Christmas Time in the City

There's no doubt the holiday season is upon us. And this past weekend while in St. Louis I got to see my favorite thing during the holiday season... lights! In particular-- Kiener Plaza. This is the third year in a row Jason and I have visited the light display. It's pretty much the same every year, but it still makes me happy. So I'd like to share one of my favorite things with everyone with some pictures I took. The night was a little chilly and there was a full moon. I got a good vibe down there. A lot of people were walking around looking at the lights and no homeless people harassed us (Jason) for money or to buy flowers.

They added two new identical Christmas trees down by the entertainment/seating area... They were pretty and I enjoyed them. Here's a pic of one of them with the full moon up in the sky.


Kiener Plaza is right in the heart of Downtown and has a great view of the Arch and Old Court House. This is "the tree" Mayor Slay lights every year. It's the centerpiece of the Downtown lighting big to-do. The tree's pretty, but boring at the same time. It's the same every year from what I remember.
This is my favorite picture. Maybe it's just because it reminds me of the first time I went to see the lights a couple years ago. The picture on the left is from 2005. The picture on the right is from this year.
While I'm on the topic of Christmas trees I feel the need to share my quaint (or pathetic, however you want to look at it) tree in my apartment. It's a 3-footer! I'm pretty sure I wandered the aisles of Target for about an hour trying to pick out the ornaments and exactly what color scheme I would go with. I tried to make it pretty, but personal at the same time... it has decorative ornaments and ones that actually mean something to me.I have two ornaments that look like my two cats that are alive, and a third one that looks like my cat that just died. It has angel wings and a halo.

The ornament Jason's grandmother gave me on our first Christmas is also on the tree (you can see a corner of it in the picture on the left). And I have a little souvenir from one of the new trees in Kiener plaza. I really liked one of the sparkly ornaments on the tree, so I thought I'd bring a little bit of the Lou to Springfield for my tree. :) And yes, those are Cardinal ornaments in the tree, and under, and on top. I didn't really see any tree toppers I liked so I figured I would just continue with the Cardinal/red theme and put that Cardinal beeny baby thing on the top. To me, the tree says, "Dori". It works for me.

Mizzou is #1

Unbelievable. That's the best way I can describe the latest BCS standings. Mizzou is #1 in the country! I can't say that I ever thought I would see this happen.

The scenario couldn't have been any more perfect. Number 2 undefeated Kansas playing arch rival #4 Missouri, all in a neutral site. So much more than pride on the line... Big 12 North title, a spot in the Big 12 Championship, from there a shot at the national title. That's a storyline made for the big screen, well at least your big screen TV. I was really glad ABC picked up on the heated rivalry and explosive atmosphere at MU-kU games.

About 2% of me thought Mizzou would lose. I don't even know why I was that worried. I've known since summer kU had the one of the easiest schedules in NCAA football, let alone the Big 12. I said all along their team was overrated. The way we dominated Saturday solidified that fact.

36-28. A very deceptive score if you ask me. There were only two times in the entire game when I thought, "Hey, this is kinda starting to be a game." The jayhawks were never really in it. I'm glad kU finally got to play a real team.

The jayhawks' last play of the game? Let me just say there couldn't have been a more perfect ending. I'll let the video do the rest of the talking.



There are few things better in this world for a Mizzou fan than beating the jayhawks. This year not only did we beat them, but we bitch-slapped them off their overrated pedestal. Ahh, all I can do is smile.

Now it's on to San Antonio where the Tigers will play #9 Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship game. If Mizzou wins it's on to New Orleans for the Bowl Championship Series National Title game. I can't even imagine how exciting that will be. Taking it game-by-game seems to work for Pinkel, so I think I'll take the same approach right now.

I honestly don't really know how to feel about Saturday's game. I know we're going to bring an even better game to the turf than we did in Norman a month ago. We kept that game close. Right now the Sooners are favored by 3. I'm gonna take this number with a big grain of salt. kU was favored by 2 points last weekend. Numbers that low only tell me it's going to be more of a toss-up than anything. The only thing I know right now is this year's Big 12 Championship game is going to be an exciting one. And man, I can't tell you how excited I am about Saturday. M-I-Z... Z-O-U!!!

