Sushi Convert

So thanks to my brother Sushi is my favorite new food. I have always given him a hard time for loving sushi. Always asking “How do you manage to eat raw fish – gross!” Well I am eating my words now because he somehow talked me into going to eat sushi one night over Christmas break. I tried it – and loved it. I normally eat it about once a week now. I have tried several sushi restaurants in Austin but my fave by far is Osaka off of Anderson Mill Road. If you’re in Austin and you love sushi – go there. I promise you will not be disappointed. A couple of things I have discovered about my sushi loving taste buds – they like salmon more than tuna but I will eat tuna. Spicy Salmon rolls are the bomb. And they really like the vegetable rolls – I know I know – veggie rolls aren’t quote on quote sushi. But hey – I am all for discovering more ways to eat veggies that are delish!

Grammy's Kodak Moment

I was watching the Grammy’s last Sunday and I think it was one of the best awards shows I have seen in a long time. Watching Justin Timberlake bring down the house with Al Green was pretty awesome. And of course I was dancing on the couch watching ColdPlay perform. Those guys are so fun to watch live…and then well I love their music so there’s that too. But I truly think the Kodak moment of the night was when Neil Diamond was singing Sweet Caroline and he started to walk down the steps of the stage into the audience – when the camera panned out you saw Paul McCartney just jamming away to the song. I doubled over laughing – it was so great. To see one legend so excited to dance and sing along to another legend. It was priceless!

Did You Know

So there is a viral “25 Things about Me” going around on Facebook. I decided to blog about this first and then post on Facebook. PS….I am obsessed with Facebook. It’s unhealthy – it’s the number 1 reason I wanted an iPhone. Oh well that should be a totally different blog entry. Back to “25 Things about Me”!

1) I love classical music – I’m obsessed with Itzhak Perlman.
2) Growing up math was my least favorite subject yet I deal with numbers all day long in my job.
3) I met my husband country western dancing and I thought he looked like Tim McGraw (my husband says God blinded me).
4) Pink = half the clothes in my closet.
5) Mr. Darcy and Ron Weasley are my two most favorite characters – if you don’t know who they are then you just aren’t cool.
6) I love that my husband calls me Beloved.
7) My middle named is Loving – after Oliver Loving – my great(to the third) grandfather who was one of the first men to blaze cattle into Texas with Charles Goodnight. Hence the infamous Goodnight-Loving Trail. And why is the family not in the cattle business? I don’t know.
8) I miss my grandparents so much it hurts.
9) My secret wish is to some day finish a book I have started.
10) I have owned my horse twice.
11) Breakfast is my absolute favorite meal of the day.
12) I almost always fall asleep while watching one of the following moves: Pride and Prejudice, You’ve Got Mail, Sleepless in Seattle, Enchanted, The Devil Wears Prada, Friends, (or The Office if my husband beats me to bed).
13) I was on the Texas Rowing Team my freshman year in college.
14) Back in 2000 I sat next to Heath Ledger on a plane.
15) I have an affliction for designer purses – I blame my grandmother for that.
16) My favorite place to be is a) on a horse or b) reading a book on the beach.
17) I heart coffee. I am trying to only drink decaf now but it’s really hard!
18) Every time I come home no matter what my day has been like I smile because my dog acts like she hasn’t seen me in a year and goes bananas because she is so happy to see me.
19) Austin has been my home for 25 years.
20) I could spend hours everyday in Barnes and Noble – I love the smell of books.
21) I would like to go back to school at some point for a MBA.
22) Over the course of my life my family has had 6 dogs, 2 horses, 1 rabbit, 3 hamsters, 5 birds, numerous fish, and a partridge in a pear tree.
23) Christmas is my favorite time of the year.
24) Sushi is my new fave food.
25) The song “It Happens” by Sugarland is about my life.

Happenings

Wow - it's been way too long since I blogged last. Happy New Year! I can't even begin to explain how ecstatic I am that 2009 is here! 2008 was a very hard year as most everyone knows - I said goodbye to two beloved grandparents and dealt with numerous health issues. However I do have a highlight of the year and that was showing my horse Magoo for the 2008 show year. I was so blessed to have the opportunity to show him this past year - something I never dreamed in a million years would come true but it did! So amidst the trials and sadness of the past year I will always be thankful for that opportunity.

We do have a new addition to the extended family - my brother received an 8 week old Chocolate Lab puppy for Christmas. We are so happy to have Homer Belknap as part of the family. Greta is slowly getting used to her new cousin. They do really great when playing outside. Playing inside is a different matter though - although I do have to say she has only bitten him twice so that's not too bad right? :)

Christmas was bittersweet - it definitely was not the same without my grandparents. But it reminded me that Christmas is about our Savior and Lord's birth - and what makes it even more special is to celebrate it with the ones you love. So I hope from now on to really soak in holiday time with family and friends and not get caught up in the business of the season that can sometimes take over.

