30 posts tagged “family”

The winning Austin downtown restaurant that was graced with me and my Daddy's presence yesterday was:
Sweetish Hill Bakery!  All I knew was that he would be at the Convention Center, but we didn't have a specific meeting point in mind, so I was a bit nervous about how smoothly it would work out.  You know me and my worry wart complex; I'm sure you can imagine the crazy thoughts that swirled around in my head on my way into downtown.  But praise God, it worked out perfectly!  He was standing outside right as I turned the corner, and we even had a prime parking spot at the Bakery...I was even worried about downtown parking 'cause I forgot change for the meters.  Seriously, praise God!  And seriously, Meg, get a grip!  Daddy was in the mood for the sandwich/soup/salad option, so I took him to the Bakery.  He parted with my list of other restaurant options in his hand for places to eat dinner with his colleagues.  We had a fabulous time together!  I love him so!

We're still waiting for the birth of our nephew, whose due date is TODAY!  Come on, already!  Don't you know that you have people who want to meet you?!  I went to the cutest little baby store the other day with my friend, Leah.  It took me about 5 minutes before I realized that I now actually have a reason to buy baby stuff:  I'm gonna have a little nephew to spoil!  It was a bit of an odd realization, as well as an expensive one, but mostly very fun!

This past weekend, Matt and I discovered a new shopping center on HWY 71 called The Hill Country Galleria.  With beautiful grounds and an amphitheater, we enjoyed eating our sandwiches from Which Wich outside and spent some time reading (and I also took a nap in the big comfy chair) at Barnes & Noble.  While perusing, I came across a small treasure by Henri J.M. Nouwen called With Open Hands.  As you all know from this post, the concept of keeping my hands open in surrender to God has been something I'm learning these days.  So the title of the book grabbed my attention right away and I had to buy it!  It's a quick read that I started about an hour ago and I'm half way through it. Boy, if you want a book that lays out my life right now, this is it!  It describes so well what I'm thinking and feeling these days, things I'm wrestling with and learning about prayer, silence, acceptance, and resting in the Lord.  It's incredible to read this book and feel like I'm saying, "Yep, that's it, that's it!", all the way through it!  I'll have to reread it to make sure I soak it all up, but I'm a bit stunned right now that it so poignantly and accurately depicts this season of my life.  Just to give you a glimpse, this is a quote from Nouwen:

Prayer is a way of life which allows you to find a stillness in the midst of the world where you open your hands to God's promises and find hope for yourself, your neighbor, and your world.

Well, a good mornin' to you, Internet peeps!  For the third or fourth day in a row, it is an absolutely gorgeous day!  There's not a cloud in the vast Texas sky, the sun is shining brightly, the birds are chirping, and the temperature is just right.  It does my heart glad.  After waking up this morning at 5 a.m. to let Molly outside, I crawled back in bed and already had to pray for God to help me choose to have a good attitude today.  I don't know about you, but some days just feel like they're going to have some bits and pieces of rottenness in 'em.  And I'm learning that much of that depends on my attitude as to how rotten a day it will be.  Things kinda got messed up with our night schedule the next two evenings because of a lack of communication between me and my mister, spring cleaning is taking me much longer than I thought and I'm ready to be done with it, and I want to write the blog I've been mulling over for the past couple of weeks (keep expectations low though)!  So see, I have to watch my attitude as it's already creepin' out all rotten-like!  But the beauty of the day calms my heart and puts a smile on face.  So did this post by Confessions of a Pioneer Woman.  For you dog lovers, you gotta take a peek at it!

And this absolutely gets rid of any mere notion of rottenness:  I have a lunch date with my Daddy today!  He's coming to Austin on business for the day and I'm meeting up with him for lunch.  I want to take him somewhere new downtown to eat, so my friend, Liz, who is a downtown girl, and citysearch.com were most helpful in providing some quality options.  Depending on what he's in the mood for, these are the choices I'm giving him:

*  Sweetish Hill Bakery for light sandwiches, soup, or salad...and of course, something irresistible from the baker!  I have been here once for breakfast, but that was years ago.
*  The Onion:  pizza
*  Hickory Street Bar & Grille:  for burgers and other such American food
*  Iron Works:  for bar-b-que

Anticipating our time together today makes me reflect on the first time I came to Austin when I was ten years old or so.  My Daddy had some business to do in Austin for the day, but he brought me along as well for a little Daddy/Daughter day.  He took me to lunch at The Driskill and we roamed the Capitol where I was much more interested in the squirrels running around the grounds than anything else; I had never seen so many cute, furry squirrels before and I was quite enamored!  It was a special day together and I know this afternoon is going to be, too!  Yes, it's going to be a very good day!

