stuff & things

Happy Birthday To Me! Night One.

I have been so busy the past few months things have pretty much been out of control. But I'm not really complaining I have had some good times with some good friends. And when I got back from my Austin/New Braunfels RCPM roadtrip I took a promotion at work and have been even busier since. I still need to go back and finish my Circus Mexicus recap, I still have tons of video footage and photos that haven't seen the light of day and I still haven't completely settled in to our new place (we moved in April) but I finally have some time this morning to post the first half of my birthday weekend pictures. Some of these showed up on Facebook yesterday but here's the official post.

My 34th was by far my best birthday ever. My birthday was actually on a Monday this year so I decided to take the entire weekend leading up to my birthday to celebrate. Lucky for me The Mother Truckers one of my favorite bands from Austin was playing both Friday and Saturday night in Dallas/Fort Worth. We kicked off my birthday weekend in Fort Worth with tacos, friends and family at Fuzzy's.

       

 

My friends Tami and Lee showed up, old friends Cheryl and Tommy came out and one of my favorite girlfriends from back in the day, Laura, came out too. She even brought a friend to join the fun. And apparently we didn't scare off our new RCPM friend Brian either because he came out to enjoy tacos and live music with us again. I know a lot of my friends wanted to be there and couldn't make it, but they were there in spirit. I was pleasantly surprised that my parents, my brother and niece and my aunts and uncles showed up too. My Uncle Celso from Toledo was even there. Fuzzy's was loud and crowded but the food is great and the beer is cheap I think everyone enjoyed themselves. Family didn't stay for the band but I am so glad they came out to enjoy tacos & celebrate with me.

After fish tacos, nachos and beer the rest of us headed next door to The Aardvark to hang out before the show.

                   

I loved hangin' out with old friends, new friends, catchin' up, drinkin' whiskey & sumthin...it's my new thing, getting my nails painted with mood nail polish (like a mood ring) in an atrocious shade of green by my new friend Cheryl. I chatted w/Teal of The Mother Truckers in the ladies room before the show and enjoyed a birthday shot of Jameson (that took me over the edge) w/Tommy and Josh of The Mother Truckers after the show.

The Mother Truckers rocked. They always do. I've seen them at least a dozen times in Austin and opening for that other band I am crazy about but it was nice to have my own personal rock show. The drew a pretty small crowd in Fort Worth so I was glad I could help them out and bring out a few more. I was a little disappointed in the setlist but since they just released a new CD (Van Tour--go get it now) they concentrated on the new stuff. One of these days I will get them to play "Put The Gun Down". It's my husband's song for me. You just gotta hear it to understand. Teal blew me away with "Keep It Simple", it's up there with her versions of "Love Me Like A Man" and "When I Get My Wings". I love her voice. I want to be her when I grow up...if I ever grow up. 

 

               

 

So yeah, the last shot of Jameson took me over the edge just ask my husband. I know there was some post show Waffle House in there somewhere, but overall I had the best night. I woke up the next morning ready to do it all over again. I always do. And I did.

 

Night two is here!

2000-2009

On my long ride home from New Years in Phoenix I decided to reflect the past decade. I stole the idea from an old friend and modified it a bit. I've not accomplished nearly as much as she had but it was still interesting reflecting where the last 10 years have taken me and where I am today.

In the year 2000:

I am 23 years old, single, living in my own place and working for FlashNet, an ISP in Fort Worth.
I have never left the country and only been to half a dozen states.
I go to Mardi Gras for the second year in a row.
I move back home with my parents in Irving so I can go back to school and pay off debt.
I continue to work at FlashNet and take classes at community college.
Michael, a guy who also works at FlashNet that I'd been interested in off and on for some time, finally asks me out on a real date.
Our first date is the night before Thanksgiving. He takes me to Rainforest Cafe and to see Meet the Parents. He is a gentleman.
I finally pass College Algebra.
Michael meets my parents on Christmas Eve. He tells me he thinks he's in love with me.
My company FlashNet is acquired by Prodigy and then Prodigy by SBC.
Michael and I are together but it's complicated. He relocates to Austin to work for Prodigy/SBC.
I am laid off from my job at Flashnet thanks to the Prodigy/SBC acquisition.
Michael accidentally asks me to marry him on May 21, 2001.
We stand before our parents, grandmothers and a Justice of the Peace on July 3, 2001.
I move to Austin with my new husband.
I turn 25 two weeks after we are married.
I spend a semester in Italy (two months after my wedding and just two weeks after 9/11)
My husband joins me for a week in Rome; it is our belated honeymoon.
My husband is laid off from his job.
I enroll at St. Edward's University.
I drop out after one semester.
We spend the remainder of our first year of marriage unemployed and living off severance.
We adopt our dog Angel from Mixed Breed Rescue.
We sell all our stuff and spend the second year of our marriage living and traveling in a VW camper with our dog Angel.
The three of us travel all over Texas, the Southwest, California and parts of the Midwest.
Nine months on the road and several VW breakdowns later, we settle back in down in Fort Worth.
I skip my 10 year high school reunion.
We acquire an abandoned Dachshund named Oscar at my family reunion in Sabinal. He is heartworm positive, infested with fleas, destroys anything and everything and has a bad back. We love him and nurse him back to good health and somewhat better behavior. He is now spoiled rotten.
My husband and I both start working at HEB Central Market.
I leave Central Market for a doggie day care job in Fort Worth; my husband takes an IT job in Grapevine.
I finally go back to school and complete my Associates Degree, but due to some problem with an old credit on my transcript they deny me a diploma.
I turn 30 on July 19, 2006.
I pierce my nose on my 30th birthday and take it out a week later.
We briefly move back to Irving and stay with my parents.
I am hired as manager of the doggie day care when the business is sold to a new owner.
My husband gets a job offer and we relocate back to Austin.
I discover the lead singer from a band I liked in the 90’s has another band (RCPM). We see this band live at Antone’s in Austin; I am hooked and much of my personal life now begins to revolve around this band.
I start working as a Personal Assistant for a self-employed couple in Austin.
My husband and I start going to any and all RCPM shows around Texas. 
We meet some wonderful friends who love the band as much as we do and travel to see the band all over the country and in Mexico. 
My husband becomes dissatisfied with his company in Austin and returns to his old job in Dallas/Fort Worth.
We move to Euless.
I make my first trip to the East Coast with girlfriends for 4 RCPM shows. (Roger crowd surfs)
I am unemployed for 6 months after the move to Euless.
I find a job I hate and quit 2 months later and get a job at a new doggie day care the next day.
One of my oldest and dearest friends gets married; I am a bridesmaid.
I see 21 RCPM shows in 8 different states (and 2 in Mexico) traveling over 15,000 miles in one year. 

In the year 2009:

I am 33 years old, happily married to my husband of 8 years, working at a doggie day care in Fort Worth and have traveled to Mexico, Italy and visited 23 more states.