What I Learned v.1

Hey friends! It should be no surprise to you by now that I am having trouble keeping up with the blog thing. I will blame it partly on an unusually busy few months at work, and partly on feeling like the new car smell has worn off of my Austin adventure. Few things lately seem worthy of the full blog treatment, so I am going to try something new here that I think will help me meet the demands of my adoring readership of dozens.  I am happy to present the new weekly feature What I Learned.

I have seen this kind of thing work wonders on other blogs. From the always funny Awkward/Awesome frequently seen at my friend Stephanie's Big Mario Life to the always admirable Happy Thoughts at cousin Molly's blog A Foreign Land, these structured, reoccurring blog themes seem to be working well for the other bloggers in my life.

The list-like structure should be easy to maintain, and I hope it will also prove to be pressure free. And don't despair, I will still feature the occasional longer blog about awesome stuff in Austin, and photo montages of the amazing and beautiful things happening in my garden (do you have any idea how miraculous and beautiful baby watermelons are?) So... are you ready to find out what I learned this week?

What I Learned...
1. I am not lactose intolerant, or allergic to gluten, shellfish or tree nuts. I am, however, blessed with a spasmodic set of intestines. Thankfully, there is a pill for that.

2. Bevo rides in style. Last Thursday I spied the Silver Spurs's big burnt orange truck rolling down MLK Blvd here in Austin. The big fancy trailer that carries the UT Longhorns's iconic mascot was attached. I got really excited when I realized that Bevo was actually in the trailer. I love Bevo. Honestly, I might join the fan club.

3. I will be really sad to see the 2011 MFA Playwrights graduate. So many of our friends will be leaving Austin within the next few weeks, and that sucks.

4. No matter how many times I meet him, it seems that Beeven Bietz is always going to make me feel a little star struck. And that is so embarrassing.

5. I am geeking out over our upcoming reservation to Alinea. Tom and I will be in Chicago for a little vacay in about a month, and we are splurging big-time on a dinner at Alinea. This week I read the new memoir written by Alinea's Chef, Grant Achatz. It took my excitement level off the charts. You can expect a long blog about the experience sometime later in June!