Get Lost

Yee-freakin-HAW ya'll. The count down is on and I need to get my ass in gear. I started out strong early in season 5 and then all recaps LOST came to a screeching halt around mid March. It seems like so long ago. I'd stopped recapping and for the first time in years I stopped KEEPING UP! ouch. Like, I couldn't tell you what happened in the last 3 episodes if my life depended on it. That's just sad. But now I'm back and ready to pick-it-to-death. Who's with me? Here's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna run back through the season and while I'd love to recap the remaining episodes, let's face it, probably not gonna happen. BUT, I will at least recap the season as a whole and I'm VERY excited for the refresher course.

But before I leave I ask you this:

What did one snowman say to the other?

Say it isn't Sosa

This is weird, right? These latest images of the Home Run Slugger have caused quite a stir ever since he debuted his 'new look' at the Latin Grammy's last week. Jaw dropping Michael Jackson speculations have been made but Sosa insists he owes his new creamy complexion to a face moisturizer and paparazzi flash bulbs. Huh.

postSCHOVILLOVAsecret

I admit. I'm hooked on Postsecret.com and I have been for years. It's brutally - and at times painfully - honest, candid, and freeing. Secret confessions are posted on all topics, never ceasing to amaze, inspire and occasionally cause one to wince. It's got me thinking about what I would send. Sometimes I find some that I could have written myself. I posted them here...

I do this sometimes when I go shopping. Or I bring my ipod so I can not hear the sales people when they approach me.

I do this knowing that it will come back to bite me in the ass when I have kids.

I'm pretty certain that I do use too much TP. I think a lot of people do and just don't admit it.

I do this at airports. Or I'll have my headphones in with the volume down.

Is that so wrong?

And I would add these- but shhh! It's our little secret...

1) Ok, ok, I really do use too much toilet paper.

2) I am quietly miffed when I don't get carded. I'm 32. I need to get over myself.

3) Sometimes I listen to NPR just to hear the soothing voices - not caring about the program. Everyone on there has an amazing voice.

4) When I was little my doctor told me I'd be 5'7" or 5'8". I'm secretly still waiting for that to happen.

5) Kevin leaves by 6:45 am almost every morning. Some mornings I'll get up with him and make it seem like I'm up for the day, but as soon as he leaves I jump right back into be for another hour :)

So tell me friends, Do you have anything fun that you want to share?

Leave a comment - you can even do it anonymously.

Videos of the Week

As stated previously, September was not one of my most stellar months, but I was lucky enough to go out with some good laughs. The below videos - if you haven't seen them, and hell, even if you have - are sure to bring great big smiles and giant belly laughs.

Enjoy!

See Ya September, Helloooo October!

Go ahead. Take a whiff. A long beautiful inhale through the nose... hold.... hold... and - exhale... all the way out. Did you smell it? Fell it? Taste it? That's the smell of Fall. It's here. The leaves and cool crisp air do not lie friends. As the trees become illuminated and energized by the Autumn season, so too shall we. We will shed our summer skin - all the stress, bruises and bumps - and charge forth with new attitude and vigor.

September started out hopeful enough, but September can be tricky. It clings to summer because it's warm days are not fit for my beloved fall. Linen pants and open-toe shoes are still acceptable and scarves are still fashion only - not function. So I waited. September came and unleashed its fury. Ok, not fury so much as blows. I quickly found myself confined to crutches and anyone who knows me can guess how well that hasn't gone over. But as I shed my Summer-September skin, so too shall I shed these damn crutches. Also there were some work blows and I hate to even give credit to the labor gods but so be it. But I rallied, and did some soul-searching and reconfiguring and left my ego behind. I love my job and the people I work with. That is why I do it and so I shall continue to do it. Until that winning lotto ticket lands in my lap.

With September safely behind me, I embrace the new season and all it brings. The cool air. Football games with Kevin & Co. Coffee on my porch on cool mornings. Hot Yoga on cool nights. Fires in the chiminea and maybe even our fireplace this year. MLB. New music. Red wine.

So this is me, pulling on my knit hat, choosing a scarf out of the pile, grabbing a crutch and heading outside. Heading into Fall.

