October 2014 Round-up

I think this is the longest I've waited to write one of these round-up posts, but as many of you know, October was a difficult, unusual, confusing month for my entire family. While there were many highlights — my trip to Chicago chief among them — the most significant event was my dad's heart attack on October 2. The early-morning phone call from my brother signaled the end of life as I knew in and ushered in the new normal of ICU visiting hours, perplexing medical terms, daily text conversations with my family, and several long drives between Austin and Tyler. Fortunately, my dad is on the mend now, and while we know there is still a long road to recovery ahead, we're all so glad to know there is a road ahead — a way forward after this crazy October.

It seems silly to write anything else about this month, but at the same time, I don't want to forget that good things did happen. Over the past few years that I've been writing these posts, I've enjoyed looking back on these short recaps to see what was taking place in my life (even if it's only to see what I was reading or watching at the time). These are a few of the highlights:

• Spending the evening of my birthday (that fateful October 2) with my mom, Paul, and Esther. We ate at Shogun's and enjoyed Esther's wonderful birthday cake. I also received some nice presents.
• Watching the U.S. women, especially Simone Biles, dominate at the World Gymnastics Championships. It was a bright spot during the early days of the month.
• Buying a one-way ticket to Tyler so I could see Dad one weekend. I flew up on Friday after work, and Paul and I drove back to Austin the following day for the UT-Iowa State game. It was a less-than-24-hour turnaround, but I'm so glad I did it.
• Meeting my friend Michelle for dinner one evening. It was wonderful to see her and catch up a little bit.
• Traveling to Chicago for Skate America. On Friday, I took the train into the city for a few hours and then spent the rest of the weekend at the competition. Watching live skating always makes me happy (and meeting Meryl and Charlie was a definite bonus this time).

Books I read: Persuasion (Jane Austen), The Dressmaker (Kate Alcott), Call the Midwife: Farewell to the East End (Jennifer Worth)

Movies I watched: Gone Girl

TV: Dancing with the Stars, Castle, Forever, Parenthood, Grey's Anatomy, college football, World Gymnastics Championships, figure skating (Skate America and Skate Canada)

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About My Monthly Round-Ups
At the end of each month, I take a look back and write a post about the month's highlights, as well as what I read and watched. To see all of my round-up posts, visit this page.

Looking Back on Labor Day

A few weekends ago, my family came down to Austin for Labor Day weekend. As usual, UT played the Saturday before Labor Day, so all of us (sans Mom) went to the game that evening. While we watched the Horns beat North Texas, Mom drove out to the Canyon of the Eagles Resort to get our rooms for the weekend. We joined her in the wee hours on Sunday and stayed there through Monday.


On Sunday, we had a relaxing day around the resort. We spent most of the morning out on the porch and then ventured out to do our own things throughout the day. Since it was so hot outside, I enjoyed curling up on a chair in the game room and reading (I finished one book and started another). We also enjoyed snacking on the chips and creamy jalapeno sauce Mom brought out from Chuy's.





That evening we ate dinner at the resort's restaurant and then stayed a while to listen to the musicians playing outside. We also made s'mores, but it was difficult to do because our skewers were so short. Afterward, we came back to the room to celebrate Mom's birthday with cake and a few gifts.





The next day we left the resort and drove into Burnet. The girls went to an antique mall in town while Paul and Dad drove out to a dam Dad remembered visiting several years ago. We met up for lunch at Blue Bonnet Cafe in Marble Falls, where we all enjoyed our meals and the pie. After we finished our lunch, we said our goodbyes and went our separate ways. It was a fun weekend and a nice start to the fall football season.

European Adventure | Day 12

I've been putting off writing this post since this is my last one for our European trip. It's hard to believe four months have passed since Mom and I returned from Europe. Our last full day in London was a busy one, but we definitely made the most of our time there.

After eating breakfast that morning, we headed out to the Churchill War Rooms, which were truly fascinating. These were the rooms where the British government strategized and coordinated the Allied Forces during World War II. The museum has carefully preserved how things looked back then, so it was interesting to look around and think about all of the history that had taken place there. The War Rooms also included a special museum on Winston Churchill that we both enjoyed visiting.





Our next stop was the London Eye, so we walked across the Thames to get in line. It took well over 30 minutes to board, even though we had tickets for a specific time. Once we made it on board, we went around one time and gained an interesting perspective on the city below. I loved taking pictures from the different angles. After we finished the ride, we decided to share a waffle covered in cream, chocolate sauce, and strawberries for lunch. Yum!




Once we finished lunch, we tried our luck with the Tube. We first went to King's Cross Station so I could see Platform 9 3/4 (Harry Potter pilgrimage complete!) and then rode on to Old Street Station to visit John Wesley's Chapel and the museum attached to it. As Methodists, it was very special for Mom and me to visit the birthplace of Methodism, and it was nice to go somewhere nice and quiet (especially compared to the rest of London).

Unfortunately, I began to feel a little sick at this point (tummy and back, I'm looking at you), which made it difficult to enjoy the last few things we wanted to see. It didn't help that we had trouble finding the British Museum — we think we completely circled it one time — and had to wait in a long line for the restroom once we made it in. Since we were both tired, we found the Rosetta Stone and some Egyptian art and decided to say we had seen the British Museum. Maybe I'll make it back someday.



Since it was getting later at this point, we headed back toward the hotel and decided to eat dinner at Pizza Hut of all places. It actually ended up tasting pretty good (or maybe I was just tired and ready for American-style food). Afterward, we walked back to the hotel, where we were able to rest.

