Who is Gary Sinise?

It seems that my friends, while full of a plethora of other useless information including the location of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the name of the highway surrounding Pebble Beach, and more...they do not, however, know about the great Gary Sinise.

Where is this rant coming from you might ask…while at Ashley’s ranch this weekend we played a game where you write down different celebrity names and then describe them, act them, etc. With one caveat...if a certain percent of people do not know the celebrity then it gets thrown out. The only one that was thrown out was one of mine…Gary Sinise! I swear I’m not bitter! Ha. But, I digress.

So in my angst, I decided to Google old Gary today and was amused at all my findings. It seems that not only are there lots of official sites dedicated to Gary but there are loads of fan sites paying homage to the man, the myth, the legend. Turns out this Emmy and Golden Globe WINNING, Academy Award nominated actor/director has quite a following. Some of my fav Gary findings are tribs found on YouTube.

It’s no wonder my friends didn’t know who he was…he’s only appeared in such obscure movies as Forrest Gump, Apollo 13, and The Green Mile and can currently be found on television on CSI: NY.

as Lieutenant Dan in Forrest Gump

in Apollo 13

The Dance Of Gelderland

Just downloaded Bowie's Golden Years so I can do The Dance Of Gelderland at "the Ranch" this weekend. I lub this dance scene!!!

The lengths some people will go

Was reading the Park Cities People Blog (thanks for the new addiction Jenn) this morning and was taken aback by a post referencing an ad on Craigslist. This kills me. As the PCP blog says...I'm not sure "this Parkie bride would be pleased to know that a guest is advertising for a date to her nuptials."

Check it out...

If only I had an "attractive" single friend in Dallas who could take this guy up on his offer. I'd just die to get the scoop on this character.

PS - If this guy happens to be someone I know...I apologize profusely for the ridicule.

Random Question du jour...How long should the flag be kept at half-staff?

As we mourn the death of Lady Bird Johnson, I've been wondering "How long should the flag be kept at half-staff?" I remember thinking this after Gerald Ford passed away late last year. Below is the answer, according to the American Legion, however it doesn't mention how long upon the death of a first lady. Anyone, Bueller???

The flag shall be flown at half-staff thirty days from the death of the President or a former President; ten days from the death of the Vice President, the Chief Justice or a retired Chief Justice of the United States, or the Speaker of the House of Representatives; from the day of death until internment of an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, a Secretary of an executive or military department, a former Vice President, or the Governor of a State, territory, or possession; and on the day of death and the following day for a Member of Congress.

Backstreet's Back...alright!

What started out as a typical Wednesday, has now turned into a very happy day!!!! I just received the great news that The Backstreet Boys are releasing a new CD this October. The boys will release their first single, the ballad Inconsolable, on August 27th. Yes, I may actually be the only one that still cares, but I am thrilled. Oh how I have missed my boys. The boys, sans Kevin (the old and most disposable of the group) are back!!!! Guess it's time to re-up my fan club membership. Can't wait to hear what
Nick, AJ, Brian, and Howie have in store for me (well us) next! Click here to watch my fav BSB video!

Love will keep us together, Captain and Tennille

Captain and Tennille

One of my favorite memories, albeit a hazy memory, is Ford in the Captain and Tennille hat. First of all, I had no idea that Ford would take so kindly to karaoking....but he did. At some point during the night, through the many costume changes (what a bunch of divas) Ford donned a hat similar to the signature hat worn by the "Captain" of Captain and Tennille. Ford in this hat tickles me everytime.

Karaoke Smorgasbord

smor.gas.bord

noun

1) a buffet meal of various hot & cold hors d'oeuvres, salads, casserole dishes, meats, cheeses, etc.
2) an extensive array or variety

Saturday night played host to a smorgasbord of occasions....Courtney's Bday celebration, Elizabeth and Ford's house warming, and an Austin welcome to Mary Miles and Owen. I'll add my cousin Amy coming into town as a 4th occasion to celebration as well. We started the celebration at the Wheeler's new pad and enjoyed a smorgasbord of food and drinks. About 10pm we packed it up and headed over to Austin Karaoke where we had rented a private room (doesn't that sound creepy) for the evening. Here you can watch the group singing a lovely rendition of Neil Diamond's Sweet Caroline.

We had a blast. I even busted out my bag of props...filled with assorted hats, boas, and wigs. Austin Karaoke will definitely be another stop for us...hopefully in the not so distant future. Check out pics below, but to see all my pics from the evening's festivities click here.

Lizzy, Mary, Wendy, and Leigh

The Levy's belt out a tune

The Wheeler boys sing a lovely duet

the whole gang jams at Austin Karaoke

Blast from the past

Unbeknownst to me....jelly shoes are making a come back. Being the shoe freak that I am, I do feel as if I should have been consulted about this 80s fashion flashback. Yes, there are worse 80s fashions that could re-emerge, but I am still not sure that jelly shoes in fact need to resurface in closets everywhere this summer.

