Happy belated Yule (etc)

Merry Christmas, a few days late. Things are good here - we survived the holidays. We had Christmas Eve dinner at my folks' with them, Leslie and Bryan, Carolyn, and Rich and Ann Klingner. On the big day we opened presents at the Halls and Roberts, then had the traditional evening celebration with the Stimsons. We came in third in the Christmas game, getting that high up only because of the Hall family help.

I found out that Brian's roommates are Wiccan and actually celebrate Yule. Interesting, no?

Anyway, cousin Katie is due to arrive at any minute and no doubt the entire weekend will be filled with fun and relaxation for all (and all a good night)!

new old pictures and stuff

I've been posting a lot of pictures I took from pre-marriage days onto roberts.overt.org, if you want to check them out. Some of them are even from a non-digital camera...remember those days?

Matt and I went out to a really nice dinner last night at N9ne Steakhouse. It's at Victory Park in downtown, which is cool in and of itself. I'd never actually been there since they added all the video boards and the Channel 8 News room. There was a Mavs game last night too, so there was a really fun atmosphere. We split a 12 oz filet mignon and three sides: macaroni and cheese, sweet potatoes, and brussel sprouts (okay, Matt didn't touch the last one). Everything was really good until dessert, when my apple tart had caramelized jalapeños in it - you don't just spring that on people without mentioning it on on the menu! Matt's "Box o' Donuts" was quite good though (included three dipping sauces: raspberry, chocolate, and caramel). The menu is here if you want to look.

Yesterday we also put up our exterior Christmas lights and got a Christmas tree. We opted for a Douglas fir because they were oh-so-much cheaper than the Nobles and frankly more fun than the scrappy Frasiers.

good dog!

Matt and I went to Pene's first dog training class last night. It is held by the All Breed Obidience Training (http://www.abotc.com/) at Flagpole Hill. They have an 8-week beginners class and offer further intermediate and advanced training. Since only one person can train, Matt just watched while Pene and I joined dogs Emily (Rottwieler), Diego (some long-haired setter-type), Duke (golden), Ralph (little yappy mutt), and Clive (blood hound) and their owners. We had two instructors - one mostly doing the talking and demonstrations and the other observing and helping out individuals. In our first one hour class we began teaching the dogs sit, stay, heel, and down. I was glad we'd already taught Pene sit, as most of the other dogs knew it too. We learned about keeping the dogs at our left sides, how to hold their leash, and how to make the most of the commands. Pene did really well when she got over the distractions of the other dogs and people. I think she wants Clive to be her boyfriend. He's pretty adorable with all his extra hound skin (he's only 4 months old). Matt and I were really pleased with everything - the closeness of the class, the quality of the instruction, the small class size. I hope Pene enjoys it too! I was pretty impressed that she did as well as she did considering she has ear infections in both ears!

Did I ever mention that my first Xbox 360 got the red ring of death after four days? I thought that was pretty incredible...luckily Best Buy didn't blink when I brought it in for an exchange, and they switched out the hard drives so I could keep my saved games. Anyway, just thought that was note-worthy. 360 #2 is trucking along just fine. I've logged some major hours on it, beating Blue Dragon today (51 hours played I think), and it has been good.

Rick and Emily played Rock Band with Matt and I when they were here this weekend. For the first time we experienced four people rocking out at once (Rick on vocals, me on bass, Matt on guitar, Em on drums). It is ridiculously fun, although the singing takes some getting used to. Emily and I were incapacitated and barely able to play our instruments when Rick started belting out the Beastie Boys "Sabotage." Quality!

wedding dress selection

Today I got to see Emily's pick for her wedding dress. It is amazing but I can't really say any more or show you the pictures because Rick might accidentally stumble upon them. I can, however, show you the fabulous dress that we found for the bridesmaids.

(just kidding)

In non-wedding related news, Pene set the house alarm off today when she finally managed to open the back door for herself. I was on my way to the bridal shop when the alarm company called to let me know the alarm had sounded. I u-turned and went back home to find the back door wide open, Piper eying it (a good thing I returned), and Pene cowering in the bedroom after having the alarm sirens scare her half to death. Note to self: lock that door from now on when Pene is outdoors!

a few new pictures

There are a few new pictures up on our picture web site. Highlights:

what happens when you stick your nose in a firepit with hot coals

Hamm family cousins

My kickass birthday bike!

RIP Basil

Someone who shall remain nameless pulled my basil up out of the ground and left it by the back door. le sigh.

Now for some Christmas humor:
Dad and I rode bikes around White Rock yesterday. It was gorgeous outside and he was suitably impressed with my new wheels.

Pene has been to the dog park twice now and it is without a doubt her favorite thing ever. She runs and runs, sideswipes dogs to get them to chase her, wrestles, gets knocked over, and generally goes crazy. She is very well-behaved with the other dogs, though, which makes us proud. I was worried her lack of socialization in early childhood would've made her a little squirrelly, but apparently not! She has her first dog training class next week at Flagpole Hill and we're excited. :)

goodness

If you were wondering what the hell happened to me, our (new) DSL modem kicked the bucket two days after my last post. We had to wait for a replacement modem to get shipped to us, and my first call to AT&T on November 5 didn't get the job done. The nice customer service guy I talked to forgot to place the order. So our new modem didn't get ordered until I called a second time to see what the hold up was, last Thursday. The new and functioning modem arrived about an hour ago.

I'll fill in the blanks some more, I think, in future posts, but here are the highlights of the last two weeks:
- three fun-filled nights in Austin
- Xbox 360
- quality time with Matt
- my birthday (thanks for all the birthday wishes, by the way!)
- a new road bike, my present from Matt, and a bunch of riding gear from the fam
- Emily's engagement to Rick (WHOOP!)

Halloween letdown

I was disappointed in the number of trick-or-treaters we got this year (12). It was our neighbors' fault - about half had their lights all turned out, including both houses on the end of Vistadale. The natural course for trick-or-treaters was proceeding down Vistadale and looping down promising streets. Ours hardly qualified. Our house was itself extremely inviting - orange and purple twinkle lights, candle-filled pumpkin lanterns, lights ablaze. But alas, the hordes just didn't think our street was worth it. :(

The good news is it is now November, aka my birthday month. =D

Pene has developed an unfortunate new trick of getting into everything. So far the casualties include: my sewing kit, a kit-kat, a bag of cheetoes, a loaf of bread, some Christmas decorations, Matt's middle school football jersey, and some crackers. She doesn't actually eat much of anything, just plays with them. Mostly she does this when we're gone or separated from her (like when Matt leaves in the morning and I'm still asleep). We're combating this two ways: 1) putting things away or up higher, and 2) putting Pene outside when we're both gone. I hope she gets over this phase quickly.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Video game poll results:

Video games:

Yes, often!	4 (36%)
Sometimes.	3 (27%)
I did when I was a kid...	3 (27%)
Nope.	1 (9%)

pumpkin fun and stupid people

Last night Matt and I carved jack-o-lanterns. He did a bat and I did a spider.

AT&T royally screwed us. They managed to get both our address and Matt's cell phone number wrong, making it impossible for them to come install our satellite dish. This is where they thought we lived:

View Larger Map

Not so close.

i hate traffic

I got back to the house in less than half the time it took me to get to Dr Z's. Northwest Highway is the devil at peak times.

I'm removing the "how do you know Cameron" poll from the sidebar. The results were:
6 "she's family"
4 "she's a friend"
1 "through someone else"

Vote in the new poll if you feel so inclined!

Matt's back among the living!

I've been enjoying having Matt back from the fall tax season. He wrapped things up on the 15th and then took a couple days off from work. We went to the Fair on Tuesday and had a great time. Highlights include viewing the traveling reptile show, visiting the aquarium, looking at all the cars, eating a funnel cake, and riding a couple rides. We also used the free time to catch him up on all his TV shows on the DVR and just vegged a lot. He had a couple laid back days at work on Thursday and Friday and got off early for the weekend.

Cousin Lisa was in town Wednesday-Saturday with Miles and I had fun spending time with them. Miles is getting really interesting to be around and I definitely built some muscle carrying him around over those few days. Matt and I had Chinese food with Carolyn and Lisa on Wednesday night and we got to have Lisa and Miles sleep over on Thursday. That night we hosted the two of them, Mom, Dad and Carolyn for dinner, which was quite fun. We had hamburgers from the grill and I made John's mashed potatoes which are amazing.

