The Best and Worst of times... in BIG D

I will be honest it was a little hard to get out of bed this morning, but as I laid all snug in my covers a smile slowly crept across my face as my first thought of the day popped into my barely conscience mind THE DALLAS COWBOY'S ARE 9-1 AND TECH BEAT #5 OU!!
As excited as I am about the Tech win I can not get over those 'Boys! T.O having 4 touchdown in one game, and almost equally important TO batting away a ball he could have intercepted just to show off, but instead he (gasp) followed directions!?!
It has been a tough few years for us Cowboy's fans, and I will be honest I have been waiting for the bottom to fall out of this year as is my beloved Cowboy's way. Does anyone else remember that joke in the 80's "Did you hear the Cowboy's got a new head coach, he is Asian, his name is Win One Soon" But America's Team fought on and lived up to their name in the mid 90's three Superbowl's!! Half the team getting arrested and all... we were Champions! But what goes up must come down, on it's head if it was a Cowboy. Aikman will die if he gets anymore concussions, Irvin will be paralyzed if he plays much longer, The Moose is one big hit away from a wheelchair. But we still had Emmit and he has a record to break! There were glimpses of hope, Ismael, Nguyen and even some others before they came crashing down yes, I am talking to you Quincy Carter! We even got so desperate we were excited about Chad Hutchinson! All the while knowing it doesn't matter how good the athlete is if all you have as their coaches are "Yes Men" Gailey who could get us to the playoffs but nothing else, and don't even get me started on Campo. And then a light at the end of our tunnel... America's Team becomes America's Oldest Team!! Parcells, Testeverde, Ferguson, Henry, Fujita only to be balanced out by infants Julius Jones, Ware, Spears... who now I am very thankful for but at the time... who were they? Okay Parcells out, Bum Phillips' son in! Bruce Coslett OUT... now we are getting somewhere! Hello Jason Garrett, you were a back-up you know what can you do with this Romo kid? He has shown some promise, but he is no veteran like Bledsoe... oh, wait.
I am not one for predictions, I am to superstitious for that, but I will say Let's Go 'Boys!! It is lookin' good! AND I AM PUMPED!!!!!!!
And before I go a shout out to my Red Raiders! Who cares if it is "the system" that "system" lead the #5 team for almost the entire game! "The system" even took a break for a little while and let some actual runs in and those weren't half bad either!! Of Course don't get me wrong Harrell is a junior and fewer things make more happy, but it was still nice to see even a minimal amount of running! And even DEFENSE!! Who was that Tech team and what did they do with our Defense!
There is really no good way to end this, and I am afraid if I keep going I wont be able to stop so Happy Thanksgving and Go Cowboy's!!!

Food for the brain

And now for your reading pleasure...
I know what some of you are thinking, I am not really a reader so I will go ahead and wait until the next blog... TRUST ME... Below is a list of books that everyone from the avid reader to the avoid reading reader will enjoy!! I have taken the liberty of throwing out the traditional book categories and made up my own!! Some books may fall into many made up categories, some might be the only one in their category, so enjoy!! I hope some of you find a book you will love, and if you have already read a book mentioned here be sure and tell us all about it!!

Category: So funny you might actually pee a little

Title: Naked
Author: David Sedaris
Book report: This book is NOT for the faint of heart, I will be honest there is some pretty racy stuff, which is even racier when you realize it is true! This book is non-fiction and FUNNY!

Title: Sloppy Firsts, Second Helpings
Author: Megan McCafferty
Book report: If you watch The Hills or ANYTHING on the CW, these books are totally like for you! They are for the teeny bopper, pop-culture junkie that live in all of us!
There are actually two more books in this series, Third Charmings and Fourth Comings, but as with many things too much of a good thing... you know what I am saying.

Title: Milkrun
Author: Sara Mylnowski
Book Report: Girl book! She rights the way girl friends talk! Very quick and easy read.

Category: You will ask for a puppy for Christmas

Title: Marley and Me
Author: John Grogan
Book Report: Very sweet, you will experience the full spectrum of emotion! Great for a "good cry"!!

Category: Cerebral Reading

Title: Life of Pi
Author: Yann Martel
Book Report: Amazing, you really have to pay attention, but it is worth it! If you like movies that you never saw the ending coming you will love this book!

Title: The Good Earth
Author: Pearl S. Buck
Book Report: Timeless, this book was written in the 30's about a family in rural China, but is such a great story about family and struggle that it is still very interesting!

Title: Secret Lives of Bees
Author: Sue Monk Kidd
Book Report: Starts out slow, but give it time. Very sweet, you start to want only the best for the characters.


Category: People live like this...


Title: Liar's Club
Author: Mary Karr
Book report: Sometimes hard to read, but great writing!

Title: The Color of Water
Author: James McBride
Book report: Great book, very uplifting. Deals with multi cultural families, death, education.


Category: To good to categorize!!!

Title: Peace like a River
Author: Leif Enger
Book Report: Faith, family, cowboys!! Incredible story. This book has it all, it is sweet, loving, funny and heartbreaking! Please read it!!

Title: Love Walked In
Author: Marissa De Los Santos
Book: Funny, full of heart and soul. You will fall in love with the main characters. Especially the male lead!!


Category: THE BEST FOR LAST

Title: Eat, Pray, Love
Author: Elizabeth Gilbert
Book Report: I can not put into words how amazing this book is, if you have never read that wasn't assigned to you in school, if you never read another book again, PLEASE, PLEASE trust me when I say you will LOVE this book!!

Hope to see you all at Barnes and Noble, or Half Priced, or the library... you know wherever they have lots of books!!!

My old friend

The good cry. I know I am treading on sacred girl ground here, but there are times when I am so thankful to the good cry that I feel like I should publicly thank her (yes, I assigned the good cry a gender, and of course she is a girl) so here it is my love letter to my dear friend, the good cry.
Girls you know what I am talking about, that cry that gets out all of the little frustrations that alone don't deserve a cry of their own. That cry that you will sometimes plan for when you have a moment to breakdown so you can bring yourself back. That cry that lasts a couple of minutes because nothing is actually wrong you just need a release. That cry that doesn't come from tragedy or sadness but from day to day living. That cry that makes you watch Beaches on TNT for the tenth time. The cry that sometimes you didn't even know you needed until you are laughing at yourself for crying at a Hallmark commercial. That cry that has the comfort of a good friend, the happiness of a piece of chocolate cake and the rejuvenating power of a great bath!
Guys you may be reading this thinking I am crazy, but ask ANY girl in your life and she will tell you about the "good cry" and while she is talking you will notice a smile slowly cross her face, and her eyes will close dreamily for just a split second because sometimes just the thought of the good cry can be enough.

