Marigold Gets a Bath, I Feel Bad for Her

Grandma's Green Thumb

I like to think I got it.





I pruned the big tree out front. The branches were near dragging the ground. Yes sir, yes sir, eight bags full!

Cookies Smell Like Home

Our house is finally a home! After 11 months and 5 days, I baked cookies for the first time in this house. Oh sure, I fired up the oven to cook dinner many times. I didn't feel like I had the luxury of free time, inspiration, ingredients and clean, functional kitchen until tonight. I baked Chad's favorite cookies, oatmeal chocolate chip with extra cinnamon. They smell so yummy, much better than any scented candle, and you can eat them. I don't recommend eating scented candles, too waxy, blech.

I Don't Feel Like Dancin'

When we bought our house eleven months ago, there was an odd rectangle of paver squares in the backyard. 108 square pavers to be exact. Whoever put them there must have run a few pavers short, because there were two pavers missing from one corner of the full rectangle shape. Theories about the presence of the squares ran from the practical: a foundation for a storage shed or lawn chairs; to the creepy : a marker for the buried crime evidence; to the silly: a dance floor. The name "dance floor," cleverly proposed by our friend, Merry, stuck.

Chad and I finally removed the dance floor this week. Hopefully some grass will grow, and in a few months, the dance floor will be a dim memory. Oh, and the only things we found under the dance floor were a colony of snails, some fire ants and a few tenacious dandelions; no crime evidence.

Local Spendthrift Finally Treats Himself!

Let's get that disclaimer outta the way: I love my sweet husband Chad. BUT he has this weird affliction that causes him to agonize over purchases other than groceries or sale-priced sneakers. I'm not the only one who has noticed. One of his work friends will vouch for the four-month period of hand-wringing and obsessive research that had to take place before Chad bought a laptop computer.

I should also 'fess up that I never liked Chad's Volkswagen GTI car. With its V6 engine and tiny frame, it was like a roller skate powered by a bottle rocket -- too fast, all over the place and bumpy. Last Friday when Chad told me he wanted to go to the Scion dealership to look around, I was overjoyed at the prospect of ditching that VeeDub, that we'd dubbed "the Nauseator." I tried to conceal my glee while reminding Chad to take his proof of insurance, title information and checkbook with him, just in case he might want to trade-in the reviled VW. I doubted that he could make a decision so quickly about a purchase as large as an automobile, but I'm proud of him for sealing the deal. Here are pics of his new Scion Xb! I love the smoother ride and roomy interior with easy fold-down seats.




Chad also bought a grill to complete our outdoor experience now that we have deck furniture. It took a few shopping expeditions to different vendors and lots of online research, but we have enjoyed grilled veggies and chicken several times already.




We even had some friends over for dinner last night so Chad could show off his grilling skills with veggie and chicken fajitas. Since it was Friday the 13th, and we went with a fiesta theme, I got this yummy theme cake from Russell's Bakery that said, "Buena Suerte!" which translates as "good luck." We had good luck with the weather situation. The predicted tornadoes, hail, raining frogs and lightning held off until 9:00 when we were done grillin' and chillin' al fresco.

Awww, cute; Ewww, gross!

Sonic and Kenji have these little squeaky mice that they like bat at and carry around in their mouths. Both kitties give the squeaky mice lots of kill shakes out of some hunting instinct. Kenji likes to hide the mice under bed covers or behind one of the litter boxes. Sonic likes to bring his mice up on the bed with him. I'm not sure if he's proudly showing off his prey or if he is cuddling with the squeaker.

In possibly related news, the dead body of a female rat was found under the deck today. Leading suspects are Sonic and Kenji. Both cats have been spending time outside with me lately as I pull up dandelions and water plants in the back yard. Marigold prefers to lounge on the deck or hover in the doorway. She doesn't like to get her paws dirty, so I doubt that she was the perpetrator. Whoever killed the rat, I'm so glad that the body didn't get dragged into the house to be hidden or presented to me in the bed!

Poppin' & Lockin'

I love to tell the story about my husband, Chad, taking breakdance lessons. When he lived in California, the youngsters were into this crazy dancing style that originated on "the streets." Chad's venture into breakdance had zero street credibility. His mom paid for the lessons. They lived in the suburbs. Invariably when I tell people about Chad's breakdance lessons, they ask him for a demonstration. To my great delight, he usually looks sheepish, does a shy act and begs out of performing any poppin' & lockin'. (Breakdancing involves some poppin' & lockin' of bone joints and muscles for moves like the wave, the worm, moonwalking, etc...) One time at a wedding reception, Chad actually obliged and showed off some of his moves. Sadly, I must report that Chad's mom wasted her money on those breakdance lessons. One of the other guys at the wedding reception had a lonely childhood spent studying Michael Jackson videos and memorizing ALL of the choreography. He recreated several of Michael Jackson's dance routines with alarming and amusing accuracy! Thus putting Chad's so-called breakdance skills to shame.

Today after my yoga class, the lady behind me commented that she heard some poppin' from me during class. It was NOT the usual popping of chewing gum (bad habit of mine), but rather my knee joints popping and my leg bones popping in my hip sockets. The lady behind me was my mom's age and a little more limber than I'll ever be. Sigh. A few weeks ago in yoga class, I got a bad cramp in my glutes (butt muscles.) I got stuck in this hard yoga pose with my bootie-muscle-cramp, like physically locked into it. My poppin' & lockin' aren't very impressive either. Chad & I are well matched.

A Few of my Favorite Things

Chad & I did some minor yard work this weekend, which is not exciting. UPS delivered our deck furniture from Target's Smith & Hawken collection. This is kind of exciting, because we can better enjoy our deck, especially now that the weather is nice.

I'm in a count-my-blessings mood. The following is a list of some of my favorite things. You'll notice lots of food related items on the list, because I've been dieting, and because I'm kinda hungry.

