Luke is like the Anti-Superman. He leaps of short buildings after much cajoling and teasing.

The good news is that I made him breakfast (waffles!) this morning which makes me an awesome Mom.

I mean it’s totally cool that his normal breakfast is a pop tart that he shoves in his mouth in the car right?

Actually come to think of it, the same day I made breakfast (still waffles) he jumps off the roof of a building.

That is just too much of a coincidence for me.

Back to pop tarts it is.

I got a snocone today; that was pretty cool.

Oh, I also took a weird picture of myself in the elevator.

At least I think it’s a weird picture.

I look odd. And 12.

Also, I was odd at 12.

There are more important exciting things going on, but I am tired and quite frankly you’re not very titillating company.

Turns out I’m not all that good at keeping up with this writing a post everyday thing.

Yesterday, I had a post all ready to write about Danica Patrick’s PEAK commercial, but I couldn’t find the commercial online. I couldn’t remember exactly what she said so I couldn’t write the post.

I’m using Windows Live Writer, part of the new Windows Essentials Pack to update today. It appears to be a very efficient update method, but we’ll see how it handles images.

Today I….

Dyed my hair. My roots were showing. Ew.

Inserting pictures seems to be simple and I’ve noticed that in addition to calling out possible misspelled words with a red line, the application bolds them. There does not seem to be an autocorrect in place, but that may just be a lack of proper settings on my part.

I just reviewed the proofing settings and there does not appear to be an autocorrect feature. I’m surprised at the lack of a simple autocorrect such as i to I.

After dying my hair, cleaning up the mess and myself; I got dressed and headed out meet some friends to help them look at houses.

I stopped at the Quiktrip to grab a cup of coffee as I usually do in the morning. I have a routine for coffee getting.

1) Get cup

2) Put approximately 1/4 cup of crushed ice in cup

3) Add 2 teaspoons of sugar

4) Add two presses of the Non Dairy Creamer button (each press equals one of those little plastic things) from the machine second from the right.

5) Swirl cup

6) While swirling cup, add Original coffee; decreasing the swirl motion as the cup fills to 1” of the top of the cup. (This is important. Any more than that and it spills out of the little hole in the lid. Any less than that and I feel like I’m not getting what I am paying for.

7) Take cup to first coffee finalizing station, stir to ensure the removal of all hotspots.

Take lid from 3rd row and close cup.

9) Walk to the right, around the coffee finalizing station and through the center aisle to pay for coffee.

I know it seems like I should be on medication (don’t worry, I totally am!) but I am a person who craves structure. I need to do the same thing every morning. If I don’t, my entire day is off just a little.

This morning as I was standing at the counter paying for my obsessive compulsive cup of coffee, I heard the strains of “Welcome to the Jungle” wafting through the air. I briefly thought that it was the radio/music system in the mini-mart but dismissed that due to the less than stellar quality of the sound.

To my absolute delight, it was a cell phone ring tone belonging to the guy who was buying lottery tickets and cigarettes at the next register. Normally; this would not have elicited such a tickled reaction, but the cell phone belonged to an 60ish year old man who looked like a farmer of some sort.

He wore a plaid red/black flannel jacket, a hat that looked to be 20 years old if it was a day and jeans that had spent many a long hour doing the dirty details of farm work. He spoke in short clipped sentences; not using anymore words than were necessary to convey his point. His face bore the tale of a man who worked hard to care of his family, land and animals. The deep creases laid across his cheeks no doubt held the tension of years of stoic resolve and unwavering dependability.

The stark contrast of the strong yet unassuming farmer and the loud, unmistakable screeching of Axl Rose brought a smile to my face.  I don’t know this man and I doubt I will every see him again but I think that I was in the company of one of the good ones. I’m pretty sure of it.

Coffee in hand, I got back in the car. I had woken with a tinge of migraine so I took some Excedrin Migraine with the rest of my morning pills. I learned long ago that it was always wise to keep some Imitrex and painkillers with me when I went out. I have been caught without them on occasion and suffered the consequences. I took an Imitrex and started to make my way to meet my friends.

I was looking forward to not only seeing them but also to seeing my Realtor Josh:

Josh was extremely helpful when I was buying my home so I was quick to recommend him to my friends. If you’re in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area and looking to buy, look up Josh Van Meter.

