Oh Snow You Didn't!

Yesterday was a special day in Dallas, Texas. We experienced a record-breaking 12.5 inches of snow in a 24-hour period!

It was so beautiful! Check out our house. Our front yard was a solid white blanket. Usually there is a bright, full bush to the left of our house entrance...but it was smothered in snow.

I don't think anyone in the metroplex anticipated this kind of snowfall. Our neighborhood was just one of thousands to get snow, and we were lucky enough to keep our electricity!

I read today that every single state in the US has some snow accumulation - including Florida, Louisiana, and even Hawaii (on mountain tops - but hey, it counts!). That. is. crazy.

Yesterday Andreas and I worked from home. The roads were mostly just slushy, but the prospect of working while watching the snow fall all day was far more appealing that sitting in a cubicle! It seriously snowed big, beautiful flakes all day long. It was amazing. And at lunch we got to make this guy!

Can you believe this is my first legit snowman? I think I remember my Mom and Dad having a picture of me when I was pretty little with an equally little snowman, but I'm sorry to say I don't remember making him.

Andreas took a break from throwing snowballs at me to pose with our new friend.

I know that snow can be a nuisance, but I really enjoyed this short stint of snowfall. It was gorgeous and fun, and it did a great job of getting me amped up for the Winter Olympics!

Hope everyone is enjoying watching the opening ceremonies tonight!

Insight from The Eagles

I missed yesterday's post. Four days into the challenge and I failed to get something written. It was a busy Friday, and I was barely home at all. Last night was our work Holiday Party, and we had a great time with friends and co-workers. In fact, we shut that party down and were the last ones to leave!

Today's morning was full of Christmas preparations - gift wrapping, baking, etc. - and typical weekend chores - because who doesn't want to spend their Saturday morning folding laundry and paying bills? This afternoon we took a break from our productivity and got to hang out with some friends. We took pictures at Frisco Heritage Park, and I think some of them turned out really cute! It was a great location, but the weather was so cold we couldn't stand it for too long.

After pictures we determined that nothing says 'cozy evening' like Chicken Express and collectively decided to indulge. Old fashioned chicken tenders, creamy mashed potatoes, and gravy? Yes, please. An early dinner quickly turned into late night coffee. I absolutely love evenings spent with friends just sitting around chatting about everything and nothing, from budgeting to miniature potbelly pigs (I did NOT see that trend coming) to WordWorld. Nights like that remind me I should take it easy more often.

NASCAR - Yes, you read that right.

Last Sunday Andreas and I went to NASCAR. I know, I know, it's not our normal scene. But we decided to venture out and experience something new. Welcome to Texas Motor Speedway, my friends. I am willing to bet that 75% of all RV sales can be attributed to NASCAR fans. They were serious about these RVs. There were elaborate scaffoldings built onto many of them where people hung out to watch the race, cook out, and enjoy adult beverages.

You can blame these two for our attendance to this event. Andi and Page were nice enough to ask us to tag along with them to the race. Thanks guys! We had a lot of fun! As a bonus, this picture also includes a subject that is rare in everyday living but a common NASCAR sighting: the mullet. Can you find it?!

Now this isn't an amazing picture of our group (all the people on my row looking at the camera), but I couldn't pass up an opportunity to feature a large man in overalls catching a midday nap at a loud, public sporting event. This blog post is becoming sorta like Where's Waldo.

Here Andreas demonstrates the proper safety precautions for a day at the race car track. Surprise, it was loud! At first when the cars were driving their practice laps I thought it wasn't too bad. But 35 cars driving past you at high speeds - it's loud. Real loud. Earplugs loud. This made casual conversation rather difficult, but we managed to socialize a bit.

And what's a NASCAR race without a collision? You have to love a sport where fans are hoping for an honest to goodness car wreck. This race didn't disappoint. That number 24 car belongs to none other than Jeff Gordon, one of the two drivers in NASCAR I actually knew of prior to this event. Look at the people cheer! I wish you could grasp the speed at which this all occurred. It all happened so fast! And once all the other cars drove past him, he turned his car the right direction and kept on going. Too bad the other car didn't come out as lucky. The driver was perfectly fine though, thank goodness.

All in all it was a good day. The weather was perfect, the race was exciting, and the people watching was definitely entertaining!

Fightin' Texas Aggie Football

This Saturday we headed over to the new Dallas Cowboys stadium to watch the Texas A&M vs. Arkansas football game. But first we enjoyed the day tailgating!

We caravaned with college friends and coworkers down to Arlington around lunchtime. JD and Brittany rode down with us and were definitely representing Arkansas. If you look closely, you can see more red behind them. We let some other Hogs join the party!

Nothing wrong with some friendly rivalry.

Andreas and Bobby discussed the finer points of life...

...and let someone else do the cooking. Mmmmm, there were burgers, chicken, sausage, and hot dogs!

Everyone knows it isn't an Aggie tailgate without washers.

Here Larame shows us proper washer-throwing form. I have to admit this game is much harder than it looks! Andreas and I played as a team one game and discovered we could definitely use some practice.

As the day progressed, our site became more and more popular! Look at all those Aggies.

