Lawson and Auntie Beff

Last night I babysat Lawson for a bit while Casey went to a school play. We played and played....dressed as Buzz Lightyear of course.....

We Raced, We Hope for a Cure

On Saturday my friend, Annie, and I went to the Race for the Cure event in Dallas. It was simply amazing. Once we parked, it was a quick walk to the starting line and we were off! (along with 26,000 of our closest friends in pink)

The weather was absolutely beautiful. The race was packed, but everyone was respectful and patient with crowds and traffic.

The turn out was humbling. An estimated 26,000 participants for the same cause. All of us just because it's important but some wearing survivor shirts, some walking in celebration of a survivor, and others in remembrance.

The group we paced with consisted of mostly women participants. However it was so touching to see so many men in pink supporting wives, girlfriends, mothers, etc.

Race for the Cure

On my list of 30 things, I put a goal to run an entire 5k. I had planned to try to run the whole Race for the Cure 5k, but since it's so close to LASIK I'm not allowed. (I actually have a doctor's excuse to not sweat! woo hoo!)

However, since the cause is so important, I'm still going to participant by walking. I even bought pink walking shoes!

If you'd like to walk, you can register up until day of the event. (Oct 16) If you don't want to walk/run, you can "sleep in for the cure." It's the option for those who flinch at exercise at 8am on a Saturday.

If you don't want to do any of those but you'd still like to give toward the cause, you can donate on my page. I'm really not pressing hard for fundraising but I'm putting my page out there just in case.

LASIK...round 2

It's hard to believe is almost been 3 months, but enough time has passed that I can have touch up LASIK! I go in for surgery on Thursday, October 14. This time it has to work....well, because it just has to! (Mostly because I only paid for 1 other touch up and the thought of intentionally putting a laser in my eye more than twice just seems silly)

So here's to perfect vision!

(Um....keep your fingers crossed just in case...)

Bubbles 2.0

This week I have joined the majority of the population and bought a laptop! I'm not really sure why I haven't bought one in the past, other than a desktop was what I always had. But over the last couple years I've been trying to downsize and simplify my life. That includes eliminating wires and peripheral computer junk.

I tend to tell people I'm computer literate and have a natural tendency to be a "computer person." Truth is, I can figure out just about any computer program and minor issues, but I have no idea what any of it actually means. So my poor dad was volunteered as the family techie to help me narrow down what I needed. He helped me with technical questions like - What's a reasonable amount of memory? What processing speed to I really need? Dell or HP?

So thanks to dad's expert assistance navigating websites and 5 trips to the store, I have Bubbles 2.0.

If you couldn't guess by the computer having a name, my mom helped in a big way too! She helped sort through the other important things like - What color should my computer be? Are the speakers loud enough for music and Netflix? And because my mom names everything, she provided the nickname for my laptop! (The shell is slick black with silver circles.)

Bubbles is Bubbles 2.0 because the original Bubbles suffered from CUSBOE Syndrome. (Compulsive USB Over Eating Syndrome) She ate dad's wireless mouse signal so dad exchanged her. Bubbles 2.0 has been behaving and running like a dream!

Pink Martini & DSO

If you've never heard of the group Pink Martini you must take a listen. They are eclectic group out of Portland that fancies themselves a little orchestra.

And that they are!

Casey and I went to their concert with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra on Saturday night. For the first half of the concert, the DSO played some quirky favorites to get the audience in the mood for Pink Martini.

For as much as I enjoy traditional music that the symphony has to offer, the Pink Martini breathed life into a half full Meyerson. Their music was lively and funny one song, 1940's Samba lounge the next, followed by a sultry ballad in French. Yes French. They sang in English, French, Portuguese, Italian, Russian, Turkish, and probably a few others. It was simply amazing.

http://pinkmartini.com/

To top it off, the DSO called before the show to upgrade our tickets. I bought tickets for the cheap seats in the nosebleed section because there's really not a bad seat in the house at the Meyerson. But since the show was barely half sold, they upgraded our seats for free so we could sit with everyone else. Our seats ended up here:



Not bad at all! I could see facial expressions clearly! The only downside to our seats was that we didn't get to join in on the conga line on the last song!! It was such a great show!

