Long time no post

Wow I haven't made a post in over a month. Slacking. There are loads of things I should have been posting about as a lot has been going on what with the excitement of Christmas coming up and what have you.

The biggest thing that has happened is that we have a new addition to the family. Her name is Marie and here is a picture of her:

She is an adorable little tabby and she is four months old. It hasn't been smooth sailing though. Kodak isn't exactly thrilled at having his turf invaded so for now they are separated and we have slowly been introducing them. There is an improvement in his behavior towards her but it is going to take a while as he is naturally curious and wants to jump up and investigate. I would die if he bit her head off or something so we won't be leaving them alone together. I just want them to be able to tolerate each other because I already love her.

P.s. Don't you just love the do it yourself catbox. I'm sure she will get her own bed but for now she is loving the box.

A weekend full of adventure

This weekend was Halloween and I wanted to go to the Halloween thing they were doing downtown but I knew my husband didn't really want to so in the end we went to the drive in to watch The Vampire's Assistant and Zombieland. Both movies were good but I really enjoyed Zombieland. It was really funny and I will probably watch it again when it comes out on DVD.

Earlier in the day I thought it would be a great idea to make these little Halloween brownie things on the Betty Crocker website. They were shown as being easy to make. hahaha mine were not really anything like the ones on the website.
I took some pictures to send to my mother and she said she laughed so much she nearly wet herself. Here are my Halloween treats tricks.

my little ghosts

my spooky spiders

Here is a picture of how they should have looked and in case anyone wants to attempt to better mine then the recipe is at the Betty Crocker website. Click here for the official recipe.

So I think that pretty much wraps up Saturday.

Since we had so much fun at the beach the week before we decided to go again and to bring a picnic so we could make a whole day of it.

We had such a lovely morning and afternoon. The dog was having fun trying to catch birds and we had a nice picnic. I was collecting seashells as I want to decorate a picture frame with some.

Here are some of my favorite pictures from that day:

i think this one looks like a dinosaur

just a little bit of driftwood

one of many jellyfish we saw

So the day was getting on and we were getting a lot of sun so we decided to take a detour on the way home and perhaps go to another beach. We ended up going to a beach just a little way down the road and that is where our day took a turn for the worse.

First off, we stopped the car, jumped out to grab a lovely conch shell that was still intact. It looked as though there was something still in it so we bagged it and put it in the back of the truck. Then we drove down further and stopped again. I jumped out looking for shells and saw of all things....a dead baby shark! How I wish I had taken a picture of it but unfortunately I couldn't because as my husband was calling to tell me, our truck had a very very very flat tire. We had driven over some branches and pop went our tire.

It really wasn't funny because we were right on the sand and couldn't go back the way we came as we had had to drive over branches and water. So, off I went with the dog in the other direction to try and find an exit. I walked for ages and miraculously found a secret exit that I didn't notice until we walked past it.

The dog and I walked back and I felt so sorry for him because he has never had that much exercise in his life. I thought he was going to pass out. It was funny because he kept licking water up and I didn't have the heart to tell him that salt water wasn't going to help his thirst much.

Anyway, we got back to the truck with the good news about the exit but it was no good. It was too far for our truck to make it as my husband had tried to move the truck and nearly got it stuck in the sand. He got the jack out and tried to change the tire but obviously it kept sinking in the sand.

We were about to call a recovery company (which would have been a nightmare trying to explain where we were) when a good Samaritan stopped and went off to try and find some flat wood for us to use. Luckily he found some and it worked!!!

We had caught the sun and were exhausted by this time but we were in goodish spirits as we didn't have to spend the night on the beach.

Throughout all this drama my husband decided to take a picture of the flat and here it is:

Now I really wish I had taken a picture of the baby shark but at the time I thought it would have been in bad taste to be off taking pictures whilst we were stranded.

We got home later and we all had aching bones. The dog pretty much went into a coma for the next day or so.

I was gathering all my shells together and as I was admiring my beautiful conch shell it started to move. It was still alive! I felt bad and although if I had realized it was alive at the beach I would have put it back, since we had it at home and people do eat these things we decided to cook it and remove the stuff inside. Oh god it was traumatic. Never again. It was scary and gross but my shell is lovely and when I get it all polished up I will post a picture of it.

For the time being our trips to the beach are off but I'm hoping this won't be forever as we have had a really nice time there this past two weeks.

Concert and a trip to the beach

Not this weekend just gone but the one before I got to go see my favorite band, Alice in Chains. They were playing this all day concert thing sponsered by our local radio station. We had no interest in seeing most of the other bands so we went in the evening.

The place was full of youngsters and I felt a bit old particularly when htis couple who had to be in their forties walked pasted us and the man said....'oh look those people are the first people I have seen who are our age'. I'm a whole decade younger than that! So, a couple of days later I got rid of my grey hairs and now it is blue black. Hopefully I have shaved a few years off with the new hair color.

Puddle of Mudd came on whilst we were waiting for AiC and oh my god they were awful. I don't know whether their singer was wasted or what but he sounded bad. He was so bad I was cringing for him. The crowd was loving it although I think vast amounts of alcohol may have helped with that.

AiC were great. It was the first time I had seen them perform outside and whilst I still prefer to see them indoors in a smaller venue it was a good show and they played quite a few new songs although I would have liked to have heard Your Decision live. Maybe next time.

On the Sunday we went for a drive down to the beach. It was a lot of fun. The weather was nice and the beach was pretty deserted. I love being near water so it was a lovely day for me.

We found some animal skulls and after doing some investigating it turns out one of them was a skull from a wild boar. it had a full set of teeth and a tusk. Very bizarre.

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the beach that day:

an egret

the beach

a weird fish head. so gross we had to take it's picture
egret flying away
the dunes
skull
clouds
beach
beach
my lovely puppy...and half my husbandif you look closely you will see a little crab

PostSecret fans

A couple of months ago someone posted on PostSecret that after they had read all the secrets they refreshed the page to see how many others had been reading at the same time as them.
Well today I did it and the grand total was 109,983. That is a hell of a lot of people.

