He's A Very Loving Cat

Lonely in Lab

It is quiet as a tomb around here. I feel like the last living being on earth.

The students are enjoying summer break.
My boss is visiting grandkids in Louisianna.
Jimmy's in Italy.
Annie's in India.
Omar's mum is in town.
Kate is off to visit her boyfriend.
My undergrad is gone.

Why the hell am I still here again?

Oh yeah. That's right. The @#$^#@ing PhD. Blech.

Happy Memorial Day

Six constants over the Memorial Day week-end:

1. bbq
2. sun - my first tan of the year!
3. Catch Phrase - my new favorite game
4. basketball (whatever...)
   
5. booze
6. Brian
   

On Friday we met up with a bunch of friends at Sam's Boat to see the Spurs vs. Lakers game. I use to words "to see" loosely as I didn't watch but maybe a few minutes of the game. My goal was to socialize, not to lament the Spurs' sad defeat. (I'm not a fan of sports television - I'd much rather be playing. Luckily there were like-minded ladies to keep me company.) Greg took the opportunity to get completely knocked on his booty with the boys. I think the whiskey put him over the edge because he was worshiping at the temple of the porcelain gods until the wee hours of the morning. Silly boy...

On Saturday we went to our friend Rose's PhD graduation party. One of her psychology profs was there with a girlfriend at least half his age. And all I have to say about that is Doctor, heal thyself. Anyway, that's when we were introduced to Catch Phrase - super fun game, especially for a crowd that doesn't know each other well. We were only planning on staying for a few hours, but didn't end up home (happily sober) until 1 a.m.

Yesterday we went to our friends' Brent & Lauren's house for bbq and bumming at their lake. So here's the deal. Brent is a grad student who works just down the hall from me. His wife Lauren works with Greg. So when I hear juicy bits of departmental gossip anymore, it usually reaches my ears in the very convoluted path of Brent telling Lauren, Lauren telling Greg and then Greg telling me. Yes, even though I see Brent in the corridors, like, all the time. What a tangled, little web.

Yesterday was spent lounging in lawn chairs in the water at the small lake just down their street and watching the doggies go wild. Brent also happens to cook excellent brisket, of which we thoroughly stuffed ourselves and enjoyed much. Then we retired inside for, you guessed it, more Spurs basketball and Catch Phrase. I didn't get to bed until 3 a.m.

The last day of vacation is pretty much shot as a lazy pajama day, but that's the way we like it at our house. I hope you all enjoyed your 3 days of rest as well.

Smug and Only Slightly Sorry For It

Despite the very sound advice I've been doling out on automatic repeat with mounting frustration and annoyance for months - quite possibly even a year! -, Greg has pigheadedly refused to heed my suggestions or even acknowledge the possibility that maybe, just maybe, I might be right on this one.

No, forget the fact that I've run two marathons and countless other races and have dealt with knee problems many times in the past. Forget the fact that I've sought much advice from friends who also happen to be physical therapists. Forget that I've followed that advice and self-corrected my own knee problems. I couldn't possibly have anything worthwhile to say on the subject...

(Hear that? That's the sound of me bashing my head against a brick wall.)

So after the last soccer game when his knees were killing him and he was hobbling and grimacing and groaning, he finally broke down and made an appointment with the bone & joint doc. About damn time! If he wouldn't listen to me, maybe he'd listen to an M.D.

Yesterday I accompanied him to that examination for two reasons:

1. the doc's office is near campus so I could hitch a ride rather than catching the bus, and
   
2. I wanted an unfiltered, straight-from-the-horse's-mouth account of the doc's prognosis and prescription.

Call me paranoid or untrusting, but I had a feeling what the doctor was going to say, I wanted to be there to witness it first-hand.

The prognosis: Greg has a loose ligaments that don't provide enough knee support for all the running and soccer-ing we do. That's right, soccer-ing.

