Deliriously Happy

9/16 - A wonderful day

2011-09-16T06:28:00.000-07:00

Well I have certainly been gone awhile from here. It is mainly due to work. However, yesterday was September 15th and that means my busiest time of the year (I'm a tax accountant in case you didn't know) is over. As I took Bruiser outside this morning I felt the seriously cooler air and just breathed a sigh of relief. It felt new and fresh like today.

So what's new since the last time I posted...well:

Baylor football has started

We found the most wonderful Sunday School class that we are very involved in

We officially joined our church which felt like finally planting firm roots in our town

We joined a gym which to say the least has tremendously helped with my sanity during work and the stress of this summer and...the biggest and best news of all...

My wonderful husband got a job!!!

I am so proud of him.

So here's to a spectacular fall. The season is changing, out with one tough season in our life (not to mention in our country right now, still praying for those affected by the wildfires. My problems pale in comparison to losing everything), and in with a brand new one! Bring on the rain and cooler weather because we are ready for some renewing!

I needed this today

2011-06-21T17:34:00.000-07:00

I just read one of Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond's latest blogs and felt like it was so timely and I needed to hear that today.

Here is the link to it:

http://thepioneerwoman.com/blog/2011/06/storms/

She lives in a ranch in the middle of no where Oklahoma and blogs about her life. This particular entry was about storms. Something we particularly need all over Texas right about now for some rain. She writes of how they are a necessary and most of the time good thing for ranchers to water their crops.

Then she uses them as a metaphor for having faith and that they remind her that God's provision over our lives is constant and unshakeable.

We are going through a "storm" of sorts in our life right now with Jonathan's recent job loss. But I am reminded that God's will is sovereign and that this storm will serve a greater purpose to strengthen us and "water" our marriage so to speak.

I have faith that God will provide for all our needs and will provide an opportunity for Jonathan that far exceeds our expectations.

Some scriptures come to mind:

For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to propsper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. - Jeremiah 29:11

Consider it pure joy my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverence. Perseverence must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. - James 1:2-4

Houston Zoo

2011-05-02T19:52:00.000-07:00

A few weekends ago we went to the Houston Zoo. Neither of us had been to this zoo in recent memory, so we thought it was time given that we live so close.

While the zoo isn't the nicest we've been to (and it looks like they are doing some work so that was encouraging), it was the perfect day to be outside, just beautiful weather, not too crowded, and we got there are opening so were done by lunchtime. Here are a few of the pictures I remembered to take in the midst of being in awe of these amazing animals!

A little overcast, but this is the park outside the zoo that is a shot down Montrose. I loved this view, and you can paddle boat out here or have a picnic. It was so nice!

Beautiful florals everywhere at the zoo. A Fleur-de-lis, of course a favorite of mine!

The Cheetah and I match.

Jonathan the Great. Oh this was just too funny when we realized the lion at the zoo is actually named Jonathan. There are posters all around about him. Perfect.

The sweet baby Giraffe. I guess this picture doesn't have perspective of how small he/she is compared to the adults, but I just loved the way he stood, so sweet!

This one smiled for the camera!

The Resting Longhorns.

More babies! The baby elephant was the most curious, active, and adorable creature!! We watched this baby and mama for awhile!

It was so much fun! And not very expsensive either. If you're in the area, you should definitely go! You can do it in half a day, we saw absolutely everything (though I didn't take pictures of it all because I was so busy seeing it all!)

Fun day!

Things I'm Loving Thursday

2011-04-14T19:51:00.000-07:00

1. Tax - Ok so I don't LOVE taxes, but I do love when I file my return this time of year (yes I'm a tax accountant and wait til the last minute to do my own...strange isn't it?) and get a big ole refund. I filed ours online tonight and refund is on the way for direct deposit! Some might say it is better to be accurate in your withholding so you don't pay more than what you owe during the year (time value of money), but me, I don't like to chance it and with as many things as I have to think about, the possibility of paying taxes myself after doing them for other people/companies for a year is not in the least bit appealing.

Also it's April 15 tomorrow which marks and end of my "technical" busy season, but let's be honest these days it's always busy season, just not ridiculous.

I'm also loving about tax...a particular new part of my job. I'm getting into learning about and finding "green" incentives, tax credits etc. for companies and it's really fun! Again, strange I know.

2. My new earrings! Oh they're just so pretty. Dub surprised me and bought me these on our trip to Chicago last weekend. Just looking for every opportunity to wear them. They're massive though so it has to be special occasions.

3. Little weekend adventures

We have done something fun the past couple of weekends (probably because it feels like spring) and have a few more things planned coming up. I really like having things to look forward to and doing at least one out of the house thing each weekend.

Recent adventures have been:

- The Houston Zoo

- Chicago

Upcoming adventures:

- A facial

- Good friends' Wedding!

- The Thompson's coming to visit (including visits to a new Tex Mex Restaurant El Real owned by a friend's dad)

- Disney World! Ok so that one will be a weekend plus 3 workdays, but still!!

Feeling Like Spring

2011-04-06T08:46:00.000-07:00

It is so lovely outside right now and just really feeling like spring! I've got on a very bright coral outfit today in honor. I only wish I had more time to spend out in this loveliness. This week is one of those weeks at work when nothing you planned to get done can happen because so much unplanned business comes up that is urgent. Grrr...not a fan, but what can you do? I 'm so looking forward to our Chicago trip coming up soon! Hoping the weather holds out and that is beautiful for our weekend and walking around the city! I'm very much in the mood to do spring cleaning. I'm trying my best to keep up with just the daily chores, but I'd really like to dig in and deep clean. But when? I don't know how people with children or animals manage to even keep the daily chores done. We went to the Houston Zoo last weekend. It was so much fun! I took many pictures with my actual camera rather than my phone so soon I hope to get a chance to post those and do a blog on that. By no means the nicest zoo I've been to, but it was the perfect day and the Dub and I had sooo much fun together! Shopping...I'm also really in the mood to go spring clothes shopping. I haven't been to the stores in probably a month so I've got no idea what is out there right now! So unlike me, but just haven't had the time. Anyone have suggestions for what lines are great right now? Ok that's it, just a little rambling for today. :) Come on Friday!

Friday, Friday, gotta get down on Friday!

2011-03-25T12:55:00.000-07:00

I woke up to Hubs playing this song today in a feeble attempt to wake me (he may or may not have been dancing as well. Laughing= good start to the day) :) :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CD2LRROpph0

(sorry once again I don't know how to post a video, but go watch it if you haven't)

Ah it is Friday! This week just literally flew by. I was sick on Monday from allergies. I mean seriously, Houston....very bad for my allergies. I've gotten sick 4-5 times since moving down here and everytime I go to the Dr. and they say it's just really bad hay fever. Luckily I have my little cocktail of meds that I know to take now so I don't have to go in each time, but I'm really hoping that my body adjusts to this soon. I can now watch the weather reports and when the pollen increases I can pretty much guarantee you I will be sick. Ugh, ok no more complaining it's Friday!

So that was my Monday, then Tues/Wed got to go to Baylor for recruiting for work. It's just so wonderful anytime that I can be in Waco! I'm very proud of our Lady Bears right now as well, so was fun to feel some of that energy as the tournament was in Waco this week.

Then it was Thursday and playing catch up at work, and now it's Friday!

Tomorrow is Saturday, and Sunday comes after...wards. (just go watch above mentioned video if you still haven't)

On another note, I bought my second Groupon this week and am really excited about it! I was going to go to the Post Impressionist special art exhibit at the Houston Museum of Fine Arts anyway, but now Jonathan and I get to go for the price of one!

I've been a big fan of Monet and his watercolor paintings ever since a GT lesson segment in elementary school on famous artists. Then I got to see so many of his wonderful works at the Musee D'Orsay in Paris during college and to top it all off got to visit Monet's actual home in Giverny, France. Watergardens and all. It was amazing.

Things I'm Loving Thursday

2011-03-17T07:45:00.000-07:00

1. St. Patrick's Day! I just love holidays! Even if I do have to be at work, St. Patrick's Day just makes the day a little more fun. I'm wearing green, and so were all the constructions workers I passed on my way to work. Don't know why but thought was kind of neat. Their job doesn't necessarily give them a reason to dress up, but they did and I'm sure it makes their day a little more fun like it does mine. Already thinking about what dessert I could make tonight that would be St. Patty's Day inspired...

Some St. Patrick's Day trivia: St. Patrick was not born in Ireland. He was actually born in Britain and captured as a slave at the age of 16 and taken to Ireland. He escaped sometime later and became a bishop and then returned to Ireland later and eventually became their patron saint.

2. More Tulips for Spring. This weather has just been wonderful and is only supposed to be getting better. I got more tulips and they make our home so cheerful and ready to welcome spring on Sunday!

3. Burger week at my house. This week I decided to really simplify meals since I didn't know how much I would be working and have done a trio of different gourmet burgers/sandwiches.

The first was possibly the best and actually wasn't a technical "burger", but I'll call it one anyway. It was a Crabcake Burger. This is by far the easiest and best crabcake recipe I've ever made. I don't know if I'll ever make a different recipe for them as it was just wonderful! Sorry I didn't get a picture, they were too good and we ate them too fast!

Crabcake Burger Recipe from Eating Well.com http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/crab_cake_burgers.html

Then we made Bison Burgers with fresh sage, peppered turkey bacon, sage cheese, and barbeque sauce. Oh wow, this was amazing!

Lastly, we made Turkey Burgers last night!

Happy Thursday/St. Patrick's Day Everyone!

Bath & Body Works Product Loves

2011-03-06T21:45:00.000-08:00

I went to Bath & Body Works this weekend as I needed to stock up on hand soaps. When we moved into our house, I tried the whole chrome soap dispensers for every room/kitchen/bathroom etc. that matched the waste basket, and tissue holder and toothbrush holder, and tried to save money and refill them with jugs of soap from the grocery store.