Favorite dessert: S'mores
Favorite drink: Republic of Tea's Ginger Peach Tea
Favorite sushi restaurant: Uchi
Favorite comfort food restaurant: Hyde Park Bar & Grill
Favorite pizza: Home Slice
Favorite Tex-Mex food: Guero's - the senorita plato
Favorite clothing brand: Lucky Brand
Favorite stores to linger in: It's a tie between Book People & Love on S. 1st St.
Favorite shopping website: Bluefly.com
Favorite movie: Spirited Away
Favorite TV series: It's a tie between Veronica Mars on the CW and the BBC production, Midsomer Murders. (I like mysteries.)
Favorite book: The Hundred Secret Senses by my favorite author, Amy Tan
Favorite band: Nada Surf -- I got to see them play last year at Emo's. They were great live!
Favorite city to visit: Seattle
Favorite leisure activity: It's a tie between reading magazines in bed and going to yoga.
Favorite stylist: Monica at Maximum FX
Favorite cat: Who can choose?!

Hey... Beep, Beep!

I'm tooting my own horn here. Beep, beep! I'm 1/3 of the way to my weight loss goal and I'm very excited. I'm still doing the South Beach Diet, but with a few personal modifications. I lowered the protein intake a bit, because I'm prone to kidney problems and because I don't eat mammals. (How could I eat a furry friend? Fins and feathers aren't as charming for some warped reason that I've rationalized.) I also eat a Dove dark chocolate square just about every day. Studies have shown that the antioxidants in dark chocolate are good for you and that chocolate makes for happy brain chemicals. I'm ignoring any studies that refute this information, because those wacky scientists are just being contrary to get published. I also allow myself one semi-decadant meal out each week.

I'm going to the gym three times a week. With my ipod in place, I while away the calories on the elliptical machine. I do pushups and lots of crunches. I go to yoga once a week, though I'd like to practice yoga more. I've started walking a few miles in the evenings with Chad again at least twice a week.

Spa - aaahhhhh....

One of my favorite, and very generous, Furry Godmother clients gave me a half-day gift certificate to Lake Austin Spa back in December. I finally used my gift certificate yesterday. I got a massage, a soothing facial and had lunch at the cafe. The grounds of Lake Austin Spa are beautiful. Finding your way out to the spa is a little trippy, both in distance and in the vibe of the surroundings. You have to drive through this very Stepford Wives kind of master-planned community called Steiner Ranch. I am so glad that Chad & I have made our home in central Austin. We fought the social pressure to have a bigger house for the same price out in the suburbs. I think I'm allergic to the suburbs and master-planned communities. Anyway, once you get through Stepford Ranch, I mean Steiner Ranch, then you drive through some road construction to arrive lakeside at the spa. The spa grounds are landscaped with all sorts of native plants and fragrant herbs. The spa was pretty and nice-smelling, outside and inside. Recordings of nature sounds and serene music played throughout the treatment rooms and lounge areas.

The one discordance at my half-day at the spa was the overwhelming presence of a gaggle of birthday guests. I get the feeling some of them couldn't read, because they ignored the signs that were posted every 12 feet declaring the spa a quiet place for relaxation. They all had on silly, plastic tiara headbands and were ready for a hootenanny! I did my best to ignore these women until one of them threw the privacy curtain open on my post-massage shower. I was there in my birthday suit, and said, "excuse me," and tried to close the curtain quickly. Plastic tiara lady still had the curtain in her hand and stood gaping (the trips to the gym are paying off, I guess) while apologizing and trying to explain that she thought she had put her things in that shower. My mom has this saying, "they act like they've never been anywhere." Which means that the party in question lacks good manners and social skills. I think it applies here.

For those of you in Austin, I highly recommend that you browse Cissi's Market next time you're lounging around SoCo. One of my favorite previous clients, Victoria Lynden, was the creative vision behind this lovely coffee shop / deli / gourmet shop. Chad and I went this weekend for a look. We had coffee and a toffee crunch cookie (don't tell the South Beach Diet police!) The Kohana (Hawaiian) coffee was great. Cissi's Market is gorgeous inside with well planned, understated merchandising. Some of the items are a bit pricey, but it's good stuff. You don't want to fight the crowds at Whole Foods Market when you can get your indulgent items and coffee or lunch at Cissi's Market. The shop is named for Victoria's late mom which I find very sweet. And I'm NOT just saying all of this because she's the one who gave me the spa gift certificate, or because her dogs were my favorite canine clients!

Cut the Cake Already! (Our Trip to Los Angeles)

I feel that four hours should be the socially mandated duration for a wedding reception. Nine hours is excessively long for a wedding. I'll explain the source of these revelations. Chad and I went to Los Angeles for our friends' wedding. We really like these friends, and are genuinely happy to see them get married to each other. The venue, the Oviatt Penthouse in downtown Los Angeles was a beautiful marvel of Art Deco opulence circa 1927. However, the ceremony was outside on the rooftop and many guests were unprepared, lacking sunglasses. We thought the wedding, which began at 3:00, would be over by 8:00. When we covertly ducked out at 8:15, the cake had not been cut, the dancing had just started, I had the beginnings of a headache, and the word was going round that the happy couple had the venue until midnight. Really?! I'm not a big fan of any kind of pomp and circumstance, but I can usually whip myself up into a convincingly festive mood for about three hours. Four hours is a stretch, but I can sometimes plaster that smile on if there is promise of birthday cake or wedding cake. Mmmm... cake. Please, as a public service to all humanity, cut the cake before the four hour mark.

