Boy Ginger Suffers "Tie Anxiety!"

Boy G hates the way he looks in bowties! That tiny little tie perched all wobbily on that expanze of black and white makes his big round head look like a Macy's Parade Balloon!
He has a perfectly beautiful silver and black long tie in his drawer that goes with his silver cummerbund beautifully. I keep telling him to wear it if he doesn't like the bow tie, but he keeps whining that it's not a "set" since it's not the same fabric as his cummerbund.
Won't someone help Miss Ginger convince Boy G that his tie and cummerbund don't have to "match", they just have to "go"! Help me get him dressed and out of this house so me and the mitties can open our Cristal in peace!

HAPPY NEW YEAR from Miss Ginger and the Kids!

Well, another year has come and gone and Boy Ginger is leaving me at home to care for the kitties while he goes out and parties with the lesbos! Thank Goddess I sent him out for a case of Cristal last week, so I'll have something to sip while the kitties and I curl up on the sofa and watch the "straight" (?!!!) Ryan Seacrest as the ball drops! Give it a rest, Mary- you're not fooling a soul!

Boy G deserves the night off, though, after all the hard work and hours he puts into maintaining this little blog for me! Sometimes I think if it weren't for my friends in the blogosphere, I wouldn't have any friends at all! Think about it: I do a solo act, so no work friends. Boy Ginger and the staff do all the work around the yard and house, so I don't know any of the neighbors. And my dearest friend Kaye Sedilla got shipped off to rehab, so I can't even pal around with her anymore. (I'll have to call her and see if she's run into Amy Winehouse there!)

But at least I have my online friends to keep me living! David Dust keeps me laughing daily with his on-the-mark recaps and hilarious diatribes. Mistress Maddie is always there to share a makeup tip or wardrobing option (she even offered to loan me her boy-toy!) Handsome Dan is always good for a gratuitous hottie shot, and my dear, dear, Miss Alaineous brings out my mothering instincts as I watch her random rants and enjoy her youthful outlook on life! Indigo sometimes makes me laugh and sometimes make me cry, but always makes me think, and for that I am truly grateful! Yasmin always good for a recipe tip and the Brit point of view, and Nutwood Beth and Ken are always there to keep me grounded! There all lots of other bloggers that have commented over the year or so that I've been here, and I appreciate every single one of them!

There's also lots of you readers out there who follow regularly, or maybe even irregularly (send me a note and I'll give you some tips on fixing that!). Some of you are good friends that I see whenever I appear, and others I've never met in person but certainly have in spirit! Some of you comment and follow, and some of you choose to observe quietly and watch as my life goes by. And Miss Ginger Grant has a special place in her heart for all of you, for if it weren't for you, Miss Ginger Grant would just be a red wig on a styrofoam head stuck in the back of some queen's closet! But, because of your love, support, and interest, Miss G is the FABULOUS person she has become! Her heart, soul, and love go out to each and every one of you as she says sincerely: Best wishes for a happy, safe, healthful, and prosperous, but most importantly- FABULOUS 2009! Love to all --Ginger!

What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?

Look at the meez® on the sidebar: poor Miss Ginger is all dressed up with no place to go! Ya see, on New Year's Eve Boy Ginger is ditching her to go the the black tie event at Hotel ZaZa. With no one to drive and without a proper escort, poor Miss Ginger will have to stay home with the kitties while Boy Ginger rings in the New Year! Here's the inimitable Miss Nancy Wilson asking you to comment!

The Feedjit® on the sidebar is filling up real nicely! We've had hits from all over the US, plus Europe, Asia, South America, Africa and Australia! If any of you folks out there know someone from Antarctica, it seems to be the only continent we're missing! And if you're checking us out from overseas, be sure to leave a comment and let us know what you think of our little blog!
And no matter where you are, did you know you can "follow" a blog on Blogger® and receive email notification each time the blog is updated?! Just click on the link near all of the other "followers" tiny little face pics on the sidebar, and follow the instructions to become a follower! Add your pic and choose public following and the whole world will know you're a proud supporter of the FABULOUS work of Miss Ginger Grant!

It's Not Just Clean- It's FABULOSO!®

Miss Ginger just threw the greatest dinner party, if she does say so herself! She made a delicious Frenched pork loin on the rotisserie, along with roasted root vegetables and steamed brocolli. Not to mention, some of her very best friends, including "Mom" and "Dad", Sonna and Miss Dee, and Marianne were in attendance! Unfortunately, Miss Annie was under the weather, but we sent her a plate home so she could enjoy the yummy meal as well.

After the party Miss G loaded up the dishwasher and wiped down the kitchen with FABULOSO®, her favorite cleaner. It has no disenfectant properties, and it doesn't cut grease, but it smells, well, FABULOUS! It makes the whole house smell like a lavendar meadow, and considering that before it smelled like turnips, bacon, and brocolli, it's nothing short of a miracle! If Miss G has an OCD tendency, it's a paranoia of household odors, so FABULOSO® helps her retain her sanity! Plus, it's called FABULOSO®! How could she not love it?!

Now, back to our regularly schedule blog!

Miss Ginger Celebrates Diversity!

Architectural diversity, that is! Anyone who knows much about Miss G knows she LOVES buildings, especially old ones! (Her failed attempt to study architecture didn't disuade her interest- but that's another post!) She came across this great pictorial on the Houston Chronicle website that she thinks FABULOUSLY demonstrates Houston's architectural diversity.

While she's not sure she agrees that the Astrodome is the most important building in Houston (the thing is so UGLY!) she does acquiesce that is was the beginning of the domed stadium genre, and that makes it important! God knows Houston's developers LOVE to tear stuff down, so hopefully they can find a use for it before the wrecking ball hits it!

There are many old and new buildings that are significant in Houston, and Miss G's favorite new one has to be Williams tower, which was her trusty navigation system when she first moved here! It was a rotating beacon at the top, so she could even use it at night!

Also, props to GingerSnap Timmy- Project Row Houses made the list!

Happy Boxing Day! Are We Missing Something?

Happy Boxing Day to Miss Ginger's readers throughout the UK and other places where the tradition is observed! Miss Ginger know's that Boxing Day is a National Holiday always observed on December 26th, but that's about all she knows about it! She has a few ideas about what it could be:
1.) It's the day after Christmas, and it clebrates the fact that we can "box up" all the ornametns and store them away for another year-
2.) It's the day after Christmas and it's the day we throw all the boxes away that our gifts came in.
3.) It's the day after Christmas and we all take off work to watch the National Championship Boxing Match on BBC.
So, some of you Brits out there, clue us in on what we're missing! How could we celebrate Boxing Day here in the US? Miss GInger is all about anything that will let us stretch out a holiday weekend!

