Po...porn

I've been away for almost a month. Life has seemed too serious and personal to keep up a blog. I've also been overwhelmed starting 'new eating habits'... It's not a diet, it's a lifestyle change :)

But my hubby asked me to start blogging again, he enjoys me and my ramblings.

Today is the perfect day to write about!

We watch Amazing Race as a family and on the first episode we each picked a team. Whoever's team lasted the longest won. Last week I became the winner :)

For my prize I wanted the whole family to go painting at Texas U Can Paint, my new favorite hangout/activity.
http://www.texasucanpaint.com

So today we went to paint a bucket of p-o-p-c-o-r-n. We were having a great time and almost finished with our paintings when there was a tragic, and hilarious, spelling error made by Honey. Poporn. P-o-r-n!

I wanted to laugh so hard! The instructor was able to fix the mistake. But when hubby accidentally did the same thing p-o-r-n... I lost it, too hilarious!

Something must have been in the air. I was being so careful... But all of a sudden I had an "o" instead of a "c" behind my "p"!

Caitlin was the only one to spell popcorn correctly. Crazy!

We can't wait to go back and paint again. We are going to hang all four of our paintings on the kitchen wall. I love it!

StairMaster

I've been taking the stairs this week. Trying to be good and get in a little exercise whenever I can.

I work on the 3rd floor and never realized how often I travel vertically throughout the day :)

I had to get over myself. There is no hiding the heavy breathing... But at least I'm trying.

I was on my way up the stairs and passed Edna on her way down the stairs. She is super sweet and paused to ask if I was feeling okay because I was walking funny.

LOL! I told her that's just how I have to walk the stairs. Wish I'd taken a video.

She knows I fall a lot (a lot!) and was glad I hadn't taken a tumble recently.

So now I'm a stair master and it gets easier every time!

Rimshot

I work with great peeps. Today we were having so many technical problems getting ready for a big meeting... while we were waiting for the techs to fix shiz Michael stepped up to the mic and gave us a little comedy show.

After each joke he pressed this button... hi-larious!

www.instantrimshot.com

My FAVORITE joke was:

What did the green grape say to the purple grape?

BREATHE!

I love it!

When I'm 40

Today I started weight watchers (again.) I plan on keeping it all off this time... For so many reasons.

I had a painful anxiety attack a couple hours after the meeting. There was such a piercing pain I thought I might be having a heart attack. But I've had this pain before and knew it wasn't life threatening.

Tonight I also happened to have my counseling session with Vera. We tapped... and I was able to identify how scared I am of letting food be nutrition instead of medication. The old "eating your feelings" saying is real to me.

I was thinking about sharing my weight on today's post, but today has been to... threatening... already, so maybe I'll share another day. I will say I have to lose half of my body.

We will take it one day at a time. And be positive!

I was thinking about something that I'd like to be able to do... To be healthy enough to do. I want to dance. All dances, but specifically I'd like to take Irish dancing lessons. I tried to get the girlies interested and live through them, but it wasn't their "thing"... But it can be my thing.

My goal is to sign up for Irish dance class by the time I'm 40.

Blend

Sometimes I want to blend in too.

Youngsters

This weekend has been very cultural for the Medina girlies, Nasher yesterday and the Irving Art Center today.

Siobain has a monthly paper due about a live performance for theater. So today we saw Rough Crossing, a zany comedy about two playwrights, a composer, and two actors setting sail for New York... With four days to get their play ready.

It was fun. A little pricey at $20 a ticket. It had a nice set and the acting was surprisingly good.

But the best part? I was the second youngest person in the audience, the only person younger was my 13-year-old daughter. We stood out from in crowd :)

They also have a small sculpture garden and Siobain had some really insightful comments on the subjectivity of what makes a piece "museum" worthy.

I enjoyed Dwelling by Larry Whiteley.

Sculpture Scavenger

First Saturday free at the Nasher. I woke up at 7:30 am and decided it would be fun to get out there with the girlies today.

This was the first time we arrived as the doors were opening. Liked it so much more in the morning quiet.

First we hit the art project... A sculpture garden diorama. Caitlin suggested we combine the two to make a big one. Great idea but I felt a little bad for the families around us who's much younger kids wanted to copy Caitlin. We caused a mini riot :)

Next we checked out the Artist at Work. Michael O'Keefe was really great with all the kids. He sculpts human form heads from plaster and paint. It was totally cool (and he is totally cute!)

The current exhibits are really cool... I didn't get to see/read much because there were a couple of nude male sculptures in the rooms and Caitlin was going to have a meltdown!

