Ohio Pictures

Here are some pictures from our trip to Ohio last month:

Cincinnati Skyline

Navigation Team

Rehearsal Dinner, Thursday 7-3

With the Bride & Groom, Kate & Brian

Brock & Stef on 4th of July Morning Bus Ride to the Baseball Game

By the River Before the Reds Game

There was a looong rain delay, but Kate's Dad had umbrellas for us!

An All-American 4th of July with Baseball & Hot Dogs!

Bridal party being announced (Matt's in the middle) 

Mr. & Mrs. David

Brock & Stefanie

Us :o)

Pre-Party

Friday night (8-15) I came home from work and immediately crashed on the couch for a nap.  (The night before I stayed up until 2:00AM visiting & laughing with friends Marla & Stefanie.  They were in town for Marla's graduation & stayed at our place a couple nights.  It was well worth the lack of sleep.)  I later woke up from the nap after hearing a key in the lock and feet entering the living room - I sleepily raised my head & got a "SURPRISE" as Brock, Stefanie, Jacob, Mandy, Brian, Kate, Matt and a chocolate cake surrounded me.  Matt had everyone come over for a pre-birthday celebration!  (I'm still 24 until the 18th) Once I came to my senses and got out of sleepy-mode we ate dinner at the Elite Grill and then came back to the apartment for a few games of Mexican Train (domino game) and cake.  It was a very fun evening spent with friends.  Thank you Matt :o)

Saturday (8-16) we used our free time to check out a nearby place called Homestead Heritage.  Both of us were surprised at how much we enjoyed ourselves!  To kind of explain what it is I'll use Matt's departing words... "Well, that was cool.  Kinda like the Amish but without all the weird crazy stuff."  Their facilities and way of life are completely modern, just with the mindset of preserving farming and "homesteading" skills of the past that are lost in today's world.  They make and sell all kinds of homemade things as well as give seminars on how to do it yourself.  We had lunch at the deli (had my first falafel!), watched them make pottery, visited with a wood worker in his shop, smelled homemade soaps & lotions, sat in a garden, saw a working gristmill and gawked at the biggest sunflowers I've ever seen (like 10 ft tall!).  As it will do with most adventures, the perfect overcast breezy weather made the outing even more pleasant.  We stopped by the bakery on the way out for an apricot scone & apple nut bread - YUMMM!  Homemade all-natural food is the way to go.  It was a good birthday weekend adventure.  

Anything That Comes to Mind

After peeling open the last roll of laundry-mat quarters I got from the bank I noticed they felt different.  Less grimy.  Low and behold... I looked down and the entire thing had brand spankin new 2008 New Mexico quarters in it!  Not a single scratch on them.  Kinda neat.  

Because I had extra quarters left over I visited the vending machine at work almost every day last week.  Now my new favorite liquid indulgence is Diet Dr Pepper.  And people, the ads are true, there really is nothing diet about it.  Yum.  

I recently discovered the discount bread store in Waco.  I remember going to the one at home with my Mom when I was younger so visiting this one on my own felt like a rite of passage into adulthood.  I got $6 worth of things (tortilla chips, Cinnabon cinnamon bread, English muffins, moon pies...) in order to pick an item off the free rack.  Thank goodness for freezer space.  

Last Saturday (7-27) while Matt spent the morning at home working I headed out with my friend Lisa for some adventures.  First we hit up the local farmer's market.  A bit pricier than HEB (our grocery store), but I love buying fresh local produce.  Next, just for kicks, we headed to an estate auction.  Years ago I remember going to auctions with my Mom and Grandma for their antique business.  This one was the real deal... hamburger stand, big tent in the front yard, auctioneer talking a mile a minute, hands up in the air giving bids, stuff displayed everywhere.  And this was good stuff too.  First thing we heard go was a Martin guitar for $1,800.  The man had been in Congress for 40 years and had quite a collection of antiques and memorabilia.  We stopped at a more reasonable garage sale on the way back.  Spending 50 cents on a pair of Express pants is my kind of bargain!  

This past Friday night (8-1) we didn't have any quarters so we didn't make it to the laundry mat (darn that Diet Dr Pepper addiction).  Instead we went to the dollar theater to see Ironman.  Good fun action comicbookish flick.  Matt had been eager to see it in the big theater, but seeing movies for $1.75 just a month or two later is worth the wait.  

Saturday night (8-2) after a big trip to HEB we rented Music & Lyrics.  It had been a while since we saw a romantic comedy & both thoroughly enjoyed it.  

Today (8-3) I made homemade chocolate ice cream!  We got the machine as a wedding gift from Matt's grandparents and had not yet used it.  Today is Brock's birthday so that was a good reason to try it out!  Very rich and creamy!  

The temperature has been at 100 and above the past week.  Tomorrow the high is 105... not including heat index.  That combined with a dry summer makes for a crispy brown world.  Thankfully I hear some drizzles outside right now!  

The next few days are going to be huge for our friends Sarah & Patrick.  She is scheduled to have their first baby this Wednesday in Birmingham!  Hopefully I can make it out there later in the fall to meet baby Mac.  We are soooo excited for them & look forward to learning about parenting through them.  :o)

Progressive Dinners

I was recently reminded that I talk about food a lot. I guess it's true. Here goes again...

