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Jim and I got to talking about what our plans might be for Independence Day this year, since - miracles! - we both have the day off and we're not going out of town.
I actually feel really strange about this situation. Growing up, the 4th of July was always the time for my family reunion, where all sixty-some descendants of my granny would congregate together at a cabin on a little lake in Wisconsin and spend the day (or week) together. We have all kinds of family traditions - the annual bean bag and bocce ball tournaments, the big lunch buffet that everyone contributes to, the annual family photo, taco-salad-in-a-bag for dinner (ugh, northerners, you have no idea), fireworks on the lake at dusk, camp fires and smores and (now that my generation is older) booze, late night games in the basement...
The essential components, out of all of this, the things that have stuck with me more than anything else, the things that make this holiday an actual holiday done 'right', are apparently the fireworks and the family togetherness. Since starting college (wow, seven years ago?), I've missed more reunions than I've attended, but for all but one of them I still managed to spend time with family (family-in-law counts!) and do fireworks. So I told Jim that I wanted to do those things again this year. Even if it's just him and me spending the day lounging around the house and then lighting up some sparklers at dusk, that would do it for me.
Jim has a week-long vacation that overlaps the 4th, but I have work the day before and the day after, so we can't get up to anything crazy. But it'll be nice to make the holiday happen, to get that same feeling that I had growing up. Hopefully I can pass on some of that feeling to our kids, too.
I wonder if it's possible to make smores on the stove...
I actually feel really strange about this situation. Growing up, the 4th of July was always the time for my family reunion, where all sixty-some descendants of my granny would congregate together at a cabin on a little lake in Wisconsin and spend the day (or week) together. We have all kinds of family traditions - the annual bean bag and bocce ball tournaments, the big lunch buffet that everyone contributes to, the annual family photo, taco-salad-in-a-bag for dinner (ugh, northerners, you have no idea), fireworks on the lake at dusk, camp fires and smores and (now that my generation is older) booze, late night games in the basement...
The essential components, out of all of this, the things that have stuck with me more than anything else, the things that make this holiday an actual holiday done 'right', are apparently the fireworks and the family togetherness. Since starting college (wow, seven years ago?), I've missed more reunions than I've attended, but for all but one of them I still managed to spend time with family (family-in-law counts!) and do fireworks. So I told Jim that I wanted to do those things again this year. Even if it's just him and me spending the day lounging around the house and then lighting up some sparklers at dusk, that would do it for me.
Jim has a week-long vacation that overlaps the 4th, but I have work the day before and the day after, so we can't get up to anything crazy. But it'll be nice to make the holiday happen, to get that same feeling that I had growing up. Hopefully I can pass on some of that feeling to our kids, too.
I wonder if it's possible to make smores on the stove...
Happy Guy Fawkes Day!!! I hope everyone is watching V for Vendetta tonight...
i voted today!!! i didn't get as much time as i really wanted to research all the candidates and propositions on the ballot, but today was probably my only chance to vote at all, so it's better than nothing i guess.
thursday night we carved pumpkins! mine is BMO (from Adventure Time) and jim's is Captain America's shield. the third one ended up as a big heart, although it started life as something else. :P
also i did a zombie walk last night and it was SO MUCH FUN. we had ripped-up zombie costumes and gruesome bloody dead-looking makeup, and when we went to get drinks afterward, a bunch of people at the pub (mostly dressed as scantily-clad-all-in-black or clever-or-ironic-political-statement things) were very freaked out. my life is complete.
thursday night we carved pumpkins! mine is BMO (from Adventure Time) and jim's is Captain America's shield. the third one ended up as a big heart, although it started life as something else. :P
also i did a zombie walk last night and it was SO MUCH FUN. we had ripped-up zombie costumes and gruesome bloody dead-looking makeup, and when we went to get drinks afterward, a bunch of people at the pub (mostly dressed as scantily-clad-all-in-black or clever-or-ironic-political-statement things) were very freaked out. my life is complete.
