Day 2 of Recovery

Things are going better than I expected. The pain is pretty manageable. I mean, I don't want to go out for Indian food, but I can put down applesauce and cottage cheese just fine. Thank God for this huge bottle of Liquid Lortab. I take it every 4 hours, and the 3rd hour gets pretty painful, so I try to sleep through that hour. Here's the routine I have going on:

• take nap

• drink Lortab

• eat baby food

• drink apple juice

• check email/FB/text

• watch The Wire

• read MockingJay

• take nap again
  

Pretty good life if you ask me!

Tonsils Out! Day 1 of Recovery

Woke up from the surgery disoriented, nauseous, and in a lot of pain. They quickly took care of the second two with meds in my IV! Now I'm just EXHAUSTED. It's like I've never slept. I have been sleeping since I got home and still not rested. I'm not in much pain, but my throat is SO swollen. Almost swollen shut and hard to breath, even through my nose. I was able to drink 1/2 a Jamba juice, some chicken broth, and even a little soggy garlic bread. Overall not as bad as I thought, but I hear that day 3 will be a bitch.

the pain is finally over

I have bad luck with concerts. Ask anyone who follows me on Facebook. My status updates are constantly "this show got canceled" or "that show got canceled."

This pattern has been especially painful and annoying in relationship to my favorite artist, Brandi Carlile. If you are not familiar with her work, look it up. UH-MAZ-ING. But my luck in seeing her in concert this summer: not so amazing.

Let me just give you a little time line of my pain and suffering:

July 2010: Brandi plays at the Red Butte summer concert series. Joe and I had been at a wedding in South Dakota. We planned to drive home in time, but we got delayed an extra day due to bad weather.

August 2010: Brandi is scheduled to play at Lilith Fair in Houston. I book a flight and make plans to stay with my good friend, Stephany. Two days after I book my flight, Lilith Fair is canceled due to "poor ticket sales". (Steph and I still had a great time!)

September 2010: I NEED to see Brandi so I track her down in Vegas and book a 4-night trip. Then I realize she's not the headliner -- she's opening for Sheryl Crow. Gag me. I really don't want to pay $75 to hear 5 Brandi songs and 40 Sheryl songs. While I'm trying to decide whether or not to buy the tickets, Brandi announces an acoustic show in Salt Lake only three days after the Vegas show. So excited! It's the solution to my dilemma -- skip Sheryl Crow, enjoy Vegas, and come home a few hours early so I can make it to the Brandi show here! Perfect!

If only it worked out that way.....

So I'm in Vegas. Sheryl Crow postpones her show. Brandi and her band have nothing to do for three days. So what do they do? They head to Salt Lake three days early and put on an impromptu show on Sunday night! WHILE I'M STUCK IN VEGAS. I was nearly in tears when I saw the announcement on FaceBook. It was the epitome of irony.

It gets better.

During that show, Brandi announces to all her adoring fans (except me) that they will be playing ANOTHER impromptu show in Salt Lake the following night. WHILE I'M STILL STUCK IN VEGAS. Can you honestly believe this?

She played her debut album, "Brandi Carlile," in its entirety on Sunday. She played her second album, "The Story," in its entirety on Monday. I finally got back in town on Tuesday just in time for the third amazing show, during which she played her new album, "Give up the Ghost," in its entirety.

The Tuesday-night show sold out months ago, in just a few hours. That makes me the TRUE fan, right? But somehow, I ended up feeling like "leftovers". There was such an energetic feeling in the intimate venue, as if Brandi and all these people, who had been there the two preceding nights, were now best friends. And I missed so many of my favorite songs :(

But I can't complain. Brandi rocked it. She always does. Her songs are sexy, her voice is sexy, and she is sexy. I tracked this woman through 4 states and 6 concerts in the last 3 months. That is true devotion! And it was worth the wait.

finally!

Finally! The doctor agreed to take my tonsils out!

I have wanted these things out for years. On the size scale from 1-5, mine have been a "five plus" for as long as I can remember. Well, ok, only since I was a smoker. My bad. I guess I deserve this surgery now.

I've heard that adult tonsil removal is hell. And I've SEEN that hell first hand that since both my brother and my sister got their tonsils out as adults. But honestly I don't even care. I will be so happy when I no longer get food stuck in my throat, snore, or feel like I'm always swallowing my own tonsils.

And the best part is ... I get two weeks off work! Unfortunately, I had to schedule the surgery the week before our next trip to South Dakota, so I'll have to spend my vacation recovering, but that is okay with me.

So if you want to give me a gift card to Emerald City or Jamba Juice around Sept 27, that would be cool with me ;)

josh LEWis

i have this friend
his name is lew
he is so annoying
i don't know what to do

lew takes good photos
this i can't deny
but i want to slap the shit out of him
and poke him in the eye

lew just bought a condo
it's really cute and big
but even though i like his house
sometimes he's a misogynist pig

lew also got a puppy
she is super cute
but lew is guatemalan
and no one gives a hoot

lew is right here with me
while i'm writing this dumb poem
he needs to stop pissing me off
or i'm going to tell him to go home

looks like we're finally going to get a good Shakira album if this single is any indicator. i've been disappointed with pretty much everything since ?donde estan los ladres?

women of music

have you seen the show "hoarders" on A&E? that is what my music collection looks like.

stats:

