Weekend Woes

Ugh, it's Sunday...which means that I have to work tomorrow. I'm SO bummed. I'd really like to call in sick tomorrow morning, in fact the excuses are running through my head as I type. I could have some food borne illness, a killer headache, even the flu - just a little late. The options are endless and I'm a pretty accomplished fibber. This isn't something that one should be proud of...but I am, good at it that is. But, as we all know, I'll go to work. I'll suffer through the accounting meeting that's been called by Plain (CFO) and be oh so efficient. Tomorrow also marks the end of our fiscal year, I would never miss that day...even if I was truly sick.

This weekend was Trainer's birthday weekend. That is my thing more than his, but I try to be fair and give him what I want. I know that sounds funny. But I would want a birthday weekend, week...month if we were to get carried away. So, this is what I do for him. It doesn't work so well the other way, when he gives me what HE would want. A low key evening, doing nothing... Anyone who really knows me knows that I LOVE my birthday. To me it is a holiday. Probably has something to do with that whole "middle child" thing. You know, the thing that makes me seek out anything that makes me feel special? Oh crap, there I go...this isn't about me...it's about Trainer.

His actual birthday was on Thursday. I wanted to make it a perfect day. That morning we had an appraiser coming over and I had to wait for him, and since I was already home I decided to decorate the house with streamers and a banner. I wrapped up his present and left it for him on the counter. I was pretty proud of myself. Of course later that morning I got the anticipated text saying, "nice decorations" and that was it. Not "WOW! Thanks babe, that was cool" or anything like that. But again, that would have been ME not him. That night I wanted to make the perfect dinner so I went to Costco to get some Ahi tuna steaks that I had seen the week before, I was going to sear them (I got instructions from Sprinter - GOOD cook) and make some garlic mashed potatoes. I know that he would love that. Well, I got to Costco and they didn't have the tuna...errrg, so I got a salmon fillet instead. Trainer wasn't supposed to be home until 8:30 so I was just relaxing on the couch trying to watch my dvr'd shows. The door opens...Trainer is early and he didn't even text me. Errrrg - again! He say, "So, what's for dinner?" and I replied, "Well..." and he interrupts, "Pizza?" with a big grin on his face. EEEEEEERRRRRRRGGGGGGG! Pizza. I should have known as pizza is a staple in our diet. I said, "Well, I had this salmon, but I'll just cook it tomorrow night." He responds, "Oh, we can have the salmon." and of course I say, "No, no...I'll just order the pizza." So my...I mean HIS birthday night was not everything that I had hoped.

Continuing the birthday weekend....Friday I cooked the salmon and then we met up with some friends at this place called Sherlock's, a bar not too far from the house. It was a "My divorce is final and Trainer's b-day" celebration. More about the divorce, but that's okay. We went and had drinks and Mr. "I'm not going to drink too much" ended up drinking too much. Then at 2am Mr. "I'm really drunk" decides that he is "Mr. Frisky"...I shut that down pretty quick, I mean I LOVE getting frisky...when I'm awake. Saturday was the big birthday dinner out. I had made reservations for this steakhouse that is completely Austin. Meaning that it just has that Austin vibe. I was SO excited. This is where I wanted to take Trainer last year, but again, he just wanted pizza. Do you see a pattern? Anyway, Trainer ended up having a work meeting until 7 so I made our reservations for 8. We went and it was good, not fabulous like I had hoped, but still...it was good. We went home and I was hoping for a little action, however with the drunk night before and the long day that he'd had...no action. I secretly think that he was getting back at me. He fell asleep at 11pm and I couldn't get my mind to stop and ended up watching TV until 2am. Yes, me...lying there watching Save the Last Dance and The Real Housewives of New York. *Sigh*

We (really not WE, more like Trainer and the pups) woke up at 7:30am and decided that we were going on a walk. I took them to the park where I do most of my training runs with The Democrat. Fifi and Fido were beside themselves with joy. There is a lot of wildlife in the park and people were everywhere. After we got home I asked Trainer what he wanted for breakfast...in continuation of "birthday weekend" and he decided on my egg, potato and toast breakfast. When lunch time rolled around we had pizza...again, although a different kind of pizza. We went to his favorite espresso joint and had ridiculously expensive drinks. And then for dinner I cooked a pork loin and his favorite side dish - stuffing. Now we're just chillin' on the couch watching more TV as he stuffs his face with the gummy candies that I bought him. Another birthday weekend comes to an end...ahhh....I love birthdays, even when they're not everything that I had hoped for.

