Oh The Month of May

This month has been insanely busy.  I'm glad that I posted our April update earlier in the month; otherwise, it might never have been written!  That said, it's been a month filled with fun, family and friends, and I sure can't complain about that!

The beginning of the month saw me frantically menu planning.  Yes, I've finally gotten back into the habit I started with my Menu Planning Monday posts!  However, now it's more like Menu Planning for the Month.  Thanks to Pinterest and Weight Watchers, I've found tons of really good recipes that I can prepare ahead of time, freeze, and finish cooking later!  What this translates into is two or three days of intense food prep at the beginning of each month, followed by weeks of thaw, cook, eat, repeat!  While labor-intensive at the beginning, it sure does pay off in time saved every evening, giving me more time to spend with the hubby and Caylee!

On May 7th, Julie and I took our girls on their first zoo trip!  I know they saw the animals--the monkeys and the anteater in particular caught their attention--but Caylee at least seemed more interested in watching the people watching the animals.  Julie and I had an absolute blast, and we're definitely going to make a return trip with the girls...though we might wait a few months.  Why?  Because summer has officially returned to the Texas coast, and we're in no hurry to sweat through our clothes and have our babies overheat lol.

May 11th we threw a beginning of summer/Lindsay's bday/successful thesis defense grill out here at the house.  It was a blast!  Ben and Lindsay came, of course, as did Julie, Ethan and Lucy.  Jake and Alicia also came, with baby James!  He's such a cutie, and getting so big!  He was just short of a month old, and a day short of his original due date--Mother's Day!  We had an absolute blast hanging out, catching up, and watching Caylee and Lucy play!  

The next day was Mother's day.  That morning we Skyped with Bryan's mom and Granny Jo.  Caylee enjoyed seeing them on the TV screen too.  That afternoon, we had a houseful of people again!  My parents, Austin and Fanny (who are engaged!  YAY!) and Fanny's mom, my Nannie and Papa, and our cousins Chris and Melissa and their twins Corbin and Eliana all came down.  We grilled, again, and had a wonderful time together.  We all exchanged Mother's Day gifts and watched the kids play together.  I must say, Bryan did an amazing job for my first Mother's Day...I only hope he loves his Father's Day gift as much!

May 16th was Bryan and my 5th wedding anniversary!  I can't believe we've been married 5 years!  We ordered in Mexican food from Chuy's, drank his homebrew beer (a delicious chocolate boch and a grand cru), and he made some wonderful after-dinner margaritas!  We also watched our wedding video and reminisced about our incredible wedding day.  Caylee watched the video with us, and it was hilarious to see how excited she got when my mom and dad appeared on the screen during the interview segment!  And he got me the coolest gifts ever!

The next day was my mom's retirement party in Spring, and we headed up to celebrate with her!  They kept Caylee for us that night, and we went out dancing with Ethan and Julie!  And realized how rusty at dancing we actually are lol.  Might need to work on that!  The next morning we headed back up to Spring to get Caylee-bear, and hung out with my Gan Gan, Aunts Amy and Candy, Eleanor, and Jenna Kay!  My cousin Brooke had left for Ireland that morning, but she's going to come stay with us when she gets back!

The 16th was also Caylee's 9 month mark!  She now babbles and says bababa, mamama, and esss.  She's doing amazingly with finger foods--her favorites are peas and macaroni and cheese!  I find the peas part funny because she used to try to spit out pureed peas so hard she would gag herself!  Apparently it was a texture issue!  She is practicing free standing more and more, and will walk holding onto someone's fingers.  She occasionally dances to music, and is absolutely fearless!  She climbs on anything and everything--including couches, tables, chairs, stairs AND baby gates lol.  We have to keep an eye on her, that's for sure!  She's also very tough though, and bumps and bruises don't phase her a bit!  Her 9 month check up was yesterday, and the doc says she looks great!  She weighed in at 20 pounds 10 ounces (90th percentile) and was 28.5 inches tall (95th percentile)!