Eartha Kitt Dies at 81

By POLLY ANDERSON
Associated Press
Dec. 25, 2008, 4:58PM


Buster Dean Chronicle file
Entertainer Eartha Kitt, shown modeling at a New York fashion show in 2006, was an internationally known sex symbol.

NEW YORK — Eartha Kitt, a sultry singer, dancer and actress who rose from South Carolina cotton fields to become an international symbol of elegance and sensuality, has died, a family spokesman said. She was 81.

Andrew Freedman said Kitt, who was recently treated at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, died Thursday of colon cancer.

Kitt, a self-proclaimed "sex kitten" famous for her catlike purr, was one of America's most versatile performers, winning two Emmys and nabbing a third nomination. She also was nominated for several Tonys and two Grammys.

Her career spanned six decades, from her start as a dancer with the famed Katherine Dunham troupe to cabarets and acting and singing on stage, in movies and on television. She persevered through an unhappy childhood as a mixed-race daughter of the South and made headlines in the 1960s for denouncing the Vietnam War during a visit to the White House.

Through the years, Kitt remained a picture of vitality and attracted fans less than half her age even as she neared 80.

When her book "Rejuvenate," a guide to staying physically fit, was published in 2001, Kitt was featured on the cover in a long, curve-hugging black dress with a figure that some 20-year-old women would envy. Kitt also wrote three autobiographies.

Once dubbed the "most exciting woman in the world" by Orson Welles, she spent much of her life single, though brief romances with the rich and famous peppered her younger years.

After becoming a hit singing "Montonous" in the Broadway revue "New Faces of 1952," Kitt appeared in "Mrs. Patterson" in 1954-55. (Some references say she earned a Tony nomination for "Mrs. Patterson," but only winners were publicly announced at that time.) She also made appearances in "Shinbone Alley" and "The Owl and the Pussycat."

Her first album, "RCA Victor Presents Eartha Kitt," came out in 1954, featuring such songs as "I Want to Be Evil," "C'est Si Bon" and the saucy gold digger's theme song "Santa Baby," which is revived on radio each Christmas.

The next year, the record company released follow-up album "That Bad Eartha," which featured "Let's Do It," "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" and "My Heart Belongs to Daddy."

In 1996, she was nominated for a Grammy in the category of traditional pop vocal performance for her album "Back in Business." She also had been nominated in the children's recording category for the 1969 record "Folk Tales of the Tribes of Africa."

Kitt also acted in movies, playing the lead female role opposite Nat King Cole in "St. Louis Blues" in 1958 and more recently appearing in "Boomerang" and "Harriet the Spy" in the 1990s.

On television, she was the sexy Catwoman on the popular "Batman" series in 1967-68, replacing Julie Newmar who originated the role. A guest appearance on an episode of "I Spy" brought Kitt an Emmy nomination in 1966.

"Generally the whole entertainment business now is bland," she said in a 1996 Associated Press interview. "It depends so much on gadgetry and flash now. You don't have to have talent to be in the business today.

"I think we had to have something to offer, if you wanted to be recognized as worth paying for."
While Miss Ginger loves Miss Julie Newmar, she has to say that Eartha Kitt was the best Catwoman ever! May Miss Kitt rest in peace! She was truly a unique talent!

And a diva like Miss Kitt is certainly fodder for a drag queens wildest dreams!!! Miss Ginger couldn't settle on just one, but the 3rd is her favorite by far!

Merry Christmas From Miss Ginger and the Kit Kat Dancers!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Thanks to Michael Mc for turning me on to this!

Everybody's Waiting for the Man With the Bag!!

Mrs. Claus has packed up his dinner and some snacks and loaded them on the sleigh! The elves are getting the final loads of toys ready and then it's time for him to hit the sky!!! He's gotta lotta world to cover before the kids wake up so he'd better get a move on!


Merry Christmas, and peace and love to all this holiday season. Here's hoping your New Year will be FABULOUS!

A Sign from Momma G!

Miss Ginger is not a religious person, as you know, but she is a faithful person and does believe in God, and is not willing to deny the existece of His Son, Christ our Saviour. She admits it's kind of a far fetched story, but she hasn't lived a clean enough life to risk not pledging her faith. She hopes she hasn't offended anyone's beliefs with this revelation, this is simply her beliefs.

Anyway, as she waxes nostalgic though her 2nd bottle of pinot grigio, she has decided to unpack a few more family decorations. She started with a stained glass nativity given to Momma G by her brother, Brother AuGeo, a real honest to God, wine-making, high school teaching Christian Brother (only he teaches college.) Anyway, it was never a nativity that Momma G set out. And now Miss G remembers why- the Baby Jesus is missing. Miss G is going to try to make one out of a pinot grigio bottle tomorrow. Art is art.
Miss G also came across the "dime store" (remember those???! TG&Y?!!) nativity that Momma G did sometimes set out. As Miss G unwrapped the pieces onto the dining room table, Jackson and Shelby instantly fell to their knees in reverance.
After a minute I realized why.... Momma G's nativity had 2 Josephs!! (There was a Mary, too, in the bottom of the box.) It's the only family unit these babies have ever known! I think in her way Momma G is sending me a sign that she's glad I'm happy, healthy, and safe! Miss G never had "the talk" with Momma, although she's pretty sure Momma knew. Momma G came from a "don't ask, don't tell" generation, and Miss G happily accepted that from her! She always encouraged my interests, respected my talents, and never, ever, asked Young Ginger to repress any tendencies. While Boy G's brothers were HORRIFIED that their baby brother knew the motions to every cheer their high school cheerleaders performed, Momma G never told her to stop (I KNOW my brothers begged!) Momma G let Miss G be Miss G- and I love her so much for that! Let's raise a glass to Momma G- GOD I miss her!

Christmas With the Gingers'!

This is going to be kind of a strange Christmas for Miss Ginger- it will be the first time in her 29+++ years that she will awaken on Christmas morning alone in the house! Her entire childhood she was, of course, home with the family, and up until the day Momma Ginger died, Miss Ginger always managed to get home on Christmas Eve to wake up on Christmas morning with Momma. After Momma G passed, Blaineman was here, and the first year that he was ex facto, Bubba John made it in from NM. But he was recently here for TG, so he's not going to make it for Christmas. It's really no big deal, it's just kinda the thought of it that's weird.

Miss G's not going to be alone all day on Christmas.. no way! Actually, she and Bubba Brian were going to make Christmas Eve dinner together, but we decided that with only each other to mock, there would be no real sport in that. So we made reservations instead to a new, trendy restaurant in a very trendy neighborhood, which should have a crowd just prime for Holiday mocking! Then on Christmas Day his kids will be with him, so I'll go over for the day and eat, drink, and be Mary.... err, merry.