Yeah!  Jill resubmitted her questions!  Thank you, dear Jill! 

Meg and Jill on the "Gator"

Jill is also a small group girlfriend of mine, and she's also known as Harrison and Hadleigh's momma!  Harrison is the amazing little man I get to tell you about tomorrow who spent the night with us for the first time on Friday.  Miss Jillie is a very special friend who knows me pretty well; she doesn't let me get away with too much because she can call it what it is, straight up.  That is an incredible kinda friend to have, and also a dangerous one...I can't get away with nothin', sour attitude or NOTHIN'!  She makes me laugh a lot, keeping me lighthearted and playful.  She is one of the most authentic and genuine people I know, a true example to me of how to love others with unselfish delight!  It never fails:  whenever she and Molly are together, Molly licks her toes all over!  Moos loves the taste of Jill's lotion, and Jillie gets a kick out of it!

Let me just say it again:  I'm so thankful for all of my friends!  I am truly blessed.  Ok, so onto what I think is the second to last round of answers to the first Q&A session.  I've had lot of fun with this, and I hope you have, too!
Jill asked:

2). What was/is one of the most difficult lessons you've ever had to learn?
Trying not to be a perfectionist/control freak/living in fear of what other people think of me!  I guess it goes along somewhat with my organization/need to have everything in its place, but it's even deeper than that.  Trying to control situations, my future plans (notice the unintended "my" future plans--ha!), and people (this probably comes out more in my relationship with Matt than anyone else); learning to let go of my perfectionism; and trying to not live in fear of what others think of me are some of the most difficult lessons I am continually learning!  And it happens partly because of a fear I have that if I let go then all the balls will drop, something won't be done as well (that sounds awful, I know!), something bad will happen, or someone won't like me.  It's a way of playing god when I am so not, and it's not trusting the Lord and letting Him have His way, which is ultimately the best way. 

I have a friend who recently gave me an image that has stuck with me like peanut butter in hair (ya like my The Office allusion there? <grin>).  She said that sometimes we hold onto things so tightly that it's like our fists are in a constant motion of ringing out water from a washcloth, so closed and tightfisted.  And in many ways, it causes much more pain to give something over to the Lord if we're holding on so tightly as a way to control, as opposed to keeping our hands open in an act of surrender.   So to tangibly put this into practice, I decided to hug Molly differently.  You see, I love this dog, probably way too much.  She's nearly 7 years old, and I have the biggest fear of losing her.  But sometimes,  I hold onto this little girl of mine in my heart way too much.  So when I hug her or hold her now, I try to remember to do so with open hands, in an act that I am saying, "Lord, I give her to you.  I love her, and thank you for her, and I give this little puppy to you."  It's hard!  So I'm still learning.  For sure, I'm still learning.  <sigh>

3). Are you more like your mom or dad?
I like this question!  But I don't have an easy answer for you:  I think I'm split down the middle...although I'd be curious to know how my parents would answer this question for me!  These are just a few things that come to mind:

Me and Daddy

Things I got from my Daddy:  organization and communication skills; love for learning; joy of writing; way of thinking and processing through things; the ability to go in and out of the store to get what you need and not roam for inessentials <grin>. 

Things I got from my Momma: 

Me and Mommy

her gift to be uninhibited to dance around the house, be silly, make up songs, or start food fights; her terms of endearment/the way she talks; her love of cooking; her mannerisms--if you spent time watching us both, you'd easily see things we do similarly in actions.  I wish I had a lot more of my Momma:  she is another one in my life who knows how to love and unselfishly serve others!  Her level of compassion and mercy is something I do not have, that I desperately need.  And we look alike!  My boss from church, when he first met my mom, eyed us coming towards him one Sunday and he had to do a double take!

4). Where was your favorite place to vacation and where is one of the top places you'd like to go? (money being no object!!)

As little kids, we were blessed to be able to take vacations as a family regularly and see many exciting places.  My favorite vacation spot growing up was Colorado.  We took several trips to Durango, Aspen, Keystone, Colorado Springs and Denver.  Colorado was one of my family's favorite places and we have lots of fun memories there.  As an adult, Banff, Canada has been both mine and Matt's absolute favorite so far!  I guess I'm a mountain girl!  <grin>  I can't WAIT to go back to Banff!  Which, if you don't know, is part of how we came up with Ink Pots for our blog title:  they are beautiful, bubbling springs that you have to hike a ways to see, but they are worth every huff and puff and ringing of the keys to scare away bears! 

