dinner price

Due to the usage of a lot of reduced for quick sale type food, we had an extremely cheap spaghetti dinner tonight--for all 3 of us it was a total of $4.42.
Here's the breakdown:
quarter of a loaf of reduced for quick sale sun-dried tomato bread: .27 (1.07 / 4)
one Albertson's going out of business sale jar of sauce: .40
3 reduced for quick sale cookies from a package of 10: .45 ((1.50/10) x 3)
spaghetti noodles: 1.50
5 swipes of butter: .20
2 gingerales from a 6 pack: 1.00 ((3.00/6) x2)
1 glass of milk: .50
sprinkle of shredded chedder cheese: .10
Pretty good, huh?
I guess we should thrown in some green vegetable, salad or something, though . . .

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!

Donald to Carolyn: You're Fired! Thursday August 31 3:40 PM ET
By Gina Serpe
Carolyn Kepcher's business how-to book covered how to handle a difficult boss. Now it's time for a rewrite.
Donald Trump has turned on one of his own, giving the axe to his longtime boardroom sidekick and Apprentice costar amid a newspaper report that TV fame had gone to her head.
"Mr. Trump wishes Carolyn the best," the real estate mogul's rep, Jim Dowd, told E! News, confirming the firing.
Kepcher had run two of Trump's golf courses and was a longtime fixture at the Trump Organization; more prominently, she had served as Trump's right-hand woman since NBC launched The Apprentice in 2004.
According to the New York Post, Kepcher was given the boot after Trump became frustrated by her outside projects.
"She became a prima donna," a presumably close, unnamed "insider" told the newspaper. "She was giving speeches for $25,000 and doing endorsements."
The 36-year-old mother of two, who oversaw the Trump National Golf Club in Briarcliff, New York, as well as a course in New Jersey, parlayed her Apprentice fame into a book deal. Carolyn 101: Business Lessons from The Apprentice's Straight Shooter became a bestseller, which led to the boardroom maven landing an agent at ICM and fielding offers for TV and book deals, along with speaking engagements and endorsements.
Kepcher's termination will have no affect on production of The Apprentice. She was not involved in the upcoming sixth season, which was set in Los Angeles and has finished shooting.
Proving nepotism is alive and kicking, Trump earlier tapped daughter Ivanka to take over as the reality show's requisite female sidekick, with Donald Trump Jr. chosen to fill-in for the other longtime Apprentice lackey, George Ross.
The 78-year-old Ross, a corporate counsel for the Trump Organization, will sit out for several episodes this season to make way for the younger Donald. Unlike Kepcher, however, a Trump Organization executive told CNN that Ross is "very much a part of the company" and is not being pushed out.
Instead, the new season's location shift has been cited as the reason for Ross' diminished appearances. Because Ross is based on the East Coast, he and show producers decided it would not be optimal for him to relocate simply for the show.
The Apprentice's sixth season is set to air in January.

what I've been up to . . .

• Ciao! Monday night my coworker/friend, Lauren, & I went to the Italian Language Meet up group because we thought it would be fun to learn Italian. Of course, we've only printed out the 1st 3 lessons from a webpage and the others there were quite advanced! The host was completely nice though and Lauren was able to understand quite a bit. We're looking into an ACC mid day class that we could take at lunchtime.
• Tuesday night was ladies night out again with my friend, Mandi (http://wattslife.blogspot.com/) We had a pedicure, ate dinner at Freebirds (the guac was SPICY) and played around at Pier One and Target. It was fun (but my toes are already a little chipped!)
• The weather is beautiful. We got rain yesterday and the high was 94.
• My work has been crazy insane but it's moving along decently smoothly; I'm afraid to say "good" in case that will jinx everything . . .
• but there was this weird work birthday celebration today . . . I had too much to do so I left. Which was probably good. Maybe . . . it was weird. Email me offline and I will tell you about it/get your opinion.

lol in case you never knew the official difference:

