Vintage - Not Just For Decorations Any More

I had THE best experience today! Well, not the best, but..

Alyssa and Taylor went to an estate sale this morning and bought some funky (vintage) stuff. She brought it to show me and a couple of us from work jumped in the car and ran over there...lots of good buys on antiques, etc. Well, as I'm walking out the door of the house, I ask the man at the cash register his name and when he told me, I said, "Oh, I graduated with your son!" He said, "He's here. He's standing right out there." I said "NOOO WAAYYY!"

I walked outside and just said, "Oh my God!" When Greg realized who I was, we shared the biggest hug! It's been probably 18+ years since I've seen him. We first became friends in junior high, stayed close in high school and even at Kilgore College. As is typical, we drifted apart when he moved to bigger cities and I stayed in little old Marshall.

I pointed Alyssa out and told him she's my daughter and he replied, "Oh she was here shopping earlier. She's got really good taste!" He offered to take her to all his favorite vintage shops in the city. Gosh, she would be on cloud 9! I can see the attraction she has for vintage items because I kinda like vintage myself. Especially in friends.


(As a side note, one of the paintings Alyssa bought at the sale for $8.00 is shown on eBay for $300; one for $100! Guess she does have good taste! Gets it from her mother, of course!)

Watch Out For My Friend!

About two weeks ago, I was watching t.v. and during a commercial, I thought to myself, "that actress looks like Kirstin's sister...but surely it's not." Kirstin was my first college roommate when I attended Kilgore in '88. She and her husband Dario are currently living in India with their two beautiful daughters, Bella and Natalia. Her sister Quenby has always been an actress but I never kept up with her career...

Well, I contacted Quenby and indeed it was her! What a thrill it is to see someone you know on television! The commercial is for InCharge, a debt solutions company, and Quenby's character is talking on the phone to a creditor about how In Charge can help her with her debt problem.

When I contacted her, I learned that she is living in Austin and has many acting projects on her resume. Recently she's done a Time Warner infomercial, a Dallas Morning News commercial, and a Rockford Healthcare Commercial that runs in Chicago! Most excitingly, she was just in the season finale of Friday Night Lights (playing Lyla's boyfriend's mom, Mrs. Kennedy) and is hoping to become a return character next season! She says Friday Night Lights is changing networks so I'm going to search for them this fall and start watching. See picture below of her with her "husband", "mother-in-law' and children" on Friday Night Lights.

On the set of Friday Night Lights

Here are her FNL daughters with Kyle Chandler
(ok, now I want to be an actress)

Resume Shot

Head Shot
So pretty!

Quenby has always been beautiful and I'm not at all surprised to see all the big name jobs on her resume. She's also done some print work for Mary Kay so if you've seen her face in any Mary Kay print ads, please let me know! I'd love to see them. The great thing about her is she's so incredibly down to earth. I'm so proud of her! If you happen to see the commercials I've mentioned, just think, "Hey! That's who Debra was talking about!" And if you're in need of some debt relief, you can even jot down their number! LOL!

O.L.

Many of you know O.L. Kelly (because he literally knows everybody or has a connection to them somehow!!) and know that he was involved in a head-on collision in April. In a previous post, I mentioned that he was on campus this month for a student activity event. Here are some pictures that were taken that day:

He's lost so much weight but it's great to see that smile again!

Uh...where's everything at?

Can't wait till he's back full time!

Here we are listening....pain or not, O.L. always has a great story!

TSTC in Second Life

Many of you know that TSTC has had a presence in Second Life for a couple of years. We have some extremely talented builders and designers who have created virtual islands that we are now referring to as vTSTC. The Second Life project has now evolved into something extraordinary!

TSTC sent out a national press release today officially unveiling a Digital Media Certificate offered primarily in Second Life! By Spring semester, the entire two-year Associate Degree will be offered in this format. We are THE FIRST COLLEGE to do this!

So what does this exciting news mean for you? Well, I know some of you are just like me and you'd love to learn Photoshop and the digital media applications but when you have children, or live far away, it really isn't convenient to go to college. What if you could learn all of this cool stuff...from home? Geography is no longer an issue! And what if your learning environment was so engaging (nothing compared to traditional online classes) that you actually enjoyed class?
Click TSTC in Second Life to read more about this exciting news! You can also visit the vTSTC website.

