Monthly Archives: June 2012

My First Experience with Hot Yoga

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I love taking fitness classes.  They are motivating for me, especially when my body says I can’t do anymore and I want to give up.  I used to take kickboxing classes when I was in college and at my other gym I used to do Spinning and Zumba classes.  I loved Zumba so much, I could shake it and I didn’t care because everyone else looked just as funny as I did.  At least that’s what I told myself.
 My friend Scott and I bought a Groupon a few months ago for a month of unlimited classes at Yoga at Tiffany’s.  I had taken yoga classes before and I really liked it.  It was a wonderful fully body stretch and it really helped with my anxiety.  The yoga at this place is hot yoga, and neither one of us had done hot yoga before.  The temperature can be between 80-100 degrees in the room and it’s very steamy & humid.

Scott and I got our mats, towels, water bottles, and headed to the back of the classroom.  There were two spots left thankfully, it’s no fun being a newbie and having to be in the front of the class.  Our instructor was super nice and welcoming to all the new people.  This was an all levels yoga class, and she was accommodating to us and our learning level.  Just sitting in there at the beginning, I was sweating.  Scott looked at me and said, “When is the air conditioner going to turn on?”  Good question.  I was already wanting a cool breeze and we hadn’t even started.

We went through a variety of poses, my body was loving every minute of it.  Kind of.  I was sweating profusely.  Every inch of my body was soaked from my own sweat.  My hair. My Eyes. Shirt. Shorts. Towel. Mat. Everything.  This girl next to me looked at me and said, “I’m sorry.  I’m sweating so much.  If I smell, I’m sorry.”  I almost told her it was probably me she was smelling, but I let it slide.  Each pose got easier and I think Scott and I did really well considering it was our first hot yoga class.  Little did we know it was 90 minutes long.  I used to complain about doing P90x Yoga because it was an hour and a half, but this was different.  

When it was nearing the end of the class, I was almost certain all the water had left my body.  I’m guessing my internal body temperature was nearing 150 degrees and my muscles had enough.  The instructor opened the door to let some cool air in and some steamy air out.  At this moment, it was like she opened the door to Heaven.  I may have been hallucinating, I can’t be sure.  As it got cooler in the room, I wanted to dance and scream for joy, but I couldn’t move very much so I mentally did it.

She complimented us on how well we did, especially since it was our first yoga class.  We walked into the cold room to get our stuff and when we walked outside to the 97 degrees Oklahoma weather, it felt cool.  I’m excited for my next hot yoga class.  I won’t be one of these people though…

 

It probably didn’t help my hydration issues that I ran 3 miles before I went to this class.  Granted it was on a treadmill (gasp!), but I still sweat like a mofo while running.  I may end up having to run on the treadmill during the summer hours when I don’t get up early to run outside.  Oh how I hate the treadmill.  I ended up with a 10:53 pace on the treadmill, which isn’t bad for me.  I’m usually so much slower on the treadmill…

Run It.

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While I was on vacation I really didn’t do much exercise.  I swam and snorkeled while fighting killer fish, but that’s about it.  I vowed after I got back from my vacations that I was going to start running again.  I missed it so much.  Surprisingly I only gained three pounds during my vacations/month of not working out, even after all the crap I ate.
   Unfortunately it is now 99-102 degrees in Oklahoma right now, so I must do my runs in the morning or I will die.   I don’t like hate the treadmill, so that’s not even an option.  Last week, I ran an impressive 8 miles total.  Give me a break, I’m starting slow and I did two strengthening workouts on the other days.  I knew I really needed to get back into my strengthening when my flab started having flab.

At work the other night, I had some time to plan out a training schedule for the half marathon I am doing in November.  I ran the Route 66 Half Marathon in Tulsa last year, and I feel that I’m stronger and smarter about running this year, so I will have a better outcome.  I don’t have any races that I want to do in between now and then, so all I have to do is build up my base and start the real training in July.  I chose Hal Higdon’s Novice 1 Training Schedule, which is the one I did last year, but I wasn’t as committed to it as I should’ve been.  This resulted in my injured hip, I believe.  I made a few adjustments to the schedule and plan my long runs for the Saturdays that the OKC Landrunners do their long runs.   Doing my long runs with them helps me tremendously, so I’m sticking to that decision.

