I've decided to explore vegetarianism.
http://www.veg-soc.org/cms/html/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=121
I've been thinking about it a lot lately. It all started when I walked into Chipotle and there were signs everywhere touting "food with integrity" and I know they source most of their meet from free range farms when possible and, where not possible, farms that have humane conditions for the animals in both death and life. I saw Avatar and thought about what it would be like if I had to hunt my meals myself in order to live and it really touched me how they prayed for the animals they had to kill for food, gave them almost a last rites of sorts...similar to the native Americans I suppose. I think that, if I had to, hunting would be like that for me. There would be no thrill of the hunt, no joy in the kill and an immense amount of respect for the animal who had to die so that I could live. It's the circle of life.... How horrible is it then that, just because I didn't have to kill it myself, I go out an eat hoards and hoards of meat every day with NO respect for the animals who died to feed me or thought to the conditions of their life and death that lead to the meal on my plate. I kind of disgust myself.
I know that there are some farms that do respect the lives of their animals and who do end their lives in a humane way and I honestly don't feel angry at those farms at all. I know that the people here in the city have access to all of that meat....but I'm not so sure I would have access to anything like that in Moranbah. I just don't know. Right now I don't know much about the processes at all, I'm still exploring so, for now, I'm going to be meat free until I have more education. Don't get me wrong, I don't think I'd ever be that person who spouts off self-righteous statements like "I could never eat anything with a face" or "meat is murder" and so on....but I think it's just and right for me to respect every living thing and stop taking their lives for granted just because it's convenient for me.
I've always had a problem with food that still looks like a carcass. Whole chickens for example, unpeeled shrimp, bone-in steaks. I get REALLY grossed out eating chicken wings and I can feel a vein stuck between my teeth. It makes me want to vomit and cry at the same time. It's always been an out of sight out of mind kind of thing for me. Like, if I pretend it was never alive and it doesn't look like any distinguishable living thing then maybe I can just believe that it always was dead. Like this veal on my plate was never a precious doe-eyed calf with lashes a mile long and beating heart. But it was...
For me this choice is more about being conscious of what I'm eating and respecting the lives of the animals rather than eating meat at every meal because it's easy to come by. I don't think I could even call myself a vegetarian...for instance, if a friend of ours didn't know about our life choice and slaved over a beautiful meal I would never refuse to eat it just because of the meat! I think the aussie BBQ tradition is going to make things a bit more difficult...but hopefully people won't mind if I bring a veggie dish to share and opt out of the steak and sausage. Regardless of what I come across in social settings, I'll definitely be skipping the meat at home and at restaurants unless I know absolutely where it came from. I know the RSPCA has a Seal of Approval program so that should make things easier on eggs and dairy byproducts. I just want my impact on other living things to be as humane as possible. There's so many other readily available sources of food it seems almost crazy to turn to the meat every time.
Those are my thoughts. :)
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Sunday, January 3, 2010
An update!
I woke up at 4am (now 7am) and couldn't sleep and, when I'm anxious I journal just to get everything out on paper (or on the net as it were) so, here I am.
I miss Beebs! I know it sounds crazy, but this last 8 months is the longest we've ever been together without at least a 6 week period apart thrown in there somewhere....and it feels really weird to be alone again. Mom put a queen bed in my sister's old room for us when he was here, but I moved to the twin bed because it just felt cold and empty all by myself in the queen. I know, I know, I'm a sook. It's only 2.5 weeks (17 days to be exact. ;) ) and we've done far far worse...but it feels different this time. The fact that we still miss each other hopelessly after only a few hours is a good sign I think. Don't get me wrong, it's not that we can't spend a night apart without getting all rediculous, it's just there's a big diff between a night apart when you see each other the next day (or even in a couple days) and the first night apart of weeks of nights apart.
People always ask me if it gets easier, to be apart I mean. And, you know, I don't think anything in my life could ever be as hard as that first goodbye... so yes, in that sense it has gotten easier. But beyond that...it doesn't really. I always cry even when I promise myself I won't. I did pretty well this time. I made it all the way to the final hug at the airport before soaking his shoulder. Yay! Props to me! I do find myself asking why we do this to each other. Many couples wouldn't even consider being apart, if he could only get 2 weeks off work then the trip would only be 2 weeks and we'd leave together....but my family here and my friends here, they're important too! That's the crappy thing about having two homes; you're always crying over someone.
