LaLaLoli-Land

2008-05-09T08:01:00.000-07:00

In Other News,
-SUCKS HORDE HOOVES We seem to be having issues again with Time Warner Cable, this is who we use for our Internet and cable. Seems that our bill has has gone up by $30 each month! We've been told over and over that our services should be bundled, (which we requested from Day 1) and that is what the problem is..."I will make the changes to your account so this won't happen again". That's what they say to apparently pacify us and get us the EFF off the phone. Every month we have to call in to complain about our bill and each month we are told that our services aren't bundled and they'll take care of it. We've paid the disputed amount each month thinking that the problem has been resolved and next month will be better....NOT! So Clay has to call in and rip the innocent customer service rep (Rashid) a new arse-hole...I hear him in there doing that right now. He's moved on to the supervisor (Rhonda), now. Clay is requesting for a refund for the $30 amount that was added to our bill because of their inability to push the correct keys to make the changes and then hit "enter". We even make auto-payments and it's hit and miss whether or not they initiate for their payments because when they call to collect their money, we point out that we don't get paper bills and that we have our account set up to auto pay. They review our account and see that to be true and we get a "Never-mind". Get this, we STILL have to pay the late fees for THEIR mistake. Well, apparently Clay was able to walk "Rhonda" through "How to review customer contact notes 101" and she was able to magically see the once invisible individual letters that formed words, when put into order formed sentences that turned out to be 10+ calls that Clay previously made. Wow! It's a miracle! "Rhonda" just said that they would make the necessary changes to our account to bundle our services and issue us a credit!! (wait...this is so weird! It's like Deja Vu....it's like we've heard all that before or something.)

In Literary News:

Christopher Paolini announces release of Brisingr the third installment of the Eragon / Inheritance Cycle.

I cannot put into words the excitement I feel about this. I have read both Eragon and Eldest twice each. I love all the characters, different lands and of course the Dragons! Christoper Paolini has totally captivated me with the first two books. Please don't judge the books off of that horrible movie adaptation of the books...Eragon! I can't believe what an awful movie that was! Read the books. Christopher Paolini takes the time to let you intimately get to know each and every character...you know them, you love them or you hate them because through his writing, Christopher Palolini shares those emotions with you.
On September 20, 2008....Brisingr will be mine!!! I have re-entered the land of Alagaesia and am currently reading both Eragon and Eldest again so that all details and characters are fresh on my mind so that I can continue the story flow with Brisingr! I'm thinking I will go to Amazon.com and PreOrder Brisingr right now! Of course, Mother's Day is this weekend and my Birthday is right around the corner, maybe I should hold off...ahem....just in case someone might possibly preorder Brisingr for their sweet, loving Mommy / Wife... (Hint-Hint)

2008-05-04T10:01:00.000-07:00

So, Ironman opened this past Friday and it was.....AWESOME!!! Now, I love me some Robert Downey, Jr like, always, but he was phenomenal as Tony Stark! I thoroughly enjoyed the entire movie. I don't typically like Gwenyth Paltrow at all, in any instance...but eh...she was okay...at least she didn't take away from the movie-or maybe RD,Jr and everything else about the movie was so kick-arse, it didn't matter that there was a lame-0 like her taking up screen time. Definitely sit through all of the credits for a bit of total "Nerdvana"!
On the subject of "Nerdvana", I went to Lonestar Comics with Clay yesterday. He had spent the day at CAPE
celebrating his favorite day of the year...Free Comicbook Day! Anyhoo, there was a hardback book he didn't find at CAPE, (X-Factor Life and Death Matters Vol. II) so to Lonestar we headed. Typically, I walk around behind Clay as he "OOOO's and AHHHH's over the various toys and titles, enjoying his wonderful "boyish charm". Well, yesterday, as he perused the shelves looking for the elusive title, one of the staff of Lonestar gave me a double take and turned to face me and said..."Horde Rules". Then pointed to my shirt. I was wearing my World of Warcraft "Alliance" t-shirt. I laughed and was like, "Whatever, buddy....Alliance Forever"! Well, before I knew it, I was surrounded by 4 other staff members and the WoW-Nerdfest was ON! It was AWESOME! We were discussing/debating the intricacies of Arena play, 3v3 or 5v5, which is better...surviving in the Battlegrounds...Druids and Hunters being "Over-Powered"...Shared recommendations on useful class specific trinkets and gear...Again, I say, AWESOME! You must excuse me for a minute or two...I need a cold shower.

2008-05-02T09:07:00.000-07:00

Been down with strep throat the last coupla days...missed two days of work while I waited for my fever to break...For those of you who don't know, I'm office manager for a dental office. I got back to my office on Wednesday to find post-its and other random notes strewn all over my desk all filled with "Loli-Do's". When I was an assistant and was out...my work wasn't waiting for me when I got back (Hello, patients!)...not so true now! It took me a day just to go through all of my Loli-Do's, all that between checking patients out, answering the phone and being the sweetest, nicest person on the damn planet! The doctor that I work with is nice and laid back (thankfully) This Loli has worked with some pretty bizarre doctors in my time. Most are very, very needy, all were anal-retentive in some aspect...ahhhh the stories I could tell....Ahem! But I digress. My current doctor is really nice with a great sense of humor. He prides himself on being laid-back. I almost, at times, think that he is too laid-back, to the point that I believe it borders if not oversteps the borders of professionalism.
Example 1: He came in late one morning and we had two patients in the chairs already, one hygiene, one operative. He walks in with a bag of donuts (just enough for him) proceeds to go into each of the rooms to greet the patients and explain his tardiness while chomping on the afore mentioned donuts. The explanation in my opinion was totally unnecessary due to the fact that we all knew that the stop he made to the donut shop for the donuts he was currently devouring, was the reason he was late.
He finds that acceptable...But what do I know? I've only made dentistry my career for a mere 25 years!
All that talk of doughnuts...I would kill for an apple fritter right now!

Toodles!

2008-04-08T19:11:00.001-07:00

Sad news to report...we lost a member of our family this week,
our Yellow Lab, Luke passed away. Sweetest dog EVER. He was diagnosed with cancer this past week and we had to put him down this week. So very, very sad. He was about 9 years old and had brought so much joy and happiness to our family these past 5 years since we rescued him from the Rowlett pound.
There is so much that I will miss about him that I never thought that I would:
I'll miss is Bionic Tail, pounding dents into furniture and walls.
I'll miss him grunting and groaning like the old man he was.
I'll miss the way he would pout with his back to you when he felt "mis-treated" or "ignored".
I'll miss the way he would walk around puddles to keep from getting his feet wet.
I'll miss the way he would whine at the back door to be let in 'cause he didn't like to be too hot or too cold or just...outside.
Mostly, I'll miss that his favorite place to be was right next to you.
Thank you, Luke for all of your unconditional love and devotion. You will always have a place in our memories and of course in our hearts.
We miss you.

2008-03-28T07:56:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been awhile since I've posted anything! Halloween...that's just shameful. Not much has been going on. Wills Point Football is over...so sad! They did pretty well, got to the playoffs and were knocked out second round. I am so proud of all the guys! I wanna thank everyone that came out to support The Tigers and especially my Spenner.

Okay, on to current issues. This past Tuesday, I was in a wreck. You have prolly already read Clay's Blog
and read his "silver-lining" take on things. So, it's Tuesday, I'm on may way home from work, looking forward to having time off from work starting the next day until Monday. I'm in Rowlett on Rowlett Road...those that know the area, know it's all messed up. I was just coming out of the residential area from the George Bush, right at Big A and Rowlett Rd. The light was green so I sped up a bit to make sure I got through the light... A big truck in the next lane blocked my view of this kid trying to make a left turn into the Chicken Expess before oncoming traffic...Me. Well, I slammed on my breaks thinking maybe, just maybe I would miss hitting him...if the kid had been a more seasoned driver, he would have gunned it and we prolly could have avoided contact and gotten away with just changing our undies...well, I hit him prolly going about 25-30 mph. We pulled into the Chicken Express. We both got out of our cars (he was driving a truck) He ran up to me apologizing, so concerned that I was okay. I told him that I was fine...with him apologizing over and over again and asking was I sure I was okay...He told me it was his first accident and didn't know what to do. I asked for his driver's license (told him he took a good picture) and insurance and wrote it all down and I wrote all of my info on another piece of paper for him. He told me he was trying to get to the bank before it closed...he was putting a bid on a house...getting married in a couple months with a baby on the way in October...he was all of maybe 21. Well, the mommy in me kicked in and I congratulated him and told him it would all be okay, that I was so sorry that all this happened and I hoped his dad wouldn't be too hard on him (he was still on his dad's insurance). Well we parted ways, with me thinking I could drive my car away, which I did, until I got just past the court / police station...my hood flew up and banged against my windshield. Luckily I was like 1 minute away from Marylin's house (my mother-in-law), so I put my hood down and just drove to her house and parked my car there. Clay called all frantic...apparently he didn't take the time to listen to the 2 voicemails I left him detailing what happened and that I was alright and where he could find me. Anyhoo, went to the doctor the next day and I have a case of whiplash. My insurance indicated that the accident might be deemed "dual liability" because the kid was more than halfway finished with his turn when I hit him...I hate insurance companies! Here's the good part...when we got home, I had a call from the kid's (Aaron) dad...thanking me for being so kind to his son. that Aaron was pretty shook up and that so many times people go berserk and that Aaron told him how supportive and kind I was. His father assured me that he would make sure that me and my car would me taken care of. that it was 100% Aaron's fault and ended thanking me again for my kindness. Isn't that awesome? It really made me feel good. I needed that. Well, I didn't need the wreck, but I did need some little shred of evidence that nice things can happen to nice people.

