Pardon Me

I was checking out the blog archive earlier and realized that my blogging activity has severely declined this year.  In 2008 I had 63 posts, followed by 54 in 2009.  Here we are at the end of August and this is post 17 for the year.  Of course I like to think that it's quality, not quantity that matters.  Actually I'm not sure there is much quality here either, but I guess I will keep doing this as long as people keep reading it.  For another perspective on life, you can read my sister's new blog.  She already posted twice this week, and I think her blog is prettier than mine as well.  This last weekend was eventful.  Friday I left Tiffany and Ethan at home and headed to New Braunfels for some quality time with Rock and Roll.  Tiffany was originally supposed to go with me, but she was unable to get off work.  We had a heart to heart about how I didn't love her enough to miss these shows.  She totally understood where I was coming from.  Friday I went with my cousin Chris (technically a cousin's husband) to see a rare acoustic performance by the Toadies.  It was at Whitewater Amphitheatre with a small crowd of 300 people.  I have honestly never seen a show quite like this, but it was amazing.  The show only lasted about an hour, but it was a fantastic performance.  The tickets weren't expensive, and I definitely feel like I got my money's worth.  They may never play a show like that again.  Saturday night we went to Gruene Hall with a group of people to check out Jonathan Tyler & the Northern Lights.  I have been meaning to check these guys out for a while, and I am really glad that I finally did.  They are kind of the love child of southern blues and 70s guitar rock.  They're from the Dallas area.  If you haven't heard of them already, you will.  Maybe that should say you have heard of them, because I just told you about them.  After two days of rock, I made it home in time to spend the afternoon with my family.  I think they were happy to see me.  Yesterday was just another day at work.  It is starting to get into the busy season.  All the kids are back in school passing germs back and forth.  The holidays will be here before we know it.  I have spent the morning finalizing out New York theater schedule.  We have some pretty good shows picked out this time.  I will discuss them specifically in a future blog.  I have thrown in a couple of shots of Ethan for good measure.  There will be more to come shortly.  Finally, I recommend that you all try Godiva red velvet truffles.  They will be available tomorrow, or sooner if you are able to sweet talk the girl behind the counter.  They are heavenly.

Take Two Beers and Jump

I have been trying to get a picture of Ethan standing up or walking for a couple of weeks now.  He is now walking (running) very well now, but he is hard to catch with the camera sometimes.  Things are good at the Murray household.  Last weekend my mother was here.  She hung out with Ethan on Friday so Tiffany and I could go out.  We went to see the Toadies play at a bar here in town.  As always, the band was terrific.  Another plus is that they didn't get shut down this time.  I'm not still holding a grudge.  Despite the torrential downpour we had that night, there was still a good crowd.  Being soaking wet didn't stop me from having fun.  If I was going to guess how many times I have seen this band, it's around 20.  I would probably rank this as one of their best.  The setlist was fantastic, inluding a great cover of The Beatles' Don't Let Me Down.  I am looking forward to an acoustic show in New Braunfels at the end of the month.  Saturday night we had the extended family out for steaks.  It was a good chance to visit, although most people just watched Ethan do his thing.  Now that he has mastered the art of walking, he has moved on to climbing.  He is not going to be happy until he has conquered every piece of furniture in the house.  It probably won't be long though.  He is freakishly tall.  According to my official measuring stick, he is over 5 inches taller than I was at a year old.  Maybe that means something and maybe it doesn't.  He is already able to reach things on the kitchen countertops if they are close enough to the edge.

I have divided my time the last two days between cleaning up around the house and planning our trip to New York.  One of these things is fun.  The other one isn't.  We already have the hotel and flights booked.  Now I am trying to figure out what we are going to do while we are there.  I'm not really worried that we'll be bored.  We do like the theater, so that is definitely on the agenda.  I already have a few shows in mind.  Also, I would like to get tickets to see Jimmy Fallon.  I watch his show almost everyday, and he just keeps getting funnier.  I will gladly take suggestions for anything worthwhile.  We have pretty much done the tourist stuff, so I am looking for things that might not be as common.  I got a book that has a bunch of New York oddities.  I have bookmarked several of them.

I need to get back to something productive, but I would like to give props to Jet Blue's Steve Slater.  Since witness accounts vary, who knows how much of his story is true?  He's already been charged with two felonies, but anyone who works with the public has had days when they felt just like this.  I say cut the guy some slack.