A Weekend with the Crew

Last Friday, Momma, Lucy, and Ethel came out for a visit.

 If you don't know, southern people plan their adventures around when and where they are going to eat. Our itinerary had been in the works for weeks now. We knew that they wouldn't be leaving until after noon so they would eat a late lunch. Cracker Barrel. Every proper adventure or task involves Cracker Barrel.

 

By the time they made it in, Mr. Z had 'the shakes' from near starvation. We met them at their hotel and played the part of their bellhops. 

Their hotel room was almost the size of our apartment... we are thinking of seeing if they offer a monthly rate.

We got them settled in, they touched up their lipstick, and we went to Panera.

I found out that they had gone to a garage sale before they departed on their adventure. A young woman that goes to our church who was getting rid of some clothes she didn't need any more because she has worked hard and lost about 70 pounds. This particular young woman is known for her love of shopping and sense of style. And guess what size she is not anymore? MINE! I tell ya, they hit the jackpot! These clothes were in as-good-as-new condition and just in time for jacket weather.

Saturday morning we scheduled IHOP for breakfast and a trip to The Guild.

In the words of Ethel, "they got all kinds of junk in that place".

Lanterns. How I love them.

If only The Little House had a solid ceiling... Maybe it's best it doesn't because otherwise each room would have a chandelier. And that wouldn't really be functional since the ceilings are about 2 feet high.

 This place has just about anything you could want.

And some things you might not...

We ended up leaving with a quilt rack.

It had to ride in Momma's armpit.

After The Guild, we dropped Mr. Z off and shopped until we dropped.

Ethel said we had to get her out of those stores before her pocket book really got into a bind. Then asked where to next?

Momma grabbed some Spanx and got in line.

Massage chairs...

While we got our shop on, Mr. Z worked on cooking us up some of his heart warming tortilla soup.

After a long day of shopping and walking we settled in with some hot tortilla soup for the soul and some homemade cheesecake. Then we curled up on the couch and watched Toy Story 3.
A wild Saturday night! I told you, with these women, you have to be careful! No wonder I had to check their blood pressure periodically.

Sunday morning we loaded up and headed to church.

We started attending Houston First Baptist Church a few months ago. Of course we attend the traditional service with the senior crowd. That's just where we feel more comfortable. The choir and full orchestra is incredible. That many voices singing in unison is so powerful.

That will definitely go on the list of things I will miss.

Five Guys was next on the itinerary.

With shopping bags and full stomachs, we had to send them on their way.

On their way back back to a world where they don't have a huge hotel suite that rivals the size our apartment. A place void of Mr. Z's soul healing tortilla soup (except the little bit we let them take home with them). Back where there aren't skyscrapers speckling the horizon. To a place where you are always guaranteed a parking spot at your home. 

To that home not too far ahead in our future.

What I like about Texas Part 1

I cannot express the amount of joy I have about moving back home.

If things keep going as well as they have been for me in school it may be possible for us to move back home 2 months before graduation!

So, in about 4 months God's country will be our home again.

We will be able to live at The Little House.

It will be a gift from Mawmaw and Pawpaw and we will remember them everyday.
In the mean time, we have made many memories, many friends, and realized no matter where we are, if we are together, we are home.

When we were getting ready to move here 3+ years ago it was a grand adventure for us, the newly weds.

We packed up the uhaul and made a leap of faith.

(The scary bird didn't help my nerves.)

After making 1000's of trips up our stairs to our new apartment and Mr. Z was almost murdered by our washer and dryer, we were finally moved in.

We moved in on Labor Day weekend of 2007. We found out that the Houston Zoo had free admission on holidays, so what better to do than go to the zoo, right?

That particular day, just 2 rosey cheeked kids, we attempted to make it to the Houston Zoo. By the time we made it to the interstate, it was raining so hard we couldn't even see the front of the car. So we turned around only to discover the roads were quickly filling up with water. Water started coming up over the hood of the car so we picked a parking lot that was a little higher ground and waited.