Well, that worked for awhile, until they all started turning colors/clogging/leaking and in general I just stopped liking using that jelly type of soap. I don't feel it lathers well etc. Anyway...there's a point to my rambling....

I was given one of their foam soaps by my sister-in-law, and I just fell in love with the way it cleans my hands! So at 4 for $15 I stocked up for every sink in my house this weekend and I don't even care that the colors may not match perfectly, and that the containers aren't chrome. I'm obsessed with the following soaps and scents:

Fresh Lime Basil for my kitchen

Japanese Cherry Blossom for my master bath

Twilight Woods for the powder bath.

Then, I had forgotten about what is possibly my favorite bath product/scent of all time until I noticed it on sale as well. I discovered it sometime back in high school when I got it as a gift and I have forgotten about it since.

It is the Stress Relieving line in the Aromatherapy collection in the Eucalyptus Spearmint fragrance.

In particular, the pillow mist is out of this world at relaxing you for bed.

Things I'm Loving Thursday

2011-03-03T17:55:00.000-08:00

1. Lunch date with my momma!!

Since my mom is in town with my dad for a speech convention, I got to have a lunch date with my mom today while Daddy played golf. We went to Benjy's. They have a great lunch menu and the atmosphere is just fun!

2. Tulips. I am seeing Tulips everywhere and bought some for my house this week. They are just so gorgeous right now! I would love to go to the Netherlands/Norway someday and see the Tulips there. They are truly my favorite flower!

My Tulips!

3. Thoughts of trips and vacations. In May we are going to Disney World, in July we are going to Maui and Honolulu, and in November we are going back to Disney World for Thanksgiving with my family. Plus we have a few weekend getaways planned for the year for various weddings and trips with just the Dub and me. These thoughts of time away help get me through the more rigorous workdays. Can't wait until I'm seeing something like this again:

Things I'm Loving Thursday

2011-02-17T11:58:00.000-08:00

1. It's almost Friday!

2. Trop 50 Orange Juice

This stuff taste's so great and I don't miss regular orange juice! Its only 1 points plus point per cup! I used to try and drink the weight watchers endorsed lower calorie orange juice but it was watery and too sweet. I love orange juice since I don't eat any fresh fruits I drink it a lot (I don't what's wrong with me I just can't except for blueberries pretty much). Its just so many more calories. This fits the bill! Its been hard to find but its worth looking for. Plus I love the commercial with Jane Krakowski.

3. It was trash day toady. I love trash day. Maybe it's because we cook so much, or maybe it's because we are just not good at green living, or are wasteful (I hope not), but whatever the case we always have so much trash each week and we only get trash pick up once a week. So I love Thursday mornings when my wonderful husband takes the trash out and our house is just a little bit cleaner.

4. Baylor. Somedays I miss it more than others and have such fond memories. This day/week is one of them. It's SING season, and though I don't think I'll get to go to SING this year, it just brings up some of my most favorite memories of that time in life!

Here's a link to my baby, School Days by Kappa Kappa Gamma 2007...the act that Catherine, Stephanie, Whitney and I were sing chairs for our Junior Year! I can't figure out how to actually put the video on here. Ahhhh memories!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1CqFJAtLs4

Then, here's sister-in-law/sister in Kappa, Carla and me dressed up for that act.

Things I'm Loving Monday

2011-02-14T21:54:00.000-08:00

Since I missed last Thursday posting on things I love due to being just plain busy busy, I can't resist doing a things I'm loving today in honor of Valentine's Day.

1. First and foremost, my husband. I just can't get enough of him this week and last week particularly. It seems that when things are most hectic for me he is the most calm and the presence that sets all right with the world as soon as I talk to him/see him you name it.

Don't get me wrong I can never get enough of him, but the past few days have just been even more.

I mean can how can I resist this face?

A pic from our Honeymoon in Maui, which just at the end of last week I got home late from work and he said he wanted to show me something. He proceeded to sit me down on the couch and turn on the tv and started playing all the videos we took on our honeymoon! We had not watched them yet and I'd almost forgotten. How special! We just talked and laughed and watched them for about an hour. Took me right back!

2. H-E-B.

I just love my HEB. I think I first heard about it from my grandma Dixie in San Angelo, TX, and then we got one when I lived in Livingston, but when we moved to DFW we no longer HEB there so I really discovered its greatness in Waco at Baylor. Ahh good ole ghetto HEB!

But more recently, I'm obsessed with HEB at Bunker Hill in Houston. I drive the 15 minutes just because I love this grocery! They almost always have what I need and its just a fun weekly trip to the grocery store. I go just about every weekend. And now that Jonathan is letting me do my lists on his ipad its even more fun!

3. Black Heels to Tractor Wheels

This is Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman's first book besides her cookbook of course which is an absolute must have!

This book is her love story of how she met her husband, Marlboro Man, their dating, engagement, and I think first year of marriage. She was a big city girl who fell in love with a cowboy. I'm about halfway through the book and it is so entertaining, and also reminds me so much of the place in life Jonathan and I are at in our marriage, and reminds me of those earliest memories dating. Such a special time that I treasure looking back on.

Oh and look at this limited edition Kitchen Aid mixer that Pioneer Woman was commissioned to design and gets to give away! She made it to match the cover of her book. As Rachel Zoe would say, "I die!!!". Ugh its so pretty!

Work Break

2011-02-08T21:52:00.000-08:00

So I'm on a break at work (yes I'm at the office at nearly 10 pm on a Tuesday night). Ah tax season how I love thee. (sarcasm? I think so)

However, I'm now just waiting on Jonathan to get out of the Rockets game down the street so we can ride home together from the game where he has suite tickets tonight for work. Rough life I know.

So I thought I'd blog.

Let's see here's a catch up of random pictures and things I failed to blog about timely over the last few months.

1. We begin with Jonathan and my 1 year anniversary! November 7, 2010. Wow I can't believe its now getting close to a year and a half!

Our frozen cake was still soooo good!! I think even better than the first time.

We went to Carmelo's in Houston where we had dinner on our first dating anniversary.

2. We had Thanksgiving at the Lakehouse with the Theilig/Pavlic clan.

3. December 2010: We went to a WWE wrestling event called Tables, Ladders, and Chairs as part of Jonathan's anniversary gift from me. I hate to admit, but it really was pretty fun.

They literally have to climb ladders and grab the thing at the top to win the match, or "knock" someone out with a chair or throw them through a table to win. Hillarious! Even more hillarious was the crowd. I was sitting right behind this little girl no older than 8 who was not only wearing a mock championship belt but was yelling like CRAZY for her favorite wrestlers. Too funny, oh and the plethora of 25-45 year old grown men with belts around their growing midsections weren't boring either. Really great people watching.

Here's John Cena "You can't see me!"

4. December 2010: I got rid of the old faithful 4 runner and traded in for this new to me Lexus RX400h.

The new car! Its a hybrid and just happened to work out perfectly! We drove all the way up to Dallas to get it from the used Sewell dealership. What a wonderful experience and I am loving every second in my dream car!
5. February 2011: We had an ice storm and got a day and half off work!

These are the only pictures I snapped really, when we went up to our deck. Its hard to tell but this is what the roads were like all over Houston. Just sheets of ice. We had to walk very carefully up there because it was slick all the way to the door.

Here we had turned on the grill to de-ice it (left the cover off from cooking that week). It made some neat steam.

Things I'm Loving Thursday

2011-01-20T23:14:00.000-08:00

1. Being done with a very very busy work day. PTL!

2. Enjoying a happy hour with coworkers who I am enjoying getting to know even better.

3. Burberry purfumes. In this frigid inflow of cold weather in Houston I'm loving the warm fragrances from Burberry!

4. Spending time with good friends Stephanie and David this weekend! Going to Stella Sola a restaurant owned by a good friend of our's father.

Stuffed Chicken Cordon Bleu - Weight Watchers Style 7 Pts +

2011-01-18T22:30:00.000-08:00

This recipe was so good! It is from the new weight watchers points plus program and in orange are my notes/modifications.

Ingredients:

1 medium onion(s), finely chopped
1 cup(s) cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced (I chopped mine to be like the onion)
6 oz spinach
1 oz soft-type goat cheese, reduced-fat (2 tablespoons)
5 Tbsp dried bread crumbs, plain variety
2 large egg white(s), lightly beaten
4 tsp water
20 oz uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, 4 (5-ounce) (I did 2 5 oz ones for me, one for dinner and one lunch for the next day, and then one 8-10 oz. (normal sized the way they come) for Jonathan.
2 oz low-fat Swiss cheese, (1-ounce) slices, each cut in half
4 slice(s) turkey ham, thin

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Spray a nonstick baking pan with nonstick spray. To make the filling, spray a nonstick skillet with nonstick spray and set over medium-high heat. Add the onion and mushrooms; cook, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the spinach and cook, 3–4 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat. Stir in the goat cheese and 1 tablespoon of the bread crumbs; set aside. (Add in some salt as well here, maybe a quarter teaspoon or so, just a pinch and taste, it needed a little something)

Whisk egg whites with the water in a small bowl. Place the remaining 1⁄4 cup bread crumbs in another small bowl.

Cut a pocket into the side of each chicken breast about 2 1⁄2-inches long. Place one-quarter of filling inside each slit. Lightly press pocket closed. Wrap 1 half slice of cheese, then one slice of ham around each chicken breast, making sure the ham covers the cheese; secure with a toothpick. Dip the chicken, one piece at a time, into the egg white mixture, then into the bread crumbs. Transfer to the baking pan. Lightly spray the chicken with nonstick spray. Bake until the chicken is cooked through, about 25 minutes. Remove the toothpicks before serving.
Yields 1 chicken breast per serving. (The swiss cheese and ham I had did not go all the way around the chicken. I just placed it to try and cover a lot of the opening)

Enjoy!