Writer's Block: B.Y.O.B. Holidays
Dec. 14th, 2011 10:58 am[Error: unknown template qotd]
Love Actually, of course!!! Although there are a lot of family classics for me, this is hands-down my first choice. :D
Love Actually, of course!!! Although there are a lot of family classics for me, this is hands-down my first choice. :D
Happy Thanksgiving Eve!
...I only really am on lj because I am super-sleepy at work right now and trying to stay awake. I went out to lunch with some coworkers and stuffed myself, and considering the holiday things are really slow in the office right now. *yawn*
Hubby-of-mine is working tomorrow, so once again I will be going to his family's celebration/reunion in his stead. It's kinda weird for me, since Thanksgiving as a child was always just my nuclear family having a big feast at home. Tomorrow I will be a guest of a guest, so to speak, and I think I don't like it.
I don't want my future family Thanksgiving tradition to include Jim being at work. Obviously if we have to, then we have to, but I don't want it.
Sleeeeeeeep.
...I only really am on lj because I am super-sleepy at work right now and trying to stay awake. I went out to lunch with some coworkers and stuffed myself, and considering the holiday things are really slow in the office right now. *yawn*
Hubby-of-mine is working tomorrow, so once again I will be going to his family's celebration/reunion in his stead. It's kinda weird for me, since Thanksgiving as a child was always just my nuclear family having a big feast at home. Tomorrow I will be a guest of a guest, so to speak, and I think I don't like it.
I don't want my future family Thanksgiving tradition to include Jim being at work. Obviously if we have to, then we have to, but I don't want it.
Sleeeeeeeep.
burned the BLAZING HELL out of myself today.
we went to galveston today for mother's day; we being myself, my mom-in-law and dad-in-law, my sis-in-law, and her fiance. My hubby (mom-in-law's son, obv.) had to work so we were not a complete set. D: anyway - had breakfast, went to beach, flew kites, waded in surf (very weedy this week...), lolled about on beach, went to dinner (seafood!)..... and all this time i forgot to put on sunscreen.
i am red as a lobster from hip to neck, except for the outline of my bikini top.
in other news, i still have SO MUCH TO DO for my thesis publication draft, due tomorrow, it is NOT EVEN FUNNY.
we went to galveston today for mother's day; we being myself, my mom-in-law and dad-in-law, my sis-in-law, and her fiance. My hubby (mom-in-law's son, obv.) had to work so we were not a complete set. D: anyway - had breakfast, went to beach, flew kites, waded in surf (very weedy this week...), lolled about on beach, went to dinner (seafood!)..... and all this time i forgot to put on sunscreen.
i am red as a lobster from hip to neck, except for the outline of my bikini top.
in other news, i still have SO MUCH TO DO for my thesis publication draft, due tomorrow, it is NOT EVEN FUNNY.
HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!!
You'd all better be watching Boondock Saints today, and if you aren't wearing green you better watch out for a pinch! :D
It's a shame there isn't an LJ themed banner for today. That would have been nice.
PARTY!!!!!!! *throws confetti*
You'd all better be watching Boondock Saints today, and if you aren't wearing green you better watch out for a pinch! :D
It's a shame there isn't an LJ themed banner for today. That would have been nice.
PARTY!!!!!!! *throws confetti*
So I've had a great couple of days, which, thank God - school starts again tomorrow.
Last night I accompanied the hubby to a get-together with some of his college friends. Bear in mind he has a foodie education, so this was a cooking get-together and it was themed. My hubby made the appetizer without heat: beef carpaccio on a fan of sour apple with paprika coulee. Channing made the salad without greens: butternut squash topped with radishes and thai chili oil dressing. The host, Jake, served an entree without protein: mushroom pot pie with puff pastry tops. And then the birthday boy, Nathan, made the last two courses: parmesan and bleu cheeses, with honeycomb and toasted hazelnuts, followed by a dessert without sugar of cocoa smear with smashed raspberry, candied oranges, and cocoa sorbet quenell over toasted coconut. All five courses were accompanied by an appropriate wine or port, with mixed drinks for the ladies while dinner was prepared.
