New York City trip recaps are coming!
I’ve been editing photographs, going through memories and stories, picking out just what I think will be super fun to share with you guys…
In the mean time, I’ll leave you with this epic photo editorial entitled:
A Mother and Daughter Encounter the Hardest Breadstick in the World
The Recorder
The Violin
The Devil
The Alien
The Handlebar
The Stogie
The Wand
The Skeptic
The Flute
The Hitler
The Bunny
The Dali
The Freak
The Parisian
The Candy Cane
The Cruella
The Jaw Breaker
Autumn leaves are falling down…
Hey friends! It’s been a little while, I know. My interest in blogging about my own life experiences has been waning lately, but, I know that I usually end up feeling happy once I’ve opened up. 
I hope you’ve all been well! I’ve had a busy few months of life!
I started another school year this August, beginning my 5th year of teaching. This will be my third year in middle school, which is hard to believe… The kids are fun, and very exciting, though, which keeps me on my toes.
I was recently a part of a great production, Funny Girl, at Music Theatre of Denton, wherein I played a snotty showgirl, who managed to tap dance without falling down even ONE TIME! 
YAY!
Here are a couple of photos Lynn Michelle took of the production! That’s me in the red hat!
And this is me being snotty in a fur coat! (ewwwww!)
I’m very grateful for the wonderful experience with great friends… I don’t think I’ll be working on another show for a good while though.
Also, for what it’s worth, I don’t want to do shows during August and September in the future, if at ALL avoidable… Cause seriously, balancing life, plus a show DURING the beginning of the school year is just crazy.
Anyway, I’m LOVING the whispers of Fall weather that we’ve been having around these parts, and I have a feeling that my mother/daughter trip to NYC with my mom this week will seal the fall feelings! Nothing makes me think FALL like crisp NYC weather! I’m so excited!
We’re going to be seeing American Idiot and Promises, Promises
LOVE. LOVE. LOVE.
Anyway, I just wanted to check in and give my love to whomever may be reading.
xo
Austin Trip: Day 3 (+4: journey home)
Friday in Austin!
We woke and went to our continental breakfast, which was NOT as exciting as the first day… the fruit selection was WAY limited (only pineapple, and honey dew by the time I got there) and the main course was a ham and cheese croissant, which was yummy, but not “light” in anyway. Not to mention that ham is such an loaded choice, I mean, there are a lot of groups who won’t eat pig… just my thought.
Anyway, after breakfast, we did our session thing, I attended a particularly FASCINATING session by the FAB Paula Kluth, about Autism, and how to be more accommodating to individuals on the spectrum, in and out of the classroom. It was a TEN in my book.
We hit up Fresh Choice for lunch for some much needed green. I really don’t like salads, and the veggies were all raw, and not what I was looking for, so a little salad, a 1/2 cup serving of lentil soup, most of a tiny ‘tato, and cornbread(!) was delish.
After conference festivities were completed for the day, we decided to hit the pool again before getting ready for dinner. Lindsay and I were going to have dinner together, while Laura met up with an old friend, so we swam, showered, and got ready for the night.
Lindsay and I went to Baby A’s or Baby Acapulco’s, which was another great Mexican food spot. I got my usual, and it was very, very good, but my favorite was still el marcado’s.
At this point, we’ve missed a history making 12”+ of snow in our home town, and were pretty darn grumpy. We really wanted to be home with our family, and morning and the ride home were looking pretty promising.
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We decided NOT to set the alarm in the morning, but to wake when we woke, dress, pack, and hit the road. We checked out of the hotel at around 9:30-9:45, and made our way to 620 cafe and bakery in Round Rock. It was pretty adorable, but I have to admit. OUT OF CONTROL portions…
This is what my plate looked like before I ate:
And this is what it looked like once I’d been STUFFED:
Anyway, we drove through the snow as we headed north, but by the time we got home, so, so much of the record breaking snow was melted. 
Sad.
I was overwhelmingly glad to be home. I love traveling, but I missed Daron, and my cats, and I really hated to miss the snow.
All in all, only a meeting with MizFit would have made the trip better, it was a blast.
Hey guys, I left you last after my continental breakfast at the hotel on Thursday morning… After that, my counterparts and I did our conference thing, but you don’t want to hear about that, you want to know about the fun, Austin stuff!
We went to a place called Hot Boiled, which is a Cajun/Creole/Vietnamese fusion restaurant. It was very small, and in a shopping center, but we were pretty happy with the food, I’d say. We started with grilled chicken springrolls with a traditional peanut sauce.
Cut into 6 pieces, we managed to have yummy noms while waiting for the rest of our food. I got a vegetarian rice noodle lo mein with broccoli and celery. It was SO much food, I felt like I ate, and ate, and ate, and there was still a whole plate left over.
After some more conferencing, we decided we needed to make an EMERGENCY BATHING SUIT RUN, and hit the pool. We soaked in the hot tub for a while and then, I realized I had an untapped resource with me!
Laura was a swimmer and swim instructor in high school and college! And as someone who thinks a sprint distance tri might be fun to do at some point, I should learn how to properly swim.
It did NOT go well. haha.
Needless to say, swimming is an art, and one that I had NO idea how to do properly. We ended up at the side of the pool on the steps, because I need to back up THAT far. I mean, I can float and waggle my body parts to propel myself through the water, but a true freestyle stroke, with the right head turns, and actually BREATHING, is definitely hard.
I pretty much spent as much time LAUGHING as I did trying to swim. haha.
After that, we went to the most AMAZING burger place I’ve ever been to, Elevation Burger in Austin on Arboretum BLVD was unreal. We had organic grassfed beef burgers, fries cooked in olive oil, (and most of a hand spun, to-die-for chocolate shake)
One of those amazing chances to splurge while still making a few small choices that improve the experience. It isn’t health food, it isn’t even particularly healthy at all!! It could be worse, much worse… but it could NOT have TASTED better, I assure you. I had a burger with ketchup, mustard, cheese, caramelized onions, and pickle. HOLY YUM.
(I also learned laura-in the center- is a fry dipper, who knew!!??)
Not me, I like my fries doused in only ketchup, thankyouverymuch.
Good morning, ATX!
Hey guys, It’s a lovely morning in Austin, and apparently a snowy and beautiful morning in my home town, Denton, too!
The three of us teachers, were rousted this morning, earlier than we planned with 3 simultaneous notifications that our district would be closed due to the significant snow!
Meanwhile, we’re down here, NOT having a snow day, ready to go and learn all about special education advancements!
We’re glad to be here, but we would have also been glad to be cuddled up at home, having a snow day.
My hubby sent me a photo of the snow, look how beautiful it is there… I really wish I could see it.
The conference promised us all “continental breakfasts” but I was so pleased to wake up and see some actual warm food! I had the vegetarian egg scramble (eggs, peppers, potato), a few strawberries and a slice of pineapple (the honeydew was definitely not edible, unfortunately. It was supposed to be breakfast tacos, but I skimped on the tortillas, and saved the calories for the 2% in my coffee.
We’re going to head out to some sessions now, but I’ll be back later with more gut-wrenchingly exciting happenings.
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