the SPI post

I've been working on a special project at work, planning birthday surprises, sleeping in an un-air conditioned house, and feeling frazzled for pretty much all of June and July.


Over the weekend we took a little break and went to South Padre Island with my folks. I forced Dp to pack my dslr (there was a little argument about it too) and we took it out once on the last day.... woops.

We flew out Friday morning and the flight was 42 min long, which is perfect for me since I am a terrible flyer. It isn't a true fear of flying, more like a claustrophobic thing and my ears always bother me. I'm impressed with people who can read on the plane, I just can't ever get comfortable enough to focus on anything other than the incredible lack of fresh air.

Freddy Fender
I'd never heard of him. A friend of the family supposedly had some epic jam sessions with him at some point in unrecorded history. So we stopped at the Freddy Fender Museum in San Benito. You know when you are aware that you are living a future memory? That's the only to describe it.


SPI
We saw fireworks, and walked on the beach on pink sand stained by a setting sun, swam in the morning before the hot rays, tried to read but really just sat on the balcony and talked about the future and dreams, ate guacamole and carrots, didn't get ice cream once, took long heavy naps, avoided sun burns, stress-free and relaxed.








Palo Alto Battlefield
We had some time before our flight home and stopped into the Palo Alto Battlefield NP. I've been to lots of historic battlegrounds and old forts in my life, most are eye-roll inducing - hot - miserable places. This was worth the trip out there. Museum was interactive and very well done. There was a short film about the battle and we watched it in spanish and tested analee on her translation skills. It is gorgeous flat terrain, scrubby brush, flowy grasses, breezy but hot. Reminded me of Lonesome Dove and David even mentioned how he thought we could grow olives down there. (That's our scale of could we live somewhere, Can we grow olives here?)



SPI Haiku Summary
Cool ocean water
a calm cradle for the soul
unwinds tangled mind

with my new found energy

Getting a new mattress is a life changing event.

I don't know what we were thinking waiting so long. I have a noticeable increase in energy and don't feel like crusty snot in the mornings.  It allows me to get more done when I get home from work, and this weekend I felt like a normal human being and spent most of the weekend not in bed watching Netflicks.

It is possible that the malaise I've been feeling wasn't depression or getting old, it was sleepy. 


While David was at work on Saturday, I did 40 things that have lingered on my to do list for months. When he got home I'm sure he was pretty overwhelmed with the "and then I ___" report.

• We got a treadmill that David's parents were no longer using. Nice for mosquito/oppressive heat after dinner walks and incline training.  Once we fenagled the thing into my mom's car and got it into the house we played 4,000 rounds of where is this beast going to go.

• As the years go by I get closer and closer to being a crazy cat lady. Rigby's Rx food is pretty much all fat&fiber because he can't have protein, his poor little bladder. Well because we are lazy we've been feeding both the cats this food. But Abbey has put on a little weight. So we now feed Rigby Rx food, Abbey a weight management food, and Wheels whatever I have a coupon for. Three types of food. Sigh..

• I get recipes sent to me by the AICR, and they have started a 12 Week New American Plate Challenge. Mom always talked about the NAP... I'm sure every 9 year old can tell you what vitamins are in spinach and what they do. Yay Vitamin K!(thanks mom)

Two years ago I committed to never starting a diet ever again.  I have replaced destructive coping behaviors with emotional eating and diets, food tracking and exercise programs were just a part of that negative cycle. I'm still emotional eating. At least now I am aware of it. I said that I wanted to be free from it when I turned 30, but I'm not. I'm ok with that, cause life is a process.

We are going to try the challenge, with no expectations of "weight loss" or getting "skinny." So no pressure, no obsessive counting or measure and rules or failure. See Week 1? Easy!!

Week 1: The 2/3 – 1/3 Plate Rule I will fill my plate two-thirds (2/3) or more with a combination of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans and nuts and with no more than one-third (1/3) of lean animal protein such as poultry, seafood, low-fat cheese, low-fat yogurt, or lean red meat. By the end of the week, of my 21 meals weekly, 5 or more meals will meet the 2/3-1/3 plate rule.

