Go Pokes! Beat OU!

The Thanksgiving Recap

Some of you have witnessed the person battle I've had trying to plan a Thanksgiving meal. We had several friends invite us over and we were very grateful for the invitations. However, Kevin wanted to stay at home. I had come up with a menu and posted it on the fridge. I was very proud of the balance I found between pleasing Kevin and Lauren. But, Kevin came home and decided to essentially 'cancel' Thanksgiving. He declared he wanted pizza for Thanksgiving. I was a little sad, but thought ... who am I to argue ... less cooking, less mess!

I was completely set on this idea, but then Kevin changed his mind again saying he wanted to make a classic dish in his family of dressing and chicken. In my opinion, if we're making dressing ... why not make mashed potatoes and gravy? If we've gone that far ... what's a little green bean casserole and cranberries? Rolls? Basically, we made the entire Thanksgiving feast with the exception of a turkey. Oh, well.

It wasn't too tiring between Kevin, Lauren, and myself. We all took turns in the kitchen and we all have similar styles when it comes to cooking. When preparing to mash the potatoes, I was standing there with a stick of butter in my hand. I contemplated out loud how much to put in ... the whole thing? Yes! Everyone agreed. All said, we used three sticks of butter! We would have used a fourth, but we didn't have it. I must have been channeling Paula Dean.

We decided to make green bean casserole with fresh green beans. It was fine, but next time, I will cook the beans for a few minutes before putting it in the dish. They were a little crunchy, so we had to add more liquid and cook on the stove to soften them.

All said, it was a pretty relaxing day ... I looked through the ads in the morning and couldn't see a single thing that would drag my sorry butt out of bed at 4a. Jen ... you're much braver than I.

Kevin had to work today, so Lubbock and I stayed inside and stared at the Christmas tree that Kevin put together yesterday. No decorations yet, but Kevin still has to put the lights on. That's his job ... tree and lights. Everything else is mine.

Thanks to my readers who have already volunteered to help with Family #25 ... Gretchen and my Dad & Colleen. I heart you guys!

The Thankful Texan

I am thankful for ...

Kevin
Lubbock
the rest of my family
having family here
having family there
having friends here
having friends there
my family's health
my health

This is just a short list, but on this day I do try to remember how many things I have to be thankful for. There is a song I used to love singing in church ... "Count Your Many Blessings." I still love that song.

Count you many blessings,
Count them one by one.
Count your many blessings,
See what God has done.

Family #25

I have the best friends ever! You guys are beautiful and smart, funny and caring. You love your families. You love your friends. You love your friends' families. You always do what you can to help when called upon.

Have I buttered you up enough?

Good.

We adopted a family from TriCity Family Services. Our family is a mother and 8 year-old daughter. This is the same local charity we held the fundraiser for at Lubbock's birthday party. I think the number one thing I heart about TCFS is that they are devoted to helping my community. I know that any donations I give are being put to use here, in my surrounding neighborhoods.

I've already rounded up several kind-hearted ladies from the Tri City Tots group. And I thought it would be worth a shot to see if any of my blog-o-sphere readers were feeling extra generous this season.

If so, either email me or leave a comment, and I'll let you know what's still on the wish list. They haven't asked for anything extravagant ... mostly clothes and household items for the mom and games, dolls, and clothes for the daughter. If you don't feel like shopping (in which case ... remind me why we're friends?), you could supply a gift card and I'm sure I can find time in my schedule to get some shopping done!

If you're a local friend, I'm hosting a drop-off open house on December 14th from 1p-3p. They'd like all donations to be wrapped. I'll supply everything you need to wrap your donation ... wrapping paper, scissors, tape, cheese, crackers, and wine!

You guys are the best!

The Quick Visit

Aunt Moshmee was in town! Lubbock took a while to remember her, but once he did ... they had tons of fun. She pushed him around in a laundry basket and was able to see him try asparagus and clementines.

