I found out in yesterday's Arizona Republic that there is a woman called Grammar Girl who does a Podcast about different grammar issues that is one of the most downloaded podcasts out there. This is unfair. I wanted to be Grammar Girl, and now I can't. See, the people around me (i.e., those of you who are reading this blog entry) do not want me to give my two cents about grammar all the time, especially when it concerns their own. So I had always held out hope that I could be the Suze Orman of grammar and have my own talk show or radio show so I could give grammar tips to people who actually wanted my input, and now that niche has been filled. I suppose I will continue to give my grammar input to those who have not solicited it from me...sorry guys.
I do recommend the website. Even if you don't have an iPod, you can read the podcasts on her site. You can also search for specific words if you have a grammar question. She covers stimulating subjects such as semicolons, who vs. whom, and hang vs. hanged (this post came after the execution of Saddam Hussein). I know my mom would agree with Grammar Girl's assessment of bad vs. badly. FASCINATING!
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
New car, part II
Yesterday was an eventful day. Chad called me before work and said the Element wouldn't start. We thought it might be the battery but feared it may be something more serious (the starter, etc.) so we planned to take it in to the dealership to get it checked out. So at the end of the day, we jumped the car (it started) and took it to the local Honda dealership where they said they would test the battery. While we were waiting, I decided I wanted to look at the pre-owned cars. While we were looking we found a pretty sweet Civic Hybrid that we both really liked. We decided to take a test drive, and we liked it even more. Meanwhile, they told us that the battery was totally dead, and the warranty for it had lapsed. It would be $85. All the more reason to trade in the car! So we told them we would take the Civic if they would eat the cost of the battery, and we had a deal. The car deal experience was polar opposite from the experience we had last summer buying the Element. We're excited about our new car and we'll post more pictures of it when we get a chance. And yes we have two Civics now, don't judge.
Friday, February 23, 2007
Granddad
My granddad, Rowe Howard, died this morning. He was 88 years old.
Granddad was a Christian, a father, a husband, a grandfather, a WWII veteran, and an Aggie. I know he was proud that Erin and I both went to A&M (even though I was a liberal arts major:) ) He was a really good, honest man who loved God and his family and always wanted to do the right thing. My best memories of him are visiting him and grandmother on the farm at Garner, where they lived for about 30 years. As a child, when I woke up early from excitement on Christmas mornings, granddad would already be awake, eating his oatmeal and drinking his first cup of coffee for the day. We got to spend a lot of time with them growing up, which was a huge blessing in our lives.
I am thankful that granddad passed away fairly quickly and did not suffer very much. I am also thankful that he had my wonderful mom to take care of him and my grandmother over the past couple years when they could no longer fully take care of themselves. I know they were both grateful for that too, and my grandmother still is. Granddad had a lot of people that loved and admired him, and we will miss him a lot.
I know my family would appreciate you keeping us in your prayers during this time.
Granddad was a Christian, a father, a husband, a grandfather, a WWII veteran, and an Aggie. I know he was proud that Erin and I both went to A&M (even though I was a liberal arts major:) ) He was a really good, honest man who loved God and his family and always wanted to do the right thing. My best memories of him are visiting him and grandmother on the farm at Garner, where they lived for about 30 years. As a child, when I woke up early from excitement on Christmas mornings, granddad would already be awake, eating his oatmeal and drinking his first cup of coffee for the day. We got to spend a lot of time with them growing up, which was a huge blessing in our lives.
I am thankful that granddad passed away fairly quickly and did not suffer very much. I am also thankful that he had my wonderful mom to take care of him and my grandmother over the past couple years when they could no longer fully take care of themselves. I know they were both grateful for that too, and my grandmother still is. Granddad had a lot of people that loved and admired him, and we will miss him a lot.
I know my family would appreciate you keeping us in your prayers during this time.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Travel travails
Oh, me and my word play! As Chad would say, "You really cracked yourself up on that one, didn't you?" To which the answer is a resounding "yes."
Anyway, some of you have asked about my travel problems this weekend. Well, I had to catch a plane on Saturday to go to Lubbock. So my plane was supposed to leave at 1:50 Saturday afternoon and then I would fly to Albuquerque to catch a plane and then get to Lubbock at 5:20. Well, I got to the airport fine on the shuttle (I'll talk about that more later) notoriously early, as I tend to do. So 1:50 rolls around and there's still no plane at the gate. There are about 5 of us who are supposed to do this Phoenix to Albuquerque to Lubbock thing, and they call us to the desk. Never a good thing. We find out then that the plane we are supposed to be on at this very moment has not taken off from Las Vegas yet because of mechanical problems. A blessing in disguise, I suppose. I don't want to be on a plane that is having mechanical problems, because then I would be REALLY late to wherever I was going. Anyway so because we would miss our flight to Lubbock from Albuquerque if we waited for this first plane, they book a later flight for us (over two hours later) from Phoenix to El Paso to Lubbock. So now I will be in Lubbock at 8:30 because my layover is an hour in El Paso. Okay, so I get on the plane and we go to El Paso. We get there, and the five of us who are going to Lubbock walk to that gate. We let out a collective groan when this flight says it is delayed for over an hour! We finally get on the plane, and at 9:30, I get to Lubbock. Meanwhile, I rented a car from Enterprise when I booked my flight. They had a really great deal, but apparently, I chose the only rental car service whose desk closes at the Lubbock Airport at 8:00. Oh no! You say. Don't fret though; being the uber-planner that I am, I called Enterprise while still in the Phoenix airport to let them know the situation, and the nice guy at the desk says that since I'll be late, he can make a reservation for me with Alamo; he checked and it would be only a couple more dollars a day. So he does that and calls me back and says, "I made a reservation for you for Saturday through Monday." This is great, except I need the car until Tuesday. "I'll walk over and fix it," he says. "Okay, call me back if it is going to be a higher rate for Tuesday so I can make the decision," I say. No word, so I figure it's the same. Well, I get to the Alamo counter and it turns out that Tuesday is actually twice the price of the other weekend days, since Monday is still considered the weekend apparently. So the rental car ended up costing me more, but by the time I was finished with my 12 hour traveling day (during which time I could have driven to Lubbock), I was a little too tired to care. Exciting huh? Not really, but hey, you asked!
