My trip to The Homeland...

Okay- well not REALLY my Homeland. I haven't ever lived in Hattiesburg, MS with my parents but Mississippi is where my Mom is originally from, so the state has always been a part of my life. I flew out last Wednesday evening and stayed through Sunday morning for the holiday weekend. Jason wasn't able to get as much time off work, so he made plans with some old friends in Uvalde and Pipe Creek.

Overall, I don't consider my job fairly stressful. However, at the end of each quarter I do have a crunch time of closing out things, figuring commissions, checking figures and tying up lose ends so that the new quarter can begin. Well, when I booked my flights for this trip, I didn't consider that I would be leaving on the day that I needed to close the 2nd Quarter!! So, somehow I manage to get that done, leave early, go home and meet Kasi for my ride to the airport for a 6:30 flight. Needless to say, by the time I got into Jackson at 10:30, I was beat. Then we made the 1.5 hour drive to my parent's home in Hattiesburg. My mom had to teach the next morning, so I slept in until 10AM. For those of you that don't know me... I am an early riser. It is very, very rare that I sleep past 8AM, so I really needed the sleep!!!

I always enjoy time at my parents home because it is relaxing. We all enjoy reading, so I get time to do that as well as just lounge with the folks. It might bore some folks to tears, but I love it. This trip was no different.

After I got out of bed that first morning and my Dad greeted me by jokingly saying, "Good Afternoon", I had some breakfast. Their breakfast area has a nice bay window that their cats often enjoy. For their viewing pleasure, my parents provide the neighborhood squirrels with sunflowers seeds!

The cats and the squirrels have quite a relationship that includes taunting each other and seeing who is tougher!! Here is Hattie staking her claim to the squirrel on the ledge.

Hattie stalking the squirrel...

"BOO!! That's right squirrel... run, run far away!!!"

Hattie- don't be so sure you won this round. Look behind you!!!

Later that day, Mom came home from school so we headed out and enjoyed a nice lunch. It gave us some Girl Time so we could catch up. And what Girl Time would be complete without a pedicure!? So, we did just that.

The rest of the evening was relaxing and lazy. The next day was similar. We did venture out for lunch though. We went to this local hole-in-the-wall place with YUMMY Po' Boys. I enjoyed a wonderful Shrimp Po' Boy with a side of my favorite dessert... sweet tea!

That evening we took it easy. Mom grilled some steaks and we called it an early night... the next day we were heading on a mini-trip to celebrate July 4th. And we went to a very ironic place... check out the next blog to find out WHY it was ironic!!!

Check us out...

PetRelocation.com was featured on the news this morning!! Some of you may not have believed me when I told you we moved a customer's beloved Siamese Fighting Fish... that story is featured!!

Here is the video:



(Remember for those of you that receive this via email, you may have to go to my blog to watch the video.)

Here is the story from KXAN.com:

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Evonna Patanella and her daughter have a big move ahead of them.

"We're moving to Singapore," said Patanella. "It's not like moving in the U.S. where you can load up a truck and drive and get there."

Besides moving the furniture there are two things that can't be left behind Abby and Tessa the family dogs.

But getting the pets to Singapore is a complicated process. From health documents to having them quarantined, it can be confusing. Luckily, an Austin company is helping them out.

"We do door-to-door logistics, pick up at the residence, deliver to airport, all the flight bookings, and then pack up and deliver on the receiving end," said Rachel Farris with Pet Relocation.

And since Pet Relocation started the service has moved some interesting animals.

"We've moved frogs from Switzerland, 14 horses to Honduras," said Farris.

Even a Siamese fighting fish was moved to Amsterdam.

"We had an employee that worked for Starbucks and she had a fish named Franchesco," said Farris. "She always called him her significant other, it was her dearly beloved fish."

So loved, she paid $2,500 to move that fish.

To get overseas Pet Relocation recommends using Continental or KLM.

"We only use airlines that have staff set up to watch the pets to make sure they are staying healthy, staying hydrated, and they are going to arrive safe," said Farris.