Yeah. It was delicious. :D
And today I finally got to talk with my thesis advisor about my concerns with my project, and in about three sentences he totally changed my perspective. I've been worrying over break about some concerns with the size of my program and the city parking ordinances - which is especially important for me, given that my project proposes a high-density mixed-use development specifically for the purpose of convenience to people who can't afford a car - and he simply suggested that I take a step back and view this not as a problem that needs to go away, but as a challenge, a focus, and even the source of my solution. Instead of worrying about fitting the requirement, put it under, on top, inside the rest of the program; or maybe reverse it, and put the rest of the program inside a parking garage. Don't let it be a problem - let it be inspiration. And I was so invested in the problem that I couldn't take the time to breathe deeply and step back and think of it like that. (Also he's been doing this about twice as long as I've been alive, so. The advantage of experience.)
And tonight we're celebrating my sis-in-law's 21st birthday (which is tomorrow) so I have dinner and cake and relaxing in the hot tub to look forward to in a few hours.
So while I didn't get through everything on my list of holiday-to-do's... life is good at the moment.
ETA: I slipped getting out of the hot tub and fell on my butt, like a cartoon stepping on a banana peel. I cracked two nails and bloodied the knuckle on my toes, and the whole right side of my butt is one big swollen bruise. You win, life. I give up.
Last night I accompanied the hubby to a get-together with some of his college friends. Bear in mind he has a foodie education, so this was a cooking get-together and it was themed. My hubby made the appetizer without heat: beef carpaccio on a fan of sour apple with paprika coulee. Channing made the salad without greens: butternut squash topped with radishes and thai chili oil dressing. The host, Jake, served an entree without protein: mushroom pot pie with puff pastry tops. And then the birthday boy, Nathan, made the last two courses: parmesan and bleu cheeses, with honeycomb and toasted hazelnuts, followed by a dessert without sugar of cocoa smear with smashed raspberry, candied oranges, and cocoa sorbet quenell over toasted coconut. All five courses were accompanied by an appropriate wine or port, with mixed drinks for the ladies while dinner was prepared.
Yeah. It was delicious. :D
And today I finally got to talk with my thesis advisor about my concerns with my project, and in about three sentences he totally changed my perspective. I've been worrying over break about some concerns with the size of my program and the city parking ordinances - which is especially important for me, given that my project proposes a high-density mixed-use development specifically for the purpose of convenience to people who can't afford a car - and he simply suggested that I take a step back and view this not as a problem that needs to go away, but as a challenge, a focus, and even the source of my solution. Instead of worrying about fitting the requirement, put it under, on top, inside the rest of the program; or maybe reverse it, and put the rest of the program inside a parking garage. Don't let it be a problem - let it be inspiration. And I was so invested in the problem that I couldn't take the time to breathe deeply and step back and think of it like that. (Also he's been doing this about twice as long as I've been alive, so. The advantage of experience.)
And tonight we're celebrating my sis-in-law's 21st birthday (which is tomorrow) so I have dinner and cake and relaxing in the hot tub to look forward to in a few hours.
So while I didn't get through everything on my list of holiday-to-do's... life is good at the moment.
ETA: I slipped getting out of the hot tub and fell on my butt, like a cartoon stepping on a banana peel. I cracked two nails and bloodied the knuckle on my toes, and the whole right side of my butt is one big swollen bruise. You win, life. I give up.
murg....
