I love my job...

It just so happened that a couple of days ago one of my co-workers got ahold of my blog address and decided to e-mail it to my whole office. So, just in case any of them (my bosses) decide to read my blog, I love my job...(insert nervous laugh here).

(This is where I thank my lucky stars I've never blogged anything bad about my job or anyone I work with).

So, fellow DWAans (I'll have to work on that one) enjoy my blog, and don't hold too much of it against me, oh, and you also might want to watch your back unless you want me telling all of your secrets to all of my faithful readers (a.k.a. my best friend from high school - yes Marvin, I do have friends - and my husband).

Quite the juxtaposition

As I'm sitting in front of my television at 9:58pm watching the end of "Tease" (a hairstyling reality show - I know!) I can't help but to laugh at how my life from day to night is like a bad manic depressive schizophrenic personality.

Trade by day: Architect - using my many brain cells to relate to clients, perform complex structural and design feats, dressing to impress, coordinating with engineers, and finding time to nourish relationships with my co-workers

Trade by night: Sloth and Glutton - wasting my many brain cells watching rediculous hairstyling reality shows while laying on the couch (to be fair it's not all the time and it's never any of the mainstream and popular reality shows (or maybe that's worse, at least I'm not a sheep!) - although it happens more often when Morgan isn't home). Tonight Morgan is at work saving the day, like most days.

So, what does this say about me. Do I care about who wins the "Silver Scissors"? No. But, I do enjoy not thinking for a while. By watching these senseless shows I am able to relax, de-stress, and not use my intellect (ha!) for a small bit...and boy does that feel good. So, Morgan can give me those "I can't believe you are watching this crap" look, and I feel confident in returning the "Don't judge me" look right back.

Lady Liberty

To all those nay-sayers, negative nancys and doubting "professional analysts" out there, all I can say is WE DID IT! I, of course, didn't have a doubt, but no one I talked to at or outside of work believed me. Mostly I heard, "Yeah, Boise State is a good team, but they're not going to win". Ha!

So, last night at 8:30 I anxiously sat down in front of the television with a knot the size of the state of Idaho in my stomach. I had to keep reminding myself to relax and breathe. We jumped out to a great start and I started feeling more confident. There were ups and downs throughout the game, interceptions returned for touchdowns, fumbles recovered...all were great highs...until it happened to us.

With a minute to go and the score tied (how did they manage to lose their lead ?! Ugh!!!) Jared through the interception to, what I felt, lose the game. I just kept having flashbacks of last year's bowl game in Boise against Boston College where we lost it with a Jared interception. I couldn't watch...well, almost.

The next couple of plays were performed better than anyone could have scripted. Morgan saw me go from cowering in the corner of the couch with a blanket over my head saying "Be ready with the remote to turn off the t.v. because I don't want to see Oklahoma celebrating" to jumping, screaming, and cheering at the top of my lungs and passing out on the couch from disbelief when they scored on the hook-and-ladder play. I think we have some new scratches on our wood floors from when I jumped up and scared the crap out of my cats and they went scurrying as fast as possible.

Taking it into overtime was amazing and I was on another high, then back down to a low as Oklahoma scored a touchdown right away. It wasn't looking very optimistic for our team until they ran the touchdown play on 4th and 2 when a wide receiver through the touchdown pass. Then the two-point conversion!!! How about that Lady Liberty?!

All I can say is that I needed to take another shower before I went to bed I was covered with anxiety lined perspiration and a complete feeling of disbelief, but I wouldn't have scripted in any differently. As someone at work said today, "That will be a movie some day", a story of a team battling against the odds, defeating the mighty Sooners, and, of course, getting the girl in the end (Running back Ian Johnson proposed to his girlfriend on the sidelines after the game - he's also the one who scored the winning two-point conversion). All I can say is...

GO ORANGE, GO BLUE, FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT BSU!!!

It's Alive!

I've done a lot of things in my life, but up to today I had never tried my hand at being an electrician. 2 1/2 hours and a phone call to my dad later, my first ceiling fan (with light kit) was installed...and it works!

On a side note, I don't know if this is just a "dad" thing, or maybe it's just because my dad is an engineer and has done a lot around the house, but when I called him all I said was, "Dad, I'm installing a ceilng fan and it says to connect the wires, but I don't know how, what tool do you use?". He didn't even skip a beat, he went right into a five minute installation tutorial..."There's a white wire and a black wire...this connects to this...there should be plastic, cone-like caps to connect the wires..." it was as if he had everything memorized, he basically named everything that came with the ceiling fan kit. Maybe he's just "wired" that way. Regardless, he was a huge help and I wouldn't have been able to do it without him! Thanks, Dad!

Law-breaker

This is a post for Jayna, who has called me "Susie-do-right" about my driving for years. I follow the rules of the road pretty much to the letter and I have, on more than one occasion, pointed out to Jayna (and Morgan) that the maneuver they just performed was illegal. And, up until now I have never been pulled over.

So tonight I'm driving home after picking up my car from getting new wiring and spark plugs, and I'm talking to my dad, wishing him a happy birthday when all of a sudden I say, "Uh, Dad, I think I'm getting pulled over...I'm going to have to call you back". I did indeed get pulled over. But, sorry Jayna, it wasn't from anything I did wrong. My tag light was out, probably something that was caused by my new wiring job (or lack thereof). Anyway, I drove away with a warning citation, which honestly I thought was a little harsh. I mean, the work citation just puts a bad taste in your mouth, implying that I did something wrong.

So, now I'm running from the law until I can get my tag light fixed so they can read my license plate. Oh, and as I was sitting there my mom called me and I had to say, "I can't talk right now, I just got pulled over by the police". He. She told me to tell them that my mother was on the phone and that they should let me go and they should just go away. Yeah, I'm sure that would work.

Well, that's my story! Sorry it's not as exciting as getting thrown in jail, Jayna, but maybe I'll get there someday! You can always hold out hope! He.

New house pictures...

Are located on Morgan's blog. I didn't want to be redundant so go take a gander!
Morgan's blog
p.s. there is also a funny picture of me driving our Uhaul truck if you scroll down a couple of posts.

More Cluck for your Buck

I had to take a trip to Petsmart today and decided to make a detour on my way home to pick up a cookies 'n cream milkshake from Chick-Fil-A for my honey. The following is the conversation that took place in the drive-thru...and can I just say...why does this always happen to me???

attendant (man/boy): Welcome to Chick-Fil-A, I'll be right with you

me: okay

15 seconds later...

attendant: cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cccllluuuccckkk! cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck , cluck - this goes on for a good 20 seconds with a grand finale of..."meow!"

10 seconds later...

attendant: Thanks for holding, what can I get for you today?

me: can I just get one cookies 'n cream milkshake?

attendant: No.

me: PLEASE?!

attendant: That will be $2.99, please drive up to the window

What the crap!?! I think this one even beats the time I was in the drive-thru of a Taco Bell in Boise and the attendant said, in his best pirate's voice, "Arrh, Welcome to Long John Silver's, What can I get fer yer?"

Oy!!!

High Class

Looks like we chose the wrong time to buy! We should have waited until now, we would have received a bonus!

This picture was taken at the entrance to Okatie Park (our new housing subdivision on the way to Beaufort). We were out there today doing a progress walk-through of the house. They keep pushing back the closing date (it was supposed to be today) but hopefully it will be next Tuesday or Wednesday. Cross your fingers!

Ever been to Branson, Missouri?

My sisters and I have been singing together since we were 5 years old. We made the rounds in the beauty pageant circuit in the Ozarks which is why we have so much success in Branson. Of course, we didn't make it really big until I (Amber) got that thing removed from my nose and my sister Taffy got her teeth fixed. Misty, the tallest of the three of us was our mamma's favorite, which is why she gets to be the lead singer, and wears the coveted gold dress...

You can catch our performance, The Shastas, across from the Golden Corral, next to the BP. We're on right after the pig wrestling.

It's So Ex-siding!

Today Morgan and I went out to Okatie Park to check the progress of our house. In just two and a half weeks after being delivered to the site it has it's siding on and it's looking like a real house! It shouldn't be too much longer before we have a closing date. We'll keep you posted.

No house...House!

Yesterday I decided to drive by our house site to see if the foundation had been started. It not only had been started but it is finished. While I was on site, there were two men still working on it and they told me that our house was to be delivered the very next day. So, Morgan and I went out there again after work tonight and there was our house! It had been delivered, lifted by crane and put on top of our foundation, and is now ready to start being finished.

At this stage they will put the interior doors and trim in, put in the finished flooring, put on the siding, shutters, and front porch (I'm sure I'm missing some details but you get the idea). It finally looks as though we're getting a house! The two pictures above are from yesterday and today.