I have experienced an obstacle that I didn't consider until today: I don't have a car here. I mean, I don't have a car in Moranbah either but, usually, I'm on my parent's car insurance. They've removed me for obvious reasons and, after I returned the rental car last evening, I realized that I'm kind of trapped here. At least here I have friends who will come and visit me and drive me around places and so on...but I'm going to miss that freedom of being able to leave whenever I want. I REALLY wanted to be able to just go out and be by myself last night and I felt a bit like the teenager again, trapped in my parents house. It's a little bit frustrating and has put a bit of a damper on the initial euphoria of being home amongst all I know and love best.
I should talk about that for a moment actually, the initial euphoria I mean. We finally arrived at the DFW airport and picked up the rental car and, after some initial disorientation of right vs. left, my instinct took me home. It was like a miracle that, after all that time, I didn't even have to think about the exit to take or the direction to drive....I just took us home! And, as I walked through the front door to the scratching and clicking of Scarlett's excited paws on the hardwood and big hugs from my parents, my heart felt truly full for the first time in a long long time. Mom had lit a candle or something that smelled like Christmas (you know, all cinnamon and nutmeg and allspice) and the tree was sparkling in the corner of the living room where it always did. The floor felt intriguingly solid under my feet and I recognized the absence of the familiar thud and echo of the high and low-set homes of Queensland. I looked around in renewed awe of the home I'd spent 20 years of my life in; the ceilings seemed so high and the air was so warm and inviting in contrast to the brisk winter outside. I'd grown up feeling like my parents 1980's 3 bed/2 bath house was inferior to the brand new 4/5 bed 2 story homes of my friends...but now as I saw it through new eyes I recognized it for what it was; BEAUTIFUL. Solid floors, central a/c and heat, HUGE rooms, high ceilings, 2 full bathrooms and walk-in closets. Even a garage! I felt really proud of my parents for the home they'd built together in this house and I realized that I could be perfectly and endlessly happy in nothing more than a 3 bed/2 bath 1980's home for the rest of my life! It's amazing what you learn to appreciate when you've done without....
It's surreal to be able to buy a coffee at Starbucks at 9:30 pm if I want or buy a burger at 3 am. I still haven't quite wrapped my head around it.... I spent FOUR HOURS just in Marshall's and Ross today....and there's 15 more of them in a 10 mile radius if I should get bored and want to have another go....It might sound bad, but I feel a bit like Tom Hanks in that movie Castaway after he's been stranded for 3 years on a remote island and they throw him that party when he comes home....he stands in awe of the lighter's instant fire and the bowls of crab legs and lobster tails just ready to eat that he didn't have to kill himself. Not that Moranbah is a desert island or anything....but I am admittedly in awe of huge bowls of pico you can buy from Sams for 5 bucks...that I didn't have to make myself. I'm in awe of that I could go to any one of 15 some-odd starbucks within a 15 miles of my parents house when I'd have to fly 1000 miles just to find ONE in Queensland. It's surreal. So, if we hadn't before now, I think we can confirm that I'm definitely not a country girl.
I miss Beebs! I know it sounds crazy, but this last 8 months is the longest we've ever been together without at least a 6 week period apart thrown in there somewhere....and it feels really weird to be alone again. Mom put a queen bed in my sister's old room for us when he was here, but I moved to the twin bed because it just felt cold and empty all by myself in the queen. I know, I know, I'm a sook. It's only 2.5 weeks (17 days to be exact. ;) ) and we've done far far worse...but it feels different this time. The fact that we still miss each other hopelessly after only a few hours is a good sign I think. Don't get me wrong, it's not that we can't spend a night apart without getting all rediculous, it's just there's a big diff between a night apart when you see each other the next day (or even in a couple days) and the first night apart of weeks of nights apart.
