The One with an Austin Favorite Part 6

One of my favorite activities is to go see performances at the UT Performing Arts Center, whether it's theatre, ballet, or opera. Traditionally before I go to a performance, I have dinner at Hyde Park Bar and Grill, one of my favorite Austin restaurants. They have a very eclectic menu, and a small, but excellent wine list. They are famous for their french fries which are served with Hyde Park sauce, a sort of aoli. My favorite dish is the fried artichoke appetizer served with a Chipotle Ranch sauce. They are like little bites of heaven! The Wom Kim's Peach Pudding was also to die for.




Tonight, I went to see Ballet Austin's Carmina Burana. This is normally performed as just an opera, but Ballet Austin has added dance and are taking it on tour to New York. You may not recognize the name Carmina Burana, but I guarantee that you have heard it. The music can be found in about a million movies. It is especially common in battle scenes and is practically a requirement for any movie about Arthurian legend, such as Excalibur. Carmina Burana was composed by Carl Orff from Germany. It is based on a set of poems and songs from the 13th century that were discovered in 1803 in Munich. The set was very dark and sparse, almost elemental. There was a large metallic sculputre, very geometric with harsh angles, that seperated the dancers from the chorus. The dancer's costumes were modern in muted earth tones with just a few interjections of color. Both the dancing and the music were incredible. The music and vocals in this piece are so powerful with a long buildup to a climactic ending. It was thrilling to experience it live. Goosebumps! No one has ever put dance to this piece before, and I thought it was very creative and entertaining. I had a wonderful evening!

The One with a Meme

This is my first meme, and it is courtesy of Keb. So, here goes:

1. Do you try to look hot when you go to the grocery store just in case someone recognizes you from your blog? I don't think anyone is going to recognize me from my blog, but I do try to look my best with the hopes of picking up someone in the produce department. "Excuse me, do you know how to tell if this melon is ripe?"
2. Are the photos you post Photoshopped or otherwise altered? My profile picture is cropped so that only I am visible, but otherwise, no. The whole picture can be seen here.
3. Do you like it when creeps or dorks email you? My blog isn't popular enough to get much email, but ofcourse I would love it.
4. Do you lie in your blog? This depends on what I'm writing about. Sometimes I omit things if I think it will embarass a friend, because most of the people I write about do read this. For example, there was much more that went on this night. I'll never tell (said like Britney Murphy in that creepy movie).
5. Are you passive-aggressive in your blog? I suppose my comment about the FCC in the first Bachelorette Party post was a little passive-aggressive. There's probably othertimes too. Sorry, I dislike passive-aggressiveness.
6. Do you ever threaten to quit writing so people will tell you not to stop? No. I doubt anyone would care.
7. Are you in therapy? If not, should you be? If so, is it helping? No, but I probably should be. I have some issues about abandonment and trust that stem from my relationship with my father.
8. Do you delete mean comments? Do you fake nice ones? I have only deleted one comment. I knew the person was trying to get under my skin, and they did. It's that passive-aggressive thing again. I never fake nice ones. It hadn't even occured to me.
9. Have you ever rubbed one out while reading a blog? How about after? Um, no comment. Just kidding! That would be a no.
10. If your readers knew you in person, would they like you more or like you less? Ofcourse they would. I'm a really sweet person and fun to hang out with. Truly!
11. Do you have a job? Yes, how do you think I pay for the internet connection?
12. If someone offered you a decent salary to blog full-time without restrictions, would you do it? Hell yes! People get paid to do this? Can I have an application?
13. Which blogger do you want to meet in real life? I can't answer this, 'cause I don't want to play favorites. There is one blog I read that I can tell the blogger lives in the same town as me. I often wonder if I'll ever run into them somewhere. Would I even recognize them if I did? Would they recognize me? I think it would be weird. What if they thought I was a stalker?
14. Which bloggers have you made out with? The only blogger I know is Bandit. We went to cyto school together. He's like a brother to me, so no making out. I'm his winggirl.
15. Do you usually act like you have more money or less money than you really have? Neither.
16. Does your family read your blog? My sister-in-law does. My mother is not allowed to, not that she knows how to surf the net anyway. She can't even work her answering machine much less a pc.
17. How old is your blog? I started this past Feburary, but there was a slight lull due to some pc problems.
18. Do you get more than 1000 page views per day? Do you care? That would be a big NO. I just added a stat counter about 2 weeks ago. I haven't even had 2000 hits yet. I am not a blogebrity. I don't care that much, just a little.
19. Do you have another secret blog in which you write about being depressed, slutty, or a liar? No, I don't need one. I'm not a liar, and I'll tell you if I'm depressed or if I do something slutty. Just wait til I post about my garden tub. ;)
20. Have you ever given another blogger money for his/her writing? No
21. Do you report the money you earn from your blog on your taxes? Seriously, where's that application?
22. Is blogging narcissistic? I don't think so. I find it therapeutic.
23. Do you feel guilty when you don't post for a long time? Yes, I just had this conversation with Bandit the other day. I'm starting to feel self-inflicted pressure to post more often and to be more literary and entertaining.
24. Do you like John Mayer? Like Keb I detest Daughters, but I would love it if someone told me my body was a wonderland. In my dreams!
25. Do you have enemies? There are 3 people in this world I hate, and they all wronged me and deserve it.
26. Are you lonely? Most of the time no. I love my life and am very happy. However, sometimes I wish I had someone special to share it with. Yes, my friends are special to me, but you know what I mean.
27. Why bother? Why not?
Who am I gonna tag? No one 'cause I'm nice like that.

