Thanksgiving in Florida

Well, it was a nice thought -- Thanksgiving in Florida. Warm temps, beaches, the wind in your hair, turkey, sand, well....ahem....anyway....got carried away for a moment.

When I saw these pictures, it made me think of Florida -- the bright sunshine on oranges. You know those TV commercials you see for fresh orange juice. You know, the kind that comes in a can "fresh?" Anyway...I digress again.

This post is really going nowhere, so I just wanted to say I loved these pictures of Nanny's orange tree, that made me think of orange juice, that made me think I might be spending Thanksgiving in Florida. I'm pathetic. That's all.

On the Brink of Magnificence and She Just Wants a Taco

Last Saturday Abigail attended her final piano competition of 2009 -- the Texas Music Teachers Association Jazz and Hymn Festival. It requires quite a bit of preparation: one memorized jazz piece, one piece to be played as an offertory for church, and two hymns played as accompaniment.

Side Story (Background important for the telling of this story): For the last few weeks every time we pass a Taco Casa restaurant Abigail says, "I want to eat at Taco Casa!" When asked why, she just smiles and says, "I just want to eat there." Oookkaaayyyyy... Now, I don't know about you, but just the name Taco Casa (in English) means 'not that good' to me. The restaurants don't even look appealing. And, I feel they are probably on the level of Taco Bueno and Taco Bell -- two restaurants into which I will never step foot, unless forced to at gunpoint.

Back to our primary story...

As we were driving to Burleson for the competition, we passed, you guessed it, a Taco Casa. "TACO CASA!" Abigail shouts out. "How nice," I reply. "We should eat there," she says. Of course it's 9:30 a.m. and I'm just not feeling it. So, we pass by and on to the piano festival. Abigail plays beautifully and receives two superior ratings for her performance that day. On her written evaluation, the judge stated: "An amazing performance today, you are on the brink of magnificence." WOW! The. brink. of. magnificence. (And she's only 12!) What a commendation. Her teacher was so thrilled to have that said about one of her students. I was excited to have that said about my child. What did Abigail think?

"Can we get a taco now?"

Well, I guess it's good that she doesn't let all those fine words and bragging go to her head. And, we headed to Taco Casa. Right after I forced her to take this picture holding her ribbons.

True success for those girls on the brink of magnificence?
-- a taco from TACO CASA!

Esta' muy delicioso. Adios!

An Open Letter to Sonic

Dear Sonic,

You must know by now how I feel about you. You are all things amazing when it comes to your Diet Cokes with Lime, Butterfinger Blasts and Mozzarella Sticks. I even enjoy your hamburgers from time to time. (mainly when you don't squash the top bun flat) I'm not sure your french fries can compete with others, but you do offer those tasty little tater tots. And, your occasional Breakfast Burrito makes my heart sing, even though I can feel my hips growing as I finish the last bite.

Why then, oh why, can you not make a decent salad?It can't be that hard when you already do so many things well. I know you're a fast food restaurant, but you seriously should make the attempt. You only offer three choices, which should make your life even simpler. I just don't understand why you think people want to eat brown lettuce and mushy tomatoes. When you opened up that lid to put the grilled chicken on top, did you not notice there was not even one speck of green in the bowl? And, maybe you don't realize this, but salads are comprised of one main ingredient -- lettuce, and......lettuce is green. I just felt you should know this, you know....in case no one had ever mentioned it.

So, be warned, that I will not be burned again by your beautiful pictures advertising a colorful and tasty salad. I do thank you, however, for the crunchy onion ring that sat on top. It was the best part!

Sincerely,

Frustrated in Fort Worth

P.S. I'll see you this afternoon at 3:00 for Happy Hour.

Halloween Recital

An odd day to have a piano recital, to be sure... I kept thinking one of the students would play "Monster Mash" or "The Graveyard Boogie," but no such luck.

I tried, for about 20 minutes, to upload the videos of the girls playing their pieces but just couldn't handle the time commitment it was obviously going to take. Twenty minutes of my life I'll never get back. The girls love playing at Steinway Hall and the pianos...ah, the pianos. I pick out one to take home every time we're there.

Katherine played "Dawn" from "Pride and Prejudice."

Abigail played "Goldfish" by William Gillock.

It Was A Dark and Stormy Night

Actually, it was a beautiful night. It just seemed a good title for a Halloween post. We had big plans for October 31st. We started out the day with an early morning piano recital. (post to follow) Rebecca went to a movie at the mall with friends, Katherine was somewhere, Jeff was in College Station for the game (whoop!) and Abigail and I met up with her friend, Emma, to have a party.

Moon over Lynndale Place
(Doesn't have the same ring as Miami, does it?)

