Our Crazy Week Part 1

Usually our blog posts aren’t too exciting, because we usually don’t do anything worth writing about. But this past week we have been busy! Last weekend I had enough of running errands and being responsible adults, so I brought back something called “Saturday Fun”. For those of you who don’t know, “Saturday Fun” was something Madelyn and I did while we were dating, each Saturday I would have a fun activity planned that we had never done before. Now that we are adults we can’t have “Saturday Fun” each week, so I have decided to do it once a month. This month we visited the San Antonio Zoo, which is one of the biggest collections of animals in the United States. I don’t really have any memories of other zoos, besides Hogle Zoo, so this was a real treat for a big nerd like me. I was excited because I got to see a Komodo dragon, an Anaconda, and a bug exhibit. Madelyn was excited because she got to watch a baby bear play in a metal bucket. On the way home we stopped at the “Texas-sized” outlet mall in San Marcos, about halfway between San Antonio and Austin. Texans love outlet malls, and they love to describe things as “Texas-sized!”



Later in the week, my sister Cadence and her friend Danica came for a visit. We went out to dinner with them to a place called Shady Grove, an Austin original. Madelyn and I have eaten at this place a few times and love it, but we have only eaten outside, under the “Shady Grove” that the restaurant is famous for. This time, we said “first available” when we were asked our seating preference, and it took about 3 minutes for them to get us a table inside. We realized that this just may be the ugliest restaurant we have ever eaten in. I think that it was built in the 70s and was really kitschy, and instead of updating it and making it cool, they just decided to make the décor as ugly as possible. Here is a picture of Madelyn, Cadence and Danica at our table, which was under a shelf thing holding some sort of cat. You can’t see it very closely, but there was a horse-head on the wall right by where Madelyn is sitting. We also took a picture of the bear trimmed bush out front. The thing that you have to understand is that Shady Grove is not a “crazy” place, this is the norm for Austin restaurants, which makes dining here a whole lot more exciting.





We also made a stop at another Austin favorite….. Peter Pan mini golf. This place has remained untouched since the 50’s, giving it the charm that makes it so cool. The ceramic animals are missing there arms, the greens are torn, and the video arcade is straight out of 1980, but the place is always packed. We took some fun pictures:





Coming up next in this two part McAustinTX blog, “Our Trip to Dallas”….. Stay tuned for this exciting installment. I would write more now, but there is a serious storm rolling through I am obsessed with watching the 24 hour Doppler radar station….. I like to watch the rain come toward us.

Conga's, 10 foot birds, and bowling murals

Now that Madelyn and I work everyday we are finding less and less time to go out and do fun and exciting things. By the time we get home from work we are too tired (see previous blog posts) to do anything fun. We really haven’t done anything too “blog worthy” in a while, but I thought I would give a quick update on what’s going on using some pictures:



This picture was snapped outside of our favorite weekend destination, IKEA. I know it’s a little sad to notice a cool sunset from the parking lot of an IKEA, but I had to snap this picture. I feel like a true American watching sunsets in the parking lot of a 100,000 square foot store… Who said you have to be on the side of a mountain to get a good sunset shot!?!? The woman waiting for our parking space was not as amused, but the sunset was really cool…especially with the large IKEA sign in plain view…



Austin just got a new mall called “The Gateway”…… oh, sorry, I mean “The Domain." It’s basically the good ole Salt Lake City Gateway Mall, but with much more expensive stores. Madelyn and I have come to the realization that we should not enter stores that only have about 5 items in the entire store and each item has its own shelf. We only shop at stores that have racks, tables piled with clothes, and price tags! Or better yet, just bins of items that you have to sift through, preferably with a large sign on the front stating the price. Example: this box $1.99. (We actually encountered that box this weekend and were thrilled to sift through it!)




Here is a picture of me running from a giant bird…. Madelyn refused to get in the picture because it reminded her of her terrifying experience at Arbuckle Wilderness (see below post).


A couple of weeks ago we had a really great time with our friends Corby and Heidi; we went bowling and played Donkey Konga…… I know what everyone is thinking, and yes, its true… Sometimes it’s hard to live this 24/7 rock star lifestyle…

Must concentrate! Don’t want to upset Donkey Kong!




One Day this Mural will be hanging in a museum… Intergalactic bowling pin paintings will be popular in the future… mark my words.



We also made some changes around the house…

This is the reason we have been going to IKEA so much, the Billy Bookcase. We finally have all of our books, DVD’s, and CD’s out of boxes… but it took us three trips to IKEA to do it, and one trip to the house of some people from craigslist.



