San Antonio

 Before I get into the details of my trip to San Antonio, I have to say how deeply saddened I was by Tuesday's school shooting that happened in a small community not far from there. The evil that exists in our world right now can feel so overwhelming and my heart hurts for the families of those precious babies and the two teachers who tried to shield them. I don't know what it will take to stem the violence in our nation, but I believe it starts with a deep dive into our mental health system, which is truly broken. I know there are many who disagree, and, who wish to place the blame on gun rights, etc., but, if someone is truly bent on carnage, they will find a way to carry out their plan and laws are not going to factor into it. Healing a mind and heart would go a lot farther.

Just my opinion, no need to flame me.

So, speaking of precious babies; I made that trip to San Antonio with my first-born. It was so good to see her again and we had a blast from the moment she picked me up at the airport in Dallas to the moment she dropped me off again.

The drive from DFW to our hotel on the San Antonio Riverwalk took just over five hours. It would have taken less time if we were in a hurry, but, as it was; we were content to make frequent stops, including one at a Buc-ees. I had never been to a buc-ees before and, color me impressed. It's like World Market meets Mavericks, with every convenience store staple plus home decor, apparel, souvenirs, and more. 

By the time we got to our hotel, we were starving, so, we hit the Riverwalk for a quick dinner at an Irish pub before heading back to our room to watch true crime shows and plan our itinerary for the next day.

Saturday we slept in then headed back to the Riverwalk for brunch at River's Edge, where Queen B sampled the Bloody Marys while I indulged in a delicious mimosa before diving into a yummy omelette. The food, view, and company were all delightful.

When we were completely stuffed, we decided to walk off the calories. In addition to the Riverwalk, we took in the Alamo and the wax museum at Ripley's Believe it or Not.

It was a pretty hot day, so of course we stopped for cool drinks. You know, small ones.

When the drinks proved insufficient to cool us down, we hit the pool back at the hotel. It's been ages since I hung out by a pool so I was stoked. I managed to get a little color on my front and to scorch my backside quite nicely, but, no complaints.

Dinner that night was at a Mexican restaurant back on the Riverwalk, and, although I can't remember the name of it; that in no way detracts from how delicious the food was.

We finished up the day with a stop at Ben & Jerry's for Phish Food before going back to our room for even more true crime watching and a few mini bottles of wine.

Sunday morning, we checked out of our hotel and started the trip to Queen B's house in Stephenville. We stopped for breakfast at an IHOP and spent over an hour waiting for food that arrived cold. Spoiler: We did not order cold dishes. To say we were unimpressed would be an understatement.

We also stopped at a mall on the drive, coming up short in my search for a new purse and experiencing the worst service ever at a Jamba Juice, which, we decided, was fate because the wait for our mediocre (and wrong) drinks kept us from being caught up in the aftermath of a car accident that we encountered on our drive.

The Lord works in ways, my friends.

And, that concludes the San Antonio portion of my trip. The rest of my time in Texas was spent at Queen B and the Rodeo Princess's place. We spent my last day in Texas getting pedicures, which was nice. I asked for the Pina Colada pedi and was intrigued by the fresh fruit that they used; I actually mistook it for a snack tray when they first brought it out. I'm smart like that.

The color I chose for my toes was OPI Mod About You, which is my favorite summer shade. And, now I feel ready to put my best foot forward into summer: tanned, relaxed, and sandal-worthy.

So, thank you, Texas, and, prayers. 

So many prayers.

What's Up Wednesday: May 2022 Edition

 

Knock, knock, knocking on summer's door! May has flown by and I'm not mad about it. I do hope the warp speed that we are currently experiencing slows down enough to allow us to enjoy the summer months, but I'm also not holding my breath; the older I get, the faster time flies. Also, when my grandparents used to say stuff like that, I'm sure I rolled my eyes, which is further evidence that karma truly is a boomerang, and it's aimed at our heads.

Anyhoodle! On to the link up with Sheaffer and Shay!

What I'm Eating

I recently (like, last night) returned from a quick trip to Texas to see Queen B. We spent the majority of our time together on the San Antonio Riverwalk, where we ate a lot of really great food. 

We had some really tasty drinks, too.

What I'm Reminiscing About

I've been slowly going through our old 8mm video cassettes from when the kids were babies and toddlers; the videos have brought back so many memories! I may be biased, but, dang! My kids were cute. Also, I have forgotten an awful lot about their childhoods; it's nice to have videos to remind me.

What I'm Loving

My time with Queen B was awesome. I love how well she is doing in Texas. I love how happy she is. I love how close we still are, despite how far apart we live.

What I'm Up To

Gardening! Hugh finished the construction of my new raised beds just in time to get my seeds and seedlings in right after Mother's Day and right before the first real rainstorm of the spring. Rain water is so good for gardens and I considered the timing to be really good luck.

What I'm Working On

I am deep into the planning of our annual golf tournament fundraiser for Not So New Job. It's been harder going this year, for reasons obviously related to the economy, but, I am determined to raise at least as much money this year as I did last summer, five-dollar-a-gallon-gas be damned.

