One Life

There are two parts to this blog post.  One is a lot heavier than the other.  It’s your choice if you don’t want to read the other half.   I just had to get it off my chest because it hurts and I’m tired.  I have a few more blog posts coming up that are MUCH lighter in the next few days, so I will return to writing about my ONE LIFE tomorrow.

One Life-Part one

I believe we all get one shot at this thing called Life.  That’s it.  One.  I believe that once we are done there is one of two places that we go and we don’t get a 2^nd chance.  So why aren’t we running at the things we dream of?  Doing the things we dream of seeing?  Loving the people we dream of loving?  Eating what we wish to eat? Taking risks and chances?   Chasing dreams?

I always try to write about my bucket list experiences that I complete, big or small.  (I will admit some do take a while to be written. Haha #badblogger) It always makes me so sad to hear of a young person who died or even someone in their 50’s who died. 

Chances are the old person is waiting on retirement, but what happens if you get to retirement and your knees won’t get you to the top of that mountain you have dreamed of climbing?  What happens if your finances are wiped out?  What happens if the person you want to retire with isn’t around?  What happens if you aren’t around?

Chances are they didn’t do everything on their bucket list, or chances are greater that they didn’t have a list at all, just a couple of sentences that were spoken of “one day”. 

One day is TODAY!!  Don’t wait until you are retired to go anywhere.  Plan them for THIS YEAR.  Big or small, something that you have wanted to do is not too expensive that you can do this month (or sooner!).

Yeah, yeah, but….I’ve got bills…Work is too busy…My kids are too young…My kids need me…My work needs me…I don’t have anyone to go with…It’s too expensive…I’m too old…I’m too young…My husband/wife doesn’t want to go….

NO!  No buts.  Do something that you will remember years from now.  Life is way too short to wait. 

When I turned 29 I realized that I was full of a lot of “buts”.  I hadn’t really done much in my life.  I made my 30 under 30 list and did them! And then I made a bucket list afterwards.  I am slowly but surely checking them off, one by one.  I hope to finish all of them, but only God knows which ones I will complete before I am taken to Heaven.  As I get older, I am holding mortality in a much higher regard. 

If you need help with your list, look at mine.  I would LOVE to help you do some of them! :)

*Note, I’m not encouraging going into tons of debt to pay for that dream vacation!  I’m just saying to chase your dreams.

On Addictions-Part Two

I don’t talk about this situation much because it makes me so sad.  My real dad is an addict and has relapsed once again.  I have been dealing with it the past 35 years and I’m tired.  For 35 years I have had to watch him struggle to get his demons in control, and watch him hurt the people I love.  Don’t get me wrong, his demons are very real and they are painful. He had a very rough childhood.  I only know a short number of his memories and I can see why they are real and painful.    I know he is the hardest on himself though.

Any day now I wouldn’t be surprised to hear my dad had a heart attack due to his meth use (oh wait, he already did that) or hurt someone (did that many times), went off on someone (ditto), over dosed (thankfully, not yet), etc.  He was recently in an accident while on meth and broke both of his feet, and shattered one of them.  When you deal with someone you love having a major addiction for 35 years, you become numb to hearing it all. 

I can cry and stress about it, but until he controls it for himself, it won’t do you any good to try to help. HE has to make the decision to change.

You also have to realize that you aren’t just hurting yourself, you are hurting the ones you love.  My earliest memory is being pushed against a wall and being screamed at because I did something (don’t remember what).  I rolled my head to the side to look at my mom and sister, just holding hands because they couldn’t do anything.  That is my very first memory.  No child should have to deal with that.

My pretend used to be cutting lines of cocaine and snorting them.  True story.  I was less than 4. 

We all have our demons and addictions.  I am clearly addicted to food.  It is something I can control.  Being a child of an addict, you don’t have much control (actually, being a child, you don’t have much control).  Luckily, I had my awesome mother to snap out of it and get us out. I have to make the decision to change myself.  My life is my life. I am in control of my decisions and heart breaks.  You have to want to take control, you kids for darn sure can’t make you want to change.

God has blessed you with kids or other people in your life, don’t you want to change to see them hit their dreams and goals?  If you are an addict (whatever addiction), would you want your kids to have the same addiction as you?  Probably not, so why do it to yourself? 

