Sweet Tea Sweet Pea

My name is Amelia Hunt and I like Sweet Tea. 

I like to sit in my chair, rockin' in the breeze...with my sweet tea. 

I like to listen to stories of my friends and family while I'm sittin' in my chair, 

rockin' in the breeze...with my sweet tea. 

Sometimes...I tell a story or two while sittin' in my chair, 

rockin' in the breeeze...with my sweet tea. 

Sometimes we like to hypothesize about things...

like "what if there were no sweet tea?"

But there is...and that's all that matters. 

I'm Amelia Hunt. And I like Sweet Tea. 

Morning light...

Ahhh...Saturday

I'm not sure what has come over me, but I've been waking up super early on Saturday mornings lately. I try to take advantage of the early start by getting chores done so there's time for more leisurely activities (like getting back to Photoshop). 

Last week I got up at 7 on Saturday and tried to go to the gym only to find they don't open until 9. So I came home, cleaned the house and ran all my errands. It really was a great Saturday. Shannon and Kim and I went to Yoga in the afternoon to celebrate our girls' Valentines Day. Little did we know, it was Partner Yoga in honor of Valentine's Day. There were 6 or 7 couples...and the three of us. There were a couple of "partner poses" that were a little difficult to maneuver with the three of us but we had a great time, learned a lot and it felt GREAT! So we celebrated with a Whatacheeseburger Junior on our way to get pedicures! 

This particular Saturday, I knew would be just as peaceful. Just a baby shower gift and a birthday present for grandma to pick up as the cleaning and grocery store were tended to yesterday. So when I woke up this morning at 7:30, I checked the weather and decided to go for a walk. Dude an I have a pretty normal routine on our walks. When he goes with me we follow the same path for the most part. This morning started no different. There weren't many folks out when we started, with the exception of one guy loading his 4-wheeler in the back of his truck and a woman walking house to house to put flyers on doors. 

We got to almost our half way point and found an open gate to some river-front property that is for sale. I've always wondered what it looked like down by the water so we followed the "road" down to the river. It was like a whole different world. Across the river were homes I didn't know existed in New Braunfels - beautiful two and three story homes with decks and balconies and green lawns and trees and rope swings and staircases winding down to the river. Dude got to swim a bit and we got back to the walk. 

When I turned around in the cul de sac, I noticed the woman distributing flyers - about a mile from where I saw her first. I didn't really pay much attention to that at all...until... 

As we made our way back up the street, I caught site of a little girl, probably 3 or 4, leaving the front stoop of a house and "jogging" up the street in front of me. She was still in pajamas and barefooted-so I just assumed she was playing since it was such a beautiful morning. Until we got to the end of the street and she was still jogging...across the street, around the corner and up the next street. About half way up the block, she started to slow down and look around at all of the different houses. Then she stopped. And turned in circles...searching for something. I crossed the street to ask her if she was looking for someone...she said her mom. I asked when and where she saw her last - she said she was passing out flyers and she wanted to go with her. So I asked her if she knew where her house was and if there was anyone else there. She said yes, and turned to start running again...back from where she just came from. I panicked. I'm not sure why, but I can't imagine being the parent at the house looking for your daughter that has vanished at 7:30 in the morning - or the parent that is out walking, oblivious to your daughter running the streets looking for you. So I turned around and followed her again. I worried that I would scare her by chasing after her, but I was getting scared for her AND her parents. As I rounded the corner I could hear her mother - calling her name, and watched as the little girl ran full speed into her mother's arms. Whew...

So Dude and I turned around and headed back in the direction of our house. We passed a gentleman on a golfcart - who had driven by 4 or 5 times during our walk. Turns out, he had lost his dog and was on the hunt for it. I told him I'd keep eyes open and got his address in case I found her. As we turned towards the river, there were was a fire truck and two sheriffs  parked at the end of the block. They had been called to a grass fire that was non-existent down by the river. I let Dude swim again, and as we made the final approach to Mooncrest, the man on the golfcart drove by with his dog on his lap, a big grin on his face and gave me a thumbs up. 

So all is right in the world again...All of that before 9 a.m. I might have to take a nap today. 

With love...

The best gift we can give each other is pure, honest love. 

Given to me for my birthday last year by my family-in-love...with love.

Amethyst, gifted to me by my sweet sister, Tara after I got home from NYC for peace and positive energy. Turtles were direct from my bro-in-luv's travels to lands far away...all with love. 

The lyrics painted on the side are those of "Blackbird," the first song I learned to play on the guitar. A present from my sweet mother who taught me to love the Beatles...with love. 

The lyrics of a Drive By Truckers song that I love. It's called "Outfit." Hand painted by a friend of ours, and given to me from Joel...with love. 

