Baby boom!

Lauren reports that they took Cookie to be spayed and SURPRISE! Cookie is a BOY. Still a cutie!

Andree reports that I need to come down and take care of Lucy, because they have been unable to get her to eat and she seems very unhappy.

How SQUOOZABLE is she?!

Maegan is still quite smitten with her little bundle as well. Even is now 2 months old, has enough hair to have his own "do", and talks and coos over the phone!

Keep those updates coming!

Mystery oranges

So I went outside to get the mail the other day and these 2 oranges were sitting on the steps by the mail box.


And so I told Jason, and he said "That's just weird. " And I thought so too. And I suppose that the mailman could have left them, so I said "Well, they look beautiful!", and Jason said "So did Cinderella's apple." And then I said "the only person I know with an orange tree nearby is xxxxxx ". And Jason said "Oh now I KNOW I'm not eating one!". So I guess they will sit on my counter and look pretty.

And all this reminded me of another occasion many, many years ago (pre-Greta), when Jason and I came home from the movie (I believe it was Arlington Road, actually), and there was a Styrofoam container sitting in front of our front door. And I'm thinking to get to my front door, you have to go into a gate, across the yard, up some stairs, into a screen door, and across the porch. So somebody REALLY wanted us to have this Styrofoam box. So Jason went to pick it up and I said "WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" DON'T TOUCH THAT!!!!!

And he said "Wha?" And I said "IT MAY BE A MAIL BOMB."

And he looked at me like I had sprouted another head and said ok I wont' touch it but he went to open the door and I said "WAIT!!!!!!! It may be wired to the door". And he looked at me like I was from Mars. But I said WHY would somebody leave a Styrofoam container on our porch?! That's too WEIRD! Plus, Schaffer is RIGHT THERE @ the door looking at us. If it's wired to the door he will be blown to bits.

So Jason starts looking all around the thing trying to see if it's wired, and doesn't see anything. And I said well let me go knock on the back door and get Schaffer to come back there so if it blows up he'll be ok. And Jason picked up a broom to poke it, and I said that was probably not long enough, so Jason propped the screen door open, and I went and got Schaffer to come to the back of the house, and Jason stood as far back in the yard as he could and threw a shoe at it and...

...nothing happened.

And when we got inside there was a message on the answering machine from my coworkers who were in town working and had gone to dinner and had a bunch of appetizers left but no fridges in their hotel room and so thought they would share their yummy, fancy appetizers with us. But unfortunately, appetizers aren't real good once they've had a shoe thrown at them...

And Jason thought I was totally nuts and WHO WOULD THINK that a Styrofoam box could be a mailbomb? NOBODY. And I said WATCH THIS. And I called my friend Dale, and I said:

"Dale. You get home from the movies, and there's an unmarked Styrofoam box in front of your front door and someone has had to go through a gate, a yard, a screen door, and a porch to get it there. What's your first thought?"

And Dale said "Mail Bomb."

And see, that's why she's my soul mate!

By request: 7 can soup

Saute an onion in some olive oil. Put in big soup pot.

Dump into soup pot:

2 cans of chicken gumbo soup
2 cans vegetable soup (Mom uses Minestrone but it has beef flavoring which grosses me out)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can rotel tomatoes
1 can water

Heat.

Eat.

To make for Christmas:

Cocoons
Date Balls
2 cheesecakes
Sugar Cookies (Martha Stewart recipe)
Molasses cookies
Peanut butter balls
Haystacks

I think that's it. Did I forget anything?

Greta Gray Beard

My baby grrrrl is getting so gray. She turned 9 this year.

Does this match?

Big Ass Bulge

Big ass bulge in my tire on which I drove from Baton Rouge to New Orleans. I kept thinking the car felt funny. Bought 2 new tires!

Synchronized Schnauzers

Occasionally I catch them laying side by side in the exact same position, but I rarely have a camera handy.

Things I like

Making lists
Schnauzers (all dogs really)
Gardens
Reconciling accounts to the penny
Reading

Figuring out Excel formulas

Coffee

Throwing away a pen or highlighter that I have fully used up

Black eye

NM: Look! I got a cut on my eye.
Me: Oh NO! How'd you do that?
NM: I fell of the slide at my office...

NOLA Christmas Miracle

From my window @ the Hampton Inn:

Huh?

We just heard some guy on Geraldo call Bill Clinton an "intergalactic figure".

Really? Now he's picking up women in other galaxies?

Old friends

I am so loving the Facebook. I have reconnected with so many old friends. But, it's also made me really miss a lot of people. My friend Dale being one of them. My soul-mate! She now has four beautiful children and reports that mostly what she does is spend her days putting kids' shoes back on. And occasionally she will send me pictures with priceless captions like this one, which she titled:

"Cotton Pickin'"

This kid is a trip

Me: [on my deck, covered in dirt, planting my fall containers]

NM: [Laying in a box in his driveway, currently pretending it's a pirate ship, with his feet up in the air] Ms Sonya!

