Harley-ween

Happy Monday!

We had another awesome weekend here in the Big D! Saturday we took the bike over to the big Harley Dealership. We stopped in front of a Dallas City Limits sign to try to get some good pictures of us, but this is all we came up with…

I’m sure the people driving by were wondering what the hell we were doing.

We actually went to the Harley dealership because they were having their Harley-ween party. It was pretty fun!

The staff were all dressed up.

And some bikers had their face painted.

There were vendors with cool biker-leather stuff.

And there were also Hooters girls dressed up giving bike washes… Which Garrett loved…

Here’s our picture on the Harley “Wall of Flame” when we bought our bike. (Top, second from the right)

Along with this guy, who's been riding for approximately 150 years.

And in honor of Halloween, here’s the bike that Blade rode in the television series. (In case you didn’t know, Blade is a "day-walker" that hunts vampires. And he rocks.)

After Harley-ween, we went in the boot store next door and tried to find some “authentic” Texan apparel.

I decided I need a tan before I can buy boots. Oh, and $250…

Harley-ween was a blast! After the ride there I had to sit on an ice pack my booty hurt so bad. We’ve already started talking about how our “next” bike will need a bigger seat…because I have a bigger seat – if you know what I mean.

Sunday ended up being pretty good when the Cowboys won, too! Here I am my new T.O. jersey. Please ignore the awful face… and pose... and hair.

Go Cowboys!

Love,

Michaela

Congratulations!

Being the baby-lover that I am, I had to congratulate Levi & Mindi on a job well done in making an adorable baby boy!

Mindi works with Garrett, and her and her husband had their first child, Logan Levi Long, this morning. We went to see him at lunch and he is one super-cute baby! He's got big eyes and a ton of black hair.

Congratulation you guys!

Whoo-Hooo!!

I'm sure you're asking yourself "Why do they look so excited?" Well, of course we were on a roller-coaster when the picture was taken, but we also got some really exciting news last night.

WE HAVE A CONTRACT ON OUR FLORIDA HOUSE!!! Yeah!!!!

We are so glad to finally get a buyer for the house. It's only been 3 1/2 months, but it feels like forever. Especially when you have to make mortgage payments on a house you don't even live in.

We'll still owe money on the house after the sell and be making payments on that, but at least we won't be paying the electricity, utilities, home-owners insurance and property taxes. That'll be a huge relief.

Closing day is December 1st, which seems like forever, but I'm sure it'll be here before we know it!

Weekend Wrap-Up - Sunday

Sunday, wasn’t quite as exciting for us. We rode the bike around, had breakfast, and watched the Cowboys lose horribly to the Rams. It was so painful I’m not going to say anymore about it.

After the game we went to go see the new Oliver Stone movie, “W.” about George W. Bush. It was pretty good. Garrett really liked it, but I felt like it left out a lot. It only goes up to right before his re-election.

What was really cool, though, was all the little Texas references that we wouldn’t have picked up on if we didn’t live here. For example, all of the Dr. Pepper that W. drinks. Most people would think it was just product placement, but Dr. Pepper is a Texas product, and most people here grow up drinking it.

It was really interesting to watch the portrayal of Colin Powell in the movie, too. Then to get up this morning and hear on the news that he’s endorsing Obama was really wild!

Well, that’s it for now! Have a great week everyone.

Love,

Michaela

Weekend Wrap-Up - Saturday

Saturday, we went to the Texas State Fair. Man, was it was a blast!

I got my picture taken with a real Dallas Cowboy.

We rode the really big Ferris Wheel, which is so big they leave it up year-round.

You can see the whole cityscape from it.

Then we saw the exotic bird show where they have a hawk that flies down from the top of the Ferris Wheel to the stage. (It was really hard to take a picture of. The bird is that little black dot at the right upper-corner of the ferris wheel.)

After that we (by we, I mean I) paddled around in the little lake area in a big swan.

