Not feeling well. Going to bed now.

Bethany, I beat you to it...

Hee Hee

Ouch

Some days are just harder than others, ya know?

I was born when I met you.
Now I'm dying to forget you.

I'm Famous

Yesterday I got quite a surprise. A friend emailed me and said she was surfing the net and headed over to blogHouston to check out what kind of criticisms they had for the media this week. For those of you who don't know, blogHouston is a group of citizens who offer a round-up of news stories they consider to be important to the region. They also critique local news reports and offer commentaries and suggestions. A lot of Houston journalists read this blog to see what these guys are saying about us. Anyway, the purpose of my friend's email was to alert me to the fact that blogHouston has linked to the QQ!

I checked it out and sure enough...there I am under the list of "Journo Bloggers" on the lower right side of the page. Wow. I'm not sure how I feel about that. I mean, yes, I am a journalist. And yes, I am a blogger. But I'm not a journalist-blogger. I'm blogging about my personal life...not about Houston news happenings. All the other "journo bloggers" on that list are actually blogging about news. Most of them are blogging for their employers. I'm blogging about my fake dates and growing plants on my patio. Now everyone in Houston has a link to my blog. This could really increase my readership...but I'm not sure I'm prepared to answer questions if, for instance, the mayor asks me how things are going with Guy #1.

I might have to start blogging about "grown-up" things so people will take me seriously as a journalist. If anyone has any suggestions for grown-up topics, let me know. I've got nuthin'.

You Decide

I'm back. I missed all of you just as much as you missed me. I was out of town. It was a girls' weekend road trip. We had a great time and made a lot of memories. My favorite memory was photo-documented. The pictures below are of Katy doing an impression of something. She will probably kill me for putting these on my blog. So if the blog isn't updated tomorrow...somebody should come look for my body.

What do you think is going on in these pictures?

I hope I don't wake up.

Because waking up without you
is like drinking from an empty cup.

Pride & Prejudice

Last night a friend and I went to the theatre. We found our seats, settled in and relished the prospect of enjoying the performance. That is, until the people behind us were seated. I cannot begin to adequately describe how annoying these people were. They whispered (loudly!) to one another throughout the show. The woman kept making remarks on everything from the actor's accents to their looks. At one point she actually said "these girls aren't nearly as pretty as the ones in the movie." This woman was so loud...we could hear everything she was saying. Oh, and she would occasionally finish the actors' lines for them! She laughed really loud...and often laughed at inappropriate times when the rest of the audience was silent. Her husband kept playing with some sort of plastic candy wrapper...crinkling it over and over...and over and over. I'm not kidding. It was maddening. My friend and I kept looking at each other in amazement over the amount of noise this couple was making throughout the evening. I was definitely feeling proud that I wasn't acting as uncouth as that couple and I was absolutely prejudiced against them for being such annoying play-goers.

After the show, we were all leaving and I quickly glanced behind me to get a look at these ill-mannered, annoying people. Gah! I know them!! It was this sweet couple who used to own a business I worked for while I was in college. The lady was my boss for two years!!! I affectionately called her Granny Annie!!!! I quickly turned away before they could see me and told my friend we had to get out of there fast.

Then I felt bad. I know how sweet and genuine that couple is. I know how much they love the Lord. I know how many people they have poured into over the years. And I judged them based on their noisiness at a play. But what was even more convicting is that my judgment of them changed when I knew who they were. What if they had been total strangers? I would not have loved them with the love of Christ. I would not have shown them grace. I would have gone home still thinking of them with pride and prejudice in my heart. And that is a reflection on me...not on them.

Another Rescue

Last night a friend called me. I was at the store, so I let the call go to voicemail. When I checked the message I couldn't hear anything other than what sounded distinctly like a kitten meowing. Strange.

About an hour later my friend called back. I answered the call and she told me she had spent the evening at her grandparents' house. All evening long she kept hearing an odd whining sound. She thought perhaps it was some sort of machinery...but she said it sounded just like a kitten. She mentioned it to her grandparents, but they didn't know what it was. The evening progressed and the whining continued. Finally, the family decided to investigate. They searched the whole house and determined the noise was loudest in the kitchen. It really did sound like a kitten. A loud, upset meowing kitten. They looked in all the cabinets, behind the fridge and even pulled the dishwasher out to inspect the cavity behind it. Then they examined the walls and ended up removing an electrical outlet from the sheetrock.

My friend put her hand into the hole in the wall...and pulled out a kitten. Yep. There was a tiny kitten INSIDE the kitchen wall. She said it was dirty and covered with insulation. They checked the perimeter of the house for holes and couldn't find any openings. They have no idea how it got there.

Police Scene

I witnessed a police rescue today.

I was driving down Memorial heading to the station, when I noticed a police car pulled over in the median. As I approached, the officer got out of his car and walked into the middle of street. I slowed down and came to a stop as he walked into my lane. Then he bent over and picked something up from the middle of the road and walked back to his car.

