Another One for the Books

I'm glad this year is (almost) over. It seems like it's lasted for two. For a while there, I was actually wishing the whole Mayan calendar thing was true, because this was turning out to be one of the worst years of my life. You'll notice the date and content of my last post and easily figure out why.

That, and I was stuck in a job I didn't want with a dysfunctional business strategy guiding not only my team but the other teams with which I closely worked. On top of that, I started thinking my particular age might be the magical turning point where everything was downhill from here. Not in a good place at all.

Good news is it looks like life is on a upswing. I've been in a new job for a little over a month in a great location, with great people, tons of challenges, AND (not that it's important, but...) more money. The challenges aren't all going to be easy and maybe not even winnable, but in the end, it's going to be something I can stick in my back pocket and every now and then pull out and say, "I did that!" Now when I leave work, I don't feel like drinking my life away and I actually try to work out a little bit. My daughter starting up sports has helped too. In fact, her first basketball game ever was this week, and while the gang of fourth graders she runs with didn't score any points against the fifth and sixth grade rivals, they did something even better.

Yep, that sucker's stuck. Hilarious. And yes, the other team scored 24 and they scored zero. It was still fun (straight from the horse's mouth)!

Something else that helped put a big smile on my face was spending time with my husband in Nashville earlier this month. We honeymooned there fifteen years ago, and I've always wanted to go back, especially since my sister and a group of our friends go every year to see the Texans beat the Titans. Oh, now you see what the smile is from, you say. Well yeah, how could I help but smile when this was my view?

Yep, life is good. Now let's hope all that hype about the Mayans really isn't true.

2012 Rodeo

I started to write this year's rodeo wrap-up, then I got bored and quit, and then I realized I really need to get that fat picture off the top of the page (since now my boobies are small and my pants are falling off again), so then I thought of a few things to say.

Overall, it was a stellar year for this rodeo volunteer. I got to park at Pole 21 every night I worked. I drank a lot and ate some tamales. I got in trouble a couple of times for still acting like a captain, but I like getting in trouble (imagine that).

I did not get to sing with the National Anthem with the choir due to a "marketing decision" the powers-that-be made two weeks before the rodeo started. But I got to wear our pretty vest

when we rode in the Grand Entry.

The Kitten rode some rides and made it out alive.

She and The Tomcat got to ride in the Grand Entry too (trust me, that's them).

Somehow, both The Catmobile and The Tomcat's truck were hit in the rodeo parking lots this year. The Catmobile got it bad, but so what? It's paid for, and I'm getting a sports car in another two years.

Like I said, no complaints overall. I'm sure my next post will be something along the lines of not keeping the weight lost from Operation Rodeo Jeans off. Until then...YEEHAW!

Sometimes Catazon Pretends She's a Cougar

This year's birthday wasn't as exciting as last year's, but I'm not complaining. I still got a bunch of good stuff...my family pretty much cleared out my wish list; I'll have to replenish it before Christmas, or I'll get the usual gift certificates for Victoria's Secret and black raspberry vanilla toiletries from Bath & Body Works and nothing else...and I still got my favorite home-cooked meal and strawberry cake. Nope, I wouldn't call that exciting.

What was fun was I got to go out and act like a woman of my advanced age does. I even brought my husband along. One of my favorite country & western singers who I have seen a couple times at small venues when I was living in Austin was playing at the Firehouse Saloon on Friday night. So I got gussied up in my tightest jeans, halter top, and bling-bling belt and mosied on down early to get a front row seat for Ty Herndon. Didn't really need to do that since there were only about 50 people at the show, but what the hey, the vodka sodas went down easy. Ty forgot to sing his world famous rendition of You Can Leave Your Hat On, and I went over after the show to tell him how disappointed I was.

Ty: Get over here, you big sexy girl!
Me: Ooooh ok, I just wanted to tell you how disappointed I was that you didn't do You Can Leave Your Hat On.
Ty: YOU CAN LEEEAAAVVVE YOUR HAT ON!
Me: Meoooowwww.

