Matt & Tiffany

And Then There Were Four...(Part 2)

2011-09-29T16:38:00.000-05:00

Although the babies were now born and stable, the next several weeks began a giant emotional rollercoaster for me.

Each day I had to look at my sweet, tiny babies attached to all kinds of wires and tubes and all I wanted to do was hold them in my arms and comfort them.

I could only see my babies at certain times of the day and each time I went to see them, I was faced with having to pass by dozens of other tiny babies, beeping monitors, and the sounds of conversations about babies that are not doing very well. It was beyond troubling.

All I wanted to do was care for my babies and comfort them and all I could do stare from afar and provide breast milk which was almost impossible since the hormones that it takes to produce the milk were on stand by since I had never held my babies or heard them cry.

I felt like a failure.

I failed to carry them to term, I was failing to comfort them, and I was failing to produce food for them.

I spent weeks beating myself up.

Finally the day came when the nurses told me I could come in once a day to hold the babies and from then on my life was complete. I finally was a mom.

Baby Des

Baby Amélie and tired mommy

Desmond during his bili light treatment.

And Then There Were Four...(part 1)

2011-09-24T22:48:00.003-05:00

I always said that when I have children, I would have a natural birth. Why? Because my tolerance for pain is so high- it would be a snap!

However, that high tolerance for pain is what landed me in the hospital at only 30 weeks into my pregnancy.

For a couple of weeks I had been working long hours at work and going to meeting after meeting after meeting. I was exhausted and noticed that the long hours were taking a toll on my body. I also noticed that I seemed to be losing control of my bladder (or so I thought) because I would often find that my pants felt wet while going to my next meeting. It was totally embarrassing- so I never mentioned it.

Around Memorial Day weekend, we found ourselves still unpacking and moving into our new home and also putting together nursery furniture. It was a lot of work and by the time the nursery furniture was built- I found that I was so uncomfortable that I didn't think I'd sleep again until I finally got the babies out of me. Luckily, I had a scheduled visit to the doctor the day after Memorial Day- so I could ask the doctor then for something to help me sleep.

Once I arrived at the doctor he came in the room, took one look at me, and told me that I was having extreme contractions and that I was not wetting my pants- I had been leaking fluid! Here I had been going weeks thinking that my tight belly and loss of bladder control was just a part of being pregnant and instead I was in labor!

Thus began Desmond & Amélie's Wild Ride as Matt called it.

From that moment on everything was in fast forward. I was sent to the hospital, had a sonogram to confirm that Amélie had indeed ruptured her sack, admitted, and put in a room in L&D where I was strapped to all kinds of equipment for hours and hours until they were able to make the contractions stop. I was asked time and time again, "Didn't you feel the pain of labor?" and all I could say was, "Well...I've never been in labor before...I guess my pain tolerance is pretty high."

I was told I would spend the following month on bed rest until July 1st when they'd take the babies early at 34 weeks.

I was beside myself.

I spent all of my time looking up 34 week old babies on the internet and seeing how long they'd be in the N.I.C.U. I researched every abbreviation I'd see on my sonograms. I researched head growth and the chances that my babies would have to wear helmets. I made myself sick, but eventually convinced myself that my babies were troopers and would come out ready to come home and not have to spend time in the N.I.C.U. It's amazing what you can convince yourself to believe when you're sitting alone in a hospital room for days and days.

When I wasn't researching premature babies, I spent my time reading People magazine, doing crossword puzzles, and educating the food staff on food allergies. It's puzzling that I was the first person to enter the hospital that is allergic to dairy... (this is what they told me after poisoning me several times with whey...it's obviously not true).

Every 2 or 3 days I'd once again go into labor and have to get shots that would make me forget practically everything to get the contractions to stop. It was a long vicious cycle, but finally on June 17th Amélie rolled over and unplugged the hole she had poked in her sack and the rest of my water broke. Once again things were in fast motion and I found myself hooked up to all kinds of machines in L&D to try and get the labor to stop, but eventually at 5am on June 18th, the on call doctor made the decision to do a c-section and take out the twins.

The sweet relief of not having babies rolling around in your stomach without fluid was great. I know now why women scream like crazy down in Labor and Delivery- their water had to of broke.

I mustered up all the cheer I could to pose for a few pictures so that Amélie and Desmond would look back on these pictures and think that it was a happy and easy experience.

Cheese!

Matt really liked his scrubs.

First came Amélie.

3 lbs 13 oz
16.5 inches

Then came Desmond

4 lbs 2 oz
17 inches

One glance at my babies was all I got until the next day. I only thought the hard part was over.

Twins Belly Progression Part 2

2011-07-31T21:36:00.009-05:00

I'm very behind on posting these pictures due to moving into a house, being in the hospital on bed rest from May 31st through June 22nd and then living at a NICU nursery with the twins from then until July 27th.

Below are the rest of my belly progression photos!

19 Weeks

20 Weeks

21 Weeks

22 Weeks

23 Weeks

24 Weeks

25 Weeks- Look new background! We moved!

26 Weeks

27 Weeks

28 Weeks!

29 Weeks

30 Weeks- Officially on bed rest at Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas due to Amélie rupturing her sack.

31 Weeks

The babies were then born at 32 Weeks, 4 Days.

Ending pregnancy weight: 129 pounds

Maximum weight reached during pregnancy: 134 pounds

Time it took to lose all of that weight afterwards: 10 days

Being pregnant was a lot of fun. I wish I could have done it a little longer, but I have a new found appreciation for the human body and how well it goes back to normal afterwards.

Twins Belly Progression

2011-03-08T10:48:00.000-06:00

I'm halfway done, so I thought I'd put up the first half of my belly pictures.

Throughout my whole pregnancy I've been looking online to try and find someone pregnant with twins that is my size so that I can compare my growth to them, but it has been pretty hard to find someone with the same build, height, and situation as me. So- I made my own. Hopefully these might help someone else one day.

It has taken a while to grow, but since this is my first pregnancy and since my torso is so long,

they said it is perfectly normal.

Starting weight after all my rounds of shots: 108lbs.

Height: 5'3"

Original Waist: 22"

4 Weeks- Waist has thickened.

5 Week- No change

6 Weeks- Nausea starting hitting harder causing me to throw up 3-4 times a day for the next 10 weeks. My stomach almost always looked sucked in from all the ab work I was doing over a trashcan.

7 Weeks

8 Weeks -(Tucker wanted to be in this shot)

9 Weeks

10 Weeks

11 Weeks

12 Weeks- Started hitting the sugary drinks and soda (caffeine free of course) a lot to try and gain some weight- I know that's not good, but you do what you've got to do.

13 Weeks

14 Weeks

15 Weeks

16 Weeks

17 Weeks

18 Weeks- Duplex renovations have started and boy does it HURT! I feel like my ab muscles are being ripped open!

Current Weight: 118lbs

Waist: Unknown until I find my missing tape measure...

Nausea: About once a day

I think I'll finally have something for the doctor to measure next time I go in for an appointment!

Let the Shopping Begin!

2011-03-01T17:59:00.007-06:00

I told myself I wasn't going to buy anything until the very end of my pregnancy, but I finally broke down and bought a few things that I just had to have.

Below are my awesome finds:

Des and Amélie go together like..

...Peas and Carrots...

or....Peanut Butter and Jelly! Ha!

Then I've had my eye on these Trumpette socks for-ev-er. I think I was still a teenager when I vowed that my kid would one day have some of these socks. It was so hard picking just 3 styles, but I eventually settled on:

T-Straps

Pixies

And Skater Johnny for little Des.

I also made one serious parent purchase and found our Angelcare Baby Movement and Sound Monitor on Amazon.com for a steal of a deal. We originally thought we'd have to buy 2 of these at the store, but I found this one unit with 2 pads and saved a whopping $174.00 + tax! Cha-ching!

Thank you Amazon!

Matt has already read the entire owners manual and we both know we're going to sleep a lot better at night with this.

Hopefully I have now gotten my splurge out of my system and I can begin saving for these two once again...

Fortune Cookie Baby Prediction

2011-02-24T22:58:00.003-06:00

Fortune cookie fortunes don't always come true...but sometimes the back of them do!

These fortunes came out of my cookie weeks before we knew what we were having. I just knew I'd end up with 2 boys, but the cookie knew better. The cookie knew....

What It Takes To Grow A Family

2011-02-24T22:24:00.000-06:00

Here's a quick glance at some of the things that we had to do in order to grow our little family.

First a couple of baby photos:

16 Week skeleton face babies. Spooky!

Okay- to get started: You've got to buy a heap of medicine.

And just when you think you've got enough...you have to get more...and more...and more...

Then you have to do a lot of this early, early in the mornings...

And this as soon as you get home in the evenings...

You also need one of these bad boys full of smokey ice to keep your babies frozen on the car ride from one doctor to the next. It was kind of cool. It made me think of Jurassic Park.

Then you've got to do this a few times. :o(

And when that's over you have to have plenty of these containers to fill up with insane amounts of needles after your husband sticks you in the butt with those needles like lawn darts. Yeow! Sometimes you'll feel like an Intervention junkie.

And finally, you've got to go to the doctor.....A LOT....

But the most key ingredient to make it all work:

A loving husband that keeps the excitement high and the mood always positive.

Adventures In Infertility

2011-02-23T19:18:00.012-06:00

Last year I began to document my daily thoughts as Matt and I strapped into the emotional roller coaster for a crazy ride of infertility treatments.

I soon found it too hard to press the publish button at the bottom each time I wrote and have kept it all to myself until now.

I decided to save this first draft I had started because it summed up a lot of my feelings all in one without being too negative.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Over a year ago, we found out that Matt is unable to have children naturally. Immediately we fasted, prayed and scheduled a surgery in hopes to correct this problem. Unfortunately the surgery did not work, we were out a heap of money, and we were brought back to square one.

We followed up with his doctor month after month, put Matt on copious amounts of medicine, and yet there is still no hope.

This unsuccessful result is the hardest on me because it rests the decision of when and how to have children solely on me.

We were given only a few options of how to obtain a family and sadly, none bring the type of joy that everyone else in the world gets to experience when they first find out they are pregnant and starting a family.

I will never pee on a stick and then stand around with my husband in the bathroom to see the result.

I will never surprise Matt about a pregnancy by making him a meal of foods that all have the word "baby" in their title like Aunt Becky on Full House.

I will never have a fond memory to look back on how and where my child was conceived.

After months upon months of crying myself to sleep, crying on the drive to work, crying on the drive home from work, staying awake for days at a time, sobbing and wanting to throw the computer across the room every time someone on facebook posts a picture of their baby or a status update of how happy they are, feeling like I'd been punched in the stomach every time someone walked into church with their 3 kids and giant pregnant belly and after reading blogs, news articles, studies, and reports about every negative option of conception, I finally came to a decision of how we would attempt starting our family.

If you know me, you know that I am very opposed to modern medicine. As a teenager I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and it took months of going to the hospital, losing the ability to walk, and becoming a guinea pig for the doctors to figure out what it was and never in the meantime did they care for a second to try and dull my pain. After switching to taking only herbs I regained my ability to walk, use my hands, write, and sleep through the night.

