My First Bike Ride

I'm not sure why, but on Saturday I agreed to going out for my first few motorcycle rides. We had a couple things to get at Home Depot, which isn't far, but I wanted to just go around the neighborhood a little bit first, having never been on a motorcycle and all. Well, by the end of the day we ended up going around the neighborhood, to Home Depot, and out a ways (over a bridge, past a lake and a bunch of cows and the little houses where ponies are tied in the front yard) to the grand opening of the bike shop Kyle has been going to for parts and advice. 

I was definitely worried we would tip over or crash into something the first time. Turns out Kyle also thought there was a chance of that happening, as he's never ridden with a passenger and things run a little differently (he didn't tell me until after the first ride). But it was fun! I had an uncomfortable jacket on (not made for riding), but my helmet and gloves were great. It is definitely windy at high speeds and you feel bugs hitting your knees. I wasn't sure how I was allowed to sit or move, so it got uncomfortable by the return trip of our longer ride and needed to stretch my knees and back, but his bike overall is pretty comfortable. I don't know how long I would enjoy riding on it for, though. To which Kyle responded that we'll have to get me a bike of my own. But he has been saying that for months.

S.

PS- Friends are graduating from Pitt! I miss them. Congrats ladies!

So There Went April...

Lately

UPS has a great signature machine- yep, that looks right. :: Kitties :: gold tiger, for wedding :: Kyle made tasty dinner! Cooking things in beer is a good idea. ::  new Vibrams. I love. ::  What I've been eating for lunch lately. :: Cajun chicken pasta, with rice instead. Visually appealing but lacking in flavor. ::  More kitties. :: Soon to be accompanied by wedding photos! :: Trying on my shoes. :: Dead bird in the backyard. :: What's left of the snail bush. :: Silly Huxley. :: Wedding projects and things. :: D in a tree. :: Spray painted frame! :: Hux chilling on Kyle's laptop. :: adding a bit of glitter to the wedding. :: pretty thank you cards.

What Time is It?

A Story:

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I am awoken in the night, notice the hallway and bathroom lights are on and Kyle is up doing things. I am confused because I feel like we just went to bed about an hour ago (we went to bed late last night), so what was Kyle doing up? I can't have fallen asleep too long ago. It's not 3am yet, is it? I sleepily ask him what he is doing and he replies that he's getting ready for work. He plops a cat down on me as usual. I sleepily say "ohhhk I just asked cuz I thought we went to bed like an hour ago huh weird." Kyle continues to get read in the bathroom. I turn over in bed and look at the clock which reads around 11:15. Huh? Is the clock right? If so then we did just go to bed an hour ago. Why was he getting ready for work? I check his phone for a text message from Army calling him in or something, but nothing. I lay confused in bed. Am I going crazy? What is going on? Is this the Twilight Zone? 

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I wait as Kyle finishes shaving and getting ready in the bathroom. It takes about an eternity, and my sanity quickly deteriorates. Kyle comes back into the room to get his phone. I suppose he saw the time and he says "Is the clock right?" And it dawns on us both that Kyle for some reason, somehow thought it was time for him to get up. His alarm didn't go off or anything, but he got up to shave and get ready. We chat and laugh about how I thought I was going crazy, and how he actually is going crazy, and go back to bed. "At least you don't have to shave in the morning?" I say.

...

S.

Wednesday Wedding: Nails

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Now that I've got the dress, shoes, earrings, and starting to figure out hair accessories, I've been thinking about my nails. Before last July, I never painted them, and they were usually bitten down pretty short. But since I just decided to stop biting and grow them out, they are significantly longer, and always painted (I don't like my "long" nails unpainted. it just feels weird). True story: I've never had my nails done. So, I am looking forward to getting a professional to do my nails! With the shoes I'll be wearing, my toes will certainly need to be looking pretty! Deciding how I want my nails to be done is a little detail, but a fun and non-stress inducing one to think about. I'm thinking toe nails to match the sangria color of my ladies dresses, and something lighter (perhaps to match the light pink in my earrings), maybe with a little sparkle for my fingers. Or maybe just match toes and fingers and do sangria shade on both. I've got some time to decide. For now, here is some of my wedding day nail inspiration!

Emily's wedding nails

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unknown on Pinterest

Pinterest

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some color options

essie.com

Since my dress and accessories will be pretty sparkly, I think I'd prefer just emphasizing maybe my ring finger with a sparkle top coat, like in the first photo. Though I do also love the look of colorful, bright nails on white... I definitely don't want my nails to be too crazy or elaborate. Simple, with a bit of fun. What do you think?

Pinterest

Linking up, as always! :) 

On a marriage-related note, you should read this post, "15 Ways to Stay Married for 15 Years." I think it's pretty good.

Out to Eat in Texas pt. 2

Since Kyle and I got a refrigerator (we were without one for a bit when we first moved down here), there's a lot less eating out and a lot more of me cooking and sometimes Kyle cooking. But some days you're too tired to cook or just don't know what to make. So you pay someone to make food for you. Continuing from the handful of Texas eateries I told you about months ago, here are some new places we've been to.

Fat Boy's BBQ. This place is really close to us as well (I guess everything is pretty close in this relatively small town). Our first attempt going here after getting back from Austin didn't work as it was closed, as was a burger place we tried going to across the street. Apparently it is not weird for some restaurants to close by 7pm on a Friday. The second time we wanted to go there, we could tell it was open by the plethora of trucks parked outside. We figured we'd just order a family pack, and have leftovers for a few days. Turns out when you do that, you get a whole loaf of bread! A really long loaf of bread, too. But Kyle and I don't tend to make our bbq into sandwiches, so we crossed bread off of our grocery list! I like this barbecue more than Clem Mikeska's. Well, I definitely liked the brisket. The pork loin was ok (but I'm not the biggest pork loin fan in the first place), and I didn't really try the chicken. The sides (potato salad, corn, green beans) were also all really good. I realize I didn't really get pictures of the food, I think I was just amazed by the whole loaf of bread.

Rylander's Best Hamburgers. Back to that Friday night after our trip to Austin when we came back to Temple and everything was closed. So after trying two places, we stopped at a third, which looked completely empty but at least was open for a bit longer. We ended up at Rylander's, across the street from Clem's, a burger place obviously. It appears that the only pictures I took of the place/food were of their awesome Easter decor. The burgers were good. I quite liked mine but I think Kyle prefers a thicker patty. I think we were both just glad they were open and gave us food.

Taste of Thai. After driving around all afternoon, visiting every motorcycle shop in ours and the surrounding towns, we tried out a new (to us) Thai restaurant in downtown Temple. I'd been wanting some Thai for a little while, and my craving was satisfied! It was really good. We got the "medium" spicy sauce, and it was just right, I think. I'll have to venture out and try something aside from the pad thai next time. Maybe.

This post has been in the works for a while, and we've tried another couple places since, but I'll save those for next time! And I will try to do better with getting pictures of the actual FOOD. 

S.