My kind of space...

This post may come as a shock to those of you closest to me, but I am about to sing the praises of myspace... don't get all excited I still refuse to get a "space" but I would like to publicly ( if you can call 4 readers public) thank myspace for being my own personal jukebox! I am sure most of you already know this but you can listen to EVERY type of music for FREE! What I like to do, and what I am doing right now actually is to get a few of my favorites lined up and go between all of them. There is so much good music out there, so many artists saying some really good stuff, and we would never know about them if it weren't for myspace?!?!? So for your listening pleasure I have compiled a list ( including of course their myspace page) of my current favorites in no particular order... and please let me know of any music you deem worthy of taking up space so I can check it out!


Category: Folk, Acoustic

Schuyler Fisk
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=27632172

Joshua Radin
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=2871686

Ingrid Michealson http://www.myspace.com/ingridmichaelson

William Fitzsimmons
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=5149946


Category: Indie/Rock

Paper Route
http://www.myspace.com/paperroute

I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness http://www.myspace.com/chosendarkness

Category: Reggae

Woodbelly
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=13605932

Category: Texas Country/ Rockabilly

Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=11962872

Okay, I think that should keep ya'll busy, for this week at least!!
Be sure and let me know what you think!! Enjoy!!

YOU LIKE ME... YOU REALLY LIKE ME!!!

Miss The Girl Who,

I am writing you this letter on behalf of your blog (yes she contacted me and asked me to write this), and the avid readers of your blog (yes we are out there). We (the blog and the avid readers) are feeling neglected.

I am guessing by the lack of blog entries that you don't realized how important your "blogging" is to us all. For this we do not condemn you. We (your blog community) are life-lined to this blog, and furthermore need to have these entry to sustain us during the hard work weeks.

Please for our health and well being, write something soon.... PLEASE.

Sincerely,

Sadie
Blog Community Representative or BCR


I just received this letter from my BCR and I will be honest I had NO idea!! This letter is a blogger/ego maniacs ( both of which, I am) dream/worst nightmare!!
The ego maniac is so excited that people are reading so many so that they have not only formed a community, but one with a representative!
The blogger in me is horrified!! She can not believe that she would let down the faithful in such a way!
She will be honest this is not the first request she has gotten about a fresh post, it is however the first request in writing, and I really think that is what sent her over the edge! The blogger and the ego maniac have been at odds over this blog for some time now. The ego maniac being the one saying no one's reading, why are you wasting your precious time, go watch another movie on TNT.
The blogger is saying GIVE THE PEOPLE WHAT THEY WANT!!
Well, today is the day faithful readers that the egomaniac dies!! The blogger has token control!
I just re-read what I have been writing and sounds as though I have lost more than control, but I digress... I am making a vow right now to not only my blogger self but to you The Girl Who devotees, and my vow is this I, The Girl Who, will post a minimum of one NEW blog every week...

May be just me...

To me: Any type of pun, alliteration, hyperbole or double entendre is FUNNY! I recently came across one of the funniest examples of some of these at http://www.wescooppoop.com/!! Applause, applause, applause to whoever came up with this website!

To me: Football really is a religion! My friend Jeff and I recently went to training camp in San Antonio to see our beloved Cowboy's, and it was AWESOME!! I realized while sitting there how much devotion to your team and devotion to your religion have in common. First, it is something you get from your family, your parents take you to church you come home you watch football, the two go hand in hand. You start to love something before it really makes sense to you, and then at the age you start to really question things your belief in your team or your religion is already so deep in you that the belief alone in them erases any real doubt! Second, it is very rare to switch teams or religions. It is funny in this day and age of instant gratification, we want what we want when we want it. Any devoted sports fan knows their will be times ( for the Cowboy's decades) where you are NOT getting ANYTHING you want! And Christians know that day to day can be a struggle, we try and try all because we know in the end the reward is glorious! Third, it's community building! Celebrating your team, celebrating the sacraments! Both are beautiful! Surrounding yourself with thousands, sometimes millions of people who all have the same goal! You are bonded to each other, you care for each other and in church or in the stadium you PRAY for the same things!

To me: Text messaging is overrated! If you really want to talk to someone, talk to them!

To me: TV is the root of all evil! HOURS pass by and I have done NOTHING! And it doesn't even bother me! I will watch hours of shows about teenagers, single 40 something bachelors, little people, ginormous families... I have no standards! I am completely defenseless against a marathon! I don't even have to LIKE the show!

To me: Blogs are where all the cool kids are! Reading them, writing them, commenting on them ( wink, wink!)

Wish List

Here is a list of words and or phrases that I hope to one day be cool enough to say:

Word: Cat
Example Sentence: " I love that guy, he's a cool cat"
Reason I am not cool enough: I am pretty sure you have to be a musician of some sort to pull off calling someone a "cat". And as proud as I am of BOTH of my Most Improved awards from 7th grade band, they are like little, gold plated, musical notes of proof of how far I am from being a musician!


Word: Fella
Example Sentence: "Me and my fella have been together for a year now"
Reason I am not cool enough: There are actually two things that make the above sentence nearly impossible for to me be able to pull off #1 I would have to "be" with someone longer than 6 months which is to date my longest relationship and sadly was when I was in 10th grade!
#2 The girl who inspired this phrase I knew in high school and she has always been that super cool, hippie, vegetarian, spiritualist type. She lives in Puget Sound with her fella who wears pearl snap shirts and plays in a Johnny Cash tribute band. I like meat, as well as shaving, mass, and Texas way too much!!


Word: Holiday
Example Sentence: "In June we are going on holiday to Mexico"
Reason I am not cool enough: I actually think this one is less about my lack of coolness and more about my lack of being British, but whatever. And, because I would never be that girl I have to say that I stole this one from my funny friend, Paul.

Phrase: Drop Trough
Example Sentence: "Dude, did you seriously just drop trough?"
Reason I am not cool enough: In defense of my staggering lack of coolness I will say I think in the case of this phrase you have to be a dude to say it. I think that because I can't figure out how I can say it without it sounding like an invitation, which it is not! I really just like the phrase, I think it's funny!

Word: Lady
Example Sentence: " Hey, is that your lady?"
Reason I am not cool enough: I am not a biker. Nor do I have any tats or facial piercings. What makes me not cool enough is not, not having those things but being scared enough to pee a little at the thought of ever getting one of them.

