Back from vacation, to the real world

We're back from vacation, went to work on Friday AND celebrated my 36th birthday. I'm now officially closer to 40 than to 30. Mother, in her infinite humor, decided that I needed raisen-bran muffins instead of my traditional choo-choo train cake.  Um, thanks mom. I think.

The Haiti earthquake happened while we were on the open seas of the Gulf, cruising away from Mexico. It certainly opened our eyes, taking the focus off of ourselves and onto others. I feel so burdened about the devasation, but I am encouraged by the amazing response of Americans.

It seems inappropriate to post pictures of our vacation, while so many in the world are fighting for their very life. So I'll just post a few of our favorites.

This picture is what I went for. To get my toes in the sand at our favorite place, Nachi Cocum. This was the ONLY day we had warm sunshine.

Self portrait on the same beach. The water was SO beautiful!

On ship... Rick, in usual form, taking to the dance floor!

Awwww, my sweetie!

And I think this is my favorite beach picture. Makes me wanna go back!

Return to routine?

We are back from Austin - and from finishing out a crazy busy week! I sincerely hope we are about to establish some sort of routine now. I think that many of us are ready for change at the end of the summer - ready for the kids to go back to school, ready for a change in the weather, ready for the schedule to, well, become a schedule again. Summer is great, but I really am itching for Fall... I was thinking about change recently, and was struck by how perfect the change in seasons is. By the time I get tired of one season, the other is just around the corner. Of course, living in Texas, we say "if you don't like the weather, just stick around a bit." That saying doesn't really seem to be true during the looonnggg, hot days of summer. It seems there is no end to the baking heat. So when I let the dog out this morning for her morning routine, I smiled at the pleasant morning weather. Dare I say it was cool? Well, it was certainly cool in comparison to other mornings. Ok, here are some pictures of Austin: The obligatory shot of the Capital at night. I had to take about 15 pictures before one finally turned out, and it's still a little fuzzy. But you know, the Capital really is an amazingly beautiful building. I wanted to break out in song and dance singing "The Eyes of Texas Are Upon You..." But thought that may be a little wierd. Back at the hotel room, Rick is reviewing some of his class material. Yep, this proves that we really DID go to the conference. Or is that just a guide to the local restaurants??? And my favorite part of the trip was the LBJ Library and Museum. I had to do a little coaxing to get Rick to go, and it helped that we arrived at 4:15... and it closed at 5:00. But it was an amazing place. The archives took up four floors, and the museum several other floors. Here is a replica of the Oval Office during LBJ's term. I loved all the seafoam green... A trip anywhere wouldn't be complete without a tour through the local cemetery. This one was on the side of the interstate, just adjacent to the LBJ Library and UT Austin. It was really interesting. Many, many graves dating to the 1800's. We enjoyed exploring this place. And this is just a cool tree on the campus of UT. Ok... Next picture is TacoDeli! A friend of mine recommended we check it out. By far, the best taco's I've ever had. If you are in Austin, you simply have to go. http://www.tacodeli.com/ Thanks, Debra, for the tip! Oh, wow... I didn't know we had a Bistro in Austin. So that's what Craig and Carolyn did when there were living there! I hope I get a cut of the profit! Below... drumroll please! The infamous Explosive Wings at Casino el Camino on 6th St. Rick and I are proud of our tolerance for spice. I think our mother's put hot-sauce in our bottles. So with that inate gusto-driven spicy tolerance, we chowed down on these bad boys... and ended up crying like a baby. By far, these were hottest things I've ever experienced. Note to self: Never, ever try and take out contacts within 24 hours of touching Explosive Wings. Have someone else take them out, or just wait it out. It rained cats and dogs on Wednesday in downtown Austin. They REALLY need the rain, and it started to pour when we were inside Opal Devine's (another fantastik eatery.) It was really fun watching the crowd get so excited over a downpour. Everyone pulled their chairs outside and sat under the covered porch to revel in the excitement. We were needing to get on the road soon, and the picture below is traffic trying to get out of Austin. Rainstorm + Rush Hour = not good.

Middle of the Week Update

We returned from Napa Valley late, late Sunday night. Our flight was delayed in San Francisco... which did allow us to watch the Mavs lose to Denver in Game 1. :(

The trip was fantastic - we met the other top 10 agents in the Nation, along with their wives (or husbands.) The fun part was getting to know the people behind the names that we've gotten to know over the last few years.