All I need are my cats

If someone could send my cats to me I would be content in staying in Denver and moving in to any number of adorable houses, eating at quaint restaurants and bistros, walking through the historic downtown, going to sporting events, and visiting all of the other great hot spots. Besides going to the Broncos game yesterday and the Rockies game today we hit some of those hot spots today.

We started out at the Denver Botanical Gardens which were beautiful...Morgan was a trooper (it's not really his cup of tea). Afterwards we went to the Denver Zoo which, besides the Bronco game, was my favorite part of this trip thus far (including the gardens, Aquarium - we went there Saturday night when we got here, and the walking tour of downtown where I saw the new Denver Art Museum designed by Daniel Libeskind - designer of the Freedom Tower in New York).

We are off to Steamboat Springs tomorrow - my old stomping ground! I was born there but haven't been back since I left at 5 years of age. I'm so excited to see it, although for some reason I feel really anxious and I don't know why.

Jock itch...on my foot

About a week ago the bottom of my foot started to itch, and itch, and itch. So, having had athlete's foot before, I deteremined that this was what was going on with my foot. So, I asked Morgan to "use his best judgement" in getting me whatever athlete's foot medicine would be best. I said "get whatever you would get for yourself". I knew that I was taking my life into my hands, because if you know Morgan, than you know that he thinks outside of the box on a lot of issues...hence, he came home with jock itch medicine. I'm assuming that it treats athlete's foot too since it's an anitfungal, but man, I hope I'm not wrong.

What I really need to know is whether it is contagious and if it spreads. I've had to itch it before and although I wash my hands right afterwards, I worry about it spreading to my fingers, or worse, my face. Try explaining why I have "jock itch" on my face to my bosses. "No, seriously, it's not what it sounds like!"

Baby update

Well, just to follow up on my last post...my friend's birthday (Brenda) was today. She shares her birthday with her mom and as of today she also shares it with her nephew. Her brother and his wife had their second baby boy today on her birthday. That leaves about 4 women to go...

Baby boom!

Have you ever noticed that once you know one person who is pregnant other pregnant women seem to come out of the woodwork? Maybe it's because you are more aware of the bulging bellies, but in my case it has nothing to do with how much I pay attention. One of my best friends from high school, Kelsey, is now about 3 months pregnant and out of my office of 23 people (about half which are women) there are three women who are pregnant right now. One 7 months, one 3 1/2 months, and the other 3 months. And, there is another woman who is trying. Is there something in the Dawson Wissmach water? Is there some sort of parasite in the water cooler? If so I better start bringing my own bottled water.

The Early Bird...

is supposed to get the worm...right? Well, in my case, I hope to get a workout. I joined the gym about a year and a half ago, and while I go regularly (of course it started out a lot more regular than it is now) I find it hard to get there, especially after a long day at work. Recently this hasn't been a problem because Morgan and I have been playing a lot of tennis so I get a good workout without dragging myself to the gym (which is pretty boring), but now that it's raining every afternoon like the tropics, we can't play as much. So, I've been forced to find another way.

Therefore, this past Wednesday and today, I have dragged my butt out of bed at 5:15 a.m. to go to the gym before work so I can have the evenings free to hang out with Morgan, other friends, or just relax. This way I can get my workout out of the way and I have more energy for the rest of the day...well, theoretically that's what is supposed to happen. But, anyone who REALLY knows me knows that I'm not one who enjoys getting up early (just ask my parents). I'm usually cranky and mean spirited (more than usual :o)

I have found two major themes that have developed out of this early gym experience. One, I actually enjoy myself and I'm not so cranky because I'm venting my frustrations out on the weight machines and elliptical machine, and two, that I enjoy my evenings, but I get so tired around 6 p.m. and I just...feel...like...sleeeppii..zzzzzzzzzz

My First Contribution to the Built Environment

I finally have proof that I'm productive at work! The field of architecture is a patient one. It takes months, sometimes years, to see the fruits of your labor. So, after two months, starting with the concept, moving to concept sketches, to structural steel shop drawings, to mock ups...this is my first structure produced as a professional. No, it's not a building, but I believe it's even something more important and special. It's public art! It's sculpture! And it was tons of fun to do.

The inception of this project started with a day care that moved into the building we designed (behind the sculpture in the picture). I had the task of designing the signage that is going to be attached to the building, but I quickly ran into a design problem. The day care has a logo attached to their name which is very dear to them (a family member created it for them). However, the logo is very colorful, and if it was put onto the building, it would have thrown off the whole color scheme and overall design of the building. There is another tenant in the building so it was our task to design something that wouldn't clash.

After pulling from some images from my travels I approached my boss with the idea of taking their logo that they are so fond of, and giving it it's rightful importance, as a sculpture. By pulling the logo off of the building, we can still keep the colors and since it is not attached to the building, it would not distract people or detract from our design of the overall building. The idea went through many schemes but finally we decided on this. It is made of tube steel, metal rods soldered to the frame, and four panels of sheet metal, painted the colors of their logo.

I, myself, am very proud and excited about the results. The clients were thrilled that we put so much thought into their wants and needs and created them something special and unique. It was even more special since it was donated/paid for by the contractor. All in a days work!

What the...?

Conversation recorded between Morgan and his friend, Stacy while waiting for the "Superman Returns" movie to start...

Allison: Who is the girl who plays Lois Lane?

Stacy: She was the girl in "Blue Crush", (something else I can't remember he said), and she's dating Orlando Bloom.

Morgan: No, she's not dating him anymore, they broke up.

What? Since when do men, espcially Morgan, know about these things? It's like they were two teenage girls gossiping.

Ok...so maybe it was funnier at the moment, but it's pretty damn funny to me still.

Something to bring back the anorexic days of old...

About two months ago I received a letter saying that my doctor was moving to Greenville, SC and that I would need to find a new doctor. They sent a records release form to fill out with my new doctor's information so my records could be transferred. I have not yet found a doctor so I decided to have them released to me and I would go pick them up...I probably shouldn't have done that.

I'm not sure how people normally are about personal records when they relate to themselves, but I've always been intruiged and love reading about what others write about me, even if it's just my medical history. I always learn something new. Heh. So, I had the records released to me and I started to read through them.

The information was pretty standard: height - 5'4 1/2", blood pressure - normal, weight...well, last year (2005) it was 122 (not bad) and they marked underneath of that they I was "well-developed" and "well-nourished"...everything was normal (although they didn't mark the box that said "no deformations". hmmm...

Anyway, the whole point to this story is that the year before (2004) I (according to my chart) weighed 136 (14 pounds more than the next year). That's not so great, but it's also not so bad (still in the range of normal body weight for my height and frame). But, underneath the regular stats they marked "well-developed", "well-nourished", "well-groomed", and, are you ready for this? "OBESE"!!!

I'm not going to bother explaining to you what happened next after I read this claim of me being OBESE. Just imagine any woman you know getting this type of information and think how it would affect them...picture it? yeah, that's how I was. As soon as I read obese (I was reading it to Morgan), he said "Oh great, here we go"...and away I went...claiming that I would never eat again, yadda, yadda, yadda. Luckily I don't weight that anymore (I'm still at least 12 pounds under that) because that would have been even more traumatic. Still, it almost sent me into the horrible spiral back to my teenage years when I was anorexic...not some place I ever want to be again.

So, my question is? Did my weight really warrant and "OBESE" label or was someone just feeling mean? That label can really do some damage to one's phychie. Please tell me that the nurse was the devil!!!

Literary Issues

About a year ago I joined a book club (I know, I'm a nerd), but I joined it in hopes that being part of a group would motivate me to read more. It seems that more and more I fill my day with junk (besides work, of course). My evenings are filled with going to the gym or playing tennis, eating, watching t.v., and relaxing. While those things are very nice, they don't necessarily stimulate my mind.

Every month we are supposed to read a book, sometimes it's the same book as everyone else, but most of the time it's a "free read" and we discuss what we've read with the group. This is, unfortunately, the only way I'll get myself to read, it's really pathetic. I read only when I'm being held accountable. And, those of you who know me best know that I can't miss a deadline or not finish a project. I thrive on making lists and then crossing off my finished tasks. It makes me feel like I've accomplished something...I like being productive.

All I have to say is..."isn't it sad?" I mean, isn't it sad that I read only when it's required? Even if it's only myself who is holding me accountable. The truth is, once I get into a book I enjoy reading and I fly through it. All of the trivial things like television no longer have a space in my night. But, it's the procrastination that gets me. I don't end up starting to read my book until about one week before our book club and it's always a race to get it finished. Just once I would like to pick up a book and read for enjoyment, not because it's required.

