Entertaining Myself

Things are a little slow at work and it is to be expected with a new business.  We are discussing a new telephone system and we have 15 options on the announcement.  This is what I do to pass the time.

Press 1 to talk to Barbie about bike routes and upcoming bike rides.

Press 2 to talk to Barbie about cycling nutrition and gear.

Press 3 to talk to Barbie about yoga, gentle or hot.

Press 4 to talk to Barbie about gossip news  or the latest episode of Chelsea Lately

Press 5 to talk to Barbie about Facebook and status updates.

Press 6 to talk to Barbie about Twitter tweets

Press 7 to talk to Barbie about legitimate work requests.

Press 8 to talk to Barbie about a about getting a message to Ricky so you can talk to Ricky.

Press 9 to hear the menu again.

This is what I do.  I entertain myself with creating telephone menu options and crocheting.  Yes, that is how bad I need to entertain myself.

Happy, Happy, Happy

In a never ending attempt to maintain my youthful spirit, I remind myself to go outside and ride my bike. 

This Texas girl is gracious for Texas winter days and 71 degree weather.  This thirty-something year old gal enjoyed every moment of that thirty-something mile bike ride.  For the next 1.25 years, I will remind myself that I am still a thirty-something year old. 

The road passes under me and eighteen-wheelers honk their horns, and it is in these realizations where I wonder where the next year will take me.  Just this morning we spoke about the possibility of bankruptcy, but a few hours later spoke of a new account that would push us into capacity and staffing issues.  There are days that I think I will move my desk out of me and da misters shared office.  If I did that, I would not be able to get on the da misters nerves enough so he can release me off to an afternoon of bike riding.

We have spent an eleven day stretch in CS and I caught myself saying, “I want to go home”.  Then I remembered that home is where da mister is.  We could be in SA or CS and I always feel like I am home when da mister is here.

When I am out riding, I miss my mom.

On the road, I get excited about da boyz calling my new parents, “Grand Dad” and "Nina".

Behind each mile… 

I am happy, happy, happy. 

Happy Place

I had a break down.  I had to do it.  There are no other options.

The time change and dark roads filled with eighteen wheelers has forced me to put my bike on the trainer. 

My trainer is not an expensive one and super loud.  I tried training in my yoga dogo but the upstairs acoustics amplifies the spinning bike wheels. Da mister strongly encouraged me to go outside.  The dilemma will be when it really gets cold.  I will deal with it then.

People have told me that they hate trainers.  It is like running on a treadmill and going nowhere.  This morning as I sat on my trainer, I was reminded of the trainer miles I rode while training to ride across America.  I had to get miles on my legs and this was the only way. 

This is my happy place- on my bike.

Home Sick

It would be a lie if I said I love it in Carrizo.  Don’t get me wrong, I love my husband and I love being in the same town with him but I miss San Antonio.  I miss my friends and family, hot yoga, and commuting. 

There is an unsettled feeling that hangs over me and I wonder around the house looking for a comfortable place.  I have tried to keep my routine of walking Roxy, practicing yoga, and bike rides but the eighteen wheelers push me off the roads and yoga is boring when it is just me in downward facing dog, and my dog, Roxy, licking my face.

Da mister has been supportive and he lets me mope around the house.  He has let me make the house comfortable and gives me lots of space to nest.  Definitely, I am still struggling to adjust to the change of pace of a small town that is not my home town.  

My hope is that our new business becomes such a success that I am able to buy a small airplane or helicopter.  That won’t happen any time soon, but it is fun to wish.

For now, I will indulge in reading my friends blogs:  www.feenixgoeswalkabout2013.blogspot.com.  

Newlyweds

We wake up together, drive to work together and work side by side, AND we are still having a good time!  At times, it is not always perfect but most of the time it is. Da mister drives me crazy, but the good kind of crazy, if you know what I mean.  Maybe it is because we are five month old newlyweds, but either way, we fall asleep wrapped in each other’s arms and wake up that way.  Just the other week, we went out to dinner followed by dancing.  Da mister groped me and made me blush.  I loved every minute of it. After all, he is my husband.

