I'm Alive

Goodness gracious, it's been a long time since I've posted. It's not that I haven't had anything positive to write about, but I suppose I've just been busy...and lazy. I'm not sure where to begin, so let me just do what I do best...list things.

1. Well whaddia know? I received yet another Houstonist Flickr Photo of the Day! Go me! They apparently quite liked the photo of my feets at Minute Maid park:

How honored me and my toesies are! Thank you Houstonist!

2. In my absence, I had a brief journey south of the border to Mexico. My lovely friend Elisa married her lovely husband Cris in a lovely ceremony by the sea. The sea was clear blue, the sand was white and the margaritas were stong. A good, relaxing time was had by all. The Maroma Hotel, just south of Cancun, was tremendously accomidating. I layed on the beach, swam in the cool, calm sea (with no creepy crawlies, I might add), enjoyed a massage, and dined on $18 quesadillas, which were in fact, the best quesadillas I've ever had in my life.

Anyone is welcome to check out my photos on Flickr. They will make you jealous. Here's a little taste of what you will find there:

3) My mostest important news of the week is the fact that I survived a hurricane. Not a storm, a hurricane. A big, blowy, scary one. My house and I (and my kitty) came away from the whole ordeal unscathed. While most of the city still sits in the dark (including my family and a lot of friends), I somehow managed to have my lights turned on the DAY after the hurricane passed! I'm not quite sure how much luck played into this scenario, but boy do I feel lucky! I have also suffered a bit from the inevitable ailment of "Power Guilt". I almost hate for people to ask me if I have power at my house because what started off as a "you're so lucky" look, has since morphed into more of a "go to hell" look as they tell me they still don't have power. It has been more than a week since Ike blew through, so it's no wonder the powerless are feeling restless and uncomfortable. After a week of deliciously cool weather, it's beginning to get warm again and those without A/C are naturally not happy.

I can't help but feel a little like Marie Antoinette with my fancy electricty, internet and cable television while people sit at home in the dark with ne'ery a lamp. And while others had to deal with this:

I only had to deal with this:

Phew!

So that's my update for the day.

New Old Stuff

A few years back, after the grandparents passed, the family went through the old house in Beaumont and cleared out a bunch of items which had naturally accumulated over the decades. My dad had gotten a couple of boxes of random objects - which have since been in his storage for a few more years. This past Sunday it was time to go through the boxes and see what my sister and I would like to keep. Well apparently my grandmother and I have similar tastes because I found a few things which I love love love!

The first (and most bestest!) is this adorable egg holder. How cute is this thing? I'm not sure how old it is or even what it's exact purpose is but it sure is doing an excellent job at being cute. I think a poached egg party is in order now that I have this thing.

I also found this lovely playing-card holder. Apparently my grandmother loved playing cards. I just love how the cards (ALL 52 + jokers in each color!) match the box. It's from Neiman Marcus (but made in Japan) so I feel fancy.

Next I found a collection of adorable bud vah-zez! This particular one is one of four. No markings on the bottom, so I don't know a thing about them, except that they're cute, of course. They all come with their own stands too, which is good, however I have one more stand than I do vases, so perhaps it was originally a collection of five. Oh wails.

I also found these two other bud vases of Asian origin. I don't think they're fancy or anything, but I do believe my grandmother purchased them on a trip to Hong Kong, possibly with the above mentioned vases. The shape and the darker blue color of the smaller one make it a little more aethetically pleasing if you ask me. But who am I to judge?

Anyway, I am very pleased with my new old stuff. Hooray for heirlooms!

Gorilla Savinks

Traipsing through the organic grocery section I came upon a cereal box with my most favoritest animal on the front - a gorilla!

I had been seeking out my latest cereal obsession - a whole grain flake - but alas I could not find it anywhere. I realized I would have to settle for something new and different, (something I don't usually do with ease), and thought I couldn't go wrong with a box with a gorilla on it. Upon further inspection, I learned that 1% of the proceeds go towards saving gorillas. Perfect! Considering the fact I can't hop on a plane to the Congo anytime soon to ward off mean old poachers, the least I could do for my fellow opposable-thumbed friends it buy this box of cereal.

I'm happy to announce Gorilla Munch is actually pretty good. It tastes a lot like Capt'n Crunch without the jagged pokey edges (GM is made up of cute little round pellets). And also unlike Capt'n Crunch, it doesn't contain sugar or preservatives. It's organic and gluten free. Who knew gorilla-saving could be so delicious?

You can also save some gorillas here.

Roach Free Zone

Oh thank god. The exterminator is presently at my home spraying away creepy crawlies.

I had a double tree roach incident a few days ago...yes, DOUBLE. TWO! DOS cuca rachas, people...in my home...at the same time. *shudder* Needless to say, I have been sleeping with one eye open ever since.

My cat Pete is fantastic at alerting me to the presence of small (yet so big!) brown intruders, but killing them is not his forte. He much prefers to observe, playfully chase, and poke, than actually hunt. Here he is on the right politely observing a visiting spider one day. I appreciate his gentleness towards fellow earthlings, but it really does me no good whilst being attacked by those horrific roaches. *sigh*


I'm very much looking forward to a good night's sleep tonight.
Honk shu. Honk shu.