Conversations With My Husband

John and I are often our chattiest when we first wake up in the morning or right before we fall asleep at the end of a long day -- mostly with goofy conversations about nothing. Last Sunday night, John was telling me how his mom thought we should take the Corvette over to her house and keep it in her garage, making room for Xterra in our garage.

I asked John, “Do you think (Xterra) is too big for the garage? Or too tall?”

John covered his head with the sheets, trying to stifle his laughter. Once I realized what I had said and started laughing myself, he laughed even harder, almost to tears.

Not a funny story, huh? I guess you have to hear the origin of this tale retold by William.

About 20 years ago, Freddy and William had a friend named Khuntep, who is Thai. I never met him (this was before my time with group) but have heard numerous stories about their (mis)adventures. The guys lost touch with him after he moved back to Thailand, but the Khuntep stories live on.

One evening, while out on the town with William, Laurie and Linda, Khuntep told the girls, “You beeeeg. You taaaall.” You can imagine Laurie’s and Linda’s reactions to his rude comment. Khuntep wasn’t the most politically correct or sensitive person apparently. The statement itself isn’t all that funny. The way William tells the story, re-enacting Khuntep’s accent, is. And it certainly sticks in your mind like Henry’s “It’s a joke... get it?” story. Classic.

We’ve been trying to think of a name for the new ride. “Big and Tall” actually stuck in my head this week, but it reminds me more of the men’s store than channeling Khuntep. Another idea was “Gromit” from “Wallace and Gromit”. No reason, really. Just the ability to say, “’Ello, Gromit!” to my vehicle using a British-like accent.

Yep, I talk to my car... I’m a dork, I know...

If you have any ideas for a new name, let me know in the comments! So far though, B&T is leading in the polls.

More Snow

It's Sunday afternoon and snowing again here in Laurel. Not much though. A very light dusting. See...


I know, you can't really tell it's snowing.

HEY!!! What's that thing blocking Jackass' view???

It's my NEW RIDE!!!

Actually, it's used. A 2002 Nissan Xterra. Jackass decided to start making weird engine noises on Friday on my way home from work. At first, I thought it was something with the exhaust system. A fairly easy fix, right? John informed me it was more serious. We could have taken Jackass in to see how much the damage would be to fix him... but poor Jackass is old. How much more could he give after almost 12 years and 205,000+ miles of service?

William said I should get a brand new FJ Cruiser, which is something I really would have loved to have. But I didn't want to put something brand new through the 500 mile torture of my weekly work commute. I do think I will come to enjoy this new truck as much as my beloved Jackass. And ain't it purty? Here it is next to Ninny:

Sorry I haven't been blogging much or uploading the rest of my Thailand pictures. It's been hard to come home and hang out in front of a PC after being in front of one all day long at work. I'm off tomorrow for President's Day, so maybe I'll get everything uploaded and such... after taking the new ride out for a spin.

One Week; Almost Normal

With over a week back home under our belts, we're almost back to normal in terms of sleeping and such. We even made it out Friday night to check out Joe's band, Chance Gardener, downtown at RNR Bar. Saturday, John was on call. Luckily, we were only 5 minutes away from home during the first call and were just about to head out to the grocery store for the second one.

Sunday, we headed to William's for football festivities. I made some baked crab dip (from a co-worker's recipe) and also took some cheesecake and a German chocolate cake for dessert. Nate and Little Dana showed their chili cookin' skills and Jake made a yummy pulled pork (or was it beef?) bbq. There were lots of dips and wings too.

As much as I wanted the Bears to win (in honor of Chicago's own Crazy Cousin Kara), the Colts had the better team, even though it was a sloppy (and rainy wet) game. The halftime show, however, was awesome. Prince put on a great set despite the rain. I wish he had performed a few more songs!

I posted a few more pics from the trip. Days 4 and 5. We visited a temple at the top of a mountain, an elephant camp, and a few gardens. More pics to come!