Texas Lou

Archive for the ‘Texas’ Category

This is one of my favorite spots in the world. I’m spending a weekend at the Island House Condominiums in Padre Island, Texas. My family has been vacationing here most of my life and I’ve been swimming in this pool since I was 4 years old. I hope my kids will one day come to love this little piece of paradise like I do.

I hope everyone had a merry Christmas!

I always get a little sad when I have to leave my family in Texas after Christmas and come back to work, but there was a little something waiting on my desk that brought the biggest smile to my face!

My friend Ashley MADE this Christmas ornament for me! I absolutely love it!

Thank you Ashley! Your gift will be cherished for many years to come!

A few weeks ago, when I was in Dallas for my cousin Megan’s bridal shower and bachelorette party, we wanted to buy some wine to enjoy on Friday evening.  After browsing the wine aisles at her local grocery store we finally decided on two bottles.  One was named Little Black Dress, which we chose for its name, and the other, pictured above, was Mission de San Antonio Valero from Fall Creek Vineyards in Texas, which we chose for its label.

Normally, I don’t judge wines by their covers, and I usually purchase based on taste or recommendation, but I guess being in Texas made me feel a little crazy, and I decided to trust my instinct!

The wine was good, but the label was even better!

Why do I love the label you ask?

Well I shall tell you:

• First, I love San Antonio because it is beautiful, full of culture, and its where I spent my 4 years during college.  I miss it greatly!
• Second, it has an image of the Alamo on it and in GOLD no less!  The Alamo is only one of the most defining images of Texas!
• Third, the Alamo, pictured on the label, has much personal significance to me, besides the fact that it is a part of Texas history.  When I was a freshman in college, I got “stuck” in a semester-long class about the Alamo.  It was ALL Alamo, ALL the time!  At first, I was not enthusiastic about this class, as it had been my last choice.  But it grew on me.  I learned alot, met some great people in the class (some of my first friends in college), and had the opportunity to learn from one of my favorite professors, Dr. Linda Salvucci.  In addition, this class introduced me to genealogy.  As out final project, we had to write a 10 page paper on any topic relating to the Alamo.  I had a great, great, great (ok lots of “great”s) uncle named Edward F. Mitchusson from Kentucky who was the surgeon at the Alamo and fought and died for Texas’ independence!  I got to do research at the Daughters of the Republic of Texas Library where I read old letters from my ancestors and I compiled the largest document of facts on my relative.  Not only did I get an A in the class, I also learned alot about my heritage, genealogy, research in general, and Texas!  I also contributed to documenting my family history!

So now you know why I just HAD to buy the wine when I saw the label!

I promised a recap of my Memorial Day weekend and my cousin’s wedding so here it is:

The weekend can be summed up in one word:  SPECTACULAR!

Almost the entire family was able to make it to the wedding.  People came from Washington State,  Oklahoma, Texas, South Carolina, Virginia, and New Mexico.  I’d say we did our best at taking over Sherman, Texas for the weekend!

Besides having a ton of fun, doing alot of reminiscing, and making new memories that will last a lifetime, I think the most important thing that came out of the trip was the realization that I have the best family in the world and I absolutely love them.  As children, we were all very close, but I often worry that after all of the years of college, and jobs, and everyone moving farther apart to pursue different careers or life choices, we would slowly drift apart and lose that closeness that we all had.

This trip definitely stifled those worries because even as adults, we all still enjoy each other’s company and realize how important it is to maintain that closeness that many other families are not lucky enough to have.

And in no specific order, here are my favorite moments from the trip:

• Marc calling me to tell me that they were running late to pick Ben and I up from the airport and they would be there soon if they didn’t die first from the roach crawling around Megan’s car
• Eating REAL Tex-Mex food and drinking margaritas with Megan and Ben on a Thursday afternoon
• Watching the Hangover with the fam and repeating quotes like, “Tigers love pepper; they hate cinnamon” and “Toodaloo Motha Fuckas”
• Running on the treadmill with my sister in the hotel gym on Friday morning and keeping each other motivated for our half marathon in October
• Eating continental breakfast with the whole family in the hotel lobby every morning
• Watching the surprise slide show made by Bryan’s (the groom) dad 3 times and loving it more each time
• Getting to know some of my cousins as adults since the last time I saw them they were still kids
• Dancing with Ben for the first time in our almost-4-year-long relationship
• Visiting with friends and family at the rehearsal dinner and the wedding reception
• Introducing Ben to the whole fam damily and to Sherman, Texas!
• DANCING with the fam (particularly to Footloose – will always remember the suspender tricks)
• Giving a speech at the reception to honor my cousin and one of my best friends
• Catching the bouquet (even if my mom DID volley it to me)
• Meeting many of the little ones who have joined our family but I hadn’t had the opportunity to meet yet and watching them dance and play on the dance floor
• Saying “Shelby Drink Your Juice” in a country accent every time Megan started to tear up at the thought of no longer being a Mitchusson to keep her from messing up her make-up
• The sigh of relief I had when mom fixed the zipper on my bridesmaid dress and once again confirmed that she is my ultimate hero
• Walking down the stairs at the reception with the best man as we were introduced to the guests to the tune of the Black Eyed Peas’ “I Gotta Feeling”
• Partying at Cellarmans until midnight after the rehearsal dinner and then moving the party to the Holiday Inn Express gazebo until 2 AM the night before the wedding
• Getting my hair done with my mom, aunt, the bride, and the bridesmaids
• Getting pedicures and manicures with my mom, aunt, sister, and cousin
• Laughing the day after the wedding at the stories of dance moves involving the shocker
• Seeing Matt’s bee hives
• Dancing to “Girl’s Just Want To Have Fun” after “catching” the bouquet
• Watching my cousin get married in the same church my parents were married in almost 40 years ago

There are so many more great memories, but if I keep writing, you’d all get bored and stop reading!

And now, courtesy of Marc Mitchusson, a photo of the Scott Family great-grandaughters who attended the wedding and also some of my best friends in the whole world!

I was reading an article on MSN last night entitled The Fattest Cities.  Five of the top 10 heaviest cities were Texas cities!

The Heaviest Cities:

Every Texas city I have spent a significant amount of time in is on that list!  At least my hometown got a D- instead of an F.  And it makes sense that after Ben’s first trip to Texas, I asked him what his favorite thing about the vacation was and he said, “the food”!  I guess everything really is bigger in Texas, including the appetites, portions, and bellies!

I’m heading to Dallas this afternoon to spend the weekend with friends and family and celebrate my cousin Megan’s wedding shower and bachelorette party!  I’m SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO excited!

Here are the things I am most looking forward to this weekend (in no particular order):

• TEXAS
• Mexican food
• Spending time with family that I rarely get to see
• Getting to see Megan’s new house for the first time
• Meeting my cousin Leigh Ann’s two little ones for the first time
• Going to a Dueling Piano Bar
• Getting wild and crazy and forgetting my troubles for a couple of days

It’s sure to be a blast and how could it not be;  I’ll be in my favorite place with some of my favorite people!

My sister wanted to add this photo as a comment on my previous rodeo post, but it would not let her.

So in honor of my sister, Carrie Elsaifi, and the rodeo, I present two of the former stars of the Katy ISD FFA and the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo!

In honor of the Annual Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, check out this cowgirl!

Too bad I can’t still fit into this outfit!  I need to get those boots in my size!

This Texas Towel!

The San Antonio River Walk, the Astrodome, Tubing on the Guadalupe, Dell Computers, Dr. Pepper, the Dallas Cowboys, the Houston Comets, the rodeo, jalapeño pepper jelly, Whataburger, Howard Hughes, Buddy Holly, Tommy Lee Jones, Patrick Swayze, Texas Instruments, Steve Martin, Dennis and Randy Quaid, Luke and Owen Wilson, Forest Whitaker, Renee Zellweger, the Texas Longhorns, Fritos, Shiner Bock, the annual Fiesta festival in San Antonio, Space Center Houston, Janis Joplin, Destiny’s Child, Pat Green, Southwest Airlines, Pizza Hut, Valero, USAA,  Taco Cabana, Blue Bell Ice Cream, Austin City Limits, the Fort Worth Stockyards and Billy Bob’s, the University of Texas, the Houston Rockets, George Strait, NASA Mission Control, Six Flags Over Texas, Sea World San Antonio, Barton Springs, Sixth Street, South by Southwest, Lone Star Beer, Saint Arnold’s Brewery, the Kolache Factory, the Galleria, my family, AND ME!

If it weren’t for the Texas Declaration of Independence on March 2, 1836, none of the above would exist and the world would be a much less exciting place.

I’m proud to be a Texan!  What’s your favorite thing about Texas?