It’s a Wonderful Life

2010-10-15T15:58:00.000-07:00

I Had a Baby!

Yes, I did! Some days I still have to pinch myself to believe it.

Andrew Timothy arrived on June 5. He is super-cute and we are madly in love with him.

As you can imagine, I've been a little busy. I have been neglecting this blog. It's easier to upload pics on Facebook than Blogger, so I've been spending most of my online time over there. If you'd like to join me, you can find me at:
www.facebook.com/bethanydouglaswilson

Birth

One Month - 7/5/10

Two Months - 8/5/10

Three Months - 9/5/10

Four Months - 10/5/10

2010-04-25T12:24:00.000-07:00

Maternity Pictures

I got out my tripod today and had a little amateur photo session with Brian. I am nowhere near a pro at this, but I think they turned out fairly nice.

Maternity photos at 34 weeks:

2010-04-21T11:47:00.000-07:00

PJ Party

Since I'd already had several traditional baby showers, some of my closest girlfriends decided to plan a different kind of event for me. They decided to have a PJ party and ask people to bring diapers and PJ's as gifts. It was such a fun, relaxing evening and just the kind of girl-time I really needed. What a creative idea, too!

All of us in our PJ's:

Kristen, Jennifer, me, Sharon, Christie, Worley

Diaper cake made by Worley:

Making breakfast burritos for dinner:

Laughing at the peepee teepees Kristen gave us for boy diaper changes:

I also got tons of awesome Baylor gear, including this wipes case that Worley hand-painted.

(Too bad for Brian, his buds haven't gotten him any TCU baby gear yet. Not that I mind!!)

2010-04-21T11:36:00.000-07:00

Baby Showers

We've been blessed to have several baby showers in the last couple of months. We are so grateful to everyone who has planned and participated in these events. It's been so much fun! We feel so loved.

Work shower at SWA:

Victoria, who did the majority of the planning.

My immediate work group:

Brian shows his tea pinky skillz

Shower hosted by my Fun Aunt Lou and her friends Karen & Mariann:

Personalized M&M favors

It snowed that day - March 20th!

Shower hosted by Tascal James, a lady at our church:

With Cheryl Mayborn and Tascal

Reception with our Sunday School class:

2010-04-12T09:58:00.001-07:00

8 months/32 weeks

Here I am at 32 weeks on 4/12/10. Still the same weight per the OB's scale as my very first prenatal appointment.

2010-03-15T09:55:00.000-07:00

7 months/28 weeks...

Here I am at 28 weeks! I weighed on Saturday and I am down a pound from my pre-pregnancy weight. I guess that's the one advantage of dealing with the gestational diabetes diet for 7 months... I can't wait to be done with that!

2010-03-10T11:45:00.000-08:00

Funny for the day...

http://babiesmakingfaces.com/

2010-03-10T11:43:00.000-08:00

It's been a while...

Things are moving right along. This week marks 27 weeks for me. I had another sonogram and appointment with my OB yesterday. The baby is perfect, and the doc is very pleased with my progress. I never thought I'd be nearly 7 months pregnant and the exact same weight as when I conceived, but here I am. The bulk of the credit goes to the gestational diabetes diet that I've been following since my first month. The rest of the credit goes to ME, for dieting so strictly and exercising regularly while pregnant!!! It has not been easy. Not.at.all.

And speaking of which, my GD has progressed to the point that I now require daily shots of insulin. When this course of treatment became unavoidable a couple of weeks ago, I was very upset and emotional about it. I felt like I had failed in some way. If only I had followed the diet a little better or exercised more (although that would have been practically impossible), if only I had done this or that.... if only I had been better or thinner or younger or whatever... It didn't help that my primary care doctor seemed to lay the blame at my feet as well, even though this whole GD thing began because of the side-effects of some medication that HE had prescribed for something else, prior to pregnancy. Isn't that the way most medications work? However necessary they are, they often fix one thing while breaking something else.

At any rate, my ob/gyn has been very reassuring and encouraging through all of this. He acknowledges that I have several high-risk issues, but he also tells me that I am managing them the very best I possibly can. It's nice to know that he is pleased with my efforts, and there's nothing else I could have done to change the way things are. And I'm so thankful that the baby is healthy and doing just fine, which is the ultimate goal of all of this, anyway.

I must say that I'll be glad when pregnancy is over. It's been hard to enjoy this part of the process with the dark cloud of high-risk issues hanging over me the entire time. Just waiting for something to inevitably go wrong. I'm not too uncomfortable yet, it's the pressure of the constant worry and glucose testing and injecting and hoping my blood pressure doesn't spike.... and I have so many emotions and guilt feelings wrapped up in all of that. And lots concerns about having to be induced early, which is a likely scenario with my risk factors.

Three more months and we'll have little Andrew Timothy in our arms, and I won't be a diabetic anymore. Three more months! I have already made Brian promise to bring me a milkshake in the hospital as soon as our boy is no longer connected to my body! :-D

2010-02-16T09:33:00.001-08:00

24 weeks - 2/15/10

2010-02-16T09:31:00.000-08:00

Valentine's Day 2010

Our last Valentine's Day as a family of two. <3

Brian sent me roses at work. I gave him a new Starbucks travel mug and a framed sonogram picture of our baby. He grilled the most delicious steak for dinner and I made chocolate fondue with strawberries and shortbread. It was a lovely day.

2010-02-16T09:26:00.000-08:00

Winter Wonderland - 2/15/10

We got snow! Lots of it!

2010-02-02T13:40:00.000-08:00

Baby's Room Progress

Last weekend, we put the crib together and rearranged the furniture in the baby's room. It just needs a few more decorative touches and it will be ready for our little one!

Here is the bedding set we have chosen for the room:

2010-01-19T16:29:00.000-08:00

Five Months

2010-01-13T10:12:00.000-08:00

It's A Boy!

I had a sonogram at 19 weeks yesterday, and it confirmed that our baby is definitely a boy. I must admit, I was a little surprised - I thought it was a girl! Brian thought it was a boy all along, and he was right. The baby is perfect in every way and we are thrilled. He was sleeping on the sonogram with his little arms up cradling his head. He even yawned a couple of times. It was so cute.

This view is from underneath, as if he was sitting on a glass table and the camera is looking up from under the table. Click on the images to see them larger.

In this picture, he's facing forward. You can see his elbows just to the left of his head, because he had his little hands tucked beside his cheek while he slept through the whole thing. His knees are on the far left.

Profile view - his head is on the right, facing up, just under the word "profile".

2009-12-30T16:30:00.000-08:00

4 Months...

2009-12-30T16:28:00.000-08:00

Families at Christmas

The Douglas Family

My parents, Brian & me, middle bro Stephen and his girlfriend Marcella, and youngest bro Daniel.

The Wilson Family

Modeling knitted gloves given by our friends who live in Ecuador

2009-12-07T16:24:00.000-08:00

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Our home

14 weeks! I don't think it really shows yet.

2009-12-02T16:58:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving 2009

Here's a lovely fall picture of our back yard. We'll get around to raking the leaves eventually, but right now I'm enjoying the colorful carpet they've created. This is the first time I've ever seen the leaves so brilliant here - usually in this area of Texas they just turn dull brown and fall off. It's been nice to actually see some fall foliage this autumn.

As always, click on each picture to see it larger:

Here's the whole crew on Thanksgiving at my parents' house. It was great having a houseful of extended family in town! We loved being able to spend time with everyone. It was a wonderful weekend.

2009-11-23T11:24:00.001-08:00

12 weeks today...

11/23/09

2009-11-13T16:26:00.000-08:00

2nd Appointment

My 2nd prenatal appointment went well. We couldn't quite get the baby's heartbeat on the doppler (still too small), so the doc did a quick sonogram. The baby was moving around (aww!) and the heartbeat was nice and strong. I couldn't see the heartbeat on the monitor, but I could hear it. The doctor is pleased with how the pregnancy is progressing. I'll be 11 weeks on Monday.

In other fantastic news, my doctor also told me that it was perfectly fine for me to resume my 1 cup/day coffee habit. Yay! I've missed it a lot.

I am really looking forward to being able to feel this wee babe inside. It still doesn't seem real to me yet, even though I know he/she is in there, kicking away.

2009-11-02T12:10:00.000-08:00

Thoughts on a November day...

Ah, November!! The beginning of my favorite time of year. I love the cooler weather, the warmth of comfort food, looking forward to the holidays, anticipation of good times with family and friends.

And an update on me...

-I am 9 weeks pregnant today.
-I am due June 6, 2010.
-I have been feeling very fatigued lately.
-I also have quite a bit of nausea, but I'm very thankful that I haven't actually been getting sick. I just feel like it a lot of the time, especially in the evenings.

We have much to be thankful for this year. I will hit the 12-week mark on the Monday before Thanksgiving. If I start feeling better at that point, I will be even MORE thankful. ;-)

2009-10-20T11:23:00.000-07:00

If a picture is worth a thousand words....

Here are a couple that are worth far more than that to us...

2009-10-13T15:09:00.000-07:00

65 Years...

My maternal grandparents celebrated their 65th anniversary this past weekend. They are 91 and 88, and still living on their own in excellent health. It is such a blessing, and I'm very thankful to have had them in my life for so long.

A few photos through the years...

