She Likes Purple

Friendiversary

When we were 11, I made Natalie buy best friend necklaces. Like, all the time. You know, the really cool yin-yang-type necklaces that turned your skin green ten seconds after you put one on. I made her buy about a million of them.

It's not easy to be friends with me, but this lady has it down. She's been doing it for 20 years. 

Good, bad, really good, really bad. She's been there. And even when she wasn't there, she was there. Maybe especially then.

In college, I was having big issues with another friend. I was sad about it, so I called Natalie. When I got engaged at 5am, I called Natalie. (Fine, Mike made me wait a couple hours, so it was more like 7am.) On my honeymoon, when Mike was snorkeling and I was bored of my (really not fit for beach-reading) book, I called Natalie. When I found out I was pregnant, I called Natalie. 

She hated the term "friendiversary" that I said about a million times over the weekend. She hated it but laughed while hating it. I like to think that while Natalie and I are so very different, we always find a way to laugh. I like to think that's our language. 

When Natalie and I were in middle school, we lived just blocks apart. We'd walk to each other's houses, nearly every day, through our neighbors' yard. Over the course of four years, we created a ditch in that yard. We walked so often through it, we changed it.

This is Natalie's friendship, in a nutshell. It's changed me. 

Twenty years. Man, that's a long time to be so lucky.

The Best

Mike and I have finally begun putting together a living room we can be proud of. It's only taken four years to start this project and it'll only take (I'm sure) another four, but hell I'm calling any progress a victory at this point. 

In January, we painted the walls a nice steel gray, and we've bought frames for the many pictures we want to hang on them. Over our couch, we've decided to hang travel photos, just scenery shots, and it was such a fun ride through vacation memory lane, choosing which pictures we should display. We chose one from Puerto Rico, Chicago, St. John, Boston and in the middle we hope to find just the right photo from College Station. That might not be your vacation city of choice but all this travel, all this everything, began with that tiny Texas town.

Of course we chose a photo from the family roadtrip we took in the summer of 2011 (here, here). You might remember that trip if you've been reading my blog since then. We traveled through Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, and a tiny bit of Arizona for a family wedding. We took Kyle, then two and a half, and Molly, then (and now) a giant but lovable pain in the ass.

As I searched through the hundreds of photos from the trip for just the right one to frame, I remembered how we almost didn't go. My car broke down (to the tune of many dollars) the week before the trip and the day before the trip Kyle got a Mystery Fever. No money and a feverish child. Yeah, that screams fun family vacation.

But, against all rational thought, we took the trip. We packed the car, we booked a couple cheap hotel rooms, we filled a cooler with snacks and filled my laptop with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse episodes, and we hoped for the best. 

We ate burgers in Amarillo, drank margaritas in Santa Fe. We hiked in Arches National Park while watching a storm roll through one of the most beautiful places I had ever seen before or have ever seen since. Kyle threw up in the backseat on a particularly curvy Colorado mountain road but then we saw a deer inches from our car a few moments later, and he quickly cheered up. We visited the Four Corners. We graffitied the cars at Cadillac Ranch. We introduced Kyle to family he'd never met and we sat around the hotel pool with them, catching up and slapping mosquitoes against our arms. Mike's parents treated us to a once-in-a-lifetime helicopter ride above Gateway Canyons, where we stayed for the wedding. We off-roaded to visit Shiprock.

We also had this one giant fight, on a New Mexico highway late one night as Kyle slept in the backseat. It was ridiculous, as many giant fights tend to be, and Mike and I stewed quietly after it ended. I went to sleep angry. He slept with his back to me. We apologized in the morning, after coffee, a good night's sleep, and a strong dose of perspective, and we shared a family hug in our cheap hotel room before eating the worst continental breakfast we'd ever had.

There was also this beautiful moment on a straight stretch of road, driving out of Utah as the sun was setting one night. Kyle had just fallen asleep and Mike and I were talking about anything, nothing, I don't even remember. Maybe our trip, maybe stopping for gas, maybe Kyle. I think my favorite thing about my relationship with Mike, or maybe just my relationship with anyone I've loved so long, is the ease of conversation. You realize how rare that is, as you get older, when there is no anxiety or self-consciousness or even awareness of what you're saying. You just talk. It's like breathing, talking to Mike, and I realized on that Utah road that I was just so damn grateful we decided to say yes to a trip we nearly said no to. 

It was one of the most incredible trips, no weeks, of my entire life. It was magical, it was beautiful, it was exhausting, it was fun, even the fight, even the carsickness, even the bad felt good on that trip. 

We almost said no, but then we said yes. We hoped for the best, and that's exactly what we got. 

No other reason to write this than I just wanted to remember all of that today. 

(I plan to share the living room makeover when the room is done, of course. So see you for that in 2017.)

What To Do: Eat a Few Pretzels at Mellow Mushroom

This isn't exactly a super unique recommendation because there are Mellow Mushrooms all over the damn place but, let me tell you, if there is one near you, head there immediately and get a half order of the pretzels as your entree. Get the regular butter and kosher salt flavor and add a side of beer cheese.

One of the best things I've eaten in ages. 

Oh, and if you're me, you'd probably add a draft beer to the side of those pretzels. 

