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!