If you know me, you'll also know that I survive on a vegan diet and drink an insane amount of water each day to keep myself flushed out and as healthy as possible. My weight has not fluctuated in years, my complexion is clear, and I truly believe it is due to how strict I am with myself.

With having lived this way for so long and intentionally creating a perfect, pure, and fertile baby factory, it was the hardest decision of my life to decide to take the route of IVF + ICSI. After all, I am a Fertile Myrtle! I can get pregnant perfectly normal, why should I be pumped full of drugs? But of all the other options, this really did seem the least risky when the outcomes were weighed.

The fact that day after day I will be injecting myself in the stomach with needles and chemicals that are completely foreign to me and only have a 75% chance of even working is beyond frightening.

The fact that any of these medicines could trigger an allergic reaction, like so many other medicines have in my body, is terrifying.

And the fact that most of these very costly medicines will without a doubt jerk my arthritis out of remission and result in the possibility that I will not even be able to use my hands to hold my baby the day it is born is one of the saddest things that will ever happen to me.

These 3 fears are so overwhelming that the fact that we are also using all of our saving that we have saved for a house, going into debt yet again, and having to move back in with my parents to recoup from these costs is the farthest thing from my mind. Not to mention the extended drive to work from my parents will cause us to have to go into debt further by forcing us to get a new vehicle. Thank you very much fancy Oil & Gas company in which I work! Your wonderful benefits that will pay for tummy tucks and lap bands, but couldn't even pick up a single bill for infertility costs has forced us into a life of well... hell.

But here we are. The decision has been made and the process will be beginning in a matter of weeks.

Although the shots are a huge mountain to climb, the biggest mountain will be to stay positive and not stress my body out with thoughts of, "Am I changing destiny? Am I playing God? What if there was a reason this wasn't supposed to happen? and What if it comes out really mean and angry because it wasn't meant to be?"

Buckle up, this will be a really bumpy ride.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It is now over 105 shots, 12 blood tests, and 2 VERY sore butt cheeks later, but I'm happy to announce that it all paid off.

Meet embryo Desmond and Amélie our little twince and twincess.

Just a few tests to see if it worked before our first post surgery sonogram...
Des and Amélie at 6 weeks.

Des and Amélie at their 12 week sonogram.

We have been truly blessed to have such luck on the first round of IVF and hope our luck continues throughout the entire pregnancy. We will need lots of prayers and advice from everyone since we're a little late getting into the parenting game. We know everyone else will have plenty of great tips for us from all of their experiences so far.

Our due date is set for sometime in mid July.

Another Year Older

2011-01-07T22:54:00.009-06:00

Another year has flown by and apparently you can really tell in my face. A man from work stopped by my office- which was full of all kinds of fun goodies from co-workers- and said, "So you're 29 this year, huh?" Through the sting of that burn, I managed to muster up enough attitude to correct him and let him know he was a few years off.

I am not one of those people that get a kick out of growing older like my sister does. I absolutely hate getting older. The changes in my body and lines in my face totally freak me out, but since there is nothing I can do about it, I try not dwell too much on it.

I will say that my birthdays have become much more fun since I married Matt though. He always goes above and beyond to make it special.

First he sent me flowers at work.

After work, we dined at my favorite Thai restaurant with my parents.

Then we ate the delicious red velvet vegan cupcakes he picked up for me at Sprinkles.

Tucker helped me open my many fun gifts.

Matt did an exceptional job at finding my favorite winter goodies at J-Crew.

And I even got a Fortune Tee. I've wanted one of these for like 10 years! (It's inside the little take-out box)

My parents also went out of their way to make this day special and got me some awesome presents too.

Thank you mom, dad, and Matt for making it a great 27th birthday.

Christmas 2010

2011-01-03T11:39:00.011-06:00

Christmas came and went super fast this year. We didn't even get to decorate our gingerbread houses until Christmas eve. Below is our rushed job. I made a church this year- Matt made the house.

Christmas morning Tucker opened his stocking first...

And when he opened his gift- he found a stuffed lobster dinner. He's been carrying around the squeaky baked potato non-stop ever since.

I scored some pretty unique items that I've had my eye on for quite a while this year. First was a jalapeño corer so that those pesky juices stop burning my hands for days on end.

Second were these days of the week pillowcases that my mom embroidered for me. For some reason- I sleep much better knowing my pillowcase is fresh each night.

And finally I scored a sa-weet metal spork! Phở will never be the same with this puppy!

Matt got some fun items too, we just didn't request his picture be taken with each of them like I did.

And of course, no year is complete without a few exotic presents from Matt's parents.

Below is Tucker's reaction to the rugs they sent this year.

Halloween at the Hoyt's

2010-11-05T07:17:00.008-05:00

After having only one trick or treater last year, we opted to go to my parents for all Halloween festivities this year.

I was having a really hard time getting into my favorite holiday this year and didn't even pull out my decorations.

Finally on October 29th, I managed to muster up enough energy to carve a pumpkin and make a few Halloween treats.

Matt and I developed carver's block this year and could not think of anything to carve. Eventually we came up with a few ideas. Mine is supposed to be an owl on a tree. Matt's is obviously a bunch of skulls. He did much better than me this year.

After carving pumpkins, we decided to make use of a few of my mom's gingerbread houses that she's been whipping out for a Super Saturday. We quickly turned them from Christmas to Halloween.

Like Matt's graves?

We also made chocolate covered pretzel rods.

Matt and his co-workers gave them an A+.

The next day I still wasn't feeling to 'Halloweeny' so I made sure to get a Halloween pedicure to help boost my spirits and I can honestly say it did. There's something about having a tiny little spider on a glittery web on each toe that makes me absolutely giddy.

On Sunday we returned to my parent's house to hand out candy and throw together a Halloween themed meal.

My parents and their 2 new dogs- Andy and Wallace.

Tucker does not appreciate the new additions to the family and is one butt sniff away from taking one of them out as you can see below. He's such an old man.

Since I didn't get out any Halloween decorations, Tucker's Lobster costume was packed far away. So instead I threw a bandanna on him and made him a western dog.

Tucker refused to look at me for a picture...

so I grabbed him and forced him to look. :-)

Dinner was weak...really weak. It consisted of a vegan chili that had no Halloween theme to it, Mummy Veggie Dogs, and French Frights...(I was really stretching on those fries).

Dessert was test tasting of Orange Crème Brulée...

Chocolate Crème Brulée Ghosts...

And these fun Candy Corn Cupcakes that I had always wanted to make!

Sadly, I did not portion my orange and yellow batter well enough and you can't tell they're striped...but they were!

After dinner the Trick or Treaters arrived and we were ready with tons of candy! There's even more than this hiding around the corner.

AND we of course made a few special bags for the polite children. Manners are hard to come by these days- they should be rewarded!

I'm glad I have sweet parents that let me use their house, humor my lame meals, willingly try the copious amounts of desserts I'm always making, and then help me clean it all up when I'm quickly exhausted from it all.

I hope everyone had a great Halloween.

Oren Lavie

2010-10-19T17:54:00.002-05:00

This video is great...

Texas State Fair 2010

2010-10-17T11:19:00.004-05:00

This year Fried Frito Pie was the winning food at the Texas State Fair.

Unfortunately, it was not a winner for Matt's taste buds.

A very disappointed face followed this bite.

After trying out the fried food, we headed straight over to the midway to find more fried foods and to ride a few rides.

It was here that I realized that my body is not as young as it once was.

Perhaps I was just weak from the lack of food I was able to find to eat at the fair, but as far as I can tell...I am just plain old.

The ride below was the first ride we agreed to go on with a co-worker's daughter and sister.

It looks harmless while it's not moving...but once it starts it's very harmful.

When I got off, I had lost the nail polish on one foot, had a bruise the size of a silver dollar on my thigh, a bruised shoulder, and the bruise below on my elbow which became very swollen as the night went on.

After that, I decided that my place was with my friend, the stroller, and her other baby Trinity. Isn't she just so beautiful?!

Alas in the middle of everyone feasting on fried snickers, fried honey buns, turkey legs, and fried cheese on a stick, I found a chocolate covered banana.

While Chocolate is definitely not vegan and definitely a food allergy for me...I was ready to take what I could get and eat that sucker. However, it wasn't as good as the bananas always looked on 'Arrested Development' in the Bluth family banana stand and I had to throw it away after a few bites.

Fruit + Chocolate = GROSS!

Tired, bruised, and in the midst of a full on food allergy attack; we headed out... but not before stopping by the animals so that I could feed the ostriches and Matt could feed everything else.

It was great getting out to the fair again. We missed going last year for the first time in many years and I feel we definitely made up for it this time.

Charity Auction

2010-10-07T08:09:00.005-05:00

This year I am not participating in my work's charity campaign for several reasons, but the biggest one is that my company spends more money on luxuries than it does on the benefits for their employees. Thanks for nothing Encana! (I had to get the word out there somewhere)

However, Matt's company is not like that, so when I was asked to bake something to be auctioned off in an auction there, I happily obliged.

After work yesterday I ran to the store to pick up some non-vegan food to begin creating my masterpieces.

I was shocked to find that the eggs I purchased had little breast cancer logos on each of them! How gross, yet perfect is that? I didn't know they could do that.

When I got home, I began baking cupcakes in my giant cupcake pan, making little pink ribbon chocolates, and simmering cream on the stove to begin the long, tedious process of making my ganache.

And to my amazement, it all went completely well and I was even able to watch 'Modern Family' and 'The Middle' while I did it all. I felt like a super chef!

Below are my creations! I hope they sell!

Random Summer Happenings...

2010-10-05T18:59:00.002-05:00

At the beginning of the summer I got a craving for french macaroons. Had I had one before? No. Had I ever seen one? Not that I knew of. Did I even know what I was craving was called? No again. Thank heavens for Google- with it's aid I eventually figured out what taste I was wanting and located these little healthy gems at Central Market.

Yes that price tag does say $7.74 and they were worth every penny. I ate the entire container before we had pulled out of the parking lot.

Later on in the Summer, I got a craving for pot pie.

What sucks about pot pie is that it's so fattening and full of unfriendly animal products....SO I created my own vegan pot pie and it was delicious and low fat! I had to take a picture it was so pretty.

I also broke out the Crème brûlée torch finally and with Matt (and Martha Stewart's) assistance made the world's best chocolate Crème brûlée....or so Matt says.

On a very rainy day, Matt and I went over to Central Market again to buy some exotic fruit (that's my new thing) and were lucky enough to see a double rainbow! Matt took this video, but it's doesn't do it any justice.

And finally, one night we stayed in a hotel with this written on the toilet which made me laugh and gag a little.

That's all for now....

Out and About

2010-07-26T18:23:00.005-05:00

You can never go wrong with a day at the Zoo or Ripley's...even when it's 1,000 degrees outside and you're the only ones there without children and looking totally out of place.

Matt got pooped on-I got bit.

I've found that I have many pictures of myself whispering to statues like this...I'm not sure why it's my automatic pose.

