Monday, November 27, 2006

Thank you. Thank you very much.



Thank you. Thank you very much.
Originally uploaded by Aunt Vanessa.
Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving holiday. My mom and I took Emily and Reece to Memphis to see Graceland on Friday. We had a great time! They had a Christmas lighting ceremony that night and we got to see all the lights turned on for the season and then Santa appeared (in a long, white limo with a police escort) and the entire experience was absolutely the most fun you can have. Period. I was with Emily and Reece, after all.


They were like this all weekend - yeah, didn't fight, were sweet and precious and made it very, very difficult to leave them!

(More pics on Flickr and I'll post more about the weekend later.)

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

FINALLY

Getting to go home. I haven't seen the darling kids since the first of August. I hope I recognize them. I'm staying at my mom's and we have all sorts of things planned for the next four days. I'll be back to report soon.

Have a good time and eat lots of good stuff - it's all calorie- and fat-free on holidays, so don't you fret none about that.

xoxo

Vanessa

Thursday, November 16, 2006

My Antisocial Self

So much to do around here, but I needed a break before I hit the paper-writing tonight. Paper's due at midnight tomorrow, so I have plenty of time.

We had two social functions at work today. First, we had a Thanksgiving luncheon. Our entire building, the Alumni Center, gathered for lunch and I've never seen so much good food. I think I tried twenty items and that doesn't include the desserts. I sat next to Lisa, our newest employee in my department, and I found out that she is addicted to blogs! I should NEVER have told her about mine, of course, but she'd find it anyway, so "Hi, Lisa!" We laughed at ourselves about how we know so much about people's lives by reading their blogs.

At 3:00 we had a social function at the head of University Affairs house and it was one of those things that you get an invitation to, with an R.S.V.P., and yet it's mandatory. I don't like that. Why don't they just say, outright, that you are required to attend? Anyway, it wasn't too bad, but I only allowed myself a half glass of wine, since I have to write a paper tonight. Oh, and the food was good, so basically, I ate and socialized all day and don't have to do that again until next year.

I've been riding to work all week with my coworker, Dawn, because my car is in such sad shape it's too awful to discuss, but we've had a good time getting to know each other. She even made some doggie treats and gave them to me for Abby. (I'll write more about the car and how I got screwed by the repair people later.)

Do any of you guys own a pair of Dansko clogs? If so, do you love them? Another coworker (I'm learning so much at work!) has a couple of pairs and they're all she ever wears. She loves them and tells me that they are worth the money.

I don't want to get to work on this paper, can you tell?

Saturday, November 11, 2006

The Final Installment of "The Car Woes Saga"

I had to take my car to the mechanic's this morning at 8:00 for them to check it and find the leak. It's got some sort of leak of transmission fluid, which makes it slip out of drive and into neutral while I'm at a stop light, and it's very irritating. So, I took the car in and waited for over an hour to find out that I'd have to leave the car all day. Of course. I was talking to the guy at the place and Emily called, so when I left the place, I called her back and we talked the entire time I was walking home, which was about three miles. I actually wanted to walk; it is cold and sunny and that's the only condition in which I enjoy walking outside. I don't like to sweat anymore. Must be something to do with getting older, but I absolutely hate being hot these days. Winter cold weather: bring it on. Anyway, back to Emily, she and her family are driving to Branson, MO this morning and asked me to drive down and meet them, but they didn't extend the invitation until this morning, as I was walking home, hence CARLESS, so I won't be making a trip to see them. Thanksgiving weekend is coming up, so I'm not terribly upset about missing an opportunity to see Emily and Reece. Emily told me all about the school dance she'd attended last night and how much fun it was, and then I talked to Reece a little about our plans for Thanksgiving weekend. They are both happy and healthy and smart and perfect kids. Yeah, I sort of love them.

I was reading at the mechanic's this morning and I think my taste in literature is tainted forever. I don't seem to enjoy simple, straightforward fiction like this anymore. It's just too predictable and doesn't challenge its reader. I loved the shit out of this one, however! This is only the second one of his works I've read, but now I must read them all. For my love of weird, difficult literature, I blame one of my professors for teaching a fascinating course on postmodernism. We read all sorts of stuff from writers around the globe and it really opened my mind to the offbeat.

I now must return to writing a paper. I have two due next week and I need to make some progress. That, and I have more "Curb Your Enthusiasm" I want to watch tonight. I love Netfix!

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Hodge Podge of Stuff

Now I know all two of you were holding your breath today waiting for me to post the sequel to the car trouble story. It's just entirely too boring to go into detail, but I'll say that I had more car trouble and hopefully it's fixed now and I don't have to put any more money into it, nor bum a ride from one of my coworkers.