Today is Christmas Eve Eve, which was always a very special day for Little Boy Ginger, because it was the day Poppa Ginger always started his Christmas shopping. It typically started at Momma's favorite nursery in Lake Charles, and would typically end at Poppa's favorite liquor store. Poppa would select a nice camellia, or citrus tree, or shrub, which would be hidden in the storage room off the carport until Christmas morning. And the joke was always the same: "I'm giving you the tree, but the boys are giving you the hole!" Momma would pick the spot, and sometime that day we would dig the hole and plant the tree for her. I'm sure the citruses are all dead by now, but I'll bet if you drove past the old place in Lake Charles that Huge Professor Sargent Camellia on the southeast corner of the house is still there, covered with red blooms in the middle of winter.

Nobody loved Christmas more than Poppa, except maybe his Mother, Mammaw. Every year Mammaw would go to the drugstore and buy rolls of cotton (I don't think you can even buy those anymore) and then go in the yard to find a dried shrub or branch to make her tree. She would spend hours wrapping every branch to look like they were covered in snow, and then decorate it with strings of beads and lot of shiny ornaments. She didn't put lights on it, but she DID have one of those 50's rotating light that changed colors that she shined on it. She was always so proud of it, and Momma G always marveled at how much work she put into it and how beautiful her tradition was. And the whole way home in the station wagon we would laugh our asses off because we all thought the damn thing was so ugly!!! Poppa G would act like we were hurting his feelings by laughing at his Mother (and his childhood memories) which was lost on us, but he did admit it was pretty ugly, and he liked that we enjoyed the tradition, even if it was just to mock it!

In 1972, Christmas with the G's turned kinda grim when Miss G's maternal grandmother passed away on Christmas day. Zha-Zha (that's what Baby G named her- isn't that FABULOUS!) had taken ill on Thanksgiving that year, and was in the hospital for the entire holiday. She had been crippled with rheumetoid arthritis since her 40's, and back then there wasn't a lot to relieve her suffering except aspirin. She went through Bufferin (remember that stuff?!) the way an elephant goes through peanuts, and after 30 years I think it pretty much ate a hole through her stomach. She wouldn't let us kids see her in the hospital the whole time she was sick, because she didn't want us to remember her as a sick old lady in a hospital. I'm kind of glad, because I do remember her fondly, and only found out later that she and my mother had a very tumultuous relationship and a period of not speaking. But all of that was before Baby G came along, and Baby G was Zha-Zha's favorite, and Baby G loved her very, very much. Miss G likes to think that her closeness with Zha Zha brought Momma and her mother back together!

Anyway, that's enough G Family Robinson for tonight! Maybe Miss G will come up with some more tidbits for tomorrow!

NIGHTMARE AT THE ZOO!!!!

If I EVER go to the zoo and the elephant is sh$%&ting kids, I'm not haning around long enough to take a picture!

It Never Really Feels Like Christmas 'til the Cat Starts S%!#ting Tinsel!

Only there'll be no tinsel sh%#&ting this year at Miss Ginger's house, because she didn't even put a tree up! Didn't need one, since she only bought 3 presents this year, and they are gift cards going to the neice and nephews at their house. Plus, she wouldn't have had time to enjoy it- it would have only been needles to sweep up this year. She got what she wanted for Christmas, though- shiny new teeth.
She missed Marcia's show last night- apparently there were bad winds in Houston and snow in Newark that jammed the whole system up, not to mention the charred remains of a plane off the runway in Denver. Thinking about that plane and all those people (luckily they all survived) made it easy for Miss G to wait patiently until the captain said it would be safe to land in Houston. She made it safe and sound, and only 4 hours late! Sorry, Marcia dear, but I'll catch ya next time, sweetie!
It was really cold in South Texas today! It was cold this am, which is not uncommon, but this afternoon when Miss G went for lunch, it was still cold- it didn't warm up like it usually does. And when she left the office, it was colder still! So she's in her sweats now, ready to polish off a bowl of Miss Alaineous's FABULOUS cabbage soup, and then she's gonna snuggle with the kitties 'till tomorrow comes!

Miss Ginger's Appears This Sunday!

Miss Ginger Grant will be appearing this Sunday night at Tony's Corner Pocket in support of her dear friend, Miss Marcia Mink Anne Gill Magillucutty Mary Magdalene Martha Jean Smith! Okay, I embellished a little, but damn, that gurl has a lotta names! Anyho (and all ho's..) she's candidate for Empress XXV of ERSICSS, and Miss G thought in the holiday spirit Miss G would help lil' Marcia and the Court celebrate 25 years of raising funds for the Houston GLBT community. She's got a festive little holiday outfit planned, assuming she get's back to H-town in enough time to let the f*&^ker out at the waist! Miss G's is getting to be such a big girl! Hope to see you tommorrow!

Little Bits of Meat and More

One of Miss Ginger's favorite GingerSnaps, Miss Alaineous, introduced Miss Ginger to a game of making up sentences from the random "word verification" words that Blogger sometimes requires. After the last post, Miss Alaineous came up with "weleigne" and described it as the "bits of meat left on the plate after a holiday meal." I wonder if she has any idea how close she came to describing a famous New Orleans delicacy?!

Over on Poydras street there is an ages- old restaurant called Mother's that makes creole dishes and is famous for it's po-boy sandwiches. It a very unprentious, very old establishment that has a line out the door on weekdays at lunchtime, as it has for years. Anyway, they make a sandwich they call a "debris sandwich", which is always pronounced "DAY-bree" when ordering this particular delicacy. A debris sandwich is made from all the little bits and crumbs that fall onto the carving board as roast beef is sliced. They are typically brushed away, but at Mother's they are collected and placed on white roll with gravy to make the smushiest, most gravy-laden roast beef sandwich you have ever laid a lip on! If they haven't sold a lot of roast beef, there won't be enough debris to make a sandwich, so you have to catch them on a busy day! So you see, Miss A, Debris and weleigne are almost the same thing!

Moon Walkin', New Orlean's Style

One of Miss Ginger's favorite places in New Orleans is the Moon Walk, which is the batture along the Mississippi river that forms the French Quarter bank. One of her favorite places to eat in New Orleans is the Moon Wok, a cute little family-owned Asian place in the midst of the gayborhood in the French Quarter. They have Chinese and Vietnamese fare, and the place is staffed by a bunch of young Asian students who are working their way through school. Very local, very comfortable, very delicious! While waiting for her bun (vietnamese noodles) Miss G brushed up in her Chinese Zodiac. She is a rabbit, as was her late mother and late brother (kinda scary in itself).

People born in the Year of the Rabbit are articulate, talented, and ambitious. They are virtuous, reserved, and have excellent taste. Rabbit people are admired, trusted, and are often financially lucky. They are fond of gossip but are tactful and generally kind. Rabbit people seldom lose their temper. They are clever at business and being conscientious, never back out of a contract. They would make good gamblers for they have the uncanny gift of choosing the right thing. However, they seldom gamble, as they are conservative and wise. They are most compatible with those born in the years of the Sheep, Pig, and Dog.

