Texas A&M Chalk Talk: An opportunity to do better

Since a picture I took at the event is now on several news media outlets's websites, I guess the opportunity for the Texas A&M Athletic Department to deal with the issue directly has passed.

I want to stress that overall I enjoyed the event. The event raised money for a local charity and the interactive portion of the event was fantastic. It was awesome to see the locker room and walk out of the tunnel onto Kyle field. There were drills and we saw the weight room, the indoor practice facility and the auditorium where team meetings were held. Several players were there and were great. They were all polite and had wonderful things to say about their trip to Haiti (for those that went) and the team chemistry.

I addressed my concerns directly with the athletic department and received an almost immediate response saying the issue would be addressed.

I've seen a lot of people saying "there are more important matters to worry about," and while there are a lot of important things to worry about, sexism is an important issue. It's fine to think this is funny, obviously the coaches presenting did, but it's not fine to dismiss my (and other people's) feelings because it doesn't bother you.

The wage gap is real. The fact that only 5% of CEO's of Fortune 500 companies are women is real. Sexism is real. Yesterday I wrote the letter below and last night I watched a woman accept the nomination for president of a major political party. Progress is real and I'm hopeful speaking out will be constructive.

Below is the letter I sent regarding the event:

To Whom It May Concern,

Earlier this week I was thrilled to read a press release from Texas A&M regarding A&M being named a top university for women. Attending A&M was one of the best decisions I have made and my enrollment had a strong impact on the woman I am today. As a proud alum with a successful career, I celebrate the successes of the school and point to them when speaking about my beloved alma mater.

Unfortunately, my experience at yesterday’s Chalk Talk for Women has slightly dampened my enthusiasm for A&M. This event was a great opportunity to embrace female fans and instead it was full of sexism and misogynic statements. While the event was for fans of all knowledge, it did not seem to address levels of knowledge so much as gender. The coaches could have spoken to a room full of women as people with an interest in football, but instead we were met with comments implying that we only needed to know about football because of our husbands and we were shown slides with jokes referencing cleaning and feminine hygiene products. 

The events following the presentation in the Hall of Champions were very enjoyable. The assistant coaches and other members of the athletic department that I interacted with were polite and informative. The tour of the facilities made the experience worthwhile, as was the charitable contribution to Twin City Mission.

Overall this event is a great opportunity for A&M to embrace female fans and I am hopeful that my feedback will be used to make future events more successful. I can be reached at xxxxxx if you would like to discuss further.
Sincerely,

Karen L. Weinberg ‘01

Indoor practice facility 

Size 17 shoe

Locker room, so cool!

Kyle Field selfie!

I think lazy isn't even the right word at this point

First of all, I can't believe it's been a year since I quit drinking Diet Coke. I do occasionally have one now and then, but I am definitely drinking way more water and unsweetened tea than I did in 2013 and way less Diet Coke.

Secondly, I'm feeling inspired to write something. Which really is code for "I don't want to do any of the work that I should be doing right now." I am definitely in a summer funk and need to crawl out of it. I'm on week two of regular gym visits after a few month hiatus so hopefully that will help with the not sleeping and everything else. I think I may try Zumba tonight. I've been saying that I wanted to try it since I joined 24 Hour Fitness, but honestly, I was so out of shape I was too nervous to go. I'm not exactly running marathons now, but I should be able to make it an hour without dying. I hope at least! If I do die, there will be no update. If I survive, I'll be back to let you know how it went.

Update: I went and it was a lot of fun. And then I went into a super lazy period where I only went the the gym once in 2 weeks. I need to get back to Zumba. All of those years of drill team came in handy when it came to catching onto the routines.

Being less lazy, step 1: The Diet Coke Addiction

I've been off and on diets and in and out of workout kicks for the last 15+ years. But I'm inching toward 35 and carrying a lot of extra weight. I'm leaving for my first cruise on Halloween so that provided a deadline to have a weight loss goal and to begin the process of being less lazy. And being less of a hermit. Being a hermit is part of the being lazy thing. It's a lot of work to go places when you want to sit on the couch and read.

Maybe more importantly, I want to be healthy and fit. Losing weight is definitely a major goal for my health. But so is ridding my diet of junk and eating more fruits, vegetables and non-processed food. So a few months ago I started slowly making over my diet. I started with skipping foods with high fructose corn syrup and adding more vegetables into my regimen (preferably organic fresh veggies). And I began the process of curing my Diet Coke Addiction (DCA from this point on).