We saw Big Tex, a huge animatronic cowboy decked out in Dickies apparel that welcomes people to the fair. He was kind of creepy…

I got Garrett to ride a roller-coaster with me, where you apparently have to be a certain height and only have one arm. (Look at the third rule.)

Dinner was awesome! We shared a turkey leg.

It was my first time ever having one, and it took me a little while to figure out how to eat it. Garrett made fun of me when I tried to use a fork and knife.

Now here comes the really awesome part…at the end of the night we saw Michelle Branch!

Live!!

In concert!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofdDma9ofeg

At the main stage!!! It was soo good. She did a special acoustic show and we got to get pretty close. It was really cool! We were so pumped.

A little bit of back story on our love for Michelle Branch…Garrett really liked her when she first came out. She was one of his first girl-pop faves, but it made him feel less manly. So, for our first Christmas we were living together he bought me her CD. I got her second CD a couple years ago for Christmas, and she has a new one coming out the beginning of next year, so I’m sure I’ll get that for my birthday in February. We love you, Michelle!

Weekend Wrap-Up - Friday

It’s Monday morning and time for another weekend wrap-up!

We had another eventful weekend here in the Big D. We had so much, in fact, that I’m going to break it up into a couple different blog posts.

It started out Friday afternoon with Garrett getting home early from work. He knew it was getting close to time to get gas in his motorcycle and since he wanted to ride it around anyway, he thought he’d ride over to the gas station. Well, about half a mile and hill before the gas station, he ran out of gas.



Luckily I was close by, so Mrs. D to the rescue! Other than a few stall-outs on the way home, everything ended up okay. It was pretty funny to me, though!

Happy Birthday Garrett!

Hello!

We’ve had an eventful weekend and week so far! On Saturday morning, Garrett’s motorcycle was delivered to the house. It’s so pretty!

He drove it around a little while and then we took it to Country Day on the Hill, which is our local fall festival.

There, we saw the Cedar Hill museum, which was wagon…
(Because that's how we roll here)

And the Chicken Mobile, which was from Babe’s chicken.

We also saw the biggest dog either one of use has ever seen in our entire lives! It was like a small pony. He was really sweet, though! So we got him to add to our collection. (Just kidding, mom.)
That evening Garrett’s mom got into town for his birthday. On Sunday, we took her to the 6th Floor Museum, which is on the 6th floor of the Texas School Book Depository where Lee Harvey Oswald was when he shot JFK. It overlooks the Grassy Noll and has displays and videos of the JFK presidency and his assassination.

If you look closely at the picture above, you'll see a little dot in the middle of the road (which is actually an X) where the second shot hit JFK and killed him. It was a really interesting museum and done very well.

(Below is me and Julie next to the Grassy Noll.)

That evening Garrett’s brother got in town and we went out to dinner for Garrett’s birthday. On Monday, we just played around Dallas and saw a movie (where I lost my debit card).

Yesterday, Garrett took his mom and brother to Austin to see the state capital.

I went to the Dallas Regional Chamber’s Women in Business Conference. It was so good! Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York spoke and I got to meet her afterward and have her sign my books. She and all the other women that spoke were incredible! There were over 2,000 women at the conference and it was a really cool experience.

Julie and Alex left for Panama City this morning, so our fun-filled long weekend has come to an end and we’re both back to work like normal…or I guess as normal as it gets for us.

Until next time…

Love,

Michaela

Leaving Las Vegas!!

Well, my time in Vegas is coming to an end and I have never been so ready to go home. Don’t get me wrong - Vegas didn’t end up being that bad, but I am pooped! Trade shows wear me out!!

Now that I’ve been here I’ve got a few tips for those of you that may be looking at vacationing in Vegas.

• Spend the money and stay in the main part of the strip. That’s where everything is and it’s much easier (and cheaper) to be close to it and walk than to have to take a cab everywhere.

• Pick a good casino and get a card with a designated amount of money on it that you can use to gamble there. That way you’re not feeding the machines dollar after dollar, so it seems like you’re not spending as much and it lasts longer. Also, if you win something it’s automatically credited to the card and you can cash it out later.

