I JUST DID IT!Late Saturday night, one week before I arrived in Houston, I got an e'mail from FareWatcher on Travelocity saying that the prices to Houston, TX had dropped $130. Unbelievably, I was able to carpe the deium and buy the tickets that night. It was so great to be able to hang out with my old high school buddies. We're really more than that, but that's the quick way to describe us. Imee and I have known each other since babyhood, and Jamie and I have known each other since we were both 10 (or is it 11). I remember standing on the driveway of their new home, waiting for them to pull in. We were the welcoming committee. Or, maybe dad had the keys. I'm not really sure why we were there. Much of the weekend included reminiscing -- but there was some good old fashion fun mixed in there, along with serious talk -- catching up. We almost convinced Jamie to get her hair cut. I mean, we almost supported Jamie so much that she decided to get her hair cut. :-) Let us know if you do, James!
DEBUTJamie and I arrived on Saturday just in time for Imee's big coming out party. She was coming out of her Mary Kay closet. :-) We had a great time hanging out with girls and getting facials. It sounds really pathetic, but it was somewhat informative. We even tried some Microdermabrasion treatment, and I must say that it worked. Well, after all of that girl stuff, we were hungry, so we got the closest thing we could to a Valley botana -- I don't even remeber what the restaurant called it. It was grilled ribs, fajita, chicken, and shrimp on a skillet with delicious charro beans, rice, and tortillas to accompany. Let me say that this vacation lived up to my culinary hopes. I ate great the whole time -- especially when Imee made us yummy tacos de la casa Villareal. Other fine food included Cafe Express, and my new restaurant that I should go to more often -- The Cheesecake Factory. The name is just a cruel irony -- but the Luau salad I had there on Monday for lunch was fenom! Well, I hope you all enjoy the highlights of my great weekend con las chicas.
THE TOUROn Sunday, we took a little tour of Imee's town, The Woodlands. It's referred to as a Master Plan Community. Once you get over the quasi cultish feel to that title, the concept is quite interesting. From the inception of the town, they planned which types of businesses would be in each spot, from gas stations to churches to neighborhoods. They even planned for the ever popular intermingling of low income families with 1/4 million dollar homes. So, this produces a situation where Imee's church is right across the street from her apartment, which is right across the street from her high school. The neatest thing about their town was the downtown area called Market Street. They have a really cute down town area of shops, boutiques, restaurants and a little open space for gatherings -- like a town square
(without the town hall). They even have an old fashioned movie theatre that only shows artsy movies. Right across the street is the real mall, which also sports an outdoor shopping area (akin to Mall of GA where Barnes & Noble, etc. is, only COOLER.) We spent a very relaxing Sunday afternoon just strolling through Market Street. The picture with the magnificent fountain is Imee's church. I love their idea of interior design (or should I say exterior desing). The two 'side' walls of the sanctuary are made of glass, and on both sides one can view these enormous fountains. Really interesting approach! That's really the way to maximize your landscaping.
FIESTA!Since our weekend fell in between Jamie's birthday and my own, we had a little bit of birthday fun! There were birthday meals, birthday cookies, birthday seafood, birthday scarfs, and my birthday present from Jamie. Her thoughtfulness was completely touching!
HARWIN DRIVEMonday morning, 'the girls' woke up desiring to experience something uniquely Houstonian. After weighing our choices (many of which were stricken from the options by the mere fact of it being MONDAY) we decided to visit this charming shopping district by the name of Harwin Drive. We read romantic accounts of it being a sort of Chinese and Indian market in which trendy, chic items could be bought on the cheap, and where bargaining was even acceptable! Well, we finally turned onto Harwin Drive, only to find that I had flown three and
a half hours and driven 20 minutes to find myself in the centro of McAllen, only this centro was run by Chinese people. There were U shaped street malls lining both sides of the road offering luggage, shoes, jewelry, etc. We finally saw one mall that looked "safe," so we embarked on our journey. In the end we actually found some real bargains -- a $3 belt scarf and $5 red Valentine shoes.
MOVIE STAR?
By the way, apparently, Jamie is a celebrity in China, so going to a mini-Chinatown in Houston was good for her. How do I know that she is a celeb in China? Last year she visited China with Operation Smiles and while there received a lot of attention from Chinese people with cameras. She was on the front page of the newspaper TWICE mind you. Apparently, her looks are just what chinamen love! Unfortunately, we didn't meet with many Chinese men on our ghetto shopping trip. Well, we did find these men in the shop window. :-)
YUM! YUM!
The night before I left, Phillip and Imee took me to the best seafood restaurant I have ever been to. The atmosphere was fantastic, created in most part by our waiter. Our waiter was officious, but super fantastic. Unfortunately he had absolutely no sense of humor. I remarked on the drama of his dessert presentation, and he practically apologized! However, I have concluded that a waiter with no humor far surpasses the waiter who sits at your table and nudges and giggles like he was one of the party.
GOODBYE!Not only did Imee have to say goodbye to Jamie and myself, but to her husband, who was taking a little trip to the Valley. Perhaps she will have a chance to relax a little bit. Thursday before last, she and Phillip moved from their townhome to an apartment nearby. Of course, when I arrived at the apartment I expected boxes and boxes of stuff, but there was none to be found. Everything looked lovely. Her pictures were even up!
there ever was is really coming in handy these days. Little Lydia came over last night. I think the highlight of the evening was letting mom and dad watch her play on the webcam. I never thought I would enter into the world of webcams--it seemed so "movie," but it works great (for us)! Of course, they noticed that Lydia is a busy little bee. She never stops moving. She loved all of the cords and wires that have to do with headsets, webcams, and power cords. And she loves to have her hands on something. When I fed her the 
bottle, she was practically tearing my hands off of the bottle so she could hold them. Unfortunately, it's somewhat difficult to hold the bottle and hold her little moving hands.
would have nearly been impossible. Many of you will be glad to know that the lantern/accordions have now been safely moved into my classroom. . You've heard of Christmas spirit all year long; we're looking for Valentine's spirit all year long. (P.S. The inordinate amt. of pictures of Sam can either speak to a deliberate campaign to overturn a commonly held principle that "Sam is not photogenic" or Sam's desire always to be in the center of the action. Take your pick.)
