The new year started, and although I only had one small trip, January whipped by in a nanosecond. I thought being home all month would give me time to work on a bunch of projects, but like always, I kept myself busier than ever, and my carpets at home went another month without the shampooing they desperately need.
Jodi's Baby Shower 
Tina and Greg hosted a fabulous shower for Jodi and Rafi. I made oodles of cupcakes, and surprisingly hardly anyone ate the chocolate ones, but the lemon (my favorite) and vanilla cupcakes were big hits. There were lots of games, and I even managed to win one. Here Victor and I are playing the "poo" game (detecting what candy is melted in the diaper). My favorite part of the party was when Tina recorded everything Jodi and Rafi said while opening presents, and then read back the responses as if was their conversation on the night Mateo was conceived. Hilarious.
Cooking Classes
Dane has been indulging me by attending cooking classes with me at Central Market. We had a lot of fun at the Cuban cooking class, as the cook was from El Meson was an absolute riot. During class you get to eat what is cooked and learn lots of tips. Its a lot of fun, but my favorite classes by far are the ones where we get actual hands-on time in the kitchen. We took Knife Skills 2 where we boned chickens, filleted fish, and more. And the best class was the Seafood class where we learned to shuck oysters like pros, make oysters on the half shell with this amazing mignonette sauce that. We also learned oysters are only an aphrodisiac for men, because it increases testosterone. We also learned how to make lobster thermidor. It was all yum!
Austin Ice Storm
Ice shut down Austin in January for four days. Being from Minnesota where it takes the city being buried in snow to shut down the town, it was fun to watch the town freak out. Newscasters were telling folks to get three days of foods and medicines and grocery stores were wiped out of food. The town literally shut down. This was the longest ice storm anyone I talked to from Austin could remember, and they finally had to shut down the airport (canceling my flight to Kansas City) because they couldn't keep the runways clear. Outside of playing a bit outside in the ice and having game night with Jodi and Rafi, it was pretty much work as usual for me. I set up the dining room as an office, and Dane and I both officed together during the storm and didn't miss a minute of work. The only downfall was that during the ice storm I felt the need to make tapioca pudding every day. It was delicious, but I think I gained five pounds during that storm. :-)
Asher!
I was scheduled to fly to Kansas City for work, which would have allowed me to arrive right after Asher was born (my cousin Scott's son). The timing was uncanny, because when his daughter Lucy was born I was in Kansas City for work too. However, the ice storm cancelled my flight and I had to wait until February to meet Asher in person. The little guy was born with few breathing problems so he had to spend some time in intensive care before he could come home. Thankfully, he is now home safe in his mom and dad's arms, and as healthy as ever.
Serenity Ahead
I was fortunate to get company from Minnesota to visit. Engineers love to solve problems, so I got a lot fixed at home. My kitchen faucet was replaced, and the vent in my master bathroom was upgraded to a quieter more effective fan (in the process learned all about scone ratings). Even the leak in my new pedestal sink was fixed. I'm so lucky to know such handy men. When we weren't working on projects we did a little exploring in San Marcos. First we visited Wonder World which is just one of the many caves in Texas. The rest of Wonder World however was a lame tourist trap with optical illusions and a train ride through a lame animal park. Check out the cave, then go do something fun. 
On the map, we saw a scenic drive that was recommended called Devils backbone. Since we are at the edge of the Texas hill country we plugged the coordinates into my GPS and took the rented Cadillac on the drive. The GPS seemed to know we were in a scenic area because all the sudden it told us "Serenity Ahead". So if your looking for serenity, I know where to take you.
Randi & Cheryl
At the end of the month, I went to Dallas for work. Another division of my company needed me to consult with them on their trade show program. While there I got the chance to visit Randi and my friend Cheryl and her family. Randi was able to fill me in on all her engagement and wedding plans. It was great to see her so excited, and I know they will do well together. Cheryl, Chris and Rachel took me to a fantastic little Tex-Mex place near their house, and then we treated ourselves to "concretes" at the custard shop next door. My concrete was blackberry custard with truffles in it. All I can say, is YUM! Cheryl has lost a ton of weight since she moved to Fort Worth and looks absolutely radiant and beautiful. I'm just thankful I'm in Austin and can't get to that custard shop. :-) Rachel was adorable as usual. We played tea party with her Barbie's and she showed me her new dance routine. She is so gorgeous, she makes my womb hurt. :-)Unfortunately, I wasn't my usual shutterbug self, and forgot to take pictures.
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