mom and dad are having tons of fun at Sea World

the season premire of The Office was so funny....this was one of the funniest...lol

we are so addicted to 24 that we have to bring it on vacation!

Mom and Dad at dinner at the Hyatt

there was a bunch of ducks around a bird feeder on our way to dinner

I'm So Impressed

When we were booking our room on hyatt.com they said they had just renovated their rooms here and I took it very lightly. I was wrong. They got new beds!!!!!!!!!!!! They are the best beds I have ever slept in in my entire life. They are ultra soft w/pillow top. AND they are even making an effort to be green here! They lightbulbs in the rooms are the good ones that done use as much energy and save the world!!! Also, they have something I am extreamly impressed with. Instead of your normal alarm clock/radio this resort upgraded...they have an iHome in every room. Yes, the iPod speaker...in fact I am listening to music on it right now as I am typing. I am really impressed.

We are going to dinner now...more updates to come tonight...stay tuned!

Famlies, Lovers, and Tons of Booze

The title pretty much states the people here at the Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort. We were going around the famous lazy river and that is basically all we saw. There were lots of families with screaming children and lots of couple who are obviously here to have sex. Don't act you have never seen those types of couples. You know you have. So know the booze...there was more alcohol by the pool than at the DLP Productions Scenes Program cast part. Now that is saying something! There was beer everywhere!! I was shocked. So a bunch of liquored up parents with screaming kids, and liquored up people having sex...sounds like this is going to be an interesting weekend...

Guess What I Learned to do.....

On our way to San Antonio today I learned how to drive on the freeway!! It was not a full crazy loop-de-loop free way but it was a start. I started driving when we got out of the crazy parts of the freeway. I did really well, if I do say so myself. But I did not realize there were so many rules when driving on the freeway! There is a lot to remember!

Random Vacation!

All of us here at the nut house, except for those who meow, bark or squak, are going on a random vacation!! We are going to San Antonio for the weekend and will be staying at the Hyatt Hill Country Resort and Spa. While in San Antonio we are going to Sea World!! You can expect many postings while we are there.

I am sending this from my car! Mobile blogging! yeah, i know...its amazing.

The Power of the Sun

The sun seems to do something to Billy Bob and Lizzie, the cats. Every morning the sun comes through the kitchen window and onto the floor. Both cats love to lay in the sun. There is certainly enough sun on the floor for both of them to sleep and not touch each other but they don't think so. Almost every day they get in a big fight about laying the sun in the kitchen. It gets crazy! Fur flies everywhere! And when it is over, both of them end up leaving the sunny area and going to separate ends of the house, leaving wads of fur laying in the sun.

Ricola

I have been taking Ricola like a crazy person for the past couple weeks because my voice has been working so much. Someone at rehearsal, and the director, told me that menthol (which is the main component of Ricola) is bad for your throat. Ummmm...yikes? I had never heard this...does anyone reading this know if menthol really is bad for your throat? I really hope not because without the Ricola right now my voice would be gone...

Please leave a comment if you know anything about this!

The New iPods

I just realized that I never talked about the new iPods when they came out a couple weeks ago...so here I go.

The Redesigned iPod Nano:

I am not a fan of the new design. It looks fat. When I hear "iPod Nano" I think small, tiny, miniature, etc. While the actual size of the device is small, it still looks fat. Also, they added the ability to playback video on the Nano. I think that is really great, but would not want to use it myself. I get enough of a headache already trying to watch a video on a plane on my regular sized ipod! I want a portable 60 inch plasma for planes.

The Redesigned and Renamed iPod Classic:

I pretty much have the same problem with this one...it looks fat. Not as fat as the Nano, but it could loose 10 pounds. I want sleek and streamlined and I wants it bad!

The All New iPod Touch:

I love it! It is the perfect iPod! It has the music, photos, video, full screen and now, internet! It has wifi capability! I would be buying it right now but there is one fault in it. It only goes up to 16gb of storage. My current one is 30gb. And I payed less for it than the 8gb iPod Touch costs. So unfortunately, I am waiting till a version with a lot more memory and lower price comes out. But I love this one!

wow

Geometry in Architecture

I did a power point presentation about geometry in architecture for my geometry class.

Click here to download it.

It opens in Quicktime and works just like a power point. Click on it to go forward in the presentation.

If you do not have Quicktime click here for your free download.

Dance Rehearsal

I was at a dance rehearsal for the upcoming scenes program with DLP Productions and we were learning the dance for "Marathon". Ms. Peden, the director and my voice teacher, just got a new Blackberry that has a camera on it and snapped this very flattering picture of me.

Winter

I really wish my favorite season of the year, winter, would come!! It is so hot! Yes, the only reason winter is my favorite season is because when it is cold, I don't sweat.

...I have sweating problems...

A Slight Change in Plans

This blog was originally created so all the members of the Watkins' Nut House could contribute. But it seems not everyone wants to...So I, John, will be the sole writer on this blog. The content will be the same but you can loose your hope of seeing Sue or Dave write on here.

Survivor: China

So I was bracing myself for another mediocre episode of Survivor. However, it was not mediocre at all!!! Survivor: China is really good! I am actually going to watch this season. I have not watched a full season since the first one. Normally I get bored. But this one is going to be sooo good. Plus, I hears Jeff Probst say on some show that this year the contestants get to kidnap people from the other tribe!! This will no doubt supply tons of material for The Soup.

New Poll

There is a new poll located on the right side of this page. The previous poll has closed and the winner was Diet Pepsi over Coke, Diet Coke, and Pepsi. The new poll is all about cars. I hope everyone votes!