 

That's all.

Well...

we have been waiting
stuck in difficult territory - stressed and overwhelmed

lately dp and I have begun to get impatient
discouraged

I really believe that these struggles are refining and grinding our jagged edges and clearly we have quite a lot to smooth. It is because dp and I are both hard headed, stubborn, emotional and apparently slow learners.

Last week was rock bottom - one of those weeks where you are ready to give up
we canceled our Montana trip
terrible drama at work left me burnt out (understatement)
my toe nail fell off

We had been taken to the edge when all of the sudden

I got a promotion!

Not a life changer, but a morsel. A dang tasty morsel. It felt so good to have good news to tell my parents for a change.


To celebrate
Saturday we went to Baybrook Mall to the H&M and giant Forever 21. I warned dp in advance that he would need to be in a easy going mood on Saturday and he tends to freak out when we step foot in any store other than Macy's. But he did great! I found two shells, a blouse, a yellow-striped cardi, and a couple of necklaces. AND I found two dresses for Brynn Leigh at H&M, well I found lots more but only bought two. I could spoil the mess out of that kid...

Then we went to Jurassic Park 3D. I am so used to watching the VHS on a 13 inch television, so it was unbelievable how crisp and clear and excellent sound.

We went home after that. And I had a fever and didn't feel good for some reason and rested.

I felt better the next morning... random. But slept in till 10am.
The kitties were climbing all over me, I figured they missed me, so we had some snugly cuddles time. All four of us got in the guest twin bed. Very often I feel like I need a third kitty, but there was no way another cat could have fit on that pile of people and felines.

We went to Aldi in Pearland. Kind of a drive from our house, but my mom already went and I was curious. It is a tiny little grocery store with just basics, bread, meat, dairy, produce. I would definitely like one in our area.
Hear that Aldi? I write HEB once a year telling them how much our area needs another grocery store. We must have the most Randall's stores in all of Houston.

On the way home we stopped by to say hey to mom & dad. And invited ourselves over for dinner and Game of Thrones.



In the last 4 or five months our weekends usually go like this
sleep
netflicks
frozen pizza
sleep
repeat

Boredom and frustration were overwhelming. Wanting to do so much but not having the money or the energy. It was unbelievably refreshing to DO something this weekend. All of life's problems are not fixed, and we still have a full plate. But getting a little break is what we needed.

alsation sensation

Last Friday, me and the folks were at Los Tios for TexMex Friday (yup still have that tradition going!) and Daddy told us we had to stop in Castroville at the Alsatian bakery.

Well Dp and I stopped mid enchilada (verdes) chewing and said alsawhadda? So apparently a small group of Alsatian colonists settled this town and you won't receive any judging from me if you quickly hurry over to Wiki to look up where this Alsace place is.

On our last night of Garner camping I convinced Dp not to try and cook breakfast in the morning. So we packed the car in dark. In the morning "we" packed up the tent and headed out. *insert kitty on a leash story*

I kinda thought Castroville was just down the road... 2 hours later we made it in to town and took a gamble on the Alsatian restaurant across the street from the Bakery.

Sammy's decor leaves much to be desired. If you are looking for a bright, inviting diner... well, this isn't it. Several sections were closed and didn't even have lights on. It is a seat-yourself kind of place so we grabbed a couple of menus and found a properly lit booth.

Breakfast is served all day at Sammy's and breakfast was on my mind. We had to remedy the petrified breakfast brick from the day before. I got two eggs with bacon and a biscuit and Dp got the Good Morning, which is my breakfast + a pancake. Service was so courteous and fast, and they kept Dp's coffee good and hot. Ask to sit in Theresa's section, she was so pleasant and kind and knew I wanted salsa before I could even ask.