Word: Tats
Example Sentence: : "Nor do I have any tats..."
Reason I pulled that one off: I slipped it in! It worked didn't it?
I am going to try it with cat next chance I get... stick around!!

Ted and me, me and Ted

There are very few things I have in common with a 70 year old, Jane Fonda loving, billionaire, atheist... except apparently our taste in movies.
I can not tell you how many times on a lazy Saturday afternoon after I have watched my third TNT "classic" of the day that I have wanted to right Ted Turner a fan letter.
I think it would go something like this:

Dear Ted,
I can call you Ted, right? I would like to take this opportunity to applaud your bravery. You who have deemed yourself and your basic cable TV stations important enough to award the title of "classic" to such movies as The Breakfast Club, Some Kind Of Wonderful and The Secret of My Success. You who have no shame in showing the same movie back to back while running commercials for that very movie on a loop with so much fervor that we the audience really will at least watch the first half hour we missed of Parenthood or Cheaper By the Dozen. How do you do it, Ted? It's as though you have read my Christmas list of movies I want but wont pay for. But, the best, when I feel closest to you is when you are able to show that movie that I do own but love so much that I still insist on watching it with commercials, formated to fit my screen and edited. You know who you are Tommy Boy and Sixteen Candles.
So Ted, from the bottom of my non accelerated lazy heart I want to thank you!
Thank you for my clothes molding in the washing machine, because I can't be bothered enough to move them to the dryer. What if I missed the commercial for the movie I am in the middle of watching?
Thank you for my not being able to find anything in my closet because I just want to hear Chris Farley say "... quite playing with your dingy!"
Thank you for all the time and energy saved not fighting the weekend crowds at H-E-B. I can grocery shop Sunday night when they have sold out of everything I need or want, it makes shopping go much faster. And as much as we agree on the movies, I don't think anyone can watch that many Law and Orders in a row.
And last but not least it is not only Saturday movies that I appreciate you for, you are my go to station November through April for basketball, you do what FSN can't or won't for the Mavs.
So, thank you Ted, though you may be totally wrong about religion and politics... you sure can pick a movie.

Yours Truly,
TNT fan in Texas

Aqua Sadie!

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate my bff on a major accomplishment! Last summer, after much convincing and maybe a little bribery, Mandy and I convinced Sadie to swim laps with us in the evenings. Every time we asked Sadie warned us she was not a swimmer, nonsense I thought. And, I believe my exact words were "With that wingspan, you will be on the other side of the pool in no time!" And for as long as she and her limbs are she was, unfortunately once she was there she didn't have the energy to come back! But, that Sadie she is always up for an adventure and she went to the pool with us quite a few times. Then, when I came to her with the idea of doing a triathlon she was pretty nervous about the swim, but she was steadfast! We practiced for a few months, she had a pattern down when she would get tired she would backstroke or sidestroke, she would stop and rest a little. Eventually she worked her way up to being able to swim a 1/2 mile which was the requirement of the race. She made it through the Danskin swim nonstop in around 24 minutes! Impressive, right? It gets better! We have continued to swim together a few nights a week, she doesn't count laps she usually just paces behind me and once I realized this I started going over the 16 laps that make up a half mile. A few weeks ago she went 22 laps and said she finally got into a rhythm. I was so proud of her! So Monday night we go to the pool we are both tired and I ask if she would like to try to swim a mile? She knows I would prefer to swim a mile since it was the only thing we were planning on doing that night and she says she can do a half mile and she will see how it goes after that. So we settle in to our groove she is about a lap behind me the whole time and I noticed that she never changed her stroke the whole time, which is a sign that she isn't getting too tired. At lap 23 I try and give her a thumb's up because she has officially gone further than she ever has! I will say it is really hard to be encouraging under water! Each new lap I say a little prayer that she doesn't stop. The pool we are in is not regulation so it takes 35 laps instead of 32 to be a mile, and right around laps 32 and 33 she is slowing down. Keep going, Sade, I am willing her forward, only 3 more laps! By this time we have been swimming consistently for almost on hour. And then lap 35!! She's done it!! Sadie has just swam a MILE!! The girl who last summer couldn't swim half a lap has just swam 35!! Congrats, Sadie!! Next time you will be the swim angel!

Also, I would like to say that in the days and month following the Danskin so many of our friends and family have said how motivated they are now to do a tri and some of them have even signed up and started training for some this summer! I am so impressed with there commitment! And I hope and pray for those who have not started officially training that they will remain excited and committed to doing something or anything they desire for themselves! I know not everyone has the desire to do tri's but I also know that there is no one in the world that doesn't want something!
Soooo, go get it! Work hard! You can do it! You have been so graciously blessed with a perfect healthy body and mind! There will never be a "good" time, you will never not be busy, you will never have all the money you want or sometimes need, you will never be less tired, that being said do something that makes you feel so great that you forget about all the other stuff!
Set a goal, work hard, see it through! You are more than worth it! If you need help, call me! We will get there together!
Just give yourself a chance to be amazed, by yourself!!

