Texas Lou

A couple of years ago, I started posting about the number of blogs I was subscribed too.  This was when I first started blogging myself and was discovering the wonderful world of blogging and Google Reader which suggests new blogs that you may be interested in based on the blogs you are already subscribed too.

Over the years, I have continued to update the number of blogs I am subscribed to which has become astronomical.  I am now subscribed to 759 blogs!

Here’s proof!

While I’m definitely not able to keep up with reading all of these blogs regularly, I certainly never run out of things to read and I have the ability to read them anywhere I have an internet connection: home, work, my cell phone, my kindle fire.  My blog topics range from weddings and cooking to professional development (programming) and companies and organizations that I want to keep up with.  I even have most of them organized within categories which helps when I’m in the mood to read about a specific topic.  I recommend checking out Google Reader if you haven’t already.  It’s definitely one of my favorite things on the interwebz!

Friday afternoon, I met up with my friend/sister-in-law Sarah and my friend Amy to hang out at Fridays After 5.  Sarah and Amy were downtown looking for some last minute items for Amy’s wedding which is in less than two weeks!  I’m so excited for Amy and Joel’s wedding…it’s going to be a blast!

After meeting up with the girls, we stopped by Baggby’s Gourmet Sandwiches and then headed over to the Nook to join Sarah’s parents, Craig and Robin, for some drinks.

The girls and I downtown at Friday’s After Five.

After drinks at the Nook, we headed to the pavilion to watch Mingo Fishtrap play.  I’d never heard of them, but Sarah’s parents were raving about their music.  Plus they are from Austin, so any band from Texas deserves a listen from me.  I really enjoyed their music and they were great at playing several different styles and genres.

Mingo Fishtrap performing at the Charlottesville Pavilion

They even brought their own sign!

Amy and Sarah downtown

After taking the picture above, Sarah and Amy both asked if it was going on the blog.  Well here it is girls!

Ben and I were supposed to get dinner with our friends Cheryl and Dan who sadly moved to Tennessee on Saturday, but their movers came too late and they weren’t finished packing until well after dinner time.  We will miss them, but are planning on a visit soon!

After Fridays After 5, Ben and I randomly headed out to Sarah and Ian’s new house for a fun night with friends.  All in all, it was a perfect start to the weekend!  I hope everyone’s Friday was as fun as mine!

A few months ago, my mother-in-law was doing some shopping at Tuesday Morning and found something really unusual (well unusual for Virginia).  She alerted me of the 40 pound concrete stone in the shape of Texas and I knew I HAD to buy it.  Besides, I am probably the only person in Charlottesville Virginia who has an affinity obsession for items in the shape of the great state of Texas.

I made a quick trip to Tuesday Morning which always has awesome deals and got this Texas shaped stone at a steal for $8.  And as I was buying it, the clerk remarked, “Good, I’m glad someone’s finally buying this.  I’m tired of looking at it on the shelf!”  Well like they say, one person’s trash is another person’s treasure!

Since we don’t have a yard currently, my in-laws are storing it for me in their yard until we have a house and yard where I can proudly display it!

Today is rough.  Yesterday was rough.  I’ve been discovering that there is so much I don’t know and so much I need to learn to even come close to feeling comfortable at my new job.  Javascript, SQL, Jquery, CSS…the list goes on and on.  Of course I know tiny bits and pieces of these languages and concepts and can infer alot because of my programming background but I still feel like I’m drowning in a sea of inexperience and anxiety.

I want to quit because quitting is easy.  I want to find an easy job.  But another part of me refuses to take the easy route or be a quitter or work for a lower salary when I’ve become accustomed to the amount of money I make now.  I am trying to teach myself and learn from coworkers and Ben, but why does everyone else seem to get it easier and faster than me?  I’m tired of being the person that is constantly asking questions and needing someone to hold my hand through every little process.

I told Ben I’d give it 3 more months here and evaluate how much I’ve grown and learned.  I’m afraid I’m in the wrong job or the wrong field but I don’t know if that fear is based in reality or based in the exhaustion of anxiety about not being able to do my job or do it well.  I know I’ll feel so much stronger and confident if I can hold on and work through being inexperienced but in the meantime, every minute I spend at work is filled with terror, frustration, and anxiety.  I’m just waiting for things to get easier.