so i'm twenty-one years old now!! nothing much feels different, except for the really weird thought that i can now legally buy alcohol. jim took me out to firkin & phoenix's last night after dinner to celebrate, just the two of us. the plan was for me to eat dinner (which i did, spaghetti and meatsauce) and then we'd go out and try a few of the drinks on the list that jim had gotten from his coworkers for me. on the way back we were gonna pick up cake-mix and milk and frosting, and then bake the cake while i figured out how to play harvest moon on the wii, have cake for dessert, and then retire for the night. we got as far as the pub before things started going wrong:
in the span of two hours i had: four glasses of water; a washington apple; mozerella sticks; a buttery nipple (yech, kahlua); a starfucker; a peach tea (the shot, not the cool drink); nachos; a lemon drop; a chocolate cake (also a shot, and it really does taste like chocolate once you bite the lemon); a mind eraser; and two sips of another starfucker that jim ended up finishing cause i was really loopy by that point.
this was a bad idea.
i am not doing this again.
i will leave it up to your imagination as to exactly how horrible i felt by the time we got home. i will say, however, that i remember everything that happened last night, including all the math questions jim kept asking me in the car and once i was in bed (square root of n? that prat). being tipsy was indeed fun - by the time i got to the lemon drop i was halfway through the nachos and extremely dizzy and light-headed, and apparently also hilarious to be around. but by the last bite of nacho it was Time To Go, and just because that starfucker tasted delicious did not mean i was going to drink it.
warm showers are great, by the way.
so, 10 hours of sleep and about a gallon of water later, i'm feeling pretty decent, but there is no way in hell i'm going past two or three shots ever again.
and that was my twenty-first birthday, y'all.
although i never did get to eat cake.
so i'm twenty-one years old now!! nothing much feels different, except for the really weird thought that i can now legally buy alcohol. jim took me out to firkin & phoenix's last night after dinner to celebrate, just the two of us. the plan was for me to eat dinner (which i did, spaghetti and meatsauce) and then we'd go out and try a few of the drinks on the list that jim had gotten from his coworkers for me. on the way back we were gonna pick up cake-mix and milk and frosting, and then bake the cake while i figured out how to play harvest moon on the wii, have cake for dessert, and then retire for the night. we got as far as the pub before things started going wrong:
in the span of two hours i had: four glasses of water; a washington apple; mozerella sticks; a buttery nipple (yech, kahlua); a starfucker; a peach tea (the shot, not the cool drink); nachos; a lemon drop; a chocolate cake (also a shot, and it really does taste like chocolate once you bite the lemon); a mind eraser; and two sips of another starfucker that jim ended up finishing cause i was really loopy by that point.
this was a bad idea.
i am not doing this again.
i will leave it up to your imagination as to exactly how horrible i felt by the time we got home. i will say, however, that i remember everything that happened last night, including all the math questions jim kept asking me in the car and once i was in bed (square root of n? that prat). being tipsy was indeed fun - by the time i got to the lemon drop i was halfway through the nachos and extremely dizzy and light-headed, and apparently also hilarious to be around. but by the last bite of nacho it was Time To Go, and just because that starfucker tasted delicious did not mean i was going to drink it.
warm showers are great, by the way.
so, 10 hours of sleep and about a gallon of water later, i'm feeling pretty decent, but there is no way in hell i'm going past two or three shots ever again.
and that was my twenty-first birthday, y'all.
although i never did get to eat cake.
things to do over spring break:
pols research paper
hang out with jim
habitat for humanity, ali's beach party on saturday
visit mutti and vatti
go to andy's house while in pearland
surf(purs) application finished
wedding guest list finalized
play civ4
bri and cait visiting!!!
cake sampling with allison's mom
catch up on ONE tv show
fill out counseling questionnaire at mt olive
pols research paper
hang out with jim
visit mutti and vatti
go to andy's house while in pearland
surf(purs) application finished
wedding guest list finalized
play civ4
bri and cait visiting!!!
cake sampling with allison's mom
catch up on ONE tv show
fill out counseling questionnaire at mt olive
wedding gift registry ideas:
jim wants:
xbox 360
kitchenaid
...and some other stuff that i can't remember
jenny wants:
new clothes!
dishes and glasses and casual silverware
tupperware
curtains
sheets
star wars movies
architecture textbooks
the nice thing about this is that people don't have to buy me christmas gifts, because my wedding is four days later!
