niknaks

Engaged, Hooray!

2012-02-13T22:40:00.010-06:00

You know you're happy about someone's news when you have to interrupt them in the middle of telling it to take off a layer of clothing because you're sweating with excitement.

Congratulations to this beautiful couple, Sarah and Derrick, on their recent engagement! I am so thrilled for you both! And I'm so happy I get to be one of the first people to hug you (Sarah) and jump up and down with you and see the beautiful ring in person since I'm going to Barcelona next week (nanna nanna boo boo!)!

Not Thirty

2012-02-13T22:10:00.003-06:00

Oh yeah, I turned 29 and didn't blog that either. Oops.

I had an awesome golden birthday (29 on the 29th) - tons of friends came over and went out to Hughes Hangar to celebrate with me. All the ladies were bedecked in gold, we were a pretty crowd!

I cannot believe this is my last year in my 20s. It doesn't feel real but I must accept that it's happening. I better party it up this year because apparently there are a lot of expectations for 30 year olds!

Thank you to everyone who made this a special birthday, I love you all!

NYE Wedding

2012-02-13T21:52:00.005-06:00

I am so behind. Kir and John got married on New Year's Eve and I haven't posted about it until now. Sorry!

I don't have great pictures of them together from the wedding, so here's a cute shot from the rehearsal. Congrats to the happy couple!

Their wedding was one of the best I've ever been to. The ceremony was short and sweet, the reception food was good, the father-daughter dance was adorable (choreographed), the DJ was awesome and kept the dance floor on fire, there were NYE hats and glow necklaces, and they had a fake snow machine blow snow onto the dance floor at midnight. So much fun!

Look how much fun Robert is having! "Heeeeyyyy!"

I was honored to take part in this fabulous wedding and am so happy for my sister in law and new brother in law (in law).

Survival Skills

2012-01-25T19:57:00.003-06:00

I love to watch the show "I Survived". It is sad, horrifying, brutal, heart-breaking, but I can get through it knowing the person lived through whatever ordeal they experienced. I am fascinated by the stories in the show but I also watch it to learn. I may be slightly paranoid, but I like to think how I would deal with scary situations, to plan ahead what I would do to protect myself. I know you cannot really plan for those types of things but I figure I'm better having thought about it than not.

Here are some survival skills I have learned from "I Survived" (and maybe from spam emails!):

Do not go running alone in the dark
If you are in or near a chimpanzee sanctuary, carry a gun (just watched one of these... they didn't have a gun)
Lock everything - doors, windows, cars, office, everything
Don't walk alone with headphones on - you need to hear what's happening around you
If someone or something doesn't seem right, it's probably not (better to err on the side of caution)
Be able to hold your breath for a good amount of time (I'm up to 2 minutes!)
Bathtubs really are the best place to hide from tornadoes (and a good tip I learned from one man's story - tie your pets (or children) to you when you're sheltering from a storm)
Remember everything about your attacker(s)
You can kill or stop someone pretty good by punching them really hard in the throat
Leave evidence (in the car they take you in, at the location they take you to, etc)
Always take a GPS or emergency locator device when you're hiking a treacherous mountain or trail (or better yet - just don't do that kind of crap)
Always ration your food and water (when you're on said treacherous trails)
If your attacker is in your car, crash into another car, crash into anything, cause a scene
If you're in the trunk, kick the taillights out and wave your arm through the hole
Stem the bleeding
Anger makes your blood flow faster and will warm you up - get angry and punchy if you're stuck in the cold (don't think this works for long...)
Don't drink salt water
Have a barky dog (it's a lot harder to get surprise attacked when your loud mouth Yorkie starts barking to the high heavens when someone comes in your house - none of these people ever have dogs)
Don't park next to vans
Outsmart your attacker (don't ever stop thinking your way out)
Don't live in the boondocks where you can't reach your neighbors when you're running bloody for help
Tell your attacker personal things about yourself - you are human, make them realize it
Get lucky
Pray
Play dead

Barcelona Bound!

2012-01-08T13:47:00.003-06:00

I am going to visit Sarah Dooley in Barcelona in February!! I am so excited. I think I'm going to love the food and the city and of course getting to spend time with one of my favorite people!

When I get back, I get to post a picture of us where I'm not photoshopped in.

Ornament Wreath

2011-12-12T16:41:00.013-06:00

I wanted a wreath for my front door but I didn't want a typical green one. I got the idea for an ornament wreath from Pinterest (where else). The blog the idea came from said to start with a plastic foam wreath form but I couldn't find one so I improvised.

I used the sturdiest plumbing insulation I could find at Home Depot ($2) and cut it to the desired circle size. Of the two lengths pictured here, the longer is what I used.

Then I wrapped the circle in duct tape, both to hold the circle shape and so that the hot glue I was using to attach the ornaments wouldn't melt the insulation foam (not sure it would have but better safe than sorry).

I probably used over 100 ornaments for this project (I didn't count, but it's a lot). I used plastic, not glass, and found them at Target, Hobby Lobby, and Craftex.

You start by attaching the largest ornaments first. I took the hanger loop off the ornaments when I could, to take away bulk, and glued them by the stem with regular hot glue. The loop used to hang the wreath is just a green fabric ribbon that I taped to the top of the circle.

I just continued adding ornaments in descending size.

When you get to this point in attaching the ornaments, you won't be gluing them all to the wreath - you will be gluing them to each other to fill in the blank spots.

And here's the finished product hanging on our front door!

5 Miles, No Sweat

2011-12-12T16:24:00.004-06:00

Ok, the no sweat part is a lie. I sweat plenty. But I can now officially run five miles. We did Run in the Park at Hermann a while back and this past weekend we did the Jingle Bell Run. And it didn't even suck that bad. I still won't say I like running, but I do like finishing the race.

The hat I'm wearing came off at mile 2 because it was way too hot and the snowmen head were flopping in my face.

This is our race buddy Ben who works with Robert. Every time we pick him up for a race, he tells us a story about how much beer he drank the night before, and then he beats us both to the finish line by a lot.

Pinterested

2011-12-12T09:33:00.003-06:00

I love Pinterest. My friend Iliana introduced me to it a few months ago and I didn't get it - I was like, who is sitting online all day tagging things they like? Turns out, I am.

The website let's you "pin" things to virtual pin boards (it's like saving an image with a hyperlink to where the item can be found online) - so if you see some clothes or a recipe you like and you don't want to forget, you pin them to the appropriate board and then they're there for you to remember and for others to discover.

Signing up can be a little awkward, it wants you to login through Facebook and then it adds a bunch of random people to your profile for you to "follow" - all of that can be undone though when you're done signing up. You can find friends to follow, or go to the general Pinterest world to see what people you don't know are posting.

I can't stop checking it to see what's been posted since I looked five minutes ago! I already checked it while I was writing this blog post.

My Sister Got Married!

2011-12-12T09:22:00.011-06:00

My little sister Megan got married on November 6 to her wonderful, handsome man Cody. I had the privilege of being her Matron of Honor, and I did a great job of crying immediately upon her entering the chapel, and basically throughout the entire ceremony.

She could not have been more beautiful, and the same could be said for the reception. My mom and her army of helpers did an amazing job on the tablescapes. My pictures don't do anything justice but it's the best I can do until we get the photographers images.

She's flawless!

We did a lot of dancing, the food and cake were delicious, and lots of family and friends were there to celebrate.

I am so happy for Megan and Cody and I know they will have a long, loving, fun, exciting marriage. Cheers to the new husband and wife!

Paris

2011-12-12T00:11:00.006-06:00

Here's the Paris recap:

The Chunnel from London to Paris is not a pretty ride, but it's very convenient and relatively inexpensive, I'm glad we took it.
I wish I had studied up more on French because I found the language barrier uncomfortable - we managed just fine though, and by the end were experts at ordering coffee and croissants!
Our flat was adorable and in a perfect location. I would highly recommend renting a flat instead of staying in a hotel - you get a kitchen... you feel more like a local... it was a little cheaper.
The city is amazingly beautiful, I want to go back in the Spring when all the gardens are in bloom.
We walked a lot more in Paris than in London because the train system isn't as vast and it was easier to not get lost when we were not trying to decipher train info. I bet we walked like 6 hours a day. Good thing too or else all the bread and frites would've gotten to us.
We were approached by three "gold ring scammers" but had been prepared by our landlord to avoid the scheme - Robert did a great job of yelling NO NO NO and pulling me away from the would-be pickpockets.
We had a front row view of Mona Lisa at the Louvre. We were trying to gauge how long we needed to stand there and "appreciate the art" - I think we gave her about 5 minutes and 10 pictures. She is very small and dark. And the eyes are creepy.
The Incubus concert was amazing, they are so good live. It wasn't a Paris-y thing to do, but it was cool to see my #2 favorite band in another country. The only not cool thing was that we had seats and we SAT. No one stood up to jump around and sing and be excited. I've never sat through a concert, besides a Christmas one, before and I have to say I much prefer being in the pit.
The Sights: The Lourve (which was walking distance from our flat), Jardin Palais Royal (the roses would be gorgeous in Spring), Jardins de Toulleries, Champs Elysees, Arc de Triomphe (lots of spirally stairs), Eiffel Tower, Musee de Orsay (which I liked better than the Lourve), Versailles, Notre Dame, and a lot of cafes.

I would really like to visit Paris again with a much more relaxed daily schedule - I'd like to just go sit by the river, sit at cafes, buy some street art. We were so busy and walked so much, it was exhausting. But so beautiful and so worth it.

Roberts Favorite Paris Things (you can tell because he gives them a thumbs up...): Laduree macaroons

Baguette sandwiches

Nikki's Favorite Paris Things: The Eiffel Tower - it was just as awesome as I expected it to be

The Royal Kitty at Versailles (at this point I really missed my dogs and was craving animal affection)

London

2011-12-11T23:48:00.007-06:00

Well it's been almost a month since our trip to Europe and we've been super busy around here, I just haven't made time for the blog lately.

