Merry Christmas!

This is a Christmas post that I started and intended to finish but never did. It is what it is. :)


We had a great Christmas weekend. Christmas Eve morning, we went to Memorial Park and did a little running. Not too cold. Mack wanted to stop and sniff everything but whatever. Then we ate Berryhill Tamales (yum!) and hung out until it was time to get ready for church. All I can say about the Christmas Eve church is that it was AMAZING! We usually go to the contemporary service which is in a side parish hall, but tonight we went to the "big" church for the traditional service. It's beautiful and I got chills singing all the old Christmas songs out of the hymnals. My favorites: Away in Manger, Hark the Hearld Angels Sing, and Silent Night in candlelight. It started monsooning during the service. After church, we had a delicious meal and a bottle of wine at Brio. The plan was to go look at Christmas lights afterward but with the torrential downpours, we decided to just go home.

Merry Christmas Charlie Brown!

Mom & I went to Karen's for a couple of days. While we were there, we drove up to the Gaylord Texan to see the Charlie Brown ICE exhibit. Lots of people but it was very cool to see. Something like 2 million pounds of ice. We sported the nice blue parkas because it was 22 degrees inside the exhibit. We even got to see Grandview's finest Christmas lights.

Saturday

Last night I went to the VTXW Christmas party at the Davison's. It was a lot of fun and the food was delicious. They are very generous. I love my new purple scarf from Nordstrom's. This morning Mack & I did Day 1 of the Couch to 10K program. I've totally let my running slide. I've set a goal to run the Rodeo Run at the end of February. I want to be able to do the 6.2 miles in about an hour. Then I drove out to Kingwood to get my haircut and highlighted. It's fun to talk to Jamie about all the wedding stuff.

Holiday Time

It's officially Christmas break. This was the week at work that would just not end. I had zero motivation to get things done which means there will be a nice pile waiting for me in January but that's not something I'm concerned with right now. I haven't had a lot to say lately. Life is moving along. Last weekend we started our registry at Bed, Bath, & Beyond. We got about half way through the store and started getting tired because I just had to go down every single aisle. I also tried my dress which was a kind reminder that I need to start working out more often. Tonight is the VTXW Christmas party. Neal went to San Antonio for a guys weekend so I'm flying solo. Tomorrow I'm getting my overdue hair cut and seeing Leslie for dinner.

2 weeks later

Here's a recap of the past couple of weeks. Thanksgiving went well at our house. It all turned out good despite all my stressing. We had Mom, Dad, Karen, Coy, Justin, Chad, Grandma, BJ, Vanessa, and Coleson. Random but Grandma kept telling me how she was so impressed that Neal came home with everything on the grocery list I had made. Reason 794 why I love him. After everyone left, it was nice to have a couple days to be totally lazy.

On Tuesday we went to taste wedding cakes. So many choices. We decided on a couple and Jesse drew a sketch of a very simple wedding cake for me. We ordered both the wedding cake and groom's cake. It still astonishes me how much all of this costs, but it will be worth it.

Last night, we went to Collina's for the SBE Christmas party. I really like getting to know people and was glad that we could talk about things other than school.

Warrior Dash

Saturday we particpated in the Warrior Dash in Austin. It was a fun event but proved to me that I need to start stepping up my workout game. I struggled to run 3 miles. This was a 5K that involved a trail run and an obstacle course. Let me see if I can remember all the obstacles. Climbing over demolished cars, jumping over 3 foot tall walls, running through tires, climbing several cargo nets, running through knee deep mud, jumping over a fire (twice), and finally crawling through a mud pit under barb wire. Since there were no showers, the fire department was there hosing off the crowd. It was a dirty day but definetely fun.

Two Weddings and a Hangover

We were in Corpus again this past weekend. Two of Neal's friends were getting married. I love weddings! Not sure if because its much more fun going to a wedding with a special someone or if its the excitement of our upcoming wedding. I think its the latter. The first one we went to was at 4:00. It's really funny because it was a lot like ours is going to be, at least the wedding part. Black bridesmaids dresses, calla lillies, blue accents. At least I know I like it. The reception was the first one I had been to where people brought coolers of beer in. Hey, whatever works! We missed the second wedding which started at 7:00 but were able to make it to the reception for a little while. Somewhere along the course of the evening, I thought it would be a good idea to drink a little vodka, then some wine, then some beer. Not thinking is more like it. I was very nauseous most of the day on Sunday. You can tell I'm way out of the drinking game because a professional would never have mixed all of that. Lesson learned: I'm not as young as I once was and hangovers hurt 100 times worse in in your 30s. Luckily, Neal drove home while I slept and even started laundry when we got home. Cheese alert: I really love him more and more everyday. We booked part of our honeymoon over the weekend too. We know we have flights to Costa Rica but still trying to decide on a hotel. It becomes more and more real each day too.