Mike and I celebrated our 4th year wedding anniversary on December 30th! Wow the Lord has blessed us over these four years. We have had so much fun together and we cannot wait to see what the Lord brings our way in 2009!

We spent New Years Eve with family and friends. A very yummy dinner at Z Tejas made it even better!

January 1st Mike and I packed up our bags and headed off to Washington DC for our annual anniversary trip. We had two full days to explore all DC has to offer. The highlights of our trip included Arlington Cemetery (Mike's fave) and The National Gallery of Art (my fave). I will also always have a very wonderful memory of visiting the Louis Vuitton store in DC :)

This weekend Mike and I are headed off to Houston with the Kings to enjoy the THJA banquet (related to all the horse stuff). We are ready to have a rockin good time! Hopefully I will have good pictures to post next week!

Update

Not too much new to add here. Things have been hectic. We moved all of our belongings into a POD about a week ago and we are staying with my rents for the moment. My brother had another seizure this last week while he was at school (Ole Miss). Please be praying for him. He is home now - and he will go through tests soon to see if they can discover why he had another one while on seizure meds. Both of our "disorders" are really not understood by the medical community - and you really can't express the frustration that comes with the "not knowing why" fully unless you have gone through something like it yourself. Which I hope you never have to go through. But PTL we have much to be thankful for. We are all trying to get into the Christmas spririt but I have to admit this year has been tough. Mike and I will be doing the "Tour of Texas" again this year to see all of his family. If I don't sign on again before Christmas...Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

My Yummy

I haven’t been able to blog for awhile – mainly because I knew I would want to write about my beloved grandmother – but I just couldn’t. How do I put the woman into words who I have loved so dearly as far back as I can remember? It’s going to be a tough feat and I still probably will not be able to convey what my Yummy means to me. But I am going to give it a go.

A little over a week ago we laid to rest my beloved grandmother Yummy. She was a sister, wife, mother, friend and my most dear grandmother. The type of grandmother you read about in fairy tales. The elegant, graceful, beautiful grandmother whom you could always run to and tell her your craziest dreams and she would help you reach for them. As far back as I can remember I have always wanted to be just like her. First of all – the woman had serious class. People would always remark what a classy lady she was – she had style that not many people can rival. She’s one of the few women I have known in my life who can be dripping in diamonds on an average run of your mill day, running around doing errands, looking totally blissfully normal.

Oh and she was incredibly funny. There are too many “Yummyisms” to name – but a few would be her infamous “Give me a Break!”, “Well that’s just swell”, “Oh Heavenly days”, and of course I love my name that I was always called by, “My precious Brook”. In fact those were the last words she said to me before she went home to be with the Lord.

Oh how I am going to miss her – right now I miss her so much it hurts – the holidays are going to be so strange without her. She made everything so beautiful this time of the year. She could cook like no other – I have memories of Thanksgiving and Christmas meals that would rival what a professional chef could whip up. She was feisty as all get out – stubborn like no other – I come from a long line of strong stubborn women! We shared a love of horses – as an avid equestrian herself she understood completely what it meant to be in love with an 1100 lb majestic animal – and the thrill that comes with riding one. She understood my love so much that she made so many of my equestrian endeavors possible – she bought me my first pony, Revision. And then my horse Magoo – technically she bought Magoo for me twice – that’s a whole story in itself. I always looked forward to seeing her – just hanging out with her was so fun.

And oh the shopping trips we took together. A shopping trip with Yummy was always amazing – I completely blame her for my love of fine designer clothes and accessories. From St. Johns to Chanel – Yummy was always exquisitely dressed to the nines. I could go on and on with all the memories I have with her. I am so thankful for the time here I had with her. Twenty-six amazing years. I love you so much Yummy – more than words can ever convey. And I look forward to the day when I will see you with our Father!

Update

So I haven’t blogged in awhile. Mainly because I have been crazy busy at work. The annual upgrade to our flagship software product is about to be released. So as usual this is the second busiest time of the year for me. At least it isn’t happening during Thanksgiving…which it has in years past! On a happy note….the Twilight Soundtrack was released today. Listening to it right now. The soundtrack has made me only more excited for the movie which comes out in a couple of weeks! My hubby is such a good sport and is going to dare to cross the throngs of all the teeny-boppers who are awaiting just as eagerly as I am for the movie release at midnight on Thursday, Nov. 20th. I mean….I don’t have the date memorized or anything. I started the dreaded packing project this past weekend. Yes we are moving. No I don’t know where we are moving too yet. That’s the million dollar question. We may be chillin at my parents house for the month of December while we figure things out…..an incredibly kind and generous offer. That’s about all I can come up with right now. Next time I sign on we will have a new President of the United States.