Pet Peeve: Bueno and Hot Sauce

There is a very good possibility that I might have blogged about this before, but I think it is worth repeating.

Every time I go through the Drive-Thru at Taco Bueno, they ask the question "Do you need hot sauce?" Every time, I answer "No thank you!". And every time, they put at least 2 or more packages of hot sauce in my bag!

If it were in packages like soy sauce or ketchup, it wouldn't be that big of a deal. But Bueno basically scoops out hot sauce into a little plastic container with a lid on it. The lids are really easy to pop off and on more than one occasion have spilled before I got home. SO ANNOYING....especially when I said I didn't want it!

So tonight I went to Bueno. "Would you like hot sauce?" "No thank you" Sure enough, when I got to the window there were THREE hot sauce containers in my bag(for my one party burrito and tortilla soup). So when the guy handed me back my credit card, I handed him back his hot sauce and said "I'm sorry, I don't need this."

My question is this: Why does Bueno even ask me if I want hot sauce if they're just going to give it to me either way?

Donors Choose

A couple of years ago, I saw a commercial for a program called "Donors Choose." It is a website where teachers can post needs that the school system won't/can't provide for them and individual donors can fund them. It is really amazing how many things are needed for schools that teachers actually have to buy for themselves or just live without. You can search by school, region, subject, % of low income, etc. for projects that seem like something you want to fund. My first donation was to buy a classroom subscriptions to Weekly Reader and Time for Kids because Weekly Reader was always my favorite in Elementary School and it makes me sad that a lot of kids can't get it anymore. Since then I've kept going back.

As good as it feels to know that I've helped some students, the best part is the thank you package. Donors Choose sends a disposable camera with each project so the teacher can take pictures of the students using the items that you sent and they usually send thank-you letters from the kids as well. Every time I get a thank you package, it makes me so happy that I just want to go back and donate more! The kids are just so cute!

Here are some excerpts from letters I got today. Read them and then go to donorschoose.org and pick your own projects to fund! I love it because you know exactly where the money you donate is going and exactly what is being purchased. There really is very little waste in this program.

"Dear Donor, Thank you so much for donating books to our classroom. I can't believe your class used most of your money to get us thirty books! Getting us five books would be nice but to get us thirty books that's amazing!"

"Joey Pigza is funny. I think in the book Joey Pigza: Loses Control he can spend a little more time with his dad because his dad is wired. But he can't spend too much time with his dad or with his grandma either because his dad and his grandma smoke and smoking is bad for you. Also in the book Joey Pigze: Loses Control he shouldn't put Pablo (Joey's dog) in the glove compartment and do harmful stuff to him. Thank you again for the books."

"Well thanks for sending Tucker Joey Pigza books. Everyone loves Joey Pigza books. You should read some Joey Pigza books. This is very nice of to send us books. That's very nice. That's what you need to know. Thanks!"

Such cute kids! Well, I'm off to search through more projects to fund!

Things That Make Me Smile: Hot Tamales

This morning as I was driving to work, I looked in the rearview mirror and noticed I hadn't put on any mascara. So I stopped at Walgreens to buy some and right by the register, I saw it: a giant box of Hot Tamales!!

I love cinnamon flavored things so Hot Tamales have always been one of my favorite candies. Wade Weaver used to have a giant jar of them in his office at Altamesa and I would always go and grab a few before I did anything else at church. I haven't seen them in a while, so it definitely made me smile today. And the fact that I walked around sharing them with my coworkers near me made them smile too! What a great way to start a Friday. :)

Prayers

I'm sure by now, most of you have heard about the shootings at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois. My college roommate, Lindsay (second one on the left in the picture from that post) is living there while her fiance, Ryan is in grad school at NIU. They are both okay, but very much shaken up. Ryan was proctoring an exam in the same lecture hall not too long before the shooting...had the shooter chosen a different time to come in, it could have been Ryan.

