2009 Recap

With less than 5 hours to go until 2010 starts, I've been thinking about the past year and boy has it been a roller coaster!

January: We watched our 2 best friends Ronnie and Aimee tie the knot the very first day of the year. It was a beautiful wedding!



February: We had a couples shower at the Austin Dance Institute and had dance lessons for the first time ever. It was a BLAST!



March: A very bittersweet month. On the 17th I lost my grandpa and it was the worst pain I have ever felt. However, we ended the month on a much happier note, on the 28th when hubby and I said "I do"!



April: We spent the first week on our honeymoon Royal Carribbean cruise to Cozumel, Grand Cayman, and Jamaica. As soon as we came back, I was offered a new job which was a true blessing. Also, hubby and I bought our first car all by ourselves!



May: Suffered another loss and lost my dear friend, Ashleigh, from high school.



June: We celebrated our other best friends, Kyle and Stacy's wedding.


July-
August: Nothing exciting...except a Longhorn game or 2

September: Suffered through 2 more losses in my family this year, Grandma's brother, and Paw Paw Sr.'s brother. That makes 4 losses this year including Paw Paw Art and Ashleigh



October: Hubby turned 24 and we celebrated in Dallas by staying at the Gaylord Texan Resort


November: My Longhorns barely beat the aggies to earn them a spot to play for the Big XII Championship game.

December: I turned 24 and celebrated by going to dinner at Flemings and Christmas light watching. The Longhorns beat Nebraska to win the Big XII Championship and are now playing for the National Championship on January 7, 2010. My baby cousin was born on the same day as my late grandma's birthday. And lastly found out that we will be starting 2010 by hubby having to go through heart surgery to repair his mitral valve of his heart.


As bittersweet as 2009 was, 2010 is already proving to be a bittersweet year as well. We have a trip planned to Europe at the end of January! Then in February, hubby will have his heart surgery. Then in March we celebrate our 1 year wedding anniversary. Here's to 2010!!

Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and Santa was good to everyone! I know hubby and I had an awesome holiday! Now only 4 more days til 2009 is over...WOW!

Surgery Time

I imagine my blog is about to turn into an "all of out of town family/friends read to keep up blog". Which, I don't mind, because then I will have more readers. :-) Anyways..

Background info:
Hubby was born with something called Marfan's Syndrome, a genetic disorder. With that comes symptoms/complications such as Mitral Valve Prolapse, Scoliosis, and Pectus Excavatum. When he was in the 3rd grade he had surgery for the pectus excavatum and in 9th grade he had back surgery for the scoliosis. The mitral valve prolapse, however, doctors have been monitoring since he was little.

Fast forward:
Hubby goes to the doctor every 6 months for all of the above and at the beginning of this month his heart did not look like it was supposed to, 20% larger as a matter of fact. So, last Thursday he had a Trans Esophageal Echo (basically a camera down his throat. That confirmed that his mitral valve of his heart is not functioning as it is supposed to be. With that comes three options:
1. Repair the mitral valve with the possibility that Hubby never has to have surgery on it again.
2. Replace the mitral valve with a mechanical valve and never have to have surgery on it again, however, it places hubby on blood thinners for the rest of his life.
3. Replace the mitral valve with a pigs valve and have surgery in another 10-15 years.

Ideally, repairing the valve is the best option and we are at a point that the Doctor thinks he can repair it. Also, the doctor has been monitoring some other things with Hubby's heart so if all is going well with the mitral valve repair then he will also have his Asending Aorta replaced and a pulmonary vein isolation. All of which will help make his heart stronger and function more effectively. So surgery, here we come. An exact date hasn't been made but it is looking like it will be the end of February.

As you can imagine, the idea of my husband having open heart surgery at 24 years old, a year into our marriage, is not the most appealing thing in the world. This is going to be a very trying and stressful time in our lives.

But to end on a positive note, while we are stressed about the surgery, our 2 best friends are moving to Europe for 9 weeks for training for friend's engineering firm. What makes that so awesome is my in laws had unused flier miles, so, they just bought our plane tickets to Europe!!! So January 27th through February 5th we will be in Europe with 2 of our best friends, courtesy of the best in laws!! YAY!!

