Becoming My Mother

These Streets Will Make You Feel Brand New...

2012-01-07T12:42:00.000-06:00

It's New York...

We spent LITERALLY 24 hours in NYC a few weeks before Thanskgiving, thanks to an awesome hotel deal, and miraculously empty flights. Neither Laura or I had ever been there, and Steven had only seen the airport. We crammed as much as we could into our very limited time, and hit up Rockefeller Plaza, the Top of the Rock, Times Square, 5th Avenue, and anything else we managed to run into along the way. We missed a lot of "must sees" I'm sure, but we had a blast!

Goodbye 2011

2011-12-31T14:53:00.000-06:00

Well this clearly hasn't been my best year for blogging. But with the holidays it's hard to stay caught up (or that's my excuse anyway).

I'm currently waiting on just under 800 pictures to upload, after that, I'll have to start filling in from all the way back in NYC!

Happy New Year!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T09:19:00.000-06:00

And I've gone more than a month without posting ... oops! I'll do better y'all. I promise. Besides, I have a few pictures of NYC to share after this day of thankfulness and feasting is over.

Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy the beginning of this holiday season and remember the true reason why we celebrate.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

Luke 2:11

Midweek Update

2011-10-19T20:29:00.000-05:00

So in the interest of accountability, I thought I would do a quick (or not so quick) update on my goals for the week.

Here were my goals:

Make up the bed daily and pray for Steven while I do it.
Do a Bible Study with Steven at least 3 times this week
Eat dinner at the table with no TV once this week.
Cook at least three meals this week.
Do a small cleaning task daily to maintain my home.

So far I have made up the bed and prayed for Steven all three days. Steven and I have done our Bible study twice, and will do it again in a little while.

We ate at the table with no TV tonight (before the World Series). I made this:

And it was pretty much amazing. That's my version of my mother-in-law's Parmesan Chicken with Red Potatoes and Green Beans and Parmesan Knots! Super yummy!! I've met my fourth goal and cooked all three nights (even if last night was just nachos -- it came from the kitchen, not a restaurant, so it counts!)

I've also done my cleaning. Steven even joined in tonight and helped me clean up the "man cave" (which has become the junk dumping ground). He even moved miscellaneous furniture around so I could vacuum it really well!

And if you didn't read it earlier, God pretty much punched me in the face this morning about my mouth, so I read up on the rest of 1 Peter 3, and lo and behold, it completely and utterly fits in with what I've been working on this week! I read mostly in verses 1-12, and verse 1 jumps right into what it means to be a godly wife.

He tells us that our behavior should be so glorifying to Him, that our husbands should be able to see God through our actions, without us ever saying a word! What a challenge for us! I have really been able to see God's hand this week, and it's such a blessing. Jessica, the author of one of my other favorite blogs, The Southern Belle Baby, posted today about respect, specifically about wives respecting their husbands.

I really think it's important for godly women to speak up about what it means to be a godly wife in a society that is so focused on independence and living without a man, that we forget about godly submission, and becoming the women that God has called us to be.

If you haven't read 1 Peter lately, I really encourage you to jump in! Even if you aren't married, getting closer to God now, just means a healthier marriage and healthier dating relationships until marriage happens. I believe that you will never regret learning more about God and drawing nearer to him.

I would love to hear what you think about the passage too. I'm by no means a scholar, but it really spoke to me tonight.

Tweeting the Message

2011-10-19T08:16:00.001-05:00

I'm not sure how many of you are twitter addicts, but I can tell you that I am hooked. They keep it simple and it rarely changes, unlike some other social networking sites (**coughcough**Facbook**coughcough). The best thing about it? I not only get to keep up with friends and family (and post the occasional embarassing picture), but I also get to follow some really incredible people, that I wouldn't be able to hear from on a daily basis otherwise, and no, I'm not talking about Kim Kardashian.

I'm sure most of you who even sporatically attend church, have heard of Beth Moore. I have to tell you, she's a hoot, and I've never met her. I follow her on Twitter, and she blesses me, makes me laugh, and opens my eyes to scripture regularly.

But this morning she BROUGHT IT. In like 4 tweets. You can only have 140 characters in a tweet, and this woman quoted scripture, and then completely brought to light one of the biggest issues in my life in less than 600 characters. CHARACTERS people, not words. That is why Twitter is awesome. Because I can hear from my friends, my family, and other wonderful, Godly people, while sitting in the office waiting for my coffee to cool off. For some technology may be their downfall, but for me, it means there's a laugh, a smile, and a word of encouragement just a click away on my phone.

And just to fill you in, she tweeted about 1 Peter 3:10. I plan on digging into the chapter tonight, but here's the verse in case you're curious. It's about our MOUTH and how it can make us or break us.

"Whoever desires to love life and see good days,

let him keep his tounge from evil and his lips from deceit;"

1 Peter 3:10 ESV

Obedience

2011-10-18T20:43:00.000-05:00

If you want to see what a beautiful thing can come from obeying God, I highly recommend hopping over to Our Happily Ever Afters. Ashley and Kurt are currently in South Korea, bringing home their precious little boy Liam. They even posted a few pictures of their sweet son.

Ashley's cousin actually goes to our church as well. Ever since my mission trip to Romania in high school, I have always held a special place in my heart for international adoption. Ashley has kept up a blog of the entire adoption process and I have loved reading how God has worked out a perfect plan for them to grow their family. You can read all of that on Our Adoption Tapestry.

Ideal

2011-10-17T19:18:00.000-05:00

This Sunday, our Pastor completed a series called "Modern Family." I missed most of it (I can admit we've been bad about going lately), but this week's message was one that hit very close to home for me. Brother John chose passages in Genesis, Romans and 1 Corinthians, and talked about how our society as a whole has perverted the view of the family, and what "ideal" family and marital relationships should look like.

I'm not going to skirt around this -- he very clearly called out homosexuality as sinful, and I agree with him. Now don't get me wrong, he also called out many other sins -- adultery, lust, etc. But that's not what struck me this week. The more he talked about marriage and family, the more I realized that I haven't been fulfilling my place in my home.

My attitude has been horrible. My moods have been unpredictable. I've been greedy and selfish. And on top of all of that, I manage to justify it by the time of the month, my work schedule, and my health.

"I worked all day, I don't want to cook dinner."

"I've been a showsite, I don't want to get up for church."

"I'm taking medicine that makes me feel angry, so I can lash out at my husband whenever I want."

Umm, yeah, that's not really how this whole marriage/Godly woman thing is supposed to work. AT ALL.

I'm sure you've all read Proverbs 31. It talks about the woman who fears the Lord. If you want to read the whole thing, you can check it out here.

Obviously I've recently had a big fat FAIL in these areas. Like, all of them. Seriously.

So here's the deal. God and I, we're working on it. And I'm putting it out here, because, well, I don't like to look like a failure in public, so this is motivation for me.

I'm setting mini-goals for the week, that will hopefully build up and turn into habits that are good for my marriage, my home, my health, and most importantly my relationship with God. What I'm realizing is that I'm not that "undomestic." I just have a bad attitude, and I need to work on it. By not honoring my husband, I'm being disobedient to God.

This week, I'm focusing on my idleness. Verse 27 says that the woman who fears the Lord doesn't eat the bread of idleness. Lately, I've been buying the bread of idleness in bulk from the warehouse store, and gorging on it 5 times a day.

So here's this week's goals:

Make up the bed daily and pray for Steven while I do it.
Do a Bible Study with Steven at least 3 times this week.
Eat dinner at the table with no TV once this week.
Cook at least three meals this week.
Do a small "cleaning" task daily, to maintain my home. (Today I dusted!)

I think I've rambled on far long enough. Let's see how this goes...

For the Love of the Game

2011-10-17T11:07:00.000-05:00

Most people who know my family well knew my Aunt April. She was a funny, happy, godly woman who loved baseball more than anyone I knew. In fact, she took my sister and me to our first game at the Astrodome in Houston when we were kids. I don’t remember who won or even who they played, but I will always remember the fun, and the passion she had for the game and for her team.

April was a huge baseball fan, and was fiercely loyal to the hometown team wherever she lived. April had been living outside of St. Louis for years, and was a huge Cardinals fan. When the Cardinals played the Boston Red Sox in the World Series when I was in college, I rooted for the Red Sox just to instigate trouble. She watched almost every game, and could always tell you how well (or poorly) her team had played. She made my level of fandom look laughable. She lived in the DFW area for awhile when I was younger, and during that time she was, of course, a Rangers fan.

April died earlier this year, very suddenly, and I’ll admit it knocked the wind out of me.
I handle tragedy and death very well outwardly. I’m really good at being the strong one. I learned the art form last year when we lost my mother-in-law. Being the strong one is how I get through the motions of death, of funerals, of my family’s heartbreak. It keeps me busy, and leaves me very little time to get caught up in my own emotions. I’m the one who can call the florist, write the obituary, make lunch, whatever has to be done.

Steven and I have gotten into the habit of buying a Texas Rangers discount thing every year. It costs $40 and gets you a certain number of free games and then a few buy one get ones, etc. We bought it this year as usual, but after April died, I couldn’t make myself go. For me, baseball’s biggest fan was gone, and things just weren’t ever going to be the same.

Different members of my family always joked that it would make the perfect World Series for us. Our Texas Rangers versus the St. Louis Cardinals.

Well this year it’s happening. April is finally getting her World Series, and no matter who wins or loses, I’ll be happy because they’re both April’s team. I know she’s moved on to much better things than baseball, but I have to think that she just can’t wait for Wednesday.

So Go Rangers, Go Cardinals. Be stars. For the love of the game, and for one very loved Aunt.

He is Mighty to Save

2011-10-10T22:12:00.000-05:00

I'm sure most praise and worship music lovers know the song I'm referencing in the title. It is by Hillsong:

For the first time tonight, I looked up the scripture that references our GOD as mighty to save. I found a passage from Zephaniah that really spoke to me.

The Lord your God is in your midst,
a mighty one who will save;
He will rejoice over you with gladness;
He will quiet you by His love;
He will exult over you with loud singing.
(Zephaniah 3:17 - ESV)

I love the song, but my favorite part of this verse isn't that phrase - although I am thankful that my God is mighty enough to save me. What stands out to me is something else: "He will quiet you by His love."

He can move mountains.

He can calm the raging storm.

He is mighty to save me not just from my enemies, but also from my sin.

He will quiet me with His love.

Jamesie Beat the Tumor

2011-07-16T21:30:00.000-05:00

Please Continue to pray for this family. Their son went to meet Jesus this afternoon.

Jamesie beats the tumor: Jamesie Beat the Tumor: "At 3:50 P.M. Jamesie beat the tumor. We had our angel for eight months. That's a long time to spend with an angel."

Please Pray

2011-07-14T15:10:00.000-05:00

I'll warn you that the blog I'm about to link to will break your heart, so don't click unprepared. I had a class with Kara Sikes (the mom in the blog) in grad school. Her son was diagnosed with a brain tumor last month. They removed it, and two weeks later it has returned with a vengence. They're bringing James home, knowing that there's really nothing they can do. Please pray that God will give them peace and comfort.

Jamesie beats the tumor: Day Twenty One: "I am taking my son home today. I am taking him away from the wires, the needle pricks, and the constant pain he lives in. I am taking him ho..."

Two Years

2011-06-22T21:27:00.001-05:00

On Monday Steven and I celebrated our Second Wedding Anniversary! It's so hard to believe that two years have already gone by.

On that day I was completely unemployed! I'd just finished up an internship, and interviewed for the position I'm in now, but I didn't get the job until we were on our honeymoon. And even then, I wasn't permanent until late last fall! Even through the times of me being un- and under-employed we have been incredibly blessed.

We spend most evenings just like we did two years ago, snuggled up on our sofa (at least it's bigger now!) with our big ol lump of a dog, Foster.

I can't say it's all been easy. We've dealt with parental illness and almost a year ago we lost Steven's mom in a very tragic accident. I still tear up often thinking about her, and I'm very prone to snap at people who gripe about their mother-in-laws because I would give anything to have her back in our lives.

We've been on some amazing vacations thanks to the awesome benefits we get through Steven's job. Since our wedding we've been to:

St. Kitts (Honeymoon!)
Las Vegas (me for work, Steven to come visit me)
Disneyworld
San Diego
Disneyland
Atlanta
Charlotte (Steven took me to see Mary Poppins for my birthday last year!)
Chicago (me for work, Steven to come visit me)
Hawaii
Philadelphia (again me for work, Steven to visit)

I am so lucky to be married to my best friend. I'm spoiled rotten. Steven's surprising me with a trip to somewhere for the weekend to finish up the celebration! I think he's trying to catch up because he got an iPad.

