Happy New Year!

Wow! I can't believe 2009 is coming to an end.  This year just flew by, so I decided to take a jog down memory lane.  Here's what stuck out on my calendar.

Jan 6th, 2009 - My parents 30th wedding annivarsary!
Feb 27th, 2009 - Went to Dallas to see my bestie Stephanie
March 21st, 2009 - Saw Brooks & Dunn at the HLSR
April 9th, 2009 - Started dance lessons. Learned Salsa and the two-step
May 16th, 2009 - My sister Sarah, and sister-in-law Callie, both graduated from Lamar University
June 29th, 2009 - Bought our first house!
July 4th, 2009 - Moved into our first house
July 18th, 2009 - My sister-in-law Callie got married
August 14th, 2009 - My bestie, Stephanie, came to visit
August 23rd, 2009 - Curtis' cousin Andrea got married
September 5th, 2009 - My grandfather died
October 17th, 2009 - Went to my husbands 10-year high school reunion
November 1st, 2009 - Left on a 7-day cruise
November 4th, 2009 - Celebrated 3 years with my wonderful husband
December 25th, 2009 - Woke up on the first Christmas morning in our first house!

This year has seen many joys and a few heartaches, but it's been a great year full of blessings.  Our friends have had lots of babies, which means many many baby showers, we've been to the Rockets games and the Aero's games, spent time with our family, celebrated birthdays, and we are still missing my grandfather, but God is good and I look forward to what He has for us in 2010.  I have no idea what it will be!

God Bless You and Happy New Year!

It's Christmas Time

YAY!  I love Christmas time.  I'm so excited to celebrate with family and friends this week.  I am so blessed and I was reminded saturday night that Christmas is all about the birth of Jesus and what an amazingly powerful day that was and the real reason to be excited! 

My sister came to visit us this weekend and we had a great time hanging out.  Curtis and I took her to the Chris Tomlin's Glory in the Highest Tour with Louie Giglio, Audrey Assad and Christy Nockels (all amazing artists/speakers).  It was amazing!  Chris Tomlin has put his own spin on christmas carols and they are amazing songs.  And Louie Giglio reminded us what happened on the night of Jesus' birth and why these Christmas songs are truly just words of praise for the birth of our savior.  It was really an awesome night.  I highly recommend the cd (It was already on my christmas list).

This is a new song by Audrey Assad that was sung at the concert, it's included on the cd and it's awesome.  I apologize for the cheesy video but it's what YouTube had to offer.



I hope everyone has a great Christmas and a very Happy New Year!  Love Ya!

Go Elf Yourself!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

What do ya know?

Current Book(s):

Loves Abiding Joy – Janette Oke

The Last Song – Nicholas Sparks (I’ve read all of his books and will read all to come)

Current Music:

Christmas music

Sugarland

Christmas music by Sugarland
Duffy

Current Shame-Inducing Guilty Pleasure:

Peppermint Bark Dove Chocolate Bites – YUM
Anything chocolate

Current Colors:
Jewel Tones – purple, green, blue, yellow

Current Obsessions:
Blogging
Decoration my house
Crossing things off my very long to-do list (I always have a list)
Buying my friends and family the perfect gift

Current Drink:
Cream Soda or Hot Chocolate but it should be water

Current Songs:
“This Christmas,” I really don’t care for this song but I can’t get it out of my head! - UGH

Current Movie:
I haven’t seen a movie in AGES, I’m not sure I can remember the last one I saw in a theater… my guess… X-Men Origins: Wolverine? (Guess who picked it).  However, Curtis and I did just watch Transformers on our new Blue Ray player, I have to admit, it was a really clear picture!  :) (Guess who picked that one too!)

