What I found when I came home...

We live in a one bedroom apartment that is the top floor of a house. To get to our front door, you have to follow the sidewalk around the house to the back and then go up the stairs. There are many reasons why we like this, and many why we don't, but this isn't about that... We don't have a backyard, rather we have a side-yard on the side of the house. Up against the stairs (between the stairs and the lot behind us) is Bridger's kennel.

This is not your standard small kennel... this thing is spacious. It's about 10 ft wide and 15 ft deep. On top we have a sun shade made out of that special mesh stuff (i'm getting really technical here), so in the summer, the temperature in the kennel is fairly nice.

Inside the kennel Bridger has a concrete slab with about 5 inches of dirt on one side, a (what I like to call) trough for water, and a dog house to keep her warm from the north winds in the winter (i.e. now). We have to have this kennel for Bridger because she gets bored and will start to "explore" meaning, she will jump an 8ft fence, or literally figure out how to open the door to the kennel, or better yet eat her way out. This is the only kennel Bridger has not been able to get out of. It's one solid piece, too heavy for her to lift, on mostly concrete so she can't dig, has a roof, and the latch on the door is also reinforced with a chain and carabiner. And that could also be because she is 2 and a half now and just starting to mature.

Anyways...

Bridger is very content in her kennel. She has several times gone over to the door and asked to go in it when she's had the luxury of being in the house for an extended period of time (side note--that was before Santa brought her a bed, now I think she prefers the bed).

Bridger does a lot of things that are very weird for a dog to do. I wish I could video them and show you because she has B and I laughing at least a couple of times a day with something she does. One of the weird things she does is that she has probably only used her dog house for its intended purpose a couple of times. Yes, that includes days that it's pouring down rain and cold. Bridger would prefer to assume this position...

She loves being on top of her dog house. I don't know why, but she does. Sometimes she'll jump up on there the minute she walks into the kennel, before the door is even shut. Usually she can hear my car pull into the driveway (remember it's on the opposite side of the house), or hear the "honk" it makes when it locks and she'll jump down waiting patiently for me at the door to round the corner, but sometimes I think she just doesn't care.

Yesterday was one of those days.

She just sat there a top her dog house with her "manners" for me to let her out. One of my favorite commands that she has is her "manners." When we're at any door or she is in any kennel-type fixture, we can say (if she hasn't already assumed the position) "Where's your manners?" and she will immediately sit down and wait for you to tell her to "go inside" or "come here."

It's nice when you're fumbling with your keys, phone and purse and you don't have to deal with a ridiculously excited dog... until you release her of her manners.. then she goes wild. (only slightly kidding)

So that's what I found when I got home from work yesterday, Bridger trying to look as pitiful as possible right before she went nuts!

Tomorrow is Friday!!

I LOVE Fridays!

Well, Hello Blog! It's been a while! This week I've been incredibly busy for many reasons, and all of my spare time (when I usually write a post) has been filled by other things.

Many of you were asking how the interview went.. It went really well. We won't know for a while if we got the job or not, but things are looking pretty good! I really wanted to see the design the other firm came up with, but they weren't there at the same time so I couldn't. That being said, I'll let you know!

**UPDATE!!** We got the job!! We beat out the other firm solely based on our design over theirs! It's a HUGE step for my career here in town and a huge step for the company!!

In other news, things have been crazy for me at work. I have been busy since the end of December getting things squared away for a convention we have coming up in a week in Austin. I have done all kinds of things to get ready for this event including modifications to our booth, setting up dinner reservations with some school superintendents, and tying up loose ends.

On top of that, I spent the bulk of yesterday remaking a power point for an interview we had with another school board last night, and things went well.

Needless to say, I'm so glad it's Friday because I get off at noon!

Outside of work, I've been sick. Then I got better and got my brand new sewing machine (a Christmas gift from my sweet hubby) and went to work! There are no pictures of this because I was having too much fun to stop! I have sewed the welting for the chairs I'm re-upholstering.. don't remind me how long they've been unfinished. and then I practiced making something for my sister when she finds out in 10 weeks if I'm going to have a niece or nephew on some less expensive fabric and it turned out great!! I'm not going to disclose what it is I'm making her.. because she reads this, but it's SO cute!

