Just went to G's rehearsal for his school's play. He's a weed. Along with most the other boys who could pick from that, or a flower. Duh. No-brainer there.
He sang and jigged a little. It was cute. Wait, I mean cool. It was super cool. And he was super duper cool as a weed. If they gave out awards for being a weed in a school play, he'd win. Most Valuable Weed.
Going now to find out the sex of my bro and sis-n-law's bundle of joy. Exciting stuff...
Thursday, March 31, 2011
have blog, will write
You may have noticed the absence of Luke and Darth Vader in the background of this blog. Perhaps you even noticed the new banner art for the title area. Maybe even glanced at the fact that the whole blogsite looks cleaner, faster, more fuel efficient...
Well, it is. I have come to realization that my life is the kiddos and my beautiful wife, combined with my daily struggles to be the best husband on the planet, coolest stepdad ever, a good son, a great brother, a dependable friend, a screenwriter/novelist and the runner of a homeless outreach nonprofit - all in 24-hr increments. So, I merged my nonprofit's blog with this one - since I love it so! - and decided to blog about all things "Brennan."
Of course, you will still read about the kiddos with Legoland dramatics and Ghost Whisperer phenomena, but now I will talk about our nonprofit, my novel, my movie scripts, my marriage, my life. Or, to put it better, the one life A and I live together.
So fasten your seat belts, because this blog just got a whole lot bigger.
(Wait, not sure how fastening seat belts has anything to do with the blog's scope and direction it's taking, but oh well. Maybe shoulda said, "Take a step back, because..."
You get the idea.
Well, it is. I have come to realization that my life is the kiddos and my beautiful wife, combined with my daily struggles to be the best husband on the planet, coolest stepdad ever, a good son, a great brother, a dependable friend, a screenwriter/novelist and the runner of a homeless outreach nonprofit - all in 24-hr increments. So, I merged my nonprofit's blog with this one - since I love it so! - and decided to blog about all things "Brennan."
Of course, you will still read about the kiddos with Legoland dramatics and Ghost Whisperer phenomena, but now I will talk about our nonprofit, my novel, my movie scripts, my marriage, my life. Or, to put it better, the one life A and I live together.
So fasten your seat belts, because this blog just got a whole lot bigger.
(Wait, not sure how fastening seat belts has anything to do with the blog's scope and direction it's taking, but oh well. Maybe shoulda said, "Take a step back, because..."
You get the idea.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
"I send them demons screamin'!"
70 Bibles. Approx. 70 seconds. That's about how fast they went today was we handed out bucks & Bibles to the "VIPs" - what they call the homeless - at Temple of Prayer Christian Fellowship church in downtown Dallas. I'd love to thank Bishop Porter Perry for allowing us to come by and help spread the love, message and Word of Jesus.
We were also super lucky to have a great friend of ours, Brittany - who's also a Director for our nonprofit - and three of her YoungLife crewleaders join us for the ride. They are super awesome at engaging the people and personally ministering to each. Kudos to whoever their mentors are. All of their personal stories about this mission will be on this blog soon. Look for those. I'm serious. Look.
Meantime, I met a man named Jimmy Whitehead, proud father of "the greatest kept secret in college basketball," #24 Jimmy Whitehead, Jr. He plays ball for the Minnesota State Mavericks, who this year made it to the semi-finals in the Division II NCAA tournament before losing out. But no matter, Jimmy Jr's a red shirt freshman, which means he's got time to lead this team to a championship before he eyeballs the pros. And where does Jimmy Sr say he wants him to play? "I'm already here in Texas. He's got his orders. Dallas Mavericks." Nice.
Jimmy Sr served in the Navy during Vietnam, which he says, cut his basketball career short. However, when asked if he can still beat his son in one-on-one he says, "I taught him, but I didn't teach him everything."
See? This is awesome. These are the people who you meet when you step outside your own bubble and venture out into God's world. I was blessed to have met and known Jimmy Whitehead, Sr. We googled on my cell phone and looked up his son's stats and a photo, which looks exactly like his dad. No DNA test needed on this one.