Current TV Show:
Brothers and Sisters and Glee, I can’t miss a show. I’m also a huge fan of How I Met Your Mother… I could go on and on about that show but I won’t.
Oh and I love Private Practice and Grey’s Anatomy

Current Wish-List:
More time
More sleep
More time to sleep

Current Needs:

A workout (or two or four or more)

More hours in the day

Current Triumph(s):

Starting / Trying to stop biting my nails… AGAIN

Resolved to be more positive (in my head)

Current Bane(s) of my Existence:

Houston Traffic – I’ve tried to remain cool, calm and collected over the last 4 years, but I’m starting to loose it. It’s really starting to bug me now and I’ve developed an unhealthy (yet contained to my car) road rage! Or I just get depressed as I sit there and waste away precious minutes of my life… SIGH

Current Goal(s):

Be more productive

Save more money

Reach all of my 2010 goals

Current Indulgence:

Jewelry – I can’t get enough of it. I’ve become a sucker for Francesca’s and Charming Charlies

Current Blessing:

My Husband

My Family

My House

Current Slang or Saying:

"Seriously?!" - I say it all the time due to my friend Kasey

Current (Fav) Outfit:

My new Elle jeans, my grey sweater and black boots

Current Excitement:

My little, baby, 16-yr old sister is coming to visit for the weekend!

I’m excited to see my family on Christmas

Current Mood:

Happy but Thoughtful (or maybe Reflective is the word)

Oh Christmas Tree

Hey Friends, I wanted to post a quick note and pic about our Christmas Tree. We were so excited to put up our Christmas tree in our new house. At first we couldn't decide where to put it but we finally decided to try the entry way. We'll see how it works once we have presents under it. I don't think it'll work there once we have kids and/or pets around the house, but it works for now.

I realized when posting the pic that the tree skirt looks really small for the tree but i don't think it'll matter once the skirt is covered with presents. 

Enough about the tree, we are so blessed and thankful for our house and that we've been given this great blessing this year.  We're looking forward to having family over during the holidays.  We even more thankful for all that God has done for us.  Christmas is an extension of Thanksgiving for me.  I'm not only thankful for what I have been given but I'm also thankful for God's saving grace in the birth and death of His son.  What an amazing present!  Please remember that it's not a time to be stressed over what to give people or how much to spend, but a time to give to the people you love out of the blessings you've been given and from the heart.  I want this Christmas to be a time of enjoying the blessings I have in my friends and family. 

God Bless!

(Guess my note wasn't short after all)

What Is This World Coming Too?!

This is really cute.  I think it was planned out but I think it's funny and it shows how our society has changed.  Enjoy!

Bring On The Christmas Spirit

One day as I was browsing through my favorite website ever, http://www.etsy.com/, and I came across a very beautiful Christmas wreath (I think Christmas wreaths are usually very cheesy). Problem is, it was $88 and I think that's a lot to pay for something you hang on your door. So, being the some-what crafty person that I am, I decided, "I can totally make that".

So I took my first opportunity to stop by the best place on earth, Hobby Lobby, and picked up the 50% off christmas ornaments I wanted to use to make my wreath.  Then I talked my mom into letting me make her one too so we went BACK to Hobby Lobby and picked up more supplies.  I really like the different size ornaments and the 'messy' look of the wreath's leaves in the one pictured above, but I think mine came out great for only costing $25.  What do you think?

This is my wreath                                                       

This is my moms wreath

It's Time. . .

To vote again.  If you remember my last post on voting, you'll know that I think it's very important to vote for not only national races, but local races as well.

On Nov. 3, Houston did not elect a mayor.  No one showed up to vote so no candidate won the majority. So we have a runoff race between Gene Locke and Annise Parker.  I've included some information I've found about them, but I encourage you to do your own research and PLEASE vote.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/30/us/30houston.html  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston_mayoral_election,_2009

Early voting starts Mon, Nov. 30th and the election is Sat, Dec. 12th.

Gene Locke, who is running for mayor, is a lawyer who enjoys the backing of business leaders.


http://www.genelocke.com/index.asp 

Photo: David J. Phillip/Associated Press



Annise Parker the Houston controller stands an even chance of becoming the first openly gay woman to be elected mayor of a major American city.

http://www.anniseparker.com/home
 
 
     

Photo: Michael Stravato for The New York Times

What's Your Chain?

There is an awesome song by Chris Tomlin that is a re-make of the hymn Amazing Grace. I've always loved this song but it has recently taken on a new and deeper meaning for me.  I think every word of this song is powerful but it has an amazing chorus that says "my chains are gone, I've been set free, My God, My Savior has ransomed me".

