V.E. Day.

Happy Valentine's Eve! I was surprised when I got home from work Wednesday to find flowers and valentines from my sweeties.

Brett gave me the gorgeous roses and a wonderful card, and Ryan and Katie gave me valentines, candy, a "kiss me" button, a snow globe and a dollar (for Sonic!). Too sweet!

I had planned to save the valentines for Thursday, but with that welcome home, I just had to let R&K get their presents a little early:

Even though the kids are getting older, I just can't resist getting them animated stuffed animals for Valentine's Day! The toys crack me up, and seeing the kids with them makes me laugh even harder.

After the gift exchange, we headed to HCC for a delicious (and CHEAP!) Valentine's dinner followed by Wednesday class: What a great sneak preview of Valentine's!

One more for the road.

Did I mention what the road-weary world travelers found to eat on their way to Huntsville? Actually, my mom and I managed to stop at TWO different Dairy Queens during our day trip! We miss having a DQ nearby, so we just HAD to take advantage of this old staple! "That's what I like about Texas..."

Scenes from the road.

Sunset on the farm where the reception was held

The old Pine Prairie church building
(which made me nostalgic for other country churches
from back in the day)

And the new one across the street (where the wedding was held)

All in the family.

There's nothing like a wedding to bring a family together! It'd been WAY too long since we'd spent time with my side of the family, but Saturday we finally got to see them. My cousin's daughter got married in Huntsville, so my mom and I made a quick trip down 45 for the big day. It had been at least a couple of years since we'd seen this branch of our family tree.

My dad's sisters, my Aunt Berniece and Aunt Lois
(and Lois's husband, my Uncle Don, right behind them)

The wedding party

The bride's parents

The happy couple


The next generation: Some of my cousins' kids
(who in my mind, at least, should be about 5 years old!)

Then there's the generation after that: one of my cousins' grandkids!


And my cousin-in-law Linda with her youngest granddaughter

With my cousins Susan, Donna and Jill

The matriarchs: my dad's sisters with my mom

We stayed at the reception past dark, but our day trip eventually had to come to a close. My mom and I had to say goodbye and hit the road, but we surely hope it won't be so long before the next family reunion!

So for the second Saturday in a row, I got to spend time with people I love but rarely get to see. For the second time in eight days, I just tried to relish every word, every moment with people I hadn't seen in years. Maybe it's my age, but I can't help but get sentimental when I think about how important these people are to me. Even if I don't see them as much as I'd like, I'm just so thankful for these occasions when we can reconnect.

Laissez les bon temps rouler!

Years ago I just happened to stop at the grocery store on Fat Tuesday. Seeing the king cakes for sale, I went ahead and picked one up. Well, with that pastry, a tradition was born. Every Mardi Gras since then, I've tried to sneak in a trip to Albertson's so we can partake in this annual ritual.

My job—besides buying the cake—is to hide the baby (top left) inside the cake. I am TERRIBLE at this job! I can never conceal it so that it's not obvious where the baby is. The kids used to be pretty competitive, wanting to be the one to "discover" the baby in their bite (ew!). These days, though, they know whoever picks the first slice wins since it's ever-so-easy to tell where the plastic thing is.



We're miles away from Mardi Gras (in more ways than one), but this annual Fat Tuesday indulgence sure does spice up a school night at our house!

EDITED TO ADD: Here's the history of king cakes, as written on a card in the pastry box.

The King Cake is believe to have originated in France around the 12th century. These early Europeans celebrated the coming of the wise men bearing gifts 12 days after Christmas, calling it the feast of the Epiphany, Twelfth Night or King's Day.

The main part of the celebration was the baking of a King Cake to honor the three kings. The cakes were made circular to portray the circular route used by the kings to get to the Christ Child and confuse King Herod, who was trying to follow the wise men so he could kill the Christ Child. In these early King Cakes, a bean, a pea or a coin was hidden inside the cake. The person who got the hidden piece was declared King for the day, or was said to have good luck in the coming year.

In Louisiana, Twelfth Night also signifies the beginning of the carnival season, which ends on Mardi Gras Day. The beans, peas and coins have been replaced by a small plastic baby to symbolize the Christ Child. The person who gets the baby is expected to carry on the carnival festivities by hosting the next King Cake Party.

Good morning.

After such a fun and busy weekend, it was hard to head back to work today. Because of that, it was extra-nice to see this on my desk this morning!

Super Sunday.

Paying homage.

No trip to campus would be complete without a quick visit to these special places:

Our tailgate location

Our seats (Row 52)

Our new north endzone

These spots were pretty lonely today, but in 208 days...

Memory Lane.

Before leaving Austin, Brett and I wanted to take a walk and take in the amazing spring-like weather. Instead of heading to Zilker or another park, I took Brett to the UT campus so we could combine our exercise with a little stroll down Memory Lane.