A hand carved sea turtle, picked up on a trip to Massachusetts by my Jo just because it reminded her of me...with love. 

I cherish all of these things, not because they are things, but because they are reminders of the people who love me...and who I love.  

I hope you give a little bit of you and your love today...

With love...rds

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO GRANNY & JOEL (HUNT)!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR GRANNY & JOEEEELLLLLLIIIIIEEEEEEE...HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

We love you so much! Hope your days are beautiful!

Robin & Joel

Back to Norm...

Things are getting back to normal around here. I'm sitting in the recliner, listening to Joel practice his guitar. We cooked dinner, watched some tv on the couch and surfed the net. I'm sleeping like a baby (I never understood that phrase. Don't babies wake up every couple of hours to eat and such?) Anyway - I'm sleeping very well. It feels great. More than ever I'm enjoying everything about our days. I'm getting back into the gym routine, work and even trying to get home a little early when Joel's home. Little things aren't bothering me so much these days. It's amazing how simple life is when you eliminate all the needless worry. I am so thankful for all that makes up our lives together. I finally caught up on Tara and Jenny's blogs tonight and I can't WAIT TO SEE THOSE BABIES AGAIN! I also can't wait to see THEM again!

We all have so much around us to be thankful for...rather than wishing for what we don't have or for different outcomes, I have resolved to be appreciative of what we are already blessed with.

In other news...

Joel is doing great. He has started taking guitar lessons. A good friend of ours here in town is teaching him and it seems like he LOVES it. I've kept him busy with honey do's the past few weeks (nothing new). February is a pretty easy month for them - out for three or four days a week, home the others. It's been really nice having him home so much. Ragweed is going back in the studio in March out in California so he'll be out there for the first week. Then we GET TO SEE THE HUNTS!! They are coming the third week of March so they will get to be here for Joel's birthday. YAAAAYYYYY!!

I think I'm caught up for now. Normal feels pretty good, but it sure sounds boring in blogworld.

Peace to you all!
rds

"The Big Incident" FAQ's

I know, i need to put it on paper. All of it. But I'm still wrapping my mind around it. In the meantime, here are some FAQ's and my most succinct answers...until the full story.

1. What were you thinking while all of it was going on?
Well, honestly, I fell asleep at the gate and didn't wake up until the "explosion." I heard the noise and asked the girl next to me "what was that?" She had been asleep too. The cabin filled with the smell of fuel and electrical fire, we banked hard left and THAT's when I got scared. We were descending rather than ascending and THAT's when I knew we were in trouble. The pilot came on the intercom and said "BRACE FOR IMPACT." I thought "I'm not ready!" (meaning, I'm not ready to brace for impact, I don't know how to brace for impact, WHAT DOES BRACE FOR IMPACT IMPLY???) And as I looked at the other passengers putting their heads between their knees and hands on the backs of their heads, I did the same thing. I thought - no way this is happening, I'M NOT READY!!! When we hit, I assumed we would be under water and I immediately wondered if my cell phone would work. I thought about calling Joel. I thought about how to kick out the window of a plane while it was under water - and before I could sit up I heard the guys behind me (the exit row) yelling "GO! GO! GO!" So I went.

2. Was it mass chaos getting off the plane?
Yes and no. I was in the row directly in front of the exit (9F was my seat). There was a guy there helping everyone from the exit row forward get out. I had my purse in my hand and was standing in my seat because there was so much stuff on the floor. He hollered at me to "come on" and i started over the back of the seat. He told me to grab my seat cushion, so I dropped my purse and grabbed the floatation device (they really do work, by the way). He hurriedly ushered me out the door where I stood on the wing, helping others out the door. Our side (the right side) was pretty orderly. Men insisted on women and children being loaded into the raft first. We had a family on our side, too, with a 3 yr old daughter and a 9 month old son. EVERYONE pulled together to make sure the kids were safe.

3. Did you get wet?
Yes. Everyone got wet. Although when I first got on the wing it was like standing in a shallow puddle, by the time I landed in the raft, I was up to mid calf. There was a lot of fuel in the water - I can't imagine what the people who jumped in the river directly from the plane went through. I watched the father of the two kids jump in to get to the ferry faster, and he was immediately paralyzed by the cold.

4. Were you on the NY side or the Jersey side?
Jersey. And they were phenomenal. I don't care what anyone says about Yankees - they were nothing but kind and generous. By the time the first boats pulled in, they had delivered boxes and boxes of the ferry workers uniforms (sweaters, dickies pants, long sleeved shirts, beanies) to us and were wrapping us with blankets, towels and even their own clothes to get us warm. The ferry terminal became a triage center - they served us coffee, hot chocolate, cookies, and even sent someone out to buy socks for all of us. I can't put into words what respect I have for the NY Waterway staff and the Port Authority Police. There was absolutely no hesitation at all on their part. They didn't wait for someone to tell them to help - they helped. I wish I could paint the emotions I have that go with the images of those ferry boats coming full speed at us while we were standing on the wing.

