Sunny Sunday

Today proved to be one of the sunniest days in the week that I've been here. Waking up this morning the temp was in the low 40's, but there wasn't a cloud in the sky. And it stayed that way all day. Even though it was the sunniest, it unfortunately wasn't the warmest. (I hope I won't be struck by lightning saying this.) It reached a "cool" high of 60 or so. All-in-all it made for a great day to be out and about.

I started the morning at church, Memorial Lutheran on Westheimer at Bering. (http://www.mlchouston.org/) It's literally up the street from the apartment. Had I actually gotten up when the alarm when off the first time, I could have walked. But shockingly (yeah, right), it didn't work out like that. After running out the door, having to make two u-turns I pulled into the closest visitor parking spot at 8:12 AM with 3 minutes to spare. Yes, it's hard to explain the u-turns since church is just down the street, but the library parking lot doesn't connect to the Memorial lot, you can only go west on Westheimer from Augusta, church is east, and then you are able to turn on the street next to the parking lot. Whew! Church was very good. I really enjoyed the service, the wonderful message, and the music. I was warmly greated by the pastors and several parisioners after the service. I did get a chance to catch up with a few people I had met several years ago at a servent even in upstate New York. I am looking forward to going back Wednesday evening for Ash Wednesday and the next few months.

After putzing around the apartment for a bit, it was time to head out and wander around. The impressive part of wandering this time was there was no GPS involved. I'm trying to wean myself off of it a bit and really get a handle of my surroundings. Probably not the best thing, like this morning trying to get to church, but you learn from your mistakes, right? I found a large selection of running shoes at Sports Authority on Post Oak and spent way too much time at The Container Store. This is the place to go for any kind of basket, bucket, box, kitchen storage...you name it. I picked up an under the bed tub for sweaters and one for my dress shoes. (I'm trying really hard to leave James equal storage space.) In the last few days, I have realized why my dad thinks taking the grocery or Target sack to work with your lunch is tacky. (No, I promise I didn't do that last week, but I needed a plan for this week.) If you work in a manufactuing facility, it is totally cool to take you lunch in a grocery sack; you go to work in khakis on a nice day and jeans on most other days. Walking into the North American corporate center, carrying my computer bag and purse, wearing a suit and collared shirt/sweater, and toting the Target lunch sack probably doesn't scream professional. So, this is one something I can control about my presentation. I was able to pick up a reuseable lunch sack. It looks like the brown paper bags my dad tries to use over and over, but it's nylon and slightly insulated. It has plenty of space for a sandwich or leftovers. I'm excited to tote my eco-friendly lunch bag to work tomorrow.

I did take a few more pictures at the apartment. They are of the courtyard area from the 5'x3' balcony. Considering it's an apartment, I'm not complaining. It could pass as a vacation resort, and I'd be happy too.

And last, but not least...I was able to take a few pictures at Memorial Park. The plan was to take them after my run yesterday, but much to my dismay, the camera battery died. I have to admit, I was a little jealous of everyone there enjoying the afternoon. I really should have put my running shoes on and gone for a lap. This will give you a better idea about the parking situation and the number of people out and about. (Ok, for some reason my pictures aren't wanting to upload right now. I'll add the rest of them in the morning. Sorry to disappoint.)