Today marks 7 years of my official membership in this Club of Brown. If I can do it anyone can.
A couple months back I was assisting a coworker who spotted a photo of Jade on my desk. here’s how that went.
Oh who is this, a nice?
No that’s my little girl?
What your married?
Yes.
No!
Yes Sir I am married.
How long?
Almost Seven years!
Oh wow, yikes!
Yikes?
Yeah man, my past two marriages both broke up during that seventh year. It’s called the Seventh year itch.
OK, well thanks for the heads up I’ll watch out for the distracters.
Oh you’ll never see it coming. Does she work your wife?
Yeah.
What does she do?
She works at a law firm.
Screwed and Screwed, good God man I am sorry for you.
Well I’ll hope for the best.
Ha yeah that’s all you got. Good luck with that buddy.
* um whatever man *
So this is the #7 and unless it is like the #2 I’ll be fine. #2 was a hard year. Baby #2 is on the way and will replace “#2″ the year in the naming convention. He or she will be the redemption of the term “#2″. Oh but before that Jade turns #2 in mid August and sends it all back to hell.
We (Karina Jade and I) went to the San Antonio Zoo this weekend. That was fun. You know how you go somewhere once and you are like oh ok we are totally unprepared. Next time we will do all of this different. Carry water, and Gold bond Medicated powder, know Mom and Dad stuff no one wants to know but wish you had before heading out on a paved path to see some caged wild animals.
We actually spent most of this weekend in San Antonio. I had to get the MINI serviced and they gave us a loaner so we drove around the city exploring.

Karina and I love to do this or I do and she goes along with me pretty well. Every now and then she is like ok I saw and antique shop lets go look for Jadeite. Our friend Randy introduced us to a new place well have already been back to. The Los Cocos Fruiteria, holy cow that place knows what the heck to do with fruit.

Come down we’ll take you. WOW it is awesome.

We also went to a couple of the other missions on the Mission Trail in SA. You know the Alamo is only one of several missions you can see. The cool thing is it is the only one not still being used currently as a church. I have blogged about these churches before.

It was a great weekend over all and the start of a great year! Special thanks to all the friends of Brown that helped it go down.

Check out my last few songs of play list.
George Strait ‘if I know me’
Clay Walker ‘this woman this man’
Tracy Lawrence ‘if you loved me’
Diamond Rio ‘Love a little stronger’
Alan Jackson ‘tonight I climbed the wall’
Mark Collie ‘Something’s Gonna Change Her Mind’
Clint Black ‘burn one down’
Toby Keith ‘ wish I didn’t know now’
George Straight ‘ I can still make Cheyenne
Clint Black ‘loving blind’
Other stuff Sammy Kershaw, Neil McCoy Brooks and Dunn…
Then throw in P.M. Dawn’s ‘I’d die without you’ Random.
Wow, what a morning.
I hear these songs and I am instantly transported back in time say 1996-97. I miss Lara ‘the queen’ and ‘Shiny-white-Reeboks’ Josh, Lisa, my pretty girl friend with the cool dolphin sticker on her red Nissan, Billy bob Joe Jackson something something jr. aka Bill, Jake and his red truck,. You are all still my friends too, but you are all better looking now.
I remember fondly working at Pizza Hut, delivering people’s pizza before they could blink twice. I had the best car ever, my Nissan Sentra SE-R. Once I lent it to Bubba (Otis Lee for you outsiders) to take someone out to supper. I had to drive his old Chevy truck. I lost money that night I had to put gas in it twice. I remember thinking that the long horn sticker on the back made it look even cooler. Now that I live in Austin and everyone except me has a long horn on their car, not so much.
Funny thing is, as warm as my memories are of this period, I would not like to go back there and relive any of it.
Love you all
MDB

Edit
Daine is wondering what flavor creamer no one would steal out of the work fridge! 8:23am
- 6 Comments
Lara Niles at 8:29am November 11
You need to do what I do and keep it in your desk!!! The vanilla caramel creamer is absolutely fantastic….you don’t need no stinkin’ cold creamer!!!!
Laura Wright at 8:33am November 11
Can you find real creamer and let it curdle? Then, wait for the ensuing joy!
Sarah Phillip Hogan at 8:41am November 11
Pour it in another bottle and label it breastmilk.
Laura Wright at 8:41am November 11
^^^ Best idea! Hahah…
Lara Niles at 8:55am November 11
OMG! That would be hilarious!
Daine Branham at 9:00am November 11
Oh man that is a good idea.
i should just use one of the bottles that were found to have bpha or something in the plastic that “we cant use” just nipple on the bottle and everything and squeeze the bottle into my cup OH that is brilliant.

well i cant believe it but it is finally happening. Our friends and Neighbors and countrymen Justin and Amanda are in the Hospital working on Chase their little man. we were all kind of in this pregnant boat together so it will be cool to finally meet this little guy.