Kyle's Fourth Birthday Party

I love birthdays, as you likely know, and I really love the birthdays of my boys. (And, yes, of Molly. We bought her a big piece of delicious cake last year and I know it was delicious because I ate it all. That was a good day.) (I totally thought I blogged about Molly's last birthday and intended to link to it but, nope, around her birthday I was blogging about Taylor Kitsch and Whole Foods smoothies. NO WONDER SHE SIDE-EYES ME SO OFTEN.) Anyway, what's tough about Kyle's birthday is that February is Texas' usually coldest but also most unpredictable weather month. One year, we reached insane freezing temperatures for like a solid week. (I really thought I blogged about that horrible icy week of terrible cold but nope. I'm apparently a poor excuse for a blogger.) This year, it was 68 degrees the day before his party. The day of his party, of course, it was cold and overcast and windy, and I was super grumpy about it. 

Like really fucking grumpy. 

I went to Target that morning to buy all the things I still needed to buy (and many things I didn't still need to buy) and just stomped around the store and tweeted about how grumpy I was and stomped some more and then comfort bought a pair of earrings. (This was after I had already comfort ate a donut from Kyle's donut cake.)

The party turned out a-okay--as these things just turn out, of course--especially in Kyle's adorable four-year-old eyes. He was happy the entire time and he ran around outside in the cold, with his friends (and even without a coat!), and laughed and laughed and laughed. And laughed.

(That bottom right picture is candy grabbing post-pinata breaking, in case you thought we encouraged a kid brawl or something.)

We chose a dinosaur theme--and by we, I completely mean me because I pushed the theme on Kyle like the overbearing, birthday-obsessed mom I unapologetically am--but it was still my favorite theme ever. (And, don't worry, Kyle really liked it too.)

We set up pools of sand on the porch for faux-fossil digs. I buried a bunch of tiny plastic dinosaurs in the sand and let the kids take home whatever they unearthed.

Mike drew dinosaur feet on the front walk with chalk. (I just have to quickly give a shout-out to Elizabeth, who I stole the party idea from last year, and when I asked her where she found her dinosaur feet, she said, "Oh, I drew them with chalk" and I immediately thought THIS IS WHY ELIZABETH NEEDS TO LIVE IN TEXAS. I could stress eat donuts and she could just calmly fix my party problems.)

One thing Kyle chose all on his very own was his donut cake. We went back and forth on his cake for a while and he finally said, "I want donuts with candles." At first I thought we'd just buy two donuts, stick four candles in them, and call it a day, but then I decided donuts sounded good for everyone. And they were good for everyone. I could use one of those donuts right now, truth be told.

It was a good day, and when I put Kyle to bed that night, he told me that he loved his party, that he had the best day, and while I still have memories of grumpily stomping around Target because of the stupid effing clouds, the bigger memories are the ones of Kyle grinning.

Kyle grinning trumps a whole lot. 

He's four! I still can't believe it.

Bring it, Holidays.

Lights up BEFORE Thanksgiving, like holiday bosses. (I would have put our lights up in July and by I, I mean Mike, but he wouldn't. Scrooge.)

I look at this photo and realize that while Texas may not technically be part of the South, it's a very Southern thing to put up Christmas lights in t-shirts. Promise it was 70ish when this photo was snapped! We're not forcing manual labor without the proper wardrobe!

I also have our Christmas menu all figured out. (Post to come.)

I'm excited about the holidays this year, if you couldn't tell. Partly because my sister and her family are coming to celebrate with us, for the first time ever (as a family), partly because my Christmas menu includes mimosas and carbs, and partly because I hope my mom buys me SOMETHING off this list. She's usually the one I can count on to (not really) surprise me with one thing I (really) want.

Good things, basically. The next month is full of good things.

(Continually updating our holiday plan here! Two cross-outs already. HOLIDAY BOSSES.)

I Didn't Break Open the Champagne Until Midnight. I'm Tired Today.

I've been with Mike for almost nine years. The year we began dating, President Bush was elected to a second term. In 2008, I sat on my couch, pregnant and hopeful, and watched those numbers roll in and when they were indisputable, I broke open a bottle of champagne and drank a (smallish) glass. It felt big, important, special. I had voted for the president. I liked that a lot. (I also wrote this because I liked a lot of people who didn't like it a lot, and I respected and understood that.)

Still, while my husband was happy for me and happy for the last election's results, he stayed mostly politically apathetic. I didn't blame him. It's a lot to watch an election's madness. It's even more to become invested in it. 

He knows my political thoughts, of course, and I don't think he disagrees with them. He just prefers not to talk about that stuff at dinner parties or even at our own dinner table. Again, I don't blame him much for that. 

All that's to say, I was surprised he decided to vote this year. Pleasantly, wonderfully, cried-actual-tears surprised. He said he did it for me, and if that's actually true, it's one of the best gifts he's ever given me. Voting means a lot to me, but I can't ask it to mean a lot to him. That he did it anyway made me fall in love with him all over again.

President Obama didn't take Texas, not even close, but we voted for our president, my husband and I. I like that a lot.

If you don't like it, and I know there are many of you, I hope you're given the time and space to be upset. No one should possibly begrudge you for feeling emotional. It was a lengthy, exhausting road to get here. 

