Today is a wonderfully frigid (roughly 30ish outside) and rainy day, and I'm just trying to get through the work day so I can get home & make a fire. I know it's strange, but I do adore weather like this & its probably only because we don't get it very often. All we usually get is heat, sun, and humidity so thick you can barely take a deep breath. Those days are not far off, so I'm going to savor every second of a day like today.

While at work, I had the pleasure of stumbling across a video that made me laugh on YouTube. I know at this point, that might make you question my productivity at work, but I promise my work did not suffer because of this small break in my day. If any of you watch The Soup on E!, you already know that Joel McHale is very funny (and adorable). He made this video even funnier than it already was on it's own, which takes talent. Looky here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kyMw43pZPI

Ahhh, awesomeness. It's the little things that get you through the day, right? I hope, with that, I helped spread some sunshine to all of those out there complaining that we don't have any today. And I heard lots of you throughout the day.

In other news, the knee brace is working well, and I resumed my ass-crack-of-dawn workout regimen yesterday. It has seemed to cut down on pain throughout the day, post-workout, so I will keep wearing it like a good little girl. My first physical therapy appointment is February 2, and I'm hoping my knee responds to it as well as it has to the brace. There's a glimmer of hope for no surgery - hooray!

Aaron and the little one are doing quite well, no major events to speak of. Z's teacher informed me last Friday that the flu is going around his school, so not to be shocked should he be stricken down. Greeeeeeat. [knocking on wood] He had three kids absent from his class yesterday, so it's moving fast. Please let us be spared!

I'm still planning on doing my 2008 recap blog, but just haven't had the kind of time I need to get it done. Hopefully soon! I usually take full advantage of Friday nights, because Z crashes early from his day at school & Aaron closes, but this Friday won't work. We are going to a party for Aaron's BFF who is celebrating his birthday & his recent divorce. I know it sounds callous, but if you knew his ex-wife for even one microsecond, you would be there helping him celebrate. Point being, I will hopefully find some time soon to run down the events and happenings that shaped our 2008.

Three things I'm grateful for today:

1. Heat. (Hey, I like cold weather, but I'm not stupid.)
2. Amber surprising me with lunch.
3. DVR. It comes in handy when you have to be in bed by 9:00pm.

Peace & pastries, folks.

Doctor visit

Had my knee appointment today, and got what I think is probably the best news I could expect to get.  He said that it appears my old knee injury has been stirred up a little by my constant working out.  As most of you know, I took a break from consistent workouts for oh, about a DECADE, so this is my knee's opinion of the whole situation.  (I'm getting the kneecap equivalent to the finger, essentially.)  Anyway, he prescribed me some physical therapy, and if my knee doesn't respond to the PT, then we'll discuss MRI's and a 2nd surgery.  Oh, and he also gave me this new, sexy knee brace:

Hot, right?  Ugh.  I'm not sure it could be more uncomfortable, but he wants me to wear it when I work out, or when I'm going to be doing anything that I think might aggravate my knee.  Hence the reason I had it on tonight, while on the ground playing Transformers with the kid.  I found him a hideout/camp-out type deal on clearance at Target, of course, Transformers themed, and he flipped.  He wanted me to share in the fun and get in it too, which was interesting.

The thing itself.

Z, transforming.

The end result of said transforming.

So, all in all, it was good news because I don't have to have surgery now.  It was slightly crappy news, because surgery might still be in my future, but we'll just wait and see what happens.  No need to stress about it now, when I could be using that energy in physical therapy.

I have to note a really cool thing that took place this week.  I stumbled across an old cousin of mine from Michigan on Facebook.  We haven't spoken for 25 years, and all of a sudden, there he was.  It amazed me and proved, once again, what a small world we live in.  I wrote him a message, he responded, and we've chatted online twice this week for a few hours each time.  We're slowly getting to know each other again, and it's wild.  The wildest part about it is he now lives in Dallas.  Over two decades have gone by, and it turns out he's only been three hours away from me for the last nine years.  Life is strange and amazing.  I'm glad we've reconnected.