Two years ago, when Chad and I went to LA together for the first time, it was nice. We stayed at the Ambrose Hotel in Santa Monica. The hotel was lovely, with zen-like decor, Aveda shampoo & body washes and a free shuttle around town. Santa Monica was lovely with the beaches, the Promenade shopping area and the good restaurants. The whole area was lush with landscaping. My BEST friend from college, Karen Starr, met us for dinner two nights and played hostess, showing us around Santa Monica and Venice. We also met up with our friend in Pasadena who hosted us for a night and showed us around Pasadena.

This time around, our trip to LA was relaxing and nice, but not as splendiferous as our last trip. We arrived Thursday morning. We walked around downtown LA and saw the Design Institute fashion school. We also explored clothing designer showrooms in the Cooper Building which were not open to the public, but did allow us to press our noses against the glass walls and marvel at the lovely displays.

Our Pasadena pal was supposed to meet us Thursday night for dinner, but stood us up. We still haven't heard from him. Boooooo... We ate at one of the hotel restaurants that night, which was gross and expensive -- a double disappointment. The hotel itself, the Wilshire Grand, was nice with a big room, a pool and a 24 hour gym. It's located in downtown LA. Downtown LA is not that fabulous -- very much a corporate jungle of tall buildings and chain shopping.

We DID get to cross paths with Miss Universe, Zuleyka Rivera, who is a lovely woman and very funny judging from the laughter coming from her group. She was in town for some pageant, and stayed on the same floor as we did, dining each morning with us in the "executive lounge" (famous for the good, free breakfast and free Diet Cokes all day.) I also ran into Miss Universe in the gym. She's a hearty, curvy girl versus being a size-zero twig. She's my new hero.

Friday we ventured out to a salad place for lunch and to a bookstore. We found a yummy Peruvian-inspired restaurant called Cuidad for dinner. The ceviche was delicious and South Beach Diet friendly. I spotted Joel Madden from the band, Good Charlotte, there. He looks smaller in person.

After dinner Friday night, we went to a wedding-sponsored welcome party at the Point Moorea Tiki Bar which was housed in the hotel. The guests of honor were an hour late to their own party. (Gasp!) We made polite chat with some friends of the groom's parents' while awaiting their arrival. We stayed for another hour after the couple arrived, but then both needed our beauty sleep as we were still operating on Texas time which is two hours later than California time.

Saturday was the afore-mentioned marathon wedding.

Sunday was fun-day! Karen Starr came through with a fun day of activities in downtown LA that we would have missed if left to our own devices. We got to meet Karen's steady boyfriend, Matthew, who is very nice and fun. We had lunch and traded house-remodeling stories. Karen & Matthew also have a 1950s home, but are much braver than we are. Matthew knocked out a kitchen wall recently and is opening it up to the living area. Karen let him. Both very brave! After lunch, we walked past the Walt Disney Concert Hall to the Museum of Contemporary Art for a feminist art show entitled WACK! As a woman, I'd love to be able to say that I liked the show, but we all ended up making fun of it, which was fun in its own way. We detoured through Little Tokyo for sushi and "crazy milk" before trekking up Broadway (yes, there's one in LA too) to ogle a movie shoot in progress. Then it was time to hug Karen and Matthew goodbye and go rest. Sunday night we ordered room service and watched Deja Vu (the Denzel Washington mystery-thriller.)

Monday was travel home day. I am not a fan of the LAX airport. There's a certain sense of seething anarchy waiting to erupt there that makes me uneasy. The check-in area is very poorly planned and the security lines are long and chaotic. I think we'll fly into the Burbank airport next time, head straight for Santa Monica, stay at the Ambrose and hang out with Karen & Matthew. Oh yeah, and not count on any cake-cutting for our carb fix!

Fences Make Good Neighbors... for Peeking!

Our little dude, Sonic, has made friends with our two back door neighbors. They are Beagles. Sonic and the Beagles stare at each other and sniff each other through the knot holes and slats in the fence. It's achingly cute and sweet!

South Beach Update: It's Day 10 and I've lost 6 pounds. I feel a little low energy, and have been cranky from the carb-withdrawal. I love carbs! Good (whole wheat bread, steel-cut oatmeal, fruit) and bad (bagels, cupcakes, chocolate); I miss them so! On Wednesday morning, I'll be done with phase 1! I plan to celebrate with a piece of whole wheat toast and a golden delicious apple. Phase 2 will be much easier.

TGITemporary!

This full-time work thing really puts a damper on my blog reading, TV viewing, socializing and leisure reading! I've been pushing papers and fielding phone calls at the art school for the past week to help them with the annual onslaught of parents trying to pawn their kids off to art day camps for the summer. Some of these preschool parents get downright tearful when I deliver the bad news that the summer day camps are all full. I don't blame them if the racket in the background of these phone calls is any indication of how their days are spent. I hear kids bickering, doors slamming, wee ones whining, dogs barking, other phones ringing, musical instruments being abused and in one case, glass shattering. Yikes! Is it awful that I love kids, but don't want my own?

I'm halfway through the ultra-restrictive Phase 1 of the South Beach Diet. I spend a good portion of my day chewing crunchy vegetables. I am counting the hours until I can eat an apple and a slice of whole grain toast in Phase 2. (No fruit, no sugars, no baked goods of any kind, no carrots, no "bad" fats of any kind are allowed in Phase 1.) Chad has been kind of doing the diet with me. I say "kind of," because he ate a sandwich bun Saturday and had squash (a forbidden vegetable) tonight. I should be glad that Chad wants to be supportive and act in solidarity with me, but it's actually quite irritating. He is thin and muscular and does not need to lose weight. It bugs me that he would deny himself yummy things and be so disciplined when he doesn't need to, and probably shouldn't. My inner-irrational-angry self (she sounds fun, huh?) feels like he is mocking this HUGE sacrifice I've made in my eating habits. It's as if he's saying, "What's so hard about this? I'm thin and muscle-bound, and I'm having no trouble sticking to this diet." To which I reply, "Aaarrgh! Eat some bread and sugar, skinny boy!"