2009-09-09T11:16:00.000-07:00

Sweet Ride

I drove around like this for over 24 hours before I noticed the nice grill decor. On my way home from work one day last week, I remember running over a styrofoam cup that bounced my way on the highway, and I guess it ended up here. I didn't notice it stuck there until the end of the following day. I am so dang cool, I can't stand it.

2009-08-25T13:32:00.000-07:00

August Birthdays!

My dad's birthday - 8/10/09

My parents

Look, Shamwows! :-D

Brian's birthday - 8/22/09

His beloved TCU season tickets

Brian's parents came to visit us for his birthday this year.
My sweetie turned 35. I robbed the cradle!
With Brian's folks at Joe T. Garcia's restaurant in Ft. Worth.
My lovely inlaws. We so enjoyed their visit!

2009-07-31T10:52:00.000-07:00

Here's a visual...

I forgot to take any pics with my grandparents when we were visiting them last weekend, but here's one from my Granddad's 90th birthday party last year.

Doesn't Brian look "little"? LOL! He's the tallest one in the picture. My teeny grandparents are so cute. They will celebrate their 65th anniversary this October. <3

2009-07-29T11:43:00.001-07:00

Out of the mouths of old people...

Brian and I went to visit my grandparents in Memphis over the weekend. My granddad will be 91 next month and my grandmother is 88. They are in great health for their ages and still very independent. I am blessed to have had them in my life for so long.

Granddad has never had much of a filter on his mouth, but it's gotten worse and more comical as he's aged. He greeted Brian when we arrived by saying, "Wow, you look so much bigger in person. You look so little in pictures that I always think you are small." Yeah, every man loves hearing that. He said it again when we left, too! As if once wasn't enough. LOL!

Brian is 5' 10" and towers over my Granddad, who was once all of 5' 8" but is much shorter than that now. Who's the little one??! I don't know where he comes up with this stuff!! It sure is entertaining - most of the time!

2009-07-11T14:54:00.000-07:00

Tough Decisions. Major Changes.

It's official. After 12.5 years of service, my last day as an accountant at Southwest Airlines will be April 30, 2010. I still can't believe it. My career here has spanned nearly my entire adult life.

I didn't get laid off. SWA has never had layoffs, and none are currently planned. I elected to take a completely voluntary severance package. SWA has offered similar programs in the past, but never one with such excellent terms as this.

Interestingly, news of this severance package was announced in May, the very same month as our 3rd wedding anniversary, which also happened to coincide with the timeframe Brian and I had planned to start thinking about having a family.

We had many long discussions and crunched the numbers over and over. We prayed fervently over the decision. Ultimately, we realized that if we were very careful with the severance payment, we could use it to supplement Brian's salary and potentially stretch it out long enough to allow me to stay home with a baby for 3, maybe even 4 years. This was an exciting idea, because prior to this the best we had hoped for was for me to be able go part-time once we have a family. However, even with the severance payment, our household income during those years will still be cut in half. This felt pretty risky and honestly quite a bit scary, but we believe God was leading us to take the risk and step out in faith. So I had a talk with my manager (we both got a little verklempt) and then turned in the paperwork.

The toughest part of the decision was having to make it prior to actually expecting a baby. I'm 36, so I am well-aware that things might not happen as quickly as they might have when I was younger. Also, what if we end up being unable to have a family, and then I've given up an excellent job for no reason? That's another huge risk, and I must admit that this possibility still concerns me when I think about it too much.

If April rolls around and we aren't expecting, instead of making plans to be a SAHM I'll be updating my resume and pounding the pavement for a new accounting job. That's the worst-case scenario, and I REALLY hope it doesn't work out that way. (I suppose the bright side is that we'll still end up with a nice chunk of savings that we could use to eventually remodel our kitchen or something!)

It's in God's hands now. We'll just have to wait and see how the next ten months unfold!

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Because I'm feeling nostalgic about my time at SWA right now, here are some pics from one of the coolest things I've ever done. My accounting group was given the opportunity to accept delivery of our newest aircraft back in December, 2005. We were given a tour of the Boeing factory in Seattle and then rode along on the ferry flight back to Dallas.

Me inside the engine!

In the cockpit...

Riding in the cockpit jumpseat during takeoff...

The view from the cockpit during flight.

2009-07-04T12:20:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th of July!

Brian is very proud of his flag.

Current temp = 101* at 2:30 p.m.

2009-07-02T22:02:00.000-07:00

Walmart Prayers

Tonight I went to Walmart to do the weekly shopping. The lady who was the checker in my lane was unusually pleasant and friendly. She chatted with me the whole time she was ringing me up, and she seemed very nice.

At the end, as she was scanning the box of pregnancy tests, she held it up and asked, "Yes or no?" Meaning, did I want it to be positive or negative. I said, "We want it to happen, but it hasn't quite yet." She grabbed my hand and said, "Honey, we are going to claim it right now." And then she bowed her head for a couple of seconds and prayed for me silently right there in Walmart.

I'm sure that might have offended some people, but as a Christian it was oddly comforting to me. She made me promise to come back through her line again and let her know once it happens. We haven't been involved in this process for very long... so it could be a while.

We pray for our imaginary future baby every day, but that's the first time a stranger has prayed for me in Walmart!

2009-06-23T21:16:00.000-07:00

Father's Day, 2009

I am blessed to have a wonderful dad who is an excellent godly example in every way. <3

2009-06-15T09:07:00.000-07:00

Shopping

We spent the weekend in Houston visiting my Fun Aunt Lou. While we were there, we did a little shopping on Saturday. At JCP, Brian found some cargo shorts that were on sale ($20 on sale + $10 off coupon = happy Brian). He pretends to hate shopping, but he loves getting new clothes on sale. In fact, he cut the tags off and wore them the very next day while we were still in Houston. He actually wanted to wear them out of the store like children do with new shoes, but we convinced him not to. :-D

Last night after we got home and were getting ready for bed, he reluctantly took off the new shorts. As he was undressing, he wistfully said to me, "I wish we could wash these shorts every night so I could wear them every day."

It was the best laugh I had all weekend.

2009-06-03T16:19:00.000-07:00

It's mah birthday!

My birthday fell on the Memorial Day holiday this year, which was nice for me. It's hard to believe I'm 36. I'd like to put the brakes on and stay right here for a little while. I feel a little behind - my mom had her 3rd baby at 36 and people thought that was pretty old back then - and we are still hoping for a first!

Even though I don't really like getting older, I still love my birthday. I drag out the celebration as looooooong as possible. And really, why not? :-)

Celebrating at my parents' house

Celebrating with my awesome, gorgeous, and super-fun girlfriends!
I got many nice gifts, but this one is extra cool.
It's a brownie pan that makes LOTS of corner pieces!
The chewy corner pieces are the best part!
White chocolate fountain!
I wanted to forget about the fruit and just drink it straight.

Kristen and I digging in!

2009-05-18T15:30:00.000-07:00

Anniversary Bling

Brian gave me this lovely anniversary band for our 3rd anniversary on May 6th. It arrived about a week after the actual day because the store mixed up his order, but I think it was worth the wait. Just like my Brian - more than worth the wait. <3

I love sparkles!

In other news, the rose of sharon bush we planted last year has its first bloom!! We planted it in the fall, so this is the first flower we've seen. I'm glad it survived the winter. It's going to be beautiful in our back yard.

2009-05-08T12:39:00.000-07:00

Niagara Falls, April 2009

We took a 5-day trip to Niagara Falls/Toronto in late April; an early anniversary vacation. Brian had been before, but I hadn't. And since his first visit to romantic Niagara was with his buddies on an annual baseball trip, this excursion with me was markedly different. ;-)

We had a lovely time in Niagara. Toronto was a disappointment - not the city, but our experience there - because so many freaky things went wrong and we ended up not seeing much of what we planned. It was a great trip overall, though.

The view from our room, overlooking Niagara Falls

Brian enjoying the view
Beside the falls

The American Falls

The Canadian Falls

Canadian Falls

Rainbows!

Canadian Falls viewed from the Skylon tower, where we had

a very nice dinner in the revolving restaurant.

American Falls from the Skylon Tower

Our last evening in Niagara

We had tea at the Prince of Wales hotel

(in Niagara-on-the-Lake)

Afternoon tea

Concentration!!

Toronto skyline, taken from our car.

We were stuck here in traffic on the Gardiner Expressway for 2 hours.

We stayed in the Fairmont Royal York downtown.

Lobby of the Royal York

Parliament. It looks like a haunted house under such ominous skies.

This is when the downpour began. With 100 km (over 60 mph) winds.

The CN Tower.

Most of the observation area was closed due to the storm and high winds. :-(

My feet, looking down through the glass floor high up in the CN Tower

2009-05-06T08:44:00.000-07:00

Three years ago today....

Three years ago today, I married my perfect match. The most considerate, kind, and caring man, and in my eyes, super-hott! I am so thankful for him. He was worth every long year I had to wait for him to find me!

This is the man who still puts toothpaste on my toothbrush every morning and every night, who still opens the car door for me, who doctors up my coffee just the way I like it even though he takes his black, who will kiss me in public without a second thought, who e-mails me love notes first thing at work every morning, who woke me this morning with a kiss and "Happy Anniversary".

He calls me "my special". I used to always ask him "special what?" He replied, "Just my special." Special is an adjective, but he uses it as a noun. I love him.