We started, “quiet time”.  After too much time together, we just need time.  It is funny because we sit next to each other and not talk. Usually, it is me who talks first even after I started quiet time.  I had to put a line down the middle of the office so we could remember to stay on our side.  It is all in good fun because the line is always crossed.

This morning I did Barbie Boot camp, or my version of it.  I ran to Veterans park, along with three stray dogs, did 50 push-ups, 50 sit-ups, 50 mountain climbers, 50 burpies, and 100 lunges, then ran back home, another 1.25 miles. 

Riding my bike is another story… daylight is getting shorter and the eighteen wheelers are getting scary.  I am working on getting my routine down but I am still riding.  

More updates when da mister isn't working me to the bone... 

Blue

One word says it all- blue. 

 

 

We are in the blue house across from the meat market, on South 16^th street.  This house is my new home, in a town that is new to me. 

 

 You may recall an earlier post where I posted a picture of my desk.  Really, it was an ironing board made into a desk.  After waiting 6 weeks for delivery, a wishy-washy English speaking delivery company, a broken truck, and a small town mechanic; I finally have a proper desk to use at our home office.  It is a simple piece of furniture but it is a small touch that makes me feel more comfortable, at the blue house.

 

Roxy and I walk around the town but are often rushed back home, off the highway, to get away from the eighteen wheelers.  On a walk, I saw all these vultures.  I could not smell or see what they all gathered for, but this is the sight, when you drive through town.

Often, we are driving to CS and back to SA.  Back and forth, to Houston, and back again.  It is taking time, but slowly, the dust is settling. 

Hubby Cubby Buddy

Two weeks later, I can report that me and da mister have survived sharing an office.  I never thought I would be a couple that worked together, lunched together, and spent our evenings together.  We are both getting used to each other’s daily routines and office habits; mainly, he is getting used to me talking to myself and playing music too loud.

Carrizo Springs is about the size of the USAA home office and I enjoy walking around the town or riding my bike to run errands.   In our free time, we have been building the new office.  There is not much of a gym here, but carrying two-by-fours, from the truck to inside the office gets my heart pumping.

For today, this is a short post.  I am off to go run a business…

USAA

My fifteenth anniversary of working at USAA was on September 14^th and I reflect on my career and how it has grown over the years.

I stared work as a co-op and was ever thankful to my college friend, Korosh Shetabi, who passed my resume over to my hiring manager.  It was a nerve wreaking month before graduation, but I was offered a full time position working at the Bank Help Desk, a week before I walked the stage. It is not like there were floods of job offers, only one other. My life would have been different if I had moved to Houston, to work for a petroleum company, where I would have coded, developed applications, and maintained databases.

After taking a year off from the college world, I returned to the rigors of late night reading and cramming for exams to receive a Masters in Business Administration.  Back when USAA offered a four- day-a-week work week, I would find my way over to the E building classrooms.  The Incarnate Word College would bring their instructors over for class.  This was also the time that USAA paid tuition in full and had not yet caped the education expense at $5000 a year.  At the time, G and H building did not exist.  Today, those E classrooms do not even exist.

My co-workers have become my forever friends and confidants.  I have seen them date, get married and watched their children grow- in their bellies and in school.  Through the years I have meet fitness buffs, runners, and bike riders.  I was part of starting the Employee Cycling Team and enjoyed spending evenings and weekends riding with many cycling friends.  USAA has seen me through two marriages and one divorce, and I have seen USAA change three CEO's.  USAA will always be the place where I was when 9-11 occurred.  It is where I was when my father called to tell me my mother was taking her last breaths.

USAA allowed me the freedom to ride my bike to work and do yoga on my lunch break.  My managers have been flexible with my time, when mom was on hospice and when I used all my paid time off to roam across America, by bike.