The three things I'm grateful for today:

1.  Facebook.  Never thought I'd say that.

2.  Clearance items at Target.

3.  Co-pays versus straight-up medical bills.

Peace & pastries.

Real quick

I'm up too late, my knee still hurts, and I'm not working out tomorrow.  Yet again.  This is getting supa-dupa old.

Wanted to share, quickly before sleepy time, what my son said tonight.  All three of us were watching an episode of iCarly, which is set in Seattle.  One of his favorite characters on the show was facing a problem, which of course, got worked out with a perfect solution in the allotted 30 minutes, and I said, "too bad real life isn't like that".  Zach's response, said in all seriousness?

"Well, maybe it is in Seattle."

I love that kid.

Nite-nite!

I survived fish

Amazingly enough, I ate fish last night and didn't barf.  Wowsa!  Even more amazing, my son ate a whole piece, and didn't even try to bargain with us on "how many more bites" before he was free from his food-consuming duties.  Hooray!  A breakthrough for us both!  I must say, I'm proud of us.  Poor Ken had to choke it down, but he even ate it.  Aaron was fine with it, he had 4 pieces, but that doesn't surprise me.  I, on the other hand, just cleared a major culinary hurdle.  Granted, it was a fried hurdle, with lots of ketchup on the side, but I did it nonetheless.  I truly amazed myself at last night's meal.

We usually eat dinner at the table, tv off, old-fashioned style, but last night we strayed from the norm to incorporate an impromptu "movie night".  We watched the first installment of Spiderman, and it was ok.  Z really liked the fight scenes and the times Spidey was sailing through the air, so it was fun to see him get into it.  We had to watch our movie while we ate dinner though, if we were going to get him in bed on time.  It was a success, and he went to bed at 8:30pm, while Mommy & Daddy were not far behind at 9:00pm.  I got to watch a new installment of my honey's show (Anthony Bourdain No Reservations), which helped send me off to a blissful sleep.  I did pack my gym bag and set my alarm for 4:30am though, which came awfully fast, despite my good deed of going to bed early.

I had been resting my knee for a few days, not working out, and it was feeling a little better.  So, what did I do?  Went to the gym and pissed it off, all over again.  I spent this evening flipping through a Bon Appetit magazine, icing my knee with the same bag of organic frozen blueberries, watching American Idol, and texting with Becca.  I successfully saddled myself on the couch again, nearly bored to tears.  But, no worries, as I have made an appointment with a knee guy for this coming Friday.  Hopefully, I won't hear how fat I am, or that I have to have surgery.  [crossing my fingers]

As for now, I will hobble off to bed, and not pack my gym bag for the morning.  [sigh]  I wish they had yoga classes that early in the morning, but those are always saved for the stay-at-home Moms in the middle of the day.  Grrrrrr.  What?  No, no, I'm not incredibly jealous of them.  Grrrrrr.

Three things I am thankful for today:

1.  Ketchup.

2.  No humidity.

3.  New bottles of shampoo.

Peace & pastries, everyone.

Monday, Monday (blah!)

Zach is watching Spongebob, Aaron's doing the dishes, and he also just brought me a beer, so seems like a perfect set-up for blogging!  As promised, here's an update on the past couple of days. This weekend was pretty great!  Despite my knee still giving me grief (I know, I know, I'll go see someone already), we managed to make the best of it.  I really, *really* love my weekends.

Saturday, Aaron had to work a mid-shift, so he wasn't around much.  Those shifts are my least favorite, because they tap into every chunk of the day.  You can't do much in the mornings, because you have to get ready for work.  Then, you can't do much afterward, because the kid is not far from passing out into bed.  But, despite flying solo, Z and I made the most of the day.  We had lunch with my sister at Macaroni Grill, then headed over to Sephora so I could cash in on a gift certificate Amber got me for my birthday.  A new bottle of perfume?  Sign me up!