2009-04-28T15:30:00.000-07:00

Dan from DEN

A couple of weeks ago, my youngest brother Daniel was in town for a wedding. The wedding activities naturally kept him hopping the entire time, but he was able to have lunch with us on Sunday before his flight back to Denver. It was great to see him.

Daniel is an awesome guy and one of the funniest dudes I've ever met. He's seriously one of my favorite people ever. I wish we lived closer so we could hang out more often, but he is loving life in the mountains these days.

I *heart* these boys!!

With the parentals...is my mom shrinking? He's grown a bit since then....

2009-04-13T11:47:00.000-07:00

Finally Complete!

I had a work holiday on Good Friday, and I put the time off to good use by finishing up the last few things in our master bath. The glass people came and installed a re-measured shower door that afternoon, and I hung all of the towel bars with the aid of my super-bad power drill. I also shopped for a few little decorative things to add. I love the way everything came together (special thanks to the clearance racks at Hobby Lobby & Garden Ridge!).

The towel bars match the sink faucets.

2009-04-03T14:00:00.000-07:00

New Orleans - March, 2009

A few weeks ago, Brian and I went to visit his parents in New Orleans for the weekend. His dad's two sisters and BIL were in town (Brian's aunts & uncle), and we hadn't seen them since our wedding. Brian's two brothers, kiddos, and girlfriends also came. There ended up being over 15 people on Saturday, and we all had such a good time!

Brian's aunt Julie, uncle Merrill, his mom & dad, and aunt Jacquie.

Brian and me with his aunt Julie, whose 60th birthday prompted the gathering in the first place. I love this picture of Brian's parents.

The twins Brad and his girlfriend, Christa

The Wilson boys, acting like girls.

A more serious picture

Tom and his girlfriend, Alisha
The whole crew!

2009-03-30T15:18:00.000-07:00

Day 6 - Almost finished!

The only things left are a few touchups on the grout, and installing the glass shower door. The door should be delivered this coming Friday. I can't wait to be able to use our new shower! I love how everything turned out.

Before

After
Before

After

Before

After
Before

After

Before

After

2009-03-25T08:46:00.000-07:00

Bathroom remodel - Day 4

The tile was partially up when I got home last night. It should be finished today, then the grout done tomorrow. I am so pleased with how it's turning out!

Shower

New shower light:

The tile will extend all the way to the ceiling when it's finished.

2009-03-24T11:31:00.000-07:00

Bathroom remodel - Day 3

They wired the shower light and installed the faucets yesterday. The tile is going up today!!

Master bath faucet before:

Master faucet after - the finish is brushed nickel with shiny brass accents:
Master tub before:

Master tub after:

Hall bath before:

Hall bath after:

I chose shiny chrome in here only because the shower and light fixtures are shiny, and we aren't changing any of that right now.

I didn't take a picture of the new kitchen faucet, but it looks like this:

2009-03-20T14:11:00.000-07:00

And so it begins....

The demo is done on our tile project. It looks so gross and dirty underneath! Last night after the guys left, we discovered yet another water issue under the tub. James, the main tile guy, had to come back over at 11 p.m. to fix a corroded joint between two of the water pipes. It made a big mess (Brian ended up saturating 4 or 5 ShamWows while cleaning up the water!), but everything seemed to be drying out this morning.

At any rate, it's a good thing we went ahead with this remodel now, because apparently that leaky pipe had been dripping inside the wall for a while now. James said that the sheetrock he removed yesterday was all wet and he couldn't figure out why. Now we know. I'm glad it's fixed now. (And I've had ENOUGH of the water-related emergencies lately!!)

I think the new faucets are going in today! The new tile will start going up on Monday.

2009-03-11T16:11:00.000-07:00

And the winner is.....

The darker tile on the right! Here it is without flash.
Here is the border trim we'll be using.

Here's where it's going to go: on the shower and tub surround

(replacing all of the white tile).

The flooring and wall color will remain the same.

When Brian and I bought our house last year, we knew the master bath tile was in pretty bad shape. However, we assumed it was only cosmetic, and intended to live with it indefinitely before remodeling in the far distant future.

Recently, though, the fiberglass shower pan (base) started to creak and groan as if it could crack at any moment, the badly-patched grout is starting to fall out, and I discovered big cracks in all of the shower wall corners when I replaced the old messy original caulk.

So, it looks like now's the time. The awesome company who did our painting last year is doing the tile work for us, for a very reasonable bid. I bought all new faucets on eBay and saved a ton of $$ (no more gold faucets!!). I'm getting really excited about it now. The tile guy is coming to measure on Friday, and hopefully he can get started on it next week!

Just doing our part for the economy. You're welcome.

2009-03-11T10:02:00.000-07:00

Water, water, everywhere...

-A few weeks ago, Brian noticed a damp area on the sidewalk in our front yard , but he didn't think much of it since we have our sprinkler system turned off for the winter. This past Saturday, he mowed for the first time this year and discovered that area of the lawn was absolutely sodden. Ugh. We opened the cover to the sprinkler valve box and were surprised to see water constantly trickling in. Even though we had the system turned off, there was still water in the main pipes, and now there must be a leak. No wonder our water bill went up last month! He called a sprinkler company and they are supposed to come out and fix it this week.

-Brian walked into the hall bath yesterday evening around 9:00 p.m. and found standing water ALL OVER THE FLOOR. Upon further inspection, we discovered that part of the plastic mechanism inside the toilet tank had split open, and water was spraying around inside the tank and trickling out onto the floor. We don't go in that bathroom every day, so it had probably been going on for a while. Then, when we tried to turn off the water supply to the toilet, the valve handle broke off!!! What a MESS!!! We called Roto-Rooter and they sent out a 24-hour plumber within 30 minutes. Thankfully, he was able to replace all of the broken parts.

-Shortly after I cleaned up all of that mess and put the dirty towels in the laundry, Brian went to the fridge to get some water from the automatic dispenser inside. Water spewed everywhere!!!! Not again!!!!! I had just replaced the water/ice filter on the fridge earlier that day, and it was the first time we'd had to change the filter since purchasing the unit. I didn't realize you had to let the water run for 2 minutes after changing the filter in order to clear the air from the water line. Now I know. Won't make that mistake again. We had to pull the fridge out from the wall and mop up all of that water, too. By the time we fell into bed at 1 a.m., we were both exhausted.

-As I write this, there is some much-needed rain falling outside. It's about time for some positive water-related news. Three emergencies in only a matter of days is way too many for me!

2009-03-09T12:50:00.000-07:00

Sunday Afternoon Project

These chairs were hand-me-downs to me about 10 years ago. I've had slip covers over the seats up until now in order to cover the stains. I found some pretty navy fabric at Walmart on Saturday for $4.97/yard, and I decided it was finally time for a change. It took about 1.5 yards and about 4 hours to do. I'm SO pleased with how they turned out!

Before

Brian pulling out old staples

After!

2009-03-04T14:21:00.000-08:00

Laundry Stuff....

BIG NEWS! Our new washer and dryer will be delivered this coming Friday! Can't.Wait. No more doing 8 loads per week (for just 2 of us) in our small, seen-better-days washer. It is at least 15 years old, so it's served me well. But now that there are two of us to wash for, and hopefully more in the future, it was time for an upgrade.

No, I didn't get the sweet front-loaders that beckoned to me every time I entered Lowe's with their mesmerizing red shiny-ness. Seeing the price tags effectively broke that spell! But I am excited just the same. :-)

And just for fun, in order to prettify the laundry room for the arrival of our new machines, I ordered these knobs that I'd been coveting for a while. I think they are SO DANG CUTE, and they gave me another excuse to use my handy new power drill.

2009-02-17T16:28:00.000-08:00

Valentine's Day

I neglected to post this past weekend, but Brian and I enjoyed a lovely Valentine's Day on Saturday. We decided to stay home and enjoy our first V-Day in our new house. We had already closed on the house by this time last year, but we hadn't moved in yet.

This year, Brian grilled shrimp and veggie kabobs for dinner. I made white and milk chocolate fondue for dessert, with strawberries and mini Nilla wafers for dipping. We ate in the formal dining room on the china and crystal. It was much more enjoyable than the rushed, overpriced, assembly-line-plated meal that we had at our former favorite restaurant, Bugatti's, last year.

I gave Brian the Shamwow! as his Valentine's gift. :-D He loves "as seen on TV" products, and he was thrilled when he opened it. The package included about 10 Shamwows, so he's all set for years to come. For the rest of the evening, he described everything as "shamtastic" or "shamriffic". I also gave him some new TCU work gloves to replace the ones from last year that he's completely worn out.

Brian came home with a bundle of red roses for me. They still look and smell lovely even today. But the best part was the 1 lb. box of my favorite Roger's Chocolate (www.rogerschocolates.com) that he ordered from Canada. A whole pound of delicious Empress Squares!!! I discovered this chocolate on a trip to Victoria several years ago, and nothing else even comes close. Not even Godiva.

The thing I like best about Valentine's Day is that Brian enjoys celebrating it as much as I do. I never have to prod him to remember special occasions, and I love that about him. <3

2009-02-10T11:38:00.000-08:00

Health Update

I saw my doctor for a follow-up visit last week. He was very pleased about the positive changes he could tell that I've made regarding exercise and my health in general. The lab results came in yesterday and my blood sugar is finally in the normal range. It was actually the best reading I've had in the couple of years I've been seeing him for treatment.

