How do I not post all the pics from the Halloween party??

Okay, from Stacy and I (Stacy not dressed up and me as a pink lady), to Leslie (the most famous homeless person in Austin), to the Ooompa Loompa, to Jason in all his red drag glory, to the Astro"naughty" (instead of astronaut...he didn't have anything on under his suit)...these people know how to dress up. The oompa loompa was the best. He was totally in character the whole night!

Halloween costume....

Okay, so I just finished my Halloween costume. I have a party to go to tonight. Kind of lame costume....but something easy. I am going as a Pink Lady from Grease. Will take a pic and post soon...still trying to rat my hair!

Okay, you know I love the Beav....

So, about beer:30 I called Stephanie and said I needed a drink. I haven't really had a drink since the time mentioned in my last blog. Then, I had tooooooooooo many drinks. Of course, we decided to head to Freddie's. Haven't had abuse from my favorite waiter, Beaver, in a while. Seriously! Love me some Beaver. I know I say that every time, but I do love that boy. If only he weren't gay. Stephanie brought magazines, cards, and dominoes. We read the magazines and played some cards. There was actually a table that was louder than us. That usually never happens. This was a table of about 15 teachers. Go figure it would take 15 teachers to be louder than us. Stacy showed up eventually. Lance Armstrong was also there. Stacy is a celebrity stalker, I think she spied him in the parking lot! This is our check from Freddie's. Beaver always has some cute name for us on our bill. Tonight it was The Hot Bitches! Hell, yeah! That boy knows how to work a tip!!! After Freddie's, I was heading to Stacy's house and Steph was heading home. Stacy was going to make a beer stop and Stephanie wanted to make an adult toy stop, but wanted me to go with her. Okay, twist my arm. The toy store happens to be across the street (a major street) from the convenience store that Stacy always stops at. I happened to see her truck. I told Steph that we need to yell at her when she came out of the store. So, what did we yell, across this major street?? "Stacy Ann Meeks! We've got spirit, yes we do! We've got spirit, how about you?". Oh yes! And Stacy yelled it back to us. Everyone in the parking lot of both places stared at us. Nothing like making a scene everywhere we go! That's how we do! After that, Steph and I headed into the store. I learned a few things....Stephanie knows the right questions to ask. It is illegal for a woman in Texas to own more than 5 toys. What the hell is up with that. Not that I have any toys, or more than five, but what if I wanted to?? Shouldn't I have that right? Also, there is a reason that they say for novelty purposes only - because it is illegal to sell toys like that for women. Again...what the hell is that about?? Of course, all the toys for men are perfectly legal! I just don't get it....stupid men and the stupid laws that they make!

Two things stick out in my mind about this weekend...

Sylvia's 22 year old daughter told both of us to "make good choices" when she left us in the parking lot of a bar in Texas City on Saturday night. The other one is me telling Sylvia "you just never know where the day is going to take you". Seriously! I did not make good choices on Saturday night and the day took me places I didn't foresee! I hate it when that happens! I don't yet know if the day took me to a good place or a bad place. Hasn't all worked itself out yet. Should have listened to the 22 year old. She is wise beyond her years. Syl and I keep joking that she is the adult right now and Syl is the kid. Kind of true. Of course, I really think I am the child and I am just dragging Sylvia down with me! For the most part, the weekend was fun. Went to a baby shower for my friend Stephanie, pregnant with twins. She is so screwed. She already has a 3 and a 5 year old. Twins will be born in a couple of weeks. The baby shower was fun. It was held at one of those paint your own ceramics places. We painted letters that will spell out the twins names. Doc says they are both girls. After the shower, Sylvia and I were scheduled for a class. I don't know why I continue to take scrapbooking classes. They drive me nuts. I did learn a few things, but not enough to justify the bad mood I was in by the time I left. The lady sitting across from me had never heard of half the stuff we used or the stuff we were talking about. I finally asked her how long she had been scrapping...did she just start that day?? No, she has been scrapping for 7 years. 7 years and she has never heard of undo???!!! WTF?? She also didn't bring any supplies to class. She didn't see a supply list and didn't think she needed anything. Hello? Who doesn't bring the basics to a class?? Oh, I seriously don't play well with others. I am not the sharpest knife in the drawer and I don't know all there is to know about scrapbooking, but come on! The day was all down hill from there. Don't ask me what I did, because I don't remember half of it. You could ask Sylvia, but I have sworn her to secrecy!! LOL!

Check out my Slide Show!

I am overwhelmed!

I usually don't blog when I am feeling this way (thus my long periods of silence). I don't know why everything seems to be taking its toll on me, but it does. I am worried about Bert, I don't know how to go about making new friends, I don't make enough money to live in Austin, I don't know where my job is going....I feel like I am buried under the weight of all of this and don't know how to get out from underneath it all. All I can do is eat chocolate chip cookies! Yeah, like that is helping anything! If I didn't have this chaos, I know I would just create some. In some sick way, I like chaos. When things are running smoothly, I can't stand it. I have to stir things up. Is that not pathetic??!! Well, I have a lot of things stirred up right now and am going bonkers! I am trying to take one second at a time...even that seems hard right now. Forget about one minute, hour, or day....

I played with beads today!

My friend, Stephanie, has a 3 strand necklace that I love. It is kind of ethnic. Turquoise, reds, orange, yellow, etc. with some silver. I love it and want one in those colors. But, pink is my color so I decided to start there first. This is the outcome of that. I like it! Stephanie duplicated her original. She was still working on it when I finished mine. I also made a matching bracelet. So much fun and something different from scrapbooking! That was today. Friday I went to a wedding reception. It was fun and lots of beer! Nothing like beer and wedding cake! Saturday we were going to go to a tailgate party for the UT football game. Stacy was hungover and I wasn't really feeling the tailgate thing. We started at the Texas Chili Parlor at noon. Had some hot ass chili and needed some beer to wash it down! When we left there I said I wanted to get my nose pierced. Stacy said okay, so we finally found a place after a couple of false starts. Diablo Rojo piercings. The girl who did it was super nice and didn't laugh at me! She was all pierced and tatted up!! So, I got a small pink sparkly gem on my nose. Kind of weird....is just bent over on the inside of my nostril. After that, we ended up at Pluckers watching the UT game. Uneventful game and couldn't eat any hot wings after the hot ass chili!

Dinner yesterday...

