Things I Love About Texas #1

Breakfast tacos and chorizo in corn tortillas.

Thinking about eating one right now,
MJ

Keep Austin Weird

My Ode to Texas
Texas, Our Texas,
Why were you freezing?
Snow was the weather I was leaving!
Canceling a day of the conference with a thin layer of ice
That was not very nice.
But, still you have lots of good beer
So, we passed the free day with cheer.
Besides the temperature
The Mexican food was excellent for sure.
Breakfast tacos with chorizo and cheese,
Give me more, please.
Sister and Lawry,
I could not stay longer and for this I am sorry.
Texas, you are full of things and people I love.

Hoping the groundhog was right and Spring is near,
MJ

If we wait, we can have FRIED PIE!

Lawry and I made a trip down to CS to spend the week before Christmas in this studentless and unseasonably warm town.  We got tres hungry on the way down (okay, I was hungry, Lawry was holding off), so we were going to stop at Arby's, because that is how much I lurve him and how le giving I am. But then we saw a billboard for this!

THE ORIGINAL FRIED PIE SHOP in Buffalo, TEXAS! The crusty flakyness is pure Oklahoman goodness, though.  Lawry got a chicken and broccoli, I got the brisket and then we ordered a sweet potato for dessert later.

Needing a workout,
MJ

10, 4 & 2

Mi hermana and I took our German friends to Waco to visit the Dr. Pepper Museum and we gave them a general Texas Appreciation Course.  They now remember the Alamo.  My sister and I L-O-V-E-D the soda shoppe at the DP.  We colored to show our appreciation

Then, we took them to Up in Smoke the Zambran's favorite barbecue place on 35 just north of the Wack-Attack.  There, an epic battle between Darth (hermana) and Anakin (Maurus) occurred, until Obi Wan (Andy) came and took the young jedi and flipped him over.

Then Anakin/Maurus went swimming.  He has convinced me that I still want all girls, but I will happy with one German little boy.  He is the cutest :)
Keeping Waco Wacko,
MJ

Speaking of Seldom Seen Things

I know I blogged about Blarski's farm in fit of Texas adoration back in January, but the Atch farm is undeniably fantastic.  It deserves a re-blogging.  Perhaps most of its attraction is the time spent with good friends, but mostly I think the farm is so great because I get to see one of the best things about Texas with my good friends.  'Cause lets be honest, I see them at dinners, our respective houses and Fat Straws (blog about THAT, forthcoming), so the farm is special, because the farm has sunsets!

 I heart Texas sunsets because they take up the entire sky.

Hmm, seldom seen places, seldom seen friends

Rewarding the bloggers with frequent posts after my extended absence,
MJ

MJ Sr. vs. Dry Rub Ribs

MJ Sr. won. Although it wasn't really an antagonistic battle, there was much love.  They were darn good ribs, too. :)

Another reason Texas is great? Barbecue.

Here comes Memorial Day,
MJ

Is it raining?

We were leaving Lawry's apartment late Friday night with our German friend Veronica and she turned as asked us, "is it raining?" Oh no... it's just SO HUMID that if feels like its raining outside.  Oh well, South Texas day trip!!

In Lawry's (and my mom's) opinion, the funniest street name in Texas ;)

Meggo, Blake and myself at La King Ice Cream Shoppe on the Strand in Galveston.  Really good ice cream and really quaint little store... Anyway, I heart these women, I wish I lived closer to them.

Galveston Island pictures... Lawry, the gals, and Veronica and I.  We had a great time down there... we have no pretensions about our northern beaches; they're just where the land meets the sea.  It was fab :)

Until next time,
MJ

That's What I Like About Texas

Went to the heart of Texas this past weekend to hang with my sister and meet Lawry.  I went to visit the Latin American library, which I did do... but I spent about 13.73% of my time in Austin at the library.  What did I do instead??? Ate really good Mexican food, and that inspired a thought.  Sometimes, when the folks up north ask me what is so great about Texas, I give the standard answers: food is better, the people are nice, sunsets are great, and something about that wildwest mentality is awesome (more on that to come).  And, I'm not just saying this stuff, I've been places, I can compare.  However, I feel that my answers are still so abstract, so I concocted a new mission for this summer:

Photo-document all the reasons Texas is the GREAT STATE!!!

