week of eating

This was a week of eating.....work Christmas party, department potluck, a signing event (with food), and birthday lunch for one of my staff members.  It was a small piece of this whole season which seems to always have decadent food around.....I am not an expert by any means, but I finally succeeded in making a few better choices this time around.

I used a lesson I learned from my friend Delena -- save your calories for the homemade treats (example: some store bought goodies looked delicious but I skipped them in favor of some homemade items - rum cake and banana pudding).

I also did NOT get seconds on the main meal even though I'd skipped over many dishes.

I just walked away from the food at the signing event - I went to support my school, not have more snacks I don't really need or want.

Bake for a group - the potluck was the perfect excuse to make my husband's favorite cookie - chocolate crinkles, and they turned out pretty well!    I prepped the dough Monday, baked them Tuesday and brought half to my work and sent half to work with him...all the fun of making them (they made the whole house smell delicious) and not having them around to tempt me for days and days.  How my mother-in-law makes them each year and doesn't eat a bunch I will never know (she is tiny!)

I also got a smaller meal for the birthday lunch, and walked back to the office (instead of taking the train).   The birthday girl wanted Southern food, and while the dishes all sounded really good -- fried chicken sandwich and fries....I chose the smaller brisket tacos, still a splurge, but not as nap-inducingly heavy.

I definitely associate certain foods with the holidays, and I don't want to deny myself, but have to make better choices.....it comes once a year, but I also realize that if I don't have something I won't really miss it...though I definitely break my own rules - work party chocolate fountain is exhibit A.....

However you celebrate the holidays, enjoy and savor it!!

first crochet project

I tied off my first crochet project last night (picture below).  It is pretty small, fits on my hand and isn't anything recognizable, but its how I've been learning a basic stitch (single crochet).  Its lopsided since at least a couple of times I lost a stitch, but I'm learning!

Kevin has high hopes, and has already said he wants a beanie.....I just want to make something recognizable.

December

I've been pretty terrible at keeping up with this blog, and I don't think I'll get much better...but will still check in from time to time.

This year has flown by, and I must admit I'll be glad to see 2016 come to an end....

What's going on with us:

• Kevin is wrapping up his semester

• I am counting down the days until Christmas holidays from work, and also looking at my ever growing to do list

• struggling with Christmas gift list for everyone on our list (nothing new), I am glad we decided amongst the siblings to not exchange gifts, it usually became just a swap gift card exercise, so its just the kids and parents on both sides to shop for

• I am watching youtube videos like crazy as I attempt to teach myself to crochet -- some of the videos are pretty funny without meaning to be...best so far, oh my cat is in the mini-blinds.     If I get to a point where I can work on a project, I will post pictures...right now its trying to get the hang of the simplest of the stitches

• getting ready for our trip (we need to be working more on this one)  - I've finally admitted we just have to plan our trips to align with the school year since K teaches and we're going to take advantage of the time we both get off from work and fly to Las Vegas!   K has never been, and I only went as a kid so its basically the first time for both of us to go.    Since our summer trip was a rental house where we still cooked, I'm really looking forward to staying at a hotel, eating out, and seeing some shows (Cirque and a comedy show are booked)

photo memories

I am such a sucker for all the memories that little bots show me what I was doing this day in previous years -- timehop, facebook, and google photos.    Many of my written posts are pretty cryptic, but the photos tell the story better than anything (note to self: take more photos).

I'd forgotten about the snow we had in early December in 2009, it started snowing when I was at work...   This year's weather is a lot of rain, but finally getting cold!

I love my little walks down memory lane, and as I've gotten older I finally understand how when I'd ask my mom when we did something she'd be like, well we lived here...had this car...etc.    I didn't understand it when I was younger, but now that I have the points in time in my own life, I get it.

I also need to find that "Santa Paws" flag, so cute!

I know I shouldn't wish for snow, it will shut this city down....but I really really do love a white Christmas!

smoke detectors

Why do smoke detectors decide late at night is the time to start beeping about their battery? We were home all evening and it didn't beep once.   Right after we turn off the lights to go to sleep, and there it is... the smoke detector is on the highest part of our bedroom ceiling (probably story and a half tall at that point) so we had to pull out our ladder (its a collapsible kind) and pull it out to full length.  Neither of us are good at heights, luckily Kevin thinks things through and had me put shoes on before climbing the ladder (socks + ladder would've been bad).    Its not what I wanted to do after turning in for the night, but safety first! and thank you past self for having purchased 9V batteries ahead of time! (still not sure why we happened to have them)

election 2016

I am still devastated by the election results earlier this week, and the hate that we've been seeing come out the rest of this week.