I'm going to make Temple of Prayer a normal stop on our rounds. I'm not sure how often, but I feel it is one of the places God is calling A Couple Bucks & a Bible to keep on the rolodex.
Oh, Jimmy Sr is a street minister as well. He told me, "I send them demons screamin'!"
With enough faith, we all can.
We were also super lucky to have a great friend of ours, Brittany - who's also a Director for our nonprofit - and three of her YoungLife crewleaders join us for the ride. They are super awesome at engaging the people and personally ministering to each. Kudos to whoever their mentors are. All of their personal stories about this mission will be on this blog soon. Look for those. I'm serious. Look.
Meantime, I met a man named Jimmy Whitehead, proud father of "the greatest kept secret in college basketball," #24 Jimmy Whitehead, Jr. He plays ball for the Minnesota State Mavericks, who this year made it to the semi-finals in the Division II NCAA tournament before losing out. But no matter, Jimmy Jr's a red shirt freshman, which means he's got time to lead this team to a championship before he eyeballs the pros. And where does Jimmy Sr say he wants him to play? "I'm already here in Texas. He's got his orders. Dallas Mavericks." Nice.
Jimmy Sr served in the Navy during Vietnam, which he says, cut his basketball career short. However, when asked if he can still beat his son in one-on-one he says, "I taught him, but I didn't teach him everything."
See? This is awesome. These are the people who you meet when you step outside your own bubble and venture out into God's world. I was blessed to have met and known Jimmy Whitehead, Sr. We googled on my cell phone and looked up his son's stats and a photo, which looks exactly like his dad. No DNA test needed on this one.
I'm going to make Temple of Prayer a normal stop on our rounds. I'm not sure how often, but I feel it is one of the places God is calling A Couple Bucks & a Bible to keep on the rolodex.
Oh, Jimmy Sr is a street minister as well. He told me, "I send them demons screamin'!"
With enough faith, we all can.
 |
| Jimmy Sr and I are sideways... gotta love my cell phone! |
 |
| The YL Crew...and now part of Team B&B!!! |
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
kami's got a new friend
We rescued a Chihuahua pup yesterday. Adopted her from a shelter having a thing at Petsmart. We named her Coco. She's awesome. And now Kami has a friend. See...
 |
| Kami's on the left, Coco's on the right. |
Monday, March 28, 2011
Friday, March 25, 2011
got comfortable being comfy
Here goes...
I have been incredibly lazy as of late. Not like physically lazy, but work-wise lazy. I have become comfortable being comfortable. And it's not like my agenda or our schedules denote laziness either. In fact, anyone who hears what A and I got on the coals makes them scratch their heads and wonder how we do it. How we stop time, or whatever, and squeeze everything in. Truth is, God is the only one who knows.
However, a good chunk of our "gonna do's" are in the chalk board phase. Or, the website building phase. Or, the "need to write the next chapter" phase. Or, the "we need more money/donations to make this nonprofit work" phase. Which coincides with the "hurry up and give us our 501(c)(3) status" phase.
Not to mention press releases, blogs, etc etc yadda yadda yabba dabba doo....
I am overwhelmed. Circuits are overloaded. Which leads to being content to sit on the bed and watch TV. Or worse. Getting stuck in Twitterville or Facebookland. Those are the worst places to get a flat tire in or for your car to stall on you.
I found myself yesterday bouncing back and forth from Twitter to Facebook for over two hours, merely checking to see in my nonprofit got anymore followers or if I got any "mentions" or "retweets." Nope. There was a mention on Twitter, but it was someone telling me to follow this Dallas Mav who gives out tickets to the game. Ho hum.
The only occasional reprieve I got was checking to see if I was outbid - which I was on multiple attempts - on the Xbox360 Slim bundle w/Kinect package I was trying to nab on eBay.