Last night I went out to eat with Stacy and her cousin Justin. We went to a Mexican restaurant. It really is a sad state of affairs when you have to ask if the tortillas are homemade in a Mexican restaurant in Texas. What is up with that?? I am talking about a local, not chain, Mexican restaurants. Very few have homemade flour tortillas in Austin. They usually have corn, but store bought flour. That is just a travesty. This place was listed in the top 75 Mexican restaurants in the state of Texas. What? Top 75 should all have homemade tortillas. Their specialty is the Avocado Margarita. I tried one. Okay, kind of good, but kind of not so good. The taste was okay, but the consistency. It was thick! Like I just smashed up an avocado and tried to suck it up through a straw. Stop it with the funky margaritas and spend that time making flour tortillas!!!

Best story of the weekend

Okay, I can't believe I forgot the best story from this weekend. Sylvia is a diabetic and she forgot her meds. The crop was being held about 30 minutes from her house. It is Friday night. She is already in her silky mint green pajamas - top and pants. I am still in my capris, but have put my pj shirt on and let the girls out (meaning no bra). I have socks on my feet. Syl is wearing flip flops with her pjs. She says lets go. I think we are going to her house to get her meds. When we pull into the Wal-Mart parking lot, I figure out that we aren't going to her house. Okay, now I have been to Wal-Mart a time or two. I know how people dress. Just because they dress that way, doesn't mean I have to. Even if it is midnight. I tell Syl I am not going in, I have no shoes on. If I go in with just my socks on, I will have to throw them away when I am done. Never mind the fact that I don't have a bra on. Hello, my girls are hanging out there! So, she says I can have her flips. She has some shoes in the back and she will put them on. Okay, the shoes in the back - two pairs of tennis shoes and a pair of black, strappy high heels. Guess which ones she picks?? You guessed in, the black high heels. OMG! Here she is in her mint green silky pajamas and high heeled shoes! No one even blinked an eye! It is probably because Sylvia was so comfortable....so comfortable in her trashiness!! There are pictures. I will have to see if she will let me post one on my blog!

The Scrapbook Junkie and Sylvia

I spent this weekend with Sylvia (again). I am really surprised we like each other still, as much time as we have spent together lately. She talked me into a lock in at the Scrapbook Junkie. I was hesitant to go, because some of the women that frequent that store and crops. I love the owner, but I have problems with some of the clientele. You know how women are...you get a group together and that is when they start to tear each other apart. Women need to stick together and lift each other up, not tear each other down. Syl and I brought some rum to help smooth things out. I worked on a layout of my sister and this Halloween house. The house I gave to Sylvia. I am making a larger one for myself. The roof comes off. I think Sylvia is going to use hers for candy. The crop was over with Saturday night. Sylvia and I went to see a friend of hers play in a band that night. Texas City, Texas is a hot bed of night life, let me tell you. We had a blast, despite the crowd! After closing down the bar, we went out to a local Mexican restaurant. Nothing like Mexican food to top off a night of drinking. I think we got back to Syl's at about 4 am. What a weekend....scraping, drinking, and Mexican food. Can you beat that??

Shoot 'em up!

So Sylvia came to Austin this weekend. We went to our favorite hangout on Friday, Freddie's. And, of course, Beaver was our waiter. He was great, again. We were running a tab all night. Instead of putting it under one of our names, do you know what are check said at the end of the night?? My bitches! Seriously, I love Beaver!!! He even hung out at with us at the end of the night when he got done with work. Also that night, the teachers from the Texas School for the Deaf where there. They were awesome. We made friends with a few of them. Totally cool! They were signing the whole night, whether they could hear or not. One girl translated for us. It was so neat....so cool to be a teacher and then teach for the deaf. Got to admire any teacher. After that we went to a friends condo and went swimming in her condo complex pool. Totally got kicked out. I think Sylvia and I ended up back at my house at 4. We were hungry, so we stopped to go through the Whataburger drive thru on the way back to my place. There I am in my capris and wet bra with a towel around my shoulders....going through the drive thru. How classy am I??? Saturday we went to Archivers and did a little shopping, came back to my place to scrap. We got to giggling and talking. I could not go to sleep. I think I fell asleep at 8 on sunday morning. Took a long nap today. And then we went to the movies. Clive Owen in Shoot em up! Oh my gosh!!! This movie was entertaining. I love Clive...he is hot. The movie was a lot bloody, but funny and really entertaining. Syl is still here. She just didn't get enough of me this weekend. Decided to stay one more night and go back to Houston Monday morning. Not like we aren't going to see each other next weekend. Going to a weekend crop with her in Houston!!! Seriously spending too much time with her!!!

Two bad ass chicks!

So, I was planning on staying in Austin this weekend, but I had a bad day on Saturday. I don't know why, I just did. I called Sylvia to cry on her shoulder. She cheered me up, like she always does. Instead of just talking to her on the phone, I decided to go see her on Sunday. I got up early and drove to Houston. We played with paper all day. I brought along the pictures of us from the last crop we went to, to scrap. That is us in the bad ass chicks layout. First time using a cuss word in a layout...have always wanted to. I may have just broken the seal on that, every layout I do from here on out may have a bad word in it!! LOL. The "h" is for Hawaii and has some pictures from my trip on it. I am going to hang it on a wall - just to remind me of the fun I had. Hopefully that will help me with my next bad day. I can look at the "h" and remember the good times.

I can smell the weirdness from here...

So Stacy I and attempted to go to the Red Bull Flugtag on Saturday. It was held in Austin. Handmade flying machines launched off of a pier over the river. What's not to love about that?? Apparently lots of things...the crowd, the beer running out by 7, etc. Stacy and I watched the jumbotron for a while. You can see one of the machines going off of the pier in the first picture. Anyway, we gave up and headed to the Horseshoe Lounge. Great dive bar...lots of blue hairs, among others - like the 22 year old pool shark with his two cues that he brought in. The jukebox is awesome. Lots of classic country and funky music. Stacy even bought tamales while we were there. Nothing like ice cold beer and hot tamales. They also have a poker table inside. This might become our new hang out to throw bones (play dominoes). What a night we had. Too much fun and too many beers. Stacy is seriously a bad influence!!

Have to give a shout out...

