A Toe is a Many Splendored Thing

So, my first real blog back is not going to be about me so much as it is going to be about my dear, sweet husband.  Not only is he the greatest person I've ever met, but he also has toe luck like no one I have ever met.  If there is something near his foot, he will stub it.  If something is going to fall of the table, it will land on his foot.  There is nothing those poor baby toes of his haven't experienced...until last night.  Last night he experienced toe horror in ways I have never seen.

So, here's my sweet Babboo.  He's giving the old thumbs up.  He's smiling.  He's going to hate this picture because it makes him look much wider than he actually is.  But, he's got a good outlook. He's also laying in a stretcher in a hallway at the ER.

I'm here for physical not mental issues.  I promise.

So, what is holy toe brought us here?  What in the world of pain has landed us in the ER on a Friday night?

THIS!

Well, that doesn't look too bad.

So, it seems Hubby Extraordinaire was all about being a great guy last night.  We had eaten dinner and were having an early evening because we both had to be up this morning by 5.  So, we had dinner, and were sitting on the couch watching TV when he decides that he will make us some cocoa.  Since it was a very cool night (finally!), he thought we should snuggle up and drink some cocoa.

Off to the kitchen he goes.  He starts heating milk in a saucepan.  Then I hear it.  A thunk, a glass breaking and a holler.  And, it wasn't like a regular old glass breaking, it was more like GLASS BREAKING.  

I jumped up, and there hopping in the kitchen was my poor baby hopping around and bleeding profusely among an formerly unopened jar of pickles.  Blood and brine was flowing all over the place.  And, something was hanging off.  

We got him into the bathroom (albeit a bit difficult in his bare feet with a kitchen covered in glass), and there was his poor middle toe.  At first we both thought the end was cut off.  Luckily, we were wrong.  It was the nail being torn off and hanging by a thread.  It was cut and bleeding and yuck!  He himself was trying not to vomit and was quite grey.  His eyes, normally a glowing Prince Charming blue, had gone clear and seawater green which is usually reserved for HEADACHES.  So, I knew it was bad.  This toe wasn't looking good.  There was no amount of peroxide and generic Band-aids that could have fixed it in our house.  So, we opted for the ER.  Oh, and there was that profuse bleeding.  See up there?  See how he's bleeding through that entire roll of gauze on his foot?  Yep, I couldn't fix that.

So, we loaded up, stopped and got gas (by the way, I feel really bad because I was way too lazy earlier to get gas.  I should have gotten gas. I feel so bad about that.)  Anyway, off we went to the ER.  And, good thing we did because it was so much worse than I though.  I don't know how much less worse Jody thought it was because he was feeling it, and I was just staring at it.  But, it was bad.  Two hours in-after waiting for though a gun shot to the abdomen, a heart attack, a lady in labor, a lady in labor having a heart attack, a little girl with a broken arm, and a bad case of the asthma (which all deserved immediate treatment)-we found out that not only had he cut that damn roast beef eater to hell, but he had (as the doctor put it) pulverized the bone at the end of his toe.  We saw the x-rays.  There is just nothing there.  And, to top it off, he lost the nail, got 8 stitches (which is a lot in a toe), and may lose the end of his toe.  Also, the nail will probably not grow back.  So, when my man hurts his toe, he hurts his toe.  All good things for a drummer who has to walk a lot at his day job.  

Oh, I feel so bad for him.  You wanna feel bad for him, too?  I will post some fancy pictures of his poor middle toe.  They're gross.  They're hard to look at.  I was lucky enough to get used to it and got to see the whole ordeal in action!  But, oh my poor, poor Sweet Pea!  Oh, and the best part is that since it is an open fracture, it's prone to infection.  Guess who's allergic to penicillin?  And guess what happens when you pulverize a bone in your foot.  It hurts.  Guess who's allergic to codeine, a component of almost all pain killers?  You guessed it!  Poor, Gimpy himself.  I love that man, and I feel so bad for him.  

