Love Me Some Gruene

For Mayce's bachelorette party, we trekked south to Gruene. I had been to Gruene by myself once before (passing through it on the way back from seeing my Mom down in Harlingen about a year and a half ago).

It's very Texas-y - check out this awesome cactus in the parking lot!

This is my favorite picture that I was able to take while there - the Grist Mill and the famous Gruene water tower. Both are landmarks in the town.

We were going to hang out at Gruene Hall (the oldest dancehall in Texas) after the Grist Mill, but it was FREAKING packed and the band that was playing wasn't even a country band (so I wouldn't have been able to 2-step). We decided to go back to Ruben's house and hang out with Mayce's brother who came up from San Antonio to see her.

The picture above is the famous front of Gruene Hall and the picture below is a grainy one, but it's the side of it. Contrary to common sense, there is no A/C in there - it's all open air, just windows and fans. So, since it was probably still 95 degrees at 10pm that night and there were a billion people in there, we decided to skip going inside.

Side note - George Strait (King George, as he is known in Texas) got his start in Gruene Hall. The picture on his first album cover was shot in the front of Gruene Hall!! (below)

Here is a historic building in Gruene that still has the town's namesake on the side.

Hell yeah!

Gotta love it!

That's what we were doin'!

True dat!

Here's a couple shots of the front bar area of Gruene Hall during the day (we stopped back during the day on the way back to Dallas the next morning).

There was a little band playing during the day - I guess they have live music every day of the week - so cool!

Will the real bachelorette please stand up?

Recently, Mayce and I took a girls trip down to New Braunfels/Gruene (pronounced "Green") for her bachelorette party. Gruene is south of Austin, but north of San Antonio and it's awesome! Molly, Mayce and I trekked down I-35 and met Mayce's cousin and some San Antonio friends and hit the town....

First up: Mayce eating some gas station "Hot Fries" - NASTY!!

And here's the cute bachelorette, ready to hit Gruene!

OK, now - let's just get the phallic cupcakes out of the way (they were FANTASTIC, by the way)...

And she got a fabulous board game that she and Todd can play - HAHA!!

Off to Gruene in Todd's big pick-up. The pink boa girls are on the prowl!

We got there as the sun was starting to go down - perfect photo ops!

Here we are - ready to rock n' roll!

Note to self: Feathers around your neck when it's 100 degrees = NOT comfortable.

Hittin' the Grist Mill Restaurant first...

Sittin' outside the Grist Mill, waiting for our table....they had a little band out there and a bar to pacify us...

This was the coolest 'patio' I have been to, I think. Very "Gruene"-like. People just hanging out, listening to people play the guitar and sing.

The girl at the chalkboard was calling tables up to be seated and then next to her was the little 'band' playing for everyone while they waited - so cool.

Here's Audrey and I.

PURE Love

There is just something pure about babies and dogs - they don't know the evils in the world, their intentions are pure, their words/sounds are honest and without agenda, they love unconditionally and fully, and they keep it simple. PURE LOVE.

Here are some pictures of that pure love uniting:

Sweetness!

Copycat - precious!

A little girl's best friend.......

Big puppy kisses!

More big puppy kisses - this is just the sweetest thing. An older dog welcoming in the new......

The same curiosity in both!

They're at the same level - mutual understanding of their limitations..... :)

Both are great snugglers.......

Partner in crime.....

No words are even necessary on this one......

This is the definition of PURE LOVE.

Takin' one for the team....

All smiles and wrinkles.....

Best buds! Who's the boss of who? Can't tell!

Portrait of a Maggie

Since most of my readers know I am very much a fan of my best friend Maggie, I thought I would give her a little spotlight today. This also lets her 'say hi' to our faraway friends who haven't seen her in a while.

Here she is in all her glory, trying to step on my laptop as I work on the computer......

"Did you say 'treat'?? Did I hear you say 'treat'??

She is now 6 1/2 years old - I CANNOT even believe that it was 6 1/2 years ago that I brought her home as a 4 pound pup! She has brought so much joy and laughter into my life. I don't even remember how my home life was before her......