Lots to be Thankful For

I thank God for things everyday. I think its kind of silly to wait until November to make a list of things your thankful for. Although we are a bit dysfunctional, I am thankful for my family. It might not be the perfect stereotypical family but its mine. As I've gotten older, I've learned to stop trying to make it something its not and just be appreciative of the hand I've been dealt. Which leads me to Thanksgiving. We are hosting Thanksgiving this year at our house. I have a lot of anxiety about this but the truth is I'm really glad we're doing it. We're inviting both families. This is our life now so we might as well get it all out there. I'm anxious because we're having guests stay for a few days who all have their own way of doing things. I'm anxious because I don't cook all that well. I'm anxious because we have the smallest oven ever invented. I'm anxious because we don't have a dining room table. I'm anxious because everyone is invited and hopefully everyone behaves and gets along like adults. But at the end of the day, I'm thankful that we have a house where we can do this and family to invite. No matter how quirky they may be, I love them!

Neal Turns 33

We had our first party at our house on Saturday to celebrate Neal's 33rd birthday. It was a success and we got to see a lot of our friends. BJ and Vanessa stayed the weekend with us. It's always fun to have Coleson in the house. This time he actually had some people his size to play with. Here's to another year! Neal's in Pensacola this week. It's funny but we've yet to spend his actual birthday together. He's always out of town for work this week. I hid a birthday card in his suitcase so he'll have something on his birthday.

The T Gang

Friday night I drove out to Humble to hang out with some old friends. There's a little place called the Twin Oaks Tavern that used to be our second home. I swear some months we paid the light bill there with our tabs. It's been ages since I had been there. It was nice to walk in and Joe, the bartender, remembered all of our drinks and wondered where we had been. These girls are some of my truest friends. I hadn't seemed them in a while and yet we picked right back up where we left off. It's also comical that we were on the way home by 7:00. Early birds!

Wet Wednesday

I woke up today feeling better than I have in a while. Another wet morning so I couldn't run but the extra sleep did me good. Neal is in Atlanta this week and I don't sleep well when he's gone. At least there's Mack to spread out across the bed. I was driving to work this morning and it was super dark. Time changes this weekend so hopefully next week it won't be pitch black when I go to work. Look out world, here I come!

God Speaks

So God seems to know right when we need a little pick me up. Just as soon as I finished my last "woe is me" post, something cool happened. A coworker who I don't really know that well brought me a book that I have been wanting to read. Might not seem like that big of a deal, but it made my day. It also just crossed my mind that I have a happy hour with some old friends to look forward too on Friday. Yea God!

FunkyTown

I've been in a bit of a funk lately and not sure why. Wedding planning is coming along, condo is leased, going on a cruise in 2 months. What could it be? I've had zero energy lately and have been eating horribly. I'm not in the mood to exercise which is weird for me. I know if I get back in the routine of exercising and eating healthy, then I'm sure to feel better. Works everytime. I've already talked myself into running today before I start the marathon house cleaning that needs to be done to get ready for the party this weekend. I tried on my wedding dress a couple of days ago, and it still fits so I must not be gaining weight, but I sure feel fat. I'm just going through the motions at work. I saw some of my old co-workers last week and got homesick for my old job. I didn't really realize what I had there until it was gone and I was in a new place. I don't hate my job or anything, but I miss being so close to my co-workers. It really makes a difference to go to work everyday with your friends. Unfortunately, my old job is about a 45 minute drive from our house and that's not something I'm willing to do everyday. Enough of the pity party. Time to get out of this funk!

Happy Halloween

Here's a picture of our "spooky" house.

This year we were in Corpus for Halloween so went did it in true south Texas style. We went as Dia de los Muertos. The Mexican tradition of Day of the Dead.

Wedding Season

Neal and I both took off Friday because we had a wedding to attend down in Corpus. We slept in until about 7:00. It's funny that 7:00 is "sleeping in" to us. We took Mack for a run and and then ran a few errands. We went to vote and had to stand in line for about 45 minutes. I didn't mind and it made me happy to see such a big turnout. We got on the road about lunchtime. I drove while Neal worked from the passenger seat (on his vacation day). The wedding was at a nice outdoor venue. It was pretty with a big oak tree decorated in lights. I have moments where I get really excited about our wedding in March. That happened a few times at the wedding. It's open wedding season. We have a couple more weddings to go to in November, and then ours. We have one the week after our wedding but our honeymoon will determine if we're able to make it. I think its funny how you go to a lot of weddings in your early 20s because all your college friends are getting married. Now, 1o years later, we're going to a lot of 30-something weddings. I guess we were all just waiting for the right one to come around. Unfortunately, some of those weddings from 10 years ago no longer exist. I thank God that my life panned out the way it did in my 20s. God has his plan and its not our place to question it , no matter how frustrated we may get.

Houston, We have a tenant!

On Thursday, we met our new tenant at the condo to give her the keys and let her ask any questions. First impression was that she seems nice and I'm hoping she will take care of the place. She's a single mom with a 3 year old little boy. We're still taking a small loss each month but at least most of that mortgage will be paid by her rent. Here's hoping for awesome tax write offs too!

