Our Weekend Trip

So yeah... I failed at getting the pictures of me and Mike that I said I was going to try for. I did however get some pictures of the place that we stayed at!

We went to Lake Charles and stayed at the L'Auberge Du Lac Casino (means Inn on the Lake) (yeah, I am nerdy enough to have looked up the translation when we got home. We were there to see Blue October, a band that both Mike and I have a long history with.

We arrived in Lake Charles around 2pm, and went to check in to our room. The service at this hotel and casino was outstanding, I must admit. The lady behind the check in desk was very polite, and friendly, and made me feel like a guest in their hotel, not like I was inconveniencing them by making them clean a room for me. We went upstairs to our room, and found a beautiful room, done up in a slightly Western theme, straight down to these amazing chairs:

which for some reason really fascinated me and prompted me to take another picture, even closer, of the feet on the chair... did you catch those in the first picture?

Yeah... that's a hoof. I don't even like Western themed stuff, and I would SO put these in my house.

Anyhow, after checking in, we went down to the casino and contributed a little of our money to the economy of Louisiana, and then had some amazing Creme Brulee gelato in the dessert shop there. We met up with Mike's brother and his wife for the buffet dinner, which was somewhat of a letdown for me. The selection was not that great, and the food was very bland.

The advantage to being there was that while we were eating, 4 out of the 5 members of Blue October came in to eat their dinner, and we got a chance to say hello to a couple of them. It was really nice to see that they still remember us, even as big as they are getting.

After dinner, we hung out for a while until it was time for the show. It was a free concert by the pool in the casino, so there were TONS of people there, and only about 1/3 of them there to see a band. The band Ours opened, followed by Switchfoot, and then Blue. Mike and I found some comfy pool recliners around the other side of the pool to relax in and watch the show. As it turned out, we could see the projection screen perfectly from where we sat, and there was a cool breeze blowing there as well. The music was wonderful, and it was really good to see Blue in concert again (one of these days I will tell you about our history with Blue).

After the concert, we met back up with the family, and went to the cafe there and had some dinner, even though it was midnight. And then back to the room to crash!!

All in all, a really great trip, and a great time spent with family.

Oh, and here are a few other pictures I took...

The view from our window of the front entrance and fountain

A closer shot of the fountain

The beautiful golf course there on the grounds

I have a feeling we will be back there again...

The Weekend, the food, the fun, the family... but mostly the food

I don't know about the rest of you, but I had a wonderful weekend! Let's do a little bit of recap, shall we?

~Friday.
I got off work at 12, as I always do on Fridays, and I went and got my hair trimmed. Possibly the only part of the weekend that I DIDN'T enjoy. I know most women see the hair salon as a form of pampering themselves, but to me, it is a torture session, every time. While others find it relaxing to lie back in the chair and have someone wash your hair for you, I find it to be condemning. I always feel as though the stylist is washing my hair thinking "this girl does NOT get her scalp clean enough" or "lord, look at the damage that this girl is doing to her hair". And the funny thing is, I take pretty good care of my hair, I don't color it, I rarely blow dry it, but still I find this part of the hair cutting process to be a pronouncement of judgement on my ability to groom myself. Then the actual cutting process.... this involves me standing up behind the chair so that the stylist can trim my hair, because my hair is long enough now that it can't be trimmed while I am sitting down. So yeah, not a pleasant experience, but it needed to be done, and now it is done and out of the way.
After the hair cut, I picked Mike up and we went out to lunch with some friends. The kinds of friends that don't put on airs, they are who they are. And who they are happens to be the simple country folk that believe in honesty and in good times and good food with friends. We had lunch at a little Italian/Mexican restaurant here in our small town, and the food was fantastic, as was the company. I had some supreme nachos that lived up to their name, and sent me home with a belly full of goodness.
Friday evening was full of lounging around the house, playing some World of Warcraft, having a few drinks, and relaxing with my husband.

~Saturday
We had nothing on our agenda at all for Saturday, and that is just the perfect way to spend the day. We lounged around the house, played some Xbox, played some World of Warcraft, and then lounged around some more. In the afternoon, Mike's parents called to find out if we wanted to go to dinner with them (duh!), so that evening, we headed out to Novrozsky's, and Mike and I had a chicken fried steak baked potato. Can I just say YUM! They cut up a chicken fried steak, put it in the baked potato, cover it with the gravy, and top it with cheddar cheese. It is divine, wonderful, and great, all wrapped into one.

~Sunday
We slept in a little later than usual on Sunday morning, and then got up to go to church. After the church service, we went over to his parent's house where his mom had made some homemade chicken gumbo. Dee's gumbo is the reason neither of us will ever order gumbo in a restaurant. It CANNOT be better or even as good as the heaven in a bowl that she serves up. And one of the best things is that we really get along with his parents, and we enjoy sitting around talking to them, so meals never feel like a rushed uncomfortable affair. Good times, good food.
More relaxing was on the schedule for the afternoon, more nerdy games, and then dinner time! For dinner, I pulled out all the stops and made fried chicken, mashed taters, gravy, and rolls. Was I stuffed to the gills after dinner? You betcha! Is that a meal that is worth the time and effort to make? You betcha!