According to the gospel of the placemat, Miss Ginger should marry a pig or a sheep. If her math was correct, that means she needs to marry someone who is older than her by multiples of 6 or younger than her by multiples of 4. In the case of Dr. Todd (see previous post) Miss G would be willing to round. Up or down. Doesn't matter to her. She's easy.

After the Moon Wok she rounded the corner to her favorite Katrina refugee's place of business, the 700 Club at 700 Burgundy. She had a couple of FABULOUS Vox martinis. Man, that is some smooth vodka!! After that, she wandered back to her WWWWonderful room at the W (shouldn't they change the name of it now?). Anyho, it't off to beddy-bye, then out to the 'burbs for store visits tomorrow before returning to her motherland in the French Quarter. Tomorrow she's having din din with her BFF John from kindergarten (really, we've known each other that long!) and his handsome BF Will. Updates tomorrow. Toodles! Leave comments about your favorite dental, New Orleans, or BFF experience! And tell us your Chinese Zodiac sign! Miss G love comments: they're so "interactive"!

On the Road Again, pt II.

Miss Ginger can't sleep because now that she has returned to the Gulf Coast, her sinuses have gone into overload. And her teeth felt good when she went to bed so she didn't take anything. Now they hurt. So at 3 am, throbbing, (and not in a good way!) she remembered that she had seen a huge traffic backup going the other direction as she drove from New Orleans to Baton Rouge. So being the clever sort that she is, she went onto the

Lousiana Department of Transportation and Development website to see what the jig was. She certainly doesn't wanted get stuck in that cr&p tomorrow! Here's what she found: [sic]

Interstate 10 in both directions: from Exit 187 - US Route 61 to Exit 194 - State Highway 641 lane closed due to road construction work Comment: The existing concrete pavement will be patched and overlaid with asphalt. A high tension cable barrier will be installed in the median throughout St. James Parish. Eastbound lanes will be closed: Sunday through Thursday: Continously Friday and Saturday: 12 AM to 10 AM Westbound Lanes will be closed Monday: Continuous Tuesday and Wednesday: 12AM to 1PM Thursday: Continuous Friday: 12AM to 10AM Saturday: Continuous Sunday: 12AM to 10AM Motorists traveling west may take US 51 exit in LaPlace to US 61 North . Motorists traveling east may take US 61 South last updated November 25

WTF is that hot tranny mess? Are they closed eastbound "continously" Friday and Saturday, or from 12am to 10am? And, if this morning, they were to be closed from 12am to 10am, why were they still closed at 4pm when Miss Ginger drove past?! She's more confused than she usually is, but I guess we'd better take Highway 61 (the Airline Highway, though for the love of God she don't know why it's called that!) That b!tch gets some kinda cranky when she has to sit in traffic. And traffic makes her need to pee. Now. Always. She blames it on the traffic. Ya think it coulda been that triple venti nonfat caramel macchiatto she insisted on downing right before she got in the car?

Miss Ginger Reaches Her Final Destination!

What a day Miss Ginger has had! She went to bed last night after her flight for this am was cancelled, and this morning at 6am when she went to the phone to call the airline to see if they could find her a flight before Saturday, she found a TripAlert from the airline telling her she had a flight at 9am! She has never packed a bag so fast in her entire life! Then she ran through the Mirage like a hot tranny mess to get to the car, get to the airport, and get to the check-in counter in time to check a bag! She actually made the flight, and while they sat at the gate, she called Travel Services and got her market trip rescheduled. The stars fell into alignment, and she made all the connections and made it to Baton Rouge, where she will start her day tomorrow.

She won't miss the chair at LVI, but she will miss all of the nice people and especially the cute doctors! She flirted shamelessly with "Dr. Todd" from operatory across the aisle. He was SUCH a cutie! She's not sure whether he likes boys or girls, but that's the FABULOUS thing about Miss Ginger: it doesn't really matter!

And in the cubicle next door was "Dr. Ben Affleck" and his cute patient, too. Dr. Ben is married, I think, but he's actually taller and cuter than the real Ben Affleck, so at least the eye candy was sweet! I think there's a great idea for a charity calendar: "The Hot Doctors of LVI"!

The teeth are in and the bite is leveled, and the rest of the work will happen in a few stages in Dr. Mitchmore's office to adjust the surfaces of the teeth to make them lock together naturally and form a strong, solid, permanent bite that will never deteriorate. A lot of cheaper dentists stop where I am now, but the whole point of what they teach at LVI is how to shape the chewing surfaces of the teeth to make the teeth work and feel as FABULOUS as they look!

Snowed In, Vegas Style!

Oh, for the love of all that is holy, how does Miss Ginger get into these messes?! Here she sits, snowed into Las Vegas, Nevada, with all flights cancelled and nothing to do for 2 days! She's on hold with travel services right now cancelling her market trip to NOLA because the airlines can't get her out of Vegas until Saturday! What the hell is she gonna do for 2 days?

She's had enough of the slot machines- or they've had enough of her, anyway!

She could go downstairs to the Kim Vo salon to get her hair done, but she didn't bring any of it with her. She could spend the day shopping at Caesar's, the Venetian, of the new Miracle Mile at Planet Hollywood, but there's not a Lane Bryant at any of those!

She even thought about going to the Riviera to catch Frank Marino's show, but, honestly, who wants to get out in this weather?! So she's gonna sit here and stew while she waits for her ibuprofen to kick in, and then she'll have to figure it out! I'm sure she can scare up some kind of mischief in 2 days!

Snowstorm in Vegas!

I'm sure there are a lot of pi$$%d off snow bunnies in Nevada right now, since they flew all this way for warm sunny weather and it's a messy snowstorm out there right now! It is really coming down, even here in the valley on the strip. It was just starting in Summerlin when we finished my dental appointment around noon, and then when we we driving back down into Vegas it turned from snow to rain. But I guess somewhere around the 3rd bloody mary it turned into snow down here on the strip! It's so beautiful!!!! Miss Ginger has seen more snow in the past 2 weeks than she has in her entire life! They say Vegas is going to get 8-10 inches! I hope my flight doesn't get cancelled tomorrow! Naptime! More photos later!

The Plan: Quiet Evening at the Hotel....

The reality:

It all started well.. After a nice nap, Miss G decided to check ou the newly renovated Mirage Volcano, have a cocktail, and then a nice dinner in one of the Mirages' fabulous restaurants.

We never made it past the cocktail!