Pura Vida!

About 13 days ago I embarked on a new adventure and what an adventure it turned out to be! I drove up to Charlotte the evening of the 24th of May and checked into the Red Roof Inn. I was starving at that point (after passing exit after exit looking for an Arby's that never came). So I paid for a pizza that came 1 ½ hours late and cost me $18 because the delivery guy didn't have change. Some great start to my vacation.

It got better. The next morning I made to the airport on time and had no problems checking in. The problem came when my flight started boarding and my two friends weren't anywhere to be seen. By the time I was on the plane they called and said that they missed the baggage cutoff by 5 minutes and had to wait until the next day to leave. Ugh. They were my ride from the airport in Costa Rica to their hotel. Fortunately Ana (my friend I stayed with in Costa Rica) had a taxi driver waiting for me with a sign with my name on it. So, our plans were changed a little bit but everyone ended up getting there.

Friday, the day Amanda and Kenny arrived, we drove up to the Arenal Volcano and stayed at the Volcano Lodge. The fact that we got there was a miracle. The road system in Costa Rica is not by any means safe. The people turn a two lane road into four (there aren't lines dividing lanes). Between the cars are people walking around and selling things to cars passing by. Needless to say, there are a great many of them who are killed.

The road up to the volcano is very windy and hilly (since we were climbing a mountain into the cloud forest) and we regularly ran into herds of cattle in the middle of the road. The worst came when we arrived at a bridge that was “cerrado” (closed). There were giant boulders and rubble we had to drive around and then we had to cross a part of the bridge that had huge holes in it covered with wooden planks. Now, there was about a 500 foot drop if this bridge gave out, and it was about 200 feet long...not my idea of a good time. There was another hole (even bigger than the first one) at the other end where they had placed a small metal bridging element over it so we had to hit it at the exact place to cross. We were all shaking at the end of it.

After that we had a nice time at the volcano although it was so cloudy that we never actually saw it. The next day we traveled to Tamarindo Beach (on the Pacific) where the roads were even worse. They changed from paved to dirt with huge potholes, back to being paved. This went on and on, I almost got sick in the car from all the bumping. The beach was absolutely beautiful. We spent two days there and relaxed and ate great food (except for the flies all around our food).

On Monday we made the trip back to San Jose and got settled in to city life. I stayed at Ana's house with her and her parents in Escazu (area of San Jose) and Amanda and Kenny stayed in a hotel. Ana had to go back to work on Tuesday so Amanda, Kenny, and I took part in a canopy tour in San Lorenzo. We had heavy harnesses on with safety lines and we were hooked up to cables and we flew through the tree tops of the jungle. It was great.

Wednesday we spent in the city walking around town and shopping at the open markets. We got more of a taste of their culture. Thursday was the highlight of the trip. Amanda, Kenny, and I (Ana was sick and couldn't go) went white water rafting down the Pacuare River on the Eastern side of the country. It was a class 4 rapid and we rafted 22 miles. It took us 4 hours in the water but it was amazing! The Scenery was incredible. We were in the rain forest and while we were rafting, it started to rain on us. It was perfect. We all got soaked.

Friday was a lazy day since we had to leave on Saturday. I had such a great time but I was ready to go home by the end. I was ready to speak English and have myself understood and I was ready to get back to my hubby! I missed him so much!

Spring Fling

Friday was the first of many (I hope) Dawson + Wissmach Spring Flings I attend. One of my bosses, Neil Dawson, has a house on Whitemarsh Island with a dock and boat. Every summer the company has Spring Flings where we work half a day on Friday and then go out to his dock where he supplies lunch and we go out on the boat to water ski, tube, wake board, and swim. There are also jet skis to drive (Pearce actually got pulled over by the “water police” and given a warning ticket for not obeying the rules). I was a little leery of donning a bathing suit in front of my coworkers but everyone was doing it so I gave into peer pressure. I hope that people didn't judge me too much.

I spent half the time out on the boat and went tubing with Luci. We had a blast! One of the best moments was when Luci's husband, Kevin, snuck up behind Marvin (my project manager) while he was sitting on the floating dock and pulled him backwards into the water. I caught it with my camera at the perfect moment. That one's going down in history!

All in all everyone had a great time, and it's nice to know that I work for a company that knows how to work really hard and play just as much...and that they appreciate their employees.

4 years long...or short, depending on who you ask

Last Wednesday (the 17th) marked four years of marriage for Morgan and me. It's always a special day, looking back on where we started and how far we've come together. It hasn't always been easy, and those of you who know us best can attest to that, especially this past year. But, today as I write this I've never felt so completely at peace or as strong with where I am in my life and who I'm with. This year has made us stronger independently and as a couple and I can't wait to see what is in store for us in the future.

Attack of the tree-chewing fiends!

Monday mornings are bad enough as it is...but this morning I was welcomed by thousands of dead termites laying under my desk. Yes, I know what you're saying...at least they were dead! Ah, yes, but it also would have been better if I had noticed them when I first sat down. Because our floors are dark wood and the termites are small and dark, I sat with my feet in dead bugs for a good thirty minutes before I got up and looked down to discover the disgust. At least I had shoes on...but they were just sling back sandals.

Neil, one of the partners at the firm said, "Oh, yeah, when I was here yesterday I looked over and saw the swarm of termites come flying out from behind your baseboard and then fall dead. I also sprayed them. Sorry, I forgot to clean them up but at least now they're not all goey and wet, they'll be easier to sweep up!" Hello!!!

So, I thought I could handle this. After all, they are dead. So I went to collect the broom and dust pan. I swept up a few that were beside my desk but when I got to the mass grave of dead bodies (literally by the thousands) I lost it. I almost threw up at my desk, wouldn't that have been a combination! It would have looked like I puked up bugs...ugh, I can't even think about it. So, I made my boss clean up my desk! Later in the day I found some more and made another of my co-workers clean it up. Luckily they were both fine with it. I still shudder when I think about it. The rest of the day I kept feeling like things were crawling all over me, and that there were bugs stuck in my throat.

I can only imagine what would have happened if they had decided to wait 12 more hours to hatch and I would have really had a treat on my hands!!! Gross!!!

Trial update

It's been a while since I've posted anything about my mom's dealings with the law, so I thought I'd get people up to speed.

Today was supposed to be my mom's criminal trial. She had witnesses lined up out the door on her defense and was almost looking forward to the trial...knowing full well that she would win. She wanted to see “Evil Betty” squirm like a slug that's been freshly coated with salt. (If you don't know what I mean then you never had a childhood).

A couple of months ago my mom had her preliminary trial where the defense and prosecution get together to ask the accuser questions. “Evil Betty” was deemed the most horrible witness my mom's lawyer had ever met. She had no substance behind any of her claims and kept asking my mom to answer questions that weren't directed to her.

So, the trial was supposed to be today, but on Friday the prosecutor's office called my mom's lawyer and told him that the charges were being dropped due to insufficient evidence. Well, duh! Their office is where they look over every case that is about to go to trial and decides whether it's worth sending to the court room. His job was pretty easy this time since there is no evidence against my mom. The good news is since the prosecutor dropped the charges, my mom can still sue if she chose to (she couldn't if “Evil Betty” dropped them). She's at least entitled to pain and suffering (spending the night in jail when she clearly is innocent), lost wages, and defamation of character. That should be worth something! The bad news is that my mom won't be able to see “Evil Betty” turn her skin inside out like that slug I mentioned before. I'm sure she's happy to settle for this.

I still say that once all of this is finished we expose her in the paper. Her last assistant just quit, but was so paranoid that she would get slapped with charges, she called the police to have herself padded down in front of “Evil Betty” so that she could see she wasn't taking anything that didn't belong to her! Can you believe that? This woman must be stopped!!!

It's Wheel Watching Time!

Every once in a while I feel the need to expand my life experiences. You know, the kind of experiences that you'll remember and cherish the rest of your life. For me some of those experiences have included my travels to places such as Scotland, Hawaii, France, and the Caribbean (soon to add Costa Rica). My years as a dancer and the many performances around the United States, para-sailing off the coast of Maryland on my honeymoon, graduating High School and College, my wedding day, and many more. Well, today I got to add another one of those experiences to my list of once in a lifetime activities...I tried out for Wheel of Fortune!

Well, it's more truthful to say that I stood in line with our friends Brian and Deborah, filled out an application, and waited with the scariest, craziest bunch of faithful Wheel Watchers I've ever seen for our names to be called/drawn at random for our chance to play a mini version of the game in front of the crowd and win fabulous prizes such as t-shirts and hats! I didn't actually want to be on Wheel of Fortune, I just wanted to be a bystander to the chaos.

