The Bitch Is Back.... Hopefully

As difficult as the last few weeks have been for me, I have had an epiphany. I can live without the computer and life goes on. Who knew? I thought that perhaps this all happened to me for a reason. I was getting far too dependent on my computer and whatever the forces were, I was compelled to come to the realization that there is more to my life than hovering over my computer day after day. It doesn't rule me and I do still have a life in The Real World. Lesson learned.That said I'm damned glad to be back! I have missed everyone and although I may have learned a valuable lesson, I've also realized that all of you mean a great deal to me, but I have things here that I need to take care of as well. Time management is now one of my main objectives and it's probably something I should have incorporated into my everyday life long ago.

We went to Austin last weekend to meet up with the kids and had a wonderful time eating and drinking our way through our mini family reunion. Snooty Daughter flew in from L.A. for her birthday, so it was cause for celebration. Since our son's birthday is also this month, it was a double celebration.

When we left here, the winds from Hell were blowing, which made for a particularly difficult drive, so I was exhausted when we finally reached our hotel. The winds were blowing in Austin but not nearly like they were in West Texas. We didn't play golf this time because of the high winds, so our son drove us around his college campus one day (St. Edwards University), which is really beautiful.

There weren't as many Bluebonnets along the way this year, due to not enough rain in the fall months. However, there were other colors, although not near as plentiful as we've seen in the past. Austin is suffering from severe drought, as are most areas of Texas. We're used to it out here in West Texas (the desert), but Austin usually gets plenty of rain.

I wish I could say I've been busy moving, but things just don't work like that around here. Mr. Snoots is far too frugal to buy one house before selling the other. I'm sure we'll have to talk & think about it for a few years before we ever take the jump. Remember, we've been in this house for 23 years. We never just jump into anything. Ever.

We had several amazing meals while in Austin, but you'll have to refer to my cooking blog to read about those heady experiences. We did eat lunch at one of my favorite spots... Trudy's. It's nothing spectacular but they do have excellent Margaritas, Tex-Mex food and attentive servers. They also have a lovely outside eating area, so we sat outside as we drank our cocktails and feasted on a delicious lunch.

Today the winds from Hell are blowing again… up around 40-50 mph. I'm so glad that I didn't bother to clean anything up outside… It would have been a completely futile act.

We also ate lunch one day at Hut's Burgers which is another Austin favorite. They have amazingly delicious burgers. Unfortunately, I was so crammed in to a tiny booth that I was unable to reach my purse for my camera. Being close to the University of Texas and downtown Austin, it was literally packed for lunch.