After we met her, we went to McCormick & Schmicks for dinner. We have this very bad habit of messing with our phones while we're at a restuarant eating dinner. We made a "no phone" rule during dinner. Had really good conversations and a yummy dinner. I love technology but it really can take over your life if you let it. We thought about continuing our date night by going to have a few drinks but decided against it. Bedtime 9:30!

It's the Dash that Counts

I'm reading One Month to Live by Kerry & Chris Shook, again. It's one of those books that I've already read once and will probably read again and again. There's a chapter for each of the 30 days teaching you how to live your life as it were your last month. Here's a thought that stuck with me. Why wait until you know you only have 30 days left? Wouldn't it better to start living now like you would if it were your last days? In all truth, we don't know when our day will be up. The happiest people live with no regrets. Day 1 talked about how people are usually defined by their date of birth and their date of death. For example, when you see tombstones, they say something like 5/5/40-10/25/10. The beginning and the end aren't as important as what happens in between those dates, better know as the "dash". I'm trying everyday to make my "dash" something to be proud of.

On a side note, Neal is cracking me up right now singing "Ice Ice Baby" in our living room. Just after he came in from watering the backyard. I love to look out the window and see him doing yard work. I love our house! I have a feeling we're going to be here for a long time. We ate at Otilia's tonight. Authentic Mexican food. Love the Tex Mex but this is totally different. Not as greasy and cheesy but still very good. Somehow we are in the middle of a major workout funk. We used to be so good. I did run yesterday morning but couldn't muster up the energy to work out today. Maybe if I try on my wedding dress, I'll get a wake up call and get back in the program. I know I'll feel better if I exercise, so why is it so hard to just do it? Ugh!

Peace Be With You

Plan A for today was for Neal to do the last triathalon of the season. That didn't happen because his registration was not completed and instead of paying the insane last minute registration fee, he just didn't race. Plan B was to get up early and go to the beach so he could surf a little. God didn't make the waves this morning so that didn't happen. We went with plan C. Woke up early (before the sun came up), got a little breakfast from Chaco's, and worked on the condo for a couple of hours before church. As we were leaving for church, Neal couldn't find his phone. After looking everywhere for it and calling Chaco's to see if it was there, he thought he may have left it on the side of his truck while we were unloading stuff. Sure enough, we found the phone in the middle of the road. Someone totally ran over it. First stop after church, Apple store for a new phone.

Today was our 4th Sunday to go to Holy Spirit. I was actually a little bummed when I thought we weren't going to be able to go today. The senior priest preached at the contemporary service today. I'm still a little uncomfortable with the whole priest thing and calling them Father. I do like though that in the Episcopal church, the priests are allowed to marry. There's this one part of the service when he blesses us and tells us to share the peace with everyone. So everyone walks around and shakes hands and says something like "Peace be with you." We usually shake a few hands and just hang out in our seat until someone else comes to us, which they always do. Well today we were sitting there and the priest came up to us and said, "Young People! The Lord's peace be with you." We both laughed a little that he called us young people. We talked to him for a little bit after the service. I like it that they're not pressuring us to join the church but make sure we know that we're welcome there. They're letting us do it on our time.

After church, we tried a new Chinese restaurant that we've seen advertised not too far from our house. Bad doesn't even describe what it was. I've never seen egg drop soup that glowed bright green. Some of the meat was also a grayish color. We did not stay long at all. Didn't want to take any chances with the so called Chinese food.

Now I'm off to Leslie's to celebrate her birthday and engagment. Neal is going to finish up a few things at the condo since our tenant will be getting the keys this week.

Candy Corn=The Devil

Candy corn season is among us. There's usually one certain candy I like for each season for my guilty pleasure. Peppermint nougats for Christmas, conversation hearts for Valentines, Cadbury eggs for Easter. We are smack in the middle of one of my favorites, Candy Corn Season! It always seems like such a great idea and its sweetness hits the spot. Before I know it, I've eaten a whole bag and my teeth have magically grown fur in the form of a layer of sugar. It also makes my stomach feel darn right yucky. Like a big blob with no energy. Reminder-too much sugar is not good for you. At least now I've gotten it out of my system for this season and I can go work out tonight to feel better. Until next year my sweet candy corn!

Funny Randomness

Here are a few funny things that have happened today.

One of my Life Skills kid was eating lunch and he said he didn't like his hamburger because it had too much cow in it.

Today I'm wearing a pair of Neal's black socks because the laundry fairy hasn't come to our house yet. They're too big and the ankle is in the wrong spot. They also say Kenneth Cole on the bottom so I have to keep rearranging them so the words don't show. But I'm thankful I have someone I can borrow socks from.

I was just talking to our school nurse about something when we were interrupted by a teacher with a kid who had done #2 in her pants. She asked me if I wanted to switch jobs. Guess my job isn't so bad after all!

