THANKSGIVING TAILGATE '08

This Thanksgiving we celebrated Tailgate Style in Austin. Just before we watched my Aggies lose, we fried up a turkey, some potatoes, pickles, and biscuits. Dean also made a great salad to counter all the grease! The quote of the day from passersby was, "Nice Setup," which made Matt's day :) I was completely impressed that Matt handled ALL the logistics for this trip! Usually, that's my job! My only contribution this time around was the decor!

Every 2 years we also get to visit "our cow" at Amy's ice cream in the Arboretum! THE BEST!

We had one extra ticket to sell, so I made this irresistible sign to lure in potential customers. It sat there all day with no bites. Then, as I went to use the PINK portapotty (they were color coded!!!!), Matt and Dean sold the ticket!!!!!!!!!!!!! I still think it was the sign that sealed the deal. If you'll notice, the price includes $.01. This is because I promised to sell the ticket for MORE than face value. Booo ya!

Dirty Estonians!

Looks like I need to be more careful about how I phrase things on this blog! Apparently, Google has SUPERPOWERS. It is unbelievable. You may remember me posting about a neat widgit that records where people are located when they view your site. I have this widgit and every now and then I check it out of curiosity to see who is looking at this blog. If I notice something odd, like ESTONIA, I usually click on it for a more detailed report. This is what I found today...

If you enlarge this picture, you will see that someone from Estonia found this blog by doing a Google search for "pants half down!"

This bothers me on multiple levels. For one thing, why are you being dirty, Estonian?? And in addition, why does GOOGLE BRING UP MY BLOG under this search?!?!?!?! Dude.

(Go ahead, try it. I know you are going to do a Google search for "pants half down" right now!!!)

29

I had the distinct privilege today of texting my long time friend, Jason, to remind him that he is older than me. He bites the bullet tomorrow and turns the big 3-0. Back in high school we had lengthy discussions debating which of us were older. The arguments being that, although his birthday is before mine, I arrived a month late and he a month early. Back when we were 15 and wanting to be older, I of course argued that I was older. Now I do believe that I am younger :)

C-Town

I'm still 29...and HOLDING :)

This weekend I flew out to C-town for a quick trip to visit the fam. Kristi flew in from South Carolina so we had a mini-vacation. Since we won't be together on my bday, we celebrated. Mom and Kristi keep me in fashion. Check out my new scarf...whooo hooo!

Mom and I also drove out to visit the Carpenter's and their latest addition, baby Drew! He is a GREAT baby and so cute. Love that little fam!

Much Randomness

This week was Red Ribbon week at school and Wednesday was 70's day. Here are my awesome co-workers! 5th grade rocked with matching shirts (except they only had 2 of the dark one) and matching necklaces. These girls keep me laughing all week! FLOWER POWER!

Love my little Molly! She got a new toy and a new tag, so here she is with her cuteness.

One of the topics we cover in 5th grade is the Renaissance, and of course Michelangleo is an important person to study during that unit. The central office sent over this book for us to use while teaching the Renaissance. Sounds great, right??? I was a little shocked to see "Art Tattoos" as part of the materials, but even more surprised when I opened them up...

Who would give these tattoos to FIFTH GRADERS? Hiiiiilarious!

I have been bamboozled!

When did the first Freebirds open?
The first Freebirds opened in Santa Barbara , California , in 1987. The first Freebirds in Texas opened in College Station in 1990.


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You're IT!

Ok, so I got tagged by Sarah, which I have mixed feelings about! There's a lot of pressure here! I am not as talented a writer as Sarah, but I guess I will play along.

1. I do my makeup in the car on my way to work. Every day. (Which probably explains why I ended up with eyeliner on only one eye the other day).
2. I am not a germaphobe in any way (evidenced by my cleaning skillz), except when on an airplane. Circulated air freaks me out.
3. I can eat more pizza than any full grown man I've ever met. Seriously.
4. Sometimes I don't check my mail for days on end because I don't want any more paper in my house.
5. I love my dog more than some people love their kids!
6. I used to donate blood not for wholesome, unselfish reasons, but because I thought it would burn a lot of calories for my body to reproduce a whole pint of fresh blood!

:)

Now, if you're tagged, here's what you do:
1. Post the rules on your blog
2. Write 6 random things about yourself
3. Tag 6 people
4. Please pass it on for fun...

I TAG:
Kristi, Mom, Brooke, Laura, Traci, & Emily (all three of you, Emilys :)

Today was the kind of day where I got to work and realized I only had eyeliner on one eye. Nice.

