I am Now a Homeowner!

Not much else to say except Yippee!!!!!

This is a Fun Game!

Cara tagged me…http://vontress5.wordpress.com/

6 Quirks About You

Rules: 1: Link to the person that tagged you 2: Post the rules on your blog 3: Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself 4: Tag at least 3 people at the end of your post and link to their blogs 5: Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog 6: Let the fun begin!

Here goes:

1. I count my steps in multiples of 4. "1,2,3,4" runs through my head as I walk all the time. Sometimes I have to stutter step to get "back on beat". Stairs are quite a challenge when they are not in multiples of 4. I have a pattern memorized for all the stair cases in my office building. I realize that this is odd...but we're revealing quirks, right?

2. I still sleep best at my parents' house. I think it's because I feel safe there. I'm practically narcoleptic when I'm home!

3. I eat an apple every weekday morning. As soon as I wake up, I go into the kitchen and cut an apple with my favorite kitchen gadget, the Pampered Chef apple wedger. I eat one slice and bag the rest in a Ziploc bag. Then I eat the rest of it when I get to work.

4. I am compiling a list of 100 things to do before I die. I have somewhere around 40. Here are some examples: Learn to cook. Be a good sister. Go to the Super Bowl. Spend a year in Europe. It's quite a challenging list. The hardest one I've got on there so far is to qualify for the Boston Marathon. I think I might have to rethink it. We'll see.

5. I love names that are one syllable. I think that they are classic and elegant and beautiful.

6. I love to watch tennis, but am a terrible tennis player. Pete Sampras is my favorite player of all times. Djokovic is growing on me, but mostly just because he can beat Federer. I try to play about once a month, but usually end the "game" early because I'm so frustrated that I'm so terrible at it.

So that’s some of my long list of quirks…I tag Stacy (http://lovinthebraves.blogspot.com/), Maradee (http://www.xanga.com/home.aspx?user=maradeekay), and Mitzi(http://www.ourjourneyforjustice.blogspot.com/). I like this game and can't wait to here about your quirks!

I'm Going to Be a Homeowner!

I put in an offer on a house and it was accepted by the seller. Here is a picture of the front of the house. We close on February 28th...yikes!

It's a Beatuful Day in the Neighborhood

In my new neighborhood, that is. I think I found a house to buy and I am super excited about it. Once everything is finalized, I'll post pictures and details.

Today was a beautiful day for several reasons.

One, I found a house.

Two, Daddy and I ran a 5K and he ran the whole thing, which he hasn't done in a while. It was a smallish race at the Kemah Boardwalk to benefit the Galloway School. To be honest, I'm not too sure what the Galloway School is. I hope it's not something weird like a school of witchcraft : ) ! Oh well. It was a good race around Kemah and we had a good time.

The third reason it's a beautiful day is because it is, in fact, a beautiful day. I was sitting outside at the carwash waiting on my car to get done and I looked up and saw this flag fluttering in the wind. Since I had my camera with me, I decided to take a picture. I think it's pretty.

I love the weekends!

A Day of Extremes

I started the day pretty stressed out. I had to go to a funeral in the middle of the day, so I had to dress for it. For some reason, I waited until this morning to decide what to wear, which took me 30 minutes. This may be typical for a lot of people, but not for me. I have clothes that all match each other, for the most part, so I don't have to do a lot of deciding in the morning. But, alas, that was not the case this morning. I had to wear something that was (1) good for a funeral , (2) appropriate for work, (3) comfortable, and (4) looked good. Not a simple task. I finally settled on a black dress with a button-down shirt under it and a suit jacket. The fun part of it is that I didn't realize that this particular suit jacket matched this dress. So, I get a prize for my 30 minutes of dedicated clothes-trying-on...a new matching outfit!

The weather was mild and cloudy when I finally left for work. Then, mid-morning, there was a tornado watch. I was a little concerned for my safety in my office with two walls of windows. It was very dark outside. But I survived. The weather decided to settle in on cloudy and I left in the middle of the day to go to the funeral.

The funeral was, in itself, a case of extremes. The deceased was the mother of a man I work with. The service was in a Catholic church, but part of the family is Jehovah's Witness. I apparently sat on the Jehovah's Witness side because, when they had communion, no one on my side of the church (including me) got up to receive it. There were several interesting things about the ceremony. I'm way too observant sometimes and way too critical all the time, so I won't say anything else.

So, the weather cleared up and, by the end of the day, was crisp and clear and gorgeous and sunny and beautiful. I was very surprised when I walked outside and it was really cold. I was racing out of the office to get to my class at the gym. But it was so beautiful that I went running instead. This was a bonus...I would never have left the office at this time except to go to my class. Once I walked outside, I had to go run! Such a blessing.

I started the day stressed and with clouds in the sky, had some stormy weather in the middle, and ended it crisp and clear and feeling so refreshed. What a great day!

January Fun

Whew...it has been quite a month and I got so busy I didn't get around to blogging (big surprise, huh?). Well, I'll hit the highlights...