So, we were crammed into a gymnasium where the air conditioning obviously didn't work while they blared country music to the highest degree of annoyance. We were looking at each other like the Wheel of Fortune people were so stupid, stereotyping Southerners like that. We thought that it was bad form, until we looked around and noticed that everyone else there was dancing in place and singing the songs word for word. I guess we were the stupid ones.

After waiting for about an hour inside, which felt more like 3 hours, they stopped the country music and blared the theme song. The whole crowd roared with excitement and anticipation. Would this be the big break they were waiting for? Suddenly the “Pat on the road” (Marty) and “Vanna on the road” (Heidi) ran on stage and the horrors began. They drew 5 names at a time and with each name they called I was thanking my lucky stars I wasn't one of them.

There were two women standing behind us who were so pissed off. Apparently they were getting all of the puzzles way before any of the contestants on stage and they needed to be the ones on stage! Why weren't their names called?! It wasn't fair!!! Boo-frickin'-hoo people!!! I can't describe all of the types of people that were there because that would take all night...but I think it's safe to say that we were the most normal.

The host was a cross between crazy Tom Cruise, Ryan Seacrest and speed...not necessarily in that order. He was so high strung and ballistic that we were afraid to make him angry. We're all convinced that he would slit our throats if we took a wrong step, or answered a question incorrectly. With all of his jumping and energy he also managed to sweat through his entire shirt. The “Vanna” of the show also scared me with her quirkiness and energy. She was so skinny that we have decided that she hates her job and herself, and the only way she can control her life is to control her eating. I'm sure she hates her body, too. We're also convinced that Marty and Heidi hate each other. They are so happy and friendly to each other on stage, they probably want to rip out each other's eyes in the travel bus.

So, even though our names weren't called, and we didn't win fabulous cash and prizes, we are better people for having this life-changing experience to cherish and take with us always.

Birthday boat ride

I want to thank all of you who wished me a happy birthday on the completion of my 1st quarter century of life. I have now left early twenties and am now officially in my mid twenties. Holy crap...I can't believe I can say that, but I can honestly say that I'm happy with where I am in my life. I wouldn't want to be 21 again and still have three more years of college, or 18 and have no idea where my life was going. I especially wouldn't want to be in high school. I wouldn't mind being 4 again and playing all day, but not if it comes with having to go all through school again.

So, on my 25th birthday Morgan took me out to lunch with his mom and afterwards morgan was nice enough to accompany me to Savannah and we went out on Luci and Kevin's boat with them. (I work with Luci at Dawson + Wissmach). The weather was perfect...sunny and not too hot, and the company was fun and the day was relaxing. We topped it off with a trip to the ice cream parlor! Can't get any better than that!

Morgan gave me an awesome digital camera...which we used to take this picture. It's a digital elf and the color is "vivacious violet". If you don't know what it looks like you should definitely check it out.

Thanks again, love you all!

Breaking the Segregated Bread

This past weekend Morgan, his mom, Pat, and I went to Atlanta to celebrate Morgan's 28th birthday. I wanted to take him somewhere to have fun and get out of the backwards South (I know Atlanta is in the South, but it's a metropolis so it's much more mainstream). We all had a great time going to Six Flags and the new Georgia Aquarium (awesome). We had a fabulous dinner atop the Westin hotel on their 71st floor in their revolving Sun Dial Restaurant where we ingested exquisite food while taking in the breathtaking 360 view of the city. Each time we looked out the window there was a different view. (There was some question at one point as to whether we were moving, or the walls around us...I think we decided that we were in fact stationary, while the whole city rotated around us! Ha!)

We ran into some unpleasant situations such as the TRAFFIC that amassed out of nowhere and the fact that I went the wrong way on one of the 50 Peachtree Streets and we missed seeing the High Museum extension by Renzo Piano because by the time we got there it was closed. At least we got some good exterior photos. And, of course, there was later that night when I almost ran out of gas. For as many cars there are in Atlanta it amazes me that there only seems to be two or three gas stations! Luckily Pat leaned out the window and asked where one was. It was about two miles away and each time we stopped at a light we seemed to be next to the same person. He got tired of us asking “are we there yet?” and “how much farther?”. By the time we got there he yelled out his window at us “CHEVRON!” and pointed wildly. Thank you, sir, whoever you were.

But, the big conundrum, if you will, happened Friday night. We checked into our hotel, got lost on Peachtree, missed the museum, almost ran out of gas, and ate dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. (Full day, huh?) This last item is what I am going to speak of.

I expect (unfortunately) and know that some parts/people of the South still wish that there was segregation, and think that whites and blacks are not equal. These people are the most unintelligent, backward, and cruel people...something you don't really expect to see in a futuristic metropolis such as Atlanta, even more odd, at the Cheesecake Factory in a very unassuming fashion.

We were seated at a very nice table and our drink orders were taken. Next came the bread. It was a WHITE French loaf, very tasty. Nothing out of the ordinary. Our food orders were placed and casual conversation ensued. As we were sitting there, we started noticing a very startling trend...the color of the bread compared to the color of the patrons. We had a couple sitting next to us who were African American, and an African American couple sitting in a booth behind Morgan. On their tables sat a basket full of BROWN pumpernickel bread. In the next booth was a group of four white patrons, with loafs of WHITE French bread, and the same at the table next to us with a Caucasian family of four. One couple was finished and left and they were replaced by another African American couple, and out came the BROWN pumpernickel bread! At this point we are laughing, absolutely beside ourselves with the sheer craziness. For sure, this can not be happening. This has to be a strong coincidence! But, no! As we were leaving the restaurant Morgan and I took a trip around the floor and covertly snooped around at the tables and everyone had segregated bread! It was like it was color coded!

What is really disturbing about this was that the servers didn't ask us what kind of bread we wanted, they just plopped it down on the table. So, what are they saying? What if we wanted pumpernickel bread? Would we be rejected? Would we be breaking the rules of the corporation of the Cheesecake Factory? I say bring on the pumpernickel! Next think you know we won't be able to have chocolate cake!

The Twilight Zone

My mom recently gave me these pictures as part of an early birthday gift. She had been going through some photos and happened across her high school senior class picture from 1970 and my high school senior class picture from 1998. Is it just me or is anyone else weirded out by how identical we look?

All I want to do is post!!!

I've been trying for the last 30 minutes to post on my freakin' blog (which I never do) and I can't seem to do it. The scanner that we have no longer has the cd it came with so it won't work on my new laptop. So, I turned on the iMac and it doesn't work on that either. So, I turned on our older PC thinking that it has to have the driver installed on it...but no. Now I'm back on the laptop and tried to download the driver but I got an error! All I want to do is scan some pictures so I can blog!!! I guess I'll go try again.

No Pity Allowed

Warning: Very depressing blog ahead. Turn back now...or just know that you've been warned.

Every so often I go through one of these spells in my life where I feel as though I'm completely alone and isolated. I think it started when I was in my teenage years and went through a two month bout of clinical depression and the feelings of cynicism and doubt and self hatred (some say I had been congealed) have just carried over (not so strong anymore, thankfully).

This week's episode is about friends, or lack thereof. I know I have friends, very close friends, I just feel as though they have all but disappeared. I know they're out there, but I feel I no longer have a place in their lives. I feel like I have been demoted to “acquaintance”, or “old friend”. This may have to do with the fact that ALL of my friends live in a different city than I do, most are actually across the country or in a different country. I used to be so close to all of them, but I have been relegated to someone who receives an occasional e-mail (especially from those who live overseas).

So, this begs the question...what's wrong with me? Do I not know how to make meaningful relationships last? I have had a string of very close friends who just disappear from my life. Is that my fault or has everyone else's life just moved on without me? I feel more than disposable. I have always had a small, close group of friends, I'm not one to have a lot of acquaintances. I've never needed quantity, having as many people as possible around me, just quality. I put a lot of myself into my relationships and have a tendency to trust and have the possibility of being taken advantage of (that, thankfully, has never happened to my knowledge).

So, all I can do is look inward and try to be the best friend to people as I can be. I guess when it comes down to it I really just miss my friends terribly. Why can't I make meaningful friends who live in my town? That would be helpful. I guess the fact that I tend to choose my friends carefully makes it difficult. Sometimes I wish I weren't so picky, that I was outgoing. But, I have to work with what I have. It also has to do with the fact that when I meet someone new, I always think that they don't like me (it's those damn insecurities). Maybe I'm too shy and don't take enough chances....

Or, I could just be utterly boring. :o)

All I know is that no matter what, I'll always have my best friend in my husband.

The Neverending Story...

