St Augustine, FL

Is there a person in the world who doesn't love lighthouses? Before visiting this one, I have only been inside one other one, in Door County, WI, when visiting my aunt and uncle in Fish Creek. This one is in St. Augustine, FL, the oldest continuously settled city in America (I think?). Anyway, this is their lighthouse. Fortunately, on this trip, I am accompanied by my coworker Chandra, a young (32) sprightly chicky who is up for anything. She is even afraid of heights but is such a trooper that she did not disclose this potential lighthouse climbing deal breaker until we were halfway up the 200+ stairs. Whatta gal! Anyway, we made it up (seems less stairs than 200+), and were treated to an awesome view of the city:

The actual lighthouse, from the path
Looking up from the bottom

View from the top

Chan the Super Trooper

We totally did not eat at this restaurant

This one is for Mimi since she is obsessed with pirates. Arrrrr!

New Playground Pics

Some people would say that having a playground right behind their house is awesome. In our house, we call it "never being able to go in our backyard" because Amelia ALWAYS wants to go there, and sometimes we just don't have time....like we are unloading groceries or whatever. But we do try to take her there at least once a week. Here she is, on Saturday, on a girls' (Mimi and Mommy) trip to the playground. Amelia can now officially climb up to the top and go down the twisty slide by herself!

A new artist in the family

My grandma Betty is a pretty awesome artist. She's painted a ton of cool pictures, and even used to make dolls for me when I was little. I will admit I had nightmares from this one doll, who had long candy cane striped arms, and my name sewn in cursive on its butt. I would dream that the arms would pull me under my bed like the clown doll from Poltergeist. I think my mom eventually put it in the basement and I could sleep again. I digress. I'm hoping Amelia inherited some of her great-grandmother Betty's talent. Here she is, painting with watercolors in her Wonder Pets coloring book.

The New Swimsuit

Since Amelia really can't wear the same suit she did as a baby, and we can't find her pink swimsuit since we moved, Austin bought her a new one. He did a pretty good job. We are pretty dead-set against little girls wearing bikinis, so Amelia wears only 1-pieces. Here she is pouting, then trying to spray me with water, then stealing my diet coke, and then pouting again.

St Patrick's Day

Last week, I kind of forgot about St Patrick's Day. I went to work, and the only way to avoid being pinched for not wearing green was to disclose to my coworkers that I was indeed wearing green, in the form of glitter on my underpants. Not like that's embarrassing or anything. Hey, I bruise easily. I don't want to be pinched.

We wouldn't pinch Amelia anyway, but she's modeling some of her green in these pics. If that swimsuit looks familiar, it is because it is the same one as she wore when she was 9 months old!

Beer Cap Pasta

I've had a homemade pasta recipe for a while, and I got a chance to try it out about 2 weeks ago while Austin was in Las Vegas. I rolled out a bunch of pasta by hand. People....pasta dough is really, really hard to roll out by hand. But I rolled it out, and then cut it in strips with a pizza wheel. With the leftover dough, I thought I would try to make Amelia a fun pasta shape to eat. Since all my cookie cutters were just too big and I had nothing to cut the pasta into a cute shape, I decided to use a beer bottle cap. But I didn't have any spare bottle caps laying around, so I decided to take one for the team and open a beer so I could use the cap. Of, of course I drank it.

Sam Adam's springtime White Ale.

Cutting out the cap shapes

Trying to take pics like Deb from the Smitten Kitchen but failing miserably because I have a dark kitchen.

Boiling the pastas. In the end, Amelia wouldn 't eat the pasta, so I did.

THIS is what she ate.....yes that is what you think it is. Ramen and M&Ms.

Stale Like Old Bread

I have a friend who told me last night that my blog is stale. Stale like old bread. Whateva. So I called her a few names while we were chatting online, and then decided to do something about it.

So some new posts are coming.

It's a snake...no, a worm....no, definitely a snake

Austin was away in Las Vegas this past weekend, so Amelia and I had a girls' weekend...fun! I was sitting on the sofa, crocheting, and Amelia was playing on the floor with some toys near me. I realize she is having more fun than necessary, and look down to see a baby snake slithering around, and Amelia is really enjoying watching it...laughing, and trying to poke it.

I have no problem with snakes. Or bugs. Or spiders or anything. But I have a HUGE problem with snakes in my house. So I grab this one, put it in a bowl, and take some pictures of it. Then i search my house and find another one, nearly dead, on the other side of the living room. I am really, really freaking out. So I drown them and run copious amounts of water down the drain to flush them away. Then I find another one in my kitchen, later that night, and my neighbor kills it for me, and confirms that it's a snake. Then the next day, I find one on the bathroom counter, and I kill it.