I finished the Houston Half-Marathon in 2:19:21, which is my best time in a half-marathon. I ran the whole thing...didn't stop at all to walk or stand, which makes it the longest I've ever run without stopping or walking. It was a perfect day and I was very blessed to have my friends Jill and Mandy there to cheer me on. They ran the 5K and did awesome in it! The night before the marathon, my sweet friends Heather and David cooked us dinner to "carb up" for the race. It was the nicest thing! And dinner was fantastic...David cooked us giant steaks on the grill and Heather made veggies and we had a lovely salad and some delicious bread. It was great!

Also that weekend, I got to go wedding dress shopping with Barb (Barb is engaged!!) and it was great. I'm not much help because, for every dress she tried on, I said "That's beautiful." She managed to find the perfect dress at a different store : ). Rachel and I took a beading class through leisure learning that same weekend...it was so cool! I really like doing crafty stuff! I also managed to fit in a birthday party for 4 friends and going to an open house. Speaking of open house, I am searching for a house to buy. It is quite stressful for me because I have lots of constraints (all of which I put on myself, of course). I have "fallen in love" with 2 houses and they both immediately went under contract to someone else. So, I am trying to wait patiently for the perfect house. The crazy part is that I don't want to buy a house until April, so I don't know why I'm suddenly so determined to find and purchase one now. But, that's the mystery that is Jenny : ) !

The weekend after the marathon, I had a somewhat low-key (although busy) weekend. We did Friday night dinner at Tookies (best hamburgers in the whole wide world!) and I watched Out of Africa for the first time. It is a very scenic, romantic movie and it's one of Maradee's favorites. Since I had never seen it, we watched it together. It was pretty good, but I'm more of a romantic comedy kind of person, you know? Anyway, I also got to catch up with Liz that weekend. We scrapbooked together all day at her apartment (aren't we geeks?) and it was great. I made lots of progress on one of my scrapbooks and had a lovely time catching up on what's going on with she and Heath. That same day, I also squeezed in salsa lesson and the symphony. This was a great symphony performance. It opened with a Beethoven piece, which I think was my favorite of the night. They had a visiting cellist for a cello concerto. After intermission, they did a "Music plus Vision" piece where there was a photo montage along with the music. It was very beautiful. Although I must admit that it was so relaxing the my eyes were drooping quite a bit. A few of us braved the cold to go to Hard Rock for dessert afterwards, too...yummy!

This weekend has been equally low-key, but busy. Friday night, I hung out with Barb. I helped her make a dessert that was kind of complicated. Fun times catching up and seeing how much she has gotten done on sprucing up the townhouse...it looks so different than when I lived there! Saturday we celebrated Maradee's birthday with one of her favorite things...dim sum. Even though Houston is so diverse, we had to drive across town to find a place that served real dim sum (with the carts). There was a small group of Maradee's close friends and we had a wonderful time...figuring out what all the food was and trying new things. Maradee had a good time, which is the important part : ) !

I also managed to go to another salsa lesson yesterday afternoon and then met up with a group to see Jersey Boys, which is part of the Broadway in Houston series. It was awesome. Erika and I were the only ones in the group that loved it, but we did. It had all this 50's style music and I loved it. I didn't realize how many great songs The Four Seasons had sung!

Today was church and lunch and then I (miracles will never cease) took an actual nap!!! It was heavenly!

OK, that's probably more details than any of you wanted to know. So, farewell for now. If you'd like to see pictures of my escapads, check out my Picasa albums at: http://picasaweb.google.com/jenzu2417

What a Week of New Things!

Not intentionally, I have started 2 new things this week...salsa lessons and world affairs.

On Tuesday night, I went to my first salsa lesson. I think I might actually be able to do this. It's at a cool dance studio on the other side of town. They have lessons 7 days a week. I'm signed up for 4 weeks of Beginning Salsa. My friend Jana is going, too. The first night was uneventful, but neat. We spent over half the time learning the moves kind of in place. The rest of the time, we rotated through dancing with partners. This was a good thing because quite a few of the guys aren't all that great and a lot of them have bad breath. Hello...they provide peppermints for us for a reason. Oh well, I still had a great time.

Then, Wednesday night, I went to a presentation and reception at the Houston World Affairs Council. I've been a member of this organization for about 6 months, but haven't made it to an event, yet. They have speakers about 3 times a week, but my schedule has been crazy. Anyway, I made time this week because I was very interested in the topic. It was "The Putin Generation: How Russian Youth See Their World". The speakers were experts on Russia. It was sooo interesting. After the main session (which had over 500 people), there was a reception at another location for the Young Professional Group of the council. The speakers came and had a less formal discussion about it. It was so neat! Of course, I knew nothing about anything they were saying. I think next time I go, I'll try to read up on the topic before I go so I can at least ask intelligent questions.

Apparently, I'm expanding my horizons and I didn't even plan on it! Tomorrow is a jewelry-making class in the Heights!

LSU Wins!!!!

Geauxxxxx Tigers!!!!!!!!! That's all I have to say about that.

New Year, New Blog Resolution

My plan for this year is to actually blog more. I tried in 2007 and did a lot better than in years past, but still not good enough. I am committed to bringing the people what they want (all 3 of you!) and write more about my life. To catch you up, here is a piece of work I like call "Jenny's Year in Pictures (and Words)" Enjoy!

