art in central texas

yes, believe it or not!

From the NYT:

SAN ANTONIO

The Jane and Arthur Stieren Center for Exhibitions will open at the McNay Art Museum on June 7. The first exhibition for the 45,000-square-foot, $33.1 million glass pavilion, designed by the Paris-based architect Jean-Paul Viguier, is “American Art Since 1945: In a New Light.” Over 100 paintings, sculptures and photographs — many from the permanent collection — will be on view for the first time, joining some of the museum’s better-known modern and contemporary works, like Willem de Kooning’s “Eddy Farm” and Joan Mitchell’s “Hudson River Day Line”. Admission: $8; (www.mcnayart.org).

week 23/24-ish update

So, just an update for those of you who can't see me up close and personal. I've tried to capture my feet in the photo, but its really not the same as in real life. I took this when for some reason my left foot de-swelled (notice the veins and ankle!) while my right remained swollen. It's more dramatic in person when you can atually press a thumb into the flesh and the imprint just sort of stays there for a while. Most of the women in my prenatal yoga classes have started having swollen extremity issues, as Austin's already had 3 or 4 100-degree or plus days - looks like I'm in for a hot summer. I now wear flip-flops, or recently purchased shoes that are a 1/2 size larger than normal. All of my other shoes I've put away with most of my non-pregnancy clothes. Meanwhile, here's a shot of the growing orb that is the kiddo (note that it was taken after a yoga class, so I'm not looking all that great. We went to a wedding this past Saturday, and I really should have taken a photo then, all dolled up. Would've been so much better....). We're sort of referring to the bump as 'Sputnik.' We found out that it means traveller within a traveller, and thought that seemed rather appropriate. The kid kicks non-stop, which is reassuring. And this past weekend we actually saw it moving from the outside - my skin visibly bumped from a kick or a punch.

AIA Convention '08

You may recall that last year I went to the AIA Convention in San Antonio - it was so close, stayed with a friend, and I received free entry since it was my first year as an AIA member. I had a great time and was super energized coming back to work. Well, this year I also ventured out - location was great (Boston in May - perfect weather!), stayed with friends (including their pets Lucy (dog) and Puma (cat)), and received free entry and flight costs because I was granted a young professionals scholarship. I have to say, that while the location was indeed wonderful, and it was great to catch up with friends in Boston, I was not that impressed with the convention. Many of the seminars were repeats from last year, and the 3 keynotes didn't quite measure up to the 3 keynotes last year. Ah well. Anyways, here's a picture of a Corbu building on Harvard campus - I volunteered to 'herd' attendees on a walking tour of Harvard. The tour was actually my highpoint - the woman who gave the tour was excellent - she works out of Somerville, spent a year at the GSD, and then transferred to MIT (this was in the 70s I believe). Very knowledgeable, great at answering questions, and really responded to the group's interests. I have to say, though, that herding a bunch of architects on a tour is tough work - they're either lagging behind because they're taking too many photos or because they are hooked to their 'crackberries.' Figures.

Pedernales Falls

This past weekend we ventured to Pedernales Falls with Jill & Michael. The guys left early Friday morning to go pick up the in-laws 'construction trailer' and drive it out there and set up. After work, I picked up Jill to go meet them out there. Little did we know the guys had quite the challenging day - very slow drive and when they arrived it turns out that one of the tires on Michael's truck was just about to blow - they tried to change it out with the spare, which was of course flat, so in came camp maintenance to help them out. The next morning they ended up driving all the way to Marble Falls (since it was a Saturday) to replace a couple of the tires on the truck - poor guys. Us girls slept in, though I have to admit not very long as the A/C ended up freezing up and therefore stopped working! We left it off for most of the day on Saturday while went to go play in the river, and it was working perfectly the rest of the trip, as long as we didn't keep it on high. Lola absolutely loved the water - she had such a great time playing and sniffing and swimming in it. Sophie, however, preferred to stick to the rocks. She and I hung out while the others were a bit more active. That nite we made a feast on the campfire - silver turtles full of all sorts of veggies, corn on the cob, baked apples, and s'mores! The whole weekend was so relaxing, and it was really nice to be completely inaccessible. It's amazing how far away you can get from the city in only 45 minutes.

music to my ears

This report says I should eat chocolate every day - that's definitely a dietary rule I can follow.
And in case anyone's wondering, my favorite is this yummy concoction!