Bake Day!

So every year K's Aunt Kathy hosts a fabulous Bake Day at her house. The girls labor for hours on end in the kitchen with dough, flour, chocolate, butter, etc. strewn all over our Christmas aprons. Dozens of batches of cookies and a few glasses of bubbly later, the guys show up for BBQ hamburgers for dinner afterwards.

It really is a festive time, one that I'm coming to greatly enjoy despite my lack of cooking ability. My contribution this year was a package of slice and bake cookies from Tom Thumb. I was promptly scolded and told that I was "cheating" if I cooked those, so ended up making Holiday S'mores which was okay by me. I did have to mix ingredients over a skillet, which to be honest was way complicated. I felt it necessary at the end of the night to admit to K that I likely will never be a good cook, as in EVER. He very sweetly told me that was okay, as long as I can make sugar cookies with icing [here's where my slice and bake comes in] and chocolate "krinkles" [a little more complicated, but still manageable].

K is currently at a gun show with his Pa [don't ask]; however, this afternoon the Christmas festivites will likely continue as we pick out our tree from Home Depot and begin decorating the house. We've got some great "new" ornaments from his grandfather that will look so beautiful and serve as wonderful reminders of loved ones. I wrapped a few presents in advance this afternoon, so tonight we should be done decorating. I love this time of the year!!!

Title: None

So I've started like 5 different posts within the past couple weeks but haven't finished any of them. They're not good really at all - no purpose or central message. Not that any of my posts are ever "good," but I'm feeling the need for some meaty depth these days. Instead, I come up with pointless rambling not worth broadcasting. Ugh.

Some people tell me I should write a book, but I'd have a serious problem coming up with a consistent theme. Writing does fulfill me - maybe not the actual writing itself, but the satisfaction that I feel after going back and reading my words. Perusing through my old journals leads me to feel "known" by what I've written - does that make sense? It's like I can clearly see my heart and have insight as to who God is making me, and it provides tangible evidence of the ways in which I've grown over time.

This is what I wrote 2 years ago to the date:

12/3/06, Sunday

So I’ve been preparing several journal entries from the past for K to read. I did this once before in our relationship – printed out a couple entries mostly related to how I felt about us in the beginning of our relationship – to help him understand the things I’m not able to fully express through words. Writing is so much easier for me. Maybe it’s because I can erase and rewrite and make everything sound okay after endless editing, where as with words it’s a lot harder to edit what you say once they’ve already come out of your mouth. Regardless, it’s been fun going back and reading what I wrote over the past 2 years.

This is the theme in my old entries: searching, lack of direction, desperate to find my purpose, a need to solve everything in the whole wide world right now at this very second, to be in control and make things fall into place, wondering if I’m doing things right, anxious to figure it all out, confusion, more searching, more questioning…

I feel like I’m reaching a new stage in life. Maybe it’s maturing, maybe I’ve finally figured things out, maybe I’m just learning how to live fuller given my current circumstances instead of searching so much. I no longer feel this pressure to present myself to the world in a way that makes it seem as though I have it all together, that I know exactly what I’m here for. My life is constantly evolving and changing, and there’s no way in the world I could ever expect it to conform to some pre-set pattern I’ve created in my mind. In retrospect, God has brought me so far, and is still bringing me to new places and teaching me new things. That I might never fail to recognize the joy of the unknown, that I would remain hopeful into the future, while continuing to be ever thankful for the present…

The Ranch

Our travels continue, this weekend to Horsefly Mountain Ranch in Goldthwaite, TX. Family friends of the Bowens graciously invited us to their outdoor haven for a couple days of hunting, small town shopping, and relaxation. Their ranch house is absolutely amazing - spacious, secluded, quiet, with nothing around except wildlife and open plains.

The guys "caught" 7 deer total, which means we'll have another tasty year of venison sausage, jerkey, etc. I am scarred by images of blood and water [melted ice inside the deer] spilling out the back of Rich's truck as we followed him back to Dallas, but have to remind myself that a hunting is a much better method of population control than Bambi starving to death from hunger due to limited natural resources.