Tonight I'm going to a special dinner for the West Texas Rehabilitation Center and B is headed out of town for some hunting with some friends. After my dinner some of the girls are coming over for a movie, and I'm so excited! Then tomorrow night B is coming back in town because he and I and the two partners and their spouses are taking some of the school board members from Ballinger ISD out to dinner at Perini's and I'm SO excited!

I'll leave you with this picture from this past Sunday when B took Bridger hunting...

I wish I was feeling better because I would have gone with him and brought my camera for some better photos, but the iPhone will just have to do!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Getting into the Christmas Spirit

First things first--and this is totally off topic--but when I was writing that title "Getting into the Christmas Spirit" I couldn't help but notice that when I typed the word spirit I said a cheer in my head to make sure I spelled it correctly... "S-P-I-R-I-T, spirit let's hear it!" You may be thinking I'm nuts, but I've noticed something in the past week or so. When you were young, and I'm talking about Kindergarten age... you probably learned little songs or rhymes to remember how to spell things such as the colors. Well, those have stuck with me over the years and I realized the other day that every time I spell words such as orange (I just did it) and together (and again), I am singing the song in my head! It's not that I am having difficulty spelling these words or anything, but it's that I honestly don't think I've ever spelled the words without the song... I just can't help it. Thank you Mrs. Mize (my Kindergarten teacher) because I've never had a problem spelling the word orange, and I still remember you teaching us the song! I guess my cheering days have transferred into spelling nuances as well!

Moving on! A couple of things have transpired lately that have made me realize it's nearly Christmas, and a few that have allowed Christmas to creep up on me without warning!

For starters, I'm still attending a high school football game every week (which, I'm sure you have noticed by now...). In all my life, I haven't been connected to a high school team that has made it this far in playoffs and continued to play into December. Because of that, I just have the mentality that I still will have a few weeks, almost a month to get things together for Christmas gifts.

The crazy thing is, the State game is next weekend. If Abilene High makes it through another week, they will play their final game of the season one day after they get out of school for Christmas break. Now, that's just nuts! This is almost year-round football since they started back in the Spring!

Lately it has been cold here.. really, really cold. It has snowed...

I appologize for the bad picture quality, I took this one quick for my parents with my phone as I was leaving to go to work, and it was COLD.

The temperatures for the past week or so have been COLD and the wind has been blowing unrelentingly. I meant to get the picture off of my weather on my phone yesterday, but this one is pretty similar..

I would like for you to notice the "feels like" temperature.. Yesterday I woke up and it said "Feels like 7." There is ice on the sides of every road and some people have forgotten to turn off their automatic sprinklers which makes even more.

We've gone to our first Christmas party of the year on Sunday night. It was the annual YoungLife Christmas party

This is all of the Abilene High Leaders! I love this team!

We have our next Christmas party tomorrow night and I will be sure to take more pictures, and hopefully we'll be having another Christmas party on the River Walk next week after winning the state championship!

And finally, I went and bought wrapping paper last night and started wrapping gifts while watching the best songs of the 90s with Brandon, which didn't take me long at all because I only had two to wrap. I am so far behind on gifts that I just realized I only have 15 days until Christmas and I have no idea what I'm going to do about it!

While I didn't take any pictures of the gifts all wrapped up, I did manage to make some use of a spare piece doomed for the trash...

So with that, I leave you. I'm sure you thought I was going to show pictures of our Christmas decorations in our house.. or maybe even our tree, but to be honest, we have none. You forget that we live in a tiny apartment, and a tree would take up enough space to really just be in the way, even a small one. And I did try to buy some lights and put a few up, if for no other reason than to better light our sidewalk at night, but then I realized that we have NO exterior outlets.. oh well!

My plan is to hit all of the after Christmas sales and buy all of our decor, lights, tree, ornament and everything for much cheaper with the hopes that maybe next year we'll be in a bigger place and I'll get to decorate.

FYI - This Isn't The Bash-Mobile

This weekend I ended up going to Dallas to go over some things for some space planning I'm doing for my mom's office. It was great to see my mom and visit for a while!

When she had to be at work, I was glad that two of my favorite people came to join me! Kevan and Katie are my best friends. I have known both of them since Freshman year of college and I just love them so much! They were married in May and I was happy to be in the wedding.

So Saturday morning I got up early and headed out of town. I met my mom at her office and we hung out and worked on the space planning. Later, Kevan and Katie made it into town and we met them at the North Park Mall for some much needed shopping.