Unfortunately, I've tried a couple of medications for my blood pressure since my drug-free experiment didn't go so well in November. Neither of those alternatives worked nearly as well as the original medication that I was on. (You may recall that I went off of the original medication because the doctor was concerned that one of its side effects was pushing me toward having diabetes.) I've had low-grade headaches since I discontinued it because my blood pressure has not been well-controlled since then.

My doctor has decided to put me back on the original drug regimen. He believes that my glucose is doing better as a result of my exercise and weight loss, and that right now it's most important to get my blood pressure back under control. He also said that I'll probably have to be treated for hypertension for the rest of my life, no matter how healthy a lifestyle I lead. :-(

Overall, I'm happy to see that my hard work is paying off and that my glucose is much improved. With this change in medication, my blood pressure should soon be better again, too.

2009-01-29T10:24:00.000-08:00

25 Random Things About Me...

I created the following list after being tagged on Facebook. I thought I'd post it here, too.

1. I was born in and have lived in Texas all my life.

2. When I was a young child, we lived in a mobile home in a Houston-area trailer park. I used to park my tricycle underneath it at night. (We moved to a nice house in McGregor when I was 5.)

3. I could already read by the time I started kindergarten. I still love reading.

4. I have two younger brothers. We are each 4.5 years apart. My parents didn’t plan it that way. They wanted four kids but we three are all they got.

5. Both of my brothers are very tall and very athletic. I’m not sure why those good genes skipped me.

6. I’ve never needed braces or vision correction.

7. I was Homecoming Queen at my high school but no one asked me to prom.

8. I studied piano for 11 years before going to college, and then I majored in music for a year at Baylor before switching to accounting.

9. I earned my BBA and MBA degrees concurrently over 5 years, and both diplomas have the same date.

10. I LOVE to travel. I’ve been to Europe several times, Caribbean and Alaskan cruises, and allllllllll over the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Most of those trips were with my awesome girlfriends. My next trip will be to Niagara Falls with Brian in April.

11. I take tons of pictures and I carry my camera with me at all times. People laugh, but then something random happens and they are glad I have it.

12. One time, my girlfriends and had a birthday slumber party for one of the girls. We went all over Dallas in our pajamas. A drunk guy at the movie theater tried to pick us up that night. He kept throwing post-it notes with his phone number written on them at us.

13. My favorite food is ice cream.

14. My favorite color is red.

15. I wear red a lot. One time, a guy at work asked me if I had worn the shirt I had on right then, the day before. Uh, NO! I have many red shirts.

16. My husband and I met on eHarmony.

17. We met and married in less than a year.

18. He was 30 and I was 2 weeks away from my 32nd birthday on our wedding day. It was worth the wait!

19. We’ve been married for 2.5 years now and it has been sheer bliss. It just keeps getting better every day. I love my husband so much.

20. I have the best in-laws in the whole world. Brian’s family is awesome.

21. I love our home and I love taking care of it.

22. I also really enjoy having company over.

23. My ideal job would be stay-at-home-mom. Maybe someday.

24. I’ve been a Christian for over 30 years. I’m so thankful for saving grace and to have God’s hand guiding my life.

25. The best time of my life so far is right.now.

2009-01-27T11:05:00.000-08:00

Power Tools are Awesome

When we were visiting my inlaws last Thanksgiving, Brian became enamored with the wrought-iron outdoor candelabras that his parents had recently mounted on the brick columns on their porch. He decided we needed something similar for ours.

I found this one at Hobby Lobby and I thought it was perfect. Of course, on our tiny back porch it only makes sense to have one, not several. I used my studly new Craftsman cordless drill and the masonry bit set and installed it on Sunday afternoon. I think it looks really nice!

Brian is very pleased with it AND the fact that I took his design suggestion - he rarely takes an interest in decor and I thought it was a really good idea. It will be nice to burn a citronella candle in it this spring/summer and have some respite from the mosquitos!

2009-01-22T10:40:00.000-08:00

Flower Power

Here are some funny shoes I bought at the dollar store in McGregor last weekend. If I'm going to wear anything remotely Croc-like, they should at least be whimsical.

2009-01-13T21:48:00.000-08:00

Once upon a time...

Once upon a time, a long time ago, two little girls in the same first grade class became fast friends.

Bethany - first grade, 1980

Wendy - first grade, 1980

In those days, life was full of playgrounds and slumber parties and dollies. The girls played together as the years passed and then one day they found themselves in 5th grade, the last year of elementary school. They joked that they were "seniors of elementary school." Sadly, after that year their paths diverged. Life happened, some of it not so nice, and the little girls grew up.

Wendy moved away, and we eventually lost touch.

Over twenty years passed. Then, thanks to the magic of Facebook, Wendy found me again in late 2008! I was BEYOND excited to get reacquainted with her and share what had happened in our lives over the years. Even though she lives half a country away from me now, we were overjoyed to discover that we would be celebrating Christmas within a couple of hours of each other in the Texas hill country. We immediately made plans to get together during that time.

It was wonderful to see Wendy again and meet her sweet family. Her husband James was so friendly and easy to talk to, and her daughter Emma was absolutely precious. I couldn't believe how well-behaved she was for only 3 years old!

It was an answer to prayer to come full circle and rekindle one of my oldest friendships. Honestly, this was the BEST Christmas gift of all this year!

Wendy & Bethany - 2008

(with Wendy's daughter Emma)

Wendy, her husband James, and Emma
The traditional self-portrait!

2009-01-13T14:53:00.000-08:00

Christmas 2008
Christmas with Brian's family in Fredericksburg

On Christmas Day, we left my family and drove to Fredericksburg, TX, to join Brian's family. We stayed with them for another three days before returning back to Dallas. Brian's parents live in New Orleans, but they rent a big house in Fredericksburg for a few days at Christmas since all of their children live in Texas. Everyone meets up there and we always have a great time.

Brian's family shares their Christmas celebration with some close family friends; JoAnn & Richard Berrones and their kids Alexa & Richie. The Berrones live in Quito, Ecuador while Richard oversees the building of a new airport in the city. They always bring us fun gifts from South America, which also serve as a great photo opportunity. Last year, it was colorful knitted hats from Guatemala. This year, it was crazy socks from Ecuador:

Richard, Joann, Marsha (MIL), Alexa, Christa, Brad (BIL), me, Brian, Tim (FIL), Alisha, Tom (BIL)

Here are Brian's parents modeling their socks

Here's a picture of us at dinner one night

This year, we had a couple of new additions to the Christmas festivities. Brad and Tom both brought their girlfriends, Christa and Alisha. We had spent quite a bit of time with Christa at Thanksgiving, but this was our first time to meet Alisha.

Brad (Brian's twin) with his kiddos, Allison & Abbey, and his girlfriend Christa.
Tom and Alisha

Brad gave Brian a Baylor shirt for Christmas this year. Brad and I both went to BU, and Brad thought it was only fair for Brian to have some Baylor gear since I go to all of those TCU home games with him. After MUCH persuasion, he modeled it for us:

The Wilson brothers: Tom, Brian, & Brad

I love this picture of them cracking up.

Immediately after the above pictures were taken, Brian ran and put on his TCU flannel pants so that he wouldn't feel so disloyal while wearing that Baylor shirt.

This is the shirt we gave Brad for Christmas, after all of the bicep-flexing and "gun show" remarks he made at Thanksgiving. He loved it. This picture of him unleashing his inner redneck makes me laugh, because usually he looks so clean cut and preppy.

2009-01-13T14:37:00.000-08:00

Christmas 2008
Christmas with my family in McGregor

We spent three days with my family in McGregor, TX. My youngest brother Daniel was able to come, and it was awesome to see him again. He's hilarious and one of the most fun people I know.

My parents are almost finished with the 6-month remodeling project of their home (which was only supposed to take a couple of months). I know they will be relieved once it's all over. The new carpet in the photo below makes the house look so different! Up until last year, it was still bright 70's gold.

For reference, here's a photo from 2006 showing the old gold carpet. Oh my gosh, Daniel and Mom and I all wore the same thing again this year. That's hilarious.

Another picture from this year

My middle brother, Stephen, sent Brian this really cool TCU steak branding iron. Brian was thrilled - it combines his two favorite things: grilling and TCU.
We gave my parents this painted tile to celebrate 30 years of living in their home. I grew up in this house and it means a lot to me, too. The framed photo is what the painting was based on.
Here's a similar painting of our own new home, which I ordered on an ornament instead of a display tile. I gave it to Brian for Christmas this year.

2009-01-13T14:22:00.000-08:00

Christmast 2008
Our Christmas at home

Sorry I've been MIA for so long! First, we were on the road over the holidays, and then I have been swamped in year-end accounting stuff at work as soon as the holidays were over.

We had a wonderful Christmas this year; the first in our new home. We celebrated with each other right before we left town to visit our families. We went to Maggiano's for dinner, drove around and looked at Christmas lights, and then went home and opened our gifts to each other. It was fun to go on a "real date"; we eat out a lot less since we moved!

Brian's favorite gifts:

My favorite gifts from Brian:

Great job, Brian!! Diamonds are a girl's best friend, right? ;-)

2008-12-19T13:18:00.000-08:00

Fun House Stuff

My parents came up to visit us last weekend. My mom and I went shopping on Saturday and I found some new things for the house. You know me, I love a bargain!