Banff's Ink Pots

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Money being no object (wow, that would awesome!), I really, really want to make it to Jordan to visit my friends, Jonathan and Corrie, and visit the Holy Lands as well.  After that, I think I'd pick Italy.  Matt has been to Rome and raves about it, so I'd like to go see what all the fuss is about.  Oh, but my list is L-O-N-G!  I'll keep dreaming...

Tomorrow, I'll spill the beans a bit about our slumber party with "H" and answer Matt's Q&A question.  Unless there are any other questions between now and then, I'll wrap up this fun Q&A session then.  Until tomorrow, take care!

A big "THANK YOU" goes out to my friends, Lindsey and Janna, for deterring me from hitting the frig to eat some chocolate chip cookie dough 'cause they asked me a question on my Q&A post!  In fact, they asked me a combined total of five questions!  I was seriously jumping for joy!  

Chad, Lindsey & Gibson

I first met Lindsey nearly five years ago at a party for a mutual friend, and she and her husband, Chad, were so excited to invite me and Matt to their small group.  First of all, she was a huge example to me of how inclusive and welcoming she was to total strangers, genuinely wanting to include us in their small group.  We accepted their kind offer and have been involved in the same group for almost 5 years, with people who have become some of our closest friends.  A few years ago, Chad and Lindsey moved to El Paso, my home turf, and it gave us one more thing in common.  I still remember the look on Lindsey's face when she told me they were assigned to El Paso for one year for her pharmacy school program; it was not what they were expecting!  It was the same look of bewilderment and shock that I get when someone from Austin finds out they just met someone from El Paso, TX.  "El Paso?  That's in Texas, right?  Wow!", is the usual response with a look on their face that looks like they just met an alien.  I, on the other hand, was thrilled to know they were going to El Paso!  I couldn't wait to help them get situated, meet some of our friends, and introduce them to some of the finest Mexican food restaurants on earth.  They were only there a year before moving to Dallas, but fortunately, they have very fond memories of El Paso.  I have been so blessed to keep in touch with sweet Lindsey, and still learn a lot from her just like I did the first day I met her.

Lindsey's first question:  First, I would guess that like myself, you are the primary (ie: day-to-day) manager of finances in your family. It sounds like you have a very specific budget and are very organized in that area. I would like to know what tools you use to manage things (do you use Quicken, etc), and did it take you many trials and errors to determine your budget in each category?

You're right, Lindsey.  I am the primary, day-to-day manager, of our finances.  Scary!  Thankfully, our pre-marital counselors taught us how to create a budget, and as one of our assignments, we had to track our expenses for a month and then create our very first budget.  We were so busy with wedding planning, we spent over $400 eating out for the two of us in just one month; it was crazy!  Another huge thing that has helped us is that this is an area in our marriage that Matt and I see eye-to-eye on:  we both don't like debt, we both like saving, we both like numbers and our spreadsheets.  However, Matt is rather cheap and a lot more frugal than I am.  In fact, we were talking the other night about our budget and I teased him saying, "You know, sometimes you really are cheap."  He chided back to me with a chuckle, "Meg, I've never spent so much money in my entire life than I have since marrying you."  Touche, darling. So we have to sometimes balance each other out when it comes to day-to-day decisions on what to buy, when to buy it.  But as far as the big picture is concerned, we fortunately have the same end goal in mind.

In developing our budget 5 years ago, we used a form much like this.  After tracking our expenses for a month, we tried to estimate as best we could on budgeted amounts.  We also made the decision that we would only budget from Matt's income; my income would go towards savings, for our home or for Matt's masters program.  I recognize that as a huge blessing as I know not everyone is able to save income like we were.  We keep track of our expenses on a month-by-month basis.  Some months we go over-budget in a category, but are likely under-budget in another category.  So while we keep track of which categories we're over-budget and make sure our cash flow in the bank is positive each month, we really look at the bottom line in each category at the end of the year to see how we did on an annual basis.  The annual budget is the bottom-line marker for us. 

