Let's Talk About Thanksgiving, Since It's Almost Christmas

Bobby and I spent Thanksgiving in Dallas with our families and friends. Every time I go back to Dallas I'm reminded of just how much history I have there. My father has lived there since my parents divorced when I was 8, so I spent lots of summers and weekends and holidays there. Then I went to undergrad and graduate school at UTD, picking up the big group of friends I've had for a decade now. Entire neighborhoods hold an emotional history several layers deep, I have more stories than I can even remember that revolve around UTD's campus, and the bars/clubs/concert venues around Deep Ellum all have their own cache of good/bad/ridiculous memories. I don't know if I'll ever live in Dallas again- something about it feels "done" to me, as though I've had my time there and it's finished- but I do enjoy visiting. The night before Thanksgiving almost all of "The Group" got together at Vickery Park. Everyone was sober, so there is really no excuse for these pictures other than the fact that we tend to act like idiots when we get together. In a good way.

 We tried to go to this place called Urban Crust in downtown Plano, but they kind of laughed when we said we needed a table for about 20, which was apparently a two hour wait. Luckily enough, Vickery Park was across the street and has a) nicer staff b) a huge room in the back that does not have to be rented out and c) delicious food. Sometimes the manufactured snootiness of Plano makes me chuckle. Dear Urban Crust- You're not that special, or that fancy, or that cool. Love, All of Us

 They truly didn't try to match.

 Typical.

 This is about right...

 as is this. Again, we're all sober.

 I told Brooke on FB that her shirt tastes like My Little Pony Lumberjacks

 Love connection

 Staged. We're available for hire at your next get together.

 Security. This is what it looks like.

 We're good customers. Someone broke a glass, so Kate cleaned it up. We're thoughtful.

 Except for when we stand on the booths

We don't really think planking is cool. We are mocking it.

Triple stack mockery

 Jennifer is *not* impressed.

Apparently owling was in for a while, too. Mocked.

If there is one thing I never tire of making fun of, it is the hipster obsession with mustaches and "cute" (no, ladies, it's really not) scrunchy faces in pictures.

Thanksgiving Day proper kind of sucked due to some family drama, so I'll just leave it with the Pre-Thanksgiving Friendsgiving. Oh, and here's a picture of Bobby, Chris, and Brooke the next morning, running their own lil' Turkey Trot around the neighborhood:

 So committed!

 Right after this picture was taken, Kate and I hopped in the car for our own run- to Starbucks.

Daredevil

Anytime I tell people I broke my foot, they naturally ask me what I did. The problem is, there really is no accident story, no specific fateful incident that cracked my poor foot bone. I mean, do you want to know what I was doing the night before I woke up with my foot so swollen I couldn't move it without pain?

I was learning to can peaches with our friends.

I know, I know, I need to be more risk averse. But seriously, stress fractures are kind of a straw that broke the camel's back kind of thing- apparently that part of the bone just weakens and weakens until one day it flops onto its chaise lounge, puts its hand to its head, and says "I give up". And then it cracks.

The good news is, canning peaches was fun and canning is not as scary as it seemed to be. I mean, botulism is pretty damned terrifying, don't get me wrong, but after doing some reading I've learned that fruits are acidic enough to make botulism risk virtually nil as long as they are processed correctly.

Speaking of processed, I thought it only right that the old timey-ness of this endeavor should be captured with a vintage filter.

 The key to not dying of botulism- the water bath.

 Off and on during the process, the boys played video games. Yes, they helped, but once all that was left to do was boil the jars they took to playing a terrifyingly weird Japanese video game.

 Willow, eating up the attention, blissfully unaware of how she is hindering Bobby's progress in rolling a giant sticky ball through an imaginary world.

 A little sugar water, some lemon juice, and local, organic peaches picked up at the farmers' market that morning. Purrrrrr-fect.

 The finished product. I was super excited to can my own peaches after this, but then, you know, I woke up with broken foot extravaganza and I've only cooked one time since then.