After spending some time there, we headed over to my Aunt and Uncle's house to drop off a car before more shopping and dinner.

We were on our way to Irving to go to a specific Dillard's our navigator Kevan was not very clear so we took away his duties. Thank God for iPhones!

I promise this is totally safe..

Meet Katie. She's amazing and I love her.

Meet Kevan. This is Katie's husband and my friend. He's silly.

And look who else came! This is Baron, he's a friend too and was one of Kevan's roommates in college. Baron lives in Dallas now so we thought we'd spend some time with him too!

We had a good dinner at Saltgrass and then headed over to see Baron's new apartment. Later we all ended up back at my Aunt and Uncle's house to hang out.

Sunday we had to finish the trip with more good food so we chose none other than Pappasito's. Mmmmm...

I don't think Kevan knew I took this picture of him reading the menu, but it is a much more normal picture of him than the last one.

I love you Katie!

Then I started to kill time while we waited on Baron to meet us so I was taking pictures of everything.

Doesn't that look so good?

Baron finally made it and we had a good time. This is a much more normal picture of the two of them together.

It was so much fun getting to see friends and just hang out. I hope that we get to do it again real soon!

On the way back home, I stopped in Weatherford because I had time, and they had a Ross so I figured they would probably have a different selection than the one in Abilene. After going to Ross, I was waiting at the light to turn onto I-20 when the woman behind me reached for her lipstick and rear-ended me. Not cool. Luckily for me, she had been at a stop so I wasn't jolted hard or anything, but unluckily for her, it's not going to be cheap even though the damage isn't that bad. I called the police to get a police report on file, and I was glad I did because she didn't have her license or a valid insurance card. I want to believe that she is a good person, but with my previous experiences I know you can't trust a stranger, no matter how nice they seem.

We had just finished exchanging information when the police officer pulled up and I was VERY dissappointed with him. He didn't ask to see either of our driver's licenses or insurance (two tickets she would have had) and he told me that he couldn't file a police report because it wouldn't make any difference. Now, I mean c'mon. Isn't that part of the job when called to an accident? At least check to make sure the drivers have valid drivers licenses... They apparently do things a little different in Weatherford.

I got the police officer's information and the "call number" that shows I called it in, so hopefully that will be enough.

I've been battling back and forth with myself on what to do about my bumper. The damage is not that bad. If I had to describe it I would say it was more like deep gouges and scratches, but not dents. My biggest concern is that my parking sensor right there might have been damaged, I doubt it, but I haven't been able to test it because it would require someone putting their hand in front of it while I have it in reverse and I just haven't had the time. I'm not out to make her pay a ton of money. Had is been my old car that I dubbed the "Bash-Mobile" because of the dents it had, I wouldn't have cared, but I've only had the car for 7 months and I haven't done anything to it. The problem is the only way to fix a bumper is to replace it--and that's expensive.


I told you it wasn't bad. Part of me feels like I'm being a little ridiculous, but I know it's there and it's going to drive me crazy. I've come to the conclusion that this is just an example of why we have insurance so I'm going to get it fixed.

In lighter news, as I was getting close to Abilene, I was watching a good sized storm off to my southwest and I started to notice some cool things the with the sun and the clouds so I had to capture it.

I love the way the sun made a hole in the clouds!

Then a few minutes later it got even better!

There was something about those "God Beams" that I had to capture. They are just beautiful! I felt like I was watching a scene from one of those Bible movies where they show God talking but they just show the sky with a deep voice.

All in all it was a good weekend and I'm so glad I was able to see some friends!

Boomhauer

I have lived in Abilene for 4 years now, and before then I was every bit a "city girl," wait, who am I kidding, I still am.. so anyways, there is this show that you've probably heard of before, King of the Hill. It's pretty dumb, but when there is nothing else on tv (i.e. Family Guy) Brandon enjoys watching it.

On that show, there is a guy named Boomhauer (or Boomhower, I don't know) but he is one of the main character's best friends. I googled Boomhoauer and he came up on Urban Dictionary which led me to believe that whoeve wrote this either has a sick obsession with King of the Hill, or needs to get some friends.. maybe both. This is the definition I got:

Hank Hill's back-woods talking neighbor and one of his best friends, from the show, King of the Hill. From what I have pieced together. His full name is Jeff Boomhower, he is an electrical engineer, has a deceased father but mother is still alive. He has a brother name Patch. He has never been married but came close with at lest one girl. He is a ladies man and has a '76 Dodge. He was a quarter-back on his high school's varsity football team and, according to the odometer on Hank Hill's F-150, lives exactly 1/10th of a mile from Hank's house.

