Category: BlahBlahBabble

I am currently finishing up my review for the The Virtual Book Tour and will be posting it later this morning. This time around, we are hosting Jenny Traig and reviewing her book, Devil in the Details : Scenes from an Obsessive Girlhood.

After I finish up my review, I will be sharing some of my obsessions – but I don’t like to think of them as obsessions – aren’t they really just quirks? Yeah. Quirks. I like to think of them as quirks.

Please check out the other participants today in the Virtual Book Tour:
– About.com Contemporary Lit Guide
– Accidental Julie
– All About George
– Brain Dump
– Ephemera
– Epistemographer
– Metagrrl
– Mighty Girl
– One Sweet Nothing
– Pamie, Author-to-Author
– Sooz
– The Elegant Variation
– The Heather Show
– Velveteen Rabbi
– Written Road
– Zulkey

The VBT is coordinated by the always fabulous Kevin Smokler. Enjoy!

I have this terrible (and slightly inaccurate) reputation of being a picky eater. I personally don’t think I am as picky as some people I know – I just know what I want and I’m not afraid to ask for it. Just the way I like it.

Kathy & I are in Austin right now for a Stampin’ Up! meeting that we have tomorrow. We’re staying at her sister’s house for the weekend, so after we arrived tonight we all went out to dinner. Kathy’s sister suggested a Japanese restaurant, and Kathy had already asked if I was ok with that. Being the not-so-picky eater that I am, I agreed to go there.

See, to me, it’s one thing to be a picky eater as long as you are gracious enough to go to restaurants you normally wouldn’t like without complaining. There is nothing that I hate more than someone that complains about the restaurant the group picked. I didn’t complain. We went and ate Japanese food.

For those of you that I have had the pleasure of dining with … be impressed by the list of what I ate for dinner tonight (you’re going to be stunned!):
– Gyutataki – slices of medium-rare grilled ribeye in lemon ponzu sauce (it was a toss up between that and the Beef Negimaki and the Scallop Batayaki – Scallops! I considered scallops over beef!)
– Edamame – broiled green soy beans
– Asparagus Yaki – ok, no shock there, I love asparagus. This was sauteed and served with a great sauce

And… drumroll please…
– Two “tastes” of Kathy’s Smoked Salmon sushi! I ATE SUSHI!

I think that from now on, no one should be allowed to tease me about being a picky eater. All the naysayers have been proved wrong! I ate Japanese food – including sushi – and liked it! The statute for giving me crap about this has run out, and I have the photographs to prove it!

Excuse me for a moment while I point out that it is really, really, flickin’ hard to get in the “Ho Ho Holiday Spirit” when it’s 79 degrees outside, perfectly gorgeous and sunny.

Santa’s gift to Houston is the summer we always dream of having. Only problem is, we’re getting it in December.

I want to put up my Christmas lights, but it’s just not the same when you’re busy slapping the mosquitos on your legs and arms. Ugh. How do the people in Australia manage to find their holiday cheer in weather like this?

One of those tweaks that I have always wanted for my blog is a Spell Checker. I hate to make errors, but sometimes I just don’t want to take the time to go and look things up. Now there is a Spell Checker plugin for WordPress! Yeah! [via Matt]

Yesterday I went to look up a word online, only to discover that my favorite dictionary site, Merriam-Webster Online is no longer free. What?!? *sniff* How can they figure out things like the fact that blog was the most looked-up word of 2004 if the service is no longer free? I’m sad that they have changed their policy. I can understand why – who needs to go and buy a dictionary if it is all online for free? But it is still so much more convenient when it is online.

I survived the weekend. I made it. It’s over. And I am so thankful for that. The Lager Rhythms concert was a lot of fun, and today’s Stampin’ Up! party was a blast. We made some really adorable coasters, makeup bags, Chinese take-out boxes, and book thongs with shrinky-dink charms. Plus an uber-cute card. Crafty time with friends is always a nice break. The planning and cleaning leading up to it made Saturday a crazy day (especially with the concert cutting the day short), but I made it.

Whew!

I have a full day “at the office” ahead of me tomorrow, but that’s ok. I can handle it. It isn’t overwhelming. I have my list of things to do, and I’m going to make them happen. I always feel like I have so much to do that I don’t even know where to start – obviously, with the whole “I seriously need to…” thing. For a change, I don’t feel that way. I feel good. I know exactly what I need to do, and I love that feeling.