Birthday.

Today is my birthday. 24 years old. Still under 25, so I think I'm ok. :-) Annnnd 4 years ago today, I met the man I was too marry. Boy do I love him.

Happy Birthday to Meeee!!

Since...

The last time I posted...
1. We had a nice relaxing, awesome Thanksgiving. I was so glad to have my grandma come in and spend it with us, even when we went over to my in laws house. I'm glad she didn't have to spend it alone, it being the first Thanksgiving since Paw Paw Art died.

2. Black Friday, my grandma and I did some INTENSE Christmas Shopping. I got about 80% of my shopping done and she did too, all in one day. Also, she bought the Coolest. Christmas present. Ever! Background: my Paw Paw Art was a retired Chief of Police officer and did police work for like 30 plus years. Fast Forward and there is my 4 year old cousin who ADORED our Paw Paw. As he has gotten older, my cousin has determined that he is going to be a "copper" just like Paw Paw. At my wedding he went around writing people "tickets." He loves anything that has to do with cops and will stop a cop from a mile away just to talk to him. Now, enter awesome Christmas present.

{photo from walmart.com}


Yes, people. That is a Dodge Charger, battery charged, RIDE IN, toy police car. My cousin is going to LOOOVE it! I can't wait for him to get it!

3. Speaking of Christmas shopping. I have very few gifts to buy for Christmas and I am so excited. Normally, come Christmas Eve I am scrambling to buy last minute gifts.

4. For the month of December, my rent was free, FREE! When we renewed our lease, one of the incentives was that we got one of our birthday months free, so we picked mine. So that means, we really aren't out any money for Christmas since we didn't have to pay rent this month. SWEET!

5. It's my Birthday month. Birthday is in exactly one week from today. Going out to celebrate this Saturday with hubby!

6. Hubby's Christmas party is Saturday. Despite not having a dress yet (dress shopping stresses me out) I am really excited that I have a "grown up" reason to get dressed up for Hubby's work Christmas party.

7. Christmas tree is up and we are ready for the holiday!

8. And last, but certainly not least, after a VERY stressful game, my horns are going to the National Championship!! HOOK 'EM HORNS! \m/

December

In 2 days it will be December. I love the month of December. Why, you ask?

1. It's my birthday month.
2. The weather generally gets colder.
3. Colder weather means cute sweaters.
4. CHRISTMAS!!
5. Christmas trees.
6. Christmas Lights
7. Christmas Eve Service
8. Christmas Parades
9. Christmas Holiday with family
10. Did I mention I like Christmas?? It's my favorite holiday!

New Boots

I am now the proud owner of these pretty ladies....

I love them and they are super comfy! And my awesome and wonderful Hubby sent me these to work this week...
I have nothing important to blog about. But only 3 days left of work til Thanksgiving!! Hallelujah!

Faith and Marriage

I normally am not one to discuss my faith with people I don't know (AKA my blogger buddies), but my pastor's message was pretty awesome (and ironic) today so I had to share, not only that, I think a lot of it is something most people believe, even non believers of the Bible.

What makes it so ironic was that hubby and I got in a pretty heated argument last night and some things said at church today was the same point I was trying to make with hubby last night. :-) I'm not a pastor and I don't speak as eloquently as one but I took away a lot from today.

We go to church at HCBC Hutto and Bobby Pruit is a phenomenal speaker. In fact, hubby had him as a youth pastor when hubby was younger. So today's message was "Do you honor God with your Marriage" and it was basically a bible study on marriage.

We looked at Genesis 2:24. "A man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined with his wife and they shall be one." When you get married and are joined as husband and wife you are creating your own family and leaving each others. Of course you still each have your families and you spend time with them and celebrate them, but your spouse becomes your priority.

From this passage and other scriptures (that unfortunately I did not write down), there are 3 Foundation Principals.
1. Leave: Marriage is the most important of all human relationships.
-Leave your family and build your relationship with your spouse as nothing is more important than the relationship you build with him/her.

