Car Talk

Maverick is probably the most cautious and safe driver I have ever ridden in an automobile with. Every little stray leaf on the windshield, hood, windshield wipers or windows removed from the car before it's even started, so they will not begin to hinder your view. Check. Going the speed limit and not one mph over. Check. Emergency brake set each and every time you park. Check. Basically, if it's in the driver's education handbook Maverick follows it.

Now, I'm not saying there is anything wrong with his driving habits. Far from it. One could not possibly feel any safer with him behind the wheel. Good for me and any potential unborn HeraMavericks. In fact the only item about Maverick and automobiles that one would ever have to worry about is his temper with other drivers, and rampant use of the horn/middle finger.

He might be the best driver ever, but I am by no means the worst. Not the best, not the worst. I may have five speeding tickets, a careless and imprudent driving ticket, a failure to stop at a sign sign ticket and a wreck that was never claimed to the police or insurance on my record, but I'm hardly the worst driver on the planet.

However, typing out those infractions I do realize that my argument might not be as solid as I thought it was! I would like to point out that none of those traffic violations have ever made it to my official record though. I guess being a woman and batting your eyelashes can have its advantages when plea bargaining with prosecuting judges and attorneys!

I'm not sure if it's because of his knowledge the aforementioned traffic incidents or his miraculously by the book driving, but three out of five times when I'm behind the wheel of an automobile, and Maverick is in the car, I get some form of "you suck at driving" type of comment from him. You know the kind--"slow down", "look out", "stay back", etc.

It makes me crazy!

Does your significant other give you passenger seat driving lessons, too? Does it make you insane?

Facebook Delusions

Do you have that one Facebook "friend" who is so self-centered and delusional that you just want to come through your computer screen, pop out in their living room and smack them every time they update their status? No? Well, I do.

This particular "friend" makes a post at least three times a week complaining about how fat they are. How they can't lose a pound. Nothing fits. They can only eat "794 calories per day"..........Only this person is actually about 5'3" and maybe weighs 120 pounds.

It takes everything I have not to go off whenever I read one of these posts!

A) Get a mirror.
B) Get over yourself.
c) Stop fishing for compliments.

Definition of the Highest Quality

With a deal just too mind blowing to pass up, Maverick and I purchased ourselves an early Christmas gift to each other--a 46" Sony LCD HDTV. It was 43% off retail plus it came with a free $300 Blu-ray player!

I always looked at new TVs in the store and thought "it's looks nice enough, but I don't really see the big deal or a big difference between that and our old TV". That was until this purchase. We got the TV home, hooked it up, got the HD signal and proceeded to turn on a hockey game. My exact reaction was, "WOOOOOAAAHHHHHHHH..........(jaw drop, sit and stare in silence)".

I am officially in love!

The Little Things

Sometimes I need to acknowledge just how lucky I am to have Maverick in my life. I love him, and he knows that, but as far as significant others go, I don't think he's aware that I'm pretty sure I won uber lottery when I (somehow) landed him.

He would do anything for me. His spends so much of his time making sure that I am happy. When I'm sitting on the couch watching TV and he walks by on his way to the kitchen to get a drink, not only does he ask every single time if I'd like something too, but eight times out of ten he stops and gives me a quick unsolicited kiss as he passes by. He helps me perform the household chores without being asked. He puts his hand on the small of my back to lead me through a crowd. He grabs me by the back of my shirt and pulls me to a stop when I'm not paying attention and about to get hit by a car in the Wally World parking lot. He lets me be in charge of the remote control. He sends me alerts to big shoe sales of my absolute favorite brand, even though he hates how many pairs of shoes I already own. He holds me and lets me cry when I'm sad, or when I'm crying simply because I dropped the can of green beans I just opened all over the kitchen floor. He even anticipates my needs before I do.

Picture it:

Hera and Maverick's apartment on a fall Sunday morning circa 2009.

Both are tired and hungry, but too lazy to cook or to get dressed to go to a restaurant. Maverick offers to run out and bring home some breakfast for them. Hera says she's "not really that hungry and would just like an order of hash browns".

Maverick returns with the yummy breakfast. Hera enjoys the hash browns immensely, but finds herself still a little hungry once they're all gone. She sits, not saying anything, just thinking, "hm, I should have had him get something else".

Maverick nonchalantly looks at her and says, "you're still hungry, huh?".

"Yeah".

Maverick answers, "I thought that might happen", and hands her a breakfast burrito from the bag of food. "So I got you this, too".

