Mrs. Hicks goes to Austin

Tuesday night I went on my FIRST EVER Southwest flight to the capital of weird - Austin. I was thinking all day that it would be my first night away from my baby, but then I vaguely remembered Meadow's birthday. So it was my SECOND night away from my Grant, but I did have another baby with me.

Robby, Ericka and Olivia picked me up - they had burgers and I had chicken and waffles. The weather was great so we ate on the play ground, and Olivia was an angel. She climbed up the ladder and went down the slide about 100 times. That's not an exaggeration either. The steps on the ladder were almost as tall as her.

The next morning I walked to the capitol and met up with our lobbyist and local counsel. I had packed my walking shoes (flats) and my lawyer shoes (heels), but I'd forgotten my round brush. It was close, but I survived.

I provided about 1 minute of testimony, which you could have streamed online. But I really didn't want a larger audience, so I kept that nugget to myself. The committee asked me no questions, which we thought was either great or terrible. The committee didn't hear all of the bills before it in the morning special session, so it didn't vote while I was there. I was back in my office before 3 p.m. At the end of the day, the committee voted on most of the bills before them but left mine and a handful of others pending. We're hoping for a vote on it today.

I was thrilled to have this opportunity. I was relieved to have 2 pros by my side to walk me through the process (and to the committee hearing room). Now I'm hoping for great news. Our bill died last session (lots of bills died last session - voter id stalled everything), so it would be a big feat to have it pass this session!