The thing is, my dad is the coolest person.  Everyone LOVES him the second you meet him...that is when he's not on Meth.  He's an angry, controlling, paranoid person when he does drugs.  I only bring people around when he's not using because no one should be exposed to that.

When I was in college I hardly partied, ever.  I realized a few years ago that it was because I like being in control.  I don’t want to get messed up and not remember what I did.  That makes me so scared and doesn’t sound fun at all.  Even to this day I hardly drink and haven’t touched drugs.  I know I have an addictive personality that could easily spiral out of control if I go down that road.  People still ask me why I don’t drink, but I rarely say why.

Take control of YOUR life today.  Get a handle on those addictions like smoking, drinking, drugs, sex, porn, gambling, Pokemon (IDK), or other addictions that are holding you back.  It’s not easy.  I get it, but you don’t want to be dying from a meth overdose and look back at your life you messed up because of your addictions.  People are counting on you.

You get ONE LIFE.  Just one.  Don’t waste it on "some day's" and addictions.  I am begging you.

Dolphins encounter

The same day we went Sea World San Antonio to ride roller coasters we also met some dolphins from the park! 

My friend Lily and I bought tickets a few weeks ahead of time for $75 for a Dolphin Discovery Tour.  There were about 8 of us in our group and we went behind the scenes.  Honestly I was a little disappointed in what we got for our $75.  We were under the impression that you get to go in the water (they suggested a bathing suit when I called for the reservation), but we didn't even get to stick our feet in the water. Hmm. Must ask more questions when requesting info. :/  There are actually two options at Sea World San Antonio for dolphin experiences, this option was the Discovery Tour but there is also an Encounter Tour that is a bit cheaper.  We choose the Discovery Tour because it was less people in the group and you get more one on one interaction with the dolphins. (edit:  There doesn't seem to be another option for the Encounter Tour anymore, I guess they discontinued it.  Check with Sea World to be sure though)


My 30 under 30 item said to Swim with Dolphins, but there is no place in Texas where you can actually swim with the dolphins and honestly I think I would have been freaked out if I was asked to hold on to a fin and let them pull me out to sea.  I compromised with Sea World!  I will say it was really fun and exciting, I just wish I could have gotten in the water with them.

They took us behind the scenes and we passed different pumps and wildlife areas.  We learned a few facts that were neat.  For instance, did you know that all the water in the park has been there since it opened?  All water is recycled, even the condensation from the pumps goes into a drain and is recycled.  Pretty neat!

They had us sit under a canopy and two trainers came to speak with us about the dolphins.  In the picture below you can see the area where the dolphins that aren't currently in the actual park are held (they are rotated every so often).  There are several different pools for the dolphins to swim.  Depending on the sex of the animal and how aggressive they are to the other animals depends on which pool they are in and how many are in the pool.

This is what they use to transport dolphins into different parts of the park.

They showed us a few different pools and told us about the animals.  One pool held several dolphins and they just loved the attention!  Dolphins are adorable.

Then we got to pose with a dolphin so we could take home a free dolphin picture souvenir.  As another souvenir you got a tote bag and a waterbottle.  I kept the tote bag, but gave the water bottle away since I have so many at home.  I gave it to my friend Brandi that we saw there.

Then they let each of us do different tricks with the dolphins.  They would catch balls for us, twirl, wave, do flips, let us pet them, show us how they took medicine and got examined by the doctor, and lots more.

Then as we were saying goodbye they decided to splash us !  They told us beforehand that we might get wet and had the option to move.

I had a fantastic time and fell in love with dolphins.  They have now become my 3 favorite animal behind flamingos and penguins.  I highly recommend seeing the behind the scenes tour.

My Next 30 Years

It's been almost 2 months since I celebrated my 30th birthday in May.  I completed 29 out of 30 items on my 30 under 30 list, and also have created a bucket list.  I was driving home from dinner tonight and heard the lyrics to Tim McGraw's My Next 30 Years.  This song is old and I have heard it a gazillion times, but today I listened to the lyrics all the way. 

Here are the lyrics, but with a few changes (in red). 

