no T-Boz cuts, please.

I have to go get my hair cut right now. On a nervousness scale of 1-10, I'm a 29387498. Oh my!!!

there's a wreck up the way, i hope it's not my foe. my foe's mostly a friend.

This guy is from Baltimore. I love this song, and you should check out his Web site because he's also an artist. Enjoy!

hot shot progressive

Six and a half hours from here is the "Grand Canyon" of Texas, and I really want to take a road trip there in autumn.

Say hello to Palo Duro Canyon!


This is called "The Lighthouse"


Ever since we went on the Roney family vacation to the West, I've been dreaming about red deserts. And slot machines.

It's got a great turning radius!

Ahh, well today I made a "big" decision and bought a car! It's a 2009 Subaru Forester that I originally intended on just test driving today. But, it turned out to be exactly the same as buying it later this week, when I get paid, so why not just get it today? It would have either been that or a Nissan Sentra, so I went with the bigger option, one that isn't going to be the exact same size as Brittany's. So here it is!

Pulling in at home!


The straight on shot


Some typical shots


Showin the shine


Anyone for an off road excursion?


How about a drive through the "forest"


And plenty of room for the golf clubs


If anyone wants a ride, just come on over and I'll show you around town. In other news, we found an excellent bbq place finally, called Sonny Bryan's. Man that biscuit was unbelievable. Also today we enjoyed our pool here, with no one else around. Early in the morning before its 100 degrees, the pool is the place to be. Of course, it is supposed to be 102 and higher each of the next five days, including 105 tomorrow. Might need some more pool time. And lastly, on Monday I get to walk into my newly decorated office. Brittany and I went in early today, hung up my diploma, set up a mini sound system, placed some armadillos, and even put together a lil candy jar.

I do know one thing, the bigger my debt, the more comfortable Hanson will be. They've already expressed their excitement for me getting a new car, and that was before I got it!

recording in mexico = quality?

I'm listening to C.O.'s new self-titled album on Merge Records' Web site. The way his voice and music style has changed is... unsettling to say the least. I've tried to accept it for the past four albums now, but it's just getting tougher and tougher. I guess because when I was really affected by his music, he was way more effed up and darker and talked about love and sadness. I miss when he steered clear of political metaphors and kept it simple.

He's controlling that painful voice warble that always interested me. It's getting boring.

I'll probably still buy it because I still feel like he needs the support. Even though every sad eyed 14 year-old girl surely has his back by this point.

And J. Lew is coming out with a new album in the fall and then going on tour with him. That would be a blast from the past show. But considering Jenny is a sellout now and Conor probably is too but I just don't want to admit it, I'll pass.

At least he finally got a haircut and doesn't have douche bag long hair anymore.

P.S. - I guess "Eagle On A Pole" is a pretty good song. Pooper.

just waitin' for the sun to set

Here's a song I've been obsessively playing.

We're going to see Neko Case at the Granada Theater the same weekend as Austin City Limits, since we can't afford to trek to Austin for a few days. Luckily she is playing here the night before she plays there!

Dinner tonight: grilled shrimp in banana-leaf pouch (actually, foil... where the heck do you get banana leaves??)

deadlines and a plant deficit

Well, I made my final job decision yesterday!

The woman from Advocate Mag was supposed to call me back in the morning, but she didn't. So I called her at 11 and left a message asking her to call me back and let me know about the interview. I decided to give her a deadline of 3 p.m. before calling the Salesmanship Club to accept their offer.

Patiently, I waited until 3:02 p.m. and called Tracy. She was really excited that I accepted the offer and I start Aug. 4. It will be so amazing to finally have some direction and feel like college was worth something. I can't imagine graduating and not getting a job related to my major. I would be so extremely frustrated and this blog would be a little darker... describing my horrid days dealing with retail customers etc etc. No one wants to hear that, right?

Instead, I get to help plan golf tournaments and get credentials for members of international media and write for a weekly newsletter and other various intern activities. Who knows where I'll head when the 10 months are up, but I know I'll be successful.

It's a good thing that I kept a deadline, because Advocate Mag called me a little after five to let me know that because they are starting a brand new magazine, they wouldn't be able to hire me quickly because they still are figuring out the details. She wished me good luck and said to apply if I'm able and see another position free up.

In lighter news, yesterday we found a better grocery store than the Kroger we've been going to. It's called Tom Thumb and it's a subsidiary of Randalls. Yay! They have a much better produce section and gorgeous flowers. Always a good sign. I bought an aloe plant from there, and plan on putting it in the green planter that Jess bought me when I get some good plant food. Grow strong, lil aloe plant!