On Saturday Matt and I did the Race for the Cure with some of his work people - Casey, Nick, and Lisa. We weren't so much racing as walking, along with thousands of other people. It was pretty fun. Afterwards we went over to Carolyn's to see Lisa and Miles one last time and to visit with Lisa's mom Debbie who had driven in for the day.

So I'm really excited - I'm getting an Xbox 360 within the next couple weeks. I've been saving up my pie money, and Brian is going to loan me Blue Dragon to play. I also want to get Halo 3 and Guitar Hero 2 & 3. Matt and I have been playing through Halo 2 for the original Xbox to get pumped up for it (we rock). Guitar Hero 3, which comes out next week I think, sounds really cool. The list of songs included in the game, most of them the original studio recordings, is really impressive and I've heard so many good things about the first two games. Plus it is one that Matt would enjoy playing, unlike my RPGs, so that's a big plus. I might also be tempted to get Rock Band when it comes out, because I want to play the drums. :) My only concerns with the 360 is the red ring of death and other issues related to dead consoles, which is why I am planning on getting an extended in-store warranty with my console. I still haven't quite decided about the elite vs premium debate or if I should go with a bundle...if any readers out there have an opinion, I'm all ears!

Pene had her second dip today for her little mange problem and got her second round of vaccinations. She had a blast at the vet as usual.

We're switching from Time Warner Cable (aka The Devil) to DISH Network tomorrow. It'll be our third major TV provider after Directv and cable, so we're curious as to how it stacks up. What convinced us to switch was 1) they don't require contracts (neither does TWC, thank goodness for that), 2) they have more HD channels than TWC (although not as many as Directv), 3) it won't cost any more than TWC costs us now, and 4) we don't have to buy the HD-DVR (we can rent). If the world were perfect we'd be with Directv but they are way more expensive than any one else and you have to buy an HD-DVR instead of renting. That's two big strikes against them. Hopefully we'll enjoy DISH. We'll keep you posted.

World of Warcraft Humor

Most of you won't get this. But trust me - it's funny.

Piper says hi

I can only assume that's what she was saying as she jumped up on my desk, meowing loudly, as soon as I hit the "new post" button. Yes yes, and her shoving her head under my typing fingers is her attempt to communicate with y'all directly. Let's let her speak:

sglk

Okay, she's curled up in the top paper tray of the printer now. Ponder that word.

Today was a good day. I delivered my pies to the restaurants (okay, one less than ideal part of the day - when I woke up at 2:30 in the morning and made my buttermilks in an attempt to get sleepy again...good news - they turned out great). Then I had lunch at Peggy Sue with Mom and accompanied her to the nursery (riding there in her convertible, top down, yeehaw). I got back home, digested a bit, and went swimming at the Y. Then I cleaned and stuff until Matt got home, before 7:00pm! I made him macaroni and cheese and we took the first step in catching him up on TV. Right now he's watching Prison Break from three weeks ago.

Please vote in the poll if you haven't yet. I'm curious and I bet my 9 readers are too :)

poll

I am trying out Blogger's new poll feature. Rock the vote to the right of this post, under my profile!

This week has been good so far, aside from barely seeing Matt. I did some swimming and running at the Y, made some pies, played with Pene, enjoyed the cooler weather...last night I had dinner with John and Susie at grandma Phyllis' house, and that was fun. It was good to do something other than sitting in front of the TV with Piper and Pene in the evening. Oh, and yesterday afternoon I got my hair cut - about as short as I did two years ago. Matt pulled an all-nighter last night and got home at 2:30 am the night before. October 15 cannot come soon enough!

Beat (past tense) the hell outta OSU!

The Aggies won an exciting game against Oklahoma State and are now the leaders of the Big 12 South. Whoop! Jorvorskie Lane had an amazing game - his almost touchdown pass was greatness.

I am also amazed USC lost to Stanford, and hope LSU folds to Florida. And I watched Wisconsin get crushed by Illinois. So much for those single digit rankings, boys.

I was trying to root for UT in the Red River Showdown against OU, but I kept forgetting. It was getting too hard so I switched back to cheering for OU. Our Longhorn neighbors across the street probably took the loss hard...as did the people they had over to watch the game, who had to run to their cars in the pouring rain. Bummer. (hehe)

rock the freak on!

$500 check from the pet insurance people. and the people rejoice!

Pene gets in the Halloween spirit!

tail attack!

Pene's tail really interests Piper. I managed to catch her in action.

I got my first pie-related injury today. I was making three coconut amaretto pies at once and burned my arm on the edge of a pie pan while shifting them around in the oven. It hurts, but I don't think it'll take long to heal. I took a buttermilk pie to Erik at Cisco yesterday and it sold out, so I got to make them another one today for the weekend!

Yesterday I joined the Lake Highlands YMCA. I probably could've kept using my Park Cities Y card, and in fact the girl at the desk at the LH-Y was surprised I didn't, but Dad and I had had a discussion about the morality of ripping off the YMCA. So I ponied up the money.

Last night I watched We Are Marshall. Good movie, but not surprisingly the beginning of the movie was very sad. Just once I'd be interested to see a Hollywood true story-type movie where the actor is less attractive than the real person they are portraying. Maybe it is just that there aren't enough average-to-ugly people in Hollywood.

flowers!

When we moved here, we got a coupon for a free flat of seasonal flowers from the local garden center, and I went and redeemed it today. I got some pansies, petunias, and some other annual I forget. I also picked up some lantana because it was 75% off, meaning it cost $0.50 each! So I got five :) Anyway, I planted most of them in the front in various beds, and the pansies plus one petunia were ensconced in the new hanging basket on the front porch. Yay! I hope they make it all right. I have been much more diligent about watering recently, so I'm pretty optimistic.

I did my trial run of pie making last week, making four pie crusts, one buttermilk pie, and one coconut amaretto pie on Thursday. The next day I took pieces to Carolyn, Mom and Dad, and John and Susie, and they all liked them, so I was encouraged. Also, it wasn't too stressful or challenging to make all those in one day, so making just one pie with the crust possibly already done should be just fine. Tomorrow I'm taking my first official pie to Amore!

I met Matt at Chuy's for dinner tonight because he's working late. This fall busy season stinks. Before we parted, we went in the Apple Store to look at the iPod Touch and iPhone. Not that we're thinking about getting one, but now that they've been out a while you can actually play with them without waiting in a line. They were pretty nifty.

We were walking Pene last night and we ran into a couple with two Great Danes. I asked them if Pene looked like their dogs did when they were young and they said yes. She had almost identical markings as one of the dogs. Hmm...seems half Dane is still on the table. =P

Speaking of Pene, she had the best time ever playing with her ball in the backyard this evening. After I'd thrown it five or so times and she'd brought it back, she thought it would be more fun to play "keep away" with me. She was running in circles around the tree as fast as she could, so that I couldn't keep up even making the smallest circles. So then I'd go the opposite direction and encounter her, and she'd juke and get around me and keep going. Once or twice she changed direction. And she did this about three times as I'd occasionally wrest the ball away from her. Good way to burn off some of her energy!

free Netflix

I have four coupons for one-month trials of Netflix if anyone wants them (the usual trial is 2 weeks). E-mail me if you want them. :)

Oh, and one other thing. Do you know why this is a great time of year? Because honeycrisp apples are back! Yay!

Private Practice gets the boot

I have my first casualty of the new TV season...Private Practice kind of sucked. Maybe I'd give it another week - maybe - except we have Kitchen Nightmares and Bionic Woman (we're trying that one) at the same time slot, so I'm really not sitting in our bedroom and watching a show on non-HD with commercials if it isn't very good. What did they DO to the Addison character I loved to hate?

Only exciting thing I did today was visiting Matt's grandmother Phyllis in the hospital. She had a knee replaced last week, and she's doing well. She gets to go home Friday and I put my name in to help out when she gets home. How could I not when she's a fellow Lake Highlander? :)

Happy birthday, Emily!

Pene and I spent the night at the ranch last night with Mom. Pene thought it was all about her (maybe she's right). She got to visit all the livestock, nose around the pond, and have a fabulous time. We even took a dip in the lake and I made her swim - she's a natural, of course. I burned lots of brush which is always a good time, and Mom and I watched three straight hours of NBC prime time programming. We liked Chuck well enough to give it another week and of course Heroes was great. We started to watch Journeyman and were skeptical, but we got sucked in unwittingly and watched the whole episode. This morning we were picking peppers in Mom's garden and Pene was dashing in, grabbing them off the vine, and retreating to rip them up. Luckily she was choosing bell peppers instead of jalapeños.

