the reunion before the reunion

Last week I traveled 1/2 way across the country to the great city of Winston-salem. I can't adequetly describe my excitement upon landing! There is just something different about east coast air. Something refreshing and welcoming. As soon as I landed I started thinking about how much I didn't want to leave in a few days.

Lesa picked me up and we hit up one of our favorite restaurants for lunch. We stalled a little so we could meet up with Dave, Kiera and little Ty before they hit the road. It was so wonderful to see them...even if only for a few minutes. Tyler has grown so much since I last saw him. He's his own little person now with so much personality. He loves his sandbox and company of course. Go figure! Have you met his parents?!?! They are some of my best friends and I really miss just hanging out living life together.

Lesa and I headed back to the Branch ranch for a nice long visit and tour of the latest developments on the Ranch. I wish I took some pictures, but again- I never remember to take it out until after the fact! The farm looks gorgeous and they've put a lot of work into it these last few months.

I later met up with my old Bible study group and all the young girls were back from their first semester of college! They Lisette, Emily, and Kelsey all look and act so grown up- like they've been enlightened with the way of the world or something. College a place where you become your own person. You learn a few lessons (both good and bad), forge new friendships, learn valuable lessons like how to get by on $5/week in food allowance (hollar ramen noodles) and figure out (to a small degree) what it is you want to do in life. I'm so thankful these girls have settled in well with a good group of friends.

I also got to meet Nathan, Katie and Brian's new addition. He is super sweet and looked just like a little glo worn all swaddled in his blankets. I was in heaven just holding him and visiting with friends for hours Tuesday night. I also made Melissa go home and get Dominic so I could hang out with him too. He's about 6 months old now and he is just precious! He was 3 weeks old and tiny tiny tiny when we left. Now- he's got huge blue eyes and long lashes to match that will make any girl swoon. He has such an easy going personality and just sat in my lap and clutched my hair forever. O how I miss those babies!

Jennie and I had a great time being roomates again for 2 days. She bought a house a few months ago and it looks awesome! The decorations and furniture all fit so perfectly to her style and taste and I'm so proud of all she's accomplished! She had to work, but we got to watch some reality TV, hang out on the couch and chat, eat pizza, and just be roomies again for a while. I think I'm going to have to do it again in 5 weeks.

24 hr Puppy fix....

That's right. I got a puppy. For 24 hrs. Olivia, Julia and I went running on Saturday, but our normal park was flooded so we went to another one. It was getting new asphalt. So we decided to run in a nearby neighborhood. After passing a large, but strange looking house, a little black super cute puppy came running out of the woods as we passed. He was soooooo excited to see us. We jerry rigged him a lease from some old vinyl blind cordes and he kept up with us (for the most part) for the rest of the 3 miles. After findinga puppy...who cares about running and keeping a good pace?!?! We tried to find his owners to no avail, but he didn't have a collar and we later discovered fleas so I think it was just destiny that we came by when we did.

So I decided I wanted him. He needed a good home. Julie and I were headed to a movie right after the run so Olivia took him home to babysit him until I could get back into town. She also gave him a flea bath, and fed him. I bought him a little black collar and a leash and Julie lent me a crate.

I arrive at home...totally prepared with crate, puppy food, collar, lease and babysitting for thanksgiving all lined up to improve my chances that Byron will love this puppy as much as me. So I sneak into the bedroom with the puppy and we sit on the bed and slowly wake Byron up. Try to imagine Byron's excitement of waking up to a little puppy face:) Or not. "What is thaaaaaaattttt?" he asked. Me: "The newest member of our family". Byron: "um-hmmm. Where did you get that".

I proceeded to tell him how the stars are aligned for us to adopt this sweet thing. "Um-hmmm" he says again. The puppy curled right up next to Byron and just layed there looking at him with puppy eyes. How could anyone resist you ask? Ask Byron. He's the only person I've ever met that is able to resist the puppy temptation.

We kept "Puppy" for 24hrs and found a home for him with a couple from church. They are great, but have only agreed to watch "Puppy" until we find a permenant home for him. They already have a 90 lb lab who simply dwarfs Puppy. I can't wait to hear the update on how he is doing!

