Brooks N Dunn - THIS IS HOW CLOSE WE WERE!!! 

On the Ferris Wheel way up high! 

Us at the wanna-be-scary-haunted-ride-thing 

Dressed up for Rodeo fun! 

Rodeo

The smell of horse and cow poop has dissipated, yet no matter how much I scrub, the feeling of dirt between my toes just won't seem to go away. Last night, Leah and I went to see Brooks and Dunn at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Despite a few miscalculations, we had a BLAST!!! =) We were planning on leaving at around noon, thinking the show started at 3:45, and that we might want to go do some carnival rides before the concert. We planned on noon, yes. We actually left a little after 2. We get there, and spend about ten minute just finding the parking lot we are supposed to park in, and eventually find where we are supposed to be. We walk up to the gates, and realize that noone can get in yet. We look around, trying to figure out what's going on, both of us are really hungry, and I pull out the packet that we got, and read the instructions... Which we probably should have done before leaving. It's 2:45, and we read that the dinner we are supposed to be at ends at 3, and that we are on the completely wrong side of the complex! We start hoofing it all the way around the Reliant Stadium, past the Reliant Center, and around the Astrodome, until we see the giant Pace Picante Sauce bottle in the distance! We are almost running at this point, having only a few minutes left to get food! We find the tent, go in, get a seat, and a woman brought us our food. Few! So close! The dinner was pretty good, it was a filet with beans, green beans, and a roll, with peach cobbler for dessert. Everything was made by a real cowboy who drives an actual chuck wagon on trail rides, and it was all made without electricity in the traditional cow-poke way. So, after that, we got our chute seat gift bags, which contained a hat and a koozie, and was supposed to have a commemorative pin in it, but it didn't, which made me mad because I was really looking forward to the pin! Oh well, time for the carnival rides!!! We walked around for a bit, Leah trying to convince me to go on some crazy upside-down-spin-you-in-the-air contraption, while I was trying to build up the courage to get on ANY of the rides. Leah ended up getting on that ride, saying, "This ride is so much fun, you are going to be missing out!" while I stood on the side, holding her belongings and trying to keep my stomach out of my throat as I watched this obscene excuse for fun start spinning this way and that, rising into the air, turning upside down, and flinging all the riders about. When it was over with, Leah came off saying, "That wasn't as fun as it used to be, that actually scared me!" Go figure. So after that one, we walked around some more when it started to rain. We ran to the nearest thing with a roof, which ended up being the "fun house". Being the wimp I am, I said, "Hey, let's go in here!!!" I don't think Leah really wanted to, but she conceded because what else were we going to do in the rain? So, we give the lady our tickets and step in. When I've seen "fun houses" in movies, it always involves those nutty mirror mazes, so that's what I was expecting. Instead, it was a maze full of clear Plexiglas that made you think you were going the right way then all of a sudden, BONK! You've run strait into a clear window! That part was pretty fun. At the end of that, we came to some stairs that we ascended, taking us to the funny mirrors. Those were cool! We had fun laughing at our odd reflections! When we realized that we would have to slide down to the ground from there, we decided we'd rather go backwards through the wanna-be mirror maze again, so we did. That took up enough time for the rain to stop, so we continued on our journey into the life of a carnie. We rode a cheesey nightmare-on-elm-street wanna-be ride, and then the ferris wheel, which states it's the largest mobile ferris wheel in the U.S. After the rides, we made our way to the stadium for a funnel cake! When the concert started, we rushed down to where our seats were, and because we had the special Chute Seats, instead of sitting in the bleachers where everyone else had to sit, we got to go out in the dirt on the floor of the arena during the concert! We were so close it was amazing! Leah couldn't get over being star-struck, although she swore she would never act that way. She kept saying, "I can't believe we are so close!!!" I may not listen to much country music, but Brooks and Dunn really put on a great show! After the concert was over, we got to go get a commemorative Rodeo chair. We went back to the carnival, had some cotton candy, took some pictures in one of those photobooth things, and rode a couple more rides. We got home about 1 in the morning. Last night was probably the most fun night I've ever had! =) It was great! I can't wait until Sydnie's old enough to want to go to the carnival and stuff! ^-^

I'm so cute!!! 

Ready to go outside!! 

Our Hands 

Happy Sydnie with Ducky!!! 

Back again!!

