H-town Happiness

This weekend, K and I took a trip to visit the fam in H-town. Our neighbor, Big B, got married on Saturday and my bro was in the wedding, which means we got to spend some great bonding time with him here in the fabulous state of Texas. I do like Houston better than the Big D, but decided recently that it is my haven. As mentioned in a previous post, if I moved to my haven I don't think I would appreciate it as much or the restoration that it provides me. I would fall into the same cyclical monotony that I often experience as a byproduct of my daily routine, and would likely take for granted the precious friends and family I have there. It will forever be my special place that I can escape to when I need to be reminded of what's most important in life...yes, Houston.

Our trip down was not so glamorous as I had a blowout while driving 75 miles an hour down I-45. What sounded like a very loud pack of motorcycles speeding by me was in reality my drivers' side rear tire exploding and shredding to pieces. With tears streaming down my face and K consoling me in the passenger seat, I drove 5 miles an hour for what seemed like eternity to the nearest exit where we fixed the problem. Driving 55 mph with a donut made for an arrival after midnight, but all was made well by late-night BBQ, Lone Star beer, and a visit from Big B and Mikey in their tuxes and flip flops. What great neighbors we have...

On Friday afternoon, K and I decided spontaneously that we needed to buy a Nintendo Wii. After calling approximately 12 stores, we found one at Radio Shack. This made for a night of much fun, in addition to sore arms the following day:

Mom and Dad playing baseball

Bowling in action

K in true form, encouraging the rest of the fam with his snoring

More bowling, or perhaps one-handed golfing?

Saturday was the wedding. It was one of the most sincere and genuine ceremonies I have ever attended. You could feel God's presence in the room - literally. Like a big sister, I was so proud of Big B and his beautiful bride. How joyful and excited I am for the 2 to begin their lives together...

My 2 favorite men

After an AWESOME medley of patriotic songs during church on Sunday, I was lucky enough to see my dear friend Emily and her 2 babies who are in town from Oklahoma. I'm sure once I have babies, mine will be the cutest kids ever, but for now she gets to hold that title:

Em and Cason watching Cars on his I-Pod

K and Kendall. He tells me often he wants twins. The look on his face in this picture says otherwise...

So all in all, it was again - another amazing weekend. My heart has been re-fueled, pumped back up with joy and appreciation for the relationships in my life. My perspective has been realigned and I can face the week with a more peaceful and relaxed state of mind. I feel content...

Monumental Weekend

This was a monumental weekend, simply because for the first time in my entire life I went both in AND out of the wake on my wakeboard without face-planting. The reason could be perhaps due to the fact that we were not in K's wakeboarding boat, which throws out a wake the size of a small mountain. Regardless, this is a task I've been striving to accomplish for about 2 years now, and I was so proud to have achieved victory out on the lake.

Even more importantly, the weekend was spent with my dear friend Erin and her husband Matt at Ridley and Shirley's lakehouse in Mt. Vernon. This girl is my guardian angel, a true friend who I deeply admire. We've shared much of our hearts and lives with one another, and I cherish her and so appreciate the encouragement and love she has provided over the years. On top of that, Ridley and Shirley were the most amazing and generous hosts, true servants who opened their home to us with such genuine care and attentiveness to providing comfort during our stay.

How refreshing and relaxing it was to be surrounded by great people in a great and beautiful location. Thank you Erin, Matt, Ridley and Shirley for a wonderful weekend of respite!!

For the record....

For the record...I liked my job today!! It seems as though I've been complaining A LOT about work recently, so I felt the need to express / document some positive feedback as it relates to my occupation. The reason I liked my job today is that I spent the majority of it out of the office with a client. This particular client owns a retail nursery locally, and also has a 49 acre plot of land outside of town with around 17 or so greenhouses in which they raise plants. We took a tour of the facility and learned a plethora of information about herbs, sunlight, fertilizers, greenhouse temperatures, seasonality, perennials, etc. There is more complicated stuff that goes into plant raising than I could ever imagine, which I was glad to learn as it gave me consolation for accidentally killing numerous plants in my life. There IS a science to keeping green things alive...

For lunch we grabbed Mexican food at Dos Charros, the local neighborhood joint that serves seriously delicious enchiladas. As a souvenir, the client sent me and my credit partner home with a beautiful begonia each!! Did you know that there are 21 kinds of begonias?? What a great day...

Snap into a Slim Jim!

This weekend on our way to the Allen Outlet Mall, K and I stopped at a gas station for an afternoon Diet Coke caffeine jolt. I stayed in the car while he ran in, and much to my great pleasure, surprised me with a Slim Jim. YUUUMMM!!!! I do realize that most people would never eat such a thing, but I have to confess that not only do I consider them a tasty snack, but I also have been known to eat these gourmet beef jerky sticks for breakfast.

In fact, one Christmas a fellow coworker gave me a box of Slim Jims and a case of peanut butter crackers [breakfast choice #2] to keep in my cube for breakfast throughout the year. His 5 year old son questioned, "She eats those for breakfast? What does her mom say??" I have a feeling my Mom would likely disapprove of my unhealthy eating habits, but Macho Man Randy Savage would be all over it...

