Lunchtime blogging...again.

Seems to be the only time I can find to blog while I actually have the brainpower to manipulate the keyboard is in between bites while dining at my desk.

Another SXSW came and went without me participating at all. I mean, I did attend one itty bitty in-store set (by one of my favorite dudes of all time), but that was pretty much it. And I was even "child free" on Saturday and COULD'VE gone and hit some day parties. But I opted to stay home and work in the yard instead. I am truly astounded by my own lameness. But hey, at least the plants look nice!

The jasmine has been blooming like crazy for a couple of weeks now. It's right outside our bedroom window, so when we sleep with the windows open (which we've been doing), it just smells wonderful.
This is the Carolina Jessamine vine I planted a couple of springs ago. This is the first spring it's really put out blooms.
My sweet husband (who has a WICKED green thumb) stuck some bulbs in the ground this winter, unbeknownst to me. And so now, we have these happy guys popping up all over the place in utterly random locations.

And check out this cute little cedar elm he planted. It'll make a nice shade tree...in about 15 years.

You should probably also check out this nice bus that was parked across the street from my office building for most of last week during the festival.

Their mothers must be so proud.

Also, I TOTALLY forgot to mention the OTHER score we made at the Citywide Garage sale--paint-by-numbers ART!!

These guys go nicely with the other paint-by-numbers horse portrait we already had hanging in the dining room.

This week is going to be pretty eventful. BH is working in Kerrville today and tomorrow, so The Geej and I are flying solo tonight. Then, Wednesday is BH's big FOUR OH! We don't have anything special planned for that night, but I did buy us tickets to go see Neko Case at Stubb's next Tuesday. Also on Wednesday, he's going to College Station to get his boys who are going to be staying with us until Sunday (while their mother goes to help their grandmother move from Colorado to California). Friday, The Geej is going to a photo session as a little model! It's for a marketing campaign that Whole Foods is doing this summer, and it involves popsicles, so it should be entertaining if nothing else. And Saturday? A fairy princess dance party for Margaret's YG. Man! Whatta week!!

Hopefully I can find time to squeeze in a couple of workouts at the gym in the midst of all of this craziness. I'm actually ENJOYING my time at the gym and don't like it when I miss my regular days.

I know there's more I'm forgetting to write about, but my lunch is done and my brain is empty. Hopefully my next post will be less mundane.

Bullet-Point-A-Go-Go

• Sorry I haven't posted since Wednesday.
• Pretty typical goings on around here, really.
• Except for the crazy storm on Wednesday night.
• But other people have posted about that.
• All in all, things are looking green and vibrant, which is nice because--at least thus far--we've gotten plenty of rain.
• BH and I have been on a planting/yard-improvement kick.
• Not only have we planted two different kinds of peppers, tomatoes, garlic, rosemary and orange-mint, we've also planted plumbago, hisbiscus, and created an entirely new flower bed in the front yard that we're planting with native decorative grasses and drought-resistant native flowering plants. Very exciting.
• We've also been working HARD to rid our weed-infested front yard of clover and stickers without using chemical weed-killers. But it's a labor-intensive, tedious process. And I SWEAR I've personally pulled 7,000 weeds (which is half of what BH has pulled), and it looks like we've barely made a dent.
• I got my third quarter bonus on Friday and I'm spending it on...GUTTERS!! For the back of the house!! How utterly domestic and boring!!
• I'm also going to spend some of it gambling, getting spa treatments, and eating great food in Vegas, because I'm going there with Dah on Tuesday.
• She hasn't been in 25 years, so I bought us 4th row tickets to see Cher at Ceasar's. It was her Mother's Day gift. Yes, I'm awesome.
• I need this break from work because it's just nucking futs right now.
• La Turista is going to help take care of the Geej while I'm gone, and The Geej is beside herself excited.
• I got some new contacts this week and OMFG, y'all. They're a completely new type than I've ever been able to wear (because of the level of my damn blindness), and they let in like 500% more air, so my eyes don't get dried out all the time. It has made the biggest difference.
• This is great timing too because my eyes always get so dried out when I'm in Las Vegas.
• That, and I'm thirsty like a fiend all the time.
• Damn desert.
• I've been on a big salad making kick, since the weather has turned so warm. This past week or so I've made a spinach/gorgonzola/walnut/pear salad, a couscous salad, and a white bean salad that is one of my favorites. I love making The Big Salad and then eating on it for a couple of days.
• Washed my car for the first time yesterday, then it got rained on. Of course.
• Also stuck my first bumper sticker on to her: "Don't Mess With Texas." I can't stand litterers, as you know.
• The Geej has grown 4 inches since this time last May. And her feet? Growing about a size a month.
• Speaking of The Geej, here she is enjoying the weather--and the sprinklers--today:

• She is a nut.