At Hobby Lobby, I bought a half-round table to put by the front door to give the area more of a foyer feel. It is super-cute, and I got it at 40% off! I've had my eye on this table for a couple of months and the last one was finally on sale. It had a couple of scratches on it, so I pointed that out and got an additional 10% off the original sale price. Score!

Next, we went to Kirkland's and I found a nice little candelabra to put on the new foyer table (see above), as well as a picture for the hall bath. I've been looking for some sort of artwork to put in there ever since we moved in, and this is exactly what I needed. I love it!

We girls shopped all day on Saturday. Brian and my dad went shopping for my Christmas gift while we were gone, and they were bragging about how they were in and out of the store in a matter of minutes. Ha. Brian and I are doing our own Christmas exchange on Saturday so that we don't have to haul those gifts with us on our holiday travels. I am interested to see what he purchased so quickly. :-)

2008-12-09T15:47:00.001-08:00

First Christmas in our new home

2008-12-09T15:42:00.000-08:00

Well, that didn't last long...

About my health... unfortunately, my drug-free experiment didn't last long. The first week was OK, but then during the second week, my blood pressure shot up really high and the terrible headaches came back. I left a message with my doctor and I started taking the remaining few doses of my old meds just to get things back under control. The doctor called me back this afternoon and prescribed a new medication for me to try. It has its own laundry list of side-effects, so I hope that I won't have to be on it forever.

I have started exercising daily and I'm starting to see some results. I just want to be healthy again, like I was just a few years ago before this all began.

2008-12-03T09:34:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving 2008

We spent Thanksgiving with Brian's family this year. His parents live near New Orleans, which is about a 9-hour drive from where we live. We had a great time visiting with everyone and enjoying a few days of rest away from the office. I'm very blessed to have such incredible inlaws, and I always enjoy having the opportunity to spend time with them.

The drive home on Sunday ended up taking 11 hours due to traffic and construction. It was exhausting, but entirely worth it. This turned out to be a good year to spend the holiday with Brian's family, since my parents were consumed with painting their house all weekend and barely took a break to eat a turkey casserole on Thursday. We didn't know that would be the case when we planned this a year ago, but it really worked out.

Brian's lovely parents, Tim & Marsha

Making gravy for Thanksgiving dinner
Thanksgiving dinner with Brian's parents & his brother Tom

Tom & Brian with Tom's lab, Maverick

Brian's twin brother Brad with his girlfriend, Christa

Their combined four kiddos: L-R

Brad's Allison & Abbey, and Christa's Paige & Will

Playing Trivial Pursuit. Tom looks riveted by the mental action.

The twins - I'm married to the one on the left.

Cheesy goodness
I *heart* him!

The whole crew!

Tim and Maverick, all tuckered out. So cute.

2008-11-24T16:12:00.001-08:00

Update

I just got back from my follow-up appointment. At first, the doctor wanted to give me a different kind of prescription for my hypertension. I wasn't happy about that at all because he said this drug would be really BAD if we conceived while I was on it. No thanks. (We aren't trying yet, but I don't want to take any chances.)

So I told him that I wanted to go off of all of my meds because every Rx I've been on in the last 3 years has made me sicker. Surprisingly, he said he would support my decision to do this as long as I continue to make healthy choices regarding diet & exercise. My diet is already pretty good, but the exercise will be a challenge. However, I will do my best; I want to stay off drugs. (Just say no.) Going off the BP meds should help my blood sugar, and exercising should help my BP.

So that's the plan, to try it my way and see if it will work.

2008-11-20T15:36:00.000-08:00

Upsetting

I debated whether or not to blog about this, but I'm pretty upset about it at the moment, so maybe it will make me feel better to get it out in writing.

Three years ago, shortly before our wedding, I went on the pill. After a couple of months of adjustment, everything was great. It was convenient. No side effects. A much easier cycle. Win-win, right? However, at my next gyn exam a year later, my blood pressure was pretty high. Shortly after that, I started having terrible headaches. I went back to the gyn and my BP was even higher, so he told me to see a primary care physician to be treated for hypertension.

I quickly found a PCP and made an appointment; anything to get rid of the awful daily headaches. That doctor took me off of the pill immediately and put me on two prescriptions to control my high BP. The headaches went away, so life was good again.

Meanwhile, I had to return to the doctor for quarterly checkups to monitor my BP and bloodwork. Over the next year and a half, my blood sugar levels began to rise. At every appointment, the doctor would admonish me for not eating right and for being overweight, and I kept trying to make more and more healthy choices in my life and diet. Nothing I did seemed to help.

My latest appointment was yesterday. I've been living on chicken and veggies for weeks now, with only a few devations, determined to have a better result this time. I received the message from my doctor today. My glucose results are now at a level indicative of diabetes!

To say I was shocked and upset would be an understatement. Because while weight issues and hypertension do run in my family, diabetes does not. In fact, I would be the first person in my family that I know of - on either side - to develop it before the age of 80.

The doctor's message continued. He requested that I make a follow-up appointment soon, because he suspects my BP meds might have something to do with this and he'd like to change my prescriptions.

What?!? So, it could be the meds? And after all this time, he's just NOW thinking of changing them? After all those glucose tests coming back higher and higher each time, he waits for me to actually develop diabetes before telling me that "it might be the meds"???

So here's a quick recap: the birth-control pill elevated my blood pressure, and now my blood pressure meds have given me diabetes. Great. Just great. Of course, the first thing I did was turn to the internet. This is what I found:

Beta blockers such as atenolol [this is one of my BP meds] also raise the risk of stroke and of developing diabetes, compared with other blood pressure tablets.

and from another study:

the addition of the diuretic hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) to atenolol [I'm on BOTH of those!], while lowering the risk of the primary outcome, increased the risk of diabetes development.

In fact, I learned that atenolol was discontinued in the United Kingdom in 2006 because of the direct link discovered between its use and the onset of diabetes!! It was already discontinued in Britain before it was prescribed to me!

I want to cry. Hard. And then I'd like to throttle my doctor. All those months of frowns and disapproving tones and basically conveying that my health issues were all my fault for not living healthily enough - in spite of my efforts - when it was actually a result of the medicine he had prescribed. It infuriates me.

I have another appointment on Monday. I just hope whatever the good doc puts me on next won't wreck something else in my body. I'll have to be on something; my hypertension still needs to be regulated. And to think, just over three years ago, I wasn't taking any medications at all.

You know, someday we'd really like to have a baby. How we'll achieve that when my body is falling apart thanks to the magic of pharmaceuticals.... I just don't know.

2008-11-14T09:43:00.001-08:00

Three years ago...

I forgot to post this yesterday, but we did acknowledge the date to each other and enjoy the memories.

Three years ago, on 11/13/05, my beloved Brian cooked dinner for me for the first time, got down on one knee, professed his undying love, and asked me to be his wife.

Last night, my beloved Brian cooked dinner for me the countless time, professed his undying love, and told me how happy he is that I'm his wife.

How could life get any better than this?

2008-11-11T11:33:00.000-08:00

Another round of kitty pics

Since we've moved into our house, I've been trying to get the cats to sleep in pet beds instead of draped across our pillows at night. Annie took to the pet bed after about a week, and she loves it. I see her curled up in hers all the time, not just at night.

Cosmo was a little harder to convince. He's only recently started using his. I was overjoyed the first time I woke up and looked over to see them both in their beds at the same time. Our cats hate each other with a passion, and they usually cannot tolerate being this close to each other without lots of hissing, spitting, and flying fur. Interestingly, the beds started out farther apart and the cats squished them together.

When I first saw them, they were both all curled up and ever so cute. By the time I got my camera out, Annie was already having second thoughts.

2008-11-03T14:34:00.000-08:00

Our Trip to Boston & New England

Brian and I spent a few days in Boston & New England a couple of weeks ago (10/22-10/26). It was a fast and furious trip, as we tried to squeeze in every sight we possible could. We loved seeing the brilliant fall foliage, which is something we don't see much of here in warm Texas. We both were interested in the many historic sites in Boston, and we saw every one of the 16 points on the Freedom Trail. One thing I especially enjoyed was walking along the beach together in three different states; MA, NH, & ME.

Here are just a few of my favorite photos from the trip:

New Hampshire foliage from the air

Boston Common and the MA State House
The Old State House, now dwarfed by skyscrapers. The Declaration of Independence was first read publicly from the balcony of this building.

Brian on the Freedom Trail, coffee in hand as usual.

Paul Revere's grave

The Old North Church (one if by land, two if by sea...)

Bunker Hill monument, across the Charles River

Sunset over the Zakim Bridge

On the water shuttle from the Charleston side back to Boston

Boston skyline at sunset

Plymouth Rock - Plymouth, MA

Lobster for lunch in Plymouth

Hyannis Beach (Cape Cod). Hyannis, MA

Matching shoes on Hyannis Beach

Fall foliage in NH

Kennebunk Beach, Maine

Maine's rocky coast

Portland Head Light, near Portland, ME

P.S. I'm still having picture linking issues, so if any of you know the answer to the question in the post below, please let me know. I loaded the ones above directly to Blogger instead of linking through Photobucket, but I'm going to run out of space quickly if I keep doing that.