Figuring out our budget was definitely trial and error.  In fact, it was trial and error for the first 2 years of our marriage!  We're at the point now where, while we still have to make strides to fully staying within our budget, we only have to tweak the budget a little bit at the beginning of a new year because we generally have a pretty good idea of what we spend in our categories now.  We always have trouble though staying within budget in the following categories:  groceries, dining out, vacation...and sometimes, my allowance.  <grin>  Last year, my income offset some of those categories we were over-budget in, particularly vacation with all the family weddings, funerals, and extra trips we decided were important for us to take.  But since I'm no longer working, we are even tighter this year, and in many ways, we see this year as the first real test of our budget.  Vacation I tell ya, I gotta be good with that category 'cause I just want to go here, there and yonder everywhere!

In setting up our budget, we use Microsoft Money software.  It's worked well for us, although if we were to do it again, Matt may find that he likes Quicken better.  We also have set up a few Excel spreadsheets that we mostly use at the beginning of the year to compare last year's budget to the current year's to see how we need to tweak the budget, as well as to keep track of tithing and saving amounts.  One of the most formidable tools we've used is  Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University class that is offered regularly by our church.  We took the class a couple of years ago and found it very helpful and practical.  We don't follow Ramsey by the book (i.e. we haven't destroyed our credit cards but pay them off in full each month), but we implemented his plan in saving and getting rid of debt (i.e. a college loan and a car payment).  Matt is a huge Ramsey fan and he listens to Ramsey's podcasts regularly.  Even for Christmas one year, Matt wanted to give our siblings the book Financial Peace Revisited as a stocking stuffer.  At least one of the siblings and one sibling-in-law appreciated it.  It may have been too serious, or too geeky, of a gift for the others.  Just as a little plug, we also use ING Direct for our savings account.  It has a much better interest rate (although it's gone down significantly in the past few months) than a normal bank.

We've made our fair share of mistakes as well, like buying a vacation package that we never used that was worth more than you want to know.  So we've regretted some financial decisions, but those mistakes have been useful in teaching us things to be aware of, and have given us a better idea of things we don't want to fall prey to again.

Our budget is always a work in progress, but those are the things that have been helpful tools we've used to set it up and keep track of it.  And we'll have to see how this year goes!  Feel free to ask any questions for clarification or more info.

Lindsey's second question is:  Second, if you could plan your ideal day in Austin, what would it look like?

Hands down, it would have to be something with Matt and Molly, and somehow, it would have to include Mexican food and chocolate.  I would buy a boat (only so I could do this whenever I pleased), and go with Matt, Molly and some friends to Lake Stillhouse, near Belton (hope this still counts as my ideal day in Austin!!), to go boating, swimming, tubing and water skiing for the day.  Actually, we did this a few years ago with our small group (with the exception of buying a boat...it was borrowed), and I think it was one of my most favorite days ever!  First off, we were with good friends.  Secondly, Molly came on the boat with us and LOVED IT!  LOVED IT!  Lake Stillhouse is a much more quiet and peaceful lake compared to the busyness of Lake Travis.  We found a secluded area on the shore where we set up camp.  Molly and I got to swim together, one of my most favorite things to do ever, and it was a gorgeous day!  To top the day off with some Mexican food at Chuy's and a hot fudge sundae or a concrete from Shakes, that is my ideal day in Austin.  Oh, I'd be a happy woman!

Below are a few pictures from one of my perfect days in Austin back in 2005.  Click on a picture to see an enlarged version.

Weekend in Review:  A Continued Birthday Celebration!
Two weeks of celebrating my birthday was just what the doctor ordered...I being the doctor, that is.  Matt and I drove down to my parents' home and had a most relaxing and enjoyable weekend!  Matt caught a stinky cold, but he was a trooper.  He's a much better sick person than I am; I want as much attention and fuss as I can get.  He handles sickness like a normal person would.  My Momma and Daddy had a lovely dinner for me, homemade food and all.  Homemade food is all that much better when you don't labor over it yourself, and especially a Momma's homemade meal!  She made the most beautiful chocolate cream pie, the meringue towering at least 3 inches high.  Each bite was tantalizing, and I was quite stingy about how much it was shared among everyone else. 

It's a good thing there were only 3 candles on that pie!

Look at that meringue!

On a beautiful spring day, the four of us trekked to Sea World on Saturday.  Every time I step foot in that park, I feel like a kid again.  My heart swells with joy and delight as I watch all the sea creatures perform their shows, to the point that I shed at least a couple of tears.  How can it be that each of them looks like they have smiles on their faces and know how much they're loved by their trainers!?  It's awesome!  I get chills every time.  The sea lion, walrus and otter show; the beluga whales and dolphins; and Shamu, the killer whale shows are my ultimate favorites. 

