Sorry I haven't updated this in a while. Needless to say, I have been super-busy seeing everyone. I've loved every second of it.
My second leg of the solo road trip was 12 hours, over 700 miles, from Knoxville to Atlanta, TX. The second I crossed the TX border, Pancho and Lefty came on the radio. I called my cousin Amy, who lives in Atlanta, and she let me crash in Ella's room. (Ella wouldn't let me sleep in her sleeping bag - It barely fit over my knees). Amy, her husband Mark and I stayed up a little late visiting with a few libations. The next day we went to lunch with Jerry and Ellen O'Rear, Amy's parents. It was my first real Mexican food in TX and heavenly. :)
The final leg of my trip was from Atlanta to Austin, where I went straight to Katie & Kevin's. (Katie is my BFF from childhood). During my stay, we went to Uchiko, hung out with our friend Amanda, and I'm pretty sure Katie got the worst hangover in history from our late night porch-shenanigans.
I then went to my Dad's house for the week of Easter. I got to see everyone. It was so much fun. My sister brought her two boys, Sutton and Mason. I must say that being around two very small kiddos has made me think twice about having one of our own. :) They are so freaking adorable, though. I told Kaeli that I was saving my diaper changing for my first baby, so I was able to get out of poopy diapers that weekend. Dad made TONS of food. I got to eat my favorites: hot beans, chicken and dumplings, chicken-friend venison with cream gravy, breakfast tacos. This is why I lost weight in Virginia. There is NO way I ate this well in Virginia. :)
I went to Mom's after Easter. I stopped in Refugio to see my Great Aunt Wynona and my cousin Nancye. I also stopped to see my "Mother-of-Color", Laura. It was great to catch up. My cousin Bill came to the ranch to visit. We got to catch up for a few hours. He wanted to come back out the next night, but the dude works too much. :) The best part was seeing my Mom and Step-Dad. I got to spend a lot of time with my madre and we caught up on a lot of things. I was also able to show her where I will be living, which I think put her at ease a bit.
THEN, on Friday the 13th, I drove to Houston to see my friends! OH THE FUN WE HAD! It was a blast. I first went to the Live Nation office and saw a bunch of peeps I used to work with and met a few new ones too. The office is a lot quieter than when I worked there, but I'm sure April will liven it up. :) We went to lunch at Bubba's, which is where April and I used to sneak off to when I worked for her. Buffalo burgers and beers! Then we went to her & Jeff's house in Spring. I'm so proud of them for what they've done and where they've been. I hope our adventures will allow us the experiences they've had and places they've been. April invited my friends Mandy and Melissa to her house on Saturday for a pool party. It was great to see them and catch up on the last 5-10 years with everyone. Jeff and April saved St. Arnold's Christmas Ale from last year for me. It was GLORIOUS! We got out the BB guns and were shooting beers cans with their two boys. Also, the Gotye song "Someone That I Used To Know" will forever remind me of Jeff, April, Trent & William. I think we may have had a few too many libations considering my friend, Melissa, chipped her teeth (plural) on the bottom of the pool. (T-Hee). All was well - they were fixed by Monday afternoon. I also met their neighbor, Penny, who lived in Qatar for five years with her husband. She shared a wealth of information with me about Qatar and enlightened me on what to expect and how to handle myself in public. I am pretty sure I'll be keeping in touch with her during my trip.
After Houston, I drove back down to Victoria to work. My company sent some work to my Dad's house, so I hung out there for a few days to see the parentals and finish my work. This was the first "goodbye" experience with family. It sucked. That's all I can say. I know I'll be back in a year or so, but ugh....no me gusta. I said goodbye to my Yorkie, Leya as well. She will not be able to go with us because of her age. I don't think she would like the heat and the veterinary care is not up to par for her needs. I grabbed Joon and off we went back to Austin.
I had an appointment with Katie on Thursday, April 19th, so I headed up there on Wednesday afternoon. She fixed my teeth! Finally the stained one in the front is white and I love it. LOVE IT. She also repaired a crappy filling my last dentist gave me. We hung out with our friend Amanda on Thursday night and Katie's husband, Kevin, made his famous burgers. I seriously have dreams about these burgers. My good friend John, and his girlfriend, came to visit that night as well. Joon terrorized Katie and Kevin's two cats, Major and Monty, all weekend. Those poor kitties were probably glad to see us leave. Kevin - thank you for carrying my bag up the stairs!
After Katie's, I drove to Goliad to see my Mom, Aunt, Uncle, two cousins and their fiancee's. That brings us to now. Last night I went to my Aunt and Uncle's house at the ranch and they made burgers for us. Then the kids took over. We had some beers, played a board game and sat around the campfire. The weather was great and so was the company. I love those kids...and their future-wives. :) I always have fun with them and am excited for both of them and their bright futures. Mom and I have been relaxing all day, which I need, because I have a feeling this next week will be very hectic.
Brian flies into Houston tonight and I'll drive up there in the morning. After that, I have NO IDEA what our plan will be. I'll write again before we leave to update again before our journey overseas begins. We leave on April 30th from Houston to Frankfurt to Doha. It's getting real!!! Can't wait.