On this one, I was working on the computer and looked over to see her sunning herself (sleeping) in this small patch of light that hit the hallway. It was so cute! So I tried to be quiet and get the camera out of my purse, but by the time I had the camera ready to go, she had woken up and her ears perked up in this weird way. It makes her look like a different dog! haha! (PS - she forgave me for interrupting her beauty sleep)

Back to napping..........

And these two pictures were taken about a week ago when I was doing laundry. Like probably any dog, Maggie LOVES LOVES LOVES laying in a pile of warm laundry right from the dryer, so I always give her the treat of putting clean bedding from the dryer in a pile on my bed until it cools off. It's one of Maggie's favorite things, so I give her this hour with the warm bedding.

How could you rip the warm sheets away from this sad face??? I just had to leave her there and do something else until she got up on her own. The things I do for this little girl........

Thankful Thursday - Friend Edition

I decided to change things up a little bit - today's Thankful Thursday is about some FRIENDS that I am crazy thankful for. I will do this feature from time to time because it's really important that the people I love KNOW how fantastic they are and how much I care about them.

1. Cindy

Cindy is a relatively new friend along the spectrum of my 33 years on this earth. We met right when I moved to Texas, but I hardly remember it because that was such a tumultuous time in my life and I was so stressed out about finding a place to live and starting a new job, etc.

Anyway, she came to work at the company that I work at and we became fast friends. She is going through some stressful things in her life right now, and so we talk about those things, my dating adventures, and everything else under the sun. She has a heart of gold and I love being around her. She has made my life better by being in it and I can't wait for all of our adventures in the future! First up......Amarillo in October!

2. Beth

Oh Beth, what can I say about Beth from Ohio? I miss her TERRIBLY and we have such a unique friendship. We are pretty much complete opposites personality-wise, and we've come to the conclusion that that is what makes us such good friends. We love laughing, catching up on life and are close enough for the 'hard' discussions.

We are totally transparent with each other and I feel I could tell her anything without her judging me. She lives far away in Ohio and although we cannot hang out on a regular basis anymore, I value her opinions, advice and friendship more than words can say!

3. Steve

Steve is another friend from Ohio and although we don't talk as much as we used to when we worked together, he truly has been a great man in my life. Since I don't have my Dad, a husband, brothers, uncles or male cousins in my life, I rely on male friends to fill that void. Steve is a very protective friend and I love that about him. He was the friend that called me like crazy when I moved down to Texas and checked on me constantly to make sure I was alright. He's like a big brother to me and I appreciate that so much.

Burnin' In Hell

OK, so I move to Texas and I'm shocked by the extreme heat in the summer - doesn't make sense, does it??? Well, I just underestimated how 100+ temps really feel! It makes sweat run down your face when your sunglasses are on, sweat runs in your eyes when you are mowing your lawn at 9pm (dusk) and it's still 95-98 degrees, and it makes THIS girl extremely agitated and ornery!

About a week or so ago, we hit the peak of the summer heat and I was about postal by that point. I went shopping with April in Frisco on the hottest day of the summer (and I think it's also the hottest day that I have ever experience in my life - literally). Here's a picture of April's car temperature reading:

Yep, you read that right - 117 degrees! And after moving the car and driving around, it only dropped a couple degrees to 115!

It's like a vacuum in the car - it just literally takes your breath away and you feel klaustrophic and like you might just die.

There are things I have learned by living in this heat:

1. Don't keep a chapstick or lip balm in the car in Texas. EVER. It will turn to liquid and make a huge massive mess.

2. If you think you can leave a cold water bottle in the car while you just go in to a store for a couple minutes, you're wrong. It will be hot water in minutes.

3. It can get hot enough where your 2008 car with the A/C on MAX High cannot even keep up and you are STILL not comfortable.

4. You really cannot shop for rings or shoes in the summer because just the time it takes to walk from your air conditioned car to the air conditioned store makes your feet and hands swell up enough to give you false readings on the size/fit of a shoe or ring. True story!

This last picture is my own car's temperature reading just a couple days after the shopping trip with April. GROSS.

But a few days after this picture was taken, we got a major cool front and temps dropped into the low 90's during the day. WOW - God smiled on Texas! It was wonderful!!