Looking back over the past few years since we've met makes me unbelievably happy. I always knew that some day I would meet my own Prince Charming (thanks to watching too much Cinderella!), and I am so lucky to spend my life with someone who loves me so much! I'm looking forward to the next 2, and the 2 after that, and the 2 after that, and ...

5 Things

2011-06-13T22:07:00.001-05:00

I'm stuck posting from my phone so I'm keeping it simple.

1. I'm in San Francisco. For work. Without Steven. I like it better when Steven is with me.

2. It's in the 60s here. Steven said it was around 100°; in Texas. Feel free to be jealous.

3. There's a Bloomingdales right across the street. I may get into trouble.

4. The two hour time difference kills me no matter how many times I've been out here.

5. I ate at a place called "Super Duper Burger." It was fantastic.

My Newest Addiction

2011-06-07T21:06:00.000-05:00

As if I needed another one. Between Facebook, Twitter, and my very full Google Reader, the last thing I needed was another website to get hooked on.

Too bad though, because I found one.

Have you been on Pinterest yet? It's basically an online bulletin board where you can "pin" anything. Books, decorating ideas, recipes, ANYTHING.

Even better, you can follow people and see what that pin. So all those bloggers out there with taste I adore, yeah, I can see the things THEY pin. And love them.

Mostly I find food I love, but I'm trying to pin two other things for every food item. Because I need to have self control with food.

Even if it is just over the Internet.

ANYWAY ... are you on Pinterest? If so, follow me, so I can follow you back! I think you can find my boards here: http://pinterest.com/amanda0620/

If you need an invite, just leave a comment with your email address so I can invite you. It takes forever if you have to wait on one from the web site.

Are there any other awesome new sites I'm missing out on???

Fur and Fin Babies

2011-05-30T12:20:00.003-05:00

Meet the Michael Family pets.

Most of you probably know Foster. Also known as Foster-Bear, Foster Won Kenobe, Pumpkin Bread, Tweety Bird, and Oofa Lump. I can openly admit that he's spoiled rotten, and treated like a baby. Steven thinks he needs a (four-legged) brother. I think he needs a (two-legged) sister. But that's a whole other argument/post.

More recently we have added 8 various tropical fish to our family. One of them had babies and we have 3 little ones swimming around as well! Most of them don't have names yet, but the one Dalmation Molly we have (he replaced the first one that died, and then the other one died, and we didn't replace it), is named Big Eyes. I'm sure you can figure out why. He reminds us of Foster, because he eats like crazy.

ETA: We have now named the rest of the fish. The 3 Black Mollies are named Huey, Duey, and Louie. The two gold and the two orange Mollies are collectively named The Golden Girls, and Big Eyes, is of course Big Eyes. Call me cynical, but I'm not naming the babies until they're too big to be eaten.

I'm in the process of cleaning, so I can get pictures up of the new place. We're about to spend the rest of the day with the family relaxing!

Hope everyone has a wonderful Memorial Day and remembers those who died to give us Freedom.

Mini-Yard Work

2011-05-28T13:50:00.000-05:00

The back of our patio has a little 4'x15' section of dirt. It's great because that means Foster can go out leash-free, and we don't have to go out if he just needs some room to romp.

The problem is that it was 100% dirt.

We worked on that today.

Meet my manual labor:

I'm not sure I'd call them willing. But I'm paying them so that they have enough for tickets to Disneyland (where we plan on taking them in July).

With alot of digging, only one screaming match, and $50 well spent at Home Depot, we now have grass, and a drain set up to keep our patio from getting covered in mud every time it rains.

Now it's time for a (very) late lunch, before we finish clean up and head off to the pool! Happy Memorial Day Weekend!!

Coming Soon...

2011-05-22T09:40:00.002-05:00

Pics of what's been happening lately...

I promise.

Soon.

(Really Suzi, I mean it!)

He Is Risen! He Is Risen Indeed!

2011-04-24T10:18:00.001-05:00

And he said to them, Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified He has risen; He is not here; behold, here is the place where they laid Him.

Mark 16:6

Happy Easter!

The Longest Short Week or I Am So Flipping Lazy

2011-04-13T17:55:00.000-05:00

That's what this week has been. Since the service here in Texas for my Aunt is on Friday, Steven and I are taking Thursday and Friday off this week. That means I'm done with work, but man, those three days were long.

I know it's because we're grieving and I am severely out of my routine (I'm picking up the kids from school since the parents are out of town), but knowing the reasons for my sluggish bad attitude really isn't helping things any.

I have so much that I need to be doing, but I can't really motivate myself to do any of it. We move in almost exactly a week, and my house is not packed up. At all. But what am I doing? Sitting. Playing around on The Nest. Reading blogs. Playing on Twitter. Any and everything but packing.

I'm really having a flashback to my college days when I only blogged (on Xanga!!) when I had a test to study for or a paper due.

Must. Get. Off. Couch.

Great is Thy Faithfulness

2011-04-10T18:46:00.001-05:00

A little less than a year ago, my second family was ripped apart and sewn back together as closer, and stronger than before when we lost my precious mother-in-law Donna. As the weeks and months have past, I've learned to live with the hurt that never quite goes away. I still get mad at people who whine that their mother-in-laws are too nosy or bossy, because I would give anything to have her back in my life, even though she was anything but bossy or nosy.

Today I felt that all-too-familiar heartbreak again.

Today we lost my sweet Aunt April. It was unexpected, and happened faster than I can believe. Even now, hours later, I still can't comprehend that she's gone. I'm sure it will take the rest of the week, and seeing the heartbreak in the eyes of my precious family before it really sinks in.

I don't have the answers, and today I haven't even made it to the zen place of knowing that everything "happens for a reason." I know that God is in control, and I know that everything works together for the good of those who love Him and are called to His purpose (Romans 8:28).

Please pray for my family during this time. April was an incredibly special woman. She took me to my first professional baseball game, and I have so many sweet memories of shopping trips and sleepovers. I know she spent her first day in Heaven praising God and giving Him the glory. All I can do is strive to do the same here on earth and follow her example as a beautiful woman of God.

The LORD'S loving kindnesses indeed never cease,

For His compassions never fail.

They are new every morning;

Great is Your faithfulness.

Lamentations 3:22-23

Bittersweet

2011-04-09T15:23:00.000-05:00

I'm sitting in the midst of an apartment in complete disarray. In just about 2 weeks, we're moving down the street into a larger apartment. We're thrilled. We have a new sofa, dining set, and washer/dryer on the way, and we can't wait to have more space.

But as I pack up dishes and shop for curtains, I have to admit that I'm a little sad. We moved here when we married, and despite the fact that there's not much space, and the complex isn't the nicest, we've made this home over the past few years. It's cozy and homey and we've loved spending many nights snuggled on our old, lumpy, comfy couch.

I know this is just the first of what will likely be several moves over the course of our marriage, but I'm still a bit sad about it. I know I'll get over it quickly when we're settled into our new place. Maybe I'm just sad that I'll be spending most of the next two weeks packing... oh procrastination...

You Know You're "Old" When...

2011-03-11T22:28:00.000-06:00

Shopping for this gets you excited:

We picked this up (and the matching dryer) on sale at Best Buy last weekend! They won't be delivered until the end of next month when we move into our new apartment (the stackables just won't fit ... I'm heartbroken... ha!)

We're also contemplating new living room furniture. Our current couch and recliner are in sad shape. We're thinking about getting these:

Ok, well not the whole room, just the sofa and loveseat ... and both in red! They're in the Cindy Crawford collection from Rooms to Go, and on sale this weekend (yay sales!)

Oh and I finally got Steven's Valentine's Day gift in:

He's currently flashing back to his childhood with the original Mario Bros. I have to say that beyond that life has been pretty quiet around here. We're just starting the process of packing up everything and getting ready to move... can't wait until Easter weekend, and our new, bigger apartment!

Snow Day To-Do List FINAL UPDATE!

2011-02-09T11:17:00.007-06:00

Last week during my 4 days off for weather, I was very busy blogging, tweeting, and immersing myself in my favorite TV shows and chick flicks. I was so lazy that I didn't even read anything. That is sad.

So today, during Snow Day #5 of this season (just in case you're counting), I am going to accomplish the following:

** Final Update: I got everything done that was a necessity! The laundry is in progress, and will be done in soon enough. I'm not in a dig through things mood, so I'm not going to get my kitchen bonus done. Now I'm snuggling down on the couch with Foster to watch Mamma Mia!**

Kitchen:

~~Do dishes~~
~~Wipe down all counters and sink~~
~~Sweep and Mop~~
Bonus: Clean out cabinets and make a pile of goodwill donations (I have tons of junk I never use) ... Yeah I'm not doing this today. I've done enough.

Dining Room:

~~Clean off table and actually put everything where it goes~~

Living Room:

~~Pick up all of my junk that is everywhere~~
~~Go through books and see if I'm ready to donate any of them.~~ (I couldn't get rid of any -- I'm such a nerd)
~~Rehang curtains that have needed to be put up since Christmas decor came down.~~ (Technically they aren't up, but my curtain rod got bent -- not sure how -- but they can't go up without a curtain rod, so even though it's not done, it's off my list)
~~Sweep & Mop entry way~~

Bedroom:

Wash all laundry including sheets and towels. (Only the towels are left. Just waiting on the dryer!)
~~Make up bed~~
~~Find a place for art that has no wall to live on.~~
~~Hang up clothes, and lay Steven's out for him to hang up.~~
~~Clean up my corner that's full of stuff I don't know where to put.~~

Bathroom:

~~Clean it.~~
~~Sweep & Mop~~

Whole House:

~~Vacuum (Only the bedroom is left at lunchtime!)~~
~~Dust~~

I'll be back periodically to update. I'm sure I won't get it all done today, but I hate incomplete to-do lists so here goes nothing! And yes I put things on the list I already did this morning. I like a head start.

A Real Snow Day

2011-02-05T07:27:00.007-06:00

Yesterday we woke up to an actual full-fledged snow day. Snow started falling sometime last night and continued off and on all morning. It was actually a really nice change, because it covered up the ice and made everything (except the roads) much less slippery.

If you look back at my first snow day post, you might recognize this picture ... only it's not the same. We had a total repeat of the ice situation on our very hilly road. It was nuts.

Someone else was also a little nuts for the snow. Much like the last few days it was a big fight to get him to come inside. He loved sniffing and prancing and kicking up the snow. It was pretty cute, and I didn't mind as much this time because I wasn't constantly concerned about sliding down the hill and breaking my neck.

The sun came out in the afternoon and started the thaw, and let me tell you, after the past few days of 15 degree weather, 28 felt straight up warm. We're supposed to get up into the 40's today, so I'm sure everything will melt away. It's been fun, but I'm actually looking forward to getting back to work Monday. Sitting at home all day gets dull!

Kauai -- The Food

2011-02-04T11:11:00.000-06:00

One of the things Steven was most excited about when we started planning this trip was the food. He loves seafood, and I'm learning to like it, but we don't eat it nearly as often as he'd like. So we ate alot of seafood while we were there, and I rejoiced every time the place we were going had a burger that had a decent review.

Burger from Brennecke's Beach Broiler on Poipu Beach

But have no fear, we ate plenty of fish. Some of it was not that great, but much of it was delicious. And that's alot coming from me. We had a couple of "nice" meals, but unfortunately food in Hawaii is ridiculously expensive (even McDonalds -- $8 for a "value" meal -- and I wish I was kidding)

Shrimp Burger & Fish and Chips from the Hanalei Dolphin Restaurant

Surf & Turf and the Macadamia Nut Crusted Mahi-Mahi from Roy's Restaurant. Yes it's a "chain" but it's yummy.

We also indulged in some sweets (of course). Lapperts was my favorite. It's like a Baskin Robbins and Starbucks combined. What more could you ask for?

Snow Day #2

2011-02-03T09:54:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was Snow Day #2. It wasn't as fun as Snow Day #1 for a couple of reasons. Steven had to work. So it was just me and the dog. He took my car, so all I had was the truck, and trucks don't mix well with ice. So I was home with the dog ALL DAY.

And just to keep things interesting, there are issues with the electrical grids in Texas, so we had rolling power outages yesterday. My dog is a big chicken, and flipped out every time it went off or came back on. So he spent a large amount of the day in my lap.

Don't worry though, he recovered and got back to napping.