The volcano was Ultra-fabulous! The new Mirage Volcano is to fire what the Bellagio Fountains are to water! The entire show is choreographed to a drumbeat composed by Great Dead drummer Pete Wentz, and the fire balls and fountains are truly spectacular! Loved it!
Then a very wind-chilled Miss G went inside to the Beatles Revolution bar for a martini before dinner. She never left! Between the adorable staff and the interesting customers, Miss G never got hungry! About the time Miss G thought surely it was time to head to the room, Robbie Knievel (Evil's son) plopped down beside her, and Miss G was so starstruck she had to have several more cocktails!!!
Robbie was quite a flirt, and Miss G is pretty sure she coulda had her way with him, one way or another, if ya get my drift. But that's the prob: Miss G doesn't do drifters!

So now she's in the room eating tuna and potato salads (not the same dish) and wondering what tomorrow will bring!

Vegas Travelogue

Great day today! After breakfast and coffee, Miss Ginger played some slots, then checked out the baby animals at Siegfried and Roy's Secret Garden!

The baby white tiger is more like a teenage white tiger right now, but he's not quite as huge as his parents and he's VERY playful. The keeper would throw a pumpkin in the water and he would splash in after it! Too cute! And the baby bottlenose dolphin, Bella, is adorable! She is much smaller than the other dolphins, and very playful as well. Then a couple of bloody marys and some video poker, a sushi lunch at my favorite sushi place at Caesar's, and a long nap to sleep it all off! Now I'm off to see the newly reopened Mirage volcano. TTFN!

Miss Ginger Van Winkle has Awakened!

Miss Ginger fell asleep during her massage yesterday, then crawled into bed and slept until around 10:30pm. She went back to bed after her tuna sandwich, and slept until just now, which is about 5 am. That's about 12 hours of sleep! Man, she needs a cup of coffee!
But she promised a review of Sunday's show, dear readers, so here it is. And don't laugh at her as she shows her age.

If ye remember, Miss G was going to see "some illusionist" with Dr. M, Asst. Antonio, and Dr. M's lovely daughter Emily. We let the "kids" pick the show, and they picked a new Cirque de Soleil show at the Luxor called "Criss Angel Believe". Even with as much cable television as she watches, Miss Ginger had never seen the A&E show "MindFreak" where this guy does crazy stunts and illusions. It begins in Cirque de Soleil fashion, with jibbering, dark clowns passing popcorn around the audience and climbing across the seats, etc. Lot's of false starts as the clowns try to introduce Criss, which made the whole thing drag on, but finally Criss emerges from the curtain and the show begins. A couple of pretty impressive "stand-up" type audience participation tricks, and then this electrical spark generator trick that "supposedly" goes wrong and Criss is blown to bits. Cue the ambulance sound effects, send out the clowns with a gurney to haul the "parts" off, and begin the "Cique de Surreal" dance routine during which Criss suits up for the next bit. Later. Rinse. Repeat.

Let's start with Criss- Cute boy, but way overprocessed! He' got a handsome face and maintains a nice body, but beyond that the rocker-goth gimmick just leaves Miss Ginger wanting a bar of soap. Black fingernail polish, black eyeliner, overdyed black hair chopped in shards that intentionally dangle over one eye, and the shredded denim, leather, and chain mail wardrobe just say one thing to Miss G: "I used to be a dork in high school but now I think I'm cool". Obviously he is targeted to a younger demographic, which could be the Luxor's demise: his demographic sits at home watching MindFreak on cable, not spending thousands of dollars to fly to Vegas, stay at the Luxor, and pay through the nose for theatre tickets. And Cirque de Soleil has officially destroyed their cachet by putting their name on this. Used to be if it said CdS you could count on quality entertainment, but this show is below their standard.
Oh, and if he had mentioned his girlfriend, Holly Madison, one more time, I would've barfed. Dude, we get it! You want us to think your straight. Okay, we'll play along. Wink, Wink.You met her at "The Random Reality TV Stars" convention, where she showed up sobbing after Hef booted her for the other bimbo. So you though it would butch you up to date Hef's sloppy seconds. But you spoke of weiner shrinkage "twice" during your banter! "Nervous turtle" I think was the descriptor. Straight men have no idead what I'm talking about because weiner shrinkage is just not a condition that they even recognize as exisiting!

But really, you look just lie the big ole queen from "Dead or Alive"! You may want to rethink that a bit! Even drag queens aren't using black eyeliner anymore! I just kept waiting for him to sing the old Liza song " That's Criss with 2 ss's not Chris with an H, cause that spells Chris not Criss...."







In other news, the mouth isn't too sore so far today, and the teeth seem less sensitive already. Today is a recovery day, and tomorrow is bite adjustment, so for today the teeth don't strike perfectly together like they will after tomorrow. Miss G loves sushi, and one barely needs teeth at all to eat that, so she'll probably head over to Caesar's for lunch later.
Here's a pic of the dental snowman someone made at LVI. His eyes are spit cups and his pipe is a suction wand!

The Worst is Over??!

What a day Miss Ginger had today! Up early to head north to Summerlin to have her porcelain veneers glued in. The weather forecast was for Vegas to have snow, and as she pulled out of the garage at the Mirage she tought "I'm no expert on snow, but this looks a hell of a lot more like rain to me!" But as she climbed higher up the mountain, she began to realize there were some flakes mixed in there, and by the time she reached Summerlin it was a full-on snowfall! Miss G has seen more snow in the last 7 days than in her entire lifetime! It snowed through Miss G's 6 hours of in-chair misery, and by the time she was done, there was a blanket of white on the campus of LVI. The time in the chair wasn't too bad, really. The anxiety is worse than the actual pain. But once is all over, your entire body hurts from the tension of laying in one awkward position after another for 6 hours. That's why Dr. M thoughtfully arranged for me to have a massage after from the very handsome Brad, who was arriving just as returned to hotel. It was pretty wonderful, but honestly, I slept through most of it, and crawled right into the bed after he left and fell soundly asleep! I didn't wake up until just now, which would mean I selpt for about 5 hours. It's 10:30 pm now, and since I haven't eaten since breakfast, I should be starving. I'm not really so hungry but probably should eat, but my mouth is still very sore, so I think something mushy like a tuna sandwich will be my best bet. So I'm off to Carnegie Deli for some din din. Tomorrow (or later tonight if I can't sleep) I'll tell you Miss Ginger's take on the show we saw last night!

Miss Ginger is On the Road Again!

Miss Ginger hits the road again and is just landed in Vegas for the 2nd and last trip for the teeth thing. Tommorrow it's back to LVI for the big day when the temps come out and the porcelain ones get permanently bonded in. That will be the worst day. After that, there will be 2 days of adjustments, measurements, etc. to make sure it's all in place correctly.
We're staying at the Mirage this time and they sure have fixed it up since the last time I was here. The last time it was clean, if somewhat dated, but the rooms have now been remodeled to state-of-the-art zen fabulous! Miss G is way impressed!
After 4 nights in LV, Ginger jets via IAH directly to NOLA for her final market trip of the year. Since she's going to be there for the weekend, and no one else from the regional team will be there to entertain her, she has decided to stay in the French Quarter, where she knows she will be able to entertain herself! Tonight we're going to see some illusionist at the Luxor, so I'll give a full report on that.
And I will totally spare you the Willie Nelson YouTube that my title foreshadows- I couldn't find a version by anyone other than him!

