I'd like to introduce you to...

The newest member of my family.

This, my internet buddies, is Rogen. Isn't he just about the cutest thing you've ever seen? I adopted him from The City of Baytown Animal Shelter and he came home with me last night.

I will tell you how Rogen and I met...

The Friday after Christmas, I was at Terra & Lyndon's house and mentioned that I was thinking of getting a dog, and I would only get one from a shelter. Lyndon told me they adopted several dogs from the Baytown shelter and never had any problems with any of them. After about 30 minutes of persuading, I agreed to let them drive me out to that shelter to just LOOK at the dogs.

We arrived there around 2:30 and as soon as we walked into the room with the kennels all the dogs started barking, Lyndon told me to come look at this one dog that was just standing there quietly, wagging his tail...Rogen.

As soon as we opened the door to let him out of his kennel he walked straight over to me, so I bent down and he rested his head on my leg. That was it, I was in love. Lyndon went to talk to the officers and found out that Rogen was a pick up and not a surrender, so I would have to wait until Tuesday to get him.

Since I had to work yesterday, Lyndon got to the shelter at 10am (the shelter opens at noon, but it's first come, first serve.) and it was a good thing he got there so early...one lady showed up at 11am and another couple showed up at 11:30am, and they all wanted the same dog.

Once I got off work, I went and picked Rogen up, went to Petsmart for a collar, leash, food, toys, etc...

So, now I am a proud dog owner. Oh, and here are a couple more pictures of my new pooch...

Until next time...

Mandy

and yes, he is named after Seth Rogen. Look at him, he has a lot of curly hair and seriously has the temperament of a stoner.

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

On December 23, 2008, my friend Jennifer gave birth to TRIPLETS!!!

She and Bronson have waited so long to become parents that the word congratulations doesn't seem to be enough, but I can't think of another word that would convey my happiness for them.

Up to this point, she and the babies are doing well. Jennifer is home, but the doctors are predicting that the babies will be in the hospital until her original due date...February.

If you would like to read about Mollie, Elise and Preston, go check out Jennifer's blog.

So, please say a prayer for this new family. And for those of you who don't pray, I'm sure a happy thought and mental hug will work nicely also.

Until next time...

Mandy

WTF!?!?!?!?!?

OK, I was reading Dlisted a few minutes ago and Michael K posted this...



All I can say is...WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?

Is it some lady who has lost her mind or is it her form of a political statement OR is it some sort of avant-garde, performance art? I can't figure it out.

I don't get it, but maybe it's just not for me to get.

Until next time...

Mandy

What Would You Do For a Bargain?

Since the holidays are here, it seems like every time I turn on the television or radio people keep saying...Only one week left until Christmas! Luckily, I only have two or three more purchases, then I will be DONE! With all this talk of holiday shopping, it makes me think back to a certain "Black Friday" several years ago...

Every Thanksgiving, The Mother and I get the sales papers out of the paper and look through them three or four times while Thanksgiving dinner is cooking and eating our traditional Thanksgiving breakfast...pumpkin pie with cool whip. After dinner, we pull out the sales papers again and start making our PLAN OF ATTACK!

This particular Thanksgiving, I saw in the Foley's sales paper that they were going to have down comforters and down mattress toppers on sale for $39.99.

Mandy: Oh my God, look at the price of these comforters!
Mom: Ooooo, and the mattress toppers!
Mandy: OK, so we agree, we're starting at Foley's.
Mom: Yep.
Mandy: Is it bad that the first place we want to go is to buy items for ourselves?
Mom: Well, look at it this way...we are actually saving money on those things, so we'll have more money to spend on everyone else.
Mandy: Makes sense to me!

Friday morning - We get up, drink coffee, pull out the sales papers of the stores we are going to, get dressed and are standing in line at the Foley's at Baybrook Mall by 5am.

Mandy: OK, how are we going to do this?
Mom: OK, the bedding is upstairs. Since you walk faster than I do, you go ahead of me and I'll meet up with you.
Mandy: OK, sounds good.

The doors open...people start running...

Once I reach the bedding department, I notice that there is a line in front of the comforters...I started to panic. So, I got in line and inched forward...luckily, the mattress toppers were on the wall next to where the comforters were. So, I had mom's topper IN HAND!!! I was the next person in line and...

Two ladies in front of me: Oh no, I guess they are out...Oh wait, there are some on the top shelf of the wall. How are we supposed to reach those.

(The comforters were lined up on the shelves that are built into the wall. There was a shelf at my feet, my hips, my shoulders, my head, and above my head)

As I'm looking at the top shelf, a plan starts to form in my head...

Mandy: If you make sure I get a queen size comforter and don't let me fall, I'll climb up there and get us each a comforter.
TLIFOM: OK...be careful.
Mandy: Here, hold my purse.