When we went into the garden for the scavenger hunt, Caitlin's favorite part, I was really sad to learn that the skyroom, Tending (Blue) by James Turrell, is closed forever. James has declared the work destroyed because of the recently built skyscraper. So sad. This is one of the instillations I really love on days when there aren't many people. I'll try to find a video if the experience.

On to the hunt we went. Caitlin found all the right sculptures and it was a really nice, quiet time with my girlies.

Portrait of dumb ass...

Spent the last five days fighting a migraine. Tentatively hopeful it's gone for good.

Got ready for work... And whacked my head on the kitchen counter hard enough to make my teeth rattle.

... I'll be taking another pill when I get to work.

Some Days

Some days you just need a hug from your mom.

I'm so lucky to live close to mine.

Tent Twister

We had a lot of fun on our shoot today. 

I was all "I can put this tent away, how hard can it be?"

Ummm... I couldn't get out of the tent.  Once I figured out that this was going to be a fiasco I asked Christy to roll video!

Awkward!

Cirque du Kathleen

Out-funnied

Hubby and I play a game.

Basically, one if us will say something stupid or obvious and the goal is to 1) not laugh and 2) reply (on topic) with something more stupid or obvious.

I only play this game with hubby but today there was an opening and I automatically took it.

Boss: so, we bold the verbs on the objectives page.
Me: I think I was the only one not doing that. I got confused.
Boss: do you know what a verb is?
Me: a person, place or thing
Coworker: that's a NOUN!

Ummmm...

So, I totally out-funnied the boss. See how that works? Here is the question... Does my coworker think I'm really stupid or did she out-funny me? Because she's Brills if she out-funnied me.

Today was crazy hair day at school...

Nerd is the Word

I wish every day was nerd day. Caitlin was in a super great mood this morning, so excited to be a nerd.

Which put me in a super good mood too.

Carvin'

Layers

Caitlin is working on her costume today. It's super secret and is two costumes in one!

Aca-movie

We three Medina girlies had meltdowns today. Caitlin's meltdown was this morning... And it was award winning. Honey's meltdown was this afternoon, it wasn't as flashy as Caitlin's but it lasted longer.

And mine was this evening. I pulled into the driveway, told the girlies to get out of the car and send daddy outside.

"I'm leaving. I'm going to a movie. By myself. Alone. With no one melting down." He said "ok" and slowly backed away from the car. (Just kidding about the last bit.)

I'd heard that Pitch Perfect was funny, and even if it wasn't I love A Capella, so I could at least enjoy the music.

I sat in the first seat on the first row of stadium seating... and watched with growing guilt as mother/tween pairs kept walking into the theater. I felt so selfish.

Oh well. The movie made me laugh, which I needed, and the music was fun, and I had ice cream.

The Perfect Chip

Sad day but for one amazing highlight! Sometimes you have to find joy in the little things.

This is the perfect chip. A Chipotles' lime chip with the perfect sprinkling of salt.

Did you just call me stupid?

In her head, I'm pretty sure she did...

Road Rage

I had six minutes of Cray Cray on the drive home.

My weapon was my phone. I wanted a photo of the a-hole that would not let me merge to the right lane of the 35 service road.

I wasn't supposed to turn left at North Riverside... But I did... And I was gaining on him...

Just as I was close enough to take a photo of the bald man in the cherry red truck... my phone died.

So instead of taking a deadly photo I turned right and headed home.

A satellite view of the Cray Cray cruise...

Angel Prayers

We found a doctor that is going to be able to help us. She's an answer to my prayers. And Caitlin's, this is a worksheet she did in religion class...

Montana, Mississippi, Alabama, Rhode Island

I'll have all 50 states if 4 peeps of peeps will check out my blog. I need Montana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Rhode Island.

Hmmm.... If I were a peep of a Kathleen peep and was kind enough to read one blog post so that CCK (Cray Cary Kathleen) could get all 50 states... I would choose one of these:

In Commando of the Situation

Girls Poo Too

Ummm... those are both potty-talk posts... maybe one of these:

I'm Exhausting

Rude!

Me 'n Roz

Field Trip

We had a really fun team-building field trip today... Pun so intended!

We took a two hour tour of Cowboy Stadium. Now, I'm not really into football but this is a really cool building with lots of unique features. Oh, um, and it's HUGE! ha-shizzle!

If you are a big cowboys fan you should take the guided tour.

The end of the tour takes us out on the field. Half of the field was being torn down from Jones' big 50th anniversary party but we still got to toss the ball around.

Michael can really toss the ball, I suck! AND no one was rolling video when I caught the ball, with my ass on the wrong side of balance and I, gracefully and in slow motion, fell onto my bum. Never let go of the ball though!

Wish hubby had been with me, I think he would have had fun.