I must say- I was somewhat depressed coming home from church Sunday night. Its amazing how attached I became in just 24 hrs. Puppy was just so excited to see me each time and I couldn't wait to get home to him either. Saturday night I was cooking all evening and Puppy was on the back porch. He would cry a little when I disappeared from sight, but as soon as I came back- he was fine and went back to playing with his toys. It was so sad to come home to no one waiting eagerly for me. But...Byron has promised that I can have as many critters as I want when we move to a house with a yard. I'm holding him to it. So far on the list: Mini goat, mini pig, a lab, and a bunny. We'll see what other creatures I can come up with in the meantime.

Marathon Fever...

Its official...I'm hooked. I'm a total Marathon junkie now. I'm sure I'll change this statement while training for the next one...but right now the euphoria from finishing my first one is still in full effect. This Sunday I ran in the 2nd annual San Antonio Rock and roll 1/2 marathon. 31,000 people were gathered at the start line around 6:30 am on Sunday morning. You could feel the crowd pulse with excitement, and the anticipation of the start gun was exhilarating. I was in the 19th corral (you are grouped according to your expected finish time) so I was WAYYYYY in the back. I couldn't even see the start line- but I could hear the announcers and all the cheering each time a corral started. It took 40 minutes for me to even cross the start line- but the 40 minutes of anticipation made me that much more excited!

About mile 8 though- I was not excited. This is when the mental battle "should I keep running or take a break to walk?" began...and it lasted until the 12th mile. But- I tell you what: it is so encouraging to have so many people on the sidelines cheering perfect strangers on- you just don't want to quit. There wasn't a single place along the whole course without crowds of people cheering. Plus- I knew I was being 'tracked' by friends, family, and co-workers, which also helped keep my mind focused on keeping pace. They set up a new program where supporters could track individual racers via text message. (there is a tag tied to the runner's shoe, and we run over metal detector type things laying in the road ever few miles). Byron was on call- but was able to see how I was doing via phone.

By the last mile- huge masses of people are lining the streets cheering you on for the last mile. I felt a surge of energy to keep running and cross that finish line! The last 10th of a mile was strait UP hill to the Alamo dome (where the Spurs play). Ugh. But- man- when you can see the finish line- somehow- you find the willpower to go all out.

I finished in 2 hrs and 8 minutes which was about 12 minutes faster than I planned! I cooled down a bit and called Byron to tell him I finished, but I couldn't hear him at all. "Are you in the ER or something?" I asked. Byron: "No- I'm at the race...did you finish?!?!" I wanted to cry I was so touched. He was on call the night before with zero sleep anticipating not being able to make it to the race at all. But he came! He got to the finish line about 3 minutes after I crossed. But seriously- it meant the world to me that he came. I know he was exhausted, traffic was terrible (all the roads being closed and all), and the crowds of people were just everywhere, but he came. Do I have a great husband or what?!?! And...he brought me roses. What a guy I tell ya.

We waited for Julie to finish and then walked around a bit to all the booths to cool off and get our free stuff:) Byron went home strait to bed and I joined him later for a much needed nap. My boss was great and allowed me to take Monday morning off to recover so we headed to the ranch for the night. It is so peaceful up there. It was wonderful to have some down time to relax and recover. Byron got up to hunt in the morning...but I slept in. I could hardly move the next day. the stairs are still not my friend. I took a hot bath and made some breakfast and enjoyed reading the paper on the front porch. It was wonderful. I did not want to come back!

So...after running a 1/2....I now want to attempt a full. Maybe. I'm half way there. I was a bit jealous of those that finish the full! What an accomplishment! It takes so much hard work but I want to say that I did it. Just once. I'll keep you posted.

Trunk of Treats... two weeks late.

This last weekend was truck of treats at MacArthur Park. There was a pretty good turnout- though I'll admit I thought there would be more cars. But...people go all out for this stuff! I wish I took more pics of the other trunks that were decorated. So many cars and so many different ideas. Our honeymooners class was told to do "Disney" which is kind of hard unless you want to be the all time fall back ... a princess. So- it took a little more creative thinking on our parts. Ashley, Ava, and Kevin did finding nemo (Ava is nemo...so cute!), while Justin and Melanie did the dentist office scene from Nemo- complete with drills, and crazy tools. THey even brought a live fish! Jordan and Megan were tourists complete with leather keds, pleated shorts and frizzy hair. Definitely National Lampoon's family vacation feel. We didn't even recognize them until they took off their sunglasses. Marshal and Erin were Mr. and Mrs. Incredible and Jess and I were Dumbo and the Ring leader. I should have done Horton instead because most the kids are too young for Dumbo. Only the adults knew who I was supposed to be.

