Life's Simple Pleasures

Well, not much new has happened in my life, so I'm going to take a moment to share one of my work joys with all of you. I work for a program that develops lesson plans and teaching resources for K-12 civics and government teachers. It's a pretty fun job. Aside from a nice chair, other perks include a mini-fridge in my office, a window, and a name plate on the door. Very exciting things. But perhaps the best part of my job is surfing school websites. Oftentimes, a teacher will sign up to receive our resources but I have to make sure they're legit before I allow them access to our site. To verify that they are, in fact, teaching, I usually go to the school website and look them up. Most of the time, I just look them up and I'm done with it. Other times, I come across school pictures that just crack me up! So I'm going to share some with you. You may not like these as much as I do, but who's to say until I show you?

First: The Yearbook Pictures

Yes, this is real. All of the other teachers were just regular.

I wish this picture was larger because it's my absolute favorite. These teachers are one-of-a-kind!

Second: School Activities

Cross-dressing pep rally.

I just love the hot dog kid. I only hope our future posterity are half as cool... or shameless. I also like the kid riding the turkey.

I don't really know why this picture was on a school site, but I think it's funny.

And Lastly...

OUR QUEST

Ever since our sojourn in Houston began, Dan and I have been on a quest of great importance - a quest to find Houston's best chocolate milkshake. We searched high and low and have yet (in my opinion) been able to locate the ultimate shake of this large city. We've tried Beck's (this great burger place that everyone swore was the best), 59 Diner (known for its shakes), some preppy bar-type place called 17, Fuddruckers (we know it's not a local place, but we don't have one in C-ville), and a local ice cream hangout called Amy's. Unfortunately, I haven't come across one place that was just amazing, but in my opinion, the winner is....

Amy's was the closest to a nice, thick, chocolately cup of pure joy... Dan liked Fuddruckers.

How about you guys? Which is your favorite place for a chocolate shake? P.S. I'm back in VA on Monday - who's up for a taste test???

SATURDAY FUN EXTRAVAGANZA

Saturday, we had a day of fun-filled excitement. We first drove to Space Center Houston. We were greeted by a guy in an astronaut outfit, which we thought was pretty cool, but the novelty wore off when we realized pretty much everyone wore an astronaut outfit. You've gotta feel bad for the astronaut that goes through all that schooling and elite astronaut training just to be stuck on parking booth duty.

They had some pretty cool stuff there, like old astronaut helmets that you could try on to see how cool you'd look on the moon. With astronauts this good looking, who wouldn't put on a diaper just to be able to drive 500 miles without stopping?!

We went on a tour of the astronaut training area, which I thought was pretty exciting. You can see how good looking Kristen's bangs are in these pictures.

After all the excitement at the Space Center, we continued down the road to Galveston to go to the beach. I went in first, and waited while Kristen took pictures on the beach.

It was pretty nice out, but the waves aren't quite big enough to go boogie boarding or anything.

I just wanted to write a quick note to remind all of you who live by 7-11s that today is 7/11! Free slurpee day! Houston doesn't have a single stinkin' 7-11 so I must live vicariously through you...

Keith Urban - Aussie Rocker/Country singer/Husband to Nicole Kidman

I don't think Dan did the Keith Urban concert justice so here are a few more pictures for you to feast your eyes on...

I see a striking resemblance...

I'm getting my hair trimmed in 3.25 hours. Should I get bangs?

A POST BY DAN

This has been a pretty busy week --



Monday I went to the doctor and she told me I had GERD, because I was too stressed out. I actually think it's mostly because my pants are too tight now that I'm packing on the pounds. Luckily, I have a couple of pairs of stretchy pants.



Tuesday we went dancing. It wasn't as bad as I expected it to be. And I figured it might help my GERD. Also, Bracewell & Giuliani treated me to a game of cosmic bowling and "Live Free or Die Hard" during the work day.



Wednesday we visited the Houston zoo because it was free. It was surprisingly good. I've sort of been disappointed with a few of the cultural attractions here, but it pretty much had all the animals you like to see at the zoo -- elephants, tigers, giraffes, baby mole rats, etc. I think they were just missing hippos. We saw Ratatouille in the afternoon, then watched fireworks.



Thursday we went to the Keith Urban concert. Kristen swooned every time he walked by us on the catwalk. But she got to take several good photos of his back sweat.