I work at a very diverse university, and they had planned a post-election breakfast.  I attended (along with over 200 others) and while it was a tough event - I didn't follow the rule of talking to someone I didn't know as I'm just not ready..was afraid I'd just start crying - I'm glad I went. I need to start to talk about it and where we go from here.   

Many individuals all over this country are legitimately scared and the news that has come out since over the plans of the next administration are increasing the fear. 

I alternate between trying to just take a break from it (and reading articles about how to deal with post election anxiety) so I can get through the day and trying to think through what I can do to support others and make sure that all voices are heard, groups that need to be protected are protected.

Putting together some mail this morning, I saw this stamp - I will keep this in mind, and work to make sure we take steps forward, not backwards towards equality for all.

end of October

Seriously calendar, slow the heck down!!!  I am ready for this election cycle to be over (we both early voted this week [check]), but amazed that in a few days its already NOVEMBER!

I had a low-key birthday - dinner out with Kevin, and a stop for gelato afterwards (making the best of the warm weather).  I went to work that day (considered taking off, but decided against it) and enjoyed reading all the Facebook messages all day long from my far flung friends -- one message came from my neighbor who is working in Dubai!

I am now the proud owner of a left-handed guitar - I've never played before (played flute badly in middle and high school), so it will be a learning experience for me, but I've been wanting to take up a hobby, and have it be something that does not involve screens of any size -- sure I will watch 'how to' videos, but eventually I hope to be able to just play on my own.   Don't expect any videos of me playing anytime soon, I'm still struggling to shape my hand into chords, but I'll get there..practice, practice, practice.....

The only one in the house with a Halloween costume this year is Smokey, and its a shirt that says "I ate my costume", yep sounds about right.....

Air Show

We finally made it back to the Air Show this weekend -- last time we went was TEN years ago, I knew it was long ago since our nephew was tiny....but until I dug around for photos, I didn't realize it was a full decade.

I had a great time, but unfortunately Kevin's day went downhill quickly (more on that later).


Kevin remembered to bring folding chairs (score!) and we made good time getting there.   We followed directions on the freeway and went to the park n ride to take a shuttle to Ellington Field (that is the way to go!), and when is the last time I'd ridden in a school bus?  also easily decades...

After getting through security (National Guard members are EFFICIENT, TSA could learn something), we walked around the planes and helicopters on display.  We could walk through some and even talk to crew members -- there is one plane there that has flown so long it is the same plane a man and his GRANDFATHER have both served on.

After getting our fill of looking at planes and being ready to sit, we went and set up spots near the runway to watch the air performances (also happened to be near a smoothie stand to get some shade). Once we got settled Kevin put on sunscreen (I'd already applied while in line to get in -- I burn so quickly) and that's where his day went badly.  Its the same sunscreen we've used before, but he got it in his eyes and it just burned so badly he couldn't even open his eyes.  He missed most of the best performances since he just had to keep his eyes closed...I could've really used a chemistry class eye wash station


He tried flushing it with bottled water and even went to the medical tent (a first for either of us), they did help him but he was still hurting so badly we had to make the decision to leave, it was also hot and the ATM line was long - which we'd have to wait in to get enough cash to get much food.

We saw a tiny bit of the Blue Angels when we came out from eating (at a restaurant, with plates and full bathrooms).

Once we got home, I bought an 'eye wash' at the store, and that gave him a lot more relief.

We will return to the Air Show in the future, and won't wait 10 years.  Here are a few notes for the future/lessons learned:

• go later (with lunch already eaten) - so we can stay late enough for Blue Angels and not be limited to food options on site
• bring bottled water (clear bottles can be brought in)
• bring kleenex - works as toilet paper if needed, porta potties were out
• bring cash - ATM line was long
• bring different sunscreen for Kevin

Funniest moment -- at dinner, I was trying to make Kevin's eyes tear up to help flush out the sunscreen, and the saddest thing I could think of  to describe was  the part in the movie Dumbo when his mom gets put into a small cell as punishment for trying to protect her baby, and him going up to her and being soothed, rocked by her from outside.   Just describing it makes me cry, and it was sort of working on him,  but also making him laugh at me crying...we must've been quite a sight.....