Friday...finally

It's been a LONG week, I think most of you will agree. We've hit that Spring "I really don't want to do anything but be outside and play" time, Spring Fever. Yep, still have it. Growing up in Colorado was a wonderful thing, you truly had four seasons and Spring is just glorious. When it comes to favorite seasons mine is Fall, but Spring has this energy and you just want to bathe yourself in it. The last thing you want to do is work...

I work in finance, it sounds fancier than it is. Finance is a BIG place, well most places, not really here. Some days I feel like I'm not even working and other days it feels like I'll never see the sun again. I've been pretty careful in life not to make my work my identity. Now, don't get me wrong, I take a lot of pride in my work. My work ethic has never been questioned. I think my parents had a big influence on me in that regard. It probably started in elementary school when my mom would say, "You're going to school unless you have a temperature of 101." So I work, rain or shine...even when I'm about to go into ICU, I work. However, today I just don't want to work!

I'd love to write a super witty blog today, but it's just not coming to me. I could go down memory lane a bit, but when I do that I tend to babble on...and then the post is SUPER long. So my solution is to just leave it as is today. Of course I'm now posting this on Sunday...what does that tell you?

Am I Fat?

Hmmm, let's see...how many times has one of your friends asked you that in your lifetime. Better yet, how many times have you asked someone that question? I am a very lucky person in that my friends can be honest with me and me with them. If something is unflattering we say things like, "Hmmm, those are okay, but I liked the other pair better, they make your a** look fabulous" or "You know, I'm really not sure about that color, let's go see if they have something else" even "Dude, no, take them off." Not everyone has friends like this, I'm blessed.

Now, I wish my clothes could talk and tell me things like my friends would. As some of you know, and now the rest of you will, I have been in a walking cast, or a boot, for 7 weeks now. This was supposed to be my last week, but I'm really sick of it and I decided that my stress fracture has healed and it was time to exercise once more. I hurt myself while training for and running a half marathon in January. The stress fracture started about 2-3 weeks before the race and I knew that there was something wrong. However, being me, I decided to ignore the pain. Hey, I was SO close to the race and I HAD to finish. I ran on the bad leg, I finished the race, I couldn't walk for a week...and then was put into this boot. I could have done weights and crunches while I was in the boot, but I opted for the self-loathing path...the one with least resistance, the one that MADE me eat ice cream by the pint and Mexican food like it was going out of style. Anyway...back to the clothes.

This past Saturday was my first day back to exercise. I walked for an hour...whoohoo...and wore one of my new running skirts. The skirt was a little snug at the waist line, but I figured, well, it's new and I haven't worn it before. Fine. Then this morning I met The Democrat, who is my current exercise partner, at 6am for a 30 min walk. I put out my clothes last night, a cute pair of long running pants that have a skirt attached (Yes, I'm in to this new skirt thing, it's flattering and makes me feel girly) and a long sleeved white Nike shirt, oh and a short sleeved Nike shirt for afterwards when I was going to train with Trainer at the gym. Well, I got up...pulled on my clothes, put on my shoes and was thinking...huh, these pants are a little snug. Hmmm....I did remember that they do fit snugly, but I remembered that the skirt was CUTE and kind of flipped up in the right spots to make it flattering. But, it wasn't doing this now.

By the time I drove over to meet The Democrat I was over it. Fine, I need to drop some poundage in the thigh area, it's okay, I'm staring over again...etc, etc. Plus it was super dark out and you really couldn't see. :) After our walk and talk I drove over to the gym to meet Trainer for my weights workout. Now, this is my first lifting workout since our Christmas vacation. I know, I couldn't believe it either...what a slacker I am! Anyway, I get to the gym and changed shirts. Now my short sleeved shirt is a little longer, but it's a little more fitted then the long sleeve. I wanted the longer shirt just in case Trainer had me do some exercises where my shirt would ride up. No...not like our Saturday 'exercise'...these would be actual IN THE GYM exercises...sheesh people...heads in the gutter. I went to the restroom before I started and of course glimpsed at myself in the mirror. O-M-G...WHY didn't my pants tell me that I'd lost all my muscle tone? WHY didn't my shirt tell me that it was going to cling to the tiny roll that was hanging over the too snug pants?? WHY oh WHY? I had no choice but to do my workout in my ill fitting clothes and I was constantly reminded as there are freaking mirrors everywhere in the gym. Trainer was sweet and said that I looked sporty. Code for - not hot, but coordinated. Ah well...at least I was at the gym right?