I'll even share my champagne, if you need a glass. You might feel like celebrating something after a couple glasses. 

***

President Obama supporters, I have to share this picture with you. How awesome, right?  

Vote Cast

I live in Texas, a red, red state, and while my state won't go to my guy (and even if the whole shebang doesn't go to my guy), I was proud to vote all the same. Although, I will say that my polling place was prepping for some sort of church potluck when I showed up Friday night and I didn't find it all that fair to have to stare at so many pies without being offered a single slice. 

You can kinda see my "I voted" sticker on my jacket.

No matter how tonight swings, I think we've all earned a piece of pie for getting through this election madness with our minds in tact. Or, in my case, as in tact as it was before.

(And because adorable is a nice way to end all things political, if you ask Kyle who his mommy voted for he'll say, "THE O MAN!" Come on, that's cute no matter how you politically lean, am I right?)

TNT's Dallas Premiere

I was invited to a screening of TNT's new version of Dallas -- set to premiere June 13 -- last night, and when I read "screening" in the email, I thought I'd sit in a room with other bloggers, watching the pilot and tweeting. (My brain, it is adorable.) Guys, I can watch/tweet the heck out of a TV show, just ask anyone who has ever met me, and I also like going out on work nights from time to time, where there might be adult beverages and fancy snacks. So, yeah. I was game.

I noticed the screening was at a somewhat fancyish opera house in town, but the dress said business casual, so my mind assumed it was in a room within the opera house or maybe that was just the point of reference and it would be nearby? Or maybe they were pulling out the stops for a small group of tv-loving bloggers.

I invited A'Dell and we grabbed dinner beforehand. I was wearing a (cute, I think) dress from Target, and while I wasn't going to stop traffic, I thought it was appropriate for a small blogger-type event with a business casual dress-code.

Yeah. My thoughts. They were off-base.

It was the premiere! Of the show! With all the actors and media and probably C-list stars from Dallas-based reality shows! On a red carpet!

As far as I could tell, not a single other person was wearing Target.

There were plenty of people wearing ballgowns, though. With sequins. That kicked-off a fun game in my head I now call Who Invited the Poor Suburban Mom to This Fancy Event?

(At one point, we had to actually walk down the red carpet and on one side was a fountain-type wading pool and A'Dell said, "Please don't fall in," as I was taking a picture. She said it with experience as my friend, you guys. She said it because if there was anyone in the world to be invited to a fancy tv show premiere and then FALL IN THE FOUNTAIN, it would be me.)

Still, you know, it was a crazy awesome people-watching opportunity and I don't think I'll ever be in a room with Patrick Duffy again (or Parker from Veronica Mars!) so I enjoyed it. Even though I kept thinking WHY AM I WEARING COTTON? It was exciting. Also, a high-up at TNT gave a very sweet talk about how he took his now-wife out on their first date the night of the original Dallas series finale and they're still married and look! He's J.R.'s boss now! It was really cute.

Unfortunately, the show was....oh guys....not great. I know, this is coming from a girl who is very liberal with her DVR "record" button and who just last week watched (and enjoyed!) a few episodes of Hart of Dixie.

I thought it might have potential, being filmed in Dallas -- a grittier, less-produced feel or something -- but it fell short. The storyline also went wildly all over the place and the dialogue was so cheesy and emotionless, I literally rolled my eyes at times. While the end had a fun twist (sorta) that might lure viewers to tune in again, the twist happened standing on the star of Cowboys Stadium. Who schemes on the 50-yard-line of a football field? It was reminding you, too often, that this was happening in Texas, YEE-HAW.

Pilots are generally bad, I know, so perhaps the kinks will get worked out. I just couldn't help but think of Friday Night Lights, a show also filmed in Texas -- a show with "Texas Forever" as one of its catchphrases -- but a show that was basically about Anytown USA. It had such heart. (Why was I not invited to THAT premiere, I wonder!)

Anyway, some photos I snapped.

You can't tell, but I'm wearing my new Texas necklace. This is what I planned to lead with if anyone questioned my non-ballgown-attire. DO YOU SEE MY TEXAS NECKLACE. I HAVE MAD STATE PRIDE.

Do you see the very faint arrow? That guy was hugging a lot of people. He was either Someone Very Important or just huggy. Hard to tell.

You can kinda see the pool at the mid-left section of the photo. I did not fall in, praise everything.

I've circled Jesse Metcalfe. He's very pretty. He's also quite possibly the worst actor there has ever been.

This is Josh Henderson. He has been in ... some shows and stuff. I mainly know him as the guy who was dating Ashlee Simpson when her reality show first kicked off. (And I have vague memories of him dumping her via...text or something? Jessica was not impressed.) Anyway, if you just cringed because I WATCHED the Ashlee Simpson Show, I should tell you that it was better than Dallas.

A Perfect Day in Wimberley, Texas

I left town this past weekend (I know, I know, I just got back from leaving town) for a quick girl's weekend in Wimberley, a town nestled about 45 minutes west of Austin.

Kristie and I made these plans months ago, after looking at two very full calendars and realizing it was, quite honestly, the only weekend we could have a girl's weekend in 2012.