January
I started the year at a wonderful wedding on New Year's Eve. We rang in the New Year, then celebrated Brian and Alyssa's nuptials at the Science Place in Dallas. It was a fantastic party and pretty neat place for a wedding. The rest of January is kind of a blur...at the end of the month, I got to go to a gala for the Challenger Education Foundation. If you don't know, I'm kind of a space geek. I am very in awe of the whole space program, which makes living in southeast Houston pretty cool for me! The gala was a fun, black-tie affair filled with astronauts, cool ice sculptures, and awesome music by the World Class Rockers (including the guitarist from Lynard Skynard). We danced until they shut down. I was in awe of getting to talk to Barbara Morgan, who went up on the Discovery in August.

February
The highlight of February was a weekend road trip to Austin. I ran the half-marathon with two of my running buddies. The rest of the weekend was lots of fun, too. We stayed with my dear friend, Ta, who opened up her home to us and we kind of took over. We enjoyed a great visit with Ta, her brother Pat, and his girlfriend, Ai. Saturday afternoon, we ended up on a random tour of northwest Austin, looking at super-expensive houses and stopping for random scenery pictures along the way. The race was pretty tough...there is no way to train for Austin hills in Houston! But we all finished, just not together. It was my best half-marathon time yet (2:25:16), so I was pretty happy.

March
In March, Mom, Missy, and Mia visited one weekend and we had a fun afternoon at Clear Lake Park...such a great park for kids! The next day we took an afternoon drive to Galveston and ran around on the beach...in the wind. Here is a windy picture of Missy, Mia, and I. Mia gave me two shells from the beach to keep for her until she comes back to visit. March was also Houston Rodeo time. I got to go to 2 concerts this year...Sheryl Crow and Josh Turner and they were quite entertaining! The Rodeo, as always, was a blast.

April
What a fun month full of travel and celebrations. I started the month in Charlotte, NC on a recruiting trip for work. Just a few days later, I went home for Easter and enjoyed the weekend with the fam. The following weekend, I met Mom and Dad in St. Louis for a running trip. We ran in Columbia, Missouri and Lawrence, Kansas. Very fun weekend…we got to see the Lewis and Clark Museum and Harry Truman’s home. We randomly ran into some college friends of my parents, one of whom was my junior high English teacher…life is so full of fun coincidences. Also in April, we had a birthday party for Matt and celebrated Tommy and Kinsey's wedding.

May
Missy graduated from nursing school. We celebrated by taking a week long trip to New York City, just the three of us sisters. I had been there for an afternoon once, but Missy and Laury had never been. We had such a great time. We saw just about everything there is to see there, including the top of the Empire State Building, a Broadway show (Chicago starring Joey Lawrence), and running in Central Park (OK, I was the only one that was running, but it was awesome!). The best part was that we all have the same tolerance for touristy things...we want to see them, but we don't feel the need to spend a lifetime poring over them. For example, we spent only one hour and fifteen minutes in the Museum of Modern Art and all had our iPods on the whole time.

June
June is my birthday and I LOVE MY BIRTHDAY. I turned 32 this year and had a great birthday party at Maradee's house, hosted by Maradee, Heather, David, and Matt. It was so much fun! We had a rigged-up version of a drive-in movie...we watched Ferris Bueller's Day Off on a screen set up in Maradee's garage, complete with a projection and sound system. I got lots of presents and just had so much fun. My friends rock!

July
July was full of fun! I got to visit the Johnson Space Center for a behind-the-scenes tour with a friend who worked there. The highlights were that I got to sit in the simulator where the astronauts train for ascent and entry (take-off and landing) and I got to listen in on the loops in the REAL MISSION CONTROL while they did a simulation of a landing at KSC. It was so cool! Later in July, I went on a shopping adventure and bought not one, but two, flat screen TV's. It's a long story, but I'm very happy with my purchase. They are both so cool and I love them!

August
In August, I took a weekend trip to Portland to run a race with Dad, who was there with Maw (my grandmother) for her 80th birthday. It just so happened that Maradee was there, too. We ended up hanging out with Maradee and her grad school friend, Judy, on Saturday and had a great time. We went to a bookstore that is four stories tall and takes up an entire city block...I was in heaven. I restrained myself and only bought four books. We also went to Mount Hood, which is the tallest something or another (I forget all of those records) and very beautiful. We finished the day by watching an Iron Chef competition at the Bite of Oregon festival...so neat! The weather in Portland is awesome in August and it was a welcome respite from the Houston summer.

September
Wedding, wedding, and more wedding! My dear friends Heather and David got married in September and the month was full of preparations leading up to the big day, including a girls' weekend in the Texas Hill country and a lovely bridal brunch at the Hotel Galvez in Galveston (they had a whole room of just desserts!). The big day was perfect...an outdoor wedding at sunset on the lake and a fun reception afterwards full of well-wishes from everyone. The last weekend of September, I took a trip up to Dallas to visit the Von Tress family. Cara and I were roommates in college and I just love visiting their family. Their three children are beautiful and amazing and we had such a good time hanging out! We ended up at the Texas State Fair participating in a Chili cook-off while I was there. We wandered around a bit and got a shot of Cara and I with Big Tex, a large (and kind of disturbing) mechanical man that has a voice reminiscent of the Wizard of Oz!

