Houston and a dress

I have been back in Houston for a week now. So far most of my time has been spent with Cyr and friends going to dinner and catching up. I have not really spent a lot of time with my family, but since I am going to be here until June 2nd I still have time.

It's funny, I used to hear people talk about how cheap things are in the US, now I am one of those people. I just a conversion of what gas costs in Lille versus Houston. Gas/diesel fuel is sold by the liter and if you convert it to US dollars and gallons it comes out to...uh...$8.20 a gallon for gas in France right now. That is why they all walk and take public transportation! It's also why most of the cars are small and get like 50 miles to the gallon I guess. I also think clothes are cheaper here too.

Speaking of clothes...I bought a wedding dress!! Once again I have confirmed that I am buyer. I typically know what I want and then just buy it when I find it. I don't take 2 months to research things and compare the best price. I can't believe people will spend 3 months buying a car only to save $300. That's like 50 cents a month or something. So I went to Ventura's in the Heights thinking it would be super tacky but I wanted to take a look anyway. I walked in and sure enough, loud dresses and a few wedding dresses. Then a woman says; "oh no, our wedding section is in the back!" She takes me into this HUGE room with nothing but wedding dresses. It was really strange to pick through them. I pulled 6 and tried them on. I narrowed it down to 2 and held them so my Mom could help me choose. Both were beautiful, but I went with the first dress I tried on which was also the first one I pulled. The second was gorgeous and was beautiful on, but I felt like I was playing dress up. I'm not a princessy type of girl, so the beading and shiny things looked like it was made for someone else. Both my Mom and my Aunt Mary (who cried, awe!) agreed; the dress I chose looks like it was made for me. I also bought my veil. There were a few other girls there trying on dresses when I was there. They all looked like they should have been dressing for prom as opposed to a wedding. So young!! It was so fun trying on dresses. Makes you want to get married more than once. To the same person of course. :-)

This weekend I am going to visit my cousin in Kerrville and get some good Texas time in. I'm also going to try to find shoes and am hoping to visit my new cousin Colton as well. I was so sick I didn't want to expose him to the petri dish of germs I probably had all over me last week.

Cyr left on Saturday to head back to Lille. Sunday I went with a friend to an Astros game and had a great time. I cried during the National Anthem, ate a hot dog and sang during the 7th inning stretch. It all felt so American. In a fantastic way. Being back makes me miss Houston a little. It really is a great city, you just have to work a little harder to find things to do here. Not like Austin where fun is right in your face and you just stumble over great things to do. I'm not ready to come back just yet though, I'm really looking forward to getting back to Lille and speaking more French.

UPDATE ON V'S FAMILY
My friend V's house was struck by lightening and the house along with both of their cars were completely destroyed. Currently the family is in the process of moving into a rent house and trying to buy clothes and things for the kids (two boys age 3 and 5) to wear to school and other items needed for everyday life. Thank you to all that have emailed me to ask about how to help out. Right now they said the easiest way to help would be in the form of a gift card. If you would like to help, just email me or post and I can send you an address you can send a gift card to. Anything from groceries, clothing, home depot or even gas cards I'm sure would be welcomed. Thanks to everyone for offering help. I hope none of you are ever in her position, but if you are just know that people do come together to help.