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.