on birthday paddles

Birthday and Christmas are two of my most very favorite things. 

I almost started this post with the simple sentence, I love gifts. But it's not that I only love receiving gifts because I also love, love, love giving gifts/planning secrets/watching surprised gift openers' faces. 

Full disclosure: I have been known to have my Christmas list started right after my July birthday, and my birthday list started right after Christmas, but let's focus on the part where I'm not a spoiled brat. Kthanks. 

When Freddie and I started dating, he not only introduced me to the beauty of avocados/sweet potatoes/mushrooms/Brussels sprouts/cauliflower/etc., but he introduced me to the idea of a doing something gift instead of a getting something gift. I remember early on in our relationship he asked me if I would rather get a doing something gift or a getting something gift, and I had no idea what he was talking about. But but but...if we do something then what is going to be wrapped for me to open?! <<<me not being spoiled. 

Along with my newfound love of avocados/sweet potatoes/mushrooms/Brussels sprouts/cauliflower/etc., I've grown to love the whole idea of doing something gifts. We've been glass blowing, took cooking classes, gone hiking, rented bikes, made sushi, and even traveled on small trips. Weird that Freddie could be right about something this one time... (insert smirk emoji) (we throw out all prejudices in this house because not only is Freddie the one who is always right, but he also does all the cooking so...take that, sexism!).

Freddie's birthday was Sunday, so around Monday (of three months ago...) I started planning. He is all about being outdoors, and I am not. He is all about getting dirty, and I am not. He is all about anything that involves beer, and I prefer the whine/wine combo I've got going on. 

In case you didn't know, Houston is also known as the Bayou City. It has somewhere around 2500 miles of waterways throughout the city, and Freddie has often joked about going kayaking in the bayou. I say joked because I don't think he thought I would actually ever do it because of my child strength arms, my inability to love being outdoors for extended periods of time, and the fact that the bayou is home of mutant alien catfish.

Well, I showed him! Take that, birthday boy. Kind of. Bayou kayak rentals close much too early in the day, so I did one even better and took us north of the city to Lake Conroe for some birthday kayaking fun. 

Houston is such a weird place because the city feels like it never ends. Coming from Georgia where trees are in abundance, it's been a strange feeling to drive sixty plus miles in any direction and only see developed land and no trees. Well apparently the secret is to drive seventy plus miles away because once we hit Conroe, Texas, there were trees!!! And no strips of stores!!! And no Pappasito's!! And a lake where we spent two hours in the feels-like-102 outdoors kayaking away. 

Thanks to Freddie for being born because he's a pretty cool addition to the human race. A pretty attractive one, as well. I'm also thankful he was born so we could celebrate him with fun activities like kayaking (and drinking copious amounts of...water). I'm also thankful he was born so he could show me the fun in the whole art of a doing something gift. 

Happy three days after your Birthday, Rick!

Are you a do something or a get something kind of person?

rides with rick: the rainy one

This past Saturday marked a very special day for us: it was the day that was just far enough from my last bike ride day so that I forgot how much I hate bike riding, and I wanted to go for another ride. 

I told you it was a special day! Look, when you're married it's hard to celebrate every little thing-iversary, so we celebrate things like my suggesting we go on a bike ride. 

And Ricky, oooh boy that Ricky, he does this thing. This thing where we KNOWS and remembers just how much I dislike biking, but he gets so excited that I finally agree to go on a bike ride with him that he doesn't remind me of my said hatred. 

Off we went on Saturday, merrily riding along making comments like...

Wow! The weather is perfect for this!

Better take all the opportunities to be outside that we can in this partly cloudy and cool weather before the hot as ::insert profanity from Freddie:: summer comes. 

Oh, now it's getting a little hot...

Just kidding, man! That breeze feels awesome!

I hope you all read those quotes as excitedly as our voices were when we really said them. Because we were so excited! The sun was hiding behind clouds, the sky was still blue, and it felt awesome outside! Do you understand how rare it is to be comfortable while outside in Houston between the months of April to October?!

So we did what any we-are-so-enjoying-this-weather couple would do, and we went inside to drink. Makes perfect sense, I know, but how can you really enjoy a Saturday without a mimosa or two or lots more? You can't, so we had to sacrifice outside time to get inside time to get mimosa time. 

And that, that right there, stopping to get drinks, that was our downfall. That's when Mother Nature went from being on our side to being on our side-ish to being on our side....SIKE!

The ride back was about 3 miles. Once we hit 2.5 miles we realized that rain was imminent. Once we hit 2 miles the skies opened. Once we hit 1.5 miles we took cover under an awning and pretended it was our Noah's ark. Here's the thing though...Noah's ark floated. Our awning did not so we still had the problem of how we were going to get home. 

Cue the radar showing only orange and red over Houston.

Cue us opening our crackers from Whole Foods and having a rain picnic.

Cue us tapping our feet thinking the rain might lighten up.

Cue the rain not lightening up, but us running for it because it looked lighter. 

Cue two really, really wet people. 

Cue me being the genius that wore a white shirt in the "perfect" weather.

End scene. Insert your applause here. 

You know, today is a very special day, too! It's the day when I accepted that the universe taught me a lesson and maybe I shouldn't go riding with Rick anytime soon.

For past Rides with Rick adventure click here, and here, and here.