We have been doing everything in our power to persuade him out.

Jade cried all evening last night to get him here and wore herself out she went out at 10.30pm after i gave her a bath and slept until 6.30am.

We have eaten Pepperoni Pizza and yesterday evening with perfect fall south Texas weather we went on a little ride around their ranch looking at these animals more commonly seen in Africa riding on an old unimog Mercedes, stinking cool truck but bouncy. about half way through i looked back at Amanda and said maybe the bumps will help the little man come out.

So Chase isnt here yet but cant be long now.

I am so ready to go home. I miss everything about fall today. I miss the cool rain and the colored leaves and old truck I used to call the beast and I miss going to papa Whites place to work on some ones car and the darkness that hides along the road just off into the bushes. I want Pumpkin or pecan pie and chili. We used to have this party out at the old Kraft home place farm and have hay rides and the works, impromptu skits and bonfires and marshmallows so charred they look like a lump of coal. I miss the feeling I get when the air is cold and I smell of wood smoke from a fire place. From my child hood bedroom window on the second floor there was the valley and the hills side opposite was awash in a warm tapestry of greens and browns and oranges and reds. I miss playing in the band at school and the hours and hours of practice. I am nostalgic for it all, and I am hoping it is all going to be waiting on me when I return there in a week or two. And then I hope some thing gets to me and I’ll be ready to come home again to Texas where the best thing I can think to say about my surroundings is that “it isn’t all THAT bad.” But there is nothing that makes this place nostalgic to me in any way. Except maybe the old whole foods down; town where REI and Anthropology are now. MexiMelt and I went there one thanksgiving day and got tortilla soup and a big deal of bread for a snack while the turkey was cooking. That was nice.  And this is my background screen I look at most of the day.

and this is my little Mexican pepper!

Well it is a nice hot fall day already here in Austin.
Things from this morning. I went to the bagel shop and on my way there saw a Fj40 that I actually have looked at on line in California from TLC the foremost restorers of vintage Toyotas. These are the same guys who were trying to buy mine and I go to it before they could snag it. This FJ40 ya’ll it was beautiful and oh my lord I never wanted to car jack some one so bad in all my life.
And you know how we always think the crisp (corrected spelling today) the crisp fall air is full of smells. I think it is my smeller actually just on overdrive. A girl was walking into the building in 30 feet in front of me today and I could smell that she was wearing CK1.  A lady that I work with just walked in wearing WAY TOO MUCH of something (if you like Elizabeth Taylor’s ‘Passion’ you’ll LOVE ‘DRAMA’ the imitation version) and now my whole office smells so strong. She just walked in and left. Gross.
so my Einsteins; I had a pumpkin bagel and pumpkin shmear on it.
Dear lord it was yummy.
And I am branching out a bit the new flavor of coffee is autumn roast, Elizabeth you are going to like it I swear.
Oh and did you know that the Guy from Iron and Wine lives in Dripping Springs a tiny little town close to here? They (or He) need a better web site. pathetic.
I did not know that. Sweet. Some one else famous lives here.
And just because I am this daddy here is my peanut wearing her uggs cause you know some where in the world people close their pools this time of year and it actually gets cold enough to wear long sleeves.

In case you were to forget and start thinking I want to be here in west hell? This is really where I’d like to be with my hands full with a hand rolled mild maduro and a cuba libre in the other.

i just went to lunch with two ladys from work. walking back to the office, yeah i notice my fly is completly unzipped. So embarrasing.

why? I don’t know i have a friend in CA that i am always asking the most naive -est of American, republican, southern of questions of. “Hey Christine, don’t you just laugh when you hear the American dad theme song?” Jeez Louise, i mean think Daine, of course she doesn’t she is in Canada.

Josh and i left the country but not far enough. i mean the only way we knew we were really out of the US and into Canada on our trip is they have some different rules and let private land owners live in or on some of the small islands in the boundary waters, or they would call that Quetico Provincial Park. We were lost and had paddled too far and we could have been shot on site but ok whatever. the one island we saw had more “no trespassing” “doughnut-ent-ry” signs than it did anything else. my point is i feel the need to get out of the USA for a second. even if it is just to one of our un-taxed outlying islands that i don’t need a passport to go to but that are way too Caribbean and trade able for something we want in exchange for oil. I need to get out and see people driving crazy. and that might just be it. i need to see different ethnic groups driving like maniacs. Maybe i should just go to Houston or a quick hop down to the border. This might be all the perspective straitening i need.
I watched my show last night, Anthony Bourdain’s No reservations, and he went to Saudi Arabia. Ok i would so go there and get myself all suited up in the normal mens garb. I should; I should get one to wear around town with my Mexi-Melt in her strappy tank tops. ha Ham sandwich in a Synagogue. Ha ha and that is even funnier in light of the context. it left me wanting to eat lamb and rice and hummus!