If you need me today, I will be here:



It's the State Fair of Texas, y'all!!!

Fried food
Corny dogs
Big Tex
Marilyn Monroe butter sculpture
Pygmy goats
Chinese acrobats
Petting zoo
Free stuff
93 degrees in late September

AND... The Fair Gang to enjoy it all with

It's the most wonderful time of the year.

Get there.

C.T.

Wonderful World of Windshield Wipers
So I replace my windshield wipers regularly, as any responsible car owner does. And by "regularly" I mean when they start making that horrible screeching noise across my windshield. I figure that's the signal for needing new wipers, right?

Well, I haven't replaced the wiper on the back of the Jeep, um, ever. I've had it for 4 years. For awhile, it was just blatant neglect. I love that little wiper, don't get me wrong. But, I just figured since I use it much less than the front wipers, it doesn't really need to be replaced as often. Right?

But then once I decided it was time to replace it, since it was really only smearing water and slime around on the back window, making it difficult to see, I just haven't been able to find that wiper blade anywhere. So then the neglect turned into lack of supply. It's an 11 inch blade and NO ONE in the world carries it.

Do car part makers assume that everyone is like me, refusing to change that back blade? Surely someone other than me needs it, so they have to be out there somewhere. One would think.

As a last resort I looked it up on the internet, just to see if a store I hadn't thought of might have it. I'm desperate, at this point. I'm annoyed that I can't see out of my back window in the rain. The little blade I took such pride in having was now a source of frustration for me.

And it was making the terrible noise.

So, I ended up ordering it online. What does this say about me, that I ordered a windshield wiper online? Turns out the blade I need is not stocked anywhere. What??? I was forced to purchase it online. I had no other choice.

Now I'm just saying, this blade better last for another 4 years. And it better be plated with gold, because I paid twice as much for it to order it online, with shipping included. Insane.

And the sad thing is, one day I will come home to find a package on my front porch, and instead of opening it to something fun, it will just be a wiper blade that I paid too much for.

It better start raining a lot. I've got a new fancy blade to help me see out the back window.

C.T.

America's Next Top Whiners
The best part about the Macbook and wireless is that I can blog WHILE I watch TV.

Genius!

Ok, I love how the girls argue, cry, and whine about their makeovers. Without fail they do this every year in the second episode. Yet they ALL look better afterwards.

Don't argue with Tyra. She knows what she's doing, girls.

So glad you're back, ANTM. Oh how I've missed you!!

It's a particularly whiney bunch this year. Should be good times.

C.T.

Today I am having fun with Photoshop







C.T.

The mystery that is my yard
The following plants and flowers were all but dead-ish as of last week. I've done nothing to revive them.















Amazing what a bit of rain and a slight change in the weather will do. And some amazing non-gardening on my part.

C.T.

I officially don't care about ER anymore
Now that I can blog and watch TV at the same time, I can bring you this late-breaking, up-to-the-minute news before tonight's season premiere even ends.

I'm watching the show right now, everyone is either shot or having babies or kidnapped, and I don't even care.

Jerry could die in the next 20 minutes. Abby could lose her baby, or she might die. Sam may never be un-kidnapped.

I just don't care anymore.

The show may officially be dead to me.

I'm sorry to be so cruel, but it's true. I just needed to admit that for all to see.

C.T.

More Famous People
I saw Bob Vila at a restaurant during lunch today.



And the reason I was out for lunch today was to meet a longtime fan of my blog, Mark. In which case, I guess I was the famous person. . .



Mark was in town for the Cowboys game and we decided to get together for lunch. I rather enjoyed it, getting to know part of my blog community on a more personal level.

And of course, seeing Bob Vila for lunch.

C.T.

It's Season Premiere Week!
Once again, it's the time of year when if you need me, I will be in front of my TV.

Sunday - The Amazing Race
Monday - Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (this better be good)
Wednesday - America's Next Top Model (and LOST when it come back next month)
Thursday - My Name is Earl, The Office, Grey's Anatomy, ER (I'm about to break up with ER, so it better be good or I am OUT)

These are the basic must-sees, leaving a few hours here and there for new additions, should I discover any.

And I plan to do all of this without Tivo, using only old fashioned VCR technology and careful planning.

Stay tuned for my thoughts.

C.T.

The ice cubes cometh
A couple of weeks ago, my ice maker broke. I deduced that it was broken because it no longer made ice cubes. I tried everything I knew to fix it and make it work again. This included banging on it and moving that little lever up and down a lot.

After a couple of weeks of no new ice, I admitted to myself that it really was broken. It's an old fridge that came with the house. It's just a matter of time before things start to go on it.

So, I broke down and spent 98 cents on some ice cube trays. I admitted defeat. I would have to make my own ice.

I filled up the trays with my Brita water, which actually made me feel better about it. I would have purified ice cubes that would taste better than the cubes coming from the freezer's water hose. This might not be so bad after all.

The cubes froze and I dumped them into the cube holder thingy. I filled the trays again. Not so bad. I'd be allright.