We enjoyed a little pre-Halloween party shoe shopping.

Love these two characters!

We planned a ghoulishly delicious meal for the evening. MENU: Swamp Juice, Dried Bones, Pizza Mummies, Frozen Frog Eggs and Fresh Veggies

Ingredients for Swamp Juice: fish eggs, gummy fish, gummy worms and fizzy water with lemonade

Making Pizza Mummies

So cute, and tasty! (Please ignore the nasty stained baking sheet.)

Best part of icing the brownie ghosts? Lickin' the knife!

Just so you know, I checked to make sure they finished
icing the ghosts before they licked the knives.

And, it seems, goblins have taken over this bottom photo.
It uploaded like this, and then wouldn't let me delete it.
Ooooooooo...........

Hope you had a delightful evening with your ghosts, pirates and hippies!

I'm Not a Real Snake, I Just Play One in a Tree

Have you ever tried something to fix one problem and it created another? Kinda like taking medication for one illness and it has about 10 kinds of side affects?

Sooo....most of you know of my aversion, dare I say hatred, for squirrels. They are the most destructive of any animal on the planet. Always looking for ways to get rid of them, and having many ideas not work, (traps, cayenne pepper to name two) I read about using blow-up snakes to scare them away. Hey, I'm game for anything that will scare away a squirrel. And, since Abigail will not let me buy pellets for Jeff's BB Gun, a blow-up snake is currently my only option.

Guess what? For the most of the past few weeks, we've hardly had any squirrels. Of course I'm wondering if they have been holed up somewhere getting out of the rain, but I'm pretending the snake has done its job. It's too bad that I didn't put the snake out before the little destroyers ruined my peaches, ate every pecan on my tree, and dug up most of my potted flowers.

Now, back to my "medication causing other problems" analogy: I was in my bedroom the other day when I heard this horrible sound of birds squawking loudly outside my window. Seriously, think Alfred Hitchcock. I looked out and couldn't believe it. A flock of grackles were joined together above the pecan tree (where Mr. Snake now resides) and were screeching out the biggest racket you can imagine. What in the world? It was SO OBNOXIOUS. "They're trying to scare off the snake," Abigail said. Surely not, I was thinking. "I bet if you take the snake out of the tree, they will go away," she said. So, of course I sent her out to remove the "medication." Getting the connection? And, you won't believe it! The birds left! Thankfully, I was able to put the snake back out the next day and no birds have returned.

Keeping my fingers crossed for a yard free of squirrels, birds, and real snakes. Can you tell I'm a nature lover?

Will the Girl With the Real Glasses Please Stand Up?

Hello! My name is Rebecca. I'm the girl with the real lenses in my glasses. And, my mother thinks I'm adorable.




I love these photos that Rebecca took of herself with her new glasses. She does look very smart and stylish. Now, let's see if they'll help her with her homework. Fingers crossed.

Maybe It's Just Me, But I Think the Glasses Help

Abigail brought home her 3D glasses from seeing Toy Story, and punched the lenses out. Now they are a must when doing her homework.

She reminds me so much of Katherine in this picture.

Oops! Busted. I'll stop taking pictures now.
Thank you for your time.

Tune in tomorrow to see someone else's new glasses -- complete with lenses.

This Explains Everything...

And now we know why I can't keep my house clean. Problem solved.

My Email Has Fallen, And I Can't Get Up

Me to Jeff, yesterday around 10:30 a.m.: "Hey, I'm not getting any emails. Is yours working?" "Yes," he replies in that 'please-don't-bother-me-I'm-working-tone.'

11:15 am: "It's still not receiving." "Okay."

11:45 am: "What should I do?" He tells me to fiddle with all the buttons and turn it off/on and I've already done all that because, hey, I'm no techno-genius, but I do know some things. Duh.

12:01 pm: Jeff to me: "Do you absolutely have to get email?" "WHAT?!??" Are you EVEN kidding me? Email is my life! I've got people to contact, business to take care of, Facebook messages to read. Seriously."

Here, I'll prove my point: 8:47 am, earlier in the day my cell phone rings. I don't answer it because I am on the relaxer (my word) table at the chiropractor. "Hey, Genny. It's Phil. I've sent you four emails this morning and they all keep coming back. What's the deal? Get it fixed would you?" I.rest.my.case.

Just because I don't have a 'REAL JOB' doesn't mean I can live without email. My mind is churning even now with all the information I've missed in the last day and a half. A small handful of people have tried to email me with pertinent, current information and I AM MISSING IT!

So, if you think about emailing me this week, don't. And, don't call me on the phone, because I'm on the floor and I can't get up.