Xxxicana’s Weblog

I’ve been away from my blog for a bit . . . my sister came for a visit . . . so I was busy cleaning the house and then enjoying her company. It was great to have Shell visit our fine city and enjoy some good old sisterly fun. When we were kids we spent a lot of time playing board games, as we grew older, the competition became stiffer. So, to relive those times, I dug out Trivial Pursuit. BIG MISTAKE. Of course Shelly kicked my butt . . . although I am blaming Mr. Man for serving me two shots of tequila. I would have won, I think, had I not been under the influence of that evil tequila!

Since his mommy left, Spot has been inconsolable . . . at least I think he has. He hasn’t moved from his favorite chair (except to nag me to feed him, oh, and to also hold him for hours). Here’s a photo of the two:

I think Spot really enjoyed seeing his real mommy . . . he also had three people’s laps to jump to for extra cuddling.

To entertain Shelly, we visited our favorite eateries and she met my friends. Here’s a photo of us at Grateful Bread (although they’ve just changed their name to something I don’t remember).

From left to right: Shemelis Beyene, Mary Willis, Shelly, Dan Osborne. These are the biological anthropologists at UNL and my favorite people in the department. We meet regularly at the “soup shop” since the soup is healthy and inexpensive, the decor is, hmm, well interesting, and the ambiance tres bon. Shelly was impressed by the large collection of Mr. Potato heads.

The Soup Night crowd met up with us at La Mexicana for dinner:

Left to right: Dave, Joan, Shelly, me, Patti, Tom, Matt, Ken (hiding behind Matt),and Kim (missing were Betty & Ray). I think this shot was taken early in the evening since there’s no accumulation of empty beer bottles and margarita glasses! I’ve made reference to the Soup Night crew before. This is a group of great, interesting, caring, funny, intelligent, and RAUCOUS folks that help keep me sane!

On Saturday, Tom and I had to figure out the best sights to show off Lincoln . . . hmm . . . should we go to the Germans from Russia Museum . . . or the International Rollerskating Museum . . . or perhaps visit a local winery (nixed since we are from California . . . one does not go to England for its cuisine . . . one does not sample wines in Nebraska). Ultimately, we decided that Shelly would enjoy a tour of the State Capitol building. Here’s a shot of Shell:

The Capitol was constructed during the Art Deco period — this is REALLY apparent in its architecture, materials, and embellishments. It is truly a beautiful structure and well worth a visit (jeez, it sounds like I’m a member of the tourism board!).

Although Nebraska isn’t entirely flat, the Capitol Building is the most prominent structure in the area. This has led to some rather off color phallic nicknames for our great state’s seat of government!

This is a door! Currently, much of the art work is being cleaned and restored. The main floors are replete with mosaics and so much detail it is hard to take it all in. I’m pretty sure that this building would cost a fortune to build today.

We also visited Wildlife Safari which I love. No pictures from me, however, I forgot to charge my camera battery.

All in all, we enjoyed Shelly’s visit immensely. The best part was spending some quality time with her just talking about our lives. I regret that our busy lifestyles have led me to forget to be in better contact and be a more supportive sister.

It is too easy to forget the important things in life . . . I’m going to try to remember to call and communicate more with my only sibling. It is funny how I have assumed that my life issues are unique. Talking with my sis I realized that we need to be more open about our trials and travails since we actually have to confront similar situations.

Anyway, I am so glad Shell came for a visit. I really enjoyed our time together and hope that next time the entire family can come out for a visit. Oh, and BTW, I will be naming one of my chickens “Bobbie” !!! TTFN

The band finally came up with a name — SPYBOY — which is a reference to the Mardi Gras Indians who would have a spyboy to keep watch for rival tribes.

Here’s the lineup: Tory on bass, Stan on Drums, Tom on Guitar, and James on Guitar

Tory is a bass wunderkind . . . and he’s only 17!

All the way from San Antonio . . . . Stan the Mexicutioner

Here’s James with his voodoo eyes . . . he’s from New Orleans . . . and belts out great soulful songs

Mister Man tunes his guitar before the gig starts.

