Category: Out & About

Do we always have to have a title?

Goodness, I need to update, don’t I? It’s unlike me to go so many days without writing something.

It’s been a good week. I spent Monday & Tuesday at the Band Hall, taking care of little things that will help next year start smoothly. There are actually a lot of little things to do and I’m a little behind but it’ll all get done when I go back to work next week.

On Wednesday, Thursday & Friday, I spent at Connally High School working with the YEA!/The Cadets Summer Leadership Series camp. I’m not actually on staff but maybe next year, as they expand the number of camps they run, I might be. It was an interview of sorts. Their curriculum is some of the best I’ve seen; and I’ve seen lots of leadership curriculum being taught. The staff consists of people who have either marched or worked with The Cadets and as much as you may dislike George Hopkins, he has an awesome crew running The Cadets. I think I’m going to find a way to either send our leadership or have them do a camp at our school next year.

I was supposed to go to S. Padre Island this weekend with The Millers but I decided that some of my friends really need “girl time” and with this being a “long” holiday weekend, it would be a great time to do just that. Saturday, Cathy & I spent the day trying to get some sun (we played in the pool at her mom & dad’s but got very little sun) and just kickin’ back, not worrying about work. Aside from the fact the sun stayed behind clouds most of the day, it was great! Yesterday, we went to see The Lake House and she did some family stuff since it was her brother’s birthday. I had dinner with my friend Stephanie, who is a banking lawyer so any time to hang out is treasured. I’ve known Steph since we were in high school and we just don’t get enough time together. We’re definitely going to try to get some more girl’s nights in coming up. She, Cathy and I had one early this year and we had so much fun; then got so damn busy we rarely saw each other. That nonsense has got to stop. 😉

Today, Cathy & Steph must work (corporate life must suck like that) but I think we’re going to get together for dinner. If the weather cooperates, I think I’m going to grill but if not, I have a great grill pan I got during my days schlepping Pampered Chef so I’ll just grill indoors. Tomorrow is National America Day. (Is that redundant?) We’ll probably get together and hope for sun, maybe shop a little (still looking for a chair for the living room) and go to watch fireworks somewhere.

It may not be the beach (I was really looking forward to going) but it’s been a perfect weekend so far.

Oh, before I sign off, I must review The Lake House. Without a doubt, it was a “chick flick”. The plot outline from IMDB says:

A lonely doctor (Bullock) who once occupied an unusual lakeside home begins exchanging love letters with its newest resident, a frustrated architect (Reeves). They must try to unravel the mystery behind their extraordinary romance before it’s too late.

The film is done fairly well and if you’ve seen any commercials for the movie, you’ll know that the two residents are living two years apart. There are parts where they’re writing each other but it’s put in dialog form and I found that a bit annoying (they don’t even have paper near them). I can see that they did it to keep the format from seeming repetative but I think it came across a bit lame. Aside from that, a cute chick flick that made me cry a bit at the end. The scenery is beautiful, too. I’m going to give it 3.5 stars out of 5.

After The Fourth, I have the rest of the week off but I think I’m going to clean house and get the cats bathed. No, I’m not doing it myself. They’ve got a major dander problem right now and I think it’s making me break out. I think it’s because of the mild winter we had. Should be an intersting process. I’ll try to get pictures!

A bit of weekly wrap-up

I promised I’d blog about my trip to Tyler so here it is. I am a woman of my promises (or try to be).

On Tuesday, I took our Drum Majors (Elyse, Jack & Aimee) to drum major camp at Tyler Junior College. I started out at 10 am and headed to the bus barn to pick up a school district suburban. I was really thankful they had one at such a short notice (I had requested one the Thursday before and this happened to be the week that the transportation department as well as several campus administrators went to various conferences, using almost all the suburbans). I went to fill it up with gas but the stupid gas tank didn’t accept the key fob swipey thingy that went with that suburban. Finally, someone came out with a master key fob swipey thingy and I was gassed up and on my way to pick up the kids from their homes.

After I made my rounds through the streets of Round Rock, picking up kids like a school bus driver, we were on our way! I had talked to Daniel Montoya about which route to take, since he had made that trip recently. Because he had various other people to pick up in other places, it worked better for him to go there via Waco. I decided to take the scenic route and go all the way on Hwy 79.

