New Year's Resolutions

I think it's good to make goals. I took a Self- Defense Class at Mizzou, and I learned a fair amount of self defense, but the teacher also made us make semester goals, and then at the end we had to fess up if we made our goal. She said we should make goals all the time, not just at the beginning of the year. I thought it was a good point.

1. Watch more T.V.- I'm hoping we're going to get cable or satellite or digital soon, so think of all the shows I'm currently missing...Rachael Ray, Trading Spaces, MTV- I can't wait.

2. Gain 20 or 40 pounds. I've only gained 15 pounds since high school, so I think I need to boost it up a bit.

3. Sweat the small stuff.

4. Drink more. Even though my family owns a winery, and other family members work at Anheuser-Busch, I know I'm not getting my glass of red wine a day.

5. Be more objective. I went to school with a guy in Fresno who was first a psychology major, then turned enology major. He was constantly analyzing us, which was ALWAYS fun. =) He told me one time that I should be more objective, and not take things so personally, and I shouldn't be so passionate, and I that I shouldn't get excited about every decision made around me. I think I finally see his point of view, and I will strive to be less passionate.

6. Give Lesa a harder time. I really think I've been too easy on her. She's going to turn into Cruella DeVille any day now, and I shouldn't let my guard down.

7. Try to stay in Missouri all year. In this post 9-11 time, I need to stay closer to home. I can't be roaming all over God's creation. I can't believe my cousin is asking me to go to Florida in March. I mean if it was Potosi or Kingdom City I would really be more excited.

8. Move to Ste. Genevieve. Let's face it, my life is too simple now. I need a place to live where I can't walk to the grocery store, or Starbucks, or the library or a wine bar or eat sushi or Blockbuster. I need to live somewhere where they don't like people of a different color or race or homosexuals. I need to live someplace where the locals aren't too open minded, where I have to drive an hour to the mall, and buy all my clothes at Wal-Mart. Actually shopping at Wal-Mart will go along with resolution #2. I need to live someplace where they don't like music or broadway shows, or anything different at all. Being different is so overrated. I need to live someplace where my kids will try really hard to be like all the other narrow-minded, sports loving, culture hating kids, and they all misuse the word "seen" and the town's favorite color is camouflage.

Fun With Pictures

If you haven't seen this website already, you don't surf the web enough.

Face Recognition


My best one was Britney Spears, and my worst was Mother Teresa. John's best was Beckham, and his worst was Osama Bin Laden.

My hat met it's match and lost.

Isn't he precious?

Merry Christmas!

Another one he'll enjoy. =)

Dreamboat

My Christmas present from John. It plays music from my ipod really loud. =)

C4 on my lap

Junior High Christmas Concert

How he gets all those kids to pay attention to him, and do what he asks, AND learn to play an instrument all at the same time amazes me.

Somebody's Getting Married

You have to sing it like on the Muppets Take Manhattan, "Somebody's getting married!"

My cousin Natalie called tonight and said her boyfriend proposed last night. Yay. She sounded really happy and talked on the phone a long time. I'm so happy for her. She asked me to be a bridesmaid, and I accepted. The wedding is in March in West Palm Beach. Isn't love grand? =)

I'm going to Florida in March to be in my cousin's wedding. I can't wait. =)

Man's Best Friend

My mom's dog, T. J. died. We can't remember when we got him for sure, but he was at least 12, which is old for a big dog like a collie. I named him after Thomas Jefferson. We took a family vacation that included Monticello, and ever since then I've been intrigued by Thomas Jefferson.

T. J. was a good dog. Very timid, very gentle, very obedient. My mom always loved collies, altogether I think we had 4. He has seemed old for a couple years now. We kept saying, "if he makes through this winter, he'll be o.k." Then spring would come, and we'd shave all his hair off, and he'd look like a fawn, and we'd say, "if he can just make it through the summer." I guess this was the winter he couldn't make it through.

There are things that I still have that were my mom's or my mom gave me that I cling to, and insist on using and loving even though they have lost their prime. I have a sleep shirt that I can't part with, a dish scrubbie that doesn't scrub much anymore. I clung to T. J.'s life with much importance. He probably never got the love and respect he deserved. Maybe mom can take care of him now.

Twist the Knife

I thought that I had gloated enough, but I received an email from Cori saying that I forgot her fantasy survivor score. I know I can destroy my husband's game playing reputation without asking, but didn't feel right putting Cori's God-awful score up too. But...now that she has asked for it, I will make myself look even better, and make my husband look a little better by displaying Cori's score of 1342.

John will be happier when I note that I am 1-4 or 5, however many fantasy survivors we have played, and he is 4-1. I don't remember Cori winning or losing, she stays safely in the middle.

If You Don't Toot

your own horn, no one else will.

Fantasy Survivor Total

happylaney
2344

Hateku
1690

Sara had her baby on Wednesday night. No epideral. Very impressive. The baby; he's a doll.

Charles Edward Drost III and IV

LOL

I just saw the preview for The 40 Year Old Virgin, and could not stop laughing. The mean girl in my gradeschool class was named Gina. The next time someone asks me "if you could go back in time what would you do?" I would say that I would call Gina (normally pronounced Geena) Gina with a long I. That would be awesome.

Whoever

invented flannel sheets must have had a job where they could work from their bed. We switched to flannel sheets on Tuesday, and I am sad right now that I'm not under the covers. =)

Where is the Love?

One of my main mottos in the last 5 years to to try to tell everyone I love that I love them, and also, to try to tell everyone I know to tell the people they love that they love them. Time is precious. Try to be sweet, try to have patience, try to not take people for granted. There is no fault in expressing love, some might feel the regret lies with not showing love. With my quick temper I know sometimes I fail miserably at showing love.

One of my best friends' mom has had two strokes, and I can't stop thinking about her and her mom. I wish I could take this painful experience away from her somehow. On the phone last night I think she was doing better than me.

I loved my mom very much, and she knew I loved her. We didn't say it everyday, but we did say it every once in a while. Sometimes, though, I am haunted by the mean things I said, and the fact that we didn't have a better mother daughter relationship. I wish now that I had been nicer.

Without sounding too sappy, the message of the day is to spread the love. I know I have some conversations of my own that I need to have to try to smooth over hurt feelings. I have a pretty good feeling you have someone you love that you haven't told them often enough. So stop reading and start talking.

The Price of Tea in China

I really can't believe how much things cost sometimes. I really really can't believe people are willing to pay so much for some things. Take for example the Fred Bird Garage Sale they had over the weekend. $300 for a base? $50 for a seat back? The most unsettling thing was all the people walking around with bases and seat backs. What exactly do you do with the back of a seat? Nothing! The seat back was the only thing we could afford, thank God John didn't really want one. A sign to the bathroom cost $400, a leather directors type chair was like $1200. Those athletes should be ashamed of themselves, ripping off their fans like that. I didn't really want to go, because I love Busch Stadium so much. I told John it was like killing one of my friends and then disecting her and selling her organs. He told me the money went to charity, but on the news they said it went to pay for the new stadium. What crap.

Tuesday night Amanda and I went to a jewelry show. I didn't know what to expect, but it peaked my interest. Plus they said they'd have free champagne. This is a whole other league of money spenders. One black pearl necklace with pearls the size of marbles was $25,000. I guess?

The most frustrating thing that was overpriced was our beer at the Cheesecake Factory. They charged us $4 for a bottle of Bud Light. Seriously? This is St. Louis. It's a Bud Light. Incredible.

Makes me wonder if we should raise the prices of our wines.