So, I thought I'd share our entire itineary from Saturday, our one full day there, because it was such a perfect day. (This way, if you ever find yourself with a day to spend in Wimberley, you can just use this and you never have to Google a thing. I'm like your online concierge! I accept tips, FYI.)

9 a.m.

We woke up, slowly, and then sipped mimosas and coffee in the backyard, watching the Blanco River running behind our rental house.

Note to self: start more days like this.

11 a.m.

We headed to Market Days, a flea market-type event held the first Saturday of each month in Wimberley.

I bought this fabulous ring after offering the (very nice) woman $20 less than she was asking. I still feel a little badly about that, which is proof I am a horrible negotiator.

I don't know how we ever bought a house. Oh, hey! I know! We probably overpaid.

We also picked up this kick-ass mini-motorcycle for Kyle and managed to squeeze it into my friend's Honda Civic (the same one all our bags had to fit in on the drive home). I have new respect for Honda Civics.

1 p.m.

We lunched at the Leaning Pear, which was delicious with such a fantastic ambiance. Sit on the patio, even if it's a little warm. I got half a caprese panini and half a panzanella salad. Both were really tasty.

2:30 p.m.

Dessert at Sugar Shack. Because it's vacation!

3:30 p.m.

We went back to our rental house to relax because eating and shopping isn't relaxing at all. I read on the couch. (An Abundance of Katherines, if you want to get really copy-catty and read the same book I read. Good thing if you do because the book was so good. Recommend!)

4 p.m.

I took the relaxation one step further and napped.

6 p.m.

Headed out for a tasting at a local winery. We settled on Duchman because it was the only one still open, but it turned out to be a great pick. I enjoyed the moscato enough to buy two bottles.

Intensely studying the tasting menu!

Ladies!

Cheers!


8 p.m.

Dinner at Marco's Italian restaurant. The mushroom-and-artichoke dip was incredible. My margherita pizza was just so-so.

10 p.m. to late

We stayed up late talking about...so much. Motherhood, husbands, weddings, good books, bad tv, our next girl's weekend, etc. It was perfect, of course.

I know that getting away, even for a weekend, is impossible for some and I wish I could offer up my child-watching skills so you could steal away for a girl's weekend sometime. (If you're close, let's talk!) But if it's not impossible for you, and you've just been waiting for the right excuse, the right place, the right friends, etc., here's a little nudge to seek those things out sooner rather than later. 

Until next year!

*More photos from our weekend in Wimberley

I Was Employee of the Month January 1999, You Should Know

This story begins as all stories from my teenage years seem to: Fell for the wrong boy, ended up wearing a rat costume. Wait, no, that's actually just this story. Easy mistake!

See, I took a job at Chuck E Cheese the summer after my sophomore year of high school because that's where my then-boyfriend worked. This is the ridiculousness of first love, am I right? I'd be willing to wager all my love for all the bad tv shows on the planet that I am married to exactly who I'm supposed to be married to and I find him to be just the best and would step in front of a train for him and BLAH BLAH BLAH YOU GET IT, HE IS AWESOME, but if he turned to me and said, "Baby, will you work at Chuck E Cheese alongside me, so we can spend that much more time together and so maybe you can even cover a shift or two for me so I can hang out with my going-nowhere friends?" I would probably pat him on the shoulder and say, "Oh, love, fuck off."

Not 16-year-old Jennie, oh no. She said, "THAT IS THE BEST IDEA EVER."

(It was not the best idea ever.)

The thing about Chuck E Cheese (at least late-90s Chuck E Cheese) is that they treated their employees like waitresses. And by treated, I mean paid. I started at $2.10. AN HOUR. I was paid less than $20 a shift. I got tips when I was an exceptionally awesome party host, which was a high percentage of the time when I was a party host. Unfortunately, I was only a party host about twice a week.

So.

That math.

It cuts.

Let's forget about how pathetically I was paid for a quick sec and instead talk about how my 24-year-old boss may have possibly inappropriately hit on me. (Often.)

I know, that's a fun subject turn!

I'm going to tread lightly here because no matter how creepy this man was (and he was), he has still probably heard of Google, and here is what my internet math looks like: heard of Google + one unfortunately specific search = THIS BLOG IS NOT JUST FOR LAUGHS ANYMORE. So, I'll just share this tidbit with you, instead, this conversation that actually happened:

Me: I think I wanna go to New York after high-school. To dance. Professionally.

Him, leering: You could totally be a professional dancer.

(I meant ballet. I am fairly sure he did not mean ballet.)

Another spectacularly awesome part of this job was the early Saturday morning birthday parties. Hey, moms everywhere, if you want  to throw a Chuck E Cheese birthday party but you don't want it to SUCK OUT YOUR SOUL FROM YOUR BODY, throw it first thing in the morning. Empty! Crickets! No one wanted to open on Saturdays because that meant there would only be one or two parties and that meant you'd most likely have to dance alone in front of those parties. (Saturday night meant you never had to dance alone, and I think I just named my next blog.) Yes, you had to dance for the parties you hosted, and there was even a choreographed routine. With arm movements. When no one else was there to dance with you, you were just....dancing in front of them.

Alone.

That's not weird at all!

I worked with a lot of idiots. I know, that's not very kind of me to say, but it is oh-so-painfully true. I worked with my boyfriend, yes, but we also worked with another couple, another pair of high-school sweethearts who were perfectly fine independently. Together they were....concerning.