I'm glad that my job and Phase 1 of South Beach are both temporary, because I'm getting a touch cranky!

Manhattan is Dirty & I'm Busy

Wow, it's been a long time since I had a free moment to update this blog. Sonic enjoys climbing over the newspapers and mail that I need to sort.

1. We are safely home and NOT moving to New York City. Interesting place to visit; not where we want to live, not even for just a year. I have such a sense of peace about this decision. I love my cozy-cute 1952 house! I love Austin! I love my friends here!

2. I got a temporary, full-time job helping out at the art school where I worked back in 2000 - 2003. It's fun being back there and helping them get through a busy time, but I'm glad it's temporary.

3. I started the South Beach Diet -- should be named the South Bitch Diet! (Sorry for the bad language, relatives!) I need to lose weight and develop healthier eating habits. This diet is very sensible, and I'm not starving, but I am currently in "Phase 1" which is super-restrictive. Phases 2 and 3 will be much easier, but I am craving a tortilla like nobody's business!

So here are photos and a few of the things we did in New York City last week:

We arrived on Wednesday, February 21. We stayed at the gorgeous corporate apartment. It's bigger than our house! Centrally located on 5th Ave, the apartment boasts 2 master suites, 3 bathrooms and a huge, open, modern kitchen and living area. The only downside was that the owners of Chad's company hosted a reception party Wednesday night for the New York office employees at the apartment, so we didn't get to bed until kind of late.

Thursday I shopped and explored Chelsea and Union Park while Chad worked. The snow piled up on the sidewalks was filthy-dirty. That filth clings to your pants cuffs and coat tails. Now I understand why New Yorkers wear dark colors from head to toe. I thought they were all just depressed, but the dark attire hides the dirt. ICK! I met Chad in the evening and we attended the New York office-warming party to celebrate the new digs. I shook hands and smiled and nodded and tried to make jokes and ask people about themselves and it was SO BORING. I am a bad trophy wife. After schmoozing the business connections at the party, a smaller group of us went out for Mexican food. New York does NOT have good Mexican food -- go figure!

I poured my heart out to one of the New York office girls about how much I miss Chad when he travels, and she seemed to be sympathetic to my situation and was very complimentary of Chad. Later, I rounded the corner just in time to hear this same girl urging Chad to get a divorce and be "an eligible bachelor in New York City." Yeah... she's off of my holiday card list!



Friday I finally got Chad all to myself! We ate at a very hip, yummy restaurant disguised as a coffee shop / diner. Chad is pictured outside of it. Can you feel the irony oozing out of this place?

Chad and I explored some cool stores and walked for miles.

We went to the Modern Museum of Art. Chad liked this painting because it matched his shoes.

Saturday we went to lunch at the Union Square Cafe. We saw the 2:00 show of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. The show was schmaltzy-cute, but fun. We walked home through Times Square.

We found a few blocks of Broadway around 28th Street that are to be avoided in the future at all costs -- scary and apparently where you can buy drugs. Yikes. My best advice in these situations is to keep walking purposefully with your head up, because these unsavory characters can smell fear. We pretended to be confident and they didn't bother us.

Saturday night we met up with Carolyn, who used to live in Austin. We hung out at her very cute, but very tiny apartment in Lower East Village. The shower was seriously in the kitchen! I thought that was a false stereotype about New York City apartments, but it's true! Her rent is the same as our mortgage and we have about 800 square feet more of living space. Carolyn took us to a great Indian restaurant for dinner -- YUM!



















Sunday we ate lunch at Lupa, one of Mario Batali's (of Food Network fame) places. Chad, who was born in Italy, loved it. After lunch we explored SoHo shopping. It started snowing, so we went back to the apartment to rest. We got a take-out pizza for dinner and watched the Academy Awards. I braided Chad's hair and gave him silly cornrows. Anything to avoid going out in the snow!

Monday I flew home and Chad flew off to Ohio for a work meeting. We're both home now and need to do some laundry!

Night Owl

When I am worried about something, sleep is the first thing to suffer. I am so torn about this opportunity to move to New York City for a year for Chad's work. A year ago, when we lived in the condo and were faced with our landlord selling the place out from under us, I would have jumped at this year in NYC. Now, I just want to stay put and live in this house we've worked so hard to personalize. I am still recovering from the marathon summer of house work, the loss of my dad and this helpless sense of not knowing what I want to do now that I'm a grownup.

Chad is a very driven person. He has worked hard and achieved amazing success with his design career. I envy him, because as an adult, I lack direction. I have a semi-paralyzing fear of failure. When I was a kid, I was tagged as "gifted." I LOVED school! I was great at it. If someone clearly defines the expectations and sets me in the right direction, I'm golden. Every time I turned around, someone was giving me a gold star, an A+, or citing my school work as a shining example. As a born people-pleaser, receiving all that praise was similar to the kind of high that a drug user feels, and that praise was just as addictive. As an adult working at jobs, there is rarely anything like a syllabus or clearly explained expectations. Companies value self-starters, and the praise is not lavished nearly so generously as it was in school. Also as an adult, I've run into amoral business practices that don't mesh with my personal values. I've experienced harassment on the job and toxic employer relationships. In the past, I've taken jobs where I know I can succeed, then burn myself out trying to get some positive feedback, that precious praise that I crave. I know that I should find something personally fulfilling and quit seeking that external approval, but it's much easier said than done.

So I'm awake tonight (as I was last night) because, I don't want to tell Chad that I don't want to move to New York City if it means that I'll diminish his career opportunities or general happiness in any way. But I also don't want to say yes just to make him happy, or because it's what I think I should say. No doubt, moving again (after just moving into this house in June and after just completing the major house projects in mid-November) will be a HUGE deal. On top of this, I was in the midst of researching further education here in Austin -- you know, to try and have my own career someday, instead of just another dead-end job that leaves me feeling burnt-out.

