Bob's got a girlfriend

Well, week one in NYC is successfully completed and week two is well on its way! This week, Bob introduced me to his girlfriend Abba. Abba is very sweet and cute. She's a bit smaller than Bob but the two of them follow each other around quite a bit!

A couple people have asked me if it is "fun" or "neat" being in NY in the fall. Do I see the fall colors? The leaves changing? Enjoy the cool weather? And the shopping?.... Well, unless there's a tree that is going to sprout out of the middle of the conference room table or in my hotel room, the answer is "no". And at 9pm at night when I'm in a taxi on my way back to the hotel room it is difficult to decipher the colors of the leaves on the trees. Sigh. Since I'm here for 3 weeks, I've got some hope that I will get the afternoon off so I can hit up my favorite shoe store here soon. **Somewhere Mike's ears just perked up a little bit and he's checking the bank account.**

This is one view I get to see everyday.

That's the view of downtown from my conference room here in midtown. Straight ahead is where we used to see the twin towers. To the far right is New Jersey and in the middle there you can barely see the statue of liberty. I can also see the Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges to the left (not shown). It is an absolutely stunning view that I am not going to complain about.

What I will complain about is the fact that I apparently think sitting in this conference room is equivalent to running a marathon. I'm burning calories by typing on my computer and looking out this window right?? I have shown no willpower when it comes to food and drinks. My daily diet usually consists of a latte and oatmeal, mid-morning snack, sandwich / soup for lunch...this is where it gets bad...a cookie (or two) for snack, can of coke at 3pm, potato chips at around 5pm, dinner at 9pm-ish that consists of appetizer, BIG entree, dessert, oh...and 2 glasses of wine. I am changing this today. I'm off to a good start so far but the afternoon is still ahead of me.

Hello from the East side!

New York that is. Someone severed my right arm (aka split me from my baby) and put me on a plane to NYC for a three week trip for work. I've been working on a pretty high profile case that is finally going to trial so we are headed to NY to prep for my boss to testify. Although it is going to be a GREAT experience career-wise, I miss Mike and Cavin more than I could ever have imagined.

I've been planning for this trip for weeks. Between making sure I have all of my pump supplies in order to calling the local UPS store and hotel to ensure that I can ship dry ice and freeze my milk properly, I didn't have much time to think about the fact that I was really going to be away from my baby for almost a month of his life. SO much happens in one month!

I cried 3 separate times the morning I had to go to the airport. I knew I was leaving him in great hands with his daddy but I couldn't help but feel completely guilty and nervous. Was Cavin going to acclimate to the new schedule? Was he going to notice me not around? Will Mike know where Cavin's favorite nap blanket is? Will Cavin's wardrobe be up to par without me laying out his clothes every night?? I had real concerns people!

I survived the 6 hour plane ride over to the East side and was greeted by a glass of champagne, compliments of the hotel upon check-in...


Hmmm....that was one positive to this trip.

Then I learned that our hotel loans you one of their goldfish to stay in your room with you for the duration of your trip. Meet Bob.

Bob has quickly assumed the role that Cavin, Toby, Sandy, and Jerry usually fill. He is my 'kid' while I'm away from my kids. I feed him, talk to him, tell him "good night", "good morning", ask him how his day was, and in general, make sure he is alive and well. I'm really going to miss Bob when I go home this weekend but I know he'll be back here to greet me and tell me all about his weekend when I get back next week.

I miss Texas

Mornin' y'all!

The first thing I did this morning is turn on my I-pod, search for Robert Earl Keene, found "Fourth of July", and turned the speakers up....like I've done EVERY 4th of July since I can remember. I danced around the kitchen listening to album after album of REK until I moved to good 'ole Pat Green, then Cory Morrow, then back to "4th of July". Ah man, I miss my Texas country.


And as I had my own little party in the kitchen I couldn't help but think how MUCH I miss Texas. It truly defines who I am and brings back nothing but awesome awesome memories.


Now before anyone gets excited (or sad) we are not moving back anytime soon...or ever. We don't know what lies ahead of us and we are definitely enjoying California...it is truly a beautiful state and we've met some wonderful people out here!

And I'm sure Mike feels the same way about Colorado, he just doesn't have an entire genre of music to remind him. Maybe whenever he sees a mountain or snow he feels the same way? :)

However, Mike isn't writing this blog post. So as I sit here on the 4th of July reminiscing about eating watermelon in the heat and humidity by the lake and listening to REK, I also think about:

- Aggie football games (Gig 'em!), drinking beer starting at 8am (the ONLY way to deal with the last 5 years or so of Aggie football), and heading to the Chicken

- Shiner Bock on tap

- Road Trips to the beach, the Hill Country, to Austin for some live music, or to see our favorite Texas country singer play in one of our favorite dancehalls in the middle of nowhere

- Watching George Strait open the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo

- Drinking cold beer outside on the porch at our favorite bar after work


- Watching my boys play...aka the Astros

- Hanging by the pool, drinking beer, playing cards, and making sure Jim and Mike don't cheat for the 100th time

- Good watermelon

- Good Mexican food (queso)

- Spending the weekend on a houseboat and waiting to see what Mike will do Larry next


- Dog-sitting Marley and seeing how happy that makes Sandy...I've never seen two dogs as close as those two and it breaks my heart to think they may never hang out again.


- Bible Study

- Running around Memorial Park

- Southern hospitality

- Shopping with my mom

- Having my dad right around the corner to provide help and advice instantly

- Transco tower - I know that's a weird one but I love that building...and I know it isn't called that anymore but it will always be that to me

- Old friends who know exactly what I'm thinking just by looking at me




- Texas football rivalries


- Wurstfest


- Two-steppin'


- The Astrodome: the 8th wonder of the world :)

- Our indoor and sand volleyball team (Jordan, Jamie, Meredith, & Mike - Ha! I put the "Js" first!) and those conversations at the bar afterwards!

- Chili cook-offs - Specifically, my "Monica Lewinski's Slick Willy Chili" team and my award winning "Hillbilly Chili: Put some south in yo mouth y'all" team


Oh I could sit here and go on and on... (and I could of added a TON more pictures!)

To those of you who blessed me with these wonderful memories - my dear friends and family - from the bottom of my heart, thank you.


Here's to making new memories filled with avocados, wine, beautiful beaches...and a few trips to Texas in between. Yeehaw!

Where oh where have I been?

If you guessed 'on an airplane' then you are probably right. Holy moley it has been a while! I have so many updates but between the holidays and other personal travel, I haven't had much time to update the blog. I greatly apologize for that but promise that when I get the chance it will be a big update! I need to update y'all on Thanksgiving in Seattle, Christmas in Houston, my baby shower in Houston, and Rosemont Reunion 2009 ("RR09") in San Antonio...not to mention this cute little thang growing inside of me. I've had numerous requests for some good old fashioned belly pics so those are a comin' as well! If I don't get the blog updated this week then I will this weekend.

Stay tuned....