Dirty neighbors

Whilst I am no big fan of cleaning I'm not dirty, however, my neighbors are. They leave their trash outside and it stinks and flies swarm around it and we believe an animal got at it the other week. Their dirtiness has caused ants right outside my door. Thank goodness none were inside but I don't particularly like them on my doorstep either.
We complained and for nearly a week now they haven't left their trash outside. I'm hoping this will last but considering it is the norm for them to chuck three trash bags outside I don't hold out much hope. I will enjoy it while it lasts though.
There is a dirty big stain on the concrete from where their dirt was left and if they had any pride they would clean it. Of course they won't.

Anyway, just needed to get that off my chest.

My security blanket

My security blanket comes in the form of a pack of cigarettes. I don't even have to smoke them. Just having them nearby pacifies me.
Right now I have none and I do not like it one little bit. It is awful really that I even feel like this but I do.

I've always kind of wanted to give up smoking but haven't had the guts to actually attempt it and now I know why. I haven't even been without them for more than a couple of hours and all I can do is think about them.

My husband has had to go away for a family emergency. Before he left we went out to get anything I might need whilst he is gone. The only thing I really wanted was an extra pack of cigarettes so we got one. He put this pack in my bag but when he left he took a pack from home. That pack is the one I need now to tide me over until he gets back.

I realize he had his mind on other things and wasn't thinking what he was doing but bloody hell do I need those now.

To walk to the nearest garage would take me an hour which is fine but it has been raining all day today and my husband has our only working umbrella.

I can just imagine what will happen tomorrow. I'll be so desperate I'll go out in a thunderstorm and get struck my lightning or something. All for the sake of a pack of fags.

I'm actually annoyed at myself by becoming so obsessed with this but I cannot take my mind of it. I've been reading my book but I couldn't tell you what has been going on in it.

Ugh even writing about it is annoying me.

Spooky movie

I watched a movie on some random channel last night. I think the channel is called This but I could be wrong. The movie was called The Believers and it starred Martin Sheen.
The movie was right up my street as it was about a spooky old blood cult that used the religion Santeria as a cover (sort of). I don't know much about Santeria but it sounds like something I would be interested in reading about. I will have to look it up.
The movie was made in 1987 and of course the 80's feel to it made it even spookier.

Anyway, in the movie this spooky cult man put a curse on this woman by rubbing her powder compact. Then she got this spot on her cheek that grew and took up the whole side of her face. It started pulsing and she went mental..like you would...and I think she was going to kill herself but of course Martin Sheen came to her rescue and took her to hospital. Actually, I think there may have been a spider in her cheek as when Martin Sheen called the ambulance there was a big spider on the phone line.

Very spooky thing here...I have a spot on my cheek the same as the lady in the movie. I've had it for weeks and have done so well in not squeezing it. However, it isn't going away. Obviously this is because someone must have cursed me! So this morning I squeezed it. No spider came out or anything but I do feel better now I've done it and hopefully it will go now.

The movie never said what happened to the woman after she went into hospital. I wonder if she died.

Bra shopping on the cheap

I just remembered this after I posted earlier about my overheating at Traders Village.

Traders Village is a big market. They have loads of stalls there and like all markets there are some good bargains to be had and some real cheap shit.

I got one of those little things that you can put on the table and hang your bag off. They are a cool little thing and I got one with a cool little picture on it. It was $1 so if it doesn't work I can't complain.

Anyway, the thing I remembered was looking at some bras. There were a whole load of them and they were 3 for $10. They were cheap shit but for that price who can complain if they cut your shoulders and back into ribbons.

My sister in law was getting some and I was having a look but wasn't going to get any as I haven't measured myself for my American bra size and apparently it is different to British and European sizes.

Oh my goodness...that means I haven't bought myself a bra for over a year. Isn't that awful?

Anyway, I explained to the little woman on the stall that I wouldn't be buying anything as I didn't know my size. Well she was not having this and started sizing up my boobs. I would have been insulted if she hadn't been so generous in her guessing of my cup size. hahaha if only I was as large up top as she was thinking.

She grabbed a bra and hooked it round me to see if it would fit. It was kind of funny in an...oh my god, a stranger is touching my boobs, kind of way.

Her brazen sale tactics worked though and I thought I would get them as cheapo bras to tide me over until I could measure myself properly and buy some nice ones.

It was so awkward. They were really tacky bras. You know the type...playboy bunny emblems on them and stuff. It was kind of hard to say...eww I don't want that tack...especially when my sister in law was buying some of those kind. Because I was umming and ahhing the woman went to find me some more and came back with this horrendous red bra that was just yuck. It was padded but not in a good way. It was also a really bad red colour. It was just disgusting and her selling point to me was hilarious. She whispered to me...."this would be a good one...good for Valentine's Day huh?". Umm NO! lol. Not only do we not really do Valentine's Day but my husband is not going to be thrilled by some $3 manky market stall bra and if he was then oh dear lord have I made a mistake.

Ah it was funny. Trying hard not to say that out loud I said something to the effect of....hmmm no, I don't really like it.

For anyone interested (and I'm sure you are not) I ended up getting a fairly ordinary white one, a bright green one (I have a lot of green clothes so I was being practical) and a blue t-shirt material one with a hello kitty emblem. I just couldn't bring myself to get one of the ones with the playboy bunny on. I am no playboy bunny, lol. If I had less of a choice and had to get one of those I would have spent time picking it off just in case I was in an accident and taken to hospital. I could just imagine the doctors or whoever thinking...the cheek of her wearing that, lol.

SAD

Today in Houston the weather forecast is...rain...rain...rain and then some more rain.
This morning was gloomy and grey and I loved it. It hasn't really brightened at all either.
To look at it reminds me of an English autumn day but of course it is still very warm here so going outside ruins the illusion completely.
I miss the damp and dreary weather of home.

There is such a thing as SAD syndrome - seasonal affective disorder or as some call it...the winter blues. Well, as with most things I have this arse about face and suffer from this during the summer. I just don't feel myself in the heat at all. I'm more alive in colder weather and much more productive. Plus I hate summer clothes. I prefer winter coats, jumpers, scarves, and of course winter hats.

During the two weeks of summer we would occasionally get in England I would just hibernate until it was finished. It's not my thing at all.

