You do what you must do, and you do it well

A much overdue, complete update has arrived. It will be subdivided into certain topics, so feel free to skip what is of no interest.

David Petway

On Saturday, David Petway came to town with his dad and cousin to see the Redskins vs. Cowboys. It was good to see someone from home, and he is always a source of great entertainment. We went to Chuy's and the waitress had a real crush on him. Obviously she got to him by convincing him to drink a martini. Not too manly if you ask me. Anyway, I needed a pic of him for my phone so I took this...




Neko Case

After David, Brittany and I saw Neko Case at the Granada Theater. Apparently, no one is used to actually seeing a show or caring to get to the front to see it. Unexpectedly, we walked in being about 100th in line or so, but we were easily able to walk straight to the front with no confrontation. It was really odd but we took advantage of the lack of enthusiasm.

First up was Giant Sand. They were from Tuscon, AZ and were surprisingly good, especially for an opener. I highly suggest Young Linda and Poppy John to check them out, as you may end up liking them. The singer was a great guitarist and his band was entirely from Denmark, including the silly looking guitar player hiding in the back (B insists it's Beethoven's long lost bro).









As noted by the transition picture, Neko was up next. She was fantastic, especially after they finally got the volume right on her microphone. We were so lucky to hear her do her Bob Dylan cover (see video). I'm not sure what the guy in front of us is doing in the video, either he is sensitive to loud music or he's on a phone. Either way, he's acting weird. It was so great to go to a good show, the first since Radiohead. I definitely suggest seeing Neko anytime you can, as it is hard to not like her voice.





Baltimore Ravens

Ahh Ray Ray and the Ravens. They tried so hard and still lost to the Steelers. I can't decide if I should be really upset about the Monday Night Football attempt or if I should be confident that they can at least hang with anyone in the NFL. Either way, Joe Flacco has a lot of potential. After only three starts, you can't ask for too much more. Ray looks like a youngster and still the best linebacker in the league. If Ed Reed, Chris McAlister, and Willis McGahee live up to their standards, they can be real good. Unfortunately, they often have mental lapses. And what is the deal with Todd Heap, he may have one catch all year? They really need him to come through. It's a long season, but they have the Titans and the Colts the next two weeks, so they don't really have time to fool around. Go Ravens!

MLB Playoffs

I am loyal to the Orioles, and therefore I will not be jumping up and down for anyone this October. However, I am also loyal to Young Keith and he is a true fan of the Cubs. I would love to see them win, as I am sick and tired of the Red Sox being the only one's who have overcome curses and risen to the elite of baseball. The Cubs are less arrogant, more exciting, and not dominating "rivals" of the Orioles. Therefore, I am rooting for the Cubbies.

From the AL, I would like to see the Rays make it to the World Series. What a great story that would be, especially in the face of the Yankees and Red Sox.

October

October has come, and so has some awesome weather. It is easily one of my top three months of the year. Nothing beats Halloween and fall decorations, and the smells of the season can put a smile on anyone's face. Baseball, football, anticipation of basketball...What a great time! Not to mention The Office is back, and our new show Heroes. So many options throughout the week, Netflix is hard to keep up with!

This Weekend

This weekend we are going to visit Amy in College Station, aka home of Texas A&M. I know we are going to cook for her, because she's working late on Friday. Besides that, I count on some relaxation and light hearted conversation. We will take some pictures for all to see.

Sorry for such a long update. We get so behind and then we are left with a huge list of events that have happened. Like today, Brittany's windshield was cracked by a flying rock. But that's another story for another day. Go Hokies!

Treat for all...This is my dream dog, and my best friend of all time. He lives right down the road a little bit and I stop and give him a good pet every time we pass him. Ahhh, we are meant for a bulldog.

MNF!!

I've never been so excited to watch the Ravens!


Better watch out, Bennie.

Happy Monday!

I have a new phone number. 469-693-0403.

Heroes premiere tonight at the Angelika! Yay!

weekend junk

Well, Ike came and passed quietly. We had a fun weekend, despite the uncertainty of whether or not we would have power/water/a roof!

On Friday, we went to the elementary school in our neighborhood (Jen, please apply there) and Will skateboarded a lil bit. There was a gorgeous sunset, and it was extremely windy as shown by the below pic of me and video of young William.





We got to see Lesser Gonzalez Alvarez at Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studio, which was the strangest thing ever. There were like fifty people there, and it was kinda in the middle of no where.


It was amazing to get out of the house and go to a show. We're going to Good Records this weekend to see Clint Niosi again, and then Neko Case is in two weeks!! I can't wait to listen to her belt it out.

Since RGRS was so dark, none of our pics came out. Here's a ridiculously dark video of him singing the song that I posted a few weeks back. Beware: clapping is involved. When he mentioned to the audience that he was from Baltimore, I should have shouted, "Go Ravens!!!" but I didn't :(


Ike washed away the 90 degree temps and the weather is gorgeous here now. We went to GrapeFest in Grapevine on Sunday to enjoy it. We saw many wonderful things, including:

- a train that takes people on rides between Grapevine and Fort Worth (fun!!)