Video Killed the Radio Star

I would like to turn the "bloglight"( a word I am convinced I just made up and am blogging just to use) on technology. Now before you get worried I am not going to turn this post into some rant about how at the root of all evil lies computers and microwaves. I just wanted to talk a little about how technology is ruining the world! Or at least my world! I figure I will share a quick anecdote and then you all can chime in, because I know I am not the only one being drawn in by the iridescent glow of a laptop night after night!
I will start with the most recent and most frustrating level of dependence on a inanimate shiny object. The cell phone! After having recently misplaced my phone for a 24 hour period I can say without a moment of sarcasm it was like losing a loved one. I was frustrated all day! The only people I could talk to where my grandparents because they are the only one's who #1 Have a land line #2 Have had the same phone number my whole life so it is the only one I know anymore! When I realized it really was gone I literally went through the stages of grief:
Denial - It's here, I know it's here. I will have someone call it over and over so I can here it ring and we will be reunited.
Anger- Think, Jan, THINK, stupid phone, I don't need you! What have you ever done for me! Bargaining - I didn't mean it. I love you! You are such a good phone! You keep me in touch with old friends, you let me check scores, you get me movie times. If you come home I will buy you all the accessories you want. You want a a blue tooth you can have it, you want unlimited text messaging, done! You want a belt clip so that I can awkwardly attach you to my pants and we will never be separated again, it's yours!!
Depression - It's really gone, I don't want to go out, I am not leaving the couch. I am ordering a pizza...CRAP I can't!
Acceptance - All I have to do is get on line to order a new one. I will have to send out an e-mail to everyone I know to get phone numbers. I can use the phone at work. I will have to download new ringtones, those sweet texts I had saved where enjoyed when they were received some people don't even have that.
And such is the way with acceptance, the moment you come to terms everything works out, my phone was returned to me, via my aunt who found it on the trash can across our parking lot! I was pretty sure I had lost it in the parking lot, but I know for a fact I did not leave it on a random trash can. And I really don't care how he got there, I just care that he is home! And don't make fun when you see us out and he is hanging off of my belt loop on his new clip. I promised! I will say since his return our relationship has become even more unhealthy. I check on him constantly. I have to know where he is at all times. I don't leave him at home by himself anymore. I know I am smothering him and I am afraid soon he will start to resent me and disappear again, and then where will that leave me? When he isn't around I find myself thinking about the old days before him and his kind. Hearing a phone ring throughout the house. Being gone all day and coming home to messages on an answering machine. Not having to be exposed to blasts of "Toxic" by Brittany Spears coming from the girls purse next to me. Not being able to be found for a little while if you don't want to!
Aaahhhh... the good old days. Well I have to go now, I have original Ella Fitzgerald songs to download on to my i-pod, pictures from vacation to put on the laptop and long distance phone calls to make...

I am a TRIATHLETE!?!?

I have been going over and over it in my head "I am a triathlete" I can't quite wrap my brain around it yet. I have actually been trying to decide if I even get to actually call myself that. This was after all my first triathlon, and I did have to get off the bike twice and push it up what can only be described as a MOUNTAIN! But I did finish the race. I never stopped, even when I was pushing the bike instead of riding I was still moving and I crossed that finish line in 2 hours and 50 minutes after I started. And, I would like to point out that 13 of those minutes were "transition"minutes meaning drying off, changing and getting the bike after the swim and getting the bike back, drying off again and starting the run. So my unofficial time, not including transition time was 2:38:14... I like that number much better, I think that is actually my new favorite number, so be prepared the next time I am asked what my favorite number is for my answer to be 23814.
So let me tell you all about it from the beginning! Saturday morning we loaded Judy, Shannon and Don's bikes on to the bike rack on Mandy's car and headed out to the Expo center for our informational meeting. (Quick side note I feel it necessary to include the bike owner's names because Sadie, Mandy and I are so thankful to them for loaning us their bikes, we have practiced on those bikes, we have struggled with those bikes and we have now completed our first tri on those bikes, those bikes and their owners are very special to us!) Now, back to our story upon arriving at the expo center we are greeted by a line that begins at the door and loops through the parking lot. We make our way to the end of the line we are hot, we have to pee, we wonder why that girl is wearing heels and before we know it the lines starts to move, much to our delight pretty fast. Once we get a little bit closer we notice a list with each of the competitors names and what wave they will be going in, by swim cap color and time. We are in the LAST heat in the last wave! My mind flashes back to my goal list from the last blog (goal #6 not crossing the finish line with Sally Edwards which means you are the last athlete to finish!) I start to sweat, a little from the sun, more from the thought of coming in last!! Then before we know it we are in the Expo, booth after booth of everything from diamonds to sport jelly beans, which give you energy... yes we bought some... SUCKERS!! We get our packets, we activated our chips, we start to realize there is no backing out now! Why is any of this relevant to our story you may be wondering, because this race, in particular, is so much more than just the race it is about the event! The Danskin tri is the only all women's race! It was humbling and overwhelming seeing all of these women that we would be racing with, not competing against. This race is for EVERY woman, every age, every size, every stage in life! Everyone involved in making this race happen makes sure that the athletes feel comfortable, excited and supported! I know I can get a little emotional but I can honestly say that in our information meeting and Sally Edwards's speech following it I went through every major emotion! Fear, excitement, anxiety, happiness, joy, gratefulness, pride you name it we felt it! I will share with you two moments that were genuinely inspiring we had the pleasure of meeting the 79 year old woman who was racing with her daughter, as well as applauding Team Survivor which is made up entirely of cancer survivors! 100% of the race's proceeds goes to breast cancer research, which is just one more reason to get involved! So, after the course overview, and after fake vomiting on Sadie after hearing about the hills on the bike course we were ready to unload the bikes! We got to drive them up to the race site not really paying attention to the hills that got us there, which meant not getting to adequately warn our family members about how hard getting to this event was going to be on them! Once the bikes were in place, it was back home to get our last minute supplies, mass and carb loading! I will say that was one of my favorite parts of the pre race activities, thank you Grandma and Grandpa for Carraba's! The goal was to be in bed between 9:30-10:00 since we had to meet at Mandy's at 5:00 a.m. Of course we couldn't sleep so it really wasn't to hard getting up that early. I was so nervous even my family was awake all night! It was obviously still dark when we arrived at the Expo and boarded the "yellow dogs" to head up to the race site, which added a whole new element of having to use the port o' potty and locating our bikes. We got everything situated stripped down to our bathing suits and waited! The first wave started at 7:00 our wave started at 8:40. By this time we were actually pretty thankful for being in the last wave we figured less people to run us over from behind! We found our friend Robyn and her race buddy Barbara and decided we would get in the water to try it out. By they way, by the time we were dipping our feet in the water at 8:20 the winner was crossing the finish line, she was from the under 19 category! As we start to form the line I finally and thankfully see my family! I was getting pretty anxious they wouldn't make it, and I couldn't imagine leaving without seeing them. But all of a sudden I heard my name and my cousin Andie (wearing a shirt she made that said JANET IS MY HERO) and my Aunt Norma where there! Right behind them my mom, my Aunts Sue and Nise, my cousin Alejandro and my sister carrying the sign she made ( Si, se puede!) I knew I was ready now! We started to make our way down the boat ramp, we started our countdown, one last prayer, one last encouraging word to the women around us and then GOOOOOOO!!!! IT WAS AMAZING! It was like I was swimming on top of the water, there was little bumping but nothing serious, I hit a couple of people, but made sure to apologize, and 26 minutes later I was being yelled for by 20 people holding water noodles in an arch above me. My friend Judy among them, encouraging the loudest!! Then my family on the fence! I get to my bike I dry off, set out and about a quarter mile down the road see Grandma and Grandpa, get an "I love you, go Jani!" from them and smile all the way through the next 2 miles, and then the hills! There were 8 hills, some bigger than others, it was hot by now, I didn't have any water. Going down the hills was AMAZING, at one point Mandy said her odometer read 35mph! It felt like 100 mph! I couldn't stop smiling... then I got to the next hill!
At about mile 6 that no water thing started to wear on me, thank God for a volunteer who asked if I had stopped at a water stop and when I said "No, but it's okay" she rode next to me for half a mile sharing her water and her story with me, I thanked her profusely and started the last 6 miles. I know the hill that has affectionately been dubbed "the bitch" is still to come. I didn't make it, I will next year, mark my words! After two more grueling hills it is the finish! I rack my bike try to eat a granola bar grab Gatorade and head for the run! I get to the start and there is my family screaming and cheering me on while other racers look around to see what all the noise is! I start the 3 mile run, I walked most of it, okay, okay I actually only ran the downhills... IT WAS HOT!! I am pretty sure that is what it would feel like to run on the sun! I drank my Gatorade, I ate my energy jelly beans, I through water in my face and kept moving! I pass the mile markers and know I have to be close then I see my mom, my sister, my grandma, Sadie and Mandy and they start to walk with me to the finish. As I see the finish line, I can hear my family saying " You are doing great, the finish is right there!" I get a shooting pain in my stomach, I can't take a deep breath... and then I cross!! The announcer says my name and there is Judy, again! She is waiting at the finish line to put my medal around my neck, she hugs me... I am a triathlete. I see my Aunt Norma who was my motivation to do the race, she is crying and I quickly followed! HUGS, KISSES, PATS IN THE BACK, CONGRATULATIONS! Sadie and Mandy are there! Sadie not only doesn't beat me up, she lifts my exhausted head to make sure I am looking her in the eye and she says "Thank you for talking me into doing this!"
On one side of our medal it says:
2007 Danskin Women's triathlon Series .75SWIM 20KBIKE 5KRUN
on the other side:
"THE WOMAN WHO STARTS THE RACE IS NOT THE SAME WOMAN WHO FINISHES THE RACE."
How right you are Danskin medal, how right you are!

