27JUL11

My early birthday celebration with Kelly

First, we went to the beauty salon. Nunu (who is on the left and who helped me) poses with her sister!















Then we went to the movies. In the lobby, I saw these three movie advertisements and had to take pictures of them since I had posted pictures of their friends and enemies in a previous blog






























Then--when we were crazy hungry--we went to have some lunch at that avocado green Mexican restaurant right by the movie theatre on Dowlen. I forget the name, but I think the avocado green clue I gave ya will guide you in the right direction. This was Adan, our waiter. He was very nice, helpful, and flirty!



















This is my 'early birthday celebration' gift giver, the fabulously beautiful Kelly!

Harry Potter Weekend

(There are pictures at the end!)
Although the weekend wore me to a frazzle, I really enjoyed my July weekend off. I drove to Austin so I could join Abbey, Bryant, and the Speirs in watching the final opening night of any Harry Potter movie. I had a great time for many reasons. Firstly, I got to be at another midnight showing! If you've never been to one, you're missing out on something. There is just something in the air at these shows. One of the most fun aspects of these midnight showings is the fact that those of us who show up for these late night movies are the craziest and most loyal of fans. I Imagine that perhaps 50+% of the midnight attendees were dressed in costume. I was--in fact--dressed as a Gryffindor girl myself, complete with tartan skirt (with matching hair bow), knee high socks, white button down shirt, and Gryffindor tie. I will admit that I'm way too old to actually be a school girl, but the fun is in the dressing up and the pretending and the being with like-minded friends. And believe me--my friends are like-minded. Have I ever told y'all that my 37th birthday party was a Harry Potter costume party? It was grand--as was last Thursday evening.
Some of the people at Thursday's movie had really creative costume design. I saw Fleur, Luna with the lion head, a snitch, Professor Snape, and I'm pretty sure that one young man was dressed up as Angelina Johnson. I like that someone thought of her because--though she is a minor character--I always thought she was kinda cool, yeah?
I got into line at 8:30. I intended to go to the church building to change. I figured I'd have a better chance of "prettying up" there than in the bathroom of a restaurant. I decided to check out the lines at the theatre first and saw that they were already wrapped around to the old Borders book store, so I nixed the idea of changing at the church building. Ghengis Grill's dressing room served as my dressing room!
I waited in line for a few hours 'til anyone showed up. You know me, though--I made some friends. I love talking with people who also love the HP world! We always have the best time. Bryant and Abbey showed up maybe about ten-ish and soon after they arrived, the lines started moving. We got inside and found great seats and had plenty of time to relax.
The movie was FANtastic! I really enjoyed it. I loved the acting. Rupert really looked like he was devasted over the death of Fred. One thing I wished they'd done the tiniest bit better was the Ron/Hermione kiss. You could see neither of their faces. His hair was in the way! No showing of emotion between them. I mean--come on! We've all been waiting for this moment for years and years! But it worked. that is really only a tiny complaint. It would have been a huge complaint if they'd had someone other than Neville kill Nagini. It almost looked like they were planning to have Ron and Hermione kill the snake. But--in the end--Rockin' Cool Neville, the snake bum kickin' hero killed her. YAY Neville!!! (p.s. it is your birthday in 8 days!) I will definitely be buying the movie when it comes out on DVD. But I won't be waiting that long to see the film again. I believe tomorrow I'll be seeing the 1:00 p.m. showing and Kelly is taking me to see (oh, and to see it herself for the first time) next Tuesday for an early birthday present. She is also taking me to lunch, I believe.
After the movie was really great, too. I'm sure if you're reading this blog, you know that I moved 14-months ago to a small town. I'm used to Austin and San Marcos, both of which are much bigger than Buna. I don't really mind the small town, but I desperately miss my large group of friends and our get-togethers. I miss eating at Whataburger after bible class or a movie and talking about everything from politics to whether or not Professor Snape is a bad guy or not. I miss HAVING friends who are near me. I was able to go eat with Bryant and Abbey after the movie and we had several of those old conversations (but with different words) again and it was just lovely. I really enjoyed it.
Friday, I got to spend an hour with a good friend, Sandra, who is going through chemo for her third bout with cancer. If you're reading this blog and you're a pray-er, please put and keep Sandra on your list. She is a precious, precious soul.
I had lunch with Alison--who, by the way, got me the job I have now! We had a great time. We at at L'Madeleine's! I really enjoy their food and the atmosphere and the tea is GREAT and they have WI-FI!
Afterwards, I drove down to Schertz--my co-hometown. I stopped at the flower shop (Contreras) to order some flowers for a friend who recently had surgery and ran into the owner's son (or is it grandson?) with whom I went to high school. It is amazing how the years can change us. I barely recognized him. But he was sweet as can be!
Then I ran over to Sue's Stitch and Sew on Main Street. My best friend from Clemens (high school) has worked there for forever! She is a grandma, now--by the way. I got to see her and my faux-great-niece.
I spent the rest of Friday with my Goughs. We watched movies and ate barbecue and laughed and had a wonderful time. Then I had to go to bed cos I was planning on awakening at 5:30 a.m. (which I did! I left the house at ten 'til six. YAY me!)
the drive home was hard. I had to stop by the side of the road to take a 30 minute nap, but I made it home and now--six days later--I'm finally recovering!