My DCA was exasperated by the fact that the fridge at work is full of Coke. And they are free and begging to be drank. I started slowly by being cognizant of how many I was drinking and limiting it to one or at most two. I started buying sparking water by the ton. Topo Chico was the first one that I really liked and that led to lemon and grapefruit La Croix, San Pellegrino and Perrier. I bring a 12-pack of La Croix (or the HEB version) to work with me and keep them in the fridge to have when I get a fizzy drink craving. I'm drinking more "still" water as well.

After a few weeks I noticed that when I did get a Diet Coke out of the fridge, I was drinking less than half before I didn't want any more. At that point I decided it was time to quit. No more Diet Coke.

It's been 8 days since I've had a sip of Diet Coke. That may seem ridiculous to someone without DCA. But let me tell you, it wasn't that easy. I'm rarely eating out right now but when I do, there aren't many choices for people who don't drink soda. I like my tea sweet and when you're counting calories, 180 in a drink is a lot. Much like I slowly started incorporating sparking water, I'm trying to drink unsweet tea. I've found that the addition of lemon and lime make it much tastier. Maybe in a few months I'll actually love unsweet tea.

Curing the DCA is only Step 1, part A of the overall plan. Part B is to stop using artificial sweeteners totally. This has so far been the hardest in my morning coffee. But it's coming along. I do like black coffee but I much prefer it sweetened.

Anyway, I'm making a lot of other changes in my diet and working out but that's another post for another day. I haven't blogged in so long this one took forever to write!

Lazy, party of 1 checking in!

It's been forever! I should have something fun and exciting to share. But all I really did between September and March was work all the time. My last post is kind of depressing so I'm just checking in to say hi and that things are going well. I'll update with a real post soon!

While you're here, here is a picture of individually wrapped Jelly Belly Sugar Free Jelly Beans. That's just mean!

Seriously?

I'm just a girl who has struggled with life

I'm not sure I know what happy feels like. I've felt good and fine and sad and depressed. But I'm not sure I can pinpoint a time in my life where I would say I was happy. That's not to say that I'm continually depressed, I am not. I just feel kind of "there" most of the time. Although maybe I am looking for something that doesn't exist. Maybe the absence of depression is happy? I don't know.

This blog entry isn't meant to cause any worry about my mental state. I'm not currently depressed, in the clinical sense. I'm sad. And depression is on my mind a lot right now. A friend of mine took her own life two weeks ago. She and I had several conversations about depression and suicide. We commiserated in the bad things that were happening in our lives over the last 5-6 years. I've been on antidepressants and seen a therapist. This year I've anxiety-induced chest pains. She knew she could talk to me honestly about things.

Sara and I met through an Aggie message board years ago. We rarely saw each other in person but we chatted and texted back and forth several times a week. Mostly about non-important stuff like TV shows and queso. She said nothing in the last few months that worried me. But it turns out she wasn't been very truthful with me the last few months. And although I know I shouldn't feel guilty, I do. I finally had some good news in my life. I got a big promotion at work. So I wonder if she didn't share her bad news because of my good.

Sara was funny and bright and smart and we had a lot in common. It's hard to type "was" when discussing her. A few times in the last two weeks I've wanted to text her about something that I know would make her laugh or interest her. And I can't bring myself to delete the texts between us. I was kind of hoping that when I set up my new phone on Friday it wouldn't transfer the texts. When I scroll down looking for something, I see her name. And one of the last texts she sent me was "I'm a horrible friend...how'd your first week go??" That is what really tears at my soul.

And I know in my brain that shouldn't make me feel bad, but it does. It makes my heart hurt that she didn't talk to me about what was going on in her life the last few months. It's still a fresh wound so everything reminds me of Sara: Diet Coke, HEB, blue Mustangs, Sonic Grilled Cheese, Vampire Diaries, Crown Royal, etc.

This blog has been quiet lately because I haven't had much time to spend writing and haven't felt very funny with all of "life" getting in the way. Five or six people regularly read it. The other page hits come from random Google searches. If any of you are here reading now because of a random search about sandpaper pedicures and are struggling with life, please know that no matter how bad it seems, you should talk to someone. A friend, a parent, a stranger on the internet. The internet can be a hateful place but it's also a great way to connect with people outside your geographical area that are like you. And trust me, there are plenty of people like you out there.