Danskin!

Sunday June 10, myself and 999 other woman from around Texas (including Sadie and Mandy) will be participating in the Danskin Triathlon! The Danskin is a sprint tri which means we will be swimming 1/2 a mile, biking 12 miles and running 3 miles. At least that is the goal! I will be honest I am not a runner so I have yet to run the full three miles after the 12 miles of bike, I am thinking that will be a goal for next year's race! My personal goal for this year's race and my mantra is "just finish" I know, I know not very creative but that is it! I have other smaller, but equally as important goals which are best relayed in an itemized list:

#1 Not having to use a Skid-O can because of nervous tummy... GROSS!!
#2 Not throwing up on other race participants or in the areas in which they are competing... i.e. the lake, their bike, the run trail
#3 Not swallowing anything during the swim that at one point might have been swimming/floating next to me
#4 Not having to push the bike up the "hill from hell"
#5 Not turning part of the race trail into a transition area by stopping on it to rest, pant, try and see straight..
#6 Not crossing the finish lines with Sally Edwards ( the Amazing Sally Edwards is always the last person to cross the finish line at Danskin, so no one technically finishes last)
#7 Not needing a swim angel, paramedic or my mommy at any point during the race, after is fine, just not during
#8 Not having to be pushed, dragged or driven in a golf cart across the finish line
#9 Not ever wondering " Why the HELL did I want to do this"
#10 Not needing my insurance card for anything that might happen before, during or after the race for instance having a tooth kicked out during the swim, breaking something after rolling down the "hill from hell", needing stitches or a cast of some sort after Sadie beats the crap out of me for talking her into this.

I say most of these in jest, for the past month Sadie and Mandy and I have completed if not exceeded the race requirements in our training workouts, which at times has made me wonder why I paid $80 just to do it at Decker Lake! And then I remember the first Danskin I watched with my aunt Norma competing and being so proud of her and motivated by her. I think about just being able to go running with my sister, and my 16 year old cousin telling me how proud of me she is, and how she wants to do it next year. I think about riding bikes, swimming and running with my two best friends and wanting so badly for them to do well and feel good about their accomplishment, and knowing they feel the same about me. I think about my sweet friend Meredith who has not let one conversation in the last four months end before she tells me how proud of me she is. I think about Judy and Shannon who have been so gracious in sharing their time to help us prepare, knowledge of the race and in loaning us their bikes, helmets, even down to bike shorts! And I think about my beautiful, loving, family being at the finish line like they always are when I have accomplished a goal. Then I think what a bargain, all of that for just $80...

Rationalizing irrational fears

Irrational Fears... we all have them, those things that for some inexplicable reason we are terrified of. Those things that are most likely harmless, or equally as dangerous as something else we are not afraid of at all.
I have a great example; I walked into my office building one morning to find the HR assistant, a usually pretty laid back for the most part normal gal, standing outside the office door shaking. I said " Paula are you okay?" and in a voice barely above a whisper with her eyes squeezed shut and a white knuckled grip on the door handle she says "He's in there!" My mind starts to race, I look at the terror on her face and start to think who is he? A burglar? A serial killer? In a split second I am reaching for my cell phone and my Juniper Breeze body splash, the first to call 911 with, the second to spray in the eyes of the would be attacker should "he" come out the door. In the next second I hear an insect type chirping noise followed instantly by a girlie squeal. I look down and notice something crawling out from under the door Paula screams, points to the creature and yells "There he is, there he is" I look down and see a cricket. "The cricket is the He?" I say, she nods her head yes and yells "HE's coming towards me?" As soon as I grasp the root of the fear I laugh and return my fragrant weapon of choice to my purse. I giggle at the fearful as well as the cause of the fear, which is fine because Paula can't see me laughing at her, she is still stuck in her cricket nightmare. As she opens her eyes I step on the harmless bug, gently unwrap her death grip on the door knob and proceed into the office.
Now, before you judge me for making fun of this poor girl I will air my dirty irrational fear laundry... if you will!

Side note: If you don't have an irrational fear you got lucky! And I probably got yours, as you will see by the itemized list in numerical order below.