2007-09-30T08:51:00.000-07:00

Halloween is just around the corner! Clay and I were invited to a costume party by Jimmy and Julie. We love that stuff...."Dressing-Up" for us doesn't mean puttin' on our Sunday best. Dressing-Up for us is like changing identities. One year, clay and I dressed up from Kill Bill...I was Elle Driver and he was Buck...who liked to F***. We won first place that year. Of course the world would stop spinning on it's axis if we didn't dress up as anything Star Wars. Jedi's...of course. This year, our theme is:
This is like our favorite show, so it is only fitting that we should use it as the theme for our Halloween costumes this year. The characters that we have chosen are, I think, the most beloved characters (our faves at least) and the costumes won't be that hard to duplicate. (Thank Goodness) Okay, so obviously, I'm going to be the Cheerleader and Clay will be Hiro...Future Hiro. Mine will be the easiest. I bought two long sleeve v-neck shirts, one red and one white, and I'm going to take the red sleeves and put them on the white shirt. Clay found the mascot and I will make an iron-on transfer for the shirt. Loli-Note: did you know that they used two different mascots? The first one was the Trojans, and the one they use now are the Wildcats. So anyway, I bought a cheerleading skirt pattern that matches Claire's and I already have white tennie-boppers...voila! Now Clay's will be a little trickier. He's letting his hair grow out so maybe we can make it look slicked back. I'll need to find a little "clip-on" ponytail. Clay is going to borrow Spen's "Blade" Samari sword (replica of course). The whole jacket thing...that will be hardest. I can't seem to find a full body shot of Future Hiro on the internet (imagine that) and I'll have to fashion a scabbard of some kind for the sword. I also need to make a little sticker or something of the symbol that is on the blade of Hiro's sword. That shouldn't be too hard. As far as the "Asian" look that Hiro naturally pulls down, I guess some scotch tape, one piece on the outside corners of his eyes to pull them back and give them that sexy almond shape....Only kidding! HEY, HEY, HEY...Remember, I'm a Jap, so it's okay for me to make my little comments! Now, of course if Jimmy cancels the party...well, Clay and I will just have to go and spend the evening at their house anyway. Actually, we have a group of friends that always have a costume party every year...it wouldn't be a loss.

Okay, so I have fallen into the pit that is "Myspace". I find that I am posting there more than here, that being because I have more family that is on Myspace. Here is my Myspace link, if you want to check it out. Lolivision

2007-09-19T08:59:00.000-07:00

Well, let's start out with a Wills Point Football update from last Friday night:
Wills Point Tigers: 7 / Kaufman Lions: 10.
That's right, we lost our first game, which really sucks, especially since the Lions lost their
first two games and their first win was over the Tigers. It was a good game...Our offensive line
did awesome. I think that maybe there were team members that came into the game a little
over-confident, knowing that we had won our first two games and that Kaufman lost their first two games. Bottom line is that the Lion's were hungrier for a win. We increased our passing game, which totally keeps me on the edge of my seat...every time I see us throw a pass, I almost can't look...so afraid it will be intercepted. Intercepted it was at this particular game...a couple of times, which I think drastically affected the outcome of the game.
Clay's friend from college, Terry came to the game with us. Terry's dad is a football coach for Rowlett High School...it's a 5A school. They're 'big-time". Wills Point is only a 3A school. Well, Terry really enjoyed himself. We got there a little late, so it was slim-pickin's on a seat. We ended up sitting in an area with the "Uber-Fan-Mom"...Jane Anne. Terry had never experienced the small town football experience. Rowlett shares a stadium with several other Garland ISD schools. He was really impressed with the fact the game was being played at the actual school and that a big part of the town turned out for the game. I think that Terry was afraid I was going to make a scene with my Helmet-Shaker...Absolutely not possible with "Jane Anne" right next to us...she was all over Terry, leaning on him, there was a lot of Terry-touching going on. She screamed, yelled, cheered and jumped up and down the whole game. I'm surprised that her voice didn't go out. (note to self, don't sit by Jane Anne again) For the first time, parents around us actually acknowledged our presence. We are at every football, soccer, band and school function and have always been, since the boys have been in Wills Point, and only now are people noticing us. One mom asked if we were "Spencer's people". When I said "yes", she pointedly told several people around us, "This is Spencer's mom"...they were acting all happy to "finally" meet us...don't see the big deal. But I guess the acknowledgement is nice, since all these years, people just look right past or through Clay and I...so I know they don't have to say anything...cause they usually don't.

Wills Point Homecoming is this Friday. We are playing Gladewater. So, in San Diego, where I grew up, Homecoming didn't involve "Mums". I've seen homecoming mums about and truly just thought they were gaudy and unnecessary. For the first time, Spencer asked me to help him with a mum for his girlfriend. I have offered in previous years, but he always insisted on buying one from the local flower shop. This year, he decided to put a little faith in the never-failing "Lolivision". There's a place that I go to get my cake supplies and they also have tons of wedding stuff as well as tons of cheer and spirit stuff. Last week I went there to get everything we would need to make Emily's mum. Boy was I ever overwhelmed!!!! Things that I knew: Emily is a cheerleader, on the tennis team and the school colors are royal blue and white. They had mums ready-made with teddy bears, bells, whistles, and tons and tons of trinkets. I had no idea about tradition or protocol with homecoming mums. So I asked a nearby patron for some help. I was bombarded with questions and rules about mum-construction. I found out that on the mum was to go both Spencer and Emily's names, their extracurricular activities were to be included through trinkets (football, cheer, tennis, band). I found out the ribbon streamers needed to be a certain length, graduated by different widths of ribbon...did I want one main mum, or two or three....how was I going to depict the school mascot....I must have looked like I was going to cry because the "Mum-Lady" grabbed me and my cart and took me all over the store, helping me get the right ribbon, mums, gave me tons of suggestions for decorating with trinkets. She was awesome! I brought it all home and on Saturday, Spencer helped me assemble it. We went back on Sunday to pick up a few more trinkets...then put the finishing touches on it. Spencer was really, really happy with it. He said it was much nicer than anything he could have purchased in Wills Point. Gave me the warm fuzzies....I think it turned out okay...even still, I think it's a ridiculous tradition. Get this....even though this mum looks huge, it's not. This is teenie-weenie compared to some pre-made ones I saw...how does one wear one of these and stand erect? Better question: How does a guy look at his "girl" wearing one of these absurd homecoming accessories and utter the words "Baby, you look great" and keep a straight face? Knowing that in the back of his mind he is thinking about how he could have better spent that $50.
It's only the beginning guys, only the beginning.

2007-09-10T17:17:00.000-07:00

I've been neglecting LalaLoli-Land! I'm so sorry. I've been sucked into the Rancor Pit that is
"Myspace". I signed up mainly just to check everyone else out...now "I've fallen and I can't get out". I've started to add a link to LalaLoli-Land, so hopefully, just maybe, I might just have to post here...

Anyone still feeling all warm and fuzzy over my last post? (sigh)

WILLS POINT TIGERS: 23 / LINDALE EAGLES: 16
This past Friday night, the Tiger's played and totally dominated the Lindale Eagles! FYI, the WP Tigers are a 3A school and Lindale is a 4A school! It makes the victory that much sweeter! #60 was awesome as usual...knocking people around like they were made of cotton. The mighty #60 did sustain a minor BooBoo to the knee that Mommy thought she was going to have to fix with her "Hello Kitty Ice Pack". Clay gave me the disapproving head shake...the one where his head is slightly tilted forward and to one side, his eyebrows raised as his head does the slight shake as I read his silent lips telling me "NO". I wouldn't really have gone down there with my ice pack.....Anyhoo, I made this scrapbook page of Spencer and his football pictures through the years...it's really cool. Doncha think?

Well, Saturday night, Shawn, Kerry, Spen, Clay and me went to see Clay's University of North Texas (UNT) Eagles, play Southern Methodist University (SMU). It was a really good game. Lot's of action. Unfortunately, we lost. SMU managed to score twice in the 4th quarter. The final score:
UNT: 31 / SMU: 45.
Not a good thing. Totally threw Clay into a downward spiral...He hates losing. The UNT fans were totally awesome! What school spirit! There were actually three guys there, painted green, with "U" "N" "T" on their chests respectively. I really had a blast. We are trying to convince Spen to go to UNT...Maybe...just maybe.

2007-09-05T18:50:00.000-07:00

Lolivision has gone....SAPPY!

There is a song that is so sappy...so, so very sappy...but I am absolutely in love with it. For now, I can't get enough of it. I find myself listening to it over and over again. I love the lyrics to this particular song. I love the singer as well. I love his style of music, I love how he performs it....I love that he performs with an orchestra. I don't just love this one song of his either. His music makes me swoon in a very, very sappy way.

Guys, you dedicate this song to your special someone....you will get laid.

This singer is Michael Buble and the song is "Everything"....I'm sure you've heard the song. I know the girls have.

Okay now, is when I lay the sap on really thick...I'm now going to let (or make) you read the lyrics...you too will be swooning soon enough.

Everything

You're a falling star, you're the get away car.
You're the line in the sand, when I go too far.
You're a swimming pool on an August day,
And you're the perfect thing to say.