What is the moral of this story? Can you all figure it out? Well, I'll help you. The moral of this story is that you don't need to ask if you are fat, you're not fat. Your clothes are actually sneaky creatures that start to take a different form if they are ignored for too long, so take them out every now and then and say sweet things or buy some new clothes.

Pieces of a Puzzle

Today is Easter, although that doesn't mean a lot in our household. It's just another Sunday, except for the fact that the Home Depot was less crowded. In fact I'm drinking my Texspresso in jeans and a t-shirt, sitting on my couch while watching Joes vs. Pros. Have you seen this show? Pretty darn funny...if you like sports. The weather is a little grey and cool, perfect weather to nurse a killer hangover. Too much beer and a lot of extra curricular activities makes me a tired, sore and an oddly happy girl.

The title - Pieces of a Puzzle - is how I describe my relationship with Trainer. When we first started "dating" I would tell my friends that it just fit right. I know, I know...TMI...sorry for those who really know both of us. ;) But really our relationship started off on a physical level and grew from there. And it's been that way ever since. Crazy.

Last night we decided to go grab some beers and listen to live music. You can do that just about anywhere here in Austin. There is this brewery pretty close to our house called NXNW (North by North West) which has tried to mimic the microbrew pubs from the NW. Their Pale Ale is amazing so of course we had to have some of that. We split an appetizer and then a burger and listened to some tunes on the deck. I've been feeling pretty insecure since the Craigslist stuff. Call me crazy, but really...if you found your significant other looking at Casual Encounter ads, no matter how funny they are, wouldn't you feel a little inadequate? No? Well, I was feeling that way. So, with the help of a little liquid courage I decided to bring up the subject again. See, my dear Trainer was looking at these silly ads while I was away in Houston. And of course he still doesn't really know how to erase his history so I found out.

I hadn't said anything about the ads until this point. But as we were listening to the music and halfway through my second beer I brought it up. We talked about it, I told him how it made me feel, he did the adolescent eye roll and claimed it was a guy thing, I gave him the "I'm not trying to be your mother, just your wife" speech and he told me that he would never go there again...and now he knows that I can access the information so he'd better not lie. Whew, glad we got that over with. We left after our third beer and drove home. Of course I was a little worked up so I decided to go to the convenience store and get MORE beer.

We continued to drink and turned on some tunes. Then one thing led to another and I found myself modeling several pieces of lingerie that Trainer had bought me the previous year. I came out of the bedroom to find all of the lights off and all of the candles lit. I was putting on my best "stripper" dance show with the 80s hair-band rock in the background. Pretty good stuff. (I think I've been watching too many episodes of Rock of Love.) Hahaha! The fun lasted until about 2:30am, not a record in our 13 years together, but pretty close. Easter morning was a continuation of the evening. I swear, it was like we were 22 again. I guess sometimes when things are amiss you need to look at the what brought you together and go back...go back to a time when you were just two interlocking pieces of a puzzle.

A long drive, a cup of coffee and Toad and the Wet Sprocket

I've been in training all week down in Houston. I actually like going to Houston because Legs lives down there and I can always stop and see her and the boys on my way downtown. I also have some cousins down there that will feed me great food and always have a cooler full of beer. That's right peeps, I have rednecks in the family. Dads side of course. Anywhoodle, I drove down on Sunday night and stopped at Legs' house to see her kids (that would be one son and one husband) and mooch dinner off of her. She always makes good food or has great places to go to if she doesn't feel like cooking. Sunday night was a ribs and mashed potatoes night. Oh yum! The drive TO Houston was pretty uneventful, just the usual dumbass people that insist on driving the speed limit. For goodness sakes people - THAT is what open country roads are for...to SPEED! Anyway it took me a little under 3 hours to get to Legs' house. When I arrived the boys were playing outside (way too cute) and she was inside thinking about dinner. She asks me, "What do you want - Ribs or soup?" Hmmm, tough one. "Ribs, are you kidding?" She smiled and said, "Yeah, that's what I thought too." I had some wine and dined and made my way downtown a little later that evening.

The hotel was nice, nothing over the top, but the bed was fabulous. That's all I need when traveling - a good bed. Of course I couldn't fall asleep...that first night away from home thing. Always happens to me. And of course the morning came too soon. For those of you who know me...remember...I am NOT a morning person. Nothing has changed there.