If you have no clue what I'm talking about but want to know more, you can visit Second Life. Basically, it's the way that the Internet was meant to be but instead we ended up with a two-dimensional, very flat environment comprised of pictures and information. Second Life, a three-dimensional virtual world, allows users to explore, learn, collaborate and meet people from all over the world. Of course I'm here to answer any questions you may have as well. Here's a picture of my avatar (Debra Bekkers) in Second Life:

I'm a neko (cat) here...imagine that!

Apartments & Parties

Friday, we got to visit Rodney's daughter Kayti in her first apartment. She and her friend Jenna are sharing an apartment in Longview and they have it fixed up so cute. It brought back memories of moving into my first dorm 20 years ago. Kayti is working two jobs and is registered to start school at Kilgore in the fall to eventually study Dental Hygiene. She definitely has her Daddy's work ethic and we're proud of her.

Kayti at her new apartment

Tomorrow is Victoria's 16th birthday! It is hard to believe how fast these kids are growing up. Alyssa turned 18 in February, Kayti will be 18 in August and Devin will be 13 in September. Everybody's having milestone birthdays this year!

Today, Victoria's Dad and Step-Mom gave her a party at their house for their family (and the boyfriends of course). They invited me to take part and there was great food and fun. I reminded everyone that of all 3 of my children, she had been the fussiest baby...little did we know we were getting only a glimpse of the future!

She KNEW I was trying to catch her with cake in her mouth!

Taylor & Alyssa watch the ritualistic gift-opening

Here's Beth, Janna & Nancy

The required goofy photo

Lots of good looks in this picture!

See this adorable little dog? When my ex-husband and his wife first got her, their little boy asked Alyssa, "What's your mom's name?" Alyssa answered, "Debra McIntosh" to which Jaden innocently replied, "Well that's her name then. We're naming this dog Debra McGlackintosh".

I thought that was the cutest story ever. I can imagine the conversations he had with his parents afterwards trying to convince them to name the dog after me! And as honored as I was by his proclamation, I was also not offended to learn that the dog's name became Molly James.

Children are so sweet and innocent and it's a shame they grow up to be adults. The world would be a better place if we all opened our minds and hearts as they do, waking up each day with no grudges, assumptions or judgments against others.

Well my vacation comes to a close tonight and I return to work tomorrow. I didn't do everything I planned to do, but then again, that would have been impossible!

Another Stab At It

Original photo of Tiger

Pimped out with Photoshop

You're Never Too Old To Learn

So for the past couple of days, I've been playing around with Photoshop. I have no idea what I'm doing but I understand that "playing" is the best way to learn. The Athletic Boosters have requested that we purchase an ad for the football program and this is what I've created. I'd like your opinions, please.

More Pistol

This morning, we were going to get up at 4 a.m. to continue working on the tractor shed. Pistol had other plans. His first night with us was very stressful for him; he cried and wandered the house all night. Rodney did his best to soothe him but he was just scared and homesick. We didn't even get to bed till 4 a.m. so the tractor shed construction will have to wait till tomorrow morning. Here are more pictures of Pistol, a.k.a. Pistol Pete, a.k.a. Mister Pistol. Tonight he gave us a wonderful display of his jumping, rolling and attacking skills. Tomorrow we're going to attempt to go outside. He's such a wonderful cat. I can't wait till he and the other cats can get along.



Please note: these images have NOT been enhanced to make Pistol appear larger than he actually is!! He IS a big boy!

Welcoming the new "baby"

Two blogs in one day! I guess it's justified since there is so much going on around our house right now! Today, we welcomed a new addition to our family and I just have to share! If you know me, you know I love cats and what's scarier is that Rodney loves them more!! We have three adorable babies named Tiger, Monster and Fuzzy. Well last week, a co-worker asked if I'd like another cat, a Russian grey they call Pistol. At first Rodney said no, but then he folded. So this morning, I met Pam at a gas station in Marshall to pick him up. BOY was I surprised at what a BIG cat he is! I had brought a regular-sized cat carrier that we use for the other three....uh, it was much too small! And Pam's carrier was too large to fit in my car! So Pistol got to ride home (30 minutes) loose in the car! Thank heavens he settled down in the back floorboard for almost the entire trip.