It first took on a deeper meaning as I heard it sung at my grandfathers funeral.  God had rescued him from his long battle with cancer - he is free and will forever be with his savior!  It means so much to me now, not only for my grandfather but for the things in my own life that have a hold of me.  Every time I hear this, I'm reminded that whatever is going on in my life, God has covered me with his amazing grace.  It's so powerful to me. All the things that I worry about and stress over and when I wonder what the future will hold I'm reminded that everything has been taken care of by My God! I'm free!

Whether it's fear, stress, doubt, worry, lonliness, restlessness, complacency, etc. God's amazing grace can set you free from that chain that has a hold of you.  How powerful and truly amazing is our God?!  Read these words and listen to this song and think about the things in your life that God has already paid the price for and released you from.  His grace is new every morning. . . and I know I need it! 

"Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)"

Amazing grace
How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now I'm found
Was blind, but now I see

'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear
And grace my fears relieved
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed

My chains are gone
I've been set free
My God, my Savior has ransomed me
And like a flood His mercy rains
Unending love, Amazing grace

The Lord has promised good to me
His word my hope secures
He will my shield and portion be
As long as life endures

My chains are gone
I've been set free
My God, my Savior has ransomed me
And like a flood His mercy rains
Unending love, Amazing grace

The earth shall soon dissolve like snow
The sun forbear to shine
But God, Who called me here below
Will be forever mine
Will be forever mine
You are forever mine

Post Vacation Blues

Oh man do I have the post vacation blues.  This week is tough!  We just got back from a great vacation.  We went on a 7 day cruise and had a blast!  We had such a great time that we weren't ready to come back at all and I'm SO not into work this week.  Not to mention, we left for vacation the morning after the time change, so I hadn't even noticed that it was getting dark SO MUCH earlier now.  Leaving work after the sun sets is depressing me.  It's giving me the "back from vacation blues".  I have no idea what this video is from but you can find some interesting things on YouTube.  I thought this was appropriate for how we felt before we left and how we feel now!  Actually this song is a little dramatic!  It's not THAT bad.



Sorry for the gloomy post, I'm just being grumpy and selfish!  I promise my next post will be all cheery again!  I'm looking forward to the Women's Night of Praise at my church on Thursday and the Nutcracker Market on Saturday with my friends!

Get Your Vote On

We know… we know…. we’ve all heard it before… we should vote. I get that. But it really is a pain. Not to mention the fact that is it hard to even find out information ABOUT voting, it’s also a hassle TO vote. I hate the long lines, taking time from work, and practically being ATTACKED by all the ‘supporters’ harassing you to vote for their candidate… that should be illegal by the way. I made it all the way there to vote, the least they could do is LEAVE ME ALONE while I’m trying to vote. Voting is not easy, I get that! That being said:

We really should vote! It is SO important. Even though it is a pain… voting is important and just plain American. Regardless of the number of total voters, the person with the most votes wins. What if none of us stood up for what we believe is right and 1% of the population decided what the majority wanted. (I have no idea what % of people vote, I’m just sayin’)

November 3rd is election day. You should go vote for your mayor and city officials. They do impact your life! They make decisions every day that affect us and none of us seem to care. I don’t attend city council meetings and rarely to I write my city and state officials BUT I do at least vote. It’s the least I can do.

Since finding out who to vote for, where to vote and when to vote is SO stinking hard! I’ve included a few of the resources I use:

Harris County Voting Information
http://www.harrisvotes.com/

Harris County Early voting locations
http://www.harrisvotes.com/docs/EV/earlyvotinglocations_schedule_ENG.pdf

Sample Ballot for this election
http://www.harrisvotes.com/Sample_b/SampleBallot_ENG.pdf

League of Women Voters
http://www.lwv.org/

The Texas Senate
http://www.senate.state.tx.us/

Republican National Committee
http://www.gop.com/

If you’re not registered to vote, sign up today
http://www.declareyourself.com/

There are plenty more! Also, signing up for your party’s newsletter will also keep you informed about when to vote.

Get your vote on people!

If You're Happy And You Know It. . .