The prescription: Anti-inflammatories, ice and adductor & thigh exercises to strengthen those muscles that support the knee

And as the doc said this, I tried - I really tried - to suppress that smug, know-it-all grin of righteous vindication that creeped across my face. But it was no use. I couldn't help it, folks, because that, the advice that Greg sought out and just paid Godknowshowmuch for, is EXACTLY what I'd been telling him since our softball days last summer!

When? When is he going to accept the fact that I am always, ALWAYS right?

FYI, Celebrity Stalkers...

My lab-mate Omar and his roommate were hanging out this week-end at the Ginger Man (one of my fave bars in Austin that is being pushed out of its current location to make room for, guess what, MORE condos - blech!). This guy comes up to them and asks if he and his buddies could sit down at their table. Sure! Of course! They get to chatting. Omar asks So what do you do? The guy says I'm an actor.

Oh, really? Would I have seen you in anything?

Well, have you seen Band of Brothers on HBO?

Yeah.

I played Captain Spears in the miniseries.

Omar looks at him for a second and suddenly recognizes his face. Yeah, you did, didn't you!

Turns out Matthew Settle is in town for a month shooting a new movie called Ex-Terminators with Heather Graham. According to Omar, Matt's quite a nice bloke. (Omar's a Brit, in case that wasn't completely obvious). They ended up hanging out and bar-hopping a bit. Later the party went back to the Driskill, where they read lines in practice for his shoot the next day. Earlier that day, Omar had just been telling his roommate that they should go out rather than staying in and playing beer-pong in the garage. Because you never know who you'll meet...

So true, Omar, so true...

I will refrain from commenting on this picture, but hello!

(love you, Greg...)

Twelve Step Program

Hello. My name is Larisa. I am a shoe addict.

And DSW is my enabler.

Yesterday was the start of their week-end 50%-off sandals sale. I went in, not because I needed more shoes, but because this is my happy place and everyone could use more trips to their happy place, am I right?

I walked in and quickly found these babies:


Okay, this is forgivable. Not only can I wear flip-flops almost every day this summer, but they were only $11. And I can replace a cruddy, old brown pair with these. Win-win! Go me!

I was almost out the door after this find. All rows had been thoroughly scoured. I was ready to hand over my 11 dollars and escape with very little damage. But... then I checked the clearance rack and found these!:


Okay, no, I do not wear high heels every day. No, I do not necessarily need these. But come on! How beautiful are they?! And they make my tootsies look all delicate and cute, no small feat for my size 10 canoes! Plus, I can kinda justify them for an up-coming wedding. Yeah, there we go! Just the excuse I needed - the wedding... :)

(Greg, don't kill me. They're hot and you know it!)



So usually - you might not believe me but it's true - I don't have to spend a single penny at DSW to have a worthwhile experience. They have some pretty amazing shoes, the entertainment value of which are priceless.

Take these, for example:


If you were ever in a street fight and had to defend yourself, the heel could, of course, serve as a good self-defense tool. But you could also wrap those straps around your fist for ready-made brass knuckles.
I actually really like these, by the way... But I'm a total sucker for red shoes. (See, Greg. Restraint.)


These remind me of Michael Jackson:


You can't tell from this picture, but the sides are totally sparkly and glitterized - not unlike:



What is going on with the sneaker-come-wedges?:


Why, Steve, why?!


Or worse, the sneaker/high-heel platform hybrid:


Unless these are part of some disco-dancing costume, no! Just. No!



I'm sorry, but shame on the person who dropped $148 on these rainbow flats just because they were Coach:


It may be time to step back and seriously re-evaluate your label relationships.


But the worst were these:

Chartreuse flats with a shoelace-type pom-pom on top! Ew! (also available in white)


If you own these shoes, I'm pretty sure you and I - well, we couldn't be friends. I'm just saying...

Marshmallow Menagerie

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen was the topic of discussion for our book club meeting tonight. (Hi, Beth! Hi, Janice! Hi, Alisha!) Our host requested we bring "circus food".

