Back in State College...

I have to start out today's post by telling you about the best thing I heard this evening.

As you know, the world is currently addicted to two particular entertainment devices:
1) The PS3 (which NO ONE on God's green earth can really afford!)
2) The Wii (which most people can-- because there are still none in stock!)

Luckily, Caesar is foaming at the mouth over the Wii (whee!) which in addition to being cute looking and actually kind of fun (tried it today), is the cheaper of the two. Now, since the Wii first came out... it has had about two shipments completely sell out. Today-- the third one came and went faster than most people could blink. Just to see if this turned out to be true (and to perhaps surprise the boy with the BEST Christmas present EVER!), I dropped by the local Best Buy and sure enough-- they were GONE. So, I called Cez to tell him that of course, there were none left and how I was hoping I could stumble into one so I could officially earn the title of "Best Girlfriend Ever". His reply was, (and I quote) "Wii or no Wii... you are the best girlfriend ever". I know I must have had the biggest grin ever walking out of that store today.

Okay... so back to the normal content of this post.

Time has really passed since I last wrote. I mean, I hustled it down to Texas for the NCA conference where I literally buzzed in and out of my required panels, schmoozed as needed, and then napped when I could! And in all of that... there are still people out there who are wondering if Caesar really exists. Well, at least Bekah, Leia, & Wammy met him! :) That's right-- the gang was back together again! We met for lunch at one of Cez's and my favorite places... P.F. Changs. I introduced him to the joy that is P.F. Chang's this summer in Dallas and we were really craving it again. After that, we goofed off a little at the Quarry Market and later that night-- after a visit with Cez's great aunt Sara, we met up with the girls again at Carmens de la Calle. If you are ever in San Antonio and looking for a place with a great atmosphere and some good sangria-- then this is the place to go! We had a great time chatting, drinking, and munching on some of their yummy tapas & dessert (Bekah got a yummy flan!). After getting to spend a great day with all of them... I have to admit that I really miss hanging out with these girls a lot. Granted, I still have Wammy with me-- but soon we will all have parted different ways and we'll have to find some way to stay glued together!

The next day found Caesar and I chilling at the Mercado (but if you ask him, it's the Marketa). We were super hungry (missed breakfast!) and so we decided to truck it down to one of the oldest restaurants in San Antonio... Mi Tierra! We were greeted at the door by a shrine that was constructed in honor of Dia de los Muertos, and it was spectacular. So many colors and old pictures... truly an interesting sight to see. We made our way in and after considering all the options we had for what to eat for lunch, we decided on what he and I would consider the best meal in the whole world... or, one of them... menudo! (Not the band, the soup!) Now, if you are curious to know what exactly is in menudo-- be cautioned. The ingredients are not for the faint of heart. I mean, it is super yummy-- if you can deal with what exactly the soup consists of! Now, give me a break... it's not like there's eyes, brains, and tounges in it. Hispanics don't eat eyes, the brains/head are called barbacoa, the tounge-- lengua! Ha! Now you know what you're eating when you eat Mexican food! After eating a bowl that big, I have to admit that the both of us were stuffed! So, we decided to actually walk around the market. We managed to find some interesting things while we were there-- lots of mexican stuff to decorate your house, or use in your kitchen. Spurs and Cowboys stuff... San Antonio loves their Spurs! And of course, random machines that measure what kind of a lover you are! Of course, we decided to see just how we rated according to this oh-so-reliable looking gizmo... and I have to say we were pretty pleased with the results! ;)

It was quite the whirlwind "vacation" for us... I mean, we no sooner got to San Antonio than we were taking off for Abilene to visit with his mom and stepdad, Tony. The best part about being there was getting to boot-scoot with them at the VFW! I had a blast! Even though I swear there weren't more than 15 people there, we had such a great time. The reason we ended up at the VFW on a Friday night was because it was one of their friend's birthday and they were all getting together to celebrate. There was cake and champagne of course, and most importantly-- there was lots of beer and dancing! I have to say that Texans know how to do a birthday right... we celebrate with the best of them! Caesar and I got some good exercise on the dance floor-- and to all kinds of music too. The DJ's (it was a husband and wife team!) played everything from Tejano to Usher! In any case, we got quite a workout... and were pretty exhausted when we got back to the house. I have to admit, I pretty much passed out as soon as I hit the pillow!

While we were in Abilene, we had some time to visit with his dad and stepmom, Delia. They have been celebrating the arrival of their first granddaughter-- Anastasia. She was getting baptized that following day, and so we caught them in the hubbub of all the preparations for the ceremony and the party that was to follow after the mass. The little one is super cute-- and a good sleeper. In that pic, she has just finished eating and I am in the process of putting her to sleep. Although she fussed a little, in the end... I won. :) I have to say it was fun playing with her... but I'm still glad that it's just me, myself, and I! I think I'm a big enough kid without having to worry about that for another long while, God willingly!

From Abilene, our journey takes us to our final stop... LUBBOCK! My parents were super happy to see me since it seemed to take forever for me to get there! That night, we did our usual Sunday night stint at the bowling alley (dollar bowling baby!) and we had a great time. I have to admit that it's harder to bowl w/ fake fingernails on-- my hands were pretty sore by the end of the night and I was granny bowling to kind of short-cut it a bit. But, I am a lousy granny bowler! I think that night had to be one of the worst scores I've ever bowled... and I'm not exactly a champion bowler. At least the beer was cheap... and quite cold. As you can see, Caesar seemed to be getting a little impatient while waiting on Julie and I to bring some back (they would only let us carry two at a time, can you believe that???). We ended the night playing one of the funniest games of Pictionary ever... unfortunately, Caesar and I aren't the best artists in the world so we lost big time to Christina and Axel.

All in all... it was a great time to be home. Although I don't have any Thanksgiving pics to show you (they're sitting on my parents' computer!), it was a great time. We were stuffed to the gills with turkey, ham, and all the trimmings. I ended the week with a small birthday celebration since I'll actually be back here in PA when my birthday does come. I have to say that I made out pretty well too! I got Seinfeld volumes 3 & 7 and South Park season 7 (there must be something lucky about the number 7!), and a yummy ice cream cake too!

Hope your Turkey day/week was as good as mine!