10wks...Who's Counting?!?!

How is it that I lived in Fort Worth for 20 something years and never knew about Fred's Texas Cafe? I mean come on now. It was pretty darn fantastic and I've never even heard of it! I told my grandmother I was coming over to take her out for lunch on her birthday and she wants to go to Fred's. I'm like...Okay, sounds fine, but I have no idea. We show up and I'm totally down. There was a great patio, live music, cold beer and yummy burgers. To make it even better, there playin' Texas tunes and there's antlers hanging from the ceiling, among other things. This works for me. I topped that off with a little lemon on lemon cupcake action at j. rae's. I'm also quite impressed with W 7th. Good things do happen. I think I like it. Not sure about all the condos, but if it works. Too bad I don't live in the Funk anymore so that I can partake in the what seems to be fun area more often. Also pretty sad that apparently they're tearing out a ton of trees at the Kimbell. What are they thinking? Anyway...Happy Birthday NeNe!!

Joe and NeNe on her birthday at Fred's in FW

I'm happy to say that Beau doesn't need surgery. Here's how we celebrated Beau's news...

Playing, sunning and picnicking at the park

She wore herself out! We were at the park everyday of Spring Break

So where did the gorgeous weather go?! It's like..."Hey...you want warm weather? Here's a little taste." Then BAM...50 and raining! All I've had today is coffee, hot chocolate & cups of soup.  I am not a fan in the slightest. Please come back sunshine! I need every minute I can get of you!

Ooh...I found a great acupuncturist who also does massages. I've basically refused to go to anyone who doesn't do both. Thanks Dana for spoiling me. I would've carted you off to Texas with me, but you chose Hawaii, so I was forced to find someone else. A year and a half later, I've finally settled :)

Really, I have about 10 weeks of school left! PRAISE JESUS!!! A little dramatic...yeah, I know. But seriously! I can't wait!!! No plans in April...maybe camping? May is wedding time in Cancun - that should be more than a little fun. June - SCHOOL'S OUT FOR SUMMER! Then...Dr. H will be back and I'll have my husband back and we can go on vacay! YES PLEASE!!

~Abrazos a todos

My Weekend Went Like This...

Apology - All pics taken since Friday were via iPhone (except the flowers). Spent the entire weekend w/o an actual camera. I forgot that and my contacts...thank goodness for glasses.

Friday - Spring Break is here! Roxy ate the package of chapstick I bought last week...I've been looking for it since then. Mitch found it under the guest bed. Sneaky little bugger.

She either felt guilty and quit eating or she wasn't a fan of the pink one.
I must say...she's pretty sly...got the package open and popped all the tops &
bottoms, eating 90% of both the green and red flavors.

Saturday - Arrived safely to mom's where beautiful flowers were waiting. Thanks guys!

They took me to Jack Allen's for my birthday...very scrumptious. Chili fries to die for...along with everything else I had. The gorgeous patio weather made it just perfect.

bacon-wrapped quail...mmmmm

Gorgonzola-crusted petite fillet
chili fries and mojito featured in the background
oops...bad etiquette..
should've taken pic prior to devouring the bloody red beast
yes...I'm a Medium Rare kinda gal...that is actually gravy on the plate

Sunday - Had a great lunch date with two of my fav gals Alicia & Wesley at Cipollina...again with the food...I can't help it...it was delightful! This was followed by a little Sunday afternoon Chicken $*@! Bingo at Ginny's Little Longhorn Saloon. Oh, Austin. You did me right. Couldn't have been a more relaxing day. 

(The next sentence should be read in a good ol' Texas accent)...Nothin' screams Texas like sittin' in a parkin' lot in my camp chair, drinkin' $2 Lonestar behind a little one room shack covered in old license plates listenin' to Dale Watson blarin' out the door (in the best city Texas has to offer). I rarely do this sorta thing. Miss Wesley had a birthday to be celebrated, so I was there...pretty darn happy I went. Instagram was a life saver...I just didn't feel like editing these...

The Birthday Girl Herself

That was just the first hour

Ginny's

Reaction to first taste of somethin' special

Still trying to figure out if these are just retro cans or
is this actually beer from back when?
It tasted like it was from back when!

just a part of the gang that day

Felt necessary to capture something not everyone has.
Can you believe they don't sell Best Maid Pickles in all 50?!?!

Monday -...drove back to DFW :(

Tuesday - Beau was supposed to have knee surgery this morning. Thank god those ortho vets know what they're talking about. He couldn't even feel a rupture. That doesn't mean there isn't one, but since he's getting around pretty well, neither the vet or myself wants to put the little dude in a compromising position. The risk isn't ridiculously high, but with his heart murmur, he's just not a good candidate for anesthesia. Champagne will be toasted just for this news alone!

The only thing missing from these last few days was my other half. Looking forward to spending time with him this weekend. Pics of what's left of the flowers he gave me a couple weeks ago for my bday...

And I love bringing Spring into the house!

...besos

*Birds from previous post are Cedar Waxwings

It's All About...

