Orange Baby

Kristy gave me the idea to write about my favorite toy growing up. She was/is Orange Baby. A small bean doll with a ruffled hat and a velcro diaper. She saw some rough times. I chewed her hands to fluff. I nibbled holes in hers ears. Her hat fell almost completely off. The velcro on her diaper lost its stick - exposing her bare bottom. Then in 1993, in seventh grade, I came home from school and sat on my bed. I no longer carried her around, but she had a permanent spot in the very center of the pillows on my bed. I noticed that the pillows weren't proped up and that there were beans all over the bed. It took me a second, but as I lifted a pillow the realization hit me. Orange Baby had been destroyed. Our new dog Bandit had ripped her open and she was gone. I cried and cried. But still I held on to her.

Fast forward to last year. I was introduced to eBay. I began searching for vintage toys just to see what was out there. I looked up bean baby; there she was. Near mint condition. I didn't even remember how she looked when I got her. She had straight blonde bangs, not the brown matted ones mine had. She had a bow in the front. She was bright and shiny. I had to have her. I put in a bid immediately; in four days she would be mine.

I called my mom, who told my dad. They were both amazed that I had found her. As the days passed, someone else began bidding on her. I became very frustrated. Eventually, I lost out. When I told my parents how upset I was, they showed her picture to me from eBay and told me that they had bid against me and won. She was mine!

Now I have two. I planned on giving my daughter the new one, but I thnk I'll keep her for myself.

Jury Duty

Last August I received my first letter for jury duty. I was nervous, excited, and bored as I sat in the cold, but crowded room. I crossed my legs and prepared to read my book for book club - it was The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks which I had previously read in high school. In between reading a paragraph or two, I began to people watch. Some looked impatient, rolling their sleeves up to glance at their watches. Some looked annoyed, arms folded, lips curled down in a frown. Some, like me, looked a little relieved to be taking a small break from work. There were nurses, men with briefcases, college boys with disheveled hair and half-tucked shirts, even a woman with her children... I guess she wanted to plea to the judge that she had no time to be on a jury.

Thirty five minutes after "start" time, the sheriff, a judge, and multiple clerks of court marched into the room. The judge announced that he would listen to all of those who had a legitimate reason not to be on the jury. About a third of the room lined up against the wall. I sighed and reopened my book. No one's excuse is good enough for this judge and they all sit back down.

"You are here," boomed the judge, "because you were choosen in the pool for Grand Jury. Twelve of you, along with two alternates, will have your names pulled out of the box. You will serve on the Lafayette Parish Grand Jury for six months. Sheriff..."

Sheriff Neustrom stepped up to the box. I prayed to God. I prayed that if I was needed I would be chosen and would be open-minded to the case. "Ralph Fine..." "Jaime Kincel..." Whoa! That's me. I make my way to the front of the room and sit in the second chair. And wait. After all fourteen names have been read, we are told that we will attend one Grand Jury session a month for six months. We will receive a letter in the mail detailing our (next) meeting date. Dismissed.

Well, it's been 5 months now. And it has been an experience. The Grand Jury, for those of you who don't know, hears all cases of rape and murder (among other things) before they go to trial. We determine if there is enough evidence to go to trial - not guilt or innocence. We hear from the detectives on the case, some victims, some witnesses. We have the power to subpoena. Overall, it has been a wonderful experience. Many of the cases we hear are cruel and heartless. You learn a lot about what is "out there" in your own city. You learn a lot about your peers as well. There are some people on the jury whose attitude is "Well... they asked for it." When I hear those comments, I am glad that God has placed me in the room with them to help to make things fairer.

I find that I read more news online as a result of serving on the Grand Jury. I read the two major local news sites as well as CNN. One thing I want to say to everyone is "Innocent until proven guilty!" Many of the stories I read about, are stories that I have heard the details for. If someone is arrest or under suspicion of a crime, please try to stop and realize that they have not gone to trial yet. They are still innocent. Sometimes people are arrested because someone wanted something done for their misfortune or ignorance. I repeat. Innocent until PROVEN guilty!

Aggravation

Kristy and I were talking on the phone yesterday; we were discussing recent changes in attitude. I mentioned how strange it felt to be the nice (goody two-shoes) one (of the 3 female Kincel cousins) growing up. Now that Kim is married and Kristy is pregnant, it seems that they are the optimistic, funny two and I am left behind to be the pessimist/realist alone.

Since Kim and Kristy are being nice and likable and don't get on my nerves anymore (just joking, girls), I was wondering which TV character would get on everyone's nerves the fastest... Steve Urkle (Family Matters), Kimmy Gibbler (Full House), Fran Fine (The Nanny), or Sara Sidle (CSI)? I want to see what everyone else has to say before I write down my choice.

