On Thursday of last week, I flew from St Louis to Dallas to Jacksonville. Connecting through Dallas always seems like a huge PITA (yes, the indian) since I live there. This is one of the main reasons I have not yet moved to Austin. Anyway, I had all carry on luggage - I had even crammed the baby Elmo doll for Cordelia (in the box still!) into my carry on bag. My bag fit just fine on the MD80 that I flew on from STL to DFW. Twenty minutes and a mad search for food after my my flight landed in DFW, I boarded the flight to JAX. Another MD80. (American Airlines loooooves MD80s... remember when they pulled a bunch out of circulation several months back? I was in LA. That was a fun day.) As I'm boarding the gate agent says, "Ma'am, your bag looks like it is too full to fit in the overhead bin." And I said, "I just came off a plane and it fit fine." And she says, "Well ma'am, I understand that; a lot of people just came in off other planes, but this flight is very full." And I replied, "Does that change the overhead bin size?" Seriously. I know I'm a bitch sometimes, but really?!?! Pretty sure that if my bag fit in an MD80 20 minutes ago, it will fit again, regardless of how many people get on the plane... unless of course the PEOPLE are planning to be in the overhead bins, and that has got to violate all sorts of FAA regulations. If I can't wait in line for the toilet, you certainly can't climb into the overhead bin. So instead of getting in a huge fight with the gate agent and getting carted off by TSA (my favorite governmental organization), I complied with her wishes that I take stuff out of the front pocket. Immediately after getting in the jet way though, I stuffed it all back in! And guess what?! It fit in the damn overhead bin.
PS. My stop cussing resolution is not going so well.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Weekend in Review
This weekend I went to Jacksonville to hang out with Amy and her family. It was a really fun, relaxing trip.
It didn't start off so relaxing though. Amy always has great baking ambitions, and wouldn't you know, they would be even higher for her neice's 2nd birthday, which we were celebrating with her family on Saturday. Amy decided we were making Pupcakes.
Now, I don't even like decorating cookies. I don't even like icing things. My favorite cookies are oatmeal (no icing) and my favorite cake to make is a butterscotch one that has chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, and nuts on top - no icing! Icing just seems like a pain. And if you do it too quickly after the cake comes out of the oven, the cake crumbles and gets all stuck in the icing. And Lord knows, I am not one gifted with patience! ;) So icing in general = pain. Icing in designs, or writing, or intricate details seems like about the most stressful thing that could be done. I did not come from a family that decorated Christmas cookies or had icing on hand in the kitchen. I don't think I learned to make icing until I was about 24. I don't recall ever using food coloring growing up, yet we always seemed to have it in the pantry, so it must have been used at least once. Recently, I wrote simple words on some special-bachelorette-party-shaped cakes for a friend's bachelorette party and I had to have Amy help me and convince me that maybe, just maybe, I too could force the icing to do my bidding and come out of the special little v-shaped bag with the right thickness and speed.
Anyway, so back to Friday - Amy decided to make Pupcakes for her niece's birthday because her niece loves puppies. So there I am, hanging around the kitchen with Amy and her mom and they are hard at work on Pupcake #1 - a dalmation. Amy spends probably about 45 minutes on the thing, while her mom rolls out starbursts to make the tongue and helps out in some other ways. I'm nervously keeping my distance, anxiety rising over the thought of icing desserts. Amy completes the dalmation, and her mom is taking pictures - documenting the process, and now documenting the first completed work of art. I turn my attention for a second, and then I hear shrieking. I turn back to the kitchen, and the dalmation has died! Crashed to the floor during its photo shoot! Forty-five minutes and a perfect puppy tragically lost!
This is my EXACT fear with icing things - they are so fragile! Cut out cookies... seriously? Half of the damn things break when you pick them up to just start icing them!
After we all recovered from the tragic loss of puppy #1, the pupcake creation went on without a hitch. We ended up making 11 pupcakes (not counting the one that died), see picture above! They turned out to be very cute, and Amy's niece LOVED them. I even made 3 chihuahuas and 1 dachshund! They by far the easiest ones, which is why I mustered the courage to attempt them. And they turned out alright! I left the more complicated ones to Amy, but I think now my sense of icing adventures has been bolstered, and I might even attempt a cute, well-decorated baking project in the future!
The rest of the weekend was fortunately not as dramatic. ;) We enjoyed the awesome, sunny, warm Florida weather. We even got some color while not even being outside for too long (my left arm still resembles a lobster and is now under a wool sweater - not comfortable!). I got to meet Amy's brothers, which was really fun. After leaving at the end of the weekend, I felt like I'd known them a lot longer than just a couple of days. We also had lots of good food and good wine, pretty much my favorite things. :)
It didn't start off so relaxing though. Amy always has great baking ambitions, and wouldn't you know, they would be even higher for her neice's 2nd birthday, which we were celebrating with her family on Saturday. Amy decided we were making Pupcakes.