People always ask me if it gets easier, to be apart I mean. And, you know, I don't think anything in my life could ever be as hard as that first goodbye... so yes, in that sense it has gotten easier. But beyond that...it doesn't really. I always cry even when I promise myself I won't. I did pretty well this time. I made it all the way to the final hug at the airport before soaking his shoulder. Yay! Props to me! I do find myself asking why we do this to each other. Many couples wouldn't even consider being apart, if he could only get 2 weeks off work then the trip would only be 2 weeks and we'd leave together....but my family here and my friends here, they're important too! That's the crappy thing about having two homes; you're always crying over someone.
I have experienced an obstacle that I didn't consider until today: I don't have a car here. I mean, I don't have a car in Moranbah either but, usually, I'm on my parent's car insurance. They've removed me for obvious reasons and, after I returned the rental car last evening, I realized that I'm kind of trapped here. At least here I have friends who will come and visit me and drive me around places and so on...but I'm going to miss that freedom of being able to leave whenever I want. I REALLY wanted to be able to just go out and be by myself last night and I felt a bit like the teenager again, trapped in my parents house. It's a little bit frustrating and has put a bit of a damper on the initial euphoria of being home amongst all I know and love best.
I should talk about that for a moment actually, the initial euphoria I mean. We finally arrived at the DFW airport and picked up the rental car and, after some initial disorientation of right vs. left, my instinct took me home. It was like a miracle that, after all that time, I didn't even have to think about the exit to take or the direction to drive....I just took us home! And, as I walked through the front door to the scratching and clicking of Scarlett's excited paws on the hardwood and big hugs from my parents, my heart felt truly full for the first time in a long long time. Mom had lit a candle or something that smelled like Christmas (you know, all cinnamon and nutmeg and allspice) and the tree was sparkling in the corner of the living room where it always did. The floor felt intriguingly solid under my feet and I recognized the absence of the familiar thud and echo of the high and low-set homes of Queensland. I looked around in renewed awe of the home I'd spent 20 years of my life in; the ceilings seemed so high and the air was so warm and inviting in contrast to the brisk winter outside. I'd grown up feeling like my parents 1980's 3 bed/2 bath house was inferior to the brand new 4/5 bed 2 story homes of my friends...but now as I saw it through new eyes I recognized it for what it was; BEAUTIFUL. Solid floors, central a/c and heat, HUGE rooms, high ceilings, 2 full bathrooms and walk-in closets. Even a garage! I felt really proud of my parents for the home they'd built together in this house and I realized that I could be perfectly and endlessly happy in nothing more than a 3 bed/2 bath 1980's home for the rest of my life! It's amazing what you learn to appreciate when you've done without....
It's surreal to be able to buy a coffee at Starbucks at 9:30 pm if I want or buy a burger at 3 am. I still haven't quite wrapped my head around it.... I spent FOUR HOURS just in Marshall's and Ross today....and there's 15 more of them in a 10 mile radius if I should get bored and want to have another go....It might sound bad, but I feel a bit like Tom Hanks in that movie Castaway after he's been stranded for 3 years on a remote island and they throw him that party when he comes home....he stands in awe of the lighter's instant fire and the bowls of crab legs and lobster tails just ready to eat that he didn't have to kill himself. Not that Moranbah is a desert island or anything....but I am admittedly in awe of huge bowls of pico you can buy from Sams for 5 bucks...that I didn't have to make myself. I'm in awe of that I could go to any one of 15 some-odd starbucks within a 15 miles of my parents house when I'd have to fly 1000 miles just to find ONE in Queensland. It's surreal. So, if we hadn't before now, I think we can confirm that I'm definitely not a country girl.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
A Coat
I just bought a new coat and had it shipped to Texas so I won't freeze!! I haven't bought a coat since 2007 when I was a size 10...so I think it's time to accept that it doesn't fit and just buy a new one. Gap Inc. makes clothes in tall size (woot!) They've made the arm-holes come down lower so you don't get that tightness across the shoulders....in theory. Also, the arms are longer as is the overall length and the waist is set lower too! This is the first "tall" proportioned item I've ever bought so I'm really excited to see if it makes a diff!!
It's not like, the coat of my dreams or anything.... although The Science of Sexy says the Peter Pan collar is very flattering for me. :P And the buttons are ugly...I'm going to change them to gold or brass buttons. Or maybe just white ones. Depends on what the store has. lol But it was only like 50 bucks so who can complain?
