9.10.2010

Dallas Days

Whew, where does the time go?

I guess it flies when you're having fun. Like, literally flies right past you! I turned around and sat down and we're already on another week, plus it's Friday to boot.

Right now, I consistently seem to have so much stuff on my "to-do" plate that I can never seem to clear any room. But I intend for that to change between now and the weekend! Much of the "to-do's" have to do with getting my freelance company going; then about a third of it involves things you have to take care of after being out of country for a year, like doctor's appointments, shipping arrangements, storage, finding a house, etc.; and the last bit involves actual work that I am doing through my freelance company. And I need more of it, so time to whittle down the whiles!

Over Labor Day weekend, however, we enjoyed a long labor-break and drove to Dallas for a couple days. While I stayed in the Big D, Mike headed 10 hours north to Kansas for a dove-hunting excursion with his dad, older brother and all the other annual attendees. I think he had an absolute blast, and he said many times how much he loved getting to work with his dog, Shiner, again. Shiner is a trained hunting dog and does a really great job out in the field. You could just see the grin on his face when Mike came home and started warming him up for the hunt. He adores it!







While the boys were away, I was able to play! 

First I went to a Roger Creager concert with two of my best gal pals - it was a blast! He delivered a great show and I even got an autographed t-shirt and a new koozie for my ice cold Bud Light. If you know me well, you'll know I was one very happy camper!




Then me and my same two friends (the lovely Medley and Kristen) went riding on Kristen's horses out in Colleyville. It had been so long since I'd been on a horse... maybe six or seven years, to be exact, other than the adventurous ride Mike and I took in Scotland last September for our anniversary!



It was the perfect Texas day - beautiful blue skies full of sunshine and a cooling breeze against the hot temps. There's something just wonderful about riding such an amazing creature, feeling all that power below you, muscles rippling through soft flesh, graceful arching legs pounding away at the dirt and grass, carrying you quickly through the wind. I love to ride, and hope to get to do it more often!



Later in the afternoon I took my adorable doggie, Jersey, out to play at the pond near our parents house. Since her "brother" (our white lab, Shiner) was out hunting with Dad, I just couldn't leave her alone and bored to death in the backyard! She is only two years old and has plenty of energy to spare. A Lab and Mountain Cur mix, Jersey is a gorgeous shade of black with a pretty white patch on her chest and "flashes" of white fur in the creases on the back of her paws.



She's learned to fetch just from watching Shiner, who received professional training as a hunting dog, and she loves to swim. We hung out in the afternoon sunshine and I might as well have gone swimming too, since she soaked me in the process! She would retrieve the dummy from the water, haul it onto shore, plop it at my feet then shake the nasty pond water all over me, and sit and wait for me to throw it out again. Good dog!


That same evening I hung out with more friends and family at my mom's house, and took my first ever stab at cooking paella! Inspired by our trip to Spain in July - and the delicious paella we had at a lunch shack on the beach - I wanted to try a very basic recipe to see if I could recreate the tremendous flavor. It came out a cracking success, thanks to the help of my friends LeeAnne and Rusty. It was a major group effort to work our way through the recipe, topping off the meal with some cold beer, toasty bread and Rusty's delicious peanut butter cookies. I plan to post a couple new recipes soon, and you bet this will be one of them!



There were lots of laughs, hugs and adorable baby smiles.




The next day, Sunday, we celebrated Labor Day with a family-style cookout at my older brother's house. It was great to see my niece and nephews (4, 6 and 8) and hang out in their brand new backyard pool. It was amazing!

I took Jersey with me, and she was thrilled to spend the day with mom and get to sniff and meet so many new people. She also took her first ever swim in a pool... which turned into "let's-chase-mom-in-the-water-even-though-I-have-big-huge-paws-with-big-ol'-claws!"


For a dog her size, we had to cut the game short and focus on just behaving and going for a well-mannered dip every now and then. She did so great and hung out with me on the tanning ledge quite a bit, giving me a few big tongue licks when I wasn't paying attention.


We also played our favorite family card game - NUTS! My mom loooooves this game (like a group version of Solitaire but amplified) and often wins, however the victory's were spread around the table this time, including my sister-in-law!


And I just couldn't resist posting this picture of Raynie, my sister and her partner's grandchild, who was adorably dressed for the holiday with a face to match!



Labor day was spent, appropriately, non-laboring. My mom and I took my Grandma back to her house in Ft. Worth (she'd spent the night), then went on a shopping spree at Garden Ridge Pottery and Hobby Lobby. I'll have to post about all my great Texas country buys! (Still waitin' on that house to put 'em in, though.) We also enjoyed a trip to the movies and finally saw Inception. It was much better than I expected, and I can see now why so many people enjoyed the film. I also gave mom a tutorial and a fall makeover for her blog, Linda's Life Journal, which I really enjoy reading every day and getting to see bits and pieces of "home."

Mike returned from his Kansas hunting trip toward Labor Day's end, and we made our late night trek back into the city limits of Houston. We both enjoyed our weekends tremendously, and look forward to returning sooner than later. For now, it's back to the house hunt and the daily rat race... which means more fun and more time flyin'!

2 comments:

  1. It's great to read posts from you from TEXAS!! I am so happy y'all are HOME....now to find you a H-O-M-E!!! It WILL happen!

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