Me: Yes bud?

NM: Could you....go.....inside the back of your house...and go to your room....and change your shoes.....(I told him the day before I wouldn't go in his house w/ dirty shoes).....and go out the front of your house.....and go out your gate....and go in my house.....and bring me my tools?

NM's Dad: [Listening to this from the other corner of the backyard] NM! You get up and get your own tools! [Then looks at me and just shakes his head.]

Me: [Cracking up] That kid is a stone-cold trip.

NM: [sighs and decides he really doesn't need his tools right now]

Mom's arm update

She's had surgery and they put pins & plates in it. Now she's going to therapy and she doesn't have to wear her cast @ home. It's still shaped sort of wonky though, I'm hoping it's just sort of still swollen in places?

Thanksgiving 2008

I can't believe I didn't take one single picture of everybody. Here are some random pics:

Scot & Alex

Jason hates me to take his picture, so he's usually glaring at me when I do it.

Me & my bubby

Dad and his #1 girl (Maddie)

Mom getting out her stuff for the Christmas tree.

We ate, we napped, we talked, we laughed. and Mom, Alex, and I went to the "Ladies' Night Open House" @ the flower nook & bought new ornaments. It was a good day.

Fall in the Tulip Street garden

Pics from the garden today in an album linked to the right. I'm loving the colors I finally picked for the container plantings, and I'm loving the alyssum. This is the first time I've used it and it is doing great.

On episodes we hope to avoid repeating

At Christmas every year I take off at least a couple of week. After about 2 days I get bored, and then I start baking like a crazy woman. Last year I did this in 2 days:





Well if I've learned one thing over the years, it's to put away everything edible so Greta can't get to it. Of course, sometimes I forget (she got an entire new bag of Pecan Sandies Thursday, man I really wanted one of those with my coffee this morning...).

But who would've thought that FLOUR would be attractive? So after carefully filling every non-accessible nook and cranny with the things I thought she would like (nuts, chocolate, ginger, etc), I confidently left the house for some reason or another.

And returned to find this:


And then followed the trail of flour to the water bowl. Now we all know what happens when we mix flour and water, right?

So then I followed the trail of GLUE to find this:



And then Greta and I had a long discussion while I washed and cut the glue out of her fur. Boy it was fun. And so this Christmas while I'm baking, Greta will be enjoying the day in her CRATE.

Return to World of Warcraft: Geekdom Revisited

Conversation @ dinner two weeks ago:

Me: How are the guys you are raiding with? (Jason is playing Warhammer Online)
Jason: OK
Me: I miss WOW. (World of Warcraft) Is your new game like WOW?
Jason: It's more oriented towards Player vs. Player and there aren't as many quests.
Me: But is there treasure? And presents?
Jason: No, and there's no dancing, and you can't have pets.
Me:[Looking @ him, stunned that someone would WANT to play a game with no dancing, pets, presents, or treasure...]
Jason: There's a war going on. We don't have time for that crap.

We are nerds, we take our games seriously.

And thus, Blizzard's marketing department once again sucked me in. You evil, evil, bastards. The newest expansion came out a couple of weeks ago, and I haven't broken down and bought that. But I am still able to take advantage of a lot of the new upgrades, like now there are beauty shops where you can get your "hurr did"! And flying carpets! And new pets!

It's silly, and fun, and addictive. We'll see how long until I get sick of it again...

Friday after Thanksgiving Grab Bag

Several things that were on my camera that I wanted to post about. Just random, pretty much.

This was a weird knife I had @ lunch @ Cafe East last week. Do you see the problem? The only way to lay the knife on the table is with the serrated side facing upwards, which can't be the safest thing.

Grape from breakfast @ La Madelaine.

A couple of weeks ago I went to a Master Gardeners' meeting @ lunch, and the topic was using things from your yard in flower arrangements. I think they should adopt Ms. Jennie's terminology, personally, which is "Road Kill Bouquets". This one had Salvia, Rosemary, seedheads from some Purple Coneflower, and something else I can't remember.

Conversation @ work Nov. 21

Internal auditor [glancing @ my planner]: Wow! You are so organized!
Me: um....yeah....did you happen to notice which WEEK of the planner I am working from?




As my friend Charlotte says..."CLICK TO EMBIGGEN"

I LOVE YOU CHARLOTTE!

Charlotte reminded me that some of my old favorites may be on you-tube after she posted a great one on her blog (http://www.digital-legerdemain.com/). There's one of my all-time favorites. One I still sing, but Jason didn't remember, and of couse I couldn't remember all of the words. YouTube RULES!