Weekend Recap

2011-01-17T07:22:00.000-08:00

We finally had a weekend to catch up on things at home. And for the most part we did (even if its not perfect). It meant sacrificing a few out of town events, but it was desperately needed. I mean we still had Christmas up for goodness sakes!

We got Christmas put away. Here are a few pictures of what Christmas in our home looked like this year. My color scheme was deep red, dark apple green (maybe that's not the name of it?), and turquoise.

I made a couple of wreaths to match our tree, like this one here hanging from the china cabinet.

Kitchen tree. Turquoise tinsel to match the overall turquoise theme of our home (note the light beautiful turquoise glass subway tiles in our kitchen. Probably my favorite part of our condo). Complete with little glass ice cream cones and cupcakes in shades of antique pastels, and some fun Disney ornaments!

Jonathan's tree! Sports, Sports, and cars!

We cleaned and cleaned the downstairs, mainly the kitchen. You see we cook nearly every night and usually its not just something simple, so I've just become used to the fact that our kitchen will take constant cleaning, but sometimes like this weekend will need some extra attention.

I went grocery shopping on Saturday night. It turned out to be a wonderful time to go, its basically empty!

We went to church and enjoyed the wonderful 11:11 band and a sermon about the name of God. This week, El Elyon, which means God most high. A good reminder that who are we to go about life our own way when God is the most sovereign? Here you can find past sermons, and this week's should be up soon. Dave Riggle preaches in our service for this series.

We saw the King's Speech. A wonderful movie! Surprisingly funny too.

We cooked. I tried out a weight watchers recipe for chicken and dumplings in an effort to satisfy my Cracker Barrell craving. It was ok, but I learned that so far, chicken and dumplings just isn't meant to be healthy. Maybe I'll find another recipe. Normally the WW ones are amazing, this was just eh.

We watched Miss America, where I sadly realized I am now too old to compete. (sigh)

We read. Well I read just a little, Jonathan is an avid reader these days with his ipad.

Things I'm Loving Thursday

2011-01-13T07:41:00.000-08:00

1. My nail polish, Barefoot in Barcelona by OPI. I chose this color on Saturday when I got a quick manicure and it goes with EVERYTHING in my fall wardrobe, plus I have no chips 6 days later, I repeat none!! I have cooked, cleaned, worked, etc. and its still great! It's amazing.

2. Weight Watchers Points Plus. I joined weight watchers officially on January 3, going to meetings each week and all. As of this morning I have lost 5 pounds! The new program is a totally new points system that ignores calories and looks instead at carbs, protein, fat, and fiber. It is based on science and the way our bodies process each. Therefore, you really get more food for your points! I can explain more if you'd like, but basically I NEVER feel deprived, eat what I want, and bottom line is, its working!

3. Weight Watchers etools. I have the etools kit where you have access to all the weight watchers things online, like recipes, and tracking your points online/phone. The recipes are amazing! Jonathan and I picked out one for each day pretty much since I started and he is loving it too! I will have to share some here!

On his ipad, there is the coolest free app called Weight Watchers Kitchen Companion. You do have to subscribe to the weight watchers monthly pass to access it though. When you pick out all your weekly recipes you can add all the ingredients to your grocery list automatically. We literally took the ipad to the grocery store on Sunday and checked off the items as we bought them as it even has them categorized by part of the grocery store. We bought a whole weeks worth of food and were in and out in less than 45 minutes on the near busiest day I've ever seen the grocery!

Plus when you are cooking, you use the ipad like a cookbook basically and when it says an amount of time to do a step, you click on the time and it pops up with a timer!! You can have multiple ones going at the same time. Ah its made life/cooking a little more fun!

Dinner tonight

2010-10-13T20:40:00.001-07:00

Dinner tonight.

Only picture I took because I barely thought about pictures because I just wanted to eat.

Spinach, Garlic, and Onion stuffed Pork Tenderloin.

(this picture was taken with my new Blackberry Torch phone camera! oooo I love that phone. Wish they'd pay me to say that!)

Dinner tonight was on accident and was the most wonderful pork tenderloin I've ever had (although I haven't had that many).

It is not my normal dinner to make pork tenderloin (or pork of any type unless its bacon or turkey bacon, and yes I know that's not pork). I just haven't had it much and my only experiences cooking it were pork chops so far, or rump roast which didn't turn out so great.

This week I set out to make healthy affordable dinners for 3 nights. When I looking through my weight watchers cookbooks, I found a beef stroganoff recipe that I made (quite decent, but nothing to write home about), and a 1 lb. pork tenderloin teriyaki/ginger recipe. I figured day 3 we'd eat leftovers, or Taco Bell across the street. (don't judge, it can be healthy, but its definitely cheap)

Well, when I went to the grocery, much to my dismay, I only found pre marinated pork tenderloins or a huge 2+ pound value size portion. Considering the entire 2+ pound package was only about $7, I went with that and figured I'd cut it in half and make something else with the other half.

Well, when we went to make the first night of asian inspired pork, we discovered the pork tenderloin was already in two pieces! Yay, so I knew I could make another meal out of it.

The weight watcher recipe for teriyaki/ginger pork was decent, but again like the Stroganoff, nothing to write home about. Then...........I discovered this recipe while searching for things to do with my remaining pork tonight.

Now, I pride myself these days of having pretty much every spice/sauce/ingredient needed to season/flavor and create a meal as long as you have the basics. Well these two pork recipes are prime examples of that. I had absolutely every ingredient for them besides the pork.

Hence the reason I'm even more excited about pork tenderloin right now...its sooooo CHEAP, and you more than likely have enough spices to flavor it great!

So without further ado, here is the link to the recipe I used....

http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/pork-loin-stuffed-with-spinach/Detail.aspx

Only differences are that we only had a 1 pound pork tenderloin, so we made the filling with the prescribed measurements for ease, I added some salt and pepper to the filling and then used about half of it for stuffing the tenderloin. Instead of 2 hours cook time, we did 1 hour: 30 minutes with uncovered, and 30 minutes covered.

It was sooooooooo wonderful, so tender, so juicy, so flavorful, and so cheap!

Update on the mailbox

2010-10-13T11:37:00.000-07:00

I just picked up new keys to a new mailbox. Not all the mail in there was ours, so I'm really hoping they didn't assign us someone else's mail box who is still using it and change their locks like they did ours originally. We shall see. The new mailbox is not in order of our condo units so I'm skeptical. At least we are getting mail again right?

I can hardly move today

2010-10-12T07:48:00.000-07:00

Last night I did my first day of Jillian Michael's 30 day Shred workout. Oh man, I can barely move today! Between that and the flu shot I got yesterday morning, my left arm especially is useless.

I did this 20 minute exercise in our living room with Jonathan just watching, laughing, and then becoming like a personal trainer, telling me when I wasn't squatting far enough, arms weren't in the right place, or my back wasn't straight, and getting me water. haha. He was so sweet and despite his laughter most of the way through it, it was really encouraging having him do all that. Maybe he'll do it with me sometime!

So between this video, curves, and my shakeweight (yes I have one), hopefully I'll be diligent and continue to get in even better shape maybe a little quicker before the holidays roll around.

Ok now to my tax returns where minimal movement is required.

Ever been locked out of your own mailbox?

2010-10-11T09:13:00.000-07:00

Our mailbox lock was changed out when someone new moved in and somehow the post office changed our lock to be his box, and we no longer have access to get mail!!! grrrr this has been a process, and HOPEFULLY tomorrow when the post office is open again they will come get it sorted out. I was able to catch the mail lady (Sandra, she's so nice! and not the one who changed the lock I might add) on Friday and get our mail from the week, but she said she's been so confused and just holding our mail since the new owner of the box left her nasty notes. (He did save our mail from the week the confusion began though and gave it to us) anyway, so we tried every single mailbox with our mail keys and none worked. Then we looked up and on top of the mail boxes, was a lock just sitting there, low and behold it fits our keys! I can't believe this happened or how it happened. I can't believe also that they didn't send someone out on Thursday when I called to fix it immediately. Isn't that illegal? Ok probably not, but still. So I took the lock with me, because we are not paying for a new one with new keys. They'd better call me to use this same lock when they fix this little problem. Ok can you tell I'm frustrated?

Shopping fun

2010-09-17T06:02:00.000-07:00

Ah, Friday and I don't have to go to work! Yay!!!

So today will be errand, cleaning, relaxing, mani/pedi day.

Anyway, I frequent all the local Marshalls/TJMaxx etc. because you never know what you will find.

Well this week, I found two things to note.

1. These Steve Madden shoes. I originally passed over them because Camo is not really my thing...but then I had to have them because its my husband's thing, and it will be deer season soon, and how fun would it to be to wear in honor of that? haha Plus honestly they are a really cute neutral once you have them on. I think I might actually wear them kind of often on the weekends this fall.

2. Purse Organizer. Oh my gosh I love this thing. I've been changing purses a lot recently and its getting frustrating forgetting things in one, or having to dig. (I like big purses). So when I saw this, it was mine. I got this same color, and it keeps absolutely everything I carry around soo organized. You just pull it out and put it in a new purse when you change. I mean c'mon. Ladies, we all need this!

Things I'm loving Thurs...I mean Tuesday.

2010-09-14T10:48:00.001-07:00

Quick break at the end of my lunch at work to talk about things I'm loving today. And I almost put Thursday in the title because its been such a long week already. Technically I've worked 4 days already this week so its my Thursday. (Sat, Sun, Mon...LONG monday, and today).

So today has been a magnificent day so far, here's the breakdown:

1. Its tax season...that's not the good part....

2. Its tax season, and Sept. 15th is tomorrow....still not the good part....

3. I just sent all of my tax returns to be delivered!!! That's the great part! I'm pretty much wrapping up now, little processing things etc, and barring something major...busy season is coming to a normal season again.