But really, I always look like I'm ready to pounce when I take pictures with hot celebrities. Remember, my husband was watching the whole thing. Escandalo!

I didn't even notice until yesterday I paid for the whole night...tickets, drinks, everything!  Happy birthday to me!

Another Month in the Life...

This big cat is pretty busy right now and having a hard time keeping all my balls of yarn in the air, so I thought it might help to write it all down.

Sometime this week, I will celebrate forty-one fun-filled years upon this whirling dervish we call Earth. I shouldn’t say sometime; I really mean most of the time…family dinner Thursday; Ty Herndon concert Friday; a friend’s 40^th birthday party Saturday. Put that together with Easter weekend, and it’s going to be hard to get out of bed next Monday.  Good thing I dyed those eggs yesterday.

For years derby ruled my life, but a couple of weeks ago, I squeaked a few hours of derby into real life by playing in the Clutch City mashup bout the same weekend my husband had shoulder surgery.  By the time of the bout, I was ready to get out of the house; I had a great time without have to break too much of a sweat; and he pulled out his pain pump all by himself while I was gone. So a win-win-win for everyone, including my team!

When we bought our beautiful new touchscreen all-in-one computer in February, I committed to finally getting rid of all our music CDs so I could have more storage room for our DVDs. (Now I wonder what’s going to replace the DVDs in a few years?) With that project wrapping up, I pulled out a drawer in my bedroom and realized I have about ten of my favorite movies and about twenty more that I bought to make my husband happy still on VHS! It looks like I’m going to move my VCR to the home office and hook it up to the beautiful computer permanently so I can get rid of those useless pieces of plastic before nobody will take them for donations anymore.  I’m pretty much in a downsizing phase all around, including my body, once again.

Today, I’m committing to Operation Look Good in Shorts at Disneyworld.  While it might have to wait till next Monday to get the full treatment with my busy birthday week looming, today I started counting my calories and walked the downtown tunnels for an afternoon break.  We have forty-three days until the big family vacation. I don’t care if I lose any weight by then; I just don’t want my legs to rub together during all that walking.

So that’s what part of April and most of May will look like for the big cat.  Of course, I didn’t even mention that another year of elementary school for The Kitten is coming to an end, and with that, field days, piano recitals, and all the other fun stuff she is overlooking because she can only think about getting to summer.  If I make to summer without hurting myself that is…

Rodeo Wrap-up

One of my favorite things about volunteering for the rodeo is when it's finally over. And I don't mean that in a negative way; I get to read all about another wonderful year at the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo in the wrap-up press release. Granted the numbers are rumored to be padded, but I'm pretty good at exaggerating myself. Here's my own version:

Marie (aka Catazon) Finishes Up Her Third and Final Year as Club East Captain - March 21, 2011 - For Immediate Release - On the morning of March 21, 2011, Marie made her final trip to Reliant Stadium as a Captain on the Corral Club - Club East A Team to help her committee push all the beer boxes, margarita machines, and portable bars downstairs to Equipment and finish cleaning out the leftover alcohol and other sundries.  She took home a buttload of limes to make fresh margaritas later in the evening, because we all know you have to wean yourself slowly from twenty straight days of rodeo excess. 

Following are the highlights of Marie's own personal 2011 March Madness:

ATTENDANCE

• Officially worked six nights: Sugarland, Selena Gomez, Martina McBride, Gary Allan, KISS, and Alan Jackson.
• Helped out the other teams for two nights: Clay Walker and Jason Aldean.
• "Played" on seven additional nights: Janet Jackson, Billy Currington, Lady Antebellum, Kid Rock, Miranda Lambert, Zac Brown Band, and Brad Paisley.
• Yes, that's a total of 15 out of 20 nights that Marie was on the grounds of RodeoHouston.