This past Monday, Julie and I also took the girls to a baby time at a local library.  We sang songs--which Caylee didn't care about--and the librarian read a story--which she did--and played with rattles and scarves and a big ball!  Caylee was the only one to hit the ball back to the librarian, but Lucy did a great job of catching the ball when it rolled to her!  They also had free play time at the end.  Lucy stayed closer to Julie, but Caylee basically said "Bye Mom!" and took off to play with the other kiddos!   Of course, she came back several times to check in and play with her bestie Lucy!

We are so proud of our baby girl!  Today we had another mini session at Kat's Photography and this weekend she's staying with her Grandpa and Ganma!  Bryan and I are going to celebrate our anniversary without little bit!  We're going out to a surprise (to me) dinner location tonight, and then seeing a play at the Alley theater downtown!  This weekend, we're also planning on seeing Iron Man 3 and Star Trek: Into Darkness, as well as any other new releases that catch our fancy!  We want to go to a new beer spot, and work on some projects around the house, and generally enjoy some us time.  I'm very excited!

10 Year Reunion

This past Saturday was my 10 year high school reunion.  I'm still trying to figure out how the hell ten years went by so quickly!  That said, it was still a ton of fun!  While Facebook has allowed me to keep in internet touch with many of my classmates, the two I've stayed closest with in real life are Kim and Victoria.  The three of us made plans 6 months ago for them to come into town for the reunion--and of course, we were taking our hubbies too!  Even if they weren't as excited as the three of us lol.

In the days before the reunion, as I was playing with Caylee and cleaning house, I was thinking about the Kristen of ten years ago.  It's safe to say that quite a bit has changed!  I've been told I'm still as upbeat and smiley as ever, and I'd like to think that's true.  I'd like to think that I still try to treat people with the same friendliness and acceptance as I did ten years ago.  That said, I'm much more comfortable in my own skin now, even than I was as a high school senior.  My beliefs have changed quite a bit, through an interesting and sometimes mentally exhausting journey.  Dealing with chronic illness has changed many of my assumptions of the way my life would go, but I've learned a new appreciation for every experience I've had and for every ability I still possess.  My tolerance for manipulative and catty people is so much lower than it was--or maybe it's just that I'm better at recognizing that behavior in others and avoiding including them in my life.  It was an interesting internal reflection, and it was entertaining, retracing my steps during the last ten years and seeing how they've led me to today.

Anyway, on Saturday the six of us loaded up and headed to Live!@BayouPlace and had an absolute blast!  It was a great venue--lots of space and good music from our high school days and today--and the food was catered by Chuy's!  Our tickets got us two free drinks a piece (^_^)  and there was also a photo booth AND a green screen photo room!

It was wonderful, and yet surreal, seeing everyone again.  With a few exceptions, we all look pretty much the same, with only slight differences.  I saw Danielle, a friend whom I've known since kindergarten, but haven't actually seen in ten years.  We had a blast together for most of the night.  She is still such a sweet, bubbly person--it's good to know that some things never change.

I got to catch up with friends who meant so much to me during my high school tenure, and heck, some that I've known since the elementary years.  It was even fun seeing folks with whom I  wasn't particularly close.  I learned so much from all of them: lessons about friendship, accepting people for who they are, and how to weather less than ideal social interactions.  From a couple in particular, I learned lessons about relationships and caring for someone else.  Those lessons enabled me to recognize how unique my relationship was with Bryan when we started dating, and to realize that he was the man I wanted to marry.  Most of all, though, though all of those relationships and interactions, I learned to accept myself for who I am.  It was good to see and hear that all of them are doing well and seem to be very happy in their lives!  I just wish that I'd have had a little more time to catch up with some of them...hopefully it won't take us another 10 years to find another opportunity!

Spring Break!

