procrastination

So since I have 7 articles to write by tomorrow night, I think I'll just waste some time by blogging about the weekend! Let me start by saying that X-Men III was awesome, I totally loved it. We saw it at Downtown Disney on Friday afternoon. It was a 3:45 showing and when the movie was over, it was pouring (finally!) so we ducked over to the Virgin Megastore and wasted some time. I bought "Love Actually" on DVD for $8. I LOVE that movie.

Meg was supposed to get into Tampa on Friday night, but her flight was cancelled, so needless to say, she wasn't happy about that. As we were getting ready for the beach on Saturday morning, she called again - this time, she was stuck in D.C. and wouldn't make it to Tampa till around noon or so. We actually got to the beach before her, and we didn't leave till like 11:30 AND we stopped for lunch!

But the beach was wonderful. It was a perfect day, complete with a cloudless sky, soft sand, and good company. Even though I have a great tan already and had slathered on sunscreen, I got slightly burned around the straps of my bathing suit - I guess the straps moved around and rubbed the sunscreen off.

Our reservations at the steakhouse were for 7:30, so Brian and I left the beach around 4:30 and checked into the hotel. This took awhile, since there was a wedding party checking in at the same time as us. When we finally got to our room, we had just enough time to shower and get to the restaurant. We were at the restaurant until about 12:30! 7:30 to 12:30!! Can you believe dinner took that long? I couldn't believe it, but it sure was delicious! After dinner we took a tour of the kitchen and the wine cellar, which was unbelieveable. Then we went upstairs to the dessert room and had dessert. It was a great night. (Here's a picture of Meg and I in the Dessert Room:)

Sunday, Brian and I went around to a few malls and I bought some things, the most significant of which was a new blender. I make smoothies every day, and it takes forever because we have a crappy blender and I have to stop and stir everything up like 13 times. So I bought a Waring 60th Anniversary blender from Williams-Sonoma. It looks very retro, but most importantly, I won't have to stop and stir!

After our shopping spree, we saw The DaVinci Code, which I thought was great, even though I had already read the book. I can't see why it got any bad reviews! Of course, I had forgotten half of what had happened in the book, so as something would occur, I would think, "Oh, yeah!" It was an excellent movie and I was glad we saw it.

On our trip, we listened to "The Fifth Horseman" by James Patterson. It was a fabulous book! We LOVED it - and we weren't finished with it when we got home, so we sat in the office and listened to the rest of it. Then yesterday, we slept in and did a whole lot of NOTHING! I played the New Super Mario on Nintendo DS for most of the day, and Brian fooled around with the laptops. At some point, I felt guilty about wasting the whole day, so we cleaned up the house a little - for about 30 minutes, then we went back to playing with our toys. We did walk, though. I wouldn't skip that!

And I've just returned from my walk today, so I'm gonna go try out my new blender and then hop in the shower. After that, I've gotta write, write, write and get these articles done!

Oh, I've been meaning to put up a recipe for my new favorite smoothie. Here it is:

1 cup (8 oz.) juice - I use Diet V8 Splash, Berry Blend flavor
8 frozen whole strawberries
Dash of pineapple juice (optional)
1 medium banana
Handful of frozen blueberries
2 ice cubes

I'm sure you could use fresh fruit instead of frozen, but I like it extra cold since I always have my smoothie after my walk. Also, this makes a pretty big smoothie. I personally drink the whole thing myself! But you could also split it. And if it's too tart, you could add a scoop of sherbet or a packet of Splenda. Enjoy!

planning the weekend

Wasn't last night's Idol show great??!! I could not believe how many celebrities they had on there. And, as usual, I have a few words to say about it! The first thing that comes to mind is Taylor singing with Toni Braxton. I actually like Toni Braxton, but she was not so great last night! She tried to make "In the Ghetto" a sexy song, and it's totally not! Did you see her try to put Taylor's hand on her butt? Taylor backed away - good for him. It's about the singing, Toni, not how sexy you can look and dance.

