If you are going to San Francisco...

Make sure your parents can get out of the airport!!! No seriously, make sure the plane can leave!!!

This past Christmas my parents, Beefy, Dylan and I were supposed to all travel to the awesome city of San Francisco for a lovely 5 days of sunshine and sight-seeing. Well.... Dylan and I were the only ones who made it. We arrived in San Fran around 8 Saturday morning, only to find out OKC was in the middle of a lovely ice storm. My parents were grounded effectively through our trip. My brother was stuck in LA for work until the 23rd of Dec.

So, Dylan and I spent Christmas 2013 in San Fran and had an absolutely, fabulous time! Did we miss my parents and brother?! OF COURSE! Was it a little weird to be eating the hotel breakfast on Christmas Day? Yes. But... San Francisco did not disappoint. Sorry it has taken so long, but here are the highlights of our trip. Dylan and I did pretty much everything you can do in San Fran that does not cost money... and then some.

 We toured the big hotels to see their Christmas displays...

 Walked through both touristy "China Town" and the REAL China Town.

 Street Car Museum- interesting and FREE!

 Nob Hill. Our hotel was situated at the base of Nob Hill and most of the stuff on the wharf we needed to do was on the opposite side, downhill of Nob Hill. I cannot tell you how many times Dylan and I walked up and down that hill while we were there. Buns of steel people... Buns of steel.

 Fisherman's Wharf.

 Golden Gate Bridge... sunset

 Alcatraz... sunset

Pier 39 sea lions

 Golden Gate State Park

 On and off the Trolley/Street Car

Christmas Eve in Union Square

 

 Ferry ride to "The Rock" aka Alcatraz Prison... one of the most interesting tours I have ever taken. :)

 





American Hustle

I loved many things about this movie...

1. All-star cast... that's everyone. Not just the Big 4
2. Christian Bale's hair... belly... accent... overall persona
3. Bradley Cooper's hair... loving the hot pink squishy rollers!!! (Brought back memories of my mother rolling my long, wet hair in those rollers when I was in elementary school)
4. Jennifer Lawrence cleaning house and dancing to "Live and let Die." My favorite scene in the movie!
5. The clothes...sets... ambiance.

But my favorite thing was the Music. Oh! So much goodness going on there! Could feel myself riding around in the car with my dad all over again... listening to his Oldies and Classic Rock stations, playing the game of "I'll give you 5 bucks if you can name who sings this song" or "5 bucks if you can tell me the name of the original group" or "what movie did this song play in"...

You get the picture. I find myself doing this to Dylan now as we drive around, specially on road trips. YIKES! It annoys him just like it used to annoy my mother and I when my dad played this game. (Side note, it's true people. You do turn into your parents as you get older.)

I browsed my music collection to see how many of the songs I already had...quite a few...and then found other songs I would have used also in the film. So, I made my own American Hustle mix. I tried not to use any of the songs previously done in the soundtrack because... well... it was amazing just as is!! But... I have a tendency to hear my own versions of soundtracks and create them for movies I truly enjoy.

American Hustle... (Megan style)

1. Livin Thing - Electric Light Orchestra
2. Long Black Road - Electric Light Orchestra (This was used in the film, I know, but I am absolutely OBSESSED with this song right now. It has been on repeat in my car for at least a week now... )
3. Hold on, I'm coming - Sam and Dave
4. Sister Golden Hair - America
5. Domino - Van Morrison
6. Wild Night - Van Morrison
7. Superstition - Stevie Wonder
8. Express Yourself - Charles Wright
9. Long Cool Woman - Hollies
10. Don't you want somebody - Jefferson Airplane
11. Sympathy for the Devil - Rolling Stones
12. Love her Madly - Doors
13. It's a long way to the top - ACDC
14. Paint it Black - Rolling Stones
15. No Sugar/Mother Nature Medley - The Who (Another all time favorite)
16. Never been to Spain- 3 Dog Night
17. Right down the line- Gerry Rafferty
18. Point of no Return - Kansas
19. Reason - Head East (One of my top, favorite songs!!!!! This one goes on every single workout playlist I have.)

The Abominable

 

Talk about an emotional rollercoaster! The book opens with an excerpt from the author, Dan Simmons, explaining to you that the next 600 or so pages... basically the story you are about to read, is not his. Simmons had the opportunity to meet and chat with a guy who had spent time in Antarctica in the early 1900s. Simmons wanted to write a book about that. He spends an entire day with this man, named Jacob Perry, talking only about life and Antarctica. Before he leaves, Perry informs Simmons he is dying, but has another story to tell; one that has nothing to do with Antarctica. He has never told another soul before and still does not know if he can, but he believes the world needs to know this tale.

