Drives me crazy!

Lately, the Lord has been testing my patience...with traffic/road construction.

**Hypothetically,** If you were driving down, say, I-45 (a major highway; 3 lanes wide at this point), and traffic comes to a complete stop, say, at the top of a hill and you CLEARLY see that there is a stalled car up ahead in the middle lane, WHY?! WHY would you leave the right hand lane, to gun it up ahead 8 cars, and get back into the right hand lane?!

Are you STUPID?
Are you SELFISH?!
or Both!?

**Hypothetically,** If your town has had construction on the *same* main street for over a week, and EVERYONE else in the town recognizes that the concrete in the left-hand lane is torn-up for approximately one block in the front of the city...WHY?! WHY would you ride in the left hand lane until your bumper is touching the "merge right" sign?

Are you STUPID?
Are you just SELFISH?!
OR, are you Both?!

What makes you so special that you think you DESERVE to fly ahead of everyone else and merge at the last minute? Are you just that SELFISH?

Are you unable to read the signs that say "Construction ahead" or "Left Lane closed ahead'? Are you just that STUPID? (If so, I am concerned about your ability to maintain a driver’s license, just saying.)

The city of Houston has invested alot of money into automated signs that alert you to upcoming traffic problems...You must think those signs are for everyone else? Are you STUPID?

What make you so special that you think your plans for the evening are more important than mine, or the other 239043 people on this road? Are you just that SELFISH?!

Do you not realize how irritating it is to let a big, fat JERK into the line that you have waited over 20 minutes to get through?!
Do you not think the rest of us want to get home quickly too?
Do you not think that the rest of us are irritated too?
Do you not realize that if everyone merged at appropriate times, the traffic could move at a steady pace through the construction or accident?


Just asking...because it DRIVES me BONKERS...I mean...it REALLY DRIVES ME CRAZY when people do that.

(pun intended).

(p.s. Hi Marissa, sorry you heard me rant twice today!)

The move/My family ROCKS!

I didn't take many pictures :( unfortunately...but here is what I do have:

These were my helpers - 2 parents, 2 aunts, 1 uncle, 2 cousins and me:

...in order of cell phones...
Steve - the muscles/co-packer/co-mastermind
Mom - the one who was everywhere/the kitchen organizer/the cleaner
Dad - the muscles/co-packer/co-mastermind/man with a level and stud finder
Amy - the one who packed all the boxes and decided to move downtown
James - the tall one who could reach everything/helped everywhere
Lisa - closet/clothing/shoe/jewelry organizer
Allison - the bedroom organizer/chef
(Cell Phone not pictured: Margaret - the final opinion maker "Margaret, do I really need this shirt/bowl/curling iron/etc?"/the bathroom organizer)


This was the U-Haul...No one thought it would all fit...but it did (Thanks to the engineering minds of my Dad and Uncle Steve).

It might have been a record...we started around 7:30 and were loaded and on the highway by 9:30!! At the new apartment by 10:30, and unloaded (with an elevator) by 11:30...All the boxes were unpacked and out of my apartment by dinner! Impressed?! I am not sure my family will hire-out, but I could try to get you adopted-in! haha


Lunch time fun with my cousins Lisa and James!
This is my new roommate Julie and I. We met through the Phi Lamb Alumni Association.

Want to come visit us?!

We have a cute 2 bedroom/2 bath. We're right off of the highway. I guess I should take some pictures of the apartment, but I haven't done that yet...maybe in the next post...

My favorite Holiday

July 4th is my favorite holiday (Christmas, Thanksgiving and Easter are all a close second.)

July 4th is only 18 days away!!

Also, that means 17 days until a three day weekend and when I move to a new apartment downtown.

Also, that means 15 days until Julie and I get the keys!

Also, that means 11 days until I get to go to Austin and see some *REALLY* fun friends!

Also, that means 8 days until my Mom's birthday.

Also, that means 5 days until I get to see a musical.

Also, that means 2 days until "hump day"

Also, that means less than 1 hour until its Tuesday! haha!

Happy 30th...

...Anniversary Mom and Dad!!



Here are the top 30 things I love about my parents:

1. They’ve both learned to text!!
2. Country dancing and cowboy boots!
3. Humor – my mom laughs so easily at things - especially emails.
4. They took us on trips and to see things – the mountains, the beach, the St. Louis Arch, whale watching, etc.
5. Playing games together.
6. That they both talk to one or more of their parents and/or siblings daily.
7. Our classic pool & happy hour & salmon nights.
8. That they keep in touch with old friends and new friends.

9. Help on projects, papers, awkward situations etc, all through grade school, college and even after!
10. Watching youTube videos together.
11. My Dad’s obsession about things…Camry’s, His grill, John Henry Seasoning, the Label maker…
12. That we are all Texas Tech Red Raiders – class of ’78, ’79, ’05, ’09, ’12!
13. Snacking on leftovers around the kitchen bar.
14. Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter Traditions.
15. They encourage us to get involved in activities, organizations and different programs.
16. My mom’s deal-finding shopping abilities.

