Badass Books of 2011

Hello ladies and gents.  Well here we are, the last part of 2011.  I have to say 2011 was superior to 2010 in nearly every way.  I got a career in 2011, I got married, I went on a super honeymoon, and Scott and I made strides toward what we want in life.  I can only hope that 2012 will continue the upward trend and help us get even further along our list o' goals.  I'll send good 2012 vibes to anyone who will send them to me.  Deal?  Ok good.

Instead of doing a year in review, I thought I'd make a list of books I really enjoyed this year.  They're not necessarily books written in 2011, but I definitely read them this year.  And I liked them.  In no particular order:

1. The Help- I was really late to this bandwagon as I only started reading the book around the time the movie came out.  And because I'm one who feels the need to read any book before seeing the movie (with the exception of Jurassic Park because I was 8 when that movie came out, but I later read it and it was WAY better than the movie), I decided I wanted to read the book before I went to see it.  It was a really great book.  It's amazing how far we've come in even the past 50 years with civil rights.  I can't imagine thinking that someone had a disease because of their skin color.  People were dumb.  In case you were wondering, I saw the movie recently and really liked it too.
2. A Dog's Purpose- this one is probably one of the best books I've ever read.  I bought it as part of the huge order I made from Borders with the gift card we got for our wedding. (Thank goodness I used that before Borders went bye-bye).  I started reading on a Thursday evening before bed, and I had finished it by Sunday afternoon.  Tears, laughter, the whole nine yards.  It's a book written from the point of view of a dog as he goes through different lives trying to find his purpose in each.  If you have ever thought to yourself "I wonder what my dog thinks of everything that happens," this book is one you should read.  Obviously no one will ever really know what dogs are thinking, but I'd like to think it was something like this.  Such a great read and it really made me appreciate my furry children even more.  I recommended it to everyone I know, and it was a successful recommendation because everyone I told really liked it also.
3. The Art of Racing in the Rain- another book written from a dog's point of view.  This one isn't as upbeat as the other, and takes on more dark and adult themes.  I still cried though.
4. The Jaycee Dugard Story-  I'm not sure if that's what the book is called, but nonetheless it was a really good, if horrifying, read.  To read what that sweet little girl endured for so long, and to see how positive and graceful she has stayed throughout it all, it's remarkable.  It really puts things into perspective.
5. Bossypants- Tina Fey's "memoir" or whatever they call those.  It's hilarious.  I would lay there in bed reading it, and burst into a random fit of laughter while Scott just looked at me like I had clearly lost my mind. 
6. The Hunger Games (and Catching Fire and Mockingjay)- Oh my goodness.  These books are insane.  I read the first one in about 2 days, the second in 2, and am currently on the third, which I anticipate finishing well before I go back to work on Tuesday.  It's a young-adult series, but it's so well-written you will literally read 100 pages in what feels like five minutes.  I know Diane is eagerly awaiting me to catch up and finish the last book so we can spend hours analyzing it, much like we do every book series.

I am sure I read other books in 2011, as I tend to get through a book every few weeks on average, but those are the books that stuck out to me as books I really enjoyed.  I have a list of books I'm excited to read in the new year also.

1. Water for Elephants- again I know there's a movie but I can't see it until I read the book!  I got through the first few chapters before I got books 2 and 3 of the Hunger Games so Water for Elephants got shelved.  But I am excited to pick it back up again.
2. 11/22/63- Stephen King's thousand page thriller about a guy who is sent back in time to try and prevent JFK's assassination.  I have it on the Kindle ready to go.
3. Band of Brothers- here's one where I'm guilty of watching the movie (mini-series) before reading the book.  But, in this case, the series is absolutely phenomenal, and I've heard the book only expands on the characters you come to love in the series.  I got an Amazon gift card for Christmas so that will be on my Kindle very soon.

And, because I still am a girl in my 20s, I'm eagerly anticipating Emily Giffin's new book, Where We Belong.  I love some good chick-lit too.

