My Trip to Austin

OK, so back on 8/9/08, Shawn and I went to Austin, TX for the night. The main reason was to see our friend Laura from high school. You see, back in school, I was a member of a little circle of friends that, up until the second half of our senior year, was inseparable. We would spend every weekend together, all weekend long. There was Laura, Jerry, Shawn, Kathryn and myself. This is the same group of people that were together the night of the bellybutton piercing incident. Anyway, so I get to Shawn's house at 9am on Saturday and we head off on the 3-4 hour trip to our state's capital.

Here is Shawn driving to Austin.

Once we got to Austin, we went to the hotel, but sadly, it was too early to check in. So, we did what any couple of people going on a very short road trip would do...We found a bar.

This is Shawn and me when we first got to the bar. (Sorry, I can't remember the name of the bar.)

We got to the bar around noon, ordered a couple of pints then at about 1:00 we decide to start doing shots. I would not advise doing shots of jager at 1:00 in the afternoon. Since Austin has a no smoking ordinance, we move our party of two to the patio, and drink more. We called Laura and she said she knew where we were and she would be there within the hour. So, we drank more. Laura arrived at the bar around 4:00pm, by this time we were sufficiently drunk. But did Shawn and I decide to stop...NO! We drank even more, but I was the smart one and stuck with beer, Shawn decided he wanted and actual drink....Double shots of vodka with soda and a splash of cranberry. (Please note: I have not mentioned anything about food at this point. This is because there was not food by this point....we did all this drinking on an empty stomach. You would think two people in their 30's would know better, but we were out of town...and when you're out of town all logic goes out the window.)

This is Laura, Shawn and me. (Look closely and you will notice that my eyes are slits at this point in the afternoon.)

This is Laura and me. (This is proof that I was slightly inebriated...when drunk I often pose for pictures with my tongue sticking out of my face.)

Here is a picture of Shawn after several of the vodka drinks he had consumed. I like to call it "Shawn the Diva!"

Unfortunately, Laura had to work that evening. But, luckily for us, she had enough time to drive Shawn's car back to the hotel, around 6pm. So, we were drinking for 6 hours straight, and neither of us had eaten anything...that's talent! I would like to say...THANK YOU LAURA FOR TAKING CARE OF US!!! So, we said goodbye, checked in to our hotel room and we decided that we were going to take about a two hour nap, then get up, get ready, call a cab, go out, and then drink some more. (It sounded like a good idea at the time.) So, I set my alarm for 8:30 pm and we both passed out. I woke up and thought to myself, "I guess I woke up before the alarm went off." I rolled over and looked at the clock and said, "There's no way..." Shawn popped out of bed like a meerkat and said, "What, what's wrong???" I looked at him and said, "Dude, it's midnight." We both jumped out of bed, and started getting ready...then we decided we didn't really want to go out, so we went to IHOP. After IHOP, we decided to go back to the hotel and sleep some more. You know, when you're 20 you can start drinking at noon and then drink well into the next morning, then go to bed around 3 am, wake up at noon and do it all over again. Not so much when you're in your 30's. I was still feeling like ass when I woke up Sunday morning.

Sunday morning we wake up and call Laura and meet her and her super cute boyfriend for breakfast. After we eat we go back to her apartment so Shawn and I can change, because we were going to Hippie Hollow for a little bit before we headed back to Houston. Before the trip, Shawn asked me if I had ever been there. When I told him no, he said that we must make a stop there. For those of you not from Texas, Hippie Hollow is a "clothing optional" park and apparently predominately homosexual. This was not only my first time at Hippie Hollow, it was also my first time around nudists. I do have a piece of advice for nudists....when you are nude, please be courteous to people around you, bend at the knee...not at the hip. This was also my first time in a lake. There is one thing you should know about me...I can't swim. So, since it was my first time in a lake, I just assumed that the bottom got gradually deeper...kinda like the beach. Well, not there. So, Shawn had to find a rock for me to stand on. We decided next time we go, we're going to take a noodle for me. Anyway, Hippie Hollow is absolutely beautiful. It's all limestone, so I had to do some slight rock climbing. Here's some words of wisdom for you if you decide to go...Do not try to climb slabs of limestone in Old Navy flip flops. I almost broke my neck a couple of times. It was so worth it though, that place is absolutely BEAUTIFUL! Oh, and the answer is no...I didn't take my clothes off.

The limestone you had to climb on.

The lake and limestone.

A very cute nude guy. (I couldn't take a good picture, apparently it's rude to photograph nudists without their permission.)

Lake Travis

Shawn, looking very hot!

So, there you go. A trip to Austin in 24 hours. We are going to go back. Hopefully, Laura won't have to work next time and we can go and sing some White Trash Karaoke.

Until next time...

Mandy

I know I'm in the minority....

in the blog world. The majority of the blogs that I read are very rarely political, but when they do speak about politics or what party they are affiliated with, they generally tend to be more left of center. I happen to be just right of center. I don't agree with some of the views of the Republican party...like abortion, I don't know what I would do in the situation of an unwanted pregnancy, but I don't think the right to choose should be taken away. If Roe vs. Wade is overturned, women will still get abortions, it will just be in illegal clinics or in other countries and more likely than not a lot of women will die from botched abortions. In my opinion, this is more of a morality issue and you can't legislate morality. I also think same sex marriages should be legalized. Who are we to judge someone based on the person they fall in love with. Those are really the only two issues that I don't agree with my party on. With that being said, it seems that most Republicans are cast in a negative light. Like we're all Bible-thumping hypocrites or we are uneducated backwoods hillbillies or evil, ultra-rich, big business bastards that don't give a damn about anyone but ourselves. I don't usually write about politics, mainly because the majority of people that read this blog are my friends and don't share my opinion, and I'm a firm believer in NEVER discussing politics with others...mainly because, I'm not going to change my views and they're not going to change theirs. So, it's really a waste of breath and people tend to get really fired up when it comes to politics. With that being said, there were two quotes yesterday that really pissed me off...