Irrational Fear #1 Mice

Rationalization: This particular fear is hereditary. Both my sister and I suffer from it and we got it from our mother who got it from her father.
I can not handle mice! I am cringing and gagging just writing this! They carry diseases, they have no bones, they can squeeze themselves into any sized space no matter how small! That's not natural! I don't even like anything mouse looking... they are the reason I refuse to float the river, fun in the sun as it may be there are ROUS'S (Rodents Of Unusual Size for those of you less versed in movie lines) that live in the river! I want to be the only thing with hair in my tube! And I figure I don't want them in my house I will stay out of there's. I think that is a fair enough compromise. If you have the misfortune of seeing one this summer as you are floating down the Guadalupe let him no why I'm not there!

Irrational Fear #2 Driving in the rain

Rationalization:I feel this fear is actually quite rational, however my extreme fear of it makes it (and me) irrational. I can't do it. I can not drive in the rain. I actually prefer not to drive in any sort of inclement weather, high winds, snow, earthquakes... whatever. But, rain that is the one that really gets me! I am the "people" that you all talk about when you say " People in Austin can't drive in the rain" I panic,I start to sweat, I get shaky, I have even been known to resort to positive talk ( "Jan, you can do this" " You're fine, Jan" " Buck up little soldier") I have convinced myself that if I switch lanes I am going to slide off the road. If I am going down a hill I think I wont be able to stop, I picture myself pumping my breaks with no response like in a mob movie someone cut the breaks hit sort of way. I should get a therapist! Or a driver!

Irrational Fear #3 Heights

Rationalization:This is actually one of my more manageable irrationals. I am okay if I am looking out the window of a tall building, I am not okay if I am looking over Lake Travis from a cliff ( if you were there, still sorry about that one, friends) This irrational actually only manifests itself on roller coasters and the like. I am fine on the roller coasters and water rides that are enclosed. If I can't see the ground rushing at me, and I am not eye level with the cars on the highway overpass bring on the slow crawl upward followed by the stomach dropping fall!

Irrational Fear #4 Crowds

Rationalization: Okay, if you want to shut me up, put me in the middle of a large crowd. Some of you have experienced this with me, it isn't that I am not enjoying the show or whatever crowd drawing even it might be, I am just anxious!! Concerts, really crowded bar, an over packed public transportation vehicle... ohhhh, forget it! My most recent example Chinatown in San Francisco on Chinese New Year. You all know no one loves the Asian's more than this gal, I was pumped about Chinese New Year in Chinatown. It was, after all the year of the golden pig, but the streets were packed for miles, there was no relief in sight! I am getting all worked up again, just typing about it!

Irrational Fear #5 I will never match the success of the Music is the universal language blog

Passive Aggressiveness:That is actually less of a personal fear and more of way of guilting you to share your own irrational fears!!
Come on, no fear is to irrational, no rationalization will make the fear rational, so tell me what your's is!


p.s No Paula's were hurt in the posting of this blog.

Happy Birthday, Mom

Today is my mom's birthday and I would like create what can only be referred to as an homage (something that shows respect or attests to the worth or influence of another age) to her. I included the definition of homage because while I do want to show respect for the countless lessons she has patiently and painstakingly taught me, she is hardly of another age. Mom and I are only 17 years apart in age which provided both perks and pits growing up. Example perk I didn't have to beg to watch MTV, we watched it together. Example pit we fought over the same albums and tapes! And as much as I would like to think of us as the Mexican Gilmore Girls, when I look back on it now my mom didn't try to be my best friend, she was always my mom. She was strict without being suffocating, she was fun while being responsible, she was a single parent, a minority woman and I am anything but a statistic because of her example of hard work, devotion and support!
To this day with one word my mother can make all of my fears, pain, and hesitation disappear, whether it be from a phone call home, or something she once said. Daily I think about things she has said when I am faced with certain decisions or just down in the dumps. Once when I was feeling particularly loathsome mom wanted to remind me of how good I had it and she said "If you were to put a bunch of people in a room and have every person put their biggest problem in a hat, and you got to choose the problem you wanted, 9 times out 10 you would want your own problem back" In that one phrase my mom taught me how to put thing into perspective when I am sad and how to be empathetic to the struggle of others. And even though I am an adult now there are still things that are a little crazy but sound fun, that is when I think of her saying "If you wouldn't do it with me there, then don't do it" I swear that one phrase has kept me from bad boys, tattoos and drugs, I have mom to thank for my unbroken heart, my clean skin and my career! She taught me things about respecting other people's property when she would have me apologize to her plant after slapping their leaves as I walked past them. She taught me about financial responsibility when this single mother of two, with no college education, met everyone of our basic food, shelter and clothing needs, and most of our toys, clothes and car wants. She taught me faithfulness when we up got for church in the morning and celebrated the sacraments together. She taught me the value of family when we would drive hours just to spend what felt like minutes with grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. She taught me friendship by filling our lives with people to love and laugh with.
The more I type the more I realize there are no sufficient words to describe all that this woman is to me.
Her love unconditional, her support unwavering, her humor unparalleled, our bond unbreakable. Happy Birthday Mom, you are my most blessed treasure.

Music the universal language

I had lunch with some friends recently and the ever popular game of "Best fill in the blank Ever" began with my friend Jon proclaiming Walking in Memphis as the best song ever! This boy was so confident in this songs position as best ever that when he asked the question he didn't immediately follow with the answer, as in his mind it should have been common knowledge to the other 9 people at the table that this 80's one hit wonder was the best song ever! He even rebuttaled my claim of "one hit wonder" by saying that once Marc Cohen wrote Walking in Memphis he had written the perfect song so why would he need to write another. I got two things from Jon's proclamation that day, first a big laugh... this guy loves him some Walking in Memphis, second the overwhelming need to share my indisputable best songs ever! I have broken them down into categories, that I made up, and included not only song title and artist, but the ever important best line! Songs are about the words after all, and if you are missing the words you are missing the song! So for Jon's sake I will say the the best line in Walking in Memphis is "she asked me are you a Christian boy? and I said ma'm I am tonite"

The following is a list of the best songs in a particular emotional state, a certain social situation, or simply of their genre. Please use this list at your own discretion and if you have never had the pleasure of hearing a song that has been mentioned on the list, google it, download it, buy it from i-tunes, whatever way you choose to get your music and ENJOY!!!!!!

Category: Cheesy
Title: Jesse's Girl
Artist: Rick Springfield
Best Line: "I 've been funny I've been cool with the lines, ain't that the way love's supposed to be"
Yes Rick, yes it is!!

Category: Two steppin'
Title: Fireman
Artist: George Straight
Best Line: "...this buddy left his woman burnin' out of control, with a little mouth to mouth she was rearin' to go, I'm the FIREMAN, that's my name... BURN EM' UP"
I would gladly risk death to have George Straight perform mouth to mouth on me!

