Legally Blonde's Proceedings

I hate to brag about myself and toot my own horn, but here I go... Apparently my shopping skills know no boundaries! Even language barriers can't keep me down! I have been telling everyone that I wanted to go to town one day and try to find this one little store that I fell in love with last year. They have "mexican" type things like you would expect, but also some really upscale stuff. I've long since stopped with the t-shirt type of purchases on vacation and often like to buy things for my house and also usually a Christmas ornament for my kitchen tree (which has ornaments from my travels on it). Last year I purchased these gorgeous footed ice tea goblets. This was the only store that had any like them in all of P.V. The store had many different types of glasses that matched the ones I bought, but they were kind of expensive, so I only purchased the one set. I had said that I wanted to go back and get more, but everyone has been telling me, "you'll n...

Okay, so people are still a little Swine Flu crazy around here as you might have gathered from my report about them taking my temperature before allowing me to enter the country. I swear I have never been so nervous to have my temp taken before! All around the hotel I have noticed they have these very nice looking "soap" dispensers sitting around. On them they say "hands sanitizer". Last night as I waited for the hostess to seat me for dinner, I thought, "why not" and took a big squirt. As I started rubbing it into my hands, it immediately hit me, "this is not your average American hand sanitizer". It felt like you were rubbing liquid soft soap all over your hands. I kept telling myself it would get better, so I kept rubbing and rubbing. No luck. Once you finally rubbed it all in, your hands felt super sticky. I may end up with Swine, but that is the last of the Mexican Sanitizer I use! On another note, I am thus far enjoying traveling alone with...

Hola! Okay, I'm seriously about to run out of spanish words I know... Gracias for reading! There! I'm done. That's all I know! Well I have arrived safely at the resort in Puerto Vallarta. I lucked out on the plane and was able to get my entire row to myself. Upon arrival, they took our temperatures. Making sure we don't have the swine. Last year the immigration room had masses of people and it took over an hour to process through. This year, it took 30 seconds. The taxi driver took me on the scenic route through town and I guess he thought I looked hip and happening because he showed me where all the "very good discotecas" (sp?) are located. I didn't have the heart to tell him that my late nights here at the hotel would be consumed with watching the Bridget Jones, Gilmore Girls and Jane Austen DVDs I brought with me! Upon arrival here at the hotel, I tried to talk myself into an upgrade. I did, but it would have been on the 4th floor. I opted f...

Hopefully, this is where I'll be this time tomorrow! I just had Lou Dobbs on (accidentally, I don't like Lou) and heard him yammering on about the U.S. State Department's travel advisory against going to Mexico. Oh well, I just changed the channel and will try real hard to forget that I ever heard that! I've been working real hard to get everything done. I finished my first summer syllabus last night and e-mailed it to my department chair (it's not due until the June 4th, so be real impressed that I didn't wait on that!). I just finished mowing and have been working on all the other details. Got my "Mexico Money"! My carry-on is mostly packed. It will contain the things I couldn't bare to get ripped off or things to get by if the unthinkable happened... It will have my make-up, clarisonic (decided I couldn't go that long without it), a pair of underwear, pj's, swimsuit, cover-up, and a hat... This is where you should be really impres...

Usually I refrain from talking politics on my blog...don't figure most of my readers care what my politics are, plus I usually teach about it 5 days a week, so why talk shop on my blog. But bare with me here. A couple of things have happened today, and I want to talk about them. Seeing as I'm between semesters, you're my sounding board ! A little background on me for those of you that don't know... I was a lifelong republican, you know President of College Republicans and the whole deal, until November when I voted Democratic. Now I say that I was a lifelong republican, but am truly more liberal that most people you will run across, especially on social causes. In my defense, it is hard to practice the kind of law I practice on a daily basis and not feel yourself becoming more and more liberal on a daily basis. If you knew all my thoughts about issues, you'd probably think I'm a liberal nut who belongs in California. Now to the issues of the day: (1) Judge...

I woke up super early this morning so that I was ready when I called the vet at 7:30. I'm like 2 minutes away and I wanted to be ready to come in if he said "come on in", but of course he didn't. He (the vet actually was answering the phone at 7:30 this morning) said he would work us in at 2:00. Here is a photo of Lola's paw (keep in mind it looks about 100% better than it did yesterday... you know it always works that way when you finally are going to the doctor): Here's Lola in the waiting room. Isn't she being such an sweetie? Such a sweetie until two lab mixes come in and she bales off the bench and into full on attack mode. Then the lab mixes come at us in attack mode and Lola wasn't backing down. Luckily there was a lot of bark and a little scrapping, but no bite! I think I suffered the worst wounds (scratches). Then we promptly got kicked out of the waiting room and into one of the exam rooms since we were now trouble-makers. Lola in exile... ...

