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The Summer Recap

Written by on August 24th, 2009

Ok, so a lot of stuff has happened this summer, and I’ve been SO busy. I turned 29 for the second time, Princess Ainsley was in town, we hit the beach and vandals hit my office. Here’s a recap:

Ainsley

Ainsley came down for the summer and we had a blast. Building forts, going to the beach, hanging out with the Fab Five, meeting new friends, seeing old friends, play dates and bowling, time with family and friends, her first concert to see Coldplay and her first time tubing the Texas river. It was exhausting! I think we had maybe 5 days at the house where we did not do something. She’s a diva, a genius, a princess, and the center of my world. She’s an accomplished reader, takes gorgeous pictures, is well rounded, has a great British accent thanks to listening to BBC Radio 1, and can make a killer chocolate souffle. The hardest thing was sending her back to NC last week.

Like me, she loves music, so I compiled her favorites which comprised our soundtrack of the summer.

Fab 5 hit the beach

So the Fab five hit the beach this summer with children, significant others and close friends for an amazing beach weekend in Galveston at Jeff’s family’s beach house. Lots of Cornhole, Flippie Cup, time at the beach and overall Fab Five Fun.

Violated

Never have I felt more violated than when my office was vandalized last week. The lovely people broke through a 10 x 6 sheet of glass in the building, pried off the door to the first floor suite they broke into, used a sledge hammer to break through the fire barriers in the stairwell so they could open the door, then broke the glass to our office, and two others. In this, they stole over $2,000 of valuables from my office, including my laptop, laptop bag, 2 years of work, the back up of 2 years of work and some personal effects that were in my bag. Here’s hoping the hardworking security staff can prevent this from happening again… and that the sarcasm dripping off that statement dries by the time you finish reading this post.

Cue the walk off music…

Travel is back up and going for me in the near future. An exciting work trip is planned, the destination of which I shall keep secret till I am there. I am back on my workout plan at the gym, hoping to see results in months not years. And the heat is about to kill me.

Here’s hoping that as things slow down for the fall (yeah right), I’ll write a little more and get the pictures up from this summer before next summer.

-30-

Posted in Ainsley, Life | 1 Response »

The week from hell just turned Right

Written by on August 7th, 2009

So this week has been utter crap. If it could go wrong, it has. I won’t go into the details of it… I’ll cut to the best part.

I just got an email signing me for the Right Lists of Texas. Why? Because as they say, “we believe that you care as deeply as we do about the future of Texas.” Maybe.

A quick jump to their website, which I won’t promote, and I find their “About Us” statement:

“Right Lists of Texas is the premier provider of email lists to conservative organizations for their political marketing campaigns.”

Really? I am the profile of someone who supports conservative campaigns in Texas?

Check your target audience, and thanks for the laugh.

-30-

Posted in Life | 2 Responses »

P90 OUCH!

Written by on June 9th, 2009

So I started doing the P90x workout program for Abs and Core… It’s supposed to be one of the best on the market.

I did the 20 minute work out two days ago, and let’s just say it hurts my abs to sneeze. We’ll see if I can shed this layer in the near future.

Fingers crossed!

Posted in Life | 2 Responses »

Finally posting some old video!

Written by on June 8th, 2009

So, I took a lot of video last year, and never got around to posting it

Here are some videos from last year, on Natalie’s boat as well as Ainsley’s school production of Where the Wild Things Are.

Enjoy!

Posted in Ainsley, Video | No Responses »

How do you pleade to your 2nd offense?

Written by on May 31st, 2009

Almost 16 months ago, you’ll recall I was in a head-on collision with a drunk driver. It was this guys second drunk driving offense – the first he received nothing for.

After talking to numerous prosecutors and waiting months for something to close, I received a letter the other day.

For his second DWI, which involved a collision totalling two vehicles head-on, he gets…

Probation.

Yup – probation. Oh, but he has to “pay” for this. To the tune of $32.00 a month for his 18month probation, in a check to me.

Wow. Glad to know $32.00 a month and a P.O. are going to keep him from getting his third.

Congratulations unmentioned driver – you are officially The Suck for this week.

Posted in Life, The Suck | 2 Responses »

50 miles for charity

Written by on April 28th, 2009

April 25th, 5:00a the alarm goes off and I knew it was time to roll my ass over and get to cooking. Why so early? It was time to start carb-loading for the Hill Country Ride for AIDS, a 50 mile bike ride through the Hill Country for local AIDS charities in Austin. Pancakes and a breakfast casserole were on tap for the morning.

The team – Kajuns and Kowboys – gathered at 5:30 for breakfast and it was out the door to Spicewood for the start of the ride.

When we arrived, we checked in and started to mentally prepare for the day. Overcast and the random drizzle made it cooler than usual, but also made for an unsure weather day. At 8:30, we lined up with hundreds of other riders, and were ready to head out.