(This was my lovely view for most of the day)

I also made chili for dinner last night. I LOVE that I can make chili in my crockpot. It's so much easier (especially on days when I work, or when I want to be lazy -- like yesterday)

(Also, that's my new can opener ... It cost more than $5, and you can tell. I'm kinda in love)

It was yummy. Today is Snow Day #3, and I don't really have high hopes that today will improve much. I really thought that I'd be back at work today, but according to HR the streets by the office and our parking lot are basically ice skating rinks. To top things off, we have another (good) chance for another round of weather tonight, so I'm not sure I'll be back at work tomorrow.

Well it's off to more (really bad) Daytime TV and my chick-flick movie collection.

In other words, I'm bored.

Really, really bored.

Wings Over Kauai

2011-02-02T13:19:00.001-06:00

When planning this vacation, Steven and I decided pretty quickly that we would NOT be doing a helicopter tour. The costs were outrageous ... almost $500 for a 50 minute ride. Even if we COULD have afforded it, we just refused to pay that much even if it was a "must see" with all the guides we read.

Once in Kauai, we found something that allowed us to get the views without the price. Steven found a company called "Wings Over Kauai" in a magazine. They were able to get us in the same day, and the costs were significantly less (we're talking less than half). I did a full review on trip advisor, but I will say that we were beyond satisfied (even if I did get a little motion sick... yikes!). Here are most of the pics from the trip. I was honestly so overtaken by the views and the experience, that I didn't take as many pictures as I intended. Our pilot, Bruce (who also owns the company with his wife), encouraged us to not just look through our camera lens, but to really take in the view.

This was the shot that was taken by Ellen (Bruce's wife), and they sent it to us via email. No extra charges for photos (and this is one of many reasons I love small, family owned companies -- they don't try to rip you off).

Norwegian Cruise Lines "Pride of America." It exclusively tours the Hawaiian Islands.

These are all shots of Kauai's coast line. It's all absolutely gorgeous. We loved that Kauai is still very "rustic." No huge towns, no skyscrapers. In fact, there's a law in Kauai that no building can be taller than a coconut tree ... which means nothing's more than 4 stories high. It's a nice change from the city environment we see every day!

This is the only shot I got of the famous Napali Coast. You can't get to it by car. The only way to see it is from the air, by boat, or by taking a 20 something mile hike. It takes an entire day to get there and a day to get back. The view was beyond breathtaking.

These two are of the Waimea Canyon or "The Grand Canyon of the Pacific." You can also drive up to this and see it, or hike down into it. We drove up, but skipped the hiking (shocking, I know).

This is one of the last things we saw was this gorgeous waterfall. I want to say it's the one from Jurassic Park, but I could definitely be wrong. Anyway, it's pretty, so who cares!

So there's a quick look at the views we got to enjoy from way up in the sky. I'm so glad we decided to do this tour. Not only was it less expensive, but since I do get motion sick, it was much easier for me to deal with. A helicopter tour would have killed me. If you're going to Kauai, I highly recommend the company. Check them out at http://www.wingsoverkauai.com/.

Snow Daze...

2011-02-01T18:27:00.000-06:00

Sometime late last night our torrential rain turned into torrential sleet that come sunrise turned into snow. Combine that with temperatures barely in the 20's (make that the teens now that the sun has set) and you have a good old fashioned Texas "Snow" Day. Lucky for me, my office closes with the school district and Steven was able to take a vacation day, so we stayed in and snuggled and watched the cars attempt to make it up and down the street.

Foster loved exploring his little piece of the arctic. We went out three or four times and I had to drag him or carry him in every single time. He just wanted to stay out any play!

Our office is closed again tomorrow, so I'm home again. Steven (unfortunately) will be at work, so Foster and I will have a chick flick day, and wait and see if it's going to thaw out any time soon.

Stay warm and safe!

Views from Kauai

2011-01-31T20:22:00.000-06:00

As I'm sure you can assume, I took a ton of pictures while we were on vacation. I could spend two weeks worth of blog posts going over all the details. This time I'm just going to share some of the gorgeous views we got to see while we were there! We also did a plane tour, but I'll share those photos later. Here we go...

Sunrises & Oceans & Beaches

Waterfalls & Overlooks

A Church & A Lighthouse & A Warning Sign

Aloha!

2011-01-23T17:48:00.000-06:00

We are having a fantastic time, enjoying the beautiful weather and scenery (and the pool here at our resort!). Just a quick picture from one of our excursions. Many more to come!

Wordless Wednesday -- Mom Had a Happy Birthday

2011-01-19T07:55:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday Mom!

2011-01-18T11:04:00.001-06:00

Happy Birthday to the best Mom ever. We love you very much!

(P.S -- Yes that's a picture of my Momma. Isn't she adorable?)

My Name is Amanda ...

2011-01-17T17:19:00.000-06:00

And I have serious baby fever.

Facebook is dangerous. Everyone either has cute tiny humans, or sonogram pictures.

I'm not whining, because I know we're not (quite) there yet, and that our time will come soon enough.

I'm also not whining because I get to go on very nice vacations that would be hard to do with a small child.

But I think it's time to hang out with the friends that have a baby again, because I have to get this baby fever in check.

Also? I need to stop reading Mommy blogs. Because posts like this, simply melt me into a puddle. How cute are those onesies? I just die. Every.single.time. (Also, her kids are beyond adorable).

On the plus side, baby fever is major motivation to work out and lose weight!

That is all.

New Blog Design/Layout

2011-01-16T20:40:00.000-06:00

I'm trying my hand at doing my own blog design again! Luckily much of the information I was using has been updated to deal with Blogger's new format ... yay! I don't have any of my buttons/sidebar stuff done, but I'm finally happy (enough) with my background and header.

I should have paid someone else to do this....

I'm Getting Paid to Blog!

2011-01-14T15:49:00.000-06:00

Well, not on this blog... obviously with my 26 followers I'm a long, long way from having that happen, but I'm getting to blog at work! We've been working on it for a couple of months, and we're finally hoping to launch by the end of the month (I hope!!). I'm getting to learn alot about other departments, and I'm getting to spend a couple of hours each day in and office (not my cube!) blogging!

It may be about work, but it's sure a nice change from the usual.

In other news ... it's finally Friday! I'm not sure why, but this week has simply flown by! We're beta testing a new method at work, and it's just exhausting me, but I only have three more days of work until VACATION!!!

Which reminds me, I need to go dig through my summer clothes... Kauai here we come!

Another Random Post

2011-01-12T17:17:00.001-06:00

I'm a self-proclaimed blog addict. I love reading them, but I try to continually filter out the ones I don't enjoy as much. This week I came to a realization. I always say I love decorating blogs, but I really don't. In fact, decorating blogs irritate the stuffing out of me. I can't stand 500 posts about how I updated my mantle. Normal people don't have time for that, and therefore it irritates me.

I love home improvement blogs, where they decorate too.

I finally realized why home improvement blogs don't bother me. It's because they tell a story. It's not just about the house, but you also get bits and pieces about the families who live there. You get to see their personalities come alive in the home they create.

My favorites right now? Young House Love (of course!) and The Casabella Project. They both are about Young families making houses with "good bones" into good homes. They are both really fun.

Ten Random Things

2011-01-08T08:49:00.001-06:00

This is a random post, but things lately have been bugging me, and I'm trying to just write what I feel, not what I think people will be interested in. So here goes. First off, 5 things they are irritating me this week.

College Football. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE college football. Game Day is so much fun. What I don't love is being told who to cheer for. Obviously I'm going to cheer for Baylor, but beyond that I feel no obligation to anyone. Case in point: I don't have to cheer for TCU because they are right down the road, they are small, or they are the underdogs. In fact, with the exception of Baylor, I don't like it when the underdog wins. Prove yourself all season, then you deserve to win the championship.
Weather. Make up your mind Texas. Is it winter or spring?
Work. Everything's changing. And I don't like change. I cling desperately to normal.
Facebook. If I wasn't so nosy, I'd give it up. I can't say anything about anything because everyone I know is on there. I've seriously considered deleting it, but then how would I know who just got married, or who is having a baby? Who am I kidding, with the way things are going, I should just assume that all of my married friends are having babies.
Babies. I want one, but we're being all responsible and waiting until we can actually afford to live somewhere bigger than this. I know it's the right thing to do, but I'm tired of it.

I think five things is enough. I'm going to follow this up with 5 things I'm loving right now, just for balance:

Having a TV in our bedroom. I know this is a big marriage no-no, but it's been great. We both wind down better at night watching an episode of Friends together, and if Steven wants to play a video game, I can go watch a movie while snuggled in my bed
My Coworkers. They make me laugh constantly, and we can all openly share our frustrations and triumphs and ridiculous stories. It's fantastic.
My Husband. Because he's awesome. That's all.
My New Running Shoes. Because they're bouncy, and they keep my feet in the right position. Which kinda feels weird, but it's good.
My Tiny Apartment. I'm choosing to see this as a blessing, even though I'd rather not. It's cozy, and comfy, and perfect for our family of 2 and a dog.

Hello 2011!

2011-01-01T22:53:00.000-06:00

Today has gone mostly like I expected. Bowl games and taking down Christmas. I am three strands of lights, two strands of garland, and a half hour of packing up the storage closet away from being done. That can all wait until tomorrow. Then Monday Steven and I both head back to work. I can't say I'm excited, but we just have a short amount of time before we go on vacation!

I am excited that I got to make a trip to see my grandmothers, and by the end of the day tomorrow, our house should be clean!! Unfortunately with our space constraints, the Christmas tree ended up in an odd spot this year, and the whole house has felt cluttered since then. I am excited to a fresh clean start to the new year.

After three days of sloth (between going to my grandparents and NYE), I get back on the workout wagon tomorrow. Prayers may be needed because I felt the squats from Wednesday for two days!

Sorry for the random post, but I'm just working on getting back into the rhythm of blogging!

Getting Started Before the Ball Drops!

2010-12-30T06:23:00.000-06:00

Steven and I did a little shopping yesterday. I needed to exchange a Christmas gift, and while I was trading things out, Steven got me EA Active 2! We also ran by Sports Authority and got me new running shoes! They're pink and cute and really comfy (and were on sale!!).

I got home yesterday and tried them both out. The shoes are AWESOME and the game is a really good workout. I was impressed - and sweaty! What are you doing to prepare for your New Years resolutions?

Looking Forward to 2011

2010-12-27T22:12:00.000-06:00

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas! We had a fantastic time with our families, and though a few moments were incredibly hard, it was a mostly joyful holiday.

But I can be honest and say that I'm plenty happy to move on to 2011!

We have some fun things planned (including a vacation to Hawaii!!!). Here are a few of my goals for 2011:

Pick back up on blogging. I've felt very uninspired since July. Mostly because it's been a weird year. I'm hoping to start fresh after January 1.
Eating better. We fell off the Weight Watchers wagon after we lost Donna, and we're planning on picking up again very soon. I've already cut out Diet Coke completely, and if you know me, you know it's my biggest addiction!
Exercising. My sisters and I are already working on this one! We're training for a 5K! And while they are both way ahead of me, I'm enjoying the time spent together, and working toward a common goal. Plus it's a whole lot easier to suffer together. What can I say? Misery loves company.
Reading. And not the "Not-Quite-Trashy Romances" I've been hooked on lately. I downloaded about 90 classics for free on my Kindle last week. My goal is to read 52 of them by the end of next year. I'm starting out with Little Women and plan on reading lots of Austen, some Dickens (kill me now), and hopefully the entire Wizard of Oz series. I'm very excited about this one.

I have some other more personal goals, that I hope to share more about as the year goes on. But these are the ones I need some support for right now!

Here's to 2011, and a better year. I'm so excited to see what God's going to do!

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-23T21:15:00.001-06:00

I've said more than once lately that I am blessed beyond belief. I have a husband who loves me, and along with our puppy, we have a happy, cozy home. I have an amazing family, and I'm so lucky to live near them all.

While this year has been less than perfect, we've made it through, and together we'll keep making it.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Ten Days of Gratitude: FAIL

2010-11-21T09:57:00.000-06:00

I give up. I knew I should have given up before I started. I'm just too busy lately to actually get up 10 posts, 10 days in a row. So you'll see all of the rest of my thankfulness on Thanksgiving day. Assuming I get that post written. Family starts coming in for the holiday today!

Ten Days of Gratitude: Day Two

2010-11-17T20:08:00.000-06:00

Today I am thankful for my job. Because it's been a long long struggle getting where I am. I haven't had a "real" job since I graduated, but have jumped between lots of little jobs. Some I loved, some I hated, most just got me a paycheck.