2. Joined: Marriage is the most permanent of all human relationships
-When you get married you leave your family for your spouse. Then you have children. But even your relationship with your children is not permanent. They too, eventually grow up and leave their parents for their spouse. But you always have your spouse and the only thing that ends that relationship is death. Til death do us part....

3. Oneness: Marriage is the most intimate of all human relationships. Even in your close relationships with your family it will never be as intimate as the one you have with your spouse.

Unfortunately in our society, divorce follows strongly with marriage. Hubby and I have already vowed that divorce would never be an option for us. We are in this for the long haul and that's that. As said in church today, divorce is not a "backdoor" for us, it's sealed shut.

Scripture says that God hates divorce. Divorce creates broken promises, broken people, and broken praise. But in turn, God allows divorce when it is for biblical purposes (unfaithfulness, desertion, death, and prior to having Jesus in your life) and allows remarriage for the victim of the divorce. See Matthew 19: 2-10

Some pharises came to Jesus, testing him, and asked, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason at all?"
And He answered and said, "Have you no read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife and the two shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together LET NO MAN SEPARATE"
They said to Him, "Why then did Moses comman to give her a certificate of divorce and send her away?"
He said to them, "Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way. And I saw to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another woman commits adultry.
The disciples said to Him, "If the relationship of the man with his wife is like this, it is better not to marry."

That to me says a whole lot! If you are going to marry, you better get it right the first time because there are no second chances. You don't get to go shopping for a new spouse and divorce them when you get tired of them. But, if you are the victim of unfaithfulness, desertion, or the death of a spouse, you surely get your second chance and Jesus will be there to support you.

Lastly, what I took away from the sermon today was that Every Marriage Needs:
-Christ: first and foremost He helps you create your loving strong marriage and is always there to support you and your spouse.
-Commitment: Commitment to each other right here, right now, and forever.
-Communication: For when the times get tough and you need to work it out
-Counsel: support, someone older and wiser than you that can help you when it gets rough
-Cheerleaders: Those people that support you and your marriage to encourage you to fight for each other, support Christ in your life, and Keep the foundations building strong.

So you may not agree with everything I had to say that I summarized from church today, but I'm sure everyone agrees with something. And with all that said, the most important thing about marriage is to LIVE BY YOUR VOWS!

Confession

I have a confession. I think I have a teen crush on Justin Bieber. hehehe. Several, several months ago I saw this you tube video from somewhere. I thought, man that's a cute kid and he sings pretty good too! Then I heard that Usher saw him singing that song on youtube and picked him up to help him. Then tonight I heard his new song and it was playing on the radio and his song was sorta catchy. I kinda like him! I think teen girls are going to be all over him when he gets out there, he's a cutie!

Thanks

So I saw on Jill's blog that she wrote 5 things she was thankful for. I am going to have to copy her. With all the loss my family has suffered through this year, I really need to focus on the positive things, because even though I am sad for our losses, the good really does outweigh the bad. So 5 things I am thankful for....

1. My Husband
I don't think I tell him nearly enough how much I love and appreciate him. He is one of the few people that can make me smile when I am angry and I love him for it. I can be so uncontrollably angry and then he does something and I just bust out laughing. He is loving, caring, funny, hardworking, and a wonderful husband. He works hard to provide for us and I respect him so much.


2. Friends and Family
If I went on about my friends and family, my list would be longer than 5, so I had to group them in to one. I seriously have some of the best friends in the world. As I have gotten older some friends have turned into acquaintances, it seems, but those that have stuck around are always there for me and hubby and some of the greatest people to be around. Then there is my family and I know I am blessed. Not only do I have my own wonderful family, I married into a wonderful family. I could not be more blessed with the people I surround myself with.



3. My Job and Co-Workers
I am thankful for my job when there are so many people out there struggling to find a job and they have families that they have to provide for and are unable to. If it is one thing I have, it's job security, because my line of work is definitely not going anywhere. That's kind of sad in one respect, but in the other, I know I will always have a job there for as long as I want. Then not only am I thankful for my job, I'm thankful for my co-workers. I have never had a job that I not only enjoyed my work but also enjoyed everyone I worked with. I work directly with the 5 best ladies in the whole world. They make the job so much more interesting, fun, and enjoyable. I love going to work and talking with them all.

