What are you going to be for Halloween this year?
I wanted Larry and I to be The Blues Brothers since we’re having this SNL party but he thought that was lame. It looks like I’m now going to be the chick from Goth Talk. I know…me in Goth attire…we’ve never seen THAT before.
What was your favorite Halloween costume?
One year I was Patty Hearst/Tanya. That was cool…especially the Uzi water gun.
If money were no object what would you be for Halloween?
A Vegas Show Girl with the big headdress and sparkly outfit but I’m way too out of shape to actually wear it.
What was your cheesiest Halloween costume?
I went as The Incredible Hulk one year but all I had for a costume was a black wig and some green face paint. We ripped up some old clothes but I was way too skinny to actually pass for the Hulk. It was pretty pathetic.
What is your favorite Halloween candy to get?
Dum Dum’s.
1. Do you watch sports? If so, which ones? Football! Autumn is absolutely the best time of year. We’ve had Directv’s Sunday Ticket for three or four years now and I love it. I rarely leave the house on Sunday’s. I’ll watch the Olympics when they’re on but other sports bore me.
2. What/who are your favorite sports teams and/or favorite athletes? After many years spent despising them, I’m now a 49’er fanatic. I attribute it to homesickness on my part after moving to Tulsa. Watching the games made me feel closer to my mother and grandmother because I knew they were screaming at the TV two thousand miles away at the same time I was. We got Sunday Ticket so I could watch every game. As far as players, go my favorites are Steve Young, Jeff Garcia, Terrell Owens (even though he can be an ass at times), and Ronde and Tiki Barber.
3. Are there any sports you hate? I’m not very fond of baseball because my grandmother used to make me watch it as a kid and it bored me to tears.
4. Have you ever been to a sports event? I’ve been to a couple of Oakland A’s games and we saw the 49’ers play the Colts in Indianapolis. The Niner’s won. I’d like to go see the Niner’s play Dallas in Texas stadium. We also go the hockey games here occasionally. Those are fun, especially when there’s a fight. I’d like to check out our arena football team but we’ve yet to make it to a game.
5. Do/did you play any sports (in school or other)? How long did you play? I showed horses competitively (hunters/jumpers) but that’s the only real “sport” I participated in. I was very uncoordinated as a kid and was usually picked last for teams in grade school.
1.What vehicle do you drive?
2001 Nissan Xterra 4WD Sports Edition
2. How long have you had it?
June 2001
3. What is the coolest feature on your vehicle?
The 5 disc CD player is pretty rockin’. And the 4WD has come in very handy during our Midwestern snow and ice storms.
4. What is the most annoying thing about your vehicle?
Well the gas mileage pretty much sucks but that’s about it.
5. If money were no object, what vehicle would you be driving right now?
The Xterra is actually the perfect vehicle for the Personal Chef business so I wouldn’t need anything better for that. For running errands I would like a Mini Cooper and, for a night on the town, a big ass 1960’s Lincoln Continental with Suicide Doors filled with all my friends and a designated driver.
Look’s like just about everyone has posted an update recently so I guess I should as well. The past couple of weeks have been hectic, but whose life isn’t. I seem to be exhausted, mostly mentally, most of the time. I have some great marketing ideas and I get really excited when I think about growing my business but I never seem to have the time to actually do it. Through no one’s fault but my own I’ve let myself get sucked even farther into the black hole that is the Member Service Life Insurance accounting department. I’m disappointed in myself that I haven’t voluntarily cut back on my hours. The whole idea was to work less and less up here as the business grew but it’s hard to stay at home without getting paid when I can work as many hours as I want at the office. I’m a slave to the money. We don’t live paycheck to paycheck but we want to make some improvements to the property in the near future and the more cash we have all the better. I know what my problem is, I know the solution to my problem but I’m having trouble implementing it. I’m just a big whiny exhausted baby.
One major improvement we’re making is a new fence line around the front pasture. My coworker, Gerry, is selling us her daughter’s pony. It’s a Christmas present for Kyrielle. When I say “pony” don’t think Shetland. This pony is tall enough for me to ride without looking like a complete idiot although, given my height, I actually require a much taller horse to ride properly. Kyrielle will be able to ride her comfortably for at least 4 or 5 years. The price of the pony is just one expense, however. As I mentioned, the fence has to be finished, a shelter has to be built and there are other related expenses such as halters, lead ropes, brushes, etc still to purchase. I haven’t even thought about a saddle and bridle yet, which aren’t cheap. This sounds like a lot of money to spend on one kid for one Christmas but this pony will be more than just another toy to Kyrielle. Kyrielle will be responsible for the pony’s upkeep, at least on the weekends she is with us. She’ll be responsible for feeding, watering, grooming and mucking out the stall. Given that she’s only eight, we’ll help her at first, but she will have to put in an effort before she can ride. We’re hoping to instill in her a sense of responsibility, something she easily shrugs off now. I also want to get a horse of my own so all the work we’re doing now will benefit us later when that time comes. I’m very excited about getting my own horse. I trained and showed horses as a teenager and it’s always been my dream to own my own horse on my own land. I’m finding it very satisfying that this long time dream of mine is coming true.
On a sad note we’ve suddenly gone from five dogs to three. I don’t want to get into the details because they’re just too depressing to relate but we lost my dog of ten years, Butch, and one of the dogs we fostered for our friend Amy. It’s sad when any pet dies but when you lose one that’s been a part of your family for years its like a door closing on that part of your life. I now have the Butch years and the post Butch years. It’s odd. I don’t feel too much grief at her actual death because I know she lived a long happy healthy life and had I left her on the street that day back in 1993 she never would’ve lived this long and would probably have suffered. I know I made her life worth living. It’s just sad to think that another living thing I loved and shared my life with is now gone. Let me stop now before I get too maudlin. On the bright side, three dogs are much more manageable and much less stressful than the six we had just a few months ago. We can now give each dog more individual attention and I know they’re happier for that. Also, our dog food and vet bills have been cut in half. Of course I’m sure the pony related expense will more than make up the difference.
On another somewhat sad but trivial note we finally got to watch the last season of Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Our TV won’t pick up UPN at the new house so we weren’t able to watch any of the last and final season. Larry knows someone who taped it however so we borrowed the tapes and have spent the last two weeks watching all the episodes. I know it’s just a silly TV show but we’ve really enjoyed watching it and I’m disappointed it’s canceled. All is not lost, however. My favorite character, Spike, will be part of the cast for this season’s Angel (a spinoff) so I’m not completely cut off from all things Buffy. I know all this moaning about a television show being canceled is silly but we get our thrills out of life where we can.