...Well, at least in the eastern/central/southern/northern parts.  My apologies to the panhandle and El Paso, you are also part of the awesome, but it would almost take me as long to get pictures of you as it would to just go back up north.  Anyway, a visual journey o' the great state is in the works...

For now, some pictures of Mexican food and Austin-y things:

 Lawry with a brisket and a shrimp taco and my fried avocado and seared ahi tuna taco from "Torchy's Tacos" in Austin.  Their tagline is "Torchy's Tacos: Damn Good Tacos."  And I'll add because it is appropriately funny... hellzzz yes they are! Mmmm, tacos...

My sister drove us all there for dinner (thank you my Austin sensei and yogi) and she got the fried avocado (best) and the shrimp taco.  Apparently this place began as a taco truck and then expanded into a small place on what they call "the drag" just off of UT-Austin's campus.  As I've always said, you know it is good when it comes from a taco truck or taco stand.  Especially, if they made so much money on their stand that they also bought a little place in a hot spot of town.

Then we went to Amy's Ice Cream... Lawry was so giddy about the ice cream; he felt like a child :)

We got a pint of Mexican vanilla ice cream with pecan praline and crushed waffle cone and split it between the three of us while we sat at the children's table.  Ah, so good!

Now to work on that research I put off,

MJ

600 miles later

After about 15 hours in the car, a stop over in St. Louis-Louis, dinner at the Chuck Berry bar in STL, breakfast at St. Louis Bread Company aka Panera, a detour to Jesse James' hideout, the world's largest rocking chair (again), and a highly embarrassing moment at an Oklahoma toll-booth, I made it back to the great state of Texas.  Just finished my first year of graduate school at Indiana and it is crazy to think about the last time I made that long journey.  Without getting all saptastic, life has changed a lot since last August.  Graduate school been quite the adventure with several high moments and quite a few kicks in the hind parts.  All in all, I have been blessed.  God has been faithful, he has provided for me in unexpected ways, he has challenged me in my school work, aspirations and my relationships and he is shaping my life.  It's not always comfortable, but it has been good.  :)
One of those good things is that Lawry got to make the better part of the drive with me.  We met in St. Louis Louis, he met me at the airport!! And, then we drove the 10+ hours to DFW through Missouri all the way to Tulsa and then down to the Dirty Lew.

Lawry really wanted to stop at the Jesse James hideout.  This is us on the the lookout for the town sheriff!

 Once the world's largest McDonalds...

Russell as a frat guy... popped collar, tough guy face, big sunglasses... see big sunglasses aren't just for girls...

And now, STATE LINE Pictures! Not glamorous, I just like 'em for some reason.  Maybe cause the destination feels closer

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOklahoma!!!! Where the wind comes sweeping down the plain!

AND BEST FOR LAST...

AH!!!!!!!! TEXAS!!!!!!! The stars at night are big and bright (CLAP CLAP CLAP) DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS!

And the Oklahoma-Texas line... the RED RIVER!!!

Texas, Our Texas! All hail the mighty state! Texas, Our Texas! So wonderful, so great! Boldest and grandest withstanding ev'ry test! O Empire wide and glorious, you stand supremely blest! God Bless you, Texas! And, keep you brave and strong! That you may grow in power and worth throughout the ages long!

Eating tacos and saying "y'all,"

MJ

Maybe March Doesn't Fit in the Spring Rhyme Because It's Mad

I've always wondered what comes before the "April Showers."  You know, "April Showers bring May Flowers," but poor March was always left out of the cute rhyme for the spring months, and well that's just not fair.  So this year, March decided to make a name for itself, and it decide to snow, in Dallas, in late March, and dump about an inch on the ground.  I was just shocked at the fact that even though I was 1,000 miles away from Bloomers, the snow followed me for one last hurrah (or "wallop" in the words of weather.com) .  Well, snow, you can try to knock me down and take away the warmth, but I think I'll just try to melt you away with fun pictures...

Like one of mi hermana! Who, by the way, was the cutest child, ever. My dad has this slide show of family pictures on his computer, and she's just adorable.