Do you know long it's been since I've been to a circus?

I was struggling to find something as yet unclaimed when inspiration struck in the form of this Kitchen Retro blog about making marshmallow favors, unearthed from a 1965 McCall's Family Style Cookbook. My sister and I assembled the circus animals before I headed over.


Okay, so it's not exactly "circus food"... It's even better!

The menagerie:

Animals packaged for transport...

Cotton Gin Village

A few pictures from our week-end escape. Click on any of the pictures to see larger versions.

Our cute cabin

The pond with the crazy-loud croaking frog

Greg as a clothes-washing pioneer woman

Campfires!

And inside the cabin, our friend Hubert kept watch over us.

Little to no bathroom privacy - good thing we're married, eh.

Greg really dug the satellite T.V. - ah, how we miss our cable sometimes... BBC America, TLC (me), Speed (him)...

I really dug that rocking chair...

Every morning, there were fresh pastries in the basket, cereal, and fruit for us to enjoy. As in complimentary!

The kitchen area had a microwave & a mini-fridge, stocked with bottles of juice and milk.

All over the cabin were wine bottles written with names, occasions and dates from previous occupants.

If you're ever in the Perdenales cabin, you might find ours!

We had a GREAT time!

And while we were away, the kitties took full advantage...

Colon Cleanser Hot Sauce

Mr. Mac collects hot sauces. As far as I can tell, he never actually uses them but still insists on accumulating more and more.

When I ran across this at Rustlin' Rob's, I just had to get it for him:



He may never actually taste the stuff, but I'm sure he'll appreciate the sentiment. Ha ha! :)

Touristing in Fredericksburg

We're back from our belated wedding anniversary get-away in Fredericksburg. Our little cabin at Cotton Gin Village was a-d-o-r-a-b-l-e. I took lots of pics that I'll post later, but it was just so relaxing to have a slow-paced week-end where we didn't have to worry about work, house plans, obligations or being responsible in any way, shape or form.

We left Austin on Friday afternoon (but not early enough to be beat traffic jams, of course) and arrived at around 6:30 p.m. A vegetative state was assumed until dinner at the Cotton Gin restaurant, which was delicious. I had my very first mint julep ever and have been fantasizing about it ever since. They put their special twist on the traditional Kentucky Derby standard by adding lavender syrup, which gave it a strangely comforting appeal. Here's the recipe (or at least what I could figure out as our waitress mixed it in front of us):

Lavender Mint Julep

Add equal parts cognac, rum (I think), and lavender syrup to fresh spearmint sprigs (she was very insistent on the fact that it be spearmint) in a shaker with ice; shake vigorously and pour into a cute, silver mint julep cup.

Sip and pretend you're rocking on the porch of your colonial mansion in Georgia. Of course if you don't have a mint julep cup, any will do. But it's significantly less fun that way. Just holding it in my hand made me want to bust out the Southern drawl, strictly reserved for special occasions, i.e. high levels of intoxication.

The next day we spent window shopping in Fredericksburg. We were hoping to run across some furniture or paintings that we could truck back to Austin with us, but it wasn't to be. Instead we snagged some jams and pepper sauces from Rustlin' Rob's, an Oriental-looking red plate for the living room, and strands of turquoise & snail jasper (gorgeous! This may replace laboradorite as my new favorite stone) that I'll use to make jewelry. That night we rocked on our cabin porch, listened to the crazy-loud frog croaking in the pond, drank a bottle and a half of wine, and talked into the wee hours of the morning. It was really, really lovely...

The next morning Greg was awake at 6 a.m. to catch his Formula One race - yes, he took full advantage of the satellite T.V. Then he crawled back into bed with me to snuggle until we had to pack it up and check out.

We left Fredericksburg feeling cuddly and refreshed. I think we were both surprised at how much we needed this. And at the rejuvenating power of a simple week-end away in the hill country. If you have the means, I highly recommend it.