"The hurricane’s going to hit New Orleans about the time they start. [Chuckle] The timing is — at least it appears now that it’ll be there Monday. That just demonstrates that God’s on our side. [Laughter] … Everything’s cool." - Don Fowler, Former Head of the DNC


“I was just thinking, this Gustav is proof that there is a God in heaven,” Moore said. “To just have it planned at the same time, that it would actually be on its way to New Orleans for Day One of the Republican convention, up in the Twin Cities, at the top of the Mississippi River.” - Michael Moore, Liberal Filmmaker

Why is this Okay? Why is Fox News the only station that has said anything about these quotes? Can you imagine if someone affiliated with the Republicans had made these statements? You know what's sad, is statements like these can be made, but Democrats are viewed as the party that cares about people.

And just remember friends, before you rip me apart for my views or opinions, I would like you to ask yourself, "When did Mandy rip me apart for my opinions?"

Until next time...

Mandy

I have a question...

Is it sad that all I want to do this weekend is clean my house and make a trip, by myself, to the movie theatre to see The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 this weekend?

I still need to post about the fabulousness (it's a word) that was last weekend. Quick trip Austin, lots of drinks, hung out with an old friend...and I have pictures too! Since my computer is dead at the moment, I have to go the The Mother's house and download pictures, post them, blah, blah, blah. Maybe I'll squeeze a trip to The Mother's in between scrubbing my toilet and finding out what's been going on with Tibby, Carmen, Lena and Bridget.

Until next time...

Mandy

Calmly waiting

Well, it's 5:15a, and I am sitting here waiting to see what Edouardo is going to do. Currently, I think he's pounding the Port Arthur/Beaumont area. I hope the winds slow down before it gets to the Houston area...The area of Houston that I live in is about 20-30 minutes from Galveston, so I'm kinda glad that it decided to take a more northeastern path. But, my Paw Paw lives south of Anahuac which isn't too far from Beaumont and his house is only about 2 blocks off the bay. Their house isn't in any low-lying areas, so hopefully all will be OK.

After watching the news yesterday, my mom called me and asked me to stay at her house last night. (The parking lot of my apartment complex has a tendency to flood, I think they're working on that now.) When I was getting my things together I realized I was grabbing the same things I grabbed when I was packing for the Hurricane Rita evacuation...the pictures of my grandparents and my jewelry that the ex gave me. Since I am "Worst Case Scenario Girl" all I could think about is, "What if a tornado forms and rips the roof off my apartment, what is the most important to me?" Everything else is in big, plastic tubs. And, the things that weren't in tubs could be replaced. My mother is outside right now and she just stuck her head in the door and informed me that the wind was picking up. The weather outside has been so calm, it's been borderline creepy. Seriously, since we live so close to the coast there is usually some sort of breeze. But, yesterday and last night, there was nothing...not even birds chirping or frogs ribbeting. (It's a word.)

So, to all of you in the Houston area, be careful today.

Oh, and Happy 200th post to me.

Until next time...

Mandy

This is not like me

One of my favorite things is sleeping. Isn't that sad? I love to sleep, on the weekends I take naps on Saturday and Sunday. And, when I do take naps it's not dozing off on the couch in front of the tv...I put on jammies and crawl into my bed. I've never had problems sleeping. My friend, Jeanah, has told me that she's jealous of how easy it is for me to fall asleep. I've known her since the third grade and we would stay at each other's house quite often. When we were 15-16 years old we would be laying in bed talking and I would say, "Okay, well, good night." and two minutes later she would still be talking and I had rolled over and was starting to snore. Most people tell me they have all these different things running through their heads and they have to quiet their minds down before drifting off to dreamland...not me, when I lay down my mind goes blank and I go into blissful slumber. Oh, and I have to get at least 7 hours of sleep or I am no good the next day. Mandy + no sleep = grrrrrrr. So, you can imagine my dismay at the recent inability to go to sleep. It's the strangest thing. When I go to work I'm exhausted all day long, then when I get home it's like I've drank 4 espressos. by 7:00 I am bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and I can't go to sleep until sometimes way after midnight. Last night I think I figured it out. I have to get used to sleeping by myself again. Last night I went out with Latischia and her sister-in-law and I called a friend of mine, Billy, to meet us out. We got back to her sister-in-law's house around 11 and I laid down and couldn't go to sleep. I tossed and I turned, I looked at Latischia and Rhonda and they were both sleeping like babies. Finally I sat up, almost in tears, and told Billy, "All I want to do is sleep." He and I were laying on the floor and around 2:00am I finally got semi-comfortable laying on my stomach and then he put his arm over me and started rubbing my back...and that's all it took. I was out. I think I'm going to have to invest in some sort of body pillow until I can get my sleep routine back in order.

So, here I am today, trying to function on 4 hours of sleep...hopefully, I will just be able to go home this afternoon and fall into my bed and sleep until tomorrow morning.

Until next time...

Mandy