USAA is the place where I worked for the past fifteen years, but it was also my home away from home. USAA is always the place where my co-workers are my lifelong friends and where I feel honor knowing that with each day I went to work, I was supporting our military.

It has been a privilege to work for a company that honors the military and supports their employees.  Only fond memories of USAA will echo, as a member and former employee of USAA.

New Job

These past few weeks have been difficult to post due to our pending custody case.  I do not want to blog about what could be used against me in court, nor do I want to let the ex-wife’s mama drama suck all my energy.  I am moving on to bigger and better opportunities in my life.

The biggest news these days is: I resigned from my employer of 15 years. USAA has been good to me and has taught me about honor and respecting our military.  Integrity has been instilled and a strong foundation of work ethic will follow me through my professional and personal life, for many years.

Me and da mister have started Premier Optical Group and are making lenses for eye glasses.  With my smarts and his good looks, we will be working together.  It is debatable if it is my smarts and good looks. For the next few weeks, we will be sharing an office and he will be showing me the ropes.  That is, if we do not get on each other’s nerves first. All I am saying is that we have perfected the eye roll.

Not only is my work going to be different, but our home base will change.  As the dust settles, we may find that home base changing.  We will still have our homes in Carrizo and Hollywood Park and go back and forth.

Some things will never change, like me riding my bike.  My next goal is to ride my bike from Carrizo to Eagle Pass, 44 miles away from the house, with a border patrol stop half way.

Summer Highlights

It is simple.  All I want is a clean bathroom, one that does not have pee on the seat or on the floor.  It took some doing, but after a couple of weeks, I was able to get a bathroom all to myself.  No wet towels on the floor and a dry toilet seat- with the lid down.  Yes, this is coming from a person who has taken a shower in a barn, with a water hose and used the road as a toilet.

 

This summer, da boyz have taught me a new level of patience and I have learned a few things about myself.  There have been times when I totally lost it and had to apologize for my behavior.  There are other times when I become reflective and thankful because we are finally having a sit down family dinner.

A few highlights are:

1.  I do not want a yelling house.  If I am going to teach da boyz not to yell, I cannot yell either.  Do you realize how hard this really is?!

2.  If you tell me your going to call the cops, then I will offer to save you a call and I will call the cops for you.

3.  JD melts my heart when he says, “Even though it’s not Mother’s day, and I know you are sick, so me and dad will make you breakfast in bed.”

4.  Joe cracks me up when I ask him to brush his teeth and shower, and when I go up to check on him, he is wearing only a pair of black socks, dancing, and brushing his teeth.

5.  Watching and enjoying all 22 episode of season 3 “Glee” because my teen age niece wants to pay her respects.  I love her colorful hair choices and her gold booger. What can I say, she makes me feel young.

 

Da mister has been wonderful with helping me figure out a hot yoga night, bike to work commutes, and long bike rides on the weekend. It is complete paradise at my house.  

WOW Training

Me and da mister participated in our first team training ride for WOW. We rode a relatively short ride, 50 miles, compared to the 100 miles days we will be riding in November.  The team focused on riding in a pace line and drafting.  I quickly learned that I hate being in the back of the pace line.  It is much easier to set the pace then riding at the back and feeling like you have to catch up.

 

It was a hard ride for me because it is the longest ride I have ridden this year. It was a new riding style on my new bike, and riding with a group of people we are getting to know, personally and athletically. I was pooped after the ride and needed sleep and recover. 

This week I will finish the week with 140 miles. Not too bad. Not bad at all.

Full House

Our new house has been mostly empty, that is until summer started.

 

We have a full house that is filled with da boyz and my nieces Alexis, Kris, and Jesyka.  Alexis helps us with getting da boykz to camp and Kris comes over to play, telling secrets, and generally staying up late, whispering in the night.