Thank you a hundredfold to the Smiths for their hospitality! All in all - a great Bowen family weekend with lasting and fun memories!

Washington D.C.

Have I mentioned we like to travel? K and I just returned from our final vacation of the year - a trip to Washington D.C. This was not by any means a relaxing endeavor. We probably walked at least 10 miles a day seeing all the sites, monuments, museums, etc. I am so thankful that God knows me well enough to bless me with a traveling partner like K. To be able to sit and do nothing [i.e. Antigua] or to roam non-stop with little rest [i.e. D.C.] with someone who has a similar agenda is truly wonderful. This is what we did on our trip:

Day 1:

• Arrival and check in to Hotel Palomar in Dupont Circle. The hotel has a fabulous happy hour every night from 5-6. We partake in a glass of wine accompanied by live music, then head to Circa Restaurant for sliders and pizza. Follow with drinks at Topaz Hotel, then a 9:00 bedtime. Yes, we are old.

Day 2:

• 6:45 rise and shine before cabbing it to get tickets to ride to the top of Washington Monument. Our allocated time slot was for 11:00. Before that, we see...
• ...WWII Memorial, Vietnam Wall, Lincoln Memorial, Korean War Memorial, FDR Memorial, walk around the Tidal Basin to the Jefferson Memorial, back to Washington Monument. We beat most of the crowds, so it was great having the city to ourselves. It truly was the perfect time of year - leaves turning, cool weather, very fall-ish and lovely.
• Ride to the top of Washington Monument, eat lunch at Holocaust Museum, tour Holocaust Museum, then head to the Mall for Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum.
• I got bored reading every single sign about every single space event and aircraft ever built. Of course K was fascinated. We saw Fighter Pilot at the IMAX, then took the Metro to Adams Morgan - hip bar / restaurant area for post-college yuppies.
• Ate sushi for dinner, grabbed a beer, played photo hunt, another early bedtime.
  

Day 3:

• 6:45 rise and shine once more, then take Metro to Arlington National Cemetery. See JFK eternal flame, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Arlington House, then head to Iwo Jima.
• Back to Smithsonian - this time the Museum of Natural History. Afterwards we go to the National Archives Bldg. to view the Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, and Constitution.
• Make it back to the hotel for happy hour, followed by dinner at Al Tirimasu - an Italian restaurant down the street from our hotel. Finish up the evening with a glass of wine at Urbana in our hotel.
  

Day 4:

• Morning tour of the Library of Congress. This is an amazing building, beautifully built with stunning architecture and paintings. Afterwards we go back to the Air and Space Museum to catch a couple things we missed the day before.
• Have lunch at the American Indian Museum [can you say delicious fried bread?] then tour the Botanical Gardens before our Capitol tour at 1:30.
• Kate, Congressman Jeb Hensarling's intern, is our tour guide. She's in her last semester of school at A&M and was great fun to talk to. Sat in the House of Representatives, walked through the Rotunda and Senate wing. It is absolutely amazing to me that the building is 100 years old. So much history and beauty.
• Leave for the White House. Catch Obama's motorcade. I take 2 pictures of the motorcycles leading the pack and my camera instantly reads, "Memory Card Error." I lose all 300 images taken in the days prior. My heart seriously breaks and I blame stupid Obama for my lost pictures. If this is any indication of how his presidency will be then we're in for a long and hellacious next 4 years.
• Swap memory cards and the picture below outside the White House. It is literally the only evidence we have of our time in D.C.
• Dinner that night at delicious Michel Richard's Citronelle in Georgetown.
  

Day 5:

• Walk to 3 data recovery shops to try and restore images from my precious memory card, unsuccessfully.
• Tour the International Spy Museum.
• Catch Metro for flight back to Dallas

In all seriousness, if anyone knows a computer geek or friend who is a genius on computers and would be able to recover images from an 1 GB SD Lexar memory card, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE let me know. Aside from the photo loss, we had an excellent trip. Everyone should go to D.C. at least once in their lives to personally experience the amazing history of our country.

And really - calling all data recovery nerds - anyone, anyone?