One day I will have a gorgeous wool Burberry herringbone a-line coat....but I'm gonna have to wait until we live somewhere it actually gets cold regularly. Working on that one. ;)
It's not like, the coat of my dreams or anything.... although The Science of Sexy says the Peter Pan collar is very flattering for me. :P And the buttons are ugly...I'm going to change them to gold or brass buttons. Or maybe just white ones. Depends on what the store has. lol But it was only like 50 bucks so who can complain?
One day I will have a gorgeous wool Burberry herringbone a-line coat....but I'm gonna have to wait until we live somewhere it actually gets cold regularly. Working on that one. ;)
Friday, December 18, 2009
Not really the last.
Okay, so maybe that wasn't really my last blog post. bleh.
So, 2 months ago I lost my passport. It was in my lap in the car and fell out into the parking lot without me realizing it. I assumed it'd just fallen in the car somewhere and didn't worry about it too much...but it turns out it had been mailed to the consulate in Sydney. Sooo I call the consulate. They tell me that, since I am married now, I need to travel in my new name... okay cool. That was October 27th.
November 9th we applied for our marriage certificate and received it back November 26th. I tried to contact the consulate to figure out what to do from there but I assume they closed for Thanksgiving because I heard nothing back. It was a busy weekend what with Chris's bday and all that coming Monday....on that Monday Chris told me we should apply for my new passport. So I filled out the form that the consulate told me to....but then I realized that I had to include 2 U.S. passport sized photo (.5" bigger than Aussie photos) and the post office only takes aussie sized photos....so. We hold a photo shoot in the bathroom, I edit the photos to be the correct size and meet all their specifications, we go to print it and NOOOO the printer is printing at a super low res. We couldn't be sure but we assumed it was because of the generic ink and paper we'd bought to save money during wedding planning...and the only shop that carried the right ink and paper was closed now (at 4 pm. gotta love rural towns.) So, I jokingly said "Look, I don't think 1 day is going to make that much of a difference here, let's just go out and enjoy your bday." But, Chris had to work until 6:30 the next 2 days so it was actually 3 days before we got our photo printed, our money order ordered and everything in the mail by next-day express post....We get a call the following Tuesday the our money order is in the wrong ammount, it is $7 too much and we need to correct it according to the current exchange rate rather than the one on their website. WHAT?! UGH! He did assure us that everything should be taken care of in time for my flight on the 21st if we mailed it that day though, so, we fill out a new money order, express post THAT to the consulate and don't hear anything from them again...that was last week on the 8th. They didn't mail my passport until the 14th. (WHY? Why.) Annnd because we live in a rural area it takes 3-4 business days to arrive here....only the damn post workers union decided to strike in the middle of the week throwing all the letters off by a day or so which means 4-5 business days.....or Monday-ish. When I was supposed to be flying home.
::sigh::
So, here we sit.... it feels like that part of Benjamen Button when he's saying "if that shoelace hadn't broken; or that delivery truck had moved moments earlier; or that package had been wrapped and ready, because the girl hadn't broken up with her boyfriend; or that man had set his alarm and got up five minutes earlier; or that taxi driver hadn't stopped for a cup of coffee; or that woman had remembered her coat, and got into an earlier cab, Daisy and her friend would've crossed the street, and the taxi would've driven by...." If it hadn't been Thanksgiving, if we'd had the canon ink for the printer, if it hadn't been Chris's birthday that day, or the shop had been open later than 4pm, if the union hadn't gone on strike or if I'd used the current exchange rate....I would have had my passport as early as Tuesday this week, we'd be $1600 richer and I'd be on that flight Monday morning. "But life being what it is - a series of intersecting lives and incidents, out of anyone's control" it all happened exactly how it did and there's nothing we can do about that now.... but it's interesting to see how all the different variables come together. Okay okay, so at the end of the day "If I had not lost my passport" tops the list, and I probably shouldn't be comparing missing my flights to a person having their leg crushed....I mean, it's not THAT bad. But it was hella expensive and totally unneccessary.