Simmons cannot spend longer with Perry, and Perry is dying of lung cancer and cannot talk much longer so Simmons gives Perry a leather-bound journal and tells him to write it all down. Simmons leaves, and a year later, multiple boxes arrive at his home from the deceased Jacob Perry. In the boxes are tons of leather-bound journals, all written in Perry's own hand-writing, documenting this story of his. Perry tells Simmons "if you think the story is good and people will want to read, publish it."


Thus begins the incredible, gut-wrenching journey of Jacob Perry's recovery mission to Mount Everest 1924-25. Jacob Perry, a Frenchman Jean Claude, and a Briton Richard Deacon, are charged with recovering the body of a Lord Percy Bromley from Mount Everest.  (Remember, the previous year both Sandy Irvine and George Mallory took a huge group up to try and summit Mount Everest; the group returned, Mallory and Irvine did not. Only Mallory's body was found in 1999.)

What is the young British man doing up on Everest? Why is it so imperative his body be found? Why do the German hikers, men such as Bruno Sigl and Rudolph Hess (soon to be one of Hitler's inner circle) not want the British to continue their mission? Did WW I really and truly end? Or are the battles still being fought, just in different circles? Was it actually possible to summit Mount Everest in the 1920s? Do you choose the new gear (in 2013, any good mountain climber and hiker never goes anywhere without these pieces of gear) which has never been tried before, but in theory sounds like it should work? EX: crampons, shorter ice axes, "magic" climbing rope, eider-down jackets with fewer layers of wool clothing, lighter oxygen masks.. to name a few.

Can an alpine ascent on Everest actually work? (This is how we climb mountains today) Can you get rid of the "siege" tactic of climbing mountains? Which face is better: the North or South? How do you deal with the bitter, bitter, unimaginable cold? How do you battle with the demons in your mind as you live continuous days at an altitude of over 24,000 feet?

So many more questions to be asked and answered as you read!

For those of you who like to hike/climb mountains or just enjoy the view of them, the book will speak to your heart. You will be able to picture yourself in instances where you thought you could not make that next step, that next pitch..... but you did. The view from the top of the mountain was worth every curse word, bumps/bruises and tears.

For those of you who have never experienced this, no worries! The book is an incredible read! Just gloss over some of the finer details about mountain climbing if you get bogged down in the middle of the book.

Each time I think back to the book, I find myself in awe of the courage and determination man shows himself and others, in both the daylight and the dark. The horrors of WW I and the coming WW II are just as horrific as we are taught about, and affected the entire world in unimaginable ways. The will of man to fight... to LIVE... is incredibly strong. 

"Getting to the top is optional; getting down is mandatory."

         -Ed Viesturs-

Down the toilet bowl??!!

Yes, you read the title right. And yes, what you are thinking and starting to laugh about right now is correct:

I fell into the toilet bowl the other morning... all the way down into the bowl, where my butt touched the bottom of the bowl.

I know, it's hysterical, and yah, I sound like a complete and total idiot. However! This was not my fault, or not entirely my fault.

So, Dylan puts neither the toilet lid nor the toilet seat back down. I find this truly annoying and somewhat gross. I have been trying for the past 5 years now to at least get him to put the seat back down!! For a while, he was doing a good job but then we moved into the apartment where we had separate bathrooms with separate toilets and well, that good habit quickly disappeared. We now have separate sinks and counter tops, but share a toilet in the new house.

I don't understand why it is hard to put the seat back down once you finish, specially since you know you live with a GIRL who requires the seat down for everything. When I explain this to him, he cites all other manner of things he could do but does not, such as "pee on the seat"... yah, yah yah. You should have fixed that problem a LONG time ago buddy.

I also think not putting the lid back down is weird too, and kind of gross when you walk into the bathroom and can already see the toilet bowl. I mean, what if something did not get flushed all the way??!! Specially if you are in someone else's house??!! It is one thing to deal with your own personal waste and that of your spouse, kids or pet but to deal with someone else's garbage, for lack of a better word, is JUST GROSS. Plus, they make cute lid covers that can match the décor of your bathroom, so there is a purpose to putting the lid down. That way you walk in and see the pretty lid cover, not the ugly toilet bowl!!!

Apparently I grew up in a weird house because no one else I know puts the seat down. Every other guy or even girl I talked with about this issue laughed when I said to put the lid down. But I can honestly say that in my house growing up, my brother and dad put the seat and lid down.