The food is everything you want from a breakfast dive. Fast, real, fresh and tasty. I'm not a big biscuit fan, they are just too buttery and rich for my tastes but Dp said they were better than Annie's (our favorite bfast place in Houston), I kinda disagree - Annie's huge biscuits are my favorite.

Ok. Here is the deal.

Castroville is the coolest town on earth. We enjoyed so much people watching, including the incredibly tiny old woman who couldn't believe David was that tall and the lumbering gentleman who entered the restaurant with an old nub of a cigar stuffed in the corner of his mouth and upon ordering placed it in his shirt pocket.

Colorful. Gritty. So cool.

After our breakfast we went to the bakery across the street. Dp kept eating and eating samples. We ended up with a cream cheese thingy and iced bun thingy and a loaf of pumpernickel. I was the most excited about the pumpernickel of course.

I would love to be able to have time to wander around all our small Texas towns.

Playdate

I struggle with contentment, frequently feel anxious and restless and as if I will explode if I don't DO something - breakout -  run.

It is my restless creative spirit, that I try to suppress, bubbling over. Because I'm a grown-up now and can't spend the night driving all across the west TX countryside only turning around at the first Whataburger, I usually toss and turn waiting for the icky feeling to pass.

Yet, this weekend I'm going to do something. Something that satisfies that inner me. Play date with my soul.

update: i bought some new watercolor brushes and worked in my art journal and took a walk in russ pitman and made my office nook into a sudio nook - well in progress... it needs some paint

before and after marathon

Every year the Scentsy party comes to my house and pushes me to put up all of the Christmas decorations and power thru the stacks of projects waiting to be finished.

Last year we had been on the hunt for a piece to go over the couch. We randomly walked into Kirkland's and here was this perfect mirror, on sale, and the last one in the store. And we have been happy with it ever since.

Mom used to rearrange the furniture all the time. We'd come home from school and the living room would be different. Our rooms are shapped in a way that allows for 1 good placement of furniture and I can't "rearrange", not that I haven't tried. But I do have a can of spray paint and that does me just fine.

First project was the rug. I started it weeks ago and knew I needed to add stripes. David didn't trust several of my designs and finally I said, these are your two choices and if you don't like any of these my woman'y design sense over rules your idesisiveness. So he picked the design with the least amount of work. I'm ok with that.

I like to think it looks like the flag for the United States of Me. Turqoise and Citron. Yup those are my countries colors.

    BEFORE

A gross sunbleached *free* rug

AFTER

Turquoise

Cost- $0.00

Every house needs a gnome. Mel gave me our knome when we moved in and poor little guy was dusty and faded and sad. Homeboy needed some sparkle. He got some spray paint and a gliter hat & belt.

Sparkle gnome

Cost- $0.00

In February we found a garage sale closing up and they were flinging things at me for free. It is hard to say no to free. So I picked up this little lamp. I intended for it to be faux mercury glass but the technique backfired. Woof. A little sandpaper and a recovered shade and she is pretty cute.

*mom recovered the lampshade while I played Beatles Rock Band.

** seriously if you need anything stuck down, you have to get Fabritac. hot glue failed, spray adhesive worked ok, but Fabritac finished the recovering.

BEFORE 

Brassy and Sad

AFTER

Springy Lamp

Cost- $0.00

The Free Garage sale also gifted us a frame. I had no plans for it but whipped up this using my Charlie Harper memory game cards. 

Happy Wildlife Collage

Cost -$0.00 

I am working on a watercolor for over the TV, but I haven't finished started yet. So for the party I slapped some paper in the frame. David is gagging with all the florals I'm forcing on him, don't care one bit. :)

In my feverish crafting binge I tried something I saw on pinterest. I hate it. I used this sad old print my mom had in the garage. I stuck down letter, painted over it, removed the letters to reveal the ugly. It needs a frame? or... a trashcan.

Cruelest of all, I spent money on this one. I thought I had letters but I didn't and decided to just buy some.