October
I was very proud of myself to finish the USA Space City 10-Miler at just over a 10-minute pace. It was a good race although it warmed up quite a bit for the second half of the race...ahh, the joys of living in Houston. I got to take my annual recruiting trip to Louisiana Tech for a week and enjoy the quiet, slow-moving pace in Ruston. It's such a beautiful campus. We also celebrated Mom's birthday and I got to see Mia play in a soccer game. Later in the month, my roommates and I hosted a Halloween party at our house that was ridiculously fun. Everyone that came dressed up and (I think) had a great time. We partied till the wee hours of the night.

November
Whew...November was a whirlwind! I took a trip to Baton Rouge for an LSU football game (Geaux Tigers!) and had a great visit with friends and family. The game was a blowout of my alma mater, Louisiana Tech, but a good time anyway. I met up with Mom and Dad again for a running trip, this time in Alabama and Georgia. It was a pretty uneventful trip. We did stop by the Talladega Speedway and got to see Turner Field (where the Atlanta Braves play). After running our races in Alabama and Georgia, Dad and I have run in 17 states...just 33 to go! Thanksgiving was pretty mellow, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Lots of good food and some of it was even healthy!

December
As usual, December was full of festivities. I would list them all, but that would make this obnoxiously long (as if it isn't already), so I'll just hit some of the highlights. Jamie, Rachel, Maradee, and I watched the Kemah Christmas Boat Parade from under the Kemah bridge. This is so much fun...people decorate their boats like you would a float in a parade, then they parade up and down between Clear Lake and Galveston Bay. Our spot was close enough to the turnaround point to see most of the boats twice. I also went to a Third Day/Jars of Clay Christmas concert and it was fantastic! It really got me in the Christmas spirit. There were two work Christmas parties, a cookie exchange, and, then, thankfully, Christmas at home with my family. We opened presents until 2:28am on Christmas Eve. I think it's a record for us. I got great gifts and really enjoyed my family opening the gifts I got for them, too.

These are some of the highlights...there was way too much going on to tell you (i.e. bore you with) all of the details. I hope that you have had a blessed year this year. I look forward to hearing from you soon!

In Christ,
Jenny

Lots and lots going on!

Yikes...it has been forever since I blogged. Here are some highlights...

USA Space City 10-Miler - I finished this 10-mile race in 1:41:43, which is just over a 10:10 pace. My goal for the half-marathon in January is to finish at a 10:00 pace, so this is promising! Now I get to work on speed for the rest of the year...yay!

Ruston visit - I got to go back to Lousiana Tech for my annual recruiting trip. This year was, thankfully, uneventful. Last year, a member of our team (the only other girl) was killed in a car wreck on the way there, so I was a little apprehensive about my drive this year. But, I survived it. We saw some good candidates. I love Ruston so much. It's so small and quaint and beautiful. As requested by Michelle, here are a couple of pictures...

Alexandria visit - After my trip to Ruston, I headed to Alex for the weekend. I met my Dad for lunch on Friday, and we wandered around all afternoon. Friday night, I went to a wedding with Missy. This was, without a doubt, the oddest wedding I've ever been to. And I've been to weddings in New Orleans!! This was in a little town about 45 minutes from Alex, for a girl that Missy works with. Here are the high (or low) lights: the priest sang along to the solos into his microphone, the couple's dog made an appearance dressed in a bride's costume, all children were out of control, and the soloist was dressed like a scary vampire with lots of black eyeliner (I gasped when she turned our way). We had to leave because we were laughing too hard! Saturday morning, I got to see Mia "play" soccer. I use quotes because this is a very loose soccer game during which the children run on and off the field at will. Mia was pouty, but still beautiful! We celebrated Mom's birthday that day for lunch, then all went our separate ways. I got to go see Missy's new house on the way out of town.

Rachel's Birthday - Her birthday was September 17th, but our prayer group just now is getting together. We had a delicious dinner complete with a free piece of cake and serenade in Italian by the waiters...much fun! Rachel enjoyed it, I think.

Heather's New House - Heather and David finally closed on their ginormous new house. I got to go over and help paint the garage floor, including sprinkling it with paint sprinkly things...so much fun!

More running - I ran an 8-miler this Saturday. It was slow, but I finished. The weather was gorgeous...it was only 70 when I finished the run at 8:30!

Perfect day - This past Saturday (after my run), Maradee and I headed downtown to the Houston Museum of Natural Science. I have always loved this museum. This past weekend, we went to see the Shanghai exhibit that is a special exhibit there right now. It was really cool. There were pieces there from 8,000 BC...that is 10,000 years ago. How are they still held together? It baffles my mind! After the museum, we went to Pappadeaux because I had a gift certificate (thanks, ExxonMobil!). We sat outside and enjoyed the wonderful weather. Then, I went to get a pedicure...I'm so spoiled...then went home to get ready for our...

Halloween party - My roommates and I hosted a Halloween costume party. It was supposed to be a backyard bash, but it was too chilly. Although it got warm in the house. Anyway, this was by far the best party we've ever hosted (and we host a lot of them!). At one point, you couldn't really walk through either of our living rooms or the kitchen because it was so crowded with people talking...I love it!! There was quite a diverse crowd there, which is normal because Jill, Michelle, and I have a lot of different friends. It was so fun and everyone dressed up and looked great and had a good time. The last guest left around 1:30...did I mention that it was so much fun? I'm just attaching a couple of my favorite pics. Enjoy!