I'm hoping that I will eventually adjust because otherwise my life in Texas will be sheer hell. I have noticed a sort of change....I now find 80 degrees to be tolerable. It's not much of a change though as this weekend just gone we went to Traders Village and I got overheated and because I felt nauseous we had to leave. I feel bad because I ruin things and I try to suffer on but really there comes a point when I physically just can't tough it out any longer.
My husband tries to understand but he just can't. Having lived here for so long it is just normal for him and I guess he will never truly be able to empathise with me.

Anyway, today is the most pleasant looking day I have seen for a long time so I will keep the blinds wide open for the rest of the day just so I can enjoy it whilst it lasts.

Attack of the killer dragonflies

Well they maybe aren't killer dragonflies but there sure is a swarm of them outside. I went out earlier and had to go out the back way because they were everywhere and I wasn't sure what they were at first. I thought perhaps they were wasps so there was no way I was going near them. Very strange. They always fly around but never in a swarm like they are today. Very strange indeed.

I know a lot of people like them and think they are pretty and I used to too but the ones here are massive and I always get worried that they won't fly out of my way and that it would hurt if they hit me.

I was considering taking a picture but I don't think it would come out very well so I'm not going to bother. I did find something cool to take a picture of when I was out. There is a big toadstool circle behind the apartments. We must have fairies living here because my mum told me that if toadstools are in a ring then it is a meeting place for them. I will try to get a picture of it later.

Dangerous driving

So on Sunday I had a go at driving. I have been putting it off, not intentionally, but Sunday I decided to just go for it. Probably not a good idea when I had PMS but everything is always clearer with hindsight.

We went down to the neighborhood behind us where they are still building as I thought it would be lighter on traffic.

For a while I practised by going round this square they have. It was okay for a first attempt I guess. I mean, I had trouble judging how close I was to the middle of the road but it was okay. My husband was not impressed with my stopping at the stop sign as it was admittedly juddery and I couldn't stop exactly where he wanted me to. I did this for a while and then I was directed out onto the real roads (where traffic was). It was scary. We drove around a bit and I was kind of feeling okay but then we got to the houses right behind where we live. The roads are really narrow and have cars parked on both sides. This is where it all went really wrong. My husband started having a panic attack and shouted at me. He kept saying to go left. Actually it was more like....GO LEFT GO LEFT LEFT LEFT LEFT!!!!!! So, I start going left onto the other side of the road but a big red truck is coming straight at me on the left so I go back to the right to get past it. I don't know whether my husband couldn't see this truck coming at me or what but it was a nightmare. We nearly died.

So then I just wanted to get home so we went along the way and my waining confidence was just pulverized. I tried to go up a road but nearly crashed into a parked car and I had to stop and reverse back so I could get by without scratching it. Then we turned the corner and were nearly home. I had to stop the car in front of the gates and I had plenty of room but my husband seemed to think I was planning on driving through them. We got through them safely (surprisingly) and then I got told off for using the indicators when I turned the corner although I thought you were supposed to do this. Then I had to park which I knew I wouldn't be able to do...and I couldn't. I drove up the pavement. I couldn't even be bothered trying to fix it because I was nearly crying so I got out and let my husband fix it and then went inside and cried.

I hate all those people that say....oh driving is easy. No it isn't. It is really hard concentrating on all the different things and trying not to kill people or get myself killed. Plus people in America drive on the opposite side of the road than in England and the cars are all different. Like there is no clutch and the indicator thing is in a different place. Plus I don't know what the road signs mean half the time and have no clue what the speed limits are. So it isn't easy at all and I hate the fact that I HAVE to learn how to do it.

Free screening of District 9

On Thursday evening we went to a free preview showing of District 9. I got the tickets from FilmMetro and they give out more tickets than there are seats to make sure the theater is full so it could happen that not everyone gets in. We planned on leaving when my husband got home from work but there was a really bad thunderstorm and I was too scared to go outside. After a while the storm started dying down and we decided to go and hope that the storm had put everyone else off so that we could get in. Traffic was horrific and it took forever to get there and I started to think that perhaps we would not get in.

We got there eventually and we were at the right theater (see my previous post on My Life In Ruins for details of one of our previous attempts). We went in and a man pointed us in the right direction. Well, the queue was horrendous. I thought for sure we wouldn't get to see the movie and even contemplated leaving there and then but we joined the line and surprisingly we got in. They stamp your hand and check your bag and wand you. I guess so you don't record the movie. I bet it is only a matter of time before they start doing that for regular screenings too.

We went in and picked our seats. I thought it would be more organised to just put everyone in seats in order of when you enter but no, they left it as a free for all. We ended up right near the front so my husband could hang his gigantic legs out the side and be a bit more comfortable.

It took a while to get everyone in so my husband kindly went to get drinks and popcorn. I didn't want him to whilst we were outside in case we didn't get in.

Finally, the movie started. I didn't really have any expectations of it. I just knew that aliens had landed on earth. I actually really enjoyed it. It was done documentary style which made it more interesting to me.

There was one rather surreal moment and that was maybe halfway through the film. We were all caught up in the movie and out of the corner of my eye I could see something moving on the floor. It took me a minute to fully understand what I was seeing but it was a really small child crawling across the floor. It freaked me out. I don't know where the kid went but it was a weird little moment that kind of made me think....did I really see that?

Anyway, not a bad movie at all. I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would.

Dogsitting

This weekend we were looking after two little dogs. One is only a teeny tiny baby and he is so cute. He is tinier than the toys that my dog has. Not that my dog actually plays with his toys. Here is the cute puppy: It was fun to have them around but they woke me up on Sunday morning at 7am. I thought they were fighting but they may have been playing. My big dog got very jealous of the attention the other dogs were getting and he was behaving like a spoilt only child...which he is. Anyway he was very happy when the little dogs went home and he got us all to himnself again.
Here is my dog hiding:

My new vacuum

This is my new vacuum. It is a Bissell PowerForce Bagless Vacuum. The other one we have is awful. It is a million years old and it smells so I would rather not use it than stink the place up. Basically, it has long ago had it's day.
This new one is great. I wasn't expecting miracles because it was under $50 but oh my god it is amazing. We have a husky who is shedding big time right now and I was hoping it would at least pick up some of the dog hair. What I wasn't expecting was for it to fill up after I had just done the living room. I was actually amazed the suction was that good. The living room is the worst room for dog hair definitely and because I hate the other vacuum I have been cleaning it up with the dog glove which is good but means I have to get down on my hands and knees. Not being a fan of housework you can understand how much I don't enjoy doing that job.