So there you have my weekend in review. Lots of good times relaxing with Mike, lots of good food, and good times with friends. Everything a weekend should be. Everything I needed this one to be.

Blank Pages

One of the most difficult things I have found about writing a bl0g is that I don't always have something deep and profound to write about. I don't always have an interesting antecdote, I don't always have a witty observation, and I am not yet to the point where I can just post a pretty photo essay and call that a post. My mind isn't always in the deep and profound mood, and you know what? That's okay.

I apologize if the occasional post comes up empty and unfulfilling. I am trying to get myself in the discipline of writing something every day, at least a little something, and I honestly believe that the more I write, the more I will find to write about. That has always been the case in the past.

So bear with me for a couple of the boring ones.

As you might have guessed, there isn't much going on right now. Last weekend's trip to the show is over, the recaps have been posted, and Mike and I are planning a quiet weekend at home this time. I need those weekends though, they are soothing to me. A whole weekend of nothing but sitting around the house, playing our games, and getting out to church on Sunday. Those weekends of relaxation give me the strength to make it through the week that follows. Those are the weekends that I am glad that we don't have kids yet. Kids, I have heard, interfere with your ability to be selfish and take time for yourself.

Don't get me wrong, we very much want kids someday. We both love them and would love to have one of our own. But in the meantime, until that time comes, we are not above thoroughly enjoying every selfish moment we have as a couple. We are very much in love, and content with a world that revolves around just the two of us.

I guess that is what the weekend represents to me. A retreat from the world. A time when we can close our doors, and close out the outside world. We can pretend that nothing exists except the two of us, even if it is just for a day or two.

I love those days.

A Few More Thoughts...

Here's a few more thoughts from the weekend trip to Houston...

~Thai food is wonderful! After the show we went to the Pad Thai restaurant in downtown Houston, and due to the early hour we arrived, we had the entire place to ourselves, which was good, because they were gearing up for a party later that night. We had the chicken sa-tay appetizers with entrees of chicken and pork pad thai. The flavors were so rich and wonderful, and very difficult to describe. It is a definite must-have-again.

~To the grandma with the Fran Drescher voice sitting behind me during the musical: shut up. Didn't anyone ever teach you that making critical comments during the performance is rude? Even if you are complimenting the talent of the actors and dancers, don't mess up the magic with your droning voice making comments like "that was a perfect note" during the closing notes of a very passionate moment on stage. And I realize you are probably hard of hearing, and don't know how loud you are really speaking, but please.... shut up.

~There is a such thing as appropriate dress for these occasions. Now obviously, with this being a matinee performance, I didn't expect tuxes and evening gowns, but dress nicely, people, please. It is a sign of respect for the quality of show that you are about to see. This is an afternoon at a Broadway musical, not a quick trip down to Wal-Mart to pick up some flea dip for your dog. Things I saw people wearing that really bothered me (and Mike can testify that I am not making this up):

1. Flip flops. Yes, seriously, flip flops. When did society get the idea that flip flops are suddenly acceptable footwear for a dress up occasion such as this? And I don't care if they are made of leather, plastic, or foam... I don't care if you cover them with rhinestones, butterflies, and unicorns... they are still a flip flop. Now I don't know about you, but in my family, flip flops were perfectly good attire for mowing the lawn, wearing around the house, or the aforementioned trip to Wal-Mart (if you couldnt find your shoes), they were NOT something that you wear to a Broadway show.
2. A button-up Harley Davidson shirt, made of denim, on a woman. I know we live in Texas, I know this... but seriously? How redneck do you have to be?
3. Shorts. Enough said.
4. Jeans. Now let me start with saying that we live in Southeast Texas, and around here, I KNOW that for some guys, putting a nice long sleeve button down shirt with a pair of clean jeans and some cowboy boots is about as dressed up as you are gonna get. I understand this, and for that reason, I just smile at the man with the Texas flag shirt, jeans, and boots, because I know that he put forth the effort to actually dress nicely. This IS goin'-to-the-theater duds for him. But women.... women.... don't wear jeans to an event like this please? Please?

So there you have it... my weekend in review. Over all, it was a great great weekend, and there were a lot of things that I thoroughly enjoyed. Traffic was very light in Houston, which is a rare thing indeed, and we made really good time travelling back and forth. The show was spectacular, and I could not have asked for a better performance. And I got to spend a lot of time with my husband, and that is always a good thing.

Now I can begin the countdown to going to Lake Charles to see Blue October in two weeks!!

Music of the Night

I am sure you are waiting on the edges of your seats to hear about our trip to see the Phantom. It was, in one word, amazing. I will be posting throughout the week about some of the other events of this weekend, including our wonderful lunch at the Thai place, but I really wanted to devote this entry to just talking about the play itself...