4. I got to sleep a little late.

5. I am wearing a new Ann Taylor Loft shirt and sweater and headband. :)

6. I am eating yummy humus

7. I have pretzel M&Ms

8. The best part about the pretzel M&Ms....the WHOLE bag, whole normal size bag of M&Ms is only 3 weight watcher points. What??? I hope they never stop making these things. Sweet, Crunchy, Salty...yep its that good.

9. The convenience store in my building has started carry Snapple Trop a Rocka!!!! woohoo having it now!

Ah, that's it for now. I'm doing great today, can you tell? Its the little things.

Is it weird to write down what you eat?

2010-07-30T20:58:00.000-07:00

I kind of had a thought today that its weird to write down what I eat. I don't know that I would want to read what everyone else eats...hmmm not sure about this journal anymore. Might just write down point numbers per day instead...we'll see.

Tonight we went to the Astros game and got to sit Diamond Level! It was amazing and we'll be doing it every day this weekend! Woohoo!

Sad news about Lance Berkman leaving for the yankees supposedly though. Pics of the weekend will be up later, or if you're friends with my mom on facebook, they'll likely be up soon! :)

Thursday - My 3rd favorite day of the week!

2010-07-29T07:22:00.001-07:00

Breakfast:

0 - Coffee with Soymilk and splenda with fiber (sidenote, this is a great way to have your morning coffee with flavor and no points! I only had 1/2 cup or less of light silk soymilk for 45 calories, and with 2 grams of fiber from 2 splenda with fiber packets and the fiber already in the milk, its free!)

2 - Fiber One Bar (Oats with Strawberries and Almonds kind...first time to try it...oh so good!)

Lunch:

1 - Miso Soup
1- Edamame
3 - salmon, tuna, and shrimp sushi

Dinner:

10- Campbell's Sausage, Beef, and Bean Skillet Recipe
2 - Graham Cracker and Peanut Butter

Total: 19

Mid Week

2010-07-28T10:10:00.000-07:00

Found this website today: http://www.skinnytaste.com/

Definitely will be using some of these recipes!

Breakfast:

1 - Coffee with FF Coffeemate (FF stands for Fat Free, in case you wonder)
2- Honey Nut Cheerios

Lunch:
4 - Smart Ones Turkey and Mashed Potatoes with Gravy

Dinner:
15 - Boneless honey BBQ Wings (ouch I know but they were Sooooo good!)
2 - 10 Saltine Crackers
1 - MGD 64 (pretty good for just one point!)

Total: 25

Flex points:31
- 7
24 left

New Daily Post

2010-07-27T12:41:00.000-07:00

I've decided on a whim, after working out today, weighing myself and seeing that I've gained 4.5 pounds since February, that the thing I need to get back to doing for weight loss and then maintenance, is writing down what I eat. Plus I just read an article on CNN that talks about the importance of this very thing.

My background in or history with weightloss so to speak, is Weight Watchers, which I did with my mom in high school and I went from a size 10 as a 5 foot girl, down to a size 2-4 at my smallest. I'm hovering around a 6 right now and things are getting tighter. In weight watchers we are told to keep a daily journal of food. My mom does this pretty religiously, which I think is why she such a great figure so many years after starting. I on the other hand am I bit more carefree and have a hard time sticking to habits.

I'm working out, so the issue has got to be what I'm eating. I'm a stress eater, and I've recently developed a love for cooking. About half the recipes in our house are Weight Watchers recipes, and the other half are from things like the Pioneer Woman. Full of buttery goodness. I think its good to know how to cook like that, but I need to scale back my intake, its all about portion control and I haven't been actually figuring out how much a serving of my recipes is recently.

Thus, I'm going to start a daily food journal on my blog.

I'm going to do the journal in weight watcher points, so if you're interested in that or even need to lose weight, I HIGHLY recommend weight watchers. For the money you pay going to meetings to learn the system, you will be so pleased with the results and lifestyle it brings. Despite my little recent weight gain I've not gone above my size 6 since high school so that says something.

Plus I'd like to lose about 5 pounds or so by our Mexico vacation. So I have about 3.5 weeks til then. Healthy weight loss I think is between even 1/2 lb. to 3-4 lbs. per week. 3-4 being much more rare the closer you are to your goal weight. Anywho...

We'll see how this goes:

My daily point range for my weight and age is to have 18 points per day, and then I have 35 flex points to use throughout the week.

Tuesday:

1 -Coffee with coffeemate

2- Honeynut Cheerios

1- Light soy milk

5- Turkey 6 in. Subway Sandwich with Cheese and FF dressing

2- Yogurt
4- Crockpot Beef Short Ribs (I only ate 2, not he best meal choice for first day of this :)
3- Mashed Potatoes
1- Sauteed Spinach
2- Cottage Cheese
1- Bite of Cheesecake pudding pie

Daily Total = 22 points.

35 flex points
- 4 used
31 flex points left.

Things I'm loving Tuesday

2010-07-27T07:18:00.000-07:00

I know most blogs do things I'm loving Thursday, but things are a bit stressful at work this morning so I'm going to take 5 minutes and write things I'm loving Tuesday to get in a positive mindset. :)

1. Bethenny Getting Married show on Bravo. Love it. Love it. She's so funny and I love her and Jason's relationship!

2. My family is coming in town Friday!! Yay! My brother gets to stay with Dub and me, and we are going to all three Astros games this weekend in some pretty nice seats!

3. My hubby made me laugh so hard yesterday, for like hours, and he cleaned quite a bit around the house before I got home as I had to work late last night.

4. Self tanner. After putting some on this week I instantly feel more like its summer. (despite the constant rain this week)

5. Inception. It was a great movie! Went Sunday night to Studio Movie Grill to see it. That's another thing I love, Studio movie grill. Who likes to see movies without food anymore?

6. Cooking. Dub and I cook a lot. This morning I put short ribs in the crockpot and hopefully tonight they'll live up to their name of "melt in your mouth"!

7.Vacation. I'm going on vacation for a couple days at home with my parents next week, and then in less than a month leaving for Playa Del Carmen for a whole week, all inclusive vacation with friends and Dub!

oh I could go on! Ok things seem much brighter now around here. Time to work. :)

Hair

2010-06-17T20:02:00.000-07:00

I got my hair done today and my eyebrows waxed for the first time since........eeekk can't believe I'm going to admit this.....since my wedding....in November. Ok true a few people might know I got my hair cut once since then but at a totally random little place near our home in Houston just because it was ridiculously long. But, since my wedding I have not had my highlights done or had a truly professional good hair cut and layering. I don't know why I waited. Fear of a finding a new stylist? Lazy? Wanting to save money?

I thought my eyebrows looked fine, no stray hairs, but boy was I wrong when I had them done! Whew such a difference! Love love, Facelogic. I've gone to Facelogic in Waco, Dallas and now Houston for my eyebrows exclusively for 6 years now and I've been so pleased with the results and atmosphere. If you don't like my eyebrows then don't go there! haha! I love them. My grandma Dixie always had a thing about keeping natural looking, thicker eyebrows and I guess it stuck with me. Something she used to say about being in a car wreck and they'd shave off your eyebrows and they wouldn't grow back so keep them nice and thick...I dunno doesn't make much sense but when I think about my eyebrows I hear her voice. Ok that's neither here nor there, I look better today end of story. :)

Then the hair...trivial all this beauty stuff is I know, but it really makes you feel so much better when everything is fresh. I sucked it up and went to a really nice salon in Houston called Traci Scott. I went to the stylist, Cion. He is originally from Hobbs, New Mexico where my college roommate Maggie is from! Small world. He is the nicest and most experienced guy. I didn't think I'd find anyone as good as Casie in Waco, but he has put my fears to ease and is just as good. Can't say better because Casie is just soooo wonderful, but I'm thrilled to find someone not 3 hours away!

Today my hair is a little shorter, and a little lighter, but we toned down the blondeness of the highlights so its more....honey golden...? with a slightly auburn color? and with some darker low lights. Mabye not auburn....I don't know I haven't looked at it enough but its different.

Ah breath of fresh air. Almost didn't make it to my appointment because work was so crazy, but ya know...sometimes you just have to literally say, is this so important that I can't do it later? So I got away and now look refreshed!

Happy Birthday Jonathan!!

2010-06-15T18:36:00.000-07:00

This was Hubby's birthday week! He turned 25 last Saturday, June 12! I think I sang happy birthday to him 3 times, maybe 4, and had 3 cakes and he still has a big joint birthday bash this weekend with our dear friends David and Bill, whose birthday's are all within a week.

We went to the lake where Jonathan went fishing first thing Saturday morning, caught 2 fish, then we went golfing with his dad and his sister and new brother-in-law. All before noon...totally Jonathan's idea of a great birthday! Then we were out of the boat with Jonathan wakeboarding and tubing all afternoon followed by all of the Theilig/Pavlic extended family coming over to the lakehouse to celebrate recent family birthdays!

We celebrated Aunt Frances, Uncle Lynn, and Jonathan's birthdays. It was such a joy to be with his whole family. Now its off to Dallas to continue celebarating this weekend!

Love you Jonathan! Happy 25th!

What my Husband Did

2010-06-09T07:35:00.000-07:00

So what did my husband do that was so wonderful?

Without my knowledge, he contacted the Baylor University Men's Basketball program and through a series of connections, emails, and phone calls, got a basketball autographed by the entire NCAA elite 8 season team....wait for it...for my Dad for father's day!!!

We went ahead and gave it to him the next time we saw my parent's because Jonathan just couldn't wait. Well I couldn't either!

He just decided that this would be the best gift for my dad and was so excited about it that he didn't even tell me until he had confirmation that it was in the mail.

