All the things...

New favorite beverage:

Talking Rain Twist

No artificial taste. Target has the bottles on sale this week- I'm going to buy in bulk.

Happy Birthday Katy!

...But I'm addicted to Dancing with the Stars.

On a separate note- I make a mean split pea soup.

...not meant to live past 30 (That is correct- the shrubs had been in front of the house for over thirty years!).

I've had a general dislike for two shrubs adorning each side of our front porch since we purchased the house. What happens when JB leaves for a soccer game, a juiced up hedge trimmer is in the garage, and I have free time on my hands?

It all started out in such an innocent fashion. We have silver sage in front of the front yard facing bay window. Said silver sage is out of control. I did a little research through the Texas A&M website and found that the sage should only be trimmed in winter blizzard. Given that the winter blizzard came through, what better time to trim it back- right?

I get the trimmer out of the garage and see that the two much loathed scrubs also need to be trimmed- I started trimming and didn't stop until each stalk was but a nub on the ground...whoops. My next logical conclusion was that I was going to need a shovel to dig the roots out- our shovel wouldn't do. One hour and $120 later, I arrive home with a new shovel, 2 juniper bushes, lawn trash bags and a few other miscellaneous items. Three hours and one additional person (JB came home from soccer to my mess) later, we have holes around the stumps/roots, but they aren't going anywhere. Enter stage right- Pete. Pete has the most beautiful yard on our street and has been glancing over at me since I started "trimming" the hedges. I could hear him thinking "what are those silly gringas up to now?" As it turns out, Pete has been in the commercial landscaping business for 20+ years. Fifteen minutes and one pick axe (sp?)- or some kind of hooked axe like thingy- both stumps/root systems are completely gone. He then proceeds to teach us how to plant the junipers, water them, etc.

Thank goodness for Super Men like Pete who save the face of one silly little, overly "empowered", gringa. But hey, now I know, when I want to pull out a shrub, don't cut it down. Instead, wrap a large gauge chain around it, attach it to a pickup, and drive forward! You would think, growing up in the middle-o-nowhere I would know these particularly pertinant facts of life.

As a total aside, I have a serious fear of snakes. Yes, I'm fully educated (thanks to the afformentioned growing up in the middle-o-nowhere ) in the differentiation of poisonous versus non poisonous- but they still freak me out. I don't want to get close enough to them to have to differentiate and then make an action decision. Did I mention that we found a coral snake under my car when I was leaving for high school my senior year, or that my stepfather, senseless has been bitten and hospitalized (i.e. nearly died) from a rattlesnake strike? Okay, back to the original intent of this aside- while digging up the stumps, I uncovered four little garden snakes. I managed to stay calm enough to pick them up and move them into another flower bed (I know rationally they are good for the flower beds).

I had nightmares all night thanks to those stupid garden snakes. Ick ick ick ick ick ick ick. I guess that is what I deserve for digging up thirty year old shrubs.

Last May I was diagnosed with PCOS. The diagnosis was a relief and a trauma- a relief because I knew I was no longer alone/freak of nature/ there was really something wrong with me and a trauma because as long as I didn't know, I could assume I was fertile and a ready and able backup plan should JB have trouble conceiving. I experienced a brief mourning process, got over myself and realized that with proper treatment and planning, I could conceive later down the road.

Fast forward 9 months. Symptoms are getting worse, not better. I googled and googled trying to find a Dallas area dermatologist who might specialize or at least have a holistic approach to PCOS related dermatological issues. Coming up blank, I went to the UT Southwestern Medical website (where I was diagnosed), scrolled through, and picked out the dermatologist with published research papers best aligned to my issues. I called, attempted to schedule an appointment. My first, second, and third choices were no longer accepting new clients. The only appointments available were with an physician specializing in suspicious mole removal- no thanks! I called my reproductive endocrinologists office for a referral. First, the person at the desk sounded like I had three heads when I asked her to request a referral from Dr. W. Are referrals no longer a normal thing? After placing me on hold for eleven minutes, she finally came back and gave me Dr. W's email address from which to request a referral.