• 67 GB
• 498 artists
• 1043 albums
• 11,077 songs

with so many choices, my favorites are always changing. lately i'm into girls. hot girls with sexy voices. quite often lesbians. and good lyrics don't hurt.

the archandroid
by janelle monae
selected song: cold war









give up the ghost
by brandi carlile
selected song: dying day









the story
by brandi carlile
selected song: turpentine









brandi carlile
by brandi carlile
selected song: sixty years on









rockferry
by duffy
selected song: mercy









lungs
by florence + the machine
selected song: raise it up









lessons to be learned
by gabriella cilmi
selected song: cigarettes and lies









made of bricks
by kate nash
selected song: foundations









19
by adele
selected song: chasing pavements









back to black by amy winehouse
selected song: tears dry on their own










wild young hearts
by the noisettes
selected song: so complicated









begin to hope
by regina spektor
selected song: apres moi









eleven eleven
by regina spektor
selected song: buildings









donde estan los ladrones
by shakira
selected song: no creo









pies descalzos
by shakira
selected song: antologia









so jealous
by tegan and sara
selected song: fix you up









if it was you
by tegan and sara
selected song: living room









this business of art
by tegan and sara
selected song: all you got

blue playdoh

These 10(ish)-year-old girls that live in my condos were having a "yard sale" with some of their toys last night. It was pretty hilarious. The stuff was pretty new, but used once or twice. It looked as if one of them had recently had a birthday party and was pawning off all the gifts she didn't like.

I noticed a tub of blue PlayDoh, which I'd been meaning to buy anyway for my play therapy shelf. Here is how our conversation went --

Trisha: Hey girls, how much for that blue PlayDoh?
Girls: That's on sale for $1.
Trisha: Well I have some bad news for you. Walmart sells that brand-new for $0.88.
Girls, without skipping a beat: We can sell it for $0.70 then!

I went in the house, scrounged up $0.70, and did the deal. When I got back in the house, Joe said, "So you gave them $0.75, right?" Right then and there, I realized what a horrible, cheap person I am. Did I really barter with a 10-year-old over $0.12? I should be stoned to death with PlayDoh tubs full of rocks :(

2.5th Annual Girls Weekend

I have been to visit my good friend, Stephany, in Houston for the past two Januaries. We threw in an extra summer trip this year so we could see Brandi Carlile at Lilith Fair. Unfortunately, the concert got canceled, but we made up for it (and more) with all the fun stuff we packed into the weekend!

Friday
Ate some world-famous oak-smoked brisket from Rudy's Bar-B-Q. It's located in a GAS STATION but oh-so-good!

Went shopping in Old Town Spring, a quaint little historic shopping village. Did some wine tasting, bought some yummy treats, and found the cutest handmade bird feeder for our Lead house.

Did some "Dancing Under the Dinosaurs" at the Houston Museum of Natural Science's Mixers and Elixirs event. The "buffet" was disappointing (7-Eleven-style nachos) but definitely the best people-watching of the whole trip!

Saturday
Toured Minute Maid Park where the Astros play. Walked right down onto the field (but don't touch the grass!!!), sat inside the team's dugout, and toured the owner's suite. We even saw how the Diamond Club members live. These people paid $20,000 just for the rights to buy season tickets, and then they pay an additional $350+ per game for the actual tickets!! At 81 home games, that's a minimum of $28,350 per year. They have padded seats and all their food and drinks are included. Nice!

Watched the horse races at Sam Houston Race Park. We had Winner's Circle Tickets, which included an all-you-can-eat buffet and the best seats in the house! I lost all my money :( but Steph won $25!

Sunday
Cruised through Clear Lake and Galveston Bay on a bottomless-brunch champagne cruise. It was a little cramped and Steph got motion-sick, but I'm glad we checked it out! There was a really good live musician, a la Eric Anthony who played at our wedding.

Mulled around the Kemah boardwalk. The shops were lame, but the roller coaster was wicked fun! It was one of those rickety old wooden types that scares the shit right out of you. We didn't stay long because it was about 110 degrees (with the heat index) and we were completely drenched in sweat.

Ate some fantastic Mexican food at Chuy's. My enchiladas were stuffed with chicken, squash, and spinach, and smothered with SUPER spicy Texas green-chili sauce. Topped it all off with a Mexican Martini -- green-chili infused tequila, Cointreau, lime juice, and a jalapeno-stuffed green olive.

Overall it was another great trip! Thanks so much for everything, Steph. Can't wait to see you next time!!

the board game to end all board games

Our family loves board games! Some of our favorites include:

Ticket to Ride

Apples to Apples


Things

Compatibility

A few weeks back, I decided it was time for a new game. I did some research online to find the best board game ever, and MAN, did I find it!

Carcassonne is named after a city in southern France. It's a fast-paced tile game in which you try to build cities, roads, cloisters, and farms. People tell me it's like Settlers of Catan. I know, totally nerdy, right?! I even bought it at Hastur Games & Hobbies -- the mecca of nerdiness. Judge me if you must, but this game is WICKED fun.

There are plenty of expansion packs so you never get bored (like you would anyway). We bought the first three expansion packs and they have been keeping us busy for HOURS!

We'll be playing it at Tequila Tuesday gatherings throughout the summer if you want to come check it out! Or, buy it for your own collection. It's totally worth the investment ($40 at Hastur but cheaper online).