I didn't realize until this morning, after four hours of literally doing nothing in front of the computer, that I was stuck in this funk because I had too many aspirations that they all gang tackled me at once, rendering me incapable on doing anything. I was knocked out of commission. This blog suffered. My novel is set back weeks. Stress headaches abound. An overall sense of worthlessness sets in pretty quick around here if nothing positive or beneficial to myself, my family or mankind is done on a daily basis.
The only positive is that A Couple Bucks & a Bible has about 74 followers on Twitter, only 29 on FB, as of this blog post. Other than that, my weeks were wasted. And when we had the kids, I was still in my comfy funk, in front of FB or Twitter like a zombie, and I probably didn't play Legos or spend the time they deserve with them like I should have. And it's not because I didn't want to, it was because I had made myself incapable of it. I had too much to do with no visible starting point in which to begin. I was spinning my wheels. Horrible feeling.
So now I've singled out the problem. Too much on my plate. I think I should just focus on the meat and potatoes for now, and put the mac n' cheese and desserts back in the fridge for later.
I have been incredibly lazy as of late. Not like physically lazy, but work-wise lazy. I have become comfortable being comfortable. And it's not like my agenda or our schedules denote laziness either. In fact, anyone who hears what A and I got on the coals makes them scratch their heads and wonder how we do it. How we stop time, or whatever, and squeeze everything in. Truth is, God is the only one who knows.
However, a good chunk of our "gonna do's" are in the chalk board phase. Or, the website building phase. Or, the "need to write the next chapter" phase. Or, the "we need more money/donations to make this nonprofit work" phase. Which coincides with the "hurry up and give us our 501(c)(3) status" phase.
Not to mention press releases, blogs, etc etc yadda yadda yabba dabba doo....
I am overwhelmed. Circuits are overloaded. Which leads to being content to sit on the bed and watch TV. Or worse. Getting stuck in Twitterville or Facebookland. Those are the worst places to get a flat tire in or for your car to stall on you.
I found myself yesterday bouncing back and forth from Twitter to Facebook for over two hours, merely checking to see in my nonprofit got anymore followers or if I got any "mentions" or "retweets." Nope. There was a mention on Twitter, but it was someone telling me to follow this Dallas Mav who gives out tickets to the game. Ho hum.
The only occasional reprieve I got was checking to see if I was outbid - which I was on multiple attempts - on the Xbox360 Slim bundle w/Kinect package I was trying to nab on eBay.
I didn't realize until this morning, after four hours of literally doing nothing in front of the computer, that I was stuck in this funk because I had too many aspirations that they all gang tackled me at once, rendering me incapable on doing anything. I was knocked out of commission. This blog suffered. My novel is set back weeks. Stress headaches abound. An overall sense of worthlessness sets in pretty quick around here if nothing positive or beneficial to myself, my family or mankind is done on a daily basis.
The only positive is that A Couple Bucks & a Bible has about 74 followers on Twitter, only 29 on FB, as of this blog post. Other than that, my weeks were wasted. And when we had the kids, I was still in my comfy funk, in front of FB or Twitter like a zombie, and I probably didn't play Legos or spend the time they deserve with them like I should have. And it's not because I didn't want to, it was because I had made myself incapable of it. I had too much to do with no visible starting point in which to begin. I was spinning my wheels. Horrible feeling.
So now I've singled out the problem. Too much on my plate. I think I should just focus on the meat and potatoes for now, and put the mac n' cheese and desserts back in the fridge for later.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
my Chase Oaks Vertical Devotion
Been super busy with the grassroots part of A Couple Bucks & a Bible and whatnot, but here's the Vertical Devotion I wrote for our church, Chase Oaks, that is one of the next up on their site.
Enjoy! Oh, and it will help to first read the Bible passage I wrote about before reading this. Otherwise, it's like jumping into a movie halfway through. That's in Spanish. Okay then...
* * * * *
1 Corinthians 7:25-40
Wow. As a recently married man I am not sure quite how to respond to this. “From now on those who have wives should live as if they do not.” Not exactly going to go over well with the wife. Not gonna mention that while she’s cooking dinner. Holding that butcher knife.