OK, so technically, since I no longer teach or attend school, I no longer have a Spring Break.  Now that I'm a full time mom, I look at it as every week is Spring Break!  Which, ironically, means none of them are lol.  But this year, I actually did get a break that coincided with Spring Break!

To start off with, we were all in various stages of sick around here.  A few weeks ago, my parents kept Caylee.  Unfortunately, without knowing it, mom had a really bad cold during this time--she just thought it was her normal seasonal allergies.  Well, no such luck.  Thankfully, Caylee's version wasn't as severe as my mom's, but she decided to share with us too.  Bryan was actually pretty sick, and I didn't feel well at all.

Originally, the plan for Spring Break was for Bryan to go with Ethan on their motorcycle trip to North Carolina, and for little bit and I to load up with my mom and head to Fredericksburg to see my Gan Gan.  Bryan, of course, still went on his trip lol.  With the baby and mom still getting over being sick, and me smack dab in the middle, we decided to cancel our hill country run.  However, mom and dad offered to keep Caylee until Wednesday anyway because 1) I was still sick and 2) they pretty much adore their granddaughter :-).  Bryan headed out Saturday morning and mom and dad came and got Caylee Saturday afternoon/evening.  All of which meant...

I WAS COMPLETELY ALONE FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE BEFORE I WAS PREGNANT!!!!!!

It was absolutely wonderful!  I got to just be sick for a few days, which, as any mom knows, is just not feasible when the hubby and the kiddo are sick at the same time as you.  When everyone is sick, mama can't be...even when she is.

Once I was feeling better, I ran some errands and worked on some projects that I hadn't had a chance to accomplish with Caylee-bear in tow.  I went to Hobby Lobby and made progress on decorating our bedroom.  I watched a LOT of anime--52 episodes to be precise--and got a lot of knitting done at the same time!  I didn't go to bed until at least midnight every night.  I also didn't get up before 9 at all :-).  One particular night, I was so engrossed in the anime that I was watching, and so determined to finish the hat I was knitting, that by the time the end to both came, I realized it was 5 AM!  Needless to say, I wasn't up before noon the following morning.  That type of schedule has always been my preference, but obviously Caylee's schedule takes priority now.

Of course, I did miss my munchkin and my hubby.  I FaceTimed with Bryan a couple of times, and with Caylee and my parents every day.  Good thing too, because during one of our FaceTime chats, Caylee crawled for the first time!  She crawled right over to me (well, my face on the phone)!  She also showed off her pulling up skills, using Grandpa for a ladder.

That said, it was pretty wonderful to only have to take care of myself for a few days.  I did an amazing job staying on plan for Weight Watchers, and ate their frozen dinners instead of cooking.  I decided I wanted to run an errand, and left the house in under two minutes.  I was able to get all of my chores done and still have time to read, watch TV and knit.  It was a true break.

That said, I was really glad to have Caylee-bear back Wednesday night.  I had missed her sweet smiles and snuggles.  Bryan made it home late Thursday night, which was wonderful.  We put Caylee to bed together and then I got to hear all about his trip.  Friday we just relaxed around the house.

Saturday, Bryanne-Michelle came down and she and I went out to a girls' lunch while Bryan and Caylee had some daddy-daughter time.  Then we all hung out at the house that evening, eating Dominoes pizza, drinking margaritas, and watching TV.  Yep, we're a wild bunch lol.
Sunday was Bryan's yard work day, while Caylee and I relaxed in the house.

All in all, it was a wonderful Spring Break that combined good friends, family time, and a true BREAK for this mama!

Life Catch Up!

Well, the Caylee Catch Up post tells much of what I've been up to the past couple of months. :-)  It's been an absolute blast!  Fortunately for my sanity, however, I do have other things going on in my life other than the many joys of motherhood!