Imagine a motley crew of high school mis-fits, cheerleaders and football players who are trying to be cool (or stay cool) but can’t help from breaking out in song and dance. Sound familiar? Well I’m not talking about High School Musical I’m talking about the new Fox show GLEE! It’s WAY different and WAY better than HSM1,2, or 3. This show is cheesy. . . but hilarious.  You have to watch it… give it 2 episodes and you’ll be hooked!

The show is starting to have a following.  The cast members are all singers and actors and there are a few broadway stars in the cast so the singing is actually good.  You can buy their music on iTunes and they have several songs within the top 100 songs being downloaded on iTunes. 

You can watch the epidsodes on hulu.com or check out this clip:

Don't Stop Believin'
http://www.youtube.com/user/gleevideos?blend=5&ob=4#p/f

Glee:  The Music, Volume 1
http://www.amazon.com/Glee-Music-1-Cast/dp/B002NJ8X9G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1256231126&sr=8-1

Awww... for me?

Ok, so I’m a nerd and I start thinking about Christmas really early! … like right now. (I'm not the only one!) I’ve already bought a few gifts and I’m so excited to give them, I can’t wait to see the reactions! One of my favorite gifts is to my friend Blair. We have an half-unspoken tradition of buying each other a desk calendar every year. It’s from Snow and Graham and it’s so cute. . . we LOVE it. So every year I buy one and she buys one and we give it to each other. Only, we keep it because that’d be silly to wrap and exchange the same gift. Unwrapping it when it arrives in the mail is just as fun!

So every year when we see each other for the holidays, we let each other know that we’ve bought our Christmas gifts to each other. It’s so fun. This is the calendar we buy each year. If you want one (which you know you do), you should buy it now because they run out quickly. And trust me, the Luxe Paperie site is the cheapest… I’ve done my research.   Happy 2010 ya’ll!!!

P.S. You can find this in specialty print / gift shops around Houston, which is where Blair and I found ours the first time, but I don’t remember the name of the place on Shephard and Google won’t tell me, so no help there. It’ll probably save a lot of time to just order it online.

Her Morning Elegance

In honor of our beautiful morning here in Houston, I wanted to post this video I found because I think it's very cool. It's very well done and entertaining. It's a music video for Oren Lavie, but, I don't know who that is. Regardless, enjoy!

Ta-Daaaaaaaa!

We've made SO much progress on decorating our house! Our unpacking hit a stand still for awhile, but we've started unpacking the rest of the boxes and are making a lot of progress. We even put together a shelf and oraganized the garage. We're awesome! :) We've been lucky to get so much done after only living in our house for 3 months. We were able to put rooms together that we hadn't even planned on furnishing yet. What can I say?. . . I'm a bargain hunter. So, here is my attempt to post pics of our house, of course I think it looks better in person, and I'm not good at editing so I'm sorry that the text is so small. I'll include additional commentary. Here goes:

This is our breakfast room, it's right off the kitchen and it seats six so we eat most of our meals there.

This is our living room and pictures of a few other decorations. The shelf in the corner is new. I'd like to hang curtains and some art eventually. The floral arrangement I made with my antique sugar mold, the wall of crosses is in the hallway and the bottom pic is decorations above my kitchen cabinets.

This is the master bedroom and bath. The bedroom is blue and brown and the bathroom is red and brown.

Guest Bedroom - I found a bargain bedspread at TJ Max and I also have a black armoire with a tv on top in the corner. The pictures I made out of old calendars. I'm still looking for something to hang over the bed. The guest bathroom is small, but I've decorated with blue and silver.

Second Guest Bathroom - The colors are beige, green and black. The picture is a print of a Monet and we recently hung that over the toilet.

I hope you enjoy! :) I know it's not as exciting for you as it is for me but I just love our house so much. The year long search was worth it! Can't wait for you to come see it, just invite yourself over, I don't mind. ;)

Scary Beyond All Reason

I came across this contest from Best Buy and I think it's hilarious! Send in a picture of your old technology and write a clever description and you could win a $3,500 home theater system. I wish I could enter, but I'm way to high tech and up to date for that.... HA! Rrriiiigggghhhtttt.