But... I digress. So anyways, Dylan left the house before me the other day and put neither the seat nor the lid down. Thank goodness he flushed, let's just say that. The alarm went off, and it was just one of those mornings where I could not shake sleep off. So as I'm stumbling to the bathroom because you just gotta pee when you first wake up, I did not even bother to look at the toilet. I just hit the light and sat down... hard... all the way into the bowl. I mean, there was no catching myself guys... No way! And let me tell ya, that toilet water is COLD on your butt at 6 am!!! I quickly woke up and could do nothing else but scream "Dylan", even though he was long gone to work and could not hear me.

It was not one of my better moments. I'm sure I was one of the classic, funny, ironic humor moments you see in the movies. I did not have a bruise, if you were wondering and yes, I now check the toilet ALL THE TIME because I'm paranoid about falling in... again.

Does he put the seat down now? No. Bottom line, lesson to be learned for my married people, soon to be married people and brothers/sisters...

Men are from Mars. Women are from Venus. Pick your battles, ladies....

Fall! Fun! Festivals!

Welcome to Wurstfest 2013! This was our first time to partake in this lovely German festival of food (predominantly sausage), beer, music and other festivities- we had a blast! Cute town of New Braunfels, TX, was the perfect setting and the weather was gorgeous- jeans, long-sleeves and NO HUMIDITY!!

Cute little Marketplatz reminded Dylan and I of our visits to Germany and Austria.

We ended up watching this girl band for an hour- these ladies could rock! Some of the songs were in German (The band was actually from Germany. They toured in the States during October and November for all of the German festivals), and some were in English. The ladies could play the drums, guitar, saxophone, trumpet... you name it! When we first started watching them, the tent was pretty open. About 20 minutes in, the place was packed and people were clambering in to hear these ladies sing. I can't remember their name... it was in German, but they were awesome! Would soo listen to them again in a heartbeat!

October was filled with many shenanigans at work. Homecoming was frustrating this year because the theme was all about "Spooky Spells." That was not the problem; the problem was listening to older 60s and 70s songs on the intercom before class being sung by terrible people like Selena Gomez and other little wannabe singers. I finally could not take it on Friday when we had heard Stevie Wonders SUPERSTITION and Pilots' OH OH ITS MAGIC being sung by that girl. My kids were telling me these songs were amazing and yay for Selena Gomez for writing them. Uh..... heck no! I stopped my 2nd period to have a day of "musical education" where we listened to the original versions of the songs, complete with music video so these kids could see and hear how real musicians and rockers should sound. Then they asked me to see the girls who made up the band The Bee Gees. Uh... "Houston, we have a problem."  Needless to say, I accomplished zero World History work in class that day. ;)

Red Ribbon Week was fun! I participated in Red Ribbon Week and really enjoyed crazy sock day. I wore 2 different Christmas socks in October... madness! I know!

Winner of the Student to Teacher conversation of the month (as told by a fellow teacher):

Teacher: Describe nomadic herding

Student: When you tie a bunch of gnomes together with a rope and drag them around

The weather has been so gorgeous, so we have all been outside as much as possible. Goobz found a baseball in our backyard and loves running and chasing after the ball. It's wonderful because it wears him out and then he just wants to snuggle and nap. :) Mommy's sweet little boy! (I'm thinking the bottom picture will be his portion of the Christmas card this year)

Been cooking up some yummy dishes lately. Made a delish Grilled Shrimp Salad with Bruschetta. Also made Potato Soup from scratch. It came out pretty well for my first time! Dylan said he would eat it again... yay! We are both a little obsessed with Hummus right now. We like the original and the Red Pepper kind. Sadly, it is another one of those foods which my IBS does not really like, but... I eat it anyway and suffer the consequences later. :) Also made some Ginger Spice Cookies with walnuts and pecans- not only did they taste yummy but they made the house smell like Fall. :)

 15 school days left until Thanksgiving Break- WAHOO!! I'm sooo ready for a long, full week off. I'm excited for November too! Dylan and I have so much to look forward to, specially Thanksgiving in Lubbock!

Sincerely hoping wherever you are, you get out and enjoy Fall and the many festivities and opportunities to be with family and friends!

Long time no write...

The Careys are alive. We have just been a leetle busy.... We bought a house! For real this time!!! It is just perfect and we both love coming home to this place so much! This happened back in the last few weeks of September. September was filled with boxing, packing and moving. Early October was filled with unpacking previously packed boxes and moving furniture.

We have roughly 1 acre of land. The above picture shows the side of our house. Goobz is in heaven!!! He love loves to explore! We are very pleased with him too because he is staying in the yard. He inches pretty close to the edge sometimes, but mostly he just wants to be where Mommy and Daddy are, or where he can see us while he sits in the sunshine. Life is good for our little man!

He also has stairs in the house... multiple levels of stairs. Stair to the kitchen, stairs to the guest wing, stairs to the master bedroom.. you get the picture. Goobz loves playing on the stairs, so this has been good for him too.  