It is hard to explain what it feels like to have your entire world turned upside down and to all of a sudden feel completely unsafe in your own town. In September (on Maisy's 5th birthday actually) it will be 9 years since the shootings at Wedgwood Baptist Church where I lost a friend. It seems crazy that it has been that long. But 9 years later, I am still experiencing effects of that event. I've always loved finding new things in common with my best friends, but this was one that I was hoping to never have to share. Please pray for Lindsay, Ryan, and the entire NIU campus as they begin to deal with the aftermath of this terrible thing.

Thanks,
Emily

I have an accent?

Sorry for leaving the picture up of no-nose man all week! I've been extremely busy/sick.

I'm in Boston for a few days. It is FRIKKIN FREEZING here! Tonight there is supposed to be a snowstorm....glad I wasn't trying to fly out! But as always, Boston is great. Quick anecdote:

At the end of the workshop I am attending, we had a panel discussion. I was pretty chatty as always. At the end as we were all exchanging business cards, one of the panelists shook my hand and said "Love the accent!" Cracked me up....We were always giving my friend Bill a hard time for his Boston accent and now the tables have turned! I don't mind though. I've always wanted an accent. :)

For Jonathan

The slow-mo shot of Charlie swimming in the window from the Lost Season Premiere.










Edited to add pictures of the eye in the cabin window...definitely not Locke (he has blue eyes) and definitely Jacob (notice the lack of nose)

It's time for another.....

Good Idea:
After changing your password to an email account at work, emailing yourself the new password so you can check it at home too.

Bad Idea:
Emailing yourself the new password to the same email account, so in order to get the new password, you need the new password.

Songs

I got an email at work today about a team summit we're having that included this:

"Music evokes fond thoughts and memories, similar to what travel does for our customers, their customers and ourselves. So please send me your favorite song and the artist that performs it, that evokes great thoughts, memories and feelings for you."

They've asked us to send several submissions to have a good list. The first thing that popped in my head was the song "Bubbly" by Colbie Callait. That song is so mellow and relaxing that no matter how frustrated, stressed, or upset I may be, when I hear it I just get calm and happy.

I thought this was a really interesting assignment and would like to hear what other people think of when it comes to a song that evokes great memories and feelings. What song would you send in?

Speed Stacking

Yet another example of how out of touch with kids fads I am since I don't have any....

Today my cheerleaders had another game. While we were waiting for our game to start, a kid pulls out a mat and a bunch of cups and starts stacking them and taking them down...I was SO confused. So I ask my girls what was going on. They were like "YOU DON'T KNOW ABOUT SPEED STACKING???" Apparently this is a new thing. Cup stacking. Seriously. They have competitions and everything. I thought you only stacked cups when you were putting them in the cabinet after washing them - and then not in a pyramid!

Here is a video of some kids who are around the same level of my girls. My fastest girl had 22 seconds:


And here is a video of a couple of the "pros":




And a super cute girl on Regis and Kelly. Not as fast as speed-boy above, but who cares? She's only 5 years old and adorable!


And yes, I tagged this "sports" although I say that in the loosest sense of the word!

Jiffy Pop

Interesting thing about my new house....I don't have a microwave. My apartments always came with microwaves and although I know a microwave costs all of $50, I just have always decided there are other things that I'd rather spend my money on. So I decided that I would wait until I just couldn't handle it anymore and I'd go get one. That hasn't really happened yet, but every now and then I wish I had one to make popcorn. So tonight when I was walking through the grocery store and saw stovetop popcorn, I just couldn't resist!

Coming from the Scream generation, I definitely looked over my shoulder more than once while I was making it. And when my phone rang in the middle, I just let it go to my answering machine. Luckily I don't have a "huge football player boyfriend" to find tied up and gutted in my backyard, so I got to make my popcorn in peace. :)

So now the real question: was it as good as microwave popcorn? Eh, not really. But it wasn't bad and it definitely satisfied my craving tonight!

Ready for a woman....just not Hillary

I promise not to get too insanely political in the coming election year, but every now and then I just have to let some random things off my chest in regards to the race.

A lot of people are making a huge deal about Hillary being the first serious female candidate. From there it basically goes to either implying or flat out saying that if you aren't for Hillary, you're saying that a woman shouldn't be President.