I realize now that I am old. Why else would I be this excited over a vacuum. It's sad really but I love my new vacuum.

Trauma of the week

Guess what was outside the apartment building. A snake. Thankfully a dead snake but all the same a snake.
Now, before I moved here my husband told me that it was entirely possible I could live here in Texas and never even come across a snake. Well, he was quite obviously wrong. This is the second snake I have seen in a residential area. The first was a ribbon snake lying on the concrete at the end of someone's garden. I saw that one when I went for a walk. It was far enough away from where I live for me not to be too worried but still, it was a snake. This one though is a big one and it is right where I live. Scary.
Oh I also saw a big snake when we went to a park but noone lived there so that was sort of okay.
I'm not used to coming across these scary things anywhere other than in a zoo so it is a bit traumatic for me to find one on my doorstep (almost literally).
All I can say is thank god for the person who killed it because I might just have had a heart attack if it had been alive.
I'm not really one for killing big things (this counts as a big thing) but really it is a pest. Whilst I would love to be all...I could never harm a fly....the fact of the matter is I could. I squish bugs and spiders all the time but I don't know if I would have had it in me to squish this. Thank goodness I didn't have to find out.

Apple chips

So I had the urge to bake something nice and since I have a lot of apples that are about to turn I have been looking up apple recipes.
One that caught my eye immediately was for apple chips (or crisps as I call them). So I decided to make them today. The recipe was beyond basic and I love fruit and veg chips.
My husband had asked me to make him chocolate chip cookies so I was doing that straight afterwards. It was one of the Betty Crocker mixes so I hate them as they have six billion too many chocolate chips in them.
Anyway, my chips required a lower temperature than the cookies did but I was getting fed up of waiting so I upped the temperature and the plan was by the time I was ready to put the cookies in my chips would be done.

Here are the chips:I bet you are thinking....mmmm they look delicious. Well, who knows. They have been disguising their secret scrumptious flavor underneath the charcoal smell.

The cookies came out great by the way. Shame I don't like them. I have just pulled out of the oven an apple cake creation which looks pretty good. I'm just waiting for it to cool down so I can taste it.

I forgot to post this before

That job I went for. I didn't get it. I have to say I am kind of relieved as it was a step down for me but a big part of me is annoyed because how dare they reject me. I emailed them over a week ago for feedback from my interviews and as of yet no response. That just goes to show that they would have been a real class act to work for. God, even just a response saying someone else was better qualified would have been acceptable but nothing...that is just rude.

I must have been a horrible child...

...because there is a dead frog outside and I am fascinated with it. It has been there for days and today I felt compelled to take a picture of it. It is the best I can do seeing as it would be completely inappropriate for a grown up to pick up a dried flattened frog just to have a better look. I've seen squished frogs on the roadway a few times so it isn't uncommon but this one was massive.
I remember playing with bugs as a kid and I do remember crying after my snail collection ran away but that all faded after I hit the age of 8 or 9....or so I thought. Obviously I am posting a picture of it. Funny, it doesn't look so squished in this picture. I wish I could have got a picture of the blood splatter too because that would have made my picture a thousand times better but I guess there was some rain or perhaps the sprinklers washed it away.

I'm not particularly interested in gross things like this but I "felt a connection" lol. Oh well, lets hope the dead frog is happy now in froggy heaven.

Mini tornado in the swimming pool

This was such a weird thing and I wish I wasn't the only one to have seen it because probably no one will believe it.
I was swimming the other day and there was a big gust of wind. It blew into the pool and it was like a mini tornado had hit. When I say it was mini I really do mean mini. I do like to exaggerate from time to time but I'm not going to sit here and say (type) a massive tornado came at me or anything. It was big enough that it blew our floaty noodle things around and it was heading towards me. Obviously my curse of an overactive imagination led me to believe that it was headed for me as some type of personal I must get her kind of thing and that somehow this mini tsunami type thing was going suck me under in the pool and drown me so I hopped over to the other side of the pool as quick as I could. Very gracefully I might add.
Now somehow my husband didn't see any of this and when I kind of brought it up in conversation I got the feeling he didn't believe me but it was true god damn it and it was really weird so I thought I would share.

My almost runaway dog

We had a close call today. My dog likes to try to escape. It is what he does. He wants to break free into the great wide open. He is a totally pampered pooch though so I don't think he realises he hasn't got the wherewithal to survive without us. He is a really well behaved dog when he is inside but the moment he goes outdoors it is like another dog. He won't do anything other than what he wants to do hence the fact that he only ever gets off his leash at the dog park. Around here he just wouldn't come back if he was called. I'm really good about keeping a tight hold on his leash especially because he is a husky and therefore technically a "pulling" type dog but today ooooh it was a close one. I think he had thought out this elaborate escape plan and thought today was the day to give it a try. I had my hands full of mail and two (yes TWO) full poop bags and we were crossing the road when he suddenly pulled away. My hold on the leash was quite lax as he was totally faking being hot and pooped out (haha get it?). I'm not sure whether he realised he had gotten away or not but he started picking up his pace so I am thinking yes. You should have seen me move. I was good. I didn't want to run at him because then he would know he was free so I walked really fast behind him and then pounced. Yes, I really did pounce and stood on the end of his lease. It was so funny. He tried to make a run for it but couldn't. Hahahaha puppy you couldn't get away.

A couple of weeks ago there was a big dead dog by the side of the freeway and my husband jokingly suggested that we take our dog to show him what happens when naughty doggies run away. It was mildly amusing at the time but now I'm thinking we should have done it.

A really crap day

Wednesday July 8th 2009 - seriously crap day.

Just nothing went right. I felt like shit from the moment I got up and it just went downhill from there. I had been slacking on the housework stuff and had a mountain of laundry to do. Like you could not believe how much laundry two people can produce. So, I stuck the first load on and took the dog for a walk. I got back and had a cup of tea and watched some rubbish on telly and thought...oh I better get cracking and pop the next load in. So off I went to put the first lot of washing into the dryer and as I pulled my hand out I thought...shit, why is there so much water in here. The bloody washer had stopped mid cycle and wouldn't work. I was well hacked off. After half an hour of trying to fix it an huffing and puffing I gave up.