Sunday, we woke up slow and eased into the day.  I went out to get coffee, because we were fresh out at home, and Mama neeeeeeeeds her coffee, even on weekends.  I also stopped to get us all some donuts and a paper to read, so it was a great start to the day.  (Becca texted me while I was getting all our goodies, because she was out doing the same exact thing!  Well, minus the donuts.)  After enjoying our non-nutritional breakfast & sifting through the paper, Z and I played a few rounds of Go Fish.  Daddy read while we played, then around noon, he decided we needed to get showered and get ready for a road trip.  Hooray!  I love these!  This time we decided to go visit Lincoln, TX - population 276.  While there, of course, we had to visit a local cafe that made it into Texas Monthly's top 20 cafes in the state.  It was called Elm Creek Cafe and we found us some of the best fried pickles we have ever had!  

The backyard of the restaurant.

The fried pickles.  Man, they were good.

I couldn't decide between the BLT on Texas Toast 

& the Chicken Fried Steak.

I should've gotten the BLT.

An attempt to balance out the grease in my meal.

Aaron decided after having chicken fried steak at this place, we need to stop ordering it everywhere we go.  It's getting a little old, and we've yet to find one to blow our socks off.  My vote goes to Lone Star Cafe, when they were still around - their chicken fried steak was soooo good.  Aaron agrees, but says it's in his top 3.  The other 2 contenders are K-Bob's (no longer exists) and Hut's Hamburgers.  Man, we need to make another trip to Hut's.  We used to go there every Thursday night when we were dating/engaged for 2 for 1 chicken fried steak night.  I forgot how good that place is!  Maybe I pushed it out of my memory because it's so trendy, stupid, and crowded nowadays.  Sigh.

After lunch, we took the long road back to Round Rock, and saw lots of neat houses and wide open spaces.  

This caught my eye, for some reason.

We ended the day with a wicked dose of reality - a trip to HEB.  It was a harsh zip back into the daily grind, but we needed to get some groceries for the week.  The boys never like this part of our routine, and part of me doesn't blame them, but it's just one of those things that has to be done.

Since today is MLK, Jr. Day, Z didn't have to go to school.  Aaron's off on Mondays anyway, and I went in until about 1pm.  It's been a nice afternoon outside; Aaron changed his brakes and Z & I played some baseball.  It's time now to start homework, get dinner ready, and then Z's bedtime routine.  About dinner tonight ... everyone brace yourselves.  I'm going to prepare and eat fish.  Ahh!  I'm trying to make sure my weirdness about seafood doesn't pass down to my kid, since he tends to copy all my likes & dislikes.  He surprised us both on Saturday night when Aaron got some fried shrimp from Popeye's, and Z asked to try some.  I want Aaron to finally have a partner in seafood enjoyment, since I have been nothing of the sort to him.  I thought, I should try to eat it, and if I act like I like it, he'll be more open to it.  It's already worked so far - I bought the kind with potato chip coating on the outside, and I told him how good that sounds.  He said "you're going to eat it?" and I said "oh yeah, that sounds good to me", and he said, "ok, I'll try it too."  Oh, the things we do for our kids.  (Do you people understand how much I hate fish?!)

Three things I'm grateful for today:

1.  Dunkin Donuts coffee.  It rivals Starbucks, and you don't need to 

     take out a personal loan to get a cup.

2.  Tartar sauce.  (It's one of the only ways I can choke down fish.)

3.  Netflix instant viewing.

Until next time, peace & pastries to all.

25 things

I was recently "tagged" on Facebook by an old friend, and the game was to list 25 random things about yourself.  I thought since I put so much time into it, I might as well post it here for those of you not on Facebook.  (Am I feeling lazy?  At the moment, a little.)  For those of you who are, and this is a repeat, sorry.  A detailed post about our weekend will go up tomorrow, so check back then.

1. I never thought I would live past the age of 24. I had a strange, but very certain feeling about this growing up. Apparently, and happily, I was way off.

2. I used to detest silence, but now I crave it. I adore my family, but I now truly know the desire of solitude, at times.

3. When I was pregnant, I was told three different times after three separate sonograms that I was having a girl. I knew they were wrong. I even told my husband, but he said I was only thinking that because of how badly I had always wanted a boy. Never underestimate the power of a mother's intuition!