We went out for pizza and games afterwards, I was exhausted by the end of the day though. I spent the whole day doing chores and making my costume. Poor Byron was on call again and it was a rough night for him. He's a champ. He woke up on Sunday for evening church and went right back to bed when we got home. Poor guy.

Work and home projects

Not much has been going on in our world other than the good ol' regular routine. I"m settling into work just fine and am learning on average one new technique a week. Its very detailed work which is not always my favorite- but I enjoy the challenge and the opportunity to learn new stuff! Last week I set up four locomotor chambers that will be used to monitor animal movement. I was so proud of this because as many of you know...I do NOT consider myself a manual/directions reader. Nor a techie, nor a mechanic. So...building these chambers, programming them, and learning how to simulate an experiment was a great accomplishment in my book. I'm sure someone could have done all of it in 1/10th the time it took me - but whatever. I was getting paid and I was doing my best:)

At home...Byron built me some flower troughs from scratch on his day off last week. They are AWESOME! We don't have a yard so we have to be a little creative with our landscaping. I'm in love with the fall chrysanthemum colors..it's about hte closest I'll come to fall colors here in SA so I went to home depot and picked a few up this weekend. Byron was pumped I picked out TWO maroon ones (he's such an aggie). We stained and sealed them this weekend and I just love the new colors outside our door!




And because I'm such an awesome gardener (as much as I can call myself that with a few plants outside in pots)...I have a new pet. Yes that's right. His name is Squirmy II (RIP Jennie's Childhood pet). He is a snail. And he lives in my flower pot and comes out every evening when I water. He loves me. Isn't it sad I've resorted to having a pet snail? Bug Byron. Please. I bring up the issue of getting a dog every week- but I am met with stubborn resolve. Help me plead my case! Feel free to call or email him immediately and tell him we need a more interactive pet.



Byron is having a rough week at work- one of the other residents is out on vacation so that shortens everyones call schedule by one night. So...basically he works call...sleeps....works call...sleeps....etc for the next week and a half. Ouch. I feel for him. I'm just not a nice person when I don't get enough sleep. But...he has a good attitude about it which always helps.

And...FYI...Byron passed his 3rd and final medical boards (well...there is one more for his specialty later)! HORRAYYYYYY!!!! I'm so proud of him. He worked really really hard to prepare for it and took the bull by the horns and took it about 4 years earlier than he had to! Go Byron! We went out to celebrate with a nice dinner in Boerne which is a small, very cute town outside of San Antonio. The food was delicious and the atmosphere was perfect. We both enjoy smaller, quieter places as opposed to the downtown chaos. I wish I took some pictures but alas...I never remember my camera.

Saturday I ran 9 miles with the girls (And walked one) and the time just flew by. It was a beautiful day and the conversation was great! Running is made so much more enjoyable with friends. But- They will both be out of town next weekend so we'll see if I can stay disciplined and go on my own. I had lunch with Jess Logan at Red lobster. I simply LOVE their biscuits! Yummy. Her husband is deployed and it was really nice to sit down and just visit with her. I'm so thankful God has brought so many new friends into our lives.

I also managed to cook some some new fall flavors this week with a berry crumble, and pumpkin muffins. The muffins burned a little (I have a temperamental stove), but I just cut off that part and they taste great anyway. My new friend Becky has excellent recipes of all sorts to share. She is also my new personal library:) She's giving me some friendship bread tonight to try out. I'll let you know how that goes. Apparently it's a 10 day process so...I'm not sure how dedicated I am for that. To me- bread tastes just as yummy frozen out of the freezer. But maybe manual labor adds a little extra something. We'll see:)




P.S- I did not put the Aggie mug in the picture on purpose. Guess who took those? Borderline obsessed.

Rainy weekend

San Antonio and the surrounding areas have been in a SEVERE drought for a while now. Well..this weekend it seemed like God was answering all our prayers for rain the last few months. It rained and rained and rained. While I"m not particularly fond of it rainy weather- I'm thankful that we got some of the relief we needed. However- this also meant that I had to do my long run in the pouring down rain at 7 AM on Saturday. That just stunk.

