Thursday, August 28, 2008

6 Random Things

1.) I have several needs for sleeping. First, I have to have significant bodily contact with husband. If it's really warm under the covers then our feet have to touch. If it's not so hot, I like to spoon or lay flat with his legs draped over me. I don't find it all uncomfortable to have a 200 lb. man's legs weighing me down. I think it gives me a sense of security. Second, I have to have my woobie touching my face or head. And yes, I do still have a woobie. I gave up sucking my thumb long ago but I still love the feel of the crocheted blanket that childhood caregiver, Ms. Miles made for me. And last, I like to have my cat curled up in the crook of my arm (the one opposite the side that husband is on). When I travel for business, I like to sleep in Marriott's Heavenly Bed because they give you six amazingly comfy pillows and I pack them around me to simulate having husband in bed with me. I simply do without the cat and the woobie.

2.) I stack papers. My kitchen never looks like it's really, really, fully clean. I don't like clutter in my kitchen. The only thing on the counters are a few small appliances and some picture frames, one dish towel and the hand soap. The rest is put away...all except the papers. I use the kitchen counter as the destination for opening the mail. I normally sort by junk, catalogs, bills, things to do, follow up on, etc., a pile for invitations to parties, announcements, etc. and then there is my Netflix movie pile. While the junk gets pitched in the trash receptacle, the remainder stays in piles. I sometimes stack them in one or two larger piles so I can dust the mail drop. It's depressing really.

3.) I bite and pull my cuticles. It's such a terrible habit but I can't help myself. And in order to keep from really tearing them, I house fingernail clippers in multiple locations so they're always close by. I have a pair in the bathroom, the kitchen junk drawer, my purse, the desk at my office. If I clip them just as soon as they're slightly detached from the finger, I keep from going completely insane.

4.) I can't concentrate and listen to music at the same time (except while driving). Even as an adolescent, I remember not being able to listen to music while I studied. And even though I have a lot of colleagues who can work at their desk with their iPods in their ears, I cannot handle so much as a jazz tune in the background. Internet radio is not my friend.

5.) I'm not ticklish except for on my forehead. Blow air or softly whisper on my forehead, I go hysterical. My son is ticklish on his forehead too. It must be genetic.

6.) I have a gift wrap, gift bag, tissue paper, greeting card and ribbon fetish. I have an entire closet dedicated to the collection of these items which I intend to use at the appropriate time. I think I got this from my mother. She used to work in a gift shop/floral shop and acquired an incredible skill for wrapping, bow making and floral arranging. Mine never look like hers but I love it anyway.

Read 6 random things from a friend or two.

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Childhood Memories

Quick Sand


We went to the Boomershine's house last night to celebrate Chigger's 1.5 year old birthday (the 1 year party was delayed because they were moving, etc.). The big kids went outside to play in the sand pile and someone had the brilliant idea of getting the water hose and making the sand more
like quick sand. We made the kids strip down on the porch and hosed them off before making a dash for the bath tub.
The kids had a blast and I couldn't help but think how playtime like this turns into lasting childhood memories.

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Continental Airlines

Let me preface this entry by saying that I'm not a person who makes formal complaints. That is to say, I'm not one who does so with any regularity and in fact, it's rare. Even with all my travel, I've only once complained to American Airlines and I did so via email and was pleasently surprised when I received a small credit to my frequent flier account. However, in the past couple of months I've called in two complaints with Continental Airlines. I'm disappointed that I've ruined my reputation and am now an official complainer.

The first complaint was in response to the rudest flight attendant I've ever met in my life. You may remember Barbara from our trip to Mexico.

And my complaint from just yesterday was due to a complete break down in communication and technology both at the George Bush Houston Interncontinental airport and on Continental's website. I missed my flight by minutes.

I was scheduled for a 7:20 p.m. departure from Houston to Tulsa. I should have been home by 8:45 p.m. My boss and I arrived at the airport almost two hours early and after passing through security, we noticed the monitors showed a delayed departure of 8:20 p.m. Okay, no big deal. What's another hour? So we went to the Chili's to grab some food and drink and basically kill time. We checked the monitor with great regularity and at one point, it was delayed until 8:50 p.m. The website, via our BlackBerry, also quoted 8:50 p.m. A few minutes later, the terminal monitor switched back to 8:20 p.m. so at 7:50 p.m., we walked a short distance to our gate.