Here is a recap of our visit to London:

The flight was pretty uncomfortable and we didn't really nap - maybe one day we'll be able to upgrade!
We stayed in a tiny but well appointed hotel near the Victoria train station. The location was great and it was easy to get around using the Underground.
The Underground train system is amazing. It is so fast and easy to use. We loved it.
We took a bus tour when we arrived on Sunday - touristy, but great way to see the city and learn about the buildings and neighborhoods.
The food was not amazing to me, but we did eat one really great meal at a Lebanese restaurant near Harrods, it was probably our best meal of the trip. We also ate a lot of fries, everything came with fries.
I kind of thought the changing of the guard at Buckingham was like a royal half time show. I think maybe I didn't read up enough about what all goes on (couldn't really see) or I'm just not sophisticated enough to appreciate it.
Over our 3 days there, we tried to cram in as many sights as we could - Big Ben / Parliament, Westminster Abbey, the London Eye (scary!), Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Buckingham Palace, Harrods, The Texas Embassy (restaurant), St. Paul's Cathedral, and a lot of pubs.

Overall, we really liked the city, it reminded us of Chicago. It was really super expensive though, I don't know how people afford to live there!

Robert's Favorite London Thing: Pubs

Nikki's Favorite London Thing: The rows of townhouses (this one has a great address!)

and tea with milk and sugar

Stolen But Not Gone

2011-12-11T15:50:00.002-06:00

As you are probably aware from Facebook, my iPhone was stolen (and my GPS) from Robert's car during boot camp last week. I was (am) super pissed to have our window broken and my belongings stolen, but I was maybe more pissed about losing all my info and pictures on my phone (and about having my address saved on the GPS, scary).

I borrowed an iPhone 4 from my cousin yesterday and when I did the setup, I was asked if I wanted to restore to my most recent iCloud backup. Turns out, since I had iCloud backup turned on for my stolen phone, it had backed up everything on my phone wirelessly the night before it got stolen. I was able to retrieve everything, pictures, folder setups, contacts, all of it.

I would HIGHLY recommend backing up to iCloud if you are able to on your iPhone. It totally made this crappy situation so much better, maybe not monetarily, but it's just one less thing I have to fret about now.

Thank you Apple for creating iCloud!

(PS - yes I will post soon about all the other million things going on since my last long ago post)

Incubus in Paris

2011-11-11T23:23:00.002-06:00

We are going to see Incubus in Paris. I realize we could see them in the US, and that there are bagillions of Parisian attractions we need to experience, but it feels more glamorous to see them in France than in the US and I want a tour t-shirt that says Paris! Seems like I do a lot of things for the t-shirts huh?

SMACKSWATSLAM

2011-10-27T08:34:00.004-05:00

This is Houston right now. We are being attacked and overrun by mosquitoes. Apparently recent weather was perfect for hatching or something and we have a new swarm of blood thirsty mosquitoes ravaging our town.

This morning at boot camp I got 20 mosquito bites through my workout pants, despite having sprayed myself liberally with Off.

I am pretty sure mosquitoes serve absolutely no purpose to our ecosystem. Only the mosquitoes that eat other mosquitoes are any good to us, but if we didn't have any in the first place, we wouldn't need those either. I think mosquitoes might be a plague God forgot to get rid of.

Fascinating Weekend

2011-10-27T08:16:00.005-05:00

This weekend I attended a bachelorette party honoring the beautiful lady pictured above, my sister Megan. Friday night we enjoyed delicious Mexican Martinis at Trudy's. Saturday night we dined at Ten Oak (yum!) and then partied the night away on 6th Street. Everyone at the party wore fascinators and we got quite a lot of attention.

On Sunday we revived our bodies and minds with Don Juans around the table at Juan in a Million. I'm happy to say the tacos are as mouth-wateringly good as I remember them to be. Then we went kayaking on Town Lake. We did not run into the supposed turtle monster who bites like an alligator. We did meet a talking bird and saw ducks running on the water (very cute).

I had a blast at Megan's last hoorah and judging from all the pics I have of the weekend, she did too! Now it's time for the wedding!!

PS - Must give a special shout out to Sarah Dooley for letting us stay at Hotel Dooley on Saturday night - the girls loved the house and especially loved Luna.

Smells Like Winter

2011-10-27T08:13:00.002-05:00

Vanilla Bean Noel is my favorite lotion scent for winter. I happen to still have a couple of bottles from Christmases past so today I slathered myself up. I am trying to pretend like it's not still hot outside. I think scents can trick your brain.

Breaking Dawn in Paris?

2011-10-20T11:56:00.000-05:00

OMG. I'm going to be in Paris when Breaking Dawn Part 1 comes out on November 18. Is it a terrible waste of vacation time to go see it there? Will it even be in theatres there? Ahhhhh!!!!

Creatures of Habit

2011-10-20T11:16:00.000-05:00

Here are my two pups, Rosie and Rusty, sitting under my work desk, where they stay pretty much the whole time I'm in my office.
Rosie has learned that during the day when daddy's gone and mommy's home, if mommy goes downstairs, when she comes back up she's going to the office. So Rosie runs up the stairs ahead of me and takes her place under one of the chairs. It's really cute when the door is closed and she sits there waiting and then I go on down the hall and she gets up like, hey, you're supposed to be going in here! I love my dogs and even though it means they're always under foot, I love that they like to be with me everywhere I go.

Finally, Long Sleeves?

2011-10-18T11:30:00.000-05:00

I think I've said it before - I kind of just run 5ks for the t-shirts (and I haven't been getting any good ones this past year either, boo). I signed up for 2 more runs, one in October and one in November - fingers crossed for long sleeved t-shirts!

Granny Nikki

2011-09-20T08:32:00.000-05:00

I ordered wrinkle cream last night. I feel like an old lady. The reviews for the Olay Regenerist winkle revolution compex on Amazon were really good. So maybe in a month you won't be able to see the lines that stay on my forhead after I raise my eyebrows and I won't feel like an old lady any more.

5 Car Pileup

2011-09-19T12:05:00.000-05:00

Robert was the front car in a five car pileup on Friday. A lady ran into the car in front of her, causing a domino effect up to Robert's car. Luckily no one was hurt. The police report named the last car at fault for all vehicle damage, so we shouldn't have to pay for the repairs.

My first question was "OMG are you ok?" and my second question was "OMG are your golf clubs ok?". Robert was on his way to play golf with his dad and the clubs were in the trunk and I thought he would be more upset about his clubs getting damaged than his car. No golf clubs were injured in the wreck.

Do you think their insurance will pay for a new Longhorn decal? I hope so because we have to replace the trunk hood and you can't re-stick those decals and they aren't cheap!

A Proper Holiday

2011-09-12T21:05:00.000-05:00

Robert and I booked our 5th anniversary trip to London and Paris yesterday! We got engaged at the Eiffel Tower Restaurant in Las Vegas so we thought it would be neat / romantic to visit the real thing for our anniversary. I hope it's as beautiful in person as it is in this lovely photo.

Is it too touristy to take a picture in a red phone booth? Because I'm going to.

This trip is my new excuse for shopping (as if I need one). I am trying to dress impossibly chic while I'm there - why I do not dress that way in the US, I do not know. Here are some things I want for the trip:

Cropped black faux fur jacket (Express) - probably sounds ugly, but I swear it's not

Khaki trench coat

Scarves that aren't pashminas

Blue & white striped shirt

Black booties to wear with tights and a dress

Michael Kors purse (exactly which one TBD, but from the outlet)

Passport cover/holder

Long black light weight gloves

Dark slim fitting jeans for Robert (not girly, but not baggy dudely jeans like he currently has)

A lesson in French

A new camera (those of you who have seen mine *New Orleans* understand)

I don't think all those things are too unreasonable...

We've got the flights booked, now we need to book hotels. We are getting advice from people about where to stay and will hopefully be able to use some SW points to get a few free nights. I'm all about the credit card award points right now (thank you Continental OnePass card for a free round trip for me! and thanks Iliana for telling me about it and getting me to listen to you).

I would love advice on where to stay, what to do, what to eat, what to wear, how to say "how much" in French!

Texas Wildfires

2011-09-06T08:37:00.001-05:00

UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE

The red brick house in this picture is Megan and Cody's house - and it's STILL THERE!!

Thank God and firefighters that their home is safe. Continue your prayers for the people that lost their homes in this and other fires, and that the flare ups and hotspots will get under control.

__________________________________________________________

My thoughts and my prayers are with the families in the wildfire areas and the firefighters working hard to contain, control, and extinguish these terrible fires. It seems like half of Texas is on fire.

My prayers are especially with my sister and her fiance Cody, as the Leander fire was in the woods behind their culdesac at their new home. She had to evacuate yesterday and is waiting to be able to go back and check on her home.

The picture below is from when they evacuated. The fire is in the woods behind the empty lots in her culdesac. Meg and Cody's home is just out of frame, in front / to the right of the white car.

This is a picture a little later when the fire burned through the tree line at the empty lots.

As of last night, the fire was 70% contained and the wind was blowing away from the homes. I am very hopeful that their home survived without any damage (other than smelling like smoke).

Please say your prayers for the people affected by all the wildfires.

Watch Curb Your Enthusiasm

2011-09-01T09:41:00.000-05:00

This picture could be me and Robert while watching Curb Your Enthusiasm. This show is hilarious. How I was not watching it prior to this season is beyond me. If I have friends who watch it, they have surely let me down by not recommending it. I am now on a mission to watch all the previous seasons on Netflix.

I love Larry, the Social Assassin. He always looks like he's about to crack up, it reminds me of Jimmy Fallon on SNL, and I like it when they seem like they're about to lose it, because

I would be if I were them, and you know they know they are being hilarious slash ridiculous.

Sometimes I wish I could (would) just say everything that came into my mind like Larry does. But I don't want to be labeled a Social Assassin. I will live vicariously through his character on the show.

Lipstick Courage

2011-08-25T15:48:00.000-05:00

This picture is from Katie's last night in Houston when we did karaoke at Firkin & Phoenix. What I would like to point out is that I am wearing lip color in this picture. It's quite rare that I remember to put on anything besides Blistex. On this night, I decided to be fancy and put on my Black Honey Almost Lipstick from Clinique. It is by far my favorite lip color, I have never found another lipstick, stain, or gloss that I like better. I also believe it's universally flattering. I need to remember to wear it more often; not only do I like how it looks, I think it makes me feel good too - on this evening, it made me brave enough to sing Sublime songs with my terrible, awful, no good voice.

Daddy's Girl

2011-08-25T15:31:00.000-05:00

Rosie is definitely Robert's dog. She loves him so much. She cries from excitement when she hears the garage door open at night when he comes home. She sleeps on his face. She stays by his side at the dog park. They are a cute pair aren't they?