For example, I am definitely still knitting!  I haven't gotten to knit as much as I would like, but believe it or not, that has little to do with the munchkin.  My RA is tending to get the best of me when it comes to my hands.  We--and by we I mean my doctor:-)--are still trying to get my meds back in alignment.  Dr. C warned me that it would take time after my pregnancy to get everything straightened back out--I just naively assumed that "time" meant a couple of months after starting my meds back up.  Turns out, not the case lol.  It gets frustrating some days, having to choose what I'm going to spend my spoons on--but since most of those tend to go to cuddling and playing with my little girl, it's not as frustrating it could be!  Eventually, we'll get the RA under control.  The question is whether my current combination of drugs will be the answer.  If not, we have a plan of action, but I'd really rather the Remicade get it's act together and get to work!

Other than that, the 20 mg of daily prednisone I was on during my pregnancy seems to have had the unfortunate side effects of throwing me into Cushing's Syndrome and insulin resistance.  I'm shopping for a good endocrinologist at the moment, but have made an appointment with a Dr. C that a friend highly recommends.  I've had excellent luck with my current Dr. C, so I'm hoping the letter is lucky!  Both Cushing's and insulin resistance are treatable, and I'm currently taking metformin for the latter.  I hate metformin almost as much as I hate methotrexate--possibly more--but if it controls the situation enough to keep me from developing full-out diabetes, I'll deal with it.  In the meantime, I get to check my blood sugar and try to avoid bottoming it out...which has happened a couple of times.  Not fun, not fun at all, just in case you're curious.  Here's hoping the next endo I see can help me understand what's going on and get it under control.

I've also read some good books lately--City of Dark Magic by Magnus Flyte being the most recent.  Reading helps keep my mind active, as opposed to saying "Yes!  That's a red block!" and agreeing with Caylee's latest cooing sounds.  While fun and adorable, not exactly mentally stimulating lol.  I'm also trying to speak Spanish to Caylee for at least one hour a week, just to keep in practice, and I'm learning Japanese!  Why Japanese?  Well, I've always wanted to learn it, and I have access to plenty of anime to practice listening to native speakers.  Also, we were planning a trip to Japan this fall, which we ended up having to cancel in order to replace our truck when it cratered.  That was pretty disappointing, but at least now, by the time we do go, I'll hopefully be fairly proficient!  I have a friend who speaks Japanese, and so does her mom, so I'm hoping to practice conversational skills with them, once I've learned enough to have conversations.  Right now, I can greet and comment on general weather conditions--I think I need a bit more lol.

Bryan, Caylee and I have gotten to hang out with Ethan and Julie and Lucy.  The adults played cards and the girls just played.  We also got together with Jake and Alicia--who are expecting a little boy in April!  We went with Lindsay and Ben to the paint pub, and Lindsay and I also had a girls' night at a local sushi place!  Julie, Alicia and I had a girls' lunch with Caylee and Lucy!  Bryan and I  have also enjoyed a few child-free weekends just the two of us, while Caylee visited her Ganma and Grandpa (my parents).  It was great to spend quality adult time together as well as with our friends, going out, having some drinks, watching movies, going to a paint pub and getting projects done around the house.  It's always fun getting to spend time with your best friend!

In the next few weeks, Bryanne-Michelle is coming in, as are Victoria and Philip!  We and Vic and Philip are going to Vic and my 10 year high school reunion, where we'll meet up with Kim and Clay!  That same weekend I'm also hosting Alicia's baby shower!  Lots of fun stuff coming up!  And that pretty much brings us up to date on what's up with me!  

Caylee is waking up, so that' my cue to fix her dinner!  Hopefully I'll do a better job of keeping up with this now that I've gotten started again!

What a Month!

I've been meaning to post an update for what feels like ages...but looking on here, it's only been a month since my last entry!  I guess that shows how busy we've been lol.  So, just in time for the craziness that the holidays always bring, I'm going to share in brief form what all we've been up to for the past month!

CAYLEE

Our Caylee-bear will be 3 months old in two days!  The time just seems to be flying, but I know that we're doing our best to enjoy every single day and experience with our baby girl.  She's getting so big, and developing so much!  I'll do a picture post on her 3 month bday, of course, but here's an activity update!