On Sunday I got to know our next door neighbors' son Kyle. He came to ask to use the phone after getting locked out. He sat at the kitchen table and drank a Coke while waiting 25 minutes for his parents to let him in. Turns out he's an (almost) Eagle scout in ninth grade, plays basketball, and likes video games. He wants to go to A&M like his two older brothers (whoop!). Anyway, it was cool because he was a nice, well-spoken young man, and there's something that feels so neighborly about lending a phone and cool place to hang when a neighbor gets locked out. :)

here's the latest

A number of things conspired to delay my blog post. The main thing was that I wanted to wait until I'd heard back about Pene's blood test, and ... anyway, sorry. I'm back.

Pene

On the 14th Pene had a blood test to check her distemper antibody levels. A fourfold increase would signify her having distemper; no change would suggest she didn't. Well, the blood test came back with her levels unchanged, which is great. Unfortunately we'd noticed a tick/spasm/whatever in her right front leg a few days prior to getting the results (a muscle spasm about 100 times a minute that she has maybe 50% of each day). The vet said that sounded like classic a neurological sign of distemper. So we're basically back to the waiting game - see if she gets better, worse, the same...I'll take her back to the vet in a week or so to see what he thinks and to ask about her getting on with her vaccinations. At this point, we have no idea if Pene will ultimately live or not, so we're just making the time we have with her the best we can and dealing.

Pene has been to the ranch a couple times since her recovery and she has had a blast. She touched noses with cows and horses, stalked and ate some bugs, played with toads, waded in the lake, and generally had a blast. There are some pictures scattered around on our web site.


Matt has been working hard at work. He's at work right now actually, but should be home soon.

I've been watching Grey's Anatomy on DVD in preparation for the new season starting this Thursday. I signed up for a free one-month trial of Blockbuster Online so I am getting them from there. In-store exchange is pretty neat, but Netflix still kicks BB's ass.

New shows Matt and/or I will be checking out this fall:

• Kitchen Nightmares (Wednesdays on Fox)
• Kid Nation (Wednesdays on CBS)
• Back to You (Wednesdays on Fox)
• Dirty Sexy Money (Wednesdays on ABC)
• Private Practice (Wednesdays on ABC)
• Bionic Woman (Wednesdays on NBC)
• Big Shots (Thursdays on ABC)
• Pushing Daisies (Wednesdays on ABC)

I'm sure most of those will not suit us and we'll drop them. Shows we're resuming watching from previous seasons: Prison Break (Matt), Family Guy, Heroes, House, ER, Grey's Anatomy, The Office, Friday Night Lights. We're officially dropping CSI because it conflicts with The Office/Grey's Anatomy.

Dad and I are investigating the possibility of me making Carolyn's coconut amaretto pie for Amore. As soon as I find a source of amaretto cookies I'm going to try out the recipe and give it a whirl. I bought pie pans at Crate and Barrel (yes, with the gift card we're still working on from our wedding, yay) in preparation. :)

I bought lots of candy today at Sams for Halloween (so I don't forget later). We're really excited about having trick-or-treaters this year.

hi

Things took a turn for the better at the end of this past week. Pene got to come home on Thursday. She isn't out of the woods yet because there is still a possibility of distemper, but she's doing lots better. Her distemper test results showed some antibodies for distemper, but that could just mean she's been vaccinated or exposed, not necessarily infected. The only way we'll know is time - another test two weeks from now will show if the antibody levels have stayed the same (yay) or increased (boo). Also, she could start showing neurological signs of distemper, like seizures. But so far, so good. She's eating well and being playful. Last night Piper and Pene stalked a bug through the house, which ended with Pene eating it (except for one leg). This morning she helped me water and rake the yard. And right now I think I hear the girls playing in the other room.

Carolyn is improving as well. She's leaving the rehab place on Monday and we're all thrilled. She's in a lot less pain, moving around well, and in good spirits.

Leslie was here from Monday evening until Friday morning. She was supposed to go back Thursday night but rain here in Dallas delayed her. We tried to pretend we were sad she had to stay another night but we were not-so-secretly pleased. Les and I got to hang out a lot and spent Wednesday at the ranch with Mom, Dad, Mike Shannon, and Yolanda. Wednesday night we grilled out here at the house and were joined before the end of the meal by cousin Lisa and Matt (who is working his tail off with fall busy season). On Thursday we gave baby Miles his first swimming experience in Mom and Dad's pool, which was awesome. He never cried, even when I accidentally dunked his head. We had to evacuate the pool though when the rain storm hit. Leslie returned to California early on Friday and Lisa and I spent the day cleaning Carolyn's condominium in anticipation of her return home. It was very satisfying :) Lisa had to head back to Austin yesterday morning, much to my dismay, but I suppose Eric wanted his wife and son back. It's only fair that I share.

Friday night Matt and I went to Scott McClelland's wedding rehearsal dinner at the Grotto in Uptown because Matt was an usher for Scott and Lindsay's wedding. The wedding was yesterday morning at Scofield Memorial Church. We sat with John and Susie and they all enjoyed seeing lots of their Lake Highlands friends (Scott and Matt grew up together in Lake Highlands). The reception was at Arlington Hall in Lee Park. Then Matt and I came back home to allow Matt to watch copious amounts of college football...it's like a holiday for Matt! He was flipping between three games at one point. Unfortunately the Aggies weren't on TV, but we did have other Big 12 action to watch, as well as the Cal-Tennessee game (go Bears!). And we happily thought of Luke in the nosebleed section of the third deck at Kyle Field in the far corner with all the other freshmen. Tonight we're dining at the Roberts because Emily and Rick are up from College Station for the holiday weekend. Whoop!

:/

Lots has been going on since last I wrote, and I don't really want to go into much detail now. Pene came down with some respiratory crap 11 days ago and hasn't done well. She's lost four pounds since we got her because she has no appetite (except for the occasional peanut butter blob or piece of turkey) and she's extremely congested. Oh, and she had tapeworms a while back, which are thankfully gone. She just went back to the vet last week and got on stronger antibiotics but they didn't do a thing. So this morning she was hospitalized and is receiving IV fluids, two kinds of antibiotics, breathing treatments, and hopefully lots of TLC. They are testing her for distemper and we'll know in a few days what the results are - keep your fingers crossed for 'negative' because otherwise she doesn't have much of a chance. Now that this info is up on my blog I'm somewhat obligated to keep my readers informed on the outcome, so I'll post what we learn when we learn it.

And the other thing going on right now is that grandmother Carolyn had to be hospitalized August 13 for pancreatitis. Enlighten yourself on the condition here. The doctor said something like "people stay hospitalized for pancreatitis to keep them from blowing their brains out because of the pain." It was really hard to see Carolyn hurting so much, and it was touch and go for a while. Cousin Lisa came up from Austin with Miles to help me and Mom and Dad take care of her, and Uncle Mike and Eric drove up a couple days later. After spending the night with Carolyn at the hospital, the stress and lack of sleep made me sick - I had to puke in my purse to avoid vomitifying Lisa's car but I got better. And luckily, so did Carolyn. After nine days in Presbyterian Hospital, she moved to a rehab/nursing care facility to regain her strength, and we're hoping she will get to go home soon.

So yeah, now you all know why I haven't posted too much lately. Blogging is fun most of the time but not really when all sorts of crappy stuff is going on.

I have some bright points to focus on, though. Leslie is coming to Dallas tonight for a visit, staying until Thursday, and Lisa and Miles return to Dallas for a much more laid back trip themselves on Wednesday. Now that Carolyn's feeling better we can enjoy each other's company rather than just wearily lean on each other for support.

the dog

12 hours later we're still using the name Penny, although since she has NO idea that's her name we can still change it if we come up with something we like more. At the SPCA she was called "Gracie."