I started climbing the shelves and ended up standing on the shelf that was right at my head. Once I was up there, women were yelling at me..."Is there a King?" and "What about a twin?" My mom walks into the bedding department and finds her daughter hanging from a wall, almost 6 feet in the air, with five different hands on my butt to make sure I don't fall...THROWING comforters at people.

After all the comforters had been thrown off the shelf, I climbed down and started shaking.

Mom: Why are you shaking?
Mandy: I just realised how high up I was, I could have really hurt myself.
Mom: Yep.
Mandy: My bed is going to look so pretty!

Come on, a DOWN comforter for $39.99...You would have done the same thing!

Until next time...

Mandy

You Know What Warms My Black Heart...

My black Christmas tree!!!

This is the first time in two years that I have even attempted to put up a tree. After the ex (not phillip) and I broke up, I had ZERO Christmas spirit. And, I don't have much this year. But, I saw this tree and thought, "The holidays are depressing enough, why not get a black tree!"

Then I found the pink and silver ornaments and thought, "Who says Christmas has to be all red, gold and green?"

So, once I had my tree up, I decided that to put red and green wrapping paper under this tree would look TACKY. So, I bought all the silver paper I could find...and even found some with black on it, and used hot pink curly ribbon on every package.

So what do you think...festive or funk?

Until next time...

Mandy

For some reason, blogger is not acknowledging that I have paragraphs. If you know how to remedy this problem, please let me know.

SNOW IN HOUSTON!!!

Well, Seabrook, to be exact. Actually, all of Houston had what I like to call...A TEXAS BLIZZARD. That's right, we got enough snow to cover the grass, it was awesome! Here are some pictures I took at my apartment...

This is when the snow first started falling.

Snow on the ground...the grass is almost covered.

My car looks like it went driving through A Winter Wonderland.

Not something you see everyday, a palm tree covered in snow.

The inside of the palm tree...I thought it looked pretty and interesting.

Those are my footprints going down the stairs of my apartment.

Pretty much covered.

Another shot of snow falling.

The next morning...I thought this snowman was funny - I'll let you decide what you think it looks like.

This is the traffic on Hwy 146 at 10:15 am the day after the blizzard. I could not get to work. The Fred Hartmen Bridge, Hwy 225 and the Toll Bridge were all shut down due to icy conditions. You know people up north were laughing at us.

I hope all of you got a chance to play in the snow, who knows when it will come again.

Until next time...

Mandy

Another Icon is Gone.

I heard on the news this morning that Bettie Page passed away at the age of 85. As some of you might know, she was my favorite of all the pinups from the 50's. Very rarely does a celebrity's death effect me, but when I heard the news this morning, it felt like I had just heard that someone I knew was gone.

Bettie Page was a cult icon...you either loved her and thought she was beautiful or you had no idea who she was. (When I told my boss, he said, "Who?") I assume the Bettie Page fans have different reasons for their adoration of her. Mine is because she made cute look sexy, she wasn't afraid to use her sexuality in a time when women where supposed to be very prim and proper, and THE BANGS!!!

So, I thought I would post some pictures of Ms. Page for your viewing pleasure...


















R.I.P. Bettie Page.

Until next time...

Mandy

Hail Alma Mater...

Well, it seems like Channelview is in the news every couple of years. It's either, tornadoes, pom pom moms, kids making hit lists, police officers doing naughty things with underage girls in their squad cars and now...

this.

Channelview assistant coach suspended after pot charge
By BRIAN ROGERSCopyright 2008 Houston Chronicle

An assistant football coach at Channelview High School was suspended Thursday after being arrested on a charge that he was growing marijuana at his home.

Brandon Jennings, 30, was suspended from coaching and teaching physical education pending the outcome of the police investigation, said Stephanie Schraeder, a school district spokeswoman.
A Texas A&M standout, Jennings played cornerback for the Oakland Raiders from 2000 to 2003.

Prosecutor Kristin Guiney said Harris County sheriff's deputies were searching for a robbery suspect in Jennings' neighborhood, when they noticed potted marijuana plants near his house.
Jennings consented to a search, where more plants were found, Guiney said.
Jennings is accused of the state jail felony of possession of marijuana of more than four ounces and less than five pounds. Jennings also is accused of tampering with evidence, a third-degree felony, because authorities say he tried to flush some of the marijuana down the toilet, according to court documents.

Free on $7,000 bond, Jennings is expected to be in state District Judge Jim Wallace's court Friday.

My boss called me in his office this morning and started laughing and read this story to me. To top it all off...

THIS IS THE ATHLETIC DIRECTOR'S SON!!!

I knew this guy in high school and I remember him being a really nice guy. But, I guess it could be worse...I assume growing the ganja is better than doing the things that police officer I mentioned at the beginning of this post did. I went to school with him too and his dad was a member of the school board.

My hometown makes me SOOOO proud.

Until next time...

Mandy