Time Flies

Time Flies. It's so cliche. But true.

I can't believe it's been so many weeks since my last post. Scratch, I can believe. I have been busy.

In the past 4 or so weeks (in no particular order): we have gone to Boston, I went to Seatte for work, we went to Houston and Austin (in the same day), 2 Christmas parties, 1 two year old birthday party, 2 Mav's game, a Coldplay concert, decorated for Christmas, gotten professional photos taken, gotten some stuff done to our house, gone to Oklahoma for a wedding, had my parents visit and had Thanksgiving in Decatur. All with 2 full time jobs. Phew!

I think if I tried to re-hash each of those event I just might lose my mind but I would have to say they were all very lovely. As I reflect, I have to say that yes, I get super tired from the loaded schedule but I thank God that I am healthy and am able, financially (thanks to Lane, not me :) ) and mentally, to do these things. I wouldn't want it any other way really. I sometimes think, especially around this time of the year, about those who are sick and don't have the luxury of feeling good much less travel and it breaks my heart. I think being healthy and feeling good is a luxury some of us (yours truly) sometimes take for granted and one of my New Years resolutions is to stop taking that for granted. I am getting (hopefully) a gym membership and I am going to work really hard to get back in shape like I was in high school. I felt better and I could wear really cute things. I can't remember the last time I wore something to show off my legs. I used to have great legs. ER.

Sidenote: you may notice that I won't use 's anymore in any of my words that may or may not need the 's. Lane has corrected me on a few of my incorrect grammar usages and so now I am freaked so I have stopped using it altogether. I need to go back to Second grade, I am aware.

Here are some pictures from the past few weeks. That is the original Starbucks outside pic and inside pic, a few of Mia's birthday party, a few of visiting Harvard, the one with the abulance was funny because I was in the car with a lawyer and you know that idiom (is that an idiom?), "Ambulance Chasers", one of our house at night with our new lights and shutters, one of the Mavs game and some of our adorable niece Mia. And yes, that was Santa at Jasons Deli. When he saw me taking pictures, he ducked around that woman in red so I couldn't get a clear shot. Thanks a lot Santa, you are suppose to be nice!

Gobble Gobble....

This year was a non in law Thanksgiving thus we were in Decatur.

I always feel so relaxed in Decatur. I think it has something to do with it being "the country" and all the trees. Plus, the Arnolds house is very comfortable with lots of couches and pillows!

We got to Decatur aka Comanche Moon Ct. on Wednesday night. Really lots of relaxing and sleeping went on so there isn't too much to talk about!

On Thanksgiving Day, Lane, Connie and I went to Denton to pick up our meal from Cracker Barrel. Poor Connie has had A LOT going on and just didn't have time to cook this year. Totally understandable.

To make a long story short, Mu, Connie's mom and Lane and Nancy's grandmother, had major surgery recently and has been getting acclimated to a nursing home. It has been a really tough transition and Connie has been a warrior through it all.

Mu got to leave her facility and come have Thanksgiving with us which was a treat!

I wished I had gotten more pictures! ERR That always happens!

Anyway, after eating we took some naps and watched some football. Friday, Lane and I went with Allen to one of his work appointments and did more relaxing and sleeping.

Of course, as always, when a great weekend comes to an end we were sad! We had a great Thanksgiving!!! A side note, Mona and Sugar (Nancy's dog) had a fantastic time together playing around! There is a pic below of them.

Some new things tried this weekend:
A Pomegranate
Learning what Mistletoe looks like
A Cracker Barrel Thanksgiving dinner
Witnessing Lane and Connie doing a high kick line in the kitchen
Chocolate Cake from Sams

Some of the Same:
Connie's Egg Nog
Nancy's yummy mexican feast
Pumpkin Pie from Sams

Alas, again, I wished I had taken more pics:

My friend Katie....

If you are reading this, the chances are good that you have heard me talk about Katie, my dear friend from work.

I hate to call her my "work friend" because the truth is she is more than just a work friend. Katie has become one of my best friends and I really don't know what I would have done without her.