 I hope you each had a good year, and I promise to keep my good vibes for good vibes deal if you do.

Christmas Time!

Well here we are; it's Christmas time again.  This year has flown by!  I can't believe I've already been at the firm for almost a year.  Time flies when you're busy I suppose.

Back in high school, I used to always go to the Christmas Eve service with my parents at our church in Frisco (Faithbridge Presbyterian).  As I got better at the saxophone, I'd also play a Christmas solo or two of some sort during the service, wedged between any Bible verses I'd read.  That usually necessitated rummaging through all of my solo books mid-December trying to find the book of Christmas solos, having one or two practices with the piano player, and then it was lights, camera, action.  My senior year, there was a middle school girl who played the clarinet who also wanted to play a solo for the Christmas Eve service.  I had a book of B-flat solos from my soprano sax, so I lent her that so she could pick one to play.  I can't remember what she chose, I think "O Come all ye Faithful" or some other song in a major key that has happy upbeat chords.

I didn't get to hear her practice, but when it was lights camera action I remember wondering if she was playing the same song as the piano player.  Whatever she had practiced had morphed into "O Come all ye Faithful" in E-minor or something, because every chord was dark and every harmony with the piano was about half a step from where it needed to be.  Poor tuning will get the best of us.  Poor gal powered through but I remember looking around and seeing some of the slightly alarmed faces in the crowd.  For some reason my Mom (who witnessed the whole thing) found my account highly hilarious, and to this day when I say "Christmas songs in E-minor", she gets a good laugh.

A new frontier...

I love a good deal.  I'm a firm believer in the power of Target, and if you can brave the throngs of poorly dressed, badly groomed folks, a good Wal-Mart deal.  Today, however, I discovered something new.  A place I had never been.  A shopping experience I had yet to conquer.  Ladies and gents....I went to...

I don't know what made me try it.  But I did.  Oh my God.  Literally everything is a dollar.  They're not lying.  And it wasn't just random brands like Larry's Dish Soap or Donna's Toothpaste.  They had Dawn!  For a dollar!  To me, nothing is more annoying than spending money on necessities like dish soap, paper towels, or laundry detergent.  They're not fun like books, shoes, or Apple accesories.  So if I can get that crap for a dollar, I'm on this train.  And the seasonal stuff!  Along with household necessities, I loathe spending money on Christmas wrapping paper, boxes, or gift bags.  No one cares if you spent 6 dollars on an intricately made Christmas box for the office party cookies.  At least I don't.  I want the cookies.  The day after Christmas all you see mounds of discarded paper, bags, and boxes in mountains of black trash bags that the trash guys adore.  So, back to the moral of this story.  Who has two thumbs and loves the Dollar Tree?  This girl.  I should get that on a shirt.  I could probably even buy the materials to make the shirt AT the Dollar Tree.  It's a cycle of inexpensive winning. 

I'll be sure to keep you updated on my Dollar Tree winnings.  I call them winnings because when you spend a dollar for a 5-dollar tube of toothpaste, you're essentially winning it.

A walk down memory lane...

Here I am.  Whee. 

For those that don't know, our sweet family puppy Katie drifted off into eternal sleep on Monday.  She was nearly 16 years old, and had been struggling with a lot of joint pain lately, as well a just a general deterioration of quality of life.  I had known things weren't going too well over the weekend last weekend, so when my cell rang at lunchtime on Monday and it was Mom, I immediately knew why she was calling.  Mom said she was very brave, and didn't get the normal car ride jitters when she thinks she's going to the vet.  Despite the fact I knew it was coming sooner rather than later, and knowing full well what a great life she'd had, I was still surprised by my reaction.  Fortunately I was at home and I was able to get all the crying out in the comfort of my living room.  I couldn't imagine hearing that in my office.  Also fortunately, I have two pretty cool dogs of my own who immediately came to make sure I was ok.  Truman put his head in my lap and Cherry just sat quietly behind him.  Man I love my dogs.

