chaco, you're not going to the wedding...but you get to play with the president and the prime minister!

i think chaco was trying to send a message that he didn't want to come to the wedding...

he actually snagged the save the date back when i got it, and i caught him just in time, but i wasn't as lucky with the shower information card. brat.

 but now that we're here, he doesn't mind so much since he isn't going to the wedding-he thought he was going to have to dress up and be quiet....not a good combination.
well, i made it to oklahoma for the wedding and last night i went to the bbq/bridal shower and it was such a joy to get to hang out with some of my very favorite people all together in one place at one time...again! the shower was tastefully fun gifts rather than kinky gifts, so bmayes and i got fun games and put them in a fun bag with a fun card because it was a bbq and we figured it fit her personality!

somehow, it just felt right.

the food was wonderful and the company was even better! the only part that was mildly nasty was when melissa kept getting all of the "newly wed" video questions correct....because every time she was right, we all had to put a piece of bubble gum in our mouths, every time she was wrong, she did...as a credit to their future happiness, they know each other pretty darn well! and my teeth will probably all be falling out tomorrow.

our hotel room is actually quite comfortable...

the artwork needs some updating, but other than that, very nice. the housekeeper was in the hall this morning when i was looking for ice, and she only had one tooth and looked a bit like nanny mcphee (even more than my old student did!), but she was super nice, and she went and got my ice because she saw i was walking really slowly. i forgot they have a free breakfast, i might see what they have tomorrow...if they have anything that works with my diet (because the rest of this weekend doesn't really work) ..although i did bring my magic bullet with me and fruit and chard, etc...

and the only good place to plug it in happens to be by the sink

today we slept in until about 8.30, then the boys insisted we watch a little hgtv and then animal planet. i had to change animal planet after a bit because every time the dogs on the show barked, the boys felt they needed to respond in kind. it's ok at home, but not at the hotel!

then we went for a quick walk around the hotel parking lot in the grassy areas and by the time we got back, i had a text from bmayes to go over and play with reagan and thatcher (the cold war coalition)...and so we went over, even though it looked like possible rain. they went crazy when the boys trotted up to the door. then i got to try one of bmayes' banana, almond flour(i think) pancakes. it was pretty great! then the pups went out and played in the yard for a bit.

when lunch time rolled around, we went to mamavecas. before i came, i was looking for someplace with paella... craving. and i found a lot of positive reviews about this place on yelp. so we went and when we sat down, it felt so comfortable and familiar because they were playing hombres g-oldies but goodies, they were one of my favorite groups when i was living in HONDURAS! the food was pretty good-large portions. it didn't quite match up to the paella i had at a spanish restaurant in HONDURAS, though. the seasoning was alright, but there wasn't as large of a variety of seafood, so who in dallas knows of a restaurant that has excellent paella?

the typical lama fur decoration...of a panda because they have pandas in...peru?

and of course there were leftovers...um, we're thinking this used to be a chicken express or something like that because it certainly looks like a barn.

oh, when i tried the paella in HONDURAS, it was on a field trip with our special spanish class. we had a....unique teacher. her name was ms. acosta. she was also the school nurse. which was interesting. i distinctly remember going up to her room once when i had a headache and she wanted to look at my throat. but she didn't have a flashlight, so she made me come over by the window and tilt my head toward the sun...a little loopy. as i recall she was that teacher that always had the huge gaudy jewelry and caked on make-up. but we liked her well enough.

yep, they were all waiting at the door...impatiently; and it took several tries to get this pic because they just wouldn't stay still long enough!

anyhoo, the food was good, then we went back to the house and let the dogs out one more time before coming in and watching life in a day recommended by leah-it was very interesting-great insight on various cultures. during the movie, i was reclining on the sofa, and bruno pounced from the back of the couch onto my stomach and it caused instant pain in my back and leg-he has no clue. so when the documentary was over, we came back to the hotel and laid on an ice pack. and we're in for the night...

more than ever, i can't wait to be back in full swing!
julie