New Car!!

After 10 long years with my 1991 Mercury Capri I have upgraded to a 2007 Mazda 3i Touring.  It is bittersweet saying goodbye to the Mercury, for I shared many eventful years with that car and I will miss having a convertible, but to say the least, it was time to move on after many mechanical problems with it towards the end. I guess you could say that when I make a commitment, I tend to do so for a long time. I've always had long relationships, whether it be a boyfriend, a job or even a car. So, I hope that my new car will last as long as possible because I anticipate a great future together! Thanks Jerry for being such a sweet person for making it possible. 

Rats!

The dogs found a new friend yesterday morning. Yep, a rat! It was a relief to see that they were just being inquisitive, gingerly pawing and sniffing at it. However, the very site of a rat was not a relief at all. I know that they can be destructive and dirty pests. I found some droppings and some chewed up painting supplies in our carport the other day, so I set out some poison. Well, it now appears that my plan had worked. The rat was dying a slow death, breathing but barely moving. Success...right? Well, now I'm torn. I felt so sad and guilty seeing this poor thing dying in front of me, yet I was the one that had planned his fate. But is feeling that way going too far?

Regardless of always being compassionate for animals, I've become even more aware in the last year. I've learned a lot more about how horribly animals are treated for the sake of profit (meat industry, fur, shark fins for soup, etc., etc.) that I just don't want to take part in it on a certain level. Well, no I haven't become a vegan or animal activist, but I've decided not to eat red meat. I figure that's a feasible step in the right direction anyway. I've even started questioning whether I should stop purchasing leather. I want to be respectful of all living things, but does that mean that I am a hypocrite if I still buy or eat animal products? Or, am I a hypocrite if I kill wild rats? For now my justification is that, well, I am human and humans are part of the circle of life, even if that means killing a pesty rat or eating that Chik-fil-a sandwich that may once have been a two-headed chicken. Well, on that note, perhaps I've still got some considering to do...

If These Walls Could Talk

Don't know where to flush the toilet, or where the soap goes?

Check out these cool tiles from Ascot...

30 Years Old

How It 'Feels'

May 11th I turned 30 and, other than my 21st, this has definitely been a memorable birthday. It seems I can no longer be considered a 'young adult' and now I'm, well, an adult. Yeah, turning 21 I thought I was an adult. Graduating college, getting married, buying a house, moving away from 'home' (Colorado), selling a house to buy a different house: these are all things that I thought constituted being an 'adult', but now that I'm 30 it seems I am officially an adult. 

It seems I'm now at the age where people don't ask how old you are on your birthday. And supposedly people cannot respond when you tell them by saying, "wow!", without it being offensive. I can no longer go out without being able to handle liquor or wear shorts or skirts above the knee without getting second looks, no matter how good your body may be or how sober you may feel. People ask you when you're going to have kids. And you are more concerned about the lawn than you are with who you're going out with on a Friday night. 

Turning 30 has made me think about all these expectations or parameters (as described previously) that seem to be placed on you when you get to a certain age. To tell you the truth, I hadn't really thought about these until now. So, now that I'm 30 I've decided that I'm not going think about them any more. I believe, as the saying goes, that 'you are only as old as you feel' and I don't want to feel 30 if it means I have to be a certain way. Truth be told, I still only feel 21. I may have done all these adult things, but I feel young and ready to learn more about life than I ever have before. 

How I Celebrated

This year my birthday fell on Mother's Day, so to celebrate both appropriately my mom came out to visit. It was probably the most amazing time we've spent together, which made it the most memorable birthday ever. She came out on a Saturday and left on a Wednesday afternoon. We had a well balanced and eventful time together. 

Saturday night my mom, Jeff, Joseph, Matthew, Katy, Frederico, Julie, Paula, Kara and myself celebrated my birthday at Home Slice for pizza and beer, the bar at San Jose Hotel, and then Kara, Joseph, Jeff and I continued to party hard at Molotov. I am so fortunate to have such wonderful friends, a wonderful husband (who treated everybody to dinner. Thanks Jeff!), and my mom for being such a trooper for hanging out. Joseph, thanks for Molotov as well!

Sunday, my mom and I met with my usual brunch crew at Sago for a Mother's Day brunch. Mmm, yummy as always, even with a hang over! 

Monday, Mom and I went to Fredericksburg and had the best day ever!! We did what we do best - shopped til' we dropped. And we dropped at a cute little B&B called Binky's Secret Garden. Thanks Mom for the wonderful conversations and quality time together.

Tuesday we came back home and got busy. Mom and I managed to paint my entire living room, put up new blinds, a new curtain rod and rearrange the furniture in one day (well, a day and a half really, but who's counting). Like mother like daughter: when we have a vision, we are motivated to get it just right. 

I was sad to see Mom go on Wednesday, but happy that we got to spend such a wonderful few days together. I appreciate my mom so much more now that I am older - that is, 30 years older. 

Other celebrities born in 1978:

Ashton Kutcher, Brooke Burns, Clay Aiken, Gael Bernal, James Franco, Jason Biggs (I'm 1 day older), Topher Grace, Usher, Josh Harnett, Joshua Jackson, Josie Maran (I'm 3 days younger), Katherine Heigl, Katie Holmes, Kevin Federline, Kobe Bryant, Nelly Furtado

Jerry Comes to Town in New Car

Jerry was nice enough to arrange to come to Austin early to bring my new car. Jeff and I were thrilled to see him and spend some time with him as well. It mostly consisted of eating and relaxing, the way life should be in general. We managed to eat at our local seafood market/restaurant appropriately named Quality Seafood twice 2 days in a row. It was a hit with Jerry, needless to say. His last night here we went to Jeff and my all time favorite restaurant Fonda San Miguel (where Roberto Rodriguez found his inspiration for the chef-shooting scene in Once Upon A Time In Mexico).

While Jerry was here, Jeff's band Renegades of Disaster City happened to have their first live performance. What better way to break into the live scene than to try it out at a talent show, the ACC Talent Show that is. Jerry and I were so proud and happy with their performance. Can't wait until they get a gig at a venue now!

Jeff took off a day of work to putz, er, putt-putt around with his dad at Peter Pan Putt-Putt, eat at Lulu B's and visit the Texas State History Museum too. I think they had a great time together. 

It was great to see Jerry and we're looking forward to seeing him in July!!