weekend at bernie's (or sassy's whichever you prefer!)

i have been home 5 days and haven't blogged!! sorry! just getting back into the swing of things, like school and work, have left me little time to sit down and post everything. so...

got to austin thursday afternoon. the flights were ok but on the one from charlotte to houston we were on a little plane. 2 rows and 2 rows. not so bad but the lady next to me, by the window, must have thought that she was the only one allowed to use the middle arm rest. so i had to keep my arm in my lap the whole time. it was sore once i got off the plane. oh and they served actual food! and drinks and didn't make us pay for them! on the trip there it was cheese and salami and crackers with m&m's and nuts. and on the way home it was a ham and cheese sandwich with carrots and a kit kat. i was impressed since most airlines make you pay for everything!! even blankets and pillows.
btw i flew Continental.

so thursday afternoon...we stopped on the way home from the airport at our favorite place to stop on the way home from the airport. shady grove. and had yummy hotdogs and french fries. and it's outside and the breeze was blowin'. very nice. we wanted a little snack because we planned on going to 1st thursday down the street from sis's house and we knew we would be eating a late dinner. got to her place and kissed all over her sweet doggy. we went to the mailbox and low and behold i found a $5 bill!! woo-hoo!! love free money. then we headed down congress street to see the sights. you can really tell this is a college town. i remember when i used to be a freak. no wonder people stare at you. there were lots of them around. we just window shopped and looks at all the cool arts and crafts stuff people had out for sale. we saw some really interesting stuff. cool pictures, gourds made into bowls and purses and some girl made these really neat dolls. but they were all ugly or scary looking (without being scary, cute scary i guess) and she used very odd materials to make them. i wanted one but they were super expensive. then we stopped by guaros and listened to some live music and had a margarita. and found another dollar!!! we decided if we found more money we would play the lottery. stopped at magnolia's on the way home and had a super yummy turkey and pineapple taco. and sis had pumpkin pancakes. yummmmmmmm

friday we got up and went to zilker park. this place is huge!! and it's right on the river so it's beautiful as well. we checked out a new section where you go around and around this hill to get to the top and there is a map of texas with how many miles you are from any given city. and what a great view!!
then we walked around the palmer center and admired the wood ceilings and huge fans. walked across the bridge and i got a blister so we headed back home to shower because i was so HOT!! man. that dry heat will get cha! we had plans to go buy a baby shower gift and have lunch and amanda was able to join us!! yipee! i just love her. fun shopping and good lunch with bad bad service. got sis some hot boots and then met brittish girl for a pedicure! i haven't had one since i was prego with monkey. 6 years. loved it and sis fell asleep in the massaging chair. we decided to go to curra's for dinner. and she and john MADE ME WALK!! hadn't i just walked that morning? and didn't i have a blister? heartless i tell you, heartless. and then they lied and said it was only 1/2 mile. baloney. and they didn't tell me it was uphill both ways!!! but the food was great and there was a fireworks show across the street and we got to enjoy that with our chips and salsa. and i had a avocado margarita. yum!!!

saturday was the day of the baby shower. (the whole reason i was there) we took the doggy to the park for a swim and who would be there but the momma-to-be, femme! with her hubby's wild but sweet doggy. so we got to chat with her for a while, which was great because i figured she would be too busy to do much of that at the shower.
then we headed home, cleaned up and went to chez z for the big ta-da. i got to see lots of people that i knew, my boss christa was there, amanda again, ashley, and i got to meet katie, meghan and finally paula!! i had a great time. and look at the cool car we saw in the parking lot. yes folks that is astro turf. and note the daisy's painted on the hubcaps. classic austin. after the shower we went back to her place and rested for a while. and we needed it. soon it was time to head back to the river for our bat tour with l&d. i was excited about getting to see them too. so funny. we got a beer from the hotel and headed out on the boat.
man, it's hot there. (have i already said that?) the tour guide was very droll and cracked us all up. we tooled down the river for a while and headed back to see the bats come out. austin has the largest population of bats in the united states. and we got to see them all and have them poop on us. it was awesome! unfortunately it was dark so we couldn't see them as well as i would have liked too. it was really cool to see all the people standing on the bridge looking down. there must have been 400 people up there! i think next visit we'll do that instead of taking the boat. galaxy for dinner where femme met up with us. good times!

sunday was my day to go home. (boo!) but my plane didn't leave until 3 so we still had time to do some more austiny stuff. do you remember during the olympics they showed a bank of america commercial with this guy standing in front of all this junk? probably not. well that is the cathedral of junk. and sis and i have talked about going so we made sure we could do that this trip. oh. my. gosh. this place is amazing. it's in this guy's back yard and he just builds with trash. his yard is not much bigger than mine and it's full of stuff.
it's amazing. he was there putting together more stuff with concrete. super nice. and it's FREE!! i could have stayed forever just looking at stuff. check out the video. which does not do it justice. after sis got totally eaten up my mosquitoes we decided to head out to lunch. whole foods with john. yummy...we don't have one here so it's a big deal for me. and then off to the airport. i bet you are now as exhausted from reading this as i was when i got home!!

we made a list before i got there of things we wanted to do while i was there. normally we just sit around and relax or go see a movie. this time i wanted to be going. and as you can see we did. here is our list

Go to Mount Bonnell (it was wayy too hot for this)
See the Bats (done)
Eat on the patio at Whole Foods (too hot but we ate inside)
Walk the trails at Zilker Park (check)
Go to the Oasis (too far of a drive)
Go see Christa, Marianne, Amanda, Jenn (check for all but jenn. boo)
Go see a movie at the Drafthouse (had too much other stuff to do!)
cathedral of junk (check)
brunch at magnolia cafe (dinner instead)
get a tattoo (i figure i can get one of those here!)
get a pedicure (check!)

i'm impressed we got so much done in so little time. thanks sis for a super fun visit!! i love you!!