4. I swore, until I met my husband, I would never get married. Not because I grew up with a bad example (my parents just celebrated their 40th anniv. last year), but because it seemed no one took the commitment seriously anymore. That kind of old-school sacrifice and follow-through seemed obsolete. It was understandable that my close friends all thought I had lost my mind when Aaron proposed after 9 months of dating, and I accepted. They had been listening to me say how anti-marriage I was for ages.

5. I hate seafood. I want to like it, I've tried to like it, but it's just not there. I'll keep trying, but I will never come around to tuna from a can. That stuff, to me, is one of the most vile substances on earth.

6. I love to travel, probably more than anything else. Experiencing new places, new cultures, and new food is sublime. I love airports, airplanes, hotels, road-trips ... the whole nine yards. I guess it's the Sagittarius in me.

7. I think Texas, Colorado, and possibly Arizona, are the only states I could live in. I was born in Michigan, and though upstate is breath-taking, Detroit is not. I lived in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania for 32 days, then ended up coming back home to Texas. Once I saw that tampons cost nearly $8.00/box and you had to buy six-packs of beer from local bars instead of the grocery store, I knew I was in the wrong place. 

8. I miss singing in choirs. I did it in school growing up, I competed in middle school & high school, I did it in college, and my Mom and I sang in church choirs together for years. I would like to, one day, grow the balls to audition for the Austin Civic Chorus.

9. I am toying with the idea of going back to school this coming Fall semester. I never graduated, and it's been one of the only regrets I have in life. Of course, I had to marry someone who got TWO degrees, which only makes it bother me more. (As much as I've begged, he won't let me have one.) I know I took the hard road on this one, but I'll just chock it up to a life lesson I was meant to learn.

10. Like most people, I have a list going of things I would like to do before I die. Since I'm relatively easy to please, my list only consisted of three things up till last May; swim with dolphins, take a cruise, and fly first-class. I was able to cross off the dolphins and the cruise all in one shot 8 months ago. I was ecstatic!

11. I have a really good memory. It drives my husband crazy at times, especially when I can recall a conversation we had verbatim that took place months before.

12. I have to walk on the right side of people, if there are just two of us. And I prefer to sit on the right side, as well. It's from all the years Amy & I spent growing up together, and that was just the way we always did things.

13. My ability to smell things is a blessing and a curse. To say I have a "dog nose" is the understatement of the century. People have joked that I can smell a fire before it happens.

14. I absolutely hate talking on the phone. My parents would probably never believe this, since they saw the phone literally stuck to my head growing up, but I think that's the reason why I detest it now. It backfired.

15. I miss being creative. It's slowly coming back to me, through my photography, but I used to ooze creativity. I wrote, I made things for people, I made jewelry, I sang, I read everything I could get my hands on ... I miss that.

16. I'm growing more anxious everyday that my dog will soon give in to his old age. He's almost 12, and the longest commitment I have ever made to any living thing. He's been stressful, hilarious, loving, loyal, and the topic of many conversations. My dear, old friend Elijah. My life will never quite be the same once you're gone.

17. I love Christmas and Halloween more than any adult probably should. I start listening to Christmas music in July, and am full-on twitchy by the time October rolls around. On the flipside, I hate Valentine's Day. It's so orchestrated and silly, & it amazes me that women have expectations about this day.

18. Since age 15, I haven't been single for longer than six months total. I went from one long-term relationship to another, then to meeting my husband. I worry how I will react if I ever find myself alone down the line. I certainly hope I never have to find out.

19. The dearest friends I have are ones I have had since elementary or middle school. I have been best friends with Amy for 26 years, with Becca for 22 years, and with Andrea for 21 years. Angel is a close second with our 15 year history. I am so fortunate.

20. I think the days of being asked 60 times a month if we're having more children have finally passed. Thank God for this.

21. No matter what color I attempt to dye my hair, the dirty blonde always comes back. And quickly. I have tried a several shades of red (dark, bright, & a few in between), all permanent, but nothing sticks. After about 3 weeks, you can see my original hair color coming through. I give up.

