just have half a day here and then I meet up with Nate and we take off for San Antonio to spend the weekend with Ben and Amy and of course, Elena :)

MADNESS!!!

It's that time again boys and girls.... the time of year when you can turn on the tv Thursday-Sunday and there is ALWAYS a game on. The time of year when you get to see 18-22 yr old men reduced to tears by a win or a loss. You get to see dreams come true and hearts be broken. You get to see that for some teams winning would be nice, but just making it to the dance is the realizations of so many dreams. It's the time of year when the outcome of a basketball game can often feel like life or death itself. It is the BEST time of the year hands down. You know what makes it even better? Having your team in the tourney :)

The Ags were placed as a number 3 seed in the South division of the tournament this year. To any of you who know A&M's history with basketball, this is the highest seed ever. Last year was our first bid (#12 seed) in 20 years. I cried when we defeated Syracuse and when it came down to the wire against LSU in the second round. I was overwhelmed with pride for our boys just for advancing to round 2. Obviously this year they are expected to win, although they face a possible tough 2nd round playing Louisville in Kentucky (how did Louisville pull that off?)

Their first game is today at 2 pm. I, along with most of my Aggie coworkers and my brother, are leaving work at 1:45 to go home and watch as I would be useless if I tried to work during that time anyway. I sit here in my college uniform of jeans and an Aggie shirt and I cannot wait to watch the Ags take on Penn. The school means so much to me... my experiences there were AMAZING... and this team is filled with player that I watched mature during my college years from 0-16 and last in the big 12 to 2nd in the big 12 in a matter of 3 years. The year after they were 0-16 is when Gillispie came to A&M bringing the then Freshmen to the NIT as sophomores, the dance as Juniors and now back to the dance as Seniors as a 3 seed after spending the majority of the season ranked 6th-8th in the nation.

Before I get too into this, let me just end with this~ Gig 'em Aggies! :)

Do my windshield wipers go any higher?

Anyone who is in Houston today knows exactly why I am asking this question. I just got home from work and I left an hour ago. To some people that's normal, but my drive is typically 15 minutes... so this was extreme. Let's step thru the drive, shall we? I took Hardy home to avoid the backups on 45. Hardy was good but it was raining so hard that there was not a single car going over 55 mph (as opposed to the normal 80) I got to 610 and the rain let up a bit just in time for me to get an upclose view of two consecutive lightening strikes within a few feet of my car. After the lightening it began raining extremly hard again and the close lightening and the hard rain paired up to make it even worse.

I exited at Katy Rd and ran into a foot (at least) of water across the entire ramp. Ok, I'm off the highway.. it had to get easier... right? Well, I got to Silber and turned under the highway and saw a high water high and everybody u-turning to avoid the 3 or so feet of standing water. Ok. I pulled a u-turn and went to Antoine to turn around. I got on the service road and hit two very long stretches of water 1-3 ft deep between Antoine and Silber and three 1-2 ft deep sections between Silber and the condo.

The icing on the cake? I had to pee like you wouldn't believe the whole time. As you can imagine, strong rain is less than helpful in that situation :P

A commercial for flats

I'd like to share a very Abby moment with you if I may. I was leaving work yesterday and I was happy because, well because I was leaving work :) I pressed the down button on the elevators and waited patiently for my car to arrive. The doors opened, I stepped inside and my heel got caught in the little groove that I always look at and think "I bet my heel could get caught in that." Well, crud. As my mind is registering the situation, the door starts to close... crud crud!! I reached around and pressed the open door button just in time to keep my calf from being eaten by elevator number 4. I stepped out of my shoe and pried it from the frame while maintaining a hand on the button. And such is my life :)

Austin

So this weekend I went to Austin with old roomies from college.... not that old, one made a point to mention that I'd be the first to hit middle age. Anyways, between killing the electricity in our hotel room (twice) by drying our hair, having a homeless guy yell at us "Give me your money!!!", and Kim's suggestion that we all hop in the back of one of the bike cabs and tell the driver to "pedal this", it was a great time :) (Mom, you can see all my pics on my photo site :)



All of the hinges in the Capital look like this.... pretty cool

Roomies = Fantastic

I spent this last weekend in Austin with all of my old college roomies (there were 8 of us that all lived together for two years) and we had such a good time! As is typical, my favorite part of the whole trip was the massively good food. Oh and togetherness... that too :) I will have pictures up soon so get excited.

