The Texan & The Canadian

What do I do with it?

Melissa — Sat, 12 May 2012 14:15:15 +0000

So we also put a round heirloom squash in our garden and its starting to produce. It is supposedly heirloom zucchini. So the way zucchini was before the crossed it with other squash to make it elongated and a more compact plant. Yea, its taking over the yard too. I’m cool with that… but what to make with it? Thoughts?

Dinner with Varoujan

Melissa — Sat, 12 May 2012 11:20:13 +0000

So Varoujan came into town for some astronomy educating in Killeen and on his way out we grabbed dinner with him. Not just any dinner… Soul Food!!! The kind that makes me think of my Mamma, my Granny and my MeMaw. The kind that makes you like your fingers and love that sweet iced tea for the balance it brings to the meal. The kind that makes you want a warm afternoon and a hammock. The kind that smells and tastes SO. DARN. GOOD. you almost can’t help but eat too much of it for fear it will never tast the same again.

You’re mouth watering yet? Well you should go check it out. Hoover’s is A-MAZ-ING!!!! I prefer the east side location, has a bit more Austin charm and a laid back atmosphere. I’d show you a photo of what we had, but it was all gone before I thought of it. Here’s a photo of the boys with full tummies.

Its been raining!!!

Melissa — Thu, 10 May 2012 05:01:31 +0000

Well its been raining for two days now. We got a break from it and Daisy, Duke and I hung out in the back yard and tended the garden. Daisy wasn’t much for tending the garden. This is her, “Mom just give it up and come play” plea. Pretty darn cute huh!?!

Tomatoes are Coming!!!

Melissa — Mon, 07 May 2012 15:55:30 +0000

So excited!!! Look what popped up in the garden today.

The Day After

Melissa — Sun, 06 May 2012 21:47:51 +0000

So obviously we were very tired last night and went to bed quite early, so tired in fact that we didn’t eat dinner. We woke up ravenous this morning and were able to meet some friends for breakfast at Kerbey Lane. OH the coffee and the pancakes, they never tasted so good. The we went home and we were all really laze.

Case and point.

GASP

Melissa — Sun, 06 May 2012 01:30:10 +0000

So we did it! This morning we rode in the GASP (Great Austin to Shiner Pedal). I made about 35 miles and Sean did 50. I have to admit the ride was beautiful and the fellow riders encouraging, however I could have done without the 94 degree weather. In the end my legs could have carried me on, but I was just fried. Will we do it again… I think so. I enjoy the time spent with Sean and I really did enjoy the ride, finish or not. Though I will not be attempting another one until at least September. I may be Texan, but this poor body can’t handle those temperatures. Here’s us at the end!

P.S. Thank you sooooo much to Julie! She checked in on the puppies, drove to McMahan to switch cars and meet us in Shiner, got me lunch, found a great spot in the shade for after ride relaxin’, drove us back to McMahan, and was just plain awesome! We love you Julie-girl!!

Puppy Treats

Melissa — Thu, 03 May 2012 03:45:41 +0000

We love our puppies! They tend to get into things that aren’t the best for them. Our Daisy-Girl likes grass. They say dogs will eat grass when their tummies are upset. Daisy eats it all the time… we’ve determined that she has a very sensitive tummy. We feed them both good quality food. You know, without fillers, wheat, or other non-necessary ingredients. I’d give it a 4 out of 5 on the dog food scale. There are a few other dog diets that might be better, but we can’t really afford it. We get a brand at Costco called Nature’s Domain. Check it out if you’ve just added a canine baby to your family. We can get our large babies fed off of about 2 bags per month.

Anyway, that was a detour, back to the treats. So to help our sensitive puppy with her tummy we give her pumpkin. Just the plain out of the can pumpkin. It really does help. She will eat it straight, but it is easier to have it in a small treat form. So I made some. I found a great recipe and tested it. Score! They love them!

Being good while I mix them up.

Baked up doggy goodness.

