Responding Under Duress

So, if you think this post is dumb ... blame Shar! She tagged me and insisted I comply.

1. What was I doing 10 years ago?

• I was working at the ABC affiliate in Salt Lake City. I was APing for the 10pm newscast. I was living in Provo. My Utah life was about to come to an end. My dad had just been diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease and I moved back home that summer.

2. 5 Things on my to do list today

• Shower (check)
• Go to Seminary Breakfast (check)
• Work (check)
• Answer these Questions for Shar (check)
• Watch Lost Finale

3. Snacks I enjoy

• I generally enjoy most foods that are bad for me. I have a major sweet tooth.

4. Things I would do if I were a billionaire

• Buy homes and cars for my mother and all of my siblings and take the entire family on fantastic vacations every year. I would have a fabulously landscaped yard and only garden because I wanted to and not because I had to. Yes, I realize this is a shallow response and I'm fine with that.

5. Places I have lived

• Provo
• San Antonio
• New York City (2 months)

I refuse to tag anyone else without their consent - so if you want to be tagged, let me know.

I LOVE These Kids!!

I guess that's what happens when you sacrifice so much of yourself for others. You really, really, really learn to love them. And I LOVE these kids. This was my senior Seminary class this year. They graduated last night and I am SOOO proud of them. They were worth all of the late nights and way-too-early mornings. What an experience! When I was asked to teach Old Testament for early morning Seminary, I didn't think there was any way I'd be able to do it. Wake up at 4:45am? Prepare a lesson every night? On the Old Testament? In addition to working full time? But I did. It was so hard, but I did it! Well, at least for just over four months. In January, I was put in the Relief Society Presidency (women's organization at church) and was relieved of my Seminary duties. It was bittersweet. I felt sad to not be able to finish the year but happy that my Sunday nights wouldn't have to end in tears due to being so tired and overwhelmed about the week that was ahead.

This morning, I set the alarm for 4:45 one last time for this class and went to the Seminary breakfast.

I am so thankful and blessed to know these awesome teenagers!

3 Tacos and a Ticket

So, I'm just about to work when my cellphone rings.

Me: Hello
Phil: Hey, where are you?
Me: Close to the station, why?
Phil: Cause we're kinda hungry and Mario and I were wondering if you were stopping to get breakfast.
Me: No, but if you need me to I will.
Phil: Talk to Mario.
Mario: Hi. Tacos would be great.
Me: Fine. I'll turn around and go up Broadway. What do you want?
Mario: Phil wants a bacon and egg, I want a bean and cheese, and Danny wants a potato and egg.
Me: I'm going all that way for 3 tacos? Ugh. Fine.

Approximately one minute later as I turned into the Taco Cabana parking lot, I notice the joint was surrounded by cops. So I'm thinking, "Wow, I wonder what's going on? Maybe we will have some news on this holiday after all!" Then I look in my rearview mirror and realize I was being tailed by a Sheriff's deputy on a motorcycle -- red and blue lights flashing. Crap. Expired inspection sticker. I was busted in a Memorial Day stakeout. All for three tacos.

(I thought I was going to get pulled over again for taking this picture while driving. The deputy was totally staring me down. The things I do for this blog!)

And what is the reaction from Phil and Mario when I text them to tell them that their little errand they sent me on may cost me 160 bucks?

Text from Phil: "I'm sorry. Did you get the tacos?"

Shower Caddy Disaster

Don't buy one of these, it will only end in heartbreak. Well, at least it did for me.
I am so P to the O'd right now!!