10 Year Reunions

2011-08-25T15:29:00.000-05:00

Robert's 10 year high school reunion is this Saturday. He did not want to go but I am making him because I cannot imagine not wanting to go to your high school reunion (especially since he doesn't have Facebook so he doesn't even have the excuse about knowing everything about everybody already) - so I won't let him skip it. I am excited to go, I know lots of his Jersey Village friends already so it should be fun. Plus, Robert's mom is working the registration table, which is cute.

My 10 year high school reunion is on September 24. I still hang out with a lot of my high school friends, and I'm on Facebook all the time, so I already know everything about everybody, but I'm excited anyway! I enjoyed high school and I don't mind revisiting those years every now and again. I feel like social media has kind of taken the fun out of reunions but I hope lots of people will show up anyway.

And of course I must say, omg I can't believe it's been 10 years, I feel so old, where did the time go, blah blah blah.

My Dogs Need Jobs

2011-08-25T12:51:00.001-05:00

This month we spent about a whole lot of money on our dogs. Rusty had to get his teeth cleaned, which included an extra blood test due to a white blood cell count scare. Rosie had to get an exam to figure out why she won't stop licking her business and some medicine to treat her problem. They both had to get refills on flea pills and get groomed. And it was Big Bag of dog food month.

I love my dogs and I do not begrudge them money spent keeping them healthy, happy, and clean. But I do wish they could earn their own keep sometimes!

No Rain

2011-08-25T12:31:00.000-05:00

In the words of Blind Melon, I start to complain when there's no rain. In Texas, we've been complaining for several months now.

The picture below is of the live oak in our front yard. You can see its droopy brown leaves and sad demeanor. I'm shocked the poor thing's got any green left at all. We only water it 2 times a week due to the water restriction, and that doesn't seem to be enough to bring life back into it.

This picture is of my Aunt Lori and Uncle Eddie's dock at Lake Limestone. Notice how there is no Lake Limestone in this picture - there used to be water where all that green is.

I went to Austin last week and it looks even worse than Houston. There was dead brown grass everywhere, and it hurt to look at (and walk on).

In Houston we don't like to pray for a hurricane, but I can't say I haven't wished recently that we'd get a mild one down our way to bring some relieft to our parched, dry land.

It rained last night and this morning, and I'm grateful for that - but I hear it's going to take years to recover from this drought.

My Fit Foods

2011-08-25T12:17:00.000-05:00

Robert and I recently began to patronize My Fit Foods. It was recommended by Robert's work friend, and we'd also tried it a few times after races in Houston.

I have to say, it makes me feel pretty lazy to purchase dinners instead of cooking them, but sometimes you just have to admit that you aren't going to do it on your own. Robert and I had been doing a poor job of creating healthy dinners every night, instead opting to go out, or stay in and eat random things like cereal and beans (we do love beans). Now, we get a few My Fit Food meals for the week and eat those on some nights and cook or go out on others.

So far, my favorite meal is tied between the chili and the Hawaiian chicken. The meals are made fresh with healthy ingredients, are never frozen, and are portioned in small, medium, and large sizes. I've found that the small is completely satisfying for me (the medium is actually too much food, though it is far less than what you would get on your plate at a restaurant).

They are kind of expensive, at about $6-$8 each, but we haven't seen an increase in our food budget since we will choose to eat these meals instead of spending $30 going out to eat.

If you have a MFF retailer near you, I suggest you try it out. It's a great option for a busy lifestyle (or for those of you who just don't like to cook).

Girl Crush

2011-07-27T17:29:00.000-05:00

I am totally girl-crushing on Mila Kunis. She is so beautiful, and charming (sassy, cute, quirky charming), and tiny, and well-dressed, and I want her hair.

Mass Exodus?

2011-07-27T10:40:00.000-05:00

So, we have a lot of friends leaving Houston. Selfishly, this does not make me super happy, even though they are doing exciting things in their lives.

Lane and Katie are moving to Indianapolis because Lane got a job with Amazon. I'm hoping for a few brutal winters to send them hustling back to Texas.

Denise is now a land(wo)man and has moved to San Antonio. I am so happy for her that she got this great job but will miss having her around to get my lame-o butt out of the house and out on the town.

And I just found out Tas is also moving to San Antonio. Her mom must be moving with her, otherwise I don't know how she's getting away with moving her sweet baby James a whole 3.5 hours away! HGOH representation is way down in the motherland.

Kristen & John are moving to Chicago so John can get his MBA at Northwestern. At least we know they'll only be gone for two years and then we'll get them back.

How about some of my friends move TO Houston instead of FROM it?

Chicago Here They Come!

2011-07-27T08:53:00.000-05:00

This weekend Robert and I and another couple who are in Kir & John's wedding hosted a couples shower and going away party for the husband and wife to be. The shower was held at Candalari's Pizzeria where the food was delicious and lots of friends came to shower Kir & John with love and gifts.

After the shower we headed to Nancy & Manuel's (co-hosts) new house to say a final farewell to K&J, as they are headed to Chicago at the end of this week. My friend Katie and I made a Chicago skyline backdrop for the party and it turned out so cute!

We are going to miss having Kir & John in our neighborhood but we will definitely go visit them in Chicago and can't wait for the big NYE wedding extravaganza!

DFW Babies

2011-07-27T08:40:00.000-05:00

I just got to see three adorable babies all in one weekend! I visited my friend Nicole's brand new baby James in Fort Worth. He is a tiny little guy and looked very handsome in the UT socks Meghan brought him.

While in FW I also got to see Mr. Drew who is a very active and talkative little boy. He made animal sounds for me and went down his slide and gave me very sweet kisses.
I hopped over to Dallas to see Kristen and her little man Reid. He has got quite a head of hair and the most adorable giggle. He is a very good hugger too.

They were all such good sweet boys. Now, someone needs to have a girl!

Delivering Greatness!

2011-07-27T08:26:00.000-05:00

Our trip to Colorado Springs was totally awesome. The resort was grand and charming, the staff was friendly, and we had an allowance from BMC to spend however we liked!

On Tuesday I went to the spa, Robert golfed on one of the courses (the women's open had just wrapped up on the main course), and we finished the day at the pool. That evening we ate downtown at The Warehouse restaurant where we had the best macaroni and cheese ever.
On Wednesday we went to Garden of the Gods, where you can see the most amazing red rock structures. Then we rode the cog railway train up to Pike's Peak. The view was so unbelievable - the song America the Beautiful was actually written about it. I liked being on top of the world.

On Thursday we took a two hour horseback ride through the mountains. My horse was feeling a little lazy and had a bit of an attitude - she liked to walk as close as possible to the pine trees so that I got a lot of branches in my face. Robert's horse was very hungry and kept trying to stop and snack on some white flowers or tall weeds. We also got to meet a pony and a potbelly pig at the ranch.

It was a fun, relaxing trip. I wouldn't mind if Robert won a trip again next year!

*The corporate theme of the trip was "Delivering Greatness" - we even got short sleeved button down shirts with that written on the back ...

Home Away

2011-07-27T08:16:00.000-05:00

I spent July 4 in Crestview, FL with my mom's family. I love visiting them and I wish I went more often. We went to the beautiful beach, played Scrabble in Memaw's sunroom, had a big family party on Sunday, and I got to play with my cousin's kids (I'm determined to have them remember me next time I visit!). Florida is my home away from home.

Girlie Girl Turned One!

2011-07-27T08:10:00.000-05:00

Rosie girl turned one on July 6. That is the birthday the vet made up for her (why not July 4?). She still acts like a wild puppy but she is trying to learn how to be a fine lady. Happy birthday Rosie!

Young at Heart

2011-06-30T09:17:00.000-05:00

Happy birthday to my wonderful Papa! I am so glad I am leaving today to go visit my grandparents in Florida - I wish I could visit more often, or better yet, for several weeks at a time like I did when I was younger.

Some of my best memories of Papa are him waking me and Megan (and various cousins) up with his guitar, singing, announcing it was time for breakfast, him sitting in his recliner (he assumes this position before the sun comes up) drinking coffee and reading the paper, falling asleep during choir, fiddling around in his workshop, and giving the blessing at every family meal.

My Papa is one of the best men I know and I love him very much.

Romeo & Juliet - Still Love It

2011-06-29T10:56:00.000-05:00

I just watched the modern Romeo & Juliet for maybe the one millionth time. I still love this movie, and I still cry every time. I love the current day setting with the original old English dialogue. I love Leonardo DiCaprio. I love the soundtrack (and I still have the CD from when I got it when the movie came out). I downloaded the play on my Kindle so I can read it (and memorize the intro). I just love this movie.

Different Strokes

2011-06-16T10:04:00.000-05:00

This is what I see when I see a frog - something cute that I want to pick up and look at and admire.

This, apparently, is what Rusty sees when he sees a frog. Something terrifying that wants to attack and destroy.

I think this stems from one time when I let him out to potty and he stepped on a frog on the doormat and the frog jumped and startled Rusty. Now when he sees a frog, like he did last night, he high-tails it back to the door and tries to claw his way back into the house. I wish I knew what he was thinking (actually, about everything, not just the frog).

Amenities

2011-06-16T09:12:00.000-05:00

If you stay at my home I can now offer you these fancy Aveda toiletries. Because I stole them from the Vdara hotel in Vegas. Come enjoy.

Aint No Thang

2011-06-16T08:57:00.000-05:00

My natural inclination when I see a stray dog is to check it for a collar and try to take it home or at the very least make sure it's not walking on a busy street. It's hard for me to pass by / ignore the dog, it makes me feel bad.

I have had to learn to overcome this desire in my neighborhood because we are never short on stray dogs. I see the same loose dogs all the time, and they all seem like they've got places to go, they'll head home when they're good and ready, and you shouldn't sweat it. The other day, I saw a chihuahua crossing TC Jester ON THE CROSSWALK during the WALK SIGNAL! I mean, this dog waited on the sidewalk until my light was red, then nonchalantly walked on the crosswalk across the street and continued on the sidewalk into the other half of our neighborhood. This guy has some street smarts (ha). I know which house he lives in, I've seen him before, so I just have to let it go.