Speaking of the shuttle...this was an interesting experience. Sometimes on the shuttle to the airport nobody speaks the entire time (as was the case on my way down there) and sometimes you can't get anybody to shut up (the case on the way back, when I really could have used a nap). I got to listen to a radio station that played nothing but muzak, courtesy of the shuttle driver, and I got to overhear 3 people's mp3 players...quickly becoming one of my greatest pet peeves. The worst part though was the sounds I could hear of the couple in the background who were kissing every once in a while. Just plain nasty.
Has everybody else had enough yet? Stories like these, although not the worst thing that can happen to you in the world, make me glad I don't travel for a living. I'm glad I don't have to go anywhere for a while (I don't think).
Anyway, some of you have asked about my travel problems this weekend. Well, I had to catch a plane on Saturday to go to Lubbock. So my plane was supposed to leave at 1:50 Saturday afternoon and then I would fly to Albuquerque to catch a plane and then get to Lubbock at 5:20. Well, I got to the airport fine on the shuttle (I'll talk about that more later) notoriously early, as I tend to do. So 1:50 rolls around and there's still no plane at the gate. There are about 5 of us who are supposed to do this Phoenix to Albuquerque to Lubbock thing, and they call us to the desk. Never a good thing. We find out then that the plane we are supposed to be on at this very moment has not taken off from Las Vegas yet because of mechanical problems. A blessing in disguise, I suppose. I don't want to be on a plane that is having mechanical problems, because then I would be REALLY late to wherever I was going. Anyway so because we would miss our flight to Lubbock from Albuquerque if we waited for this first plane, they book a later flight for us (over two hours later) from Phoenix to El Paso to Lubbock. So now I will be in Lubbock at 8:30 because my layover is an hour in El Paso. Okay, so I get on the plane and we go to El Paso. We get there, and the five of us who are going to Lubbock walk to that gate. We let out a collective groan when this flight says it is delayed for over an hour! We finally get on the plane, and at 9:30, I get to Lubbock. Meanwhile, I rented a car from Enterprise when I booked my flight. They had a really great deal, but apparently, I chose the only rental car service whose desk closes at the Lubbock Airport at 8:00. Oh no! You say. Don't fret though; being the uber-planner that I am, I called Enterprise while still in the Phoenix airport to let them know the situation, and the nice guy at the desk says that since I'll be late, he can make a reservation for me with Alamo; he checked and it would be only a couple more dollars a day. So he does that and calls me back and says, "I made a reservation for you for Saturday through Monday." This is great, except I need the car until Tuesday. "I'll walk over and fix it," he says. "Okay, call me back if it is going to be a higher rate for Tuesday so I can make the decision," I say. No word, so I figure it's the same. Well, I get to the Alamo counter and it turns out that Tuesday is actually twice the price of the other weekend days, since Monday is still considered the weekend apparently. So the rental car ended up costing me more, but by the time I was finished with my 12 hour traveling day (during which time I could have driven to Lubbock), I was a little too tired to care. Exciting huh? Not really, but hey, you asked!
Speaking of the shuttle...this was an interesting experience. Sometimes on the shuttle to the airport nobody speaks the entire time (as was the case on my way down there) and sometimes you can't get anybody to shut up (the case on the way back, when I really could have used a nap). I got to listen to a radio station that played nothing but muzak, courtesy of the shuttle driver, and I got to overhear 3 people's mp3 players...quickly becoming one of my greatest pet peeves. The worst part though was the sounds I could hear of the couple in the background who were kissing every once in a while. Just plain nasty.
Has everybody else had enough yet? Stories like these, although not the worst thing that can happen to you in the world, make me glad I don't travel for a living. I'm glad I don't have to go anywhere for a while (I don't think).
Friday, February 16, 2007
Smartie
Well, I hate to brag about myself, but I don't mind bragging about Chad. In case you guys didn't know, he is very smart. I thought he was going to post this himself but he hasn't yet so I'm doing the honors. Anyway, on Wednesday Chad took his Flight Paramedic Certification test and passed with flying colors! He said it was the hardest test he had ever taken, but he had been studying for weeks so I'm really glad that he passed the first time...it took a lot out of him! I know most of you are thinking, "Well of COURSE Chad passed!" but I know he was nervous because the tests are so hard, and they have to get a pretty high score to pass (one of the tests requires an 88%). This makes him a Certified Flight Paramedic. Many people do not pass this test on their first try because it is so difficult. I'm proud of you, Chad!
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