For a casual believer or someone not too familiar with Paul and his lines of thought, this passage may come across contradictory to what most know the Bible says of marriage. Where we normally think marriage is exalted in the Bible and designed by God to help man and woman come closer to Him, we see Paul pushing people back from the altar, and the “I do’s.”
But that’s not what he’s meaning. Exactly. He’s talking about distractions from God. Away from God. And Lord knows our society is filled with them already. You can’t go a day without some magazine, some TV show, some celebrity, some…friend, whether intentionally or otherwise, trying to lead you off the path. An “about face” to God, or at least a crooked detour.
In this particular passage though, Paul is talking about the distraction of marriage. That, for some, it can be something we think we need, something we strive for or linger on or get bogged down in, that we forget to focus on God and His son, Jesus Christ. We get so tied up in making our unions perfect on our own that we fail to see that only through Jesus can that be accomplished.
For the singles, or as Paul calls you, “virgins,” there is an alternative to the additional labor that goes into a marriage. You can simply remain single. However, there is an asterisk right behind the word “single.” Some fine print you may not have read. Single means waylaying your urges, your yearnings, your desires that you would ordinarily act out with your spouse and instead turning that passion into praising God and Jesus. And that could be amazing because you may have a lot of passion stored up. Great for, say, becoming a missionary abroad since you have no spousal ties, and seek no permission, to leave at a moment’s notice. On a whim, or on a Calling.
Paul tells us that Salvation comes to the married and the unmarried. It makes no distinction. Jesus is the way to Heaven, not being hitched. That being said, married or not, Paul warns the married and the on-the-fencers to beware the marital distractions, the constant attempts to please your mate and have the best marriage in the room - or simply one where the two spouses can stand to be in the same room - and not forget that the glory and pleasure-seeking should be directed first towards God. All else is secondary.
Enjoy! Oh, and it will help to first read the Bible passage I wrote about before reading this. Otherwise, it's like jumping into a movie halfway through. That's in Spanish. Okay then...
* * * * *
1 Corinthians 7:25-40
Wow. As a recently married man I am not sure quite how to respond to this. “From now on those who have wives should live as if they do not.” Not exactly going to go over well with the wife. Not gonna mention that while she’s cooking dinner. Holding that butcher knife.
For a casual believer or someone not too familiar with Paul and his lines of thought, this passage may come across contradictory to what most know the Bible says of marriage. Where we normally think marriage is exalted in the Bible and designed by God to help man and woman come closer to Him, we see Paul pushing people back from the altar, and the “I do’s.”
But that’s not what he’s meaning. Exactly. He’s talking about distractions from God. Away from God. And Lord knows our society is filled with them already. You can’t go a day without some magazine, some TV show, some celebrity, some…friend, whether intentionally or otherwise, trying to lead you off the path. An “about face” to God, or at least a crooked detour.
In this particular passage though, Paul is talking about the distraction of marriage. That, for some, it can be something we think we need, something we strive for or linger on or get bogged down in, that we forget to focus on God and His son, Jesus Christ. We get so tied up in making our unions perfect on our own that we fail to see that only through Jesus can that be accomplished.
For the singles, or as Paul calls you, “virgins,” there is an alternative to the additional labor that goes into a marriage. You can simply remain single. However, there is an asterisk right behind the word “single.” Some fine print you may not have read. Single means waylaying your urges, your yearnings, your desires that you would ordinarily act out with your spouse and instead turning that passion into praising God and Jesus. And that could be amazing because you may have a lot of passion stored up. Great for, say, becoming a missionary abroad since you have no spousal ties, and seek no permission, to leave at a moment’s notice. On a whim, or on a Calling.
Paul tells us that Salvation comes to the married and the unmarried. It makes no distinction. Jesus is the way to Heaven, not being hitched. That being said, married or not, Paul warns the married and the on-the-fencers to beware the marital distractions, the constant attempts to please your mate and have the best marriage in the room - or simply one where the two spouses can stand to be in the same room - and not forget that the glory and pleasure-seeking should be directed first towards God. All else is secondary.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
ask your mom
Probably quite successfully alienating myself from important decisions being made at the pinnacles of their youth, I have found myself lately answering most questions from the kiddos with "ask your mom."