And what the heck happened to Dionne Warwick's last note? That was a little crazy! She hit a wrong note and it sounded horrible, and she just kept sliding it down and didn't end anywhere near the right key. But the worst of all was Meatloaf. Poor Kat! Meatloaf looked like he was coming down from a crack high or something! He was shaking and not singing on key, and....well, Kat saved the song, that's for sure.

I also thought that Carrie Underwood came across as pretty snobby. That's disappointing, but I was a Bo fan so I don't really care! LOL And of course I'm thrilled that Taylor won. I hope he's already in the studio. He'll probably be able to cut his album in about 4 days. I can't wait to buy it, and Elliott's too.

Speaking of albums, I just picked up the new Dixie Chicks album on i-Tunes Tuesday. It's pretty good, but I haven't listened to it much yet.

As I mentioned before, Meg is coming to Tampa with her boyfriend for Memorial Day weekend, and we're going to spend Saturday with them. We'll hang out at the beach and then we're having dinner that night at Bern's Steak House. It's going to be awesome to hang out with Meg, and I've never met Mike (her boyfriend), so I'm extra excited. I finally booked our hotel today - Brian and I decided to stay overnight on Saturday and hang out in Tampa on Sunday. We might go to the zoo or to the Big Cat Rescue. Or we might just go shopping. Who knows? It's nice to just do whatever we want, with no schedule. Anyway, we're staying at the Grand Hyatt, which I booked on Hotwire.com, so I didn't know the name of the hotel till after it was paid for. What a nice surprise!

So today I went out and did some shopping. I got a few new sleeveless tops and a pair of shorts for myself, and a Polo shirt and two pairs of swim trunks for Brian. Then I went to Sports Authority and invested in a new pair of walking shoes - mine are more than 5 years old! I wanted some shoes that had good support for walking, and I got a pair of Nikes. They are so comfy, it doesn't even feel like I'm wearing shoes! While I was there, I picked up some hand weights - I figure I can pump them while I walk to increase cardio and improve my arms! Then I headed to Bath and Body Works and picked up a few things - spent $15 and got a free True Blue Spa product since my mom sent me a coupon - thanks, Mom! Spent another $5 and got a cute orange striped beach bag with 2 lotions for $15 - perfect, just in time for the beach! :-) They have their new summer scents out, so I got some of the Tropical Colada scent. Yum!

Tomorrow, n-Space is taking everyone to see the new X-Men movie. Yay! B and I have been looking forward to this movie for a long time!! So after I walk in the morning, I'll get a pedicure and maybe even a manicure, then head to the movie with B. It's a 3:45 showing at Downtown Disney. Afterward I think we're going to try to play some cosmic mini-golf.

Well, I'd better get my things put away from my shopping trip. And I should write an article tonight, too. Brian's playing games at work - they switched it to Thursday night for this week. I hope everyone has a happy and safe Memorial Day weekend!

who will it be?

Well, summer is in full swing here in the Sunshine State. Yesterday was the last day of school and even though it's been hot for months, I feel like summer has officially begun! Strange, since it's summer here for most of the year.

I think Taylor is going to win Idol. I was quite disappointed by last night's show. I missed Elliott. I think Katharine doesn't sing with very much feeling. Her new song was horrible! Let alone that it was just a crappy song, I didn't think she sang it well, either. It was too low for her. Taylor's song was better, although I don't think it was a great song. But he sang it with gusto, as usual, and made it his own. He rocks!

You all know I've been a Taylor fan from the beginning. Yesterday, I read an article that said that Taylor deserves to win, but he shouldn't win. The writer went on to say that Katharine fits nicely into the AI "pop" mold, and he was afraid that AI would take away Taylor's style and try to make him pop. In fact, let me just link up to the article here. I thought it was an interesting take on things. I agree in some ways, but I don't think Taylor will become pop. He's too soulful. I still hope he wins because he deserves to be famous.

