Million Dollar Listing

Just when I think Bravo TV can't get any better, I discover another new show.  This one follows 3 LA realtors as they compete and sell the big houses.

Madison.    The most likeable of the 3.  He's in  love with Lauren, the one that got away but he dates guys mostly now.  He thinks if Lauren was available, he'd be straight.    He's clean and looks great and he's the one I'd do business with.










This one is Josh.  He's 21 and lives at home with his parents and has a strangely close relationship with his grandmother who dresses like Yetta on 'The Nanny'.    On the first show I saw, he was kind of offended that she is leaving her vast fortune to charity and not to him.  But when he wants to get away, he and gram go to NY.   He needs a shower, a razor, a wardrobe and some manners.  Would not be doing business with this one, as entertaining as he is.   He gets 2 pictures because...well...one of his clients was a little offended about the way he dressed to discuss an offer.  And Josh could not figure out why.

In negotiations

What's wrong with the way I'm dressed?

And last, but not least....

Chad.   This person is 33 years old.  He pays $600 every 4 weeks for this haircut.  And when he gets stressed, he goes shopping for tennis shoes.   His mommy makes red velvet cakes for his clients.  He has a girlfriend named Victoria who deserves an Emmy for keeping a straight face.  He is a neat freak, keeps everything in baggies and keeps wanting Victoria to move in with him.  She is almost out of excuses so she may not be on next season.    He and Josh have a running feud.


How Bravo finds these people is a mystery.  It's not a good show but yet another example of how I have to watch a train wreck, even if it is disguised as a TV show.

Ok, sometimes God just hits you in the head.

I get a daily devotional everyday from my friend Connie, who happens to be my next door neighbor Kim's mom.   So I guess Connie is my neighbor-in-law.    She had found this and forwarded it on and boy oh boy does it fit!!   It is amazing how God answers prayers from all that have been praying about my move decision (including me!!).   Wow is all I can say.

Thank you Connie for being in my life.

A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet.  He held up a sign which said: "I am blind, please help."  There were only a few coins in the hat. 

A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words.

He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words. 

Soon the hat began to fill up.  A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy. 
That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were.  The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, "Were you the one who changed my sign this morning?  What did you write?" 

The man said, "I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way." I wrote: "Today is a beautiful day but I cannot see it." 

Both signs told people that the boy was blind. But the first sign simply said the boy was blind. The second sign told people that they were so lucky that they were not blind. Should we be surprised that the second sign was more effective? 


Moral of the Story:  Be thankful for what you have.  Be creative. Be innovative. Think differently and positively. When life gives you a 100 reasons to cry, show life that you have 1000 reasons to smile.


Face your past without regret.  Handle your present with confidence.  Prepare for the future without fear.  Keep the faith and drop the fear.  And remember: God IS in control!

The Delusional Housewives of Beverly Hills

Ok, I have to admit that I love this show.  If you have not seen it, its on Bravo and it follows 6 rich women who live in Beverly Hills and shows their lives and interactions with each other.  Certainly nothing I can relate to but her is a little introduction and recap:

1.  Kim Richards.    When I was a little girl, she was a child star on a show called 'Nanny and the Professor' with  Juliet Mills and Richard Long  (Heath from the Big Valley).   Her credits on IMDB show she had an ok career but does not do much acting now.  She has 4 kids and is pretty much just mom.  She is not a real or delusional houswife as she has been divorced twice and in a long term relationship that is over so she is the poor pathetic single of the group.  She looks sad a lot, especially when the husbands are along for the ride ans she is alone.  The truth is she looks terribly fragile and I read she went into rehab after the season was over.  I hopefully she gets healthier.   Other trivia is that she is the sister of Kathy Hilton, Paris' mom.   I read an article that she was dating a man that was killed right in front of her, shot on the street.  That incident could explain a lot.