Walk findings

Hello October!!!!     The weather is finally starting to get nice, and I am so glad to leave summer behind.


I'm trying to extend my walks with Smokey since the weather is getting nicer, and he's stuck inside our townhouse all day while we are at work (its busy time of year for both of us at work).  We see the most interesting things on our walks, I'm going to try to start listing them because they are just hilarious.  just this weekend;

Friday: a person had set up a hammock in the park and was reading in it --- think I can get a turn?

Saturday: package of flash paper on the sidewalk...I had to look it up, a magician somewhere is missing it...and it's so flammable it ships wet...interesting...   also, one more trick figured out

Sunday:   a large tote bag, looked quite nice....I'm assuming someone is coming back for it.


Other notables from before I started tracking:

- pocket mirror (came home with me)
- $20!!!
- a dress on the side of the road 

- LARPERS --- live action role play-- they are the BEST, they meet in costume and with props at our local park

random musings

I'm more excited than I probably should be that tv shows are finally coming back!   Over the summer I've enjoyed checking out some new-to-me shows, but do look forward to the premieres.

I always tell myself I won't get into a new show since I always seem to pick the ones that will be cancelled, but can't help myself.   This year so far I'm trying out Speechless.  I saw a commercial and love that it depicts something besides the poster-perfect family.   Minnie Drive is the mom, and she advocates for her oldest son who is wheelchair bound and communicates with an electronic board.   It has that level and still finds a lot of humor.  I hope it can make it through the season, but I do worry it may not have the broad appeal needed.

I'm always surprised at grocery items that make it onto shelves.  Saw 2 new kinds of pop-tarts today: orange crush and A&W root beer...why? just why?     I love my soda (really trying to cut back) but its supposed to be liquid, and just sounds terrible in that form, and isn't a pop tart for breakfast?!?!   so many things wrong.

I don't think of myself as a huge fan of the chevron patterns and yet based on recent purchases -- gym bag (finally wore mine out after many, many years) and the gift bag for our youngest nephew's gift, evidently its growing on me...

CMT awareness month - What is CMT?

September is Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease awareness month!  It is totally coincidental that I have the same initials as this disease, but some folks who are near and dear to me live with this disease and I'd NEVER even heard of it until I met my husband.   That is exactly why I want to raise awareness (and money) for it, its fairly common and almost no one has heard of it....

I sometimes forget my husband has it and admit I don't fully understand what all it affects in his life -- he has often looked at me doing a task (tying my shoe, buttoning a shirt) that to me is just second nature and he's like 'how do you do that so fast?"    This infographic is a good reminder of some what he deals with on a daily basis, and I know that he has a milder case than many.

I don't often talk about it as I know many people are private about their health, but he said he's ok with me sharing this, so now I want to make sure everyone knows about it.  Its common and yet there's no walk, or public events that I'm aware of to raise money and awareness....

There is a movie about a girl living with CMT -- check out Bernadette if you have a chance....

Credit for infographic goes to: Contractor Quotes.

almost WW

NFL is back...and I'm most excited about my new Texans earrings....you enjoy the game your way, I'll enjoy it mine :)

Under the Radar brewery

We'd read about a brand new microbrewery in Midtown, and being a 3- day weekend, Sunday seemed like a great day to check it out.  

We could've ridden our bikes there but with chances of rain we chose to drive.   It was a funny, "who's on first" conversation -- whats it called, Under the Radar; Kevin thinking I'm talking about its not known yet so its under the radar, but no that is its name (and its not well known yet).

We had a great time -- they have a large open area with large picnic tables (and shade umbrellas over a few), a tailgating game set up, and it is even dog friendly!   We left our not so friendly dog at home for our first trip out there.  Also: clean bathrooms with a/c, nice little break from the outside area.     It will likely get more crowded as people learn about it, there was already a steady stream of people for our visit.   

A beer is $5 or you can do what we did -- buy tokens for 3 beers and get a free pint glass ($15) -- if you don't use all the tokens you can bring them back another day.

We started at a table in the shade, but moved to a table under the roof before some scattered rain showers came through -- marrying a novice weatherman has its perks!    The rain let us get to know some folks who joined our table - they had found the place as they were interested in the food truck next door after they went to the zoo.

We had a great afternoon there, and bonus -- we ate some German food from a trailer parked in the parking lot.   The family that had joined our table included a man who had been stationed in Germany in the Army and he said the food was pretty authentic -- I had a brat on a pretzel bun with a cucumber salad; and we split a pretzel.