It works like a charm. They ask a question like "can we ride bikes?" or "can we go swimming?" and I simply point them in the direction of their mom. It's not me being lazy. It's not me not caring. It's just that they're gonna ask her after me anyway so I am simply trying to avoid two conflicting answers. A confused child asks twice as many questions.
A and I are obviously on two different pages in the How to Raise a Child Handbook. Where she's retaking the course for a 7th time for fun, I'm cramming for daily exams from 7 full-time classes. She gets this stuff, knows that the kids won't break if they play a little rough, understands that children are, in fact, messes on wheels. I, on the other hand, even after my time as a role-model-in-training, am still learning the ropes. And while I am an advocate of continued education and believe that you're never too old to stop learning, even more, you learn something new everyday...I know that I am still somewhere in the middle of my class when it comes to a parenting GPA.
But nonetheless and anyhoo...this blog has unfortunately taken a backseat to my trying to Wright Brothers this nonprofit ministry* of ours off the ground. It's got wings and a solid foundation, but we need the state to stamp us as a 501(c)(3) and we'd be in good shape. Maybe even flying shape. That stamp, and then some funds to buy more Bibles and stack dollar bills to pass out. Plus some marketing swag. A fundraiser appears to be in order soon. Well, as soon as we can give people that tax deduction they need for donations...
So, that's kinda where we are. I'm still writing a supernatural thriller. Still doing the nonprofit. Still doing this blog. Still waiting to strike movie gold with a screenplay. But that's life...preparation for the next big thing.
* (see A Couple Bucks & a Bible @ http://www.bucksandabible.com/ )
It works like a charm. They ask a question like "can we ride bikes?" or "can we go swimming?" and I simply point them in the direction of their mom. It's not me being lazy. It's not me not caring. It's just that they're gonna ask her after me anyway so I am simply trying to avoid two conflicting answers. A confused child asks twice as many questions.
A and I are obviously on two different pages in the How to Raise a Child Handbook. Where she's retaking the course for a 7th time for fun, I'm cramming for daily exams from 7 full-time classes. She gets this stuff, knows that the kids won't break if they play a little rough, understands that children are, in fact, messes on wheels. I, on the other hand, even after my time as a role-model-in-training, am still learning the ropes. And while I am an advocate of continued education and believe that you're never too old to stop learning, even more, you learn something new everyday...I know that I am still somewhere in the middle of my class when it comes to a parenting GPA.
But nonetheless and anyhoo...this blog has unfortunately taken a backseat to my trying to Wright Brothers this nonprofit ministry* of ours off the ground. It's got wings and a solid foundation, but we need the state to stamp us as a 501(c)(3) and we'd be in good shape. Maybe even flying shape. That stamp, and then some funds to buy more Bibles and stack dollar bills to pass out. Plus some marketing swag. A fundraiser appears to be in order soon. Well, as soon as we can give people that tax deduction they need for donations...
So, that's kinda where we are. I'm still writing a supernatural thriller. Still doing the nonprofit. Still doing this blog. Still waiting to strike movie gold with a screenplay. But that's life...preparation for the next big thing.
* (see A Couple Bucks & a Bible @ http://www.bucksandabible.com/ )
Thursday, March 10, 2011
and the honeymoon begins...
Fresh back from the beginning of our honeymoon in South Padre Island. We're married. Wow. Feels good. The trip was awesome. The motel was perfectly aligned with every place we would possibly want to go on the island. We found us: a private dance floor at the biggest club in town, a private beach front for our viewing pleasure and a private swimming pool attached to a private hot tub. We pretty much owned the island.
However, before I get to all that, I need to go back to this: the wedding. I have yet to give any feelings and/or details about it. So here goes...
