Camping at Garner State Park and hiking in Lost Maples... Fall is fabulous in Texas!

Here are some pictures from Michele and Greg's wedding in NYC on October 1st. It was a beautiful wedding and a lot of fun.

What an amazing, inspiring and motivating day I had yesterday. I went to Crawford yesterday to support Cindy Sheehan in her efforts to get President Bush to talk with her about the senseless war in Iraq. She of course was not there due to her mother being ill, close to 1,000 of her supporters were "holding down the fort" till she returned from California. Crawford is in the middle of no where, about 20 miles from Waco. When we arrived there was a small motorcycle rally/Bush supporter rally in the Town Square. We later learned that most of the bikers were not Pro-Bush, they were just biking through and stopped to see what the other bikers were doing. The bikers then biked by the Peace House (located in Crawford since 2002) and honked and waved in support. The day was so amazing because it really showed the power of one person. One person decided to take a stand, stand up for herself and the rights of other military families to know the truth. She set out just to get her question answered by President Bush, and in doing that started a new movement. She was joined by dozens of other military families who just packed up their things and came down to Crawford. Mothers who lost sons, Fathers who lost sons, sisters who lost brothers, wives who lost husbands, and many other families whose relatives are still over there. She was joined by former military personnel who served in Iraq, but came back and were vehemently opposed to the war and are refusing to return.

The people I met were amazing. It was truly intergenerational. It was not just a young crowd, in fact, most people were over 40. I saw a few women who were as old as 80. I also met a six week old baby on his first week long vacation from Upstate NY. People from all over the world donated items to the cause. There was an amazing Circus like tent donated from New Zeland to go on the land of the kind and very brave gentleman who is Bush's neighbor and donated his land to Cindy and her supporters. There was amazing amounts of food donated, really good food. Everyone shared, everyone cared. It was incredible. I remembered that there is such good in this world. So many people do love, care and believe that we can live in a world without war.

The highlight of the night was being able to hear the Gold Star Families for Peace speak about their children and their thoughts on the war. It was amazing being able to hear their very personal stories and share in their grief and their passion to end this war and bring the troops home. Their speeches were followed by Steve Earl, his final song being "The Revolution Starts Now" and the crowd of course sang along, with hopes that George heard this from his ranch only yards down the road.

Peace,
Brooke

Just got back from Chicago. Word to the wise, please check your flight details very well the next time you travel anywhere. We made the unfortunate mistake of going to the wrong airport at the end of the trip. Flew into O'Hare, flew out of Midway (but we didn't realize this till we got to O'Hare). Other than that glitch, it was a wonderful trip. Chicago is an incredible city. Great neighborhoods, beautiful lake, great public transportation, festivals, arts, outdoor activities. Highlights included the Shedd Aquarium, Lake View East, Lincoln Park, Bucktown, Hull House, Architectural Boat Tour, Fireworks seen from the top of the John Hancock Building, and Michigan Ave.

I am just starting to figure out this picture thing. Sorry for not posting any explanations of photos so far. The first one from below was taken at Bethany Beach, it includes my brother, sister-in-law, niece and nephew and Brian. I also included a picture of my dog, Puck, a random friend photo, and a picture of my nephew and I at my Dad's retirement party.

Here are some more photos. My friend Paul and Puck, My friend Kristi and I on Memorial day, and some other random ones.

Welcome to my blog. This is my very first attempt so please, please, please.... be patient with me. I am currently on my summer break from my "old" job at Communities In Schools, Central Texas and I am about to start my "new" job, also with Communities In Schools. I am finding that I have inherited that darn Protestant work ethic and do not do very well on "vacation." It would be nice to be somewhere, which I was for a little while, at Bethany Beach, DE. I am also about to go to Chicago in a few days for a long weekend. However, when stuck in broiling Austin, TX with little, excuse me, no money to spend, it makes for some long drawn out days. I feel so very guilty even complaining about this as many people dream of being off from work for long amounts of time, but I have learned that I will never be one of them. Unless someone is sponsoring me to go travel. So far, no one has wanted to sponsor me.

I will begin a new position as Grants Coordinator. I am very excited, albeit, very nervous. I will keep you posted. For now, I will get back to reading all about grant writing from my lovely borrowed books from the Austin City Library.