Something else broke. I can't remember what it was now but that annoyed me too. I was in a foul band and thinking back now I must have just sat stewing all day because it seemed to go from morning to afternoon very quickly.

Anyway, I just gave up on the day and decided to write it off, go back to bed and watch a dvd. Well, I couldn't get the flippin dvd player to work which just complimented the rest of the day really so I got a book (can't really break one of them can you?) and hibernated until dinner time.

Oh, the dvd player just wasn't connected to the telly because the netflix box was plugged in so later we watched The Unborn. It was good. The bit where the old dude and the dog had their heads on upside down...very freaky. They blatantly made the ending an opening for a sequel. It is so tacky when films do that. We know movie makers are all about the money but at least try and disguise your greed somewhat.

My first Independence Day

This past weekend was absolutely exhausting. This was my first Independence day so we were definitely going to do something. We were invited to spend the day on a boat which was a lot of fun. It was very hot and I was very sweaty - yuck - but we went swimming which was fun at times and scary at others. The fun bit was I had never swam far out from the shore before and I was very impressed with how brave I was. It was also lovely to get in the water to cool off. The scary bit was there were things in the water which you didn't really know what they were and you just hoped they were only fish. Near where we parked (moored? anchored?) the boat there were signs a way off saying there were alligators. Now I am only used to seeing alligators on the tv or in the zoo so this was very scary. I didn't see any though thank God. I did see some at a park a few months ago - very scary. They can eat people you know.

Anyway, it was a very nice day and we sat on the boat and watched fireworks.

Sunday was going to be my recover from babysitting do nothing day but we did end up going out. I can't remember why now but it was still quite a lazy day.

Monday we went to a water park. I have never been to one before so it was interesting in that respect. I thought they would have a normal swimming pool there along with the rides and stuff but they didn't. I highly recommend they get one. I went on a couple of rides and went on the floaty river thing a few times but it got really busy and people kept banging into me and bumping my sunburn so I got annoyed with it seeing as I am allergic to most people.
I had had enough by about 3pm so I just wanted to sit under the covered pavilion thing. Obviously I had way too much sun because I got heat stroke (or as my husband insists heat exhaustion). Finally we went home at about 5.30pm and I just conked out. I was sick and very tired.
Next time a trip to a water park is suggested I think I will pass. I've tried it once...didn't like it.

I have sunburn

We have spent the past couple of days in the swimming pool as we have been babysitting and it has been a good way to occupy the kids.
I have been very good about using sunscreen but apparently not good enough. After spending 5 hours at the pool today I noticed when I got inside that I was rather red. As the evening wore on I was just getting redder and redder and after I had a shower I discovered white patches along the top of my arms. Obviously I had rubbed sunscreen in some places better than others. This is really annoying because it hurts a bit and we are supposed to be going out on a boat tomorrow so I will have to be really careful not to make it any worse. Then Monday we are going to a water park.
I am deathly white normally so any hint of sun on my skin is really obvious and I hate having red and white stripey skin. It looks so unladylike. Also, I have really freckly arms now and my forehead is covered too.
I can't wait until winter.

Michael Jackson Tribute at Discovery Green

Tomorrow at Discovery Green they are having a Michael Jackson dance party tribute from 18:00 until 20:00. They are going to teach people the moves to the Thriller dance.
I would love that shit. Of course I can do my own moves to Thriller but to actually learn the proper moves would be beyond awesome. I would be doing it constantly. I can't go though :( If I could go I would try so hard to get my husband to learn the dance even though I know he would never. It would be some seriously fun stuff if he did. Ah the thought is cracking me up.

I am AMAZING

Last night we had a lot of lightning. I hate thunder and lightning so of course I was terrified especially when our power went out. It was only off for a little while but after it came back on it went out again. This time when it came back the power to the bedroom didn't. Not fun since it was so hot.

We checked the circuit breaker thing and nothing had tripped. I was exhausted because we had stayed up til 4am the night before watching Dexter so I just went to sleep. The plan was to call the office today to get them to come fix it but this afternoon after doing a bit of searching online I wanted to have another go at fixing it myself. I had to wait until my husband got home though because although I thought I was going to be okay I didn't really want to mess with electricity without someone else being here in case I blew myself up or something and ended up lying paralyzed on the floor. I am extremely paranoid about getting injured because I don't have any medical insurance at the minute.

Anyway, I fixed the problem. GO ME!!! I unplugged every thing in the room then pressed a reset button really hard and flicked the trip switch again. It worked! I am amazing!

God I was (am) so proud of myself. I love messing and fiddling around with broken things but it is very rare that it ever pays off so yes I am extremely impressed with myself today.

Alice In Chains

Alice In Chains have a new song out today called A Looking In View.
I hadn't realized but I was actually worried that I wasn't going to like the new stuff. I listened to the song this morning and when it finished I kind of breathed a sigh of relief. I had to listen to it a couple more times because the first time I was pretty much holding my breath. I like it. It's good and I think it will grow on me even more. It's familiar enough for me to be comfortable with but obviously it is the new AiC. I think it sounds a lot like a solo Jerry Cantrell song and I wonder if the rest of the album will sound like this or if this song was chosen because it will ease the general public gently into accepting a new singer.

I can't believe I have been listening to Alice in Chains for more than half my life. That is weird. I can still relate to the early songs but for different reasons now than I did back in the day.

Yesterday I was renaming my music to load it onto itunes. Somehow when I put it on the big computer here all the names got wiped. Anyway, I obviously have a lot of AiC and whenever I would play one I remember thinking that I haven't heard a new song in forever that makes me feel like those songs do. I think they are back in my No.1 band position.

Oh I am so glad I like this new song. I would have been gutted if I hadn't. It would have been awful listening to the song and thinking...this is pure crap.
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I hate birds...however...

...I love these pictures because the sky is so blue that it appears to be fake.







and I love this one below because it reminds me of the film The Birds and supports my theory that birds are evil and will try to wipe out humans one day.





These pictures were taken a couple of weeks ago when we went to the beach. Seems like absolutely ages ago now.