By this time...I am practically hysterical. I am picturing a momma snake ready to pounce, with an army of babies close behind. I mean...my house is INFESTED with snakes. Yesterday, I took my camera and found the entomologist that works in my building, and he identifies them as Texas Blind Snakes (or TX Thread Snakes). Blind, harmless, non-venomous, can't bite, and don't grow larger than 10 inches or so. No, they are not worms.

So I feel a little better, knowing that they aren't going to kill us in our sleep, but still really creeped out. Now that Austin is back from Vegas, he is in charge of snake removal. He found one last night, and if we find anymore, we will just put them outside for the birds to eat. Yum.

You want to see some pictures? No? Tough. It's just a picture...I had to pick them up from inside my house. Enjoy. Sweet dreams.

Playdate!

I have known my friend Neicy for years, since I started working at Brooks back in 2000. We traveled together for work, and have been all over the place...stomped all over London, shopped in Korea, and hung out in various states in the US. Neicy has a teenage son, and since she refuses to have another baby to hang out with Mimi, she has the next best thing...her brother's daughter, Kamryn, who is the same age as Mimi.

Since we moved back to San Antonio 1 1/2 years ago, Neicy and I have tried to organize a play date with the girls...with no luck. Either she was traveling, or I was, or she was sick, or her son had a basketball tournament, or I was sick, or one of the girls were sick. But finally, they came over this past weekend.

The girls had a great time...first they hugged (Amelia wouldn't let go), then they played outside with Mimi's playhouse, and then with bubbles, then at the playground behind our backyard, then they ate fudgesicles, then they danced together to Beyonce before Neicy and Kami left. We can't wait for the next time!

Amelia and Kami in the longest hug in the history of the world Playing House

Bubbles!

Getting soaked

At the playground

The aftermath of a fudgesicle

Neicy and Kami

Check it out!

If you are a big fan of the 80's and 90's, and all that comes with them, from food to clothes to toys, go check out Austin's blog, "Retro Fluff." There's a link to it under "my blog list" on the right (scroll down a bit), or just to http://80sfluff.blogspot.com/. It's awesome, and if you ever want Austin to research and feature your favorite piece of 80's nostalgia, send him a message.

Monday Musings

Poor Mimi...she just got over a week and a half long cold that she refused to take medicine for, and just a few days later, she's got another one. This time, I tricked her by dissolving a Triaminic thin strip in a tablespoon of diet coke, and Austin and I made a big production of drinking this excellent diet coke in front of her. Naturally, she wanted some too, so I added another tablespoon or two to the cup with the medicine in it, topped it off with a straw, an gave it to her. Of course she drank it, so now maybe she won't have a face full of snot, coughing all night.

I just got back from Florida on Friday night, so Mimi has been super clingy, sitting on my lap constantly and getting all romantic, hugging me and stuff. So here it is, 6:30 pm and I'm hiding in the bedroom, behind a locked door. See, Mimi thrives on routine, and she won't do certain things if I'm around, like....go to bed. So when she is in the bath, I have to sneak away and hide until she goes to sleep, kind of like I'm not here. Right now, I can hear Austin and Mimi laughing up a storm, and I wish I could be there with them....but what's more important is that she goes to sleep at her normal time. On Saturday, I gave Austin a break, and he went to see a movie that started right around her bedtime. I planned on having her sleep with me, and due to the change in schedule, she didn't go to sleep until 11:00pm, screaming and throwing herself around on the bed when i tried to lay her down.

Moving on....I bought a bike a few weeks ago, and it was delivered right before I left for Florida. And here it is! No, that isn't MY bike, but that is the bike I bought, same color and everything. I lovelovelove it. Since we live so close to my office, I bought it so I could ride to work. Today was the first day. I was worried about the little hill I would have to ride up, since the bike has a single gear, but I only had to stop and gasp for breath once, which I disguised by pretending I needed a drink from my bottle of water in my backpack. Okay, we live 1.87 miles (according to mapquest) from my office, but I haven't been on a bike in years and my legs still feel like jello. But it was fun...I was smiling like a moron while I was riding home today. And then I rang my bell repeatedly at all the dogs that barked at me, and they paused, silent, acknowledging that I am the alpha. Okay, they were just surprised.

