Monday, March 30, 2009

New Haircut

I got my haircut the other day and the afterward the lady only put some frizz ease on my hair... well, it didn't work too well. lol David likes my hair when its really frizzy for some reason, so I took a before product and after product picture :) Kind of embarrassing, but what the heck!

Before:

(it is much worse if I actually brush it. This is just from running my fingers through it.) ;D

After:

The lady who cut my hair doesn't really speak english too well. She is from Vietnam or something... and so I guess she didn't understand me when I said "only 2 inches!" She cut way more than 2in on most of my hair! I wanted it layered, but she went pretty high on the top layer.
Now, my ponytail is so short! I don't know how I feel about it....lol I have to admit that it feel a lot lighter now, which I absolutely love! You girls out there know that it can take a couple days before you get used to a new haircut, with the right styling and all...I haven't quite gotten there yet. I'm sure I will in the next couple days or so. So far, nobody has even noticed :/

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Best. Wife. Ever!

This is David. I just woke up from a nap. I'm still not fully conscious. But I need to say I have the best wife ever! I accidentally fell asleep a little after eating the dinner she made me and taking the medicine she got me for my headache. She let me sleep for two hours, and while I was asleep she cleaned the whole house! She is AMAZING!

I love you, Ashley! You are the BEST WIFE EVER!


Friday, March 27, 2009

Finally! A real man in government!

Unfortunately, he's in the EU parliament, not in the US Congress. But this is a breath of fresh air. Pass it on!

Friday, March 20, 2009

Disgrace!

I was extremely disappointed to learn that my representative, Mike McCaul, voted for HR 1586 yesterday.  That was the bill designed to confiscate bonuses from AIG officials.  Now, you may say, "Why?  They wasted tax-payer dollars to give huge bonuses to failures!"  The fact of the matter is that these were legal contracts, entered into before the crisis and before the federal bailout.  The government knew (or should have known) about them beforehand, and therefore they are to blame for the waste, not the bonus recipients.  

We should all be angry and afraid at what the government has just done: they have created a new tax designed specifically to punish a small group of American citizens that did not break a single law.  I hope the law gets struck down in court on constitutional grounds, because this is ridiculous!  It is a disgrace to everything our country stands for.

Below is the letter that I wrote to my congressman.  Michelle Malkin has a list of the Republican congressmen who voted for this bill, and you can find out who your representative is and write to them here.  Please make your voice heard!  We need to throw all these people out and make sure they know WHY they are being thrown out.

Congressman McCaul,

I am extremely disappointed to learn that you voted in favor of HR 1586 yesterday. My wife and I gave you our votes in hopes of having a representative that would help return some modicum of responsibility to our government. Instead, you let yourself get carried away in the emotion of a media-generated mob mentality to aim an unconstitutional tax at a specific group of Americans. Now that we know that legally binding contracts can be effectively abrogated by congressional fiat, what assurance do I have that the government won't change or invalidate the mortgage contract on the house I'm about to buy? What assurances can you give my family that the government won't decide to reach even deeper into our pockets, just because of who I work for, what church I attend, where I live, who I vote for, what views I hold, or just because they want to?

It is bad enough that our government is doing what Alexis de Tocqueville feared would be our end when he wrote, "The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public's money." But it's far, far worse than that when Congress begins using the tax code as a punitive weapon.

I understand that this measure enjoyed a significant level of popular support. However, that is no excuse for supporting it yourself. It shouldn't matter what the polls say; if a measure is wrong and unconstitutional, it should not be law. Isn't that precisely why we have a constitution? To protect us from mob rule and the tyranny of the majority?

I hope that you'll see from my letter and those of your other constituents that we crave representation that will restore responsibility, respect for the Constitution, and governance by principle rather than emotion to Congress. I will be looking for someone to oppose you in the Republican primaries next year if you cannot demonstrate these qualities through your votes.

Sincerely,

David Merriman

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Does anyone speak my language?

If I told you

[a-zA-Z_][a-zA-Z_0-9]*(\([^)]*\))?(\.[a-zA-Z_][a-zA-Z_0-9]*(\([^)]*\))?)+

would you understand what I mean?

Sometimes I feel like only the computer truly understands me...