We wanted a dog and we were mostly just waiting for our Colorado trip to be over to get one. And then being in Breckenridge, home of some of the coolest and friendliest dogs ever, only added fuel to the fire. We decided we'd go check out the SPCA sometime this week during Matt's lunch break. And that's where we met Gracie/Penny/what have you. She was happy but calm, and when we took her to the private room to get to know her, she played very charmingly with her leash and pranced around. She has a tendency to flop at your feet when you've been stationary for a bit. And her white markings on her black body are quite adorable. Matt was concerned about getting a dog on our first outing, which I understood, but I also recognized that this particular dog met all of my criteria and we didn't need to delay. True, there would have been others. So how did this come about, you might ask? Well, as anyone with whom the topic of dogs had come up will know, getting the house was really just the first step in dog ownership. Matt and I both other dogs out there, but this one was right in front of us, needing a loving home and being so cute besides! So that was it :)


I took Matt back to work and returned to fill out the paperwork. Penny and I loaded up in the car and went to see her new grandparents, Marc and Susan. We hung out with them for a long time, first in the side yard and then in the breakfast area - Penny is not house trained so we were being careful. She was mellow but friendly, and was quite happy to just sit with us. And she was courteous to Murphy. Dad and I went by Cisco to say hi to Tom, Willy, and Erik. Then I took Penny over to meet some more family: John, Susie and Luke. She was well-behaved with them too, although she did want to frolic with Nellie. In the backyard, John pulled some weeds and Pen got them in her mouth and pranced around with them. She also got in their little pond and got a bit wet - yep, I think she's part Lab! They offered to babysit her while I went to Petco to get some supplies. When I returned she was laying at Susie's feet while she did e-mail. What a good dog!


As one might expect, a Penny album has been started on our picture web site.

Big Uncle Cemetery & Colorado

Topic #1: Big Uncle Cemetery

On July 28, Dad and I drove down to Richland Springs, TX to see Big Uncle Cemetery get its very own historical marker. It was also a family reunion of sorts and a board meeting of the Big Uncle Cemetery Association (of which Uncle Mike is treasurer). We met up with the extended family (we're talking like 4th cousins twice removed and stuff) at a restaurant for lunch and conversation. We sat with Uncle Mike and Eve as well as two of Granddaddy Bill's first cousins that he'd played with as a kid. You could see the Hall family resemblance in both of them, and they also happen to be very neat people and extremely intelligent.

After lunch we all headed out to the cemetery, which is tucked away in the middle of ranch land off a dirt road. We mingled and looked at the headstones - I got to see where my great great great great grandparents are buried - and learned how shaving cream and a squeegee can help one see the writing on old, eroded tombstones. Then we had a special little ceremony included boy scouts posting the colors, speeches by several people, and then finally the unveiling of the marker. It's a handsome black and silver historical cemetery marker you encounter as soon as you enter the cemetery. Very cool!

After the unveiling we had snacks and punch provided by a nice little ad hoc committee and talked with people for a while longer. Then Dad and I loaded up with Mike and Eve (they drove us in Mike's big truck from the restaurant). Mike took us back the scenic route where I got to see the 3 Hall Ranch (owned by my great great great great uncles or something along those lines) which was once as large as 40,000 acres. I also got my picture taken under the Hall, TX city sign, which is apparently a Hall family tradition. Then Dad and I cruised back to Dallas.

side note: Penny takes an unwholesome interest in shoes.

Topic #2: Breckenridge, CO

Mom and Dad picked us up at 5AM last Monday (July 30) to drive to Breckenridge. Matt and Dad switched off driving (I offered to help!) and the 14 hours went by very quickly. We got in to town, picked up some groceries and our fishing licenses, and went up the ski side of town to the townhouse Jim Collins was renting. He was waiting on the front porch for us, reading and smoking his pipe =D The house was more than adequate - plenty of space although not as fancy or well decorated as some of the places we'd stayed - and we were all spread out over three floors, which was nice for privacy's sake. We tried to get to bed early.

Tuesday's activity was a fly fishing guided event for M&D and me. Matt tagged along to act as packmule, camera man and fishing caddy. Our guide Kevin took us to the lake just off the main street of Fairplay. Mom had never fly fished before and Dad only once, so they learned about the gear and casting and stuff. We had waders and felt-bottomed boots, which was a first to me, so we could wade out into the lake. We all caught some fish, which were of an impressive size to me, as I was used to fishing in little mountain streams, not lakes.

On Wednesday Matt, Mom and I went on a hike in the mountains above Silverthorne to a place called Willow Falls while Dad golfed with Jim. Our hike was more challenging than we expected because we ended up going down some steep parts on our way to the falls. The hike was well worth it though, because the falls were really pretty. We had lunch by them and then Mom rested her feet while Matt and I climbed up and looked around. There were more pretty falls above, and it's always fun to get off the main trail and explore. Wednesday night we had a date night. Matt and I walked down to town and ate at the Quandary Grill and then walked around town while Mom and Dad ate (turns out at the same place) before catching a ride back to the house with them.

Thursday morning Dad played golf and Mom went to town while Matt and I rented mountain bikes. We started from the shop in town and rode up first through houses and new developments, then through an older mining valley. Our destination was an old mine, and we'd climbed at least a thousand feet by the time we got there. The mine was pretty neat, and the views were great. Especially the ones looking out back at town when it was impressively far away and below! This was my first time really mountain biking. It was hard! Going up in the easiest gear when you feel like you're crawling forward and your thighs are burning...it's challenging! Especially at 10,000 feet of altitude. Also, going down I was pretty nervous. I don't like all the rocks on the trail because they make me afraid I'll hit them and lose control. However, I was going pretty fast by the time we got to the bottom as I grew more familiar with my limitations (which weren't as great as they seemed). We rode back into town and had some crepes at the crepe stand and Mom joined us. We decided we wanted to go back on a second ride after lunch, so after arranging to have Mom pick us up from the store when we were done, we set out. Unfortunately it was sprinkling rain. By the time we were at the top of our road to get onto our trail, it was pouring. By the time we had picked up speed heading downhill and back to the store, it was hailing. We called it a day.

Friday - Dad golfed for the last time with Jim while Mom, Matt and I headed out to fish. We went to a spot that I'd been to with John the last two years which is pretty and has great fishing. Unfortunately, all the rain had turned our stream above the reservoir into quite the roarer and the fishing wasn't good. Also, it was hard to even get to the water because the bushes and grasses we had to go through were totally water-laden and the ground was soaked. So Mom and I were completely dripping in short order. But we did get some good casts in - Mom's turning into quite the caster - and saw some pretty scenery. And had an adventure, which is all one really needs. We met up with the golfing boys for a late lunch and then went home to finish our jigsaw puzzle (you didn't think we'd be in Colorado without doing a puzzle, did you?) Before it got dark, M&D, Matt and I drove up to Boreas Pass and wandered for a while. We were sad we didn't see any wildlife besides two deer, but Matt and I did see some bear poo. Then we got packed up and rolled out of town early on Saturday, making the drive back to Dallas in a new record of 13 hours.

We all had a really good time, and the two days in the car for four days in Colorado were totally worth it. Jim Collins was a fabulous host and it was cool to get to know him better, beyond the occasional encounter in the restaurants.

the colorado post can wait

Maybe tomorrow I'll get to posting about my trip to Big Uncle Cemetery and then Colorado (they were both good)...but tonight I need to introduce you to the newest member of the Hall-Roberts family:She's a three month old lab mix from the SPCA. She came there because her owner had too many animals, and she had to live outside. :( But now she's with us! :) Look at those big puppy paws! We're open to name suggestions. The one we're using right now is from Grandpa John - Penny.

Oh, but I should mention the latest on Murphy: he came home Monday with stitches from his left shoulder all the way down his side, but he's doing really well. Even with all the stitches you can tell he feels so much better. And he's lighter on his feet!

Another Murphy Update

I just got the 48 hour post-surgery Murphy update from Dad. He's doing well but still on IV fluids and antibiotics. Dr. Myers is going to try switching him to oral medicine and see how he does; a good reaction may get him a ticket home for Saturday. We think the condition of the skin around the tumor site is what is making Dr. Myers take the cautious approach, but we're glad Murphy is improving and I hope we'll get him home this weekend!

Our Colorado trip has snuck up on us - we leave on Monday! The plan is an all-day drive Monday, then we'll play in Breckenridge Tuesday-Friday and drive back all day Saturday. But before Colorado, Dad and I are making a day trip to see the Big Uncle Cemetery get its historical marker (the Halls are one of the main families buried there). From the Texas Historical Commission website:

The Big Uncle Association invites you to the Dedication Ceremony for the Texas Historical Commission marker medallion awarded by the State of Texas to the Historic Big Uncle Cemetery of Richland Springs, Texas, presented by the San Saba County Historical Commission. The ceremony will commence at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, July 28, 2007 under the beautiful oaks of the Big Uncle Cemetery, just off CR 204 northwest of Richland Spring, San Saba County, Texas

So I'm recovered from whatever little bug that made me feel wonky. My indisposition did make me pick up "the Garion" books as Leslie and I call them for some comfort reading though (the five books of the Belgariad by David Eddings). But then, I was past due for my essentially annual reread of my first love in fantasy books. :)

Murphy Update

Murphy had his surgery this morning and it went well. Before the operation he weighed 19 pounds, and three pounds of that was tumor/cyst/whatever nastiness the vet removed. The Murph was up and walking this afternoon, and Dr. Myers is taking him home with him tonight to keep an eye on him and "let him spend time with his sister." Good old Uncle Tony. The main concern, other than the usual post-operative issues, is that Murphy's skin was so stretched out that the stitches might not hold. As of yet, they have been fine and we can sleep easier tonight knowing Murphy is in good hands.

