Where people work hard to go slow

Back to Florida, the land of snowbirds and mean yankees; The home of people with no class or respect for others and no happy waves and "howdy"'s. It's tough to live there, tough to visit, tough to leave because of my good friend, Carrie, her boys (all three), and her sis and BIL (and the animals, can't forget the animals).

I love visiting Carrie because she is one of those people that makes you better. You try harder, you laugh harder, you live better when you're around her. While visiting the folks of Florida isn't something I'd recommend, I WILL tell you that Carrie is the bomb and worth every minute of those people to see her.

Let's fly!

This wasn't just a vacation, it was a workout-acation (what?). Post two hours of workout with Katie (the sister) we are at the pool to relax! And reflect sunlight. And blind people. And for Katie to get pooped on by a bird.

Inbetween workout #3 and 4. Newfound love = zumba! Katie in the front, Carriecake in the back.

His first time at the beach in over five years. WHAT!

Where the ocean meets the river. The water moved frighteningly fast and it was absurdly windy!

Last morning there. :-( But we got to enjoy some awesome Boston folks at a great diner. Family run, no nonsense but loving...Southerns from the north, excellent! Me with her boys, Braden and Riley. They are really good artists, very creative and smart and growing up really quickly.

These two are seriously cut from the same cloth: cotton, v/crew neck t's from Target.

She's simply the best.

Sad to go home. 

Until next time, Carriecake, et al!

28 was great!

Buckle your seatbelts folks, this one's a doozie...

Many, many years ago I had this feeling...a feeling that has lasted for all these many years.

28 is gonna be great.

I'm on the other side of 28 and I'm here to tell you...damn skippy!

January:
3 weeks of birthday celebration with game nights, food consumption and many a laugh ushering in a new year of life.

Thanks, Basura!

February:
First anniversary with my favoritest person on the whole planet.
The first musical movie dinner night. Jesus Christ, Superstar!

Flashback 7 years.

Rodeo and my first (and then second and third) fried oreo!

Ride buddy!

March:
Georgie's wedding fun! Four back-to-back weekends with the ladies who brunch was such a treat and it was such a joy to watch G and S become man and wife! Plus, her dress and shoes were FAB! Oh, and not to mention her AMAZING cake. What a dream.

Whatever was happening was hilarious.

Got to meet the BIO!
Game of Thrones commences!

April:
Annabelle's first bowling experience, and boy was it amazing. What a kid!

Not shown: her throwing her hands up after every bowl. Every one.

Toured Blue Bell with Stace, WE FINALLY MADE IT!

Rock-climbing with the SIL and I sorely wish I had taken a picture of her frog impersonation as she clambered up the wall.
Second musical movie dinner night. Les Miserables!
My cousin's wedding reception in Dallas and a fun night with family.
Most epic trip to date with Jess to D.C and NYC. Let's do it again!

May:
Kyle-do gets baptized! He did such a great job in his little pimp outfit.
Molly and I start and subsequently fail a push-up and squat challenge. BINGO WINGS!
I did THIS!
Happy Mother's Day, mama!
Dinner with my Plains gals, miss you!
Third musical movie dinner night. Sweeney Todd! A musical I haven't seen. I know...pull your jaw up from the floor, that's gonna leave a mark.
Experienced Sam Houston Race Park. Very fun, fast-paced, air-conditioned and exhilirating. Didn't hurt that we started the experience by making up an entrance to the parking lot. Parking fees? Not for us!
Was lucky enough to host my most amazing and stunningly beautiful friend, Carriecake, her BF and her boys. Such great boys and what great houseguests! They treated me to a most delicious breakfast the morning of their exit and I proceeded to stuff my belly.

June: The musical month...trust me.
FREE PRESS SUMMER FEST. No words can describe...
MUMFORD & SONS. No word has been created that could come CLOSE to describing this. Really...no word.
Oh, and the Texas capitol. And the original Kerbey Lane. But....M&S!
HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL at Miller Outdoor Theater. Holy crow, those kids were so good!
Father's day, love you, popsicle!
Fourth musical movie dinner night. HSM and Phantom of the Opera. Uppin' the ante!
Pool time with the ladies who brunch, sorely missed them!
Astros with the PDub/UST crew and then we topped that with Chocolate Bar. Dangerous!

July: Playing catch-up
Date night with the lovely mama of my little Landosaurus Rex! How quickly my little gummybear has grown!
Woosh, off to Michigan!
Juice cleanse...never again. :-D
PROMOTED! Boom, baby.
Swimming fun with AB & K-do!