Ugly Print turned Uglier

Cost - $3.00

And I'm spent. 

anatomy of a cat nap

Cat Nap

What it is not-
a short snooze; light refreshing rest in the warm afternoon sun

What it is-
a deep and incapacitating hibernation brought on by a nearby sleeping cat; an infection of slumber; when you wake, 4 hours later, you will be disoriented, sweaty and sit grumpily on the couch waiting for your mental capacities to return.

Used in a sentence:
Saturday we had great plans but instead we cat napped.

Weekend Final Report Card

MAY 29 2012

*optional soundtrack for today's post*

Friday A++

*An early out! Snuck out of the office at 2pm. (not really sneaking cause we all did)

*Tip Toed over to Mam's for a snoball. Orchid & Cream. (my mouth literally just watered)

*Berryhill Fish Tacos at the early bird hour of 430pm (David went to a broker event on wed and was handed cash for showing up. we weren't responsible, we didn't pay bills, we ate and ate and ate with our treat money)

*We had dessert at Ruggles Bakery on the patio.
CHOCOLATE. TRES.LECHES (do you need me to repeat that for you?)
CHOCOLATE TRES LECHES
I couldn't even get a picture of it, just an empty plate and an AM with a crazy sugar high and full tummy.

*Night at my mom's checking on Mav & Jojo and trying to finish Game of Thrones before it disappears off their On Demand.

  

Saturday & Sunday B

*We cleaned and took care of Mary. No pictures needed.

I organized my bathroom cabinet and it was g-ross!

Swept under the bed and the dressers and found 3 lbs of fur

 

*Checked on Holt Street and MeeMaw's roses are blooming. Teensy tiny white fragrant roses.

*And we watered the trees. I was hoping this would be our rain dance and would bring rain to the area, but it did not. Maybe I should get the car washed...

Memorial Monday A

*David was kind enough to regale his adventures in the navy, and I got the full rundown of every carrier he has been on. Which was very exciting.... but not really.

 

*We had lunch at my parents. It had been a looooooong time since both my parents were in town at the same time. Glad for a mini vacation for my dad and my GiGi's improving health so I could have dinner with them both.

Steak, veggies, potato salad, corn & peaches n'cream blue bell

Americana or what?

  

the smell of dirt

Saturday I dropped dp off for his play date with men, sweat, tools and insulation. Apparently that is a weekend men like. Plus he had an excuse to pull out his coveralls, which was an excuse to make fun of him for wearing coveralls. We were all happy.

I met my mom for our monthly pedi and we came back to my house for lunch. I made fresh pimento cheese (it makes a difference, do it! my mouth just watered) on nice dark rye.

and then we gardened

in the unbelievable spring weather
mulched my struggling magnolia

And then I took a little nap on the porch.

Post Script -
mommy talks about the smell of dirt as therapeutic and restorative. i agree. birds, tickle of grass, rustle of leaves and the clean smell of dirt is good for the soul. eve must have enjoyed mulching her magnolias.

trending

My life is trend analysis.

All day I work at finding patterns in economic and employment data and their implications in commercial real estate, as well as tracking transactional activity. (yup, i'm as smart as i sound, but they treat us like screetch to their zach morris)

This is what is trending in my life:

Wooo's

• We went to Waco on Saturday to meet Jeni's new little, Oliver. Of course he is cute, they make cute babies. Dp and I had the whole day off on Saturday and it was amazing.
• Friday night I braved the Galleria and got 1/2 of my shopping done. Sunday I braved the crowds again and got the other 1/2 done. I love giving gifts, but this year it seemed difficult. Next year I am taking a cruise during the holidays.
• Dp is working at Yapa's again. I like it because it helps pay the bills and he brings home IBC root beers for me. Maybe he can work part time at Yapa's and part time at Crave and bring me home a gingerbread cupcake. Brilliant idea!