Tim Mcgraw My Next Thirty Years Lyrics

Songwriters: VASSAR, PHIL

I think I'll take a moment, celebrate my age
The ending of an era and the turning of a page
Now it's time to focus in on where I go from here
Lord have mercy on my next thirty years

Hey my next thirty years I'm gonna have some fun
Try to forget about all the crazy things I've done
Maybe now I've conquered all my adolescent fears
And I'll do it better in my next thirty years

My next thirty years I'm gonna settle all the scores
Cry a little less, laugh a little more
Find a world of happiness without the hate and fear
Figure out just what I'm doing here
In my next thirty years

Oh my next thirty years, I'm gonna watch my weight
Eat a few more salads and not stay up so late
Drink a little lemonade and not so many beers margaritas
Maybe I'll remember my next thirty years

My next thirty years will be the best years of my life
Raise a little family and hang out with my wife husband
Spend precious moments with the ones that I hold dear
Make up for lost time here, in my next thirty years
In my next thirty years



In my next 30 years I want to travel more, forgive more, love more, find something I am passionate about, add and complete items to my bucket list, and much, much more.  What about you?

***This item has been done for a loooong time, but I have been lazy about posting it!  Enjoy.

Over the weekend I went to my sister’s house in Spring and baked a Cake from Scratch with my nephews, Hunter and Cole.  I love these boys!

#8 on my list is to bake a cake from scratch (and enjoy it) and I completed it!  For those of you who are counting, that’s 6 things off my list…24 more to go!!!

I looked online to find a recipe to make and I couldn’t decide which one I wanted to make.  Strawberry? Pineapple Upside Down Cake? Lemon? White? Yellow?  Pumpkin? (my favorite option) Coconut?-Yuck! My neighbor even said I could borrow her cookbook that had cakes from scratch in it.

Then I called my sister and told her my dilemma of which cake flavor to make and she said “Fruit and Cake do not belong together” and if I wanted to do it over there it would need to be chocolate.  BOOO!!! She then suggested that I use this recipe that her Mother-in-Law always makes for parties and get togethers.

These are all the ingredients needed for this recipe.  I included pictures of each step so if you are like me and cannot cook a thing you can follow this easily!

First up:  Wash your hands.  Hunter has included a visual of how to make a soap bubble with your hands for your enjoyment/learning.

Sift together Sugar, Flour, and Cocoa.  This step is important to SIFT together.  I thought you could just mix it together and be done, but no, it needs to be sifted. I actually broke my sister’s sifter and need to replace it.

This is Cole eating Butternut Squash and helping from afar.

Add Baking Soda and Milk then Stir.  Then add Mayonnaise and stir (can you already tell this recipe is low calorie? ;) 

Cole moved closer to help us stir.  He is having fun!

My sister greased the pan (important step, otherwise the cake will stick)

Pour the cake batter into the pan then an important step:  Lick the bowl clean before washing it

Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees, afterwards check with a toothpick, use a butter knife to separate the sides from the pan, and flip over on a cookie sheet

The icing: Add Milk, butter, and cocoa

Put over medium heat until it boils (big bubbles).  Constant stirring needs to occur.  Then add Sugar and blend together. Pour over cake (hurry, it gets thick fast!)

Enjoy with ice cream!!!

I had a wonderful day spending time with my nephews baking this cake.

 1 Cake + 2 Adorable Nephews = Happiness and a Rockin’ good time :)

Question of the day:

Have you ever baked a cake from scratch?  How did it turn out?

The 30 Day Shred

***Again, I have been super lazy and this should have been posted waaaaaaaay back in October.  This has actually been written for the most part since then, but I just kept forgetting to upload it (my old apartment didn't have internet).

I have attempted in the past to complete the 30 day Shred in it's entirety, but I have always come up short.  I go for a few days straight, but then I miss a day and my good intentions are out the window.  So I added Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred to my list of 30 before 30.  

I of course had seen Jillian on the Biggest Loser, but it was when I saw this post from one of my favorite bloggers that I wanted to purchase the DVD and see what it was all about.  I bought my DVD copy at Wal-mart (I think it's $9), but I have seen it at Target as well (follow the link above to get it from Amazon).

So here is my 30 day run down of what happened when I decided to tackle...the Shred.

Day 1-Not so bad.  I say not so bad because I kinda cheated a few times.  OK…so I cheated a lot.  Who does she think she is making me push myself?  She’s not my Mom.   Well, OK.  I bought the DVD because she is known as “TV’s Toughest Trainer” (which she repeats several times-I get it, your tough!) and I wanted her to push me.  But while your are grunting and doing crunches you are just like leave me alone Witch! 

I am already sore…time to take a shower and get on with my day.  BTW, who in there right mind gets up early on their day off to workout with the Shred at 8 am?!  Apparently me.