And while I'm not going to claim that this is my dream job, and I plan on being there forever, it is a great company. I work for and with people I love, and I get to travel just enough to be able to enjoy it! I'm also getting to blog for an hour or two everyday and get paid for it, and you just can't beat that!

Ten Days of Gratitude: Day One

2010-11-16T18:26:00.000-06:00

I'm stealing this from a fellow blogger (who stole my "Respect the Bird" title... love it!!), and I'm going to make a desperate attempt to do this every day, BUT for those of you who know me and love me (I hope), you know that I'm really really bad at the follow through on such things. So here goes...

Today I'm grateful for my husband's job, because while it isn't making us rich with money, it does provide us the opportunity to do things that we'd never be able to do otherwise. And I'm not just talking about my two birthday trips this year.

Because of the nature of my job, I have to travel. And I hate, hate, hate being away from my family for so long. If it weren't for Steven's job, we'd never be able to afford for him to come and visit me on long trips, and that would make spending two weeks in Chicago unbearable.

So thank you to my husband's employer. For putting up with his craziness, and for giving us the opportunity to do so much more than we could ever afford to do otherwise. We are truly blessed!

Respect The Bird!

2010-11-15T19:20:00.000-06:00

Despite the fact that I love (and I do mean LOVE) everything about Christmas, I am trying desperately hard to "Respect The Bird." I firmly believe that Thanksgiving is a really important holiday, and not because of the food coma that we intentionally put ourselves into.

In a society where so much of our lives are ruled by our possessions and our desire for possessions, it's really important to reflect back on the past year and give thanks to the one who gave it all to us. I think it's sad that the stores ignore Thanksgiving to pile on Christmas, which to them, is solely about profits and increasing our materialistic standpoint.

Now I'm not claiming to be a saint. I love the presents and the "stuff" just like everything else, but this year, I'm going to try to "respect the bird" and give thanks for what I've been given.

Home Sweet Home

2010-11-07T20:42:00.000-06:00

I'm home! And completely exhausted. If you count travel days as work (and since I get paid for them, I do!), I haven't had a day off since October 17th. That should make this week a TON of fun.

My sweet husband works with a girl who's a massage therapist, and I am so blessed because he's already arranged for her to come give me a massage on Tuesday. To say I'm excited is an understatement.

OH and I tried another pizza place. It was amazing, but 100% different than everything else we had. I might get up the energy to blog on it soon, but for now, I'm going to sleep!

There's no place like home...

Food Faceoff: Chicago Deep Dish

2010-11-05T11:20:00.001-05:00

As I'm sure movst of you have figured out by now, I'm in Chicago. I've been here for almost 2 weeks, and I have 2 days to go before I get to go home. I love my job, and this show has been fantastic, but I'm so ready to be home with my husband and puppy!

Luckily, Steven's job gives us lots of flexibility in this sort of situation, so he was able to fly up and spend a long weekend with me! While my hours (and exhaustion) made it difficult to do any real sight-seeing, we did have one thing on our to-do list that I just wasn't willing to give up.

Deep dish pizza.

I'm starving just thinking about it.

So we began the hunt to decide which two pizza places we'd hit up, and lucky for us, the choices stuck out loud and clear. The Locals vs. My Coworkers (I should note that people from my office tend to come to Chicago at LEAST once a year, because McCormick place is such a busy convention center).

I took a quick survey of my coworkers, and while there were a few favorites, the final choice was clear. Meet contender #1: Lou Malnati's Pizzeria

Steven asked around at the airport, on his shuttle, and around the hotel. The answer was unanimous: Gino's East. We had contender #2.

ROUND 1

We hit up Gino's first. It has a killer reputation, and I had high expectations. The day we went wasn't busy, and we were seated quickly. The atmosphere was graffiti covered and not really my style, but still very fun.

We ordered up our pizza, and an appetizer (a deep dish necessity, since they take 30-45 minutes to cook. At Gino's we selected a simple pepperoni with extra cheese, and their garlic sticks.

The garlic sticks were ok, but lacked alot of flavor. Being the bread addict that I am, I was a bit disappointed. The service here was also hit and miss, but there's not much for the guy to do when he's waiting for your food to cook. I'd have been happier if I had seen him more than once between dropping off our appetizer and bringing our food, but you can't have everything.

Now on to the main event:

The sauce was great, the meat was flavorful, and the cheese was clearly high quality, but the crust.... well it was not great. Our crust was hard, and lacked flavor. I'm usually a pizza crust lover, and this wasn't a good one. I found myself leaving the crust on the plate and moving on.

ROUND 2

The next day was Friday and we headed to Lou Malnati's Pizzeria.

It was busy, so we waited, and oh was it worth it. The atmosphere here was perfection. Very classic. Busy and loud, but not too loud, and very simple.

We ordered up their classic (home made sausage), but added pepperoni to it. We also ordered their Toasted Cheddar Cubes at our waiter's recommendation.

This appetizer knocked Gino's garlic sticks out of the ring. They were flavorful and different, and a perfect start to our meal.

45 minutes later it arrived. I was worried. It looked just like Gino's. Our waiter served it up, and we dug in. The sausage was light in flavor, and I actually liked it (I'm not a sausage fan), and the cheese was clearly fresh.

And the crust? Their famous buttercrust?

Perfect. Melt in your mouth, flaky, flavorful heaven. I died.

And then I came back to life so I could eat some more and die again.

THE SCORES

The service at Lou Malnati's was better than Gino's East as was the atmosphere. Lou's clearly won the appetizer battle, but let's be honest, this is about the pizza. Let's break it down:

Red sauce: Tie. Both had great flavor and didn't go overboard on volume. Too much sauce can make things soggy, and luckily this didn't happen at either location.

Cheese: Slight advantage to Lou's. You could taste the freshness. They bragged on the quality of their ingredients, and you can taste the difference, but with the cheese, it was close.

Toppings: Tie. We got slightly different items, and I couldn't choose between them.

Crust: Let's be honest here. You already know the answer. Gino's crust was just not good. Lou's was fantastic. There is no comparison.

THE WINNER

Hands down Lou Malnati's Pizzeria. I wasn't sure I was a deep dish kind of girl after Gino's, but Lou Malnati's won me back over. It's all about the total package and Gino's poor crust killed it for me, while Lou's won my heart with every bite.

So what do you think? What's your favorite deep dish? Or are you a hard core New York Style kind of person?

Counting My Blessings

2010-09-19T08:32:00.000-05:00

I'm currently sitting in a hotel in Charlotte, NC just counting my blessings. One blessing in particular ... my fantastic husband, who surprised me with a quick over night trip for a "fancy dinner" that turned out to be a trip to see the touring show of Mary Poppins! (Sidenote: He wanted to see it on Broadway, but a) the flights didn't look great and b) the hotel was literally 4 times the price!)

I can't tell you how amazing it was! You all may not know this, but when I was little (like 3-year-old little), the only movie I had was Mary Poppins. It was a tape my grandmother had recorded off of Disney Channel (she had fancy cable with Disney -- it was pretty nifty!!). I watched that tape every.single.day. Seriously. You can ask my parents. I had every word of that movie memorized, so you can imagine how much I've been wanting to see the play. It did come to Dallas, but at that point, I was still holding out to see Wicked again :)

Well during intermission, the theater here was showing clips from upcoming plays, and one of them was "White Christmas" which just reminded me to count my blessings....

I'm so thankful to have a husband who is so thoughtful, and finds so many ways to show his love! I hope he realizes he's going to be listening to the soundtrack he bought me for months!

Blog Diet = Blog Hiatus

2010-08-31T20:11:00.000-05:00

So I didn't really intend on taking a two week break from blogging. It just happened. With the holiday weekend coming, I'm not making any guarantees that things are going to pick up this week. It's been a strange few weeks. Nothing's really been happening, just life in general. Work is picking back up, which means that I'm pretty worn out by the time I get home.

I'm going to try and pick it back up little by little over the next few weeks. Honestly I need some inspiration. Life has been dull and very uneventful. I blame it on the heat... I'm so ready for the fall!

Under Construction...

2010-08-15T22:21:00.000-05:00

I'm going to attempt (again) to install my new blog design, so if things look crazy around here over the next two days ... sorry! Bloggers new "design" tab doesn't get along with my computer very well, so it's taking awhile!

Blog Diet

2010-08-09T19:37:00.000-05:00

I've been working really hard at posting more regularly, and I'm attempting to design my own new blog background and header, and keep up with all of my regular blogs. And this my friends has turned out to be a little too much work, and a little too time consuming.

So I'm taking a break. No more blogging until next Monday. I'm also cutting back on the blogs I read. I really love the blog-world, but I can't let it take over everything else. I think my husband would really like some attention. I may work on my layout, etc. a little, but no more posting until Monday, even though I have a few posts I really really want to get done.

I'll be back next week with the finished dining area, Weigh-In-Wednesday, and maybe even Top 2 Tuesday from The Undomestic Momma. Who knows?

I'll see you in a week!

Stream of Consciousness

2010-08-08T09:08:00.000-05:00

This is going to be random. I apologize now.

Have you ever noticed how much the small things can impact your life? Nothing huge happened yesterday. Nothing of any consequence. It was just a day. But when I woke up this morning I felt like yesterday was a good day, a big day, a consequential day. I'm not really sure why.

I had coffee with a friend yesterday and walked around Target for two hours. It's something I haven't done with her in literally a couple of years. I always want to go walk around Target (ask Steven), but it's never the same when I don't have one of my girl-friends with me. It was so simple, but such a blessing considering how the past month has been.

The past month. Oy. It's been a month, as of yesterday since we lost Donna. A whole month. That hit me hard yesterday when I was hanging out with my father-in-law and a large envelope arrived from the funeral home in Corpus Christi. We knew what it was before we opened it. We ignored it all afternoon as we ran around and had lunch, but when we got home it was still there, looming and ugly. Opening it and reading it made it real. I still don't want it to be real.

I'm so blessed. After Steven got off work yesterday we went over and hung out with my family. We laughed, we picked on each other, and we got irritated and cranky as we always do. We teased Allison about "Pablo," the boyfriend we made up for her. Steven even crank called her cell phone and left a message from "Pablo" for her to find this morning.

We laughed all the way home.

Yesterday was an incredibly good, sad, happy, crazy day. It's a day I can't label, but it was a day I loved, tarnished with a moment I hated to remind me how good my life really is.

My Name is Amanda, and I'm a Blog Hop Addict.

2010-08-05T22:50:00.000-05:00

After Jenna's commenting blog hop, I have to say, I'm a little addicted. I had so much fun reading (and commenting!) on so many new blogs. This week I'm doing "Follow Me, Chickadee" which is hosted on four different blogs, but I picked it up from Keely at Mannland5. So if anyone's over from there ... HI!

I finished my dining room photo collage which was the last piece to my room refresh so hopefully I'll get it ~~clean~~ together and get pictures taken. Tomorrow's friday, and I'm so glad! I'm meeting one of my friends for coffee Saturday morning, then spending lunch and the afternoon with my father-in-law while Steven works. I hate that he's working weekends, but at least I'm doing something other than laying on the couch watching bad television.

OH! And I got my first furniture refinishing project from CCA in Lewisville last weekend... now I just need a day on a weekend that isn't 100+ degrees so I can actually refinish it (and blog about it)!

And that was a very random post. Oh well. That's what happens when I blog after 10 p.m. because I can't sleep.

'Night everyone!

Weigh in Wednesday - The Fail Edition

2010-08-03T19:52:00.001-05:00

I feel so guilty.

I skipped my meeting on Monday.

I'm not sure why, but we skipped. I got my haircut and we went out to dinner, and I didn't even attempt to eat on plan.

But I decided I had to redeem myself, so I faced the scales at home yesterday morning.

I'm still up 2.8 pounds. Now considering that this number was 4 pounds when I first faced the scale after our 2 weeks of mayhem, but seriously? There's been no mayhem. I've just been lazy.

Also, it's hot. Like over 100 degrees at 8 p.m. hot. Like the only time I can go running is at 5 a.m. and this girl just doesn't get up that early.

So when's the last time I exercised? Like Thursday. THURSDAY???? Seriously, if any of you have advice on working out in a tiny apartment that doesn't involve work out videos (I really don't like them) please share! I just can't walk/jog in this weather.

Luckily, having some of you post that you wanted to follow Weigh-In-Wednesday has worked, because I feel beyond guilty, and I have no intention of making the same confession next week. Next week, I will have taken off at least another pound, but preferably the entire extra 2.8 pounds.