I’m really excited to start training.  It’s great to see the results of all the hard work you’ve put into something like this.  Hello running, it’s nice to see you again, I’m sorry I’ve been away for so long.

50 Shades of Grey a.k.a 50 Hours of My Life I Can Never Get Back

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Warning:  Spoilers are included in this post.  Read at your own risk.

Yep.  I got sucked into the phenomenon of the “50 Shades of Grey” Series.
I resisted it for as long as I could, but everyone and their cat raved about how awesome it was and how it will change your life.  I’m confused.  Were we reading the same book?

I haven’t actually finished the last book of the series.  I’m struggling to get through it.  When it comes to books I have to finish them, even if they are so so so bad.

I’m embarrassed to say, but this book is also known as “Mommy Porn.”  It has a lot and I mean a lot of sex.  It becomes redundant as most everything is in this book.

I know I’m probably going to offend the die hard fans of this book, but once again, this is my opinion.  I have read a lot of books, ever since I was a little girl I have loved to read.  I consider myself pretty well rounded, and I don’t get offended easily so that is not the main issue I have with this book.  I like to believe that I know good writing and an interesting story line when I read it.  I’m not saying that my writing is perfect either, but when you are a best seller, I would expect better.  Who in the hell published this book?  Didn’t anyone proofread it?
The issues I have with this book are numerous, but I’ll keep them to a minimum.

1.  This is basically a remake of the Twilight Series, only with a bunch of sex and very poor writing.

here

2. The author of this book obviously used the thesaurus WAY too many times  during her writing.  I am a smart girl and I have read many books in my day, yet you should see the dictionary on my phone.  It is filled with words I have never heard before in my ENTIRE life.  It would be different if this book was historical, sophisticated in some way, or War & Peace.  It’s not…at all.
 3. I cannot stand the helpless girl act who has no identity until she meets this ass of a man who wants to beat her, but then decided he loves her in 3 weeks time.  He’s a billionaire so it’s okay that he wants to do that and that he stalks and invades her privacy in every way.  It’s so charming.

4. If I have to hear one more reference to her inner goddess, which is her inner slut or a remark about her subconscious, I’m going to put myself out of my misery.  That’s why I can’t finish the last book. I’ve had it.  I’ve absolutely had it.
5. Between her incessant lip biting, eye rolling, and calling her vagina “down there” or “her sex”, I was pretty sure a 16 year old giggling girl wrote the book.

6. She overused words to the max.  I’ve never heard the words “beguile”, “jeez”, and “clamber” so much in my entire life. 

I don’t know why, but it bothers me that all these women like love this book.  It’s great if that’s what you are into, but I’m sure there are hundreds of other erotica books that are written much better than this.  I was expecting more out of this, I think that’s why it’s pissing me off.  The story line is slow and boring, although it picks up a little in the second book, and tries it’s hardest to be interesting in the third.

I think these books give false hope and expectations to women.  It’s also disturbing to me that women make comments about finding that perfect guy like Christian Grey.  Really?  Sure he’s wealthy and handsome, those attributes I can understand.  He wants to punish and beat her, he stalks her every move, he needs constant reassurance that she loves him, and he’s 10 times moodier than I am on my period.  In other words, he’s a rich douche bag.  Sounds like a great catch to me.  Good news is that there are plenty of stalkers and douche bags out there, it’s just finding that right combination ladies.

There is my rant.  I had to get it off my chest.  Obviously I don’t recommend reading this book.  Save yourself the time and don’t be an idiot like me and read the books begrudgingly.  I’m not the only one who feels this way either, there are over 2,000 reviews on Amazon warning you of the same things I have just spoken of.  Take heed, my friends.

 

Color Run – Tulsa, OK

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This past weekend, my friend Jessica and I went to Tulsa to participate in the Color Run.  We met a group of Jessica’s friends and ran with them. The Color Run is a 5k, and at each kilometer they pour cornstarch dye on you.  There were approximately 10,000 people at this event, with people dressed in all sorts of costumes, and in the required white top dress code.

This race was not timed, it is considered a “fun run.”  Which it was fun in it’s way, but I have figured out I’m not much of a fun run person because fun runs have a lot of people, and I don’t really like a lot of people.  It’s overwhelming.

