SOLD!

It's gone. One last look over my shoulder, my eyes a little bit teary, I said goodbye to my 2003 Nissan Xterra today. *sniff* It was a good car, nay, it was a GREAT car. No major problems, no major heartaches, and hello, back in the day I had the 'cool factor' going on, at least in my head.

She's shared so many memories with us. Jeff and I just got back together when I bought her. We got engaged and moved into Shaenfield (boo). We got married! We moved out to Pipe Creek and she was with us when we bought our first house.

I'll miss you Xterra. I loved you. I hope your new owner will love you as much as I did.

Her replacement is coming in one week.

By the way, another shout out to Craigslist. This is the 2nd vehicle we've sold on the site!

Mama Mia!

Mom and I had a mother-daughter outing this afternoon and decided to check out Mama Mia! And surprise, I loved it! I had my hesitations going in as I didn't really know the story too well and I'm not a fan of disco music and it seems musicals these days have really let me down (i.e. Hairspray).

But not the case here, it was great! Be forewarned that it IS kind of dorky and Pierce Brosnan is not the best singer in the world, but he does try! The scenery is awesome - loved it, I'm ready to move!

Meryl Streep wore me out jumping and dancing and singing and crying, but I think she did a fantastic job with the part. This is definitely a movie for your 50-something Mom, but I think we younger peeps can enjoy it as well! Ch-check it out...

My bro is in the NY Times...

...and so is Ashley! And each is in this issue for completely unrelated events. What are the odds?

If you hadn't heard by now, I'm buying my bro's big, bad SUV (*cringe* I know....).... In lieu of buying something smaller and more gas-friendly, he's signed up for the ZipCar program in SF. It's a pretty cool concept - visit their website and watch the video to see how it all works. Although I am excited to be driving his (and my) dream car, there's a part of me that always wishes that San Antonio was more eco-friendly and created similar programs. Hell, I just wish San Antonio was more public transportation friendly. But alas, I don't see them headed that way anytime in the near future.

One of my favorite parts of San Francisco is the many modes of transportation; bus, rail, subway, taxi and now ZipCar! Plus, hello, I'm going to be honest, I did feel a bit trendy and 'urban' taking the subway, even if it was kinda scummy down there.

Click the pic for a link to the the NY Times article.

Soft Paws and Cat Jaws

I've been having issues with one of our cats scratching on our couches, scratching on our mattress and well, scratching us! So finally, after hearing all the rave reviews, I ordered Soft Paws, as an alternative to declawing, as I'm not a fan of that at all. I was so excited to receive the package this week. I got hot orange caps for Ceiba and red for Shush. I thought the colors complimented both of their coloring. I put off putting their claws until this afternoon.

I should of known things wouldn't go so smooth after our most docile cat, Ceiba, put up a fight. First you have to clip their claws and then you can apply the caps with special (aka super) glue. That was a challenge, but we muscled through it and finally she had a beautiful set of orange nails (oooooh la la). Of course, she's tried to chew them off already, but so far they are holding up well.

Then, it was time to find Shushu. She had no clue we were coming for her. I felt so bad. Anytime we mess with her (i.e. give medicine, treat a wound, etc.) we have to wrap her in a towel. She does NOT like being held. I repeat SHE DOES NOT LIKE BEING HELD. As soon as Jeff picked her up, she started screaming bloody murder. It's a good thing the neighbors couldn't hear us (as far as I know) otherwise they'd of called the authorities. So Jeff wrangled (with caution) her in a towel with my help and I started to clip her nails. She was pretty stiff through the first paw, I had to pry her arm out of there and then she just looked at me with that "I hate you" expression on her face. I took a quick breather to count out the other 5 soft paws for her next paw, and that's when she made her move.

She started to struggle and managed to wriggle her back paws out of the towel. She used them to kick and scratch Jeff's arm (the arm that was holding the towel around her) and managed to free another front paw in the process. I was bobbling with the stupid plastic claws, trying not to lose one in the couch cushions and not drop the super glue. Shush then flipped over and was able to make it to the couch arm while Jeff was desparately (note, not painfully) holding on to her. That's when it happened.

SHE BIT HIM! BIT HIM! My precious (if not a bit fat) Shushu, whom I saved from the horrors of being adopted by some silly little kid that would torture her, whom I raised from a baby kitten, whom I give treats to every day (perhaps a few times a day) BIT my husband! and HARD! We let her go. She was obviously very traumatized, and Jeff was bleeding, so I had to see to him. We were laughing pretty hard, until we saw the wound! FIVE puncture wounds, FIVE! yikes!

We've agreed that Shush is only going to get one paw of soft paws. Once those fall off, she's done. To be honest, she doesn't scratch a lot of things up, just the designated cardboard scratchers so I don't think that it will be a problem.

After a few hours though, Ceiba has adjusted nicely. Secretly, I think she thinks they are pretty! You be the judge!

So just a forewarning to future Soft Paw users. Beware of CAT! They DO know how to bite the hand that feeds them!

Summer Vacations

I thought I'd be the only one that would'nt be getting a summer vacation this year. But luckily, that's not the case, things just came a little later in the summer then I thought.

In August, Jeff and I are headed to San Francisco to visit my brother, J.R., and his girlfriend Ashley. Can't wait - I've only got two things on the agenda: Muir Woods and a Giants game. Other than that, no set plans. I'm ready to be spontaneous.

Then, in September, I'm headed to Minneapolis to visit my oldest friend, Kelli! I can't wait. She's been there for almost 3 years and I can't believe I'm only now going to see her (bad friend). I wish Jeff could go too, but tix are expensive. However, I did find a good deal on Priceline and I'm flying an airline I've never tried, nor heard of, before: Airtran.

Anyways, can't wait for my upcoming visits! Does anyone else have some exciting summer plans?

Daniel Paul Schwencke

January 29, 1954 - July 9, 2008

Too young. We'll miss you, Uncle Danny.

Ole!

Today is the famous Running of the Bulls for the Fiesta de San Fermín in Pamplona, Espana. As of five hours ago, already 9 people have been injured, which mostly included head and rib injuries from falling. I'm not sure if this is the most humane event, however, I can't help my curiosity to attend one day! And to have another opportunity to visit Spain? Yes, please.

Happy 4th of July!

Back up and running!

Yikes! I've been having 'technical difficulties' with my blog for the past two weeks and was unable to publish anything!!

After troubleshooting the issue last night and working with the bro, I am back up and running - c'mon, you missed me, admit it!

It's funny how things work. When you can't blog, you have all these wonderful ideas to blog about, and when you can blog, somehow thought seems to escape you(. I had all these great ideas to post about, my weekend trip to Corpus, our impromptu trip to Houston on Sunday night, Jeff's baseball adventure....but everything seems so 'yesterday' and if I post about it, it's already 'old news'.

Alas, I will have to concentrate my efforts to find a new blog subject.

I'll be back. Sooner than later.