4. My Dogs
It may seem silly, but I am thankful for my dogs. If any of you have dogs, then you understand. Have you ever came home in the worst mood or got horrible news and you came straight home, sat on the couch, and bawled your eyes out. Because I have, on more than one occasion. But when I do that, both of my dogs jump in my lap, lick my face, and just lay their head down on me. It is one of the most comforting things in the whole world. I think my dogs love me unconditionally and I am blessed to have both of them in my life.



5. My Car
For 8 years I drove a 99 Honda Accord. When I first got that car I was so stinkin excited because it was so much cooler than the 89 F150 I drove. But in the 8 years I had it we replaced the engine, the radiator, the air conditioner, the back windshield because a tree fell through it, both the driver's side and passenger side window because at separate times my car was broken in to and those windows were busted, the motor to roll up said windows because the motor broke and the window would no longer roll up all the way, and many, many other things that would seem minor, only they add up extremely quickly. So although that car got me through many years and I was thankful my parents even bought me a new car at all, I was even more thankful to get rid of it. I now drive a 2009 Mercury Mariner and it is HEAVEN. I am so thankful hubby and I were able to buy this new car and I am taking extremely good care of it so it will last me many years to come. It is so nice to drive and not wonder what is going to fall apart next!

Death

This is sort of a sad post, so don't say I didn't warn you.

I think I have gotten to that point in my life that death is inevitable. It seems like everyone is getting married and in turn a lot of people are dying. When I was a kid I could be sheltered from death, dying, and funerals, and now they are inevitable. The year is not even over yet and I have had to deal with more death than I would like.

March 17, 2009: I lost my wonderful Pawpaw Art.
He was one of the most important people in my life. He was everything to me. He was one of my biggest fans. He pushed me, encouraged me, supported me, and guided me in so many ways of my life. And even though, I have felt like I have disappointed myself in ways in the past, not once have I ever felt like I disappointed him. He really was an absolutely AMAZING grandpa and I miss him every.single.day. I would give anything to have him still with me here today.

April 20, 2009; I lost my dear friend, Ashleigh Baier
Ashleigh was an amazing person. She was only 24 years old and should not have lost her life. I was so shocked when I heard the news. I had just seen her a month prior at my wedding shower and talked to her just a few days prior. This happened so close to losing my grandpa, I couldn't bring myself to go to the funeral and now I just kick myself. She was my friend and deserved for me to be there to say my goodbyes and I didn't go. Now, every so often on Facebook, it painfully reminds me that I should "reconnect with Ashleigh on facebook" and I just want to scream and say I can't because she isn't here anymore...

Today, November 5, 2009, my grandmother's brother, Thomas is on life support. He had three simultaneous heart attacks and lost too much oxygen to his brain and now the machines are doing all the work for him. The doctor's gave him 24-48 hours on life support left and if there are no changes, the plug will be pulled.

Then, just a matter of hours later, also today, November 5, 2009, I also found out my dad's dad, his brother Harold, passed away last night.

All of this, all this year. I can't take anymore. I just want to crawl in a cave, with the people that I love dearly, and live happily ever after in the secluded fantasy world that I lived in as a child when life was all puppies and rainbows.

I don't want to be a grown up anymore.

Halloween

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Here are some yummy cookies we made to help you get through your day. :-) If you can't tell, the 6 on the right are hubby's. :-)

In Love

Oh best buy.

My husband is obsessed with your story. You have every kind of nerdy technology equipment he ever needs. He drools over most things I won't let him buy.

Then today... How could you add a perfect, Dooney and Bourke, lap top bag, that I NEED for work and not tell me! I found that beauty in your store today and am restraining myself for blowing that money on this bag when that money could go to savings for a house. Until we meet again, I will continue to drool and beg Santa to get it for Christmas.


It also comes in black and ivory. I carry a cheap-o version of this bag for my job every.single.day. So, it would be worth the money, right?? I would get a ton of use out of it. I. want. it. now.

24 Years ago

24 years ago a beautiful baby boy was born in to this world. Almost 4 years ago, I met this baby boy who had grown in to a man, and never thought for a second that would be the boy I would marry!