Sunday Summary

So I haven't posted in a while. Here are some random thoughts / happenings that have occurred over the past couple weeks:

1. Babies. Everyone's having them. 3 of my cousins - Sarah, Trish and Amanda - recently had babies within less than 1 month of each other. 2 high school friends - Meg and Katie - also had babies this month. Em already has 2 kids, and Erin has a bun in the oven. I am learning that giving birth is not really a glamorous process in general, but very rewarding and fulfilling despite all the difficulties that come with being a first time mom. Surprisingly, I do not yet have the baby bug. I mean maybe it's there a little bit, but definitely not in full force. Yet.
2. Music. I love it. It remains one my deepest passions. This weekend I learned how to play Sara Bareilles' Love Song and Cold Play's Viva La Vida on the piano by watching a YouTube tutorial. I viewed the video clip in the study, wrote down the notes on a post it, took it back to the living room where my parents' piano is, and played away. If only I could concentrate enough to sing along while playing, then I'd be one step closer to my dream of becoming a dueling pianist.
3. Engagements. I was so happy to be part of a very special proposal this weekend in support of my friend Katy. Her bf Brian arranged an elaborate plan for a limo to take Katy to 5 spots where 5 of her closest friends were waiting. We each had a clue to give her once she arrived at our designated spot, then got to ride in the limo until the final stop. There he was all decked out in a suit with rose petals, waiting to pop the question. She of course said yes!
4. Health. I do not recommend getting a flu shot and giving blood in the same day. They tell you it's okay to do so; however, you will end up very tired and exhausted the next day. A big shout out to Elizabeth - thank you for alerting the blood staff of my paleness as I would have likely passed out had you not been there. They promptly tilted me back, brought cold rags for my forehead and neck, along with a bottle of Zune, then I was golden.
5. Election. Is it over yet?

And to close with a few corresponding pictures:

Babies: With Daniel James, Amanda and Joe's precious 3-week old baby.

Music: You may remember my absolute love of Marc Broussard. He was back in town a couple weeks ago at HOB. I went with Dana's fam and Leah. This time I got to give him a sweaty hug AND take a picture!

Engagements: My "spot" for Katy's engagement was the President's Heads. Here we are!

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas!

Even though K turned 30 a couple weeks ago, this past week was the ultimate celebration. We left on Wednesday for a trip to Vegas, with several surprises along the way that I'd been working on for about 3 months. I wanted so much for this to be a wonderful birthday for him!!

Surprise #1: Ryan and Leah

Ryan co-owns our boat with K, and the two of them have been friends since long before K and I started dating. He and his wife Leah are an amazing couple who are not only so much fun to hang out with, but are also very generous and loving with true servants' hearts. Their laid back personalities and great friendship made this trip all the more memorable.

As we were riding the escalator down to baggage claim at the airport, a crowd of people holding signs awaited us. K looked over at me and jokingly said, "Where's my sign?" 2 seconds later, he spotted Ryan and Leah in the crowd holding this:


He ran, jumped in the air, and gave them both huge hugs with a look of surprise and excitement on his face. The suspense had been KILLING me up to that point, so needless to say I was so relieved and also way excited to see them there!

Surprise #2: Flo

I cannot take claim to this surprise as it was all Ryan and Leah's doing. As we walked out of the airport, they escorted us to Flo - a cherry red 1948 Ford Cabriolet that they had rented for the day. That night we cruised up and down the strip with the top down. We felt like movie stars. :-)

Surprise #3: Stan and Carolyn

Stan and I worked together for several years before his recent departure to Bank of Texas. Over the past few months, I have gotten to know his wife Carolyn, and they have also gotten to know K. They happened to be in Vegas at the same time celebrating their 4-year wedding anniversary. It was a real blessing to be able to share parts of the trip with them. They are such a fun and relaxed couple, so easy to get along with, and truly enjoyable to be around. Another very memorable addition to our Vegas memories.

They met us up on the balcony at Margaritaville after we had checked in to our hotel on Wednesday. As he walked up to our table, K turned to me in amazement and said, "Is that Stan????" Yes, yes it was Stanton indeed.