Basically, Boomhauer is that guy that no one can understand through his accent and mumbling, and honestly, I have always thought he was just mumbling giberish to be funny.

Here's an example of what I'm talking about:



I was wrong.. he is speaking full sentences (well, Texas style sentences), no joke. You can imagine the shock on my face when I came to this revelation. We were watching it on tv last week and I wasn't really paying attention when Boomhauer came on and started talking. I understood every. last. word.

Is this a result of me living in Abilene? maybe. Is it a result of my capability to understand and translate the mumbling Brandon does when he's bored or tired (even to people like his mother)? Absolutely.

There you have it, the official transition from "city girl" to "country wife" has begun. This is going to be a very interesting ride!

Metrocon and Deja Vu

Last week I went to Dallas for an interior design convention at the market hall. I was so excited that Rebecca was going to come with me, even though she works for a different firm. We had a blast catching up and walking around the convention as well as shopping at the best Dillard's in the WORLD!

We got to stay on the 24th floor of the Renaissance right there at Market and just had a blast! Sorry, no pictures.. I forgot to charge my camera battery.

Friday, I drove back to Abilene to come home and get ready for Minor and Lexi's rehearsal dinner. Brandon came and picked me up after the rehearsal and we were on our way! I think he really enjoyed me all dressed up in his favorite dress after not seeing me for two days!

On the way to the dinner, Brandon was telling me all about the rehearsal. I didn't know this, but Lexi grew up in the Episcopal church like I did, and her parents still attend there, so it was an Episcopal wedding. I almost lost it laughing at Brandon's stories about what they "had to do" in the rehearsal/wedding. He and all of the guys had never been in a wedding like that, so you can imagine how different that might have been for them!

The Episcopal church uses The Book of Common Prayer as the foundation and order for its services, and there are many different prayer such as the Nicene Creed and The Lord's Prayer that are said every week. Once you have gone to the Episcopal church for some time, you begin to memorize these different prayers and don't need to open the Book of Common Prayer when it comes time for them in the service. Brandon said at the rehearsal, when things like the Nicene Creed would come up, all of the girls in the wedding party (most of whom grew up in the Episcopal church) would be saying every word, and all of the guys would be standing there silently looking around at each other with weird looks on their faces. I was laughing so hard thinking that this was the first wedding, administered by a Priest, that Brandon had ever been to, and up until about 3 years ago, I had never been to one that wasn't.

The dinner was sweet, fun, and filled with all kinds of people! And even better, Perini's catered. YUM!

Saturday morning, Brandon and I woke up and the first thing Brandon said to me in the morning was, "what's with the peace thing?" I had no clue what he was talking about and then he said, "the Priest says something and then we were all like, (insert mocking voice here) peace, peace, peace, peace" He continued, "we had no idea what the heck we were supposed to be doing and so we started shaking each other's hand and saying peace!" I laughed and told him that was the Episcopal way of saying hi and introducing yourself to someone around you.

After going to watch some of my YL girls play volleyball, I ran around picking up all of the things Brandon needed for the night, including his tux. Poor thing, I go out of town for two days and he can't go get it himself..

When he had left and everything was fine with his tux, I called my parent's to tell them all about the stories he had said concerning the wedding at the Episcopal church, and we had a good laugh! I finished getting myself ready and headed to Abilene's social event of 2009. The interesting thing about where the wedding was is that it was the church my Grandparents were married in (not the same building) and it was the church where my grandfather's funeral was when I was in second grade (and the place I got the chicken pox). I hadn't been in there since then, so I was curious to see how much of it I remembered.

The Church of Heavenly Rest
*obviously, not my picture, once again.. the camera battery*

The minute we walked in and sat down, I could remember it. I even remembered where I had sat for the funeral. It's a beautiful church with Gothic architecture that makes it look as if it we hundreds of years old.

I only got one picture of Brandon and I (because of my camera battery) and it isn't even very good.. we're on the trolly headed over to the reception.


The wedding was beautiful and the Bride and Groom were nothing but glowing all evening! Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Alexander! We're so happy for you!