22. I have a lot of weird stories about my teeth. First, I have never had a cavity. Second, I have perfectly straight teeth & I never had braces, though I begged for them (like a moron) when I was 12. Third, my wisdom teeth are just now coming in, and I had two of them removed two years ago. The other two have to stay until they start to really hurt, because the nerves are intertwined in weird places, and the oral surgeons worry that going after them might paralyze half of my face. Yikes?

23. When I was little, I had a lisp. A dentist once told me to hold a Certs up against the roof of my mouth with my tongue once a day, and it would correct itself. He was right.

24. I got my "monthly visitor" for the first time at the ripe old age of 10. I hoped this would mean I would hit menopause sooner, but I've been told that's not true. Damn.

25. I can type freakishly fast & freakishly accurate. Like in the neighborhood of 100 wpm with zero mistakes. If only they had reality shows for this talent, and it gave away serious prize money ...

Aleve is my BFF

My knee isn't getting any better.  It did for a few days, but has gone back to burning and throbbing, once more.  I didn't work out this morning, for fear of pissing it off further, and I probably won't tomorrow, either.  This is throwing a huge kink in my grand master plan for a kick-ass physique by the end of this year.  Not to mention strengthening my endurance so I can run the Susan G. Komen race this year, instead of run-walk.  Grrrrrrr.  I hate when life throws curve balls.

Every time I try to play-off gimping past Aaron, he tells me to go the doctor.  (Guess I wouldn't make a good crippled person if I were an actress.)  I hate to do this, because I don't know if I can take another doctor telling me I'm fat.  Yes, I had an actual physician tell me that five years ago when my knee began to ache consistently.  Calm down though people, he was right.  Granted I am not your textbook "fat" person, I was overweight back then because I had just given birth about 9 months prior, and was still carrying around an extra 35 pounds.  Since then, though, I've gone down nearly three sizes, and only have an extra 15 pounds or so that are clinging to me like grim death.  I honestly don't think this is the same scenario.  But, I still hesitate just a little, as any woman in her right mind would, because I don't want to hear those words again.  I know that's a moronic reason to walk around in pain, so I'll get over it and go see someone eventually.  I'm actually more worried now, because when I went five years ago, it only ached.  These days, it's swollen, squishing, sort of clicking underneath the skin, and burning.  Gah.

So, I will go back to elevating it now, and maybe reading a bit.  I'll also be secretly hoping it my knee will miraculously heal itself, and pray that I don't ever have to have surgery on it again.  The things I'm grateful for today:

1.  Aleve.

2.  Lo Mein.

3.  The public library.

Crap!  It's 9:20pm, which means Top Chef has been on for 20 minutes!  I'm off!

*puff of smoke, where Phyllis used to be, though she's hobbling to the tv set instead of dashing*

Blah

Not too much to say this go round, but thought I'd stop by and check in.  We just got back from a quick, previously-unplanned trip to Target.  See, Amy & I went to see Becca today (for the first time since her surgery, long story if you don't already know it) and she gave me Z's Christmas present.  It was a gift card to Target, so we had to help the little guy out & run him over there after dinner.  That card was going to burn a hole in his pocket if he was forced to hang on to it, plus, I don't think Aaron or I have ever NOT wanted to browse Target.  Anyway, moral of the story, he's got two new Christmas presents, and I am going on the hunt for the a-hole who made those twisty-tie things on toys.  My fingers still hurt from undoing about 70 of them, per figure.

Tomorrow, Zach apparently has a class picture that will be taken (why they didn't take this when they did school pictures, I will never understand).  Aaron and I can't help but see this as a money grab, so we're not going to be buying this $12.00 picture.  I already have pictures of all the kids, and it won't matter in a few years anyway, because half the kids will probably have gone on to other schools.  Aaron has picked out a super-cute outfit for him to wear, so it is slightly tempting, but nah.  I think we'll skip this one.  We're only in kindergarten and I'm already wearing thin of the $10.00 or $12.00 here & there for little things every other week.  Oh, the boring tribulations of my week, no?

