Austin Lovers- Vote Yes For Prop 2!!

VOTE FOR PROPOSITION 2 ON NOV. 4TH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Keep Austin Weird!!! Stop the money-hungry Domain! Save Local Austin Businesses!

http://www. stopdomainsubsidies. com/

Watch below:

Part One reveals how the City of Austin was rushed into approving the Domain subsidies, and how the developers misled city leaders.




Part Two explores the benefits local merchants have on our community and how the Domain subsidies threaten those businesses.




VOTE YES TO PROPOSITION TWO ON NOV 4TH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Newest Member of the Family

Jonathan and I would like you to meet the newest member of our family... We are pleased to welcome PEACHES P JONES!!!!

She was warmly welcomed by Jonathan, me, and her two new brothers, Shadow Yeilding and Jefferson Sidney Jones. She's adjusting well and has spent the first 24 hours exploring her new home, pestering her brothers, and running from Jonathan and I.

We brought Peaches home Friday, October 10, 2008- a year from our wedding. We were honored to meet her at our awesome Lake Austin Vet when we went to buy a bag of Shadow's special food. We fell in love with her and inquired about the adoption process... once we got home we couldn't stop thinking about her. I called the next day, drove down there after work, and brought home our new baby girl.

The first name we thought of before she was even ours is what really sealed the deal; I had a conversation with a coworker earlier in the day about Princess Peach and Princess Daisy from Mario Brothers... long story, but when we got home after meeting Peaches, we were discussing the idea of getting another kitten and for fun started thinking of what we would name her; Jon's first thought was Peach. I asked him why he thought of that particular name; he said he'd first thought of Princess because she's a little prissy princess, which then made him think about Princess Peach, which then made him think about Peach. I suggested Peaches and remembered the conversation I'd had earlier in the day; "IT WAS MEANT TO BE!" I said. She looks like a ‘Peaches’, orange and white like peaches-n-cream.

Shadow's always been like my shadow and his name stands alone, while Jefferson gets first and middle name from my wonderful PaPa's birthday and Jefferson's adoption day, and Miss Peaches has a very unusual middle name; P is her actual middle name and it stands for Princess (one of the origins of her name) and Priss (cuz she is!!!)

Three awesome kitties, years and years of fun:
Shadow- September 5, 1995 (Became a member of the Yeilding family around 12 years ago.)
Jefferson- May 12, 2007 (Became a member of the Yeilding-Jones family on July 4th, 2007.)
Peaches- August 8, 2008 (Became a member of the Yeilding-Jones family on October 10, 2008.)

We're lovin' every second and sure enjoy sharing our joy.

ACL Awesomeness x 3

ACL 2008 - Day 3

Okay, by Sunday I was pretty darn beat. My butt, back, and head felt like I'd been hit by some type of large motor vehicle. My ankles felt like they were going to break, my feet felt like they were going to explode, my nose was raw from blowing black boogers, and I was ready to party!

ACL is a very special thing; the music, the people, the party. It's a life celebration for music lovers and it is something everyone should experience... dust and all.

Yep, dust. And lots of it. We didn't get enough rain this year and we need it badly, especially since we missed all the rain from Hurricane Ike. With the lack of rain and major walking going on, the ground stayed dusty and was pretty miserable by Sunday afternoon. However, we sucked it up and partied; dust cant stop Austinites and music lovers combined!!

Our Sunday lineup: Flyleaf, Against Me!, Colour Revolt, Okkervil River, The Raconteurs, & Tegan and Sara. No words- just pictures.

(Fly Leaf rockin' out) (Against Me! Awesomeness)

(Caught) (A fantabulous flag if I do say so myself)

(Good times with good people) (Relaxing in the shade with Colour Revolt)

(Okkervil River doin' their thang)

(The Raconteurs jammed out)

(Tegan and Sara- so cute!)

(ACL after dark... superb)

***Bye bye ACL- see you in 363 days!!!***

ACL Awesomeness x 2

ACL 2008 - Day 2:

Oh my. What a day. A totally amazing day!

We got to the park a bit earlier than Friday and were stoked to begin another music filled day. We walked through the gates, showed our wristbands, and walked right into The Fratellis' jam session. We joined the upbeat crowd; smiling, singing, dancing, cheering, drinking, enjoying... awesome. Live music, a badass city, and amazing people having the time of their lives- ya just can't beat it!