 

Lucky for us, Dad and Nina bought a new house, with a swimming pool. We have been swimming every day since. I think I have more fun swimming because after commuting the cool water is a welcomed relief for my sore muscles.  Da boyz are having fun playing with Jesyka too.  Da kidz Mohawk Jesyka’s hair and put goggles on her.

 

Da misters schedule has become quite hectic, but the best part of the day is when he says, “Scoot over so I can sit next to my wife.”

Full Time

Week number one with da boyz, I wondered how I would get through the week. Infection and all, I was worn out, but I made it. Week two, I wondered how I could squeeze in bike miles. It was easy enough to ride my bike to work since I have to get there anyway.

Our house is full and our grocery bill has sky rocketed. Alexis helps us watch da boyz. My other niece, Kris, visits and helps entertain da boyz. My once clean and spotless home is not so much anymore.

In all the madness, there is sleep. I woke sometime after midnight and before the 5am alarm, and discovered that the mister and I were holding hands in our sleep. It is nights like this that help me get through the week.

Twitter

I'm thinking my first twitter post should get as much attention as The Pope and Hillary Clinton. 

 

#barbieandbike

 

I'm just sayin', you should follow me.

Super Beautiful

So many things have happened these last couple weeks and I do not know where to start.

 

By the way I am acting, you would think it is the first niece I have and the first time I have become an aunt; but now I have another niece and she is super beautiful and tremendously precious.  We had a scheduled C-section, which fit perfectly in my schedule, but Jesyka Grace came nine days early.  I say “we” because I was the back up in case Daddy passed out in the delivery room.

 

The most touching moment was seeing my father hold his tiny grand daughter, minutes after her birth.  Later he shared with me that he thought she was ugly but then he thought she was cute.

 

 

The mister and I hosted our family to celebrate my father birthday.  It is a pleasure to have our home filled with the buzz of guests and serve a traditional Mexican dinner. As per my father’s request, he wanted enchiladas made like my mom would have made them.

 

 

And… school is over which means that we now have da boyz FULL TIME over the summer.  It is definitely a change in Barbie’s world but I already know I am going to love every minute of it... while pulling out all my grey hair.

 

 

BULL SH!T

This past week I read the book “Sh*t My Dad Says”, and I am inspired with this parenting style. Basically, it consists of saying the “F” word a lot, calling the kids “a$$holes”, and saying “BULL SH!T” when you hear a lie.  No more nice Barbie.  Da boyz are going start cleaning their pee off the bathroom floor and whipping the ketchup off the kitchen wall.  I may even throw in a bad word or two. Only for emphasis purposes, of course, to let them know I mean business. 

 

I am happy to report that I have only called my husband “stupid” once in the past month and a half and even when I don’t like him, I love him.  We are newlyweds, happy, and still smiling.  The mister surprised me with a cycling trip in November.  We will be riding across the state of Texas to support wounded worriers.

 

Things are different from this time last year.   Everything from being married, celebrating Mother’s Day with my new mom, figuring out summer camps for the kids, and squeezing in training bike rides before working on a LBJ Presidential report.

 

Life really is good.

Total Favorites

 This post I wanted to show case a few my favorite pictures.   

 

 

Against the mister’s wishes, I am posting this picture of us sitting around in our underwear. Joe (the 6 year old) took the picture as we were winding down for the evening. I love how I look so enamored with the mister.  What I like even more is that Joe saw something here worth capturing.

Oh, Batman.  Will you take a picture with me?  Can you pick me up or something?

We ran the Fiesta Fandango run.  It is a 2.6 mile run that leads off the night parade.  Each year, I hope to do new things or something that I have never done.  This year, I was on a float and it made my day.

 

You may have noticed that I put flowers in my hair.  Da boyz will pick a flower for me and I put it right in my hair.  The other day we went on a hike and I ended up with a bouquet of flowers.  Seriously, I feel like the luckiest gal in da world.

El Boracho walks around NIOSA enjoying the festivities.  This year his girlfriend was with him and carrying his things.  She seemed to not be appreciating all the girls taking pictures with her man, but, it is NIOSA.  I ALWAYS get a picture with El Boracho.

