Funny Story

Today, Diane and I were watching the local evening news when we saw our stake president on TV. We totally forgot that he is a sports newscaster! Somebody had casually mentioned this to us a while back, but it was totally funny to see him and be like, “Wait a second…how do we know this guy?”

Quest for Cheap Gas

Update [Oct 31, 2008 @ 6pm]

I was on my MOW route again and this time the Exxon station was $1.99/gal. That means, I paid closer to $1.85/gal! I only needed 1/2 a tank, but I decided to fill up anyway.

While on my Meals on Wheels route, I noticed a Chevron station selling gas for $1.99/gal! I couldn’t believe it. I wish I paid more attention to where it was (I wasn’t driving) because it took me forever to find it again!

Why Work is Wonderful

One of the things that I love about ExxonMobil is how involved it is in service and charity organizations. One of those organizations is Meals on Wheels. I had the opportunity to go on one of the routes today as part of my training. It was great to help our senior citizens who are less fortunate than me and to be reminded that we really have been blessed. I’m also finally going to start getting involved in Junior Achivement and I will soon be a Science Ambassador. Best of all, I am able to participate in these organizations during normal business hours. I don’t have to only plan things for the weekend. My supervisor is very supportive of my desires and encourages me to get as involved as possible.

smart fortwo Brabus

We just received an email from smart USA informing us of a new car option: Brabus edition. We have till Nov 2nd to decide. Let us know what you think.

Side Profile

Brabus

Just Beautiful

Costco Grand Opening

Today was an exciting day. A day that Diane and I have been eagerly anticipating. The day when Costco would first open its doors in the Galleria! While we have still enjoyed making our Costco runs over towards Katy, it really wasn’t an option during the week because of heavy freeway traffic. With a new Costco inside the loop and very accessible via surface streets, we can go whenever we want!

We headed there this evening after I got off work. I wish I could say that it was this fantastic, life-changing event. It really wasn’t, though. It was fun and exciting still because 1) it’s Costco and 2) they gave out TONS of free samples tonight. They also had some great stuff that I don’t normally see at Costco (who knew that cranberry + goat cheese + bread = delicious snack?!).

Right as we left (after eating dinner there, of course), it started to rain like cats and dogs. Crazy cats and dogs for that matter. There were times that I literally could not see. I reached the point that I pulled over and let another car take the lead because I couldn’t even see what lane I was in. Fortunately, we made it home and we’re happy to know that Costco is now even closer.

These gas prices are a relief! I’m lucky that I pay even less with my ExxonMobil discount! (Currently paying about $2.30/gallon)

Proximity to the Park

We love living near Hermann Park. Not only does it provide us with great, Sunday strolls, it also contains Miller Outdoor Theatre (MOT). It’s been fantastic to have a FREE and culturally enriching place to go every weekend. Last weekend, we went to Niko Niko’s in Montrose and stopped by MOT for a Chinese show. This weekend, the U Theatre of Taiwan performed Sound of Ocean. It was great to be able to walk to the show from our apartment. It’s even better that the weather is finally cooling off a bit. It was cool enough that we brought a blanket and grabbed some hot chocolate from the clubhouse. Next week, we’re eagerly anticipating the African Footprint, a musical from South Africa.

Discovering China (Source: MOT)

Sound of Ocean (Source: MOT)

African Footprint

My Ugly Little Quilt

So I decided to take up quilting again since I’ve had so much time off work lately. I decided that I would attempt my first baby girl quilt (I got carried away with boy ones previously–which I might add were much cuter). So here it is. I nearly forgot how to sew since it has been at least 3 years. It’s just a simple patchwork.

For some reason it shows up red, but it is really dark pink. Ugly yes, but once I started I had to finish.

For the [Future] Family

The other week, some people joked that the Smart car may not be large enough by the time it arrives in early 2010 (i.e., they think we may have a baby on the way), I have come up with another vehicle that will be suitable for the forseeable future: Lamborghini Estoque.

You’ll notice that this is a four-door version. Plenty of room for some kids. 🙂

Exploring Tejas part II: Roadtrip to Dallas

After viewing an ad about lake front properties for sale in the Southwest Magazine for dirt cheap, Fernando decided that he wanted to check the area out for investment purposes. So we contacted a realtor and headed out to Corsicana, specifically the Richland Chambers Lake. It was a nice, up-and-coming vacation area located about an hour south of Dallas and 2.5 hrs north of Houston. However, we decided that now is not the time to buy vacation property–we don’t have a first house to live in, or a boat.

The best thing about Corsicana was the Russell Stover chocolate outlet. The store was huge and super cheap, with tons of chocolates and candies and Blue Bell ice cream. Unfortunately, we couldn’t indulge too much because it would have melted in the car while we played at Six Flags.

I had never been to a Six Flags before, so I was pretty excited to see what it was like, and was glad to hear that they have some huge roller coasters. However, I did get a little nervous when we drove up and I saw and heard the screams coming from the Titan. Fernando insisted that this coaster was weak in comparison to the one he rode in New Jersey last year, although he couldn’t wait to get on it. But I insisted that we take a warm up ride on something little before we attack the big one. However, I later regretted my decision after waiting 45 mins for a kiddie ride. Overall, Six Flags was fun. I thought it was a little crowded, but Ferd informed me that waiting 30-45 mins for a ride is actually not bad. After six rides and massive headaches, we decided to head to Dallas to BJ’s Brewery–the best Chicago deep dish pizzeria–and indulged ourselves in a delicious cookies and cream Pizookie.

The next day, we checked out the Texas state fair, which doubled as a car show. Highlights were the Nissan GT-R, the retro Dodge Challenger, and we checked out the Hyundai Genesis. The rest of the fair was pretty comparable to the Puyallup Fair in Washington, only cleaner and on a bigger scale. One of my favorite parts as always, was the food. We saw everything from deep fried latte’s to giant turkey legs. We settled on frozen chocolate covered cheesecake on a stick and gyro’s.

We didn’t get to see much of Dallas, but we did observe that is has a huge smog issue; the climate is wonderful with very little humidity; it has very nice roads and a good freeway system; it was not dry and brown like people said it would be, and the zoning was nice which kept the nice areas away from riff raff. Overall, we could see ourselves there in twenty years if/when Ferd manages to make it all the way to the corporate headquarters. 🙂