Training - this was the most ridiculous training I've ever attended. First off, I was the ONLY person in the class. So then the instructor decided that he should sit next to me instead of the traditional instructor up front. Well, this poses a problem for me....how the hell am I supposed to surf the internet and write my blog if he's sitting right next to me? Come on dude! Second, he was reading directly from the training manual. PUH-LEASE! They could have sent me the training manual and I could have read that crap myself. Isn't the point of training to learn things that are between the lines? Tips? Tricks? Riiiiight....not so much. Anyway, the good thing about training (again) is that I'm in Houston. Not at work with Title Girl and Plain.

Monday night I went to see my cousins that live in Sugar Land, that's just South of where I was at. These are my dads "cousins" which would be my second cousins and then their kids would be my third cousins. My third cousin, the middle kid, was leaving for Alaska in the morning, he's in the military and was just back from the Honduras. So they were having a good-bye craw fish boil for him. I didn't think I'd like eating craw fish, but surprisingly it's really tasty! The only bad part, if you could even call it that, was the discussion of politics. I'm a Dem and they are VERY Republican. I just kept my mouth shut for the entire conversation. And shortly after that I left, I needed a shower...

Tuesday night was uneventful, just had some really tasty Greek food. Wednesday night was KICK ASS. Legs came to my hotel to pick me up after she got off work. In fact, she excused herself from a very important meeting to come and get me. Ahhh, the power of the Galleria in Houston. It'll make you do strange things.

Before we shopped we needed some fluids and food to get our strength up, so we stopped at this place called "The Tasting Room" (at least I think that is what it was called) and yes, it's a wine bar. OMG, so tasty. We had wine and cheese...what could be better fuel for shopping? Then off to the Galleria. We went into Nordstrom's first. I L-O-V-E Nordy's. The one in Austin is "far" away (meaning that it will take me longer than 10 minutes to get there) so I never go. We decided to try on designer jean. MISTAKE! Oh, they fit like a glove and made me look 10 pounds lighter and my legs about 5" longer. I tried on '7 jeans' and 'Humanity for something' that I can't remember. Both fit. And even when I looked at the price tag I didn't freak (thanks to the Merlot)...Legs was having the same "problem." Lucky for us we were together and it took both of our brains to make us PUT-THE-JEANS-DOWN and walk away. I mean $200 for a pair of jeans? Seriously...and I was considering it, not just considering it but walking up to the register! Yikes, it was close. After that we saw Ann Taylor Loft, much more reasonable. We each found several items of clothing to purchase and it still didn't come to $200. Now I have some shorts a really cute black weekend dress that can be worn with flip flops. After shopping we needed to refuel so we went and had this amazing pizza at a small chain called Colina's.

Wednesday night rocked - Good friend, good wine, good cheese, successful shopping and pizza. What more can a girl ask for?

Since I was the only one in class I got done early. An entire day early so I slept in Thursday morning, waited until after rush hour was done and started on my way back to Austin. I stopped at Starbucks for a coffee and some water and turned the Tahoe towards home. The drive was beautiful and I put in some Toad and the Wet Sprocket and let my mind drift. I was thinking about my blog and all of the things that I should write about. Then I was thinking about Trainer and the fact that he didn't know that I was coming home early...hehehe. Not that he was going to be home when I got there anyway, but a surprise never hurt anyone right? Then I stopped thinking as 'Windmills' started playing and I let myself just enjoy being on the road with the wildflowers starting to bloom and the wind blowing through my hair.

Internet Porn

Why....why was this created? Wasn't life so much simpler when your significant other could just hide the video or dvd in their sock drawer and you could just pretend that you didn't know? I don't want to take us back to the time of no computers or cell phones, but they were definitely simpler times. Now I have to worry about texting and craigslist...ugh. I shouldn't worry, I know my husband is faithful...so why do I worry? I have no idea. Maybe I'm just not a trusting person. Nah, that's not it. I'm trusting of most people. Too trusting. Something to ponder.