Don't take my baby

I had a horrific dream last night that is still on my mind, so I thought I'd write it down.

It toward the end of my pregnancy. Mom and others (I forgot who now) convinced Cory and I that we weren't ready for a baby yet because we wanted to travel and spend so much time together, so giving him (Milo, named after my friend Ashlee's baby) away was the best option. In the delivery room, I realized that this was not right. I wanted my baby. When I told this to the doctor, he said it was already too late.

I cried non-stop for long periods of time. I went back to work the next day and cried all day. Cory had to come to work to try and console me. A guy I work with - we'll call him Bob (who is extremely nice) and his wife had my baby. When Bob saw me crying, he asked what was wrong. I told him I wanted my baby. He said, "Don't worry. This afternoon my wife is bringing him by the office. You can see him and hold him then." "I don't want to just see him. I WANT MY BABY." No one would listen. No one understood. It was very depressing.

Do you ever have dreams that seem so real that they affect you even after you've woken up?

An old shoelace

MacGyver... I don't remember much about the show (I was 4 to 10 years old.) I only remember that I liked it a lot. Who wouldn't like to have the knowledge to know how to make a bomb out of a piece of gum, a wire, an old shoelace, and a cigarette right? And what about defusing a bomb?

Did you watch Armageddon? I was on the edge of my seat when Harry Stamper decided that Colonel Sharp needed to defuse the bomb, so that Harry's team could continue their plight to save the world. Listening to Rockhound say "Do a good job. Do a good job." made me more nervous. Ah... then the relief when Sharp choose the right wire to cut at the last second. I would love to be able to be the one to save the day.

It makes me think... If you had to choose between the red wire, the blue wire, and the yellow wire? Would you try to make an educated choice, or simply do "eeney, meeney, miney, moe"?

Do I really belong here?

What era do you think you belong in? What about your friends?

I think I belong in several different eras for different reasons. I belong in the 2000's for the innovations in cleaning products. The extended handle fan blade duster. The microfiber cloths. The Clorox disposable wipes. I belong in the 1960's for the music. Wild Thing. Stay. Sugar, Sugar. And I belong in the 1980's for the fashion. Side pony tails. Tight rolled jeans. Slouch socks... just kidding.

OK. As far as the regulars who read my blog...
Uncle Tee. 1920's. Riding on the Titanic and discovering new land in the west.
Kristy S. 30's BC. Cleopatra of course!
Kim. 1910's. Women suffragettes.
Dad. 2050's. Or far into the future for the new technology & a visit to the moon.
Katie L. 1950's. So she can have her "All American" family.
Michelle. 1990's. New Kids on the Block forever!

What era do you think you belong in? What about your friends?

Cartoon Powers

Which cartoon ability would you rather have - the ability to paint a hole in the ground or on the wall and go through it, the ability to be run over by a steamroller and shake yourself back to normal, or the ability to fall hundreds of feet off a cliff to your doom and be back in the very next scene?

I would like to have the ability to fall hundreds of feet off a cliff to my doom and be back in the very next scene. That way, there'd be no need for fear of heights. If I want to lean over the rail of some 80 story building, I could. And if I fell, I'd only need to ride the elevator back to the top. Grand Canyon, Eiffel Tower, sky diving - no problem.

What would you chose?

Mixing Play-Doh

Looking around my home, I realize that I am starting to feel more content (finally, after 6 months of living here!) The piles of presents and old boxes are dwindling - but not completely down for the count. And I am beginning to relax about the boxes that are still lying around. It's funny the cleaning stages I've gone through and I imagine that I will go through more...

When I was little, I shared a room with Kim. I really don't remember our room being a huge mess. Mom never really let it get that way. Sure my closet needed work every other week or so, but I only really cleaned when Mom said I had to.

In college, I got my own room, in my own house. What a pit! Really. To walk to the bed, you had to clear a path with your feet. I guess that that was my rebellion from my parents. It's mine and I like it dirty.

Fast forward to today. Cory and I live in a little house together. I complain ALL the time about how messy it is. I know that I still have not gotten to the level of cleanliness on a consistent basis that I need to get to, but I realize now that things should be neat and clean.

But have I gone overboard on certain issues? Cory does not clean Chesney's room. It's not because he doesn't want to, it's because I won't let him. Everything in her room has a place. The Barbie dolls have a plastic box to go into. The puzzles go on a particular shelf. The "kitchen" items go in the yellow basket. Her clothes are hung by sleeve length with pants and jackets separate. He does not fully appreciate the beauty of the system. And I don't mind cleaning it alone.

The problem comes with Chesney actually playing with the toys. I can't stand watching her brush the Barbie's beautiful hair into a nappy mess. When using water paints, I cringe when she paints two lines on all the pages instead of finishing one or two. And mixing Play-Doh colors is the worst. I guess these are things I just need to get over. She's 3! These things will happen. Heck, I did them when I was young. It's just funny the appreciation I have for toys now that I'm older.