I'm going to be putting together a sort of "2008 - year in review" with photos and such pretty soon, so stay tuned.  Otherwise, I just don't have much to talk about or comment on tonight.  It's been a pretty mundane couple of days, but I'm not complaining.  As long as we have no trips to the ER and no tragedies, I'm good.

The 3 things I'm thankful for today:

1.  Target gift cards.

2.  Aaron doing boring housework on his day off.

3.  Cold weather that has lasted longer than 2 days in a row.

Aaron and I started watching "The DaVinci Code" last night before bed (yes, that's how behind we are in movies), but we couldn't make it through the whole thing.  I'm off to watch another chunk of it now.  Until next time ...

I'm back! (with the longest post ever ...)

Holy smokes!  Has it really been 16 days since I last posted?  

Sorry for the delay, folks!  I was too busy enjoying life & my time off from work to get on the computer very long.  It seems like I had more time off this year than I ever have, in recent memory, but it was well-deserved after the August I endured at that place.  I know I have a lot to catch up on, so I will summarize as best as I can, and include some photos along the way.

Christmas was great!  Zach got his every dream & desire filled by Santa, and we felt lucky that we were able to do that for him.  His lot included about 10 Transformers, the Kung-Fu Panda movie from Aaron's parents, an over-sized robot, an over-sized Army tank, a Transformers shirt, a Transformers poster, an aircraft carrier, about 1,700 items of clothing from my parents, his first big-wheel (also from my parents), more clothes from Toni, five mini Transformer and one regular sized Transformer from Uncle Ken ... etc.  We also did gift exchanges with friends, and he got even more stuff, so yeah, you could say the only-child syndrome struck again.  He made a haul!  Aaron & I have vowed to go through his room soon and put together boxes of old toys to donate to Goodwill.  Out with the old, in with the new ...

Our tree, late Christmas Eve, after "Santa" came.  

A little off-center, but you get the idea.

After Z was fast asleep & we wrapped everything, 

"Santa" took a break for milk & cookies.  

"Santa's helper" thought he might get in on the action.

Opening his robot.

And a Transformer.

Such concentration.

So proud of his new Transformer shirt.

Keoki coveted one of Zach's goodies from his stocking ...

... and became quite territorial when Aaron tried to get it back.

Bored & lounging while the kid opened his loot.

Christmas night, the boys playing with the aircraft carrier.

Judy, shying away from the camera, AGAIN.

Ken, trying to be nutty when I perched my camera toward him.

As you can see, my parents and Ken came over to our house for Christmas.  I cooked a feast comprised of pretty much everything on the standard Thanksgiving menu - turkey, green bean casserole, homemade stuffing, corn, rolls, homemade cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes - and I'm happy to report it was a success!  It was quite delicious, if I do say so myself.  My cooking was such a hit, my Mom asked me if we could have it my place again next year.  Gladly!  I'll take cooking over driving around town any day.  My Mom brought a chocolate pie & a blueberry pie, both which were scrumptious!  I'm personally requesting the blueberry pie again next year, it's a new favorite.  

For you curious types, Aaron got me a docking station for my iPod and it's quickly become one of my most favorite gifts ever.  

See my camera in the iPod screen?  haha

Funny he should buy me something iPod-related, when I did the same thing.  Great minds think alike!  I got him his first iPod ever.

(stock photo)

They come in a zillion different colors, but Zach & I decided black would fit him best.  He's never been the flashy-neon kind of guy.  He was shocked and LOVED it!  Zach and I have become victims of iTunes these days, but it's ok.  I remember the sheer joy of filling up my iPod for the first time!  We let him take all the time he wants to play with his Pod, and we're just glad he's enjoying it.  Zach let me know afterward that he wants one, but then immediately followed it with, "but I know you're not gonna get me one because I'm 'too young'." (Yes, he used air-quotes at the end of his sentence.)  I informed he was spot-on, and he would not be seeing an iPod in his immediate future, but maybe some day.  He said "how old do I have to be?" and I said "probably at least 12."  He tried to then bargain down to age 10, but I told him I doubt it.  That kid is growing up so fast, iPod time will be here before I know it!