It was a turtle.

Definition of Terms

Motivated: To provide with an incentive; to incite; impel; move to action

Unmotivated: see Laurie Johnson

Disclaimer

To my faithful readers,

I'm having a blog-identity crisis. I feel the need to explain myself. I don't want the QQ to cause anyone to question my ethics, morals or general good manners. I'd like to take this opportunity to say I am NOT dating two guys at one time (contrary to what many of you may believe). I am also not going on dozens of dates with various eligible men, nor am I being kissed by said eligible men. Everything you read on the QQ is true. But it's not the whole truth. Any kisses mentioned have been cheek-kisses. Any dates analyzed have been platonic outings between friends. Any flirting has been...well the flirting really is authentic. I've got to have some fun. Any real dates, kisses or potential relationships are not on the blog. Not now. Not ever.

Signed,
The Author

Snuggling is just one of the best feelings. Even better when it ends in falling asleep with your head on someones chest.

Laurie Letters

My roommate and I often write little notes and letters to one another. Sometimes they are notes of encouragement. Sometimes they are notes reminding us to take out the trash. This week the notes were of a more sinister sort.

Laurie 1 to Laurie 2:
Hey Mama!
There's a lizard in the house. He jumped out at me. I screamed. Just wanted you to know. Love you.
~Hottie

Four days later, Laurie 2 to Laurie 1:
LJ,
I killed the lizard! I used 1/2 a can of bug spray in the process. So the ozone layer is gone, but at least the lizard is too. Love you.
~Mama

We are all phantoms

This is just so cool.

Nostalgia

Today would have been a very good day for the Friday Funnies. Lots of material.

FF, I miss you!

Someone told me a lie. Someone looked me in the eye and said "time will ease your pain."

My So-Called (Dating) Life

I had a date last night. I have to say, I was really impressed by the guy. He did everything just right. He asked me in person. He gave me plenty of warning (asked on Sunday for a date on Wednesday). He emailed me the day before to confirm and tell me how much he was looking forward to it. He made two different plans and asked me whether I would prefer a low-key intimate setting or a night out, big-date setting. He picked me up. He planned the perfect evening (brought a bottle of wine and took me to a little Italian cafe where we sipped our wine and shared a brick-oven-baked pizza). He took me to another spot for coffee after dinner. He drove me home. He kissed me goodnight. He emailed me today to tell me how much he enjoyed the evening and to say he thinks we should go out again soon.

Oh, and conversation was great as well. In fact, considering the topics we covered, you'd think things were pretty serious between us. We talked about marriage and children (three kids was the consensus). We agreed on the type of honeymoon we want (quiet, laid back, secluded). We discussed our expectations on the frequency of...ahem..."intimacy" in a marriage. I'm not sure we're in agreement on this one as he seemed to think 3-4 times a day wasn't unreasonable. We discovered that he prefers to sleep on the right side of the bed and I prefer the left. And we talked about the different things we'd like to register for (me: a food processor, him: a leaf blower).

Too bad he's a guy I've known for years and it's a completely platonic relationship and this was just another friend-date. One day...one day...it'll be a "real" date. And I won't be blogging about it.

Here Comes the Bride, Where is the Groom?

Last night I had a dream that I was getting married. I can remember every detail of the dream. It was a destination wedding in the Mediterranean. Everything was beautiful. The bridesmaids' dresses were an unusual, but really lovely, shade of grass green with a pale pink ribbon. My whole family was there and a number of friends were in attendance. I remember feeling excited and nervous all at the same time. The wedding party walked down the aisle to the front of the church, and then it was my turn. There I was, wearing a beautiful dress, holding a bouquet of flowers, about to walk down the aisle and come face to face with my future husband...and then...I woke up. Blast! I didn't get to see who I was about to marry! What's the point of dreaming about getting married if I don't even get any useful information out of it?!

Sigh.

At least I know the bridesmaids' dresses were cute.

The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Yesterday was bad. Very, very bad. To put this in perspective: one of the high points of the day was when some old lady hit my car. While it was parked. Yeah. That was one of the lesser bad moments. The others were worse. Much worse. Some of the moments were so bad that I can't even go into detail on the QQ. Suffice it to say you don't even want to know what happened. Fortunately, for every truly awful day there is a truly wonderful film clip to be found on the internet. So in celebration of better days to come, I give you Napoleon Dynamite as told by bunnies.

Plan B

You know how a lot of people have that one friend who has always been "just a friend"? It's the person that is always there for you when you need them. Always willing to spend time with you, encourage you and be your stand-in date. But you know you're never going to actually be "with" that person. There may be times when one or the other of you wants to change the relationship, but circumstances just don't seem to work out. So you end up making that person your Plan B. You know how the conversation goes: "If neither one of us is married in ten years, let's just marry each other."