Fall is actually here in San Anton this year!!! After having close to 75% of our stuff in storage for over a year, I am so enjoying being able to decorate for my favorite season!! Pumpkins, pumpkins and more pumpkins!!! :)

The walks are amazing! We actually walk close to the woods because of how our neighborhood is situated. The whole thing is nothing but hills too, which is great exercise for both human and dog. :) Goobz is afraid though of walking at night when it is dark. Both Dylan and I have seen animals in the woods, heard noises and seen creepy eyeballs through the trees, so I don't doubt that Goobz sees and hears more than we do. Very glad my dog has the sense not to walk with bigger predators around him... I'm not up for running away from coyotes or foxes etc.

Dylan surprised me with tickets to see one of my all-time favorite bands Maroon 5 in September!! I have been a true, die hard fan for 13 years now, and this was my first time to see them. I was ecstatic!! We spent a very enjoyable evening in Austin, listening to Kelly Clarkson and Maroon 5. My voice was gone by the time we left the concert, so I say claim it a grand success!

CMDA had their annual Fall banquet, which we attended this year. Enjoyed a very nice dress up evening with fellow dentists and doctors.

I am learning how to shoot our Glock. It has a bigger kick than I expected... or maybe I'm just a wimp, who knows?! Dylan is a good teacher, very patient and understanding. He is incredibly confident and secure with the firearm, which makes me feel confident and secure. I am so very grateful to be married to a man who wants to protect our family as much as possible!! I shocked us both too, because I actually got inside of the target a couple of times!!

However, shooting and loading is nothing like in the movies or on TV. Hollywood makes it look easy... It's not. Lame....

 

Dylan has been busy and productive at the office and somehow that involves large vegetables... go figure?! :)

The majority of the office participated in a run to fight Ovarian Cancer as a team building exercise. We all brought our dogs and children out to the walk at Eisenhower Park a few weeks ago. We had a good time, and I personally enjoyed getting to know Dylan's staff better. He works with some quality people!!

We had a visit from my parents a few weeks ago; however, I should clarify when I say "visit" because my parents didn't even stay for 48 hours, but that is their MO. :) It works for everyone... We had a nice time, eating good food and seeing movies: CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (most emotional movie I have ever seen) and GRAVITY (which everyone thought was lame but Dylan).

Our dear friends Jenn and Peter started Bible Study up again, which has been such a blessing to Dylan and I. I don't think either of us knew how much we missed seeing our Bible Study group of friends on a regular basis, diving into the Word and being uplifted by each other's praises and struggles. Sunday nights are good again. :)

God has been teaching my quite a few lessons in humility and contentment these past few months. I feel like such a different person than this time last year, and it is a good feeling to have. There is such grace and beauty in letting God into your life on a constant, meaningful basis. Moments and pictures like the one above make me stop in awe and wonder at the miracle of our lives on this earth. I had to pull over here to snap the picture because my heart was filled with such joy. Nothing is perfect, I will give you that, but I find myself getting up each day with a smile on my face and purpose in my heart to be a good person to all that I meet, to love my family unconditionally and to take care of myself.

We have internet in the house now, so I will be better about blogging and updating. Thanks for hanging in there with my guys! Love you all and glad to be back! :)

"Ba de ya, dancing in September"

1. Spelling 101:

Buried = berried or berried

Horse = whorse

2. Personal Gain:

I am up to an easy average of 6 or 7 miles on my nightly runs. Once a week, I push myself to hit that ultimate limit. I am up to 9.5 miles that day. :)

3. September 11th was a very moving day for me this year. We watched an incredibly touching video montage at school- I cried unashamedly the entire time. We all wore Red, White and Blue to work. I was extra proud to be an American on Wednesday and extra, extra grateful for all of my family and loved ones.

4. AP students did not know what a "carpenter" was/did. The smart aleck teacher response in the lounge was "They have obviously never been to Sunday School before.."

5. My cousin Kate's sweet little boy turned 1 a week ago!! Beyond proud of her and Chris for raising such a cute, happy baby boy! You are an awesome mommy Kate!!!

6. Hamilton Pool near Austin is amazing! What a hidden treasure!

7. I am love loving the History Channel series MANKIND, STORY OF US ALL!!! We have watched the first 2 episodes in class and my students love them! The facts go hand in hand with our scope and sequence for class, and the graphics/stories, along with the general look and feel of the videos are incredibly life-like and have a very Hollywood movie feel.

8. I am obsessed with the song "September" by Earth, Wind and Fire. No apparent reason, but I have had this song on repeat going to and from work for the past week.

 

"Our hearts were ringing, in the key that our souls were singing... do you remember? Ba de ya, dancing in September..."