We had deep dish pizza and finally went to the Irish restaurant that she's wanted to try since we moved here. My sister was able to join us (she even missed Hereos ... thank you Tivo!) for a while. It's a definite sign that we've grown up ... my little sister and my best friend able to hang out and have things to talk about.

I was able to cook a few meals, though. I like that Moshmee and my sister are vegetarians because it gives me an excuse to make some super healthy dishes. I made my world famous roasted red bell pepper and asparagus pasta dish. And veggie breakfast burritos (which Heather joined us for). A big salad for lunch ... and yet still I feel like I've gained weight.

She went with Lubbock and me as we ran errands at all the stores that makes our area so unique ... Target, Kohls, and Bed, Bath, and Beyond. We did shop local by going to Four Beans for an afternoon pick-me-up of coffee for me and spiced apple cider for Moshmee ... it was really good and really sweet. I think they used honey, though, not sugar. But, mostly, we had fun hanging out with Lubbock and letting him entertain us.

Before Moshmee arrived, Kevin taught Lubbock how to do the chicken dance. Well, kind off. He makes wings and flaps them. The bottom half of his body doesn't participate. I've really got to figure out how to use our video camera so I can post a video. Maybe that can be my weekend goal. Sigh. Technology.

A final picture ... a reminder that I shouldn't leave Lubbock alone for even a second ... he pulled my necklaces out of my drawer and busted my fake pearls all over the place. Yup, those are the little beads all over the floor. Thankfully, he didn't get to any of the real jewelry and it was a good reminder that I should move everything out of that drawer and out of reach. Sigh. Boys.

The Lovely Bathroom

The Top Ten Mistakes

Yesterday was Mom's Together. Gretchen invited me, I invited Heather, Heather invited Margaret (another neighbor who actually knew about it, but started coming again). So, we're getting quite the crowd!

The topic was Top Ten Mistakes Even Good Parents Make. I won't give you the whole list, but I did kind of choke up at the reminder of thinking about how I feel when treated in a way I may treat Lubbock. It's a commonly heard refrain "do unto others as you would have done unto you." But, you can never be reminded enough.

My promise to myself for yesterday was to remember this before reacting. So, I laughed more and yelled less. And even remembered this when Kevin asked for cornbread ten minutes before dinner was ready. Yes, I can make that.

Today will be a good day, too (positive thinking).


I probably won't get to write much since I'm headed downtown later to a piano bar with Heather, some of her friends, and maybe even Moshmee and Nadine will come by since Moshmee gets in town tonight! She's staying in the city until Sunday evening and will then grace the suburbs with her presence!

One more thing, for lots of pictures of pretty things ... check out Knack.

Calendar Swap

Check out this calendar swap as spotted on Design Mom, but originally on Greedy Girl's blog! What a clever idea ... and who doesn't love shopping for a calendar?!?!?!

I already have my 2009 calendar, but it's my functional one ... not my pretty one! But, it is orange! Can you tell I'm excited about calendars?!?!?!

Seriously, I love calendars. It's one of the things I love most about the end of the year. And I love entering my first event in the new year. I love writing down everyone's birthday. I love putting that a friend is going to be in town. I love being able to put that family is coming. I really love putting that I'm going to see family at their home ... especially when Lubbock gets to go, too! The only thing I don't like about calendars is that I can't have more than one main calendar!

The Lunch on My Doorstep

We have our pumpkins on our steps leading up to the house and since putting them there, the squirrels in our neighborhood have been well fed. It's been fun waking up to see how much they ate. Today, I decided to take some pictures and when I came back in, I actually saw one perched on the pumpkin eating his little heart out. (So Texan.)

Anyway, here's some pictures of pumpkins. And, I don't think Lubbock has any sense at all. He walked outside in the 30 degree temperature ... no pants. Maybe I should have put pants on him, but I didn't think he'd walk outside! And of course, being the horrible mom I am ... I take a picture rather than immediately taking him back inside.