Paige and Matt have a huge backdoor garden, so they sent us home with a baggie of cherry tomatoes and some beets. All in all, between the farmers' market that morning, the canning, and the good night gifts of fruits and veggies from their garden, it was a most excellent way to celebrate, unbeknownst to me, my last day of mobility for 8 weeks.

Absentee Excuses

I been hangin' around (somewhere in Capitol Hill in Seattle)

 I had the best of intentions to avert such a long silence on my blog, but things got hectic, and here's why. My last post was on Thursday, July 7th. I then spent all of that day and the next cooking, cleaning, laundering clothes, packing, and organizing because on Friday, July 8th, we hit the road for a 3,000 mile/12 day road trip. I thought I'd have more time than I did, but I didn't, so my plans to blog a lot on Friday afternoon before we left were tossed right out the window. But I'm back! Here's where we went:

Summer Road Trip 2011

A night and a morning in Thermopolis, WY to check out Hot Springs State Park

2 days in Yellowstone:
Madison Campground reservation first night

Mammoth Hot Springs Cabin Reservation second night

Yellowstone to Seattle, WA- with a long visit to Helena, Montana- to visit friends for 3 days and check out their new place

Amtrak to Vancouver to visit our Canadian friends for 2 days

Back to Seattle for one last night out on the town

Portland, OR for one day/night

 

Portland to Salt Lake City (with a long stop in Hood River Oregon for lunch, and a stop in Boise, Idaho for dinner)to stay the night and visit my cousin before she leaves Utah for Texas

Home to Colorado

 

While we were gone, our friends stayed in our place for a few days to apartment hunt for their upcoming move, which is one reason I wanted it to be clean. We got home on Wednesday at 1 a.m., Bobby went straight to work a few hours later, and I got to work cleaning/unpacking/doing laundry. Thursday afternoon, our friends Brooke and Chris stopped by on their way home from a family vacation in Wyoming, and they were here until yesterday morning- a second reason I wanted the place to be neat and tidy. Bobby and I napped like professionals yesterday, an unexpected gift since the aforementioned moving friends had originally asked for our help in moving them in Saturday afternoon. The plan was to say goodbye to Brooke  and Chris and head straight over to Tyler and Amanda's. Turns out they got in a day early and unpacked everything. So we napped away the afternoon, met up with Jenny for some frozen yogurt, and crashed out relatively early. I wish I could say I continued catching up on sleep fest 2011 with a deliciously lazy sleeping in session, but nope, I woke up at 7:45 this morning without an alarm, just as I did yesterday.

 

But don't worry, it's 10:12 and I'm typing this in my underwear with an unwashed face and unbrushed teeth. Bobby just woke up and I'm going to convince him to go to Snooze for brunch. In random updates, my plants are still not dead, and they grew 6 inches while I was gone. Oh, and I barfed 30 minutes into a 3-D midnight showing of Harry Potter 7 in Canada (sorry, neighbors to the North!) so we're having a  re-do this afternoon with our friends Matt and Paige. I think first I need to put on some pants though.

Last Week in Dallas: Clutches and "Bridesmaids" and Cinco de Mayo, Among Other Things

After a few days catching my breath and catching up with Mom and Granny in Brownwood, it was time to head back to Dallas for the last 5 days of my trip. I headed out early Wednesday. Halfway through the trip, my clutch started getting cranky. My car wouldn't accelerate that well. I hit traffic right as I got into Dallas, and during a stop and go moment under a bridge, I clicked on my lights. 20 minutes later, I was at Dad's house. I forgot about the lights being on. I was worried about the clutch. But mostly, I was hot. So I took a shower, called up Kate and Anna, and made dinner plans. Of course, as soon as I got in my car, it was dead thanks to the lights being left on. Bobby was flying in on Friday night, and we were driving back to Colorado together on Monday. I was pretty certain the clutch wouldn't make the trip, and after repeated tries the battery just wouldn't take a jump. A tow truck and a clutch replacement were in my future. I called Bobby, and he said  he'd do some research to find a mechanic. In the meantime, Kate and Anna came and picked me up and we had dinner as planned. I have to say, it was absolutely perfect timing. I had done all of my Texas running around, I had met up with all of my friends during the first  leg in Dallas, and all that remained for  the trip was a birthday party and a wedding, both of which I could easily get rides for.