Now, I don't even like decorating cookies. I don't even like icing things. My favorite cookies are oatmeal (no icing) and my favorite cake to make is a butterscotch one that has chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, and nuts on top - no icing! Icing just seems like a pain. And if you do it too quickly after the cake comes out of the oven, the cake crumbles and gets all stuck in the icing. And Lord knows, I am not one gifted with patience! ;) So icing in general = pain. Icing in designs, or writing, or intricate details seems like about the most stressful thing that could be done. I did not come from a family that decorated Christmas cookies or had icing on hand in the kitchen. I don't think I learned to make icing until I was about 24. I don't recall ever using food coloring growing up, yet we always seemed to have it in the pantry, so it must have been used at least once. Recently, I wrote simple words on some special-bachelorette-party-shaped cakes for a friend's bachelorette party and I had to have Amy help me and convince me that maybe, just maybe, I too could force the icing to do my bidding and come out of the special little v-shaped bag with the right thickness and speed.
Anyway, so back to Friday - Amy decided to make Pupcakes for her niece's birthday because her niece loves puppies. So there I am, hanging around the kitchen with Amy and her mom and they are hard at work on Pupcake #1 - a dalmation. Amy spends probably about 45 minutes on the thing, while her mom rolls out starbursts to make the tongue and helps out in some other ways. I'm nervously keeping my distance, anxiety rising over the thought of icing desserts. Amy completes the dalmation, and her mom is taking pictures - documenting the process, and now documenting the first completed work of art. I turn my attention for a second, and then I hear shrieking. I turn back to the kitchen, and the dalmation has died! Crashed to the floor during its photo shoot! Forty-five minutes and a perfect puppy tragically lost!
This is my EXACT fear with icing things - they are so fragile! Cut out cookies... seriously? Half of the damn things break when you pick them up to just start icing them!
After we all recovered from the tragic loss of puppy #1, the pupcake creation went on without a hitch. We ended up making 11 pupcakes (not counting the one that died), see picture above! They turned out to be very cute, and Amy's niece LOVED them. I even made 3 chihuahuas and 1 dachshund! They by far the easiest ones, which is why I mustered the courage to attempt them. And they turned out alright! I left the more complicated ones to Amy, but I think now my sense of icing adventures has been bolstered, and I might even attempt a cute, well-decorated baking project in the future!
The rest of the weekend was fortunately not as dramatic. ;) We enjoyed the awesome, sunny, warm Florida weather. We even got some color while not even being outside for too long (my left arm still resembles a lobster and is now under a wool sweater - not comfortable!). I got to meet Amy's brothers, which was really fun. After leaving at the end of the weekend, I felt like I'd known them a lot longer than just a couple of days. We also had lots of good food and good wine, pretty much my favorite things. :)
Thursday, March 5, 2009
I'm Excited!
I can't wait for upper 70 degree weather and SUNSHINE for THREE days STRAIGHT! Jacksonville... here I come!!! ...In a few hours anyway...
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
It's True
Running outside IS better. I tried the 4 min run / 1 min walk tactic and went 2.25 miles! (I did do a little bit more extra walking towards the end.) And it felt good! On Monday I ran 1 mile on the treadmill and thought I was going to die and hated life at the same time. So I know 2.25 miles may not sound that exciting to you half marathoners and marathoners, but that is a pretty big deal for me. It helped that the weather was pretty much as awesome as it gets - 80, sunny, and a light breeze. Yay for living in the South! Too bad the average temp doesn't get that high in STL until late May...
Bucket List
Some people are posting this on Facebook and I decided to copy it and post it here. This isn't necessarily my bucket list. Maybe I'll think about that and post my own version later.
BUCKET LIST
The Bucket List. Place an X by all the things you've done and remove the X from the ones you have not...
(X) Gone on a blind date
(X) Skipped school
( ) Watched someone die
( ) Been to Canada
(X) Been to Mexico
(X) Been to Florida
(X) Been to Hawaii
(X) Been on a plane ... hard to get to Hawaii without that...
(X) Been on a helicopter
(X) Been lost
(X) Gone to Washington, DC
(X) Swam in the ocean
(X) Cried yourself to sleep
( ) Played cops and robbers
( ) Recently colored with crayons
(X) Sang Karaoke
( ) Paid for a meal with coins only
(X) Been to the top of the St. Louis Arch
(X) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't.
