My New Defining Sense of Self

Do any of you remember this Starbucks scene from "You've Got Mail?" Joe Fox and Kathleen Kelley are both waiting for their coffee, and Joe muses about Starbucks. He says,

"The whole purpose of places like Starbucks is for people with no decision-making ability whatsoever to make six decisions just to buy one cup of coffee. Short, tall, light, dark, caf, decaf, low-fat, non-fat, etc. So people who don't know what the hell they're doing or who on earth they are can, for only $2.95, get not just a cup of coffee but an absolutely defining sense of self: Tall. Decaf. Cappuccino."

So yesterday my boss asked me to take his intern to Starbucks for her last meeting of the semester, since he was out of town. Wellllll... It's a tough job, but somebody's got to do it. I, of course, don't drink coffee, but I figured since I wasn't paying for it, I might as well try something yummy. And in doing so, I have definitely found my new sense of self.

I am a Grande Sugar Free Nonfat Decaf Cinnamon Dulce Latte.

Introducing...

... Mister Isaiah Big Tuna Ed Fishie! :) This really IS him: No, he's not dead. People ask me that ALL THE TIME when they walk by my desk and see him floating there or laying on the bottom. Betas just do that, ok?!

In case any of you don't watch "The Office," one of the characters on the show calls our favorite character "Big Tuna" because the first day he came to work, he brought a tuna sandwich. So my friend Kristy and I refer to that all the time, and she suggested naming him "Big Tuna." So I incorporated all of the suggestions into one name! I don't know if that will satisfy my sister's need to name something Isaiah... I'm going to call him "Fishie" or "Tuna." Jess, maybe you'll just have to get a dog someday and call him Isaiah...

New Additions!

I wanted to introduce to my blog friends the new additions in my life! First of all, my precious wonderful husband got me a new miniature rose! I don't think I mentioned it here, but some of you may have seen it on Justin's blog - the day after Valentine's Day, I rescued a mini rose from WalMart, but it didn't make it. So I had this dead rose plant outside in a pot, and I just hadn't gotten rid of it yet. But then one day I came home from work and my sweet husband had put a GORGEOUS new mini rose plant in its pot! The colors don't come out in this picture - the new one's blooms are this gorgeous bubble gum pink! I love it! So this pic is of my three little babies. On the left is my first rose that Justin got for me Valentine's Day 2006. We call it our "love plant." (Reference to "How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days" if any of you have seen it.) In the middle is the one that a church member gave me last April because I work there. Then the sweet new baby is on the right. My precious baby roses! These take the place of pets in my life. :)

Then my other new addition is a blue beta fish on my desk at work! Let me tell you the story. I mentioned Richard, our building superintendent at work, in my post about the baby killdeer. So last Friday I was discussing with him how I did go and save that baby bird, and the topic turned to tender hearts toward animals. Then he told me that he and his wife had a pet fish at home, and his wife got tired of taking care of it, so she told him to flush it! This fish had been his pet for more than 2 years, so he couldn't bring himself to do it. So I told him to bring it to work and I'd keep it on my desk. So come Monday, there was a sweet beta fish on my desk! (This picture is not him, but this is what he looks like!) He's way more active than a beta I had before I got married, and he's BIG too! So he's cute and fun, he keeps me company at my desk and we talk. It's good. This sweet fish, however, doesn't have a name! I've been calling him Fishie, and he likes that. But he should still have a proper name! So does anybody have any suggestions?!

So these are the two new loves of my life. Yay!

Another Owee!

But this time, it's not an Ow-Wii! :) Yesterday, it was a gorgeous, sunny day, so I decided to wash my car. I took it to the quarter wash where you put in the quarters and then wash it yourself. There are several cycles you take it through - rinse, soap, brush, power rinse, spot rinse, wax, etc. So I had soaped and brushed the whole thing, then I was using the power rinse to wash it off. I never realized just how hard that spray really is! As I was rinsing, I saw a spot on the car that wasn't rinsing off, so I reached up with my hand to rub it and see if it would come off. In doing so, however, I accidentally sprayed my hand with the power rinse. OH MY GOODNESS!!!!! I cannot describe how much that hurt! I really thought I was bleeding, it felt like a knife cutting through me. It wasn't bleeding, however, just really red, and I completed my car wash. However, as I drove home I looked again at my hand, which was still red and painful, and I saw that it blistered! Yes, the sheer force of the water hit my hand hard enough to make it blister! Justin claims that I just have sensitive skin, but I tell ya, I'm pretty sure anybody would've been injured by that water. So everyone be careful now that it's car washing season! Don't spray yourself or anyone else you like (You can decide for yourself whether or not to spray the people you don't like...) with the power rinse - it may just "power" your skin right off!!! I've got the blister to prove it!

Nerd or Free Spirit?

As I think I've mentioned on here before, Justin and I are going through the Financial Peace study by Dave Ramsey. It is wonderful and life-changing, and I would recommend it to EVERYONE! However, that's not the point of this post. In his lessons, he talks about how there are generally 2 types of people in this world: Nerds and Free Spirits. You almost inevitably have one of each in a marriage relationship. Nerds are the rule-followers, the budget-keepers, the let's-make-a-spreadsheet-to-track-our-progress-ers. Free Spirits are like "Budgets just tie me down," and "Rules were made to be broken." In case any of you don't know, I am UNQUESTIONABLY a VERY LARGE Nerd. Justin is also a Free Spirit, so we keep each other balanced.

