If I could bottle up the weather in Houston the past two days and kept it that way eternally I would. That is to say that it's been gorgeous. Sunny, not too humid, in the 60s. Very unusual for Houston, although I'm told that other parts of the country experience this thing called "spring" and another thing called "autumn." I don't know if I believe that or not. Houston certainly oscillates between summer, kill-me-it's-so-hot and winter, kill-me-it's-freezing-and-raining.
I may also be looking at everything through rose colored lenses because it's spring break! One of the perks of working in education is that we get spring break. I don't get a full summer vacation, so spring break is an extra nice time. And because Cardinal DiNardo (did you know the full title of cardinals is First Name Cardinal Last Name? neither did I until this fall.) visited the school for the feast day in October we got an extra day off to start spring break. Woo Catholics!
This spring break has been so busy that I'm breaking it into two posts. Today will be part 1 (obviously Claire, I can read the title of this post).
Jack, Elizabeth, Gillian, and I had tickets to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo to see Maroon 5. If you ever find yourself in Houston in March you should try to get tickets to the HLSR. It's pretty much 30 straight nights of rodeo and concerts at Reliant Stadium. If you ever find yourself in Houston in February with tickets you should try to find yourself a parking spot then as locating one in March is akin to finding the Rosetta Stone, highly unlikely but not entirely impossible. Needless to say, I hadn't been saving a parking spot for a month so we missed most of the rodeo part, except mutton busting. Maroon 5 was fabulous. They appreciated that the format of the rodeo lends itself to a greatest hits type show and they performed accordingly. We sang along the entire time.
I had a craft day with my mom, followed by a prayer bead craft night with some friends from church. Turns out making Protestant rosaries is hard business and four people can read the same instructions and still make the same mistake even after the first one has told the others where they'll mess up. It was fun regardless and a nice time to spend with Amy and the Sarah's. I had to leave early because Jack's family went to House of Pies and brought back Pi to celebrate Pi day. Strawberry-rhubarb pie #ftw.
I ran 13.25 miles. This coming Saturday is the Bearathon, so I'll *fingers crossed* be able to cross off #6 "finish a half-marathon" on Saturday night. In spirit I could already do this since I finished the 13.1 miles on Saturday, but I think that'd be cheating. In hindsight I have no idea why I thought this would be a good idea. Three hours of running/walking (mostly running I'm proud to say) was boring and I got a blister. My stomach also started cramping at mile 11. At least I can say I'm a runner? Jack and I went to see Monuments Men (very good and a great endorsement for why you should support the arts and humanities) and then watched the Veronica Mars movie (a very good endorsement for why you should support kickstarted awesomeness).
Sunday was pretty casual. We had lunch with the Young Pros Sunday School class at Katz's after church and then dinner with my family at Seasons 52 to celebrate my mom's birthday this week. Everyone had a good time and the food was delicious. It was also nice to have dinner with my dad since he's gone most of the time to Saudi for work.
Jack's been working at the Neighborhood Center's tax centers in Stafford and North Houston as part of his accounting duties. Since my schedule was remarkably free (our trained had to cancel this week because he has pink eye) I drove out to Stafford to meet him for lunch. Stafford is hella sketchy. He took me to Tornado Burgers, a true to the name hole-in-the-wall restaurant. The spicy burger was good and no one was killed or injured in the process. Then I went shopping with Elizabeth and got some nice, fitting clothes from Old Navy and we gazed longingly at the new Kate Spade store (we're both slightly obsessed). I also got to practice more of my photography skills in my in-laws backward because their tulips and snapdragons are in bloom and absolutely gorgeous.
Amy Grizzle Kane, Sarah V., and I had lunch to go over plans for the Young Pros for the next three months. It's so nice to actually be able to have lunch meetings! I also accomplished #12 on the list and have now crossed off my first item. I cleared out my closet of four trash bags of clothing that is at least 2 sizes too big. Some of it I was happy to see go, some of it I was sad to see go. My only sustained injury was cutting my finger on glass (don't ask). When all was said and done I cleared out 32 shirts, 7 dresses, 4 coats/jackets, 11 pairs of pants, and some other odds and ends. Now it's off to teach at watershed!
I may also be looking at everything through rose colored lenses because it's spring break! One of the perks of working in education is that we get spring break. I don't get a full summer vacation, so spring break is an extra nice time. And because Cardinal DiNardo (did you know the full title of cardinals is First Name Cardinal Last Name? neither did I until this fall.) visited the school for the feast day in October we got an extra day off to start spring break. Woo Catholics!
