fo sho NOJOMO

I’ve been MIA. Truly. First off, some news about my mom… She had her kidney removed, and is recovering very well. This week we can find out if the cancer has spread anywhere else. Right now they are telling us that they don’t think it has. I’m cooking a yummy mexican casserole today to take over for dinner tonight at my parent’s house. I want to hang out with her and just make sure she is ok. It’s nice to spend time with my parents and I always look forward to it. As for my dad, he had another PSA test done to check to see about prostate cancer cells. His highest count before he had his prostate removed was 20. Now, it has gone down to a 12. This is significant to me, but not where it should be, which is at a zero. They gave him a hormone shot, and he will be re-tested in February. Between my mom getting surgery and my dad, I cannot believe how crazy 2008 has been. I had my melanoma scare as well late in May. I just want everyone to return to normal. I don’t like these events and everything that goes with them to constantly roll around in my head. I try not to think about it and tell myself that everything is going to be fine. Being positive is the only thing I can do.

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Now, on a lighter note… (ha!)

NoJoMo Novermber 16 Challenge:

If someone were coming to your city, that had never been there before, what would you show them? Where would you take them? Would you stick to the tourist attractions, or show them the ‘real’ city?

Ahhh. Good ‘ol Houston. I’m not being sarcastic. I really love living here and am proud to say that I was born here. When I went off to college, it was interesting to meet people from all over the place. I’d remember being offended when someone would say, ‘ugh, you’re from Houston? Houston sucks." To which I’d turn around and say, ‘huh, obviously you haven’t been to the right places’. Sue me for being blunt, huh? 🙂

I’d take my guests to:

The Houston Museum of Fine Arts. What an amazing place. Houston is home to TONS of art, theatre events and venues.

Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion- what a gorgeous venue for music. Matt and I recently went there for a Tom Petty concert. Such a clean place and nice food/beer vendor people (seriously this makes a difference!). It doesn’t feel like you’re in ‘Texas’ when you visit this place. Very similar to the Verizon Wireless Outdoor Pavilion in Indy.

Rice University- when you want a place to walk around on a pretty Sunday afternoon. Right near the museum district. We like to grab a bite then stroll around. Howard Hughes was a student there back in the day.

The Galleria.You can’t go wrong shopping here.The thing that I like about this the most is all of the foreign people you see when you shop. I always hear many different languages and wonder about the people’s lives. Are they here on vacation? Do they live in the Heights? Are they here on business? How can those foreign women shop in gorgeous high heels?

The Houston Zoo. I know, but seriously, this is one of the best. It’s great to be out when it’s not too hot, and it’s not expensive.

The Waterwall- a sight to see. We used to go here on Easter Sunday and take pictures back in the 80s. Good people watching…

I’d take them down to the Theatre District to my favorite place… The Alley Theatre. I’ve been coming here to watch plays since I was about 8. We used to go and see A Christmas Carol every year. Good memories. For Matt and I’s first anniversary, we went to the Alley.

We’d go to the Houston Museum of Natural Science. I know it may sound nerdy, but this place is amazing. Every time I go, I see something I have never seen before. This is where Matt and I went to on Halloween. They’ve done a lot in past years to make it an attraction to people my age.

I’d take them to Ra Sushi. I know it’s a chain, but I still love it.

While on the subject of restaurants, I’d take them to my favorite tex-mex place… Pappasitos. Now, I have heard that this chain of restaurants has branched off into other states…? This is the place we had our rehearsal dinner.

For Italian food, we’d go to a hole-in-the-wall place called Gianni’s in Tomball, which is a suburb of Houston. The owner comes around and talks to the guests and the food is amazing. Such a cozy little place. Matt and I went there for Valentine’s day once.

For Indian, we’d go to Dhakshin just down the street from us. Any Indian food fans out there? Do I hear crickets chirping?

For chocolate desserts, we’d go to either the Chocolate Bar http://www.theoriginalchocolatebar.com/coolstuff.aspx or Chocolata http://www.chocolatacocoabar.com/ which has THE most amazing chocolate crepes known to man.

Ahhhh, now I’m starting to get hungry. Hey if you ever go to Houston, you know where to go! Call me up, I’ll have even more places to take you 🙂