Enter HERE:
www.scarytechnology.com/EnterTheContest.aspx

Watch the Promo:



P.S. My favorite part is 0:33 - 0:39 of the video.

Orange you glad it's fall?

I can't believe it's October already. This year has flown by! I feel like saying that makes me old. Oh well. I love fall. It's my favorite time of year. All the holidays, family, friends, food, fun, fashion, it's all so wonderful! PLUS October means Curtis and I are coming up on our anniversary! In early November we'll be married 3 years! It has been the best 3 years ever! We've accomplished so much and we feel truly blessed with all that we have!

I can't wait to break out my wonderful winter clothes! I have the cutest new sweater (actually 2 new sweaters). I also can't wait to decorate my house for the fall! What are you looking forward too?

Smiling is my Favorite

Some of my favorite things include:

(Imagine the song from Sound of Music playing in the background)
(P.S. this list is in no particular order)

1. ELF - Best movie ever! and the origin of my favorite quote ever... "Smiling is my favorite" - Buddy. I cannot wait to watch this movie over and over and over again this winter. Curtis will be so happy!

2. My House - It's awesome. I love being there and it's really starting to come together. I love all the decorations I've picked out. It's such a beautiful place! Hopefully I'll post more pics soon. We're close to having it set up.

3. Perfume - I love perfume. I wear it every day. I have lots of different perfume but my favorites are Body by Victoria and Be Delicious by DKNY.

4. ETSY - the best website ever! If I could create a whole wardrobe and decorate my whole house in etsy.com stuff I would. Check it out!

5. Blogs - I've really gotten into ready blogs lately. It's so fun to read your friends blogs, but I even enjoy finding blogs of random people, you can learn a lot! My favorite blog is Lauren from Texas.

6. Fail Blog - It just makes me laugh. http://www.failblog.org/

7. Owls - Wierd I know but I can't help it. They are just so cute! Don't ya think?

8. Nail Polish - unfortunately, I bite my nails. And for a germaphobe like me, I can't believe I do. It's been a disgusting habit of mine my whole life and I'll quit for awhile but I always start back again... sad I know. HOWEVER, I do love to paint my toenails, I always have cute toenail polish. My favorite is OPI and my new favorite color is Yes I Can Can.


9. Nit Noi - the BEST thai food in Houston. Curtis and I have pretty much been going there every Wednesday and/or Sunday for the last few months. We LOVE it. It's so delicious and the servings are big enough to split. Our favorite is the chicken curry.

1o. And my #10 favorite thing is: How I Met Your Mother. I could go on and on and on about this show and quote you practically everything but. . . I won't. I'll just say that if you're not watching HIMYM (as it's known to us die-hard fans) YOU MUST. It's Legen. . . . . wait for it. . . dary!

Road Trip

Disclaimer: I don't like road trips. Well for the most part. First there is the motion sickness, then the looooonnnngg boring drive to get OUT of Texas. Not to mention the cramped feeling I get when being stuck in a car for that long.

NOW: That being said, I had a really good time on a road trip with my girls last weekend. My mom, Becky, Sarah and I drove to Dallas for Curtis Woods' wedding. I know that Dallas is not necessarily a road trip, but when you drive there Sat AM and drive back Sunday afternoon, it feels like a whole weekend of driving.

We had a great time seeing Aunt Carol, Uncle Mark and their whole family It was a reunion of the Bmt crew too. It was great to see the McNeils and talk with Jana about her upcoming wedding.

The best part of the whole trip was hanging out with my mom and sisters for the weekend. We had a great time. We're all so silly when you get us alone that we just laughed and picked on eachother and told funny stories. Becky should write a blog about her adventures in high school. It's funny to hear about goes on in high school now that I'm 10 years out... almost. It's hilarious.

I love my girls!

Pepper Tree... what?!

Ok... so, I catch a lot of crap from some people for liking Pepper Tree, but I don't care! I will endorse Pepper Tree because I love it. What is Pepper Tree you ask? Well I'm glad you asked, get ready for it... it's a delicious, wonderful, exceptional buffet of vegetarian asian food. YEAH I KNOW! I would not normally eat at vegetarian places but about 3-4 years ago my co-worker took me there and I loved it. Now I'm up for eating there anytime! If you like asian food, I recommend trying it! I've posted the link so that you know where it is and their hours of operation. IF you BY ANY CHANCE want to try it, let me know and I'll take you there.