Okay...not all the time...but this week it was!

I have had a fairly low-key week. Yea...My birthday was on Wednesday. I was starting to feel puny, so we just picked up dinner and I was asleep on the couch by 7. It was confirmed the next morning that I either had a cold or really terrible allergies. I've been dealing with it all week. My little cocktail of drugs...Zyrtec, Benadryl & 24 hour Sudafed. Friday I had a technology meeting, so I wasn't at school. Quite frankly, I'm glad because I felt like complete hell all morning...Kiddos would not have made my day better. I actually love getting to work on cool technology stuff all day with other adults. Just confirms that getting out of the classroom is in the near future.

I was so excited to have my wonderful friend Wesley over for the weekend!! Not gonna lie...we didn't stay up late chatting Friday night. We had a 5k to do the next day! 

She probably wants to kill me for posting this!

So if you didn't know, I basically don't run...I walk/jog. For about a year, I have completely lacked motivation to workout. Last month I really started trying to get it together. We have a wedding to go to in Playa in May and honestly, if I don't look good in a bikini, than I'd rather not go...accommodations already purchased, so I better get on it. Anyway...5k...2nd Annual Dash for Beads in Oak Cliff...proceeds go to the beautification of Oak Cliff. I'm down with that.  

It has been decided that a man designed this shirt.
Notice placement of shoes. AWESOME!

Mitch's mask was for picture purposes only.
He wouldn't be caught dead running with it on.

Mitch, Angie, Emerald, Wesley, and I signed up for the small, but fun event. There was a costume contest, so several people looked pretty rockin'. 

a little Johnny Depp action

tutus galore

I originally thought about bringing the dogs since it was a pet friendly event, but damn! It was cold! About 45 degrees and 15-20mph winds. And to think...two days before it had been sunny and 70. I even bought Roxy a Mardi Gras tutu and Beau a pimpin' gold hat with feathers. Next time, I will definitely wear a tutu myself. And all 5ks must end with yummy brunch...thank you Bread Winners for always coming through. Unfortunately we didn't eat in OC because it was packed!

The little bloated-belly girl in her Mardi Gras tutu!
Doesn't she just look thrilled!

Saturday night, we headed out to La Duni for mine and Charlotte's birthday. I just haven't felt like going wild lately. Age? Job? Who knows. After my weekend of partying a couple of weeks ago, I realized...I might be too old for this s***! Nah...I can only take it in small doses. Dinner was great! The company was even better! (Shout out to the Northcutts, Hermes, Hixons, Ms. Oatis & Janssen) 

food blogger...no...that would have to be a whole other blog
mahi mahi, una jarra de sangria, plantains, etc. made for a perfect meal

We had originally planned to make it out to Lee Harvey's for some outdoor live music, but I just wasn't going to make myself miserable. Instead, the Hixon's had us over to their house. We had lovely champagne cocktails, chatted for a while with the fire beaming, and Char made cake balls. It was a perfect way to end the night. I'm sure I mentioned several times that I wanted a group pic before we all left, but it never happened. I was enjoying my friends too much to even think about it. But thanks to Emerald, I have some decent shots of that night.

Dave & Angie

Emerald & I

"Holy Cake Balls" (E. Oatis)

camping, babies, etc.
The topics of us folks who are aging quite nicely

Latin American leftovers on Sunday were quite scrumptious! A little chai and good conversation while still in my p.j.s topped off my Sunday morning perfectly. Thanks Wes for spending the weekend with us.

T-minus 5 days until Spring Break begins. For some reason, there are quite a few tests on the school schedule this week. I don't know that my kids' effort level will be 100%. They already have "Spring Fever" (as do I). The only major plan I have for SB is getting Beau's ACL rupture repaired. That'll happen next Tuesday. That makes knee surgery numero seis for us. Poor Beau. Roxy has recently gone through a battery of tests that ultimately confirmed that her liver and adrenal glands ARE functioning normally. She'll be on meds for 90 days to see if there is a change in her bloodwork and hopefully her bloated belly will go down. If not, there's a possibility that she has benign hepatitis. I'll take that over Cushings Disease, which is what we thought she had. She also has two kidney stones the size of peas that aren't affecting her right now, but will need to be surgically removed soon. Poor little lady just can't be normal. If only my pups could feel better and stay better. Other than that...hangin' out with the pups and getting some "Me Time" in during my week off.

These lovely beauties stopped for a break in our front trees (about 20 of them)
Haven't been able to identify their species yet

Signs of Spring!

I (well, hopefully we) will be headed to Austin this Friday to see the mom and sis for a little birthday get-together. We'll be celebrating with Rebecca and Wesley for their March birthdays as well. Watch out ladies...I might be back on a party roll! I truly hope Mitch can get his patients out of the hospital this week so he can join me in ATX. He really isn't making plans to go anywhere (except for Mexico) any weekend until the good boss lady is back in June. Sooner would be nice.

Until then. Have a wonderful week. Ciao!