compared to this from a few weeks ago:

I used this procedure for the shop we went to - Shaman Modification.  Our artist was named Rick and he was thorough to the point of being almost slow.  (Okay, slow.)  I'd given him a mock up of what I wanted that I created on my iPhone and he turned it into a masterpiece.

If you follow my IG, you may have noticed that the tattoo isn't nearly as pretty now.  I'll write more about that in another post, but essentially:  never wrap extensive ink, even if the dude tells you to.

We went to get Mexican after the ink session and I convinced the server to give me free stuff so I wouldn't have to buy yet another shirt.  I bought a lot of shirts on this trip.  

Have I mentioned how awesome Amanda's dogs are?  Quinn slept with us both nights we were in Austin and he was a charming pup the entire time.  

I tried to take a selfie with your dog, Amanda.

We got up the last morning in Texas and had some random and perfect Mexican breakfast.  I had a Quesadilla with veggie chorizo.  Yum.  We wandered Target and Homegoods, looking for Texas art before I found a "Don't Mess with Texas" sign to bring home.  Because I had a shirt growing up that said that.  

And then we flew home and I tried not to barf.

Food trucks and enthusiasm.

Baby beers are growing here.

Cask beers - use the cask twice, return to sender, it gets "flashed" (burned) and gets new liquor.  These are more in demand than the supply can meet.

My shirt has a unicorn and says "trample the patriarchy".

I don't recommend cold potatoes in your salad.

Breakfast the next morning was cereal before we headed out to the Houston Aquarium.  I am an aquarium fiend.  The Houston Aquarium was neat because it was a weird conglomerate of tiny amusement park (like three rides) and fishies.  Basically, if it had beer and ponies, I could have moved in.

If you know me in real life, you know that I have a pathological fear of gators.  Baby gators were in this tank.

Horses tolerate me but seahorses fucking love me. #mermaidwithlegs #seahorsewhisperer #iwanttoswimwiththem

A video posted by bekaburke (@bekaburke) on Jan 26, 2017 at 6:07am PST

I just picture this guy talking with a lisp.

Baby upside down jellyfish.

D loves the kitties.  This aquarium had four.  ....?

On top of the ferris wheel.  I also rode that drop tower, twice, like a big girl.

But we left the aquarium to find beer at the Flying Saucer.  This was about a mile walk downtown, part of which took us by a Trump protest.  I was wearing my Hillary shirt and I felt like I had met my people.

Trump protest. #houstontx #trump #notmypresident #exceptthatiliveintheusandimapatriotsoimtorn #butimstillwithher #heavyheart

A video posted by bekaburke (@bekaburke) on Jan 20, 2017 at 10:26am PST

I'm big on local stuff, so I had a Texas sampler and D had one of his favorites.  Then we headed to the original Ninfa's for lunch before heading to my grandma's house to visit with relatives.


There was something about the heat at my grandma's, all the alcohol and walking downtown, and lack of water that started to make me feel like shit.  We stayed at grandma's for a couple hours then headed over to the rec center to help set up for the party - Granma actually had a diagram for where she wanted all the tables and her entrance throne.  I come by this shit naturally.

Granma had an entrance throne and a talking throne.

The plan after family time was to head to the Sam Houston Race Park.  But as an ominous thunderstorm rolled in, so did a migraine.  Between the pressure change, the dehydration and the godawful smell in the car (which only I could smell), I was in pain and nauseated.  We went back to the AirBNB and I slept for three hours.

The next morning, we had breakfast at the Corner Bakery and went across the street so D could touch some guitars.  Dude plays really, really well.

Granma's birthday party started at noon and at 11:45, we were some of the first ones there.  I haven't seen much of my Texas family since my grandfather's funeral in 2001.  These people are adults now and have reproduced, so there was like a whole new group of people to meet.  Awkward.

That's my infamous brother.  He's a whole new person.

Granma, Granpa, Uncle and Dad (baby).

Granma is a fucking badass and told stories from her life, like the time she worked at a soda pop fountain for a week and quit after her first $20 paycheck, because that could sustain her for months.  Or the first guy she was engaged to.  Or how she was the only one of her siblings to be born in a hospital.  She went to business school.  My granpa courting her.  She had icecream at her wedding instead of cake.  She had seven kids. It was just awesome to learn so much about her.