a tiger, an imaginary armadillo, and balloon poop

Once upon a time (and by that I mean today), Arabella came to town from New Jersey to keep me company and help with Eiley while Jeff was out of town. To celebrate her safe arrival, I took her to Texas Roadhouse. It ended up being the weirdest dining experience of my recent life. Proof:


1. Our waitress was in a foul mood. When we sat down, she started apologizing profusely for the table not being wiped, which we hadn't even noticed, and muttered something about the hostesses being bad at their jobs. She then suggested a bunch of different drink options, looking like she was might cry the whole time she rattled off the list. 


2. There was a group of eight older women at the table next to ours celebrating a birthday. They asked their waitress to take their picture, and in order to get the full shot, she sat down and scooted next to me in my booth.


3. Arabella put a napkin on Eiley's head and Eiley left it there for several minutes. She looked like a mini flying nun, and the aforementioned older ladies apparently thought it was the cutest thing they'd ever seen. Ever. One of them grabbed our grumpy waitress's arm as she was walking by and emphatically reprimanded her, "You need to stop, and appreciate, the cuteness of that baby right there." 


4. We were there on Kid's Night, which we didn't know existed. A balloon artist came by the older ladies' table and offered to make the birthday girl a balloon animal. He didn't mention what he was making as he pulled out a brown balloon and started twisting it into thick knots. They all start giggling, and one said "I don't know where he's going with this, but the brown balloon makes me think it's not going to be good." She thought it would be poop. It was a monkey. 


5. Balloon Guy came to our table. He asked if we'd seen the giant armadillo wandering around. We hadn't. We later heard him ask another table if they'd seen the giant armadillo. They hadn't either. We searched the restaurant for the giant armadillo before leaving, and it was no where to be found. Therefore, Balloon Guy clearly had an imaginary giant armadillo.

Balloon Guy made this "dog" for Eiley. Arabella found it suspicious.

6. Balloon Guy informed us that summer is not a good season to take balloons outside. With the confidence of a college professor lecturing a class, he told us, "Don't even waste your time waiting in line for a balloon during the summer if you're outside. That thing will not last." Noted.


7. While Balloon Guy stood next to us, a child approached and asked him to fix her balloon. Her face was painted to look like a tiger, though it also kind of looked like she'd recently taken part in some kind of disturbing tribal war ceremony.


8. By the end of the evening, our grumpy waitress had turned into just a slightly awkward waitress. She admitted that she had been telling all her co-workers to come see the cute baby at our table. She then noticed that Arabella was feeding Eiley sweet potato with a fork and she practically Dobbied herself for not bringing a spoon for the baby.


9. The rolls were not warm, pillowy pockets of deliciousness. If you've ever been to Texas Roadhouse, you know that this is also super weird. And if you know me, you know that this point is only being made to keep the list odd.


In conclusion, I found the evening exceedingly entertaining and gave a generous tip to thank slightly awkward waitress for the dinner and theater.

Can't take Texas out of the Girl

You can take the girl out of Texas, but you can't take Texas out of the girl, y'all. That's right, I was born and raised in the Lone Star State. I have re-acclimated to this other country where no one has air-conditioning in their homes, I have learned to live without getting bar b que every saturday for lunch, but every now and then, I just need a little country music fix. It's one of my guilty pleasures.

I am a little pretentious about it, in that I prefer "Texas Country" to typical pop stuff. But I'm also way out of touch with things that are current. There are just a few songs or artists here and there that bring a smile to my face and make me feel like home. Can Texas be considered one of my long distance friends?

Pat Green - from my own hometown, guitar student of my old youth pastor, this is the only country music artist I've ever seen live in concert. Manny and I saw him at the Houston Rodeo, largest rodeo in the world, thank you very much! He's up there with Willy Nelson as a true Texas Country artist.

Any Man of Mine by Shania Twain - my karaoke go to song. 

George Jones - This guy sounds like the side porch of Goode Company Bar B Que [best BBQ in the world], where my dad took me every Saturday for lunch as our break from working in the yard. NPR did a great piece about him not too long ago.

Dixie Chicks - an exception to my supposed preference against pop country, these gals were were practically outlawed in Texas for a while for their lack of patriotism, but I still enjoy them. I especially love their cover of Landslide.

Rascal Flatts - another pop exception, but they're just fun.




Assuage my embarrassment Lobsters, anyone else enjoy the guilty pleasure of some country music from time to time? [Texans, please don't yell at me for being embarrassed.]

Big City, Small Town

I’ve spent most of my life living in big cities, but am transitioning into a small town for the first time. I was born in Houston, Texas, population nearing 6 million in 2010 [about 2 million when I was born there]. That’s just the county I grew up in. I’m about to move to a state where the whole population is just over 1 million, and the town we’re living in has less than 20,000. 

This is going to be a big shift.

I’ve had about a year and a half to prepare myself for this change. I’ve had lots of different thoughts coursing through my mind. Having spent several years expecting to spend my life in urban areas, there was the initial freak out. But once we really decided to make this commitment, I also started fantasizing about some of the more romantic aspects of small town life.

Not living in a big city, I know from past experience that I will actually miss freeways, skyscrapers, the white noise of traffic/trains/rapid transit/buses.

I am looking forward to being able to walk most places in town, being surrounded by old New England architecture, and nature making more noise than machines.

I think I might miss the freedom of anonymity, but love the familiarity of acquaintance.

I’ll miss the bustle and buzz of a big city, but look forward to simplicity and peace of a small town.

I will miss the breadth of dining and entertainment options. But I also look forward to actually being able to know every restaurant in town and not have a list hanging over my head of places I need to try. 

I will miss having so many choices for everything (shopping, schools, parks, grocery stores). I will love having less decisions to worry over.

I’m going to miss the ethnic diversity and internationality of big cities, but look forward to seeing more economic diversity amongst neighbors. 

We’ve been thinking lately about how both in inner cities and suburban neighborhoods, most people have to “get out” in order to work at good jobs. It creates this spatial disconnect between family and work. While I can see some advantages to having these things separated, I am looking forward to our children growing up in the same space where all the adults in their lives work. They’ll be able to see their parents’ offices and colleagues and get a sense for what having a career looks like on a more intimate level than maybe just a once/year “take your kid to work day.” 

Help me out, Lobsters. What are some of the other pros/cons of big cities and small towns? Here's one guy's research-based thoughts. What am I forgetting to miss and what do I not know to look forward to? What are some of the cons of small town life I should be preparing myself for?

Sabbath Sunday #2: Lonestar Relaxation

And the Lord saith "Thou shalt not update thy blog on the Sabbath." 

And Emily and Zoe agreed and scheduled an update in advance and will continue to do so every Sunday.

This week, I'm observing the Sabbath by kickin' back in my home state of Texas with a visit to see my family. I plan on enjoying some rocking chairs, BBQ, hammocks, fresh lavender plants, and the peace of the countryside. 

How did you Sabbath it up today, Lobsters?

Snapshot Saturday #2: everything's bigger in Texas

There's nothing like a Texas sunset. All that flat expanse seems so boring in the day time, but it inspires the dusk like some kind of miracle.

What is your favorite time of day and why?