Last Saturday, we finally got our yard work (mostly) done. We still have to mulch and put a few more bags of rocks down, but the planting is done. I planted a hibiscus, a bush daisy, and some salvia and pentas, all of which are perennials. I also planted a few wave petunias to round it out. AND I moved the African irises from the sidewalk area to the new perennial bed. The sago palm is still in the middle. I think it looks good, but I can't wait for things to grow up a little more so it looks more filled in. I took some pictures, but they turned out dark, so I'll try to take another one today. Below is a picture of the bed after we pulled up the shrubs and other plants. Check out that huge sago palm! It's leaves will stick you, though. I learned that the hard way!



You can see the green stains on the house where those other shrubs were. Man, I'm glad to be rid of them! We need to pressure wash or paint to get rid of those stains. And that black thing sticking up on the left is part of our inground sprinkler system. It's now hidden by the hibiscus. By the way, this post kinda shows what it looked like when we moved in. Not a great shot of the garden, but you get the idea. :-)

Well, it's time for me to walk!

18 pounds

Today I went to the doctor for a blood pressure check. Well, my pressure was down. Yay! But the big news is that I have lost another 8 pounds! That's 18 pounds total! I can't even believe it! I'm so happy and excited, I just want to call everyone! :-) I haven't weighed this little in ages! I still have a long way to go, but I'm motivated!!!! REALLY motivated!!!!

Meg, we've got to talk soon about what we're going to do when you're here. I think we're going to get a hotel room for Saturday night. I want to go to the beach with you guys on Saturday, if you really don't mind! I'm totally up for a walk on the beach! :-)

i am so beautiful

What? What's wrong? Didn't you hear Taylor Hicks singing it to me tonight? I could tell by the way he sang it that it was meant for me!

Seriously, though, was tonight not the best night ever? I mean, we have memories of amazing performances from Idol: "Natural Woman" by Kelly Clarkson, "Summertime" by Fantasia Barrino, "And I am Telling You" by Tamyra Gray, "Superstar" by Ruben Studdard, "Circle of Life" by Jennifer Hudson, "Vehicle" by Bo Bice. All of these are VERY memorable to me. But tonight's show just about beat them all! I thought every single song was awesome! (And I HATE the song "I Believe I Can Fly," but Kat did great on it!)

I didn't vote tonight. I don't know who to vote for! I want them all three to win! I'm amazed by their talent, all three of them. I was telling someone this the other day; these three singers don't "learn an arrangement." They sing from their heart, and they sing a song different every time. That is true talent. A lot of people take a song, practice it, decide what they're going to do where (like if they're going to take any liberties, do any riffs, etc.), and then sing it that way forever. But these three don't do that. Riffs come naturally to them.

I will buy all three of their CDs when they are released.

OK, on to other things! On Saturday, there was a snake in our yard!!!! :-( I had just potted some impatiens to put on the front porch, and we went around back to get the hose so I could water them. And there was a snake, all wrapped up with the hose, and then it just slithered away into the little space that houses the controls to our inground sprinkler system! Needless to say, I won't be doing any gardening when Brian isn't around!

Last night, as I was finishing up an article on the laptop, Word crashed and I lost almost all of the article. I was NOT happy. I threw a huge pity party for myself and baked some fat free brownies while Brian tried to fix what he called "corruption." That computer has been broken for some time, and it's just getting worse and worse. So today, Brian went out and picked up a new MacBook. I'm so excited to see it and try it out! Writing will be much easier and quicker when I don't have to save after every sentence!