Here's to you Stanley! http://www.peppertreeveggiecuisine.com/
FYI - I'm going there for lunch today so see you there!

What I'm Looking Forward To

Sometimes it's important to stop and think about all the great blessing in your life. It's also important to be hopefull for what God has in-store for your future. Here is a list of things I'm looking forward too, short-term, long-term and not at all completely inclusive.

1. Weekends - we have a lot of plans to spend time with friends and family over the next few months and I'm thankful for those opportunities.

2. Growing more with God - I know that God has a plan for my life and I'm excited about what He has in store for me. I'm sure it'll be nothing like I expect and even better than I could have hoped for.

3. Vacation - Curtis and I are planning to take a cruise soon. It'll be so nice to get away for a full week. It's been 3 years since we've taken that kind of time off to be with eachother. We love all of our friends and family but it'll be nice to take time just for us.

4. Furnishing our house - God has blessed us with the most beautiful house that is perfect for us. I can't wait for the day that it's all furnished and decorated and organized and full of friends and family.

5. Fall - this is my absolute favorite time of year. I love the weather and the holidays and that special time of year when we celebrate family and all the God has provided.

6. Life with Curtis - God has given me a great man; not a perfect man :), but a great one! I know that even over the last 3 years, Curtis and I have grown closer together and closer to God. This has been and is our prayer. I have no idea what struggles we will face, but I know that we'll face them together. We are very intentional about planning the protection and growth of our marriage, I only hope and pray that God will continue to mold us into the 'one' that he wants us to be.

7. Who knows what else! - I can't even begin to imagine what the future holds for me and Curtis. I'm just excited that God has brought Curtis and I together to take that journey. I'd like to think that I'll become someone who is kind and compasionate to others, who makes a contribution to other peoples lives, who is Godly, who will be a great wife and mother and who will do amazingly above what is expected of her or what she even expects for herself.

My grandfather's death has brought to light a lot of things in my heart. I've been reminded that there is hope in God that no matter what happens on this earth, my eternal future is spectacularly bright. It has revived that desire in my heart to be God's servant, like my grandparents have been, to be a true servant of God and to impact the lives of the people around me. I have hope that God will bring that desire to truth in my life. Oh Happy Day! :)

Pappy

I'm not sure how to start this blog, but I'll just go ahead and state: My grandpa died last Saturday. We knew he was not doing well, but we weren't sure how much longer he would be here. Curtis and I had planned on going to see him Sunday afternoon but he died Saturday night. So Sunday we headed to Beaumont, the visitation was on Monday and the funeral was on Tuesday.

I've never had anyone close to me die before so I knew this was going to be hard. I will miss my 'Pappy' very much. I grew up with him in my life and I loved to go spend the weekend with my granparents. I've learned so much from them throughout my life. I was reminded of how great a man he was by the things people said about him. My grandparents have always demonstrated God's love in their lives by helping anyone and everyone who needed anything. My extended family is HUGE due to all the people they've 'adopted' over the years. You never knew who was going to show up at our family dinners. They are a true picture of serving God.

My grandma has been very strong, taking care of my granpa for the years since he's been diagnosed with cancer. She knows in her heart that he is in a better place, we all do. So we take comfort in knowing that we'll see him again. I can't wait! I am so thankful for the hope that I'll have him in my life again one day. I have a great family, ALL of them are awesome people who have helped make me who I am today, and for that I'm so thankful!

August Birthday's Are The Best

I love my birthday. It's the best day ever! . . . well for me it is. I told Curtis the other day that he needs to learn to love my birthday as much as I do! :) I use it as an excuse to get away with all kinds of mischief. One of the best part of my birthday festivities is the annual (of course) birthday dinner. This dinner is one of a kind. My mom will cook you WHATEVER you like and everyone else has to eat it with no complaints. (Which is one of the many reasons my mom is the best ever) I really enjoy this privilege to say the least. My mom will also make you whatever kind of cake you want, which for everyone in my family is something different. My cake of choice is yellow cake with chocolate icing, plain but OH SO YUMMY when it's freshly made just for my birthday.