Lola and I headed to Nocona this weekend to keep Milly. Mom and Dad went to Bandera and left Milly at home. Milly was an odd little thing this weekend. She would have NOTHING to do with Lola or me. I'm not sure if she decided she didn't like us or if she was very upset about being left at home when Mom and Dad left in the Rock Star Tour Bus. Either way, this is basically what Milly did all weekend: She stayed outside, or else she came in and kept to herself in the laundry room. Though she appeared to be mad at me, she was always willing to put her feelings aside and jump into bed with me at night. Lack of playtime with her friend, caused Lola to spend the weekend like this: Lola and I definitely put the new couch at Mom and Dad's to a good napping test this weekend. Poor Lola licked her paw until it is bright red and twice it's normal time. I plan to call at 7:30 a.m. and hope to get her in to see the vet first thing in the morning...fingers crossed! Why doe...

The carpet cleaning occurred yesterday. I managed to sweet talk the carpet cleaning guy into doing a room for free. Then I received an e-mail about them voiding my credit card purchase. It's unclear, but they either voided $50 of the purchase or they voided all but $50 of the purchase. Of course, I'm hoping for the latter, but either way, I'm pretty excited about the sweet deal. I'll just have to wait to see my credit card statement when it comes in next month. I used a company called Zerorez (heated water no chemicals, except on the puppy pee spots), and I think they did a pretty good job. The couch was delivered this morning. One of the throw pillows had a flaw in the fabric and I had to go back to the store and exchange it out for a display pillow, but other than that, I think it looks great. Have a look... It's longer than my old couch, which is great because I can lay completely out and there is still room for Lola at the end! Here's a look at th...

Kara : Come on Lola, you're fresh from a wash and fluff at the groomer. Look at the camera and smile! Lola: Nope, not going to do it. I want you to take a serious photo of me contemplating life. Kara: Lola Marie! Just look at the camera and give me one little smile so I have a cute photo to post on my blog! Lola: Oh, okay! How can you not smile when you look at this photo!

What does it look like when you move almost everything from your living room into your dining room? This.... This is the mess that is my life right now. I had to move everything from my living room except for the couch and chair into my dining room in preparation for the carpet cleaners tomorrow. They will be here in morning, so I needed to get everything ready for them tonight. I still have to vacuum and stuff. I have booked Lola a wash and fluff appointment at the Spa tomorrow (really just the groomer, but doesn't saying spa make me seem like a better puppy mom?). She doesn't really need it but I figured that I needed to get her out of the way for tomorrow morning. I thought about the puppy day camp, but since the vet commented that she doesn't really like other dogs, I figured the groomer was probably the better option.

Maybe it's time to check into the nuthouse or maybe I just really felt the need for some serious stress relief, but either way, spontaneity is oozing from me this evening! What did I do that was so spontaneous? How about booking myself a trip to Puerto Vallarta FOR NEXT WEEK ! Is that spontaneous enough for ya? I'm just going by myself and plan to chillax on the beach with my ipod , books, and drinks that Jorge (or insert other Hispanic name here) the cabana boy brings me! I really think this is exactly what I need to decompress from a busy few months and help me gear up for the coming months! I'm so excited that I'm not sure I will be able to sleep for the next week. Hopefully, I'm so excited that I won't be able to eat... after all , that isn't much planning to squeeze yourself into a swimsuit!

I am trying to sell my Couch, Chair and Ottoman. I would really like to sell it soon because my new couch is being delivered on Thursday. If you know anyone who needs it, please contact me. I'm not above offering bribes and will include a finders fee gift if you help me sell it! The chair and ottoman are oversized, but the couch is only 83 inches long, so it would work great in an apartment or smaller playroom, etc. Right now, I'm hoping to sell the set together, but if time progresses and it doesn't sell, I might be willing to break it up.

So my busy Sunday continued as I mentioned that it would in my earlier post. As the title eludes to, I went from Mecca to Mexican! First, about Mecca. I had to make a brief stop at Mecca ( Northpark Centre) today while down in Dallas. I needed to exchange some make-up and get a birthday gift for Mito at Teavana . So I first made a stop at the holiest of shrines at Mecca ( Neiman's Make-up counter), and then quickly ran my other errands there. After an oh too short trip to Mecca, I headed out to Party City for balloons. Then it was off to Matt's Rancho Martinez for Mito's Surprise 40 th Birthday party. As soon as I made my way down to Lakewood Village, I discovered something was off. They had some sort of neighborhood festival going on and you couldn't park anywhere near Matt's. I called Lisa to warn her about the street closings and then headed out for my long trek carrying balloons no less. Mito's best friend, Jeff arrived early and helped me rearrange t...

It's been a busy Sunday and it's only 2:20! Mom called this morning and said that she and Dad wanted to bring me the hand-me-down chair today. They got here about 12:30 and we unloaded the chair and had a quick Burger and Onion Rings at Scotty P's. Mom also brought the completed sewing project that I've had my grandmother working on. Here are the pics: The Chair: I have since cleaned up the leather with some conditioner and it made a world of difference. It is down filled, so the down filled pillows need to be taken out and plumped up. I've always liked this chair and I think it will look great in my living room. Here's the sewing project that my sweet grandmother did for me... What are they? Purse bags. What? Purse bags...bags to store my purses in so they don't get dusty when they are not in use. You can think I'm nuts right about here because my grandmother and my Dad do when they asked about these, but they make me happy! See how they look in my cl...