Hi de ho, neighborinos! I haven't totally publicized that I have a blog. One of my friends/neighbors from Houston, Kate, did some googling and found my blog. Hope she wasn't totally bored looking at my posts! She is married to DugDug, aka Douglas. BTW, Douglas says he didn't MEAN to pee on that dog! I blogged a blurb about him peeing on a dog. He just wanted to set the record straight!! LOL

I have been tagged...

by my sister's blog. That is what I get for reading it!! She is at fatandscrappy.blogspot.com. I am supposed to answer the following questions...
1. What three famous people (dead or living) would you like to have dinner with:
a) Captain Jack Sparrow - as much as I love Johnnie Depp, it would have to be Cap'n Jack. To me, he is the perfect man...a little dangerous, a little silly, a lot charming, a little goofy, funny, resourceful, lucky, a lot sexy, plus really easy to look at. If it can't be a fictional character, then Johnnie Depp would do! And seriously, I would hope my dinner would have a "happy ending"!
b) Will Ferrell - he just cracks me up! He might not be funny in real life, but I would still love to talk to him and find out what he thinks is funny and what makes him tick.
c) I feel I have to select someone serious! I would really like to meet a woman who fought for change. I think that we as Americans have gotten too fat and happy... we don't have the gumption to effect change. I think America is on a down hill slide. I would like to do something to change that, but don't know how or where to start. I think it would be very insightful to talk to a women that did suffer and did something about it, or saw a wrong and fought to make it right. There are so many famous and non famous women that would fall into this category. Can't choose one!

2. What celebrity would play you in a made for TV movie? This is a hard one. Can I say Angelina Jolie with a straight face?? LOL! Someone funny, quirky, that changes their hair a lot, compassionate, and dead sexy! LOL. Is there a celebrity that is like that now?? Maybe Mike Myers in drag.

3. Is there anything you would go back and change in your life? I would say a lot of things, but then I wouldn't be the person I am today. My trials and tribulations have made me how I am today. I kind of like myself, so I don't know that I would change a thing. Might make me totally different.

4. If you had more than enough money and could donate large sums to any worthy cause, what would that cause be? I hate to steal my sister's answer, but I would support those that can't support themselves - animals and children.

5. What is your dream career? I don't know that I know the answer to this one. Something I am good at, to keep me stimulated, and that makes a difference. Making a little bit of money would be nice too. I don't have to make a lot, just enough to keep a roof over my head and a vacation every once in a while!

Coconut bra album with pictures from Hawaii

This is the bra...inside front cover and back cover. Fun to make. I still think I am going to do something to the outside. I have two more to make!

My weekend was Superbad!

The first picture is me and Slutina (aka Sylvia). Love this woman...she is an awesome friend and always there for me when I need her. I hope I do the same. The second is a picture of a layout I did this weekend. Syl came in on Friday. My sister came in on Saturday. We went to an all day crop (12 pm to 12 am) on Saturday. I worked on that layout and a coconut bra album with Hawaii pictures. I will post the album in a separate blog. We had the women at the crop laughing and amazed. Laughing just because we are funny and amazed just because of our skills! I have, like, ninja scrapbooking skills! LOL! I really don't, but sometimes I can throw some stuff together that looks good. Sunday we went to see Superbad. OMG...that movie was hilarious. That was when the beer ban was officially lifted. Stacy went to the movies with us and ordered a pitcher of beer. Love Alamo Draft House! Movies are $6 before 6 and you can get real food and beer!!! HELLO! Forget Cinemark and the rest!!

This shit bugs me!

I have seen several signs lately that get on my nerves. The spacing is wrong. I am not a "wyle e. coyote super genius", by any means. But, I know a few things. One sign, I pass everyday at a BBQ place. This is how it reads: Grab a Family (next line) Pak on your way (next line) Home. I know what it is supposed to say, but it doesn't flow. That shit bugs me. You know what else bugs me, my crappy internet. I typed a whole, long blog today. I lost my internet connection, so I lost my blog. I have to type the whole F$%king thing over. Sucks. I will get to it, but probably not right now. It has been another one of those Mondays. The beer ban has been lifted! Hallelujah!

I am a Gecko Killer!!! {and other stuff}

I feel so bad...there has been a gecko running around my apartment for a few days. I have found him in the kitchen and in the bathroom - around my clothes hamper. I have been meaning to try and catch him. Today I decided to do some laundry. Guess what fell out of the dryer, as soon as I opened the door (after my clothes were dry)? Yep...burnt gecko! That is the only way I found him, he fell right out. I thought maybe I left something in my clothes, so I picked it up to examine it. Poor thing.
I have been trying to clean today. I have seriously cut back on my paper purchases and I still have the stuff all over! My friend Sylvia, from Houston, is coming to visit this weekend and my sister will be here too. We are going to a crop on Saturday. I am trying to clean and get my supplies together. Of course I can't find half of the stuff that I need, for the projects I want to work on. Why is that always the case??
I have a new favorite catch phrase. My sister sent me the link to Kevin Smith's blog the other day. I love Kevin Smith...writer, director, actor. He is funny. Anyway, on his blog he was talking about the day he was having. He had a bad thing happen and then the rest of the day was good. Instead of saying it was good, he said it was "all blowjobs and lollipops!". HA! That cracks me up! Don't ask me how I am doing, if you don't want to hear that! That is so what I am going to tell you...."it's all blowjobs and lollipops, Baby!"!

Leslie

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leslie_Cochran

I have blogged about Leslie once before. He is the most famous homeless person in Austin. I mean, come on, he has is own set of refrigerator magnets!! Anyway, I was hanging out at Stacy's house tonight. She is getting new roommates. Stacy's cousin Corey and Corey's boyfriend Kenny are moving in. Corey's brother (Adam) lives close to Leslie. I think Leslie lives in a storage shed or small room on someone's property in south Austin. Leslie hangs out at Adam's house a lot. Adam was helping Kenny move stuff today. Somehow Leslie got involved. It might be because he has moved so many times, or he might just be handy with spatial relations, but Leslie was dictating the move. He was telling them how to load vehicles, what to move first, etc. Here he is over at Stacy's house....his purse slung over one shoulder, his fake boob bra on, in a short yellow skirt telling the men how to move and what to move. Oh man, you just got to love Austin!

Saturday, I went to a wedding held on the sun.

It really wasn't held on the sun (duh!), but it was hot. I mean HOT! OMG! Every

one melted. The festivities started on Wednesday. Some of us got together to make "floozy koozies". Kimberly (the bride, on the left of both pictures) wanted these to be the thank you gift, as well as helping keep every one's beverages cooler. We decorated 75. Kimberly's mom had already decorated 75 by herself before we even started on Wednesday. If you don't know what a floozy koozie is, it is just a koozie with all kinds of fabric, feathers, beads, etc. on it. We had some "masculine" looking ones for the men! HA! Stacy's was dark green camo that had a ring of red dangling beads around the lip. Her koozie made the statement "I like to hunt, but I am also a lady". Mind had flame fabric on it with a ring of black feathers around the lip. I was told mine made the following statement "I am a slut". Yeah, right! If you know anything about me, you know that isn't true! That is why it was so damn funny! On Friday was the pre-wedding party. That was fun, held at the bride and grooms house. Debbie Jack is one of the bride's best friends (she is the third from the left in the floozy koozie picture). I ended up driving her home...she was so dang drunk! Love me some Debbie Jack, she is hilarious. The actual wedding was on Saturday. The first picture above is my favorite of the ones I took. I think I took over 100. I was trying to capture a picture of Kimberly and Tony had to stick his big ol' melon in the frame! The look on his face cracks me up! After the reception, we had a post wedding/reception party. I was so exhausted from the heat, I think I lasted about 1 hour at the party! I am getting too old for this....

