What A Site!!

A couple of weeks ago as my sister and I were driving down to La Grange, I look out of the window and I see these fields of sunflowers.


Not My Photo

I had never really noticed these fields before. Typically, when driving through Texas, you would see corn or wheat or soybeans or cotton or some other grain that my Dad could name from a glance, but I would have no idea what it is. But, there were fields upon fields of sunflowers.

Then, last night as I was driving to meet Sara for our recurring pedicure and dinner catch up discussion, I look over and see more fields of sunflowers and cars pulled over with people getting out and taking their picture with them as the Texas sun was setting (and yes, Texas has a completely different sun than the rest of the world...deal with it). Seeing all of those sunflowers opened and blooming and faces up to the sky made me so very happy and I got to thinking about what joy simple flowers can bring to me...especially the unpretentious sunflower.


Not My Photo

I think if I ever get married, I wand to carry sunflowers in my bouquet.

Picture Challange - January 18

Today we head to the Texas Hill Country and Fredericksburg, TX to properly fete Sara and to see her off into marriage. 

30 Days of Gratitude - Day 5

Today I want to put out there that I am grateful for the state of Texas and its innate beauty. There is a lot about Texas that I do not agree with, especially when it comes to politics, but I do not want to focus on that. The landscape of Texas makes me grateful that I have to opportunity to live here and travel around this state. It is so diverse from one are to the next and so much of it is just natural, raw, and beautiful.  I was reminded that I had this appreciation as I was driving South towards Houston on the way to Texas Renaissance Faire. In just looking out across the flat prairie lands as the sun went down, I smiled internally knowing that not everyone appreciates the beauty, but I do. 

As I goggled Texas images to provide the correct one to represent how I felt, I came across too many to show just one, so here are some of the representations of this state's beauty: 

Big Bend

Blue Bonnets

Dust Storm

Texas Wildflowers

Rio Grande River cutting through Big Bend

Sunset over the Prairies

Texas Wildflowers

Musculoskeletal System

I have a history of back problems and come by it honestly as it is something that has been "handed" down through the generations. I'm pretty used to my back going out on me and have learned how to deal with it.

My pain normally manifests in my lower back and hips. In fact, a couple of years ago when I participated in walking a Half Marathon, one of my hips slipped out of joint on me and by the time I got to the end of the race I could no longer bend my knee and was literally 2 inches shorter on one side of my body. That was when I started to go to a chiropractor on a regular basis. He helped get me adjusted and aligned, after many visits over a couple of years. He lectured me on posture and how bad sitting hunched over a desk all day working on a computer was for my whole skeletal system and how issues with the back caused all sorts of other medical issues. But he was focused solely on the "skeletal" and didn't really give me a lot of direction in the best ways to protect the skeletal by working on the muscles.

I stopped going to him, obviously, when I moved to California. Luckily, I found something out there that I liked even better than having my back cracked and it had many more benefits....Pilates. For the last year out in California, I was doing Pilates once a week and had far fewer back (hip, knee, neck, shoulder, etc.) issues than the many previous years and I know it was because I had done so much work on strengthening the "musculo" part of the "musculoskeletal" system. Sadly, I haven't continued doing Pilates since I've returned to Texas and I'm starting to see/feel the muscles atrophying. Yesterday during my walk the old hip started to slip again and I had to limp around for a couple of hours trying to stretch and pop it back into place, which eventually it did go back into place.

So, you may be asking "what will you be doing about this?" Well, I'm going to find another Pilates instructor here in Texas and start working out again. I know it works for me. I know it does the body good. I don't know why I waited this long to actually follow through on doing this.

Trek to Texas

I am a week away from heading back to Texas and am very excited about my trip. (Even though I did wake up at 4:30 this morning having a panic attack because I still have so much to do and will be gone the rest of this week camping.)

My movers arrive on September 21st and I have already reserved the street parking for the moving truck (just one more way for the city of San Francisco to take money from me). They will load up and head out with my worldly belongings and some time in the following 30 days I'll actually get to see my stuff again... even if it is to go straight into storage.