And you play it coy, but you know it's cute.
Ah, when you smile at me you know exactly what you do.
Baby don't pretend, that you don't know it's true,
'cause you can see it when I look at you.

And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times,
It's you, it's you, you make me sing.
You're every line, you're every word, you're everything.

You're a carousel, you're a wishing well,
And you light me up when you ring my bell.
You're a mystery, you're from outer space,
You're every minute of my every day.

And I can't believe, uh, that I'm your man,
and I get to kiss you baby, just because I can.
Whatever comes our way, ah we'll see through,
And you know that's what our love can do.

And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times
It's you, it's you, you make me sing.
You're every line, you're every word, you're everything.
You're every song, and I sing along
'cause you're my everything.

Okay, who's swooning? Most romantic lyrics...EVER. The line I love is: "And I can't believe, uh, that I'm your man, and I get to kiss you baby, just because I can." Goose bumps...all warm and tingly in places.

I have always loved music from way back when...you know when all the good singers sang with orchestras. The crooners...I loved Dean Martin. Of course Frank Sinatra...I was fortunate enough to actually see Frank Sinatra perform...with his orchestra, in Las Vegas back in 1989. He was awesome!!! (kinda drunk) So very awesome!!!!

Alright, I'll stop now. What follows is the music video to this song...enjoy if you want to (who wouldn't want to?)

2007-09-02T18:27:00.000-07:00

This past Friday night was the season opener for Wills Point Varsity Football at home against the Athens Hornets. Wills Point: 20 / Athens: 15 WOOHOO! Of course the star of the game in Mommie's eyes, was my Baby Boy, 60 - Spencer Jennings. Helping to cheer The Tiger's on to victory were Clay and myself, as well as Shawn and Brittany. It was nice to have Brittany by my side cheering our favorite guy on (who looks wayyyyyy cute in his new football outfit). Look at her there with Spen...she just oozes team spirit...Brittany, like me, thought that everytime Spen glanced even slightly our way, that he was looking at us and we cheered that much harder. Brittany even got a coupla kiddos sitting ahead of us to scream cheers of "GO SPENNER"!!!... It was an awesome game and thankfully no injuries. If I haven't mentioned it before, Spen's girlfriend is a Varsity Cheerleader, and this was the first time that I got to see her perform. She is awesome. Her name is Emily....don't they make a cute couple?

At halftime, Spenner does a quick change...takes his jersey off, takes pads off then dons his jersey again then lines up to perform with the Mighty Wills Point Marching Band. I hadn't seen this year's routine yet...it was Fantastic, as usual. And of course Spen was THE BEST trombone in the whole band.

Okay, I'll close this "Gush-Fest". I'm sure that more than one of you out there is feeling nauseated.

******GO TIGERS!!!*******

2007-08-31T11:04:00.000-07:00

And so it begins...Another kick-arse year of Wills Point High School Varsity Football. Tonight is their first game...at home against Athens. Kick off time is 7:30 pm. Of course the player to watch this year and every year until he graduates is #60 - Spencer Jennings who is starting at Offensive Right Guard.
Man, I am so pumped! I love going to the games...cheering our team (mostly spenner) on to VICTORY! We've got a little group going tonight, Clay and myself, of course, and Shawn (clay's bro), and his wife Kerry and their daughter (and my chum) Brittany. That's right, we are starting the evening at Tino's, our local mexican food restaurant, where we will enjoy a wonderfully unhealthy meal and then it's on to Wills Point to get cozy in the stands and wait for kick off. This year, as in years past, Spen will be playing in the game then performing at half time with the Awesome Wills Point Marching Band. He just takes off his jersey, then his pads, then throws his jersey back on and lines up...ready to perform. Another added bonus, is that his darling girlfriend Emily is a Varsity Cheerleader so it's gonna be a night full of entertainment for all! Alas, Clay has to endure yet another year of my incessant, over-the-top, enthusiastic, loud and animated cheering of my "Baby Boy Spen". I don't bring my royal blue painted, be-ribboned cowbell, emblazoned with the #60 anymore. (Spen won't let me) In it's place is this adorable hand-sized Football Helmet "Shaker". I decorated it with the WP and Spen's #60. Man I go to town with this thing. It's not as disruptive as the cowbell...(Spen okay'd it)

If you could just see the huge smile that is on my face right now....The anticipation is almost more than I can bear!
I hear thunder and raindrops....dangit!!! Hopefully it stops before the game. I just might have to get out my Hello Kitty Raincoat...just in case.
Alrighty, gotta head now, I'll let ya'll know how Wills Point does tonight...

GO TIGERS !!! *** GO #60 !!!

2007-08-24T16:50:00.000-07:00

Today was "Continuing Education" (CE) Day for me. I am normally off on Friday's. Now that the powers that be have made it mandatory for me to have the credential RDA (Registered Dental Assistant) I have to keep up with a certain number of CE hours to keep my certifications current. Okay, so today's course was "Teamwork and communication in the Dental Office". The speaker was Bruce Manchion.
In my almost 25 years in dentistry, I have heard just about every practice management consultant that's worth hearing. They all really say the same things, give the same recommendations, they just add their own little twist to make it their own. Bruce was really good. I'm really impressed. Most speakers try to stay pretty neutral as not to piss off staff or doctors...Bruce didn't take sides and he didn't pull any punches. He won me over right away by starting off the lecture citing a scene from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. He tried to quote Yoda...bless his heart. I give him props for trying at least. He tried to use the quote: "Do or Do Not, There is No Try".
He, instead said: "There is No Try, There is Only Do". Of course in my head, I quoted Yoda correctly, even using my very bad Yoda voice. He was talking about different causes for conversation "tune-out"...he used a term that I thought was classic and I will be re-using it...
some people have the communication skills that act as a...(here it is) "Verbal Sedative". Isn't that great? Another thing that he talked about that totally hit home with me was the different "Comfort Zones of Learning". I totally related with this. Here's the gist of it: Three comfort zones: I: Home Zone, you feel 100% comfortable (Lately, that's where I stay) II: Learning Zone, you are in a situation where you don't feel in control of the situation and you feel nervous. III: Panic Zone, that's where you feel you've lost all sense and control and just want to run away from the situation. He said that most learning occurs between the last two zones...I believe that. I know that I've been in situations where I felt I was in over my head, and when I persevered and got through it...I was always, without fail, better for it. I won't bore you with the specifics of his lecture, (don't want to be accused of "Verbal Sedation") although he was able to keep my attention for the whole 6.5 hours. One side note...Of the 150 attendees to this lecture, yours truly was of course chosen for the one and only "I need a volunteer". So, up on stage I pranced, (with hair that needed new highlights in a bad way) as we proceeded to demonstrate "Interdependence". He had me stand next to him, about 4 feet apart with my arm outstretched and elbow locked, palm up towards him, as he did the same thing. Then he told me to let myself fall toward his hand. So I did and we ended up tilting toward the other with our palms together...supporting one another. and.....scene. My big debut.

Okay, so, I've been baking cakes since about 4:30 this afternoon, it's midnight now. Clay's Aunt Tommie and Uncle Ronny are celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary tomorrow and I'm making the cake. I've got my "Lolivision" up full-blast, I hope the cake turns out as good as it looks in my mind...They wanted an Italian Cream Cake. I did a practice cake last weekend and it was AWESOME, if I do say so myself. I don't usually have much luck with cakes from scratch, but this one is prolly the best cake I've ever tasted. The cake needs to feed about 30 people. I'm making a two tiered cake, the bottom tier will be a 14" square cake and the top tier is a 12" hexagon cake. I'll post a picture of it.

Okay, gonna end with something you've got to watch. Kudo's to Spen for getting me hooked...

2007-08-20T10:29:00.000-07:00

Closed minded people (CMP) drive me totally insane!!! What's worse, are the people that won't consider anything beyond what they believe. You know the type, they actually become visually distressed right before your eyes. The slight head shake, widening of the eyes then you see the lips purse and then comes the narrowing of the eyes as they realize you actually have the nerve and the audacity to think for yourself. And, you have it all wrong!!!!!

LOLI-ISM: Everyone's different...and that's okay.

I know CMP's are just a fact of life. You can't get away from them. I try to be accommodating and patient when I come across them. Which, in my line of work that is like....ALWAYS! I just smile and nod, possibly throw out a "Huh, well, that's one way to look at it". Mostly it's just "Huh". I find that if said with a nod and a smile, it comes off non-committal. Possibly could be construed as slight agreement even. Most of the time it shuts them the hell up. Of course in my mind I'm screaming "What an ass-wipe!" Of course those that go out of their way to look down at me and get all judgemental on me...well, then I get all John Locke and wanna yell "Don't tell me what I can't do!" But alas, I just throw out a "Huh"....but I don't smile or nod! That'll show em!

Are CMP's like that because they are afraid of being wrong? They make everyone else wrong just so they don't seem ignorant? That's the problem with the world today...nobody is tolerant any more. Everyone is a control freak "It's MY way or the highway"! AArgh! Just so frustrating!