So I'm now leaving Wednesday morning instead of Monday morning. The great part is that I get to travel with my Beebs now!! We are on the same plane from Mackay to Brisbane, only I had to book into first class because it's all there was left. lol I would have just booked a diff. flight but it's the ONLY one that leaves early enough for us to make our VAustralia flight. Oh well! It's only an hour flight. We get to sit by each other on the VAustralia flight, but once we get to Los Angeles we're on separate flights altogether. Mine has a layover in Austin and doesn't get into DFW until two hour after Chris's does. BOOOO! So less than ideal. It would have cost like $600 to change his flight to be the same as mine though and I'm not so rediculous to insist on that.
Ah well. I'm still going shopping on Christmas Eve. I don't even curr!
So, 2 months ago I lost my passport. It was in my lap in the car and fell out into the parking lot without me realizing it. I assumed it'd just fallen in the car somewhere and didn't worry about it too much...but it turns out it had been mailed to the consulate in Sydney. Sooo I call the consulate. They tell me that, since I am married now, I need to travel in my new name... okay cool. That was October 27th.
November 9th we applied for our marriage certificate and received it back November 26th. I tried to contact the consulate to figure out what to do from there but I assume they closed for Thanksgiving because I heard nothing back. It was a busy weekend what with Chris's bday and all that coming Monday....on that Monday Chris told me we should apply for my new passport. So I filled out the form that the consulate told me to....but then I realized that I had to include 2 U.S. passport sized photo (.5" bigger than Aussie photos) and the post office only takes aussie sized photos....so. We hold a photo shoot in the bathroom, I edit the photos to be the correct size and meet all their specifications, we go to print it and NOOOO the printer is printing at a super low res. We couldn't be sure but we assumed it was because of the generic ink and paper we'd bought to save money during wedding planning...and the only shop that carried the right ink and paper was closed now (at 4 pm. gotta love rural towns.) So, I jokingly said "Look, I don't think 1 day is going to make that much of a difference here, let's just go out and enjoy your bday." But, Chris had to work until 6:30 the next 2 days so it was actually 3 days before we got our photo printed, our money order ordered and everything in the mail by next-day express post....We get a call the following Tuesday the our money order is in the wrong ammount, it is $7 too much and we need to correct it according to the current exchange rate rather than the one on their website. WHAT?! UGH! He did assure us that everything should be taken care of in time for my flight on the 21st if we mailed it that day though, so, we fill out a new money order, express post THAT to the consulate and don't hear anything from them again...that was last week on the 8th. They didn't mail my passport until the 14th. (WHY? Why.) Annnd because we live in a rural area it takes 3-4 business days to arrive here....only the damn post workers union decided to strike in the middle of the week throwing all the letters off by a day or so which means 4-5 business days.....or Monday-ish. When I was supposed to be flying home.
::sigh::
So, here we sit.... it feels like that part of Benjamen Button when he's saying "if that shoelace hadn't broken; or that delivery truck had moved moments earlier; or that package had been wrapped and ready, because the girl hadn't broken up with her boyfriend; or that man had set his alarm and got up five minutes earlier; or that taxi driver hadn't stopped for a cup of coffee; or that woman had remembered her coat, and got into an earlier cab, Daisy and her friend would've crossed the street, and the taxi would've driven by...." If it hadn't been Thanksgiving, if we'd had the canon ink for the printer, if it hadn't been Chris's birthday that day, or the shop had been open later than 4pm, if the union hadn't gone on strike or if I'd used the current exchange rate....I would have had my passport as early as Tuesday this week, we'd be $1600 richer and I'd be on that flight Monday morning. "But life being what it is - a series of intersecting lives and incidents, out of anyone's control" it all happened exactly how it did and there's nothing we can do about that now.... but it's interesting to see how all the different variables come together. Okay okay, so at the end of the day "If I had not lost my passport" tops the list, and I probably shouldn't be comparing missing my flights to a person having their leg crushed....I mean, it's not THAT bad. But it was hella expensive and totally unneccessary.
So I'm now leaving Wednesday morning instead of Monday morning. The great part is that I get to travel with my Beebs now!! We are on the same plane from Mackay to Brisbane, only I had to book into first class because it's all there was left. lol I would have just booked a diff. flight but it's the ONLY one that leaves early enough for us to make our VAustralia flight. Oh well! It's only an hour flight. We get to sit by each other on the VAustralia flight, but once we get to Los Angeles we're on separate flights altogether. Mine has a layover in Austin and doesn't get into DFW until two hour after Chris's does. BOOOO! So less than ideal. It would have cost like $600 to change his flight to be the same as mine though and I'm not so rediculous to insist on that.