Fiesta is not fiesta without a picture with Melvis.  He is the Mexican Elvis and the figure of El Mercado in San Antonio.  See for yourself.  Melvis is the front cover picture on El Mercado website.  I look way too excited to be rocking with this legend.

I hope you enjoy just as much as I do.

It's the day after...

The day after,

The day after,

The day after,

The day after,

my birthday-

AND I am still celebrating!

  

 

This year I am excited to celebrate my birthday.  I have so much to be happy about and lovin’ life. 

 

I have a new husband, I have da boyz that love on me, and I have a wonderful new mom that makes me birthday signs and invites my closest family to celebrate my birthday. I have a sister that will make me an aunt again, a terribly cute nephew, and two super cute nieces. And of course, Roxy that runs me crazy. All that packaged under a new house.

 

Since the average life span of a woman is 78 years old, statistically speaking, I have lived half my life. When I think of it that way, I have so much left to do.



Our Wedding: April 12, 2013

Barbie and her bike became a bride.

 

I will never admit to asking our driver to be our medical doctor, if needed, or falsifying any medical records. Puerto Rico must do their due diligence in having correct paper work, all with dates of ten days prior to the wedding. We spent the better part of the morning swerving through town to avoid three head on collisions.  Yes, three.  And, these are paid professional drivers.

I will admit to be a total bridezilla when I was told I had to stream press my own dress.  Really?!  What the heck am I paying the resort all this money for if they do not have someone whose sole purpose in life is to make sure wedding dresses are received, unpacked and pressed; then placed in the bride’s suite.  All I am saying is that the resorts needs to hire a new position for just this. I am also saying that I left the lady who took care of my dress a nice note apologizing for my “flare up” and thanking her for how nice she was.

The ceremony was intimate and special- exactly what I was hoping it would be.  Our wedding and honeymoon was a short four day weekend that I wished would never end.  Eventually, I had to stop carrying my bouquet around with me; but most likely, I will end up wearing my dress again to any future events that seem fitting.  It may be to ride my bike around town, but I am still going to wear it any chance I get.

Keep Pedaling

Commuting season is in full swing.  December and January did not have any riding days, but since February it has been about two days a week. 

So,I am riding my bike home from work, and a car pulls out into my lane.  Seriously, how can he miss me?  A visible jersey, a 250 LUM blinking front light, two flashing red lights on the back of my bike, and he still does not see me.

 

Luckily, I was alert and knew that there was not a car in the next lane and I swerved into that lane.  The car bumper was a foot away from me. 

It is funny the things that run through your head the moment after a car slams on their brakes to avoid hitting you. First, I was like thank God nothing happened to my bike. Then, thank God I do not have road rash or anything broken.  Lastly, thank God I can still see the mister tonight and celebrate his birthday.  Yes, in that order.

Then I went right to the blame game and wanted to blame my two riding partners for not riding with me.  We definitely would have been more visible if they were with me. Ultimately, it was neither my fault nor my riding partners.  I wish that drivers in San Antonio were more aware of bike riders.

The cars do not scare me and neither does road rash. I keep pedaling.

LBJ, 2013

The fifth annual LBJ bike ride was this past Saturday and I missed it. LBJ is one of my favorite rides. There is BBQ, a tour of the Texas white house, bluebonnets, and good ol' Texas hospitality along every mile.

 

I registered, picked up my packet, and was all ready to ride. But- I had to work. I hate it when work gets in the way of my bike time.

 

When I broke the news to the mister, I thought he would be too disappointment and heartbroken, and he would skip the ride. I was terribly wrong. Instead I found myself planning the ride, as if I were going, and let him ride with my friends from the Employee Cycling Team. (Do you like that? "Let him ride")

 

The worst part, get this, is that no one took a picture. Out of the five riders from our group, not one picture. Take my word, they enjoyed the cool Spring morning ride, while I worked.