Shamu

Sea World with the Parents

The whole weekend was quite relaxing as we slept in, watched movies, read, and leisurely spent time with each other.  One of my most favorite parts of visiting my parents is waking up with Molly, usually at least an hour before Matt climbs out of bed, and going into my parents' bedroom with Molly to climb into bed with them and talk.  On a queen sized bed, with me, my parents, Molly and their two small dogs, we all snuggle in and talk or read the newspaper.  It's a precious time!

So far, these past 10 days of my 30th year have been worth getting older.

Sprouting Palm
We have a small palm bush of sorts in our front yard.  A few weeks ago, it started sprouting something from its center, which it did not do last year!  Matt and creatively tried to figure out what it could possibly be, but it seems as though it's just grown an entire new set of branches.  They are soft and fuzzy right now and a lighter shade of green than the more mature branches.  But it is quite odd looking and we still haven't figured out what caused this new growth spurt.

Almost, Sorta, Trying, Getting Ready to Run
Any day now, I'm gonna give it a try.  I wasn't a good patient wearing Vader; after all, he was my nemesis.  I've at least gotten out for some long walks and so far, the ankle is holding up.  So I'm bracing myself to have to work up to where I was and maybe take it a bit slower.  But at least Vader is in the closet where he belongs!  I got an iTunes gift card for my birthday (not the same one I was going to give away for the Blogoversary Giveaway!), and I'm pumped about buying some new songs for my walking/running/jogging...whatever it is I'm gonna do.

Discharged!
On April 2, I asked you all to pray for Tricia and her husband, Nate, as Tricia was headed into surgery for a double lung transplant that she has waited to receive for some time.  Some of you have followed their journey on Confessions of a CF Husband.  Tricia is being discharged from the hospital this morning!  Their story, ultimately God's story, is incredible!  Just a few days ago was Nate able to hold Tricia's hand for the first time in months without having to wear gloves.  Soli Deo Gloria--For the Glory of God Alone!

Aunt Meghan
Any day now, Matt and I will receive a call officially announcing us Aunt and Uncle!   Matt's sister, Kim, and her husband, Tom, are due May 2nd.  Our little nephew is to be born any day!  We have our plane tickets ready to go to St. Louis in June to meet him for the very first time!  For those of you who are aunts and uncles, what are some of your favorite ways to love on your nephews and nieces?

I can't believe we're towards the end of April!  Where has this year gone already?  I have some special posts planned over the next few weeks, so stay tuned internet peeps!  Until tomorrow, have a blessed day! 

Most people say they feel younger than they really are, with the possible exception of their physical body not feeling like a spring chicken.  So I guess I'm an oddball this year:  today is my birthday, and somehow, I feel older than my new age:  29.  How can that be!?  Maybe it's because Matt turned 30 this year and I feel it should have been my turn this year, too; maybe it's because mentally, I just want to skip what a lot of people feel is the dreaded last year of their 20s and just accept that I'm headed into a new decade of age; maybe it's because most of my close friends in Austin are already in their 30s and it feels weird for me to still be in my 20s; or maybe it's because my mental and emotional state the past year has aged me more than I thought and surely, I shouldn't be in my 20s.  My body, also, has sure shown its "maturity", if you will:  on top of my hurt ankle (by the way, how can I be so out of breath climbing a set of stairs when I haven't been running for just a few weeks!?), I found two grey hairs recently!  Matt went through his list of reasons why I don't need to color my hair (which I started a year ago and not because of grey hair), but after no consideration to his comments, I applied my trusty Garnier reddish/brown tint to my own heart's content.  Some of you are chuckling, thinking to yourselves, "This girl has no idea what aging is.  I'll show you aging!"  But seriously, I'm just 29!?