Just Because

My wonderful, kind, loving, handsome, funny fantastic hubby sent these to the office. I feel so special!

"Hint taken... Also I love you"

A Sneeze and a Fart...

... a cautionary tale.

I was speaking with my boss this afternoon and felt a big sneeze coming. What I didn't see coming was the very loud fart that accompanied it.

Awkward.

I issued a general "excuse me" and delicately sniffed the air. No odor.

The boss didn't say anything. I'm not sure if he didn't hear it or if he was just being a gentleman.

I was telling my tale to Keith and Stacy, assuming they could empathize and have a chuckle with me.

Awkward.

Apparently neither of them have ever experienced the sneeze/fart combo. I inquired if they had ever experienced the laugh/fart combo? No. Cough/fart? Nope.

Awkward.

They suggested I might try some gas medicine...

Awkward.

Lesson... Don't discuss farts, it only leads to awkwardness.

... I probably shouldn't blog farts either... awkward...

A Subtle Hint

Hubby,

Send me some flowers like these. They were so beautiful I went into the empty office and took a picture.

Kisses,
Wife

P.S. No, I don't care if you didn't think of it first. I'm changing the saying to "it's the flowers that count."

The Voice

Ummm... Me and my handsome boy have a new show.

It started as television noise at my last scrapbook retreat with a mild visual interest because of the beautiful Adam Levine... And now I VNR it!

(Don't tell anyone!)

Chaos

It's been a week of chaos. Everyday I've had the intention of posting... I've made notes, took pictures, and even made videos. But never made it to an actual post. Maybe I'll do a missing week blog.

But for now I'm just putting finger to button and getting back on track.

Here I am as a cute old lady ;)

FaceTime

So, I was chatting on the phone with Stacy about my conversation with Gorgeous last night.

Gorgeous' new iPhone 5 arrived and I showed her how to FaceTime so that she could call all the grandkids and video chat. A problem presented itself right away... for some reason Gorgeous was holding the phone in a very unflattering angle, I was looking right up her nose. Apparently in order to see the phone she has to look out the bottom of her bifocals... I got a big giggle out of this situation and am so glad she didn't discover this with some hottie.

While I was sharing the story my cell rang, Stacy and I were on the office line, and I checked the caller ID.

Little miss Stacy was giving me a FaceTime call. So there we sat talking on two lines and finding the most flattering angle for the app. It was extra fun because Stacy on the cell had a delay from Stacy on the work line... So I was in echo world.

No, we did not even consider hanging up the work phone.

Drip Dry

So... How much do my friends like me?

This is a question that used to run through my paranoid head. Or more accurately, do they like me for real? Or are they just being nice? Well, today I discovered that perhaps they DON'T like me and they AREN'T nice...

Let me explain the situation...

Karen, Stacy, Amy and I were meeting for lunch. We arrived before Amy did and I asked the "ladies" to order me a diet soda while I visited the restroom.

I'd just relieved my bladder and reached for the toilet paper... when I felt the cardboard core of the empty roll. Sigh. But aha, I have my phone with me!

Text to: Amy, Stacy, Karen

Can someone come give some toilet paper?

Text from: Karen

No thanks

Text from: Amy

At front door.

Text to: Amy, Stacy, Karen

Stuck on toilet. Seriously! I need TP. Not kidding.

Text from: Karen

Sure

What the ha-shizzle! Just as I was starting to consider hollering for help Amy came through the door. Thank goodness she was joining us today!

The ladies showed no shame and were having quite the laugh when I returned to the table... Makes a girl go hmmm!

But then we got to open a Christmas present from Karen! So exciting!

Karen created this beautiful spiral bound Christmas Planner! It is so fabulous! It includes:

- master to-do list

- gift planner

- shopping list

- black Friday shopping list

- gift idea planner

- gifts to make

- budget worksheet

- menu planner

- baking planner

AND a GRAND PLAN CALENDAR! This is the most awesome part, for me anyway! There is a "room" scheduled to tackle every week from now until Christmas. This week is "master bathroom" and  there is a "declutter" and "clean" checklist for each room. Brills!

The very last page of the planner is Post-Holiday Debriefing. I love it! 

So... I guess my friends like me a lot... even when I'm the toilet-sitting-butt of the joke ;)

Therapy x 2

Had a great session with Vera today... And then came home for some creative therapy!

I'm quilling a birthday present! I love quilling! Does the birthday girl like quilled crafts? I. Don't. Know.

But that's what she's getting and it's the thought that counts... right?

I'm a little nervous to give an art project as a gift. Could get awkward very quickly. But Kelli is total funky and fun so she'll probably love it. (I'll do an "awkward" blog if the gift goes south.)

