Belated Thanksgiving Pics

Good times were had in Brownsville, TX- 84 degree days, an awesome turkey dinner, a visit to the Eric's Taekwondo school & Leti's store/event planning company, a little shopping, a huge Texas win over the Aggies, a ping pong tournament and...
now that the cat is out of the bag I can add, a visit to the doctor to see Sof and Aaron's baby! Yep, I'm going to be an aunt, no...second cousin? Whatever, I'm excited and look forward to the little GIRL (my uneducated, but correct guess) to grace us with her presence in June.

The Guadalupe River in the Fall

The Guadalupe River is usually a destination reserved for summers in Central Texas, but this weekend proved that it's also a great place to camp and eat the first of several Thanksgiving dinners. Thanks to J for including Amanda and I on this wonderful tradition, we had a great time!

Eileen's Last Weekend

Eileen was in town this weekend to pack up her stuff and trade Austin in for Cheyenne, Wyoming. She and "the one that took her away," as we like to call her boyfriend Chris :) came in on Wednesday night and spent the week packing things up at the house. They left Sunday afternoon after what I think was a good weekend, despite a few tearful goodbyes.
On Friday night, we stole them away from packing for one last taste of live music and tex-mex at Maria's. Saturday, after a day of football and bar-b-que at the house, we headed downtown for dinner and drinks.
As I told Eileen, I know it's the beginning of a new stage in our friendship, but I will still miss my best friend, my roommate, my wifey of 2 years ;) We love you, Eileen, and wish you all the best.

November already?

The last couple of weeks have flown by, it's hard to believe it's already November. Jessie and I enjoyed some rest this past weekend, although we did go to for a short hike as well as to J's soccer game.
Sure, she looks all calm in the picture, but in real life, she was dying to jump in the game and play. Maybe next week...

Eileen will be here this week to pack up and move, sad. Will post pictures of her in remembrance soon.

Happy Birthday Jessie

Jessie's birthday was yesterday. She turned one. I got her a few new toys, including this bone. We also went over to J's house so she and Max could play, which they did until they fell asleep (on the couch). This weekend, I'm taking her to the dog park to meet a few more doggy friends. It's not officially a party, but there might be some doggy bakery treats involved. I know, I know, she's spoiled. I can't help it. Look at how far we've come! While she's always been great, I like to think I had at least a little something to do with the fact that she's become a friendly, sweet, well behaved dog. That's reason to celebrate in my book!

Jogo Feio

Nasty game. That's what J's soccer team's name translates to from Porteguese, and this past weekend, it rang true. I went out to watch him play on Sunday and while they beat the other team by only one, if it wasn't for the strong wind they were playing into, I think the score would have reflected thier domination. My mom came out to watch the game for a little while too and again impressed me with how much she knows about soccer, you'd think she grew up in a country where they were into it or something?

Jessie was also at the game, she even got to go to the post game celebration. She does very well in bars apparently. I guess I have Aaron and Sof to thank for that since they took her to her first bar at the young age of 3 months.

I'll post more pictures later this week of my new office. I get to work from home today because they are rearranging our offices. Today we get the new furniture, which luckily for us means right now we have no phones or computers. I am moving into what I think use to be a large closet. It does, however, have a window, so that's good. I'll post some pictures as soon as I'm all moved in!

Austin City Limits

Just a few pictures from last weekend...I only did one day of ACL as opposed to the three full days we did last year. It was plenty. Besides, I got an extra dose of music at a Rock the Vote party on Saturday night where we saw ACL artists Nicole Atkins and The Black and White Years. All in all, another good weekend in ATX.

Goodbye to Summer

This past week, we got our first glimpse of fall with some cooler temperatures and shorter days. It was nice to get a break from the 100 degree weather, but as usual, I am sad to see summer go. Luckily, there are still a few fun fall activities in store...

This weekend, Sarah and I went to the Texas-Rice game. We got tickets from a friend and sat in the newly opened north end seats, which were awesome. They have a great view of the entire field, not to mention the jumbo tron is directly in front of you. It was not the most exciting game (Texas won 52 to 10) but it was still fun to be in the game atmosphere and see the team in person.

Here are a few pictures from last weekend that I hadn't posted yet...it was a really long week.

Eileen was in town so we went out for dinner and drinks.

Then Sunday, J and I discovered the Corral Theater, an outdoor walk in theater in Wimberly. You bring your own chairs and sit under the stars watching a movie. We caught the last show of the season. It was a nice way to cap off a great summer.