Sometimes it does look like there is only one way out. I never quite felt that way. A little piece of hope always was there but I can see how quickly that could have changed. And although I can't sit here and say I'm happy every day and that everything is amazing, I am still here. And my family and friends are happy about that. Things are better than they were 5 or 10 years ago. There are some great places to get help. Please reach out to someone. I know it's easy to say, especially when you're not depressed. But one conversation about how you're feeling can start the process of changing your life.

I wish Sara was still around to read this. I wish I'd been more proactive in asking how she was doing and not just chatting about teenage vampire shows and chocolate wine. I wish a lot of things but really, I wish I could still pick up my phone and talk to her.

______________________________________________

Talk to a trained professional: 

http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/

Read a blog by someone else that struggles:

http://thebloggess.com/2012/01/the-fight-goes-on/

World Suicide Prevention Day was earlier this month: 

http://take5tosavelives.org/

If nothing else, email me. I'm not a trained professional. I'm just a girl who has struggled in the past wanting everyone else to make it through. Maybe just writing down how you feel will start the process of getting help:

karen.weinberg@gmail.com

I'm going (I mean, I went) to Disney World!

Earlier this month I was at Walt Disney World for a week with my entire family. Parents, sisters, brothers-in-law, nieces and nephews. We had an absolute blast. We rode rides, went to the pool, and ate. A lot.

Since this is a lazy blog and I'm extra lazy these days, this will mostly be food pictures of all the yummy stuff you can eat at Disney World and pictures of Cinderella's Castle. (By the way, I'm extra lazy because I have actually been going to the gym but that's another blog post.)

Before we left on our early flight to Orlando, my BIL picked up some Shipley Do-Nuts and made sure they were in the Disney spirit.

Delicious indeed!

First off, how come no one told me about Dole Whip before we went to Disney in 2010? I probably would have ate it every day then too. If you aren't familiar with Dole Whip, it's pineapple soft serve ice cream and it's heavenly. You can get it at Disney World, Disneyland and in Hawaii at the Dole Plantation.

I've been saying Dole Whip like Stewie says Cool Whip

I'm normally not a huge dessert person. I'd rather eat meat and potatoes and cheese. But I defnitely had my share at Disney.

Mickey ice cream bar

We had Mickey waffles and yummy dinners. My favorite meal might have been at the Polynesian. We had breakfast complete with Kona coffee served in a French press. My choice was pulled pork hash with hollandaise and poached eggs. It was amazing.

Yum

Besides taking pictures of my food, I took probably 20 pictures of the Castle. I was obsessed! It's just so pretty, especially at night. We had lunch inside the castle one day. It was so neat.

Cinderella's Castle

Instagram Castle

Castle at night

I never went to Disney World as a kid but I think even if I had, I'd still have as much fun as I did as a grown up. It was amazing and exhausting and I can't wait to go back.

I have a really good excuse this time ...

Not that I need one. I mean, I put that I was lazy right in the name of the blog so it shouldn't come as a shock when I don't blog for a couple of weeks. I mean, months.

I moved in March and we haven't had internet access at home so it's been more difficult to update the blog. I sometimes blog from work (shocking) but it's been very busy there too. I found a few minutes to pop in and say hello.

I need to go through the pictures and write a post about the trip to Disney World I took with my family earlier this month. We had an amazing time and I really did not want to come back to work. But it turns out I'm a total control freak at work and when I'm not here, I feel like things won't be done correctly.  Of course, when I got back to work last Wednesday, something wasn't done that I expected so it kind of reinforced the control freakiness. I think this is what being a grown up must feel like.

Great Scott! They are making a sequel.

(No, not Back to the Future.)

The last Piranha movie was so horrible I wrote a blog post about it. You can read it here.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to end up seeing the 3DD version because I'm a glutton for punishment. And based on the trailer, they aren't taking themselves so seriously this time so it's possible I might enjoy it. I mean, the title is 3 DD. This version stars Christopher Lloyd and David Hasselhoff and a bunch of other people.

I moved (again) and there is a Studio Movie Grill down the street. This looks like a movie that would be much better with beer!

I'm going to go ahead and change my name to Monet

I never took art in school. I can't draw a stick figure worth a crap and I hated coloring as a child. I didn't have the patience to color in the lines when I could finish it quickly and move onto something more fun like talking. I know there are several report cards out there that mention I talked to much in elementary school. In my defense, I finished my work first.