Golf, Snakes, and Pants Half Down

We just got back from our first ever real golf tournament together! I am a horrible golfer, but today I did OK. It was a scramble and we actually used three of my shots (a drive (!), a putt, and a chip)!!!! But the best part of the day was my bathroom break. It's rare that the bathroom is the highlight of the day, so let me explain.

I went into the handicap stall in the clubhouse, mainly because it was the biggest and no one else was in there. I was sitting there, taking care of business and looked over to SEE A SNAKE IN THE CORNER OF THE STALL. This is not a joke. I could not make this up if I tried!!!!!

At first I thought he was dead, but then his little tongue came out. And then went in. And then came out again. GROOOOOOSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS.

I HATE snakes.

So I was in a pickle. Should I finish my bidnass? Should I scream? Was the snake going to come get me? Was the snake scared of me? If I left without flushing, would my rescuers see my bidnass?

Did I mention: I HATE snakes???

So, I did what any redblooded girl from Dallas would do. I jumped up, flushed (to save my rescuers from seeing my bidnass) and ran out of the stall with my pants down.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.

So I fixed myself up and ran out...then I screamed !!!!!!!!!!!!!


CAN YOU EVEN BELIEVE THIS???


And to think, I already used the blog title "You Know You're In A Small Town When..."

You Know You're in a Small Town When...

You're at a 4-way stop sign and you know 3 of the four people stopped.

Happy FALL!

Italia Installment #3: Pompeii

Mt. Vesuvius

We took an organized trip (our only official tour) to Naples and Pompeii. This is Mt. Vesuvius about 2000 years after the eruption. Frescos from Pompeii showed the mountain to have a much pointer peak. So this is what it looked like after the top half blew off! CRAZY. This was one of my favorite parts of the trip. I was the little annoying student following the guide so I could hear every word :) Way better than the history channel!!!

Pompeiian House

In Pompeii we visited many excavated sites. This is the home of a very wealthy person. They know this because it was HUGE and every inch was decorated with frescoes or mosaics (check out the floor below - those are tiny tiles)! There were servants quarters, a courtyard in the middle of the home, and stables out back.

This is the main door to the home. It was left in the exact position that the owners left it in when they evacuated. The owners who evacuated left their doors open, while those who stayed to weather out the eruption had their doors closed. The doors were made of wood, which deteriorated in the ash over time. While excavating they poured plaster into the crevices to make molds of things that had decayed (such as this door). Archaeologists knew that they would find bodies in homes whose doors were closed.

Interior of same home

Dining room of same home

When a wealthy Pompeian hosted a dinner party the guests were expected to arrive at 6pm and stay until 10am. They were all lead into the dining room and shown to a mattress. Eating while laying on a mattress was exceptionally luxurious. In order to show their wealth, the hosts continually fed the guests the ENTIRE time. It was considered rude to refuse any food or wine/beer, so guests were obligated to eat without pause for 16 hours!

Vomitorium

Every couple of hours the guests would excuse themselves from the dining room to use the VOMITORIUM. Seriously. They would go puke, rinse with a wine/honey mixture, and then return the dining room to keep eating. Woah.

Streets of Pompeii

Streets of Pompeii

Pomeiians had their soldiers build their roads. This shows that they placed a lot of importance on their roads (some societies have prisoners build roads). Each road you see has 7 layers to it! Guess that's why they've stood the test of time!

The roads also served as a drainage path. Every so often they placed stepping stones like you see above so that people could cross the road without getting their little feet wet! The stones were placed a very precise distance apart -- the distance was determined by the standard wheel base distance on their wagons/chariots/whatever they were called! So the wagons could still use the roads, even with the stepping stones. Not too shabby, Pompeiians! You can see on the road's grooves in between the stones where the wagons wore the stones down. Cool.

Pompeii - Excavated Bodies - Warning!!

I always wondered why 7,000 people evacuated and 3,000 stayed behind during the eruption. Thanks to our trusty tour guide, now I know! The people who stayed behind thought that they would be safe in their basements (for the most part). The doors to their homes were shut and most of the bodies found were in the basements. What they didn't realize was that sulfur fumes would seep in through the ventilation in their basements. The fumes killed the people and then ash poured in and preserved where their bodies were. The bodies decayed, but the bones remained. Archaeologists poured plaster into the cavities and ended up with what you see above (this is why you can see bone in some pictures).

It's Official - I rock at matchmaking

ADAM AND MELISSA ARE ENGAGED!!!
I pretty much take all the credit. I rock at matchmaking. Officially my stats are only at 50%, but I've only tried it twice.

Awesome.

More Pics from Dad's Party

We had about 50 people at the party on Saturday. The theme was "Peace. Love. Raymond." HAHAH. 1960's for the 60 year old.