Here's Fuzzy sneaking a peak at "the new guy"

Once we got home, he wanted to investigate his new home. This freedom was short-lived as soon as Fuzzy spotted "the new guy". There was lots of hissing and groaning and Pistol confined himself to under our bed for several hours. The other two cats were also curious so poor Pistol, even though larger than all of them in size, had to have felt out numbered. When Devin came home from work, Pistol warmed up to him and they laid on Devin's bed and watched television for quite awhile. He's also warming up to Rodney and me and has already given us all "sugar", which I take as a good sign. Pistol is beautiful, smart and loving...and did I mention BIG!! Please wish us the best as we try to blend all of these sweet (and mischievous!) personalities into one big happy family!!

I wish you could tell just how big this cat is!

Here he is getting scratched

And here he's giving sugar!

Pure Sleep

One of the downsides of being overweight (like being fat needs more than one downside) is that it causes me to snore. I know it affects other people like this too. In our household, this has caused many nights of my husband and I having to sleep separately. We’ve wasted money on all the over-the-counter products that claim to stop snoring (the nose strips, nose clip, throat spray, etc.) to no avail. The snoring continues.

But recently, I saw a product on television (I know, I know) called Pure Sleep and thought I’d give it a try. Pure Sleep is a mouthpiece that I custom molded to my mouth, much like teeth whitening trays. The difference is, this mouthpiece forces my lower jaw forward ever-so slightly and actually stops the snoring! The instructions do warn users that for the first few mornings after wearing the mouthpiece, their jaw will be slightly sore from being jutted out all night. I will attest that this is true but it hasn’t been unbearable and goes away before mid-morning.

I will say that usually once a night, I somehow spit the mouthpiece out and lose it in the bed! It doesn’t take long before the snoring commences and Rodney is waking me up. I’m thinking that with time, this will stop happening so frequently.

I’ve been using the Pure Sleep for about two weeks and while wearing the mouthpiece, I do not snore and Rodney is no longer sleeping on the couch! The product costs about $75 with shipping but I was able to set mine up into two monthly installments of $37 each. I just wanted to share this in case someone else is in need of help.

Home Again Home Again

After leaving Hildi's house, we decided to head to Waco and spend the night. I have to say, we were very thankful to be out of the Frontier Inn where we had stayed in Fredericksburg. Not only was our check-in experience very un-hospitable, the room wasn't that great either. And my big complaint was that there was NO Internet! Once we got to Waco, we checked into the Victorian Inn, a place we stayed some years back. It isn't the fanciest hotel I've stayed at, but for less than $50 a night and FREE Internet, it can't be beat!

Here's Rodney enjoying the Internet and a good 'ol Waco Dr. Pepper!

We left Waco this morning and traveled to Palmer, Texas to visit Rodney's Uncle and Aunt (who are the same ages as we are by the way). After the "boys" caught up on their hobbies, we hit the road again and headed to East Texas.

Self portrait (Rodney refused to cooperate and be in the picture!)

We were so thankful to get home this afternoon and see our kitties. I was sure glad to see Devin too, who had a big time over the weekend with his Uncle Bill and Aunt Gerry. Our adventure ended with microwaved hot dogs and Star Trek re-runs.

Finally he cooperates for a photo op...sort of...just overlook the mustard and the crazy eyes

Vacation Adventure

Friday morning we headed out for Fredericksburg, Texas. Upon arriving, we headed to Friedhelm's Bavarian Restaurant for some authentic German cuisine. It was there that I had my first zwindel schnitzel! Rodney opted for the shrimp, which although not German, still looked very good!

On Saturday, after stopping at Texas Jacks, a western clothing and weapons store, we then headed to the Fredericksburg Trade Days, some what of a miniature Canton. We didn't mind the smaller size as it made it easier to see most everything in a one day time frame.

I thought this was an interesting display at one of the vendors booths.

My birthday geode necklace from Rodney that he bought at Fredericksburg Trade Days. Yes, it's shaped like a "D"!