Morla is the newest addition to our expanding family...named after the tortoise in the Neverending Story...if you need to ask why then you clearly aren't looking at her picture. Ok, for those who still don't get it, she's a tortoiseshell cat (her markings). Glad I could clear that up for you. Anyway, I brought her home from work on Monday (I adopted it from a co-worker who found it wandering the streets of Savannah). I called Morgan about 4 times just to make sure he was ok with me bringing home another cat. He was pretty open to the idea so I was excited. What I didn't expect was Morgan completely falling in love with her and usurping all of Morla's time. "Let's go play with the kitty", "Can't we let the kitty out now?". Geez, this boy is obsessed! He even came home at lunch to play with her. We haven't introduced our other two cats to her yet - we're taking it slow and letting them get used to her smell, but I'm sure some fur will still fly. Anyway, welcome home Morla!

I'm growing green!

All through college and my architectural studies I tended to field questions from my friends and family about the profession, mainly what I wanted to do in the profession - what direction I wanted to take once I had graduated. For the longest time I was uncertain how to answer this question because frankly, I didn't know. As my studies took me further into the great expanse of possibilities that architecture offers, I noticed that my attention was shifting in the “green” direction, otherwise known as sustainable design. I won't bore you with the technicalities, but in short, sustainable design is a way of designing a building and the site around the building in a way that promotes energy efficiency, recycling of materials (or the use of recyled materials), water efficient landscaping, and other techniques used to harness natural energy such as solar panels and alternative heating and cooling techniques. It's just a more environmentally friendly way to build, and in turn creates a better, and healthier, environment for people to live and work in.

I started a new job about three months ago at a firm that uses these principles in designing many of their buildings, and they encourage everyone in the firm to take that direction as well...that was one of the main reasons I wanted to work there. So, yesterday I took my first step in the green direction. After three weeks of studying, I took the LEED professional accreditation exam...and passed! LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, and is a program created by the USGBC. It is based on a credit/point system, and is used to certify buildings that meet enough standards to be considered “green”. After passing their accreditation exam, I am now a LEED accredited professional and can help streamline the process of making buildings more sustainable and healthy...and boy am I exhausted. That test was one of the hardest I've ever had to take, I can only imagine what the Architectural Licensing Exams are going to be like. At least I still have two more years to go before I have to worry about that.

Different Worlds...

As you may have read on Morgan's blog, we went to the European Spa yesterday to have a couple's massage as part of our Valentine's Day celebration. We decided to celebrate it yesterday instead of Tuesday since we had the whole day to spend with each other. He is correct in saying that I explained the ground rules of a massage, but he didn't really follow them exactly. Normally when I get a massage, I change into my robe and slippers and enjoy sitting in the "meditation room", maybe drink a cup of tea, and relax before it's my turn. Morgan did go into the locker room to change, and came out in his little robe and slippers...and his boxers (just in case? I'm not sure). Instead of relaxing, he decides to pick up the first book that is readily available...the World Atlas. He decides to read the WORLD ATLAS. Did you know that the United States has a 1% growth rate compared to Brazil's 2.5%? I do.

So, we are lead into the massage room and once the women leave we strip down and get under the sheets of our separate tables (sorry, no funny business). Once they start the massage I enjoy the warm aromatherapy oils being rubbed into my skin and having my muscles relaxed and de-stressed while Morgan is squirming as his masseuse touches the bottom of his feet and he tries to kick her to "send her a signal". After the massages are over I feel rejuvenated and fresh...he feels like an oiled down piece of man meat...

I lead him back to his locker room where he takes twice and long as I do to get ready to go and as we are leaving the spa he turns to me and in all seriousness says "Let's agree to never speak of what just happened". And thus concludes our day at the spa. To those of you who are still wondering about the boxers...I made him take them off.

I guess I should be happy that he doesn't like being rubbed down with oil by a complete stranger...maybe next time (yeah, right) I'll request a male for him...wouldn't that be a better story!

Happy Valentine's Day

Mac and Ady wish you a Happy Valentine's Day (and their neurotic mother, too)!

I've still got it! Do you?

You Passed 8th Grade Math

Congratulations, you got 10/10 correct!

Could You Pass 8th Grade Math?

True Allegiance

I find myself in the middle of a sticky situation...at least it is for me. For Morgan, it's cut and dry. The Broncos beat the Patriots this weekend in what was a great game (it was even more sweet because no one was picking them to win). I have, being born in Colorado, been a Bronco fan for life (not like Morgan who waited until he was seven to get a clue...sorry honey). But, growing up I was heavily influenced by my father who's team is the Steelers(he was born and raised in Pennsylvania). Growing up in a household of two men (my dad and my brother) I learned to love football and enjoy Sundays at home, and the Steelers were our team, but I always had a soft spot for the Broncos. I also learned a lot about the game. So, you can now see my dilema. The Steelers have beaten the Colts (yeah!) and are now poised to go into Denver for the AFC Championship game.

What do I do? Do I take allegiance with my dad, the one who nurtured and cared for me and put band-aids on my boo-boos? Or do I go back to my roots and take allegiance with Morgan, my loving husband and the one who will be taking care of me in my old age? If I go against the Broncos I run the risk of being slowly poisoned in my Sunday pancakes...so really it is a matter of life and death.

Please help,

Baffled in Bluffton...

Boise surprise

I had no plans to travel this Christmas, I was actually looking forward to spending a quiet holiday at home and taking the week I had off to go to the gym and get an oil change...I know, sounds very glamorous. Fortunately, I was saved from my car and body maintenance by Morgan. For Christmas he gave me a plane ticket to Boise to visit my family. He was going to give me the itinerary on Christmas eve but my grandmother sent us a Christmas card we received a week before and it said for me to have a "good trip West". I was very confused and then I turned to look at Morgan and he was for a loss of words. His surprise had been spoiled but it was still a great gift. Don't worry, Grandma, he's not mad at you.

We both had our mothers over for Christmas morning and then at one in the afternoon I boarded a plane and arrived in Boise at 8:15 pm (after a long layover in Atlanta). I spent my first day visiting with my brother, Ben, and his wife, Andrea, and their kids Kate (6 years old) and Wyeth (3 years old). Ben and I went downtown for dinner where Andrea works and I was amazed at how much downtown has really grown.

I spent Tuesday with my dad and step-mom shopping and eating...two best things! We had dinner at a new restaurant downtown called Leku Ona, which means "good place". It is located on the Basque Block (where I did my thesis) and it's the first Basque fine dining restaurant. They just completed the renovation and opened early in December. I remember when I was doing my thesis last year that the executive director of the Basque Museum and Cultural Center gave me the plans for the new restaurant and couldn't wait for it to be under way. The food was delicious (we stayed away from the cow tongue - a delicacy!).

On Wednesday my dad and I, along with my dad's nephew (by marriage a couple times over) went to the Boise State U vs. Boston College MPC Computers Bowl Game and the Bronco Stadium. It wasn't looking too good for a while but we came back and was in a good position to win but they just couldn't come back as far as they needed to. It was a really good game regardless...especially when it started to hail! After the game we had a lot of family over for dinner.

Thursday I spent the day relaxing with the family and then went to Ben's house to have dinner with his group and my mom who had also flown out for a week and is going to be there for Wyeth's third birthday which is tomorrow. Friday I spent with my best friend, Jayna, and her two kids Grace (2 1/2) and Caroline (3 months). Kelsey, our very close friend from high school was also in town and joined us to hang out and watch a movie. It was great to see both of them, it's too bad we had such a short time to visit.

Well, that just about wraps up my vacation...none of which would have happened without the very generous gift from my husband.

Thinking oustide the box (Christmas gift box)

I haven't been that great about keeping up with my blog lately, but that doesn't mean that I haven't been busy. Oh, just a side note, I went back to see "Pride and Prejudice" at the new theatre and they now have water bottles for sale behind the counter! Since I started my new job in Savannah I have been leaving earlier and coming home later (with the commute and extended hours through the end of the year). Then after work I try and get to the gym which means that I'm not home until 8pm sometimes....sometimes later. I've been trying to eat better which is difficult at this time of the year, especially when people are bringing in cookies and candy for the holidays but not impossible. Anyway...

I know that Christmas is coming and people around you are asking what you want for Christmas and everything seems so hectic but I want to remind people to stop for a minute and think of how others less fortunate are spending their Christmas/Holiday season. Do we really need all of this stuff that people are giving us? Probably not in most cases. We are lucky to even have a roof over our heads and food on our table. I urge people to think outside their families and into others this holiday season and give to those who can't even afford a Christmas dinner.