We hosted the play date today and served a baked potato bar. It was a nice way to warm up on such a cold day. We had broccoli and cheese, butter, sour cream, and cheese. I was going to serve bacon, but the slices in the fridge were really old. I thought they were from Kevin's sandwich a few days ago ... guess not ... yuck. And I was going to cut up some green onions, but I just now remembered that ... sorry guys! It was going to be the premiere grand opening of the basement play room, but since I'm not done, I decided to consider this the sneak preview instead.

I know I forgot to post pictures of the centerpiece I made with fall veggies, but they rotted a while ago and I threw them into my neighbor's composter. So, I decided to replace my centerpiece with scented pine cones. Every time I walk into Jewel-Osco (in Texas ... that's Albertson's), they are right in the entrance and it smells so good. I couldn't resist. And they're pretty. I love the dish they're in, too. It's a yard sale find by my mother. It's white enamel cast iron and fits in perf-ectly with my kitchen.

I know I'm jumping subjects with little to no transition, but ... Lubbock did some cute things yesterday and today. Yesterday, he was being a holy terror and making messes quicker than I could clean them. At one point, he went to his room, pulled the container where I keep his diapers down and then pulled a bag of diapers out. He proceeded to fill the container with diapers! He's so smart. Then, this morning ... he was being a holy terror (are you seeing a pattern) and wouldn't stop screaming. This went on for over an hour before I decided ... Tylenol. He calmed down after a while and by then, I was sitting on the couch, rubbing my face. I see Lubbock go into his room and he comes back out a few seconds later with his little bottle of Tylenol and hands it to me. Sigh. Yes, Lubbock ... you're right ... I could use that, too.

The Vegetarian at Thanksgiving

Many of you know that I have spent most of my adult years as a vegetarian. It's not necessarily for any stance on animal rights or anything ... I just never really liked the taste of most meats. Kevin can cook a great steak, but I only like filet mignon, so it's rare that I allow that much of the grocery budget to go for one steak. I'll occasionally eat lean ground beef, pork chops, and chicken breasts. After reading the first few sections of Skinny Bitch, I dabbled in being a vegan ... that didn't last too long!

By the way, this is NOT a book I recommend. It messed with my head something awful! Imagine The Jungle times five. Ugh!

Back to today's topic. Since we aren't having any parents up for Thanksgiving, it will be Kevin, Lubbock, my sister, and I. Lubbock doesn't like turkey yet, I only eat about two ounces once a year, and my sister is a die-hard vegetarian (eeking closer to being a vegan everyday). So, I've got the dilemma of trying to figure out what to cook. What's the point of cooking an entire turkey for one person? I can't make the stuffing that Kevin likes because he likes chicken stock in it. He isn't a fan of mashed potatoes unless they have milk in them. He prefers his green beans with bacon. I'm kind of at a loss.

Today's big challenge is to put together a Thanksgiving feast that will please the meatatarian, vegetarian, and meat agnostic in all of us. Suggestions are appreciated!


On another subject ... I found a photo essay on some other blog (I can't remember, but if I do ... I'll share) where she took pictures from her perspective on what her day is all about ... here was my morning ...


Lubbock loves playing his xylophone and he really loves it if I put it on my lap and play along with him. Yup, that's my leg in the picture ... cute pink pajama bottoms and all!

A Really Long Post

Wow, I haven't posted in so long, I don't know where to begin!

First, Thursday morning was fun ... we took the kids for pajama breakfast to celebrate Heather's birthday. I think by the end, Eleanor thought it was her birthday! As a testament to Heather's friendship capacity, she even came by afterward to help sweep and mop my kitchen before Kevin's parents got here. What a woman! What a friend! (By the way, she agrees that my current mop rocks. I will post my product recommendation soon.)

Lubbock and I dropped off the boxes for Goodwill and went to O'Hare to pick up the grandparents. Lubbock fell asleep on the way there and when he woke up, they were in the car. He was a little confused, so this meant about 20 minutes of crying. He got over it.