This topic came to mind this weekend when I saw a Westlake High Schooler donning a nice white pair of jelly shoes (seen above). I almost laughed...remembering my parents saying that all fashion tends would indeed come around again. I scoffed at them at the time...but chuckle now at how correct they were.

So in an effort to make sure they were indeed coming back (or I guess they already are back)...I did a Google search (when in doubt, right) for "jelly shoes" and found a myriad of different sites devoted to these little numbers. There was even an entry in Wikipedia. I was also startled to find that jelly shoes, which were once only flat...now come in a variety of styles including high heels. And, even more shocking was that major designers including Michael Kors have come out with a few themselves. What a steal…Jellies for $150!!!! Argh! I am sorry to say that this Imelda Marcos is keeping her jellies in the back of the closet where they belong. It seems others agree. What about you?

Jelly Shoes. Why?
Jelly Shoes - The Debate Cntinues (A Yay or Nay)

"I Almost Nun Chucked You"

Sushi and Champagne

Last night was our monthly "Sushi and Champagne" night. As always, a great night filled with yummy sushi (loved the new rolls that we ordered), lots of bubbly, and great pals. Caroline and Katie made their first S&C appearence. Yay! Madame Ashley did a few of her famous tarot card readings. Lots of girl talk and fun. Jenny hazed us into going out afterwards which was a total buzz kill for me b/c I lost my cell phone. ARGH! And btw...I just replaced this phone not 2 or 3 weeks ago b/c I dropped it in the toliet. Brilliant. I was not happy about losing my phone again. But, I digress. Thanks Jenny...for hosting this month. Cheers to another great Sushi and Champagne. Until next month...

Marcie and Christy

Madam Ashley gives clearly gives Wendy a favaroable reading

Jenny (our hostess), Christy, and Caroline

Courtney and Elizabeth

Ash, Tami, and Wendy

Elizabeth, Leigh, and Jenny

Barney Rules

Hooray for Barney! Was thrilled to learn that Neil Patrick Harris got an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series (How I Met Your Mother). HIMYM is one of my fav shows. Very underrated show....if you don't watch it...you should. It is hilarious. Very quirky. And, best of all Barney has a blog!!! What's not to love!?!?!

Our pet's heads are falling off!

Having one of those days...everything seems to be going wrong! Argh! Reminds me of one of my favorite movie lines...."our pet's heads are falling off!" Makes me laugh every time!

You don't even know...

So...Friday's plans were to pick Tedder up at 10am and hit the road. Other arrangements needed to be made as well...canceling my trip to Dallas, apology calls to my sister-in-law, canceling assorted appointments, oh...and calling my boss for the day off...guess that's important too. After we got Tedder we hit to road (note - Wheelers and Levys are still somewhat suspect about whether or not we REALLY are coming). Along the way pictures were sent to them to document our actual travels toward the coast. I think they believed us once we passed through Corpus...Padre Leigh, Padre Ashley, and Padre Ted were coming!!!

Made it to Padre about 5pm on Friday...just in time for dinner a Louie's and sunset drinks at Wahoo! Other evening adventures include Lizzy's line dancing at Louie's and a serious dance party at the Quarterdeck Bar at the Radisson. I mean...you don't even know...

Saturday "morning" was spent cruising the island trying to find the perfect place for lunch...how did we end up at Whataburger (2nd day in a row for the crashers). Whataburger proved to be a bone of contention with our crew. I guess "no shirt, no shoes, no service" does not apply to Padre. Argh!

On to the beach...but wait...who knew Tedder had such an affinity for cheesy souvenir shops??? Must make one more pit stop prior to hitting the sand for these must have items we picked up... 1) Padre Island T-shirts
2) Shovel
3) Pirate hook, eye patch, and revolver
4) Dolphin knee board
5) and Puka beads

Now that we had that covered...off to the beach.

Saturday evening we had dinner at Blackbeard's....which was full of both cheers and jeers. I have such childhood memories of Blackbeard's how could I not enjoy it! And...best of all we were treated to a special viewing of one of the world's largest flounder! (note this flounder aka "the decoy" mysteriously made it into Lizzy's bolsa and made an encore appearance later in the night). Saturday night was also filled with a visit to Tequila Sunset, Wahoo and then played host to Teddy's first bungee jump (click here to watch cinematography at its best).

Of course...we finished up our weekend in Padre Saturday night back at the Radisson dancing to the sounds of Atomika...one of my new fav cover bands. Some of us even got a picture with part of the band...including the Meatloaf drummer look-a-like.