SCHOLARSHIP SUPPORT

• Drink tickets purchased: $240 worth (not counting the tickets sweet-talked off the husband)
• Wine tickets purchased: ~$30 worth (those were hair of the dog days; more money will be spent on wine next year)
• Carnival tickets purchased: $100 worth (half-price, of course)
• Carnival tickets donated: $50 worth
• Alamo tamales eaten: $12 worth (3 half-dozens, usually on the hair of the dog days)
• Gifts bought for the Assistant Club Chairman's last year: $315 worth (money collected from the Club)

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS AND NOTABLE NUMBERS

• Steps walked: ~503,000 over the past six weeks; the majority of those on the 15 days at rodeo.
• Number of times riding the rollercoaster of death: 2
• Number of times riding the rollercoaster of death in the front seat: 1 (just happened to be the day before and you know it was with The Kitten)
• Number of days Pole 21, the same place I've been parking since I started volunteering seven years ago, was unreachable: 12 (don't even get me started; it's pretty much documented via Facebook and Twitter)
• Number of gifts my team bought me for my last year as Captain: 4
• HLSR pink and black windbreaker
• HLSR pink and black rhinestone belt buckle
• HLSR sterling silver bracelet
• And my favorite, HLSR Corral Club key fob

Another great year of giving back to my community and also getting something in return; not only material things but pride, respect, love...too many positive emotions and feelings to list. As I mentioned, there's an Assistant Club Chairman position open on my Club, and I'm up for it. 2012 may be even better than 2011, if we aren't killed walking to our car a mile away or being flung out of a carnival ride!

I Knew I Missed My Calling

This weekend, I reached another one of my four life goals. I've played tackle football, I've played (and continue to play) roller derby, and now I've driven a stock car.

On Saturday, my husband and I each drove twenty laps at Texas Motor Speedway with the help of Team Texas Driving School.  You may recall this was my 40th birthday present from him?  Like I said before, BEST BIRTHDAY PRESENT EVER!  The only way he can top this is by giving me the 40, 60, or 80 lap courses, so I can learn drafting and all those other things "a natural" should be able to do on a racetrack.  Yes, my instructor called me a natural, and I, of course, responded with "I bet you say that to all the girls".  No, what I really said was "Well, I play roller derby, so I know about timing on the track."  I could tell he thought I was crazy.  Whatever, dude.

There is no way I can describe the feeling of taking those 25° turns at 140+ MPH.  When the video comes in, we will see how many times my YEEHAWs tried to capture the moment.  Also how I would get really mad when the pros driving the people who just wanted to ride would pass me up.  None of the other people who paid to drive passed me, although I did pass quite a few of them.  It was an amazing experience, even better than skydiving to me.  I don't know what it is about going fast and turning left that gets to me, but sometimes I have to keep from quoting my favorite movie, Days of Thunder, when I think about it.  "You want to control something that's out of control? Control is an illusion, you infantile egomaniac."

So what's my final life goal?  Let's see if I ever get around to paying for flying lessons, now that I've discovered I really should have been a race car driver.

Who Needs Christmas?

Big things are already happening in December with Christmas still a week away.

First, the Wii that I was excited to get online on Black Thanksgiving Night was stolen off our front porch as soon as UPS delivered. I know this because my husband heard the doorbell ring, ignored it, and then got mad at me when I got mad at him as he explained this to me. He immediately went and bought one full price. Sucks to be him. Sucks to be me, too, but relatively speaking, sucks more to be him.

Second, my husband somewhat redeemed himself by doing something fun with his wife on a school night. Here we are tailgating at our first ever Monday Night Football game!

We really didn't drink enough to be leaning like that...he just tries to distance himself from the crazy in public. I know he's very proud of me, inside.

Lastly, I was officially named Knowledge Manager of my company this week while my supervisor works on a six-month strategic project. Not as important as it sounds and I was actually already doing most of the work anyway, so I'm way more stressed about everyone's eyes on me as I am about doing the job. I'm not going to let in ruin my holidays, even though I'll be working through my two weeks of vacation.

So really, who does need Christmas when life can be a curse or a treasure every single day?