Wanna see it?  Wanna see the real it?  The toe in all it's glory?  I'll show ya.  I will!  Scroll down.  I'll give you a chance not to vomit if you don't want to.  So, I'll put them way at the bottom.  Well, if it let's me post like that.  I'm not so great with these fancy writing interwebs appliprograms.  So, it may just pop up right below these words.

Yay, it didn't.  

This is the cleaned up toe just before we got to see it in real life action! Please note on the big toe is the final growing out of blackened toenail when he dropped a laptop on his toe last year.  One door closes, and the damn window opens, I guess.

Yes!  This mutant thing is Jody's toe.  You see why we thought it was cut off.

And, the poor thing never got to drink his cocoa or eat a pickle!  Dang, that's some bad luck.

My Kinda Sad Kinda Bucket List

Ever Foot Needs a Good Peeling

In my life I have covered a lot of ground. Certainly, I am not a world traveler who has amazing adventures all the time, but I haven't lived a crappy life.  I have gone to and finished graduate school; I have written a book of short fiction; I have up and moved half way across the country to live amongst the hippies of San Francisco; I have jumped off a roof into a pool; I hiked up mountains in Colorado; I have watched a drug deal in the Bahamas; I have burned my feet off on a sandy Texas beach; I have gone on a date with a man I met on craigslist and lived to tell about it (and our upcoming nuptials).

I have not lived the fanciest of lives, but I have lived. But, it dawned on me tonight that I haven't done a lot of things in life.  They aren't hard things or rare things or things that would take a person a lifetime to achieve.  They are just simple things.  And, I think I can remedy some of them quiet easily.  Here's the list that I have come up with so far.

So Dewy, So Mountainy

1.  I have never had Mountain Dew.  Never.  Not once.  I claim to hate it because I do.  However, how the hell do I actually know that when I have never had it.  Easily fixed.  I can just go buy one.  I might. I might not.  I don't think my life will fall to pieces if I never taste the dew of some green-yellow mountain.  But it might.

2.  I have never gone camping.  Never.  Not once.  I have never slept outside under the stars.  I have never grilled over an open campfire unless you count one in someone's back yard that I probably got someone else to grill over for me.  At this point in my life, I would really like to camp.  I don't really go for that sort of thing because it's outside.  And, that's where the nature and the grass is.  And the no toilets.  But, for the past couple of years, I have really wanted to do it.  I think it would be good for me.  If you want to encourage this, just go to our wedding registry.  I registered for a bunch of camping stuff.  I don't think we will get it, but if we do I will go. I would feel guilty if I didn't.

3.  I have never seen Top Gun.  I probably won't be on getting this one done.  I have a real dislike for Tom Cruise.  I could have seen Top Gun at anytime at this point, but I never have.  Heck, I had access to a million movies for years at my sister's video store.  And, I have had Netflix since 2006.  It's Tom Cruise.  I just can't watch it because of him.  I tend to avoid him at all costs.  I don't want Xenu to snatch up my brain.  So, though I have done this one, I probably won't.

4.  I have never owned a new car.  Now, this one is going to be a little tougher to have happen.  In fact, it is not going to happen any time soon.  I don't mind.  One day maybe.  But, that's a big responsibility and a big, ole car payment.  Not for me right now especially since the truck is still kicking.  Maybe one day I will be a fancy lady in a new car.  Maybe.

5.  I have never eaten lobster.  Again, I could do this this week, I am sure.  But, I still think it odd that I have never eaten it.  It's out there.  It's available.  I've just never gotten around to it.  Maybe I can have a lobster/Mountain Dew feast this weekend!  I mean, there is a seafood lover in me.  So, maybe I'll make it a party!

6.  I have never had a professional pedicure.  Heck, I have only had a manicure once, and that was back when I went to the prom.  But, pedicures have not blessed these toes.  Sure, I cut and paint my toenails all the time.  They are cute!  I keep them that way.  But, there is nothing more I would love than having someone do it for me.  For some reason, though, I can't seem to bring myself to do it.  I feel bad for the person having to touch my feet.  Ugh.  It makes me so uncomfortable.  One day I want a pedicure.  Once I get over the guilt, I will try it out.

