Roadside Fruit stands, nothing better

Fresh as in, "just picked out back"... One of the greatest Texas pastimes, No Map or GPS needed...

Ouch... too old for being this cool...

Yes, I try to still be a cool mom with teenagers, so I went wakeboarding... This is an old 47 yr old wanna be cool Mom on Lake Austin. For the entire 8 minutes I was cool all right, then for the next 5-1/2 days I grunted and moaned to even brush my teeth. My arms were so sore I had to check my e-mail with my toes. And this was my idea... CRAZY!

That was then... This is NOW!

I ran into an old friend, 28 years later. Kenny Weibush from Beaumont Texas.

Good Stuff

Becker Vineyards

Wranglers look good no matter what age you are... Sunset in Fredricksburg
Tin Star Ranch has Faith...My point and shoot and I have been on a road trip through the Texas Hill Country. The big fancy camera is getting all the sand cleaned from the desert shoots. This just goes to show you, it doesn't matter what kind of camera you have, you can capture the beauty of Texas with anything.

A convertible, good friends and incredible destinations doesn't hurt either.

Looking ahead...

The top is DOWN,

Music is LOUD,

Wind blowing hair,

we feel 21 again....
(As long as we do not look in the rearview mirror!)

Don't you wish sometimes you could only look ahead? For some of us it is hard. Our past is a constant reminder of who we are today...We tend to dwell on the rear~view... And not the front view... Why do you think the Windshield is much larger than the rearview mirror?
"For what lies ahead is much bigger and better than what has been..."

Horses with stripes?

You never know what you will see on Texas Highways!

That's me in the green! :)

Only in Austin...

This will begin a series of
"Only In Austin..." photographs.
I believe my sister had one of these '73 malibu classics,

with 8 track blaring Led Zepplin.

We Made it!!!

"Texas our Texas oh Hail the Mighty State! Texas our Texas so wonderful so great. Largest and grandest withstanding every land... "

This is bits from a song I learned in third grade. I can remember the tune too. Never really thought about it too much until now. We take so many things for granted when we grow up in ONE place and that is all we know. It takes 47 years and to be removed from what you grew up knowing and put into another strange environment and culture to shock you into realizing what you had, how incredibly blessed your life was and appreciate little things like pork roast and grass. (Not the kind you smoke!) Yes, it's true. I have never appreciated Texas this much and all the mighty beauty until lately. I drove down I-10 last night from Houston to Gruene Hall at 5:00PM on the Katy Freeway and didn't mind it. The sun was setting over fields of Brangus and Herfords in Schulenburg, while I drove behind a Dooley with a cowboy in a hat and listened to a Christian radio station. It was good. It was great. I was alone for the first time in over a week. There are about 37 signs for Buckees Beaver Stop with Beef Jerky. Go figure... I don't like beef jerky but was tempted to stop there just to see how they could afford 37 billboards about jerky. Behind me was a new little SUV with an almost grown college kid driving and her little sister wearing ginormous red sunglasses dancing and smiling and both so glad neither one was riding with me. (Or maybe it was the music they were listening to, NOT!)

Texas is Home, even though we don't really have one here. What we do have is cherished family and friendships. I am blessed with both and the green green grass of home...

God Bless you Texas and keep you brave and strong...

The first night we arrived Nicholas made this incredible gourmet dinner, this is the appetizer made with a PVC pipe, chopped Avocado, Tomatoes, One corn on the cob not cooked, Cilantro and fresh raw Tuna. YUM! Click on the picture to see the detail of tasteful bliss... One day Nic will be wearing the black and white checked pants in some fancy kitchen somewhere and loving it! Not sure how a UT McCombs Business School Finance Degree contributed to this???? He is truly a Patrizi! We couldn't be prouder.

Alex is a Bear! Welcome to our third college tuition! OUCH! It is a perfect school for her..

Karen and I had a nice glass of wine at sunset and caught up on our 40 year friendship, while Matthew tried to get us to laugh by spanking himself. It worked!

We bought Alex a car thanks to Sparky and Tim Trawick. Not my favorite thing to do without Chris. We enjoyed a few days with the Gullos, laughing at a new hilarious TV show called Wipeout. Just sitting with them again is terrific. Makes you really miss home. Plus Debbie makes the best Pork Roast I have ever had in my entire life!!! I even had it for breakfast...

The Magnolia Jr. League is still as precious as always. Oh How I love my girlfriends!

Life is good in Texas... because, I have finally been with my sweet Mother.

Happy 4th of July...