Last year Morgan and I sponsored two children from different families from the Boys and Girls Club of Bluffton. They give their Christmas wishes along with their clothing sizes and we went shopping for them and delivered the gifts to the Boys and Girls Club. I can't tell you how great that made us feel. To know that we shared a piece of happiness with strangers who are in need of extra attention. Whether through poverty, sickness, etc. these families need our help. This year Morgan and I are sponsoring a family from the same club and are eager to help out and give what we can...even when our pockets are tight.

I'm not preaching to people and telling them what they should or shouldn't be doing with their money this year...that's the last thing that I would want, but I think that a lot of times we forget to look around and outside of ourselves...and this is the perfect time and opportunity.

Organizations:
Boys and Girls Club of Bluffton 843-706-2300
Salvation Army (angel tree)
Churches

what a rip-off

Morgan and I finally ventured out to the new SeaTurtle movie theatre that my former architecture firm (KRA, Inc.) designed. The building is beautiful and the layout is very clear...the carpet could be better but that's ok. We paid for the tickets online and used one of the kiosks inside the lobby to print out our tickets and were amazed with how quick and painless it was. We decided to fork over the money for concessions since it was our first time there. Morgan ordered popcorn and a soda and I ordered sour patch kids (my favorite) and tried to order a bottle of water. I was told that the bottles of water were only for sale out of the drink machine in the hallway...here's where it goes downhill.

We enter into the hallway after giving our tickets to the attendant and walk over to the soda/water machine. First of all, they wanted $3.00 for a bottle of water! After I got over that shock I tried to feed the machine three dollar bills but it wouldn't take them...it wouldn't even try to take them. So I trudged back to the concession stand and asked for three dollars worth of quarters...the machine still wouldn't take my money. So back I went and asked where else I could get water. She handed me a small cup and said that I could take the cup and get water out of the water fountain that was behind me! I almost laughed in her face. In the whole establishment's concession stand they did not have a single bottle of water nor did they have a water option on their soda machines (fountain drink machine). This was very annoying. So I had to get a lemonade which did not go well with sour fruit candy.

After spending who knows how much money on building such a great place you would at least think that they would have on hand one of the Earth's most important and plentiful resources...but no, it was there taunting me from behind the glass of the soda machine. Next time I'm taking my own water...and possibly my own candy...take that Seymour Turtle!

10 things I'm most thankful for...(not necessarily in order)

1. my wonderful, loving husband
2. family
3. health
4. great new job (Dawson + Wissmach Architects in Savannah)
5. amazing friends
6. my furry cats
7. the fact we can live remotely comfortable and we don't have to worry about where our next meal is coming from
8. we have the capacity and means to help others less fortunate
9. love
10. pie :o)

I've been topped...

So, last week I wrote about my crazy week and titled it "top this"...not really expecting anyone to try, but my mother managed to top my whole week with one of her crazy days. And the story goes...

My mother's ex-boss, let's just call her "evil Betty", issued out a warrant for my mom's arrest last Thursday. When my mom left her job Betty (who is a paranoid delusional) accused my mom of stealing some of her computer disks. She followed my mom out to her car and demanded that she open her gym bag and cooler to show her what was in them...can we say private property? Anyhow, Betty has accused my mom of "breach of trust with the intent to defraud". I guess my mom supposedly is going back to school to become a real estate agent so she can therefore use some bootlegged copy of a software system of a shriveled old hag whose reputation is less than stellar in the community...yeah, right.

So, on Monday my mom dutifully turned herself in at the police station at 10am. From there they took her IN HANDCUFFS to the jail where they made her change into an orange prison jumpsuit and sat her on a bench to wait for her bond hearing that was scheduled for 3pm. She was offered what she said "resembled food" but didn't accept it. At 4pm she was notified that the "victim" had been contacted. My mother was very confused as she said, "are you talking about the woman who put out the warrant for my arrest?" (since my mom is actually the victim). The woman said yes, and that Betty had requested/demanded to be at the bond hearing, but CONVENIENTLY couldn't make it until the next day! My mom naively says, " does this mean that I go home now and come back tomorrow morning?" (she's so cute). No, that ass bag made my mom spend the night in jail. At least she ended up in the "penthouse" which is a single cell.

So, there my mom is, sitting in her single cell, in an orange jumpsuit, on her cot. There is something SO wrong with this picture. Oh, did I mention that this woman has done this to three other women who have worked for her? Yep, that's right...and she's lost every case. The next morning my mom goes to her bond hearing and what do you think happened? BETTY DIDN'T SHOW UP! I knew she wouldn't. It is her way to twisting the system to make my mom spend the night in jail. Finally, my mom was released and returned home sounding very tired and weary. But, my mom always finds some way to turn things on a positive note...she made a new friend in jail...they exchanged e-mail addresses! Way to go mom, making contacts for Betty's demise! he he he

I'm just glad that she's home and safe. She does have a trial date set but is hoping that the charges will be dropped before it goes to trial. She has a great lawyer. Suffice it to say, everyone in my mom's life is pissed. Betty is always thinking that people are out to get her...what she doesn't realize is that now they really are...

If anyone else is outraged...please comment below...I will relay your condolences to my little convict! he he he...she sure trumped my week!

top this...

Monday:
1. spent all day sniffing toxic markers at work rendering a site plan...killed many brain cells
2. gym class...ouch...get free candy though

Tuesday:
1. get to work and spill packet of instant oatmeal all over kitchen (luckily I had a back up packet)
2. while making oatmeal, try to eat a mini banana muffin...choke and shoot muffin out my nose (then proceed to sniff and swallow what was left of it)
3. go to lunch at Atlanta Bread Co., while waiting for food I spill my whole cup of water all over my booth and table. ABC loses my order, then forgets about me twice, and messes up my order once. Takes 45 minutes to get my food (half a salad and a bowl of soup).
4. go to bank to deposit paycheck, get stuck behind bad, slow drivers. end up taking a 1 and a half hour lunch.
5. took Morgan's mom out for dinner for her birthday...roasted marshmellows at the table

Wednesday:
1. traffic jam on the way to work
2. Morgan couldn't leave work because he was too busy. I went to KFC for him, spent 30 minutes trying to get the order right...had a 15 minute lunch (I guess it made up for Tuesday's lunch)
3. gym class...ouch
4. spend night watching "Star Wars: Episode III" and stuffing face with pizza.

Thursday:
1. traffic jam on the way to work
2. go back to ABC for coffee and muffin with Morgan. Mess up both our drink orders (hot chocolate and a mocha - no chocolate in either drink)
3. my mom stands me up for lunch because she has a warrant out for her arrest....long story involving Betty Batson wrongly accusing her of stealing computer disks....I hate that woman. Apparently she has had warrants out to arrest at least three other women who have worked for her (lost all of the cases). My mom has to turn herself in to the police on Monday to get "processed" (mug shot, fingerprints...etc.)
4. try to meet Morgan for a last minute lunch at Dairy Queen but the atm was being worked on so I couldn't get cash. Dairy Queen charges you to use an atm card. Morgan refuses to have me unjustly charged so I don't get my ice cream...he says he wasn't hungry anyway.
5. on my way home, I am met with police cars blocking the 278 entrance to Buckwalter so I have to drive to 170, then 46, then take the back way, thus making my trip 30 minutes instead of five.
6. Morgan picks up dinner on the way home from work. He gets stuck in traffic...still waiting for him to return.

Friday:
any predictions?

The dark side does Savannah

Last night Morgan and I went to my co-workers Halloween party in Savannah, GA. Morgan in his Emperor costume and me in my Darth Vader/Vixen costume...the costumes were received well at the party. Everyone was saying how gross Morgan's mask was and how realistic it was, and according to one of the two or three pirates there, I had the best cleavage at the party (he also tried to pick me up two times right in front of Morgan). I think he said "with that cleavage you COULD rule the Empire". Funny, pirate, very funny. Morgan had a woman in a monkey mask try and kiss him...she also thought he was dressed as the devil ( he he he...I think that there was only one person at the party who knew exactly who Morgan was and it was a 8 year old boy). All in all we had a nice time. We didn't know that many people there so we basically stood around with each other...I was mostly hiding from the pirate, but there were some great costumes. Thanks Alison (my co-worker) for inviting us and may the force be with you...

I owe Morgan a lot more than a kiss...

Today I paid off my car!!!! I say "I" because I was the one who went down to the bank and gave them the money. It was actually Morgan who paid it off for me to help me with the upcoming burdon of my mortgage...I mean student loans. They are going to eat my soul for the next 25 years but the money that I am saving by paying my car off a year early is going to be very helpful. Morgan has given me this money without stipulations...but, those of you who know Morgan have to know that there will be a catch somewhere, sometime...and I'm sure we know along what lines his catch will be...(lifetime supply of Popeye's maybe?) I think I might have just made a deal with the devil...but he's the sweetest devil I've ever met!!! I love you Morgan!