Friday B&G planned an Amazing Race for us summer associates. I was in it to win it, but my team came in 4th. Out of 6. But we got to ride in limos all around town, and at the end of the day, a limo took me home. Kristen came down so she could be in a limo once in her life.



Saturday we went to the movies to see Transformers, but it was sold out. So we saw Oceans 13. After the exhilaration of Oceans 11 and then the devastating disappointment of Oceans 12, I was hesitant to see it. Not because I was afraid it would be lousy, but because I was angry that I had been tricked into watching 12 simply because 11 was so good. But I rose above that vengeful attitude, and actually thought 13 was alright.

DANCING MACHINES
This picture pretty much captures our emotions prior to our Ballroom Basics dance class. As you can tell, Dan is thrilled. I love it!

The class was pretty fun - about 7 men and 7 women. Most of them had been there before but each week we learn a different dance so we didn't feel too out of place. We were also some of the youngest people there. You've gotta give props to the middle-aged men who show up alone to learn something new... or maybe they're just looking to meet some ladies. We had a good time. We learned the samba. Next week, if Dan is willing to take me again, we'll learn the salsa!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY

Dan and I recently celebrated our third anniversary! Last Tuesday, June 26, we went out to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory in the Houston Galleria. I had only eaten there once before and it was Dan's first time but thanks to Amanda's recommendation, we went! We split a really good chicken dish and then split a piece of cheesecake with strawberries. So DELICIOUS!
Dan got me flowers and... tickets to the Keith Urban concert this week! I am SOOO excited! I got him some CDs (boring, boring, I know!) that he had been wanting.
After dinner we went to take a ballroom basics dance class (Dan is too nice to me!) but we got lost and didn't get there until the class was half over (maybe he planned that) so we're going to give it another shot this week! Very exciting. Thanks, Dan for a great anniversary!And as a last piece of news, about 10 minutes after the FedEx man delivered our concert tickets, I got an email from KeithUrban.net saying that I had WON a pair of tickets to the exact same concert! TOTALLY AWESOME! Poor Dan... I loved his present, though! Now we're going to take my brother and sister-in-law, too.

Dan and I have spent some of our time tracking down the finer attractions of Houston. In between those excursions, we have happened upon Houston's real treasures - the Beer Can House (you can guess what this house is covered with), and our own favorite - the antelope head house. Okay, so that's not a real attraction, but when we saw it, we just had to capture the moment. Usually people just keep the antlers from the animals they've killed. These people wanted to preserve the whole head. Rumor has it that squirrels will eat animal busts like that so maybe that's why it's partially protected with a piece of cloth? It's a mystery.

Big man on campus

Well, as most of you know, Dan and I are spending the summer in Houston, Texas while he completes two internships. He just started his second internship this week and is enjoying it so far.

We have gotten majorly spoiled this summer, too! Thanks to the firms, we have gone to see Spamalot and Treasure Island, taken a dinner cruise out of Galveston, had lots of fancy dinners, painted pottery, and gone to a Houston Dynamos soccer game to name a few.

Cruise out of Galveston

Dynamos Game

Houston itself is a pretty cool city. It's the 5th largest city in the country, but it doesn't feel that big. Not that I would really know - I work from our apartment all day on our janky patio furniture, but whenever I get to venture out of my confines, it seems pretty agreeable. The heat and humidity are pretty intense, but other than that, I'm really enjoying it. The people here are especially friendly. When I go to the store, most of the employees are helpful and nice. Also, creepy men on the metro tell me and my sister-in-law to "Stay beautiful." How nice.

The one problem I have with Houston is the toll it's taking on my hair. I mean, I spend time to do it (see left), and then after 15 minutes outside, it looks like this (see right)!
What's a girl to do? Sike. Totally kidding. I like to brush my hair as big as I can get it sometimes just for fun. And if there's a good place to do it, it's Houston. This humidity is just what I need to take my hair's volume to the next level. If anyone wants to challenge me to a frizz-off, bring it on. It weirds Dan out for some reason. I say, if you've got it, flaunt it!

So, those are just some of the things we've been doing lately. It's been a great summer. This weekend we're going to Austin to visit Dan's brother's family. His parents and one of his sisters are coming down too so it should be a good time!

Also, let me know what you think about this blog... if no one's reading it, I may just have to spend my time in more worthwhile pursuits.

Here's the only caveat - I may not be any good at this.