Not Everything's Bigger in Texas

The weathermen said snow. On both channels. I didn't believe them until I walked out my front door and drove in sleet to work.

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It sleeted, rained, sleeted, snowed, rained, etc, etc. We got outside after the snow stopped and the sleet was back again. I thought that was it.




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Slushy, snowy ice started building up on cars. Hey, if I regret throwing away my ice scraper after moving here, it should definitely qualify as snow.






But then around lunch it snowed. Real snow. None of this "I don't really know what snow looks like so I'm going to pretend that's what it is." Granted the ground is too warm for it to stick, but that didn't stop us from making a team of mini-snowmen. Hey, not everything's bigger in Texas.

It was Lindsay!

I met Lindsay on the first day of Kindergarten. To school, I sat with my older sister in the front seat on the bus. Because it was only a half day, Lauren couldn't sit with me again, so I decided to make a new friend. Possibly during story time, I leaned over to the girl sitting next to me and found a bus-mate. We've been friends since then, despite my living in California the following year, me going to school in Virginia, and my move to Texas. In fact, Lindsay has been dating a Hokie for 3 years. She's never seen me watch football or sport my Burnt Orange & Chicago Maroon wardrobe, but deep down she wants to be a member of the Hokie family. I knew I picked a good friend on my first day.

Lindsay is on the far left in the first picture and to the left of me in the pic of our Girl Scout Silver Award ceremony. I avoided showing you the one of me in Spandex white pants and an oversized sweater. (Mom, how COULD you let me leave the house like that?)

The mystery is solved - Lindsay is the unknown Amazon.com shopper! When I talked to her last night, she said she wrote out a whole note. I suppose we can blame Amazon for forgetting to include it! Thanks, Lindsay! I have a few large sewing projects up my sleeve, but I definitely need to get around to using this book!

A Birthday Mystery

When I got home last night, there was a package from Amazon on my doormat. I picked it up, excited because I normally get a "something might be coming in the mail" hint. Upon opening it, I found no receipt, no gift card, no paper from Amazon explaining why it was shipped or from whom. I fanned the book and found no notice stuck between the pages.

Who knows my address that shops on Amazon that also knows enough about embroidery and sewing to know this is an interesting book? My list is short. Those that know sewing I wouldn't peg as Amazon users (Mom, Grandma - I'll give you mad props if it was you). The Amazon fanatics that I know don't know anything about sewing.

I've asked 4 people if this Japanese-inspired embroidery book is from them, and all denied it. I don't want to over-accuse, but I need to keep digging. My second round of accusations will go out to: Babita, Brad, Lauren, and my grandmother. Maybe I have an Amazon stalker!

26 is the Ice Cream on the Crepe!

Here are some images from eating at the Salt Lick, the rodeo with Dierks Bentley, and my birthday breakfast. (Yes, those are crepes with Blue Bell homemade vanilla ice cream.) I absolutely love San Antonio's restroom pictures!

It was an UNREAL weekend

Last weekend, I had a visit from the one and only Miss Holly Fake. (See what I did there? Unreal in the blog title, Fake as the last name- that's no coincidence, my dear friend.) It's been almost 4 years since I saw Holly, so it was exciting to see her once again!

Holly is my most random friend I could ever know, so I unsuccessfully tried to convince her to move to Austin. We toured Austin's state capitol, met up with some Hokies, went to Home Slice, tried on cowboy boots, ate some Hey Cupcake!, walked the steps of Mount Bonnell and declared our love for each other, walked through Zilker's botanical gardens, ate at Central Market, looked at houses, partied it up downtown, saw live music, decorated a pizza box, watched a horrible movie (we should have watched Cathy's Curse),and best of all, the DC snow prevented her from leaving Sunday morning. That's right, I got another 2 days with Hols. Additional time was spent leisurely. We met up with some church homies (the Stoddard girls and Wolfkills - holla!) to watch the Super Bowl. We played in Emma's new house more than Emma. Monday I went back to work and Holly rented a car and drove to San Antonio. She missed me so much that she got sick to stomach. Holly made it back to DC just in time for round 2 of the DC snowmania.

How many Presbyterians fit in there?

Shout out to Elizabeth, Leah, and Nathan - three CPC YA's that I know check this blog on a somewhat-regular basis.
That's right, folks. In Sunday's adventures, host Ann Marie (pictured third from the left in the celeb shot below) invited the Young Adult group from Central Presbyterian Church to act like clowns in a VW, and squeeze into her apartment. Like any good CPC YA event, there was more food than we knew what to do with and new faces.

After much observation of the group, new comer Bob had this to say, "We are a good looking group. Look around - we all look good." That's right, Bob, joining the CPC Young Adults makes people look good. Maybe it's being Presbyterian, maybe it's the Pot Luck deliciousness, maybe it's the Austin lifestyle.

And to top off the night was the couch - an area where you could scan the room and really concentrate on what kind of jeans are popular with the Presby crowd. The couch topic of the night Sunday was shoes (because it was easier to look down than up). I was award a comfort/sport/durability award for my ballet-sport-slipper looking pair. Hooray for black flats.

What does one wear to a Pirate Party?

Costumes are expensive. And cheaply made. I wish I could make a low-quality pirate costume and charge $60 for it. Yarrrr, buying a costume for the pirate-themed party was out of the question. At 8:30, I finally realized I needed to sew a skull and crossbones onto a shirt. It was a simple zig-zag stitch - the edges might fray a bit, but I just needed it for the night. I'll let you know what it looks like after I take it out of the dryer.

Total cost of my outfit: $7.79, which includes a $5 sword I shouldn't have splurged on - the host had swords at the door. The Dollar Tree sells tshirts, and I'm telling everyone I know. I am also excited to mention that I fit into a boys Large - that's right, I'm back into youth sizes. Of course, I cut out the neck so I could have more room.

Ahoy maties, did you notice the bandanna I have on my head? I made something out of the scraps of the fabric I used for Alison's black & white quilt - PERFECT. The real deal I lost at the party (I'm pretty sure it's in the Twister room), but I have more if another pirate party comes my way. I also wore the giant belt that I got a Kmart for $5 when I was in High School. I knew it'd come in handy some day. Black goucho Capri's, red stockings, a mermaid tat, and those giant earrings finished off my look.

It's just one of those days

I'm driving to work and as I'm 1 mile away, I realize I forgot my badge to get it. Not a big deal...

...Until I get out of my car and find that I left my purse at home as I rushed out the door with a laptop, sign language books, lunch, and coffee (did I drink decaf this morning?) To get a temp badge, I need an ID. Luckily, I had to get my badge replaced a while ago b/c I lost it. I ended up finding the old one under my driver's seat months later. Luckily, I turned that in to get a temp one. (They disabled it, so it wouldn't work. And I hate the picture on it, so it's a win-win.) But that wasn't the end of my forgetfulness...

...I turn on my computer and realize I don't have my glasses either. I took them out of my purse (would have forgotten them anyway) to read this weekend. So by the end of the day, I will be blurry-eyed...

...Did I mention that my gas tank empty light is on and I only have approximately $1.50 in change in my desk (wallet in purse at home). I should be able to make it to class and home without worry though. The light goes on with 3 gallons left, and I've only driven 25 miles since then. That's 2 gallons left...

...and I have fun pics to post from this weekend. You'll hear all about my pirate party and see exactly how many Presbyterians you can squeeze into a one bedroom apartment downtown...

...if I can remember my badge, purse, glasses, and to fill up on gas tomorrow...