Surprise #4: The Barrett Jackson

So before I met K I never heard of the Barrett Jackson. Apparently it's this ridiculously famous car auction held every year in Scottsdale, AZ. K often watches old reruns on Speed TV - how entertaining. This was the inagural year for it's premiere in Vegas, held at Mandalay Bay. I have to say, Leah and I did not anticipate enjoying it nearly as much as we did. Listening to the auctioneer himself was fascinating. I mean, he talks faster than the Micro Machines man in those old TV commercials.

Most of the cars seemed to be going for dirt cheap. K was very tempted to register, but in the end held out. We took thousands of car pictures. This happened to be one of his favorites:

Surprise #5: O

We spent our final night by having dinner at Penazzi in Harrah's, then going to see O at the Bellagio by Cirque du Soleil. The show itself was AMAZING!!! The acrobatics and even just the stage itself was unbelievable. Much better than Mystere, and less random than a big blow-up snail ending.

Earlier that day we toured the casinoes. The first picture below was taken at the Wynn, 2nd is of course the fountains at the Bellagio, and 3rd is of us with Stan and Carolyn before O.




We stayed at the Flamingo, which ended up being a great location - centrally located on the Strip and close to everything we needed. Our "Go" rooms were quite modern, flamboyant, and hot pink, but well worth it. The best part? Being able to watch TV from the bathroom mirror while getting ready in the morning. They also had a really cool pool that we laid out at on Friday afternoon.

Thankfully we returned on Saturday to have Sunday to recover. We didn't gamble too much - mostly played slots and ended up breaking even thanks to a last-minute win on the Tobasco machine before leaving our last day. We will likely return one day, if not to Vegas for the Barrett Jackson again then to Scottsdale for the auction in January. Maybe next time we'll even come home with a hot new ride....

NASCAR, baby!!

After attending the Stars game on Friday night, along with the movie Fireproof followed by a romantic dinner last night, K and I rounded out the weekend on an adventurous edge. This morning we made our way out to Texas Motor Speedway for a 10-lap driving school via Team Texas. It was seriously one of the most fun things we've ever done...

We began with a 30-minute classroom training session followed by on-track training in a van. Afterwards they put you in a Nextel Cup Monte Carlo - the real thing - for 10 laps around the track. An instructor is with you in the car, but because the engine is so loud you can't hear anything. The only way to communicate is through hand signals.

The whole process was fascinating to me. I have to admit I was extremely nervous. I had irrational images of crashing into either the wall or another car, spinning out, my car catching on fire, tire blow-out - you name it. I think what specifically triggered my fear was the language within the waiver form acknowledging that driving the race car could result in serious injury or death. How nice.

So you start out in 2nd gear with the clutch pushed in. A 4-wheeler pushes you along from behind and when the instructor says so, you let off the clutch and somehow the engine magically starts. After shifting into 3rd and then 4th, you're finally able to enter the track. They have white squares marked around the track to help guide you. The majority of the driving is done in the 3rd lane. On 2 of the 4 curves, you're required to take your foot completely off the gas until you're on the inside lane. Once that happens, you can accelerate again, and even pass slower cars that are in front of you.

My instructor was a guy named Tony who I loved. He had to help me steer around some of the curves because 1) the steering wheel was unbelievably tight and 2) I was afraid of running into the wall so stayed farther away than I should have. When passing, you're essentially supposed to tailgate until curve 2 comes, when the slow car moves to the outside lane 3 and you speed and pass on the inside lanes. I did this twice, which was extremely exhilarating. The 2nd time, I held back and was scared of hitting the car in front of me, but apparently I wasn't going fast enough because Tony reached over and pushed my knee down with his left hand so my foot would press the gas pedal harder. A couple times he told me to slow down, usually on the back stretch where we topped out at 150 mph. Did I say 150 mph? Yes, 150 mph!!!

K's experience was equally as enjoyable. We love doing different things together for fun, and this was definitely extreme. Here are a few more pictures from the day:

K getting ready. He was in group 1, I was in group 3, so we got to watch each other race.

His car - 01 Army. Fate given that he graduated from A&M in '01. :-)

My turn - walking out on the track to my car - 07 Jack Daniels.

Coming back in...