So this birthday dinner is a family affair, all of your grandparents and sisters and closest family members are required to come. . . ya know unless they can't. So this year, I wanted to host my birthday dinner at our new house. I've been wanting both sets of my grandparents to come and see our new house and I thought this was the perfect opportunity. It was so great to see all of my family. I decided to cook spaghetti for everyone. Spaghetti is not necessarily my favorite meal of all time, but I wanted to cook. I've never cooked for more than 4-5 people, so 13 was kinda overwhelming and I thought to myself, "Self! Ya know, 13 people are coming over and this could go terribly wrong if you try to cook something too ambitious, you best stick with the old faithful. . . spaghetti". So the decision was made. It turned out perfectly. I managed to cook JUST enough food for everyone; with the help of my mom, sister and Aunt Rita of course.

In short, the birthday dinner was a success. :) Not only did I get birthday presents (which is always fun), but i had a great time hosting everyone. Yay for a house with enough room for everyone!

P.S. It's still my birthday month... just a reminder! :)

How About Them Muffins!

So, I found this blog through my friends blog and although I don't know this girl, her recipes sound very delicious. ESPECIALLY this banana chocolate chip muffin recipe. I wanted to share this with you, I plan on trying it very soon. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
Posted by Chelsea Hurst

Learn how to make these before you have children. Seriously. These are so good. And they aren’t labor intensive so even us non-bakers can handle it. Give it a go and let me know what you think.
1 c. sugar

1/2 c. butter, softened

1 T. water

2 eggs

3 crushed bananas (works best when they are old)

2 c. flour1 t. baking soda

1-1.5 c. chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 350. Cream butter, sugar, and water until smooth. Add eggs and beat well. Mix the mashed bananas. Then mix in flour and baking soda. Stir in chocolate chips. Easy as pie! Well, easy as muffins… Ha. I’m hilarious. Put into greased muffin tins and bake for 15-18 minutes.

http://rootsandringsrecipes.wordpress.com/2009/07/31/banana-chocolate-chip-muffins/

Oh May!

Last night Curtis and I had our friends over for dinner. God blessed me in his perfect timing by letting me meet Kasey May at work and we've become great friends. Kasey and her husband Rolyn are a great couple and a lot of fun to hang out with. So last night, they come over and were brave enough to try one of my crock pot creations (and it was actually good). Then we made Aunt Carols' delish chocolate chex mix. WHY following Aunt Carols directions perfectly NEVER produces the same quality food that she does, I'll never know! But it was tasty in it's own right. We had a great time visiting and laughing and touring our new house. Can't wait to do it again! This whole hosting dinner parties thing is fun!

The Callesto's

Congrats to the Bride and Groom!

This past weekend, Curtis' sister Callie got married. She had a very beautiful ceremony and a great reception. My pictures didn't turn out so great since my camera doesn't like taking pictures in the dark, but I like this pic of their first dance. Callie looked very beautiful in her beaded halter dress and I loved the pink and green decorations and flowers. We had a great time visiting with family and friends too. I even became good friends with Ryan's nephew Logan. He walked up to me and introduced himself and asked me if I'm married. . . he's five! :)

Congrats to the Callesto's and we wish ya'll the very best!

It's Arrived

Well. . . it's finally here! Our house! We've searched long and hard and God has lead us to the perfect place. It's beautiful and wonderful and I can't wait to get moved in. When are you coming to visit?

The Stallings House

So..... after an exhaustive search of the northeast side of Houston, we've finally found a house! I'm very excited about this and I love the house. Of course there are things we would change, but we feel this house is a GREAT place for us. God has blessed us with a great price on it as well. So, we had the inspection yesterday and now we're working on financing and getting all the i's dotted and the t's crossed. (yeah I'm that cheesy) We're praying that God will continue to work everything out and we'll have a smooth process. I'll post pictures as soon as I can. YAY!

