A Rose By Any Other Name

This Tuesday I was at my gym. I take two classes, my ever famous Yoga Torture class followed by a Combat class which is a class of martial arts set to music (very intense but good cardio and fun if you survive). However there are those moments-

M: Just finished my workouts, ugh!

S:  Cool!

M: So, you know I totally hate it when I have to pass gas when I am working out! I mean it takes so many extra muscles to hold it in! Do they consider that core? They are always yelling hold in your core! Well I'm holding in something and it sure would be nice if it was doing some good...

S: Meh, I just let 'em rip, the music is so loud they don't know.

M:...I got nothing.

This Won't Hurt, Well Maybe

We are going on vacation at the end of this week. A tropical paradise, Puerto Vallarta (Mexico) Si! I am so excited mostly about just taking a vacation. I decided that maybe it’s time for me to do the ‘Bikini wax’ thing. I have never done this and well there is the ick, eww and ouch factors. We will be staying with a number of other couples and I think I would like to have that ‘fresh shaved’ feeling and be relaxed instead of making sure everyone was tucked and out of sight. (Oh yes you know what I am talking about).

I called the Spa I frequent for facials and massages since they are a ‘All service Spa’ to inquire and possibly to set an appointment-

Girl- Blah Blah Spa how can I help you?

 

M- Well, I um…I was wondering about those waxes the bikini ones.

Girl- Yes, what can I help you with?

M- Um, ok what do you, you know consider bikini? Cause I don’t wear one, I mean I wear a suit of course, like duh, but it’s a onesie I mean a one piece not like a (laughing from other side of phone, sigh).

Girl- I understand, well it covers all the areas that are not covered by a bikini. Like… (at this point she is delicately trying to tell me, ‘they rip out all your lady hair that could possibly make an appearance at the show’)

M- …Huh

Girl- It doesn’t hurt really bad unless you don’t deal well with pain.

M- …Ah huh

Girl- Can I set you with an appointment?

M- (My God what are you people running over there? What other atrocities are you performing? Bamboo under the nails? Skinning people alive?) Sure, this Thursday afternoon I guess.

Girl- Great! Now you should be fine afterwards but don’t plan on exercising that is not recommended.

Exercising, get real I won’t be moving for at least 10 hours, get the Margaritas ready honey and keep ‘em coming…

Fashion- It's a Gift and a Curse

Well we are into week…does it matter? The men are still out there working away. They are behind schedule and from a remodeling issue that is very frustrating (they can’t see my toe tapping). I been through a lot of remodeling, years of it and believe me I am already frustrated. It seems they have run into issues like having to dig trenches 5’ deeper than they thought, and crawling through tunnels with no air source and of course the Texas summer heat at 90 around noon. Planning, planning, and planning!

I will need to get my vest and hard hat out this week and investigate what the holdup is. I have a life (meh) and I don’t have all day to stand around and watch these guys stand around watching! And though I look so cute in my hat I am finding it incredibly difficult to accessorize with it so they will need to move things along or I may need to improvise!

"OMG, where did you get those shoes!" "Don't you just love 'em? 30% off for reals!"

Sequines and Rhinestones?

Recently work has begun on my building at work. The work was scheduled to have this started on May 15^th and it is now June 7^th and they just broke ground. This is not to say work hadn’t started however. They finally put up the construction fence; we had the ceremonial dropping off of the port ‘o potties with sanitizing pumps. One day brought several men who stood and looked and pointed and once they felt satisfied with what they accomplished that was the end of that day. There were several of those days now that I think of it and one day where someone was testing out the port ‘o potty, I guess one needs to make sure all the equipment works (including the potties!). 

We were told that after two years of back and forth on the plans for this building, and I don’t even want to count the reiterations of designs, they still hadn’t crossed any ‘t’s’ so things got a bit behind, oh I hadn’t really noticed. 

Today I watched as the backhoe dugout a trench as several men stood and watched. Where are these jobs? I never see a job posted: ‘Wanted person who can stand around and watch and point.’ I know I can do that unless I am not allowed to express a comment like, “Did you mean to wear that shirt with those jeans? It really throws off the whole neon vest thing right, I mean like I don’t get what statement you’re making here.” And the hard hat, I know I could rock that  (add some rhinestones!) with the towel draped down the back of the neck. 

Now I am not trying to make fun of construction workers per se really, just an observation of the male species and how they tend to work. As I look out the window now there are two contraptions working to move cement blocks from one spot to a truck ostensibly to remove them from the soon to be major work area. This undertaking is using three gentlemen. One to operate each vehicle and one to direct, but it seems it also takes 5 additional to stand a few feet away and watch and discuss. I will give them the benefit of the doubt and say they are discussing what is going on and not lunch or sports scores.  

This phenomenon is not just construction. We had the roof replaced on our house last week. It was crawling with workers! There was debris everywhere along with men standing and pointing and talking. I thought didn’t I just see this picture?   