ASIDE from all the Slim Jim goodness, we found some great bargains at the outlet mall. K is seriously an amazing shopper. Like the kind of amazing that holds my purse while I try on clothes and patiently stands there waiting to give his honest opinion when I walk out of the dressing room. He is a very encouraging and I so appreciate that quality in him as I wouldn't necessarily consider myself a fashionista. Our hot finds included 2 suits for K, summer shorts for me, in addition to this cute Coach purse that was on sale for $65!! Oh how I love a good bargain...

Delinquency

Oh man. I've been pretty delinquent in blogging lately. I've drafted a couple posts, but just not so much loved them and felt really blah about them after proof-reading, so they remain in edit form. Since I like writing, I want what I say to sound the way that I think it should sound, meaning it takes time to formulate a thoughtful post. If only I put as much time and effort into more important things - like exercising, or cooking...

But alas, tonight is not much different in that I'm lacking creativity. While there is certainly a lot going on in my life, I have no grand revelation to write of. The stories that I could potentially post are the "you had to be there" kind, and I'd end up trying to be funny, but not. Surely I'll be inspired shortly. In the meantime, I got nothin'...

Que Paliza

My Spanish teacher in high school, Mrs. Denis, taught me that "Que Paliza" means something along the lines of, "What a big bummer." She would say it anytime that our football team lost, or if the weekend went by too fast, or even if we got a bad grade on a test. Mrs. Denis also taught me all the words to Estoy Aqui by Shakira [in Spanish, of course], AND a really cool rap song that goes through the countries and corresponding capital cities in Central America...

K and I spent the last 5 days celebrating our one year anniversary in Antigua. Que paliza that I'm going from this:

to this:

You may have heard me complain about our new office environment with no walls. I like to refer to it as a "call center" or "bull pen." This is indeed where I work, and yes - it sucks and is distracting. I've come to accept that there is no possibility whatsoever of getting walls added to these lovely cubicles, so have chosen instead to be a "flexible" employee who is "good with change" and "easily able to adapt" to new policies, procedures, and environments...

HOWEVER - despite the approaching Sunday gloom and "Que Paliza" feeling I have inside, there is still a part of me that definitely remains on island time. Our vacation was extremely relaxing, EXTREMELY relaxing, and I still have the "chill" vibe running through my insides. K and I stayed at a resort on the very north part of Antigua by the name of Blue Waters. It was no Little Dix Bay, but the scenery and overall location were both absolutely beautiful. As a brief recap:

Day 1:

We parked on 2 lounge chairs under a tiki hut on the main beach. This was our view:

These were my staples for the week [and yes - I did check the book out from the Dallas Public Library and take it all the way to Antigua with me]:

I went for an ambitious 1 mile run in the morning, but that was the one and only time I exercised. We took a break from sunbathing for lunch, then resumed our position. That night we had dinner at the Cove, a restaurant overlooking the water, and I was eaten by mosquitoes. As in, 35+ bites on each leg. As in, the masseuse said that she could not massage my leg during our spa day because I had "too many bites."

Day 2:

We parked on 2 lounge chairs under a tiki hut on a more secluded beach outside our room. This was our view:


We took a break from sunbathing for lunch, then resumed our position. That night, we had dinner at Vyviens, with conch chowder and duck and ice cream for dessert. Earlier in the evening, K threw rocks at a palm tree to pilfer 2 coconuts, which we drank from afterwards. The prior evening we watched Bear Grylls do the same thing in the Pacific Islands on Man vs. Wild. I am certain this is where his inspiration came from. It was quite adventurous:


Day 3 and Day 4:

We parked on 2 lounge chairs by the infinity edge pool with the ocean in the background. This was our view:


We took a break from sunbathing for lunch, then resumed our position. Day 3 we got massages and I got a facial as well. Both nights, we had dinner at Vyviens again. One night I told Noricia, our waitress, the following joke:

Why should you never take a shower with a Pokemon?

[pause for effect]

Punch line: Because he might Pikachu! [or "peek at you"]

I do realize that most of the human population our age or older might not know what a Pikachu is. In fact, I'm not sure how I even know what a Pikachu is. The funniest part about it all is that this lady cracked up. Like she totally identified and could not stop laughing [probably because she watches Pokemon with her 5 year old son], as K sat there in bewilderment still completely lost. She was even still laughing when we walked in the NEXT night. Oh how I love cheesy jokes...

Lastly, K and I enjoy having fun. Who doesn't? Others have told me that we have an interesting relationship dynamic in that we're always giving each other a hard time, and make each other laugh constantly. I can't imagine it any other way. On this trip we laughed a lot, loved a lot, and reaffirmed that we are still so happy and so blessed and so excited about spending the rest of our lives together, just as much if not more than the day we got married. With that being said, I will end with a few remaining fun and beautiful pictures from our fabulous trip...