Oddly enough, the sign above the door at gate B73 read "Seattle 9:10 p.m.". What? We weren't going to Seattle. Did they switch gates on us? We approached the gate agent. "We're here for the 8:20 p.m. departure to Tulsa from gate 73". The gate agent replied "That aircraft has already left". We checked our watches. It was 7:55 p.m. "What do you mean it's departed? It's only 7:55 p.m. and the flight isn't supposed to leave until 8:20 p.m.". She replies, "Yes, it was delayed until 8:50 p.m. but apparently they resolved their issues and so they left. We called passenger names here at the gate and eventually filled the seats with standby passengers". Well that's freaking brilliant. The monitors lie, the website lies, and unless you're within a 30 foot radius of the gate, you can't hear the PA announcement. We told her that the technology lies. She told us never to trust the monitors. We boarded the last flight of the day and ended up arriving in Tulsa a little past 11:00 p.m. Did I mention that we had arrived at the Houston airport almost 2 hours early? And we weren't the only ones. I saw at least five other passengers who experienced the same thing. Who knows how many I didn't know about.

Worst part...I called Continental's 1-800-WE-CARE line yesterday. The punk who took my call listed quietly and didn't ask a single question when I finished my story. He simply said that he would log it and pass it onto the proper authorities. But he wasn't even typing or documenting my feedback the entire time. He didn't apologize for our inconvenience. So I asked him if he should gather some information from me in order to pass along the appropriate information like, the flight number, the airport I was at when their communication failed, my frequent flier number for starters. It wasn't until I prompted him that he got some real info from me and then his keyboard started making noise. I still wonder if he was just surfing the web because he sure didn't act like he gave a care. I guess I should be thankful that he spoke English.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

A Game of Tag

In reading Margo's blog, I inadvertently got tagged. Here goes.

Name: Candice
Maiden name: Ask the bank
Eye Color: Hazel (Isn't that a combo of brown and green?)
Hair Color: Naturally? Dishwater.
Height: 5'5"
How would you describe yourself? First thing that popped in my mind...candid
Either/Or Shy or Outgoing? Seriously?
Spender or Saver? Both. It depends on my mood really.
Truth or Dare? Ah, Dare. The truth hurts.
Books or Movies? Books, I love the Tulsa County Library
Romantic Comedy or Action/Adventure? Romantic Comedy
Cats or Dogs? Both but I'm tired of sweeping up cat litter and letting dogs out to piss so I guess I'd say that I might do without for a while after the good Lord takes them all. (I'm terrible, I know.)
Mountain or Beach? Give me some sand and sweat.
Sweet or Salty? Salty. But that sounds so dirty that I feel like I should say "sweet".
Do you...Get Annoyed Easily? No, laid back like a brother in a pimped up hooptie.
Like to Travel? Absolutely. I want to travel the world with my family and when the kids are grown, I want to travel more of the world with my husband.
Like to drive fast? I did until gas prices were so high and I realized the fuel economy I'd get going 60MHP on the highway.
Sing Well? If I have Cox Cable Karaoke in the background.
Have a Talent? That is confidential.
Watch Scary Movies? Nope.
Shave your legs everyday? Nope
Floss regularly? I do now. Six crowns in your mouth will change your attitude.
Get Motion Sickness? Never
Have you ever...Performed on Stage? Yes, miss the trill.
Been out of the country? Where? Yes, Mexico, Canada, Germany, Caribbean, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico
Had any body hair waxed? Yes
Lied about your age? A long time ago.
Used a fake ID? Yes, and almost got caught at the tag agency.
Got a Speeding ticket? Yep, at 16 years of age for going 10 over. WTF?
What is...The last CD you bought? Hanna Montana
The last movie you saw in the Theater? Space Monkeys
The last Movie you rented? QuinceaƱera
Your Greatest Fear? Fear itself
Your Greatest Strength? Drive
Your Greatest Weakness? My impatience for ignorant people
Your Happiest Memory? Too difficult to choose.
Your Favorite...Movie: Top Gun or Dirty Dancing or maybe The Chorus Line
TV Show: Gray's Anatomy
Actor: Tom Cruise
Actress: Jodi Foster
Food: Mexican and Sushi
Drink: Cerveza, Tequilla Y Agua
Color: Yellow
Scent: My Husband and WHY: Olfactory pleasure.
Day of the Week and WHY: Friday, the weekend is here!
Favorite Stores: Bookstores, stationary stores and unique gift shops. I also like antique shops although I don't frequent them.
Quote: Blessed are the flexible, for they won't get bent out of shape.
Zodiac: Cancer
War: Make love instead
Ghosts: Don't think so
Reincarnation: Hope so.
Karma: Better believe it.
Luck: I don't like the odds. Luck is for someone else. I just work hard.
Aliens: Doc thinks so.
Tell us one of your most embarrassing moments: Freshman history class, I farted during "silent reading/study time". Unfortunately it was a class full of football players. I still remember the clothes I was wearing and that's not the kind of thing I normally commit to memory.