Oddly, I didn't really feel like celebrating too much today.  Matt tried his darndest to get me to "par-tay", and I'm sure he would say it was like pulling teeth from a whiny 5 year old. I just really didn't feel that up to it.  For one thing, I thought of my friend Becca, who didn't see her 29th birthday.  I also thought of the ways life quite isn't what I expected it to be.  But as I started receiving e-cards, messages on Facebook and Ink Pots, and phone calls, the thanksgiving for my friends and family, and especially my husband, overflowed into joy and celebration of the day.  Also, opening some presents helped, too.  I love presents!  Thank you to those who have made me feel so loved!  It has been a very special day.  Let me share some of the highlights (you can click on a picture to see an enlarged version):

For breakfast, Matt took me to a wonderful, eclectic restaurant called Chez-zee.  He ate enough for 4 people:  A Belgian waffle with pecans, whipped cream and strawberries; eggs with cheddar cheese; and home-fried potatoes!  He devoured every bite!  I was lucky to get one nibble of waffle (slight exaggeration there).  I had, what my sister-in-law, Julie, says is, "an old lady meal":  quiche.  It was yummy, but I will agree with Julie:  it was boring.  I should have gone for the creme brulee French toast!  Even so, it was tasty and a delightful date with my hubby, who has planned each part of this day so well! 

We stopped by one of Austin's best grocery stores, Central Market, to pick out some burger patties for tonight's bar-b-que.  I got one with jalapeños and cheddar cheese!  On our way home, we stopped by Chris and Jill's home and had some good laughs and played with the kiddos for just a bit.  Look at those cheeks of Haddie's!  Harrison is such a big boy on his motor bike.  He said the most precious thing when his momma asked him, "Harrison, who made waffles today?"  "God makes waffles."  Precious!  It reminded me of a story my friend and neighbor, Leah, told me recently about her son, Evan.  She asked him, "Evan, where does Molly live?"  Usually, he points over to our house.  But on this special occasion, he took his hand and pointed to his heart, which is where he points to when Leah asks him, "Evan, where does Jesus live?" 

This evening, Matt bar-b-qued burgers on the new grill he got for his birthday.  It was his first time grilling and he did an excellent job; the burgers were perfect!  Below are a couple of pictures of flowers in our garden.  There is one of the Knockout Rose that is absolutely fabulous!  You'll see there are more than 5 blooms already on one stem, with at least 5 more buds ready to blossom.  It's a gorgeous cluster!  The other yellow flowers are from the Esperanza Yellowbell.  Before you think our newly planted garden looks great, let me say that one small Cherry Laurel tree that was here when we moved in has suddenly turned a dark brown with crispy leaves, and, it seems as though our Lantana is also sickly.  We're trying to figure out what is ailing our plants, and the enigma of it is what stresses me out.  Gardens are meant to be somewhat calming and relaxing, right?  Well, not for me.  It's what probably caused the 2 grey hairs to sprout.

And I just have to share these with you!  They are of my little Miss Molly, and I think they are beautiful.  They are some of the only pictures we have where her gorgeous eye color shows.

Pretty Puppy

Miss Molly

Greetings, dear readers!  It is so good to have you visit this blog, and I'm glad you're here!  Thanks for reading. 

Would you be surprised if I told you that I think about blogging many hours each day?  Granted, I'm not working and have more time to blog, but I'm not just looking to waste my time here.  There's lots of other things I do and can do, but I'm simply trying to emphasize that blogging is becoming less of a hobby and more of an investment of time and energy because I love it so much.  I lay in bed thinking about it.  The same feeling I described when I first started blogging a year ago remains:  I wake up like a little girl on Christmas morning, so excited, knowing that I'll get to think about bloggy type stuff, or write a post, or play with the designs.  Questions are always running through my mind about it:  What topic can I write about?  How can I draw more readers?  What would my readers like to know?  What keeps my readers coming back?  How can I make it more interesting?  What is it going take to get my friend, Corrie, to leave a comment, cause I know she reads this thing nearly every day?  (Just teasin', Corrie!  I just wanted to put your name in a post today).  So I don't know where this blogging thing is going to lead, but I certainly enjoy it!

Not sure if you caught it in the above paragraph, but this blog was created nearly one year ago!  On April 17, we will commemorate Ink Pots' 1 year anniversary.  So, this gives you time to gear up for a new contest in celebration of our one year blogoversary!  Stay tuned for some exciting instructions and your chance to win a nice little prize.  By the way, this nice little prize is coming out of my $30 a month allowance.  I'm saving up my money to shower love on you! 