The weekend mostly consisted of Lubbock entertaining Buddy and Mary with his 'tricks.' He saw Mary blow drying her hair with her head upside down, so he bent over imitating her. She loved that. He showed them his sign language signs that he knows by telling us when he needed a diaper changed, when he was thirsty, and when he was done eating. They agree that he's the smartest kid ever. He and Kevin were spoiled with new clothes and I got exactly what I wanted ... time. There's no greater gift as far as I'm concerned. Mary worked really hard with me on the mural and it's almost done! I can't wait to spend some time this afternoon on it again. I don't want to post pictures until it's done ... so keep posted. (Which reminds me that I haven't posted pictures of the bathroom yet ... so I'll try to get that done today.) Second on my list of things I wanted was food. Mary made home made corn dogs (some made with the veggie dogs ... YUM!), corn fritters, fried pickles, and cheese and onion enchiladas with beans and rice. All delicious food and all made with love. She's such a great cook.

Sunday morning, I pulled out the Thanksgiving tablecloth. I don't remember if I thought of this idea on my own, or read it in Family Fun (GREAT magazine) ... but either way ... it's a great idea. Every year, I'm having Lubbock put a hand print on a cotton tablecloth. Last year, I used a polyester one and when I labeled it, the ink spread horribly and you couldn't tell what I wrote. So, I bought a cotton one and re-did the '07 hand print ... admittedly, the hand print is from February '08, not November '07. As our family grows, the next child will be able to add their hand prints. Each year, I use a different color so that as the years go by, it will be really colorful. The other bonus to this is that I don't really need to decorate the table since the tablecloth provides so much decoration on it's own and is a definite conversation piece. "Oh, look at how small his hand was last year!"

We then went to JoAnns to pick out fabric for our matching Christmas pajama bottoms. Yes, we're that family. My friend, Beth, at Sew Personalized makes just about anything you can think of. She's great. I won't ruin the excitement of the Christmas morning pictures by showing the fabric now, but it's super cute. I have to go find matching t-shirts today so we can have them embroidered.

We dropped them off at the airport and came home for a relaxing evening at home. Well, Kevin wasn't that relaxed because the Dallas Cowboys looked horrible. At least his Red Raiders are doing well. There's a big game on Saturday, so he's already planning the whole day. What he wants to wear on Friday, Saturday, what Lubbock will wear. Men!

By the way ... can you believe we have snow? YAH!

The First Snowfall

The 'Rents and the Wall

I'll be checked out for the rest of the week and weekend since our computer room is also our guest room. Kevin's parents are in town. We've already completed three colors and started another on the mural downstairs. I'll have a full report on Sunday evening!

By Popular Demand

No music. You're welcome, Melisa and Dad.

The Sisters and the Wonderful Husband

Today was my monthly visit with the alumni association for my sorority. If you haven't read before, I decided to go to this in hopes of becoming more active within my community. When I was in college, it was joining a sorority that helped me find opportunities to serve. That's not really happening, but I do get to hear lots of good stories. Tonight, we made gifts in a jar (barley and wild rice soup). Not for those less fortunate, but for ourselves!

I'm trying to change this. Next month, I'm hosting the meeting and have encouraged everyone to bring a Christmas gift for my favorite local charity. I hope it works.

It's almost 10p now and it occurs to me that I have a pretty wonderful husband. I know he's wonderful (it didn't just occur to me for the first time) and I think about that a lot, but tonight he's especially great! He put away all the laundry that I've not been able to get to. Granted, I told him if he was bored that it would be nice, but he did it! I tell him often that I appreciate him and I feel that this is a completely separate feeling than loving him. I attempt not to take my life for granted. I am able to stay at home and watch my son figure out how to do everything. And get to teach him everything. I am the one instilling values and morals in him. I am able to do this because of Kevin. What a wonderful gift that is to both me and Lubbock. I know he doesn't read this too often, but I do appreciate you and I do love you.

I'm Grounded

I never get on Facebook unless I receive some sort of email prompting me to accept an invitation or reply to a message. I just haven't gotten the hang of it. But, this morning, I accepted a friend invitation and saw the Melisa had posted that she was grounding herself from the computer until she had picked up the study. What a fabulous idea!