2008-11-01T10:40:00.000-07:00

Photo posting issues

Someone please tell my why Blogger is no longer automatically resizing my photos to fit within the margins of my blog. I'm uploading the links from Photobucket in exactly the same way as I've always done. But now instead of resizing to fit, it cuts off half of the photo. Help!

2008-10-30T15:12:00.001-07:00

My Inspiration

My dad recently asked me about the name of my blog. I think "It's a Wonderful Life" is a fitting name for the things I write here. Truly, I have been so blessed in my life, especially during the last few years.

The real inspiration for the name was something that happened in December, 2005. Brian and I had known each other for about 7 months at that point and were newly engaged. On a Saturday morning in early December, he showed up at my apartment with a gift in hand. He had wrapped it himself in Christmas paper, and the uneven bulges and wrinkles made me love him even more for making the effort.

I opened the package to find a DVD of the movie "It's a Wonderful Life". Brian explained that he wanted that movie to be my first Christmas gift ever from him, because a "wonderful life" is what he looked forward to having with me. So we snuggled on the couch and watched the movie and dreamed of how lovely married life would soon be.

And the dreams came true.

2008-10-21T15:48:00.000-07:00

I *heart* Facebook

Facebook is an awesome site that has re-connected me with so many people I knew in the past. It's wonderful to keep tabs on everyone through little sound-bites they post throughout the day, as well as seeing all of the photos they post about the experiences in their lives.

Recently, a really, really old friend found me on Facebook. Wendy and I were close friends in elementary school, but I haven't seen her since about 5th or 6th grade. She went through some pretty tough times at a young age, and eventually her family moved away from our small town. After that, we lost touch. I never forgot her, though.

Countless times, I wondered how her life had turned out. Had she been defeated by the trials she faced? Or had she weathered the storms and come out stronger on the other side? Many, many times she came to mind and I missed her and hoped that she was doing well, that she had found happiness.

And then she found me! One glance at her picture on Facebook and I knew immediately who she was. She looked so pretty and happy. I saw photos of her beautiful family - her husband and sweet little girl - and my eyes filled with tears of joy. The distance of 25 years melted away as we caught up with each other over e-mail. What a blessing to talk to her again and see how well she is doing; to talk about our shared faith and how the Lord has worked in our lives through the years!

Wendy lives half a country away from me now, but this Christmas we are making plans to meet up while celebrating the holidays with our families in Texas. I can't wait to see her again! YAY! It will the best Christmas present!

2008-10-20T16:08:00.001-07:00

Our Tree, RIP

Now you see it...

Now you don't.
This Callery pear tree...
had fire blight...
so the nice men came and cut it down this morning. :-(

I may plant a Rose of Sharon bush in its place. I like flowers. :-)

2008-10-13T16:32:00.000-07:00

Visitors

Brian's parents spent a few days with us last week. We loved having them here. They live in New Orleans, so we don't get to see them as often as we'd like. It was great to spend lots of time sitting and chatting in the back yard and enjoying the pleasant fall weather. On Saturday, we also checked out the little shops and cafes in old downtown Carrollton. The men weren't too excited about shopping, but they stayed long enough to have lunch at the cafe and then excused themselves to go watch football at home.

I didn't take a lot of pictures this time, but I did remember to take one of us all together at dinner on Saturday.

Brian and his dad congratulating themselves on their respective college team football victories.

2008-10-13T16:26:00.000-07:00

Three Amigos

This is how I spend several Saturdays every fall - attending TCU home games with these three super-fans. One of them is my husband. The things I do for love, I tell ya.

Brian and his buds Todd & Matt celebrating a recent win over San Diego State:

2008-10-06T09:52:00.000-07:00

Fall Planting

The weather has been ever so slightly cooler lately (high 80's/low 90's), so it's been much more pleasant for working in the yard. I've spent the last few Saturdays accomplishing a few more projects on our list.

I recently learned that the tall shrub on the corner is a yaupon. I had to buy a tall extension ladder in order to get up high enough to trim the top of this thing; my 6' step ladder just wasn't enough. I hadn't been able to reach the top all summer and it was looking mighty unruly prior to this. The sprouts were over a foot long! It looks so much better after its haircut.

This past Saturday I planted some new nandina shrubs around the base of the tall yaupon. Judging by the one mature nandina on the left, and the little stumps in the surrounding area, there used to be other nandina shrubs here that must have died. They were just begging to be replaced.

Now, with the newly replaced nandina, the left corner of the house (below) is more symmetrical with the right corner.

The side yard is still a work in progress. On Saturday, I also planted a rosebush in the blank space where we'd removed a dead shrub. (I think we're going to have to do something to that weird spindly holly on the right, too.)

I'm still working on removing the black lava rock stuff that the previous owners put in the flower bed, and next spring I think we'll plant some sort of nice ground cover in all of the beds. Or maybe just put down brown mulch again. We'll see. :-)

2008-09-26T10:03:00.000-07:00

Blog Award

A couple of days ago, Nicole nominated me for my first blog award. Thanks, Nicole!! I love reading Nicole's blog and seeing the cute pictures of her many pets. Of course, I am partial to the cats, but she's got quite a menagerie of cuddly (and not-so-cuddly!) critters. I also appreciate Nicole's sweet and encouraging comments on my blog and on Facebook. Plus, she lives in one of the most beautiful places in the whole world - near the Canadian Rockies in Alberta, Canada.

Now, I'm supposed to nominate other people and let them know that I love their blogs. Here goes:

Jessica has already been nominated several times, but her blog truly is one of my favorites. She is a young woman, wife, and mom with maturity and wisdom far beyond her years. Her blog is full of great parenting and money-saving tips, plus it's entertaining and she often posts pictures of her adorable little boys.

Lisa is one of my dearest online friends. In her blog, she expresses herself in such a funny way as she shares of her experiences as a mom of two sweet kiddos (both of whom share MY birthday!!) and as a pastor's wife. She is real and honest, and the insights she shares into her faith inspire me.

Crystal is another whose blog has been nominated several times, but I can't help linking to it again. Her writing style never fails to make me smile, and she is an incredibly talented and creative jewelry designer. Check her out!

Susan is a friend from Dallas; she's a fellow accountant, and we used to hang out with people from the same church singles' group. A couple of years ago, she decided she needed more adventure in her life, so she picked up everything and moved to NYC. Her blog is full of fun stories, pictures of the famous people she's seen, and the interesting experiences she's had there in New York.

Stuff Christians Like is my daily dose of laugh-out-loud humor. Jon Acuff, a PK himself, pokes good-natured fun at cultural ideas and traditions some Christians may tend to take a little too seriously. Always hilarious, he makes me laugh and then he makes me think. You'll love it, too.

2008-09-25T08:38:00.000-07:00

Red, Take 2

My friend Susan's comment on the post below reminded me of another funny story about the color red.

Back in January of 2004, my Fun Aunt Lou gave me a pair of red underwear and told me of an old wives' tale she'd just heard. Supposedly, if you wear red underwear at midnight on December 31st, you'll have romance in your life during the coming new year. I was 31 and had been single for like, ever. My sweet aunt decided to try and help me out in the romance department, so EVERY month for the next 12 months, she mailed me a pair of red undies. How fun it was to get a fancy new pair of red skivvies in the mail every 30 days or so!

Fast forward to December 31, 2004. You bet I wore red underwear on New Year's Eve/New Year's Day!

A few months later, I met Brian. Romance ensued. And less than a year after that, we were married!!

Now honestly. I am not superstitious in the least, and I believe with all my heart that God Himself and a multitude of prayers are the reason Brian found me.

It's still a cute story, though, isn't it? ;-)

[P.S. No pics. Sorry. I've got to draw the line somewhere.]

2008-09-24T20:21:00.000-07:00

Red

I love the color red. Red makes me happy. I wear red so often, one time a person at work asked me if the shirt I had on had also been worn the day before. Um, NO. Why would I do that? (And why would anyone ask that?!) Still, it illustrates my point. :-)

I've been shopping for a red purse for 2 years now. (A red handbag, if you will, for those of you in other parts of the country.) I don't buy purses often because I'm very picky about the innards. My purses have to have a zipper closure and the right kind of pockets inside. When I do find one I like well enough to buy, I carry it until it falls apart. I usually have one for winter and one for summer. That's the extent of my purse fashion.

When I saw this one, it had my name all over it. And it came home with me.

2008-09-16T09:30:00.000-07:00

Look what the storm blew in....

We were blessed to have a whole crew of Houston folks stay with us on Sunday night. Although Hurricane Ike was the unfortunate reason for the visit, we loved having everyone here. (As always, click to see larger pics.)

L to R: Brad's girlfriend Christa, Brian's brother Brad, Brian,

Nermin (Tom's co-worker), James and Jenny, and Brian's brother Tom.

When Nermin & Tom arrived, they had been wearing the same clothes for 4 days. They had been stuck in Missouri on what was supposed to be an overnight business trip because the Houston airports were closed. They at least went to Wal-Mart and bought packages of fresh undies and t-shirts, and thus ended up looking like twinkies.

Much better! We were so glad we got to meet Nermin and listen to his great stories.

The Wilson brothers.

This pose reinacts pretty much every childhood picture of them. It is easy for me to tell the twins apart in baby pictures because Brad is always the stoic one and Brian always has a grin from ear to ear. I probably don't even want to know.