Tag, You're it.

The RULES
1. Link the person who tagged you...Margo
2. Post these rules.
3. Tag 6 fellow bloggers by linking them (okay, I just picked 3 - my blog community is small)
Erika, Jerusha, Carrie.

Thursday, August 14, 2008

1st Day of First Grade


It's hard to believe that Dakota is now a 1st Grader. I remember when he first started Kindergarten. It seems like just yesterday. This is a new year and now he has Ms. Auer as a teacher and he'll be learning all sorts of new things. Mom and Dad will have all sorts of new challenges. He had homework on the first day and we already witnessed the crying and pouting that goes with not wanting to do homework before playing video games or eating dinner. I'm mean seriously, who needs green beans and pork when you have Lego Star Wars?

The first day was a success and he quickly fell into step. He reconnected with several of his Kindergarten friends although only two of his previous classmates are in his current class.



Elle is SO ready to be a big girl. She made me pack her a lunch box on Dakota's first day of school and included all her breakfast items for daycare. So cute.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Meet the Teacher


Today was "Meet the Teacher" day at Dakota's school. We were pleased to meet his new 1st grade teacher, Ms. Auer. We will greatly miss his teacher from last year, Miss Smith but we're looking forward to a new experience. Dakota has three girls from last year's class in his first grade class and zero boys from last year in his class. Luckily, one of his buddies is in the connecting room and another is just across the hall. Reminds me of that song..."Make new friends, but keep the old. Some are silver and the others gold". Oh well, hopefully they'll be some cool kids for him to share in his learning experience. Tomorrow is the first day of school so I'm sure there will be more to share in the days ahead.
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Saturday, August 9, 2008

The Man Plant


No, this is not an optical illusion. This is the my man plant. I'm sure you can understand why.
A couple of weeks ago, we went to the Boomershine's house for a belated birthday dinner. TG had already given me her gift because she said she didn't want to take the attention away from the gift that her beloved husband Beau had picked out especially for me. Well, it may not have originally been intended for me but TG wouldn't let him buy the Bonzai. Then he told her he would save it for me on my birthday. And so, it became my gift.
How thoughtful is he? I mean, he actually bought it quite some time ago and nurtured it up until the time he could pass it onto me. And I just hope that I don't kill it. Aren't Bonzai plants temperamental? One of the "legs" of the man is beginning to wither. And it was withering when he gave it to me but I could swear that the withering is worse than it was just two weeks ago. Is that possible? Withering = too much water. Okay. But the tag says to keep the soil moist. Okay. But the leg is withering. Crap. At least it's the leg and not the other part. That would be horribly offensive.

Sunday, August 3, 2008

Bandit


We are mourning the loss of our beloved cat, Bandit. I've had him for 14 years. I adopted him and his brother Buster from Animal Aid while I was still attending college at OU. Bandit has had a good life but recently battled feline lymphoma. It was time to say goodbye. He was losing a tremendous amount of weight and he couldn't digest his food. He was in decent spirits most of the time but he was also showing signs of discomfort certain times during the day. I was with him when he went and I'm happy to say that he went out purring. He was so sweet and loving and we'll think of him often and pray that kitty heaven is better than we know.

We'd been talking to the kids about how the cat was sick and that he may have to go be with Jesus soon. Dakota took this picture from his kid friendly digital camera (hence the quality issue) just a couple days ago and he said he did so because he wanted us to have a memory of him. Such a sweet boy.