I drove all around today looking for a shower caddy. As I've mentioned before, I have a lot of hair products. My shower is crowded with them, and my old shower caddy is starting to rust at the bottom.
So I went to the Container Store, Wal-Mart, Marshall's, The Home Store, and Target all looking for a replacement. No luck ... I can't find this kind anymore. ERGGG. So I settled on a tall one with a tension rod. It sits in the corner of the shower and is supposed to be held in place by a rod that reaches to the ceiling. Seems cool, right? WRONG. Not if your shower isn't the right height and OF COURSE mine isn't. The whole process was a comedy of errors.
First, I put the stupid thing together and then realized it was too tall. So I had to unscrew the baskets and re-adjust so I could remove one of the rods. I did this a couple times and ended up stripping the screws. Then one of the teeny tiny screws went down the bathtub drain and I had to retrieve it with a pair of tweezers. Meanwhile, the entire time I was trying to work with it, the sections kept coming apart. The thing sprang into pieces about a dozen times. I was getting so frustrated. Finally, when I got it adjusted one pole shorter, it was TOO SHORT.
ERRGGGGGGG!! I guarantee Target will not take this thing back because it's assembled and all scratched up due to my adjusting the shelves. I was determined to find another use for it. The linen closet? It looked stupid and didn't fit anyway. So then I got the bright idea of trying to put it on my vanity thinking I could put my lotions and hair products in the baskets. I stood up on the counter and tried to get the tension rod adjusted correctly. The first time, it sprang apart and the spring shot across the room. I had to get down to retrieve it and of course the poles all fell apart again. So the second time I tried it I don't even know what happened but next thing I knew my medicine jar filled with Q-tips flew off the counter and crashed onto the toilet.
ERRRRGGGGG again! There was glass everywhere. I mean everywhere. That thing shattered all across the bathroom floor. And of course this was all happening at this time in the AM:
But I was still determined to find a place for it. I carried the whole thing into my spare bathroom and tried the process over again there. Nope. Didn't fit in that shower either. How about on the vanity? Whoops, there went the flower arrangement. Now that bathroom has little pieces of lavender all over the place.

So now, my shower caddy looks like this:
It's 2:45am. I'm going to bed. Thanks blog, for letting me vent.

Grey's Finale

I thought the Grey's Anatomy season finale STUNK!!! I hated every minute of it. Well ... that's not entirely true. There were a couple redeeming qualities:

1. They played a Jon Foreman song
2. Izzy's hair looked cute

Other than those two things I thought it was horrible. There wasn't one plot line that I liked. I don't think any of the characters have any redeeming qualities right now.

Does anyone agree with me?

Five Guys and an Intern

I was witness to a hilarious phenomenon this morning at work. Imagine if you will an all-male parochial boarding school where the hormonal teen boys rarely get to interact with hormonal teen girls. Then one day, the head cheerleader from a public school visits their campus. Each of the boys climbs over the other ones for the chance to talk to her, each working hard to impress her so that maybe he will be the one that she chooses.

Now imagine these boys are actually in their early 20's and the "cheerleader" is actually a college student who is just starting her internship at the station where they work. This is the real-life scenario I witnessed today. I saw these men (boys) flirt shamelessly with an intern who was playing them all like a fiddle. Here is a look at the men vying for her attention:

Danny the Intern:

(Yes, he's trying to wink in this picture)

Pro:
They are the same age and have more things in common since they are both college students.
Con:
He's competing with older guys who have jobs where they actually get paid.

Julie to Danny: "There are plenty of interns to choose from, Danny. You don't have to fight over just one. What about the blonde at the assignments desk?"

Danny: "I already tried. She wasn't having any of it."

Trevor: Pro:
Trevor may have intrigued her by staying out of the fray early on. He played it cool. (Also, he was the only one who actually knew her name.)
Con:
He caved as soon as she approached him and struck up a conversation. His cool facade faded and he gushed like a schoolboy.

Levi:

Pro:
Levi is also a college student. He loves to cook. He can bring her a ridiculously large sandwich on a loaf of french bread in his giant cooler, or even grill something up on his Foreman grill which he sometimes brings to work when he's craving a fresh-cooked steak.
Con:
He constantly tells the most intolerably corny jokes.

Phil:
Pro:
Phil is hilarious and endearingly dorky. He was valedictorian, Prom King, Student Council President, and voted Best Looking AND Most Likely to Succeed at his high school.
Con:
Phil has a girlfriend and shouldn't be flirting with the intern anyway. Oh, and he was homeschooled.


Mario (Who is married and therefore DQ'd):

Pro:
Mario has a lot of experience dating interns. (His wife is a former KSAT intern.) He is very funny and she probably looks to him as a father-figure.
Con:
Mario is married. He's old and she probably looks to him as a father-figure.

Now, some of these guys may think I'm a hater just because I'm old and the cute, young boys don't flirt with me at work. I'm not hatin'. I'm enjoying the entertainment. And I'm considering this an internship of sorts for me. I think this intern could teach me a thing or two about flirting. She is the master and she has all of these guys wrapped around her finger.

