Missed This Girl

I swear, we have the very best little puppy in the world.  Our Australian Shepherd, Clare, is her daddy's girl.  She rides in his pickup, in the backseat in a large kennel.  He allows her to do this because she is a baby girl, and we don't want her to get too hot.

She is such a sweet-natured puppy, and she grew so so much while I was out of town.  I think she kind of forgot me, but luckily, her forgiving nature took over, and she loves me again.  Such a beautiful girl, and just the most precious little thing.

And here is her most lady-like pose.  No, I did not teach her this.  We think she does it because the cement is cool to her belly.  She plays a little rough, and she gently bites us with her baby teeth, which sometimes fall out while she wrestles with us.

She is such a lovable and delightful little girl, I didn't know we needed such a dear soul in our lives.  

Come on by and meet her.  She will bark at you at first, but call her by name, and she'll think she knows you.  She is such a smart baby.

Missed This Girl

Celebrity Sightings

Wherever I go, I am looking around.  Maybe it's because I am from a small town, and it used to be that every car or person you passed on the street, you knew.  But I am stuck in the 1960's, and I can't help but look at every driver I pass, or people out in their yard -- I am a gawker.

So when I find myself in big cities or public spaces, I am the one looking all around, but trying to look like I am not looking all around.  Through the years, I have seen quite a few famous people.  Not necessarily important people, but celebrities because they are in the news, good or bad.  The other day I  saw a star in my favorite TV show at the DFW Airport. When that happens, you can hardly believe it.  But he left no question in my mind.  Clearly, it was Jesse.  I could be his mother.

Yes, it was Aaron Paul of Breaking Bad -- up close and personal.

He was on the phone, but I was just a few feet away.  I so badly wanted to tell him to make Jesse a good guy in the series, but it was already fully taped, so I knew he had no say in the matter.

We were in the tiny B terminal at DFW, so there was no one else around.  If he wasn't on the phone, I was fully prepared to approach him and share my flattery of the series.  My manners took over, and he boarded the plane to Beaumont-Port Arthur without incident. 

I saw Maria Shriver in Athens a couple of years ago.  She was there for the International Special Olympics.  Staying in our hotel with her kids, it was right after Arnold humiliated her, and she was not interested in me taking her picture.  So I had to lift this one off of her website.  She was so petite and really beautiful.  I think all of her children were with her, and we saw all of them many times around the pool and facilities.  

A few years prior, I saw Sylvester Stallone in New Orleans.  He was shorter and smaller than expected, and you should have seen the heels on his shoes.  They were taller than mine.  I can't locate a good picture, and mine was average....

A couple of years ago, I flew on a Southwest flight with Samuel L. Jackson.  He sat RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME!  A person I was traveling with suggested I ask him if there were "any snakes on this plane?"  -- I did that, and he played along.  He spoke to me and said, "I'll never tell."  Really?  Southwest?  Couldn't believe it.

Gosh, who else have I seen....?  Seems like we saw Hulk Hogan and family in LAX.  

That was several years ago...

I am always on the lookout for someone like Oprah, Michael Douglas or Robert DeNiro -- but it hasn't happened.  I'll continue to keep my eyes open wide.

Celebrity Sightings

Need New Friends...

Actually, my son participated in a little fiasco that occurred at my house while we were out of town.  That is exactly the reason I don't like to tell people I am leaving town.  And usually, I don't tell anyone I am or we are leaving, unless someone is staying at the house.  

So I come home and open the refrigerator, which looks like a bachelor lives here, because it is practically empty -- and I see this.  It's a real set of dental impressions.  And they are so attractive...  I can't help but imagine where they came from.  Immediately, I think of a friend whose father-in-law was a dentist...

Next, I find another set in the living room taking up premium space on a sofa table.

Now, I recognize the writing, but I think, "No, not her."  I can't help but think... are there more?  Where all did these people go, running amuck in my house?

The only person who would have access to the house, and BTW, we forgot to set the alarm this time (that won't happen again), was our son.  I knew he had to be involved.  He's a pretty good liar.  But I am his mom.  I've seen it all before. 

I text him.  He confesses nothing, and I go to bed half scared, half aggravated.

These breakers and enterers were rookies.  They left behind the writing clue.  They left behind a personal belonging, a lovely pair of aviator Ray-Bans.  I decided, someone was going to have to fess up to get their glasses back.  They looked pretty good on me.  By early afternoon, the culprit was texting me with apologies galore.  

Good grief!  How could you be mad about unknown teeth impressions sitting in obvious places in your house?  I was more worried about how someone got in...  Now, 

I just have to figure out who to repay first.

Maybe my son was getting back at me for sending him this postcard of "The Massacre of the Innocents" from my recent trip.  It was disturbing, but nevertheless, a famous painting by Cornelis van Haarlem which hangs in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.  He probably would have preferred another type of souvenir, but this is all his mother would send him.  And I deliberately did not put my sweet D.I.L.'s name on it, so as to not embarrass her.  The embarrassment was all meant for him.  Am I evil?

Need New Friends...

