Birthday Fun!

On Saturday, I turned 31 and spent the day with my friend Mayce in historic downtown Grapevine. We shopped in a whole bunch of cute stores and shops and had lunch (I saw my first pickled okra, but that's a whole different blog post).

A big thank you and shout out to Mayce's Mom, Terri who bought us lunch for my birthday!! I appreciate it and I hope to visit you soon!

After lunch, Mayce and I came upon a little cement 'building' if you would even call it that. It looked a little bit like an igloo (or maybe that was just my wishful thinking since it was 106 degrees that day) and it turns out that it was a tiny little jail that they built in 1909 (8' x 10' x 8')!! Can you believe it? So, like any good tourist, I made Mayce participate in a picture to commemorate our discovery. She was a good sport and gave in to my tourist request. :)
Next up on the weird-creepy-intriguing things we saw that day was a funeral home with a little mini encased funeral museum of sorts next to the funeral home. Now, for those that know of my biggest irrational fear (dead bodies!), this discovery was alarming, disgusting, intriguing and scary all at the same time. So I had to get closer to see what might be in a funeral home museum! I didn't take pics of everything in there because there were 2 child/infant caskets and I thought they were too morbid/sad to take pictures of and also there was an open medical case with all of the embalming tools from about 1850 in there. TOO gross to display on a blog. Also - don't get offended by the Confederate flag on top of the casket in one of the pictures - this was a "hearse" from the Civil War era, so it was very normal to have a confederate soldier with that flag over the casket. It's not some redneck statement that they are trying to make....Here are the creepy pics!

At one of the antique booths, there were cut up license plates from all over the place and some were cut up in individual letters so you could spell your name or any word with license plate letters - what a unique idea! I personally couldn't find a "U" so I couldn't buy the letters to spell my name, much to my disappointment. However, I found this rusted up "Texas" from an old license plate and I made it into a fridge magnet!

I thought this beer sign was cute - just outside the bathroom at lunch!

Seriously?!

I am not even sure if this pictures needs or warrants any comment - but I saw it parked at a bowling alley. We had a 'fun day' at work and so the company sponsored an afternoon of bowling, laser tag, food, etc. This truck was parked outside when we left. Only in the south.........................

Whiter Shade of Pale - NO LONGER!

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I am having a contest of sorts with a co-worker named Dennis, who is of Mexican decent. I have been getting quite tan (for a pasty white Norwegian like me!) and I am slowly inching closer to being darker than Dennis - can you believe it?! Anyway, here's the first comparison picture (if you couldn't tell, my arm is the one with a watch on it - lol!).

The Heat is ON!

The heat index for today was 109 degrees!! Help me!!!

Otters Holding Hands!

Since today has turned out to be 'cute animal day' (Iris, I know you are secretly rolling your eyes now) and because Iris has specifically requested it.....without further adieu.......it's the OTTERS HOLDING HANDS!!!

All of you cute animal lovers need check out the YouTube video (link is below). Impractical Shoes really loved it when we watched it in the SeaGate office months ago. It's fabulous!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=epUk3T2Kfno

A dinner for 3/Three's Company

On Sunday evening, I welcomed my first dinner guests to my house since I moved in. Teresa (realtor & friend) and her husband Jeff came over and I made lasagna for them and gave them a little tour of the house. Then Maggie insisted on meeting them and quickly warmed up to Jeff.

After dinner, we did what any good dinner party does after dinner - we watched Ice Road Truckers! They also like Hugh Rowland and think Rick and Drew are idiots! YES!

Grin and 'BEAR' it!

I guess it's baby animal day! This is a picture of a newborn panda (can you believe how little they are at birth?!)!!! How cute!! He looks like a little sesame street character - furry and huggable!

Maybe I'm on a baby animal kick because I talked to my Mom on Sunday and she said that she's taking a trip next month down to Minneapolis to the fabulous Minnesota State Fair and my absolute favorite thing at the fair (besides the huge pickle-on-a-stick) is the newborn/baby animal barn where they bring all of the currently very-pregnant animals and you can watch animals being born and then see the little tiny babies playing and sleeping when they are just a few days old. Usually there is a calf, baby piggies, lamb, goats, bunnies, chicks, etc. The last time I was there, there was a momma pig that had her newborn babies and their eyes weren't even open yet, so they were tumbling all over her. It was soooo cute! Any other Minnesota readers agree with me that this barn is awesome?!

Daddy's Little Girl

This is a picture of a 24-day old giraffe getting a little hug from Daddy - CUTE!!!

Brown Armed Girl

I am starting a challenge/contest with my co-worker Dennis as to who's arms are tanner (is that a word?? Maybe I should say 'more tan'). I have been working very diligently to lose the Norwegian pasty white girl look (using sunscreen, of course - safety first) in sunny Texas. It is pretty much sunny here every single day (even when a hurricane is hitting another part of the state!). So, needless to say, I have had lots of opportunity to get some color at my neighborhood pool.

