This & That

Once again I find myself slacking in the area of blogging. I think I’m long overdue for an edition of This & That so here goes.

1. A couple of days ago I got a brochure at work for The Oklahoma Women's Conference. I almost just threw it away but then decided to read it over before I trashed it. It's an all day event and you can choose different breakout sessions. Track One was about Professional Growth and Development and Track Two was about Maximizing Your Personal Strength. I almost had it in the trash when one of the sessions caught my eye. I spent most of the day debating if it would be worth $149 to attend one 50 minute session called "How to keep difficult people from ruining your day." I totally need that.

2. On Tuesday I got a new pair of running shoes. Now I don't run. I could probably make it to the end of my driveway before passing out, but I needed a good pair of shoes from someone who knew about shoes. My co-worker Josh decided he would take me shoe shopping one day during lunch. At the shoe store and I was surrounded by 3 guys all looking at my feet. You would think I would be flattered by all the attention my feet were getting until I heard these words for the expert shoe fitter "well, there's your problem. That thing with your toe is hereditary. You have your mother to thank for that." Wow, this guy didn't beat around the bush by any means. At that moment I felt compelled to tell him that my “toe issue” was passed down by 2 generations and if I was going to thank my mother I also needed to thank my grandmother. Despite his comment about my toes I walked out 30 minutes later with my new shoes. I love them but now I feel obligated to take up running so if you’re looking for cheap entertainment some evening, drive by house to watch me wheezing at the end of my driveway and if you see my laying on the ground please dial 911.

3. Yesterday my co-worker Patrick and I were leaving lunch and we witnessed something extraordinary. We were sitting on the side street right beside McAlister Deli waiting to turn out on 2nd street and I looked over and standing in the middle of 2nd street with cars whizzing behind them and in front of them was a couple with a baby stroller trying to cross 2nd street. They had managed to successful cross 2 lanes but traffic was so bad they couldn't make it across the other 2 lanes. We just had to laugh. They didn't even take the time to walk the 1/2 block to a stop light and a cross walk. They just decided to practice good parenting by jaywalking their baby across one of the busiest streets in Edmond. I hope they finally made it across. Maybe I will drive by there today and see if they are still standing there.

4. I love Fall! This past week when the weather turned cool and I had to pull out a long sleeve T-shirt I was so excited. I can’t wait for the cooler weather. What I’m even more excited about are caramel apples. In the fall I just crave them. Last Christmas Jama got me a double boiler strictly for the sole purpose of making caramel apples. Now I realize you can make caramel apples without one but if you really want to do them right you need a double boiler. I’m beyond excited. Caramel apples all around at my house!

5. Last week a couple of co-workers and I got to tour the new OSBI building they are constructing right across from UCO. It is 86,000 sq. ft. and the guy took us through it all. Took us about 1.5 hours to make it through the entire building including the top floor which is all mechanical stuff. It was amazing. I felt very qualified to answer any and all question due to my extensive watching of CSI. I was disappointed however to find out that DNA testing does not take an hour but in fact takes a total about 244 days, but only because they are behind 40-50 cases. Makes me feel sorry for all the innocent people sitting in a jail cell waiting to be cleared by DNA.

6. I hate spiders. I tolerate them outside but if they enter my house they have signed their own death warrant. A couple of weeks ago one camped out on my bathroom ceiling. It took me 5 tries with a shoe to get it knocked down to the floor so I could crush it into a pulp. Almost every night I can go out onto my back patio and at least 3 giant spiders have made webs. I’m actually fascinated by this. One is smart enough to build a huge web right in front of my flood lights. When I turn the light one he gets all excited by the all you can eat buffet that gets trapped in his web. I find myself watching to see what gets caught. It’s like watching those shows on the Discovery Channel. You know the ones where the lion is hunting the poor innocent gazelle. You know what is going to happen but you can turn yours eyes away. I know it’s sick but seriously can I save every moth out there that is stupid enough to get trapped. The best I can do for them is turn the light off which I do after about 5 minutes and 20 gnats get trapped.