Am I even responsible enough to be a role model?

Tonight I became a "guest speaker" for the first time in my life...and it was in front of the toughest crowd I could imagine...the girl scouts. Sure they look all cute and innocent but girls, especially 12 year old girls, can be brutal. Therefore, I was somewhat reluctant to stand in front of them and talk on architecture but they are working towards their architecture and environmental design badges and I was approached by one of my colleagues to speak with the girls. It was a great feeling to impart some of my $100,000 education onto them (it had to come in handy sometime, right!?) ...and they didn't laugh at me or make me cry so that's good! Damn you cookie fiends!

I'm superhero cool!

Your Superhero Profile

Your Superhero Name is The Golden Tornado Your Superpower is Cursing Your Weakness is Puppets Your Weapon is Your Star Darts Your Mode of Transportation is Llama

What's your Superhero Name?

Hey Tina! Come over here and eat your dinner you fat lard!

tread carefully

Recently my family has experienced some close calls on the road. Friday my mom was on the interstate and it only took a second for her to look away when her tire caught the edge of the shoulder and as she tried to merge back onto the road she over-corrected a couple of times and ended up losing control of the car, running into a ditch, flipping and rolling her car and smashing into trees. She was luckily wearing her seatbelt and her small dog that was in the car was thrown from the car but was miraculously unscathed. On being released from the hospital and going back to see her car she has no idea or reason as to why she survived. The car is completely unsalvageable.

Sunday night (yesterday) my brother in Idaho was in a bad car accident involving someone who ran a red light. He was lucky in that she hit the front end of his car on his side. A second later and he would have been hit straight on. Again, his car is totaled, but he walked away. He has some minor pain, but at least he has his life.

So, I'm begging everyone...PLEASE BE CAREFUL...I don't want this trend to continue!

digging up dirt

This weekend we took the opportunity to do some "Spring cleaning" (with our two season climate here, it may be Spring, I stopped paying attention...all I know is that it doesn't snow). We threw out a lot of junk as we were sorting, but we also found some great treasures. We found cards that we gave to each other when we were first dating, my old journals which recounted the time we have spent together, small gifts that we exchanged, and photos of each other. I think the photos were the most disturbing. Morgan was overly skinny and looked like a child and I was a bit chubby as I was trying to get my metabolism under control from my bout of anorexia when I was a teenager. Luckily over the years we have filled out and evened out. Fortunately, for all of you, we burned them so you wouldn't have to witness the horror...we were only thinking of you...the viewers (just kidding, we didn't burn them, but they are safe from the public). So what I will leave you with is a picture I came across of me at my first drafting table in Colorado. I was about three or four. I guess it was early on that I wanted to be an architect, or a superstar...nice shades, huh?

the lush bus

...Lost in time? More like lacking in sanity. Sunday Morgan and I embarked on an adventure of a lifetime. Not just because this was going to be my first NFL game, but rather because of our travels along the way. I am, for the sake of the people and their families, going to leave out names and associations, lest it be detrimental to them, but...you know who you are (and I shouldn't be so nice!).

Morgan and I caught a ride to the Denver Broncos game with a group belonging to a certain club on Hilton Head. They had chartered a bus to take them down to the game and through acquaintances we were able to secure two seats. This saved us money and the hassle of having to drive ourselves to Jacksonville. Looking back on it I'm positive we would have dared to give it a go ourselves.

We were warned that this particular group tended to be a "bit rowdy, raucous, and drunk" but I gave them the benefit of the doubt because after all, we were leaving at 7:30 in the morning. It couldn't be THAT bad...or could it? We arrived to the scene of a woman filling up her 16 oz. water bottles with vodka. She had, as she described, her bus bottle and her game bottle. The bus pulled out at eight and around two minutes after eight the first rounds of beer and bloody marys were being served. This combined with a man next to us chanting "Sponge Bob Square Pants...clap, clap...clap, clap, clap" over and over and whining because no-one brought a cartoon movie to watch on the way down. I honestly thought that he was mentally challenged for about an hour before I realized that he had just shown up drunk.

At ten we stopped for a smoke break because I guess these people can go all night while they sleep without a cigarette but not three hours for a bus trip. This was followed by an enthralling tale about a woman planning a bachelorette party for a friend and she had bought a cake pan in the shape of a penis and everything else imaginable. And I quote..."Let's just say that by the end of the day my stereo remote no longer had batteries in it". You get the picture. By the time we arrived it was 11:15 and the fourth round of drinks had come and gone. Time for us to jump ship. And we did just that.

The game was awesome...of course that's because we won, but it was a fantastic experience to be in that environment. Although next time I think it would be more fun to be in the stadium of the team you are rooting for (obviously). I think my favorite quote, and one that I had never heard of before was from a Jacksonville fan complaining of the referee's call..."Get off your knees ref., you're blowing all of the calls!"

Alas, as the game was winding down we knew the inevitable was coming. We would have to get back on the bus, for another three hours. We trodded back to the bus with the hope that most of the people would just pass out on the bus and leave us to ride in quiet. Boy were we wrong. It managed to just get louder.

We left at 5 p.m. to the chantings of Sponge Bob and the woman behind us crying over who knows what. I guess she's a mean drunk and a crier...so we were told. She kept screaming at a guy named Henry (I know I said no names but this is vital to the story). She would lean in between our seats and scream "Oh Henry, My candy bar!". Not only was this the most shrill voice but it came with the smell of alcohol emanating into our very small comfort zone...or shall I say uncomfortable zone.

Most of the people were more rowdy and I had never seen people knock back so many beers in such little time. At one time there was a chugging contest. While we were on our way out of town we were following the buses of the Denver Broncos who had a police escort, although most of the people on the bus thought that we were being pulled over. About an hour and a half into the trip home we had the "navigator and ringleader" try to get the bus to sing "row, row, row your boat" in rounds. Well, you can imagine how far that got...

Eventually it was time for the announcements and thanks to those who put the trip together. This started by the man who we shall call "Fishin' mission". This was the name of his boat (and the name embroidered on his shirt. He got everyone's attention first by almost falling down the stairs of the bus and then by calling, "Everyone on the boat...listen up". When he was corrected and told that we were not in fact on a boat but on a bus he replied "well, my boat is named Fishin' mission..." Was that supposed to make sense? I hope not.

So, at this point we had the bus singing Sponge Bob, Row, row, row your boat, the Eagles fight song all at one time and some deranged old man who thought we were on a boat and a crier screaming about her candy bar. At one point two men, Henry and Fishin' mission, came up to us and started yelling and being belligerent to Morgan and myself claiming that they shouldn't have let Morgan on the f*&(^% bus with a Bronco jersey on. They were basically sitting on my lap leaning over to him at which point Morgan grabbed Henry's hand and screamed "FIRST OF ALL, WHY ARE YOU SCREAMING?! I'M SITTING RIGHT HERE!!!" The man had no response to this and walked away.

We had another smoke break and really wished that the bus driver would just take off without them, I mean, would they even know the difference? We miraculously made it back to the island and to our cars. Morgan and I had smoke on our heels as we sprinted to our car to make sure we were long gone before any of them got into their cars. What I don't understand (among everything else) is that this group is a highly professional and respected group of people in the community (or so I've been told). I didn't quite see that. It was the most unprofessional group of people I've ever been around. It really felt as though were we babysitting children.

You know that trick that when parents don't want a child to do something like smoke for example, they make them smoke a whole pack of cigarettes so they get so sick and never do it again? Well, if anyone out there has a problem with alcohol...call us, boy do we have a contact number for you!

Craziest quote of the trip: "Well she didn't get all that cocaine in her nose by herself, I'll tell you that..."

who knew?

You are

What Rejected Crayon Are You?

GREEN!

Your Power Color Is Lime Green

At Your Highest: You are adventurous, witty, and a visionary. At Your Lowest: You feel misunderstood, like you don't fit in. In Love: You have a tough exterior, but can be very dedicated. How You're Attractive: Your self-awareness and confidence lights up a room. Your Eternal Question: "What else do I need in my life?"

What's Your Power Color?

