August 24, 2018

I'm excited about next weekend because it's the first trip this year where we are not going because of an event. It's just to visit with the Liaws and the Diez. Frontier Airlines is blowing up with their discounted airfare. I've never flown with them so I'm curious to see how much of a bargain we are getting considering it was dirt cheap for a direct flight round trip. I'm trying to figure out whether I should fly home for Thanksgiving. The flight is only $220. Thanks, Southwest! Goodbye United.

August 23, 2018

Our kids are the house plants, the luscious lawn, and blossoming flower bed. We will ask that you take good care of them while we are away. We don't have kids and pets so the plants will do. The last time we were away for an extended period, we came back with dead plants. It was not my proudest moment. I could have and should have asked one of the Bullards to come by and water them since it was in the middle of the summer. Penny is also an option since she likes to look at my lawn. The tree trimming job in the backyard is more than we expected. We got it down to an amount that is doable but it involves us renting the crane. Sergio is back in his game so he needs to keep up with the weekly mow. We are taking care of Baby Colin tonight and then it's off to the Knapps to care for their pups. I'm glad I stayed home on Tuesday night. I don't think I would have survived my busy Wednesday. That group can certainly party hard, even on a weeknight. I think we are officially in for kickball this fall. I'm good with playing one season per year. I don't like it being a year-long commitment. I'm obsessed with Terrace House. Because of the show, I am sitting on the floor more often. It's quite comfy to have your back against the couch and your bottom on the floor. It forces you to sit 90 degrees. I was on campus at OCU yesterday for their student activities fair. That school has so many dancers. There was a constant stream of girls with their hair pulled back, makeup all done, and wearing their athletic gear. For the guy dancers, they wore sweats. We got a few students signing up to get more information. The pageant season has begun!

August 20, 2018

"Crazy Rich Asians" was a fun movie. We took Paul's parents to go see it. The theater was filled to the max. It was good we got there early to get the seats we wanted. I teared up a couple times and laughed all throughout. The jokes kept coming. The movie also served as promotion for Singapore. They didn't touch on how the country is ruled by a dictator and that gum is illegal. Yes, you can't chew gum or have gum in your possession while in Singapore. Also, it's not all Chinese people there...it's a multicultural country with Malays, Indians, etc. The Malays in the movie were two servants who cared for the matriarch. The two Indians in the movie were security guards. Other than that, it was all Chinese or people of East Asian descent. Okay, I digress.

August 15, 2018

We survived the great storm last night. I even took out the portable light and radio in case we lost power. My phone was also charged to the max. We had our box wine and the weatherman on TV. The neighborhood association meeting was cancelled about 20 minutes before the meeting due to severe weather. I didn't think the storms would be that bad considering we've been having storms for the past week. I haven't had to water the lawn or the flower bed in over a week. Plus, the lawn guy has not been out because it keeps raining. It was a good move to cancel the meeting because the dark clouds and rain came a little bit after 7pm. We got lucky because a tornado was forming immediately to the west of us. It started to rotate, but then it stopped.

August 6, 2018

We finally got to play Aura correctly on Friday night. I think playing it once before helped. It definitely takes a lot of thinking to get the game right. You'll definitely get the hang of it if you know all of the rules. Just think of it as a moving target with a lot of consideration. We were off to Dallas on Saturday morning. We picked up some of the baked goods at the bakery right across the border in Texas. We then picked up tacos for The Sheehans on the way to their house. We got to visit with them and met Isaac for the first time. He was of course sleeping when we were there the entire time. Hank was very friendly and sweet. He even let me hold him, which his parents said is rare. He knew all of the animals as we pointed them out. Then it's off to West Elm at Mockingbird Station. Joseph met us there. We then drove to North Richland Hills to surprise Julie. She was surprised as expected and cooked us up an awesome meal. Joseph also got to sample some of her food before he left to visit his friend in Arlington. After Julie, we made our way to the new Ikea in Grand Prairie. I thought it would be bigger and filled with more things than the one in Frisco, but it was a lot smaller. We walked away with a linen duvet cover and a tablecloth for the dining table. We stopped at a couple scenic points but they were a total fail. The next day, it was Sunday Funday at the Nichols. Then it was Ben's 2nd birthday at the new Hideaway.

August 2, 2018

Thursday is here and I need to survive for the next two days. The latest Gazette crossword puzzle is fairly easy. I zoomed through many of the clues. Either I'm getting better or the Gazette got easy on us. It's actually the New York Times crossword puzzle. This is our only connection to New York. Actually, I just renewed another year of New York Magazine. They also have a great crossword puzzle in the back. The latest fad is to wear your wallet around your neck. The other latest fad is big white sneakers with whatever socks you want. I knew I was ahead of the curve last year when people laughed at my socks and shorts. I just paid the annual registration for the Camry and now it's time for the Pilot. It's never ending. The garage doors are working like normal again. Let's see how long they'll last until the next problem. I also cleaned out the garage and swept the dirt away. I also wiped down the drafting table. We brought the table back into the kitchen. I have more kitchen counter space again. Kaci just needs to come by to pick up her elliptical machine. It is quite dusty. I put her on notice.

August 1, 2018

Happy Birthday Mom! I hope you get to relax today! Sham and Brad welcomed their second baby boy. We are heading down there for the day to visit with them. Thank God I didn't go last weekend. As we all know, I hate driving. If I can be in the passenger seat for the rest of my life, I'm fine with that. Let everyone else drive and I can direct where to go.