Smartest TV Shows.... really??

I recently read an article online that MENSA had rated the top 10 "smartest" shows. They are:

1. Frasier (I can see that)

2. West Wing (never watched it, but can see why)

3. Boston Legal (never watched it, but have been told by others to watch it)

4. Jeopardy (I'll take Nerds for 400, Alex)

5. Cosmos (???)

6. House (never watched it)

7. CSI (only watch the original - hate the other two)

8. All in the Family (love it - connects to Maude, see previous post)

9. Mad About You (really?)

10. MASH

Okay, so what does this say about me? Most of those shows I've never watched or were on years ago when I wasn't an avid TV watcher. I'm feeling pretty stupid here...... So I've made up my own list of shows that I feel are smart... for ME! See if you agree:

1. The Bachelor - I've learned I never want to fight 24 other women for a guy. And I never want to be seen on TV in cheesy dresses, throwing myself at a man, and getting drunk and making a fool of me!!

2. Survivor - Living somewhere for 39 days with no electricity, warm bed or food? Now that's just stupid!! I can't imagine how dirty or how bad those people really stink!

3. Ugly Betty - I love this show - it makes me laugh! And it has a message (I think) - don't judge a book by it's cover - isn't that important? (See how smart I am?)

4. The Office - I just got hooked on this show, but I love it!!

5. Project Runway - I've learned that I could NEVER make fierce outfits, or any outfits for that matter. I'd be "out" before I even got on.

6. Cashmere Mafia/Lipstick Jungle - Isn't it important to know that chicks rule? These girls are ballsy and I love them! Even if I'll never have cars, husbands, clothes or lives like theirs. These shows make me want to move to NYC - that is, until I think how I would have to live. :)

7. Top Chef/Hell's Kitchen/Iron Chef America - This show teaches me about food (like what's a ceviche, how many dishes you can make with rabbit, and that I wouldn't last two minutes in Hell's Kitchen). My only problem is that most of the food on these shows.... I don't know what it is, much less would I eat it. But I now know how important plating is to food presentation.

8. The Hills - I officially had a crappy 20's. I didn't have near as cool car, clothes or place to live. Hell, for that matter, I still don't have any of those things now at 37.5. Of course, to my age bracket, Melrose Place was the hope for your 20's. I think my life was way more Melrose Place than The Hills.

9. Extreme Home Makeover - I absolutely hate this show!! It's awful!! Yet each week, I sit in front of the TV, bawling my eyes out for the stories that they present. And each week, I say I won't watch it again, but I do. I even TiVo it!!! (I guess this show teaches me that I do have a heart under my gruff "I Don't Need No Man - Waiting to Exhale" shell.)

10. Nip/Tuck - Dr. Troy is soooo hot!! Me love him!! But you know what, I learned that you couldn't pay me money to go McNamara/Troy to get any plastic surgery done! I'll take my imperfect self rather than become one of the nut jobs that they work with!

Most of my "smart" shows are reality shows..... am I really that stupid??????

My Trip to DC!

I'm baaaaaaaaaack!!! My trip to DC was awesome, amazing, and exhausting!

On Wednesday, my flight was only 15 minutes late - not because of the weather, but because of one of the flight crew whose inbound fight was late.

We saw it all - we did it all - and we walked the entire time! I took almost 300 pictures and I've pared them down to the best 161!!

I love to travel, I love to see new places, experience new things, try new foods.... but I'm always glad to come home. Today was spent trying to get unpacked, do laundry, run errands and be ready to return to work tomorrow. This bad weather makeup day has been heaven sent!

Alas, tomorrow it's back to the grind..... but the good news is that there is only:

51 school days until school gets out

67 days until "Sex and the City" comes out at theatres

3 months until my next travelling adventure, "The Pilgrimmage to the Land of My Birth"

Pre-Trip Check and Update

Alright, well....... my flight leaves in 10 hours for DC. I'm just about finished packing, which is a good thing! My carry on is already packed and in my trunk. I've got all the vouchers and tickets safely stowed in my purse. I've got my sticky note with last minute things to pack as I get ready in the AM. I think I'm good!!