Email response: Call the UT Southwestern Dermatology department at XXX-XXX-XXXX. WTF.

This morning, I managed to leave the house 1 hour from the moment I got out of bed. There was also no skimping- the time included shower, hair, make-up, feeding the dogs, and breakfast! While this is probably a normal thing for most of you, I normally manage to elongate the process to at minimum 1 hr 30 mins, with nothing to show for all the additional time. Getting the lead out, similar to exercising in the morning, has left me feeling like I can conquer the day, list in hand.

Perhaps I should resolve to do this more often.

A friend of mine needs help with a survey for one of her MBA classes. See note below:


http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=pCNMXPSPLgKJ6w4cHjQHzw_3d_3d



As part of my marketing class, my team has to get input on tea drinking. Our class is trying to help a young couple start their first business, which is a tea establishment.



We are on a tight schedule and I am asking as many people as possible to fill this out by Saturday. (We have to write the proposal on Sunday.) The survey is very fast and can be completed in about two minutes with a few mouse clicks. You will not have to sign up for the website and your answers are completely anonymous.



Please feel free to forward this to anyone else that you think would like to participate.



Any help that you could provide would be greatly appreciated.



Thank you for any help that you could provide
Deb

I have wedding peek-ctures!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/titania82/sets/72157601468425827/

The professional ones will be done in a bit- but for now, these will have to do :c)

I find it very funny that I can read and post to my lj from a company provided crackberry, but not through my work network...

In other news- I need to go pick up my dress tomorrow, but I'm deathly afraid it either won't fit or I won't like it anymore.

Google makes it so easy, I couldn't resist!

http://barter.stegall.wedding.googlepages.com/home

I just had my first round of laser hair removal.

Areas treated:
Legs
Bikini

Thoughts:
Holy Cow Batman! It hurt! I didn't take the recommended ibuprofen prior to the session, but I did buy numbing cream for the girly parts. Net: Next time, do BOTH!

Next Session:
Arms
Rear End
Face

So more details on the hurt:
If you are a woman, and within a few days of your monthly mistress (like I am), you probably shouldn't do it- wait a week, just like they advise for waxing.
I had read on a few sites that the pain was similar to having a rubber band snapped on your leg. It really was- though combine it with the feeling of tweezing a hair from your leg (you know how you can tweeze the hair in the direction of growth and it not hurt as much- nope, not that kind of tweezing)
I think my ankles actually hurt more than anywhere else- even more so than the bikini (probably thanks to the numbing cream).
After the session I was particularly keyed up- the only thing that has helped so far has been a nice, strong vodka based beverage.

They say that the hair will fall out completely in 10 days- stay tuned.

On another note that is probably way more personal than any of you all want to hear: This is a dream come true. The only thing I've ever truly hated about myself is my body hair, mainly because everything else I have control of through diet, exercise and will power. Knowing that one day soon I'll be able to wear shorts and nightshirts instead of capris and pj pants is exceptionally exciting.

So the new place of employment blocks eljay, but not gmail or blurty- so very very weird.
First week on the job impressions:

My boss rocks- imagine 10 times more blunt than yours truly, total disregard for office politics, AND he's the best in the business so he gets away with it. He has a very mentoring style which is great and very much like my best bosses at ye old employer (YOE).

My soon to be direct reports need a nudge- initiative and breaking down barriers aren't their style

These people all smoke- half of the meetings occur while smoking outside

The department is very insular- there are two other major departments in our building, payment processing and a hardware tasked IT group. No one in my department has contacts in said departments- they don't socialize or network in the YEO style I'm used to.

People work normal hours- coming in at 8 and leaving at 5- sans laptop-for that matter they don't willingly hand out laptops due to security risks around credit card services. They work hard, but they all seem to have outside lives. This again is something I'm not particularly used to after my more recent roles.