Their song was "I'll Be" by Edwin McCain, which isn't weird BY ITSELF, that was a super popular song for the time, but they would sing it to each other WHENEVER THEY'D WALK PAST EACH OTHER. They worked together, so you can imagine they passed each other fairly often.

"Hey, can you help me clean up table...YOUR CRYING SHOULDER...six? There was a big spill."

Or, "I think I'm closing Thursday and Friday, so I could probably just cover your shift....WITH THE TRAPPINGS OF LOVE...."

It was a weird work environment.

(Although, hilariously, I was just neurotic enough to pick fights with my boyfriend about how he never sang to me when we passed each other at work. "ARE YOU NOT THE GREATEST FAN OF MY LIFE OR SOMETHING?")

There was also the time we found the joint under a table, during closing. We were STUNNED and APPALLED and SHOCKED that a MOM could possibly bring her KIDS to Chuck E Cheese and irresponsibly get HIGH while watching them. I remember shaking my head for a good half hour, what has this world COME TO, I thought.

When I recently remembered that story, I had a strangely different reaction: Shit, you do what you gotta do, you know?

In February, Kyle was invited to two birthday parties at Chuck E Cheese, and I took him to both. He really wanted to go, and it's hard for me to say no when he gets that excited about anything. I am so damn doomed when he's old enough to ride a motorcycle, aren't I? Anyway, it was kind of a weird full-circle moment to be there.

I used to pity the moms I served, with their screaming kids and cold pizza. Sure, I was awkwardly dancing alone in front of them, but I got to take my $20 and blow it on cheap booze or McDonald's with my stupid boyfriend who I thought hung the moon. I was living the life, back then.

When I was there last month at one of the parties, we had a super sweet waitress who was all enthusiasm and teenage hormones, and as she ran around serving all our screaming kids, she had that look in her eye, that "I can't wait to get to the cheap booze and stupid boyfriend portion of this day" look, and I smiled at her, genuinely, and said, "It gets better. Trust me, it gets so much better."

She looked at me like I was crazy, and she was right. I am pretty crazy. (You know this.) But I'm also confident that in fifteen years she's going to look back and realize I was right too. 

Next time I'll tell you about the time there were snakes in the ball pit. 

Keep Holding His Hand

Last night we had dinner with a friend and her family at a burger joint close to home. It was a beautiful day, just gorgeous. The kind of day that Texas tosses our way from time to time to apologize for what happens from June to September. 

Because it was so beautiful and because dinner was so close, I asked Kyle if he'd like to walk, and he said he would. He's at the age where walking a half mile without being carried can be totally doable or totally impossible, depending on the day, but he was being such a delight, I decided to put some faith in our adventure.

So, we set off. We don't have sidewalks between our house and the main area of town, so he had to hold my hand, of course, but he didn't complain. He held on tight.

He happily chatted the entire time, about the grass and cars and his shoes and watching Yo Gabba Gabba later that night, if he was good at dinner. Then, he kicked some rocks and told me to kick some, too. When I did, he laughed and said, "You kick the rocks very, very good!"

My heart started filling up, as it does in these moments, and I kept looking down at his blond messy head of hair and thinking, "Pause. Please pause this life right here." 

I asked him what he wanted on his burger: cheese, mustard, ketchup, pickles? Do you want fries, too, buds? He stopped, looked up at me, and said, "Mommy! Oh no! I don't have any money! Will you buy me my burger?" 

I laughed so hard, squeezed his hand, and said, "Of course, kid. I'll buy you a burger."

(I have no idea where this came from. We don't make Kyle cough up his own money for his meals despite how full his piggy bank can get.)

I thought about pulling my phone out and trying to snap a picture of this perfect 15-minute walk, this perfect conversation with my hilarious little guy, my best bud, my son. But something inside me whispered, forget the phone, just keep holding his hand. 

So I did.

Remind Me of This Day in August

We've had (so far, knock on all the wood) a pretty mild winter. We've had some pretty cold mornings and a few really chilly days, but the last two years we had already seen snow and ice by now, so I'm going to go ahead and assume that this is Texas' way of apologizing for the hell that was this past summer. 

Of course now that I put all this MILD WINTER-NESS out on the internet, February will be awful, start to finish. 

Anyway, the weather today was especially lovely. Kyle and I raced cars outside (he shockingly declared himself the winner each race) and then he rode his bike around. His feet reach the pedals now, without straining, and he can ride on his own, without help. 

Such a beautiful day, such a beautiful boy. 

13 Things

I'm heading to The Blathering this week (hooray!) and am pretty stoked about it. I love Austin, I love the ladies I've met through the internet and through blogging, and I really love eating. Combine all these things, and the weekend's a win before it even starts.

If you're going, and we don't know each other that well, here's a little about me. (And here are the 13 Things I wrote pre-Blathering in 2009. Many of them still apply!)

1. I want to meet each and every one of the attendees. I love meeting new people, I love finding out what I may have in common with each person. Sure, it's possible we don't read each other's blogs (or don't read them often), but that's okay! We can still become fast friends, and I hope we do.

2. I like karaoke. If the night inches toward that outcome, I'll probably sing "Don't Stop Believin'" loudly and very horribly.

