BFF

I had the greatest time this weekend with my best friend forever, Daylon. I got the chance to go to his beautiful house in Houston and spend the weekend doing absolutely nothing. It was great to kick back, talk, go for a walk, and eat at some great places.

We have been friends for 20 years (more than 1/2 of our lives). Alot has changed in that time but, our friendship has stayed the same. I do not get to see him often but, when I do our conversations carry on like the last time we saw each other.

He is a treasured friend and I am so glad to have him in my life.

Yippee for me - I can run a mile

I hate running and all forms of exercise unless it includes playing soccer with hot guys or running next to hot guys on the track around Lady Bird Lake. In spite of my opinion of exercise, I started running and doing an exercise class this year. I have to do it with the girls in tow so, I am always pushing them in my jogging stroller. I had not attempted to run without them in many years and for the first time in many, many years was able to complete an entire mile without stopping and feeling like I was going to die.

I think back to all of the soccer I used to play and think that 1 measly mile is really lame but, it is a start. It takes me 14 minutes to do it but, I have to start somewhere. I have now done the mile lap in my neighborhood twice and will be back to doing it with the kids this week. My next goal is to do the lap in my neighborhood with the kids in tow without stopping. The added 75 lbs. will be a challenge but, I will try to do it in the next couple of weeks.

How I conquered daylight savings time

I have always hated springing forward for daylight savings time because my sleep and my kids sleep gets all messed up. Up until this year, my children have wanted to go to sleep later and get up earlier. Less sleep is not good for me or my kids.

This year I stuck to my guns and for the 4 days before the time change moved back their bedtime 15 per night. By Saturday night they were going to bed an hour earlier and the time change was a snap.

I had heard of other moms doing this in the past but, I had not attempted it myself. This week has been very smooth as far as the sleep transition goes. I will have to remember to do it next year.

Capital V Connection is Great for Volvo Maintenance

Robert Mendoza at Capital V Connection in South Austin has made the maintenance on my Volvo so easy. He drives me back to my house while he is working on the car and then picks me up when it is done. No swapping carseats - Yippee! He has 20 years experience working on Volvos and charges way less than the dealership. 441-1334 http://www.capitalvconnection.com/

HEB Rocks!

I went grocery shopping this morning and saved a bundle at HEB with their in store coupons combined with coupons from the paper. I saved $25. Other grocery stores try to beat HEB's prices on advertised items but, HEB has great deals on most items on my list. I love the Hill Country Fare brand or HEB's brand if I can get it. In this economy it is easier to feed my family with their help.

Hello

I am totally new at this. I have never done a blog before. I do not even have a myspace or facebook page. I felt it was time to start this for several reasons but, the main reasons are to write about how great it is to be a mom in Austin, Texas, voice some of the businesses and organizations that make my life as a mom easier, and vent about stuff that gets me down or flustered.

I was raised here and have always enjoyed the cool stuff that this town has to offer. I hear from other friends that live in other cities or that came to Austin after childhood that Austin is the easiest place to hang out with your kids and do great stuff for free.

I guess I should tell you about myself. I have 2 girls and live in South Austin. According to my dad, I am a 7th generation Austinite and came with Stephen F. Austin and the first 300 families to settle Austin. I am married to a great guy who loves our girls a lot. We have 2 old golden retrievers that are very tolerant of the humans in the house.

I spend my days with my girls going to playgroups or kid activities around town. They have a ton of friends and we get together with them weekly.

I have been told for years that I am "Jamacian" (like the SNL skit) that showed guys that had 10 jobs. I have always had more thn one job and sometimes more than 2. Throughout high school and college I had up to 5 jobs at times. I was just trying to make enough $ to pay for college and survive.

At this point, I only have 3 jobs but, only 2 that pull a paycheck. I am first and formost a mom to my girls. Secondly, I am a physical therapist assistant and work PRN at a Neuro hospital in South Austin. I also have a wedding coordinating business that I have had since 1996. I office the wedding business out of my house so I can do that and be with the girls.