I'm sorry, but aren't we supposed to be picking our President based on who would be the best person to run this country - not based on their gender, race, or religion?? I have nothing wrong with a woman being President, but I'm not going to vote for someone JUST BECAUSE she is a woman! Look at issues people.....not the external packaging! But that's just wayyy too much to ask, isn't it?

European vs. American Sayings

My first year of the MBA program, I found a few sayings that didn't quite translate between my international friends and American English. It always made for some humorous conversations. Last night, I went to dinner with two of our regional marketing managers, Christine and Fionna. Christine is based in London and Fionna is based in Singapore. Christine tried to order sparkling water at Chuys (with no success) and that got us talking about phrases that we find funny or just different from what we say here in America.

Some of the results (Mostly different between British English and American English):
Come across - this is what everyone in Europe says when they talk about flying overseas. I first heard it when I went to Sweden - "When did you come across?"
Straight away - the European version of "right away"
Flatmates/Flat - Roommates/Apartment
Fancy - Christine thought it was funny that we didn't say "Would you fancy a drink?" We say "Would you like a drink?"
Water - we had a good laugh hearing Christine and Fionna mimicking the way that Americans say the word "water!" I never realized that it sounded so different and weird to them!

We had a lot more but I won't bore you with them all. What phrases have you all heard that either Europeans say that we don't or that we say and they don't?

Cloverfield

Last night, I went to see Cloverfield with some friends. Or should I say, I attempted to go see Cloverfield with some friends.

I went into this knowing absolutely nothing about the movie. I had seen the poster above, but had no idea that the movie was supposed to look like it was shot with a handheld video camera. Really interesting concept and they did it really well; however, have you ever sat through 2 hours of someone else's home videos...particularly ones where they are running for 80% of it? Now have you ever done that on a big screen? I normally don't really get motion sick but this just did me in. From the first minute, the camera was so shaky and would zip from one side of the room to the other...and that was on the calm part of the movie. When things started getting bad, the camera got even worse - he would drop it to his side to run so you'd be watching the ground moving by really fast, there would be fast motion and shaky filming at the same time, it was just awful. Lindsey Holder and I had to leave after about an hour of it because we were both getting so sick. It made me sad because I was enjoying the movie (basically Godzilla from the perspective of the people on the street....not going to win an Oscar but its a good mindless movie) but I just couldn't handle it.

So if you have EVER gotten motion sick, DO NOT go see Cloverfield. It'll take you down even if you aren't normally the motion sick-type of person!

Things That Make Me Smile: Upward Cheerleading

Now that I'm finished with Grad School, I finally have time to do "extracurricular activities" that I enjoy. So this year, I have started coaching a 4th grade cheerleading squad with the Upward Basketball program! I've been pulling from my high school cheerleading days and using some of my old cheers and chants - the girls are really picking up on all of it very well. We had our first game today and my cheerleaders are just precious. I am having so much fun! It really makes me smile. :)

Prodigal

Here is the trailer of the movie I was an extra in.
"PRODIGAL" Trailer

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THE List: 81-100

Capping off my list of 100 things to do....I've had this written for a long time but forgot to post it!

81. Snorkel in the Great Barrier Reef
82. Become a landlord
83. See the Northern Lights
84. Read all 7 Harry Potter books back to back
85. See the turtles at the Galapagos Islands
86. Watch the start or the finish of the Iditarod
87. Visit Easter Island
88. Ride a camel in the desert
89. Get a Reader Identification Card and read a part of a book in the Library of Congress
90. Fly 15 segments on one trip
91. See the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janiero
92. Have or adopt children
93. Watch the Yankees play at Yankee Stadium
94. Arrange a layover in Reykjavik, Iceland just to say you've been there
95. See Bette Midler sing live
96. Do at least one sightseeing item on this list with my brother
97. See Victoria Falls in South Africa
98. Drink Vodka in Moscow
99. Go back to Boston with Allyson and relive our favorite childhood vacation as adults
100. Cross 30 items off of this list by the time I'm 30

Thats it! I started this list in March of 2007. Almost a year later and I've been able to cross off 9 items. Hopefully even more will come in 2008. :)

I'm Ready for my Closeup!

Its about that time again....time to cross another item of THE List!