Pictures of Chesney

This is Chesney doing some of her favorite things: singing, dancing, and playing dress-up!

I'm dreaming of a... Christmas home

I know most people don't understand. I LOVE Christmas time. I miss it already. The lights, the decor, the music, the giddiness of it all. Give me the retail shops who get Christmas stock in May, who set up trees in July, and who play Christmas tunes in September. I worked at Hobby Lobby for 3 years while in collage and I never grew tired of it.

Cory and I won't be seriously looking for a new home for another year, but we already know what we want. A 3 bedroom, 2 bath home. A big backyard for Chesney to play in. Little-to-no greenery. (We'd kill it off anyway.) And a large front yard for our Christmas decorations. I kid you not. I wouldn't be able to stand living in a neighborhood with a bunch of Scrooges either. We've even (halfway) joked about driving through potential subdivisions at Christmas time to see who is in the spirit and crossing off the list those neighborhoods who are not.

When picking out a new home, do you have any interesting or quirky things you look for?

Healthier Eats

(If you are already a healthy eater and don't buy cokes and chips in excess, then you can stop reading. This is not for you. If you want to eat healthier, but don't want to spend the time thinking about it and don't want to give up all treats, read on.)

As many of you already know, Cory and I did a little 'portion watching' and 'sometimes healthier eating' before our wedding and lost almost 20 pounds in 5 months. Well, were at it again. Of course you know that veggies and fruits are the best way to go when it comes to snacking, but I've researched some fun, healthy snacks and I wanted to share some of them that might actually taste good.

Freeze a banana. Once it's frozen, peel it and dip it into a low fat, skim milk, chocolate pudding.

For a healthier cookie, crack a graham cracker in half. Put your favorite flavor of yogart heaped on top, then top it with the other half of the graham cracker. Wrap it in plastic wrap and freeze it. Then eat.

Toast one half of a whole-wheat English muffin. Top it with a slice of Canadian bacon, a tomato slice, and a slice of low-fat American cheese. Microwave it until the cheese melts.

Mix 1/4 cup cold leftover chicken with sliced seedless grapes, 1/2 tablespoon sunflower seeds, 1 tablespoon plain yogurt or fat free mayo, and a dash of curry powder. Stuff it into a hollowed out bell pepper or half of a whole-wheat pita.

For a tortilla pyramid, layer on a tortilla, thinly sliced turkey, low fat shredded cheese, shredded lettuce, raisins, low fat cream cheese and roll it up.

13 grapes = 50 calories; 12 baby carrots = 25 calories; 4 cups air-popped popcorn = 100 calories

Well, there are some things for us to try. We went grocery shopping yesterday, so I think I am going to try out the English muffin recipe right now. If you have any other fun, healthy snacks to share, please do so!

My Big, Fat, Greek Meal

I'm thinking about food for some reason right now and I wanted to let everyone know that Judson introduced us to the BEST Greek food in Lafayette this past weekend. I've been to the Zeus restaurant and I really wasn't impressed. But THIS stuff was great... Chicken or lamb served on Greek salad or rice with carrots, pita bread and hummus on the side. (I am salivating.) All for less than $6. Where can you get this amazing food? Drumroll please... at the Citgo gas station in front of Comeaux High! Wait... don't knock it before you try it. They even give hot, free samples if you want to try it before buying! And from what I have heard, Greek food is pretty good for you too. Even Chesney loved the lamb and wanted more. Ah... maybe I'll get some for lunch...

Elimi-date

I was asked/volunteered to take charge of another pool. Kristy's baby's due date. I will be making a calendar a little later on. The due date that Kristy's doctor will give her is off limits. Every other date is $5 a guess. Only one person per calendar day. If you are interested, let me or Kristy know. Sept 9th has been taken by Uncle Tee.

Places to Go 2

In case anyone was wondering about the wonders of the world, I have some great websites for you to check out. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wonders_of_the_world tells you about the 7 Ancient Wonders, then goes on to list the Modern Wonderns, the Natural Wonders, and the Underwater Wonders. http://www.hillmanwonders.com/ shows you Hillman's top 100 wonders of the world. Check them out.

Places to go

Okay... question time. How many of you know how many of the original 7 wonders of the world are still in existence? My guess is not many of you. This is sad, people. The answer is one! Only the Pyramids of Egypt still stand. What brought this on? I was playing a TV interaction game bought for me by my loving husband for Christmas. I can't remember who I was playing with, but no one knew the answer to that question except me! Maybe that is just because I ENJOY learning bits of obscure information (I take after my mom who knows the largest amount of useless trivia ever), but I still don't think that that is an excuse for anyone else.

