The One with Quote Monday

I dwell in possibility...
Emily DickinsonUS poet (1830 - 1886)

The One with the Big Apple

That's right, I am going back to New York! YEA! I am so excited! Me and some of my coworkers have scheduled a trip to NYC in March. It's been in the works for awhile, but now we have our hotel and airfare booked making it official. I went to New York last May with my friend CT, but we were only there for two days. You can't even begin to cover New York in that amount of time. Plus, he's a typical guy and not into shopping. I don't normally like to shop on vacations either 'cause I don't want to do things that I can do at home. New York is an exception to this because they have better shoe stores. Oh, and H&M. I wish we had an H&M here. So cute and cheap! Some of the other things that I didn't get to do last trip and want to accomplish this go around are Central Park, a Broadway show, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. If anyone has theatre and restaurant recommendations, that would be great. My guide books pretty much only list very expensive restaurants. I'm thinking in the $10-20 range. I love New York! I fantasize about moving there, but I'm too scared to live that far away from my family. The only time I've ever lived away from them was in San Antonio, and that was just an hour away and only for a year. I have become so much more independent since college, just not quite enough for this huge of step. Anyway, I could go on and on about this trip, so I will say goodnight. NYC here I come!


P.S. On a different note I have decided to start a couple of weekly posts that will be easy and enable me to blog more often. Soon to come will be Quote Mondays and Wordless Wednesday, the latter being inspired by Whiskey Talking.

The One with the Rollergirls

If you haven't been watching Rollergirls on A&E, you should be. I love this show! It is the only show out of all the television that I watch that I can't wait for each week. It comes on Monday nights at 9 CT. I had heard the Rollergirl's games advertised on the radio since I moved to Austin, but I never really knew what it was. When I first saw an advertisement for this show, I wanted to check it out. Now I'm completely hooked. These girls are totally hardcore, and I love it! I am such a pansy, and I love seeing women that are so strong, not only physically but mentally. I also love the way the show portrays Austin. I'm a fan of the Real World on MTV, but I hated the Austin season. Not only did the cast suck, but the only thing you saw of Austin was 6th St. and some of SXSW. There is so much more to this city. In this show you get to see more of true Austin. For example, last week, some of the girls went to Trophy's, this cool little dive bar off South Congress that I go to frequently. In fact, just last weekend I went there to watch the Shim Shams. Austin has this whole south vs. north war. North of Town Lake being the new yuppie Austin that came in with the tech boom, and south being the old "true" Austin. In this show they show alot of south Austin. Plus, the Rollerderby itself is cool. It has the same appeal as hockey, in otherwords the violence. If I were in shape and had a backbone, I would totally try out for a team. The next bout is this Sunday. The Holy Rollers vs. my favorite team, the Putas del Fuego. I'm going if I can drag a friend along with me. Go check them out at TXRD for more info.

The One with the Hotties of the Week

I haven't done a hottie post in awhile, so I decided today would be a good day since I went to see a couple movies this week with some nice hotties. The first movie that I saw was Tristan and Isolde. I was very excited about this movie because it comes from an old Arthurian legend, and I have a fondness for all things Arthurian. In fact, I have a fondness for all things medieval. I sometimes think I should have been born in a different decade, but with my luck I would be a peasant, not part of the upper class. Ofcourse, peasants could marry for love, so maybe that wouldn't be so bad. Also, my nephew was named after this character from legend. Anyway, back to the moive. This is a story about a couple that falls in love, but can't be together because of duty to their countries. Tristan was played by the very handsome James Franco, best known for his role as Harry Osborn in Spiderman. The movie was worth watching but a little disappointing. It is such a great epic tale, and I don't think this movie did it justice. The cinematography was not all that it could be, and Tristan was portrayed a little too whiney for my tastes. The other movie I went to see was Brokeback Mountain. This was a great movie, totally deserving of all the Golden Globes it won and of all it's Oscar buzz. Both the cinematography and the acting were fantastic. I didn't think anyone could replace Joaquin Phoenix as my first pick for a best actor Oscar, but I have changed my vote to Heath Ledger. He and Jake Gyllenhaal did a great job of portraying the angst their characters were suffering. The storyline was also great and one that led to self conflict. I understand that same sex relationships are not fully accepted today, and they certainly weren't back then. Therefore, I understand why they struggled with their love for each other and their need to fit into their society. However, I still think cheating is cheating. Thus my self conflict, but I love it when a movie gives you something to think about. So, those are my reviews.

The One with 28 Things About Moi

Since I have become another year older, I have to udate my more about me list and add a #28.
I feel pressure to make it something juicy, but I don't have that many juicy secrets, at least not that I'm willing to share. 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.
28. I have a small tatoo of a butterfly in the middle of my lower back. Technically I got it because I lost a bet involving tequila, but secretly I wanted to get one.

That's all folks!