Fast forward a couple of days. I'm in my bathroom getting ready for work and I hear the sound of the ice maker filling up with water. It makes this high-pitched screeching noise that can be heard all over the house, including in the garage.

Um, what?

Turns out, the ice maker healed itself and has decided to work again. And it has since dumped an abundance of ice cubes onto the cubes I made in the trays. So now I have more ice cubes than I know what to do with, and I'm afraid to turn it off for fear it will never start again.

I may have to have an ice cube party to use up all of this ice.

C.T.

I am nothing without my morning cup of coffee

I am old and set in my ways.

I am routine to the nth degree.

I am habit personified.

And it better be good coffee.

C.T.

Roadtrip to Tulsa
Why not?

My dad and I went to visit my Grandma in her nursing home this weekend. This meant we got to make an exciting roadtrip to Tulsa.

Woo-hoo!

Highlights from the trip include:

1. A Tulsa mix cd. Of course.

2. Beef jerky? YES.
My dad and I are proud jerky junkies. We stopped (um, twice) at The Peanut Shoppe (www.thepeanutshoppe.com) - once on the way, once on the way home. They have good jerky. I recommend a stop there if you're ever passing through Durant, Oklahoma.

3. Bingo with old people.
My dad and I rolled my Grandma down to the 3:00 Bingo and we played Bingo with her and all of the other old people. The catch was that my Dad and I tried really hard NOT to win. He warned me that the other old ladies get mad if you win and take the prizes. So, my dad and I watched old person after old person get a Bingo while we cheated NOT to win. No one noticed that we were the only two people not to win anything, and the old people loved us.

4. Animal Planet
My grandma loves Animal Planet. We watched that a bit.

5. Dinner at 4:30.
They start lining everyone up for dinner to start serving at 4:30. And then it becomes the longest dinner ever as they bring one tray at a time to each person. My dad and I watched 4 old ladies eat the smallest amount of food possible in the longest amount of time ever. But, they loved us being there.

6. My grandma loves to show us off.
First, she recognized both of us when she first saw us, and she had no idea we were even coming. And then she impressed both my dad and me with what she remembers about us as she told her friends about us. She remembered that my dad is super helpful, at which point my dad had wandered off to help some old ladies we didn't know. And she remembered that I am super smart and can do just about anything I try to do. She was right, of course, on both counts.

7. More beef? OKAY!
One old lady was talking about how much she loves steak while we watched her eat the saddest sloppy joe I've ever seen. Then as my dad and I left the nursing home for the night, we both looked at each other and decided steak sounded good. So, we had steak for dinner. BEEF!

8. Fireballs + Coke = Keeping you awake in the car
One of the prizes at Bingo that we tried not to win was a bucket of fireballs, which I thought was an odd prize for really old people with no teeth. But, I was craving fireballs after that, so I bought some for the drive home. We ate a whole lot of them. And then we ate more beef jerky.

All in all, it was a good trip and a good visit with Grandma. She looked good, she's eating well, and she carried on good conversations, considering. She looked much better than last year when I thought that was the last time I would see her. She jokes, she picks on me and my dad, she's familiar. It was good to see her.



C.T.

Random fact about lemon juice
It is, in fact, found on the juice aisle.

I took a gamble and learned this new grocery store tidbit of useless info today.

I pass it on to you.

C.T.

Billboard Trucks. I don't get it.
I mean, I do. I get that they are to advertise stuff. But I don't know who thought this was a good idea.

For one, it has to be one of the worst jobs ever to drive these trucks around. You've seen them. The trucks that serve no purpose but to be a billboard. They drive around town. All day. It's the equivilent of walking around with a sign on your back. You drive, people stare at what's behind you. It's ridiculous.

Then what. Do you really think people are reading your ad, focusing attention on reading a truck that is swerving in and out of cars while they drive? Do you really want them to focus their attention on that? Isn't that dangerous?

Personally, I can't look away. I saw one today and I couldn't figure out the ad, and all I could do was stare at it and try to figure it out. NOT SAFE.

People, I AM DRIVING. Why follow me around with a truck of billboards to read?

And do you really want people grabbing for a pen and trying to jot down a phone number or whatever it is you want them to remember by your roving ad truck? Is that safe?

Um, no.

And in traffic, I do not want to be stuck behind an ad for the new CW channel with the 7th Heaven gang staring back at me for 30 minutes. It's creepy.

Therefore, I am OVER billboard trucks.

OVER. IT.

C.T.

Why would you do this?
Why would you intentionally pick the middle stall in the bathroom when all of the stalls are open?

This just automatically makes it uncomfortable for whoever enters next, because there is no possible way to get around having to be next to you. And I don't even know you. Not that I dislike you. But everything is all off-balance. And there is no reason why we shouldn't have stall between us if the option is there.

Also, yesterday I found a chip in the bathroom at work, next to the toilet. Why would you do that?

Don't eat chips on the toilet.

C.T.

I did a bad, bad thing
The other day, I woke up and my sprinkler was running.

Why is that bad, you might ask? Well, because I don't have automatic sprinklers that come on by themselves. Which meant the timer hadn't shut off and it had been running ALL NIGHT LONG.