Fifth musical movie dinner night. And this time, it was inadvertently perfectly timed with the World Premiere of Teen Beach Movie. Yeah...but it was awesome!!!!!!
River float 2013! Again, again, again!
A paw-ty to celebrate my good friend's official adoption of two, yes two, new pugs. Yes, pugs. She has a plethora of pugs.

August:
Carrie & Jase came again! I L-O-V-E hosting them!
Restaurant Week Month! Hello, ladies who brunch, I've missed you!
Vegas, baby!
Work buddy dinner with the diva and Cards Against Humanity. Perhaps our influence on her should veer further to the side of Disney than devious?
Geek Fest at HMNS (Houston Museum of Natural Science) and I ran into not one, not two, but THREE friends/family members that night. Completely at random.
My first HOT YOGA session, thanks Molls! I'm hooked, guys. You should be, too! Tanner is soon to join in the action...
Haaaaappy birthday tooooo Tbot...happpppppy birthday to yoooooou! We celebrated right nicely for my main squeeze with Fogo de Chao dinner on Saturday the 24th, a movie afterwards, a huge family breakfast on Sunday and a delicious dinner at Yardhouse with his bro. Epic golden birthday, you quarter-centurian!
Lunch with Alex and all we did was talk books over schwarma. AGAIN, AGAIN!
I got my mom's couch, thanks Mama!
I got to see my cousin play OSU football at Reliant Arena. Happy last season, Andrew! Hope to see you in the NFL one day!

September:
Happppppppy birthday, Mamasita! No hair dye and a healthy frame, here's hoping I got those genes!
Musical movie night numero seis! Oh, but this time...I must confess...we didn't watch a musical. Instead, we spent 6 hours talking.
Ding-dong...hello! My name is Elder Price...Round Two of Book of Mormon here in Houston and it was just as great as it was in NYC! Hooray!
L'auberge for fun! Except the only fun part was anything NOT related to gambling because they gots all our monies... :-(
Haaapppppy 6th birthday, Evan-san! TBot and I got lucky because not all the kids were able to make it so we got to BOWL, and shoot LASER TAG, and have pizza and cake and soda. That was SO FUN! I love my kiddos!
First Texans game of the season, the last weekend of September.

October:
Hello West Coast and my fabulous cousin and his fiance. The weekend had finally arrived for my and TBot's trip to San Francisco!
Go Coogs! TBot and I decided to support a local university and attend a great game at BBVA Compass stadium. I also got to learn why the light rail was being installed on Texas Ave...it ends at the Dynamo stadium! Smart Houston, very smart...connecting all the main stadiums together.
Dinner with two of my favorite people, Alex and Berserkmoes. The topics of conversation shifted from food, to books, to movies, to Excel shortcuts, to impending travels, retirement accounts and planning and our careers. Seriously, two of my faves.
Epic seventh musical movie night and we successfully watched Pitch Perfect. Aca-scuse me?
Renaissance Festival! I have made the trek here many, many times and some years are better than others but always it's a sight to be seen! (Wish you could be here, Carriecake!)

BBot and TBot

Too much enthusiasm for adults?

Found cider on tap! I'd consider the festival a whopping success.

HALLOWEEN! Happy 4th birthday to Jack!

November:
Had lunch with two of the greatest, Georgie and K-Money!
Big project #2!
Saw my Navy buddy and met his gf (now fiance). See you in Seattle!
Mad Potter with the ladies and saw the Big Bird Belly growing! See you at your shotgun wedding, Judea!
Did another juice cleanse, what is wrong with me?
Happy birthday, Berserkmoes! Bummer about our shoe fail, but a fun night nonetheless!
Let's celebrate Mr. Kyle turning the big ONE and the Woeste's being born!
Tbot and Bbot's parents meet for the first time...dun, dun, duuuuun. It went fine, thank goodness!
Austin for Kathy Griffin!

I did not get her signature. She is a far cry from the D-List now!

Gave thanks, many many thanks, for all the delicious food that was eaten on for days and days. Turkey day is amazing.

December:
Annual holiday party and we got to bring my bro and SIL as our dates!

"What color tie do I wear?"
"Red, you have to match me. That's what happens when you have a girlfriend."

He may hate ties but he still cleans up nicely.