Finally, I'm all done!

The One with the Hottie of the Week

Meet Bradley Cooper. Just look at those piercing blue eyes. You probably recognize him from one of this summer's hit movies, Wedding Crashers, where he played Zach "Sack" Lodge, the jerky boyfriend. He also played Will Tippin in the frist 2 seasons of Alias. I was still holding out hope that he would reappear on that show, because Will remains one of my favorite characters. I think he would have been a good match for Sydney, but alas it is not to be. Because not only is Bradley hot, he is also on my favorite new show of the season, Kitchen Confidential. He plays the lead Jack Bourdain, a chef that made it big, then enjoyed himself a little too much. Now he's being given a second chance running a hot New York restaurant, Nolita. This show gives a humorous and enlightening behind-the-scenes look at a happening NYC restaurant. I love this show! It is hysterically funny! Guys, there is plenty of eye candy on this show for your enjoyment as well. Check it out, Monday nights on FOX at 7:30 CT after Arrested Development. If people don't watch this show, I won't be able to watch Bradley every week, and this would make me sad. Please don't make me sad!

P.S. You put the ho in hostess.

The One with Desperate Housewives

Congratulations! You are Gabrielle Solis, the
ex-model with everything she's every wanted a
rich husband, a big house and John, the
17-year-old gardener.

Which Desperate Housewife are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

I am so happy to be posting about something other than hurricanes for a change. In honor of the Desperate Housewives season premiere tonight, I decided this quiz might be fun. I was very surprised by my results, because I don't relate to this character at all. I'm not narcissistic, and I think cheating on your spouse is deplorable, even if it is with a hot younger man, I mean boy. The only reason I can think of for these results is that I said I wasn't ready for children, but Gabrielle doesn't want children at all. I do eventually, and I even have names. Caroline (Carly), for a girl, and Jackson(Jacks), for a boy. Yes, those are character names from General Hospital, but Caroline is also a family name and Jackson goes very well with it. Very southern, like me.

Back to my results. I don't even like this actress, Eva Longoria. As soon as she hit it big, she left her husband Tyler Christopher who plays Nikolas on GH. Last fall she was spotted with many different men, and their divorce wasn't final until January. Yes, I've mentioned General Hospital again. I can't help it. I've watched it since I was like 8 or so. I listen to it while I'm working. In fact, it's the only time you're guaranteed to find me at my scope. Then, before I go to sleep, I watch it on SoapNet. There are things that happen that you don't catch in the audio. I do realize that I have no idea what went on in Eva and Christopher's relationship, and my dislike is unfounded. However, I dislike Tom Cruise for similar reasons, and I'm very stubborn.
>
I think I am more like a mix of Bree Van de Kamp and Susan Mayer. I have Susan's insecurities, some of her klutziness, and my wardrobe most resembles her's. I also have some of Bree's need for perfection, some OCD symptoms, and her hair color. My hair stylist even calls me her Bree.