Brad and Christa
The Wilsons have been friends with James since childhood. It was nice to see him and his wife Jenny again.

Cosmo and The Love Brush

2008-09-08T16:33:00.000-07:00

Fall Girls' Weekend

This past weekend, we had our fall girls' birthday weekend. We do this once in the spring and once in the fall. There are five of us who have been friends for ages, and it seems to work better to carve out a weekend to celebrate several birthdays at once than to try to meet for dinner a whole bunch of times. We love it.

We went out to dinner on Friday night, then reconvened on Saturday morning and spent the whole day scrapbooking, talking, laughing, and watching chick flicks. We've been celebrating our lives together for so many years. I don't know what I would have done without my girlfriends during my long period of singleness. I've traveled the world with them and so much more. I *heart* them bunches!

(As always, click to see larger picture)

Clockwise from me: Bethany, Kristen, Jennifer, Worley, Christie

2008-09-04T16:42:00.000-07:00

Two more cemetery pictures

Because I love both my husband and self-portraits so much, I had to post these. See the blog post directly after this one to find out why we were taking pictures at the cemetery.

2008-09-04T16:21:00.000-07:00

Granddad's 90th Birthday

My grandfather (Mom's dad) turned 90 on August 31. His extended family gathered at my grandparents' home in Memphis to help him celebrate. After arriving on Friday evening, we were told to report at 10 :00 the next morning at the cemetery, for family portraits. Yes, the cemetery. (WHAT on earth!??!?)

It turns out that there is a scenic park-like area in one of the local cemeteries that is often used for photo shoots. While we were there, we saw a couple taking engagement photos and a girl in a quincenera dress doing the same. In spite of the inappropriate nature of the location - considering the occasion! - the pictures turned out well. As always, click on any picture to see the larger version.

My grandparents are doing great! Granddad still works 40 hours a week at Wal*Mart. :-D

Siblings in a hollow tree. So cheesy, but still cute.
Daniel (26), Stephen (30), and me (35)

Cool doods.
This is when my granddad walked up to Stephen and said, "Boy, what are you doing wearing lady peepers??" LOL!
A couple of "Captain Morgans" and my parents.
Our family.

Yep, we're in the cemetery.

Cuteness.

Birthday time!
Someone gave him a "shirt" made out of money! The total was $90 for his 90th birthday, plus 5 pennies for decoration.
My grandparents with 5 of their 6 children. The son in the picture Granddad is holding is a missionary with his wife in Africa. My mom, on the far right, is the oldest.
All tuckered out after a hard day of celebrating.

2008-08-28T14:14:00.000-07:00

TFA on the move...

My aunt Lou (TFA - The Fun Aunt) moved from Dallas to Austin this week. She lived here in the metroplex for only one year, and it sure was nice having her close during that time. I don't know what I would have done without her help this past year when we were buying our house, packing, moving, and redecorating. Only she could appreciate the awesomeness of our red kitchen as much (or more!) than I do. :-)

We'll still see her, just not quite as often. And I hope that Austin holds the answers for a great new chapter in her life.

2008-08-23T21:28:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday, Brian!

My beloved turned 34 this past Friday, 8/22. We celebrated by having dinner at his choice of restaurant, Mainstream Fish House. I dislike fish and never cook it at home, so that's often what he wants whenever we eat out. I had a lovely shrimp chowder while he enjoyed his fish.

Then we came home and he opened his presents:

He requested a cherry pie for his birthday "cake" this year. I had never made one before, so it was a new experience for me:

His main gift this year was a Garmin GPS that he's been wanting for a while now. He was also thrilled with the Weber charcoal grill his parents sent, as well as the golf shirt they got for him when they were at the Master's earlier this year.
I love me some Brian!
He is now the proud owner of a full complement of Weber grills, both gas and charcoal.
True Love.

2008-08-19T16:21:00.000-07:00

Love

After two years of marriage, my husband and I are still giddy-crazy-in-love with each other. We feel like newlyweds even if we don't technically qualify. A friend took this photo of us the other day; I was unaware of it at the time.

It makes me smile. :-)

2008-08-13T14:21:00.000-07:00

The Gathering

I spent this past weekend in the company of 20 of my favorite ladies. We originally met online, some as far back as 1999, on what started as a low-carb diet support message board. Since then, it has gradually morphed into less diet, more friendship. This is the first time we've ever had a gathering of this magnitude. People came from all over the world, from as far as Scotland, Canada, and coast-to-coast across the U.S.

These are some of the ladies who, when we bought our first home, sent a digital picture frame loaded with photos of themselves and their families, and who gave us a gift card so generous we were able to buy a much-needed new coffee table.

The time we spent together this weekend far exceeded all of my expectations. This is a group of gorgeous women, both inside and out, and I'm blessed to know them. Sometimes the best things are found on the internet. I met my husband there... as well as all of these dear friends!

This is Ariel, the girl who started and runs our online forum:
This is Sarah, my sweet friend from Scotland:
And just a few of the others:

Angela (TX), Ellie (AZ), and me
Me with Michelle (TX) and Kelly (soon to be an Arizonan!)
Half of the group at brunch at IHOP:
Lisa (AR), me, Lina (TX), Bev (FL), Angela (TX), Bev (NY), Sara (Scotland), and Karen (NH)

Robin (TX), Tricia (FL), Kelly (AZ), Danette (NV), Ellie (partially hidden, AZ), Michelle (TX), Cheryl (AB, Canada), Veronica (MA), Ariel (NV), and Karen (MI)

2008-08-01T09:42:00.000-07:00

A few Wisconsin pics

Here are a few pictures from Brian's trip. They went so many places and he took tons of pictures, but there were only a few with people in them. People pics are the ones I find most interesting, so I'll post a few here.

Matt & Brian at the "Birthplace of the Republican Party". This picture cracks me up. Brian was stoked about this, and he bought both a mug and a bag of coffee beans here. :-D

All the guys at the Packers' Lambeau Field in Green Bay

This is Brian's friend Don. I am SO DISAPPOINTED that Brian did not pose with the cheesehead himself!!! :-(

2008-07-29T13:37:00.001-07:00

Brian returns tonight!

Brian has been in and around Milwaukee, Wisconsin, since Saturday. It's the annual baseball trip that he and his buddies have been taking since shortly after graduating from TCU 11 years ago. They go to a different major league baseball team city each year.

Highlights from this year's trip included attending a Brewers baseball game, plus touring a cheese museum, the Harley-Davidson factory, and the stadium where the Packers play. Also, lots of male bonding, which is the part I will have to just imagine (what happens in WI, stays in WI!), and no shaving until the day of the flight home.

I'm really thankful my husband has a close group of buds to do manly things with. It's good for him. And it's also good for me, because that means there are fewer manly activities I will be asked to do with him myself. ;-) TCU football doesn't count. I'll never get a pass on that one.

I sure will be glad to see his face tonight when he comes back home.

2008-07-23T16:05:00.000-07:00

Pictures from Pam's Visit

Pam and I had a great time this past week! It was so much fun having her here. We rested, gabbed, relaxed, pedicured, and shopped to our heart's content.

On Saturday, our friend Robin drove up from Waco and spent the day with us. We haven't all three been together since 2004!

Me, Pam, and Robin at Baylor in 1995:

Us in 2008:

Robin with Cosmo and the "Love Brush":

With Brian at the Cheesecake Factory:
Annie loved Pam and camped out in her lap all week:
It was time to go and I realized we didn't have any pictures with just us:
All bummed out with sad faces on the way to the airport this morning:

2008-07-17T11:40:00.001-07:00

Only in Texas?

Check out the awesomely sweet ride I had the privilege of following during my morning commute today. If I ever live in a VAN DOWN BY THE RIVER, I want it to be this one:

My witty brother Daniel offered the following plausible caption:

Wife: “Are you sure you want to put the second longhorn on there? That seems unnecessary.”
Hubby: “Go get my snuff.”

2008-07-15T09:55:00.000-07:00

BFF's 4-Ever

I've posted lots of pictures of my BFF's (best friends forever) in this blog and written often of how much they mean to me. I don't know what I would have done during my long season of singleness without such a great group of girlfriends. Truly, they are one of my life's greatest blessings.

This week, one of my oldest and dearest friends is coming to visit. I can't wait! Pam and I have been friends since my sophomore year at Baylor, when we met at church. That was way back in 1993, I believe. We had the best of times in those days, along with our friend Robin. Pam graduated before I did and moved to Maryland, where she married her fiance, Tim. Soon afterward, Tim decided to attend seminary in South Carolina and become a minister. After his graduation several years later, he joined the staff of a church in Montana, where they remain to this day.

We've stayed in touch daily through e-mail over all these years, and thanks to my job at an airline, I've been able to follow them all over the country and visit them in all the interesting places they have lived. They have moved more than just about anyone I know, many times within the same city, and I think I've stayed in just about every one of their unique abodes. Each place seems to have its own funny story, such as the backhouse they lived in during the seminary days that was made out of random builder surplus scraps. (Think neon yellow counters, mauve carpet, aqua walls, and a bathroom in multiple clashing shades of green/blue with a windowed door. Rainbow-tastic!!) They now have a very lovely house in Montana that is also home to the two little boys they adopted from Ukraine a couple of years ago.