Loved it. The house - and subsuquent pictures we have seen of the ceremony and festivities - turned out gorgeous. We had an amazing turnout of friends and family. Turned out several people had to stand up. Standing room only! For our wedding. Pretty cool.
The food was amazing. Several people asked me who catered? Who brought this? Who cooked that? Everything was great.
I'd like to thank...My mom who hooked up some amazing fajita chicken from Pasado's (a place rapidly becoming A and my fave Tex-Mex establishment.) She also had the groom's cake brought it that could possibly have served a cool hundred people. Easy. That thing took over a four foot table without skipping a beat.
...A's mom for bringing in the queso that makes any Mexican dish that much better. As well as the rice and beans that seemed to be gobbled up fairly quickly. So...having not tasted them, we can assume maximum tastiness. Oh, and the beautiful veil A "borrowed" from her (that she wore on her own wedding day.)
...my sis-in-law's mom for making an amazing brisket for our fajitas! It was so good there was none left for us to take home! I saw people having thirds of it. So good!
...I'd love to extend a huge, super huge, thanks to Aunt D for her ridiculously good wedding cake she made for us. That thing was awesome. We have the top in our fridge and it's taking quite a bit of will power not to rip that door off it's hinges to take a plateful. That, and the fact that A would rip my arms off their own hinges should I touch that cake top before our 1st anniversary. Nonetheless, we know you worked very hard on that cake and it showed. Big time.
...Thanks to everyone who brought anything else, including yourselves. We felt so blessed to have you all there to watch us come before God and authenticate what He put together.
And the pictures. We have seen several, but like 98% are still yet to be perused. That 2%? Wow. I even look good in some of those and my photogenic prowess falls somewhere less that desirable in many pictures. But, tap the brakes. This isn't me fishing for compliments. I look good, I think, in several of these ones. Hallelulah! A makes me look good! (Which is actually what a man told us at a restaurant in South Padre.) Yep. And wait until you see some of the honeymoon snapshots. I gotta say, we're a snazzy couple...
Which leads me back to...South Padre. We rode horses on the beach! And it ruled. Horses are pretty awesome. And not to take away from dogs, cats or fish in bowls, but I want one. Actually, we want two. Not that I should've been a cowboy, but maybe I could've been one. While we rode, at first I remarked that driving a car is easier than driving a horse, but once they get a feel for you - and you get a feel for them! - and they see that you aren't a total idiot, they're a smooth ride.
Horses aside, the rest of the adventure was everything I could ask for. Pretty much closing my eyes and pointing to a map, I chose the best motel location for our festive needs. That being said, you could probably walk the island strip in an hour...but who'd want to? We had our car, although we used a cab for the first night. Went to a place called Louie's Backyard where we found us a private dance floor overlooking the ocean (or is it Gulf?) Either way, it was pretty sweet...even with the security guard/maintenance guy/barback? standing about twenty yards away casting glances every so often. That part was weird.
We found a great restaurant called The Big Donkey that served up yummy fajitas and had a one-man-band that did not know any Rob Thomas. So 1 for 2 there, but the food was so good we went back for lunch the next day. And the bonus was that it was right next door to our motel. So, 2 for 3.
Having a car paid off because as we cruised the strip to find various un-Springbreaker-filled beaches, as well as see how far north we could go on South Padre, we found our private beach and the horse place. We loved the fact that most people that ever come here have never gone that north into the sandy wasteland of nothingness as we have. I mean, there's sand banks taking over half the road up there. The only people we saw were campers in tents, construction workers building new places for some future year and a brownish-clear sand crab scuttling across the beach. He was pretty fast for a little dude.
Our cabbie from the first night told us a local tidbit about breakfast tacos at a gas station near our place. Thank you, cabbie. Those things were delicious enough for two breakfast visits even when our motel offered up free morning grub.
My fave place was probably this low-key Irish pub we found where they offered darts, pool, mega low drink prices and a juke box with our song "Someday" by Rob Thomas. We danced in the back by the billiard's table as he serenaded us. That was pretty cool of him. Thanks, Rob.