2.  Kyle Richards.    Kim and Kathy's sister, married to handsome and  sexy Mauricio and mom to 4 daughters.  Certainly the more stable Richards sister, also a former child star though not as successful as her sister.  She seems pretty down to earth for this group although she seems to say whatever goes through her mind.    Her husband is in real estate and makes probably the least of the husbands but they live ok.  She is a pretty hands on mom and a little more modest, even though she did give her 2 year old a $12,000 birthday party with a bouncy house, a train and a petting zoo.   Her best friend is Faye Resnick from OJ fame.   She seems to feel like she has to take care of her more fragile sister but she's frankly a little mean to her.

3.  Lisa Vanderpump.    British, married to her husband what's his name.  Can't remember.  They own 2 swanky restaurants and have been married for like 30 years.  She has a great sense of humor and seems to express exactly what I'm thinking sometimes.  She is crazy about her husband and he for her an they have a live in houseguest, Cedric, who followed them from England and will not leave.  Cedric hangs out with Lisa and runs her errands and swims in her pool and does little else.  I think he will be chunked soon.  Lisa also has a little dog named Jiggy, short for Gigolo and Jiggy dresses well and Lisa carries him everywhere.  Lisa seems to be the most modest and sensible of the housewives and is my favorite.

4.  Taylor Armstrong.  Married to cold hearted Russell.   This is a business arrangement and no one really makes any qualms about it.  Taylor expresses that she would have like to marry for love but she wanted to have a lifestyle different from what she grew up with and there is a price for that.  They have a little girl named Kennedy and Taylor paid $60,000 for her 4th birthday party.  That would officially be more money that I have ever made in one year in my entire life.  Taylor has her lifestyle but also a husband who cares little for her or her child and who probably has a chippie or 2 on the side.   She is officially the saddest of the housewives.

5.  Adrienne Maloof.  Married to Paul, a plastic surgeon.  Mother to 3 hellions under 10.  Her family (not Paul) owns the Sacramento Kings and the Palms Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.   I like her too, very down to earth for this group and certainly for a woman with this much money.  She takes everyone to see the Kings play and Jay Z in concert at the Palms.

6.  Camille Grammar.  Married to Kelsey from 'Frazier'.   Or used to be.  This one is an official piece of work.   Face work.  Boob work.  Children from surrogate to avoid messing up her body.  4 nannies for 2 kids, a couple of cooks, a house manager.   She doesn't like women because they are catty to her.  She does not now nor will she ever probably have a real woman friend because she tends to go into stripper mode when she is around the husbands.  She is normally in the middle of them, hanging on them, flirting with them, doing lap dances for them.  She probably does not remember her kids' names.  She has a friend named Deidra that kisses her ass but Camille says every week that Deidra and her husband had hit hard times and she pays all their bills and they live in one of Camille's houses, so ass kissing is the least she could do.  She does have a friend named Allison Dubois, the alleged model for the show 'Medium' who is, without a doubt, the most obnoxious drunk on television.   I could go on and on...OY.

This week, Camille gets a call from Kelsey telling her her marriage is over.  I cannot wait to see if anyone anywhere feels any sympathy for her.

For better descriptions and recaps of the show go here:
www.tvgasm.com               and click on Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.    Flipit, the recapper, is hysterical.

Weatherford Apartment

I talked to a girl named Cindy today about an apartment in Weatherford.  Check it out:
www.whitecap-properties.com                  Then click on Weatherford.

2 bedroom, 2 bath, $800 a month.      She has no openings right now but anticipates some soon.   Looks gorgeous, huh?

And Donna talked to her GP doctor and they will take me as a new patient.

Apartment.   Check
Doctor.    Check

Things are not as bad as they sound

My dear friend Lee called me today after reading my last post to see if I was ok and I had to go back to read it to see what she was talking about.    It's just the ramblings and thoughts running through the head of a fence sitter talking things out.  Most of you know me...I have to work things out in my head and that means writing about it on this blog.  

No worries.

As usual, I am a little panic-y

I have hundreds of thoughts going through my little square head about moving or not moving, about the future, about world peace and life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness and about why Ben Stiller is a star.

Adventurous Billie, about 10% of real Billie, is ready for the move, without a doubt.  Ready to get to know a new city and be closer to some family and Josh Hamilton and Williams Sonoma.  The other 90% of real Billie, the Billie that needs safety and security is afraid that she will be even lonelier than she is now (if that is possible) & that she won't make new friends, something she has trouble doing anyway and she is scared that she won't be able to get a job and will be indigent and eating chicken noodle soup the rest of her life.   She thinks that she may be an official idiot leaving a house that is paid for for an unknown living situation.  She is afraid to fail.