A Word From Jessie

Jessie, the dog here. Since my mom likes so much to post pictures of me to her silly little blog, I asked her to give me a chance to give you my side of things. So here you go...This is me and Lola. Lola and Leonard, who are friends of mine, came to stay with me Tuesday through Thursday last week while their mom was on a work trip. Lola likes to stand up on her hind legs and box with my nose. I don't mind too much though because I am bigger than her and can fit her whole head in my mouth. Leonard (Lola's brother) on the other hand, doesn't like to play too much. He's what the two legged folks call shy, I've never heard of that, but you know, he's still cool. Here's a picture of Lola and Leonard's mom with my mom. They went out to dinner with my aunt Sofia and Aaron. We stayed home and had dog food...again. This weekend was pretty good too. Despite mom being out of the house for most of Sunday to watch football with friends (see below), she took me out to Bull Creek on Saturday, which was pretty fun.

We went hiking for a little bit and then played around in the water.

This is me meeting a friend of my own.

I hope I get to go back there soon. There are lots of things to do, lots of dogs to play with. I kind of think my mom also likes it there becuase she's hoping to meet up with the owner of a dog name Max....hmmm.

Well, that's it for now folks, take care and come and visit me any time! If you do come, feel free to bring treats. Thanks.- JESSIE

Football, Running and Flavor Day

It is that time of year again, Longhorn football season!
This weekend Texas opened up their season by slightly beating (52 to 10) Florida Atlantic University. I went to a friend's tailgate with Bailey and Kreuzer and then watched the game from Maggie Maes, which ended up being a good place to be, $2 beers, free BBQ, big screens, not too bad. It was nice to be back in burnt orange... Sunday, I changed into bright red for Nike's Human Race, a world wide run benefitting 3 non profit organization. A group of YMCA staff members headed out to be part of this 10k run, in support of the Lance Armstrong Foundation. While I've walked a 10k before, this is the first time I attempted to run one. The course was tough (lots of hills), so I still walked about 2 miles, but ran the rest. I came in 3,968th out of the Austin female runners with a time just under an hour and a half...hey, at least it's a starting place! A few of my coworkers and I stayed to enjoy the Ben Harper concert and some delicious food at the Nike Pavillion. Not a bad way to spend a Sunday evening.

Monday, I invited a few people over to the house for a backyard BBQ. We enjoyed some yummy chicken and veggie kabobs, sides and desserts. Thanks to Bailey, Labor Day will now officially be called Flavor Day, just one more holiday that's all about eating. Amber, Chuck and Rora came over as well. I forgot to take pictures, so you'll just have to check out thier blog for pictures of how cute 'Rora is these days...

Now, off to start a new week!

Why I love Austin

There are so many reasons why I love this city, but over these past few days, I was reminded just how lucky I am to be here and be surrounded by such great people and fun things to do. Friday I had lunch with Amber, Aurora and a past LAF intern at Magnolia Cafe, yum.

After work, I enjoyed this awesome sunset, a few beers and some great live music on the deck of a small neighborhood bar that's been around for 50 years. It was pretty perfect.Saturday, friends and I headed out to Tow Texas to Fall Creek Vineyard for their annual grape stomp. We sat at a table with three ladies who were celebrating their birthdays. They told us about their travels, grandkids and love of wine. I think we got a glimpse into our future. Fortunately we liked what we saw...

Thanks Austin, for another great weekend.

Quick note from work

While it's completely unprofessional (and out of character) for me to post while I am work, it's been so long since my last update that I'm feeling guilty! So, I figure as long as it's a short post and somewhat about work, it's OK. This past few days have been fun here at the Y, Amanda came in to the office to volunteer on Monday and Tuesday and the week before, my sister came in to help. My co workers are loving all this free help I'm bring in! :) On Tuesday night, we had a staff outing at the RR express game and had a great time. The weather held out and I really enjoyed getting to hang out with my co workers outside of our work element.

Last weekend, Sofia, Aaron and I went to Casino El Camino to have one of thier famous burgers. They were SO good. Aaron disapproved of my pool skills, but approved of the burgers.

We also went to the Flying Saucer for some beer. I got a Texas flight which I loved, probably becuase it came in cute, small glasses.

On the homefront, Jessie is gaining some independence! My dad installed a doggy door for her. While it took her a few days to realize it was OK for her to come and go on her own (without my calling her), she now loves it and loudly flaps in and out many, many times a day...