Laura, We're All Happy Here!

7.  I have never been to a Disney place.  Dammit!  I will go to a Disney place.  I want to go to Disneyland so bad.  You people have no idea.  I (as a 36 year old woman) want to throw a hissy fit every time I hear of some kid getting to go to Disneyland.  They won't appreciate it like I will!  They won't!  Take me.  I'm more fun than some dumb 7 year old.  I don't care if it is your kid.  I'm better.  Take me!  (There's that tantrum I spoke of.)  Unfortunately, Disneyland is more expensive than a new car.  So, here's to one day striking it rich or moving to Orlando and getting a job as Goofy or something.  Man, I want to go to Disneyland.

Well, there's a start of things I have never done.  I might continue this in later blogs if I can think of more.  I mean, there are many more.  So so so so many more things I have never done.  Of course, I might not add to it because I have a short attention span.  Feel free to let me know things you haven't done. I  would like to know who else hasn't done such droll and normal things.  Maybe it isn't just me.  It probably is, but I hope not.

Here I Am... Rocking You Like a Hurrican

Dearest Readers of the Annoying One (that's me),

The time has come for me to announce one thing.  My week is getting worse!  For real.  I am now losing my voice.  I gotta talk a whole lot a certain periods of time at work (or in about an hour), and it is going.  I sounded like Peter Brady when I got here.  Well, maybe Peter Brady mixed with Kathleen Turner.  However, now I am just sound like an annoyance.  You know when someone loses their voice, but they keep talking?  And it's kinda squeaky yet skipping?  Well, that's me.  And, boy, does it suck!  You people have no idea how much I like to talk!  It's a lot.  A whole danged lot!  Well, if you can tell by the way and amount I write that I love to hear myself, then you get how much I like to talk.  Besides, I'm a woman. You know how we are.

So, other than that, nothing fancy happened since last I wrote.  I didn't write anything about my free stuff over the last couple of days, so I will fill you in on what I got...

A sample of FiberChoice - Apparently, the world of free samples really wants me to poop (see previous posts).

A sample pack of Salonpas Pain Relief patches - This came at a great time, as Jody has pulled a muscle in his back.  I am not sure they really helped, but I pretended they did.

My weekly copy of Entertainment Weekly with hot Johnny Depp on the cover.  Of course, it is for Pirates of the Caribbean 99923049809801293092.  I didn't care for even the first one (and I love me some Depp. Deeply for the Depp.) But, it's still one of the better magazines out there. 

A sample of Hugo Boss Boss Orange - Oh, it smells so good.  I love perfume samples because I am either too cheap or too poor (too poor) to buy actual good perfume.  So, I can smell fancy for free!

My first copy of Country Life Magazine (click that, and you too can get the Country Life!! I know you are thrilled.)  This month's tells us all about the top 10 small tractor accessories or something like that.  Now, I am sure you are wondering what a girl who lives in a hood type area of a major US city would need with Country Life Magazine.  Well, nothing. But, it was free, so I couldn't pass it up.  I have issues (no pun intended) with free things.  I must have them! Even if they are stupid. I still want them.  I mean, I have never taken a laxative in my life, but I sure do have a lot of free samples of it laying around. 

I can't think of anything else.  I am betting there is something else.  I will go home and see it in the mail pile on the coffee table and let you know later.  I don't know why I let you know these things.  I wouldn't give a rat's ass about them.  Wait, yes I would!  I think this is part of my hoarder tendencies.  Thank goodness for the show Hoarders, or I might be in really bad shape!

Okay, the speechless wonder is off.  Gotta do my job.  Or at least pretend to the best of my abilities to do my job! 

Yahoo!

Why Do I Have to Write a Paper?

So, here it is way later than my last blog post, and I have nothing interesting at all to say. Ho Hum. Really, I got nothing.

Life has gone the way life does. Eat, sleep, bath, talk to lover man, work, school stuff, eat, eat, work, sleep, eat, shower, brush teeth, sleep, eat, buy toilet paper, eat, watch TV, be obsessed with Facebook. You know, normal life things. Nothing at all interesting.

