time to whine

Sorry guys... i hafta whine for a bit. If you're looking for something positive & uplifting, look elsewhere.

First of all, last night at the casino was disastrous. Since I know most of you aren't familiar with/ don't care about poker play-by-plays, I'll spare you all the disgusting details, but suffice it to say, I lost about $65 in one hand. Had I won, like I should have, I would have won over $150 in the one hand, which, in a $3-6 limit game like we were playing, is pretty rare. In fact, I was only 2 cards off from hitting the $38,000 "Bad Beat Jackpot". My pocket Queens hit a full house on the turn, and the idiot that beat me hit Quad 9s on the river, after calling 2 separate $24 bets with 9-6 offsuit. BLAAAAGH.

For those of you that have no clue what I'm talking about, the proper response is sympathy & indignation.

SECONDLY.

We just got back from Ruidoso Downs, the local racetrack. They have nowhere to sit inside. It is currently about 55 degrees, and super windy. I was FREEZING, and WINDBLOWN (so much for having rolled my hair this morning), and while we were watching the race, my horse kicked dirt all over me, and lost anyway. I stomped my foot, and we only stayed for 2 races.

Sorry guys, that is all.

further clarifications...

Some of you may be confused by a comment left on my last blog...

There is no need for "invitations" just yet. Don't worry, you haven't missed anything. Remember? I'll be gushing the news from every pore & you'll KNOW when anything happens. :)

Although... some of our friends do have money on an over/under date for us to get engaged...

:)

thank you, thank you, we'll be here all week...

It is so beautiful here. Aside from the yukky nature stuff.

Sunday night we drove to White Sands to watch the sun set & almost full moon. Last night, they were holding some big Full Moon shindig, but last night was also the Spurs game, & we couldn't miss such a big game, so we decided to go the day before. Several pics are below (mostly of White Sands, but also some of town). The sunset was phenomenal.

We have decided to stay here for another week (probably gonna leave on Monday), so I am currently sitting on top of a washer at the local laundromat. Last night, after the spurs game (HOORAY!!), we decided to try our luck at the $1-2 No Limit poker game at the Inn of the Mountain Gods casino... dumb idea. James was out in one hand, and I was out in half an hour, due to this idiot donkey that would play and follow through with ANY hand with ANY club in it...

It has rained more today. The sounds of storms up at the cabin are fantastic. We ordered dial up service at the cabin, but it is so frustratingly slow, we decided to go ahead & do most of our work in town. We had a lunch of BLTs on a big rock by the river today. It was nice, and only had to fight off a couple of roly-polys for our seats. The flock of hummingbirds have finished 2 regular sized feeders and part of a ginormous one we have. Yesterday, I saw a bird I didnt know... anyone ever heard of a bird that is black & larger than a grackle, but with a peak on his head like a cardinal? Anyway... just catching up...

ps: I think I put a permanent dent in the top of this washer... :|

Buh-buh-buh-BRRRRRRR!

We finally arrived at the cabin last night around 8:15, after a retardedly expensive & long trip to the local Wally World. I must say, I was not in the best humor... I was tired from the trip, wearing a sleeveless dress in the 45 degree moisture, in need of a bath, and still had to set up the cabin. The cabin was built in 1902, and still has no heat, other than the giant pot-bellied stove in the center of the living room, and no insulation. Needless to say, it was FREEZING, and covered with a layer of dust, complete with leaves & bugs. I was, quite literally, not a happy camper. We finally got the cabin all set up, wiped down, beds made & fire lit.

If you've met me, I'm sure you can imagine the effect all the dust & cleaning supplies had on my allergies. I sounded like I had swallowed a squeak toy, and I was dreading the prospect of taking a shower. In my head, I kept remembering the pure misery of bath time at Blue Haven. If you are unfamiliar with that form of torture, imagine Hades freezing over. Then imagine having to take a shower there. That's right, BRRRRR. Since I was not quite looking forward to it, I decided to skip it & head straight to my bunk.

Did I say where the beds were? They are outside, on a screened in porch. Yes. I said Outside. It was 35 degrees, and the fire was in the next room. Fortunately, the cabin is stocked with Magic Blankets (i.e.: extraordinarily warm), and I think I was zzzzing almost instantly.

I awoke this morning to the sound of birds outside, the stream babbling just below the porch, and a light rain of the tin roof. And I had a Max on by belly. The view from my bunk is AMAZING. The cabin is surrounded by giant pine and birch trees, sits on the side of the mountain, about 20 feet from a creek, and is home to a whole little flock of very tame hummingbirds.