Second job interview

Yesterday morning I had the second interview. It was with a different person from the first time and was only fifteen minutes long. It basically consisted of asking me a few questions. Again these questions were very basic. I had been expecting more of an interview along the lines of the ones I have conducted in the past whereby situational questions are asked.
I know that they had already requested my references before yesterday and if I was at home I would have taken that as a good sign as I would never ask for references until I had chosen someone. It isn't much of an indicator for me here though because I don't know if that is commonplace or not.
Oh well, I shall wait and see whether it is meant to be or if I am destined for other things.

Houston Astros baseball game

Surprisingly I had a really good time at the baseball game. The Astros played Kansas City Royals. Not much really happened in the first half of the game which was good for me because I was so busy looking around, taking everything in and trying to understand the rules. It was weird when we went into the stadium as it looked fake. A bit like in a movie. It has since been pointed out to me that the only time I have seen a baseball stadium is on television which is actually quite a valid point.
The second part of the game I was getting familiar with the rules and able to pick out which team was which and I actually got a bit excited as the game was neck and neck and went to extra innings. The Astros lost which was a shame but it was a fun experience for me and I think I would like to go to another game.

Some things that struck me as funny where when the cameras pan around the spectators and catch them doing funny dances and stuff. One of the times they did this it was a kiss camera and the people the camera stopped on were supposed to kiss. Highly awkward if it is someone you are with but don't really like or they have stinky breath. Anyway, one of the times it stopped on this couple who didn't notice and it just stayed on them for a while. They didn't twig on however and some random man ran up to her and kissed her. It was rather amusing but also surprising that in such a litigious country as America that someone would feel comfortable doing that without fear of the woman pressing charges for assault of some sort. It tickled me anyway.

It was dead hot last night and by the time we left I was sweating probably as much as the players were. I absolutely hate sweating so anyone that knows me would think I would have been in a strop because of this but I think because it was a new fun experience I didn't let it bug me as much as it normally would have.

So, all in all, baseball good. Would like to go again. Better tickets next time though. We had bargain tickets that cost $10 and got you a drink, bag of chips and a hot dog which is very cheap but I would like to see better now that I have more of a clue as to what I am looking at.

Looking forward to my first baseball game

Tonight I am going to my first ever baseball game. I am seeing the Houston Astros play. I can't remember who they are playing against but to be honest I probably won't be able to tell who is who anyway. This is going to be more of an outing to experience American culture rather than me having any love for the game. I don't even know the rules.

It is supposed to be 100 degrees here today so I hope I don't die of heat exhaustion or anything. That would suck.

Interview

I had my job interview yesterday. It wasn't like any interview I've had before although admittedly I haven't had that many. It felt more like a meeting to suss me out to see if they liked me as I wasn't asked much about my previous experience and it's relevance. They did have my experience listed on the application though so maybe that was enough. I must have been okay because they said they would be asking me to come in again. Maybe that's when they will put me in the hot seat.

I've never applied for a job where they did second interviews so I don't really know what to expect. I gather it is more common now and probably with the job market as it is people can afford to be much more selective about those they choose. Oh well, it will be a bit of interviewing experience for me at the least.

Shopping and movies

I went shopping yesterday for some new clothes. There are a lot of sales on at the moment and since I needed new clothes desperately in case I get a job it was the perfect time to shop.
I had a 25% off coupon for Old Navy and they were selling tank tops for $2 so we went there first. The only tank tops they had were white ones in size XXL so not any good for me. I do wonder whether they were the only ones they had or if they had other ones and they just sold out early. We got there about 10.30 so it wasn't particularly late or anything.
I did get quite a lot of tops and shirts I could wear for work though. My husband did really well getting jeans for around $11 after sale prices and our coupon. He got some really good prices on shirts as well. There still are some coupons on the Old Navy Weekly website. You have to hunt around for them. It is quite fun but the high value coupons go so quickly.
We then went to Macy's. They were having a sale too and I had a coupon for $10 off $25. Again my husband cleaned up getting a $60 shirt for $10 or something. I got some trousers (or pants as they are called in the US) and a nice summer top and two wrap around / cape type cardigans. I have wanted one of these for ages but the only ones I have seen have been so expensive so I was very happy to get these for less than $15.
We'd finished our shopping by about lunchtime which was great because it was nearly 100 degrees. I much prefer getting out in the morning to do things. It's normally way too hot in the afternoons here to be out and about.

In the evening we went to the drive in to watch Year One and Angels and Demons. Luckily there was a breeze and we sat out on chairs to watch them. Year One was funny but not quite as much as I was expecting it to be. Angels and Demons was good. Changed a bit from the book but I actually think that may have been for the best. I fell asleep a couple of times and once when I woke up my husband's face was right in mine and I nearly had a heart attack. The movies didn't finish until 1.30am which for me now is a really late night. I was absolutely exhausted but it was a very fun day.

I certainly enjoyed a nice lie in this morning and plan on having a relaxing day today. I'll have to prep for my interview which is tomorrow as it has been a while since I worked and to be honest I can't remember half the skills I actually have.

I have a job interview

As I posted previously I applied for a job on Sunday. Today I got a call to say that I have an interview on Monday. I haven't had a job interview in eight years so I might be a bit nervous. A plus though is that I have been an interviewer before. You would think that this would give an advantage but it's a lot different sitting on the other side of the table so we shall see.
Hopefully I will get the job because I need to get back into the workplace before I get too comfortable being a lady of leisure.

Great news is that this is forcing me to get a haircut. I need one but because it hasn't been a priority it has been left so even if I don't get the job I will have nice new hair :)

