If you don't know, I have a very healthy fear of fire - one which causes me to dread lighting a match, and to tremble when I get anywhere near flames. I can handle candles, especially if I light them with a lighter instead of a match. But that's about the extent of it. When we went camping in October, I didn't want to be close to the fire at all, even though it was freezing! When I was a child I always put my most prized possessions by my bedroom window each night, so if the house caught fire, I could grab them and jump. When I was in chemistry in high school and college, I REFUSED to use the bunson burner. I'd do anything else, but that was pushing me well beyond my limits.
So... all that to say, when I moved into my new apartment and found out I had a fireplace, I was pretty sure I would never have a fire in it unless I had company to light it for me. Well, last night, Amy, Amanda and Rachel came up for dinner, and since it was below freezing outside, it was the perfect night for a fire. Amy had given me two duralogs when she moved, so we pulled one out and Rachel lit the fire. It was so nice and cozy!
Well, I decided that it looked easy enough - you loosen the wrapper, don't even take the log out of the paper, and light the paper in two spots clearly parked with arrows. I mean, how much easier can you get? So, after running around in the frigid 20 degree windchills today, I pulled out the second duralog and lit a fire in my fireplace, all by myself! I was so proud! I know it's a very simple thing, but it's a big step toward conquering my biggest fear. Not to mention, it was really pretty and cozy.
My favorite - a blue morphos
I had a very Texan day for my birthday this year. I started the day out by meeting my good friends at Red Hot & Blue (my favorite!) for some delicious barbeque. Yes, it was Memphis-style and most of us had pork, not beef, but it was barbeque and yummy!
After lunch and running to Hobby Lobby and Michaels with Rachel (more of my favorite places!), the Holmes family and I headed to the Will Rogers Coliseum for the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo. It was a beautiful afternoon, though a cold wind made it quite chilly outside. First stop was the petting zoo, which we all really enjoyed last year. This year it wasn't nearly as crowded, so we could get closer to the animals. There was a baby heilan coo (Scottish highland cow), a 5-day old baby goat, and the same llama with the terrible teeth that was there last year. Lots of fun!
Next stop - the ferris wheel. Abigail and Katherine had never ridden on a ferris wheel before (gasp!), so we initiated them on a small one, nothing like the Texas Star at the State Fair. But it was fun, and the views of the city of Fort Worth at sunset were FABULOUS!!! What amazing color!
Of course, no trip to the rodeo with the Holmes family is complete without a stop by the artwork to see Katherine's latest masterpiece. Usually, we can all pick out which painting would win Grand Champion, but this year none of them seemed to compare with Katherine's painting. Not biased, really. Hers was the best. See...
After getting our fill of "fair food," we headed into the coliseum for the rodeo itself. It was just as good as always - better than last year because this year a couple of guys actually lasted the full 8 seconds. Our seats were in a different area than last year, looking down into the chutes where they release the animals for the calf-roping. That meant we had a really good view of the cowboys for those events.
What's the best part of the rodeo? COWBOYS, of course!
Today I went on a field trip with Cambridge's 6th graders to a salt-water fish store. The goal was to see live coral and sea anemones. Well, the first store was closed unexpectedly, so we went to PetCo and looked at their fresh-water fish (and other animals) until one of their employees told us about another salt-water fish store.
So we finally ended up in the main room of a salt-water fish store with tons of aquariums full of coral and clams and amazingly colorful and unusual fish (isn't God creative!?) and starfish and ghost shrimp and other cool creatures. The kids loved it - they were so enthralled with the way the coral would suck in its flowers when they passed their hand over the light, and with the star brittle that the employee held up for them, and with the "Nemo" clown fish, and everything else. Okay, what am I saying? I loved it too! It was really cool, and I'm so excited that the 6th graders and the 6th grade teacher keep asking me to go on field trips with them. 
Not to mention it was fun trying out the aquarium setting on my camera! :)
