i drove

and drove and drove, with camera in hand. This is what I found. As big as Houston is, I couldn't find anything I felt like looking at today. I found this horse in Angleton. There's something about it I like...and it's not the mohawk.

Eric's got spirit,

yes he do, he's got spirit, how about you? This is the garter Courtney gave him for the homecoming game. (I forgot to get pictures of the mum he gave her.) They decided not to go to the game since their seats were in the student section.

I think I was always the anti-school spirit. I never had any school spirit. The Jersey Village Falcons didn't get squat from this chick. I went to one football game, one pep rally, bought one yearbook...you get the picture. I even had my friend Jamie take my senior pictures to avoid going up to that school on my time off for a portrait in a pink fuzzy thing. (By the way, I think Jamie's pics rocked-unlike all the others.) Oh well, maybe if the school colors hadn't been purple and gold...

nowhere

I guess, since this is considered the "Bridge to Nowhere", I went nowhere today. Actually, I go nowhere twice daily. I've always hated this bridge but I think it's interesting...in that 70-year-old bridge kind of way. I think it might have even been ranked the most dangerous bridge in Texas a couple of months back. Whatever...here's a picture of it.

Oh, CMA was here first thing.

okay now

I don't think CMA has ever experienced the wrath of Melanie. For the most part, I'm an easy-going person. Okay, so I'm abnormally shy and quiet, but I'm nice and easy to get along with. I don't like to make waves. BUT... Every once in a while, after too much build-up, that little gasket blows and somebody ends up on the receiving end of an ill-tempered rant.
[Enter CMA Communications]
I have a tv with some stations that aren't as clear as they could be. No, it's not urgent but I am paying for their services. They were scheduled to come the morning of 9/10/07. Never showed. Rescheduled for the morning of 9/12/07. Never showed. Rescheduled for the morning of 9/21/07. Never showed. Now they are rescheduled for the morning of 9/28/07. IF they actually show up, it probably won't be ugly. Now, if I get another no-show...it's so on. (What do they say "it's on like Donkey Kong"?)

Thank you for letting me vent.

west of the brazos

Earl's surprise party was at West of the Brazos in Damon. We later heard that was the biggest crowd this place has ever had. (Remember, it's in Damon...probably 1/2 the size of Maypearl.) Here are a few of the pics.

last friday

We took Eric and Courtney to Dave and Buster's. We stopped to take a few pictures after I got sick and had to leave the restaurant. (Don't know if it was the food or the 2 Trimspa I took prior to eating.) Anyway, I thought I should alter Courtney in the pics since I didn't ask her mom about posting. So, here are a couple of shots at Jones Plaza.

A year older

As usual, Eric didn't want to come out with us, so Cosme and I went to pick up my birthday cake and 4 dozen petitfours. (hey, only a dozen were mine.) After stopping at Moeller's for the ultimate sugar fix, we went for a birthday dinner at Grotto. (I've always loved that place.) After dinner we were heading down the road and I gasped (as usual, I scared Cosme). I told him I HAVE to have my picture made in front of a 35 mph sign on my 35th birthday. (Yes, we live near hwy 35, but this had to be a 35 mph before we left Houston.) We found a sign with enough room for us to pull over and Cosme snapped away. Even more appropriate, I'm wearing my birthday top from Cindy and Earl along with my birthday shoes from Mom and Dad. (I don't have a picture of those yet, but you can see them here...they're the rust ones.) Anyway, it was fun. I'll show you some more pictures now. (Sorry, there's none of Eric. As soon as we got home and had cake, he headed off to guitarland.)

us at Grotto

my cake, mmm...

and the flowers I got the night before

boots

Making a pitstop between The White Elephant and the rv

forgot one

I forgot to post this pic of Mom and Dad. Mom decided to change from the "Paddington" straw hat to go for the Willie Nelson look with one of the free American flag bandanas we picked up.

then came sunday

There was really way too much to write about, but I'll try to summarize everything. Mom and Dad parked the rv at Billy Bob's so we could catch the Black Crowes Sunday and stay the night there. Well, it was actually an all-day event so the rv was great for pitstops. We started with lunch in the rv then headed over to The White Elephant Saloon. (I had someone take our group pic. He said he didn't know how to operate my camera so to get it ready to press the button...great job, dude.) We stayed here for a while and then went back to the rv for a rest and burgers. We could hang out at the rv and still hear the music from the bands playing. Plus we got to meet all sorts of interesting characters...thanks to Dad never having met a stranger! (Should I start with the guy who stopped to pee on the other side of the wall and ended up staying to have a beer and talk for half an hour? Or the woman from a few rv's down who was fighting with her husband?) It was all too funny. The pic to the left is the set up and the pic to the right is one view from the rv. We didn't spend much time in the actual concert area. We stopped in to get some freebies and look around. After our burgers, we all had naps (the Black Crowes weren't coming on until 11.) Dad headed over a little early to hear Cross Canadian Ragweed and get a good spot for the Black Crowes. The rest of us headed over closer to show time. We couldn't find Dad (since he was only a few rows back from the stage) and Mom headed back early because she couldn't find any of us. Cosme and I stuck around for a while but decided to head back to the rv. Below are a couple of shots of the stage (yeah, they're kind of blurry) and one of our view of the stage from the rv. It was a lot of fun. My opinion is: if there's an all day concert, an rv is the ONLY way to do it.

it's been a while

so here's the baby shoe. This was taken on Sunday at The White Elephant Saloon. (More pics from our day at the Stockyards to come!)

i say buddy...

you say Guy... (Okay, I've seen and enjoyed too many Hillshire Farms commercials.)

After having dinner at H3, we took Eric to see Buddy Guy at Billy Bob's in Fort Worth on Friday night. I don't think the word is used anymore, but Eric was stoked. The opening act was Honey Boy Edwards (he's 92). With none of us expecting Cosme to really get into the show, we were all wrong. He was clapping and hollering more than any of us! Buddy Guy put on a really good show. There were a couple of songs Eric didn't get to hear but he wasn't disappointed. It was pretty cool. I wanted Eric to get a cap and t-shirt, but he went for the autographed guitar strap. (Yes, it was black and white polka dot.) We thought the show was over and missed out on the Muddy Waters Band. Oh well, we were all impressed and went home happy.