Sunday was the long road home, but the fun we had made it worth every hour. Thanks Levys/Wheelers for accommodating us crashers and putting up with our shenanigans and tomfoolery.


Other great moments, quotes, thoughts, things I glad about, notes, disclaimers, etc...
I'm so glad to know exactly where to get a good buttery nipple for a mere $3.50.
Manscapeing is far more commonplace than I ever expected it to be.
The front desk of Sunchase hates Ashley.
Don't mess with Tedder's customized burgers.
Lemon juice gives you a new hue.
The chuckie photo!
Back spins.
The dolphin and its ever present presence in our lives.
Dora and her ever present presence in our lives.
The iPod and its ever present presence in our lives.
Ford is a Padre snob.
Watery ranch.
Did Ford put lemon juice in his eyebrows?
Lupe the bartender.
Are you going to brush that?

Cheerleaders bug.
I might need to invest in a nice double headed beer bong.
Some people really know their capital cities.
Meatloaf the drummer.
Sleeping on a curved couch does in fact give you curvature of the spin.
The decoy is in my bolsa.
La Jaiba.
Palazzo pants may actually be making a comeback.
Padre Ford remains a myth.

And finally a nod to the quote of the weekend
"You don’t even know...
I almost nun chucked your ass!”

the original Padre crew...Ford, Elizabeth, Christy and Michael


the Padre crashers...Leigh, Ash, and Ted

partying at the Quarterdeck Bar at the Radisson

the girls


the boys...you don't even know

the whole gang

Thanks for a great time gang!
For more pictures and fun visit my phanfare site.

Padre or bust...the preface!

This weekend was one for the books. What started as an oh so innocent Thursday night dinner and drinks with Ashley...turned into quite an eventful weekend. So...here's the story from A to Z...with a little left out here and there to protect the not so innocent.

So, Thursdsay night Ash and I treat ourselves to a great dinner at Mandola's and decide to have a few drinks afterwards at The Tavern where we meet up with Ben...Ashley's friend from high school. Later that evening we are joined by Ted (who has been thrown out of his kickball game - that's a whole other story).

Meanwhile the Wheelers and Levys have made it down to Padre for the anniversary celebrations and for a nice weekend at the beach away from the kiddos. Well into this low key evening we begun to get phone calls and text messages from our Padre round table counter parts. They missed us...what can we say! In what I can only assume was a very wine soaked state of mind they said..."y'all should come down here." To which we replied..."ok!" And there it begun. In a matter of mere moments it was settled...we'd take Ashley's suburban, I'd drive, and Ted would buy the gas. Just like a pot luck dinner...everone contributes. (but, if you ask me...I got the best end of that deal).

So, as Thursday night came to an end and Friday morning began, we finalized our Padre road trip plans for the morning. Below is a picture of the three crashing amigos listening to all the fun down in Padre and thus making the oh so rational decision to hit South Padre for the weekend.

(note...for the record...I was supposed to be in Dallas for my sister-in-law's baby shower on Sunday, Ted was due to drive from Dallas to St. Louis for a golf tourney later this week, and Ash was set on a low key weekeend in Austin)

Is this really necessary

Am totally stealing today's topic from the blog guru "her"self....Perez Hilton, but couldnt' pass up on sharing this with "all" my blog readers. So, I ask you faithful visitors to Leigh Leigh Land....is this really necessary...should professional athletes really be rappers? I do love him on the court, but does Tony Parker really need to have a rapping career? Didn't we learn this from (my boy) Deion???? Again, love me some Deion, but being a rapper might not be his gift! Check out this video below and you be the judge...

Tony Parker - Premier Love (First Love)
Video
Envoyé par tonyparker sur wat.tv

and just to be fair...a nod to Prime Time himself...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyNMz_LxEoA

Wizard and Wand Wednesday

Potterfiles of the world rejoice today as movie #5...Harry Potter and The Order of The Phoenix arrives in the theaters today! Hope to make it to the theater tonight to see all about crazy Deloris Umbridge (grrr), the fabulous D.A.'s and more! Hooray for Harry! Visit the official Harry Potter website for everything Hogwarts and Harry. I took the did the Sorting Hat game and was sorted into Gryffindor!!! (yes, I fully recognize that I am nerding out here).

Just another night at the Round Table

"Doing a lot of good"

I've always been a fan of volunteerism. I love to volunteer on committees, for a great cause, etc. I'm also a proud (yes, proud) member of the Junior League of Austin. Judge if you must, but when my friend Alicia asked me what exactly the Junior League does, I responded simply that "we do a lot of good" and I stand by that. It seems that the Junior League is not the only group of people "doing a lot of good" in Austin....saw this interesting article on dallasnews.com....

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/071007dnmetvolunteer.5aa2fe72.html

Just another reason to love Austin!!!