Bat in the office

I started watching the American version of The Office when I joined Freeman. Thanks to Netflix, I was able to start from the beginning and watch every episode. In just about every episode there has been a moment, relationship, comment, or situation I can completely relate to.

Yesterday, I could relate to the episode where they had a bat in their office because we had a bat in our office!

BAT! BAT!! from Tardy Sauce on Vimeo.

Though we didn’t have a Dwight to save us, we had our own version with the maintenance workers. One guy is about 170 years old and another didn’t speak English. Through a series of gestures and pointing, they decided to catch the little guy in a net and hopefully take him to animal control.




That is zoomed in picture - he was about the size of my palm. He was so cute!!! The poor thing clung to the ceiling while about 50 people took pictures and video. I think he was happy to be captured and out of the limelight.

Top Golf

This week is Stephanie’s birthday extravaganza. Typically the week of her birthday, she schedules local events and goes on a trip. Since I can’t make the trip this year, I joined her for the Tuesday activity – Top Golf, a driving range in Dallas.
I’ve never been to a driving range, but it looks like fun and fairly easy.

Fun, yes. Easy....Not so much.

My first attempts were surprisingly better than expected. I made contact with the ball and even managed to make a few points!

However, some attempts were less than successful. Exhibit A:




After 4 swings and 4 misses, I connected on the 5th try. However, the ball went straight up, hit the ceiling and landed about 10 feet from where we started. No casualties were reported.

We had a lot of fun, but I don't think I'll be on the PGA tour anytime soon.

Retired glasses called up for active duty

My eyes are healing well!

However, impatient MB has officially kicked in. After hearing stories of people who have had LASIK and drove themselves home seeing 20/20, I'm frustrated with my process. I couldn't even open my eyes after the surgery. I wasn't too drugged up, but I have no idea how someone would be able to operate a car successfully!

When I get too frustrated, I just try to remember 3 short days ago they cut a flap and stuck a laser in my eye!!!

I really can see much better and can function without glasses, but can't see distances well. So I'm going in today to get a lens prescription to tide me over until I can get LASIK touch ups in 3 months. Looks like I can't retire my glasses just yet....

LASIK...the beautiful recovery

Friday I went in for LASIK and traded my coke bottle glasses for a fashionable pair of goggles.



So pretty!

This morning I went in for a follow up appointment and my eyes seem to be healing nicely. The only disappointment is that I still can't see that well. It's better than pre-LASIK, but still not where I want it to be. Thank goodness dad has a ginormous TV because I can mostly see that to keep myself entertained. Hopefully I will be able see well enough to drive home tomorrow.

30 things in 12 months

My sister and I were catching up over the weekend and got to talking about this past year. Both of us have lived the last year in limbo not really know where we’re going to be living the next year, not wanting to invest in relationship or “stuff” in case we move, and neither of us have gotten out much with people outside of our family. (which is not a bad thing, but we need other relationships too)

So she suggested something her friend Susan did. 101 in 1001. Susan put together a list of 101 things to do over the next 1001 days. Some were big commitments (visit a family member overseas) and others were things she just needed motivation to get to (clean out garage).

Casey and I are determined to make this year great and stop living in limboland. We are putting together lists of 30 things to do in a year. We’ll cross them off and date them as we accomplish each. Like Susan’s, my list is peppered with big and little things. (and I may have borrowed a few directly from her list…it was good!!!)

30 things in 12 months

1. Talk to a teacher about Teaching Certification & Prep completed 7/14/10
2. Organize and print digital photos completed 1/2/11
3. Organize photo prints
4. Pay off $7000 on my car
5. Take a 5 day vacation!! completed Thanksgiving 2010
6. Go to a batting cage
7. Run an entire 5K (no walking!)
8. Sew Christmas Tree skirt
9. Keep a plant alive for 1 year
10. Go to a driving range completed 7/20/10
11. Cook a holiday meal on my own completed 12/5/10
12. Toss the football with Tommy
13. Go to a firing range
14. Take a spontaneous weekend trip with no plans completed 7/23-25 & 9/10-13
15. Read a Christian book completed 11/25/10
16. Read a faith based book completed 1/22/11
17. Plant a tree
18. Visit one of the 10 states I’ve never visited
19. Make a bowl with dad
20. Go to a concert completed 9/4/10
21. Write a short story
22. Take a cooking class
23. Design and order personalized stationary
24. Go to a museum completed 7/16/10
25. Join an Adult Bible Group
26. Try Vietnamese food completed 9/15/10
27. Donate blood 3 times donated 6/30/10 & 11/2/10
28. Fix my bike
29. Take Lawson to a park
30. Go fishing

