Dan's Famous!

The Austin 360 A-LIST posted photos from the Keep Austin Weird Fest and Dan's pic made the cut! In the foreground is proof of all his hard work. Check it out:

(David Weaver)

Errand Day

So today was a general errand day. We shopped around, coupons in hand, and found some pretty good bargains on goods for the home. The most important of which was stocking up on wine for my parents visit. They are currently in Tennessee, at the end of day 2 of their 5 day trip. We got a spare key made today in anticipation of their arrival. We can't wait! They should arrive Wednesday midday in time for lunch. We must plan where to take them first! Together, the 4 of us have developed a loooong list of things to do for each day they are here, but there will never be enough time. Once they move here, we can hang out all the time!
My uncle has been in town for the past few days. We finally got to meet up today at The Austin Symphony's Concerts in the Park. Another amazing event put together for the citizens of the city. More people had gathered for this week's Big Band show than we had seen before. We got to chat with Uncle John and his friend, Dan. Learned a lot about the surrounding towns in the Hill Country. Got some great advice on excellent local restaurants. All in all a great evening!

Keep Austin Weird

Wow am I exhausted. This morning we had breakfast over the Statesman, then headed out to Old Navy for $1 flip flops! That deal was followed by a discount gas deal from our favorite grocery store!
So, last night Dan signed us up as volunteers for the Keep Austin Weird 5K and Festival. We showed up around 2:30 (we got a Crew tshirt and wristband to get in) and were assigned to "backstage/hospitality". This meant that we sat on our butts for a few minutes while the first band up did a sound check. They eventually found a more productive place for us, in the runner's village. There, we had to stuff reusable grocery bags donated from HEB with tshirts and Clif Shot Bloks for the runners. This sounded simple, even in the roasting sun until someone mentioned there are 3,000 runners and there were only 8 of us volunteers. Dan and I became an effective team, building an assembly line and picking up each others slack so one person wasn't always ahead/behind. We worked quietly and at a steady pace and it felt good to accomplish something so easily with him! We were assigned as table managers, according to size of the tshirts. I was assigned a tshirt size that hadn't even begun assembly! Well, anyway eventually we got all set up and the runners started coming through the finish line. We got swamped! I was alone at my table and think I handled it well. I was so proud! Many bottles of water and a huge headache later, it was 8pm and we had to pack up. Dan and I snuck away with some runner's tshirts and enough reusable grocery bags to complete our collection! The music was nice, but we needed some nurishment, so we left. Pluckers was calling our name. We started with the stuffed jalapenos. Got some waaaangs and mine came with mac n cheese (possibly best ever). Our lips were on fire when we left. Very happy to be home for 2 reasons: 1) our bodies are tired and 2) our bodies are dirty. It makes my home such a wonderful place to be!

First Blog EVER!

So this is my first blog ever. Everyone else is doing it and that's a good enough reason for me. So in the spirit of health, Dan and I tried jogging again today. We're starting a regimen of alternating running and walking so we don't tire quickly and give up. I'm not sure if that part is working yet. Anyhow, we jogged down Barton Creek trail towards Barton Springs Pool.
Once there, we watched a deaf kid on the diving board signing what would be his next dive. We thought he was joking at first when he did a double flip motions with his hands. He showed us - when he pulled off that move followed by 2 other impressive dives! The breeze was blowing nicely and the sun was setting. We headed towards the Zilker Hillside Theater stage to watch the beginning of Beauty and the Beast.
This is an outdoor stage with a live orchestra! We stayed for most of the first song until it started to get dark. We were very impressed by the quality of the production - great sets, beautiful voices, real lights/sound, etc. We jogged back down the trail a few minutes and could hear the wonderful music for quite a distance. The community of Austin continues to amaze me. There is actually a system in place, whereby companies sponsor events and people can enjoy things for FREE! The money isn't wasted or pilfered...the citizens reap benefits here that I couldn't have dreamt of in NJ. These accidental opportunities we come across amaze me every time.