I knew I was going to like this show last season just from the ads before it started. It is outrageous, campy, and just plain fun to watch. If you aren't a fan already, check it out tonight. It airs on ABC at 8CT.

The One with the Aftermath

Well, Rita finally made landfall. This week has felt like an eternity worrying about all my friends and family and waiting for this hurricane to get here. I do not envy people who live in Florida and go through this every year. I couldn't handle it. With Hurricane Katrina having been so recent and all of those horrific images stuck in our minds, this has been torture.

I have not been able get a hold of my friend Sunny to find out how her family is. When Rita was expected to hit around Galveston, they fled to the north east. I didn't realize until yesterday that they didn't go very far north. They ended up not too far inland from where Rita hit. My aunt and unlce have spoken to neighbors who stayed where they live near Beaumont, and their house is fine.

As for the weather in Nac, where my family evacuated to my mom's, things are ok. I first spoke to her around noon, and they had just experienced some high winds of up to 90 mph. Her voice was shaky and I could hear her fear, but she insisted they were fine. Yesterday, they made the decision to move from our house to the home of a coworker of my mother's. Our house is surrounded by lots of pine trees and, Elaine's is not. The high winds demolished the carport that they were all parked under, but only my cousin's truck was damaged. They watched as the carport crashed down sending a beam onto his truck, then the winds wrapped the tin roof around it. Another piece of the roof was sent careening onto the condo next door. You can imagine what hearing all this did to my nerves, but I thank God that they are all ok.

My mom had also spoken to a friend in our neighborhood, and our house is fine. However, there is alot of damage there as well. A pine tree fell on a house a few down from ours and another is blocking the road. No one in Nac has electricity, and they don't know when it will return. The area that my uncle lives in is not expected to have power again for several weeks.

I am just glad that my family is alive. Hopefully, I will hear from Sunny soon. My heart goes out to all who have been effected by this storm.

The One with an Update

Ok, I have calmed down considerably and am no longer panicking. Sorry about that. I think listening to the constant hurricane coverage by the media all day yesterday sent me over the edge. Apparently I'm not the only one in Austin who had this problem. At present there is not a single bottle of water to bought in the whole city.

My family and friends have all managed to get out of the coastal areas. Hurricane Rita is now expected to make landfall further east around Beaumont/Port Arthur, and we are no longer expected to feel any effects here in Austin. However, this is not exactly good news. The current projected path shows Rita moving directly over the area where my aunt and uncle live, near Beaumont. They are at my mother's along with my cousin and her family so hopefully they will be safe, but I am concerned for their home. Also, current projections show Rita moving straight North over East Texas where my Mom lives. They might end up experiencing some of the severe weather that I was worried about yesterday, possibly even category 1 winds. With the amount of really large pine trees in East Texas, this has me concerned. I have tried to talk my mother into bringing everyone here, but they have decided to just wait it out there and hope that Rita weakens quickly after landfall.

Today, every news report seemed to be about the incredible traffic jam in Houston. Many people were calling from their cars understandably upset. It has to be very frustrating to be stuck in a car for hours when you are trying to escape for safety. One of my cousins came to Austin, and it took them over 7 hours and that was on the less congested backroads. However, some reports I heard were critizing the local and state officials for this problem, and I have to disagree with this. Maybe there is something that could have been done differently, but I don't see how it is possible to not have a traffic jam when you are evacuating an area containing over 4 million people, most of whom have their own vehicles. But that is just my opinion, and I did not have to suffer through this personally.

Right now, I am praying that my family in East Texas stays safe and that everyone I love will have a home to go back to.