I'm really looking forward to spending time with Pam and doing fun girl stuff during the next week. She is special to me not only because of how great she is at maintaining our long-distance friendship over many years, but also because she "gets me" better than just about anyone else next to Brian. Her advice and encouragement and unique outlook on life have enriched mine in so many ways. Thanks, Pam! I *heart* you!

Me, Pam, & Robin at Pam's (master's) graduation from Baylor in 1995.

Me (left), Robin (top middle), and Pam at her wedding in 1996.
Visiting Pam in SC in 2001.
Goofing around with Pam & her husband Tim in 2004.
With my BFF's!! Pam (right) was my matron of honor in 2006.
Brian and I went to visit them in Montana in 2007.
Pam, Tim, and their two little boys.

2008-07-11T13:06:00.000-07:00

This site is hands-down the most awesomely hilarious thing I've read in a long, long time. :-D

www.stuffchristianslike.net

Enjoy!

P.S. Thanks, Kristen, for reminding me about it!

2008-07-07T12:17:00.000-07:00

Our July 4th holiday weekend:

Yeah!!

Happy Birthday, America!
Two "Saturdays" in one weekend!
Brian used his new edger for the first time and the lawn looks awesome!
Homemade ice cream perfection made with our wedding-gift Cuisinart!
Lots of friends and family visiting in our home!
Time together for just the two of us, with no chores that needed to be done!

Boooo!!

I found out my Fun Aunt Lou is moving from Dallas to Austin at the end of the summer. Having her here in Dallas this past year has been so much fun, and I can't bear the thought of her moving away again. :-(

My car developed some issues over the weekend and I had to take it in to the shop this morning. Boo! (It's all fixed now, $300 later.)

2008-06-30T09:27:00.000-07:00

Updated Yard Pictures

Brian and I have been spending lots of time in the yard this spring/summer. There was much work to be done to make it look nice, and we are pleased with the results.

Just for reference, here's what it looked like when we bought the house, before we did anything in the yard. The messy bricks and the ugly tire are now just a distant memory!

I put the planters together this weekend. I thought they would add color and distract attention away from the brown sod that won't grow under the shade of the trees. We also planted a cross vine near the fence, behind the bird bath.
Lantana, plumbago, and swiss ivy
The view from our back door:

Crape myrtles* in the back yard:

And all along the side of our lot:
I dug out the grass around these trees in the front on Saturday, and Brian added fresh mulch. It looks much neater now.

*I always want to spell it "crepe myrtle", but the internet says the correct spelling is actually "crape". Good to know.

2008-06-30T09:15:00.000-07:00

Cat pictures!

I haven't posted pics of the cats in a while, so I decided it was time for another round.

Cosmo was a bit traumatized by our move to the new house, and has only recently returned to his customary posing. I took these this past week:

The spineless wonder - he seems to think this position is comfortable! He naps like this all the time.

He's really, really hoping someone will rub his belly:
Looking so very proper:
This is from several months ago, but it's one of my favorites:Annie loves her new bed. She now sleeps here every night, instead of on top of my head on my pillow.

2008-06-25T20:35:00.000-07:00

Couples' Bible Study - Week 2

Tonight we continued our study by discussing the differences in basic emotional needs between men and women. According to the speaker on the study DVD, women primarily need love, and men primarily need respect. Then we discussed what the speaker called "The Crazy Cycle." This is what results when one spouse reacts to perceived hurt from the other. The man, for example, says something that makes the woman feel unloved, which triggers her to say something that causes him to feel disrespected, and the cycle continues in this manner.

As I thought about this in light of our own marriage, I realized that we don't see much of the Crazy Cycle at our house. And the credit for this belongs to Brian. He is always the first to ask what's wrong, the first to apologize, the first to try to make things right. In fact, he sometimes senses that I'm upset before I've even admitted it to myself. If I am hurt and say something in anger, he virtually never responds in kind. He is the one to realize that the REAL issue is probably something deeper than what I just said, and to calmly question me, listen, and discuss until we figure out the root of the problem. Arguments end because he often diffuses them before they really begin. (Nobody's perfect, of course, but he comes pretty close!)

Sometimes I've said that I married Brian because he has the unique talent of always knowing the right thing to say, just when I need to hear it. If he could bottle this ability and sell it, he'd be a gazillionaire by now! Just being blessed to spend my life as his wife is more than enough for me, though. :)

2008-06-23T17:25:00.000-07:00

I'm smiling to myself as I recall taking those house pictures yesterday (posted below). It was Sunday after church, around 1 p.m. in the afternoon, and the temp was about 95F. I set up the tripod near the curb, then set the camera's timer. For every shot, I'd press the button and then ruuuuuun up the sidewalk as fast as my floppy sandals would allow, just in time to jump in the picture beside Brian before the 10-second timer ran out. Rinse and repeat about 7 or 8 times. By the time we were finished, I was winded, drenched, and laughing from all of the running in my impractical shoes in that heat.

Our neighbor across the street came out while we were in the middle of this process and looked at us like we were completely nuts. Which we probably are. But cute pictures are ALWAYS worth the effort, right? :-)

2008-06-23T17:06:00.000-07:00

Comments should now be visible

Thanks to my friend Susan, I believe I've fixed the comment function. I'll get this Blogger site all figured out eventually... :-)

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

Our Home - The Front Yard

Brian and I have spent quite a bit of time out in our yard this spring. You've already seen pictures of our backyard makeover and new fence, so I thought I'd post some of the front. It looks so nice now that the grass is green and the crape myrtles are blooming.

We've had a whole lot of cleanup to do out there. I've spent days and days just weeding the shrub beds, and it seems like a weekly struggle to keep them neat. Someday, maybe I'll be able to get rid of all of the root systems of these undesirable plants that seem to regenerate overnight! I've also trimmed the hedge several times already; the monstrous holly bushes grow as fast as the weeds. I think I need to cut them back even more. It's still a learning process for me. At last count, Brian had spread 12 bags of mulch in the front beds so far. It looks so much better now.

Brian has willingly taken over the responsibility of the mowing, weed-eating, fertilizing and sweeping/blowing. He does a great job, and he enjoys using his shiny new red Toro mower. The weekly yard work will be even more fun for him once he receives his latest new toy: the walk-behind edger he just ordered.

The day we made an offer on the house - January 2008:

June, 2008

There are pink crape myrtles all along the side, and even more in the backyard.

The self-portrait: It had to be done!

2008-06-19T11:21:00.000-07:00

Last night we attended the first session of a short-term couples' Bible study offered by our church. We did this last summer and really enjoyed it. It will be nice to get to know some other people in our same stage of life. I think there are going to be about six couples participating in the study. Most seem to be about our age (30's), and have only been married a couple of years like we have.

The title of the video series is Love and Respect. It’s about marriage, communication, and male and female differences. It will be interesting to see what new things we can learn, although we are both pleased with how we communicate with each other so far.

I'm glad I married a man who is good at talking things over. He'll tell you pretty much anything you want to know, as long as you ask the right questions to draw it out of him. Without the prompting, he's much better expressing his thoughts in writing than verbally. I don't think he's alone in this. Last night, the first task was to describe your spouse to the rest of the group. Many of the men struggled to express their thoughts when put on the spot, while the women had much more to say when it was their turn to speak. It was pretty humorous, actually.

Brian's description of me went something like this: "She's warm..... happy..... organized..... not too blunt..... wait, what was the question again?" :-D

At least it was better than his answer at last year's study, when the first question was to describe what you like most about your spouse. Brian's response? "She cooks for me. And I like that." No glowing description of my character qualities - just cooking!!!

Hey, at least he's happy. Because that's ultimately my main goal, anyway.

2008-06-17T09:28:00.000-07:00

My Birthday - 5/25

I still haven't posted pics from my birthday, back in May. I turned THIRTY-FIVE this year. When did I get this old? Honestly, in so many ways I feel like my life is just beginning. All of the best parts of it have happened in the last few years, and I am looking forward to even more in the next few.

We were in Canada on my actual birthday, so we celebrated a couple of days before we left. Brian cooked dinner for me, he bought me roses, and he even baked a cake all by himself. The cake was very "special" - it was FAT FREE - because Brian, bless his heart, forgot to put the butter in! He followed the instructions on the box and had the whole thing finished and frosted, then when he opened the microwave hours later he found the butter in there, all nice and soft and ready for mixing. Oh well! It still tasted OK, with lots of ice cream on it. I was touched that he even tried.

Here I am wearing the pearl and gold necklace Brian bought for me when we were in Mexico earlier in May:

2008-06-17T09:19:00.001-07:00

Last night, Brian took out his contacts. He has to change them once a month, and he usually lets his eyes "rest" overnight when it's time to change. He's nearly blind without his vision correction, and sometimes it can be quite amusing when he goes au naturale.

As he was getting ready to hop into bed last night, sans contacts or glasses, he paused to yell at Cosmo to get off the furniture. Only it wasn't our white, fluffy Cosmo kitty that he was yelling at. It was a rolled up newspaper, waiting to be put into the recycle bin the next morning. :-D

2008-06-16T22:39:00.000-07:00

Finally up to speed...

I am finally finished copying my archived blog entries from MySpace to Blogger. I've learned that some people don't care for MySpace (or just don't check it often), so I will be posting my thoughts and pictures on both sites in the future.