So who will win the intern's heart? I'll keep you posted on how the drama unfolds.

It's Gettin' Hot in Herre

So yesterday we got the "The-economy-has-affected-us-all-and-we're-going-to-have-to-cut-back" speech from our GM. Today the AC was off in the newsroom. Coincidence? I think not.

After some whining, our Operations Manager (who from this point on wants to be known as "Kenny" in this blog) brought in an industrial sized fan which only had 2 speeds: "Gale Force Wind" or "Off".


We opted for the roaring wind and I pretended I was producing my show from the bow of a ski boat.

Should I Be Freaked Out?

So I came home from work today to find my neighbor doing this:

If you're having a hard time figuring out what this picture shows, it is a man in a too-short pair of shorts having a knife fight with a wooden post. I had stopped my car across the street to get my mail when I noticed it. It was one of the craziest sights ever. I sat with my mouth open as he stabbed and slashed at the post as if he was practicing for a knife-fight with a man. That blade is about a foot long. I even called my other neighbor and made him look out the window to see it. My question is, how scared should I be? This neighbor is very odd and there is some background but I can't really blog about that because I'm scared to. In fact, I'm only going to leave this post up for a couple days so that there are other witnesses to his bizarre behavior. Enjoy it while you can.

Falafel- Is that Turtle?

So there we were, waiting in line at a local Greek restaurant deciding what we wanted for lunch. My friend, Mario and I were both thinking we wanted to branch out from our usual orders. So I was considering the falafel. I've had it before, but I couldn't remember if I liked it. Right then, a restaurant employee (probably in his 40's) walked past us so I stopped him to ask him for a recommendation. What follows is our actual conversation:

Me: I'm thinking about the falafel. I know I've had it before, but I can't remember ... what is it made of? Is that chickpeas?
Employee: Uh, nah ... um I think it's turtle.
Me: BAH HAH .. TURTLE?
Employee (starting to blush and looking a little embarrassed by my outburst): umm .. not turtle, but something like that.
Me (realizing he's DEAD serious and feeling a little bad that I've embarrassed him): Oh, okay. Thanks.

True story. I can't stop giggling about it. We ordered it anyway and yes, it IS made out of chickpeas- not turtle. To our relief the employee turned out to be a busboy and not a cook.

The Host- Finished

Alright, I finished it. I have to admit it took me several hundred pages to "bond" with this book, although, it is DEFINITELY a Stephenie Meyer creation. There is a pattern to her writing ... similar emotions and dilemmas, similar dramatic main character ... torn between two loves, etc. That bugged me at first, but then I realized that many authors follow patterns. (Hello - Nicholas Sparks. Apparently he can't write a book without killing off one of the main characters.) Anyway -- I finally got into The Host when I was about 2/3 through it. Of course I stayed up way too late last night and finished the last 40 pages before work this morning. That meant I had to shower and dress in about 10 minutes and then go to work without makeup on. (yikes!) Overall opinion of the book? It was pretty good. But I don't CRAVE a sequel like I do with the vamp books. If you've finished the book -- let's discuss! Go to the comments section. If you haven't read it and you plan to read it, don't go there. Spoilers await.

Ah Nuts! Knots!

How frustrating is this?
I have this cute necklace that somehow ties itself in the most impossible knots. This morning as I went to put it on, I found it in a tangled mess. I brought it to work with me thinking I would be able to untangle it. I worked on this dumb thing for 3 hours!!!! And since there weren't any women around, I even recruited the men in my office to help.
The station's operations manager thought he could unravel the sucker since he is an experienced untangler at his house. (He has twin daughters) But after diligently trying for 20 minutes, the task was even too great for Super Dave.

Finally, we got most of it untangled except for a big 'ol knot that we couldn't unravel. So finally, I just put that knot in the back and wore it the rest of the day. When I got home and tried to take it off, it had somehow become all tangled around my neck. I almost had to use scissors to cut it off. I finally got it off my neck but now it's in a million knots again. I concede defeat. The necklace has won.

Happy Mother's Day

My mom is the best mom in the whole world!
Happy Mother's Day.

Brad's Graduation

Congratulations Brad!