Today is hubby's birthday! We had a blast this weekend (weekend recap to come soon), spent some time shopping, and then just ended the day with Mexican Martinis and mexican food from Trudy's with some awesome friends and his dad. I think he had a pretty good birthday weekend. I did, so he should have!

I love him and hope he had an awesome birthday. Happy birthday hubby!!

We're off to see the wizard....

The wonderful wizard of Oz!

This song is stuck in my head as I prance around the living room. Why?! Because I have 5 days of no work! Do you know how long it has been since I have taken off and had a vacation?! Well actually, my honeymoon was only 6 months ago but that is besides the point. We are off to Dallas tomorrow morning, to stay at the Gaylord Texan, and my awesome grandma booked us a Couple's Massage. So. freaking. EXCITED.

Hopefully I will have something fun to blog about and pictures when I return! Ciao!

Dear hubby

Dear Hubby,

I have been playing your birthday surprise for this weekend since the beginning of August. I have kept it a secret and not slipped up this whole time. I thought by giving you a clue a day, starting today, until Friday that you would at least not guess what your birthday surprise was until at least Thursday, not today. That was supposed to be fun and my way of teasing you until it was time to go on Friday. When I give you a clue that says "we are going somewhere not in Austin, but still in Texas" and give you 3 chances to guess the city, you were not supposed to guess Grapevine. Who the hell guesses Grapevine!?! So, therefore, since you chose this off the wall city out of thousands of cities in Texas, I think you cheated or someone told you. So don't pout because I am mad at you for guessing my surprise that I have been planning for 2 months.

Sincerely,

Your very angry wife.

So, now since the secret is out, since hubby ruined the surprise, I shall tell where we are going. We will be going to Grapevine, TX to stay at the Gaylord Texan Hotel and Resort. Hubby went to Gaylord Opryland in Tennessee 3 years ago on a family vacation and loved it. When he was there he found out there was a mini (and by mini, it is still HUGE) one in Texas and has wanted to go every since. So me, being the awesome wife, booked that 2 months ago for his birthday. Then he ruined my surprise on clue number 1 today. Thanks hubby. At least he is excited and I know we will have fun!

Sleep

Sleep. I need sleep.

When I started my job, I knew I would be on call at least twice during the month and I accepted that. I mean, come on, it can't be that bad CAN IT?! Oh, yes sir, it can. No body and no thing prepare you for when your phone rings at 3:00 in the MORNING to tell you that law enforcement is requesting immediate CPS assistance. Sure, Mr. Policeman, I will jump out of bed, get dressed, and be there as soon as possible.... I was honestly not in the least bit prepared. I stumbled to get my phone, fumbled it in my hand, said a few four letter words, and was then successfully able to make it out of the bedroom to talk on the phone. So, I have not been in bed since 3am this morning. Needless to say, my bed is hollering my name in the next few minutes. The only funny thing about it all, is how confused hubby was when I told him I was leaving. I think he just grunted some sounds, I don't think he actually said any whole words, haha.

On another note, I have 5 days of work left until I go on vacation! YAY! I have a fun filled 5 days for me and hubby for his 24th birthday. He has noooooooo idea what we are doing! I have done so well keeping it a secret for him and I am NOT good at keeping secrets! Can't wait! I will definitely have pictures when we return!

Happy Half Anniversary!

I was about to post about how today, Hubby and I have been married for 6 months today and what a glorious day it was!!

And then I saw that Kate posted about the same thing. I guess that just means we are awesome since we share the same wedding anniversary! Happy 6 months married husband!

Helloooooo Fall!

I am so glad that the cold weather came to visit today! Please come back tomorrow! I can't wait to bust out the cute sweaters!

Longhorns

Dear Texas,

Thank you for getting your act together tonight.

Sincerely,
Longhorn fan

Longhorns

Dear Texas,

Stop Sucking. McCoy, wake up and get your act together and stop throwing interceptions. Offensive Line, you are supposed to block the guys in the yellow and maroon and keep them away from the guy behind you holding the football! Again, stop sucking.

