Peicing Together Texas

I finally made it back to Texas after two very long years since the last visit.  I definitely had that feeling that I landed home again, but please realize, the last time I lived here, I was an infant, so I can't really figure out where the affinity for this place comes from?

Anyway!  It was a great trip...I was finally able to participate in an event with some of my members with whom I've worked closely over the past few years.  What a great group of people!  This trip opened my eyes to many new opportunities with them and gave me a better understanding of the history and the culture of this group.  I really can't wait to work with them again soon! 

Now, the "off hours" were entertaining to say the least.  First night was centered around this search for Big Lou's Pizza, home of the 52" pie.  Yes, 52".  That's merely 10" shorter in diameter than me.  We decided to take it easy and only order the 37".... Lesson learned:  NEVER attempt to eat a 37" pizza unless you are also dining with very hungry teenage boys.  Also - realized I really do like Stiner Bock, so much so that I did my best to take down a Mass of it.  For my German loving friends, you know that a Mass is a very big mug!  :)

My last night out - we had dinner on the Riverwalk at Biga on the Banks... LOVELY!  Following dinner, a small group of us hit up Howl at the Moon piano bar.  I so so so LOVE those places and I'm not sure why?  The piano players play the chords to some songs, royally mess up the lyrics or mumble their way through them...yet we keep on tipping them for more!  Add some beers and suddenly, out of no where, the lyrics magically make sense again.  It's crazy! :)  Well, as the night went on, I decided in my infinite wisdom and playfulness to hunt down EVERY guy in the place with a cowboy hat and get my picture taken with the hat on.  Wow...no one said no to me and handed the hat over with big smiles.  Going through my head was "I so love TEXAS".  Come to find out later from a fairly reliable source that to ask a cowboy for his hat is code for "I wanna save a horse and ride a cowboy instead" if you know what I mean ;) AWKWARD and now it makes perfect sense why the one dude followed me all over the bar.  Sorry to disappoint you guys, but not that kind of girl.

We headed back to the hotel and decided to hang out at the Charlie's Long Bar for the night - the sign said 2 am closing time and heck, it was only 11:45!  Found the jukebox, and the group fed it with dollars and selected such an eclectic mix of music...really didn't make sense at all.  Neil Diamond, Kenny Chesney, Credence Clearwater, Cher, Bon Jovi, Guns and Roses, Lady Antebellum... and we proceeded to sing these songs at the TOP of our lungs as if we were still at the piano bar with a club full of drunken music lovers.  Apparently, this was not so much enjoyable to the other hotel guests and management decided to close the bar at 12:30 due to low volume of business.  Hello?  Really?  We were buying drinks...LOTS of drinks!  So, lights came up, jukebox was unplugged, we ordered as much as we could carry and some drinks got to-go cups.  We picked up our basket of chips, plate of peanuts, guacamole and salsa and searched for a place to finish up the night!

Woke up LATE for work the next day... still spinning and trying not to be sick.  My party friends also felt the same way.  Hastily packed my bags to check out... as I was walking to check out, remembered vaguely that I didn't carry a purse the night before and wondered where the heck I left my license, credit card and $100 in cash.  I proceeded to dump all my stuff out in the hotel lobby area in desperate search for these items swearing to myself OVER and OVER... I WILL NEVER DRINK AGAIN...and GOD BLESS TEXAS!

:)

Oh Patsy... Why did you leave so soon?

Sweet dreams of you

Every night I go through

Why can't I forget you and start my life anew

Instead of having sweet dreams about you

You don't love me, it's plain

I should know I'll never wear your ring

I should hate you the whole night through

Instead of having sweet dreams about you

Sweet dreams of you

Things I know can't come true

Why can't I forget the past, start loving someone new

Instead of having sweet dreams about you

Wow, could Patsy Kline nail my emotions in one song or what?  I had downloaded this song a LONG time ago, and not entirely remembering what sparked it beyond wanting to have some really old country songs on my iPod.  And, looking back, I never imagined that the lyrics would fit my universal shift so perfectly. 
 
My head keeps telling me what I need to do...how things aren't what I had thought they were and to pursue something further is only going to lead to something worse for me down the road.  Yes, that pretty much opened up the wound in my heart and the salt shaker that is my mind just dumped away.  Felt like I couldn't breathe, couldn't think...actually felt physically ill. 
 
But, you know what?  I am starting to trust my gut a little more each day.  I'm looking for those signs - the apparent, in my face signs (like someone choosing to not talk to me anymore) and the not so apparent that I'll figure out as I go.  It was all about the signs 2 years ago, so I need to stop, look and listen again.  Some call it God talking to me, others call it the Universe...whatever it is, I'm hearing it louder as I go along and it's getting MUCH harder to drown it out. 
 
Time for new dreams.........and to keep trusting that I'm doing the right thing.
 

There Was a Shift in My Universe

Every now and then, the universe steps in, makes an executive decision, and forces us to take a right when we were absolutely sure we'd be taking a left. This is one of those times, and as sensitive as you are, you'll realize it as soon as you open your eyes this morning. So when you end up someplace you weren't supposed to be anywhere near, chatting with someone you feel an immediate affinity toward, you'll get it. You were supposed to meet. *Washington Post Horoscope*


Today started out differently than other days - for one thing, I decided that I would become a coffee drinker. Not just one of those "every now and then, when I happen to be near Starbucks" drinkers, but one of those, "I own a coffee machine and I will have a fresh cup brewing when I wake up" drinkers.  First reaction at 6 a.m.?  Need to buy REAL coffee maker which is programmed to brew.  I  hate waking up in the morning and doing ANY activity that doesn't involve standing under a hot shower and letting the water hit the top of my head while I struggle to actually wake up. I don't even like when the dog BEGS me to let him out right when he wants to go out, so now I've just added "making coffee" to my so called "morning routine".  Wasn't sure as I struggled out of bed if I had made the right decision.
 
But, waking up and brewing a pot of coffee allowed me to get the dog out sooner rather than later.  While I was in the kitchen so I made lunches BEFORE making breakfast.  I unloaded the dishes and reloaded it again, let the dog in, and experienced a morning shower of which I was actually awake for the first 2 minutes.  Shocker how that felt.... just plain weird!  But, as weird as it was, I could get used to it.   The kids woke up and I was ready for the onslaught of random topics of conversation from my son and for battling the snuggle bug who is my daughter (she's REALLY good at luring me back to sleep).  It ended up being the first morning in a LONG time that didn't feel full of stress and rushing around...and mind you, I was saving the coffee for the ride into work and wasn't hopped up on early a.m. caffeine. ;)
 
So, here I am, after lunch and just feeling differently.  It honestly feels like the universe shifted.  I am seeing and feeling things differently than I was on Friday.  Now, about this last part of my horoscope... I had thought I was meant to meet someone before when I met him.  Fate has been cruel to me lately, so we'll see how it turns out going forward now that my universe has shifted.