Breast or Bottle....Power Rangers or Bibleman....Sex Education or Luck....Horde or Alliance....Whatever, people! Life is trial and error. If I'm wrong, well hopefully I'll learn from my mistake. That's how we grow. What's saddest of all, to me, is the fact that most of the CMP's out there would like you to believe that they "Just have your best interest at heart" BBBBULLSHIT! It's not going to kill YOU, really, it won't even affect your life in the least if I let my kid watch Power Rangers! Whatever works for you is great. I respect your decisions. May not work for me but hey....
"Everyone's different and that's okay"

2007-08-18T11:03:00.000-07:00

It's time for... LOLIPINION

I got a couple of movies in from Netflix...Aguirre The Wrath of God by Werner Herzog and Grave of the Fireflies by Isao Takahata. Thanks for the recommendations Brad!

Anyhoo, first and foremost, I absolutely LOVED Grave of the Fireflies. Typically I go for the happy, uplifting stories and this movie is neither. Awesome story, just very tragic. It depicts a brother and sister orphaned toward the end of WWII in Japan and the daily struggle and strife to survive on their own. You feel their hunger as they starve, you feel the hopelessness as they are pushed aside by everyone. They are truly alone and no one cares. It really tells a vivid story of the real victims of war...the children. Very emotional movie. It's considered an "Anti-War" movie and I truly agree. Definite must-see. Again...I'm one that doesn't tend to watch movies that make me cry or that teach me things. (Dumb & Dumber-love it!) I highly recommend this movie.

Okay, now for Aguirre Wrath of God. This is a story of an expedition in search of El Dorado, "the city of gold". The opening scene is very impressive as this long band of conquistadors with slaves trek down this mountain with canons, horses and weapons...in full armor. The movie does well depicting how arduous the journey is. In the movie you watch the main character, Aguirre, slipping almost joyously into madness. Watch as he looses his grip on reality. It was almost like watching a chess game to see him manipulate the people around him, doing and saying whatever to make the fantasy in his mind real. I'm not even going to try to analyze this one. It's way beyond me....plus, truly, I'm not that deep. Quote from Wikipedia: "The film opened to widespread critical acclaim and quickly developed a large international cult film following. Several critics have declared the film a masterpiece, and it has appeared on Time Magazine's list of "All Time 100 Best Films". Aguirre’s visual style and narrative elements would have a strong influence on Francis Ford Coppola's 1979 film Apocalypse Now." This movie....not a Loli-Movie. I can believe that the film opened big...Masterpiece? I don't know about that. It's almost like, people will see this movie because of the whole "cult" thing. I'm sure it's a masterpiece in it's own right...

I could be wrong...it's just my Lolipinion.

Toodles

2007-08-17T11:00:00.000-07:00

So sorry for my last "bummer" post, butya gotta take the good with the bad around here. Let's make this a more positive post. What could be more positive than Hello Kitty?

For those of you out there that don't know it, I Love me some Hello Kitty. She is the symbol for all that is good in this world. 99.9% of all men out there would beg to differ, I'm sure. It's just because they are trying to hold on to their "Man Card". One look at this picture and you can tell that even cats love them some Hello Kitty...I think it's just simply adorable. Okay, even I have to admit, that it should be considered cruelty to animals to make a cat or even dog wear that hat. Now tell me this....did the giggle you got from looking at this picture make up for my last post? Okay, well, I think it does. Now we are "even-steven".

Alllll-Righty, then. Where was I? Oh, that's right, my love for Hello Kitty. I own a lot of things "Hello Kitty". I just think she's cute. Maybe I'm making up for something I missed as a little girl...or that I live in a household where I am the only female...I dunno. I'm like one of the easiest people to buy a gift for. Anything Hello Kitty, makes me giggle. These are my checks and I have matching address labels too. Here's the toaster that Spencer gave me for Christmas last year. I love that the toast really has Hello Kitty's face on it. This year, Spencer gave me the Hello Kitty waffle iron. It makes mini Hello Kitty waffles. They are perfect for dipping in syrup. Then of course I have a Hello Kitty comforter, body pillow, slippers and another pillow for when I read in bed. My computer is as Hello Kitty as I can make it...I have this affinity with office supplies/stationery. I send note cards and thank you cards like nobodies business. All Hello Kitty. All of my folders and notebooks are Hello Kitty...Thank you Target! I have Hello Kitty Markers, stamps, pens...my desk light is Hello Kitty. I even managed to find a rain coat that is Hello Kitty. Thank you EBAY!
Of course I still don't have everything I want yet...here are a few items
this car would be nice...or, I've always wanted my very own Airstream travel trailer...
Notice that even the inside is decorated Hello Kitty! Soothing isn't it?
Now, I don't play the guitar, but I would be willing to take it up if I had a guitar like this super-cool Hello Kitty Guitar! I don't think you could ever possibly sound
bad, playing a kick arse
guitar like this one!

I know that I have got to have you smiling by now...So do you get the idea that I am "sorta" into Hello Kitty?

Well, I think you get the picture...

Toodles!

2007-08-13T18:04:00.000-07:00

My mother has been on my mind a whole lot for some reason these past few weeks. (Mom passed away Jan. 06) I guess I've been doing some soul-searching and such...wondering why I am the way I am. I'm still dealing, I guess, with the fact that my mom and I never got along. Of course now it's too late and it's all behind me. But not really. I feel like there is a part of me that is
broken or lost...yearning to know what I did to make her dislike me so much. I tried so hard to please her, but truly, nothing I did was ever good enough. If I got an "A" she complained that I should have gotten an "A+". I get the whole psychology crapola...it will just make me try harder...it's for my own good. That attitude continued into my adulthood. I tried so hard to be a perfect person, wife, mother and all she did was complain, find fault and degrade me. I can't tell you how many times she disowned for from the family for years at a time. When I married the boys' dad, my family did not even attend the wedding. His father walked me down the aisle. As a result, I think that I have been on a never-ending quest for approval from everyone/anyone. All I really should care about is how I feel about me, myself and I...

When I hear this song, it makes me cry, cause it reminds me of my relationship with my mother.

"Because of You"
I will not make the same mistakes that you did
I will not let myself
Cause my heart so much misery
I will not break the way you did,
You fell so hard
I've learned the hard way
To never let it get that far

Because of you
I never stray too far from the sidewalk
Because of you
I learned to play on the safe side so I don't get hurt
Because of you
I find it hard to trust not only me, but everyone around me
Because of you
I am afraid

I lose my way
And it's not too long before you point it out
I cannot cry
Because I know that's weakness in your eyes
I'm forced to fake
A smile, a laugh everyday of my life
My heart can't possibly break
When it wasn't even whole to start with

Because of you
I never stray too far from the sidewalk
Because of you
I learned to play on the safe side so I don't get hurt
Because of you
I find it hard to trust not only me, but everyone around me
Because of you
I am afraid

I watched you die
I heard you cry every night in your sleep
I was so young
You should have known better than to lean on me
You never thought of anyone else
You just saw your pain
And now I cry in the middle of the night
For the same damn thing

Because of you
I never stray too far from the sidewalk
Because of you
I learned to play on the safe side so I don't get hurt
Because of you
I try my hardest just to forget everything
Because of you
I don't know how to let anyone else in
Because of you
I'm ashamed of my life because it's empty
Because of you
I am afraid

Because of you
Because of you

I have really tried to be the mother to my boys that I wish that I had. I don't ever want them to feel the way that I did. My mother / father, didn't know anything about me...didn't really care to I guess. I live and breath for my boys. I want to know and experience everything about their lives. The last several years have been a process of loosening the apron strings and letting them learn about life through experiences not just "because I said so". I love and respect every like, dislike and difference about them. I may not agree or like all of their decisions, but they are old enough now to see for themselves. The sooner they learn the life lessons, the better prepared they will be for the real world. I've always been a very liberal and open minded mother.

I love my boys so much and I never want them to doubt or question my unwavering and infinite love and devotion for them.

Truly.

2007-08-09T20:20:00.000-07:00

For those of you that don't know what I do for a living, I am a dental assistant. (Spit-sucker extraordinaire) I've been doing this for 24+ years. Dentistry has been very good for me and I have enjoyed it. I have to admit that through the years, there have been times when I've felt burned out...but managed to find a way to inspired and find new life in my chosen field. A big part of my job is visiting with the patients and helping them have a pleasant experience. I used to be painfully shy...it was awful! Over the years, I've pushed myself and worked through my shyness. Now, anyone would be hard-pressed to ever, in their wildest dreams believe that I was ever shy. I could talk to a brick wall. I enjoy visiting with people...especially my patients and see them relax right before my eyes...it's like I'm able to make a connection with them. I understand that there are all different personality types and usually I'm able to gently find a topic that sparks the patients interest and so the "jibber-jabber" ensues. Every now and again I have a patient that is so shy or just obviously not interested in conversing. I typically respect their mood and leave them be. I know that sometimes I'm not in the mood to be social. I had this patient the other day, that we did a crown for, so he spent some time in the chair, I really very pleasantly tried to make conversation with him and he would just give one word answers to my questions and not even look at me. It's not like he was being shy, I know the difference. I checked his chart to see what line of work he was in, (sometimes you can find conversation topics from that) and saw that he was an attorney. (I have had very bad experiences with every attorney I have ever personally known or have been associated with). Well, usually, I would leave him alone. Since he was obviously being curt with me, I decided to bother him by continuing to try to make conversation with him. He continued to give me one word answers. I then started telling him all my silly kid stories, while I made his temporary crown. It's not like he was going anywhere before I cemented his temp. crown. I boasted about "my Spencer" and what a gifted football player he is. How cute he looks in his football "outfit". He got to hear about what a wonderful Trombone player Spencer is and how he sounds better than all of the other trombone players in the band. I told him about Trey and that he plays rhythm guitar in the church band. He finally gave me a sideways glance with a slight smile...I took that to mean that I had finally gotten through to him. I guess he could see I wasn't going to give up. He knew I was trying to make conversation with him. He started to open up and gave up that he was into photography and we talked a lot about that. Overall, I think he ended up having a good visit, as he got up from the chair smiling and thanked me. When he came back for his next visit, he was quite pleasant and social. I'm sure he didn't want to hear anymore of my silly stories. Okay, so I've been at my present dental office for a year now, and all this time I haven't had a key to the office. I'm one that has always gotten to the office between 15-30 minutes before patients so that I can get everything turned on, booted up and in it's place, with a few minutes to spare to get mentally prepared for my day. (once my day starts, I have to be "on" all day) Everyone at my office arrives either right at 7:00 am (first patient) or 1-2 mins before that. I am usually left waiting in my car for 15-20 minutes for someone to get there. I hate that. Over the past year, I"ve made little comments about not having a key, but to no avail. Today, he and I were the only ones left and I was running end of day reports and he made a comment about trusting me. I took that one and ran...I smarted back..."Trust me enough to give me a key to the office?" He said "Is that what you want?" I was all "yes. I would like a key to the office". He said "I'll get you a key to the office then." I told him "Well, I've been here a year, if you don't trust me by now, you never will". Of course, we'll see if a key ever makes it to my lil' hands. The other girls were with him over 2 years before he gave them keys. So, I guess that's a good sign.