What I'm Dreading

Ummm, not raising as much money on the golf tournament this year as I did last year?

What I'm Excited About

I'm excited for Porch Night Season! I have the porch mostly ready to go and I get asked at least once a week when I will be sending up the flag (as it were) to alert the ladies. I'm thinking we'll be good to go in the next couple of weeks, assuming the weather cooperates.

What I'm Watching

Hugh and I watched The Lost City, starring Hugh's imaginary girlfriend, Sandra Bullock. It was pretty cute, and Channing Tatum is always a joy to watch. 9 out of 10, recommend for mindless entertainment with a side of pretty.

If, like me, you are a fan of the true crime, genre, I can also recommend Keeper of the Ashes on Hulu. It's the tragic story of the killing of three Girl Scouts at a camp in Oklahoma back in 1977. The docuseries follows the crime, investigation, and aftermath of the still unsolved crime. As a warning, if true crime isn't your thing, you'll definitely want to skip this; it's heartbreaking.

What I'm Reading

My trip to Texas provided ample opportunity for me to read, both on the flights and at the pool. I made it through Colleen Hoover's Maybe Someday in two days and am almost finished with Ugly Love, also by Colleen Hoover. I guess I'm on a Colleen Hoover kick; I'm not mad about it.

I am mad about the fact that I could not find my reading glasses that are also sunglasses when I was packing; instead, I had to get creative, which, my daughter was most entertained by.

And, yes, that is a miniature wine bottle tucked into my cleavage; because I'm classy like that.

What I'm Listening To

I've been jamming out in my car to old school tunes, including Bon Jovi, Fleetwood Mack, and Bob Seger. You can't go wrong with the oldies (I literally just aged two decades when I read that sentence).

What I'm Wearing

Well, I can tell you what I won't be wearing again anytime soon: a bikini. I managed to wriggle my way into one while we were in San Antonio and I swear; the effort alone nearly caused me to stroke out. It's looking like this will be the summer that I fully embrace old lady swimsuits like the generations of women who have gone before me. Hell, I might even invest in the flowered swimming cap, just to complete the look.

What I'm Doing This Weekend

Hugh passed the State exam for his EMT certification, so we are definitely going to host a celebratory BBQ in his honor. Since it's a long holiday weekend, we will also probably try to get either the four-wheelers or the paddle boards out of storage for some fun. Worst case scenario, Hugh will spend the weekend finally getting our lawn maintenance done and we will no longer look like the rest of the slackers in our neighborhood. So many options!

What I'm Looking Forward To Next Month

June is the official kick-off to summer in this neck of the woods, and, I am actually looking forward to spending time in said woods. Hugh and I have plans to take The Newlyweds and some other friends of ours camping again this year. Since the Man-Cub and Shanti are in town, they'll probably join as well.

I am also looking forward to getting the boat out of storage. I'm hesitant to get too excited about that, however, due to the water shortages in our area and the fact that our most-beloved lakes may be too low to launch the Sea Chelle. Time will tell, but I really am hopeful that we'll get lots of outdoor back-to-nature time this summer. I think my soul needs it.

Favorite Amazon Find This Month

This new phone case is adorable. It's becoming harder and harder to find cases for my 7th generation iPhone, so Amazon has become my go-to.

What Else Is New

My ancient Fitbit Flex bit the dust. And, by bit the dust, I mean Bit. The. Dust.

Since they no longer make the Flex, I was forced to purchase a Luxe, which is the smallest watch-face option offered by Fitbit. I'm still getting used to it; I am enjoying some of the features, but not loving the band. I have researched replacement bands and none have really caught my fancy, but hopefully one will eventually.

Friday Favorites

Today, I am leaving for Texas, where I will spend the next five days enjoying the company of my daughter; that is obviously the most favorite of all my favorite things, today.

I packed my bags last night (if procrastination was a super power, I would be wearing a tight spangly unitard and a cape right about now), including the newest in my camera bag collection from House of Flynn (I have a problem and I'm not ashamed to admit it). This weekender bag holds everything that I regularly carry in my purse, as well as my camera, two lenses, my iPad, all of my various chargers, an extra pair of sunglasses, and the paperback that I purchased for the flight and to read by the hotel pool. It also matches the other two bags that I recently purchased, completing the set.

Once I land in Dallas, Queen B will pick me up at the airport and we will make the 4 hour drive to San Antonio. Since there was still plenty of room in my bag, I briefly considered throwing in some of my favorite road trip music, but, decided to save the room since there is hardly a moment to listen to music in silence when Queen B and I are together. If I had thrown in those CDs, they would include:

I recently downloaded an app that turns my pictures into works of art. When I sent Queen B some of the images, she immediately became unhinged, insisting that it was a data-scamming app and that I delete it, right this minute, young lady! Role reversal, much?

Anyhoodle, I did some research and discovered that the app was no more likely to steal my data than TikTok currently is, so I decided to accept the risk. I mean, how cute are these?!

 

And, that's about it for today. I'm sure I'll have at least a few new favorites before day's end, since that is what tends to happen when I hang out with my first-born.

I can't wait!