He even had thought enough to ask for the basketball before the school year was up so that Ekpe Udoh got to sign it before leaving for the Pro's, Tweety Carter signed it before graduation, and of course Scott Drew signed it front and center!! I mean everyone's signature is on this ball.

When my dad opened it, he was shocked. It was so fun! He asked if Jonathan had to tell them his father-in-law had cancer to get this!

Dad said this he doesn't know if Jonathan can ever top this gift, and didn't expect such a great gift so early. Mom kept saying how she wanted to get Dad an elite 8 T shirt but we thought this was a better memento of the season. :)

Jonathan has always been good at surprises, but this one ranks pretty high up there. I love you Jonathan and thank you for being so thoughtful of the people I love most!

Sick :(

2010-06-05T19:31:00.001-07:00

I'm sick....so for my memorial day weekend post, see Stephanie's blog. :)

I don't feel like doing all the pictures and everything. It was a much needed awesome break with great friends after a stressful work week and other things. I think I let down so much that my immune system just broke down after all the stress and now I'm just ugh. But I got great meds and am finally beginning to feel better.

I can finally tell you about the wonderful thing my husband did, but that will have to wait until tomorrow as I'm just too tired to do it now and am about to take my cough syrup with codeine. :) Nightnight!

Carla's Graduation

2010-05-16T14:43:00.001-07:00

My sister in law, Carla, graduated from Baylor this weekend with a degree in Education in I believe Pre-K through 4th grade. She is getting married, however, this next Saturday, so I think she was just ready to get across the stage and finish the last details for the wedding!

Here she is walking across the stage. Aren't my picture taking skills amazing?!?! haha I think its getting close to time to get a new and improved camera. We weren't that far away from the stage and this was the best I could do, plus the camera is super slow.

Congratulations Carla!!! So proud of you. Now its on to the wedding this weekend!

My Husband

2010-05-09T20:40:00.001-07:00

My husband just did something completely wonderful! I will share more about it in a few weeks, but for now I will just say that I am completely blessed with such an amazing man who cares about me and the things/people I love most. Oooooo I just love him to pieces!!!

On that note...if any one is reading who isn't married yet...follow your heart for the one God has for you. You will know when it's them. Do not settle. The blessings of being with someone God has designed for you are countless. Wait for that person. Pray for that person.

2010-05-08T13:44:00.000-07:00

I've been tagged by Stephanie at A New Day. So here goes with this little interview.

1. Who is your style icon?

I have a few:

The two women I'll put are Kelly Ripa, and Eva Longoria Parker. Both are petite like me, and embody what I like most about fashion. Details in clothes, and the perfect shoe for every individual outfit. They understand the importance of proportion for petites as I try to and execute it wonderfully. They also, both know the magic of a shoe the same color as your skin. I have multiple pairs of every variety. It makes us short people look taller (or at least we like to think so!)

Note: She is wearing Christian Louboutins. My dream is to own a pair or 10.

But, currently, I buy almost all my clothes from Ann Taylor Loft, so I must include that as well. They are doing a great job on keeping it classic but current. And most things I can wear to the office (which is what I do everyday) and transition to night

2. What is your favorite Socialite Lit book?

Hmmm...I'm not sure I quite know what this is supposed to be. An ettiquite book? I have the one referred to in Lindsey's blog Why Princess Margaret Will Never Be a Kappa Kappa Gamma.

But....really the book I think is the best to follow for social ettiquite, is the Bible. Honestly. Have you watched Real Housewives of New York or any of them for that matter? These self proclaimed socialites, like The Countess who writes about so-called "Class", could use a less or two from the book of Proverbs. The Bible has the correct way to deal with gossip, money, adultery, language, and forgiveness just to name a few.

Now this doesn't mean I don't watch these shows...they are such entertainment! I just think they spin their wheels dealing with issues that wouldn't be issues if they acted right in the first place. Granted, no one is perfect, myself included, so all we can do is our best and the Bible is the only way to start.

3. Favorite party theme?

I love tropical themed parties. Especially our annual Jimmy Buffett party that is coming up very soon!

4. Go to Halloween Costume?

I think I've been something different almost every year. I don't like to repeat. However, I have been a flapper more than once, so I guess that is it.

College! Left to right, Stephanie, Me, Maggie, Caroline.

5. Extravagance you can't live without?

Estee Lauder, Idealist.

This stuff makes your skin feel like silk!! I put it on nearly every morning before my makeup. It really does make you glow and when used regularly my skin looks so much healthier and my makeup looks flawless. It will set you back a pretty penny, but when used sparingly, it lasts for quite awhile. I think I bought my last bottle about 6 months ago. Just before I got married :)

6. Living person you admire?

My mom.

She is incredible. The epitmote of graciousness, unconditional love, and pure goodness. She is such a Godly woman, who has it all. Everyone that knows her loves her and seeks her wisdom. She is also just plain fun! Love you Momma!

If you need a pick me up, or inspiration, you should check out her new blog that she just started!

7. Greatest Fear?

Spiders. No really, I hate them. Ok, but also...losing someone in my family is a big fear. I don't have any grandparents left, and I miss them all dearly even still. So that's my biggest fear.

8. Trait you deplore in yourself?

I think I read this book as I child and it definitely didn't have any impact on me.

I am not a very tidy person. I have to try VERY hard to put my dishes near the sink. Yes I said NEAR. I tend to gather coffee cups in my bathroom, and water cups beside my bed. I am trying to get better at keeping house and organization in general, but I'm just not good at it. I need a raise to get a maid.

I am, however, very good at organizing my work related matters. Weird I know. Must be psycological. I was also always good at organizing school work. I never miss things, am late, or even messy with work or school, but my personal life, and my car...well that's very different.

In fact, my precious grandmother, Dixie, gave me a book once called "How Not to Be a Messy". And she also mailed, oh probably 30 newspaper articles or so to me during her life about cleanliness, organization and things of that nature. I try to channel her sometimes when I need motivation to clean. She was so wonderful at keeping a home, as is my mother. Not sure where I got lost in that gene pool. :(

9. Which talent would you most like to have?

To be able to sing like Celine Dion. I can sing (or so I have been told), but I mean REALLY be able to sing. Ok this is going to share a lot about me, but I actually dream about being able to sing the high notes Celine hits, and I daydream about it. I sing in the car as if I can, and then my voice cracks, and I'm humbled. She is out of this world, and I just wish I could have that much control over my voice. And maybe even get to sing with her someday. ;) I always have my dreams right?

10. Greatest Achievement?

Gosh, that's hard. I'm really proud of what I've accomplished in school and work and especially my marriage and the man I found! But...I think that all of that comes from my positive attitude. I think my positivity is my greatest accomplishment. Sometimes it can be hard, but I always find the good in a situation.

Now I tag: Carla and Lauren.

Custom Framing Dilema

2010-05-08T11:57:00.000-07:00

For my college graduation, I was given this beautiful, classic print by Benjamin Watts. It is a collage of Baylor landmarks, Pat Neff building being the center. I have had it for a couple of years now and just haven't gotten around to framing it. Now that we have our house I'd like to have it framed. The problem is that it is an odd size and as far as I've found requires custom framing.

So today, I was determined to just go get it done so that we can hang it in the hallway between the bedrooms which has been bare since we moved in. I went to Hobby Lobby, they are having their half of custom framing sale (which happens every other week or so), and I picked out this frame, matte, and silver inner detail as my favorite. It is a brushed silver ornate frame, with a chocolate flat matte.
Our home right now has fairly modern architechure with all brushed silver/chrome accents, and dark wood furniture. I thought that this frame might be a good compromise between the somewhat modern style we have now and whatever future home we may have which I think will be more traditional. I can even envision this is an office we might have in a suburban home. So I want a frame that will stand the test of time.

So, here is my first question:

What do you think about this framing choice? Too traditional? Or should I go with a dark wooden frame and lighter matte?

Then the kicker, and why I didn't buy it today...it is so expensive! Half off, this entire set was a little over $200. (The picture with a 3 inch Matte requires a 29X20 frame) Is it worth it? I have never had anything professionally framed. So my second question is:

Do you know of cheaper places than Hobby Lobby to have things framed? Or do I just need to save up and get this?

Thanks for the advice!

Later this weekend I'll be doing a post where I was tagged by Stephanie at anewday-tx.blogspot.com

Up on the Rooftop

2010-05-07T07:19:00.000-07:00

Jonathan and I had our first real dinner on our rooftop deck this week! The weather was probably the nicest it will be for a long time. It was about 78 degrees, with clear skies and a breeze! We grilled steaks, and had baked potatoes and broccoli.

We had Jimmy Buffett music playing, and had some Jimmy Buffett Landshark! We are going to a Buffett concert in about 2 weeks so we're getting ready now! The pots on the table are becoming my little herb garden. This was a project we did a couple of weekends ago. We thought our deck needed a little bit of life. So we have started with some Basil. It is growing so well!

And it smells fabulous! I want to add cilantro and rosemary next in the other two pots.

Our other gardening project was to get some potted greenery that will stay green all year and grow up and become a privacy barrier of sorts. I think these Japanese Boxwood plants will be perfect. Right now they're small, but hopefully with some care they will really fill out.

I just love the pots we got to put them in.

After using our iced tea pitcher to water for a couple weeks, I thought the patio deserved to have it's very own water can. So I found this adorable one at HomeGoods for about $12.

In Honor of St. Patrick's Day

2010-03-17T09:50:00.001-07:00

In honor of St. Pattie's Day, here is a photo from my trip to Ireland back in the Summer of 2006 while studying abroad with Baylor in Great Britain. I believe this was taken at Glendalough in Ireland. Ahhhh....I miss BGB.

Lauren & Rand's Wedding

2010-03-16T20:10:00.001-07:00

This past weekend Lauren and Rand got married!! Stephanie and I were in her house party, and Jonathan was an usher. It was truly an honor to be part of their wedding! It was absolutely stunning. And unfortunately my camera was about to die the whole time so I barely got any pictures. Here are a few though.