My mom's sofa and curtains are made out of the same fabric as this shim's sarong. I'm pretty sure I'll always think of this when I sit on her sofa now which is pretty gross.

Matt Cruise

Turtle Saver

2010-07-26T18:14:00.003-05:00

This is Matt and Ruth.

Every time it rains, Ruth comes up towards the road seeking higher ground. Each time this happens, Matt takes her back down to the creek afterwards so that she doesn't get hit by any cars, baked in the sun, or beat up by some of the crazy birds we have in our area.

He's such a nice fella.

Clean Sweeping

2010-07-26T17:55:00.003-05:00

There's never really much to post for Matt and I these days.

When you don't have children, spend a lot of your time going to doctors to find ways to have children, and save all your money to go to those doctors- it doesn't leave many options available for having fun.

However, several months ago I did get this sweet Electrolux Ergorapido bare floor vacuum that I absolutely love using! I've always been a sucker for household appliances, especially if they're colorful. This vacuum rocks and Matt rocks too for letting me take pictures of him using it.

I highly recommend it.

Valentine's Day

2010-02-13T16:13:00.005-06:00

So I recently moved offices within my building and relocated to the top floor of the building.

It seems here on the top floor I have lost all concept of time. I no longer know what day it is, what time it is, and occasionally, I have no idea what month it is. As nice as the view from the top is, I miss my old office and knowing what time of day it is and if it is time for me to go home.

Because of this new time warping office, I lost track of time and had no idea that Valentine's day was this weekend...I know...some wife I am.

In an attempt to savage this over commercialized holiday without battling the mall to buy gifts for each other; Matt and I left the apartment today without a plan except to have some type of Valentine's date.

So, we tried a new (new to us) restaurant called Mango Thai on Lovers (lovers = valentine's day, right?) Lane.

Drank fancy drinks with little umbrellas!

I marveled at all the pretty vegetable garnishments on the food. (There's nothing I love more than radishes turned into roses, carrots turned into butterflies, miniature corn [I know they don't do anything fancy to make miniature corn...it's just so darn cute], and any other vegetables shredded up into little curls.)

And we finished up with dessert from Sprinkles cupcakes!

I got Vegan red velvet cupcakes and they were DELICIOUS! Especially because I had no allergic reaction to eating them!

Matt got a Black and White cupcake and a Red Hot Velvet cupcake. (The icing is suppose to taste like red hot candies)

Oh and did I mention that we did all of this before 4pm?

I know that makes us sound like 2 old fogies, but I'm choosing to take is as we've got the whole night ahead of us to find more fun stuff to do!

Snow!

2010-02-11T21:28:00.002-06:00

LOST is back!

2010-02-03T21:28:00.004-06:00

Themed meals totally disappeared as the year went on last year. I don't know what happened...I just did it for so many years that I finally just lost my sense of creativity. I'm really trying to get it back though, so we started out small with our sad 2 person LOST themed meal.

L for LOST...and not Losers!

Matt put his favorite quote from the show on a shirt...he's hard core.

Traditional Jack Shepherd's Pie

The Egyptian foot Matt molded from mashed potatoes...it looks pretty gross.

Dharma 'Jin'ger ale!

LOST is coming....

2010-01-31T18:32:00.001-06:00

2 Days to Go.....

I'm ready....so ready....Are you brotha?

Thanksgiving - January Catch Up Through Pictures

2010-01-24T11:44:00.005-06:00

2009 was a long and hard year.

I'd probably go as far as to say it was one of the worst years of my life. But nonetheless, we're still alive and embarking on 2010.

Thanksgiving came and went without any pictures except for this one of us eating giant Uncle Buck pancakes and commencing the start of watching John Candy movies throughout the rest of the year.

RIP John Candy....RIP....the holidays just wouldn't be holidays without your movies.

Soon after Thanksgiving, Matt and I passed a middle eastern grocery store while on our way to meet up with his family. We stopped in to the Raja Bazaar and got some interesting soda pop, cookies, and star of david pasta for our Hanukkah celebration. Sadly, none of it was anything to write home about. I guess you win some and you lose some.

We decorated for Christmas earlier than ever this year.I think it was due to the fact that I finally got my Playmobil nativity that I've had my eye on for years and years. It's so hilarious.We followed tradition and decorated gingerbread houses a mom's house.But I spent a lot of time hula hooping like Alvin the Chipmunk while Matt decorated. We spent the night at my parent's house on Christmas eve and opened all our presents.Tucker was really into the whole wrapping paper ripping.A Crème brulée torch!
T&Co! Matt got me a necklace with a little pretzel charm on it because my favorite place and best memory of a place we've been has been in Germany where I got a pretzel the size of my head. After opening gifts, we played all night...
Matt and his wii...Me in my snuggie.For my work Christmas lunch we went to the Petroleum Club in Downtown Dallas for lunch. It was schmancy....so schmancy that I made my co-workers pose with these caroler statues because I was too shy.

In January, my nephew Will got in touch with his feminine side and wore a headband to mine and my niece's birthday party.

Kennedy wanted a princess castle cake, so Grammy came through and did a great job!

At work, Matt sent me flowers and I got a sweet David Hasselhoff card from my friend Jamea.My boss got me this BIG balloon that I'm still really confused about....I'm pretty sure I don't act like a princess at work...AND she put a giant inflatable cake in my office. You'd think it was a milestone birthday, but it was just a boring 26th birthday. I'm not complaining though.

There is much, much more that has happened- some good, some bad, but we rarely photograph those times in our lives.

We are glad though that everyone else is doing well and although it's a little late, we wish the best to you all this 2010.

Halloween + Apartment = Lame

2009-11-02T20:26:00.005-06:00

This was our only trick or treater this year.

Okay maybe not. This is a picture of the kid from Slumdog Millionaire, but it is close enough.

He came dressed in a Jason Hockey Mask, carrying a Christmas gift bag for candy, and when he got to the door said, "Trick or Treating"

Tucker stood guarding the door and waiting for more...but that was it for the rest of the night.

But hey 1 is better than none! And I was just happy that one of our neighbors finally acknowledged that we're alive!
So, we toasted with some of our bloody red, kosher grape juice...

had spooky Shepherd's Pie.... (There was a lot more mashed potatoes than that, I just wanted the ghosts to show up in the picture)And watched classic scary movies the rest of the night.

Now we just have to figure out what to do with these 5 extra bags of candy...

1 More Day Until Halloweeen!

2009-10-30T22:40:00.003-05:00

We carved our final pumpkins today!

I made a raccoon coming out of a jack-o-lantern and Matt made a Frankenstein!

I also made lots of goodies for work (this is only 1/3 of it) and got to use all my fun Halloween sprinkles!
I love Halloween!

Ready For Winter Matt?

2009-10-11T22:20:00.004-05:00

There's been a very slight temperature change outside this past week.

Flannel Pajamas...check

Fleece Pullover...check

Hot Cocoa with Marshmallows...check

Cookies fresh from the Oven...check

Could Matt be any more ready?

Jack-o-lantern #1

2009-10-04T22:37:00.002-05:00

The first jack-o-lantern of the year was carved today during conference.

Halloween- The Beginning

2009-10-02T13:46:00.006-05:00

We decorated for Halloween last week and it was SO exciting to pull out all of our stuff and see what we had!

We even had enough decorations to make the entire bathroom Halloween ready!

And we're not even finished!

The Masked Matt

2009-09-23T21:12:00.003-05:00

Monday night Matt developed a cough that could literally wake the dead.

After a sleepless night, we both had a sleepless day and missed work.

After yet another sleepless night for Matt, (I slept in another room) I went to work and plotted out a plan of how I was going to hog tie him and make him go to the doctor tonight.

Luckily by the time I got home and fed him a hearty meal, he didn't put up much of a fight and willingly got into the car.

Once we arrived at the urgent care center and they heard Matt's cough, they insisted he put on this Swine Flu mask!

Bwahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

After a good laugh, making him pose for this picture, and a visit with the doctor- Matt is Swine Flu Free! He just has Bronchitis. :o(

At least we got a good picture out of the trip.

Halloween is coming!

2009-09-14T22:21:00.007-05:00

The Halloween Stuff is out at Target!!!

I'm so excited that I skipped to the display today when I saw it from the other side of the store. This is my most favorite holiday and I can't wait to start decorating! So my question is, when is too early to start decorating? And would it be weird if I started bringing Halloween themed snacks to my co-workers this soon? I feel that if Target is already running low on their Halloween stock then I must be behind and need to start catching up.

Our Asian Adventure

2009-09-06T20:21:00.005-05:00

This weekend we stopped off at the Asia World Market to see what was inside!

It turned out to be a great decision because we found so much to see and enjoy!

The first thing I spotted was a crêpe store run by the cutest Japanese man I've ever seen. I was super excited to get a crêpe and it seemed like the little man inside was just as happy to make one for us! After greeting each other with a traditional bow, we talked all about the places we have been and he taught us a little bit about his culture. I enjoyed it so much that I want to go back every day to see this guy...and to get more crêpes...I'm a freaking crêpe junkie.(I know I look really sick here, but allergy season is upon us and this is how I'll look until I get to the doctor)

While we ate our crêpes we walked around the grocery store that was located inside of this mall. This proved to be a little difficult since there wasn't much written in english...BUT we did recognize a few of our favorite items and took them home to enjoy.

Our Loot: Matt's mushroom bowl, some canned jackfruit, a Filipino root beer, and some buns!Matt downing his Milo.And the best find of all: A giant bottle of vinegar with peppers, onions, and garlic (this stuff is FOUL); just like he ate in the Philippines. Lapu Lapu is even on the bottle which excited Matt even more.

The Jeep is Ours!

2009-09-06T20:14:00.003-05:00

A few weeks ago we finally paid off Matt's Jeep!

One vehicle down and one to go!

Here's a picture of proud Matt with the car title!

Mamma Mia it's Sonia's Pizza!

2009-08-30T10:36:00.007-05:00

Matt has a lot more free time at work than I do. (Yes I'm jealous) So he often comes home with a lot of random information on various subject or new ideas he wants to pursue.
This past week he stumbled upon wood-fired brick ovens in his spare time and after a few days of researching nothing but this, he decided that this would be his first project as soon as we get a house next year.

In preparation for this backyard pizza oven we will one day be having, Matt decided we needed to start trying out new pizza recipes so that we could master one that we could cook in this oven one day.

It seemed like fate when we opened up my friend Sonia's blog "La Dolce Vita" and saw her "New and Improved Pizza Recipe".
Matt wanted to document this experience, so below are our pictures.

Letting the dough rise under a tea towel.

Matt getting ready to toss the pizza in the air.

A perfectly rolled crust!

Matt insisted he make this face for a picture, lol. Okay, so I know Sonia is thinking, uh that does not look like my pizza, and everyone else is probably thinking, that looks sick. BUT, you've got to take into consideration my husbands love for cheese and olives and my allergy for cheese.

One half is mine: sauce and fresh tomatoes only.

The other half is Matt's: fresh mozzarella (which really does make all the difference) and some special olives he got at the deli.