Anyway, have you all been to Craigslist? You can get anything on Craigslist...ANYTHING. A bicycle, a roommate, a quickie for lunch...you know...the essentials! Yeah, NOT kidding. I didn't know that they had such a thing. There are listings on Craigslist for 'Casual Encounters.' Not just Personals, they have those too of course, but CASUAL ENCOUNTERS! I was floored. Anyway, I just happened to notice that my husband was erasing his internet history. And being that I'm smarter than him I found the back way to find out what he was deleting. The usual suspects: Debbie does more than Donuts, Go Black and Never Turn Back, Big *** Shots, etc. Fine, fine...whatever...moving on. (This is the stuff that you can get at the video store and I find to be silly and not too disturbing, fine call me weird.) Then I see a whole bunch of listings for Craigslist Casual Encounters. What's this?

"Hot 29yr old, call me, I'll come over at 7am for a quickie and leave, NSA." Yep, NSA - no strings attached. "Meet me at neighborhood bar, we'll see where it goes, maybe home. Send pic." Of course there are pictures attached. Boob shots, other shots...yeah, pretty. So what does a wife of 8 1/2 years do? I left one of the ads that he had looked at up on the monitor and then put a sticky note on it "Huh, not sure what to think about this..." then down a couple of lines "Going to the store after work, text me if you need anything." Basically, okay jackass, you're caught and you'd better have an explanation...and dinner will be ready when you get home. The Saint calls that behavior passive aggressive. WHAT? ME? No.... ;)

Trainer sends me an email later in the day that say, "Oh honey, no worries, I just think they're funny." Uh-huh...let me tell you what I think is funny! Funny would be your a** being on the streets with no wifey to make you dinner or your mortgage payment! THAT's FUNNY! Sorry, I should have written about this last week when it happened, all of this pent up aggression. Am I worried about him going out and having a fling? Not really. Am I worried that he'll get too drunk while I'm away and do something stupid? Not really, he's a jackass when he's drunk, who would take him?

Well, now I feel better. It's all about letting it out....in the great words of Bad Boys, "Whooosaaaaa" and yes, I'm rubbing my earlobes. I'll write more later kids!

The Perfect Husband

Does he exist? I don't think so...but maybe there is a perfect husband for everyone individually. For example, Trainer may not have made it in any household but my own (most sane women would have thrown him out on his behind by now). For a long time I thought that my husband was the only one who looked at internet porn and just drank to get drunk. But over the years I've found that he's not too abnormal. I won't call it normal, I don't want to generalize and say that all men are sex driven beings with no will power over booze. That's simply not true.

So, last night my dear husband asks me "Hey, would it be okay with you if I hung out with Peter tonight after work?" My response was, "I'm okay with it, I'll have left overs - cool?" His response "COOL!!!" (He LOVES exclamation marks, drives me batty.) Oh, and this is all done by text, I think he feels that it's safer that way. Which brings me to my next point...why even ask? I feel like I'm his mom instead of his wife. Which is another similarity between Trainer and other husbands, what makes them such children after they get married? Sorry, back to the story at hand. So, I don't care that my husband goes out with his friends or over to a friend's house to drink and kick back. I don't care if my husband drinks so much that he can't drive home and has to stay overnight someplace. I DO care that the little rat doesn't call me and tell me that he's going to stay overnight someplace. I was up half the fricken night waiting for a phone call or even a stupid text. Nothing. Nada. Every time I heard a siren I held my breath and waited for the inevitable phone call from the emergency service people. Fortunately that call never came and my husband made it home at 7am with apologies streaming out his mouth as soon as he came through the door.

I have friends who's husbands don't lift a finger to help with housework. I know other husbands who are control freaks with money. I know of husbands and boyfriends who are alcoholics and beat up their loved ones. My husband is none of those. He does 90% of the housework, he handed me the money reins, and he's never laid a hand on me. So do I have a right to complain? Hell yeah I do!

How can the men in our lives make us feel SO insignificant? We are strong women, the lot that I know are incredibly strong. Trainer can make me feel like a crazy, paranoid bi*ch who should be on her way to the loony bin. I swear it would be easier if I were a lesbian. I'm not keen on the girl/girl thing...tried it once, not sure if I liked it...I was in a tequila induced happy state. See, I told you that you may learn something new about me. I didn't say that it was information that you WANTED to know. ;)

For now I'll keep my sanity and maybe buy some spy ware and a GPS tracking device that I can secretly inject into Trainer's arm to keep up with his shenanigans. Nope, I'm not paranoid...not me...

The Characters - Part II of the Friends

When is she going to get to the good stuff?? Well, as in any good story, movie or book it's good to build a foundation and have references to the characters. So, although this is taking time, it will be worth it. And it's my blog...I can take as long as I want.