Please continue the guilt. I need the motivation.

Also, I got my button done! I'm not sure how to post it with the code yet, but I'll figure it out ASAP! It's nothing fancy, but I don't have photoshop (I know, it's heartbreaking)!

EDIT: If others decide they want to do a Weigh-In Wednesday post just let me know in the comments, and I'll add a linky next time!

Coming in One Week...

2010-07-28T09:42:00.000-05:00

The return of Weigh In Wednesday! I know you're all excited! We went back to our Weight Watchers meeting on Monday, and we're hitting the reset button. We're already getting back on track with our eating and walking. I'm hoping to be at the point that I can start the Couch-to-5K training by the middle of August!

Also, I've got to make a button for Weigh-In-Wednesday, because I'm tired of these posts being so boring and pictureless!

She Wasn't Kidding When She Called It A Challenge!

2010-07-27T08:14:00.000-05:00

Last week Jenna, over at Jenna's Journey, talked about how much she read blogs, but how little she commented, and challenged her readers to comment more this week. In fact, she challenged us to comment on 10 blogs each day this week! Luckily she provided a McLinky for everyone taking the challenge to link up (check it out here if you're interested).

I'm very much a blog addict, a comment lover, and admittedly I'm horrible about leaving comments, so I took the challenge. And man, is it a challenge. I usually just scroll through and read my blogs on google reader, so this was a new experience for me. I had to actually take the time to click through, read, and think about what I read, so that I could leave a genuine, thoughtful comment. It's alot of work, but it's so much fun to find new blogs, and to get comments from new people.

I'd challenge anyone who loves blogging to take up Jenna's challenge. It's been fun so far, and I'm looking forward to finding new favorites over the next few days. My personal challenge is to comment on every blog that linked up, but we'll see if I can pull that off!

Dining Area Refresh Part One

2010-07-26T06:33:00.000-05:00

Just about two months ago, I realized I was really tired of our dining area. It felt cramped, cluttered and dull. And my "Cheap and Easy" Living Room update was just drawing my attention from my less-than-fabulous dining area.

Unfortunately I was running short on inspiration, and more importantly, craftiness. Anyone who knows me, knows that hot glue guns and I are not friends. And I'm pretty sure that hot glue guns are a vital part of any craft/diy project.

Despite my craftiness handicap, I had seen one project that looked do-able. One of my favorite bloggers, Katie from Cleared for Take-Off recovered one of her chairs (sorry I'm too lazy to find the actual post). With this in mind, I begged my husband for a return trip to target. I wanted more of those pillow covers to recover my chair seats. Luckily I measured the chairs first, so upon arriving at Target, I discovered the pillow covers were way too small. Fail.

I was upset, but would not be distracted from my ultimate goal. As I roamed aimlessly looking for inspiration, I saw a table runner I adored, and below it (or above it -- let's be honest my memory is pretty questionable), I saw matching napkins. Napkins that were just about big enough (I hoped) to cover the seats of my chairs.

So I bought them, and borrowed my father-in-law's staple gun, because you know staple guns are great for people who are too stupid to use a hot glue gun without injury (insert sarcasm here).

And so it began...

I stapled the fabric around the base (not my finger!).

Foster helped.

Then I just screwed it back onto the chair frame. THIS IS IMPORTANT: Don't put staples where the frame of your chair sits. If you do, the screws won't go in. I promise. Believe me, I know. Also buy one of these nifty screwdrivers where you can just change out the head, and you can twist halfway and then just turn it back. Way easier.

Add in a matching table runner, and you're all set!

My Other Mother

2010-07-15T22:48:00.001-05:00

I've always been blessed to have a wonderful mother. There's no question that she's one of the most incredible women I know. Over the years, I've had many other "parents," mostly the parents of friends who were practically my siblings. Each one influenced my life in a different way. But a little over a year ago, I gained another set of parents officially when I married Steven.

John & Donna were everything I could have asked for as in-laws. They took me in as their own and spoiled me rotten. Over the past few years, I've grown to love them, and they truly are family. So last week when my mother-in-law tragically lost her life, I felt like a piece of my heart was taken away. She was a beautiful woman, who loved and protected her boys fiercely. I was lucky to have been taken into her home and her family.

Last week, I saw my family in pain, and I began to understand the responsibility that was on her shoulders as the matriarch of her family. She was their rock; the force that kept them grounded. I watched their pain, and felt it myself. I've never seen heartbreak the way I saw it this week. Look into the eyes of a man who has lost his partner of more than 40 years, and you'll understand heartbreak.

But within this heartbreak, there were moments of laughter, and more blessings than I can even begin to recount. Donna was a pre-school teacher and touched the lives of so many children, their parents, and her co-workers. Her memorial was a testament to her life, and the woman that she was. It's impossible to express how the stories we heard lifted our hearts and comforted our souls.

So to all of you who attended her service, picked up the phone, brought food, sent flowers, or just simply sent up prayers on our behalf, we thank you. None of us could have ever predicted that this would happen, but we all know the miracles that wait for us as God's plan unfolds.

I've gained friends this week, and beyond that, I've seen the bond of my family grow stronger. I know that the coming weeks and days will have moments where it feels impossible to move on, but we will, by leaning on each other, and leaning on our Heavenly Father, we will make it through.

No Weigh In Wednesday

2010-07-13T21:49:00.002-05:00

We skipped our meeting this week to take care of a few things, and because we've eaten horribly since last Wednesday. But Weigh-In Wednesday will be back next week, hopefully with some good numbers!

I'm working on a post about the past week, it's just taking awhile to write.

Sometimes It Rains

2010-07-08T21:59:00.000-05:00

And oh, how it rains.

My family has suffered heartbreak this week. My beloved mother in law, Donna, was in a swimming accident and passed away while on vacation with my father-in-law in Corpus Christi. My husband, brother-in-law and I all flew down to be with my second dad yesterday, and drove him back today. The rain started last night (quite literally) and followed us all the way home to Dallas.

We're heartbroken, angry, and in shock. It doesn't make sense, and it hurts beyond belief. My in-laws were high school sweethearts and have been together for more than 40 years. I can't even begin to imagine his grief.

We ask for your prayers, and thank all of you who have been praying for us. Donna was a beautiful, loving Christian woman, and we know she's in a better place, but she will be missed by all who knew her.

Donna, we love you and know we'll see you again.

Weigh in Wednesday!

2010-07-07T07:37:00.001-05:00

It's that time again! We had our weekly Weight Watchers meeting on Monday and faced the scale after the fun holiday weekend. Here are this weeks stats:

Pounds Lost/Gained: -5 lbs

Inches Lost: n/a (this is coming next week!)

Days Exercised: 4

Major Accomplishment: I didn't use my entire weekly points allowance this week! I really felt like it was inhibiting my weight loss.

New Goal: Exercise 5 days this week. This will stay my goal until I accomplish it. It would be really appreciated if the weather would cooperate.

I'm also going to work really hard this week, because I'm only 3 (ish) pounds away from my first major goal (5%). I'd really like to hit that next week. Obviously, that will be tough, because it's two big losses in a row, but it would really give me a good push to have two great weeks!

How did you do this week? Did the holiday weekend throw anyone off their plans? We definitely didn't exercise like we should have, and let me tell you, we both felt it on Monday! Ouch.

Happy Fourth of July!

2010-07-04T08:07:00.000-05:00

Happy Fourth of July!

I don't know when...

2010-07-01T20:20:00.000-05:00

I became a person who felt better after a workout. But I have a feeling it happened in the past week. The rain has severely interfered with my walking/running plans this week, and last night I was down-right mad that I could go walk because it was pouring and thundering. Who am I kidding? I love a good thunderstorm!

But I guess what all those people said for so long is true. Exercise really does make you feel better. And the hot shower after sweating your behind off in the Texas heat and humidity really is the best. I even busted out (and dusted off) my Yoga mat, so I could get a few stretches in. It really reminded me how much I enjoyed Yoga. Does some one want to give me a gym membership somewhere that has a great Yoga instructor? Because that would really make my day.

Seriously.

Anybody?

Guess not. I'm looking forward to a long weekend filled with fireworks, cook outs, and more walking/jogging! Enjoy the weekend!

Weigh-In Wednesday

2010-06-30T08:48:00.000-05:00

It's that time again! We finished week two on Weight Watchers, and I'll admit it was a struggle. We ate out more, walked less, and my point calculations were highly questionable a couple of days. I also learned that my favorite meal at On the Border has way too much fat for my stomach these days.

So here are the stats, and since this isn't something that Steven ever writes in, I really don't feel right reporting his weight info each week. I need to get an established pattern for this, so I'm going to report the same thing each week, and inches lost once a month. So here goes:

Pounds Lost/Gained: -1.6 lbs
Inches Lost: n/a
Days Exercised: 3
Major Accomplishment: I jogged for the first time this week!
New Goal: Exercise 5 days this week.

I'd love to hear how you stay motivated to work out! We're getting my whole family involved, and it's really helping to have my mom and sister call me daily to see what time we're meeting up to walk.

Bad Blogger & Top 2 Tuesday

2010-06-29T08:24:00.001-05:00

Yikes! It's been almost a week. I just haven't had motivation to finish editing my San Diego pictures, or come up with anything else to write about. I wish I could call it "writer's block" but in reality it's just laziness. Tomorrow is "Weigh-In Wednesday," so they'll be a new post then. For now, I'm going the lazy route and doing another Top 2 Tuesday from the Undomestic Momma!

This week's theme is what 2 Things (Not People) Would You Want on a Desert Island?

Photo Credit

My first item would be my board game collection! I'm assuming I'd have at least a few buddies on the island, and I'm a board game addict.

Photo Credit

My number two would be sunscreen, without question. I burn so easily, and I'm not going to suffer while stranded on an island!

Weigh-In Wednesday

2010-06-23T08:11:00.016-05:00

I've decided that Wednesdays will be my day to chronicle our weight loss journey on the blog. This gives me an entire day between our actual weigh in and the blog post. We'll see how this holds up. I'm really bad at putting myself on any sort of schedule.

For our first week I lost: 2.8 pounds
And Steven lost: 10 pounds

Yay for Steven! I'm really proud of how he did this week. He even ate a veggie here and there!

I'm not sure what happened with me. I was down 4 pounds as of Saturday, but I think that weighing in the evening combined with our weekend festivities did me in. Note to self, no more bad food after Thursday. Period. End of discussion. I may also try to go a few weeks without digging into my weekly points allowance. I also need to start weighing in the evenings since that's when my meetings are.

I'm going to try to give my #1 helpful hint and/or find that helped me get through the week. This week I learned that planning is key. If we plan our entire day out the night before, we really do better the next day. It also makes tracking your points really easy. My #1 find this week wasn't really a find, it was sitting in the grocery store all along, I just didn't notice it. That was the Weight Watchers brand yogurt. It's only 1 point per package where my Yoplait was 2, and that, believe it or not, makes a big difference in my morning!

Did you have any great diet finds this week?

One Year Ago Today...

2010-06-20T07:00:00.001-05:00

We laughed.

We sweated.

We smiled.

We promised.

We kissed.

We celebrated

And we began a brand new life together.

Happy Father's Day!

2010-06-19T08:26:00.000-05:00

We're celebrating a day early, not only on the blog, but also in life, because we have another celebration to fit in this weekend.

I have to say, that I'm a very blessed girl. I may be turning into my Mom, but I'm very lucky to have an amazing father as well. He has put up with more giggling girls, curling irons, hair bows, and chick-flicks than any man I know. He didn't get to start watching football on Sunday afternoons until I was dating Steven, and I never heard him yell at a sporting event on T.V. until last fall during a Cowboys game. Up until Luke was born, poor Dad was the only man in the house (other than the fish -- even the cat's a girl!).

I'm even luckier, because I have another Dad. Only he spent the past 30-odd years living with boys. And let me tell you boys smell (trust me). I'm so blessed to have a father-in-law who loves me like I'm his kid.

Happy Father's Day to my Daddy and to John, my fantastic father-in-law!

Friday Fails - Diet Fail

2010-06-18T08:10:00.000-05:00

It's Friday Fails time over at My Blessed Life, and this week I have a total diet fail. Ok, so it didn't completely blow my week, but it was a FAIL either way. Yesterday I forgot to take out meat for dinner (fail #1), which would ultimately result in my massive fail for the week.

We decided to go out to dinner. We've both had great weeks, and really focused on making sure we were eating enough and eating the right things. It's probably important to mention that I've been preaching portion control non-stop all week. This will be important later.