I grounded myself until I put together 5 boxes for Goodwill. Here they are ...

So, I'm not grounded anymore. But, I don't really have anything exciting to write about, anyway.

For Once, a Productive Weekend

As a self-professed clutter-bug, I have discovered that flat, horizontal surfaces are my enemy. They just beg for something to be placed there. It could be the mail that I walk in with, my keys that then soon disappear, or whatever happens to be in my hands when I have to run to Lubbock's aid. That said, we have a hall tree. It's about 40 inches wide, 5 feet tall. Has a bench at the bottom and hooks on the top. I have argued for it's 'essentialness' in our household for years based on the fact that we have no other place for coats. Yes, I have a very large piece of furniture whose sole redeeming quality is five hooks!

This weekend, Kevin and I decided to convert the bottom half of our hall cabinet into a coat closet. Problem solved! Kevin wins by getting rid of the piece of furniture that he hates and I win by having someplace to hang coats. Really, I also win because it's one less thing to clean! I promptly posted said hall tree on freecycle and it's out of the house.

Other projects completed this weekend include hanging the super cool magnetic snowboard in Lubbock's room. The link is to the girl's version as the boy's is no longer available. His is blue. We showed him that the magnets stick to it and he was happy playing in his room for about three minutes.

We re-arranged the living room furniture so that we can put up a Christmas tree.

We pulled all the Christmas stuff up from the basement.

We brought up two boxes of random crap and found a real place for it in our house. That's where I constantly fail in organizing ... not finding a home for everything.


The only other thing I can say about this weekend is that Saturday night was wonderful fun for Kevin and Lubbock. Their team won. By a lot. Around the end of the first half, Kevin proclaimed that he changed his mind about what he wanted for breakfast. He decided that he wanted my world famous cinnamon biscuits. I'll try to remember to post the 'recipe' later. He added caramel syrup and that was that.

Kevin's Day Off and a Bet

Kevin took yesterday off and we just lazied around. I didn't take a shower until the afternoon (okay ... I admit it, it was almost 5p)! But, we mostly just spent time as a family hanging out.

We have determined what the bet is for the Oklahoma State v. Texas Tech game. Since Kevin has his knee, we couldn't make it something like cleaning the cars out and we decided to stay away from money bets (although I can think of a few things I would like).

It's the old standby of breakfast in bed. Kevin wants biscuits and gravy with bacon. I told him I want coffee.

After such a lazy day, I think this will be a lazy entry.

The Second Half of What Turned Out to Be a Great Day

Since Kevin was nervous about walking very far, we decided to take the train from Geneva to Chicago and then just take a cab to the bar ... Schubas. We arrived at the bar about an hour before the opening act started. The room is about the size of a double-wide (since this is a rock-a-billy band ... I find that to be the most fitting description). There was a bench along one side of the room and a few tables set up on the other side. Kevin grabbed a table so that he could keep his leg protected.

The opening band was the John Evans Band ... three guys. Drums, string bass, and lead singer/guitar. I like that there were fewer instruments because it really let the music and lyrics come through. Their songs were written pretty well and told very simple stories. He's obviously in love with his girlfriend (of wife?) and his baby daughter. The have a new CD that just released, Lucky 13. I think you'd like it if you like Cherry Poppin' Daddies ... just imagine a country rock version of them. I bought the new CD, but you can hear some of it on the website I linked you to above. I didn't take pictures during their performance because there were only about 30 people when they started and didn't want to get 'called out' for having my flash going crazy!

The first picture I did take is of the room from the very back. It seems to make the room look really long, but believe me ... it was not very long. There were only 5 tables along the one side.

The second picture is what my view was for most of the night. I can't really complain. If I wanted to, I could have stood up. For a few songs, I did. Mostly, I was just happy to hear them live. The guitar player you can see was really nice ... we talked for a while after the concert.

There's a picture of Hayes Carll, but with the lighting being so dark, it's not that great of a picture.