New Babies, Greek Food, LSU Football, and Wings Over Houston

On Thursday night, I got to meet little Miss Madelyn Avery. She is the daughter of one of my oldest and dearest friends, Shanna. Despite not letting anyone else get any rest, Madelyn seems to be getting HER beauty rest because she is beautiful. Here are a couple pics. Apparently, she always sleeps with her arms straight out to the side. So cute! Also, two people I work with had babies last week and one other co-worker is due this Tuesday...it's an epidemic!

My weekend was fantastic. A group of us ate dinner at Taco C, then came back to my house with the intention of watching a movie. Instead, we watched three episodes of What Not to Wear. The lone male of the group left during episode 2 (sorry, Jim!). Saturday, I set my alarm for 6am with grand plans of running the Race for the Cure. However, it was storming outside and I happily snuggled back into bed. I got 2 extra hours of sleep and boy did I need them!

Maradee picked me up mid-morning and we headed downtown to the Greek Fest. This is the second year we've gone. Last year, we got there late and there weren't any festivities...just a bunch of people and food. We enjoyed the food and ended up hanging out with some of her friends, but didn't get to soak up the full festival experience. So, this year we went early in the day...very early, apparently. There weren't many people there at all, which we enjoyed. We got the same food as last year (funny, huh?) and enjoyed the festival atmosphere by shopping and watching a Greek dance exhibition. The kids from the local school did lots of different Greek dances and they were great. We both liked these dances because it seems like you don't have to be very good or precise at them and everybody just kind of goes with the flow. Neither of us are headed for Dancing with the Stars!

We left Greek Fest with the intention of going to Wings Over Houston, which we had already bought tickets for. Only it was raining when we got back to Clear Lake. So, we headed to my house...no need to stand in the rain and stare at nothing (no planes flying in the rain, you know). We were watching football when we heard the planes over my house. The rain had stopped, so we ended up walking to a local park to watch (OK, I made us turn off before the park, so we were actually on a dead-end street along with about 30 other people). We talked to this nice man who had been in the Air Force during the Korean War, so he knew lots about planes and told us all about the formations. We had a great view of the feature flying act, The Canadian Snowbirds. They were very cool and I tried my best to take pics of them. Between the glaring sun and their speed, I got a lot of pictures of the pretty blue sky. I did manage a couple with planes actually in the picture. The funniest part of this adventure is that the cotton candy man and the ice cream truck came to our street, just like we were paying customers at the actual air show. We were hot, so we bought treats from the ice cream truck. So funny!

LSU played last night, so Maradee hung out and we watched the game. We were both very tense the whole game, but in the end they won...whew! Geaux Tigers! AND USC LOST!!!!! Yay!!!!!

Today, I actually made it to the airshow (wanted to use those tickets I'd already paid for!). It was even cooler than yesterday's vantage point. There were lots of cool planes on display, including one that was trapped under a glacier in Greenland for 50 years and one of the Hurricane Hunter planes and 2 NASA planes...so neat! However, my camera batteries were dead, so I didn't get any pictures : ( . But I did have fun! The rain came again, so the Snowbirds were cut short, but it was still a great show. They had a truck race a plane...this truck has 3 or 5 jet engines on the back of it and kind of scared me. Everybody in the crowd really liked that part, but I was more fascinated by the airshow itself. And all of this was 2 miles from my house...I love living here!

Oh yeah, I ran 9 miles this morning...yay me!

Fun Times in the Big "D"

I spent this past weekend in Dallas visiting one of my college roommates, Cara. We have kept in touch pretty well, considering that she graduated 11 years ago and now has 3 beautiful children and a wonderful husband. I haven't spent nearly enough time with them over the past few years, but it's always so great just to pick up where we left off. As in college, Cara and I can still talk about the most mundane details and enjoy the conversation. We also share a faith, which makes connecting easier, I think. So here is what we did...David and Cara picked me up at the airport Friday night and we headed downtown for dinner. David's mom was keeping the kids, so we were out on the town! We parked at Cara's brother's apartment complex to avoid paying for parking. The guard at the gate gave us a bit of trouble (even though our names were supposed to be on his list), but we got in. We ended up eating at the House of Blues...man do they have some good jambalaya!! It was a little loud for good conversation, but we managed to talk over the noise. We headed home and the kids were already asleep, so I didn't get to see them.

Saturday morning, I got up to run. Cara's two oldest, Jacob and Joel, were up already. They don't remember me because it's been so long since I saw them. I had to introduce myself. When Cara got up later, Joel told her, "We saw someone." So cute! Anyway, I had a fantastic 6-mile run around their neighborhood. I think it was only 70 degrees when I finished the run...so great! The festivities on Saturday included a baby shower. It's kind of a running joke that every time I visit them, there is some wedding-related event going on (engagement parties, post-wedding receptions, an actual wedding). Well, now we've moved on to baby events. Really, the girl who is having the baby...I went to her engagement party 5 years ago! So, Cara and I headed out with her youngest, little Anna Celia, who is just beautiful. We were able to hang out and only talk to each other for most of the shower and Anna's need for a nap gave us a good reason to leave a little early. Saturday night, we went to church and dinner...yummy BBQ across the street from the church. On the way home, I played I-Spy with Jacob and Joel. Joel is very fun to play with because he says things like, "I spy something silver...see that silver car?" It's pretty easy to guess when it's his turn!