Farewell Fall

It seems as though Fall is gone for good. We had the first reports of snow in the area this afternoon and tomorrow's temps will barely reach the 40s. So as an ode to Fall here are a couple pictures I took in my neighborhood back in St. Louis.

Everyone talks about how Fall colors are so beautiful in the Ozarks. On my way home two weekends ago I would argue the colors got prettier the further away I got from the Ozarks. I especially noticed more variety of color in the Eureka/Pacific area. I know it wasn't optimal Fall weather this year though, so I'm looking forward to next year.

Paris Hilton Urges Elephants to Stop Binge Drinking

GAUHATI, India (AP) - Paris Hilton is urging an end to a problem
in India that most people in this country probably don't even know
exists: binge-drinking elephants.
In a statement posted on World Entertainment News Network's Web
site, Hilton says the elephants "get drunk all the time." They
get into rice beer made by farmers and go on rampages.
Hilton says "we need to stop making alcohol available to
them." Just last month, six drunken elephants were accidently
electrocuted.
Conservationists are praising Hilton for raising awareness of
the problem.

About 6 hours later on the wires...

AP-Hilton-Drunk Elephants BULLETIN KILL
Stations: KILL story slugged Hilton-Drunk Elephants, sent at
12:17 p.m. as V3374. A publicist for Paris Hilton says Hilton never
made any comments about helping drunken elephants in India.


There are so many different routes to take with this one. I'm gonna keep it simple: Bravo to the mastermind that got this through the wires.

Merry Thanksgiving

Who would have thought buying Thanksgiving decorations two weeks before the holiday would be nearly impossible? Apparently I am too optimistic and a bit of a procrastinator.

You could say I'm on the "Party Planning Committee" at work. Actually, it's more of a "Committee to Plan Parties," minus the brightly colored fliers. Tomorrow is the company's monthly luncheon deal and I volunteered to take care of decorations. Little did I know finding appropriate decorations would take me to 4 different stores around town. My journey took me from Wal-Mart...to Dollar Tree...to Hobby Lobby...to Dollar General. I had the most luck at Hobby Lobby with a whopping aisle and a half devoted to Thanksgiving/Fall decor.

We had a little discussion at work about what seems to be the new "Black Friday," aka The Day After Thanksgiving. Nope it's not tomorrow, not next Friday, but last Friday...yes, 2 days after Halloween. Branson kicked off its huge holiday season, some radio station started playing holiday music 24/7, and Wal-Mart had some huge deals on its website. As if Black Friday doesn't blow things out of proportion enough, this was just a little too ridiculous for me.

It appears Christmas is officially overshadowing Thanksgiving in St. Louis this year. To add to my Thanksgiving distraught, I just found out the official lighting of downtown is held the day before Thanksgiving. What the hell?! Jason and I were planning on going to the official lighting at Kiener Plaza. It's so pretty during the holidays, honestly one of my favorite places in St. Louis in the winter. I actually have Friday off so I figured we would be able to see it. Who's idea was it to light the city for Christmas before Thanksgiving is even here? Retarded. I'm officially upset.

I really do enjoy Thanksgiving. It's such a laid back holiday. That's one of the reasons why I like it so much. It's not marketed to hell like Christmas and Valentine's Day. The principles of the day are simple and good. A lazy day with good food, fun times with the fam, a little football, usually a nap, and enjoying a typically beautiful Fall day. The best part? No pressures in buying/receiving gifts. How could this day get any better? Jason and I talked about this last night. All the marketing that goes into Christmas these days really takes away from the holiday. It's kinda sad. By the time the day finally comes around you just can't wait for it to be over. At least so you don't have to hear Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas for the 724th time. Although, I think I could stand listening to that Trans-Siberian Orchestra song quite a few times.