Looking online today I realized this was the second year in a row we went to a microbrewery on the first weekend of college football (last year we went to 8th Wonder in Eado) -- I could make this a tradition!    Houston now has a ton of microbreweries and there are several we have yet to visit.   

Many people go out of town for Labor Day, we take it as an opportunity to explore our own city.

long weekend

Fall semester is in full swing for both of us!   Kevin's semester started a week later than mine, so we had two weeks of first-week craziness -- not sure if its better or worse that it was spread out, mine one week and his the next or just get it all over at once?   Who am I kidding, we've both been running crazy since we got back from our trip.

This 3-day weekend couldn't come soon enough.  As of now, no big plans and we're staying in town.

We had a good visit with Kevin's parents, brother, niece and 2 nephews yesterday -- grilled burgers, yes please!     Added a slice of bacon to it, yum!

Here are a few quick highlights:

• Kevin bought the Hamilton musical soundtrack and we are loving it!    Already looking forward to it coming to Houston in 2017/18.  He is not usually interested in musicals, so its a treat to know he wants to see it -- and he loves the history in it, may even use in his courses!
• Football is back -- we attended a preseason Texans game, did our fantasy draft (I again got the worst grade of all...), and he spent much of yesterday watching college football....I can watch football, its the shows ABOUT the football that I just don't want to see 
• still loving my handpicked blueberries - used them in pancakes this weekend

Arkansas

We were on vacation last week, and the time away is just what we needed.   We found a remote cabin to rent, with a pond on the land we can use for swimming and lots of land and trails for hiking.

hiking buddy

I was a bit worried of how hot it would be, but it's cooler than home and drier.   We have seen a couple of thunderstorms, its relaxing to sit on the porch and watch it rain.

We brought Smokey with us and he is LOVING his time off leash, lots of exploring and poor guy got stung on his ear.  He's not a fan of water but we did get him to wade and a *tiny* bit of swimming, anything he can do that isn't him crying on the dock is a win.  He mostly just explores the shoreline, and drinks lots of lake water...

We've mostly stayed close to the house, but did decide to try out ATV riding on Tuesday.    We rented a side-by-side so we could share one vehicle and ride in comfort.  It was a great way to explore the Ouachita National Forest and let Kevin do some off-roading.  We saw lots of deer and a turtle, and also saw some sights -- the top of Eagle Mt Vista, and Little Missouri Falls.

We have met some characters in our adventures, and even made a run for the border (with Oklahoma) since the area we are staying in is dry....and wouldn't you know it, right AT the border is a drive-thru beer store, we went to one a bit further down the road, still it was in the owner's front yard and was a mobile home turned into a store, but when in the rural area..it works!

After I wrote this, Smokey finally actually swam!  We got in the boat to try to fish...we head off shore and that's when he swims towards us....we thought he'd come all the way to us, luckily he didn't...he kept trying to get to us, but would just have to turn back.....we finally went to shore and helped him out with us, but he climbed up on me...scraping me up, but still so fun to have him in the water with us, even for a little bit!

Smokey's DNA

saw this sitting  in my drafts...


I'm not sure when it happened, but this has definitely become a doggy blog.....he's way more fun to write about than much of my daily life (need to remedy that).

We've always wondered what our little mutt is made of.  He looks like a lab, but has some traits that are very NON-labrador (hatred of water being one).

We saw that we could do a DNA test to find out his history and so we ordered it.

Toughest part was getting the cheek swab from him.....K had to hold him down while I swabbed away, we mailed it off and a few weeks later it showed up in my inbox.    I knew I wanted to look at it with Kevin so I resisted reading it until we were together, and boy am I glad I did...it made for a very fun dinner conversation that night...

Its a pretty extensive report (14 pages), but the main thing we needed to know was right there on the front page...

Smokey is a Cocker Spaniel, Australian Cattle Dog, Chow Chow, Doberman Pinscher, Labrador Retriever, Pekingese Mix

We were way off...only things we had right were lab, and some sort of herding dog (he herds kids, toys, us).....no idea he had those other pieces...but it was fun to read it, and did explain many of his special traits...it also opened up a whole new world of nicknames for him...

If you are wondering we used the Wisdom Panel, bought through amazon.

this post is not sponsored, just wanted to share what we found out.