And while it's hard to make beloved pet travel thousands of miles, it is nice to know someone is making sure they get there safely.

Pet relocation services start around $1,000.

- Kate Weidaw

Jason & Amy Plus Eight...

We added to our family this weekend... 8 new fishies!! If you have ever had an aquarium, you know that you go through cycles with its residents. The life span of your average fish isn't terribly long but its not an exact science. Slowly, our older fish have been passing until we were just down to two fish! The types of fish that we have in our tank are considered "Tropical Community" which means that each fish needs to have at least one or two friends that are the same as they are. They travel in schools. So, our two survivors just seemed so lonely to me. On Saturday, I went to PetsMart and stocked up!! I got eight new fish in total and I was closely supervised when I got home with them...

Zoe is the keeper of many things in our house. We call her the "Gate Keeper" for our staircase because she sits up high and reaches out to touch anyone that passes. She is the keeper of all things small and random that might find their way on the floor (see this post). She is also the keeper of the aquarium. She guards them closely and can very often be found curled up asleep on top of the tank. She watches them and gives them "high fives" against the glass all the time. So, when I brought in the new residents, it was no different.

When you bring home new fish, they have to remain in their baggies for about 10 minutes so that they can adjust to the temperature of their new tank. So, Zoe fully inspected this process.

She paced around the tank and talked to them. I could only guess she was warmly welcoming them to their new home. At one point, she got irritated with me. I guess I was blowing her cover. So, she popped up and gave me a talking to.

Gypsy would really care less but being the nosey cat that she is, she couldn't let Zoe have all the fun. She checked it out for a little while.

Once the time had come to move them from the baggies to the tank, Zoe was on hand for that as well. Then as the new guys swam around checking out their new pad, she showed them around...

As I mentioned, Gypsy really could care less. So, she took a snooze while all of this was going on.

Then she got irritated by my hovering too.

She moved to the floor. She has this funny way of stretching out her back legs so that her entire stomach is flat on the ground.

So, as you can see, there was much activity in our house on Saturday. The Girls made sure that everyone was in their place and warmly welcomed. Our tank is now full of pretty colors and new life!

June 25, 2009...

Today's headline: "Michael Jackson, Dead at Age 50". WOW. As I sit down to write this, he has officially been dead for 2 hours and it is still crazy to me. I found out the official word just before I left work for the day.

I was caught in traffic today as I made my way home so this made my normal one hour drive even longer. As I drove, radio stations were playing back to back songs by Michael. Never once in an hour and a half did I hear a repeated song... and they only scratched the surface of his vast library of music. At first it was very sad and almost eerie. Even the DJs were somber. Then my ALL TIME favorite song by him came on- "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)". I was about 8 years old when this song came out and 26 years later, it is still my favorite. At that time, I began celebrating! I sang and danced (as much as I could behind the wheel) and had a great time. Cheyenne and Tucker probably didn't truly appreciate the celebrations... oh well. I dare you to click that link above for that song and NOT find yourself dancing around the room. :o)

On the radio, a caller made a comment that this day marked "D Day for Pop Culture". Although that may be extreme, in some way, it is true. Think about it...MJ was the "King of Pop" and was considered the biggest artist in the world. It didn't matter how strange he was, how much he manipulated his body or what strange mask he made his children wear... he was still adored all over the world. He was still able to sell out arena at record-breaking speeds. He shaped my generation and the music we listened to. The "Thriller" video changed the way we saw music videos and everyone learned every step of that dance!

And who could forget "We Are The World" which Michael co-wrote. I still remember when my parents gave me the album (yes... vinyl!). I had a t-shirt too. It was the first time I remember my music of choice contributing to a charity. As a 10 year old, it made ME aware of famine in Africa. I wore that t-shirt proudly, knew every word of the song and wore out that record.

Every boy in my 5th grade class owned a red and black jacket with zippers all over it. Some of them even wore a sequined white glove to school!! (Don't knock it... there were many days that I sported the lace Madonna gloves!!)