She and I have spent countless hours chatting about the people we work with, our families, our jobs, our marriages, our friends, our weekends, our personalities, recently Christmas music and of course babies!

And while we are on the subject, Katie's last day of work is tomorrow (today if you are reading this on Friday) because she is having a baby! She is 38 weeks pregnant and not returning to work after her maternity leave.

Out of pure selfishness I am sad. I have had this day on my calendar for months and been dreading it since Katie told me she wasn't coming back. However, this is a great thing and she will love spending all the time in the world with her daughter.

Katie and I will be friends for a long long time and I thank God for bringing her into my life. I don't bond easily with girls but she and I hit it off from the very beginning.

To Katie: I am so excited for you and JT! You are going to be an absolutely fantastic mother and I can't wait to see your cute family together. I remember the moment you told me you were pregnant and I can't believe it is already here! Thank you for letting me ask you countless questions about your pregnacy and for being so open with me about everything. I will miss you (at work) but expect to still have lunch dates :) I am so glad we are friends!

PS. I hope this doesn't embarrass you - I know how easily you turn red!

Here are a few pictures I had!

This is at our work bowling thing and the day Katie found out she was having a girl!


This is a typical day at work. Sitting around and chatting.

Mom and Dad!

I absolutely love when my parents come to visit!

I love showing them our stuff and how we live. They are 4 hours away down in Houston and so when they come up it is like "look! we made it mom and dad!" It sounds so dumb but that is really how I feel.

My parents got in around 5 on Friday night and I showed them our house. They had seen it before but hadnt since we had work done to it. I was texting with my dad about where we should eat and he suggested a steak so I immediately made reservations. Lane had to work a little later so he met us at Hibiscus for an AWESOME steak dinner. I swear, that place is amazing. It is quaint, and fancy and oh so good. Then we came home and fell asleep.

Saturday my mom and I went shopping around while Lane and my dad went to the Verizon store (my dads phone was acting up) and then they watched football. Saturday night we really didn't do much but rented Maid of Honor on our Pay Per View and ordered pizza from another one of our favorite places Piggy Pies.

Sunday we got up and ate breakfast at this little diner Lane sees on his way home from work. I forgot what it was named but it was old fashioned breakfast. Really good! After breakfast they dropped us back off and they went home. :(

Oh yeah! We were also babysitting our friend Adolph's dog Gus. So he will be in some of the pictures.

I always hate when a great weekend comes to an end. I love my parents so much and wished we lived closer. They have always made me feel special, pretty and so great about myself. Here are some (very few) pictures.

Halloween '08

Sure. I am a little late here. But it's better late than never. Right?

This Halloween was our first in our new home! I had the most fun out of everyone I think. I'm pretty sure it's because the good Lord has given me a child like brain. I don't know how it happened but I get the most joy out of the smallest things. I don't even really like Halloween but I got excited because of the candy and the dry ice that I stopped by after work to get.

I got 2 kinds of candy. One was "good" candy which consisted of chocolate products. That was for the cute kids. The second kind was the kind no one wants to get. It was tootsie roll pops, dots and some other mess. That candy was for the kids too old to participate in Trick or Treating and the ones that had a million kids come up. Sorry kids, make it cute or you get the gross candy. The End.

The dry ice was awesome! But boy is it a pain. I thought I could just drop it in a bucket and it would "smoke" for hours. WRONG. It lasts a few minutes at best. I am going to do more research next year to see how to do it correctly. I put it in a big pot and put it by the door so that the front porch would be spooky!

We had a decent crowd of Trick or Treaters but not as many as I had hoped. Well not as many of the cute ones as I had hoped.

Adam and Eddie and their friend came over after a few hours of handing out candy. We ate some pizza, hung out for a few and then that was it. Here are some pictures from the evening including a few of our (err my) cute little bumble dog!

Blah Blah Blah (election '08)....

I am so tired of all this election stuff.

I just heard an hour long debate in my office between a white woman and 2 african americans and I almost started crying.

