Birthday Weekend

Last weekend was my birthday and I had tons of fun celebrating! First off, my parents were kind enough to take Jack for the weekend! So Jon and I enjoyed alone time and, most of all- sleeping in! For dinner we went to this really cool restaurant downtown called Reata. It literally occupies 4 floors of a building, all filled with seating areas. We were fortunate to get a spot on the rooftop patio. Below are views of the FW skyline. Pretty, no? The food was to die for- we started off with tenderloin tamales, yum, and then I enjoyed quail enchiladas which were also yum. And we couldn't help but split the apple pie dessert. The tragic part is that after taking my 3rd picture of the evening, my battery died! SAD. We took some pics on our phones, but they aren't featured here...

Isn't this building charming? I love the blue with the red brick. One of the more modern bldgs in downtown- where Jon works

I'm kicking myself for not charging the camera before our outing. Oh well. The next day we were lazy and slept in, ah...it was wonderful. And then we went shopping where Jon graciously obliged me in holding my purse while I tried on clothes. Got some shorts and tees for the approaching summer heat. That's about it on my b-day weekend. On Sunday the spell was broken and I turned back into Mommy, but that's okay because I love my baby. Isn't it funny how when you are home with your kid(s) all you want is a break, and then the second they leave, you miss them?! How is that fair? Jon always thinks I'm crazy when I miss Jack when he's at my parents'.

And before I forget, my awesome present from my parents is below. I am so excited! I haven't had a bike since my 10-speed way back when. Can't wait to take Jack on bike rides. And kudos to Jon for hanging it on the garage ceiling. I don't have the patience for such things.

I'm super lucky to have such caring family. Many thanks to Jon's parents for my b-day gift- I can't wait to use it for my patio set! Well, I suppose that is enough about me.... for awhile. Heck, it's only your birthday once a year, right? ;)

Ironic, I know

Ironic because of my post directly below this one. While Spring is nearly here, I still have some catching up to do on my Winter activities. The video and pics are from the snowstorm we got here in February. I think we got around a foot of snow here, which for Texas is unheard of. We'll get snow "flurries" which melt once they hit the ground, so for snow to stick and stay was, well, cool. For AWHILE. Then it melts, and freezes into ice, and then it's no longer welcome here. But we had fun with Jack- making a snowman, throwing snowballs, and just enjoying the picturesque white scenery. FYI, about 5 seconds into the video Jack gets tackled fairly hard- don't be alarmed, to him it's all fun and games. What a boy.

Are you wondering what this picture's of? It's my, Jon's, and Jack's footprints in the snow. Jack's are in the middle, in case you didn't figure that out. Ahhhhhh.

That snowstorm was crazy, it literally snowed for 24 hours straight, non-stop. It must be global warming.

Can you feel it???

Can you feel the weather changing and bringing with it the breezy, warm days of Spring? I am SO excited because once Spring is here, Summer is not far behind. Can't wait to be at the pool and beach!

Love & Hate

After living in Fort Worth for over a year now, I've discovered the things I love and hate most about the area. I'll start with the cons first.

CONS

1. TRAFFIC. We live near 2, two-lane highways that should each have atleast 4 lanes. The result is endless congestion at even non-peak hours. The irony is that since moving here, people always exclaim how grateful they are to not live in Dallas and deal with the traffic there! Are you kidding me? This particular two-lane highway we live by was just mentioned on the Yahoo list: "top 50 worst highways in the nation"! Need I say more?

2. Lack of malls. There is 1 mall within 20ish miles of us. ONE?! Not to mention I have to drive through the traffic gauntlet to get there, making it take twice as long as it should. Dear Fort Worth, please build a mall within 10 minutes driving distance. Much appreciated.

3. "Where the West begins." This slogan describes Fort Worth as the last stop before you hit the Western frontier of Texas. I'm not entirely sure if this is a negative or a positive yet. I'm annoyed that the city has a huge population and job base, yet portrays itself as a small town. All this accomplishes is too-small roads, and not enough shopping! Please accomodate the number of people that live here. You are a big city; it is not evil to be a big city.

4. Referencing #3, Fort Worth despises Dallas. It thinks of it as a cosmopolitan, shallow city with no character. Get over it. Dallas has its negatives, but atleast I can get to 5 malls, each within 15 minutes of my parents' house.

5. Trains. This is a train city. And I do mean that. I cross no less than 5 tracks to get to church. And that is just one direction. Go in any other direction, and you're bound to cross a set of tracks. Annoying when you're late getting somewhere. Annoying hearing the train whistles all day and all night long. You can't escape them in this town.

PROS

1. Downtown Fort Worth. I love downtown here. It's clean, architecturally beautiful, got great restaurants, alluring ambiance, and perhaps most importantly: it's safe. This is one thing Dallas does not have- a safe downtown. I can take my son there at night and feel perfectly comfortable. There are lights up in the trees, cobblestone roads, and a great Barnes 'n' Noble for kids' reading. Love it.

2. The Zoo. The Fort Worth Zoo is awesome. It's clean and in a nice neighborhood, which is more than I can say about the Dallas zoo. It's got a variety of animals and a kid-friendly layout, with tree-shaded paths. There's also a train that crosses the zoo in case you don't want to walk all the way across. It's a great zoo.

3. Rosa's. Rosa's is a fabulous Mexican restaurant. I don't know why, but Rosa's is unique to Fort Worth and West Texas. You just won't find it in Dallas. They have delicious homemade tortillas, and paired with the queso- well, life just doesn't get much better. But, then again, I'm a Mexican fanatic.

4. "Where the West begins." On a positive note, at times I enjoy living in a city that prides itself in its western/cowboy heritage. Sites like the FW stockyards are fun to visit. Here you can see old railways, cattle, and small shops filled with cowboy boots, hats, etc. It's something different in a modern world.

5. The Texas Motor Speedway. This racetrack is just up the highway from us. I'm not a Nascar fan or anything, but I figure it's pretty cool to live so close to the track. Who knows, maybe we'll catch an event sometime.

Well that is my most current list of pros/cons, of which I hope the pros will soon overtake the cons.