MMM!

Matt said this was the best pizza he had ever had!

Hey Good Lookin'... Whatcha got Cookin'?

2009-08-30T00:39:00.010-05:00

Delicious Fresh Strawberry Lemonade

S'mores Cupcakes
The insides are filled with hot fudge.
Dark Chocolate Ganache Iced Cupcakes
Cookies and Cream Cheesecakes
I forgot to take a picture, so I got this one here

Although I only got to taste the lemonade, I still had a lot of fun trying some new recipes. Baking is truly my stress reliever.

Ringling Brothers- The Saddest Show on Earth

2009-08-22T00:13:00.005-05:00

It's circus time again and I'm even more disgusted this year than the others.

I can't understand why anyone would take their kids to see such a terrible thing.

Here's just a reminder of what people are funding by attending the circus.

It's The Great Zucchini Charlie Brown

2009-07-07T23:44:00.003-05:00

So my mom grew this gigantic zucchini in her garden and took a picture with it.

Then my mom gave the zucchini to me because who else could make use of such a humongous vegetable?

So I took it home and made Tucker lay next to it while I took a picture of it...for size comparison purposes, you know?

After that I tried cutting it up to begin the experimentation of a new Zucchini Bread recipe and Lemon Zucchini drop cookies.

However, I was not prepared for how freaking hard it would be for me to cut through such a thing!

Below are all the knives I used to get that one piece off.

After that I gave up.

Our Zucchini feast is temporarily put on hold until this thing softens up in our refrigerator of *death.

*Seriously, it kills any produce you place into it. That Zucchini should be soft as butter in the morning.

4th of July in Austin

2009-07-05T22:53:00.016-05:00

First of all, I'd like to say that I am the luckiest girl in the world because I got to hit up Willie's Place for the 4th time this year! I know it's just a truck stop to some...but to me...it's way more than that. I really appreciate a clean bathroom and this place has pulled through for me every single time. God love ya Willie. God love ya.

Now with that said, here is a glimpse into our fun filled weekend in Austin!

We of course stopped at our mandatory stop in West Texas so that Matt could get his normal kolache order.

I think he managed to pack it down faster than he ever has this time. The boy loves these kolaches.

As soon as we were done there, we went straight into Austin to begin our search for cool little shops and a candy store to get a marshmallow flavored sucker. If you haven't had a marshmallow flavored sucker, you just must try one. They are delicious and I'm not even exaggerating.

This place in SoCo was the winner and they also had sodas, so that was an extra perk!

I loved all the little shops up and down the streets in Austin and all the little silver bullet trailers that sold food. Some even had vegan food!After getting our candy stash and the window shopping out of my system, we headed to the capitol building so we could have that whole experience.I realized when I was here that I still really have no like to U.S. history or things like this. I thought as I got older I'd develop an enjoyment for it, but it's almost as if it got worse. (My U.S. History hate is so bad that in college when I'd end the class, I'd burn books like The Killer Angels or shred them page by page) I wouldn't last a day in Washington D.C.

But hey, this little cartoon canon was kinda neat.And this big canon was kinda cool too.And this bird on this guy's head was stinkin' hilarious to me.After that, we took everyone's advice and took dinner to this park by the congress bridge and watched the bats exit. It was a really long wait, but very interesting. I would do it all the time if I lived there.The next morning was the morning of the 4th...that means Red, White, and Blueberry Breakfast time for Matt and I! Since we were in a hotel, this was a little difficult, but we managed to get it all together and had our breakfast in bed as normal. It was delicious.The Austin Zoo was our next stop.

I never knew Austin actually had a zoo, but they do. It's more of an animal sanctuary and all the animals are retired circus animals or old abused exotic pets.

I really enjoy going to places like this and seeing all the good they're doing for these poor animals that were shoved in small cages and toted all around with evil circuses. You can really tell that the animals are much happier now too.The tiny office where you check-in.The welcoming committee.Matt and his bag of feed labeled Deer/Sheep/Llama/Alpaca/Goat just in case you're stupid enough to try and feed one of the other animals. A handsome goat that was much taller than me when he stood up like this. Feeding time. Matt and his friend.
Me and a deer that reminded me of my childhood. I really love deer. After the scorching trip to the zoo, we sought out refreshment at Golden Wok.

I have passed by this place so many times and never stopped. I'm glad I finally got to go and that it was a really good experience too.

After lunch and a very, very long nap. We left again to go to see the big firework show that also featured the Austin Orchestra. The people in this park however provided the most entertainment.
Daisy Duke Man.

Girl who peed her pants while I was watching her and the port-a-potty was only 15 feet away.

Finally it was nighttime and the fireworks began.

The End.

Exploring Texas...Better Late Than Never

2009-07-02T21:51:00.003-05:00

We've really been getting around Texas these days.

I guess since I've lived here for 25 years, it's about time.

Last weekend we went to Lake Whitney to visit Matt's friend Josh and all of his family.

I had never been there, so I didn't know what to expect and it ended up being a lot of fun! Not only did we get to share some fun in the sun without getting burned like we normally do; but we also had great company.

We also stopped by Willie's Place again to buy up all of their feather suckers! I've officially eaten all of Willie's sucker inventory! I LOVE me some lollies, just call me Kojak.This week I also took a business trip to Bridgeport for a meeting. It's pretty much a speck on the map and I'll probably call in sick if I ever have to go there again...however, I loved the people there and also was very impressed at how much they love their town. I can't imagine living that far into the country. I tried convincing one man of how much more convenient living in "Big D" was...but he quickly retaliated by letting me know that the time I sit in traffic and paying tolls to go down the freeway wasn't so convenient to him. Touche Mr. Country Man, Touche.
And finally this weekend we will be visiting Austin. I've driven through Austin dozens upon dozens of times in my life...yet I've never taken a look around. Oddly enough, Matt hasn't either. So, we thought 4th of July weekend would be a great time to go there and check out some fireworks (for Matt) and perhaps come across some odd little shops or antique stores (for me).

I hope Austin is weird enough to keep our attention.

Happy Father's Day!

2009-06-21T16:25:00.002-05:00

Today we spent the day with my parents to celebrate Father's Day.

My dad is the smartest and gentlest man I've ever known.

He raised 4 daughters and never acted like he wished he had a son to do manly things with. As a child he let me do his hair up with bows and clips, he helped pick out pink wallpaper for my room, and he'd take me to get dolls and help me put on their clothes when it was too hard for me. In the winter he'd take me "hunting" with him (when I'm sure he'd rather the alone time) and never once harmed an animal when I was around. Instead he would always made it into a time to appreciate how beautiful the animals are around us and his excitement would rub off on me as he'd get so overjoyed when we'd spot a deer.

Over the years when our family would face hard times, he would always quickly sell his prised gun collection in order to pay for the things we needed. He worked long hours and drove sometimes over 2 hours each way to his jobs to provide for our family.

His hands are rough and scarred from hard labor and his arms scarred from reaching into our vehicles as we were teenagers to keep them tuned and safe for our travels.

My dad did everything for us and still does things for us even though we've all grown and moved away. He is my hero and I'm very glad I got to spend today with him.

Kennedy's Big Debut

2009-06-21T16:18:00.002-05:00

Yesterday we had the honor of attending our niece Kennedy's dance recital!

She tap danced...

AND ballet danced to "The Candy Man" from Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
She looked like a princess and did a great job!

Events of the First Week of June

2009-06-06T23:18:00.000-05:00

Dad turned 64 on June 3rd!

We celebrated with Olive Garden, Chocolate Cake and Tres Leches Cake.

Chandler graduated kindergarten on June 5th and was the most handsome boy in his whole graduating class.

June 5 was also National Donut Day! I'm not a big fan of donuts, but I ate at least one bite in honor of the holiday.

And we also kicked off the beginning of Summer by breaking out the Slushie Maker and buying two delicious flavors for our frozen goodies!
Matt's flavor is cake batter.

Oh and of course no June is complete without my car breaking! It just got out of the shop again thus setting us back much further in our efforts to get out of debt. I just wish we could catch a break. Hopefully the next weeks of June will contain something lucky in our favor.

An I35 Adventure!

2009-05-31T16:48:00.004-05:00

I finally got to go to Willie Nelson's Truck Stop!

I've wanted to go to this place ever since Matt and I watched a Truck Stop Special on the Travel Channel one night when nothing else was on. However, our last attempts to visit this stop were unsuccessful because they were remodeling for a looong time! I'm so glad that the construction is over and Willie's stop was ready for me!

I'm crazy over Willie!

(Not a big fan of his music...just of his work for Animal Rights)
A Willie Nelson Record Purse that couldn't hold anything...but was neat to look at!

Willie's Smokin' Guitar collection...pun intended.

Willie's Stage!

It's Willie and the boys! You can also see my cowboy boots that I wore especially for this occasion!

These frogs were outside of Willie's Restaurant/Honky Tonk. There were also a ton of motorcycles outside parked in a row that made me want to tip them over like dominoes just like PeeWee Herman did in "PeeWee's Big Adventure"...but I figured in real life I couldn't dance around and get myself out of the pickle that would have put me in...so I held back from the temptation.

As a souvenir, I got a feather shaped sucker which turned out to be delicious! It was great!

Memorial Day at Sandy Lake Park

2009-05-25T17:24:00.008-05:00

For Memorial Day we decided to go with my parents, niece, and nephew to my dad's annual Local 100 Union Picnic at Sandy Lake Park.

This park is like the park that time forgot. I think everything is in the same place and painted the exact way as it was when I was last there in the early 90's. It was crazy!

As soon as we arrived we promptly grabbed our ride tickets and went to mingle with all the interesting characters that one finds at a union picnic.
Kennedy has her stash!
Chandler awaiting one of 4 rides he took on the bumper cars.

All strapped in and ready to rumble!

And then on to "The Scrambler" we went! Chandler was really digging this ride once I told him it was my favorite when I was his age.

Enjoying the breeze.

Then Chandler and I took a ride without Uncle Matt on the "Tilt-o-whirl"!

This ride brought lots of laughs.

Then we met up with Kennedy again for some "Space Adventures"

Chandler was a really good sport for riding in the girly, purple spaceship.

And then we talked Chan-man into the most vomit provoking ride of them all..."The Spider"!

After this...Chandler needed to let his stomach settle. Poor guy.

While letting it settle we played a LOT of the traditional Bingo they put on after feeding everyone BBQ...yet we only won a lunch box and a cap. Matt was pretty bummed we weren't leaving with a big screen television or gift card, but it was fun playing anyhow.

We ended our day by riding the "Little Dipper" which should have been called, "Little Back Breaker" with Chandler and then letting him attempt a ride on "The Scrambler" all by himself.

And he did alright! We were very proud of Chan-man and very happy we got to spend some quality time with the kids.

Jack and Tucker

2009-05-24T20:11:00.004-05:00

The apartment wildlife was overjoyed that we returned from Europe and their food source had replenished. Here is our friend Jack (he has a girlfriend named Diane) bathing in some birdseed.

