Oh the Places You'll Go
We're all busy and there's alot going on in the world, so this is my microcosm of reality and way to enable everyone to share in my experiences in Austin and around the world and maybe help create some of your own. Consider it a life "to-do" list, "have done" list, photo album and journal all in one.Archive for August, 2009
Wake Up
I still love some of the most popular children’s books. I like them for the same reason that I like Pixar movies like Shrek, Ratatouille, Up and A Bug’s Life. They can span generations and be enjoyed by a 5 year old or a 50 year old. The writers, directors and creative people behind these movies are incredible and know how to incorporate humor that can be understood on different levels by people of all ages. And can get me as a 26 year old to spend $10 on a movie ticket and be excited to see Up in 3-D and also count down the days until Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs hits the theater. These are the types of movies that make babysitting more enjoyable and make parenting easier (I assume 
) And they have a way of connecting with the audience – I hate rats (due to the plethora of them that inhabited our house on Meyran Ave. in Pittsburgh) but found myself thinking that the little guy in Ratatouille was adorable and I went to look up a recipe for the dish afterwards. And I’d be lying if I said that during the story of Carl and Eleanor at the beginning of Up didn’t make me cry. On a side note: this is an interesting article from the NYTimes about the creation of the characters from the movie.
So needless to say, when a movie combines both great creativity and a classic children’s book with a twist of one of my favorites bands, I’m pretty excited about it. I’m counting down the days until Oct. 14th when Where the Wild Things Are comes out in theaters. I recently went and bought the book and reread it. The directors did a great job of capturing the little boy in his pajamas running through the beach away from the “wild things” and the trailer for the movie gives me chills.
The song is by Arcade Fire (love them) and called Wake Up.
summertime, and the livin’ is easy
It’s been awhile but I’m back. And certainly haven’t slowed down lately. It’s crazy to think that summer is almost over! The 100 plus degree days over the last few months have kept us in the water alot but I’m not complaining: lake, beach, tubing. Just a few of the ways we’re beating the heat down in Austin. We’re pretty lucky to be a hop, skip and a jump from all of this water and we’re taking full advantage of it. We’re in a pretty bad drought in Austin and haven’t gotten rain in a really long time so it’s a little scary to think about what is going to happen if we don’t get some soon. But, we’ve been spending alot of weekends on Mark’s boat and we’ve been able to make lemonade out of lemons by docking at “sometimes island” (which is just a big sand bar in the middle of the lake that used to be covered by water) and spending the afternoons grilling out, playing frisbee and creating cherry limeades and blueberry lemonades (recipe below) and watching the dogs swim and retrieve for hours. Sophie is so tired by the end that her legs don’t even move when she’s swimming back from a fetch but rather lets the waves from the passing boats push her in.
Along with taking the boat out on Lake Travis and floating the Guadalupe and the Comal, we just got back from a weekend in Port Aransas. It was a last minute trip and a great time. Port A is about a 3.5 hour drive from Austin and the beaches in TX are different than Sea Isle or anywhere on the Jersey shore. You can actually drive your car onto the beach, there are no drinking rules and you can have DOGS! This obviously sold me on the idea to head down there this weekend and I think Soph appreciated it as well – considering she’s still exhausted. 
These have become a favorite on the boat!
Cherry Limeade Recipe
-organic vodka
-Odwalla Limeade
-Fresh cherries
Pour two shots (or more if you like it stronger) into a glass with ice. Add limeade. Squeeze cherries into the drink and throw away the pits. (tip: you might want to bring wet wipes because the cherries get messy). Stir it together. For the blackberry lemonade use the vodka but instead of limeade and cherries use lemonade and squeeze in the blackberries. The fruit at the bottom is a good treat for later.