17. LAKE TRIPS!
18. Their generosity for others.
19. And how much they gave us growing up.
20. “Little Army Men” lectures.
21. Their engineering tendencies – e.g., sketching out the new deck from multiple views or always using a level to hang pictures on the wall.
22. Laughing – especially my mom’s signature “silent laugh.”
23. That they moved us back to Carrollton and found a house in the exact place, so we all were back into the same schools that we had left 2 years earlier…
24. Sing-a-longs – we have approximately one million “family songs” – starting with “pico de gallo” …. “the birdie song”…”never laugh”… and more!

25. Stories. Lots of good Stories. and really funny stories.
26. Advice – well-thought-out advice and guidance!
27. That they always answer the phone when we call, even if it’s just to say “I am really busy right now sweetie, what do you need?”
28. Their legacy of strong Christian faith.
29. Have I mentioned how funny they are?!?
30. That they love each other and us (the kids)!!

Love You Guys!! Congratulations on your 30th Anniversary (yesterday)!

GParents

The past few weeks I realized how lucky I am to have all of my grandparents living...I am so grateful to have a relationship with all of them. Everyone lives in Texas, so I talk to and see them all pretty often!

This is my brother, sister and I with Mimi at her 80th birthday party this November.

My Mimi is my "typical" grandmother...She wants you to hold her hand when she is walking down the stairs, gives you "sugar" and make sure you have enough blankets when you sleep at her house. She calls me often and always likes knowing what is going on. We talk about movies, going dancing and what everyone is doing. She loves to hear funny stories and somehow my cowboy boots come up during most phone calls! ha! She LOVES to celebrate and has many friends that she "parties" with and there is always cake involved. She is a *little* gullible, so we usually play tricks on her and she just cracks up. She lives in Lubbock and was a big part of my life during college. She invited me over for dinner or lunch often, and everytime you come you have to sign her guestbook. She also taught me to love pictures and sticky-notes!



This is Papa and I at McAllister's Deli in Lubbock.

My Papa loves to "DO" for others. He likes to cook for you and fix things for you. He picked me up every rainy, snowy, windy or really cold day in college because he didn't want me to have to walk from the parking lot to the building though rough weather. I came to Lubbock to see Mimi and Papa when I was 5 and was going to fly home all by myself on a commerical plane - our neighbor was the pilot. It was all worked out, Dwayne, the neighbor pilot, would walk me onto the plane, show me the cockpit and my seat then we'd fly an hour home to Dallas. Except I got really scared when Papa took me to the airport, so he bought a ticket and flew me home. He taught me all the card games I know and is a Human Map. We always quiz him on the location of small Texas towns. He has great childhood stories. When I call him it always starts like this: "Yello?" ... "Hi Papa!" ... "Hey Babe!" ....

This is Corinne and I "cheezing" it at my aunt's birthday party this summer.

Corinne is my Mom's Mom and we call her by her real name. She lives in Dallas. She is my "atypical" grandmother. She drives a SUV, wears Uggs, is in wine clubs and works for a fashion agency. She has lots of quirky sayings and is easy to impersonate. Because she lives close, we see her alot...She took us to the Dallas Children's Theatre for many year and after college she took me to Europe for 10 days! Corinne makes some great meals and one MEAN tiramasu. She says doesn't like playing games, except she really does...I think she just doesn't like being on a team, because she always just hollers out the answers from the other room! She is not know for Lovey-Dovey notes, her cards are usually sign "YFM" - Your Favorite Mother, or grandmother for our generation, which has become her trademark.


This is Bum, my cousin Paul and I celebrating our birthdays a few weeks ago. (They are all within 2 weeks of each other.)

Bum is my Mom's Dad and lives with his wife in Houston. I stayed with them while I completed my internship at MD Anderson. That was a tough summer and he was my life line. He always has wise, well-thought-out advice for me. He is a good story teller and remembers lots of details. He is genuinely funny and always laughs at my stories. He just turned 80 and is probably in better shape than I am. Every summer, he takes bike rides with his brother across different parts of the United States. He likes a good burger or steak, grapefruit and watermelon (but maybe not at the same time.) His favorite holiday is Valentine's Day and he is really good about sending cards for special occasions. Bum always calls me (and the other girls in our family) "Sweetheart"...He is pretty easy to impersonate too! His childhood nickname was "Bum" - that is what his brother and all the grandkids call him!

I am very gratful to have a great relationship with all my grandparents. Are your grandparents living? Do you have good memories with them?

Chicago!

One of my good friends from high school, Kim, lives in Chicago (like downtown!) and my friend Kirsten and I are going to visit her in **less than one month!!** Because, we have to take advantage of a free place to stay in an AWESOME city!! and Because we love KIM!

I came to the blogging world for suggestions...

We have tickets to see Legally Blonde, the Musical!
We are going the Mag Mile
We are going on the Chicago River Architecture Tour.
We are going to the Beach.
We are going to Navy Pier.
We are going to a Wrigley field.
We are going to Sear's Tower.

Any other "MUST Do's"??
Any suggestions for comedy shows?

We will fly in Tuesday night and leave Sunday afternoon.
...and No - Oprah isn't taping in June :( Bummer!

Thanks!

Cute. Funny.

Peyton Taylor...Cute.

"Pickles" in the Dallas Morning News, sent to me from Mom...Funny.