Yeah, I might be a crazy cat lady...

You know I love Keyboard Cat.

I am not ashamed!!

Here is his latest video.

Why does this make me laugh uncontrollably??

Thanksgiving in retrospect

What a Texas traveler I was these past few days!

San Antonio for a night, Georgetown for the Thanksgiving meal with the parentals, Aaron, and family friends, immediately on to Arlington, then back to Houston last night.

Oddly enough, it was quite the relaxing weekend.

The Thanksgiving meal was delicious [even though my mom didn't cook it. I survived!], and I may have consumed three pieces of pie.

Our time in Arlington with Aaron's parents was lovely as usual. I partook in my first Black Friday shopping in I don't know how long, and came out a winner with my mom's Christmas gift, gorgeous black boots [that I paid for but will end up being a Christmas gift from mom. Thanks!], and some goodies from Ulta. The day was all about Aaron, though, who is turning into a girl when it comes to shopping.

We also watched all the episodes so far of The Walking Dead. Have you seen it? If not, DO IT! It is so good. A show about zombies may sound a little corny, but I promise it is very well done and will have you wanting more. Maybe we all stayed up until 1 am watching them all.

Last night I put up my very first Christmas tree! Aaron's grandma gave it to me, and I am so excited to have my very own. I still need some lights and ornaments, but it's a nice start. Chester is enthralled with it and won't stop running around it while meowing.

Now it's back to work. Booooo!

But Christmas is in less than a month!

Family time

This past weekend I ventured from Houston to San Antonio to celebrate my dad's birthday. It was a big one, so my mom threw a little surprise party for him. It's always so nice to go home where it feels safe and there is never any shortage on love and good food.

They're such Aggie parents.

He missed the biggest football game of the year at A&M to come with me.

My sweet dog, Boagie. He obviously had nothing to do with the birthday celebration, but isn't he cute?

I'll be heading back home tomorrow to spend Thanksgiving with my parents and long time family friends. This will be the first Thanksgiving that my mom hasn't done the cooking. I am hesitant to partake in anyone else's Thanksgiving feast, but I'll try to embrace the change! Then Aaron and I will move on to Arlington to spend the rest of the weekend with his family. Road trips!


Other tidbits over the last few days:
1. Have you heard of Rue LaLa? If not, you should check it out immediately. They feature HEAVY discounts on different designers every day. I snatched up a pair of skinny Seven for all Mankind jeans for $100 less than they should have been. Having them arrive at my door was quite exciting.
2. I partook in this thing called "working from home." Novel, right? Well to me it certainly was! I've been pretty sickly since Thursday, so my boss told me to just stay home and work. I AM ADDICTED. I didn't have to put on makeup or proper clothing. I drank hot cocoa. Chester supervised as I did research. Besides the sickness, it was perfect. And I get to do it again tomorrow before I leave for home. Score! Can I do this at all times, please?

Have a beautiful Thanksgiving, everyone!
And remember, gorging on delicious foods is quite acceptable during this time of the year. So do it!!

Update

I did not pee in my pants.

I did not die of fright.

I did not scream.

I did pull a button out of my jacket.

Paranormal Activity 2 was about 10 times less scary than the first, thank goodness. Creepy, yes, but I was actually able to go to sleep without even thinking about demons and scary noises.

Scaring myself silly + Weekend scenes

Well, I'm finally biting the bullet and seeing Paranormal Activity 2.

I am taking a large blanket with me to cover my face with.

I'll also be the girl with fingers in her ears the whole time.

I swear I really LOVE scary movies. This one just gets to me.

I hope my reaction won't be as bad as it was with the first installment.

I shall report back on the experience.

Some scenes from the weekend:

The Houston Museum of Natural Science. Being there made me feel like a kid again. My favorite part was the dinosaur exhibit. I've always been a fan.

That night we watched our Aggies win their football game, and celebrated accordingly.

Typical city experiences

This week I encountered two situations that I feel exemplify big city living. Or maybe I've just been out of the big city for too long. [though let's be honest, San Antonio, though numbering over 1 million people, can hardly be classified as the big city]

Situation 1: Old men buying things for younger women

Ok so I know this cannot be relegated strictly to the big city realm, but I classify it as such because it was the first time it ever happened to me.

Anyway, my friend Lara and I decided to meet for dinner and drinks on Tuesday evening after work. We ate our dinner [delicious sushi- and half price at that!], then stopped for the libations at another restaurant down the way. After a while, an older gentleman [I guess I should classify older...mid 40s maybe? Edging on 50, I'd say] sat down next to me and proceeded to hassle me for sipping on such an obviously girly drink. Soon enough one of his friends joined, and the scene quickly turned into "old guys trying to impress attractive, younger females." Lara thankfully dominated conversation with talk of football, as I am awkward in these kinds of situations. So at one point, two shots show up in front of us with the bartender explaining that they were purchased for us by one of the men we were talking with. Well, when in Rome, I say. Aaand my story ends there; thankfully these men were nice and were not inappropriate in any way.

