So Thankful

I got a call this rainy morning from my husband with words I hope I don't hear again: "I just got in a wreck and if it had gone any different I would have died." He hit a patch of water in the left lane of the highway and hydroplaned head-on into a guardrail. Airbags went off, and his car skidded around in the other direction, thankfully staying on the shoulder of the road or a car behind him would have hit him head-on.

Thank God he's fine.

He showed me the photos he took of his car when I got home. The whole front is caved in, and the engine is on the ground. It looks so bad. I had hoped it would be repairable, but I can see now that it's clearly totaled.

Thank God he's fine.

I feel like in some weird way I caused it.
1. Saturday, I was driving and exited where I totaled my car 4 years ago (also hydroplaning, but on an oil patch made slick by the rain - maybe we shouldn't drive anywhere in the rain), and thought about totaling my car.
2. Yesterday, I was talking to my MIL about James's car insurance and how I was looking into paying off his car loan with my tax return.
3. This morning, when I was getting on the highway to go to work, I was thinking about the rain and getting into an accident.
4. James called me earlier on his way in to school when he hit traffic to see if I could look online to see what was causing the slowdown, and I told him his route was showing a traffic jam but was the only one not showing an accident.
5. I had on my to-do list today to call the loan company to see what the payoff amount on the car was, and was really looking forward to no longer having a car payment.

Do I have some weird power? Women's intuition? Or do I just think of weird things?

Thank God he's fine. I'm going to go snuggle with him some more now.

Happy Earth Day

I often dislike seeing the inundation of ads for earth-friendly products, many of which don't seem to be so...and wouldn't it be more green to NOT buy that thing you don't need?

However, I've been wanting to pick up a reusable grocery tote for some time now, and I saw that Swoozies is selling these personalized "eco bags" for $10 this week. I love me a monogram, so I can't resist. (Does that make me hypocritical? I could probably rummage up some old tote that I don't use because it's covered with some company's logo that I got for free, but I want happy groceries.)

So which one to choose? Department (long) or grocery (tall)? What pattern? Choices, choices.

Blogs Using Graphs are my Fave

Did anyone else go for "get your booty on the dance floor" on this one? I assumed it would be the largest slice of the pie, but nope. 5. That's like, so uncreative.




Personal pet peeve.


This graph was actually on one of DH's PowerPoint slides in a med school lecture and he showed it to me a while back. He thought it was pretty spot on.

Via GraphJam

More Typography Love

I used to work with someone who used Comic Sans for everything and it drove me crazy. This poster is perfect for my inner font snob. Found here.

I'm also loving this "Kissing Booth" poster:

I'm thinking the hubs is more likely to let me have the white/red version:

Found here.

Busy Time Ahead

In my last post I mentioned that I'm going skiing in Lake Tahoe. Here's my packing dilemma:
- I'm leaving this Thursday from Dallas to go to Chicago for a St. Paddy's Bachelorette Weekend of fun secret-for-now activities

- Sunday I fly to Tahoe and meet up with DH's family for a week of skiing, casino-hopping, and taking in the breathtaking views

- Late Friday DH and I fly back to Dallas

- Early Saturday we drive down to Houston for DH's cousin's wedding

I am not a very good packer because I don't like picking out so many outfits so far in advance. At least the two places I'm going are both cold and cold. (What is the deal with spending Spring Break in wintry conditions? I'm a warm-weather gal.) I still haven't figured out how I'm going to pawn off all of my ski clothes for James's family to bring ahead for me, since I refuse to pay to check my bag for the weekend trip to Chicago. Since I'll have access to laundry at the condo, I should be able to re-wear some things I brought for Chicago throughout the week. I've got my outfit for the wedding ready to go, so at least I have that under control.

On a related note, I'm anxiously awaiting for the arrival of this green coat ordered especially for Chicago:
I didn't want to pay extra for expedited shipping and decided to take my chances on it arriving in time, but now I'm cursing myself for being so cheap. I'll be fervently checking the UPS tracking website for an updated status of my coat's journey come Monday.

Although I'd really rather be shopping for this right now:

Photo credits here, here, here and here

Where I'm Eating Next Sunday!

I just saw something about In-N-Out Burger and got a little jealous that I've never had it...and then I realized, the week after this I'm going to be skiing in Lake Tahoe, and there's got to be an In-N-Out nearby. Turns out there's one right on the way from the Reno airport!


Yum-o!

I'd Love to Relax with This

This would solve my reading in the bubble path problem once and for all! Found at Delight.com

Happy Valentine's Day!

xoxo,
Laura

You're the ____ card here
Ever After print here

Merrill Lynch CEO Spent $1.2M on his Office...Decorated by the Obamas' WH Decorator

The interior design websites I read have been excited about the Obamas' choice of designer for the White House, Michael Smith. His work is certainly beautiful. Behold:

Where can I get this mirror?!

This is the same Michael Smith who was paid $800,000 to decorate Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain's office. Whoa, pricey decorator! Thain spent $1.2 million on his STUPID OFFICE, while the company was getting ready to slash jobs and all that good stuff. The report says 2 chairs were $87,000 and a trash can was $1400. I really great angry hearing stories of the lavish spending and bonuses of these CEOs who've run their company into the ground. REDIC!

Inauguration Countdown: Tidbits

I enjoyed these past presidential tidbits perusing the Dallas Morning News' inauguration coverage:

Inaugural Parade

Before Richard Nixon's 1973 inaugural parade, officials applied a chemical bird repellent to tree branches along the route. The product, called Roost No More, was supposed to keep pigeons off the trees by making their feet itch. Instead, the birds ate the repellent and keeled over, leaving Pennsylvania Avenue decorated with sick and dead pigeons.

Oh, how lovely. Maybe they should have tested that one out.

Presidential Car

The days of off-the-shelf cars for presidents ended after an assassination
attempt was made on President Franklin Roosevelt while he rode in a convertible
in Miami in 1933.

In response, the feds had FDR use Al Capone's 1928 armored
Cadillac, which the government acquired after Capone's indictment on
tax-evasion charges.

Does this mean FDR rode gangsta-style?

Perhaps the most famous presidential Lincoln is the 1961 Continental built
for President John F. Kennedy, the one Kennedy was riding in when he was
assassinated in Dallas in 1963.

The car was then modified and used for President Lyndon Johnson.

Um, no. Couldn't they have gotten LBJ a new one?


I'll be walking over from work to watch the inauguration tomorrow on the big screens at Victory Park (it's the Times Square of Dallas, y'all). I'm v. v. excited, and hoping everything goes well!