There was a lot of walking involved, mainly because there were heaps of people restricting actual running with their slow trot.  During a fun run, since it’s supposed to be fun, people walk and chat.  I think I’m probably too competitive for fun runs .  Even though I’m not a fast person, I’m competitive against myself, and walking a lot during a “run” makes me feel weird.  I don’t like it.

The view in front of us as we were waiting to start, which this is about as many people behind us too:

The “Fruit Loops” before the race all sparkling clean:

Me and Jes before the race (Yes, I am wearing mustache socks):

The group of girls we were with afterward:

Jes and I afterward, the shadow makes me look like I have a PopEye smile going on:

The whole group:

We also had to have a jumping picture, I’m not very good at it. Obviously.

During all the picture taking, I got REALLY good at photo bombing my friend’s pictures.  These were taken off Jessica’s facebook:

And my favorite…

At the end of the run, everyone gathered around the stage with their color packets and threw them up in the air.  It was very pretty and colorful.

The Color Run was fun, but I don’t think I’ll be participating in any more runs like it.  It’s not particularly my cup of tea, but that’s just my own competitive issue.  I also had a problem with the lack of water and the way it was set up.  You’d think with the massive amount of people and all the money that everyone paid, that the water would’ve been set up a lot better instead of a huge hot jug with 829393 people in line to get a 4 oz cup of it in the heat.  <— Yes, it’s a really long run-on sentence.  That’s my only real complaint about the race itself (plus the billion people, but that can’t be helped…well I guess it could too…)

And the end is here…

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Disclaimer:  The following post is just my opinions, thoughts, and love for my Oklahoma City Thunder team.  I don’t claim to know a lot about sports or basketball, so whatever I post, don’t take it personally.  If you do take it personally, I’m truly sorry you are that sensitive.

Last night, the Oklahoma City Thunder played game number 5 against the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals.  Miami was up 3-1 in the series and all they had left was to take this game to win the championship.  That is just what they did.

I am not a Miami Heat fan, and I am not a LeBron James fan.  If they showed him jumping up and down after the win one more time, I was going to shank someone.  Although now I’m torturing you by making you watch it.

from here

The Thunder made it to the NBA Finals, each year we’ve made it closer and closer, losing each year to the Champions.  We are a young team.  I say “we” as if I’m playing the game with them, but I have devoted a lot of time, money, and emotions while supporting them.  I am so proud of the Thunder. They have done so much for this city, and for this state.  They have put us on the map in a different way than being the state with the “really good college football team” or the place where that “awful man terrorized our country and blew up a federal building.”  Both of those things are part of our history/present, but to get recognition for something different is refreshing.

The group of mostly young guys have accomplished a lot, especially in this past year.  They faced a NBA lockout, which in turn shortened the season and made all the games they had to play seem back to back to back with little rest.  They persevered and made it to the playoffs, where we swept the Mavericks, beat the Lakers 4-1 in the Semi Finals, and challenged the San Antonio Spurs with a 4-2 win in the Western Conference Finals.

We then make it to the NBA Finals, playing against the Miami Heat.  Winning the first game at home, and losing the next four games.  We made a lot of good shots, played with heart, and whether you like it or not, had to deal with crappy referees.  You can’t really deny it, but that’s the way it was. However, we also made some bad decisions, shooting baskets that shouldn’t have been attempted, and just being reckless with the ball at times.  No team is perfect and we are a team that will learn from our mistakes and find power in our strengths.
I found this really funny, in a sad way: Either way, the Miami Heat are a good team and LeBron James is a phenomenal player.  I hate to admit it.  I do.  They definitely out played us in the final game, scoring 3 pointers after 3 pointers, taking shots and actually making them, and defending like champions do.   I’m a classy girl, so I will say it: Congratulations to the Miami Heat on your Finals win.

Another congratulations goes to my OKC Thunder Team.  You all did a stellar job this year.  Each year gets better, with being great team players and the athleticism increasing monumentally.  Also kudos to Scott Brooks and his coaching staff, I hope to see him back next year…  I look forward to next season already, and I know the Thunder will make this city proud no matter what.