Here is a picture of my attempt at photography. It kinda turned out cool, don't you think? The name of the winery (Erna Schein) is on the glasses.

Below are a few pictures of the Harvest Inn, where we stayed. The landscaping was very lush and beautiful. We even had a fireplace in our room, which was nice since the evenings were pretty cool.

Below is a picture of a wine called "Cemetery." The label has a picture of a wood carving that shows a man being reunited with his best friend in the afterlife. What was unique about this wine, is that the grapes are grown on land leased from a church. The church cemetery is adjacent to the vineyard. When the lease is up, the grounds will be reclaimed by the church and the cemetery will be expanded.

We also toured the underground caves of a vineyard called Chateau Boswell. It was really unique, as the caves were blasted out underneath the vineyards. Barrels and barrels were stored in the caves.

Our favorite part of the trip was a Culinary School that we participated in at a vineyard called Clos Pegase. We were coached by professional chefs in preparing appetizers and dinner for the group.

The chef actually instructed Rick to massage my shoulders because he said I was tense. Imagine that! Me, tense?

And a unique (almost creepy) sculpture outside in the vineyard. Thumbs up for the culinary experience!

Below, we dined by candlelight in the caves. With a little help from the chefs, our dinner turned out excellent!

We returned from the trip late Sunday night and hit the floor running with a crisis at the water company. The week has been really crazy with the installation of the new pump and motor at one of the plants. That was an expense we weren't really planning on!

For those keeping up, it seems the house contract is still ticking along. We hope to close by the 15th. I'm not moving anything beforehand, so if we do close... we'll try and vacate pretty quickly. I might be calling on my friends to help!

Vacation is over...

Here's a video of my new favorite place. It may take a minute to load...

Vacation was truly perfect. We accomplished what we set out to do, which was absolutely nothing. And yet, we were so busy. But busy doing nothing is better than busy doing something... at least in my book it is!

Below are some pictures...

Nachi Cocum - private, all inclusive beach in Cozumel

Enjoying time with our good friends, Tim and Tiffany

Lobster & Shrimp - Rick ordered 3 plates for dinner one night!

Hole in One... those don't come around often. Especially on a moving vessel!

And the best part...

Enjoying life with my most favorite person in the world!

We're outta here!

Vacation is finally here! We're heading to Houston to sail away. A few days on a beach is just what the Dr. ordered! In honor of our excursion... here's a cute song. I know, it's cheesy. But it's cute. And I'm on vacation, so it doesn't matter! See you when we get back!

Weekend at Mom's

I'm spending the night at Mom's tonight. And the adventure begins...

It's always gets my curiosity up to try and figure out what trouble us girls will get into! The picture above was from a trip we took together to Greece. We sailed the Mediterranean with a women's Bible Study author, Beth Moore. And we got into MORE trouble on that trip: I got in trouble posing in a Cemetery, we skipped study sessions and cut class, and Mom fell off her donkey (not long after the above picture was taken.) Or maybe it was her rocker she feel off of. I'll never tell!

But that's nothing compared to when we took London by Storm! You'll have to ask her about scaling a wall at Buckingham Palace. And the Red Light District in Amsterdam...on second thought, don't ask about that one!

Of course, those were BIG trips that we took. This weekend is a "little trip."

We plan to make 2 chicken spaghetti casseroles for MY freezer. Not one, but count 'em, TWO! I'm serving them to guests next week, and the best part is that she'll let me take the credit for them!

We may watch a movie tonight, hike the land, feed the barn kitties, or even start a puzzle. But tomorrow, we road-trip to Tyler. Plans are to see "Mamma-Mia" and gorge ourselves on popcorn and candy. A trip to the bookstore usually happens, as well as a friendly visit to the Mall.

I can't wait to see what kind of trouble we get into this weekend! Whatever we do, I know it will be a memory!

Depending on a few factors, I may share some highlights of the weekend in my next blog. Then again, it may remain highly classified....

Stay tuned!

Oh, and sorry about the video below. It's sideways. And the shaking is not necessarily all from the rocky ride. I think most of it was from my laughing!