• Eats at 6-6:30am. 9am. noon, 3pm, 5:30pm, and 8pm.  Has 30-60mins of awake time after each feeding, and then naps until her next baba.
• Rolled over from back to tummy--TWICE--at Park Avenue Yarns!
• Rolled over from tummy to back once here at home!
• Has the "social smile" down pat, and GRINS whenever she is really happy, or when she sees me or her Daddy first thing in the morning!
• Sleeps from 9pm-ish to 6am-ish most nights!
• Eats between 4 and 5 ounces most feedings!
• Has gotten really good at grabbing things in the past week...even if she can't control what she does with them beyond that!
• Has really active playtime on her mat!
• Holds her binky in about half the time.
• Pats the bottle during feedings.
• TALKS!  Well, baby talk lol.  She makes all sorts of coo and goo and mmmm sounds now!  She actually woke us up the night before last at 2:45am talking...for about 30 minutes lol. 
• Has started self-soothing sometimes when she wakes up at night...see above lol.
• Has a new best friend--Raffa the Giraffe!         

 

BRYAN

• Built his work benches in the garage.
• Getting really close to having the Sportster where he wants it.
• Bought a new, self-propelled lawn mower when the lawn mower from my childhood stopped working.
• Fixed the old lawn mower.
• Has the back yard about where he wants it, as far as flowerbeds and such.
• Working really hard at work.
• Is fantastically supportive and all-around wonderful :-).  And such an amazing Daddy! 

ME

• Enjoying the heck out of all the baby cuddles I can, and loving every minute of taking care of my beautiful, sweet daughter--even on the rare fussy occasions, and the rare-but-not-as-rare-as-fussiness early morning wake ups.
• Finally got my butt to a Weight Watchers meeting to weigh in last week, and returned this week.  In other words, I've officially gotten started.
• Had a blast at the Quilt Show with Mama Lynn and Julie--and bought waaay more yarn than I had intended lol.  Also, bought yarn and INTERCHANGEABLE NEEDLES at Park Avenue Yarns' Anniversary Sale!
• Have started knitting again!  Lucy's hat is done, and her blanket and Nannie's scarf will be done by Christmas--I hope!  And then I can start on my long list of other projects :-).
• Bought 3 new WW cookbooks, and spent all day yesterday cooking and freezing meals for when we get back from the Ranch.  Mostly, because I don't want to have to menu plan, grocery shop, or cook for a while lol.      

ANNABELLE & HALEY

• Loving on their baby and coming to get us/howling and baying if we don't address her crying quickly enough.
• Enjoying sleeping in bed with Bryan and I (Annabelle) and on cushy pillows on the floor (Haley).  Yes, we've gone soft lol.

All of us are very much looking forward to our trip to the Hill Country this holiday season, and seeing all the extended family that we haven't seen for over a year and a half now.  And, of course, looking forward to Caylee meeting all of her cousins that she hasn't met yet!!!  Hope everyone has a happy Thanksgiving!

     

Wedding Week 2011!

I confess that I think of my husband and his two best friends from growing up as the Three Amigos.  Bryan and Andy and Mark all met in the fifth grade.  In the years that followed, their group was joined by others, and the whole crew has stayed close all the way until present-day.  But the Three Amigos were the first core unit.

Bryan and I got married back in May 2008.

Mark and Alicia got married back in April of 2010.

And last week, October 2011, Andy and Iman had a beautiful backyard fall wedding here in Texas!

I don't have a wedding picture for them yet, so here's the beautiful couple on their last trip to Texas.

The wedding was so much fun, and so were the days leading up to it!

Originally, the wedding was going to be at a local venue, but as the day got closer, Andy and Iman realized that what they truly wanted for their wedding day was an intimate backyard wedding.  So, with that change of plans, we all got to work as soon as they got in town!