Anyway, my friend Reneè had bought some groupon-like vouchers for one of those wine/art studio painting classes and asked if wanted to go. I have been wanting to try one after seeing some friend's paintings on Facebook. We went to Vino Artino a few weeks ago to paint bluebonnets. Reneè brought some yummy salted chocolate and malbec. I love malbec but my brain does not so I only had about a glass to keep from having a migraine.

I have to say, I am impressed with how my painting came out. And it's 90% due to the very specific instructions we were given. The instructor told us how much paint to mix with other colors, which brush to use and when to add water to keep the paint from thickening.

Below is a photo essay of my attempt at painting this:

The professional version

We started with painting the sky and grass. I was pretty impressed with myself at this point. Those clouds? They are awesome.

Next we were supposed to make some bushes and a little hill. This is where I started to doubt my ability to paint.

The "hill" looks like a smashed bush. And the bush is just ugly.

Trees seem like they would be easy. Just draw some lines. My tree looked like it survived Hurricane Ike.

Hurricane Tree

Grass/chicken scratch

After we added some grass we added some plants at the bottom of the page. You can seem them in the later pictures. Then we moved on to my favorite part. We added the leaves to the tree. It was fun to add the different colors and layer them and use fun brush strokes.

Happy tree!

At this point, we moved on to the windmill and barn. I was pretty sure my painting was ruined at this point.

What did I do?

It looked a little better after I filled in the barn and added some shading to the windmill.

Now it's time to start Texas-ing up the thing and adding the bluebonnets.

All done!

Masterpiece!

I thought about signing my name in the corner but I am pretty sure that would have turned into a big globby mess. I definitely want to go to another class though! It was a lot of fun and I have a cool painting.

Lake house laziness

I spent the weekend at Lake Livingston being a complete and total lazy ass and it was amazing. Unfortunately I had to work Friday until 6:30 so I missed night one of Girls Weekend. I drove up straight from work on Friday though and did my best to make up from it. I'm pretty sure my liver is in shape for Vegas now (I fly out February 18).  My goal for 2012 is to spend more time doing fun stuff and less time working. Girls weekend was the beginning of that. I have trips to Vegas and Disney World planned for the next several months.

View from where I was reading by the water, drink in hand

Since I'm too lazy to type up anything witty or funny, here are some pics. I haven't gotten over my Instagram obsession yet, by the way.

View from the porch 

Test tube shooters that tasted like medicine

Beautiful sunset

Laura Tebowing and me Fostering

I'm going to attempt to be less lazy. We'll see how it goes.

I cannot believe it's 2012. Especially since I have yet to see a flying car. 

I'm going to try to not be so lazy in 2012. With blogging, with cleaning, with taking care of myself. All those things that people resolve to change every year. I quit making specific resolutions a few years ago because they seem to only set me up for failure. I try to make general improvements in my life each year.  Some are easier than others and some I never quite accomplish.

This year, being less lazy is going to be the general mission. I have goals in mind and will try to work toward them, without being so critical of myself if I fail. 

Happy New Year everyone! 

I'm good enough. I'm smart enough. And Cap'n Crunch is the bomb.

I have pretty high self esteem. I don't obsess about looks (although maybe it's time to if I don't want to live alone forever with 37 cats but that's another post). I think I'm smart. I think I'm funny.  I probably think I'm way funnier than anyone else does. I don't care if people don't like me but I do love it when people do.

I cannot believe how many people read my last blog and all the positive feedback I received. I guess I better step it up around here. Talking about accidentally getting drunk the treadmill isn't going to cut it any more. It's probably a good thing only 10 people read this thing usually because I doubt anything that profound will come out of my mouth/fingers for a while.

Sort of on the same subject, I get totally nerded out when famous people on Twitter reply to me or retweet me. Last week Derrick Ward* was talking about his favorite cereal and I tweeted him to let him know I agreed that Cap'n Crunch is the bomb and that people that disagreed were haters. (I have started saying the bomb a lot in the last few weeks. I have no idea why and I'm kind of ashamed.) He started following me which is totally freaking awesome! Most of my 154 followers are spambots.

