Mad Men

As an upstanding member of the advertising community, I decided – approximately 3 years after the cool kids – that it was time to start watching Mad Men. Aside from it being a popular show, I was always a little embarrassed when people would talk about it at work and I couldn't even say I'd seen a single episode. So, seeing as I’m currently living without cable (long story, hopefully to be resolved soon), I took the opportunity to hook-it-up at Target on one of my recent runs. I’m probably 85% through Season 1 (it only took about a week --- be impressed), and although I wouldn’t say I’m totally hooked just yet, I do like it. Plus, Season 2 is the one that's really supposed to suck you in.

A few early observations:

• At Sterling Cooper, the men drink heavily. All the time. At The Richards Group, we're a little more straight-laced than that. Too bad, really.
• At Sterling Cooper, they smoke. Again, all the time. This one they can have. I hate cigarette smoke.
• At Sterling Cooper, they dress like professionals. The men in suits, the women in their “smart” little outfits. We – for the most part – dress like we're in college. Jeans, flip flops, etc. (Our account people would argue that they do dress like professionals. Fair enough.) I'm a little torn on this one. Although I do love the Mad Men fashion, there is also something to be said for being able to roll out of bed and get ready for work in 20 minutes...
• And last, but not least, is the male/female dynamic. Although some people would argue that The Richards Group is still boy's club-esque, we (women) have come a long way. Not all the way, but nobody's called me sweet T!T$ lately. 1 point, TRG.

Target Loves UT

Target's guest designer this month is Tucker (I'll be honest, never heard of him/her/it), and he/she/it has tons 'o burnt orange gear. I'm not talking T-shirts, but cute tops, dresses, etc. After going to three different locations in one day hunting for the correct sizes, I ultimately decided that they weren't right for me (details below). That said, if you don't have the issues I had with them, and if you're in the market, they're pretty cute!

My two faves were:

This strappy little tank for just $22.99. My problem with this one is that it was 100% polyester, and polyester and I just aren't friends. If you do opt for this one, I don't recommend pairing it with the olive harlem pants shown to the right. But, as you will...

The other one I loved was this polka dot number. Who doesn't love some burnt orange polka dots? Come on. So cute. And again, very affordable at just $24.99. The problemo for me with this one is that I just don't like short shirts. I guess they're in style, but I like my stomach to be well covered (especially for football watching when hands tend to be thrown in the air) and this one just skimmed the top of my jeans. If that doesn't bug you, or if you happen to have a short torso, do it!

Status Updates That Don't Suck

It's kind of creepy for me to post someone else’s Facebook status updates, I know, but this woman (who I used to work with) has the BEST updates. So funny...

• Golf, wine, mountain climbing, a house with two pools,and lazyboy recliner--the pictures Porter {her son} cut out and glued on his "favorite things circle map"
• Chocolate cupcake batter stains on my workout clothes...not sure where to go from here...
• ‎--Parent-teacher conference--he can sit still during group time, likes his routine and will kick another child's ass if they take his legos more than twice. All great insights, thanks for 45 minutes of your time...
• The sign read "Due to national product shortage, Walmart will not be able to provide customers all varieties of frozen Eggo Waffle products".
• Damn, they really do understand everything you say- As I stopped for gas-"Mommy you are wasting my time, I need you to hurry up so I have time to play and watch a video before bed." 13 more years until he moves out, at least for a little awhile...
• While every adult knows that fish are given the porcelain bowl funeral, it is a little rough on a 4 yr old when the school official forgot to flush. Ride home and dinner conversation--mommy how to we get heaven? Is it on a rocket ship? An airplane? Not sure sweetie mommy is on the bullet train to hell. Go ask your father when he gets home.
• Thank you preschool class 110 teachers. I really enjoyed the "family tree" assignment. Our family's dysfunction is much more tolerable when I get to use construction paper and a glue stick. I would love to watch Porter talk his classmates through this one...

New Place. New Season.

Title Disclaimer: "New Season" is not intended to be a metaphor for a new stage in my life. It's football season, suckas!!! 

Version one of this post began like this…How does that country song go? “You’re lookin’ good, it’s been awhile…” However it goes, the point is I’m baaaack! 

Upon consulting Google, however, the tinsy bit more accurate version would read…How does that Bon Jovi song go? “How’s your life? It’s been awhile. God it’s good to see your smile.” 

Po-ta-to. Puh-tah-to. Turns out the real lyrics don’t make any sense to announce my return to blog-er-dom, but oh well. In my head it works.

After months and months (and months and months and months) of deciding what to do, I can officially say that the Austin vs. Dallas debate is over…at least for this round. I moved into my new place last weekend and so far so good. It’s a cool little apartment in the West Village and feels sort of hotel-ish. Maybe a weird comparison, but hey, I like hotels so it's all good. I’m still getting things put away and waiting for my couch to show up, but it’s nice to have my own place again. Not that living at home isn’t TOTALLY awesome. Love you, Mom and Lizzi! Pics to come once things are looking a bit less disastrous!

In other news, IT’S FOOTBALL SEASON. Allelujah, Little Baby Jesus! My Saturdays and Sundays (okay and Thursday and Monday nights too) just got way better. My Fantasy team's Week 1 was somewhat less than spectacular (yeah, not good at all actually), but it's Week 1. Not. Time. To. Panic.

What else, what else? I booked my flight to Vegas for Sally’s bachelorette party in December. That’s big-time exciting on multiple levels: 1) Sally’s getting married!! 2) It’s VEGAS! 3) Almost all of the Austin crew is going to be there. Plus LB. Plus Erica. Basically an all-around win.

Work has been kicking my rear, but that’s okay. I’m sure it will just make Baker realize that he wants to increase my salary to one cajillion dollars. Maybe two. Speaking of, I have Fruit of the Loom research to do. After Googling, “men’s underwear sales” at work and getting lots of banana hammocks in return, I decided to take a breather. But now I’m refreshed and ready to be a little more precise in my search terms.

‘Til next time…

Can't Touch This, Carmen Miranda

My sister, Anne, just posted this little jewel as her new profile pic on Facebook. Some people would hide this under the bed and make sure it was never seen by another human. But no. Not us. 

Perhaps we can use this as a learning moment. A moment to consider what might have happened to the small child living inside my not-so-child-size belly in this picture had I – say – eaten a grape off my head instead of the bag of Oreos I likely downed before the show. For ENERGY mom!

In case you're wondering, we put on a helluva show. Dancing our hearts out to Copacabana. Actually, that's a lie. Apparently people in the audience were crying they were laughing so hard. It was not a comedy routine.

Some Perspective

Sometimes life gets put into perspective by things you wish you could just undo. This is one of those instances.

A girl who lived at SRD (my beloved college dorm), and who I knew throughout college but admittedly haven't kept in touch with since, was diagnosed with cancer about a year ago. She was treated at MD Anderson and given a clean bill of health. Last week, at a regular checkup, the doctors saw some weird shadows on her x-rays. The cancer has returned and is now stage 4 sarcoma. After receiving this diagnosis at the end of last week, she and her fiance – who were planning to get married in November – got married. Apparently they made the decision on Saturday morning, and their church community worked together to make it happen on Sunday afternoon. Today she went back to MD Anderson and was told that the cancer has spread to her bones, hips, pelvis, and lungs, and that it's terminal.

This is a 27-year-old girl. A sweet, spirited, selfless 27-year old girl with the kind of faith I can't even pretend to come close to. My reason for posting is simply in hopes that you will please pray for Sarah, her husband, and her family.