In other news, I'm sick or something and feel like crap. I've just lain around all day...stupid headache ruins my favorite sick activity - reading - so I'm miffed.

*It's Not a Tuma!* and other upbeat news

Those of you who have seen Murphy in the last six months know that he's been toting around a little something extra. Called his sidecar, his friend, Mr. T, his copilot, his backpack, etc, he had what we took as a fatty tumor protruding off his left side. In the last month or so it had gotten as broad as his back and was really starting to encumber him (it never hurt him or really bothered him except when he misjudged his width or perhaps to slow him down a bit). The vets at Metro Paws didn't want to take it off because of 1) his age, and 2) how huge the incision would be be to get it all off. Anyway, Mom and Dad took him to Dr. Myers yesterday because it was finally getting SO big and had a couple new developments and they wanted a different set of eyes to look at it. Well, long story short, it ISN'T a fatty tumor, it is a cyst with a great deal of fluid accumulation (so all that mass wasn't dense fatty tissue) and Dr. Myers isn't concerned at all about negative side effects to him taking it off. So next Tuesday Murphy will lose his grapefruit-sized pal and we can all rejoice that he will be more comfortable and will no longer cause people to shriek in terror. Yay!

In other news, my cousin Katie spent Tuesday and Wednesday nights over here and we had a smashing time. We watched "Spirited Away," played video games, ate restaurant food, played Quiddler with Matt, went swimming, climbed the mulberry tree, dance dance revolted, and played Luke's Wii. It was really fun and I think we're doing it again after we get back from Colorado. I took a few pictures, as well as some house-related photos, and they are in the normal place.
I just finished reading my latest book today and it was really interesting. When Elephants Weep: The Emotional Lives of Animals by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson and Susan McCarthy examined emotion in animals and addressed how it is often considered the worst kind of science to make any mention of an animal having emotions. The fear of the accusation of anthropomorphism keeps many people who work with animals on a scientific level from ever talking about fear, love, grief, altruism, shame, or an appreciation of beauty by a non-human. But the book was full of accounts of just that both in nature and by animals in captivity. It was very interesting! Like the chimpanzees who climbed up a hill to watch a sunset, or the elephant to tried to free the baby rhino from mud, or gorillas with pet kittens.

there are some more pictures up on roberts.overt.org, and I'll be posting a real update tomorrow (hopefully) :)

a whole slew of pictures

There's a whole slew of new pictures up on our gallery, including bunches of house pictures, Piper pictures, and the last batch of College Station photos.

We spent the weekend at the ranch in celebration of Uncle Mike's and Dad's birthdays (we split the difference between the two). In attendance: Mom and Dad, Uncle Mike and Eve, Carolyn, cousin Lisa, Eric and Miles, cousin Michael, and Matt and I. There was much food, fun, and lake time to be had by all. Miles was very well behaved. Carolyn made a fresh strawberry cake from scratch that was amazing. It was really nice to see Michael who was finally back from Dresden, and Miles was so much bigger and interesting than last we saw of him (three months vs three weeks brings quite a change). Matt and I enjoyed seeing Carolyn meet her great-grandchild for the first time (as well as Mom and Dad meeting their great-nephew). And we only rubbed it in a little that we'd met Miles before Michael did =P

We didn't have to hover around Miles and the Drehers too much though because we got them all to ourselves last night. They came back to Dallas and saw our house for the first time. We sat around the den and watched Miles and watched Piper watching Miles, grilled steaks, and had a merry but low-keyed time. They were our first over-night guests and it was very fun to host them.

The local nursery had a sale offering 50% off ALL plants this past weekend and I stocked up on Friday. I got bee balm, sage (2), oregano, basil (2), another coneflower, chives, ornamental peppers (2), sweet potato vine, dwarf bamboo (2) and a black elephant ear. In the process of planting I got extremely dirty and later muddy when it rained on me. I also got compost to make all my plants happy and used it to seed my own compost pile with good things as well. Speaking of my compost pile, the wandering jews (excuse me, "purple hearts") that I planted are extremely pleased with their home and are already starting to wander. *tear* they grow up so fast!

The other activity on Friday was a trip with Matt to IKEA in the god-forsaken land of Frisco. We proceeded to get almost everything on our list, including mirrors and rugs. And IKEA is always a great time. On the way back home we stopped at the Purple Cow diner/soda fountain for dinner and had real cherry cokes and they were amazing. I'd forgotten how fabulous the real thing was.

Tomorrow cousin Katie is coming to visit for a couple days! I don't know if she wants to do lots of stuff or just hang out and enjoy being away from home, but either way I think we'll have fun. And Piper always loves company! Speaking of that, I should get back to laundry - there are sheets to wash!

home of the brave

Happy belated 4th of July! We celebrated by having family over, some of whom hadn't yet seen the house. Carolyn, Mom & Dad, Susie & John, Luke, Grampa Stimson and Sandra, Phyllis, and Mike & Yolanda came over for burgers and hot dogs (the grill works great!). Matt and I figured out it was the first time we've hosted a party ... ever. I made homemade strawberry ice cream, which was a first for me too. It turned out really well. After the meal and a few people called it a night (John, Luke and Susie had to go see Spam-a-lot) the rest of us played a few rounds of "Pigs," one of the best games ever. And Piper was on her best behavior, due in part I'm sure to the fact we had her harnessed to try to prevent escape attempts. She made the rounds sitting in people's laps and being adored. And we decided our house is really good for entertaining, so I don't think this was our last party! It was a complete success, but then we chose to experiment with our hosting skills by having people over who were easy to please :)

Matt started back at the office on Thursday. A lot of people were out for a long weekend, but those that were there were very happy to see him back. He caught up on all the office gossip and news. We've continued doing little house projects, and our latest was outdoors. We got all the weeds pulled and things spruced up in the front yard that we could. We mulched some areas in the way front that we don't have a plan for yet, and we planted a couple plants next to some happy-seeming plants in the beds right before the driveway. The existing plants were kind of wild-looking and seemingly thriving on neglect and there were always bees and butterflies visiting them. So we put some more butterfly-friendly specimens out there - a butterfly bush and a purple coneflower. I'll let you know how they do. I also got some earthworm-poop-based plant food and gave most of the plants a snack. I hope they liked it.

Last night we had a really pleasant evening with Taylor Bradley and his girlfriend Alice. They are house-sitting in Lake Highlands about a 90-second drive from here and we went over and swam and ate Taylor's spectacular bratwurst. Then we played the board game "Battle of the Sexes" which was less fun than we hoped but still had the girls and boys appropriately miffed at each other. Some of the questions were kind of cheap though (or insulting to male intelligence) - do we really think the average guy doesn't know the two colors that mix together to make pink?

Matt and I visiting our happy little Dallas Public Library branch on Audelia Road again today. We got 11 books, including a home improvement book, two paint books, a Texas gardening book, and the one I already read about puppy care/training. Just getting prepared, you know? Next Sunday we're hosting Lisa, Eric, and Miles and their two dogs so we'll get a feel for what canines think about the house. But I think when we get back from Colorado I'm really going to be itching to get Piper a doggy brother or sister.

Piper went up the cottonwood tree again today but this time didn't stop at a few feet up. More like fifteen. I got Dad's ladder and Matt went in the alley and we tried to coax her down. She didn't come for a while (we don't know if this was because she was having a fabulous time or because she was scared). Eventually she worked her way back down the branch to me and I scruffed her. This was the motivation I needed to update our contact information linked to her microchip!