This morning, I felt much more optimistic about the shower situation (plus, I was getting to be a bit yukky, what with all the nature & no bath). The tub is an antique cast-iron claw foot tub, and luckily, I just happened to bring my bubble bath. I used up about half a bottle, and all the hot water, and had the bathroom steaming in no time. It was possibly the most positively delicious hour and a half I have ever spent in a tub!! And the shower head? Forget those new fangled “water saver” showerheads… HaH- this one was the old fashioned full blast kind that bullies you into being clean. PURE BLISS.

James and I spent today working in this cute little coffee shop, bumming off their free WiFi. We had a fantastic lunch of green chili burgers & Cuban sandwiches. We hooked up the caffeine IV when we arrived, and it flowed coffee all day. After work, we headed to the local sports bar to watch the Spurs tie up the series against the Hornets, then to the Inn of the Mountain Gods to blow a quick H at the blackjack tables.

Now, we’re headed back to the cabin to see how Max fared the day. After sleeping for practically 12 hours straight on the way here, Max was the posterkitteh for Ritalin last night. He RAN and JUMPED and EXPLORED and HID and FELL and SKIDDED and ATTACKED and STREAAAAACHED and got a little singed and got stuck and got in a fight with a rug and his shadow and a bug and a leaf and finally crashed, evidently on my tummy.

Ok, now that this blog has officially reached “epistle” length, I’ll go, and I promise I’ll try not to be so windy tomorrow. It is still raining, and is supposed to snow tonight & tomorrow. James is making a fire, and Max is still being Max, and I am still cold and not a fan of nature, but I am in a much better temper than I was last night.

Aaaaand we're off, like a speedingherdofturtles!

James and I are headed to Ruidoso! Drive out time: 6:42 am, stinking early, but much better the "3 or 4 am" that James suggested we leave.

Max is coming with us! He has spent the entire trip sleeping & lazing around the car. Also, he made me a dress of fur.... He's been shedding buckets all over me... blegh!

After we'd been on the road about an hour, a big storm hit,and max did not like it one little bit:

Now, we're in Artesia, NM, and are driving through another huge storm. I can't get a good shot of max, but it's pretty similar to this one, except he's buried down between a bunch of suitcases & pillows... There is so much hail here that it's piled up in fields & on the sides of the road, and it looks like snow.

Emergency of the Day: We forgot the keys to the cabin, but that wasn't the big drama. We also forgot the bag that had all our toothbrushes/ deodorant/ soap/ shampoo/ etc in it, but that wasn't it either. No, the emergency occurred when James realized (along about Fredricksburg) that he remembered the 42" plasma and the satellite dish, but forgot the receiver. Horror of Horrors, for a few minutes, we thought we were gonna be without TV for a few days... but no worries... My hunny quickly got on the phone & remedied the problem by having a friend go to the house & OVERNIGHT us the box to Ruidoso's post office....

OH... aren't we nerds for taking a pic at the state line?? :)

in response...

...to my dear friend's (who is wrong) blog post entitled "Do Not Want!!!"....

Utter and Bitter Disappointment

In selfish scalpers... In myself... & in the inevitable habits of cruel time...

On our way back to Austin, James and I were going to try to go to the Spurs game. We stopped at a couple of ticket places, but nobody was selling anything for less than $150 per ticket for uppers. We decided to go ahead and pay the required arm & leg to park, then try to get some from a scalper closer to the arena. We have been successful doing that before, but evidently, it's a bit more difficult to do for a playoff game... prices were still about $140 per seat from the few scalpers around. Even halfway into the first quarter, nobody would come down on their prices, so James and I are now sitting at Hooligans watching the game, and I still do not have my sparkly pink jersey. :(

When we first got here, they were showing all the celebrities at the game... They showed Tommy Lee Jones, and of course, Eva. Then they showed some old guy. Some totally nondescript old guy in a baseball cap, sitting next to a middle-aged blonde woman. Just as the words, "Who's that old guy supposed to be??" came out of my mouth, the words popped on the big screen...

George. Strait. (and his wife Norma.)

It was my hunny. The man I've been in love with since my prenatal days. The man that winked, waved, and smiled at me as he drove away from the DQ in Dilley. The man that wrote and sang "I Cross My Heart" for me (he did SO). THAT man.

It wasn't just the lack of cowboy hat and view of that adorable Wrangler-clad posterior that made me mistake him for just "some old guy"... He looked so unbelievable aged, I don't know if i would have recognized him in his traditional cowboy hat! Surely i would have if he had smiled at me... those dimples are unmistakable... but then, i thought his whole aura was unmistakable...


I have been plunged into the depths of despair. :(:(:(:(