Thursday night when I got home Matt was ready to be out of the apartment away from his papers so we headed to BU's campus to exercise and then had a little progressive dinner. There are two small downtown places we enjoy eating in, but always have a hard time deciding where to go. Don't know why we hadn't thought of it before, but this time we stopped in Terriyaki Park for our appetizer of edimamme and sushi rolls. Then headed nextdoor to Wing Stop for terriyaki flavored wings and french fries. Yum!

We had no intention of doing it again the next night, but... I've been having a hard time finding a place to have Matt's graduation party (Lord willing 10 months away) so we figured the best way to do research was to be restaurant patrons. Friday night we started off at Gratziano's Italian restaurant downtown for Cajun Chicken Pasta & Portobello Raviolli. They were a no-go for the party, so we moved on. Dessert was at the Elite Grill on the Circle and my satisfied comment is that I've never had to take my shared dessert home in a to-go box. Their chocolate cake was scrumptious & HUGE! They too were a no-go for the party. Darn. Though we knew it wouldn't hold potential for a graduation luncheon, we were having a ball so we headed back downtown to Crickett's for a little night-cap. There we had a surprisingly enjoyable conversation about the election, politics, and weaning ourselves off foreign oil dependancy. It was a fun splurge, but it's back to Bagel Bites & canned soup for the rest of the weekend :o)

The Past Month

Hummm... what's been going on... let's backtrack a bit...

(Apologies for any excessive story telling or untamed jibber-jabber and that there are no pictures to hold your interest.)

June 14-23 my Mom drove out for a good long visit. Her being here over two weekends made a big difference in not having to schedule as much around my work hours. Also, it gave Matt good uninterrupted time to do dissertation work while I had someone else around to entertain me. We wandered around town a lot just browsing in stores and spent a LOT of time eating out and trying new restaurants. I've always been aware of it, but now I KNOW that a good trip for Mom means lots of fun food experiences! Some places we went were old favorites, but most were new to her and I'm proud to say that our restaurant tally came to a whopping 15 by the end of her stay! Three meals a day over 9 days makes for a lot of opportunities.

For all you TLC fans, we also had fun playing "What Not to Wear." Before leaving Dothan, Mom loaded the car with most of the contents from her closet so I could help her take out things Stacy & Clinton would not approve of. It's amazing how many memories an article of clothing can hold. Even so, she drove back to Dothan with an empty trunk!

Mom was also here over the Saturday Spenco scheduled a company picnic to Sea World in San Antonio! Sadly, at the last minute Matt decided it would be wisest for him to stay at home to work, but thankfully I still had a buddy to go with me. (I didn't go last year because Matt was in Philadelphia for a conference.) Spenco rented busses & provided lunch so it was an easy & inexpensive trip down. We saw Shamu & all the typical Sea World animals. Despite the quick thunderstorm it was a lovely casual day just strolling around the park watching the shows & of course, sampling some park food.

Oh yeah, one night we had 4 people ask if they could stay with us... in addition to Mom being here. Normally I LOVE running Robinson Room & Board, but we can only do so much sometimes. Mom already in the spare room, our friend Jason (from Austin) got to stay on the couch, but we sadly had to turn down lodging for Doug & Natalie (who now live in Chicago) and Stefanie (from Houston). We did squeeze in a quick hug & chat with the Chicagoans though!

July 3-6 we flew to Cincinnati, OH with our buddies Brock & Stefanie. Matt & Brock were groomsmen in Brian's holiday wedding. We drove up from the Louisville airport & after that little drive I fell in love with the area - it was beautiful, rolling & lush! It even smelled good. Because of the holiday Thursday evening was the Rehearsal & Rehearsal Dinner. Friday we took a big bus downtown with the entire bridal party & both families to the Reds 4th of July baseball game! Despite the 2 hour rain delay we had a really good time watching and of course eating ball park food. (Skyline Chili-dogs are YUMMY!) That night the bride's parents hosted a BBQ dinner at their house. Their son recently decided to start college at Auburn in the fall so Matt had a BLAST talking to him about anything and everything Auburn related. Saturday Matt worked downstairs in the lobby while Stef, Brock & I watched movies in our hotel room until it was time to go. The wedding was a success & reception lovely! We ate, danced and sent them off with sparklers. It was fun traveling to a new state with good friends and being part of such a wonderful celebration.

July 12, last Saturday, we drove out to McGregor to eat at the Coffee Shop Cafe with our new good buddies Jacob & Mandy. (They both went to Auburn & are now temporarily in Waco with his work. I did not know either beforehand, but Matt knew Jacob through their fraternity. We're so thankful to have crossed paths with them! It's nice to have someone around who can relate to where you came from.) From supper we drove a bit further out to Gatesville to go to a drive-in movie!!! The double feature was Wall-E and Hancock. We took their truck, lawn chairs, a cooler and a boom box and had a blast. Concessions were cheap, the weather was perfect and we all saw multiple shooting stars.