So.... what.

Well, here in Texas we are in what is known as a drought. Therefore, we are under watering restrictions. Because my water ran all night, I broke several rules:

1. No more than 30 minutes in one place.
2. It was after midnight, so it was technically not my watering day anymore.

Um... maybe that's all.

Needless to say, I freaked out. I ran out in my pajamas and shut if off, then ran back inside before anyone saw me. I've been VERY careful about my yard watering, careful to go by all of the rules. And through no fault of my own, for whatever reason the timer didn't shut off this one time. Yet, I've felt guilty all week for wasting all of that water.

Of course, I don't think anyone saw it. And I don't think I will actually get in any trouble for it. Yes, my water bill will be too high and very suspicious for using 108 million gallons all in one 8 hour period.

Oh, and now I have this really nice green circle in my front yard from all the water. It's a little TOO green, suspiciously green. It stands out from the other houses on the street.

So tonight, it rained a little. Not enough to count for anything. But just enough to ruin my plan of watering AROUND the green spot tonight, to even things out. To hide my crime.

I've been praying every night that I don't go to water restriction jail.

I wish I could put a plant over that night green spot. You know, like you do when you get a spot on your carpet?

C.T.

The World's Best Mullet
Over the past week or so, I've been going through a lot of pictures. I've been working on a project to print and frame photos for my walls.

After completion of the project, survey says.... AWESOME. It's super fun to have friends and family all over my house all the time.

But, in going through photos, I came across one of my prize photos from my second trip to Russia several years ago. Let me start with the story...

This guy was the host in a restaurant where we had breakfast one morning. He had the most amazing hair I have ever seen in my life. We could tell he was super proud of his long, luscious locks. And he was completely oblivious to our snickers. He would walk around and turn his head, allowing for his flowing hair to swirl around, showing off. But this seemed to be just how he walked and flaunted on a normal day. He wasn't doing this to impress us.

He was also completely oblivious to this sneak photo I took of him. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you.... Mulletov! (we are pretty sure that means "awesome mullet" in Russian)



Needless to say, I think this is the best mullet on the planet. And while the trip to Russia was amazing in and of itself, traveling that far and getting to see this amazing work of hair made the trip totally completely absolutely worthwhile.

Jealous?

C.T.

PS: I did not put Mulletov on my wall, but I may rethink that.

That time of year again
Still miss you...

The best drive home ever
I hate driving home after work because of all the traffic and the fact that it's more than a 5 minute drive. I just want to leave my office, blink, and be home. I get really impatient in the car.

But today I had the best trip home ever. First, I never hit a red light until two red lights before Staples, where I needed to stop for a few items. This means I drove for about 15 minutes without having to stop. It was genius. This cut at least 10 minutes off of my drive.

Ok, probably less time than that. But still, it made the drive much speedier in my head.

I was in and out of Staples in less than 5 minutes. What I needed was right by the door, and there was no line at the checkout.

Then I hit Home Depot across the street, and I was in and out of there in 10 minutes.

Then I dropped off a prescription, and I decided to grocery shop while I waited. Right as I walked up to the pharmacy after shopping for 10 minutes, my prescription was ready. No waiting.

Then I hit all of the green lights from the grocery store to my house. Genius.

All together the time from my office, 3 stops, and to my house was an hour. That's ridiculously no time at all in the big city full of after work rush hour traffic.

It was nice. And left me in a good mood.

I enjoy that.

C.T.

Don't worry....
You can always get a good mix CD in Texas.

Mix - I'm Okay
Livin' La Vida Loca - Ricky Martin
I Wish - Stevie Wonder
Rosanna - TOTO
Every Little Thing She Does - The Police
The One I Love - R.E.M.
Hot in Herre - Nelly
She's All I Ever Had - Ricky Martin
Cray - Alanis Morissette
Sweet Dreams - Eurythmics
Stand - R.E.M.
Sir Duke - Stevie Wonder
The You Move - Outkast
Shake Your Bon-Bon - Ricky Martin
Superstition - Stevie Wonder
Every Breath You Take - The Police
Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me - U2
It's My Life - Bon Jovi
Shiny Happy People - R.E.M.

Mix - 00s Alt Rock (this one had an earlier version with a couple of minor variations)
Take Me Out - Franz Ferdinand
How to Save a Life - The Fray
Psychobabble - Frou Frou
Somebody Told Me - The Killers
Somewhere Only We Know - Keane
Look After You - The Fray
They - Jem
Hospital Food - David Gray
Crazy - Gnarls Barkley
Float On - Modest Mouse
Everybody's Changing - Keane
Over My Head - The Fray
How We Operate - Gomez
Just a Ride - Jem
One Chance - Modest Mouse
Your Eyes Open - Keane
The One I Love - David Gray
Little House - The Fray

C.T.

Discovery of the Day
I realized today that pretty much the only reason I buy a newspaper on Sunday is to get the Target sale paper.

Everything else before I get to the sale paper is torture with anticipation about what's on sale at Target this week.

Everything after the sale paper is anticlimactic.

It's terrible, but it's true.

C.T.