the sunset as I was getting ready to stand in line.













Blurry Bryant, standing outside the theatre, waiting in line.












Abbey and I waiting outside the theatre.
















Harry and Voldemort, duking it out!















Abbey and I at Whataburger after the movie.















My costume. I was using a straw to perform an "Expecto Patronum" spell. I'm sure you're not surprised that it didn't work well. Ah well, the evening will make a good memory for any future Expecto Patronum spells I might need to perform.














Bryant and Abbey at Whataburger!
















Dontcha just love Bryant's new goatee?
















My Faux-Great-niece, Aki! <3
















Aki and I at Sue's Stitch and Sew which--if you live near Schertz--you ought to patronize!

















This is Greta, one of my five favorite Goughs!

Some of My Favorite People: The Gough Family

I love me some Goughs!! <3














Greta! Such a beauty!










Charles and Laura getting things ready for Rock Star!














Laura!













Emma!













Laura, Charles, and Emma!

22JUL11

You can't tell it from these photos, but it thundering like crazy outside and getting ready to storm. These photos--which I took from the hood and windshield of Marilyn's car--just show regular old pretty fluffy white clouds. Within 30 minutes of taking them, the thunder starting rolling. By the way, there is so much thunder that rarely--in the last twenty minutes or so--has one full minutes gone by without some thunder!
It has been raining so much lately and we're all very glad. I'll admit that I don't like driving in it. Tuesday, I had to drive to Houston to the VA for my last physical therapy visit. It rained the whole way there and nearly the whole way back. I was stressed during those three hours, I'll tell ya.
But today, I am safely ensconced in my recliner, listening to the sound of thunder and enjoying the impending rain. We need the rain so much that I welcome it happily. I'm just glad I'm not taking any long trips today. :)


P.S. Isn't it AMAZING how clearly the sky is reflected in Marilyn's hood and windshield. It is almost as if I am actually looking at the sky. And I do realize that this isn't the best picture ever taken and that I'm no expert, but--for whatever reason--the clouds in Marilyn's car made me happy and I knew I had to share them with y'all! <3

16JUL11

I was on my way home from JULY's weekend off (which I will blog about later. I took a few photos) when I stopped by Walmart to return a few items. I was standing in line in customer service when I saw this huge 12-foot-tall being walking in my general direction. Someone in line with me said "hey, that's Chester Cheetah!" He is the mascot for Cheetos, ya know?

So,I hollered "Hey, Chester!" and the man inside the suit actually turned around at the sound of my greeting and posed in a Fonzie kind of way--arms akimbo with him palms up like he was saying "heeeyyyyyy!"

I guess I can say I met a celebrity last Saturday, yeah? ;-P

21JUL11

I hope that the fact that I'm taking an odd picture of just a part of my face doesn't come across as vain (is that the correct spelling?) I didn't mean for it to be. Yesterday, Pop and I were both NOT feeling well. He slept most of the day and I vomited earlier in the day cos of a allergy migraine. That was the first time I've been sick in that manner in more than two years. Even today, the muscles around my thoracic region hurt from being used in a way they aren't normally used. But I digress. The reason I told y'all about Pop and I and our yucky feeling-ness is cos I wanted y'all to know that we didn't go outside much yesterday. We didn't feel like it. And there is only so much inside a house that you can photograph, right? Anyway, this is Thursday's picture.