Yesterday was the Hamm family reunion. The Hamm family is Mom's father's branch of my family tree, for those not in the know =P They have a reunion every year and this year Mom volunteered to host it at the ranch. Well it went off smashingly...I got to meet all sorts of relatives, including great-aunt Veydene, "Cooter," Aunt Sissie, "Kiddo," and many other distant relatives with unusual nicknames. We had barbecue and fifty different desserts (including many cobblers, home-made ice creams, and cakes). The kids and kids at heart enjoyed horseshoes, darts, ping pong, badminton, frisbees and ball throwing. The pair of ducks made an appearance, as did the mobile vet, called in to look at Story's back hooves. She'd been limping - turns out she has hoof issues because of all the wet weather. So she has to have her hooves wrapped for a week, get daily anti-inflammatory medicine for six, and until the rain stops and the fields get dry, she's banished to the barn. Montana and Pindar are very confused and want to know where their gal-pal is.

While we were at the ranch this weekend we also got to have some lake time, floating, jet skiing, and going down the Pous' slide into the water :) I got to know cousin Katie a little better too, as she's on the cusp of teenagerhood and much more of a real person than the last time I was around her. I'm hoping she can come hang out at the house later this summer.

*wave* from the public library

Matt and I are catching up on our internet needs at the Audelia Road branch of the Dallas Public Library. In the past week we've made some really good progress on the house. We got over half of the furniture unloaded by ourselves on Monday night (mostly so we could set up the bed in the guest room to have a real place to sleep). Then Luke came over Tuesday morning and helped us finish it off. John and Matt installed a new chandelier in the dining area and we totally repainted the den (don't trust that the paint will match even if you have the exact formula of the old paint! we were only intending to touch up the den but turns out our new quart of paint for touch ups wasn't identical to the old paint). We've touched up paint in other rooms (I think we're almost done with the initial wave of painting). We've replaced a few A/C vent covers. We've installed a cabinet over the potty in our bathroom for additional storage. There are still plenty of boxes to be unpacked, but we look pretty darn settled in for having owned the house 10 days.

Piper is now installed in the house as well. She loves it and feels really comfortable there. She's just getting over needing to always be in the same room as us and loves looking out the bay window in the front when we're away. Yesterday she climbed her first tree when, operating 100% by instinct, she hunted a squirrel. Instinct didn't help her when the squirrel was long gone and she was attached to a tree five feet off the ground...Daddy Matt had to rescue her (I'm sure she would've figured out what to do eventually but it might have resulted in her being in the wrong backyard). :)

We get TV and internet on Thursday and that will certainly make things easier. We've had to consult phone books for the first time in years and definitely miss the internet. Also, we have two channels on the TV we can pick up and we're about at our limit of the daytime court shows on CBS. Who knew there were so many? At least we have Jeopardy to watch at lunchtime. =P

Moving, Part II

The house purchasing went off without a hitch Friday morning. The whole thing took maybe 20 minutes. We found out the sellers had actually closed their half the day before, so as soon as the last papers were signed, the house was ours. We discovered that they had left all manner of useful things in the house too, like shelves in the utility room, the palm plant that hides the media equipment in the den, three shelves in the den, a rake, and more. All in all it probably saved us a good chunk of change! The last couple days we unpacked all the stuff we'd crammed in our cars (the majority of it was kitchen stuff) and started touching up paint. Also, Matt and his dad replaced the oldish brass chandelier in the dining area with one more our style. On Saturday Matt and I were on a quest to find furniture and find it we did! Our first stop was Rooms To Go, the place we'd bought our couch. We walked out having found everything on our list, including a bed frame and mattresses, nightstands, a sofa table and end table, and a loveseat that reclines! It is so comfortable :) All that stuff gets delivered Wednesday.

Yesterday we came back down to College Station to finish packing up the duplex. In a few hours Matt will pick up our Uhaul and we'll get all the furniture and miscellany loaded up with Rick's help (yay Rick!). Then we'll drive it back to Dallas and probably collapse and leave the unpacking for tomorrow =P

We won't have internet at our house until July 2, so don't expect too many updates. I'm sure we'll check our e-mail from time to time at the Roberts but I doubt there will be any epic posts made during the next couple weeks. :)

Moving, Part I

We buy the house tomorrow. Eek! Actually, we're just excited and wish it were already tomorrow. This afternoon we're taking both our cars to Dallas loaded with stuff so that we can deposit them in the new house tomorrow afternoon. We do our half of the title business tomorrow morning but the sellers aren't doing their part until 4. So, unfortunately we won't be official owners until 4...we were hoping we'd be able to get in sooner, because we want to do some painting and, well, moving in. On Sunday we'll head back to College Station and start filling up a U-Haul with furniture and whatnot, and then early next week we'll be all moved in!

Leslie and Bryan are happily in Berlin now for their summer adventure. Both the Hall girls are having a very exciting summer!

Note: we won't have internet (or a computer for that matter) at the house this weekend and I'm not sure when we will be all hooked up

exciting stuff part II

On May 25, the day before we left for Berkeley, Matt and I went for our third round of house viewing. The last house we looked at was in Lake Highlands, an area we hadn't really considered initially. But it is relatively close to the DART light rail, isn't scary, and has nice houses. Anyway, 10153 Coveridge tickled our fancy. A 1966 house that had been completely redone on the inside, it wasn't too appealing from outside, but inside it really nice. New floors, good paint, a redone kitchen with granite counter tops, a big den, three bedrooms, two redone bathrooms, a flagstone back porch with a grill, two car garage...we liked it. We liked it enough that we went over to Jerry's house to make an offer at nine o'clock that night after Luke's high school graduation.

While we walked the streets of Berkeley we were also negotiating back and forth with the sellers via Jerry (nice that he was in California too!). On Sunday we officially agreed with the sellers and our ten day option period started after Memorial Day. We got back to Dallas on Tuesday, and on Wednesday we had our inspection. Nothing major was found in the inspection. Thursday we showed the house to Mom, Dad, and Carolyn and took some pictures, found here. So, with nothing big coming out of the inspection, and with the sellers really wanting to sell quickly, we're closing one week from today! Yay :)

exciting stuff part I

Almost two weeks ago Leslie and Bryan tied the knot in Berkeley, California. And of course we were on hand to witness, along with tons of Klingners, friends of Mom and Dads, and Leslie and Bryan's peeps.

We traveled on American Airlines on the same flight as John and Susie (and three other wedding-bound couples). We got to Cali on Saturday (May 26) mid-day, picked up our rental car and drove to the Hotel Durant, where we got checked in. We shared a suite with John and Susie - they had a room with a king size bed and we had a queen murphy bed and a couch and table with four chairs, and we each had our own bath and closet, so it was a great set-up. We wandered around Berkeley and campus in the afternoon and ate middle eastern food for lunch. Saturday night I had the bachelorette event - a picnic in the rose garden with the bridesmaids, Leslie, and a few other of her girl friends. Then the bachelors met up with us at Leslie's friend Clare's house in Oakland and the real party started. We watched a scandalous video that Leslie and Bryan and their friends made in the honors dorm their first year at UT (Leslie and Bryan didn't even know each other then but were both in it). A lot of those friends are still in touch and most of them have ended up in the Bay Area as well, so great fun was had by all (and L&B were appropriately embarrassed which provided even more entertainment). Then we played Bryan & Leslie Jeopardy with questions we'd all submitted to Clare beforehand. It was both embarrassing and enlightening, and after just about every question someone would ask for the story behind the question. And Clare did a fabulous job putting it all together and hosting...it was really special. Matt and I were so impressed by how awesome L&B's friends are.

Sunday...I had a brunch with all the girls hosted by a lot of the moms at this really nice French place, La Note. We're talking french toast, croissants, amazing stuff. The afternoon we had the wedding rehearsal and then walked to the rehearsal dinner, which at an insanely nice restaurant called "Downtown." (Can you tell there was lots of eating? =D) It was just for the wedding party and their dates and family, so we were able to have really nice food. It was all amazing, and we had the first round of toasts from people. It succeeded in making those of us giving our toasts at the reception the next day very nervous! Then everyone was invited to Leslie and Bryan's favorite bar called Jupiter, where the unprivileged masses ate food and everyone drank good home-brewed beer.

On Monday Matt and his parents went to the Muir Woods to see the big redwoods, leaving me behind to do maid of honor stuff. Mom and Dad hosted a pajama breakfast in their suite in the hotel, and then I puttered in the hotel room before heading to Leslie's apartment. The bridesmaids, Leslie, and I got our hair done and watched the Little Mermaid before getting dressed and heading to the ceremony. The site was a big regional park in the hills above Berkeley. The ceremony itself was only about 15 minutes long and performed by one of Leslie's high school (and beyond) friends, Danny (in California you just need to fill out forms to get deputized by the state to perform a wedding, you don't have to be a minister or anything). Then we ate dinner, did toasts, and hours of dancing began. Really Les and Bryan just wanted to have a big party and that's what they got. It was very fun. Then on Tuesday we came back to Dallas and collapsed.