3. I'm training for a half-marathon, so while it's not really of character for me to get up early during a weekend away to run a bunch of miles, I'll be doing just that this weekend.

4. (So, tell me to put the third beer I'll most likely be drinking on Friday night down, ok?)

5. I co-edit and co-manage two awesome sites (Style Lush and Food Lush) that I'm really proud of, but mostly I'm ridiculously excited to have so many of the writers of those sites in one space at one time. (Not to mention, all three editors together for the first time. There will be excited screams, unfortunately for anyone with ears.)

6. I live in Texas, and I'm one of those annoying people who complain constantly about living here while getting stupidly offended if someone else talks badly about it (unless they too live here).

7. I like to have dessert on vacation. So, yeah, who's with me?

8. My phone dies a lot. I need a new, much-better battery, so if you're trying to get a hold of me and I'm not answering and that's becoming really frustrating for you, you now have something in common with my husband. I'll give you his number, and he'll probably answer, so you can commiserate with him.

9. I'll take a tequila shot. I probably won't take any other kind of shot. I don't know what this says about me.

10. I'd rather walk a mile than pay to park, but I realize that's annoying, so I'll try to curb that particular facet of my cheapness this weekend.

11. I plan to bring a big purse, so I can carry a pair of flip-flops with me when we go out at night. I love heels, I just don't wear them often, so this is how I reconcile the new me with the old. Wear the fun shoes! But bring back-up.

12. I have no idea when or how this will work, but I really want to steal away to my favorite Austin coffee shop and just read for a little while. Is there anything that screams VACATION more than reading, in a coffee shop, without anywhere to hurry off to afterward?

13. I plan to eat the heck out of some queso even though queso is readily available to me on a daily basis. (Remind me and Natalie to tell you our HILARIOUS queso story, by the way.)

***

You know, it's kind of overwhelming to travel anywhere to meet a big group of people, especially when you don't know every single person in that group. I'm as nervous as you are, but it'll be fine. We'll have a great time. We'll get to know each other better and leave with fun stories and deeper friendships.

We'll be reminded, for either the first or second or hundredth time, that the internet can be about making money and branding and social media networking and Klout and all that stuff that has its place -- and I actually enjoy a lot of those things! -- but the internet can also be about making real and lasting friendships.

The Blathering is about finally taking those friendships offline, sitting in a backyard with those friends, sipping beers and talking about life together.

See you in Austin!

Where I Force Mike to Record the Accent Vlog with Me

So, yeah, there's this vlog-type thing popping up all over the internet, and it's basically one big, crazy way of proving we all speak kinda weird. Except for me. I speak absolutely awesome.

You'll believe that for another .3 seconds before you hit play.

(While there's a special shout out to Natalie and Jonna (and Adam!), we love you all equally, you must know.)

So, do we have accents?

Texas is Burning

Texas pretty much had the hottest summer on record, with very little rain and a lot of wind. That combination led to fires popping up all over our state, recently and maybe most well-known in and around Austin.

Thousands of homes were burned down, destroyed, or damaged and while I've read a few different figures, the total amount of damages caused by fires in Texas this summer seems to be well over $250 million. Fires keep popping up, too, because we're still seeing temps in the 90s (and 100s!) in Texas, even though this weekend is the first of October.

Texas is hot. Texas is burning. Texas needs a little relief.

I complain a lot about this state (especially this state's painfully horrible weather) but this is home, and you know what they say about home. Well, they say you shouldn't let it burn, that's for sure.

If you have a little extra money but no extra time, consider donating to The Central Texas Wildfire Fund.

Also, if you're in or near Austin, a few events I think sound pretty cool:

• Fire Relief: The Concert for Central Texas (Kyle Chandler is emceeing!)
• Austin Bakes for Bastrop (all proceeds will go to the above linked Wildfire Fund)

Or, you can buy a charity t-shirt, offered by Help Central Texans (@CentralTXFires). Pre-orders are being taken now, and it looks like all t-shirts will ship after 10/18. They even offer a women's tee (below).

These shirts are great if you're going to The Blathering, since you're bound to fall in love with Texas, at least a little bit, in a few weeks.

I get really overwhelmed with how much need there is out there and how little I can really contribute in comparison to that need. We're all just individual people. How can we make an actual difference?

I don't know if I've figured out those answers yet -- it still feels overwhelming to want to help without knowing exactly how to make the ability match the desire -- but I figure it's just like everything else.

Take a step, then take another, until the world is better.

***

If you know of a charity, event, or cause that's benefitting the Texas fires, please leave information in the comments and I'll update this post.

No longer chained to our house by babies or batshit weather

Kyle has become so damn awesome to hang out with. I know this feels like one more annoying endorsement for age two, but it's just that all these possibilities have opened up for us as he gets older. We can now take him places we used to pass on because of his then-age or (non-existant) attention span. I shudder thinking about dining out with him just a year ago. Oh, how times have changed.

Also, the weather is beginning to cool off, which means we can plan activities outside again. Do you know how much more fantastic life with a kid can be when you can actually leave the house? For extended periods of time!

(Lots more.)

A few weekends ago, we took him to a small local butterfly festival, put on by an organization some parents at his school are part of. I thought he'd freak out by all those flapping wings, but he loved every second of it, and he also let someone encourage a butterfly onto his nose.

