Troubles McSteans

A post which deserves to be much longer will unfortunately be abbreviated because I am typing with only my left hand. Troubles strikes again! The elephant table that used to live in the bedroom got banished to the hallway to make room for the new exercise bike. I took one look at it there and said, "I'm going to smack my leg on that". Sure enough. The elephant heads that make up the legs of the table are right at shin level. I am now using my right hand to apply ice pressure to the leg. ANYWHOO Today is Ryan's birthday! We had a fun party for him this weekend and will celebrate more this evening. I hope he enjoys the alpaca I got him, although I don't think Scout likes it too much. Ryan, I hope you have a wonderful day. I love, love, love you and couldn't ask for a better partner in crime! Here is a great post from Chronological Snobbery listing Ryan's best posts on his retired League of Melbotis blog.

Thanks to Nicole for the picture. I think it speaks for itself. Thanks also for all the good birthday wishes on Facebook, e-mail, and by phone. Also to my parents who came to take me to lunch. The best present is getting to hear from/ being able to spend time with friends and family today. Here's to year 35!

Just a quick post to wish my brother-in-law, Jason, a Happy Birthday! I hope you finally figured out that people are not wearing green because they heard it was your favorite color. This traumatized kitty would also like to wish you a Happy Birthday. And also desperately wishes to escape the Phantom Zone.

Just wanted to give a quick shout out to my soon to be sister-in-law, Kristen, whose birthday is today. Kristen is very cool and a real sweetheart and I couldn't be happier that Doug has invited her to join our family. I hope you have a great day, K, and Happy Birthday! Kristen in her natural habitat

Tomorrow is the birthday of two of my favorite people, my mom and my good friend Nicole. Saturday night a group of us gathered at the Z Tejas to celebrate Nicole's birthday a wee bit early. We then ventured out to Donn's Depot for drinks. Matt and Nicole enjoying the ambiance and fuzzy wallpaper of the Donn's. Juan and his new friend who kept appearing to stand mute by our table. We chose to call him "Steve". Tonight Ryan and I made our way south to San Marcos for some dinner and cake to celebrate my mom's birthday. My folks have just returned from their trek to Brazil and were sharing stories and some amazing pictures of their adventure. My mom's favorite cake is called Helen Corbitt chocolate cake and has this caramel icing that is easy to royally screw up. I set out yesterday afternoon to attempt making this cake and decided, "Hey, if I'm already making one cake, I should just go ahead and make another for Nicole!" Mom and cake The ca...

Short post today. Just got back from a cleaning at the dentist. Cleanings can be a bit pokey sometimes, but way gentler than a 14 gauge needle in your arm so I can't complain. Also your mouth feels groovy afterwards. I seriously don't want to eat or drink anything the rest of the day for fear I'll mess up the hygienist's work. This morning my mom came 'round to help me with some cleaning and totally re-grouted our gross shower. She is my hero. What an awful job, but it looks 110% better now. Thanks, Mom! Two of my friends had kiddies born this week. Jen Shaw gave birth to a girl - Sloane Julianne - Sunday, June 7. My hat's off to the Shaws for going old school and giving the kid a rad name like Sloane. Yesterday was also Jen's birthday so Happy Birthday to Jen and Sloane! Letty and Juan had a little boy named Noah yesterday afternoon. I'm sure Noah will in no time at all be making delicious deserts along side his talented mother. Congratula...

Today is my friend Nathan's birthday. Nathan is a fellow Trinity Tiger alum (rawr) who also knows Ryan from high school. He still lives in the great city of San Antonio with his lovely wife Renata and their adorable kids Samantha and Maximilian. We don't get to see him very often these days but we still keep in touch and we hope to make a trip down I-35 soon to see the Cone clan and visit San Antonio. Fun fact, apropo of nothing: Nathan was once a contestant on Who Wants to be a Millionaire and won a nice chunk of change. Sadly I don't think he and Renata danced in a train station afterwards, Bollywood style, but I could be wrong . Happy Birthday Nathan! CORN!

Happy Birthday to my awesome friend Rebecca, who turns 35 today! We have officially now known each other for 30 years, which means she has more embarrassing dirt on me than any other of my friends. Exhibit A: Our band, 'Skunk Junk', circa 1982. Rebecca was like a sister to me growing up and we still have a blast every time we're together. She's the most fun loving person I know and deserves a fantastic birthday. Love you, Rebecca!

