Updates

This past Friday I went to spend the night with my buddy, Steph. We spent the entire night coming up with costumes for her husband's work party the next night. We went through all the fabric in her craft room and came up with enough fabric to make his and hers Roman costumes, and we did so without a pattern. I usually craft when I go over there, just for fun, but usually not on this level. We had a blast. We tried to make his costume without him to measure it on, since he was at work, so Steph used me as a model, figuring my chest would make up for his height. Haha.

I spent most of my time with a toga on, gluing green leaves to a wire headband. The costumes turned out very nicely, if I do say so myself. It inspired me to finish my costume, and the little things I had to do for the kids' costumes for this weekend's Harvest Party. Now we're ready.

On Saturday morning I woke up and hung around until the afternoon, when Izzy and I drove to Dallas to meet my Mom. We then had a nice dinner in the hotel restaurant, and took a shuttle down to Fair Park to see the Broadway edition of the Lion King. Let me tell you, that's some show. It was very well put together, with incredible costumes and talented actors. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Izzy was tired, and kept saying she wanted to fall asleep, but as soon as the next musical number came on, she would sit up and want the binoculars.

Sunday we continued the animal theme by going to the Rainforest Cafe. Izzy was so enthralled with the animals that she didn't eat much. But it was a great experience nonetheless.

Monday Bryan stayed home from work, using one of his many sick days before the end of the year when they expire. A cold front had blown in some storms, and the extra bite in the air that is so uncommon in Houston made for perfect grilled cheese and thick soup weather.

I'm about to write down all that I have to do. It seems lately that I am booked to the gills, but that's okay. I tend to be more organized and more together when I'm really busy. And I've come to realize that my just-handle-it mentality plays a big part in this. My house may not be perfect, I may be slightly overwhelmed, but I'm doing my best and I feel good about that.

Lots of parties in the near future, lots of happy times coming. Bry has applied for four different jobs, three within the same company, and we're hoping to hear back soon. Two may mean a move, so those aren't our first choices. But one is especially promising, and in town. So, if you think about it, please pray that we get what we want and need out of this job change.

Changes

I may seem spontaneous and laid back to most, but really I hate change. And there's been a bit of it lately, and looks like more to come.

Teaching was a change, but a good one. I'm getting more involved with it now, with 9 students, more to schedule (phone tag), and the opportunity to possibly work for one of the most recognizable music places in my county. We'll see how that works out, I'm looking forward to it if it does happen.

But there's a job change on the horizon for the hubby. He can't stay where he's at, although we've been happy there. There have been some changes at his work, and he's being forced to switch departments. It's ironic, really, the way it happened. This could mean endless bad things, like a new boss who fires on a whim without any reason, no bonus next year (bonuses are based on department performance, and let's just say this one he's being transferred to doesn't make the grade), etc. Our family can't take the stress of this change. I can't live with that kind of insecurity. So he's going on a preliminary lunch with a guy from a major company today, seeking a job interview for something he's really excited about. From the job description, he'd be perfect for it, and it will keep him challenged and excited about what he does. It's more of a person-to-person role within what he already knows, and all of you that know him know how my husband thrives on person-to-person exchange and relationship-building. So please be praying that all goes smoothly, and this guy has the clout to push my hubby's info through to the right people to get a bona fide interview... and quick. His new department takes effect on the first. And if possible we'd like to have something different lined up by then. We're not opposed to something different that comes along, but this particular job sounds almost too good to be true. So we're pushing for that one.

Other than that, I'm looking forward to seeing my first Broadway production this weekend, the Lion King in Dallas. Sounds like loads of fun, and I'm so excited that I'm already packed!

Eggselent

In a rare bout of spontaneity, we decided to attend a jazz concert in Town Square on Friday night. So we hired a sitter to be in the house while the kids slept and headed down there. We stopped by Bakers Street Pub beforehand, and ordered a couple of Boddingtons on draft and some Scotch Eggs. If you've never had Scotch Eggs, you should have some. They're a hard-boiled egg encased in a thick layer of seasoned stuffing and sausage that's been fried. They then cut it in half, and serve it with a spicy mustard and some kind of relish (cranberry?) that's to die for. You spread the mustard and relish on thick, take a whopping bite, and wash it down with a good quality beer. No light beers, please. You need a full-bodied beer to appreciate this taste.

Well, we finished up and walked down to the Square. The time was 9:37, the band (we thought) was supposed to start at nine, so we figured we weren't missing much. As we walked up, they were packing up. After checking the website, we figured out that they started at 7, not 9. We had missed the entire thing.

This was disappointing. I think Bry was just going for kicks, but I really wanted to hear them. Music affects me differently than most people. I'm really emotional about it. I can get swept up in it, and it stirs things in me that most other things don't. I'm one of those people that bawl like a baby during worship on Sunday, because the songs mean so much to me. A song I can identify with is something very powerful in my life.

