Keeping Waco Wacky

After Crawford, we headed to another small town called Salado (south of Waco). We had been told that we were supposed to eat lunch at the Stagecoach Inn. It has some pretty impressive history there, but the food wasn't that great....But they keep with the history of the place and the waitresses do not give you menus - they memorize and recite the menu! Strange!

Here's April, Laura and Kristi relaxing after lunch......

Then we were off to Waco - first stop: The Dr. Pepper museum. I liked this shirt - I'm a Pepper! I am a pretty feisty girl, so I think I qualify....

And I saw this in the bathroom at the Dr. Pepper museum......WHAT?!?! Isn't walking around with toxic waste in a bag dangerous too?!

Anyway, whatever. Next stop: The Branch Davidian cult site. I had visited this place the last time I was in Waco, but I never went in the gates (which we open this time, but you are still kind of apprehensive about entering, considering how they liked to stockpile weapons!). We drove through the little winding road, but didn't ever see the remains of the "Compound" - just a few little out-buildings and the new church built there. There are a few people living on the property and their dogs did NOT want us there - running in front of the car, barking, etc.

But right inside the gate, there is a memorial (David Koresh's name is on it):

And then there is this makeshift wall of grave stone blocks - weird!

We didn't see a block for David Koresh, but it looks like this one might have been his daughter??


Here is a close-up of David Koresh's name on that big memorial....

This is the sign at the gate entrance:

Here's the road into the land - we drove in there until it dead ended....

Thankful Thursday

1. Freedom

Plain and simple - I am wildly thankful for my freedom....the freedom to go to church (or not to go to church), to choose my career, to not wear a burka, to vote, and a million other things! THANK YOU to those that have fought for this sweet freedom that we enjoy today. Now let's keep it that way!

2. A quiet house/solitude after a crazy week

While I do love having guests/visitors, there is just a peace when my routine is back to normal again. Laundry is done, house is cleaned, and it's silence for Maggie and I. I just love that!

3. Realizing you have more skills than you thought you had!

While none of the projects that I have done on my house have been earth-shattering or really that complicated, they are huge victories for me. Every single time I accomplish a new project - one I have never attempted before and/or thought I couldn't do by myself - I celebrate like I just conquered the world! I am happy to say that I now have curtains all over my house and newly stained bathroom cabinets and banister! It looks amazing and I am just giddy over the accomplishment!

4. Thinking you are alone in your feelings and having a friend confirm that you aren't crazy and you aren't alone in how you feel.

This happened in a Chipotle in Las Colinas the other day. I was having lunch with a friend and I was telling her how I felt about a stressful situation and that I felt like I was crazy for feeling that way, or that it made me a bad person. She told me that she felt the exact same way and that I wasn't crazy or a bad person for what I was going through. We had a great talk and I can't put into words how good she made me feel - it's such a relief to know that you are not the only one struggling with something!

5. My crock pot!


My friend Cindy and I were talking about cooking recently - and about how I don't really do it. She recommended me trying things in the crock pot since it's kind of a set-it-and-forget-it way of cooking. GREAT IDEA and I have had my crock pot (I think I actually have the exact one in the picture - and I even have the baby crock pot too!) since my wedding in 2003.......but only used it like 3 times. SAD! So I got a bunch of recipes from the internet and tried one of them last week.....SUCCESS! I think this might be my new addiction....it's genius - and makes lunch for like a week from one recipe!

Access Denied

OK, so the main focus of going to Crawford, Texas was to see George W. Bush's ranch. We knew that we would only be able to see the gate and not go any further, but other than that, we didn't know what to expect. We asked the locals in Crawford how to get out there and hit the road.

We went past it, not even knowing it! We found 2 other ranch entrances that we thought might be it, but it turns out we were wrong! We stopped by an old church where a guy was painting and asked him and then found out where the true entrance was.

On the tiny little 2-lane road that went out to his ranch (and others), there were signs like this:

There was NO ROOM to park or stop and it would be dangerous because the road was winding and someone could come flying by and just smash into you.

Well, anyway - the entrance to W.'s ranch is definitely not glamorous or pretty - here it is!

I know that there are limits to what he could do as far as asthetics, given that the Secret Service has to secure the perimeter and property 24/7/365, even when he's not there.....but MAN, this is an ugly entrance to your 'Retreat'!

Maybe the 'real' ranch entrance is pretty once you're further down this blocked-off road....not sure about that one. We were imagining how many cameras and satellite photos we were on, just driving around the ranch - probably a lot!

This is the entrance to another ranch that I thought was particularly beautiful with the bright red crape myrtle trees.....

This is an entrance we speculated was W.'s, but it turns out that it wasn't. But it WAS gorgeous!

Gotta love it - this was on the door of a gas station in tiny little Crawford. They are proud of their ties to W. And I found out that he's only owned that ranch since 1999 - not that long!

Patriotism was alive and well in Crawford.....

Here's me living it up in Crawford!

And we ALL loved this billboard on the freeway....SO TRUE, SO TRUE!!!!

Off to Crawford

Last weekend, I took a road trip to Waco with my new friend Laura, April from work and my sister, Kristi who was visiting from Phoenix. I had already been there once, but we had some new sights to see, so I was totally game. April and I went to lunch a few days before the trip and scoped out the maps and brochures to find the best compilation of things to do on our trip!

The first stop was Crawford, Texas (about 20 miles west of Waco) to see George W. Bush's ranch, AKA The Western White House. Laura is a HUGE Dubya fan, so she was super stoked about this part of the trip. We headed into Crawford on George W. Bush Parkway!