Boo's

• Having Saturday off was so good it opened my eyes to how badly we need more breaks. I'm not sure if anyone reads my blog (I think there are 4 of you), maybe God is a blog stalker, but please we need prayers so the family can make the best care decisions for everyone, especially Mary.
• My sad little tree has one strand of garland on it. Hard to get in the holiday mood without a decorated tree.
• I had a whole list of these but I'm losing my mind. I have no focus, no memory, no easy of sleep, no mental capacity. This busy month has ravaged my poor brain.

'weekends'...

I think 'weekend' needs a new name, something festive. (like the British call vacations holidays! gosh I love that) Weekend is boring and kind of depressing, just reminding me of the cyclical nature of our calendar.

Wouldn't you like to come into work on Monday, ugh Mondays, and hear someone say "How was your mini-holiday?"
Or
"What did you do this renewal-days?"

Ok. Maybe it needs some tweaking. I was looking back at my linguistics class notes, my favorite class in college, I have a list of the steps to introduce a new word into the English language. We can work on it.

Anyway, I digress. This 'weekend' was much like others this summer.

:: Friday my dad was out of town so we did something different for Mexi-Friday... Mexi-Sunday. Friday my mom, David and I ate at Amazon Grill. That place is ridiculous. I love you.

:: Saturday... well Saturday was a lousy excuse for a summer day. Um, (a) have you noticed it is a billion degrees outside? ack! (b) evil demon headache was back. grrr! Literally we stopped by my mom's house for a minute and didn't leave till 11pm. Ha! sorry to intrude mommy.

:: Sunday- Mexi-Sunday at Spanish Flowers. Dear Houston, thank you so much for Spanish Flowers. I love it. Even in 10 billion degree weather I will venture out in jeans (got to shave my legs) and eat your deliciousness.

Also our lease is up at the end of the month so we were packing a bit, I use the term packing loosely. Being a gypsy, I have moved every 18 months or less since 2001. So this aint no thing. We also saved all of our packing materials from our military moves, so no box hunting.

I was complaining on Sat. that October needs to hurry up because I have finished all my Easter candy, and am completely ready for Halloween candy supplies to be savored... slowly. BUT! I found some Valentine's candy when we were packing!! Score!!! :)


I just meant to have a quick little blog and got carried away. Even with my uneventful weekend. See, there is a story in everyone's life.

ps- I am slightly ashamed I am telling the blog world (a) I really need to shave my legs and (b) I will eat candy from February. But it is the truth.

Vonderful Veekend...

After the last couple of horrible weeks I really needed a good weekend, filled with good things and no worries. So I checked my 'baggage' and decided to have a great weekend.

Friday, of course, was MexiFriday. My dad was out of town so it was just my mom and David at Escalantes. Delightful as always. And as usual we went back to my parents and watched a movie, Revolutionary Road. (they didn't like it. I thought it was good. they said cause I am 'literary')

Saturday, we went to a chinese restaurant. Since money has been tight lately we have been really good about not eating out. But the lunch special at my chinese place (in town) is great. And I must be super lucky cause I got a TWIN fortune cookie!!! I texted my mom this picture and said 'Its twins! The do run in the family!' She texted back 'Again?' he he he.

Then we went to get my haircut!! I donated 11 inches to Locks of Love. Yessssss! I got my inches. And Darcy did a super job, better than I would have hoped for. In total she probably took off 12-13inches of my hair. It is so much cooler and I only need a tiny dot of shampoo. he he. So in love.

After showing my hair to my mom, we went to get my new fishy. A couple weeks ago our fish Nemo finally passed. Our apartment just wasn't the same so I twisted David's arm and got a new one... Peekaboo!!!

Saturday night my mom had some steaks in the freezer and we came over for a steak dinner. Fancy! David did all of the grilling and did a great job. We need to get a house and get this boy a grill. My mom did the baked potatoes (which were stupid good), corn and greens... all I did was the brownies. And then we watched Ghost Town. I really liked it. It was super funny.

Sunday, we did lunch with David's dad at Lupe. That was nice. And after lunch did the traditional drive through Rice campus.