Lots of pictures of the weekend are floating around the internet. For example: Matt’s pictures, Clare’s pictures, and Ali’s pictures.

House Search, Part 2

Matt and I are heading back to Dallas today to look at another round of houses. Also, tonight we're seeing TOOL in Fort Worth with Mike Shannon and Rhiannon. Oh, and I got my own pair of bowling shoes!

Other news: Emily is officially a college graduate! On Saturday she got her diploma and we had a party at Uncle Johnny and Aunt Cindy's to celebrate.

The last three days, in pictures

I'm too tired to write a real post right now...so here's a summary of my last three days in picture form.

Austin:

Lisa and Miles, with eager (and not so eager) helpers Liz, Travis, and Darby

Miles and "Aunt" Camei

Uncle Matt, Aunt Camei, and Miles

Landscaping project with Emily:
Wahoo!

Emily graduates from A&M tomorrow - whoop!

new bowling record

I blew my previous bowling high score out of the water yesterday. Previous record: 77. New record: 123. And I got a turkey. I'd be more pleased but it was pretty much good luck that got me that high. I'm equally proud of my 90 because it was more consistent.

Emily and I went to Home Depot and talked with a couple different women about plant options for the duplex. It was very exciting! We're going to tackle the project when she's done with finals.

I think I'm going to Austin tomorrow to visit cousin Lisa and baby Miles!

I have all manner of plant matter and dirt...

...under my fingernails. The last couple days I've been working off my nervous energy and excitement about our house search by pulling weeds and trimming the bushes at the duplex. Actually, I'm formulating a master landscaping plan just for fun and this weekend I may hit up property owner John for some funds to get at least some of it made a reality.

We're heading to Dallas tomorrow to look at houses with Jerry Washam! Seven, actually, which should take up a good chunk of time. Matt's been working on loan stuff really diligently and so the next step is to, you know, find a house! We're taking the camera and will take lots of pictures. :)

Tonight's Grey's Anatomy episode was a two-hour event setting the Addison spin-off TV show in motion. I liked the idea, and I like the character of Addision, but none of the people she met in LA really did anything for me. Oh, and the thing with Meredith's dad (no spoilers here, just in case someone hasn't watched their DVRed episode yet) made me mad.

nothing says "Happy Birthday" like castration

Matt hit the quarter century mark on Tuesday and we celebrated like any proper residents of the Lone Star State should - by castrating some calves. Okay, this wasn't actually Matt's preferred birthday activity, but Mom and Dad needed our help with the seven bull calves. So we trucked up to the ranch. Mike Shannon and Claude Locke were also wrangling with us. Mom and Dad had already trapped the boys in the barn, so we had part of our work done for us. We had to catch each calf with a rope around their neck, the men tackled the poor little boy, spread their back legs apart, and Dad popped an industrial-strength rubber band around their balls. The end. Those pesky things should just drop off eventually. It sounds pretty horrific but it is a lot less painful and more sanitary than cutting things.

After the castration, we helped Claude play with his dock (work temporarily halted when he dropped his wrench into the lake...oops). Then we messed around for a while. Matt and I are going with Mike and his daughter to a Tool concert next month, so we exposed the 'rents to their music before dinner. Mom made us an awesome birthday dinner - Cornish game hen, wild rice, fresh green beans, with pineapple upside down cake for dessert. Mike stuck around for both dinner and the requisite bonfire afterwards, which was really fun. Overnight we had a gnarly storm - mostly LOUD wind and rain at the ranch, but it spawned tornadoes in both the Metroplex and College Station. The morning dawned clear though, enabling us to do some chainsawing and burning of another dead tree, and Mom and I sprayed the cows for black flies.

Matt and I went on to Dallas on Wednesday so we could have birthday celebration #2. Matt bowled with Dad and Jerry that afternoon, and then we went to California Pizza Kitchen for dinner with John and Susie, had angel food cake with pink icing (a Matt tradition) for dessert, and watched the last two episodes of Planet Earth on the Roberts' HD. Then we came on back to College Station yesterday.

Whirlwind!

It has been a whirlwind couple weeks. Since my last post, I have had quite a time!

On Saturday 3/31 I drove down to Killeen, TX, for an impromptu World of Warcraft guild party in honor of our friend Bissic's divorce...okay, not really in honor of his divorce, but he was driving through Texas on his way from Arizona to Alabama, and was spending a couple nights with our pal Nikon, and it was a Saturday night...so...party! I got to meet quite a few guild people, including Bissic, Nikon, Tempestt & Hellhawk (our old guild's leaders), Eatmorchikn, Fastattack, Backstaberr, Rezthis, Firestirike, and Cypher. Three of the people I met down in College Station last fall - Doune, Istavon, and Atsukana - were also there. We decided early on that there was no way we were all going to remember people's faces, character names, and real names, so game names were the way we went. Anyway, we all met up at Nikon's house we just hung out in the nice weather (it was gorgeous) and talked (and for most people, drank copious amounts of beer...I brought my own Dr. Pepper). Also, Nikon grilled for us. So I was there from about 2-8:15 and then I had to hit the road to get back to Dallas (took me little over 2 hours to get back). It was really cool to meet people. They are pretty much what I pictured from their voices, and all very laid back and fun people to be around. And it was nice to be there and offer some support to Bissic (Jack) as he was going through such a crappy time.

The next day my friend Brian flew into town. It was really too bad he came in a day after the guild all got together, but he still got to meet a few guild people. We drove down to Temple on Monday and he met his good friend Mark (aka Furoc, level 70 orc rogue) and his wife Joanna (aka Veyola, troll mage). We went bowling (new all-time score for me: 76). Furoc is in a league and was really good - he bowled a 227 his first game. Nikon met us there and then we all went for a late lunch. We ended up talking for hours between the restaurant and back at Mark's apartment. It was a lot of fun.

Other fun stuff we did when Brian was here...

• walk through Lakeside Park
• dinner at Celebration with the Roberts
• Dallas Arboretum
• Harley Davidson stores in Temple ("Horny Toad Harley Davidson) and Dallas
  
• Wild About Harry's custard
• Peggy Sue, Cisco, and Amore meals
• trip to the ranch
  
• lunch with Carolyn at El Fenix
• Original Pancake House
• watched Eragon
• walked around North Park Mall
• took the Dart light rail downtown, visited Pioneer Park, and walked through downtown

We had a really good week. Obviously, we ate a ton (but it was so good). We had a great day on Thursday at the ranch with Mom and Dad. We chainsawed (by we I mean Dad, Brian, AND me) down a tree, and burned it up. We visited with the cows and saw all the babies, fed the horses, and played ping pong and darts. Oh, and I got my first (and *fingers crossed futilely* last) sunburn of the year. After lunch at New York Sub on Friday, Brian flew back to Indiana. And I slept for like three days. It's tiring being a host!

Matt actually got last weekend off so we were able to spend some time with each other. He was forced to be mostly absent during Brian's visit because of work. But he was able to recharge his batteries over Easter weekend (slept until 11 on Saturday). On Easter we had brunch at noon with Mom, Dad, Carolyn, J & Stephanie, and Mike & Eve at the Park Cities Hilton. Then we drove north to Matt's aunt & uncle's house for their Easter thing. And then we did what every lucky soul with HD does on Sunday evenings these days - watched Planet Earth. I think the best episode so far is the mountain one. It was a good thing Matt got some sleep this weekend because this week has been brutal. He hasn't gotten home before midnight yet, and he wakes up at 6am. Because the 15th falls on a Sunday and there's some stupid holiday in Washington DC on Monday, their deadline isn't until April 17. I really hope they get it all done by Friday (which is what they are shooting for) because he really needs some sleep.

Luke got Super Paper Mario for the Wii on Tuesday and I've really been enjoying watching him play it. The game is very cool. I still need to beat God of War myself...sometime this week I'll jump back into it. I put my progress on pause for Brian's visit. FYI: If you were thinking about reading Sam Harris' Letter to a Christian Nation but didn't want to spend $16 on it, it is only roughly 75 pages long. I read it in its entirety at Borders yesterday. It covers basically the same points as The End of Faith but in less detail and from a different angle. Definitely interesting. The next book on my list to read is way different than my last few. After watching Eragon with Brian, I want to read the books, so I checked out the sequel to the book the movie was based on from the UP Library (Eldest by Christopher Paolini). I would've checked out Eragon first but it wasn't in =P I like the library.