Here's a cool something I'd like in my house:

I found this at a site called Fish N Flush
It's just the tank part and those are real fish in there. It's pretty
cool. It looks really cool when the tank lights are on. I think it costs
like $300. Okay, so it's not a "Must Have". But it definitely is a
"Loli-Want".

2007-08-08T19:07:00.000-07:00

Okay, I don't know what the heck I did, but I just noticed that the images from my posts are not showing...AARGH!!!! This is going to take me some time to round up the images and add them back in.

To make up for it....For your entertainment:

Wasn't this guy great? I loved it. Hope you enjoyed it.

Toodles

2007-08-07T20:28:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I'm really missing San Diego...What would it take to make San Diego my home? I go through this every year. Paradise withdrawals. I really miss the beach. I think the beach is the only place that I can true peace and tranquility. This photo was taken in La Jolla from my beach towel. I found a spot that was virtually empty. There was maybe 6 other people sharing this area with me. No guys in speedo's or kids running around screaming and kicking sand all over me. Tranquility.

Okay, so last night at about midnight, I finally finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I totally steered away from anything remotely resembling a spoiler. I had heard that J.K. was killing Harry off, since this was the end of this series, so I had come to terms with that fact. SPOILER!!!!!

I had also heard that 2 main characters were going to die. Well, the term "main character" is definitely relative. There was all kinds of death. I'm such a huge fan that every character is a "main character" to me. I was saddened by each and every death, but I have to say that I took the death of Fred pretty hard. It's one of those that I sat and just stared at the pages, thinking I had read something wrong. Then frantically reading the next passages, knowing that it was a spell or a trick and Fred was going to get up and laugh at everyone. Lupin and Tonks was a total shocker as well. That's like really tragic...they had just had their first and only child! Lastly, believe it or not, the death of Snape really touched me. I thought the time and detail JK spent on explaining Snape's back-story was long overdue and satisfying as well as totally plausible and understanding.
Okay, now the Epilogue...I totally loved. Clay had found the epilogue on the Internet before the book was released and sent it to me in an email. I immediately deleted it...then he sent it to everyone he knew. His friend Terry is a huge Harry Potter fan and believe it or not...Terry read the Epilogue!!!! At the time we had no way of knowing if the Epilogue was genuine or not. Still I can't believe he did that.
I'm so glad that I avoided all spoilers...it made the book much more exciting and touching. I truly had no idea what was coming and I relished every word. Back to the epilogue...probably my favorite part of the book (except when Ron came back). But then if you know me at all, I'm all about the happy endings, the silver linings and happily ever afters. I love that Harry named his children after the people he loved the most and that one of his sons was named Albus Severus.
Okay, getting a little teary-eyed...gotta close now.

Toodles

2007-07-31T16:06:00.001-07:00

Just got back from the San Diego Comic-Con and it was (in the words of Dr. Who) FANTASTIC! My travel party consisted of myself, Clay (my hub) and Terry (College roommate of Clay). The trip started out with a good omen...none other than the great Wookiee himself, Chewbacca, (Peter Mayhew) was on our flight out to San Diego. To the right was Terry's reaction to having Chewie on our flight:
Another good omen? The lady with the three kiddos, (ages 1,2&3) sat no where near us. We landed about 5 minutes ahead of schedule and got our luggage and hopped a bus to get our rent car. The car we got was a 2007 Nissan Altima and it was nice! Our Enterprise helper, "Randy" sweetly bullied me into the extra insurance..."It's only $8.95 per day and will cover what your insurance won't..." I know, I know, I'm a sucker. Off to check in at the Sheraton Suites, Symphony Hall
Our room was awesome! Anyway, we dropped out things off and, since Terry is a big fan of In-N-Out Burger
we were on a mission to find and conquer the elusive "Double-Double". And Conquer we did! Yumm-o! Terry must have known the secret handshake to order "off-menu", cause he came to the table with this double, cheese, grilled onion and bacon topped burger with matching fries! I didn't get a double-double, but the cheeseburger I had was way delish! I did conquer the chocolate milkshake...
With our tummies filled, our next mission was the Comic-Con Preview Night. We hopped the shuttle to the convention center to pick up our official San Diego Comic-Con 4-Day Badges. (the crowd goes wild) To our utter shock, there must have been 10,000 people there. Usually at Preview night, there are maybe 2,000...the place was packed! It was like Saturday at the con in previous years. I was fearful of what Saturday was going to be like. Anyway, Clay was able to get his hard-back edition of Absolute Authority signed by his idol, Warren Ellis.
Clay is still walking on air about that one.

I'm really excited because the one comic that I have followed for the past 10 years is Strangers in Paradise by Terry Moore...and he was there, with the final issue of the book (sad). Needless to say, I bought the book and he was nice enough to sign it for me. I have most of his graphic novels and they are all signed by terry Moore himself. I love this book and it's characters...they are real people that you can relate to. I recommend this to anyone just getting into comics, or anyone who is in to comics but wants a change. (especially the she-gender)

Okay, this will have to do for now, as I took an Ambien to try to get back onto my normal sleep schedule and it is now kicking in. I'm not finished yet, but I'll post what I have and add to it tomorrow.

toodles

2007-07-16T17:06:00.000-07:00

Okay, so went to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix over the weekend...LOVED IT!
But then I knew that I would. I've enjoyed all of the movies...I'm one of the n3rds that has read all of the books like 5 times. In the movie there are several "flash-backs" showing Harry in all the previous years at Hogwarts. I liked that-wow has he grown up. He has his "first kiss" in the movie and that kiss didn't look like any "first kiss" to me! You expect a first kiss to be a quick peck on the lips. This was one of those perfect (no tongue) long kisses, that's not really just one kiss, but several long kisses. Who's first kiss was like that? Not mine that's for sure! My first kiss was with David Tung, in a session of Spin the Bottle. Poor David, I was that person in a group that NOBODY wants to kiss. They just let me play cause I was part of the group. My kiss with David was tight-lipped and a nano-second long. It was more like a facial collision in the general area of my lips. It left me bruised in more way than one.

I'm starting to focus on getting ready for a San Diego vacation. I'm a major "List" person. I make lists for everything I do...I tend to micro-manage. I know I am this way, so I take full responsibility and don't expect anyone else to do it "my way" or really even to lift a finger. I do it all. I've started my packing list. I have a "Loli List" and a "Clay List", as well as a list for the grocery store for groceries for Spen, who is house sitting for us and a separate list for things I need from the store for our trip. Each list is done in outline form. Everything is totally organized...
I'm sick, aren't I? Each item is checked marked when it is actually packed, the re-checked after the list is gone over one last time before closing the suitcase. Every item should end up with an "X" next to it. I know it's weird, but I HAVE to do it this way. I guess I suffer a bit from OCD...you think?

Clay is in the other room right now watching "Victoria Beckham-Coming to America". I sat and watched for a bit...lifestyles of the rich and famous. Curiosity got the best of him, I think. He has this obsession with David Beckham. It's not like his "Man-Crush" on Jack Bauer or Bruce Willis, but it's up there. Oh, wait, he just called out to me that he's about to watch the "Scott Baio" reality show....He thinks he's "The Man" cause Scott's bedded most of the hottest women in Hollywood..........BOYS!

Well, my World of Warcraft buddy, Icemilk has left the game for good. Yup that's right, he's throwing in the towel and moving on to bigger and better things. He's reached the pinnacle...He's Level 70, you can't get any higher than that. I'm sad to see him go...

Anyhoo, gotta get back to my lists....

