I Spy Chris Sligh

Actually, 17 and 14 saw the Season 6 American Idol contestant in a booth at Crown Burger in SLC this afternoon. It was 17's first Star Sighting. We teased them to ask for his autograph or ask him to serenade our table, but they didn't want to.

Since lunch for all six of us took three trays to deliver, we all walked by several times and peeked at him some more. Must be weird to have all these strangers looky-looing while you're trying to eat lunch.

After that excitement, we checked into our hotel and 20, 18, 17 and 14 all promptly fell asleep. Mike is in an adjoining room grading papers. I'm checking email and catching up on blogging; when I'm done, 14 (now awake) wants to use the computer. Then whoever is game will head to DI and REI with us to pick up some last-minute stuff and some throat soothing stuff for 18, who's feeling poorly.

Before that, however, yours truly is in need of a nap herself. With a tummy full of bacon cheese Crown Burger, fries and fry sauce, sleep won't be hard to chase down. Waking up again, that will be the bitch.

Skip the parting gifts, please!

We're gearing up to leave town. I have to pack still. Mike's revising a journal submission which I will proofread when he's finished. The cat sitter had her orientation tonight and (bless her) says she'll come twice a day (!) because we're on her way to work and why not keep the kitties on their regular feeding schedule?

Cosby was dropped off at the Pet Motel. He's been cornering PK and jumping him lately, so we couldn't leave them alone together.

The girls went into their room tonight and 14 discovered that one of the cats (probably Belita) had pooped in her duffel bag and there was a puddle of pee on top of a plastic bag on the floor. Last visit, we recommended they keep their bedroom door shut and didn't remind them this time. Plenty of access and opportunity.

All I can say is I'm DAMN glad we found it tonight--in time to wash everything that was sullied. 14 was grossed out, but a good sport, considering. Add several loads of laundry to the To Do list tonight and keep those bedroom doors closed!

Eleventh Hour Update

One more day in TX and we're off on holiday to Utard.

The haircut is sucking less. Almost everyone who's seen it has told me it's cute; can that many people be wrong? I bumped into Santos the other night while doing my Valley Girl column and he gave me a big old hug and I thought to myself, "Yeah, I've almost forgiven you."

I hung out with the stepdaughters 14 & 17 while Mike taught his weekend seminar. Saturday the girls slept until well after noon. When I got back from running errands for the trip, I took us out to get pedicures. Figured if our feet were going to be visible, why not have them look good?

After that, we trekked over to the outlet mall and met my friend, Minerva, there. I picked up 2 long sleeved T-shirts for Powell coverups and a pair of Sketchers I've been coveting that finally went on sale.

We went out for Mexican food one night and I made chicken pot pie another to use up most of the leftovers. Caught The Simpsons movie. Totally fun. Loved Homer's comments on the way into church and when disaster strikes, the folks at the church running into the bar and vice versa.

I have one more day to tie up loose ends at the office, get something together for the Sunstone session I'm moderating, orient the new cat/house sitter, and oh, PACK. Which I haven't begun to do yet.

WOn't have cell coverage or Internet access the first week we're gone--so it will be a true vacation. Hoping to do some fun reading and play in the sun without getting burned as red as the Lake Powell rocks. Wish me luck.

Valley of Bad Haircuts

Saturday, I get a bee in my bonnet for a haircut before we go to Lake Powell. I had scoped out a salon/stylist who seemed like a good bet--takes time to chat with each client, works with their hair's natural tendencies and is all for low-maintenance, stylish cuts. I called and there was an opening Saturday afternoon.

I took a seat in the cramped waiting area and grabbed a couple of magazines. Initially, I was looking for a more stylish bob than the shoulder-length one I had on, but I also found a cute shorter cut I liked.

When Santos sat me down for the pre-cut consultation, I showed him the bobs first and the shorter cut--maybe for down the road. He showed me another cut that was between the bob and the shorter cut. He was all excited about this chin length cut--I have the face shape for it, it would look great, etc. So I agreed to go for the shorter cut thinking it was more medium than short.

Well, guess what? On my first go with a new stylist, I should have gone with my original intentions to just update the bob.

This is what it looked like when I left the salon yesterday:




And this is what it looked like today, sans product and me NOT blow drying it for an HOUR.




It's low maintenance, but it's almost as bad as the stupid Chachi haircut I got in 1999 when I couldn't get in to see David the Hair God.

Which begs the question: Will I have to go back to Cali EVERY TIME I want a decent haircut?

Week In Review

We started off the week with a thunder/lightening/rain storm Monday. The storm parked over central McAllen and dumped 4-5 inches of rain just in time for the morning commute.

We took the Pathfinder instead of the lower-slung Honda and Toyota minivan and drove it through two massively flooded intersections before cutting over to another northbound road. Two SUVs had skidded off the road into a church marquee, but otherwise the route was clear and without flooding. A mile or so west of us, a tornado kicked ass on some buildings, ripping off roofs and facades for a couple of blocks.

Tuesday is kind of a blank. More rain. I sent out my second run of reports Wednesday, which will be due the week after I get back from vacation and will give me one week to make sure all the corrections have been made. Awkward timing, but it couldn't be helped.Wednesday evening brought another torrent just after we pulled into the driveway after work.

All this rain is even cooling things down. Into the 80s, that is. I'm not accustomed to summer rainstorms and keep getting caught at work sans umbrella and with weather inappropriate footwear.

Thursday night, the book group came over and we picked some upcoming selections more demanding than this month's Harriet the Spy. (I love Harriet, but I could really go for something more challenging). As with previous months, I coordinated the refreshments with the book, which left me with the options of cake and milk or tomato sandwiches. I opted for bruschetta and a sun dried tomato and feta spread instead.