Miss Ginger Discovers (and Remembers) a Clasic!

Last night Miss Ginger watched a classic film that she had never seen before: the 1942 William Keighley film "The Man Who Came to Dinner". It's a wonder she'd never seen it before, and would have seen it much soon if she had known several things about it:
1. It's a Christmas Movie.
2. It has Bette Davis in it.
3. It has Billie Burke in it.

4. It has Mary Wickes in it!

Miss Ginger can't remember Mary Wickes ever being in a bad movie! And what a long career she had! She was actually schooled as an attorney (imagine HER in a courtroom!) but the acting bug bit and she started as a character actress on Broadway in the 30's. Successful at first, her career began to falter until she was asked by Hollywood to reprise a role she created on Broadway in the 1942 film of "The Man Who Came to Dinner". Because she and her Broadway co-star Monty Woolley were so unknown to nationwide film audiences, Warner Brothers pulled a Joker out of their deck and used their contract box office favorite Bette Davis to lend the film some credibility. It was a really great film, and it began a long, illustrious career for Mary that led her to Hollywood and a home down the street from Lucille Ball, who became one of her best friends and favorite costars. Lucy also introduced Mary to television audiences, and she starred in everything from "The Lucy Show" to "Sigmund the Sea Monster!" Many of her comedic roles placed her in nurses garb or a nun's habit, and 2 of her trademark roles were Sister Clarissa in "The Trouble with Angels" franchise and Sister Mary Lazarus in the "Sister Act" franchise. Her final role before her death in 1995 was the voice of Laverne in the Disney animated film "The Hunchback of Notre Dame"
She also guest starred on almost every television show known to man in the 60's and 70's, including one of Miss G's favorites, "The Match Game"! ( and how many episodes of M*A*S*H?!)

Miss Ginger learned a lot of this info from one of her favorite Websites, the "Internet Movie Data Base" (IMDB) which she will add to her "favorites" list after finishing this post. It has lots of juicy tidbits about all of your favorite stars and movies, including this one: she was the "longtime companion" of Playwright Abby Conrad. Sounds like lesbo love to Ginger!
Here's a classic scene from "The Man Who Came to Dinner" with Jimmy Durante:

Get a Tissue!

This was one of those email forwards that Miss Ginger would usually delete without reading- She loves getting funny email forwards, but the sappy "world peace" kind of forwards aren't her cup of "T". But this one came from someone who knows this (and many other things!) about her, so if he sent it, he must have been sure she would appreciate it. She did:

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.


The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.


The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know, Then the
sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.

Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.
A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.

'What are you doing?' I asked without fear,
'Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!'
For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts..

To the window that danced with a warm fire's light
Then he sighed and he said 'Its really all right,
I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night.'
'It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.

No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at ' Pearl on a day in December,'
Then he sighed, 'That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers.'
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of ' Nam ',
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.

I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.
Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue... an American flag.
I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.

I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..
Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall.'

' So go back inside,' he said, 'harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right.'
'But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
'Give you money,' I asked, 'or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son..'

Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
'Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled.
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us.'

PLEASE, would you do me the kind favor of sending this to as many
people as you can? Christmas will be coming soon and some credit is due to our
U.S service men and women for our being able to celebrate these
festivities. Let's try in this small way to pay a tiny bit of what we owe. Make
people
stop and think of our heroes, living and dead, who sacrificed themselves for
us.

LCDR Jeff Giles, SC, USN
30th Naval Construction Regiment
OIC, Logistics Cell One
Al Taqqadum, Iraq

As distracted as we've all been by the impending change of leadership, the furor over prop 8, and the ever increasing financial crisis, let's never forget that these men and women are out there every day, doing their damndest to protect us from another 9/11 or something worse!

Obviously, Miss Ginger doesn't know Navyman Giles, but she'd like to think maybe he's a goodlooking as this group of Navy Seals!

I Just Love my FEEDJIT!

Miss Ginger just LOVES the FEEDJIT she added to her blog! If you haven't noticed it, check it out- it's way at the bottom of the toolbar to the right, and it looks like a little map. It adds a red dot every time a visitor comes into TFBOMGG for the first time in a geographic area! Not only do we have GingerSnaps® from coast to coast in America, we are collecting snaps from around the world! I knew of 2 Snaps in the UK, but we've also had visits from Spain, Italy, Germany, and Brazil! (Miss Ginger LOVES Brazillian men- she may have to learn Portugese!) I wonder how many other International GingerSnaps® we will get?!

God Bless Bettie Page

David Dust blogged the other day about Bettie Page's heart attack, and the Houston Chronicle reported this morning that has passed away at age 85. The article was quite interesting and told of the turbulent life she led, suffering molestation, mental illness, and poverty. Still, she will be remembered not for her suffering, but her beautiful figure, free spirit, and radiant smile by a generation of servicemen (and a few women, I'm sure!)

Houston Goes Green!

Momma Ginger often commented when she visited Houston that she was amazed how such a big city could be so "green"- she meant in appearance, because even with the sprawl of highways, parking lots, and buildings there is a lot of tree-filled greenspace here. With all those trees being pummelled for 17 hours by Hurricane Ike, you can't even imagine the amount of tree waste the city had to haul off. In retrospect, the City of Houston did an amazing job of getting the millions of tons of waste out of the city. It's still being created, as all of the most serious damage is repaired and people have time to address dangling limbs, broken trees, etc. And most importantly, the city is committed to keeping the 5.7 million cubic yards of waste out of the landfills.
The obvious answer would be to mulch it, and that is being done, but the Houston market couldn't possibly use that much mulch up before the piles began to breakdown and release tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
So the City held a contest and offered a $10,000 prize for the best idea for dealing with all the waste. The winning team devised a plan to use a huge kiln to turn it into charcoal, capturing the resulting methane gas for reuse as fuel. The charcoal could be worked into soil on farms and ranches to help hold carbon dioxide in the soil for use by the plants.
Seems like a great idea, but as this Houston Chronicle article shows, it may not be feasible to get a plant up and running in time to deal with all the current piles. But at least we are thinking ahead. And I'll bet there are other types of industrial waste that could be treated by such a plant as well.
Interestingly enough, Houston has another green waste initiative that a lot of people may not know about. Houston takes the "sludge" from the sewage processing plants, dries it into "crystals", and uses it to fertilize the city's golf courses, parks, public lawns, and green spaces. Whatever is left over is bagged and sold to consumers under the brand name "Houactonite". Miss G has used it before and it's great! It has no odor, doesn't stain concrete like chemical fertilizers do, and it's well balanced so it's almost impossible to burn the lawn by overfertilizing!
So don't think of Houston as only the miles of refinery smokestacks you always see on the news- those are really in smaller communities surrounding the city! Think of it as a forward-thinking, green city with an eye on the future!