So, after about 4 1/2 hours, many little towns and a few stops we had arrived in Tyler. I’ve travelled with many sets of kids and AS a kid myself and with every road trip, there were always lots of observations of funny things (or things that just seemed to strike a group funny) made along the way. Not with this group. They chatted about all types of things and we listened to all types of music but most of the things they observed were the “Do not pass” then, not even a mile later, “Pass with care” signs. They found it ironic how close together those signs could be!

We got to Tyler and even without great directions, found our destination. Here’s a cute thing I noticed (maybe it was just cute to me) as I was leaving town: Elyse, one of our drum majors was named after the mom from Family Ties (with Michael J. Fox). Her real name is Meredith Baxter Birney (or was at the time). The dorm the girls were staying in is in between Meredith & Baxter streets! What’s really funny is, Elyse knows all about her name sake and she was navigating and it didn’t click to her. I’ll have to ask her later if it ever dawned on her….

So, I dropped them off, got them all checked in and situated in their room and headed back home. One the way out, I passed the school that Daniel Montoya does his annual camps at and recently blogged about so I decided to stop to see if their band director and my friend Bobby Castillo was around still. I figured he probably wasn’t (and he wasn’t) but how often is one in Tyler? While wandering around, looking for a door that might be open to the band hall, I found a spot that seemed very familiar and realized it was this spot:

That spot!

Again, it was probably only funny to me but I chuckled a bit to think that my buddy Danny had just stood there only weeks before.

On the way to and from Tyler, going via Hwy 79, you pass through a town called Buffalo. The kids noticed the town on the way in but didn’t give much thought or observation to it. I guess they were really just anxious about getting to Drum Major Camp. On my way out, I realized it’s quite a ranch town and found shops they could have included the town’s name in. For example, they have a stock exchange there. I don’t remember exactly what it was named and I know a “Buffalo Exchange” exists as a company but wouldn’t that have been clever to include “Buffalo” as part of the name of the location? How about the feed store? Again, I don’t remember its name but including the name of the town would have certainly made it more memorable, don’t you think? I thought of some ideas (cheesy ones but still ideas) and chuckled as I drove through the town of Buffalo, TX.

I guess that’s about it for the Tyler trip. We had Music Camp 1 on Wednesday and Jazz Camp #1 on Thursday had a fairly good turn out for those (they’re optional). Connie’s birthday was Thursday and her party was way fun! Good food, good folks, good Pamaritas!!! I took my camera but for some reason it just didn’t make it out of my bag. I guess the party was too much fun to stop to pull out a camera, or something.

Last night was the 2nd Annual Texas Drum Corps Preview. Last year, it was held on the Riverwalk in San Antonio but this year, The Austin Stars sponsored it and managed to get the use of the Texas State Capitol grounds for the event. There were probably 150+ people there and lots of good music from the 4 drum corps from Texas. I was the announcer and was told I did a good job (I was nervous). What I really enjoyed (other than the corps themselves) was watching the crowd and seeing how enjoyable this art form is to folks other than us band nerds. I never see or hear people complain about a drum corps show. Pretty cool stuff. I had one of the kids take pictures so I’ll get them online eventually via the Austin Stars site.

And that was my week. 🙂

Merkaba Lounge & Grill

Merkaba Lounge & Grill; Austin, TX

Today, I went to lunch at Merkaba Lounge & Grill. Actually, I’ve eaten there a few times and if you’ve come to either of my parties as of late, so have you. 🙂 It’s a new place in North Austin and it is excellent. (I’m not just saying that because a friend owns it, either.)

For lunch, I had their Grilled Chicken Sandwich – a marinated grilled chicken breast with lettuce & tomato on a toasted kaiser roll. I didn’t get any cheese on it but you can add cheddar or pepper jack for just a few cents more. The chicken was tender and flavorfull and their kaiser roll was mildly sweet but didn’t overwhelm the flavor of the marinade on the chicken. With the sandwiches, you can get either homemade potato chips or the sweet potato fries. I went with the sweet potato fries and they were amazing. I’m not a big fan of mixing sweet and savory flavors but this wasn’t quite that. The naturally sweetness of the sweet potato really blended well with the seasoned salt they sprinkled (not doused) on there. There was a light breading on the fries that also only accentuated the flavor of the sweet potato. Their lunch prices range from $3.00 (soups) to $9.00 (Bourbon Street Steak Sandwich).