The One with Me Freaked Out

I hardly screened any slides today at work. I was on the phone talking about Hurricane Rita all day. My family reunion that was planned for this weekend has been canceled because most of them were flying in to Houston on Friday evening and then driving north to Nac. Scratch that idea because almost ALL of Houston is driving north. My brother's family and I were going to stay with Mom, but my aunt and uncle, who live near Beaumont, and my cousin Pam and her family, who live just north of Houston, are all driving up tomorrow to escape Rita. A friend of mine who lives in Brazoria, which is only about 15 miles inland, has gone to stay with someone in Boerne while the rest of her family is going to East Texas. I called my friend Amie, who lives in Katy, to offer her my guest room, but she is staying there. Then my mom told me that my other cousin Paige, who lives in Sugarland, might need to come stay with me. Sara, from the Sea World post I did after Labor Day, had to cancel her wedding in Houston this weekend. Can you imagine? I would be devastated! Plus, our local weather reports are saying that we are expected to have sustained winds anywhere from 60-100 mph and that tornado spinoffs are likely. One report said that when Hurricane Carla moved over Austin back in the day there were 26 tornados produced in the hill country. TWENTY-SIX! All of this has me completely freaked out. Growing up in East Texas I have weathered countless tornados, and hurricanes have hit Texas before, so why am I so scared? I know that the coast is going to suffer much more damage than here, but 60-100 mph winds and tornados are nothing to scoff at. Hurricane Katrina was so recent, and I cannot get those images of whole towns with nothing left but pieces of plywood out of my mind. I'm going to the store tomorrow to stock up on bottled water and something to eat that does not require refrigeration. I'm also planning on renting a bunch of movies since I will probably be staying inside on Saturday. Ofcourse, I might not have electricity. To those on the Texas coast my thoughts are with you and please be safe.

The One with an Austin Favorite Part 5

They don't call Austin the Live Music Capital of the World for nothing. Austin City Limits has been featuring both new and legendary musical talents for 30+ years. Sheryl Crow and Beck are just two of the artists lined up for this season. It is shown on PBS, so check there for your local listings. Several years back they decided to start the Austin City Limits Festival, which is a 3 day multi-stage concert held in Zilker Park with all kinds of music genres from rock to country to bluegrass to zydeco. They sell both one day and three day passes, and the city provides free shuttle buses from the state garages to the park. You can bring 2 bottles of water with you, and you'll need 'em 'cause it's still hot as blazes here this time of year. There are also booths selling drinks and food from local vendors, plus there's the SoCo (that's South Congress) Arts Market featuring local artisans. I have yet to get to go to ACL Fest, and this year is no exception. This year's festival is this weekend Sept. 23-25, and I will be out-of-town for a family reunion. Even though I have not actually been to ACL Fest, I decided to write about in my Austin Favorites because I know I would love it. Blue October, Blues Traveler, Lyle Lovett, Oasis, Dierks Bentley, Robert Earle Keen, Jet, and Asleep at the Wheel are just a few of the bands I would liked to have seen this year from a list of more than a hundred bands. Then, there is the headliner, Coldplay! I am SO sad to be missing them. Ofcourse, we do have a hurricane heading for our coast, and a local weather report said we could have winds of up to 70 mph even this far inland this weekend. That might put a kink in things!

The One with My Cooking

Last night I had my family over for dinner so that we could all look at pictures from the Alaskan cruise my sister and her husband took. For those of you that don't know, cooking is not something I do very often. Mainly because I live alone, and it is just easier to pick dinner up or microwave something. Also, I am not very good at cooking. When I say that I don't mean that the food I cook tastes bad. It actually turns out pretty good. It's just that I cannot cook without causing either property damage or personal injury, sometimes both.

For example, in college I had just moved out from my mother's and was living in an apartment. I was making a Mexican layer dip to take to a work function. I needed some cumin to mix into the bean layer and was trying to pry the little plastic shaker part off so I could remove the seal. I was using a knife to accomplish this feat. SMART! So, I end up taking a big chunk out of my thumb. It took several months to heal, and I still have a scar.