2007-07-12T16:47:00.000-07:00

I know you all are wondering about how my WoW character Alagaesia is fairing in the world of Azeroth, so here's the update:

Alagaesia is now level 45 as of yesterday. With major props going out to my pal Icemilk and all of his assistance zipping me through my quests. Ice is a level 70 Gnome Rogue who kicks major arse!
Alas, still no mount...I'm holding out for a black stallion. This means getting Exalted reputation with the human race...still working on that one. (I'm more than halfway there)

The countdown has begun...San Diego Comic-Con in 12 more days! So close and yet so far away. Clay is going crazy with anticipation. I'm not sure I'm going to see very much of him...his schedule sounds pretty full. I had reserved a car so that I could hit the beach, not sure if that is going to work out. My finances are coming up a bit short--"best laid plans" and all. It will totally suck if I don't get a car while out there, I don't think that I can do 4 days of Comic-con. The whole San Diego comic-Con vacation works like this:
Lori = San Diego Clay = Comic-Con.
Usually he leaves for the Con b/4 I wake up, I do my thing, he does his Con-thing, we meet up for dinner, then I do my thing and he does his Con-thing. Repeat 3 more times. I actually go to the Con usually Saturday...but with my bad feet, not sure what I can do....that's a lot of walking.
Don't get me wrong, I love the whole Comic-Con experience, I just don't get out of it what Clay does. He's definitely in "Fanboy Heaven".
Toodles!

2007-07-11T09:15:00.001-07:00

Well, all things must pass, so let us mourn the passing of the 2007 World Series of Video Games. May I have a moment of silence please.

Okay, so, I had a blast! We arrived at the Gaylord Texan which is about an hour away from where we live, at about 10:15 am. We pulled up to an army of cars unloading boxes and boxes of computers and paraphernalia. It was a techie convoy. We waited for about 45 minutes in line to check in and get our "Competitor" badges that gave us access to EVERYTHING. Then it was off to find our station in the BYOC area. (Bring Your Own Computer) Got all set up, used a little "Lolivision" to make my space "Lolified". I think that I did pretty good. Like I always say, "There's nothing like a little Hello Kitty to brighten up war, death and destruction." Did a once around the competition and vendor area and settled into the World of Warcraft. There were food vendors present to keep us gamers nourished...Here's our very first meal:
This picture is actual size! Only paid a mere $8.00! What a deal. LOL
We weren't going to compete, but Clay and his bud Beck wanted to give it a try, so, off to compete we did. Our team name was "Smells like Wet Tauren". I know, awesome name. We got a giggle every time someone said it. For those that don't know what a Tauren is: The Tauren are huge bipeds generally bovine in appearance resembling Minotaur of Greek mythology. They weigh, on average, 340 to 500 kilograms (750-1100 lb) and can grow up to 3.65 metres (12 ft) tall. He's one I sketched to give you an idea...
Anyhoo, the competition was in arena style, 3v3. Clay and I had never played arena, since you have to be level 70 to play and we are levels 30 & 44, respectfully. We were approached by another gamer without a team, so he joined ours. The first thing that we had to do is spec our characters. Everyone starts out with a Level 70 character and you just have to decide whether you want to be a warrior, priest, rogue, etc...Everyone gets Epic armor and weapons, we just had to pick our buffs and talents. Then they save your character and we wait for our turn to compete. We played on kick-arse Dell XPS computers! There's a stage set up with play by play and color commentators Looked to be that only the "sponsored" teams got to play the stage, until the finals. Well, the guy we were playing with plays a lot of arena so I was relieved that we weren't going in blind. He thought we should play Warrior, Warrior, Paladin. Which apparently is a sucky way to go...Everyone else was like Warrior, Shadow Priest, Rogue or Shadow Priest, Mage, Rogue. This guy thought that two tanks could do the trick. Well it didn't. Out of 5 potential rounds, we lost the first 3 in, I believe, record time. The up-side is that we made it into the "Losers" round, scheduled for the next day.

I fear that I have over-stimulated (or unstimulated) you with my N3rdy replay of WSVG.
So for now, I bid you adieu.

Loli

2007-06-20T10:33:00.000-07:00

Father's Day has come and gone. I roped Clay into heading to Granbury to visit with my Papa..which was to be a surprise. His daughter and family from Arkansas came in Friday night...unbeknown to Papa, then Clay and I drove up at about 10:00 Saturday morning. Papa was ecstatic. It was a house full. We all had a really nice time. I really haven't spent any quality time with Papa's new wife, Mary and her family. I also really haven't spent any time with his daughter Susan and her family, so this was a good opportunity for us to get to know each other.

Jerry and Susan had brought some fresh catfish that he corn mealed and deep fried for us. They also brought an ice cream maker and made home made vanilla ice cream...it was delicious! I bought a bunch of fresh fruit and made a nice fruit salad and made some dip for chips. Simple yet delicious meal.

Best quote of the day:

Clay: The catfish is fried? I can't eat that... it will tear my stomach up.

Papa: Oh, it will be okay...it's deep fried...

This past Friday, Clay went to get his tattoo finished. If you remember, last time they just did the outline. He went back for the color. That was his Father's Day present from me. He had paid $200 for the outline and it was going to be another $200 for the color. I gave him $220 (anticipating a tip). Shawn and I accompanied him and I brought my trusty camera to document the visit. 3 hours later, Trey (tattoo artist) still wasn't finished with all of the color. Clay still has to go back for prolly another couple of hours. He's going to wait for the area to heal first. He's really wanting the tattoo finished and healed before we go to San Diego Comic-Con at the end of July.

2007-06-15T04:26:00.000-07:00

If you haven't been able to tell, I like to keep my posts light and hopefully a little entertaining. I'm about to get a bit serious, so if you no like, no read.

I just found out yesterday that my father...my Papa has Emphysema, or COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. Damn! For those of you out there that don't know anything about Emphysema or COPD:

emphysema (ěm'fĭ-sē'mə)
Irreversible expansion of the alveoli with eventual destruction of alveolar tissue, causing obstruction to airflow. Patients with emphysema often have labored breathing, wheezing, chronic fatigue, and increased susceptibility to infection, and may require oxygen therapy. Long-term smoking is a common cause of emphysema.

I lost my mother just last year due to this disease. It's not a pretty thing. It's so painful to see the person that you always knew as lively and vibrant turn into a virtual vegetable. I guess more painful is knowing that inside, they still are that lively and vibrant person...how "trapped" that must make a person feel.

My mother and I were never very close. That's a fact that has always been hurtful me, believe it or not, more so now that she has passed on. I guess because we never resolved the situation and I never got to find out why.

My Papa...now there's a totally different situation. We have always been close. We had a bond from the very start. You know, "Daddy's Lil' Girl". What's different about our circumstance is that Papa is my Step-Father. He came into our lives when I was 7 or 8 years old. The rest is history. I started calling him "Papa" when I was a freshman in high school and taking German. I wanted a name that would set him apart from just a regular dad. To me, he wasn't a regular dad. He was and is my Papa. Well, everyone else in the family picked it up and now he is known by one and all as Papa, children and grandchildren alike.

Brick wall...that's what it felt like I hit when I heard that Papa has Emphysema/COPD. I know he's not immortal...I know he's 74 years old...I love everyone in my life with great passion and with every fiber of my being, but there are four that I would lay down my life for...Trey, Spencer, Clay and my Papa. I don't want anyone to hurt, be sad, depressed...anything bad. I worry so much about Papa and this condition. Papa was my mother's main care-giver. He was the one taking care of her day in and day out. Papa was the ONLY one that truly watched my mother's health declining on a daily basis. He knows what to expect. OMG! I don't know what's worse? Not quite knowing or knowing completely. That saying: "Ignorance is Bliss" comes into play here, I think. I hate that for him. Emotionally, Papa is not the strongest person in the world. He may sound like it through words, but I know his words are a facade.

Sorry for the downer post.

I love my Papa.

2007-06-11T13:27:00.001-07:00

Okay, so with many long hours and much anticipation, I finally hit Level 40! I know, big whoop, right? Well it is a big deal for me. At level 40, I will be able to buy a mount to ride, so I won't have to walk everywhere and take FOREVER. My character race is Draenei and each race has a specific mount.
Mine is an Elekk. It's huge. I'm all about the "style" and I'm holding out for something a little more streamlined. By completing quests by the other races, you gain Reputation points and once you become Exalted with a race, you can ride one of their mounts.The one that I have my eye on is this here
Frostsaber. It's the mount of the
Elves. Nice lines, I mean spots, eh? I would look totally awesome atop that sleek beast. Unfortunately, I am just Honored with them, so I have to achieve Revered and then Exalted status, but it would take me a lot longer than I'm willing to wait.

So, I'm thinking this here Black Stallion, which is the Human mount, will be my alternate mode of transportation. Which is mighty fine with me. I've been working really hard on my mining and jewelcrafting to make jewelry to sell in WoWbay and make the gold that I need for my steed. (i rhymed) I will need around 100g for the Riding training and to buy my mount. I was almost there with 95g...then I went to WoWbay and upgraded my armor...Time to slave away with my mining again :(

I know that I have mentioned this before, but I have bad feet. I suffer from "Plantar Fasciitis". While on vacation in San Diego a couple of years ago, I woke up and was unable to walk without excruciating pain. My feet had gone out. I didn't bring tennies, just sandals...I mean San Diego, Hello!
After vacation I visited a Podiatrist and he diagnosed me with Plantar Fasciitis. He showed me stretching exercises to do and told me to ice my feet 6-8 times a day and stay out of high heels. I also had 2 cortisone injections on each of the soles of my feet. I also had Accupressure treatments on my feet by my chiropractor. (not sure if that even helped) I also wear these special "shoes" at night to keep my feet in a flat or prone position. (no toes pointing)

Anyhoo, I woke up this morning and jumped out of bed and felt like I had stepped onto knives. Just my left foot. I hadn't been wearing my "funny-walk" shoes (that's what my family calls them) to bed over this weekend and yesterday I didn't wear shoes all day. I usually always have my MBT shoes on. Well, today has been spent stretching and icing my foot, willing it to get better so I don't have to miss any more work. It's weird to feel completely perfect and yet be so helpless at the same time. You are screwed without your feet.

