this "getting involved" stuff is ramping up. Plus planning for derby party. I also joined a fb travel group so i'm looking at that (and getting serious wanderlust).
And not gonna lie...had way too much to drink on Friday watching the Rebirth (fun as always)...we spent Saturday/Sunday recovering.. netflix.
I watched documentaries about  Maya Angelou,  The Art of Loving, 60's/70's, what women/people did to change things and Like Water for Chocolate
...about how things change but it comes back around it's almost exactly what's happening today but masked differently...
 It caused me to take a dark turn to thinking... 
The tables will turn .. and so what? ....it's cyclical and each turn causes insidiousness...and we go further down the rabbit hole ...

finished
It Happened One Midnight: Pennyroyal Green Series -  Julie Anne Long - re-read...i only remembered a small glimpse...but it reminded me why i read the whole series...you fall in. 
Taming Elijah (The Kincaids Book 1) Stacy Reid - the first of hers i've not cared for...but I think it's because it's a Western...I must've had bad past life experiences cause I can't hardly stand Westerns.
Endurance - Amy Daws - the next brother soccer player player. I liked her too though...
Keeper - Amy Daws - childhood friend to love good too. 
Sex Symbol: A Standalone Romance (Hollywood Heat) Laurelin Paige - i thought it was pretty well written...i'll not remember them as a couple but as the story. 

And this guy named Jesus Valles posted the below on facebook. 
I don't know him but it reached my feed somehow and I'm hoping millions of people read it cause he's able to condense here some of my fleeting thoughts:
"Austin is an exhausting place where racism smiles at you and does yoga and is a kind teacher and is such a good actor and is just trying to help you and just wants to know why you're so upset and thinks we should wait to know more details and tells you the bomber was a nice, young man who was troubled and it's the smiling face of a white boy on a Statesman story about a murderer and it could never happen here and he was home schooled and just look at his mom's post from his graduation and it tells you maybe you shouldn't jump to conclusions and speaks shitty Spanish at you in hopes to make you feel more comfortable and has an all white cast and fucks you at night but thinks you shouldn't be so angry all the time and needs you to understand the bomber was from a godly family and he was just so frustrated and dissatisfied with his life and ignores you in line at the pizza place and will tell you love is love is love in the same profile it asks for "No Asians, No Blacks" and it's not racist, just a preference and loves this cool coffee place where you get to hang with cats and once made that joke about hoodies and skittles but you didn't seem to find it funny and runs an independent bookstore and if you want racism to end, why do you always bring it up and is one of your students in that one class who is always making those comments and thinks you're being very divisive and if he didn't want to die then he shouldn't be resisting arrest and its parents came to this country legally so it doesn't see what the big deal is and it calls itself socially liberal but fiscally conservative and his improv show was so good and needs you to use punctuation because it can't possibly understand you otherwise and tells you to stop crying wolf and it asks you to stop making yourself uncomfortable, you're looking for reasons to be angry and loves playing Kendrick Lamar in the car and singing along to every word, every word and it calls the cops on the neighbors because they're so loud all the time and that's just how he is with all women, don't take it personally and the department is absolutely not discriminatory and can't be racist because they're Mexican and just wishes these people would stop blocking the street and gay pride is just not the right time to protest about Black Lives Matter and would love to have a conversation with you in private and just thinks we should be fighting the real enemy and if you would just give it a moment to explain itself and is so sorry that things got out of hand, it was just such a stressful day and it just loves all the new business coming into the city and it thinks that H&M thing was just way blown out of proportion and it wants to audition for RuPaul's Drag Race and you are so surprisingly eloquent and i don't mean to sound racist and how can we have dialogue if you're just going to be so angry and her husband is Puerto Rican and his best friend in college was Black and would just like you to read the book before you get so angry and it can't understand why people get so upset and just wants to clarify that it's not officially sponsoring the event, just making a little money off of it and says it has a constitutional right to free speech and it calls itself an ally when its being watched and it waits to get drunk to say racist shit and then tells you it's just a joke and no actors of color showed up so we just did the best we could and it calls you ugly at the bar and thinks you shouldn't speak Spanish because they can't understand what you are saying and asks you to overlook genocide and it has a DACA Facebook filter but doesn't want to go to "that part of town" and voted Democrat and feels if you got nothing to hide there's no need to be scared of cops and puts its fingers in your hair because y'all are cool like that and it is asking you to smile all the time and it shops at Whole Foods and it loves trap and if you don't like it here, then why don't you just leave and it is so exhausting and it is so exhausting and it is so exhausting and it is so exhausting and it is so exhausting and it is so exhausting and it is so exhausting and it is so exhausting and it is so exhausting and it is so exhausting and I am so exhausted and I just want to know when we get a break, I guess.