We moved to Austin in 2006, to the dismay of my AZ friends. See...in 2005 they were all talking about getting pregnant, and shortly after that I was looking for someplace to go to get out of Dodge. Yep, that's me...avoider of babies. And the weird thing?? Babies LOVE me. (I'm sure it's the boobs, what baby doesn't like boobs?) Anyway, I renamed 2006 - Estrogen-fest '06, and within the year they were pregnant, almost all of them. There are still a few soldiers standing, but I'm sure not for long. ;)

When I got to Austin I didn't have a job and we were living off the equity from the sale of our house. Thank goddess that we got out in time, the housing market crashed shortly after we left. So, I did what I do and got a job within a month. Not bad considering I didn't do ANYTHING but house stuff for the first two weeks. I interviewed at this place...we'll call it EXPLODE...and had the job after the first interview. I was hired as an AP clerk, although my last position at my old company was Assistant Controller and Interim Controller. So, I have a lot of experience, but I didn't want to be picky, I just wanted a paycheck. The bonus is that this new place is only 3 miles from my house and I go against traffic. Easy, breezy! I was quiet at first, hard to imagine...I know, but then once I learned where everyone fit I became more comfortable. Within 3 months I was promoted to my current position and had my pay back where it was when I left AZ. Nice right? Well, yes...but that meant that I had to word directly with the crack-pot CFO. I guess here is where I start in on the work characters:

Plain - This is the CFO, he's a nut job, but can be "lovable" in a weird twisted drug induced high kind of way. Nicknamed 'Last minute Larry' for a reason. And I'm the go-to person for those tasks.

Peanut - This is the COO and he's crazy. Seriously a living Jekyll and Hyde character. He 'loves' fashion...and you should see him express that love. Oh my...

Smiley - She is my daily sanity. She's been out this week and so I've turned to the blog, see...this is ALL her fault! Seriously though, she always smiles, even when she's pissed. She's our secret weapon, because she can be bitchy and no one will see it coming!

Z - That's all I have to call her. She's a bit whiny some times and annoying, but tolerable.

The Boss Man - Now he was just made my 'official' boss, but really he runs the show, and not just in accounting, he runs the WHOLE show.

Title Girl - Yep, self-explanatory, she's hung up on titles...we don't like her...she's evil.

Then there are the random work people who I don't work with directly but may get a mention or two in my bi*ching...I mean blogging. And really are these people my friends? Some are, some aren't, but they're all entertainment to me.

Now, for the work people that no longer work with me but I "collected" and kept after they (wisely) moved on from EXPLODE:

LSU Chick - She is this tiny little peach from Louisiana. Typical Southern girl that had a plantation wedding, you know the type, sweet as can be! She's hilarious and we occasionally get together for happy hour.

Minnesota - Obviously you see the trend, she's from Minnesota, a football fanatic (which I LOVE about her) and is a tough little cookie.

Home Girl - She is a good 'ol Texas girl, a little hick, but mostly just Country. She attended UT and is married to Home Boy (it's easier this way) who is one of Trainers favorite people in Austin. The four of us hang out and always have a good time. No awkwardness...and get this...Home Boy likes to drink to get drunk too...peas in a pod.

Then there are these other three that I randomly met online:

From the WW website there is Midwest Chick and Sprinter, then I met The Democrat through an exercise friends website. Meeting people online is interesting...very, very, very interesting. Sprinter is my favorite "new" friend. Midwest Chick is a tomboy kick ass softball player, and no...she's not a lesbian, and there is nothing wrong with that. (I'm really trying to keep this PC people!) We are becomming good friends. She has and gets that sarcastic humor that I love so much! The Democrat is my current running partner.

I think I have the basic characters down now...phew! There will be more I'm sure. But you can always reference these pages if you get confused. ;) Actually it's more for my benefit so I can remember what I named people. Ha!

The Characters - Part I of the Friends

So, I'm a collector of friends. My oldest friend used to tell me that I had too many friends. Can you really have too many friends? I guess the best way to do this is chronologically, and don't hold me to it! (I'm old, I have a bad memory...right) And these aren't all of my friends, just the ones that I've held on to...the real collector's items. (That makes them just as old - HA!)

From elementary to HS:
Hoe - That is what I really call her so it's appropriate here. She is my oldest friend, we met just before I turned four years old. She is originally from upstate New York and I'm originally from California. We met b/c our father's worked for the same airline and came to open the Denver station at the same time. We also lived right around the block from each other. We grew up but never grew apart, even though we are VERY different people. We'll go months without talking, but when we do it's like we never stopped.