"800-Contacts" is losing a customer

I have worn glasses since I was in second grade. My first pair was pink plastic with a Smurf on the sides. In 7th grade my parents let me use contact lenses. Since my eyes were so bad and only getting worse, my doctor recommended hard (gas permeable) lenses. In 2008 I switched to disposable soft lenses for comfort.

I don’t know why, but it hadn’t crossed my mind to get LASIK. Perhaps because it is elective and I thought I would be too expensive. (and let me tell you, it ain’t cheap!!)

My boyfriend, though he says I’m adorable in glasses, was the one who convinced me to do it. From his perspective, if the technology exists and I can afford it, why wouldn’t I want to be able to see? When put like that I couldn’t come up with a very good reason! So, I shopped around, decided on Key Whitman, and put some money in Flex Spending.

Friday, July 9, 2010 I am getting LASIK!

I have to go without contacts for 3 days before the surgery so yesterday was the last day I will ever wear contact lenses. When I took my contacts out, I still cleaned them and put them in their case. I’ve relied on glasses and contacts for the better part of my life. I guess I still can’t quite believe I won’t need them again.

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles: Boston to NY to DC

This week has been a whirlwind of travel. I started in Boston, then off to NY, and ended in DC.

Boston
I took a cab to our Boston (Braintree) office Tuesday morning. My cab driver fancied himself a stand up comic who tested his newest material on me. He had his moments, but being a cabby certainly wasn’t his calling. We took the scenic route around the Boston area because he got lost a few times. Thankfully his meter was broken, so my cab was a flat rate from the beginning to the end of our ride.

NY
From Boston I took a train to our NY office (Kearny, NJ). I’ve been on commuter trains, but not regional trains like this. It was great!! I felt like I should have been carrying a trunk and hat box. Prepared for what seems to be an old fashioned method of travel, I brought Cary Grant movies to keep me entertained. I took lots of pictures to brag to my nephew that Auntie Beth rode a train. (I hear I scored cool points!)






When I arrived at NJ Penn Station, all that “cool” feeling went away. I got confused which stop was mine, almost got of a stop early, then brought other passengers into my panic. “Is this Newark or NJ Penn Station stop? Anyone? Is this where I’m supposed to get off?!” Note to Amtrak – your stops are not labeled and no one can hear the over head speaker.

When I did make it off the train and was dumped out to the masses and more confusion ensued. I had no sense of where I was or I need to go. I called my poor driver and tried to explain where I was. He, not used to the MB panic, was just as confused then finally just said, “Call me when you get outside.” So I called my boyfriend who had traveled more recently than me. He, bless his heart, is more accustomed to crazy MB. I managed to make it outside, a little frazzled, near tears, but safe in the car.

While in NY/NJ, I spent some time at the Javits convention center. The Director of Operations was kind enough to let the HR girl tag along on a walk through and ask silly questions. Fun fact: The Javits is just off the Hudson and our guys actually saw the plane land in the water. Unbelievable.

DC
A little more familiar with the NJ Penn Station, I felt like a pro this time. I got my ticket, sat in the waiting area until my train came up on the info board. Then I calmly walked to Platform 3.




That was until the TV monitor at Platform 3 showed “All Aboard” next to my train info. But there was no train. Another confused traveler got my attention, asked if we missed it. I, the more seasoned train traveler confidently said, “No, we’re in the right spot and clearly there is no train. There must be a mistake.” But then others started asking where the train was. I checked my ticket, then my watch, then the TV monitor, and all over again 3 or 4 times. Is it possible I sat in the waiting area too long?! But about a minute later the train arrived. I gave a knowing smile to the other travelers and boarded.