OK, out of the 3rd person.  I always think that people who discuss themselves in 3rd person are annoying.   I still technically have a couple of months until its the time I've chosen to move.   So this blog will be a sounding board as I go through every detail.   All 3 of my readers will be yelling ENOUGH ALREADY!!  


I talked to my friend Deb on Saturday about this.  To clarify, Deb is a talker and technically I'm not.  I have to work things out on my own.   But one thing I mentioned is that I am not settled, not in my home and not in my life.  I am used to working full time, used to a routine.   I like the time off, don't get me wrong, but it really does not feel real sometimes.  I'm not sure I can do it for the rest of my life but I don't want a full time job either.   And I cannot explain why I am unsettled in the house.  Ever since Daddy moved in 5 years ago, it does not feel like my space.  I feel extremely lucky that he him lived  with me but now, even though he's gone, I pass his bathroom and rarely go into his bedroom.   I still wake up sometimes thinking I hear him call.  I have redone some paint and countertops and carpet and tile and nothing has changed.    Somehow, I feel like I am visiting or living in a hotel.  Nothing I have done has made it feel different.   


And I am scared that the loneliness will never end.  In Weatherford I'll have Donna and be close to Aunt Betty & Uncle T but I'll be leaving a lot of friends in Lubbock.  I only see a few on a regular basis and that has dwindled but I do have Deb and Robbie & Kyle and Sarjim.  When I broke my foot they were all there.  And I'll miss Steve.  And it's not like I'll never see any of them again.  But I am afraid the loneliness will get even worse, like it was the only other time I moved away, to San Antonio in 1983.   The problem with that was that I could not see Mom & Daddy anytime I wanted and I never did have it in me to see them 2 times a year.  But the other part was that except for the times I saw them, no one touched me for an entire year.  I'm not talking about sex,  I'm talking about someone putting their arm around me or touching my arm or hugging me.   It almost crippled me.   But I don't have that much now either.  


The debate will go on until the final call is made.  

Clambake

Today would be Elvis' 76 birthday and TCM has a couple of his movies on.  I missed the 1st one, 'Kissin Cousins', one I'm not sure I've ever seen.  The 2nd is 'Clambake', made in 1967 and according to Ben Mankiewicz,  released just 4 days before Elvis' wedding to Priscilla.  He said that there were wedding pictures autographed by both of them in random soundtrack albums.  Can you imagine what that would be worth today?

Anyhoo...

'Clambake' is a really bad movie.  Elvis is the son of an oil tycoon named Duster, played by veteran actor James Gregory.  Scott (Elvis) wants to meet a girl interested in him, not his money so he trades places with Tom (Will Hutchins), a ski instructor.  He falls for Diane, played by  Shelley Fabares, who only has eyes for JJ of JJ's Jammies (Bill Bixby) and his money.  We all know the ending so I won't go into much about the movie, except again, it's horrible.  But I do have a little of what I think is interesting trivia

1.  According to Ben, this was Shelley Fabares' 3rd movie with Elvis in 3 years. Oddly, my favorite Elvis movie also stars Shelley and that one is 'Girl Happy'.   Rumor has it (not from Ben) that Elvis slept with all of his co-stars so it must have seemed strange to have her around near his wedding day.  Of course, his relationship with Priscilla would keep a therapist busy for a lifetime.

2.  I own this movie.  It has 2 of my favorite ever Elvis songs:   'A House That Has Everything', where he points out "Better just a shack, where two people love, than a house that has everything, everything but love",
a song I wish they would put on Itunes.  The other is 'You Don' Know Me', a song later recorded by Mickey Gilley, among others.   This movie also has a song called 'Hey, hey, hey',  aka the goop song which must have been embarassing for all to film.

3.  There is another song called 'Confidence' and although uncredited, I think the little girl at the top of the slide is Maureen McCormick,  Marcia Marcia Marcia from the Brady Bunch.