Dinner with winners, my Plains gal pals!
8th, count it...8th! Musical movie night.
I spent a weekend toting my friend Lakesha around Houston and she proceeded to make me become obsessed with Scandal. Dangit, Kesha, I don't have time for another show!
Finally met Sita at the Maynard's for dinner. Sita bonita!
Hi, Carriecake and Katie! Glad I got to treat you to some Starbucks before you hit the road!
Annual family Christmas party at the 'rents house. Always a great White Elephant to be had...
Merry Christmas! Round 1: my parents, Round 2: TBot's parents. So much food, such nice gifts!
Miss you, Kelly. Another year has passed but you're still just as sorely missed.
12th annual sister-in-law cooking day, right in the nick of time. Happy New Year's!

January:
The dawn of a new year and the best MONTH of the year. :-D
Became obsessed with and subsequently watched all the seasons of Downton Abbey. Season premiere on the 5th!
Big bird belly has grown. Got to celebrate with Judea and her baby daddy the impending birth of their Grimlock. Sidenote: reverse charades makes you sweat a lot and nearly injure yourself faking a basketball shot.
Congratulations to my two cousins for graduating from UT and OSU both! The youngin's aren't so young anymore...
Vinny & Garette together again! Those cookies were diabolically good.
Lady G (who made me get obsessed with DA) hosted a fabulous tea party to discuss the latest goings on. I can't help but laugh and be envious of the DA ladies. Fashionable clothes, being courted, having tea and dressing for dinner. Envy and LOL'ing. They have to say excuse me before cursing. They have to wear the proper attire or someone will be aghast at their faux-pas. Hilarious.
Niiiiiinth musical movie night. No way? Yah weh! Zero to hero, just like that.
Yoga in the park!

Happy birthday party, Annaboo! I can't believe you're 3!
MY BIRTHDAY.

I want to give a big shout out to my 'rents for letting me come to be and for helping me become the best person I know I can be. You are the solid bedrock of my life, my sturdiest of foundations and my ever-flowing fountain of knowledge. Thank you for me!

And a big hello to the last year of my 20's! Buena suerte on topping all that.

Because it's old

There are certain people in this world that love the smell of closets (hey Carriecake!). That strange, somewhat musty and stagnant smell of which there is no known source. Is it the paint? Is it the detergent? Is it just bad luck?

Well, to combat that, I decided to look into making my own sachet of good smell'ums. The "recipe" I found was simple, straightforward and quickly noticeable.

I grabbed some patches of fabric sitting around that I picked up for a few dollars at JoAnn's many moons ago, some bonding tape from Michael's (< $3!), my iron and ironing board, brown rice and lemon essential oil.

The patterns just added to the fun.

Inexpensive and very handy!

Finally found a use for the rice besides my belly!

Good old Sunbeam.

I laid out the swatches and pulled off tape to align each edge and create a hem. I laid the second piece over and ironed 3 of the sides to fuse the pieces together.

The "recipe":
1/2 c rice
10-15 drops essential oil

I mixed up a batch per sachet and used a funnel to dump the rice in. Once I finished that I sealed off the fabric with one more strip of bonding tape and a quick iron.

Ta-da!

Now my closet smells so fresh and so cleanclean. As for when the good smell'um goes soft, I will decide the best course of action; Do I throw it away? Rip the hem and re-fill with fresh rice? Pour essential oil over the top of the sachet?

Decisions, decisions...hopefully not to be made for at least a year. Right? :-/

The pink goo from Ghostbusters

A few months ago, Tanner decided he'd like to continue the use of his blue painted dresser but that it needed a bit of a clean-up first. I thought, ok, we can scrub out the insides and re-line the drawers so that they lose their musty smell. But then I got to thinking a bit harder and I decided I'd like a new project to work on.

Voila, enter the pink goo from Ghostbusters, aka paint stripper that smelled like oranges. Really, totally like the fake orange smell they bottle and sell. Mind you, this one was mildly toxic, should be used in a well ventilated area and you should immediately rinse it off if it gets on you. But I digress...it's just like the stuff in the store for good-smell'ums.

I went to Home Depot with my dad and Tanner in tow and invested in the pink goo, a new sander (RIP from the last project, 1970's era sander) and some sandpaper. With my new toys in hand, I set about stripping off the dark blue paint from the 4' tall, 2' deep, 3' wide, 4 drawer dresser. Where's my 1? Ok, 1 container of pink goo. Oh, and for 5, let's go with pieces of sandpaper used.

Tools of the trade. The gloves are stained from the previous staining project. Note color of goo.

 Round 1, part A: Slather on the paint stripper. What began as orange quickly dried to white. It was a sight to behold.

You can see pink, blue and white happening here. It was active.

