…and then this morning I Googled “master cleanse.”

ooooooohhhhhhhhh man, I am full of food. This year’s food-trip with Tara and Dave was shorter than the last time, but I managed to get an extraordinary amount of eating in. I started strong and ended strong, you guys. I had ice cream for dinner last night. Yes, that is bragging.

We did some antiquing (someone please send me these chairs), some drinking (heh, “some”), and some friend-gathering as we repeatedly hid from the oppressive heat. I recorded a podcast as the first female guest for a future episode of Totally Hungover, which may or may not end up being the last time they allow a female guest. There was officially too much Whataburger and not enough migas.

I was given the total rockstar treatment by the TXRD Lonestar Rollergirls, which culminated in a halftime show that still has me bruised in various parts. I started skating derby after I’d left Austin, years after these women started the revival that has us all in skates and helmets. It’s a different version of roller derby than we play at LADD, for sure, (one of the girls said to me, “Our rule book is about three pages long. Yours is insane.”) but it’s easy to see how the spirit of their roller derby quickly caught on, inspired others (it’s clearly all over Whip-It), and once I stopped screaming ‘TWENTY FEET! TWENTY FEET, BITCHES!’ and took a step back, I realized how much the TXRD is delightfully, uniquely Austin — fun, fierce, silly and sexy, with a whole lot of beer, kids and sass.

That’s Rocky Casbah, who immediately stole the hearts of my party of four with her skillz. She was also clearly a crowd favorite, but when this pic was sent to my cell phone later that night, I became the envy of my friends.

As I did after I came home the last time, I’ve made a donation to the Capital Area Food Bank of Texas in our names, because we are very grateful for Austin, and being that full reminds you what it’s like to be hungry.

It’s going to take a few days to recover, physically and emotionally. I already miss that hot, dead-cricket smell of Austin late at night, and I miss my friends to the moon and back.

Oh, speaking of Tara and Dave, you podcast-loving, TV-loving, pop culture-trivia obsessive people might want to check out this week’s Extra Hot Great (guest-starring me)!