We bought this last weekend to hang over our bed… instead of Madelyn having to explain it to all of her sisters and mom, here is an actual picture.



I wouldn’t leave the store without this… my new favorite refrigerator magnet, it makes me laugh everytime I see it:

The Magic Box

What would Madelyn and I do without our Magic Box? The TIVO or DVR is one of the best inventions ever created. Madelyn and I are far from “Couch Potatoes,” but you wouldn’t know that with all of the TV shows we watch. It’s amazing how much less time you spend watching TV when you are able to record the shows you want, watch them at your convenience, and fast forward the commercials. Since I love our Tivo so much, I thought I would use this blog entry to list the shows that Madelyn and I love to watch, and hopefully it will help the people who read this blog come up with some ideas, or discussion.

Drama:



24 (Fox, Mondays) –Monday nights without Jack Bauer aren’t the same, if you don’t watch this show then rent the DVDs, you won’t be disappointed.

Lost (ABC, Wednesday)–This show is amazing, and if you have never seen an episode I would recommend watching from Episode 1 on DVD, don’t try to watch new episodes, you’ll never catch up…..

Law and Order (NBC, Tuesdays and Fridays?)- Its no secret that Madelyn and I like this show….. We only mention it about every post. If you like CSI, or any other crime shows you’ll love Law and Order (I think it’s the best).



Heroes (NBC, Mondays) –Here is the type of show where it’s nice to have Tivo. Heroes and 24 are on at the same time, but we don’t have to miss either. This is a great show, and definitely the best new show of this season. If you have never watched, wait for the DVDs this summer, then you can catch up for next season.

Other Dramas we love that currently are not playing new episodes or we can’t watch:

Sopranos (HBO)- If you are lucky enough to afford HBO then this is a show you need to be watching, unless you are easily offended. You can get all of the seasons on DVD if you ever want to start watching.



Weeds (Showtime)- A show about a suburban housewife who sells marijuana out of her house so she can pay the bills after her husband’s death. This show is great, but you have to subscribe to Showtime. We wait for the DVDs….

Comedy:

The Office (NBC, Thursdays) –I’m sure that everyone who reads this blog has seen at least one episode of this show. I personally feel that season 1 and 2 were better then the current season, but it’s still a guarantee laugh.



How I Met Your Mother (CBS, Mondays) - This is one of our favorites because you are always going to laugh, and you don’t have to watch every episode to keep up. Plus, Doogie Howzer playing a womanizer is priceless (especially because he is gay in real life).

Scrubs (NBC, Thursdays) - We got hooked on this show through the re-runs (Comedy Central), and we started watching the new episodes this year. I am a little disappointed so far by these seasons’ episodes, but I am hoping that they will get better. I think you are better off watching re-runs if you have never tried the show.


30 Rock (NBC, Thursdays) - We absolutely love this show; it’s definitely the best new comedy of the year. It quickly went to being my favorite comedy on Thursday nights. Tina Feye is great, Alec Baldwin is amazing, and Tracy Morgan is hilarious. If you have never seen this, then make sure not to miss it this week.



The Soup (E!)- Madelyn and I really like the Soup, partly because it’s very low budget, but mostly because its funny.

Other Comedys we love that currently are not playing new episodes or we can’t watch:

Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO)- This show is one of my favorites, although I can’t speak for Madelyn. It was created by the guy who made Seinfeld, so it’s almost like a Seinfeld episode except that it’s on HBO….. So they can say whatever they want. Some episodes can be kind of offensive……





Always Sunny In Philadelphia (FX) –This show was the only thing that got us through last summer. I might go as far as to say that this is the best Comedy on television. It’s about 4 thirty-somethings who own a bar, simple premise, but amazing show.

Futurama (Cartoon Network). Unfortunately they don’t have new episodes, only re-runs, but I heard they may be making a movie. Madelyn and I like to watch this cartoon before bed. It was made by Matt Groening, but it’s better than the Simpsons.

Extra's (HBO)- The same guy who created the original Office from Birtain, plays a guy who is a "professional actor", mostly he's just an extra. The guest stars are amazing, and the show is extremly funny, but its a very dry humor that I'm not sure everyone would find funny.



Other Shows:

Mythbusters (Discovery Channel)- I love this show, and I don’t like to miss an episode….. Madelyn doesn’t like this show, and hardly ever watched an episode. It’s definitely more of a show for guys, but don’t let that stop you from watching it.

Dirty Jobs (Discovery Channel)- Another one of MY favorite shows. You basically get to watch people do jobs that make your job seem a whole lot better.