Their part of the concert was awesome! They played most of the songs I wanted to hear. I really like it when the songs aren't exactly like they are on the CD. I almost feel slighted when that happens because I feel like I could sit at home and hear that ... I want to hear some new stuff ... even if it's the old stuff. He told great stories in between songs and even took a few requests. We each bought a shirt. Are we dorks? Don't answer that!

After the encore, they basically just walked out of the bar and anyone that wanted to talk to them went out there. Okay ... so, what happens when a stay-at-home mom gets out and 'parties it up?' Apparently, I start talking to the band about my blog! I first spoke with the string bass guy from the John Evans Band. I promised to post the picture on the blog for all my other mommy friends to see. He was either amused by me or just used to slightly inebriated people accosting him. Then, Kevin and I spoke to the banjo player from the Hayes Carll band for a while and asked to take a picture with the whole band. But, only he and Hayes (since we're on a first name basis now) were still out there. So ... here it is ...


From left, that's the banjo player (I'm sure he has a name), Kevin, me, and Hayes.

The First Half of What Turned Out to Be a Great Day

After showering, Lubbock and I decided to visit Aunt Lauren at work for lunch. Mmmm ... breakfast for lunch. A veggie omelette.

Home for a nap. By then, I was feeling better. I laid back down for a little bit, though. No sleep, though. I think I was just super congested and I felt better as the day went on. I decided to push off seeking medication in hopes that I was over the worst of it. I had made up my mind that I would power through the day and go to the concert and have a great time. I'm so brave.

Lubbock and I walked down to Heather's to visit his best friends. It amazes me how well they all get along. I told Heather about how my entire back yard is covered in leaves from all the neighbors super tall trees and we decided to let the kids play in them. We threw them up in the air and basically let them run around to burn off some energy. Eleanor played hide-and-seek with us ... she hid in the stroller!

You can easily forget with daylight savings how early it gets dark. By 5p, it was getting chilly and windy and dark, so we said good-bye and I started to get ready for the concert.

Fall

a sad day

yesterday was pretty exciting ... for a while. so many people showed up who hadn't voted before. you only hope people are voting for the 'right' reason. i don't mean necessarily that they agree with me on the issues ... only that they know where their candidate stands. i think people just like the looks of things sometimes and that's all they pay attention to.

in about six months, i promise to re-evaluate my position and ponder these thoughts ... where is the change? what has changed? is the change beneficial to me and my family? is the change beneficial to the country? is the change what he promised? is the change little more than what's in the piggy bank? (picture included for emphasis)

so many people wanted to know how to only vote for president and skip all the 'local crap.' wow. it just shows you don't know a thing about how the system works when you don't care about your local representative.

that's all i can say right now.

i'm so sick. literally. my throat is killing me, my head and sinuses are all congested. i guess i'm also emotionally sick over all of this, but the physical is easier to explain. i don't even know if i'm going to the concert tonight. as soon as i take a shower (why is this such a difficult task sometimes?), i'm going to go to urgent care and see if they can cure me. again, physically.


A few other notes, not needing to be un-capitalized. Thank you so much Gretchen, Meredith, and Jim! I hear Lubbock was on his best behavior. Whew! What a relief. From the message I got from Gretchen, Lubbock enjoyed playing peek-a-boo, going for a car ride, a walk, playing at the park, and just enjoying hanging out with you guys for the day. I'm glad there was no endless crying. Kevin even said Meredith wanted Lubbock to come over again today! I can arrange that ... everyday, you can pick up Meredith from school, come get Lubbock, Kevin can pick him up on his way home from work. Yup, that would work for me!

I did have some fun yesterday at the polling place. There were 12 volunteers. 3 high school students, 4 slightly older mothers (I'd say mid 40s), 4 senior citizens, and me. Two of the 'slightly older mothers' were mothers of the high school students that were helping. According to the high school students, I was the coolest person there. Maybe they didn't actually say it, but they were hanging around me all day. So, on the "cool scale" ... I've determined that high school students rank me above their mom and the random senior citizen. I haven't felt this cool since...