We started off on the east side of campus, the touristy part. We walked around the stadium toward the LBJ Library, a section of the 40 Acres that I visited more when I was attending high school conferences than I ever did as a UT student.

Then we headed west to the main part of campus. It's funny how those leaf-covered sidewalks still smell like "college." We strolled past several academic buildings that brought back memories of professors, long lectures, pull-up desktops, spirals, blue books and scantrons.

We also walked by the Environmental Science Building where I worked in the Nutrition Clinic for a couple of years.

(Apparently it's undergoing some renovation, which is a good thing. I bet it won't smell like the old ESB when they're finished with it!)

We also crossed the South Mall, taking in the view of the Capitol and, of course, our beloved Tower.

Brett was sweet to indulge my sentimental side, and with the humidity and hills, our walk turned into quite a workout!

Dinner with friends.

Saturday night we headed to Buca di Beppo for dinner with some longtime Austin friends. (Notice I didn't say old.)

Anne recommended the place for us, and it was perfect! The Italian food is served family style, and with Cynthia at the head of the table to order and divvy everything up, we were in excellent hands.

The food was delicious, and yes, I could eat! (You know, those carbs are really, really good! How I've missed them!)

Here are the Chocolate Vesuvio cake and the birthday candles. The birthday song even came with "accordian" accompaniment!

The food was great, but the company was even greater. I miss my Austin friends so much, so we'll take advantage of any excuse—even aging!—to get together with them.

With Amy and Cheryl

Cynthia and Kanette

Kanette, John and Anne

Amy and Brett

Thanks, guys, for the wonderful company and the many, many laughs! It was great to see y'all!

Back to the Drum.

Way back in the winter of '86-'87, I spent plenty of time in the Erwin Center as a piccolo player in the Longhorn Basketball Band. My band stint lasted just one season, but until I graduated, I made many return trips to the Drum to watch the Horns hit the court. Sadly, I haven't been able to get back to Austin for basketball games nearly as often as I'd like. Until today, it'd been at least 10 years since I'd seen the hardwood Horns play at home.

When I realized the Horns were playing Baylor in Austin so close to my birthday, I had the perfect excuse to FINALLY take in a UT basketball game! Combine the game with dinner with friends and a willing babysitter, and Brett and I had a nice weekend getaway on our hands!

I used to have one of those front row seats in the band, right behind the goal! What a view!

Our seats were three rows from the top of the mezzanine!

HORNS WIN! Pluckers for everyone!

We hooked 'em, 80-72. WHEW!

Mad Libs for the '00s.

I stole this idea from Wade's blog, and while my songs didn't always match the questions as well as his did, I still got some interesting "answers"!

The Rules
1. Put your music player on shuffle.
2. Press forward for each question.
3. Use the song title as the answer to the question.
4. NO CHEATING.

Q: What does next year have in store for you?
A: Building a Mystery - Sarah McLachlan

Q: What does your love life look like next year?
A: Touch and Go - The Cars

Q: What do you say when life gets hard?
A: When Doves Cry - Prince

Q: Song that reminds you of good times?
A: Nightswimming - REM

Q: What do you think when you get up in the morning?
A: Witchy Woman - The Eagles

(Actually, that would be what others think of me!)

Q: What song will you dance to at your wedding?
A: Every Move I Make - Out of Eden

Q: Song that reminds you of your first kiss?
A: Hound Dog - Sha Na Na (from the Grease soundtrack)

(Um, NO COMMENT.)

Q: Your favorite saying?
A: Beauty and the Beast - Angela Lansbury

Q: Favorite place?
A: Taxman - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (from the Concert for George)

Q: Most Missed Memory?
A: Uptown Girl - Billy Joel

Q: What song describes your best friend?
A: All She Wants to Do Is Dance - Don Henley

Q: What song describes your ex?
A: Ballad of Billy the Kid - Billy Joel

Q: Where would you go on a first date?
A: Substitute - The Who

Q: Drug of choice?
A: I Want to Hold Your Hand - The Beatles

Q: What song describes yourself?
A: You Are Good - Israel & New Breed

(Aw, shucks...)

Q: What is the thing you like doing most?
A: Under My Thumb - The Rolling Stones

Q: The song that best describes the president?
A: Indian War Whoop - John Hartford (from O Brother soundtrack)

(I have maybe two song titles on my iPod that include the word "war," and this one comes up for the president?)

Q: Where will you be in 10 years?
A: Hourglass - Squeeze

Q: Your love life right now?
A: Do You Want to Know a Secret? - The Beatles

Q: What is your state of mind like at the moment?
A: Air of December - Edie Brickell and New Bohemians

Q: How will you die?
A: Here I Am - Lyle Lovett