One bad call after another

Maybe it's the producer in me, but I can't follow up the last entry with something cheery or whatever other random thing I normally would write about.

They say bad things seem to happen all at the same time. Well, Libby passed away on October 17, and not even two weeks later I got another bad call from Mom. We were talking on the phone sometime early last week, I think it was Monday. While I was talking to her she mentioned Rachel (Ray) did something weird, like she just jerked in an odd way all of a sudden. Mom didn't make much of it at the time. I got a call from her around 11:30 that night, which, if you know my mom you know she's asleep by 10, so I immediately got worried. She said after we got off the phone Ray kept acting more and more weird, so she ended up taking her to the veterinary emergency room.

The vets said her blood pressure was so high they couldn't even read it and her body temperature was a little low. They said they needed to keep her in overnight and weren't sure if she would make it.

I got a call from Mom the next day and things weren't looking promising. She couldn't walk, didn't have any energy, wasn't eating, and barely opened her eyes.

They ended up keeping her there until Thursday. She gradually got better and got her blood pressure down. It just got to the point where they couldn't do much for her there. The vets also noticed how much more alert and energetic Ray was when Mom was visiting. It was for her best to just go home. They said they didn't know how much longer she would be with us, maybe a week, maybe a month, maybe longer.

Well, I just got off the phone with Mom and she's still here. She's making improvements in big strides--literally. When she first got home she wasn't moving around at all. Then she worked up the energy to sorta scoot herself around the house using her front legs. Now she's kinda limping/walking her way around. And Mom just told me she even ran a little earlier today, she's just very clumsy still.

So needless to say I'm going home this weekend to see my baby and check in with Mom. I've had Ray since I was 5, making her 16, but she's really more my Mom's lap cat than anything. I just want to be there for her.

To my Sidekick and Shadow

Home was a little more quiet this weekend, but that wasn't a good thing. As soon as I stepped in the door Mommy told me the bad news. My youngest cat Libby died. The news was extremely hard to take. She was only 11. If you know me at all you know my cats are very important to me. Libby was a little different from my other two cats. Ray clings to my Mom, Jamie is very social and likes to mingle with everyone, but Libby really only liked me. I called her my sidekick and shadow because she never left my side.

Libby had a lot of little quirks besides being my shadow. She was very skittish. We called her a squirrel cat. She was also very talkative. When I would call Mom at home I could always hear her in the background. Mom put her on the phone so we could talk many a times. It's kinda weird I know, but I think she knew it was me, and I missed hearing her meow. She also loved to just sprawl out on a chair arm or back... she looked like a flying squirrel when she did that. One of her favorite things to do was tip over glasses and then run away...no glass was safe around her. Also, if you weren't giving her enough attention it didn't matter. As long as your hand was around she would rub her head on it and pet herself. Libby had her own little way of "blessing" me when I sneezed. She would make this cute little noise, something in between a purr and a meow, every time I sneezed, and she only did it for me, no one else. Throughout the years I tried to trick her out many times with a fake sneeze, but she never fell for it.

Libby loved to impress me. She did this weird thing that Mom calls a "hunting mode." She would bring me articles of clothing and drop them off in front of me or in my room. I wrote an entry about that back in 2005, you can read it here. She made this awful meowing noise and she looked so darn proud when she brought the things for me. Last time I was home I got a black sock in my room.

I think she was a very smart cat. Every time I came home it would take at least an hour for her to come around to me. With her being my sidekick you'd think she'd be all over me as soon as I stepped in the door, right? Wrong. She was mad at me for leaving her for so long. Once she did come out of hiding, I heard nothing but complaining from her, I would even have to chase her around for a bit before she would warm up to me again. After that, it was like I never left. Then Sunday afternoons she would disappear again. I say it's because she knew I was leaving and was mad at me again. For that reason I didn't get to say goodbye to her last time I was home. However, when I came home that time she did greet me at the door, which was really strange.