Friday

Day = Friday
Time of Departure from work = 11:30 am
Post-work activities = hanging out with my college roomies in Austin all weekend
Motivation Level = nil

9am update~ Although motivation still equals nil, I'm doing a surprisingly good job of being productive.... go me

the Shaft

Wow, I really thought I'd get some kinda comment yesterday from one of those blogs... I'm feeling minorly rejected this morning and I have little desire to impart any more witty banter or useless facts upon my reading public. So I will leave you with this ~

I prefer "eccentric"

Les emailed me yesterday to tell me she had an eye infection and she was at home after her principal told her she could either go home or wear an eye patch. This is what I sent back....



Two in one day? I better be careful or I won't have anything for tomorrow :P

Odd Things

Here is a term I learned from a coworker the other day. Apparently this is what the law calls it when people of lesser economic standing leave their household trash in field or any place where it is illegal to deposit trash. Ladies and gentlemen, the phrase of the day.... Promiscuous Dumping. As immature as it is, it makes me laugh every time :)

Cookie Monster

I was at the grocery store yesterday, making my way down the aisle to pick up some saltines, and the Archway cookies caught the corner of my eye. Hmmm, I wonder if they have the molasses ones today.... they do! Oh, but I shouldn't. I don't need them and they certainly aren't good for me. Then I heard a voice say, "C'mon, get a package of cookies." Well, I dunno, I mean I really don't need them. "C'mon, pick up the cookies, you know you want them" Yeah, but I should practice some self control. "Pick them up" Wait, why is the voice in my head getting louder? "You need those cookies" Ummm, my inner guiding grocery voice has never sounded like that before..... At this point I looked around and realized that it was not my conscience doing battle inside my head, but rather a crazy lady in the aisle telling me to pick up the cookies. So that was interesting :P I left the cookies... I wasn't sure how I was going to explain to Nate that I bought the cookies because a crazy lady told me to.... it seemed like a good idea at the time :)

We are Victorious!!

Yes, in Christ, but also in sliding glass door removal :) It only took two days this weekend (only really 3 hours or so between the two), some duct tape and a hammer and we are free of the sliding glass nightmare. It appears to us that the builders more or less built the entire condo around that stinkin door. The track was embedded in both side walls with nails holding it in that were not visible until Nate and I bent the track in so badly that they showed themselves. The fixed panel of the door, as it turns out, was screwed into the frame from the top. Wait, how did they screw it in from the top? I have NO IDEA. What I do know is that we had to duct tape the whole panel and then shatter the glass so that we could (we being Nate, at this point) bend the frame enough to expose the screws.

On one hand, I admire the building prowess of the 1960's that said, let's make this door to last, lets put over 10 hidden nails and screws through the walls and make it virtually indestructible. On the other hand, I want to find the guy who installed it and smack him upside the head. Anyhoo, what's done is done, now we just have to add a new wood border to the door and we're good to go :)

Corporate Email

This morning I received this email from someone in our company who I've never heard of and it was sent to about 30 people in different offices (at least I've heard of most of them :P)


Howdy,

The budget has been entered but will not be approved by tomorrow, so please use the same charge lines you have been using to enter time on your timecard.

Specific task lines should be up and running next week. Please forward to anyone I have overlooked.

Thanks.

Laurie


Being as I read this at 6:15, I had to read it two more times to make sure I wasn't missing anything.... what project is she talking about? Am I supposed to be working on it? and, which project is she talking about? The title of the email "Charge Lines for Friday, March 2nd" shed very little light on the situation.

I figure I should try to find out what project she's talking about.... if I'm supposed to be charging to it anyways then maybe I'll just curl up under my desk and take a nap. Is it job chargeable if I promise to dream about it? Or maybe use the plan sets as my pillow?

Tidbit

Fact: Our desk phones at work have something like 40-50 different ring tones you can choose from. Awhile ago I changed mine to be the office ring tone from 24 (those who watch it know exactly what I'm talking about :) Anyway, now every time I pick up the phone I want to ask things like "Have you secured the package?", "What leads do we have?" or "I need satellite coverage in the northeast quadrant." Anyways, maybe it's sad, but I find an active imagination to be the best or all companions :)