See, here's what happened:

I was gonna post photos of the results of all my hard gardening work overhauling my ailing flowerbeds, but then I realized I hadn't taken any BEFORE pictures, so the "After" photos are a wee bit underwhelming.

The only bed that I did manage to capture in its "Before" state was this little one around an oak tree in my back yard:

All that is are weeds and about 2 years worth of dead leaves. This little bed gets about and equal mix of shade and sun throughout the day, so I had a lot of options when it came to what to plant there. I went with some Aster and Red Salvia. I'm wanting some trouble free plants that will be lovely, but still look a bit wild when they grow. I planted them, spread some mulch, and voila:
Better, no? Simple, but better.


The only other thing I'm willing to post a photo of at this point are my two mandevillia (sp?) vines I planted in the corner bed in the back (also completely overrun with weeds before I did anything with it). They're tiny but already blooming. The Geej picked these out at the nursery, and calls them "her plants."

Speaking of The Geej, I have a word to the wise. When your not-yet-three year old tells you that, yes, she wiped her bottom well after dropping a duece, you'd probably better just go ahead and do a "safety wipe" for her just to be sure. Trust me on this.

Whattaweek.

This week flew by (as they seem to these days), but it was a good one.

The weather has been great. My team is in good spirits at work. My kid is in good spirits. Even I'M pretty jolly these days. I guess a recap is in order...

The sleeping-in-underwear-instead-of-pull-ups thing is still going well. 100% success rate. Granted, she was waking me up 2 to 3 times a night during the first couple of nights, but now she's either sleeping through the night accident free, or just waking me up once with her plaintive, "Mommy, I need to go tee-tee." And then she goes right back to sleep. GOOD girl!!


I had the weirdest, most intense dream the other night. It was one of those that seems like it lasts for hours, and--even if you wake up at some point during it--you go back to sleep and it picks up right where it left off, like a DVD on pause or something. Freaky. Anyway, I was traveling in Russia with The Geej, and the government got suspicious of her dual citizenship, and tracked us down and basically took her from me, saying that she was adopted under "false pretenses" (it was believed that she had significant medical issues, which she totally never did), so they wanted her back. Not only that, but they already had a couple lined up that wanted her. The American embassies were worthless, and I couldn't get ANYONE to help me. I was powerless, and they were taking my baby away from me. The day before my travel visa was set to expire, they took Geej from me so that she could spend time with her "new family." I was psychotic, enraged and totally alone. It was horrifying. A couple of hours after they took her, however, they brought her back and told me that the couple didn't want her and that we were free to go. I was overjoyed, of course. When I asked what happened, they told me, "She talks too much. They don't want a chatty child." So yes, it had a happy--almost comical--ending, but damn it was harrowing during the nightmare itself.

Wednesday night, Bookhart came over for a long-overdue sit on the deck, drink beers, listen to music and talk about life session. The weather was amazing--even a bit cool. I had a nice time, and it made me realize I miss hanging out with Bookhart on a more frequent basis. She's the bomb, but then you probably already knew that.

I got my first ever Team Leader Survey results back. These are conducted twice a year, and are anonymous. Not only can your direct reports fill them out, but anyone who works with you can as well. I was thrilled to learn that my scores were almost perfect, and my comments were overwhelmingly positive. I'm so proud and happy. I guess I'm doing okay so far...

I finally went and bought those 5 remaining bags of mulch I needed to finish out "Operation Flowerbeds" here at my casa. Damn. I've got two more random things to plant (my mom dropped off a couple of big plants that she bought then decided she didn't need or want, and now I've got to figure out where the Hell to plant them), and I'm freakin' DONE people!! This has taken 3+ weeks, over $300, and lots and LOTS of sweat and dirtiness to accomplish. I'll post pictures tomorrow. Badger, Malcontent Mama, and La Turista, look out. There's a NEW gardening junkie in the club!

I guess the BIGGEST most EXCITING news I have is that (drum roll), it looks as if Mr. Wonderful has sold his house!! Holy crap, people! This is huge. And here's the best part: they buyers want to close on June 15th. Pull out your calendars. Yep, that's soon. REALLY soon. So yeah, we're both sort of in the OMFG stage right now. But what it boils down to is he's going to be here. For good. Soon. I cannot freakin' WAIT!

Finally, here's a photo of some baby owls. Oh, I mean owlets.If this doesn't make you smile, there' s probably something wrong with you. There's this guy in Austin who has an owl habitat and an "owlcam" set up on his property, and he's been recording the daily events of this owl family for a while now. I saw these suckers when they hatched, and now look at them. Could you DIE?! The image archive is hilarious. I'm telling you, I've been sucked into their world. I'm fascinated by them and in love with them all at the same time. You should really check it out. Especially if you've got kiddos who might be in to this sort of thing. It's awesome.