We celebrated my clutch going out by eating at Twisted Root Burger Company. They have the best black bean burger I have ever had, plus made from scratch sauces and lots of different fried things on the side- green beans! pickles! And the standard french fries/onion rings. But the best part is their made in house root beer. They always have plain, and then some crazy flavor. I've tried their Irish Cream, Strawberry, and this time I had their Chocolate Peanut Butter. Just trust me, it sounds nasty, but it's so good.

Fun fact- my camera broke that night as well! That's why the pictures are all blurry

You probably shouldn't take me to restaurants...

 During my week jaunting between Austin/San Antonio/Austin/Brownwood, Kate had moved in with Brooke and Chris. I crashed at their house, and Kate let me drive her to work the next morning so that I could meet up with my friend Jess for lunch. Lunch with Jess was great. I wish we had more time to hang out, but she is a busy girl, always traveling, and she is spending the summer working at a breakneck pace so that she can pay for and take 21 hours of college classes to finish up her neuroscience degree. I told her she has to come to Colorado for some snow sports, so hopefully a winter meet up is in our future.

After lunch I headed back to my dead car to give it one more try of a jump before we succumbed to a tow truck.

 The thing is, this car has more than 160,000 miles on it, and clutches (and batteries) are bound to go out. Plus, this was the original clutch, so I'm not holding it against her. I love this car down to its bones, bad clutches and worn out batteries and all.

 Dad tried his best, but it just wasn't happening. I called Bobby in Colorado, and he called a tow truck to come get our lil' 'rolla. I took advantage of the "tow truck should be there in two hours" news by taking a nap on my Dad's back porch. It was beautiful Texas weather, there was a nice breeze, and the loveseat is super comfortable.

After the car was safely on its way I headed back North to Plano to pick up Kate from work. She works as a manager at a nursery, is a master certified horticulturist, and loves her job to bits. I always like seeing her in her natural environment.

Tomato plant aisle, AKA the snack machines for employees

 I had made plans to go out to the Church that night with my friend Daniel, but I just wasn't feeling up for going out. Instead we watched the Biggest Loser, I took some medicine, and crashed out. The next morning he dropped me off at the train station so I could ride the DART home to my Dad's house. On a whim, I decided to get off at the Mockingbird Station exit. I've spent a lot of time there, and one of my first few dates with Bobby was at the Angelika. Since I had time to kill and nowhere to be, I got off for nostalgia's sake. I walked around a bit, got some coffee, and then headed back to the train station. As I walked up the steps, I saw a man in a white tux, a TV camera crew, and about 15 to 20 girls in bridesmaid dresses. I recognized the man- we had gone out on a few dates back in the day, his name was Robert- and he called out "Hey, it's Cortney!" I waved and smiled, and then continued on my way, assuming he was busy and working. As I started  to get on the escalator, he ran around the corner, and told me to come join him for an pre-screening of the movie "Bridesmaids". He was the former host of Good Morning Texas, and he was doing a bit of publicity for it. It was pretty random chance that we would run into each other! I took him up on the offer, and joined him in the Angelika.

 They had to film some segments for the show before the movie, so I watched them give fake toasts...

  and hand out goodie bags. After the camera work was done, we headed into the movie. If you haven't seen it yet, I would highly suggest it. Afterwards I said my goodbyes to Robert, grabbed some lunch, hopped back on the train, and then walked from the station to Dad's house. J-Ben and I had dinner plans, so she came and picked me up and we headed out to Pappasito's. It wasn't until we got there that we realized it was Cinco de Mayo. Perfect.