Friday afternoon pick me up

Well...it's Friday afternoon and almost time to call it a day. This particular Friday has drug on and on (maybe since I'm not actually used to being at work on Fridays)...so I thought this would do this trick as the perfect Friday afternoon pick me up. Happy Friday!

All hail to thee...

It occurred to me the other day there really are an abundance of Highland Parkers here in Austin. Yes, outsiders often criticize our frequent references to our old alma mater…so much so that yesterday we were outlawed from referencing anything HPHS (or Camp Longhorn)….tell me...what the heck else am I supposed to talk about?!?!?! Anyway, so when we were planning yet another one of our many, many (did I say many) shindigs I realized just how many of us there really are and for some reason this caused the old HPHS song to surface in my head. I thought I'd share it today as homage to dear old HP....and really just to irritate Tedder and Ash…guess I’ll just have to take my punishment!

All hail to thee, Dear High Park High
The school we love so dear.
We’ll shout thy praise to all the world,
Which echoes far and near.
Thy fame and splendor we’ll uphold;
Thy greatness we’ll proclaim.
We’ll honor and we’ll cherish thee-
Dear High Park High

Ccccaaaww

You gotta love those North Texas Eagles. Yes, I spent four (ok, 5 and a half ) of my best year's in old Denton, but no...I did not master the hand sign of the screaming eagles. Why oh why couldn't the mean green have come up with something as simple as the hook 'em horns or the bear claw like other Texas schools did???? Oh no, UNT had to have something really complicated and awkward (favorite word de jour).

I often try to master this little hand move that causes me such angst, so I called in the expert....Shelly Hester Hemler...our resident member of NT40 (40 of UNT's top students, leaders, yada, yada, yada) and she set me straight.

Below you can see Miss Shelly Jean demonstrate the Univeristy of North Texas Eagles hand signal. As you make this oh so complicated gesture....please make the sounds....ccccccaaaawww ccccccaaaawww as an ode to old UNT.

ccccccaaaawww ccccccaaaawww

The Six Pack Reunites

This weekend was my annual girl's weekend with my college pals. The six of us try to get together every year and take a trip. With Aimee 7+ months preggers, we decided to stay a little closer to home this time...well close to her home.

The traveling wilburys made their usual treks...Shelly flew in from Jersey and Shay flew from Florida to Dallas and hitched a ride south with Mal. We had a great time just chilling and catchin up. It takes us no time to fall into our usual routine.

This was my first time in a B&B and I am pretty sure it was my last. The whole breakfast with strangers thing really threw me for a loop...sorry Dad. And the creepy lederhosen, doilies, and Raggedy Ann/Andy dolls mave have been the icing on the cake.

Here are just a few of my favorite pics from the weekend and a few of my favorite moments...

the usual suspects...Aimee, Wendy, Shay, Mallory, Leigh, and Shelly

the creepy oversized Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls in the corner of our B&B

our new Cabana boy...Clayton

Here are some of my favorite quotes of the weekend...mostly from Mallory (of course). I realize they aren't funny to anyone but us, but they might at least get your imagination going...

"I'm getting me a nice T-bone and we can grill that bitch up!" -Mal
"Once you go to jail...you can't take that s**t back!" - Mal
"It's the pineapple talking." - Mal
"I just want these teeth to go in on her." - Mal
"That was a bitch of a fruit." - Mal
"My husband drives a phone truck, wears work boots, and puts cones behind him!" - Mal
"We could wear your ass out!" - Shay
"I'm f*^%ed,,,I'm numb like a d**k." - Mal
"Be proud of yourselves at the end of the night." Bob (random guy)
"Don't ask me...that's the fruit talking." - Mal
"Did anyone ever tell you you could give a woodpecker a headache?" - convient store clerk to Shay/Mal/Shelly
"My daddy told me I sing like a Mockin' bird." - Mal
"He just looked at me like he was puzzled." - Mal

Thanks for another great weekend girls. Until next time...

I Don't Feel Like Dancing

I'd like to take a moment to thank Wendy Thomson for helping me completely blow off my afternoon by sending me this link. I do think all my dance practicing has finally payed off. The whole Edgar family has really got their groove on today. I also think I'll have to download this song for my pod now that it is stuck in my head. Thanks for the Monday pick me up Wendy!!! (btw - they may take a while to load...but its worth the wait)

Leigh...

http://www.ican.ie/campaigns/universalmusic/dancesisterdance/myvid/index.php?v=84572958ce98

Fredgar and Suzie...

http://www.ican.ie/campaigns/universalmusic/dancesisterdance/myvid/index.php?v=f86194e5bee7

Little Russ and Carls:

http://www.ican.ie/campaigns/universalmusic/dancesisterdance/myvid/index.php?v=b92336d2ceb9