Sunday, January 30, 2011

When Mother Nature goes, "MUHAHAHAHA"!

Today it was in the 70s. It felt like spring. I wore shorts, and read a book in the backyard while enjoying the sunshine.

In less than 48 hours, we are supposed to see lows at or below 13.

That is just rude, Mother Nature. Rude!

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Dealing with the public...

From: Carol R.
Sent: Wednesday, January 26, 2011 5:30 PM
To: Nora
Subject: Tour Information


Hello
I would kike to know more about your tours....Can I boo for one person or does it have to be a group?
Where and how long is he tour

Carol
________________________________________

From: Nora
Sent: Thursday, January 27, 2011 3:27 PM
To: Deals
Subject: FW: Tour Information


I guess you don’t have to wait for Halloween to boo anyone?

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Saw BLACK SWAN...

...am now completely freaked out by the mere thought of hangnails. And Winona Ryder with a metal emery board.

(shutter)

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Well, she is obsessed with squirrels...

From: Trevor
Sent: Thursday, January 13, 2011 9:35 AM
To: Deals
Subject: Alley



I found out what Alley is. I was reading a Texas mag at the gym. It had an article on squirrel dogs and several looked like Alley. They are a Mountain Cur breed, used for hunting small animals. Alley is a pure bred.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Step Competitions...

My coworker asked me if I wanted to attend a step competition with her in February. Immediately, this is what came to mind:


Apparently, a step competition is not women in 1980s style leotards and leg sweaters doing step aerobics demonstrations on stage.

Is it weird that I am kind of disappointed?

Monday, January 10, 2011

Because it is cute. And involves puppies.

Sunday School. Sort of.

So, yesterday was our first time assisting Sunday School at church. Despite the weather, we made it to the cathedral a little before 9 AM.

Both Trevor and I had to take two online training modules last week in preparation for Sunday. The first was entitled "Hello. My name is Sam." and the second, "It happened to me."

Basically, it taught that you should be wary of people who spend too much time around children. Especially people who work around children or volunteer to teach Sunday School or work with children that are disabled.

"...!"

So, yeah: I work in museum education. I am assistant teaching Sunday School. And I've volunteered for and been employed by organizations that work with children that are disabled.

According to Trevor (and the diocese of Dallas), that makes me a walking red flag.

I swear I am not a child molester.

But I digress. Since it snowed (sort of), not a single kid showed up for class. At all. Which is kind of a good thing since I hadn't read the lesson for the day and had more or less no idea what to expect. But, still. It would have been nice if someone had shown up for the class. Because, honestly, yesterday was the perfect kind of day to skip church and stay in bed.

And next week? Yeah, we are throwing a party for Jesus. I'm bringing apple juice.

Sunday, January 09, 2011

In other news...

...Gypsy is now afraid of the fireplace.
(I think it has something to do with all the popping and snapping)

First snow of 2011...








May not look like much, but - boy - it is cold outside!

Trevor's first trip to Jerry World to see his beloved Cowboys...

Three weeks ago today, on December 19th, 2010, Trevor got an early Christmas present. Due to illness, my aunt and uncle were unable to use their tickets to the Cowboys game that afternoon, and texted Trevor and I to see if we were interested. I think it went something like this:

Uncle Scoop: Good morning, Deal[s] and Trevor - Apologies for the early AM text, but was wondering if you would like my tickets to today's "Redskins" v "Cowboys" game? Kickoff is at 12:05 PM and Donovan McNabb has been "Benched". Still, it should be a pretty good game. For my part, I've been fighting a cold since mid-week and have decided for the first time in like forever to listen to my body. Call me at 214/xxx-xxxx one way or the other. Uncle "Scoop". ;-)

Me: Trevor says and I quote, "Yes, yes, yes!"

Uncle Scoop: Great! My tickets and parking pass are waiting for you. Just let me know what time you'll be coming over to claim your prize.