Day 2-During the cardio jump rope and sections I have to hold my boobs down so they won’t fly up and cause a black eye.  Note to self: Get better sports bra.

Day 3-I brought the DVD over to my sisters house and convinced her to do the workout with me.  My nephew started to make fun of us for doing a workout video, so instead of him laughing at us when we had sweat dripping down our faces I bet him $5 that he wouldn’t be able to finish the entire DVD with us.  He took the bet and started the workout.  Bet a kid $5 and you could get him to do anything, I wouldn’t take a $5 bet anymore.  Kids are cheap.  He made it through the entire DVD without stopping, although he almost did once and I had to remind him that he was doing this for money.  Day three complete!

Day 4-I had the bright idea to go for a 3 mile run before popping the DVD.  Smart.  Smart.   Smart.  Not. Not. Not.  So tired, must go to sleep now.

Day 5-My friend Kali invited me to the Pearland Crossfit tonight to do bootcamp with her.  I have heard things about Crossfit and wasn’t sure I wanted to go, but she convinced me that I am very active now so this should be a piece of cake for me.  Yeah right, Crossfit is hard! We had to do as many sets as possible in 12 minutes of 5 pushups, 10 sit ups, and 15 squats.  I couldn’t wait to be done, so you can imagine when I got home to do my dvd I was not feeling it.  I did it though.  Crossfit Bootcamp + Plus 30 Day Shred.  Who’s tough?  This girl!

Day 6-I am so sore today from yesterday’s bootcamp.  Even squatting to pee hurts so doing lunges and jumping jacks did not make for a fun time today. I am getting stronger every day though.

Day 7-Today I noticed that my arms do not jiggle as much as they used to…they still jiggle though so let’s keep pushing on!  Or as a song goes from my favorite musical (The Great American Trailer Park Musical) goes "I am going to make like a nail, and press on.”

Day 8-I ran 8.69 miles today so needless to say that my knees were not happy when popped in the DVD for tonight’s workout.  

Day 9-"I can do this, I got this. I can do this, I got this."  That's my new mantra.  What do you think?

Day 10-Last day on Level One!  I keep trying to convince myself that I should enjoy this workout, as it is my last one on this level…but I can’t seem to care. I am so over this level.

Day 11-First day of Level Two!  I think I am ready, bring it on.  **30 minutes later-What was I thinking, can I please go back to level one?  Please!  Who ever heard of a plank jack?  

Day 12-I.   Absolutely.   Do.   Not.   Like.  Level.    Two.   Of.   The.  Shred.  Level Two is not my friend.

Day 13-I sweat a lot during this level.  Sweat dripping down into my eyes makes it hard to see when doing high kicks.  Jabba better watch out, it’s hard to hear a meow over all of the grunting and screaming that I do in this level.

Day 14-Almost halfway through.  Keep pushing!

Day 15-Ran my fastest time ever in a 5K…and shaved off 58 seconds.  I know it is because of the Shred.  Today’s workout was extra special once I realized it.  Push it!

Day 16-Level 2 is still not my friend.  Planks jacks are not my friend either.  On that note, neither are butt kicks.

Day 17-I did this tonight at 11:30 pm.  I fell asleep on the couch and woke up with a start thinking it was past midnight.  Luckily it wasn't and I was able to finish. That would have sucked to have to start all over.

Day 18-Sweat in my eyes!  Sweat in my eyes!

Day 19-Exhaustion and hunger to the max!  Why am I so hungry?  All this working out and running makes me hungry.  Running at 5 am, then the Shred at night?  I am oh so tired.

Day 20-Level 2 is done! Peace out!

Day 21- OK wait.  Level 3 includes punches, butt kicks, and jumping jacks with WEIGHTS?  No one warned me about that fact!  You should be ashamed! 

Day 22- Level 3, Day 2.  I am tired.  Can’t hold up my arms to type from all the plank moves.  Check back tomorrow, maybe I will have a witty response.

Day 23-Level 3 has knee circles in the warmup, I really missed knee circles.  Great job Jillian for bringing them back!

Day 24-I think Jabba thinks that I am a bridge that he can lay under when I do a plank move.  He doesn’t understand that I am about to collapse from the muscle strain!

Day 25-Ran 4 miles right after work, came home and did this DVD.  I rock!

Day 26- I kind of like doing the sumo squats and jump squats.  My thighs are burning though!

