Trips and no trips
Hey. How's everyone doing? Has the economy screwed anyone over yet? All I can say is that people that were buying houses for $500,000 when they were only making like $50k a year were idiots. So many people just ignored what they could 'afford' and wanted the swanky huge house with a huge mortgage and property tax. Really, having a down payment is a good thing! Luckily the prices in Austin have been fairly stable. But, a lot of the tech companies like Dell and Freescale are starting to lay off people, so who knows? I'm glad I'm in healthcare - that's pretty stable.
Anyways......my college 10 year reunion is in April in St Louis, and I don't think I'm going. Yes, I wanted to see all my friends that live out there, but Michael and I are planning a big trip to CA in May, and I'd rather focus my money on that trip. Sigh...I don't know. StL really is just a road trip - If I take Friday and Monday off for drive time, I can be there the whole weekend. But, really, I can go anytime. I went to the 5yr reunion and it was pretty lame. College just didn't 'shape' me the way high school did. So many of the kids in high school had been with the same people since elementary school. It's cool seeing how they've turned out. Going back to Wash U is kinda pointless. I would think everyone has made something of their lives. And the tickets are kinda pricey. yeah, I think I'll pass.
Monday night I'm meeting with the plant lady to discuss Phase 2 of the yard project. This winter was very mild and almost all of the plants seem very happy where they are. My water bill has gone up quite a bit, since I'm actually, you know, watering and all....but I guess that's the price to pay for a nice yard! I've received a lot of compliments from people in my neighborhood, and a couple people have asked me for her information. I'm so glad I did it, my house just looks so nice with it, and I never would have been able to plan that out myself.
The kitchen is not done yet. I had painted some of the walls a brown color and I'm not loving it. We're going to try a dark blue and see how that comes out. It's only paint!
Damn, you'd think there's nothing going on in my life...and I guess there isn't. We're still hanging out with everyone and doing stuff. Just don't blog about it. Michael has been messing with the smoker again and I had some people over on Sunday for pulled pork and ribs. In a couple weeks he's invited all of his close friends to my house for a bbq smorgesboard of briskit, ribs, sausage, and pulled pork. My friends have had it a couple times, and this will be a first for his friends. I hope everyone can make it. For Christmas I bought Michael some industrial/chemical rated gloves that go up to his elbow so he can handle things coming off the smoker. They are really cool. Oh, FYI, if you're looking for a good BBQ sauce, try Cattleman's Original. I don't know how available it is outside of TX, but it's really good. A lot of BBQ people that make their 'own' sauce use Cattleman's as a base cause it has such good flavor. You can get it at the grocery store.
Ah, that's right, we also had Valentine's Day. Since I am a romantic, we were of course doing SOMETHING for Valentine's Day. But, I didn't want to go to some fancy restaurant and deal with the crowds. So, Saturday morning Michael surprised me by taking me to brunch at Chez Zee, which we've been talking about for awhile. It was lovely and the food was good. Then we went shopping a bit, drove around Austin, and just hung out. For dinner we had talked about making something, but I just wasn't in the mood and really wanted fried chicken. So, uh, yeah, we went to Popeye's and had fried chicken and biscuits. Yum yum yum. Very low key, and that's what we like! Michael knows I despise red roses (cliche) so on Friday he had Tiff's Treats deliver warm cookies and ice cream to my office. It was such a surprise. Their cookies are so good! I don't know if they're local or national, but it's a great gimmick. Who wouldn't want a delivery of warm cookies?
ok, that's it for now.
Anyways......my college 10 year reunion is in April in St Louis, and I don't think I'm going. Yes, I wanted to see all my friends that live out there, but Michael and I are planning a big trip to CA in May, and I'd rather focus my money on that trip. Sigh...I don't know. StL really is just a road trip - If I take Friday and Monday off for drive time, I can be there the whole weekend. But, really, I can go anytime. I went to the 5yr reunion and it was pretty lame. College just didn't 'shape' me the way high school did. So many of the kids in high school had been with the same people since elementary school. It's cool seeing how they've turned out. Going back to Wash U is kinda pointless. I would think everyone has made something of their lives. And the tickets are kinda pricey. yeah, I think I'll pass.
Monday night I'm meeting with the plant lady to discuss Phase 2 of the yard project. This winter was very mild and almost all of the plants seem very happy where they are. My water bill has gone up quite a bit, since I'm actually, you know, watering and all....but I guess that's the price to pay for a nice yard! I've received a lot of compliments from people in my neighborhood, and a couple people have asked me for her information. I'm so glad I did it, my house just looks so nice with it, and I never would have been able to plan that out myself.
The kitchen is not done yet. I had painted some of the walls a brown color and I'm not loving it. We're going to try a dark blue and see how that comes out. It's only paint!
Damn, you'd think there's nothing going on in my life...and I guess there isn't. We're still hanging out with everyone and doing stuff. Just don't blog about it. Michael has been messing with the smoker again and I had some people over on Sunday for pulled pork and ribs. In a couple weeks he's invited all of his close friends to my house for a bbq smorgesboard of briskit, ribs, sausage, and pulled pork. My friends have had it a couple times, and this will be a first for his friends. I hope everyone can make it. For Christmas I bought Michael some industrial/chemical rated gloves that go up to his elbow so he can handle things coming off the smoker. They are really cool. Oh, FYI, if you're looking for a good BBQ sauce, try Cattleman's Original. I don't know how available it is outside of TX, but it's really good. A lot of BBQ people that make their 'own' sauce use Cattleman's as a base cause it has such good flavor. You can get it at the grocery store.
Ah, that's right, we also had Valentine's Day. Since I am a romantic, we were of course doing SOMETHING for Valentine's Day. But, I didn't want to go to some fancy restaurant and deal with the crowds. So, Saturday morning Michael surprised me by taking me to brunch at Chez Zee, which we've been talking about for awhile. It was lovely and the food was good. Then we went shopping a bit, drove around Austin, and just hung out. For dinner we had talked about making something, but I just wasn't in the mood and really wanted fried chicken. So, uh, yeah, we went to Popeye's and had fried chicken and biscuits. Yum yum yum. Very low key, and that's what we like! Michael knows I despise red roses (cliche) so on Friday he had Tiff's Treats deliver warm cookies and ice cream to my office. It was such a surprise. Their cookies are so good! I don't know if they're local or national, but it's a great gimmick. Who wouldn't want a delivery of warm cookies?
ok, that's it for now.
posted by Speck at
11:26 PM
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2 comments
