Win, Place, Show

M and I went to Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie last week. Now, you know we are not the typical "horse race type." The "horse race type" is usually a 65 year old chain smoker who wears lots of gold jewelry, cowboy boots and as much polyester as possible. We didn't exactly fit in. But we wanted to check it out. M was fresh from a gambling win in Vegas and sometimes I can channel my dad's winning streak and get lucky. (Did you know my dad has NEVER lost a door prize? One time, he won 8 door prizes in one night!)

So we got a fancy reserved table for a whopping 6 bucks and dissected the race program to choose our horses. We have no expertise in this field so we based our bets on the scientific proof of past race history and cool horse names. Yes, that's a novice move, but out of the 7 races we saw, we won 5 of them! We won close to $300 that night. Woo-hoo! I'm sure that upset the chain smokers who made the foolish bet on 'Cash In The Hand' instead of 'Spicy Taco Belle' like we did.

Speaking of Taco Bell, did you hear that they opened a restaurant in Mexico? I can't even begin to express how wrong that is. Taco Bell tried that 15 years ago and it flopped and now they are trying again. And it's flopping. I bet their next move will be negotiating a Starbucks in the Colombian coffee bean fields.

Anyway...here's a pic of M flashing some cash and trying to pick the next horse.

Vera Vera

I read about a new colletion at Kohl's called Simply Vera Vera Wang. Naturally, the girly girl inside me did a little cartwheel and let out a little scream just thinking about it. So when the collection was unveiled at Kohl's I was in there with the other ladies clawing through the racks of luscious clothing.

What you may not know about me is that I've been a devout virtual Vera Wang follower for many, many years. I was only a virtual fan because her stuff is WAY out of my price range. But the Kohl's stuff was right in my price range and I couldn't wait to get my hands on some of it.

The shirts were dainty, the pants were flowy, the sweaters were cozy, the coats were lovely. And not one thing fit me properly. My regular size fit me, but not well. One size smaller was all wrong; one size higher was far too large. Like the song says, "I've been waiting for this moment... but it's not quite right." Clearly, Vera was not thinking of curvy Latin girls when she created her new, affordable line.

Coming to the realization that the cutest outfit in the right price range doesn't fit well is like meeting a hot, smart guy who is single but is gayer than a midnight showing of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

The good thing is that Vera did think about accessories including purses, shoes, home decor, etc. And I bought this on sale for $50. Not bad!

VMA Drama

Oh, the drama following the VMAs has been enough to keep Perez Hilton writing for another year! Of course, a lot of it has to do with Britney. Truth be told, I would have loved for Britney to steal Rihanna's umbrella and re-enact the minivan attack. But... well, we all know what happened instead.

But the funniest thing to emerge from the aftermath of the VMAs was Chris Crocker. If you have not had the pleasure of seeing Britney's biggest- and maybe only- fan, check it out here. Hilarous!

Then, if you have time, check out Seth Green's interpretation of Chris Crocker. Double hilarious!

The VMAs

First off, Happy Birthday to my sister, C.

So, did you guys watch the VMA's on MTV last night? All my friends can talk about is how bad Britney's performance was... and I do agree. But there's a lot more there to discuss. For example:

1. How awkward and funny was it when Jamie Foxx totally went off script and threw off Jennifer Garner? I was hoping JGar would let loose and just go with the joke. (Like that one awards show where she almost fell on stage and then said, "I do all my own stunts.") But she kept steering back towards the script and Jamie kept steering far away from it. That tug of war was hilarious!

2. Those hotel suite parties looked like they were wild, crazy and a ton of fun. I was getting a little jealous of the people getting an intimate concert from the Foo Fighters. Then I found out MTV hired people to "party" when the cameras were on. Oh MTV, how silly you are. I would have "partied" with the Foo Fighters for FREE!

3. Sarah Silverman is so gross. I thought her opening monologue bombed and, judging by the lack of laughter in the room, so did everyone else. I don't like that her jokes always involve genitalia and bodily functions. She tries way too hard to be edgy and funny but it just comes off as desperate and contrived. Booooo Hissss!!!!!!!!

4. Chris Brown stole the show. He was fun, exciting and even did a little Michael Jackson for those of us born in the 70s. What a hot performance! I actually felt bad for those having to perform after him... talk about a tough act to follow.