Have you seen any good movies lately? I haven't been to the movies since I moved, primarily because there's not been anything released I've really wanted to see, except for "The Queen," which STILL isn't playing at any of the theatres here. I'm dying to see it and have already planned to buy it the nanosecond it's released on DVD. I also want to see "Babel" when it's released. Kate Blanchett's one of my favorites, and you can't go wrong with a little luscious Brad Pitt, and I read that he is wonderful in the movie. But then, who really cares if the boy can act?

I got my hair cut tonight after work. I've been going to Marka for ten years, and that was one thing I was really fretting over, trying to find a new hair stylist, but I think I found the "one" with Gina. My hair looks so good and it feels great. She put some really good products on it, and as soon as I run out of my old stuff, I'm going to buy some of her mousse, gel, and everything else she used. The only problem with Gina is that she talks nonstop. My appointment was at 5:45 tonight and I didn't leave the place until 7:15. Yikes. She did, however, take several minutes to talk to me about my hair before she washed it, and I got the feeling that she knew what she was talking about, so I guess I can suffer the stories about her husband, three children, best friend, new pastor, mother, father, mother-in-law...you get my point...to get a good haircut. Plus, she's lived here in Columbia all her life and gave me good directions to some places I haven't been yet. So, I'll tolerate the yakety yak yak and just plan to go on Saturdays from now on.

I'm starting a new book tonight, so gotta run!

P.S. When I did spell check, the recommended replacement word for "yakety" was "yeasty" - hee hee.

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

The Trouble With Cars Is...

Did I mention that I've been having a little car trouble lately? A couple of weeks ago, I had filled up with gas and got back in my car and it wouldn't start. Thank goodness for Cingular's Roadside Assistance. I called them and they had help to me in twenty minutes. And, the first thing they asked me was, "Are you in a safe location?" I appreciated that. So, the tow truck guy checked the battery and said it was fine and told me it was the starter and he'd have to tow my car. I got to ride up front with him in his tow truck, since I didn't know anyone to call here in my brand new home. I was thinking, "what the hell did I go and move away from home for?" By the time we got the car to the auto repair place, it was almost 6:30 p.m. and of course they couldn't look at the car until the next day, but when they did, they told me it needed a new battery. Again with the "what the hell?" It seems as if every single time I have car trouble and I have to deal with more than one man about it, I get conflicting diagnoses. It definitely was the battery, because I had it replaced and it starts fine. I will say thanks, however, to tow truck guy for bringing me home that night. But that's all. He was a dumbass about my car and he should have known better.

Oh, and it was funny, I'm sure, seeing me try to heave myself up into the tow truck.

Tomorrow: Part II of the Car Trouble Saga...stay tuned!

Monday, November 06, 2006

A Little TEEVEE Talk

I was pretty bored a couple of weeks ago, so I signed up for Netflix. Bored, and the nearest movie rental place has a poor selection. Over the weekend I finished watching Season Four of "Curb Your Enthusiasm." Can't wait for Season Five to arrive now. I laughed out loud for three hours. If you've never seen this HBO series, you owe it to yourself to rent the DVDs, beginning with the first season. I have a cousin who didn't like "Seinfeld" (can you imagine?) yet loves "Curb" so don't let the fact that it's written by the "Seinfeld" creator turn you off to it, unless, of course, you just don't have a sense of humor. I think it's the funniest TV show I've ever seen.

My adorable friend, Mary, recommends "The Wire," which is a crime/drama series that's also by HBO. The first season's DVDs are in my Netflix queue, so I'm excited to get to watch them soon. I'm also looking forward to the last season of the Sopranos. Talk about funny. Yeah, a murderous mafia series that's so over-the-top you just have to laugh your head off at least once an episode. I'm so in love with the show, I've searched for articles about it and read extensively about the series. Yeah, I am a little obsessed.

As for network television, I haven't found much I like to watch anymore. I do watch Nip/Tuck every week, and think it's another over-the-top show that makes me laugh. It doesn't even pretend to be real, which is why I like it so much. Nevermind the fact that Julian McMahon is the prettiest man ever to breathe on this sweet earth, oh yes, sister he is. Just go HERE and look and then tell me what you think.

I really need to stop now and get to work. I'm supposed to be writing a paper on digital libraries. Anyone know what a digital library actually is???

Friday, November 03, 2006

Just Doesn't Feel Like Friday To Me

Friday; woohoo! Three more weeks until I see Emily and Reece. I'm going through withdrawal. Seriously, I have a sick feeling in my stomach because I miss them so much. They sent me Halloween cards this week and enclosed recent photos and I think they have both grown a couple of inches since I last saw them in August.