2007-05-11T10:51:00.000-07:00

How time Flies when you are having fun...or Gaming! Alrighty, what to update? I guess my WoW status is top of the list, of course.

Okay, so now Alagaesia is Level 31. Still making the mad gold with my jewelcrafting skills. I left that guild I was in to go back to The Dreamers. It was a smaller, more mature guild. No poo or fart talk. Our guildmaster was Icemilk. Really nice guy...level 60 Gnome. He was really helpful and always checked in on ya when he saw you were online. I tend to be a bit on the "chatty" side and this group was not so chatty. If you notice that I'm talking in past-tense about the guild, I just found out yesterday that Icemilk discontinued the guild. In his words: "Just not feeling it anymore". Not too surprised though, there were signs...and of course he is big-time now, Level 60 gets you into the Outland which is the Burning Crusade new zone. So now I go in search of a new guild...
Really doing a whole lot of grinding (heavy killing to gain experience points) to level up to 40. At level 40 I can get a mount and that will make travel throughout my realm much faster and easier. I really want my mount for when Clay and I go to:

Yep, that's right we are Uber-N3rds. It's being held in Dallas this year July 5-8th. The very day tickets went on sale, Clay and I ordered our tickets and even reserved a table for the gaming! July 5-8th you can find Clay and I at the Gaylord Texan Hotel, from sun up to sun down (and past) all greasy and pasty gaming our hearts out with giant N3rdy smiles on our faces.
I'm not planning on entering any WoW tournaments, it will be just so cool to be surrounded by "Our People". I think I tinkled a little bit just thinking about it. We are going to tote our laptops and other gaming paraphernalia and set up on our 6 ft. table. I'm planning on decorating my section in "Hello Kitty". It's going to be so great!

Okay, so something else that I'm into: Digital Scrapbooking. There's an annual Scrapbook Convention that is held in Dallas every year in June. It's called the Great American Scrapbook Convention.
I'm not planning on attending the whole thing, but I am going with Trisha, a girl that I work with. We are going to an all-night crop. Let me explain. For those that don't know, scrapbooking is where you take photos and place them on a page with a background, embellishments of ribbon, tags, clips, etc. and a little snippet of narration about the photo. Usually these scrapbook pages are kept in a book...you get the "picture" :) Anyway, a crop party is people sitting around doing just that. We are going to a digital crop, so we won't be working with actual pages and such. It's all digital. I have been painstakingly acquiring scrapbook backgrounds, embellishments, page kits, fonts, alphabets and overlays and keeping them on an external harddrive along with just about every photo I have ever taken. All ready to make scrapbook pages. Now me finding the time and actually focusing on that project has been a major problem for me. (the WoW gods call to me) I figure that if I PAY and am in a room full of other women who are doing the exact same thing as me, I have a better potential of getting a lot of these pages finished if not at least started. Ideas for pages will be everywhere.
It's on a Friday night from 6pm to 12am. Clay's got a Friday night to himself. (he never gets that) VIVA LA SCRAPBOOKING!!

2007-04-17T18:51:00.000-07:00

Man, I am crazy addicted to my WoW Burning Crusade. That seems to be all that I think about. I play like everyday now. Alagaesia is Level 25 now. I've even joined

a Guild. Actually, I'm on my 2nd one. The first one was called the
Dreamers. I'm now with "Heroes of Legend". Not sure if I'm staying with this one either. I was in-game tonight checking my auctions and a bunch of them were chatting like 12 year olds calling each other butt-faces and going on and on about pooing and farting. (I'm rolling my eyes)On the whole, they do seem fairly organized with weekly Sunday meetings (in-game) and they run Friday night dungeon raids. We'll have to see. Since I've discovered the Auction Houses, I've been banking mad Gold! Alagaesia's profession besides being a kick-arse Warrior is Mining and Jewelcrafting. So I run around looking for copper, tin, iron and silver. I'm able to prospect gems from the ore and then use my jewelcrafting skills to make jewelry. I list the jewelry in the Auction House and players either bid on it or "buy it now". I guess you could call it "WoWBAY".

We finally celebrated Trey's 18th birthday. His birthday is on Christmas Day, but we usually celebrate it before or after his actual birthday for obvious reasons. Anyway, he decided that he wanted to get some friends together and go play Paintball. There's a place in Forney http://www.officialpaintball.com/ that has like eleven different courses to "play war". Trey and his friend Justin went to Walmart and spent almost $200 on paintball and misc. supplies. Luckily the day of his party turned out to be pretty nice. I was expecting it to be a big mud-pit, but the weather was perfect. Everyone had a great time and nobody was injured. (Mommies always worry)

Clay was so excited that his college, The University of North Texas - The Mean Green, made it to the NCAA Tournament in New Orleans, Louisiana. He got online the minute it was announced and bought tickets screaming: "ROAD TRIP". Another guys weekend. The road trippers were Clay, Spenner, Shawn and Daniel. I thought it was cool that Clay wanted to include Spen (our 16 yr old). Shawn is his brother and Daniel went to UNT with Clay. They all piled into Clay's GMC Canyon truck and drove the 8 hours to New Orleans. Unfortunately UNT lost, but it sounds like it was a great time to be had by all. I know it meant a lot to Spenner getting to hang with his favorite person (Clay) and the rest of the men. They went to Bourbon Street and got the pleasure? of seeing, in Clay's words, some Soccer Mom reliving her youth baring her booballies, screaming for beads. (Wasn't Mardi Gras) Spenner said he didn't see...

2007-02-26T17:04:00.000-08:00

Bad, bad Loli! Haven't posted anything in a while. Let's see here, what's been going on? Sad news, Kryptonite Condom didn't make it on to the VH1's World Series of Pop Culture. Too bad, 'cause I know that they could have totally kicked major arse!

Valentine's day has come and gone and Clay totally loved the Collector's edition of World of Warcraft Burning Crusade! Clay was going to get me a day at a spa, which I would have really loved, but I opted out to save some cash. Instead, he got me a new pair of tennies and not just any pair of tennies. I got a pair of MBT's! For those of you that don't know it, I've got bad feet. these tennies totally rock. I suffer from "plantar fascitis" and have to
wear very supportive shoes with inserts and everything. Can't even go barefoot without ending the day with achey feet. These are the first shoes that don't look like "old people" orthopedic shoes. http://www.swissmasaius.com/
They are pretty pricey, about $250, but he got them on good ol' Ebay for $199. no shipping.
Been playing WoW like a maniac. I started a new character on the Hydraxis server. My character is Alagaesia and she's a level 15 Warrior. Ain't I cool? I've played a couple of times with my neice, Brittany...she and her boyfriend, Leighton are totally addicted too. I got Brittany a pair of headphones with a microphone so we can play and talk to eachother through Skype. I love playing that way. That's how Clay and I play when he plays with me.

Well, I've been at my new job for a little over 6 months now, and I have to say that I am quite happy there. I really don't have any stress to speak of and I don't think that many people can say that about their jobs. It's a small staff, just me and two other people plus the doctor. In case I haven't mentioned what I do for a living, I'm a dental assistant (spit-sucker) and have been for the better part of 24 years. Wow, that's a long time! I'm getting old...I've been doing this for over half of my life! I just never stopped to think about it before. You know, dentistry has been very, very good to me. For one thing, I only work a 4 day work week. Monday -Thursday. My schedule has always been flexible enough to allow me to "be there" for my boys, volunteer at their school, have lunch with them and I don't think I've ever missed an awards ceremony or class party ever. Yes, I can honestly say that even after 24 years, I Love Dentistry. "MOLARS!"

2007-02-13T16:27:00.000-08:00

This is what I got for Clay for Valentine's Day. I won it on Ebay for $70.99...Free Shipping! He has the Collector's edition of World of Warcraft and he's been watching Ebay for a good price on the Burning Crusade Collector's Edition since it came out that faithful day last month (Jan. 16). I, of course pre-ordered mine and have been playing the "H-E-double hockey sticks" out of it. Now we'll be able to play together. This is wayyy to cute not to share. This is Clay and I dying together...Clay doesn't play the game as much as I do, but when he does....it's fireworks!
Okay, so my back is on the mend. I was home from work all last week because of it, but thankfully, it's been an easy week so far. Since that time was unpaid, I can't afford to have anymore run-ins with the vacuum cleaner.

Well, now for a bit of bad news. Kryptonite Condom didn't make it onto "VH1's World Series of Pop Culture". It is a sad day indeed. Seems they didn't pass the written exam, so looks like they will need to find another outlet for their vast knowledge of Pop Culture.

2007-02-08T10:46:00.000-08:00

Okay, so have you ever fallen down by doing something stupid? This past Tuesday, I did. I was getting out of bed to get ready for work and I ran into our vacuum cleaner. I had vacuumed the day before and neglected to put the dang thing away. You would have thought it was a 300 lb. linebacker that hit me, but nooooo, just a stupid vacuum cleaner. I totally wrenched by back and Clay had to take me to the emergency room. We got to the ER at around 6:45 am and 6 hours later, we left the ER! I figured that we would spend 2-3 hours, but not 6 hours! Well, they gave me a shot of some pain med, a Flexeril and a couple of RX's for Flexeril and Hydrocodone and sent us on our way.