- pork rinds (my mother's infamous road trip snack)

- a policeman eating corn on the cob

- a tiny old jail that's straight out of Lost

- idiots stomping grapes!! the guy in the middle has intense form.


Afterward we visited the Gaylord Texan (giant resort hotel, not a gay nightclub.) and ate lunch at the bar. They have a 50' television screen that was showing like six football games at once.


I wish we could have watched Michael Phelps on it.


There was also a replica facade of the Alamo in the Gaylord!!


And some miniature model town of Grapevine. Cute.


I love exploring our surrounding towns. I'll be so sad when we run out of new places!

yikes Ike!

Ike is coming! Unfortunately we might not be able to go see Lesser Gonzalez Alvarez because of him. And I might even miss my haircut tomorrow! I'm split on whether I want it to be a wild storm or not. Blaahhhh

I drink your milkshake.

The Ravens pulled off their first victory of the year today against the Bengals! According to all the "experts," they were supposed to be hanging their heads in defeat tonight, but Ray Ray doesn't lay down like that. Ahh, I love football season.

We have finalized plans to visit home (Maryland) December 23-28. Hopefully we can see everyone for an extended period of time. I know neither of us can wait to experience Christmas in full and breathe in the cold, crisp air. However, one decent day of weather would be nice to fit in some golf at good ole Beaver Creek.

As far as the other holiday goes, Thanksgiving, Brittany and I are planning on visiting the great Big Bend National Park in West Texas. It is a mixture of mountains, canyons, and desert along the Rio Grande. Our trip will include two days of camping in the wilderness preceded by a night in Marfa, home to the sets of No Country For Old Men and There Will Be Blood. I can't wait to throw on my best Daniel Plainview attire and be solely responsible for my own well being...and Brittany's.

On our way to the hotel for Thanksgiving night.




And a view from our "crow's nest" room at the hotel


Santa Elena Canyon


Random Big Bend pic


I'm an oil man.


Can't wait!

ta-da!

Well, I guess I'd better give you an update. Warning: it's going to be hella long.

The other weekend we went to the zoo in Fort Worth!

There weren't many people there, so it was easy to get some good shots of the animals. See them here!


Last week was my birthday. I got wonderful gifts from everyone and Will even baked me a cake and bought me roses! Mom also sent me flowers to work, which was a sweet thing to do.


Roses from W


Baked with love. That's a "B" on top :)


Flowers from momma bear.

Thank you all for making my birthday as good as it possibly could be!! I'm loved.


Will's first travel trip was a bit discombobulated, since when he flew back from Alabama to Dallas, he couldn't fit his carry-on on the plane because it was too big to fit. (Small planes suck.) Sooo they said they would take it and put it in cargo. No such luck! We had to go to the airport when I got home from work and wait there for a few hours for the next plane to come in from Alabama, which supposedly had the carry-on bags on it. 12 other people or something also had their bags lost in this fiasco.

Luckily for a pilot who was on Will's flight who needed his credentials, and the CEO of IdenTrust, Will had put his name on the red tag that the peeps in Alabama put on his carry-on when it was "taken into cargo." After many arguments with the baggage claim people at DFW, some random man from another gate called Will to tell him that he had the carry-on bags. So we all took a shuttle to the other gate and most of the group got their bags back. Except the pilot. So he said the "f word" and paced around... and we left to go out to dinner. Ahh. RIDIC. Get it together, Alabama!!

The next day we hit the road for Austin.


And had delicious road snacks, i.e. BBQ Pringles, Chocolate Teddy Grahams and Sour Patch Kids.


After hours of drivin', we finally made it... in time to see the largest attendance ever at a college game in the state of Texas. Like 98,000 wild-eyed fans.


Obviously, we went to Stubb's for dinner. This is most likely where our future wedding reception will be! There is a music venue in the basement of it, and that means we'll be able to play music loudly and late into the night. Bring your dancin' shoes, y'all. The BBQ is incredible, too.


After that we walked around 6th Street for a while, but didn't hear any decent bands playing in the bars... so we just went back to the hotel for some much needed rest.

Awaking early, we went to Las Manitas Cafe for a delicious Mexican breakfast. The restaurant was amazing and brightly colored and I'm glad we went early because by the time we left it was totally packed.


Attitude!


Mmm...


The capital!

Then we went over to Town Lake to do some canoeing!

This scene particularly made us want a dog to play with.







We also saw the Original Chuy's!! sl;djfskldjfklsdjflks;jdlkj best Tex-Mex ever.


After gulping down some drinks to cool off, we went shopping on South Congress. And ate cupcakes out of a trailer!



Next was a hike up Mount Bonnell. It was sooo extremely hot, but worth being able to see into rich peoples' backyards!




Here are pics of us me being hot and tired.



If you'd like to see more Austin pictures, check them out here. It was a great time, and we definitely want to go back soon.


Then on Monday, we went to a Texas Rangers game with my boss and her hubby. I won four 9th row tickets at work! It was really nice out, and even though the Rangers are terrible, we had a blast.



A lovely random Orioles fan. Loves it!!






funniest mascot ever!!


He liked pretending to eat children's heads??


Ichiro had to pee.


I have a few videos to go with this entry, but no patience to load them at the moment. Soon, I promise!!