I was also looking forward to meeting the kitties that I had heard so much about!

I of course got a little lost in the apartment complex, but it was brief and painless. A parking spot was easily found and up the stairs I went (I hate stairs).

This is Butch. He’s…..butchy.

A very affectionate, carefree kitty; Butch did not bat a whisker at my presence. He recognized me as a lap and potential source of food.

Fancypants (Fancy is her real name but I like Fancypants)

This little darling initially hopped up on the coffee table and walked toward me as if she were calm. Mid-stride she realized that she didn’t know me and this meant I was there to kill her. She took off like a cat with a bottle rocket up it’s ass and remained hidden for some time. Eventually she got brave enough to poke out from under the couch and cuddle with her humans. She sniffed around me a few times and nosed my fingers but pulled away at my attempt to scritch her chin.

I left my hand stretched out and soon enough, she was rubbing against it and allowing me to pet her head.

Josh soon arrived and off we went to the first house. It was a charming place, but had obvious foundation issues and was pretty much an immediate no go. It did however have the most awesome paint job in one of the bedrooms.

After 10 minutes of internal debate (and facebookery) I’ve decided that the paint job warrants me getting up to get the camera so I can transfer the pictures in order to post it here.

Just sat down after getting camera and finding USB transferry thing. All of a sudden have to pee like a picked up toad. Gah.

The photos are being batch resized/renamed. I can’t just pull one picture out; they all have to get organized.

Ok, back to the paint job…

I lol’d.

The next house was good, save the fist hole and body shaped dent in the wall.

Back to the apartment where we bid Josh farewell. Lunch plans were made and I headed onto my most important errand of the day.

On Friday this:

left this:

here:

which resulted in something reminiscent of this:

I’m kidding; he just told me that he he forgot it and looked upset.

He asked me to go back to the office on Friday to get it, but I was pretty sure he wouldn’t shrivel up and waste away if he missed one night of gaming. He watched some age-inappropriate comedy special on Comedy Central and fell asleep by 1030. Hah!

After retrieving the memory card, I headed back home. I asked another friend for his address so that I could send some Happy 40th Anniversary flowers to him. I’m sure he has no idea that I’m going to do that because my “What is your address and no I won’t tell you why I need it”? was super subtle.

Arriving at home, I told Luke that we were going to lunch with the aforementioned friends.

He got dressed while I hemorrhaged over the cost of flowers (I decided not to have them arrive today, opting for a local shop and a Thursday delivery instead). It occurs to me that this friend may very well read this post prior to said flower arriving but I’ve already typed it and I’m not deleting it.

Luke and I headed to Johnny Carino’s for lunch. I had a delectable Shrimp Scampi while Luke wolfed down a 10” pizza.

After lunch we parted ways with our friends and headed to Ross to pick up a poster frame. I want to frame the faceplates we drew at work because their current location is not optimal.

We left Ross without a frame but with a mirror for the half-bath downstairs. Target had the frame I was looking for so we grabbed it and headed home.

I had grand plans to finish taping off and starting to paint the bathroom but i was weak and my back and shoulder were complaining.

So here I sit, on the couch; watching various documentaries and food shows.

Wild Saturday night. Woooo.

Inserting and putting a border around the pictures seems pretty easy. The preview shows well, with no changes in formatting. Here’s hoping that it stays that way when I publish it.

It’s been a few days, but t fear not; I have pictures to help me remember what the hell I’ve done.

On Saturday (11.15.08) we….

crap

I can’t remember what we did.

I know that I didn’t go to bed until 6 in the morning and consequently slept until 1pm. That was pretty awesome.

Pictures. Right ok. We went to Outback for dinner because earlier in the day I got a package of brownies in the mail.

This looks promising...

Closer to the yum!Mere plastic cannot keep me from the chocolately goodness

Oh yes - they were rich and dark and oh so delicious.

Packaged up for will power enhancing storage in the fridge.

The brownies were not without their purpose of course. Last month, for Luke’s birthday, we went to Outback for dinner. The service was horrid and the waiter was incredibly condescending to Luke.