This morning, Cara was signed up to participate in the chili cook-off at the Texas State Fair with her sister Emily, brother Patrick, and Patrick's wife Linsi, so I tagged along. It was all very "loosey-goosey" because the organizers of the event never would give Linsi any concrete information, so we weren't really sure what to expect. It was craziness...we showed up and got ready to park (normally $10) and told them we were with the chili cook-off and parking was free, as was admission to the fair (normally $14 for adults). So, no matter what the outcome (Cara's team didn't win), it was worth the free admission to the fair! We did take some time to walk around the fair itself and took some pictures with "Big Tex", a disturbing 100-foot-tall mechanical man who is voiced by a live person hidden behind a curtain somewhere (think Wizard of Oz voice). Also, there are lots of weird fried things. This year's new dish was Fried Latte...what in the world? They also had fried PB&J and fried Coke. I don't get it and it doesn't sound very healthy at all.

Because of the Fair, I had to take a cab to get to the airport, which meant I brought my luggage with me and then walked to the fair gate and waited on a street corner. It was a funny sight, I'm sure. I had all my excessively large luggage (I'm a very high-maintenance packer!) and it was really a literal street corner and in a not-great part of town. But, the taxi driver came and I got to the airport in plenty of time. One funny episode at the airport. I was washing my hands in the bathroom and a lady peaked her head out of the closet (which I hadn't even noticed was there) and said "Is she gone? Is the lady with the dog gone?" I kind of looked around and said, "There's not a dog in here." And she said, "Oh, there was one in here." Then she came out of the closet. Very funny and random!

Simple, Economical and Dignified...That's our motto!

This is the main message of a personal letter I got from the Neptune Society in the mail this week. They are offering me the chance to win a pre-paid cremation...can you imagine? I usually throw these things away without opening the envelope, but it advertised this contest on the outside of the envelope and I was intrigued, so I opened it. The Neptue Society has this advice to offer: "Cremation just makes sense. If you are not interested in spending your family's inheritance on embalming, caskets, vaults, markers, fancy funeral homes or cemetery property, then we have the answer!" It also has a footnote reading "Please accept our apologies if this letter has reached you at a time of serious illness or death in your family." How polite of them!

On the opposite end of the spectrum, today is Heather's wedding day! She is already at the hotel getting ready. I just finished an 8-mile run. It was much less violent than the movie, "8 Mile" starring Marshall Mathers, aka Eminem. I really like this movie, but I did live in the ghetto for a long time, so it is kind of like watching home movies of that time. Back to details of my training run, the weather was perfect. It's like 50% humidity (Heaven for Houston!) and it was only 67 degrees when I left at 7:20. So wonderful. I ran the entire 8 miles without stopping. Well, except for the 30 seconds when I came out of a neighborhood on the complete opposite side and really couldn't figure out which direction was home. I finally did (after I had run the wrong way) and finished my run strong (9:37 for the last mile!!).

Anyway, back to Heather's day. I'm off for a manicure and pedicure, then I'm headed to the hotel to hang out with my dear friends. Such a fun day! They had to make a last-minute venue change because so many people love them and want to be a part of their special day. So, we're at the Hilton. Since the weather is so great, the ceremony is supposed to be outside on the lake, then the reception inside in the ballroom...beautiful. I'll have details and pictures galore next week!

I'll leave you with this final thought..."Neptune arrangements may also qualify as an exempt asset when filing for Medicaid assistance!"

Running Again!!!

It is finally somewhat cooling off here in Houston, so I'm picking up my running. Of course by "cooling off" I mean that, at 6:30 this morning when I first went outside, it wasn't stiflingly hot. Seriously, I have run for 3 Saturdays in a row. Today, I went 7 miles all together. I ran quite a few of those with Jim and Erin at the Seabrook Trails...another of the many reasons I love living here! So, I think I'm on track to do good at the half-marathon. I'm signed up to run the USA Space Center 10-miler on October 14th, which is just 4 weeks away, so I've got to ramp up a bit these next few weeks. If I can do that one without falling over, I'll be set for the half marathon in January. Once I get through that race, I'm going to start working on my pace. I want to finish this one at a 10:00 per mile pace, which is 2:11 total. My best half-marathon time is 2:25, so I've got a ways to go. We'll see. Here is a picture of my prayer group on a bachelorette weekend for Heather (she's the one in the tiara!). Her wedding is next weekend. I'll write about all the details from the wedding and the weekends leading up to it. We were in the Hill Country last weekend and we're going to Galveston tonight. And next weekend is all wedding stuff...fun times with my dear friends!

