giving thanks...

i hope you all had a nice thanksgiving.
i hope you ate too much and no one got punched in the face by your aunt rita.
as for me, i don't really do anything with my family on thanksgiving day.  that's what friday and saturday are for.  so i was left to hang out at my friend stephen's house for an orphan thanksgiving feast.
and...
THE LONGHORNS WON!!

i don't think in all of my life i have ever had such an amazing thanksgiving meal.  i guess it's always been business as usual; stuffing, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, etc.  but stephen's girlfriend, danielle went way over the top.. i mean, they didn't even have canned green beans.  crazy!
they had baked brie wrapped in filo dough with a pumpkin chutney, pumpkin-chipotle soup topped with roasted pumpkin seeds and feta, pumpkin infused vodka, swiss chard from their garden with butternut squash slivers, baby portabella mushroom gravy (which i helped make!  well, i washed the mushrooms.) among other awesome things.
someone stole a pie off the table.  it was there, then it was gone.  we still have not figured out if it was the couple who left earlier or a person off the street who broke in and stole the pie.  WHERE IS THE PIE?
all of my best guys were there and eric was even in town from new york.
late into the night we started a bonfire in the backyard and i think i went got around 3:30am.






anthony.


(the now missing pie)






marcel cut all of his hair off!


anthony and his to-go plate and eric playing the "tiny untuned guitar"



i took down two bottles of red wine and a healthy amount of jameson on the rocks after the wine was gone.  so needless to say i was not feeling very well today.  when i got home i smelled so awful (or good) of smoke and bonfire-ness.  i was also drunk and according to twitter i went up to the front house and threw everything i was wearing into the washing machine and ran through the backyard to my house in just my bra and unders.  glad it was late and hopefully no one saw that.

so today i headed out to smithville to visit with my grandparents at their ranch.




i have not driven out through bastrop since the crazy wildfires.  the damage is still very visible and very breathtaking.


i bet your grandparents don't have a full size dancehall room in their house, do they?

we went to dinner at a little place in winchester.  they had huge steaks and (luckily) an awesome salad bar.  i was so hungover and i am still not really speaking to my father so at times, it was hard to get through.  i wish i had not gone so overboard last night so i could have been a little more present.  (although i can't say that i regret last night)


vaughan and his girlfriend, josey.
my little brother, vaughan, is shipping out to BOOTCAMP for the air-force on monday.  i cannot believe it.  i started to cry when i said goodbye to him.  he is feeling very nervous about it.  he doesn't really know what to expect.  none of us really do.  i can't believe that this is really happening.  he has the best heart of anyone i know.  and i am not just saying that because he is my brother.  he has been that way since he was a little curly headed boy in his stinky cowboy boots.  i sure am proud of him.  i hope he is happy and i hope it all works out how he wants.  and most of all, i hope he will be safe.  i get to see him in eight weeks at his bootcamp graduation.  can't wait.

more pictures from around the ranch today:








(the old house that sits uninhabited on their land) it has an eerie feel to it that i find beautiful.  i guess that's why i always take pictures of it.


















i found this bottle of some type of hair preparation product.


my mamow joan.  DOING WORK.

the wind was wild and crazy today.  i was sitting out in a pasture while everyone else went to feed the cows so i attempted to capture what was happening to my hair.
















and here are a few more from my camera in menard the other weekend (as promised)













that is the end of the dead animal posts.  i promise.

xo