Rehearsal dinner at Tony's in Houston. Fabulous, fabulous!

The ceremony was beautiful! All the flowers were white. The church was covered in flowers! Didn't get any pics of that though.

The reception was at Lakeside Country Club, and it too was covered with white flowers. The theme of the wedding to me was New Orleans glamour. It was complete with a blue lit bayou, twinkle light lined bridge, trees lining the drive covered in moss, romantic candlelit lanterns lining every walkway, and little fun touches throughout. Such as....a lifesize lion ice sculpture, cheeseburgers brought out at 10:30 pm on silver platters as the band played Jimmy Buffett's Cheeseburger in Paradise, Chinese Slippers brought out for comfort dancing, a chic photo booth, and to top the night off....as the couple left for their honeymoon, guests were treated to hot beinget's and cafe ole. Oh and everything was monogrammed...I mean everything. From the coffee cups, to the beinget bags, to the hand towels in the restrooms. Wow.

Unfortunately as well....since we were so busy throughout the day, I didn't even realize I hadn't gotten a picture of Lauren! This is the only one I have. We liked Mitzi (her mom's hair) so we took a picture of that. Makes no sense...I know. :( I'm sure there will be plenty of pics of Lauren later though. I'll find them somewhere. She was gorgeous!

These are flowers from the wedding. Mitzi told me to take some home and I did not hesitate! They are now brightening my dining room table. Breathtaking.

Another Houston Car Show

2010-03-16T19:42:00.001-07:00

A few Saturdays ago, Jonathan and I woke up at 7 am to get to an informal Houston car club show that happens near the Galleria every first Saturday of the month. All sorts of cars from classics, to kit cars people build, to average sports cars that people make a hobby of improving, to the most exquisite, rare, and expensive luxury cars were there. We spent a couple hours just walking around and I really enjoyed it.

When you arrive at the Uptown shopping center, the shops aren't open yet, since the car show only goes til 10am, and every parking spot is filled with a special car. Many with hoods up so you can see the goods inside.

I thought this car was a really pretty blue. :)

Here you can see where Jonathan was able to find a parking spot in the corner for his car...we thought at the time no nice cars would come over near us because we're not part of the car club....well we got blocked in by fun cars, and one little teeny tiny cute cute red one beside him.

On the right in this pictures you can just barely see a black Lamborghini. I think there was something really special about this one because Jonathan went crazy over it. Also, he loved the red car. Not sure why right now. I'll have to get him to remind me.

Oh I know, why I was probably distracted from the Lambo and red car....the main part of the show was parked outside Ann Taylor Loft! And as part of getting me to come, I got to go shopping afterward! It was closed until the very end of the car show so we kept walking by and I'd look in the window and think about what I might like. Slightly distracting.

Ahhhhh........wonderful way to end the morning!

Letting down

2010-02-24T19:08:00.000-08:00

I am officially letting down and de-stressing today. I have been nonstop busy the past month....like made a hair appointment and had to cancel because I had to work(on a Sunday)/tried to get my nails done and had to just touch them up myself (3 times)/my wonderful amazing in-laws came and cleaned my house busy.

I had a huge client deadline this past Monday, and I took a section of the CPA exam today. The CPA exam is the bane of my existence right now sad to say, but I feel very confidant that I passed the part I took today and I just have 1 left after this!

So this evening when I got home from my exam, I walked in to my house and on the stairs was this trio of things...(clearly its on my dining room table here but it was on the stairs...so sweet)

Oh Jonathan....how do I love thee, let me count the ways! He is so thoughtful and this was exactly what I needed after the month's business.

Well its been an entire month practically since I've blogged so let's catch up.

Our attic caught on fire last weekend. Well not complete ablaze thanks to a circuit breaker that does its job. But the secondary circuit breaker that we have for the heater only in the attic tripped or something and caught fire and turned off our heating/cooling system. Long story short, we got it fixed immediately but it was scary and we are very fortunate it was not worse, was covered by our warranty, and that we weren't sleeping when it happened. (I have pictures of the box they took out, but I didn't have my card in my camera so I have to find my actual camera cord to get them on here...I'll work on that. the picture is amazing....metal and plastic completely melded together and black...scary)

We joined our sunday school class at second baptist, the Newlywed class. We love the teachers and meeting new young couples every Sunday! It is one of the highlights of every week for me. The class is for couples in their first year of marriage, and is so wonderful at getting us to talk about things we wouldn't normally just bring up, and see God's plan for it all. Its sort of like year long marriage counseling.

The other big thing of the month is that we discovered a new TV show that I am obsessed with!

If you haven't seen The Big Bang Theory on CBS, well its time you did. I have never been this addicted to a sitcom before. We bought the complete second season, couldn't find the first so we got it on netflix, and we watch it every Monday night for the new episodes on CBS at 8:30. The show is about 2 genius scientists living in LA working at a university with their 2 geeky friends, and an aspiring actress, Penny, who works at the Cheesecake Factory and lives across the hall. Its just about their lives and quirks and interactions, but it really is awesome! It is the funniest show I've ever seen. The best episode...if you've never seen it and want to go rent it and be hooked...is in the second season called "The Bath Item Gift Hypothesis".

Besides that...we've been watching the Olympics...trying to keep a clean house, which yes...Jonathan's parent's really did come and clean our house. His mother called me and just offered...and I am not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. I am beyond blessed to have them. A wonderful example of selflessness and care.

Our condo complex has begun construction on the second phase, so that's been interesting watching construction and dealing with that. But I know it is a blessing because it will make property values go up which is always good!

As for the future....we are heading to fabulous LAS VEGAS friday!!!! We are going to a join bachelor/bachelorette party for our best friends Stephanie and David. It is going to rock.

Then tomorrow....oh I'm so excited about this.....Jonathan is taking me to go see Celine Dion's documentary movie in Imax about the world tour she just finished (which I saw in Dallas with Mom, Steph, and Maggie last January). I'm so excited. Related to that, mom and I have already decided that we will be making a trip to Las Vegas again in 2011 to see Celine when she revives her Vegas show. No question about it. We will go.

That's God

2010-02-01T09:02:00.000-08:00

As I was driving home from Grand Prairie last night, along I-45 for four hours...I had prayed before I left that I would be alert and enjoy the drive. Well God answered my prayer in a wonderful way and a way that I think He speaks to me in particular. Through music. I stumbled upon a little country radio station from Crockett, TX that plays inspirational, Christian country music on Sunday evenings. A countdown of sorts; well the very first song in the countdown that came on just as I randomly flipped to this station was "That's God" by JoDee Messina. I've always liked JoDee's music. I think she was discovered by Tim McGraw. Anyway, the melody caught my attention and then the words...the words were just as if I had thought them and here they were in song. I had been thinking over the past week about just how do I explain my faith to someone who may not believe. My actions speak louder I know, but I was thinking about how to start a conversation with someone about why I believe, and possibly lead them to Christ. How do you put into words what God is and why they should believe too? Now granted, this song does not answer this question as by definition faith is not seen or heard. But, it did put beautifully what I believe is one way to see God.

This is JoDee's website where you can hear the song and hear her story of how she came to write it. Hope it works:
http://www.jodeemessina.com/index.splash.php?file=JDMTG-Radio

The album is new and this is the first single. I particularly love when mainstream artists do songs that are a testimony. I think that Christians in any field are missionaries, and for secular musicians that are Christians they can have a great opportunity to reach people who might otherwise be turned off by a religious song.

Lyrics:

Have you ever stepped outside,
felt the sun on your face.
Seen the waters of the ocean
Reach so far they start to fade
Have you ever seen a mountain top
Reach up and kiss the sky
That's God.

Have you ever seen the wonder
In the eyes of a child
And felt the way the room lights up
With that tiny little smile
Witness their amazement
At the simplest of things
That's God.

If you take the time to look around
You'll see it everywhere
Its right here all around us
Even when we're not aware
It doesn't have to be a miracle
It might just be the little tthings
And even those who say they don't believe
They may not know it, but everyday they see
That's God.

Have you ever heard a song
That reached inside your soul
That says what you can't say
Let's you know you're not alone
You'll find the inspiration
To keep on holding on
That's God.

Oh and people make a difference
Just being who they are
But when someone wants to lend a helping hand,
Maybe its somebody who just takes the time to listen
To let you know that they understand

Have you ever known a love
That opens up your heart
Selfless and encouraging
To help you reach the stars
Patient and forgiving
And accepts you as you are
That's God.

The Houston Car Show

2010-01-27T19:26:00.001-08:00

Tonight Jonathan and I went to the Houston car show. I took off work early just for this because he has been talking about it for over a month! It was quite fun! Sort of like the car shows at the Texas State Fair, except I think a little bigger. Tonight was nice because it was opening night and there just weren't that many people there. We were in and out in an hour and then went and had dinner at Lupe Tortilla. By the way, if you haven't had their steak fajitas or their queso....you don't know what you're missing. I could drink that queso. Ok back to cars....

This is my next car...my mommy car. (No, I won't be a mommy soon but I envision getting this in about 3-4 years. :) Just realized he didn't really get a picture of the car. Its a Lexus RX350. You know, the smallest SUV one. So cute!

Here you can just barely see my man "posing" with an Audi R8. Apparently its very nice because it was one of the few you can't get in. (according to Dub just now, it is about $115K.) I say "posing" because he would not really pose with a car at the show. I think its not cool or something. I had no problem with it. :) You can't see it too well in this picture, but the engine is right there in the back window. Weird.

Then, this was just neat to look at...Toyota made a version of the Tundra all tricked out in tribute or inspired by the country duo Brooks and Dunn. It had this crazy tailgating setup all BUILT IN to the bed of the truck. A flat screen TV, stainless steel grill, steam pot, and serving area.