When we went home we watched Taken, cause we hadn't seen it in the theater. It was really good. I liked it a lot. Of course there was a lot of "OH!"s from David. Some "Get 'em"s from me. I recommend it, if you are like us and the last people on earth to see it.

To continue our movie theme... sorta by accident, we stumbled across the original Father of the Bride on TCM. It was SO funny. Loved it!!! Then as we were about to turn it off the sequel (didn't know they did those back then 1951) came on and we got sucked in. That was funny too! Like laugh out loud funny. AND I kept seeing people I knew!! First Gideon (7 Brides for 7 Brothers)!!! Then Glenda the good witch (Wizard of Oz)!! And Dr. Bellows (I Dream of Jeannie)!

AND!!! (I know. more? yes!) JENI HAD THE BABY!!!! Logan came on Father's Day. I just knew he would. I can not wait to meet him.

That is all. That was my great weekend.

A hard rains a gonna fall...

A Weekend Review

Oh, where have you been, my darling young one?
Shopping for a dress for a wedding. Very frustrating. I need a black or black and white dress. Either there is a perfect dress just not black, doesn't fit or costs an arm, leg and other such appendages.

Also while shopping I cut my toe on the heal of a shoe. There was lots of blood. And I decided against those shoes. And quickly left the store dragging my bloody stump of a toe behind me.


Oh, what did you see, my darling young one?
A wild, rip roaring storm. It rained 7 inches this weekend (give or take).
We got to play watch the bayous.
- It is pretty full.
- It is full.
- Eeeek!

My Mom got caught in the first down pour on Friday and was soaked to the bone. Luckily my dad could bring her a dry set of clothes to her birthday party.

Oh, who did you meet, my darling young one?
My family got together for my mommy's belated birthday celebration. I am overwhelmed by how good it is to be so close to them. It is still fresh in my mind living 3000 miles away and how much I missed all of them.

And here is a little shot out to my mom, Happy Birthday! (Still working on that cake.)


Oh, what'll you do now, my darling young one?
I don't even want to think about how busy this week is going to be. It is going to be a bear. But I am already almost through one day. Checking things off my list feels good. I am really hoping I survive to Thursday, it will be my slower day...


Thank you to Mr. Bob Dylan for today's blog theme.

Another vote....

Been thinking about changing header and I can't quite decide. I will just probably do both for a while and see what gets the most response. So this is option a, what I like to call Cactus.

My weekend was pretty good. Friday night was Halloween. We had chili at my parents house, carved a pumpkin (Louie), made caramel corn and handed out candy to the little TOTs. Very sucsessful!

I saw some cute little kidos. The following are the highlighs from the night.

:: A tiny little Hulk.

:: Obama!

:: When David guessed the little girl was Hannah Montana!

:: The 18yr old pregnant girl... trick or treating... I guess for her unborn child?

And for some picture highlights...

Abbey in her hat. :)

Rigby didn't like the hat as much...

David carving the pumpkin, my design.

Louie the jack-o-lanturn!

The caramel corn me and my mom made. It was yummy!!

Crashing and dashing....

So this weekend was interesting.

:: Friday night I crashed a party. My dad was invited and it didn't say not to bring a guest so me and David tagged along. So after MexiFriday, yum, we crashed this party. The jazz band was huge, too huge. You couldn't even see the guitar player behind the brass section, and the keyboard guy was on the floor behind a pillar.

:: Saturday we went to the Museum of Fine Art for a project David is working on. I forget how huge that place is. Well, after the museum we stopped by the sculpture garden and kinda got kicked out. I know. It was embarrassing.

Although things are not attached to sculpture, you can't touch anything nor walk anywhere or stand anywhere. I am not sure what I did wrong but the museum employee yelled at me and pointed (I think growled/hissed too) till we left. It wasn't like I touched a sculpture, I was standing next to it, like 3 ft from it, next to what I thought was a bench.

The lesson being you are only allowed to be in the sculpture garden if you hover 20 ft in the air.