Sincerely,
A not so happy Longhorn Fan

Baby Fever

I have it.

And it wont. go. away.

Yes, I know now is not a good time, and the hubby and I have an agreement that we will not have kids until I hit 18 months at my job and we buy a house. Considering my 18 months is not until October 2010...we have a while. But I can't help it. I always knew I was the mothering type. Hubby says that is one of the reasons he married me, because he likes that about me. I babysat my brothers and the neighbors kids and my mom's friends kids since I can remember. You bring a baby in the room, I want to hold it and they always like me, except for Hubby's adorable cousin Mere Elen who has wanted nothing to do with me every time she sees me. But she's from South Carolina, so I blame it on her not being a Texan. :-) I even did an internship with a pediatrician in high school and we were seeing an infant who was sick, had a fever, and severe colic. The mom handed me her precious little girl and she stopped crying instantly. That was my sign.

I had a 10 year old little girl in my car today for my job and she was singing to the radio and it was precious. All I could think about was how I really can't wait to have my own little girl in the car jamming out to music with me. Of course I probably won't be that cool anymore, but hey. I can dream.

I can't wait to hold a tiny bundle of joy in my arms, boy or girl, and start a real family with hubby. Not only that, he is going to be an EXCELLENT father. He just has that personality about them.

But alas, it's not time yet. We live in a one bedroom apartment, we are going to Europe in January/February, we don't have a house yet, we are too selfish and still like our mexican food and margarita date nights and a child would most definitely interrupt that, and I just flat out work too much to take care of a baby and I like my job too much to give it up right now.

So until it is time. I will continue looking at blogs to design my non existent nursery , cute baby clothes here and here, cute baby shoes here and here, and lurking on the Austin baby bump board to get see what other mommy to be's are dealing with.

Texas Exes!

I got the new issues of Texas Alcade today and we're in it!! We submitted a picture of us at our wedding with all our longhorn alumni friends and family and it's in this issue! It's so cool! Click here to see the article clipping. :-) Here is the original picture:

Exhausted

I. am. tired. I worked 15 hours yesterday and 9 and a half today. Thank goodness tomorrow is friday!!!

I don't have much to post because I am trying to plan the perfect birthday gift for hubby this year. But I can't post on here because someone is sneaky and will find it. :-) So, I've been spending what little time I have searching for it! That's all I have for now!

"We Did it!"

Today we got our pictures from our "We did it" shoot. I'm still not very happy with my photographer...but I have to give her credit for these because I love them!

Bummed.

It's amazing how you can be friends with someone for so long and then one day it all ends and you never talk to each other again.

I was friends with someone (We'll call her N) for almost 10 years. We were the best of friends and were practically sisters. I moved away for college and we slowly started drifting apart but I could still talk to her a few months later and it was like we just talked yesterday. Then N got pregnant and met a boy, this boy was not baby's father. From the moment I met this boy, I didn't like him. I came in to town for her birthday and he was staying with her but he wouldn't wake up. We hung out at her apartment, went to lunch for 2 hours, went to Target, and then went back to her apartment and he was still in bed. N finally convinced him to get out of bed, only to come lay on the couch and be unsociable. So, needless to say, I wasn't a huge fan.

Then N had her precious baby, and N's boy took on the role as daddy and so I thought, "wow, any young man willing to take on a baby that isn't his, must be at least a decent guy." That was until last May when N came up here for my college graduation and boy came too. Then I found out boy was smoking marijuana in the car WITH BABY IN CAR! I lost all respect for him then. After that, it was hard to talk to N and when I would bring up things about boy N would always have excuses for him.

N was set to be my maid of honor in my wedding, which she knew before I was even engaged.. However, she did nothing. And I don't mean nothing like she didn't help make favors kind of thing. I mean nothing like she didn't even have time to talk to me on the phone. There were several other things but I won't go into that. Then...I got a TEXT MESSAGE, yes text message, in January, telling me that she would not be able to attend the wedding. She dropped out of my wedding, by text message. Since then, I have not heard from her.