If you haven't been reading for very long, I have a list of 100 things I want to do before I die. I made all of them actually feasible things that are actually tangible (no "Be happy with my life" or anything that is subjective) and actually cross them off as I do them. If you're interested in the whole list and whats been done so far, you can click on the tag at the bottom of the post.

So this weekend I was able to complete another item:

50. Be an extra in a movie

My friend, Jason, used to live in LA and did the whole acting thing. He had a few small parts in some movies (he was the White House Photographer in First Daughter with Katie Holmes and things like that), got tired of "the grind" and several years later, ended up here in FW. He has recently become friends with a few people in the indie film scene and was one of the leads in a movie that is being made for several film festivals. Theey were supposed to have around 70 extras for a black-tie gala scene to be filmed Saturday....Friday night they found out that 50 of them weren't coming. So they were desperate to get some people there!

I like dressing up, so I agreed to go. It was a LONG day! We shot the same scene about 25 times - 5 times from 5 different angles with 2 cameras each time. Because I was friends with one of the leads, Jason got the director to use me in close-up reaction shots and then I was sitting in the right place at the right time for another scene that was filmed later and ended up with a couple of lines. Thats right - I got to say "This is a great turnout tonight!" and "It's nice to meet you." And then my final showstopping line...."Is she okay?"

I'm thinking about moving out to Hollywood and applying for my SAG card now. I'm going to be a star! Totally kidding. But it really was a very fun day and I'm excited to see the final product. Plus, any excuse I have to get all dressed up is fun for me. And getting to cross something off THE List is just icing on the cake. :)

P.S. I just looked and realized I never posted items 81-100! I'll have to do that this week.

I was right!

Ever since Mitchell McBroom was born, I have been going back and forth about who I thought he looked more like. At first it was Katie, then I thought Stephen, then I thought Katie again, then we all said he looked like a mixture of Ryan Inlow and Stephen! Haha.

Anyways, I saw this on a friends blog and decided I had to put in the McBrooms and answer the question once and for all. Turns out, I was right both ways! He's a perfect split of the two!

MyHeritage: Celebrity Collage - Family search

FYI, I look 10% more like my mom than my dad. It used to be the other way around, but as I get older I really have started to favor my mom. :)

It's time for another....

Good Idea:
Using your I.D. badge to get through the turnstiles at work.

Bad Idea:
Trying to use your I.D. badge to get through the turnstiles at work after you've accidentally put it in the dryer, somehow deactivating it.

I love feeling like an idiot at work. I might have forgotten to mention the dryer thing to the security guards when I had to go get a new one. It just magically stopped working today! :)

Table for One

Sweden was the first trip that I have taken where I was entirely alone for a big portion of the week. People asked me when I got back what I thought about traveling alone. I said that I absolutely loved it - you could go anywhere you wanted, if you walked into a museum and thought it was stupid you could walk right back out without wasting time wondering if other people liked it, there was no debate over what to do each day. I absolutely loved it....until dinner time. When you're traveling alone, you have to eat alone in restaurants. People can't ever hide their surprise when you say "Table for one," but you're in a different country so you suck it up and deal with it instead of eating at McDonalds all week.

I have always felt really awkward eating alone. I remember having an hour lunch break over tax-free weekend when I worked at Limited Too in High School and I wore my name tag to Subway because I didn't want people to think that I was just eating at Subway alone because I was a loser. Most of the time if I'm going to eat alone, I grab something and bring it home...so I can be a loser in private I guess. One time I went to Breadwinners in Dallas alone thinking it was a takeout place and when I realized it was a sit-down place I was too embarrassed to leave, so I sat alone feeling like all eyes were on me.

Today, I found the one place that I felt completely comfortable eating alone: Luby's! I went down to Hulen area around lunchtime to buy tickets for a sneak preview of 27 Dresses for several people and decided I wanted Luby's for lunch. So I just went inside, got my food, and sat by myself. I did not feel self-conscious at all! Maybe it helped that everyone else in there was either over 70 years old or by themselves too, but for the first time, I felt completely comfortable eating in a sit-down restaurant by myself. I think I need to go there a few more times before my next solo trip to train myself on eating alone. :)