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. :)

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.

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!

DVRing Life

Ok, I'm short posting today. Sorry. Well, maybe you're glad! I can be long-winded, or is it long-typed in the blog world?

Today has more than 24 hours' worth of tasks.

I wish I could DVR life sometimes, you know? I feel like I've been so busy this week that I haven't had a chance to stop and relish its events. Ok, well some I do not wish to revel in such as the fact that I have a report due on Friday, the huge project that I'm in charge of is launching on Tuesday of next week with SO many loose ends yet to tie up, and I'm taking my annual staff exam next Wednesday (many study for 3-4 wks. for this and I have barely given it a glance. Can you say EEK?!). Those are the things that would be left un-DVR'd if you will. However, my parents are coming tomorrow night which should be fun. Hence I'm in a cleaning frenzy (also left off the DVR List). My brother Stephen made it to regionals in tennis and is playing in Katy. It's his senior year so this might be the last time I actually get to see him compete in a match. Oh and that project? I would like to DVR the outcome. After all, I've been working on it since May. Hmmm...at least I'm hoping it would be on my DVR List due to a good ending, but if it's the reverse maybe not. Yikes! On this note, I might could use a few extra prayers on all the un-DVR'd items, pretty please?

As long as there are enough moments in life that are worthy of reliving, there will be plenty to hang our hats on in the dry spells.

So I'm curious. What memories would you hang your hat on? What would you DVR from your life to play over and over again?

Hanging Out With The Adams

I mentioned that we stayed with Joey's family for a few days in Prescott, AZ. So, let me introduce them!
Here's the breakdown -
Lindsey:
Leslie:

And lastly, Rosser, who never let us take a picture without making a goofy face!

And of course, I think you can figure out which is Uncle James. They were incredibly generous and such gracious hosts. They showed us around town, took us to their favorite restaurants, and on a hike through the Prescott National Forest. Ok, I don't think it wast the Prescott National Forest, but it felt like it! With Lindsey as our leader, we hiked to Frog Falls, which turned out to be more of a pool this time of year, but it was beautiful nonetheless and gave the Cityslickers a taste of the outdoors.

Joey, Uncle James, and Rosser went shooting while I, well basically got in the way. :)


Can you believe this is the view from their HOUSE?!



Here are a few shots from the hike:

Remnants of Frog Falls

Joey proving that you can still check on Fantasy Football in the middle of nowhere

We had the best time hanging out with these guys and can't thank them enough for opening their home to us for a couple of days! Thank you!

In From Out West

Alright, we're ba-aack! Did you guess it right? The Grand Canyon? Yup, you got it - that's where we've been. Joey and I took a good old-fashioned Griswold style vacation to the Grand Canyon. Well, that was one of the main attractions at least. Joey's Uncle J. and cousins live in Prescott, Arizona so we hung out with them for about three days while they took us shopping, hiking, site seeing, and oh my goodness eating. The eating. Joey and I have decided we will be fasting for a month due to the menu on the trip. And can you tell that we're from Texas by this picture? Geez, didn't realize it at the time.

Anyway, Prescott is absolutely beautiful. It's the kind of place that makes you wonder why we live in flat and humidity-heavy, Houston. (Houston, I didn't mean that and you know it. I know you can't do anything about lacking mountains and scenic views but, goodness could you give a girl a little relief from the humidity?)

We had a great time hanging out with family that we don't get to see very often, checked out the Grand Canyon, and ended our trip with a few days in Sedona. We had so much fun and very importantly, we just relaxed and took in the view.

Arizona is absolutely beautiful. Uncle J. let Joey and I borrow his truck for the second half of the trip so we were able to see plenty of the state up close and personal. On our way to the Grand Canyon, I fully expected to see cowboys and Indians riding over the landscape, with buffalo and teepees on the horizon. There are jagged mountains made as if chiseled out of complete rock and then there are hills that look like a giant had been playing in a huge sandbox making mountains out of sand and then spinkling his work with a light layer of shrubby trees for effect. The whole of it really is a picture right out of a movie. A John Wayne movie to be exact.

We drove past roads with names like Hell's Canyon and Devil Dog Road. By Day 3 our skin as well as our noses were completely dried out and we were panting for breath with the smallest exertion.

We tried what I have termed Az-Mex food which doesn't hold a candle to Tex-Mex. It's heavy on the chile powder and chipotle. Oh and get this. At one restaurant you actually had to pay for chips and salsa. Don't they know chips and salsa should automatically appear upon sitting down and most importantly be free of charge? I had fun watching other couples sit down, obviously not aware of the Chip & Salsa When You Show Me The Money Policy either. They would look around at all the other tables with chips and salsa, not knowing that we had paid for it to be there, and you could tell they were trying to figure out if they had just gotten left out. The waiter could have a lucrative career as an actor, as time and again when someone would ask for chips and salsa he would act so surprised as if it were crazy to expect free chips and salsa. "Oh, you want chips and salsa? So one order of chips and salsa then. What's that? Oh, you have to order it of course." As if if he were not asked this question 50 times day. Craziness!

I've got quite a bit to show you so I'll post more on our adventures including pictures this week. As much as we had fun, we are glad to be back!

Where are we?

All right, are you wondering why you haven't gotten a blog from me in a few days? I've got a few moments to check in right now, but that's it and then we've got to get back to our current adventure. I'm going to leave it up to your imagination where we are and I'll be sure to fill you in on Monday.

Ok, I'll give you a hint: Paul Bunyan supposedly created this by dragging his axe along the ground. If you guess right, I'll give you...ummm well, just kudos for looking it up on Google. :)

Be back and blogging soon!