I did submit my rough draft of my master's project. I am pretty excited about it. For the most part, I got pretty good reviews. So, so far so good. I have some revisions to do. Then I have to resubmit it. Oh, it is so exciting.

Now, there is the subject of the other class I am taking. It is a class on the works of John Steinbeck. I am taking the course only for financial aid purposes. I don't need it for my degree. I have the appropriate number of hours to graduate. Unfortunately, I had to take another class to keep full time status and get my financial aid. So, what better than a John Steinbeck class because he is my favorite author and the reason I want to write! Right? Well, the fucking professor seems to have disappeared. For real. We haven't set a time for the class yet. We can't (me and the other person in the class) reach him by phone or email. We have no idea what is going on in the class! None. I have a reading list that I came up with, but it hasn't been approved by the director of our program. This is super fun.

With all that, I have a masters project due by July 26, and I graduate on August 15. Now, it would seem like maybe this fool would contact us in some way about meeting, assignments (which I have just decided is going to be three papers), reading lists, nothing. He has disappeared.

So, I the director if I can just drop this class because I don't need it at all. She says yes. So, I call financial aid to ask how it would effect my status. And get this, if I drop it, I have to pay back my entire loan right now. Now, I don't know if you know how much it costs to go to a private university for a masters program. Well, it ain't cheap. And unless I can come up with $3000, I can't drop the class. Yay!

Now, I just plan on writing three papers about I have no idea what, submitting them to this man who won't respond, and be done with it. Of course, if he gives me a C, I'm out of the program. But, fuck it. I won't get a C.

Of course, I have been in no mood to read or write as of late. Well, I have been writing. But I am not in the mood for academic writing. I am so over that! But, I shall do my best.

What else is going on? Maybe something far more boring than that last mess of words. Hmmmm. I do get to go to Houston on Thursday to see Jody's band play. Mandy, Tammy, Terra (I hope), my mom, and her new beau are going to be there. No pressure on the boy or anything. Haha. I am sure it will be great! I can't wait to hang out with everyone. I wish I could stay longer than just a few hours. But, we are trudging back that night because The Wooden Birds have to do a radio thing the next morning. Then they play Stubb's on July 4. Yay, heat death at Stubb's. I don't believe I have ever been to Stubb's when it wasn't 92840298402938 degrees. But, alas, I get to see my main squeeze in action! Hurray!

I did have a very odd dream last night. Anyone know what this means? In my dream, I was driving around doing errands. During the dream, I saw 4 car wrecks. I saw a police man directing traffic get run over. And, I saw a car fly off a bridge. What the hell does that mean? I imagine it ain't good. I looked it up, but it didn't make sense what it said. Anyone got a clue?

Okay, enough of Boring McBoringpants. I am off to read some Steinbeck (Let me just tell you how much getting a degree in the humanities will suck the fun out of reading.) I have read it all before, but I gotta brush up. I have papers to write. At least I think I do.

This ain't no Bette Midler kind of Beach trip is it?

So, I get a call the other day while I am at work. It's my Jody asking if I want to take a quick jaunt down to Port Aransas for a night just to hang out with each other and chill on the beach. Well, you know that I always am up for a chill out on the beach. Throw in a gorgeous guy, a couple of beers, and some relaxation time, and I am all in.

So, we set off for our trip early yesterday morning. We got to Portland (Texas, not Oregon) at around 2ish. We stayed there because for some reason there were no rooms anywhere! Not on Mustang Island, Port A, no where. Well, there were a couple for about $220 a night. Nope. So, we stay in Portland. We got our hotel room, chilled for a bit, then set out for the beach! Hurray! Now since, we where staying in Portland, we weren't directly on a beach or near a beach. We just had to get to Aransas Pass and the ferry to get over to Port A and Mustang Island (or backtrack to Corpus) to get to the beach. What we didn't realize was that it was Shimporee fest in Port A and Mustang Island. And the ferry wait (just wait) was at least an hour. Well, at that point we decide we need a new plan (and realize why there are no rooms or cheap rooms available! Duh!). Actually, we decided that, turned around, decided to say fuck it and wait it out, then we realized we would need to wait that long or longer to come back across. So, we turned around again!