No, none for me…not just yet.  Gotta find that “perfect” house to nest in first!

Yesterday was an exciting day filled with babies!

First, we visited our friends Cria, Megan, and their daughter Erin who just welcomed baby Connor a couple weeks ago!  We brought them dinner and gifts for Erin and Connor!  We had a nice visit and Erin showed us all of her favorite kids’ games and apps on the iPad.  Plus I got to hold newborn baby Connor!

Then, last night, we got an email from Ben’s mom that Ben’s sister, Casey, had her baby girl, JJ!  That makes niece number 4 for Ben (and me too now that we’re married)!

It’s so exciting to see friends and family welcoming precious new lives into this world!  I’m so excited to see all of the little ones grow!

Lately we’ve had a bit of bad luck on the homefront.

Ben’s fish has been really sick for a couple of weeks now.  Despite lots of medicine and trips to the pet store, he’s only gotten worse and we’re worried he’s dying.

Then on Sunday, we realized our kitchen sink had been leaking for quite some time and had flooded the particle board cabinet underneath.  Now we’ve got to deal with the possibility of mold and tracking down the leak.

In addition, on Sunday, our TV turned itself off and made a strange noise when we turned it back on.  We’re keeping our fingers crossed that this was an isolated incident.

Then last night, my laptop blue screened.  I’m getting nervous that the motherboard or hard drive might be going bad.  I’ve had the computer for 4 years now and it’s no longer under warranty.  Although it would be nice to have a new one, I definitely can’t afford it right now.

Ben’s car has also been giving us a hard time.  He had it in the shop 3 different times in the past couple of weeks.  First they thought he needed a new battery, then they realized they actually needed to replace the alternator.  Then the alternator they replaced it with went bad.  We are hoping that nothing else bad happens in the car department.

All of these are kind of trivial (except for Ben’s fish dying of course), but added together, there could be alot of money and effort needed to get everything back in working condition.  I’m starting to wonder if we are just going through a bout of bad luck or if we might have gremlins in the house.  Either way, I need to find some lucky rabbits feet and four leaf clovers fast!

The title of this post is one of my favorite quotes about love and relationships.  I think I really like it because it describes the teamwork, partnership, and cooperation that I believe is necessary for a healthy and lasting relationship.

Speaking of love and games, I wanted to show the cornhole set that I had custom made for my wedding.  The theme of the wedding was Texas and Virginia (mine and Ben’s home states respectively in case it wasn’t already obvious).  We had lots of little aspects of the wedding that went along with this theme like the Texas shaped bride’s cake (yes, you read that right, we had a bride’s cake instead of a groom’s cake) and the Virginia wine and beer served at the reception.  I think this game brought the whole theme together quite nicely, not to mention it was great fun to have at the wedding and Ben and I can enjoy them for years to come.

Board 1: Texas

Board 2: Virginia

The boards were hand made by the extremely talented Derik of Cornchucker LLC .  He did a beautiful job and let me customize the wording, colors, and logos on the boards.  I know Ben and I are going to have these set up in our backyard when we finally buy a house and they will always remind us of our wonderful wedding weekend!

I realized the other day that I just passed the 7 year anniversary of moving to Virginia.  I believe I moved into my first Virginian residence on August 9th, 2005.

I remember how weak and sad I felt when I got here.  I literally kicked and screamed part of the way here and could think of nothing else more than to get back to Texas ASAP!  I never dreamed that I would still be here 7 years later.  Even though I still wish I lived in Texas and I miss my friends and family terribly, I wouldn’t change the past.  Had I not left Texas and moved to Virginia, I don’t think I would be as strong and independent as I am today.  Had I stayed in my comfort zone close to mommy and daddy, I may have never really gotten that push out of the metaphorical nest that I needed to truly become an adult.  Living close to my parents was always a crutch that I could take advantage of.  What if I had a flat tire? What if I got in a car accident?  What if I can’t figure out how to cook something?  Mom and dad were always right there to fix things for me.  Of course now they are only a phone call away, but being 2000 miles away from them made me realize that I needed to be able to rely on myself like an adult.