OK, here's a funny story from Idol tonight. Well, I thought it was funny, you might not. Anyway, I'm a big weirdo and whenever someone hits a high note, I hum it to see just how high it is. I do this in church, at concerts, in the car....just wherever I am when someone sings high. So when Taylor hit those high notes during "You Are So Beautiful," I had to hum those notes. Well, Sam was asleep on my lap, and when I started humming, he quickly ran away. What is he trying to say? Hmmm - I don't know, but it's probably not good! LOL (Once when I was rehearsing in the shower for a solo I had at church, Sam came in and started meowing. LOUDLY. I think he was trying to tell me to shut up! Or maybe he was just singing along!) =^..^=

a shrubbery

Today's been a big day in the Sox household. Today, we paid off the last of our credit card debt! I know, we can't believe it either. We've been working on this debt since B got laid off in the spring of 2001. (And some of it was from when I was single.) It's been a long road, but we're finally out from under the heavy weight of credit card debt! Now we can attack Brian's student loan and then my car. After that, all we'll have left is the house! We are in shock!

Last night, I talked Brian into moving around the furniture in our family room. My cousin Chris was here, so I enlisted him, too. After they got it all arranged, I decided I didn't like it and had them move it all back. I helped, too - I didn't just sit around watching them break their backs! But with all the moving of furniture, I did get to vacuum under everything, and I also ended up moving an end table and chair, making the room feel a little cozier. I also organized all the stuff in our entertainment center. Do you know that we have like 8 different game systems? Seriously! From Atari to old-school Nintendo to X-Box, we've got it all. Come over and play sometime. :-)

The weather was gorgeous today! There was a nice, cool breeze, which is rare since we're in the middle of the state. By evening, it had cooled down to the mid-70's, and I took Brian outside to show him a few things in the yard. Since the weather was so great, we ended up pulling up all the shrubs in the front yard! I've been wanting to get them out of there, and I was afraid we'd have to hire someone to do it, cause I didn't know how deep they went. Well, it took a good bit of work, but we got them all out. It looks GREAT. I left my Sago Palm though, and now it's the only plant there. I'm going to plant another short palm tree, at least one hibiscus, and some assorted perennials there.

Now the work I wanted to do in the yard is well underway. Actually, the hardest part is almost done - we just need to dig a bed in the back and transplant the day lilies that are in the front. Then I can start planting new stuff! We have these miniature flower beds on both sides of our sidewalk leading up to the front door, and the plants that were there had grown over onto the sidewalk. They also didn't allow much sunlight through, so part of the sidewalk is now green where it got wet and didn't ever dry out. I was sick of it, so we pulled all that stuff up last Saturday, except the day lilies, which I trimmed back quite a bit.

When we first moved in this house, the two front rooms (both guest bedrooms) had been meticulously cleaned. After we'd lived here for a few days, I noticed that one of the rooms smelled weird. It smelled like smoke. When Mom and Dad came, Mom said she thought it smelled like pesticide. We haven't been able to figure out what it is or get rid of it. (This is the room that is located on the very front of the house, with the window overlooking the shrubs we just pulled out.) As we were cutting the shrubs, I knew immediately where the smell came from . It was the weird-smelling shrubs. I'm glad they're gone!

We drug them down to the road and when we were done, I said, "It looks like we've made a shrubbery on the curb." Brian replied (in his best Monty Python voice), "Bring me a shrubbery! One that looks nice." If you don't get it, go rent Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

Now we're going to have some veggie soup. Tomorrow I can go to Home Depot and begin the plant planning! Yay! I'll post pictures as I go.

I was so happy about Idol! Also, I want to say that Jade HAS to go home on America's Next Top Model. I can't stand her! And Joanie and Danielle have been my faves since the beginning, so I'll be happy if either of them wins.

Idol and other musings

Tuesday is Brian's game night. He stays after work with a bunch of guys and they order pizza and play games. He loves it. He used to do it in NY, and he's really missed it, so I'm glad he's socializing with some of the FL guys now. Since he wasn't going to be home, I decided to do some shopping. I'm looking for a new dresser, so I went to a few furniture stores. I got a smoothie and some pita chips at Planet Smoothie - yum! And then I went to Target, where I bought a new bedspread for the guest room and this cool shower cleaner thing. I'll let you know how it works.