Then, the bed of the truck had this cover...it is all embossed leather in a cowboy sort of pattern with steel studs. The door handles are silver embellished like belt buckles. What?

Finally, the cream of the crop at the show were these Aston Martin DBS cars. According to Dub, they are 2010 models that have not even gone on sale yet. Just for comparison though...the 2009 models of these went for $270,000. These were roped off completely. These were Bond cars last year. Cool!

After some of these car prices...my request for a little Lexus SUV is just not to far out there I think.

Brain Break

2010-01-25T19:13:00.000-08:00

Tonight I am working, but I need a brain break. This entry is just that. This is the first of many nights to work in the coming months. It is tax busy season. Oh joy! Part of me is glad that I am busy because of the past couple months of not being busy at work and the stress that brings in my line of work. Its all about chargeability. Clearly Nov./Dec. is the slowest time for taxes, but being so new to it all I want to be a valuable asset to my company at all times and not feel like I'm falling behind. That being said, I'm eating my words and am very busy. On top of that I'm a bit stressed that I am taking a part of the CPA exam on February 24th and have not yet really begun my studies for it. When will I find the time? I have to pass. I am praying today and everyday until then for efficency with my time, energy, and the desire to study and comprehend and retain.

But then when I sit here thinking about the stress I feel about it all, I realize that I should be thankful that I have a wonderful job to be stressed about and that I have an opportunity to become a CPA. So I'll stay positive and focus on that, especially knowing how hurt parts of our world are right now. I am thankful for the blessings God has given me.

Ok, so enough about being stressed...and a little more on my brain break...

This is what my wonderful husband is doing to help me:

Dishes. :) What a man!

Then, I have been meaning to post pictures of our home as set up as it is thus far and will do a bigger more detailed post sometime in the future. In particular, I will do one on decor, and then one on organization and Elfa Shelving (A true miracle invention). If you know me...you might be laughing at that, but we do have a pretty organized house now. Really! But for now, here is the latest project, our entry way.

We don't have a lot of space but its been needing something at least hung on the walls. On the left is a beautiful tiled cross that Caroline Kieschnick gave us for our wedding. On the right is a little table and mirror that were in my grandparent's house in San Angelo.

Prior to yesterday this mirror had a dark brown/bronze colored finish. Beautiful, but dated, and antique looking. So I took a leap of faith and painted it a glossy white to match all the molding and trim in our house. I was going for a more modern, updated look. I think it turned out pretty good!

Here is a close up shot of the beautiful detailing of the mirror. It is really exquisite carving. I hope I haven't ruined the mirror, but I really do like it better this way and to me it almost brings out the detail more this way.

Then, I bought some fresh flowers (ok, greenery because its so inexpensive and smelled so good!), and put it in this taller vase with turquoise irridescent pebbles in the bottom to bring in the turquoise that is the accent color in pretty much our whole house.
Hope everyone is having a blessed evening and takes a brain break every once in a while. It is quite refreshing. Now back to work.

Been Awhile

2010-01-13T08:01:00.000-08:00

Whew. Its been awhile since I've blogged. Really haven't been too terribly busy...but should be. Does that make sense? My house needs organizing, I need to be studying more for the CPA, need to be working out, etc. etc., but all I want to do when I come home from work is hang out with Jonathan or cook. I think I'm finally getting motivated to get all of this on a more steady pace though as Jonathan is away on business this week. He's in the middle of the gulf of Mexico on a boat doing something with collecting data to help us find oil in America. (I think). So, to fill my time...I'm doing all of these things, well not the working out part yet. I haven't found a good place/activity to do here in downtown Houston that is not ridiculously expensive. Anyone know of something? I LOVE aerobics classes and group exercise but don't want to pay the huge fees to join a full gym. I love eliptical machines and have thought about buying one for our home but well that's expensive too. Anyway, maybe this week cleaning and studying at least will become a habit. Well the CPA thing has to be, so I probably won't be blogging to terribly much over the coming months with finishing the exam and tax busy season.

So anyway, I didn't make any new year's resolutions out right, but subconciously I think it is to be more organized and intentional in getting things done. I tend to do better when there's a lot going on, and starting this week its finally getting that way. Work is really picking up and my sweet parents are coming in town this weekend to see our place and maybe help me get a little more organized. That's it for now. Oh and today on my mind are the people of Haiti. I don't know a whole lot about what's going on but I've been praying for the country since yesterday. I can't imagine what it feels like to have such a natural devastation occur on the streets where you live.

3 more days!

2009-12-16T12:31:00.000-08:00

This is where I'll be in 3 days.

With these characters...

And these....

And these (minus Carla...:( she's a busy girl!)

Merry Christmas!

Are you doing anything different for Christmas this year?

Have Ourselves a Merry Little Christmas

2009-12-11T11:09:00.001-08:00

After Jonathan and I got moved in to our new home (and by moved in I mean our boxes were there), I told him that it would be ok if we didn't really do Christmas decoration and that I doubted I'd even want to with all the other decorating we had to do.

HA!!! Yeah right. I fooled myself even.

Needless to say that thought didn't last very long and we now have a few Christmas decorations.

My parents gave us a tree that was my grandmother Dixie's. It is old and on a wooden stand but very sturdy, and quite real looking actually. It's the perfect size and looks wonderful in our living room.

Upon hearing that we may not be decorating for Christmas, Stephanie said that was nonsense and that when she and David came down to visit she would help me decorate. So, naturally I had to go buy Christmas ornaments for the tree I now had so that we could indeed decorate. I decided to do sort of traditional colors, but use silver instead of gold since that is what the metal in our house is mostly. So...here is the tree!

This is the amazing, beautiful tree topping bow that Stephanie handmade!! She is incredible.

These little white birds are just beautiful and were also my grandmother Dixie's. There are probably 20 or so of them and they look so sweet on our tree.

Then here are the ornaments we were given for our wedding.

This is the one little souvenir I bought in Hawaii. I Kissing Hula Couple!

Our stockings

Decorations elsewhere in the house.

Our Simple Christmas Bedding. Our normal bedding is a busy brown and ivory paisley print, so for Christmas I changed it to a clean white with the softest brown fur throw from my mother and a simple red pillow that I added some ribbon and berries to.

Little bit of Christmas, little bit more Birthday

2009-12-10T12:26:00.001-08:00

To start my Christmas decor blogging (which really won't be that long), I must show my other birthday present from Jonathan's parents and grandparents. My mom had started me on traditional Spode Christmas dishes and for my birthday the Theilig's wanted to give me some more. I'm just so excited to have another set of dishes, especially ones that have a sentimental value for me. So, here are my new Christmas Spode dishes. More on those to come!

I'm In My Mid-Twenties

2009-12-09T17:33:00.000-08:00

My most recent birthday was this past Saturday, December 5. And now, I am officially in my mid-twenties. 24 years ago I was born. That makes it sound much older than it is, but everytime I think of how old I am that's the first thing that comes to mind. But that's neither here nor there...onto the celebration!

It began on Wednesday, sort of by accident. Well actually there was an accident. It was raining and I drove home from work headed to the grocery when I changed lanes and bumped another car. Long story short...everyone is ok, it was VERY minor, but I was not in a great mood when I got home. So I opened my gift from my parent's for my birthday! It is the larger vase of the 2. I had bought the one on the left for our house because I just fell in love with it. And my mom decided to get me the bigger one which I REALLY love for my birthday. Thanks Momma and Daddy!

Then on Thursday Jonathan decided to give me my birthday present early. He is terrible (in a good way) about keeping surprises for gifts. If he has the gift in his possession, he has never once that I can think of, waited until the actual event to give it to me.

So, we were on our way to dinner, getting into the car and Jonathan asked me to put the papers that were on the front seat into the trunk. I got the papers and opened the trunk, put them away, and came back to get buckled in. When I sat down he just looked at me and didn't back out. I said, "what?". He said go back there again. So I went and he got out too, and when I opened the trunk, he pulled out my gift! I had completely not seen it.

He got me an art easel. I had tried painting some art for fun that turned into art for our home (not sure if I think its good yet but he likes it...that's another story) and I did it on the hardwood floor in our house. I know, I know...not good. But anyway, he thought an art easel would be a much better solution. So thoughtful! I just love it. What a perfect gift for me when I truly have everything I need, so this is something I can enjoy and sort of take up a new hobby. I love my husband!

The next part of the birthday celebration was the entire weekend. Our best friends, David and Stephanie, came down to be our first house guests this weekend. They arrived Friday night and we had pizza and just enjoyed catching up since the wedding.

Then Saturday (my actual birthday), we woke up to J Dub's freshly baked cinnamon rolls. He brought me cinnamon rolls and coffee in bed! Then we watched Four Christmases, my gift from David and Steph, and had Mimosas.

Next was on to lunch at one of our favorite Houston restaurants, Little Bigs for some sliders. mmm soo good.

Then we came back and decorated for Christmas. Pictures on that to follow.

Then, we popped open our wedding gift from David and Steph. A bottle of Robert Craig Cabernet that they had signed.

Cheese and Salami on an Arthur Court cheese set we got for our wedding.

Baked Brie on my Dad's Aunt Julia's crystal cheese server that Aunt Karen gave me at Thanksgiving.

After wine and cheese we got ready and went out to dinner at a local Mexican food restaurant we found near our house called Terilingua. If you know me well, you know I LOVE mexican food. What a wonderful birthday!

Wedding Dishes

2009-12-09T15:47:00.000-08:00

This post is a little later than I wanted to put it up but I thought I would anyway.

I love dishes! I really do, and I like mixing it up and using different sets and different glasses all the time. Therefore I have already used my china and crystal a couple times as well as our everyday dishes. I am not one to save china for super special occasions. I probably will change my mind when I have kids, but handwashing to place settings is not that bad.

