bowling...

...it's all about the shoes. and my feet weren't small enough to get the cool fluorescent yellow and orange ones. no wonder i had so many gutter balls.



Bowling did give me a chance to finally meet Ceal - what a fun soul!


Kevin, were you meditating or playing?


My style of bowling...throw the ball fast and don't worry about how much it bounces. I guess we need to go to a bowling alley that shows speed next time so I can successful even in that small way...

More family pics

Renee and Darrin don't seem to "make" my blog much, so.....here they are! Renee excitedly shows off her new Alma College shirt (while holding a cupcake liner), and Darrin holds Kelsey as they watch Tyler.

Basketball Mania...

Another trip to the west side, this time for a day of basketball. Tyler's team came over to play in a tournament that Kevin helped set up, and one in which Brad's team was also competing. We got to watch Tyler and Brad play against each other in two games, as well as watching Kevin's 3rd/4th graders astonish us with their skill.


Jordan is in rare form when Tyler is around also...nothing like having a teen idol in the house...



Tyler laces up for his first game.

family times...

My sister's in-laws graciously allowed me to join in their Easter celebration today. I've become a "regular" at their family Thanksgiving party every other year when they host it rather than my sister, so it's starting to feel like I belong.

Here, the whole gang waits impatiently for the photo so that they they can dig into the food: scrumptious!




The girls look at something underneath the window...this is one for the senior yearbook in a few years, sagging tights and all!


Gina and Kevin try to get comfy on a chair...Gina ended up coming and sitting with me in my chair instead, because the two of us fit in easier than she did with Kevin.


Kelsey loves self-portraits too...
("take a picture...lemme see, aunt lou....lemme see...")

Happy Easter.

Really. Great. Experiences.

Amy and I went shopping last night in Birch Run.

Now, I must preface this by saying that I usually don't like to shop. Really. I usually end up feeling:
1. hot, tired and frustrated with my static-y hair
2. bad about my body, and
3. just generally out-of-sorts.

However, in a wierd "I want/need [YOU decide] more clothes for work" mood that coincided with a cancelled date (a cancellation which THRILLED me), I cajoled Amy (it wasn't hard) into a shopping trip.

We started at Ann Taylor, and spent MUCH time trying on MANY clothes, leaving me with a pile being held and Amy with...nothing. Darn. Shopping can be difficult for short people. And flat people. and...

A stop at Coldwater Creek saw me walking out with a jacket that was 70% off (whoo hoo!) and Amy again with...nothing. DARN IT!

Then to BCBG Maxi-something...where Amy was in her element and I felt WAY OLD AND UN-TRENDY. I walked through the store in about 5 minutes, at which point I turned to locate Amy, who was 3 feet from where she had begun. We were there for at least an hour, during which time I DID find some things I kind of liked....of course, trying them on was a different story - they DIDN'T like me. Amy, however, had tough decisions to make and in the end was able to leave with a bag containing a cute shirt.

By this point, at 8:45 p.m., having shopped for 3 hours without dinner, my shopping grumpiness may have been kicking in. I suggested Tim Horton's for a quick dinner. Amy wrinkled her nose and suggested Uno's. Because it was right in front of us, I aquiesced gracefully, muttering something like, "I like their food, I just hope they don't take too long."

Well. Let me praise Uno's now. They provided the first decent cup of coffee out of three restaurant visits over two days and the meal was excellent. So excellent, in fact, that in the midst of chewing a bite of salmon salad with avocado dressing, I said to Amy,

"You know Amy, we've had some really great experiences lately..."

As I trailed off and she stared at me, the thought pierced my tired brain that it had been a, well, wierd moment. We looked at each other and burst into loud laughter that probably annoyed the rest of the restaurant guests.

Fun times.

After additional shopping today I'm somewhat poorer and ready to leave shopping behind for awhile for the out-of-doors.

Happy Spring.

White, Green and Reflective...

On St. Patrick's day, we often think about the "little people..." but usually we're thinking about little green people. Still, I need to share with you a quote from one of my most PC friends....one that confused me greatly at first...

You see, we were walking downtown for a bowl of soup, and in the middle of my sentence he interjected, "I'm a believer in the little white people." Now, I don't know about you, but that made NO sense to me, and I was a little surprised that he would say anything about "little" or "white" people...but comforted that he felt safe enough to share his biases. Even so, I questioned him: "WHAT are you talking about????" He stopped, walked over and pushed the button....so that we could wait for the little white guy to tell us that it was ok to cross the road. Thanks, RM, for the life lesson.