Here's a funny thing I overheard at Target. I was looking at the lamps when I heard this animated voice getting closer to me. I glanced around and saw a girl excitedly showing/telling a guy all about some stuff she had gotten/was getting for her place. She goes, "I got scones for my wall." Scones. Hey, I thought you had scones with tea! I think SCONCES are what go on the wall....LOL!

Idol was great tonight, wasn't it? Every year, I've predicted who was going to win, and I've been right every time. What's funny is that 3 out of 4 of the winning Idols have been my picks: Kelly, Ruben, and Fantasia. I liked Carrie, but I wanted Bo to win, but I knew he wouldn't win. But this year is very different. I've liked Taylor, Elliott, and Katharine from the beginning. I remember seeing Katharine's first audition and thinking, wow, she could win. I just don't have a prediction this year! I think all four of the remaining idols could win. They're all excellent. Chris is still my least favorite, though.

Before tonight, I had thought that maybe Elliott would go home tomorrow. Now I think it might be Katharine. But in my heart, I hope it's Chris!

This week I've been walking an hour a day. I don't know what's come over me! Sometimes, when I'm walking along, I think to myself, "Who ARE you?" I used to exercise pretty often, but never every day. I can't believe I've kept it up. It's definitely addictive, though. I'm sure you would all get a kick out of me running from the same dog every day. I always forget about the dog. And I'm listening to my book on my iPod, walking along quickly, and then I hear this galloping behind me. So I RUN. Then I turn around and that dog is right at the edge of its electric fence staring at me. It acts playful, but I'm not gonna chance it! It totally tries to sneak up on me, too. It doesn't even bark.

On Sunday night, Brian and I rented The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. It was AMAZING. I didn't think it would be that good. You know it's a good movie when you think you've been watching for about 10 minutes and then it ends, and you realize that over 2 hours have passed! If you haven't seen this movie, go get it TODAY. It's definitely worth the time and money.

On Sunday morning, we did James Taylor's "You've Got a Friend" at church. It was cool. :-)

Have you heard about the brush fires in Florida? They're about an hour from us. But yesterday afternoon, one broke out by Sea World. Brian works like 5 minutes from Sea World. He called and said, "There's a fire by Sea World! I'm coming home." I watched the news while he came home and right after he left, they closed the road his office is on! Crazy! It rained in the night and this morning, though, and that helped. It's out now. (I think that's maybe the second or third time it's rained here in the year 2006! WE NEED RAIN!)

OK, that's all the news I've got. Sox out. :-D

home again, home again, jiggity jig

Today has been a day of recuperation - catching up on email, going through the mail, doing a few chores, unpacking, etc. It's been a good day even though I've had a headache for most of the day. Also, a small crisis occurred this evening when I found a lizard in the kitchen, near the laundry room (which goes out to the garage). After calling Brian for some moral support, I was finally able to get it out of the house. Lizards are cute, but they belong OUTside.

Oh, I forgot to say earlier - that I went to the doctor last Wed. for a checkup. I didn't explain earlier that the reason I'm being more healthy is that my blood pressure was on the high side the last time I was at the doctor, which was March 27. I convinced him to give me a month to work on it; thus, the healthy diet and exercise. I don't want to have a stroke or something! Anyway, my BP was still on the high side, but lower than before. And I had lost 10 pounds. 10 POUNDS! I was shocked and pleasantly surprised! I wished my BP was even lower, but the dr. said that if it runs in my family (which it does) then diet and exercise won't help that much. As I continue to diet and exercise, it will continue to go down though, so I'm not discouraged! He was very pleased with my progress, and that made me very pleased and proud. :-)

Now it's time for Idol, so I've decided to blog while I watch. (Of course, I'm watching on TiVo so I can forward the commercials and vote as I watch.) The first thing I noticed was that they jumped right into the show, no small talk at the beginning. That's good - I guess it's because Paula has been so long-winded, they've nearly run out of time on more than one occasion. Also, it makes me mad when she interrupts Simon. She needs to just let him have his turn instead of taking both her turn AND his! Plus, I'd rather hear what Simon has to say than what SHE has to say.

