Things that I am at this moment on 11/04 at 11:04pm:

• Tired
• Inspired
• Proud, once again, to be an American
• Witnessing history
• Moved
• Much happier than I was on this night four years ago
• A newlywed!! (photos and a wedding/honeymoon post to come)
• Pretty sure this dog snoring on the couch next to me has been spoiled rotten by her dog-sitter over the past few days
• Glad to be home
• Wishing I could've brought some of that beautiful autumn Santa Fe weather home with me

I know. I suck.

Seriously, I don't know what's wrong with me lately.

I keep having the almost-uncontrolable urge to cry. I'm having WICKED nightmares almost every night. And I have no blog mojo.

But I don't want to leave you empty handed. So pleae enjoy my latest YouTube offering: Our dog Shiloh doing her "happy dance"--now with SNEEZES!!

I know I owe y'all a post about Las Vegas and Cher and whatnot, but I'm so flippin' hot and sweaty due to this damn humidity, I can barely think. So, in the meantime, please feast your eyes upon our sweet dawg, Shiloh, beating the heat by slurping up a frozen treat made just for dogs called "Frosty Paws."

Awww...yeah.

Random Photo Monday

The view from the floor-to-ceiling windows in the "Signature Room" ladies' room on the top of the Hancock Building.

Other women who had the same idea as me, lined up to take pictures in the loo.

A mellow dog sleeping in a store-front window in Roscoe Village (Chicago). The sign reads, "All dogs appreciate the value of naps." There was another canine snoozing on a couch just inside the window area.

A cool, sort of freaky photo of Shiloh taken by The Geej.

Some lemon/basil veggie and shrimp kebabs we made on the grill this weekend. YUM.

A very self-satisfied little girl, her dirty babydoll, and a very patient dog.

Things that are making me very happy at the moment.

The fact that we've gotten quite a bit of rain over the past few days, and everything is green and healthy. Oh yeah, and it's about 15 degrees cooler than normal right now. Freakin' sweet.

This dadgum dog.

Would you PLEASE look at her sweet face?! I just can't stand it sometimes. She is such a sweetpea.

Whole Foods Market's 365 brand popcorn in a bag. Addictive.

The owl house that BH built and put in a tree in the back yard. The welcome lingo was my bit of customization.

The fact that my pre-beach pedicure still looks pretty damn awesome.

Oh and last but not least...MY NEW CAR!!

Holy crap, I'm excited about this little number. As of right now, it's got 21 miles on it, 15 of which I put on it today. I've put the days of the gas guzzling (albeit, comfortable) Murano behind me. Viva la CR-V!

Aahhhhh...

This is what the weather is like in Austin today:

Light breeze.

No humidity. 75 degrees.

The perfect kind of weather to do this, apparently:

What I did this weekend

As you're well aware, it's the night before the night before Christmas. This weekend was crazy busy with last minute getting ready-type activities, as I'm sure it was for many of you. So a brief recap:

Friday:

Dah had the Geej because Friday was the first day of a 2-week stretch that the Geej's school is closed. So Friday evening, I ran a couple of shopping-related errands after work, and then BH and I went out for a nice dinner and went to a club to hear some music. That's right, fools! We actually had a grown-up's night out, and it was nice!

Saturday:

• Vacuumed and washed car
• Paid storage room bill
• Deposited $46 refund check from Austin Radiological Association at the bank
• Tried to get a bracelet repaired; Was unsuccessful
• Got a pedicure (the first one since September...YIKES!)
• Read a chapter-and-a-half in the book I'm almost finished with
• Ate migas
• Did two loads of laundry
• Changed sheets
• Cleaned GJ's bathroom and bedroom
• Swept tons of leaves off the front porch
• Got a bunch of stocking stuffers at CVS
• Went for a nice walk with Shiloh and BH (it was nice except the wind was blowing a gazillion miles an hour)


• Saw this on our walk--


• And this--
• Watched Earl enjoy a sunbeam
• Made a menu and shopping list for Christmas eve, Christmas brunch, and Christmas evening
• Ordered Chinese food for delivery
• Drank wine
• Took a shower
• Watched "Knocked Up"

Sunday:

• Went to Whole Foods to get 98% of the stuff that was on my shopping list I made on Saturday
• Ate lunch
• Folded laundry
• Went to HEB and got the other 2% of stuff that was on my shopping list
• Took a long drive
• Took a short nap
• Looked in on and fed Bookhart's cats (They're doing fine, by the way.)
• Was reunited with The Geej
• Made frito pie
• Drank wine
• Bathed the Geej
• Watched Milo and Otis with the Geej who told be to be on the lookout because, "Those animals poop out babies in this movie."

And now here we are. Tomorrow I've got to work most of the day. Bummer. But tomorrow evening, we're going to try (once again) to make some Christmas cookies for Santa, and then it's showtime after Geej goes to bed.

I can't wait until Christmas morning...

Where the HELL have I been?

Good question.

Well, let me catch you up with a brief photo essay of the trip from northeastern Colorado to central Texas in a U-Haul containing all of Mr. Wonderful's worldly possessions--including his dog and gecko--and yours truly.

And here we go. Setting off on our lengthy adventure. Dog in the middle, the plains on either side.

Here's what we saw in Colorado:

Pretty, no? The rat on the dash (his name is Timmy) will have to be explained in a future post.

Dog is my copilot.

Here's what we saw in southwestern Nebraska:Breathaking.

Here's what we saw in Kansas:

Stunning.

And this: Wait. Can't see that? Here, let me zoom in for you:

No, we didn't actually get to see the Largest Prairie Dog in the World. Or the Live 6 Legged Cow. Maybe next time...

SUCH a good girl:

Kansas sunset at 65 mph:

Sunset on Mr. Wonderful:

Dog is my very sleepy copilot:

We rolled in to Norman, OK at around 10:15 pm, exhausted and hallucinating. We spent the night with the dear Jules, and then were on our way the next morning, after she made us a breakfast of Texas-shaped waffles.

Later that day--southern Oklahoma:
OMG Hills!! And trees!!


And finally:

We pulled into our driveway around 6pm on Saturday evening. Spent all Sunday unloading the U-Haul and organizing and reorganizing stuff.

To be perfectly honest, the move went very smoothly. We had great weather, no mechanical problems, a well-behaved canine companion, ran into zero traffic jams, dealt with very little road construction, saw only a couple of highway patrol (and that wasn't really until we got to Texas), only saw one wreck (and it was on the opposite side of the highway), and got along famously. Now we're just adjusting to the whole "Holy CRAP! You're really here!" thing.

The Geej is loving having Mr. Wonderful (and the dog and the gecko) here with us. She's been bossing everyone around like a crazy person, and is just pleased as punch with the whole situation.

I wish I could say the same about Earl. He's rather pissed, and that's all I'm going to say for now. I'm mad at him for some destructive stuff he decided to do, and let me just say, he's lucky to still have a place to call home. Hopefully, this is just a phase.

Mr. W. starts his new job on Monday, but for now, he's spending the days doing all that crap you have to do when you move someplace new. Also, he's being a dear about the fact that I'm crazed at work right now and am heading to Nashville for a work trip on Friday. "Hi, honey! Thanks for moving here! Bye! Have fun taking care of the kid!" God, what a jerk I am.

I'm also busy getting ready for this. Good god, y'all. As if weren't satisfied displaying my pathetic existence on the interweb, now I get to do it in front of a live audience. What is WRONG with me?! (That's rhetorical. Don't bother answering.)