Check out the new Chucks for the gig!

It was a fabulous premier. The band played great, lots of friends came out to see.

Greg, Lisa, and Tom

Soup night group minus a few soupers.

Patti (our fav KZUM dj) and Joan

Doug and Shari

Metalheads/Newlyweds Willa and Dominique

Leslie, Stan’s wife and our vecina!

C’est moi, striking a pose

Hmm, should I rethink the purple eye shadow??

Yesterday I woke up a bit hung over from the previous night’s revelry . . . I was sitting sipping my coffee when it hit me . . . S*%T . . . I have to go to a Halloween party today! MY BFFs Mary and Cynthia have a huge annual bash for all to enjoy. They bought me an Amy Winehouse wig and begged me to come to the party. So here’s what Amy would look like if she lived a clean wholesome life in the midwest:

Meaning that she would have to gain the Nebraska 40 (in her case it would have to be 80)!

The first question was: Champagne or a beer?

Cynthia and her husband dressed as Teletubbies:

It’s hard not to love a man who will put on a silly costume so his daughter will have fun!

I’m mad a Mary, she had a TinkieWinkie costume, but never put it on. She’s the one in the orange shirt. She is either giving an elaborate explanation of primate dentition or trying to explain to me why she doesn’t have her costume on.

The party was a great success, even for the children:

I received a text message from Mister Man at 11pm . . . gently asking if I was ok . . .

I think of myself like Edina of AbFab . . . you know, the pudgy fashionista . . . if there’s still more champagne to drink, I ain’t comin’ home!

Check out the Onion Tears blog link . . . thoughts, comments, and life in Santa Cruz, CA.  This very new blog is action packed (photos of Maya Ruins), informative (how to cook with TSP . . . if you know what TSP is), funny, and bitter-sweet.  It’s written by the offspring of two anthropologists . . . which is probably more of a challenge than anyone deserves . . . in other words, it is written by my daughter!

Since I got my new toy, I have been trying to use it as much as possible (to justify the expense). So last night I made home made pizza with what I had on hand. I am pleased to say that for less than $7.00 we had a yummy pizza. Here’s a photo:

It was brought up to me by my dad that making bread at home is more expensive than buying it at the store. And I will cede his point that one can pick up a load of generic white or wheat bread for 79 cents. But is it less expensive? I guess it all depends. My home made bread and pizza reduce the amount of packaging we consume — no plastic wrap, no boxes, etc. I do buy expensive ingredients — top of the line olive oil, organic at times (but not always), sun dried tomatoes. But, I also get products that are preservative free, whole grain, fresh, tasty, and more nutritional. Plus, there’s the gas saved for delivery, money saved on the tip, etc. I bake bread on days that I am at home working on the computer. My new mixer does all the work! Likewise, making my own pizza took very little hands on time. I timed it so that we could sit in our comfy chairs to watch the debates.

As for the debates, I enjoyed the process. First, I hope everyone remembers how McCain tried to weasel out with a ludicrous excuse. I am an Obama supporter, so I recognize that I am biased. However, from the commentaries I read today, it does seem that other agree that Obama was more impressive. He had more concrete answers, kept his composure, and provided a confident strong performance. McCain, on the other hand, reinforced his “maverick” style — but is it maverick or just off course. McCain did seem to know many political players (he’s been in office a long time) . . . but sometimes his comments just made him seem terribly old and cranky. Some of his remarks made him seem just a too EARLY 20th century. So, in my estimation, Obama won the debate.

I’m waiting for next week’s debate between Biden and Palin. I watched excerpts of Palin’s interview with Katie Couric — and it was tre triste. Palin clearly doesn’t have a fricken idea of what she’s doing. Her notion that she has foreign policy expertise because Alaska borders on two countries is just ridiculous. Biden is sure to run rings around Palin and expose the horrific depth of her ignorance. Hmm. . . . what kind of pizza should I make for next week?