My cup runneth over...

Take a look at these cool robes. Now imagine Scott wearing them. (I know, the excessively perky girl who is wearing them at the moment makes this difficult. I LOOKED for a different picture and we had one last night...but I cannot find it at the moment.) Quick! Take away the wooden stick of doom! Such things are dangerous for Scott to carry for too long. He is bound to swing them dramatically or, at the very least, get "ideas" about how it lends to his "dignity."


Okay, that's better. Those are some pretty cool robes, no? They make Scott look very cool, no? I sure think so. I wish I got a cool velvet tam hat like that. Maybe I'll buy one. Only green. And no tassel. Yep, then I will have a cooler hat that Scott. But he will still win the regalia contest. Because in 4-6 years, my friends, he will have those robes, wear those robes and receive a doctoral diploma in those robes. (Well, not the exact ones said perky girl is wearing...what would she wear then, poor thing?!)


Now gaze at this gorgeous skyline. Yes, it is the skyline of a big city. But it IS the folk music capital of the south. I mean, Flight of the Concords came here! Cool, no? Plus, the countryside around Austin is beautiful. And the hills, the old trees...Austin has some of the loveliest landscape in all of Texas. Somewhere in that skyline, hiding on the edges...somewhere near campus, in a nice neighborhood, a house has been neglected by it's owners. It is up for sale. And it will be mine. Mine to love, mine to appreciate, mine to remodel and improve. Also Scott's. But mine. Ours. In a way that no place has been mine or ours before.



Also somewhere out there is a job for me. The Right Job for me. Maybe working for the Faculty of Music or for the university library. Maybe somewhere else. But it is there, waiting for me to find it and claim it. And this job will not be like all the other temporary positions I have held. It will be, in fact, PERMANENT. I cannot tell you how much this thrills my heart. But the amount is large. And if you've read my blog for a while, and read how hard temping can be on me, then you know a small portion of my jubilation.



Now this, my dear friends, this is not a cowboy hat. It is an IMAGE of a cowboy hat...and as such, it is a symbol of all the "Things Texan" that I shall be reclaiming.

-- Warm weather and sunshine in the wintertime.

-- Enchiladas, Tex-Mex, burritos, beef from my parent's cows, REAL salsa (not this fake sweet
not even hot stuff), mom's Lasagna...

-- MOM and LYNNA and DAD and MATT and all my family! FRIENDS! Garbacz Family!


-- Bathtubs & baths taken in them. Our lovely sleep number bed. Our blue/green couch. All the wedding presents we had to leave behind and all the books.

-- Central time - which means an earlier bedtime during the weekdays.


But don't think I will be turning away from Toronto without regret. On no. Toronto has given me much and I am grateful. I am so very thankful for:

-- Grace Toronto & Grace Toronto Friends! You will be missed but we will stay in touch via Facebook, I promise! Come and visit us in Texas anytime! It's WARM there even in winter! (Usually. But if you don't like the weather, wait a while...it'll change.)

-- Mass Transit. Hopefully we will be taking enough advantage of the UT shuttle system to remain a 1 car family. (Also to not have to pay for parking at the university!) But I shall miss you, TTC.

-- Chinatown. How I shall miss you...the bun shops, the produce, the awesome bargain hunting.

-- Our very fun landlady Virginia, our lovely little apartment.

-- The Granite Brewery - you are expensive burgers and good brews - but both are super tasty and worth the trip.


However, all in all, I'm very glad to be going back to Texas. I have missed so much and gained so much...but, all in all, the South is my native land. I am glad to be returning. I am glad Scott got accepted to UT. I am super glad he gets a progressively better paying TA-ship. I can't WAIT to see all my friends and family again. The Good Times, they shall roll.