Round 1, part B: Take a putty knife about 2" wide and scrape the dickens out of the blue, now white, which was pink, goo.

No passing judgment on the work outfit.

 Round 1, part B, subpart 1: Curse the invention of paint and its insistence on not being removed from the dresser.

How rude.

 After this round of fighting, I was able to see the grain shine through while letting my fingers, hands and wrists quit their yelling at me. ***RIP forefinger of the right hand neoprene glove***

Who doesn't set up an emergency surgery room on the back of a bike with a stapler?

Two weeks passed before I could return to finish this stage of the work and I was anxious to do so. I need to backtrack momentarily to talk about my supervisor for the job, my dad. He signed on to this with the stated intention of "managing" and letting me use his garage and tools. So when I showed up after two weeks, I was quick to note the very clean, blue-paint free side of the dresser. Not to mention the gleaming top. He admitted to "wanting to see if the method would work". It did. Thanks for the labor, dad!

What a difference.

 4 hours of steel wool soaked in mineral spirits later, my baby looked like this:

So bright, I'm blinded!

And I was thoroughly sore and exhausted. See you in a week, Blue Steel (get it? Cause it was blue and then I used steel wool on it? I know, I'm really clever.).

Before we could move on to the next stage, staining, some general repair and final cleaning was required. We added a 1"x2" strip of wood to the upper-mid back of the dresser for additional lifting support and repaired all nails that were in need by using a finishing nail to embed them in the wood, nailing down the loose pieces and using wood glue to secure the tracks that the drawers moved on. The piece was finally coming together!

Cue my least favorite part to date when it comes to these projects: staining.

1) I always get nervous and 2) I always spill it.

To be fair, I was much better this time than I was on the desk, but it was still nerve-wracking and I spent a good few minutes pacing and shifting from foot to foot in terror of failing miserably.

But I pushed through and started to see the final piece take form. After 45 minutes of high anxiety heart palpitations I stood back to admire my work...and took note of the graying patches of blue shining through. Where did that come from???? I sanded you to oblivion, did I not? I went into every knot and crevice that I could! How dare you!

Not too shabby considering where it started, right?

 Alas, the blue was fighting back and I would need to return in two weeks to stain again.

You can really see the greying here. #sadpanda

I wasn't about to let my effort be in vain so I spent about 30 minutes adding additional stain to the piece where it needed it the most. I am happy to tell you that it worked! I took some time on Christmas Eve and Day to add two layers of sealant.

With a little more TLC and an attaching of the drawer handles, the new (old) dresser was ready and complete!

My dad got to use all sorts of fun wood working tools! I think he really enjoyed this project of mine. :-D

Home sweet home! Isn't she a beaut?

What to do next...anyone else chucking old furniture?

San Francisco in the summer

Summertime and the living wasn't easy. I got promoted and with that came a slew of new responsibilities and a hefty dose of prior problems to be managed.

Vacation would have been well-timed had it not been DURING the busy time of the month. Mind you, when I booked this travel, I was still little ol' Intercompany accountant me who COULD leave at the beginning of a month. Lesson learned, I can never again travel during the first of a month.

But it was still a great trip! It was orchestrated by Tanner that we'd visit while the Texans were there playing the 49'ers so we could go to the game. I'm glad we went then because we got to see Candlestick Park in its aged beauty before she gets torn down and replaced with a newfangled place 40 miles south of the city. 40 miles!!!

Open air stadiums are a godsend everywhere else besides the armpit of Texas. Here it's just a topside place for Hades to sit and play...I'm looking at you, BBVA Compass Stadium.

Note the colored sky trail. We got to see jets fly over!

We ended up next to a very nice couple from Arkansas rooting for the 49'ers. Well, I should be more specific. The girlfriend was really sweet, in IT at an audit firm, very conversational whereas the boyfriend was a funny heckler. He predicted four INT's before the game is out. I told him he's got one guaranteed but don't expect the rest. Little did I know his prediction would be nearly true when the first INT turned Pick 6 was thrown in under 2 minutes in the first quarter 50 feet in front of where we were sitting.

Anyways, I digress, and I must move on from that debacle of a game. On to the better stuff! The great food, better company, fantastic weather, and lots of coffee. Vacation to me is endless coffee. Anywhere, everywhere, every type...coffee.

We arrived Thursday night in San Fran to some amazingly perfect weather and spent the evening chatting with my cousin and his fiance. We sketched out a few plans and decided to wing the rest of the weekend. Spontaneity, thy will be done.