From the Yahoo news page: What's the difference between a nerd, a geek, and a dork?
Josh of Michigan
Dear Josh:
We've been called all three, and to be honest, we always assumed they meant the same thing. However, according to the cool kids, there are differences.
Official definitions for nerd, geek, and dork each use the words "inept" and "foolish." Nerds have the added distinction of being "unattractive." Ouch. While it's hard to argue with the dictionary, we sought out definitions from the Internet at large.
According to Whatis.com, nerds are people of above-average intelligence who place little importance on their appearance. Nerds are often aware of their status, but they don't mind. In fact, many take pride in the putdown, as it means they're smart and not wrapped up in superficial worries.
Geek is a more specific term. Back in the day, geeks worked at carnivals, and (according to the dictionary) "bit the heads off live chickens." Thankfully, the term now has a different connotation. Like nerds, geeks are smart, but they tend to focus more on technology. As Urban Dictionary explains, these are the people you make fun of in high school and later work for as an adult.
Being called a "dork" is the biggest insult of the three. There's no way you can spin it into something positive. After all, even the dictionary writes that dorks are "stupid" people. And to make matters worse, dorks assume they're cool. Oh, and they smell, too.
So, to sum things up, if someone calls you a geek or a nerd, thank them. If someone calls you a dork, consider going back to school and investing in some new deodorant.

princesses and a tiger at the Capitol

So the other hobby I hardly ever seem to have time for is geocaching (www.geocaching.com) Within that hobby there are travel bugs (TB) that want to go certain places. I snagged one with Find-a-cache (that's her handle) and this tiger TB wants its photo with all the state capitols. So I took the princesses with me to show the tiger around. Here's a few photos. (P.S. There was a movie filming going on after the sun went down so keep your eyes peeled for famous people around. I couldn't get close enough to see whom and the guards didn't know . . . SURE they didn't . . . )

Anticipation . . . of the splash coming up . . .

Oberpriller blog

there's a reason for everything . . . including fly fishing.

The Manager of our department (and ultimately, my boss) grew up an outdoors person. Bill loves to camp, fish, and general do stuff outside. But life crept up on him and you know how it gets--we gain weight and get so busy doing stuff that you miss out on a lot of your hobbies. Most of you also know that Bill lost his son in Iraq about 2 years ago. Right before Byron passed away he had written our department a letter about his plans once he returned home and among the plans was some camping and fishing with his dad. It's a BUSY time of year for us with work with lots of stressers in addition to normal life stuff. Bill has been working out with a trainer and loves to fly fish. With fly fishing he is very organized and knows of all his equipment. So Bill and his friend randomly go to this sports store yesterday for some outdoor supplies. At this store, the former owner of a now-closed angler store now works. Bill hadn't seen this guy in a long time when he says "Hey, Bill, we have a fishing rod of yours from the old store you never picked up." Bill was quite sure that was not true but the guy goes to the back of a storage room and pulls out this rod with Bill's name on it. They check it out and Bill insist that it is not his and even checks his personal inventory--not his. But the worker insist it is and that he take it. Bill believes this is Byron's way of telling him to relax and enjoy life. I agree. There IS a reason for everything; we do not know the answers and we must trust that God does have a plan. Even though we don't know what it is, there is always a reason for everything.

update

Realized I haven't really shared much about what's been up with the O clan so here's a little catch up . . .
Danielle's 4 year check up went ok (I say ok b/c I'm still annoyed with the ped.) The oh-so-needed renal ultrasound showed that she is fine/normal. The blood in the urine and UTI is finally gone but Danielle now has another ear infection in her right ear this time. So we're on the third round of antibiotics. The ped. thinks Danielle has allergies so let's put her on this (brand name) nose spray. When I asked for a generic version I was met with the question "You have insurance don't you?" Yeah . . . wrong response. FYI, I refused the $79 copay nose spray. In other wellcheck news, Danielle is completely normal with height (45th percentile) and weight (50th percentile) but lower on the BMI index (25th percentile). Yes, USA children have such issues with weight that now that they track BMI. I have no idea how BMI works--that's just what the ped. said.