This morning I got a reminder email from one of the shopping websites I like that my late dad's birthday is in 14 days. Ugh. I miss him still. Losing him so suddenly has made the grieving process kind of grueling. I've worked through all of the stages, but sometimes I get a little jolt where I suddenly remember that he died, and it just knocks me out again. Tied up in this loss are so many reflections on my own mortality and the limits of our time on this earth. It's like a one-two sucker punch that leaves me dizzy with the wind knocked out of me, but also raring to deliver my own blow. I am both exhausted and restless.

I think this lack of sleep and this very unsettled feeling is prolonging my cold. I still feel congested, wheezy, sneezy and head- achy.

Chad and I are getting on a jet Wednesday for five days in New York City. I know I'll have a more definite idea of whether or not I want to move there once I've spent a little time there again.

WWUD?

What would you do if you had the opportunity to move to New York City for one year? Would you go knowing that you could probably return to your hometown at the end of a year if you wanted to?

The offer came today to move to New York City for about a year for Chad's work. There are so many questions and uncertainties. I don't know where to begin.

I love our house. I am so proud of all of the hard work that Chad and I have put into making it our home, but I shouldn't get hung up on material possessions and miss out on an amazing adventure, right? Or should I keep in mind all that I've been through in the past year and just enjoy the fruits of so much hard labor put into this house?

We haven't even been here in our house a full year yet. I get a little verklimt when I think of a new owner repainting these freshly painted walls. Chad and I put blood, sweat and tears (the tears were mostly from me when I thought it would NEVER be finished) into this home. I don't think I could bear to rent the house out for a year, because it would be weird to move all of our stuff out to storage, and then have to move back into our own home after strangers left their imprint on the place. What if the renters cooked meaty stew every week and then our house reeked forevermore? Gag!

I'd be fine with selling my car for a year in the big city. Truthfully, I have a twinge of buyer's remorse about buying another BMW back in October. I chose it chiefly because BMWs are the safest cars on the road, and because a slightly used BMW was cheaper than a new VW or a new Honda.
** Side rant: I hate that some people see the BMW badge and assume that I'm a high-maintenance snob. My own mother calls me materialistic based largely on this car purchase. I look in the mirror everyday and see the scar on my forehead where I violently collided with the dashboard of my dad's old Mustang when I was a kid in Louisiana. I still have a very vivid, visual memory of an EMT in a white uniform pulling me out of that orange muscle-car and putting me in the back of an ambulance. I remember the smell of iodine burning my eyes, and the sickening feeling of getting stitches sewn into my forehead. Thus, I'm a big fan of any car engineered to help a driver avoid accidents, but also fitted with generous crumple-zones, front and side curtain airbags, and steel beams down the sides, just in case. That said, I'll let those people assume where they can stick their assumptions about my car choice!**
I'd trade the safe BMW, and other people's assumptions about that car choice, for a year of walking, subways and taxi rides.

I would not move to New York City indefinitely. However, there's some sense of safety in knowing that there is an exit strategy if I / we hate it. ( As mentioned above, I like safety.) As long as I have Chad and my three sweet kitties with me, I think that a year in New York City would be like an extended travel adventure! Am I being manic?

I'm so, so torn. I'm planning the move to New York City in my head and alternately thinking about native, low-water plants for the yard in Austin. We haven't even done anything to the yard yet! ( You say to-may-toe, I say to-mah-to. You say dirt, I say yard.)


In other news, after five days of couch and bed rest, I'm finally starting to feel better. That was one energy-draining, lung-rattling cold! I'm coughing less and went through far less tissues today than the past few days. I might venture outside tomorrow!

Sick

It would have been a very relaxing day spent staring blankly at magazines and watching British shows on DVD, except that I can't breathe, my head feels like it might explode and I keep coughing. I also feel kind of nauseous, but am 99.9% sure that it's NOT morning sickness -- sorry, Kate & Mom & Chrissy. The cats like it because I'm pretty much immobilized and they can drape across my neck and tummy for their naps. My cats are sweet and do not suck out my breath.

Chad was extra-nice today and cleaned out the gutters, did laundry and made a grocery run. He also scooped the litter boxes which he hates doing. I'm glad that I have a nice husband.

I was supposed to go see a friend's band, Jon Faber in Fairchild, perform tonight at one of my old college hangouts. Chad is going to represent for us and cheer. Then he'll come home to make more tea for me and pry kitties off of my neck and tummy.

Tomorrow I have rehearsal for the Valentine's Day mystery-dinner show. Thank goodness for Dayquil!

Technology and I are Fickle Friends

I have a love-hate relationship with gadgets, technology and machinery. When stuff works, it's like magic. I love it. I really appreciate it. When stuff doesn't work, I get huffy and impatient, and maybe mutter a few curses under my breath, or mutter a few curses out loud if there are no tender / young ears around.

If you've spent much time with me, you've probably seen my beloved Sidekick 3. It's a phone, camera, email getter, email sender, internet connector, music player and day planner all in one. I begged / bugged Chad to get this cute gadget as an anniversary gift for me this year, while expressly forbidding any jewelry purchases. (No blood diamonds for me, thanks all the same. I like some nice lab-grown sparkly rocks, but I digress.) My favorite television character, Veronica Mars, has the same device. I love my Sidekick 3... when it's working.

My Sidekick 3 won't charge, and thus won't function. I took it to the T-Mobile store where the friendly staff helped me order a new battery. That didn't fix it. The friendly T-Mobile staff then sold me a new charger cord. That didn't fix it. I took the memory card out of my pretty Sidekick 3 and stuck it in my old phone. The old phone works if I want to, you know, make or receive a phone call, but that's all the old phone does. No more emails, internet, camera or day planner for a while. I'm going to call T-Mobile tomorrow and see if they'll replace / repair the Sidekick 3. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

UPDATE: The very friendly customer service people at T-Mobile arranged for me to drop off the broken sidekick at a UPS Store, where UPS packed and shipped the sidekick back to T-Mobile at no cost to me. I had a new, fully-functional sidekick in about six days! I'm very happy with the customer service from T-Mobile.