*and yes.. I stole this from facebook.. still the whole camera thing

A little bit of Randomness

I have been incredibly busy at work lately, so my free time has mainly been spent relaxing, not blogging! So, sorry for that, but I'm back! I'm finishing up some plans and specifications for a new school, and I'm about to start up the first big project that is just mine! woo hoo! I'm renovating a big board/conference room for a non profit organization here in Abilene. I'm very excited about it because I'll get to show off my skills as a designer!

Enough talk about work though, what I want to know is...

Does anyone else do this?

When I go grocery shopping, it seems I just grab whatever paper is closest that I can write on... Sometimes it's envelopes, sometimes its a wedding card, you never know what it's going to be!

I wish I could say I was one of those people with a cute little paper pad with a magnet on it stuck to my refrigerator, because let's be honest, that makes much more sense. But I'm not. I have thought numerous times that I should invest in one of those things (is is an investment?) so that as we run out of things, we can write them on the little note pad and I wont have to try and remember everything before I make the trek to the grocery store. But oh well, at least I keep myself on edge and have to cook with what I've remembered! You could stretch it and say that I'm "going green" by recycling old paper.. but don't say too loud, I live in West Texas and I'm a designer. I know that most of that stuff (not all, to you eco-friendly people) is just a hype to get you to spend more money for a "green" product.

So I'll stick with my envelopes, cards, and miscellaneous papers to write my grocery lists on, it makes me a better person.

On another note, I have been on the mission to recover two chairs that I have had for some time now. They were originally my Grandmother's and then passed down to my mom, and then put in storage only to be taken out and cleaned up for their debut in my college house. When I got them, I bought some inexpensive fabric and did the cheap and easy way of "recovering" them, but it looked more like a slip cover. I wanted to bring the true character of these chairs back, because nothing is more fun than updating old furniture!

The original fabric reminded me of a toile but it had historic buildings from the colonial days on it. I was searching and searching for something different fom what I had. Something bright and fun. I looked for weeks and weeks.. even in Dallas, with no luck. Then one day I saw a sign that said "half price sale" infront of Hancock's fabrics here in Abilene, so I decided to go in.

I didn't want to spend all that much because the point of re-doing them myself was so I could have something unique and not have to spend very much. I could probably just buy two new chairs for a couple of hundred dollars, so anything above $20 a yard was out of the question, but I also wanted something that was uphoulstery grade and would last for a while, because I wasn't going to be re-doing them again.

I found it! The perfect fabric that was what I was looking for! And guess what! it was on sale for $10 a yard! I bought up enough for both of the chairs and some throw pillows for our couch.

We have two of these chairs and a big chocolate leather couch! I can't wait until they're done!

This one obviously isn't finished, you can tell by the bottom, but I can't wait until it is done and I start on the other! Don't you just love the fabric?

I guess that is all for now! I hope you have a spectacular Tuesday!

How to Mail a Package

So, I'm a terrible sister.. you see, today is July 28th and my sister's birthday was June 16th--well over a month ago--and I still haven't mailed her a gift.

I've bought the gift, over a week before her birthday so that I could mail it to her and she would have it.. but that's where I stopped.

I kept forgetting to go by the post office and get a flat-rate box, so there sat her gift at the end of my dresser for about a month and a half. Last week at work, we got some USPS postal boxes so I saw my opportunity to make things right.

How to mail a package:

First, you have to start with a box, in this case, a flat rate box.

Tape up the bottom so all the stuff doesn't come out the bottom.. duh! I know you're jealous of my corner in my office, ha!

Next, you fill it with the goods! You didn't actually think I would let you see what I was putting in it did you? C'mon, she reads this thing too! *make sure you've dusted off the gift first since it was sitting for so long.

Then, write a sweet little letter to tell her that you love her and make sure you apologize for your tardiness.

Next, fill with CONFETTI! (in this case punched out holes from the copier) because, even though it can be annoying and messy, it is/was her birthday and this is a little party in itself!

Then tape it all up, nice and neat so the USPS doesn't come get you, or so they can't get in...

Now, get out your colored sharpies and decorate! Make it happy because it's a birthday box!

And finally, go to the post office and mail it!

Christy, I promise your box is in the mail TODAY! love you!

Look what I did!

