Cutie

It has been a while since I have posted about the little cutie that is Riley, so here ya go. He really is just the cutest little guy ever. I love him more everyday!

James and I took him on a walk and I couldn't decide between these two pictures, so you get both.

I'm not real sure who is having more fun here.

How can I get that camera in my mouth? hmmm

He is really funny every time James comes home for lunch. He will always look at him and then hide his face and then look and do it all over again. It is so funny. Here he is hiding his face from Uncle James on my leg.

Busy, busy, busy

I just love these last two. Tell me he isn't adorable.

I don't have a clue

James and I are sitting here watching "Slumdog Millionaire" take all the awards at the Oscars and realizing we just don't have a clue. As I mentioned before, we weren't fans of the movie. Are any of you surprised? Were we really the only ones who didn't like the movie? I haven't heard a bad word about from anyone else. I guess I just missed the boat on that one.

Random Thoughts

I just feel like blogging, so for all of you who are bored and want something to read...here ya go.

I got my hair cut on Thursday and I really like it. Nothing drastic, but it sits right above my shoulders. I think it makes me look a bit older. I can't decide if that is a good thing or not.

Friday on my way out the door to work, I decided to unload the dishwasher real quick. Well, that is when I experienced my Friday the 13th moment. When I was putting the bowls away, the shelf fell out and all my bowls crashed to the floor. I just stood there and watched it happen. Then I cried. Then I called James. He told me to just go to work and he would take care of it. And guess what, when I got home from work there were no signs of glass anywhere. He came home on his lunch break to clean it up. Man, I love him.

James and I went out on Friday night to Bucca di Beppo for dinner. It was so, so, so good and worth the hour+ wait. We thought we would outsmart everyone else and go out the day before Valentine's Day, it didn't work. If you go, please order the Prosciutto Stuffed Chicken. If you don't know about Bucca, some see me and I'll take you just so I can order that again. It was heavenly.

Saturday I had my first "teacher class". I was expecting maybe 50 people to be there, just add another zero and that's how many really showed. I sat next to a guy a few years older than myself who is a structural engineer. He was layed off in September and has decided he has to make some kind of decision on a new career. Hearing his story made my heart ache for all the people around me who are experiencing real hardships due to the economy. It caused me to come home and thank James for all his hard work and fall on my knees and thank the Lord that we have not been directly hit by this mess. I know that could change any day. I pray that it doesn't.

Last night James decided we should attempt to face the crowds for some Mexican food. You know what? It wasn't crowded at all. Interesting how that worked. After stuffing ourselves with The Valentine's Day special, we came home and layed on the couch the rest of the night. It was wonderful.

Today, we went to church, had our weekly breakfast at Corner Bakery and then headed to Lowe's to ask about what to do with our kitchen cabinets. All I have thought since Friday is that Riley could have been at my feet when it happened. I would have been devastated and that absolutely can not happen.

They fixed me up with some new bigger, stronger pegs and assured me all will be well now. I changed them all out and feel much more confident that it won't happen again. We also got a quick visit from cousin Tyler today.

I'm off tomorrow, but will be keeping my favorite boy (other than James, he is actually a man).
Now I'm off to read some of Twilight. I started it this week thanks to Lacey and others encouragement to do so. I'm not sold on it yet, but I'm sure it's going to happen. Gnite my friends.

New Room

Remember this? This was our office/junk room when we first moved in and it hadn't changed much in 3 months, except for some extra junk that was tossed in there. Most of the time I kept the door closed and never went in there, but if I did I just got mad. I loved our house so much and the office just didn't seem to fit. So last weekend, James and I began a little project... Here it is now! What do you think? As with every other room in our house, it will be an ongoing project, but for now I love it. It feel very cozy and is a great place to lounge. An added bonus is that we didn't spend much money at all for this makeover.

Suggestions?

James and I are planning to go to Las Vegas in May and would appreciate any and all suggestions you may have. Neither of us have never been and think it would be a great trip before little ones come into the picture. We are really excited, but feel a bit overwhelmed with deciding where to stay, what shows to see, where to eat, etc. Since doing our research, I have not seen a single hotel that doesn't look incredible. If you have ever been or know someone who has, please, please give us all the must-have info. Thanks in advance!

The next big thing

I have a huge announcement, well huge for me. I have decided to get my alternative certification and begin teaching in the fall. I have been studying for the "content" test for more than a month and didn't want to announce this decision until I had that behind me. Well, I took the test on Friday and just found out this morning that I passed!! I am so relieved. Studying has been like a full-time job for me and I could not be more thankful that it is over. I begin attending classes for the next month and a half on Saturday. I'm really looking forward to getting things started.

As much as I love my job, I don't want to be a nanny forever. I also know that life throws you curve balls never expected and I need to be able to support myself and I can't even begin to think about getting back into social work (it makes me nauseous). So for the past few months I have been really prayerful about the decision and have done lots of research. I feel very confident that it is the right thing and am super excited for August.

So if I have seemed absent the past month, now you know why. I will keep you all posted as things progress. Very excited!!