Slum Lords

We have a tenant for the condo! Let our lives as landlords begin. We still have a few things to finish up for her but we're looking at a November 1 move in date. Our checkbook will definetely appreciate our tenant! Tonight at dinner we were talking about how we've learned a lot about each other and what makes us tick during this whole condo process. Luckily we were able to laugh about. I can already feel a burden being lifted off my shoulders. I realize that things might come up and we still have the condo to deal with. We'll see how this lady works out. Everything in the evenings (including working out)has been put on hold. I'm looking forward to getting somewhat of a routine back and not having to rush over the condo everyday after work. Maybe my house will get cleaned now.

We ate our weekly dinner at Pappy's tonight. Somehow we've started eating there once a week. Even got Apple Walnut Cobbler with a big 'ol scoop of Blue Bell Homeade Ice Cream on top. Hey, life is short. Eat desert.

In an effort to simplify, I think I'm only going to DVR 1 show a week. There are other things I'd rather do in my "me" time than watch TV. And the winner is....GLEE! Something about that show just makes me feel good.

Monday Monday

I got my rear end out of bed this morning at 5am and took Mack for a 3 mile run. It's a little hard to get up that early but once I get moving, I feel wonderful. It really gives me energy to start my day. Today was a good day. I had a girl shadow me today at work. I met her this summer while working at Achieve. I hadn't heard from her but at the time, she was interested in learning more about what a SLP does. Well she called me the other night and asked if she could come hang out with me at my school one day. I felt like God was speaking to me to try to help this young girl decide what the next step of her life should be. After talking to her today, it turns out she's in the almost exact same low spot I was in when I was 23ish. She walked around with me all day today and I tried to show her what its like to do my job. We talked alot and I really hope I've helped her take that next step. I've learned that life is about taking risks and you never know what might have been unless you go for it.

I also worked my private practice job afterschool. Although I don't really like working until 6:00, I'm thankful that I have a career that allows me do make a little extra pocket change on the side. Our wedding is costing more than we imagined but its all worth it. After working an 11 hour day, I came home to dinner on the table. Love that Neal is a better cook than me!

I try not to stress about mundane things like cleaning, laundry, paying bills, etc. I'm struggling with whether or not to tackle all these things on the weekend or during the week. I just hate to spend my whole weekend doing un-fun things. But I also just want to chill with Neal when I get home from work during the week. I'm praying that God helps me find a balance soon. I'm not sure how people with kids make everything happen. But at the end of the day, I know what's important. I don't want to wake up one day and say "man, I really wish I would have cleaned all night instead of watching DWTS with Neal." Yes he watches DWTS. Probably just for the skimpy outfits but the nonetheless, he watches it!

Another Weekend

The sun is setting on another weekend. They never seem quite long enough but I know if we had 3 day weekends every weekend, we would just be praying for 4 day weekends. Friday night was pretty uneventful for me. Neal went to happy hour with some friends so I enjoyed some quiet time. Saturday morning, Mack and I went to Memorial for a run in this beautiful, cool weather. Then the fun really began.
Just add tub grout remover to my resume. We spent a fair amount of time at the condo this weekend. Seems like everytime we complete something, 3 new things magically appear for us to do. I'm chalking it up to free pre-marital counseling. Boy do we learn a lot about each other and how to deal with stress. We've had a few showings so hopefully we get a tenant soon. I continue to pray about it, hard.

We took engagement picture Saturday afternoon. I didn't know if I would like having our pictures made but it was a lot of fun. I think I've struck gold with our photographer and she's not costing an arm and a leg. She took us to some cool locations around Dayton. Can't wait to see the proofs! We stopped in Humble to eat at an old stomping ground, El Jalepeno. The manager said, "Hey, we haven't seen you in a while!" The days of singing karoke there until all hours of the night were fun, but I'm glad that part of my life is over. Great memories!

We went back to Holy Spirit today. I like it more each time I go there. We go to the contemporary service where its ok to wear jeans. I had my jeans on this morning and then changed before we left. Just couldn't quite do it yet. Maybe soon. Finished reading this amazing book called Redeeming Love over the weekend. It's a story about God's unconditional love for us.

A lot of stuff didn't get done this weekend, but oh well. It will eventually.

Say Cheese!

I met with our photographer, Rachel, today. I was very comfortable talking with her and feel good about her shooting our wedding experience. We scheduled our engagment pictures for Saturday. Trying to decide what we should wear without being matchy-matchy.

I'm also feeling much better about the condo situation. We had a realtor list it today to try to find a tenant ASAP and the handyman is going to finish painting for us. Yes, its costing a little bit of money. After we admitted yesterday that we're not DIY people, there's been no turning back. Already feels like a burden has been lifted. Now just praying that we find someone soon!