After the joys of Christmas, our anniversary was the next thing to celebrate.  

The actual sign Aaron's best friend made for the back of the truck

on our wedding night.

It's been hanging in our garage for 8 years.

Nine years we've been married now, eleven years we've been together total.  Wow.  Who would've thought I would be able to stand anyone THAT long?  Aaron marvels at the same thing, and we laugh about it quite often.  My dear friend Amy gave me the "gift of time" for my birthday, meaning she was willing to have Zach spend the night at her place so we could have an evening to ourselves.  Well, we cashed in on that one and got to have a night out alone the Saturday before our actual anniversary (it fell on a Wednesday this year).  That was awesome!  Then, on the actual night of New Year's Eve, we did the usual trip to Chuck E Cheese, and Ken joined us this year.  We ran into an old friend Aaron worked with at Petco, who was there with her kids.  Chuck E Cheese is the place to be!

Skee-ball champs.

Mid-jumping for joy at all the tickets he was getting.

A personal favorite, the roller coaster game.

The Saturday after our anniversary, Z and I took a road trip down to San Antonio to visit my old friend Angel, and her son.  We don't see them nearly enough, so this was an awesome day.  Her son Ian (8) and Zach played literally all day and into the evening, while Angel and I chatted on her patio.  One of the perks of going to visit Angel is getting to see her fur-children.  We love them, one and all!  (Not pictured:  Ethel, her cat.)

Shooter, who doesn't much like having his picture taken.

Duke, who doesn't much care his picture is being taken.

Zory, who loves any kind of attention, including her picture being taken.

Angel, getting some Zory love.

Zach and Ian.

A fun flashback:

Zach and Ian in August 2006.

We finally had some time the next day to take one of our family road trips to visit another small town cafe.  We've missed this!  The one we chose this time was the Hill Country Cupboard in Johnson City.  Aaron took the long, scenic route to get there, and it made for some cool photos.  I'm so glad we do things like this - it's much better than sitting around watching tv all day.

I locked the doors when Aaron got out to get gas, & I made him

dance for me before I would let him back in.

(An idea we got from America's Funniest Home Videos.)

President LBJ's childhood home.

The chicken-fried pork chop plate I ordered for lunch.

A sleepy creek.

I loved these trees.

We stumbled upon an exotic zoo in the middle of nowhere.

Zebras!

Last, but certainly not least, my Mom had a birthday yesterday!  She's a tad camera-shy, so I won't upset her by posting pics, but it was a fun visit at her house last night.  We did cake and ice cream, and it was delicious!  Happy birthday Ma - we love you so much.  ♥

All in all, it's been a busy two weeks, but a good two weeks.  Aaron worked entirely too much at the store, just like every Christmas, but that's the nature of retail.   He's taking three days off this week, and I'm sure he'll enjoy every single microsecond of it.  As I mentioned before, I got so much time off over the last part of 2008, it was really tough to go back to work.  I was very grateful for those days at home!  I let me workout regimen fall to shit during Christmas, and the week after, so that is back in full swing.  Only drawback is my old injured/reconstructed knee is acting up lately, making it hard to tolerate a workout.  If it keeps bothering me, I'll have to get it looked at, but I'll keep you posted on that as we go.

Before I close, I want to mention a new blog I started with a spectacular group of ladies!  It's a community photo blog, where we let our pictures do the talking, and it's such a blast.  If you'd like to stop by & check us out, click here.  The photos have ranged from funny to emotional, and it's already become a seemingly great creative outlet for us.  Hope you'll take a look-see!

The things I'm grateful for today:

1.  The photo blog.

2.  A holiday season with no emergencies or tragedies.

3.  My parents having a fantastic evening together in San Antonio 

     on Thursday night.

I am back in the saddle, so it won't be two weeks before I post again.  Promise.  Thanks for your patience with my slow-motion blogging, and until next time ... peace & pastries to all!  In abundance!