Fredericksburg also has MANY shops along both sides of Main Street. Although Rodney couldn't hang with me the whole time because of his back, he never complained. He sat on several park benches along the way. Here he is using a pole for support while I shopped. Funny thing is, I shopped for hours and only bought one thing...a new Rosie the Riveter poster for my office!


After we recovered from the afternoon on Main Street, we made a road trip to Buda, Texas to visit Cabela's. What a full and adventuresome day! The only way to top Saturday was to get up this morning, travel to Dripping Springs, and visit my childhood best friend, Hildi.

Here we are catching up on oooolllld time! Gosh, that was fun!

Hildi and her boys, Darin & Colin

This has definitely been a fun trip so far and as I sit in our hotel and prepare for bed, I can't wait to find out what adventures await us tomorrow!

An Emotional Day

Ups and downs. Today was full of both. My amazing co-worker Shinobu, who has grown to be my best friend, is transferring to Abilene and today our department had a going-away luncheon for her and her husband. That was followed by a campus-wide going away party for her and one of my favorite instructors. Needless to say, my emotions were on edge. After the party is when I discovered that my friends in West Texas had left me happy birthday im's, myspace and facebook comments and even a voicemail of them singing happy birthday to me! That's when I couldn't hold it any longer and tears started to run down my face. They were tears of sadness because people I care about and admire are moving on to different phases of their lives but also tears of joy for the opportunity to know them. And how timely it was for my friends in West Texas to bombard me with well-wishes just when I needed them.

As if this all weren't enough, a friend and co-worker who was in a head-on collision in April made his first visit to the campus today. Although he's still in a wheelchair and has many months of healing and therapy ahead, just to see his face was wonderful. And when our President jokingly told him to stand and give a speech, he surprised him by raising up the footrests on his chair, standing on his one semi-healed leg and giving that speech! Truly he is a miracle!

Then on my way home, I got a phone call from my best friend from 1st-6th grade! We spent the next 30 minutes talking about old times and catching up on what's new. I'll never forget the day my father passed away. I was in the 3rd grade and Hildi was my best friend. I came home from the hospital, walked back to my parents bedroom, picked up the light blue princess-style phone on the nightstand and called Hildi. I called her because we were best friends and because her dad had died when she was still a toddler. Even though I hadn't even comprehended what had just happened, I somehow knew that Hildi would understand. I can still hear myself saying into that phone, "My daddy died today" and in her sweet little eight year old voice she said back, "I'm sorry." Hildi and I went separate paths as we progressed through the grades and have only seen each other once since high school, but you know she told me she still has a framed picture of me and her mother, whom she lost a few years back, and it is very special to her.

Thank goodness when my wonderful husband got home from work today, he had 3 - yes 3 - birthday cards in his hand for me! He had text messaged me earlier and asked what I was doing and I responded "crying". He stopped at the store on his way home and bought 3 separate birthday cards...each one having a cat on the front that looked exactly like one of ours! And on the inside, he personalized them all as if that particular cat had signed it. How wonderfully goofy is that?

So tomorrow is my 38th birthday. And Shinobu's last day at work. And the day before I go on vacation which means I have 15,000 tasks to complete. Life is full of ups and downs and on some days, the downs seem to win. But I'll deal with it and grow stronger from it - because that's what grown-ups do. And sometimes even eight year olds.

I'm Actually Excited About It

The 20 year class reunion. I can't believe mine is in September. And as much as I'd like to lose about 100 pounds between now and then, probably not going to happen. But for the past two weeks, I've been helping the reunion committee find missing classmates and now....I'm actually excited about it! It has been so much fun hearing voices I haven't heard in 20 years. One of my childhood friends even said, "I looked at your MySpace and see you still love cats!" How on earth can she remember that from childhood? Guess I've gotten myself a crazy cat lady reputation! She also recalled spending the night with me and us going to the cemetery across the street to play "Green Ghost". Gosh, I must have total amnesia because I don't remember anything from childhood.

Maybe that's one reason why I'm excited about the reunion; because it will bring back some memories of fun times that I haven't thought of in years. And I'm going to take a shot at losing some weight between now and then too. But successful or not, I'm going!