Conclusion- the grass isn't that much greener, but is a new adventure with good opportunity to learn a new spin to corporate hell.

...But now I'm really going to do it. On Friday I submitted my formal resignation. I will soon work for a slightly less mega corporation (Fortune 7 to 99). It feels odd.

Do you know the parents of these dogs? They are not tagged.

I've been panicking about work in my dreams. It causes me to wake up with my heart racing/head swimming. I'm unable to chill out until I'm back at work with my PC on and active. So now I'm here- trying to make the moving pieces stand still just long enough to make a little sense out of them.

You- person reading this entry- stop now, copy the below questions and answer them via comments! I'm stuck in 5 hours of meetings this morning and have the need for middle school entertainment like the below- oh, and I'd like to know you better.


1. Can you cook?
2. What was your dream growing up?
3. What talent do you wish you had?
4. Favorite place?
5. Favorite vegetable?
6. What was the last book you read?
7. What zodiac sign are you?
8. Any Tattoos and/or Piercings?
9. Worst Habit?
10. Do we know each other outside of Livejournal?
11. What is your favorite sport?
12. Do you have a Negative or Optimistic attitude?
13. What would you do if you were stuck in an elevator with me?
14. Worst thing to ever happen to you?
15. Tell me one weird fact about you.
16. Do you have any pets?
17. Do you know how to do the Macarena?
18. What time is it where you are now?
19. Do you think clowns are cute or scary?
20. If you could change one thing about how you look, what would it be?
21. Would you be my partner in crime or my conscience?
22. What color eyes do you have?
23. Ever been arrested?
24. Bottle or Draft?
25. If you won $10,000 dollars today, what would you do with it?
26. What kind of bubble gum do you prefer to chew?
27. What's your favorite bar to hang at?
28. Do you believe in ghosts?
29. Favorite thing to do in your spare time?
30. Do you swear a lot?
31. Biggest pet peeve?
32. In one word, how would you describe yourself?
33. In one word, how would you describe me?
34. Will you repost this so I can fill it out and do the same for you?

I'm 90% sure this is the spot:

http://www.grandvictorianbandb.com

Now all we have to do is come up with half of the total cost (begins to hyperventilate) for the downpayment. Funny thing is, the price is the same regardless of Friday, Saturday, or Sunday- so I guess we could go to the Saturday.

What do you all think- Friday Wedding or Saturday Wedding? Discuss!

I've caved to the Hallmark holiday and have been competing with Janet all day for the title "Most interesting V-day card Hiding place". We're commemorating the day by submitting our passport renewals/applications.

Happy Valentines Day to my friends in love or who want to be and Happy Anti-Valentines Day to all of those who think it is a stupid commercial holiday.

Most of you who know me know that I have issues with allowing cats outdoors.

Reason number 421 it irritates me:
Cats cared for by humans (though for intents and purposes, lets say OWNED) and allowed to roam outside must relieve themselves someplace. A human cannot control where this happens, nor can he or she pick up after the cat. By allowing a cat to roam free, the cat is being allowed to crap wherever, without clean up. I resent having my yard crapped in by owned cats. I resent having to worry about what my dogs might be eating when they find these little surpises I can't control.

And no, not all cats bury their stuff, and even when they do- it still smells and the dogs dig it up.

People whose cats insist on using my yard as a litter box- keep your sweet and wonderful cats inside, where they are safe from diseased animals, cars, etc. and where you can clean up after their mess- not ME!

Some would say the hardest thing about my job is the statistics, others might call out the change management (getting key stakeholders in a process onto the same page about a controversial change), and even others might say it would be the overall project managment.

I totally disagree. The hardest part of my job is the administrative crap. Scheduling conference rooms, group dinners, travel schedules, and agendas.
I just spend 2 hours trying to book a conference room- one single conference room.

I understand that the business saves lots of money by not having many AA's on staff- but ARGH- I don't have time for this.