Ah well. I'm still going shopping on Christmas Eve. I don't even curr!
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Travelling, Last Blog!
This is my last update until... I'm not sure. But for quite a while anyways. I'm super popular and just don't have time for trivial things like blogging now. (HA!)
So, I'm a chronic procrastinator... it seemed much too early to start packing or cleaning or anything like that last week...but now it's dawned on me that, even though my flight leaves on Monday morning, we're driving into Mackay Saturday morning which gives me 4 days to clean the house, do all my laundry (those of you who know me best know why this is a big deal time-wise) and PACK.
You know, until I counted the days just then, I didn't even realize it was down to 4 days. It's only Tuesday! I thought I had like a WEEK...gah. Beebs has to work Monday morning which is why he can't see me off at the airport. I'm pretty sad about that actually, I hate saying goodbye before I actually leave...but I guess that, in this instance, it's only goodbye for 4 days instead of like 4 months so I suppose I'll survive.
It's not that bad....
I'm really excited about traveling! Most people gawk when I tell them it's like 30 hrs of travel time (I got pretty short layovers this time!) but, honestly, it flies by. For me anyways. I've got this thing down to an artform at this point and, honestly, it's kind of therapeutic--except for the whole sore-tailbone thing, I wouldn't call that therapeutic. Anyways. This is not your domestic airplane:
OH! I'd also like to add some breakfast things to my Fat New Year food list:
So, I'm a chronic procrastinator... it seemed much too early to start packing or cleaning or anything like that last week...but now it's dawned on me that, even though my flight leaves on Monday morning, we're driving into Mackay Saturday morning which gives me 4 days to clean the house, do all my laundry (those of you who know me best know why this is a big deal time-wise) and PACK.
You know, until I counted the days just then, I didn't even realize it was down to 4 days. It's only Tuesday! I thought I had like a WEEK...gah. Beebs has to work Monday morning which is why he can't see me off at the airport. I'm pretty sad about that actually, I hate saying goodbye before I actually leave...but I guess that, in this instance, it's only goodbye for 4 days instead of like 4 months so I suppose I'll survive.
It's not that bad....
I'm really excited about traveling! Most people gawk when I tell them it's like 30 hrs of travel time (I got pretty short layovers this time!) but, honestly, it flies by. For me anyways. I've got this thing down to an artform at this point and, honestly, it's kind of therapeutic--except for the whole sore-tailbone thing, I wouldn't call that therapeutic. Anyways. This is not your domestic airplane:
- You have your own tv in the headrest in front of you.
- There's always new-release movies on the flight and dozens of recent and even some older movies on top of that.
- There's also HUNDREDS of tv-shows. I'm hoping they have Glee. Everyone's gushing about it and I have only seen the first episode so it would be convenient to get to knock out my Glee marthon on the flight instead of on Hulu at home.
- There's arcade type games like Bejewelled, Tetris, Scrabble and so on that you can play too! There might be more video game type stuff but I've never bothered playing.
- You have a lot more room to yourself than on a domestic flight! The seats are wider and the rows are farther apart. Your seat also reclines a lot farther back since the rows are farther apart (not a WHOLE lot, but enough.)
- Two words: unlimited "refreshments." ;)
- The food is actually really good! It's never super filling, but it's not like you can't bring nibblies on the flight if you want to.
- We all sleep most of the flight anyways! It's really easy on the LAX to BNE flight since those always leave really late at night....not as easy on the BNE to LAX flights that leave in the afternoon though....I plan on bringing sleeping pills just in case. ;)
- a new book that I've saved just for the occasion,
- my fleece blanket for my top half (I use the airline's blanket on the bottom half since you never know how often they clean those!)
- my slippers in my carry-on so I can change shoes right before we board
- my cushy neck pillow and my pillowed eye-mask that blocks out 100% of the light.
- ear plugs
- noise-cancelling head-phones to wear OVER the ear plugs. I don't play music in them, I just turn on the noise cancelling part ;) Can you tell I'm a light sleeper?