(X) Made prank phone calls
(X) Been down Bourbon Street in New Orleans
(X) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose & elsewhere
(X) Caught a snowflake on your tongue
( ) Danced in the rain-naked
(X) Went skinny dipping
(X) Written a letter to Santa Claus
( ) Been kissed under the mistletoe
(X) Watched the sunrise with someone
(X) Blown bubbles
(X) Gone ice-skating
(X) Gone to the movies
( ) Been deep sea fishing
( ) Driven across the United States
( ) Been in a hot air balloon
(X) Been sky diving
(X) Gone snowmobiling
( ) Lived in more than one country
(X)Visited a foreign country
(X) Lay down outside at night and admired the stars while listening to the crickets
(X) Seen a falling star and made a wish
( ) Enjoyed the beauty of Old Faithful Geyser
(X) Seen the Statue of Liberty
(X ) Gone to the top of Seattle Space Needle
(X) Been on a cruise
(X) Traveled by train
( ) Traveled by motorcycle
(X) Been horse back riding
(X) Ridden on a San Francisco CABLE CAR
(X) Been to Disneyland
(X) Been to Disney World
(X) Truly believe in the power of prayer
(?) Been in a rain forest... the Jamaica canopy is a rainforest right? if not, then no
(X) Seen whales in the ocean
( ) Been to Niagara Falls... but I HAVE been to Victoria Falls!
(X) Ridden on an elephant
( ) Swam with dolphins
( ) Been to the Olympics
( ) Walked on the Great Wall of China
( ) Saw and heard a glacier
( ) Been spinnaker flying... i don't even know what that is
(X) Been water-skiing
(X) Been snow-skiing
(X) Been to Westminster Abbey
(X) Been to the Louvre
(?) Swam in the Mediterranean... stuck my feet in... that thing is cold!!
(X) Been to a Major League Baseball game
(X) Been to a National Football League game
(X) Been to the top of the Empire State building
( ) went swimming with sharks
BUCKET LIST
The Bucket List. Place an X by all the things you've done and remove the X from the ones you have not...
(X) Gone on a blind date
(X) Skipped school
( ) Watched someone die
( ) Been to Canada
(X) Been to Mexico
(X) Been to Florida
(X) Been to Hawaii
(X) Been on a plane ... hard to get to Hawaii without that...
(X) Been on a helicopter
(X) Been lost
(X) Gone to Washington, DC
(X) Swam in the ocean
(X) Cried yourself to sleep
( ) Played cops and robbers
( ) Recently colored with crayons
(X) Sang Karaoke
( ) Paid for a meal with coins only
(X) Been to the top of the St. Louis Arch
(X) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't.
(X) Made prank phone calls
(X) Been down Bourbon Street in New Orleans
(X) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose & elsewhere
(X) Caught a snowflake on your tongue
( ) Danced in the rain-naked
(X) Went skinny dipping
(X) Written a letter to Santa Claus
( ) Been kissed under the mistletoe
(X) Watched the sunrise with someone
(X) Blown bubbles
(X) Gone ice-skating
(X) Gone to the movies
( ) Been deep sea fishing
( ) Driven across the United States
( ) Been in a hot air balloon
(X) Been sky diving
(X) Gone snowmobiling
( ) Lived in more than one country
(X)Visited a foreign country
(X) Lay down outside at night and admired the stars while listening to the crickets
(X) Seen a falling star and made a wish
( ) Enjoyed the beauty of Old Faithful Geyser
(X) Seen the Statue of Liberty
(X ) Gone to the top of Seattle Space Needle
(X) Been on a cruise
(X) Traveled by train
( ) Traveled by motorcycle
(X) Been horse back riding
(X) Ridden on a San Francisco CABLE CAR
(X) Been to Disneyland
(X) Been to Disney World
(X) Truly believe in the power of prayer
(?) Been in a rain forest... the Jamaica canopy is a rainforest right? if not, then no
(X) Seen whales in the ocean
( ) Been to Niagara Falls... but I HAVE been to Victoria Falls!
(X) Ridden on an elephant
( ) Swam with dolphins
( ) Been to the Olympics
( ) Walked on the Great Wall of China
( ) Saw and heard a glacier
( ) Been spinnaker flying... i don't even know what that is
(X) Been water-skiing
(X) Been snow-skiing
(X) Been to Westminster Abbey
(X) Been to the Louvre
(?) Swam in the Mediterranean... stuck my feet in... that thing is cold!!
(X) Been to a Major League Baseball game
(X) Been to a National Football League game
(X) Been to the top of the Empire State building
( ) went swimming with sharks
Monday, February 23, 2009
Off the Wagon
So I fell off three wagons... the blogging wagon, the push-up wagon, and the sit-up wagon. I fully intend to get back on all of them now! I got new running shoes yesterday and a Runner's World at the store last week, so today after work I'm going to the gym and:
-Trying out my new shoes
-Trying out my new patella bands
-Getting back on the push-up schedule
-Getting back on the sit-up schedule
-Doing Runner's World recommended exercises to make your running form better and prevent injuries
I am determined to make myself like running. I've been trying for about 3 years with no luck so far. But you know what they say. If at first you don't succeed, try, try, try again!
-Trying out my new shoes
-Trying out my new patella bands
-Getting back on the push-up schedule
-Getting back on the sit-up schedule
-Doing Runner's World recommended exercises to make your running form better and prevent injuries
I am determined to make myself like running. I've been trying for about 3 years with no luck so far. But you know what they say. If at first you don't succeed, try, try, try again!
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