July

This month has been a [fun] blur for us.  A few highlights (mostly for myself):

• spent 4th of July with niece and nephews and had a cookout at their house -- complete with sliders on hawaiian rolls...we didn't see any fireworks (we did hear some from our house), but had a great time visiting and even had patriotic dessert thanks to sis-in-law

• visited my brother in Austin and packed a LOT into one day:   I finally got to go off-roading (even drove a little), we found a great natural spring pool to go swimming in, AND we even added a couple of other items onto the day (the first two were what we hoped to accomplish) - found a winery to enjoy, and even brought a bottle to a BYO BBQ nearby.   great trip, and so fun to see my brother and not have to work on our parents' house 

• went to the beach with brother-in-law, his wife, their 3 older kids (baby stayed with grandparents) and 2 dogs.....that many people and creatures made for a chaotic, but fun, weekend.   you know its gonna be a busy weekend when you have to bathe the dog within 2 hours of arriving -- he found something awful to roll in; we also broke in our new pop-up tent at the beach and had it FLIP on us, not major damage and we were able to get it righted, but it was quite a sight - our nephew's reaction, write SOS in the sand!   On our last day we celebrated 2 birthdays with a tye dyed cake.....

• went to our first ever Escape the Room, and actually escaped!!!

• helped my sister unpack her kitchen in her NEW HOUSE!    

dog teeth cleaning

Smokey is getting back to normal, but had a rough (ruff, haha) day yesterday.  This photo makes it look worse than it is, it was just a teeth cleaning, but for a dog that means sedation (can i sign up for that for my next dental appointment?).  Poor guy did have to go without food from 8pm the night before.  The vet's office left the IV bandage on him when we picked him up and it just made him look so pathetic I had to snap a picture......I call it, "our unwilling patient".....the procedure went well, no extractions needed and his teeth look great.  Wish me luck on a weekly treatment I will need to start giving him...

blueberry day

I made my annual trek out to pick blueberries yesterday.    The season opened a couple of weeks late due to the all the rain and flooding we've had this year, so the blueberries were plentiful and plump (and there were tons on the ground, from the rain or just so plump they couldn't hang out)

I brought a coworker with me so we could chat while we picked and I picked just over TEN pounds in under 2 hours.

This time of year I'm like Forrest Gump with shrimp but with blueberries...blueberry smoothies, blueberry muffins, blueberry pies....mmmmmm

what is your favorite blueberry item?

PS - went on my first ever girl's long weekend, and had a great time!   hope to do a separate post for it.

Girl's Weekend

We finally made our girls weekend, aka Ladycation, a reality and it was such a success!     We've been talking about doing it for years and finally made it happen the first weekend in June, and the crazy weather couldn't stop us!  Houston had bad weather the day we were headed out and while we were gone, but we were actually very lucky with the weather.

There were 6 of us, and it went so well - no drama, and even sharing 2 bathrooms worked out really well.

We hope to do it again next year,  we may even stay at the same house!

Lots of chatting, laughter and just fun with friends was just what all of us needed.

Fredericksburg is known for wineries and so of course we had to tour and taste - we used a driving services so we were responsibly and none of us had to be DD.....

I'd hoped to do a full recap but the time got away from me....

low key memorial day weekend

We are going to have a very quiet Memorial Day weekend so we can look after our little patient, Smokey.  He was acting very down and quiet, not like himself, on Wednesday* and seems to have pain and weakness in his back legs.   We've already been to the vet once and everything they could see looked good so we are hoping to treat it with pain killers and rest.....poor little guy.

We did joke last night that he may have figured out he can milk it, we are definitely pushovers to help him when he's hurting.    He also may have super low pain tolerance...

Side benefits of low-key weekend, we can watch the show we've been looking forward to on netflix -- Bloodline Season 2.   We watched one episode last night, very conflicted between savor them and WATCH THEM ALL AS FAST AS WE CAN......if you have netflix streaming, check it out!

*His change happened so suddenly that we even called the maid service that came out on Wednesday to see if they'd noticed anything happen, they didn't but did describe him as 'triste' (sad) while they were there.......very much not his usual mood.