Happy Groundhog Day

My kitties were cozy cuddled on the couch today, which has no official bearing on whether we'll have six more weeks of winter or not, but they're sweet when they sleep.

Here's the official word:

Punxsutawney Phil Says Spring is Right Around the Corner!

Phil's official forecast as read 2/2/07 at 7:28 a.m. at Gobbler's Knob:

El Nino has caused high winds, heavy snow, ice and freezing temperatures in the west.
Here in the East with much mild winter weather we have been blessed.

Global warming has caused a great debate.
This mild winter makes it seem just great.

On this Groundhog Day we think of one thing.
Will we have winter or will we have spring?

On Gobbler's Knob I see no shadow today.
I predict that early spring is on the way.

AND



Groundhog Day just happens to be one of my favorite silly movies. I wasn't allowed to see movies that were rated PG or higher until I was about 15 years old. As a compromise, my dad would make video copies of movies and edit out the parts he found offensive. When I was in college, he sent me a copy of Groundhog Day. Little did I know that he had edited it to protect my tender 19 year old sensibilities. It was only years later when I caught the movie on cable that I realized he had cut a few of the repeated days out of the movie due to their naughty subject matter or curse words.

I hope that your Groundhog Day is great however you choose to commemorate / celebrate it! Just no cursing or dirty jokes, okay?

Brand Loyalty

I performed Max Langert's play "Brand Loyalty" at the annual FronteraFest theatre festival last night. I loved the feeling of being on a team with people who have their own unique styles -- actors that I can learn from, that make me laugh and that give me a new perspective on the script. With Chad traveling so much, it's also nice to have some company at the rehearsals. (When I work with Murder Mystery Players, there isn't much rehearsing. We usually get in, do the show, get our paycheck and get out.) I want to give a big shout-out and thanks to:

Tyler Ball who has a background in musical theater, recently moved to Austin from Chicago and works as a computer programmer. He has a 9 month old son, Keaton, and a lovely wife, Jenny, who were very kind to let him spend time rehearsing for the show. He's very excited about the Super Bowl this year featuring the Chicago Bears, and had to make sure that FronteraFest would in no way conflict with the big game before agreeing to be in the show.

Teresa Diaz who has worked across this great land as a librarian, currently lives in San Antonio, recently got rear-ended in her cute Prius (car) and is great with kids. She had to drive a lot to come to rehearsals in Austin. She talked to me about UT's Information Studies program and is a great source of information and inspiration. Teresa also has a keen fashion sense, and I covet the shoes she wore in the show.

Travis Holmes writes, acts and is starting grad school this month. He knows a lot about knots (eagle scout!) which came in handy when he had to tie up Kara as part of the show. He has a cute baby too, who is named Henry, and a nice wife named Ashley who kindly let him spend time rehearsing. He often mutters funny quotes from animated series, and is probably tired of me constantly asking, "What's that from?"

Kara Juarez-Jones is, was and will be an actor for life, works as a renowned make-up artist and is pretty much a local super star (but you knew that already.) She was also in Max's show "Fugue for Five Waiters" with me back in 2001, and I LOVED working with her again. It's so fun to whisper catty comments to each other. She gives me valuable make-up tips too.

Max Langert (our leader / author / director) rides his bike a lot, reads slowly and is probably going to do this again next year. He also work peripherally in market research, which maybe explains why this year's show centers on a market research focus group study gone awry.

I wish I had a picture to post, but forgot to force any photo-opps. If we get to perform again for "Best of" I'll get some photos. Even if we don't get chosen as a "Best of", I had a great time!

Last year, I performed a monologue for FronteraFest. It was nerve-wracking because the responsibility for a good or bad show lay squarely on my shoulders. If I forgot a line, there was no one to rescue me or help me cover my flub. I felt like the caretaker of Max Langert's witty writing. In 2001 and 2002, when I performed Max's plays with groups of people, we were awarded "Best of Fest" both times. Last year, while I was happy with my performance and loved Max's script, Max & I did NOT even get "Best of Week", much less "Best of Fest." I admit, I had grown a little smug. I told my husband he didn't have to come to the show because he was traveling for work and could not easily rearrange his schedule to be in Austin. I figured he could come when I performed again at "Best of Week." Whoops. In his defense, Chad sent flowers, and it was only in retrospect that my feelings got a little hurt that he couldn't attend. Lest you think I'm totally spoiled, I don't ask Chad to come to my dinner mystery shows, because they are expensive to attend, very silly and something that I do more for the good company of my fellow-actors and the paycheck than to hone my craft.

For this year's FronteraFest, I totally nagged Chad to attend, reminding him often of the performance date. I really, really wanted him there, because this is the one acting gig every year that I'm proud to show people. I owe him a huge thank you for indulging me and showing up, so THANK YOU, Chad!

The Waiting is the Hardest Part

BUT NOT ENOUGH TO MOVE THERE!

Chad worked in New York City all week. He's been spending his work weeks in the city for the past few months now, and it's getting really tiresome for him with all the travel, and really tiresome for me feeling lonely. His flight home should be landing about now -- if it's on time, which it rarely is. I miss him so much! Some people have asked why we don't move to New York. We've thought about it, and after waffling a bit, decided not to move to the big city that never sleeps. Here are just a few reasons:

1. We JUST fixed up our Austin home, and can't bear to leave after all that work!
2. Our friends and support network in Austin would be sorely missed.
3. Rent on a decent 1 bedroom apartment in Manhattan runs around $2000 a month, and there's no way we could afford to buy a place there.
4. We're just not East Coast / big city / rat race kind of people.
5. Chad's company hasn't made an official offer to move us, though we expect it any day now.
6. Chad would still have to travel to places like Washington DC, Philadelphia, Orlando & Los Angeles for work even if we moved to New York City.
7. Alligators in the sewers.
8. Rats the size of cats.
9. Roaches the size of kittens.
10. It's more fun to visit NYC, than to live there.

