Oh the places you'll go!

We are back from our spontaneous vacation. It's kind of nice going just an hour away. We weren't all worn out from traveling to our destination and when we decided to head home, it wasn't a big deal. Pretty relaxing.

Here are a few things of note from our trip:

We stayed in Galveston at the Hotel Galvez.

Joey forgot the most essential piece of beachwear and was forced to purchase lime green plaid swim trunks. Oh yes.

We forgot our camera. This is where spontaneity comes back to bite you and why this post does not contain pictures.

We went to the beach once to walk on the shore which further affirmed our previous decision to hang out at the pool the rest of the time.

I found out that Joey has an intense dislike for sand. See people, this is why you and your spouse just need to get away sometimes. Oh, the important things you learn about each other.

A self-described "very very homosexual" man who had one too many and hung out at the pool the whole day hit on my husband and in short, said that he was quite jealous to be in my position. Back off buddy, this is my lime green plaided husband.

Our favorite dinner was at Gaido's where we had a dinner guest: a gecko. He stuck around for the main course, but was apparently too full to stay for dessert.

Joey almost convinced me to get a tattoo, but I settled for an equally shocking yet less permanent purchase: a hat. I'm still wondering if it was a mistake.

So that was our little getaway in a nutshell. Crazy wild, I know. That's just how we roll.

Destination Unknown

Guess what I have done. Go ahead, guess. Ok, it's really not guessable and incredibly random so I'll just tell you.

Our vacation time period starts and ends depending on when you started at our company. I thought I had a while. And then I found out my start date was June 6th. To add to this, we used to get paid for the flex time we didn't use, but this policy ended in January. I didn't change my mentality.

Why is this a problem? I didn't take any sick time during the entire year. So I have held onto so many hours that it is imperative that I take a vacation next week or lose it. Geez, why didn't I just get sick this past year! I wouldn't be in this predicament of having to take a vacation. Such cruelty for staying healthy. You know I'm kidding right?

So Joey and I are taking off next week. We don't know where we're going, but we're going somewhere to get away for a few days. Not too far though. Maybe Lake LBJ, maybe Galveston...who knows.

If you have any suggestions, please leave a comment!

Meanwhile, I will be completing 20 hours of Vacation Mismanagement Class before next year.

Multiple Nicknaming Disorder (MND)

What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.

Juliet got it right, but one can have so much fun with names.

I have this thing with nicknaming the people I love.

I think I might get this from my Dad who has several nicknames for each person in our family.

If you must know, his nickname for me is Kit. Or Kit Kit. Or Kit Whiskers. Don't ask. It doesn't make sense.

Or Olive Oyl. Oh geez, that one sadly made sense and made one tall, gawky, self-conscious teenager mad growing up.

I at least developed hips. Maybe not the upper half of the development, but the hips are there. Sadly.

Anyway...

Dad's nicknames are never a play off of one's real name. Oh no. They're too unique to be an offshoot of a name. Although Kit and Olive Oyl are familiar to the ear, many of his nicknames sound more like a name for a Dr. Seuss creature. For instance, someone in our family was referred to as "Spadook" for at least the first five years of life.

I can probably count on one hand the number of times my Dad called my Mom by her given name. And this was probably in reference to a Census Bureau question or something similar. If Dad calls you by your real name, it's serious business.

And here I am. I do the same thing. My sister's nickname 'Joey' had to be abandoned after I married a real 'Joey'. She is now 'Jo'. I won't list the nicknames for my brothers as I would be excommunicated from their world if I mentioned the embarrassing nicknames I've had for them since they were little. Or my fun nicknames for Joey which are endless and constantly evolving. I won't go there.

But I will give you a little insight with my dogs: Bogart and Gus. Joey has cautioned me in my use of multiple names for our dogs and fully believes that Bogart has no idea what his name is because I never call him the same thing twice in a row.

Here are a few of the most frequently used nicknames (FUN):

Gus: Gustafer, GusGus, Gusser, Gusarooney, Gusaroo, Gustafari, and Gustave (this is when he's being suave).

Bogart: Bo, BoBear, BoBaby, BoBuddy, My Little Bofriend, Bozer, Mr. Bo Jangles, Bomaniac, Boger Bear, Bowie, Bozer Bear and Bogie.

What is it with all the 'bears'? I was recently informed by a co-worker that her childhood nickname was BoBear. So I'm not alone with this little naming convention.

So there you are. If I call you something other than your given name, know that you are loved.

Church Shoppin'

That's right. Joey and I are church shopping. This is bittersweet. We absolutely love Houston's First Baptist, but we've known for a while that we would have to make the switch to a church nearer to us when we have kids. And this does not mean that the kid factor is upon us, it's just the right timing to make the transition. Don't get any ideas.

