Troubles McSteans

So last night Ryan and I went to dinner at a popular local Austin restaurant (which in the interest of avoiding another Clambake Jake's incident we'll refer to as, let's say, "Luey's"). Recently this eatery opened a location just a hop skip and a jump from our house so we visited the new establishment to see if it would be less crowded than original recipe Luey's. It was....disappointing. The wait wasn't too bad - 25 minutes, but for a Saturday night in Austin at a crowded eatery, that's not too shabby. If we'd gone to downtown Luey's on the weekend the wait would've been an hour or more, so...there's that. As it was a pleasant night out, we plopped ourselves on a bench in their cute garden waiting area and had margaritas. Here's where the differences between original Luey's and suburban Luey's began making themselves clear. The drinks weren't BAD, per say, but just incredibly mediocre, tasting strongly of marg...

I've been in a funk all week. I wouldn't consider it feeling sorry for myself, because I try not to do that, but I kinda feel like if I look up I'll catch a glimpse of a tiny storm cloud hovering over my head. Wow, that really sounds like self pity, doesn't it. In attempting to clear away the cloud, I've been trying to pinpoint the source of my foul mood. I think part of it can be attributed to not enjoying this time of year. The holidays are over, it's very cold, and currently there is nothing on my calendar to look forward to. Also I miss my dog. Lots. The house seems so empty without him and I continue to expect to see him drowsily shuffling into the kitchen post-nap as he was wont to do. I'm trying to shift my attentions to Lucy, but she is (so to speak) not playing ball. I took her in the car to get coffee with me the other day, an activity Mel loved, and she cried the whole way. I try to give her goodnight hugs and she growls at me. Sweet as ...

I'm not sure why this is bothering me so much this year, but I can't seem to get used to the time change that's been with us for over a week now. As soon as it hits 8:00 at night I start dragging, but if I go to bed early I wake up early, so I've been TRYING to stay up until my normal bedtime. As much as we complained about Arizona, they had the smarts to do away with daylight savings. There is was more a matter of wanting the sun to go down as soon as it came up during the summer months, but really in this day and age is it necessary? Daylight savings was initially instituted for farmers who now make up how much of the population? Isn't it less than 1%?* Last night I didn't make it and turned in before 10:00, so here I sit at 6:25 in the morning, it's pitch black outside and I can't go back to sleep. * farmers please don't send me hate mail. It's too early for fact checking, and I haven't had my Starbucks yet.

Sorry for the lack of posting. It's been a good week, what with shopping with my mom on Tuesday and a visit from my childhood best friend, Rebecca, Thursday. Rebecca is in town for a conference. It's amazing how easy it is to regress back to your childhood self with someone who's known you forever. We laugh a lot at dumb things we did as kids, and dumb things we do as adults. I wish she lived in Austin so we could hang out more. That was my not so subtle plea to get her to move here. Rebecca and Juan, you need to move to Austin! It seems like something else good happened this week, but I'm having trouble remembering..... Shoot, what was that....... Oh. That's right. Ya'll, I seriously cried during his speech on Tuesday. It's like I've been repressing my feelings about the downward spiral we've been in for so long and that all finally came out. For the first time in 8 years I felt hopeful. The polls kept saying Obama was probably going to ...

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone for their good wishes, especially after the childish rant I just posted. Honestly it felt good to get it out of my system and I appreciate you bearing with me. Your words of encouragement mean the world to me. Love you guys!!

Monday 7:30 am: Go to dialysis. 11:20 am: Leave dialysis. Need to make a quick turnaround after getting home so I can be at the hospital at noon. Stop at stoplight at Manchaca and William Cannon. Feel something drip on leg and realize one of my dialysis sites on my arm has started bleeding again. A lot. Let some obscenities fly and drive the rest of the way home left handed with my right hand clamped down as hard as humanly possible on the leak. Thank my lucky stars Ryan is at home and have him help clean me and my car. 11:50 am: My parents shuttle me to the hospital. 1:30 pm: Stare in awe at the IV the anesthesiologist has managed to start in one try - a feat not accomplished by anyone else in the last 3 years. 2:00 pm: Waiting 3:00 pm: More waiting 3:30 pm: Dr's office calls to inform me that my doctor is running 3 hours late and would I mind if another doctor did the procedure. Are they kidding? At this point I'd let Dr. Nick do it if it would speed things up. Hi, ...

Last night on our way home from letting some furniture delivery guys into my parents' house in San Marcos, we stopped at T.G.I.Friday's * for dinner. Neither of us had a specific craving for Friday's, it was just on the way and we were hungry. It's going to be a good long while before we return, at least until I forget how sucktastic it is. We didn't have any of the big chain restaurants in Lawton when I was growing up, so eating at a Chili's, Bennigan's, or the OG ** when we were in Dallas or Houston was something of a treat. I remember thinking back then the food was actually good, maybe just because we didn't eat out all that often. Nowadays, Lawton is littered with all the favorites, with Outback Steakhouse, Applebees, and Chili's in the same block. There is even, after 20 years of it's rumored arrival, an Olive Garden. I haven't been to the Olive Garden in like, forever! Ryan and I were discussing this as we left the restaurant, tha...