Where oh where have I been?

With the holidays and all I've been more than a little bit absent around these here parts. In my defense I have been trying to keep up with all of you on your blogs but haven't really been the best of blog friends. It's the lack of commenting that I feel bad about. I'd like to say that that was about to change. Unfortunately, I don't think I'm going to be any less busy in the coming year. I think it is a time management thing. I'll have to work on that.

Anyway, It's Tuesday and Stacy is once again home and hosting.

So what have we been up to?
Good question.
I'm going to have a pretty lame answer with the exception of this one.

I've been spending as much time as I could with these people.

That right there are my kids. Oldest boy is on the left, then Dr boy, then DIL. Aren't they a handsome looking bunch? And, smart. they are all really smart. JR and I are not sure where that can from but we try not to question it. We can only really take credit for the boys when it comes to genetics but like to think that the boys picking smart companions was from the environment they grew up in. See how I work that back to us? Clever, no?

One of the things that the kids and I did was head to the local brewery. The Saint Arnold Brewery offers tours (which we did not go on. we've seen plenty of breweries in our time, seeing as JR has a standing rule that all road trips of over 1 hour must include a stop at brew pub.) The beer has okay (I'm not the biggest beer fan) but the company was unparallelled.

Oldest boy, DIL and I also went to the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. This is a place to get your dinner and a movie all in one locale. You order up your food and beverage and it is delivered to your theater seat. The wait staff wears black so they blend into the darkness and there is absolutely NO talking, texting or cell phones allowed! If you need to take a call you had better leave or they will make you.

From their website:
"We have zero tolerance for talking or cell phone use of any kind during movies, and we aren't afraid to kick anyone rude enough to start texting their friends during a show right out of the theater. We also hate it when other movie theaters make you watch advertisements after you've already paid to see the movie, so we're vigilant about never letting ads hit our screens - we've even turned down PSAs for great causes because we don't want ANYTHING to disrupt your experience of the show. Instead of ads or mind-numbing content named after the number of minutes you have to sit through it if you get to the theater early, we create custom preshows with content themed to most of the features we program."

I can safely say that I haven't had a better theater experience and I HATE going to the theater. JR will love this place. I just wish it wasn't so far from our house. The traffic would be a killer. I guess that is what Saturday matinees are for.


Remember my oh so lovely car?

You know the one. The one that we have been limping along for the last 7 years? The one that we were hoping to get another six months out of? The one that was hit in Austin in November? Yeah, that one.

It died.
It died on the freeway.
The transmission went out.
On the freeway!
The Houston drivers are not the most patient in the world and when your car will not get out of first gear or go more than 25 miles an hour they become rather cranky. Just an FYI.
So we rented a car for a week to get us by and we plan to go out to a buy one this weekend. JR is all excited. He has been researching makes and models of cars for the last  6 months in preparation of buying in July. You cannot imagine the number of Consumer Reports buyers guides we have laying around. I am not as happy about having a car payment for the first time in 6 years. *sigh*

Not an auspicious beginning to the new year but these things happen. I hope all of you have a great 2012.

Love,
M