Well, we traveled here and there, and all around. We then decided we didn't want to drive all the way back over the gnarliest bridge ever(gnarly in a surfer dude kind of a way. It ruled!) to get to the public beaches of Corpus. So, we find a map of Portland, and we decide to hunt down a place to get some sun! We decided to check out this weird park area called Indian Point Park. You drive down a weird road and come up on it. There are two decks. One goes one way out into the Gulf and the other goes the other way out into the Gulf. On one pier were a bunch of fishermen and family people doing fishermen and family people type things. On the other was no one! Sweet! So, we walk out there (and it is a good ways) on these raggedy boards to this deck that is in the middle of the water. It has benches and these odd short walls on a couple of sides. The benches are big and sturdy and just the right size for laying out on. Oh, it was awesome! We layed out the blanket we had and the towels and layed there in the sun. There were birds and wind and waves and sun! It was exactly what we needed without getting dirty Gulf water gross. Also, the weird walls and being alone led to some awesome outdoor alone couple time...

Anyway, it was fab. We layed there a long while, chatted, hung out, did our thing. It was so much fun! And awesomely enough this was carved into the deck itself...L x J = <3 (or heart)! How cool is that! I took a picture which will come later (because our camera is living its life in Germany now, so I got a disposable one that you have to actually take to get developed! Oh, the horror! No, seriously, the horror. I hope I don't look like shit in all the pictures!)

After that, we decide that it would be fun to go hang out at the hotel pool. Jody and I have spent a bit of times in hotels since our inception. We tend to like weekend or day getaways. And, for some reason, we always migrate to the pool. And that's what we did this time. We hung out in the hot tub (or haTub, for the SNL fans), then went and jumped into the pool! I love doing that. Super hot to super cold is so much fun! We hung out there for quite some time. Jody is a fun pool partner. He'll do handstands and flips with you. I bet he would even play Mermaid if I asked. I haven't yet, but maybe he would! He's a good sport like that.

After that it was back to the room to have a shower and out to dinner. We went back to Corpus for dinner. We stopped at a souvenir shoppe (I just love to write shoppe instead of shop) because I feel it necessary to buy something tacky on every trip we go on. This time I got a coconut girl to go with the coconut man we bought in Port A last summer. This will sit out on our porch and just turn into another one of Schneider's pee points (where one stops to pee), but coconut man really needed a date after a year of getting tinkled on.

We ate at Pier 99. It was pretty damn good. They make a decent margarita! You know I like me a margarita! What's funny is I got a cup of clam chowder, and Jody got a bowl of gumbo (he is searching to find one that tastes like home or Lafayette, LA. He's not having much luck of it.) So, I am sitting drinking a margarita and eating clam chowder! What a combo! It was fucking good, though.

Then we ordered boiled shrimp and a big, ole plate of crab legs. OH MY GOD, BECKY! Those damn crab legs were so good! I have never had crab before. And, holy cow. Alaskan king crab is so fucking good. I nearly feel over! I have decided that sucking on a margarita and sucking on a big, ole crab leg is the most awesome thing to suck on ever! Wait! Halt! Not true! There is one thing I like sucking on more than those things. So, they are the second and third best thing to suck on ever! Crab legs are good. Like really, really good. It took some time getting the hang of it. And mostly, I made Jody get it all taken apart and cracked up for me. And sure, I slung some crab at the kid sitting behind me. But, Jesus on a pool table, that shit was tasty! I recommend it. Now, to try lobster!

After that it was ice cream cones and Bomb Pops(fudge and banana!) all melting over ourselves and a trip back to the room for some "couple time." I love "couple time." We slept great on this huge king sized bed that was raised so high off the ground that my feet didn't touch when they hung off. And I'm pretty much 6 feet tall. So, that's a tall mother f...shut yo mouth!