Trevor could barely contain himself. Moments after we got the texts from my uncle, Trevor was out of bed, dressed and singing. Yes, singing. If I hadn't been exhausted (we had been to a deb ball the evening before) I am sure we would have been at my uncle's house half an hour later. Trevor was like a little kid - all giddy with excitement. It just about killed him to obey traffic laws. It was almost as if he thought Scoop might change his mind or give the tickets to someone else if we didn't get there as soon as humanly possible.

As it was, we arrived at the stadium about an hour before kickoff, parked and headed inside to "explore". That was when we got the biggest surprise of the day: We had access to the Miller Lite Club! I swear, Trevor almost died. I've never seen him so excited. He was in football heaven.

But enough from me. Here are the pictures:

Tickets and the all-important parking pass


All roads lead to The Death Star. At least through Grand Prairie.


Trevor would barely pause long enough to let me snap this picture. The boy just couldn't wait to get inside!


On cloud nine in the Miller Lite Club


View of the field from the Miller Lite Club














What would you watch?




McNabb with his hands in his pants...


Yes, the roof was open, so (according to Tevo) "God could see his team".


Best Christmas present EV-VER.


Our new fine china...


Cheers!


Game face.








Game over!


Perfect day in the land of Trevor - complete with a Cowboy's victory!


Very, very happy boy!


Last picture before venturing back to Big D!


Saturday, January 08, 2011

Godly play...

Somehow Trevor and I are scheduled to help teach Sunday School this spring. Our first class is tomorrow. We thought we were going to be substitutes, but then an email was circulated around the congregation with a list of "prayer concerns". Trevor and I were on it following the announcement that we were the new teaching assistants for the 1st-3rd grade class. This prompted me to call Trevor in a panic and scream into the phone, "OMG! Trev! They think we are helping to teach Sunday School. And they have already started PRAYING for us! That means we are committed! You can't get out of something when prayer is involved!"

I just wish the lady in charge of Sunday School would stop referring to it as "SS". Whenever I see "SS" I immediately think of Nazis, not small children. Especially when it is used in a sentence like, "There is a variety of ways that you can serve in the SS." This isn't good.

The kids are pretty funny, though. We sat and observed a class or two over the fall, and Trevor and I spent most of the Sunday School hour trying not to laugh at the things that came flying out of their mouths. One boy who announced - somewhat randomly - that he didn't know what Hell was, but he was pretty sure it was like a "really big time out".

But my favorite was when another little boy turned to his friend who was having a hard time not speaking out of turn and said, "You know what I have to do when I'm having a hard time staying quiet? I have to lock my mouth like this [pantomimes turning a key in his mouth], and just throw the key away. You gotta throw it out the window, Elton. Just throw the key out the window."

And he wasn't kidding. The look on his face was 100% serious.

It was pretty awesome. Trevor and I had tears in our eyes, and tried to pretend our stifled laughter was really some sort of random coughing attack.

So, yeah. It's gunna be an interesting spring...especially since my immediate reaction to the term "Godly Play" was "What in the Hell is that?"

On second thought, maybe it is a good thing that they are praying for us.

Friday, January 07, 2011

Happy New Year!

New Coworker might assume that Coworker A is a lesbian. This isn't a problem except that New Coworker seems rather judgmental of alternative lifestyles. And - for the record - my lack of offspring after a year and a half of marriage seems to also qualify as an "alternative lifestyle". As does the fact that both Coworker A and I are home owners.

But I digress.

Coworker A is not a lesbian. She just has a lot of female friends, and they have a tendency to spend the night at her house.

Of course, New Coworker never asked Coworker A for clarification.

And, yes. All this took place over lunch in Deep Ellum.

"...!"

Somehow, all this came to a head when Coworker A walked into my office and declared,

"I am the Queen of bl*wj*bs in North Texas."

Except I was the only one in my office. New Coworker was no where to be seen. And I was working on invoices. Which might explain the look of shock on my face.

Or not.

Surprisingly, there aren't many discussions of bl*w*obs in my office.

So, yeah. I went to yoga after work today. And now I am drinking wine. Seems appropriate somehow.

The end.

(P.S. None of this ever seems to happen at Trevor's office.)