So, that lesson kept Kay and I safe in Chicago this weekend - well, mostly! We stumbled upon the St. Patrick's day parade, had to buy a sweatshirt (for me) and hats (for both of us) to enable us to walk around with general comfort.....


...and then got STUCK in the middle of a group of people who were merely trying to walk behind the crowds along the parade path. It was a pretty scary 30 minutes, while we stood pressed against the throng with people beginning to panic. Once someone in the front had the bearings to crawl up the fence and tell us to turn around and retreat to get somewhere (the police had blocked off the road ahead that we were all desperately trying to reach), our breathing eased and we again enjoyed the city.



My favorite part of Chicago was not the green, but the "bean" at Millenium Park. Simply gorgeous.


Fun for all ages, especially those irish dancers trying to build some muscle.


And you have to wonder.....just how far up DOES the inside go?????


Slainte!

Images of 35...

As Kay pointed out, I posted the eye pics before I was truly 35. As I turned to leave the computer last night, Gizmo begged me to get a picture of his (slightly grumpy) eyes as he waited for me to join him in bed. Slightly less creepy picture, Amy??



A beautiful part of my day: my co-worker Wendy's coat. I covet it.


Thanks, Kevin and Amy, for sharing my birthday dinner with me: Salmon with mango salsa and vegetables, Sweet Harvest Riesling and.......organic vanilla ice cream bars with dark chocolate coating. YUM!

staring 35 in the eye.

The state capitol: primary/caucus day....

While walking around Austin this afternoon, Kay and I listened to Hilary's supporters as they rallied in front of the c apitol building...


Jesus hates war....and so do I. That doesn't mean that I don't support our troops, BUT we all need to work for other ways of solving conflict...

Will work for food.

Today was a day centered around meals and snacks: a mid-50's, rainy, windy texas day, highlighted by brief bursts of sun through the clouds.

I sat at this coffee house, Genuine Joe, while Kay went to her Spanish class. Great atmosphere! It rivals Espresso Milano, my all -time favorite.



When Kay was done with class, we headed to her "trial" gym (she's "trying out" all of the gyms in the area and believes she'll be able to make it through her entire 3 months here without ever having to join one) to work out. At $15 a day for guests (i.e., ME!), we stayed for 2 hours to get our money's worth! It really is an incredible gym, Pure Austin, and Jeremy tells us that Sandra Bullock works out at the downtown location...but the highlight was supposed to be the shake we would buy after the workout - that you mix yourself by riding the bike! Well, I have to be honest and tell you that we set the shot up - the bike wasn't working today. :( Still, it was neat to see, and we're looking forward to a day where we can power our office lights for the day by coming in an hour early to work out...



Finally, the dinner we've been waiting for: Jeremy has been promising to make Kay enchiladas since she moved in, and tonight's the night! Here, Kay and Jeremy work to prepare our food while I stand around with my camera.

hippie sunday church: taco express keepin' austin wierd.

Another for the favorites list: Taco Express on the first sunday of each month. A time to come hear professional musicians rock at Gospel Brunch, otherwise known as "Hippie Sunday Church." Check it out here: http://www.tacoxpress.com/

Where else can you get incredible spiritual music while eating gen-u-ine mexican food....and (if you choose) dancing, drinking and smoking?


"Glad you're here...May Peace and Love.....Find a Home in your Taco"






Apparently self-portraits indicate my friendships with people (or so Kay tells people, thereby putting pressure on me to produce). This is for you, Jeremy.





Like the song, "All are Welcome".... "Dogs are Welcome" too!


Proof that it's possible to hold a the beer, cigarette and cane all at once.

Saturday in Texas: 83 degrees

Today we had a full day, beginning with a "free" breakfast at mom and dad's hotel. After breakfast, we drove to Fredericksburg and Luchenbach to check out some different areas. Fredericksburg was awesome, I'm only disappointed that we didn't have more time. We started with wine tasting at a neat little shop, then dad modeled a kimono in a nearby gift shop (Amy - I won't need to borrow your coin belt for future Halloween fun....I bought my own there!)




We rushed back to Austin (stopping briefly at a great little diner in Johnson City) to drop Jeremy off and go to my parent's friends' grandson's house for dinner. A beautiful home, a GREAT steak and a fun game of cards.



Finally, Kay and I took showers and went out dancing....and I saw Debra Szekely and Robert Cordoba (long time swing champs) for the first time. Here, Debra and Robert wait on the sidelines as they are introduced for their demo.