Monday, November 30, 2009

There's an app for that...



They weren't kidding. There is an app for That. I just recently got on the smart phone band wagon by purchasing a Motorola Cliq. It's basically T-Mobile's version of the iPhone. I am addicted to my phone, but it's gelled to my finger not to my ear. I can keep up with Facebook, Twitter, and my email all on one screen and I'm loving it. Seriously though, I have developed Phone Finger on the tip of my pointer finger.

Just this past week I finally looked at the app market. Oh. My. Gosh. I spent an entire Thanksgiving road trip looking at apps. I went back and forth between exclaiming "Who would want that?" and "Genius! Sheer genius!" I have only downloaded a few free apps despite Joey's requests that I download Anchorman and Wedding Crashers soundboards. I didn't tell him about the Fart Maker soundboard. That would have just been more than he could have handled.

Alright, I have to tell you about this one app. Since, I believe 100 percent of all visitors to this blog are female, I don't have any qualms blogging about this. If you're a guy, just stop here. No really, stop here.





It's about the menstrual cycle. See I told you that you should've stopped.




Alright, I've for sure lost any male stragglers by now with that note. That would stop my husband dead in his reading tracks for sure.

There is an app for tracking your period, ovulation, basal body temperature, etc. I was ecstatic when I came across that one. Being that I tend to go the natural route, I'm not on birth control pills so this subject is important. I never tracked anything prior to getting married so I'm not in the habit, which has led to me forgetting and counting things over and over. Oh the counting. Anyway, back to the app. It does all of this for you! It tells you when you should start for months out sans counting and it also tells you your most fertile times. And before your freak out and it gets back to my mother, no, I'm not planning a family right now, but it's just good to know. I just had to tell you because I thought it was so cool. Joey asked me, "What if someone wants to see your phone and they accidentally come across THAT?" Boys. We're not all SO weird about THAT.

Monday, November 23, 2009

An Ol' Ag

This weekend Joey and I went to the A&M-Baylor game with another couple. Thankfully, it was a game that made sitting in a cold, plastic poncho worth it. Not many Aggie games the past few seasons make this ok. I absolutely detest ponchos. Joey made me wear it. I sat in the rain stubbornly for as long as I could stand it, disdainfully looking at the poncho in the bag. Putting it on felt like swallowing horrible cough medicine. Why couldn't I be one of the girls in the cute rain jackets? Instead I was wearing a piece of clothing that differs from a trash bag by a single snap at the neck. Somewhere I know there's a Poncho Millionaire sitting on his mountains of cash because he decided to repackage the trash bag as a "poncho" and then sell it to all desperate people caught in the rain.

I am relaying this part of the event to you so you can get an idea of my state of mind. I was Wet-Hair-Stuck-to-My-Head-Smudgy-Eye-Make-Up-Girl-in-a-Poncho.

There is one thing about revisiting college campuses as a former student (NOTE for non-Ags: A&M graduates are not referred to as alumni, but as "former students" - one of the many weird things we do), you feel OLD. Class of 2012, really? Really? I remember when Class of 2004 sounded fresh. Oh my gosh. It's happened. I am what is termed an "ol' Ag". (NOTE to non-Ags: ol' Ags are ancient). I remember 'ol Ags. You would run into them at the MSC (Memorial Student Center) where if they caught your ear, you'd sit and listen to them reminisce about life as a student at A&M in 1932 while turning their well-worn Aggie ring around on their finger. They would tell you about how girls didn't attend A&M back then, how their sweethearts were given Aggie pinky rings and how campus was only from Building A to Building B. And there I was...and am. I felt it as I would catch myself saying to Joey, hey remember when there wasn't a walkway from West Campus to Kyle Field? Remember the girl who ate The List while everyone was waiting to pull tickets for the TU game? Remember how the 12th Man used to be on the other side of Kyle field? Remember when the shuttles were like old school buses? Remember...oh no, I'm doing it again.

So there I was, surrounded by young girls wearing A&M t-shirts proudly stating "Class of 2012" with their fresh faces and God love'em, skinny jeans that were actually, well....skinny. And me. Wet, smudgy, old, pitiful and in a poncho. I could practically feel the wrinkles coming on.

This was pretty much how I was feeling. Then I spotted true ol' Ags sitting on stadium seat cushions. A refined woman in her 70s, all decked out in maroon and white, wearing what looked like her Aggie sweetheart ring and sitting next to her Aggie husband with his gold ring worn so smooth you can hardly see the once prominent details. I was reminded that it's all relative. I wander what she thinks of us all? She would probably laugh at my feeling as one of the elderly. I'm sure she'd long to be the age that I am. Or maybe she wouldn't. Maybe she would be happy just where she is.