Anyway, I have a giant box of old pictures that I decided to look through because I knew it would have pictures of Katie that I could post as a last "love you" to my sweet little girl.  I also found some gems along the way.  The quality of these pics is suspect at best because, well, they're old.  I'm sure you'll survive.

 Grand Theft Auto hooker walk anyone?

 Katie and Dad in our Frisco yard.  He looked confused even then.  ;)

 Leah has always loved pictures of herself.  LOVED.

I think this was an Easter party at KB (then KT's) house.

Country girl night- Trail Dust and dancing.  My definition of country girl was putting my hair in braided pigtails.  Try to resist.

My girl!

Probably one of my favorite pictures of her.  

"Singing along" to my saxophone.

:)

 Christmas Eve 2002 I believe.  She was so stylish with her festive bandanna.

We look good.

I loved that little dog.  And, I love all my friends in these pics who I am fortunate to still count among my best friends.  

Threat Level Midnight

In case any of you are not Office fans, the title of this entry is a shoutout to Michael Scott's epic thriller spy movie. It pertains to me for reasons I'm about to outline, so I'll only keep you in suspense for a minute.

Last week, I had a hearing in Waco.  (I know, meh).  My morning started when I woke up around 4am and left the house at 4:45am to drive to St. Louis.  Considering the ridiculous prices of checking a bag on any airline not called Southwest, I loaded my carry-on sized suitcase to the brim with everything but my computer bag and headed for security. 

I get up to the line, show my ID and boarding pass (the first time a boarding pass of mine has read Nicole Evans!), and begin the assembly line process of unloading all my bags, belts, shoes, and organs into the plastic tubs to go through the scanner.  I get through and start to take my stuff back when I notice that the conveyor belt has stopped and a small crowd of TSA folk has gathered to look at something on the belt.  With my suitcase not in sight, I assume that I'm about to get busted for not taking out every small bottle of liquid and putting it in a ziplock bag.  A TSA guy comes over and asks if he can look through my bag, and I politely oblige.  It definitely wasn't my liquids they were concerned with.

Apparently I have not used this suitcase at all since we moved to Columbia because as he's searching through the pockets he unzips one of the outer front pockets and pulls out....

Oops...that's funny there isn't it.  Right?  No?



My immediate reaction was to exclaim "Oh my gosh how did that get there!"  He said "I don't know- this is your bag."  Awkward.  I mean, this drill bit was a good foot long.  I literally didn't even know I owned something like that.  We don't even have a drill that will fit that!  (At least I don't think...I rarely have reason to use industrial tools).  I felt like what I'd imagine teenage boys feel like when their parents find porn on the family computer.  My face flushed scarlet and I started apologizing profusely while proclaiming over and over that I wasn't a terrorist, which did nothing to disinterest the small crowd of people that had stopped to watch this unfold, and the other small crowd of people that were waiting for me to move the hell out of the way so they could go on.  I got a few "you're so stupid" looks from some seasoned travelers.  After spending what felt like days trying to apologize and explain my way out of this, the TSA guy cracked a small smile and said I was ok.  He would just take the offending object and send my bag back through.  I hope TSA enjoys their new industrial-strength drill bit.  I probably won't miss it since it was in that bag unnoticed for who knows how long.