Today is Ryan's 34th birthday. Happy Birthday, Ryan! Ryan enjoys a bowl of Superman cereal And because everyone loves lists, I have composed a list of 34 things I love about Ryan: 1. Before we got dogs, anytime (and I mean ANYTIME) a canine would appear on TV, you could catch him with a huge grin on his face. 2. His high pitched 'Lucy' voice (what he thinks Lucy is thinking) 3. He's a fantastic artist and even his scribbles are inspired. I have a collection of them in my office that I'm not sure he's aware of. 4. He'd do anything for his friends 5. His strange yet touching relationship with Jeff the Cat 6. Everyone knows Ryan's a funny guy, but sometimes he makes me laugh more because he's just cracked himself up than because of what he's just said 7. His passion for comics 8. The way he'll fight for me when I'm too sick to do it for myself 9. His friendship when we were isolated in Arizona for 4 years 10. His encouragement for me to k...

So tomorrow is my birthday and this past weekend I had a little get together. I think I had my last birthday party when I was 10 and I'm happy to report this one had much less fighting and fewer rotations of "Material Girl". While it wasn't a surprise party, I did get a huge shock when I opened the door for my first guests of the evening and saw the Dug, who flew in from Berkeley unbeknownsed to me or Ryan. Unexpected Doug is unexpected Also making an out of towner appearance was Heather, fresh from her last semester of her masters program at Texas Tech. Nicole made a batch of 'Yoda Soda' (lime sherbert and ginger ale) which was well received, especially by those adding a touch of 'Dark Side' (Tito's Vodka). All in all I think it was a successful shindig and I thank all who were able to make it. Special shout out to mom and dad, who came in on pre-party Thursday for some spring house and yard cleaning. Thanks, guys! You are the best! *More pi...

Today is St. Patty's day, a day for drinking green beer and forgetting to wear green. Incidentally, I dressed hurriedly this morning while rushing to get Lucy to her vet appt and temporarily forgot about the holiday. By chance, I selected my most green outfit, complete with a green sweater. But MORE IMPORTANTLY, today is my brother-in-law Jason (Steanso) 's birthday. Happy Birthday, Steanso!! Jason is an awesome brother-in-law who fights for the betterment of mankind down at the Travis County courthouse. He also plays in 2 (maybe soon to be 3) bands and can cook up a mean bowl of chicken tortilla soup. I hope you have a great birthday today, Jason! (Oh, and just smile and nod while eating Cassidy's cake. Go easy on her - she's only got one paw to work with).

I was planning on a longer post today, but I had Cassidy (Steanso's dog) at the house last night and she likes to check in every hour on the hour. So I'm a bit loagy today. I did want to give a shout out to my mother in law, Karen, as it is her birthday today. Happy Birthday, Karen! I am very lucky to have her as a mother in law. She's a real sweetheart and I love her lots and lots. Have a great day!

A very late congratulations to my friends and college roommates Shannon and Erica. Shannon's baby, Owen Caid Lowry, was born September 3 and Erica gave birth October 20 ( apparently almost in the car ) to Isaac Erhardt Sevigny. Congratulations, guys! I can't wait to come see them both. Also, today is Erica's birthday. Happy Birthday, Bug!

Here are some pictures I had forgotten I took (sorry Nicole!) from Nicole's birthday brunch at Threadgill's. So very full Me and Ryan Jason, Juan, and Nicole

Tomorrow, July 27, is a very special day. It is the birthday of two classy ladies, my mother, and my good friend Nicole. I'm happy to say, my mom and I have a great relationship. I've detailed a little of my medical history here, but that didn't just affect me. My mother went through a lot of that with me, especially in the beginning. She took me to all of my nephrologist appointments which were an hour and a half away in Oklahoma City and was there when I was first diagnosed. I've been fine with all of this for years, but it was a scary day for a previously healthy 17 year old as words like "transplant" and "dialysis" were suddenly thrown around. We were so depressed that we took a detour to the mall on our way home for shopping and about a pound of chocolate each from the Godiva store. Mom took charge of my health, from altering our diets to doing her own research on kidney disease. She even took me to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN for a s...