This spring break has been so busy that I'm breaking it into two posts. Today will be part 1 (obviously Claire, I can read the title of this post).
Thursday
Jack, Elizabeth, Gillian, and I had tickets to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo to see Maroon 5. If you ever find yourself in Houston in March you should try to get tickets to the HLSR. It's pretty much 30 straight nights of rodeo and concerts at Reliant Stadium. If you ever find yourself in Houston in February with tickets you should try to find yourself a parking spot then as locating one in March is akin to finding the Rosetta Stone, highly unlikely but not entirely impossible. Needless to say, I hadn't been saving a parking spot for a month so we missed most of the rodeo part, except mutton busting. Maroon 5 was fabulous. They appreciated that the format of the rodeo lends itself to a greatest hits type show and they performed accordingly. We sang along the entire time.
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| Maroon 5 OMG! |
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| Gillian sings her Phils part to Sunday Morning |
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| I was the odd duck for using a real camera, unlike the guy in front of me. |
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| Obligatory pic with Jack (DSLR selfie) |
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| Fireworks inside a building?? |
Friday
I had a craft day with my mom, followed by a prayer bead craft night with some friends from church. Turns out making Protestant rosaries is hard business and four people can read the same instructions and still make the same mistake even after the first one has told the others where they'll mess up. It was fun regardless and a nice time to spend with Amy and the Sarah's. I had to leave early because Jack's family went to House of Pies and brought back Pi to celebrate Pi day. Strawberry-rhubarb pie #ftw.
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| We were on the struggle bus for a bit. |
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| Sarah's prayer beads. |
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| Concentration is key to stringing. And counting. |
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| My three strands. |
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| Elizabeth helped me get Jack to smile. |
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| Strawberry Rhubarb pie forever. |
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| Smile! It's Pi Day! |
Saturday
I ran 13.25 miles. This coming Saturday is the Bearathon, so I'll *fingers crossed* be able to cross off #6 "finish a half-marathon" on Saturday night. In spirit I could already do this since I finished the 13.1 miles on Saturday, but I think that'd be cheating. In hindsight I have no idea why I thought this would be a good idea. Three hours of running/walking (mostly running I'm proud to say) was boring and I got a blister. My stomach also started cramping at mile 11. At least I can say I'm a runner? Jack and I went to see Monuments Men (very good and a great endorsement for why you should support the arts and humanities) and then watched the Veronica Mars movie (a very good endorsement for why you should support kickstarted awesomeness).
Sunday
Sunday was pretty casual. We had lunch with the Young Pros Sunday School class at Katz's after church and then dinner with my family at Seasons 52 to celebrate my mom's birthday this week. Everyone had a good time and the food was delicious. It was also nice to have dinner with my dad since he's gone most of the time to Saudi for work.
Monday
Jack's been working at the Neighborhood Center's tax centers in Stafford and North Houston as part of his accounting duties. Since my schedule was remarkably free (our trained had to cancel this week because he has pink eye) I drove out to Stafford to meet him for lunch. Stafford is hella sketchy. He took me to Tornado Burgers, a true to the name hole-in-the-wall restaurant. The spicy burger was good and no one was killed or injured in the process. Then I went shopping with Elizabeth and got some nice, fitting clothes from Old Navy and we gazed longingly at the new Kate Spade store (we're both slightly obsessed). I also got to practice more of my photography skills in my in-laws backward because their tulips and snapdragons are in bloom and absolutely gorgeous.
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| I'm married to someone with the maturity of a 5 year, who insists on shooting straw wrappers at me. |
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| I don't think we're on Tuam. |
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| Yum. Spicy burger. |
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| Sketch-tacular Stafford at its best. |
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| Beautiful snapdragons. |
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| I'm jealous of how pretty these are. |
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| And these. |
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| Me, trying to be artsy. |
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| Elizabeth also got her camera. |
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| And Cooper, who now picks up a toy when people show up because he knows it makes him look cuter. |
Tuesday
Amy Grizzle Kane, Sarah V., and I had lunch to go over plans for the Young Pros for the next three months. It's so nice to actually be able to have lunch meetings! I also accomplished #12 on the list and have now crossed off my first item. I cleared out my closet of four trash bags of clothing that is at least 2 sizes too big. Some of it I was happy to see go, some of it I was sad to see go. My only sustained injury was cutting my finger on glass (don't ask). When all was said and done I cleared out 32 shirts, 7 dresses, 4 coats/jackets, 11 pairs of pants, and some other odds and ends. Now it's off to teach at watershed!
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