We spent, I kid you not, an hour hunting for a restaurant where we'd have enough to eat, and still stay within our points for the week. We knew Applebees had a Weight Watchers menu, but since it's not our favorite place, we really wanted to eat somewhere that's "normal" for us.

Then I found, what I thought would be our saving grace. P.F. Changs. Orange Peel Chicken - 8 points, Brown Rice - 3 points, Soup - 2 points. Helllllooo dinner.

So we went, and we ate. We ate like kings. In total disbelief that this could really be real.

You know when your mom told you that if something sounded too good to be true, it probably was? Yeah, she was so right.

This morning Steven informed me that we had each eaten three servings of Orange Peel Chicken. Yes my friends, each little plate of chicken they bring you is three servings. THREE!! I mean, I kinda knew that from the massive pain in my stomach all night, but I felt so defeated.

Luckily though, Weight Watchers was made to help you survive the diet fails. We get an extra allotment of points each week to use how we please, and I am happy to say that neither of us went over that allotment. In fact, we both have some left to spare!

Here's hoping next week I have a weight loss success after my Friday Fail!

What are your fails this week? 'Fess up and link up at My Blessed Life.

Top 2 Tuesday -- Guilty Pleasures

2010-06-15T09:24:00.005-05:00

It's Top Two Tuesday again over at The Undomestic Momma, and this week's topic is guilty pleasures. I don't know why, but for some reason the phrase "guilty pleasure" automatically makes me think of food. I think it's further proof of why doing Weight Watchers is such a good idea for me.

Photo Credit

So my first guilty pleasure is bread. My favorite is the baguette. I personally love the ones from Panera, but I'm pretty equal opportunity with my bread addiction. I love tortillas, pasta, rolls, and pretty much anything that I can slather in butter. Yum. Too bad (good) I can't it like that anymore!

Photo Credit

Diet Coke. This became a guilty pleasure yesterday. Before then, it was simply an addiction, or as Dana at work put it, "my signature vice." I'm fairly convinced that I will not survive giving up my Diet Coke, but I will suffer for the sake of my marriage (because my husband asked me to do it).

So there you have it, my pitifully food focused guilty pleasures. New Goal: Get guilty pleasures that don't involve my stomach :)

What are your guilty pleasures? Speak up and link up :)

And the journey begins...

2010-06-13T22:00:00.001-05:00

Steven and I have decided to get healthy and start eating better. After talking to the doctor, we've decided that Weight Watchers is the way to go for us. We had our first meeting and weigh-in today, and we start on our new food program tomorrow. We both have a good amount of weight that we want to lose, and we know how important it is to have a program that will work for the long term.

I've done Weight Watchers before with some success, but I know we'll do even better together! We've prepped our kitchen by taking 3 bags of temptation to my parents' house (sorry Mom!), and replacing everything with program-friendly food and snacks. We're hoping to walk in the evenings with Foster, and we'll be keeping our fingers crossed that it won't be too terribly hot at 8:30 at night!

I know weight is a big struggle for alot of people, so what are some things that you do to stay on track?

Be It Ever So Humble

2010-06-12T22:53:00.000-05:00

There's no place like home.

Seriously.

I just spent a week in bright, flashy, noisy Las Vegas. And Vegas is so much fun... don't let anyone tell you it isn't. Especially massive whirlpool bathtubs. They make the 12-hour workdays bearable.

And while loud and sparkly and totally-over-the-top are fun. I know something even better.

Dinner at Panera with your husband.

And then laying on the couch with him and the puppy listening to your husband play video games after watching the episode of Glee that he recorded, but waited until you were home to watch because he knew how much you wanted to see it.

There's no place like home.

Photo Credit

The 2-Hour Tour

2010-06-11T09:28:00.002-05:00

On our first morning in San Diego, we knew exactly what we wanted to do... go cruise the harbor! This was Steven's first time in San Diego, and the closest I got to the water when I was there in grad school was a pavilion overlooking the harbor at the convention center.

(For those of you who don't know, that's Laura B.! She and I were grad school roomies and coworkers, and she was one of my fabulous bridesmaids!)

Unfortunately on that trip, the flowers on the building were prettier than the shot of the harbor!

This time was different. Steven and I hopped a cab to the bay, grabbed tickets from the Convention and Visitor's Bureau (if you visit San Diego -- GO HERE FIRST! We saved so much on admission to everything, even the zoo). Then we boarded our boat for a 2-hour harbor cruise.

Despite the never-ending, cheesy jokes from the captain, the cruise was alot of fun. The first half of the cruise was of the south end of the harbor. And for some reason it was HOT out on the water. And being the geniuses we are, we forgot to pack Steven a hat. So we improvised.

And if he ever sees that I posted this photo, he will kill me. So no telling. K? Thanks!

The entire coastline was absolutely gorgeous. It was at this point I started begging to move there.

We got to see tons of Navy vessels, and learned lots of random facts about how to tell cruisers from destroyers, and so on. Do I remember any of that? No. So here are two pictures of some sort of military boats.

After the first hour, we docked. Some people got off. Other people got on. We scouted out better seats. And then we headed north. And it got nice and cool.

We saw these cute little boats. All lined up along the coast. Apparently the boat owners/captains live on them. And pay rent for these little spots. Like $200 plus a month. For a buoy.

We kept heading north. Admiring the ships, the water, and the breeze. And then it got cold. And windy.

Did I mention I wore a skirt that day? It even got cold enough for Steven to come inside where it was warm. Then the captain/narrator/king of bad jokes mentioned Sea Lions, so we all ran back out into the wind.

They were cute, but not as cute as the ones at the Zoo, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

After the cruise we walked over to the very touristy Seaport Village and got lunch. We also got Steven a hat, to avoid more of the brochure-hat incidents.

We had Chicago-Style Deep Dish, on the harbor in San Diego, of all places. Oh well. It was yummy. Next up is the USS Midway and the famous San Diego Zoo!

The Surprise Vacation ... California Dreamin'

2010-06-09T10:40:00.001-05:00

We've discussed the possibility of going somewhere over Memorial Weekend for months. We both had Friday and Monday off, making it the perfect opportunity for a getaway. We also knew we'd have no time to do this around our anniversary, so we decided to take advantage of the opportunity. Steven decided that he needed to surprise me, so for weeks he plotted and planned the vacation, while I plotted and planned how to get him to tell me.

Image Credit

But he didn't. Wouldn't. Laughed at my pitiful attempts. I may or may not have sulked.

But it was so worth it, when Thursday morning, before our last half day of work, he told me that we were off to San Deigo. I was beyond excited, ecstatic, or any other e-word that's appropriate here. I absolutely adore California. Every time I go there, I want to just have all of our stuff shipped to us and never leave. I'm sure Foster wouldn't mind the plane ride.

Ok. So he would mind. But he'd get over it after a Scooby Snack or something.

But I digress.

So we worked our half day and took off for the airport. And we waited. And waited. And waited. The flights were awful. Apparently EVERYONE was dreamin' of California for Memorial Day.

So we waited some more.

Then, a miracle happen. A flight got delayed coming into Dallas.

A dozen people misconnected.

We got on.

I'm Leaving On a Jet Plane...

2010-06-07T08:25:00.001-05:00

And heading out to Las Vegas for work tomorrow! I won't be back until Saturday, and I probably won't have any access to anything while I'm there. But, have no fear, I've got posts ready so you all can see our fantastic trip to San Diego!

Steven planned this trip all on his own, and didn't even tell me where we were going until the morning before we left! We knew we wouldn't really have time around our anniversary to go on a trip, so we took one a few weeks early and had a great time. We went out on the harbor and visited the USS Midway and the famous San Diego Zoo. The town was beautiful and the weather was perfect, and you get to see it all starting Wednesday!

Cheap & Easy

2010-06-05T22:00:00.001-05:00

Our living room has been bugging me for awhile. I just felt like it was dark and dull, and needed something to brighten it up a bit. I contemplated toile curtains a-la-Katie at Cleared for Takeoff, but hubs ~~absolutely hated the idea~~ had some reservations. Not about the look, but more about the cost and what I would want to go along with them. And as much as I adore how they look, ~~he was very right~~ may have had a point, since it would have required new curtain rods and the fabric was NOT cheap.

That, and well, let's be honest, new curtains lead to new pillows, which lead to new accessories, which lead to ... well ... ridiculousness. So the toile curtains were out.

I contemplated lamps. But I like my lamps. Well, all but the floor lamp, and the severe lack of light in our living room, makes it a necessity. Plus, lamps ain't cheap.

I considered getting in touch with my creative side with some new wall art. But I like my wall art.

Then, tonight at Target, I realized what I didn't like. The couch/chair pillows.

I fell in love with the CUTEST pillows immediately, which, of course, I can't find online. Stupid Target website. Then I looked at the price.... not so cute. Umm for $30 something each times four pillows, I could have had my curtains. And then some.

Then we wondered over to a clearance rack.

HELLLLO happiness! I saw pillow covers

They were red, and orange, and white and khaki. Love. They were flowered. More love. They were $4 each. They were in my basket.

So here you go:

Oh pillow slip-covers, where have you been all my life? I adore them. They are bright, colorful, and pull a badly needed accent color into my very black-red-and-khaki living room.

Who knew I liked orange? I certainly had no idea.

The best part? They just slip on and you zip them up. So when they get dirty... straight into the wash!

The only problem. Now I want to buy more of these, and use the fabric to re-cover my dining room chair seats.... Hmmmm....

The Last of Disney...

2010-06-05T07:51:00.000-05:00

I took a ton of pictures at Disney, but, well I'm honestly tired of posting about it. So here are the last of my favorite pictures. We had a ton of fun, and learned a lot about how to do Disney the right way. Next year we're going to Hawaii for our big vacation. I think Steven will be thankful for something a little more low-key :) So, without further ado, the last of the Disney 2010 photos:

You Can Fly, You Can Fly, You Can Fly!

2010-06-04T08:30:00.002-05:00

I have never been a fan of heights. Slides scared me as a child. Ladders scare me as an adult. While I say that I'd love to skydive, I really just like the idea of skydiving. Let's be honest. I don't even like jumping off the diving board at the pool.

So when another guest at Disney mentioned this "really cool" attraction at Downtown Disney where you can go up in a helium balloon, I turned a little green. Steven, on the other hand, looked like a kid at Christmas.

So went went to Downtown Disney. We shopped, we walked, and I glared at the sky, hoping Steven wouldn't notice the giant red and yellow balloon. But he did. He practically RAN to it. I was secretly praying it would be insanely expensive, or that the line would be ridiculous. ANYTHING.

I mean, who trusts a HELIUM balloon? Seriously. You buy them for a birthday party, and they're on the ground a day later. Who would trust a helium balloon to carry them a thousand feet in the air? Or thirty feet. Whatever.

My husband would, that's who.

So I went, and held on for dear life. All the way up, and all the way back down.

And I lived, but just barely.

And I might have had a little bit of fun. But if you tell him, I'll deny I ever said so.

Poker Face

2010-06-03T17:40:00.001-05:00

A poker face is something I don't have.

My mother always told me that I wear my heart on my sleeve. And I do. If I get in trouble, I cry. If Steven and I argue, I cry. If I get frustrated, angry, or exhausted, I cry. No matter how many deep breaths I take, I can't manage to convey my strongest emotions without choking back tears.

I wish I had a better poker face, but at least no one can accuse me of not being honest with my feelings.

Am I the only person with this problem? How do you express yourself without just breaking down?

Welcome to Hollywood!

2010-06-01T07:00:00.001-05:00

Our day in Disney's Hollywood Studios was... well interesting. We visited this park last because according to all of the crowd calendars, it was the only day that wasn't going to be horrific. They had Magic Hours over the weekend, and then as Easter approached, the crowds were supposed to go up, up, up!

Well, surprise surprise. The crowds went UP a day early! We arrived at the park to a ridiculous crowd. We raced to Rockin' Roller Coaster for fast passes, and soon after grabbed ones for the Tower of Terror. The fastpasses for Toy Story Mania were gone long before lunch, and the line crept along with wait times reaching more than 3 hours. You know those days that test your patience? This was one of them. We were hot, cranky, and couldn't get in to do ANYTHING we wanted. Even the backlot tour had a wait of over an hour ... the typical wait is about 5 minutes. It was long, tiring, and frustrating.

We weren't the only frustrated people though... Magic Kingdom had a back up 3 miles outside of the parking lot. They closed that park off to people with just single day tickets. The whole thing was a madhouse.