And what's better, we arrived in Austin to a fully refinished deck and front door. Let the deck beautification begin!

Improvement #5

Poor Greg. Our walls are still mostly bare after living in this house for over 2 years. He gets so frustrated with me because I have serious commitment issues when it comes to choosing wall decor. Leave me alone - I'm working through it. In teeny, tiny baby steps...

Well, I finally relented and gave in when he pointed out this painting that he spotted at Thomasville.


I have to say, it's pretty perfect. The blue in it exactly compliments the blue of our dining room wall. The green compliments the green of our kitchen. And the brown tones compliment the beige of our living room.

He actually picked a piece that tied all three rooms together! Good job, babe!

We're going to be on the look-out for more great finds when we're in Fredericksburg this week-end. Should be stressful fun and full of arguments healthy debate.

Ooooh, I Could Just EAT Them!

You Thought I Was Kidding, Didn't You?

I am so not kidding.

Kitty potty training is in full force! Although it's been on temporary hiatus while I prepared for my committee meeting.

First I found aluminum pans that fit perfectly into the toilet bowl of our guest bathroom.


There are two pans there. One wouldn't support Gomez's fat belly.
Then I taped the seat and lid down to help secure them in place. And filled the pans with litter.


The next step is to slowly use phone books to elevate the regular litter tray up to the higher level of the toilet. Once they get used to having to jump up to use the potty, I'll remove the litter tray so the pans will be the only option. Then I'll cut a hole in the middle of the pan and gradually make it bigger and bigger until they have no foothold and are forced to balance on the seat. And voila! Potty trained children! No more stepping on nasty litter and finding it all over the house. I can't wait!

Gomez inspecting of the new facilities.

Go ahead and laugh, but we've already found three peepees in the pan. They're using it and I'm not even trying!

Yes, I'm a proud, proud Mama... :)

What Do YOU Google Search?

Ha ha! This is so insane that I felt I had to share...

Someone from Ohio recently found my blog by google searching the following phrase:

"retarded no legged chipmunk -deer from bangkok"

WHAT?!? And hello, strange person looking for retarded chipmunks and deer! I'm not here to judge. Whatever floats your boat is fine by me. Although I have to say, I sincerely hope you are not poking fun at the mentally and physically handicapped - homo sapien or otherwise. Because that's just wrong. And shame on you!

:)

Who Needs Reviews When You Have Women's Intuition?

So I spent yesterday afternoon grading from home and took breaks every hour to meet with pro deck dudes and to show them the work we needed done. When I told them about our disastrous attempts at stripping the deck ourselves with the base solution, every single one of them groaned and shook their heads. I could read their minds. Each was thinking Silly, stupid amateurs...

That and dollar signs were dancing in their eyes...

I liked all three but got the best impression from the first guy, Brett from Apex Wood Restoration. He's been in the business for 14 years, discussed his plan of action, had pictures of previous work, was very professional, and told us to check out his reviews on Angie's List. We don't subscribe to Angie's List, but I'm assuming they're raves if he's referring to them. I've tried googling his business, but only found one on-line review. To be honest, it was not particularly glowing. I'm just going to hope that it's not representative of his work in general. If I'm wrong I can (and will) kick myself later.

So basically what I'm saying is that we're hiring him based solely on women's intuition. :) We're following my gut, which coincidentally has little to no experience with interviewing and hiring contractors. So this may be a huge mistake, one that I'm sure I will never live down, but we'll see.

He starts washing, sanding and bleaching tomorrow while we're at work. We'll pick a new color from paint chips he's leaving for us, and he'll finish the job on Friday or Saturday. He's also going to sand and repaint our front door, and he'll power wash our cement side walk for free. Gotta love the freebies.

I'll be sure to post the finished results and a review of his work after the job's done. Until then, we're keeping our fingers crossed.