Have you ever seen a group of women standing around watching another woman vacuuming, doing dishes after a party, or doing any task when there are other women around? No they all jump in and find something to do even to at least look busy! Even at a BBQ the men will gather at the grill and watch as one will grill the meat but in the kitchen all the women will pitch in to prepare everything else needed to complete the meal!  

I expect your thinking is there a point to this. Well, no not really did there need to be one? Time to grab my sequined vest and rhinestone hardhat and go watch the workers for a while, I think we are watching dirt this afternoon!

Hot Cross Buns

I was getting my coffee this morning, my kick-start as I trowel on my make-up, and my stomach growled at me! I started thinking about getting biscotti but knew how many calories that would start my day with and breakfast was around the corner. It also reminded me of the mornings I would get up and make homemade muffins, pancakes, waffles, coffee-cake and other treats. I gained weight just thinking about them. That all stopped when my daughters moved out of the house. Mr. LT and I didn’t need the caloric intake and for some reason the desire for the effort just wasn’t there. 

I find, as I suspect you do, that I collect recipes though. I have Pintrest like everyone else and even though I don’t spend time on it like a fanatic and recipes are not the big focus I do find myself with quite a collection of them. Mostly baking ones, breakfast ones. Muffins, scones, different kinds of coffee cakes and waffles and mmmmm well the possibilities are endless. Do I make them, no. I generally email them to my co-worker who loves to bake and say, “Hey, this looks good why don’t you make this for us to taste!” It’s easier on me both time wise and calories too! 

My Sis lives in Austin (have I mentioned this?) so of course when we visit there we stay with them at their Manor and they stay here at our Lodge, ha! She of course is used to the lavish breakfasts of fresh baked goods in the mornings. In these last numbers of years it seems the cook has flown the coop! Coffee and some power bars, oatmeal and as long as the cats aren’t watching you can have some of their treats!  

I have lots of cookbooks and a three ring binder packed with interesting things as well as emails I get twice a day! Can I delete them? No, I might make them one day…well not really but I may find someone who will make some of them for me, but right now I’m running late and still have my eyelashes to do and biscotti crumbs all over me!

And These Make Me Look…

Our recent trip to San Francisco was delightful. As you heard we had a lovely dinner in Chinatown or just outside of what might be the ‘official’ Chinatown, the street with the banner that says, “Welcome to Chinatown”.  

Mr. LT and I left the restaurant and set off in that direction and almost literally stumbled upon it. In parts it seems a throw back in time and yet it is very modern and tourist driven too. So many shops to buy the trinket, t-shirt, bobble head. Some of the shops are cheap some having beautiful items. We managed to spend money in both. 

Mr. LT: Hey, I’m getting this dragon. It’s my animal.

M:  What? Your animal?

Mr. LT: Yea, my Chinese birth year animal.

M: No it’s not. You’re a dog.

Mr. LT: ?

M:  Look at the chart…dog.

Mr. LT: But the dog is stupid looking, I want the dragon. I feel like a dragon.

M:  (Head shaking) 

I had broken my sunglasses that day and on keen observance Mr. LT noticed that in the ‘dragon’ shop they had sunglasses for $2. 

Mr. LT: Hey, they have some nice sunglasses you should look them.

M:  Um, $2? Really? Ok.

M:  So, How about these? Or these?

Mr. LT: Hmmmm, yea… not the first ones. The second pair…they’re nice, kinda different but look good on you.

M:  Different? What does that mean?

Mr. LT: No it’s a good thing it means they look good, just different. You know.

M:  ???, no I don’t know. Why is there no mirror?

Mr. LT: Seriously they look fine…what’s wrong with having a different look? 

(I take the sunglasses to the counter) 

M:  So, what do you think of these?

SG: Oh, vely nice, vely diffelent. Pretty. Look good on you.

M:  Grrrrrrr

SG: You buy? Look vely diffelent good. Two dalla’.

M:  Sigh.

Only two dalla!

 

 

 

 



Connect The Dots

On my recent trip to San Francisco Mr. LT and I had gone to dinner in Chinatown. After much careful planning and perusing of maps he figured out the best way for us to get to the restaurant for dinner. (And Away We Go) 

In the back of my mind I had a strange feeling that we were backtracking at some point. 

M:  Is it just me or are we going back the way we came?

Mr. LT: It’s just you.

M:  Hmmmm

Mr. LT: It just feels like that because…(here is when I hear ((1=2x)=x€∑-⅝√ⁿ))

 

M:  Ok but I think we are backtracking, just sayin’. 

After a lovely dinner a walk through the main street of Chinatown and its shops Mr. LT discovers that we are on the street that leads to our hotel. No hills no going back the way we came. It seems that perhaps I had been on target and we made a loop and didn’t need to climb Everest. 

No worries, we walked off the drink or two I was about to have.