When we watch a movie, when it's over, I'll be the person that comments on the soundtrack. Bry's the one commenting on the cinematography, my ex-photographer husband. It's rather humorous. I don't care if the actors were brilliant and the cinematography was spectacular. If the music sucked, I won't like it. A lot of times my poor hubby doesn't even notice there was music. I try to explain to him about how music affects the mood of a movie, and how it wouldn't be as dramatic without those bows scraping across the violin strings, but he just smiles and nods, a lot like I do to him when he gets going about anything computer-related. We're about in the same boat. I can find my way around a computer enough to do what I need to get done, and he can pick out the theme from Star Wars on the keyboard with one finger. I figure we're about even.

In other news, Izzy's birthday party was quite a success, I think. Not a drop of cake left over. My waistline thanks you. Between the moonwalk and the tire swing, I'm sure most of the kids at the party passed out shortly after supper. I know mine did. Izzy got an array of girly gifts that she adored. She's spent most of the time playing with them since. Including painting her brother's nails pink and purple, and putting hot pink lipstick on him. And teaching him how to dress a Polly Pocket and style Barbie's hair. And between her new outfit and her new mermaid dress-up dress, I haven't had to worry about telling my little nudist to keep her clothes on, either. It's been a nice break.

We got her a new bike (which she broke in immediately) and a Betta, which she named Doc. He's blue with red tips on his fins and is very pretty. He's in a tank in her room, and she gets to feed him pre-measured amounts of food every other day. Mommy will be handling cleaning out the tank for now, until she's a bit older, but she's in charge of entertaining Doc while I do so. She talks to him, sets a tea cup in front of his tank and has tea with him, and more than once has told me that we needed to go home from running errands because Doc was scared.

We also had to... umm... *cough coug* let Mambo go... because he was... umm... not eating right. Yeah, that's it. Well, he got replaced at her party by a new Pac-man frog that she named Sumo. It's appropriate. he's all belly and teeny-tiny feet. He eats like a horse, and it's very entertaining to watch. Just pop in some crickets, and the kids are entertained for a half hour, watching the little blob of froggy lard hop around and catch crickets, then close his eyes in a moment of pleasure as he swallows them whole. He's all belly and eyes, and he's the cutest little thing! We haven't taken a picture of him yet, but here's a pic I found on the internet that looks like him:

Pics of Sharka Rosa

And you can click on this link to visit their website.


Penelope the camel has... one hump! Penelope the camel has... one hump!


A beautiful Clydesdale, one of many they have there.


Making friends with a lemur. By the way, that's me in the robin's egg shirt.


Lemurs like Izzy's head.


On the tour!

And a lemur on top

Interesting weekend. We went to visit my mother-in-law. My sister-in-law and her new husband were there. And I have to commend her again on her choice of hubby, he's really awesome.

Saturday morning we went to Sharka Rosa, a wildlife ranch near their house. It was so much fun! Not overwhelming like the zoo, but we felt we could do everything in a few hours without making the kids go nuts. You know how kids get.

They had a tour where you sat in a cage pulled by a tractor, and the cage had buckets on the outside. The animals came up to the cage and ate, and you could pet them. Therefore, the kids and I got to pet a longhorn, a water buffalo, a zebra-donkey (zedonkey???), and some camels. I got some great head-shots of Penelope, but all I could catch was her head because she was so close. We also got to see some endangered animals that they were taking care of.

They brought out some animals for the kids to pet, one was a miniature horse that acted like a dog. It would roll onto its back for you to pet its belly and kick its legs. Sooooo cute. And we also petted two lemurs and a baby albino kangaroo. We watched the kangaroos and walabees running (hopping?) around, and met a deer with a growth-plate deformity that caused its bottom jaw to grow at a sideways right angle from its mouth. In the wild, it never would have survived. But they take care of her, and when she's done growing they can fix the plate.

I got a great picture of a ring-tailed lemur jumping on Izzy's head. She freaked out for about two seconds, then said, "I think he likes me." Yep. He also wanted a closeup, so he came over and grasped both ends of my camera and stuck his face into the lens. What an adorable thing to see. Unfortunately we missed the cougar cubs they had earlier that morning, they were only visiting.

I've got a few busy weeks ahead. Another trip, a birthday party, teaching lots and lots of lessons. I hope there will be even more to teach after today.


Observation of the week: Moms never get a break (yeah, like that's news). But most people don't realize to what extreme this goes. Forget everyone who says moms don't even get to go to the bathroom alone. I know many times that not only was I not alone while going to the bathroom, but was made to multitask as well. Some of these jobs included dressing dolls, combing hair, negotiating fights, and helping my kids get dressed. And people wonder why modesty flies out the window after you have kids. It's out of necessity, not will.