Relaxing Saturday (AND IT BLOOMED!)

Melissa — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 00:12:28 +0000

We spent a nice day walking the puppies and having lunch with Julie, Evan, and a friend of Evan’s Jordan. We made squash tacos… yes because we have it running out of our ears! Hopefully they liked it anyway. We also ran a few errands and did some prep for the bike ride next week. Yep! Only a week from today. Gotta make sure we’ve got enough tubes incase of flat tires, energy bars and other stuff! We’re also getting the hitch installed Monday, so we’re on the look out for a bike rack too. We did some Craig List searching, but no winners yet.

In other news, our garden is still blooming wonderfully. And the most exciting bit! Our lilly bloomed!!! I know that doesn’t sound too amazing, but it didn’t for a few years, then it did last year, then we had three blooms this year, then none… and now one! It’s quite pretty if you ask me. As are the other things in bloom. Mom will be proud that five years after buying it for us its still alive.

Infamous Lily

Butterfly Weed

Silver Pony's Foot

Agave Bloom

Yellow Columbine

What will we do for the rest of the evening… Lay around and snuggle puppies of course!

Beth Turns 30

Melissa — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 01:21:12 +0000

I’m sure many of you have heard “Beth” or “Beth and Hazel” come out of my mouth. Well today Beth turns the big 30. What’s a number!?! I still feel like we’re 15 and she’s going to get in trouble for having a kid!

What I can say, is that fifteen years after meeting her I really do love her more. She is a wonderful friend! She loves me for my crazy self, and even when we disagree we find that middle ground and are “big” about it. I love that she’s in my life, even if its not as much as I’d like, and I love her Hazel like she’s my family too! I’m so glad they are our extended family and I really hope she has a beautiful birthday!

Women’s Event With Tammy

Melissa — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 05:04:19 +0000

So this evening I met up with my friend Tammy at Cedar Park Regional Hospital for their Women’s Event. It was all about women’s health and what you can do to help yourself. Tammy was hosting a booth that had all her lovely jewelry for sale. I enjoyed helping her talking with folks, sell a few items and spend time with a friend that I don’t get to see very often.

After our vending, we headed into a tent for dinner and a speaker. The speaker was a bit of a quack. I don’t mean to be rude, but some things just don’t vibe with me. However she did make a few points that hit home and made me start thinking:

“Its a man’s world,” she said, “why do we as women want to change ourselves to fit into it?” - Now that might seem simple enough, but I think there is a lot to ponder there. She had some interesting data that showed that when looking at native tribes around the world we’ve even changed the way we walk as women in the western world. She also mentioned how women can be our worst enemy fitting into this world. Like when we harp more on each other as women about not having a career, not staying home with our kids, or not fitting into a certain body type. We can be more severe and critical on ourselves than men sometimes! And we sure as hell are more cut throat and hateful in how we say these things to each other.
The other thing she said, “What should you relax first, your mind or your body?” It was a trick question, you’ve gotta relax both if you truly want to find that calm place. For me, a good massage starts the process, by time the hour is over my body is fully relaxed and so is my mind. I need to find other ways to do this, because relaxing and letting it all go, just for 10 minutes a day, really helps to rejuvenate a person. It also helps with all the extra stuff pumping through our bodies due to stress.
Last, she really emphasized that we need to find a love for our own bodies, personalities and accomplishments and quit trying to fit into someone else’s idea of what is perfect. And for that matter she said as women we needed to throw that word out of our vocabulary. I’m going to try! She also said to remember that when we wake up there are already a million things that have gone right. I mean, you woke up, whither on time or not not everyone will. Makes you think.

So what do I plan to do with these opinions? Not sure, but it got the brain juices flowing. For one, I’m going to try loving me for me more, two, I’m going to try for good or ok, not perfect, and last I AM WOMAN… I should be more proud of it and flaunt it more. If I achieve any of this, or find ways to flaunt it more I’ll let you know.