Archive for May, 2009

Friday night was our end of season kickball party at Rahr Brewery. As part of our exorbitant kickball fees that are paid at registration, you get all the barbeque you can eat and beer you can drink at the aforementioned party. Sadly, I still don’t enjoy the bitter taste of beer. I tried, and ended up being so disgusted with the flavor that I ended up sucking on Altoids instead. It’s not a problem, just means that I made for an excellent built in designated driver for the night. We had a lot of fun, though air conditioning in a large stuffy warehouse would have been nice.

Ethan, Kat, Anna, and Andy celebrating a successful first season of the Bucky Ballers kickball team!

Donald, me, and Carrie enjoying Rahr's brewery atmosphere.

Since it was such a beautiful night, we decided to sit and talk on the patio of Poag Mahone’s. I like it when the weather is warm with a little bit of a breeze. Perfect! We don’t get weather like that for very long, and we intended to make the most of it!

Ethan, me, Carrie, Con, and Erica enjoying the fantastic weather, keeping my fingers crossed it will stay that way!

On Saturday afternoon, a bunch of us went to see Pixar’s new film, UP in 3-D! I can not stop raving about this movie to anyone that will listen. It is probably one of my favorite Pixar movies, though one of the more serious films I’ve seen them do. But at the same time it had some downright hilarious moments. I laughed, I cried, it made me happy and optimistic when it was over. I very highly recommend going to see it!

We had a fairly low key evening spent outdoors on a nice patio enjoying the weather again. I, of course, over dressed for the occasion. But I’m rather fond of the outfit I put together…

Okay...perhaps I enjoy the flowery headband more so than the rest of the outfit. However, Attila and Jabber made it clear that they are NOT enjoying me at all.

Sunday was a “get everything we neglected during the week accomplished” kind of day. Lots of things to do, so little time! Yard work, laundry, vacuuming, dusting, blogging, and grocery shopping all got added to the list of chores. We finished most, and have just a few remaining to cross off the ever growing list. And with that, the weekend has now come to a close, and I’m already looking forward to the next one!

So, the rain finally stopped. The week actually looks like it’s going to be really beautiful. With that said, Jabber and I managed to snap a few pictures of the newly planted flowers before our daily walk.

These little purple/blue-ish flowers line the front walkway.

I absolutely love all the colors of our Zinnias. They're so bright and cheerful that they almost look fake! (rest assured, they're not fake)

And another...

And another...

Jabber started getting impatient, she wanted to explore, not stare at a flowerbed.

So, I hope you got a good idea of what our nice newly refreshed yard looks like! It makes me smile every time I see my brightly colored flowers, spring gardening successful! No need to fight the yucky worms and dirt again until autumn!

For a three day holiday weekend, we were amazingly busy. When will I stop being surprised that our normal lives are just that busy? Therefore, we’re not that busy, we’re just running at our normal speed. Anyhow, my parents drove down from Kansas on Friday night. We got to hear about the new apartment they’ve purchased in Taipei, mom‘s month long trip in Taiwan (Warning: Only click on previous link if you’re fluent in Chinese), and random little bits of news.

Early Saturday morning, we left DFW for Cathy’s new city dwelling in Austin. It was an uneventful drive, and that’s exactly how I like my drives, uneventful. Uneventful means no traffic, no construction, no accidents, no delays, no bad weather, nothing but the wheels turning on unobstructed blacktop. (Wow, I must be feeling extra descriptive today)

Once in Austin, we took the parents (and Cathy) to a nice light lunch at Austin Java. Andy and I were less motivated by the food selection and completely driven by the delicious Mocha coffee shakes. Seriously, they’re the BEST coffee milkshakes I think I’ve ever had! After lunch, Cathy took the parents on a tour of her new living quarters. (living quarters sounds much more interesting that apartment) In case you were wondering what Cathy’s apartment looks like…

The lounging area where one rests their weary feet in a nice IKEA chair.

A view into the bedroom, where one rests their weary head. (Do heads get weary?)

And a view of the zen garden from the back porch, where one rests their weary soul. I'm loving the cheesiness at the moment, bear with me!

Sadly, it was raining most of the afternoon. However, this gave my mom the opportunity to make us take lots of family photos…

The Chao family posing in Cathy's swanky apartment.

There were many many more…in the same 2 blue IKEA chairs. I will spare you the details, rest assured that this was the best photo we took. In the evening, we had a delicious dinner at Z Tejas. I have enjoyed every single item that I order at this restaurant. Yum!!

The Chao Family in front of Z Tejas in the Arboretum

With dinner done and the sky getting dark, we began our 3 1/2 hour drive back to DFW. Sadly, it was NOT uneventful. There were severe thunderstorms scattered throughout our drive home.

After a quick brunch on Sunday morning, the parents were on their way back to Kansas. That’s my dad, the epitome of efficiency! Sunday afternoon was spent doing some chores and running a few errands. We spent a little time with our friends in Fort Worth, but ended the night on our comfy couch watching one of my favorite Disney movies, Lilo and Stitch.