Is this dog independence normal? I would never give my pups the opportunity to wander the neighborhood but I guess we've got some owners around here who just let their dogs do their own thing. I think it's strange.

Abrupt Endings

2011-06-03T11:45:00.000-05:00

I read 3 (maybe more) books in the past week. The past 3 that I read all had one thing in common - abrupt endings. It was like each of them needed a couple more chapters to really finish the book. I was left feeling like the authors just got tired of writing and came full stop 20 pages early. It's a strange, irritating feeling.

In the First Husband, the main character makes a choice between old and new loves. I am happy with her choice in the end, but the final few chapters of her making the choice just didn't seem fully developed or cohesive to me. I did like the final chapter though, so it kind of made of for some of the previous ones.

This one had a whopper of an abrupt ending. Like The First Husband, the main character is choosing between two men, one she dated previously and one she has a new attraction to. One man confesses his love, says he and the girl will end up together, no matter what. Then a few pages later (equal to a few minutes in the story) she agrees to marry the other guy. It just happened too fast, and not enough happened between the two to realistically believe they could jump from one point to the other so quickly. And the title of the book, The Bitch Proof Suit - the girl has these suits made that she wears to feel powerful and that no one ever has a criticism for. She alludes to the special qualities of the suit and you think by the end she'll have spilled some big secret to you about it - and she gives little snippets throughout the book - but I never felt like I figured out what was so great about the suit - it was unsatisfying. Also, does this bother anyone else - the author is European but her main character is from New York; she writes dialogue for the character that includes phrases, verbiage, whatever, that Americans don't use. Makes me wonder if everyone who proof read the book was European and didn't realize the words weren't right coming out of an American's mouth.

Besides that, I got a kick out of the three main female characters, they were entertaining.

This book is by the Fug Girls, the women who write the Go Fug Yourself website. I think they are so clever and I love their blog. But the book needed 20 more pages, I felt like I was left hanging. Maybe there's going to be a sequel? They apparently feel like they resolved the story/conflict but I do not agree. Like the book above, the main characters were entertaining, if not believable (which I think was on purpose because the book seems to be meant to be a tad (more than a tad) snarky on the celebrity life) so I still enjoyed it. It is a young adult book though, so not sure others would my age would be interested, unless you're like me and still like to read books written for people 10 years younger than you!

I didn't hate any of these books but I don't like the unsatisfying feeling of an incomplete story.

One for One

2011-05-25T16:26:00.000-05:00

I just ordered my first pair of TOMS. Sarah loves hers, and I need a new pair of black wedges so I thought these were a good choice. I hope I like them because there's a coral pair that I really want too. I wish I knew who got their own new pair of shoes from this purchase.

Stupid Teeth

2011-05-19T17:02:00.001-05:00

I am getting my wisdom teeth out next Tuesday. I am very excited. Not about the pain, but about not having these stupid extra teeth in my mouth anymore. One of them is giving me real grief right now and I want it destroyed.

My favorite ice cream flavor is chocolate chip cookie dough, by the way.

24

2011-05-19T11:15:00.000-05:00

Miss Moogs - here you are as a tiny little baby. You were the cutest little sister ever. Now you're all grown up, and you're still the cutest little sister ever. Happy 24th birthday to my amazing beautiful sister. xoxo

A Wedding Weekend

2011-05-19T10:52:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to Caitlin and Ricardo!

I had so much fun at the Dooley-Sutton wedding! I think I danced for about 3 hours straight - which I think is a sign of a super awesome wedding.

The Dooleys hosted a pre-wedding BBQ on Thursday at their lovely new home. We had great food, and I had enough wine to mask the pain of doing the jump splits (apparently my doing the splits is requisite - at least this time I wasn't wearing a dress).

The wedding ceremony was held at All Saints in the Heights - I love that church. If I was Catholic (and not already married) I would want to get married there. It's so colorful and charming. After the ceremony we pre-partied at Sambuca - I really like this idea of pre-reception partying. I recommend it.

The reception was at Rice University, with tables outside and in, and Caitlin and Rosanna did such a great job decorating. The centerpieces on the tables inside were cakes. Cakes! And they were delicious. I've never seen that before but it's a great idea.

As I mentioned, there was a LOT of dancing at the reception - the DJ did a great job of reading the crowd and keeping everyone on the dance floor. The beautiful bride and her groom partied it up all night on the dance floor (all I do is win, win, win no matter what!). My feet were so sore the next day (do not jump around in 3+ inch heels). Why do I always forget to bring flats?

On Sunday we brunched at the Dooleys - I'm amazed the ladies had the energy to get up and cook breakfast for a crowd. We heard lots of fun stories from the Dooley sisters' childhood and even got to see some relics from their past (one clay toilet and one antique lobster claw).

It was such a great weekend - congratulations again to Rick and Caity and thanks for including us in your celebration!

Data Rock Star!

2011-05-03T14:13:00.000-05:00

My husband Robert is quite the rock star at work! He just won a trip to the Broadmoor Resort in Colorado Springs - and I get to go with him! For free! Thank you BMC!

Popeye Was Onto Something

2011-04-20T12:44:00.000-05:00

I, like Popeye the Sailorman, love spinach. I've always liked it, but my recent vegetarian stint renewed my fervor. I don't pop it out of a can like Popeye but I'm just as enthusiastic about it. I get as much joy eating a big pile of spinach as I do eating Blue Bell ice cream. That's big. Just writing this post is making me crave some spinach. I yam what I yam!

Tina Fey: Modern Genius

2011-04-14T11:21:00.000-05:00

I think Tina Fey is a genius. She is beyond one of the most clever people in showbiz right now. I loved her on/for SNL, and 30 Rock is ridiculously awesome. If you're not watching it, you're missing out. And if you don't get it, I'm not sure we can be friends (just kidding, kind of).

I just finished her book Bossypants, which I highly recommend not only because she is just hilarious but also because it gives you insight to her non-funny business. I didn't know she was such an advocate for women's equality, especially in the work place, and it's neat to read about her role as The Boss. Throughout the book she gives some funny tips on how to be a boss, how to be an improv actor, how to be beautiful, etc. She had me cracking up the entire time, as usual. I love when she says something is "the worst". Like, she is the worst because she falls asleep when her husband is making the 7 hour Christmas holiday drive. And the "thumb in the panties" move for photo shoots is the worst. Today on Facebook I said "broad jumps are the worst", trying to emulate some Tina Fey.

Thank you Tina Fey for being a hilarious and brilliant writer and actor. Don't ever retire.

Working On My Fitness

2011-04-14T10:54:00.000-05:00

Saturday is the last day of my first session of boot camp. It has been hard and I have been sweaty. Waking up at 4:45am 2 days a week and not being able to sleep in Saturdays has been almost as challenging as the actual workouts! Also, I have to do a lot of laundry because I don't have that many work out bottoms (besides Nike shorts which are not good for bending over).

I don't see a real difference in my body yet but I know I'm stronger because I can do real pushups now! Not 40 in a minute like the trainer said we should be able to (liar), but hey, I can do a few and that's more than I could say before we started.

My workout buddy Katie and I have signed up for another 12 classes at West U that start next Monday, and then we are signed up for the month of June with a boot camp in The Heights. Bring on the bathing suits!

Obnoxious

2011-04-14T10:25:00.000-05:00

I am now one of those obnoxious people whose coffee order at Starbuck's takes 5 minutes to say and a month to memorize.

"I'll have a grande 2 pump non-fat no-whip white mocha, at 140 (degrees)". Ugh! I'm even rolling my eyes at myself.

I'm Carniverous

2011-04-14T09:59:00.000-05:00

Last weekend marked the end of my one month stint as a vegetarian. I wasn't doing it for Lent, or for health, or for a cause - I just wanted to see if I had the will power to do it. And I did.

And I'm glad it's over! I have to admit, the whole time I was thinking about Chick-fil-A and turkey burgers and Robert's grilled chicken.

I don't eat beef, seafood, or (much) pork anyway, so I didn't miss those things at all. I bet it was probably easier for me because of that, than a person who is used to a bigger variety of meat. But I did miss my poultry. And I got pretty tired of beans.

I think the 2 best things I got out of it were being more creative with vegetables and not eating very much fast food. I made myself some killer squash and zucchini sandwiches and discovered a delicious butternut squash Lean Cuisine (seriously, it's good). I didn't have Chick-fil-A (not even fries) for a month. Also, I can now recommend the veggie enchiladas at Chuy's with jalapeno cream sauce, yum!

I can see myself not eating meat every day, that wouldn't be a stretch for me, but I don't see myself giving it up completely. And I will try to seek out meat that comes from responsible farmers (ranchers?). I commend those who choose to go veg, especially those who used to eat meat. It's a hard thing to do!

PS: Dear Central Market - Please use chicken bouillon in your soups instead of chicken stock! I really wanted Tomato Bisque but didn't want to cheat with the chicken stock.

Lone Star Stampede

2011-03-22T09:57:00.001-05:00

I just registered us for the Lone Star Stampede. I like to sign up for 5ks, then complain to myself when I'm running them about signing up for 5ks.

Aloha Caity!

2011-03-22T09:43:00.000-05:00

Elaine, Sarah, and Erin through Caitlin a lovely honeymoon shower last Friday. I had a honeymoon shower as well and I think they're a great idea. You get lots of fun gifts and it makes preparing for the honeymoon much easier. Caitlin and Rick's skin will be well protected and Caitlin's got quite an outfit to wear (involving a coconut bra with GS patches).

The shower was followed up by, you guessed it, a dance party. We hung out into the wee hours at the Dooley's new home in The Heights (which is beautiful!).

I love wedding season - I love showers and giving (and wrapping) gifts and dancing at weddings.

I Accept!

2011-03-16T21:55:00.001-05:00

This is the card Kristen (Rob's sister) sent out asking her bridesmaids to be in the wedding. I love this! She got them from Etsy. I need to do more Etsy shopping for sure.

I have accepted my role as a bridesmaid (of course) and am really looking forward to all the activities. This is going to be an awesome wedding!

Happy Baby!

2011-03-16T21:54:00.000-05:00

I went to Fort Worth for Drew's first birthday party a few weekends ago. He is such a sweet, happy baby! He is walking, and grabbing, and reaching, and laughing, and talking! Right now he's calling everything "this" and "that" and it is extremely cute. If he wants something, he points and says "That!". Even to people. Adorable!