{Bad cell phone photo! Oof!}

This past weekend we took him to get burgers and had such a lovely little lunch, the three of us. Then we took him to see The Lion King: 3D, his first in-theater movie, and it was entirely enjoyable, which stunned me. We asked him toward the end if he wanted to leave -- he was getting a little restless -- and he said, "No, we leave when it over." He also kept exclaiming, "Wow, what a big TV!" (We'll need to work on his whispering for the next movie outing.)

I know it seems so obvious to any parents who've been doing this for years and years but when your kid becomes less a screaming baby and more a fun little person, parenthood just indescribably changes and expands. It's still work, don't get me wrong for one second, but it's such different work and the rewards are a million-fold.

So, to inspire me off our couch this pretty fall, what are your favorite fall activities with your kids? I want to fill this fall with an insane amount of fun. Although, come on, it's us we're speaking of. Insane is part of the game.

If More Texans Knew San Deigo Existed, We'd Have a State Full of Alcoholics

When I got to San Diego, last Tuesday, it was 70 degrees. I sat outside for a half hour waiting for a city bus and didn't sweat once. I needed a cardigan at night! I ... could go on and on but won't.

It wasn't bad, basically. It wasn't bad at all.

More details to come from my trip to Comic-Con (I stood a foot away from Aziz Ansari, aka Tom Haverford!), but my inbox is, for now, very very angry with me.

Roadtrip Details!

Blue was the drive there. Red was the drive home.

There being Gateway, Colorado, where we stayed for two nights to celebrate Mike's cousin getting married. All about the resort and what we did while there for another post. But, today, THE ROADTRIP!

Day 1

We stopped in Amarillo for lunch (we got burgers to-go from Coyote Bluff), made a quick stop at Cadillac Ranch and then got to Santa Fe around 6 pm or so. Each time we'd stop for gas or a bathroom break or at a rest stop to let Molly stretch her legs, Kyle would clap his hands and say, "WE MADE IT! WE'RE HERE!" Oh, sweet sweet boy, if we ever take you on vacation to a Texaco in far West Texas, go ahead and retract our Parents of the Year award.

Also, upon spotting mountains in New Mexico, Kyle said, "What IS that, Mommy?" with wide eyes. "Oh nothing, just beautiful landscape you'll rarely get to see because we're raising you a Texan, but our housing costs are really reasonable!"

Day 2

We got an early start (and a lot of coffee) and drove up through Colorado. Durango was beautiful, the mountains were spectacular, and the roads ... curvy. We all got a little queasy. Kyle got a lot queasy and puked all over himself and then needed a quick cuddle in the back seat before we continued on.

Poor guy.

We got to Gateway about 4 pm, after driving up through the beautiful canyons of Western Colorado.

Day 4

After breakfast in Gateway, we drove up and into Utah where there were no public bathrooms for many, many miles. MANY MILES IN ALL CAPS EVEN. I was reaching the point of having to either pee my own pants or pee on the side of the road. The GPS/Smart Phone wasn't being very helpful, either, to tell us where the next restroom might be, so it was getting pretty bad. (And I have an impressive bladder, you should know! I can hold it for Olympic-like times.) Finally, I made Mike pull over and I pulled my pants down on the side of the highway (on the other side of the car, of course), ass out for all of Utah to see. Desperate times and all. I got back in the car and Kyle said, "Daddy saw your butt, Mommy." Not the first time, son. Not even the first time in public.

We spent most of the afternoon in Arches National Park and, wow, if you ever doubt America is spectacularly beautiful country, go there immediately. It'll leave you speechless. Mike and I talked about  one day returning to camp overnight, when Kyle's older. It was my favorite part of the trip, I think. Just looking out on this vast world, where everywhere you turn is another postcard view. I loved it.

We left and drove through Moab and into New Mexico, to try and make it to the Four Corners before sunset. A storm and curvy roads slowed us down, so we missed it by five minutes and hadn't planned anywhere to stay. (Yeah. That caused the first and only fight of the trip, I can't lie.)

We ended up in Farmington, N.M., at a random Best Western. I fell asleep within five minutes of laying down.

Day 5

We got up and backtracked to the Four Corners where I kept yelling, "KYLE'S IN UTAH! WE'RE IN COLORADO! OH NO!" He looked at me, at one point, and said, "Mommy, no yelling." Oh, he's in for a world of disappointment if that's how he prefers it.

We then drove to Shiprock ... Rock? I don't even know what it's called! It was a sight Mike really wanted to see, and it was pretty cool, admittedly, this jutting rock in an otherwise flat land. Molly got to run around as far as she wanted, and she was fairly pleased. See:

From there we drove to Albuquerque through Gallup and then drove and drove and drove to Roswell, convinced it would be a funky little town with quirky people and places. No offense to anyone who lives or loves Roswell, but it was the most ordinary town I've ever set foot in. A local suggested we eat at Golden Corral when I asked where a tourist should stop to eat. Yelp! suggested Denny's.