I get myself into so damn much trouble!

So, I was going to go out to dinner with Stacy last night. We were just going to go out for some Mexican food. Stephanie decides that she wants to go, but wants to go somewhere she can take her dog. So, we settle on Freddie's. I was just going to eat and not drink any alcohol. We get there and Stephanie orders a bucket of beer, for herself, and Beaver is our waiter (I have already blogged about Beaver...I love me some Beaver! He could so be my main gay.). I knew right then I was in trouble. I eat and have a diet coke. One margarita leads to 4 margaritas, which leads to about 7 buckets of beer. We befriended two lesbians....well, they really aren't lesbians, because they are both in relationships with men but they also see each other. One of the girls used to be a stripper and she has fake boobs. Stephanie and I have never felt fake boobs before and this girl actually lets us feel her boobs! In the middle of Freddie's outdoor patio! And they feel totally different...they were kind of hard. They looked good, but they felt weird. Anyway, so the evening progresses, and someone realizes that Stephanie's dog is gone. We have no idea where he went. She totally lost her dog! Now, this is the girl that doesn't like pets to begin with...we told her not to get a dog and this just proved it!!! Everyone is looking for the dog...here he comes from the street! This is a busy street that Freddie's is on, lots of bars and restaurants, plus a ton of homes. She is so lucky he didn't get hit. At this point, everyone who is left in the place ends up at our table. Apparently they close early on Monday night. Beaver has called last call about 3 times...we end up with a couple of buckets of beer each time. I don't know how many times we cashed out before we actually left (this reminds me of another time I was with these two on the River Walk in San Antonio. We cashed out our tab 3 times at Dick's Last Resort and each time it was over $100. That was all drinks, no food!). Stacy is the smart one and she goes home when they finally kick us out. Stephanie ends up leaving with the two lesbians to go get something to eat. I end up going to another bar with 3 guys. Don't ask me their names, all I know is one guy had a great dane named Jake. We go to Opal Divines because they also allow dogs. There are 3 of us drinking...we end up with 3 pitchers of Hefeweizen. Hefeweizen is not a beer you need to be drinking when you are already drunk. Not only did I shut down Freddie's, I shut down Opals. I don't know what the hell I was thinking. After Opals I head home. Don't ask me about the incident in the gas station parking lot. The story is funny as hell...but I am so not telling it here. I was by myself and I pretty much made a fool out of myself! Like, I embarrassed myself in front of myself! LOL! So, Stephanie calls me at the crack of dawn this morning. We have both decided to stop drinking for a while. I tell her what I did in the gas station parking lot and she tells me what she did. Yeah, not drinking for a while is probably for the best! She ended up not going to get something to eat with the lesbians, she went through the drive thru at Taco Cabana and ended up with beans all over the front seat of her car. She gets home and decides to feed her dog...when she wakes up with morning there is a trail of dog food all over her house. Not from the dog, from drunk ass Stephanie. Not only that, there is a nice grease spot on her sliding glass door. When she sees this, she remembers running into the door. She thought it was open and totally hit it face first. OMG...I am laughing so hard right now I can't even type. Seriously, I was only going out for dinner! Stephanie is right, this is like high school only we have more money and no curfew! All that is going to do is get us into bigger trouble!!!

Hawaii = Beauty

Picture freakin' perfect. O'ahu was so damn gorgeous! I can't even believe I got to visit...probably the most beautiful place I have ever been. I can't wait to do something with all the pictures. I have several projects in mind. We had such a great time, even before we left. Pre hawaii we got together at Holly's house to watch shows on Hawaii. Not Magnum PI or Hawaii 5-0. Travel shows. Holly is the master of planning a trip. She came up with some great stuff. Stephanie and I just let her have at it. We were scattered all over the plane, but managed to have fun on the plane. We collected at the emergency exit doors every hour or so. You aren't supposed to stand in the way, but we live life on the edge like that! BTW, the picture with the surfboard, left to right is Stephanie, Holly, Nikki. This was the park we painted in. The picture of me and Stephanie is Turtle Bay on the north shore. Anyway, as soon as we landed, we hit the ground running. One of the best stories is Stephanie in her dirty pee pants. Oh man, I about pee in my own damn pants every time I think of it. Stephanie had a little accident on Saturday morning while we were out and about and she was still in her "dirty pee pants" (from Ballad of Ricky Bobby) at the end of that night. She had ample opportunity to change...she never did! I love that girl. We laughed so much, the whole trip. Holly is such a proper and nice person. Then there is me and Stephanie. Steff doesn't have any filters. She says whatever pops into her head. Her head is all over the place! Then there is me...with my potty mouth! What a trio. Stephanie would says something and Holly's response would be something sweet, but would put Stephanie in her place. My response would be "f&ck off Stephanie". I can't wait to take another trip with them. I was worried about getting along with Holly. I have known Stephanie since High School, over 20 years. Stephanie and Holly met in college. I wasn't sure how the whole dynamic would work. Holly and I got along great....Stephanie probably got picked on because we each know her best. Anyway, Stephanie had a motto for the whole trip..."we can't screw this up. No matter what we do, or don't do, we are in HAWAII". Amen, sister. I would go back in a heartbeat!

Here it is....

So many have asked to see it (okay, maybe one person has asked to see it). Here is my watercolor that I painted in Hawaii. Diamond Head is in the background. I will blog more about Hawaii later...it was awesome! I seriously contemplated staying - calling up my sister and telling her to keep, sell, or throw away everything in my apartment! As exciting as being homeless and sleeping on Waikiki beach sounds, I just thought I couldn't do it like that!

Sometimes a good cry is all you need!

It's all good! I feel so much better now...writing about my feelings and crying. It was cathartic. I know I have so many positives and blessings in my life. That is what I need to focus on. And, I am leaving for Hawaii in 2 days!!!! How can you be sad with that looming in your future??? Of course, I have a killer headache this morning. Don't know if that is from yesterday or just my allergies/sinus issues.
Oh, and today is Lily's birthday. If you see her, tell her Happy Birthday! LOL!

Which would you choose?