Steph made a deliciously cute cow cake with pig cupcakes (farm animal themed party) - such a good mommy!

Happy 1st birthday to a very happy baby!

Don't Phone It In

2011-03-16T21:50:00.000-05:00

I start boot camp next week. It's at 5:30am on Tuesday and Thursday, and 8am on Saturday.

I get up at 7:50 every day. I will have to get up at 4:45.
And WORK OUT.

Omg.

Best. Cupcakes. Ever.

2011-02-24T10:00:00.000-06:00

This weekend I had the best cupcake(s) I've ever had. Gigi's Cupcakes had a mini cupcake display at the first wedding dress shop we went to in The Woodlands, so I of course had to give them a try.

I am rarely impressed by a cupcake; they have been all the rage for the past few years but I always think my moms can make better cupcakes (much to the chagrin of my cupcake loving friend Jenny Hohbein). This time though, I have to say, I was super impressed!

I don't really like icing (I prefer cream cheese frosting, all the time) so I usually end up wiping the frosting of cupcakes and slices of cake. I gave my first Gigi's cupcake a tentative lick to taste the icing and was pleasantly surprised by the thick, soft, not too sweet topping. I ended up eating the first dollop off the cupcake just by itself! Then I ate the rest of the tiny cake and the cake part was just as delicious!

I only tried the vanilla/vanilla and chocolate/chocolate that they had on display but I'm sure the rest of the flavors offered are just as yummy. I will definitely be ordering these cupcakes for one or more of the wedding events coming up this year.

If you live near a Gigi's (there are more than a few) I recommend you go get a cupcake immediately!

She Said Yes to the Dress!

2011-02-24T09:09:00.000-06:00

My beautiful sister Megan picked out a beautiful wedding dress last weekend! She looked amazing in everything and I of course teared up at the first dress she came out in. Seeing my little sister all dressed up as a bride was surreal, I am so glad I was able to share that experience with her and our mom and her mom-in-law-to-be.

Congratulations on saying yes to your dress, Megan! You will an absolutely gorgeous bride!

Rodeo Run, Yeehaw!

2011-02-24T09:06:00.000-06:00

Robert and I are doing the Rodeo Run 5k this weekend. I am excited because I am not worried about not being able to run the whole thing! Also because I've always wanted a Rodeo Run t-shirt. I think I do races for the t-shirts.

100 Shots

2011-02-24T08:38:00.000-06:00

I have been suffering from allergies for about the past 5 years. I can't even imagine the number of boxes of tissues I've gone through, and the number of eye drops I've used to get rid of bloodshot eyes. Apparently I am allergic to dust mites and house dust, the main culprits for me, among a number of other seasonal things and cats & ants.

This year I decided to do something to try to get rid of these allergies instead of just continuing to treat the symptoms with nose sprays and antihistamines. I started immunotherapy this week. The idea is to introduce my body to increasing dosages of the things I'm allergic to so that I build up an immunity to them.

I went with the rush treatment which meant I had to do a full day of shots, which will be followed up with many more visits. The rush treatments is supposed to build your immunity faster than just doing one series of shots every week for several years. I will still have to go for follow up shots for a long time, but by the summer my allergies should already be better.

So on Monday I got about 100 shots. Five levels, five series each, of four vials of allergens. I got almost all of the shots in my arms but by the end of the day my arms were getting pretty tired of getting poked so we moved to the legs. The first four rounds didn't really hurt but the last one was not fun - the allergen serum got pretty thick and it took some pushing to get it in (sorry, gross). I didn't really have a bad reaction at the doctor's office so the day wasn't too terrible.

But then I went home. And the injection sites on my legs had swollen like I got hit with a softball. And my arms were bruised. And my eyelids swelled up and looked like lips. And I got hives on my neck and shoulders. And my lips were tingling. Sexy!

Luckily (for Robert mostly, who was not excited about having to give me an epi shot) most of the reactions cleared up the next day, and the doctor said it was a pretty normal reaction. Now I am pretty much back to normal though I still have bruises and a bit of swelling where I got the shots.

I have to go back next week but will not be getting 100 shots that time, so it should be way easier. Ongoing I think I have to go once a week or something (I am not super clear on that, I guess I should figure it out...) and I'm hoping this treatments works.

I feel like I should notify Kleenex and Puffs that their sales are about to drop! Wahoo.

Dog Update

2011-02-09T11:58:00.000-06:00

Rosie has settled in nicely in her new home. She and Robert are best buds, she gets so excited when he comes home and they love to cuddle. Now Robert has his dog and I have mine.

She and Rusty are getting along great. They love to play, sleep, and eat together. Here they are sleeping on the couch (they are not allowed on the couch but I didn't have the heart to kick them off) - they sleep like this a lot - with one resting their head on the other. It's pretty much the cutest thing ever.

Rosie is waking us up now to go potty, we are very proud of her. She's not having accidents inside any more. I can't wait to get them both a doggy door.

Rusty and Rosie got haircuts together at Petsmart and I got the same report for both of them - they don't like their face being messed with and are very wiggly. I'll have to keep working with Rose on not trying to eat the scissors (or eat her hair that gets cut off, which apparently she finds irresistible).

We are loving being a two dog family and I think Rosie is loving being in our family.

Color Infusion

2011-02-09T11:06:00.000-06:00

I am constantly attempting to fill our house with color. Our walls are beige, the trim is beige, the outside is beige, our couch is beige, the carpet upstairs is beige - it's beige overload around here. Because we can't paint every surface, I am trying to find things for the walls and as decoration that are saturated with color.

Our bedroom has dark wood floors. Our furniture is dark wood. We have a white comforter that has got to go for many reasons. 1) It doesn't fit in the washing machine, which is not good when you have a dog that prefers to barf on the bed, 2) white does not add color, and 3) it doesn't cover the whole mattress (which has been a problem with every comforter). This week, Robert and I chose a quilt in nutmeg from West Elm. We have one sham already, and we can tell the color is going to look great in our room. I'm very excited about this new color and hope we can find lots of fun, interesting art and furniture that will all compliment this new quilt and our existing blue and white rug.

During our trip to Dallas this weekend, I noticed a framed picture of Chicago neighborhoods that Larissa had in her kitchen and decided I must have one for myself. I ordered the below print to hang in my office. I am very excited - I moved home from Chicago on purpose but I still miss the beautiful city and it will always have a special place in my heart.

I have been wanting to paint my office blue from the start. I think it's a soothing color and since I'm in my home office for 9 hours a day I at least want my office to be decorated prettily. I haven't actually brought home paint samples, but I'm thinking a blue from the below color family would look wonderful. I have dark brown desks (3!) and a dark brown bookcase so blue walls and white desk chairs (to be obtained) will liven things up. I also want a grey pull out couch in here.

I love decorating our home. I only wish I had an unlimited budget to do it!

And Then There Were Two

2011-01-24T12:47:00.000-06:00

Please join me in welcoming Miss Rosie to the Hanley family!

Rosie was found by Robert's aunt in Cypress. I brought her home last Monday on a trial run. She spent the first night cuddling in Robert's lap - I think she was sucking up to him so he would want to keep her! Rusty wasn't too thrilled to be sharing his people and his attention but he's gotten better. He knows he's still #1.

This weekend, after a fun week and a clean bill of health, we've decided to adopt Rosie. She has adjusted wonderfully and seems to love us as if she's known us forever.

She is a Silky Terrier (we think, and the vet thinks) and she's only about 7 months old. She's really long and skinny and has long wild puppy hair. She has a lot of energy and loves to chew on you and really loves to play tug with Rusty (including playing tug with his ears, which he does not appreciate). We are working on all the tricks and working on having the dogs eat from their own bowls (this is hard).

Rusty is a little over 6 years old, and he's pretty content being a lazy old man dog. I think having a young wildebeest around will help keep Rusty young and active. He's played more this past week than he has in years! We are being sure to cuddle Rusty a lot still and make sure he knows he has not been replaced - we've just given him a friend to love him and keep him company.

It's been tiring and challenging having a new dog, and a puppy at that, and learning how to deal with two dogs instead of one. I think it'll just get easier as Rose gets out of the puppy stage and we will really enjoy having two little doggies to love on.

Welcome, Rosie!

I Still Have a Brain

2011-01-21T16:18:00.000-06:00

Do you remember that episode of The Office where Michael and Dwight go on a client visit and Michael is upset and lets his navigation system tell him to drive into a lake?

I got a Garmin for Christmas and me and Robert have had that experience with it a couple of times. We got lost on the way to my grandma's house. We were only using the Garmin for fun - I know how to get there. Yet - it told us to go in a direction we knew was wrong and yet we did it. And the other day we were driving to BW3 on West Gray - again, we knew how to get there. This time though we ignored some of the bad directions, but only because we didn't want to "drive into the lake" again. (Note - the Garmin isn't always wrong, on both occasions there was recent unrecognized construction.)

I feel like sometimes I lean on an electronic device instead of using my own brain. I need to remind myself, I survived just fine without an iPhone and a Garmin. They are nice to have, but so is my God given, well educated brain.

Extravaganzaaaa

2011-01-12T22:53:00.001-06:00

Last Saturday I went with Megan, her friend, and my mom to the Houston bridal extravaganza. It was quite ... extravagant. I never went for my wedding because I was in Chicago, so I had no idea what to expect, and neither did Megs. The place was huge and packed and there were a million vendors. I think we managed to drop a raffle ticket into every available "big prize!" box and probably have 25 candidates for wedding photographers and lots of coupons for every competing men's suit store in Texas!

Mom locked down the table linens for the wedding and Megan found her perfect cake, so I think the day was a success, even if we felt a little crazy and overwhelmed throughout the process.

Megan's wedding's not until November 5 but she and my mom mean business and are knocking this thing out! This coming weekend Megan and her bridesmaids are going dress shopping and checking out a possible venue (and of course we're squeezing in a lunch at Los Cucos).

What a fun year for weddings!

"12.31.11 - it's going to be epic..."

2011-01-12T22:48:00.000-06:00

That (the post title) is the text I received from Kristen, my sister in law, announcing her engagement to her wonderful boyfriend John!

John proposed this past Saturday and invited close friends and family out to celebrate the engagement. Kir was totally surprised and John picked out a fabulous ring, way to go!