It is a president. Is it a big deal? Sure. But it really isn't going to have any MAJOR impact on my daily life or yours.

It is politics. There is a lot of talk and no action. So just because they say they will do one thing doesn't mean it will get done. Look at our situation now. Bush sure promised a lot of things.

I would have to say the 2 african americans won the debate I just heard.

The white woman's only reason for voting for McCain was because she doesn't believe in killing babies.
**** NEWS ALERT ***** NO ONE WANTS TO KILL BABIES!!

I ask this, would you want the choice if you were raped by an uncle and got pregnant? I sure would want the choice. That is what it is all about..choice, not killing babies.

I am just so over hearing about it. Guess what, Barak won and that is it. You can't change it. It's done, over.

I am actually really proud of Barak and of the historic nature of yesterdays election.

And I voted for McCain.

K & B Visit!

We had an AWESOME weekend! (Although we missed Mia in a major way!)

I have/had been excited for this weekend since it was planned that they were coming. My sister Katy and her husband Brent came up to visit and stayed with us. They use to live in Plano circa 2005/2006 but moved back to Houston and haven't been up much since they moved. This weekend made me really sad that we don't live closer but we had a blast!

Friday night they got here around 7 pm and we showed them our house and then went to eat at Matt's Rancho here in Lakewood (one mile from our house). We got the awesome, Dallas famous Bob Armstrong queso, some Tex Mex and of course a couple of Marg's. Afterwards, we came home and Brent and Lane went outside to smoke cigars while Kate and I chatted.

Saturday, Kate went for a jog then she and I got took showers and went to the mall, to get manicures and pedicures and to the store to get stuff to cook out. The guys literally sat on the couch all day and watched football...something Kate and I can't do but they loved it. Saturday night ,after we got back, Adam and Eddie stopped by to visit and then we cooked out on the grill. We had chicken sandwiches with veggies/rice and sweet potatoe fries! We also made the highly anticipated smores on our outdoor furniture table which has a fire pit in the middle. Kate tried a new kind of smore and put a reeses peanut butter cup in the middle instead of hersheys. We determined its name should be a Smeese. It was amazing and tasted like the peanut butter girl scount cookie. The smores were really great and fun! We stayed outside for a while and then came in, watched a little tv and then went to bed.

This morning I was literally depressed and didn't want them to leave but it was one of the best weekends I have had. Thanks K & B for making the drive and coming to visit! We loved having you! Next time bring Mia. Here are some pics from the weekend, although Kate's blog will have more photos especially ones that have the smores!

Wilson

Adam & Kate

Lane or Chef Boyardee

Brent marinating the chicken

Adam Eddie & Kate

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LANE!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday to my sweet adorable husband Lane!!!! I am so grateful that you were born 28 years ago! You have made my life amazing ever since I met you. I can't imagine living without you and I love everything about you! I hope you had a great day!!!



*Picture of the birthday boy will be posted later :)

October 7, 1978

Happy 30th Anniversary to my wonderful & amazing Mom & Dad!!!

Thank you for being an inspiration and role model for how a marriage filled with God, love and putting each other first can make it through anything! Mom & Dad, I have watched you these last 26 years and how you have acted toward each other and have worked through hard times.

Mom, thank you for showing me how to treat my husband and how patience and kindness is all that matters. Your dedication to your marriage and family is unwavering and a true example of family. Dad, thank you for being an example of how a husband should treat his wife. I have learned that a man can be self sufficient and doesn't not need to be babied. You have helped guide me to find the husband who respected me and honored me like you do mom. You both truely want the best for each other and that is an amazing thing.

Thank you for being a beacon and working hard through all the years to show Katy and I that marriage vows aren't just words but they are spiritual and sacred promises that shouldn't be taken lightly. One of my greatest honors is that I got to get married in the exact same place you two did almost 30 years later. Here is to another 30! We love you so much!!!

And now, introducing Mr. & Mrs. Brien Finley O'Brien!!!!!

For other things going on in the world October 7, 1978 check here: http://www.kakophone.com/kakorama/EN/birthday.php/1978/10/7