I know, I know, I change the look of my blog more than what could be considered healthy.. So you may not be as impressed as I am, but I'm pretty darn impressed with myself! I've been wanting my blog to look something more like this (more professionally done) for a while, but I didn't have one clue how nor did I want to pay someone to do it. So I didn't.

I've had a little bit of extra time so I've done a bit of research and I think I have it the way I want it.. for now. I'm sure I'll be adding things here and there, but isn't it cool, that I was able to do it for myself for free? If I would have paid someone to do everything it would have cost me anywhere from $75-$120.. for a website that I don't pay for? Yeah. Right.

Well, I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Fresh New Look for the Summer

So, I decided to change the look of the blog for the summer.. you know, liven things up a bit. You'd be amazed if you spent a mere 5 minutes looking at all of the different backgrounds and extras people make for blogs and give away for free.

No pictures for today, or really anything special... sorry, I'm busy today!

I will say this though, I have been inspired by my sister's latest post on guacamole. I will be making this with dinner tonight. I'm thinking fajitas...

I would take pictures of some of my favorite dishes I make, but they would look so sad with our little bitty kitchen that has hardly any working space, a stove top so small that you can only fit two pots diagonally from each other, and no working oven. That's ok though, there will be time for that!

This Week

Well, it seems I've fallen behind on the subject of posting. The reason? My mom told me about this amazing story on another blog. I'm telling you, it's life changing. Ok, so maybe not, but I feel like I've been reading a book in the last week and I have an urge to talk about it. Seriously, yesterday I almost said, "In this book I've been reading..." how embarrassing that would have been if I had said it and then I would have to tell someone I was addicted to reading a blog.

Her name is Ree Drummond and her blog is The Pioneer Woman. The story I'm so addicted to is the love story of her and her husband meeting entitled "Black Heels to Tractor Wheels." She was a city girl by blood. She loved the lights, the sounds, the SHOPPING, the food, everything about city life. Her whole life, all she knew was this. She meets and falls in love with "Marlboro Man," a cowboy (now her husband, sound somewhat similar?) that lives on his family's ranch (now their ranch) over an hour "out in the boonies" from her parent's suburban golf course community. The story is thrilling and should seriously be a novel. I've considered printing every post out to put in a binder and pass around to friends like a book. She is a wonderful writer and I look forward to the little bit of free time I have to go read another post. I think I'm so into the story because a lot of it reminds me of Brandon and I, just for the main differences in our location of our upbringings.

I'm warning you, don't start reading unless you want to get hooked. Ree has a way of expressing every emotion each of them felt in such an exciting time in their lives. She'll often leave you with "to be continued.." and you can't help yourself but to hit the back button and go to the next post. Remember, if you decide to read this, you'll have to click on her "Love Story" and scroll to the bottom to read them in order.

Something else I've been up to? Well, you'll never guess it because I thought I would never see the day.. we got Brandon an iPhone and his life has been forever changed! Ok, seriously. It has been a long, slow process trying to transfer all of our things together and the cell phone thing has been the most difficult. You have to jump through so many fiery hoops and run across hot coals to change anything on your cell phone account if you are not the main person listed on the account--ask my mom, she had to conference my dad in the other day to talk to them on the phone about releasing my cell phone number. I think our biggest hassle of the whole ordeal was waiting on the upgrade. In Brandon's family, as with most, they don't pay attention to who's upgrade is available, it just gets used when someone needs a new phone. We tried to go before the wedding to switch everything over and they wouldn't let us transfer him off of his parents' account because there was no eligible upgrade (mind you Brandon's phone was a few years old--he never asks for anything). Even though we were going to sign a new contract and everything, it didn't matter. Because he wanted to keep his number, we had to wait (they wouldn't even let us pay full price for a phone).

The past month and a half we've been in a waiting period for the next available upgrade and FINALLY, we timed everything right! I didn't even mention how stressful a cell phone store is for my poor little country boy. We've seriously gone in there 4 times and had to leave because he would get so mad. He always says, "I just feel like they're trying to take my money!" Well, this is true, but not like he assumed. After careful explanation of all the plans in the privacy of our own car and home (it took me a while), he finally agreed to go in there and sit through it while we worked everything out! :) So yesterday, we showed up at the AT&T store and went through the whole process--I even convinced him to go ahead and get the bundle that included the protection plan, car charger and a free case. I was on a role so when it came time for us to hand over some money, I quickly pulled out my debit card and put in my pin, only telling him the total after I had hit "enter." Sneaky? yes, but had he known the total was $322, he probably would have backed out on the bundle.