DISCLAIMER: No, I am not actually feeling depressed or alone.  But I am a computer programmer, and sometimes we have to type ridiculous things to get our work done.  This one such example from today, and I felt like sharing.  ;)

Oh, and bonus points to the first person who can tell me what kind of syntax that is.  Double bonus for what it does.  :D

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Inspector Hector

It all started back when it was one of the first times David ever visited my family in Houston. While we were both brushing our teeth, David asked "What is that?" "INSPECTOR HECTOR!" I replied. It was really really funny, I tell you. I don't know why, but it stuck. We often joke sometimes while were brushing our teeth that we need to get some "INSPECTOR HECTOR". (you have to say it boldly, with a mexican accent) It's basically this mouth wash that you swish around in your mouth and it turns your teeth blue. Then, when you're done brushing your teeth, you check to make sure you got all the blue off. If you did, then you successfully brushed your teeth! If not, you die....no, you have to rebrush your teeth or you will look silly. ANYWAY!!! Last week, we had an inspector to inspect our house...hahaha! Now you see where this is going! :) It was awesome. An entire week prior to the inspection I teased david that I was going to accidently slip, with my ADDness (if that's a word) and exlaim at the top of the stairs "INSPECTOR HECTOR! WE NEED YOUR HELP!" I didn't, but it was funny. I had to keep from laughing the entire time we watched him "inspect".

PS- his name wasn't Hector...I was hoping we could find one that was named Hector, but it just didn't work out. :/ John was still cool though.

HAPPY BDAY!

Y'all probably think I'm a crappy wife b/c I haven't posted anything about David's bday. Things have just been crazy around here. I've been studying like crazy, actually working, AND getting everything worked out with the house. There was also added drama about our apartment...we were trying to get out of our lease early by threatening to sue b/c of the mold issue.. yeah, lets just say, it didn't work. lol But anyway!

We both had to work on David's bday, so when I got home from work, I took him out to dinner to a restaurante called Rudy's. They have the worlds best BBQ. It's pretty darn amazing... It's very casual but totally worth going to for a special occasion such as this! I wanted to bake an amazing cake (and be more like "Mandy, the wonderful cooking wife") lol but I didn't have enough time :(. So off to HEB I went to buy a little cake. (It tasted really good, by the way.) We had fun, at least I thought so. Maybe next year we can have more family here to celebrate....SINCE ALL Y'ALL SHOULD MOVE TO TEXAS! Happy Bday Davidey! te amo, mi amor!

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Recession? We're not participating!

So, I've just realized that we're doing something fairly atypical: we're buying a house in the middle of a recession.  I've had a lot of people come up to me saying, "I can't believe you're doing that."  Then, after I explain how good the market is, the kind of deals you can get on a loan, and how it may be the best way to protect your assets from inflation, they're like, "Oooooh, I get it.  Good for you!"

We are very optimistic people.  We're not being crazy; we're prepared for the worst, trust me.  And we're gonna keep getting more prepared.  (Especially since the new house has a huge pantry that will be great for food storage!)  But we're not going to give into the fear, doom, gloom and depression we're seeing all around.  That's not what Americans or Christians have ever done in the past.  Why should that change now?  We're optimistic about the future, and we have faith that it'll work out for the best if we follow the Spirit.  And no matter what happens, we love each other.  Nothing can change that, and as long as we have that, we'll be happy.

So, America's having a recession?  Too bad - we're not participating!

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Trogdor! (22 points)

It's too bad this isn't legal - possibly the coolest scrabble opportunity ever!

Trogdor!

As a bonus, ruin is right next to it. Perfect!

Thanks to Mom for the birthday presents! I got Scrabble, Monopoly, Risk, Clue, and Mouse Trap for my birthday, and we've been enjoying it. Thanks Mom!

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Worst. Hand. Ever.

Worst. Hand. Ever.
...Except maybe the last one, where I had 2 u's, an a, and 4 i's. Ridiculous. I guess when Ashley says she's the luckiest woman in the world, this is what she meant...?

Friday, March 6, 2009

Making An Offer They Can't Refuse

I apologize if anyone has been annoyed all the political stuff that's been on here lately, but I really think it's important to get the word out on this stuff.  America is paying a very high price for ignorance right now.

But now we're back to our regularly scheduled program.  The big news is that Wednesday we made an offer to buy a house that we love!






Isn't it wonderful?

We should be hearing back within 24 hours or so of this posting.  Ashley and I both love it.  It's big enough that we may never have to move.  :)  Hopefully it all works out!  Wish us luck!

P.S.  If anyone wants to be our future neighbors, there is another awesome house right across the street for sale.  It's the same plan as the other house that we loved but decided not to get.  Mom, Dad?  You're getting close to retiring, and I just know you'd like to live our your Everyone Loves Raymond fantasies...  ;)

Holy crap!  Actually, now that I think about it, an older version of Dad could play Raymond's dad very, very well...

UPDATE:  After some counter-offering and other realtor back-and-forth, it looks like...

WE GOT THE HOUSE!

We'll be closing in about a month, if all goes well from here.  Wish us some more luck!

Monday, March 2, 2009

By Their Fruits Ye Shall Know Them

Dow Jones Industrial Average, November 4, 2008: 9625.28

Dow Jones Industrial Average, March 2, 2009: 6832.51

Difference: -2792.77, or -29%

Is that the change you voted for, America?

I'm just sayin'...