In many ways, Michael could be considered my generation's Elvis. They both died tragically young (Elvis was 42) and with the initial reports regarding what may have caused Michael's death- they may have even died the same way. They both had a remarkable following and built huge enterprises. They were both extremely eccentric people, often controversial and pioneers in their genre of music. They pushed the boundaries of what was considered popular and acceptable. Countless numbers of artists credit them as their inspiration. Followers of Elvis can, to this day, tell you where they were when they heard the news he had died. I am sure I will always remember where I was when the news first broke about MJ. He will forever be a part of my childhood and our pop culture history.

A few months ago, I went to a Justin Timberlake Sing-Along at the Alamo Drafthouse with a group of my girlfriends. You better believe that when they have a Michael Jackson Sing-Along, I will be front and center... with a white glove, moon walking through the aisles.

Michael Joseph Jackson
August 29, 1958 - June 25, 2009

This Day in History...

Take a look at all the fascinating things that happened on this date in history...

1812- The War of 1812 began when the US Congress declared war on Great Britain and Ireland.

1815- Napoleon was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo.

1923- Checker Taxi put its first taxi on the streets.

1928- Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean.

1940- Winston Churchill delivers his famous "Finest Hour" speech.

1942- Sir Paul McCartney was born. Film Critic Robert Ebert was born.

1952- Actress Isabella Rosselini was born.

1966- Canadian ice skating champion Kurt Browning was born.

1967- Jimi Hendrix burns his guitar on stage at the Monterrey Pop Festival in the California.

1975- 5:47PM Shaunna Chapman was born. 8:36PM Amy Koliba was born.

1976- Country singer Blake Shelton was born.

1980- "Blues Brothers" with Dan Akroyd and John Belushi premieres.

1983- The 7th Shuttle Mission (Challenger 2) launches. Sally Ride becomes the first US woman in space.

June 18th is quite a day, huh??

Best City in the Country...

I have always thought that Austin was one of THE best places to live. There are TONS of reasons for this and I could spend a whole blog entry about it. However, I will save that for another time! This blog is to share that even Forbes thinks Austin is the best place to be!!!

Forbes has named the Austin/Round Rock area their top pick for the best city on their "Best and Worst Cities for Recession Recovery". According to Forbes.com:

Austin - Round Rock, Texas
BEST POISED FOR RECOVERY

Current GDP: $72.4 billion
End of 2010: $77.7 billion (projected)
Unemployment: 5.8%

From now to the end of 2010, the economy of Austin is projected to grow by $5 billion, and unemployment has stayed relatively subdued. The city's diverse economy, home to Dell, the University of Texas and the Texas state government, has kept the economy strong.

Overall, Texas fared pretty well on the complete "best" list:

2. Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR
3. Boulder, CO
4. Huntsville, AL
5. San Antonio, TX
6. Mobile, AL
7. Dallas-Ft. Worth-Arlington, TX
8. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, CD, MD, W.VA
9. McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX
10. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA

Here is the complete article.

Forbes has also named the Austin-Round Rock area number one of their "Best Big Cities for Jobs" list! Again, Texas represented itself on that list too!!

2. Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX
3. San Antonio, TX
4. Ft. Worth-Arlington, TX
5. Dallas-PLano-Irving, TX
6. Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA
7. Salt Lake City, UT
8. Raleigh-Cary, NC
9. Oklahoma City, OK
10. Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR/WA

So, as you can see, it really IS a great place to be!!

Oh, Baby Baby!!!

Yes, another baby shower post... :o) Luckily, I was just a guest at this one and didn't have to plan anything! On Saturday morning I went to a baby boy shower for my friend Shaunna. She is due July 27th. If you have been reading my blog for a while, you will know Shaunna because Jason and went to her wedding in the US Virgin Islands last year.