I now have like six empty planters on the balcony. Lowe's gift card, anyone?

We haven't taken any new pictures, so here's an adorable one of Will's nephews on July 4.

What's the Deal With Texas??

Well Mom just left a couple of hours ago, Brittany is taking a nap, and I am sitting here watching the British Open which is becoming a bit of a dud and uneventful down the stretch. Although I'm glad Padraig Harrington is going to win for the second straight year.

I figured I'd update everyone on my new job. So far so good at Hanson. All of my coworkers are welcoming and don't seem like they would ever get angry for any reason. Of course, I've yet to be able to access the server and set up my own personal stuff. No where I've ever worked knows how to get a new employee set up, that's for sure. In general, I like it a lot and hope it continues to go well as my work load increases!

As for Mom's visit...We went to the wonderful world of Chuy's with the best salsa I've ever had at a Mexican Restaurant. Then on Saturday, we woke up and drove all over the city basically, doing various activities including looking at mansions, going to Buffalo Exchange, some Society Bakery, and some super fancy shopping. Later on, we went to see the Dark Knight, and then off to Jerry Seinfeld!

Oh the stories along the way. At Buffalo Exchange, a thrift store which actually had some good stuff, two girls just couldn't talk more annoyingly to each other and bothered Brittany and me immensely. Not to mention the funny smells floating around that store. Outside, Brittany and I sat, waiting for Mom to finish up, a bum was walking by and said to Brittany, "What's 'Cursive?'" She explained it was a band, and he went continued walking as we held our breath. Peww!

Right next door was the Society Bakery. Watch out Magnolia because this is some real competition here. I ate a frog cookie, and we got two cupcakes for later, but they melted down to an unflattering looking, but delicious pile of cupcake and icing, mmm. Then, at the shopping, we salivated over the enormous houses right by Dallas Country Club and all the super expensive stores. We moved in, parked at the first spot, and it just so happened to be right in front of Anthropologie. That should give you the gist of the location.

The Dark Knight turned out to be an incredible movie. I read this morning that it broke the opening weekend record, and I am not surprised. The joker rules. Batman rules. The movie rules. And I'm glad we were able to squeeze it in there this weekend.

Next on the list was Jerry! It was great! Getting there wasn't, but I won't bore you with that stuff. Let's just say I had to walk solo for about 15 minutes to go get us all food beforehand. It sucked! Basically, Jerry explained it all to me and everyone else. He's so enlightening, funny, jolly, and his voice is beyond it all. He doesn't have to do anything but make noise and it's going to make me laugh.

I suggest seeing this guy if you ever get the chance.


There was a big pile of human solid two further down this alley.


Roy Orbison, aka "The Voice"


Segway Tours


It was meant for us.


Ready for Jerry

it's gonna be a showdown

So yesterday I got a job offer! Yay! It's for the Salesmanship Club of Dallas, which sponsors the Byron Nelson Championship Golf Tourney and another smaller tournament. They're a nonprofit that has raised over $100 millon in the past 40 years. Amazing.

Shortly after getting that offer, I received an e-mail from someone at Advocate Magazine (no, not the gay and les mag that comes up in google... it's a Dallas urban living magazine) saying that she would love to see more samples of my work. AH!

I sent her a few things and let her know about my other offer... so hopefully things will move swiftly. I took Will to work today so I could have the car in case I am called in for duty (an interview). I also have Batman on the brain. We can't wait to see it!!!

Love you, Heath :(


Not much else to update on my side of the blog. Will has been enjoying his first few days at work, but I'll let him update you guys about that.

Come visit us!

hot chili peppers in the blisterin' sun

Chinese pepper = boooring!




I was pretty intimidated at first...


And it was ridiculously hot when I bit into it, so I swallowed it and quickly chugged half a bottle of water.

Piece of cake. Bring on the entire watermelon.

gotta go to work gotta go to work gotta get a job

Uh ohhh.

It's the day before Will starts work! I'm not sure what's planned yet, but I'm pretty sure that last night I agreed to eat a hot Chinese pepper to make things interesting. Be ready for pictures of me taking the heat like a champ.

Yesterday we went exploring a little more. We drove by the book depository where Lee Harvey Oswald shot JFK from!


There was a museum on the sixth floor, but we're trying to make our pathetic amount of money last as long as possible... so we just drove by and took a few blurry pics. We also saw the grassy knoll, which is where some people think there was a second shooter.


