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.