My Favorite Weekend of the Year

Labor Day Weekend is pretty much always my favorite weekend of the year and this was no exception. Based on my previous emails, you might think it has something to do with hanging out with friends or seeing a good movie. But, no, it's even better than that! Labor Day weekend is the one weekend where two of my favorite sports are on at the same time. College Football and tennis. Labor Day is always the middle weekend of the US Open and usually the opening weekend of college football and who doesn't love that??? I spent last weekend doing lots of stuff, but mostly would have been content to sit in front of the TV flipping channels between all the football games and tennis matches. I am in heaven at this time of year. I know that this is weird, especially considering I'm so not athletic. But, for some reason I love these sports!!!

I did spend time in Louisiana with my family and got to see my beautiful niece, Mia. Here is a picture of her. She is diligently drawing and coloring a picture for me to bring to work for a coloring contest. She did a great job and came up with the drawing all by herself! It's a picture of a little girl and her Mommy crossing the street and a message to "Look both ways when you cross the street." She is a genius!

Right now, I am watching my beloved New Orleans Saints lose to the Colts. Sigh...the heartache of loving Louisiana sports teams!

Hmmm...Good Times

Hmmm...home sweet home! I have been in Beaumont for two days for work. Beaumont is just a little over an hour from my house in Houston, but it felt like a world away. We worked very hard over the two days and I am so glad to be home and so glad that I work in Baytown instead of Beaumont!

I was thinking today how much I love where I live. Like I literally love my house and the neighborhood and how convenient it is to all the places I need to go. And I really enjoy living in Houston...it's always got so much going on (last year, in one week, I went to a hockey game, a Cirque du Soleil show, and a Bon Jovi concert all in the same arena!). But really, I love the Clear Lake area. This is totally cheesy, I know, but I really love it. It's so suburbia. There are grocery stores and Starbucks on every corner and lots of soccer-mom-looking people running along tree-lined streets (as I speed by at 55 mph) and lots of trees on those tree-lined streets. And there are neighborhood pools (still haven't figured out how to get into ours) and local parks and tennis courts that you can enjoy (well, not in 100 degree Texas summer, but the rest of the year you can!). And Clear Lake is an actual lake that it's nice to go sit by when it's about 65 degress and sunny on a Sunday afternoon. So, despite the fact that I still feel like I don't "live" here, like I could pick up any day and move across the country (or just back to Louisiana), I still love it here!

For example, this past weekend was great...I got to do so many of my favorite things! I ran 4.5 miles on Saturday morning. It has been so long since I had a really good run that I felt like I pushed myself on and still did well. I was quite satisfied with this one. I don't remember my time, but it wasn't that great...just glad to have run that whole way! After that, I ran errands. There is nothing quite so satisfying as having a list of things to do on Saturday and getting them all done in the morning, so you can relax in the afternoon! So, I celebrated that with a delightful pedicure. I am so spoiled! Saturday night was a birthday party for my friend Amy...fun Fiesta-themed party and Mandy's fantastic new apartment. On Sunday morning, I cooked and cooked and cooked for Heather's bridal shower. We celebrated at Maradee's great house in Bacliff and had quite a bit of food to consume. The shower was so much fun. I got 2 prizes for the games we played...good, travel-related prizes (thanks, Erika!). Look at this cool cake that Jill got from The Cake Lady!

I am so excited about Heather's wedding. I have a great dress to wear and we're going to have so much fun leading up to the wedding...two weekends of girl time to celebrate and enjoy the variety of Texas nature (hill country and beach). Her wedding is going to be absolutely beautiful, too. I can't wait!

So, I guess that's all. I just love it here. Maybe I'm just so grateful after being in Beaumont for a few days!

I've Been to Oregon Now

Last weekend, I ventured out on another running trip. This was the first time I left the greater Houston area since I got back from North Carolina back in June...I was quite tired of traveling, so I swore off leaving Houston until Labor Day. But, my dad was speaking in Portland and my grandmother was going along because it was her 80th birthday. They invited me to come up to do a race, so I backed off my vow to stay put and bought a (rather expensive!) plane ticket. The first challenge was getting to Portland. Since Daddy had a meeting on Friday night, Maw was waiting on me to get there to go eat dinner. When I got to the airport in Houston, I mosied (sp?) on down to my gate. I have a routine during air travel. I park offsite (yay corporate discounts at The Parking Spot!), take the shuttle to my terminal, check my bags, then go through security. I give myself plenty of time because I don't want to be stressed out. However, on Friday, my patience was quite tested. NO ONE at all of Intercontinental Airport was in a hurry. Which was OK because I wasn't really either. But still...hello? You work at an airport...everyone is supposed to be in a hurry. Here are the people who were not in a hurry to get anywhere or help anyone else get anywhere: the attendant at The Parking Spot, the shuttle driver who went to all the obscure terminals first (everyone knows that everybody flies out of terminal C...why are we at terminals E & D first?) before finally getting me to terminal C, and all the Continental attendants at baggage drop (there were 3 attendants and literally 2 of them went on break when I walked up). Seriously. I had lots of time till my flight, but this was driving me insane. Finally got through with that and went through security without incident.

So, back to my routine...once I get through security, I always immediately put my iPod headphones in and put my nose in a book or magazine. This is what keeps me from going postal there in the airport. Because, in case you haven't noticed, there are a lot idiots in the world, and they tend to hang out at the airport. Not necessarily the people working there (although there seems to be an unusually high percentage in their ranks), but mostly the people flying. Who doesn't know that you can't bring liquids on the plane? Who thinks you can walk through security without boarding pass and ID? And, if you have a good reason for not knowing that, like you don't travel much, shouldn't you take 2 seconds to read one of the gajillion signs telling you what to do? OK, I'm complaining a lot. But, really, those of you that travel, do you not notice these things, too?

