Big Oversight

And when I say 'big' I mean huge, gigantic, enormous, shameful oversight on my part. Thanks Laura for setting me straight. Tex-Mex food is the best in Texas. About 85% of the restaurants were tex-mex and that was fine with us, because, really, it is the best kind of food in the world. The first year we were here, I couldn't count the number of conversations Brian and I had about how there was NOWHERE to eat here in Virginia. We tried all sorts of places but just couldn't fall in love. Truth be told, still haven't found anywhere we are in love with after four years. We loved Tortugas, Pappasitos, Casa Ole, Gringos, Lupe Tortilla, Taco Cabana and Orlando's (or whatever name it was going by that week since it changed owners about every three weeks but it was always Tex-Mex).

I've beginning to think through all the Tex-Mex we've been missing in the last four years here in Virginia, I also realized I miss Sonic, Ryan's and Whataburger. So many good eats in Houston.

Brian's comment to my Texas post was that he missed the loquat tree in our backyard. The fruit was yummy and grew without me lifting a finger. They just magically grew. Ben loved them so much that he'd reach out and grab them when I walked by. I got a few fun pictures of him eating them that make me smile. He just couldn't wait for me to even pick them and they were at just the right height for him to snag.

I Love Texas Too

After my posting the other day on how cool Utah and Virginia are, my good friend Laura asked what I miss about Texas. I think she was feeling neglected. =) We loved Texas, I just missed the snow. So, here it goes. Things I love about my time in Texas:

• having a garage
• my mailbox was on my front door so I could get my mail in my underwear, plus I heard the lid slam shut so I knew the instant it arrived (I'm obsessed with getting the mail. I love, Love, LOVE it! Even if it's just a bunch of bills.)
• lane dividers were raised. Don't know why this struck me as so extremely cool, but I really loved it. They didn't get snow, so the snowplows wouldn't ruin them. When you change lanes it makes a weird noise. Weird, I know.
• flip flops year round
• shopping for groceries at H.E.B. When my credit card statement came each month it said I shopped at H.E.Butts. Made me smile every single time I saw it. I shopped at Mr. Butts store. See, I'm smirking again.
• watching the sunrise over the ocean
• seeing the dolphins jump all around when we rode the Bolivar ferry
• getting steak at Gus's in Texas City. I've never been cool enough to ask for something that wasn't on the menu. It felt so exclusive to be "in the know."
• seeing flare stacks, cokers and towers. Recognizing parts and knowing which ones I had climbed inside as I drove past on the freeway.
• climbing the dericks on the coker tower about 250 ft up a tiny little ladder and looking out at Galveston Bay
• playing at the beach at Galveston. Okay, so it's not crystal clear water, but it was SO accessable. We would throw the BBQ grill in the truck and run down to the beach and play, swim and laugh with all our friends while the kids entertained themselves for hours. Endless, innocent, free fun any day of the week if you wanted it.
• parking spaces were big enough for our truck. Not so in Virginia. They go for compact cars and minivans here. I'm still holding out on the minivan. Not going there yet. I'm a loyal truck gal.
• accents. I'm a sucker for a Southern accent and a bit of a sponge. I soak up accents and begin to use them whereever we live without ever noticing or meaning too.
• the Birth Certificate. Ben is our Texas baby and has the birth certificate to prove it. Everything is bigger in Texas including that. It is the size of a college diploma and has the proud Texas flag waving in the wind across it in full color. I got such a kick out of it, it is still framed on his wall in his room. For comparison sake, Maddie and Jacob were born in Virginia. Their birth certificates came like your bank pin # does. Rip off the perferated edges to open the "envelope" if you can even call it that. Then it has tearable perferations right through the middle of the thing. Lame-O.
• walking to church. Our house was one tiny neighborhood block away from our church building.
• being immersed in spanish speaking culture. Here we eventually dropped the Spanish with Ben because no one else but us spoke it, so he refused to speak it.
• blue bonnets in the spring. Seriously cute pictures to be had all along the freeways for miles and miles. Even a beginner could produce a stellar photo shoot with their kids and a cheap camera it was just that gorgeous.
• an attic to store my junk (Christmas, tools, kids clothes, etc.)
• slower pace of life
• country music has always been my first choice. I fit in better in Texas.
• Rodeo Houston. Fun. Fun. Fun.
• living across the back fence of NASA in our apartment and then a stones throw away when we bought our house. I drove past space ships in the Rocket Garden every single day on the way to work.
• Kemah boardwalk and the fountain in the ground. Good fun for little people and a great way to cool off an adult in the hot and humid summers too.
• cheaper houses/mortgage. Of course, I would never have appreciated it if we hadn't moved to the DC area and seen smaller, older places selling for more than triple the cost. It's all relative to your perspective.
• kids called us Mr. Brian and Miss Angie. LOVED that!!!
• my lamaze class playgroup friends
• church friends
• all our spanish speaking friends
• work friends from BP and ExxonMobil
• Buck Booth saying "Hello" in his own...ummm...well...very special way
• finally, the number one thing we (Brian and I) both agree that we miss the very most about Texas is the PEOPLE. We've never been anywhere in all 13 of our moves that the people as a general rule were more kind, friendly, helpful and down to earth. I love the southern charm and hospitality. The people are so warm.

So there you have it Laura. I guess we should move back. Some of our best friends just got orders this week they are transfering back to Houston. Maybe this will help Candy and Buck be more excited about the move. Gosh, now I want to move back.