10 years of friendship and ended by text message. Then today, I saw on her sister's myspace. She had twins. Precious baby twins. 1 boy and 1 girl to be exact. They are adorable. We will never be friends again. I don't approve of her boy and I don't deserve to be treated the way she treated me as her friend. But the fact still remains that we were friends for 10 years and I'm sad about it today. :-( My mom always used to tell me that by the time I was an adult I would be able to count all my REAL friends on one hand. :-(

Domestic Diva

Domestic Diva....yea, that was me tonight and I'm sure my hubby appreciates it! Thanks to Kate's mixer post, it encouraged me to get out my pretty pink, breast cancer awareness, Kitchenaid mixer. And thus, this was the result....

Of course there is a cut out, because the hubby and I ate some. :-) Annnnnd I was too lazy to make individual cookies so I made one big one! YUMMMMM!

Long time, No see

I'm not as witty and creative as Jill and Kate so my blog isn't as fun as their's!! I haven't had anything good to say so I haven't blogged.

Sooo my dear hubby and I have started watching True Blood.

We aren't caught up with where it is now, we are only on episode 5. It's..... interesting. I haven't decided if I like it or not. It sort of reminds me of Twilight except it has waaaaay more sex and blood to it. It's catchy though and once one episode is over you feel the need to see the next. So ask me in a few weeks whether or not I like it.

A month later..

It's been a month basically since I posted but I don't think anyone really reads this. So, I just read other people's blog, haha. A lot has happened in a month. I have 2 more weeks of training before I'm official in my job, finally! It's hard work, but I love my job. Hubby has been working really hard and is starting to have a lot of back pain. He had a CT scan last week and sees another doctor next week. Hopefully someone can help him with the pain without prescribing pain pills, we don't want to have to go there.

Our dear friends K and S got married at the end of June. The week prior was a very crazy bachelorette party!! As you can see from this little stripper man in the drink. S opened him and was supposed to put him in water to expand, instead her drunk self put him in tequila and said "Oh I can make him grow" haha One of the highlights of the night. See the little man??

Their wedding was absolutely beautiful and we couldn't be happier for them! Here is the whole wedding party at the beautiful church!

Hubby and his favorite boys

Me and some of my favorite girls, minus the bride.

And wasn't her cake beautiful!! Cakes by Kathy made it. It was delicious too!

True Blood Fans...Come in!

Talk to me ladies. If you watch True Blood, tell me why. I have been hearing how amazing this show is and everyone keeps saying to watch it and Hubby and I are intrigued. Now, is this show vampire awesome, like Twilight awesome?? Or is this vampire show like suck their blood and kill people the whole time kinda show? Tell me why you like it and why we should watch it.

Back to Training!

Back to Houston for more training this week. I started my job on April 20th and it requires a lot of training! It wouldn't be so bad except for the fact that I have to be in Houston to do the core (aka Lecture) training in Houston. I spent 2 weeks there, came back to Austin to do 2 weeks of on the job training, and now I am back in Houston for 2 more weeks. Sucks! I get to come home on weekends, so that' s nice, but I much prefer coming home to my husband everyday than being here in Houston where I can't do that.

An update on us. We have started talking about buying a house. Financially, we are at a place where we could afford to pay a mortgage and all the fees that come with it, we both have credit scores over 700, we are both in very secure jobs, and our lease is up in August or around there. The only thing we don't have is a huge savings. We have savings, just not a lot. We will have a better savings if we wait a year, and we know that. But, hubby still has that itch to buy a house. So we applied for a preapproval on a home loan to see what happens with that. If we get an amount we like we will get with a realtor to start looking for a home. We have an idea of what we want but only from looking online. If it doesn't play out like we want, then we have no problem waiting a year to save some more. Sooo we will see what happens as we start this new journey!

Wedding!

Got some more professional pictures today. Here are some of my favorites:

My handsome groom!


Happy Bride


Bride and Mom


The boys


The girls


The married couple!

Dinner for 4 turned to 2

Soooo, I had this awesome evening planned for Hubby and I and one of our couple friends. I had been saving this huge pork roast that my grandma gave me, just for when we had friends over because it was so big, and by big I mean 4lb roast... So they were supposed to be here at 6. At 6 they called to tell us they weren't coming. I cooked this huge dinner now for only 2 people. SUCKS!