Wow! So, this has been a busy month or so! I regret that I haven't had much time to blog lately, but this whole being a mom thing keeps you busy almost all the time! So, as far as work goes, I still have yet to hear about any of the positions I applied for, but I have now heard from not one, but two other dispatchers who are also trying to find other employment within the City, and they have both been told by our supervisor that he is "not going to let" them leave. I don't know how he could do so without giving a bad review about us to any potential employers, but I have had the suspicion he has done just that for quite a while. (Even before I heard this from my fellow dispatchers.) And I wouldn't put it past him. So, from now on, when I apply for another job, there's a little box that says 'May we contact this employer' and I just check 'no' and if/when they call me for an interview and ask me about it, I will tell them strait out, you may contact him, but I have suspicions about him making it so that no one can leave dispatch because of this reason and this reason and so on and so forth. I don't like that I have to do this, but I am feeling desperate to get out of there. It's not healthy for me physically, emotionally, and spiritually. I am noticing myself cursing, getting upset about stupid things, I actually had a few cigarettes since I've been back, (which I have stopped AGAIN), and that overall feeling of "I just don't care anymore" is creeping up on me again. I don't like feeling that way, and I really really really need to find another job. But, if nothing comes through, I have only one more month before I'm vested in my retirement, and then I can start looking for outside jobs. Although I desperately want/need a new job, thinking about leaving the City is almost frightening. It's the only "real" job I've known. Well, on to other subjects... I went to the doctor Monday, and she upped my thyroid medication because it was too low again and I was feeling it, so now I'm all happy and stuff again! Yay thyroid! Also, I found out I'm lactose intolerant! So now I have to drink Lactaid, which, by the way, is not nearly as bad as I thought it would be! It actually tastes just like milk, minus the sweetness. It's not bad at all! Only problem I see with this is my coffee... If I drink coffee, it has to have that International French Vanilla Creamer in it... Mmmmmmmmmm.... French Vanilla...... *drools on keyboard* ..... But, I had some this morning, and apparently that has lactose in it too, and I got kinda sick, so no more French Vanilla creamer. =( *sigh* Oh well, life could be worse. I guess. Hahaha! Oh yeah, and I'm also on blood pressure medication again. =/ When I went in on Monday, my bp was 130/102, which is pretty bad. I have a feeling work is doing that, again... But anyways another subject.... Sydnie is just squealing and screaming and "talking" (more like goobledy-gunk)all the time now! (at least when I'm home...) She just loooooooooves her mobile, and can lay in her crib just talking to it for hours! (Which is great when I'm having to get ready for work or, obviously, blogging!) Hehe! Also, last week she learned how to roll herself over onto her belly! She didn't like it at first, she would roll over, fuss fuss fuss, we'd put her on her back again, then she'd roll over to her tummy again and do it all over! But now, she will roll to her tummy, and hold her head up so high, and just enjoy the view! (With a bit of spitup and slobber, of course) She is on formula all day minus the morning feeding, and I think I'm going to cut that one out too. She sleeps alllllll night now! Lately, she eats about 10:30 pm when I get home, and will be kind of fussy until she goes to sleep anywhere between 11 and midnight. Then she'll sleep until 10:30 in the morning! So, she sleeps almost 11-12 hours strait!! I keep saying that I'm going to start getting up in the mornings and going to work out (I joined a gym but have only gone twice) but I find myself staying up late on the computer or reading, then sleeping in with Sydnie!! So, starting tomorrow, (I'm serious this time!!!) I think I'm going to get up around 7 and go to the gym! Seriously!!! Hahaha! I can say that all I want and I know I probably will hit the snooze button and go back to sleep. Lol! Anyways, I'm slowly but surely getting my figure back (yeah, right, figure, HA!) from having Sydnie, albeit a round figure, but a figure nonetheless. =)- I can fit into my old work uniforms, but am still wearing maternity pants. I'm not buying any new pants because it helps my determination to loose weight so I can fit into my old ones!! Oh! Actually, I can ALLLLLMOST fit into my old jeans! I can get them on and button them, but can't sit down! Haha! So, just a little more to go, and I should be able to wear my old jeans! Hooray!! I also started a "Walk Across Texas" team! (http://walkacrosstexas.tamu.edu/)Mom's on it, too! Basically, you have a team of 8 members that keep track of how many miles they "walk" and at the end of 8 weeks, you add them all up and see how far you've "walked" across Texas! It's pretty cool, I think!! =) Plus, it's a fun way to see how much I can walk!! It starts next Sunday, and you don't have to only walk, you can jog, swim, spin, cycle/mountain bike, stairmaster, even gardening counts! I can't wait to start! Anyways, I guess this is a long enough blog for now. Haha! I wait so long to blog that I have soooooo much to say when I finally do!! Hope everyone has a wonderfully, fabulously, absotively posilutely great day!!! ^_^