I'm taking two classes online, and one "face-to-face" class, which meets about once a month on Tuesday night. Not a bad schedule, except for one of the online classes, which requires we meet twice this semester on a Saturday from 9 to 3. You guessed it - tomorrow is the second Saturday class. There are about 20 students in my class and one of them, Sandy, is becoming a friend, but I still don't want to go. Except that Sandy and I get to have lunch together. I always enjoy that. But other than that, it's a total bore of a day and by 1:00 I'm squirming in my chair and ready to scream.

So, that's it for Friday. I'm getting ready to heat some of that delicious soup I mentioned a couple of days ago. Might add a slice to cheese toast to the menu tonight. Then, I'm going to read a chapter in library management and watch a movie. This is so boring, I'm going to have to have a glass of wine just to get through it!

Thursday, November 02, 2006

Sometimes It Takes A While To Get To The Point

Two days in row, I know. Staggering, isn't it?

I had planned to write about my favorite TV shows, but I have something funny to tell you, so I'll save the TV entry for later. Since I've declared I'm going to blog more often, I'm going to have to start hoarding ideas.

Anyway, it's not cool to blog about work, I know, and I won't bore you with it, usually, but today's an exception. The mail comes to our department around 9:30 every morning, and I sort it and distribute it. After all, what else should someone with a master's and another in progress be doing with her time? My boss, Linda, received a Harry & David catalog, you know, the one with the gorgeous-looking pears and chocolates and all those adorable gift boxes. When I handed it to her, I said something witty like, "You've got a new Harry & David here." And she looked at it and began a thirty-minute story about a particular incident when her husband was driving along and got extremely dizzy, and started vomiting all over the place and had to pull into a parking lot and honked his horn...long story short...he ended up in the emergency room and it was determined that he had a severe inner-ear infection. As she was telling this story, I made the usual concerned looks with my face and added a few "Oh, no, how awfuls" just to stay awake mostly, but all the while I was wondering what the hell this story had to do with her new Harry & David catalog! After she finished, she said, "So, anyway, after W-- got better, I sent the ER doctor a basket of food from Harry & David."

Ohhh...

Made my morning.

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

When In Doubt, Blog About FOOD

Regarding this blog, I've been trying to decide whether to keep posting or just simply let it go, since I've been so terribly negligent, and today I knew I either had to swim or get out of the pool (I was going to say "Shit, or get off the pot" but Emily doesn't like it when I say "shit," so I'm not going to say that) and I decided I would SWIM. So, regardless of how boring my life actually is right now, I'm going to post more often and if I bore the absolute crap out of you, then I'm sorry. But you have to read it. That's an order. All five of you who read this blog, that is.

I think the reason I have such a difficult time posting is because this is a BLOG, which, in my opinion, should be truthful. And I'm better at writing fiction. I have never told even a scrap of a lie on this blog and I won't. However, it's a lot more fun to make shit up.

Halloween came and went with little to no excitement. A couple of dear coworkers brought their leftover candy to work today and we all acted like a bunch of second-graders and there was scarcely a piece of candy left by 4:30 today. Have you guys tried the new Reese's crunch bars or whatever they're called? They are so good. You have the peanut butter and chocolate, and then you have a layer of crunchy goodness in there somewhere and it's just a delight to your mouth when you take a bite. Way better than a Kit Kat.

I just finished eating a bowl of soup. And you thought this was going to be a boring post. Shame on you for thinking that. This is the best and easiest soup recipe and you should try it. You'll thank me for it. Dawn makes it quite often and Reece and Emily love it. It's a Weight Watchers' recipe, except I improvise some, and it's one of those recipes you'll adapt to your own tastes. So, here it is:

1 can of turkey chili w/beans (I use Hormel)
1 can of turkey chili w/out beans
1 can of whole kernel corn
1 can of sliced carrots
1 can of sliced potatoes
1 can of mixed vegetables, like Veg All
1 can of Campbell's Old Fashioned Vegetable Soup

I had a half of a bag of frozen green beans, so I added them to the pot.
I also drained the corn, carrots, and potatoes, then added a couple of cans of water, you'll know how much water by looking at it. That's it. Just heat it and leave it on Low for an hour or so and then enjoy. It's even better the next day. I also put some of it in the freezer in individual containers for later. You wouldn't believe how good this soup is! And I hardly ever used canned food, but this is really deeeelish. You're welcome!

Tomorrow: my favorite TV shows! Can you handle all this fun???

Love you guys!