All in all it was a damn fine super fast trip to the coast. Too bad I had to be at work today (where I got to come in almost 3 hours early because it seems I am the only person who works here who doesn't call in once a week! Yay, work ethic!) So, It is almost 11, and I have been here for almost 7 hours! And I get off at 7am (if I am lucky). So, only 8 more hours to go! Hurray!

But, I had a great time with my mister. I will miss him when he goes away again on Wednesday. But, this is the last leg of the tour for a bit. Hopefully until fall. I sure do miss him when he is gone. I am glad, however, that he has a job that he loves, doing something he loves, with people he loves! But, I do miss him. Glad I got him for now.

So, pictures will follow once I finish off this camera (how odd to say that these days), and I get them developed (which knowing me will be 928984777 years).

That's all for me for now!

Life as I have known it for the past few weeks!

***QUICK NOTE***I have gone and done some retarded posting. So, the pictures are all half pictures. So, if you want to see the whole thing, just click on it. It will take you to my Photobucket page. Lot's of stuff going on there. But, I have no desire to go fix the pictures, so they are staying half pictures. Sorry!***

Guess what? Chicken Butt! Haha. Just kidding. That guess what was for real. If you said what, then I will answer. If you didn't, will have no idea, but will answer anyway! I am back home. I am no longer a vagabond, a hobo, a derelict. Well, I guess I wasn't that at all. It just felt that way.

You see, Jody and I had to be out of our house due to super horrible plumbing problems. Or, our sewer line was completely smashed. This happened long before we moved in, but it didn't rear its ugly head a couple of months ago. So, now water or electricity = the Suarez-Fergusons had to move the hell out. So, we hoteled it up (which sucked because Jody had a serious case of the flu and got into a car wreck where someone hit him and drove off. Super awesome!), then camped out with the most wonderful friends on Earth! They disrupted their normal people schedule to host two duds and a dog with weird musician and night worker schedules. Oh, how patient they are. And what a pair. I love them dearly. I do. I don't think they have any idea how much.

But, now we are home. We were supposed to be in another hotel until Monday. We came to the house on Thursday to pick up some fresh clothes and for me to get some bathroom stuff that I needed (ya know, q-tips, more shampoo, tweezers for my every growing eyebrows) crap that sucks not having on hand even though you have it on hand, only it is at your house in your bathroom drawer. Anyway, the plumbers where there doing something, and Jody went to check on the progress. And lo and behold, they said they were done (except for filling in the hole that could accommodate two grown men underneath our house).

So, unexpectedly, we got to stay in our house. Sure, there isn't a single grocery in the house (I mean, what can you keep with no fridge), our living room looks like a tornado hit it because we have just been depositing stuff there (Christmas stuff, dirty clothes, my childhood that my father dropped off about two days before we had to go, just crap in general) for three weeks. But, we didn't care. We cuddled up and watched TV on our couch or in our bed (among other things, haha) all day and night. We only got up to let the dog out or answer the door for the pizza guy. It was incredible! I missed our place so much! And our shower!!! We have amazing water pressure in the shower, and boy have I missed it!

But, we are home sweet home. And I am thrilled about it. Thankfully, Jody's mom works for a large hotel chain, and she got us a discount. You know how awesome it is to stay in a hotel for $50 less a night than it is supposed to cost? It still gets pricey after eleven days, but it was super doable. And free continental breakfast. Hard boiled eggs, bagels, yogurt, and cereal are quite continental! Anyway, it was so nice of her!

So, that's that. What else has gone on? Oh, Christmas!

***I am interrupting this blog to ponder something. Ponder with me, will you.***

I am at work and taking a lunch break. I just put my microwave dinner in the microwave. The instructions for it include:

(this is verbatim)

2. Place wax paper loosely over tray.

First, who in the world has wax paper now-a-days? Are we in 1944? Am I baking? No! And second, why would you make a microwave meal that you need wax paper for? My office supplies coffee, creamer, sugar, pens, folders, a chair, a desk, a computer, but no wax paper. What kind of company is this? Seriously, wax paper? Are they kidding?

