Let's call this the home stretch*

So in case you have been hiding under a rock, you may not have heard that Texas is bound and determined to break all the heat records in history and get a giant gold star for being the hottest place ever in the summer.  Because why just have a month of 100 degree temps in a row when we can hold the record for the most ever and ever amen?  Maybe the next record we can go for is "Most Dairy Queens in a 10 mile radius."  That would be a lot more useful right about now.  Buster Bars, banana pudding blizzards, star kiss........

Anyways, the crippling heat, combined with a large dose of laziness and uninspiredness has caused a drought in postings as well.  That means the summer has been a blurry haze of trips, change, and heartburn.  So in the interest of getting back to a routine, getting back to the basics, and getting back to waking up before the Today show is over, I present to you the cliffnotes of my summer. Read at your own risk.  Or go watch Little House on the Prairie.

News of Note Part 1: New Orleans Girls Trip-I perhaps am a spoiled brat.  I do not deserve a trip away to just do fun girly stuff, but I got one anyways.  Because Larry is super nice and friendly and likes our kids as much as I do.  So my girlfriend and I have been frequenting the south for a few summers in a row.  We are not super duper fancy, and we do not hobknob with the old money people, but we have been getting in a car, leaving our children in the capable hands of our spouses(spice?) and touring old creepy houses, eating food, and waiting in long lines for things while commenting "isn't it nice to be waiting in this line without having to entertain anyone?"  So this year, because of the impending birth of Dooters Julianne Merryweather Thexton, we had decided to make it a short trip. Mostly because I drove to Arkansas a few weeks ago and my back told me that was a terribly stupid idea.  So we had settled on someplace close.  One of the fine towns that Texas had to offer.  But it just wasn't the deep south.  So after some searching, we found a cheap flight to New Orleans that lasted approximately an hour and ten minutes, booked it, and planned our excursion.  You might ask, "Caryn, why are you such a brat that you leave your poor defenseless kids and husband all alone in the Texas heat?  Do you hate them?"  The answer is a firm and loud and resounding(and maybe even echoing) "NO!!"  However, when football season fires up in the fall(actually, the match has been lit and it has fired up already), most of the parenting duties fall to me.  Larry is super busy coaching and footballing it up, and as much as he tries to pitch in when he is not working, he is super exhausted and busy.  So although I may feel a little bit guilty for taking off for a girls weekend, I sort of think of it as a little advance reward for being a football widow. 

So off we went to NOLA, arriving at 8:30 in the morning, just in time for beignets. Delicious, nutritious  beignets.  After licking all the remaining powdered sugar off the plate, we made our way through the French Quarter. After a long morning of sightseeing, a bizarre interaction with a homeless man, a torrential downpour, and a scrumptious lunch served to us by a member of the New Orleans restaurant dynasty, we headed to our home away from home, Nottoway Plantation.

Amanda and I sort of feel like Nottoway is part of our family. We knew it when it was a rickety old plantation.  The first time we ever visited, we arrived after dark. We were given the key by Gus the night watchman, we pulled our suitcases to our room, our path lighted by creepy gas lights. We were sure a ghost was going to torment us in the night.  But since those days, about 14 million dollars in renovations has been dumped into the place, and it is positively absolutely fabulous.  And I'm thinking we are sort of taking credit for it.  By our attendance and all. 

The next few days were filled with pool time, naps, workouts, and an accidental breaking of a coffee maker.  And food. Oh the food.  Between salads with magical toppings, fresh fruit, and all manner of bread pudding, we were nourished.  Also, there may have been a creepy person inside the plantation at night peering at us from a window.  Amanda saw it.  I refused to look.  Because I am a chicken. And in two days, our good time was over, we were herded back onto a southwest flight(which, next time I fly southwest i'm going to sharpen my elbows.  On account of all the line jumping.) and we were back in the big D(and I do mean Dallas) and life returned to normal. 

News of Note Part 2: New Job-So, after crashing from a carb overload in the Big Easy(i'm so very sorry, i had to call it that), i started a new job.  At a new school.  With new people.  I am quiet until I learn the culture.  So I will refrain from my Michael Jackson impressions until i've been there for a while.  And I'm excited to have this new opportunity to show off my moonwalk to a whole new set of colleagues.

News of Note Part 3-The Home Stretch-In six weeks or so, there will be a new baby in our house.  Are we ready?  Probably not. Is anyone really ready for a brand new, un potty-trained person who has her own likes, dislikes, pacifier preferences, and visions about how the sleep schedule is going to shake down? So while the date is scheduled, the drugs are prepared(by an anestesiologist, not me) and the room is semi-cleared out, I'm sure we will not be fully ready. But I take comfort in the fact that the hospital serves a fabulous potato soup. I'm not kidding. 

It has been a busy summer full of lots of changes.  This time last summer, if you would have let me see into the crystal ball, i would have called you a big fat liar.  There is no way I would have been ready-mentally, physically, or emotionally, for all these changes.  But God protected me, sent out a code Adam when I needed one most, and brought people into my life to encourage me and be my true friends. And although I am slightly terrified at the upheaval headed my way, I am again thankful. Because when you boil it all down, I don't deserve one lick of it.  Yes, lick.  I am a Texan now.

*except, if i ever run in a race that has a 6 week home stretch, i will quit.

Comments

[Jen_A]

I just love hearing about your Girl Trips!!! Congrats & good luck with the new job. I will praying for a wonderful delivery of your new baby girl :) We still miss having you guys around here! :(