So, anyway, I got through security and put my iPod on. I brought a Bourne book with me...one of the sequels written after Robert Ludlum died. This one was pretty good. Fortunately, it was quite absorbing. Since I had my headphones on, I'm not entirely sure what happened, but somehow they lost our original plane. The second plane they brought over had mechanical issues (and I was more than OK with not getting on that plane!). So, they flew in a plane from Dallas for us to use. We took off an hour and a half late. The flight to Portland is 4-1/2 hours. I know that it is very far away, but it just seems like 4-1/2 hours is really long. I've flown to California a few times and it never seems to take nearly that long. Oh well. Whatever. So, I got to Portland at 8:00 Pacific time, which is 10:00 Central time (or "God's time" as my Dad likes to call it). Maw had waited for me for dinner, so we went out to eat after that. I was quite wiped out then, but we went to a fantastic seafood place, Salty's, which overlooked the Columbia River, the border between Oregon and Washington. We felt very underdressed there! I had smoked salmon and I think that it may be the best thing I've ever eaten!! We finished up and then went back to the hotel and I crashed.

Saturday morning, we drove a half hour out of Portland to Tualatin for a 5K at the Crawfish Festival. Since I am from Louisiana, the Crawfish Festival concept cracked me up! We never did figure out why there is a Crawfish Festival in Oregon. We talked to enough people while we were there, seems like we could have asked one of them. Oh well. We were in a hurry because I wasn't really sure what time the race started AND at one point we didn't have any way to tell what time it actually was, so we were rushing. Daddy and I ran back to the car for something and, when we got back, Maw had a crowd around her. This is a trait my Dad inherited honestly from her. They both make friends everywhere they go. Really, strangers walk up and just start talking to them. At the race, she made friends with an Indian family who had relatives that went to LSU (I have no idea how this came up in conversation, but that's what she told me). Well, they were so nice and watched the whole race with her and even waited until we finished (long after their son had finished) to cheer for us. So nice! I had handed Maw my camera just before we started the race. I didn't realize that it was hard to use, but I guess it is, because she wasn't sure what to do with it. She stopped the local newspaper photographer and asked him to show her how to use the camera. Here is a picture she took while we were running that she termed "General". Also, here are a couple shots at the race. One of Daddy and me and one of some model boats that were racing in the man-made pond we ran around at the end of the race. Also, Maw with the announcer who wished her a happy birthday over the intercom.

For lunch, we met up with Maradee, who happened to be in Portland for work, and her friend from grad school, Judy. We ate at this great restaurant, Jake's. I ate too much! Maw told a story about our family that took 2 hours to tell and we laughed a lot. She did a great job keeping us waiting for the details. At one point, she was about to tell us a very crucial detail and her phone rang. We really felt like we were on a commercial break! After leaving the restaurant, we went to heaven! Really, we went to Powell's Used and New Books, which I was told is the largest book store in the world. I think that heaven will have a large book store in it. At least that would be heaven to me. I have way too many books, but this was a four-story bookstore that covered a city block...how could I resist? I only bought four books and three of them I've been looking for, so it wasn't a waste! We were there for quite a while! After leaving the bookstore, Judy had to go to take care of her dog, then to work, so Maradee ventured out with us to Mount Hood, which is the tallest something or has the most snow year-round...I don't remember, but there is some distinguishing fact about this mountain. I like to think that landmark statistics are like baseball statistics...there is always something that sounds impressive, but you're not exactly sure what it means in the grand scheme of things. Anyway, we drove an hour to Mount Hood and looked around for a bit, till we got bored (i.e. I made Daddy leave because he was watching a film about the wood used in this lodge and I knew that we would be there FOREVER if I didn't get him out of there!). Here is another example of Maw taking a picture. Maw, I'm sorry...I know you don't mind me poking a little fun at you! We drove back to Portland and went straight to the Bite of Oregon festival, which had a bunch of local restaurant booths, there. It was quite a busy festival. The fun part of it was that they had an Iron Chef competition there. Maradee said that it seemed like the announcers were on crack : ). It was hosted by Guy somebody from the Food Network and these two local morning show DJ's. Fun times. They made it exciting. The two-time defending champion won, so that was kind of boring, but it was all fun to watch!

Sunday, I got up and worked out at the hotel gym. Daddy was preaching at the church he was visiting, but I couldn't go because of the timing of my flight. The flight back was very uneventful and very on time...yay! Of course, it was literally 30 degrees hotter when I got off the plane in Houston than when I got on in Portland, but that's the price you pay to live in the South : ).

I'm also including a couple of random pictures. There were two interesting water fountains...one in Tualatin at the race and one in downtown Portland. And there were some pretty flowers Daddy asked me to take a picture of in Tualatin. Oh, and a picture of Maradee, Judy, Maw, and I under an interesting sculpture in Portland. And a picture of one of the signs on the bike rack at Powell's bookstore. So, enjoy!