:: Sunday, like most of Houston, I had a headache. Stupid front moving in.

Friday is Christmas...

(I am not obsessed with Christmas. Although I am aware of how it seems)

Fridays are like Christmas.

:: There is a countdown.

:: Much excitement the night before.

:: Your mood magically improves!

:: A celebration is in store.

:: You have a short vacation and then back to work.

:: It is a gift.

:: Songs are written about the joyous occasion.

:: Brings families together.

:: Yummy food.

Happy Friday people. Happy Friday.

Weekends are glorious...

I like weekends... a lot.

:: Friday was a wonderful. I finally got Mexican Friday. It had been 3 weeks which was way too long. Ninfas is still closed so we went to Escalantes. And it was very good and nice to get things back to normal.

:: Saturday was my Dad's birthday party. I made chili, from my dad's recipe and I think it came out pretty good. I just gotta say I love my family.

:: I also took this color test and it was interesting. You simply pick the color that first pops out at you and it tells you what career you should be in.

My results were -->

You're a CREATOR
Key Words: Nonconforming, Impulsive, Expressive, Romantic, Intuitive, Sensitive, and Emotional

Suggested careers are Advertising Executive, Architect, Web Designer, Creative Director, Public Relations, Fine or Commercial Artist, Interior Decorator, Lawyer, Librarian, Musician, Reporter, Art Teacher, Broadcaster, Technical Writer, English Teacher, Architect, Photographer, Medical Illustrator, Corporate Trainer, Author, Editor, Landscape Architect, Exhibit Builder, and Package Designer.

I like that. And it makes really want more for myself, to find some career that uses my skills. I know that I have talents and I would love to feel fulfilled in my career, like that talent isn't just being wasted. But for now I don't know what is the next step and following my dreams needs to take a backseat so David can follow his and find his place in this new civilian world. And so my quest continues.

Workin' For the Weekend

It is almost here. And boy I am excited.

1. for my breaks not to involve stocking a fridge
2. to not have to sit in traffic tomorrow
3. to not call office depot for the 30th time
4. to wear flip flops ALL day long, unless I am at home in bed cuddling with poor neglected kitties

Work is fun. I am glad to be there but sometimes I get tired of all the little things.

"Fun" Stories from yesterday:

-- Thursday I thought it was Friday. And proceeded to remind the whole office to wish happy birthday to another employee. Many emails later I realise my mistake and have to re-email the whole office and tell them how I don't know what day it is.

--Thursday my gas light came on as I was leaving the parking garage. So I drove with no ac the drive home. With a heat index of 104 it was crazy hot. When I made it home (yea! I made it home) I looked like the before in an ac/water park commercial; melty and red. And when I got out of the car it felt 10 degrees cooler than in the car. I was roasty toasty.

It's Friday!

Can I get a collective yell? Its Friday!!

* I am recovering from a silly virus that has been making its way around Abilene. I am still alive.

*The boys aren't here yet, thanks for the prayers. They are listening to their mommy and staying put for a while.

*Sigh. We are back in Abilene. Not much else to say, other than our drive was rainy the whole way until we got back to an icy Abilene.

and

So David and I saw this on the drive back and were quite curious. Yeah, who knows what this dirty truck is for.

See ya, wouldn't wanna be ya!

As in years past not much feels more relaxing than to see Abilene in my rear view mirror. It is as if my lungs get a full dose of air. Breathe in, try to live, breathe out.

We drove to Houston this weekend for a crazy busy weekend. ugh. I can't even begin to list our list.

But it is Houston so yay! And I miss my parents.

Abilene isn't awful. But my heart is in Houston. I like being in Abilene with Leah/The Belly and Michael. I am glad I am there to help, yet I crave Houston. For some reason I am just happy here. I can not wait to come back here. I am not sure David cares where he lives. I mean he lived in a steel coffin for 8 months, I think Abilene is a step up.

Why not some random Abilene pictures I took a month ago?

Abilene owes me for making it look interesting.