And here he is after eating so much he couldn't move. Also, a new dog park opened in our complex! It has all the equipment needed for training a dog for an obstacle course. Here's the first and last picture of Tucker practicing on the seesaw since he did not find it at all amusing. He did a great job though!

This year's favorite television shows in Europe

2009-05-21T23:39:00.006-05:00

I love watching television in Europe.
Here are the top 3 things I enjoyed watching this year:

The Italian version of deal or no deal with a twist of it being a wedding couple picking boxes and the wedding party holding the boxes.

The Spanish version of trading spouses...kinda....only WAY better because the whole family goes to live with the other family....and those other families are tribes and no one speaks the same language!

And this song I heard while watching the Italian channel. It's so catchy!

But I also must acknowledge Matt and my favorite herr, Oliver Geissen (The German Ryan Seacrest) from the Super RTL channel. He never lets us down on quality entertainment:

We're Back!

2009-05-20T20:46:00.005-05:00

We arrived back from Spain on Sunday night around midnight. I unpacked us in less than 20 minutes, but still had to stay awake to do laundry so we'd have clothes the next morning which made us get in bed around 2:00am. Needless to say we are still suffering from some serious jet lag.

For me, Spain was a Vegan's worst nightmare. Everything contained pork, shellfish, mayonnaise, or dairy which left me very, very hungry most of the time. However, I still enjoyed the sights, the arts, and being able to understand some of the language around me for once.

For Matt, Spain was a great big chocolate pastry shop! He managed to find chocolate pastries everywhere we went and made sure to get his fill. His only disappointment was that it rained in Barcelona before he got to take a dip in the sea. :o(

Below are a few pictures of our adventures:

Peace Out!

2009-05-07T18:12:00.004-05:00

See you in a week!

We're off to Spain baby!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

2009-05-05T20:05:00.002-05:00

I celebrated by dressing up O'dude and eating a burrito with my 1/2 mexican friend!

Ay yi yi yi!

Lottery Ticket Virgin

2009-05-01T22:20:00.004-05:00

Yesterday I received a lottery ticket chain letter in the mail from my field office friend Kristin.

To my surprise, Matt had never in his 30 years of life scratched off a lottery ticket! So needless to say, the arrival of this little piece of silver coated cardstock excited him.

Since I was no stranger to lottery tickets, I let him have the honors and documented it just in case he won so I could get his reaction.

(And yes I know I shouldn't be a pro at lottery tickets, but when I was 19 my friend and I went through a brief gambling rebellion which included a lot of BINGO, online sports betting, and scratch off tickets...it was a lot of wasted money...but at least it was his money and not mine. lol)

First Scratch"Holy cow...did I win $1,000.00?"

And finally the results: $2.00! Congratulations Sweetie...now we can use it to go buy 2 more tickets. :o)

Our 2nd Anniversary!

2009-04-29T18:04:00.005-05:00

Tuesday we celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary.

The time has really flown by and most of the time, it doesn't seem like we've been married 2 years...but then there are other times when it's like I can't seem to remember a time when we weren't together. Maybe I just don't want to.

To celebrate we went to Benihana.

Eating here wasn't exactly everything I had always dreamed due to some of the ruder guests at our table who looked like the belonged at a Star Trek convention or at their computer playing World of Warcraft rather than out among the public at a restaurant, but we still enjoyed ourselves.

Our chef's name was Thang and he was amazing and soft spoken. I love people who are easy on the ears! He was very attentive to my allergy and made sure that the Star Trek lady didn't get her nasty shrimp until all of my food had been cooked on the nice clean grill first!

I had a Buddha's feast (my typical special off-the-menu meal at most restaurants) and Matt had picante chicken.

And while eating, we got to stare at the cute little girl across from us. I asked Matt to steal her for me...but he wouldn't.
And after dinner I was still able to fit through these bars outside and pretend I was in prison! Nothing like a fat free meal!

When we got home we enjoyed Fre brut and the scent of these beautiful flowers that Matt sent me at work.

It made for a lovely 2nd anniversary evening.

Next week we will really celebrate when we leave for Madrid and Barcelona!

If you feed them....

2009-04-23T17:17:00.002-05:00

They will come!

Oh to be a writer for animal products...

2009-04-21T22:55:00.004-05:00

" Offering Kaytee Squirrel & Critter Blend on a regular basis, helps deter squirrels and other wildlife from eating at bird feeders. You may even be rewarded with visits from wild ducks, geese, turkeys and pheasants!"

Once reading that, of course we bought it for our rabbit friends! I can't wait for our wild turkeys and pheasants to arrive here in the city! LOL!

Origami Night!

2009-04-19T21:53:00.005-05:00

As a ploy to get Matt away from his Blackberry, I suggested we do Sunday Night Origami and learn how to fold our napkins in style for the day when we finally have friends that come and eat dinner at our house.
Below are the designs we successfully folded!

The Gentleman's Shirt!
The Gentleman's Necktie!
The Royal Crown!

The Fleur de Lis!

The Bird of Paradise!Pocket Design #1

Pocket Design #2The Rose!

The Candle!

Quax

2009-04-18T23:11:00.005-05:00

I absolutely LOVE going to Target a day after a holiday and grabbing all the 75% off items I can get my greedy little paws on!

Don't get me wrong...I don't buy crap that I'll never use...but I did buy all the furnishings for a Halloween themed bathroom a couple of years ago.

Who on earth needs a Halloween bathroom you ask? Well I do dang it! And my bathroom is going to be stylin' this October with my dancing skulls shower curtain and spider web bathmats! You just wait and see.

Anyhow, this year while making my after Easter stop to pick up some clearance Wilton bunny molds, Matt came upon the one item we eyeballed at the beginning of March and said was the most disgusting thing we'd ever seen.

Behold, QUAX!

Now our first reaction to this was, "Quax? Is it made out of wax? Why is it here with the candy?" followed by my tragic memory of those wax lips you use to get at Halloween time and how I was told to eat them thus creating my worst stomach ache of all the 80's.
Our second was, "Is it soap? It is shaped like a rubber ducky, it has to be soap."

But nay, it was neither wax nor soap, but instead white chocolate colored the colors of a rubber ducky.....deeeeesgusting!

Buuuut at a price of 75% off....who could say no to a little experimentation? Not us, so we bought that ducky!

Decapitation! Butt removal!
Surprisingly, this was not disgusting once you get past the idea of it looking like soap.
Thank heavens for 75% off sales!

Matt Turns 30!

2009-04-18T21:25:00.007-05:00

Today Matt turned the big 3-0!

I had always imagined this day being a big spectacular deal, but to my surprise, that is not what Matt had in mind at all. Matt just wanted it to be low key and fuss free.

Last night we rung in the big 3-0 by toasting with some Fre' at midnight.

In Matt's left hand you'll see his birthday present. He finally got his Blackberry 8900.

Before our toast I gave a speech of the 30 reasons why Matt is awesome.

Tucker was a great audience...Matt on the other hand was paying more attention to his Blackberry. I guess ya can't win 'em all!

Saturday morning I awoke and ran to Einstein Bros Bagels to get Matt his favorite bagels; everything and green chili with cheese; to prepare him breakfast in bed.

Matt was very pleased; mostly because he got to use the bagel spreader that looks like a bird to spread his Sun Dried Tomato Schmeer.

Afterwards we washed the bagels down with some Cassis (currant soda)! A special treat we seldom get unless we go all the way to Henk's European Deli.And finally later that evening, we met up with my mom, dad, Kristi and Nathan for some tex-mex at Chuy's!

Here's Kristi and Mom during our wait of over an hour because they forgot about us...grrr!

(And no, Kristi didn't get stressed from the wait, that's an IBC root beer)

Here is a picture of how I've seen Matt ever since he got his Blackberry.

Oh to be as enticing to my husband as an electronic gadget. Once inside, the food was amazing!
I don't think I've eaten so much in years.

Me and Matt
Nathan and Kristi

Mom and Dad!

After dinner, it was back to our apartment for cake and the embarrassing birthday song that everyone hates sitting through...yet still people always sing it to you. Now that I think about it, it really makes no sense to do that to a person.... I'm going to make sure that doesn't happen anymore.

Matt's one request was a store bought cake that met all his specifications of deliciousness.

"3 giant gobs of icing was very enticing" as Matt put it.

Thanks Mom, Dad, Kristi, and Nathan for coming all the way to Plano to make Matt's birthday special. And double thanks for Nathan and Kristi for treating us to dinner. You are all amazing and we love you so much!

Easter Preperations!

2009-04-11T22:17:00.006-05:00

I've been saying all week that I want to make friends with all the rabbits that hop around our courtyard. We decided that tonight was definitely the night to start with it being Easter eve and all.

After taking a walk around the park and telling all the bunnies to meet at our place around 8, we rushed home and I scattered lettuce outside. Unfortunately, no one showed.

What a waste of lettuce.

I also prepared for Easter today by:

Making Double Doozies!

Cookie Cups!
Putting Tucker in a purple collar.
And lining up this year's victims.

Yes the sideways facing-hollow-chocolate-bunny-head tradition lives on.

Matt and his bunny.

Me and my bunny.

Now that I've eaten the head off of this bunny on Easter eve, I'm sure to have great luck all year long! (Just as soon as I get over the allergic reation from the chocolate!)

A Sick Surprise!

2009-03-29T15:27:00.005-05:00

This week I had conjunctivitis mixed with a "really bad virus" as the doctors called it. After 2 doctor appointments, I was finally fixed up on some powerful drugs and spent 2 days in bed (I was supposed to spend all week in bed because I was contagious, but I just can't sit still that long and had to get back to work) passed out.

On my second day in bed, Matt came home with a surprise for me! A new purse and wallet from Fossil!

I was so excited! It's been a long time since I've gotten a surprise and this definitely lifted my spirits!

My Mini Salsa Garden

2009-03-29T15:19:00.004-05:00

It's springtime again!

This means it's time to plant vegetables!

Unfortunately since we're in an apartment, I had no place for a garden this year. Bummer! Luckily my mom saved the day and got me a Roma Tomato plant, a Cilantro plant, and a big red pot to put them in!

Now we'll at least have a couple of fixins to make some yummy salsa in a couple of months!

Thanks Mom!

Another Vegan Experiment

2009-03-29T15:05:00.006-05:00

So this week we tried something new.

Gardenburger vegan BBQ Riblets. It's amazing how close these companies can get the texture and flavor of these veggies to taste like the real thing. These riblets tasted so much like ribs (to me at least) that I couldn't even really eat them. It made me too sad. Matt on the other hand LOVED them and is requesting them again.
This just reiterates my point that fake meat is not really for vegans, it's more for vegans to feed their families so that they don't have to deal with the guilt.

Sodies, Searchlights, and Soberness

2009-03-21T21:13:00.003-05:00

Today was the laziest day of our lives.

Since Matt now has Fridays off with me, we ran any errand that we would normally do on a Saturday, on Friday. This left us with nothing to do except sleep, watch movies, and develop what I think is pink eye. Yuck!

Finally around 7 I got dressed up just to get the mail. After that, we were motivated enough to try to get out of the house to find something to do or eat.

