ryssee's world

Name: LARYSSA Nicknames: RIS Birthplace: PITTSFIELD, MA Current Location: JUST OUTSIDE BOSTON Hair Color: BROWN Eye Color: HAZEL Height: 5'6" (OR 5'7" WHEN I'M 10 LBS HEAVIER) Weight: ARE YOU FOR REAL? 9 LBS LESS THAN THANKSGIVING THOUGH Tattoos?: butterfly on ankle since 1994 Piercings?: EARS. STILL GOT SOME EXTRA HOLES FROM THE 80'S TOO, BUT I DON'T USE 'EM --Your-- Bedtime: 10:30 WHEN RANDY'S HOME. OTHERWISE, MIDNIGHTISH Best Physical Feature: SMILE Most Embarrassing Moment: WHEN MY PANTS SPLIT OPEN ROLLERSKATING AT BROYLES ARENA Most Missed Memory: I CAN'T REMEMBER, I'M MISSING THAT MEMORY First Thought When You Wake Up: YAY, RANDY'S GONNA GET ME SOME COFFEE! Weakness: BARGAIN SHOPPING Best Friends: KAREN, KIM, AND DAVE. CAROLYN IS A GREAT FRIEND TOO! Goal For The Year: GET TO MY GOAL WEIGHT, WHICH I USED TO BE TWO YEARS AGO BUT IT HAS SLIPPED AWAY Greatest Fears: LOSING THE PEOPLE THAT I LOVE --This Or That-- Pepsi or Coke...DIE

The big story at Outdoor Retailer? Sustainability. Wikipedia says of sustainability, "It is intended to be a means of configuring civilization and human activity so that society, its members and its economies are able to meet their needs and express their greatest potential in the present, while preserving biodiversity and natural ecosystems, and planning and acting for the ability to maintain these ideals in a very long term." Excellent idea, and most outdoor-related companies have gotten on board with using everything from recycled polyesters (as in fleece), organic cottons, Merino wools, recycled rubber, bamboo, even coconut, to build their products (My company will have several items made incorporating bamboo and wool.) A couple companies showed up with brand new booths made with everything from wood to cardboard. Very cool! And our company purchased Carbon Neutral Energy credits for our team. It's a pretty cool concept. It would be really cool if airlines and

I miss you, and I love you. Love, Ris

So, now it's 9:17am and I should be in the air but my flight got cancelled. Spent an hour in line getting re-booked, but yay, now it's a nonstop to SLC on Delta which is the flight I wanted anyway, but it's not until 4:45 now so I lugged the big bags to the curb and took a cab back home. Got six hours to wait to get a cab back. It's nice to live a couple miles from the airport. Sure would have stunk to get up at 4am and drive for 2 hours to have this happen! Instead, I get to eat breakfast at home, and pet the kitties, and watch The Price is Right.

Going to Salt Lake City tomorrow for the Outdoor Retailer trade show (click title of this post for the link). Always a good time the first two days-they have most of the biggest to littlest suppliers of outdoor gear, footwear and apparel. There's even one company that puts up a huge blow-up pool and holds kayak and canoe demos. It's really cool to see what's going to be out in the marketplace two seasons for now. We're all showing our Fall 07 lines to retailers from all across the country. It's make-or-break time for the Product and Design teams. Must be a lot of pressure to see if your concepts and designs are what the people (we consumers) really want to buy a year from now. So, there are always these great parties thrown by the biggest names in the industry - last year I missed the Black-Eyed Peas in a bar, and OR sponsored a concert by one of my 80's faves A Flock of Seagulls. It seems I only get to see the local bands. The best I've done so far is

So, I'm a believer in diversifying your investments. I'm not so great with money myself; I balance the 401k and the Roth whenever I take an update class at work. Mostly I invest in my appearance in the workplace. Randy has as part of his portfolio now a few very beautiful collectible guitars. Last weekend I tuned a guitar as old as he is! And, from my guitar lessons in the 6th grade, I can play three chords and Mary Had a Little Lamb on them. (Thanks Mom!) I love the music room. Lots of people have home theater systems or pool tables, but we have a red room with all things music. How cool is that?

These people from Seattle SUCK! And they're freaky! I thought people from Seattle were supposed to be hip and cool and musically inclined! What the hell was up with "Hotness" and the chick with the bleached blond hair who brought her mom into the audition? It's almost as scary as that God woman coming back on Trading Spouses. Or camping in The Apprentice tent. Or watching Paula Abdul give interviews.