And with that, our two-week European adventure came to a close. It really was a dream trip, and I'm so glad I was able to spend it with my mom.

Summer Catch-up

With temperatures hovering near 100, it's hard to believe summer is almost officially over. However, the first UT football game is less than two weeks away, which means my family will begin making regular weekend visits to Austin very soon. As usual, my summer has been busy at work, but I've managed to have several fun weekend adventures. Since I haven't been able to write about them yet, I thought I would do a "catch-up" post to cover all of them.

June – Family Fun in San Antonio

Paul, Esther, and Grace (Esther's sister) came to visit me one weekend back in June. Since Grace had never been to San Antonio, we decided to drive down there on Saturday morning. We hit most of the traditional San Antonio destinations — Alamo, eating at Casa Rio on the Riverwalk, and taking a boat tour. After the boat tour, we headed back to Austin and made a slight detour at the San Marcos outlets (Paul never had a chance with three women in the car). Once we made it back to Austin, we dropped by campus and 6th Street and then stopped at Amy's to end the day.





July — Cats, Dogs & the Citywide Garage Sale

Toward the end of July, I visited the Blanton Museum of Art to see In the Company of Cats and Dogs. The exhibit focused on works of art that featured cats and dogs over the ages. I appreciated seeing the different cat paintings and photographs, but the best part may have been the cat videos at the end. After I left the museum, I walked over to the gift shop, and as I was leaving, I saw UT's famous albino squirrel. Legend has it that if you see the albino squirrel before a big test, you're sure to ace it. Let's hope this sighting brings me good luck!

After this momentous sighting, I walked around campus for a little bit before heading over to Barton Springs. Once there, I ate at the new food carts near Chuy's. I was a little disappointed in my fried chicken (it was hard to cut, a little red, and definitely NOT Southern), so I treated myself to a cupcake from Hey Cupcake! Later I went to the Palmer Event Center for the Citywide Garage Sale, where I found a daisy Pyrex dish.





August – Girls' Weekend in Dallas

For the last few years, Mom and I have met up in August for a girls' weekend (2012 and 2013), and this year we were excited to invite Esther along for the fun during the first weekend of this month. Mom and I met up first at the Grand Prairie outlets and then drove on to Southlake. Esther joined us soon after we checked into the hotel. That evening we ate dinner at Brio, shopped around Southlake, and enjoyed gelato from Piccomolo.

The next day we visited a few thrift/antique stores in Grapevine and then drove out to McKinney. Downtown McKinney was really cute, and we enjoyed looking in the shops around the square. Our first stop in town, though, was Emporium Pies. I had a piece of cherry pie, and it was absolutely delicious. After leaving McKinney, we stopped at the Allen Outlets and then came back to the hotel. That evening we ate dinner at Kobeya, a Japanese restaurant, and picked up cheesecake at The Cheesecake Factory (yes, we did well on sweets during this trip).

On Sunday, we ate breakfast at Corner Bakery, and then Esther decided to head back early. Mom and I drove over to Dallas to visit the big Half-Price Books (it's a tradition). Afterward, we ate lunch at Twisted Root Burger and shopped at North Park before heading our separate ways.

European Adventure | Day 11

Mom and I spent our last two full days of vacation exploring London. On April 16, we took a bus from Oxford into London. It was definitely more eventful than it should have been — we missed our first stop in London and the handle on Mom's suitcase broke — but we still made it to the hotel in one piece. We both enjoyed the cab ride to the hotel since our cabbie was an avid bird watcher who had visited Texas before.





Once we arrived at the hotel, we left our bags in the room and set off exploring again. Our hotel was located near Green Park, so we walked through it to get to Buckingham Palace. We enjoyed looking around the palace, but the area was definitely crowded because of the Easter holidays. We took a few pictures and then headed to St. James's Park, where we both had hot dogs for lunch.





Our next stop was Westminster Abbey, which was one of my top places to visit in London. Fortunately, the line to get in wasn't that long, so we made it in quickly. We saw a lot of churches during this trip, but this one was by far the most impressive. I had to keep pinching myself to believe this was the place I had seen on TV during Will and Kate's wedding. The Poets' Corner at the end was one of my favorite spots, and I was able to find the plaques for Jane Austen and the Brontë sisters.




After we left Westminster Abbey, we walked over to the London Eye. We had hoped to go up that day, but the earliest tickets were for 9 p.m. Instead, we bought tickets for noon the following day and decided to do something else. Since most of the museums were already closed at this point, we just walked around, visiting the Horse Guards Parade, Trafalgar Square, and Piccadilly Circus. We ate dinner at a place called Garfunkel's and then walked back to the hotel, stopping at a bookstore along the way.

Fourth of July Memories

This past weekend I celebrated the Fourth of July with my family in Henderson. These are a few things I want to remember...

• Spending Friday afternoon at the farm doing our traditional holiday activities — eating hamburgers and homemade ice cream, working on a jigsaw puzzle, and relaxing around the cabin
• Watching the Henderson fireworks show from a hill near Lake Forest Park
• Eating homemade biscuits with my parents on Saturday morning
• Driving over to Gilliam, Louisiana, to see the fields of sunflowers
• Finding the NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championships on TV one night
• Attending the Texas Shakespeare Festival in Kilgore once again — Mom, Dad, and I saw "Cymbeline"
• Enjoying the covered dish supper after the combined church service on Sunday
• Seeing the camels and other wildlife on my way back to Austin on Sunday

And a few pictures...