SNOW!!!!

Can you believe it???? We are having a White Christmas in Texas!!! As close as we get, anyway!

It has been snowing for about 3 hours- and it's really coming down! Unfortunately, it's not cold enough for it to stick anywhere except on a cold flat metal surface, so the cars are covered, but that's about it! It's really pretty to watch it flutter to the ground, though. One of those simple pleasures, like a rainy afternoon, that we never get to experience in South Texas! Maybe if it snows long enough the temp with drop overnight and Miss Ginger and the kitties will wake up to a blanket of white snow on the ground. That would be cool!

Anyway, Miss G was able to scrape enough snow off of

the truck and the trash cans to make this tiny snowman!!! He's more of a slushman, actually, and he's only about 6 inches tall, so I guess we've just disproved the theory that "everything's bigger in Texas!"

Today was supposed to be the "Day without a Gay" day when everyone walked around with bad hair, waiting in line for hours to get waited on at the mall, and waiting longer still for the server to bring their food to the table. Miss Ginger doesn't personally don't anyone who called out gay, and as far as she knows, no one at work called out gay. She's not sure it was the most positive way to get others to support our cause, anyway, but she did plan to participate in 2 ways, and she (kinda) accomplished both missions. Miss G had an early meeting today with her boss and her boss, and then one other appointment that she intended to "stretch" until she felt she could get away with "going home gay early" (?!) Well, after the meeting, Miss G's boss said "you guys take a hall pass for the rest of the day and go home early", so Miss G did what she set out to do but it didn't end up being nearly as "bad ass" as she had planned.

The other thing Miss G planned to do was follow David Dust and Chicago Dan's lead and make it "a day without blogging", which she is also going to claim to have accomplished. It's been over 24 hours, even if they were technically part of 2 different days. Besides, she couldn't pass up the snow thing- how often do we get to blog about snow in Texas?!

Hope everyone had a FABULOUS day- with or without your favorite "gays"!

One Down, One to Go!

After a false start, Raccoon #1 is off to the city's raccoon daycare! When Miss G got home from work, Bentley, the pesky neighborhood tabby who always picks fights with Nog, was caught in the trap! Miss G let him out, and reset the trap, thinking that the window of opportunity had been lost for tonight. But au contraire, after a few short hours we had a prisoner!

At first we weren't sure whether we had caught the wife or the husband, but now there's pretty solid evidence that we have the wife. Here's why:

1.) while the wife was held captive, the husband continued to sniff around looking for food.

2.) while the wife was held captive, the husband lolly-gagged around, licking his balls for the thrill of it, and

3.) while his wife was held captive, the husband pranced and flirted like a college kid on spring break!

Tommorrow we're gonna catch that asshat and teach him a thing or 2 about respect!

New Feature: the Weekly Recap!

Miss G has decided to end the week with a recap of the highlights of all her favorite blogs- kind of like a "Readers Digest" condensed version of the all the GingerSnaps most blogworthy entries! If she gets enough positive comments, she'll make make it a weekly feature. So here we go:
David Dust saluted the military, covered the emergence of the victorious Barbie over those trashy Bratz, and sent good thoughts for the speedy recovery of beloved pinup goddess Bettie Page.
Miss Alaineous texted her notes from some live music performances she enjoyed, and had an epiphany about tolerance of youth searching for a sense of self in this very complicated world. And as always, she did some incredible, selfless things for the inner city kids who call her "teacher". She enfirmed her place in Miss G hearts as one of the truly beautiful people on our planet!
Nutwood Beth explored the male psyche, and polled her readers to determine if men really respect intelligent women. I think it was a hung jury, hardy har har! Then she stuck the unforgiveable "Spaghetti Cat" song indelibly in Miss G's mental iPod, for which she almost lost her snap!!! (winks to Beth!)
Str8upwithatwist honored world AIDS day, Chicago Dan posted his daily musical Christmas Cheer, Danelle won an award, Kaio maintained respectable quality control,and Mistress Borghese honored the long, lost venerable emporiums of yore.
And finally, our dear Indigo took the high road when she stumbled across the posts of some insensitive boobs who totally missed the beauty of the fact that corporate America's marketers are beginning to recognize that the world is made up of all kinds of people, and we all deserve diamonds! Miss G's certainly not going to argue with that!
Love to all the Snaps!

A Beautiful Day!

It's been a beautiful day in South Texas today, and it has totally made up for the crappy couple of days Miss G had earlier in the week! The weather has been cool, dry, and FABULOUS, and without a cloud in the sky, the stars and planets shine each night like jewels! Miss G walked out to check on Nog around dusk today, and because the atmosphere was so dry and clear, the sky was crisscrossed with vapor trails from high flying aircraft that literally lingered for hours. There was one that was so long Miss G couldn't find the beginning or the end! She decided the jet must be flying from New York to somewhere exotic like Buenos Aires or Caracas, and snapped a photo because it was so unusual. She wishes she'd had a wide-angle lens so you could see that it truly stretched from horizon to horizon!
The day started with breakfast with the gang, then Miss G got some work stuff done, then painted the headpiece for her costume and actually started sewing on the garment itself. It is truly "costume" sewing with shapes that stand away from the body, and engineered elements that hold the fabric into rigid positions, which is very different from dressmaking or tailoring! Miss G knew that regular plastic garment boning would be way too weak, so she experimented with lengths of plastic moulding that she found at Home Depot, and is excited to report that it looks like it is going to work!
She paid bills, cooked dinner, and cleared the DVR so she's all caught up on TV! What a FABULOUS day!
Miss G feels compelled to end with a public service announcement, although she's not sure if she has any readers with small children. But if you do, dear reader, please make sure that your large screen TV is on a stable structure and bolted to the wall if at all possible! Today's Houston Chronicle reported that a child was killed by a falling flat screen, and it's the 11th such death in the Houston area this year! Having handled her share of those things, Miss G knows that they are VERY front heavy, and are quite prone to tipping forward if they are not secured!
This has been a public service announcement from The FABULOUS Blog Of Miss Ginger Grant!
We now return you to your regular blogging!

FInally Miss Ginger Knows Where to Pee!

(check out more bathroom humor at Engrish.com!)

Only in Texas! WTF?!

Why is it that embarassing shit like this only ever seems to happen in Texas?