Another and more traumatic incident occured when I was living in San Antonio for cyto school. I making was Chicken Parmesan, only I had the oil too hot. As soon as I put the chicken in, it turned black. I took it out and turned off the stove. Then the oil started to smoke, and then it was in flames. So, I know all sorts of things to do in this situation, number one being to put a lid over the pan to smother the flames. However, I started to panic and all of this knowledge just flew out of my head. I happened to have my patio door open, and my first thought was to carry this pan of flaming oil all the way across my dining and living rooms and dump it out onto the grass which I did. Some of the oil splashed out onto my foot and the carpet, but I just kept going. Once I had dumped the oil, I noticed that my carpet was on fire, so I put it out with a dish cloth. Then I noticed that the grass outside was on fire, so I put this out with a glass of water. The whole time the fire alarm was going off and screaming in my ears, but no neighbors came to see if I was alright. Everything turned out ok. My apartment didn't burn down, I had only minor burns on my foot, and I managed to air the place out. However, my carpet looked like it had an acid burn, and I did not get my deposit back when I moved back to Austin, not that I expected it. Also, I have not attempted to fry anything since.


Most recently I had friends over to watch the Texas vs. Ohio State game. I was making pigs-in-a-blanket only really it was more like cows-in-a-blanket because I used beef smokies, but I digress. I had put one pan in the oven already and was moving it to add another one. I used my bare hand to accomplish this because I didn't think it would be that hot already. Touching the pan is not what hurt me though. It was when I reacted and jerked my hand away hitting it on the rack above and causing the nice little burn that you see pictured here. The game was a really good game, and Texas won, so it was all worth it.

Back to last night, I made a Beef Stroganoff dish , a salad, steamed petite green beans, and garlic bread. It was all very delicious, and everyone had a nice time. I managed to cook last night without any incidents much to my surprise. I had even perpared a Chocolate Cream Pie on Friday night that was also scrumptious despite the fact that the crust cracked, and I didn't have all the vanilla extract the recipe called for. That's it in the picture up top. Very pretty! So, that's my cooking story. Now I'm going to go have leftovers for lunch!

The One with 27 Things About Moi

I have decided to follow a trend that I have noticed on alot of the blogs I've read and do a post with, hopefully, interesting little tidbits about me. Why 27, you ask? That is the number of years that I have graced the world with my presence. I must warn you that this is going to be VERY revealing. So, here goes!

1. I was born and raised in the oldest town in Texas, Nacogdoches.
2. My great great grandfather signed the Texas Declaration of Independence.
3. I am the youngest of five. I have two half-sisters, a half-brother, and a brother. The half siblings, or the Elders as I call them, and I have the same father but different mothers.
4. I love my sister-in-law dearly and will be eternally grateful that she married my brother.
5. My initials are LAB, and I work in a pathology lab. It was destiny.
6. I tell people that my job is to screen slides and look for cellular changes associated with cancer, which is true. I leave out that most of the slides are pap smears.
7. I was pre-med in college and still have aspirations to become a doctor. I am just terrified of not getting in to med school, and therefore, I have not applied.
8. I have a really bad habit of twisting my hair into knots that I have to cut out.
9. I have naturally curly hair that I sometimes wear straight, and it hurts my feelings when people tell me they like it better that way.
10. Also, my personality changes when my hair is straight. I become much more assertive and outgoing. I call her Nicole.
11. I am liberal and consider myself a Democrat, but I took an online quiz that said I was a liberal Republican. Isn't that an oxymoron?
12. I am single and very content for the most part, but I occasionally get lonely and depressed. On those nights, I end up drinking a bottle of wine and eating chocolate while watching old episodes of Sex and the City.
13. My favorite food is cheese, and unfortunately my body has started to reflect that love. My favorite ice cream is Ben & Jerry's Everything But The. My choice for caffeine is Diet Dr. Pepper, and my favorite adult beverage is wine, preferably red.
14. I have many sleep issues, including a recurring nightmare in which someone is trying to kill me. My sister-in-law thinks this is because I overschedule myself.
15. I sleep with a stuffed elephant named E, and a killer whale that does not have a name yet.
16. I took four years of French in school. I am now trying to correct that mistake and learn Spanish since a large part of my town and state speak this language.
17. My father was a UT grad, and I have grown up as a Longhorn fan. I went to college in my hometown, but I did go to cyto school at a UT affiliated school. I think this qualifies me as being a Longhorn.
18. I have many addictions including magazines, scrapbooking, and most recently blogging.
19. Like most women, I have a very large shoe collection. I think the reason women love shoes so much is because no matter how much our dress size may change, our shoe size stays the same.
20. My all time favorite TV show is Friends, and I am a little afraid I may be turning into Monica.
21. My favorite number is 9. When I was little it was always my age, and when I got to 9 I stopped.
22. I think I have symptoms of OCD because I have to eat french fries in pairs of equal size and M&M's in groups of three of different colors.
23. My first vehicle was a green Pontiac Sunfire that I bought myself when I was 18.
24. I have a fascination with the mafia that scares me a little. I blame that for my disastrous last relationship. He was Italian but not in the mafia.
25. That being said, the vacation destination I most want to see is Italy. Not because of the mafia, but because of the wine.
26. I love to gamble. My favorite casino game is Let It Ride Poker, and my favorite sports bet is March Madness.
27. I cannot leave Target without spending at least $100 even when I have a list.