On Memorial Monday, we started with a gardening session. Our front yard has been in dire need of a little attention and a lot of new flowers. We stopped by the Flower Ranch and picked up some Zinnias and Hawaiian Blue Eyes. I am proud to say that our yard looks pretty nice. (I will take pictures once the rain stops…which is hopefully very soon). With chores done for the weekend, we headed to our friend Kat’s apartment for a pool party. It was great fun! We played volleyball, splashed around, enjoyed the sun, and ate delicious grilled food. Sadly, we are not used to so much sun and had to escape into the dark cool movie theatre (with Rick and Brittany) to watch Angels and Demons. Though it was MUCH better than the Da Vinci Code, I would recommend the book rather than see the movie. If you find that you simply must see the movie, make it a rental. Another weekend done and gone, hope everyone had a nice Memorial Day as well!

We are officially NOT the last place team in our kickball league. In fact, we’re not even second to last! Shockingly, we are the THIRD to last place team! I guess the opposite of “how the mighty have fallen” would be “how the weak have risen?” In last week’s game, I actually made it to second base! Will wonders never cease! Of course, I was so amazed that I was running to second that I flailed my entire way there. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised at my own awkward ways any more.

Another win for the Bucky Ballers!

I had Friday off of work, so I spent most of the day cleaning, running errands, and getting necessary things done. I did manage to take a little time to play with my animals though.

Jabber and Attila curled up together.

Then in the evening, we had a small barbeque followed by game night. We served yummy burgers, pesto potato salad, and ice cream with berries. For once in our party planning lives, we weren’t left with tons of leftovers! Thank goodness! I never know what to do with extra burgers and no buns! Or buns with no burgers for that matter. It was a great night, and we’re so glad that people were able to come over.

On Saturday, we had plans in the evening to go to Ghost Bar. A friend from our kickball team managed to get us VIP service at the said posh club. So, we met up with our group and enjoyed the Dallas nightlife. We very rarely spend time in Dallas, but every once in awhile it’s fun to just dance the night away! Plus, it’s also so much fun to get super dolled up and fully glamorous.

Anna, Ethan, me, and Adam enjoying the amazing view of the Dallas skyline.

Pat, Andy, and I hanging out on the Ghost Bar patio

The girls enjoying a fun night of dancing!

It was an amazingly fun night, and everybody has been using today for some much needed recovery time. Dancing takes a lot more energy and muscle than I had remembered!! Another successful weekend accomplished!

To all the moms out there, wishing you a Happy Mother’s Day 2009!! My mom is currently in Taiwan and we will most likely celebrate when she returns. On the other side, my mom-in-law is spending her Mother’s Day Sunday in Emporia, Kansas. It definitely made for an interesting and different kind of Mother’s Day when Andy made a lovely breakfast for Dad Trommer, Griffin, me, 3 dogs, and 1 unhappy cat. Oh well, our best wishes are still being sent to all the moms in our life.

Thank you for all the time, devotion, thought, and love that you spend on us. Thank you for being there when we fall with a hug and a super sized bandaid. Thank you for all the sympathy that you show. God knows, we as children have tried every trick in the book, every card in the deck to out-manuever your patience. But in the end, we know that it’s mom we turn to when we our hearts are broken and dreams go awry. Moms are the first to be called when there’s good news to share and goals are accomplished. Thank you for the pride and faith you have in us, we love you!

Mom, Cathy, and me on Christmas morning 1987.

Sorry for the late post, I’m lazy and that’s all there is to it! Let’s just get down to updating business, shall we? Last week, Cathy drove back down to DFW one last time (at least in the foreseeable future). We got together for dinner at Joe T’s with some friends as a “Good Luck Cathy, we’ll miss you!” dinner.

Carrie, Cathy, and Brittany after a tasty Mexican feast.

The big day came on Friday (05/01), when Andy and I helped Cathy move into her new posh apartment. It’s a beautiful place and very convenient to get around downtown Austin. On Saturday, we grocery shopped, IKEA shopped, and put together furniture like mad people. There was a lot of chanting “lefty loose-y, righty tighty” from my corner of the apartment. But I think things are on their way to looking like home. We all wish Cathy the best and can’t wait to see what she can do! (because come on, let’s face it, Cathy can do some amazing things!)

The weather has been humid and nasty recently. Kickball was cancelled due to the H1N1 virus (affectionately called the bacon lung disease here in the Trommer household). Our week suddenly seems strangely empty without our kickball night. Thankfully, we were able to meet up with a couple of awesome friends for a fantastic Cinco de Mayo meal at Los Molcajetes, my favorite! I even got free maracas from the celebration, which I’ve been using to affectionately chase Jabber around the house. We’ll be staying in town this upcoming weekend, for which I am excited for. Sleeping in my own bed just has a certain appeal that no amount of travel can compare to.