And waited..

And wished we had picked a side of the road with a taco truck or something.

And watched people try to get through the water.

And fail.

In the middle of it all, I decided to call Momma to tell her about our adventure. Well, Momma didn't think it was so funny. Her daughter and new son-in-law who had just moved 5 hours away were stranded in a parking lot in South Houston. She told me next time not to call her until it was over.

It did stop raining, but it took over an hour for the water to drain.

We had already invested so much, we decided to still try to make it to the zoo.

Once we got there, we quickly realized that not paying for admission was a steeper price than paying the 11 bucks on any other day.  There were SO many people. And you know how we are with big crowds of people. We loathe them. But that's another in-depth story for another day. For a therapist. With ink blot pictures. And a comfy couch.

Critol gel

I found out this morning that I passed all my National Board Exams for Part II, III, and Physiotherapy!

Woot-woot!

Today was my last day of X-ray rotation!

Woot-woot!

And tonight we went to see Anjelah Johnson!

Woot-woot!

The doors opened at 7:00, so we knew we would have to be rushing to get there. (Because we are on Zeagler time) So when Michael got off work, he had to run home and grab poor little Beaux and wear him out because he had been locked up all day. Then he ran through Chick-fil-A (which by the way also gives dog treats to your dog if they are in the car...another plus for them). Michael couldn't decide what he needed to get so he got 2 sandwiches, 2 orders of nuggets, one large order of fries, and a side of fruit. I got home about 6:00, changed, fixed my hair, touched up my make-up, we grabbed the food, tossed Beaux a raw-hide, and flew out the door. Once in the car, we had to program the GPS, sort through the assortment of food, balance chick-fil-A sauce on our laps, and manage to make it to down-town H-town. We got there and were parked at 6:40. We meet our friend Linda in line and found our seats.

How many times will we go to concerts or comedy shows before we learn that there is at least an hour between door opening and the start of the show?

We could have actually chewed our food.

The show was hilarious and she's pretty good at beatboxing too!

But appearantly someone seated near our section did not read my blog post about eating too much fiber...
Laughing and gas do not mix (unless you are at a dentist's office...hardy-har-har).

Other than that, we had a great time.

If you have never seen or heard of Anjelah Johnson, here's a clip.

Coal-y, Woal-y, Guacamole

Coal. He was the best dog in the whole world.

I know, I know. What about Beaux? I love Beaux, but Coal was a great dog.

Truly a best friend.

We got him when he was 6 weeks old and just a ball of black fur. He grew up with us.

Oh the trouble he got in. If you have ever had a labrador puppy, you know. They eat everything. They dig everywhere. They drag up anything.

But they love you.

Many people argue that dogs can't love.  I dare to say that they love better than we do.

If you have ever seen a lab with their kids, you know exactly what I'm talking about.

They guard them, play with them, lick them, are gentle with them.

That was Coal.

Yeah, he tore up so much stuff. He chewed on all the furniture outside. He dug up Momma's flower beds. He stole from our neighbors. And he smelled like butt. Even right after a bath...

He also never left our side when were outside. Went with us to Mawmaw's. Ran beside the fourwheeler. Guarded our house at night from 'booggers' none of us could see. Sat with us when we were sad. Listened to us when we needed to talk. Made us feel safe.

To greet him, we would say "Coal-y, Woal-y, Guacamole".  No matter what, his tail would wag to greet us back. No matter how hot he was, how tired he was, how sick he was. He was always happy to see us. 

Well, before we got Coal, Big Mawmaw decided she would not get attached to another dog. Ever. She had too much heart-ache when something happened to them and she couldn't take it anymore.

So when we got Coal, she didn't pet him and would barely look at him. I don't even think she wanted to know his name.

Well, Coal, being Coal watched out for Big Mawmaw too. Since we lived so close to her, he made her house a part of his territory and would make his rounds everyday down to her house. She continued to ignore him. He would just sit and be patient.