If you had the choice would you choose the monotone life or the life that has it's ups and downs? The monotone life is the life that is just flat...no highs, no lows, just even. Even though I feel I am in a down right at this moment, I would still choose the crazy, roller coaster ride life. My mantra right now is "this too shall pass". I don't know how many times I have said it in the last hour, the last day, the last month...Yes, someone is having a case of the mondays!
The ex told me that I am ruining his life by leaving him. Who knew that I had that much power? To actually ruin someone's life! I feel really bad that he feels that way, and I wish that I could help him in some way. I just know that I can't stay married to him and keep my sanity. Is that selfish? I wouldn't think so. Who says divorce has to be a negative? We had 15 years together...that is a long relationship. Did I want it to be forever? YES. Am I sad that it isn't? YES. At the same time, we had a good run. He is a great person and I know there is someone out there for him that is a better fit than I was. He is just hurting and can't see that right now. Even if he or I don't find anyone else, that is no reason to stay in a relationship that isn't going anywhere. I am choosing to see my divorce as a rebirth, a new chapter, a step in the right direction....
I got a speeding ticket this morning. Going 71 in a 55. I really had no idea what the speed limit was or how fast I was going until I saw the cop. I speed all the time, so it really probably was my time to get a ticket. I was traveling to our wine warehouse outside of College Station, Texas. When I got to the warehouse...I just helped make my sister madder. It was a very stressful day and my sister was having a hard time. I probably didn't help that situation. Sylvia called me this evening and said that she can't go to Hawaii with me. She was still holding out hope that she could go. Her life sucks right now too. She really needs the trip and it makes me sad that she can't come. Then, my parents got here. We are having training in Dallas the next two days. Rolling out a new ordering system and everyone is getting a laptop. I already had mine. My step dad asked me for it, because he needed to load some stuff on it for the new system. I have programs and stuff on my laptop that aren't work related. He wiped it all off and said that I would get fired if I put any of it back on there or used the computer for anything but work. I am so sad, mad, frustrated right now. It is so hard to work for family. After my step dad yelled at me I started to cry. I went up to my room (because I am staying with my mom and step dad tonight) and my mom heard me. I totally didn't want to get her involved. She always gets put in the middle. But, where do you go when you have problems at work and you can't talk to your family about it, because they are the problem! I feel like I have no support here, even though I know that isn't true. My sister mentioned something about getting another job today...I may have to do the same thing. I just hate doing that, because I know my step dad would take it personally. I don't want to hurt him...but at the same time, I have to think of myself. I am really just learning how to do that. I usually shelve a lot of my feelings because I don't want to hurt someone or add to their burden. I am learning that sometimes you don't have a choice....if you don't, you can and will loose yourself in the process. That is what happened in my marriage. I am just now discovering myself again and learning who I am again. There is a great person in there...she just got lost somewhere along the way.

This is the cutest darn thing I have seen in a long time!

I got directed to photobucket tonight and this was on their homepage. Damn, that is so cute!!! Makes me laugh just looking at it. People can be so funny with their animals. Just ask my sister about her dog, Sugar....on second thought, don't. That dog is a mess and the stories are endless!!

Tonight I packed for Hawaii. I got all my stuff laid out and started trying to fit it in my suitcase. I called my sis and said I couldn't fit everything. She forced me to use my common sense and get rid of some stuff. I am still probably taking too much, but it is much better. I mean, really, it is Hawaii! I was told all I needed was a toothbrush and bathing suit. I am taking just a bit more than that. I am sure my roomies don't want me in the same bathing suit 24/7 for 5 or 6 days. When I was younger, that probably would have been it...now I have to bring the sunscreen, allergy meds, lotion, band-aids, dental floss, tums, etc. I feel like my aunt. She always carries a pretty big purse that weighs about 50 pounds. But, if you get into a bind and need something....chances are she has it in her purse.....headache meds, nail files, gum, kleenex, shoestring, you name it....my aunt probably has it in her purse. Love to travel with her. Always prepared!!! My sister is getting to be the same way. When I carry a purse, it is usually just big enough for my cell phone, chapstick, and tampon (or so my sister says). My sister will have tweezers, lotion, toothpicks, gum, nail clippers, you name it. She is more like my aunt (my mom's sister) and I am more like my mom. My sister probably got the better end of the deal, but don't tell my mom that! LOL!

Today

So, I got my hair cut and colored today. I really have meant to take pictures of all my "hairdos" and "hair don'ts". I change my hair a lot. Especially the color. I think I have A.D.D. where my hair is concerned. I can't keep it the same for very long. This has led to some interesting styles. This is just for fun. I have had pink in my hair once before. Biggest drawback is that it fades fast. Everyone made comments today about it matching my glasses. That wasn't on purpose, pink is just one of my very favorite colors. I am not a girly girl, but I kind of am. I like pink, but not light pink....I like hard pink! LOL! I have included the second picture, because it just cracks me up...see how nice and in focus my camera is?? Yeah, I have no photography skills. I like the picture anyway....I like that I am blurry. What else did I do today....oh, I went to Barnes and Noble to get the new Harry Potter book. OMG! The line! I feel sorry for people who weren't there to buy HP. They had to wait through that line. I wasn't going to buy it today, but I had time this morning and was right by the book store. Plus, I have two 8 hour plane trips coming up. I am going to need some reading material. I also got bit by the donkey. I only had one carrot to feed him this morning. I think he got pissed. The donkey usually lets me pet him, but sometimes he can be skittish. So, I try to be gentle and let him smell me...doesn't that usually work with animals?? My sister said he might have thought my arm was a big carrot. I just think he was ticked that I only had one. He bit my arm, and it hurt! He has some big freakin' teeth!! This evening I went to watch some shows about Hawaii and to figure out the trip. Too many things to do and not enough time or money!! We have a good vibe and motto going for our trip....whatever we do will be the right thing to do. If we do anything or nothing on the list, we are doing okay - we are in Hawaii! Plus, the girls I am going with don't have to do everything together. I like that. I want some freedom in my trip and don't want to feel that I have to be at a certain place at any given time. I can't wait. My face is breaking out because I am anxious about the wait. I want it to be Thursday already. How am I going to stand the next couple of days?? I think I am going to be walking around like I have ants in my pants!