That's all I can think of for now...I'm sitting at home with my hubby, with a pot roast in the crock pot, planning to spend the evening curled up on the couch with him. I have a phone now, and (obviously) a computer. There is still a lot up in the air - and the emotions come and go in waves - but bottom line is, I'm home and safe and I recognize the magnitude of how I've been blessed.

I love you all! Have a wonderful evening. Cherish your family!

rds

Sunny California...

We're off to California tomorrow for the Susan G. Koman 60 mile Breast Cancer walk. I'm ready. I'm ready because we have worked our tails off for it...and because I've been thinking so much about all the people we met when we walked for MS that made an impact on me. It's the perfect time, really, to be doing this...

To remember how good it feels to follow through with something
To remember that there are bigger issues than what each of us face in the daily grind
To remember to be thankful for our health and our families and our strength(s)
To remember to be cautious with our lives and our bodies and each other
To remember how big this world really is
To remember what it feels like to really push ourselves

To remember that each of us have the power to help others whether it's raising money, or donating money or walking beside someone or listening to someone tell their story or giving away your last Luna Bar or JUST BEING THERE.

Thank you, to all of you, for making this trip possible for me - whether financially or emotionally. Thank you to my sweet husband for going with us (even though he gets to sleep in a nice warm hotel room while we're sleeping in tents). Your face at the finish line will be the highlight of day three, I feel certain.

I'm keeping a journal for one of the magazines that has been supporting us along the way. I promise to share with you here as well.

Peace to all.

Whaaaa????

I have been traveling quite a bit lately for work but iIt had been a really long time since I took a road trip, just me, myself and I when I drove to OKC a few weeks ago. Well, half of it was with me, myself and I - the other half was with my sweet friend Angela. She rode with me to OKC, then I made my way back to New Braunfels solitaire, stopping half way in Fort Worth for a Randy Rogers Band show and a great dinner with my aunt and uncle. The miles and time flew by too fast almost - and I realized how much I missed just driving. I listened to what I wanted, thought about what I wanted, and stopped when I wanted. Please, don't think I don't love traveling with others...it's just that I used to spend many many days and nights driving by myself, either to and from college or hauling horses somewhere. I did a lot of soul searching in those days. And it felt good to do it again...

But once again, I have strayed from the point of this post...

While I was cruising along somewhere between Oklahoma City and Fort Worth, I was listening to one of the comedy channels on XM. The comedian mentioned a carpet rake...A CARPET RAKE...my mind raced back in time (imagine the technique used in movies where it appears as though the camera is traveling at warp speed down a hall filled with all the items representing things in your past and screeching to a stop on one...brown...carpet rake). I hadn't thought of raking carpet in years. It used to be "my chore." We had lime green carpet in one of our houses and LOTS of it...my job was to rake it in between vacuuming. Rake downstairs, rake upstairs, rake the stairs...why didn't we just vacuum? So I texted my mom. "Why did we rake our carpet?" Her reply was that the lovely green shag was so long that we were afraid of what had been lost in it. So I looked up carpet rakes online. I was surprised to learn that they are alive and well on most happy homemaker sites...



I bet you're surprised to learn that we (okay, I) don't own one.

TARP YOUR TRUCKS, PEOPLE!

 Notice the snaps snapped and the tarp tarpped. This is the proper way for a gravel truck to fly down I-35 at 80 miles per hour. 

Notice the visible piles of dirt, pebbles and rocks. This is NOT the proper way for a gravel truck to fly down I-35 at 80 miles per hour. (Please disregard the large quantities of snow - this photo is being used for "improper gravel hauling on I-35" purposes only.)

The best sushi I never thought I'd try...

Friday was Shannon's birthday so all the girls got together for dinner at Sushi Zushi and went to Helotes to see Adam Carroll and Todd Snider. We had a BLAST! Maybe it was because it had been so long since all of us had a chance to be together and focus on each other and catch UP with each other...maybe because it was a beautiful night to be at Floore's Country Store...maybe it was the sushi. Whatever it was, it was sooooo appreciated and needed. 

Keeping with the spirited spirit of the night, I vowed to try something new at Sushi Zushi. I caught a glimpse of our neighbor's plate (which I have to admit appealed to me because it looked like watermelon and avocado mixed together - strange in and of itself) and decided that no matter what it was, I was going to try it. 