Today was an improvement over last Friday. Mike got caught up in a long conference call, so I walked laps around his building and talked to his mom. She filled me in on some Lake Powell details that were helpful.

We came home for a quick bite then went to Barnes & Noble. On the night before/of the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows release. Whoops. It was a madhouse--in-store promotions, photo ops with characters, crafts, adults, kids dressed in character garb and a teenage boy with shoulder length red hair who looked like he could easily be a Weasley.

I saw one girl with an irreverent Harry hearts Ron T shirt on. Underneath it read "Roommates for 7 years. It was bound to happen." That's one alternative ending I haven't heard bandied around before.

My copy of HP should arrive via UPS tomorrow--the perfect present for our paper anniversary on Sunday! Yup, a whole year of married life under our belts. Doesn't seem like that long.

Friday the 13th

Typically, no hiccups. But today? A different story.

Twas the Day of Unpleasant Discoveries at work. Painfully slow computer. Compliance officer suggests a process change for updating my database. I CANNOT wrap my head around what he's asking me to do or why the new method is preferable to what I'm doing.

Accounting director is out today. Labor Distribution/Correction Goddess is taking a late lunch. I took a walk w/my supervisor (who saw I was distressed) and we tried to figure out the data runs and how we can get accounting people to verify the changes are made in Oracle. Instead of ME.

By then, I was Too Far Gone to be of much use. And while my day is imploding over corrections to fall's reports, I'm supposed to be prepping to run Spring reports to distribute next week. Gah. Supervisor shoos me home, so I gratefully grab my keys and leave.

I pull into the driveway, grab my stuff and check the mailbox. Out of the corner of my eye, I see something flying toward me. A bee. I wave it away with Mike's bank statement (successfully, I think) but it regroups, flies back at me and lands on my back.

I run into the garage and try to use the reflection in the Pathfinder's windows to scrape it off me. I twitch and wiggle and realize: I don't want to be IN the garage with an angry bee,do I? So I drop my bags and run back outside to check the bee in the mini van's windows. The little bugger is STILL ATTACHED to my shoulder and making progress toward my bare neck.

Of course, I completely lose it.

The meltdown I'd been trying to fight back all afternoon can no longer be contained. I shut the garage door because I don't want anyone to SEE me in full-on hysterics. I tear down the hall to the bathroom to see if the bee is still on me. I don't see it, but I'm so wound up I can't stop wailing.

I strip and hope the bee isn't in my tangled hair. I blow my nose and take a few deep breaths. Feed the cats who have been pacing hungrily since my contorted, shrieking arrival. And go to bed for a few hours.

And wake up to blog about it.

My First 39th Birthday

I hear thousands of couples got married on my birthday, thinking the luck imparted by marrying on 7/7 would bolster their love and commitment. If nothing else, it makes their anniversary easy to remember.

The girls were here for a week, so they came along on all the birthday fun, which included:

• First shift at the ward service project, painting Peggy's house inside and out
• Surprising me with batches of cupcakes and milk and rounding up all the toilers to sing Happy Birthday
• A quick lunch at Subway while we were sweaty and paint-covered
• Cleaning up so we could go to dinner at the good Chinese buffet
• Catching a performance of The Fantasticks--my all time favorite play--at the university
• Heading home for cake, ice cream and presents

We also had a celebration at the office Friday. My supervisor and I have the same birthday, and three other women in the office have birthdays within a few days of each other. So we went to lunch (Mexican buffet) and had strawberry tres leches cake (totally snagged the recipe).

I wasn't sure what to expect my first birthday away from home and family, but it pretty well rocked. Friends sent cards and lovely gifts.

Mom sent me a sumptuously decorated jewelry box and the original setting to my grandmother's wedding ring, thinking I could have it refashioned into a wedding band. I'm a sentimental boob, so I'm thinking of getting it set with another stone so I can wear it and think of Grammy.

Coming soon: highlights from the step kids' visit

Let's go on an Update!

It's Tuesday. We had a second day of thunderstorms and torrential rain midday. Coming from So Cal, I'm not used to summer rainstorms or being mindful of whether I've chosen weather appropriate footwear.

Thankfully, it cleared up by the time we had to drive to Harlingen to pick up the girls. Seventeen and 14 are here for a week's visit. They arrived hungry, so we drove around trying to find a pizza place.

I'm not that familiar with Harlingen and ended up driving the wrong way on a one-way street. When I realized there were nothing but headlights coming at me, I dropped the F-bomb and pulled over until the traffic cleared and I could turn around and beat it out of there.

Mike started calling me a potty mouth (thanks, kettle). I'm afraid it will be one of Those Moments I Will Never Live Down, like going to a choir rehearsal with curlers in my hair so I could change in the bathroom and drive to Claremont for graduation. Eight years later, I still have people reminding me about that.

After the world's slowest service at Pizza Hut (and sitting next to a mom who made me want to call CPS), we drove home. The new kitties trotted out to greet us. Cosby and Belita are a big hit with the girls--cuddly whereas PK is not. We still had to break out the squirt bottle for a few dust-ups between Bel & Cos, but overall the family felines are getting along better.

We also bought a couple of new gummy hands to replace the one Cosby chewed to bits. The green one lasted less than two hours after installation. The pink one we put up tonight has fared better--but only because Cosby is locked up for the night.

The rain brought an influx of winged antlike insects in the guest bathroom. If they're termites (entirely possible), this would rearrange our home improvement priorities for the summer. Reupholstering the clashing flowered wing chairs will have to wait.