Today

Today is our anniversary! 4 years...it seems like an eternity...

Just kidding, Antonio!

Jelly shoes, et al

Do you remember these ugly shoes from back in the day? I, of course, got my pair at Payless Shoe Source. They made my feet sweat and gave me blisters. Plus the little plastic strands would break and my toes would poke out everywhere.

The funny thing is that when we were at Fiesta Texas I saw a woman wearing a pair of sparkley blue ones. Weird. I don't think that they're coming back into style because the lady was in her 40s. Not that being 40 isn't stylish, it's just that the lady in question didn't exactly look like a trend setter, if you know what I mean. Among other interesting apparel choices, I saw a 13 year old wearing a plastic diamond tiarra all day. Every time she got on a ride she would take it off as if it were a hat. That's certainly not going to be a new style. From this and other evidence I would say that Fiesta Texas goers aren't going to be the ones setting any new trendy fashion sensations.

Summing up: jelly shoes. Uncomfortable. Impractical. Sweaty-foot inducing. Not a good comeback style.

However, I do see the checkered slip-on Vans back in style. I've always been partial to these shoes. They remind me of all those rebel 6th grade skater kids that hung out with my brother when we were growing up in CRAZY! Lubbock. Plus they look very comfy and slip-ons are my fave.

One last 80's side note: Yesterday I asked a little girl if she knew what a Smurf was and she said, "no".

I'm getting old.

A sad day for España

He's sad.

ESP 1 : 3 FRA

Me too.

Who do I root for now??

Fútbol and USA

I wish that we Americans would like soccer a little more. Especially right now that the World Cup is going on. The only game that they showed on non-cable TV was US v. Italy. Nobody even cares that we totally and completely sucked. We technically lost to every team in our group. We only tied with Italy because they scored FOR us. It was horrible.

Oh well, at least I have a real fútbol lovin' country to root for.

VIVA ESPAÑA!

holeyness of pant

I bought a pair of cute linen capris yesterday at Old Navy. When I put them on all excitedly this morning, not only did I find a Blackjack gum wrapper in the pocket, I found a big ol' hole in the inner thigh region. Evidence of a prior wearing and returning. I'm a victim of the very same generous exchange policy that I have always loved about American stores! I'm returning them immediately.

BTW, my husband (the Spaniard) still can't believe the ease of which we in America can return and exchange merchandise. To return a pair of pants in Spain you have to talk to 42 different store employees of varying degrees of store rank, sign 12 notarized contracts of agreement and eat some worms to prove your sincere desire to return aforementioned pants.

AND you have to have the receipt.

In conclusion, be warned: check pockets for foreign objects and for general unholeyness of garments before buying at Old Navy.

What happens in Fiesta Texas stays in Fiesta Texas...

...except when it doesn't.

We had a great time at FT. They have a couple of awesome roller coasters. The Superman one and the "Polergeist." They were my favorites.

We were going up the stairs to ride the Poltergeist again and the people coming out were saying that it was broken. Jose and I were suspicious so we went to investigate. Turned out that it wasn't broken. Someone had thrown up while riding. The operators were cleaning it up. I hadn't thought about that happening before. At that moment, my eyes were opened and I saw the light. What happens if the person in front of you pukes? I mean, let's face it, who doesn't scream with their mouth wide open when riding a roller coaster? This brings to mind a certain movie in which there is a puke chain reaction. I think it was:

...from then on, we sat as close to the front of the train as possible. We didn't want to take our chances.

The Poltergeist

Foreign customs

I found this blog that I can totally relate to. It's called Tokyo Girl and it's very clever and amusing. Being a person that has lived in another country for a long time, I know that it's interesting and funny to see how other cultures compare to your own.

For example, in Spain, when you go to a bar or coffee shop (which are almost always the same thing) you throw your trash (mainly napkins, olive pits, etc.) onto the floor. At first, we Americans have a real aversion to doing so, but believe me, you get used to it. It's very convenient and satisfying to make a mess that you know someone else is going to clean up.

Since I've moved back to the US, when I'm at a restaurant I sometimes get the urge to throw my napkins onto the floor. I have to restrain myself from doing so. Every once in a while, though, the desire is too strong and I do it anyway. I'm addicted.