*I'm super obsessed with the Texans. I've always been a huge fan but this year I'm totally obsessed, especially with reading stories and blogs from the national media. Maybe I need to blog about my football obsession next time. I won a signed Antonio Smith picture on Twitter too.  It'll go great next to my David Carr autographed picture [insert winky face emoticon here or maybe I need the vomit face].

Me and the Ninja

Being an Aggie (aka The Longest Post I've Ever Made)

Last night I watched The Burning Desire, a documentary on the collapse of the Aggie Bonfire on November 18, 1999. (If you got here from somewhere other than my FB or Twitter and aren't familiar with Aggie Bonfire, you can read about it here: http://bonfire.tamu.edu/)

I was a student at A&M in 1999. I woke up that Thursday morning to 17 messages on the answering machine checking on me, my roommate and my sister. I had no idea what was going on so I turned on the TV and then I watched news footage until I had class. And when my professors cancelled class, I went home and watched more news coverage. Twelve Aggies died that day in 1999 and Aggieland became a different place. I think I became a different person after that day too.

I had just turned 21 the week before. I was technically adult but a still a kid really. I had a job and was going to college (that my parents very nicely paid for). There weren't really any responsibilities. I hadn't really dealt with loss. I didn't personally know any of the people injured or killed in the collapse but I was consumed by grief. I couldn't stop reading or watching news about it for days. When they had removed all of the bodies (I really hate typing that but there isn't a nicer way to say what transpired) from the stack of logs, I went and walked around the perimeter of the Polo Fields where the logs were still laying in a heap. The orange construction fence was full of letters, pictures and flowers. I visited the flag pole in front of the Administration Building where another memorial sprung up. An Aggie left his Aggie ring with a note saying he wanted those who had died to wear it. Most of those killed were underclassmen that hadn't earned their own Aggie ring. Other people followed and left their rings where they stayed for a month before the university sent them back to their owners.

That story is just a glimpse of what kind of place Aggieland is. Not only did a current student leave a gold ring outside where anyone could have walked away with it, but others did as well. And they sat there for a month.

When I was a senior in high school I wanted to attend SMU. I wanted to work in the news industry, in tv or newspapers and SMU had a great journalism department. I was accepted and offered scholarships but when it came time to make a choice, I choose A&M. I didn't have any prior connection to A&M. I honestly didn't know that much about it, other than it was a good school and it was close to my parents house if I ever got homesick.

I think back now and I had no idea what I was getting into but it turned out to be the best decision I ever made. I made some bad choices in college. I took the long road to my degree. But every day I'm proud to be a Texas Aggie. Aggies have a saying: "From the outside looking in, you can't understand it. And from the inside looking out, you can't explain it" and it really is true. A lot of people think Aggies are cultish (we are) and stupid (we're not) and there is a reason a million Aggie jokes exist (they are funny).

I never lived on campus. I never worked on Bonfire and I wasn't really actively involved in a lot of the traditions while I was there. I loved my time there and as a Former Student (there are no ex-Aggies) I've become immersed in all things Aggie. I have the great fortune to make trips to College Station on a pretty regular basis. Most of my people I consider good friends now I met through an A&M message board years ago. To this day they are some of the best people I have ever met.

Being an Aggie is more than having a degree from Texas A&M University. The diploma, the ring and education are just a part of it. Being an Aggie is about being a good person, coming together when adversity strikes and making the world a better place. The world is a better place because Texas A&M exists and I'm a better person because I went to Texas A&M.

Bonfire was a tangible symbol of A&M's burning desire to "beat the hell outta t.u." and after it collapsed, the university deemed it unsafe and it no longer takes place on campus. Students took the initiative and began holding Bonfire off campus.

Tomorrow's game will be the last in a 117-year rivalry between the Aggies and the Longhorns. It's likely to come back in the future, but for now A&M is moving to a new conference next year and the heated battles will no longer take place in the arenas and stadiums and on Facebook between fans. I hope in the future it returns and I'm kind of sad tomorrow's game is the last. I'm hoping the Aggies get one last win before moving to the SEC. I hope the current students keep Bonfire alive. And I hope someone reads this whole long blog.

Tomorrow I'll be thankful for many things but mostly, I'll be thankful I'm a Texas Aggie.

My Aggie Ring 

I'll just blame it on being lazy

Hi, neglected, sad blog. How are you? I'm doing well. Not much is happening in the world of lazy. I moved. Have I ever mentioned that I hate moving? Because I do. It sucks. I still feel out of sorts and it's been over a months. Work is pretty busy. I did get a fantastic performance review. I guess working late and on weekends for nine months paid off.

