Summer's end is near. And yes, it's hot.

You may have noticed I have taken down the cruise ticker I previously had up at the top of the page. I'm sad to report that I don't think we'll be able to make a cruise happen in March, after all. I'm trying to embrace this, but it's really, reeeeeeeeally annoying and difficult to do. Why have we scrapped this impending vacation? More car trouble.

The window I talked about in the last post is completely broken now. Yes, it's my fault. I forgot that I wasn't supposed to try & roll it down, and by instinct, attempted to do just that when at the post office Wednesday. The window fell completely into the door again, but this time, the track broke as well. So, though Aaron was able to take the door apart and get the window out (yet again), it had nothing to grip on to, therefore it wouldn't stay up. Awesome. Just call my car Ghetto Tot.

In addition to the window falling permanently, my car decided to try and overheat on Wednesday afternoon, immediately after the window fall at the post office. I had to turn my AC off to get it to calm down, while in rush hour traffic on Mopac. I literally felt like I was sitting in the garage apartment of the devil's exhaust-filled house. The hottest part of the day, without air, not moving in traffic, all the heat from the other cars wofting into my newly gaping window ... good times. I try not to complain about the heat, especially via Facebook (I think talk about the weather should be banned on FB, right along with politics), but damn, this is all getting to me. I hate heat. Only freaks love heat like this. But then, I came across an article this morning that might have been the cosmos attempting to make me feel better, called "Extreme Heat: 10 Worldwide Locations With Tough Temps". And no, none of us live in any of them. Alright, alright, Life - I get the message.

This past weekend, Aaron came up with an idea of revisiting The Last Drive-In Picture Show in Gatestville, Texas. We haven't been there in about two years, and that is way too long. We love this place for many reasons, but the main three are 1) $10 per carload to get in on weekends (you can stuff your car with people like a clown car in the circus, still only ten bucks, 2) $5 per carload on weeknights, and 3) everything in the concession stand is around $1.00. Amazing. We took Z's close friend from across the street and made the hour-drive out to see Cars 2, and it was awesome! Nothing like spending a summer night at the drive-in. It wasn't hot or uncomfortable, just warm and breezy.

A lovely sunset to watch before the movie.

Two very excited little men.

A screen shot.

Mater makes me laugh.

I went to the back of the lot to get a shot of the whole screen and the moon in the sky, to the right of the screen.

Last weekend we also went tattoo pricing. It's been many years since either one of us have gotten a new tattoo, and we're both itching to get one done. Aaron is first, since I got one last, but for the longest time he couldn't figure out exactly what he wanted. Thankfully, last week he saw something that jumped out at him and fits him PERFECTLY. It's one of the coolest tattoos I have ever seen, honestly. But, it's quite detailed, it's quite large, and there's a lot of shadowing, so that will equal a lot of money. Here's what he wants to get:

Kick-ass, right? I can't wait for him to get it. While out at a few shops, I spotted one I really want. I originally wanted to get this one:

But then I spotted this one on the wall of a shop we went to:

So now, I'm torn. There is a business card in the second photo, on the right hand side, to give perspective on the size of the design. The artist told me I'd need to get one that's fairly large, because I'm trying to cover up one I got on my shoulder back in the 90's. What am I covering up, you ask? Just think: a few beers + a giant tax return = bad tattoo decision. Some weird design I found on a wall of a tattoo shop that means absolutely nothing. Off it goes! Now I'll get a lovely sugar skull, like I've always wanted. But, I still have to wait for Aaron to get his first. Anyone want to loan him roughly $500 so he can hurry up?

Time now to brainstorm for a cheaper vacation next March. Yes, I'm slightly obsessed. Until next time ...

Back to real life, sadly.

Alaska, in one word: Incredible.

I'm not sure how to convey how amazing our trip was, but I will surely try. To say it was beautiful would be the understatement of the century. To say we had fun would be yet another gross understatement. To say we're sad it's over would be, by far, the biggest understatement of all. The worst part of coming back home? The dreaded heat. My God, it's like we're living in the seventh circle of hell. The forecast that never changes for us Texans:

What we left behind:

*insert whining, stomping, adolescent temper tantrum here*

Most people who read my blog are also friends with me on Facebook. Since I posted a ton of my pictures there, I won't repost them here. But, since there are a few who are the exception to that, I will do a quick recap.

I'll summarize the highlights of our trip, using photos to help give you a glimpse into our amazing journey during that week. First, I got to fly. I haven't been on a plane in a few years, and being the consummate traveler, I love flying. I love airports, I love flying, I love everything about it.

Phoenix, AZ

Next, and most importantly, we got the chance to eat great food:

Alaskan king crab legs.

Decadent chocolate cake with fruit & fresh whipped cream.

Chinese food.

Homemade crêpes with Nutella & strawberries.

I got to take pictures of nature & scenery, which is my most favorite thing to photograph besides food:

I got to visit my first Chinatown. Of all the places I've been, I've never had the chance to go into a bonafide Chinatown, and it was just as cool as I figured it would be. I just never imagined it'd be in Canada:

We got to relax ...

We were able to see a glacier, up close & personal. This was such a mind-blowing experience for all of us, and such an outstanding experience for Z:

Aaron won a staff t-shirt for being the best male hula-hooper on board:

And we got the chance to spend another incredible trip with my folks:

It is safe to say that I am completely sold on British Columbia, and Alaska. I miss being there, and want to go back already. My new favorite shirt:

Since being back home, I've had to dive straight into work and put my game face on for the beast that lies ahead. As most of you already know, summer is my busiest time of year, and the worst is yet to come. So, days go by quickly now because when I'm not working, I'm spending time with Aaron & Z, preparing for school starting (30 days!), exercising off all that yummy food I stuffed myself with on vacation, and planning our next trip. As you may have noticed (above this entry), I have changed the cruise countdown ticker & our next trip is planned for spring break. I'm not 100% positive it's going to happen at this point, but we're really hoping we can make it work. These trips give me something to look forward to, and they are almost like air for me - without them, I feel like I might not make it. Sounds overdramatic, but it's true. I live to travel, and wouldn't change that for the world.

We did end up fixing my car, just to update what I wrote about last time. Total cost of repairs came to $258.77, which was a lot less than I had anticipated (thank you, baby Jesus). It still needs a few cosmetic things done - example: Aaron was driving it after we got home without the air conditioning on, because having the air on made it seem like the car was going to die instantly. My poor husband was enduring 100+ temperatures in my little car, pushed the button to roll the driver-side window down, and the window fell completely into the door. He then spent time one evening not long afterward, taking apart my car door and digging the window back out.

He successfully got the window back out of the door, and was able to put it back in place to stay. Thank God he knows how to do this sort of thing, because I would still be driving around to this day with a gaping window hole, whining like a twit to anyone who would listen about how my door ate my window. Even though he was able to put it back up, it now doesn't roll down, and will not do so until we replace the motor on the inside of the door. Estimated cost of said motor? $200+. Meh, I think we'll just leave that bad boy up for a while. At least until I befriend a mechanic who will cut me a deal on some of this crap. Now that the car's coil has been fixed, we are free to blast the AC, which I do in perpetuum.

That catches us up, even though it's been a whole month since we got home from our trip. Summers are always a blur for me, so I'm not surprised time is cruising by so quickly, but I'll try to find time to update more frequently now that we're settled back in. Getting used to real life was a harsh transition, but I think we're finally there. Well, even if our heads are already in the clouds about our next adventure ...

Until next time, love, peace, & chicken grease to all. xoxo