Finishing Touches

I need a giraffe topiary!!!!!!

Zoo!

I had to be in The Big Sleazy on Monday and Wednesday last week. Tuesday was Veteran's Day. As per current Agency policy, I did not return to my residence which would have required me to prepare a cost comparison. #1, I didn't want to do the cost comparison. #2, my neck and shoulder are a disaster from driving back and forth so much and I did not want to exacerbate the issue, and #3, I wanted to go to the zoo. So Jason came down for the day and that's what we did. It was perfect weather, the zoo wasn't crowded, and most of the animals were out and about. I got some great pictures and a few crappy ones, but I'm getting better with the camera. I think this time there were more good ones than bad ones.

I've been wanting to go to the zoo for awhile so that was good, plus it was just a good date with my hubby.

In process

Infinite Jest - David Foster Wallace - I'm about 370 pages into it. It's about 900 pages so nobody get too excited about be finishing it any time soon. It's great. I'm loving it.

Rich Dad, Poor Dad (on tape in the car) - making me look at what an "asset" is in a different way and wishing I was a little more bold and courageous as far as business goes.

Thinking about loading Abundance onto my i-pod next.

The Joy Luck Club

I got a little too excited about all the books I was ordering on half.com and ordered this one, which is ABRIDGED, which I hate. I listened anyway because I needed something on tape to drive to New Orleans one day and didn't take the time to load something on my i-pod. It was actually pretty good, at least as far as making me want to read the actual book. Plus it was read by the author, which I love, because then you get the pronunciation of names and such correctly. The book is going on my "to read" list.

Best Poems of All Times

Was only 1 tape, but ok I guess for $1.99. Poems from ancient thru the 1850's. Glad to hear them read to me alound by good poetry readers. Made me want to order a few more of this series.

A Thousand Splendid Suns

Finished (on audio): A Thousand Splendid Suns - Another Wow. Another one that really opened my eyes to what it's like to live day to day in the middle east, and made we want to learn more about what has happened and continues to happen there. The thought of not being safe is so alien to me. The closest I've ever really come to feeling like that was during Hurricane Katrina when we had 100,000 extra people wandering around...some angry, most at least disoriented. Many wandering around our neighborhood because we live close to the River Center which was a major evacuation point. We heard stories of violence, but never actually saw any, but there was this constant undercurrent of tension which was so odd and also oddly distracting. I can't imagine what it must be like to ACTUALLY be in constant danger, never feeling safe, never being able to relax your mind. How do people survive that? What must it do to a person's psyche?

"A Delta Wedding" - Eudora Welty

I'm glad a read this one. It was nice to recognize places, people, speech patterns, and habitats that are my own. It took me a while to get through it just because it wasn't the most tremendously interesting story I've ever heard, but it sort of felt like little pieces of home.

Planted, pruned, weeded, mulched, hauled, entertained, had a conversation that involved the words "no goldfish crackers please", collapsed

Caveat: this may sound like a lot, but my yard is about 2 inches by 2 inches :)

Planted: 7 foxglove, 1/2 a flat of pansies, 2 million bells petunias, swiss chard, 2 six-packs violets, cat whiskers, lemon grass.

Pruned: lemon tree, papyrus, butterfly bush, shrimp plant, indigo, roses (5), plumbago, pomegranate tree, elephant ears, vitex (2) lantana, buford holly, duranta, lorepetelum.

Weeded: front 5 beds and paths, bed outside picket fence on side, back patio, back courtyard, 3 back beds. I did the whole back from 8:00pm -11pm last night. I just got on a roll. And it was cool and no bugs. It was quite enjoyable, actually.

Mulched: all front beds.

Hauled: giant pile of cuttings and about 10 bags of weeds and leaves to the front.

Entertained: Don't know if I was very entertainING, but I was entertainED. Neighborman kept me company all afternoon. He even brought me 2 snacks - on his own, unbidden. One was goldfish crackers in a cup of water which was disgusting, but how do you argue with "you need to try just one before you say you don't like it." Then later he split his peach with me. Too sweet. Then he offered to bring me water, and I said sure but please no goldfish crackers in it.

Collapsed: It's 8:30 pm and I'd like to go to bed now thanks.

In process: unpotting and repotting all of my succulents.
Left to do: get more mulch more violets and finish planting (rest of flat of pansies, 2 flats of another color pansies, dianthus, and alyssum, 2 wallflowers, cuban oregano)

THE BEST PART OF THE WEEK: Jason fixed ALL THREE FRONT GATES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! woohoo!!! I bet the postlady will want to kiss him.

Thanks Polly!

Once at a regional conference several years ago the trainers put out colors and paper and play dough and pipe cleaners and things on each table for people to play with during the training sessions. I am a big doodler to begin with. I can't keep my hands still when I'm listening to the TV or a presentation or music or anything else. So this was awesome.