Just What The Dr. Ordered

I love my best friend. Dearly. She was sent to me straight from heaven. She always makes me smile, gives me good advice, provides me with hours of entertainment and when I'm in the middle of a week of depression and gloom, filled with lots and lots of tears (such as this week), she emails me the following poem:

Hera is my friend

I will not Lie

It breaks my heart

to see her cry

Enough with negativity

suck it up now

or I will kick you in the pee pee

find a new job

this I say

you will be happy on a different day

trivia night will be a hoot

so get it together or I will poot

Just the laugh I needed. Love you bestie!


UPDATE -- It turns out she emailed a little poem to Maverick as well.

Maverick o Maverick
seems your girl
is in the dumps
kind of like oatmeal
when full of lumps
I would like my Hera
happy and fun
so please go home
and give her some

Seriously. I love her. Too funny!

Grapes of Wrath

In the past I've really only been a social wine drinker. Meaning when I was around sophisticated folks, such as Maverick's family, I would say I love wine and only have one tiny glass claiming to be "a cheap date", thus limiting me to the one tiny glass. In reality, I just only sort of liked the taste of wine and one glass was my taste bud limit. However, over the last year or so I've really ventured out of my adult beverages bubble and tried many more wines. I've learned that I truly love many varieties and find myself wondering what my next glass of wine will be at very random times, such as sitting at my desk on Friday afternoon and not wanting to work at all. So here's to you my newest obsession....wine.

Any suggestions for a good bottle to try this weekend?

Where Do Broken Hearts Go?

Like many Americans I am a sports lover. I thoroughly enjoy watching pretty much every sport known to man. Well, that is pretty much every sport except golf. Watching golf is worse than watching paint dry. Playing golf is a great way to spend ones day. Hours and hours of enjoyment can be had on the links. Hitting a tiny little ball around a beautifully manicured course in the open air is quite lovely. However, watching someone else play golf on a television for four hours is this girls version of waterboarding. But back to my love of sports. My idea of a perfectly lovely day is plopping down on the couch with some snacks and playing armchair coach for awhile.

While I love all sports, one will always reign supreme for me. That's right, America's Pastime, baseball. Any team, any game, any player, I like to watch. However, only one team will ever hold my true love. I live for this team. I breathe for this team. I get so much joy from watching them play.

The only down side to this love is that I also get so much displeasure from watching them lose. It seriously affects my mood. Even now, three whole days after the team was mercilessly and lifelessly swept out of the playoffs, I'm still mad at them. And I sit and I wonder how can I let a professional sports team break my heart so badly?

Who Does That - Part XXIV

Seen at a pre-season game for the local professional football team:





The People Against Improper Sporting Event Attire present:

Exhibit A -- The refusing to grow out of his undergrad, immature fraternity days guy who not only obnoxiously cheers for the opposing team, but is also seen wearing a jersey in support of his favorite player, Joe Horn, which he's altered by handwriting a Y after the word horn.

Exhibit B --The refusing to grow out of his undergrad, immature fraternity days guy's girlfriend who is seen at the football game in three inch (clear) heels and some sort of fish net shirt.

Who does that?

Previously on Chin Music

When last we saw Hera she was quickly approaching her first 5K, getting healthy and enjoying her wonderful summer. Let's look in on her and get a quick update on the happenings of her life since she left us over three months ago.

The 5K was quite a success. Hera achieved her first and foremost goal of completely running the entire race (no walking!) with no problem whatsoever. With over 8,000 participants the start was very congested, leaving her in the middle of the pack and unable to break free and hit her stride until the second mile. While she did not reach her secondary goal of crossing the finish line under a certain time, she was not far from it at all. She left the race with the biggest since of accomplishment, pride at setting out to do something so far from her norm and conquering it, and a indescribable joy at the sight and sound of watching so many others with the same smile and sense of accomplishment that day. She looks forward to her next race.

Hera spent the summer very busy at work. She was slammed with several new and very important projects as part of the company for which work's merger with another company. That merger was completed last week and many exciting things lie on Hera's horizon, including a new position within the company. This new job should allow her to finally take the next step forward in her career that she's been looking for. Many great changes await her in the coming months, and she is quite excited to meet the challenges.

Hera and Maverick took a much needed vacation aboard a fabulous cruise ship for a week of sun and fun in the Western Caribbean. It was by far the most amazing vacation either of them have ever had. They experienced beautiful waters, interesting cultures, indulging at a 24-hour ice cream machine, swimming with sting rays, great food, delicious cocktails, indulging at a 24-hour ice cream machine, meeting lots of fun new people, feeding a monkey, great food, touring Mayan ruins, delicious cocktails and indulging at a 24-hour ice cream machine.

Now that we've ran through a quick update of Hera's recent activities, let's return to our regularly scheduled check ins on her current antics.