The One with the King's Birthday

Today is Elvis Presley's birthday. He would be 71. It also happens to be my 28th birthday. I have a had great birthday, and I had plans to make this a very jubilant post with music and everything. However, I should have known that things were going too well. Today, Vince Young announced that he is going pro and will not be returning to play for Texas next year. I know that there are many factors that went into his decision, and he doesn't know me from Adam. Still, you know how much of a die-hard fan I am, and I cannot help but feel betrayed. I actually cried. Next year the National Championship is on my birthday, and I had plans to go. We could still get there, but it's less likely now. I will get over it, but I need a few weeks to mourn. Ok, I can't talk about this anymore, back to my birthday celebration. One of my friends and I were born on the same day, and we decided to have a joint party with an 80's theme. We rented the clubhouse at her apartment, and it was great. There was a big crowd, and many people got into the theme and dressed up. I had a fabulous Madonna outfit. We played all 80's music and had a fantastic party. I also have a TON of beer left over, which is good since I'll be in mourning for awhile. Today, I went over to my family's house, and my SIL had prepared a very fancy lunch for me. I opened all the presents from my family, and my nephew attempted to sing Happy Birthday to me. He's only 2 so it wasn't perfect but still cute. Tonight, I am going to one of my favorite restaurants, Chuy's, with a group of friends. Every year Chuy's has a big Elvis birthday party, and it is always a lot of fun. After dinner, we're going to campus to take pics of the UT tower with the #1 lit up. The tower was all orange on Wednesday right after the game when I went to the drag with all of the other revelers, but they didn't put up the #1 until Thurs. So, I have had a great 28th, which is a good thing because next year I will be too depressed about my age to celebrate. Thank you to all my friends and family! I love you guys! As for Vince, I will miss seeing you in orange white, but I wish you good luck in the NFL.

The One with the National Champions

I have an upcoming birthday( I share it with the King), and my only wish was for the Longhorns to beat USC in the Rose Bowl and win the National Championship. My wish came true.

Texas is #1!!!!! Nuff said.

The One with an Austin Favorite Part 7

I haven't done an Austin favorite post in awhile, and in light of the fact that my Longhorns are playing tomorrow night for the National Championship, I thought I would give y'all a little info on the UT Tower. The tower was designed by Paul Cret of Philadelphia and construction was completed in 1937. It stands 307 ft or 27 stories tall and provides some lovely views of Austin from it's observation deck. Unfortunately the tower does have a bit of an infamous past. On August 1, 1966, Charles Whitman went up to the observation deck and opened fire on those down below killing 13 and injuring many more. Many people mistakenly believe that this is why the deck was closed to visitors. However, the deck wasn't closed until 1974, and it was because of suicide jumpers. My sister has a story about a suicide jumper from when she attended UT, but it's a tad gruesome, so I won't share it. Today, a safety lattice has been added, and the observation deck of the tower was reopened for tours in the fall of 1999. There is a system to how the tower is lit at night. Normal days it is all white. For academic and staff achievements it is white on top with an orange shaft. For sports victories it is orange on top with a white shaft, except for special games such as Texas A&M or the Big 12 Championship, then it is all orange. For any National Championship victory, like the one we will have tomorrow, it is all orange with a #1 lit up in the windows.





There are also some other special occasions. When Ricky Williams won the Heisman it was all orange with a #24, and the other night when I went to the ballet it was all orange with an 05. I am assuming this was for the end of the year.



















On a different note, I decided to count how many Texas shirts I have. I pulled them all out and layed them on my guest bed. The grand total was 22. This is actually alot less than I thought it would be. I also have hats, scrubs for work, and even shoes and a purse that are all Texas.



Don't forget to watch the Rose Bowl Jan. 4th at 7 p.m. CT on ABC. Texas and USC are both great teams, and it will be a really good game with Texas ultimately coming out on top. Hook 'em Horns!

The One with New Year's Eve 2005

Hello Everyone and Happy New Year! I hope that you are having a great 2006 thus far. Last night my friends and I started our celebrations early with an extravagant dinner at Truluck's followed by drinks at Malaga, a wine and tapas bar and one of my fav places in Austin. Wine and good times were flowing, and all the good cheer caused me to generously pick up the tab before we all headed to a party at a friend's downtown apartment. Here we rang in the new year with champagne and a fireworks show over Lake Austin. Today, I slept late and was completely unmotivated to do any of the things I had planned, such as organizing my garage. Instead I went to Threadgill's for a late lunch with friends. I had some black eyed peas for luck and my something green for wealth was fried okra. Good southern comfort food! I spent the rest of the day on my couch watching all of the shows I had stored on my DVR and hadn't gotten around to watching yet. I have made a new year's resolution that I have managed to keep on the first day. It is to stop twisting my hair. This is a serious issue because you see, I twist my hair into knots that I have to cut out. I only do this on the left side so, eventually my hair ends up looking lopsided. This has been a problem for me since I was a child. It has been my resolution many times before, including last year, and I have yet to conquer it. One year I made it 9 months. Here's hoping 2006 is my year! So, what are your new year's resolutions?