Later, dudes.

Updateafragalistic.

1) The Geej is going commando tonight. It's my first night of trying out the sleeping without the Pull-Up thing. She's dry 99.5% of the time in the mornings, so I figure we may as well try it out. I can't BELIEVE my baby is getting so big.


2) Speaking of, I had a nice Mother's Day. At first, The Geej was in a shitty mood--acting SO two, and pitching a fit at every turn. But then, I made her get back in her bed and tell me when she was ready to "Get up and be happy." And lo and behold, after a few minutes, she got up, and the rest of the day was bliss.


3) After a Saturday morning playdate with Mama Malcontent's young casanova, then Dah came to town, and I was suddenly free to go to Home Depot and do some more garden supply shopping. See, here's the thing: I thought a few weeks ago, "You know, I should really clean out that little bed around the oak in my back yard, and plant something." Well, nearly $300 and many dirty, sweaty hours later, I'm almost finished totally refurbishing my beds and building an entirely new bed to boot. I gardened my arse off on Saturday afternoon, and quickly discovered that I needed at least 3 more bags of mulch. And a new rake. And some other stuff. So even though I'm nearly done, I'm not totally done. When I am, I'll post pictures (but I don't have "before" shots, so prepare to be underwhelmed).


4) After gardening, I got ready for a Big Swanky Party!! Remember a few moons ago when I told ya'll I finally met the lady in town who shares my (fairly unusual) first and last names? Well, long story short, she was beginning a publishing venture that deals with local and sustainable foods, and I happen to work at a company who's got a HUGE focus in that arena, so she asked if I could connect her with some folks "inside" with whom she could build a business partnership. I did, and--next thing I know--I'm being invited to VIP events at mansions in Westlake. Wow.


5) Went to said VIP event that was hosted by Paula. Paula is the "Paula" from this. So there was plenty of that flowing throughout the evening. But you know what? There wasn't much food. And all I'd had to eat was a small Schlotsky's veggie sammich at like 11:30. Then I'd worked out in the hot sun for 3 hours. Then started drinking this:

PAULA’S LEMONADE
This one is so good, it sneaks up on you.

1 part Paula’s Texas Lemon Liqueur

1 part vodka

1 part club soda

Generous squeeze of fresh lemon juice

Mix ingredients and serve over ice.

That's from the website, and they even ADMIT that it sneaks up on you. Boy, did it ever. I was fine (really, I was), until I got into the shuttle to take me back to my car. Then WHOA--I was seriously fucked up. Thank god I had a more sober companion with me to help me out. She had to drive my car, pull over along MoPac to let me hurl, then help me inside once home so that I could curl up with my toilet and nice, cold ceramic bathroom tile. This was all before 10pm, mind you. See: THAT'S what happens when you don't get out much!!


6) Woke up this morning at 7:30. And you know what? I felt fine--absolutely fine. I didn't LOOK great, but I was totally okay. I think getting all that shit outta me, then getting a decent night's sleep certainly helped. Thank goodness I felt okay, b/c it was Mother's Day, my mom was here, and The Geej was being more than a handful.


7) Went shopping at Whole Foods and dropped $144 in 45 minutes.


8) Mom took me to pick up my car at my friend's house (embarassing), then The Geej, friend and I all went to lunch here. Holy crap, people, it was SO damn good! I'd heard and read good things about this place, but just hadn't gone yet. But after today's yumminess and lovely service, I'll be back. Plus, the table next to us ordered the ceviche, and it looked amazing. I wanna eat it. Soon. PLEASE try this place. They're in one of those mysterious "kiss of death" locations that seems like it's awesome, but whatever goes there always fails. They serve breakfast on the weekends, are kid-friendly, have outdoor seating, and a full bar. Go!! Now!! Save them (they were barely busy at during lunch time today)!


9) Came back home and took a righteous nap with The Geej and Earl.


10) Got up and finished planting the rest of my plants and spreading the rest of the mulch I had. And then we watered. I say "we" on purpose. You see, I recently purchased this for The Geej

I know! Isn't it cute?! The gloves say "Little Farmer" on them. Anyway, she's been "helping" me out with my whole Operation Flowerbeds project.


11) I've decided I hate Lindsay Lowhore more than I do Paris Hilton. But I still hate TobyFuckingKeith the most. He's releasing an album this week called "Big Dog Daddy." I can't WAIT to get it!!


12) Melatonin works. Good night!