***Done with that rant. Back to my other rants!***

Christmas! I had such a good time at Christmas. Jody got to meet the family. All of them. Even some that I haven't seen in 25 years -for real. It was a very quick Christmas. Got to Houston on December 24th for my Dad's side Christmas. Then to Mom's that night. Then home on the 26th. See, quick. But, in that, I got to see where my mom works (she does good things for poor people), meet a couple of her neighbors, saw my ex-step sister and her boyfriend, played Pictionary Man (I highly recommend it), opened some gifts, ate too much, took tons of stuff home, and learned that MREs are not very good (poor military people).

Here are some pictures:



This is Tam and I at my Aunt's on the 24th. I am the house next to that normal sized girl.




Here's me and my dad. Can you tell we are related? I think he has shrunk. I mean, he's still tall. I am about 6', so you see how tall he is. But, he isn't nearly as tall as he used to be. Maybe one day I will be 5'5!!



This is Jody and me laughing about something. Don't you love his new Christmas sweater? He is so cute!



Here is the whole lot of us. Me, Dad, Tamaramadingdong, and Brenda (my stepmom). Aren't we so happy and Christmasy and pretty? Sha!



Here are Mom and Tam Tam playing Pictionary Man. Mind you, my team (Me, Jody, and Matt) won! Hell, yeah! We rule!


The Jodster making our team Pictionary Man champions!!!


After that was New Year's Eve. I worked. Booooo. It's fine because I got paid for a holiday, so I didn't mind too much. Jody came to work and visited me. My office overlooks Lady Bird Lake and Auditorium Shores. So, we had a nice seat for fireworks. In fact, we saw all kinds of fireworks displays! Lot of far away ones. I wonder who was doing them?

Then came the Isle of Lost Toys. This year, I was sans Jody because he had a show. It wasn't an LBE show (seems my Jody is in a whole lotta bands these days), so I didn't go. He didn't mind. I have only missed one LBE show, and I still feel bad about that. But the band he played with that night is no biggie. I have seen him play with them, and I probably will again. But, it isn't his band band.

Anyway, Isle of Lost Toys. It was so fun. The lame gift (we all bring the lamest gift we got or some sort of white elephant gift) wasn't that lame. I got these tiki looking masks from Kristy and Koley. They used to hang on there wall, and I liked them. So , I am good with them. There were a couple of stink pot gifts, but some were so cool!

Here are some pictures:



Leah got a fine, fine soccer movie starring Pele and Sylvester Stallone. I don't know how Paul was able to part with it. I do believe it was the most awesome gift of the evening!




Kate got a Boccie Ball set that was missing the snitch (snatch in our language and a ball. They were stolen mid game on the beach in Port Aransas. And even the keen, yet drunken skills of Koley and Leah could not find the thief. I think Jody and I were winning that game).



Kristy got a lanyard. Wonder who gave that to her?



Maria got some Leslie magnets. That's a good gift!



Jenn got some awesome drum thingy. I was going to steal it, but I figured with the drum kit and electric drums that I have in my house, I didn't need more drums. I don't play Jody's near enough (although he does give me lessons) to steal these from Jenn.



Tina got a very nice book about some Biological science that was so complicated I couldn't even pronounce it to begin with. There is a glare over the title, or else I would be able to tell you what it was. It was Kate's, so it is a PhD in Microbiology or Biochemistry level book. Being as I am getting a masters in creative writing, we all know that I have no idea about any of that kind of science. Oh, and she got a nice candle!

And not to be forgotten...



Paul got Bryce (and a purse which he is holding)! He will be spending the next year with Kate and Paul. I have seen him sitting high on his shelf. He will be happy there until next year!

Okay, that is sure enough of me for a long while. Nothing much else is going on. My office is moving on Monday to the Children's Hospital! Hurray, as it is only about 4 minutes from my house! Okay, now nothing at all. But, I shall update again soon. Well, I say that, but I am unreliable.

I'm sleepy!

You ever get a bit burned out? With school, work, and life in general I am just tired as hell. Oh good lord, I need some sleep. I have truly not gotten a good night sleep in about 4 months. When I say this, I mean that I average about 3 to 4 hours of sleep a night. Sometimes less. Very rarely more.