I haven't been this dark since probably the age of 8 when I had no job and all the time in the world to play outside. It's awesome! My freckles are coming out and when I see them, I know I'm getting 'more tan'. I recently noticed that I'm actually about the same color as my co-worker Dennis who is from Mexico! He has vehemently denied it, but it's getting to the point where he cannot deny the fact that I'm getting darker than him! We are going to take side-by-side arm pictures and post them soon. This is a contest that I'm determined to win!

Dolly packs a punch!

It's amazing to me how BIG the state of Texas is. Yesterday a Category 2 hurricane hit this state and you would never guess it in Dallas! It's been sunny, no wind, no rain, nothing for days. Unless you read the news, we would have NO IDEA that the hurricane even existed! Ah!


Well, I still don't know if my Mom's RV made it through Hurricane Dolly, but look at what it did to another one!! The RV in the picture was on South Padre Island, which is about a half hour drive from my Mom (but it's also out on the front line of a storm coming into the mainland, so where my Mom lives probably didn't get hit nearly as hard as the Island).

Hello Dolly!

It looks like the center of Hurricane Dolly is expected to hit south Texas this afternoon - right where my Mom lives for half the year (she's not there now).

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080723/ap_on_re_us/tropical_weather

Here's what the radar looks like right now - SCARY!

Harlingen is right at the bottom tip of Texas, so pretty much right where the center of the storm is hitting! While I'm thrilled that my Mom is safe in northern Minnesota right now, her RV that she lives in during the winter is down in Harlingen in storage (outside storage). YIKES!!!

Thank you for being a friend.............

Well, it was inevitable, but yet it's still shocking to me........a Golden Girl has finally died. Estelle Getty, who played Sophia on one of the best shows ever on TV died this morning at age 84. Here's the article (thanks Claire):

http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/tv/25761069.html?location_refer=Homepage:highlightModules:3

So sad - I think Allison, Renee, Shauna, Claire and I will be in mourning for a while.....it's the end of an era.

Coastal Paradise!

Today I was invited to go on a trip in September to the Texas Coast for a long weekend. My friend from work Mayce (the one who's Dad is a cowboy) and her friends go every year (the weekend after Labor Day) and rent a condo on the Texas coast and hang out. I'm not sure exactly where we're going, but it's uncharted territory and I'm GAME!

PS - The pic above is in Galveston (where the hurricanes like to hit), but I don't know exactly where on the coast we'll be going. I secretly hope it's this place in Galveston!!

Ridin' the Rapids!/Tribute to the Toledo Girls

To the fabulous Toledo girls that I miss so much:

Guess what we were doing last summer?!?! Remember these pics??

I find it interesting that Beth and Holly look like they are having the time of their lives and I look like I'm holding on for dear life, praying that I wouldn't die that day! (But I did feel a little better knowing that nurse Beth was sitting next to me!) Miss you guys!!!!

An interesting Irish pub??

How would you like to be a dancer in this joint?? This bar is in Fort Worth - at the Stockyards. Anyone want to try it out when they come down for a visit?! :)

Leavin' On A Jet Plane

This weekend started out pretty rough, but turned out to be a fabulously fun time with Allison!! On Thursday night (just hours before Allison was going to get on a plane to come down here), it became very apparent to me that I had gotten food poisoning and was violently ill for the evening and throughout the night. I was able to hold water and pop down by morning (it was a long process) and I picked up Allison from the airport on Friday morning. I didn't feel great, but I wasn't about to let food poisoning ruin my first visitor weekend!!

After I picked her up, we went to my work to reunite her with her cousin Tammy (who I work with). Then we went to Sam Moon (awesome huge jewelry/purse store), lunch at Hard 8 BBQ (see pics and blog post from a couple weeks ago) and then to my house to hang out with Maggie and relax.

On Saturday, we took a tour of Texas Stadium where the Cowboys play and then had lunch up in Flower Mound with Tammy. After that, it was off to Fort Worth for the 'cowboy' experience! We went shopping in the cool stores at the Stockyards, witnessed the cattle drive, had dinner at Cattlemen's Steakhouse (it was AMAZING food) and then off to the largest honky tonk in the nation - BILLY BOB'S for some pool, drinks and a Chris Cagle concert. I LOVED watching the people 2-step and do all their fancy dancing. I want to take lessons so I can do that!! It's a great place with lots to do and see.

Here are some pics of the stadium tour, the Stockyards, Cattlemen's & Billy Bob's:

On Sunday, my dream of meeting a real live cowboy was realized. Strangely, this meeting occurred at an IHOP in the center of Irving - corporate America. Allison and I met Mayce (from work) and her rancher/cowboy parents Dwight and Terri Nanny for brunch and it was so much fun! They said "fixin' to" and all kinds of 'southern-isms'. It was awesome. I made Dwight take a picture with me when we left (see below). Woo hoo!

Later on Sunday, we took a trip to the JFK assassination site and museum in Dallas. After that, we went home and relaxed, then went to a movie.

Monday was pool day in the sun (see pic - credit to Iris for the photo idea)! We had fun playing in the pool and both of us got some color. Woo hoo! :)

Overall, we had a whirlwind fun weekend and I'm so glad she made the trip to Big D! Miss you already, Allison!! (And Maggie is pretty mopey and sad since you left. She misses you too.)

PS - Make Jason download that George Strait song from iTunes!