Traveling in my 30s

In my 20’s, traveling for work was fun, exciting, and a brag topic among my non-traveling friends. Now, though I still get excited about going somewhere (anywhere) outside of Dallas, I dread the whole traveling process.

Flight delays, cancelations, sleeping in hotel rooms with new noises, rental cars/taxis/public transportation….for some reason that was more tolerable when the excitement of traveling overweighed the headaches.

This week I am traveling to Boston, NY, then DC. A full throttle and efficiently planned week of planes, trains, and taxis/car service.

The night before my DIRECT flight to Boston was scheduled to leave at 9:15am, I got a call from American Airlines. Something like, “Your flight has been canceled. We have rescheduled your itinerary to flight number blah-blah leaving DFW at 11am and arriving at NY LaGuardia then connecting to Boston arriving at 7pm. To accept, press 1. To reject, press 2.”

REJECT!!! REJECT!!!!

Are you kidding? A direct flight I have planned for a month and the best you can do is an 8 hour travel plan??

After a temper tantrum that rivals any my nephew has dreamed of, I managed to get on a direct flight. I’m still annoyed with my arrival time since it is 6 hours later than I originally bought….I’ll take that over connections.

Ugh. Hooray for traveling!

The Bookcase Project

My job at work is to be an HR Generalist. That pretty much just means I need to be versed in a little bit of everything related to HR – benefits, payroll, compensation, compliance, recruiting/staffing, leave administration, employee relations, employment law, policy administration, and anything else thrown on our plates. I’m not a specialist in any of those areas per say, but I know enough to be dangerous.

At home, I fancy myself a generalist as well. I can cook, clean, sew, decorate, organize, fix minor home repair and computer issues, paint, craft, garden (in progress), and open jars without help…usually. But what I haven’t spent much time with is something my dad has mastered – wood working.

So I decided to round out my personal resume by convincing my dad to teach me “how to build stuff.” I decided to start with a bookcase as our first project. It’s something I need and it seemed fairly easy to make. (besides the H&G shows build one in 5 minutes!)

After deciding on a design, dad created a drawing, cut list, and priced out our project materials. So far I have used a table saw, router, jig saw, skill saw, and power sander. I'm also learning the lingo! For example, notch thingys = dado.

(Dad has been a very patient teacher.)

We are not quite done, but here is our progress so far:








This was the dry fit to make sure our cuts were correct. Next step is to use wood glue and a nail gun to put everything together and add the feet. Then we stain and varnish!

Patio Garden...sort of

I don’t remember a lot of plants around the house when we were growing up. Mom had some ivy plants, but it is only within the last 10 years or so that she has become a garden diva. My sister currently holds the family record of quickest kill. (killed an ivy in 4 hours flat) But she has also had more successes in recent years.

I love gardens, potted plants and fresh cut flowers, but have never had much success keeping plants alive. After college I bought an ivy plant for my apartment. That poor plant moved with me from Dallas to California, California to Kentucky, and Kentucky to Dallas. Against all odds and by no work of my own, it has survived.

April 9, 2010, the following e-mail was sent to our corporate office:

“The property management have some plants to give away that have been switched out in the lobby, they are in the media center, please limit yourself to 2 each, first come first serve.”

The details are fuzzy, but I just remember talking to a colleague in the training department, then being grabbed by the arm, and dragged down the stairs to the media center; a stampede of women from my office behind me. Confused, I picked up a plant and made my way back upstairs to my office.

The result – meet Frank:

I adopted Frank that day and made a promise to keep him alive through the week. (Anything outside of that I couldn’t guarantee) But first, Frank needed a respectable pair of pants.

I am happy to report that Frank is still alive today. Since that small success, I have added an aloe plant, some orange cosmos from my mom’s garden, a zinnia starter kit, and have reclaimed the original ivy plant (my dad was acting as a foster gardener for the last 3 years).

Ivy plant with 9 lives

Aloe plant from Aunt Nita and Uncle Jim










Orange Cosmos today

Orange Cosmos all grown up

Zinnias today

Zinnias all grown up