UPDATE: My summation of this post might be construed as my ignorance of the true meaning of Christmas. As a Christian, I do know the true meaning of Christmas. I was commenting on the secular view of the season and how we, as a society, put so much energy into what Christmas now represents, when we should be living our whole lives with a reverence for the balance of give and take. Thanks for understanding.

Have Job, Will Travel

Today begins a month of extraordinary travel for my job.  Really, once I put it out there, most people, including me, would say, "Oh, that's not so bad."  Then I put it in the context of "I love the organized schedule of my usual life and so does my daughter", and it makes me a little stressed. Thank goodness I will have time to throw in some personal fun (although I should probably take it easier on that since I recently had the good luck to strand myself an hour away from home with a dead battery just because I wanted to be a badass on the banked track too).

Today, I leave for California at 6:45 p.m. CDT.  Tomorrow, I work for at least twelve and a half hours, which includes a presentation on a subject that gives me indigestion and an evening meeting with Asia Pac that makes my eyes feel very droopy.  I return home at 10:00 p.m. CDT on Thursday.  Friday, we camp; Saturday, we jump out of a plane; and Sunday, we return home for Zeigfest!  Woohoo!

Halloween plans are shaping up nicely, including a Ghostland Observatory show that I have been looking forward to since July.  A long-lost friend from Austin will be joining me and my sister, but no word on whether I can get everyone to dress up yet.  The Friday after Halloween, I'm finally going to a University of Houston football game, almost twenty years after I received my bachelor's degree.  Good times!

The next trip to California will be November 7-9.  This one is extra special because the family will also be dealing with the opening weekend of deer season and the only flight I could take back gets me home at 12:30 a.m. CST on November 10.  Why is this the only flight?  I have to give the October 20th presentation on a subject that gives me indigestion to a Houston audience at noon CST on November 10th, after giving a presentation on my wonderful Community of Practice at 2:00 p.m. PST on November 9th.  Loving my job right about now!  May try to throw in a visit to the Renfest the weekend of the 13th, or The Kitten will hate me forever.

Don't worry; I'm not finished yet.  I'm getting the 36 hours of professional development I need to complete my annual goals at a conference in Washington, DC, November 16-18.  At least I get to see The Yankee on that trip and hopefully come home in one piece.  Last time we partied in DC, I danced on a bar.  Shocking, I know.  I think I lost those pictures when my computer died this summer; well, it was either those or the videos from Key West.  It's a good thing the proof of either is hard to find.

And that, my friends, is my upcoming month of extraordinary travel for my job.  When I get home on November 19th or 20th (haven't decided yet), I'll have already started on ten extraordinary days of no work at all.  Could be worse, y'all, could be worse.

Diversionary Tactics

Last night, my family shared a very strange dinner. Since I had a meeting with Asia Pac at 8:30 p.m. and I usually don't get home until after 6:30 p.m., we had to find something quick to eat, especially after The Kitten threw a 15-minute fit because we weren't going to "Old Mcdonald's" or Willie's. We had decided on Mexican, and even though I don't like it, we went to the closest establishment of this type to our house.

First, we had to make somebody come take our order, and then he came back five minutes later and took it again. Not a good sign, but everything came out ok. I was almost done with my enchiladas when I saw something move in the corner of my eye, and before I could get my camera out to take a picture of the roach walking across the wall, the waiter came up and squashed it with a napkin. Okaaaay. You would have thought he could have comped our food for that, but no. While we were waiting an eternity for the check, I started hearing something that sounded like a real kitten. I kept looking around, but nobody else seemed to notice, and although my husband admitted to hearing the sound, he thought I was crazy for caring. Hello, I just shared dinner with a roach, and there is a kitten somewhere in this restaurant! Yeah, I'm crazy.

So, we never figured out where the kitten was, and we paid way too much for nausea from the unwanted dinner guests, but really I just told this story to take some of the spotlight off this interview I gave to a derby fan who posted today. Man, I'm good.