Caroline Mae Haws

Congratulations to Jayna (my best friend from high school) and her husband Tyler on the arrival of their new baby! All are healthy and happy in Boise with lots of family and friends around them (I wish I could be there!). Caroline was born September 23rd, 2005 at 2pm Mountain Standard time and was 6 lbs., 12 oz. and 20 inches long. Jayna and Tyler also have a 2 year old (Grace) who is positively thrilled to have a little sister! Congratulations again!

mmmm...pig meat

Yesterday Morgan and I made a trip up to Columbia, SC with our friend Stacy to go to a USC football game (as posted on Morgan's blog). On the way there we stopped in Walterboro, SC for a late lunch at Duke's Barbeque. Now one of my weaknesses is bbq sauce as I will put it on just about anything so I was quite excited. We pulled up and as we walked in were immediately transported into a different way of living...real Southern living. Nothing much that I hadn't seen before though, except for the loaves of white bread on the table. That was about the most southern thing I think I've ever seen. I mean, they were still in their plastic bags from the grocery store, one just thrown on to each table. It was awesome. That and the man behind us in the next booth with a "Hog-O" t-shirt. I think it was some local company but it had something to do with hogs and pigs and a store and Morgan thought that it was just the funniest thing he's ever seen.

They have a large buffet with fried chicken, fried okra, onion rings, corn fritters, hush puppies, pulled pork (with about nine different sauces to choose from), cabbage, collard greens, green beans, mac and cheese, potato salad, coleslaw, and much more...i can't really remember it all. It was immense. Morgan nearly ate his way out of the restaurant. I didn't have any of the white bread but I have to admit that their pulled pork was some of the best I've ever had.

Boring!

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile but one thing about me that everyone should know is that I'm a great procrastinator, a perfectionist, and I like feedback. Those facts combined (plus between work and the gym) makes it difficult for me to post. I hardly have any desire to post anything when I never know if anyone actually reads what I write. Noone besides Morgan has ever commented...well, Andy did once, so how am I supposed to know that what I'm writing is actually read? It's really easy to do...you just click on the link below any entry that say "comments". This usually has a "0" by it. Once you click on that you can sign in as yourself or you can post anonymously, and if you don't know how to sign in as yourself, post anonymously and tell your name in your comments. For the love of God will someone comment? Then I might get an urge to start writing something. On the other hand, if all of my blogs are completely boring and annoying, please tell me that I'm wasting your time because that means I'm wasting mine as well...just a thought.

I'm so going back to being a vegetarian

So, I could almost forgive the girl who walked into Dairy Queen and stood in line behind us, then proceeded to ask the employee behind the counter (in a nasty, irritated voice) "Do you have anything non-dairy?" I mean, at least she knew that she was at Dairy Queen, even though it was a ridiculous question and Daphne and I had to leave immediately since we were laughing so hard...i mean...it's DAIRY Queen.

Like I said, at least she knew where she was. Today, Morgan and I decided to have lunch at Chick-fil-A. Always a safe, clean, predictable environment...or so we thought. I drove into the parking lot and was stuck behind a car that was moving unnecessarily slow. That should have been my first sign that something was amiss. Morgan and I made it into the restaurant before the slow drivers, who were elderly and needed a little more time to move around...that's understandable. So, they end up standing behind us in line. We place our order and are waiting for our food at the counter when we hear the employee next to us talking to the elderly couple saying "This is Chick-fil-A, all we have is chicken". I guess they had inquired about beef. We had a slight chuckle, maybe they had never been to a Chick-fil-A before... that's understandable.

We figured that their question was answered and that they would order chicken and eat their lunch and the incident was over until we heard the same employee say "No, this isn't McDonald's". Ok, at this point it's getting sketchy. This couple didn't just try and order beef, but actually thought that they were in a completely different restaurant, even though they had driven (slowly) around the parking lot, and it's a pretty hard parking lot to find. Actually, the McDonald's parking lot is much easier to find and only about a quarter of a mile down the road. So, once again when they found out that it wasn't McDonald's, we figured they would still just order something and eat there. No. They then proceeded to ask for directions to McDonald's and leave the restaurant. I guess they just had a hankering for beef.

So, the slow driving is understandable, the confusion of no beef items on the menu at a fast food restaurant is understandable, traveling to...decidedly maneuvering around the parking lot...walking into the building that has a huge sign saying "Chick-fil-A"...and ordering an item that is listed on a competitor's menu...isn't really understandable.

Morgan turned to me after they had left and said, "I guess I should have known something was wrong when I heard the guy talking to his wife about a quarter pounder with cheese". Man I hope those people aren't from around here, because I don't want to be stuck behind them at Hargray while they're trying to pay their electric bill...

hot-lanta and cold broncos

So, ok...the broncos fell a little short, I can't say that I'm sad because right as they were tripping over their feet on the football field I was stuffing my face full of bruschetta and chicken marsala at the Cheesecake Factory in Atlanta. Sorry BSU, but there will be better games.

My friend Daphne called me from the game, it was about 2pm and, as she stated, "I'm a little hammered" (that's good for a "Georgia" fan). But, she was telling me about all the nice Boise people she was meeting and that she was proud to say that her best friend was from Idaho. Thanks Daphne.

So, Brenda and I took the four hour trek to Atlanta for a three day weekend of fun and relaxation. Unfortunately we didn't get any relaxation (more exhaustion) but we had tons of fun so that made up for it. We left my apartment in Bluffton around 6:45 in the morning and made it to Atlanta in four hours. We checked into the hotel and had some lunch and then we went to the High Museum of Art which was designed by Richard Meier.They had great exhibits and the building was pretty impressive. There was a jazz festival going on just down the block so we stopped by and listened to the music for awhile before heading over to the new IKEA store that just opened. That was a flippin' zoo. We drove around town a little and over to Virginia Highlands and did just a bit of shopping before making our way to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner. That concluded day one!

On Sunday we went to Six Flags Over Georgia. We got there when it opened and left when it closed! Man were my feet hurting. We rode most of the rides and had to take dramamine after one of them and take it easy for awhile. You know how they say "what goes around, comes around"? Well, Morgan was jealous that I was going to Six Flags without him because I was going to ride the Superman ride. This roller coaster angles you so that once you are in the seat, it moves you so you are facing down to the ground, so when you are moving, it's like you're flying through the air. We, of course, rode in the front and it was awesome! And, I think very comfortable. So we went back a second time to ride it. I decided to call Morgan from the line while we were waiting so I could brag about riding it and that we were going to ride it again...can anyone say "karma". We got on the ride and I started talking to Brenda about how comfortable the seats were and that if we got stuck in that position it wouldn't be so bad...ha! So the ride went off without a hitch but when it was over and they tried to put us back into the sitting position so we could get out, something malfunctioned and we were in that position for about 15 minutes. Just hanging there looking at the ground. Let me tell you...that was not comfortable. Damn it...why did I have to call Morgan? So, to make up for it I made him a t-shirt that says "my wife rode superman...without me". he he he. Without me was an afterthought.

On Monday we went back to Virginia Highlands and we also stopped by Little Five Points to do some shopping. We finally made it home late last night and we had a blast! A perfect mini trip to mark the end of summer...

Another Boise State...FIRST DOWN!!!

As I get ready to leave for a "mini break" to Atlanta with my friend Brenda, I have to say a little something about the most important time for Boise State University to win a football game. Although I will be busy going to museums, shopping, and going to Six Flags...I will be thinking of Boise State and rooting them on. Tomorrow at 5:30pm they are in Athens, Georgia to face the University of Georgia Bulldogs.

I could have gone to this game but I value my life too much to venture to that part of the state. "Georgia" fans (if you can call them that) are some of the rudest, scariest people I've ever met...and I'm sad to say that my good friend Daphne from SCAD has now joined the cult at UGA in the landscape architecture department. Traitor! I put "Georgia" in quotations because that is what they call their school. When they are asked where they go to school they respond, "Georgia". Now if you aren't from around this area you would think that these people are just downright stupid...yeah, buddy, but where in Georgia? They are so egotistical that they believe they are the only school in Georgia...maybe they are just stupid...sorry Daphne, you're mainly excluded but now that you have put a UGA sticker on your car you are walking a fine line.

So, the fans in Athens are the most republican, mean-spirited, stuck up, conservative people I've come across thus far...I'm sure there are nice UGA fans out there but if you are nice, you're not a true fan. If you drive through the town with a democratic bumper sticker you WILL be run off the road or be cussed at or have trash thrown at your car. And, if you're at the game...forget it, you better be ready to run for your life if you are on the other side since the UGA fans are drunk by 8 am. Doesn't that sound like a good time? Well, I don't think so.

So, I am opting to stay away from Athens as much as I would have loved to go. Unfortunately I will be traveling as well so I can't even watch the game on t.v. I know...I'm a bad BSU fan. All I can say is that they better beat the Bulldogs asses so I can piss some of these southern people off! I can sink to their level...well, not to the drunk by 8 am. But, I will be an hour and a half away (a safe distance) and rooting on my team. Go Broncos!!!