What Am I Missing?

I awoke Friday morning to the late breaking news that half the country was up in arms because American students were about to be indoctrinated by none other than the President of the United States. And the subject of the indoctrination? Brace yourselves.... It was THE IMPORTANCE OF STAYING SCOOL! OMG y'all, our children are going to have to be asked by the President to do well in school, to apply themselves, and, Heaven forbid, TAKE RESPONSIBITLTY FOR THEIR EDUCATION!! All this leads me to ask the obvious:

Seriously?

oh, and...

Are you effing kidding me??

Numerous conservatives are claiming that President Obama's speech on Tuesday about 'persisting and succeeding in school,' along with classroom activities about the 'importance of education,' will 'indoctrinate' and 'brainwash' schoolchildren. They've compared Obama's address to Chinese communism and the Hitler Youth, while also calling for parents to 'keep your kids home' from the 'fascist in chief.' Um.... Since when did a speech from the President to US students constitute brain washing and indoctrination? It's not like a message from the President to the nation's youth is unprescedented. Surely there was something that I was missing. Surely, there had to be a valid reason why our nation's Conservatives were threatening to establish a nation-wide 'Parents Keep Your Kids Out of School Day' rather than have their children be talked to about the improtance of staying in school. Because, you know, that'll show those education do-gooders.

Nationwide, 7,000 students drop out every day and only about 70 percent of students graduate from high school with a regular high school diploma. Two thousand high schools in the U.S. produce more than half of all dropouts and a recent study suggests that in the 50 largest cities, only 53 percent of students graduate on time. Is this not cause for alarm. Are these statisitcs not enough to bridge the bi-partisan divide and have us come to gether as a united nation and do what we can to implore the nation's youth to get serious about their eduaction? Teachers and parents can do what they can, but ultimately, it's up to them, the students.

True story: I grew up in Dallas, TX, and went to high school at an inner city school, known for their top-notch performing arts (which I sadly was not a part of but loved to watch) and their ability to produce National Merit Scholars while hosting an unbelievable drop-out rate. I'll never forget my first day of Freshman year when Mr. Giesler spoke to the new class of Freshmen and told us to take a look around at the faces that surround you. See how many seats are filled. So I took a look at the sea of faces that were my new classmates, taking them all in, and then was shocked to hear him say There are more than 600 students in your class. Your goal, is to graduate with half. Ouch. My being new to the DISD school system I had no idea what the drop-out trends of the early 90's were like. In May of 1995 I found out. While we still had 200+ students in our Senior class, we didn't even walk with 200.

Needless to say this latest breaking 'news' frustrates me. Pisses me off. Makes me laugh even. So why this? Why now? Glen Beck jumped the gun when he said that Obama's speech was more evidence of the 'indoctrination of your children' and sadly, millions followed, hook-line-and-sinker. What am I missing? Conservatives are demanding to know why it should be up to the President to deliver this message. And why in the classrooms? And I ask Why the hell not? Am I so naive in thinking that a message like the one that Obama will be delivering tomorrow to our nation's classrooms can be anything but good? I think that the supplemental classroom materials to generate discussion and encourage taking ownership of their educational endeavors is a great idea. Because at the end of the day,that's exactly what we need them to do. Talk. Discuss. And take responsibility because no one else is going to do it for them.

I could go on, and want to, really I do. But don't take my word for it. To read for yourself the words of tomorrow's indoctrination, click here. And then talk. Discuss. And take responsibility dammit.

Welcome Back, Baby!

He's baaaaack! This news alone is enough to entice me back to Dallas before baseball season is up. In case you haven't heard, my beloved Pudge is headed back to the Rangers - hellz, yeahz. This is some exciting news folks. Heading into tonight's game against Minnesota, the Rangers actually have a one-game lead in the AL wild-card race and this latest acquisition could seal the deal. That's right, for the first time in 10 years, the Texas Rangers could find themselves back in the playoffs. After bouncing around from the Marlins to the Tigers, 2 World Series visits (one win), and then a recent short stint with the Astros, Rodriguez has returned to his roots. He is home. And I couldn't be happier.

PS - Dear Brett Favre, retire already and damn you for going to the Vikings.