Russell Westbrook is even growing on me.  I haven’t always been his biggest fan, yet I support him and all he has done for the team.  This is not an attack on him by any means, I actually kind of feel sorry for the guy because he can’t really catch a break no matter what he does.

Kevin Durant almost broke my heart in half last night.  I wanted to hug him when I saw this after he realized it was over:from here

Then after the game I see this and want to take him in my arms, hold him like a baby, and whisper “Now now, everything will be okay.” It was almost too much to handle, I may get a little emotionally involved.

It’s over and done.  I will always love the Thunder and I am glad they came to this state.  In a perfect world, all of the team would stay here and there would be no trades, but I know eventually some of my favorites will move on and leave.  I’m not going to think about that right now though.

Love Love Love.  Until next season my basketball friends!

Baby Baby!

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This past weekend, a couple of friends and myself hosted a baby shower for our friend Lauren (Lo).  Lo is pregnant with her first child, a sweet little baby boy.  Lo is probably one of the sweetest people I know.  She goes out of her way to do nice things for others, and she never has anything bad to say about anyone.  It’s rare to meet someone like that these days.

Brandy, the head planner for the shower, made a mustache and ties theme. She made cute little mustaches as decorations along with some yummy food.  Stacy and I were in charge of various things, which was a good plan for me anyway, as I am not creative.

The sign-in table:
 Delicious goodies:

Mustache Cupcakes

Chocolate Cupcake Pops

Mustache Bouquet

Cute little pregnant Lo and all the the goodies.

Opening gifts

Some of us girls from the shower and our sexy mustaches.

The hostesses with the mommy-to-be
(Stacy, Lo, Brandy, and myself)

It was a successful shower and we cannot wait until precious little Brantley gets here!  He is already so loved by many, including his three “aunts”.

Grand Cayman Part 2

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Remember when I freaked out about a Stingray 25 feet away from me?  They have this place in the Cayman called Stingray City and a ton of people go out there daily to feed the Stingrays, and have them swim around you.  Everyone recommended that is one thing you HAVE to do while you are in the Cayman Islands.

If you haven’t got it by now, I’m a scaredy cat of most things.  Heights.  Water. Bridges. Aquatic creatures. Social Situations. Commitment.
I was seriously having anxiety attacks when I was just thinking about going to Stingray City.  I did not want to go.  I figured that I would regret it if I didn’t, and the only reason I contemplated going was because everyone said I should.  No part of me wanted to surround myself with 60 plus Stingrays, rubbing by me, wanting food, and the unknown.  I think that’s what scared me most, was the unknown.

I know most people think of Steve Irwin’s Death  from a Stingray, but that’s because he was acting like an idiot, got stabbed in the heart and immediately pulled out the barb.  If anything stabs you in the heart and you pull it out, it’s pretty common that you will bleed out and die.  Who is to know that if he had kept the barb in there, if he would still be alive today?

Anyway, I finally decided I would go to Stingray City and Kaylee, who had been 4 previous times, went with me.  This is us at Rum Point before we left for the 2 1/2 hour excursion.
 The catamaran (one of my new favorite words) we took to Stingray City:
Me and Kaylee on the catamaran:The net we were laying on the way there.  Soooo relaxing. Please disregard my janky second toe, I’ve got ocean feet.
 We went snorkeling by the reef, which was actually uneventful, despite the fact I couldn’t see or breathe.  By the time I finally fixed my mask and snorkel, they called us into the boat to head over to Stingray City.  There were a bunch of boats over there at first, but they cleared out around the time we got over there.
Once you get into the water, the stingrays surround you, rubbing their soft bodies along you and waiting for food.  I was pretty nervous at first.
One of the guides, Joel, from Australia, explained the Stingray’s tail and where exactly the barb is.  Please notice the girl’s face in the background, that was probably what I looked like the first ten minutes in the water. Some of them are huge, the females are the bigger ones, and they have very long tails.
I decided to get closer to one, touch it, and take a picture with it. Another one of our guides, James from England, was holding one and was great about my apprehensiveness toward the whole thing.  Here is a progression of pictures as I get closer to “Bertha”, I’m super relaxed. <— Lie.

Not even close.
 “Seriously. Get closer.”  Notice the stress in my face.