Once the movers leave, I will wrap up stuff around my place and then head down to spend the night at my friend's house. On the 22nd I head out for Yosemite. I am staying at the Tenaya Lodge for two days (it is a bit of a splurge, but I deserve it). On the 23rd I am taking a day long bus trip through Yosemite. This way I'll be able to see all of the great spots and not have to worry about driving myself.

On the 24th, I'm planning on getting up and heading out east over the mountains and into Nevada. I am then going to take the Extraterrestrial Highway down into Las Vegas/Henderson where I'll be spending the night. My initial plan was to crash there and then head out to Albuquerque and then on in to my folks place on the 26th. However, I spoke to my Dad this morning and he is going to fly out to Vegas and then drive back the rest of the way with me... which I'm very excited about.

On the 25th, Dad and I are going to get up and go across the Hoover Dam and with any luck we are going to do the tour. Then we'll head out across the desert and end up in Albuquerque, as per my initial plan.

On the 26th, we'll get up early, if I know Dad and it'll be a long drive, and take out across the rest of New Mexico and into Texas. We'll be getting in to their place, hopefully, by early evening so that Dad can sleep in his own bed and I can visit with Mom.

On the 27th, I will get up and around at some point and head out to McKinney and pull into my new home with the King and Queen and Puppies. The 28th, exactly one week after the movers take off with my belongings, I will sleep in, settle in, and drive to my friend Angie's to see my Godson and pick up my wine.

Sadly, it'll be back to work on the 29th....

Brain Dump

I really wish there was some way that I could just brain dump some of my ideas into fully formed blogs. I write GREAT blogs as I'm driving to and from the office but by the time I get to where I'm going and I fire up ye ol' computer I'm distracted into doing something else or the idea has evaporated into thin air. I really wish I could have my blogs spring fully formed from my head much like Athena did from Zeus's head....

My latest mind rumblings have been around my post-Texas move post-life with the Queen living situation. I started thinking about living in a loft because I want to think of myself as a cool artsy person and living in a loft would epitomize that. But then I have to say to myself, "Self, you are not an Urban person. You have realized this over the past year while living in your current digs. So stop trying to dream your way into a cool lofty atmosphere."

I was also giving thoughts to getting into a condo in a high-rise building. Kinda like the pad the Jeffersons lived in...."movin' on up....to the East side....to a deluxe apartment in the sky-hi-hi...". But again, "Self, that would be too urban, even in the Turtle Creek area with all the trees around."

So, where to do I see myself? I'm not a yard person, so if I get a house it'll have to be a zero lot-line place. I could stay living in apartments around the DFW area, but I'm tired of apartment living. It'd be nice to get an older place that has established trees around it and a small town feel. I could start trolling for a man who already has a place and just push my way into his life.

I guess I can't really make that decision just yet, but it is something that I have to think about....

In the meantime, it might be easier for me to figure out a way to have these blogs spring fully formed Athena-style from my head....

Free to Good Home....

Expensive to a Bad Home....

Nice Single Girl looking for a place to live. Available mid-September. Comes with her own bed and LOTS of wine.....

As many of you read last week, I've been doing some "pondering" (Pondering and Planning and Whatnot). And some of you guessed correctly... I am planning on returning to Texas. I've been in discussions with The Queen and we are good to go with me to move in with her and The King and puppies to replace the BIL who has moved out. I needed to confirm with her that the offer was still on the table and today she agreed that it was, so Yippee!! 

Now, Kim did guess some additional items (e.g., getting a new job and becoming a rock star). I do have plans to move on to another account once I'm back in Texas so if anybody knows of anything, let me know....hint, hint.... OH! And I may just become a Rock Star....at Guitar Hero!!

The rest of the summer I have lots and lots that I have to do, which hopefully will provide lots and lots of blogs. 

And, if any of you are wondering, I am still going to be participating in the 3 Day Walk for Breast Cancer and still need lots and lots of donations.