After the AT&T store, we ran home to change clothes and I plugged his phone in to the computer to upload the address book I had already taken from his other phone the night before--I knew I had to make it as simple as possible so he would still move forward with it. I set up his email for him and got him ready to go! Then we went to a little league baseball game to watch his boss coach and his boss's third grade son pitch. After the game we joined them at the country club for dinner and conversation. It was fun and I think I might have a work out buddy now! His boss's wife is going to join the health club I am a member at (mind you I've been paying for this membership, but have not used it in months) and we are going to go workout together!

At dinner, Brandon pulled his phone out and said, "look what my wife made me get..." I smiled because the same thing had happened with his boss (who is Brandon's personality twin, just about 20 years older).

Last night, Brandon got in bed and laid there playing on his phone for about 45 min. I smiled, rolled over and went to sleep knowing he would never admit that he had wanted an iPhone and was excited about having it. :)

Sorry mom, there isn't a picture of both of us with our phones, I couldn't get him off of his long enough to take a picture!

Chapter 10

As you go through life, each new phase or step you could consider a new chapter. I'd like to think that my chapter 9 is closing and I'm staring at the opening page of chapter 10. The difference with Chapter 10 is that it is one of the only Chapters that I don't know exactly how long it will be! This will make much more sense when I get to it. But here is a brief summary of all of the chapters of my life:

Chapter 1
Birth-PreK

The last few of Demon's puppies... moving from Houston to Dallas, and then back again within the first year of my life... riding in car seats, learning how to ride my bike at about the age of 4 (Christy took my training wheels off of my 'Rainbow Bright' bike, broke them, and threw them in the trash.. but she then taught me how to ride my bike). Playing school with Christy and Bart.. and LOTS of crying--I had to get my siblings in trouble some how!

Chapter 2
Kindergarten-4th Grade

I remember the summer before I started Kindergarten driving by the nearly completed Klenk Elementary and saying, "bye school, I'll be there next year!" The days of elementary school seemed to fly by through all of the Easter hat parades, Field days (go blue team!), and playing Oregon Trail.

Chapter 3
5th Grade Safety Patrol

In fifth grade, I was one of the few blessed students to obtain the role of Safety Patrol and that bright orange sash. It was glorious! I got to tell all the younger kids what to do and what not to do (since there was no one to boss around at home). I remember feeling so cool, especially when I got to work the carpool line and tell the parents to keep on moving down the line with a steady movement of my hand. Looking back on it now, I would like to apologize to all of the children I bossed around and the parents I thought I was in charge of.. I bet it was funny to them though.

Chapter 4
Middle School

I started at Wunderlich in the fall of 1998 at a measly 4'-11" and 65 pounds, (about the size of your average 3rd grader) but boy was I popular! I remember one day when I was walking late to clas (I had a pass because I didn't ever do anything wrong) and I ran into Bart in the hall. He, however was running without actually running to get to class on time. I saw that he was chewing gum because he was a BIG eigth grader. I willed up enough nerve to talk to him at school (breaking his rules he set for me on the first day) because there wasn't anyone around. I asked him if I could have a piece which he reluctantly threw my way. From that moment on, I was rarely in class without some gum in my mouth. I perfected the skill of hiding it under my tongue when talking and mainly sucking on it in class so I wouldn't get caught.
Middle school was also filled with sports, volleyball, swimming, track, and the beginning of my lifelong dream to be a cheerleader. I still know some of those cheers.

Chapter 5
Freshman Year

When you come from being the big man on campus in 8th grade, you think you are "it" at the beginning of freshman year. Well, everyone knew who I was because I was "Bart's little sister." My freshman year at KF I cheer on the JV cheer squad because only 3 freshmen tried out. It was fun getting to cheer with older girls and go to competition with them, I made a lot of friends and had fun, but when the school year was coming to a close, I knew I didn't want to stay around.