I've decided to run the Rock and Roll 1/2 Marathon in November and have been training for it with two girls from church: Julie and Olivia. It's totally necessary to have running buddies- because on days like Saturday there is no way any of us would willingly run without the motivation of the others. It s a great time to reflect on the last week, talk about our struggles, goals, etc. all while getting some exercise. The time actually goes by pretty fast, but last Saturday did not. It was cold, and wet, and dark. But- all that being said- we ran faster than normal because all of us just wanted to be done! So- I got home by 8:30 which left the entire day open for activity. I managed to clean the whole house and finish the laundry before Byron got home so I felt very productive.

Byron was on call Friday night which was his first overnight call of his career. It was a doosey. I don't know how he does it, but he was at the hospital going non-stop for 36 hrs with no sleep. Ouch. So- I tried to clean the house (the loud stuff) on Friday night so I wouldn't bother him. He got home around 3 and crashed. I treated myself to a nap as well after I went to the grocery store and did some gardening for a while.

I love saturdays like that. There's just something that makes me feel better about having a clean house. It feels more cozy or something. And since it was raining- I didn't feel so bad about not getting outside and being productive.

I spent the evening paying bills, reading and cooking. I made Chicken and wild rice soup, and a chocolate espresso silk mousse pie. It was delicious! I finally woke Byron up around 10:30 to let him eat, but he went strait back to bed. Poor thing. But the good thing about this rotation is that he gets a full post call day and the day after off. So- at least you have a chance to catch up on your sleep before having to do it again. There is one week this month when he has three call days in 1 week- which is going to be rough.


It was still raining cats and dogs on Sunday and the following pictures were after only 24 hrs of rain. Yikes! Holy bad drainage systems! But- our roof didn't leak this time- so that's a step in the right direction! We had to find new routes to church since some of our normal roads were flooded. We went to a new pizza place with our young marrieds class and then back home for hte afternoon. I went to volleyball practice and man....am I sore today! You'd think I'd be in shape after training for a 1/2 marathon! All in all- I'd say it was a productive, but relaxing weekend.

Life is sweeter in AggieLand

Last weekend was our first chance to really get away this summer after starting work. Byron doesn't get many chances to get away for a whole weekend so we took advantage of the opportunity. Friday night after our parents left we jumped in the truck, picked up our friend Genevieve and headed for College Station, TX. Home of the Fightin' Texas Aggies! I was still pretty drugged up at this point, but there was no way I was going to miss out on this weekend. Byron has been looking forward to going back to Texas A & M for about 4.5 years now (since he left in the first place). I know he must love me when he offers to stay home from this long anticipated weekend and let me get better. But- we made it to College Station around 10: 30 with enough time to check into the hotel before heading to "Midnight Yell Practice". What an experience! SEe the videos below for some samples.





I didn't know any of the 'moves' or chants, but it was really inspiring to see all those students cheering for their team. Wake Forest fans just don't compare. The entire stadium (that seats 85K) pulses with energy. It was really cool- even for a non- A & M'er like myself. After yell practice- we all (Johnny, Genevieve, Byron and I) headed back to the hotel (I fell asleep on the 10 minute drive I was so exhausted) and slept until 9:30! 9:30 these days is really late for me to sleep on a Saturday but I must have really been tired! I felt 1000 times better. We headed for Mi Cocina one of Byron and Johnny's FAVORITE places to eat while in school there. They stamp your tortilla's and pancakes with the Texas A & M logo. Every person in there was in gameday spirit with some kind of A & M gear on.

Next we hit up the shops with ALL the A & M gear. Byron bought a T shirt for every person in his family practically. It was fun, and I'm always game for getting new clothes! We drove through all the old stomping grounds and checked out the new monuments etc on campus. All in all it was a relaxing afternoon. We headed back to the hotel to clean ourselves up for the game and get ready for the tailgate.

Johnny had some friends cooking up some food so we dropped by there before the game to chat and watch the cadets march into the stadium. Genevieve's brother scored us some sweet seats on the shady side of the stadium WITH seats. Apparently it's tradition for the students to stand the ENTIRE game- which I am not dedicated enough to do. So-we were about 20 rows up near the A & M endzone! We won the game...a lot to a little (really...I don't remember by how much), and it was a great experience!






We attended church the following morning where Byron went and ran into all sorts of people. It was inspiring to see so many college students on fire for Christ. No wonder he had such an amazing experience there! All in all I'd say it was a great weekend. We made it back to SA in time to have dinner with our young marrieds group.

Monday was a great day at work for me. I finally accomplished 'patching a cell' which has taken me a whole month to learn! Horray! I'm finally ready to do some actual science!