Day 27-The sit ups on this level will be the death of me!  I have yet to complete a ‘real’ one without using my feet and arms to gain momentum.

Day 28-Did you hear that I did a keg stand?  Well, did you know that I did my first keg stand about 20 minutes before doing day 28 of the 30 Day Shred?  Committed!

Day 29-One more day.  One more day. One more day.

Day 30-I finished!  There is no feeling like when you know you have just completed an entire month of working out and can see a visible difference.  There is also no feeling like the one when you know you don't have to do something anymore.  Yay!

Final thoughts:  I loved the Shred.  I didn't take measurements or weigh myself before/after but I know I lost weight and absolutely some inches.  Try it!

Just call me tequila girl

30 Margaritas in 30 Different places?  Done and Done!  #15 on my 30 under 30 list was to have 30 margaritas in 30 different places throughout my 29^th year on planet Earth. 

Besides my love of margaritas, the reason I chose this was so I could go out and meet friends, have fun, and just be more social.  I always tend to go to the same places for lunch or dinner and I wanted to branch out and try new places.  Looking back at my list they were mostly places I had been before, but  a few were different. 

What was my favorite margarita?  By far was #11 at the restaurant inside Bass Pro Shops of Pearland.  It was a jalapeno infused tequila with an actually large whole jalapeno sitting on it.   I am not sure of my least favorite though.  I heart margaritas!

Here is a list of the places I went, and the fabulous peeps I went with.

1.       Iguana Joe’s-with Erika and Oscar

2.       Alecia’s House-with Alecia, Jeff, and Ryan

3.       Floyd’s Seafood-with Strangers (it had been a looooong day at work!)

4.       El Palenque-with Mandy and Jay

5.       Los Rosas-with friends from my church group

6.       Gringo’s (Pearland)-with Kali

7.       Mamacita’s-with Carol

8.       Big Texas-with Cathy

9.       Café Adobe-with Alecia

10.   Don Julio’s-with Brandon

11.   Bass Pro Shop-with Deb-Hibernaro Lime Margarita*****By FAR my favorite

12.   Texas Roadhouse-with Lori, Clyde, and Chris

13.   Outback Steakhouse-with Colleen-Trio of margaritas

14.   Monterray’s Little Mexico-with Mandy, Jay, Carly, and Brooklyn

15.   Jalapeno Tree-with Krista-In Nacogdoches right before the pumpkin judging!

16.   Luna’s-with Lynda

17.   Zio’s-with Carol

18.   Pappasito’s-with Amy

19.   Wasabi Sushi-with Lori and Clyde-@ Clyde’s moving away from Texas party

20.   Chuy’s-with Lynda-Pomegrante Margarita

21.   Chili’s-with Lynda, Kathy, and Dawn

22.   J.R’s-with Brandon, Chris, and Justin

23.   New Orleans-with Amber

24.   Sharky’s-with strangers

25.   Yard House-with the Limo crew (see this post for an explanation)

26.   Cyclone Anaya’s-with the Limo Crew (see this post for an explanation)

27.   Next Door Bar-with the Limo Crew (see this post for an explanation)

28.   Three Sheets Bar and Grill-with the Limo Crew (see this post for an explanation)

29.   El Ranchero-with Courtney, Carberry, and Amber (the night before the DJ5K)

30.   30^th Birthday Party-Dad/Pie’s house with my birthday party peeps

 

Here are some more pics!

Mt. Rushmore

At the beginning of May I travelled to South Dakota to see Mt. Rushmore to complete #5 on my 30 under 30 list. Originally I had planned on taking a road trip to see it, but then I figured out how long it would take me to get there and decided to check into flying ot see it.  21 hour one-way roadtrip? Yikes!  It would take forever.  Planes are so much more efficient.

I invited several friends along, but my friend Lili was the only one who could get the time off to go.  Lili also went with me to swim with dolphins and ride a roller coaster 30 times in a row, and also she was part of the limo crew (all part of my 30 under 30 list).  We left Houston on a Friday and came back Sunday afternoon.  It was a quick trip!

On the way to Mt. Rushmore we had two layovers (the plane tickets were only $275 each so a few layovers helps with the price).  We got to South Dakota around 10 pm and checked into the motel.  Since we were going the budget route, we flew into Sioux Falls, SD.  Sioux Falls is about 5 hours from Mt. Rushmore so we had a bit of a road trip ahead of us.  We got up, had breakfast at the hotel and were on the road by 6:30 am.

