Texas Sky

It was time to change the banner since it didn't really fit the current season. Thought I'd shamelessly steal another photo from the internet that shows something we're known for here in West Texas - our sunsets and sunrises.

West Texas Sunrise

Another photo on the way to school one morning...

Homage to Hitchcock

I've seen this sight several times around town, but only in a couple of areas and only at dusk or dawn. I just think it's cool. This was on my way to school this morning.

Happy feet

It's December 20th and I just walked outside barefoot. And took my sweet time. And it was NICE. Some things about West Texas, like our winters, do not in fact suck.

Kaboom!

We got up early to go watch this:

The sound from the explosives was as cool as the implosion itself. But the eerie part was afterwards when the dust cloud started coming towards us. Made me think of 9-11.

Glad I didn't wash my car

Couple things I despise about this area - wind and sand. We had the pleasure of driving through both on the way home from Amarillo today.

One perk to living in West Texas....

...is Friday night football. It's homecoming for the Midland Lee Rebels, so that's where we'll be tonight.

Someday, somewhere

During the thunderstorm last night, we had winds in the area that reached 93 mph. That's the equivalent of an F1 tornado. And then I just heard of another place in Texas called Marble Falls, where one of my good friends lives, that had 19 inches of rain in 24 hours. So between that and reading all of these blogs and hearing about life elsewhere, it got me to thinking about the different places that Alan and I might live some day. Likely places, if he stays with the same company, would be Bakersfield or Houston or Lubbock (God, forbid).

Bakersfield - I could do that. Not much to look at (kinda like Midland), but closer to so much more. Alan and I would have a great time. And I'd love to fly the girls out to visit from college. We could see L.A. and Beverly Hills and all the San-this and San-that cities that are so awesome, and then of course there's the beach. I think Californians would eventually get on my every last nerve though, so hopefully it'd be a temporary stay.

Houston - I could do that. But my hair and I...we'd have to wrestle a time or two. Actually my hair would win, I'd lose, and there'd be nothing I could do about it. The food and museums and proximity to so much more than in Midland...that would be cool. But the people - oh geez. I'd probably get bitch-slapped at some point for shooting my mouth off to some asshole. Then again, maybe I'd fit in just fine. :-)

Lubbock - I'd still do it. It would be an oh-so-slight step up from living in the same town your entire life, plus it would be a little closer to family and friends in Oklahoma and Kansas. And if the girls happened to go to Texas Tech, we'd be right there if they needed us. That's all I can say about Lubbock.

Regardless, it's kind of fun to think about the different places Alan and I will get to live some day. I've got some adventuring yet to do in my life.

Swamp Trivia

I may have to change my blog name. I should try to find out how many days it's rained this year in Midland. I'm not complaining though - I love it. I talked to Alan this morning (who's in Houston all week) and told him how much rain we've had the past few days. Instead of thinking about how green and pretty everything is, I could hear the "cha-ching" in his head, realizing it's a few more days of not having to water the yard. Besides posting a picture of the rain, I'm really taking an opportunity to prove that my plants are still alive and GROWING. The Mexican grass is sort of getting taller than I expected, but I still like it. And get this - the other day our neighbor looked over the fence and remarked about my "garden." Garden? I have a garden? Whoa - somebody thinks it looks like a garden! Alan said he may have to slip the neighbor some money for that comment.

Ho-hum

Friday through Saturday we're expected to have wind gusts up to 45-50 mph. I can't understand why thousands of people aren't flocking to live in West Texas.

I must report that although I didn't get my Krispy Kreme fix in Ft. Worth, we did get a free jar of La Madeleine's tomato basil soup (which they sell for $8.99 for the SMALL jar). They screwed up Alan's order, meaning they forgot to cook him anything, so Alan asked for the freebie. The fact that they charge that much in the restaurant makes me question whether the La Madeleine soup you get in some grocery stores is the same recipe, since it is much cheaper in the stores.

And although this post is extremely captivating, I must close and get ready for my day with twenty 9-year olds.

Finally

We take pictures when it snows here, because it melts away as fast as it arrives.

Tiki torch snowcone. Behind it is the little guest house:

Flocked Oleander:

Out my window:

Winter exists in Midland

So this is Midland this morning. Bailey had three friends spend the night and they bravely stayed in the cold, cold guest house. I was pouring some rock salt on the sidewalk and steps that lead up to the little house and fell flat on my butt.

I may not ever make it out of my pajamas today.

Seriously, why Midland?

I'm not really understanding the interest Hollywood seems to have in Midland. I heard that an episode of "Heroes" had Midland as one of its settings, and then a recent episode of "Monk" features Monk's dad (I think) as a Midland truck driver. It seems it all started with the movie "Friday Night Lights," although the television series is set in a fictional Texas town named Dillon. And then I did a little research and found that six other movies have been filmed here, although none of them were as popular as "Friday Night Lights."

I don't get it. I live here, and uninteresting doesn't begin to describe this place. Midland does have two claims to fame however: Jessica falling down the well and the Bush family's home town. Neither seems reason enough to keep namedropping Midland though. But here's a possible theory. For a population of only 100,000, you wouldn't believe the money in this town. Old and new money. Just take a little drive in the ever-growing affluent neighborhoods and see all the mansions. So maybe it's possible that some of these people invest their money in Hollywood and have a small influence on what gets mentioned? Regardless, maybe I shouldn't leave the house without makeup as often as I do.