There was a time when I didn't know this either. I'll admit it. At one time in my life, I wanted to visit all 7 ancient wonders of the world. Well, this might be easier than I originally thought as there is only one still around! I haven't booked my flight to Egypt yet, but maybe one day...

In the meantime, we have planned trips to the mysterious land of Oklahoma City and the ever treacherous Walt Disney World. We are going to stay with Granny and PaPa Bill in OKC in May and we are going to be so busy, we'll probably need a vacation from that vacation. I can sleep in the car for the 9 hour drive back to catch up a little -- sorry, Honey! Then in October, Chesney's mom in getting married, so we will have her for another week. So we're off to WDW. Another drive. This time longer.

We're hoping that after this time, Cory will have a decent job and we will be able to fly places. Imagine. We'll be rich! We still have so many places we have to visit! Phoenix being number one. I really miss my godson. The problem with planning other trips is that after returning from WDW, Cory and I plan on trying to have a baby, so who knows how old our kids will be when we have time to travel again.

Kristy and Wayne will probably have their baby around October. I hope we don't miss it while we're in WDW! Won't that be neat if we both have children of the same sex within a year? Just like us! It'll be that much nicer with them growing up in the same city, too. BTW, I disagree with Uncle Tee. I think it's a boy!

Starting a Blog

Using inspiration from Uncle Tee, and a new camera from my mom and dad from Christmas, I decided to start my own blog. I'm still working on how to use the camera, so there may not be many pictures from me for a while.

Let's see... exciting news from 2005...

Cory and I got married in July! The wedding was beautiful and my dad and Father Fred officiated. We had family come in from Oklahoma, Arizona, and Alabama - it was a blast! Cory surprised me by getting on a mike at the reception and singing a song to me! We moved into his little house in Scott and we are dying to get out! I guess we're thinking it'll be another year to year and a half to accumulate a nice down payment. The honeymoon was one for the books. We decided on a cruise to the Caribbean - my third, Cory's first. The weather was horrible. We followed Hurricane Emily through the Gulf and skipped Jamaica totally. In Grand Cayman, our excursion was cancelled during the boat ride out to the sting rays when a freak squall hit us. The temperature dropped 15 degrees, the rain felt like ice splinters, and the boat next to us got hit by lightening! The last stop to Cozumel was the best, but not much better. They were still recovering from Hurricane Ivan the previous year and had been out of power and running water for 4 days due to Emily! All excursions were cancelled but Cory and I went out on our own. We found a place called PaPa Hoggs (from Uncle Greg and Aunt Kath) and they reluctantly took us SNUBA diving. SNUBA is a combination of SCUBA and snorkeling. You get to go about 20 feet under water with a mask and air, but you don't need to be certified. It was cold and raining above water, but it was nice and warm underneath. We saw all kinds of fish and crabs and sting rays... so cool. But at night, I got sick. I was actually sick 2 or 3 nights and poor Cory had to go to dinner without me on several occasions. What a way to spend your honeymoon! We think it was some kind of virus as I have never been seasick before. BUT, we had a balcony which we used everyday to eat breakfast and read. And it was nice being away from the cell phones and work and household chores!

I made my first anniversary at ACS while we were on the cruise. I love the people I work with and I really see myself staying here long-term. My only concern is working while trying to rear a family. I plan on working for at least 5 years. I guess we'll have to re-evaluate at that time!

In December, Cory and I threw our first annual Christmas party. Since we live in our little house, Jud and Katie let us hold it at their house. We had a Dirty Santa ornament exchange and a pot luck dinner. And Cory got drunk for the second time ever - his bachelor party being the first. It was funny (and a little aggravating for me because he wouldn't stop drinking!) and everyone seemed to have a good time. We got a little strip show and got to watch Cory dance with his "grill!"

On December 31, my little sister got married to Nick Duplechein. It started about 25 minutes late which got a lot of people worried, but everything turned out okay. We had some family come in from OKC (Granny, PaPaBill, Uncle Greg, Aunt Kath, Taylor, and Connor) and it was great seeing them again. I even got to share a Jell-O shot with Dad and Granny!

Cory and I got back into our "Portion Watching" again. We each lost about 19 pounds in 18 weeks for our wedding and then gained 12 pounds back since then. We're at it again as Jeff and Tracie will be getting married in 18 weeks and we need to fit in the tux and dress for their wedding!

On January 15th we gave a Little Mermaid birthday party for Chesney. She turned 3 on the 16th! We played hokey pokey, had a crab walk, had a limbo, dug for buried treasure and gave away live fish as a prize. I think the kids got a kick out of it.

We also found out this weekend that Kristy and Wayne are having a baby!!! Yeah!!! Congrats to them and we can't wait until you move back to Lafayette!