We arrived in Houston a little early (about an hour before the show started), so we went ahead and went to the Hobby Center for Performing Arts. We pulled up to find that they had valet parking for a reasonable price, and since parking in downtown Houston can be quite the challenge, we opted for this. We went inside to find a place to sit until they opened the doors, and then 30 minutes before the show was to start, they let us in, gave us our playbill, and we went and found our seats. The seats we had were pretty good, although we were on the outer seats at the edge of the auditorium, so there were a few spots in the musical when we could not see the actors on the edge of the scenes.

The Phantom began, and I was immediately drawn in under its spell. This was a production by Broadway Across America, so I expected the people to be able to sing, but wow... I don't think I was prepared for the quality and richness of their voices. They really brought the story to life with a passion and perfection that I was in awe of. And I could not say enough about the set. The entire facade of the stage was part of their set... the chandelier that hung out over the audience was part of their set... the amazing effect of the fog that rolled off the stage during the water scenes... I was in awe of the time and money that obviously went into making the scene perfect.

And I am not ashamed to admit... I teared up at the end. The actor playing the Phantom was nothing short of phenomenal. I knew how the story ended, I wasn't expecting a happy ending for the Phantom, but I also wasn't expecting to have my heart ache for his character like I did. I wasn't expecting tears in my eyes... that is how good this actor was. I really FELT how sad and lonely the Phantom was, how heartbroken. And as the curtain came down, and the actors came out on stage to take their bows, my eyes teared up again. I didn't want this to be over. I didn't want the magic that they were weaving to end.

I know without a doubt that Mike and I are going to be back there for more musicals now that we have gotten a taste of what the full experience is like. But I also know that no other musical will have that special magical quality that I felt that day. Because, you see, that was the first time I had felt like that. I grew up on musicals, I have seen the movie versions of most of them, and I love them. I have a passion in my heart for them, but this was different. I am sure I will love each and every one that we go to see in the future, but this was more than that... this was the magic of a first time experience combined with the magic of the story itself.

There is something so incredibly magical about that ability they have to whisk me away into their world. I didn't watch it thinking "wow, that is a pretty dress that actress has on"... I watched it thinking "wow, that is a pretty dress that Christine is wearing", as if the characters were real people. And for a few hours there, they were.

The Countdown Continues

I swear I am going to make y'all sick of hearing about this, but I just cannot wait until we go to Houston tomorrow to see the Phantom. We are getting dressed up in fancy clothes (something we don't really do all that often), going to a professional musical (something we have never done) and finishing off the evening with some food at a Thai restaurant (something I have never done). It should be a real treat out for us.

Today was a really rough day, all around. Work was hellish (which I guess is an odd thing to say about working in a church), and I ended up staying an hour late. Then, we got the pleasure of going to Wal-Mart, where every rude person in our town was shopping today. The kind that leave their shopping baskets all crooked in the aisle, so that nobody can pass them. The kind that frantically speed around you so they can get to the eggs first, and then stand there for ages trying to find the perfect dozen (reminiscent of the man from Clerks). So by the time we got out of there, and finally got home, I was worn out completely. It felt so good to kick back on the bed, take off my shoes, and play some nerdy games.

A bonus for tonight though! Mike is cooking dinner and making his chicken and rice dish, which is to-die-for! I can smell it cooking right now, and I am ready to get my chow on!

If I can remember to take the camera, I will try to grab some shots of the theater, and maybe you will get lucky and I will take a picture of me and Mike (although we will most likely forget, since that tends to be our current track record).

See y'all on Monday!

The Phantom

Mike and I are going to see the Phantom of the Opera this weekend, and I am giddy like a school girl!

I have never been to see a professional production of a musical, and it has been something that has been on my to-do list for years and years now. Mike and I share an appreciation of musicals and will regularly stop the channel-flipping on the tv if we see that OMG Grease is on again, or Oklahoma!, we haven't seen that in weeks! But one thing we have never done is go to a musical together, so I am looking forward to this.

Our original plan was to drive to Houston on Saturday, check into a posh hotel, order some room service, and then dress up in fancy clothes and go to the show. In a moment of my usual "we are going to do something fun this weekend so I should stress about the details until we are actually there in our seats and the show has started" moments, I thought last night to check the tickets to see what time the show is at. 2pm. Yep, that's right, 2pm.

Okay, so revision of plans... we talked briefly about dressing up at home, driving straight to the show, and then going to the hotel afterwards. But... well... see... living just two hours away from Houston means that suddenly that doesn't make much sense. It makes staying in a hotel overnight seem kinda silly, and an unwanted expense. I mean, we will be out of the show at 5ish, so why not use that hotel money on a fancy dinner and then come home to the comfort of our own house, with our own nerdity options at our fingertips? So that is what the new plan is, dress up at home, drive to Houston, go to the show (which I will still be stressing about the details of until we are in our seats and the show has started), get a nice dinner, and then come home.

It sounds so much less complicated than it was going to be originally. Now we have no packing, no overnight bags, just a nice road trip with my husband. Doesn't get much better than that.