I have that friend. My Plan B, if you will. Unfortunately, she's a girl. But she's pretty incredible and we've decided we'd make a great couple. There will be a lot of adjustments. I'm not sure I'm ready to live an alternative lifestyle. And taking her home to the family could be weird. But we talked about it last night and realized there are way more positives than negatives in this scenario. For example, she brought up the touchy (no pun intended) subject of sex. We'll have to go without. But I reminded her of two things: we're ALREADY going without AND all our married friends tell us it's not that great to begin with. So what could be viewed as a negative, actually turns out to be a positive. Another positive is we'll be able to meet each other's emotional needs much better than any man could do. So when I'm all weepy and needy...she'll know exactly what to do and how to respond. Whereas a man would just awkwardly pat me and tell me not to cry, all while wishing he were somewhere far, far away. Oh, and she already lives in The Montrose, so we'll be surrounded by others who are like us. It's always nice to live near other "special" couples.

So all in all, it seems like a win-win situation. Let the ten-year countdown begin.

Me and my future Honey

Check out my PP!

Project Patio is growing (no pun intended). I've added a water feature. My wonderful friends from my Sunday School class gave me a generous gift card to Home Depot and I was able to purchase a lovely little fountain, along with some more plants. The patio really looks quite inviting. Lately, the evenings have been cool enough to spend some time outside. I finally feel like my labor is starting to pay off. Earlier this week I actually spent an entire evening out there! I potted some plants and moved some large containers around and pruned some of them. I was dirty and sweaty and my hair was frizzed out to ginormous proportions from the humidity, but I loved every minute of it. I still don't think of myself as a gardener, though.
More like a Plant Momma.

Close-up view of the water feature

A water feature in its natural habitat

Party of Four(th)

Independence Day, 2007: The day started with several friends coming to my house for brunch. We feasted on breakfast casserole, sticky buns and pancakes (banana and blueberry). Then we sat around feeling sleek and happy and enjoyed the slow-moving pace of a drizzly holiday morning.

Most people left after an hour or two. But three friends stayed and we spent literally the entire day just hanging out: talking, eating, laughing, and enjoying our little party of four. Nothing special happened. In fact, the day was about as low-key as it could possibly get. Usually I am bustling about, getting things accomplished or running errands or simply moving from one spot to another. So yesterday was so refreshing -- to simply sit and be with friends. No agenda, no deadline, no demands or expectations. Just a quiet, cozy home filled with the comfort of familiar and beloved faces and the joy of uninterrupted conversation and fellowship.

I'm struck by the fact that I didn't do anything "patriotic" yesterday. I didn't sing the National Anthem. I didn't wear red, white and blue. I didn't wave a flag or even eat a hot dog or apple pie. But I did cherish my freedom. I did rejoice in the richness of the blessings God has given me. And I did remember that my entire life is a celebration of the Independence I have through the redemption and salvation of Jesus Christ. I love my country and am proud of my heritage as an American, but it is for eternal Freedom that Christ has set me free!

Star-struck

I met a movie star. Seriously. You've seen him. In fact, you probably laughed at his part in the film. Check out the clip. Watch for the scene where the two guys are sitting on the park bench. He's the one on the right. I know him.



He's one of the servicemen I interviewed yesterday.

Random Come-ons

Fact: I got a new haircut last week
Fact: Random men are flirting with me
Hypothesis (courtesy of Greg): New haircut = x-factor

It started on Saturday night. I went to the Astros game with several friends. After the game we were all walking out of the stadium. I was talking to someone in our group when I felt a hand slide along the back of my shoulders and rest on the back of my neck. I assumed it was someone from our group so I turned to look and see which of my friends was caressing me. Instead, I look up to see some guy standing there, looking down at me with a little smile on his face. "Um, hi," I said. "Hi," he replied. He just kept walking along with his hand on my neck. I was frantically trying to figure out what to do (do I know this guy? what is he doing? how do I get away?).

Right at that moment, Troy (who was walking nearby) noticed what was going on and grabbed me, put his arm around my shoulders and steered me away from the random guy. (Rabbit-trail moment: Men, we really appreciate when you serve us in these ways. I felt very vulnerable in that moment and it was great to have a Christian brother paying attention and providing a safety net.) Thanks for looking out for me, Troy!

The random flirting continued today. I interviewed three servicemen who have been discharged from the military and are now going through a program to help them reintegrate into civilian life. One of them, a Marine, was obviously flirting with me.

As I was interviewing him, I asked about the various injuries he had sustained during his time in the service. He listed off a whole litany of injuries (shootings, stabbings, knee injuries, stomach and muscle injuries etc). I told him it sounded like he was falling apart.

He replied "No way! I've still got it all together. In fact, what are you doing tonight? We should go dancing! Then I can show you all I've got to work with." Then he got this embarrassed look on his face and his buddies started teasing him that he was blushing. It was definitely a first in my job experience.

And for anyone who may be wondering, I told him I didn't think it would be very safe for me to go dancing with him...since he seems to be a magnet for shootings and stabbings.