Trey and I finally agreed on some furniture choices and purchased a coffee (cocktail) table and a new couch. We got a good deal at Foley's/Macy's. I also purchased a "summer" purse that night at the suggestion of one of my coworkers/friend; she amazes me with how fashionable she is. Did you even know there were summer purses? I am completely clueless unless it's in a book somewhere. Anyway, the table comes this weekend. The couch sometime in September (backorder).

Today Trey and I had to learn how to give my beloved Hamilton subcutaneous liquids (shots of saline). It was quite a queasy experience for me. Thank you, God, for the great husband to do the shots. Hamilton is hanging in there. He's down to around 7 pounds but happy. I can not put him down yet. In case you don't know, Hamilton is the cat I've had since my first place on my own and he has cancer. He's realitively young--~10 years.

My neice got our birthday present. And so did my SIL as one of the pairs of jeans I had bought was a Women's and not Girl's size. lol! But we did score big with the pink sequin shrug.

Trey's been hard at work at school. Sunday, Monday and Wednesday nights are the hard nights with lots due.

Last weekend we had 2 birthday parties and a Back-to-School bash. It was SO much fun. One of the bday parties was at one of those jumping places and they let the adults do it too. Then the 2nd bday party we played dominoes (oh did Trey and I lose) then the BTS bash had one of those HUGE blow up water slides and we had a great time on that too. We were WORN out. Sunday was a big nap day for all of us after church.

Well . . . I think that's about it.

Music

There's this one CD of mine that always takes me back to a sad time in my life and it's unfortunate because it really is an excellent album. But a few days ago I decided to let it go; I listened to it one more time today then passed it off to my coworker as she passed by the door. Goodbye . . . no worries, no regrets.

In other music connections there is this Nickelback song that has been haunting me so much lately. Which is surprising to me because I've not really thought very highly of that band previously. Anyway, it's taken me quite a while to figure out that this was Nickelback so here's the song lyrics:

Far Away Lyrics - from All The Right Reasons :
This time, This place
Misused, Mistakes
Too long, Too late
Who was I to make you wait
Just one chance
Just one breath
Just in case there’s just one left
‘Cause you know,
you know, you know

That I love you
I have loved you all along
And I miss you
Been far away for far too long
I keep dreaming you’ll be with me
and you’ll never go
Stop breathing if
I don’t see you anymore

On my knees, I’ll ask
Last chance for one last dance
‘Cause with you, I’d withstand
All of hell to hold your hand
I’d give it all
I’d give for us
Give anything but I won’t give up
‘Cause you know,
you know, you know

That I love you
I have loved you all along
And I miss you
Been far away for far too long
I keep dreaming you’ll be with me
and you’ll never go
Stop breathing if
I don’t see you anymore

So far away
Been far away for far too long
So far away
Been far away for far too long
But you know, you know, you know

I wanted
I wanted you to stay
‘Cause I needed
I need to hear you say
That I love you
I have loved you all along
And I forgive you
For being away for far too long
So keep breathing
‘Cause I’m not leaving
Hold on to me and
never let me go

new Pediatrician

We're looking for a new pediatrician for Danielle. North area of Austin--if you know in the Cigna network--that's a bonus.
Thanks.

coming home today

We're coming home today. Yesterday did a funny play then rode the loop train back for dinner at a nice seafood restaurant, Choice 35. Drank some wine, including a free glass of dessert wine then came back and crashed. Did an architechture river tour this morning. About to check out then leave.'