We left, skipping dinner and not looking back, and we drove and drove and drove some more. The drive out of dodge (Roswell) and into Texas was actually kind of wonderful. Just today I read a piece in Grantland, an oral history of Friday Night Lights (and you know how much I love this show by now), and in it Sarah Aubrey, an executive producer of the show, spoke about one of the final scenes they filmed: "The sky is that only-in-Texas pink sky as the sun is starting to set." I choked up because, well, yes. I know that sky. It sounds funny, to say the sky is different in Texas, but it's just about my favorite part of the entire state. The sky alone has kept me here, at times, I think, and it welcomed us back home after days away. We grumble about the weather and a million other things but when we crossed that state line, we both smiled, we couldn't hide it.

We got home, late late late, and I thought Kyle would refuse his bed, pitch a fit and demand to sleep with us, after so many nights of sharing a room in multiple hotels. But, I laid him down, he looked at me and said, "Turn off the lights, Mommy."

So, I did.

One family vacation behind us. Many more ahead, I hope.

Miles & Miles

2460 miles, to be exact.

Our family roadtrip is over, sadly. Well, sadly for my heart but not-so-sadly for my ass. 2400+ miles of car sitting is serious(ly painful) business.

Anyway, I have 15 separate posts I want to write inspired by the trip but, sadly, a full inbox waits for no woman (to post blogs). I also leave again this coming Tuesday morning for a work trip to Comic-Con (that's not an oxymoron, I swear) so the posts may be spaced out.

Over many years.

The trip was unexpectedly fantastic, though. I knew we should go, for many reasons, but I wasn't prepared for how much I'd enjoy it. All that driving and cheap-motel-staying and toddler-entertaining and gas-station-food-eating and mile-marker counting sounds a little awful, right? And that's before I mention we took Molly with us. OUR CRAZY, TIGHTLY WOUND DOG. On a road trip for thousands of miles! I don't really understand us either. I emailed Jonna just today and said, basically, that this is why we can't have more children. Because we come up with ideas that drive us all mad. Beautifully mad, sure, but mad all the same. It really was exhausting -- on Thursday night, I laid next to Kyle around 8:30 pm to rub his back as he fell asleep and I woke up ten hours later, no recollection of how that had happened --  but it was also incredible, seeing so much of the beautiful states we visited and spending so much of that time just us four. Turns out, I really like my family. No matter how many times I said through clenched teeth, "OMG STOP WHINING RIGHT THIS INSTANT."

No matter how many family members I said this to.

(More than one!)

Here are just a few photos, from our whirlwind travels, and 500 more will be put up on Flickr before 2012. Also, look forward to the future trip-related post that will include the story of how I got naked in public. Oh, don't act so surprised.

Texas Forever

I spend a lot of time online -- marketing for work, blogging for fun, spending all our money on Etsy -- but it still feels a little strange when I blur the lines. For instance, when I talk about work here. I imagine some of you don't particularly care that I market books all day, but when my job includes a book on Friday Night Lights, I get twitchy at the prospect of not telling you about it.

There is no better show on tv now or ever, in my opinion, and I know that betrays my deep-rooted and everlasting love for Veronica Mars, but I betray because I must. The show is stunning in its brilliance and its subtlety, sometimes both in the same scene. It's not perfect, and it's not like any other show I've ever seen, but it's the best show I've ever watched, both by episode and overall. I like to say we named Kyle after Kyle Chandler, and although that's a big, fat lie, Coach Taylor's portrayer would be a damn good namesake.

It ends its five-year run next Friday on NBC. I've seen the finale (it aired on DirecTV this spring), but I will re-watch it again through my sobs, I'm sure, and I'll be reminded that amidst all the reality tv (that I watch, admittedly) and crappy sitcoms that still employ a laugh track, and dramas that are as predictable as they are cheesy, there is still tv out there to love, to be proud of, to remember.

I know, it's just tv. But, then again, it's not. If you've ever found a show you really and truly love, you know it's not.

In our book, A Friday Night Lights Companion (with an intro by Deadspin founder, Will Leitch), there are heartfelt and smart essays on what we love about this show and why and even a little on each character (try not to nod along to the few pages devoted to why we love Tim Riggins). It's a great read, and you can get it NOW on Kindle and next month in paperback. You can and should read Jonna's essay on the Taylors' perfectly imperfect marriage, specifically.

One of the passages I've re-read a zillion times is from Jacob Clifton's "Come Home: West Texas Identities" because it reminds me so much of what I feel as a liberal woman who's lived in conservative Texas for 18 years:

"There is no conservative lock on patriotism, any more than liberals have a monopoly on charity. But liberal patriotism feels like nitpicking, the attempt to create a better country through constant complaint, and conservative charity looks suspiciously like church."

The whole book is that good and both on the show itself and the bigger picture the show paints for us.

Anyway, I think you should absolutely read the book (and watch the show, my god, if you aren't already). In fact, if you have a blog (book-focused or not) and want to review the book on your blog, here's your lucky day. I have ten review copies to give out. (Edited to add: these aren't giveaway copies, unfortunately, but review copies for bloggers! Sorry if that wasn't clear.)

Just leave a comment or email me at shelikespurple AT gmail.com. I'll put a copy in the mail to you as soon as I can, if you're one of the first comments or emails.

***

(And, hey, if you don't like books or Friday Night Lights or me talking about work, big apologies! I won't do it that often, pinky swear.)