what is it about houston that captures my heart so?

i decided around the beginning of Christmas break that i would try to make my way down there after new years to see some good friends and get out of the cold. i needed the relaxation, and houston is pretty much always relaxing to me. even if i spend ridiculous amounts of time in the car, it's still relaxing. and i needed it, because for whatever reason, christmas break at home this year wasn't relaxing at all. i don't know why... i mean, it was nothing bad, i had a great time getting to see family and friends, and Dan came out to visit over new years. but i guess in the middle of getting christmas presents together, getting a new car, meeting up with family and friends, etc., i just got kind of stressed out.

maybe it's because in houston i generally tend to get some alone time that i don't always get at home. sometimes i forget how much i need that to stay sane. it's amazing just what an hour or two alone each day for me can do for my disposition. what ever will i do when i have kids?

anyway, so i went to houston in between some major winter storms that pelted the midwest. i was upset to see that the toll on the kansas turnpike has nearly doubled in the past couple of years. if you stay on the whole thing, kansas charges you almost $9.00. what the crap? i would expect something like this from CHICAGO or CALIFORNIA, but kansas? i'm disappointed in you. the people at the toll stations remind me of little trolls. i'll save that for another day.

so i arrived at sarah's house tuesday morning, roughly 6:30, which made my total trip just under 16 hours. not bad. we both slept late, hung out with her mom, ate food. i had the pleasure of watching napoleon dynamite with both sarah and her mom, and THAT was fabulous. i really got a kick out of the fact that her mom enjoyed it so much, especially when she was super stressed out about the disappearance of the family cat (which, praise the lord, showed up at their doorstep on thursday morning as if nothing had happened). it was just... great. sometimes i get frustrated because i don't know how to show my utmost appreciation for the hospitality and the friendship that i have with sarah and her family. it seems like nothing really does it justice. but i love them dearly and always look forward to seeing them again.

when i left sarah's house i got to meet up with long-time friend john pillen for dinner on thursday night. he and i used to be on the worship team together when we were both in high school, then he left for college in boston, then he interned with pastor mike (see below) one summer, and now he lives in houston, working as an ER tech at the sugarland hospital. holy crap was it good to see him again. i have this feeling that no matter how often we don't see each other or talk, john pillen and i will always be friends. we are kindred spirits, kind of in the same vein as matt harrell. i'm pretty sure that i will always care about their whereabouts and life happenings. they are both great. so if any of you available ladies are looking to date a fine christian man, i've got a couple to recommend.

lisa graciously allowed me to stay with her for a couple nights after an oven fire at john's house made sleeping conditions there less than favorable. and again, it was so good to see her. i have such fond memories of living with her for those 6 weeks a summer and a half ago. she's just so fun to be with: she is funny, intelligent, warm, and laughs easily. we went out to dinner and to see a movie ("the aviator") on friday night in her honda s2000 (a little convertible race car, for those of you who aren't up on that sort of thing), which we both agreed was good but too long. she discovered the joy of text messaging during my stay this time, and already she has mastered the short message short hand. it's fabulous.

on saturday, i actually met up with rock star for coffee in the morning. it was a last minute thing, but i'm really glad it happened. it was the first time that we had been in each other's presence in a non-dramatic situation for... well... years, i think. and it was good because we got to talk about life, and i think we also sort of resolved some of the issues between us. it was also good because there was absolutely no spark for me at all, which made me less defensive and more able to care about him as a friend. i basically said that things would never work out between us romantically, but that i would like it if we could be friends. and he accepted that and agreed. then there was a quick hug and that was it. maybe more on that later.

that afternoon i went over to chuck and amy's house. they have two kids and a dog named "whatever" (if that isn't one of the most hilarious things i've ever heard). that was tons of fun. we talked and (kind of) learned john mayer songs, went out to eat, went to walmart together where i purchased ten (yes, TEN) jars of peter pan honey roast peanut butter. eight crunchy, two creamy for dan. then we (of course) watched napoleon dynamite together after the kids went to sleep. the next morning i had the distinct pleasure of playing on the worship team at their church with chuck and even doing a special song for the offering. after the service was over i tearfully (well, okay, not tearfully, but sadly) parted ways with my friends.

then i drove for almost 14 hours and made it back to omaha last night, being welcomed by my dad's security alarm that they set when they forgot that i was coming back. i nearly busted an eardrum disabling it. see what i mean? home is stressful.

more thoughts on texas soon.