Situation 2: Nudity in places where you least expect it

There is a bar near downtown that holds turtle racing every Thursday night. The turtles start out in a bucket in the middle of a ring, and when the bucket is lifted the first turtle out of the outter ring is named the winner. If you happened to choose that turtle earlier in the evening, you win a free beer if that turtle wins two races. Easy stuff. Tame stuff.

Not last night.

While waiting for a race to start, we notice a man walking into the center of the ring. He seems to be checking out the turtles, but it is quickly made clear that he has other motives in mind. This guy COMPLETELY strips off his pants and boxers, puts on a pair of sunglasses, and just chills in the center of the ring, looking around at everyone. Um, excuse me?

I quickly averted my eyes, as seeing a strange man's penis was not on my agenda for the evening. Also not on my agenda was to have him start walking straight in my direction. No no no no no. Thankfully this is when a bar staff member decided to intervene. Close call!

Ah, big city living. Nothing like it right?

Have a splendid weekend!!

Loving Zack Morris

I'm fairly confident my mother was convinced I'd grow up to be either a spinster or a lesbian.

[Not that there is anything wrong with either of those lifestyles. Hell, both of those choices would have freed me from any male related drama I have encountered in my life thusfar. But I digress.]

As a child, I had quite an adverse reaction to the male species. As an uptight six year old, those rambunctious hooligans were just too primative for my tastes. So while the other little girls gathered in groups and giggled over how cute Billy was, I stood there with my arms crossed, a look of disgust plastered on my face, and informed them that they were too young to be so boy crazy.

Yeah, I was that girl. In elementary school.

Once, in Kindergarten, a fellow classmate named Jesse told me that he wanted to see me in my bathing suit. What could have possibly brought this up whilst learning how to glue and cut in a straight line, I have no idea. But needless to say, I was horrified.

Then, in the 5th grade, one of the most popular boys in our class asked me to "go around" with him. This occurred while walking down the stairs from our school's library. Want to know what my reaction was? I screamed [literally], "EWWW GROSSSSSS!!!" and ran down the stairs back to our classroom. I was in such a state that my attempt to sit huffily down in my chair led to me actually falling out of said chair. But that's beside the point.

This extreme distaste did not only exist within my general age group, but included adult males as well. Doctor holding my hand to prick my finger for a blood sample? Gross. You get the picture.

My point in detailing these embarrassing antecdotes is this: While outwardly displaying nothing but hostility and disgust for all things boy, I was inwardly pining over one.

Zack Morris.

I lived for coming home to watch Saved by the Bell. Maybe I kissed the TV every time he appeared on screen. Maybe.

That blonde hair, those blue eyes, his popularity! What was there not to love??

I hated Kelly Kapowski, of course. The behavior of of automatically not liking the girl who has your dream guy starts at a young age, I tell you.

Perhaps I was too young to realize that Zack was not and would not ever be real. But that's ok. He was so much better than all the driveling dummies I had to go to school with [seriously, that's how I thought of them].

Funny thing is, with the exception of my very best friend, I never told a soul about my Zack Morris obsession. My poor mother, who told me it was more than acceptable to have boys as friends and that maybe I should try it, probably would have been comforted in knowing that I did indeed find a tiny bit of interest in a boy [albeit a fictional one}. But this was my own secret to harbor.

I like to credit Zack Morris [yes, I know he is a real actor with a real name, but I prefer to refer to him by the name in which I know him best] with teaching me that guys were not necessarily evil on earth. Who cares if because of him, all my first true loves were celebrities? You have to start somewhere!

Did I ever end up having a cute little elementary school boyfriend? Hell no. Did I have one in middle school? Negative. But you know what, I am more than ok with that. At least by the 8th grade I had my first real full-fledged crush on a guy! Did I ever really speak to him? No. Did I blush every time he spoke in class? Yep [he's married now, p.s.].

You can stop worrying about my social development now. By high school, I was a completely normal, horome-controlled girl. I had more crushes than I could even keep track of. One of them even turned in to a serious relationship [my first].

So thank you, Zack Morris. Guys can still be infinitely dumb sometimes, but at least I know that they're not evil and their "cooties" aren't going to kill me.

When I'm feeling feisty I like to get critical

It's Friday, it's cold, and I am hungry. All I want is to leave this office and eat the dinner that awaits me at Pappasitos. All this longing of things that I cannot have right this instant is making me feisty. In my feisty state, I stumbled onto a girl's blog that literally made me want to punch things. It then served for the inspiration of this post:

TEN THINGS PEOPLE WEAR THAT THEY SHOULDN'T

1. Large hair bows
Are you Minnie Mouse? Are you five? Are you Lady Gaga? If you answered no to any of these questions, you probably shouldn't do this:

Imagine a girl wearing a giant bow. Picture has been removed due to my rudeness.

Hon, that thing is half the size of your head. In my experiences, this trend is quite popular amongst sorority girls at A&M. As with any other new fashion trend that confounds me, I have to wonder what female woke up one day and said to herself, "Hey, I really miss the carefree days of childhood. I think I'll remedy this by wearing oversized bows and making all of my friends do it too."


