Monday, April 27, 2009

Swine Flu and More Exciting Matters

OK, so what's up with this crazy swine flu? I was reading about it this morning and all worried about the fact that there were three cases in San Antonio and then later I read that there was a case in New York and I'm all, "Forget about it! We're doomed!"

The Bloggess is reporting that Hailey got scarlet fever and I'm all worried thinking that we're getting these old crazy cases of epidemics coming back and then there's SWINE FLU! What's up with that??

I'm thinking about all this in the back of my mind, yet I still took my kids to the Children's Museum to check out their new wing. A children's museum, totally full of germs. Believe me, I did think twice before I took them there, but I had already told them I was taking them to the infested place where children pass along all their germs.

Afterwards we went by Fiesta to pick up a bunch of stuff I forgot yesterday, like light bulbs and chocolate milk, and I see that my daughter's eye is all red. I was all radical on her, "What's wrong with your eye?" and stuff. She said her eye was itching so she just scratched it and I'm convinced that she picked up some crazy virus at the Children's Museum that she's rubbed into her eye. I'm sure it's going to spread to her other eye and then on to the rest of the family. Is this how swine flu starts? Lovely...

So no, I'm not paranoid about the swine flu, why do you ask? Life is too short to worry about that kind of stuff. Well, too short if you don't believe that you are going to live forever like me, but that's a whole other conversation for another day.

Anyway... oh yeah, my house is a complete mess, but I took the time today to take my kids to the Children's Museum of Houston, I picked up my dad from a random bus stop on his way home and brought him to my house to hang out for a little while AND I watched the second half of Game Four, of the Rockets game against the Trailblazers with hubby. So there! Lot's of quality time at the expense of my house cleanliness. Oh well! The house can always be cleaned, but family time is precious... That's what real life is all about, swine flu or not.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

It's Gary the Snail!

What was this little snail thinking? I was driving to work this morning and I was just about to turn on 610 to get on the freeway when I saw this little guy staring at me through the windshield. I was so surprised! Not only was I surprised to see a snail on my windshield early in the morning and while on the road, I was also surprised by the size of this thing! I loved its little house too! It was such a pretty shell.

How did it get there? I wondered. It was probably on my truck over night and then while I was driving it decided to come out of hiding. What's amazing is that it made it all the way over near the kids' schools while I was on the freeway. Unless it climbed on while I was inside my daughters' school buying books at the Book Fair.

It was a crazy busy day at work so it's kind of nice that I have a nice memory of the morning. The other nice thing that happened today was that we had our Service Awards at work and I received my 10 year pin. It was a nice little recognition especially in view of what's happening these days in the industry. I am reminded on days like this of why I have a passion for newspaper and why I'm still here. It's a tough industry right now, but one that I believe in.

My writer friend Gwen Zepeda has a new book coming out early next year, Lone Star Legend. The description sounds really good! Read it!

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Can Glasses Mate?

I bought new glasses recently (lower right hand corner) and my husband said, "Those look exactly like your other glasses."

"They are not the same," I answered and I went and got the ones in the top left corner and showed them to him, "They look completely different. These are Circa 1988 and HUGE!"

Then I realized something interesting. I've only owned like four pairs of glasses in my life. My first pair that I owned when I was 16-18 years old. Those were brown and the round style was popular in 1986. I wore those all the time.

Then I got the big 1988 Liz Claiborne pair when I was in my freshman year of college. I thought they were cool at the time. Back then I only wore my glasses and I even has prescription sun glasses. I got contacts at the end of college and that's pretty much all I've used in the years in between. Now I only use glasses as a back up at night when I take my contacts out.

A few years ago I bought the smaller calmer pair in the middle, but they were always too small for me. My original plan was to just get the lens replaced in that pair, but then I saw these glasses and I decided they were just right.

What I realized later when my husband pointed out the similarities was that my last pair is a perfect cross between the other two pairs. They are like what a kid of those two glasses would look like if they mated. But then that would be weird wouldn't it? Because my glasses are probably both female and they can't reproduce unless they are like those insects that reproduce all by themselves that are both male and female. OK. This is getting too weird.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

I Can't Leave and Hernias

I know I said I would be blogging less but then I went and bought this t-shirt and when I thought about what blog I wanted printed on there I wanted this blog . Then I realized that I can't stay away from here and that in reality I need to get away from the other time-sucks in my life and I need to write more. I said a long time ago that I believed that this writing was an exercise and that it makes me a better writer and I believe it. So you're all stuck with me for a while.



What has been happening in my life lately? I have had a whirlwind month starting with March. I have had stuff going on almost every single weekend and some things even in the middle of the week.

In the middle of it all I'm reminded that I'm a mother first and that I have to take care of my kids. I'm also reminded that I have to be more aware of my body and my wellness. I've been told I need surgery and I can't put it off too long. I have an umbilical hernia. Gross, I know! But if you REALLY want to get grossed out go here and see a surgery. And if you want to get grossed out more look at images on google of umbilical hernias. Let me just let you know right now that mine is not that huge and gross, not that you wanted to know any of this at all. Now I've just grossed all of you out on so many levels.


On to other things. So I was going to wash towels today with this little sample bag of "Mexican detergent" that I got from the Sams y Mas people at the Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Luncheon. I had already left it in the washroom on top of the dryer.


Well I go in to the washroom today to pull out some other clothes I washed in Tide and I put those in the dryer. Then I started to get the washer ready for the load of towels. I was just about to rip open the detergent bag when I realized that it was NOT Mexican detergent, but instead it was Gelatin. Yeah, gelatin. Now wouldn't that have been interesting if I had washed a whole load of clothes in gelatin? I just crack myself up sometimes. But seriously, that little bag of green powder looked just like the bags of Mexican detergent they sell at Matamoros!


Speaking of stores. Have you ever been to the store early in the morning? It's weird! I had to go to Walgreens Wednesday morning to get my son some cold medicine. I was already running late to a breakfast meeting. I dropped off my daughter first and then my son and I went over to the Walgreens down the street. We walked in ane the store was empty. It was almost an unnatural feeling to go to the store so early in the morning. That's not when I'm used to going to the store. I always go after work or during lunch. There wasn't even anywhere around to ask for help because all there was was the one cashier. It seems like people don't even work at stores that early in the morning.

Today, Thursday, I had to stay home with as sick son. The cold medicine I bought him didn't help much. He's been congested all day. I just hope he's better tomorrow. More later.

Monday, April 13, 2009

Maria Palacios - Karate on Wheels

Please read my feature in the April issue of skirt! Houston. It's about the fabulous and always amazing Maria Palacios.

I have copies of Maria Palacios' book, Karate on Wheels to give away. The first five people to e-mail me and to tell me why Maria is traveling to Washington D.C. in April will receive a copy of the book.
Please e-mail your answers to: shoegirlcorner (at) yahoo (dot) com

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Amigoland by Oscar Casares


It’s here! My advance copy of Amigoland, the new novel by my cousin Oscar Casares. I can not wait to read it! So far just reading the synopsis and the first few pages have me hooked! I will let you all know more when I’m done reading.

In the meanwhile, the back of the book reads, “In a sleepy town nestled against the Mexican border live two brothers, Don Fidencio and Don Celestino. Aging, stubborn, and fiercely independent, they have more in common than either will admit, and an argument so old neither wants to concede.”

Coming in August 2009.