So, we've been shopping around. Living in Katy is like being inside the Baskin Robbins of churches. There's one on every corner. So many churches, so little time to try each one.

A church shopper has a lot on the mind. Or at least we do. We usually sit in the back to get the lay of the land. Scan the bulletin. Take in the surroundings.

Here are a few of the major criteria upon which we are basing our decision:

Would we be excommunicated if we wore jeans?

How do the communion wafers compare?

Is the probability of singing When The Roll Is Called Up Yonder greater than .725?

How is the bulletin from a grammatical standpoint?

Pressured to participate in hand motions while singing?

Pressured to keep our hands firmly at our sides while singing?

I've thought of designing a scorecard for Joey and I to take along with us during our visits dividing it up into technical and artistic merit, but haven't come up with an accurate system.

Ok, just kidding...on most things.

Seriously, the elements we are looking for are:

1. Strong Biblical teaching - we want to have to have our Bibles out and be in them.
2. Cohesiveness of the body among all ages
3. Opportunities for fellowship and growth

Oh and I soo want to throw a #4 in there for music, but I'm learning that the possibility of the worship music being like HFBC is kind of a high standard and a long shot.

So this is tough. We've been to a couple that we really like and I think we still have a few more to visit. If you have any suggestions for great churches near the Katy area, please send an email to jennyperot[at]gmail.com with 22 reasons why we should choose your church. Kidding, totally kidding. Please do not stamp me with a big scarlet letter for 'sacrilegious'. I promise we are taking this very seriously.

Lola Update

I finally talked to Lola. She is just the sweetest thing. I told her that I had received a few of her messages for Ruby and she went on and on about how sorry she was that she had left me all of those messages. There were a lot of 'oh dears'.

I told her that it was perfectly fine and that I didn't mind them. Not one bit. I wanted to add that she didn't have to stop leaving her messages but I just couldn't figure out a way to phrase it where it would make sense.

So there you are. I'm still hoping that maybe Lola might call me by accident again. Just for old time's sake.

The Picking Up of the Shoes

You may have heard of the Running of the Bulls, but have you ever heard of the Picking Up of the Shoes? If you're married, you may unknowingly be familiar with and/or have participated in this event. For me, the Picking Up of the Shoes occurs weekly.


I clean on Friday afternoons and it is on that day I run the Picking Up of the Shoes. I am the current record holder pending a response from the Guiness Book of World Records. Just so you know.


This event consists of scouring every single room in the house for Joey's shoes. There will be a pair of shoes in each room.


Now, Joey is a relatively clean guy and not too messy, but he has this thing with the shoes! Oh and cabinets, but I'll save that for a later post. One can only take so many of my random musings at a time.


I pick up each pair of shoes and put them in his closet.

Hey baby, have you seen my flip flops? Yeah, I put them in your closet.

Hey baby? Have you seen my bike shoes? Yup. There in your closet.

It goes on like this for several pairs until all are out and ready for the next Picking Up of the Shoes. Kinda like the Circle of Life, but umm...for shoes...being left out. Just go with it.


Me: Hey Baby, have you seen my tennis shoes? Joey: Yeah, I think I saw them in the living room.


Oh.

Oops. Ok, so maybe he's not the lone contributor to the Picking Up of the Shoes. I might toss a pair in here or there, you know...just to keep the Circle of Shoes going.

Here's Lookin' At You Kid

Guess who just got a haircut today? Mr. Bogart himself. That's right, our very own little junkyard dog. He's kind of like his mom who's apparently on the semi-annual haircut wagon. I dropped him off before work this morning at the vet where he traumatized a teacup yorkie and then peed on my foot in his excitement. Yes, Joey and I have two well-behaved dogs.

Gus says "I don't know who this kid with the girly bandana is, but he's not my brother." He still sniffing him out.

Anyway, I've really been looking forward to this although our time of having a well-groomed and lovely smelling dog are counting down by the second. All Bo has to do is step one paw outside the threshold of the door and he automatically assumes the smell of a vagabond dog. He just can't help it. His little body is so close to the ground and he has such crazy hair that he's like a little canine mop.

So in order to bask in Bo's glory for a while, we had a photoshoot:

Well, after he threw a fit and tried to get the 'clean' off of him.

Give me a far away look. Yes, that's it. Now, how about a profile shot?

Perfect. Way to show off your Hawaii Five-O bandana.

And work it, work it. Very mysterious.

And it's a wrap folks. Model is down for the count. He's had a long day.

While Bo is getting his beauty rest, Joey and I are having dinner with the Owens family. We can't be more excited to see what's going on in their world and welcome the newest addition to their family: Dylan.

Hope everyone has a nice night!