The whole area made us feel really creepy and nauseous. Will says we need to watch JFK now.

We also felt like badasses when we crossed Malcolm X Blvd.


After that, we drove through Uptown and decided we need to live there, and then window shopped a bit in Knox-Henderson. There were a ton of incredible interior design shops there, including Design Within Reach. We got enough confidence to go in, and they were actually really nice and told us that they could get us "most of the pieces in the store within a week." Can you also get me thousands of dollars within a week? Thanks.

Well, we picked up a catalog and then slinked out the door, since we are mere Ikea paupers. hahah

Next was the Dallas Farmers Market.


Ummm... taking that picture was about the best time we had there. I'm not sure if it was just because we went on a weekday, but it was super disappointing. We went inside the main building, and it was pretty much empty and full of construction guys and cleaning people. So, we walked through the back and there were two huge open air shed things lined with produce for sale by various Hispanic families. We picked up some baby potatoes and Texas honey and got the heck out of there. It was all the same stuff over and over. Maybe we will try again on a weekend.

We also checked out Plano... and a puppy store there. There was a really, really cute German Shepherd pup that licked my face as soon as I held her, but I should probably have a job before I consider owning another living thing.

After all that running around we were too tired to cook dinner, so we decided to try Hunan Dynasty. We actually ordered food from there online one night last week, but they were closed and never delivered it. Haha, it's a good thing they don't have you put in your credit card info online.

Phew.

Oh, and here are a few fireworks pictures that Will took during 4th of July festivities on the 5th of July. I love them.

home sweet home

Hi everyone!

Today we finally celebrated our decorated/unpacked apartment and went to Deep Ellum. We visited Good Records, which was founded by Tim DeLaughter of The Polyphonic Spree. It was so incredibly hard to find, but quite pleasant inside. Very clean, good selection, and the entire upstairs was devoted to vinyl. We picked up the newest Indian Jewelry and Joan of Arc. I'm excited because they also have shows there every once in a while.

After that we drove around a few golf courses... Will is itching to get out there! Hopefully his coworkers are golfers.

We headed through downtown and it was awesome and I'm pretty sure King Tut is in Dallas right now? I've been seeing his gold lil face advertised all over the place.


Then we decided to check out the apartments we almost rented and see just how "unsafe" it was. Pffffft. I'm pretty sure we could have handled it, but whatevs we can't regret our decision to stick to the suburbs.

We also found a gorgeous Beverly Hills-esque neighborhood in the middle of a semi-ghetto. Odd placement, but it was one of those wide streets I've always dreamed of living on with big towering trees on each side.



And Keith, this is for you:


We ate lunch at a deli called Baker Bros., and they had the same tropical iced tea that Cheesecake Factory serves! Delish!!

And if you're curious, here are pictures of the apartment. Enjoy!

1300 Miles is a Long Drive Inside a Car

Well we finally made it all the way to Irving, Texas from Sharpsburg, Maryland. It took about 22 hours of driving and two full days of driving through the most boring of states: Virginia, Tennessee, and Arkansas. The most exciting moments were counting how many states' license plates we saw and reading names of nearby towns including Bucksnort, Bumpus, and Only, TN. Here are some pictures of the two day journey!

Around 6 AM, Brittany confused as to why a camera is out


Keith wasn't the only tired one


Nashville, TN


Brittany was a little tired of Tennessee


Memphis, TN


Crossing into Arkansas


The beautiful country landscape


Me singing..."Don't bring me down, Bruuuuuce!"


One of many similar signs in AR


Finally arriving to the Lone Star State via Texarkana


And a warm welcome


The Dallas skyline


La Villita, our neighborhood


6443 Tranquilo, Apartment 2035: What a relief


So far we have been busy unpacking and organizing everything. It took us about two days to unload our pod completely. It was set up about 100 feet away so it got a little hot from time to time. So far its been around 100 each day but if we can do that manual labor in it, the heat isn't that bad.

We had to eat out the first couple of nights due to lack of time and food in our apartment. Each time was spectacular and I can't wait to try more restaurants around town. Today, Friday, Brittany had her interview with the Salesmenship Club of Dallas, which organizes the Byron Nelson Golf Tournament each May. She says it went really well and the job is very promising. We have our fingers crossed!

We will have more pictures of our apartment soon when we have it all settled and in place. We bought a few pieces of furniture from IKEA and will be excited to show those off. Until then, feel free to comment as much as you wish on our blog.

Bonus: We went to a Radiohead concert on May 11, the day after I graduated from school. Here are some pics if you're interested.