Ahhh, fall!

The lawn guys here at my work blew all the leaves from the bazillion trees on this land into a couple of really large, mountainous piles. The kid in me really really really wanted to jump out of my car this morning and dive into the piles. Oh how much fun that would have been! Talked myself out of it when I thought about how long it took them to blow them into the piles in the first place. I'd sure hate to make them do it all again.

Or would I? :)

How popular is my name?

Amy - Means: Beloved
Decade		Popularity	Rank
1900's			196
1910's			244
1920's			284
1930's			356
1940's			331
1950's			136
1960's			35
1970's			2
1980's			16
1990's			61

Rank shows how popular the name is in the corresponding decade. A rank of 1 means it is the most popular name for that gender. A rank of 1000 means it is the 1000th most popular.

Bar graph statistics are compiled and published by the Social Security Administration, based on samplings of applications for Social Security cards.

Find out how popular your first name has been over the past 100 years, just click here and enter your first name.

FYI

to anyone who is keeping count: exactly 2 months from today is the biggest holiday of the year...MY BIRTHDAY!!! :)

Just in case you were wondering...

it would cost you $70,000 to buy your loved one the "Twelve Days of Christmas" this year. "They" are blaming the high cost on the bird flu, making it more expensive to buy all those blasted feather friends in the lovely holiday tune.

LOL!!!

A moment of silence...

for "ugly dog" Sam.

Happy (early) Thanksgiving!!

Silence is golden.

I took my dad to see "The Legend of Zorro" on Saturday. It's been a while since he and I did anything together, so I was really looking forward to it. We stopped by the consession stand and got our snacks then went into the theater. We picked great seats--half way back in the center. The previews began, and shortly after, the preview movie clip that reminds everyone to turn off their cell phones began to play. The look on Dad's face as he was searching the audience looking for the person who had left their phone on was priceless. The look of confusion that engulfed his face as the cartoon eagle on the screen said, "Hey, is that a cell phone?!" was worth every penny.

Ah....my Dad is the funniest guy I know.

Priceless

My little 4 year old niece called me this morning to tell me that she saw a squirrel in her yard. Our conversation led to the school program that she was in earlier this week. One thing led to another and by the middle of our conversation, she sang the entire song "God Bless America" flawlessly.

Melt. My. Heart.

I need a tissue.

It's started!

The hustle and bustle of the upcoming holidays. Yesterday marked the start of what will be a very fast next few weeks. I feel like I lost an entire month while I was away in Houston. We had our Thanksgiving Potluck for lunch yesterday at work. Now, I'm a picky eater and don't particularly care for Thanksgiving turkey and ham. I was the child (along with my cousin) who always had a grilled cheese sandwich with my corn and mashed potatoes for the holidays--that is still my preference though I endure the resposibilities of being an adult now, where such things aren't quite kosher for someone who is almost 25. I'd still sit at the kids table if we still had one. So take away the "Thanksgiving feast" and the only things I like about the holiday are the days off from work to spend time with my family and sleep in.

Stores are already covered in Christmas and I've even heard some carols on the radio when I was shopping earlier this week. I'll admit even though it breaks every rule I've set for the holidays, I'm guilty of popping in my first Christmas CD yesterday as I drove home from work. It was so cold outside, it just fit the atmosphere. I felt guilty the entire time, but it was worth it. :) Shhh, don't tell anyone.

I'm excited about some new holiday traditions Mike and I are going to start this season. We're even taking a vacation next month to drive to the Grand Canyon. It should be a great holiday season this year! Woo hoo!

It's the little things that matter most

I've heard that phrase most of my life, and up until recently didn't really grasp the truth to that statement. As you know, I just came back from our Annual Meeting, where 30% of the attendees come from overseas. On the last day of the meeting, one of my co-workers who had been working the Information Booth told me that a gentleman with a strong accent had stopped by to give me a package. She packed it in one of her boxes and just brought it to me today.

Attached to the box was a business card from a name I did not recognize. On the back it read, "With compliments and as a compensation for the additional work I caused at the 2004 meeting when I did not include type 1 fonts." I opened the gift to find a box of chocolates all the way from Germany.

I did not remember this gentleman so I searched through my 2004 email archive to retrieve our correspondence. There it was--a chain of emails back and forth where I had helped him submit a paper to present at the meeting.

That something so small touched this guy so much to bring a gift to thank me a year later, really touched my heart. It made me smile to know that maybe I can make a difference...even if it's only for one person.

Whoosh!

I took Simon out to use the bathroom this morning and the wind was something fierce! I could barely stand up straight as it blew from one direction to another. I got a kick out of watching Simon's ears flap in his face as he tried to balance while using the bathroom.

I had to laugh at one of my neighbors who was unsuccessfully trying to rake all the leaves in his yard into one pile. The wind definitely took charge over that one. Every time he'd pull the leaves together, the wind would scatter them over the yard. I wanted to tell him to just go inside and do that some other time, but I needed the morning laugh so I just watched him.

As I was driving to work, I noticed a squirrel up on an electric wire trying to balance as his tail whipped around aimlessly. I said a silent prayer that it wouldn't be the last time that little guy tried to cross the wire. I've seen my share of squashed squirrel and hoped he made it to the other side.

I've never been to the Windy City, but if today was any glimpse at what it is like to live in Chicago, then I am thankful I'm grounded in Tulsa, where it's windy one day and hot and muggy the next. They always say if you don't like the weather in Oklahoma, stay another day...it'll change.

I'm back

Well, eleven days and 9, 276 attendees later, I'm finally back from Houston!! In those eleven days I walked close to 45 miles, and I gotta say that my feet are tired, my body is tired, my mind is tired, and all I want to do for the next week is sit on my couch and watch TV.

Don't get me wrong, I had a GREAT time...let's just say "there's no place like home."

Somewhere in the middle of my 16-18 hour days, I managed to see three famous people: Yao Ming, the NBA player for the Houston Rockets (I actually got to watch their first home game), Robert Ballard, the discoverer of the Titanic, and Gwen Stefani, who was in concert with the Black Eyed Peas my last night in Houston.

I have some good pictures from the trip, but won't be able to post them until next week sometime. I just wanted you to know I was back and that I had a great time!