My busy Sunday

Saturday night my husband and I were playing a board game called Scene It. It was quite fun and then we got to the final stages of the game. The questions were going back and forth, back and forth, but we didn't know any answers so the game lasted until about 2am because we were so stuck. I thought for sure we would be lying in on Sunday morning but we got up pretty early so we decided to go out and get doughnuts for breakfast since I am in love with the maple glaze ones. We also popped into Walgreens so I could get my weekly bargains (see my other blog http://youarethough.blogspot.com/ for more details). We got back and were just relaxing and deciding whether or not to go and watch jazz bands at Discovery Green. I thought it was too hot to sit outside so we looked up the weather on the internet. It was something like 98 degrees in Houston. Of course add on the heat index and it would have felt over 100. Galveston was a bit cooler at 89 degrees and of course there is a sea breeze there so off to the seaside we went!
We put our swimmers on, packed some towels and sunscreen and loaded some drinks into the cooler and just upped and went. It was a nice drive down there because it only takes about an hour. When we got there we took a little drive around because I have never been to The Strand area. Lots of the buildings have been destroyed by Hurricane Ike and it is pretty sad because they were lovely buildings. One of the buildings we drove past has a painted line marking how high the water came up and next time we go I will get a picture because it puts into perspective just how much damage would have been caused.
We saw a big cruise ship waiting to take people away on holiday and whilst I have never been the type of person who fancied a cruise I think I would consider changing my mind now. It just looked exciting.
We got to the beach and it was really nice. It was hot but there were a really strong breeze so it didn't feel overwhelming or anything.
The scariest thing was the sea gulls. I hate birds so I was terrified of them especially when people were feeding them scraps and then they all swooped down in their hundreds.
One pooped on my husband which was awful but funny. I know this is horrible to say but I was so glad it was him and not me. I was a bit scared after that that they would get me so I made sure to keep my hat on because I didn't want a poo head. A while later another one got him on his arm. Oh it was disgusting and extremely unfortunate. Luckily I have my mini emergency kit that has anti bacterial hand sanitizer.
After that we went into the sea for a bit. I was a bit cautious as I have a problem with getting my head dunked. I may go into details about that little problem in another post one day but not today. My husband was going really far out but I was a bit of a scaredy cat and wanted to stay really near the beach. I did go out for a bit though but things kept hitting my legs. Sometimes it was seaweed but other times I didn't know what it was....crabs, jellyfish, who knows what.
I did see a fish jumping out of the water right near us which was cool. I would probably have had a heart attack if it had touched me though.

We left about 5.30 and drove home. After we ate I filled in an application for a job. I haven't been able to work since I've been in the US but I have my permit and social security number now so it is about time I started looking. It took ages because my old CV / Resume wasn't completely up to date. My husband helped me a lot because there are little differences between English and American styles so I am very grateful to him for spending so much time on it for me. He is awesome.

All in all...a very busy Sunday.

I love my new netbook

So I have had my new netbook for a couple of days now and I am in love. It is so so so cute. It is really light and just adorable. It is kind of weird at first just having a 10" screen but you quickly adjust to it. My favorite thing about it is that you can plug your SD card straight into it so you can transfer photos really easy. You don't have to faff around trying to remember where your camera cable thing is which is such a bonus in my book. I took pictures of it to send to my mum to show her it and put it next to the lap top so she could have a size comparison (please excuse the dog hair on the blue lap top). She emailed me back to say that she thought it was going to be smaller like a Nintendo DS. I asked her how on earth she would expect me to type on something like that and she said...with a stick. hahaha crazy lady.

My netbook is here. Sort of.

My new netbook has been delivered. It is at my husband's work as I type and he is adding all the things onto it that I want and removing the things I don't want. I'm so excited and I can't wait for him to get home. I won't be able to play with it straight away though as we are going out. Still....so excited!

Fingers crossed my next entry will be posted from it.

My weekend

I had a very nice weekend. On Saturday we went to see the Terracotta Warriors exhibit which was very interesting and I would recommend anyone to go see it. I still can't believe that so many articles survived. Because we went on a Saturday afternoon it was really busy and I prefer to walk around exhibits at my own pace. You were a bit restricted because you had to basically queue behind people in order to read each description. There were two really annoying know it alls behind me who knew everything about everything and they were really loud so I skipped a few things in order to get away from them. We had a quick walk around the permanent exhibits but will go back another time so we can take our time. You couldn't take pictures in the Terracotta Warriors exhibit but we did get a pic of the dinasaur.

In the evening we went to Discovery Green to watch a documentary, Man On Wire, in the park. This film won an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature and after watching it I can say that it was well deserved. It was extremely engaging. Surprisingly so. I just found a brief synopsis of the film which seems to sum it up quite well.
August 7, 1974. A young French man named Philippe Petit stepped out on a wire suspended between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. He danced on this wire for an hour with no safety net before he was arrested for what has become to be known as the "artistic crime of the century." Here is a link to the film's website http://www.manonwire.com/ Thankfully the humidity hasn't been as horrific as usual here this past week and there was a nice breeze so it made for a very enjoyable evening. Above is a picture of where we were.

Yesterday we went back to Discovery Green in the afternoon. They were having live music in the park. They do this every weekend so we will probably go again. It was a really nice day. The weather wasn't disgustingly hot so it was nice to sit out although I do have a bit of a pink face today. There was a farmers market but we got there just as it was closing so I would definitely like to go back again for that. They have a lot of different things going on throughout the week and from what I can see it is all free which is great because you can bring a picnic and make a whole day of it and it won't cost you an arm or a leg.

My very naughty doggy

Doesn't this dog look like a little angel? Well most of the time he is. Not Friday morning though. No way.
I was in that nice half awake / half asleep sort of state and heard this funny noise. I started to panic because I thought the dog was peeing so I jumped up to see what was going on and the very very very naughty doggy had snagged a thread in the carpet and was pulling away at it causing it to pull out. He got a very big telling off and was in the metaphorical dog house for most of the day.
Naughty doggy.

Sweet Tomatoes

Yesterday was a really nice day. I had a very pleasant day and then in the evening went shopping. We went to The Galleria and I got free panties from Victoria's Secret (yay!). The Galleria is quite a nice shopping mall but most of the shops are way out of my price range. We walked though Neimen Marcus and even with their sale prices I wouldn't be able to buy anything.
We then went to Old Navy which is much more within my budget and I got a new dress.

For dinner we went to Sweet Tomatoes. Hahaha what an adventure it was getting there. My husband wrote down directions because we were going to a different one than we had been to before. It is apparently closer to us but considering my husband didn't look at the directions and just went with his gut we took a little bit longer than desired getting there. After I pulled out the directions we got there in oh I would say perhaps five minutes.
Sweet Tomatoes is a salad buffet and they have everythng you could possibly want. I was putting a little bit of this and a little bit of that on my plate and when I decided to look up and see how much was left there was an.....oh my goodness....moment when I realised my plate was going to be piled high. I never expected to be able to eat it all...but I did! And it was yummy!
They also have soups so of course I had chicken and vegetable (my favorite). They have all different types of breads and anyone that knows me knows that I am a bread fiend so I had a nice piece of rustic bread, two pieces of corn bread with real corn in it and some pepperoni bread.
They have baked potatoes as well but, as much as I wanted to, there is no way I could have eaten one. I believe they had some type of stir fry as well but it got to the point where I couldn't even look at anything else because I knew I would want it and wouldn't be able to manage it.
I did however manage a bit of dessert. My husband and I attempted to share a piece of lava cake but we only managed a couple of bites each. I did get a frozen yogurt though and had nuts and sprinkles on it mmmm mmmm.
It was funny watching other people. I saw this couple and they had like eight soup bowls on their table. Either they were making a soup bowl scuplture or they actually ate that much soup.