There it is. All my little quirks laid out for the world to see. I hope you found it somewhat entertaining, and I promise I am actually a pretty normal person and very nice.
Lish

The One with the Bostons

The adorable creature pictured above is Lucy, my brother and sister-in-law's Boston Terrier. She is a much loved member of our family, and I have been thinking alot lately about getting a Boston of my own. They are such great dogs! They are super friendly and very easy to care for; and because of their size, they make great apartment dogs. Plus look how cute! I realize that a dog is a big responsibility, and for once in my life I think I am ready for it. I have a career, a nice apartment, and my all night partying has reduced to about once a month. So, I found a local rescue organization for Bostons and have sent in my adoption application. I have already become very attached to one of the dogs on their website and will be heartbroken if they don't approve me. Wish me luck!

The One with the Hotties of the Week

It is that time again, and in light of the fact that I recently watched The Wedding Crashers, I have decided to give you two handsome hunks for your viewing pleasure. Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn are both hot, but I must admit I have a slight preference for Vaughn. Fave Owen Wilson movies of mine are The Royal Tenebaums and Behind Enemy Lines. I have not seen Bottlerocket, but I have been told that it is a really good film. For Vince Vaughn I like Swingers and Made. Enjoy!

The One with Another Bachelorette Party

Over Labor Day weekend, I went to another bachelorette party for a friend. We went to San Antonio, and the whole weekend was planned by her sister and was a total surprise to her. First, we went to Sea World. I have not been there since the 5th grade, and I had so much fun! We rode all the roller coasters several times and went to the Shamu and Viva shows. All the bridesmaids had bought Sara a Beluga interaction that we all got to watch. First, they take everyone behind the scenes of Viva and show you a tape about Beluga whales. Then, the trainers show you how they train the whales. It is all done by positive reinforcement, and it takes 3-4 years to get them show ready. I found all of this really fascinating and was ready to change careers until I found out they start at $7.50 an hour. That's typical for the science field unfortunately. The Beluga experience was alot of fun, and I highly recommend it if you go to Sea World. It was so amazing to be so close to such amazing creatures.



Next, we all went to our hotel to get ready for the evening. We had a really great dinner at Italia on the riverwalk. One of the waiters kept coming by and singing to us. The we went to Howl at the Moon which is a piano bar. I love piano bars! We have one in Austin called Pete's, and even though they all play the same songs, I can't get enough. My friend Debs, who doesn't drink often was very tipsy and very entertaining! We all had a great time!
Lish

The One with an Austin Favorite Part 4

This past weekend I went to see "Wedding Crashers" at Alamo Drafthouse. The movie was funny, although I didn't feel that it lived up to its hype. Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson are nice to look at though, and a movie at Alamo is always a pleasurable experience. For those of you that don't know, Alamo Drafthouse is a movie theater where you can also have dinner and order drinks while you watch. They have basic food like burgers, sandwiches, and pizza with names like "The Godfather" and "Splendor in the Grass", and you can get a bucket of beer to share. Alamo started here in Austin, but it has since spread to Houston and San Antonio. I believe they have plans to go national, but I'm not sure that will happen soon. In Austin, the downtown location plays older movies like "Dog Day Afternoon" and B movies like "Attack of the Killer Beehives". They also have a recurring show called The Sinus Show which is a live version of the old Mystery Science Theatre 3000 from the sci-fi channel. It's alot of fun and always hysterical. I always take out-of-town guests to Alamo Drafthouse, because it is one of my favorite places in Austin. Go check it out.