Congratulations Kir and John, we are so happy for you! And you're right, the wedding will be epic and I can't wait for NYE 2011.

Twas a Happy New Year's Eve

2011-01-05T22:45:00.001-06:00

Thank you to Mari and Aaron for hosting us for NYE 2011! We had a blast with everyone. Dinner was delicious and so were all the treats at the house.

This picture serves as a reminder to have a good time but do not play beer pong or flip cup with champagne. It is only fun at the time, not in the morning.

Happy new year to all!

Six Christmases

2011-01-05T22:10:00.000-06:00

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday. Robert and I did, we both had some time off and spent it relaxing, partying, being with friends and family, and enjoying our first Christmas in our new home.

This year we celebrated Christmas three times on Christmas Eve and three times on Christmas Day. This will likely be the trend until someone in the immediate family (ahem, Kir or Megan) has children and we switch things up. I enjoy the hustle and bustle even if it is tiring and Robert acts as though he will die from the festivities.

Christmas 1: Hanley extended family. We went to the Christmas Eve service at Robert's family's church and then went down to Webster to celebrate Christmas with Rob's extended family. We had a delicious Mexican buffet and had a fun gift exchange where everyone brought As Seen on TV gifts. Robert and I went first and lucked out with a UT Snuggie which no one stole from us.

Christmas 2: Hanley immediate family. The Hanley gift exchange was at Kir's house this year. Everyone got great presents, especially Robert who got a homemade washers game set from Kristen & John that Robert's family worked on together. The boards look totally professional!

Christmas 3: Nikki and Robert. Robert and I had our gift exchange when we got home from Kir's. I don't know if this will be our tradition, but the timing seemed right this year with everything else going on. Robert gave me some very thoughtful gifts, like a pair of Nola water meter earrings (he heard me talking about the water meter thing) and a print of a girl shopping in Paris I had been admiring. Robert got his much talked about Kinect game, which he didn't know he was getting, and that was the highlight of his gifts from me.

I don't have any pictures from our little Christmas. I don't know how that happened.

Christmas 4: Bates/Chism immediate family. We had my family over to our house for Christmas breakfast and gifts. We cooked up a quiche, cheesy biscuits, bacon, and fruit. The kids (me, Rob, Meg, Cody) gave my parents a Wii and they were surprised and excited! I need to go play at their house soon, I want to see my mom get cracked up over the cow racing.

Christmas 5: Chism extended family. We went out to Katy to celebrate with Bobby's family. Sadly Bobby had to work in the afternoon so he couldn't make it. We had more great food and had another fun gift exchange and visited with family.

Grandma Joanna gave me and Meg turbie twist hair towels - I've used mine every day, it's awesome!

Christmas 6: Bates extended family. Well, we'd gone to the far south, the far west, so it was apparently time for the far north side of Houston. Our last Christmas celebration was with my dad's family up in Spring. Robert played pool with the uncles and I played that new Pictionary with the man you draw on with the aunts and lady friends. It was a nice relaxing fun way to end the day's festivities.

Robert gave Uncle Chip a 6-pack of Busch tall boys for Christmas.

The Christmas tree is down now and life is back to normal. I love the excitement and joy and family time around Christmas but I am ready for the post-Christmas down time!

Step Away From the Kolache

2011-01-05T22:05:00.000-06:00

In college I didn't allow myself to know where the nearest donut shop was. I really love donuts. And I really love kolaches. And I find them almost irresistible. Therefore, I make an effort to be unaware of the local shops so that even if I have a craving, I can say I don't know where to go and looking up the place would make me feel even guiltier.

For my birthday last week Robert went out and got me ham & cheese kolaches from the Kolache Factory. I said I didn't know there was one near and he said oh yeah, there's one right on Westcott and Memorial.

THAT IS TOO CLOSE TO MY HOUSE. I AM DOOMED.

Tardy to the FNL Party

2011-01-01T20:12:00.000-06:00

I'd seen a few episodes of Friday Night Lights in the past, mostly the same couple over and over. I liked what I saw but never watched the show when it was on regularly. I just decided to start from the beginning on Netflix and I am now totally hooked! I saw an article on this show called "The best show you are not watching" - that is so true. This show is amazing, it's so real and the acting and stories and characters are great but it's cancelled and never really had a huge following. I can't understand why, anyone who's seen the show loved it, I can't believe it didn't last longer.

I actually think this is my new favorite show. That means it beats True Blood and 30 Rock, which is saying a lot! If you haven't seen it, I recommend you make a date with your Netflix immediately!

Upgraded

2010-12-08T13:53:00.000-06:00

This image came up when I searched for "iphone 4". This lion thinks iPhone 4s are booooring.

Anyway, I got an iPhone 4 on sale at Radio Shack. My old iPhone 3G was so terribly slow, I was complaining about it every day and ready to smash it, so Robert said just go get a new one!

So I did. It's pretty sweet. It's way faster than my old phone and it actually locates me on the map. I am very scared I'm going to drop and crack it though, as I was want to do with the old phone. I better get a case stat.

Everything on this one works better than my other so far. Only thing I don't like is that it doesn't have rounded edges anymore and the back is glass. I feel like it's not as comfortable to hold and it's more slippery. Other than that, I am pleased!

Tabletops

2010-12-08T12:55:00.001-06:00

Every year my mom participates in the women's Christmas banquet at her church and decorates several tables. I helped her this year and last, and it is quite a to-do!

The crowd favorite is my mom's gift box tabletopper. She made a structure of wood and plumbing to support 3 gift boxes bursting with green and red ornaments and dodads. It is beautiful! Next year the gift box arrangement will be auctioned off at the event.

One of the other tables was decorated in blue, silver, and brown with a reindeer theme. I love reindeer, they are what I decorate my house with for Christmas.

My mom let me make one of the two arrangements for this table. This was my first time making a centerpiece of this stature and I was nervous to do it! I worked alongside her, following along with her ideas and then just went on from there on my own. I was very pleased with the finished product and even more pleased that my mom didn't have to "fix" my work!

I could really get into this. I don't really want to pay for everything that goes into a design like this, but I wouldn't mind making one again next year with my mom's stuff.

It was great to spend time with my mom doing something fun and creating beautiful tables that her church ladies really enjoyed. I'm already looking forward to next year!

Wonderful World Wide Web

2010-12-08T10:36:00.002-06:00

I have been doing a lot of online shopping for Christmas this year. It is not nearly as fun as going to the stores (I like to touch things, put them in carts, have the instant gratification of bringing them home) but it is quite convenient!

A lot of stores are doing free shipping right now and I've gotten a lot of "free super saver shipping" on Amazon. I think I'm warming up to this idea of browsing and buying without even having to put my shoes on!

I know I am behind the trend on this one, but what about you? How do you prefer to do your shopping?

Victory!

2010-12-08T10:36:00.001-06:00

I ran my 5k on December 5! I didn't have to stop and I didn't feel super tired afterwards. This is a big accomplishment for me because not very long ago I couldn't even run a mile straight.

I think what helped was the energy of being at an official run, taking a few puffs of an inhaler beforehand, and it not being hot outside.

Robert of course finished before me but I'm glad because he was at the finish line cheering me on.

We want to sign up for more of these, and maybe I'll even make it to a 10k some day!

My December

2010-12-08T10:17:00.000-06:00

Current Book(s): I'm trying to read Decision Points by GWB. It's interesting but a pretty slow read.

Current Playlist: I really need some new music. I downloaded Breath of Heaven by Amy Grant last night after hearing it at the Copperfield Christmas banquet. I guess Christmas music should be on my playlist.

Current Shame-Inducing Guilty Pleasure: I guess it's shameful to buy yourself stuff when you're out Christmas shopping for others?

Current Color: Red! Silver! The colors of my lovely Christmas reindeer.

Current Drink: Morning: Non-fat, no whip white mocha. Night: Margaritas or Fireman's 4 (not every night). Hmm, same as last month. I am a creature of habit.

Current Food: Chicken nuggets. Why do I love chicken nuggets so much? I think part of it is that they're a vehicle for honey mustard.

Current Wishlist: A raise! Not complaining about my salary, but a wish is a wish. I wish for a raise because I wish I could pay for shutters for my house!

Current Needs: I need earphones for running that actually stay in my ears. It's so annoying and distracting to have to put my iPhone earbuds back in every minute.

Current Triumphs: I ran the Mistletoe 5k without stopping! And I wasn't really tired afterward!

Current Bane(s) of my Existence: I WISH the current bane of my existence was Christmas cookies but since I work at home I don't have any, I have no office mates bringing goodies to work.

Current Celebrity Crush:

Current Indulgence: I sleep until about 7:50 every morning because my commute is .. down the hall.

Current #1 Blessing: Robert's company hasn't been sold (yet).

Current Outfit: Sweateverythings.

Current Excitement: Chicago! We're leaving Dec 10 for a long overdue trip to Chicago. Robert will stay the weekened, I'll stay the week to work in my old office. I am very excited to see all our Chicago friends but very, very scared about freezing to death in the December weather.

Current Mood: Cheery!

Current Link: www.amazon.com. Thank you free shipping.

A Must-have for Gift Wrappers

2010-11-29T13:18:00.001-06:00

Updated with action shot!

----------------------------------------

I bought a Scotch Pop-Up Tape Handband Dispenser this weekend for $3 at Wal-Mart. I just wrapped two Christmas gifts using my new gadget. This thing is great! You don't have to reach for the tape holder and use two hands to get tape, you can hold your paper down and use just one hand to grab a perfectly sized piece of tape. I love it! This is a must-have for all you gift wrappers out there.

Shabaka!

2010-11-17T22:06:00.000-06:00

Thank you Denise for posting a link to Damn You, AutoCorrect on Facebook! Otherwise I would be missing a good daily dose of cracking up.

The website just posts screenshots of people's text messages where their phone (mostly iPhones) autocorrected a word to something strange, inappropriate, and hilarious.

I almost wish I wasn't such a meticulous text typer because I want my own funny autocorrect to post!

PS I chose the one pictured to put as an example because it's even funnier to me that they were trying to be serious and got the word nipple slipped into the text, and the responder was clever - "well don't hold your breath for either one of those things" hahahaha. I love it!

PPS Shabaka is an autocorrect for "hahahaha".

San Antonio Bound!