Chapter 6
Private School

The second semester of my freshman year at KF I made a proposal to my parents to change schools. I was fed up with the public school system and researched some of the private schools around our area, compared tuition costs and people I knew and decided on Northland.
I was able to try out for cheerleading before I was even attending NCS so that I could cheer the first year I was there. I felt so cool when I made the squad because since the school was so small, there was only a varsity (at KF there is no chance you can make varsity until you are a Junior, and you have to have cheered on JV first). I went to cheer camp with Northland and made some really good friends. Taylor, Tiffany and I were inseparable. I have such wonderful memories from Northland from being so involved across the board in Choir, Cheer, Soccer, Softball, and short stints in Swimming and Track. If I could change anything about my high school career, I would have moved to Northland sooner.
I have such lasting relationships with some of the faculty and staff like I wouldn't have known in public schools.

Chapter 7
Freshman Year of College

I started my freshman year of college with 22 of the 55 people I graduated with from Northland. I know, you're shocked. That's nearly half of my graduating class. Well, going into Northland I never thought I would EVER go to ACU because that's what everyone did. One spur of the moment trip to Sing Song my senior year sold me and I never looked back.

Chapter 8
College

College is just, college.. from pledging, to school, to YoungLife, to moving into a house, college was a blast. I was definitely ready to be done though!

Chapter 9
Marriage

Getting married was everything I hoped it would be and more. Brandon is my best friend and nothing makes me happier than for him to be the last thing I see before I go to sleep and the first thing I see when I wake up.. unless of course, Bridger has to go potty. :) We are just so happy living our simple life in our little bitty apartment that I've made home. Learning how to cook and clean up after not only myself, but someone else has been a task, but I have loved every minute of it. I've made it into a challenge to come up with new dishes to cook.

Chapter 10
Married Life without school or kids

And thus begins chapter 10, I'm out of school and married and there are no children for 2009 (do the math) ha! The reason I said this is one of the only chapters in my life that I don't know exactly how long it will last is because everything else before this chapter had a definite ending or time period, but this one I don't know! My mom would love for me to give her a definite time period, but mom, sorry, I'll let Christy take that baton first. So I begin my Chapter 10 of simple life. No kids, no school, just married bliss and our little bitty apartment. I can't wait to see how the story unfolds, and I'm sure you can't either...

Day 2

well, well, well...

I will say this, I never thought I would make it this far, and yet, I did! So here we are.

Yesterday after work, I indulged myself and did a little shopping. Shocked? I will say however, that I have become very skilled at the art of getting in and getting out of the mall in about 30 minutes--AND I went to 4 stores! What could be better, you ask? Managing to do all that and not spend a dime! Brandon was proud!

I did however have the responsibility of stopping by the grocery store on the way home from my adventure to pick up a few items and be home around the same time as Brandon so we could make and eat pancakes! I also managed to slip a quick car wash in there too! Ever since I got my car, I've been obsessed with keeping it clean. This is a really good thing if you ever saw the inside (or outside) of my last car. So, with a clean car, a handful of grocery bags, and a smile only shopping can slap on my face, I made it home and we had dinner.

I've become pretty good at "domesticating" myself, as my dad calls it. I've gotten into the routine of doing the dishes basically everyday, and then again at night, cleaning up Brandon's dirty clothes as he leaves them, instead of them piling up, and making the bed--well, that's been slacking this week.. but still, I'm proud! I've even been taking Bridger on walks! Come to think of it... Brandon and I haven't eaten out once this week, even for lunch! Once the craziness of the constant flood of gifts slowed down, I was really able to catch up. The only thing now? Thank you notes.. my goodness, you have no idea.. I find myself staring down at the list on the coffee table and trying to come up with an excuse NOT to do them. Here's Brandon's agreement: "I'll think of what to say, it you write them." He said he's embarrassed to send any one anything with his handwriting on it because he said they wouldn't have a clue what he wrote.

My goal for next week: thank you notes. Who knows if it will get accomplished though, I know I have at least one paper for next week, graduation announcements to send out, and my portfolio to work on for my final review the following week, so we'll see! Only 3 more weeks of school for me forever!!

Just Getting Started

Well, I've succumb to the trend and have started a blog for Brandon and I--although I can assure you, Brandon will most likely never post anything. So basically this is for our friends and family in this crazy, fast-paced world that maybe we'll all be able to keep up with what's going on with each other. You might be thinking.. " well, why not just stick to facebook? Everyone is one there, aren't they?" Yes! They are! and that is precisely the reason for me to branch out! Once the "coolness" of facebook wore off around freshman year, I basically stopped getting on it. Now, my mom and both of my in-laws are on it.. whatever happened to the days when it was just college students? So life goes on, and I move on to blogging.

more for another day..