Monday Night Jacob & Mandy came over to eat dinner and watch Lost with us. We're getting them hooked on season one so they can be obsessive fans with us once the show starts back up :o)

Yesterday we met Brock up at Ma's Suds for laundry night. Whoop whoop. It actually is kinda fun. We usually pick up some food (last night was Arby's b/c I had a coupon) and then knock out 4 or 5 loads in an hour and a half. I read magazines while Matt does physics work. He comes up for air when the folding begins.

This evening we went to exercise at BU and kinda grazed for supper. I'll probably get up and watch HGTV in a bit and Matt has been and will continue to work into the wee hours of the morning (notice a trend here?). Thanks for reading; this journal of an entry is finished!

War Eagle Wedding!

We made it to Auburn & back.  Getting there was a bit challenging though... after being rebooked on 3 additional airlines & rerouted through a few different cities we finally left Dallas at the time we should have been arriving in Auburn.  Oh well.  Seven hours later than expected we pulled up to our hotel.  Friday morning Matt's parents drove down to visit for the day.  We walked around campus, Matt visited with a few of his professors, and then we met my brother at Bazillia's Cafe for chicken pesto panini's.  It had been a long time since Cameron & I had seen each other & it was great to visit with him.  Then I left to help kick off the wedding festivities... Ashley's lingerie shower!  It, as well as the wedding & reception, was at Auburn Oaks, a venue out in the country owned by Pat Dye.  There were bedrooms galore, so the entire wedding party stayed out there as well.  Before we left on Sunday sweet Sarah drove down from Birmingham just to see us for a couple hours.  It was so great seeing her (and -2 month old Mac!)  She put some pictures up on her blog.  It was a great mini vacation/wedding celebration.  There was little sleep, but lots of laughs & hugs.  We loved seeing many friends from Auburn (and even high school).  Congratulations Mr. & Mrs. Weston Bell!!!

(Unfortunately my camera died shortly after this picture)

Alabama Bound!

We're headed back to Alabama this Thursday & are so pumped!  Our friends Ashley & Wes are getting married in Auburn so we have a great 4 day vacation/celebration planned!  I became friends with Wes in high school and then with Ashley in college.  She & I lived together Jr. & Sr. years at AU and Wes was in the same fraternity Matt was in.  They are a crazy wonderful couple meant to go together like peas & carrots.  As we rooted for them all along, God was also on their side and now they're tying the knot in just a few days.  Here's a couple older pictures with my artist buddy whom I love dearly :-)

  

Memorial Day Weekend

We had a low-key yet delightful holiday weekend!  We just hung out together and took care of our friend Brock's dog Mack.  Matt made the decision to take a complete break from research & that made such a difference!  We kicked the weekend off Friday evening at Ma’s Suds with two rolls of quarters and $5 footlongs from Subway.  As many of you know, we don’t have a washer/dryer connection so we usually spend time at the laundry mat on Friday nights.  Though it’s a bit of a hassle & not particularly clean, we’ve been able to get up to 7 loads completely washed & dried in just 90 minutes.  Can’t beat that!  

Saturday we took care of Mack the dog, grabbed an early lunch from Chick-Fil-A, stopped at Wal-Mart to buy sun-block, then headed out to a friend’s neighborhood pool for the afternoon.  (Thank you Mark & Julie for lending us your key!)  I had a great time reading in the sun & Matt had a great time reading in the shade.  We then drove to Baylor to conquer the Bear Trail (path around campus) in the 95 degree weather.  I barely completed my walk, but Matt duked it out & ran!  Yikes.  After a brief recovery from that we had supper at home followed by our new favorite indulgence… milkshakes from Health Camp!

Sunday morning we skipped out on church and got ready to drive up to the Dallas Zoo!  But before getting on the road we went over to feed Mack then stopped at Rudy’s BBQ for breakfast burritos, Matt’s absolute favorite.  It was a beautiful & easy hour or so drive.  Our favorite animal was the White Cheeked Gibbon.  They were hilarious & attracted a big crowd as they swung around playing tag.  At the lion habitat I was thinking in my head, as any true Auburn fan would, "War Eagle," just as I saw Matt do a double take at the guy next to us & yell "War Eagle!" at him.  He had on an AU hat!  Unfortunately he wasn't as excited as we were & I don't think he even returned the friendly battle cry.  It was pretty neat... running into a fellow AU fan in the Dallas Zoo while watching a live Tiger!  Oh well if he didn't want to be too friendly back.  I'm sad to say there are some collegiate party poopers out there.   After gawking at the animals for 4 hours, we headed home.

At the Tiger Habitat

Monday was yet ANOTHER day of play... and taking care of Mack.  We ate blueberry muffins for breakfast on the front porch, piddled around, then armed with smoothies, sun-block and reading material headed out to the pool again.  I had a good time in the sun & swimming laps and, once again, Matt had a good time reading in the shade :o)  We concluded the weekend with a cajun dinner on the river at Buzzard Billy's.  

Thank you to all veterans & active duty people who have so faithfully & diligently done your job!  I can not imagine all the challenges you have and will face.  It's worth celebrating every day.