Throwing in the Towel

Greg and I are stupid, stupid homeowners with delusions of grandeur and masochistic tendencies. That's what our imaginary therapist would call it anyway.

Our Saturday ended in whimpers of pain and delirium after spending EIGHT back-breaking hours trying to strip the old stain off our 400+ square foot deck (man, I seriously got woozy and light-headed just typing that... I am so not kidding! I think I have emotional scars from this week-end). It was a disaster! Why, oh why did we think we could tackle this task on our own? Ugh.

After making it through 70% of the deck, we finally called it quits. We were done and just could not go on any longer. We barely had enough energy to drag our tired, demoralized asses in to shower, and then we crashed. Hard. We're still recovering...

We're sunburned and inhaled way too many corrosive chemicals. Soreness is everywhere, even in the palms of our hands. Making a fist hurts right now. What's worse is that the stripping only partially worked. There are still scattered bits of red all over. If you didn't know any better, you'd think our deck was beaten within an inch of its life and is now covered in red welts and blisters. It hurts to look at. Our poor, abused deck...

We've decided to do what we should have done in the first place. We're calling in the experts to clean up our mess and finish the job. We don't even care what it costs as long as we don't have to lift another finger on this awful mess.

Enough whining. Just remember this if you're ever considering stripping and refinishing the deck yourselves. I would seriously advise against it. Call the professionals! Some things are worth the money!

T Minus 10 Pounds

Once upon a time, I was a girl who could comfortably run 8 miles straight. No cramping legs. No labored breathing. No needles in my chest. I was in the best shape of my life and feeling good. I sported some truly rockin' legs if I do say so myself and mercifully saddlebag-free thighs.

Sadly those days are long gone, my friends.

Now my chunky-monkey self is 10 pounds heavier and significantly more squishy, jiggly & cumbersome. Right now the word bikini strikes fear into my heart and kick starts a mild panic attack. Week-ends lounging at Barton Creek seem more torturous than relaxing at the moment. This is no way to start the summer... No, with chipmunk cheeks and a spare tire around my middle bits, I think it's high time I kick my butt into gear.

Here's the deal: When I lose those 10 pounds, I'm treating myself to a mini-shopping spree. So as of today, I'm on a complete shopping hiatus until those 10 are gone. And for accountability, I'm going to blog about my efforts. Extremely dull, I know, but I'm desperate...

Wednesday night I went for my first jog in a long time. According to my Garmin Forerunner, I lasted a total 4.05 miles. But in the interests of full disclosure, I walked 0.46 of those. So I actually jogged for about 3.5 miles at an average pace of 9 minutes, 30 seconds per mile, which is encouraging! That's much better than I thought I could do. I'm going to try to make it out tonight too. Wish me luck and determination...

More BABIES!!

While living in Boulder, CO back in 1999, I briefly dated this guy named Karl. Karl and I were not suited for each other. I mean, not at all. Soon after starting to date, I discovered him to be a bit of a self-absorbed ass, to be quite honest. As for his objections to me, well, I'm not quite sure about that. You'd have to ask him. We didn't last but for maybe a month or two. Good riddance to that brief, misguided affair.

However, the one good thing about Karl was that he had the coolest roommates ever. Rick and Balaji. I adore Rick and Balaji. They are two hilarious, stand-up guys with a lot to say for themselves. I think the only reason I didn't break up with Karl sooner was because I had such a good time hanging out with these two. By the time we finally split, it was too late. I had already grown attached to Rick and Balaji, and I wasn't giving them back. Ha! We've all stayed in touch ever since.

About a month and half ago, I got an email from Rick saying that he and his beautiful wife Tamiko had their first baby! Rick and Balaji are now both daddies! How adorable...

Meet the new cutie Kiyomi.

Looks like this parenthood stuff is hard work...

That is going to be one beautiful little girl. Rick, you better start polishing off that shotgun now...