This weekend...

...is, unfortunately, almost over. Why does the weekend fly by so quickly, but the week drags on and on?? Sigh... oh well. Anyway, for the first time in a while, I have about a million things I could blog about. But I don't know where to start. No, wait -- I know where to start:

ERIC AND RACHEL ARE GETTING MARRIED!!!!! Woooooohooooooo!!!!!! My little bro is engaged! To a really awesome girl!! I'm so excited!!!!! (I know it's hard to tell, what with all the exclamation points and everything... ;)) Congratulations Eric and Rachel -- love you guys!! :)

Some other not-quite-as-exciting stuff that happened this weekend: We tried a "famous Texas landmark" barbecue joint for lunch on Saturday called Louie Mueller Barbecue. It's out in the tiny town of Taylor (alliteration not intended... :)), which, we concluded, must only exist because of the barbecue place. I mean, there was really nothing else in the middle of town, except a Mexican restaurant and a party store that sold pinatas.

Louie Mueller is housed in its original building, which was apparently constructed some time during the industrial revolution. I say this because not only is the building OLD, but the owners have decided to revolt against the conveniences of industry and refuse to install air conditioning. And since this place gets extremely busy at lunchtime (I believe the entire population of Taylor was inside that building), that means everyone has the privilege of standing in a painfully slow-moving line in an un-air-conditioned, stifling hot warehouse building filled with meat smokers... in the middle of Texas in June.

Now, I can understand wanting to preserve the "rustic" atmosphere -- the rickety tables, the patched wooden floor, the exposed rafters and ductwork, the old pictures of celebrities who've patronized the restaurant and magazine articles proclaiming it "The Best Barbecue in the Country" -- that's all well and good. But I have to say -- two or three anemic fans and a broken "swamp cooler" blowing warm air around do NOT make for a comfortable dining experience. Add to that the fact that there were about two people working at the counter during the lunch rush, which meant more than an hour in line -- and I have to admit the obviously air-conditioned Mexican restaurant next door was looking better and better. I even considered going across the street and buying a pinata, just so I could eat the candy in my air conditioned car...

But eventually we survived the long line and the heat (only to find out they were completely out of chicken and had only a third of a pound of turkey left -- they only sell the food until they run out), and when we were FINALLY able to eat some of this famous barbecue, it WAS good. But the only way it would've been worth the miserable hour and a half wait in the heat is if the brisket and turkey had jumped up off the table and immediately constructed an air conditioner in the window next to our table. Now THAT would've been good barbecue...
  
We decided it was an "experience," however, and sometimes you have to do something just for the experience. But if I ever go to Louie Mueller Barbecue again, it will either be a) at 10 a.m. before anyone is in line, or b) in December. I'm just not THAT desperate for barbecue...

I have more to blog about, including pilfered Hawaii pictures from mom and dad's house, so hopefully I'll have time to post later this week. Have a great week, everyone!