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...

Cute Kids

I love kids, espeically when they are cute, good and not mine! ;) I'm sure one day I'll be ready for kids of my own, but for now, I am perfectly happy enjoying other people's. This weekend, I got to hang out with my favorite little cutie, Rora, at Raquel's baby shower. Raquel is due any day now- so another cute one soon! I also get to see a little older cuties from time to time at the new job. Our staff heads out to the branches during events, so this past Friday, we went to watch the summer camp kids get prizes for reading. It's nice to take these breaks from office. We get to interact with the staff and see the kids, which makes the paperwork and "fire putting out" worth it!

Hello, Eileen.

It was Eileen's weekend to be in town so we decided to head out to the Nutty Brown Cafe to listen to some music and enjoy a warm Texas summer night. For you Austinites- if you haven't been out there, I highly recommend making the short treck out 290 to enjoy a margarita and listen to some music out on their deck, good stuff.

I also took Jessie to Red Bud Isle, a new (for us) dog park. It's been recommended by several other dog owners and considering the 102 degree weather, I thought Jessie would enjoy being able to cool off in the water. I wouldn't call Jessie a swimmer, per say, she's more of a wader. She watches in admiration as the labs and retrievers dive in to fetch balls, but in the end is much more content just cooling off in the shallow end.

Jess and I both miss Eileen, but we're glad she comes to visit!

A Nice Weekend...

While this past weekend wasn't quite as exciting as being in Chicago, it was still a great one. I got a lot marked off my to-do list (which always makes me a happy camper), I got to use my new bar-b-que grill, I took Jessie to the dog park, went to the drafhouse to see a movie and made it up to Georgetown on Sunday. Sof, Aaron and I were hoping to finally go to the the lake while in G'town, but when we arrived, we learned that it was closed. Apparently the lake being 13ft below its usual level is a bad thing. So instead mom took us, old school style, to one of the city pools...good old Williams Drive, where I spent countless hours at swim practice or working. I can't say I miss those 12 hour days in the sun...

Here's a couple of pictures of Lucy (my parent's dog) and Jessie too...the smile on Lucy's face tells me they had a good weekend as well :)

Skinny Atlas & the Shiny Bean

Skaneateles (pronounced something like skinny atlas) is a very cute lakefront town on one of the finger lakes in central New York. I spent a day here, before embarking on the trip to Chicago with my sister. She had been at a cabin for a couple of weeks with a friend, who's grandparents own the cabin on the lake. What a great place to spend part of your summer!

On to the big city...

When my friend, Sarah, told me that while I was in Chicago, I should find the "shiny bean," I didn't think that one, I would actually find it (especially since I was thinking it still might be a shining beam or perhaps a shiny being) and two that it would be one of my favorite things about the city! This shiny bean which is actually a sculpture in Millennium Park called Cloud Gate, was just one more thing to add to my list of things I loved about Chicago. Additional items on my list were the food, the shopping, the architecture, the numerous parks and flowers, Lake Michigan, the Ferris wheel on Navy Pier, the view of the city from the Hancock Center, and probably a few more things that I'm forgetting. As you can tell, I truly enjoyed my time in Chicago. I know this is easy to say having visited in late July, when temperatures were in the low 80's. Not sure how I'd fare in winter, maybe one day I'll go back and find out! Thank you so much to Tessa & Rahul for being magnificent hosts, and letting us be their first guests in their beautiful new house!