If you’re just up for appetizers, they have “Tapas of the World” there. You can get one item for $4.99 or three choices for $12.99. Lots of things to choose from, too. As of right now, I’ve tried the Asian Potstickers, Asian Calamari (comes with a Thai chili sauce), Asian Spring Rolls, Italian Rosemary Chicken Ravioli with a pesto cream sauce (that isn’t overwhelming like a lot of pesto sauces are), and the Spanish spring rolls with cilantro ranch dressing. OMG, the cilantro ranch dressing is TO DIE FOR!!! I can’t remember who said they’re not a big fan of the cilantro flavor but they still really liked this dressing because again, the cilantro flavor is blended well, not overwhelming.

As far as entrees go, I’ve had one full dinner and was there one day when their manager Trisha was doing final training of the kitchen staff. Raspberry Chipotle Salmon with rice pilaf and fresh steamed vegetables is great. I would probably order it without the raspberry sauce – no matter where I try it, I’m not a fan…it’s the sweet + savory thing I don’t like, though. I might try that sauce on a cheesecake or something; by itself, it’s yummy. Their Sesame Chicken with seasoned rice and steamed thai chili vegetables is the full dinner I had and it’s really good. The way the seasonings are balanced still keeps the chicken flavor abundant as well. The chicken itself is moist and tender. You can cut it with your fork! The Thai chili vegetables are not too spicy but certainly not bland. Oh, their Bourbon Street NY Strip steak is SO good. They marinate their steak overnight so it’s nice and juicy and tender. I only had a bite or two of it but I could go back for that whole dish anytime. It comes with seasoned potato wedges and steamed veggies as well. Their dinner prices range from $9.99 to $14.99.

They have desserts that I haven’t had a chance to try yet but the first thing I’m going to try is their Pina Colada Cake.

Now, let’s talk drinks. They have two walls of various beers on tap as well as many that are bottled. Their bartenders are trained to make about any drink you might want. They also have their own list of specialty martinis and my favorite is the Absolut Citron Lemon Drop Martini. My man Anthony can make a mean lemon drop martini for a man who doesn’t like them. 😉 And then, you have their Specialty Chocolate Shots – Chocolate Covered Cherry, Chocolate Covered Almond, Chocolate Covered Banana and Chocolate Orange. The fun part of this drink is that each one is just a shot of whatever flavor is listed with chocolate but it’s in a shot “glass” made entirely of chocolate. Once you drink your shot, you eat the chocolate!!! Now, how much fun is that? Again – YUMMY!! Here’s a picture of our shots that we got one night:

Chocolate Shots

Okay, this post has gotten entirely too long and because it has no pictures (except the last one), you’ve probably not even gotten to here. I know, I’ll get pictures of their food and create them a page via my site until we get a site of their own up and running. Stay tuned for that and if you want to go to Merkaba, let me know. I’ll go with you and bring you a coupon for 10% off food!

The housewarming shin-dig

Well, since Connie and Monica have posted about my party already, maybe I should as well! I’d post pictures of people and things about my party but since I didn’t actually designate anyone to take pics, they didn’t happen. Oh well. Actually, Daniel Montoya has one picture (of my computer & desk for John Mackey) and I’m sure he’ll post that to his blog when he’s done watching movies and is ready to write his wrap-up of my party.

So, the party was GREAT! About 30 or so folks came by and we all ate, drank and had great conversation. I didn’t get to sit and talk to any one person (or group of people) for very long but gave many tours of the house – thank you all for all your compliments – and watched that indeed, my house does have a nice flow for company. It felt very good to have all my friends over, enjoying themselves.

My friends were also very generous with their gift giving. I know people bring gifts to housewarmings but honestly, all I really wanted was for folks to come by and have fun at my new home – mi casa es su casa. I did take some pics today of things I’ve received so here they are:

The braided hibiscus from Debbie & Suzi:
Hibiscus - Debbie & Suzi A yellow flower!!