The Builder

This is the post where I would be talking in a high pitch voice and telling you how awesome I think the mister is.  He impresses me and I thinking he is amazing.

 

To hear him talk about the work he did after his father passed away, is jaw dropping.  We both come from working class families and we both had to work to put ourselves through college.   My life was pretty charmed and I sat behind an air conditioned desk while he was doing manual labor.

 

When he said he was building a building, I was like oaky, do what you gotta do. Then he started coming home late and calling after the sun went down.  Even on his birthday, he was happy to be working late, at his "second job".  So, I did what any inquiring girl would do and I went to check it out for myself. 

 

He is literally building a building. NOT having a building built, but building a building. Each day there is progress to the structure and the best part is I can tell the mister is enjoying himself- he has a smile to prove it.   

Spring Break, 2013

Spring went forward and we traveled through two time zones.  For five days, we did not know what time it was, nor did we care.  We traveled our Texas booties over to Puerto Rico and drank fruit smoothies with every meal. This picutre is proof that I acted like a college girl.  I wore a bikini and had boyz hugging me all week- in true Spring Break style.

Our days were filled with a water park, the beach, hanging out at the pool and kayaking.  The best part was eating at The Iguana Café where iguanas stood around the tables waiting for food to drop.  The waiter spotted me standing on a chair and reminded me that iguanas are vegetarians and would not eat my finger.  We spotted an iguana running really fast, but his fast was not really that fast.  It was more cute than fast.

 

We are back home and back to a quiet house, where I am nursing my sunburned skin. April is a month a way but it can not come fast enough.

 

 

K-I-S-S-I-N-G

The lady behind the counter asked me how I know Mr. Alaniz, to which I turned giddy and blushed. In a school girl tone, I responded, “He is my fiancé”. As I walked away I thought, can I be any more cheesy? It was like she was singing,“Barbie and Ricky sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G”. She was not singing anything. It was only in my head.

 

There are times when I am head-over-heals and it is times like this that I am reminded that I always want to be in the newlywed stage forever. Right now, we still enjoy spending all our time together. And when I say, “all our time”, it is like every minute of every day. Yes, I know that will wear out eventually. But, I am so enjoying this feeling right now.

 

I took a week of vaca before our vaca to get our things ready for our trip. Some how I ended up doing chores and cooking all week. Less chores and more bike riding, yoga, and naps- please. Totally, I am not complaining. There is something gratifying to keeping a home and preparing our meals; which of course the mister talks to me as I cook and then we eat together.

 

This blushing bride will wait another month before our wedding.  We had to postpone our wedding, for the second time due to a more pressing matter. It is all okay and I keep singing,“Barbie and Ricky sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G”.

The Leaf

 

It was over the Christmas holiday day break and we were riding our bikes to the neighborhood park.  Our Little Man found a leaf.  Not just a leaf, but a really big leaf.  He wanted to keep it and made us carry it home.

When we were home, Little Man protected his leaf and placed it on a paper towel. Everyday he would check on the leaf, make sure it was not moved, and that no one touched it.

For his birthday, I decided to get the leaf framed.  I was not sure how it would be received and thought it would be discarded. But, he actually liked it and did the happy clap while jumping up and down.

 

The day of Little Man's birthday, he was crying. Never thinking I could say or do anything do soothe his tears, I hugged him and talked to him and he actually stopped crying.

 

That weekend, I felt like I scored a home run. My gift was a hit and I was able to say the right thing to make a difference. Some days it is all smiles and other days we have elephant tears.  Ups and downs and downs and ups.  Just like cycling, I am enjoying the fast descents and powering up the climbs.

Yoga Card

I am addicted to yoga and I love hot yoga. If you are wondering what hot yoga is, it is yoga, but in a hot room. I practice reverse Namaste while waiting in line at the movie theater. I balance on my head, in the middle of the park. I keep a yoga mat at work, one at home, and one in Carrizo.