The Cure

While I can't say I have a bucket list, if I did have one I checked off an item last weekend --- seeing The Cure perform live!    I've been listening to them ever since college, and when I saw they were coming to town I knew I had to go.... Kevin is not a fan, but luckily some friends are, we made plans, got tickets and I have been looking forward to this concert for months.

screen during Lullaby

Unfortunately travel plans didn't work out, so my friend Delena couldn't make it into town, but my college roommate, her husband, our friend Mimi and her two cousins made a great group to see the concert.    Jay outdid himself on purchasing tickets -- floor seats, row 22.    I was a little worried I wouldn't be able to see from the floor (super short as I am) but I was able to stay off at the end of the row, not too far out since the ushers were keeping the aisles clear, but enough that I could see around - spent a fair amount of time on my tippy toes.   They played for three solid hours, and we had the best time!  The sore feet (we stood nearly the whole time) were so worth it!  They did many of my favorites and FOUR encores!!!

easy life hack

I've always worn glasses/contacts, and cannot see a thing without them.   This is especially annoying in the shower since I often can't tell which bottle is shampoo and which is conditioner ( I should know by the shape, but I never remember).  My cheap and quick solution -- write "S" and "C" on the bottles with my sharpie.....seems dumb, but makes my morning easier.

When I finally thought to do it, I had to really wonder why didn't I do this years ago?

RIP our a/c

our ac finally bit the dust....we'd known it was likely since we bought the house but it finally did it. Oddly it broke in stages.  Kevin got home from work on Thursday to find it not working, we were able to get someone to come out that night who got it working, though he's not really sure how, he didn't do anything but maybe shake it....but it worked for the night and we scheduled to replace the furnace the next day.   It got replaced Friday and we thought, oh good we got off *relatively* cheap......we should know better by now......Saturday comes and the a/c doesn't seem to be working, at first we think its the zoning (each floor is a zone) but nope its the whole thing, so again we wait for someone to come out...this time its the whole thing -- the fan in the outside unit literally FELL OFF......we were really lucky we were able to get it scheduled to be replaced on Sunday (also Mother's Day) but did have to make some quick hotel reservations, and needed pet friendly place so we could bring Smokey.   We had not one but 2 trucks come on Saturday with the needed equipment (and guys) to fix it -- you know its bad when it takes TWO trucks....

it was hot but he was still happy to be home

The hotel was ok not great, and we learned that Smokey is NOT a fan of elevators, also -- note to self -- confirm if hotel has pet fee or not, website didn't show it (we'd ruled one out because it showed it) only to get there and find out that our 4-legged friend was the most expensive of all of us.  Kevin says I shouldn't have mentioned a dog at all, he's pretty tame and well house broken, but I thought we'd end up with a room where we had to walk right by the desk to get to it (dog, what dog?)    our summer rental is only $25 for the week for a pet, this place $100 for one night....bah.....oh well, live and learn...

we were oh so glad to get working a/c yesterday, and slept so good last night...here's hoping our new ac does make the bills go down since it should be more efficient.   and new gadgets for K --- wifi thermostats, do we need to be able to change temps on our phones?  probably not, but we can!

i did still get to have lunch with my mom for mother's day, and so glad we only had 1 night in a hotel.....here's hoping my house is done with things breaking for a while (earlier this year was the water heater).

wall of jasmine

It has taken about a year, but our wall of jasmine is really filling in.  when we moved in it was just a blank black fence, but we wanted some greenery and privacy.  I'm still trying to thread the jasmine to fill in a few holes, but it looks (and smells) great!

I do not claim to have a green thumb at all, but with this we really just plant it and go -- and try to remember to thread it as it grows....hard to keep up with as its had so much rain this spring....

90s Nostalgia Friends

Good bye April and Hello May!

I know that many in Houston were happy to tear that page off the calendar.  Here's hoping May is not as rainy (a tall order since last year's flooding was in May).

I had a great last day of April, I spent it at a Friends' trivia quiz with my sister put on by Geeks Who Drink.   We met our goal of not coming in last (26 of 36 teams!), that was even our team name - The One Where they try not to come in last - and had a great afternoon of catching up and testing our knowledge of the tv show. We each did some studying (aka binge watching) of the show ahead of time, but got nowhere near getting through all the episodes.    Some we knew as soon as they showed the answers, others I just never knew....it was all for fun, and I'd recommend their quizzes, only $5 to play (plus cost of food and drinks at the venue --- we purchased some food and drinks, gotta keep waitstaff happy since we basically took up a table for 5 hours - couple hours early and 3 hours for the game).

The MC wore a wedding dress the whole afternoon and the 90s music soundtrack they had on breaks just added to the fun!

Now that the quiz is over I don't need to watch more episodes and yet I probably will (psst all the seasons are on netflix!).  

