great end to a year

i tried. i tried to get started again, but i just didn't get enough posts under my belt to start the ball rolling again, so here i go again (on my own...goin' down the only road...go ahead, thank me for putting those lyrics in your head, and now, shake it off...back to ME!)

yes, so as i was saying. lots to catch up on, so i may have to take the cheap way out and just provide some brief details on some events. and no worries, i will not give you a novel in a day, but rather i will do my darndest to section it out in such a way that will keep stories straight!

so let's start with where we left off, shall we? that was back just before the new year. jo anne was once again kind enough to let the boys chill with her for a few days, while i went to san antonio to visit with julie k, her husband, and guest of honor: randi robarts-former colleague! it was great to see and hang out with all of them, but especially great to catch up with randi, as her departure happened so quickly. i love it that things are going so well for her and she is so happy on her current path.

joy to my heart! (missing a partner in crime)

we greeted and had a fun quick little gift exchange...i'm in love with the thoughtfulness!

i've explained this before, but the short answer is julie 1(julie juan...very meaningful)

it's chaaaarrrrlieee and he goes to candy mountain!

this shortbread and the spread were delicious! (a labor of love)

i know kevin had my best interests in mind, but i tried to grow this boyfriend, and apparently this is 6X normal size...and he wasn't a good communicator.

we watched some sketchy documentaries about the white's of w. virginia...ouch. it was almost painful! but then to ease the pain, some fun youtube vids, which had us crying. and dinner was phenomenal-BOTH nights! kevin's artisan bread was melt-in-your-mouth!  both nights we played a card game that had us in stitches-any outside observer may have had some questions. how do we know i was exhausted? i may or may not have almost fallen asleep standing (leaning) in the kitchen...

ah, these scallops! the bread...the everything!!!

but after a good night's sleep, we were able to do a little damage at bath and body and old navy. when we stopped at a local thai place for lunch, it was hoppin', which usually is a good sign. so we went in, and received terrible service. asked for water and tea refills multiple times, and then when ju's tempura came out, it was more of a breadcrumb panko than the traditional light tempura. we tried to get a cohesive answer about this, but i'm not sure the lady really understood what we were trying to get to. while there, we were hoping for an awkward moment from this gentleman who walked into the restaurant with his ukulele, waiting for a girl. but by the time we finally left (without the water refill), he had yet to pick up the instrument in serenade-mode. oh well.

ukulele man

and of course, randi with her obsession, was able to stock up when we found her japanese nuts, and she didn't go overboard or anything...

we played our card game again that evening, and truly we all won because night elf, level 90 when everyone laughs, everyone wins. #puddinbane

our trip ended with brunch at max's wine dive. and i will say, the mac and cheese was a hit, and we stretched it out as long as we could, grabbing starbucks and chatting for a couple minutes before it was time to part ways so they could get randi to the airport and i could hit the road to be home before late afternoon to pick up the boys. i loved going on this trip, because there's something very special about seeing friends and hanging out outside of work-it just makes it more 'friend-y' instead of 'work-y.' as always, the best part was the conversation-always rich.

the drive home was great after austin, and it was a quiet night for new year's eve. but we rung in the new year (ok, we fell asleep early, and merely accepted that when we went to bed, the new year had started somewhere!)

i'm going to miss being close enough to just drive down every once in awhile! next up: several trainings to include abilene, kilgore, ft worth, abq, waco, lubbock, disd, orlando and amarillo...it'll take a minute, but we'll get caught up, hang with me!

julie