In this one I appear to be more relaxed, however my neck gives away my actual feelings.By the end of the trip, I chilled out and held a Stingray on my own.  I really wanted to take one home with me to keep in the bathtub.  They are like ocean puppies, too cute.

After we got back, we went to Starfish Point and saw some little starfish.  I have a picture of all of us holding the starfish, but it looks like I’m wearing a weird dress leotard.  It is not flattering.  So instead you get cute baby E and her floppy white hat.

Later that night, we went on a Sunset Sail which was absolutely beautiful and relaxing.  Kaylee, Jeremy, and Baby E didn’t go because E wasn’t feeling that good and they wanted to stay close to “home”.

I’m not a super big fan of this picture because the way the wind is blowing my dress, it makes me look like I’m pelvic thrusting Lindsey.  We were standing on the “Sugar Scoop” of the boat.
Obligatory self taken picture. Before my poor glasses betrayed me and broke.James, who was the same guide for Stingray city, was our captain.  He let me “drive the boat”.  It’s obvious by the look on my face, I really know what I’m doing.  James doesn’t look he regrets his decision on letting me “drive” either.

He was kind enough to let us take a picture with him.  We loved his English accent!What a beautiful and amazing sunset!

When we got back we ate at the Rum Point restaurant, and I decided to eat some Lionfish.  They are poisonous if touched and they are actually taking over in Cayman, which is a bad thing considering they have no predator in the waters of Cayman.

After dinner we went to the Rum Point barrels to take a group picture (minus Becky, she’s more of a Nazi photographer than I am.)  Lindsey and I were being rebels and standing on the forbidden barrels.  I’m standing super lady like, but it was either that or falling to my death.  I can be a little dramatic at times.
 That was our last night there and although I had a blast, I was ready to be on US soil.  Lindsey and I took a separate flight from the rest of the group so we ended up going from Cayman –> Miami —> Chicago –> OKC.
It was 15 hours of traveling, being close to a ton of strangers on planes, and running around like a chicken with our heads cut off.  We finally made it back to OKC at midnight, where my sweet boy graciously picked us up.  I had never been so glad to be in Oklahoma.  I’m vacationed out… for a little while at least.

Grand Cayman Part 1

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Another vacation post that I’m sure everyone is chomping at the bit to read.  It’s going to be in two parts, because I have a crap load of pictures and we spent a week there.

I went to the Cayman Islands with my best friend Kaylee, her husband Jeremy, her baby E, her cousin Lindsey, and her parents, Gary and Becky, who have a timeshare there.

In Cayman everything is expensive, especially when a couple of weeks ago I was used to cheap Mexico prices.  A hamburger is $17.00, A gallon of milk is roughly around $7.50, and gas is about $6.50 a gallon.  They drive on the opposite side of the road with the steering wheel on the opposite side in the car, and thankfully I didn’t have to drive, even though I got a license just in case.  Gary drove most of the time, and he had a lot of trouble with the signal light (the windshield wipers were there instead) since it was on the opposite side of the steering wheel as well, but if it started raining, he would’ve been prepared.

A couple of views from the balcony:

Kaylee, Baby E, Me and Lindsey at the Dock Bar:Becky loves to snorkel and I had never gone snorkeling in my life.  To be honest, I’m not a huge fan of deep water and I was actually pretty nervous to snorkel.  I have this intense fear of drowning, it may be even a little bit irrational, but I cannot shake it.  Anyway, they decided to take me to Rum Point for my first snorkeling experience.  It’s super calm, clear and only about 4 feet deep.
Rum Point (Beach area) 

Becky, Lindsey, Kaylee, and I were the ones who went snorkeling. Snorkeling was pretty difficult for me in the beginning.  I couldn’t get my breathing down and I kept hyperventilating/panicking.  I was in constant fear of swallowing a bunch of water when I was breathing in.  I finally relaxed, relaxed as much as possible for me that is, and somewhat enjoyed the experience.  Kaylee also held my hand the entire time, which I’m not ashamed to admit.

On the way back to the shore, we saw a stingray coming our direction, and I was completely calm.  Just kidding.  I flipped out and pretty much jumped on Kaylee’s back while screaming.  Everyone told me, including strangers,  that I need to just calm down and panicking doesn’t help at all, that’s how you get hurt.  Believe me, if it were that easy I wouldn’t panic.  Oh, I shouldn’t panic and freak out?  Thanks for telling me. I wouldn’t have known otherwise, I’ll stop now. 