Iman and I ran errands Monday morning.  We picked up her wedding dress and I got to see her try it on!  It was the perfect dress for her--absolutely beautiful, classy and fun!  Then we picked Emily up from the airport and headed to Andy's parents' house.  The wedding was to be in their backyard (which is a couple of acres), so we made a game plan for decorating.  Then the girls and I made a Hobby Lobby run and finally met up with Andy and Bryan for dinner.

Tuesday it was back to the house to work on decorations.  The boys ran their own errands and went to pick up Andy's suit.  The rest of us has our own tasks.

Emily was painting signs for parking and the bride and groom table:

Iman started on the centerpieces:

Tori (Andy's sister) was working on the pumpkin photo-holders for each table:

And I was decorating the prayers/blessings/advice tree:

Towards the end of the day, the four of us combined our powers to knock out the centerpieces!

Tuesday night, Bryan, Mark and Brandon threw Andy a bachelor's party here at our house, so we girls took ourselves to Iman's hotel!  We mixed up some drinks and spent a relaxing evening watching My Big Fat Greek Wedding--after all, it was a topical movie!

Wednesday, the boys were focused on getting the pretty lights strung over where the dance floor would be assembled, so we girls plus Andy's mom headed to a girls' lunch and then to the nail salon!  Iman had NEVER had a manicure or pedicure, and I decided it was a necessary experience for the day before her wedding.  Emily and Tori emphatically agreed!  I took them to the salon by my house--it's the best place ever--and Iman loved it!

Wednesday was the rehearsal dinner, where we also got to meet Iman's family and friends PJ and Jerilyn, who stayed at our house.  We all headed to our respective sleeping spots and were back up early Thursday morning--The Wedding Day!!!  Emily and I worked frantically to assemble the programs, with help from Jerilyn and Tori once the backyard was decorated.

Bryan left early to go pick up our surprise for Andy and Iman--a rented white Ford Mustang convertible getaway car!  They thought they were going to use my Santa Fe...yeah, that wasn't going to happen.  I love my car but it is in NO WAY a suitable getaway car for such an amazing couple!

I jetted home with just enough time to spare to change into my dress and jump into the convertible.  Thanks to two stalled vehicles and a wreck, Bryan and I pulled in JUST in time!  I borrowed a hairbrush and Bryan ran up to get the instructions on playing the ceremony music.  Then the wedding started!  It was beautiful, and the weather cooperated perfectly, aside from a little wind.

I wish I had pictures to share of the wedding and reception!  Iman looked gorgeous and Andy looked so happy!  The wrote their own vows, which were heartfelt and very touching.  The reception was a blast--plenty of dancing and laughing and celebrating.  We sat with Mark and Alicia, Brandon, Ruth, Diamante and Jerilyn at the "Pasadena, CA" table.  It was a wonderful time, and then we blew bubbles as the couple left in the Mustang!

Tear-down went quickly, and we got home and tumbled into bed.  The next morning, we had breakfast with the families and the happy couple and got to wish them a wonderful honeymoon.  It was a busy, crazy week, but SO MUCH FUN!!!  And it was such an honor to be able to be a part of Andy and Iman's big day!

Hello? Hello!

Howdy y'all!

So who's the bad blogger?  That would be me.  It's been a looong time since I neglected this thing for a whole month.  As with previous such occasions, it was mostly due to a) having a lot going on and b) having a lot on my mind.  This post is about part a). :-)

One of the absolute highlights of the last month was our trip to Messina Hof Winery, up in Bryan, TX.  On site at the winery there is a lovely little bed and breakfast with several rooms, each decorated in a particular romantic or wine-related theme.  For example, there are the Lancelot-and-Guinevere room and the Napoleon-and-Josephine rooms as well as the Messina room and the Hof room.  The foyer is gorgeous, with antique furniture and a beautiful chandelier.

We stayed in the Messina room!  