I also liked our hot tub with a bottle of bubbly. A crescent moon playing hide-and-seek behind some night clouds and a palm tree while I held my wife in one hand and a glass of champagne in the other...that was bliss.
So the summary of this story is we had an amazing first part of our never-ending honeymoon. I'm sure I am forgetting to mention several things we experienced along the way. Or, am I simply choosing not to divulge them?
PS: Thanks to A's brother and sis-n-law for watching Kami while we were gone. Hope our girl was well-behaved!
However, before I get to all that, I need to go back to this: the wedding. I have yet to give any feelings and/or details about it. So here goes...
Loved it. The house - and subsuquent pictures we have seen of the ceremony and festivities - turned out gorgeous. We had an amazing turnout of friends and family. Turned out several people had to stand up. Standing room only! For our wedding. Pretty cool.
The food was amazing. Several people asked me who catered? Who brought this? Who cooked that? Everything was great.
I'd like to thank...My mom who hooked up some amazing fajita chicken from Pasado's (a place rapidly becoming A and my fave Tex-Mex establishment.) She also had the groom's cake brought it that could possibly have served a cool hundred people. Easy. That thing took over a four foot table without skipping a beat.
...A's mom for bringing in the queso that makes any Mexican dish that much better. As well as the rice and beans that seemed to be gobbled up fairly quickly. So...having not tasted them, we can assume maximum tastiness. Oh, and the beautiful veil A "borrowed" from her (that she wore on her own wedding day.)
...my sis-in-law's mom for making an amazing brisket for our fajitas! It was so good there was none left for us to take home! I saw people having thirds of it. So good!
...I'd love to extend a huge, super huge, thanks to Aunt D for her ridiculously good wedding cake she made for us. That thing was awesome. We have the top in our fridge and it's taking quite a bit of will power not to rip that door off it's hinges to take a plateful. That, and the fact that A would rip my arms off their own hinges should I touch that cake top before our 1st anniversary. Nonetheless, we know you worked very hard on that cake and it showed. Big time.
...Thanks to everyone who brought anything else, including yourselves. We felt so blessed to have you all there to watch us come before God and authenticate what He put together.
And the pictures. We have seen several, but like 98% are still yet to be perused. That 2%? Wow. I even look good in some of those and my photogenic prowess falls somewhere less that desirable in many pictures. But, tap the brakes. This isn't me fishing for compliments. I look good, I think, in several of these ones. Hallelulah! A makes me look good! (Which is actually what a man told us at a restaurant in South Padre.) Yep. And wait until you see some of the honeymoon snapshots. I gotta say, we're a snazzy couple...
Which leads me back to...South Padre. We rode horses on the beach! And it ruled. Horses are pretty awesome. And not to take away from dogs, cats or fish in bowls, but I want one. Actually, we want two. Not that I should've been a cowboy, but maybe I could've been one. While we rode, at first I remarked that driving a car is easier than driving a horse, but once they get a feel for you - and you get a feel for them! - and they see that you aren't a total idiot, they're a smooth ride.
Horses aside, the rest of the adventure was everything I could ask for. Pretty much closing my eyes and pointing to a map, I chose the best motel location for our festive needs. That being said, you could probably walk the island strip in an hour...but who'd want to? We had our car, although we used a cab for the first night. Went to a place called Louie's Backyard where we found us a private dance floor overlooking the ocean (or is it Gulf?) Either way, it was pretty sweet...even with the security guard/maintenance guy/barback? standing about twenty yards away casting glances every so often. That part was weird.
We found a great restaurant called The Big Donkey that served up yummy fajitas and had a one-man-band that did not know any Rob Thomas. So 1 for 2 there, but the food was so good we went back for lunch the next day. And the bonus was that it was right next door to our motel. So, 2 for 3.
Having a car paid off because as we cruised the strip to find various un-Springbreaker-filled beaches, as well as see how far north we could go on South Padre, we found our private beach and the horse place. We loved the fact that most people that ever come here have never gone that north into the sandy wasteland of nothingness as we have. I mean, there's sand banks taking over half the road up there. The only people we saw were campers in tents, construction workers building new places for some future year and a brownish-clear sand crab scuttling across the beach. He was pretty fast for a little dude.