Day 2

So we went to the Field Museum this morning then we went back after our siesta to see the King Tut exhibit. It was interesting but packed. So we walked over to Tantrum bar http://metromix.chicagotribune.com/barsandclubs/38446,0,2597920.venue?coll=mmx-ng_heds where we met the owner, Kevin (think Denny from Grey's Anatomy) and the fun bartenderess, Kathryn. They were fun to talk to. They also had the coolest Men & Women bathroom signs I've ever seen. They are spotlights that spell out which is which. I had Paige take 2 photos with her phone and will post when she can send to me. We then took the red line over to a recommended Thai place, Amarit http://www.amaritthai.com/
which was very yummy. I had the waitress' favorite, the catfish in spicy curry, yes, me and curry. We also had noodles, some shrimp dish, Tom Yum soup and some wine.

Then we headed back (and I forced Paige to walk) to the hotel. Now I'm sitting here in the business center with the lovely & sweet young one, Uno, from the Wolfpack rap band out of San Fransisco http://www.myspace.com/wolfpackmusik or http://music.yahoo.com/ar-9562832-videos--The-Pack
He tells me there is no bad lyrics; I can't hear them on this computer.

Miss you, Trey & Danielle.

See you soon.

C-H-I-C-A-G-O!

So I made it to Chicago with my girlfriend, Paige, for a fun birthday weekend celebration. We flew in yesterday arriving about 5:30pm. Travel wasn't so bad considering everyone had to check everything. I expected O'Hare to be horrible judging by the reactions everyone had when I told them where I was flying but it was extremely easy. We rode the train into town, and got the recommendation for TGI Fridays and the Cheesecake Factory (ummmm, yeah, no thanks; I can go there anywhere) then walked the few blocks to our hotel. Checked in, regrouped then went out to a recommended China Grill for a few drinks and appetizer dinner. Had some interesting conversations with a local (Play-ya), drank a chocolate cake and a pear martini, ate calamari and lobster pancakes (OMG are they delicious) then came back and crashed.

This morning we went out for breakfast, walked along the lake to the Field Museum then to eat pizza for lunch. The pizza was very good. We're taking a little break right now then going back to the Field Museum for the King Tut exhibit then out to eat & drink.

Haven't seen Oprah yet haha.

I miss my little one and Trey but am having a fun time. Don't feel too sorry for Trey; he stayed out later than I did last night with all his guy buddies!

The WEATHER IS BEAUTIFUL!!!! Expected high is around 80.

Think Kory could match these dance moves?

Check out this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pv5zWaTEVkI

Officially 36

So I'm officially 36 and this is still my favorite gift . . .

Happy Birthday, Amberlin

Happy Birthday, precious niece, Amberlin. Here's a beautiful Texas sunset from tonight--we miss you.

weekend out . . .

For that upcoming can't-believe-I'm-going-to-be-36 daymy mom offered to keep Danielle Friday night and all day Saturday so Trey and I could get some things around the house done. So Friday night we went out to eat--Sau Paulo--very good Brazilian food but lousy service. Then we went to see our friend, Dave & band, Mr. Lewis and the Funeral Five play the Happy Hour show at Beerland. Believe it or not, but our friends, Marla & Russ, happen to be there too as they had a grandparent watching their daughter too! It was totally unplanned but a lot of fun. Here's a link to the band's website to check out some music: http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=24075447 And some photos:

This is Dave--

The band--
The band again--
Unfortunate beer bottle placement for this fan--(we all had a good laugh at this)
The brothers--
(I didn't get a photo of all of us-darn!)

After we left Beerland we went down 6th St to get Dave, Russ & Marla some pizza then went to Iron Cactus for a drink on the rooftop.

Saturday Trey and I went to see Pirates of the Carribean II. I enjoyed it but got lost a couple of times; I kept seeing things on screen and daydreaming about my upcoming Halloween decorating plan. And panicing a little--there's only 2 months to formulate the plan! Then we went over to Foley's (yes, we braved the Tax-free clothing weekend) to look at a Cocktail table that I liked. Trey liked it too now we need to decide on couches.