Luckily though, after giving ourselves an afternoon time-out at ABC Commissary (and treating ourselves to dessert!) we were able to get into the Indiana Jones Stunt show, and from there the day started to move and a much happier pace. We got to ride Star Tours, and found out later that this ride will be closing later this year for some "re-imagining."

We saw alot of the short little shows, to break up the time between rides. I enjoyed the exhibits after the Art of Disney Animation Show.

After twisting and turning and fighting our way through the park, the time reached 8:30 p.m. I still hadn't come within spitting distance of the entrance to Toy Story Mania. We went and saw the wait time down to 90 minutes. The park closed at ten. Perfection. So we waited.

I admired Disney's ability to recreate childhood favorites, and maintain perfect theming throughout a long line.

I giggled over the cute signs, and watched as my husband and most everyone around me became grumpy, tired and bored. Then I became grumpy tired and bored.

Then we got to this guy. He talked, cracked jokes, and was generally entertaining... until I realized we'd been within earshot long enough for him to get through his entire cycle ... ugh. Luckily a short time after that an angelic cast member sent us up the handicapped line to fill in a hole. We considered hugging her, but refrained.

The we rode the ride, and our arms hurt, and I kicked Steven's tail. I almost photographed the scores, but I thought he was grumpy enough.

And that friends, was our last full day in the parks. We spent the next morning at Downtown Disney (and rode Characters in Flight -- cool yet terrifying!) and the next evening at Epcot, where we ate at very yummy Le Cellier. Then Thursday came, and we were tired. Very tired. We swam, and contemplated what we would do for the next two days.

Then we realized the only thing we wanted to do was go home.

Do you remember those Berenstian Bears books from when you were a kid? One was called Too Much Birthday. This was our own version of that book. Too much vacation. We had a blast, and loved every second, but I have never been so tired in my life.

So we packed in a hurry, made a few calls and headed out. We waved goodbye to Disney, and headed back to Texas.

Happy Memorial Day!

2010-05-31T08:29:00.001-05:00

San Diego was a great Memorial Day Weekend trip. So much of that city revolves around the military and their families. Our visit to the USS Midway really emphasized this. Everything there was about honoring Veterans, listening to their stories, and experiencing what their lives were like. I'll have the Disney photos up in a day or two, but I wanted to share at least one of these in honor of the holiday.

Be sure to say thank you to a Veteran or member of the military tomorrow. Memorial day isn't about swimming pools and cooking out, it's about remembering the cost of our freedom and saying thank you to those paying the price.

Back in Texas & The Magic Kingdom

2010-05-30T23:04:00.002-05:00

Steven and I made it back from San Diego today. When the flight attendant announced the current temperature at DFW when we were taking off from California there was an audible groan on the plane. It was 98 degrees. I don't think it went over 75 the whole time we were in San Diego. Possibly more like 70. Needless to say California Weather in May = Glorious and Texas Weather in May = GROSS!

So while I'm muddling through the thousand pictures I took in my ~~future home~~ favorite weekend vacation spot, I thought I'd work on finishing up the Disney photos. We spent 1.5 days in the Magic Kingdom, and I literally took 10 pictures. Here are 4 of them. It was hot, busy, crowded, and much fun. We also got stuck on Space Mountain. No, I don't have pictures of the inside, because I was afraid of falling to my death. It was pretty cool though. So, without further ado, our abbreviated photo tour of the Magic Kingdom Park:

Up next is Hollywood Studios. Most of the Hollywood Studios photos were taken while waiting in line for Toy Story Mania. We waited for 90 minutes... and that was a short wait that day.... more to come!

Hello From Sunny, 65 Degree San Diego!

2010-05-29T10:58:00.001-05:00

Steven and I ran off for a quick trip to San Diego for the weekend! We cruised the harbor yesterday, and today we're heading back out to the USS Midway, and then to Gaslamp and Old Town. Tomorrow we're hitting up the zoo! The last of the Disney pictures will (hopefully!) be up this week! More when we get back... but for now I'm going to go enjoy the sunshine and the glorious temperatures!

Bonding over Blogs

2010-05-25T19:27:00.001-05:00

I promise the rest of the Disney photos are coming soon. I've just been too ~~busy~~ lazy to finish editing. And they look so much prettier edited. So you'll all just have to wait with bated breath for my ~~five~~ selective shots of Magic Kingdom park and my overabundance of random pictures from Hollywood Studios.

I recently introduced my Mom to The Pioneer Woman. I think her blog is really funny, and I love her recipes. Well, I'm now addicted to her Tasty Kitchen blog as well, mostly because of this ridiculous recipe. WARNING, clicking this link will result in weight gain. Proceed with caution. If you haven't tried it you should, only you shouldn't because it's very very bad for you (read: amazingly yummy). Just be sure to pair it with good ice cream. I suggest Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla. Even though its ~~ridiculously expensive~~ a little pricey.

But I digress, my point is, my Mom and I have had more than one entertaining conversation (and one very yummy dessert that my whole family fell in love with) because of The Pioneer Woman's blog. She's honest, funny, and incredibly human, which is what makes her so fun to read. It's also entertaining to see a grown woman who is not ashamed to photograph and flaunt her husband's backside (you go girl).

I think that's the great thing about blogging. It gives you a chance to express yourself, and it makes for a great conversation starter. My mom and I talked for 10 minutes about Panko breadcrumbs after today's post. It gives us common ground for discussion that doesn't include anything about our family members. It's just plain ole girl talk, and it's fabulous. So thank you, Ree for starting conversations. I love talking to my mom, and talking about your food makes it even better.

So what blogs do you love. Who inspires you to get in the kitchen, or bust out the craft supplies, or pick up the phone?

My Floridian Safari

2010-05-23T19:43:00.003-05:00

I've heard mixed reviews about Animal Kingdom. Some people love it, some people hate it, and it literally made one of my friends ill every time she went there. Needless to say, I went into Animal Kingdom with some reservations.

As it turns out, we adored every minute we spent in Animal Kingdom. We got rained out on our first day, so we returned for another day of fun. Like all Disney parks, the theme-ing was awesome. We especially enjoyed the Africa and Asia sections. More to come on that later.

Today, it's all about the Kilamanjaro Safari! We loved it so much, we rode it twice! Here are some of my favorite shots from our African-Floridian Safari!

That's just a quick overview of our Safari. We had a blast, and thanks to Disney's classic magic and theming, it felt incredibly real! Well other than the cheesy poacher story line, but I just chose to ignore it!

Next up are the few... very, very few... photos I took in the Magic Kingdom. We were so busy when we were there that I barely remembered to pull out my camera! But I promise there will be more from Disney's Hollywood Studios and the rest of Animal Kingdom. Like I said, we love, love, love Animal Kingdom. It was just more our speed than the other parks. Everything seemed calmer and less stressed.

Hope that everyone had a lovely weekend!

Wordless Wednesday - Safari Preview

2010-05-19T08:22:00.005-05:00

Top Two Tuesday!

2010-05-17T19:14:00.000-05:00

It's time for Top Two Tuesday over at The Undomestic Momma, and I thought I'd link up! This weeks theme is Two Things to Do Before You Die!

Steven and I love to travel, so #1 would be to travel all of Europe, specifically Italy and Greece. Seriously I'm in love with Greece. Probably because I watched "Mamma Mia!" a few thousand times.

Photo Credit

#2 Would be to spend at least a year of my life working for either an AIDS or Autism Foundation. In all honesty, I'd love to do this full time. Working for a non-profit is constantly a priority in my life.

Photo Credit

I can't wait to read every one else's Top Two!

Snapshots of Future World

2010-05-14T16:50:00.010-05:00

Stay tuned for Magic Kindgom, World Showcase, The Safari, Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. Although, I can't guarantee that order, or that I'll actually spread it out to that many posts. We shall see.

Coming Soon...

2010-05-12T20:22:00.001-05:00

Our trip to the happiest place on Earth...

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-09T18:19:00.001-05:00

I may not be a mom yet (and don't plan on it for awhile), I still love this day! It's a great time to say thank you to the women who influence our lives the most! Love you Mom and Donna! I'm so blessed to have such a wonderful mother and mother-in-law! I love you both!

PS - The guy in the photo is my brother in law. He's a pretty cool kid. And single. Just sayin'!

"Be Anxious For Nothing"

2010-04-29T07:26:00.003-05:00

I know there are lots of commands in the Bible that people struggle with. But Philippians 4:6 is at the top of my list. "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God."

I think this could easily be the number one place where I am not just becoming my mother; I'm literally 100%, her exact replica. We're both worriers. Well that and stress eaters, but that's another post all together.

I worry about everything, from the insignificant to the major.

My dad is having surgery today, well in less than 15 minutes, and I can't stop the constant thoughts in my head. Worry. Fear. Every possibility, even those that are most ridiculous.

So I'm working on replacing the fears and the worry with a reminder of faith, and that I have a truly amazing God. I'm working on singing this in my head every time I start to worry:

Have faith in God when your pathway is lonely.
He sees and knows all the way you have trod;
Never alone are the least of His children;

Have faith in God, have faith in God.

Have faith in God when your prayers are unanswered,

Your earnest plea He will never forget;

Wait on the lord, trust His word and be patient,

Have faith in God. He'll answer yet.

Have faith in God in your pain and your sorrow,

His heart is touched with your grief and despair;

Cast all your cares and your burdens upon Him,

And leave them there, oh, leave them there.

Have faith in God though all else fall about you;

Have faith in God, He provides for His own:

He cannot fail though all kingdoms shall perish.

He rules. He reigns upon His throne.

Have faith in God, He's on His throne,

Have faith in God, He watches over His own;

He cannot fail, He must prevail,

Have faith in God, Have faith in God.

This morning pray for me, pray for my dad, pray for my family. Pray for us to claim that verse, and truly be anxious for nothing, and give it up to God.

I hate bugs!

2010-04-25T15:16:00.001-05:00

This is one way my mother and I are practically identical. We despise bugs. Like, I can't even explain to you how much I hate them. I will never be one of those people who likes to camp or fish or be in any way outdoorsy because I hate bugs so much.

The worst part? I feel like they LOVE me. Especially mosquitos. I can go outside with 20 people and be the only one with a mosquito bite. Only it won't just be one bite; it'll be twenty bites. That's probably one reason why I'll never love summer. That and the 130 degree weather, but I digress.

The one thing I hate most about apartment life (now that my noisy upstairs neighbors are pounding on someone else's ceilings), is my complete inability to control the pest population in my apartment. I can clean for days, but I can't control the people that I share my walls with. The thought makes me a little nauseous.

So when I woke up this morning to Steven informing me that our dog had fleas (again), I cursed Frontline for it's inability to do anything worthwhile, and set out to de-bug my apartment ~~for the millionth time~~ again.

So here's what I need... help! What are your favorite bug killers? We're trying the new Raid Bug Barrier stuff (that's supposed to kill roaches ... don't even get me started on how I feel about roaches). And I have my trust bug zapper and ant/roach traps set. But what else can I do?? Especially for the fleas. My poor baby is bug-free now, but I can't spend the whole summer fighting this battle.

Steven's Favorite Chicken Recipie

2010-04-23T21:40:00.002-05:00

Ashley over at Spoonfuls of Sugar is looking for some chicken recipes, so I thought I'd share one of our favorites!

The first thing that Steven's mom ever cooked when I was over was her Parmesan Chicken (not to be confused with Chicken Parmesan). It's really easy to make and I love it too. Steven likes to dip the chicken strips in ranch dressing. I typically serve with Mac & Cheese and a frozen veggie (I love the steam-in-the-bag kind, because I'm lazy).

Donna's Chicken Parmesan
You Need:
2 Eggs
1 Cup Parmesan Cheese (either finely grated or in cheap powder form)
1 Cup Flour
1 lb Chicken Breast or Chicken Breast Tenders
Butter

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Beat the eggs with a little water in a bowl large enough to dip chicken tenders in.
Mix the flour and cheese together very well (again in a bowl large enough to dip the tenders)
Trim the chicken and slice into tenders then pat dry.
Dip the chicken in the egg mixture
Coat well with the flour/cheese mixture.
Place on cookie sheet and top each tender with a TINY bit of butter or butter spray.
Bake 15-20 minutes, until chicken is no longer pink and the juices run clear.

A Legacy

2010-04-22T16:31:00.003-05:00

Can you tell I'm incredibly bored at work today... thus the multiple posts. In thinking about life, and the concept that I am, inevitably becoming my mother in at least some ways, I started thinking back further. To my grandparents, great grandparents, and beyond. How did their lives influence mine? That reminded me of something I wrote during my single-semester stint at the Baylor Lariat during college. There's more to come on this topic, but I wanted to get it started.