While quilling my little heart away I also caught an episode of West Wing. I love that show :) I also updated my iPhone to 6.0. It did not go smoothly, thank goodness I had backed it up.

Very productive evening with lots of screaming and laughter in the house.

We needed that.

.com

Stacy and I headed out to pick up lunch today. After a few rounds of "no, you choose" we decided to try out the Asian taco trailer that is usually parked outside of Walgreens... of coarse today it wasn't there.

Just when we were about to start the "no, you choose" game again Stacy spotted a new sign in the shopping mall. Is that a restaurant?

Yes, yes it is! They opened last week.  Very exciting to try a new place.  It took us a while to order because we had to have them translate/explain each menu item.

"Do you have guacamole?" we asked.

"No... but we could make you some" the young lady said with a shrug.

"You could just make it? How much?" I asked.

"Eh, a dollar" she replied.

Two guacamoles please!... And then we watch the cook/chef cut into two avocados and whip up the best guacamole ever! Talk about fresh!

The meal was yummy. I recommend the taquitos plate and the guacamole (they aren't called taquitos on the menu, so you'll have to ask which item they are...)

Soooooo... now let's talk about the ".com" in the restaurant's name.  I went to taco.com... NOT a taco website. It belongs to Technical Advisors COmpany and their Why Taco? page is very amusing, check it out. "We do not sell tacos. We do not make tacos. In fact, some of us don't even like them very much."

Hmmmm.... maybe it's tacolascolinas.com or lascolinastaco.com or ... not.

So then what's up with the ".com" in their name? Does ".com" reference something other than a website?

Then I thought maybe it was a Mexico website, so I tried taco.mx and mx.taco.com... nope.

Those 3 letters cost them extra money on that sign... it MUST mean something.

Ahhhh... I'll have to find a way to sleep without a solution to this mystery.

Productivity!

I feel so good about how much work I got done today! I love projects that make the clock arms fly... Looked up and it was 7:30! Ha-shizzle, time to go home!

I also had fun today :) Wilma and Betty were on fire at lunch, very funny ladies. AND I found out that I get streaming movies with my Amazon account AND they have West Wing.

Ha-shizzle! I'm gonna be watching the whole series again!

I tried to convince the girls to watch Grey Gardens, Wilma refuses to watch documentaries. I tried to explain to her that its more like the very first (1974) reality show ever. Betty might watch it.

I highly recommend it.

This is the sky I drove home under. A beautiful day.

Free Pass

Well, today marks the first of the "free pass" days.

It's like in Monopoly and you land in jail... but in our world "jail" is too much mommy time. So you get to escape. Call Uncle. Admit defeat.

Oh so many people have wanted a free pass away from me. Sometimes I become overwhelming and obnoxious. And I become more obnoxious as I realize what is happening... it's a sick cycle that I am trying to stop.

Today I went too far with Honey. It was all laughing and rolling of the eyes, until it wasn't.

I hope she remembers the laughing too... And not just the sour end.

Seasonal Sales

Why do stores sell "holiday" items earlier and earlier each year?

Because of my hubby and girlies...

Like a girl...

Grump Haiku

on being a grump
my expertise for today
blah, barf, ache, grrr, meh

And now a letter:

Dear mean girls,

We aren't in school anymore. Get a life. If talking about me IS (shouty capitals) your life, then that's just sad.

Yes, also sad that I am writing an open letter to mean girls, showing that I still care.

Sigh,
The Grump

Awake

So tired. Finally awake. All the aches are gone. Missed two days of work, so I'll get to stress about that for a while.

Caitlin left Junie B. Giraffe in bed to take care of me.

Boy kisses!

I stopped by to visit Kate before she went to bed. She is so adorable! She was playing with Sio's phone and wouldn't put it down when Sio told her to. Sio asked me to take it away from her.

No way! Kate's gonna love me the most. So unless she's in danger she gets what she wants around me. I'm not going to be the bad guy. (I love it!)

After Kate went to bed I stole a whole bunch if kisses from my main man. He is such a happy baby!

DNA

"Look, I can't go back in time and change it so there is no point in worrying about it!"

The moment I realized there might have been a baby swap at the hospital... This girlie is way too reasonable to be my offspring.

H is for...

Handsome Henry has some humorous hoppers hiding under his H.

I'm a little slap happy...

Fairy

I made Mia into a princess fairy. I hope she likes it!

I modified the pattern to look more like her with short blonde hair. I also ditched the crown because mine turned out like a prom queen's after a hard night of partying...

I think her favorite color is purple, but didn't think I should call and confirm that info since it was 1:00 am when I started on her.

Quilling is so relaxing!

(I included a photo of what my fairy is supposed to look like.)