For our china, we picked out the Ralph Lauren Hewitt Platinum collection and for crystal we chose Waterford Marquis Allegra Platinum. The china is white with a hammered platinum band around the edge. It is classic yet a little modern and was the first thing for our registry that we unequivocally agreed on. The crystal also mixes classic with modern by having the beautiful waterford signature cut crystal in the stem, but then has a sleek to part (don't know what you call that technically) with a platinum rim at the top to match the dishes.

This is the first meal Jonathan and I ate with our china on. It was pepper steak, courtesy of the huge boxes full of steaks my mom sent us, and my homemade green bean casserole (A favorite for us both).

My green bean casserole recipe is probably standard but I prefer it over any other I've ever had. The thing I may do differently than your average one is I DON'T follow the recipe on the french fried onion can that adds milk and seasoning, and mixed onions in with the casserole before baking. Here's what I do:

Ingredients:
2 regular size cans french cut green beans (don't get low sodium or else you will just be adding salt to yours later and its never enough)
1 can 98% fat free cream of mushroom soup
1 can French's French Fried Onions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Drain the green beans and put them and the cream of mushroom soup into a pyrex dish. Mix it all together. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. At 25 minutes, open the oven and sprinkle the french fried onions on top. Bake for another 5 minutes or until the onions are brown.

Enjoy!

Our next set of dishes is our everyday. We chose the latest design from Fiesta which is the square dishes. We picked out four colors to start, although I'd like to have all the colors eventually. :) To start we got the ivory, peacock blue, emerald green, and sunflower yellow. For most of the serving pieces we chose ivory so that we could always use it no matter what color we were setting out.

One of the meals I attempted to cook was a pork loin recipe from my coworkers in Dallas. Supposed to be done in a crockpot, but we couldn't find ours so I did it in the oven. Big mistake...and it took like 3 hours to cook from the time I got home from work. When I do it again with a crockpot I'll put the recipe on here. I won't now because it didn't turn out just wonderfully in texture although the flavor was awesome.

I also have Christmas dishes now, but I'll save that post for Christmas decor ones soon to come. :)

Spelling correction :) oops

2009-12-09T14:38:00.001-08:00

scratch that last website for the pictures....Jenny is only with 2 n's not 3. Imagine that? Silly me

www.jennymartellphotography.com/darkroom/share

Wedding Pictures Are Up!

2009-12-09T12:24:00.000-08:00

The first glimpse of wedding pictures are up on the online gallery from my photographer, Jenny Martell. Go to: www.jennnymartellphotography.com/darkroom/share

type in melissajonathanwedding

Enjoy!

New Post coming soon

2009-12-08T08:23:00.000-08:00

I will have a new post soon. Just been busy with the house, and Jonathan is feeling under the weather so been taking care of him. Included in upcoming posts....A rockets game, my birthday, and CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS!! Lots of thanks to Steph for helping out with those and my parent's for giving us our first Christmas tree.

Oh and I have a promise from my wedding photographer that pictures will be available today online so in the next couple weeks I should have the CD and have those uploaded as well. Maybe I'll be able to get a sneak peek on here.

Communication is Key

2009-11-25T12:15:00.000-08:00

Only a little over 2 weeks into marriage and I'm learning even more how communication is the key. Now deep communication of course is key, but today I'm talking about basic human needs communication.

Take this for example...

Last week I was at dinner with my husband and his mother after helping her put up some Christmas decorations and I just mentioned that we had a lot to do around the house including laundry. Immediately the first thing out of Jonathan's mouth is, "yeah we do need to do laundry because I've been wearing my boxers over again."

What? Really? He didn't tell me he needed laundry done. Not that he can't do it himself...but still. I want to be good at this housekeeping thing. Not to mention that he tells me this in front of my mother in law who is a wonderful housekeeper along with my mother. I have a lot to live up to, but also good examples of how its supposed to be done. Maybe a maid is in our future. :)

Needless to say, I've done laundry now and he has clean clothes and undergarments. Hopefully we'll be better about this going forward.

Honeymoon in Paradise

2009-11-24T20:06:00.000-08:00

I posted our Honeymoon pictures on facebook which I think anyone who reads this has seen, but for the sake of keeping my blog up to date. I'll post some of my favorites here. :)

This was the prettiest sunset we saw while in Maui. This picture was taken at dinner our second night at the Grand Wailea.

This is at dinner that same night. Note the bottle of champagne...complimentary from the hotel. We also got another one at the Westin. Neither of which were expected. It was very beneficial we found out to tell eveyone we were on our honeymoon.

On the first hole at the Wailea Emerald Course. Pretty much every hole on this golf course has an ocean view. This is the best view though of all.

I really like this picture. Just serene and the way the sunlight is coming through the clouds.

These two are from my favorite day in Maui. The day we had a poolside/oceanside private cabana the entire day! We had breakfast, lunch, and a sunset in that cabana. I wore my favorite pink sparkly swim suit, and more importantly we just got to literally relax, swim, talk and read all day long together. It was perfect.

As for the rest of the pictures you can see them on facebook if you would like. :)

Settling Into Life as a Wife

2009-11-18T06:35:00.000-08:00

Jonathan and I are back from our Honeymoon and working on getting life organized here in Houston. Literally...I mean life. Not just our home. Its such an adjustment, but a fun one. We went grocery shopping yesterday evening after I finally made it home an hour after leaving the office because I got seriously lost since I had left my GPS at home for my first day of work. A drive that should have taken 15 minutes tops...took an hour. Soooo....when my directionally challenged self finally made it home, we went to the Grocery around 6:30, which meant we didn't get back and have our first homecooked (well browning the meat for Hamburger Helper has got to count for now as homecooked) meal until around 8:30 or 9. It was so much fun though cooking in OUR kitchen, sitting at OUR dining room table to eat together without the TV on, and just enjoying conversation face to face. Its the little things I love right now after being long distance so long.

Another example of how I mean we are adjusting to life in general...Yesterday morning I woke up at 7 and cooked cinnamon rolls and made coffee for my husband. Very fun! I felt so proud to kiss him goodbye in the garage and send him off to work with food and beverage! I went back upstairs to finish getting myself ready when not a minute later Jonathan walks back in the door and says, "You have jumper cables right?".....His car was dead.

So, we jumped that and he started off to work again. This is real life I suppose, and it is quite fitting. I have some preconceived expectations really of what married life is supposed to be, all perfect etc....but this reminded me that by letting go of those I can really see the joy of overcoming even little challenges together as we start our marriage. Day 1 of married life in our home is over and was absolutely wonderful in everyway!

I hope to have pictures up of everything....honeymoon, wedding, house....at some point relatively soon....so stay tuned.

10 Days

2009-10-28T08:50:00.000-07:00

There are now only 10 days until I become Mrs. Dub! I'm giddy with excitement. These next few days are going to fly by I think.

I am wrapping up work in Dallas (as you can tell I do not have a whole lot to do since I am posting this during the day). I will sincerely miss everyone in the Dallas EY office. They have welcomed me here, and made it a place I love to go each day. I am hopeful for my new work location in Houston. I know a couple of people there, and don't usually have a problem making friends so I am confidant that the Lord has sent me there for a purpose. Houston get ready for Pollyanna, as they call me at this office because of my continuous positivity. I think I like the title, and will take it with me. :)

This weekend is my Bachelorette Weekend, and I am looking forward to some fun girl time! Stephanie has me very excited about a surprise outing on Saturday, so we will see what that could be. I know it will all be in good fun! As my friend Kate once said, "Time to get our party pants on!".

Then next week I will be heading to Houston for the first part of the week to set up our home! Jonathan stayed there for the first time last night. He said it was very weird. So I'm going to make it homey just as soon as possible!

Then I come back to Dallas, decorate the church on Thursday, and the festivities begin on Friday! Seriously, this is all happening so soon!!

House Closing and Baylor Homecoming

2009-10-25T18:57:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was very eventful! Jonathan and I closed on our very first home together after a long process of house searching with many speed bumps along the way. I have to say though, it was all worth it! We learned so much about the home buying process and a lot about ourselves. We work well together at making decisions and didn't let each other settle in the end. We absolutely love the home we bought. It is a 4 story condo in the heart of downtown Houston. It is right between The Heights and Midtown, both very young, urban, popular areas to live in. Ours is the third one from the left. The first level has a garage and coat closet, the second has a main living/dining area with a beautiful modern kitchen and half bath, the third level is the master bedroom and guest room each with a full bath, and then there is a fun fourth level with a wet bar and huge rooftop deck that is all ours with a sweeping view of Downtown Houston!

Here we are the closing that only took about an hour. I didn't think that all the signing was that intimidating actually. It was so fun! Then here are just a couple of pictures of us in our new home for the first time.

After we closed and went over to the condo, we ate lunch at the Freebird's Burrito that is walking distance from our home (I'm beyond thrilled!!), and then Jonathan went to work like a good husband should, and I promptly went and bought a new stainless steel refrigerator and a washer and dryer like a good wife should. :) We are really adults now I suppose.

Jonathan and his parents took all of his things over there Sunday afternoon, and he will start living there this week I think. Next week I will go and get as much set up as I can before the wedding. What a blessing it is to be able to have this home. Thank you Lord for the way you work things out for those that trust You!!

The rest of the weekend we spent at Baylor Homecoming! It was a refreshing time to see Baylor friends and be back on campus with the most beautiful weather we could possibly ask for! Here are a few pictures of the weekend.

Jonathan and I at the Parade.

Mom and I at the game.

Jonathan, me, David and Stephanie at the Parade.

The Theilig Family (well I'm Almost there!)

Steph, me, and Lindsey at George's tent.

My freshman and sophomore college roommates Shannan and Alexis.

"Almost Mrs. Dub, and Almost Mrs. Thompson"

Steph and I at the SAE alumni dinner.