And then I saw my kindred spirit. A girl proudly giving away her age by wearing a "Saw 'Em Off" t-shirt circa 2004. Remember when we were able to wear these shirts before the trademark infringement banned them from being made again? She didn't look old at all, but just slightly more seasoned and the maturity suited her. That made me feel better. Now granted, she wasn't wearing a poncho.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Dinner Nouveau

Ok, I have to brag on something. I have cooked dinner four nights in row! Yay me! I'm sure some of you are thinking, geez not much to brag about, but really with me, this deserves a little bragging. I'm generally a "fixer" not a cook. I chop, heat, and steam. This is the extent of my cooking. This is not because I don't like to cook, but more because let's face it, by the time I get home my tummy just can't wait. In addition, because we try to eat relatively healthy and I'm not cuisinely creative, we tend to get in rut. In fact, let's examine the rut more closely:

A Monday: grilled chicken, steamed veggies and salad.
A Tuesday: steak, steamed veggies and salad.
A Wednesday: grilled fish, steamed veggies and salad.
A Thursday: grilled pork, steamed veggies and wait for it...salad.

Well, this week I put a stop to it and have made a strategic effort. This is due to my husband's cry for help. He asked my mastermind alliance with keeping on track dietwise during the day. You can't ignore a cry for help right? So I realized that this might due to aforementioned Rut. He's eating poorly during the day because he's eating dull food at night. Kind of like how the Amish go crazy at Rumspringer maybe? Anyway, I digress. I visited one of my new favorite sites: http://www.pioneerwoman.com/ to get inspired. Here's what I came up with the week:

Monday Nouveau: baked fish seasoned and dusted with oat flour, green beans*, and roasted garlic and new potatoes*.
Tuesday Nouveau: stir fry (from scratch - big step)
Wednesday Nouveau: baked chicken, left over green beans*, and a salad (but it was special as it had left over mushrooms from the stir fry which makes it completely different from all the boring salads we have had before). Oh, and I have to tell you that I actually came up with the baked chicken recipe by myself. Can you believe it? As it was all I had and I was trying to not be boring, I crushed Triscuits, mixed in italian spices and coated chicken in a butter garlic sauce. Not the healthiest chicken, but absolutely delicious.
Thursday Nouveau: as I type, a delicous homemade beef stew is bubbling in the kitchen - let's keep our fingers crossed.

*not your ordinary green beans and potatoes. I have decided that I can cook better using pictorial recipes such as found on Pioneer Woman. The reason for this is, I'm always getting to a certain step in a recipe and wonder...is it supposed to look like that? For an analytical always asking questions, pictures are confirmation that yes, I'm headed in the right direction.

So far so good. Oh, except for the small mistake in the stir fry where I used pickled baby corn instead of regular. Oops. Who knew there would be more than one kind of baby corn? It was just a little too much twang for Joey and I so we ate around all baby corn. Lesson learned: check the label on baby corn.

If anyone has recommendations on ways to jazz up healthy meals, please let me know. I need all the help I can get!

And sorry, no pictures of hair yet. Camera's out of batteries. Just know I look like Katie Holmes. Kidding. Totally kidding. It's just me with a slightly blunt haircut.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Dyed & Gone to Heaven?

Guess what I was up to yesterday? It has something to do with this...


Yes, it's all clear now. Watching Dawson's Creek reruns. Ummm...no, although that is sadly quite appealing to me. Yesterday evening was spent trying to duplicate Katie Holmes' (is it Cruise now? I'm so behind pop culturally speaking sometimes) hair. Yes, it was a haircut and drum roll please...lowlights for me!

I was until yesterday, a haircolor virgin. Shocking, I know. How a girl makes it to 28 without having one single drop of hair color touch her head is a mystery. Well, no it's not as much a mystery as it is that I'm of the low maintenance hair variety. And by low maintenance I mean, there are days when my hair "fixing" is done in 5 minutes. I have also stooped on numerous occasions to the lowest of lows of hair maintenance. This would be rolling down the windows in my car and pointing all air conditioning vents on high to my wet hair. Go ahead and scoff at this, but it works in a jam.

All this to say, God was merciful when He gave me board straight hair. He knew that if I were given anything that required more than 8 minutes including blow drying to look slightly presentable, I would be in a rough spot. Not only do I not have the patience to fix my hair, but I'm going to admit something. And this is a big admission for a girl. I am still unsure of how to use a round brush properly. I just can't get it. Do you girls that do this have another Gadget Arm or what? Not to mention that I tend to get these brushes stuck in my hair. If only peanut butter worked on brushes like it does on gum.