I think it would have been easier on her if he had been obnoxious or would jump on her or tear her stuff up. But he didn't.

He just waited.

Every day he would stop by her house and wait. Then go back home.

One day she was working in her flower beds and lost her balance. She fell right on her butt. It didn't hurt her, but she couldn't get up. Coal went over and tucked his head under her arm and helped lift her up.

That was it. She couldn't bare it any more! From then on he got a full breakfast every morning from Big Mawmaw.

Painting a House

Big Mawmaw and Mawmaw were artists. They drew, sketched, painted, weaved, sewed, and created.

They also loved history. Not really dates of wars and political administration, but geneology and anthropology. They loved personal stories about families and the history of the community.

They started a project of drawing old town buildings and old houses.

They did sketches of the old banks, stores, and churches. Some of there weren't still there, but they found pictures of them and drew them from the photographs.

They also did drawings of some of the old houses in the area. Many of them were past their height of beauty, but they worked to capture the beauty that had been lost in time.

They would pack up their easels and supplies and set everything up but not before asking permission.

On one particular occasion, they went up to the door of one of the historical homes that had lost some of its luster and asked the old man that lived there is they could paint his house.

He excitedly agreed.

They were pleasantly surprised by his enthusiasm, so they went and sat at their easels and got to work.

A little while later, the man came back out and asked "When y'all gonna get started?"

Double Your Fiber...Not Double the Fun

I am on X-ray rotations this week. I am only allowed to see patients a few hours per day and I am booked. Yay!

This also means I don't exactly get a lunch, so this morning I packed a sandwich.

I have recently become addicted to Activia. So I packed some.

We also picked up some Fiber One bars last time we were at the grocery store. So I threw one of those bad boys in.

This was not the smartest thing I've ever done.

All afternoon there have been creepy sounds coming from my intestines.

Just a tip -- don't mix fiber enhanced foods.

Houston Greek Festival

My all-time favorite movie is My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

I think my family was meant to be Greek.

We are big, loud, and love to eat.

Mr. Z and I went to the Houston Greek Festival yesterday.

We had to park at a 'near-by' school and catch a bus to the festival.

The parking was crazy! I guess everyone else loves Greek too.

After waiting about 20 minutes, we got on the huge piece of machinery that is our transportation to the festival.

I have to tell ya, city bus drivers are talented people.

But we arrived in one piece.

Oh my good gracious. The people. Everywhere.

We went into the gift shop which was actually more like an indoor flea-market.

Aren't these lanterns great?

I would have taken more pictures inside, but I could barely move my arms.

Then, we got to the whole reason we really wanted to go.

The food.

There were several food and drink stands all in a big open parking lot that was CRAMMED with people.

To increase efficiency, each booth is dedicated to one thing. You don't get your gyro, salad, and drink at one booth, you have to go to all three.

Once we got everything on our menu, we found a nice piece of grass in the shade and chowed down.

It was so beautiful outside and felt great!

After we got our fill, we decided to trudge our way back through the market of people and buy an olive tree.

They said they will do fine in this climate and will actually make olives in a few years.

They looked more like olive branches, but appearantly they were planted in cement.

It was insane how heavy the thing was!

So we made our treck back to where we had gotten off the bus.

To our joy, there was a bus already there waiting, so we hurriedly jumped on.

Mr. Z had to carry the tree onto the bus and we felt ... so out of place.

There had been many people at the festival carrying trees around, but none of those people were on the bus.

We both got so tickled at the whole situation we couldn't stop laughing.

We were carrying an olive tree and left over salad on a bus that we never verified was the bus we were supposed to be on.  A bus that was driven by a very sassy black lady who made an SUV back-up to get out of her way because they were over the line. And the music on the bus was black-gospel-have-church-kind-of music.

We left a little more experienced. A little more cultured. And very full.

Opa!