Condo Woes

It turns out we're really not DIY people. It's been 2 1/2 months since we bought our house and our condo is still sitting empty. I had this huge realization today while we were there working. It's not fun and not something we enjoy. And it only looks ok. Our frustration levels are high when we're there. It's been one thing after another. I did learn the hard way that masking tape takes paint off a chair rail. Now all the trim and chair rail needs to be touched up. I really thought we could do this all ourselves. I thought it was silly when Neal suggested that we pay someone to paint for us. Why would we pay someone if we could do it ourselves? Famous last words. Now we've paid 2 months worth of mortgage on the place and we could of had it painted several times over with the money. I'm chalking this up to a lesson learned. We're having a realtor come look at it this week to either lease it or sale it, whichever comes first. I'm going to stick to small projects. The two I have on deck are painting an old ugly file cabinet and painting a sofa table. Shouldn't be too hard, right?

Oh another note. I absolutely love our house. It's so nice to come home to this after being at that damn condo. It's sad when I'd rather buy stuff at Home Depot than at the mall. We made another $150 trip there tonight. One fun purchase was an orange light bulb for the front porch for Halloween. We're going to try our hand at planting some bulbs and see if they actually bloom in the spring. We have these weird vines hanging from a few trees. It was funny to look at the window earlier and see Neal swinging from one like Tarzan trying to get it to come down.

Second Date

We went to an Episcopal church last Sunday and went back this week. Our 2nd date with the church was pretty good. We got to hear one of the other priests preach. It's a little wierd for me to say priest. I think this church has potential for us. We've been going to the contemporary service. It's very laid back and a comfortable mix between traditional and contemporary. We'll see what happens but it feels good so far. It's especially important to me that Neal enjoys it and feels comfortable there.

On a side note, I found this lady bug on my car last Thursday. I've heard that ladybugs mean good luck. Although I'm not really superstitious, it made me happy to see it on my car. It even stayed there the whole time on my way home and survived a little drive on I-10 without moving. After closer inspection, turns out the thing was dead. Guess her luck had run out.

Church Hopping

We visited an Episcopalian church this morning. We went to the contemporary service. It still had a lot of traditional elements but the priest was in jeans. Not sure if this is "the one" but we're going to go back. The people seemed nice. We were very comfortable talking to them. There were a wide age range of people there. My main thing is I don't want to be labeled as a certain denomination. I'm willing to give it a chance. I'm interested to learn more and see if they like questions. We'll see how it goes!

Away We Go

I had a big revelation this weekend. I realized just how far I've come from where I started. I didn't really mean for it to happen, but somehow over the last decade I became a whole different person. When someone ask me where I'm from, I say Houston. Houston feels like home now. This weekend I went back to the Texas Rice Festival. I haven't been in some odd 10 years or so. I know I was definetely in college, quite possibly the late 90s the last time I was there.
Growing up, it seemed like the rice festival was THE thing to look forward too. We even had a day off of school. I have fond memories of that first weekend in October. I remember Grandma and Grandpa Daberkow hanging out with all of us kids down there. Grandma following us around with the camera and taking a break in the senior citizen area. I remember meeting friends every night and doing who knows what. Well we went back this weekend. Sure it looks the same but it was a very different experience. I didn't really see anybody I know. The cajun pistols have gotten smaller and were just ok. Made me wonder if they were really that good to begin with. Needless to say, it was just an ok experience. I think I would be fine not going back for another 10 years. Just seems like a whole other life ago. I'm also thinking about getting rid of my facebook. Most of my "friends" aren't really friends to start with. Hmmmm....what to do.

You Can't Take it With You

I think I have a little problem with lists. As in, I make too many of them. I have a list of weekly cleaning tasks, a list for things to do at work, and a list for things to do for the wedding. Sometimes I think we get so caught up in the mundane things of life that we forget to stop and have a little fun. Although I could probaly think of 2 pages worth of things to do today, I'm not making a list and am just enjoying life today. I started the day by taking Mack for a walk. Felt so good afterwards.

Last week when we had the garage sale, I was reminded that we keep stuff for a while and then eventually get rid of it. I was thinking that I wanted to go to Hobby Lobby to buy fall decorations now that we have a house. But then I thought, is that something we really need. I have a few things already. Neal has really been wanting to go on a little trip. But I keep saying I can't take off of work. Now I'm thinking, why not? Work will be there when I get back. I think it might be a good idea to take a few days off to rejuventate the mind.

Moral of the story....Stop and smell the roses. They might not be here tomorrow.

SOLD!