One thing that interests me about this photograph is the fact that my freckles are clearly visible. I have been under the impression (dunno why) that my freckles have faded over the years. But clearly, they haven't. They are in abundance!
Secondly--Please, no comments about how I need to have my eyebrows waxed. I realize it. However, I'm in something of a dilemma because I went to the wrong beauty salon. I will continue that story in a moment, but first I want to say something rather clearly:

DO NOT GO TO QUEEN NAIL SALON RIGHT NEXT TO THE SALLY'S AND ON THE SAME SIDE OF THE ROAD AS THE WALMART ON DOWLEN ROAD IN BEAUMONT!!! DON'T DO IT.

Okay, here is the story. I was driving home from my June weekend off in San Marcos. I happened to have made really good time and had a few minutes to spare before I had to be home. I decided to get my eyebrows waxed, so I drove to my normal place right there near the Rao's bakery. They're always good and nice and get me right in! What I didn't know until that day is that they are not open on Sundays! :( Color me disappointed, yeah?

I found another store nearby which WAS open on Sundays, so I decided to try them for a wax. I should have waited 'til Tuesday (my next day off) but I knew I had at least one doctor's appointments in Houston that day, so I would prolly not have an opportunity to stop by to do anything at the beauty salon.

WELL--I walked in and asked the lady if I could get my eyebrows done. What I thought was interesting is that she kept asking is I wanted my lip waxed, too. She kept quoting the price and saying "lip? Five dollars?" I had to tell her 'no' about three times.

Finally, she got down to business. I think she might have been trained in torture techniques cos that was the worst, most painful eyebrow waxing I have ever had. The wax was HOT. As a matter of fact, I had little tiny burn marks above my eyebrows for almost two weeks afterwards. It was terrible.

What made me most upset is that the woman waxed most of my eyebrows off!!! My eyebrows are naturally a certain width of thickness, yeah? When she was done, she handed me a mirror and I was shocked! My eyebrows were about 1/3 of the size they naturally were! I think it is fine to have them the smaller width if that is what you want to have. However, I like the way God made me--usually. The eyebrow waxing is simply a way to "clean" up the excess hair. Kind of like men who trim around their goatees every few days--to keep it clean.

So, now I have these tiny, tiny eyebrows which I have to either a) continue to have done in this tiny manner (which I suppose I could get used to having, but I don't really want to do) or b) spend the next six to eight months (according to my normal wax lady) letting everything grow out to the normal width and then begin the waxing again with someone who actually asks what I want and looks at my face to see what is normally done. So, I think I'll choose the latter, but I sure will look silly for nearly a year.

I'm not sure anyone wanted to hear that story, but there you have it. and you have a photograph of my lovely face--wrinkles, hair wisps, freckles, crazy eyebrows, hazel eyes and all. Can you tell I'm smiling?

20JUL11

So, I finally figured out how to upload my photos again. Something was wrong with the easy share and I haven't been able to make it work for months. My apologies to Rachel and any of the other people who follow my page thinking they're going to see a photo every day or so. I was really upset cos it didn't make any sense. I even bought a new chord to connect the camera to the internet, but it wouldn't work either. :/ I tried this old way I used to do. It didn't look like it was going to work either, then I clicked on a different button that never used to work before, but today IT WORKED! So, now I can upload photos again.

Another thing to discuss. There haven't been many photos taken between when my "easy share function" broke and now. I've been kind of dealing with depression and am just now working on coming out of it, with the help of a counselor. Part of my "homework" is to read from my photography book every day, take at least one photo every day and try to post it every day, too.

These two photos are the same basic photo. The one on the left is the original. The one on the right is manipulated. I used the antique filter to change it up a little. If you have any comments on how to make it better or what else I might have done or ever if you just wanna say "Way to go, Loralee!", it is all good to me. I just wanna keep learning and growing as a photographer. 9

I just bought.....

a new cord for my Easy Share! I imagine it'll be here my next weekend. Finally, I can upload pictures again! WOOOO HOOOO!!!