Come to find out, it was Tuna Tar Tar. Now, growing up with a cattleman of a dad, I have a super duper adversity to the phrase "tar tar" and all that it entails. Not to mention the fact that when I asked the waiter about it, he described it like this: 

"It's raw tuna, tenderized and diced, served with sliced avocado and topped with the eggs of four different types of flying fish."

The ONLY thing that rang yummy to my ears was "avocado." And I know, some of you are rolling over (or your stomachs are) at the thought of the rest of that dish - as did, quite honestly, mine. But I have tried and loved tuna - seared, rare, in sushi, out of sushi...so how bad could it be. 

IT WAS THE BEST THING I'VE EVER PUT IN MY MOUTH. I almost asked for a fork because my desire to get it into my mouth far exceeded my chopstick deftness. So I refrained, and instead slowly savored every bit of it. 

The moral of the story is that I have been reminded - by a simple but scrumptious culinary dish - that there are grand rewards in being brave, and that new things may sound scary and "fishy," but end up being...well, delicious. 

My tidbit for you? Be brave today. 

Tagged by my Sis-In-Luv

I have been tagged. I'm okay with that. She was right. Who doesn't want to talk about themselves.

Here are the tagging rules:

1. Post the rules on your blog
2. Write 6 random things about yourself
3. Tag 6 people at the end of your post
4. If you are tagged, DO IT and pass it along

1. The most exciting job (and the time of my life that I was injured more than the rest of my life cumulatively) was galloping race horses. I LOVED it. I still get a phenomenal adrenaline rush just from WATCHING horse in the starting gate, knowing what it feels like for that huge animal to virtually vanish from beneath as they explode out of the gates. I'm pretty conflicted these days about the sport, but my personal experience with it is one of my favorites.

2. I love shoes. Abnormally, I think. I plan outfits around shoes. My favorite pair of shoes has never been worn and they sit at the top of my closet in a clear shoe box (they were a bit of an emotional purchase mom and I made together right before the wedding). Here's the weird part - I love being barefooted as much as I love shoes. That's almost oxymoronic.

3. I never thought I would marry. Ever. I wasn't opposed to it, but I just didn't see myself finding anyone that I would want to share/burden with all my weird idiosyncrasies. But I did. And now I can't imagine my life WITHOUT sharing my idiosyncrasies.

4. I went through a phase in high school where all I ate was either egg sandwiches (fried eggs & ham with cheese on toast) or steamed broccoli. Every meal, including lunch (I had to drive home from school for lunch). It lasted for about 4 months.

5. I wear my feelings on my sleeves. And I wear others feelings on my sleeves for them. I spend a lot of energy worrying about other people and their feelings. In fact, I've been known to worry more about my loved ones feelings than they do.

6. I love rain and everything that comes with it. Thunder, lightening, peace, clean sidewalks, greener grass, the smells, mud...I love it all. And I especially love dancing in it. Mmmmmmm. Better than homemade banana pudding.

There you have it. Unfortunately, all my blogging friends have already been tagged. I hope I don't get points docked off for not listing 6 others.

Oh, Idaho...

Let me count the ways I love the Braun Family Reunion.

1.) The scenery


2.) The golf tournament (or being a caddy in costume for the golf tournament)


3.) The friends


4.) The family


5.) The weather (yes, that's hail while the sun is shining)



6.) The music




7.) The people


8.) The people





9.) The people (note Texas flag...in Idaho)




10.) The mustached people

Rain, rain...

Mmmmm....I love the season changes. I know, we are still in for quite a bit more summer. But I love teaser days like today - hard rain complete with actual thunder and lightening. Do you know what I love more than days like today? Days like today when my husband is here and I take advantage of working from home. Yup, there's something special about being in your own home on days like this, with your partner sitting just a few feet away from you...hearing the rain pick up outside and gazing out the window to see sheets of water and flashes of light, knowing that Mother Earth is finally getting her long needed rehydration and our family of trees is finally getting the dusty dryness washed from their parched leaves. And being able to take a break from emails and phone calls to sit with my husband. I would work from home every day that he is here if I could. I'm happier and he's happier and WE are happier. 

I can't believe how crazy busy our lives are these days. We are making Christmas plans already. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad to get them made, but I can't believe this year has gone so fast. We seem to be living so far in the future sometimes that we forget about today - we don't take advantage of right now. But today I did. I sat right here at my little computer - still connected to the world - but soaking up the goodness of what today brought. 

Hope you all had a little peace in your day today, too. 

Growing Babies...

I can't believe we've gone from this...


To this...


And this...


And this...


I can't wait to see where we go from here.

Congratulations to Joel Hunt! We are very proud of you for what you have accomplished - and even more proud of you for how you are choosing to use your education. You are a good man, and a great father and husband. Big love to you!

Mom always said...

...no running at the pool. She was right.