The next day, Kaylee, Becky, and I went snorkeling in the ocean, in front of the hotel.  It was not as clear, and it was also pretty deep in places.  Once again, Kaylee held my hand the entire time.  I didn’t want to stray from them, especially in the middle of the ocean.  It was definitely different swimming out there than at Rum Point.  The current carried us most of the way, but it was a pretty good exercise and we got to see some small fish.  When we got closer to the hotel and dock bar, Becky wanted to swim under the dock to the other side.  I had seen some of the fish while I was standing on the dock before and they looked pretty intimidating, but they were supposedly harmless.  As we get closer to the dock, I see these fish called Tarpon, which are harmless, but big and 5-8 feet long.

The next few minutes were a blur, as my adrenaline shut all of my senses down, and I entered the fight or flight zone.  According to Becky and Kaylee, I popped out of the water and yelled, “Nope. Nope. Sorry. No. Too Big. Sorry.” and as Kaylee was yelling for me that she wanted to head to the shore with me, I was already half way there.  Now, I am not a strong swimmer, or even an experienced one at that.  I don’t dive, swim a lot and I rarely go underwater.  The current was really strong and somehow I swam against it on my way to the shore.  Becky said 3/4 of my body was out of the water and my flippers were going 80mph.  I had to get away from that dock and those huge ass fish.  I couldn’t do it.  I was out of breath by the time I reached shore, but at least I was out of the water.  We all had a good laugh about it on the way back to the hotel, and I vowed to never go near that dock again.

Later that night, we went to Caribbean Night and then took some pictures on the dock.  This first picture Kaylee and I were accidentally posing like a prom photo, so we decided to go with it and make it even more awkward, and Baby E is apparently our love child.

For reals this time, with Jeremy

I also got to eat some Fried Lobster and fried plantains from Over The Edge, which were absolutely delicious. That is all for this post. I will post the rest of our vacation in a couple of days.  I’m trying to get caught up in my real life at the moment, I have to get out of vacation mode unfortunately.

To be continued…

iPhone sickness

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When I was on vacation in Cancun, to make sure we didn’t get unnecessary international phone charges we turned off our phones.  Technology and social networking is such a huge part of our lives and to have it cut off for 5 days wouldn’t seem like a big deal, would it?  Even though we had our phones locked in our safe, I would catch myself looking for my phone or wanting to check it.  It was an automatic thing I did, and my other friends did the same thing.  To contact one another we had to actually pick up the phone and call each other’s room.  If we were out of the room, and wanted to contact one another, we would have to get up and walk around to find that person.  It was amazing, really.

I found it frightening how dependent I was on this tiny little technology square.  After a couple of days without my phone, the compulsion to check it was less and less.  It was actually pretty nice to be without it.  To have no idea what was going on in everyone’s lives on facebook, twitter, and the blogging world was very freeing.  When I got home, I found myself not checking my phone as much and just leaving it when I went places.  I didn’t like the feeling of needing my phone.
 A couple of days after I came back from vacation, I went to get a manicure. This lady came in to the salon to get her nails done and she was rude from the moment she stepped in to the place.  She sat down next to me to get her nails done and while the man was doing them, her phone started ringing.  She let it ring for awhile, then rudely made him wait to finish her nails while she picked up the phone and talked loudly on it.  After she was done, instead of turning it to silent, she just sits it next to her.  It goes off again.  She let’s it ring the full ring, then makes him stop again so she can answer it.  This goes on for about 10 minutes and everyone in the salon was getting aggravated.  These calls weren’t even important calls, we knew this because we could hear every word out of her loud mouth about guinea pig food and then a slew of demanding/degrading words to her husband, I assume.  Luckily I got done way before her, so I didn’t have to suffer her through her rudeness for very long.  Unfortunately, I seem to encounter people like that more and more these days.

from here

IN OTHER NEWS:  I leave for the Cayman Islands on Friday!
The Thunder play the Spurs tonight and if we win, we will be going to the NBA Finals!  If that happens, I am determined to go to a game, no matter what the cost!   That would be a dream come true!