It is 4 am and I can't sleep

I have too many things on my mind. UGH! I am excited and nervous about my upcoming trip to Hawaii. That probably doesn't make sense to anyone else but me! I feel like I have so much stuff to do before I leave and not enough time. My step dad surprised me and my sister today. My sister works in the office with my mom and step dad, while I am out in the field. My step dad gets packages in the mail all the time...mostly bullets, but that is another story! LOL. He also is a bit of a photographer, so he is always getting camera stuff. Today he got a package and opened it at my sister's desk. He pulled out a camera and said to my sister"dang, they sent me the wrong one. Oh well, do you want it?" He then pulled out another camera from the box and said "dang, they sent me two. Do you think Nikki will want one??". He was just joking...he ordered them for us. We each got a digital Nikon SLR d40x. I already have a digital Nikon SLR D100 that he let me borrow. Now I have a brand new Nikon. He also got us 2 gig cards. How many pictures will that hold?? I hope enough for Hawaii! Of course I almost hate to take it to Hawaii, what if something happens to it?? This is a $1000 camera. That would be just my luck. See why I am up so late?? It is stuff like this that I am contemplating! Why can't I just enjoy the moment! LOL!
I also have a movie I saw recently on my mind. Stacy has been bugging me to watch "Up Syndrome" for a while. I haven't wanted to watch it, because I know I will cry. She finally talked me into it...we watched it the other night. Stacy's cousin Justin is an actor and a film maker. His film production partner is Duane. This movie is about a life long friend of Duane's named Rene. Rene has down syndrome. Duane starts the movie out by saying something like...."Rene lived down the street from me when I was growing up. My mom said he had something called Down Syndrome. I never understood what he had to be down about. He looked like he was always having fun.". It was such a great movie and such a good look at Rene's life. Duane has always been interested in film making. He followed Rene around with a camera for years. The film really centers around his life at age 23....I think he is about 30 now. It was awesome to see Rene take such delight in things we take for granted on a daily basis. The point in the movie that I started crying....Duane let Rene drive his car. It was awesome! Rene got such joy out of it and felt like a "normal" person. Rene also made comments about being called baby, or honey, or cutie...he hated those terms. He isn't a baby and didn't want to be belittled. That really struck me....how people did treat him like a little kid, and he knew it. The movie just gave me pause and made me think. We take so many things for granted and treat people so horribly when they are different from us. There were many life lessons in that one movie. I am glad Stacy made me watch it, even though I did cry. That was okay....I learned something and I laughed a lot too!

Playing with paper - I actually did it today!!!

I actually made something today. I can't believe it. My sister had these pictures this weekend. She scanned them and we printed out copies. I have no idea of the year. My mom might. Might be 1974 or 1975. My sister, Kim, is on the left and I am on the right. They, they being my aunt and mom, always dressed us alike. We are 3 years apart, but I think that is what you did in the 70's! People still think we are twins - even though we really don't look alike. Even back then we didn't look alike. What happened to all that blond hair?? I have no idea. We were so dang cute!!

South Austin: We're all here, because we're not all there!

That is the motto of South Austin. I love So. Austin. Last night we went to Freddie's. We went there because Stacy, and now Stephanie, can bring their dogs. Stephanie got a dog, which is a whole other story...she hates dogs. Jennifer - one of Stacy's friends also went with us. She is the one with the Messiah as the roommate. Anyhoo, Freddie's is a restaurant/bar with a great outdoor seating area. They have a stage and will have live music on occasion. All the wait staff at Freddie's wear Freddie t-shirts with funny saying on the back, like "Good looking beer and ice cold waitresses", "Free Beer Tomorrow", etc. Our waiter had a shirt on that said "Freddie's Little Beaver". His name, or nickname, was Beaver. I loved this guy....why are all the great men gay?? He was so funny and entertaining. I want my Freddie's t-shirt to say "I love Beaver!"! We were picking on him and laughing with him and he was so quick witted, he gave us plenty back. Stacy spilled a full glass of ice water on me and he said "she made you wet at Freddie's...you got wet at Freddie's!". The guy was a hoot! We also had a lovely 21 year old named Kelley join our table. She was at the table behind us. Her friends left and she still had a drink to finish. Somehow she ended up at our table. She was like Paris Hilton, only with dark hair and tolerable. She kept us entertained for a while. She kept getting getting phone calls and never knew her phone was ringing...it was on vibrate. The whole table would vibrate...she was so clueless. Anyway, one phone call she gets and we see the screen. It says the caller is "jail". Come to find out, her boyfriend is in jail (his second stint) and he is calling her. Now, I don't know much about jail, but how can you call a cell phone from jail, have the same number that you call from in jail - so much so that it can be programmed into a phone, and call that many times that someone does have your number from jail??? Beyond me. 3 squares a day, tv and phone privileges??? Where is the punishment in that?? I usually don't get that on any given day...not to mention a hot girlfriend that I can call. Life is so unfair! LOL!!

I actually felt like playing with paper this weekend. I spent all weekend with Sylvia and we played a little. Her husband loves it when I come to visit. We make a mess, stay up late, and laugh the whole time. So much fun. I have had a couple of these desk organizers for a while. I finally decorated them....totally girly. Sylvia just had to have one to decorate, so we had to drive all the way across Houston to get one. Spent most of Sunday doing that! Saturday we went to the movies...Live Free and Die with a Vengence (or whatever the new Die Hard movie is called). It actually was pretty entertaining. Nothing life changing or a movie to cause you to think. Just action and stuff getting blown up. I am sure the people in the theatre hated me. Every time something was blown up or someone died, I would cover my eyes with one of my arms, lift one of my legs, and say "Oh Damn" or "Ohhhh". Totally irritating, I am sure! That is okay....we went to see it in Galveston. Everyone was out on the beach, except for the 6 of us in the movie theatre!

What's Up?

Where have I been? Again, forever since I posted. This is a picture from gay pride a few weekends ago in Austin. This is also Stacy and Stephanie. We decided to be funny and wear custom t-shirts. I made the t-shirts. Stacy's says "Main Gay" and Stephanie and I have shirts that say "Proud of my Gay". It was really probably pretty dorky, but it was fun. We went out to a gay bar, of course, to celebrate. All the other people were groomed and smelling good. We stuck out like sore thumbs. I don't know if I have mentioned this, but I have a tendency to fall. I fell right in the middle of the bar and took out 4 lesbians. Thought I was going to get my ass kicked. They were all very nice and gracious, made sure I was okay. I was, but my knee has hurt since the tumble. No stitches this time, though.

Been forever since I posted...