Here's our first photo op (April's rolling stop to get a picture of the sign!):

And of course, the post office pic (too bad Maggie wasn't with us - she could've scoped it out and compared it to our post office in Arlington!)

There were a few gift shops that we stopped in - LOTS of presidential items in this teeny tiny little town - so weird! But I DID have to pose with W. in this store:

And is this the cutest little store/vet or what?! I don't know if it's still open, but we thought it was pretty cute!

One of the most important stops in Crawford was the Coffee Shop Cafe - a little restaurant/coffee shop that George W. Bush frequents when he is in town. He even negotiated the details of the purchase of his ranch in their back office!

We went in and acted like total idiot tourists, but I needed to see what it looked like!

Here's a picture of W. outside the front door to the cafe:

And actually, this little coffee shop was voted to be one of the 40 Best Small Town Cafes in Texas!

And of course, they have presidential stuff in the cafe as well.....

It was pretty weird to walk into a small town coffee shop and imagine the freaking PRESIDENT drinking coffee in his jeans like it's no big deal! The locals said that he was in town about a month ago - too bad we missed him. I would've fainted if he would have been in there when we were!

Perspective.....

There are two kinds of people in this life: Those who walk into the room and say,"Well here I am!" And those who walk in and say,"Ahh,there you are." ~How Talk to Anyone by Leil Lowndes

I saw this quote and it struck me as true - especially lately in my life. For some reason, since moving to Texas, I have found myself surrounded by quite a few "Well here I am!" people and less "Ahh, there you are." types.

I was born in August, which makes me a Leo if you follow zodiac signs. Two of the most common traits of a Leo is that they are very outgoing and like to be the center of attention. I have found that I don't really fit that mold - and am becoming less and less like the 'mold' every day. I'm a 'behind-the-scenes' kind of person. I would rather take care of logistics and make an event, organization, company or project 'run' rather than sit up front, shake hands and kiss babies. That all just seems so fake and superficial anyway - I would rather be in the 'engine' of whatever is happening.

Over the course of my life, I have had a lot of different types of friends with assorted varieties of personalities. But as I get older, I am becoming more and more observant of the behaviors and personalities of other people and I find that I have a very hard time relating to the "Well here I am!" types. There are several of those people in my life right now and sometimes it takes all of the patience I have (which isn't much, I know) not to say "YES, we KNOW you're HERE! We ALWAYS know when you're here! If you would sit down and shut up for 5 seconds, you might actually learn something from someone ELSE for once!"

I know, it sounds extreme or mean, but I'm just being honest - it's what I'm thinking when they 'grace' everyone with their glorious presence and infinite knowledge (note the HEAVY sarcasm there). Has the art of ACTIVE and INTENTIONAL listening just gone out the window?? I just find that the "Well here I am!" people are usually insecure or wildly arrogant (or a strange combination of both) - neither of which is becoming of them or appealing to others.

I think I would MUCH rather be a "Ahh there you are." kind of girl.......

Cowboy Class

Two weeks ago, my friend Cindy and I started our 2-stepping dance class. But in preparation for that, we had to get the girl some BOOTS!

We went to Cavender's at lunch and tried on a few pair and Cindy found the right boots! They ended up being the same pair that I have, but a different shade of brown - I guess great minds think alike!

And of course, we had to flirt with the cardboard cutout of a cowboy - duh!

Here's Cindy and her new boot!

I love this shirt! I'm not sure why I'm so obsessed with all-things-cowboy...but I just am!

OK, so we have had 2 classes so far and the 3rd one is this week. After that, we are done with the beginner class and I guess we can graduate to the intermediate level. It's so much fun, but there are some INTERESTING characters!

First, we learn all of the steps and do a ton of practicing. Then Don (our teacher - Don, the Dance King of Dallas) will turn on some country songs and we have to do our steps and try to stay with the beat of the song. It's so much fun when you can actually stop 'counting' and just go with the music!

I just cannot wait until I have more practice and I'm good at it!

Thankful Thursday

1. Having someone who is willing to drive 1,000 miles to come and visit you.

I am always honored when any of my friends come to visit me here in Texas, but this week my sister is here visiting and she drove from Phoenix by herself - 1,036 miles to be exact! WOW. We are having fun and also working on some projects as well. Here's to visitors!

2. The feeling of victory when you can go to Lowe's and know where everything on your list is located and get all of the supplies for a project without having to ask anyone for help!

I think I must be improving on my home project skills because lately, I have found a project to do, driven to Lowe's, and found the right supplies by myself and I got it right on the first try! This has been a long time in the making and it can be frustrating to learn these new skills, but it's certainly paying off and it gives me SUCH a feeling of accomplishment!

3. One super hot summer month is OVER already!

I love living in Texas, but the one thing that I HATE is the scorching summer heat. It's just stifling and I'm just very thankful that one month of summer is done already - only 2 or 2 1/2 more to go. I can DO this!!!

4. Finding out that someone admires you for something

It's just as simple as someone making a comment that they admire something you did, something you stand for, something you believe in, or some conviction that you have about your life. What a great feeling when a friend or even a stranger takes the time to tell you that they admire something about who you are!

5. The feeling of relief that you get when you wake up from a bad dream and realizing that it was all just a BAD DREAM!

Sometimes I have dreams that are disturbing, sad, devastating or scary.....and I LOVE that feeling that I get when I wake up, look around, and realize that it wasn't real, that I was just dreaming and that life really is the same way I left it the night before. Priceless.