We've been trying to do a garage sale since we moved into the new house. A Saturday finally was open so we did it this morning. As we were moving, we "cleaned" house and started making a garage sale pile. We also had a lot of stuff that was Neal's mom and picked out a few things to keep. Our morning started bright and early at 5:30. We started putting things out and Neal drove around to put signs out about 6:00. Our first customer arrived at 6:45. The sun wasn't even up yet. It was very interesting to see people "shop." Some people bought stuff without really even knowing what it was. We have a big Hispanic population in this area, so many of our shoppers spoke very little English. One lady bought a pilates CD with the sculpting ring. I tried my best to explain to her what to do with it. I even gave her a demonstration in the our driveway. She bought it and I hope she comes back to show me her abs. Just kidding. We had several pairs of Neal's pants for sale. Most were size 34/30. It amazed me that people bought the pants without even looking at the size. Maybe they have a lot of family members who are a variety of sizes. One lady bought several things and even made us an offer on the plastic totes we were storing everything in. We didn't price anything. Our main goal was just to get rid of everything which we did. All in all it was a success, and we have a little extra wedding money in our pockets. After eating lunch and taking a little nap, the afternoon was spent at the condo painting. Of course until it was time for the UT football game.

Labor Day

Where did the Labor Day weekend go? It seemed like as soon as it began, it was over. We had a good weekend in San Antonio visiting family. Left as soon as school was out on Friday. I drove to SA so Neal could catch up on his work emails. Coleson turned 2 on Friday. Hard to believe I've known that little guy and his family for 2 years. He's cute as ever and in to everything. Makes me really want little ones. All in due time. His little birthday party was at Beefy's Backyard. All the little ones had a blast running around and playing on all the cool stuff. Grandma even stayed the weekend in San Antonio. I got him what I thought was the cutest gift ever. It was a play bbq pit that says things like "Let's fire up the grill" and "Squirt some ketchup on this burger." Well, his mommy thought it was the coolest thing every too and got him the same thing. But that's why God invented gift receipts. No worries, off to Toys R Us to get something else. We had dinner at Chuy's with Bryan and Stephanie that night. Sunday rolled around. We went for a little run in the rolling hills of SA. Took Grandma to see a church. That afternoon, Neal, BJ, and I went to the 5 dollar spot on the Guadalupe and parked our chairs in the river for the afternoon. It was a lot of fun drinking beer and talking about everything under the sun. Sunday we had lunch with Terry and Jeff. Man, I miss my friend! It was good to see him happy. Then we started the long drive home. I think everyone was in the hill country over the weekend. The traffic was really bad and the weather was starting to get bad because of a tropical storm in the gulf. About 4.5 hours later, we made it to Molly's Mutthouse to pick up our furry child. It's funny how much you can miss a dog over a few days. All in all, it was a great weekend making memories. Stay tuned!

Wanted: A church home

We've started the search of looking for a church home. Why, you ask. Because I love Jesus and want to try to be a better Christian. I also want to raise a family in a God-loving home. There are literally hundreds of churches to choose from in Houston. We're looking for something in between traditional and contemporary. A few weeks ago we went to a super traditional Episcopalian church. That wasn't the one. We need to find somewhere with young people who actually talk to each other. Not the case there. That's ok, on to the next one. Today we had planned to visit a Lutheran church not to far from our house. They have a early traditional service and a later contemporary service. We did a little research before we went and learned that on the 5th Sunday of the month (which today was), they do a unified bilingual service. We were thinking it would be in Spanish. I also thought it would probably be in English and Spanish because the English speaking crowd would still need a service to go to on the 5th Sundays of the month. We live in an area with a high Hispanic and Korean population. We drove by the church and saw a sign written in Korean and 2 Korean gentlemen directing traffic. We chickened out and decided not to go in, but to try this church on a "regular" Sunday. Why is it so intimidating to go to a church for the first time? I feel so uncomfortable going to visit somewhere for the first time. Too bad we can't be flies on the wall to just "see" how things work in a church. I really don't like feeling this way because after all its just a group of people who love Jesus. Why should I be so scared of them? Am I afraid they'll actually talk to me? This "finding a church home" busines clearly isn't an overnight process. I continue to pray that God will lead us to the right place and I know He will.

Reflections

Things have really been put into perspective for me lately. I've realized how easy it is to be in your own little bubble and be oblivious to the outside world. It's very easy to get caught up in material things and forget what really matters in life. My mind is constantly "on" these days. Sometimes I feel like I can literally see the world spinning around me. It's times like that when I have to stop and take a deep breath. It's also a wonderful feeling knowing that I'm not alone in the crazy game of life. Call me crazy but there have been many days lately where I can physically feel God's arms around me. I also have my partner in crime to celebrate the good and deal with the not so good. I pray every night that I will be a good wife. This world isn't all about me. Kinda sad that it took me 32 years to realize that, but better late than never. I understand what people meant now when they said you really figure out who you are in your 30s.

New Beginnings

I have another first day of school under my belt. Hard to believe that 9 years ago I was fresh out of graduate school working in Center, TX. My how things have changed from the days of driving behind chicken trucks to work everyday. I'm thankful to have found a career that I truly enjoy. It was so cool today to see those little guys come to school so excited. I'm also enjoying working at the new private practice. It's a different kind of therapy and the extra cha-ching doesn't hurt either.