Our cabbie from the first night told us a local tidbit about breakfast tacos at a gas station near our place. Thank you, cabbie. Those things were delicious enough for two breakfast visits even when our motel offered up free morning grub.
My fave place was probably this low-key Irish pub we found where they offered darts, pool, mega low drink prices and a juke box with our song "Someday" by Rob Thomas. We danced in the back by the billiard's table as he serenaded us. That was pretty cool of him. Thanks, Rob.
I also liked our hot tub with a bottle of bubbly. A crescent moon playing hide-and-seek behind some night clouds and a palm tree while I held my wife in one hand and a glass of champagne in the other...that was bliss.
So the summary of this story is we had an amazing first part of our never-ending honeymoon. I'm sure I am forgetting to mention several things we experienced along the way. Or, am I simply choosing not to divulge them?
PS: Thanks to A's brother and sis-n-law for watching Kami while we were gone. Hope our girl was well-behaved!
Sunday, March 6, 2011
the knot was tied!
It's officially official (sign-off by our county clerk notwithstanding) that A and I are married! Hitched. We tied that knot yesterday and it's a firm one. Like hang a chandelier from it. It can hold the weight. Probably even one of the those huge glass ones you see in Beverly Hills mansions and whatnot.
The deets I will fill in another post. Right now we are waking to our very first day of oneness and I want to bask in that.
March 5, 2011 was an awesome day!
More on that later...
The deets I will fill in another post. Right now we are waking to our very first day of oneness and I want to bask in that.
March 5, 2011 was an awesome day!
More on that later...
Thursday, March 3, 2011
planting for a wedding
Who's got a green thumb? I do! Yea, for the very first time that I can recollect, I helped clear out, then re-plant a genuine garden. Of flowers. Not watermelons and stuff. But wait, we did plant strawberries in our own garden on our patio - complete with herbs like Stevia and veggies like peas. But this is me going off on a tangent so...
The garden. The main one. At my soon-be-wife A's grandparents' house. The location of our approaching nuptials. I cut down trees. Trimmed some branches like I was shaping a huge bonzai tree. I always wanted one of those, ever since I saw Mr. Miyagi and his trees. And while these backyard trees weren't mutant oversized bonzais, I was satisfied.
Gardening is fun. Digging holes and shoving plants in them is rewarding. You see the culmination of your work instantly. Not like writing a script and waiting, waiting, waiting for it to do something other than nothing. Not that I'm throwing in my shovel to be a gardener and tossing away my keyboard, but I do like the instant gratification.
So we transformed - I guess is the word - her grandparents' back garden a little bit. And then we planted some flowers and threw down some mulch for the front yard as well. A pretty little "hey there, welcome to the wedding" thing going on. Got to Mr. Miyagi a bunch of trees up front, too.
So I guess...yea, I think maybe that hard work can be rewarding. Huh. Who knew?
The garden. The main one. At my soon-be-wife A's grandparents' house. The location of our approaching nuptials. I cut down trees. Trimmed some branches like I was shaping a huge bonzai tree. I always wanted one of those, ever since I saw Mr. Miyagi and his trees. And while these backyard trees weren't mutant oversized bonzais, I was satisfied.
Gardening is fun. Digging holes and shoving plants in them is rewarding. You see the culmination of your work instantly. Not like writing a script and waiting, waiting, waiting for it to do something other than nothing. Not that I'm throwing in my shovel to be a gardener and tossing away my keyboard, but I do like the instant gratification.
So we transformed - I guess is the word - her grandparents' back garden a little bit. And then we planted some flowers and threw down some mulch for the front yard as well. A pretty little "hey there, welcome to the wedding" thing going on. Got to Mr. Miyagi a bunch of trees up front, too.
So I guess...yea, I think maybe that hard work can be rewarding. Huh. Who knew?
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
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