2010-11-11T21:33:00.000-06:00

Robert and I are heading to San Antonio this Saturday for a belated anniversary celebration. We have a great agenda planned and I'm super excited. I am a tourist in my own state.

On our way there we are stopping at the San Marcos outlet mall (we're coming from Austin) - and Robert is doing this willingly, believe it or not. I've got my coupons ready.

When we get to San Antonio we're going straight to the Alamo. We're going to look in the genealogy books (ancestry, whatever) to find my great great great something or other relative. I am a Daughter of the Texas Revolution (though not officially affiliated with the organization, which I totally should be, they have galas!). I hope it is as beautiful as this picture (sadly, it's supposed to rain Saturday).

After the Alamo we're checking in at our hotel on the Riverwalk and then strolling around the Riverwalk, the King William Historic District, La Villita, and El Mercado.

We'll eat dinner on the river and then go enjoy some live music on a patio somewhere (we hope).

On Sunday we are going for a run on one of the running routes suggested on the Visit San Antonio website (which is great, btw) and then having breakfast. Before we head back to Houston we will either stop at the zoo or the Japanese Tea Garden. I've been there before with my mom and sister and it's so pretty!

We're pumped for this little mini-vacation. I want to plan many more Texas trips for us in the future. I love it that I live in a state with so much to see and do!

Almost There

2010-11-08T15:04:00.001-06:00

This photo represents me and Robert crossing the Mistletoe 5k finish line together. We won't be the ones crashing through the ribbon, but at least I now have a chance of actually crossing the line running alongside Robert.

On Sunday at Memorial I ran 2 miles straight for the first time in my life (if I recall correctly). I ran 2 miles, then took a .5 mile break, then ran the last half mile of the 3 mile loop. Robert was very nice to run at what for him was a snail's pace with me.

I was feeling very heavy-legged and like I had no energy when I ran Sunday, I guess because I didn't eat anything before I went. That is a lesson learned, I will definitely fuel up every time I run now because I did not like feeling like I was running in a dream (you know how in dreams you can never run fast, it's like you're going through mud?).

This accomplishment makes me very proud. I do not like running and I've never been very good at it, but I wanted to get better so I could run with my husband and because I want a healthy, active body. I look forward to (hopefully soon) being able to reach the 3 mile goal!

Goodbye Slanket, Hello OnePiece?

2010-11-04T13:27:00.000-05:00

Robert's coworker sent a link to this product to him and asked him to forward it to me because she thought I'd like it.

I'm not sure if I should take that as an insult or not? Do I come off as the type of person who wants to lounge around in a one-piece sweatsuit? Or perhaps she thought I would just get a kick out of it?

Let's get this straight - I think it's a hideous shape to put on a body. And the fact that it appears to zip up to the top of your head kind of creeps me out. But (insult or not) ... I can totally see myself snuggled up on the couch in one of these. Mind you, I would never wear this in public.

What do you think? Are you down with the OnePiece? Check out all the colors here.

A Birthday Photo Montage

2010-11-03T08:57:00.000-05:00

Today is Rusty's 6th birthday! Let's reminisce with a few pictures from the early years...

Here is Rusty as a little baby out in the cold Chicago snow. He was born in Texas but spent his first 5 years in Chicago and he loved to sniff around in the snow.

My mom sent me this stuffed Yorkie for Valentine's my first year in Chicago. Rusty and the stuffed dog were the same size for a while. You may recognize this dog, as it now belongs to Rusty, but is missing both ears and has had several corrective surgeries.

Rusty got his first haircut at Petsmart. They called me to come get him early because they said he was "a danger to himself and others" and was banned from that groomer. You'll see they only cut his body hair and left his face undone because he was moving around too much and they were worried they would cut him or themselves. I finished off this haircut after he got fixed and was still out of it from the anesthesia.

Rusty got a big cookie for his first birthday. Don't worry, I didn't let him eat it all at once.

Here we are present day, Rusty with all his buddies. And there's that poor stuffed yorkie.

And today - he's giving me a little "all the way down" pose.

Stretch it out old man!

In small dog years, Rusty is about 40 years old. He must be having his mid-life crisis because this morning he asked me for a 2-year old Yorkie girlfriend and a black leather studded Puppia harness.

Happy birthday to my sweet puppy wuppy!

My November

2010-11-02T11:09:00.000-05:00

Current Book(s): Unbearable Lightness by Portia De Rossi. She was on Oprah yesterday and read excerpts from her book and it sounded interesting (and sad) so I bought it last night.

Current Playlist: Mostly old hip-hop songs when I'm jogging.

Current Shame-Inducing Guilty Pleasure: Letting bananas get old and soft so I'm forced to make and eat banana bread.

Current Color: Orange. It's fall, orange is appropriate. And I want an orange chair in our master bedroom.

Current Drink: Morning: Non-fat, no whip white mocha. Night: Margaritas or Fireman's 4 (not every night).

Current Food: Aforementioned banana bread.

Current Wishlist: I still wish for shutters. I newly wish for a running watch.

Current Needs: I got new running shoes (last month's need). Now I need more discipline.

Current Triumphs: I can run a little over a mile straight. I only have 1 month to get up to 3 miles, yikes!

Current Bane(s) of my Existence: My endurance, or rather, lack thereof.

Current Celebrity Crush: Amanda Seyfried. She's my doppelganger (by a stretch).

Current Indulgence: And banana bread makes it on the list for a 3rd time.

Current #1 Blessing: My thyroid hormones are under control with my current medicine. Now only if their was a natural cure for this (I hate being on medicine!).

Current Outfit: True Religion jeans I got for a steal at Off 5th and my grey Old Navy zipper hoody.

Current Excitement: We are going to San Antonio for a late anniversary trip. And excited about Thanksgiving though I don't know what our plans are yet.

Current Mood: I don't know, does anyone have a mood ring I could borrow?

Current Link: The Teddy Hilton pets page by Perez Hilton. I submitted a picture of Rusty for the Pets Behaving Badly gallery but he hasn't made it so far.

(Other) Dogs Just Wanna Have Fun

2010-11-02T10:54:00.000-05:00

The dog above is a good example of how Rusty does NOT act at the dog park.

Robert and I took Rusty to the Danny Jackson Family Bark Park on Westpark this weekend, on Saturday and Sunday. I took him again yesterday. We are newbies at the dog park.

All three days Rusty was a total bum. He didn't play with other dogs, all he did was sniff, and pee, and pee, and sniff, and get his feet wet in the pond, and pee. He introduced himself to other dogs but never took it further than a few sniffs before he came back to us and sat down or just stood looking around. Do we have an anti-social dog?

He's well behaved with other dogs, he isn't aggressive (other than growling/snapping for the first time in his life Sunday when a wienie dog was vigorously and unwelcomingly humping him), he doesn't hide, he just doesn't really interact. Is this because I've raised him as an only dog-child? Have I ruined my dogs social skills?

Tomorrow is Rusty's 6th birthday. We are going to Petsmart to buy a water/dirt-friendly stuffed toy (he prefers stuffed toys over balls) and we're going to the park and we're going to try to enjoy ourselves. I'm hoping the more we take him, and the more he's around other dogs, the more active and social he will be. If he continues to sit around and ignore other dogs, I will just have to accept that I have a little loner dog and let him do as he pleases (sit, pee, sniff, pee).

4 Years!

2010-10-28T09:49:00.000-05:00

Happy anniversary to me and Robert! Four whole years! Can you believe it?

I could have chosen a picture of us at the altar or during our first dance to commemorate - but look how happy I am about eating this cake! I won't mention the horrid thing Robert did to me with his piece of cake (oh, does this count as mentioning it?), instead we will focus on how beautiful and delicious our cake was, and how amazing the reception looked, and how many wonderful friends enjoyed the day with us, and how great a job Pastor Greg did with our ceremony, and how special a day it was for me and Robert and our families.

Here's to many more happy days!

I've got you under my skin.
I've got you deep in the heart of me.
So deep in my heart that you're really a part of me.
I've got you under my skin.
I'd tried so not to give in.
I said to myself, this affair never will go so well.
But why should I try to resist when, baby, I know so well
I've got you under my skin?

I'd sacrifice anything come what might
For the sake of havin' you near.
In spite of a warnin' voice that comes in the night
And repeats, repeats in my ear:
Don't you know, little fool, you never can win?
Use your mentality, wake up to reality.
But each time that I do just the thought of you
Makes me stop before I begin.
'Cause I've got you under my skin.

I would sacrifice anything come what might
For the sake of havin' you near.
In spite of a warnin' voice that comes in the night
And repeats - how it yells in my ear:
Don't you know, little fool, you never can win?
Why not use your mentality - step up, wake up to reality?
But each time I do just the thought of you
Makes me stop before I begin.
'Cause I've got you under my skin.
Yes, I've got you under my skin.

Still The One

2010-10-22T13:25:00.000-05:00

I love biscuits. I love them plain. I love them with gravy. I love them with jelly. I love them dipped in red beans and rice...

Today I randomly decided to have some red beans and rice and biscuits from Peye-peye's for lunch (for some reason this place is called Peye-peye's in my family, or Pi-pi's or however you would spell it).

Popeye's biscuits are hands down the best. Better than homemade, better than in Nola (but probably not better at a Houston Popeye's than a Nola Popeye's though), better than Hardy's or McDonald's. They are crisp and buttery on top but soft in the middle and not too big. They are perfect.

That is all. I just thought the joy my mouth just experienced was worth noting.

Paperback, Schmaperback

2010-10-21T21:12:00.000-05:00

I gave Robert a Kindle for our anniversary. No, today is not our anniversay, it's not for another week. I ordered it several weeks ago and was trying to wait to give it to him. I had to give him the Kindle tonight though because he kept saying he was going to buy a Kindle and I've had to be very strict with him telling him he's "not allowed". I was worried he would go on and buy one so the jig had to be up.

I'm already jealous of it. I've been reading books on my Kindle iPhone app and it's very tiny and I think my eyesight got .5somethings worse from it.

How wrong is it to steal the present you gave your spouse for an anniversary?

*PS I still love actual books better than electronic books. But I have to admit these devices are quite convenient.

Engaged!!

2010-10-21T09:59:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to my sister Megan and her FIANCE Cody! Cody proposed on October 20 atop Mount Bonnell in Austin and Megan, of course, accepted!

