it’s beginning to look a lot like christmas

this weekend was our first christmas party of 2011 and it is truly feeling like the holidays now...something about november’s warm weather had me doubting it would ever feel like winter.  silicon labs had its annual christmas party at the hyatt friday night, sporting a moroccan theme this year complete with belly dancers, henna tattoos, fortune telling, and an instant flip book station. (!)  it’s one of the first events that we have now attended twice since moving back to america, and this realization is somewhat significant.  it seems to signal the end of transience and the beginning of some wonderful long-term relationships.  in addition to the christmas party, we attended claire bear’s 2^nd birthday party which sported an airplane theme – it was truly precious thanks to two of the most creative individuals i know.  to top it all off, we managed to get our house decorated for christmas.  our first ever home to decorate for the holidays....so many extension cords and homemade ‘fasteners’ fashioned out of found objects in the garage....dads all over the world: we salute you for making it look easy year in and year out.

farewell, debbie *sadface*

today we took debbie to houston where she caught a flight back to a cold and dark scotland.  we are sad to see her go and really enjoyed having her stay with us for the past two weeks.  we enjoyed showing her around austin, houston, san antonio, and the hill country and hope to convince her to return for sxsw in the spring.  or better yet, just convince her to move here entirely...anyone know anyone in the film/production industry in austin???  *wink*

turkey and trotting, but not simultaneously

this year dustin and i ran the SA half marathon with don and erin and celebrated by consuming our body weights in mama margies queso afterward, compliments of aunt susan.  in the days leading up to the thanksgiving holiday, our offices celebrated with feasts, debbie arrived from scotland, we hosted a bbq with friends, we welcomed TJ home from iraq (!), and we hiked along the riverwalk extension.  surely all of this activity warranted us devouring everything in sight at our family’s thanksgiving day feast at the marriott tcp?  it’s noteworthy that there was a pumpkin the size of a volkswagen in the buffet...i love america!  afterward, family and friends congregated to watch the grand finale of the 118 year rivalry between the aggies and the longhorns.  *nods, hanging head in shame*   the following day, we took debbie downtown and watched the lighting of the riverwalk from iron cactus’ private patio – a beautiful way to usher in the christmas season. 

 

 

junior junior, eh?

last night we went to see dale earnhardt jr, jr  (yes, you read it correctly) at stubb’s with katy, matt, preston, brooke, jamie, and jason.  we had a blast.  it has been ages since dustin and i last saw a show indoors at stubbs and we forgot what a brilliantly intimate venue it is – perfect for the blacklight beats of this eccentric trio.

 

kayaking adventure

rabbit + kayak = love.  

the rabbit has officially been introduced to its newest accessory and i feel the relationship could really blossom if given the opportunity.  dustin and i have been itching to buy a kayak for quite a while now and decided to rent one for the day from austin canoe and kayak up on the north side of town.  after no longer being required at a charity golf tournament friday with workmakes (lucky for the other golfers!) i made my way up north and fetched a bright green sit-upon style kayak.  little did i know the next day would see 25+ mph winds across town lake....i happily drove home with a grin on my face.  *i am so cool, look what i have on my car, la la la la*  we got up bright and early, had tacos (obviously) and made our way to the boat launch at town lake.  after a debacle with one of the straps, a drive back to the rental place, and a consolation taco later (what?), we were in the water by 11am.  not the vision of efficiency we’d hoped for, but no maiden voyage is perfect, right?  we paddled for about 5 hours on the lake, thanks to good tips from ross regarding where to go and what to see.  one thing we didn’t bargain for was the wind but we managed to enjoy the scenery and have a great picnic on the far east side at the reservoir near holly power plant.  the high seas left us quite wet but thankfully the sun dried us out just in time to watch football at doc’s in the early evening.  i learned a few things as a result of our adventures:  

1.  you can never be entirely sure the person behind you is paddling...

2.  never underestimate your ability to do something really stupid at the very beginning of the day, pre-coffee (like break the strap which releases the kayak from your roof!)

3.  a sit-inside, hybrid kayak is the way to go...turning a plastic sit-upon in a stiff wind is a bitch

4.  after many hours of sustained physical activity, cold beer is brilliant regardless of the temperature outside

whodunnit

our office had a halloween costume contest and a few of my teammates and i decided to dress up as the characters from clue.  thanks to the scantily clad and heavily tattooed shop manager at the thrift store on south congress, i went as mrs. meadowbrook + candlestick.  we had a blast and actually won stuff.  there’s a first time for everything!  now to clean up the trail of sequins from the house to the office.....

picnic table

many of you have cruised by the large public picnic table/art installation that resides just west of the railroad tracks beside town lake.  well this weekend, we finally had a go.  dustin and i did our last long run before the half marathon (yay for the taper!) and, as any serious runners preparing for an upcoming race would do, we promptly went to torchy’s for tacos after the 12 mile jaunt.  (what, we needed protein...)  we took our steamy parcel to the picnic table and enjoyed lunch in the toasty sunshine and cool fall (it’s about time?!) breeze.  the poor crepe myrtles surrounding the table could really use rain but the space benefits from the encircling raised tracks and great view of the river.