For example, he introduced me to authentic Mexican food just a month before I spent three weeks in Mexico.  We continue to love eating Mexican food together and I’m not sure there has been a time we’ve gone to a Mexican restaurant without reminiscing about either another trip to a fabulous Mexican restaurant (probably to our favorite one, Toreros in Durham, NC) or my trip to Mexico.  It’s an opportunity for us to share great food and recall fond memories while creating new ones.

Another thing that Travis introduced me to was the Birkenstock brand of sandals.  Prior to knowing Travis, the idea of spending more than $10 on a pair of sandals (or any shoes for that matter) was inconceivable to me.  He has taught me to love a good shoe and that what you pay for is often what you get.  Even during rough times financially, we have always made sure that he had a pair of Birkenstocks and he wears them every day, even in the snow!

Still, I couldn’t bring myself to buy a pair for me.  I don’t have “sandal feet”.  My feet are short and very wide. I have incredibly brittle nails and they split and break.  They are just not the kind you display in sandals.  I was certainly not spending more than I spend in a year on clothes or other shoes on a single pair of sandals.

My mom bought me a pair as a wedding present.  It was at that point that I truly fell in love.  They were the most comfortable pair of shoes that had ever been on my feet.  She bought them the day before our wedding and I seriously considered wearing them with my wedding dress.  I wore them for five years, every single day.  I wore them until my feet wore through the bottoms at the heels and then I still wore them for another six months.

There was no money for another pair and I put the idea out of my head.

Today, three years later, my new Birkenstocks arrived, courtesy of my very sweet husband and the ability to find a steal of a deal on the internet.  While I suppose most women would find flowers or jewelry to be the ideal romantic gift, I can’t imagine a more perfect gift!

My feet are once again in heaven and while I should take a shower, I can’t stand the idea of taking them off.

Leonardo was also quite impressed with my new sandals.

I found out today, that Birkenstock makes boots!  If anyone is looking for Christmas ideas, I know a certain blogger/photographer that would love these:  http://www.birkenstockexpress.com/Products/Style.cfm/collection.Footprints/style.Loreto/id.190820110711-580009.

© S. Travis Raines

This week, Staples had a sale on a Seagate 2TB external hard drive.  Trav has been telling me I needed one for a long time but the money never seems to be there.  Yesterday, I ordered one.  First, it was a great deal, only $89.99.  Then I realize that shipping is free.  Score!

This morning, the door bell rings and it is the UPS delivery man, with my external hard drive!  Not only was shipping free, but it was free overnight shipping.  I am quite impressed.

Far more important, Leo loves the box they shipped my hard drive in.

“Ugg!  I ate too much!”

“Bath time!”

aka… we don’t need to water the garden today; mother nature already took care of it

aka… there were a ton of totally awesome thunderstorms last night

Leo is so funny.  Any time I get the camera out, he gets very excited and poses for me.

Rigley (or Wrigley?, I need to remember to ask about the proper spelling) has finally gotten brave enough to venture into our room for a visit.

I always think of Brinkley being the king of the house.  He is a very fuzzy cat.  So fuzzy in fact, that there is fur on his fur.

There are no pictures of Stripes today, the fourth cat of the house.  I’ll have to remember to dedicate a post to her in the near future, when she’s in a more photogenic mood.

So, here is a picture of my favorite little kitty, Leonardo.

I learned that I can infact drive 500 miles all by myself without having a panic attack.  Twice.  In the mountains.  Even after a deer ran in front of me in the first 60 miles of the trip, which is usually enough to require hospitalization for a massive anxiety attack.  I am quite proud of myself.  I am also proud of my gps, which only had me momentarily lost.  My brother-in-law, Josh, helped me when the gps wanted me to make u turns every ten miles, creating a 20 mile long never ending circle on 35 in West Virginia.

Now I am home.  Travis has started his new job as a manager for Bob Evans and I am puttering around trying to think of anything to do except unpack from my trip.  It’s my least favorite part of any trip.

Leonardo decided I’d had enough procrastinating and tried to help out.  This is a picture of him sitting in my dresser drawer looking at me as if to say “Ok, mom.  You hand me the clean clothes and I’ll stack them in this drawer for you.”

Of course, now I’m taking pictures and blogging instead of unpacking.  

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3062274