Movies

The birthday tour continues.  By the time we get back home today, participate in fun wedding events this weekend, and catch up on work, it will be game on for football season.  That makes me smile.  Not as much as the day that ends Daylight Savings Time, but I do love football.

Tuesday was spent in Houston.  We did a bit of shopping, the pool at the hotel beckoned, and then we found ourselves at the movie theater for a double-header.  The theater isn't our normal movie viewing location.  We prefer to wait and catch the films at home on pay-per-view or get the blu-ray.  I find the cost is comparable.  Maybe it's just me being old, (and I mean that I was old before Monday) but I love my sweats and a big blanket, and we like the pause feature when the phone rings or nature calls.  A bit of a disclaimer here, you should know that I like all kinds of movies.  Action-packed, romance or drama -- I am not very picky, but I usually look at Rotten Tomatoes  (my favorite movie-rating website) before I watch something.  Click the link if you've never been there.

First, we saw "We're The Millers," with Jason Sudeikis and Jennifer Aniston.  This was slightly by default.  We arrived at the wrong time for "The Butler."  It was like most Jennifer Aniston movies I have seen in the last few years.  The language is pretty rough, but there were some hilarious lines and plot twists.  Aniston is one of my favorite comedic actresses currently, and I love her in this role.  There was so much profanity, I didn't really feel like I could let my guard down.  We relaxed and enjoyed it, and if we had been in a fully packed theater, it might have been even funnier.  See this movie cautiously -- it really is ridiculous, and I was embarrassed at how much I laughed.

Next, and on a totally different note, we did see "The Butler."  I sold it to Mike by saying it is a somewhat historical account from a White House butler that worked in eight administrations.  Then, it spoke a lot more about politics and race than I expected.    Forest Whitaker hit it out of the park for his representation of Cecil Gaines.  The film disappointed me in the "Hey, you probably didn't know this," department.  It was a bit presumptuous and rather haughty in its character portrayal.  I felt it was patronizing, even condescending at times.  I would be curious to talk to other filmgoers and see what they thought.  Glad I saw it, but I felt like it was deprecating.  Maybe I should watch it again sometime, just not after a silly comedy.  

Plain old life is calling, and I have been ignoring it.

Guess I will have to clock back in...

Movies

Oh. Yes. I. Did.

HEL - LO,  5 - 0 !!!

I feel the need....  the need... for speed.  This was for real.  I used to be afraid to fly, then I built a bridge and got over it.  Now, I can't get enough of flying.  I had always wanted to fly in a military fighter jet, but I never thought it could really happen.

Aero L-39 Albatros

Here was my birthday ride.  I would have never guessed in a million years this was possible.  Mike wanted to surprise me, but it turned out that a physical and an ECG were required...  So he had to tell me in advance.  He lined it up, and as the pilot was an acquaintance, they visited a few times on the phone to work out all the details.  Dan, a younger-than-me-retired Navy pilot, flies international commercial airline routes as his day job.  He is also a fighter jet instructor.

I was allowed clearance to co-pilot and observe from the back seat since he was on a proficiency training exercise.

    After I had my briefing, which focused heavily on ejection procedures, 
I still wanted to go.

I had completed my briefing, and we were ready to go.  The only things that made me a bit nervous were these signs.  This aircraft was not produced in the U.S.  I could read some of the instruments, but a few details -- that must not have been too important -- were still in Cyrillic, the Russian language.

So, I proceeded on a need-to-know basis.  Fine with me.  I was comfortable with the ejection procedure, and that seemed pretty violent, but I was willing.  After all, that's how Goose perished in Top Gun -- he hit his head on the canopy as his seat left the aircraft.  But he wasn't on an Aero L-39 with a pilot as mature as mine.  I was truly in good hands.

Seriously, I was so excited.

You can see me having a good time here.  I don't recall it, but Dan told me I was screaming before we even made it to wheels up.  I apologized.  That was far from the most exciting part.  We immediately completed an "impromptu" aileron roll.  I thanked him for that, and  then I asked for a heads up before the next maneuver, please.  I was able to control and fly the jet, and I will never forget it.  Yes, I made some brave moves.  We did a double barrel roll, maybe a few of those.  We pulled more than +5 G's, and that is what the aircraft was built to handle.  So we maxed those out.   Then we did a negative G maneuver and flew inverted.  And it was the coolest thing EVER.  Flying upside down, looking out the canopy in every direction -- tears came to my eyes.  Absolutely the most awesome thing I've ever seen.  And the weirdest feeling in my stomach I've ever had.

He may have been kidding me, but I was told that I was an excellent co-pilot.  

A)  I did not interfere with the operation of the aircraft.  

B)  I did not get nauseated or sick.

C)  I did not use foul language.

Apparently, I'm the Grace Kelly of the airways.  *sarcasm*

We didn't buzz the tower, because I think the pattern was full, but I told Captain Dan, he could be my wingman, anytime.

All in the name of flight, we routed through Denver on our way to Houston so we could fly on a new 787 Dreamliner.  Yes, it is the one that keeps having the fire and electrical problems, but I figured, heck, Denver to Houston is probably about the same as Amarillo to Dallas -- by the time you reach cruising altitude, it's time to start the descent.  I wasn't afraid.  Although it was a beautiful plane, honestly, I can say that the excitement didn't touch fighter jet level excitement.