Elliott sang Broadway. I love this song and I thought he rocked the house. He is so smooth and makes all those runs seem effortless - love it! Hmmm - he was born in the same year as my brother! Voting for him right now.

Paris was born when I was in high school. I'm officially old. Have you noticed that some people don't EVER pronounce the letter L correctly when singing? Ace did it when he sang "That's All." He actually sang "That's Aow." And Paris just sang, "You don't have to be beautifo." Drives me nuts.

Chris is having a few pitch problems, but he's doing pretty well. And I'm not even a fan! Tonight was one of my favorite of his performances.

Katharine is singing Against All Odds. Wowee, is this song really 22 years old? Man. I love this song, but I think she's really struggling. I love her voice, but she's having a hard time. Maybe she's been sick. Oh, she just said she had trouble hearing herself. Yes, that makes sense - that's what it sounded like, because she rarely has pitch problems, but if you've ever sung in a big room, you know that it's hard to find the pitch when you can't hear properly.

Taylor - Oh my gosh, as soon as the music started, I started grinning. I love it when he dances around. He's doing great. And he's only 3 years younger than me! He's crazy and I love it. :-) I can understand what Simon is saying, because this competition really IS about the singing, but I'm just glad to see someone on AI having a good time and not being so nervous. Taylor is a breath of fresh air. Voting for him.

Elliott - wow, he's taking on Michael Buble. I LOVE this song, too. In my book, he did great tonight on song choice. Not my favorite performance of his, but he still did good. Oh my, is Paula drunk again?

Paris took on Mary J. Blige, brave! I actually love this song too, it reminds me of my hot husband. Especially the "cause I can't sleep without you" part. :-) Paris sure can sing. I suspect she's not going to have a problem getting a contract when she doesn't win, cause I don't think she's gonna win.

Chris is doing well tonight. Whoops, gotta take that back because he screamed at the end. OH! The judges have noticed that Chris' voice is giving out. Wonder why?! If you don't know, refer to this post. He'd better be careful!

Katharine is killin' it! I love this song too. I think it has such a cool vibe. And I like the dancing around on her knees, too. What a great song for her. Now I'm gonna vote for her. This may be my favorite performance of the night.

Taylor is singing a Beatles song. I don't like this song that much, but I really like him. Yay for Taylor. Great job.

Man, it's hard to say who's going home. I'm not going to make a prediction. They're all good.

I've got some other things I want to talk about, but I'll save them for another day. Here's a preview:

debt
vacations
Sam's plate incident
blog comments

going home

I've been in Kansas City (well, really Olathe) since Thursday and what a great time it has been! I don't think I've made public on my blog that Brad and Kari are moving. Brad has accepted a position at Beavercreek Church of the Nazarene in Dayton, Ohio. He will be Pastor to Communities (I think that's the right title) and he starts June 1. They are moving a week from tomorrow! This is Kari's parents' church and it's only 2.5-3 hours away from my parents, so everyone is thrilled to have them back in Ohio.

So I've been helping them pack some, but mostly I've been playing with Braden. He is just so so cute! He laughs and he is SO close to talking - every day that I've been here he's vocalized at least one new consonant. It's so funny when he's just babbling away! He's walking now, and he's just learned to say "uh-oh." It's hilarious when he says it, especially when he says it BEFORE dropping whatever is in his hand.

I'm going back to Florida tomorrow and while I'm sad to leave the B and Brad and Kari, I can't wait to be home. I miss Brian fiercely.

Idol. Yay, Kellie is gone! Now it's starting to get really hard. I'm not terribly attached to Paris or Chris, so I won't be too sad when they leave, but after that, it's going to be tough. Now I don't know who's going or when. I guess I'll just have to make my predictions after I hear them sing on Tuesday nights!