So you can see how I have made it to this point untouched by a colorist. And then this happened:


Agghghghghgh! Yes, I developed the Bride of Frankenstein white hair streak. My hair turned against me. All of these years it had been so good. I mean it wasn't great or amazing hair, but it never caused me any trouble. Until now. Thankfully, it was camouflaged with another layer of hair, but it was there alright and quick to mock me if I pulled my hair up half way. To add insult to injury, one of the errant strands poked straight out of head like a bent white pipe cleaner. In fact, when my hairdresser pulled back the layer she actually did a little surprise gasp followed by an "oh my, you do have white hair".

I did it. It's barely noticeable, but I did it. I didn't like the haircut at first, but I think it was the way she styled it. She curled everything in and I looked less like Katie Homes and more like an earl from the 16th century. If I had a picture to post I would, but I haven't had a chance to take any yet. It's not so much that you'll be able to tell as much as I do, but just know that the white streak is gone!

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Getting to Sesame Street

Today is Sesame Street's 40th birthday. I don't know about you, but I absolutely loved Sesame Street as a kid. It sits right next to Reading Rainbow and 3,2,1 Contact in my book of pre-kindergarten favorites. The funny thing looking back is how hilariously creative they actually were. Maybe they knew they had to appeal to kids and Moms.

Sesame Street's birthday has brought to light a serious subject in the Perot household: Joey did not watch or like Sesame Street growing up. I know, I was shocked too. And yes, you're wondering how it's possible that our relationship has survived despite this serious gap in our interests. I've sat back and contemplated this myself. I mean, where was this crucial subject in premarital counseling? Fortunately, God transends the knowledge of the Sesame Street Theme Song. He did say he sort of remembers the "guy in the trash can" being kind of funny so I guess we have something to build on.

I have had fun picking a few clips that come to my mind about Sesame Street. Some of them may be more obscure to you as they are odd bits and pieces that I have kept from childhood. I hope a few take you back as well.

Grover has always been my favorite character.

"O'White or O'Rye, sir?" Classic.



The Pinball Song...



I don't know why I remember this one, but catchy song!



A loaf of bread, container of milk, and a stick of butter. Still remember the list.



And last but not least...



This memory has been brought to you by the letter J. :)

Monday, November 9, 2009

Mac vs. I'm a PC

Microsoft has thoroughly used the "I'm A PC" campaign.

At first they had Kylie, the little girl who created a unicorn and fairy presentation using Windows 7. Or something like that. From what I remember, the presentation had little pop up conversation bubbles coming from cartoon teddy bears. I think the pop up bubbles exclaimed the virtues of Windows 7, but I'm not positive. I was looking at the teddy bears and fuzzy animals. Cute.

And then they showed us regular folks saying "I'm a PC" while doing regular things. Regular people use PCs. Relatable.

And now they have the people who say that Windows 7 was their idea. Makes me smile. I think it might be my favorite of the three.

However, I absolutely LOVE the Mac commercials. Simple and witty all at the same time. Somehow they've been able to make insult and criticism charming. It's like Mr. Rogers telling you you've been kicked out of the neighborhood. You'd be hurt, but geez, it's Mr. Rogers who couldn't raise his voice if he tried. (work with me, this is how my mind extrapolates) He would probably explain it so simply and gently that you didn't even mind being banished from the neighborhood. Now, that's skill. Here's another skill, they have characterized PC as dowdy and difficult and Mac as cool and easy. Genius! Hmmm...dowdy or cool, dowdy or cool...? I think I'll pick cool. By the way, have you seen the Verizon commercial with the phone that has been sent to the Island of Misfit Toys? Love it!

If this blog posts in mid-sentence it is because I'm using a PC and it's had enough. In fact, I've noticed a few flickers, particularly when I got to the last paragraph. But I'm going to say it and save quickly, in my opinion Mac has won the battle of the commercials these days.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Phew!

Hallelujah! I have just finished my annual staff exam and passed, gave my presentation on Tuesday, and had a successful launch of my pet project yesterday! I feel like a balloon that just let go of the helium that's been holding it up. Now I can finally re-focus my attention and attend to my neglected dogs, my messy house, my hair, and most importantly...my husband. Poor Joey. When I emailed him to let him know that I passed my test, he said "Congratulations, so does that mean that you're not going to be grumpy anymore?" I must confess, I've been a little on edge as of late. I have let go of my healthy diet and my exercise routine over the past few weeks as well in order to finish the project. It's time to get things back in order! And that means my blog too.

I will be back and blogging as soon as I get my household back in its routine.

In the meantime, if you want to check out what I've been up to, please visit www.DrHotze.com. This has been my baby for the past 5-6 months. There are a few rough edges and places where content still needs to be beefed up, but it's up and I'm happy!