2. Rompers
I have dedicated an entire post to these monstrosities, so no need for elaboration.




3. Harem pants

We'll play the little question game again. Is it the late 1980s/early 1990s? Are you MC Hammer? Are you dressing up as MC Hammer for Halloween? Are you an Arabian princess named Jasmine? If you answered no to any of these, PLEASE, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, DO NOT DO THIS:


So.much.sagging. Since when is that a good thing? And personally, I feel harem pants can be a potential security threat. You can hide all kinds of things in there!

4. Uggs with short shorts
Weather can be confusing, I get it. But pray tell, what is the point of wearing warm-as-an-oven boots, while leaving MILES of leg uncovered?

And in the case of this particular picture, why wear a jacket if it doesn't even cover your tummy?! This girl is weather schizophrenic.


5. Boot sandals.

I'm sure they're not actually called boot sandals, but that is the only proper description I can think of for these.

Here we go again with the weather confusion. It's like your lower extremities are saying, "hmmm....my toes want to party, but my ankles are feeling a bit more modest today." I wish my feet were that complex.

6. Silly bandz.

Who invented these? Why are they popular?

I suppose they can be equated to the Pokemon phase. Kids get different types [don't worry, there is an abundant variety ranging from fantasy shapes, food, dinosaurs, farm animals, and any other shape that has ever existed] and trade amongst themselves. Fine, fun, whatever. But why are 18-20somethings so gung-ho on them? Like the bows, I sense it is a failure to move on from age 5. I mean, I know I am one to talk about failure to mature, but really guys?? THEY DON'T EVEN LOOK LIKE ANYTHING WHEN YOU ARE WEARING THEM. It looks like a bunch of deformed worms somehow attached themselves to your wrist.

7. Leggings as pants.

I love leggings. I love tights. I wear them often. What I do not do is use them as my sole pant-like cover up. Observe:

Olivia Wilde is hot. She can pretty much do what she wants. But not even she should do this. Unless she is at yoga class. Last time I checked though, the sidewalk was not yoga class. Leggings/tights are meant to be worn UNDER things. They keep your legs warm. They add a little something extra to your outfit. They are not stand-alone items. Period. No one wants to see your bum through your pants. Even if you are really hot.

8. Bump its

Have I hopped in a time machine and warped back to 1962? hmm...My compouter shows it's 2010. Oh sorry, this bump it just had me confused for a second.

Vintage is great. I wish I lived in the 1960s. Or the 1940s [great dresses]. But is this cute? Poor dear is making her head abnormally large. And have you seen the commercials for these things? They showcase the most DREADFUL hairstyles and try to tell women that they are hip and beautiful. Futhermore, SNOOKI IS NOT A FASHION ICON. Have you looked at her?? Nothing about that woman is classy or fashionable.



9. Flat billed hats

I can't let guys off the hook here. These do NOT make you look cool.

Is K-Fed someone you want to emulate, boys? These hats are large. And flat. The combination is not an attractive one. And what's with keeping the sticker on the underside? Do you need a constant reminder of how large your cranium is? Does this correlate to your constant focus on size? Guys, you confuse me.

10. Black tennis shoes worn with jeans as a going out ensemble.

Boys, this is for you again. I could not find a proper picture except for one of a person I actually know [and he's nice, so that would be mean], but just imagine this if you will. I know guys don't always concentrate on fashion and what not, but would it kill you to have some shoes that do not involve laces or that you wouldn't wear to the gym? Combine this look with a flat billed hat, and I might faint from fashion heart attack.

Excuse my rant. Like I said, the feistyness took over.

Thinking of titles for things stresses me out

Last weekend was one of the last home football games of the season. A&M played Texas Tech, a notoriously trashy school when it comes to fans/sportsmanship.

I couldn't be concerned with all of this, as I was too busy tailgating.

Much as I love it, I'm kinda over it now. I'll be ready again when next year rolls around!

Yes, it was Halloween weekend, but no, I did not dress up and go out with everyone else on Saturday night after the game. Womp womp. Aaron and I had every intention of procuring awesome costumes that would make everyone faint with jealousy, but this did not happen. Instead we stayed in and passed out from sheer exhaustion.

The actual day of Halloween was just as uneventful. I'm convinced that sometimes we are too lazy for our own good.

However, I did get to dress up that evening [in a costume thrown together in 5 seconds: a sorority girl, the morning after a wild frat party. I had on an oversized frat shirt, running shorts, Uggs, a side ponytail with a couple of bows, and no make up. Trust me, this is basically the traditional sorority girl uniform at A&M] and play bunko with Caroline and Courtney. They have a group that plays every month, and it was a lot of fun! In my mind bunko was always a game for retired older women, but alas, my opinion has changed! It got pretty intense. Plus there was awesome Halloween-themed food and drinks. A quality night I say! See pictures here.

You're welcome.

Thank you, Andrea, for sharing this with me!