Thank You Everyone!

Including the wonderful people I work with who did this to my desk:














It's hard to see but there's Tinkerbell everywhere, including my tiara and my very own little pink wands. (That's Doug in the background, he's happy the pink stayed on my side of the pod.)

Dinner last night with Elsa, Frank, Courtney and her husband John was great! The "communion" wine was consumed in orange juice glasses so who knows how many we all actually had. Then we headed off to see the fountains at the Bellagio. Yeah for musical fountains!

A club in the Bellagio scared some so we left and went to Margaritaville for...you guessed it-beer. Just kidding. I had a margarita and it was tasty. The clock read midnight but Elsa's celebration continued and Justin and I headed off for bed. 6 am comes quickly! So today we are sleepy but we'll be ready to have some fun after work.

And this special day isn't just for me. My cute little nephew, Evan, shares this day with me. But I'm sure he'd protest all the Tinkerbell cuteness.

Early Birthday Gifts

My birthday came a day early for various reasons. My friend Elsa is coming out to see me! Actually her 30th birthday is today so it's just by chance. But I like to think that it's all for me.

I haven't seen her since her wedding like 4 years ago!

Actually the best part about today is Justin bought me my first Serger! He's been hounding me to pick one out and I've learned that you can't ask people about their machines. Everyone has an opinion.

"I love mine"
"Our brand is the best"
"That other brand blows"
"It's a pain to thread"

Technically they are all a pain to thread so that's a cop-out. But it gets even better! I got a machine with a cover stitch. What's that you say? I have no idea but I wanted it!

Just kidding. A coverstitch is usually seen in ready-to-wear clothes. It's a pretty sweet stitch.

He got me the Singer Quantumlock Serger:



I can't do anything until I read the manual and actually thread it. But I think it should be fun learning how to use it.

Plenty of projects in line for this.

Air Judge It

After about 7 years of performing, 6 or 7 years of teaching, I'm finally in training to be a Winter Guard judge. Tomorrow is the second time I'll be using a tape recorder other than making my making my own radio shows. The first time was when I was asked to critique a marching band show. It was rainy and windy and I commented about the use of their flags (or lack of) without realizing they were told to "air flag it."

I'm an idiot.

But I'm much smarter now and know I should probably not comment on such things. Now it's things like:
strength
hand placement
timing!
blah blah blah your guard sucks blah blah

Ok, never say that last part. If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. That rule applies 100%. Or just make crap up. I learned that from Tony. Or maybe not. I think I made that part up as a quick back-up plan. Because you've always gotta have a back-up plan.

Hey we all had to start somewhere. Even if it was performing a painful looking show. And I'm sure the judges were just so nice to us. Because back then, they "appreciated" everything we did.

"I appreciate what I see." Which now translates to "blah blah blah your guard sucks blah blah."

Save the Chili Cheese Burrito!

Besides bean burritos, I love the Chili Cheese Burrito. But sadly I can't get it anywhere. Did you know that it's really hard to find because most Taco Bells dropped it from their menus? Can you believe that!? And with all that other crap on there...honestly, who wants to eat a quadruple decker stuffed-supreme taco/burrito? (Ok I made that up but they have some weird ones.)

I'm not the only one who's upset. Justin LOVES that burrito too. We tend to eat at least one while in Minnesota or Texas (where they take them for granted). He's always telling me of his days as a TB employee and how easy they were to make. But he also knows that nothing else on the menu requires those ingredients. So he understands why they might have scratched it. But I still think it's unforgivable.

My Grandparents were extremely disappointed at the local Taco Bell when they scratched it too. I was the one who introduced them to it. My Granny loved to go and get one for lunch sometimes. Then one day after a quick visit to Taco Bell, she came back with something else after being told they didn't sell them anymore. I told her it was true and she said, "Crimeny, they were so good!"

I know Granny.

But there's hope everyone. I'm not the only one who really thinks Taco Bell made a big mistake. Over at ChiliCheese.org, they've created petitions, forms, posters, banners -- Anything to get the Chili Cheese Burrito back in stores. So I'm asking all my blog readers to sign the online petition, even if you don't like the Chili Cheese Burrito or know what it is. This could be your chance to try it out. Unless you already live in an area where they sell them (lucky!), but you should sign it anyway.

Mamma Mia!

Sometimes things surprise you. Like your husband buying you tickets to see Mamma Mia after begging for three years. And what's more surprising...He loved it too! Ok I'm probably exaggerating about the "loved" it part but after the first act he looked at me and said, "This is actually really good!" And he's not even an ABBA fan.

Our seats were premium. We bought them through Nevada Public Radio where we are members, and we got a VIP pass for an after show question and answer time. Sweet!

Sitting third row in the middle, the band was loud and I could see the actors so well that we really got into it. But all the other NPR members around us didn't. It could have been that we were the only members under the age of 65 and this was a late night for them. Who cares, we had a great time.

I thought it was really clever how the songs (already written) were incorporated into a narrative that was written 20 years later. It's almost like buying a soundtrack to a show you've never seen until now. What was sad was some of the actors never liked ABBA growing up. I wonder if they just say they love ABBA now because they've got a job. I guess that'd be like saying "I hate Bill Gates" then go boot up windows on their PC at home.

If you come to Vegas and your spouse has been wanting to see this show for 3 or 4 years, take them. You might surprise yourself and get up and dance! Or you might just be surprised at how good it is.



VIP Baby!!

New Year...New You

A new you can be anything you want it to be. Consider a resolution that we all can easily do, for a new you, me and everyone. He's not our President (close, but no cigar) but Al Gore has a good point. Justin and I just saw his documentary An Inconvenient Truth and we are glad we are doing our part, even if it's small.

He might annoy some and bore others, but he's got a point about global warming. His documentary is a hard hit to the face about global warming, even if there were tons of charts and graphs. It's a serious issue. His life has been fighting this problem and up until I saw his documentary I didn't think it was such a problem. But it's not too late. We all can do small things to help.

Turn off your monitor or anything you aren't using (turn it off!)
Wash your clothes in cold or warm water
Plant a tree
Recycle at home
Carpool with co-workers/friends
Replace your furnace filters often

Easy! So instead of being selfish with the standard resolutions like "weight loss," "get more organized," "watch bad language." Be selfish by doing your part to keep it here for generations to come. Who knows, you might set a good example for the next generation. But keep the charts and graphs to a minimum.