Flip cup anyone? No thanks, not my cup of tea...er, beer.

By happy coincidence, the Fightin' Texas Aggie Band came marching right by our tailgating site!

These boots were made for walkin'. Only Senior Corps members are allowed to wear these custom-made boots - an Aggie tradition. Check out the spurs!

The band hung out and played for a while.

Even Reveille came to say hello.

After a long day of food and fun, it was finally time to go to the stadium. It is incredible looking!

And if you think that's impressive, check out the inside!

And the sea of Aggie maroon! Okay, okay, there were some Arkansas fans there too, but I couldn't be bothered to snap pictures of them.

And here it is folks, the famous HD screen. It spans from 20-yard line to 20-yard line and is almost 13,000 square feet. Need some perspective? Each one of those tiny letters spelling out Mitsubishi Electric on the top of the screen is 5 feet tall. RIDICULOUS. Two people work inside the screens at each event and use an elevator to lower themselves into the seven story structure.

This is at the beginning of the game, when our spirits were still high.

This is what $8.50 looks like at Cowboys stadium. Actually I was pretty happy with that considering people were paying $8 for a beer. A single beer! Plus I love artificial cheese. I know, I know, it's disgusting. But there is just something about ballpark nachos that I can't resist. Top them off with chili, jalapenos, and pico de gallo and I'm in heaven.

By halftime we were in desperate need of a pick-me-up. Good thing Aggies always win halftime.

Fightin' Texas Aggie Band signature ATM.

Even though we didn't win, it was an awesome experience. Thanks for sharing it with us JD and Brittany!

Excuses, Venice Take Two, and Randomography

This weekend Andreas and I floored the attic, sorted through old clothes, papers, and housewares, and organized what most would claim to be a ridiculous amount of 'stuff' for a couple that has only been married for three years. Where did it all come from? And how did it get here?

Now I'm all for sharing our lives with you guys, but photos of me sweating profusely while awkwardly navigating the attic beams or my living room looking like it has been hit by a tornado are not my idea of fun, internet-friendly memories. So instead you are getting the last installment of Italy...at least for a while. I've been using the stacked photo cache as a blog crutch of sorts. Posting new and more recent events on here forces me to get behind the camera and practice more often, so here's hoping I can be creative and come up with something entertaining!

And now I present Venice Part Deux (or however you say two in Italian)...

This is how you start the morning off in Venice, a cafe. Let me warn you that this is strong coffee, as in I used the entire packet of sugar to sweeten a cup that was smaller than the actual packet of sugar. Of course Dad didn't need no stinkin' sugar and drank it straight up. But I'm not that hard core.

Hungry for breakfast? Grab some fresh produce...off the boat.
Don't forget to put the laundry out to dry. This was beautiful, but it made me very grateful for my dryer.

Aren't they cute?! Hannah decided to stay home on this trip to Venice, so it was just Mom, Dad, Andreas, and me. We missed you Hannah!

Piazza San Marco, view from St. Mark's basilica. If you Wiki Piazza San Marco they have almost this exact same picture!

We took a tour of St. Peter's Basilica, which was absolutely breathtaking. The entire church was covered in these impossibly small stones...

...which combined to create these remarkable mosaics. It was truly one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen.

Mom and Andreas took a trip to the top to see the four horses while Dad and I hung out downstairs.

Pretty soon it was time for lunch. And do you know what there is no shortage of in all of Italy?

That's right. PIZZA. It is EVERYWHERE. This one is the Four Seasons - mushrooms, roasted red peppers, artichoke hearts, and a pepperoni-like sausage*. Don't ask for pepperoni pizza though unless you want a bunch of red and yellow peppers. Take a cue from Hannah and order the Diavola.
Venice totally lived up to my expectations. It was beautiful and romantic, buzzing with people in certain areas and totally peaceful in others.



And I can't completely finish off Italy without putting a few other random pictures in here of our trip, so here it goes...

Mom and Dad's house! That's an olive tree on the right. And that tree on the left, I just loved it. Such a brilliant red. It looked like it was on fire! And see that corn field in the back right-hand corner?

No big deal. Just their INSANE view.

Pretty pink flowers cascading over a neighbor's window.

Yummy lunch. Pizza again, but I'm not complainin'. I think this time we got buffalo mozzarella and grape tomatoes!

One day we took a trip to a walled city. I cannot remember the name. Mom, help? I know you will remember. I love this picture. Sista, sista!

One of the city's main attractions was a basilica whose floor was entirely covered in a mosaic depicting the history of Christianity. Awesome.

Hannah, Dad, and I scaling the walled city lookouts.

And this picture isn't really related to anything except it was taken on the same day in the same general area. But it took a good 20 minutes to capture this moment, and I felt it deserved its own moment in the spotlight. And look, it still isn't right. But hey, we tried, and now we have the memory of Mom and Andreas directing us for a good long time while we just laughed and complained about our arms hurting. Better luck next time!

*The meat is actually prosciutto, which is a dry-cured ham and not at all like pepperoni. But it was late when I wrote this, and I didn't actually take the time to look at the picture before typing, so now you get this late disclaimer. Good thing I reread the post this morning. Please forgive the confusion.