We came home, cleaned, had Chinese for dinner then I went and picked up Danielle. Got some more tomatoes and peppers from my dad's garden. Also got some cool markers and such from mom's Teacher Appreciation breakfast given by Office Depot.

Gotta get to church. Enjoy the photos. Hasta.

Lucas--please read

Lucas--I only have your blog site and posted this comment on there as well; hope you read this.
Trey got this foreign service email today and thought you and Star would be interested--Re: Arabic & Russian:


Hello:
You have subscribed to the U.S. Department of State careers website listserve. We would like to bring to your attention changes regarding the Bonus Points for Foreign Languages, including Critical Needs Languages (CNL).

Previously, successful specialist candidates could earn only two points (2) on a 100 point scale for demonstrated competency in any foreign language. Effective July 1, 2006, they are eligible on a 100 point scale for a bonus equivalent to that which generalist candidates receive: either 5.7 points for a CNL or 2.4 points for a non-CNL. Bonus points improve a candidate's standing on the rank order register.

NOTE: Critical Needs Languages are currently defined as: Arabic; Chinese (Cantonese and Standard/Mandarin); Indic languages (e.g.,Urdu, Hindi, Nepali, Bengali, Punjabi); Iranian languages (e.g. Farsi/Persian, Dari, Tajiki, Pashto); Korean; Russian; and Turkic Languages (e.g. Azerbaijani, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Turkish, Turkmen, Uzbek).

Aaa Get ready . . . to Wiggle!

Wiggle your fingers and your toes.
This afternoon (Wed) I took the day off so Danielle and I could go see the Wiggles in SA with friend, Lisa and her daughter, Ellie. The girls were so excited on the way down that we heard the infamous "Are we there yet?" several times.
The Wiggles were incredible; they really are (omg am I getting old--pair that with seeing a T-shirt for the very awesome Rob Zombie this weekend that stated "20 years 1985-2005" and I'm about to lose it). The Wiggles all have so much energy and we ALL had so much fun. We danced, we sang, we clapped, we waved . . . It was a great afternoon. You can tell that the whole crew enjoys working with each other and trying to make each other laugh. Jeff (the purple shirt one) always "falls asleep" and the others have to scream "Wake up, Jeff!" to awaken him. This afternoon, however, Jeff fell asleep for the 3rd time and in discussing this the other Wiggles influenced Jeff's "dream" so much that he could barely stand up he was "Sleep-laughing" & "Sleep-nodding-his-head." It was hilarious. (Made me think of Chicken;-)
We told the girls they could each get one thing from the souvenir stand as long as it was under $20. Lisa and I were both rooting for the Dorothy the Dinosaur floppy hat--it is so cute--reversable with one side green with big yellow polkadots and the other denim with the Wiggles patch--but neither girl chose it. Ellie chose the light wand with the Wiggles in their Big Red Car while Danielle chose the Dorothy the Dinosaur tail. While I pondered that it was not what I would have chosen I reminded myself that Danielle is Danielle--her own individual and I have to accept that. It really is cute on her, too. Anyway...the Wiggles are in Houston for tomorrow then Dallas and I highly recommend. The rumor is that this is the last tour so catch 'em if you can.
If you have absolutely no idea who I'm talking about--here is a link: http://www.thewiggles.com.au/index2.html
Greg is my favorite, Danielle's is Jeff and Trey is slow to admit but when pressured his favorite is Captain Feathersword. Last summer Trey took Danielle & cousin Drake; Drake's favorite is Murray. Anthony's not left out though--a lot of Moms like Anthony; one mom even brought a sign today declaring her love for him. I'm not THAT lame yet; I still like Rob Zombie...

Barton Springs

Yesterday we met some other cousins and the family of Amberlin's friend since infancy at Barton Springs. It was a fun day but we're sending our nieces back to Seattle with sunburns! I hope the plane ride isn't too painful--especially as it should be taking off any minute now.

Here's a photo: