Our Life

8 Months and Growing Fast!

2011-09-21T10:30:00.000-07:00

As a first time Mom I am constantly in awe of other Mothers who seem to get so much accomplished. Some of my friends have a passel full of children, blog, home school, do lots of crafts, are on Facebook, work out, have social lives and make nummy dinners! Wow!! I am curious how it is all done when I am happy to get showered, do a load of laundry, play with baby, get a nap, run a few errands and make an occasional dinner. If you have any suggestions I would love to hear them!

Shahayla is growing so fast. She's 8 months and already wearing a lot of 12 month clothes! Jeff is wondering why I am shopping until he goes to put something on her and sees it is to small. :) He doesn't mind all the stuff I find at bargain rates. I should post some photos - I found some stuff - pants/shirts/hoodies recently at Children's Place for a whopping $2.49 each!!! I love having an outlet mall 10 minutes away!
Shahayla's recent accomplishments: Kissy noises and clapping. She is sooo close to crawling! She has two teeth and I think is working on #3.

Ut Oh...I got caught! ;)

Jeff has been super busy at work. We were fortunate enough to travel with him to San Diego/LA for some training and to see his family. We saw his parents, sister and her family (including newest nephew who was 4 weeks at the time), an uncle, Jamaican Gramma Verna, Meeting Friends and a Good Friend from college and his family. Since then Jeff has been to Alaska, Virginia and Illinois. He leaves again for Alaska soon. I miss him so much when he is gone. The days drag by :(. His office recently moved from a floor with a territorial view to a pond/fountain view. So this week he has been living out of a box at work. We saw his desk yesterday and it is the first time I have seen it messy :P

We have been working on a yard project. Maybe I'll get some before and during photos posted. ;)

Well - we haven't had any out of town company...or any company at all...So if you wanna come visit - give us a shout! I can't guarantee the house will be tidy but I'll make sure you have clean utensils and a clean bed! LOL!

4 Months and Growing!

2011-05-23T20:07:00.000-07:00

For those of you who actually read this and are concerned (Esther ;P ).
Shahayla was born January 21, 2011 and is doing great! She is 4 months old already and growing fast. I will try to post here on her progress every once in a while :).

Life has been so busy....I am trying to sleep when she does so everything else is on hold for now. She is eating every 2 hours so you know what life consists of...eat, dirty diapers, sleep. All in survival mode :) Thank goodness I have a wonderful husband who picks up the slack!

Until Later!

"Time is fun when you are having flies"

2011-01-09T18:53:00.000-08:00

December has come and gone and I didn't even post once. I am trying to figure out how my friends are so diligent and creative with their blogs. If you have any suggestions let me know because it is only going to be more difficult once little Baby Spice has made her grand entrance!

During the month Jeff and I focused on "To Do Before Baby Arrives" projects. The list was daunting and still is. We found that every week we had to re-prioritize what was important and what wasn't as important. It seems that new projects are continually added and some of these get pushed to the front. Especially being first time parents we are realizing new things that should be done ahead of time! It has also helped us to remember our spiritual clocks as well!

We did take time to take a romantic venture to San Antonio River Walk. It was a wonderful relaxing weekend. We rode the boats through the canals, found ourselves at Starbucks several times and did a lot of reading. The walking was very good for me and it was such a cheerful place to do it.

We spent Christmas with our gooood friends Lambros and Dewi. Dewi's family was here from Holland and Lambros' Mom was here from Greece. It was such an enjoyable evening! The house was very festive and beautiful beyond words. The food was incredible and the company was fantastic!

New Years Eve we tried to decide if we should party like a couple w/out impending responsibilities or party like parents...LOL...We ended up hanging out at the house doing projects and then going to our good neighbors Chris and Allison's. We ate cheese and crackers and had a very nice evening chatting. I got a hug from Jeff at midnight as I was heading to bed! This ol' pregnant lady was pooped. :)

It is amazing to us that it is already the 10th of January and Baby Spice may be arriving at anytime! She isn't due until the 19th and the midwife thinks she could be several days late. I have my 39 week appointment tomorrow so we will see how things have progressed from last week. As of last week I was dilated to a 1 and 50% effaced...not that this means much; she will arrive when she is ready. :)

We have continued to enjoy all the holiday greetings, cards, photos and letters we received. Thank you!

I hope this post finds you safely through the Holidays and into a Happy New Year!

November News

2010-11-12T14:04:00.000-08:00

Wow - It is almost two months since I last posted! So much has been happening in the last two months. My belly has grown immensely, I am caught up on my reading "What to Expect When You Are Expecting" and I have finally finished reading "Birthing From Within". I think I still have 4 or 5 books to read on my night stand including my bible! We've slowly been working on Baby Spice's room. I am hoping to say it is "finished" by the time we fly out next Friday. Of course that is a lot to hope for when we just got home from a week in Florida and this weekend is birthing class.
We traveled to Florida because J had an oil response training course to attend. While there we drove to see a friend of his that will be 104 in December! She is an inspiring woman. She appears to be only 80 and her memory and hearing are impeccable! We also had the priviledge of spending time with her daughter. The weekend after J's training we headed to the Key's. J has always wanted to take me there and it appeared to be the chance of a life time. I was in awe of the homes but struck by how few beaches they have. If you are going there for beaches - well...just skip it because we have more/better ones here in TX! We then traveled back to Ft. Lauderdale for a wonderful Sunday morning/afternoon with a family Jeff met 6 years ago when he was there for training. They invited us to stay for lunch as well as another couple and their visiting parents. The parents are from Washington!!!
Next Friday we head to celebrate Turkey Day with my family. All the cousins are planning on being there except one living in Sweden. That means about 40 of us. They usually cook 2 birds, a large ham and 20 lbs of potatoes! So you can guess w/all those coming the additional items that will be there to tempt me and Baby Spice!
Today we had a 3D/4D session to see Baby Spice. She is quite adorable and we can't wait to hold her!

Wow Time Flies!

2010-09-18T16:23:00.000-07:00

I can't believe my last post was in July! So much has been going on since then.
I have been working full time for a company since May and several weeks ago I started working from home; the commute had been awful. Not as bad as some I have heard, but it felt like every time I went to work or headed home, I was in "near" accidents. I love Texas and it gives me hope that our Country won't go down the drain, but drivers here in Houston can be clueless and reckless. They don't give drivers from other states/countries tests; they just take away their out-of-state license and issue them a TX license. As a result, we have people who are using all different "rules" from wherever they came from! Rarely do people know how to transverse a 4-way intersection, let alone merge when exiting or entering a freeway. Every man for himself- watch out when you come to visit! Needless to say, I sure have enjoyed working from home. It has allowed me more time with Lola and to work on other projects.
Jeff is still working crazy days. His latest schedule is 8 days on 4 days off. This means he is exhausted by day 8 and isn't too crazy to do projects on his 4 recoup days...I must say he does a lot more on those days than I would! He is trying hard to get work done on the Mustang because he realizes come January he won't have much extra time on his hands.
Baby Spice is growing and we are getting more and more excited to meet her. We had a second ultrasound to confirm that we do have a girl on the way. We like to be prepared and knowing if we have a boy or girl on the way helps. I of course have been buying stuff to get ready :) and having fun expanding a baby registry. Oh the things one can find for baby! :) I did quite a bit of bargain shopping - looking for coupons and finding some used stuff. I will try and post a few photos. Baby Spice is still slated for arrival January 19th but she will come when she is ready!
With getting ready for baby and Jeffrey's schedule, we still have a lot to squeeze in before the end of November (when I shouldn't travel far). We have convention, a training trip for Jeffrey to Ft. Lauderdale, a possible trip to CA and WA, Birthing from Within class, sorting and eliminating house stuff, neighborhood garage sale (to make room for baby :P ), and of course other odds and end projects. Feel free to come and visit- we just might put you to work…just kidding :)

2010-07-19T16:50:00.000-07:00

We are so excited for this little one! We've already done so much researching and decision making. And to think it is only the begining! One of my good friends teases by saying, "You'd better make a decision right now on the crib. You only have 7 months before you'll need it". LOL

Besides cribs, high chairs, bouncers, pak-n-plays, names and colleges we've had some bigger decisions to make. I have a fabulous OBGYN but after chatting with her and a couple friends that have given birth we were concerned. We weren't concerned about receiving adequate care but feeling we wouldn't receive the one on one care we would like during the labor proceess. After much prayer, research, thought and discussion Jeff and I have decided to go with a birthing center. Nativiti Women's Health and Birth Center

Today I had my first appointment. It was a 2 hour appointment where as the first appointment with my OBGYN took 5 maybe 10 minutes. Most of my questions were answered with out me having to ask them. The Birth Center has 3 nurse midwives. I will meet with each of them over the next 7 months. The one I chatted with today is a new mother herself and she gave birth at the Center just 2 months ago. Among all the information, answers, literature, suggestions there was excitement worth sharing.....I got to hear Baby Spice's heart beat again!!!!! Jeff and I have a feeling we are having a ___________. Oops - I forgot - we are keeping that a secret till next month! :)

My next appointment is August 16th and we may get to see if Baby Spice is a boy or girl if he/she cooperates. Until my next appointment we are assuming the original due date. January 22, 2011

We are Expecting!

2010-06-15T10:05:00.000-07:00

We are very excited to announce that we are expecting our first baby! Baby Spice is the "teddy bear" shape at the bottom of the dark heart.

I have been referring to our baby as Baby Spice because of "McCormick" brand spices.

Baby Spice is due to arrive around January 22nd; this means I am 9 weeks pregnant. According to different books, Baby spice is approximately the size of a large green olive. A fact which has intrigued my niece and nephew as well as me! :)

Mexico

2010-06-11T14:19:00.000-07:00

Jeff and I took a much-needed vacation to Isla Mujeres, Mexico, April 29th to May 8th. It was a 9-day beautiful, awe-filled, relaxing affair. We did what we wanted and when we wanted. We ate incredible food, saw some mind-boggling Mayan ruins, sat next to and swam in beautiful waters, read a ton, chatted and just enjoyed each other's company. It was the first real vacation we've been on alone since our honeymoon.
If you have ever wanted to go somewhere safe, quiet, and relaxing we HIGHLY recommend Isla Mujeres. It is easy to get to, safe and very inexpensive!

As a side note: When we arrived in Cancun and before leaving the airport we were offered a great deal. If we would go listen to a resorts sales pitch (and No, we didn't buy in. LOL) and pay a small amount they would offer us 6 all inclusive excursions. It did cost us the small amount but due to prior research we knew it would be a great deal and it was! We had 2 days at all inclusive 5-star resorts, a trip to Tulum with a guide on a bus w/AC, an eco park, a trip to Chichen Itza with a tour guide on a bus with AC. We were offered additional trips but declined because we hated leaving Isla! We are only posting a few photos below. You can see all our photos in the posted album (Top Right).

Ferry Terminal on Isla Mujeres
Looking from our Hotel towards Cancun.
Chichen Itza in central Yucatan
Chichen Itza
Tulum, south of Cancun Tulum
Us :) At Tulum
Us at Tulum w/a new friend.
At the Turtle Farm on Isla Mujeres - They had this little albino turtle.
Swimming with a Nurse shark...well..just getting our photo taken. We did swim to the shark tho. :)
My favorite beach- North Beach! It was nearly wiped out by hurricanes. They now have some ugly pilings to keep the sand from washing away, but they didn't completely ruin the view! Since we went at slow season there was hardly anyone on the beach with us!
Who's that dude?
Oh! Hi :)
Our spot of relaxation.
On Isla

BPMS150

2010-04-24T13:49:00.000-07:00

April 17th was the Annual BPMS150. It is a huge fundraiser for MS sponsored by BP. Thousands of volunteers either ride their bikes between Houston and Austin (150 miles) in two days or help support those riders. Since neither Jeff or I ride (obviously! :O) we like to help out at one of the "Rest Stops" along the route. It usually means rising early and being to the "Rest Stop" by 7:30AM Saturday morning. This year we were off to Industry. It is about a 1.5 hour drive from our house. The drive was absolutely beautiful.
When we arrived we helped set up the "Rest Stop" and then helped out where ever we were needed. Both years we have volunteered we have ended up behind the drink counter. Jeff counted 18 drink coolers (the big orange ones!), 3 pallets of boxed gallon water jugs, and a pallet of ice. We went non-stop filling those coolers with ice and either a gatorade mix or water. We went through almost all 3 pallets of water! This year I focused on keeping the mixers supplied with gallon jugs of water and removing the empty ones. It doesn't sound like much but all of us were sweating and we went non-stop from 9AM till 3! Other volunteers manned the first aid table, directing traffic, prepping food, serving fruit or snacks, emptying garbage etc. It was quite a well organized production! 39 Bathrooms, Only one sink :(, 18 drink coolers, an American Red Cross Disaster Relief Team (in charge of communications), Several MS non profit volunteers, moral boosters for bikers (energetic gal with mega-phone and dance moves!),and approximately 40 (BP employees) volunteers!
If you get a chance - Join us next year! and don't forget to check out the photo album (top right)

In search of the Blue Bonnet

2010-04-15T20:30:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Jeff and I decided to go on a little excursion. We hit the road to Brenham.
Lola heard us talking and packed her bags. Her she is ready to hit the road.
All settled in. This is what you call "traveling in style"!See - We do have rolling hills in TX and not just tumbleweeds.Jeff and I stopped at a highly recommended Deli in a little town outside of Brenham. Only in little towns can you park out back and see this.We stopped at Blue Bell for a scoop of ice cream. They had some beautiful flowers out front.A field of beauty. The boy that lived on this property saw me taking photos. He hopped on his bike and rode out to say hi and right through the middle of the flowers down to the lake. Those who arrived right behind us had a little boy in their photos :) Our lil' Girl :) Ain't she beautiful?! :)

For some reason this picture wouldn't load correctly. I couldn't post about Blue Bonnets and not post this photo.On our way back we stopped at a Lavender Farm. We had a wonderful day trip. The countryside was green, the flowers were beautiful and it was nice to get out of the house! Come visit and you can see for yourselves that we have more than tumbleweeds, hurricanes and cowboys!

Welcome to 2010 a little late :)

2010-01-19T20:06:00.000-08:00

Ok...So I haven't been good about posting and all the photos disappeared. I thought I'd get into a cleaning mode and delete old photo albums. I didn't think about the fact they would disappear all together in the blog as well! Oh well. If there is something you'd like to see photos of let me know and I will re-add them!
We don't have a lot planned for this year but you know how that goes. All of a sudden things are happening, life is busy and there you are at the end of another year! There are a list of things we would "like" to do. Chief among those is seeing friends and family! We'd also love for you to come visit us! We have plenty of space and love company.
I can't promise I will be better about blogging but please do check back and leave comments :)

Thanksgiving

2009-11-17T18:10:00.000-08:00

Well, I can't believe next week is Thanksgiving. It truly snuck up on me this year. I was chatting with my chiropractor yesterday and she mentioned Thanksgiving next week and I almost had a heart attack!
We are having Thanksgiving at our house. It will be the first one! Jenny (Jeff's sister) has been kind enough to offer to take on the bird, stuffing and gravy! Yahooo - I have the easy part :) the potatoes, green been casserole and the "little" things.
We are additionally excited because we have friends joining us. There will be a total of 10-12 adults and 3 little ones. Not as large of a Thanksgiving as I am use to (50?relatives and 20lbs of potatoes) but it will be a good one. I am looking forward to it!
I know I haven't posted much since July - we have been busy with life. Jeff has been working long hours and when he is free he is doing little things for me :) paint-balling or cleaning his garage! I have been working on little unseen projects around the house. Right now we are in Galveston. It is 8:30 at night and J is still working. I am in the room working on the computer. :)
Well - I will try not to take to long till I post again!
Drop us a line!! And Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Coming Soon.....

2009-07-24T22:37:00.001-07:00

Photos from our trip to Victoria BC.

We had a fabulous trip and saw so many beautiful sights and spent time with a wonderful friend of mine!! We then rushed South to see my family. I had forgotten how beautiful Washington was in the Summer. I can't wait for our next trip there - 2 weeks and counting!

Butchart Gardens

2009-07-24T20:37:00.000-07:00

While we were in Victoria BC Jeff took me to The Butchart Gardens. Here is a little Bio from their website:

The Gardens
The Butchart Gardens is one of the world's premier floral show gardens. Jennie Butchart began to shape this magnificent landscape in 1904. She established, in the style of the grand estates of the period, several distinct gardens to evoke a range of aesthetic experiences. An abandoned limestone quarry was transformed into the dramatic Sunken Garden, a reflection of the early 20th-century beautification movement and an exceptional achievement in Canadian gardening history. Through successive generations of the Butchart family, The Gardens has retained much of its original design, and continues the Victorian tradition of seasonally changing the outstanding floral displays.
The public area of The Butchart Gardens covers 22ha (55 acres) with much more, for the most part, "off stage." Twenty-six greenhouses covering almost 2 acres, along with trial growing areas, a plant and a tree and shrub nursery help to keep The Gardens in prime viewing condition.
As with the rest of the world, we too have seasons. We have the peak growing season of summer, the shoulder seasons of spring and fall, and the low growing season of winter.
Please take a look at the sections, to the right, to learn about The Gardens. You'll find there is always something to see.

Here are a few of our photos:

2009-06-25T16:47:00.000-07:00

Check this out!
I guess Lola and I have work to do!

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

45 Lessons - Not in Order!

2009-06-13T20:14:00.001-07:00

Written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland ,
"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested column I've ever written."
My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:
1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.
5.. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood.
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's,we'd grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
42. The best is yet to come.
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
44. Yield.
45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."

Some HAPPY News!

2009-06-07T20:20:00.000-07:00

I didn't have a photo to post so I wasn't going to spread the news....but then I went blogging and ran across Traci's sight...Low and Behold she posted a photo....so I stole her photo and here's the news:
Gina and Cliff were married Friday June 5th!
YEAAAAYYYY We are so excited for the two of you!
Congratulations Cliff and Gina!!!!!!!

More News :)

2009-05-23T20:02:00.000-07:00

If you haven't already heard, I have started working again. I had an interview Monday and started working 20 minutes after the interview started! I am amazed at locating "the perfect job" and it seems to good to be true. I am working for an appraisal management firm. It is sort of difficult to put into words what I do. The simplest explanation is that I am doing quality control. I look at appraisals and make sure they are complete. I look for warning flags. If there are issues I suggest a full review of the appraisal. Eventually I will also do full appraisals. I am currently working from home and intend to visit the office once a week. My commute will be 25 minutes down a $6 toll road. If I am off early enough I can come back the longer route that doesn't cost anything! The bad part is the office is located next to some FANTASTIC shopping!!!!
Hope all is well with you! Drop us a line!

A Wild Array

2009-05-20T19:45:00.000-07:00

One of the many things I love about Houston is what can be grown! Here is a sampling from our yard.

I can't possibly post and not insert a photo of my Lola. :)
Last but not least...here are a few flowers I made for my final cake decorating class.

Lola Graduated!

2009-05-18T20:36:00.001-07:00

Lola officially graduated "Intermediate Dog Training"!!! Yea Lola! Jeff working with Lola before her test.
Wow - She is sitting with other dogs in the same vicinity!

Hmmmm.....

"Can you PLEAZZZZZZZE take this off me now?"

Relatives Moving to Houston!!!!

2009-05-13T14:20:00.000-07:00

First Things First :)
Congratulations Jesse on Graduating with your MASTERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jeff's sister and her family came to visit two weeks ago today! They came for only three days and the focus of the visit was to scope out Houston and look for jobs. Well, Jenni has a job and it looks like they will be down here by the 15th of next month!
Can you believe I didn't even get a photo of them all while they were here? We were going all day and by the evening we were all exhausted. All their hard work and planning paid off! It will be a busy month for Jesse and Jenni.....packing and moving two little kids and two dogs across 1,500 miles! They will be here just in time for hottest and most humid of our weather.
Welcome to Texas!

Wow - Time Flies!

2009-05-03T17:58:00.000-07:00

We have had a very busy two weeks. Last week we prepared for a garage sale. The house was torn apart and garage sale items sat all over. The sale was very successful and only one item stolen that we know of. At the end of the day, exhausted, I walked into the house and found several items I had intended to sell. Even being exhausted, having had something stolen (small and not worth much) and forgetting to sell a few items, I was elated to see my home would be easier to clean! Now I just need to get with it!
This last Wednesday Jeff's sister Jenni and her family came for a quick visit. We are trying to convince them to move closer. They both (Jenni and Jesse) looked for jobs all day Thursday and Friday. I will keep you posted on the outcome. It was nice to have them here. The kids are growing so fast and they are adorable! It had been almost a year since we saw them last. I didn't even get one photo!!! We were so busy running here and there and playing...grrr why didn't I take my camera out????
Well - the next few weeks will be busy too. I am trying to get a few projects completed and put the house back together. Hope all is well with you....drop a line. We would love to hear from you!

I Got the Baking Bug!

2009-04-18T13:17:00.000-07:00

I finally understand the "Craft" room concept! I use to see rooms completely dedicated to one craft. Now I'd like a CRAFT room. In it would be a kitchen with all the baking gadgets, a section for sewing, a place for arranging flowers, and a place to paint. I am sure there will be a few other crafty things to add to that room. Just don't tell my husband - he may hide the check book before I do some serious damage :)Before I started on my second cake I splurged with a 40% off coupon and purchased a tilting/turn table.It was very helpful when frosting the cake. Here it is! My second cake before I started to decorate it. To transport the cake a very high tech gadget was needed! A $4 container with a handle. WALMART :) for all your cooking needs!

For our second class we learned how to make roses and do gel transfers. This is Jill and her first rose.

Me and my first rose.
The First Rose
I must say so myself, "not too bad for a first attempt."

The finished cake. It definitely tasted better than it looked. I will have to work on "tinting". The water was the last color I attempted and definitely the best. When I put the tinted frosting into the parchment paper bag, it had white frosting left over on the inside as well as the turquoise color. This is what created the multi-colored water!

Cake Decorating

2009-04-11T19:48:00.000-07:00

I started taking a cake decorating class on Friday. By next Friday I have to know how to bake a good cake and then layer, fill, frost and put a border on it. The teacher made frosting and smoothing the cake look soooo easy! My first attempt at a layered cake!
Finished Project and yes those are crumbs in the frosting - oops!

Nikki Comes to Visit!

2009-04-11T19:27:00.001-07:00

My very good friend Nikki from Washington came to visit for a couple days. We had a great action packed 3 days. Nikki and me in the kitchen. We had some ladies over for a semi-healthy potluck lunch. It was so much fun to be able to introduce Nikki to all my new friends here.

Jill and KarlaBronson

Elly

Jill and Zoey

Shar and Theresa

Jenny and Patty

On Saturday Jeff, myself and Nikki headed to NASA.
We took a tram tour that took an hour.

We were able to see where the astronauts train! This little car looks like a ton of fun!

Jeff and a full scale model of the shuttle.

Nikki and full scale model of the space station.

Space Suit

Nikki and me on the tram. We had about 4 hours at NASA and it just wasn't enough. We'll finish the tour next time Nikki :)
Sunday we had a great day. Went to meeting at Nikki's cousin' (Traci) and stayed all day!!!! On Monday I had to take Nik to the airport super early...I was so sad she couldn't stay longer. I keep telling her all she missed so she feels like she must come again!

One Fighting Little Boy

2009-03-31T13:12:00.000-07:00

I just received this news article via e-mail and thought I would post it so you could read it as well. I have added a link under "Friends" to Clay's blog.

Local boy burned in explosion SaturdayWednesday, February 18, 2009Mindi Kimbro, editor@olneyenterprise.comA 5-year-old Olney boy, Clay Fite, remains in intensive care at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas after he was burned in an explosion at his home on Saturday, Feb. 14. An emergency call was placed from the residence at 5:51 p.m.According to information released by Chief Deputy Carl Magee of the Young County Sheriff’s Office, Olney EMS and deputies were dispatched to the home, located at 679 FM 3329, just south of Olney, in reference to a fire that had injured children.By the time authorities arrived, the victims were transported to Hamilton Hospital by private vehicle.“The children were in the backyard while trash in a trash barrel was being burned,” Magee said. “The heat from the trash barrel ignited a gasoline can and the resulting fire injured the children.”Carson Fite, 10, sustained a minor injury and was treated and released. Cody Fite, 6, also sustained minor burns and was treated and released from Hamilton Hospital. Clay Fite, 5, sustained more severe burns over a large portion of his body. He was flown by air ambulance to Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, where he remained in the intensive care burn unit Tuesday. Magee said the investigation into the fire is continuing.The family requests that blood be donated in lieu of gifts, since Clay’s burns are too severe to allow him to receive gifts or flowers. A blood drive has been planned through Carter BloodCare for 1-5 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 22, at First Baptist Church in Graham. Donors at this drive must specify the donation is for Clay Fite at Parkland Memorial Hospital, sponsor number SPON047572, with a date of birth of July 12, 2003.Carter BloodCare will have its Bloodmobile at the Wal-Mart in Graham from 1:30-6 p.m. March 2, with donations to benefit Clay.Accounts will be established at Citibank and First National Bank of Olney, with funding to benefit the Fite family as well as the Ronald McDonald House. A Web site has been set up by members of Fite’s family to provide updates on Clay’s condition and treatment. The site is www.claydavidfite.blogspot.com. Cards may be sent to the family at the following address: Clay Fite, Parkland Health and Hospital System, Burn ICU 6th Floor, 5201 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas, Texas 75235.

Painting

2009-03-27T08:09:00.000-07:00

Some of you already know about my recent painting projects. I thought I would share some photos for those who are not close enough to pop-in for some tea and dessert. If you are close enough - come on by! If it takes a little more effort to come visit...start planning :)

My first project was painting two walls in the great room. It is a soft green. It blends really well with the oatmeal walls and sometimes looks like a shadow. We have been enjoying having our wall hangings actually on the wall; instead of on the floor leaning against the wall.My second project, which I completed this week, was our bedroom. It took a while to find a blue that blended with our bed cover...Only 6 tries or so :0. I wanted a slight contrast with the bed cover and going lighter than the cover would have made the walls looked washed out. I am glad we didn't go any darker!Finished product! We are both really enjoying the new look. The color adds quite a bit of dimension! Everything is a mess here - all piled away from the walls.
Now on to decorating our upstairs guest room!!!

You Tube Clips

2009-03-25T15:14:00.001-07:00

I was sent this very funny You Tube clip. Enjoy!

Kids

I was also sent this clip - It is long but worthy. Pay attention to the instrument being played and what you are hearing.

Song - Stand By Me

My Birthday Wish

2009-03-22T14:29:00.001-07:00

Friday I decided to make myself a pie. My Great Auntie Dorothy made the best lemon meringues. I didn't have her recipe so I tried good ol' Betty Crocker...and I've already decided to do it different next time. But for now and for the first time, it turned out pretty good. If I might say so :) I asked Jeffrey to take me driving. We headed towards Brenham to see Blue Bonnets. And lots we did see :) Here are a few of my favorite photos. If you want to see more: on this page, top right, you should see a pie. Click on the pie and it will take you to my album.

In Bloom

2009-03-14T13:38:00.000-07:00

We only have to look out our front window on a grey day to see some color.Azaleas and my Poinsettia from December.

More Lola News

2009-03-14T12:45:00.000-07:00

When Jeff and I adopted Lola we were given a coupon for puppy training. It seemed one thing happened after another and we were finally able to start formal puppy training in February at Petsmart. Before we started puppy training we watched Cesar Milan "The Dog Whisperer". We are still reading his books and highly recommend him. When ever we sat down to watch Cesar, Lola would become entranced! She would watch the whole episode with us. The methods Cesar teaches work. "Headed to Class" - (no that isn't us - it's another couple from our class)
"I's Sooo Embarrassed"

Lola has her backpack on. Being a Catahoula means she is a "work" dog. Work dogs need jobs. When we walk she carries her backpack. In it is 2 pounds of sand, plastic bags, my phone and epi-pens.
Getting a treat

So far we have learned and continue working on: sit, stay, down, off, come, leave it, drop it, and say hello. She absolutely loves hide and seek. Of course I am always looking for a new place to hide!
We believe Lola has separation anxiety. She sleeps in her kennel and doesn't destroy anything but it is a different story during the day! After destroying a few beds I decided to make new covers for the old beds instead of buy new ones. It is actually cheaper to buy new beds than covers for the beds!

I am quite proud of this cover ;) It is my neighbors old flat sheet rescued from a trip to goodwill and a zipper I pulled out of one of the ruined dog bed covers.

Since she has been destroying stuff during the day only, we remove everything from her kennel but add several toys when we leave. This past Sunday I didn't take the blanket off the top of the kennel and this is what I came home to!Can you find her "Kong" and "Bone"?A shredded queen size blanket. Only a hundred or so pieces :)

Even though we have this to work through - She has learned everything quite quickly. She likes to follow us through-out the house and either lay by our toes or lick them.

New Vacuum!

2009-03-06T20:51:00.001-08:00

Have you ever wondered just how dirty your carpet is? We figured out after vacuuming and lint not disappearing that our vacuum wasn't working. The next question was, "how long has this thing not been vacuuming but just making noise like it is working?". Who knows but just to gross you out, here are a few photos of the junk we pulled up with the new vacuum!

December Cruise

2009-03-03T14:53:00.000-08:00

Wow time flies! I can't believe I haven't blogged since January 5th. It isn't that we have gone undercover for the FBI or decided to go on permanent vacation. Although, the latter does sound nice :) We have been busy with life.

I finally have posted photos from our Cruise! Jeff's and my parents joined us on a cruise over Christmas. It was our first cruise and Jeff's first Carnival cruise. We joined some of our friends and their family. There were a total of 18 in our party.

What an adventure! A few days at sea we saw 14-18' waves per televised information. Those couple of days I felt light-headed, but Tylenol took care of the feeling! Jeff said those days were a lot smoother than other 14-18' waves he has ridden in his wild sea days. :) We stopped in Cozumel, Grand Cayman and Jamaica. (The photos are not in order.) I think our favorite was Grand Cayman. We swam with manna rays, went to the town of "Hell" and stopped by a turtle farm. On Cozumel, Jeff and I went to a marine park and enjoyed snorkeling and sleeping in the sun. In Jamaica, we went with our parents and Patty and Andy to a Sandals Resort for the day. It was a nice relaxing Christmas day at the beach. We were surprised that our expectations of a picture perfect Jamaica were distorted. The poverty and living conditions for many was very sad. There were shanty towns and several unfinished projects. We didn't stop along the way but viewed the travesty from bus windows as tourists with big pitying eyes. The Sandals resort was even run down a little, but not so much it distracted us.

When we were planning the trip I was a little worried J would feel like he was working while being on the ship. Well...he enjoyed it to the fullest. I think he felt "At Home". I found I would rather sit on a quiet beautiful beach, have my feet in clean white sand and eat chocolate chip fiber bars than be on a cruise! I do have to say though - It was nice that everyone could do and eat as they pleased. To have all meals prepared and let everyone do their own thing, no need to worry about planning activities or keeping everyone entertained, was priceless!

Happy New Year!

2009-01-05T18:21:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it is already 2009!

I also can't believe that it has been a month since I last posted! So much has happened. I won't be able to post all my photos tonight but I will give a quick synopsis of what we have been doing.

My Mom and Dad came December 11th. While they were here we went to San Antonio for a night and then I put them to work. :) Mom and I baked lots of goodies. Dad did little odd jobs around the house. He tightened door knobs, put up our patio fan, hung a couple things, fixed my sink handle, and he walked Lola several times everyday!

The 18th Jeff's folks came. Lou's only request was to go to our local outlet mall. So off we went! We also stopped by Ross. We went to our friends house Friday night for a pre-cruise party. Saturday night we went to Bar-B-Que and Sunday we were off on our cruise.

Our cruise went to Cozumel, Grand Cayman and Jamaica. I will tell you all about those later :) Monday the 29th our parents left. Our home was very quiet and Lola was lost without her buddy.

Jeff had all week off much to my surprise :0 and enjoyment! New Years eve we had a couple over for a quiet and enjoyable evening. Thursday we worked around the house and Friday Jeff went fishing with Chris while I drove with Chris's wife, Allison, to pick up her daughters from the in-laws.

Well - You've been updated! Watch for my photos in the next week or so!

Hip Hip Hurray :)

2008-12-09T10:05:00.000-08:00

Not tonight
Not tomorrow night
But Thursday night....
I GET TO SEE MOM AND DAD!!!!!
Hip Hip Hurray!

Walking With Lola

2008-11-18T18:22:00.001-08:00

Who would have thought a Dog could inspire so many blogs? :)

Who would have thought a Dog would be what it took to get me walking an hour a day? Guilt inspires many. Those big brown eyes are hard to say no to! Every morning I try to take Lola for an hour walk in hopes it will keep her calm the rest of the day.

What I have found, since we adopted Lola, is that the reward from walking goes beyond physical satisfaction, a well behaved puppy and the "guilt free" feeling. It includes lots of little surprises along the way. It is a process to set out. Get the keys, epi-pen, leash, doggie treats, doggie clean-up bags, Lola, and sunglasses. Set the alarm and head out. I try to walk a different route everyday. Some days I walk the neighborhoods, some days I go out to the lake and back, some days I do the "3 mile" route. It is funny how I have a way of naming the routes I take.

Monarch Butterflies - I have seen a lot of butterflies. This is the only photo I have! They are so quick fluttering around. By the time I have my phone out to take a photo, they are gone. Poor Lola - She's wondering what in the world I am doing. Stopping in the middle of our mission to dig in my little case for my phone just to put it right back. :)The tall unruly grasses are constantly changing color! We have some by our house that have recently turned a beautiful burgundy color. They are soft and whisper in the wind. Lola likes to JUMP through them.Birds - The first time Lola saw these graceful white birds she sat down and barked. I couldn't get her to budge for about 5 minutes. She was determined to protect me even though we were headed AWAY from the bird! Ha. We now see these birds quite frequently. Although she is still interested in the bird she no longer barks. When there are Crows or Killdeers close by, she crouches down like a cat and stalks them! Of course they are aware of the large white object quickly bearing down on them and flutter off. So much for stealth!
We also encounter lots of worms and ants. Lately there have been quite a few small turtles by the lakes. They are so small and endearing. Thankfully no snakes. We have seen many a storm cloud, beautiful rainbows, lots of building progress, flowers, other joggers/walkers and dogs. There is always a spiritual lesson. It seems so fantastic. And to think I would have missed all of this if it weren't for Lola and those big brown eyes.

Count Down!!!

2008-11-18T18:19:00.000-08:00

I get to see my family in 7 Days!!!!

Balloon!!!

2008-11-08T11:45:00.000-08:00

Last weekend we were cleaning on the garage when Lola's hackles went up and she started barking. We went out to see what she was barking at. He came VERY VERY close to us. We were even able to say hello and see their faces. They landed a few blocks away. The word on the street (from a kid) was free rides were being given! Unfortunately it was time for us to go to dinner.

Halloween

2008-11-08T10:52:00.000-08:00

We love to dress up on Halloween. This year we didn't. However, Lola did get dressed up! We had a few friends over. We had many laughs and lots of finger foods!

Kasia, Jeff and Trey (left to right)

Patty, Traci, Kayleen, Andy

Chet, Mike, Andy, Patty

Patty and Traci

Patty and Andy

The group of us minus the children and Lola

We were surprised but Lola did very well with all the company and the door bell ringing; trick-or-treaters. She loved running to the door and helping me hand out candy. She would lay down while the kids got their candy out of the bowl. Then the kids would get a lick if they got close enough. The kids loved her too! Some even caught on that she was suppose to be a ghost.

After Halloween we found Lola a real costume for next year! Here she is trying it on :)

Wedding

2008-11-04T10:00:00.001-08:00

The weekend of October 24th we went back to San Francisco for my cousin Therin's wedding. I found a steal of a deal on Hotwire.

4 STAR Hotel: Our Bedroom

The center of the hotel was a huge atrium - 10 stories tall. It had all sorts of fauna.The continental breakfast area. Wow - it was quite a breakfast! Pancakes, waffles, omelets, pastries, sausage etc!Lobby

Friday:
Dad and Mom came and picked us up from our hotel. We headed down to the wharf to Ghirardelli Square. I wanted mom (and me) to get some chocolate. :)

Me and my handsome husband

My cute parents

Pretty flowers on the wharf.
A building from downtown. I love the flags.Some skinny bum waiting to be picked up at the airport ;) Love ya sis :)

Saturday: We went to Therin's WeddingAll dressed up.A pretty vineyard - drive by photo We followed a red car quite a way - We figured it was Uncle Gary and Auntie Marilyn. Sure enough.Guest bookAunt Jan, Cousin Therin, Cousin Kristen - look at those happy faces.Saying I Do

Mr and Mrs. Therin K******Grooms parents, Groom and Bride

Brides flowers

CorsageBoutonniere Table piecesMy Mom, Dad and Sis

Could ya' guess they are brothers?

Therin and Tami enjoying the little people.

The cake - After we ate a delicious piece, we found out it was made by a 17 year old. She has a great future in cake making!!! How sweet! Therin and Tami - they left in her brothers truck.
Our Driver and Navigator

This road was soooo crooked!
We went down it 4 times. (Not by mistake)

A great view at the south end of the crooked road.

View

Sunday:

We had extra time so we stopped for a few minutes to watch these balloons lift off. It was a mystical view as the sun rose.

Success: In the air.

Happy crew with exceptional coffee. Calistoga Roastery

A beautiful show piece at a vineyard. Drive by photo.
Sad but smiling crew. By, By sissy. See you at Thanksgiving!
After we dropped sissy off at the airport we went for a quick drive to the Point Bonita Lighthouse.

Armory

Golden Gate. The way the fog rolled over the hills was incredible.

Another shot.

To get to the Point Bonita Lighthouse you have to cross a suspension bridge.

The ridge under the suspension bridge looks to be inches wide.

To get to the Lighthouse we had to go through a tunnel. It was originally created to get the light through to the lighthouse around 1877. The rest of the way is over a 4 foot wide path.

The Three Stooges :) (on a wider portion of the trail!)

A view from the top. If you look close you can see the trim around the door to the tunnel.

My Snuggle Buddy

2008-10-18T21:06:00.001-07:00

Our little Lola is adjusting quite well! We are still training her and she is picking some stuff up faster than others. For instance: She knows to sit when I have a treat in my hand...or when she hears the rattle of a plastic bag. I use a plastic zip lock bag for her treats when we are walking.

We are training her to go in her crate when we say, "Go to Bed". She isn't super fond of it but getting better. We found out she prefers sleeping in a bed!
She was more than happy to snuggle with me when I wasn't feeling good. It took Jeff picking her up to get her to go to her own bed! She wouldn't go with him when he called.
Sorry Lola. I like a clean bed; one without Dog Hair!!

Slide Show - Devastation from IKE

2008-10-18T21:05:00.000-07:00

We are continually amazed at photos from our recent Hurricane IKE. Here is another slide show. I think two of these photos may be from Cuba or one of the other Islands. No matter what, these show the power behind the storm. And to think it was only a category 2!

IKE - Slide Show

Cal Maritime '98 Class Reunion

2008-10-18T21:04:00.000-07:00

The weekend of October 10th Jeff and I flew to San Francisco for his 10 year college reunion at Cal Maritime Academy in Vallejo CA. Thursday night we flew in late. I had gotten a steal of a deal on Hotwire for a 4 star hotel by the airport.

The EntranceChandeliers Orchids
Our Room - After a long day.

FRIDAY: We decided to hang out down town San Francisco.This clock tower is on the wharf. I have been fascinated since our trip to NY with clocks. I couldn't get the whole tower or the details in one photo. Even two photos doesn't do it justice!

Is this the worlds largest bow and arrow?

Alcatraz from the parking garage.

My husband who keeps me laughing. {This is what happens when I take to long to snap a photo :) } We stopped at a shop. A nice sales man showed us some blocked off rooms. He showed us this piece carved out lots of little pieces of bone (or was that something else??). Its cost? Close to a million!!!

A close up of the details.A spendy chandelier.
Outside the shop. Me and the monkeys.

I have also fallen in love with Palm Trees. I didn't know that they changed colors.

Down on the piers.

The famous occupants of Pier 39.

While we were down on the waterfront we were treated to a sneak peak of the airshow. It was their practice run. So - we got to see the airshow minus the crowds.

Downtown San Francisco.

Trans America tower

SATURDAY: The Reunion

The returning alumni were challenged to a tug-of-war with the current student body. The Alumni won.This is the school ship. Jeff has sailed on it at least twice. He even taught on it a couple of years ago! Class of 1998 The only ones to show up out of his class of 50.

Class of '98 and families.

Touring the ship with his classmates.

Looking at Cal Maritime from the training ship.

Jeff with the bridge in the background.

Looking toward my cousin Therin's place in Crockett. We stayed with him Friday and Saturday night. It was a blast to spend time with him and Tami. Especially since we would be at their wedding just two weeks later!

Sunday: We were fortunate to get to the morning of Sebastapol Special Meeting. Then we headed the scenic route back to the airport.

The scenic route took about an hour and a half longer than we had expected. We almost didn't make our flight!!

The San Francisco Bridge.

Alcatraz - The boats are in the harbor for the airshow.

Downtown San Francisco

We made our flight with just 15 minutes to spare. A little to close for my comfort!

BTW - Did you know that they intentionally overbook their flights out of SFO? So we wouldn't have been able to leave till Tuesday morning (12:30AM) if we had missed our flight!!!!!!

Inspiration

2008-10-18T20:09:00.000-07:00

My mom sent me a video via e-mail today. It made me ashamed of myself. Here I am with a very capable human body with only the limitations I put on it, and the man in this video is without arms. My out-of-tune guitar sits by the dusty piano waiting for me to get motivated or find time. How much time do I waste? Maybe this week I can recognize time wasted and put it to better use. I hope you receive as much inspiration as I did from this video!

We Have Plans!

2008-10-02T08:51:00.000-07:00

Yesterday afternoon we finalized plans to go home (Washington) for Thanksgiving. We will be staying at my Parents and going to my Brothers for Thanksgiving day! YEA!!! We can't wait to see everyone.

The Night that Began and Ended with Dogs

2008-09-29T18:25:00.000-07:00

Thursday (the 25th) night about 8:30 I decided to take Lola out for a walk and drop off a birthday gift at a neighbors. As Lola and I approached the friends we were greeted by a wild ball of fur: Ceci - our neighbors little puppy. I noticed our neighbors were gone - presumably to celebrate Melissa's birthday. I tied Lola up and took Ceci to Chris and Allison's (another neighbor). I knew their Daisy (for photos see earlier post) plays with Ceci and they had a little kennel to keep Ceci safe in. Once Ceci was safe - Lola and I resumed our walk. She did her business and I cleaned up after her. In the process I was bit 9 times by fire ants. Mind you, it was dark and I couldn't see where I was stepping. Lola and I walked back to the house. I was getting itchy so I asked Allison for some Benadryl and went home to take a soda bath. Within 10 minutes I was so covered in hives I began to panic and started yelling for Jeff. We quickly discussed taking another benadryl when I realized my hives were rapidly becoming one and that my ears were swelling shut - or it felt that way. We decided on the ER room. My sweet husband safely disobeyed a few traffic lights and it is a good thing he did! I went into acute anaphylactic shock. - We arrived at the ER room just in time. I didn't quit breathing but I was having a very hard time. For those of you who haven't been bit by a fire ant - here is a photo. If you look VERY closely you will find 9 bites. The two smallest bites are very close to larger ones. I have been told that American Indians used fire ants to torture enemies. They wouldn't have had much fun with me!

All is well now. I have been on Prednisone for a few days and have a few more days to go. Fortunately I don't see any side affects. I do have to see a specialist per the ER doctors recommendations and carry an Epi-pen with me all the time.

The title of this blog says that the night began and ended with Dogs. Well, when we got home at 3AM a different neighbors dog was loose. Jeff had to chase him down and put him in their backyard. What a night - It began and ended with Dogs!

Birthday Party

2008-09-29T08:29:00.000-07:00

Friday night the 19th we were invited to to Chuck and Teresa for Andy's birthday. Jeffrey knew Patty and Andy from CA. The previous week was Patty's birthday. It was fun to hear about when Patty and Andy first met and figured out their birthdays were so close. The dinner table.
Hawaiian center piece. In honor of the Andy; he is from Hawaii.
Gina and Teresa in the kitchen working their magic.
Debbie, Jerry, Jeff and Bea before dinner.
Chuck "The Grill Master" - Fish - Nummmmy!

Gina sampling the frosting leftovers. Andy - blowing out the candles.
Serving cake
From left to right - Gina, Bea, Me, Jeff, Jerry, Norman, Deb, Andy, Patty, Teresa and Chuck
A great evening with great friends!! We hope you had a Happy Birthday Andy!! We sure enjoyed it.

Our New Addition - Lola

2008-09-28T14:39:00.000-07:00

We've been thinking for awhile about "rescuing" a dog. Jeff grew up with little dogs and had his heart set on a bigger dog; especially a Lab. I grew up with big dogs and had my heart set on a little dog. My feeling for little dogs grew after our neighbors Chris and Allison "rescued" Daisey. She is sweet and has a large personality for a little dog. We have both enjoyed her so much.

In the end, Jeff and I decided to compromise and look for a medium-sized dog. It seemed like the best combination of both choices.

I was afraid while looking at CAP (Citizens for Animal Protection) that we'd find a dog and she would end up being too hyper and crazy! So as we looked, we were very hesitant. We went with some friends who are also looking to rescue. Here are a few photos:

Lauren (on the left) recently adopted a puppy named Jackson from the SPCA. Dewi (Pronounced - Davie on the right) is looking for a Golden Retriever.Lambros (Dewi's husband) is trying out a lab puppy. He was a cute playful puppy. Jeff with "Frannie" - a name we had to change :) She was so sweet yet timid. We were worried she wouldn't attach herself to us. She was more interested in licking everyone that walked by, than staying by us. While spending time with her, I opened her mouth, pulled/squeezed her tail and ears, splayed apart her web-like paws to see what she would do. She just sat there and licked me. Jeff and I put her on hold and went home to research part of her mutt nature: Catahoula. We were torn because she seemed distant and dull (especially for an 8-month puppy!), yet she was so gentle and sweet. The next day when I called Jeff at work, I asked him: How would you feel if I told you I left her behind? His response: "I'd be sad." I then asked him how he would feel if I had adopted her. His response: "I'd be excited." That was my answer. We told CAP we wanted her (Sept 19th) and brought her home on the 20th.
Meet our new family member, Lola! She developed Kennel Cough - a doggie cold. So, we are "Fostering" her right now till she can be spayed. She is definitely still puppy (8 months at that) but learning her commands quickly! We expect she won't get much over 40lbs. She quickly picked up cuddling (always did like to put her muzzle in your hand) and having her tummy rubbed. She likes to be wherever we are. Baths are not a favorite - she's had 2! but she is tolerant.This is a photo I took while walking her the other day (September 24th)! As you can see she's learned "Sit" pretty good!

Out and about - After the Storm

2008-09-26T17:11:00.000-07:00

I was antsy - So Jeff took me for a drive around town. A lot of cleaning up had already been done. Here are a few photos of the havoc.
Jeff tells me this sign is typical for LA but it isn't for here. This sign was full of signs. Not any more! Check out the sign in the background. Not a sign missing!
Check out the traffic camera above the light! Normally sitting proud and tall waiting to catch red light runners.
I was very sad to see some of my favorite crape myrtle trees blown sideways. They have straightened them since this photo and staked them. I hope they survive.

We saw a lot of fences knocked over. Some neighborhoods backing main roads lost whole blocks of fences! (Sorry no photos)
The sign laying on the ground use to be hanging showing all their movies. We've heard this is a good clean place to watch a movie and eat dinner at the same time.

Jeff and I pulled over to take these photos. Can you see the two "light" spots? Weird?!
LA came to Houston to help out!!

A stop at Target - WOW empty shelves. They tossed all the contents.

Fruit and veggie isle cleaned out.
Not much peanut butter left.
No fruits

or veggies :(
I counted 14 utility trucks headed in to help out the nearly 2 million without power.
A local high schools football/track equipment shack.
Debris waiting to be hauled off.
We were both surprised how fast things were cleared and put back to normal. A lot of signs were quickly fixed, debris put out at the curb, fences put up, roofs repaired, buildings cleared that had collapsed. There was a house being constructed a couple blocks from us that had the first floor collapse. It was a two story - became a one story with no front door or garage. By a week later it was completely dismantled and they were working on rebuilding it.

Helping Out

2008-09-26T09:18:00.000-07:00

Jeff was asked if he could help hand out supplies provided by BP to BP employees. Since we had the time and felt so fortunate we both gladly went. Lambros went with us. We drove about an hour and a half to Texas City. We didn't see a ton of destruction. We figure we were fairly close. We heard lots of sad stories. Those who waited hours for supplies were very appreciative. Here are a few photos. Some older neighborhoods with lots of roof damage. - (Bub you'd have a hay day down here!!!!) Roofers are so overwhelmed with all the work and with all the rebuilding that will need to be done. There will continue to be a need for quite some time. Labor is cheap down here as well. Unfortunately not everyone knows how do a good roof. Many people found leaks even in areas where there weren't very heavy winds.
A short line for gas!
Oops
Helping out - this is where they put food into plastic bags.
Jeffrey - isn't he cute ;) standing next to the bags of food and juice.
They had a very organized setup. Each employee had to report into BP's help lines. They told them what their needs were. The employee was given a case number. As they were in line, they gave their information and filled out paperwork. At the front of the line they were directed into 1 of 3 bays. These guys in the photo placed the needed items into the waiting vehicle. Items varied - "generator, fuel for the generator, batteries, flashlight, a non-perishable food pack, bottled water, tarps, gloves, bleach, detergent, saw, rope, powdered milk, infant formula, diapers, toothpaste, toothbrushes, wipes and many more items I can't recall" (Item list copied from BP letter).
They had a flat bed of huge gas containers they used to fill up the 5 gallon gas cans.

Supplies to be handed out.Jeff and Lambros helping out. They started off the day loading cars. They were quickly recruited to putting generators together. They did about 70 in 6 hours or so. Pallets of generators waiting to be assembled.
My job was flattening cardboard. The first couple of hours I had help. Then my help disappeared.
Ouch - we double checked at this crossing!
Silos - not much use now!
I don't know if this is a temporary repair job or if it was just poorly constructed!

The winds of adversity quickly show what we are built of and the craftsmanship. Even the best of supplies don't hold up well with poor craftsmanship. We've been given the best. What will the winds show us?

We are Fortunate

2008-09-15T09:03:00.001-07:00

We have survived our first official hurricane - IKE. To be honest it was uneventful for the two of us. Jeff and I decided to go to bed Saturday morning at 2:30AM. From what we have been told our electricity went out at 4AM and it got very windy. We slept like babies till 9:45AM!

We had so much extra food!
We didn't go hungry! The "Hunker Bunker": we slept like babies in our master bedroom closet! It is the most sheltered room in the house and we didn't even hear the wind.
Saturday afternoon we went for a walk. The only damage we could find in our neighborhood was this sign and blown over trees!Sign of wildlife after the storm - It makes me wonder where they went to survive the wind and driving rain.
Saturday we received power about noon. Since so many of our friends were without electricity and water we invited them to come join us. It was hot and muggy. We felt fortunate to have A/C. Jeff's co-worker Lambros and his wife Dewi and parents (visiting from Greece) came for dinner. We were also joined by Brendan and Karla - Of course I didn't even think to take pictures. :(

Sunday morning we had meeting and then Brendan and Karla spent the day with us. Last night it was beautiful out. 70's and not muggy - I am sure those with out electricity were thankful!

We have not heard of any deaths of any of our friends. We did hear one family in South Houston lost their roof. Overall - We all were VERY fortunate.

Yikes It Is IKE - Coming our way!

2008-09-12T15:06:00.001-07:00

We were amazed at the craziness of preparing for Hurricane IKE. I decided to take a few photos to show those of you who haven't experienced it: "Preparation madness." I honestly think it was worse than any holiday shopping I have ever seen!

First we went to the grocery store: HEB

When we arrived we grabbed a cart in the parking lot - good thing we did! I took this picture after returning these 4 from the parking lot! What carts weren't in line were in the parking lot.

Lines - 40minute wait or so before we could pay. The gentleman to the right of Jeff was here in 1961 when Carla hit. It was a category 4. He couldn't figure out why people were in such a panic. We saw carts that looked like there were 10 teenage boys in the family and mom hadn't shopped for 6 months and wasn't planning on shopping for another 6! Piled so high, things were sliding off and stuff propped on the front on the handle and things being held onto by mom!!! Water aisle - Mind you this is all before 10AM, on Thursday!!!!
This is another HEB - Lines to even get into the parking lot and look at the lines for gas...It is a little difficult to tell but lines were 4 and 5 cars deep.
Lines for gas at another gas station. I filled up the Highlander early in the day Wednesday. Jeff waited till 11:30PM Wednesday to fill up the Cavalier. At 9:30 the lines were still 4 or 5 cars deep. We topped the tank again Thursday night at 10:30PM. There were hardly any cars there! Some gas stations ran out of gas. However there were tankers on stand by - continually filling local gas stations. After the 10:30 gas up I had Jeff take me past to take a photo of all the carts put away - hundreds!!!
Jeff cutting a few boards for one side of our house. The side with our office/master bath/guest bedroom. In hopes it will protect our electronics- even though they are old.
The side he boarded up.
All finished outside! Lawn ornaments in. Mats in. Potted plants in. Highlander in. Only one family in our neighborhood evacuated. They are on the corner in front of us. We face their backyard. One neighbor noticed this afternoon that the evacuees had left toddler toys and garbage cans out front. So the guys (about 5 of them) from our neighborhood started to investigate. The family had left all their toys laying around the backyard - including their grill etc. (What were they thinking??? That a 6' fence would contain them with 50-80mph winds?) Well the men weren't willing to take the chance of projectiles breaking the rest of the windows in the neighborhood...so they covered all the toys (children and adults) with a net and staked it down. Thanks Neighbors for looking out for all of our windows!!!
One set of neighbors has a neighborhood party going on - they are out grilling burgers etc. J and I are doing a few more prep things around the house then it will be time for a late dinner.

August 5th

2008-09-12T14:44:00.000-07:00

This last weekend (Aug 5-7th) we teensat! Blake's parents had to be out of town for the weekend. His Mom went to a funeral and his Dad was stuck in Tulsa. So we gladly kept him! Friday night we had plans for dinner with Trey and Kasia and Bryndan and Karla at Fudruckers. We got there a little early so we hung out at Bass Pro.

That is a large fish tank in the back ground!!!
Stuffed critters all over the store.
Bryndan on his new cell.
Blake trying to hide from the camera.
Gotch ya!Just in case.....
Fudruckers here we come.......
OH MY GOODNESS!!!!! I knew he had a big mouth and a large appetite - he ate the whole thing!

Is he ALWAYS on that thing??? :) JK
Blakesters after a hamburger
Trey and Kasia - next time I'll give you more warning!
Finally - A photo of Bryndan and Karla with out the cell phone!

We were at Fudruckers till after they closed!!! So many laughs and good conversation - Thanks Friends :)

First Anniversary Get-Away

2008-09-04T08:47:00.000-07:00

We can't believe it has been a year since we got married!!! It has gone by so fast. We have wonderful memories. We were talking about what to do for our anniversary weekend and about 2 weeks ago - Jeff said, "I'll take care of it." The only hint I got was when he told me what to pack: a hat, sunscreen, jeans, boots, a good book, beach towels, and shorts. I still didn't know where we were going until we arrived at Silver Spur Guest Ranch at 12:30AM Friday morning.The front of the "main" house. It had an office, big dining room and big family/game room, long front porch, bathrooms, vending machine and guestrooms. We stayed in a cabin.Family/Game RoomGame end :) We played a few games of pool - I didn't do to bad!Dining Room - Where we met Isaac and Ashlie and Rich and Sandy. Isaac and Ashlie had just gotten engaged two days before. They are getting married in October before Isaac deploys to Iraq. Rich and Sandy are retired from the army. Rich was a Chaplain. He had very sound advice for Isaac and Ashley - The most important he said - was to be individually closer to God. The closer they got to God the closer they would be as a couple. He also suggested they read the same books and discuss them via e-mail while Isaac is deployed. Jeff and I have sure enjoyed reading together and discussing the material - whether it be our bibles or books. He even suggested to them, the first book we read together: "The Five Love Languages" by Gary Chapman. Our cabin - It contained this bed, twin bunk beds, a twin bed and a bathroom.

Wildflowers.
View from our front porch to the bonfire area and main parking lot.
The cabins across from us. On the right side where the dark ground meets the light is about where the rattle snake was killed (photos below) - about 20 feet from our front porch! Yikes :)

A view of the corrals from our front porch. The junior Olympic size pool we enjoyed a few times.
Our curious little friends.

In the corral headed out on our first trail ride. Ashlie in front of Jeff - Dave walking away in background.

Watering the horses when we made it back.
The trail was very very very rocky - this isn't even close. We went up rock slopes and ledges of rocks where the horse had to step up a good 2 feet! We went through gullies where our horses just fit through and we had to lift our feet so they wouldn't drag. Of course I didn't get any photos of the "rocky" part - I was holding on and no way was I letting go!!!! Needless to say - when I rode Betsy back in the day - I never took her to places like this!
Out in the cow field - visiting the long horns (photos below) Isaac in back.
Ashlie was thoroughly embarrassed when she knocked over the cups - everyone clapped :)

We had a "cowboy" breakfast Saturday morning. We rode down in the hay wagon and rode back on horses after breakfast. Right after breakfast this gentleman - who has performed for the Queen! - gave us a show. I've never seen a rope used the way he handled it. He could rope him and his horse -keeping the rope rotating around them all the way to the ground and back up into the air! He could do tricks like some do with yoyo's - he walked the rope over his back - he roped the kids with his back turned - he roped himself and jumped out of the rope all while standing on the saddle! So many tricks - and no words to describe it! His horse was very patient :)
Jeff trying his roping skills! He got preeetty good :) He even roped me a few times! While i was running from him!!!
Were'd them thar' cows go with the long horns???Isaac - "I found one - lets pet em' " - The guys told us this longhorn was tame - Isaac was feeling brave!!! Until the cow stomped his hooves, snorted and tossed his horns - we got outa' the way - he didn't charge - he just wanted some room!

The longhorns are closer than they appear!!
This gal, holding the rattlesnake, actually "wrestled" it and held it while they cut the head off! Talk about some tough cowgirls. She had been kicked the day before by one of the horses - not ones we were riding - or so we were told :)

The rattlesnake being gutted.
Skin and meat. A guest at the ranch wanted the meat. The gal who wrestled it got the skin and head, and the person who found the snake got the rattle.
The mouth has dirt in it - but this was taken to show the fangs. Two in one side!
On Sunday before we all left - Ashlie and Isaac wanted photos - these are the ones they took of us! They even got us being silly - imagine that!

Look where he's headed :) His birthday is coming up :) :P
The four of us. An old' married couple and newlyweds to be!
Self portrait. The ranch gate - "Ya'all Come Back"
Jeffrey brought me roses and a card for our Anniversary Sunday night when we got home.Eating cake - from our wedding - actually isn't to bad! Hats off to "Tupperware"!
I got a little carried away taking photos of the flowers he brought me. They are beautiful and smell delicious!

To Another Year of Us!

Washington DC

2008-09-02T19:44:00.000-07:00

The last stop on our week away was Washington DC. I had been there once before when I was 14 - Not much has changed! :) The monuments were still mind boggling. We didn't get to see all of them - with just one short weekend! We have a great excuse to go back - our good Friends Peter and Marissa now live close by - in Virginia.

Friday night Lambros had to get to the airport so after we checked in - he showed us where the closest metro entrance was and we were on our way!Does this photo look familiar? In 1981 there was an attempt to assassinate President Reagan. This is where it took place. While we were checking in, Lambros made the connection!The view from our room.There were a lot of great homes on our walk to and from the metro - here are a few photos.You can see the concrete wall around the Metro entrance and the neat house in the background.Our way into the Metro - Steep, Steep decline - felt like we were going into the belly of the earth! LOLLooking back up! The Washington Monument - We took lots of photos of it throughout our trip - this was our first sighting of it on this trip. (And my favorite photo!)
Jeff with the Capital in the background.
The sun was shining - The building was brilliant.
"The Castle" also known as the information center for all the Smithsonian museums.
See the Man in the Red Shirt??? :)
Now he's wearing white!
We met up with Peter and Marissa Saturday - We went through the "SPY" museum - It had lots of relics used back in the day - lots of history - obviously nothing new! The lady at the entrance told us it would take 2 hours. The museum looked small from the outside. We were thinking, "yea right - it probably takes an hour!". It took the four of us 3 hours and we skipped a lot of "history boards" with lots of reading we can do on Wikipedia! :)Taken at dinner on Saturday night.The US Treasury Ol' Friends
The White House - Front and Back
UsThem :) Dwight D. Eisenhower Executive Office Building My fascination of NY was Clocks - In DC it was lights ;) Washington Memorial at Night - Notice the discoloration - there is a reason for this - it isn't just the lights. Click on the link at the beginning of this paragraph and you'll find out more about this great monument. Back in 94' I got to go to the top of this monument - a moment I haven't forgotten. It was a hazy day but we could see enough to be amazed at how high we were! The long wait in line was quickly forgotten!

On our way home from hanging out with Peter and Marissa all day Sunday (of which neither of us took photos except for the dinner shots) Jeff wanted to drive up Embassy Row. Rightly named for all the Embassies lining the road. As we got to the top we noticed a HUGE church.It is the "National Cathedral". (Click on the link to learn the history!)
Tall man at an even taller door!

It was difficult with my camera to capture it at night.
Jeff outside the Russian Embassy - He wanted this picture after having been to the SPY museum.
Us at the gates to Arlington National Cemetery - The last time I was here it was very green - this time it was very brown in spots and there were signs all over saying they are doing "sod restoration". It was still overwhelming to see all the white head stones over hill and valley.
We hadn't had breakfast - so we stopped for lunch to go. We found out we couldn't eat on the Metro - so we ate very respectfully - chewing with our mouth closed - disposing of our trash in a garbage bin - at the cemetery.

I don't remember who was buried here - we were all fascinated with the concrete draped flag. The Eternal flame at the Kennedy burial sight.
A view from the Arlington House which is being restored. We were able to walk through the house. All furniture and artifacts had been removed. A grand house in its day!
The changing of the Guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. This is something I told J we had to see. I remember seeing it 14 years ago. A very proper proceeding.

This is the stage of the amphitheater behind the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
The ceiling

Thanks to Marissa - She remembered who this statue is of (click on his name to read about him): Sir John Dill

Located at the entrance to the Cemetary

After we left the cemetary we had a Loooooooooooooooong walk back to the monuments. As we crossed over the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge we saw the "National Cathedral". I think this picture acurately shows how enormous this Cathedral really is.
Lincoln Memorial. It was a long hot walk so J took the pictures and I got us some frozen lemonade!

Washington Memorial...again...this pool is the "Reflecting Pool" At one end (behind Jeff taking this photo) is the Lincoln Memorial and at the far end (below the Washington Monument) is the World War II Memorial.
Vietnam Memorial

World War II Memorial - It is rather grand - photos don't do it justice. In the middle is a fountain and it has a column for each state around the outside edge.
The Washington Monument during the day - Notice the flags at the bottom?
Jeff - Ready to get back home! - We got upgraded to First Class - WOOOOWHOOOO :) We hope to go back to visit Peter and Marissa - and to see the rest of the sights! DC is an easy city to see on foot. The Metro is great for getting around. The amount of History is overwhelming. I rate it above NY!

PS - Thanks Peter and Marissa for some of the photos posted above!

NJ and MD

2008-09-02T19:25:00.000-07:00

Wednesday night we went to an old town called "The Old New Castle". It was incredible. It has a ton of history and it still has old cobblestone streets!

We ate at a Tavern - Jessop's - The food was absolutely wonderful! The architecture and decorations inside were typical of the era it was built. Beams/muskets/wood floors added to the atmosphere. The food was good ole' fashioned cooking. Jeff had Shepard's pie. There was lots of fish options - including fish and chips.

Thursday night we went to Maryland for dinner at a seafood place - I learned how to take a dead crab and brake it apart to get the meat out! We ate shrimp, crab cakes, and clams!! Then the 4 of us shared a slice of cake! Good thing we didn't each order one - It was gi-normous!!!!
Imagine my delight when we took a walk after dinner and found this place. For those of you who don't know - my grandpa's name is Herb and he was a commercial fisherman and is still an avid fisherman along with my Father and Brother!Wow - I'd never seen this before - sure that my Grandpa / Dad / and Brother would get a kick out of it!

NY

2008-09-02T14:44:00.000-07:00

Jeff had to go to NJ to do some audits and he asked me to go with! Here are a "few" photos from my excursion into NY.

Our first sighting of NY - from the planeJeff and Lambros on the tram to get the rental car.Evidence that he has had his name in lights!

The train waiting area. I had a 40 minute ride to get into downtown NY Penn Station.Looking down the tracks - When I got to NY I walked to Times Square and hopped a tour bus - Greyline for a "downtown" tour.A portion of Times Square - Signs Everywhere!! The USA's largest Post Office - Open 24 hours a day 365 days a year. The busiest day being....Yep - April 15th
Looking across the river at Brooklyn
I was fascinated by the clocks around town.And the architecture!This is the Original Macy's! You can't see it in this photo (check out the photo album) but the sign (under the arched window) still shows the Macy's lettering up close. I did go into the Macy's closer to Penn Station - It was busy and I had no desire to see everything! So I just did a quick walk through. The worlds largest needle and button.
We visited the Twin Tower sight. This is the only reminder of September 11th that we could find. A block or so away was a fence that still had letters from children for the children who died.

A typical sight during our week away - Lambros checking his Blackberry for directions! It was even more accurate than the "always-lost"; the name given to the never lost system in the rental car. The Naked Cowgirl in Times Square - No Naked Cowboy to be seen - he was there as I rode past on the tour bus earlier in the day. There was quite a crowd around including a news crew interviewing her.We walked through China Town then Lambros took us to "Little Italy" for dinner - It was incredibly delicious!!! Sorry I don't remember the name :(Then we went to a bakery and got snacks for our train ride back to NJ. A hot car :)

This is how they park some cars in NY !!
Well - I spent one day in NY - and I don't feel that I have to go back but I definitely would go if there was an opportunity! I didn't get to see the Statue of Liberty up close - that would be one reason for going back.

Lake Charles, LA

2008-08-04T14:06:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday the 29th we took off for Lake Charles, LA. Jeff was invited to tour a ship used for responding to oil spills in the Gulf.A huge bridge that seems to be overkill - but gave us a great view of our accommodations.La Burge de lac - A casino/hotel/5 restaurant/spa/pool extravaganza! It is the cream building with the gold tip on top. To the left of it is the casino - it appears to be very short - but up close (as you will see below is 2 story's tall!) the hotel/restaurants make a U around the pool. The far side that you can't see here is the grand entrance. The cool boat J got to tour.

The Grand entrance
Our hotel room had signs to post to keep visitors away - they were absolutely hilarious! 6 options.Our room was on the 23rd floor - the absolute top floor! - J looking at our fabulous view. You might notice the curved object outside the window just above J's head - You will see it in the last photo below - of the tower. The bridge we crossed.

The pool! The top left pool is 21 and older - no exceptions. At the bottom right is the "lazy river bar" - the round roof. Both round roofs were bars and the rectangle roofs were over the bathroom. The tent was set up for the huge pool party the next day. There were also several steps by the pool and lazy river where lounge chairs were in about 4" of water. I believe the orange cabanas rent for about $300/day. The bridges were pretty cool addition to the atmosphere. Palms and flowering tropical plants and lots of green. I thought the parking lot with huge touring buses gave a good size indicators of the pool area. Our bathroom

The docks outside the casino.
The casino - some law requires that casinos are on boats. This appears to be a barge floating in water contained by land on three sides and a metal dam on the fourth. The metal dam is right under the walkway you see in this photo. The water height varies from one side of the walkway to the other - very intriguing.
More photos of the pool - the "lazy river bar". The pool was abandoned. We had lightning and thunder in the area. Once it went away everyone came back. They let us lay around the pool - just not in it. I believe it was in the upper 80's the entire day.
Pool/bridges/hot tubs :) My view all day!!!!
We were in the top left corner! I hated to leave and come home - but alas - J had to be back in the office the next morning. To avoid traffic I made J sit with me by the pool for an hour :)!

Animals

2008-08-04T14:01:00.000-07:00

Some of you already know that I sometimes house/animal sit for the neighbors next door. This is Marble the snobby cat.
The new addition to their residence has stolen our hearts. She is a 10 week old Chihuahua and Italian greyhound mix. They named her Daisy! I am trying to convince J that we need to also rescue a little dog! :)
Daisy absolutely love J'. As you can see he spoils her too! (hmmm I didn't get the outside 2 dogs - maybe another post!)
Our neighborhood alligator! It appears to be about 5.5 feet long. Our neighbor said it is not afraid of people and is playful with his fishing bobbers! It didn't let us get to close. :(
See 'it' on the far shore? - I just had to try and get a crape myrtle in here :)

Convention Trip - Happy 2008

2008-08-02T12:08:00.000-07:00

We took off Wednesday the 23rd to head for Happy. We stayed Wednesday night in Wichitafalls, TX.

As we headed out for Happy - we saw a sign - a rainbow - a reminder of Gods promise. To the Southwest a category 2 hurricane was crossing South Padre Island (see earlier post).
A beautiful sunset!Thursday I drove and J worked. Here's the evidence! Happy - Home
Meeting barnKitchen/dining - (Daryl - you recognize this man??)
Kasia's parents Murray and Gina
Where the meeting tent use to be. - Now a nice shady playground.Jeff doing what he does quite well - talking :)
Heading out - Christopher and Alex joined us for the drive home.
The town of Happy. Very destitute - the first of many "ghost" towns. Another "ghost town" - this one appears to be on the rise - several rehabbed buildings and two "old" gas stations.

Stopping to see the Canyons!!! C and A emptied the car of garbage! Great passengers.

Texas does have canyons!!!

We saw tons of abandoned houses both on our way to Happy and home. I am wondering if it is due to the crash in the 20's. Maybe the occupants left the houses and by the time anyone wanted to live in them, they were to far gone.

We saw lots of these - someone is getting wealthy - look at those tanks!!!Our passengers :) We must officially be "boring married folk"! And there are mountains in TX! Who said Texas was flat? They must not have taken our route.
We made it home safe 11:30PM and left again Tuesday for Lake Charles, LA.

When the cats go away the mice come out to play!

2008-07-21T17:51:00.000-07:00

Jeff was gone all last week. He had to go to LA to inspect some ships and while he was there he visited his family. I thought I would get a ton of stuff done around the house. I had a huge list. Well....needless to say I got more done that wasn't on the list!

Tuesday I invited some ladies for lunch - this is a photo of those who showed up. Our theme was "salads". There were just as many children as adults.

Wednesday was retail therapy with my neighbor Allison - We went to the mall in Sugarland. Macy's was well inspected before we broke for lunch at Lupe's for fajitas.

Thursday I went with Gina B to look at a Model Home Village. There were 30 homes and I think we made it through 10 or so! Here are the photos. The decorating was very interesting.Telephone RoomScreened Deck - A necessity down here!An interesting way to let in light! Jeff and I saw windows in the side of the house a while back and were trying to figure out what room they were in - now we know :)Gina. Check out the curtains and paintings in the back ground. There were a couple homes that had brickwork (the arch) as accents. Playroom - paintingsBedroom - the kids bedrooms were really well done. I thought of my nieces and nephews.

After lunch Gina and I went to the "Enchanted Forest" a nursery. They also have another nursery named "Enchanted Garden". They have a great reputation and only carry plants that survive our weather. I don't know many of these plants but they were beautiful!

When I took Gina back home she had a birthday package. And Toby was happy to see us.
Well.....I did actually get something on that list done! Here's the evidence: I hung up "stuff"!

We love our plants. I just had to take photos of them again! If you compare them with previous photos you will see how fast they grow! I also had to throw in a close up of our crape myrtle.

Plumeria

Ginger

Tahitian Gardenia

My sleepy looking husband - busy working on reports after 5!

Life

2008-07-13T19:09:00.000-07:00

Today - Sunday - is a day that reminds us of who we are, whose we are, why we are here and what we need to be doing. Today - I realized, sad news also brings us back to this place of humility.

This afternoon I received some sad news. A family friend was in an accident yesterday. He is alive. However, his quality of life has drastically changed. What life once was, will be much different. The extent is not yet known. He was enjoying the day with his family on the river - he dove in to shallow waters - waters that had been deeper the weekend before.

He has a beautiful wife and 4 darling children. He was on top of life. Young, good health, beautiful family, a new practice and a budding career - so much promise. In an instant much has changed.

I think back to when we almost lost Dad. The things my Mom went through - the things I went through - the things my family went through - the memories come flooding back. And now I add "the things our friends went through." My heart cries for his wife and children -and for him. I am at a loss as to how I can help. Words that could be uttered to show understanding and care; they seem so mundane. Yet, inside, I know how comforting they are; because they were to me. The road ahead is only traveled one step at a time. Some steps will be harder than others and some days it will feel as if no progress has been made but regress. I like what Eleanor Roosevelt said, "You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, 'I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.' You must do the thing you think you cannot do. " It is what we do with each experience that makes us who we are. I know with out any doubt Dads accident made me appreciate life more, appreciate my family and friends more.
Yesterday in meeting we heard about humility and love. Several of my friends have mentioned in passing conversations this last week about the things we love and whether they are loved more or less than God. It is good for me to be humbled and reminded that life and the things here on earth are so temporary. My love for God needs to be deeper so when these life changing experiences come I see them as an opportunity and not as a tragedy.

Part 2

2008-07-11T10:43:00.000-07:00

We found this condo off of Craigslist! It was very very clean and comfortable!Living RoomKitchenNook/Entry (Kitchen to the right) We had about a 200' view from all of our windows! Master BedroomMaster BathroomOther BedroomView of "Sandestin" from the ocean.

View from the condo.The group of us. Blake, Murray, Gina, Amber, Andrew, Monica, Me, Jeff
Jeff and Me Us Gals

My favorite scenic photoMy 2nd fave' My 3rd fave'

What we do best on the beach - Read :) (My Favorite Man on the Beach!)Blake

Our View!
We enjoyed the beach long after everyone else!
Looking down the beach
The beautiful waters of Sandestin/Destin FL

As much as we didn't want to leave we had to. :(

Driving West along the coast.

A Louisiana Rest Stop!!!!
At the same rest stop.

Our Great Travel Companions at the end of a LONG day traveling. A road trip home suppose to last 10 hours. Ours lasted 12 - due to crazy holiday traffic!

We went from Texas, Through: Lousiana, Mississippi, Alabama To: Florida. 5 States Total!!! 4 I had never been in.

Would we do it again? YES - Definitely YES - the sooner the better :)

4th of July Weekend Getaway! Part 1

2008-07-08T18:50:00.000-07:00

Several people have told us about Destin, FL knowing we love pretty beaches and clear water. A couple weeks ago we realized Jeff had Thursday and Friday off so decided we should take a road trip. Murray, Gina and Blake were game to go with. We all piled in the Highlander and hit the road. Here are a few photos from our drive. The first night we stayed in New Orleans

We drove over miles of bridge. Beneath were murky waters. Parts were labeled as lakes others as swamp. I couldn't tell the difference!! There were plenty of fisherman - we think their fish finders set off our radar detector. ;)

Nice sunset

After we checked into our hotel we took a walk.

Check out the moss growing on the wall.

We couldn't pass up the famous Cafe' Du Monde for cafe' and beignets!

After beignets we took in some history.

Our History Guide (Paul) and a pleasant dispositioned Mule (Firefly) his "partner"

A great way to spend a warm evening. Probably low 80's at 11PM!

On the road again - stopped for a fuel up.

Our Men fueling up.

We had fun trying to get a hold of a cargo carrier - a very popular item here in TX and a holiday weekend immanent. We were thankful for it with 5 of us inside the highlander.

One of the infamous Myrtle Crape trees I love so much

Typical New Orleans architecture. One of 5 (?) styles found here.

2008-06-24T18:59:00.000-07:00

If one way doesn't work - try another till you succeed. I couldn't shorten the video - so I posted it on "youtube". Turn on your speakers - that is 1/2 of the show :) The crunching is hail hitting the window!
Here it is :)
Our Storm!

http://

2008-06-24T09:24:00.000-07:00

I am finding I am not so quick about posts and by the time I do post I have more photos than words :) Maybe that saying is true: "A picture is worth a thousand words".

The first several photos are from neighborhoods along our bunny trail. It is great to choose a different way home and see new territory.

This is a lake with a fountain. - You can see kayakers. Part of this lake is made into a swimming pool for the residence!
Below: This is our neighborhood pool. We have been enjoying it almost everyday! Jeff has had a cold - so he sat in the shade with a book Sunday evening, while I swam laps.
We had two storms last week. Wednesday night just as we got home from study - it started to rain. We were soaked by the time we got from the car to the house - maybe 10 or so steps! By the time we set our books down in the kitchen the lights went out. There was lots of lightning, thunder and hail! On Thursday we had another storm. Jeff wasn't home and it was kind of scary!!! I took a video but it is to large to post - and I am not sure how to shrink it :) Here are some photos of the damage.

I previously posted photos of Jeff insulating the garage doors. Here is the finished product - we've noticed a change for the better.
I have been telling you about the crape myrtles (at least this is what I think they are!) in bloom... here are a few photos!
Below: Can you see the white ones to the right of the pink? We've been enjoying growing a few things ourselves. Here is the progress:
Hibiscus Plumeria we brought home from Hawaii
Tomato plant branch that broke off our other bush!
Strawberry plants
Vinca and some other flowers I don't know the name of but enjoy their color :)
It may be humid and warm here but it holds many surprises!

South Padre Island

2008-06-10T09:04:00.000-07:00

June 6-8 2008

We decided if we couldn't live on an island with crystal clear waters and bum around all the time then we should find a place, with in driving distance, that could provide us with a temporary since of paradise.

Our first destination: South Padre Island.

"Padre Island is a 34-mile long barrier reef island located at the southernmost tip of 625 miles of the Texas Gulf Coast. Approximately ½ mile wide at its widest point, the Island is surrounded by the warm waters of the Laguna Madre Bay to the west and the ocean surf of the Gulf of Mexico to the east. Five-mile stretch of land comprises the Town of South Padre Island; the additional 29 miles consist of undeveloped, virgin beach."

We drove North of town and this is what we saw!!!

We decided to go for a walk on the beach - I have never seen so many whole shells and thick ones at that! They are heavy in weight and large in size!

This gives you a good idea of their size and how many were on the beach. The water was "rough" as they have had storms all week. It looked dirty too :( When we finally lugged our umbrella/mats/books/hats/sunscreen/drinks/camera/phones to the beach - it STORMED on us after just being there a 1/2 hour! So now we weren't just covered in sunscreen but sand and rain! We raced to the car - I've never seen the beach clear off so fast! By the time we were in the car and 1/2 way into town the sun came back out! We decided not to tempt fate - so we sat by the hotel pool; read and slept to our hearts content!!!This was at the end of one of our "nature trails".

On our way home we decided to detour through Corpus Christi and explore Mustang Island - Head North up the island, take 361 across at Port Aransas - back to the mainland

Crossing to the island - it seemed like one lonnnnng bridge over many miniature islands with harbors.We saw several of these HUGE stores in S.Padre as well - This time we stopped to take a photo. The ones we went into in S.P. weren't all that great - the outsides were! Marketing! or should I say "false advertising"?This "Sand Castle" is actually a store front - We have never seen anything like it. There were at least 4 very interesting ones - this was the last one we saw. We didn't go in - we still had a long drive ahead of us.

Mustang Island - lots of grass and sand dunes. To the south the only building was the park entrance hut!

We drove North to Port Aransas - this is the beach!My first sighting of a "Man of War" jellyfish!! I was so amazed I must have taken 7 or so pictures! They glistened in the sand and were very very colorful!My first sighting of an offshore rig!The map said that the highway (361) went across at Port Aransas - This is the freeway - yep - a car ferry! It was fast/efficient and fun! There were 2 ferries working - and bays for up to 8!!!My hubby :) feeling right at home!This was the "South" bound lane. :)

This week the workers are coming for a night - so off to cleaning I go. I have told a few of you about the Crepe Myrtle trees that are in bloom. I will try and get a photo to post when I am out running errands. Hugs to all!

Insulating Craze

2008-06-04T10:23:00.000-07:00

At Long Last :) The shelves are finally in Houston and in the hutch :) YEAAAAAAAA - Thanks Ed! And thanks for being adventuresome with us! We went to the original Ninfa's (1978). It isn't in the best part of town - we've never been there before...we were seeing lots of abandoned buildings and began wondering... when we spotted the little restaurant were we had reservations - Ninfa's - Wow!!! Incredible Food and service And better company :) My Man - Insulating the garage doors in hope that we can keep the humidty/heat out and get the car moved home! :) He's cleaning the doors for adhesive strips and then the insulation that has to be cut precisly - its lookn' good :)
Maybe the fumes are getting him "happy" :) - or maybe its the excitement of getting his car home....
Ok- here is a full view of the front of our house - I thought I had posted enough photos but was informed otherwise.

View of the back of the house (before we planted patio pots) View down our street-
View the other direction-
Well - I think I am caught up now - I'll have more to post next week! Hey - let me know if there are any other photos you want to see :) Ie. our HUGE HEB (grocery store) or the alligators in the pond right down the road :) But beware - the best views are in person - so come visit!

A beginning to blogging - A long time overdue

2008-05-22T19:24:00.001-07:00

I have been meaning to start blogging for a long time now! I am hoping this is an easy way for me to let you all know how we are and what kind of trouble we are creating :)
August 2007

Our life together began August 31st

September - We took our honeymoon right after the wedding so it was the first week of September. We went to Peter Island BVI

The view from our "hut"

Another view from our deck
Our "Hut" on the top right side. The Marina

Jeff Wind Surfing

Me Trying to Surf - A actually did quite well - Jeff thought I should give it a try and off I went - I went a long way out :) but not to far.
A great way to spend a lazy afternoon

October - We had a wonderful Wedding Reception in LA

November - We worked at home on the weekends.

December - I went to LA to help Jesse and Jenni (my brother in-law and sister in-law) with Jordana and Josiah. Then we went to WA and OR for the holidays.

Beautiful Winter Sunsets - Seaside OR

January
February - Went to Brazos Bend State Park

Yep we have alligators here in Houston!!!

March - We went to LA - To see Jeff's family and celebrate birthdays. Jeff's first time to see his niece!!! We went to Disneyland, Venice Beach, Santa Monica, Downtown LA.

May -
Our Latest Adventure: Washington (Dad's 60th) and Hawaii - The Big Island

Our First Baseball Game of the Season:Our Friends sat somewhere on the balcony above the white sign :) Our View Nosebleed seats - proof we were on the VERY BACK ROW!

Last but Not Least: Our Home
Jeff's Project: Insulating the Garage

My Project: Flowers

Furniture Shopping:Furniture we didn't acquireFurniture we did purchase

Jeff "Thinking"

Well - You're all caught up :) Keep in touch.
Hugs from us to you!