jim wants:
xbox 360
kitchenaid
...and some other stuff that i can't remember
jenny wants:
new clothes!
dishes and glasses and casual silverware
tupperware
curtains
sheets
star wars movies
architecture textbooks
the nice thing about this is that people don't have to buy me christmas gifts, because my wedding is four days later!
omg, it's a ( meme!! ) and happy st. nick's day, everyone... ^___^ yay for german traditions, although i didn't get candy in my shoes. *shrugs* oh, well. something to do for my kids some day.
drumroll.... a~and here's ( another meme! )
drumroll.... a~and here's ( another meme! )
christmas wishlist!!!!
i want:
$ for a new laptop
a wma-mp3 music file format converter
movies:v for vendetta, gladiator, star wars (all 6).... hmmm....
windchimes for the balcony of our apartment
fountain pen ink bottles
architecture books
a new belt, with a d-ring (prongless) buckle
things i know i'm getting, or that i've already received:
pilot pens (sara, you rock.)
fingerless gloves from cait (yay!!)
the end of the semester
i want:
a wma-mp3 music file format converter
movies:
fountain pen ink bottles
architecture books
a new belt, with a d-ring (prongless) buckle
things i know i'm getting, or that i've already received:
pilot pens (sara, you rock.)
fingerless gloves from cait (yay!!)
the end of the semester
mmm, nap time. truitt is doing jury crits for another studio, but i really need input from him before i can move forward in my own design. he said he'd be back in our studio at 630 if we want to talk to him today, but class technically ends at 550. so.... *sighs*
i took a nap.
in other news, hallowe'en is this friday! yay! (i like the "undead journal" theme this year, it's fun.) bri and kim are driving over from austin to meet me at renfest on saturday, so i'll finally get to see some of my austinite friends. and my grandparents were in town... yesterday. wow, for a while there i thought today was tuesday. i only got four hours of sleep last night, though. i needed caffeine to get me through the night, but i stopped working at about 2am. didn't fall asleep until 4, of course. -___-'
anyway, i'm actually getting to visit with people. i called cait yesterday, and i was planning on calling bri today, but she beat me to the punch. i do need to call cait back, though.
...i miss my friends.
i took a nap.
in other news, hallowe'en is this friday! yay! (i like the "undead journal" theme this year, it's fun.) bri and kim are driving over from austin to meet me at renfest on saturday, so i'll finally get to see some of my austinite friends. and my grandparents were in town... yesterday. wow, for a while there i thought today was tuesday. i only got four hours of sleep last night, though. i needed caffeine to get me through the night, but i stopped working at about 2am. didn't fall asleep until 4, of course. -___-'
anyway, i'm actually getting to visit with people. i called cait yesterday, and i was planning on calling bri today, but she beat me to the punch. i do need to call cait back, though.
...i miss my friends.
jim and i were talking about holiday traditions- or rather, we started out by debating whether we should watch love actually now AND at christmas, or just wait until christmas to watch it, because you HAVE to watch love actually on christmas- and then we got to discussing other movies and holidays and then i started thinking..... anyway. holidays. i have family traditions. ( do you? ) did i miss anything?
so..... as of roughly 3am today i'm 20 years old. yay?
i don't really feel much different- i stopped being excited about my birthday in high school. it's always been a muted affair for me, except my golden birthday, because i have a summer birthday, you know? i never had many friends around to celebrate with, and not enough people acknowledge the use of half-birthdays for that to be worthwhile. so as a kid i didn't do much. and i think, after about 7th grade, i just stopped caring about it as much. it's still, y'know, the day i was born, which is kind of cool to think about, but i stopped expecting big things. this year i practically forgot that it was happening, and i wouldn't have even known it was today except that people kept reminding me.
and i'll admit, it's not something that i completely disregard. celebrating birthdays is part of my culture, so i'm aware that my birthday is approaching and in the back of my mind there's always that feeling of, 'hey, it's my birthday, i should do something special'. so i'm not a total weirdo about it, i guess.