Home this weekend was just not the same without her there. I know some of you probably are thinking I'm crazy for being so upset about this, but she was more than just a pet to me, as are my other two cats. Growing up it was just Mom and I at home. I've had Ray since I was 5, Jamie since I was 6, and Libby since I was 10. Needless to say, the cats were (and still are) a part of the family. Libby went to bed with me every night, and woke me up every morning. She did annoy me a lot, but she only wanted to be petted and loved. In the back of my mind I always told myself not to get annoyed by her because one day, like today, I would regret it. This is my first experience with someone or something close to me dying, so I'm taking it pretty hard. She didn't show any big signs of pain before she passed. Mom said she was coming around more than she usually does and maybe even meowing a little more, but she didn't sound like she was in pain. I had been thinking she was getting thinner and even thought I felt a bump on her hind leg, but I never thought anything of it and just figured I was imagining things.

Libby truly was a special cat. I've never heard of or seen a cat that loved her owner as much as Libby loved me.

Mommy misses you, Libby Lou.

Jeopardy vs. Dangerous Tornadoes, hmm...

People just blow my mind sometimes. I just got two calls from viewers pissed we interrupted JEOPARDY! (all caps with an exclamation point) to cover very severe weather coming into our area. Now, I can understand why they would be upset if we interrupted with just a severe thunderstorm warning...I would be pissed, too, that's "culture of fear-ish." However, we're not talking thunderstorms, we're talking tornadoes, hail, and very strong winds. For the viewers in the affected counties this is very crucial information, for all the others, just something preventing them from seeing Final JEOPARDY!. The first lady, a crotchety old one, wouldn't even let me get a word in edge wise. I politely asked her where she lives, and she continued to yell at me for interrupting her beloved quiz show. I just don't understand people. If the way they wanna go is sitting on their couch watching JEOPARDY! not knowing a tornado is about to take out their house, that's their thing.

He was just looking for a place to sleep

Volusia County, FL
Tuesday

Jeremy Hinson/Man Slept on Sofa
Brandi Bell/Man Slept on Sofa

--INTRO--
A FLORIDA COUPLE COULDN'T BELIEVE THEIR EYES.
THEY WOKE UP SUNDAY MORNING TO FIND A HALF-NAKED MAN SLEEPING ON THEIR COUCH.
HE APPARENTLY BROKE INTO THEIR HOME AFTER LEAVING A BAR.

--PACKAGE--
IT WAS AS EASY AS POPPING OFF A SCREEN, FORCING OPEN A WINDOW, AND HUGO ACOSTA HAD A PLACE TO SLEEP FOR THE NIGHT.
"Still a little weirded out about it, but it's something I'll probably laugh about in about a week."
6:30 SUNDAY MORNING JEREMY HINSON WALKED PAST HIS COUCH AND SAW SOMEONE SLEEPING THERE... HE THOUGHT IT WAS HIS GIRLFRIEND, BUT THEN REALIZED SHE WAS STILL IN BED.
"I came back in here and looked, saw it was a stranger, by that time it was when the fear set in."
THE COUPLE CAME BACK OUT TOGETHER... WITH A GUN... AND FOUND ACOSTA, MOSTLY NAKED, COMPLETELY PASSED OUT.
"There was a guy on my sofa. He left his shoes and pants and everything else along the way."
THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE SAYS THAT AFTER A LONG NIGHT AT A NEARBY BAR, ACOSTA CRAWLED IN, SCATTERED HIS CLOTHES ON THE FLOOR, GRABBED FOOD AND SOMETHING TO DRINK FROM THE FRIDGE, HE EVEN FOUND A SHEET FROM THE CLOSET TO COVER UP WITH... AND HE WAS QUIET ENOUGH THAT ONLY BRANDI WOKE UP AFTER HEARING A NOISE, BUT NEVER BOTHERED TO CHECK IT OUT.
"Didn't think anything of it. Went right back to sleep and woke up to find a half-naked man, on my sofa!"

--TAG--
THE MAN THEY FOUND IS IN JAIL TONIGHT.

Gettin' with the times

I finally have a DVD player in my apartment! Let the Seinfeld marathon begin...