Now, I must say that when I do get to go to sleep, I love it. I love to squish up with goony bird, it's really awesome. We kind of just mush together well. And he's really warm. Yay for spooning! And, it helps that we are almost the same height (which is kinda sucky for me because he is 6'2. I am an amazon!). So, at least when I get some sleep, it is comfortable.

I am totally sick of school at this point. As of Tuesday, I will be done for the semester. I really can't think of child prostitutes anymore. That sure is a downer! Thank goodness for my creative writing class. Not that I don't find peace issues fascinating. It is just that they are so depressing! And, I love the creative writing. I don't think I completely suck at it (though I ain't no Steinbeck), so that makes it even more enjoyable. Of course you couldn't tell how much I enjoy writing with the sparseness of this blog. Is that word back there spelled correctly? It doesn't look right. But, fuck it. It isn't underlined, so I am thinking it cool. It looks wrong, though.

Anyway, back to me because that's what this is all about. I am tired! I want to write no more papers. I want to sleep for a week. I can't wait until Tuesday when I am completely off. Other than emailing a paper, I have nothing to do. Well, we do have to go check into a hotel (thanks to fancy plumbing problems). But, that is fine with me. It will be like a vacation, but only minutes from our very own house! Fabulous! I love hotels. I am sure we will still be at the house often. I mean, I am not packing for the winter. But, I am still excited. (Perv moment... hotel sex rules!)

So, what else is going on in Laura Land? My dad and stepmom Brenda came down this weekend. They brought me all the stuff I had stored at their house. I need to get a scanner because my senior year memory book is ripe with hilarity! Oh good lord. And what was wrong with me? I thought I was a sea hag in high school. Nope, I was cute. Damn it. Had I known, I would have been far sluttier than I already was.

I am really excited to have all my Motley Crue and Madonna stuff. My gosh I have a lot of that stuff. I don't even know where I came up with most of it! And who doesn't need to have their old Poison, Warrant, Skid Row, and Pantera ticket stubs? Oh, and the suitcase full of notes! How the hell did I get through school doing nothing but writing and receiving notes? And there is nothing like pulling out your old high school Channelette windbreaker (because doesn't ever girl and boy have one of those) only to note that it is about 2098230498 sizes too small. But, I must say, the notes are the best! That and the pictures.

But, what I am really most excited about are my records! I love my records. I left them at my dad's during my nomad phase when I moved to San Francisco a few years ago. It is really hard to haul 100lbs of records in a Honda Accord across the land. And boy have I missed them. So, I am so excited about that!

I also did find a report from a teacher saying I had persistent misbehavior problems. I was voted Class Clown. I had no choice! Me, persistent misbehavior problems! Whatever. I was nice. Smarmy, sassy, and talkative-yes! But, that ain't misbehaving. Ha Ha, aren't I funny there?

Anyway, it was really cool having my dad and Brenda meet Jody. They seemed to like him. I mean, what's not to lick - like (typo that I am keeping)? He's super. So, it was kind of a familyish weekend. And that was fun. We will see them again at Christmas, but it was nice to have them meet finally. Jody had a show on Friday night. I thought it would be fun, but the 'rents (oh, yes, I wrote that) aren't very dive bar-y.

Okay, I have written long enough. I just was going to write a sentence or two because I am so damn sleepy. But, I am in love with myself, so I think you all (all two of you) need to hear about my entire life. Isn't it fantastic? So filled with excitement and adventure! Yehaw! I guess I do participate in more Mad-Libs than your average gal, but that doesn't directly mean excitement.

Okay, I am off!

Oh, I forgot...I am so happy that Rice Spice is alive and well and back to blogging. Only this time, she is TexaPino. Well, she always has been. But, now she is in Florida. And a FloraPino just doesn't have the same ring to it. That, and she is still a Texan! Once a Texan always a Texan! Welcome back. It makes me feel less pathetic checking your blog everyday! Now, I have a purpose other than stalker-like boredom!