I'll try and come back soon with a great story to tell. for now, I just wanted you to know I didn't forget about you.

Gray hair is an asshole

I know you were all waiting on me to update you on my gray hair situation. I decided to have it colored. My hair before was pretty light on the ends but it matches the color of my roots pretty closely.

It looks redder in the sun

It didn't cover 100% of the grey because apparently my gray hairs are assholes. She used a softer color (no ammonia  so that when it grows out I won't have a big line where it's colored. Which is perfect for the kind of person that goes a year in between haircuts. She suggested maybe adding some highlights so I might do that next time. Right now I'm too cheap to pay that much for covering up asshole hairs.

I apparently can't decide if I want to say "grey" or "gray" so I apologize for saying both and being confusing and possibly British.

Edit: I originally titled this "asshole gray hair" but decided that was gross and misleading.

Lazy blogging: A random list of shit

• I have a draft in my Blogger folder from March titled "Pictures of my cat" but there is nothing in the body so I have no idea what I was planning on posting. Well, obviously it was pictures of my cat but I don't know if the cats were doing something special or I was just bored. Probably the second one.

• Speaking of animals, I love dogs but they are a lot of work. I don't think I'll ever be a dog owner. I'm dog/cat/house sitting right now for a friend. 

• That friend has cable. I'm loving HBO and Showtime on Demand right now. Dexter is an awesome show. I'm almost caught up. I love likable bad guys.
  
• Turns out people who get migraine with aura are more likely to have a stroke. So, no birth control pills for me ... not that I need them right now but whatever.

• Earl grey tea is delicious. 

• I really want an iPad. Maybe I can start a fund and a website: www.buykarenanipad.com. Hmm, maybe I need to find a URL that doesn't have "nip" in it.

• My fortune cookie last week said I should write a book. I'm thinking about it; I just need a good idea. If I decide to do it, then I'll probably finish it in 2018. Check back then to read it.

It's not nice to ask for my ID and then call me ma'am!

(Hmm, look at that. I started this entry on June 21 and never finished. It's only been two months since I updated. Oops. I spent the morning reading a couple of new blogs and decided I should come update my own. Apparently reading blogs is the key to writing them, for me at least. Now let's go on with the chlorophyll.)
_____________________________________________
I seemed to be trapped in some weird age where my skin thinks I'm 15 and my hair thinks I'm 60. There is something unfair about having gray hair and acne at the same time. They shouldn't even be allowed to exist on the same head.

I found my first gray hair when I was 20, so the gray hair doesn't really bother me. I think women who find them early just shrug it off. And apparently women who find their first gray at 30 do not. At least based on my Facebook friends list of people complaining about their first gray hair.

Not the best pic but you get the point.

Sometimes I think about coloring my hair to cover the gray. But then I remember that I go months between haircuts and decide I should just leave it alone. I don't really enjoy getting my haircut. I have to sit still and make small talk for 30 minutes or longer. I did like the guy that cut it last time, which was back in April. Maybe I should make an appointment and have it cut again. It's getting so long that I'm pulling it when I sit down. (Not because it's Crystal Gayle length or anything but because it's behind my back and when I move, it gets stuck between me and the chair.) --Let's see. I got mauled by a cougar, my Crystal Gayle shirt is ruined, and I didn't learn dick about driving. Other than that, it was great. -- What was I talking about?Oh, I have decided that if I start coloring it then I'll have to keep doing it and then I'll be poor and annoyed. So gray hair isn't so bad.


And seriously, what's with the acne? My skin wasn't this bad when I went through puberty or when I was in high school. I don't get it. Maybe it's pollution. Or just a mean trick my body is playing on me.


For some reason people have started calling me ma'am. Which is kind of funny to me and I'm not used to hearing it. I am 32 so I guess I am a ma'am but it's still weird. A couple of weeks ago we went to a bar in The Woodlands and the cop at the door asked for my ID. And then said "thank you, ma'am!"  after he checked my birth date. Ouch! 

Wait? You're supposed to use a cell phone to talk to people?