Mr. Buck's severed head recovered from suspect's home
By PEGGY O'HARE Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle

Officers have arrested a man in the decapitation of Mr. Buck, a beloved deer at Bear Creek Pioneers Park's wildlife sanctuary.
Brandon Eugene Gregory, 23, was arrested at his home late Friday by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department officers and Harris County Precinct 5 deputies. He is charged with taking a wildlife resource without landowner consent — a state jail felony offense. His bond is set at $5,000.
Mr. Buck's severed head was recovered at Gregory's apartment in the 13300 block of West Road, said Harris County prosecutor Eric Bily. The animal's head had not yet been mounted on a wall.
Gregory will likely be charged with other crimes, and more arrests related to Mr. Buck's death are probable, Bily said.
The killing and mutilation of Mr. Buck shocked animal lovers across the Houston area. The 8- to 10-point buck was comfortable around people and would let park visitors scratch his chin.
But on Nov. 25, a park ranger found the white-tailed deer's headless carcass in a pool of blood. Intruders had cut a four-foot hole in a chain-link fence to reach the animal.
Bily said he believes Mr. Buck's head was severed with a knife and bolt cutters. He expects the evidence will show Gregory was hurt while struggling with the deer during the confrontation.
Gregory could not be reached for comment later today. His girlfriend, who answered the door at his northwest Harris County apartment, became tearful and said she could not talk to the media.
Some law-abiding hunters are worried that people will unfairly lump them into this illegal activity, Bily said.
"This guy is not a hunter," Bily said of the arrested man. "This is very different from what hunters do."
A Crime Stoppers tip led officers to Gregory. He and the other suspects were mostly cooperative and gave statements to the investigating officers, Bily said.
If convicted of the charge, Gregory could face 180 days to two years in jail and a fine ranging from $1,500 to $10,000.
More information on the break in the case will be released at a news conference this afternoon.

Miss Ginger's Kitty has Dinner Guests!

Last night when Miss Ginger went out to check on Nog after work she discovered he had 2 guests for dinner! They were very gracious and not the least bit shy about letting Miss G know that they enjoyed her offerings, and they even stayed for a while after the meal to nap with Nog on his little sofa! I guess they are friends of his because he didn't seem to mind!

Celia was finishing up the housekeeping and when she saw them she exclaimed "Oh! Los kitties esta muy grande!" I don't think I ever did make the poor dear understand that they were "no esta los gatos, esta raccoons." I don't think they have raccoons in Mexico.

Anyho, since the exile of the possums from under the guest rooms bathtub, apparently los raccoons have claimed squatters rights. Miss Ginger is in a bit of a quandry because: a:) they are ADORABLE!, b:) they are not disgusting like possums are and c:) did I mention they are ADORABLE? However a:) they are wild animals living in a small domestic space b:) they are huge, and varacious eaters, and c:) they are surely carrying fleas, germs, and God knows what else. But unlike possums, raccoons are smart and dexterious, so it may be much more difficult to catch them, and Miss G's not sure she has the heart to sent them to the kitty concentration camp. So for now they are staying!

In other news, Miss G can't help but find her inner astronomer when she glances into the southwest sky at night. Right at dusk, before any other stars are visible, Venus and I believe Mercury shine brightly as solid orbs of light. They seem so close compared to the stars, and I guess they really are! Of course, they never fail to bring out Miss G's inner Diva:

Miss G used to love her some Bananrama when she was in college, even though they sing everything in unison because they aren't musically talented enough to harmonize. They are bubble gum pop at it's finest!

Texas seems to remain insulated to the economic downturn as business continues to boom! Miss Ginger is not sure whether people are spending more or whether she is just gaining market share from her defunct or flailing competetitors, but either way, we'll take it! 2 more days of Corporate Visitors next week, and then it's smooth sailing for Miss G through the rest of the Holiday Season!

Miss Ginger's Day Was Not So FABULOUS!

Oh, it started fine, if not a bit early. Miss G had to be a store a 7:30 am clear across town for a meeting with the CEO- so it's not like she can say "Um, 7:30's not gonna work for me!" Meeting went fine, but things slid downhill from there.


Next was an appointment with the sleep doctor, and Miss G was running late getting there, so of course she had to wait in the room for a while. So, as she sat on the paper covered table "resting her eyes" she heard the paper rustling in the wind. And then she realized there wasn't any wind in the room. She opened her eyes, and crawling on the paper next to her was the cutest little green gecko!

Of course, it gets startled and jumps to the floor, so Miss G is crawling around on her hands and knees looking for it when the Doctor walks in! She tells him she's looking for the gecko that was crawling on the paper, and as he's picking up the phone to call for a straight jacket the little thing darts across the room and hides behind the little curtain thingy that is supposed to provide you privacy but doesn't. We chase the gecko for a while, then proceed to the appointment where the Doctor always says the same thing- "Keep sleeping with your machine so you will wake up every day, and loose some weight so you won't fail to wake up someday." In a nutshell.

After being told she is too fat, Miss G drops in on her largest store, which is having great business lately, so the store is kinda messy. Messy in a good way, because that means they are buying. But when she talks to the GM about getting some help in there to get things cleaned up, this whole ugly budget conversation ensues. Miss G hates budgets- they get in the way of everything!!!
Now she's cranky, and hits the freeways for the drive home through Houston's infamously terrible traffic. The freeways suprisingly weren't congested.She has to stop at 2 drugstores, to pick up Jackson's prescription at the Kitty Drugstore, and her own prescription at Walgreens. The traffic on the surface roads was HORRIBLE! It took her an hour to run a local errand that should have taken 15 minutes! She was some kinda cranky by the time she got home!
So she fried up some pork chops and hashbrowns, opened herself a bottle of Pinot Grigio, and now she's happy as a clam. Let's just hope the DVR didn't fail to tape "Top Chef" last night- that would really set her off!

Have a Coke and a Smile!

Nutwood Beth and Bucko made a gruelling trip through snow (you can have that stuff!) in the midwest as they returned from their Thanksgiving vacation, and Beth commented that they stopped for lunch and had a "pop". It made Miss Ginger smile, because she's always amused at the different terms used to describe carbonated soft drinks in various parts of the US. "Pop", "soda", "soda water" et al just sound so foreign to Miss G's southern ears! Down here, it's called a "coke". Here's how the conversation might go:

"I'm hot. I want a coke."

"Hey, a coke sounds good. I want one, too!"

"I'll get them. What kind do you want?"

"Dr. Pepper."

Unless you are up in the drive through at Popeye's. Then it goes like this:

"I'll have the 3-piece meal with dirty rice".

"Um, you wanna cole drank wiffat?"

"I'll have a Diet Coke."

"We ain't got no Diet Coke. Diet Pepsi."

"Then I'll have a Diet Pepsi."
"We ain't got no Diet Pepsi. We's out."

If I'm lyin' I'm dyin'!