4.  It also has Marj Dusay who was the final Alexandra Spaulding on Guiding Light.

5.  Has anyone else noticed that Elvis wears long sleeves in all his movies, even when all the girls are in bikinis?  

I'm typing this in the middle of the movie so even though it's a stinker, I'll get back to it.

I took mom flowers today.

Only the girls get flowers most of the time.   I so miss them both

Mini vacation nearly over...

I've been off since Sunday and and have to go back to work on Sunday so only 2 more days left.  I had an at home day, an errand day, a lunch with a friend day, a mini travel day and now what?   I'm thinking movie day tomorrow even though 'The King's Speech' still is not here.   Thinking 'True Grit'.  

I seriously felt less busy when I was working.  Of course, I could not sleep til 10 am, like I have all week.

And speaking of Grayson...

Just laying around...

Is he cute or what?

The Drooler

Ole Paint

This is Grayson's Christmas present from me:

He clops and whinnies !!

He now needs a hat and some boots.

It's 2011

It's January 4 and I guess it's time to reflect on what we accomplished last year and goals for the coming year.  I don't know why we all do this but somehow the year changing brings it out in all of us.

Certainly the weight loss is still a struggle.  I weigh less than I did in high school right now--yep, I was a chunko even then.  I am for the most part comfortable where I am and try not to beat myself up about it.  But I'd be happy to drop another 40 pounds.  I would be an official skinny minnie then.  We are talking about a trip to Hawaii in October and I'd like to wear a bathing suit.    So my goal there is back on the Weight Watchers plan that I know works and keep going down.  And it's kind of an excuse but I am afraid to get on the treadmill or eliptical because of my foot.  We are not yet fully healed, even though it's much better.  I hope I can do it without another excuse when the foot is healed.

I've made the decision to move to Weatherford in April.  I have a man who wants to buy the house--keep your fingers crossed that it goes through--and I hope to get on with the school system or get another part time job when I get there.  My dear friend Donna is there and I have family in Flower Mound and Dallas.  I think I will enjoy being closer to the big city and hope to be able to see a few Rangers games a year and take advantage of some big city amenities while living in a smaller town.  Weatherford looks bigger because the interstate goes through there but there are really only about 30,000 people there, a much smaller town than Lubbock.    It's a beautiful little city with trees and cowboys and farmers markets.   I have not lived anywhere but Lubbock since I graduated from Tech except for one miserable year in San Antonio.   That year I was 25,  lonely and too far from mom & daddy.  I know people do it but I was not meant to see them 2 times a year.    Now I'm older and no longer have any ties and I'm wanting a new adventure.

I mentioned Hawaii and hope it happens.  I love traveling with Robbie & Kyle and we are talking about a full week.  The weather seems oddly constant so we won't be going at a cold time of year.   All our other trips have been fun but not enough time.  We want to see it all.  Got a good price from the travel agent for Saturday to Saturday, 2 islands, nice hotels, airfare.   I can hardly wait!!

The rest of 2011?   Well, flying by the seat of my pants, something I am learning to do.  I want to try not to be so structured.   I've done ok  moneywise on the retirement and the part time job so that worry is not as intrusive.  I am sleeping better, trying to eat better, trying to visit with family and meet new people and am basically doing the best I can.  I'm not rich but that was never going to happen anyway.  I am looking forward to getting to know a new city, a new home (although I wish I could take my current one with me!!).  I am even going to admit I would like to find a new man to share time with.   That wish was always there but never admitted in public (or to the 3 people who read my blog!!).  Weatherford is full of cowboys, some of my favorite people!!    Maybe one would like to meet a chunky-but-working-on-it, retired, structured -but-trying -to-loosen-up, Rangers fan who is doing the best she can.  Wish me luck!!

Winter Banner

I really like the winter picture so I used it in my banner.  I don't know these trees and we've had no snow even though it's winter. The inside the house me likes this scene.  The have to drive in the snow me thinks it's a pretty picture but I'm glad it's somewhere else.

I stole this quote...

"If someone thinks that love and peace is a cliché that must have been left behind in the Sixties, that's his problem. Love and peace are eternal." - John Lennon