for a long time now my refrain has been "we only got us," and i am unwavering in my refrain and still, goddamn if this city doesn't make you feel so alone sometimes. my brain is tired and my body is sick and i just want some water to sit by."

music appreciation (and gambled out)

and so this year's been a music year apparently - NOLA brass bands, country bands,  Memphis blues, Hawaiian, Cajun, German/Bavarian (for Wurstfest) in a couple weeks....

the bluegrass festival this weekend was a good time - a bit more of a restrained crowd than I'm used to but there's just something about a standup bass, a fiddle and a banjo. There just is.

especially loved how people brought their instruments and joined together randomly to play as they wanted. It's also lovely to see people hold on to their culture in music (or if not born into it, appreciate the music so much they join it). 

we also made it to a casino night. Put my money on black at the roulette wheel
(annnnd my typical luck in gambling this year...) the wheel didn't even bother with red for me, nope, went right to thumb your nose green - not sure if there's a clearer sign than that...

I read Vegas is looking at changing itself to arcade gaming anyway "for the turning generation"
...guess mine's the last of the old school, cause that doesn't sound all that appealing to me.

Mine's the first of the new school too though cause hours and hours of my youth was spent on  MarioBros./Zelda/Tetris/Galaga etc -   its actually strange how I just completely lost interest?

Read the first of Stephanie Lauren's Cynster books - finished it but it was wordy. I skipped.
Also finished the last of the Pennyroyal Green - not bad, like how they owned up to being young and stupid.

TRAVEL - island hopping 3 West Indies

I'm still in beach time cause I'm feelin very lazy.
Before I forget though - here are thoughts (and maybe future reminders if we go back) for the trip...

Anguilla
Landed in SXM, took 15 min speedboat to Anguilla (not bad but Calypso is not very organized - glad i had a copy of our reservation confirmation). They're ridiculous about tips too..it's like suitcase sabatoge. Still I think after a day of travel it's worth it to go this faster way out.

our b&b picked us up at dock. I had a (BIG) bit of a sticker shock seeing the bill at the end here but the place was amazing and absolutely do not regret the stay.

view of Saint Martin in the background from the house-

we're a little nerve racked heading to dinner cause it's a British island so we're driving our rental car on the opposite side. Note to self - if you must learn to drive this way it is best to do it in Anguilla where locals know to give wide berth to tourists and the proverbial red letter "R" on the license plate.






And so our 4 days of tourist-ing Anguilla begins
...long story short -

Best food -
1)Garvey's on Rendevous Bay (BBQ ribs and snapper and chicken yum) Wonderfully nice man - go early cause he'll run out of ribs. Also note: he's not there every day.
2)Falcon's Nest on Scilly Cay (pronounced "key") - Fish bits alllll the way!!! This is where the fishermen come in....they were pulling in bag loads of lobster straight out of the ocean.
Sandbar at Sandyground was yum too.

All places are local, no frills places and we loved.

Best Beaches - Shoal Bay, Rendevous Bay.
 Meads bay is nice but VERY touristy. Not our style.  Stopped by Straw Hat for a drink though! Blanchards also had good "upper level" food.
Also got to Calvin under the tree on Crocus bay and paid $15 pp for him to take us snorkelling around to Little Bay - the water there is beautiful

Saint Martin/ Sint Maarten
We ferried over to Marigot from Anguilla - do not reserve a speed boat - it isn't necessary. Just take the ferry (less expensive and one leaves every hour) around $150 for two people to get out with exit fees etc.
We had a taxi take us to the Grand Case (pronounced "cause") airport to rent a car. We stayed at Le Petit - a wonderful place for 3 nights and right on Grand Case beach.
After taking a tour around St. Martin French side and Dutch side, I'm so glad I chose correctly with staying in Grand Case (French Side). Plus the food was wonderful on restaurant row. I am now officially a fan of French food. You can't go wrong. We saw this sunset at Ocean82

Still though...our favorite was again a little local place a bit past restaurant row to Le Ti Coin creole - go see Carl - he'll make you a good meal!

Also enjoyed Paradise View near Orient Bay for crepes (and the view).
The planes landing at SXM from Sunset Bar in Maho Bay was pretty cool BUT absolutely do not go when there are cruise ships docked. We went back to see more planes land before heading out ourselves and it was nuts out there!