Yep, Lola and I both have an itch! First about Lola's... Poor Lola didn't draw the "good health" card when she was born (good thing she got lots of cute handed out to her though). She has terrible allergies. In the past, she has been treated by taking steroids orally and also through a steroid spray. The allergies manifest themselves by causing her paws to itch. Since her pancreas took a nosedive back in December, she isn't allowed steroids in ANY form. She had a bad allergy spell in January and licked her paws so much she licked the hide completely off two of the pads on her back paws. It was really bad and a long road to healing because they had to scab up, etc. Now she is in the midst of another allergy attack. She has been licking her front paw non-stop. This drives me nuts, but also I don't want a repeat of January's incident. I called the vet and he said Benadryl was okay. I started dosing her with that, but it didn't have the effect...

All exams have been graded and all grades have been posted...yeah! Three weeks off until Summer school starts (at least that is if my class makes, if not then I have 8 weeks off until my second summer school class will start). I'm a little bit bummed because right after Spring semester last year, I spent several days like this: Oh how I wish I was Mexico bound right now! I hear Puerto Vallarta calling my name, but sadly I'm not able to answer this year. I did consider it, but the reports of violence got the best of me once I read that kidnappers would inject you with acid if your family couldn't make ransom demands. Once Mom and Dad purchased the Rock Star Tour Bus, I figured chances of money left for my ransom were slim to none! I did recently receive the semi-annual edition of Budge Travel's Girlfriend's Getaway guide in the mail. They published what they call "the bliss list". It says, "Pack your bags and gather your girls...these eight destina...

The postman just rang my doorbell! I'm so excited because it was the "school" bag that I purchased at Canton. I was excited to receive the bag for three reasons. First, I had it monogrammed, so I was excited to see what it looked like. Second, it came in the nick of time, as tonight is my last night of classes for the Spring Semester. Lastly, I was very happy I hadn't been ripped off! That last one probably needs a little explanation... I made two separate purchases at this one particular booth at Canton. Early on in the day, I purchased a wedding gift that was being personalized on the spot. Later I went back and bought my bag. I didn't think much about paying for the bag and having the lady ship it to me because this is a regular vendor that has been in the same spot for the 4+ years I've been going to Canton. Then when I went back to pick up the personalized wedding present, the Texas Comptroller was busting in on the place. A Texas Comptroller rep was dema...

Since several of you gals who read this blog are former McKinney residents and have kids, I thought you might know of a good cake lady. I'm hosting a baby shower in June and would really like to know someone local who makes yummy and cute cakes (and preferably who doesn't charge a fortune!). Usually you just hear about these people by word of mouth, so I thought I'd ask. Let me know if you know of someone. Thanks!

This morning, I asked Jennifer if we needed to go to Goodwill today and buy clothes for her jailbird client that is going to a jury trial tomorrow. She quickly responded, "NO! I called his Mom and left a message for her to bring him clothes." Okey - dokey , I thought to myself. Of course about 3:30, Jennifer comes in and says, "What's the number for Court 2?" (I'm the keeper of numbers as she knows none of them). I tell her the number and ask why. She responds, "I'm going to call the court coordinator and ask what to do about clothes for my client." To which I say, " Ummm ... I'm betting your not going to like the response you get." "Why?" Jennifer says. "Because she is going to tell you to go to Goodwill!" I say. One phone call later, and sure enough, we're off to the jail to get size requests from jailbird and then on to Goodwill. Jailbird is a pretty big guy, but he requested a 5XL shirt, size 42...

Okay, I'm totally cracking up because of this and was able to have my wits about me and my iphone handy to capture a photo... What's so funny you say? You see, this is where Lola's kennel sits. You don't see it here because last night, my neighbors were outside talking very loudly. Now we don't have huge lots here, so the houses are very close together, but they were talking VERY loudly. No argument, just loud talking. Anyway, Lola kept barking and growling after she went to bed because she could hear them. It was about 10:30 and I was still up reading, so I tried to bring her into my room for a little while, but we could still hear them. About 10:45, I tired of the barking and came up with the solution to move her kennel to the front of the house (on the opposite side from noisy neighbor). That did the trick, but that is where her kennel was until about 5 minutes ago because I haven't had time to move it back to the usual spot. Normally, when Lola get...

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there! I have taken great advantage of the cooler weather this weekend and tackled every chore that I have been putting off for the last couple of years. It wasn't really what I had planned on doing, but given temps in the 60's and 70's this weekend, I decided this might be the last opportunity to tackle these tasks without the horrible heat. It really has been chores galore around here! I have been needing to complete a flower bed that I started 2 years ago. Yes, 2 year ago! I had bought a flat of monkey grass to plant and they were still sitting there unplanted. To explain, it got really hot and I lost interest that year, then it got kind of snaky looking and I had no desire to do it last year. The lawn crew kind of cleaned out the worst of it a month or so ago, so I decided to get it done. The poor plants were so root-bound that I had to cut the pots off of them! Here is the finished product: I also did some work in anot...