The One with Florida State

Today I did alot of nothing. I slept late, took a long bath, scrapbooked a little, spent entirely too much time on the net, and checked my football scores since I was out of town on Saturday and couldn't watch the games. To my delight, I discovered that not only had TCU defeated OU (woohoo!), but that I was tied for the lead in my work pool. It would all come down to the Miami vs. Florida State game this evening. Immediately I devised a game watching plan. I would go get some beer, order a pizza, and cheer on the Seminoles. I went down to my local Chevron station to buy some Zeigen Bock, and the clerk flirted shamelessly with me and tried to get an invite to my Texas Watch Party next week. I will never be interested but was none the less flattered, especially considering I had on no makeup and did not fix my hair today. For the pizza, I called one of those one line fits all numbers that is supposed to direct your call to the store nearest your home. Why they have these I have no idea. They NEVER work! The store I got directed me to another number, and then that store directed me to yet another number. The third time was a charm as they say. With a beer and pizza slice in hand, I settled in for a night of college football with a little Laguna Beach on the side. I needed Florida State to win, and the total score to be 45+. FSU did indeed win, but the score only came to 17. Damn the luck! Congrats to the Seminoles, but couldn't you have scored some more? I guess that is asking too much when you're playing Miami. My winnings would have replenished the funds I spent this weekend in San Antonio. Oh well, better luck next time!
Lish

The One with the Fall Season

I would be hard pressed to name a favorite season, because I think they all have something to love. In Winter there are the holidays, spending time with family, my birthday ofcourse, and the futile hope that this year it will snow. In Spring there are flowers, the kite festival, and gorgeous, breezy, sunny days. And in Summer there are sunsets at the Oasis, listening to Unplugged at the Grove, and swimming at Barton Springs. But there is something about Fall that makes it dear to my heart. There are the qualities that everyone loves like the changing of the leaves and cooler temperatures, although that doesn't happen here until November. But, for me, it is all about television season premieres and UT football.



In the Fall, the torture of the season finales is finally over, and you finally get answers to all those unresolved questions. This year I'm mostly an ABC girl anxiously awaiting the new episodes of Alias, Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy, and Lost. Ofcourse, I'm also anticipating The OC and Gilmore Girls. Too much TV you say? I know, but I love it!







And then there are the University of Texas Longhorns. A large part of my family are UT grads, and I have grown up rooting for the Horns. Now that I live in Austin, it is even more exciting. The whole town just has this energy on game days. It is not often that I actually get to go to a game because tickets can be hard to come by, but I watch every single one. This year UT is ranked 2nd on most poles behind USC. I think this is our year! We will at least beat those damn Sooners! Vince Young is an awesome quarterback and so exciting to watch. The first game of the season is at 6pm CT today against Louisianna-Lafayette on Fox Sports. So get out your burnt orange, turn on the TV, and cheer on those Horns. Hook 'em!
Lish

The One with My Bipolar Day

Today started out great. I checked my blog this morning to see if there were any new comments, and found out that Michele had added me to her blogroll. I was very excited because I really love and admire her blog. Also, it doesn't hurt that she has tons of readers, and I might get some more traffic now. Then, I go to work and things were fine, until this afternoon. I finally got my review, and lets just say it could have been better. Ofcourse, I guess that means it also could have been worse. Basically, my super said I need to screen more slides per day, which I was expecting. They want me to screen 80, and I'm only at 70 and that's not consistent. Then he said that I have to raise my reactive and ASCUS rates to match the lab average. I know that is somewhat technical. I won't go into detail, but it wasn't something I wanted to hear. I did get a bit of a raise. On the way home, I talked to my sister-in-law, Pam, who made me feel a little better. Then, I opened a bottle of wine, got out some cheese, and plopped myself in front of the TV. Guess what was on VH1. Dirt Dancing, one of my all time favorite movies! So, now I have a small buzz and my spirits are somewhat lifted. Also, I know that emotional eating is a bad thing, but there is some Ben&Jerry's in the freezer that is calling my name. "Nobody puts Baby in the corner!"
Lish