I arrived safely in Dallas and picked up my sweet rental to drive to Waco.  I will say that, as one accustomed to renting cars the size of toys, I was impressed by my rental.  Every time I rent a car I have that moment of panic where I envision every possible fiasco that can happen because I didn't opt for the extra insurance policy.  This one was no different, but I put my faith in myself and I-35/Dallas drivers and headed off.  I will say that I-35 hasn't changed since I last drove it in my college days.  It's still and gridlocked, construction riddled death trap.  Anyhoo, I knocked out my hearing and picked up my favorite drink accessory ever- HEB jumbo straws, and headed back to Dallas (while fighting the urge to hop on Highway 6 South and head to the homeland).  While I was tooling along the highway headed north, I approached this hideously old and beat up looking Jalopy (Grapes of Wrath anyone?) pulling an even more hideous and beat up looking trailer with random paint buckets and boards rattling around inside.  I didn't like the looks of this situation, so I sped up and quickly passed him.  Good thing, because just as the trunk of my car cleared the front bumper of his truck, one of his trailer wheels, yes, the WHOLE WHEEL tire and all, came flying off, bounced across the left lane where I had just been, hit the concrete barrier in the median, and bounced back across the entire northbound highway.  The truck quickly pulled off into the grass and EVERYONE behind it had to stop to avoid the unpredictable and crazy bouncing wheel.  While watching this unfold in my rearview mirror I silently thanked my lucky stars and felt relieved that even though my faith in I-35 drivers was misplaced, my faith in my own driving abilities isn't.  So there.

Following my day of adventures, I settled in to a lovely dinner with lovely friends.  It's always nice to see everyone, and my goodness how the babies have grown! 

It did take me over an hour to get to my hotel in Bedford from Frisco because of the damn construction on 121 near the airport.  Curse you road improvements!  I was so frustrated I was near tears because EVERY single road was blocked off.  To passing motorists I probably appeared to have a severe case of Tourettes because I was just yelling at the road signs telling me I couldn't go where I needed to.  I'd be driving along some back road trying to get to the highway a different way and in the blink of an eye without warning I'd approach road barriers and my plan would be thwarted.  I pretty much immediately passed out when I got to my hotel, and after a long trip home Friday, slept VERY well Friday night. 

And that's that.  Toodles.

Man (and Woman's) Best Friend

You probably all know I'm an avid dog lover.  I grew up with dogs, and I have my own fur babies now.  First was Jenni, the delightful little fur ball of a Bichon.  I loved her as my first pet, but I think she was a bit wary of me from my toddler years when I'd pull her ears to get her attention, or any number of other childhood offenses.  It was a sad day when we took Jenni to the vet and said our goodbyes, and a big stone in our Ontario backyard still marks her final resting place. 

A few years later came Katie, another beloved Bichon. 

I begged and pleaded to get her, promising I would dutifully walk and feed her, and never let her be starved for attention.  I did some of the things I promised.  Mom picked up my slack.  Katie was my pal, my little white mass of furry love.  She pissed me off sometimes (I don't think I've ever been so mad at her as when she tore apart a Christmas present I had wrapped to resemble the Virgin Mary, with a tennis ball she obviously wanted serving as the head).  But, she made for endless laughs when I was growing up, and she's my little fur sister.

You guys know ALL about Truman and Cherry.  Anyway, a few weeks ago I stumbled across an article that made my cry in my office. 

Hawkeye

I was truly touched and amazed to see the picture of that beautiful dog paying his final respects to the man he loved more than anyone.  I read the original story on a different site, and I was struck by the comments.  Most mentioned how heart-wrenching the picture was, but a few caught me off-guard.  The comments were to the tune of "Who cares about dogs?  People get so worked up over a dog."   Boy did that get me fired up.  I'm obviously pretty passionate about dogs, and I get the occasional weird look from people when I talk about how much I love them and how they are equally a part of my family as any human.  I say this to anyone who questions the value of dogs, and I'll say it now:

Dogs are what humans should be.  Remarkably happy, unflinchingly loyal, unconditionally loving, endlessly patient, and forever trusting.  Dogs see the good in everyone- pretty, ugly, smart, dumb- a dog will be by your side. Not to mention they're just plain funny.  They can inspire side-splitting, snort-inducing (at least for me) laughter that rivals any joke or story someone could tell me.  Anyone that questions the value of dogs will clearly never live up to what humans should mirror in them. 

