Candy should be free!

It's been a couple of weeks since I've been able to write anything. We've been traveling all over the place like crazy monkeys! We started off hopping on a plane that took us to New Port Beach, California. We went to go watch Colin's cousin, Colleen, graduate from UC Irvine! What an accomplishment! She looked beautiful and the whole family was so proud. We were there for about 5 days so it was actually somewhat of a lengthy vacay!

We filled our time with eating yummy foods, checking out different cities in the area, drinking cold beers, experiencing new types of seafood, playing at the beach while drinking more beers, running into the ocean like a kid, making an appearance at a college keg party, and eating more....while

Colin J. in Cali

On the beach..Our wedding date in the sand

drinking! ;) hahahahaha, overall, there was a lot of consuming going on in the form of food, alcohol, and CANDY! We went to this kick-ass candy shop and I spent $15 on candy. I went on this trip with about $100 to my name, so the fact that I spent that fraction of my dough on sweets tells ya something- I'm totally ridiculous!

When we got back from Cali, we had just enough time to do laundry, unpack, repack, and take off again. Colin worked 2 or 3 days and took off early on Thursday so that we could head to South Padre Island! My cousin, Fred, was getting married! Now, I must fill in a tad bit of history here: I used to spend a LOT of time in the valley when I was a kiddo. My grandfather pretty much brought cinema over from Mexico and opened up the first drive-in movie theater down there. I used to work at the theater when I was younger, selling candy, popcorn, burgers, and all of that yummy movie food people like to eat...sometimes a piece of candy would happen to end up in my pocket at the end of the night, too! ;) ANYWAYS, I used to spend the summers down there, playing with my cousins, working at the drive-in, cooking with my grandma, eating valley lemons, and just soaking up everything about the valley that I could. It's a different world down there. This was my first time back since...jr. high? It had been WELL over a decade and I was SO excited to go. I was even MORE excited

Me and my cousins, Andrew & Chris

about taking Colin J. along for the ride. I warned him about the crowd. My family down there is LOUD, BIG, and .. como se dice?....  REALLY LOUD!! Everyone has the 'valley accent' and loves to know what everyone else if doing. It's a complete riot and I love it.

The ceremony was lovely and the reception was a freaking BLAST! It was very laid- back (valley style) and everything seemed to flow very naturally. We danced our asses off - typical- and were drenched by the end of the night. It was fantastic to see all of my cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and close family friends that I hadn't seen in such a very long time. It really made me reassess my thoughts- We MUST get down there more often. No more of this 10+years of not seeing them. They are a part of why I am the Angie I am today and I don't ever want to forget about those roots that I have there. Ay ay yai yai!

We finally made it back to Austin on Sunday. We were sunburned, tired, stuffed on booze from the weekend, dehydrated, and so thankful to have walked through our front door. The feeling of being home after a trip, is like no other. It just feels good.

Since then, we jumped right back on the wedding-planning train. We have the flowers, DJ, dress, suits, food, and of course, the venue, locked down. The invitations went out on Monday so it's OFFICIALLY OFFICIAL! WOO! This week we are meeting with Joe, since he is marrying us, and mapping out what we want the ceremony to look/feel like. I have my dress alterations appointment tomorrow, tasting at the venue on Saturday, and tie shopping for Colin this weekend. We just now booked ZAX for the rehearsal dinner so I'm pretty stoked about that. I've started working on gifts for my girls...there is no way that I could show them how wonderful they each are and how grateful I am that they are here, helping me every step of the way.

To shed a bit of the wedding stress, and the pounds I put on during our fabulous vacations, I went to visit an old friend of mine yesterday- Towne Lake!I refer to it as an old friend because it seems like I haven't been there in years! So I had a light and healthy breakfast yesterday, threw on my running gear, and was ready to head out the door. Of course, about 4 things had to come up as I'm leaving, so I took care of a couple emails regarding the wedding, grabbed my keys, and finally left. On the way to the trail, I got rear ended! I was already way behind on schedule and now to get hit IN THE BEHIND!? -ahhhh! Thank my favorite candies, that no one was hurt and both vehicles were totally fine. PHEW!
Finally! Made it to the parking lot... I quickly noticed something very bizarre- it was empty. I just assumed it was my lucky day and parked in the first stop I could. I did a quick stretch, noticed that the clock said about 12:55ish, and started my run. I'm bumpin' along to the beat of Micheal Jackson and all of the sudden I was sweating. a lot. I hadn't even made it to the half way point when these thoughts started unfolding in my mind... "Damn, it's hot. I wonder why no one is out here...I could really use some water already...shit, it's freaking hot. ... I'm not even close to the bridge yet and I need a walk break...where's the shade?...FUCK! It's fucking HOT!... ****light bulb goes off*** NO ONE IS OUT HERE BECAUSE IT'S 1 IN THE AFTERNOON AND TOO FUCKING HOT TO RUN!!!!" This may sound dramatic, but go with it- I thought I was going to pass out. When I got to the water coolers at the half way point, I didn't hesitate to stop like I normally do. I threw water all over my face, arms, neck, everywhere. I got some looks of pitty by people going by in the their cool hair-blown-by-the-A/C inside their cars. What was I going to do? I couldn't stop. I couldn't NOT finish and not get back to my car. I just ran.

I have never taken so many walk breaks during a run as I did yesterday. I never walk. I don't like to...it's like a rule that I have with myself- NEVER stop to walk, just slow down the pace. Yesterday was different. I felt like I was the only human that the sun was giving all of it's rays to. I would run and try to catch the shade under the trees in between the patches of desert sunlight. I was so hot, so tired, and completely miserable. I thought, "I have to turn this around. This is a GOOD thing, Angie. I'm doing what I love, it's just the conditions that suck, but I WILL make it back...." I turned on the Local Natives, specifically, Sun Hands, as I approached the last stretch with the downtown view of Austin. I nailed it. I ran and ran and sweat flew off of me like a sprinkler. When I made it to my car, I pretty much collapsed onto the back. I was exhausted and wiped out, but I did it. I made it back at 1:39, which would equal up to a pretty slow 3 mile run, but considering the heat, I felt no guilt.

So my advice, don't run in the heat of the afternoon. It's stupid. If you decide to...you might see me out there ;)

Cheers!