Order of the Purple Foot

We got stomped on Sunday. Grape Stomped that is. Every summer Dry Comal Creek Vineyards holds its annual Grape Stomp. We were virgin stompers, so we weren't really sure what to expect. But we were with good friends, and we started drinking before noon, so we knew that it was bound to be a good day.

I was the designated stomper and Kent was the juice collector. His job was also to use a little scrubber brush to keep the screen clean of debris, so that the grape juice could flow freely. It was a true cardio test, let me tell you, because the stomping lasted for a full 10 minutes! Did I mention that we were outside in 100 degree heat?

I tried to hike my skirt up slightly and do my best I Love Lucy impression, but that didn't last too long. As soon as I let go of the rail, I felt like I was going to fall on my arse -- those grapes are slippery little devils!

They weighed our juice after the 10 minutes was up, and we had collected 2,394 grams of grape juice. The weigher-dude said that we were ranked first in our group, but there were still two more groups to go.

We ended up placing third overall! Yeah, we were pretty pumped. Our prize was a bottle of wine and some wine bottle "jewelry." We made friends with a couple sitting at our table that drove up from Houston just for the Stomp, and they ended up getting first place.

Can't wait to "get stomped" again next year!

Wordless Wednesday

Fairy Godmother

I was in Michigan for Easter weekend, visiting Christine, my best friend since childhood and her two adorable children (and my godchildren), Sophie, 2 1/2 years old and Graham, one month old. Graham's baptismal service was that Saturday evening, and I wouldn't have missed it for anything!

I hadn't seen Sophie in about a year, so I didn't really expect her to remember me. But that didn't stop us from becoming fast friends. She is the cutest, smartest and most imaginative 2 1/2-year-old that I've ever met. She's very into the Disney princesses, as many little girls are. So when her grandma told her that her godmother was coming to visit in a few days, she asked, "Godmother? Like a fairy godmother, like Cinderella?" (except in her world, it's pronounced "Sister-lella.") She met me at the airport, and as soon as we got to their house, she ran and got her Sister-lella book, flipped to a page of the fairy godmother, and said, "See, it's you!" So the whole weekend I was the fairy godmother, and I did my best to live up to those high expectations.

Her baby brother Graham is the prettiest baby boy ever. He is a very content baby, and I got to snuggle him a lot. Sophie didn't seem jealous of him, in fact, she would often say, "Graham so cute," and "I love baby Graham." They both made me melt!

The most amazing thing happened the morning after I arrived. Sophie had a swimming lesson that morning, and when we got home, we played the matching game and then we started to do a puzzle together. In the middle of doing the puzzle, Sophie all of a sudden sat up and said, "I tired, I go sleep now," and she marched upstairs and put herself down for a nap, right on schedule. This blew me away, and Christine later told me that she does this quite often! How awesome is that? Sophie would also just randomly say things like, "Mommy, I so happy," and when she had a favorite dress on she'd say, "I so pretty," while twirling around. Cute. Cute. Cute. I only wish we didn't live 1500 miles apart, I would love to visit more often.

10-Year High School Reunion

I had my 10-year reunion this past weekend in Seguin. Sometimes it feels like those 10 years just flew by, and other times it seems so long ago, maybe even longer than 10 years.

The reunion started off at the Matador Homecoming Game. I didn't really watch the game, I was too busy catching up with classmates in the stands, but at least Kent had something to do. I was looking forward to the half-time performance, but they spent the whole time crowning the Homecoming Court. No band, no dance team ... boo. They were there for show only, they just stood there. I honestly don't remember this when I was in school. I swear the Dance Team danced at Homecoming! I was slightly jealous of the Dance Team's new nifty boots. When I was in school, we had to wear white Keds. I would have loved to wear those boots!

We left at half-time since the second half of the reunion started at 9 p.m. at The Ticket in downtown Seguin and it later moved to The Oak. It was cool to see how people looked 10 years later, and find out what they were doing. It's hard to catch up with people in any real way, in a crowded and noisy setting. About 50 people showed up out of a class of 360 or so, and about half of them were people I used to hang out with. A bunch of people I wished had been there weren't, people who I really would like to know how they're doing. But I reconnected with a couple of people who I'll try really hard to keep in touch with. It was so fun to reminisce about high school - so many stories and memories - I had a lot more fun than I expected to have!

Wordless Wednesday

Miscellaneous Christmas stuff and New Year's

My good friend Jenn was in town for Christmas, so we went to the Huisache for lunch the day after Christmas and did a little shopping. She is 17 weeks pregnant with TWINS, and is the cutest preggo! Can't wait to meet the "twinlees!"

This is an amaryllis that my Aunt Fern gave me at Thanksgiving. It was only about an inch tall then, and look at it now! It bloomed on Christmas Day.

I just thought this picture was funny. Kent caught the pups gnawing on a few puzzle pieces from the cat puzzle (coincidence?) that his mom gave us for Christmas. They still fit, they are just full of teeth marks now. They look so guilty!

We had a low-key New Year's this year for maybe the first time since we've been together (which was fine with us!). We went to our good friends Kevin and Shannon's house, ate yummy lasagna, played games and rang in the new year. Happy 2009!

Daisy giving Leyla a kiss at midnight. They have two dogs and a cat just like us, so we get along well!

Our friends, Kevin and Shannon.

A cozy fire at our house. I'm always so sad when I have to take the Christmas decorations down. :(

Vegas Trip

This is my first attempt ever at blogging – so please, bear with me! As unsure as I am about my blogging abilities, I’m excited to do this, because I think it's a great way to keep in touch with friends and family near and far. I'll start with our most recent trip. Kent and I went to Las Vegas October 4th-7th courtesy of our good friends Sadik and Angie Dalal. We went to celebrate Sadik's 30th birthday. They were very generous and flew us first class and put us up in a beautiful room at Planet Hollywood. We ate (a lot!) of amazing food, saw a mindblowing show called LE RÊVE at an aquatheater and, of course, did some gambling. I had been to Vegas once before with my parents for my 21st birthday, but this was Kent's first time. His very first bet ever, in his life, was on his lucky #9 at the roulette table. He bet $5, and he hit it! Talk about beginner's luck, right? It pays 35 to 1, so needless to say, he had an amazing first bet! I convinced him to ride the rollercoaster with me at New York, New York and we screamed like little kids. There is a ton of construction happening on the strip right now, namely the CityCenter which will be a massive resort, casino and convention center. It was an awesome, much needed vacation! Thanks again, Sadik & Angie!