But anyways, I worked hard on it and am proud of myself for cooking it so I'm going to share. Hubby's belly is proud of it too!

Green beans and new potatoes, made my grandma's way.


White rice


Pork Roast with carrots and more potatoes


It was all DELISH!! For dessert, boxed brownies! Nothing special there! lol

Darn you social security!!

Dear Social Security office:

Please tell me who in your incompetent office decided that they would change my birth date sometime after I was born and not inform me. My birth certificate says I was born on the 15th...not the 11th. AND, I mailed you my passport with my birth date and picture with all my proper documents to change my name and for some reason you still need my original birth certificate . However, in order to get a passport you have to have your original birth certificate. Therefore, one can conclude that the date on the passport would be the correct birth date. So thank you for taking forever to get me my documents back without my new social security card with my new name. I definitely have AMPLE time to go wait in your ridiculous long line to get a new social security card, especially since I just started a new job.

Signed,
Not happy with you SS office!

Soooo to recap, I went to the SS office 7 weeks ago and there were literally 62, yes 62, people in front of me in line. So, when I read on the name change form that you could mail in your documents i was psyched! I called the 1-800 # and they informed me that I could in fact mail in my form, my marriage license, and a picture ID and they would send me my new social security card in the mail. I was like YES! Then I said to the man on the phone that the DL office said I had to change my name within 4 days with SS in order to get my DL and asked if mailing it in was going to make a difference, and he said NO! Ohhhhh how wrong he was! In 2 1/2 weeks I hadn't received my new SS card so I called the 1-800 #. They told me they had no record of the name change so to call the local office. So I call the local office. THAT guy tells me that he hates the 1-800# and that they shouldn't even have it! (not a good way to start a conversation with me) He tells me that it takes 8, yes 8 weeks!!!, to get your SS card mailed to you. GREAT! SO now, 7 weeks later, I get a letter in the mail from them with all of my documents (my old SS, marriage license, and passport) informing me that THEY have a different birthdate for me on file and therfore I have to go back in the office with my original birth certificate. ARE YOU KIDDING ME??!?! I sent you my damn passport people! In order to get a passport they have to see my original birth certificate. So if I have a passport and it has my correct birthdate, why do you need to see my birth certificate?!?!?!

SO, not only is this a huge pain, I started a new job this last month, I've been doing training in Houston, and I come back to my office in Georgetown next Tuesday for the first time in over 2 weeks. How the heck am I going to tell my supervisor I need to go get this taken care of?! "Um yea, boss....I know I just got back from training for 2 weeks, but I need to go sit in the DL and SS office for most of the day today...sorry" So word to the wise....don't ever listen to anyone if they tell you to mail in your documents so you don't have to wait in line. Be patient, and just wait in line.

End rant.

First Post

First Time! This is my first post! Everyone else was doing it so it seemed like a good idea. :-) Normally I'm not good at keeping up with this sort of thing so lets see if I can do it this time.

So, just a little about myself. My name is Mandy and I married the most amazing man and my best friend on March 28, 2009. We had the most beautiful ceremony out at Reunion Ranch in Georgetown, TX and I would do the same exact wedding over and over again! I still haven't got all of our professional pictures yet so I'm sure you will all see those soon.

I was just recently hired as a Child Protective Services Investigator. I know, I know, everyone says, "ohhhh, is that hard?!" when I tell them what my job is. It's not, it's actually very rewarding. There are so many children out there being abused or neglected and it's my job to help their families and provide them with the necessary resources to help them be a successful, loving, and supportive family for the child to live in.

Hubby works for a company called Field Assets working to fix up homes that have been foreclosed on so that the banks can resell them. That's his job in a nutshell. He loves video games and playing on his computer so, you can call him a nerd, but i love him! :-)

We have two cocker spaniel pups, Freddy (4) and Chester (3). They are our pride and joy! Chester is a momma's boy and Freddy is a daddy's boy. Chester follows me around everywhere and constantly has to have me in his sight. If I get just one child in the future that loves me half as much as Chester does....then I'll be ok. :-)

That's our story and we're stickin' to it!