Yet Another Crazy View Moment

Thank you, Sherri!

The Upcoming TV Season

Our DVR is going to be going nuts with the upcoming TV season. In addition to the shows we already watch (Regis and Kelly, Ellen, E! News, Nancy Grace, The Soup, Best Week Ever, Samantha Brown and lots of home shopping) it is going to get packed with all the new episodes. Our current plan is to watch the following shows: The Office, Desperate Housewives, LOST (not till February booo), Pushing Up Daisies, American Idol, Dancing With the Stars, Survivor: China, The Amazing Race, Project Runway, and probably a lot of other stuff I can't think of right now. The point is that our DVR is going to be busting at the seams!! I think that we should get another DVR. One of the perks of homeschooling is lots of time to watch tv...but it is a curse for the DVR.

P.S. If someone reading this does not have a DVR or Tivo or a similar device, go get one right now. Seriously, get in the car and go buy one right now.

P.P.S. Comcast is a stupid name. I miss Time Warner.

24

We finished season 5 and are now watching season 1 of 24 (we started with season 2...). Season 6 does not come out on dvd for a while. I am hoping that season 1 will be able to give us enough of a fix so we don't have to resort to buying the entire 6th season on iTunes.

Meowlingual

Do you remember the dog translator that was all the rage for about 10 minutes a few years ago? The Nut House does! Well, now we can understand our cats with the new Meowlingual Cat Translation Device!!! It is $75 and I can't wait to get one! I will finally be able to understand what Billy Bob is saying to me! I am thinking he is always saying "Foods! Give me foods!!" I guess now I will find out! Btw, if anyone is in doubt about what to get me (John) for Christmas this year...Meowlingual, please.

More Like HumbertNO-SHOW

At The Nut House we were preparing ourselves for another Alison yesterday when we heard that tropical storm, now hurricane, Humberto was going to come for us. Sue even went to HEB and stocked up on food! Well...nothing happened...we got nothing...not even a drizzle of rain. Today it is actually a little bit sunny. We are a little disappointed! We were wanting a little excitement. It has been pretty boring in the huge news stories lately. And we wanted to keep our sprinklers off for another week. But oh well...I am guessing we will get our huge news story pretty soon with the 6 nuclear bombs missing in this country and Russia's new "Father of all Bombs"...

No Words Can Describe It

No words can describe what I am feeling right now...and in case you are thinking "oh! John is in love! How nice!"...forget it...I just saw some pictures of the next version of my current phone (The VX9900 aka the enV). It is called the VX10000. The first day I bought my current phone back in December, I thought it was perfect. I knew that there would be a VX10000 just out of common sense. I now see how LG has managed to perfect perfection.

I almost broke down into tears when I saw these pictures. It is exactly what I have been wanting in a phone. It is so magnificent, so expensive looking (yes I am that shallow), and so perfect. I must have it. Here are the pictures.

Apple Event Today

I (John) am very excited today! Today is the big Apple press event that is very likely going to announce new iPods!!! Like I have said in the past, if new iPods are announced my current one will be put up for sale on my Amazon store.

24

So we finished the fourth season of 24 over the holiday weekend. We could not wait for our Netflix so we had to buy the end of the season on iTunes. Season four was, like all seasons of 24, amazing. We had season five next on our Netflix queue...but could not wait for the first disc to arrive. So we bought the first four episodes on iTunes. We are addicted. We need to go to 24 Addicts Anonymous. Anywhoo, season five is so far the most amazing yet. Seriously, everyone reading this right now go start watching 24. I cannot express just how amazing it is!

So after we have watched all the 24 there is on dvd to watch, what should we watch next? What should our new obsession be until LOST comes back in February? Please write a comment with a suggestion for The Nut House. It would be greatly appreciated!

Apple Stock

Apple stock did tremendously well today! It closed at $144.18 +5.70!! At The Nut House, we are extatic! The large rise today is based on reports saying that the iPhone was the top selling phone in July beating out all smart phones. The Blackberry bush is wilting.

Global Warming

I (John) did a power point presentation about global warming for my biology class. Go to the link below to download it. It opens in Quicktime. To go from slide to slide just click on it like in a power point.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/kohrvc

If you do not have Quicktime click here for your free download.

Meow Mix

I (John) made this video many months ago. I just posted it on youtube. Enjoy!

Sonic Ice

At The Nut House we love Sonic ice. It is the best ice around. If you are reading this and have never been to a Sonic or have never tried their ice go and try it now! Its the best.

Jealousy

Early this morning Lizzie was rather mean to Billy Bob.

Ever since we adopted Lizzie, Billy Bob and Joey's relationship has been really weak. Joey spends most of his time with Lizzie (she gives him baths) and when Billy Bob tries to be affectionate to Joey he usually walks away.

This morning was rare because Joey did not walk away. He was laying down on the floor and Billy Bob came over, laid down with joey at an angle, and was being really nice to Joey and was giving him some love. Then, Lizzie spotted them and quickly came over and got in between them. Billy Bob then walked away. At The Nut House, we feel really bad for Billy Bob. All he wants is to love Joey and be friends with him like old times.

Joey Update #3

Joey is back home! He came home Thursday after a full day at the animal clinic. They did a bunch of x-rays and the nurses said he slept the whole time. It turns out that he has a bunch of torn ligaments around his knees. So there is not much holding his legs together. He also has lost a ton of muscle mass in his legs. They think that the leg problems led to the arthritis. I am not sure where we go from here with him, but I will continue to update the blog with info about Joey's health. Please send your good thoughts in his direction.