Another reason I would never change the decision I made 7 years ago to follow my college boyfriend to Virginia is that I would have never met so many amazing new friends and family.  I would have never fallen in love with and learned so much from Ben.  I probably would have stayed in an unhealthy and manipulative relationship and not morphed from the shy introvert into the outgoing extrovert (most of the time) that I am now.

I would also probably never get the chance to appreciate a more rural environment.  When I first moved to Charlottesville, I certainly had culture shock!  I spent my whole life living in HUGE cities like Houston and San Antonio.  Not having a gas station on every corner was pretty scary to me…it made me feel cut off from the rest of the world.  Now I LOVE living in a less urban environment.  It means that there are less traffic, less pollution, and less crowds to deal with.  And Facebook, cellphones, email, and this blog certainly keep me feeling connecting to the ones I love who are far away.

I’m so glad that I have traveled the path that lays behind me now.  It certainly wasn’t easy and it’s been filled with some sadness, heartbreak, and loneliness.  But it has also been filled with joy, surprise, adventure, learning, love, and amazement.  I know the future will definitely hold the bad and the good but it will also be shaped by the 7 years I’ve spent here and the decisions that led me here as well.  I just have to remember that in order to experience something amazing, I’ve got to take a risk, endure the negative, and keep a positive outlook on things.  Had I not left Texas, I wouldn’t be the person I am today and that would be sad, because I really do love who I am!

Last night, I went downtown to Fridays After Five, a free concert held at the Charlottesville Pavilion every Friday in the summer time, to meet up with the AMAZING Travis family(Robin, Sterling, and Sarah, my sister-in-law) to see Craig Travis (Sarah’s dad) sing with his former band the Houserockers.

After bumping into some friends and enjoying good conversation while sipping on local Star Hill beer, we went to the front of the pavilion to cheer on the Houserockers and dance and sing along.  The Houserockers put on a wonderful performance and Sarah’s dad is truly talented.

I apologize for the blurriness of these pictures, but we were dancing after all!

Robin, Sterling, and Sarah waiting for Craig’s performance. I love this family!

My sister from another mister and I!

Craig singing front and center.

Go Houserockers!

After the show, Sterling, Sarah, and I stopped off at Miyako for some sushi and edamame.  It was a great way to start the weekend and I’m so glad I FINALLY got to see the Houserockers perform after hearing so many great things about them from the Travis family!

A few months ago, I received an email from Living Social about a deal for a Murder/Ghost/History tour in Charlottesville.  I’ve been wanting to take this tour for a long time since I’ve heard alot of good things about it from friends and I’m interested in history and mystery so I decided to take advantage of the deal.

Fast forward to this week and I received an email that my living social deal I had purchased months ago was about to expire so I had to act fast!  Sarah and I made plans to take the tour which is given every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 8 to 10 PM in downtown Charlottesville.  I wasn’t sure what to expect since Cville is such a small town (at least in my eyes).  I was curious about how many people would attend the tour and how much history and ghost stories there could actually be.

A flyer for the ghost tour I took last night

The tour, given by Rob Craighurst of Tell Me About It Tours, was pretty awesome!  Rob walked us through the streets of downtown Charlottesville telling us the story of a former mayor of Charlottesville, Sam McCue, and his wife Fannie who was murdered in 1904.  His elaborate and historically accurate anecdote was sprinkled with rumors of ghosts sightings at certain area residences and businesses as well as interesting facts about the landscape and history of Charlottesville in the early 1900s.  He also pointed out several buildings throughout downtown Charlottesville that I had no idea existed like the original Charlottesville jail where people were hanged as punishment for their crimes.  Rob was a wonderful tour guide who mastered  the use of humor, suspense, and imagery in his story and held our attentions very well!  I would recommend this tour to both tourists and long-time residents of Charlottesville.  I will probably even take the tour again since I found it so interesting.

A map of the house where the wife of former mayor of Charlottesville, Sam McCue, was murdered in 1904. The house still stands and serves as an apartment building which we passed on the tour.

If you’re ever in Charlottesville (or live here) and are looking for 2 hours of entertainment (and exercise as it was a walking tour), I highly recommend this!  The price wasn’t bad either…only $15 per person!