We drove around and around and sought out new venues...yet at 8:00, still nothing sounded good and nothing looked fun. Finally we gave up and pulled into a Market Street to get Matt some milk...and there our night began.

Once inside I found 2 of my favorite sodas! Black Cherry Cream and Frosty's Blue Cream Soda!!! Matt found his favorite Vanilla Cream Soda! We were so stoked that we quickly checked out so that we could pop open the bottles in the car and drink them on the way home!

Once in the car drinking our sodas, the sugar quickly sank in and we somehow decided that we were going to follow a searchlight that we spotted in the sky and see if we could find it.

We searched and searched and eventually found the spotlight and were hoping we were just in time to win something or at least get something free. Unfortunately it was just the Grand Opening of a CiCi's Pizza....bummer. However, we came that far, so we then decided we'd park in front of it until it spun around and shone us right in the face so we could scream and wave our arms in the shadows. This proved to be really funny to us until I saw a cop and thought, "I hope that guy doesn't think we're drinking beer."

Just then, a guy started knocking on Matt's window!

Matt rolled down the window and the guy asked, "Is that beer?"

We replied with a slow, "Huh?"

He then asked again, "Are you drinkin' beer man?"

Matt replied, "No...this is Vanilla Cream man!" while spinning the bottle around and smiling with the label.

Then man then said, "Oh thank goodness, I was gonna tell you to hide it because there was a cop right there!"

This guy who was trying to help two drunks not get caught so that they could continue drinking and driving, happened to be the operator of the searchlight. Our new friend then proceeded to have a long conversation with us of why he can't turn his spotlight into a bat symbol like Matt had asked him to do and shared his failed stories of the times he had already tried to do it. Nice.

For only getting out and about for about an hour, it sure was an eventful one...but hopefully our next 3 day weekend will be a little more productive.

One Quick Question...

2009-03-19T22:30:00.000-05:00

Does anyone wear green for St. Patrick's Day anymore?!?

My boss and I were the only ones at my work that wore green on St. Patrick's Day and she did it coincidentally! She could care less that it was St. Patty's Day!

I awoke Tuesday morning and decked myself out in a lovely green blouse and green argyle socks with shamrocks that I made sure to show everyone I knew.

Matt also put on a matching green shirt and headed off to his work to spread his Irish cheer only to find that no one at his work wore green either!

Distraught at all this news I called my mom to check in on her office and found that they didn't wear green either!!! She was the only one!

What is with people?! Where's the Irish cheer? I don't even have Irish in me and I'm still representing!

I understand that some people may not have green in their wardrobe, but those people can take a lesson from my daddy and do what he did Tuesday morning. He refused to leave the house until my mom found a nice green ribbon to loop and pin to his shirt for work. Way to go dad!

I hope all those party poopers who didn't wear green got pinched!

Birthdays!

2009-03-19T22:29:00.004-05:00

At the end of February we celebrated 2 birthdays.

First was our nephew Will's 1st birthday party.

I can honestly say that I have never enjoyed a child's birthday party as much as I did Willie's. Watching him eat his cupcake was hilarious and his expressions were priceless.

The next birthday was Tucker's!

Tucker turned 6 and to be fair we had a mini dinner celebration for him at my parent's house, just as we always have Sarah (my kitty that just turned 19 on Feb 18th...but we have no pictures from that for some reason).Tucker scored by getting 2 bags of his favorite treats and a cool new tug-o-war toy to play with while we ate strawberry shortcake. I think we've turned into one of those couples that I never wanted to be. The kind that don't have kids or any plans of it, so we treat our pets like them. Eeek! I guess as long as I don't send out invites to the parties, have professional pictures taken of them or strike up conversations about them with people who could care less, I'm better off than 2 of the people on the hall that I work with. I'll take comfort in that.

St. Patrick's Day!

2009-03-19T21:14:00.003-05:00

We had a really laid back St. Patty's Day this year. I was a real slacker on my 2nd favorite holiday. I didn't even decorate because I was just so busy with work. It really sucked and I vow never to let that happen again!

I did throw together a last minute Irish meal of green ginger ale (Matt drank his from his Hofbräuhaus stein we got in München...it pretty much can hold a whole 2 liter of soda), cabbage, dill potatoes, and soda bread....but it wasn't very tasty.

And I did make some cookie cups for work...but I didn't have any St. Patty's sprinkles....so I had Matt sort through a bottle of Halloween sprinkles and remove all the green sprinkles. After a long tiresome attempt, he only found enough for 3 cup cakes. lol God love 'em.

Feeding The Squirrels

2009-03-08T21:10:00.004-05:00

Its a daily occurrence to see Tucker's 3 toy squirrels lined up around his food bowls. I have always assumed this is his way of feeding them.

For Valentine's Day we got Tucker a treat of a few miniature tennis balls which stole his attention and the squirrels were left alone for many days.

Finally Tucker came to his senses and remembered he had not fed his little friends. With what I assume is a panicked look (you never really know what a dog is thinking), he saw his squirrels and rushed this guy and put him head first into the bowl and left him there.

I'm happy to say that slowly, all 3 squirrels were rediscovered and one by one made it to the feeding hole to regain their strength so that Tucker could squeak the heck out of them again later.

Happy Square Root Day!

2009-03-03T20:44:00.002-06:00

I know....I celebrate every odd holiday...but today is SQUARE ROOT DAY! How could I pass this up? It won't come again until April 4, 2016!

It took some persuasion to my fellow co-workers, but in time I finally accomplished the task of celebrating this day properly.

3 Friends (Me, Niki & Eric) x 3 Pizzas = 9 Glasses of Pepsi!

03/03/09

Eric said if we didn't each eat our entire pizzas we were not truly fulfilling this holiday, but with more persuasion I got him to ease up and let me off the hook if I got down 3. It was painful...but totally worth it. :o)

Yay for Square Root Day and friends that humor me and my silly quirks!

"A Sweet for the Sweet"

2009-02-20T13:35:00.003-06:00

Today while shopping, I stopped by an Italian restaurant to pick up a cannoli for Matt's last day of work celebration (he starts at Lockheed Martin on Monday, yay!!!). When it was ready, instead of them calling my name, an old Italian man came from the kitchen to where I was sitting and handed me the cannoli saying, "A sweet for the Sweet". I've always wanted someone to say that to me! Don't ask me why, because I don't know; I just have! It made my day! I hope this cannoli helps make Matt's day.

This Never Gets Old!

2009-02-16T23:53:00.001-06:00

A Miffany Valentine's Day

2009-02-16T11:47:00.002-06:00

Valentine's Day 2009

It's really hard for me to get use to celebrating this holiday. I'm not a big fan of it and it just slips my mind until the night before, so I never have time to plan something special.

This time I was so much focused on Friday the 13th and what spooky movie we'd watch; I once again slacked on the job. Some wife I am!

Matt of course didn't slack and sent me the flowers in the picture above to my work on Friday. He's so great.

Mom and Daddy didn't slack either. They showed up Friday night bearing Valentine's Day goodies. Heart socks and pajamas for me and of course, chocolate for Matt.

The Next morning I decided that we should both pick one thing that we've really been wanting to go and do and make a day of it!

I picked going to the Dallas Zoo.

This cracks me up.

Matt's Friend

Until just now, I never knew that green bird was sitting on my shoulder! Sneaky lil devil. Penguins!

Matt was as tall as an Emperor Penguin.

This baby elephant statue looks really sad.The Gorillas were not out and about, so we enjoyed these statues instead.Crocodile Tiff

I thought this was really cute. This Tapir was sleeping with a smile on his face. It must have been a sweet dream.
I love the Rock Hyrax habitat. They are so cute and related to the elephant too. Amazing!
How do you do?

After the zoo we began Matt's activities for the day!

We went for Dim Sum at J.S.Chen's and then went to the movies to see "Taken" with Liam Neeson. I highly recommend it. It was so action packed, it made my palms sweat!

At the end of the night, I had strawberry red soda- a tradition my mom probably doesn't even know she started with me as a kid- and watched "Hot Rod."

It was a very happy Valentine's.

The Official Piece of Evidence

2009-02-15T22:18:00.005-06:00

Matt's diploma finally came in the mail this week.

He's very stoked to finally have all his time and hard work shown by that little piece of paper.

Sweet Treats!

2009-02-12T22:13:00.004-06:00

YYYYYYYYY

Although I'm not a really big fan of Valentine's Day, I am a fan of red velvet cake.

I LOVE mixing it up and watching how red it gets.

It's pretty to me!

Each year I try to take advantage of Valentine's Day and use it as an excuse to make red velvet treats for everyone...and as an excuse to buy more little heart sprinkles!

You can never have enough sprinkles for baking!

YYYYYYYYY

Friday Night Dessert and Entertainment

2009-02-07T22:24:00.006-06:00

Friday night we decided to go out around 9pm for a nice, quiet dessert at The Purple Cow.

Matt got his typical concoction of chocolate and peanut butter in a shake form.

And I got my usual Cherry Soda, which is basically all foam and club soda and never enough because it's just so darn good!
We were having a lovely time sitting at the bar sipping our treats and visiting until THIS group showed up!
10 little girls. All the age of 9 or 10. All dolled up for what we overheard was a "White Princess" ball or pageant of some sort.

And with these "princesses": 10 daddies dressed up in ties as their dates.

Cute? I think NOT.

Within minutes of them arriving, the fathers began getting liquored up (whatever helps them get through the night, I guess) and the "princesses" began raking havoc on the entire restaurant by writing notes on the tables in mustard, pulling hair, and mouthing off to each other.

Some princesses!

We got out of there as fast as we could.

Next we went to Target where Matt and I found some puppets and entertained ourselves for a good while.

Matt taught a lesson on staying away from pedophiles with his puppets.

The bug eyed monster on the left advised me on what kind of dodgy people to look out for, whilst the shark on the right acted out scenarios of pedophile behaviors.

My puppet taught a lesson on taking care of your teeth.

In the end though, the only lesson Matt and I learned was that we need to get a life.

Free Grand Slam!

2009-02-07T22:10:00.004-06:00

This week Matt joined the tons of people who packed into Denny's restaurants across America to score a free Grand Slam breakfast.

After a long walk from his parking place, pushing his way through crowds like these, and waiting just over an hour; Matt and his co-worker finally got their free breakfasts. Way to go Sweetie!

Soda Gallery Trip #2

2009-02-07T21:47:00.005-06:00

Today we took our 2nd trip to the Soda Gallery and tried several new and delicious flavors of soda. However, this one's name and appearance caught our eye first and cracked us up.

Leninade!

"Get hammered and sickled!"

"A taste worth standing in line for!"

We Love Free Stuff!

2009-02-07T21:19:00.002-06:00

As a reward for buying our furniture at World Market and my having a birthday we received several gift cards from the store.

We had forgotten about these gift cards until a few nights ago and decided to swing into World Market with less than 30 minutes before they close and spend those puppies!

Below are our fast finds!

One entry way rug! $50.00 - Free with gift card!
And 4 placemats, 4 napkins, and 4 napkin rings. All F-R-E-E with our gift cards!