My brother, Brad, graduated from Texas State University on Friday with a business degree. My mom, brother Ryan, brother Lance, sister-in-law Lori, nephew Logan and I drove to San Marcos for the ceremony and the celebration.
That was the view from our nose-bleed seats. A Texas Supreme Court Justice gave the commencement address. During the speech, several people in the audience were obnoxiously yelling their graduates' names. Just as we were commenting to each other how rude we thought that was, my cute little nephew shouted at the top of his lungs, "BRAAAAAAD!"

(Brad and Me)

After the graduation ceremony we ate at Saltgrass right above the falls on the river. We had a great view!

(Lori and Lance)

(Brad & Ryan)

(All of us after dinner. The quality of the picture is horrible because my camera batteries were low.)

Congrats Brad!

In Defense of Hair Product

Before Product (circa 1992):


After Product:

Need I say more? I think not.

Meyer Mania

I couldn't wait. I went right after work and bought the new Stephenie Meyer book. Now, I have to use self-control and wait until this weekend (after yard work, of course!) to read it. I'm not one of those people who can leisurely read a chapter or two. If I start a book, I must finish it. I will put off everything else in life to do so. Last summer, I read Twilight, New Moon and Eclipse within a 3 or 4 day period. I hardly slept that week because I stayed up into the middle of the night reading. One of those days I even had to call in late for work after making the mistake of fooling myself that I could read a few pages before getting out of bed. (I was honest about why I had to call in late and received endless mocking because of it. But as a result, two of my coworkers read the books and now they're fans too! ... Just maybe not quite as obsessed as I am.)

So is anyone else out there going to read this very soon? If so, I say we set a date to finish and discuss.

Product Junkie

They say the first step in recovery is recognizing that you have a problem. So here I am, publicly admitting that I am full-on addicted to hair product. The picture shows the stuff I bought just today. You see, Beauty First has a sale on the first Tuesday of each month when members get 20% off. I bought a TON of stuff last month so I told myself I needed to stay away for a few months. But today, after work, I thought, "Maybe I should just walk in the store to see if there are any great deals that I just can't pass up." Of course there were! (See those Joico products and the bag behind it? -- that was $24.95 BEFORE my 20% discount. So I paid 20 bucks for all of it. Purchased separately they would have been more than $40! How's that for a bargain?? huh?) Yeah, I'm not going to divulge how much I actually spent for everything.

Oh how I love hair product. It makes me so happy. But it's ridiculous how much of it I have. There are more than a dozen different shampoos and conditioners currently in my shower and I have a TON of styling product. I sort of, just a little bit, feel guilty buying more. But you know what, if loving hair product is wrong, I'm not sure I want to be right.

Maybe I should think of this as stocking up in case of an emergency. Some people have food storage, I have hair product storage. If there's an emergency, maybe we can work out a little trade.

Made of Doodie

I wanted to see this movie:

But it was sold out.

So we saw this instead:

This movie made me want to:

(I settled on this image after unsuccessfully searching
for a picture of someone stabbing their eyes out.)

Please, please, please take my word for it.
I don't care how Mcdreamy you think Patrick Dempsey is.
This movie is terrible.

I just saved you 8 bucks.

"Simon is the New Chuck/Sea World is the New Fiesta Texas" or "The Curse of the Sea Lion"

I hate sea lions. Okay, I don't. But they really have made my life stressful this week. We've pursued this stupid story for days and keep getting the runaround. The first day, Sea World ignored our calls, so the story -- which was supposed to be in my show, died sometime Thursday afternoon before showtime. TODAY, they delivered a disc of an interview they did themselves (totally not protocol). Well, the disc had corrupted files. So we had to drive to Sea World to get another disc. We shot some more video and planned to do a liveshot at 5pm, but then, our editor in our live truck broke. THEN, Sea World made us move our live truck 10 minutes before my show and right in the middle of the edit crisis. I floated the story further and further down the newscast until I finally had to kill it and tease that we will have it for 6pm. After all that, Sea World decided we couldn't go live from their property (for whatever reason) and so we have a lame anchor read vob that is running at 6pm -- no package, no liveshot. LAME.

This is why Simon is the new "no-luck Chuck" and Sea World is the new Fiesta Texas.
Calgon! TGIF.