I complained, as I am wont to do and received two $25 gift certificates. I was pleased and considered the matter closed.

Imagine my surprise when this little package of happiness and good showed up at my door.

Well played Outback Steakhouse. Well played.

So….Saturday night we went to dinner at Outback. I had eaten brownies. I had gift certificates. A nice hunk of meat seemed like it would round out the day nicely.

In my chocolate induced haze; I had forgotten that Saturday night meant that there would be people there. Lots of them. People and their whiny children. Loud talkers. Annoying teenage girls out with the boy that was just a friend but they secretly wished was their boyfriend.

Oh this girl. I wanted to throw something sharp at her throat.

 She didn’t shut up for the entire hour (H-O-U-R) we waited for our table. She rambled incessantly about her challenges as a popular girl, how long it took her to get ready in the morning and how she never had any time to herself because everyone always wanted her to hang out. She made it a point to ensure that her companion was aware that despite being asked out “like….god…ALL the time”; she still wasn’t dating anyone. Her verbal diarrhea was peppered with vulgarity and expletives. The expletives I didn’t mind so much, but she didn’t need to know that. At one point I looked at her and said “Hey! Watch your language. There are children here!” She didn’t even break stride to acknowledge that someone else had spoken much less apologize.

In a rather karmic moment; we were seated before them. She had been complaining about the length of the wait. As we passed by the young man moved his legs so we could easily pass where she left her legs sprawled out so we had to navigate around them.

I couldn’t stop myself any longer.

I stopped dead in front of her and bent over so she had to look at me. She had this half shocked half terrified look on her face and I launched.

“You know what kiddo, sooner or later your looks aren’t going to get you what you want.  You’d be wise to get over yourself and start making the friendships and partnerships you’re so desperately going to need when you’re alone in a sea of pretty girls just like you in the real world.”

That isn’t verbatim; but it is close enough. I didn’t speak loudly or harshly, just concisely and with precision.

I didn’t even wait for a response before turning, stepping her still outstretched legs and walking to the hostess stand (where I might add, Luke stood, impatiently waiting for me).

I never heard a response from her, but I did catch a couple whispers of “omg did you hear that!!” and “holy shit, she got told!” from the people that were in the immediate area.

Anyway…that made me feel good about being me.

Luke all glowly and stuff.

Courtesy of Luke.

French fries with cheese and bacon. Did I mention bacon?

Sweet sweet coffee.

MEAT. GOOD.

 

He said gross things about the dripping A1 sauce that I will not repeat.

 

Tired little boy...

Another young Delcambre masterpiece....

 

Freaking Peanut Butter Pie. OMG. Like eating a creamy Reese's cup. so good.

 Yeah….so after dinner we went popped over to the dollar store for hangers and whatever other dollary goodness I found.

Apparently I did not take any pictures in the dollar store. That is odd because there are so many things there to should be captured for posterity. I think that both Luke and I were stuffed and tired and just wanted to go home.

So home we went. Luke, true to his word, immediately went to bed. I…did not.

It was another all-nighter for me.

Woo.

It’s 1230 already. I’m beat.

Well - there is your 11.15.08 update. Tomorrow I will try to get caught up on the rest of the days.

In the meantime, I leave you with this adorable picture:

Eli being insanely cute.

My friend Brandy, my son Luke and I went to World Market in Ft. Worth, Tx on Saturday. I found lots of interesting things to buy, although I exhibited extreme willpower and only purchased a handful of food related things.

Cherry Sours: An old standby for me. I love these sweet tart bites and the vivid color.

Zhena’s Gypsy Tea: A coconut flavored Chai tea; it smells wonderful.

 Lemon Drops: As tasty as I remember, these tart lemon candies are not quite as hard as standard hard candies. They have a delicious flavor but thanks to thier color and shimmering surface, they proved somewhat difficult to photograph.

Pop Rocks: I’ve always loved Pop Rocks and recently my son Luke has discovered their delightfully explosive fun.

Vosges’ Bacon Chocolate Bar: A winner for those who love to dip their sausage in syrup or crave something more intense than chocolate covered pretzels. This chocolate bar studded with actual bits of bacon is one of the most unique flavor combinations I have expereienced.