Texas Lou

Archive for the ‘Birthdays’ Category

YAY for the weekend…it’s the first one in a month that I won’t be traveling!

Don’t get me wrong, I love traveling, and I had a ton of fun in Washington D.C. at the zoo, in Warrenton for the wine festival, in Texas for Megan’s wedding, and in OBX for the girls’ weekend, but man was I EXHAUSTED from all of that flying, driving, and getting up early so as not to miss a single thing (my motto when on vacation is I’ll sleep when I’m dead)!

Tonight we are having dinner with good friends at Outback and getting to meet little miss Erin (technically I met her at the hospital when she was born, but only through the glass).  Tomorrow is my company’s picnic which I helped plan as a member of the Events Committee.  I love company events like the picnic and holiday party because its so nice to get to talk to people outside of work in a very relaxed setting and meet their families.  On Sunday, we are heading to Ben’s parents’ place to celebrate his mom’s birthday!  I found her the most beautiful, unique gift in OBX last weekend and can’t wait to give it to her!

Besides all that fun stuff, I plan to do some more unpacking and clean up around our tiny little apartment, spend some time with my kitties, get some quality outdoor time, including a 6 mile run, which is part of my half marathon training, and maybe even lay by the pool.

I hope everyone has a wonderful and relaxing weekend!

Top Ten Things from This Weekend’s Trip To Texas

1. The look on my dad’s face when I surprised him by showing up for his 60th birthday party
2. Spending Friday evening drinking wine and enjoying the company of all of my siblings – Carrie, Mikey, Farris, Christian, and Bradley
3. Eating great long-overdue Mexican food with the fam
4. Getting Starbucks and kolaches with mom for breakfast Saturday morning
5. Playing Farmville with mom
6. Watching the Longhorns play while helping mom cook for a friend’s wedding
7. Having time to catch up on some good TV
8. Getting to drink St. Arnold’s Oktoberfest and Christmas Ale
9. Also having the time to start reading a really good book (so far)
10. Just being home

And it’s only Saturday morning so there’s plenty more fun to be had!

I recently filled up my 4 GB memory card on my digital camera and had to empty all of my pictures onto my hard drive.  I came across a picture from December 24th, 2008 taken on my 26th birthday.  Thinking about this night, I came to the realization that my birthday is my favorite day of the year.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m neither full of myself, nor do I enjoy torturing myself with an annual celebration that reminds me that I’m one year older and still haven’t accomplished my goals.  Although this day is always nice because I get lots of attention, the real reason it is my favorite day of the year is because it is the one day of the year when I know I will get to be with my family. 

Since my parents divorced when I was 12 years old, the days that the 5 of us got to spend together as a family, broken and disfunctional as we may be, have been few and far between.  Since I moved to Virginia in 2005, my time in Texas with my family is limited so the whole family gets together for my birthday every year to have dinner on Christmas Eve. 

Although it is just one night a year, it is the one night where I get to pretend that my parents are still together and we are all still a big, happy family.  I’ve often thought about the fact that I will never know how it feels to have my parents together, married, and happy as an adult, and this is the closest that I get. 

Every year at dinner, we take a family picture, and these pictures have become some of my most cherished.  I really think we are all truly happy at the moment these pictures were taken.

December 24, 2006 @ The Taste of Texas

December 24, 2007 @ The Melting Pot

December 24, 2008 @ Perry’s Steakhouse