I am so happy for you two and can't wait for all the festivities to begin!

Love you lots!

You Can Do It!

2010-10-18T11:20:00.001-05:00

Robert and I signed up for a 5k on Dec 5. Robert runs 3 miles every time he goes to the park but it is a challenge for me. I have been jogging recently to get myself prepared for the 5k, I'm slowly working my way up to it.

The iPhone app RunKeeper was suggested to me to track my mileage, times, and pace when I jog. I used this app for the first time on Sunday. It's great because it does all the work for you, and when you save your run, you can add notes. My note on Sunday said "Hurt at like .9 miles". I hope soon I'll be able to say it doesn't hurt until "like 3 miles" - I want to be able to run across the finish line at this 5k.

The best thing about using this so far though was that after my Sunday run, I got an email that said I achieved the following milestones:
- Farthest distance
- Beat last week's total distance
- Beat last month's total distance

This was my first activity on the app, so there was no history to compare to - of course it was my farthest distance, it was my only distance, and last week's distance was 0 and last month's distance was 0. But I still thought it was a nice and encouraging email and I can't wait until I actually do achieve real milestones!

Officially Sunny and Pleasant

2010-10-04T09:58:00.001-05:00

October is the best month of the year in Texas! We are having the most beautiful weather. I love it.

My October

2010-10-04T09:18:00.000-05:00

Current Book(s): I'm reading Little Women on the Kindle app on my iPhone. 1) How long is this dang book? and 2) I think I'm ruining my eyes reading on this tiny thing.

Current Playlist: I just want to listen to Mad World over and over. It's soothingly depressing.

Current Shame-Inducing Guilty Pleasure: America's Next Top Model?

Current Color: Red. I want red sweaters and new red shoes and maybe some red velvet cake too.

Current Drink: Ice water. I need more. The weather's changing, we're all going to dry out, I need to hydrate!

Current Food: Honeycrisp apples. The most delicious apples in the whole world.

Current Wishlist: Shutters and a new car. Neither or which I'll get any time soon. I don't really need a new car, I just have never picked out my own car before and I'm itching to.

Current Needs: New running shoes. Since I'm a serious runner now (1/2 a mile at a time, what what)............

Current Triumphs: Getting up in the morning to jog. Ok it's not happening every day, but it did happen, and that's a triumph.

Current Bane(s) of my Existence: My wardrobe.

Current Celebrity Crush: Vanessa Williams! I love her as a DH.

Current Indulgence: The pumpkin bread I made last night.

Current #1 Blessing: I just watched Slumdog Millionaire (tardy to the party I know) and now more than ever I feel very blessed to have been born in America.

Current Outfit: Work out clothes. Putting them on is the first step.

Current Excitement: Going to FW for Steph's 10-10-10 party, where I get to see her baby and visit with other friends.

Current Mood: Content.

Current Link: None in particular at the moment.

It's Not That Hard.

2010-10-04T08:42:00.000-05:00

Yesterday at church we had a guest speaker from Chicago. One of the very first things she said about her Houston visit was that our freeways and drivers are crazy.

It's not that hard people! The map I posted isn't the best - but anyway, we've got a major W-E road, 2 loops, a major N-S road, and some big cross-ways ones. Why does this confuse so many people? I-10 is the most beautiful freeway in all of America, and 2 big loops can't be that difficult to comprehend. I'll agree that you need to know your exits ahead of time and PAY ATTENTION else you end up on the south loop instead of the north - but that's a matter of knowing your city or knowing how to read your Google maps instructions.

In Chicago, there's a place in town where like 75 roads meet up in a big circle and it's totally crazy and you're likely to end up in the burbs if you can't get over fast enough (which you never can because people won't let you over and there's so much traffic) or can't figure out which of the 13 exits is the right one - if you're used to that, and you come to Houston, I would think you'd be relieved!

As for fast drivers - yes we drive fast in Houston. How could you not on a brand new 6 lane highway? But I feel like we drive smart fast. Someone may cut across 5 lanes at 80 mph but I think they try to do it without making other people brake - it's being smart aggressive, not stupid aggressive.

I think the only (or ok the biggest) exception to my being happy with Houston drivers is on 610S between I-10 and 59 - that is the worst stretch of freeway ever. Hey people - you probably drive there every day to and from work, you KNOW when the Westheimer exits coming up so GET OVER and stop clogging up the other lanes!

Anyway, if you're driving in Houston as a visitor bring a Garmin, pay attention, and get a move on.

A Good Place

2010-10-04T08:30:00.000-05:00

When Robert and I were in Austin a couple of weekends ago we went to church with Megan and her boyfriend Cody. The church is called Gateway and is located in north Austin. I think they have another campus somewhere. I really wish they had a Houston campus! Robert and I left the service feeling like we learned something, and feeling happy from the praise music. It was very upbeat but not cheesy. The pastor was smart and clever, and made some jokes but didn't get stuck on being funny too long to get to the real point.

We've been going to a church in Houston that we like but don't love. I want a church I love. I think we need to do some research - maybe the pastor at Gateway knows of a similar church in Houston? We have a home home now we need a church home.

Shudder

2010-09-20T13:49:00.000-05:00

Shutters make me shudder. We recently got a few quotes for putting custom shutters on every window in the house. They are SO EXPENSIVE. We aren't moving forward on them at this time because we just can't reconcile ourselves to spending that much money right now.

So we will stick with our lovely paper blinds for the time being. We don't have them downstairs so I guess the neighbors will continue to be able to watch the boring soap opera of our lives.

Maybe we will give ourselves shutters for our anniversary in October. Or maybe for our 10th anniversary because it will probably take that long for me to stop hyperventilating about the cost!

House Has Been Warmed!

2010-09-20T11:46:00.001-05:00

(I didn't get a picture of me and Rob, dangit!)

The housewarming party was a success! I didn't sleep through the party, we didn't run out of food, no one drove into a ditch (all things I had nightmares about). We actually have leftover food, and a TON of leftover beer that's going to head to Austin with us this weekend to be consumed by anyone that will take it. Also, I have a ton of leftover koozies because the minimum order was 100 and people did not take 5 with them each like I asked, ha. I was totally being a koozie pusher.

The house handled the crowd very well I think, and the parking situation worked out ok. I am also very pleased with my selection of serving platters (which I augmented last week with a last minute trip to Home Goods) and want to use them all the time! The most popular food items were the crab tartlets (thanks for the recipe Mom!) and of course the pigs-n-a-blankets. You can never have too many of those.

We got lots of wine so our wine rack no longer looks pathetic. Now we'll have to have some fancy dinner parties where we can drink up the wine and I can use my cute serving dishes.

My lovely cousins were so kind as to make a (unsolicited) comments list of pros and cons for the party / our home.

Pros:
- Apparently we have a pleasing decor.
- Good selection of food.
- Nice serving dishes (I know!).
- 4-toast toaster was a hit (though we didn't use it...)
- Master bath shower is great.
- Guest bathroom well stocked for guests (so glad to hear it).
- Nice decorative (possibly functional) teapot.

Cons:
- Need more chairs (the problem is where to put them on a normal daily basis when they aren't needed).
- "Where is the baby's room?" - Aunt Lesli. This con will NOT be addressed.
- Didn't have regular coke (and I was advised before the party to get some but I didn't because I don't support soda consumption and was only willing to buy Diet Coke).
- Not enough washrags (read: I have zero washrags. Don't use them, gross). But this was said by a willing cleaner so maybe I should keep some handy!
- No music was playing. I had a stereo out but it plays off my iPhone and I had to keep that handy because ppl were calling and texting all day. Next time will plug in a phone that isn't needed.
- Need more parking. I'll get right on building that parking lot...
- More brownies!
- Do not burn the cheese dip.

Some of the items will be addressed next time, some sadly are out of my control (parking!).

Thanks to everyone that came to the party! I had a great time and am glad our house has finally been officially introduced.

Wrong!

2010-09-20T10:21:00.000-05:00

My number one criteria for a washing machine was that it be able to wash a king sized comforter. I was assured by the sales associate at the Sears outlet and by a friend who is an engineer at GE that the machine I purchased was able to do the job.

Well, Sunday morning Mr. Rusty decided to christen our new white comforter with some after-party barf. Given the neon toxic attributes of his bile, a simple wipe down wouldn't cut it. So I took the comforter off and loaded it into the washer.

By load I mean pushed, shoved, kicked, stomped, and cajoled. I ran the cycle on heavy duty and the machine shuddered for an hour. When I pulled the blanket out it was covered in weird grey marks and debris, I guess from rubbing the door seal raw. Now I have to take the comforter to the laundromat down the street to use an industrial sized machine.

Fail, Sears outlet & Kenmore, fail!

"That Doesn't Work for Me"

2010-09-20T09:54:00.000-05:00

I don't normally watch Oprah but I figured since it's the farewell season I would tune in. I watched an episode featuring Wynona Judd where she discussed the therapy she's gone through with her mother. One of the ideas they brought up was how to say no to someone in a non-combative way. You say "that doesn't work for me". It allows you to disagree with someone by explaining that what works for them doesn't work for you, and it makes the other person consider that their opinion is not universal and they should looks at things from your point of view as well.

It also keeps you from responding to someone with "that's a stupid idea" or something of the like. I think I'll try using this phrase from now on. Although, being rather particular about a lot of things, I'll probably wear it out fast on poor Robert! And I'll have to be careful not to respond with "that doesn't work for me" when he wants me to pick up my week's worth of clothes from the bathroom floor, ha! I think that would be abusing the idea.

Football Season is the Best Season

2010-08-31T12:37:00.000-05:00

Although I'm sad to see summer go, I'm super excited about football season! We are going to the TX / Rice game this Saturday, starting the season off right with some tailgating and a big fat W.

I love football season for so many reasons. I actually understand what's going on in the game (most of the time). I love wearing cute UT outfits. Fall weather in Texas is amazing. We so seldomly lose a game. I get to go to Austin and join my UT family at least a few times a season. I get to reminisce about college. I don't even really mind when I get a stadium sunburn (half the body).

Hook 'Em Horns!!

Paper Please

2010-08-12T10:26:00.000-05:00

I kind of love this Spanish leather bag that looks like a grocery sack, by Loewe, a brand owned by LVMH. It looks butter soft and comfortable, and it's lightweight. If only I had an unlimited budget for handbags.