Old legacy still guides young lives

April 21, 2006

My grandparents would have celebrated their 54th wedding anniversary this week, but they didn't because when I was only 2 years old, my Papa Bill went home to Jesus.

Being so small, I only understood that he was gone. I had no idea what an effect his life would have on mine.

My father and his brothers and sister still talk about their childhood and the man my grandfather was. I can hear the love he and my grandmother shared in her voice whenever she's speaks of him.

A few years ago at a family reunion, my uncle put together a slideshow of my grandfather's life, and for the first time I realized what a legacy one person could leave behind. Even my siblings and cousins, who never knew him, understand that his and my grandmother's relationship with each other, and eventually with God, is the foundation for our family and for our future.

Sixteen years later, when my other dearly-loved grandfather went to heaven, I saw all of this again, only this time I understood it.

These two men are more than just part of my gene pool. They are figures who guided their families through good times and bad, who probably made as many bad decisions as good ones. And yet it is the good ones that we remember. The moments of laughter, and sometimes of tears, are what make up the history of our lives.

The stories of my grandparents and my parents will be passed onto my children and grandchildren. Stories of the past are what intrigue and entertain the children of the future.

In two weeks I will finish my third year here at Baylor. In one more year I'll be gone, out to make my mark on the world.

That thought terrifies me. I spend most of my time trying to convince myself that I can graduate and get out of college without actually entering "the real world."

But that's reality. Most of my friends are already carefully planning out the next few years of their lives. New jobs, homes and marriages will make up the next few years. The beginnings of a thousand legacies will be born. One of my grandmothers was 17 when she got married; the other was only a few years older. Neither side of my family was ever wealthy, but the wealth of love and history they provided has passed down to their children and to me and the other grandchildren.

I can only hope that I can have as much success as they did.

So here's the "food for thought," what's the legacy of your family? What kind of legacy will you leave behind?

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

2010-04-22T10:58:00.003-05:00

I really had no intentions of ever writing anything near a rant or diatribe about anything political. I just wanted to write about my life, and hope that in some way it would be able to touch someone else’s. But over the past few days, I have seen things via email and Facebook that I find simply sickening. As Christians we are called to live in the world and not of it. We are called out to be different. For eight years, my family and friends prayed for George W. Bush, the President of the United States, and asked God to guide his steps through some of the most trying times our nation has seen in recent years.

In November of 2008, our candidate of choice, John McCain, lost the Presidential Election to Barack Obama. From the beginning of his candidacy, many people I know called him out as being everything from a Muslim invader to the anti-christ.

While he is by no means my favorite President, I have tried to look only at the facts of a situation, and tried to believe that he is doing what he believes is right. I may not agree with what he does, but I do believe that, if nothing else, he deserves our respect and our prayers because he is the leader of our nation. The position of President deserves respect, even if you don’t respect the person in the position.

God called us to be His people, to live by His rules in the world He created. I can’t imagine that he is happy with our behavior.

Does this sound like something God would be happy to see in his inbox?

“From a minister:......
We were in slow-moving traffic the other day and the car in front of us had an Obama bumper sticker on it. It read: "Pray for Obama. Psalm 109:8".
My husband's Bible was lying on the dash board & he got it & opened it up to the scripture & read it. He started laughing & laughing. Then he read it to me. I couldn't believe what it said. I had a good laugh, too.
Psalm 109:8 "Let his days be few; and let another take his place of leadership.”
At last - I can voice a Biblical prayer for our president!
Look it up - it is word for word! Let us all bow our heads and pray!”

Do you think that if He saw you join this Facebook group He would “like” it?

“DEAR LORD, THIS YEAR YOU TOOK MY FAVORITE ACTOR, PATRICK SWAYZIE. YOU TOOK MY FAVORITE ACTRESS, FARAH FAWCETT. YOU TOOK MY FAVORITE SINGER, MICHAEL JACKSON. I JUST WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW, MY FAVORITE PRESIDENT IS BARACK OBAMA. AMEN”

I don’t know about your god, but my God believes that everyone, including the dirtiest prostitute and the lowliest fisherman, is worth saving. I’m ashamed that my brothers and sisters in Christ would be PROUD to pass this trash around. I may not like Obama, but I’ll still be praying for him every day of his presidency, and come November 2012, I’ll be praying for God to place the right person in leadership of our country. If you want to reach out to your community, and bring the lost to Christ, don’t participate in this kind of garbage.

I am far from perfect, and don’t claim to do everything right. But I know I have lost respect for some good, Godly men and women, because of their lack of respect for our leadership. I'm sure I have done things that have hurt my witness too, so please don't take this as me judging you. I just think it's time for a wake up call for everyone.

**EDIT**
Please don't get me wrong, I don't have any problem at all with satire or making fun of the President. I think that's just part of the way things are, and should be. What I'm not OK with are the people who are offended when it's someone they support being made fun of, and then doing the same thing when they don't support the person in office. I also think there is a big difference between satire, and praying for someone to die.

Oh dear...

2010-04-18T21:58:00.000-05:00

I just ironed 10 shirts in one sitting, because I decided that it just wasn't acceptable to be so wrinkled. Forget mother, I'm becoming my Nonnie!

Seriously though... what's with this domestic streak? I'm actually excited about cooking dinner all week!

I apologize....

2010-04-16T10:00:00.002-05:00

I am a very bad blogger. And I'm sorry. I want to say that it’ll get better, but let’s be honest. It’s a process. Maybe I’ll get inspired soon! But hey, at least I’m posting now, right?

Since my last post, some interesting things have happened. My dad is having surgery later this month, we went on vacation, and I changed jobs (again … seriously, sometimes I think that I may have a problem with work-commitment – more like I fall in love with jobs that are temporary).

The entire time we were packing and prepping to leave for vacation, I was excited. Not only because I was going to Disney World (pictures coming soon, I promise!), but because I just KNEW that I was going to prove one way that I was not like my mother. Now don’t get me wrong; most of the time I am beyond proud that I am becoming the kind of woman she is. BUT there are those little things that our parents do when we are children that we swore we would never do. Travel just happens to trigger one of those memories for me.

You see, every time we prepared for a trip, near or far, long or short, no matter what the purpose, my mother cleaned our house, and we were forced to help….. ok, well, no. She tried to get us to help and we resisted at all costs. My mom always wanted to return home from a trip to a clean house. I, on the other hand, could really care less. Of course, those of you who saw my room any time from say… 5 years old until college graduation, would not find this shocking.

I love my husband dearly, but Steven is not exactly … proficient (?) at packing and preparing for travel, which means that I do the prep work. This consists of me instructing him to count out 7 pairs of socks, underwear, etc, while I examine his selected wardrobe to make sure that it (sort of) matches. We also tend to put off laundry and packing until the last possible second, which leaves very little time for tidying up after the packing is complete. What can I say? I’m a flawed woman.

For these reasons, among others, upon our return from a fun, but exhausting trip to Florida, I came home to my house, that, let’s me honest, looked like a tornado hit it. And that’s when I discovered that, much to my dismay, my mom was right. It’s awful to come home to a dirty house, and there’s nothing worse then having to clean when all you want to do is nap and recover from your vacation!

So here’s to my mom yet again! You were right, and I was wrong. BUT I will still, never ever ever make my children clean on their first day of a break from school.

Oh, who am I kidding? I’m sure I will, and when I do, I’m sure I’ll understand why you did the same thing.

A New Perspective

2010-03-11T20:53:00.000-06:00

Becoming My Mother. This is a concept I’ve been pondering for awhile.

So many women dread becoming their mother. They remember the moments of irritation. The yelling. The rock-biscuits at breakfast. I’m not saying my mom didn’t do those things. In fact, she did them all. The rock-biscuits are still a joke around my parents’ kitchen table. The difference between my mom and all those other moms, is what happened in between.

Sometime between curling hair; cooking breakfast, lunch and dinner; attending PTA meetings, choir concerts, and art shows, she did something else. She taught me what it was like to nurture. She showed me that it was ok to let down your guard and let the world see who you really are. At some point between the family dinners and shopping trips, she stopped being just my mom and became my friend.

I know that she isn’t a perfect woman, but she was the perfect woman to raise me. So for this reason, becoming my mother is not something I dread. It’s something I’m trying to embrace. So this is the new perspective for my blog. Becoming my mother, recognizing the good, the bad, and hopefully saying something that means some one else out there too!

So here’s to becoming my mother, one day, one recipe, one project at a time. So that some day, I can be the kind of wonderful mother to my children that she was to me.

Everything's Changin'

2010-03-08T09:44:00.001-06:00

I've been thinking alot about this blog, and what I want to do with it. I'm getting really hooked on a few blogs, and they are really inspiring me! I have some ideas, so look for some new things coming soon!

Bargain Shopping and Great Blessings

2010-01-25T13:47:00.001-06:00

So I don't claim to be an all-star bargain shopper. I'm not. I just don't have the patience for it. Well, we're saving for a big vacation, and that means pinching pennies! Well, while I'm not a pro, I feel pretty good about what we bought last weekend.

A couple of weeks ago we bought ground beef (93/7) for $1.99/pd. Considering that it's usually more than $3, I was pretty happy. When we saw the same price at Albertsons this week, we knew we'd be stopping by this week. We got to Albertson's the meat had to be sold by the next day so it was 99 cents a pound! I was thrilled. We also went there for pasta sauce, because they had Ragu for $1.00 a bottle. We eat pasta, and other such things made with pasta sauce all the time. So we grabbed 20 bottles. And that was it, we headed to the check out, and when we were done the cash register spit out six coupons for $2 off our next transaction. So I went back today and bought twelve packages of pasta -- FOR FREE! I know I spent money to get it, but for me, it's pretty good!

In other news, two of our friends received a great blessing this week ... a baby! They haven't been able to have children of their own, and yesterday they brought home a precious little girl, whose mother is going to let them adopt her. They start the legal paperwork tomorrow, so be in prayer for them until the guardianship, and then the adoption are finalized. In the meantime, I'm shopping for baby stuff!

Becoming My Mother

These Streets Will Make You Feel Brand New...

Goodbye 2011

Happy Thanksgiving!

Midweek Update

Tweeting the Message

Obedience

Ideal

For the Love of the Game

He is Mighty to Save

Jamesie Beat the Tumor

Please Pray

Two Years

5 Things

My Newest Addiction

Fur and Fin Babies

Mini-Yard Work

Coming Soon...

He Is Risen! He Is Risen Indeed!

The Longest Short Week or I Am So Flipping Lazy

Great is Thy Faithfulness

Bittersweet

You Know You're "Old" When...

Snow Day To-Do List **FINAL UPDATE!**

A Real Snow Day

Kauai -- The Food

Snow Day #2

Wings Over Kauai

Snow Daze...

Views from Kauai

Aloha!

Wordless Wednesday -- Mom Had a Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday Mom!

My Name is Amanda ...

New Blog Design/Layout

I'm Getting Paid to Blog!

Another Random Post

Ten Random Things

Hello 2011!

Getting Started Before the Ball Drops!

Looking Forward to 2011

Happy Thanksgiving

Ten Days of Gratitude: FAIL

Ten Days of Gratitude: Day Two

Ten Days of Gratitude: Day One

Respect The Bird!

Home Sweet Home

Food Faceoff: Chicago Deep Dish

Counting My Blessings

Blog Diet = Blog Hiatus

Under Construction...

Blog Diet

Stream of Consciousness

My Name is Amanda, and I'm a Blog Hop Addict.

Weigh in Wednesday - The Fail Edition

Coming in One Week...

She Wasn't Kidding When She Called It A Challenge!

Dining Area Refresh Part One

My Other Mother

No Weigh In Wednesday

Sometimes It Rains

Weigh in Wednesday!

Happy Fourth of July!

I don't know when...

Weigh-In Wednesday

Bad Blogger & Top 2 Tuesday

Weigh-In Wednesday

One Year Ago Today...

Happy Father's Day!

Friday Fails - Diet Fail

Top 2 Tuesday -- Guilty Pleasures

And the journey begins...

Be It Ever So Humble

The 2-Hour Tour

The Surprise Vacation ... California Dreamin'

I'm Leaving On a Jet Plane...

Cheap & Easy

The Last of Disney...

You Can Fly, You Can Fly, You Can Fly!

Poker Face

Snow Day To-Do List FINAL UPDATE!