but i'm no longer a teenager, and that does feel different. it's about the only thing that turning 20 gets you- second most useless birthday among the ones that are worth counting, imo- you're not a teenager anymore, which really does make a difference in how people think about you. and, i guess, in how i think about myself, when i consider my age as a factor. it's one less excuse to have at my disposal for having fun and relaxing and stuff.
bummer.
i don't really feel much different- i stopped being excited about my birthday in high school. it's always been a muted affair for me, except my golden birthday, because i have a summer birthday, you know? i never had many friends around to celebrate with, and not enough people acknowledge the use of half-birthdays for that to be worthwhile. so as a kid i didn't do much. and i think, after about 7th grade, i just stopped caring about it as much. it's still, y'know, the day i was born, which is kind of cool to think about, but i stopped expecting big things. this year i practically forgot that it was happening, and i wouldn't have even known it was today except that people kept reminding me.
and i'll admit, it's not something that i completely disregard. celebrating birthdays is part of my culture, so i'm aware that my birthday is approaching and in the back of my mind there's always that feeling of, 'hey, it's my birthday, i should do something special'. so i'm not a total weirdo about it, i guess.
but i'm no longer a teenager, and that does feel different. it's about the only thing that turning 20 gets you- second most useless birthday among the ones that are worth counting, imo- you're not a teenager anymore, which really does make a difference in how people think about you. and, i guess, in how i think about myself, when i consider my age as a factor. it's one less excuse to have at my disposal for having fun and relaxing and stuff.
bummer.
i'm picking me apart again.....
May. 27th, 2008 09:47 pmwheee, yay for memorial day weekend! and visiting my boy.
on sunday morning i went to houston to visit jim. he's just gotten back from chicago and the national restaurant association convention or whatever it's called, and in two days he goes to montana for his summer internship, AND I WILL NOT SEE HIM FOR ALMOST THREE MONTHS. *cries* so i drove to houston for memorial day weekend.
i had several thoughts about this: 1) WHY IS GAS SO EXPENSIVE?!?! i filled up once on the way to houston, once in houston, and once in manor on the way back when i ran out of gas. gas is so effing expensive, i am going to sell my truck and buy a bicycle. then i will be thin and fit and not pay out the eyes for gas money EVER AGAIN. i even get really good gas mileage for a truck- between 20 and 30 mpg depending on road and load conditions. i like driving. it's nice alone-time for me, no one else, just me and the radio and the open road.... so, yeah, driving is fun, especially long drives. i just wish i didn't have to pay for gas!!!! (i will not get into my whole hippie-tree-hugger spiel about renewable fuels and the infrastructure of our society, so don't ask. i could talk for hours.)
2)i exist for jim's family! they've been denying my existence, because the last two or three times we were supposed to meet, things came up- nasty weather, conflicting schedules, and other random acts of god- so that i always somehow managed to never meet them. and i wasn't even trying! o__0 so on monday i met his aunt kathy and aunt laura, and aunt laura's daughters cassie and ella- his mom's immediate family. i already knew his aunt renee, actually. and his cousins are pretty cool, about our age, and we got on very well.
3) weather is AWFUL. why do people not design buildings and stuff better, so that we aren't so affected by the weather? it was baking hot and humid as a bog in the afternoons, so i spent that time in the little mini-pool in the backyard both days. i have a whole 'nother rant about design and passive heating and cooling and why builders are so STUPID most of the time. ugh.
but it was overall a very fun trip. and i got to go shooting! this morning, actually- i meant to leave in the morning, but i'd forgotten that jim and his dad were going to the range that morning, and they'd invited me. so i pushed back my departure time and went to the range! they had three semi-automatic handguns- a beretta 9mm, a 280 revolver, and a bersa 380 carry-concealed. i liked the bersa the best- it fit well in my hand, it didn't have as much of a kick, and even with the shaved sights i was pretty precise with my groupings. but i was taking my time, making sure my breathing and my posture and everything was good.
one thing i am kind of depressed about is that niki- nicodemus, jim's cat (american standard domestic housecat)- has kidney stones and they're killing him, so i don't know if he'll be alive the next time i visit. he's my favorite kitty in the world!!! great personality, plus he's beautiful- solid black with a fluffy ruff and amazing eyes. he's my baby. *sighs* i forgot my camera, which i meant to bring, so i don't have any pictures of him or anything.