These placemats make me want to introduce red into my dishes. Perhaps I will when we get another gift card on Matt's birthday!
We Love World Market!!!

Who's ready for Groundhog Day???

2009-02-01T19:39:00.004-06:00

We are!!!

Matt's Big Mouth

2009-01-31T23:42:00.003-06:00

A few weeks ago Matt felt it necessary to prove how much he loves brownie batter and at the same time proved how big his mouth is...good job sweetie...good job.

A Saturday Adventure

2009-01-31T19:38:00.007-06:00

What a busy Saturday this has been!

Our normal Saturdays consist of laundry and a trip to target. However, this one was much, much more!

This morning I got a call from my mom saying that it was the 23rd anniversary of she, my dad, and I being sealed in the temple. My mom and my dad wanted to do something special, but since everyone seems to be low on funds these days, had no ideas on what they should go do. This is when I sprung into action!

I first cooked us a lunch of Chili's Enchilada Soup (minus the chicken) that I got from someone earlier this week on facebook. It turned out to be pretty good....unless they were all lying to me and they really thought it sucked. I sure hope that wasn't the case.

After that, we all piled in the Jeep and headed to downtown Dallas to the Historic Bishop Arts District. Here we stopped by The Soda Gallery and browsed their HUGE selection of classic, hard to find, and foreign soda pop.

We weren't quite sure how it all worked since I had only read a small snippet about the store when browsing through a copy of Southern Living, but the owner happened to be there and was very, very helpful and nice.

On top of sodas, the store also carried comic books, classic candy, and other neat collector items.

Here is Mom and Dad posing with their soda finds.

And here are Matt and I with ours! In my hand I am holding a bottle of Almdudler, the national drink of Austria. The owner had just gotten a shipment of it in and did not plan on putting it out. Since I knew what it was and asked for it, he went into the back and unpacked 2 special bottles for us! I was really touched and excited. We will definitely be making The Soda Gallery a regular stop on our weekend errand runs for now on.

After shopping around a few of the cool artsy clothing and antique stores we were ready to continue our journey....but not until we popped open our sodas for the ride!

Here is Dad with his special root beer that the owner recommended.

And Matt with his...

And me with my Frosty Blue Cream Soda that I always drank as a kid! I was sooooo excited!

Next stop: The Farmer's Market!

Here we had samples of delicious fresh fruits and veggies and bought a few things to make a yummy Sunday brunch!

Here is Dad with some massive squash and zucchini, Mom with her bag of cherries, and Matt with his bag of big strawberries!

And me and Matt with my yummy orange bell pepper I got for only 50 cents!

Our Anniversary outing with Mom and Dad did not exceed them $10.00 and I think they had a lot of fun. I know we sure did!

Thanks Mom and Dad for indulging my 1st attempt at a double date and a costless one at that; especially on your anniversary! You are good sports!

After Mom and Dad left and Matt and I did our typical Saturday errand of grocery shopping (BTW, I used circulars for the first time this weekend and scored 6 grapefruit for $1.00 and 4 pints of cherry tomatoes for just $5.00 at Sprouts ! Go Me!!!) and all those other little stops; We decided it was high time to break into our special sodas!

This was our 6 pack carrier.

First we needed a pizza, so we stopped by Angelo and Vito's Pizzeria.

With this we drank our Almdudlers just like we did in Berlin last year. It was delicious.

Next came our after dinner soda.

Remember Crystal Clear Pepsi? I know it was one of my absolute favorites as a kid. Well, we found a crystal clear cola and it surely did not disappoint.

Sure it has the symbol of the Third Reich upon it and it is called Not Seekola (Say it out loud..."Nazi Cola"), but it was freaking good!Although soon after drinking it my arm kelp flying up at its own free will and I felt really angry. I don't know what that was all about...but I am DEFINITELY getting this soda again!

Finally we drank out last soda and it was a sad, sad moment.

This one was called, Blenheim Ginger Ale. The owner recommended this one to us soon after we had stunned him by asking for Almdudler. He said that it was the strongest Ginger Ale he's ever tasted and it was sure to burn all the way down.

He was right.

We won't be getting this one again.

And thus concluded our Saturday Adventures!

I am so exhausted that I know I'll sleep well tonight!

Hypoglycemia

2009-01-30T13:30:00.003-06:00

My top 3 health problems I've always been completely frightened of developing are: 1) Allergy to peanuts, 2) Allergy to gluten, and 3) Diabetes.

Today it was bitter sweet experience to go to the doctor and find out that I am hypoglycemic.
It is bitter because it is very frustrating to find out that I have yet another health problem and that when my lab work comes back there could be even more. Bitter that I get the shakes/sweats/headaches and can pass out out of nowhere and my only cure is to eat some protein immediately. And bitter because being around people who stress me out can make it even worse (and I'm around those people every day at work).
Yet it was still sweet because hypoglycemia is the opposite of diabetes! So for now I can lock away at least one of my health fears and start eating more candy!!! Just kidding. :o)

What this really means is that this vegan has even more rules for eating! I'm going to have to eat even more beans, nuts and soy to try and keep a lot of protein in my body to slow down my episodes. In addition, I have to keep snacks on me all the time....looks like I need to go purse shopping for a bigger pantry!

Happy Chinese New Year!

2009-01-27T13:39:00.006-06:00

This year Matt and I celebrated Chinese New Year!

(We'll use any excuse to eat Chinese food.)

For our nightly entertainment, I chose "Shaolin Soccer", which is one of the silliest movies I've ever attempted to watch in my life. Six or Seven years ago I swore I'd never sit through another 15 minutes of it again...but I was grasping at straws trying to find entertainment and I'm positive I could not have made it through a Jackie Chan or Jet Li movie. (Been there, done that) This time around though, Matt and I made it through the entire movie and actually enjoyed it!

For our dining pleasure I cooked up a feast fit for an emperor! Steamed rice, chow mein (I know 2 starches....not so healthy), stir fried veggies, and some hot and sour soup!

I think Matt liked it.

Now that is over, I have to start preparing for Groundhog Day which is my 3 favorite holiday! Only one week to go!!!

Man I've got to get a life....

LOST

2009-01-21T23:01:00.003-06:00

It's Back! Lost is back! And with it of course came our famous, Jack Shepherd's pie!

As you see below I tried to add some pizazz to it this year by sticking some of the show's characters into the pie. However, Benjamin Linus showed up and beheaded the other cast members in true Lord of the Flies style and left their heads upon stakes....this was my excuse at least...it helped take the attention off of the fact that they were cut out poorly and made with coffee straws I found at work.

Here's to kicking off what will be another great season of Lost!

Ping Pong Champion...for the day

2009-01-21T16:59:00.005-06:00

A month or so ago Matt's work moved to a building that use to be used by Google. When Google moved out, they left behind a few things; one of which was a ping pong table.
The discovery of the ping pong table stoked Matt and many of his co-workers and thus the daily battle of becoming that day's "Ping Pong Champion" was born.

Each evening over dinner I get a recap of who played who, who had nice shots, how many points were scored, and all the other ping pong news from work that day.

Today however, I got this picture in a text message while I was working.

Yes, he finally did it. Matt became the Ping Pong Champion of the day and received the honor of taking the belt (which has "Ping Pong" written in black sharpie so that it is not to be confused with a WWE Championship belt) back to his desk to show off.

Way to go sweetie! You have brought us great honor!

The Rain in Spain Falls Mainly On the Plain

2009-01-20T17:10:00.006-06:00

The tickets have been purchased and the time scheduled off from work! We are officially vacationing in Madrid and Barcelona this May!

We had planned on going to Athens and getting some sun, but the sun on the beaches in Barcelona will work just fine this year; especially when ticket prices were dirt cheap! (Thank you US Scareways for crashing yet another plane...I just hope ours doesn't crash on the way there!)

Martin Luther King Jr Day!

2009-01-19T20:35:00.003-06:00

This day has never been anything special to me. I never got it off from school (I was home schooled) and now that I'm an adult, I don't get it off from work....yet a lot of other people do...and that just doesn't seem fair. It really pisses me off actually.

This year I tried to take a new approach to it all and not be so hostile about all those that had a lovely day off while I worked my fingers to the bone at my desk. I decided that we too would celebrate MLK day! Sure we worked all day....but we could still have some good ole SOUL FOOD at the end of the day, just like everyone else!

Below is a picture of the meal I prepared.

Cornbread, potatoes, Fickin, and of course....greens! And I made those greens all by myself! I didn't even get Glory's (see below) from a can like a few of my co-workers advised.

I was so proud of my soul food. And the best part of it all.....I got to swat at Matt with a wooden spoon each time he came into the kitchen and say stuff like, "booooooy, you better skat".

3 Random Thoughts

2009-01-16T13:53:00.002-06:00

Why does no one at the post office flinch when a shady looking man comes through the metal detector with his hands in his coat pockets and sets off all the sirens? He mailed his package to Pakistan with one hand still in his pocket and then left through the metal detectors again, setting them off...and no one flinched again. Is that normal? Did I just dodge death...again?

I think that all veg heads should look for their potential partner in Whole Foods while they're grocery shopping. Clearly you have more than one thing in common if you're both shopping there and both perusing the gluten free baking mixes. It just makes sense. Although I was scared today while picking up collard greens (for MLK day!) that the creepy looking man beside me, that was also buying greens, was going to strike up an awkward conversation...so maybe people already do that and I'm just out of the loop. That could explain the hard to find parking on Friday nights...

Why is everyone in this town in such a hurry to get where they're going...yet when they get there (in the store) they stop dead in their tracks and seem lost. More than a dozen times in an outing, I get stuck behind a woman in an aisle or doorway that is staring off into space perhaps wondering why she is there or what this store actually sells. It makes no sense.

My 25th Birthday!

2009-01-07T13:08:00.002-06:00

Yesterday was my 25th birthday. My family celebrated it with me on Friday night with a dinner and orange cake. It was very nice, but I got no pictures because I've been so sick that I was embarrassed to have my photo taken. Last night I made some exceptions though.

To begin I came home from work and changed into my new papaya colored cashmere sweater I got from J-crew. I've wanted a cashmere sweater my whole life and finally one went on a good enough sale for me to justify buying it for my birthday. It was SOOOO cozy.

After that we went to Mattito's in the Frisco square. I haven't been to a Mattito's in 8 years, so I was excited to try it again. However, I have no idea if it was good or not because I realized that my taste buds are gone from me being sick and I couldn't even taste the jalapenos I was eating.

I guess I'll have to try eating there again some time.

Frisco Square is always so pretty and lit up. I like it there.

After dinner we went to OrangeCup for some frozen yogurt mixed with orange juice and all the fixins!

My cup is on the right with züm yogurt, granola, strawberries, bananas, and kiwi! Matt's is on the left with natural frozen yogurt, fruity pebbles, chocolate chips, and strawberries. I think Matt may have missed the idea of a healthy dessert with a few of his topping choices.