By 9:45a, we had traveled 12 miles and were at our first pit stop. It was amazing to see all the support and volunteers cheering us on the entire way. For first time riders, we were making great time, and enjoyed the chance to stop and catch up with the team. After a brief break, we were on the road again, stopping at mile 22 at our next pitstop. The hills at this point were really starting to get closer together and more steep, but we kept chugging along.

By 1:00ish, we were 31 miles in and made it to our lunch break, which was amazing. Whole Foods had provided a ton of sandwiches, pastas, cookies, drinks – just what everyone needed to get through the rest of the ride.

Lunch wrapped, and we were off to face “Everest”, the steepest hill we were to face. A hill so steep that many riders often end up walking up the hill with their bikes, and not riding. Despite the climb, we faced it head on and made it up the hill and were rewarded with water, popsicles and friendly faces. From here, it was the home stretch to the finish line, and supporters galore.

All 50 miles, our whole team, over $1,200 from the team donated thanks to your support, and our ride was a success! Thank you again to all who donated, and supported our ride! We’re signing up for the Livestrong ride in October, and we’ll be on the road again!

The Kanjuns and Kowboys (L-R: Sam, Kristin, Mr Wolford, Brian, Jeff, Mrs Wolford)

Check out all the ride photos here!

Posted in Life | No Responses »

A trip to paradise

Written by on April 21st, 2009

This January, I was fortunate enough to be awarded the Developer of the Year at work, which was an honor all by itself. Included with that honor, was a spot for me and a friend on the club trip to the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas.

The trip was amazing – snorkling, swimming with the dolphins, eating at Bobby Flay’s resteraunt – all so much fun. Many thanks to all the people at my wonderful company who made last year’s success for me possible, and for the fun with my fellow club trip recipiants.

Check out the pictures here!

Posted in Misc | No Responses »

She did what?!?

Written by on March 30th, 2009

So Ainsley was playing at school yesterday, on their play ground which we would all agree is no more than a BUS PARKING LOT. While running around like kids do, she fell and hurt her elbow and arm. Being a responsible school like they are, they sent Ainsley to the nurse to get an ice pack and somehow managed to not call her mother or me.

When Stephanie picked up Ains, she was in tears and was unable to use her arm to open her door, carry her bookbag or do much of anything with it. After a trip to Urgent Care and some X-Rays, we found out that Ainsley fractured her elbow and ulna. A trip back to the radiologist, and Ains was fashioned with a hot pink cast.

Ains in her cast

After several emails, I got to have a nice long chat with her principal about playing in the bus lot, lack of communication and more.

Three short weeks and my princess is back to full arm movement, and more scariness in the bus lot!

-30-

Posted in Ainsley | 2 Responses »

Dinner and the traveler

Written by on March 30th, 2009

Tonight, my close firend Tory and I met for dinner to catch up. It was great times as always, but something odd happened.

As we left, a deshevled man came up and interrupted a conversation.

He apologized for the interruption, and his appearance, as he had been working for the past 48 hours trying to make money. As he continued, he explained he was trying to get home to his wife, of all places, NORTH CAROLINA.

Being a skeptic, I was reluctant to hear his story, but Tory let him continue.

He had been separated from his wife, and they lived in Charlotte, and all he wanted to do get is get home to see her. He was $10.00 short of a bus ride back to the Queen City.

What struck me as odd was that my daughter lives in Charlotte, but I listened nonetheless.

When he was done, Tory gave him the change in his pocket to help out. Being the skeptic I was, I asked him:

What part of Charlotte are you from?

He replied – Pineville, near Carolina Place Mall, off Highway 51.

Minutes from my daughter… just down the road… I shop at Carolina Place Mall when I am there.

My skin crawled. I reached in my pocket giving him the only bill I had – $10 - finishing his bus fare.

He offered Tory his change back, and Tory declined.

I believe things happen for a reason. I believe he met us/me for reason.

My skin still crawls when I tell the story.

-30-

Posted in Misc | 2 Responses »

HRC Gala – Celebrating Austin, Inspiring Change

Written by on March 28th, 2009

This year, I made one resolution (to share with everyone), and that was to become more active in my community.

So far, I have made good on that resolution. There is an organization called the Human Rights Campaign, which is the largest organization in that nation that watches, supports, and fights for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender rights in the US.

This year, I decided I would be a Federal Club member and support them as much as I could – going to events, donating monthly and becoming INVOLVED. So I joined, and went to the gala on Saturday night. LOTS of people were there, including my fabulous date, and our friends.

Never before in public had I cried so much for positive things. There were campaigns all over the nation with groups of people fighting for the very thing I wanted in my life – Equality, Protection, Representation, and the ability to marry the man of my dreams.

Lots of corporate sponsors are behind us… but the average, everyday person counts more than you know.

The one video that made the most impact was that of hate crimes. Think what you want, but many Americans lose their life based on those they love, or who they identify themselves as. The video below highlights some of those battles lost, and the fact that former President Bush had a bill in his hands to fight this atrocity, and chose not to support it. How on Earth does he sleep in Dallas?

Take two minutes and watch the following video…

-30-

Posted in Equality | No Responses »