This birdie is home

So let's rewind to Tuesday night. I got home from work and checked the mail to find a manila envelope with my name on it. I didn't recognize the return name and address from Fort Worth. I opened it up to find this:

It is a postcard with a bird carrying a letter. It is postmarked February 23, 1910 and has most of the one cent stamp still in tact. The front reads,

"Here I am in Dermott, Texas
Enjoying it's sights and cheer;
Everything's great and I'm feeling first-rate,
But, O, how I wish you were here"

The note on the back is written in pencil and I can't make out most of it, but one line says,

"Gee-come out here and kill some prairie dogs and rabbits"--I thought that was funny.

I looked at it over and over and admired its absolute beauty, but was so confused as to where it had come from. I was convinced that somehow these people had seen my blog, knew my love and birds and got my address just to send this to me and make my day. It certainly made my day! So after a few moments I called Mom and explained it all to her. She didn't recognize the name, but we stayed on the phone and together tried to do some investigative work online. As much as I loved getting this mail, I was a tab bit freaked out at how a stranger knew where I lived. Then I decided to send an email out to all my family and ask if they knew them and gave them my info. While Mom and I were on the phone we found out when this couple had their first child, what his name was, what country club they were members of and that the husband was the president of some club there in 2006, which law firm the he worked for (with his picture) and a picture of the woman in their country club newsletter. Neither of us recognized either of their pictures and the confusion grew.

We had no choice but to put it to rest. I was still very confused, a bit freaked out, but very much in love with this new bird that landed in MY HANDS!! How lucky am I? I then went straight out to buy the most perfect thank you note to send to these strangers who made my day. I mean, I had to let them know how much I loved it and that this bird is now my most prized and favorite of all. And trust me, I found THE perfect card!

Later that night I got an email from my Aunt Martha that read, " A little birdie told me that they don't know you nor your family and that they have never seen your blog." I thought, Oh she knows and isn't telling me, how unfair!! So I went to bed and my mind was still going 90 miles an hour. As I was lying there unable to sleep, I figured out that somehow Martha had bought it for me and had it mailed to me. That was the only answer, but I figured she would never come out and tell me that. That would be a very typical Martha thing to do.

When checking my email on Wednesday morning, I had another email from Martha. Except that it was from my Uncle Dayne. He was the one who found it on Ebay and had it mailed to me!! He was the one who knew of my love of birds and thought of me enough to have it mailed to me. What a wonderful surprise and boy do I feel loved!

So Dayne, get ready because now you will be the recipient of THE most perfect card.

Song in my Head

This is what I have been singing over and over in my head for the past two days because it is all I hear M singing while I am with her.

"Princess, Prince of Please. Princess, Prince of Please. Princess, Prince of Please."

I don't know what the real words are, but I'm assuming it is a song she learned in chapel at school about the prince of peace.

One day all she sang was "Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world. Red and yellow, precious white they are precious in his sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world."

I don't think I can ever hear that song again without chuckling.

Austin

James and I went to spend the weekend with my cousin Tyler in Austin and had a great time. Tyler and I were so super close and such good friends when we were younger. It has been nice to spend time together now that we are adults. Tyler has a cool condo and two of the most lively (that is an understatement) dogs I've ever met. I had not been Austin since early high school and was very impressed with what a cool city it is. We did lots of driving around and sightseeing. Of course I didn't take very many pictures, but here are a few.

I was amazed that we were able to run free in the capital. It was so beautiful and ornate. Honestly, that may have been my favorite part of our trip.

Thank you, thank you, thank you Tyler for a great weekend! We can't wait to see you soon!

January and February Resolutions

So you may remember my goal to set one resolution each month and actually develop it into a habit before adding something new the next month. For January I resolved to work out 3 times each week with James at home. I will honestly say that I probably averaged about 2 times each week this month. I haven't worked out since Tuesday due to my sore back. Overall I would say that I am making great strides of improvement on both my physical appearance and my attitude towards James and his training ability. I only told him I couldn't stand him one time this month while working out. That's really good for me! In all seriousness it hasn't been that bad and I can tell a difference in my clothes. Now, I have to keep it up even though I am adding a new resolution today. This one is so exciting! Are you ready??

I will take my vitamins everyday! Yes, you heard me, everyday. As a girl who has struggled her whole life with swallowing pills, taking vitamins is a real chore. I take them very sporadically right now, but aim to make it a habit. I know taking vitamins are important for my overall health, but here is the real reason why:


One of the perks of having a personal trainer for a husband is that I also have a free lifetime supply of Cooper Complete vitamins. Yay!!! Once a month James brings home a brown paper bag with the goods inside, but as you can see I have plenty of goods. Even if I start taking them everyday I will always have an overflow, my medicine cabinet can't take anymore!

So who wants to join me? I will be happy to help any of you get your vitamin on with your own bottle for free. Seriously, if you want some vitamins send me a comment or email and I will get you a bottle in the mail (even if I don't know you, what a great way to let me know you read my blog). How wonderfully exciting to open the mailbox and find some vitamins!