8 lbs lost since Thanksgiving. Yay! 4 more to go before I hit my goal for the trip to Hawaii in mid-February and hmm, maybe 8 or ten more to hit my true goal and fit into my skinny pants. Can't wait for Hawaii! Me and Randy, and his sister Renee and her husband Bill (who I gotta hook up with my brother-they both love classic cars)...and Karen, and Kim & Jim, and barbeque, and Yahtzee, and sun, and a patio on the marina with the volcano view! Now that it's finally 14 degrees, I think it will feel like a winter break and not a fall vacation!

See this flower box? It finally froze last night. Haven't checked on this one, but I think the flowers are dead and the vines aren't far behind. BUT, it's mid-January...and I live in Massachusetts. How can I complain??

After several days of kitty beatings (namely, Emmie beating on Mimi), the kitties are little kitty buddies, and don't have much use for the peoples in the house. Hard to say who has the upper hand. Emmie is bigger and stronger and much more of an attacker. Mimi is FAST. However... (to the tune of Mary had a Little Lamb) Emmie has a little cat, Li-ttle cat! Li-ttle cat! And ev-rey-where-that Mimi is, Emm-ie is sure to go! (And it's usually upstairs, where we can't see 'em.) Can you tell I don't really have a lot going on right now?

Our new kitty is here! Mimi????? I think that's her nickname. Baptized as Midnight. Too many black kitties named Midnight; besides, I like people names for pets, or something original. Our new kitty does have a funny face! She's sweet though. She seems to know it's Emmie's house. Emmie is the aggressive one. She crouches aggressively and growls and hisses. Wasn't too keen on the initial introduction. Little one puts her head to the ground sideways and stares back, and hisses and growls a little. Both kitties are letting me pick them up and pet them though so I think they're just checking each other out and making their pecking order. (Guess who wins?) New kitty likes the featherball toy and the crinkle-tunnel and the cat scratch tower. She also likes the white couch. Good thing she came with her nails clipped, 'cause she's gonna hafta get used to it. Clip clip! I smell like kitties! For the Youtube link to kitty introdution, click on the title o

Our new kitty is coming home tomorrow! Had to buy more litter, more food, a couple toys that don't smell like Emmie-breath, and make her "safe haven" on the chance that she and Emmie freak out at the sight of each other. Speaking of kitties, if you want to waste some time on line and see some funny videos (well we think they're funny, but we're the artistes), go to www.youtube.com and enter Emmie Chronicles in the search box. There are three episodes that should pop up as the first three videos. Part four will come soon I think, and will feature New Kitty!

Randy and I went to Deval Patrick's Inaugural Gala at the new Expo Center in South Boston Thursday night. I got the tickets free from work. I thought it would be really cool to be part of this historical event. Plus if I could squeeze into my favorite dress I'd be really happy (and I did!). I thought we might get to at least take a picture of the man and maybe even shake his hand, or see a local celeb like Ben Affleck or Matt Damon or Natalie from Channel 5. However, we attended with 10,998 other guests and over 30 bands. The 20 minute wait to drop off my coat was a sign of what was yet to come....LONG lines for food and drink and people everywhere. We had crackers and cheese for dinner. I washed mine down with a $5.75 vodka tonic shot. We missed getting into the main ballroom which only held 4000 guests by about 5 minutes. I knew it was time to go when Randy yelled "FREE BIRD!" at an R&B band that decided to play Jimmy Buffett cover tunes. Went home, took

One of my New Year's resolutions is to actually post to this thing! Christmas was great this year. First, Randy and I had our little Christmas the night before he left to spend a week with his parents in South Carolina. He gave me a beautiful jewelry armoire with extra drawers in it, a cute nightshirt, scented oils for the house, and a cool Skagen watch (green with sparkles around the face.) I got him binoculars to replace the ones he left in Madrid, a gorgeous raincoat, movies, and the number one thing he wanted, a toolbox! teehee Emmie got some new toys and some chicken, her favorite. Went home to Pittsfield to spend Christmas with my family. Our annual Christmas party was Christmas eve at my mom's house. We had a great time! My family is so cool and fun, and the new additions over the last few years remind me of the Christmas magic when we were little. We're so lucky to be able to continue the tradition with all the cousins spread far and wide. Christmas Day we