Ready To Get Outta Dodge!

This has been the longest, short week EVER! Luckily, just 1 more day....even though I don't get paid for Friday (jeez, Dad!). Anyway, we're leaving Friday to head down to our annual family reunion in Burnet, TX (northwest of Austin) at my aunt and uncle's lakehouse. I'm really excited...mostly to see the fam of course, but also for this....

Sad, I know. But it's a required pit stop anytime we find ourselves southbound 35. They have the best kolaches, sandwiches, desserts, etc. Mmm, I can taste the pimento cheese already. Haha, anyway, I look foward to it every year! I *highly* recommend it if you've never experienced Czech Stop! (exit 353 in West if you're interested!)

Not too much else going on. Bryan will be home tomorrow. We still need to get the boat ready for this weekend, do a mountain of laundry, and pack. I think it's safe to say I'll be up late on Thursday night. I'm so ready to get out of town though...I'll be sure to take lots of pics to post upon my return! HAPPY 4TH!

Colin's Graduation

My baby brother Colin graduated high school a few weeks ago, and I am so very proud of him!The graduation ceremony was held at Dallas Convention Center on 6/8/09. The ceremony was loooonnnggg (1000+ graduates!), but I was happy to be there to support Colin. He's going to orientation in a few weeks, and will be starting Collin County Community College in the fall. I still can't believe he's 18 and out of school! That means I am officially....OLD! : (

Home Is Where The Heart Is

Ok, as promised, here are some pictures of the inside of our house. I'm still in the process of decorating, but I've done a little.

Living Room

Kitchen

Dining Area

Master Bedroom

Bedroom 2/Office

Bedroom 3

Bryan and I are in disagreeance of how to utilize this space. My practical husband wants to buy a big screen plasma and la-z-boy, and turn the room into his "Man Cave", and *I* suggested we should go ahead and buy a crib and changing table just in case we have a new arrival in the future. Bryan informed me that it would be way creepy to have a crib with no baby to put in it, therefore we vetoed that idea (sigh)...so for now that room will stay empty!

Anyways, just wanted to share those for any out of towners, or lazy friends that haven't been over to visit us yet ; ) The door is always open!

Hellooooo....is anyone alive in here?

My poor little blog....I haven't written in over 6 months! Shame on me! And boy, have alot of things changed! I'll attempt to recap some of the highlights since I last checked in...

Bryan's Job
In November of '08, Bryan made the decision to go into business for himself, and start his own trucking company. He purchased his own truck, hit the ground running, and hasn't looked back ever since. Although this was a scary decision in trying economic times, it has gone extrememly well, and Bryan is loving the rewards of being his own boss. He mostly works in the Southeast region of the country, and is home about 3 days a week. I am so proud of Bryan, and all the hard work he has put in to accomplish this goal. We are both very thankful for this opportunity, and excited to see what doors it will open in the future. Here's a picture of Bryan's rig...

Our House

With Bryan becoming self-employed, this put a major snag in our homebuying plans. Apparently, you need at least 2 years of self employment history and tax returns to qualify for a mortgage. Obviously, we were lacking about 1 year and 11 months...so it just wasn't in the cards for us. Although it was really disappointing at the time, in retrospect, I am so glad that we didn't end up buying at that time. We *did*, however, find a great little lease house, and we absolutely LOVE it! Here's a picture...It's perfect for the two of us...3 bedrooms, 2 baths, and a huge corner lot. It's only about 1400 square feet, but it's a great layout and seems alot bigger. I am WAY closer to work now, which is awesome. And we have the greatest neighbors EVER! It's been such a positive change for us. I've done *some* decorating, so I'll try to take some pictures of the interior to share.

MORE TO COME SOON...I SWEAR!

HAPPY belated HALLOWEEN!!

Well, I'm beginning to realize that this blog is very reflective of one of my worst personality traits...PROCRASTINATION! But, hey, better late than never, right? I wanted to share some pics from Halloween. We, of course, had a party in Blue Ridge...we hadn't had one of our infamous soirees since April, so it was long overdue! Lisa and I had alot of fun costume shopping, decorating, and making the tainted witches brew. The party was definitely a success, and it was great catching up with old and new friends. Here are a few pictures...

Our adorable pumpkin that Bryan's sister made!

I'm Dorothy...NOT WENDY!

The Girls

Lisa and Eric

Bryan...after a bit too much witches brew!

They Grow Up So Fast...

So, this post is dedicated to my baby brother, Colin. He turned 18 last week, and I honestly cannot believe that he's an adult. He'll be graduatng high school in May, and that makes me feel SO old. He went to his school's Homecoming a few weeks ago, and came to me the Wednesday before the Friday night football game, and said he "forgot" to order his date's mum....and could I make one for her? Well, I normally *love* doing crafty things like this, but with 2 days notice, and the fact that Colin goes to a school with 2000 students, it was going to be a huge challenge. But, being the wonderful big sister that I am, I did pull through and it turned out really cute. Here's some pics of the final product...

And here's Colin trying on his formal wear a few days before the dance...(none of us knew how to tie the tie, but you get the idea!)

And finally, a picture from Colin's birthday dinner at the Cheesecake Factory last week.

I can honestly say that Colin is one of the smartest and funniest people I know, and I'm so very proud of the young man he is becoming. I know that he has a very bright future ahead of him. Love ya Colin!

October Happenings...

Ok, so this blogging thing is a little more time consuming than I thought! I will try to do better, but October was an insancly busy month for us! I'll try to recap the highlights.

SAN FRANCISCO

Me, Lisa, and our cousin Kaylan ventured out west to visit our other cousin Karyn, for a fun-filled Girl's Weekend in San Francisco. We got in late on Friday night, grabbed some dinner, and decided to conserve our energy by going to bed at a reasonable hour. Then Saturday, we had brunch, went to Fisherman's Wharf to sight see, and then to a downtown rooftop party to watch a Blue Angels Air Show. It was one of the coolest things I've ever seen! We wrapped up the day with dinner and drinks downtown. It was a total blast! Here's a few pictures from Saturday....

Then on Sunday, we accomplished one of my lifelong travel goals, and drove up to California wine country! Napa Valley, to be exact. We went to 3 tastings - a champagne tasting at Domaine Carneros, and then 2 wine tastings at Trefethen and Cakebread (yum!). For those who might not know...I have been known to enjoy a good bottle of wine, and Napa was pure bliss for me. We all had a great time and tasted some delicious wines!

Then Monday, after some last minute souvenier shopping in San Francisco, it was time to fly back to Dallas. All in all, it was a fabulous trip, and a great time catching up with my cousins. We, hopefully, will be making it an annual girl's weekend trip. Next year, Cabo?