I've taken a break from the wedding planning but it's time to start getting back on the wagon. My current projects are photographer and DJ. We went to an open house at the Westlake Club this weekend and it was so exciting to walk through and see everything. I could actually picture what the night of our reception will be like. Can't wait to be married!

We've officially begun the task of finding a church home. We've only visited 1 Episcopal church and it wasn't for us. I like tradition but this was too traditional. We walked in and it was silent. No one was talking to anyone. There also weren't any young people there. So on to the next one. There's a lutheran church near here that we're checking out next. God will show us to the right one!

Under Construction

So today is my first day back at work. It actually felt good to go back and I'm excited to what's in store for this year. Since our school was built in 1938, the process of building a new school began over the summer. It was weird driving up this morning to see several buildings totally gone and we have a new area to park in. They've also moved in a village of portable buildings, lovingly known as the "condos". I am in the same room as last year. I was so excited last year to walk into this room and see a window. Nothing beats natural light. To my surprise the window has now been boarded up since construction is happening right outside my window. Looking at the big picture, our new school will be so nice even if all I heard this morning was dump trucks and hammering. I'm coming off the high of a great summer and trying to transition to my "thinking" hat. This morning I was just sitting in my room thinking of ways to arrange it. Here's to another year!

Yes to the Dress!

We have a wedding dress! Mom, Karen, and Vanessa were here today to start the search. I had set up 2 appointments today and 1 tomorrow to try on dresses. I saw this dress in the David's Bridal catalog about a month ago. I kept looking at this dress so I decided that DB would be the first store to visit. We had a really awesome salesgirl who worked with me and let me try on whatever I wanted. She got me. So I tried on the dress that I had in my mind first. I put it on and wow. I loved it! Wanting to see what else was out there, I tried on several others. One was so lacy it looked like a tablecloth and one was really beautiful but was so heavy. I kept it on for a while but I was uncomfortable in the 10 minutes I had it on, so I decided it wasn't a good choice. After trying on all the other options, I tried on the original dress. I got the feeling of "I never want to take this dress off" so I walked around the store with it on for a while. I said yes to the dress and we all cheered. That was a fun moment. We found a matching veil. Got an awesome deal on the dress and veil.

Dreams

So I was told that I would start having wedding dreams (good & bad) once we started the planning process. I believed that just about as much as I believed that I would carry around a notebook containing wedding details at all times. Well, I do carry a notebook with me, along with a calendar and accordian file, and the dreams have started. My first one was that mom became a Mother-of-the-bride-zilla and demanded that each and every guest be escorted down the aisle to their seat. Now, anyone who knows Mom would know that she would never do that. The next one was actually one that my sister had. We were getting ready in a hotel room along with several of my cousins. I was ready to go take pictures and my sister hadn't even showered yet. My cousins were all in line to get ready and weren't letting Karen take a turn to shower. Again, never would happen. I do find it amusing though that my sister is having dreams about weddings even though she's been married almost 2 months now. My recent dream had to do with a wedding dress. We're dress shopping this week so I think that's what inspired this one. I found the perfect wedding dress and wore it to school everyday.

Home is Where the Heart Is

Our new house is starting to feel like home. Most everything has found a happy home. This is such an exciting time in my life. I'm finally living my dream. I knew one day it would happen. God has a funny way of operating sometimes. There were times when I would get so mad at Him and wonder what I did to tick him off because he hadn't sent me anybody yet. Now I know that he was just making me hold out for the right one. And boy did he pick a good one! I'll just chalk my 20s up to one, big learning experience. I knew when I went skydiving on my 30th birthday that this decade would be good. Two years later, I haven't been disappointed.

A huge load has been lifted from my shoulders now that we have a wedding date and a place. Next task is dress shopping. Mom and Karen are coming to Houston next week to begin the search. I have a picture in my head and saw a dress I really like at David's Bridal. My wish is that I walk in to DB, try it on, and say yes to the dress. But just in case, I also made several other appointments while they're here. I get goosebumps just thinking about trying on wedding dresses.

I'm enjoying these last couple of weeks before I go back to school. I feel like I've accomplished so much this summer. I'm going to miss my mid-morning workouts. It will be time to get on a new schedule. I am looking forward to school starting though. I miss those little guys! I work at a transient school so I'm just hoping that most of my little friends return this year.

We're also starting the task of looking for a church home. It's something Neal and I are on the same page about. We have a list of churches to start visiting. As I was searching for churches, I think its so cool that Houston just about has a church for everybody. All different languages and interests. There is even a Houston Church for the Deaf nearby. That might be neat to visit. I might not agree with everyone's views but one of the reasons that America is so great is that everyone can worship as they choose and feel welcome.