What have I been doing? Been in a funk for part of it, and haven't felt like posting. I did meet the son of God over Memorial Day weekend. That was kind of exciting (read weird). I was over at Stacy's for an impromptu BBQ. One of her friends showed up with one of her roommates. He got drunk (and might have been on something else, if you know what I am saying). He started crying, saying that it was all just so beautiful, and that he was the son of God. God had two sons: Jesus and him. WHAT??!!! It was so weird. He left soon after that (read got kicked out of the BBQ). Of course I was trying to egg him on, and get more info out of him. The girl that brought him was trying to shut him down. She said he had done that once before. Who knew she was living with God's son. And how do you kick God's son out of your house?? Also this week, I decided I was going to get rid of all my scrapbooking supplies. I was going to enter the Rusty Pickle contest and had bought all this stuff from RP for it. I just couldn't sit down to make anything. Doing stuff because you have to, not because you want to takes all the fun and creativity out of it. I totally had a mental block and I shut down. I really don't want to sell all my stuff, but I just can't scrap on demand. Now that the deadline has passed I will probably have some really killer ideas and turn out some awesome stuff! Oh, and I saw George Lopez this weekend. Same restaurant that I saw Taylor Hicks in. Totally weird. Stephanie and I were supposed to celebrate Pride with Stacy on Saturday. Stacy ended up going tubing in the morning and was drunk by 6 pm, so she didn't come out with us. Stephanie and I ended up going out to eat at about 4 and then went to a bar called the Broken Spoke...pretty much a dive bar, that has some notoriety. We shut the bar down and ended up back at Stephanie's house at about 4:30 am. I am too old for this stuff. It is going to take me days to recover!!!

Road to Austin Concert

So I went to the Road to Austin concert this weekend. It was a free event that included Bonnie Raitt, Kris Kristopherson...and a whole slew of other people. It was awesome! I wanted to hear two songs. One was by Kris K and one was by Bob Schneider. The both sang the songs I wanted to hear, even though they only had two or three songs to sing. Not enough time for more than that. Too many acts on the bill. Stacy and I hung out with Gene all night. We met him at the concert. He might have been homeless, might not have been. Interesting guy...had seen a bunch of musicians in his lifetime. He is 61. He said something that gave me pause, that I thought was a great quote. He said "one thing about getting old, you really realize the value of a woman". That was great and sad at the same time. Anyway, I also met the man included in the picture. This is Leslie. He is famous in Austin and he is homeless. This is his magnet set that you can buy. He pretty much looked like this when I met him at the concert. Only, he had a red thong on, a leather vest, red top (with the boobs) and a tiara. He is a hoot.

My sister has an awesome sister (and so do I)!

This is a layout my sister did of ME!!! I love it. Not only is it cool, it's subject is my favorite topic! LOL! I haven't blogged in forever. I don't know where I have been. What has happened to me in the last few days? Hmmm....had to quit the part time job. The real job was interfering, so I had to let the other one go. Happy and sad at the same time. Glad I don't have to work that 4 to midnight shift tonight. If I did, I sure as hell wouldn't be blogging right now...I would be on my way to work. Other than that, I have just been digging myself out of all the stuff I have let slip. Apartment needed to be cleaned, laundry needed to be done, caught up on some much needed rest, drank some beers with Stacy, all the normal, everyday stuff that I had not been doing with two jobs. Don't know what I am going to do with all the free time on my hands this weekend...I will keep you posted!

I love Slutina and I love me some Pearl!

http://sjl.funnyordie.com//v1/landing.php

I have watched this thing about 1200 times.....I love Pearl. I want to track her down and steal her! Will Ferrell is my hero. He just cracks me up!
The reason I love Slutina (aka Sylvia) is that she bought me some paper and stuff....and mailed it to me. (PS: I had to come back in and edit this post. I don't just love her because she bought me paper; I love Slutina for a lot more reasons than that. She is just an awesome person and a great friend.) She knows I am in a funk and it totally cheered me up! She mailed it yesterday and I got it today. I had a full day today. I took the ol' MV (mini van - MV just sounds cooler than Mini Van) for a wash today. I spent about $20 in quarters and still could not get off all the bug guts. I tricked it out with a sticker that my sister sent me. It is like a blacksploitation sticker...has a guy with a fro and it says "Craft: Can ya dig it?". Totally cool. After the wash, I cleaned my apartment, and then went to a wine tasting. I drank too much. I then went to Threadgills and met a few friends. I drank too much. I then went to Stacy's house to watch American Idol. I drank too much. Stacy and I have money on the outcome. It really doesn't matter who wins. We will use the spoils to buy beer and food. I then started to drunk dial people. It is pretty sad when you drunk dial your sister....and she knew it before I even said anything. Damn, I don't like her. Now I am watching the movie Matchmaker. Don't know why I love this movie, I just do. It doesn't have any great acting or any great story line, but I just love it. Probably the use of the work "feckin'", which is the Irish accent version of "f#$kin'". They say it a lot in this movie! Recurring theme with me, don't ya think? I seriously have a problem....(well, several problems!!!)

My sister reminded me of one of my favorite quotes

"People are just bastard coated bastards, with bastard filling". My sis said this to me the other day...I had been thinking it a lot lately, because this has so been my life. I feel like getting all my money out of the bank (all $3.58 of it), getting in my car, and not looking back. Leaving all my stuff behind and starting over somewhere else. Only problem is I know all the stuff would catch up with me eventually. Paypal has frozen $500 of my money because of a claim from eBay. I sold my Pazzles mini cutter to a lady and she is saying that I did not include all the software to use the cutter and that the item was damaged in shipment. No refunds and no insurance (I did pay for insurance, BTW, just as a precautionary measure). Post office has refused the claim because they say it was not packed properly. What??? It was put in the box I received it in. On top of that, still working 30+ hours at the part time job. Totally sucking the fun out of my life. Why do I not have any entertaining stories to share with you? Because I haven't had time to do anything! I have been too tired and too busy working to have anything fun and exciting happen to me. Maybe tomorrow something will happen. Going to a work related wine event. I am going to try and not get drunk, but I don't have to work at the scrapbooking store tomorrow night. Who can I call to bail me out of jail, if I get arrested???? (Hopefully that is a joke and not foreshadowing!)

It's official...

I hate people. I know, I know, I am a people person. That is one reason why engineering did not work for me....me and a computer in a 4x4 foot box. Just wasn't the makings of my dream job. What I wouldn't give for a job like that today. I have to work with the public tonight and I am afraid...afraid that I am going to go off on someone. "Seriously, are we doing this??" Those words could come out of my mouth at any moment, especially if I get a stupid question about adhesive! Could my stress come from working two full time jobs? Maybe....the "part time" fun job at the scrapbooking store is about 35 hours a week. The real job and dealing with wine assholes - for the most part I love my job, the wine jerks and the people at Spec's liquor store that think they invented wine are the ones that bring me down. Maybe the stress is coming from my separation. I seriously think I am breaking his heart. I have had my heart broken and I know how it feels. To think that I am doing that to someone else is killing me. I don't have much choice, for my own sanity and happiness, I have to. Life just sucks right now....I keep on trying to look at the bright side (and I do have many bright spots in my life: awesome friends, an awesome mom and sister, a job, a place to live, enough money to get by, etc.). "Pity Party, table for one....." that's me right now! I know it will get better...in another moment, another day, another year....things will be totally different. Just have to hold on and not smack the living shit out of someone right now!