80's Girl - Apparently my dear friend is stuck in the 80s. :) I'll have to ask her if I can use her blog name in here, which I bet is fine, but I'll ask anyway. You know, trying to be that "good" friend again. Anyway, we went to HS together and were choir/drama nerds together. She is now married and has two wonderful boys and two pups. Back in the day she drove this HUGE car that had no floor board on the passenger side. Lot's of good memories there! ;)

The Choir Squad - There are a lot of good people in this little group. I still talk to a lot of them and we're all over the country now.

The Band Geeks - You know, besides the cross overs from the Choir Squad and Hoe I don't keep up with any of the Band Geeks. Huh. I was a band geek, well...maybe a full blown music geek. I started piano at 7, choir at 9, clarinet at 10....and it never stopped. I even majored in music in college! Huh.

And to College:
I have several friends from this era but if I write what I'd like to about all of them this post would be ridiculously long. So, I'll try the abbreviated version and keep my secrets for later!

A'cappella (Diva) Girls - They togecame and went through college and then a group of us stuck together. We have Tiny Dancer, The Director, Soul Mate, Sexy Hippy, The Hot Executive, and The Saint. There are others (like the Cheeky Monkey), but these are the ones that are still very much in my life. I'll give short descriptions:
Tiny Dancer - My first college friend, she introduced me to A'cappella and The Director.
The Director - Brought A'cappella to our school and introduced me to Te-kill-ya.
Soul Mate - We hit it off right away and became "sisters" on a road trip to Colorado.
Sexy Hippy - It was between that and Sex Kitten, but she's a hippy, and a rocker. She does this amazing thing with her lips...more on that later. ;)
The Hot Executive - I could have called her the Goddess too, she has powers people, and I'm serious. This fiery Jersey red head is a force, but a "controlled" force. Keep walking...we're walking...
The Saint - Really, you might ask, is she really a Saint? No, she's not...she can be the devil, but her heart is one of a Saint and it's been proven Over and Over.
Cheeky Monkey - I know, bizarre name, but really...it fits her.

The School of Music - I picked up several friends along the way in the school of music, most have gone out of my life. The ones that still exist in my life are: The Hick, Legs and The Enigma. And some more short narratives:
The Hick - My college roommate my Jr and Sr year. I wouldn't have graduated without her. She was/is from Texas and I used to make fun of her all of the time. Now I live here, huh.
Legs - Oh my...well, our history involves booze, men and trombones...makes you wonder doesn't it? She is also currently in Texas, we just keep moving trouble around the world.
The Enigma - That means mystery or riddle so I thought it fit. This was "the ONE" that wasn't meant to be. Although we still chat...and get into trouble, but more on that later.

And then I have ties to AZ that I'll mention:
From my last place of employment we have Twiggy, Shakes and The Storyteller. I'm not sure yet if these ones will come into play so I'll leave it alone for now. And I have to put in Estes, as we met at my last place of work, but our friendship has gone SO much further. She is now in Utah with her child and husband...and no, she isn't a Mormon.

I also "steal" friends, or acquire them from other friends, the most notable in this group is Yoga Zen Babe. Yep, that is her name...she's hot and bendy and completely balanced inside and out.

So you can see...I really do collect friends. And I can tell you details about them that no one else knows, of course I won't because that is why they tell me. ;)

Introducing - some of my characters

Well, I guess it would make sense to start with my family and then expand from there:

Mom - Self explanatory right? She's a little Mexican firecracker. Loyal to the end with a wrath that is so fierce that you'll never want to tick her off. I tried really hard not to tick her off and we got along when I was young and growing up in the household, really I just didn't cause any waves. If I got home from school and she was in a "mood" I just kept walking up to my room and started on my homework. When I left for college we didn't get along and that pattern continued as I lived in SIN with my now husband until I got married. Then it was as if a switch was turned and it was all okay again. Now we're friends and I talk to her weekly.

Dad - My rock, my heart...he's my Dad! The ever stoic white guy. He really wasn't around for our childhood events b/c he was working trying to support the family. But he always told me how proud he was of me and was never critical. We got closer when I went to school and would write letters back and forth. We're still the best of friends and I'm just as proud of him as he is of me.