10 days

Well its been 10 days since we closed on the house. Today our furniture arrived so its our first night to sleep in the new house. The past week has been a week of blood, sweat, and tears. A week ago I made the stupid decision (with a little help) to attempt to take the wallpaper down in the kitchen. It won't take long, right? We tried to take it off and ended up damaging the walls. I became a master dry wall mud scraper. We fixed all the holes and then it was time to sand it. It looked like a blizzard in the kitchen with all the dust. Luckily, we had masks to prevent from inhaling too much of it. Then it was time to prime over the wallpaper. Since the primer was oil based, it was great fun to get all of it off my body. The paint went on yesterday. Today I played Cinderella and was down on the floor scrubbing the grout and each tile clean the mess. After a few touchups, it will look great.

I absolutely love the house. Especially now that we're starting to move in. More adventures to come!

Closing Time

We finally closed on the house today. Seems like so long ago since we put the offer in, but it really hasn't been. As soon as we closed, we went home to get Mack and then went to the new house. He ran around the place exploring all the rooms. When we put him in the backyard, he ran around for a minute and then came and sat by the door. He was probably thinking, "It's hot as hell. I'm an inside dog!"

Tonight we went to a hotel in the galleria to hear a spill from Celebrity China. They were at the bridal show and called me to tell me I had won a prize. Well we did get a pair of champagne flutes, but also had to listen to a 60 minute spill about their cookware line. We ended up buying one of the packages. It's the waterless, greaseless cookware and has a lifetime warranty. As they say, we'll never have to buy cookware again.

I've been calling around to venues to try to find a place for the wedding. We're going to check out a place this weekend.

Excitement Abounds

Holy Moly! I think my relaxing summer has quickly turned into a fastlane kind of summer. Today, Mom, Karen, Leslie, and I walked the Bridal Extravaganza to get some ideas. By only going to the venue and dress booths, it wasn't too overwhelming. There are a few places we're looking in to. Also, found a couple of dresses I would like to go try on. I think the colors are going to be jade, black, and white. This is the inspiration, but the jade is darker.







We're also getting closer to closing on the house. We've been trying to close for 2 weeks now but there were major issues with the appraisal. After everything has been resolved, the title company is finally getting our file so we've been told Tuesday will be the big day. We'll see!

Nothing like moving, fixing up a new house, fixing up the condo to get it rented, and planning a wedding all at the same time. Oh and going back to work in a month. Let the fun begin!

Lazy Days of Summer

It officially feels like summer. The past 2 weeks have been very refreshing. I've been reading a lot. Hard to believe the first month of summer is almost gone. Hmmm....what's been happening? A month later, we're still under contract for our new house. We hit a little road bump last week. We were hoping to close by last Friday but the appraisal came back lower than we had expected. We have an awesome lending guy that immediately went to bat and sent in a petition to the appraisal company. Hoping to hear back soon. A few things could happen. A.) The appraisal could come back higher. B.) The seller can come down on her price. C.) We could pay the difference which we're very hesitant to pay more for a house than its worth. As much as we really like this house, we've decided that its in God's hands and if this isn't the one, we'll move on.

Leslie had a BBQ last night to celebrate that we graduated from college 10 years ago. It was fun to sit around and talk about old times and the stupid things we did in college.

Neal did a triathalon in Pearland this morning. It H-O-T! He did well. He placed 80th out of 500 and 17th in his age group. Proud of him and so happy that he has this passion for the sport. We're considering getting me a road bike so I can start doing long bike rides, especially since my knees aren't feeling well and I need to cut back on my running.

Summerrific

I love my job,especially when I don't have to work over the summer and still get a paycheck! I've already been to the library to stock up on books. My first read is Gone with the Wind. I love it! I broke the rule and saw the movie before reading the book. But it's been a long time since I've seen the movie. The book is oh so good. Love me some historical fiction.

Mack also got his summer hair cut this week. He looked a lot better when it was longer but I know its so much cooler now when we go run.

Mrs. Sister

Karen and Coy tied the know on June 12. All her hard work paid off and the wedding was beautiful. After the rehearsal, the girl cousins, aunts, maw-maw threw Karen a bachelorette/lingerie shower. So fun! Even little Miss Ayelet got to participate but that's probably because her food source was there. :) We laughed and laughed that night. Good times.

Florida

We went out to St. Augustine, FL last week. Neal went to a conference and I tagged along. Such a relaxing trip. St. A is a cute little town. The town is very historic so there are things like carriage rides and ghost tours. None of which we did by the way. We did get to dip our toes in the Atlantic Ocean. We stayed at the World Golf Resort. So relaxing, even if we don't golf. I flew home Wednesday night so I could get to my sister's to help get ready for the wedding. Neal flew home Friday night. His truck wouldn't start when he got to the airport but he figured it out and made it to Hillsboro Friday night.

And a new blog is born

So I started blogging back in January using wordpress. For whatever reason, I've decided that I really want to be a blogger. Maybe because it seems that's what most people are using. In my OCD-ness, I really wanted to repost all my previous posts into this blog but my sensible sister suggested I just put the link to the wordpress blog here.

www.becca78becca.wordpress.com

So long wordpress. It's not you, it's me.