Around the airport looked like tourist madness, Orient Bay and Dawn Beach were nice but again much too touristy for our tastes. Tried to stop by Dinghy Dock on Oyster bay, it wasn't open but the area had potential for a good stay? maybe? The Westin/Dawn beach was just "hotel resort tourist spot anywhere". I'm over no substance!!!
We avoided Phillipsburg altogether. All around these areas the time-share people were very aggravating. Do not stop for them. After the 4th or 5th time I had to cut them off. It was just getting ridiculous.

St. Barth's
Took the (9 seater?) St. Barth's commuter out of Grand Case to another "dangerous landing" airport - French West Indie -  St. Barthelemy, for a day trip. It was a little scary..especially with how windy it was. Aside from that - this island is hilly.... and I mean like, I thought our car was going to tip over,  hilly.

Not to mention the people tearing around the corners trying to make it up the hills in their cars.
I didn't care to fight for a parking spot in Gustavia, I was overwhelmed and all i saw was Prada and Gucci-like stores....if I wanted that I'd just drive 10 minutes south here in Dallas AND I could find a parking spot easy.

We stopped in Lorient to get our bearings, then swung by Grand Cul de Sac to have lunch at a place called O'corail?
I'd imagine if we had chosen to stay in St. Barth's this beach would've been a good choice.
We headed down to Grande Saline Beach, as I had read it was the #5 beach in the world - an not so easy uphill walk and (as researched) no facilities. It was full of seaweed and the surf was strong -we chose to go back to Grand Cul de Sac and laid out there for a bit, had a few bottles of Carib before heading back to the airport.

Jamie regrets not getting a picture of the planes landing here - i don't see us heading back to St. Barth though so I'm afraid he's missed his chance.  

Overall, each island had it's character, but of these three we visited, Anguilla was our favorite.

The worst part of all three was the bugs. 18 bug wipes and two cans of spray still weren't enough to hold them totally at bay for us. So if at all prone to bug bites fair warning. oy. The tipping too gets ridiculous -  getting around on your own with a rental car is best. American Dollars are accepted on all islands. Leaving SXM airport is madness too...they'd just shoved everyone in a large room and bused people to their plane. No order here....Really though you already know travel days are a lost cause...don't let this ruin an amazing trip.

I've caught up on the Pennyroyal Green series. I also caught up on Outlander last night...it was very disturbing. Like seriously disturbing....

Now I've got to stop being lazy and catch up on work...

between hope and what’s real

Finished A Notorious Countess Confesses . Slow start but caught on.

Really my favorite part was the dialogue with the old dying woman.

I love old people. I volunteered at a retirement home just so I could hear their stories.
 I didn't know it would be so depressing though.
They have pictures of their family everywhere but you ask when the last time they've seen them and it had been years.

There was one lady, that only spoke Spanish, who wouldn't stop weeping. The nurses didn't know why. So I sat next to her, reached for her hand and asked her what was wrong -
 ...it was like she'd never been touched before.
She looked at my hand and traced my fingers like she'd never seen one before.
I wondered when the last time somebody had touched her in an unclinical way? She said she didn't know why she was crying and I couldn't understand what else she said.  So all I could think of to say was "think of a good memory and hold on to that". I didn't know what else to say...  it was just so heartbreaking.

Still... if I could make a living at listening to old people's stories I'd so do it. I mean it's history - alive and right there in front of you!... and they are disregarded. It's shameful.

I so miss my grandparents, they had the best stories and a true love story.
Total opposite of what Slaid Cleaves is saying here but I'm in a Slaid Cleaves mood and this is just such an AMAZING song.
Pretty bleak yes and maybe I'm just weird but I hear this song and it makes me grateful for what I have...

New love like a diamond
Like a twinkling star
But it’s a whole lot of heartache
To get to where we are
‘Cause every man is a myth
Every woman a dream
Watch your little heart get crushed
When the truth gets in between

Every bond is a bond to sorrow
Your blue sky turns grey
Everything you love will be taken away

Cry for your mama
Cry for your dad
Cry for everything you know they never had

Lyin’ in the bed you made
Aw, but you were so young
Say a prayer, put your head down
Gotta prove your mama wrong
There’s no poison like a dream
When it all comes undone
Don’t you know that in the end
You’re not fooling anyone

Every bond is a bond to sorrow
Your blue sky turns grey
Everything you love will be taken away

Cry for your mama
Cry for your dad
Cry for everything you know they never had
You know they never had