First stop, millionaire's bacon and other breakfast foods. Really, that's what it's called. Maple drenched, chili pepper dusted, thick cut bacon baked in the oven. We almost went there a second time over the weekend JUST to get the bacon.

It barely lasted 5 minutes.

I have an unhealthy obsession with french toast, this being the first of a few times that I ate it over the weekend.

From there, we took a digestive walk around Golden Gate.

She's a beaut, ladies and gents!

Main squeeze!

Tanner's getting better at these...

My cousin on my left and his fiance on my right. They are pretty awesome.

Look at him go!!! I'm so impressed.

We left the bridge and wandered down to Sausalito which was quaint and made me incredibly envious of people with money. The houses were gorgeous, pristine and stunning. After getting an eyeful of the riches of Sausalito we headed back across the bay to drive around town a smidge and take in the prettiest winding road in the city. Lombard street is actually not the curviest, it's just the best looking one, ha. I have yet to see the other one...next time, my friends.

Mitchell's ice cream! (#1)

We decided to go to a mexican restaurant known for its tequila and stumbled into the filming of a G4 TV show covering none other than their immense tequila collection! It was certainly interesting to watch the process and see the guys with all their gear wander through the tiny hallways. We didn't make it on screen, but I'm fine with that. It was fun to watch!

Can you see the camera guy? Tiny restaurant, y'all.

Fun, right?

After this we went back to the apartment and spent the evening reading, watching TV and finally seeing Oblivion which was truly much better than I expected

With the dawning of Saturday, we were all excited to get some hiking in. Unfortunately, due to the government shutdown, Muir Woods was closed to the public (womp womp) so we made do by crossing the bridge once again and heading into the hills. It was a heart pounding drive up the windy, two lane, sheer edge of a cliff road but worth it in the end! The weather and sights were beautiful! Didn't mind the workout either.

Nailed it.

They were twins!

When we made our way back down the mountain as I gripped the edge of my seat, we wound through the cute valley where my cousin and his fiance had met and slowly traversed back across the bay. We made it back in time for Tanner and I to run up one of the peaks and get the best 360* view of the bay. With about 50 people surrounding us, it was a smidge difficult to grab solo shots but attempt we did!

Pivot!

Pivot!

Pivot! Hey San Fran!

I really like our accidental pictures. They always make me laugh.

We watched the sun set into the ocean before making our way back to my cousin's place. They truly have it set. A nice apartment with an incredible view and QUITE the backyard, am I wrong?

Bi-Rite Creamery! (#2)

 We spent the evening playing some card games, eating dried apricots and digesting the very delicious burgers, fries and shakes we went to pick up from a nearby eatery. Yum-o! Can you see a theme for my trips? Food. Food and coffee! And ice cream. Because I definitely had an ice cream shake with dinner. (#3)

Sunday we woke up and made our way to Noe Valley for some pastries, excellent coffee and window shopping. And by excellent coffee, I do mean amazing. Amazing enough to warrant another trip Monday morning before breakfast!

Cold drip, single brew coffee. Talk about artisan and delicious.

 After perusing the cute shops, we headed to breakfast before it was time to head back to the apartment and prepare for the football game. We called up a car and got a nice ride down to the stadium. We spent a little time before the game walking around the park and captured a few shots. Thankfully, none showed the plethora of random people peeing in the barely overgrown underbrush. And not just dudes.

French toast #2. Told you it was unhealthy.

I became slightly obsessed with the panoramic capabilities of Tbot's camera.

We wore red! Discreet Texans fans unlike the guy in the crown. Really, he's in a local commercial. He has a pope sized Texans crown AND a royal cape.

Though we lost, it was still a fun experience! But not one I'm intent on repeating soon. I like being the home team.

This was our ride to the game. A nice Benz. Tanner wants to own one now. I'm okay with this plan.

After chatting and watching TV for awhile, Tanner and I packed up our suitcases for the next day. It was already time to go home!

Monday morning, we snuck out for coffee early before gathering the troops for another nice drive through some parks and off to a delicious diner. You'll be surprised to know that I did not order french toast.

I just can't catch a break in this family.

 We said our goodbye's at noon and were left at the airport with the anticipation of a 3PM flight. Too bad it all got delayed and we didn't get home until late. Sorry, Tbot, it won't happen again, promise!

A fancy plane sorta made up for the lateness.

Individual TV's! Fancypants, right there.

In all, we had a great time visiting two of my favorite people in one of my favorite cities and I am already looking forward to the next one. This time though, we go north, young soldier's, and partake of the valley of wine!