OH! I'd also like to add some breakfast things to my Fat New Year food list:
- McDonalds breakfast burritos AND a sausage patty
- AMERICAN BACON. CRISPY GREASY YUM.
- Chick-fil-a chicken biscuit/sandwich
- Plain glazed donuts...No icing. No sprinkles. No drama. Just donuts.
- Biscuits smothered in sausage gravy
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
It's gonna be a FAT New Year.
Things to do (i.e. EAT) while in Texas for the holidays:
It's gonna be a fat new year......
- Chipotle (always my first stop from the airport)
- Olive Garden Breadsticks
- Chili's presidente margarita and grilled shrimp alfredo.
- See Avatar in 3D at the Harkins Southlake while eating Cheesecake Factory Cheesecake we smuggled in with my purse. HA! (it's a big purse)
- Buy that Eagle Flatts queso dip from Wal-Mart and go to town....and try and figure out how to make it myself!!!
- Texas de Brazil buffet! whaat?
- Del Frescos, just for Beebs.
- Take Chris to Six Flags Holiday in the Park, just for fun.
- Ocean Water and Jalapeno poppers at Sonic.
- Go to the Dallas Museum of Nature and Science.
- Razoo's Rat Toes!
- Go outlet shopping with Amelia (because she's the only shopping partner who has the same "shopping-pace" as me....and I love her most.) which includes that trip to Dallas we've always talked about since I've never gone to those stores.
- Holiday Lattes at Starbucks!!
- Order a Honeybaked ham for Christmas
- Go to QT every single day and have a fountain drink, just because I can.
- Drive until we find snow. Hopefully it's not in like, Maine or something.
- Drink eggnogg and watch White Christmas with momma.
- Actually go out on New Years Eve instead of watching the ball drop at home like I have for the past 22 years. (anyone down to join me?)
- Go to that ice thing at the Gaylord Texan.
- Cuddle Ender and make sure he knows I still love him.
It's gonna be a fat new year......
Christmas Shopping
So....it's that time of year. :) I think I enjoy shopping for Christmas gifts more than the average person... The lines and the crowds just add to the thrill of the hunt for me (although I can't say the traffic is all that thrilling on any front.) My primary love language is Gifts which is probably why I take finding the perfect gift for each person so seriously. A gift from me is the utmost expression of love, so I don't take it lightly. I usually like to go shopping with people and pay careful attention to the things that they like...That said, I feel tremendously crippled over here! I feel confident enough waiting to shop for my family back in the states in a couple weeks when I get there, but we're meant to be having "Christmas" with Chris's fam. next week and, so far, the only person we've bought for is Annette! This family is REALLY hard to shop for. In my family, no one is shy about giving a Christmas List of things with varying price points and letting each other go from there, but his family just does not share what they want!! They all say "nothing." I'm just like...hey. I'm going to be getting you something anyways, so it might as well be something you like!
Annette is easy enough to shop for because I've kind of learned her taste over time and I have ideas for everyone else....but it doesn't make it any less tough! The kicker is that I have to do ALL of this online, and Australian e-commerce is seriously handicapped. Chris always gets his mom the same thing: a gift card to the garden shop. But I like to be a bit more thoughtful than that. I like for people to not know what to expect......so, "let the hunt begin" I suppose! His mom's bday is next week as well....maybe we can do a BIG bday/christmas gift for her. Maybe.....Maybe I could go "browsing" with Debra at Green Tree Frog (gardening) and just pay close attention to the things she likes.... she has this whole feature of concrete lizards in her garden...but they look expensive. uggggh. Wish me luck!
Annette is easy enough to shop for because I've kind of learned her taste over time and I have ideas for everyone else....but it doesn't make it any less tough! The kicker is that I have to do ALL of this online, and Australian e-commerce is seriously handicapped. Chris always gets his mom the same thing: a gift card to the garden shop. But I like to be a bit more thoughtful than that. I like for people to not know what to expect......so, "let the hunt begin" I suppose! His mom's bday is next week as well....maybe we can do a BIG bday/christmas gift for her. Maybe.....Maybe I could go "browsing" with Debra at Green Tree Frog (gardening) and just pay close attention to the things she likes.... she has this whole feature of concrete lizards in her garden...but they look expensive. uggggh. Wish me luck!
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