I loved the trip there, the scenery is beautiful!  All the mountains and farms were breathtaking.  Along the way we heard of a great place in Wall, TX call Wall Drug Store.  Apparently the place is famous for giving out free ice water to travelers on the way to see Mt. Rushmore.  There are billboards every 5 miles advertising this place (it reminded me of all the billboards advertising Buckee's on the way to San Antonio).  When we got there I was expecting a place like Walgreen or Buckee's, but no this place is HUGE!  There is so many shops (all connected) and they even had a restaurant (where we had lunch).  We shopped a bit and took pictures (more pictures of this trip here).  They had lots of silly things to take pictures by! haha

After we left Wall Drug Store we headed out so we could make it to Mt. Rushmore soon (it was about another 40 miles).  We got to Mt. Rushmore about 12:30 PM.  Somewhere between Wall, TX and Sioux Falls the time changed so we had gained an hour.  We decided to wait to check in to the hotel until after we got finished with seeing the sites (plus I don't think check-in is until after 3 anyway). 

We drove up the mountain and saw Mt.Rushmore from far away and it looked so tiny!  We were hoping it would look bigger once we got closer (it did!).  We got to the admissions gate and paid the $11 fee to get in.  We stopped by the gift shop on the way in, because I love shopping and I got a postcard of Mt. Rushmore and a magnet for my fridge. 

We walked through the Avenue of Flags and guess what we saw!  The Texas flag!  Well, all of the states had their flag but whatever.  Each state has their flag, the year it was admitted to the union, and the order it was admitted.  Texas being number 28 of course. :) (Ok, ok.  I didn't pay attention in history and I didn't remember what # or year it was admitted.)

We walked to the lookout to see the mountain side and it was beautiful!  So much cooler in real life vs. pictures.  Of course we did a photo opp!

The pictures make it look small, but even the noses on these guys were huge.  The nose is at least three people stacked on top of each other tall.  Big.  For some reason I always thought the monument was straight across, but it's not.  Roosevelt faces the side of Lincoln's cheek.  Oh well, maybe everyone else knew that but it was a surprise to me.

After taking more pictures we heard there was a .5 mile trail that leads you a bit closer for photos.  We were told it's a big circle so you can go anyway.  Travel tip: It's true, it is a big circle...but start at the left side! The right side is full of stairs going up and you will be out of breath by the time you get to the middle (and want to turn around!).  If you start from the left you will be going down stairs for the majority of the way. Anyway, the trail is cool and you get to take a bit closer pictures.  Take the left! ;)

 On the trail is a handyman's museum where you can learn a bit of history about the museum and see what it was supposed to look like.  I think they either ran out of time or money, I don't remember what they said (I need to pay more attention). 

After we got done at Mt Rushmore we had icecream in the shop and left to see Crazy Horse.  Crazy Horse is about 10 miles from Mt Rushmore and you can see it from the road.  It costs $10 each person to get into that museum and neither one of us wanted to see it that bad.  We just took a picture from the road.  When the Crazy Horse Memorial is complete it will look really neat and I might want to see it, but I didn't want to that day. :/  I think it is so high to get in ($10 per person vs. $11 per car at Mt. Rushmore) because they are still building it and they aren't taking any government money.

After Crazy Horse we had a few hours left before everything closed (everything closes at 5!) so we went to the Cosmos Mystery Area!   I had seen an area like this on the Travel Channel and have always wanted to check one out.  Water travels uphill, people's heights change on level platforms, and more!  It was so cool but super hard to explain.  Just look at these photos and know that we are on level ground and gravity does weird things!

I am standing straight up in this picture, but it doesn't look like it.

This ball is traveling UP instead of the usual down on a slope (the same with water but I couldn't get a picture in time).

All the trees are growing in a weird direction in a few places throughout the property.

There are more cool things, but it's hard to explain.  Here is a list of mystery areas/gravity areas for you to see if there is one close to you so you can check one out (there are two in Texas).

After Cosmos we headed to dinner and then to check in to the hotel.   We fell asleep early that night and had to wake up the next morning to travel back.  Our flight was at two pm and we had a 5 hour trip back (plus an hour time change).  We got back to Houston at around 10:30 pm and my sister picked me up (Lili's brother picked her up) and I headed home. 

It was a fun trip!