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!