I met my friend Kitt in North Austin so that we could ride together. This was nice because it allowed us some time to visit but it was also intended to help Kitt!! Those of you that know her, know that she is a TRUE South Austin girl... she grew up there, works there, her family is there so she has little need to ever go North of the river. So, when I saw that the shower was going to be in Round Rock, I knew that would be the equivalent of driving to Dallas for Kitt! She was relieved when I offered. :o)

Shaunna had the right idea with this shower... the Hostesses threw the shower but did it at HER house! This accomplished so many things... first of all, they just bought this house a couple of months ago, so many people hadn't seen it yet- check off the Housewarming Party!!! Second, there had to be some construction done by Heath to make Luke room complete, so everyone got to see the nursery! (Great job Heath!!) And to top it all off- Shaunna didn't have to load up the gifts to head home and she could relax in her own home after everyone left. Brilliant idea!

We had a nice time visiting with everyone. They had some yummy food and a beautiful cake!!

I have known Shaunna since high school so I know her two daughers, her sister and mother pretty well. We got to know each other even better during our trip to the USVI. We also have many mutual friends from high school. We took advantage of that and got a photo of all of us.

(L to R: Christina, Jennifer, me, Shaunna, Cedar, Kitt and Melissa.)

(Shaunna's youngest daughter, Paige and Shaunna's Mom.)

There was a lot of belly-rubbin' going on at the shower. Little Luke was very active and made sure that everyone remembered that we were there to celebrate HIM!!!

After the gifts were opened, we all visited for a little while... then the coolest thing ever happened!!! I was greeted by one of the guests I didn't know and she told me that she wanted to introduce herself. She told me her name was Heather and that my Mom had been her Kindergarten teacher!! She told me how, to this day, my Mom was her favorite teacher and that she had meant so much to her. It was SOOO neat to hear and I can't wait to tell my Mom. But wait- the story gets EVEN better! We talked about what she had been up to so that I could fill in my Mom. She mentioned that she and her husband lived in Leander! I told her I did too!! Then I told her that we lived in the North Creek subdivision... she did too!! Then she said the name of her street... same street we live on! I told her our house number... she told me hers and she lives 3 houses down from us!!!! Isn't that crazy!? We laughed and laughed! So, I hope that when my Mom visits next time to get the two of them together... Oh and one more thing. I found out later that she is the sister-in-law to a guy that I went to Kindergarten and High School with!! It just keep making this world smaller and smaller!

Kitt and I visited a bit more and then headed out. We went to lunch and then she headed South and I headed back to Leander. It was a great day. Heath & Shaunna- we are so excited for you and we can't wait to meet Little Luke!!!

Mr & Mrs. Bates...

Over the weekend a sweet friend of mine married her best friend. Raqui and I worked at Samsung together but have kept in touch. We have dinner and happy hours with friends and have celebrated weddings, babies and new houses. She began dating Jason some time ago and has been really, really happy! She just lights up when she talks about him and they are super cute when they are together. He takes good care of my friend.

Their wedding this weekend was a quiet and intimate ceremony with a small guest list. When I say small, I mean non-existent!! :o) It was just her and Jason with a minister in front of a fountain in downtown Austin. Although her friends and I could kill her for not letting us in on their big news, the intimate setting for their wedding fits the couple perfectly.


So, since none of us were there to hear these words, I will officially announce it here on my blog...

I would like to introduce, for the very first time, Mr & Mrs. Jason Bates....

Congratulations guys! We are super happy for you!

My weekend...

Whew what a weekend! A lot happened... all good stuff!!!

Saturday morning started with Jason and I working in our back yard. When we bought the house, the backyard had a Dog Run along the back part of the fence. Here is a picture from the Realtor listing...

(We sold the playscape shortly after we moved in.)

I wanted to keep it because it was very well built and I thought our dogs might use it. Well... we've never used it at all!! So, after some discussion, we decided to dismantle it and make use of that valuable lawn space. Jason had worked on taking it part over the last couple of weeks. Then on Saturday, I got out there and helped him clear the land and fill the post holes. It looks great!!!

Even though it was only a few feet deep, it makes our back yard look much bigger!