Whatcha Doin'?

Many people have asked what I'm doing since leaving my "day job" a few weeks ago:
• Resting
• Getting my oil changed
• Reading lots of books and magazines
• Cleaning the house
• Taking Kenji to the vet for an abscess wound sustained in a scuffle when she snuck outside (bad girl!)
• Going to the gym more regularly
• Seeing some movies
• Hand-washing sweaters -- it's more time intensive than it sounds, trust me. Cashmere smells like wet goat when you dunk it in the water. Merino wool smells like wet dog. Luckily the Woolite helps with the stink.
• Watching season two of Hart to Hart on DVD


As if the above list is not enough:

I'm rehearsing for this year's Fronterafest show. What is Fronterafest, you ask? According to the website: Every night the Hyde Park Theatre presents a new bill of four or five plays no longer than 25 minutes each. Brilliant monologues? Plays in progress? Comedy improv? Cabaret singers? Avant-garde dance? Short films? Multimedia? They've seen it all. Fronterafest is a theater festival that works like a tournament where the favorite five shows (out of about twenty shows from each week) get to perform again on Saturday night each week for the juried "Best of the Week" performance. After five weeks of about a hundred shows, the favorite ten shows perform twice again as part of the juried "Best of the Fest" in mid-February. I'm working with Max Langert again for a fourth time at Fronterafest. He's a great writer and a super-nice guy. We perform his show "Brand Loyalty" on January 31. Of the previous three shows I've performed in for Max at Fronterafest, we've been awarded "Best of Fest" twice. So the odds are with us, if you're the type who places bets on theater festivals. If you are that type of person, you probably need a new hobby!

Thursday night, January 25, I'm going to San Antonio to put on an interactive dinner theater show with some of my fellow Austin Murder Mystery Players. I'll also be performing with my MMP pals at a Valentine's Day dinner show in Austin.

February 21, I leave for five days in New York City with Chad. I am so looking forward to this trip. Not just to be in NYC again, but to get to spend time with Chad who travels TOO MUCH for work. I miss him. Here we are in Time's Square on our last trip to NYC together.



IF I decide to apply for the master's degree program in Information Studies (that's a fancy-pants term for librarian school) I have to take the GRE test and submit my application by March 1 to be eligible for the fall semester. I got the uptight, neat-freak, organizer gene from my dearly departed dad. I'm not sure where I got my nosiness / intensely inquisitive nature from, or my fanatical love of reading, but these personality traits have librarian written all over them. I have to have some work skills to fall back on, just in case I don't land my dream job of playing a sitcom mom on a popular TV series. Hey, dare to dream!

March 14, Chad and I leave for five days in Los Angeles for our friends' wedding. We hope to catch up with Karen (one of my best friends from college) in Woodland Hills and Jason & Jaimie in Pasadena while we're out that way too.

Never fear, fair friends (& family), I'm keeping plenty busy! I'm thinking that in late March, I might sign up with a temporary service. My sister, Chrissy, was a supervisor / assigner of jobs for Manpower a few years ago. Maybe she has some advice for me?

Snow Days in Austin!

The temperatures dropped into the freezing range Sunday evening as Austin got some much needed rain. That rain froze on the ground, followed by real sleet Monday! I love the ping-ping-ping sound that sleet makes as it hits surfaces. It's soothing, because you give yourself permission to hide inside, convincing yourself it would be downright irresponsible to head out in that weather. In Austin, people entirely forget how to drive when there is even a hint that ice might be around. On Tuesday, Chad woke me up so I could watch big snowflakes drift down. The snow fell alternately with sleet most of Tuesday. This winter magic was fleeting. By Wednesday noontime, I started to hear the drip of melting ice. Wednesday night, I even heard a few chunks of ice fall. I'm glad I got to view the winter wonderland from our cozy home, and glad that it only lasted for a few days.

When my parents moved to the Pittsburgh area while I was in college at the University of Texas, they originally marveled at the beauty of the snow and spoke of it in glowing terms. After a few weeks of their first winter there, snow evolved into a four-letter word strung together with mild curses and complaints of cabin fever. It was then that I learned about Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD, and started sending care packages to my family full of chocolate, herb tea and Mahatma Saffron rice (which was hard to find up there for some reason.)

Luckily, I didn't have time to get cabin fever here in Austin during the great freeze of 2007. Chad & I managed to stay mostly warm & dry. We both got a lot of reading done.

My new favorite book is THE BOOK OF LOST THINGS by John Connolly. If you read this book, and do not like it, please hide that opinion from me. Seriously.

Third Time's a Charm / Step Away from the Sink!

Let me begin with the disclaimer: I love my husband, Chad. That said, he can be a bit obsessive. This obsessive nature makes him excel in his career as an interactive group creative director (a fancy title for someone who makes the internet a prettier place.) This obsessive nature fueled the relatively quick completion of our home remodeling projects this summer and fall. This obsessive nature translates to a quirky fixation with the bathroom sink.



Sink #1
When we bought our little 1952 house, the lone bathroom had an oddly large pedestal sink. It just didn't make sense in such a small bathroom and Chad thought it looked a bit "grandma spice." My second disclaimer: my grandma has good taste, but some grandmas do not have good taste. We donated the old sink to Habitat for Humanity. I hope it is making someone's grandma very happy.