Random Whining Tidbits

Okay, just a few things:

#1 The other day, while I was walking to the hotel elevator with my coworker, Bonnie, some guy approached us and said to me: "I saw you down here today, didn't I?" I was baffled. I had no idea if I'd seen this guy. He was unremarkable in appearance: Short, 50-ish, unattractive, creepy. I'm one of the most unobservant persons I know. I routinely am introduced to people, am will immediately forget their name once it leaves their lips because I am distracted by other things, like remembering to breathe, a twisted sock on my foot, grocery list, etc. Now, I know I had never seen this guy before, and he certainly hadn't seen me in the hotel that day because there was nobody in the hallways or lobby when I left for work earlier that morning. But let's stop for a second. SO WHAT if he saw me? Why feel the need to bring it up? Am I going to be impressed that he has seen me before? So, I said, "Um, no." Then he offered to carry my shopping bags. I declined. He offered again, a bit forcefully again. I declined again, so he wandered off to the nearby vending machines. Bonnie and I exchange "weirdo alert" looks, and I am freaking out a bit, so I blurt out: "My boyfriend's coming over tonight!" Bonnie, bless her heart, because this woman is like my damn brain twin, says, "Oh, good!" Then I say, "Yeah, he's down at the gym. He's lifting weights." I was trying to find a way to say that my (imaginary) boyfriend was a police officer or something when the elevator arrived. We got in, and since I didn't want the guy to know what floor I got off on, or to be able to get on the elevator immediately after it returned to the lobby, I pressed all of the floor buttons. And then she made sure I got to my room safe, where I called up Austin and he calmed me down. And I haven't seen him again. And so there is nothing else to report about that, but I am in the mood to post pictures, so here is a picture of Bonnie. It will embarrass her but I think she will secretly like it. Can you believe she is a grandmother of TEN?

#2 I was at Old Navy today, buying a pair of pants, and as I walked to my rental car, I had this weird feeling come over me. I felt like I couldn't breathe, and I started to get the shakes like when I haven't eaten recently. I get to my car and call Austin and manage to blurt out that I'm having a panic attack. At least I think that's what it was. So Austin calms me down. And then the moment passed. What is weird is that I've only had one other episode like this before....and it happened at the Old Navy in Wausau, WI. Weird.

#3 I have had a cold/sinus-y thing for about 10 days. Amelia and I caught it from a little girl on the playground. Amelia is pretty much back to 100%, but I cannot, CANNOT shake this thing. I am coughing and blowing out enormous quantities of snot out of my nose. I mean, I am on my 3rd box of Kleenex in 10 days. The girls in the office I'm working at joked that they will have to decontaminate the desk after I leave. So yesterday I go to the VA clinic near the base, figuring that at least I won't have to pay any co-pays for any prescriptions. So the Dr. says I have bronchitis, and gives me cough syrup, amoxicillin, and motrin. And I'm taking it, but I cannot stop this cough. I cough so hard that I gag. I am coughing so hard that I am getting worn out.

So that's all. No more whining (today at least).

a big jumble of pictures

Okay, so FINALLY, here are a bunch of pictures. Sorry, I'm too lazy to separate them out into multiple posts. These were taken the first week in our new house. Enjoy!

Taken from our backyard, looking right.
Taken from the backyard, looking left.

The back of the house. (I just realized I don't have any pics of the front)

Mimi and Daddy in the backyard.

Taken from the back of the yard, towards the street.

Our photogenic Mimi

Mimi's room

Mimi's room. I got the blue cube-y storage thing and

the table and chairs for $4 total on base.

The view from Amelia's window.

Having a playground in her backyard is her dream come true.

Mimi and His Hotness in her room.

I love this picture!

A rare moment wearing clothes, but if you look carefully,

she is trying to take her shirt off.

Look! Shirt, jeans, and boots.

It's a rare moment that Mimi wears clothes indoors.

Updates to come...

Hi, sorry it's been a while since I've updated. We were busy moving into the new house and all that good stuff. Then, Amelia met a little girl on the playground and hugged her and the little girl gave her a smooch and also her cold....so we were all sick ALL last week. Oh, and this week, too. Amelia and I spent all last week hacking and coughing and sneezing and whining. We're starting to get over it. Amelia refused to take any medicine so she was recovering the hard way. Me? I will take anything, anywhere, if it has a smidgen of a chance of making me feel better.

Austin had been having a lot of allergy problems since we moved in to the new house, which was surprising because it has wood and tile floors, and was really clean, so he went to an allergist and was tested on the standard panel of 40 or so allergens. Turns out he had a reaction to pretty much all of them, including cats, dogs, all grasses, weeds, even foods like nuts, beef, chicken, whole grains, eggs, etc. He also showed a strong reaction to pecan tree pollen, which wouldn't be much of an issue except we have a huge mature pecan tree right in our front yard. Anyway, the Dr got him on a bunch of medicines and he's doing a lot better.

I flew to Florida yesterday, and I'll be here for 2 weeks, so I will have plenty of time to post some new pictures...just be patient...I've been having problems with my ears since the flight and I am feeling sorry for myself.

Check back in a few days!