And one of the Spanntastic Two! Blake's face by the way doesn't reflect coldness so much as it reflects that she lives in Houston now, where winter lasts for like 13 hours. :)

I wanted to go to the playground because I thought the colors would provide a fun contrast to the pictures.  They do, but I wish it had been light out; it would have made the colors "pop" a bit more.

 

Blakey and I "enjoying" the only snow she's seen this season because of her current exile in Houston ;)

Bracing myself for "April Panic Mode" and hoping it brings "May Light Work Load,"

MJ

Find a nook, read a book

This spring break I made a much needed trip to the Promised Land.  No, not Israel (although, hopefully one day).  I went to Texas!  It was fan-flugging-tastic (this is a word Lawry uses now, he doesn't know what flugging means, I have a guess)!  Spent sweet time with the familia, with my future-Spann-tastic friend and with the almost-Leverenzi (edit: LEVERENZO)!  It was just nice to be home and recharge, I feel like I have the boost to thrive through the rest of the semester! Even though the week was a great break, I still appreciate all prayers for the rest of the semester! Anyway, my last weekend home, Lawry, fresh off a business trip to Seattle, came to visit me in Lewisville! Yippee! So, Lawry and I went on a day date to downtown Denton and ended up with a (sort of) hipster-like theme. It was a blast! Russell found this book about Tall Texans, or you know, himself. And, he found a really cool jacket at a vintage store! I ended up wanting something "new" too, so I bought some purple boots.  I heart Texas.

Get it, Lawry, tall, Texan? Yes.

Going places! I'm actually holding a book of Indiana hiking trails...

Russell practicing for his old man days

A tripod named Richard took this picture for us.  Richard and a self-timer named Steve.

Denton is a recommended day trip, lots of fun things! This book nerd spent half the time in the Recycled Bookstore, but there's also two antique malls: Antique Mall and Antique Mall II with everything from sarcophagi to samurai swords. There's a fun coffeeshop (you must get your coffee flavored or sweet, my americano wasn't so great, but Lawry's caramel latte was pretty decent), some good restaurants (we didn't visit, but we were told), and 2nd Street Recycled Vintage where Rusty and I bought out sweet "new" things!
After Lawry and I got back to the good ole LVT, it started snowing. In late March. In Dallas.  Crazy! Pictures from that to come later :)

In a Texas state of mind,
MJ

I'm committed to...

Dear bloggees,

This semester, I have decided to make some super commitments, and I'm publishing them to the world to keep me accountable to them.  Hokay:

1. I am committed to my friendships at home.  I will call and keep those connections and make it clear I care about those people.

2. I am committed to calling my parents at least every other day to let them know everything is going well.

(Right, this picture isn't one of the Bible, but I didn't want to risk being too cheesy, so and I like this picture. Okay)

3. I am committed to daily Bible and prayer time in the mornings for 30 minutes.  This is always something I've been "committed" to, but no excuses this time, not for sleep, not for work, not for food.  For man lives on the Word that comes from God. (Matt. 4:4)

4. I am committed to investing in my life here.  I want to be a more active member of my church, of this Bloomie community, and of graduate school.  I will take the focus off of myself and think about others.

5. I am committed to fun! I will take time off from work.  I will sleep.  I will pursue relationships with friends and people in my cohort.  I will do the things I have always loved to do.

Also, I think I'm going to try a bit more things from the realm of cooking.  I am hopeful enjoying my life will help me thrive a bit more in graduate school.

Lastly, poached my first egg today.  I think I liked it, but I was so nervous the entire time I was making it, so perhaps I'll like it more next time.

Committing,
MJ

What a GREAT STATE!

 Blarsk opening up THE RIDGE!

Texas is a fantastic place.  I've only been back a few days, but I just hands-down love it.  Blair took Blakeslee and I out to her family ranch on Monday.  Man, I love Texas.

This is a very BLAKE picture.  That's Midnight who runs awkwardly.

Me, shooting a handgun.  I don't normally shoot ANYTHING, but I did hit the bottle twice.

I just like this picture.  MAD COW!

Blair climbing up the ancient windmill.

TEXAS.  How I missed thee.

Enjoying warmer climes,

MJ