I was absolutely stuffed when we left. We had to pop into Walmart on the way back because the stupid shower pole thing fell down again so we had to get a new one. You get what you pay for I guess because the one we bought is not exactly classy looking but hopefully it will do the job.

My brush with death

I hate ironing. Really hate it. However, since I am attempting to be a good wife I told my husband I would iron all his jeans. He has about 50 pairs so this is not just a case of ironing one pair so he can go out. Anyway, after delaying the task for pretty much the whole day I decided I needed to go do it and quick smart before he came home from work. So off I went. I had my ipod with me so I had something to distract me from the tedium that is ironing. Well, I listened to an entire Eagles of Death Metal album and had just started it again when I discovered I was on the final pair. Hurrah I thought to myself. Just then disaster struck. It was as if the entire ceiling was falling in on me. Everything around me seemed to be falling. My heart was pounding so hard I thought it was going to explode out of my chest.

What was it that had caused this near tragedy? I thought. As I recovered myself and started to see clearly again I realised that I had been hanging all the ironed jeans on the shower railings and that, rather than being a handy hanging spot as I had thought, it was in fact a big mistake and it had collapsed bringing the shower curtain, jeans and all down with it.

So, rather than appearing to be a helpful wife when my husband walked through the door, he came home to find an extremely flustered woman doing battle with a curtain pole.

I might add though that all the ironing got done and shortly after the oven pinged to sound the arrival of dinner so I can't be all that bad really.

My Life In Ruins

Last night we were supposed to go and see a preview of the new film My Life In Ruins. I had dinner ready for when my husband came in from work and we ate and got ready and left. We got to the cinema in plenty of time and as we were about to go to the theater my husband looked at the email confirmation and suddenly realised he had driven us to the wrong place. It's kind of funny really but I was looking forward to it and had seen and advert for it earlier in the day and thought...ha I'm getting to see this before everyone else. Alas, it was not to be :(

Oh My God

Oh My God is my song of the day. The Lily Allen/Mark Ronson version though because she sings like I talk.

Time on your side that will never end
The most beautiful thing you can ever spend
But you work in a shirt with your name tag on it
Drifting apart like a plate tectonic
It don't matter to me
'Cos all I wanted to be
Was a million miles from here
Somewhere more familiar
Too much time spent dragging the past up
I didn't see you not looking when I messed up
Settling down in your early twenties
Sucked more blood than a backstreet dentist
It don't matter to me
'Cos all I wanted to be
Is a million miles from here
Somewhere more familiar
Oh my god I can't believe it
I've never been this far away from home
And oh my god I can't believe it
I've never been this far away from home
And oh my god I can't believe it
I've never been this far away from home
And oh my god I can't believe it
I've never been this far away from home
Great rulers make for greater glory
The only thing growing is our history
Knock me down I'll get right back up again
I'll come back stronger than a powered up Pac-Man
It don't matter to me
'Cos all I wanted to be
Was a million miles from here
Somewhere more familiar
Oh my god, I can't believe it
I've never been this far away from home
And oh my god I can't believe it
I've never been this far away from home
And oh my god I can't believe it
I've never been this far away from home
And oh my god I can't believe it
I've never been this far away from home

My new netbook

I now own a Dell Mini 10v netbook. I haven't got it just yet but it's all paid for and should be with me by June 23rd.
I can't wait to get it because it is so cute and shiny. It can fit into my handbag which is so adorable.
I played around on one at Best Buy and I thought the screen would be too small but it isn't really and I can use it for everything I normally use the P.C. or laptop for.
I was thinking about a laptop because then you get to watch dvds and stuff but really it isn't necessary because we have a dvd player in the living one and now one in the bedroom and if we are going on a long car journey I can always use the laptop.
I would want to use itunes on the netbook so I had to check that it was capable of storing a good amount of music and yay...it is. Some reviews by other people say that they have got movies stored on it so it should be good for a fair amount of my favourite albums.
The best thing is that we upgraded to the bigger battery so it should last around seven hours or so rather than the two and a half hours with the smaller battery.

It is a terrible mistake to marry a stranger.

Agatha should have known better. She'd been twenty-four years old and had given serious consideration to three different men before Archie had come along on his borrowed motorbike.
All three had been properly educated, with private incomes. All three were deeply in love.
But...Bolton was too old.
And Wilfred, obsessed with spiritualism.
And Reggie, had gone off to India to help others, giving her the opportunity to change her mind.
It was a woman's prerogative and, like a fool, she'd exercised it.
Agatha didn't know Archie. She couldn't predict how he would react to a word, a phrase, a look. He was scary, unknown, on a tear through her safe, sane world, and still she found herself drawn to him, like metal to a magnet.
Agatha's mother despaired of her daughter's romantic sensibility. She refused to allow her to rush into the marriage, insisting upon a curative regime of French realist novels, in which the passionate heroines are hurled inexorably into disaster, degradation and death. But the cure did not take.
Agatha and Archie married on Christmas Eve.
Scary, unknown: Agatha got what she'd bargained for, and more.
"This thing has happened," Archie said one dark December day. "I must be with Nancy. One way or another I will be."
Fine, then. So be it.
Agatha resumed her handiwork. She'd always been good with scissors. Today she was cutting stories out of the newspapers and pasting them in an album.
One day, they'd be yellowed with age, curled in the places where the paste wouldn't hold. She'd study them and remember. Now their edges were sharp enough to draw blood.
Archie had said in his own defense that everybody can't be happy, that someone had to be unhappy.
But why, Agatha asked herself that evening as she slipped on the silver dress and slipper she'd purchased in town, should I be unhappy and not you?