It had a wonderfully huge bathtub and an enchanting balcony/porch that looked off into the forest out back.  I loved getting to watch the birds and the squirrels in the morning!

Mark and Alicia went up the same weekend, and we had a blast together!  Each morning there was a "European" champagne brunch, where mimosas were offered and the food--from the fresh fruit to the freshly made crepes--was delicious.  We arrived Saturday evening, and relaxed in the foyer for a bit.

Later, we went down to the wine bar where we each had a glass of wine and Bryan and I split and cheese and cracker tray.  On Sunday we went on the noon wine tour.  We learned a lot about the history of Messina Hof and, since it was the first winery in Texas, quite a bit about the history of wine making in our state.  We also got to try yummy wine, of course!  And we made repeated trips to the little lake to feed the turtles!

Sunday afternoon we attended a wine appreciation class covering the influences and impacts different barreling woods and techniques have on the taste and aging of wine.  And we got to try even more yummy wine!  We then went and enjoyed a splendid meal at the winery restaurant and sat in the room that looked out into the vineyard.

That evening we spent some more time at the wine bar, and then we played a great game of Settlers of Catan.  I lost, of course, but Alicia won even though the boys were trying to team up against her!  The next morning we had breakfast and then checked out, heading back to Spring to get the pups from my parents house and then go home.  It was a wonderful, relaxing, and super-fun weekend!

The other highlight of the past month was this past weekend.

Bryan flew out for this year's field test on Saturday, and not long afterwards I loaded the girls up in the car and headed for Fredericksburg!  Mom and Dad went up too for their wedding anniversary.  We had a wonderful Labor Day weekend with my Gan Gan and the family!  The only damper on it all was tracking the Bastrop fire and thinking about how many homes and lives were being destroyed.  I had driven through Bastrop on my way in on Sunday--I still can't believe it was in flames not 24 hours later.

Mom and Dad headed home on Monday, detouring around the Bastrop fire and having to detour again around the fire in Magnolia.  They made it home safely, and I stayed in Fredericksburg until Wednesday.  I wanted to spend time with my Gan Gan!  She and I talked and talked, went out for lunch, did a little shopping, and just hung out.  I love getting to spend time with my grandmother as an adult!  I also got to spend time with my cousins Brooke and Jenna Kay, which was wonderful and a ton of fun.

Haley and Annabelle LOVED Gan Gan's backyard, and loved having Penny and Dixie there to play with them for the weekend.  

After the other pups had left, my two still spent most of every day outside--the weather was beautiful and cool!  They sure did wear themselves out tho lol.  

Of course, I felt a bit bad for the pups--when we travel we only bring on kennel.  I'm so glad the girls know how to share!  It might have been a bit cozy, but they traveled like champs, and we made it home after enjoying a wonderful weekend.  That said, the fires still burning are a sobering tragedy.  There is so much smoke in the sky right now, even miles and miles away from the main fires, that the hills themselves were hazy as I was driving home on I-10--and no, it wasn't just my dirty windshield.

Now, I'm home.  I've been working on some knitting projects--baby booties to be precise.  No, they are NOT for me--I have two friends who are both due December-January, so these booties are for them.  They sure are fun!  Other than that, I'm watching movies and cleaning house--and updating my blog!--and counting down the days until Bryan gets home!  The pups are also waiting patiently lol.

Old Friends' New Beginnings

Apparently this is the time to celebrate old friends' new beginnings!

 

Kim, one of my good friends from back in high school, is getting married next month, and this weekend was her Spring wedding showers (yes, plural--there were two) and bachelorette party!

The showers were very different from one another--the first on Saturday was more formal at an adorable tea room (I still wore jeans lol), and the second on Sunday was more laid back at a yummy Mexican restaurant (margaritas and fajitas...yummm!).

 

Saturday night was the bachelorette party--and obviously, I'm not going to divulge any of the going-ons here!

Suffice it to say it was a BLAST and, even though I was DD, I'm still recovering!

