Weather Report

There is not much to report from icy Dallas, except to say that it has been icy in Dallas. I thought the weather in Denver was wacky, but Dallas puts Denver to shame. Sunday it was 75 degrees. Everyone was outside. The neighbors were all standing around catching up, while the kids played football in the street. I was bragging to friends in Denver about the fact that it was 70 degrees warmer here than there. All in all, it was a beautiful autumn day. We even opened all the windows to air out the house (though our house is so drafty, there really is no point in opening the windows). Anyway, that night, as we sat around watching TV, the weather changed in the amount of time it took to change the channel. The warm breeze blowing through the house turned into an Arctic wind, and I was frantically running around, trying to seal off all the windows before we turned into Popsicles. By the time we woke up the next day, the temps had dropped to below freezing and then stayed there until right about now. Damn you icy wind from Canada!! By the end of the day Monday, as Mark was driving home from Dave's, the rain was instantly freezing on the windshield of little Henry Honda. ... And as far as we know, that is all that has been happening in the entire world. Since Monday morning, every local news anchor has been talking about nothing but the accidents, traffic jams, icy conditions, and storm tracking. The only other item of note, according to the local news,  was that it was Terrell Owens's (boo) birthday, and everyone was wondering whether Tony Romo would show up to the big bash. (Oh, the drama of Cowboys football.) I know, I know. Poor little ol' me. I know it's been crazy cold across the entire U.S., but this is Dallas. It just ain't supposed to be this cold. 

Anyway, yes, I did just talk about the weather for an entire (really long) paragraph. I am truly sorry about that. On to happier news: I just got off the phone with my good friend Susan, who lives in Denver and who two weeks ago gave birth to little Ryan. I am a lousy friend and hadn't spoken to her since before the delivery. But it was great to catch up and to hear all about her life for the past few weeks (including her helpful hint to future moms-to-be ... apparently Warren Miller films are great entertainment while waiting for little baby to come out). If you want to "meet" the little guy, hop on over to The Fleming Seven, or check out my other good friend's blog (Beth at Wedlake Studios), where you can see some spectacular photos of the little guy. [I'm not saying that Susan's blog photos aren't spectacular. But Beth's truly are, what with her being a professional and all, y'know?] Congratulations, Sam and Susan. He is a little doll, and we can't wait to meet him in person! Hope all the other "kids" in the house are adjusting well to the new situation (hi, Chester!).

As for what's been going on around here: This past weekend, I finally made it down to Dallas for more than just a quick drive-by. Mark and Dave set up shop at the White Rock Marathon expo to sell their gear. For the past couple years, Mark had been flying down to Dallas for the expo, and I never really understood why. I couldn't imagine an entire expo set up for a little marathon in Dallas. Well, apparently, it's a really big marathon in Dallas, with thousands of people signing up (and paying!) to punish their bodies for 26 grueling miles (kooks!). The expo is a two-day event before the race, where all sorts of vendors promote and sell their wares.

For Mark and Dave, it was quite the success, as they sold well more than 1,000 performance T's, beanies, singlets, and other gear in just two days. I joined them for some of the selling frenzy on Saturday, and it was great to see the positive response to their gear (it was also great to see so much of that inventory moving out of their hands). I originally had great plans to stop in and say hi and then venture out either to see Dealey Plaza or to check out the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts (where King Tut is hanging out). But instead I stuck around and helped them sell, sell, sell (and brought them lunch). So, now my experience of Dallas consists of the Farmer's Market and the Convention Center (oh, and the Spaghetti Warehouse and the Boardroom ... see below).

After closing up shop at the expo, we ventured over to Dallas's West End, which sounds like it should be a cool spot to hang out. Apparently, it's mainly a dinner area that pretty much shuts down around 9. So we ate our dinner and then mosey'd over to the Boardroom for a couple drinks with some friends who were celebrating a night out on the town without their kids. 

And now we are home, trying to stay warm, and getting the final holiday shopping done before heading back east next week. Because I have no photos of the icy weather (oh darn) or the expo (forgot the camera), I'll finally put up some shots of our humble abode here in Flower Mound.

You can also go to our Picasa site to browse some of our other images (with accompanying helpful captions). (I have not mastered the art of organizing photos in Picasa, so there are duplicate photos and albums.) And now that I have spent more than an hour updating this blog, I probably should try to squeeze in some work before heading to the gym with Mark for a spinning class (wish us luck ... on the spinning part, that is).

We Are Here

So, methinks it might be time to change the lead-in question at the top of the page. But I'm not going to. So there. Even though we aren't moving to France in the near future. Even though we are staying in Dallas, as evidenced by the fact that we just signed a year lease on a little house in the 'burbs (with a 1/2 acre yard all for Kai ... yay!!). But I like my lead-in question, and I'd like to think that this little jaunt here in Texas is just a detour in our life. A good detour, as it means that Mark is cranking away at his business, but a detour nonetheless.

So sorry to "all y'all" out there who were planning your next big vacation to the French Alps. We would have loved to played host to you. Perhaps next year. In the meantime, howz about a trip down to the Big D? Our good friend Shane just told us all about some beautiful spots just north of us (OK, technically those spots are in Oklahoma--yet more proof that there really isn't anything beautiful in the immediate Dallas area) that we'd be glad to take you to. Or there's always the incredibly touristy stampede run through the stockyards of Fort Worth (no, really, we wouldn't do that to you, even if you asked real nice). And to try to make it up to you, we would serve French cheese and bread and play some yodel-ly type songs in the background. (OK, we wouldn't do that to you either, unless you asked real nice.)

We move into our new home next Tuesday, and we can't wait. Apartment living was fun for about a week. Then it just got old thanks to the 3 a.m. walks with Kai and the nonstop traffic outside. The funny thing is, after being so excited to downsize and get rid of all our stuff just three short months ago, we are now looking forward to "upsizing" and stocking it all back up. In particular, we are really thrilled to be purchasing a bed. Sleeping on Thermarests and quilts was sort of part of the adventure at first, but now it's just really kind of annoying.

So, that's it from here. We have big plans for the weekend, including the GrapeFest in Grapevine. Apparently some kind of wine festival--sounds good to me! Then a visit with the Bears (Ann and Irwin Bear, that is), who will be visiting family in Plano. And maybe even a trek into the big city itself, as I hear tell that it has a very good farmer's market. Stay tuned for more exciting updates and to see how our big weekend turns out!! I am sure you just can't wait.

Oh my goodness ... birthdays. Although I wished Janet a very happy birthday in person (well, on the phone and not on the actual day), I completely forgot to give her a little shout out on the Joffe Blog. Janet, I hope you had a wonderful time on the cruise with your mom and brother. I will be calling soon to hear all about it! Happy Belated Birthday, sistah!


And to Sam and Susan -- Happy Belated 5th Anniversary! Susan, I'll be sure to drink your portion of the (belated) toast for you, because that's what friends are for!


And finally another today/tomorrow/what day is it anyway birthday wish to Dad, who we hope is off galavanting and having a grand time in Sydney, rather than sitting at home not answering our call! Have a happy, happy, happy birthday!