 J-Ben, reflecting on the day.

Me, worshiping guacamole. Also, my bangs are totally telling the story of how I walked several miles from the train station to my Dad's house in some serious Texas heat. Don't worry, I had the option of showering before we went to dinner. I just picked napping on the back porch again over a shower. Priorities are important.

Bobby's plane landed that night, but he went straight out to his parents house. I spent all day Saturday celebrating Mel's son's first birthday party, and then I spent the evening with Bobby, his parents, and our friend Lindsay. Sunday was Mother's Day, but more importantly, it was Karin and Hermes wedding day! It was beautiful, the food was great, and we had a lot of fun. Lindsay photographed it, and when the pictures are done I'll be posting lots of them here.

Monday morning Bobby and I picked up our car, and then we set off for Colorado. We broke the trip up into two days so that, per usual, we could stop and visit with Great Granny in Kansas- she is perfectly halfway between Texas and Colorado. We came home to a house full of boxes, but I was instantly in love with the new apartment and was so glad to be home that the boxes didn't even matter. After being gone a year I'm so grateful I got to spend such a long time in Texas, and it couldn't have been better timing, with the two birthdays and a wedding. Even with the clutch going out, it was an excellent trip.

Texas Girls Part V- The Last Stand at the Alamo

Our first weekend was pretty wall to wall gogo with late nights and early mornings, from Brooke's birthday party to clubbin' it up at the Church and random lunch meetups and afternoon coffee get togethers with friends. Monday we all recovered, and then we headed out for sushi with a big group. I think this picture sums up the day after pretty well...

Love Arielle's face here. I felt that way on this inside, but I'm really good at turning on suck it up smile

Tuesday was more laid back visiting, spending an afternoon on my Dad's back porch drinking coffee and continuing to catch up. We hit the hay early-ish (midnight for me, about 2 a.m. for Arielle) because Wednesday morning we were heading out early to go to Austin for lunch, and then continue on to San Antonio. I have an embarrassing confession to make. I'm a Texas girl, born and raised with the exception of a year in California in the 2nd grade... and I had never seen the Alamo. Or the Riverwalk. I went to San Antonio with a boyfriend when I was 18, but we didn't do any sightseeing, just went straight to his sister's dorms at Our Lady of the Lake. So, yeah, I knew that San Antonio had to be on my "to-do" list during the trip.

Wednesday morning we headed out early, and I made a mercy stop at Denny's. Y'see, Arielle runs a great blog called Foodie Asshole, and she was on a mission to take part in their "Baconalia" promotion. Basically, it was Denny's regular craptastically opposite of delicious food, but they added bacon to it so it was supposed to be special. Do yourself a favor, and pop over to Arielle's review of the experience. It was so bad, she cried a tear.

I just judged, harshly. I think I was also annoyed because we were eating Denny's next to a dumpster at a convenience store off of I-35 in rush hour traffic. We started at the convenience store across the street, but had to leave after we attracted a pack of men who stood at our bumper and stared while we attempted to eat our "food".

Eventually, we both just gave up and trashed the whole lot. Good riddance.











We hit the road towards Austin right as the traffic was clearing up. A short three and a half hours or so later, we were in Pflugerville, having lunch with Mel and her husband Josh. We couldn't stay long, though, because Austin traffic is notorious and we still had an hour and a half to get to San Antonio before rush hour. We were staying with my childhood friend, Sarah, who was also going to show us around town.

 After hanging out at Sarah's house and showering off the result of having no air conditioner in Texas, we headed downtown to a tapas style restaurant Sarah recommended, the Liberty Bar, a restaurant in a restored convent. First of all, I just need to say that I had such terribly negative assumptions about San Antonio. I didn't realize it was a real city, more so even than Dallas. It has a bustling downtown, people were walking and biking, dogs were out with their owners, children toddled on sidewalks in front of their parents during an evening trip around the neighborhood- it was quite charming, really. And this place was incredible. If you're ever in San Antonio, please try it out. You won't be disappointed.