Our flippin' fantabulous Saturday lineup included The Fratellis, Man Man, Les Freres Guisse, MGMT, Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, and Beck!

Some of the guys and gals were new to me and some have been long time loves- they all rocked out and were the reason I had one hell of a good time!

Pictures below... there were so many awesome shots of such an awesome night! Some of my fave faves are shown below.

(The Fratellis) (Pumped up at Man Man)

(Man Man) (Day 2 craziness trying to get to MGMT)

(We love Art)

(Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band awesome-ness)

(Beck incredible-ness)

(Beck blew our minds)

(We love ACL- the end)

ACL Awesomeness

ACL 2008 - Day 1:

The weekend FINALLY came... and it was Austin City Limits Music Festival amazingness. OMG!!! What a fantabulously amazing Friday we had! The bands were amazing, the cloud coverage totally rocked, and the company was superb.

It was Jon and my first time to go all three days. Last year was our first time to experience ACL but we only went on Sunday; it definitely wasn't long enough and we knew we had to come all three days this year.

Weather wise, this year was much nicer than last. It was over a hundred degrees and ridiculously humid last year! This year, it was hot but definitely do-able. Although, it did get a bit hotter each day; Friday was overcast and somewhat cool, we had brief moments of relief with some cloud coverage on Saturday, but Sunday was just plain hot- not a cloud in the sky and one brutal sun.

Despite a hot Sunday, the weekend was flippin' fantabulous. Friday was a SUPERB start to an excellent weekend of live music awesomeness. We made our rounds and enjoyed the sounds of the following bands: Vampire Weekend, Del tha Funky Homosapien, Gogol Bordello, Hot Chip, David Byrne, and Mars Volta. Crazy awesome.

Some of my favorite shots are shown below.... Bands, crowds, friends, smiles, and a bit of Austin history..

(Vampire Weekend incredible-ness) (Gogol Bordello going wild)

(Groovin' to tha music) (Walking to Hot Chip- Fans a flappin')

(The awesome David Byrne and some awesome folks enjoying his awesome music)

(ACL 2008 Friday Sunset) (The ACL Ball in all its' awesomeness)

(Mars Volta rockin' it out)

Quote of the Day - 9.21.08

"I see swirling visuals." - Jonathan

"You see swirling visuals?" - Ran

"I do... when I'm standing still." - Jonathan

*During a night of friend-filled fun.

Circles Are My Friend

I love circles. Always have. When I was a kid, I remember hearing someone talk about different shapes and what kind of emotions they projected from a person's inner being. I can't remember what squares were all about. I only remember that triangles were bad and circles were good.

I've wanted to be an artist since I can remember. I've always loved drawing, painting, sculpting, writing, dancing... doodling. Ha. I got into a lot of trouble during middle school; it's an awkward time as is, but for some reason I felt the need to doodle obsessively throughout my classes. My Mom was called several times and I was usually in detention a couple times a week. It wasn't that I didn't want to pay attention to the lesson- I just wanted to doodle more. Hehe. Eventually I got over it and learned to project my artist energies at more appropriate times.

At some point I fell in love with drawing circles. I don't know when or why. I've always doodled them here and there, but one day, I made a page of them; one 8 x 11 piece of paper full of ink drawn circles. I loved it. The uniqueness of each circle and the way they combined to cover the entire page... awesome.

(Black and White Ovals - June 2007 - A.M.Y.)

Tiny, big, circles, ovals... I've done many circle drawings since my first; each one is different than the one before and each one is cooler than I could have imagined; I just love circles. Some could say I'm obsessed with circles. But I say, it's not an obsession, it's a passion.

Recently, I've rediscovered my love for chalk. What a joy! Chalk is one of those timeless entertainments; you love it as a kiddo, when you're an awkward teenager, during those rebellious college years, as new found adult, and even when you're an older and much wiser adult... how could anyone not love chalk?

Well, Jonathan and I got creative and started some chalk art right outside our front door. It was really cool. It started as a few circles, which spread to many circles, which lead to many more circles.

(Circle Chalk Drawing - September 2008 - Jonathan & A.M.Y.)

Using every beautiful color possible really added to the whimsical theme. It definitely livened our corner up! The neighbors even walked around our two squares to help preserve them a few more days. It was just a dang good time.

Then Jon added stripes. They too totally rocked.

(Circle & Stripe Chalk Drawing - September 2008 - Jonathan & A.M.Y.)

