hmmm...

okay, seriously, i don't know if i can do this. but, i'll give it a shot because i've been tagged by courtney. is there really 6 interesting, random things about me?! oh and another thing... i don't have 6 blogging friends that will actually do this. oh well. i'm still game. except for the part where i started this entry 6 days ago and am just now coming back to it. but, i won't mention that.

here's the rules:
1. post the rules on your blog
2. write 6 random things about yourself
3. tag 6 people at the end of your post
4. if you are tagged, DO IT and pass it along

and here are my random things:

1. i have major issues with the misuse of grammar and the misuse of apostrophes. i know, strange. this is a random fact all in itself, because why in the world would i choose those two things to be picky about in the english language?! obviously, all lowercase letters don't bug me. ;) but, seriously -- when people use "good" when they should use "well" that just grates on my nerves. it's all i can do to not correct perfect strangers when they incorrectly use those words. and apostrophes! come on people. apostrophes are for contractions and to show possession. please, stop using them to make a word plural!! thank you.

2. i was born in chester, illinois, home of popeye the sailor man. it's true. elzie segar was born and raised in chester. he based his characters on real people that lived in the town with him. after he died, his son took over the strip and a few years ago created a dog for swee'pea named chester to commemorate the town. every year, the weekend after labor day i believe (hey! that's this weekend!), the town celebrates with the popeye picnic. popeye enthusiasts come from all over the world to participate. it's much more than bringing food to the local park and sitting on a blanket-- it's a full blown 3 day event with a huge agenda.

3. i have a good eye for layout and precision. when i'm making invitations, programs, newsletters, websites, etc, i will obsess over the slightest off center detail. and i can usually eyeball it exactly without the help of rulers and / or guidelines. i often notice these minute details in printed publications. they drive me crazy. typically no one notices it until i point it out to them.

4. i have an etsy shop. but i never sell anything, probably because i don't promote it to anyone. and i keep telling myself i'm going to go back and make the "shop" area creative and classy and cool, but i never do. so, it's totally uninteresting. oh, and i keep meaning to add more button magnets, becuase i think it's totally lame that there is only one set on there. i also have more ideas of projects to add. but, alas, there are not enough hours in the day.

5. i despise slow internet connections. which is exactly what is happening to me today at work. it just totally frustrates me and wears on my already thin patience.

6. i majored in marketing and minored in general business at sam houston state university (i have no school pride, by the way -- it's kinda sad. kinda). i was 6 hours (2 classes) from having a second minor in family consumer sciences. i never noticed this until about 3 years ago. it apparently slipped the attention of my advisor as well (thanks, dr. abshire. way to advise me). it's not even worth going back for now. but it sure would be nice to say that i had it. so, i kinda pretend that i do. after graduation, i went on a couple interviews, decided that wasn't what i wanted to do and subsequently entered the alternative certification program through region iv. i became certified in business and then this past spring break tested to become certified in family consumer sciences.

whew. six random facts! so, if you're still with me.... i tag:
~ kim
~ julie
~ teri rae
~ erin
~ random blog stalker
~ random blog stalker

{i know there are stalkers out there... ;)}

rapping police officer

either we were all a little delirious after 5 days of inservice or this is truly funny. i'm going with a little of both. ;) we ended our last meeting this week with the video below. we all nearly died laughing so hard!! i think even those of you that don't teach will get a laugh out of this...

praying them home

sunday afternoon:
if you keep up with world news, you may have heard about the very current conflict in the republic of georgia. family friends are currently part of a small team there on a missions trip and they are very close to the conflict. you can see a glimpse of the last few days via ellie's blog. currently, they are hopeful that the airport will be open for them to fly to amsterdam today at 8 pm cst (monday, 5 am in georgia). if it is closed, they will head back to catch the last convoy out to armenia 7 hours later.

sunday evening:
update: it seems they are on their way home!

monday morning:
the team didn't quite get out when i posted last night's update. the delay was at the tbilisi airport (bombs dropping on or near the airport forcing them to deplane, but then replaning later on), but now the team is on their way home. an email came in this morning from them while on layover in amsterdam! ellie's blog has the email posted.

shower and birthday fun

whew! saturday was a busy day! here lately, my saturdays have consisted of pure laziness, i'm ashamed to admit. but this past saturday was quite different. in fact, i had 4 invitations for saturday night! what a social calendar, i have. ha. anyway, saturday morning started off early when i got up to make watermelon fruit bowls for kelsey's linens and lace bridal shower. **if you click on the photos, you can see them much larger.**

after a quick shower, i headed over to mimi's house to help set up the brunch.

we had a fun time with all the ladies and, of course, eating. :) below, the bride-to-be with the hostesses -- mimi, myself, kelsey, and shelby.

i headed home from there and watched a bit of the olympics and took a quick nap. i had to rest up, saturday was also amanda's birthday! we headed down to the galleria area (i hadn't been there in years!) and went to the fox sports grill for dinner with several friends. great food and of course the important thing was having the texans game on one tv screen and the astros game on another. and, actually, i caught michael phelps winning his first gold medal (and shattering the world record for the event) of the 2008 olympics on a third screen! i looked up just in time!

here's amanda about to enjoy her birthday sundae. see that green envelope sitting next to her? that would be from me: a birthday card containing tickets to the maroon 5 and counting crows concert!! woohoo! the fun thing about that gift is that i get to benefit from it also! :) ulterior motives... what?


after dinner, amanda, sherry,and i headed over to the movie theatre to watch mamma mia. it was soooo good. i was even able to get past my aversion to meryl streep, it was so great! being in the galleria area still and at 10:45, we had some interesting people watching to do, as well. ;)

it was a great saturday. and a pretty good way to end my last weekend before i head back to staff development. i'll be at work wednesday and friday, though our official first day is the 18th. the kiddos return on the 25th.

so annoyed...

i love the cool little gadget that allows me to list the blogs i read and gives me updates on their last posting. saves me from stalking everyone -- now i know when a new post is up at just a glance. but, there is one blog that refuses to link properly. i have tried and tried and tried to get it to post to the thompsons and it won't!! ugh. i give up. see, it works here in this blog, but if you click on my bloglist on the right side... it won't link! and, yes, i'm using the exact same text for both links. ;)