This was quite an exciting birthday.  I highly recommend 50.

Oh. Yes. I. Did.

Shopping Is A Must

When I leave town, shopping is mandatory.  It just is.  That's all I am going to say.

We don't have these at home!

Would have loved to have brought this little number home with me.  Then I remembered I am not 6'2", nor am I a size 0.  Dang.

This was my first trip to Zara.  Duchess Catherine apparently shops there often.  

Luckily, I can, too.

To answer your question, yes, the H & M store was really this big.  

Far and away the largest I have ever shopped.  Good thing because I was freezing over there, and I bought about four pairs of leggings.

Just another nice little shopping plaza.

Luckily for the Mister, I didn't bring home a whole set of this.  Just a few special pieces, to be delivered next month.  :)

This was probably the highlight of my trip.  We were able to meet up with a high school friend who currently lives with his family in the Netherlands.  This particular day, we had lunch, and we missed his wife, but we are making it a priority to see her on our next trip.  Nothing like seeing an old (he's not old, you know what I mean) friend and his wonderful grown up kids.  It makes the world feel smaller.  He is one of the 4 people that know what is happening today.  It's my birthday.  Full report tomorrow.  

I can hardly believe it myself. 

Check in with me tomorrow!

Shopping Is A Must

More Scenery...

There is so much to see.  Even though it is more of the same, it is still different.

I told you we didn't miss one single mode of transportation.  We didn't.

And in case you forgot, every evening we found our way safely back to our lockers, I mean... our non-spacious, European hotel rooms.  Seriously, I picked it because it had air conditioning, wi-fi and was in close proximity to travel options.

More Scenery...

Just Scenery

Not wanting to make you look at all my pictures, I selected some that represented the variety, yet similarity, of everything that we saw.  And you know I can't start pictures without showing you how I got there.  Domestically, you don't get to fly on 747's very often, so it was no mistake that my itinerary included a variety of commercial aircraft.

Most of the city of Amsterdam dates back to the 1600's.  That's really hard relating to when we live in a country that is only 237 years old.

The enormous lobby of the Rijksmuseum.

This huge Rembrandt, "the Night Watch" 

-- also known as "Night Watch," garnered lots of attention.

Different versions of this were your view around every corner...

Beautiful.  I am starting to think I could have stayed...

Just Scenery

Football, You Bet!

My son is a huge soccer fan.  He has been for quite a while, and now he lives in the land of football.  It should come as no surprise that we visited the biggest stadium in the Netherlands for a tour.  The season hadn't officially started, and this was as good as it was going to get.  No doubt he will be at a game there as soon as possible.  The Ajax football club is one of the three clubs that dominate the Dutch national league, and it is one of the premier clubs in Europe.

The arena itself is relatively new.  Amsterdam is proud of their team's history, and the fact that they are one of only five teams to win the European Cup three times and earned the fact to keep it by doing so.

We were able to see every corner of the huge arena.  Although not quite as big as many college football stadiums here in the United States, they pack it for almost every occasion.  They hold many different kinds of events.  Formerly, Amsterdam had a team called the Admirals that played in the NFL Europe league.  The venue is used for concerts, olympic-type track meets and kickboxing, which is huge in the Netherlands.

A somewhat modest dressing room.  You should have seen the visitors' room -- benches and white walls.  I had always heard that a visitor dressing room had bright pink walls.

See that section with the 20 foot fence in front of it?  It also has bullet-proof glass 12-15 feet high on the sides and the front.  These are the 2,500 seats that you are required to provide for the visiting team.  After the recent incident in Brazil where a referee fatally stabbed a player during a match, then the crowd stormed the field and took the life of the referee in a terrible way, I know now that some people are ridiculous about their "football."  It makes me think bullet-proof glass is not overkill.

Here is a close up look at the glass.  Yes, it is three layers.  This is all the way around the upper levels of the stadium.  Unbelievable.

We visited one of the skyboxes.  They go for a cool 500,000 to 700,000 Euros a year.  Hey, that entitles you to every event held there.  The Rolling Stones concert?  Yep.  Elton John the following week?  Of course.  

And it's pretty cold in Amsterdam most of the year.  Good thing those skybox seats are heated.  You can step inside if you must.  Same amenities as a suite here at home.

This was a wide view of the stadium.

It had a huge retractable roof.  Jerry isn't the only one who has a large roof that can open and close.  Very interesting that the turf was real grass.

Because I am more than familiar with irrigation practices here at home, this was amazing to me.  Those long white metal devices roll across the grass, and they provide artificial light as well as water to every corner of the field.  The opening in the roof does not provide enough sunlight to grow the grass.  Evidently, they use these irrigation machines for all the different types of crops they grow in the Netherlands.  You know, like tulips and all.

Check your privacy at the door.  This is only a partial look at the security room for the whole stadium.  The guide told us that every centimeter of every room is monitored.  Even the water closets.  Yikes.

If I didn't know it before, I am fully aware now; true football fans are crazy about their sport.

Football, You Bet!