Since we've had NO rain, the chalk drawing remains. There was minor damage from a nearby sprinkler, but the awesomeness is still evident. =) Obviously I'm torn- I'd love for the drawing to stay there forever, but we need rain sometime, and it needs to be sooner than later... unfortunately for the chalk drawing.

All in all, I think circles will always have a very special place in my heart. I think I'll probably always doodle them here and there. As for now, I'm still in major circle-drawing mode. Today, I did my first drawing in marker; I usually use pen and each one has to be circled several times. The marker is much more exact and I think I've found something new to perfect. It'll be fun trying. I love circles.

Hurricanes Can Suck It

We got up super early on Saturday. We needed cat liter and toilet paper. We ran out, got some Kolaches, picked up some movies from Blockbuster, and did a quick run through the local HEB to grab some necessities. We expected the rain to start around 10am and to continue throughout the entire day. We expected the rain to start and continue all day because the local weather channel told us that was going to happen. I listened to the weather for 5 hours on Friday and thought it obvious to stock up on some basics supplies so we wouldn't need to get out in the bad weather; we wanted to snuggle up inside all day watching the storm and enjoying some movies. The night before, we parked my car at my brother-in-law's parking garage and partied until one. We rode home in Jonathan's car, brushed our teeth, curled up in our warm bed, and went to sleep thinking about the next day's agenda: watch Hurricane Ike's crazy rain and relax.

(Hurricane Ike - Texas - 2008)

Well, that didn't happen; we awoke to cloudless sunlight, some horrific humidity, and no rain. WTF?!? We were really looking forward to the crazy weather. Not only because this state's in major need of some rain, but Jon and I wanted to listen to the storms and relax all day. Who doesn't love the eerie light storms bring, the occasional cracks of thunder and lightning, and the soothing sound of water drops hitting the window? Dangit! We were supposed to be in the red! We were supposed to get rain all day! Well, we didn't get ANY rain, but cities northeast of us were drenched! Hurricane Ike tore through Houston, but the rain just missed Austin.

(Hurricane Ike - Houston, TX - 2008)

My father lives in east Houston on the San Jacinto River and he got plenty of everything- rain, wind, outages, flooding. Pure craziness. In the past, his house has been flooded by insane amounts of rain and river water so Dad figured he'd get some damage and told me he would probably be communicating via email. Well, he did- once. He emailed me at 9 am Saturday morning saying they had gotten a little bit of water but that everything was okay. Of course, he also tells me that his cell phone is dead and he left the charger in his car- the car he parked safely away from the water, and far from his house and present location. Geez. Well, he didn't email me the rest of the day and was obviously unable to call me or anyone else. Needless to say, I was worried.

(Hurricane Ike's destruction on Houston, TX - 2008 - Getty Images)

I spoke to my Aunt- she was safe and away from the storms. She told me Dad had gotten some water in the house but that she hadn't spoken to him in quite some time. I tried not to think about the bad and focused on the good; he's a survivor at heart, he loves to have a good time no matter what, and he's always prepared. I was sure he was okay... I just wasn't too sure about the house. Dad's been through several floods on that river and has seen lots of damage from it; he even lost his pinball machine and our jet ski in the flood of '94.

Mom and Dad went through a hurricane in our first house 25 years ago in Houston; I was 2 months old when Hurricane Alicia blew through Galveston and Houston in August 1983. Mom took me to a hotel. Dad stayed in the house while the electricity and water were out for weeks.

(Hurricane Alicia - Houston, TX - August 1983)

(Alicia's destruction on Galveston, TX - 1983 - www.texasproductionteam.com)

I should have known Dad wouldn't leave his house now- come hell or high water! He did stock up on supplies though: water, charcoal, lighter fluid, canned goods, and beer. Well, I finally got through to Dad's cell phone; he had survived. Can't say the same for the yard or the downstairs living room. The water rose so much that Dad was up to his waist in water. Geez Louise.

The electricity will probably be out for a couple weeks, and gas stations and grocery stores are still closed. Dad can survive on the food and water he has, but I sure wouldn't want my beer getting hot! Although, I'm sure Dad can handle it.

Well, long story not short... I'm extremely lucky. Even though we didn't get the rain we were dreaming of, my family made it through the storm safely and almost completely intact. My Dad has been very fortunate throughout the years; he's had little damage and has always stayed safe. Our prayers are with those who lost homes and those who lost loved ones.

Hurricanes can suck it.