Category: Want to hit stuff
Title: Last Resort
Artist: Papa Roach
Best Line: "Losing my sight, losing my mind, wish somebody would tell me I'm fine"
I agree Mr. Roach, sometimes you do just need somebody to tell you, you are fine!

Category: I wish someone would write a song like this about me
Title: Hey there Delilah
Artist: Plain White T's
Best Line: "...the world will never ever be the same, and you're to blame"
I know girl's, I know... we all want to be the one to change someones world.

Category: Drankin'
Title: Jose Cuervo
Artist: Shelly West
Best Line: " Tomorrow might be painful, but tonite we're gonna fly!"
If you have ever taken tequila shots you know of which she sings!

Category: I'm afraid you haven't heard it
Title: Shelter
Artist: Ray Lamontagne
Best Line: "... it's not like we planned it, you tried to stay but you could not stand it"
I don't even have a comment for this song, it is that good! The whole album is AMAZING!

Category: Where is this guy
Title: Everything
Artist: Alanis Morissette
Best Line: " you see all my light, and you love my dark, you dig everything of which I'm ashamed, there is nothing to which you can't relate... and you're still here"
She broke up with the guy she wrote this song about, apparently he is still there for Scarlette Johannson though!

Category: He/She's just not that into you...
Title: Insensitive
Artist: Jann Arden
Best Line: "... I fell to fast, I feel too much"
Uhh... raise your hand if you haven't been that poor shmuck!

Category: You don't want your mom to know you like
Title: Head Like a Hole
Artist: Nine Inch Nails
Best Line: "... black as your soul, I'd rather die than give you control."
Best line is best screamed, it's that kind of song, you just have to scream it!

Category: Rainy afternoon
Title: Warm Love
Artist: Van Morrison
Best Line: "I dig it when your dressed up fancy in lace, I dig it when you have a smile on your face"
Who needs fancy lace when you have the smile on your face!!

Category: Journey (they are that good, they get their own category)
Title: Don't Stop Believin'
Artist: JOURNEY
Best Line: all of it, come on it's Journey!

Category: How could you stay mad
Title: Come back to Bed
Artist: John Mayer
Best Line: "I survive for the breath you are finished with"
Did he say survive? Oooohhhh, yea he did!!

Category: I just wanna dance
Title: Rock Your Body
Artist: Justin Timberlake
Best Line: who cares, just dance, let Justin rock your body! Don't judge me, I love Justin!

Category: Musicianship
Title: Hey Ya (acoustic)
Artist: Obadiah Parker
Best Line: It is still Oustkasts Hey Ya, but this guy will blow you away with his interpretation of this song, it is amazing! www.youtube.com/?v=8-8nkkOA_AM

Category: Funny Ha, Ha
Title: Don't Touch my Willie
Artist: Kevin Fowler
Best Line: "I don't pull out my Willie for just anyone, there are plenty of other record you can choose from."
Willie Nelson, what did YOU think he was talking about!

Category: Not your mom's church music
Title: 737
Artist: Shane Bernard
Best Line: "How'd you get that color of green, awesome, splendor Majesty?"
LOVE this musician, highly recommend him!!

Category: New, new wave
Title: Steady As She Goes
Artist: Raconteurs
Best Line: "you have to much to think, now you need a wife"
Jack White... 'nuff said

I think, as usual, I may have gotten a little carried away!! I get a little excited about music! And, I'll be honest this is just the tip of the Best fill in the blank ever iceberg! I am thinking up themes right now... Best movie lines ever, Best cartoons ever, Best cancelled to soon shows ever...

Okay I want to know what your best song ever are!!

Calling all NERDS!

You KNOW who you are, don't make me call you out!

I am inviting anyone reading (which is probably only my mom, but whatever!) to post a comment on the thing that is just plain NERDY about you, it can be one thing, it can be 12! I have decided it is time to break the shackles of nerdiness and just revel in all that makes you nerdy!

I will start...

I can't fall asleep at night until I have watched at least one episode of the West Wing on DVD.

My Current celebrity crush is the Mayor of Newark, New Jersey Corey Booker.

I am obsessed with documentaries, I can't get enough of them! You name a subject I can give you a corresponding documentary! My current favorites in no particular order are:

#1 Cowboy Del Amor about an American Cowboy who fixes up other American cowboy's with wives from Mexico, this guy is funny and ridiculous!

#2 Street Fighter about the 2004 Mayoral campaign in Newark, I loved Corey Booker before this documentary, I sent him a fan letter after it... I am ridiculous.

#3 Wordplay about the competitive world of... wait for it... Crossword puzzles... some of you are honestly considering not talking to me anymore aren't you!

#4 Boys of Baraka about a group of inner city African American boys who are chosen to attend school in Africa, until the school loses funding and these kids are forced to try and re assimilate to there hometown. This one was pretty hard to watch.

# 5 Paperclip I HIGHLY suggest this movie about a group of kids from an all white, protestant tiny town in Tennessee do a project on the Holocaust, they collect a paperclip for each of the the 11 million people who died on the Holocaust the kids and their town are transformed!

I am counting down the days until the Journey Sing-along at the Drafthouse, do not think for one second I haven't been practicing my falsetto for Open Arms! I pity the person who has to sit next to me!

I constantly humanize inanimate objects, I name them, I assign a gender and if they are really important to me I have been known to sing them song or right them a nice haiku.

Example my car in college "Lolita" got her name for being a big temptress! She would make you think she would take you places, then half way there she would decide she didn't feel like going anywhere... brat! I'll be honest her haiku had a couple choice words in it... if you know what I'm sayin'!!

And the list could go on and on!!

Okay friends your turn!!

Love the touchie!

I am a cuddler... I know not a shocking revelation to anyone here! But I thought I would wright about it none the less! As you all know I have no, nor do I understand in others personal space. I blame and thank my family. You have all heard the stories of the lack of privacy in my family. The multiple people not only in the bathroom but in the shower. 11 of us in one bed. Using each other as human chairs and blankets!

My touchie is a quality I both love and loath, but mostly love, about myself!

Love for the following reasons:
If you need a hug Jan's your girl.
If you need a pat on the back b/c of a job well done, Jan is first in line.
If you need a hand to hold (without fingers) in good times or bad Jan's hands are small but equal to the task.
If you need a reassuring shoulder squeeze Jan can squeeze with the best of them.
If you need a place to rest your weary head Jan has the shoulders of a linebacker!
If you need a gentle nudge to motivate you in times of fear or hesitation, Jan is small but stout.
If you need someone to run their fingers through your hair Jan will even do that folks, why, BECAUSE SHE HAS NO PERSONAL SPACE... which is our segway into the reasons for loathing!