My #1 Freebie

From the moment I first saw Billy Idol, I've had the biggest crush on him.  I don't even remember the first glimpse, but I know it was on MTV and I must have been about 12 (that's when White Wedding was released).  I bought all his music; I even have every Generation X release I could get in the states in the 80's on vinyl.  His VH1 Behind the Music episode is on a VHS tape somewhere in this house.  The picture below is my 6-inch stack of article clippings that I used to keep in a binder in my school locker but now fills up a magazine box.

I actually don't think crush is the right word.

Last night, I was front row at his Houston House of Blues show; the first time I've seen him in almost 20 years. (I'll never forgive my husband for not letting me go to his Houston show in July 2001 when we got off our return flight from Norway about an hour before it started and we still had to drive home to Austin...never.)  I was "the one wearing the shirt of the band I'm going to see"; the shirt I bought in 1984 at an Astroworld concert, put away for safekeeping, and now have only worn once. 

The only disappointing thing about last night's show was that he never came to the side of the stage where I was standing.  This is the best pic I could get.  Would it have killed him to just come sweat on me?  Like my #2 freebie did in 2008?

Oh, and he kept his shirt on way too much.

But the show rocked! And I'm glad somebody in line had an extra ticket for my sister, since I bought the last one from the box office three weeks before the show.  Except maybe I shouldn't have tried so hard to get her in because she took home a drum stick and a guitar pick.  Hooker.

I hope I don't have to wait till I'm 50 to see him again.  I don't think he will look this good at 64.

You Just Know Something's Going to Go Horribly Wrong

To celebrate the big 4-0, my best friend and I decided way back in January that we should have a joint birthday party this year. Our birthdays are exactly four months apart, so we chose late June, right in between each of our big days, for the best time to have the shindig. Since it's summertime and parties, weddings, and the like abound, we sent the invites in early June to get the best response. Then I waited patiently for something to go wrong.

Two weeks ago, we hired a friend to paint our living room, dining room, and atrium. It was taking longer than he expected, and he planned on finishing up the Tuesday before the party. Sure, no problem, plenty of time to get things back into place.

Tuesday, I was picked to serve on a jury, expected to last through Friday. Well, that's just great. I was counting on using Friday, my beautiful 9/80 Friday, to get my house in order and spend some time with my best friend before the party. Still, no problem, we can do this.

Friday, our deep-freeze packed full of processed deer meat and one lovely deer head stopped working. I didn't notice it when I left the house at 7:30 a.m., but I sure as hell noticed it when I pulled in at 5:30 p.m. Gah, the stench! But what could I do? I still needed to pick up The Kitten at Gramma's, and The Tomcat was still in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico. (Actually what I think happened is my wonderful husband left the door open when he took ice out for his deep sea fishing trip at 4:00 a.m., but he will never admit that to me.) When he finally got home, the Clorox and Lysol treatment on the freezer and the floor started and lasted all day Saturday. We encouraged people to avoid the garage during the party, and we are still afraid to open the freezer door.

Even with all this conspiring against us, we managed to have a fun-filled party on Saturday night. Only one thing is missing, and one thing in the house is broken...miniscule in the grand scheme of things. And I was able to blame my hangover on a severe sinus attack. That's not wrong at all; that's just right.

April Fool's Lasts All Month Around Here

Here's a preview of the Catazon's April 2010:

• Good Friday - My 9/80 and The Kitten is looking forward to Iowa Tests being over...girls' day of fun!


• Easter - My 12th wedding anniversary...good way to get out of celebrating it.


• April 5th - A short trip to California...Trader Joe's is calling my name; that and a presentation on Lessons Learned (ick!)


• April 10th - My first bout this season with Crude City Roller Derby...yes, I'm on the roster of a league that is four hours away; come be a fool and watch me!


• April 16th - The day I should be going to the Tiki Bar opening in Maryland again but am instead being a good wife and mother for a change...boo sauce!


• April 21st - The day I was born, 40 years ago...and no, there will not be a party because somebody expects me to send the invitations, clean the house, buy the food and drinks, act as a hostess, etc. (Bite me!)

Now remind me why I'm not going to the Tiki Bar again. Happy April anyway! Usually the best month of the year, but this one has only a couple of bright spots.

BTW...I will be skating in Houston (against Houston Roller Derby) in May. This is not a joke...more info to come. This Cat just won't die, and maybe there's still breath in Catazonia yet.

Oh, and I'm doing NaPoWriMo again!

No, that's the real April Fool's joke.

Please Pardon the Interruption...

As previously explained, I took a brief break from reality this past weekend. I claimed to be "helping out" my Brawlers as they played one of the best roller derby teams in Texas. Once I saw the proof of it, I realized what I really did was stand around and make funny faces as well as be distracted by my reality. Yes, I'm waving to The Kitten, and yes, there seem to be a million pics of me standing around. Sometimes I prayed (see the blurry score behind me..the number not in double digits is ours). Sometimes I did look a bit like my old self (you can see my butt that sent that jammer flying). Mostly I had fun even though I felt (and still feel) pain.

I was reminded of some of the reasons I quit. My husband having to drag my daughter away from me, kicking and screaming because she wanted to stay and have fun. Being put in the penalty box for two things that I know I didn't do and not even getting a minor for blatantly (although not purposely) tripping the jammer. (Don't get me wrong on this...I respect the refs, but I think we've made their job next to impossible.) Knowing that no matter how hard I try, it's not going to be enough for somebody, anybody.

What really brought me back to reality though is seeing for sure that all the weight I lost while on the cardio program is back. I can't wait to get in that leopard-print tankini I ordered! Meow!

Spring Break!!!

I'm taking my first spring break in years. I'm finally in a job where I'm encouraged to take vacation, I actually have vacation to take because my employer respected my experience when I was hired, and The Kitten is taking her very first spring break ever. Boy howdy, do I need a spring break!

• Rodeo is kicking my butt...not from working, but from listening to everyone complain.


• Work is kicking my butt...The Dark Side is working against the Force.


• My husband's truck got its butt kicked by a Mustang last Thursday night...damn the rain that lasted way too long and helped to depress me on top of everything.

Wish I could use my free plane ticket and take a real spring break, but that will have to wait.

Pets, Plants, and Parenting

I used to joke about staying away from the Three P's of Responsibility: Pets, Plants, and Parenting. As long as I was free of pets, plants, and kids, my life would be perfect. Then my realtor gave me a houseplant when we moved into our current home and swore that it was one even I couldn't kill. It was all downhill from there.

Two years later, The Kitten came along, and while I'm not the greatest mother in the world, she doesn't complain...much. Her father...now that's a different story. However, we survived her first teenage fit last week when we wouldn't take her to the rodeo on our night off...remember, she's only five. By the way, I received another houseplant at the birth of my only child, and both plants are miraculously still alive. So, I think I've got the plants and the parenting down, but guess what?

I killed off another pet. Last year, we had the hamsters, Beautiful Sparkle and Foola, who lasted about six and eight months, respectively. Just a few days ago, I introduced you to Sparkly the Turtle, who The Kitten received for Christmas. Obviously, Sparkly didn't enjoy having her picture plastered all over the web, and she finally gave up this weekend after not eating a damn thing for the past two months. And yes, I did try to feed her! Maybe third time's a charm on the pet thing? What should we kill get for Christmas this year?

Catazon's Law of Parties

Stress will be a fact of life the week before the party, until you can drink it away the night of the party.

On Monday, the guest of honor will still be hemming and hawing over the menu. That's ok, because you're still not sure if you have to feed forty or fifty or even more.

On Tuesday, you will start the day by throwing out your neck...the same neck problem you have had since a crazy night in New Orleans in 2005. You still don't know what it is, and at the moment, you definitely don't have time to find out, although it would be nice to refresh your stash of painkillers.

On Wednesday, you will discover a water leak in your dining room ceiling. Thank God the pipe was right next to a light fixture, so the water dripped immediately instead of pooling for days. Later that day, you will have your annual performance review. Good luck!

On Thursday, you will have to go to dinner with your boss. Actually not a stressful situation, but you should be home doing a test run on the last minute request for butterscotch cake. Even though it might look like a pile of poo on Saturday, you're still pretty sure it will taste totally awesome (it's an 80's party).

You're not going to think about Friday yet. Keep your eyes on the prize.

Way Too Busy to be Healthy

Ah man, I was supposed to post about week 8 of the health program, but this week is already crazy at work, and I'm still working on the husband's birthday bash, 80's style. All I have to say is the three pairs of pants I bought when I started my new job are too baggy now, and we are consolidating the last four weeks into two. Only two more meetings!

I'm Not Complaining...

So I'm over halfway through with this cardiovascular health kick, except the thing is I'll never be through with it. Yesterday, the food served at the family birthday gathering was fried fish, fried chicken, and tater tots. Blegh. Even before the health kick, I would not let any of these things near my mouth, so lucky for me, there was also a green salad. And get this...the salad bowl was the only thing even close to being empty...and no, it wasn't only me eating it. I was also able to bypass the German chocolate cake...a true feat, because I do love coconut but most likely will never knowingly let that artery-clogging mess into my stomach again. Too sad, but totally worth it...

Meanwhile, my marriage grows slightly weirder with my husband doing the complaining about being fat. He still refuses to listen to me about anything, so he finally outweighs me for realz!!! Woohoo! Ladies, if you get the chance to experience how annoying your significant other can be saying how they need to lose weight but doing nothing about it, you would never complain about how fat you are again.

Catazon's Week 7 of the Cardiovascular Health Program:
Weight = 187.2
Anxiety Level = 5 (I've got no motivation, and I stress about no motivation.)

First Report Card

First of all, we all know I'm a horrible person. I hit people I don't know, I make fun of coworkers, and I just have a bad attitude in general. Yet, I have never, ever, ever thought that The Kitten was not the most beautiful, funniest, and smartest girl in the world. Until she brought home her first report card...

The Kitten got an N (needs improvement) in "Recognizes letters and letter sounds." When I saw that, all the doubts surfaced. She won't be just like me; she'll fail Senior English just like her dad. She'll have to study instead of forgetting there's a test and still making a B. And if she's below average in academics, then she might be below average in athletics, too. Oh, please Lord, just let her look like her dad and not take after him in everything!!! All those negative thoughts raced through my head.

Then I remembered that the one thing I promised myself not to be a horrible person about is the most beautiful, funniest, smartest girl in the world. So I help her with the letters as much as I can without either one of us getting discouraged, and I keep on telling her she's the most beautiful, funniest, and smartest girl in the world.

Kevin Fowler Can Open My Rodeo Anytime!

OK, so he's not the opening act for Rodeo Houston 2008, but Kevin Fowler is my opening act. The complete 2008 lineup was announced earlier today, and now I know who I get to listen to this year while I'm running full bottles of alcohol out to the bars and empty bottles back to the storeroom in the East Club.

My favorite dirty Texas music boy, Kevin Fowler, starts my work schedule off on March 5th. Yeehaw! The rest of my schedule is as follows: Martina McBride on March 8th, Rascal Flatts on March 11th, Clay Walker on March 14th, Miranda Lambert on March 17th, and Dierks Bentley on March 20th. Much better than usual since my committee is now rotating work schedules...no Black Heritage or Tejano Day for me this year. Although those are usually very easy days to work, I don't find the music and/or the scenery as aesthetically pleasing as Kevin, Clay, Dierks or even Miranda. Meow...

The funniest thing about this year's schedule...I get Miranda and my husband gets Hannah Montana. He just better not come home that night telling me about some girl who thinks he has the finest ass in the whole rodeo. That really happened last year.