After all, it's been years since I could run for 48 hours on 5 hours of sleep--so today I slept til noon!

Of course, the best part of the weekend was getting to catch up with Kim, but a very close second was getting to see and catch up with Lori and Megan, whom I haven't seen since graduation back in 2003!

Oh. My. God.

It's been almost 10 years.

 It was also a blast meeting the other girls--all of whom were Aggies! WHOOP!--and getting to go out and live it up in celebration of Kim's upcoming wedding!

 

On top of all of that, Andy and his fiancee are in town from California!

Andy was the one who performed our wedding ceremony and who, along with Mark, happens to be one of Bryan's best friends from all the way back in 5th grade!

Tonight, Mark and Alicia and Andy and Iman are all coming over to the house for dinner and hanging out!

It's going to be so much fun!!!

That said, I was gone all weekend, which means my house is a wreck!

So there's definitely a lot to get done today, even if I did sleep until noon.

I didn't mean to--we have Ti and Abby back this week, so I was sure that Haley and Annabelle would wake me up by 10 AT THE LATEST to go play with their best friends.

 

My puppy-alarm did not go off lol.

 Now, the pups are all passed out in their favorite places in the living room.

Which makes me feel back for what I'm about to do---which is kennel them all up and pull out the vacuum!

 Bring it on, messy house!

Weekend Fun!

Dadgum!

It's already been four days since my last post!

My Faith Friday post from last week is just going to have to wait until this next Friday.

This weekend was great!

Friday I got to go hang out with my friend Alicia!

We haven't had a hang-out in a while and we had so much fun catching up!

For dinner, we met the boys at Saltgrass for dinner and had a wonderful time.

Oh, and did I mention Alicia is a hair stylist extraordinaire!

She colored and cut my hair!

I took this picture using the reverse camera on the IPhone.

My hairs a bit crazy right now--I've been in the rain and such--but I LOVE the color and the length!

Saturday I cleaned the house.

And I mean CLEANED--vacuumed and mopped the floors, dusted, scrubbed the kitchen and the downstairs guest bathroom.

My house was shiny!!!

Then I went shopping at Ross.

It was necessary, I promise!

I looked in my closet the other day, trying to figure out what I had that 

was church-appropriate.

I found one--yes, one--outfit that was not a dress.

So, to Ross I went!

I found 8 tops for about $80 and then ran next door to

TJ Max and found a really cute pair of flats for $20.

That afternoon, mom and dad and Dixie-dog came over.

We hung out until Bryan got back from his ride, and then

they took us out for an early birthday dinner for me!

Dad took us to Perry's!

Can you believe it?!

That place is super-nice.  I'd never been before.

It was delicious!

Sunday we went to church again.

The pastor gave a sermon this Sunday, and we enjoyed his style.

He's more of a conversational preacher than a lecturer, and he has a great

sense of humor that we both enjoyed.

We're still going to visit for a while before deciding to join, 

but I'm really very excited about this church!

Sunday afternoon our friends Mark and Alicia came over.

We had a Sailor Moon marathon!

The boys were good sports--I think Bryan slept a bit, and read a lot, but both

he and Mark hung in there with us!

We ordered out for Chinese for dinner and it was YUMMY!

We had a lot of fun!

Yeah, for those of you who were wondering HOW I managed to eat all those meals out

and still adhere to my Weight Watchers points--yeah, I didn't

I kinda blew it this weekend--today at weigh in I was back up 1.8 pounds.

I think part of it was the large meal last night and part of it is, let's say, water retention.

But oh well!

It's a new week!

I'll do better this week and hopefully see a loss at least equal to what I regained next week!

Today it's raining all day outside.

So I'm hanging in the house and doing the few chores that were left after Sunday's cleaning spree.

Oh, and I'm watching a new (to me!) anime--Kaze no Stigma, and it's AWESOME!

So on that note, back to my episode!