I've got to get out more

I feel like my life is a little on the boring side right now. That's all about to change in the near future, though. This weekend I'm going to...Fiesta Texas! in San Antonio! It'll be non-stop excitement from then on out! Next weekend my family is having a reunion at Lake Brownwood, TX! It'll be nice to see my relatives! We'll probably fish all weekend! Some people might think that that is boring!

Lubbock or leave it

Natalie Maines didn't make up that nifty phrase. People from Lubbock have been saying that forever. Being from Lubbock myself, I am kind of embarrassed that she is too. What she recently said about patriotism (and the president, for that matter) was really stupid. It doesn't sound like she thinks about what she's going to say before she says it. It's certainly not a way to garner respect from the American public.

I listened to the song "Lubbock or Leave it" and now I think that she is even more misguided. She says that people in Lubbock are ignorant. I think it's the other way around.

I don't live there anymore, but Lubbock is a great city. The people are extremely friendly everywhere you go and there are nice parks all over town. Also, it's easy to get around in and it has an excellent university. There are a lot of churches there but I think that shows wisdom, not ignorance. People are spiritual and want to seek God. I think that's awesome.

My husband and I went back for my 10 year high school reunion and he LOVED it. He says that he wants to move there. The land out there has a very unique beauty to it. It is so flat that you can see until the earth curves. And the sky is HUGE. The sunsets and the thunderstorms are the most beautiful in the world. One thing about Lubbock, though, is that the air is really dry. It sucks the moisture right out of your skin. You have to use a lot of lotion and chapstick. And drink a lot of water.

Update on filth

I swept up the cigarette butts and went away for the weekend. I came back and, lo and behold, there are more cigarette butts... but no dime. Now I don't know what to do.

My upstairs neighbors

My cat, Olive, laying in the filth.

The people that live above me keep throwing their cigarette butts and other pieces of trash on my balcony. They also dropped a dime. I guess they're paying me to clean up their mess.

Assorted stories

We've been to my dad's house for the last two weekends. Jose painted my sister-in-law's bathroom (it turned out really great). My sister-in-law,Jade*, and her cousin, Keira*, have houses on the same street as my dad.

Last weekend Keira's husband, Cooter*, was cleaning out their garage, which is full of toys, tools, etc. He had hauled everything out onto the driveway so that he could clean. Soon after, people started coming by, getting out of their cars and eyeballing all of Cooter's stuff. Apparently, there was a yard sale a few streets down and these people were just a little lost. Eventually, so many people were stopping that he had to put a sign at the end of the street, right in the middle, that read "Not a yard sale! Move on." with some arrows pointing down the block. It was hilarious.

Jose and I were walking from my dad's to my sister-in-law's house and he remarked at how nice my dad's yard is. Then he looked at the neighbor's yard and said in his cute Antonio Banderas accent, "Who lives here? Theirs is really ugly, they don't do anything to it!" At that moment the neighbor's front door came into view and we saw the neighbor standing there. Oops! He should have said it in Spanish. He forgets that people can understand him.

Next weekend is Father's Day and so we're going back to spend the weekend at my dad's again. We told him that next weekend we can do anything he wants. It took him a minute to realize what that meant and when he did his face lit up with joy and he said, "well, if we want to go fishing we have to get up and go at 4:30." (he means a.m.) So that's what I'll be doing next Saturday. Getting up and going fishing at 4:30! I love my dad.

*Names have been altered to protect privacy

Ann Coulter

People either love her or hate her. I think she's awesome. She is very outspoken and I love how the liberals hate her so much and she doesn't even care. I may get her book.


See how they hate her?

Bliss

The little subtitle "There is a greater bliss than ignorance," I saw at the Austin House of Prayer. This is an amazing place that is dedicated to 24/7/365 day prayer in Austin, TX.

I went to pray for 2 hours and it was awesome. The statement is written on a piece of paper hanging in the prayer room. The greatest bliss is found in Jesus Christ. Yes.

A picture

This is my brother and me. He died on December 20, 2005.

Can I just say...

...that the website gofugyourself.com is so hilarious? I mean really. It makes me laugh out loud at work and when I try to stifle the laughing, my co-workers think that I'm crying. The recent post with Keira Knightly is too funny.