"I feel like Hank Williams tonight..."

That is from a song that Jerry Jeff Walker sings. I don't know if he wrote it, but that is his version I have running through my head. It just talks about his moods and what type of music he listens to during those moods. Hank Williams is the "I am in a funk" music. I am in a funk. The high point of my day was helping another goat get unstuck from the fence. I should be in a better mood. My friend Sylvia was here this weekend. We had a great time...didn't do much of anything besides spend money and laugh (a lot on both counts). She left on Sunday and it went downhill from there. Anyone have a sure fire cure for the blues?? I need it!

Donkey

Here is a picture of my neighbor, the donkey. He was pretty happy with me...I just fed him carrots and petted his head. Still haven't been able to pet the dog! I am working on him, though. He will come around eventually.

Motley {camping} Crue

Here are the crazy girls I went camping with. Notice the beer and cigarette...that pretty much sums up the whole weekend. This picture was probably taken 5 minutes after they woke up in the morning too!! Gotta love these girls!

Website Development, anyone???

This week I am taking a three day class to learn how to use Dreamweaver software. It is used to develop websites. I was nominated to take the class to support my company's website. I need to use it...anyone have a website they need??? You can pay me in beer or scrapbooking supplies...I am cheap! Anyway, what I want to know is why I never worked in a building like this when I was in corporate America? I think I know the answer to that. I think this building is used by many different customers. I believe it changes all the time, schedules fluctuate - have perks, just because their building is their product. Anyway, coffee, tea, and lemonade are provided at all times. Good coffee, tea, and lemonade. There is an ice maker and REAL glasses. Also, the restroom! Have you ever been out at a bar or night club and had the assortment of products for use in the women's restroom? Make-up, perfume, hairspray, gum, etc. that is monitored by a lady for tips. I would never use any of those things, haven't been that drunk. The restrooms here have stuff you would actually use: a lint roller, lotion, dental floss, a nail file. Stuff you might actually need and might not have on you!!! Of course when I did work in an office, I had all that crap in my desk. People just came to me for it, because they knew I had it. I was basically the restroom attendant, only I didn't get any tips! I really wouldn't trade my job for all of that. Can't stand being chained to a desk, even for fresh and good coffee, tea, and lemonade!

Wine, Houston, and Camping

I have had a busy couple of days! Winemaker's lunch on Wednesday. Good food, good wine, and I didn't sit by any wine snobs. Not bad. Thursday I had to get up at the crack of dawn to be in Houston by 11. I needed to stop off in College Station to pick up some wine, so it took me longer than normal. Had to pick up another winemaker (actually the winemaker's daughter, Kristen) for her visit to Houston. We had an employee tasting at the biggest liquor store in Houston - Specs Downtown. We did that, had a late lunch, and then had to be back downtown by 9 pm for a little wine/appetizer thing at a restaurant. It was fun. Some of the same Specs employees that we sampled to earlier were there. On your birthday, this restaurant brings out a huge martini glass (not a drinking glass, more of a glass for dips and what not that is in the shape of a martini glass) filled with cotton candy and sparklers. We pretended it was my birthday. Nothing like wine and a little food followed by cotton candy!!! I was supposed to stay with my friend Stephanie in Houston. By the time this was over and I dropped Kristen off on the North side of town, there was no way I was going to drive all the way South. If you haven't been to Houston, let me tell you, it is a big city. It probably would have taken me one hour to drive from where I was to where I wanted to stay. I ended up staying with Kristen in her hotel. I forgot to bring my laptop on this little trip, so I went to the hotel business center to get online. This was about 1 in the morning. Okay, they have two computers. One was occupied by an Asian guy typing (via the hunt and peck method of typing) a manifesto in his email. The other was occupied by a black guy looking for a date online. Seriously! It is 1 in the morning and you are on a hotel computer in the business center looking to hook up. After several different sites, he finally went to IM a couple of ladies. I gave up at this point. The manifesto was still being typed, at about one word per minute, and the other guy was still looking for a little bit of "late night". I got up super early again on Friday, because I had to be in Austin by 11. Once again, had to stop off in College Station. I finally made it back to Austin and picked up Stacy by 12. We were finally on our way to our camping destination. We had rented a "rustic" cabin in Concan (West of San Antonio). 8 girls were going. Most were on their way by the time we left. When Stacy and I arrived, the other girls were already drunk! It was about 3 in the afternoon. These girls were a hoot, but I am kind of afraid of them now! Just kidding! But several off these girls have done some hard living. The stories they told....they are so lucky they are still alive to be telling these stories. I feel like a nun compared to a couple of these girls. Anyway, on Saturday we went tubing down the Frio river. There is a reason it is named the Frio - it is cold. We were about the only people tubing on the river. We had asked all kinds of questions - how long is the trip, is the river up, how cold are people saying the river is, etc. We were told the river was up and we shouldn't have to walk, should be a relaxing float. I believe we were lied to. I ended up walking most of the river. I got tired of getting hit in the ass by a rock when we bottomed out. The one lesbian in the group thinks she lost her virginity to a rock on that river! LOL! Thank goodness I was not drunk. I would not have been able to keep my balance as well as I did walking in the water, while carrying my tube. I found a nice to stick to use as a walking stick about half way down. That thing saved me. I am bruised and sore in places I didn't know I could be bruised and sore in from that trip. The Frio kicked all of our butts - the Frio river one, cabin 15 zero! So, after a nice hot shower had by all of us, we relaxed in front of a fire with a couple of drinks. That was very relaxing...followed by more hair raising stories. I seriously wish I could type a few here. I just can't......I try to keep my blog PG-13 or at least rated R. Today I got up at about 9, packed up my stuff and headed back to Austin. All the other girls are staying through tonight. I couldn't because I have some work obligations that I can't miss on Monday. I was almost home when I got a call that a set of keys might have been left in my car. I pulled over, searched the car and didn't find them. That just totally sucks. No telling where we lost them. All 8 of us were piled in my mini van for most of the weekend, with both sets of sliding doors open. I know this isn't safe, but we were only traveling a short distance and not going faster than about 15 miles per hour. On the trip back from tubing we had 8 girls, two ice chests, and 9 tubes in or on top of my car. Plus, everyone was drunk (except for me). I believe we lost the keys at that point. Several tubes fell off of my car and we had to stop to get them. No telling what else flew out of my car. It was a great weekend. I didn't drink too much, felt fine every morning. Didn't get sunburned. Just a little sore from the river. I can't wait until the next all girls trip....