I'm a little worried about the weather - rain non-stop today and a ton of flights delayed/cancelled at DFW. Rain is supposed to stop around 5 AM, so I'm hoping my 8:25 AM flight won't be impacted. Of course, guess what it's supposed to do in DC tomorrow night? Rain!! We may have to move our "Monuments by Moonlight" tour to another night if the rain is bad.

And finally - my Spring Break to-do list..... many people have inquired as to how that list is progressing, so here's my pre-trip update:

1. Pedicure and manicure - check. Staying awake and no snoring - check. So that's good, right?

2. Oprah Book Club - no check here. Still haven't done Chapter 2 from last week and Chapter 3 from yesterday...... I'll get there!!

3. Girl Scout Cookies - one box of Samoas - gone. One box of Thin Mints - almost gone and will probably be gone by the time I roll out of here tomorrow. The good news? No Girl Scout cookies in my suitcase or carry-on!!

4. Getting my Bea Arthur on - check. I'm almost done with Season 1 and I'm very sad - what will I do? I'm saving a few episodes for when I get back so I can end my Spring Break on an upbeat note.

5. Sex and the City - check. Season Two is done and I'll hit Season 3 when I return. Only 72 more days until the movie premieres - can't wait!!!

6. Read - Oprah book - no check. Personal book - check. Finished Schuyler's Monster (what a great book!) and have made a huge dent in Salem Falls. I'm also taking one work book and one fun book on the trip in case I finish Salem Falls. (Ed.'s note: Today's raining day was a perfect curl up on the couch and read kind of day!)

7. Boring crap: clean -check. Laundry - check. Pay bills - check. Run dishwasher - check. Go to bank - check. Post office - check. Random work bits I need to finish - check. (C'mon, you have to be impressed by all of that!!)

So with the exception of eating too many Girl Scout cookies and not reading my Oprah book to enlighten myself, I've done a pretty good job!!

DC, here I come! :)

Sonic - it's like crack!!

What can I say? I sure do enjoy a refreshing Sonic beverage from time to time. I don't know what is so appealing - is it the ice? It is the Happy Hour daily from 2-4? I always say that I think the styrofoam container is laced with crack and that's why you always want one! People at work go crazy when someone makes a Sonic run!! If I'm being a good girl, it's a Diet Coke -but sometimes I needed a fully leaded Coca-Cola!! Sonic Rocks!! :)

(Ed's Note: I guess since I'm on break, I have more time to blog. Let's just not talk about the to-do list from yesterday's blog..... let me just say the only thing I've been working on is my second box of Girl Scout cookies!!!)

Spring Break 2008!!

Is it bad that I'm 37 years old and I totally enjoy Spring Break? I've been counting down for this week since I returned back to work after Christmas Break! And once I get back to work on March 25, I'll probably be counting down until my summer vacation begins!

So here's my to-do list for Spring Break 2008:

1. Prior to my trip on Wednesday, get another pedicure and manicure - this time without falling asleep and snorting myself awake. I'm even woman enough to go back to my salon and face the potential giggles and points as they tell the legend of the "Great Snorter" to each other in a language I can't understand!

2. Keep reading my Oprah book club book - I started "The New Earth" by Eckhart Tolle when Oprah said she was going to have an online class. I read the first chapter, did the corresponding workbook, and like the good nerd I am, I went to class. Due to technical difficulties, I had to watch the class at a later time. It's only the second week and I've fallen behind - so my goal is to catch up on my reading and my classes. How can I achieve enlightenment when I can't even read the book?

3. Limit myself to one box of Girl Scout cookies for the week. Everything else stays in the freezer! (FYI, it's the first full day of break and I'm already on the second row of my box - not sure how this is going to turn out!!)

4. Get my Bea Arthur on!! My first season of Maude came and I plan to watch and savor each episode, singing the theme song as loud as I can and giggling at the faces - which I do each time like I've never seen it before!