Oops, I kind of got lazy about blogging again. Sorry about that!  I'm sure all 13 of you are very sad. Here's a pretty boring blog to bring you out of your lack-of-updating depression.
                                                                                     
I am not a big fan of talking on the phone. I prefer texting and email to communicate with people. I have an iPhone so it's easy to keep in touch with everyone. I knew I didn't use a lot of minutes because I have a huge amount of rollover minutes and I pay for the smallest amount of minutes that AT&T offers.

I was looking at my bill for last night and I noticed I used only one minute that wasn't mobile-to-mobile (I only used 12 of those probably talking to my mom or sister).

Pictures make the blog look cool, right?

I used quite a bit of data of course. It takes a lot of data to play Words with Friends all day and to stalk, I mean keep up with, people on Facebook.

My first cell phone plan back in 1998 only had 200 minutes. I guess most people go way over that now but I could easily go back to 200, or even 100. I have a home phone that I never use either. It rings every couple of days but it's never anyone I want to talk to. I only have it because when I set up my DSL, it was required. It'll come in handy if we have another hurricane and the cell towers are jammed for days like after Ike.

I apparently don't talk to that many people anyway. I have had this phone since the end of February and I still haven't put everyone's numbers in it. I added all of my family and maybe 15 other people. I should probably get around to that. I've gotten a couple of texts in the last week where I had to ask the person who they were. Maybe I'll get unlazy enough to do that this week.

Or not.

I doubt anyone missed me but I'm checking in just in case

My younger sister (who isn't that much younger than me so I try to never say little sister) had a baby last week. He's so precocious I want to kiss him to death. But I've been away from home since last Tuesday and I haven't even done laundry yet so I have clothes to wear to work tomorrow. I also haven't eaten dinner or unpacked my suitcase. I'm contemplating opening a bottle of wine. That would give me a reason to get off the couch. I've been sitting here without moving for at least three hours. If I get up, I suppose I could put some clothes in the washing machine since the Laundry Fairy is apparently just a figment of my imagination. Also, it's hot in here and I'm not sure the air conditioning is working.

I did however get my hair cut for the first time since like July of 2010 last week so I accomplished something in my absence. I'll leave you a picture of me pre-haircut but with a tiny baby. And I'll be back tomorrow to say something funny or witty or just plain stupid.

I can't promise this is going to be a funny post (unless you think fat people are funny)

You know what happens if you are lazy and eat whatever you want for a couple of years? Yeah, you get fat. Who knew, right? Someone should really tell people that.

The last few months of 2009 were the last time I was regularly in the gym. And I was doing great. I don't know what happened. It only takes a couple days of skipping the gym to get back into full sloth mode -- at least for me. I certainly wasn't thin back then, but I was working toward the goal of weighing less than a newborn elephant.

I was thin as a kid. I played outside and ran around and rode my bike all over the neighborhood. When I got into high school I was on the drill team for four years (insert embarrassing picture here). I wasn't fat but I was bigger than a lot of the girls I danced with. I certainly had a larger waist and "personality" than most of them. , I'm shaped more like an apple and carry weight mostly in my stomach and chest. Of course, when you weigh this much, it's pretty much everywhere.

The last time I weighed less than 200 pounds was probably 2008. I was going to the gym regularly and counting calories. I certainly wasn't skinny but I looked good. It makes me want to cry a little to see this picture now. Look how skinny my arm was! And that shirt wasn't from the plus size section. Ack!

Aggie Football game 2008

But I regressed into laziness and fatness once again. There aren't any excuses for this. Just me being lazy and liking to eat delicious food. This picture is from February. I think I see three chins. I don't have a wider shot to show you because like most people that get out of breath getting dressed in the morning, I avoid photos. You can certainly see the extra 50 pounds in my face though.

Feb 26, 2011 - BBQ Cookoff

Anyway, the point of this post wasn't to wallow in self pity but to talk about how I'm going to change it. Last week I unwrapped a Jillian Michaels DVD that someone gave me in December. Of 2009. Yeah, lazy.

Still in the plastic wrap

So, I'm working out. It's been a week and I've worked out three times. Definitely not as much as I should have, but I'm doing it. I know it'll help with lots of things, not just weight. I am sleeping terribly and grumpy and a little depressed. I think I might get a yoga DVD to do every other day. Jillian knows about getting in shape but she's a little too advanced for me right now. Plus I'd like to be able to touch my toes again.

It's kind of funny now to look back at what I thought was fat when I was in college. I had no idea. Dumb college kids!