The hanging vinca from Pam:
Vinca - Pam

Cool cards from everyone, some with gift cards inside!
Cool cards - some with gift cards inside. :)

Lots of wine & liquor!! There are even more bottles in the fridge….
Lots of liquor!

And, from the Millers’, Lemons in a Copper Bowl by Connie Miller (C. Miller):
Lemons in Copper Bowl - C. Miller

I’m guessing that I, the master of all avoidance of writing Thank You cards, should probably not avoid it this time around. I’ve always been bad about doing them. Now that I’m an adult and with house, I should probably not be bad about this anymore, huh? Okay, to find stationary and just do it. Some folks (Montoya brothers, Lomelis & friends, etc.), I don’t think I have your address. Please email me with it (big_benford@yahoo.com) so I can send out cards properly. I did find that Evite allows me to send out global Thank Yous (which I did) but I’d still like to take a moment to write out cards.

Well, the clean up process is about done. I still have all the bottles and such recycling to take to the garage for recycling on Tuesday. There are lots of bottles to be recycled!!

Recycling

Also, on a house specific note, I have three crepe myrtles in the back yard and one in the front. Two have started blooming today! I’m very excited…I love the colors so far!

Large tree in back Smallest tree of the collection

Don’t you love my backyard neighbors? No neighbors, actually. Just a big water tower and some other type of tower that my mom’s worried is going to radiate me.

Pfema wants out

And, in true John Mackey style (we all have to copy a great photo blog a little, huh?), here is my cat Pfema. He wants to come out and check out the new flowers as well!

Thank you all so much for helping make my house feel like home. It’s great to have you all around and I’d like to keep it up. To all those that missed the party, you missed a great one, but there will be others and you will be required to attend! 😉 Until the next post….

~~~~~~~~~~Addition!!~~~~~~~~~~
I absolutely forgot to mention the most useful gift I received. It is from Naomi…a 12 pack of toilet paper. She lived in Korea for several years and they have a tradition of giving practical gifts for housewarmings. How appropriate – a gift everyone can use! 🙂
Toilet paper from Naomi!

A Trip to New Home Mecca

I’ve been looking for a new desk for my office and I’ve really had not much luck. I wanted a desk that was sleek but not industrial. I actually had found one at Office Depot online that I went to look at in the store to find that “Yuck no thank you,” was my immediate reaction. Cathy suggested that we go to IKEA so yesterday, we made the trip to the Mecca of furniture and other household stuff. There’s quite a few different rooms we went through before we got to the office furniture section and I found quite a few things I’ve put on my wish list for future trips or web shopping or even when the Round Rock store opens in 2007 and I think so did Cathy.

We entered the office furniture section and there it was:

We walked around the desk area a bit more, just to make sure but yup, that one was it…and, it was in stock!! So I wrote down the aisle/bin numbers and we moved to the next section – bedrooms.

I have never really had proper bedroom furniture and now that I own this house, I’d really like something a bit more adult-like. I’d really like my bedroom to have a Japanese feel and I think my mom is going to arrange for her mom’s dresser to be shipped here, if my cousin isn’t using it. How cool would that be??? I think I found the bed I want as well:

IKEA doesn’t have the highest quality of furniture but I really like the sleek lines and simplicity in their furniture and it’s not crap. I walked through Ashley Furniture the other day and everything was just so ornate and trendy. I couldn’t imagine spending that much money for something I’d be sick of so quickly. Oh well. So, I think the will be my next big purchase.

Coming home was quite an adventure itself. After measuring and trying to fit the desktop in the Honda at different angles and even some nice man offered to put it in his pickup if we were going to the same area he was (turns out Austin wasn’t quite his destination), we decided that I was going to have to ship it home, or so I thought. I took the desktop back inside only to be told that having it delivered would cost me $175 after tax!!! But, they could easily tie it to the roof of my car and it would be fine. “To Austin?” I said. “No problem, we just stacked a bunch of boxes on top of a car that was going to Mexico. There was a couch we strapped on top of a car last night.” Okay, so I let him strap it to the top of the Honda. I trusted him only because he was Asian 😉 ….

I’ll have to say that I’m very impressed how well he strapped it. That sucker didn’t move!

Such a fun trip…I just can’t wait until they open the IKEA here! I might need to start a savings account just for that grand opening!