Happy Shower Day

This past weekend was Callie's Bridal Shower. It was very beautiful and a lot of fun. My fellow bridesmaids, Lauren and Heather did a great job of setting everything up, coordinating everyone and making the shower so cute! I've included several pictures of us girls and the awesome desserts. And of course Callie got some great presents too!

Graduation Day

Sarah - The Nurse and Callie - The Engineer

This past weekend my sister, Sarah and Curtis' sister, Callie both graduated from Lamar University. Congratulations to them! They worked really hard. I remember how wonderful it felt to get out of college and know that you no longer had to do homework, study for a test, or coordinate with un-cooperative group members. Life is good when your time is your own! Yay to them!

McShan Family Traditions

I married into a family of McShan's. This wild and crazy bunch are a group of wonderful people who all love each other very much. This past Easter we went to Maw Maw and Paw Paw's house in Sour Lake for a crawfish boil and tons of games. We even dyed Easter eggs and had a water balloon toss. I must say that every year I am in at least the top three spots for the ballonn toss. Curtis and Jerry, however, are not. Here is a picture of Curtis and Jerry after Jerry tried to sneak up behind Curtis and break a water balloon over his head, and THIS is what happened! Better luck next time Jerry.

Astros Game

Last night Curtis got Astros tickets from his office, so we invited my parents to come with us. We had really nice seats right above first base. We normally are in the nose bleed section so to sit so close was a lot of fun although dangerous, we actually had a 'foul bat' fly into the stands. The game was tied for a long time, but the Astros pulled off a win in the 10th inning and "the crowd went wild". It was a lot of fun and great to spend some time with my parents and my wonderful hubby! Go Stros!

Baby Lucas

This week, my cousin Clint and his wife Anne, had a beautiful baby boy! He came early, but when I heard that they had gone to the hospital I was very excited. I couldn't wait to meet him. Curtis and I went to see him on Tuesday night at the hospital and he is SOOO very cute. I think Clint and Anne are going to be great parents, it was cute to see them taking care of Lucas. I was holding the baby and he started crying so I got to feed him some formula, which was cool. I'm not around babies much so it was fun to hold him and help take care of him. I'm a very proud cousin! I hope one day we'll get to babysit him, Curtis is very good with entertaining babies and I'm very good with following instructions. :) Anne will have to leave me a 'Guide to Lucas". Haha. Congratulations to Clint and Anne and Welcome to our family, Lucas.

Brooks & Dunn

Last weekend we went to the Rodeo with Curtis' Dad and Step-Mom, Larry & Sharon and saw the Brooks & Dunn concert. It was a fun time. The rodeo was exciting to watch (mostly). I really like the bull riding because it's so dangerous! After the rodeo was over and the cowboys won thousands of dollars, they setup for the concert (which took awhile). They had a new stage that rotated so everyone in the arena could see the concert. It was cool that the stage rotated, otherwise it would suck to have to watch the back of a concert. We had some good food, good fun and we even rode the metrorail, so we didnt' have to fight traffic. Brooks & Dunn performed their most populat songs so I think a fun time was had by all!

Our 2nd Anniversary Trip

Our 2nd anniversary was November 08. Even though this trip happened awhile back, I still wanted to talk about where we went. For our first anniversary we went to San Antonio and had a great time. For our 2nd anniversay we wanted to go somewhere equally close, so we decided on Austin.

We spent a few days there and had a great time. We spent time outdoors in the beautiful weather, went to a fancy restaurant that was very delicious, and we even rented bicycles and rode along the river. One of our favorite activities was visiting the state capital. I thought we'd be there for an hour or so but we ended up staying most of the afternoon. It's such a beautiful building with lots of very interesting history. We saw the state Senate and the House of Representatives. You can sit in on their meetings when they are in session! Which I think would be cool. We had a great time!

Each year gets better and better! (marriage and trips!)

Here we are

Hey Friends,

Welcome to my first blog post ever! How 'amazin' is that! I've recently been reading the blogs of friends and co-workers and decided that I'd like to blog as well. I'm not sure you'll find our life THAT spectacular but we love it! :) I see this as an online journal of our life.... as my friend put it.... A 21st century scrap book. Besides, I'm not much for cutting out designs and pasting them together... This is our mess-free scrap book! So tune in soon for more updates!