......and now i'm back in austin. the drive back was horrendous actually- 3.75hrs driving time, with about 45mins of break time between all my stops to cower in fear of the heat. the compressor of my air conditioning is broken, so i was going with the windows down the whole time. it was AGONY. i fled the heat. also, i need to remember never to drive between the hours of 5pm and 6:30pm in austin, because rush-hour SUCKS. it took me an hour to get through austin. SO. LAME.
on sunday morning i went to houston to visit jim. he's just gotten back from chicago and the national restaurant association convention or whatever it's called, and in two days he goes to montana for his summer internship, AND I WILL NOT SEE HIM FOR ALMOST THREE MONTHS. *cries* so i drove to houston for memorial day weekend.
i had several thoughts about this: 1) WHY IS GAS SO EXPENSIVE?!?! i filled up once on the way to houston, once in houston, and once in manor on the way back when i ran out of gas. gas is so effing expensive, i am going to sell my truck and buy a bicycle. then i will be thin and fit and not pay out the eyes for gas money EVER AGAIN. i even get really good gas mileage for a truck- between 20 and 30 mpg depending on road and load conditions. i like driving. it's nice alone-time for me, no one else, just me and the radio and the open road.... so, yeah, driving is fun, especially long drives. i just wish i didn't have to pay for gas!!!! (i will not get into my whole hippie-tree-hugger spiel about renewable fuels and the infrastructure of our society, so don't ask. i could talk for hours.)
2)i exist for jim's family! they've been denying my existence, because the last two or three times we were supposed to meet, things came up- nasty weather, conflicting schedules, and other random acts of god- so that i always somehow managed to never meet them. and i wasn't even trying! o__0 so on monday i met his aunt kathy and aunt laura, and aunt laura's daughters cassie and ella- his mom's immediate family. i already knew his aunt renee, actually. and his cousins are pretty cool, about our age, and we got on very well.
3) weather is AWFUL. why do people not design buildings and stuff better, so that we aren't so affected by the weather? it was baking hot and humid as a bog in the afternoons, so i spent that time in the little mini-pool in the backyard both days. i have a whole 'nother rant about design and passive heating and cooling and why builders are so STUPID most of the time. ugh.
but it was overall a very fun trip. and i got to go shooting! this morning, actually- i meant to leave in the morning, but i'd forgotten that jim and his dad were going to the range that morning, and they'd invited me. so i pushed back my departure time and went to the range! they had three semi-automatic handguns- a beretta 9mm, a 280 revolver, and a bersa 380 carry-concealed. i liked the bersa the best- it fit well in my hand, it didn't have as much of a kick, and even with the shaved sights i was pretty precise with my groupings. but i was taking my time, making sure my breathing and my posture and everything was good.
one thing i am kind of depressed about is that niki- nicodemus, jim's cat (american standard domestic housecat)- has kidney stones and they're killing him, so i don't know if he'll be alive the next time i visit. he's my favorite kitty in the world!!! great personality, plus he's beautiful- solid black with a fluffy ruff and amazing eyes. he's my baby. *sighs* i forgot my camera, which i meant to bring, so i don't have any pictures of him or anything.
......and now i'm back in austin. the drive back was horrendous actually- 3.75hrs driving time, with about 45mins of break time between all my stops to cower in fear of the heat. the compressor of my air conditioning is broken, so i was going with the windows down the whole time. it was AGONY. i fled the heat. also, i need to remember never to drive between the hours of 5pm and 6:30pm in austin, because rush-hour SUCKS. it took me an hour to get through austin. SO. LAME.