As Katie nears the sunset of her 15 1/2 years on this Earth, I can't help but to feel blessed that she was my dog.  She was my friend.  She chased me around the house and the yard as I dissolved into a fit of giggles.  She rested patiently at the foot of the couch when I was home sick from school.  She worked herself into such a state of excitement everyday when I got home that her whole body would shake with her tail.  She couldn't get in enough doggy kisses.  And, most importantly, she nestled her head into my lap any time I cried and sat it out with me, never growing bored, never expecting anything of me. 

Truman and Cherry do the same.  Which is why I love them.  And that's why I'll always be a dog lover, and I will never understand someone who can't see how amazing they really are.

So to sum up, dog-haters can suck it.

Mamajuana anyone?

Mamajuana being this highly potent alcoholic drink native to the Dominican Republic.  They don't let you bring it to America.  It's quite intense.

Ok yes, we got back from our honeymoon about three weeks ago.  I'M SORRY.  I fail.  To be honest, I'm still not 100% caught up at work, but I'm getting there.  I have decided that I'm never going on vacation again.  I had about 120 emails when I got back.  Sigh.  Our honeymoon, however, was fantastic!

Here are some pics-

 

On the bus headed to the hotel.

 

Our welcome drink while we waited for our room to be ready.

 

I used the life out of that jacuzzi.  Afternoon bath everyday?  Why not...it's my honeymoon!

 

Our beautiful room.  Everyday had a new towel creation, courtesy of our maid.

 

Pool view from our balcony.  The ocean is just off to the left.

 

I pretty much always had some sort of vodka drink when we were in the room.  And we brought the rum home.  Caribbean rum is where it's at.

 

Walk on the beach the first evening.  One of the few pics of both of us, courtesy of a lady walking on the beach.

 

Love this lil guy!

 

Manny the cute sea lion.  I called him Truman while we were there.

 

 Manny kiss!

 

 This isn't Photoshopped.  The dolphin actually jumped over me.  Pardon my lack of paying attention to the guy taking the pics.  I was too excited.

 

Zip-lining through the jungles.  This was so much fun.  Hi Scott!

 

As you can see, the camera was hooked through my helmet.  So, these are the kind of pics I got of myself

 

Here comes Scott again!

 

The vantage point all week for me and my finger-toes.

 

Loved long afternoons reading on the beach.  :)

 

Snorkeling in the waters off our resort beached turned out to be one of our favorite things.

 

Dinner the last night.

 

Our home-bound airplane.

 

Bye bye Punta Cana.  

I obviously took quite a few more pictures, but these are some of the highlights.  We really had a great time.  I burnt my shoulders to a crisp day one on the beach (as did Scott), so we took that as an opportunity to take it easy most of the week. We'd do an excursion one morning (dolphins one day, zip-lining another), and then come back and relax with a fruity drink by the beach or pool.  We also took advantage of the food choices, eating at least once at all the restaurants.  My faves were the Japanese Hibachi Grill and Asadito Steakhouse.  Sometimes we'd have lunch and then go to the buffet just for ice cream.  What of it?

We made a few friends throughout the week at the resort.  We'd run into this other honeymooning couple almost every night at the lobby bar, so we'd chat with them before and after dinner.  We played in a poker tournament on Tuesday night.  I think it started with 19 players, so not a big tourney, but the top 3 made the money.  I finished 3rd- holla!  I knocked out some peeps, including my own husband.  People called me ruthless.  I call it winning.  We played in the tourney Friday night too, and in that one Scott made the money so that was nice.  The best part- having NOTHING to do most days.  We just did whatever we wanted.  Nap on the beach?  Sure.  Ice cream at noon?  Hell yea.  Sit at the swim-up bar for a few hours?  Yes.  Sleep 'til 11 or noon?  We've got nothing else to do!  It was, to use an unnecessary adjective, sublime.  

Anyway, I'll leave you with this.  Much love all my blogger monsters!

 

L

Love the beach!