Big Bro - My arch nemesis...when I was a kid I thought he was the anti-Christ. He's three years older and misunderstood. That's what we say when kids are defiant right? Yes, for every wrong he committed I had to come up with two rights. This shaped me into a very bitter, cynical, sarcastic and quick witted kid. I was a small kid for my age (boy that changed) and my brother used to beat on me, and if I told he twisted it around so I got in trouble. Our relationship now? We talk every couple of years, although currently I'm trying to build a relationship with him. It feels like the right thing to do, he needs someone to talk to and I am determined to be there for him. And yes, I'm a co-dependent enabler who needs to be needed. :)

Little Bro - I like this name for him b/c he hates it. He is constantly telling me that he is NOT little. Whatever dude, you're stuck with it. I could have called him "spoiled brat with no sense of responsibility bro", don't you think Little Bro is better that that? Of course that kind of sums him up. He's eight years younger than I am and he ruined EVERYTHING! Okay, that's dramatic, but when you're eight years old and you're used to getting at least 10 x-mas presents and the year that HE's born you only get 3??? Right, so you're there with me? Anyway, I do love my dear brother. He used to be so cute when he was little, mouthy...but cute. Then he was a teenager and I was away at college and he was basically an only child. I think my parents kind of gave up on discipline. He got into some things that he shouldn't have, he denies it if you ask about it, but he told me everything on a visit to see me one year. Oh the power of liquor. We still talk monthly through email.

Husband - I think we'll call him Trainer, as in what he does, not what he is to me. :) We met in the Spring semester of my last year of college. One of my dearest friends got me a job at this corporate restaurant and Trainer was my trainer...ha ha, okay, that's funny. Anyway, we didn't start "dating" right away. But, I did start drinking with him and all the others at work. NOT good. One night we were all out drinking and we went back to my place for more booze and to go to someone else's house. We got the booze, got to the door, and he kissed me...we never made it to the party and that's when we started "dating". :) I'm trying to keep it clean...bear with me. From that point on we kept dating and actually moved in together within a month. Living in sin, being the outcast of the family, that was me. The perfect daughter who was no longer perfect. That was 1995, we were married in 1999 and we're still together. Our marriage isn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination, it's been up and down...I refer to it as a LONG learning experience. You'll hear more on this throughout the blog.

The Puppies - We have two large dogs. Might as well give them names to...in the interest of their privacy. Fifi and Fido. They are litter mates and the loves of our lives. The weigh about 120-125lbs each. When we have to buy food, or get them groomed, or take them to the vet and they cost a TON of money I just remind myself that they are still cheaper than children and they'll never leave my side.

That's it for the immediate family, now for the extended family...really, they are my best friends from different parts of my life. I think I'll save this next post for tomorrow. It'll take me a while to come up with names for them all! Until then...

Testing...1...2...3...

So, here I am...on blogspot trying to decide if my life is interesting enough to read about. What exactly is my motivation for writing such a thing? Better yet, will I be any good at this?

I was inspired by a couple of my friends, I'm a faithful reader of their blogs, although I don't know if they realize that. I'll start out by saying I'm not the greatest friend in the world. Over the years I've tried to be a good friend, mostly I have great intentions...but the follow through is lacking. Ha ha. Sounds like a bad date huh? Anyway, I guess I'll try this out and see if I can master it in a couple of years...here goes!

I moved to Austin, TX a couple of years ago...a true 'leap of faith' and I'm still leaping. It was a fresh start, a new place and a new adventure. I moved with a husband and a pair of silly dogs who are stand ins for the kids that will never be. We bought a house on the Internet that is way too big and has a huge yard that we thought we wanted for our enjoyment. Now, I don't know about you, but mowing, raking and pulling weeds are just not enjoyable! Especially since my allergies are so severe that my brothers used to tease me by calling me "Bubble Girl" (in reference to the movie "Bubble Boy"). To top it all off we moved without jobs.

We both are employed now, we're learning to like our house and I've hired a lawn service to take care of the biggest portion of the yard work. I work in finance and my husband (I'll have to come up with a name for him) works in the personal fitness industry. In the true American fashion we have a ton of debt and I'm slowly working our way out. Yes, Me...we have a definite division of the household "chores" in our marriage. Him - housework, yardwork and puppy pick up duty. Me - all things finance related, cooking and keeping a stable job. That last one seems like it may be a "duh" item, however in our household it is priceless. ;) Speaking of that stable job, I'd better get to it this morning. I have a lot of ideas and I love CONSTRUCTIVE feedback...not that I'm sensitive or anything...