I imagine this was really yummy too, but I'll have to give it a second go when I can taste again and want to attempt putting dairy in my body. I don't think Matt enjoyed it too much though. Not enough sugar probably. :o)

Matt's gift to me will be horseback riding on Saturday if the weather and my sickness permits it. I'm really excited for it because I haven't been a a couple of years and I enjoy it a lot. I was really proud of him listening to things I mention I like and making the effort to find such a nice place to ride horses. It made for a very nice 25th birthday.

A Few Random Pictures

2009-01-03T15:57:00.004-06:00

Last night while Matt was driving home, he let Tucker lay on his fleece pullover since Tucker loves all things cozy.

Before long Tucker began making a nest of the pullover which resulted in him making a few wrong turns and ending up stuck in a sleeve.
The hazards of being shaped like a hot dog.

Today I told Matt I was leaving to take Tucker for a walk. Before I left he insisted that I utilize the Christmas gift I received this year from his parents just long enough for him to take a picture. He really found more humor in this than I did.
The pink bottle on my hip is mace and in my hand is a sharp knife. You never know what might go down at the dog park...

The Snuggie

2008-12-28T19:47:00.003-06:00

This cracks us up. They look like monks!

Gotta love those infomercials.

And So This Is Christmas...

2008-12-28T00:54:00.008-06:00

In all, this year was a pretty good Christmas for Matt and I.

We began Christmas Eve at my sister Kristi's house where we enjoyed the company of the Sister Missionaries, ate delicious Mexican food that was catered in, had yummy desserts, and were overwhelmed with an awesome gift basket from the Dickinson's that included all the things Matt and I love and needed.

(Sadly, we apparently didn't take pictures of this fun night besides this one below.)

Christmas morning we woke up early and opened the few presents that were under our tree. Posed for a picture in our matching pajamas.

Gave Tucker his stocking.And then quickly headed out the door to enjoy Christmas breakfast and open some gifts with Mom and Dad in Rowlett. Matt got a whole bunch of presents he loved, wanted and needed including every tool he could ever need, electronic Monopoly (His favorite), A to Z game (another huge hit), brain puzzlers, candy galore, and a bunch of movies.

I received cake decorating supplies that I've been wanting and needing in order to fulfil my creative urges (and Matt's cravings), some super cute pajamas, and box of 600+ hand written I Love Yous (one for every day we've been married) from Matt. :o)

After an hour at Mom and Dad's we headed to Tyler to visit Matt's family and for some reason there we no pictures taken there either. However, we had an enjoyable time watching "The Office", playing "The Office" game, and Matt made good use of his "A to Z" game with all of his family.

We now have taken down our tree and are enjoying the rest from all the Christmas rush. We're so grateful to everyone who made this such an enjoyable Christmas for us and look forward to the day that someday we can reciprocate the kindness and generosity that was shown to us.

Graduation Day!

2008-12-27T22:00:00.004-06:00

So the day finally came. After 8 years of learning, what have I become? A doctor? A lawyer? No...I've learned that I'm extraordinarily slow at learning. (This is obviously Matt by the way) Last week I crossed the stage to receive my B.S. in Finance diploma. My dad later asked me if I felt any different and I said "No." To be honest with you I don't think I've learned a whole lot. Yeah, I can calculate the present and future value of money, I can tell you the internal rate of return of a project, etc etc...but I still don't feel like I've furthered my "marketable skills", as my dad would say. So that's why I'm seriously thinking of going back. I'm thinking I should start my M.B.A. this fall. Is it because I think, "Yes! That will give me the marketable skills I need to support my family?" Well yes. But mostly because I'm a glutton for punishment...

Me after crossing the stage

Me and my mom
My mom, me, dad and Paul My smokin' hot wife, me, Judy (mom-in-law) and Richard (dad-in-law)

Working on Christmas Eve

2008-12-27T21:51:00.004-06:00

I am very productive at work; just ask my boss. I get a LOT done in a day.

However, there are those days when it is just so dang hard to sit still and work! Those days are generally holidays when no one is there except me.

This Christmas eve there were actually 3 of us for a few hours before it became just me again. This is what we did in our time together.

Let this be a lesson to the person who took a week off of work to "bag" themselves a "buck" at the "huntin' lodge". She will be unwrapping layers for a LONG time Monday morning.
I'm sure she will take this as a sign we missed her...but that's not so much the case. When she unwraps that keyboard she will see that her keys now spell out "Romo Sux" because she talked about the stupid Dallas Cowboys one too many times before she left for "huntin'".

This is also another piece of work my roomie Niki and I did a few weeks ago. It's wooden man that we dress up for various holidays when we should be working. For Christmas he was transformed into none other than an elf sporting striped tights, elf ears, and hair. All made by office supplies.

Gingerbread House Fun!

2008-12-27T21:09:00.003-06:00

Here are pictures of this year's houses!

This is Matt's...but I posed with it.

And this one is mine!
Like my upside down waffle cone tree? I did.

Feels Like Hanukkah, Just Like Hanukkah...

2008-12-21T22:50:00.006-06:00

Today is the first day of Hanukkah! So before our sundown feast, we slipped on Tucker's festive blue fleece and headed out to take pictures with the giant menorah!

I wish we had a 3rd person to take our pictures together.
After that, we kicked off our shoes to reveal my lovely dreidel socks....

Prepared our feast of Lentil Soup and Star of David breads...

Matt poured the Kedem...

Which I enjoyed the most.

And I finished off the night snacking on Chocolate Biscuits...My favorite!

Here's to a great first day of Hanukkah!

It's Hanukkah Time!

2008-12-21T09:47:00.005-06:00

Okay, okay now I know we're not Jewish and Judaism couldn't be farther off from our belief system...but that can't help Hanukkah from coming in as my 3rd and final very favorite holiday!!!

Before I show post pictures tonight from our most excellent Hanukkah party that will begin at sun down. I would like to first explain why this holiday ranks as my 3rd favorite holiday.

1) Christmas is one night...and then its over! All the fuss, shopping, and stress and in one 24 hour period its over and all that work you did barely gets remembered! That's a silly in my opinion. However, the celebration of Hanukkah is filled with not 1, not 2, but 8 crazy, fun filled nights! That's 8 parties in a row! Who can argue with that?!

2) Kosher Food. Kosher food is a friend to me! I am totally down with their beliefs on a lot of food and them not using the same oven/grill that cooked dirty meat to cook their own food. If meat ever makes it into my house, there will be separate knives meant for that so that I never use that same knife for my food. This is why my parents kitchen always had my utensils...and their utensils.

3) The Chahunaka Song! Everyone loves it!

4) Yiddish and Hebrew words! Not only do they sound cool, they're fun to say! "Yarmulke"..."Menorah"....you can't help but smile as you hear them!

5) These guys. Because they're super nice in the grocery store.

6) And for no reason whatsoever besides the fact that this cracked me up when I ran across it looking for a picture of a rabbi...this picture of a cat in a yarmulke makes me love Hanukkah that much more. Ha!

I love this blue and white holiday!

Themed Meal Night Is Back!

2008-12-21T02:04:00.003-06:00

That's right! Themed meals are back! I don't know why it has been so long since I've created one...perhaps I had baker's block or something.

This week it was all about Matt, so we watched "The Princess Bride" and ate "Fred Savage Cabbage Stew"!

I know not many people like cabbage, but this was deeeeelicious AND was perfect for the cold weather we were having.

Graduation Breakfast...15 Hours Late...But Still Good!

2008-12-21T02:02:00.003-06:00

Friday after work I went to Einstein Bros Bagels to pick up Matt's favorite breakfast so he would have plenty of energy for his graduation the next morning. When I got there I found these awesome candy cane bagels! (They look like a dog rawhide, eh?)

Unfortunately I had a long night of nausea and Matt was just plain tired, so we ended up waking up too late to enjoy this little Christmas miracle in bagel form for breakfast. But never fear, we had it for for dinner...as well as a pint of ice cream (sorbet for me)! I admit, it was not a very healthy dinner, but it was a meal fit for a graduate!

I highly recommend these for your breakfast pleasure!

Free Date Night!

2008-12-15T22:52:00.003-06:00

Tonight Matt and I went on a date.
It wasn't planned, it just happened and it was so much fun!

We first did a little shopping with a reward I was given at work for doing double the work of everyone else....holla! Shopping was so great because NO ONE was out due to all the sleet and bad weather. We had all the stores and holiday sales completely to ourselves...even at Target!
After shopping, on our way home Matt suggested we look at Christmas lights. I suggested we get hot cocoa for the ride. We purchased our hot cocoa with a Starbucks gift card I found in my wallet from my old boss Kelly at AntiqueLand 6 or 7 years ago and were on our way.
The light displays in the neighborhood we picked were so cool! One yard's lights danced to music on the radio. Another house had mannequins in the window acting out a holiday party (like Kevin's trick on Home Alone to keep out the bad guys). The same house had giant horses and a mannequin child on the balcony helping up Santa. And there was so much more! We will have to go back and take pictures of this stuff!
The whole night was so much fun and all we did was drive in the sleet (we pretended it was snow), sipped cocoa, and gasped at lights! We should definitely try getting out of the house more often! And the best part of all this was that our whole date night was free!

What a great ending to a manic Monday!

Round 3

2008-12-14T21:52:00.002-06:00

Matt woke up on Saturday morning to tell me he had ANOTHER kidney stone. The last one was on July 6th at 2:30 in the morning, so I was very grateful that he held out until 9am this time. However, the pain and screaming was much worse on me this time than the last...I don't know how many more of these I can take...and I'm not the one passing them!

Once Matt got his IV started and some drugs in him, he was a happy camper and nodded off. I watched some animal shows on the television and within a few hours we were out of there and home by 12:30pm. Once home, Matt passed the little devil at 4:30pm! A new record!

I was very pleased to have it all over and done with so soon and I know Matt was too. We're crossing our fingers that this is the last one for a while.

Our Humble Animal Themed Tree

2008-12-14T21:22:00.005-06:00

I just wanted to post a picture of Matt and my 1st Christmas tree together and our 1st Stockings. Matt wanted a big one...I think this one did the trick.

Our Tree doesn't have garland yet, but that is coming in the mail. I wanted wooden bead garland and finally found some for dirt cheap. Yay for World Market again!
Now all it needs are gifts under it....maybe next year.

He Did It!

2008-12-11T21:30:00.009-06:00

Matt officially had his last day of school today!

I'm so excited for him! I can't imagine what a relief that must be, but I hope I feel it too one day.

Here are pictures from my lame-o attempt a celebrating.

Celebration cake!
Excited Matt!

Sipping on bubbly.

(I know our alcohol-free champagne is in a wine glass and that's really tacky, but my fancy, special occasion, T&Co champagne flutes were way too high in the closet for this dwarf to reach, so we pretended and used these.)

I can't wait to see him walk across the stage and get his diploma!

My Only Attempt at Decorating

2008-12-10T22:37:00.003-06:00

So this is about as far as my decorating has gone in this apartment. I framed 3 pictures we took in Pisa, Rome, and Venice and hung them in the dining room and now I feel done.

I don't know where all my motivation went? Maybe it's just this time of year...but I don't see much else going on these walls.