Life's a Beach!

Happy Monday folks. It is BEAUTIFUL out and I am anxious to soak it all up before the humidity comes and zaps the living life out of us. I am afraid, very afraid. I hate hot weather with a passion and I fear I am powerless to stop the swealtering blanket of humidity that is undoubtedly gathering force for the next several months. I have already purchased some new shorts - a few pair that are sweat wicking. I am also considering an "all naked, all the time" policy at our home at around the July and August time frame. Hey, if everyones naked, whats the big deal?!

That said, its not swealtering yet and I am enjoying every stinking minute of it. I think this weekend was my first moment of pure joy to realize that - we live at the beach! HELLOOO! is that not the coolest thing ever?! We had planned on Sunday after church to head onto the mainland and grab some lunch. maybe do some putzing around the city. Andy popped out on the Sea Wall in our subaru for a little scenic drive before we jumped on I-45 and well...our minds were changed. There were some awesome waves (rare for the gulf), the water was pristine and there wasn't a cloud in sight!

I loved coming back home feeling slightly worn from a day out in the sun. Salty and suncreeny skin went so well with an afternoon snack. I decided in my mind, though I'd been somewhat dreading heading back to work Monday mornings, that I would consider this ordinary sunday an extraordinary vacation day! With that framework, well, Sunday was a blessed and restful day in the sun, sand and water.

Side note: there also were no signs of oil, oily birds or oil booms out there this weekend. If I am going to keep this as a historical database of our time in Texas then it is worth it to note that the states to our east are currently experiencing coastal emergencies due to an oil rig explosion just south of Louisiana. Currently, Texan coastal dwellers are safe though projections to the fishing industry are proving mighty frightening. We must all keep coastal fisherman, their families and wildlife in our prayers as this oil spill is proving to be a nightmare.

Spring Explorations

Happy Monday all!

Or is it happy monday to me? haha, sometimes I think this blogging thing is a great exploration into writing to myself. and my mom. She reads it. Sometimes. haha...oh well. If nothing else, I am documenting our big life adventure that is life in the South. Someday I'll compile them all in a book and leave them for the generations.

I need to do a better job of posting. We have been doing a lot this spring and enjoying some incredible weather! Not kidding, its been beautiful for the past 6 weeks. Sunny and in the 70s. The past two weekends have included some awesome travel around our new state.

Word on the street suggested that Texan wildflowers are the thing to see once spring hits so my friend Jenny and I jumped in her Mini and headed to Brenham Texas- 2 hours from Galveston. Between Houston and Austin, Brenham is a cute little town with a fabulous downtown full of antique shops and cute little restaraunts. We found some country roads and headed all around to see fields and fields of wild flowers. I am kind of obsessed with wildflowers - I think they are just gorgeous and so unimanicured and wild :-) Makes me think of the Jars of Clay song, "Love Song for a Savior" too. Awesome song.

We also checked out a few wineries which was fun. Pleasant Valley winery was my favorite by far - I picked up a super bottle of white that I uncorked last night. A delicious addition to my guitar, sandaled feet and wicker porch chair.

Anyway, there were blues and oranges and yellows all over the green HILLS. yes. there are hills in Texas. I was doubtful, but I found some. It was so nice to get away from palm trees for a bit and into the shade of some "real trees." Tall, leaves (not fronds), "oaky". you know what I'm talking about.

This past weekend we got to go camping too with folks from our new church. This was pretty cool - we have always wanted to go camping with our church back home but it was often hard to get people together. Well, Galveston Bible church goers LOVE CAMPING! hello - have we met our church mecca??!! a church full of Crunchy granola liberals who love Jesus??!! LOL. ok, I won't go that far :-). They are a wonderful group of folk who continue to keep Andy and I in the wonderful political tension space that is the moderate independent voting class. (go Obama ;-). GBC is similar to our home church back in Baltimore in this regard and we are thankful for that.

So, good stuff all around. I am thankful for a great trip back home over Easter and ask for prayers on the job front. Its a little slow these days and i am anxious to change the world. Patience is a virtue that I am developing whether I like it or not.

Peace and hugs friends.

Beef. Its whats for Dinner

Good day bloggers.

Theres been alot going on the past few weeks. Its nice to see that our calendar is getting somewhat full with fun new things to do and see. I am really looking forward to these next couple of months. We've got a camping trip scheduled, my first triathlon is coming up, and we will also hopefully take a jaunt somewhere fun for our anniversary. Good stuff all around.

Andy suggested I start off my next blog with some of the details of our recent jaunt into the world of Barbecue. As many of you know, Andy is particularly fond of all things meat. Thus, Texas is just the right place for him to be. He often says that if nothing else, he will leave here with a PhD in barbecue. (We also hope that he leaves with another degree while we're at it...I think we'll be successful there too. ha! )

Steaks, Chickens, and pork abound here on Winnie Street as Andy gets acquainted with his recent birthday gift. A charcoal/gas griller combo - we found a great deal on this thing and are having a blast. Not only is it tasty, but its super fun to cook together. I really love to cook and so have always enjoyed putting stuff together for us. Now Andy is getting into the game and is looking up all kinds of recipes. Heres some pics to get your taste buds watering










YUMMO!!

What would Nellie do?

Good evening folks. Its raining tonight and our plans to head to campus to watch an outdoor screening of the Blindside were foiled! Bummer. We will just have to rent it when it comes out on DVD.

I went on a run last Sunday with Nellie and thought to myself: "I wonder what Galveston is like to our animals?". It was a beautiful afternoon and we were on our usual course. Nellie, our pitbull/greyhound mix, was a gift from my cousins before we left for Texas. She has been such a joy to us. Shes full of energy (sometimes too much!) and is a great Galveston dog. Shes short haired, so shes a good fit for all the hot weather. and she LOVES to run on the beach. We take her down atleast once a week and she goes nuts. Digging holes, running after other pups and enjoying some freedom off the leash. Her only hesitancy is around the water. She's not a fan of getting wet. Our first effort to give her a bath ended up with us on the floor covered in soap and her zipping around the house trying to stay out of our reach. We have since invested in a hose for outdoor washdowns. :-)

Both the cat and the dog have been on the island for 3 straight months. We head to the mainland from time to time for shopping or some treks into the city. But these two have hunkered down "island style" big time. I am learning the best routes for evening walks. There are so many dogs in this town!!! I often head towards campus and have found that Market street is "dog walkers hell." There are about 5 houses in a row just before the library that each have dogs. The minute Nellie graces them with her presence it is a slobber fest of smelling and barking and attempts to nip at each other through the fences. And then theres always the lovely chihuahua at the end. Barking her head off even after we round the corner out of sight. No more Market street for Nellie. I have little doubt that the scene from the road of us trying to just make it alive down to the end of the block is a sight to behold!



Harley the cat seems to like the island too. She has the rule of the attic and spends most of her days hiding amongst our unpacked boxes and guest area. The dog won't go up there and taunt her if we don't accompany her so the cat really has a palatial space up there. From time to time she graces us with her presence (she's such a CAT!). She's also gotten quite sneaky and has managed to crawl out of the house on a couple of nice days when we had our back door open. She's a smart kitten though...she knows where her next meal is coming from and makes it back within a couple of hours.



Alls quiet on the island front as of late. I am looking forward to a visit back home over Easter. Unfortunately Andy cannot join as he doesn't have class off. It will be a nice break for me though - theres a little guy back east that has started crawling. I've got to see it with my own eyes! :-)