I also found my 'A' yesterday. The polling sign stand. I borrowed one the kid's cameras and asked that they e-mail the picture to me. We'll see. If not, I can always take a picture of the 'A' down the street. It's just in someone's back yard and I don't really feel like explaining my mission to find the alphabet and how my 'A' is in your yard. People around here already think I'm the crazy lady.

With that said ... I need a shower.

Skippin' Out

As I prepare Lubbock for his day of fun at Gretchen's and get myself ready so all I have to do is roll out of bed, drink a pot of coffee, and go ... I've realized that I likely won't be able to check into the 'blog-o-sphere' as Melisa calls it.

So, I'm writing my own excuse for my absence ...



Dear Faithful Readers,

Please excuse Nata-Leigh from her duties as the sole author on 'A Texas in Illinois' as she is out earning a measly $145 for about 16 hours of work. She's not complaining ... after all, she thought it was truly volunteering (as in 'for free') when she signed up. It's just that she would rather give 8 hours for free than be away from her other obligations for an entire day. She has a son she enjoys seeing in the morning and a husband she enjoys seeing in the evening. Oh, and friends she likes seeing throughout the day ... they keep her sane.

Thank you,
Nata-Leigh the Republican

One More Day

Although I don't always agree with all of my friends' political views (*throat clearing noise* ... Jen and Brandy) ... I will encourage all of my friends to get out and vote if you haven't already. I think it's an important process. Somebody once told me that if you vote, you at least have the right to complain later! So true.

I have such a busy week ahead of me and am just extremely happy to have such a great support system in place here ... even though most of our family are far away. Tomorrow, I am working the polls. This weekend, I was notified that I'm working in a different district. My one question was when I would vote. Such shock in the gentleman's voice that I (of all people) hadn't voted early. I just justified it with the simple idea that "since I figured I was there all day anyway ... you know." Silence. Sigh. "I guess you'll have to sneak out for a little bit."

So, the plan for today is to get the house put together since Gretchen informed me that she might rather watch Lubbock here tomorrow. Poor Jim may have the flu. What a friend! She's done with diapers, but volunteers to be back in the throws of it so that I can work the polls. However, the thought of someone else being here all day! I'm trying to look at my house through someone else's eyes. Things like ... the bag of cat food in the living room (since Saturday) are fine for me to look at all day, but Gretchen doesn't need to see that. It would probably be easier for her to be here, though ... the house already being baby-proofed and all. And she's such a good friend ... I doubt she'd go spreading true rumors (!) about me like ... did you know Nata-Leigh got a parking ticket? Yes, it's on my fridge and I'm too dang lazy to write the $5 check and send it off. Who writes actual checks anymore with online bill pay? I'd have to find the checkbook first!

Wednesday, Kevin and I are going to the Hayes Carll concert. It's downtown and this takes much planning on my part. Which I haven't done. We have to determine which Metra train to take, which L-train to take, if it's better to take a cab once we're down there ... especially because Kevin is fairly slow right now. Then, there's the age-old ... what to wear. I'm not sweating it, though. I didn't even wear makeup to the James concert ... who am I trying to impress? I suppose since I am going with Kevin, I will at least put some effort into it. Try to at least remind him that I at least used to be a hot babe in a former life, ya know!?! In a former life, I also had all the time in the world to get put together and didn't have to worry about partying too hard for fear that someone might wake up and actually need to be paid attention to. But, Lauren being the fantastic aunt that she is, will watch Lubbock for us, so we can go have fun. Too bad she won't be here in the morning!

Then Lauren leaves for a vacation in Kansas on Thursday, so I have a trip to the airport ... that drive always wears me out. I'm so old ... driving wears me out? I can't believe I just said that.

Well, all that said, Lubbock has officially torn the guest room apart and is getting cranky, so I should go.

Get out and vote!

The Letters T and T

I am so excited about Texas Tech's victory over Texas, but extremely nervous about our game on Saturday night. It will be a house divided for sure! Go Pokes!