For me, yoga started back in 2009 when I injured my knee. I was forced off my bike to allow for recovery time. I hated not being able to train. It was even more depressing as the cross country ride was approaching and I was not able to get training miles in. But, I still went to yoga. I hated it, but I still went. When I did not want to go to yoga, I would walk out of class before final relaxation.

Then, I met Connie Lozano, my yoga instructor. She showed me how to love yoga and introduced me to hot yoga.

 

This may look like a card with circles and numbers on it, but it is much more than that to me. This is my first yoga card from when I started hot yoga classes. It lists the dates I went to the studio and practiced in triple digit heat. It symbolizes my growth and progress though my yoga practice. It reminds me of my personal struggles and how I have fought to overcome my pain.

Every body’s yoga journey is different. Mine has physically relaxed my stiff cycling hips and spiritually helped my soul recover from the loss of my mother. Four years later, my poses are far from the full execution. There is much more to yoga that I do not know or fully understand. I do know it stretches my muscles and relaxes me. Overall, it makes me feel better.

I yoga. I breathe. Namaste.

Bridezilla

A few short months ago, I reassured the mister that I would never be a bridezilla and he should be very thankful that I am not... that... crazy. I even made him watch an episode of Bridezilla to prove that I would never be that out of control.

That was until the Carnival Triumph caught on fire; which meant our cruise/family trip/honeymoon, along with our destination wedding was cancelled. In less than a month from our wedding, we have had to book a new trip and a new beach wedding. And, you guessed it- one wedding for the price of two. Should I dare mention that it was cheaper to ship my bike to LA than it was to ship my wedding dress to Puerto Rico? It was also cheaper to ship my bike from Boston than it was to ship my dress.

Talk about freak out control, lots of alcohol, and lots of tears to make planning a 3.13.13 wedding happen.

We completed all our requirements for getting married in Mexico, and now we had to complete an all new set of requirements, for getting married in Puerto Rico. That being said, I am happy to report that I have a clean bill of health and can provide all the necessary required documents.  So can Mr. ICU.

The big day is creeping around the corner we are getting more excited. Beach wedding here we come! 

Cibilo Ranch

It has been said that if you can travel if someone you can remain friends. When Mr. ICU invited me to Cibilo Ranch, after a short courtship of two months, I accepted only to see if this adage was correct.

 

Cibilo Ranch is a working ranch with a deserted spa and airport landing strip. Which means that rich artsy type, who build custom homes in Malibu, flock to the nearby town of Marpha to view art; as well as the well-to-do CEO type that own their own airplanes, go here for a weekend get aways. 

 

Us being neither of those, went any way and signed the relase saying it was our fault if we were attached by animals roaming the property.  All the misters said was "massage" and I was sucked in; although not looking forward to the six hour drive we had.

What struck me most about the trip was the communal meals and being forced to socialize with people you do not know or would not socialize with in any other situation. It was during one if those meals, a fellow guest asked how long we had been married because we blended like we had been together for twenty years. We laughed and said two months.

We learned so much about each other during that trip. Stuff Like:

- Barbie does not like six hour long road trips.
- Barbie falls asleep in long car drives.
- When the mister says, "Let's take a wild life tour in a hummer", Barbie expects a hummer with doors and A/C, not an open door hunting vehicle.
-When Barbie says" Roxy is loose, help me find her" at two in the morning, Barbie is not kidding. Coyotes or owls could have eaten her.
-When there is a two and a half hour cocktail hour before dinner, we can easily drink fifteen glasses of wine through dinner.

-Barbie is willing to wear cheap underwear from the Dollar Store, as a bathsuite, just so she can sit in a hot tub for ten minutes.

Little did I know that those same artsy folk would take our first family picture and later e-mail it to me.  Looking back I remember thinking how easy it was to get away with Mr. ICU. I am hoping we can "star gaze" on top of the tool shed and flirt with each other in the hot tub- just like when we first meet.