Leslie comes into town today for a weekend of wedding prep. Exciting times. The wedding is just around the corner!

Calf count: 8
Zora - only girl, out of Zelda (and named by me!); RT (named for "Round Top"), from Nameless; 42, from Domino; Linus & Pigpen, from Peanut; Socks, from Mamacita; Panda, from JoBob; and Ricky, from Lucy (list in no particular order)

moooooooooooo

Calf count: 6

Austin was great fun. I had coffee with Lisa and her friend Christina and learned about natural childbirth. Lisa and I watched movies and TV, went on a walk with the puppies, hung out with Eric, and just spent time together. I also got to see their land east of Austin where they will eventually be building a house. It was gorgeous and wildflowers are everywhere.

I got back to CS in the early evening and met Mike Shannon and his son and friends at the theater to see TMNT. Any ninja turtle fan will enjoy the movie. Then we headed back to Whalen's apartment and played Pass the Pigs to kill time. I'd never played before, but it was really fun (winning both games helped I'm sure). The only thing you need to play is people, two rubber pig dice with a dot on one of their sides, and something to keep score with. I liked it so much I ordered Matt and I a set =D

It was just the three of us - Mike, Whalen, and me - for Rocky Horror and we got there sometime past eleven. They were running behind so we didn't get into the "theatre" (a conference room at the MSC) until after midnight. There we were forced to sit around for a while longer while they tried to get organized. We were able to do plenty of people watching - lots of people were dressed up, though it was more goth/freak/bizarre and less RHPS costumes (other than the cast, I didn't see any). Mike remarked that had he come dressed up, he would've been the best looking person there. (He used to dress up as Dr. Frank-N-Furter with regularity). The cast was quite good acting out the movie in front of the screen, but the crowd announcers (yelling all the lines at the movie, like calling Janet "slut" for example) talked way too much, which resulted in not being able to understand half of what he was saying. That kind of detracted from the experience, just because it would've been funnier if he'd limited his lines to the truly funny. But we had a blast regardless, and it was great fun seeing something so crazy performed at a conservative campus like A&M (the guy playing Rocky was even in the Corps!).

I got home insanely late and slept until 11:30 on Saturday. After puttering around for a while, I decided to head back to Dallas later that evening. I got to hang out with Matt on Sunday, which was great. This week he's been very busy though, and I haven't seen much of him.

On Tuesday I went to the ranch with Mom to check on the cows. Peanut had her twins, and Domino and JoBob had their boys, but no one else had popped yet. Pictures are on our web site. Dad called me today and let me know that Mamacita had a boy calf and Zelda had a little girl (wahoo). I was happy because I'd called Zelda baby naming rights a long time ago (and for perpetuity), so I got to name the baby "Zora." Mamacita's and Domino's babies still need names, if anyone has some good ideas.

Exciting plans!

I have all these plans, it's terribly exciting.

Tomorrow - Austin to visit extremely pregnant cousin Lisa.
Friday - Mike Shannon rolls into College Station for Rocky Horror goodness. I am invited to join in on dinner, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie action, and a midnight Rocky Horror Picture Show movie and live performance at the MSC.
Saturday or Sunday - return to Dallas
Sunday night - Planet Earth on Discovery HD. We are stoked!

New Pictures!

I've finally put up some more pictures on our photo web site http://roberts.overt.org/). Nothing too exciting, but at least they are new! :)

A couple examples:

Emily and Piper nap on my bed. This is an example of Emily randomly falling asleep while participating in some relaxing activity like watching me play video games. What's worse is I usually end up talking to her for another 5 minutes or so before I realize she's unconscious.

Nellie and Piper do their best impressions of apostrophes.

My EEG went well today. It was the same person who did it last time, and she's very nice and good at her job. I was a good eye-opener, eye-closer, deep breather, and sitting-stiller. It really isn't too hard to lay in a recliner and doze, even with 27 electrodes stuck to one's head.

inked

The inside of my left leg is sporting a new look.

That's a Celtic tree of life and a lotus blossom, on a stylized water background. The symbolism of the two really spoke to me, long before I thought about getting a tattoo. The meaning of them in my life just got made a little clearer today.

The work was done by Shawn at Ink Dreams in College Station. It took about three and a half hours. Yes, it hurt.

and weeeeeeeeEEG !

(title inspired by the classic Weeeeeeeee! (Gonads & Strife))

I had my follow-up neurology appointment today. Just to be sure my brain isn't secretly conspiring against me, my neurologist wants me to have another EEG, so I get to get all gooey-headed in the name of science on Wednesday. And weeeeeeee!

Gig 'em Aggies!

For once Matt's prediction that the Aggies are going to win the National Championship won't be far from the truth. Analysts predict we'll make it to the Final Four. Excitement!

I'm back in College Station, briefly. I have the follow-up visit with my neurologist tomorrow. When we scheduled it back in October it seemed so far away... I'm guessing it'll be really quick, since I haven't had any indications that my brain isn't working recently. So that's good :)

This is great: All the President is, is a glorified public relations man who spends his time flattering, kissing and kicking people to get them to do what they are supposed to do anyway - Harry S Truman

I became a card-carrying member of the UP Library this week, which was really exciting. Not only do they have a surprising number of books for a library that has only existed for a few years and occupies a corner of a bank building, but they have books on tape (mostly, really on tape - I knew my tape player would come in handy some day!). So I now have alternatives to music CDs when I'm driving for long distances. The one I got for this round of driving is excerpts from American humorists (including the always fun Art Buchwald, a man I used to do impressions of when I was eight).

Peanut the cow had twins last week. FYI: twins are very rare in cattle. They are both boys, which is good, because a male twin's hormones will sterilize his sister in utero (see freemartin). More cows are set to burst at any moment. I'm sure I will have pictures soon.

Matt has passed the always important March 15 deadline. Now he can breath a little easier. We were able to spend time together on Friday night, and he only worked a half day yesterday. Only one more month of work at the office for him, and then he'll probably come to his peaceful College Station retreat and live the easy life for a while, possibly through the summer. When exactly we will return to Dallas is not yet determined, depending on variables including the duplex/tenents, houses, how long Matt needs to decompress, etc.

bawk!

(this title brought to you by the Robot Chicken end credits theme song)

I think you can tell something about a person by what movies they watch when they are all alone. I'm back at the duplex in College Station and Emily is with Rick at his cousin's ranch in South Texas (her name is Gussy, isn't that fabulous?). So what do I pop into the DVD player? Bambi =D Actually I hadn't seen it since I was under 10 years old, and aside from knowing the mom dies and there's an obnoxious rabbit involved, I didn't remember much. The movie is gorgeous restored (makes me cry at the relative death of hand-drawn animation) but the writing is atrocious. A 30-second summary of the plot could be capable of leaving no details out. But anyway, it was a pleasant 70 minutes spent. Did you know Bambi's mother actually doesn't kick it until the second half of the film?

Speaking of movies, Matt is in Dallas seeing The 300 with his brother right now. He's been working very hard this week (he stayed past midnight one night) but they are nice about giving them Friday nights off, even if everyone is coming back for full days on the weekend.

I'll be back in Dallas at the beginning of the week. Emily and Luke both have their spring breaks. Emily is coming to hang out in Dallas and Luke is skiing with his cousins. He has good reason to celebrate - he was awarded a Lechner Scholarship from A&M! In addition to money, that gives him a good chance of being a fellow 'Nerd and living in the honors dorm like his big sis (in-law). So proud. =D

Mom is healing up from her (un)Lucky injury. She's getting around a lot better than she was when I was tending to her. Poor Lucky got shipped back to her original owner though...as someone said to me "she sure messed up a good thing for herself." But the good news on the animal front is that the cows should start calving soon. Yay!

Brian, my friend I met playing WoW over a year ago, is coming to Texas next month for a visit. He's never even flown before, so he's pretty excited. I can't wait to show him the Lone Star State. I hope the weather is nice to us and holds off on any major April showers while he's here.

I finished my A&M scrapbook today. I started it in December of 2004 and almost finished it but I got burned out before it was quite done. And then I didn't want to whip out all of my scrapbooking stuff to get the last few pages completed, so it has been sitting in a box forever. I think it was the combination of Matt's big empty desk and inspiration because of Luke's impending A&M journey that made me want to finish it today. I am pretty proud of it, even if it isn't all professional-looking like the scrapbooks churned out by certain of my in-laws. :) Just ask me if you want to see it sometime!