Austin, TX

Is it just me or does it piss off other people when Christmas goods are out before Halloween stuff is in the stores? I am up in Dallas today and the news just mentioned that Fort Worth put up it’s town Christmas tree today. I have one thing to say to the people of Ft. Worth:

If I had my way, Thanksgiving stuff would not be out until the day after Halloween and Christmas stuff would not be allowed to be displayed until after Thanksgiving. I think it should be illegal. Bah Humbug!

My drive from Austin was uneventful. Does anyone else measure their distance via Starbucks? First stop Temple, exit 301. Quick trip to the bathroom, a double espresso macchiato dopio to wake me up and then an iced tall chai to go. I drink down the espresso shot before leaving the store and that keeps me awake at least until the next stop. That’s Waco, by the way, exit 359. Waco is pretty much half way. The last Starbucks along the way is in Hillsborough. Today I made it on one Starbucks stop. My parents must have driven me around to put me to sleep with when I was a kid because you put me in a car and immediately I get sleepy. Hence the need for espresso. I’m not a big fan of Starbucks. I don’t care for their over-roasted burnt beans but I do like their chai and they are right there only the highway so they’re easy to get to, they have fairly clean bathrooms and they have darned good oatmeal cookies.

I went walking this morning and I’m really happy to report that my pace was 21.3 mph. That’s fast for my short little legs. Normally I walk at around 23 mph. Patrick, our Zen trainer told us early on that most people should be about to walk a 20 minute mile. Most people aren’t 4′11, say I.

Okay, I’m rambling now but before I go I want to send you over to Allison’s Reality on Bravo blog. Allison is having a great contest in which you could win a cool “Stop Global Warming” bracelet from Ecoist. For every bracelet Ecoist sells, they will plant a tree. What’s not to love about that? Ecoist restyles candy wrappers into super cool products like handbags, belts and other fun accessories. You’ve gotta love a company that “repurposes” sustainable materials and gives them a second life. Not only that, but they do it with style! Check out their movie billboard handbags. I want! My teenage niece would love the belt.

Ecoist, recycling, repurpose, sustainable, Starbucks, Austin, Dallas, road trip, rant, Christmas, thanksgiving, Halloween, candy wrappers, movie billboard handbags, fair trade, environmentally friendly