I made this little critter, flew him home on the plane with me and everything, and I think he's held up pretty darn well! Who knew play dough art could last years? He sits on my second-to-the-top shelf in my office, which is also occupied by my collection of fish bottles (see previous post on why it's bad for me to try to collect things...)

huh?

Stated by the head lady of the Dallas Cowboys Making the Team show thing talking about the cheerleader's outfits:

"no one uniform is the same".

and now Jason and I are arguing because we both think it was a dumb statement, but for different reasons. No one reason is the same.

Tagged - Eight Things

Eight shows I like to watch
1-Lost
2-The Office
3- Big Love
4-True Blood
5 -Project Runway
6- Mystery Diagnosis/Mystery ER
7-True Crime shows (48 hours, Dateline Investigation, etc.)
8-House

Eight Favorite Restaurants
1- Don't really have any right now other than China Palace in McComb
2-

Eight Things that Happened to me Yesterday
1- I helped Jason clean the driveway
2- I bought plants @ Clegg's and Louisiana Nursery
3- I uploaded my time report
4- I talked to my neighbor
5- I hung out with my cousin Kenny
6- I met a new potential friend @ the plant nursery - turns out she lives right around the corner from me!
7- I looked for Hatchlings on Facebook
8- I decided that I love mid-centry modern architecture

Eight things I’m looking forward to
1- Mom's arm getting better
2- Jason finding a new job that he loves
3- Getting the front and back gardens ready for fall
4- Finishing the two work reports I have outstanding
5- Finding our dream house and moving
6- The new season of Lost
7- Getting in the books I ordered from Half.com
8- Maybe going to St. George Island this winter

Eight Things I Love About Fall
1- Working in my garden
2- A little cooler weather
3- Less bugs
4- Pumpkin and spice flavored coffees @ the coffee shops
5- Getting to see more of my brother and Alex during LSU football season
6- The colors of the Tallow Tree by my driveway
7- Different kinds of birds in the yard
8- Baking pumpkin seeds

Eight things on my wish list
1- Island swirl bracelet, ring, and earrings from Sonya Ltd. in St. Croix
2- A carpenter to finish the house to-do list
3- A new house
4- A laptop computer
5- I guess I need a new car eventually - but I don't want to spend the $ on one
6- A fully funded retirement fund
7- A paid off mortgage
8- Money to give away to causes I believe in

Eight things I’m grateful for
1- My husband
2- My parents and my brother
3- The rest of my family
4- A great job (thanks Mom)
5- That I can feel joy over little things
6- That my parents instilled in me a love of reading and music
7- That I live in a country where people can disagree politically and it doesn't result (usually) in violence
8- The internet

I tag everyone who reads my blog because I want to know what you all have to say!

Mid-career retirement

This week I attended a mid-career retirement planning class and learned a TON of things about my own benefits that I didn't know before. It was great, maybe I'll post about some of the stuff sometime. But the main thing I need to share is that the class was presented by two guys. One of them - I swear - if I had closed my eyes and just listened I would swear the class was being taught by Jim Cramer (Mad Money). The other guy - if I closed my eyes and listened - sounded just like that one guy - you know - that comedian guy - short with a weird voice? Yeah that one. I'll think of his name later.

Update on the reading blog

http://colloquialtimesreadings.blogspot.com/

New purchases!

I'm listening to the last book-on-tape I bought during my during last half.com shopping spree - A Thousand Splendid Suns. This week I was @ a mid-career retirement planning class and the guys recommended several books, so I decided to check half.com again and I hit the jackpot! Here's what I bought:

All on audio - some cassettes and some CD's. With shipping - $83.25!!! How do you like THAT?

I am so excited. Can't wait for the Sena Jeter Naslund book - I love her writing. Her first book - Ahab's Wife - is in my top 10 of all time. The Time Traveler's Wife and The Joy Luck Club have been on my to-read list for awhile. I can't wait for the Top Poems and I'm happy to get the audio of this one. I think I'll get a different sort of perspective hearing them read aloud. The investing books are the ones that were recommended in my class.

Consider the Lobster is one by David Foster Wallace who is another of my favorite authors. You Suck is by Christopher Moore, who writes really funny sort-of-science fiction. Sort of Douglas Adams-y. If you haven't read him, I recommend Fluke. It's a hoot.

The Invisible Man and The Sun also Rises are two of those classics that I just never picked up and read, and the last two books satisfy my long-time curiosity the criminally insane. Remember in the 5th grade when I wanted to be an FBI agent? Or my freshmen year of college when I majored in psychology for that couple of months?

These books should last me awhile and make my drives back and forth to New Orleans a little more tolerable.