Between the rum and the glass
Between the teeth and the tongue
Come December when the lights go out
You know you can’t count on anyone
Between a dream and a lie
Between hope and what’s real
After so many years of ‘Let’s work it out’
You’d think there’d be some kind of deal

Cry for your mama
Cry for your dad
Cry for everything you know they never had
Cry for your mama
Cry for your dad
Cry for everything you know they never had
The love they never had
Cry, Cry

the spelling kills it (not in a good way)

So the fb comments on my news channel sites are driving me bonkers.
Their spelling! ....i can't even...it's like this:

*shaking my head*
Not that I'm the best speller but if they're serious enough to comment on race/immigration/religion/ abortion etc. on news channel feeds shouldn't they take the time to thoughtfully articulate their opinion? They just make themselves look ridiculous.

Moving on....

I've narrowed down my list for the RT convention. This was difficult - but I will be seeing several of my favorite authors so there's that. Very exciting!

The 4th in this series was good - I actually really liked the first initial disdainful indifference on his part and the playful boredom on her part.

The 5th was good cause who doesn't love a more experienced man. I certainly do. Another thing I like about this author is you can distinguish characters from the books before. A lot of times, on a series marathon, characters all start reading the same - not the case here!

Started the 3rd of the Unwind series - UnSouled - and the next in the Pennyroyal Green....BUT FIRST we most go have some Greek food for dinner..cause yum! ("YUM" how's that for articulate ;o) )

a party animal is tiring

Is it bad that I'm still kinda recovering from Saturday? ...being a party animal is tiring. I was asleep by 11 when most everyone else was watching the fight somewhere. hey..i had long day ok.

It's interesting how many people don't know anything about horseracing and are really wary about the whole gambling/betting thing.

I would've been the same way though if Jamie hadn't corrupted me, so I guess it makes sense. My poor first-timer cousins have no idea what they're in for next month in Las Vegas. That place is madness. 

Still... I think for the most part our group had a good time! They played and followed my invitation request for the boys to wear their pastels and the gals brought their fun hats. We got this photo backdrop of Churchill Downs which made for a FUN photo op!

Finished UnWholly - the story held and continues. Also finished the third of Pennyroyal Green series. I liked it but not as much as the one before.

Next big thing is our caribbean trip here in a few weeks. I need to start focusing on that.

Oh wait.. The rt convention is here next week! ACK I gotta get with my sister to figure ourselves out. It looks totally crazy and fb is blowing up with people talking about it. It's so exciting to read people loving books as much as I do!!

lets get outta here

So we took the Vonlane bus to Houston. It was as though we were sitting in first class on a plane... so nice to just sit back and relax.  

Not sure we'll take it to Houston again - even the discounted rate is pricey.

Maybe we'll take it to Austin though when we head down for Wurstfest...especially with how brutal 35 traffic is (and it's still cheaper than flying.)

The Crawfish Festival/Dirty River Boys were good. Made for some good people watching. Uber in/around Spring is ridiculous. We had to walk a ways down till we finally got a taker who didn't cancel on us. I just have to shake my head...

It's nice to see my mom but like Ryan Bingham says "Told the truck driver put the pedal to the metal cause Houston gets me down"

Finished the 2nd in the Pennyroyal Green series. I laughed and cried - the dialogue, the chemistry - definitely a favorite of recent reads. I love when I find a good one.

Messi ponies & Long

So we went to the horse races Saturday night and it got rained out - i swear it looked like a tornado was coming.

I don't ever want to go through one of those again.
I remember a few years ago looking up and seeing a funnel forming - turning the sky purple and green. Spring in North Texas is crazy. 

I've been through a hurricane, surrounded by tornadoes, and felt an earthquake. I think I'm good now God.

A friend of ours knew a horse owner so we got to go to the paddocks/winners circle. So that was pretty cool at least.

Finished reading Julie Anne Long's 1st Pennyroyal series book. There were a few points when conversation got long-winded but overall I liked it! She painted the leads well. I'll start the second book soon.

I saw Messi scored his 400th goal. I'm by no means a soccer afficionado but I like sports and while in Barcelona we stayed an extra day just to see Messi play at Camp Nou v. Valladolid. He was hurt, so we didn't see it...such a bummer cause I think it would've been really cool to see one of the best athletes of all time play.

Still... I don't regret going. Those fans are true fans.
And of course Barcelona was wonderful...WAY better than Madrid.

I lasted through George Strait for last nights country awards. Which is what..10 minutes? oy brutal.