5. My friend, S, sent me a ballot of all the VMA categories and nominees. I entered my predictions and waited to see how many I would get right. But I bombed! I only got 2 right - Monster Single of the Year was "Umberlla" by Rihanna and Quadruple Threat of the Year was Justin Timberlake. All the others I predicted were wrong. Ugh... I must be getting old.

6. Speaking of getting old, let's talk about Britney Spears. She, like many of the performers last night, lip-synched. But her performance was just plain hard to watch. Her unoriginal choreography and lack of enthusiasm made it boring. I could hardly watch but I hung in there because I had heard she was working up some "magic trick" with Criss Angel for that performance. But it never happened! WTF?? For someone whose past VMA performances included dancing with snakes and kissing Madonna, this one was far below expectations. Oh and on a side note... I honestly don't think Britney is fat, but that outfit made her look fat. Yuck!

What did you love/hate?

Reverend Clara

Hey Web friends! Did your August go as fast as mine? I just noticed it was August 26 and couldn't believe it.

This month started off fast with my brother J's wedding. He and his wife wanted a very small, immediate-family-only kind of wedding. I was totally down with that because I actually hate weddings. The kicker was that I was the celebrant of their wedding! I got ordained online and became a reverend. I performed their ceremony, sent in their marriage license and it's totally legal. How funny is that!? A pic from the ceremony is below.

The middle of August was jam-packed with work stuff. I had a full two weeks of super busy days and nights of work. We were preparing for some upcoming training events that we lead. We were also unpacking and getting settled into our new offices. I got a new corner spot with lots of window views which totally makes up for the summer I spent in "The Dungeon."

In the middle of all the August craziness, I got sick. Maybe it was because of all that stuff with work... or maybe it was hormones... or maybe I should not have spent so much time preparing to start my own church. :) Either way, being sick sucks and after 2 doctor visits I'm finally better. Here's hoping for a slower, healthier September.

Crappy Week

I must admit I have not been having a good week so far. I've been sick on and off. Not sure what's wrong with me but if another migraine comes my way, I just might jump off Reunion Tower. There have been some stressful, busy days at work and that doesn't make it any better. I need a slow, lazy weekend where I do nothing. Maybe I'll try to squeeze that in soon. In the meantime, I will use these few online things that always make me smile:

Justin Timberlake and Andy Samberg received an Emmy nomination for their "Dick In A Box" skit/song from Saturday Night Live. It always makes me laugh. You can check it out here: Dick In A Box .

It's not news, it's Fark. Fark is a site that lists its news stories in various categories. My favorite category is "Not News." When I'm having a bad day, it's nice to read some funny news instead of the otherwise depressing stuff.

Blogs that belong to my friends/family. My favorites are:
Braden's -he's my cutiepie nephew
Susie's -she's my buddy in Round Rock and she rocks!
Jenn's -she's got some sweet and funny kid stories
Perez Hilton's -so I don't actually know Perez Hilton, but my mom comes from a Perez family so maybe we are distant relatives...plus his blog is such a great guilty pleasure!

Mike Coolbaugh

My heart goes out to the family of Mike Coolbaugh. I work with his sister, Lisa.

On Monday, July 23, we got word from Lisa that her brother had died on the baseball field. Mike was the batting coach for the Tulsa Drillers. Mike was positioned at first base while his team was hitting. Tino Sanchez, a left-handed hitter, hit a foul ball and it headed towards Mike. He raised a hand to block it but it was too late. The ball ruptured Mike's carotid artery and he died.

It truly is such a rare kind of accident and it was so awful to hear of that happening to such an outstanding man. Mike leaves behind a growing family: Joey age 5, Jake age 3, and his wife, Mandy, who is pregnant with their third child. She said that if her unborn child is a boy she will name him Mike.

On Sunday, July 29, some coworkers and I traveled to San Antonio to visit Lisa and pay our respects to Mike. It broke our hearts to see Lisa because, like Mandy, she is pregnant also. They both have a hard time eating and the emotional stress effects your entire body. Seeing the two of them grieve so deeply while trying to maintain a healthy pregancy was so hard.

The media swarmed the Coolbaugh house in San Antonio after word of this rare accident got out. But after a family press conference they backed off and gave the family their privacy. Some of them did write beautiful stories about Mike. Here are a few of my favorites:

Brian Anderson

ESPN

Fox Sports

The Tulsa Drillers

Please keep the Coolbaugh family and the Sanchez family in your thoughts and praryers.