• If you do use a card at the casino, still take some cash to tip the cocktail waitress that brings you a free drink. Also, food is expensive, so instead of having a few drinks with dinner, just plan to go to the casino after you eat and drink there.
• If you want to see a show, wait until the day of to buy your ticket and go to one of the half price ticket booths on the strip. Don’t buy directly from the show venue.
• If you’re here for more than a long weekend, rent a car and plan to take a few day trips. You’ll run out of stuff to do during the day and there’s a lot of fun stuff outside of town that I wish I’d been able to go see.

• Finally, be prepared to spend some money! Everything is more expensive in Vegas.

I’m leaving on a jet plane tomorrow and don’t know when I’ll be back here again – which is okay with me! I can’t wait to see that Dallas skyline. I’m really starting to feel like a true Texan!

Love,

Michaela

Viva Las Vegas!

Hello from Vegas!

I have to say, I’m not too impressed with this place. This is my first trip to Vegas and I was really excited, but it’s been a little of a let down. I think the best thing so far was the flight in over the Grand Canyon. Now that was beautiful!

It hasn’t been a bad trip, just not a great one. I’ve definitely been places I’ve like better. It takes half an hour to get a cab at the airport, and you have to wait in line like a ride at Disney. The streets are smelly, dirty and littered with little post cards for escort services. There’s construction everywhere, so the skyline is obstructed with cranes. And the only thing there seems to be to do is start drinking alcohol at 10 a.m. and sit in a dark casino (or go see a really expensive show).

I tried the gambling thing when I got here. I spent $5 at the slot machines and $20 at a roulette table. I’d never done either one before, but after about half an hour I think I have it figured out. You give them your money and then leave. I don’t expect to do much more of that…

I did buy some awesome souvenirs and walk the strip, so I think I’m set. Tomorrow I’ll start the trade show and see how that goes. There’s going to be an estimated 20,000 people in attendance so it should be pretty good. I don’t see how that many people could be interested in welding and manufacturing – but hey, whatever tickles your pickle. I mean, I’m here.

On the flip side, though, my hotel room rocks!

Garrett got home this afternoon from his south Texas excursion. He had a good weekend of work and got to see some parts of Texas he never thought he would. First was Shiner, Texas where they brew and bottle the line of Shiner beers (the most popular being Shiner Bock). Then, he got to shoot a house nearby where the guy used beer cans instead of aluminum siding. Genius! He also got to shoot some bars in Houston, which was less exciting.

They actually got enough footage this weekend so that they don’t have to go back out of town next weekend. That means he won’t be making the trip to Panama City like he originally thought. Unfortunately, he won’t get to see everyone, but at least he’ll be there when I get home and then when his mom comes into town. We’re also going to see if they can deliver his motorcycle early, too, since he’ll be home. (He’s really excited about that!)

Well, goodnight from Sin City! Until next time…

Love,

Michaela

Our Hizzy

Well, Garrett's out of town again this weekend. This time it's for work, though. His company is shooting a pilot for a television show and they're traveling around south Texas getting footage at different places.

Tonight, Erica and Adam are going to be in town. They got engaged not too long ago and she's moving from Florida to California to live with him. We are their half-way stop. Since I got the house all clean for them, I thought I'd take some pictures for those people that keep asking to see them.

Here's the outside:

Here's the formal living room (which we don't use):

Here's the office:

Here's the guest bedroom (all decorated and ready for you):

Here's the living room:

Here's the kitchen:

And here's the master bedroom:

Tomorrow morning I leave to go to Las Vegas for a trade show for work. Garrett will get back in town tomorrow afternoon, and then leave again Wednesday for his New Orleans/Panama City trip, also for work. We've got a few staggered weeks of travel, but at least we're getting to go do some fun stuff!

I'm bummed I don't get to come with Garrett to Panama City to see some of you guys, but I'll put up some cool pictures of Vegas to try to make up for it.

Have a great weekend!

Love,

Michaela