Sink #2
Chad found a very tasteful, modern sink and cabinet online from the Ronbow manufacturer. We had a plumber's help installing the new sink and drain in June 2006. The plumber pointed out to me that this sink did not have an air intake dimple and that it might drain slowly. I made the mistake of relaying this information to my better half. Much like a hypochondriac imagines they have the disease du jour, Chad noticed that the sink did drain too slowly and that the sink got dirty quickly. It bugged him. Fortunately/Unfortunately, when the handyman came in October 2006 to install the faux tin tile ceiling, he bumped the sink with his ladder and put two small chips in the rim of sink #2. The handyman apologized and gave us $50 off of the bill so that we could get the sink repaired / refinished.



Sink #3
The chipped sink afforded Chad the chance to correct the drain issues by ordering another new Ronbow sink. Chad jokes that he's paying Ronbow Jr.'s college tuition. Sink #3 has an air intake dimple and a proper drain stopper. Chad installed this sink by himself over his holiday break from work. I guess if there's another tech bust, he could train to be a plumber, or a Ronbow representative. We're very happy with sink #3... for now.

Bye-bye Furry Friends

Today I will do my last official visit as one of the Furry Godmothers. I'll be visiting a sassy-sweet, geriatric cat named Tippy. I love her because she's so darn determined to outlive us all and to get brushed just right! She meows very loudly to let me know if I'm brushing her incorrectly. I give her oral pain-killers for her arthritis while her mom works long days. I hope very much that she'll be in great hands with her new pet-sitter.

I've loved working as a pet-sitter! I've worked with Jody, the founder / owner of Furry Godmothers, for a little over two years. She's run the business for over five years and I totally admire her for building the business from the ground up. I don't know how she keeps it going, especially with an eighteen month old (human) little boy.

Personally, after two long, hot summers and three Christmas seasons, I am tired of walking dogs in 110 degree heat, tired of being available to work over twelve hour spreads seven days a week (at times) and tired of working nearly every holiday while my husband has time off from work. I'm burnt-out after events in my personal life (such as remodeling a house as a first-time homeowner and the death of my dad) have compounded to make me plumb tired!

Here's the description I wrote for Furry Godmothers website when I first started working there:
_________

Jennifer "Jenn" Currie moved around to several different cities as a child, but has called Austin home since 1991. She grew up with a Pomeranian named Honey Dog and many cats, some unfortunately named after characters in the musical CATS. Once a baby squirrel literally climbed Jenn's pant leg to escape a hungry cat. The squirrel was named Fluffers and lived in her house for two years before moving out to the garage, a.k.a. the bachelor pad.

Jenn's résumé reads like a Lemony Snicket novel littered with mind-numbing marketing jobs, several fun years teaching drama to elementary-age kiddos through the Dougherty Arts School, and a regretful stint in retail management. After two years as a loyal Furry Godmothers client, she was absolutely delighted to join the team.

Jenn's current furry/finned family includes: Marigold, a blond & auburn Persian princess; Kenji, a scrappy Siamese, who was found sans momma-cat at a car lot when she was just three weeks old; and Spike, a geriatric Beta fish who will celebrate his fourth birthday (God willing) in March 2005. She and her husband hope to add a small pup to the mix when they move into a bigger home.
___________

Since that time, we've added the darling boy kitty, Sonic, to the feline bunch. Spike, the fish, passed away in early March of 2005, just after his miraculous fourth birthday. We had another fish named Dragon, a red Beta, who met an unfortunate end when Kenji scaled several bookshelves to liberate Dragon from his bowl and nibble on him. (Cue the "Circle of Life" song.) We've moved to a bigger home, but have yet to add the pup. I'm hoping for a shih-tzu or a pug, as some of my favorite canine clients have been these breeds.

Nice Work If You Can Get It...

The New Year's Eve dinner show at Dave & Buster's went very well. I was nervous because it was the first performance of a new script, and it's always more nerve-wracking trying to remember lines for a first performance. The audience of about 110 people participated, paid attention and laughed a lot. They were great!

For those of you not familiar with mystery dinner theater, I'll give a summary. While the audience dines on a three-course meal, the actors present a three-act murder mystery. The actors try to incorporate audience members whenever possible, and include them in jokes. Example: In the New Year's show we had a character with the first name "Happy" and the last name "Newyears." Corny, yes, but effective, because whenever her name was mentioned, the whole audience was strongly encouraged to yell, "Happy New Year's!" This show also featured a wedding, and audience members were picked out to stand on stage as bridesmaids and groomsmen. During the"question and answer" portion in each show between the second and third acts, the audience members quiz the suspects in the mystery and try to deduce whodunnit. The audience votes and then the solution to the mystery is presented as the third act. Usually the sponsor or host of the show supplies a prize to the audience members who correctly solve the mystery. It's not high art by any stretch of the imagination, but people usually have fun with it. Murder Mystery Players (MMP) offers private and public shows, usually at Dave & Buster's, a country club or a hotel ballroom. MMP also offers team-building games and interactive, live game shows. During the holiday season, I average two shows a week. Summers are usually pretty busy with shows too for some reason. I enjoy performing and stage managing the shows and games, AND it pays!

MMP Austin has a strong group of regular performers who are kind of like my theater family. Here are a few pics of the cast getting ready for the New Year's show.


Jeff Johannigman prepares to play the nervous groom.















Tracy Cathey looks over her lines for the role of "Rent-A-Reverand", the officiator of the wedding. Phil Klickman and Gary Hamilton prepare to play a suspect and the murder victim - I won't say which is which in case you attend a future show!





Our devoted director, Russ Wiseman, helps Phil with a costume fix, a.k.a. a safety-pin.













Me and Anna Maria Garcia. Guess which one is the bride.


Happy New Years! (Audience, that's your cue to yell it back to the actors!)


I wish all of you peace, health and wealth (however you choose to measure it) in 2007.