Then Saturday evening, I went to see a play with my friend Kasi. From now on, I am going to call her "NMB Kasi". Why? Well, because even though I have known her for almost 3 years, I have never managed to get a single picture with her. So, I promise she is Not Make Believe... :o) She exists... in fact she is one of my very best friends and I adore her to pieces. I am sure there will be an opportunity to get a picture together when I join NMB Kasi, her mother and sister on a Girl's Trip to Disneyworld this fall!!! More on that in future posts...

So, NMB Kasi and I went to a small community theater in Leander called the "Way Off Broadway Community Players". They did a production of "The Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged)".
It was a hilarious play done by only 3 actors. They comically pack all of Shakespeare's tragedies, romances and other plays into one! It was really funny and done pretty well for a small production company. It was a small and intimate theater that held MAYBE 50 people. NMB Kasi and I whooped and hollered as the actor carried out the play and had a lot of interaction with the audience! If you ever see that this play is showing somewhere, I highly recommend it.

While I was at the play, Jason was hanging out at home. My Dad was coming through town to do a Summer Camp in Boerne. He stayed with us Saturday night. It was late when I got home so we didn't visit a lot. The next morning before church, all three of us went to breakfast and had some good time to catch up then.

Sunday was a big day for me! I was officially recognized as a member of my new church. I have been attending Hill Country Bible Church Leander since Easter and have REALLY enjoyed it!! During the service, they brought the new members up to be announced and they gave us a cool rock.
Don't let the size deceive you... that sucker is heavy! It is solid granite! I put a soda can next to it so you get an idea of the true size.

Jason and my Dad attended the service as well, so it was nice to have them there for that. After the service, I said my goodbyes to my Dad and Jason headed home. The second phase of my day had just begun... no one is going to believe this.... I am now a Sunday School teacher!!!

That's right, last Sunday marked the beginning of a one year commitment I have made to teach 3rd Grade Sunday School! I haven't done anything like this since VBS during my high school years! I am paired up with another teacher that has been doing this same age group for 2 years, so that was a big help. It went REALLY well!! There are a couple of kids that are a handful, but we had fun anyway. We have Small Group time with just our age group and then we go to a Children's Worship Service. We get to sing and dance and be silly with the kids. Then we return for the lesson and projects. It was great!

So, that was my weekend!! This week marks the last full week for Jason to be in his current position at work. For those that don't know... the short story is that his company laid off a bunch of people as well as announced some branch closures. The branch he works at wasn't closed, but his position was eliminated. They offered him another position within the company which he took. It is actually what he was doing before his current position, so the job duties won't be unfamiliar to him but the hours will be... he is on 2nd shift. Yuck. So, we are looking at the positive of the situation and focusing on that (and there ARE a lot of positives). It will take some adjustments, but we will make it work!

It will be a busy June... I am going to two baby showers, celebrating my birthday, my Dad visits again and summer is our busiest time at work!

Texas- seriously???

In all my travels, I have never been to a state that has as much pride as Texas. We love our state, we love our people and we love our culture. We are creative, we have a conservative government in a state of many liberals, we have ocean front, desert, lush hills and proud mountains. We've got the hippies, millionaires, ranchers and yuppies.

We enjoy reminding outsiders that prior to joining the US, we were our own Republic and if you ask most Texans we will tell you that WE are the largest state... because if you melt all the ice in Alaska, there isn't much left. :o)

Also, we love our trucks. Most major truck makers have a "Lone Star Edition" or "Texas Truck". You don't see a "Cincinnati Edition" or a "Phoenix Truck" anywhere.

So, given all of these things... how is it that we have "voted" on the ugliest license plate?? Look at this thing...

Earlier this year, Texans were allowed to vote on the next design. Here were the other choices:

And our current plate:

Granted none of them were really that great, but I believe they represent more of what Texas has to offer. I want to know WHO voted for the winner?? According to the Texas Department of Transportation, 455,878 of you! Well, not a single person I have talked to were a part of that number. I certainly wasn't. Thank goodness my car is fairly new and I won't have to get these plates any time soon.

Think what you want... its my Blog, so I say... Seriously???