The object of Arielle's affection? Geranium cream. Yes, that's right. It was phenomenal, as was the rest of the food.

 We conned the waiter into taking a group pic. Also, note Arielle's lack of chair in the reflection. That is a skillful photo squat. After picture time we meandered back through downtown checking out where we'd be going the next morning. We all agreed that an early bed time was preferable to going out, so it was back to Sarah's and promptly to sleep on the trusty air mattress.

The next morning Sarah took us to a local bakery called Broadway Daily Bread Bakery- Arielle's review can be found here. They had a huge cutting board filled with samples, and we unabashedly helped  ourselves to a little bit of everything before carb loading our final choices.

 This is my food review of the place. A picture is worth a thousand words, right?

Golly, thank goodness for these instructions, or else I'd NEVER know how to shove money in a slot.

 After breakfast, we sadly parted ways with Sarah. She had a lot to get done before heading back to work, and Arielle and I needed to cram a lot of sightseeing into our afternoon so that we could head back to Austin that night. We headed downtown, found super cheap parking, and set off to revel in our home state's rich and glorious history. Remarkably, the weather was cool and sunny. Perfect for wandering around an unfamiliar downtown.

Putting a female face on history

 So, the Alamo was kind of...ok, I don't want to say "not impressive". It's not that. I'll say... unassuming. I guess I just had this idea in my mind of it being a bit bigger. It was a lot smaller than I thought it would be, and it was also crazy how it's just chillin' in the middle of downtown. It's interesting how the town just crept up around it. Funny story- when I told my Granny I was a bit underwhelmed with the Alamo in person, she said that she had the same experience. After years of living in Texas, apparently she told my late Pop Pop that she was going to finally see the Alamo. They booked an expensive hotel room with an Alamo view. She excitedly planned the trip, they drove down, checked in, and she pulled open the curtains. Silence. Then- "Well, I guess I can finally say I've seen the f***ing Alamo!". Don't worry, they did a real tour and all, despite her initial reaction, haha.

 It's also interesting that this is called the "Museum". It's a gift shop, ya'll. Straight effin' up. Gift shop. However, this was the perfect opportunity to pick up some post cards to send to the lil' nuggets in my life. I snagged a wooden postcard and sent it to three of my favorite kiddos. How rad is a wooden postcard? I would have loved to get something like that as a kid.

 After the Alamo and various downtown wanderings, we moseyed to the Riverwalk. Again, where did my negative expectations come from?! Can I be frank? I assumed the Alamo would be in the middle of a crappy "downtown" consisting of one strip of chain restaurants and tourist shops, with a piddly little dirty river running on the other side. Instead I experienced something that had a distinctly Californian feel to it. The Riverwalk is gorgeous. It was tree lined and breezy, perfectly landscaped, and covered in flowers and cute local restaurants and bars.

 We ended up eating at a place called Boudro's, because my friends had recommended the guac. Apparently, this guac is in one of those "1,000 blah blah blah to blah blah blah before you die" books.

Good, but don't sweat if if you do die before getting a chance to eat it

 After lunch, we rambled back down the Riverwalk, loaded up on Gatorade- aka our internal air conditioners- and once more we were in the car.

 Once more, we were a little punch drunk..

and we played around with the scorpion sucker souvenir I picked up at the Alamo in the museum that was not a museum at all. I was so overtaken with the sheer ridiculousness of the ingredients list- "Watermelon flavor, red number something, Scorpion, something or another, etc."- that I bought it without thinking about the fact thata I'm a vegetarian and thus bugs are off the menu. Anyway. We made it back to Austin safe and sound, which is where Arielle and I took leave of one another. She was off to spend the night at her friend's house, and I was staying with Mel for a girl's night. We would meet up one last time the next night, which would also be my first time going out on 6th Street. Again, this is a shame! How did I not go out on 6th street until I was 28 years old?! But that's a blog post for another time.