It just so happened that San Diego Comic-Con hotel reservations opened that very same day at 11:00 am and there we sat in the ER! Needless to say, there I sat, in a wheelchair and neck brace with cell phone in hand and my trusty speed dial, calling to scoop up precious hotel reservations for San Diego Comic-Con 2007! I know that this doesn't sound like a very big deal, but it is. Last year all hotels in downtown San Diego sold out completely in 15 minutes. Well, my man Clay managed to get through and get us reservations in the very hotel we wanted. He's the Bestest! I had made reservations at the hotel of our choice about a month ago, so we would have a room just in case. The room rate was a whopping $399. per night!!! Thanks to Clay's dialing skills, we are getting that same room for $164. per night!!!! (sigh) He's my HERO.

Clay and Terry leave this evening for Austin, Texas to meet up with Stone to audition for VH1 World Series of Pop Culture! I'm so excited for them, I know that they are going to make it to New York! Terry, unfortunately is sick as a dog, but he's gonna be a trooper and persevere. Their audition is set for 10:00 am tomorrow (Friday). C lay has been studying his butt off, watching and reading anything and everything Pop Culture. The audition consists of a timed, written pop culture quiz that each team member has to pass, then they move on to a personal interview. The casting team will call back 8 teams from Friday and Saturday's casting to move on to the Regional Qualifier competition which will take place Sunday Feb. 11th. The team that wins the Austin Regional Qualifier on Sunday will automatically advance to The World Series of Pop Culture tournament being held in NYC March 21st-March 25th! The remaining 7 Austin Regional Qualifier teams will be put into a pool with the other selected teams from all of the other Regional Casting Events and Producers own casting selections and the Producers will select ten (10) "wildcard" teams from that pool to participate in the tournament.
GOOD LUCK GUYS!!

2007-01-29T16:50:00.000-08:00

Krytonite Condom or I Bent My Wookiee? Those are the name choices for Clay, Terry and Stone's team name for...VH1's World Series of Pop Culture.

That's right! They have an audition scheduled for February 9th in Austin.

They'll be there all weekend. When they make it past these auditions, then it will be on to New York in March to compete for $250,00! I don't know any other people with the collective magnitude of useless information than Clay, Terry and Stone. I mean they are truly down-right smarty-pants-smart! I was going to accompany them to Austin for the auditions, but decided to pass so that Clay could have a well-deserved "Guys Weekend". He's been a VH1 and Entertainment Weekly Junky these past few weeks, preparing for the competition.

Okay, World of Warcraft news: My newest character, Sephira is now a level 15 Hunter and I have a Grizzly Bear as a pet! I am having so much fun with this. I'm looking into joining a Guild. By exploring and fighting in a group, I should be able to level up faster. Plus, I think I would like the camaraderie. If you are interested, you can check out my character profile here: http://ctprofiles.net/5043744 NERD ALERT!

2007-01-25T05:27:00.000-08:00

Well, it's that time of year again. Time to start thinking and planning about all-things Comic-Con. For those of you that don't know, or haven't heard about the San Diego Comic-Con
It's only the largest Comic -Fanboy Convention in Northern America!!!
take a deep breath Lori...."Margaret Thatcher naked, on a cold day"

10 years ago, I had never heard of Comic-Con. Clay is a huge Fanboy! He's been reading and collecting comics for the better part of 25 years. Not just comics, but "action figures" and "statues" too. Before Clay and I married, we took a family vacation to San Diego which included the Comic-Con. Clay, myself, Trey (8), Spenner (6) and my best friend Russell, all piled into Clay's SUV for the road trip of our lives. We made the trip in 24 hours straight through. This turned out to be the BEST VACATION EVER for all involved. I was awakened by Clay the first morning of Comic-Con to the sight of Gambit on bended knee holding an engagement ring in front of Rogue. Written on a hotel towel were the words: "Loli, I Love You, Will you marry me"? sigh, how friggin' romantic is that? In case you are wondering, I said "Yes". Five minutes later Clay was out the door and on to the convention and I didn't see him again for almost 4 days. I truly think he had a "Chubby" the whole time. He did take Spenner with him to the convention for a day. Spen got to meet his hero "Spawn". He was really excited about that. Spen also mentioned being creeped-out at the sight of (in his own words) 70 year old Xena. (People tend to dress up in costume) Anyhoo, when Sunday rolled around and Comic-Con had come to an end, we loaded the SUV and headed to Las Vegas, where Elvis walked me down the aisle and I became Mrs. Clay Harrison. It was simply magical. It was fun. Everyone still talks about that vacation and how it was the best ever.

Since Comic-Con 2007 will mark our 10th wedding anniversary, we are planning another magical vacation. This one will be without the boys (tear), but Clay and I never did get to have a honeymoon...We have reserved a room in the same hotel and are planning on heading to Las Vegas for a couple of days after the Comic-Con.
Simply magical.

2007-01-23T19:30:00.000-08:00

A year has gone by since the passing of my Mother. This posting is dedicated to her memory.

A loving mother, wife and friend. My mother loved her family-there's no denying that. Mom was fun-loving and classy. She was the proudest person that I knew.

My mother and I weren't as close as I would have liked. I guess looking back there's really not a clear reason. If I had to try to analyze it for a reason, (believe me, I have) I would say that she and I were alike in all the ways that drove each other crazy. We clashed. Her stubborn pride and mine just butted heads at every turn. It's the age old tale...Mother's and Daughter's.

My mother influenced my life in many ways. She was full of life and spunk. She was an elegant woman. My mother was the best cook ever. My watching her in the kitchen creating her "Masterpieces", I believe, gave me my love and appreciation of the "Art of Cooking". She was a wonderful seamstress and used to make many of our clothes when we were young. I followed in her footsteps in that respect when my guys were toddlers. The one thing that my mother and I agreed on totally? "Presentation is Everything".

I could go on and on, but the bottom line is that my mother and my relationship with her helped to mould me into the person that I am today...of that I am truly grateful.

Mom, you are Missed and Loved.

2007-01-17T14:26:00.000-08:00

World of Warcraft : The Burning Crusade came out yesterday and after work, I picked mine up (I had pre-ordered it), got it installed and managed to get to level 4 before I had to call it a night.
I picked a new realm and chose to be a Draenei, one of two new races, the other being Blood Elves. My new character's name is Sephira. Anybody nerdy enough to know where I got that name? As of right now I'm a level 8...I'm so excited and totally loving it!

Well, as I mentioned in my last post, it is winter here in Dallas. I stayed home on Monday because of the icy conditions, worked on Tuesday, then stayed home today due to the icy/snow conditions. Actually this time the dentist I work with cancelled patients for the day.It didn't even get above freezing today and all this icy stuff is still gonna be in full force through the night and into tomorrow, so I'm not sure if I'll be working tomorrow! Of course, I've only been at this job since August, so I don't have vacation time available and all these missed days are unpaid.

Okay, so TV time tonight, has been Beauty and the Geek and American Idol. I am a complete sucker for Reality TV. Clay and I watch almost every show we can. We have narrowed the shows down a bit...so much TV, so little Time! OMG!! There's this poor guy singing right now, he goes by "Red" and he's singing Bohemian Rhapsody...Simon likened it to a one year old singing that song. Honestly, besides the singing I couldn't get past his broken front tooth. I swore that last season's American Idol (AI) was going to be the last...but here I sit, totally sucked in again this year. As far as Beauty and Geek goes, tonight was my favorite part of the show, the guys get makeovers. It's always amazing to see how GREAT the guys can look with very little effort...usually a shave and a trim.

Clay has an audition for the VH1 show, "World Series of Pop Culture". He's chock full of useless information. He's great with movies, TV shows and all types of music. He'll be auditioning with two of his friends, Terry and Stone. Their team name is Kryptonite Condom. They will audition in Austin and if they make it past this stage, then it will be on to New York in March to tape the show.

Okay, time to leave you with a smile and a must have:

2007-01-15T14:57:00.000-08:00

Okay, sitting here with a nice, hot bowl of "Clay-Chili". It's warm in my tummy as it's only 30 degrees outside. It's been freezing cold all weekend, thus I have sat in front of my 'puter, gaming. Friday night we went to Kosta's Greek restaraunt for Clay's brother's (Shawn) birthday and his daughter Brittany came home with us and played World of Warcraft with me for like 6 hours, then came over after work on Saturday at around 3:00 and we played another 8 hours. I sure do LOVE playing World of Warcraft!
No work today, due to the icy conditions. I live like 35+ miles away and it would have been way too treacherous of a drive for ME. I know my limitations. Hoping that Clay will play some WoW with me and maybe even Dance, Dance, Revolution (DDR). We played yesterday and he is really good!

Let me leave you with something funny...

2007-01-15T14:06:00.000-08:00

VIOLA! LaLaLoli-Land is a reality. Thanks to Clay for his infinite intelligence and know-how. I'll do my best to keep this as informative and entertaining as humanly possible.
Things to look forward to:

World of Warcraft Screenshots
Loli-Lingo
Scrapbook Pages
Favorite Recipes
WoW Character Updates
My Three Guys
As the Mouth Opens (Sagas of the Dental Office)
And Much More!