Loath for the following reasons:
Jan never lets go first and apologizes if she has made you feel uncomfortable, she doesn't know when to stop.
Jan's pats on the back, like the hugs, are never ending and have been blamed for bruises and/or chapping the receivers back.
Jan's hands get sweaty real fast which makes the whole hand holding thing a little awkward and sometimes sticky.
Jan doesn't know her own freakish strength sometimes and has injured those with the more delicate shoulders.
Jan has her dad and her swim coaches to thank for the shoulders!
( Just a quick side note Jan would like to apologize for talking in third person, but once she started she couldn't stop)
Jan's nudging which more often than not unprompted by the receiver has been cause for explanation and even humiliation.
And ditto the above reason for the fingers through the hair segment!

So, in closing Jan would like to thank all of you who have endured all of her Lovin', Touchin', and Squeezin and she can't wait to hug on you for an inappropriately long time again soon!

A collision of favorites!

If you have ever had a conversation you know I "LOVE" almost everything! My love knows few boundaries... I "LOVE" Journey, I "LOVE" my chancalas ( flip-flops to my Anglo friends) I "LOVE" the guy who signed me up for on-line DVD rental... just to name a few!
I sometimes fear my constant proclamations of "LOVE" make them disingenuous, but I can promise I really do "LOVE" these things! And two things I "LOVE" almost above all are movies and books!
I have this completely useless, yet very entertaining talent of memorizing every line from every movie I see. And if you have ever spent any time with my family you find out very early on in any of our conversations that talent is apparently hereditary! We challenge each other to put the best movie line with the appropriate situation for the biggest laugh! My sister and I dream of our wedding day not so much for the beauty, and magic of the day but for the opportunity to say " My legs are sweatin' mama" (if you can name that movie you are officially a member of my family)! On par with my "LOVE" for movies is my "LOVE" for books! Since as long as I can remember I have "LOVED" to read, I read three books at a time, one before bed, one on my lunch breaks at work, one when I wake up on the weekends. Books are my constant companion! I "LOVE" a good book! If I am reading something I really like, I force myself to read only one chapter a day or I will finish it in hours! SOOOO, ALL of this to say I recently saw a movie about a book, not a movie that was once a book, any true reader know that the book is ALWAYS better. No, it was a movie ABOUT a book! My aunt Sue (who is quite a reader herself) and I watched Stanger than Fiction with Will Ferrell. Didn't see that one coming did ya? You are thinking who gave this crazy girl a blog and WHAT is she babbling about!! It's true this whole blog has been leading up to a plug for a little known, two year old Will Ferrel movie. I am afraid no one has seen this movie b/c Will Ferrel isn't burping, making poop jokes or have white man fro' and I can honestly say I think this best I have ever seen him! The movie has all the makings of a great movie! It is funny without going for the easy joke, it is romantic without being cheesy, it is thought provoking without being depressing, it is surprising without selling itself out!! See it and let me know what you think!!

Not my MAVS!

It is a sad, sad day friends... The Mavs losing to #8 Golden State!!
Texas sports fans can only handle so much disappointment! Every win the Mavs had in the regular season was like a little antiseptic to the wound left by Tony Romo... I don't want to talk about that.
But, alas here I sit still devoted to my team after yet another embarrassing, crushing blow wondering who to blame. Maybe God is trying to tell Mark Cuban something, what goes around comes around perhaps!! Though I don't think God is really one for karma. Maybe like my friend Jeff says the Mavs are the only team that are able to make Stephen Jackson play like Kobe Bryant. Maybe it's my fault for not BELIEVING the way all of the Warrior's fans did. I will be honest I got cocky... oh, yes fellow sports fans you know the cocky of which I speak the kind that a 7 footer that is fast, can shoot from anywhere on the floor and does not miss free throws can bring, the kind that a Coach of the Year that pounds defense, defense, defense brings, the kind that your team being the team with the most wins in the regular season brings, the kind of cocky that makes you miss a game because we are #1 and they are #8. All of this to say that I have learned my lesson! And the lesson here being I apparently BELIEVED in my Mavs a little too much.

Blogging Etiquette

I am THE GIRL WHO...is so new at this that I don't know blogging etiquette.

Am I allowed to blog hourly? I have a feeling that much like most things in my life I will become obsessed with this for a little while and will check it and think about it and post things and I will pet and love it, I love my little blog, your naughty... sorry but what blog is complete without a Tommy Boy reference!

Other blogging etiquette inquires:

Is it okay that I sent my blog address to every person I have ever met?
If yes, is it still okay that as we speak I am getting estimates from printers to have cards made up with my blog address on them to hand out, and is 500 to many?
If no, I apologize for sending you the address and more sorry for having the time to ramble on aimlessly in a blog, but not having the time to see how your new husband/child/job/house are doing, I stink!!

Is it okay to post things from other people's blogs?
If yes then I will be honest my sweet, hilarious friend Marianne and her husband were my inspiration to start blogging, and I realized that I want to talk about all the stuff they have posted, I want to add all of the side sections ( I don't know what they are called in the blogging world) that they have added i.e "Blogs we read" "Music we are listening to" and the like.
If no is that stealing, or is it that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery?

Is it okay to post things about other people?
If yes, even if they don't know?
If no, even if they don't know?

Is there an expected blog length?
If yes, is this one already to long?
If no, maybe you should suggest one to me so I don't get carried away!


I can see how to the veteran blogger these questions may seem benign, I mean it is after all MY blog, right? I can write what I want ,when I what, for as long as I want... OOHHHH, I am going to LOVE blogging!!!!!!!!!!!!

A blog is born...

I am The Girl Who after much consideration has decided to enter the world of blogging... I know, I know how very 21st century of me! I have recently come to the realization that I needed a place to put all of my wit!!
I tried going on stage, but it was way to nerve racking and between you and me a little disconcerting hearing what people think is funny. I tried writing a book, and by tried I mean opened up a "new file" in microsoft word, I tried sending out my thoughts, theories and stories out in e-mails to countless family members and friends and realized someone inevitably got left out so here I am... how do I look? Am I pretty in pink? It was a template, they say I can create my own... oh google blog spot you have no idea how much creating of my own will be done here!! Stay posted!!!!!