Tax Day Flooding

It was a very hard week for Houston this past week with the flooding, apparently to be called the "Tax Day Flooding".     I was actually out of town (work conference) when most of it occurred, but my mind and heart were very much with my city.

The recovery for many areas will take a long time, and sadly some of those most affected are the very people for which a recovery will be the toughest.  

All the photos and articles out there have summed up the situations better than I ever could.  My favorites are those that show the many ordinary people coming together to help others - people and animals - in need.  Please take time to find ways to help.  I personally plan to donate and also need to make time to go donate blood, not necessarily for this disaster but a good supply is always needed and the local blood center lost 2 days of possible donations with all the closures.

I do love this image, a man rescuing an armadillo, based on a real man's actions during the flooding.

Final Four

Since Final Four is in Houston this weekend there is a LOT going on.

We decided to check out the free concerts at Discovery Green on Saturday.....and boy did we underestimate the set up and turnout!      We  rode our bikes downtown and when we arrived, we saw the park completely fenced in and never-ending lines from the gates, one literally wrapped around a city-block size building and then some.

We took advantage of BikePlan Houston's valet bike service and wandered around to see the spectacle.    We saw so many fans of all 4 teams, love seeing our downtown so busy.

Realizing that we would probably never get into the concert area (and I'd probably have a claustrophia attack if we did) and honestly not caring since we don't follow any of the performers that would be there, we went to Market Square park instead ---- way more our speed!  We had a great afternoon downtown and enjoyed the gorgeous day.  

We even stumbled upon Real World auditions...,,I had no idea the show was still on.   I think real world is real enough, don't need a show following a bunch of 20-somethings to show me what life is like.....

Spring Break

I had a great one day Spring Break.  We went to the beach with Kevin's brother and his family (wife, 3 kids - baby stayed with grandparents).   We had to 'wait and see' all week with the weather, but it turned out to be a great day!     Cloudy in the morning, but cleared off.  The water was chilly but that didn't keep the kids out, they were in it all day.....  we had a great time, and grilled some delicious hot dogs.   I am so glad I had some cash, since an ice cream truck came by and we got each kid a treat.....best way to have dessert - -watch kids eat it, all the fun and none of the calories.  The weather held out for us, and then stormed on us going home -- complete with hail, and its a cool front!  

Great way to spend the day.

only in Texas..

I debate just taking this blog down I write on it so rarely, but still like documenting our adventures so for now it stays.  

I'm at a conference for work this week in San Antonio.  For what a quick drive it is to get here (3 hours) we should probably come here more often, but I haven't been since our holiday trip a few years ago...

I saw this gem in the hotel gift shop and had to take a photo.....only in Texas......this is especially relevant as my school (and other colleges and universities around the state) talk about how to implement campus carry.

This conference is the same one that I have served as an officer with and so I"m excited to get to be an attendee this year and to get to see so many folks I've gotten to know through being involved with it.

I wish Kevin could've attended with me, but during the semester he really can't get away, so he stayed home with Smokey.

PSA: donating items

I am becoming a master at finding charities who need the random things we need to give away -- for example, old towels, bathmats and empty pill bottles - animal shelters can use them!  

It makes me happy when I can find an organization that needs items that we no longer have use for.

Please consider local charities when cleaning out your belongings....I'm trying to reduce what goes to Goodwill and find more direct use charities, there are so many out there that need help.

I haven't talked much about it publicly, but we moved my parents to an assisted living facility towards the end of last year and have been dealing with how to work through the belongings they don't want anymore at their last home, it made for a different sort of holiday but was the best move for them, really for all of us.

Happy New Year!

We're already 10 days into 2016, where does the time go?


We rang in the new year at our neighbors' house, sort of a progressive party to the other two townhouses in the complex, it was great!  We even ran back home to get a card table that was needed, so convenient and no driving.    I was able to snap one photo of us both with our party hats!


I'd like to say I'll post more in 2016, but that is not likely to be true, but I can give you another blog you should read...my coworker posting about her adventures, including many photos of her almost 2 year old, its called Momma is thinking.

So that they are more public, I will  go ahead and post a few of our resolutions here:

• travel outside of Texas
• 
  
• incorporate more vegetables into our diet -- plan: try 1 new recipe each week for a veggie dish/side dish
• one week in: success -- we tried glazed carrots

• take break from alcohol - no alcohol the month of January (joint resolution with Kev
• one week in: mixed success, Kevin has amended to refraining from hard liquor; and I had 2 drinks on Friday