However, this Nerd title that I'm claiming doesn't only apply to my financial existence - it applies to all of life. I have a strong sense of justice, a deep feeling for "the way it ought to be." So sometimes it troubles me deeply when things aren't right, and I many times will take action to correct that. I have two examples just from my life this week.

I saw a new product that Nutri-Grain is coming out with to expand their line of breakfast products. It's called a "Muffin Bar." I have a serious problem with this name. The American Heritage Dictionary lists this as the meaning of the word muffin: "A small, cup-shaped quick bread, often sweetened." So, as you can see, by it's very definition, the word muffin refers to its shape - cup-shaped. So if it's a muffin, it can't be a bar. Because bars are shaped like bars and muffins like muffins. So the name "Muffin Bar" is an oxymoron. It simply can't exist. That REALLY gets on my nerves.

Secondly, if you were reading my blog last year at this time, you'll remember that we had a sweet family of birds (killdeer) nesting outside our office and sweet little baby birds running around everywhere. If you missed it, you can read about it here. Well, that sweet family is back, and there are 3 new babies outside our office! This morning I was walking from one building to another, and I noticed that one of the baby killdeer had fallen off the curb into the driveway, and the curb was too tall for it to be able to jump back up! So it was down there chirping away pitifully, and its mama was up in the grass calling it. It was a tragic sight. So I went ahead to the other building and got my work done, and while I was there I ran into our Building Superintendent, Richard. I asked him if he'd seen our little family of birds and he said "Yeah. One of the babies had fallen down into the driveway, and I bet it's gonna get run over by a car or maybe eaten by a hawk. Either way, it's not my problem." I was appalled! I asked if he thought it would be ok for me to try to catch it to put it back in the grass. He said he was sure it would be. So when I had finished my work and was walking back to the office building, I saw that the pathetic situation for the killdeer had not changed. Baby was still in the street, Mama was still squawking. So I gently caught the baby killdeer and put him back in the grass to be reunited with his family. For the rest of the day, I've periodically peeked out the window to make sure he's ok, and they're happy as they can be. Yay for doing what's right!

So I'm definitely a Nerd. At least I'm happy.

Ow-Wii Zow-Wii!!!

In case you can't decipher the title of this post, it's "Owee Zowee" changed to reflect the cause of my pain - the Wii! It was a fantastic and fun time Friday evening with our friends as we played tennis, baseball, golf, bowling, and boxing. I was TERRIBLE at tennis, but I rocked the house at bowling. You create your own little Wii Mii, and it tracks all the games you play so you accumulate points. The higher you go in your ability, the more it challenges you. I'm amazed at the technology where a little receiver attached to the TV can detect my movements and move the Mii on the screen accordingly. The whole system is such a neat concept, and it definitely was a good workout. In fact, my arm is STILL sore from all the work it did on Friday! It wasn't all that bad on Saturday, but Sunday it was REALLY sore! Today it's slowly getting better. But if I owned one of these, I'd get buff! :) It's definitely on my "To Own Someday" list - I'd put on my exercise clothes and box a few rounds. Billy Blanks couldn't make a better workout!

Nothing Normal About This!

This is the view from my front door. And yes, that's SNOW falling from the sky. In Texas. In April. What the heck?!?!?! Two days ago it was 85 degrees and sunny! And now it's snowing. Now that is ridiculous. Good thing I said I wasn't going to leave the house today! :)

Return to Normal Life?

Well, after a tragic and dramatic week related to Kentucky basketball, it looks like the suspense and drama may soon be over. There is a press conference scheduled for this afternoon to announce their new basketball coach, which ESPN says is going to be Billy Gillispie, the current coach at Texas A&M. So now our Wildcat lives may return to normal, and the upheaval may just be beginning for our dear Aggie friends, Corrie and Ryan. Corrie, call me if you need some support - I've been through it this week! :)

On an entirely different note, tonight we're going to over our friends Lee & Kristy's house to play their new Nintendo Wii. This is the game system where you actually get off your duff and move the controller as if you were playing the game in real life. I think it'll be great for Americans who are just sitting on their couches playing video games and getting fatter and fatter. Kristy says you can work up a sweat playing this thing! So I'm excited to try it out for myself and maybe get some exercise in the process. I'll let you know how it goes!

And finally, I'm looking forward to a weekend to relax! Last weekend was bizarrely busy for me, and the past couple weeks have been kind of high stress with basketball stuff, apartment trauma (Read about it on Justin's blog if you missed it.), Easter being a busy time at work, workplace drama, etc. So I'm planning on just staying home Saturday and getting a little R&R. I need it!!!

We're Official Now

Yep, we're official Texans now...

... We got our picture made in a field of bluebonnets!

For those of you don't live in Texas, bluebonnets are the Texas state flower, and they're adorable. Contrary to public opinion, it's not actually illegal to cut or pick them (except on the side of the highway because that's officially government property). However, most fields and roadsides are allowed to grow unchecked this time of year because nobody wants to cut the bluebonnets! So at this time of year, you'll find fields and fields of bluebonnets, and it's a Texas tradition to take your family out once a year and get their picture taken! So yesterday we met up with some friends and took each others' pictures in a gorgeous field of bluebonnets. Yay for Texas!