5. Sex and The City - I've decided in honor of the movie debut on May 30th (which is 75 days away!!) that I'm going to rewatch all six seasons so I am as up-to-date as possible. So far, I'm on season two and going strong!!

6. Read - my goal is to catch up my Oprah book and read two other books one break- one personal and one professional. Hmmmmm..... any bets on this one? (I think I put this in here so I looked cerebral!)

7. Boring crap: clean, laundry, pay bills, run dishwasher, go to bank, post office, random work bits I need to finish!

I leave Wednesday for DC - so we'll see how much actually gets done. I'll give you an update before I leave town.

Happy Spring Break!! :)

The Best Pedicure Ever

Yesterday was a really long and tiring day at work... I've been putting a lot of time getting ready for yesterday.... and it was a butt-whipping of a day. Towards the end of the day, I start thinking about getting a beer after work. (I usually prefer margaritas or martinis, but a beer just sounded good.)

So as I'm driving home, I decide to hit my favorite sushi restaurant for half-price rolls!! Woo hoo!! I walk in and have a seat at the sushi bar. I order a Miller Lite and a shrimp tempura roll. It's so-o good, I order another of each! So the sushi guy starts talking to me, "Why are you here alone? Don't you have a boyfriend? You need a nice guy to take you out!" to which I retort, "I don't need a man to pay my bills!!" (How very "Waiting to Exhale" of me!!) I guess he appreciated my declaration of independence because he rewarded me with two shots of liquor, which I still don't know what it is!!

So after I eat, I decide to go get a pedicure (my foot is hurting - I broke my heel in the fall) and let them rub on my foot to help loosen it up. I go to my salon, pick out my color, and sit in the chair. As soon as my feet hit the warm water, I fall asleep!! Have you ever woke yourself up because you heard yourself snort?? Well, that's what I did!! I open my eyes and I'm embarrassed. The nail girl says, "It's okay, you are relaxed!"

So she basically has given me permission to sleep, which I do. The last thing I remember is her pushing back the cuticles on my toes - the next thing I remember, I snort wake myself up again and she's putting the final clear coat on!! Except this time, all of the girls in the nail salon are laughing at me! I just could die!! The girl says, "Oh, you sleep like 20 minutes!" and I look at the clock and she was right!! I could have died!!

I guess on the way home I decide to call a couple of my girlfriends and tell them my story. I was advised by several to go to bed and sleep it off, which I did.

This morning, I received an e-mail from my dear friend Kim that read:
Sushi - $20.00
Cold Refreshing Beer -$2.00
Relaxing Pedicure - $25.00
 
Long nap waking to the sound of your own snort and little Vietnamese women laughing-  $PRICELESS!!!!!

Snow!!

The weather yesterday was awful!! Rainy, windy, COLD! All day long, they teased us that it was going to snow. After work, while I was out running errands, it pelted little ice drops on my windshield - great, an ice storm!! About 10 PM, I went out side and it was snowing. I took a couple of pictures...

I'm glad I took pictures last night, because when I woke up at 5:15 this morning, most of the snow was melted!

Dang, and I was hoping for a snow day!!

PS: Just so you know, Sunday was warm and in the 70's.... Monday it snows, today is supposed to hit the 50's...ya gotta love Texas weather!!

Since the Sex and the City movie doesn't open until May 30th - something to tide us over!!

Last night, I went to see "The Other Boleyn Girl" with my friend Danyielle. Great movie!! They played a trailer for the new Sex and the City movie - I'm so excited, I can't wait!! It looks like it'll be fabulous!!

Well, I came upon this video tonight as my friend John and I sat and tried to one-up each other with our most outrageous You Tube videos..... Here's Sex and the City from a more "mature" perspective.....

I think John would agree that I won!! Enjoy!!

PS - FYI, it's Bea Arthur as Carrie, Sally Struthers as Samantha, Charlotte Rae as Charlotte, and Katherine Helmond as Miranda. And yes, that is Abe Vigoda as "Mr. Big"!!