Well, March Madness is over.  I kept my second to last place (29 out of 30) in the small $5 bracket I entered.  Pathetic.  Mac and Julie made it to Saturday's Final Four game, and as I mentioned, Julie is a huge North Carolina fan.  Sadly, as most of us well know, Carolina lost to Kansas, a "bitter team" as Julie describes.  An emotional loss it was, and so before leaving the Alamodome on Saturday night, Mac and Julie sold their Monday night tickets to what some are saying was the most exciting and best national championship game in NCAA history.  I went to San Antonio Monday to hang out with them all day, and we didn't even watch 10 seconds of the game.  The channel was passed by incessantly.  Like I said, NCU's loss to Kansas was a real disappointment.  Which I can understand:  you fly all this way, just knowing, feeling it deep down inside, your team is going to make it to the championship game, and better yet, you're actually there to watch it!  It would be difficult.  We can't even call Mac at least 24 hours after A&M looses because we know he'll be in a bad mood.  Die hard fans, y'all.  Die hard.

But selfishly, I'm glad they didn't end up going.  That meant I got to spend more time with them, and my Daddy had 3 of his 4 chickies to greet him when he got home from work.  It also enabled us to have a nice homemade spaghetti dinner that my mom made.  Earlier that afternoon, I also got to see Julie's ecstatic response to getting Little Caesar's pizza!  No longer a chain in North Carolina, and too cheap for D.C., Little Caesar's pizza is a rare sight for Julie, but still her favorite, bringing back fond memories of childhood.  A large cheese pizza and crazy bread to go, she munched on it while my mom, Mac and I ate burgers and corn dogs at Longhorn Cafe for lunch.  Before playing several games of Settlers of Catan, Mac, Julie and I had a lively discussion about something I'll blog about in the next few days.  It was so fun to be with them for the day!

Pizza! Pizza!

Again, thanks for stopping by and have a great day!  

What an exhilarating morning of cheering, running, celebrating, and getting drenched!  With over 8,000 participants, downtown Austin was buzzing with excitement, live music, and some pumped runners.  Our friend, Chris, indicated last Friday that he wanted to run in the 10k, and because I was unable to run the race, it worked out perfectly for him to use my registration.  So we met Chris, Jill and the kiddos, who were real sleepy-eyed troopers being forced to wake up earlier than usual, at the race.  I was the honoree "gimp girl", but surprisingly, it led to some wonderful conversations with people that I would not have had otherwise.  As people were stretching, warming up, looking like classic runners who knew what they were doing, I felt a little out of place until one kind lady walked up to me and said, "Both me and my daughter feel your pain; we've both been where you are, dear."  Bless her!  And as we hung around the race more, there were a couple other ladies wearing the same black boot, which by the way, was voted by two people (one by phone and one by comment) to be nicknamed "Darth Vader", or "Vader"! 

It was thrilling to watch the thousands of people line up.  I kissed my hubby and sent him on his way!  Jill and I got to see our friends, Aron and Janna, as well; they were running with their twin girls.  As soon as the race officially started, the rain came down.  It would stop every now and then, but basically, we were all drenched!  Jill and I ventured toward the finish line to start looking for our husbands.  The first runner came down 1st Street haulin' it; I think he finished under 30 minutes.  Cheering, Jill, Harrison, Haddie (in the stroller) and I stood planted, peering as hard as we could through the chain link fence to watch for our runners.  As more and more people started heading toward the finish line, the more exciting it got, and the harder it rained.  I kept drying my eyes with my shirt so I could see more clearly.  One hour into the race, my beloved came around the corner!  He looked so good!  He ran his best time and oh, I was likely a crazy woman cheering for him!  And Chris finished shortly thereafter.  Harrison's precious cheers would melt anyone's heart.

Waiting for our husbands to clear the crowds at the finish line, Jill and I watched Harrison delight in playing in the water puddles, "splishing" and splashing.  And then, I saw Matt!  Never do I kiss him when he's sweaty, but because it was raining, I thought he would be less sweaty and more wet because of the rain.  So I planted a big one him, only to taste salt!  Although surprised by this unwelcomed taste, even had I known he was salty with sweat, today would have been an exception to giving him a smacker because I was so proud of and excited for him! 

Way to go, Matt & Chris!

I've already been on the website for Runtex to see what upcoming races there are that hopefully I can participate in as well.  Until then, you'll be catching me wear Vader.

My Runner

Meg & "Vader"

Go Guys!

The very back of the starting line--see the capitol in the distance?

Jill, Meg & H

Harrison splishing and splashing

At the finish line

Only 2 hours, 33 minutes, 29 seconds left until the Capitol 10k commences!

GO MATT!!!!

(Stay tuned for pics and follow up commentary.)  <grin>